Filly Friends

by thehalfelf

Rating: teen
Tags: DJ P0N-3, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Octavia
Length: 88915

In the morning, Vinyl Scratch would be leaving, and Octavia didn’t know if she would ever see her again.

I laid awake, staring at reflected light from the window on my ceiling.  Tomorrow was going to be important, I knew I should try to sleep, but it was being difficult.  On the other side of the upper floor she slept, in that room for the last time. It was never going to happen, but I worried that my breathing, maybe even my heartbeat, would wake her.

I spent the whole time thinking, about our past together, the good times, the fights, everything we said we would do together.  I remembered it all, and one by one, let it go. It didn’t matter anymore, none of it. Tomorrow, Vinyl Scratch was going to leave, and I would never see her again.

Story is canon only up to the end of Season 4. This story also uses the original fanon last name for Octavia, because I like it better.

Published 2019-12-31 02:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-08-11 16:12:59 UTC

Thud

Thud

I have always liked swings; there’s something calming about the rhythm of them. When I was young, Mother used to take me to a park every Saturday after my extra cello lessons. It is still there, in the small neighborhood where I grew up. I loved the swings, still do, with the spinning merry-go-round being a close second whenever Mother wanted to push me. She loved it for a bridge between two pieces of equipment that made music as you walked over it.

I never did like how empty it was, though. It was empty every Saturday, except for Mother and I. Completely empty, all week. It’s always clean, grass mowed, sparkling paint, just nopony ever enjoying it.

Except for Mother and I, every Saturday from three until five.

I was a small filly at that age, and without unicorn magic handling a cello was much harder than it is now. Mother can use her magic to hold the bow, but I had to wedge it in the crook of a hoof. The other I can use the edge of to press down the strings.

The swings creaked under me, underlying my thoughts with the sound all good swings make.

I do like the cello, though. Father says it’s notes are somber and depressing, but I see them more like a backbone. The cello is deep so other instruments can be sharp, like the violin or fiddle. I’ve always told him that deep doesn’t mean sad, but he’s never listened. Father isn’t trying to be mean, he bought the cello for me in the first place. Mother wanted me to learn the trumpet.

Another squeak, just out of sync of my own, pulled me from my thoughts. I glanced over, surprised to see another filly clambering into the swing next to mine. She noticed and smiled.

“Hi!” said the other filly. “You looked lonely, so I came to swing too. My name is Vinyl.” The younger unicorn filly took her seat finally and began to move. She was a little bigger than me, with a white coat and light blue mane, captivating red eyes above her wide smile. A reflected pattern swirled within as I slowed to match her swing.

“Hello,” I said, trying to speak only when we lined up. “My name... is Octavia... Philha... rmonica.”

“Fill-a-monika?” she repeated back.

I took a moment to come to a complete stop. Wood chips sprayed out as my hooves dug in. “No, Philharmonica.” I tried to sound it out. It was hard for me to learn too.

“Oh.” Vinyl kicked off, starting to swing higher. It surprised me, as most unicorns would have just magiced the chains, hooves not required. I waited a beat then pushed off myself, trying to sync our two swing’s squeaking.

My gaze swept over the park, by instinct seeking out Mother. I expected her to be speaking with VInyl’s parent, but she still sat alone on the bench. Seeing me looking, Mother smiled and waved. The rest of the park, as usual, was empty.

The world around me shook, accompanied by a loud crash. I clenched down, years of cello practice keeping me firmly on the swing. I looked over to see Vinyl, cackling like a maniac, swaying back and forth.

“S-Sorry, Tavi!” she giggled. “Didn’t mean to hit you.” She grabbed the chains of her swing again, twisting one forward and one back. Her swing responded, starting to slowly rotate again.

Tavi? “My name is Octavia,” I corrected, staring at Vinyl’s slowly devolving swinging. “What are you doing?”

“Swinging,” she replied, but at this point, it looked more like a spin than a swing. Back and forth, around and around, the chains of Vinyl’s swing constantly crossed over each other before unwinding as she swung ever higher.

“Is that... safe?” Without meaning to, I stopped pumping my hooves. Slowly, I came to a stop. Vinyl, however, only seemed to go higher. The metal frame holding up our seats started to shake.

“No less safe than the monkey bars upside down!”

I gave the playground equipment a hesitant look. The monkey bars, bright green in color, were not usually something I spend any time with. I could barely do them as intended, let alone trying upside down.

I stuck my hooves down into the wood chips again to stop. “That is definitely not safe.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Vinyl said before suddenly flying off her swing. The added spin made her corkscrew through the air before landing, tumbling into a heap of legs and mane near the playground equipment. I watch in concern, but she didn’t get up.

I jumped from my swing and took a hesitant step forward. “Vinyl?”

No response. Another step. “Vinyl?”

Hooves stomped the ground, drawing closer to us. I looked up in surprise to see Mother, approaching at a gallop. “Vinyl?”

“Octavia! What happened?!” Mother asked, stopping by Vinyl’s side. She glanced towards me then crouched down and gently nudged the unicorn filly. “Hey, can you hear me? Are you okay?”

I stopped next to Mother. This close I could see Vinyl’s barrel rising with breath, and shaking.

“Oh, wow,” she groaned, rolling over, wood chips stuck to her coat and mane. Now closer, I could see how dirty her coat was, though that could have been from her close encounter with the ground. “Next time, less spin.”

“Y-You did that on purpose?” I sputtered, drawing a laugh from both ponies present.

“You should be more careful,” Mother chastised before turning to me. “Say goodbye to your friend. We need to go back home.”

I looked away from Mother in time to see Vinyl’s ears droop. She shook her head, planting a smile on her face. “Hey, maybe we can play later? I live just right over there,” she said, pointing to a line of houses on the other side of the park.

Mother smiled down on me. “After cello practice.”

Vinyl slowly climbed to her hooves, swaying only slightly. “Cool. See you tomorrow?”

I nodded, then hurried to follow Mother from the park. It no longer felt quite as empty.

Thump

Thump

The next day, Mother made a special exception to take me to the park. As soon as practice was over, I stowed my instrument as fast as possible to get to the park sooner. I had never wanted to go more than now, when I knew somepony else would be there. Mother laughed as I rushed us out the door, then warned me to wait for her as I rounded the first corner by myself. The park wasn’t far and I knew the way by heart. Mother was just slow.

Three more turns and I could see the park. I could already hear the hum of mostly-oiled metal from somepony on the merry-go-round.

“Sounds like your new friend is already there,” Mother said. “Go on, I’ll be right behind you.”

I didn’t listen to anything after ‘go’ before taking off. Like I said, it wasn’t far. Before long, I could see the spinning multicolored disc being pushed by an enthusiastic unicorn. One hoof wrapped around one of the support poles, she ran, faster and faster, until I thought for sure her hooves were going to give out. Just before, she jumped and slammed onto the top of the merry-go-round with a whoop.

Pavement gave way to wood chips under my hooves. Seeing me approach - in several second bursts - Vinyl grinned. “Hey, Tavi! Jump on!”

“My name is Octavia,” I muttered, trying to time the spinning of the disc, and the thick metal supports on it. After a couple of false starts I jumped, hooves scrabbling for purchase on sun-warmed metal. Vinyl reached over, hooked a hoof around mine, and pulled me towards the center.

“I'm glad you came back today!” she shouted over the wind.

“Mother made an exception because I practiced cello longer than normal today!” I could see her every so often as our rotation slowed, just off the edge of the playground on her normal bench.

“Woah, you play the cello‽ That’s so cool!” Vinyl grinned again before letting go of her support and flying back off the rim. Right before her second fall in front of me, she grabbed an outer support leaving her hind legs dangling off the edge. A few moments later I found out why, as we began to pick up speed.

This time, I reached over to pull Vinyl up. “Yes, my parents are both musicians. It was only natural for me to learn too.”

“Can you play for me sometime?”

“O-Oh, I’m not very good yet...” I stuttered. “I haven’t been playing for very long.”

“So?” We slowed again, but Vinyl didn’t seem to notice, and I certainly wasn’t going to dangle myself off the metal disc to speed us up. Vinyl spoke again, at a more reasonable volume. “I can’t play anything, so you’re already better than me.”

The merry-go-round finally stopped with one long, drawn-out squeak. “Why don’t you ask your parents to get you lessons?”

Vinyl turned her head, looking around the rest of the park. I did too, noticing once again that, other than us and Mother, the park was empty. “Hey, where are your parents?”

“Hey, want to see my do the monkey bars upside down?” Vinyl asked, jumping down from the merry-go-round and walking over to the playground proper before I had a chance to reply.

I let the obvious distraction slide. “Are you going to fall and hurt yourself again?”

Vinyl smiled and hopped up the couple of steps separating the ground from the bars. She flipped around and hooked her hind legs across the metal. Her long, shaggy mane fell over her face, resisting all efforts to be blown back into place. She began swinging and moving, headed towards the first of three multi-storied towers, connected together with suspended percussion bridges.

“Nah,” she said, huffing with the effort to maintain her swings. I followed behind on the ground, planning to meet her at the other end of the monkey bars. Vinyl had obviously done this before, showing no hesitation to fling herself into space from bar to bar. I’d never try it, and definitely not if I couldn’t pin my hair up.

As she approached the end, I hurried to meet her at the other side. She flipped back around, landing in front of me with a breathless, “tadaa!”

I dutifully pounded my hooves on the ground in applause. She walked over to a ledge leading to the second floor and sat down with a huff. “Wow,” I said, sitting down in front of her. “I didn’t think you could do it.”

“The first few times weren’t nearly as cool,” she laughed, rubbing her hind legs with a hoof. “Didn’t feel great either.”

My gaze followed her hoof down to her hind legs, noticing the fur, matted and almost grey. Her hooves were chipped as well, likely from dragging around in the wood chips and banging across the metal of the monkey bars. “I think Mother would kill me if I ever came home that dirty.” She looked down and I started to panic. “N-Not that you aren’t pretty! O-Or clean! It just looks like, kind of, you don’t have your hooves filed often, o-or your coat brushed, or... or...”

My voice trailed off, stuttering into nothing. Not many ponies came through the park, and I now rather like having a pony to play with. I was rude, and an idiot.

To my surprise, Vinyl laughed. “No, I get it. You’re right, though, I don’t go for any of that... girly stuff anymore. Or, y’know, ever.”

Honestly, I don’t like it much either, but Mother always insisted, saying it was a responsibility of a filly from a family like mine. “Well,” I tap my hooves on the edge of the next level up. “Maybe we could go together sometime...?”

“Oh, uh, I-I don’t know, maybe...” Vinyl pulled herself up fully to the next floor of the playground and walked off. She pulled herself up to the railing of the bridge. I followed behind, but across the bridge, the clacking of my hooves drowned out by the waump the bridge made as my hoof struck the first panel.

We continued in silence for awhile, continuing across to the next tower, then taking the narrow stairs to the first floor. I glanced up at Vinyl as we walked to the next bridge. Eyes down, she plodded forward practically dragging her hooves across the coated metal.

Had I made a mistake? We were having so much fun...

Wrapped in my thoughts, I almost ran into Vinyl as she turned at the end of the bridge. “Hey, you like music right?” She pushed past me back to the bridge. “Watch this.”

She stretched her hoof off the railing and tapped it against a single tile of the bridge which sounds with a deep boom. She hit it again a few times before stretching her other hind hoof to gently scrape against another. It made a gentle swish, barely audible over the base thump of the other.

After a few repetitions, Vinyl braced her rump against the railing, freeing her other two hooves to make even more additions. She tapped her hooves across a couple more planks in rapid succession, overlaying the thump and swish with a patter of more static notes.

Vinyl turned to me, panting. “Hey, hit this one in time with me.” She motioned to the firstmost tile with her muzzle. I waited for a second, feeling for the beat before stepping forward and taking over, only letting the music falter for a second.

With a free hoof, Vinyl crawled her way across the bridge, ditching the swoosh sound for something much lighter, a tinkling made by very lightly tapping the tip of her hoof one one of the tiles closer to the other castle tower. She carried on, seeming to get lost in the music.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mother approaching, beaming. She showed up right before Vinyl finished.her song. I stepped back to applaud on the castle tower floor, Mother did so on the wood chips. Vinyl took an exaggerated bow from the middle bridge railing.

“Fantastic,” Mother said. “Vinyl, right? Do you have an interest in music?”

Vinyl hopped down onto the bridge, the discordant noise much worse after what we just did. “I don’t know, maybe? I’m just really good at finding the rhythm, y’know?”

I nodded, Mother smiled. “I understand. We are a family of musicians,” she said. “Music has always flowed through the Philharmonica bloodline.”

“Oh yeah, Tavi said something about playing cello. Do you play too?”

“My name is Octavia.” Muttered under my breath, nopony heard me over Mother’s reply.

“I play the cello as well. My husband is a conductor and founder of the Royal Canterlot Symphony.”

A shadow fell over us. Overhead, weather pegasi rushed back and forth, putting the finishing touches on the first major storm of the season. Mother glanced upwards as well, then motioned toward one of the stairs down from our tower. “We should probably go, Octavia. We don’t want to get stuck in the storm.”

“Okay,” I said. Vinyl followed me over. I walked, she jumped. Mother had already turned and headed for home.

“Bye, Vinyl.” I quickly turned and followed Mother. The sky now had enough cloud cover to turn the street lamps on.

Two hours at the park had never felt long, but today it felt shorter than ever.

How else do ponies spend time together? I had heard other fillies at school talking about playdates and sleepovers, but I had never been invited. How many ponies do you need?

Why had I never seen Vinyl at school?

<><><><><>

The rain drummed on the roof of my room, blanketing everything out the window in grey. My room had a small window seat, framed by the walls of the rest of the room. It was my favorite place to sit, right next to the window. My cello was on the floor, one hoof idly plucked at an open D, filling the room with rich sound. Practice was over, but it didn’t matter. Mother won’t let me go play in the park in the rain.

Then again, I don’t know if I want to go to the park in the rain.

An image of Vinyl running, rain dripping from her mane and coat, down on of the music bridges Slipping and falling, sliding headfirst into one of the towers, laughing the whole way.

I climbed from my nook, careful of the cello, and left my room. The grey sky dampened the hallway as well, blocking the light from the large windows lining the stairs down. I walked down them and across into the parlor. The room was bright and warm, lit by a fire. Father was in his favorite chair, subtlety trying to take a peek around the split door to see what Mother was cooking.

A strict no-no in our home.

He glanced over the book he was pretending to read and smiled. “Hello, Octavia. Done practicing?”

I plopped into the chair next to him and nodded.

“Weather got you down? Wanted to go see your friend, right? Vinyl?” His voice was level as always, but his head kept leaning, kept stretching, trying to see into the kitchen.

I grinned, enjoying as always the nightly game we played. “Yeah. She’s good with music stuff too. We did a really cool thing on the bridge.”

Father paused long enough to look at me and smile. I’d probably told the story one hundred times over the past week, but he always smiled. He even offered to help rework the song for cello. “I’m sure she’ll be there the next time you go. We can probably convince your mother to take you when the rain stops.”

Before I could reply, a salt shaker torpedoed from the kitchen and hit Father square on the forehead. He lurched back into the seat and raised his book to hide his hurt pride. “By the Sun, Octavia, your mother just a-salted me.”

“You know the rules, you’ll know what’s for dinner when it’s done,” Mother’s voice floated from the kitchen.

From the stories I’ve heard, before Mother and Father met, Mother didn’t do much cooking. Father, on the other hoof, dabbled in, “the fine culinary arts,” as he called them. She asked for lessons, and he gave them, hovering over her shoulder the whole time, critiquing but never actually helping. It ended when Mother whacked him with a spoon, and he hasn’t been allowed to even know what’s cooking since.

Father sat back and placed his book on the side table. “Are you excited for school to be out?”

To this day, I still wonder if this is just part of that Dad 101 handbook. “Yes,” I replied, continuing in a loud whisper. “I just hope Mother doesn’t make me practice all day again this year.”

“I heard that! Just because you’re not visible from the door doesn’t mean I can’t get you.” Father and I both glanced at the door, then at each other and smiled. Mother poked her head around the door, gray mane falling into twinkling eyes. “I’m watching you two, no colluding before dinner.”

She pulled her head back, leaving Father and I alone again, but likely not for long; when Father put his book down, he rarely picks it back up again. He stood slowly, creeping his way across the thick carpet to the kitchen door. Making sure to stay silent, Father pressed an ear to the seam between door and wall.

Apparently hearing nothing alarming, he slowly pushed his luck further, opening the door agonizingly slow to peek his head around.

Something wet smacked into the door on the far side, shaking the thin wood. Father slowly pulled his head back, his face, mane, and upper barrel covered in a thick red sauce. “Dinner is pasta tonight, honey. Go wash up.”

I ran back upstairs quickly, moving one door past my own into the bathroom. Because I hadn’t left home, my hooves don’t take long to wash. Grabbing the nearest clean washcloth, I went back down the stairs, past the parlor, and into the dining room.

Inside stood a small table with seats enough for four. Another door opened back to the kitchen, this one next to a passthrough. In the kitchen, Mother was busy cleaning pasta from the parlor door, leaving Father to bring the remaining food to the table.

I walked to the kitchen door, offering my rag to Father over the passthrough. He smiled before trading me the cloth for a bunch of bowls, which I quickly placed on the table before taking my own seat.

Dinner passed in a comfortable silence. Regardless of my parent’s stories, Mother is a great cook. She pretended to be mad at Father, but I could see her grinning when he wasn’t looking. It’s one of the little things in our family, like how she hid his favorite conductor baton before concerts, and I liked to swap the dust jackets on all the books around.

I only did that once, though. He replaced my cello strings with double bass strings. It was just different enough for me to notice, but Mother had to tell me what was actually wrong.

For that one, Mother replaced Father’s coat shampoo with dye. Father has a very light coat, so when he came from the bath that day he was pink for a month! Mother called him nothing but a pretty pink pony princess until the dye finally washed out.

As the big serving bowl in the middle started to empty, Mother turned to me. “So, I overheard your father mentioning something about the park when the rain stops? Did you want to go?”

“Yes!” I practically bounced out of my seat, before remembering to be proper, like Miss Strings always told me to be. “I mean, yes, please.”

Mother placed a dramatic hoof on her chin. “Hmm... Okay--”

I smiled again, unable to suppress another bounce.

“--but--”

Bounce retracted pending further review.

“You have to practice for an hour a day for a full week after school is out--”

I sighed. It could have been much worse, she could have asked me to...

“--standing up.”

To do that. I sighed again. “Yes, Mother”

She moved a hoof across the table, placing it under my chin to lift my eyes to meet hers. “I know it hurts your legs, but if you don’t practice, you won’t get stronger.”

“Your Mother is right,” Father added, his normal joking tone gone. “Just a little every day, and you’ll be able to play just like your mother.” He smiles. “Probably better.”

I grinned at Mother’s threatening glare, then ducked below the table. Another wet slap echoed around the room, a pool of red sauce forming under Father’s char. Mother squealed, followed by limp noodles falling from her chair.

Which is why I ducked.

Author's Note

Welcome to a story I've had floating around in my head for a long time now. I first mentioned wanting to write this after the completion of A Pony Called Death, but honestly just never got around to it with other projects, and life getting int the way.

I hope you're ready for a long haul here, because I've got 8 and a half chapters done, and a long way to go. As always, questions, comments, and criticism is always appreciated. I'll be posting a chapter a week, likely every monday, until we are done.

So, I'll see you next week!

Cello Sounds

Cello Sounds

The rain lasted for several days, blanketing the last day of school in wet and gray. I sat in my room with Mother after school; she sifted through my school things, something I’m supposed to help with, but the rain out the window was too captivating. Our house was perched on a bend, allowing me to see a good distance across Canterlot and further down the mountain.

“Octavia, the rain will still be there when we’re done,” Mother chided. I sheepishly slid from my seat and into the mess of papers. Most of it was old assignments to be thrown out, but mixed in were also supplies that could be recycled and sheet music the school’s music teacher, Miss Strings, would want to look over on our weekly visit. She was a friend of Mother’s and came to tutor me while school was out.

“Miss Strings wanted me to show you this,” I said, recognizing a paper on top of the pile. “She wants me to play this for her at the start of the next school year.” Mother’s dark gray magic aura lifted the stapled packets of paper.

Mother studied the paper intently, head subtly bobbing along to the beat on the paper. I snuck a quick glance out the window just in time to see a fork of lightning burst across the clouds, bathing our street in blue for a few moments. Thunder rumbled behind, masking the sound of Father climbing the stairs, but not his knock at my door.

“Ah, there are my grayscale angels,” he said, poking his head in. Mother groaned at the bad pun, but couldn’t hide her smile. I ran over and hugged him.

“Ew, you’re wet!” I shouted, jumping back to examine the dark spot on the front of my barrel. My parents both laughed, Father even more as I pounced on Mother to soak her too.

She shook me off and rounded on Father, a malicious gleam in her eyes. “Just for that, you get to help clean.”

“Oh my look at the time, I need to go start di-” Father was cut off as a wet wad of paper smacked him in the muzzle then exploded, scattering across the floor.

“Come on, you know the drill. We need good things to hang on the wall.”

Father grumbled but came into my room, making sure to sit down hard enough to rattle the sparse decoration on my shelves. Mother glared again, but our sorting continued in peace for around an hour. It was terribly boring, but the trash pile consistently grew, the music and recycle pile significantly slower. The slowest pile of all was for Mother’s Wall of Achievement: music awards, a spelling bee second place finish, a couple of drawings.

Father stayed until he had a couple of contributions for the Wall, then left to start dinner. A few minutes later we heard a loud banging followed by the gentle wafting aroma of food being prepared.

Our cleaning naturally transitioned into group practice, which to this day is my favorite way to practice. I scrambled to set up my cello while Mother fetched hers from her practice room. We started with simple scales, a warmup, followed shortly by a demonstration of what I’d learned since our last session.

“Alright, up we get,” Mother said, then helped me to my hooves, fixing my balance against my cello. “Hoof here, hold your bow like this...”

Another little tug of magic helped me align my bow. “Now pull it straight across,” she continued. “Angling the bow, and even rotating it slightly, can change the sound. Now, again.”

Mother waited a couple of beats, occasionally tugging at my leg or hoof to correct posture. My right forehoof wasn’t quite long enough to fully pull the bow across the strings, so that’s where Mother focused the most. Not satisfied, Mother had me repeat the scale two or three times before taking up her own bow and joining in.

Mother’s playing was so beautiful. I was slow and stilted, struggling to pull the bow properly, to place my hoof on the strings properly. She was smooth, practiced, notes flowing from one to the other.

I watched, fascinated, as the music took her. She quickly deviated from the piece on the stand in front of us, precise notes slipping into something more instinctive. The guiding touch of her magic fell away, and I slowly stopped, watching Mother lose herself to the music.

She looked so beautiful. The beat was quickly dropped, improved, as Mother slipped from note to note, adding embellishment and trills and everything that I couldn’t do yet. She slowly swayed back and forth, somehow still managing to keep her balance.

Her eyes fluttered shut; the music crescendoed just in time to mask the gentle click of Father opening my door. He quietly moved next to me and we both watched, entranced, while my Mother played, off the hoof, something that would make many composers and lesser musicians cry.

I stared at her, easily recreating a picture in my mind. It was a similar day that made me interested in music, three years ago, watching Mother practice for her first solo concert after I was born. Of course, I couldn’t actually hold a cello then, but, as soon as I could, we headed to the store.

The final note faded into silence, helped along with a light, extra touch on the string. Mother opened her eyes to a gentle applause, and blushed. “Beautiful as always, love,” Father said. I nodded in agreement.

Mother looked at me, ears folding slightly down the middle. “I did it again, didn’t I?”

I nodded; it happened almost every time we practiced. Mother tended to get lost in her music, but I never complained. It was beautiful, inspiring. Besides, Father did too. Just stood in his study sometimes, waving that little conductor stick around to an imaginary audience.

“Dinner is ready whenever you two are,” Father said, then left the room. Mother and I packed our cellos - she took a pit stop to stow hers in the practice room, somewhere I’ve only been twice before - and we headed to the table.

Dinner was fast, as it normally was when Father cooks and so can’t torment Mother, and delicious. After I helped clean up, I scampered upstairs and back to my window nook. The frayed cushion squeaked as I sat down. For three months, freedom from everything other than cello practice and the annual family trip north to Manehatten and Grandma Serenade.

My body grew heavier, but not enough to convince me to actually go to bed. The first day of summer vacation is important and I was unwilling to let it end too quickly. One room over, I could just barely hear Mother begin to play her cello. I’d asked her to remove the soundproofing next to my room. I liked to listen.

My body jerked forward, forcing me awake to avoid hitting the window. Mother had stopped at some point, leaving the house silent but for the lingering remnants of the week’s storms.

A loud, last burst of rain woke me again. Down below, Father ran out into a carriage, probably going to a last-minute meeting for his orchestra.

I woke once more, to cold, my face pressed against the window. Mostly asleep, I crawled into my warm bed and passed out again.

The morning sunrise banished what was left of the storms. I rolled from bed and to my hooves, determined to finish practice early and convince Mother to take me to the park.

My stomach grumbled. Change of plans: breakfast first, then cello, then the park. I stumbled out of my room, still half asleep, and somehow made it down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mother glanced up from her spot in the study, smiling over her book. “Morning.”

“Mrnin,” I muttered, passing through the parlor and into the kitchen. Mother rose and followed, coming in halfway through my rustling through the cabinets. We both came through to the dining room, Mother with a cup of tea and her book, myself with a plate of toast and a bowl of cereal.

The silence in the dining room was absolute, broken only by my eating and Mother’s drinking. She’d likely already eaten breakfast, but she didn’t believe ponies should have to eat alone. Every bite of food dragged me more and more awake, and by the time the last crumb of toast is gone, I was ready to go.

Mother noticed and set down her book and tea. “So,” her voice was startling in the still house. “Big plans today?”

“I want to go to the park.”

Mother’s smile, along with her ears droop, “I was afraid you were going to say that...” I knew that voice, the ‘no’ voice. It wasn’t fair, the rain had stopped and everything!

I did my best to hide my disappointment though. If mother had to say no, she had a good reason.

“You need to practice first, of course, and I have some errands to run.”

“That’s not funny,” I huffed, pouting.

Mother rose and walked around the table, putting a hoof around me in a hug. “Yes it was, now go wash up. Aunt Rosin is going to be here soon.”

Obediently, I returned the hug and rose to my hooves. “Aunt Rosin? Is Father still not back?”

A soft gray glow enveloped Mother’s book and pulled it towards her. “No, he had a meeting for his upcoming show. Now, go wash up.”

At Mother’s gentle prodding, I left the room.and went to wash my face. Rosin was an old friend of my parents, an accomplished violinist, and proficient in multiple stringed instruments besides, and the bongos. Her daugher, Symphonia, was one of my few friends at school, but spent most of her summers out of Canterlot.

Water droplets dripped down my muzzle before I could dry it all. I then grabbed my brush and set off to find Mother. I found her in Father’s study, searching through a shelf of sheet music books.

Finding what she wanted, Mother turned. The brush was gently removed from my mouth with a flash of magic, and she smiled. “I suppose we have time,” she said, leading me through the house to the parlor. The brush gently pressed down my head, pulling all the tangles from sleep free.

The book of music floated into my vision and dropped into my waiting hooves. “Here,” Mother said, raking out another section of mane, “something to keep you occupied over the summer. Your Father had it printed specifically for you.”

Careful not to move my head, I pushed open the cover with my hoof. There, on the inside cover, I recognized Father’s writing.

To my darling Octavia. Mayhaps these pieces are too simple for you, but it will make a good start to a bright musical future. Make sure you know you can always find solace in what you can make with your own two hooves, magic or not.
We love you dearly,
Legato and Melody Philharmonica

My head whipped around, drawing an annoyed snort from Mother. She bonked my muzzle until I turned back around. The brush tangled back into my mane. “It’s a graduation present,”

“It was only third grade...” I muttered, carefully flipping through the book. Most of the first half I recognized as single pieces Mother and Miss Strings gave me, but the rest were all new to me.

I could already tell that my hair was brushed and straight, but Mother continued to run the brush through slowly, rhythmically, until a knock sounded at the door. Busy with my new book, I barely noticed as Mother set down the brush and stepped out to answer the door. A cry of, “hey, Mels!” finally drew my attention up.

Through the front door walked a golden unicorn, silky brown mane cropped short, ringing her face. A black strap wrapped around her barrel, holding a black case to her back. From behind Rosin, Mother smiled and left. “Heya, Octavia, whatcha got there?”

Rosin sat directly in front of me, down on the floor. I pushed the volume over, spinning it so she could read. “It’s a book of music that Father made for me.”

“Yeah, this looks like fun,” she said, eyes rapidly scanning the notes on the page. “I brought a viola, go get your cello, let’s play.”

“Oh... I-I don’t know. I’m not very good,” I sputtered.

Rosin scoffed. “So? We all start as not very good, the only way to get good is to do it.” She poked my cutie mark, making me yelp. “That fine treble clef right there means you’ve got the talent. You’re a Philharmonica, which means you’re stubborn enough to practice until you’re perfect.”

She skillfully swung the case from her back, popped the catch, and pulled the well-polished instrument out. “So go get your cello, let’s play.”

I tried to mutter another excuse, too embarrassed by my lack of coordination to play with one of the best concert soloists in Equestria, but she drowned me out with an excessively loud tuning session. Every time I thought she was done and tried to speak, I was drowned out by the rich sound of Rosin’s viola. Finally taking the hint, I trudged upstairs and returned with my cello and bow.

“Have you looked over any of this?” Rosin asked as I came back to the parlor. She had the book propped up on Mother’s chair, the ottoman pushed far enough back that we could both sit and still see the notes.

“I-I know some of the first ones, but Mother just gave me the book just a little while ago.” I sat next to Rosin on the ottoman, cello balanced against one wither, bow dangling from one hoof, the other resting on the neck, over the strings.

Nervous hooves plucked idly at cello strings as Rosin looked over the first hoofful of pieces in my new book. “Yeah, none of this is really jumping out at me,” she says with an audible pout. “Alright, let’s just go then.”

I cocked my head to one side. “What do you mean?”

“Just... play, y’know? No sheet music, no planning, just...” She ran her bow idly across the strings of her viola. “I’ll follow your lead.”

Rosin flipped the viola around, tucking the instrument under her chin, and effortlessly molded into perfect playing posture. The bow rested lightly against a string, held in the light golden glow of her magic. “After you, Principal Cellist.”

I swallowed, trying in vain to unstick the lump in my throat. I’d played with Mother before, but...

My bow dragged unevenly across the strings, drawing a horrible screech from the instrument. Rosin’s smile never faltered, she just nodded for me to start again. I did so, finally coaxing out a slow, steady note. It was too slow, again I struggled to fully draw the bow to complete a note, but pressed on. Without thinking, I began to recite the songs I’d learned in school over the last year, flipping to a new one whenever it felt right or I became bored.

After a few measures, Rosin’s viola joined in. Its higher note made a great counterpart. She never straggled more than a note or two behind. The fast, high notes helped to mask my choppy low ones, and I started to make fewer mistakes. Or just didn’t notice them.

Rosin got my attention, gently prodding me with a hoof. She then pointed to the book, open to a random page. “Play,” she muttered, barely loud enough to hear over our instruments.

I took a few moments to study the page. I’d never seen the song before, but notes are notes. I waited for a good lead-in and took it, my previous song and this new one seamlessly blending together. Rosin shifted as well, and now that we could both see what was coming, she was able to keep up much better, easily masking my choppy playing.

I focused intently on the book, frantically reading ahead of my playing. It was hard, and I made more than a few mistakes, but I didn’t care. It was fun, and, for just a moment, I felt more like Mother. Not exactly playing on nothing but feeling, but only a few steps away. At last we reached the last measure and finished it, the house fading back into silence.

“See kiddo,” Rosin whispered, gently setting her viola back in the case. “Improving already. Now go on, put your stuff away. Mels said I could take you to the park after practice, and I think that counts, don’t you?”

I was up and out of my seat long before she was done talking, cello balanced delicately on my back. I returned to the room just as fast, barely able to contain the urge to bounce. Rosin laughed and rose, viola already stowed in the case and placed in the corner of the parlor.

Walking to the door, she bumped me on the way past. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go.”

Author's Note

Got a good one for you guys this week, I hope you enjoy.

Has everyone been having a good year so far?

Knock

Knock

Rosin was more than capable of keeping up as I tore through Canterlot to the park, deftly avoiding puddles and other ponies. The creak of swings could be heard from a half-block away and led us to the wood chip and concrete block of the playground. Rosin headed straight for Mother’s favorite bench, muzzle already buried in a book.

I rounded the castle and came into view of the swings. “Hey, Tavi!” Vinyl shouted, making me grin. “Over here!”

“My name is Octavia,” I replied, heading over. Vinyl wasn’t swinging very high, but I could see the same spin of her previous misadventure.

“That’s what you always say! Where have you been, I haven't seen you in ages.” Vinyl slowed until the swing creak was nearly gone.

“It’s been raining, and it was only a few days,” I replied. I clambered up into the next swing over and shot Vinyl a suspicious glance. “You aren’t going to fall off again, are you?”

“I didn’t fall, I jumped. And it’s fun to play in the rain. I was here.”

I glanced at Vinyl’s coat, still damp in some places. With a shrug, I kicked off the ground, slowly working myself up into the air. Vinyl sped up as well, the squeak of our swings almost matching. Almost. “Mother wouldn’t let me come.”

Vinyl hummed and fell silent. The quiet was unsettling, I’d never seen VInyl not talking, or laughing. “So, your mother let you come in the rain?”

She turned me and grinned, but not as wide. “She didn’t really know about it.”

I gasped. “Vinyl, how? Why would you do that? Aren’t you afraid of getting in trouble?”

She snorted. “Nah. My, uh, my mom is really cool about stuff like that, y’know? She kinda lets me do whatever.”

My mouth fell open as I stared at Vinyl in shock. My mother isn’t as harsh as some, from what I’ve heard from other foals, but to enjoy complete freedom...

“Hey, Tavi, you there?” Vinyl’s voice snapped me from my thoughts. “Who did you come with today? That doesn’t look like your mom.”

“Hmm?” I followed the white pointing hoof towards the bench. Seeing my gaze, Rosin waved, just like Mother. “Oh, no, that’s my Aunt Rosin. Mother had errands to do today,”

We swung for a short time chatting before Vinyl’s eyes lit up, mischievous.

“Hey, Tavi,” she swung closer to me, whispering as best she could above the noise. “Wanna jump?”

“No!” I shouted, loud enough that Rosin cocked her head across the playground. She started to stand, so I smiled at her. “No,” I repeated, softer. “That isn’t safe.”

“Who cares?” Vinyl was picking up speed now, shimmying her rump closer to the edge of the swing. “Just land on your hooves. Or, if you miss, roll instead.”

Without any more warning she let go of the swing, flying through the air for a brief moment. Unlike the other day, she tucked and rolled, popping back up to her hooves. Shaking the wood chips out of her mane, she looked back at me expectantly.

“Vinyl, I don’t know if I can do this...”

“What?” She held a hoof to her ear. “I can’t hear you. Jump off so you’re a little closer.”

I took a deep breath and tried my best to copy what I just saw. My rump barely on the swing’s edge, I slipped my forehooves away from the chains and pushed. I twisted awkwardly through the air before landing and sliding across the ground, a tangle of hair and limbs. I lifted my head, almost level with where Vinyl landed.

“Real graceful, kiddo,” Rosin called from her bench. A pause, “you okay?”

I waved a hoof in her general direction. Next to me, VInyl sounded like she was about to die laughing. Or pee.

“That was great,” she wheezed. “Are you sure you aren’t part pegasus, Tavi?”

“My name is Octavia,” I said to the wood around my muzzle. Looking up, I added, “and no, I am not part pegasus.

“That was fun though,” I finished, almost in a whisper.

Vinyl laughed and her horn flared briefly, no more than a sparkle. Several wood chips pulled free of my coat in a faint white glow. “I knew you’d like it. Stick with me, Tavi, and we’ll have you swinging upside down from the monkey bars in no time!”

“I hope not.”

Vinyl helped me up and we went back to the swings. I was in no hurry to continue jumping but, at her insistence, I did several more times. By the last, I couldn’t keep the small grin off my face as I flew through the air. It was gone by the time Vinyl landed next to me, but it was there.

She popped up, large grin plastered on her face. “That one was awesome! Come on, let’s go do it again, and this time add some spin!”

I was about to say no when hoofsteps drew both of our attention to Rosin picking her way across the playground. “Hey kiddo,” she said as she drew closer. “Mels is back, so I’m going to go get my violin and head home. I’ll see you later, okay?”

She leaned in for a hug, which I gave happily. Pulling back, she pretended to brush wood chips off herself. “Catch ya later.” Turning, she walked from the playground

Vinyl glanced up and the sun and winced. “Yeah, I might need to head back too. Need to grab some food. Think you’ll be here for awhile?”

I looked up too. Judging by the sun, it was sometime in the early afternoon, maybe around one or two. Mother probably wouldn't let me stay for more than an hour or two. I told Vinyl so.

She flashed me one of her half-grins. “Okay, cool. I’ll go grab some grub and be back soon. See ya, Tavi!”

Vinyl walked off and I return to the swings, replying with, “my name is Octavia!”

I spend the next two hours swinging, slowly falling lower and lower. I watched Mother get progressively more restless, a good sign we would leave soon. With a sigh, I hopped off my swing and went over to her, tail drooping.

“What’s wrong, Octavia?” Mother asked as I approached. I never asked to go home early. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, I’m just ready to go.”

Mother said nothing else, just stood and started heading towards home. I followed close behind. I could tell Mother wanted to ask about VInyl, she had probably seen everything.

When we reached the house, both of us made a beeline for the kitchen. I sat quietly with her in the dining room. Mother was talking about her errands, and about Father’s new show. It sounded really cool and I loved all of his orchestral performances. The show was set to open in a month; Father wouldn’t be home much for around a week before and the three months the performance was scheduled for.

My thoughts turned to Vinyl and our music from the bridge earlier. A picture of her in a dress next to me in a big fancy concert hall flashed through my mind. Would she like it? Did she even like music like that?

“Octavia, did you hear me?” I looked up at Mother’s voice. She looked at me expectantly.

“Huh?”

Mother smiled. “Our trip to grandma’s. We’re going to have to wait until the end of the summer. Your father is having a hard time getting a vacation from his own orchestra.”

“Okay.” I looked back to my food, barely able to keep from sighing as a crack of thunder echoed through the house. There seemed to be a lot of rain involved in my summer vacation so far. More rain meant more days not at the park, which meant it would be longer before I could yell at Vinyl for not coming back.

I sighed again. It wasn’t fair to be mad at Vinyl, her mother probably wouldn’t let her come back. We were having fun, right? Why would she decide to not come back herself?

Mother finished her food and excused herself from the table. She asked if I was done as well, waiting for my answer before taking my plate. I slowly made my way from the room and up the stairs.

A thunderclap masked the closing of my door, and another of me sitting on my window bench. The sky darkened quickly as the rain fell harder, Within minutes, the mid afternoon sun was gone, leaving the street lights to provide what light they could. I clicked on the small lamp over my seat and pulled a book from the side table. Bookmark aside, book open, eyes straight out the window. My eyes wandered across the room for what felt like hours. They skipped across the page, then over to the window and the circles of light shining through the rain, then back across the book again to my cello with Father’s music book sitting on top.

My hoof throbbed just looking at my cello. Mother said it wouldn’t hurt as much after a while, but I’d been playing for almost a year now. No other earth pony in my class played an instrument like mine, but they still all played better.

With a twist, the book fell off my lap. I looked at it for a moment, but it seemed like a lot of wasted effort to actually pick it up. A lot of the ponies in my class loved summer. They liked the freedom and lack of responsibility. I didn’t as much.

The front door opened and shut, letting in the voices of Father and at least two other ponies. The rain must have driven his business meeting inside. I could picture Mother fussing about Father’s study making sure that the already clean room was spotless and then rushing around the kitchen to prepare snacks, always the perfect hostess.

If the ponies with Father were orchestra members or friends, they’d probably stay in the study until dinner. If they were business ponies or anything similar, as soon as Mother was done in the kitchen...

Somepony knocked on my door, right on schedule. The window seat creaked as I stood up to shuffle towards the door. Step five in Father’s plan to get ponies with money to agree with what he needed: roll out the cute daughter. Mother smiled at me from the other side of my now-open door.

“Mind if I come in?”

This was not step six. Mother walked past me and took a seat on my bed. She grabbed the door with her magic and gently shut it. “They’re getting a little rowdy. I thought we could have some peace and quiet.”

I retook my seat by the window, book long forgotten. “They? I thought Father had all the help he needed for his new piece.”

“He does,” she replied. “They’re old friends from your father’s days at Canterlot University. I could smell the apple whisky and cigars from the kitchen.”

Father had a bad obsession with Zebrican cigars. He rarely smoked them, but every once in awhile, when he was in the company of friends, he... indulged.

“They stink,” I giggled. “Is that who he was talking to all day?”

“No. He was in a meeting about the concert hall, something about scheduling conflicts or somesuch.” Mother waved a hoof dismissively. She’d never really been one for the finer details of music. That’s why she had an agent, as she told me: Father.

“So, who is your new friend?” she asked, pulling my attention from the window.

“Oh, her name is Vinyl Scratch. She...” I cast out my thoughts, trying to think of something else to say. Then it hit me: I didn’t know too much about her. She likes music, of some description. She had to live close, at least close enough to walk to the park since she’d left in a hurry earlier. Her parents didn’t seem too strict, but she’d only mentioned them once.

Mother nodded expectantly. At my look, she waggled a hoof at me. “She....?”

I didn’t know and I was about to tell Mother as much when a firm knock at the front door stopped me. Mother and I both got to our hooves at the same time as the soft murmur downstairs stopped. The three of us converged downstairs, the door to Father’s study still open behind us. Father opened the door just as one of the ponies outside moved to knock again.

Stood out in the rain were two Royal Guards, armor and mane slicked with the rain. Somepony was behind them - I could just barely make out a shock of blue hair - but they were too short to be seen over the guards.

Father took one step forwards and dipped his head. “Evening, officers. Something I can help you with?”

The guard on the left bowed his head in kind. “And a good evening to you too, Legatus, Miss Melody. I hate to bother you, but there’s been a slight... issue.”

Mother and Father exchanged a look.

“Do you know this filly?” the guard on the right asked, stepping aside. Standing between them was a little unicorn filly, coat washed back to white in the rain, underneath a soaked blue mane.

“Heya, Tavi,” Vinyl said with an embarrassed grin. “How’s it goin’?”

Author's Note

As always, a thanks to quick_study for help editing, and making me actually do writing and things like that on a regular basis. We're starting to get into it now, the next two chapters are some of my favorites so far, so look forward to that. As always, comments and concerns are always welcome. See you all next week!

Creak

Creak

A line of myself, Mother, Father, Vinyl, and a single guardspony - the one Father called Silver Sentinel - passed the line of Father’s old orchestral friends on our way to the study. Father broke off; I heard him apologizing again as we walked into the dark-paneled study. Mother fussed around our guests before passing Father to head towards the kitchen and the tea set.

The room sat in awkward silence until Mother returned minutes later, tea floating behind her. She hoofed out a cup to everypony, including plenty of sugar for Vinyl; she knew I didn’t drink tea.

“Now then, what is this all about?” Father asked, normal joking tone nowhere to be found.

The guardspony shed his helmet and picked up the tea in one joint motion. He took a sip and nodded appreciatively at Mother. “My partner and I investigated a report earlier today, sometime around four, about a theft from a fruit stall. It’s one we’ve had several times in the past. We found nothing at that one, but on our way back to our office we caught Miss Vinyl here taking some lettuce from another stall.”

With all the attention on her, Vinyl hung her head, but said nothing. I briefly saw Mother’s eyes flash over to me, but the next time I blinked they were gone.

“When we took her back to our station,” the guard continued, “we decided to forego the usual procedure. Neither stall owner wanted to press charges on a foal. So we decided to just scare her, and take her back to her parents, but when we asked who they were, she refused to answer, even refused to give her name for over an hour. Until, finally, she gave yours, Legatus.”

“Octavia, sweetie,” Mother said softly. “Do you know who Vinyl’s parents are?”

I shook my head no. Until recently, I didn’t know anything about her family at all.

Both Father and the guard fixed me with a look. “Miss Octavia, if you know anything, we need to know. We can’t just turn Miss Vinyl loose, we’ll have to process her into the system if we can’t find her parents.”

“You could just let me go?” Vinyl whispered.

The guard stood up. “Well, I’m sorry to bother you, Mister Philharmonica, we’ll be on our way. Miss Vinyl, if you please?” He waved a hoof, motioning toward the door to the study and the front door beyond.

Vinyl bit her lip, reluctant to rise from her chair. “I... My parents...” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “My, um, my dad p-passed away last year. Mom... Mom didn’t do so well...”

The guard walked over and crouched down next to her. “Hey, it’s okay. But I need a name. Let’s get you back home.”

Vinyl whispered something to the guard too soft for me to hear and he nodded. The two of them stood and moved towards the door to the study. Mother and Father jumped to their hooves to follow.

“Hey, Tavi?” Vinyl muttered, almost too quiet for me to hear. “See you at the park tomorrow?”

I nodded quickly, and Mother smiles. “I’ll bring lunch,” she said, and then they were gone. I could hear them talking, but the hallway and the mostly closed door to the study muffled most of it. The front door closed and two sets of hooves walked off the hardwood of the entry and into what I think is the parlor.

My own hooves happily took my weight and quietly moved me towards my room, and past the parlor.

“--ven know the situation, though. You weren’t the most upstanding member of Manehatten growing up, now were you?” Mother half-teased, half-chided.

I paused, just out of sight of the parlor door. Father groaned in frustration. “It was one time, because my mom--”

“Serenade was off on tour, your foalsitter used the grocery money to buy cloud dust and you were hungry, I remember,’ Mother said softly. I felt my ears perk up. Cloud dust?

Father’s chair creaked; I could almost picture him shuffling around, pulling his hind legs beneath him. “Only one way to see for myself, I suppose. Mind if I join you two for lunch tomorrow?”

Their conversation shifted to more boring things, so I slipped past the door and up towards my room. The blankets on my bed floofed out as I flopped down. So much had happened; the day felt so long. As I slowly drifted off to sleep, lulled by the gentle patter of rain, the only thought I could focus on is that Vinyl was okay.

The next morning passed in a blur of activity. Two hours of cello practice with Father. Make sandwiches for all of us with Mother. Help Father look for, give up on finding, and buy a new picnic basket and blanket. It all slid to a halt in the lingering noontime drizzle.

“That’s anticlimactic.” Father closed the door and gently set down the picnic stuff. He then took a half step back and glanced at Mother, “Well, it should clear up here soon. My second cousin twice removed on my Father’s side was--”

“--Was a pegasus, yes we know, dear,” Mother finished.

Just as Father predicted, the rain stopped in less than an hour, and we made our way down the rain-slicked streets toward the park. I could hear the shrieking of the swing long before I could see it, once again. Father and Mother left to go find a somewhat dry place to eat, while I went to get Vinyl.

She was on the swing, coat soaked through, but the large grin on her face told me that she didn’t care. Red eyes locked with mine and she soon threw herself off of the swing, landing in a heap just a few feet in front of me. She sprang back up and shook the wood from her scraggly mane. “‘Sup, Tavi?”

“We brought food,” I said instead of my normal greeting. “Just sandwiches and fruit, nothing fancy.”

Her head snapped up and locked onto my parents laying out a blanket in a dry-ish spot. She took off at a fast trot towards them, leading me until we were almost on top of them. By the time we reached the blanket, I was in the lead. Vinyl slowly walked behind me, refusing to look my parents in the eye.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered to a small stain on the picnic blanket, “I didn’t mean to cause any problems yesterday.”

Mother smiled and patted the blanket next to her. “Come on, there’s no need to apologize. No harm done.” Father offered a small smile, but said nothing. I started to wonder if this was planned ahead of time. It was unlike Father to not speak.

While Vinyl and I took our places on the mat, the food danced out of the basket in a charcoal aura. Fresh flower sandwiches, picked directly from the garden, and a bunch of different fruits from the morning market. Four to-go cups of water later, and lunch was served.

Talking was pushed off for a few more minutes as everypony got settled and started eating. I couldn’t help but look toward Vinyl, who was making the most noise I’ve ever heard from a pony eating. While Father was almost openly staring, Mother contented herself with the occasional glance, doing her best to focus on her own food.

Vinyl was also one of the only unicorns I’d seen who ate without using her horn. She grabbed a slice of apple by balancing it on the side of a forehoof and throwing it toward her face, most of the time her aim was correct; the other times lay scattered across the blanket in front of her or in the grass somewhere behind.

“So Vinyl, do you... hmm...” Mother looked to Father as he spoke, but I couldn’t tell whether she silenced him or his words just fizzled out.

“Yeah, I can see how this might be... weird,” Vinyl replied, as she gave my parents the exact same look she gave me when she said my name wrong. “So... hi, my name is Vinyl Scratch. I live with just my mom, my special talent is musical arran... arren.... Arang....”

“Arrangement?” Mother questioned.

Another grin. “Yeah, that one!”

Her smile pulled a grin from my parents. “As is mine,” Father said. “Octavia falls more with her Mother, I am afraid, more creators than producers.”

Vinyl didn’t reply, instead choosing to stare at her as-of-yet untouched sandwich. Mother looked at Father again, this time with more disappointment.

I scooted a little bit closer to her. “What’s wrong? Don’t like daffodil?” I whispered as quiet as I can. Mother wasn’t the type to take offense that easily, but I could see why my friend may not have wanted to make even more of a bad impression.

The unicorn replied almost so quiet I couldn’t hear. “I can’t pick it up.”

My mind flashed back to how Vinyl swung, how she pushed the merry-go-round. “Oh.” Scooting back to my spot, I tried my best to show her how I eat: carefully. Carefully sandwich the sandwich between hooves. Carefully bring to mouth. Take small bites to avoid dropping the food.

Out of the corner of my eye I watch Vinyl attempt the same. It went well enough, but I still made a note to help Mother clean the blanket when we returned home.

With the food finished, we both returned to the playground at a slow walk, too full to run. When we were far enough from my parents that I didn’t think they could hear, I stepped closer to Vinyl.

“Hey,” I said as we approach the play equipment. “You... didn’t get in trouble last night, did you?”

Vinyl hopped up onto the first level of castle. She didn’t answer, but she didn’t look at me either. Her ears drooped slightly.

I awkwardly clambered up as well and placed a hoof on her back. Her coat was still damp, and chilled me through my own.

“Y-Yeah, Mom was.... Was not feeling well when I got home. She didn’t even realize I had been gone.” Vinyl laid down on the wet, wooden castle floor and pulled me down with her. “She sent me to my room and talked with the guard for a little bit. I didn’t talk to her last night, and she was still asleep when I left.”

She looked to me and grinned. “I left a note this time, though.”

My mouth dropped open as I stared at the unicorn. My jaw worked up and down a few times, trying to speak, but there were no words. “That’s not why you got in trouble with the Guard,” I said, quick and quiet. “You stole!”

“There isn’t much food in the house right now, and Mom was too asleep to wake up and give me a couple of bits for lunch,” Vinyl replied, smile falling.

“Oh.” The sky darkened as the pegasi began their preparation for a major storm next week. I almost wished I knew some pegasi, just to ask why the weather had been so bad.

I suppose I could have asked Father. He was part pegasus...

While I thought, Vinyl jumped to her hooves. I looked upward, preparing to get up as well, when a white block gently tapped the tip of my muzzle.

“Boop. You’re it!” Vinyl shouted before she took off down the musical bridge to another part of the castle. She finished crossing in the time it took me to get up, and she was up to the second level as I approached the bridge. Our gazes locked across the bridge, and, if I didn’t know better, I would think she’d never stop smiling.

<><><><>

I flopped down in one of the overstuffed chairs in the parlor, hours later. Father plopped down in the chair next to mine, just as out of breath. From the hall I could hear Mother close the door and sigh dramatically.

“Honestly you two,” she said, “I’m not sure which one of you is closer to a foal.”

“It was important.” Father rotated himself around in the chair until he was mostly upright.

“For our little Octavia and her new friend to be terrorized by a great oaf in half a suit?” Mother glared his mouth shut, then tossed her head towards the back of the house. “Come on, ‘Great Dragon’, you get to help clean up from the picnic.”

I watched as Father slowly got out of the chair and slunk out of the room. A quiet voice in the back of my head tried to say something about helping too, but the chair was just so comfy. All leather-y and not raining-y. My sore legs stretched out into the emptiness and a long yawn escaped my muzzle.

Maybe I’ll close my eyes, I thought, just for a moment.

Father’s deep voice roused me from my afternoon nap. “--prised to see you again so soon. Want to si--. Oh, Octavia is still in here. We can go to the study instead.”

My head slowly rose to see Father leading a familiar looking stallion through the hall toward his office. I listened for a moment, trying to locate Mother without actually getting up, but the rest of the house was silent.

Wait, I could just barely make out words from Father’s study, they must not have shut the door all the way. Mother kept telling me that my curiosity was going to get me in trouble, but I’d been doing really good, other than yesterday. My ears still strained up, trying to hear what little they could, but after a few minutes they started to hurt. I slid from the chair - deciding to just go to bed - when I heard something from down the hall.

Vinyl’s name.

“Now, Octavia, you really need to be careful, or that curiosity will get you in trouble!”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Father seemed to really like Vinyl today, maybe they’re just talking about that? That stallion could be a friend of his from his Orchestra, just catching up on an off day.

Then it hit me: that stallion, he was one of the guards who brought Vinyl last night, just out of his armor. They all look the same in it; it’s hard to recognize them without it. And if the guard was back, that could mean Vinyl was in trouble. Before the thought even finished, I was out the door, creeping down the hallway. I stopped against the wall, right next to Father’s study.

Now that I could hear him talk, the Guard was much more recognizable. “I just don’t like it. You weren’t there, Legatus, the place is a mess. Smells like it hasn't been cleaned in weeks. By Celestia’s beard, the mare didn’t even know her filly was missing.”

Father hemmed softly, a sign that he was listening but had nothing to say. One of his chairs creaked, followed by the sound of hooves on the floor, pacing.

“I don’t know what to do. If I launch an investigation, they’ll pull the filly into the foster system, but I just don’t know if that would be a good idea for her.” The hooves spun around and began walking in the other direction. “She’s so young, taking her from her mom and putting her with a bunch of strange ponies couldn’t do any good... I can’t take her in, Lilly would kill me, and it would invite the question of conflict of interest. I just don’t know...”

The guard talked around in a few more circles before falling into one of the chairs. “I just don’t know,” he said again.

There was a pause, broken by Father’s chair creaking forward. I could almost picture him getting ready to say something--

I jumped as hooves wrapped around my lower barrel and pulled me away from the door. Mother stood behind me, a starn glare on her face. “Octavia Philharmonica, I’ve told you before not to snoop,” she whispered, making sure that Father didn’t hear. She might be mad, but Father would be furious.

“But-- I... and Vinyl... and...” The words didn’t seem to want to work right; this wasn’t the first time my traitor tongue had turned on me. I finished much quieter, “I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”

Mother’s eyebrows creased. “Go up to your room, we’ll talk about this later. I need to talk with your Father.”

Up the stairs I went, ears plastered to my head, tail practically dragging along the floor. I didn’t even bother to start a light as I crawled into my room, and plopped myself down on my window nook. There wasn’t even any rain to watch, I just... didn’t want to look at anything else.

Some time passed before my door creaked open. “Why is it so dark in here?” Father asked, lighting the lamp. I turned my head, watching Mother’s reflection as she walked in behind him and shut the door. They both sat down on my bed and watched me, silent.

“Sorry,” I muttered to the glass.

The bed creaked as Father rose and moved to sit on the floor next to my perch. “I’m not angry,” he said. “It’s normal to want to watch out for our friends, that’s why we have them.”

“But you shouldn’t eavesdrop,” Mother chimed in. “If you have a problem or concern, say it. Don’t listen into private conversations.”

Father’s reflection looked up at Mother, and she fell silent again. “Do you understand what’s going on?” he asked.

I shook my head no.

A blob of coat pressed against my back, and I leaned into Father’s touch. “Your friend Vinyl... her home isn’t like yours. Your Mother and I love you very much, and we would never let anything bad happen, or not take care of you. Vinyl’s Mother, who I’m sure loves her daughter just as much, has some... problems.

“I met Silver Sentinel in the Royal Canterlot Conservatory before he enlisted, which is why he came to me. He is worried about Vinyl’s home life, but he can’t launch an investigation until she is somewhere safe. He came to me, and your Mother, because he trusts us to do the right thing...”

His voice faltered, letting Mother take up the reigns again. “Octavia, this is very out of the ordinary, but Silver Sentinel has asked us to take in Vinyl while the Guard investigates her home.” For the first time since I hid in my room, I looked away from the window, back at Mother. Vinyl living here?

Mother’s face was motionless, she stared right into my eyes. “She needs somewhere to live, and since you two are close, we didn’t think it would be a problem.”

My imagination made several pictures: Vinyl and Father trying to sneak into the kitchen while Mother cooks, Rosin making Vinyl practice an instrument, Vinyl with us on the train to Manehatten to visit Grandma Serenade, the summer like one big sleepover.

Vinyl lying around bored while I looked out the window, Mother taking time to make sure Vinyl brushed her mane and teeth before tucking her into bed, Father making a book of music for Vinyl as she decided to finally pick up and play an instrument, like she’d always wanted. A small part of me started to hurt.

“I don’t really know he--” I started to say, but Father’s deeper voice cuts me off.

“We aren’t going to replace you,” he muttered. “In any case, it’s only temporary. A couple of weeks at most, is what Sentinel thinks.”

Mother stood up from the bed. “Think about it. If you really don’t want her here, just tell us, we won’t think any less of you. Silver Sentinel still has to approve it with his captain, so we have a few days to decide.”

She walked over and kissed me on the back of the head before joining Father in wrapping me in a hug. “We both love you,” Father’s voice rumbled across my side. “Good night, Octavia.”

They left, dousing the light like I asked.

I could ask that they not let Vinyl stay here. I didn’t know her well, and it might be weird, but I also wanted to get to know her better. Other than Symphonia, she was my only friend.

Friends help each other. Friends share.

For the first time in weeks, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to the park tomorrow.

Author's Note

Sorry for the late upload guys. I'm moving out of my home state in a few weeks, so I spent the weekend with some friends and got home late. For the same reason, the editing may be a bit spotty ~~because I made quick do it all, and for my editor he doesn't always do the editing thing. He says he forgets~~.

Either way I hope you enjoy. We're about... a third through the first part? Ish.

It's an exact science.

I hope you all have an awesome week, and I'll see you all next Monday. On time, this time.

Drip

Drip

I drifted through the next couple of days in a daze. I didn’t leave the house; barely even left my room. I spent most of my time idly playing with my cello. Mother came up from time to time, sitting with me when I actually played. She didn’t push, but I knew she was worried. I hadn’t asked to go to the park once.

Father hadn’t really been home since his concert started in just a couple of weeks. From what I’d heard, Vinyl’s case had officially gone before Sentinel’s boss and was set to be decided within the week.

And I still didn’t have an answer.

“Octavia, can you come down here? I need your help with something.” Mother’s voice was just loud enough to be heard over my cello.

I finished my note and took another second to place my cello back in the case before leaving my room. Mother was waiting for me at the base of the stairs with a smile, a rag, and a bottle of wood polish.

With my own grin I bit the rag out of Mother’s magic and headed with her towards the foyer. Whenever Father had a concert, Mother liked to deep clean the house. We got a lot of visitors: family, friends, important businessponies. Cleaning before a show was almost a little ritual of ours.

With a dab of furniture polish on both of our rags, we got to work. With her height and magic, Mother cleaned the high shelves and the wooden parts of the chairs. I started with the tables and moved my way to the shelves that I could reach easily.

“Your cello has been sounding very good Octavia,” Mother said, adding another drop of polish to my rag. I didn’t say anything, just slapped my rag back down on a side table with a hoof and kept scrubbing.

“It’s really nice out,” she tried again. “Did you want to go to the park when we’re done?”

An image of Mother smiling at Vinyl while she swings flashed through my mind. “No, I’m okay. I think I’ll just keep practicing, I’m trying to work through a hard part.”

The only indication of Mother’s disappointment was a single flick of her ear. “Okay. If you need help, ask,” she replied before putting the polish back on the floor and walking over to a chair.

Cleaning is very relaxing, in a way. A lot of repetition and not a lot of focus.

No worries, no thinking, no deliberation, just polish.

I didn’t notice Mother behind me until her hoof slowly lowered mine, still clutching the rag, to the ground.. “Octavia,” she said, “I’ve been trying not to be overbearing, but I want you to talk to me.”

I turned around, but couldn’t meet her eyes. What could I say? That I was afraid my parents would get attached to my friend? That I’m selfish and didn’t want to share?

So I said nothing.

Mother sat next to me with a sigh. “I’m proud of you, Octavia. I know something is bothering you, and I’m pretty sure I know what. Some foals, even some ponies, tend to shy away from anything tough, but you’re doing your best to fight through it. It’s Vinyl, isn’t it?”

I nodded as Mother wrapped a hoof around my withers.

“You’re running out of time,” she muttered. “From what Father has told me, the case is due to be decided soon, and if we don’t give an official answer to Sentinel, Vinyl will be put into the foster system, somewhere in Canterlot. Things will change even more then, and she’ll probably be too far away to play with you anymore. You don’t want that, do you?”

“No,” I shook my head. “But...”

“But what?”

I don’t want you to love her more than me, I thought, but once again said nothing.

I was saved from answering by a rather loud rapping on the front door, followed by a bombastic, “Hello, Mels? Anypony home?”

Aunt Rosin didn’t wait for an answer. She opened the door and strolled into the entry. Seeing us in the neighboring parlor, she moved over. “Hey Octavia, hey Mels, how’s it...”

She took one look at the rag still under my hoof and stormed over to Mother. “Melody Philharmonica, how dare you. This filly is supposed to be vacationing, not cleaning!”

The rag gently tugged at my hoof until I let up. It floated over to Rosin, still in the middle of her rant. “Young filly, you better get your hind end back to your room and continue enjoying your vacation!”

Despite my mood, a grin spread across my face. “Yes, Aunty Rosin,” I said before scooting up the stairs.

Once back up in my room, I was stuck with the same problem I’d been struggling with for days: overactive thoughts and idle hooves. Despite what I told Mother, I really didn’t feel like playing the cello; it seemed like a lot of effort to drag the thing from its case.

Instead, I curled into a ball on my favorite window seat, staring out into the midday streets of Canterlot. It never ceased to amaze me how much light there was coming from the city center and how many ponies always seemed to be out and about, even in the dead of night.

A series of quick knocks and a loud thump shattered the quiet of my room. With a smile, I got up and headed over to open the door. Rosin stood on the other side, trademark smile plastered across her face

“Heya, kiddo! Got a minute?” Past Rosin’s blinding smile, I could just make out Mother’s shade of gray hovering near the stairs. “I just want to talk,” she continued a little softer.

I stood back and she walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. “Your mom thought I might be better to talk to.” Rosin barely even let me sit before starting. “She is worried that if she tries again, it might sound like a lecture, or that she’s pressuring you. Personally, I would have loved to live with Mels for a couple of weeks, no matter what might be going on, but I also knew her since I was a little filly.”

Rosin sat on the floor in front of me, leaving us eye to eye. It wasn’t often that she got very serious, much like Father. It was almost weird to see.. “I don’t want to lecture, or tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. I just wanted to give a little advice from a different perspective.

“See, Mels is an only child, and Legatus has a twin. She’s always been alone, he’s never been. Mels always wanted a sister, that’s why we’re so close, and I think that’s why she’s confused that you are so reluctant to give an answer about Vinyl.”

Before I could reply, she held up a hoof, cracking another of her normal grins. “Please, hold all questions and comments until the end, complaints until never.”

Her smile faded. “I understand though. When I was a little filly and my mom said I was going to be a sister, I wasn’t happy. So much changed so fast. I was scared, not of being a sister, but of everything changing. But when it comes down to it, change is the only constant in life.

“I know bringing another pony into your home is scary, and I know that part of you is afraid that your parents might change how they treat you. That’s what I was afraid of, but in the end it didn’t happen. Ponies are good creatures, we have a lot of love to go around. After all, you love both Mels and Legatus, don’t you?”

I nodded.

“And your Grandma Serenade, and your Uncle Tapps, and of course your favorite aunt, right?”

I nodded again, a small smile tugging at my lips.

Rosin nodded and rose to her hooves. “But you don’t love one of us less just because there’s a new pony to care about. That’s just not how we are.”

She reached out a hoof and ruffled my mane. “Ha, I forgot how cute you are when you scrunch up your muzzle like that.”

It looked like she was just going to leave, but she turned around halfway across the room. “Vinyl is your friend, and she needs your help. Your parents want to help her, and I know you do too. You can worry about what might happen all you want, but in the end it won’t change anything. Personally I would go for it, at the end of the day, it’s only for a couple of weeks. If it doesn’t work, she’ll leave, unlike a sibling.”

She pulled open the door before giving me a goofy smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go steal some of whatever Mels is cooking and go home. Catch ya later!”

When Mother called me downstairs for dinner, I gave her my answer.

<><><><>

Four days later, we stood once again in the entryway, with Vinyl and Sentinel on the other side of the door. With her muzzle not weighed down, Vinyl stared openly at the polished banister of the main stair, or maybe the crystal chandelier that provided light at night. Mother fussed around, as usual, ushering everypony into the clean parlor where a fresh pot of tea already sat on the table.

“I really can’t stay,” Sentinel said for the fifth time, taking a seat and an offered cup anyway. Mother sat next to him with Vinyl across. With a smile, Vinyl patted the empty part of the couch next to her and I sat.

“That should be the last of it,” Father said, setting Vinyl’s bag down next to the other in the entry hall. He grabbed a cup and sat in his favorite chair, even though it’s on the other side of the room. “We’ll get it moved upstairs to your room later.”

“You’ll be taken care of here, Vinyl,” Sentinel said, breaking away from his conversation with Mother for just a moment.

“It’s gonna be great!” she said, turning to me and beaming. Despite my initial concern, I smiled back.

The adults continued to talk, despite Sentinel continuing to repeat that he had to leave. I could tell Vinyl was starting to get bored, though. She started to fidget, starting with her hind hooves, then her rump, then up and up. Sentinel and Mother were busy talking, Father chimed in from time to time, but he was grinning at us, so I knew he knew.

Taking Father’s nod as permission, I leaned in close to Vinyl to whisper, “hey, Mother and Father are talking about showing you around later, but do you want to come up to my room?”

We stood after she nodded, and she followed me from the room and up the stairs. I opened the door and saw my room through her eyes. The window nook with its frayed cushion, directly opposite the door. My bed took up the right wall, opposite my cello, stool, music stand, and a small shelf holding my books, including a few for music. A couple of posters from Father’s shows and a few old toys filled the rest of the empty spaces.

Vinyl walked in with wide eyes, head swiveling slowly to take it all in. As soon as her eyes landed on the bed she grinned and took off, leaping into the air and landing on my mattress with an, “oof.”

The blankets ballooned around her; their fluttering almost masking her laugh. “Tavi, I have a very important question for you. Can I have your bed?”

Looking at Vinyl’s wide pleading eyes, I laughed. “No, you’ll have your own.”

To my surprise, she pouted. “But I don't want my own bed, I want yours. Okay, compromise, we can share.” She moved over and I joined her on the bed. The springs squeaked quietly as VInyl bounced, enthusiasm unable to be contained. Frantic red eyes finally stopped on my cello.

She jumped back to her hooves and trotted over to the standing case holding my cello. Her horn sparked, setting the case down before pulling the zipper and opening the cover exposing the dark, polished wood. “That’s so cool,” she breathed. “Will you play me something?”

My hooves went cold as words stumbled from my mouth. “I... I don’t... I haven’t...”

“It’ll be cool! Look, I’ll give you a beat.” Vinyl perched on my window bench, dangling hind hooves over to the floor. She started tapping out a simple rhythm, bobbing her head in my direction.

Seeing no other way out, I slowly slunk over to my cello and the stool next to it. The polished wood nestled into the crook of my neck, the comfortably worn bow pressed into my hoof.

I closed my eyes, zeroing into Vinyl’s rhythm, and touched my bow to the strings.

The song started soft as we both felt each other out. Simple rhythm, simple notes, a strong backbone. I slowly picked up speed, adding flourishes to the end, hooves jumping and sliding across the strings. Boldened, Vinyl sped up too, using a forehoof to beat on a wall. I responded in kind, adding trills on the high notes, stops on the lows. Her base beat changed and I changed tempo to match. It ended up being much faster, much more frantic.

We continued on for several measures, going faster and faster until I finally took control. I drew out one single low note. Vinyl adapted quickly, fading out the heavier beats of her hind hooves on the floor to transition solely to forehooves on wall and seat. Once again the notes deepened, my cello sang louder, her hooves struck harder, until we were both interrupted by the door being thrown open.

Mother and Father both stood at my door. He looked on in fading concern, she with a small smile. “Sounded like a herd of gryphons trying to break through the floor,” Father said.

Vinyl pointed at me. “She did it.”

“I suppose while we’re here,” Mother said when her laughter subsided. She turned to Father, who sighed and moved with Sentinel down the stairs. “Do you want to see your room, Vinyl?”

She nodded, and Mother lead us out to the hallway. Most of the rooms on the second floor of our home were towards the inside, so the hall made a long winding U-shape. We went almost all the way around, past Mother and Father’s room, past the bathroom and Mother’s practice room, before we made it to the guest room.

Mother let Vinyl open the door to a room much like my own. Just as before, Vinyl’s red eyes locked onto the bed and she ran off, jumping into the air and splaying her legs to bounce, headfirst, across the mattress and into the stack of pillows.

“Excuse us,” Father said, shouldering his way through the door and dropping Vinyl’s suitcase into the room. Sentinel followed, setting down a duo of boxes.

“Now that you got your free labor, Legatus, I really must be leaving.” Sentinel turned to Vinyl. “If he gives you any trouble, you know where to find me.”

“Yeah,” she replied. Sentinel nodded then bowed himself out of the room, followed by Father.

“I’ll leave you to unpack. Dinner will be ready in about a half hour,” Mother said before leaving as well.

Despite the number of suitcases, unpacking didn’t take much time. One of her three bags held a stereo, the second nothing but records. The third, and smallest, was her small collection of clothes, including a very vibrant pair of sunglasses, and various small bits and bobs that we sprinkled around the room to try and make it feel less empty.

We finished well before dinner, and decided to go downstairs early. Father was still in the parlor, in his favorite chair, staring intently at the door to the kitchen. Seeing us, he grinned and waved Vinyl over.

I grabbed myself a seat and settled in to enjoy the next few minutes.

“Ah, Vinyl,” Father said as she approached. “Could you do me a favor?”

Vinyl bobbed her head and Father pointed to the kitchen door. “Would you mind asking Melody what is on the menu for dinner tonight?”

Before I could warn her off, Vinyl gave an enthusiastic, “yeah,” and trotted to her impending doom. Without hesitation she threw open the kitchen door.. “Hey, Miss Melody, Mister Leg--”

The rest of her sentence cut off with a loud, metallic crash. Father and I both jumped from our seats and ran over, but before we made it there was another crash. Father pushed the still-swinging kitchen door open to reveal a disaster.

Vinyl sat closest to the door, a bowl of freshly-prepared salad resting unceremoniously on the top of her head. Mother was across, with the bowl of dressing on hers, the dressing itself dripping down her face and staining her coat. Father laughed and threw a dish towel over to his wife. “Guess I’ll step out and buy more salad fixings. Come on, Octavia.”

Stifling my giggles, I turned and followed Father from the house.

Author's Note

I'm not going to lie, the hardest part about this is trying to come up with these chapter names. I initially wanted them to make sense, but I think that went out around Cello Sounds.
E: Shoutout to The_Puffin_King for fixing my own timeline errors. Thank you!

Swish

Swish

The first night of VInyl’s stay was amazing. After our new dinner, we just sat up in my room and talked for hours. We started with the normal getting-to-know-you type questions.

I told her how Mother and Father had spent a lot of bits to help me get my cutie mark. They were convinced that it would be music related, so as soon as I hit an age where they thought it would appear, they rented out a music store.

A whole store. For a whole day.

I spent it with them, Rosin, and Miss Strings. Father tried to teach me composing, Miss Strings taught me how to read and write sheet music for multiple different styles of instrument. Mother didn’t try to force me on anything, preferring instead to serve as moral support when the day started to grow long and I started to worry.

Rosin, after lounging around all day, called them all idiots, knocked me down, and pushed a cello on top of me.

It was a small cello. And it worked.

Vinyl was shocked, not that I had a cello pushed on top of me, but that she also got her cutie mark at the exact same store, about a month before. They were running an exhibit on a new range of mixing boards. She was messing with one, with the aid of the shop owner, and got her cutie mark right there on the street.

For weeks she came back, just to play around with the equipment, but never had the bits to buy one, so the shop’s owner gave her a deal. She mixed music - new and original - for him to sell exclusively, and she got some older equipment to take home on lease.

I couldn't help it, I had to ask why she never had any bits. I knew from Father that, by Equestrian law, if someone made something and gave it to someone else to sell, they were entitled to a portion of the bits made.

She didn’t answer. I changed the subject.

We talked about the park, and Father’s concerts and Mother’s music. Vinyl had a lot of questions about school. I had questions too, but... I didn’t want to upset her.

At some point, I fell asleep in my window nook. We were mid-conversation, about something relating to colors, but it’d been a long day.

I woke up a few hours later, a fuzzy blanket wrapped across my back, my side pressed up against something warm. Breath tickled my ear slowly, rhythmically, keeping me from going back to sleep. I tried to push the thing away, but it grunted and pushed me back against the window.

The cool glass woke me even further. I tried to turn my head but the warm lump against me grunted and nuzzled back against me. “Mmno, Stuffkins, not ready to get up,” Vinyl said.

“My name is Octavia,” I said without thinking. Vinyl woke up with an oddly cute snort, and quickly jumped off the bench in my nook with a shout, taking the blanket with her.

She crashed to the floor with an audible “oof” and, in attempting to get back up, tangled herself in the blanket and fell again.

Vinyl stayed on the floor for almost an entire minute. “Forget that.”

My answer was delayed as the door suddenly opened. Mother, her mane dishevelled and sticking up on one side, poked her head into the room. She glanced at the filly-shaped blanket bulge, and to me by the window, and nodded. “Breakfast will be on soon,” she said softly before leaving and shutting the door quietly.

“So, Stuffkins?” I asked with a smirk.

Vinyl poked her head from the blanket. “I told you to forget that.”.

My smirk evolved into a full grin. I hopped down from the bench and, with a gentle bite and twist of my head, flipped the blanket back to the bed. Robbed of her covering the unicorn scooted forward, hiding her muzzle under my bed. “It’s really dusty down here,” her voice floated back out.

“Too dusty to sleep?” I crawled up onto the bed, pushing my hooves in front of me to smooth out the blanket.

Vinyl pulled her head out, just far enough for me to see one crimson eye. “I couldn’t find another blanket and you looked cold.”

I opened my mouth, shut it. I didn’t remember being cold, Mother kept the house pretty warm year round, but... “There is a blanket in your room too.”

Vinyl shrugged. Any response was, once again, cut off by Mother calling us down to breakfast. Just the three of us sat down to eat. Father’s show started in just under a week, so he wasn’t likely to be home much.

We ate in a comfortable silence, at least until Vinyl finished eating. “So, Tavi, what do you do every day?”

“My name is Octavia,” I replied while processing her question. “Well, since school is out and Father’s show is almost here, I’ve been busy helping clean for any guests.”

“And going to the park,” Mother added.

I ducked my head slightly, cheeks warming up. “I-It’s always very busy when Father has a show.”

Mother stared pointedly at my empty plate. “But not too busy to prohibit practicing, I think.”

Vinyl snorted into her toast.

I sighed, took my plate to the kitchen, and trudged back to my room. Vinyl was already waiting, still munching on her last piece of toast. She watched as I unpacked my cello, set it up, found my balance, and checked the tuning.

I practiced for an hour, as is the norm. Vinyl, on a couple of occasions joined in with a beat, but mostly seemed content to watch and listen. She sat - the quietest I’d seen her - until I finally deemed it enough and packed my instrument back away.

It was weird; not something I could put my hoof on for some time, but practice wasn’t quite as boring as I was used to. I would learn much later exactly why, naturally when it was too late to enjoy it further.

<><><><><>

A week later, Mother and I took Vinyl dress shopping. Father’s concert was the next day, and - though Vinyl had more clothes than she or I thought - she had nothing Mother deemed fancy enough to “shield her from high society.” We finished breakfast, I finished practicing with Vinyl, grabbed my small bag of spending bits, and the three of us headed for Canterlot proper.

I didn’t normally go into the city, only see it from my window. We walked from the neighborhood, up towards the center of the city. A show like Father’s, especially on opening night, always attracted a certain kind of crowd. Wealthier ponies, ones known across the city.

Those ponies all live in the upper part of the city, near the castle. The shops and restaurants they all go to are there. Mother does not. She and Father both preferred a small clothes store, near the train station on the southern side of town. A little boutique, full of one-size-fits-all dresses.

“Ah, Miss Melody, always a pleasure, always a pleasure!” a young, squat unicorn mare squealed as Mother walked into the shop. “You are here for something for the show tonight, yes?”

Mother smiled, moving to hug the other mare. “Yes, Cross, you know we wouldn’t come anywhere else. I’ll need something for myself, Octavia, and her friend here.” Mother moved out of the way and motioned at Vinyl and I.

The shop owner bustled over to us, nearly knocking over a rack of dresses. “Ah yes, the lovely Octavia, my how you’ve grown!” I smiled as she turned to Vinyl. Cross leaned in close to Vinyl, carefully looking her over from muzzle to rump.

“U-Uhm...:” Vinyl squirmed, scrunching her muzzle as Cross came back around the other side. “What’s... Tavi...?”

“Excellent, this will do, this will do!” Cross spun, quickly shutting the door and flipping the sign to closed. She bustled to the back of her store, moving aside a rack of ties to clear the store room door. Mother followed close behind as did I, making note of Vinyl’s red eyes darting towards the exit.

The back room of Cross’ Stitch Shop was strange. One half was a complete disaster of a storeroom, with racks and boxes of clothes everywhere. The other half was spotless except for two ponequins, bolts of fabric, and an assortment of needles and threads. The middle of the space had a single, raised platform.

Cross deftly navigated her maze of stock and waited impatiently next to the platform. “Come, come, I want the white one. So much I could do!”

Vinyl folded her ears, but climbed to the platform. “My name is Vinyl.” The seamstress went to work with a passion, bolts and swafts of fabric flew around, held against and flipped around Vinyl as she did her best to weather the maelstrom. Any piece deemed worthy enough found itself stuck to a ponequin.

In minutes it was done, although rough. A black dress, understated but lovely, streaked with a dark blue that complemented Vinyl’s mane. Vinyl herself stepped from the platform and plopped down next to Mother.

Which meant it was my turn.

I tried to put on a better show than Vinyl, but by the time my ten minutes were up, I found myself sitting on the other side of Mother. My own dress was similar to Vinyl’s a white streaked with gray that all flowed and swirled together. Mother okayed both designs, then stopped on the platform herself. She handled everything much better than we did.

We were in and out in an hour, with a promise to have the dresses by the next day. Vinyl let out a shaky breath as the shop door closed behind us. “Is it always that scary getting dresses?”

Mother thought for a moment. “No, but Cross is one of the best. I’ve known her since school, and she always does great work.”

She turned to look at me. “Did you bring your bits?”

I nodded and held up the little bag.

“We have more shopping to do?” Vinyl asked, looking a little green in the cheeks.

“Well, that is entirely up to Octavia.” Mother turned and began walking down the street in the direction of home. “How about it? We can do either the music store, or a candy shop.”

We fell into step behind Mother and traded a look. “Well?” I asked Vinyl, “do you have a preference?”

“I mean... I don’t have any bits. You pick.”

I stopped for a moment to pull open the bag. I pulled about half of the bits out and hoofed them to VInyl. “And now you do. Where would you go?”

“I think Tavi wants to go to the music store,” Vinyl said after a pause. “So I want to go to the candy store.”

Mother shook her head, but didn’t hide her smile.

We spent almost all of the rest of the afternoon in a small local candy shop, a ten minute walk from home. Vinyl looked so happy walking around with myself, Mother, and the owner of the store. We probably ended up sampling almost everything there, and when we went to check out, Vinyl’s bag was definitely twice as big as mine.

In comparison, we spent hardly any time at the music store. Just long enough to pick up some supplies for myself and Mother, and a harmonica for VInyl. We were in and out in less than half an hour, and on our way home after.

The walk home was fun. Vinyl and I were both loud, maybe because of the sugar, but Mother just kept walking along with a small smile. At least, until we came in sight of the house. Silver Sentinel stood outside, in uniform. Mother motioned to us to stay then moved towards him. They spoke briefly. I saw Mother nod, and Sentinel turned to walk down the street.

“Your mother goes before a judge next week, Vinyl,” Mother said as we approached her. “You’ll have to be there.”

Vinyl’s ears twitched once. She took a deep breath and blinked, slowly. “Okay,” she said softly, then opened the door and walked inside. I heard her climb the stairs and enter her room.

I waited all night, but Vinyl never left her room. When she didn’t come down after Mother called her for dinner, I ate as fast as I could, and took a plate to her room myself. I knocked on the door. “Vinyl, I have dinner, if you’re hungry.”

She didn’t answer, so I settled down to wait. I woke up hours later, still lying next to the door, under a blanket Mother must have put down on me. She’d also covered Vinyl’s plate, still undisturbed where I’d left it. “Good morning,” I said through her door before going to ask Mother for breakfast.

Hours later, sometime around noon, I heard somepony throw the front door open. Mother was downstairs in the parlor with two family friends, waiting for the concert that night. The bang of the door rebounding back to shut was covered by a mare shouting, “oh Miss Melody!”

Recognizing Cross’ voice, I crawled forward. Peering around the baniser, I saw Cross drop off the dresses on the hall table and head into the parlor. Mother greeted her and the pair walked back into the hallway. Cross stopped at the foot of the stairs, and Mother came up, heading to get her bits.

She gave me a look as she passed by, then glanced at Vinyl’s door and the plate of cold food outside it. “She still hasn’t come out?”

I shook my head. “I’ve been giving her space like you said. I’m worried.”

Mother mussed my mane with a hoof. “She’ll be alright, Octavia. It’ll be rough, I’m sure, but you can make it through a lot with good friends by your side.” She grabbed a pouch of bits and the plate of food on the way back downstairs. I glanced back at Vinyl’s door again, then headed downstairs myself. I took both of our dresses up to my room and hung them on a rail in my closet, ready for tonight.

An hour or so later, midway into practice, the door to my room opened. Vinyl poked her muzzle in, waiting for my nod to come in fully. She plopped onto my bed, as she’d done all week, and watched as I played through scales and several short parts of songs. She never said a word, but did help me pack my cello.

“Are you excited for tonight?” I asked after snapping the cello case shut.

Vinyl nodded. “The dresses are here?”

I nodded over towards the closet where our dresses hung. She pulled out hers first, then mine, and looked them over carefully.

“I’m never going to be able to pay your mom back for this,” she muttered.

“I don’t recall ever asking you to,” Mother said, poking her head in the door. “Put those dresses up until later so they don’t wrinkle.”

She continued down the hall, bringing her dress along to do the same. I took the dresses from Vinyl and hung them back up. By the time I turned back around Vinyl had planted herself on the bed. I took my normal place on the window seat and waited.

“I don’t want to go,” she finally whispered. At my curious noise she continued, “back with mom. The guardpony told me that if a judge says she’s okay, I have to go back with her, but I don’t want to.”

I slipped off the bench and moved to the foot of the bed. Taking a seat on the floor, I put a hoof on Vinyl’s leg. “We can always go to the park,” I replied softly.

“Not if she makes us move again. We came from Manehatten.”

“Oh.”

Vinyl got up and walked towards my door. “I’m still kinda tired, I’m gonna rest before the concert tonight.”

Author's Note

I don't have a snarky AN for you guys this week, so just pretend I did one? See you all next week

Chime

Chime

Mother came into my room several hours later. Her dress was already on and stunning. A single piece made of a dark fabric, littered liberally with golden thread that caught the light and the eye. There was a collar as well, understated, to provide a place to anchor Mother’s trademark lavender bow tie. “Come on, Octavia. It’s time to get ready.”

Dutifully, I crawled from my blanket cocoon and walked to the middle of my room. Mother joined me, after a stop at my closet to grab the dress itself. With her magic it was a quick thing for her to slip the dress over my head, fasten it down, and arrange it to lay neatly. I followed her to the bathroom and stood patiently in front of the mirror while Mother did my mane up like hers.

An hour later, I was done and waiting outside Vinyl’s door while Mother dealt with her. I could feel my mane running in ringlets down my neck to my back, carefully pulled away from my face with a few well-hidden pins.

Mother had gone in a few minutes ago and gently but firmly shut me out. I sat outside patiently, listening to the large clock in the entry hall tick the seconds away. It chimed the half hour. At the hour mark, I left for a moment to get a drink of water from the kitchen. The next half charm after that the door finally opened.

Mother opened the door and walked out, shutting it before I could see. She smiled at me still sitting by the door. “She’ll be down in a moment. Come.”

I followed Mother downstairs to the parlor. She collected a few things into a little bag she liked to carry while I waited. The clock had almost chimed the second hour before Vinyl came downstairs. She looked very pretty in her dress, and though she didn’t have the length of mane as I, Mother had still styled it beautifully.

She smiled at me and flipped her mane around. I could almost hear Mother glare from the other side of the room, but I smiled too. “I’ve never had my mane done like this before. It feels weird,” Vinyl said.

“Don’t mess it up,” Mother scolded. She grabbed her full bag, glanced at the clock, and motioned to the door. “Come on, let’s go.”

Vinyl and I followed her out the door, waited while she locked up, and followed her to a coach waiting on the street. The driver opened the door so we could climb in. The minute she was inside, Vinyl pressed her muzzle up against the glass of the other door and stared out across the same street she’d been looking at for two weeks.

I couldn’t say how long she stayed there; as soon as the coach driver closed the door, I was busy staring out the other side. I’d always like coaches, probably for the same reason I liked swings. Although, swings don’t smack your head into the wall on every bump.

The streets slowly became more crowded the closer we got to the city center. We had to stop about three blocks from the theater, halted by a long line of chariots. Slowly we crept forward, one length of cart at a time. Vinyl was practically tapping a hole through the floor when we finally pulled up in front of the theater.

The Royal Canterlot Theater, a massive marble and gilded structure, smack in the middle of uptown Canterlot. Designed in the same style as the entire uptown, it was just a short canter up to the top of the mountain and the castle itself.

“Just walk forward, smile, and walk into the theater,” Mother said. The cart driver opened the door to a bright flash of cameras. Mother motioned myself, then Vinyl out of the cart; She came behind. We walked in a measured line behind the ponies in front of us into the entry hall.

Four ex-or-off-duty guard ponies crammed into suits stood inside, checking guests off with ruthless efficiency. We were ticked off the list, given a program, and shuffled into the great mass of dressed-up ponies milling outside the theater proper. Mother very politely pushed our way through the crowd and up the stairs to the second level.

Vinyl pushed aside the thick, black, soundproof curtain. Our balcony was always on the left side of the theater, Father’s “good side.” Two rows of seats, all taken by friends and family of the ponies on stage tonight. Rosin waved from her place in the front row, and we moved to sit next to her.

“That’s a long way down,” Vinyl said, peering over the edge of our balcony to the slowly filling concert hall.

“The idea is to stay up here,” Rosin said, after playfully shoving Vinyl. Mother glared at her friend and rolled her eyes. Naturally Vinyl pushed back, and the two play fought for a few seconds before Mother physically separated them and placed me in the middle.

Rosin blew a raspberry at Mother. “Boo, Mels, no fun. How dare you use your daughter against me.”

The gentle drift of half-audible conversation below hid Mother’s response but I saw Rosin grin. Deprived of her playmate, Vinyl settled down as well. Over the next tens of minutes the theater slowly became louder as more ponies took their seats. A subtle buzz of nervousness and anticipation filled the air, doubling as the light slowly faded and a single pony took the stage.

Father walked across the polished wood, stopping exactly in the middle, facing out across the crowd. “Fillies and gentlecolts, I welcome and humbly thank you for choosing to attend this first night of our month-long series, ‘Ties.’ It is the hope of both myself and all those in our orchestra that you’ll take this time and reflect on your own ties. We all came closer during writing and rehearsing and it’s our hope that you all will come closer in listening.”

He bowed again to a polite wave of applause and took his place at the only thing currently visible on stage: a lone wooden podium, facing the red curtain. The curtain itself shifted and pulled apart, revealing Father’s orchestra in all their glory: fifty-eight stallions and mares arranged in a semicircle around the podium.

They each flourished their instruments in sequence, creating a ripple across the entire circle. Father ended with a flourish of his baton. The concert started with every player on one long, extended note. It bled down slowly, individual sections peeling off to begin their parts of the song.

I always zeroed in on the cello players, left side of the circle, closest to me. A pretty silver-ish mare with a short, crazy mane. I always liked to watch her because she was an Earth Pony, like me. I first learned how to hold my bow by watching her. She glanced my way and winked. Or maybe, she just looked at the lights weird, there was no way she could have seen me.

The concert played for an hour and a half, flowing almost seamlessly from song to song, from happy to melancholy. Vinyl sat perfectly still the entire time, staring at the group as a whole. Her eyes were the only things not still, flitting from player to player as their individual sections came to the front of the performance.

After the last song, the lights rose. Every player in the orchestra stowed their instruments, joined Father at the front, and bowed as one. The audience stood as well, us included, and pounded our forehooves on the wooden floor.

Father stepped forward after the third bow. “Thank you!” he shouted over the noise of the crowd. “Thank you so much! I hope you all have a safe evening and remember to keep those close to you in your mind and hearts!”

After another bow, they left the stage. Mother nudged us as well, pushing first Vinyl then me towards the curtain. We followed along behind as Mother led us to the restricted areas of the concert hall and to where the performers were packing up from their show.

We weren’t allowed inside, so we waited in a group with the loved ones of other performers. One by one our group left as performers finished packing and cleaning and headed out to celebrate, or home to rest. Father was always the last out, which meant Mother, Vinyl, and I were alone when he finally left the ready rooms.

His tie was undone, hanging off the collar of his suit. He grinned at us as he shut the door. “Well, what did you think?”

I ran up to hug him at the same time that Mother kissed him on the cheek. “It was great, dear, as always.”

Vinyl grinned, then tried to hide it. “I thought there were supposed to be cannons in classical music.” She crossed her forehooves in mock pouting.

“Are we going to celebrate?” I asked.

Mother and Father looked at each other. “I don’t see why not,” Mother said.

“I agree. I’m thinking... raisins and oats,” Father said.

Vinyl wrinkled her nose at me. “Is that what rich ponies think a celebration is?”

I looked at her and cocked my head. “Only if Mother lets us put honey on the oats.”

“Okay, no. I’m in charge, let’s go.” Vinyl prodded all of us with a hoof and herded us towards the exit. She sent the three of us into the waiting carriage and had a few words with the driver before climbing in herself.

We returned home from Vinyl’s celebration trip a couple of hours later, long after dark. Father turned in immediately, worn out from his concert and needing to get up early the next day to prepare for the next one. Mother led Vinyl and myself into the parlor, then stepped into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with tea.

“Well, Vinyl did you have a good time?” Mother asked, placing down the mugs of tea before sitting herself.

Vinyl sniffed suspiciously at the tea until she saw me take a sip. She took one, much shorter, after that. “Yeah, it was a lot of fun actually. Like watching Octavia, but louder... and better.”

“Hey!” I shouted, playfully.

Mother scooted a little closer to Vinyl. “And tomorrow? Are you ready?”

“I... I....” Vinyl spluttered. Her eyes turned down to her cup.

“What’s going to happen, Mother?” I asked.

Mother hesitated for a moment, then ruffled Vinyl’s mane. “Vinyl will have to speak to the court about what her home life is like. A judge will decide if she goes back to her mother, or becomes a ward of Equestria.”

“So she has to leave no matter what?” I whispered. Vinyl looked up at me quickly, then back to her tea.

“That’s not for me to decide,” Mother replied, laying her other hoof on mine.

Vinyl drank her tea in one long gulp, winced, then set down the mug. “I think I better go to bed,” she muttered before standing and leaving the room.

“What does ‘ward of Equestria’ mean?” I asked.

Mother sighed and moved to sit next to me on the couch. “It means that she’s going to go to a good home for fillies. Vinyl’s mother... is not like your Father or me. She needs to be in a home where she is loved too, and if a judge decides she won’t get that in her home, they’ll send her somewhere where she will.”

I nodded, remembering how Vinyl looked at the playground when we first met, and again after all the rain. “Is it going to be far away?”

“I don’t know, dear.”

I nodded once and stood up. I remember saying something about going to bed before plodding to my room. They wouldn’t just send Vinyl away, would they?

The thought was actually a little worrying. I remember thinking it was strange that Vinyl was wet and dirty when we met in the playground after the rain, and that it was odd that she wasn’t confident in her magic, but how would sending Vinyl away help any of that?

It didn’t make any sense. She was happy, wasn’t she? She’d always seemed like it, and if she was happy, everything couldn’t be too bad, right?

The last week had been good too, though. She’d seemed happy, would that count tomorrow?

It was such a hard choice when Mother asked if Vinyl could stay, but now I didn’t want her to leave.

<><><><><>

Nopony got what they wanted the next morning. Father wanted to go with us, but was needed at the theater and had to leave after a quiet, awkward breakfast. He was the only one who actually managed to eat anything. Mother, Vinyl, and I picked at our food in silence.

We left the house without a word, boarded a carriage, and made our way back into the upper reaches of Canterlot. The courthouse was slowly waking up, guards, lawyers, reporters, and other ponies, like us, ready to start the first round of trials for the day.

Mother took the lead inside, taking us towards one of the back court rooms. “Go on ahead,” Mother told Vinyl, pulling open the door to court. When I moved to follow, she gently placed a hoof across my barrel. “Hold on, Octavia. I need to talk with you first.”

While Vinyl continued through the door, I took a seat on a nearby bench. Mother stood in front of me and ducked her head until we were mostly eye to eye. “I want you to stay out here,” she said.

I nodded once, until what Mother said settled in. “But I want to go too!”

Mother shushed me and waved away the glances of other couple of ponies in the hall. “I know you do, dear, but your Father and I think it would be best if you waited for her out here. She might not want you to hear what she has to say.”

That didn’t make any sense. I was Vinyl’s friend, so why...

Mother booped my muzzle with her own. “I know it’s hard, but it shouldn’t take too long, okay? We’ll come back out as soon as the judge is done with her, I promise.”

I nodded again, so she turned and entered the courtroom, leaving me alone on the bench. Vinyl was set to talk in one of the smaller courts in the back of the building. Every so often a pony would come by, glance at me, then go into the courtroom itself.

The minutes dragged on. As I had never actually been to court, I was forced to rely on trials in movies to feed my imagination. That quickly spiraled into picturing a pony in a big white wig and flowy black cloak on a raised wooden platform staring down at two ponies in suits, one a nice suit, and one more ragged, as they bombarded poor Vinyl with questions until she finally broke down and made the cloak pony bang a wooden hammer down and shout for order.

I decided then that court was weird.

Somewhere in the building, a clock chimed the half hour. That made thirty minutes since we’d actually shown up. I resisted the urge, barely, to go poke my head in the door to try and listen in. Mother said that she and Vinyl would be out as soon as they were done questioning her, but how long would that actually be?

The clock struck ten, then half past. Without a parent there to chastise me, I finally gave into fidgeting, and fidgeted myself up and down the bench for the next half hour. As the clock chimed eleven, the doors finally opened and a stream of assorted ponies made their way out of the room, towards the building’s exit.

In the middle came Mother, shepherding a very subdued Vinyl. She spied me mid-fidget and led my friend over. On seeing me, Vinyl seemed to wake up a little, and she scrubbed at her eyes before climbing up on the bench next to me and smiling.

“Hey, Tavi,” she said, voice scratchy and a little raw. “Thanks for waiting.”

“How’d it go?” I blurted out, eyes jumping between Mother and Vinyl.

The tips of Vinyl’s ears drooped, but Mother smiled at me. “She did great. We would have been out sooner, but Vinyl was the last to speak, so we had to wait for the judge’s final verdict.”

My breath caught in a soft choke. So soon? I was hoping that we might have a few more days before everything was decided...

“They’re going to let me stay,” Vinyl said, breaking into a wider smile. “At least, for a little longer.”

I did not squeal, and did not jump forward to hug her.

Author's Note

Once again, sorry for the delay. I was hoping we could get this week's chapter out without a problem during the move, but I forgot how much work moving actually is. Also, shout out to quick for staying up until like, midnight-thirty to get this out.

Twang

Twang

The night after the trial, after Father returned from his show, the four of us sat down to discuss moving the rest of Vinyl’s things from her mother’s. She’d brought a lot with her initially, but nothing that really made the room we gave her feel more than a temporary space. If she was going to be longer, Mother wanted Vinyl to have her own space where she could feel comfortable.

Father agreed and left to see if he could arrange for some extra hooves and a carriage. Mother left with him to the study and came back with a pen and paper. She guided us upstairs and to Vinyl’s room.

“Now then, make a list of everything you want from your mother’s home, and we can see about getting it all moved over and set up here just as you’d like,” Mother said. She uncapped the pen and set the point on the paper.

I could understand what my parents were wanting to do. Right now, Vinyl’s room didn’t much look like, say, mine. It was inoffensive: neutral colors, a comfy bed, nightstand, dresser, a pair of nice but simple landscape paintings above a shelf. Vinyl had left a bit of a mark on the room, but it still felt very impersonal. The shelf held her stereo, records, and assorted knicknacks. The bedside table had a weird unicorn lamp with undulating blobs inside. Clothes were scattered across the floor and were haphazardly hung in the closet.

“We can start with furniture, dear. Is there anything you want moved or removed?” Mother asked.

Vinyl stood in the middle of the room and spun around. “I... I don’t think so, no. Everything here is way nicer than I have at ho--” She blushed and stumbled over her words for a moment. “At my mom’s.”

Mother nodded, and the two of them began the process of cataloging what was in the guest room, and what Vinyl still had at her mother’s house. Slowly a plan came together. Mother, Vinyl and I would go early in the morning and help Vinyl pack. We would then move everything from there to here when Father showed up, and unpack when Vinyl was ready.

That’s how we found ourselves outside a small townhome, about fifteen minutes from my house, early the next morning. Nowhere near my house, I thought, remembering our first meeting. Mother had a small wagon full of broken down boxes and tape; Vinyl and I had copies of the list. She’d been in the lead the whole trip, but as we neared the actual house, Vinyl began to slow. “Hey, you know you guys don’t have to help me, right?”

“What are friends for?” I responded dryly. This wasn’t the first time we’d had this conversation on the walk.

We stopped then, right outside the door. “Look, I just...” Vinyl signed. “My house isn’t... isn’t like yours. It’s not... not...”

Mother and I turned to face her. The older mare glanced at me before answering. “Vinyl, I told you it’s okay. We’re going to--”

At a loud bang, the three of us turned toward the townhome. The front door bounced off the wall next to it, swung back inwards, and was knocked away again by a white unicorn mare. “What are you all doing on my property?” she demanded. I don’t think she saw us, just the wagon. “Great, salesponies. I’m not buying whatever it is, so just move on already!”

Vinyl winced as the other mare slammed the door. “Meet my mom, Tavi.”

Mother pursed her lips. “Wait here,” she said, drowning out my normal reply to Vinyl. She walked up to the door and knocked twice. When Vinyl’s mother opened the door, Mother pushed past her into the house, and shut the door again.

Standing out on the street with Vinyl was probably the most embarrassing fifteen minutes of my life up to that point. Neither of us said a word, just looked between the ground, around the street, and back at the wagon. When Mother returned, she motioned us forward without a word, pulling the wagon along inside behind us.

It took her some time to place the wagon in the entryway. It was small and cramped, like many townhomes in Canterlot, but clutter filled what little space there was. Letters on a hall table, packages, bags, boxes, and all manner of other things on the floor itself.

Vinyl didn’t say a word. With ears plastered to her head, she grabbed a couple of boxes in her mouth and led us deeper into her old home, through halls and rooms decorated exactly like the entryway.

Her room was towards the top and back of the house. A little patch in the rubbish had been cleared so her door could open. Inside was a much different story.

Yes, her room was messy compared to mine, but spotless compared to the rest of the home. There were some scattered bedsheets on the ground, mixed with small paperback books. A bookshelf had a very obvious empty spot where her stereo and records had been. Various odds and ends were scattered nearly everywhere, but the room as a whole gave off an air of organized chaos. What I didn’t see, however, was the mixing equipment she’d told me about when she moved in. I decided not to ask.

Mother pushed me into the room from where I had stopped in the doorway and set the rest of the boxes down on the bed. “Octavia, help Vinyl get packed. I’m going to wait for your father downstairs with Miss Scratch.”

I set to work getting the boxes opened and organized while Vinyl started gathering the things on her list. A favorite pillow, a couple of blankets, missing clothes, a few records that had been left behind, a much bigger than initially described stuffed penguin, everything was crammed into boxes and sealed up.

Roughly thirty minutes later judging by Vinyl’s clock - not being brought, it didn’t keep accurate time, she said - Father showed up with Silver Sentinel and a couple of ponies from the orchestra. They started taking our filled boxes down to the carriage we had rented for a few hours. Next came a couple of pieces of furniture that Vinyl ended up wanting, including the shelf that seemed to previously hold the stereo.

Two hours after we showed up, we had everything moved back out. Mother shooed us out of Vinyl's old house and back to ours. We spent the rest of the day getting Vinyl’s room exactly as she wanted it for as long as she was with us. As it would turn out, that would be quite awhile.

<><><><><>

That summer turned out to be rather weird. Father’s concert became very popular, so much so that he was offered a lot of bits to bring the performance on the road. Father was gone for several months, well into the next school year, as his orchestra traveled all across Equestria. Mother, Vinyl, and I were gone for a combined month, as we always went to see his first show in a given city.

All our travelling meant summer vacation wasn’t quite as relaxing as normal, but we got to see some really cool places. Unfortunately, Grandma Serenade’s health was rather poor when we were in Manehatten, so we didn’t actually get to visit her that year, or even the one after.

I started school as normal that fall, going into fourth grade. Mother enrolled Vinyl into the same school, but, due to some paperwork troubles, it took a month before she was actually allowed to start. I didn’t actually know she was older than me until she started school in the fifth grade.

We didn’t spend every waking moment together, but it was a close thing. No matter what, though, we always got together when I practiced cello after school. She didn’t play anything, as she knew no instruments, but she always sat in the room. Sometimes she tapped out a background for me, sometimes she just sat and watched, but we always did it together.

Mother opened the practice room to me soon after Vinyl moved in. It was a semi-large room, a converted bedroom, with soundproofing covering every wall except a small section that bordered my own bedroom. It contained a couple of music stands, a couch, and an entire area for maintaining our instruments. Mother’s cello sat on a padded stand, and it wasn’t long before another was put in for my smaller one.

We were there the only time Vinyl ever tried to play cello, a month before Hearth’s Warming. She took her place on the couch and started working on homework while I set my cello up. I stood and braced the instrument before looking over towards my friend. “Do you want to try?” I asked her when she flipped a page over.

Vinyl let the magic around her pencil dissipate and looked at me. “Huh?”

I nodded towards the cello against my chest and neck. “To play. Do you want to try?”

She looked at her homework, then back at me before standing with a lopsided grin. “Are you telling me to do something other than homework, Tavi?”

“Of course not,” I said. I picked up my bow with a flourish and rested it across a string. “Nevermind.”

I tried to play a note, but Vinyl grabbed my bow with her magic. “Kidding, I’m kidding. I, uh, yeah, I guess.”

After propping my cello against a nearby wall holder, I helped Vinyl stand on her hind hooves and prop the instrument against her. I had grown in the last few months; the cello fit against me pretty well, but since Vinyl was taller, it was almost a little small for her. I helped her place her hoof on the neck, and tried to show her where to hold the bow with her magic.

We had to stop and get Mother for that one. After filling her in, Mother joined us in the practice room. She showed Vinyl how to hold and draw the bow, then sat back on the couch to watch.

I tried my best to give Vinyl a quick explanation of what to do, then opened my well-used book of music to the simplest song on the first page. Which lead us to another problem: Vinyl couldn’t read sheet music.

In her defence, I still struggled too.

I poked my hoof at the sheet music. “Okay, so when you see this, you play this note here.” I demonstrated by moving her hoof to the right spot and having her pull the bow.

Vinyl bobbed her head. “Yeah, okay, that makes sense.”

“Then this note is like this, and this one like this...” Thankfully, the piece was short and simple, so I only had to show her five notes before she could handle the whole thing. From our time at the park and practicing together I already knew she could keep time.

After clarifying a couple of notes I returned to the couch with Mother. Vinyl hesitated for a few moments before setting her hoof to the positioning for the first note, and then placed the bow on the string, and--

Snap!

Mother and I burst out laughing as the string snapped and flipped upward. Vinyl squeaked, dropping the bow and nearly falling backwards at the same time. “Sorry!” she squeaked again, managing to both quickly and carefully stow my cello back on it’s padded stand.

“It-It’s fine,” Mother choked out while I was busy giggling myself to the floor. “These things happen, after all.”

As soon the last giggle subsided, the three of us packed my cello and set off for Mother’s preferred music shop. Unlike Cross’ dress shop to the south, both my parents preferred a shop in the middle of the old part of the city. It was an old, distinguished store that my family had been going to for generations.

Coincidentally, it was not the one rented the day I found my special talent. They were however one of Father’s first, and most loyal, orchestral sponsors.

Mother normally did the basic maintenance of our instruments, but she was out of spare strings. “Besides, while we’re here we can have them look your cello over, and maybe see about getting an instrument for Vinyl,” she said on the walk.

Vinyl stumbled over her own hooves, very nearly ending up facedown on the street. “For me?”

“If you want something. Lessons, too.” Mother paused to ruffle a thoroughly shocked Vinyl’s mane before leading us into the store.

After being relieved of my cello by Mother, Vinyl grabbed me and pulled me towards the instrument displays in the back of the shop. Being an old shop, they mostly catered to the more traditional types of music..Stringed and brass instruments were arranged in the back on both freestanding and wall mounted racks. Pianos, harps, and other larger instruments filled what was left of the floorspace.

We looked at the instruments for several minutes. Vinyl had a lot of questions, most of which I didn't know the answers to. Mother joined us soon after, thankfully answering what I could not. Though we went over just about every instrument in the shop, and even got Gilded Hoof, the shopkeep, to demonstrate some, Vinyl seemed to have a hard time settling on a single instrument.

Although, that was not quite true. She was interested in much of what we looked at, but seemed to struggle settling on a specific type, let alone a single instrument. An hour later, when my cello was finished, she still had not reached a decision.

“It’s okay, Vinyl, you don’t have to choose today,” Mother said. “Take some time and think about it, and we can come back when you make up your mind, okay?”

Vinyl nodded mechanically, but said nothing else on our entire trip home. With my instrument fixed the two of us headed back to the practice room. Despite my urging, Vinyl refused to try her hoof at cello again and spent the next hour finishing homework.

“Hey, Vinyl,” I asked after practice while packing my cello.

She grunted in reply, not looking up from her textbook.

“What happened to the things you had at your mother’s house? From your deal with the music store?”

Vinyl’s gaze whipped up to mine, and she sighed. “It was rental stuff. Mom didn’t pay the bill, so he took it all back.”

“And do you remember what all it was?”

She nodded and started rattling off rather complicated-sounding pieces of equipment. I smiled and nodded, taking careful mental notes. Once I was sure I had it all down, I excused myself and hurried to track down Mother.

Naturally, I found her in the kitchen. Without thinking I charged in, receiving a hoofful of lettuce to my face for the trouble.

“You know the rules,” Mother chided while getting out more lettuce to cut. Before she could reload, I detailed my plan.

Halfway through, Mother stopped to listen more closely. “So that’s what she prefers to do then? You think she would like that over something more traditional?”

I thought back to our performance on the bridge, several months ago, and nodded.

“Very well then. It’s too late tonight, but I’ll talk to your father. Figure out what she needs, and I will take care of it,” she said, then shooed me out of the kitchen.

Right before bed, I turned the list in to Mother. It took me a long time to fall asleep. The next day crawled by as well. As soon as the final bell had rung, I sprinted to Vinyl’s class and bounced outside, ready to get her and go home. Seeing me as she left her class, Vinyl said bye to the new friends she’d made and headed towards me.

“Are we leaving already?” she asked. “No practice today?”

I shook my head. “Mother said I could skip today. We have a surprise for you at the house.”

Her ears perked at that. “What is it?”

“A surprise,” I replied with a smirk, and began leading the way home.

“Is it a new bed?” she asked.

“Nope.”

“Is it a pet or something?”

“Nope.”

“It’s not a cello, is it?”

“It might be.”

She bombarded me with guesses until we made it home. Mother was already waiting when I opened the door, so Vinyl changed targets and began interrogating her all the way to her room.

The white unicorn only stopped her questions as Mother opened the door, and Vinyl spied the modest stand in one corner. A mixer, board, speakers, every single thing she told me she needed to start making music again.

Vinyl’s jaw dropped to the floor. She spluttered, then pointed a clean white hoof to me, then Mother, then her new equipment, then to herself.

We both nodded, unable to not smile at Vinyl’s shocked excitement. She hugged us both quickly, whooped, then grabbed and pulled me back behind the mess of wires, babbling on about ideas, and functions, and trying to show me what each button did.

That started the era of constant music in the house. I started practicing in Vinyl’s room some days, and we often mixed our two styles of music together. She was almost always mixing something, or at least playing something. That equipment lasted her for several years, at least until a long-overdue trip added a new side to her hobby.

Author's Note

I'm sad to report that his chapter marks the last of my backlog. I didn't really anticipate how much work moving was going to be and burned through all the chapters I already had done. This doesn't really affect anything, except making me work harder to get more backlog built, but I'm never really sure what to share in these things.

Other than that, we're over the hill of the first arc of the story. I hope you all have had as much fun so far as I have and are looking forward to the rest! See you next week.

Beat

Beat

The trouble began in my second year of high school, Vinyl’s third. We were finally on our way to Manehatten to visit Grandma Serenade. When I was younger we used to visit every year, but between sickness, court dates for Vinyl, and issues with Father and Mother’s concert schedules, we hadn’t gone in some time.

Four days before Hearth’s Warming, over four years since Vinyl moved in with us, we boarded a train to Manehatten to visit my grandmother. It was just the two of us today, Father and Mother had obligations until the day before the holiday.

“What’s your grandma like?” Vinyl asked as the train began to pull away from Canterlot.

I took a moment to think, really think about Grandma Serenade. After all, I hadn’t seen her in several years, but I did know some things. She was a third generation Manehattenite, living just a stone’s throw away from the city’s university district. She’d been born in that house, and said every time she was asked about moving that she would die in it.

I knew she loved to cook. I knew that she’d been a widely known singer during her own career. It was joked about between my parents, and her, that she was going to live forever. Seeing as she’d already outlived four husbands, it may not have actually been a joke.

“She’s nice,” I eventually decided on.

“I’d believe you more if it didn’t take you, like, a minute to say that,” Vinyl replied with a smile. She didn’t press further, though. After digging them from her bag, she popped on a pair of headphones my parents had bought for her.

I had a book.

We passed the trip mostly in silence. As we approached Manehatten proper, Vinyl began nudging me out of my deserved window seat so she could get a look at the city itself. Where Canterlot was mostly smaller, cleaner buildings, Manehatten was dense and tall. Space was definitely more at a premium on a mountainside, but normal grid layouts were considered boring. Our home was well planned, but was designed to look haphazard.

Manehatten was all long, tall lines. The streets were completely straight, the buildings soared in the distance, steadily growing larger from the outskirts to the city center. It didn’t look dirty as much as cluttered. Though, thinking of how long it must take to clean all those windows, I did not envy the pegasi residents.

Vinyl whistled as the train thundered into a tunnel, heading towards the main station. “I knew it was a big city, but jeez...”

After stowing my book, I turned to look at her. Even with the city out of sight, her muzzle still pressed against the window. “It’s smaller than I remember,” I replied.

Her head whipped around, mane smacking against the window. “How... but...” she spluttered for a moment, then fell silent. “Oh, ha ha, very funny.”

“I thought so.”

We made sure to double check our bags as the train slowed to it’s final stop of the run. Ponies were already joining the slow moving stream towards the doors when we stepped from the compartment and joined in. The line shuffled out of the car itself and to the doors leading back to the station. Every so often, someone in line would peel off to meet a relative, or friend from another car, but most of us were still together when we exited into the station proper.

The actual train platforms were all underground, and the train ran through a tunnel for a good portion of the last leg of the trip. As we walked through the station towards the outside, bits and pieces of the Manehatten skyline peeked through the high, vaulted windows of the station.

I had to keep VInyl from walking into other ponies on multiple occasions.

Then we were outside. As we’d walked, the stream of ponies from the train had turned into a full river, who were now forced to split around us, right outside the door. More than a few shot us dirty looks, but she didn’t seem to care.

She also might not have been able to tell, with her head looking straight to the towering buildings all around us. I did my best to nudge her off to the side, but the stubborn unicorn wouldn’t move, so I satisfied myself with issuing quiet apologies to all who passed.

After ten minutes of Vinyl’s only movement being a slow turning of her head, I wandered off to hail us a carriage with some bits Mother had provided. I found one willing to wait a moment and returned to my friend.

“Come on, we need to go. Grandma Serenade is waiting,” I said to her uptilted head.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure,” she replied, not looking at me.

With a sigh, I positioned her between myself and our waiting ride and began pushing. Vinyl protested at first, then with a testy, “alright, I’m going!” started to follow properly along.

I gave the waiting carriage driver directions and we boarded the second stage of our journey. The Manehatten station of the Equestrian Railroad was towards the middle of the city, while the University District actually sat outside the city, towards the north-east.

Halfway through the ride, I wondered if we could have just taken a connecting train straight there, but as we had already left the main portion of downtown Manehatten, it was probably too late to worry about now. Vinyl, likewise, had grown tired of staring at the receding skyline, and was passing the time by making funny faces out the window to other carriages.

At long last we stopped in front of a small, thin townhome. I thanked the driver for waiting, and gave him a generous tip from the bits I had left. Vinyl had already carted our luggage to the door and was waiting on me. I followed the path through the postage-stamp yard, climbed up two creaky wooden steps, and, joining her on the front stoop, knocked.

My hoof barely left the door before it was thrown open to reveal a stern-looking mare. Her coat and mane, once a light blue and grey respectively, had dulled with time. Her sharp eyes however, a deep silver color, had not.

Seeing us, she smiled. At once her entire demeanor changed from dismissive annoyance to warm and inviting. “Ah, Octavia, I’d almost forgotten you were coming today,” she said to me before stepping forward for a hug. When we parted, she turned to face Vinyl. “I see you’ve brought your fillyfriend as well. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

It took a full five seconds before I processed what she said. The whole while I nodded automatically, until it all caught up. I nearly jumped back in surprise, almost falling off the stoop. “N-No! She’s not-- we’re not-- she... This is my friend, just my friend, Vinyl Scratch! Did Mother not tell you about her?!”

They both burst out laughing as I finally trailed off. “Of course she did,” Grandma replied. “How could I not know, with how she’s the reason you haven’t been to visit in six years?”

Vinyl had the courtesy to look apologetic, and I tried to stammer out another reply. With my brain still a little toasty from the last one, it probably wasn’t very eloquent. Grandma Serenade cut me off.

“I’m teasing, of course. Now come in, you two are like to catch a chill in the cold. Or a bug, the way your mouth is stuck open, Octavia. Close that at once.”

The two of us were shuffled inside soon after and settled into our shared room for the stay. Unfortunately, my earlier overreaction ended up becoming a running joke over the next three days until Mother and Father arrived. Grandma Serenade started it, but it was no surprise when Vinyl ended up joining in.

Thankfully, my darker coat hid any blush of embarrassment.

We spent the first two days of our trip all sitting together and talking, catching up, and filling Grandma in on Vinyl’s situation. On the third day we were kicked from the house with a replenished bag of bits and told to go and amuse ourselves for the day, so Grandma could prepare for my parent’s arrival.

“Sweet! I was hoping we would get some time to explore,” Vinyl said, bumping me with her rump until I faced the same direction as her. “My friend is going to be playing in the city this weekend, and I wanted to see.”

“I was unaware any of your friends practiced instruments.” I stepped into place beside her and followed deeper into Manehatten. “What sort of show?”

“You’ll see. We just need to find a place called The Back Hoof.”

“So, you don’t even know where we’re going?”

“Nope.”

I tried to give her a dirty look, but Vinyl refused to look at me. She instead trotted to the nearest passerby on the street and proceeded to ask, “hey, could you give us directions to The Back Hoof?”

The businesspony didn’t answer, just shot her a weird look and smiled briefly before hurrying away. I saw Vinyl turn to presumably shout at him again, so I reached out a hoof and pulled her back.

“Must not have heard me,” she said before making a beeline for the next unsuspecting pony.

Three hours of walking, two carriage rides, and a quick doughnut pitstop, we finally arrived at a suspicious-looking door set down into a stairwell at the bottom of a building in a back alley. In lieu of a proper sign, somepony had carved ‘The Back Hoof’ into the dirty brick wall of the stairwell.

“I wonder if I should have seen this coming, given the reactions to asking for directions,” I muttered under my breath. I don’t think Vinyl heard over the gentle, deep thrum of overly bassy speakers.

Vinyl ducked her head out of the alley to check the sun. “Man, his set is almost over. We can probably catch the end though, let’s go!” She didn’t wait, just hopped down the stairs and let herself inside.

I followed mostly on reflex and was nearly blown away by an almost visible wall of sound when Vinyl opened the door. Even she recoiled back slightly before pressing forward. The music itself was not out of the ordinary to me; it was fairly similar to what Vinyl tended to make at its core.

To my surprise, the stairs continued down past the door itself, ending at a rather large and angry looking pony in front of another door. He eyed us as Vinyl approached; she almost had to climb on his broad shoulders to speak into his ear to be heard over the music.

I sincerely hoped there were speakers in here as well, and that we weren’t just hearing filtered noise from past this second door. As it was, my ears were doing their best to meld with the rest of my head.

Vinyl and the other pony - likely a bouncer - spoke for a few minutes before he stepped into a recessed alcove and opened the door for us. What greeted us inside was not a curtain of sound, but one of smoke.

Two or three dozen ponies loitered around the room, with about half of those on a dance floor that was still even lower. The other half were split between tables on the outer ring, and a bar on the back wall. Directly in the middle of the room, raised up just above head height from the dance floor, was a set of equipment similar to Vinyl’s back at home.

“That’s him!” Vinyl shouted into my ear, pointing a hoof at the stallion in the ring of equipment. She wrapped the hoof around me and pulled, leading the two of us towards the lowered floor, and the really big speakers.

We weaved through the crowd until we were right in front of the... stage? And the speakers. Vinyl put her forehooves on the speakers themselves and leaned over to talk to the stallion in the center.

I just kind of stood there, feeling the music through my bones, and tried to look inconspicuous. It wasn’t terribly hard, as the place wasn’t very crowded, and the few ponies who were there were busy with their own things.

The song changed once, I think, before the stallion picked up a microphone. “Aight ponies, I’m outta here. I’ll be back though, for all you crazy bastards still here tomorrow. Peace!” He clicked off the mic, shouted something to Vinyl over the music, and vanished.

She pulled me from where I settled on the floor and led me towards the back of the room, to a small curtained door to one side of the bar. We took a seat in a booth near the door and settled down to wait.

A few minutes later he appeared. Vinyl waved to get his attention. Now that he wasn’t surrounded by spotlights and beams of light I could get a much better look at him. He was a unicorn of a darker coat than Vinyl. He also looked a bit older than us, but not by much. He wore no clothing other than a hat and several pieces of jewelry, necklaces being the most prevalent.

“Hey, V, didn’t think you would make it,” he said as he reached our table, holding out a hoof.

Vinyl bumped it with her own. “I didn’t either. Man, do you know how hard it was to find this place?”

“Ah, right, you aren’t from Manehatten, I forgot.” He nodded once, then turned to look at me. “And whose this?”

“This is Tavi, my best friend. We’re here visiting her grandma.”

“My name is Octavia,” I stated as normal, and held out my hoof to shake. To my surprise, he knocked his hoof against mine as he had Vinyl, and rather hard. I set my hoof down, trying not to wince.

“Octavia, classy. I like it. They call me Shades,” the stallion, Shades, replied, pointing to a pair of thin sunglasses resting against the base of his horn.

Vinyl burst out laughing. “No they don’t, you idiot.” She turned to me and pointed a hoof at the now-nervous stallion. “His name is Hazelblossom.”

I couldn’t help it, I snorted out a laugh. It was always possible his coat was a hazel-type color, as it was hard to tell in the dark, smoky room, but it was still an odd name for a stallion. Hazelblossom snorted in embarrassment and tried to loom over Vinyl. “Nah, filly, they call me Shades, because of the glasses.”

Vinyl just laughed harder and swatted him in the chest. He deflated with an audible, “oof,” and rubbed where she had hit him. He left for a moment to order us a round of drinks - something hard for him, soft for Vinyl, and water for me - and they sat there talking for quite some time. I tuned most of it out after they got on the topic of the technical side of their music. I barely understood what little I knew.

They were finally stopped some time later, long after the next performer had taken his spot in center stage, by a mare’s voice that somehow managed to cut over the chatter of the now nearly full room, and the music.

“Octavia Philharmonica, Vinyl Scratch, what in the name of the Sun are you doing here?”

I looked over after hearing my name to see Mother, Father, and a very intimidated-looking bouncer headed straight for us.

<><><><><>

“I have no idea what the two of you were thinking, spending all day wandering the city just to end up in some back alley bar. Do you have any idea how long we spent looking for you two? What could have happened if we hadn’t found you?” Mother had been ranting like that basically since we walked into the door of Grandma Serenade’s house. Father had tried to calm her down a bit on the walk back, and was similarly scolded for his trouble.

He now sat behind her, well out of range.

“We just went to visit a friend of mine,” Vinyl answered. I’d not spoken a word since we had left The Back Hoof, and couldn’t bring myself to look at my parents. “We didn’t drink or anything, we were just talking.”

“Talking to a strange stallion in a strange city in some seedy little nightclub not even good enough to only be open at night!” Mother shot back. “To say nothing of how you found your way there in the first place! What if something had happened?”

“But it didn’t!” Vinyl moved to stand, but a quick shake of Father’s head was enough to sit her back down again. “Everything is fine, what are you so worked up over?”

“Everything is most certainly not fine! You two could have been hurt, or taken, or worse! A nightclub is not a place for two unaccompanied school-aged fillies!”

Mother stopped to take a breath, and Father finally cut in. “Girls, we just want to make sure you’re safe. And even if you weren’t in any danger, what you did was very dangerous. Melody is just trying to keep you in situations where you are safer. It wouldn’t have been as bad if somepony knew where you were, but nopony did.”

Mother tried to speak at that last point, but Father raised his voice. “You two are getting older, and it’s normal for you to start exploring and seeing the world for yourselves. We just ask that you do it in a safer, and more controlled way.”

As Father spoke, Mother visibly restrained herself. When she next spoke, it was more like her normal tone. “Either way, I think you two need to stay here, or with us for the time being. At least until your break from school is over. To your room then, please, until dinner.”

Vinyl looked like she wanted to argue, so I wrapped a hoof around her muzzle. “Yes, Mother. We are sorry to have worried you.” I then pulled her along to Grandma Serenade’s office, which had been converted into a bedroom for our visit.

Grounded. For the first time in my life, confined to my home or parent’s side for the duration of our break. Part of me was upset with Vinyl, but I was mostly upset with myself for going along with it. I should have known what we did would have upset Mother and Father, or at least wasn’t a very good idea.

“I don’t know what she is so pissy about,” Vinyl said as she flopped on the bed. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

“It was kind of dumb,” I answered in a muted voice. “We just wandered off.”

“So? It’s not like your Grandma asked where we were going! Besides, I used to do that stuff all the time!” She paused after saying that, and deflated a little. “Actually, yeah, you’re probably right. Sorry for getting you in trouble, Tavi.”

I sat next to her and patted her back. “It’s fine. I should have stopped us anyway.”

She tried to grin. “Yeah, come on, aren’t you the responsible one?”

I didn’t answer. We sat in silence until Father called us for dinner.

Author's Note

Posting, technically, still on Monday. Actual AN to follow.
E: So, funny story. The chapter was actually ready to post around early yesterday afternoon, but I was distracted by IEM Katowice and playing board games with my editor / roommate. We finished our last game at like 11:45 and he says, "elfy, we didn't post a chapter." Cue panic to post before Monday was technically over. Sorry for the late chapter, but at least it's a good one, right?
Next week, I promise to post more on time. Have a good week!

Slam

Slam

Three weeks after our return from Manehatten, Vinyl snuck out for the first time. I was up early working on a project for school when I heard the stairs outside my door creak. The other bedrooms and bathroom were both on the other side of the hallway from the landing, so I went to my door and poked my head out.

Vinyl stood on the stairs, coming back up. Her eyes locked with mine and she froze. “Hey, Tavi, just, uh, getting some water,” she whispered.

I looked at her horn, which was dark. “Right. Okay. Good night, then,” I said, and shut the door.

I was almost back to my desk when Vinyl opened the door. She slid inside and shut it softly. “So, uh, can you not tell your parents that you saw me?” she asked.

Now that I could see her in the light of my desk lamp, I knew something was going on. She had her mane tied up out of her eyes and seemed slightly out of breath. “What did you do?” I asked, turning fully from my school work.

“I told you, I went to get some water,” she replied, but couldn’t quite meet my eyes when she said it.

I flicked an ear and waited.

“I was out with Hazelblossom,” she finally said in a low whisper. “He’s actually from Canterlot too and was showing me some stuff.”

“Vinyl!” I whispered harshly. “It’s way past curfew. We were just grounded, why would you do something like that?”

After a moment of further thought I added, “and what did he need to show you at,” I consulted a clock, “four-thirty in the morning?”

“His deck.” She was halfway into her next sentence before I realized she probably wasn’t talking about a patio. “--this really neat setup with six different mixers all feeding into one speaker system. It’s super easy to mix together a bunch of different tracks and play them over and around each other! He told me about it in Manehatten but my stuff here isn’t complex enough to let me do it, so he offered to let me use his deck last night, so I went to meet him after his set tonight and--”

“Wait, you were out last night too?”

“No, of course not! I just meant that we talked yesterday, at night, and...” She trailed off, spluttering a few half-formed words to try and continue.

I flicked my other ear.

“Yeah,” she finally admitted. “He plays at The Underground every couple days, so I’ve been going to catch his sets.”

Knowing this, the signs were obvious. Vinyl was never a morning pony, but recently she had been even worse to get up and out the door to get to school on time. Not only was she sneaking out at night, but even I knew about the reputation The Underground had. Everypony at school did.

“I... find it hard to believe his parents let him frequent somewhere like that, and so late at night too,” I said after a few moments, for lack of something else to say. I was beginning to wonder if Mother hadn’t been right in Manehatten.

This time, Vinyl didn’t answer.

“He isn’t even in school, is he?” I asked. She shook her head in reply, and I sighed. “So how old is he, anyway?”

“Three years older than me,” she answered, ears drooping. “Please, don’t say anything to Melody or Legatus. They’ll kill me.”

She was right, at least in part. Mother might kill her; all Father would do was look disappointed. It would have been better to tell them, have her maybe get in trouble and stop it. It wasn’t safe to wander that part of Canterlot too late at night, after all. Not to mention that legal position Vinyl was in. If she was doing something illegal, or was just caught by the Guard for being out after curfew, what was the chance she was going to be shuttled into the foster system?

But at the same time, staring back into her wide eyes and pleading smile, I couldn’t bring myself to not agree. “Fine, just... don’t do it anymore, okay? I don’t like lying to them.”

Vinyl thanked me, promised she wouldn’t, and bid me goodnight.

I ended up packing up my things and starting breakfast early. I wasn’t able to focus anymore.

<><><><><>

The next few days I woke myself up early to see if Vinyl would keep her word, and she did. I had no idea she’d started going back out again for several months, until I came home from a visit with Symphonia to an argument.

Mother could be heard before I even opened the front door, which was surprising enough. Mother was very calm, normally, and I’d only heard her upset a hooffull of times and only once or twice at me. “--from our trip in Manehatten? Now you’re doing the same here, and skipping school for it?”

I quietly pulled open our front door and slipped in. Mother’s voice seemed to be coming from Father’s study, so I quickly tiphoofed my way over. Father himself was probably still out, working on his next piece.

Inside the study, Mother stood over Vinyl, seated in a chair, with a letter grasped in her magic tight enough to crinkle the paper in the middle. Seeing Mother that upset was a shock in itself, but not as much as seeing several deep blue streaks in Vinyl’s mane and tail.

“You’ve missed four days in the last two weeks,” Mother continued, “why?”

“Well, I couldn’t go in today until the dye dried, and it took a lot longer than the box said,” Vinyl answered. “And the other days weren’t important. I didn’t miss any tests or anything like that. I’ve just found other things to do.”

“What could be more important than your schooling?” Mother asked. She then sighed, sat, and continued in a much softer voice, “Is this why your grades are dropping?”

“Who cares?” Vinyl shrugged. “I’m in my last year anyway. I don’t need all these classes to graduate. When am I ever going to use half of this stuff?”

To my surprise, Mother chuckled. “I used to think the same thing when I was your age.” Her tone tightened again. “The difference was, I already had a scholarship to the Royal Canterlot Conservatory. All I had to do was graduate high school and I was set on my path. You, on the other hoof, haven’t been offered the same things that I know of. You need to keep your head in it until you know what you want to do in life.”

“But I do know,” Vinyl said, looking Mother in the eye for the first time since I’d started eavesdropping. “I want to make music. I don’t need any fancy degree or anything for that.”

Mother sat forward, locking eyes with Vinyl and pushing her back with the weight of the stare. “We have been over this. Neither Legatus or myself went to the Conservatory for the actual schooling. The music business is all about connections. You could be the best musician in Equestria, but it won’t matter if nopony will hear your music.”

“But I do have connections! I’ve got--”

Mother clacked her hoof against the polished leg of her chair. “If you mention that stallion again, we are truly going to have a problem. I told you he is a bad influence and you are not to be speaking with him.”

“He’s not though!” Vinyl snapped. “Just because he’s a bit older--”

“--and a drop out, and has a criminal record--” Mother tried to interject, but Vinyl just kept on going.

“--doesn’t mean anything. Hay, I have a criminal record, remember? Petty theft and loitering? Does that make me a bad influence too?”

“Of course not! Your record is due to circumstances out of your control, nopony would hold those against you.” Mother sighed again and dropped her voice. “Legatus and I just worry about you, Vinyl. We want what’s best for you, in the long run, whether you agree or not.”

Vinyl stood. “Well, I don’t agree. I don’t agree with any of this. I know what I want to do. Why does everypony want to keep me from that?”

I didn’t catch Mother’s reply. Vinyl started heading towards the door to the study, so I quickly dove out of the way and into the safety of the dining room. I listened as Vinyl stomped towards the front door, threw it open, and slammed it shut.

She didn’t come home that night.

<><><><><>

Mother called me down to Father’s study midway through a mindless practice session the next day. Father was there as well, which was odd for a Saturday afternoon. They asked if I’d heard from Vinyl - which I had not - and then filled me in on what was going on.

Vinyl had not kept her promise to me for more than a week or two before sneaking out again. This time, however, she was caught by Father returning late from his orchestra’s practice. She had struck the same sort of deal with him as she had me, and neither had spoken about it.

Nearly a month after that, while I was out of the house, Silver Sentinel came by and informed my parents that Vinyl had been arrested the night prior and only let go on his - now a ranking member of the guard - order. She’d been picked up near The Underground on suspicion of possession during a raid of the building.

“Which, of course, was untrue,” Father hurried to elaborate. “She was picked up in a group, not singled out herself. She was very, very adamant about that and a search after her arrest proved she had nothing.”

Another raid of the same club two months later saw Hazelblossom arrested. A search of his apartment revealed several items of Vinyl’s and she was arrested again the next day as she tried to use her spare key to enter his apartment to use his mixing equipment.

That was when Mother found out about him and had her first of many arguments about her future. After all the time Vinyl had spent with Hazelblossom and at The Underground, she decided to pursue a career in music, specifically production and performance. In short, she wanted to DJ professionally.

My parents were not against this exactly, more worried about the route Vinyl wanted to take to achieve it. They had both gone to the Conservatory for their music education. While it was a good institution, the three of them agreed that it was probably not the place for Vinyl. Mother had offered to pay for Vinyl to attend a non-specialized college, but Vinyl had refused. She didn’t even want to finish high school, and was instead talking about just dropping out to make music full time.

The conversation I’d overheard was the third such since everything came to light. Vinyl had been caught sneaking out once more again, and was apparently skipping school. Neither Mother or Father was too terribly strict, in my opinion. They probably wouldn’t have cared about Vinyl wanting to dye her mane and tail, but the fact she skipped school to do it had sparked the most recent argument.

“None of that matters at the moment,” Father finished. “We just want to make sure she’s okay.”

“Do you know where she could be?” Mother asked me, distress audible in her voice. “We haven’t talked to Silver Sentinel yet; we both decided that would be best as a last resort.”

I thought for a moment. The two of us didn’t share many friends. I didn’t know if any of them would be able to put her up for a night, but I knew I had to find her. I had to make sure she came home. “I don’t, but I will find out.”

Mother instantly perked up slightly. “Just tell her to come home. I’m not angry, but I do think her and I need to talk.”

I hugged both of my parents and set out. I did not know where she would be, true, but if she had a key to his apartment it seemed reasonable that she was with Hazelblossom. Unfortunately, I didn’t know where he lived, but I knew somepony who might.

One interrogation of Vinyl and my mutual friend, Lemon Drops, later and I stood outside a cramped apartment block towards the west end of the city. Like most of the buildings out here, it wasn’t much to look at. I climbed a set of rickety wooden steps to the fourth floor, found the door to an apartment that seemed to be shaking the walkway all on it’s own, and hesitantly knocked.

I had to knock five times, each one progressively harder, before the music scratched to a halt. A few thudding hoofsteps later and Hazelblossom opened the door. Seeing him in proper light, and without his prior drape of necklaces, I could see that his coat was indeed a very light shade of brown. He blocked most of the door, so I couldn’t see past him to see if Vinyl was there.

“Yo, you’re V’s friend, yeah?” he said. I stopped trying to peek behind him and nodded once.

“Yes, my name is Octavia. I apologize for dropping in unannounced, but is Vinyl with you?”

He moved the block the door even further, though there wasn’t much point. “Maybe. Why?”

“If it’s Tavi you can just move, you big oaf,” came Vinyl’s muffled voice from inside. Hazelblossom sighed and stepped aside, revealing my friend. “Hiya Tavi,” she said, chipper as ever.

I jumped forward and pulled her into the tightest hug I could manage. “Thank Celestia, you’re okay. We were really worried when you didn’t come home, you know,” I said into her ear.

Vinyl hugged back, then chuckled. “Yeah, I kind of lost my patience with Melody, sorry. I left, figured I’d give us both a chance to cool off, and fell asleep here. I was gonna come back today anyway, you didn’t have to come looking.”

“Mother asked me to. She wants you to come home so you two can talk.”

Vinyl immediately hunched her shoulders and took a step back.

“I don’t think she’s mad anymore,” I added quickly. “They told me what’s been going on. I think she just overreacted and wants to make things right.”

She considered that for a moment, then nodded. “I’m heading back with Tavi!” she shouted into the apartment, then shut the door on Hazelblossom’s reply. I half expected him to open it back up, but we left the complex without another word.

“So he lives here, not in Manehatten..?,” I asked after walking several minutes in silence.

Vinyl shook her head. “Nah, he grew up there but lives here. He was visiting family, just like we were.”

We fell back into an uneasy silence. I was reminded of the day we moved Vinyl from her mother’s house. We left the apartment in step, but by the time we turned onto our street Vinyl was noticeably behind me. I pretended not to notice, and waited for her to catch up on our doorstep.

It was hard to read her expression, honestly. It almost looked like she was trying to compose herself, but with that normal unfazed Vinyl facade, it was hard to tell for sure. “Are you mad at me, Tavi?” she asked.

“For breaking your promise to me, or for staying out all night without any word?” I asked, immediately regretting it as Vinyl shrunk from my tone. I cleared my throat and dropped my voice a little. “Sorry. No, I’m not mad at you. I’m not happy that you lied to me, but I was more worried that you didn’t come home. But I forgive you, as long as you tell me everything later today, okay?”

She sniffed, smiled, and nodded. “For sure, assuming Melody doesn’t kill me.”

Vinyl didn’t wait for me to argue. She walked forward, threw open the door and shouted, “I’m home!”

Mother hurried around and poked her head around the corner from the parlor. “Vinyl!”

My friend dropped her cocky smile. “Come on, let’s talk.”

Mother nodded once and led Vinyl to Father’s office. I slowly shut the front door and went to my room to wait.

Author's Note

So, I've been thinking for the last few days that these last couple of chapters have been weird to write. Next chapter is the last one in the first arc of this story, so I think when I put that up I'm going to put a much longer AN up as well kind of talking about my thoughts so far. As always, I would love your feedback on the story here, and thoughts on what you think is coming up next.
Talk to you all next week!

Silence

Silence

I sat in my window nook, staring at the door for almost an hour before Vinyl poked her head in. Seeing me waiting she entered fully and shut the door before taking a seat on my bed. “So,” she said, puffing out her cheeks, “everything?”

I nodded.

“That makes it sound like there’s a lot, but it’s... it’s not, not really.” Vinyl sighed again and flopped back on my bed. I waited patiently for a couple of minutes while she got her thoughts in order. “I, um, met Hazelblossom at 78RPM - that music shop - last year. His dad owns the shop and he works there when he isn’t playing at The Underground or mixing music. I had some questions about mixing equipment and we started talking.

“At first he was just showing me how to make different kinds of music. He showed me how to swap around my setup to do different things. I kept experimenting, kept making stuff, but my stuff here doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, y’know? Er, not to say the stuff your parents got me isn’t great, but it’s not quite top of the line.”

“So you started using his?” I asked.

Vinyl shook her head. “Nah, not at first. We were trying to see what all could be done with my setup. We got some pretty cool stuff going, honest. You’ve probably heard it the last couple of months, but it probably all sounds the same.”

Her gaze wandered around the room, stopping on a shelf of pictures of the four of us outside a concert hall in FIllydelphia. “When I went in to get music for the train ride to Manehatten, he mentioned he was going to be playing up there for several days. That’s when I agreed to meet him up there. While we were there and you were spacing out - “

I tried my best to look guilty, but I don’t know if it worked.

“ - he was telling me how it all worked, and I really, really wanted to try it. So after we were ungrounded, I snuck out and went there after he got off work one night so he could show me how to DJ. It’s hard, Tavi, but it’s so much fun. I can kind of do it with my equipment here, but it doesn’t quite work right.”

It finally all started to make sense. “So that’s why you were sneaking out, to practice?”

“Yeah, exactly. He sleeps during the day and works at night, so I basically had to sneak out at night, that’s when he’s awake,” Vinyl responded.

“I didn’t even realize you’d started skipping school, though,” I prompted.

Vinyl snorted. “I figured you wouldn’t, I stay away from all the smart pony classes.”

She laughed again and ducked as I threw a pillow at her. “I just want to make music, Tavi. Math, science, all that other stuff seems so boring. I graduate in a few months, but I don’t want to waste the time.”

“I don’t think it’s a waste of time,” I said.

It must have been the wrong thing too, because Vinyl jumped off the bed and started pacing, anxiously. “Maybe not for you, but you’re actually going somewhere. You graduate, go to the Conservatory on that scholarship that we both know you’re going to get, and become a better cellist than your mom, or composer than your dad. I can’t play an actual instrument, I’m not smart like you are, and I don’t want to ask your parents for money for college that isn’t going to do anything for me.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Vinyl stopped pacing in front of me and wrapped a hoof around my muzzle. “Don’t, Tavi. I literally just had this conversation with Melody.”

I prodded at her chest with a hoof until she let go. “What did you guys talk about?”

“I told her that I just want to make music and that Hazelblossom can help me with that. She doesn’t like him, thinks he’s a bad influence on me. I tried to tell her that I knew all this stuff before I even met him but...” She shook her head. “We didn’t get into a fight or anything, but it wasn’t much of an agreement.”

One of my ears twitched. Two of the most stubborn ponies I knew were Mother and Vinyl. I found myself very, very happy I wasn’t in that room. Vinyl hopped up onto my window bench, squishing me against one wall, and continued, “We, uh, didn’t really get much accomplished, honestly. But I think we both realized that neither of us are going to change our minds. It’s a bit of a stalemate really, since I turn eighteen next week.”

It took me a moment to think of what that could mean. “You can’t possibly be thinking about dropping out.”

Vinyl’s ears flattened and her gaze darted away from mine. “I... I don’t really know. But I won’t lie, I’ve been thinking about it.”

“Vinyl! You can’t!” I shouted, sliding off my seat to the floor in front of her. “I know you think that staying in school is boring and a waste of time, but think about how much of a waste it will be if you leave so close to the end?”

She stood slowly and, with a shake of her head, went to the door. “Like I said, I don’t know. I’m kind of tired, I’ll see you in the morning.” With that, she left, letting the door latch behind her.

For a moment I thought about going to find Mother, but there didn’t really seem to be much point. Nothing I said was going to change what was going on between those two, and that was where the trouble really lay. Faintly I could still feel the bass of Vinyl’s speakers through the floor. It was comforting after the absolute silence of the night before.

I’d gotten what I wanted though, Vinyl told me exactly what was going on. I just didn’t know how to help, or what to do about it. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was something I could actually help with.

<><><><><>

Tensions around the house rose in the week leading up to Vinyl’s birthday. She stopped joining us for dinner, preferring instead to eat by herself. I also saw her leaving in the middle of the night without a word, probably to Hazelblossom’s, but she was always home in the morning.

Neither Mother or Father asked where he lived and even if they did I didn’t know if I’d tell them.

Vinyl’s actual birthday came and went without anypony exploding, which might have been a minor miracle. Mother had never made us go to school on our birthdays, but since Vinyl hadn’t gone in two days it seemed a moot point. She was around long enough for me to wish her a happy birthday before disappearing into the city.

As I was walking home from school, Vinyl was waiting for me a couple of blocks from our house. She waved when she saw me, then started walking towards the park we used to play at years ago. I heard the creaking of the swing before I saw her. With a small grin, I sat on the open swing and kicked off.

“Have fun today?” I asked as our swinging naturally synced up.

Vinyl didn’t answer. I watched her swing for a moment, her two-tone mane blowing in the breeze, before asking again.

“I think I’m going to drop out,” she said after I asked a third time.

Caught off guard, I missed my next kick and spun the swing, knocking into her and the swing supports. “What?” I squeaked from both pain and surprise.

A burst of power from Vinyl’s horn quickly stopped my erratic swinging. “I’ve been thinking about it for awhile,” she continued, much more audible without the creaking of my swing. “I haven’t gone basically all week. I just don’t care. I’m old enough now to remove myself and Melody can’t stop me.”

“But what are you going to do?” I asked. “If you don’t finish high school, you don’t go to university, and you can’t get a decent job. How are you going to afford to live in Canterlot?”

“I told you the other day, I’m going to make music,” she said, becoming more defensive.

“Maybe in the long run, but the bits don’t just show up. It takes some time!” I was starting to get frustrated too. I understood wanting to start something right away, but wasn’t throwing away years of schooling right before the end just as bad? And how were Mother and Father going to react when they found out?

“Then I’ll take the time! I’ve got ways to get my music out there, Tavi. Hazelblossom said he’d start mixing some of my music into his sets, and there’s always that stallion in the music shop I went to as a kid!”

“You don’t even remember his name though!” I forced myself to stop and take a couple of deep breaths, masking this from Vinyl by dismounting the swing. I continued in a much more reasonable volume. “I just don’t want you to be in a bad position.”

Vinyl dismounted right after I did, visibly irritated. “I know, I’m just done with it all. I’m done with school, I’m done with being told what to do. I’m done with everypony saying they know what’s better for me than I do.”

I tried to answer, but she turned around and started walking towards our home. Her legs are longer, so I had to trot to catch up. She refused to look towards me, just sped up. By the time we reached home, she was practically in a full gallop, with me not too far behind. Vinyl threw open the door and was upstairs before I could cross the threshold. From upstairs, her door slammed shut.

Mother hurried herself into the entryway hearing the noise. “Octavia! Is everything okay?”

She walked over to me and put a hoof around me. I took a shaky breath and forced myself to stop shaking and calm down. I was not an athletic pony, and that run had done me no favors.

“It’s Vinyl,” I puffed out, allowing myself to be led to the parlor. Mother pushed me to a seat then went to make tea.

“What’s that crazy filly doing now?” she asked with a shake of her head, upon returning with tea. She poured us both cups and sat beside me, waiting.

So I told her everything.

Mother started by looking concerned, but the more I spoke, the sadder she became. When I finished, she looked up at the ceiling, towards Viny’s room, with a sigh. “That girl...”

“What are you going to do?”

She stood and gently patted my head. “I’m going to go talk to her. Why don’t you make dinner tonight? Something special for VInyl, hmm?” Without waiting for an answer she strode through the door and up the stairs.

I busied myself in the kitchen taking stock of ingredients. We didn’t really have what we needed, so I grabbed a small bag of bits from Mother’s room and went to the market. I was determined to make Vinyl a great dinner, to be enjoyed after Mother and her got done talking, again.

Maybe I should have gone up with her. It didn’t seem like Mother and Vinyl’s talks went all that well anymore...

When I returned about an hour later, they were still up in Vinyl’s room, talking. They didn’t seem to be yelling, which was a good sign. I busied myself in the kitchen for almost another hour to whip together a salad I knew Vinyl liked, and a small cake for her as well.

After setting everything on the table, I fetched Father from his study and, after filling him in, went upstairs to get Mother and Vinyl. I knocked twice, then poked my head into the room. “Mother, Vinyl, dinner is ready.”

They both turned to look at me, Mother from a chair by the desk, Vinyl from the floor. My friend sat behind a big box, a small selection of records floating in her magic over it. Behind her, the shelf that held her stereo sat mostly empty, all the records likely having been already boxed.

I stepped into the room and looked around. A lot of Vinyl’s music equipment had been broken down and packed into a couple of cases, and a small box overflowing with cabling. “What’s going on?” I asked, heart plummeting.

“Just taking some stuff to Hazelblossom’s,” Vinyl replied, setting the last of the records down and sealing them in the box.

“Octavia...” Mother started, but I cut her off.

“Why?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Just moving some stuff for a bit. I wanted to try something, but his equipment is kind of weird, so I’m just going to rig my own to it and try that way.”

“Let’s eat,” Mother said. I opened my mouth again to argue, but a sharp look from her stopped me cold. She hefted one of Vinyl’s boxes while my friend did the same. They left me in the room, alone, and headed downstairs.

With all of Vinyl’s equipment packed up, true silence fell in the house again. I hated it, having grown used to the gentle thrum of bass at all times of day. My ears dropped as I left the room, clicking off the light behind me. With my appetite suddenly gone, I didn’t have much desire to eat dinner. I placed the borrowed bag of bits back in Mother’s room, then went to my own and hid under my bed covers.

Sometime later that night, somepony woke me from a very light sleep by knocking on my door. They said nothing and I did not respond.

I must have actually fallen asleep some point after that, because a loud bang from the front door startled me awake several hours later, late enough that sunlight streamed through my cracked curtains. I stumbled on drowsy, uncooperative hooves to the window and peered out.

A small carriage sat on the street right outside the front door. Vinyl stood visible around the side, helping load a couple of boxes into it. Being half asleep, it didn’t quite click until Hazelblossom stepped down from the back and walked around to the front, to talk to the driver. Vinyl hopped into the cab, followed by the stallion, and they left.

That was Saturday. She was gone Sunday as well, and only showed up to school on Monday long enough to turn in her paperwork to officially drop out. Even before she did, though, the rumor mill had already started churning, and an unending wave of ponies threatened to drown me in questions. If it wasn’t for Symphonia, I don’t know if I would have made it.

Tuesday afternoon, Vinyl was home when I returned from school. She flashed me a smile when I walked in, which I did everything I could to return.

“Hiya, Tavi,” she said.

“What are you doing back here? I saw you leaving Saturday.”

“I told you I was just taking some stuff around to play around with,” she replied, a wounded look on her face.

“But you didn’t come by all week,” I replied. I felt my voice rising, the stress and quiet of the last couple of days flooding my cheeks with warmth. “On monday, you didn’t even bother to come say hello. I think I talked to every single pony in our, my, school at least once.”

Vinyl flinched back, her ears drooping at the tips. “S-Sorry, I got kind of distracted all weekend, playing around with cables and things. And yesterday they basically kicked me out once I turned in my paperwork.”

“You still could have come home Monday. Or this morning. You were gone all last week, decided to drop out of school, then moved a bunch of stuff out of the house the next day. It really doesn’t seem like you want to be around here anymore,” I said. Pricks of heat burned at the corner of my eyes, and I quickly tried to wipe them away.

“What the hay, Tavi? I’ve just been out doing my own thing, why are you being so hostile?”

“Stop calling me Tavi! My name is Octavia!” Nothing made sense, it didn’t even really feel like I was the one speaking.

Vinyl threw a hoof up in exasperation. I saw Mother poke her head over the railing of the upstairs landing. “What’s gotten into you?”

I bit the inside of my cheek and forced myself to sit and take a breath. “I just don’t understand what you’re doing, Vinyl. You do all these things so fast and suddenly. The stuff in Manehatten, sneaking out, dropping out of school, and now it looks like you’re moving all your important stuff out and staying gone for days at a time. Do you just not like it here with us anymore?”

My anger vanished as fast as it arrived, replaced again by the hot sting of tears. I scrubbed furiously at my face, trying to stop it from happening. Every little thought and doubt that spent all weekend running through my mind forced their way back to the front of my thoughts. It was almost the opposite of my worries as a filly. Instead of worrying about sharing my family and life, I was now afraid she was leaving and it would go back to just being me.

“Octavia, don’t you think you’re being a little unreasonable,” Mother said from her perch on the stairs. “Vinyl has said nothing of the sort.”

“So now you’re going at me too?” Vinyl asked, ignoring Mother. Her own skin flushed under her pale coat. “I get Melody being upset, but now that she’s off my back, you come at me too?”

“I’ve tried to be supportive, but I keep being left in the dark. Nopony is telling me anything; I keep having to find out after the fact. I’m just trying to figure out what you’re going to do, so I can prepare for it,” I countered.

Hearing that she was being ignored, Mother quickly tried to make it down the stairs, but was too late to stop Vinyl. “Fine, Octavia, if you and Melody are going to get on me for every little thing I decide to do, I don’t want to be a part of it. Just so you are informed, I’m leaving tomorrow. Now, if you’ll allow it, I have to go pack!”

Even Mother froze as the last echo of Vinyl’s shout bounced around the entry hall. My friend pushed past her on the stairs, stomped to her room, and gently shut the door. If I hadn’t already been sitting, I probably would have fallen over.

Mother’s wide purple eyes turned to look at mine. “It’s not your fault, Octavia,” she said. “Let me try to talk to her, okay?”

I nodded, numb, as she turned and climbed the stairs. I heard her knock, wait, then knock again a minute or so later. Shakily, I rose to my hooves and retreated to my room, followed by the sound of Mother knocking a third time.

My saddlebags thudded to the floor. I sat deliberately on the bed, too many thoughts running through my head to make sense of individual ones. Mother came to knock on my own door as the sun started setting, but left after I didn’t answer. As light filtering in through my window switched from sunlight to lamp light, my brain finally decided on a single thought to loop as I laid down to sleep.

I messed up.

I laid awake, staring at reflected light from the window on my ceiling. Father would have already ordered a coach to help Vinyl move, because there was no way he would make her do it alone. I wondered if she was trying to sleep too, on the other side of the upper floor. Was she awake like I was?

Did she feel as bad as I did?

Maybe if I went to talk to her, she’d reconsider. We’d both been upset. Now that we’d had a chance to cool off...

There was no point, though. I couldn’t stand the thought of going to see her, even to apologize, after I’d said what I did, and how I had. She’d been calling me Tavi for years and it never bothered me, so why did I yell? Why did anything have to happen like that?

I spent the whole night thinking about our past together, the good times, the fights, everything we said we’d do together. I remembered it all, and memory by memory, let it go. It didn’t matter anymore, I’d been too stubborn and stupid. Tomorrow, Vinyl Scratch was going to leave, and I would never see her again.

Author's Note

Oh man, was this rough to write, even from the beginning. I knew it was coming, but still.
Anyway, we're just over a third-ish done with the story now. It's been weird these last couple of chapters, and as promised I'm going to drop a blog with extended author's notes for those who are interested in a behind the curtain look. If not, that's cool too. As always, I love feedback, so comment away!
Before I forget, I have a surprise for you all, so keep an eye out come Thursday or Friday

Rest

Rest

“Are you sure this is what you want to do, Octavia?” Mother asked again as we loaded my last box into the carriage. With Symphonia’s things mixed in, we almost didn’t actually have enough room to ride to campus.

“It’s a little late now, I would think,” I replied. Tuition had already been paid, our dorm room secured, and classes signed up and prepared for.

Mother sighed and pulled me into another hug. “I know. I just hate to see you go, especially after...”

I wrapped my forehooves around her and squeezed. “I know you wanted me to go to the Conservatory, but I think this will be better. Besides, I can always go after.”

“If you need to,” Father added, joining into the hug pile. “Your mother and I needed connections, you’ve already got us.”

We pulled apart as another pony moved around the side of the carriage, a small golden unicorn with perfect posture. “Octavia, are you ready?”

My parents looked at me and nodded. After taking another long look at my foalhood home, I did as well.

“Excellent,” Symphonia said, clapping her hooves together. “Canterlot University, here we come!”

<><><><><>

I walked slowly through the bustling hallway, carting along a couple of boxes. I had the room number memorized already, but actually trying to find the thing was becoming a pain. Several ponies stopped me to ask questions or chat, but I blew them off with a couple of words. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk.

I finally found the right door, shoved back in a corner of the dorm where the room numbers from one side merged with the others. I fumbled with the keys for a moment before pushing into the empty room. My roomie was a second year student, probably already in class, so nopony was around. One bed was already claimed, so I threw one box down there, and another on an unoccupied desk.

The box on my bed spilled open, throwing records everywhere. I clicked my tongue and moved them all in one pile, unveiling a shiny, new Canterlot University saddlebag. I threw it aside too and flopped down on the bed, one much less comfortable than the ones I preferred.

The door opened behind me, and in walked a chocolate brown pegasus. She blinked when she saw me, then smiled softly. “Oh, hello. I wasn’t aware my new roommate was coming in today. My name is Coco”

I hopped off the bed and walked in front of her, holding out my hoof for a bump. “‘Sup? I’m Vinyl Scratch.”

Author's Note

So, here is the extra present i promised you guys on Monday. Just a little piece setting up the rest of the story. I also do this to serve as a holdover. We are changing the day for chapter posting to give quick more time to look the stuff over. New chapters will be going up on Tuesday, probably earlier in the day

That means that next week's chapter will be Tuesday, not Monday. I'll talk to you all then.

Chatter

Chatter

After three and a half years at Canterlot University, I thought I’d been just about everywhere or at least knew where everything was. So, it was with some small bit of embarrassment that I turned to Symphonia, schedule in hoof.

“Where is the Sciences Center, Room 313?” I asked.

Symphonia turned her dark eyes towards me, then down to the offered paper. “Your psych class? It’s where the Sciences Building has always been. Remember, we had Biology and Chemistry there.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “I know that, but Room 313 would be on the third floor. The Sciences Building doesn’t have a third floor.”

She floated her own schedule to her then looked at the clock. “Oh, well, good luck then. Have to run, see you tonight!” Before I could say anything else, she grabbed her saddlebags and bolted out of the door.

Great. I tossed my schedule onto a pile of music sheets on my desk. I couldn’t remember where the room was, but I’d already memorized everything else. With a sigh, I picked up my own saddlebags and hurried after her. We met in the lobby of our dorm building and walked together until she turned off for the auditorium.

I went instead for the Sciences Building, with all of it’s two floors. Stifling a sigh, I walked inside the main lobby. Fifteen minutes of wandering later, I found the room, right outside a walkway connecting the second floor of this building to the third floor of the building next door.

Somepony thought they were being clever with the numbering schemes. I entered the room, about ten minutes before the start of class, and took an open seat towards the right side of the room. The room filled slowly, other ponies coming in groups of two and threes, many complaining of having trouble finding the room. At half past two in the afternoon, exactly, a dapper stallion in a suit walked in, headed to the podium in the front of the room, and tapped his hoof against it.

“Alright then, gather ‘round,” he rumbled in a deep voice. “Kick those desks aside, let’s get a little more personal, shall we?” Putting word to action, the professor pushed aside the podium and sat down right on the floor. Hesitantly, other ponies did the same until we had a big ring in the middle of the room.

Then, the door opened again. “Heya, everypony, sorry I’m late. I could not find this place; I’ve been looking for ages.”

I whipped my head around at the familiar voice. Standing in the door, saddlebag already half off as she moved to join the circle, was a white unicorn mare with a two-toned blue mane. Violet-colored glasses locked gaze with mine and she stopped in her tracks. “Tavi?” she mouthed.

“Come come,” the professor said, motioning with a hoof to coax Vinyl to the circle. For half a second, I thought she was going to sit next to me, but she ended up opposite.

For almost the entire hour long lecture, I could hardly take my eyes off her. It was almost the same Vinyl I remembered growing up with, just with the addition of glasses. Big, thickly tinted things they were. I was immediately reminded of Hazelblossom’s self-proclaimed nickname. Every so often she would glance my way, but with those infernal sunglasses in the way, I couldn’t tell if she was looking at me or not.

When the lecture neared its end, I subtly packed my things, ready to follow her at a moment’s notice. To my surprise, as soon as we were dismissed, she came over to me. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Octavia.”

“Nor I you,” I replied. “What are you, uh, doing... here?”

She gave me a flat look, the disdain magnified by my reflection in her sunglasses. “Grocery shopping,” she deadpanned.

“Yes, well you know what I meant,” I huffed. Pretending to be upset, like I used to, I looked away from her. Normally, I would look back and grin, but this time she only looked down.

I coughed, suddenly uncomfortable.

“So, how have you been--” I started

“How’s everything going--” she said, at the same time.

We both stopped and looked at each other.

Vinyl was the first to crack and smile. “Celestia, this is so awkward. Do you wanna go, like, grab a late lunch or something?”

After a quick glance at the clock, I shook my head. “I can’t. I’ve got rehearsal tonight. Maybe some other time?”

”Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure. I’ll see you around, then.” She grabbed her bag and quickly left the room.

After a quick stop in my dorm to collect my cello, I hurried towards the auditorium. There was some sort of play being set up on the main stage, so I navigated through the back hallways to one of the practice rooms. Already, some discordant noises leaked through the door, ponies checking the tuning of their instruments.

“Symphonia,” I said, throwing open the door and striding into the room. My friend looked over from her customary place on the side of the room and cocked her head. “You’ll never guess who I ran into today.”

“Who?” she asked as I walked across the room and set my cello case down on the floor.

“Vinyl. Vinyl Scratch is in my psych class.”

She pushed the lid of my cello case closed, leaving her hoof there so I couldn’t open it. “I’m sorry, one more time?”

“It was Vinyl.”

Symphony made a show of looking around the room. “I don’t see any obnoxious unicorns in here - save for Green Apple in the corner.”

Hearing her name, the bright green unicorn glared at Symphonia from the other side of the room. “Hey!”

My friend waved a hoof dismissively at the irritated mare. “Yeah yeah, it was a joke.” She turned her attention back to me. “I meant that I don’t see Vinyl. So you two still aren’t...?”

I shook my head. I’d often wondered what I would say if I ran into Vinyl again. It goes without saying that our actual talk went nothing like what I’d pictured in my head. She had wanted to get food though, maybe she wanted to catch up or apologize?

Symphonia pulled open my cello case for me. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. Let’s just get ready for practice. You know Vinyl is here, you can find and talk to her later. You know where she’ll be on Wednesday.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I acknowledged, pulling the familiar smooth wood of my cello from the case. The two of us joined the growing group of ponies in the center of the room, and prepared to practice.

<><><><><>

I could feel Symphonia’s eyes on me as I paced around our small dorm room. “Are you going to do this the entire time until you go meet Vinyl?”

“N-No.” I forced myself to sit down in the middle of the room and take a deep breath. To be honest, I would be perfectly happy pacing around the entire campus until our agreed-upon lunch meeting. I’d not been so nervous in a long time. I was really looking forward to the chance to reconnect with Vinyl and, given how our first conversation in three years had gone, I felt my nerves were understandable

My roommate had to fight down a laugh. “Right. Pre-date jitters?”

“It’s not a date,” I snapped, spinning so I was no longer facing her.

“Right,” she laughed, unable to hold it any longer. She stood and attached her saddlebag. “Well, I’ve got class and I won’t be back until later. Just, hang a sock on the door or something.”

I threw a book at her, which missed. She laughed and ducked out the door before I could reload, leaving me alone with my thoughts and an hour before my meeting. With Symphonia gone, I was happy to continue my pacing in peace. It wasn’t even a nerves thing, I just hated waiting.

Yesterday after our Psych class, Vinyl followed me all the way to the auditorium in silence before suddenly asking if I wanted to get lunch today. I watched her scurry away after I agreed with an odd feeling of confusion - mostly because ‘scurry’ was a word I had never associated with her.

We were meeting at a small restaurant near campus, frequented by students, so I had no excuse to leave early. Finally, the time came that I could leave and arrive only a few minutes early. I sequestered some bits in a small saddlebag and left.

When I arrived, I cursed myself for not leaving earlier to secure a table. A line was already forming out of the front door, caused by dozens of college ponies stopping by for lunch. I found the end of the line and joined. The line grew steadily, ponies breaking off from the main flow of traffic in groups to clump behind me. I started to fear that Vinyl wouldn’t be able to find me.

I was so focused on looking beyond the line that I jumped when somepony poked me in the shoulder. Thinking I’d forgotten to move with the line, I turned to apologize and came muzzle to muzzle with Vinyl, my own shocked face reflected back in her glasses.

“’Sup, Octavia?” she asked. The ponies behind us dutifully shifted backwards and grumbled as she joined me in line.

“Nothing, just waiting,” I replied, cocking my head to the side. She’d called me Octavia again, as she had yesterday and Monday as well. A memory of me shouting at her for calling me Tavi flashed through my mind and I winced.

“Yeah, this place is super popular.” She turned to face front, as I was, her head bobbing to the beat of tinny music coming from headphones around her neck.

We stood in line awkwardly until we were finally inside and seated at a small table in the middle of the room. Even after ordering we sat in silence, not really able to look the other in the eye.

“So, how has your music been going?” I asked, raising my voice a little to be heard over the din around us.

Vinyl scratched the back of her head. “Well, it’s alright. I’ve been mixing a bunch of really good stuff. Just trying to get it out there, y’know? How about you, you’ve got rehearsal for something after our class together, right?”

“Yes, I’m in the student orchestra.”

Her face broke into a grin. “Yeah, I figured you would be. Though I’m surprised you ended up here. Why not the Conservatory?”

“It was a tough decision,” I started. I had been offered scholarships to both schools and several others across Equestria besides. As a filly, I’d always intended to attend the Canterlot Conservatory, but as the time drew near to decide, I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. It wasn’t a matter of skill, simply that I did not want to attend. “Do you remember Symphonia?”

Vinyl nodded.

“She was denied admittance to the Conservatory and wanted somepony she knew to room with here.”

The server came back with our food, which still was not enough to break Vinyl’s unbelieving stare. “Did the Conservatory not give you a scholarship?”

I took a bite of my salad. “No, they did.”

“You are one crazy mare, Tavi.” She had a forkful of her own salad halfway to her face before freezing. “Oh, uh, Octavia. Sorry.”

“It’s fine, really. It’s weird to hear you call me Octavia, I’m not sure I like it.”

Her sunglasses-covered eyes shot up to lock on mine. “But you said…”

I smiled, shook my head, and took another bite. “I think we were both a little out of character that day. I’d rather you call me Tavi.”

“Yeah, I think I can do that,” she answered with a smile of her own.

We finished the rest of our meal in silence, eating quickly and leaving so another group could have our table. Our trip back to campus meandered a lot, turning a ten minute walk into almost half an hour.

“I will admit, I didn’t think I’d see you at University,” I said to Vinyl as the main campus gate came into view.

“Yeah, I hadn’t intended to come here, honestly.”

“Yes, I remember.”

Vinyl laughed nervously, and looked away from me. “Well, you were kind of right. My music hasn’t been doing fantastic. I’m here to get a degree in music theory, with some more computer-y stuff so I can build my own boards.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, and hurried to explain. “Is ‘computer-y stuff’ the technical term for all of that?”

“No, but I don’t have the degree yet, now do I?” she shot back.

I expected us to split past the gate, or maybe before, but to my surprise Vinyl turned with me towards the student housing. “Do you stay in the dorms as well?”

She nodded. “Yup, but my roomie graduated last year. I’m still waiting on a replacement. I’m hoping they don’t give me one.”

“I wouldn’t hold your breath.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Anyway, I’ve got a couple of classes tonight, so I gotta split. Talk to you later?” Vinyl stopped us about halfway to the dorm buildings and turned towards the classrooms.

I nodded. “See you tomorrow.”

She held out a hoof, which I dutifully bumped, and she walked off.

I was humming to myself later that afternoon when Symphonia returned from classes.

“So, how was your date?” she asked.

“It was not a date!” I responded. She was not able to dodge the pillow this time.

Author's Note

And here starts the next part of the story. I hope everyone is ready for me to finally make use of that romance tag up there, because I know I am.

Shock

Shock

“So when are you meeting up with her again?” Symphonia asked as we rounded the corner back to the main entrance hall of the auditorium.

“Now,” I replied, pointing to a white unicorn pressing her muzzle up against the glass of the window. Spotting us, she waved.

Symphonia shook her head, then readjusted the strap of her violin. She strode ahead and unlatched the door, letting Vinyl inside. “It’s been a long time, Vinyl Scratch.”

Vinyl popped off her headphones and nodded. “Yeah, yeah. You’re Rosin’s daughter, right?” She paused for a moment, then shot a look around Symphonia to me. “What was your name again?”

“Symphonia,” I supplied.

“Symphonia,” Vinyl echoed, holding out a hoof.

The violinist reached out hesitantly and shook it. “A pleasure to remake your acquaintance.” She walked forward, leading us out into the late afternoon sunlight.

“So, you’ve been here for how long, Vinyl Scratch?” Symphonia asked as we all walked back towards the dorms.

“I’m in my third year, same as you,” she answered.

“And you know that we are in our third year how?”

“Because I know Tavi was a year behind me in high school, would have started right after graduating, and I took a year off.” Vinyl glanced across Symphonia to me. “What’s up with her?”

I shrugged, but Symphonia answered. “Nothing is up with me, Vinyl Scratch; just making idle conversation while you follow us to our dorm.”

We rounded the main administration building and ran right into a big group of other ponies, forcing our little group to split in half.

“Why are you being so weird?” I asked Symphonia while Vinyl was across the colored sea of other ponies.

“I’m not being weird, just making conversation.”

I grabbed the strap of her violin with a hoof, forcing her to stop in the middle of the crowd. She glared at me, but turned to face me. “What?”

“You are being weird,” I said. “At the very least, you’re standoffish.”

I looked around the group of ponies as Symphonia thought about replying. They were almost gone and I could see Vinyl standing on the other side, looking quizzically back at us.

“I’m kind of mad at her still,” Symphonia said after a moment. I was about to reply when our cover finally ended and Vinyl walked up to us.

“Everything alright?” she asked.

“Yes, Octavia’s cello strap twisted in the crowd and I was helping her fix it,” Symphonia lied, fluttering some of her magic across my cello case as though she was just finishing up. Vinyl shrugged and the three of us continued towards the dorms, this time with Vinyl in the lead.

Symphonia looked over at me and shrugged. I nodded, then focused on watching where I was walking. I understood. In the two weeks since Vinyl and I met again, I still wasn’t quite sure how to feel. For one thing, she did just up and leave when we were younger, even if she thought it was a good reason. We hadn’t talked about it and she hadn’t apologized.

Then again, did she have anything to apologize for? Vinyl had only done what she thought was best for her own life; was it fair for me to judge that? But at the same time, was it okay for her to just pop back in and act like nothing happened? Though, it wasn’t like her leaving had physically affected me all that much, just left me a little more lonely.

I resisted the urge to cover my head with my hooves.

A few minutes later we entered my dorm building and climbed to our room on the fourth floor. Symphonia and I entered first, taking a moment to stow our instruments in the coat closet right beside the door. Vinyl followed behind. “This is… less clean than I was expecting.”

“We aren’t always here a lot to clean,” I defended. A lot of the room was covered in paper. Schoolwork, notes, music sheets, and just general detritus littered most available table and desk space. The floor was mostly clean, except for a few stacks of books and supplies for instrument care. The walls were tastefully decorated with pictures of friends and family, and posters shows conducted by Father, or played by Symphonia’s mother, Aunt Rosin.

“I’m sure yours is much cleaner,” Symphonia shot back. “I remember how your room was at Melody’s.”

Vinyl stuck out her tongue. “I’m not one of the prim and proper rich ponies.”

“Alright, so, where are we going, Vinyl?” I asked, cutting off Symphonia’s likely heated reply.

“Wherever,” Vinyl shrugged. “I was going to come up with something to do, but I forgot.”

“Typical,” Symphonia muttered under her breath. I chose to ignore her.

With a sigh and shake of my head, I strapped on a small saddlebag and grabbed Vinyl. “Come on, then.”

The two of us left and walked in silence until we were back outside. “Where are we goin’, Tavi?” Vinyl asked.

“I don’t know, you are the one who wanted to do this. Better think fast.”

She pouted at me for a moment then, with a shrug, started walking towards the campus gates. She led me away from our school and out to the streets of Canterlot. This close to the University, it was always a little crowded, but, at this time of the evening on a Friday night, it was worse than normal. We were quickly pushed to the edge of the street by the sheer amount of carriage and hoof traffic. Vinyl seemed unconcerned about our slow pace, assuming she’d even figured out where we were going.

I hadn’t explored much of the area surrounding the University until my second year, preferring instead to focus on my studies the first. The back of campus actually bordered the edge of the city, something I assumed the pegasus students enjoyed. There were of course tons of restaurants near campus, for all the hungry students. A lot of cheap stores also set up near campus, playing into the broke student stereotype. More expensive stores seemed to avoid the area entirely.

“Have you figured out where we’re going yet?” Vinyl asked as we turned yet another corner, always moving away from campus.

“Does that mean you actually have somewhere in mind now?” I replied. We’d already gone far out of where I normally spent time outside of class.

“Of course I do.”

I hummed noncommittally. We were too far from the neighborhood we grew up in to be headed anywhere there, and The Underground wasn’t nearby either. I didn’t really know any of her other hangout spots.

After another half hour of walking, and two instances of us doubling back on ourselves, I asked, “and you’re sure you know where we’re going?”

“Nah, I’m lost,” Vinyl admitted after a short laugh.

“Of course you are,” I groaned. Judging by the sun, it was getting late in the evening. “We should probably head back then, it’s getting late.”

Vinyl quickly looked at me. “Uh, how late?”

I looked up again. “Maybe six? Seven?”

“Ah, ponyfeathers, I’m late for class,” she said before starting a gallop back to campus.

“Wait!” I shouted, attempting to follow after her. The crowds had let up a little bit, but even on a good day it wasn’t safe to gallop through the streets. She either didn’t hear or didn’t slow, so I sped up to at least pull even.

“Sorry, Tavi, forgot I had a class tonight,” she panted. “I always forget at least one…”

“So you take night classes?” I asked, more breathless than I’d like to admit.

She just nodded and put on another burst of speed as we rounded another corner, bringing us onto the street that eventually turned into the main campus road. We’d wandered farther than I’d thought. The crowds were starting to thicken back up again though, making our side-by-side running much harder. I dropped back behind Vinyl and did my best to keep up.

Somehow we managed to not run anypony over, but as Vinyl showed no signs of slowing as we entered campus, I forced myself to stop at the turn to the dorms. “See you Monday!” I shouted to her.

Vinyl did a humorous little three legged hop to wave goodbye, not bothering to slow down on her mad race towards the class buildings. I shook my head and, with my evening now clear, went back to my dorm.

Symphonia looked up in surprise as I entered. “I thought you’d be gone much longer,” she said, closing her book.

“Vinyl had class, apparently. We just walked around for a bit.” I shrugged, removing the saddlebag I hadn’t used to place it back on it’s peg.

She shook her head. “Typical Vinyl.”

“Do you want to talk about earlier?” I asked, taking a seat next to Symphonia.

“Not really, but I don’t think I actually have a choice.”

I shook my head no, so she continued. “I’m still kind of upset for her leaving like she did three years ago. It didn’t really affect me all that much, but I saw what happened to you and heard mom talk about what was going on with Melody. Even if it was for a good reason, it wasn’t right the way she did it.”

“Yeah, but—” I tried to reply, but was quickly cut off.

“You wanted to know, so listen. Whether she meant to or not, she left you in kind of a bad place. I know we weren’t as close then, but it’s safe to say that she was your closest friend, right?”

I nodded.

She nodded in response. “Exactly my point. I wouldn’t dream of just cutting you out of my life like that and I think you think the same. And I certainly wouldn’t come back years later with a smile and a wave like nothing had happened. It might be easier to pretend otherwise, but to my eyes she put a huge tear in the trust of your friendship and isn’t doing anything to try and correct that.”

“You’re probably right,” I admitted. “I’m happy to see her again, but there has been this little voice in the back of my head that keeps asking when she’s going to leave again. I also kind of wonder if she’s talked to Mother or Father since then. I’m supposed to go back and visit next weekend, and they’re going to ask me what’s happened since the last visit, and what am I supposed to tell them?”

“The truth. I don’t think they’d be upset.”

We fell silent for a moment, leaning on each other on our small couch. “It is weird that I hadn’t seen her, though. She said she’s been here for three years, like us, but campus isn’t that big. And it sounds like her degree is in music, like ours, how did we not see her in any classes?” I mused.

“Vinyl was never a morning pony, and you said she ran to catch class. She’s probably taking night classes,” Symphonia answered.

That made sense. While Canterlot University did have most of its students living on campus and learning full-time, there was a sizable portion who worked and came here in their off time for more schooling. I couldn’t see Vinyl waking up with the sun to get to a Fundamentals of Music Theory class like Symphonia and me.

“I suppose I was being a little rude though,” Symphonia conceded, breaking my train of thought. “I promise to be a little nicer, as long as you promise to be careful.”

I didn’t think Vinyl was all that dangerous, personally, but I nodded anyway. “I promise.”

“Good, now it’s your turn to make dinner.” Symphonia stood and poked me with a hoof. “I cooked the last three nights.”

<><><><><>

“Tavi! Wait up!” I turned at the sound of Vinyl’s voice to see her galloping towards me from the campus gates. I was half in the carriage that would take me to my parents, but I stepped back onto the street anyway. I held up a hoof at the driver’s confused look and walked to meet her.

“Thanks for stopping,” she said, slightly out of breath, when we met up. “I stopped by your room, but Symphonia said you were headed out for the weekend. Glad I caught you.”

“Did you need something?” I asked. I’d only seen Vinyl once since my talk with Symphonia, but just like then I could feel myself closing off from her just a little. I forced myself to stop, and made a mental note to think on that more later.

“Yeah, um, you’re going to meet with Melody and Legatus, right?” At my nod, she floated an envelope out of her bags. “Could you give this to them for me?”

I nodded and let her place it in my own bags. “What is it?”

She flushed slightly and scratched the back of one of her hooves. “It’s, uh… Well, it’s something for my tuition this semester.”

I flicked an ear and waited. If Vinyl was giving my parents information on her tuition, did that mean…?

“I met with Legatus a couple of years ago, after your graduation. One of the ponies in his orchestra was talking about my music, and Legatus wanted me to get the feedback. He found me at The Underground and we talked for a bit. I mentioned wanting to learn some more about how music production works and the tools for it, so he talked to Melody and they agreed to pay for school.”

“So, they knew you were here the whole time, and never told me.” I nodded for a moment. “And they never told you I was coming here, either.”

“To be fair,” Vinyl replied, watching my face very carefully. “I don’t talk to them all that much. I just mail along what they need to have, and Canterlot University doesn’t kick me out.”

“Thank you for telling me, Vinyl. Now, I really must be going. I have several things to talk to my parents about.” I spun on a hoof without waiting for a response, and quickly entered my ride home.

I fumed the entire ride, angry at Vinyl for not telling me my parents were paying for her school, and mad at my parents for not telling me Vinyl and I were going to the same place. Over the long ride, I slowly calmed down. It did make sense, in a way, that they never told me. After Vinyl left, none of us really talked about her all that much. I’d never mentioned wanting to find her again, nor had I tried, despite knowing exactly where she was.

It was also safe to assume that if Symphonia noticed how sad I was after Vinyl left, Mother and Father did as well. They probably hadn’t said anything because they thought I didn’t want to see her, or wanted to keep her from hurting me again.

Even with all that in mind, it was hard not to be upset with them still as my trip ended. I thanked my driver, gathered my things, and walked up the steps to my childhood home. Both my parents were waiting in the parlor as I opened the door. I smiled at them, and we all hugged.

“Welcome home, Octavia,” Mother said, pouring me a fresh cup of tea. “How have you been?”

I tried my best to keep a straight face. “I’ve been fine, Mother. You’ll never guess who I ran into a couple of weeks back…”

Author's Note

I know that I said that I was going to post these on Tuesday morning, and I'm trying, honest.
Also, this chapter was fun to write, I really like Symphonia and was kind of bummed out when she didn't show for most of the first part, so I'm excited to see how she influences the story now.
As always, I look forward to your guys feedback, and hope you look forward to the next part. Have a nice week, and stay safe.

Hum

Hum

I took a tentative sip of my tea. Mulling over the flavor, I looked across the steamy cup at Mother. “You’ll never guess who I ran into a couple of weeks back.”

Mother took a sip of her own drink and cocked her head, curious.

“Vinyl Scratch,” I said. I reached into my bags on the floor, and gave Vinyl’s letter to Father.

My parents shared a look. “Octavia…” Mother started.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were talking to her again? Why didn’t you tell me we were going to the same school?” I asked. I could feel my anger from the carriage ride building again but I pushed it back.

“We’re sorry, Octavia,” Father said in his best soothing voice. “We didn’t know how you’d feel about it, or react, so we hid it from you. It… might not have been the best choice.”

Mother nodded along in agreement until the end, then rolled her eyes. “It was not our intent to mislead you, nor were we trying to hurt you, Octavia. Your Father and I felt that if we told you that Vinyl was going to the same school as you, and that we were paying for her tuition, you would see it as us approving of her actions and asking you to forgive her.”

“But I wasn’t—” I tried to speak, but Mother held up a hoof.

“I’m not saying you are or were,” she continued, hoof still raised. “You hardly spoke of Vinyl after she left. Myself, your Father, Rosin, Symphonia, Grandma Serenade, none of us knew your thoughts of feelings on the matter. All we saw was you moping around. So when Vinyl approached your Father about going to school after all, we decided to help her out and let you make your own choices.”

“We practically raised Vinyl,” Father added. “Neither of us could turn her away when she came to us for help. We just didn’t want our feelings to influence you into doing something you didn’t want to.”

I took another sip of tea to buy time to think. During the trip I had been ready to tear into them - at least be very upset - but I couldn’t deny that their reasoning was somewhat solid. If they had told me they were paying for Vinyl to attend school, what would I have done?

Part of me wanted to say that I would have run to Vinyl on the first day, given her a big hug, and carried on like nothing had happened, even though that was a lie. Even now that we had reconnected, I still let Vinyl take the lead on when we spent time together, and there was that distance I still felt between us.

I nodded to my parents. “Okay,” I said. “I understand.”

Mother and Father both relaxed visibly and shared another look. “In that case, shall I pour you more tea?” Mother asked, lifting the pot towards my very low cup.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening chatting. Father was working on another new show, this time for a production company all the way in Las Pegasus. He and Mother would be travelling soon to meet the orchestra and begin prepping the show itself and would be gone for two weeks. They promised to mail tickets and arrange travel for Symphonia and I when the show came. When I suggested they do the same for Vinyl they looked taken aback for a moment, but happily agreed.

As was normal for my visits Rosin came early the second day. I awoke to her normal banging on my door. With a smile I crawled from my bed, grabbed a hairbrush, and opened the door. Before Rosin could even speak, I shoved the brush at her. “If you’re going to wake me up, you’re going to work for it,” I said.

Rosin snapped a perfect parade ground salute. “Of course, Princess Octavia. If you’d please sit on your Royal Behind, I shall comb your Royal Nes— I mean Mane!”

With the most regal nod I could manage half asleep, I sat on the floor in the middle of the room. Rosin sat behind me and began the task of wrangling my mane into shape. “Mels tells me you ran into Vinyl.”

I nodded without thinking and received a sharp tug on my hair in response. “Yeah. We have a psych class together.”

“Very cool, very cool. You punched her in the muzzle yet?”

“What!?” I whipped around, yanking the comb from Rosin’s magic in the process. It remained stuck, an unpleasant weight on the back of my head. “Why would I do that?”

“Because she broke your heart, left you alone, and ran off with a stallion.” She motioned for me to spin back around which I did, reluctantly. She resumed brushing. “I would have punched her, probably twice by now.”

“I’m not going to punch her.”

“Maybe not, but you want to.”

“No,” I answered immediately, then thought for a second. “No. I have no reason to. And she didn’t ‘break my heart,’ we were just friends.”

“Friends can break your heart, kiddo,” Rosin said, her voice a little lower than normal. “I nearly punched Mels when she started dating Legatus.”

This time she was ready for it and managed to pull the brush out of my somewhat tame mane before I turned suddenly. “What, really?”

Rosin nodded. “Sure, sure. She left me for some stallion like some cheap floozy!” She turned her head at the end and shouted the last two words out my door. I heard a surprised bang from the kitchen and Rosin grinned.

She continued quickly as somepony stomped up the stairs. “In all seriousness, I wanted to. I didn’t know what was going to happen to us. As it turned out, nothing, and I hope that’s how it goes for you too kiddo.”

“Oh, hey Mels. What brings you to Princess Octavia’s humble abode?” Rosin asked, turning as Mother burst into my room, wielding a rolling pin.

“Methinks a Princess’ attendant shouldn’t be using such crass language.” Mother stepped into the room, menacingly, lifting the rolling pin above Rosin’s head. “I think you should have your mouth washed out, young lady.”

Rosin scooted behind me, placing my brush beside me. “Have mercy, O’ Gray One.”

Mother did not.

<><><><><>

I thought a lot about what Mother and Rosin had said on the carriage ride back to campus. After Vinyl left, I hadn’t really wanted to talk about it and I hadn’t really thought about it either. I’d spend most of my time trying to keep busy so I didn’t have to. She’d left so fast and I had no break from school and life in general to deal with it.

Although that wasn’t exactly true. I hadn’t brought it up, and my parents had stopped asking eventually. But even now, I didn’t have a good answer as to my feelings on the situation. Everypony said I had been sad, and I was, but at what point had that sadness faded to the background. Had it?

Symphonia wasn’t home when I returned to our dorm room, so I went to bed with troubled thoughts. Several conversations with other ponies, long sleepless nights, and an entire carriage ride had done nothing to help me settle my mind on my current situation, or even really define my feelings in words. After thinking in circles, and tossing around in bed all night, I finally decided there was only one possible solution.

The next day, I told Symphonia I was going to miss practice that night before heading to my class with Vinyl. I greeted her as she arrived, and we sat together in silence for the entire lecture. As everypony was packing up after, I finally turned to her.

“I’d like to talk to you,” I said.

“Y-Yeah? Sure, what about?” she responded, failing to conceal her surprise.

“Not here. Come on.” I threw on my saddlebags and left the room, not looking to see if she would follow.

As we exited the building and turned towards the dorms, away from the auditorium, Vinyl spoke again. “Tavi, what’s going on? You’re acting weird.”

“I spoke with my parents over the weekend, and now I’d like to talk with you,” I responded.

“Is this going to be a bad conversation?”

I paused to ponder for a moment. “I’m not sure.”

Vinyl huffed a quiet sigh. “Great…”

Since Symphonia was going to be practicing for at least an hour, I led Vinyl straight into my dorm room. I placed my bag on it’s normal hook, directed her to the small seating area, and went to make tea. When I returned, Vinyl was fidgeting on the very edge of the couch. I set down our cups, the pot, and a bowl of sugar, then took a seat opposite her on the floor.

“I’d like to talk to you,” I began after a sip, “about when you left.”

Vinyl’s ears immediately drooped and she nearly dropped her tea. “Oh…”

I nodded and took another drink. “I understand why you left, I think, but I don’t understand why you never tried to reach out to me. You knew where I was, and I thought we were friends. I know we parted after an argument, but I didn’t think that was too harmful to our friendship. Friends fight all the time.”

“I could say the same for you,” she responded quietly. “You knew where I was. I couldn’t visit you in school because I’d dropped out, and it didn’t feel right showing up at Melody and Legatus’ house after how I left them.”

That did make some sort of sense. I knew that my parents held no ill will towards Vinyl, even then, but there was no way she could have. “True enough,” I conceded.

She shrugged. “So when you never came looking, I just figured you didn’t care anymore. Like you said, I left after an argument. We both said dumb things, but…”

“Everypony thinks I should be upset with you,” I said after a few minutes of silence. “Or is at least surprised that I’m not.”

I furrowed my brow. “At least, I think I’m not mad.”

“Y-You think?” Vinyl squeaked.

“I’m not sure. I think I’m supposed to be, but I’m more confused that I’m not. I hoped that talking to you about it would help.”

“I was upset for a little while. Not at you, exactly, but at everypony. It felt that everypony was just telling me no and trying to hold me back.” She set down her full cup of tea and sat back on the couch, looking towards the ceiling. “Then I tried to do it on my own, and saw how hard it was, but by then it felt too late to go back and apologize. I was so happy when Legatus came to talk to me. I thought I’d torched every bridge I’d ever made.”

“I was mostly sad.” I fumbled for words, trying to speak my mind without thinking too much. If I thought too far ahead, I was afraid the words would slip away. “You were my closest friend, and then you were gone, but I didn’t want to talk to anypony about it.”

“Sorry.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think you should be, really. You didn’t do it to hurt me, you only did what you thought was best for you at the time. If anything, it might have been better for me. Before I met you, I spent a lot of time alone, and that was something I had to learn to do again after you left. It wasn’t fun, but I think it was necessary.

“Symphonia is upset with you, because in her eyes you abandoned me. Mother and Father didn’t tell me that you were coming to Canterlot University because they didn’t want to make me feel obligated to reach out to you. Rosin thinks I should hit you—”

“What?” Vinyl scrambled away from me - as far as she could on the tiny couch - and covered her face. When no attack came at her, she relaxed a bit. “Actually, that sounds like a really Rosin thing to say.”

“Then Mother beat her with a rolling pin and washed her mouth out,” I replied absentmindedly. Vinyl burst out laughing and I couldn’t help but crack a smile as well. “I think I’m more happy that you’re back, but there is some part of me worried that you’re going to leave again.”

Vinyl paused a moment as her laughter subsided. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere, Tavi. You were and still are my closest friend, and I’m not planning on risking that again.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yeah, really. I had several years to think on exactly how and when I messed up. When I saw you in that classroom, all I could think was that I finally had a chance to make things right.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Symphonia creep into the dorm. Vinyl didn’t though, and continued. “So for what it’s worth, thanks for not hitting me, and I’m sorry for vanishing.”

“Well, it’s about time!” Symphonia exclaimed. Vinyl jumped in the air and whirled around, rearing on her back to hold her forehooves up in front of her.

“Welcome home,” I said, hiding a smile with a sip of tea.

“I swear to Celestia, Vinyl Scratch, you better be serious about not leaving her again,” Symphonia continued, ignoring me. “I had to sit there and watch her be sad for months before she finally started to act herself again. Maybe her parents don’t want to talk about it, and maybe she didn’t herself, but anypony who even kind of knew Octavia could tell something was wrong. I worked and poked and prodded for weeks to get her to even smile.”

Vinyl tried to hide her shock, but I wasn’t so lucky. Symphonia was always a passionate pony, like her mother, but I’d never seen her this worked up. Still she continued, slowly advancing towards Vinyl until she had to knock the other unicorn’s hooves away to get muzzle to muzzle. “If you ever do something willingly that hurts her like that again, I will hunt you down and feed you your turntables, do I make myself clear?”

Vinyl nodded violently, nearly bumping her muzzle to Symphonia.

“Say it.”

“I understand, I understand!”

Symphonia backed up and nodded once. “Then we’re good.”

She rounded on me then. I had to repress the urge to flinch away. “So, what’s for dinner? It’s your turn to cook.”

“No it’s not,” I replied, shaking my head. “I cooked the night before I left for my parents.”

“Maybe, but I had to sit through a fifteen minute passive aggressive lecture by that horrible Lyra Heartstrings because you weren’t there. So, it’s your turn again.”

I laughed, letting the tension from my chat with Vinyl drain out of me. “Okay, I won’t argue there.” I stood and went to the hall to collect my bits. “Come on, Vinyl, let’s go shopping.”

“’Kay,” she said. She came to join me, giving Symphonia a wide berth. “Can we go to that new pop-up stand down towards the edge? They’ve got great hay fries.”

Author's Note

I have rediscovered my love for writing Rosin.

I hope you guys think this is a good wrap up to the little subplot I'd been working up to the last couple of chapters or so. I think it was alright, but I'm always nervous about this kind of stuff. Leave me any feedback in the comments, I always look forward to it. Until next week.

Thwack

Thwack

“I just don’t get why some ponies think it’s okay to only come to practice when they please,” whined Lyra Heartstrings to our orchestra’s faculty adviser. “I thought ponies sitting First Chair were held to higher standards than that.”

Symphonia gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes; I simply tried not to laugh. Lyra Heartstrings was a mint-green unicorn in our year in school, also from a prominent musical family. Her father and my own were often in competition and the media liked to portray them as bitter rivals. Knowing that Lyra’s father was one of the ponies oft found in my own Father’s study painted a much different picture.

It didn’t seem like Lyra was in on the secret though, which only made it better.

Our adviser, an elderly stallion lovingly called Bent Bow by his students, turned his bespectacled eyes towards me. “Miss Philharmonica, was missing practice on Monday truly necessary?”

“Yes, sir,” I replied with a slight bow. “I had important business to handle that could not wait.”

He smiled at me briefly before turning back to Lyra. “I’m sure you did, dear. Now then, Miss Heartstrings, could you check the records and tell me how many practice sessions Miss Philharmonica has missed?”

Lyra’s gaze slid across Bent Bow to me, then over to the log book we were required to keep by the door. “Well, uh, you see…”

“You have it memorized and Octavia has only missed one day in three years?” Symphonia provided, earning a stern look from the other unicorn.

Bent Bow chuckled low in his throat. “Now now, ladies, let’s not fight. You’re all a team, remember?”

Lyra made a show of going to our log book for the year and checking the entries for every single practice. “I’ll have you know, Symphonia, she missed two this year.”

Symphonia clicked her hoof against the ground. “That’s right, I forgot, she had that emergency trip to Manehatten when her grandmother tripped down her steps, silly me.”

“That’s enough,” Bent Bow said, raising his voice for what was likely the first time in a week. “I appreciate you bringing this to my attention, Miss Hearstrings, I will make sure to start keeping a close eye on everypony’s attendance. That said, you are all adults, I hope I can continue treating you as such.”

Everypony muttered some form of agreement, and our adviser smiled. “Now that’s settled, how goes preparation for the show in two weeks?”

Every section lead, myself and Symphonia included, provided a progress report for our section, then our opinion on the readiness of the group as a whole. It seemed we would be ready, at least enough that the first live show wouldn’t be terrible. Pleased with our progress, Bent Bow bade us keep up the good work, then limped his way from the room.

As soon as he left, Lyra came to talk to me. Before she could get started I retreated to the safety of my section and quickly got everypony ready to begin warm ups. From the corner of my eye, I saw Symphonia stick her tongue out at Lyra, who returned a rude gesture of her own.

Practice went fine besides, after my section finished teasing me about missing anyway. I refused to tell them exactly why I was gone Monday, but the popular consensus was either me meeting with a lover, or being abducted by aliens. We all practiced apart for about half of our remaining time, then assembled together as a full orchestral group for the end. We sounded a little rough, but nothing that couldn’t be polished out before our show.

I had expected Lyra to attempt to speak with me again, but as soon as practice was over she left. Symphonia and I stowed our instruments and left as well, after saying goodbye to the rest of the orchestra.

“So,” she asked as we exited the auditorium. “Any word on if your parents are going to be able to make it back for our show?”

I shook my head. “No, it sounds like they will be out in Las Pegasus for the entirety of our performance. They leave at the beginning of next week.”

“At least my mom will be able to make it,” Symphonia said. “Probably.”

We walked in silence for the rest of our trip back home. It was always a peaceful walk; it was in between most class time, and after a lot of clubs had already ended their meetings as well. The few ponies out and about mostly kept to themselves, only greeting us with nods or waved hooves.

“Isn’t that Vinyl?” Symphonia asked as our building came into view, pointing out a white unicorn pacing by the door to our building.

I squinted in the direction of her hoof, then nodded. “That’s odd though, I don’t remember us having plans tonight.”

As we walked closer, it was obvious she was worried about something. Vinyl walked in a tight circle with a piece of paper clutched tight in her magic.

“Vinyl, is something wrong?” I asked as we neared her.

She jumped at the sound of my voice and looked up at us. “Hey Tavi, Symphonia,” she answered almost automatically, then locked her gaze to me. “Sort of, so I’ve got a favor to ask.”

“Ask inside, then,” Symphonia said, already moving to open the door to the lobby. “I’m hungry, and it’s Octavia’s turn to cook.”

“No, it really isn’t,” I replied, but walked in anyway.

Vinyl followed close behind all the way to our room. Symphonia and I stowed our instruments. She tried to prod me to go make dinner anyway, but I refused, turning my attention to Vinyl instead. “What do you need?”

She took a deep breath to steady herself, then uncrumpled the paper I’d noticed earlier and held it in front of my muzzle so I could read it. I couldn’t help myself and quickly glanced at the signature at the bottom before pushing it aside to look Vinyl in her glasses. “Hazelblossom? What does he want?”

“Keep reading,” she replied in a small voice, holding the paper up once again.

I continued down the page quickly. The letter was written formally, but still somehow unpleasant. “So let me get this straight,” I said as I finally finished reading. “You left some stuff at Hazelblossom’s apartment, because he said you could, and now he’s threatening to throw it all out unless you get it tonight?”

Vinyl nodded.

“Well, I suppose that’s at least a good advertisement for the postal system here,” I muttered under my breath, already planning ahead. “How much is there?”

“More than I can carry…”

“More than we could carry?”

Vinyl thought for a second. “Yeah, probably.”

“How about all three of us?” Symphonia asked from the kitchen.

“I think so.”

Symphonia poked her head around the door frame. “Okay then, you two go start rounding stuff up, and I’ll scare up a carriage to take it all with. Just give me the address.”

“Are you guys sure?” Vinyl asked softly.

Symphonia and I both nodded and headed towards the door. I scratched Hazelblossom’s address down and handed it to my roommate. She left, leaving Vinyl and I alone. I walked to her and put a hoof on her shoulders. “Come on, lets go get the rest of your stuff and somehow cram it into your dorm room.”

We left then, hailed a carriage, and made our way back to the other edge of town, where Hazelblossom’s apartment clung to a group of similar buildings. It didn’t look much different than the last time I was there, an iron gate opening to a courtyard, surrounded on all sides by two tiers of apartments. It might have just been my own opinions, but the entire place gave off an unwelcoming air.

Vinyl stopped at the gate a moment to compose herself before leading me to the only apartment door bleeding electronic music into the night air. She knocked twice, then threw the door open and walked in. I hesitated a moment, having not actually been invited in, but raised voices from inside coaxed me in anyway.

The apartment was small, just three or four rooms, judging by the doors in the main room, and the distance between front doors outside. The large living room was dominated by equipment, none of which I could readily identify except speakers. A small couch was shoved in one corner, behind a small table piled high with takeout boxes. None of the three doorways had actual doors on them, just curtains hanging from tacks in the wall.

Hazelblossom stood behind his tower of takeout, glaring at Vinyl. “Would it kill you to knock, V?”

“I did,” she replied, looking around the room. “We’re here for my stuff, where is it?”

He noticed me then and turned to look back at Vinyl with unconcealed disgust. “Really? You brought her with you?”

“I brought Vinyl with me,” I replied, moving to stand next to my friend. “And she asked you a question.”

“I’m not talking to you,” he spat at me before looking back to Vinyl. “It’s all back in our room.”

“Your room,” she corrected. “Wait outside for Symphonia, Tavi, I’ll dig through his mess and grab my stuff.”

For a moment I debated refusing, but after looking around the filthy living room, I decided against it. “I’ll be right outside, shout if you need something.”

I watched Hazelblossom track Vinyl through one of the curtains before leaving the apartment. As I promised I stood right outside, keeping one eye trained on the gate and the other on the curtain Vinyl vanished through. Hazelblossom hesitated for a moment, gaze darting between the next room and me. He eventually decided on me, to my displeasure, and walked out to join me on the balcony.

“I didn’t realize you two were talking again,” he said.

“We are,” I replied. To be honest, I didn’t really want to talk with him, but it was rude to ignore ponies. “I didn’t think you were talking to me.”

To my surprise he deflated somewhat. “I”m sorry. I get a little… testy when Vinyl is around anymore.”

I studied him from the corner of my eye, trying not to draw too much attention. The unpleasant stallion from earlier was all but gone, replaced by a perfect picture of apology. “I understand that is normal when ponies live together for a while. My own roommate gets under my coat more often than not, but I love her like a sister.”

“I wish it had just been something like that,” he replied with a sigh. When I didn’t answer he scoffed. “Of course she didn’t tell you. Typical Vinyl, screws something up, then tries to sweep it under the rug.”

“I’d thank you to not speak of my friend that way,” I replied firmly.

Hazelblossom simply raised his voice to drown mine out. “You grew up with her, you should know as well as I do. All Vinyl does is use ponies to get something, then moves on to something else. She used you and your family, then me, and now that I’m done dealing with her she’s gone crying back to you.”

Something flew from inside Hazelblossom’s apartment, striking him in the side of the head. Crying out in pain, he jumped back. I only watched him long enough to make sure he wasn’t going to fall over the balcony railing before turning to look into the apartment. Vinyl stalked towards us, a small cloud of other potential weapons whipping around her head.

“I thought you were smart enough to not talk trash about ponies in earshot,” she said, exiting the apartment to stand between Hazelblossom and I. “Seriously, Hazelblossom, you know exactly why I moved out. If anything, you’re the one who used me.”

No matter how hard I stared at the back of Vinyl’s head, she didn’t turn around. She instead took some time to look at Hazelblossom’s expression, a curious mixture of pain and anger, then went back inside. I made a mental note to ask later and turned my attention back to watching the gate for Symphonia. She arrived some ten minutes or so later, and we were able to get all of Vinyl’s things out without another incident.

I sat with Vinyl an hour or so later in her dorm room, now even messier than ever. Symphonia had left shortly before citing the need to eat something, leaving the two of us alone.

“Sorry about ruining your night,” Vinyl said, staring into the box she was pretending to unpack. She hadn’t looked directly at me for more than a few seconds since we left Hazelblossom’s apartment. “He’s such an ass…”

“It’s not a big deal,” I replied. I moved some things around on her bed so I could lie down comfortably. “About what he said…”

“It’s all a lie. I never used you, or your parents, or him. I’ve never used anypony.”

I could hear her voice slowly rising, so I quickly cut her off. “I know.”

“Oh.” She was quiet for a few minutes, only rustling through the box in front of her. “You want to know what happened.”

It wasn’t a question. “Only if you want to tell me,” I replied.

She removed the glasses from her eyes and rubbed them. It was the first time I’d seen her eyes since we’d met again. “He basically just wanted me close so he could use my music in his sets instead of making his own. He never credited me as the artist, said it was ‘better for a new artist.’ When I confronted him about it, he said it was my way of paying rent since I’d basically been living off him for months.”

The glasses went back on. Vinyl tipped the current box upside down, mixing it’s contents with the stuff all over the floor. “There was some other stuff, but that was basically it. I called him out after talking to some other ponies in The Underground and with Legatus. When Hazelblossom didn’t back down, I started school here and left.”

Vinyl appeared to be in better spirits so I dropped it. Between the two of us we had Vinyl’s few boxes from her old apartment, and most of the ones that she’d never unpacked her first year, more or less taken care of in another hour. Before I could leave for the night, she stuck a flier in my face.

“There’s a new club opening up next weekend,” she said as I tried to fight the paper out of my face. “You’re coming with me on opening night.”

“I’m doing what now? I didn’t agree to anything,” I replied, finally knocking the paper out of her grip and to the floor. I peered at it in the dim light of Vinyl’s doorway. It looked exactly as I’d expected an advertisement for a nightclub to be, random colored lines and letters splashed about a black background. The flier named it Night-Glo, which even I thought was kind of dumb.

“Yeah, we’re totally going to go opening night and network.”

I tried really hard to ignore her wide grin, so full of excitement. The last time we’d gone out like that together, Mother had yelled at us. I wasn’t expecting parental intervention now that we were older, but I hadn’t had much fun back then besides.

Vinyl knew I was hesitating. She cranked up the grin to eleven and removed what little personal space I had left. “Please?” she begged.

It was too much. With a defeated sigh, I acquiesced.

Vinyl whooped and pulled me into a big hug. “Awesome! We’re going to have so much fun! Do you have anything to wear?”

“I’m sure I can… find something,” I replied, voice muffled by her neck. I forcibly separated us. “And you should as well. If I’m coming to that club, you’re coming to the opening night of the Student Orchestra’s next show the week after.”

“Alright, sure.”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. She’d given in with next to no argument. “You’d better not try to worm your way out of this, Vinyl Scratch, or I’ll sic Symphonia on you.”

“I won’t, I promise,” she answered, and pulled the door open for me. “Night, Tavi. And thanks for the help today, again.”

“It was no problem. Goodnight, Vinyl.”

Author's Note

This is going to be a busy week, I fear. Not only do I want to get a good chapter out for you guys for next week, but I'm out of content for my DnD group that meets on Sundays, and Square Enix just dropped the Relic weapon quests for Final Fantasy XIV, which means all aboard the gear treadmill. I guess I could stop sleeping...

Either way, I hope you all are staying safe, and I'll see you all next week.

Zwip

Zwip

“I’m not wearing that,” I deadpanned to Vinyl, glaring at the offending strips of cloth laid out on my bed.

“Why not?” Vinyl asked, pouting. “We both walk around with no clothes on every day. Dress up a little bit.”

“Emphasis on little,” I muttered back. I poked at a section of torn fabric supposed to cover my cutie mark. “By your own logic, since we walk around with no clothes on, what is the point of wearing this?”

“To look sexy,” Symphonia chimed in, the effect somewhat ruined by the chips in her mouth. “You know, the art of suggestive covering and all that.”

“Denied,” I said, poking at the dress one more time before turning to Vinyl. “Besides, you aren’t wearing anything, and I am most definitely not going to be the only one of the two of us dressed up.”

Vinyl looked at herself. “Are you saying you prefer me to go in nothing at all?”

She fluttered her eyes at me. I hit her.

“You should save that for after we get ba— Please don’t hit me again!” Vinyl jumped back as I reared my hoof back again, right into Symphonia’s reach. I wasn’t able to smack Vinyl again, but my ever faithful roommate did for me.

“I can’t win with you two,’ Vinyl whined. She pointed to the supposed dress on my bed. “That’s mine, I figured you didn’t have something informal to wear. It’s the only one I’ve got, though, that’s why I’m not wearing anything.”

“Thanks, Vinyl, but I’m not wearing it,” I said firmly. To be even more clear, I moved the loosely connected bits of fabric from my bed.

“If you won’t wear that, I won’t wear anything to your recital,” Vinyl countered.

Symphonia and I looked at each other.

“I suppose I could find something from my closet,” Symphonia said, rising from the couch. She strolled off to the closet and began to hunt around.

“I’m just so excited!” Vinyl shouted, springing across the table to hug me. “I’ve never been to a club on opening night, and haven’t really been anywhere other than The Underground. It’s nice and all, but totally earned it’s rep, y’know?”

“No, I really don’t,” I replied, trying to pry her hooves off my neck. “I’ve not been to anything even close to a club since our misadventure in Manehatten.”

“Even better!” She resisted every effort to separate us.

I looked longingly over at Symphonia, now fully half inside her closet, praying for a savior. She ignored my silent pleas, leaving me at the mercy of an excited Vinyl. She chattered on and on for several minutes about speaker setups, and dance floors, and hazers, and all sorts of things I didn’t understand.

“Here, try this,” Symphonia said, interrupting a very engaging conversation on things hanging from the ceiling affecting room acoustics. She tossed a glittery silver slip of a dress over Vinyl’s head.

Vinyl scrabbled at the fabric frantically trying to free herself. “Aah, sequins, they burn!”

I pulled the dress from Vinyl’s head and looked it over. It was simple enough, and the color was dark enough to blend well with my coat. Without thinking about it too hard, I shimmied into the dress and stood. “Should we go then?”

Vinyl hopped to her hooves, threw on the dress she’d brought for me, and grabbed her saddlebags. “Let’s go!”

<><><><><>

To the credit of Night-Glo, they really knew their stuff. Standing in line with Vinyl you couldn’t hear a thing from inside. The ground under us thrummed ever so slightly, but it could be easily passed off as carriage traffic from the street. The line itself was pretty long, but moved quickly.

“Are you excited for Father’s show?” I asked Vinyl as we neared the front. A little more music bled through the door, so I had to raise my voice slightly.

“The one in Las Pegasus? Yeah, should be cool,” she replied. “The only time I’ve been outside of Canterlot is when we went to Manehatten, so that’ll be cool too.”

It wasn’t much longer before we reached the bouncer and were shown in. We pushed our way through the door and a very thick velvet curtain and into the dark. Music thrummed through the small hallway, building in volume and intensity as we followed a neon-green line of paint on the floor. After pushing through another curtain, we finally arrived.

As far as I could tell, the room has no actual light. Everything was lit by a combination of random lines drawn in glowing paint, glowsticks on ponies, and a gentle background of black light. Hundreds of lasers, each one thick as a pen’s head, danced wildly across the throng of ponies taking up the majority of the room.

Vinyl whistled, at least I think she did, since I couldn’t actually hear her, and pulled me off to one side of the room. “This is so cool!”

Despite the darkness and the overabundance of ponies, I had to agree. “Can you even see through those glasses?”

“Not at all!”

I shook my head and tried to pull her over towards the bar and seating, but she resisted. We had an awkward moment where neither of us moved before I gave in and allowed myself to be brought to the dance pit.

We pressed into the back-most row of ponies, Vinyl already starting to bob along to the beat pulsing through the room, and continued further. Ponies parted around us as Vinyl pulled me closer and closer into the densest sections. Once she’d found a spot she liked, Vinyl stopped and began to bop and sway, seemingly at random.

I’d talked to her about this in the past. Despite all my musical training, I really had no sense for dancing. And I definitely had no sense for whatever this was. All around us were ponies dipping, bobbing, gyrating, and otherwise flailing around with no sense of order.

I did my best to keep up. At the very least my flailing around was on beat, even if I felt like an absolute idiot.

At least Vinyl couldn’t see me.

We danced, or at least I pretended to, until Vinyl decided she’d had enough. She moved right next to my ear to shout something that I couldn’t hear, then wandered off. I followed after, partly to ask what she said, and partly because I didn’t want to be left alone. We popped back out of the herd and ended up back over by the bar. I went to find us an open table while Vinyl ordered drinks.

“Having fun?” she asked when she came over, floating a glass of something over to me.

I took a tentative sip and was pleasantly surprised to only find water. “I suppose. Is it what you wanted?”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty cool place.” Vinyl drank deep of her own drink, something blue and fizzy, and took a long look around the room. “I know you’ve never been to The Underground, but it’s always seemed a little grungy, kind of. It might be because this place is new, but it seems so clean.”

“And Hazelblossom isn’t here.”

Vinyl looked over at me, grinned, and raised her glass towards mine. “And Hazelblossom isn’t here!”

I held my own drink up, as best I could, and Vinyl tapped it with hers. She downed the rest of her drink and motioned to my cup. “You want another? Something else?”

In the moment I took to think about it, Vinyl had already grabbed my half-full glass and taken off towards the bar. I shook my head and resigned myself to only taking sips of whatever she brought back. I wasn’t much of a drinker, unlike Father or Symphonia. As Vinyl returned, now with two glasses of fizzy blue something, I could only pray that it wasn’t too alcoholic.

“I just got you what I had, it’s pretty good.” Vinyl set the drink down in front of me and sipped her own. “Wait… do you drink?”

“A little late to ask now, isn’t it?” I retorted, taking a sip. It was surprisingly good, but what Symphonia called a dangerous drink. I couldn’t even taste alcohol.

Small sips it was then.

We sat and chatted for a while, as we normally did, and generally passed the time ponywatching. It was fun to watch the crowd for long periods of time, eventually they just turned into a mass of writhing and glowing fur. On the far wall opposite us sat the DJ, on a raised platform behind a wall of equipment. A mare played currently, giant headphones half hanging off her head. She looked like she was having a blast.

“So that’s what you want to do then?” I asked Vinyl. I pointed at the DJ.

“Yeah. I want to make and mix my own stuff, and play it for a crowd. I’ve never done it, but it looks like so much fun, and I really love making music.”

“I can understand that. Playing, anyway. I’m not very good at making music.”

“Nonsense,” boomed a deep voice from behind us. Vinyl and I both jumped and quickly looked back. A rather large pegasus stallion in a suit that seemed made for this building stood there, looking at us with a small smile. “Anypony can make music, you just gotta know how.”

“Maybe, but if it’s not something they want to do, should they?” Vinyl replied. The mystery stallion turned to face her, and she met the stare head on. “I can’t play traditional music like Tavi. I know any pony can pick one up and learn it, but it’s not quite the same.”

The stallion nodded. “I see. My name is Midnight Oil, I run this establishment. Might I ask your names?”

I quickly searched his face, mostly worried that Vinyl had somehow offended him and we were about to be removed. Seeing nothing other than a pleasant smile, I said, “Octavia Philharmonica. That is Vinyl Scratch.”

Midnight Oil’s grin morphed into a full smile. “So you are Vinyl Scratch, I thought you looked familiar. I spent a lot of time at The Underground, you see. I used to see you there often, but you’ve been absent of late.”

Vinyl chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, I’ve got some personal reasons for not being around, but this place seems loads better.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourselves,” he replied with a slight bow. He motioned towards the bar, then bowed once again. “I must take my leave, many patrons to greet. If the two of you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to speak with you again later. Drinks are on me.”

“He seems nice,” I said as Midnight Oil moved towards the next table. “Not quite the kind of pony I expected to be running a nightclub, though.”

“I wonder what he wants,” Vinyl mused, nursing her drink. “But hey, free booze!”

I couldn’t resist smacking my head with a hoof. “Vinyl…”

“What?” she asked, rising. “I’m gonna get another, I’ll bring you something.”

As she walked away I turned my attention to Midnight Oil strolling between tables. Despite his looks, he was definitely used to this sort of environment. He’d even latched onto Vinyl’s name instead of mine, which in itself was odd. We weren’t famous by some definitions, but just about every pony had at least heard of Father for his shows, or Mother for her solo career.

Vinyl came and went several times before Midnight Oil decided to join us. To her credit, she only got somewhat drunk, while my own collection of half-finished drinks grew. We were there for at least three or four hours before we were called by staff to a back room, as the last DJ was signing off for the night.

The staff member led us back into the unthemed back parts of the club. The normal lighting after seeing by glow for the last several hours stung my eyes, and for the first time I was jealous of Vinyl’s ever present glasses. Our leader clicked open a locked door and ushered us into a very normal looking office.

Midnight Oil sat in a chair similar to Father’s office chair, the back covered by his suit jacket. “Thank you, you may leave,” he said to the employee. He then turned his full attention to us and smiled. “Come in, take a seat.”

The leather creaked under me as Vinyl and I sat to face the stallion behind the desk. He poured three glasses of water and moved two over in front of us. “Did you enjoy your evening?”

“Yeah,” Vinyl replied, quickly snatching up her water and drinking.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” I joined in, allowing Vinyl the time she needed to rehydrate. “You said there was something you wished to talk to us about?”

Midnight Oil nodded and motioned towards Vinyl. “Her, actually. I’m sure your skill is equal to your mother’s, Miss Philharmonica, but it’s not quite what I need right now.”

Like I said, most ponies knew either my Father or Mother. It didn’t help his words not sting, but I’d been here tonight solely for Vinyl. This meeting wouldn’t be any different. She wasn’t drunk, but was much more so than I, and I wouldn’t let her agree to anything she wouldn’t do normally.

Vinyl sat up a little straighter and seemed to focus a little more. “What do you mean?”

“I am, how shall we say, acquainted with a lot of the ‘talent’ that performs at The Underground. Up until recently, I had a major stake in the company and, as I said, spent a lot of time there. I’m also aware of a certain high school aged filly who was sneaking in using a false ID.”

Vinyl coughed suddenly, nearly spitting out her water.

“I also noticed when one of our amateur DJs started playing music that was significantly different from his normal style. A DJ I’m sure you know, a stallion named Hazelblossom,” Midnight Oil continued, unfazed.

I glanced over at Vinyl, but she didn’t seem to react to the name. She nodded once and said, “yeah, I know him.”

“I’ll be blunt, then. He started bragging about a new source of music, but refused to share whom or where it came from. Some of the owners had no problem with that. I did, and left, but that’s not why we’re here. I am almost positive it was you, as the new music showed up around the time you did, and stopped after you stopped coming. I’m willing to offer you a job making house music for our club, pending a sample piece, of course.”

Vinyl slowly grew more agitated as Midnight Oil finished speaking. “That bastard…” she muttered, but I don’t think it was loud enough for him to hear.

I looked over at Vinyl, completely tuned out, and spoke up for her. “As long as the music remains hers, and she is compensated fairly,” I said, turning back to stare Midnight Oil in the eyes.

He nodded without a moment’s hesitation. “Of course.”

The room fell silent for a moment as Vinyl thought. I could understand her hesitation, seeing as she’d already made two such deals in her life and received nothing for either. If he was above board though, it could be a big thing for her.

After almost a minute of patiently waiting, I poked Vinyl. She jumped and nodded to Midnight Oil. “I can spin up a couple of sample tracks and bring them by in a couple of days.”

He clapped his hooves together once and stood. “Excellent! I’ll have somepony draw up a contract, assuming everything goes well, and we can bring you aboard. I’ll also have both of you added to our VIP list. I hope to see you both soon.”

We all stood as Midnight Oil showed up out of his office. I walked with Vinyl through the club and back to the warm night air. A few blocks away Vinyl suddenly jumped into the air and whooped, the sound echoing off down the street.

I smiled at her as she dropped back down and spun to face me. “I guess this means we’re going to be there more often, aren’t we?” I asked.

Vinyl bumped against me as we continued to walk, our coats brushing against each other. “Only if you want to, and only after your show.”

“I’m surprised you remembered.”

“How could I forget?”

Author's Note

Chapter title mostly unrelated

Sorry for the late post, guys, I was finishing up Kaguya-sama with a buddy and totally forgot the time. My bad.

Clink

Clink

Vinyl burst into my room a couple of hours before my show, frantically waving around a sheaf of papers. “Tavi! Tavi, look at this!”

I quickly shut my eyes as the papers were thrust in my face and waited for Vinyl to calm down long enough for me to get a word in. Once she quieted down I snatched one of the papers from the air with a hoof and pinned it down long enough to actually read it. A brief glance over revealed nothing but obtuse legalese, signed by both Vinyl and Midnight Oil at the bottom.

“You got it?” I asked, looking up at her in astonishment.

A huge grin broke across Vinyl’s face. “Yup! I gave them my demos today, they listened to it in the office, then brought me the contract!”

I jumped forward, placing my hooves on Vinyl’s withers. “You got it!”

“I got it!” she whooped, just as she did when we left the club a week prior, and I couldn’t help but join in her little bounce.

Drawn by the noise, Symphonia poked her head into the room. “What’s the racket about?”

I stumbled to regain my balance as Vinyl twisted away to shove her papers into my room mate’s face. “I got that gig making music for Night-Glo, all thanks to Octavia’s smooth talking.”

“I did nothing but keep him talking while you froze.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “You should have seen her, Symphonia, you’d have thought nopony ever taught this filly manners.”

“I know for a fact Melody did,” Symphonia muttered darkly, rubbing at a spot on her left forehoof. I winced as well, remembering Mother’s unfailing aim with a wooden spoon.

“Not even your hurtful sarcasm can bring me down today, Tavi,” Vinyl responded proudly, finally stowing her papers in a saddlebag.

“More importantly, do you have a dress for the show tonight?” I asked her.

Vinyl glanced off to the side. “Well…”

“Vinyl…” I growled, warningly. “Think very carefully about your next few words.”

“I-I-I’ve been really busy with mixing those tracks, y’know? I had to think about my career fir—eep!” She squeaked as I stalked across the room and shoved my muzzle right in front of hers. I had to look up slightly, but it didn’t seem to make Vinyl any less scared.

This close, I could just about make out her wide eyes behind her glasses, above a slight blush. “Dress. Now. Or else.”

She didn’t verbally answer, but spun and bolted from our dorm room. “I’m unsure if I’m going to kill that filly or if she’s going to be the death of me,” I muttered darkly.

“You two are adorable,” Symphonia teased, turning back into the kitchen.

“What do you mean?” I asked, following after her.

Symphonia shrugged and returned to preparing dinner. “Just the way you two act together, it’s adorable.”

“So you’ve said, but I don’t understand what you mean,” I insisted.

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t,” Symphonia mused. “It’s not something I can explain easily, just forget about it.”

It was unlike her to be so inarticulate, but after a moment of thought I dropped it. That didn’t keep my thoughts from turning back as our show crept closer. I’d never heard that phrase not used to describe a couple, but Vinyl and I weren’t dating, and Symphonia knew that.

As I put on my suit, knowing that I couldn’t be distracted going into this show, I put the matter to rest. Symphonia must have just been teasing me again, nothing else really made sense. She hadn’t teased me about Vinyl in some time, maybe she was just going back to basics. I cinched my black bowtie, checked my mane one more time, and went to grab my instrument and Symphonia.

We walked in silence to the auditorium, collecting orchestra members along the way. It had become a ritual of sorts in our three years here, for all of us in the dorms to walk in one big group right before the first night of a show. The members of our audience already waiting at the auditorium doors parted respectfully as we neared. Two of them towards the front opened the doors for us, and wished us good luck.

Our group marched into the ready room, only then breaking into section groups. The atmosphere was a stark contrast to our normal joking practice sessions. Everypony knew exactly where to go and what to do, our only goal was to get ready and get on stage as quickly and efficiently as possible. Even Symphonia and Lyra were behaving themselves.

My section, being one of the smaller ones, were one of the first ready. We rose to the stage first, setting our instruments down where they would be easy to access before the curtain rose, and returned to the ready room to help other ponies. Without magic, there wasn’t much I could do but help direct and organize other ponies.

I wasn’t the only earth pony in the Student Orchestra, but I was the only one using an instrument that required precise movements. Most of the others preferred to use things designed for hoof use instead of magic. As always they gave me words of advice as they ferried their things to stage. I thanked them and returned wishes in kind, then went to make sure the rest of our preparation went smoothly.

“Section leaders, gather around,” came the call fifteen minutes before curtain. I grabbed Symphonia and went to join Lyra and the others around Bent Bow and our conductor, Lunar Note.

“How’s everything looking?” our conductor asked.

“We’re ready,” Lyra reported.

“Violins are good to go, Loony,” Symphonia confirmed.

“Cellos are waiting, Percussion shouldn’t be too far behind,” I added.

Lunar Note listened as every section sounded off, failing to hide a wince as Symphonia did, until everything was ready to go. As was normal, the actual Percussion section lead was late to the meeting, but reported everything was ready to go anyway.

As the last leader reported in, Bent Bow gave us all a deep bow. “I expect an excellent show as always. I don’t foresee disappointment,” he said, another tradition of our orchestra.

We all bowed back. “We won’t let you down, sir,” Lunar Note said.

He turned back to us as Bent Bow left to make sure everypony was seated outside. “Alright ponies, let’s play us a show!”

Every section leader cheered, then rejoined our sections waiting on stage.

I sat and pulled my cello across my barrel in it’s ready position, letting out a long breath. My second chair poked my shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile. I returned it, making sure to nod down the line at the rest of my section.

Seconds slowly ticked by as we waited for the gentle hum of chatter beyond the thick curtain to stop. It was always the worst part for me. As the clock ticked down to the first note, I kicked myself for not taking a little more time to make sure our newest cellist was ready, but it was too late now. We were all seated, and Lunar Note was a stickler for not talking once we were on stage.

The conductor signaled one minute, followed by the rustling of everypony setting themselves in their first position. A loud buzzer in the audience silenced them. Over the PA, Bent Bow gave a short introduction. Then the curtain rose, lights flared to light, bathing us on the stage. Lunar Note raised his baton, and we all coaxed the first note of the night from our instruments.

This was the easy part. I fell back on years-ingrained reflex and simply played.

<><><><><>

An hour later the curtain dropped after our third group bow to torrential applause. It continued as we collected our instruments and retreated to the ready room in single file. The second the door shut behind us, nearly the entire orchestra broke out in cheers. Instruments were carefully stowed in cases before ponies started jumping around, hugging each other and shouting.

Symphonia herself even joined in, half jumping onto my back as I stowed my cello. “So, how many times did you mess up?”

I pushed her off me and playfully swiped at her hooves. “Not once, I’ll have you know. Not like you, you were off tempo almost the entire first song!”

“First two, I’ll have you know.” She glared at me indignant until we both cracked up laughing.

After a few minutes of complete chaos, Lunar Note clapped his hooves against the ground loudly, dragging our attention to them.

“A fantastic show,” Lunar Note said, a smile plastered across his face. “Now, I know you all are exhausted and only interested in going to bed so we can be well rested for our show tomorrow…”

He paused a moment to let the scattered giggles subside. “Due to that, I most certainly will not tell you about an after party at the usual spot, where drinks and snacks are certainly not on the house. Friends and family are also totally, unquestionably, not allowed.”

The room broke into chaos again as ponies discussed their plans. A lot of our members had their own after parties planned, but by the time they started filtering out of the room, about a quarter of us were left. Symphonia and I collected our entry passes to the not event, with one extra for Vinyl, and left to return our instruments to our dorm room.

Vinyl was waiting for us outside the ready room, as we had for Father during his shows. “That was awesome!” she shouted as we walked out.

Symphonia shoved the entry pass at Vinyl. “Glad you thought so. Come with us, we have alcohol and food.”

“Sold.”

I shook my head as Vinyl fell in beside me. “Good to know your price is so cheap.”

“The company helps,” Vinyl retorted, bumping into me playfully.

I rolled my eyes and said nothing. For a moment I thought back to Symphonia’s comment earlier today, but blew it off. She was Aunt Rosin’s daughter, she was going to tease. I’d learned very young that if I tried to avoid it, I just wouldn’t have any fun.

So I leaned into it. “Careful Vinyl, you’ll make Symphonia jealous.”

Symphonia scoffed. “Not likely. You aren’t something to be jealous about, Octavia.”

I glanced at Vinyl, expecting her to join in the ribbing as well. To my surprise, she was busy staring at the ground. I looked at Symphonia to see if she noticed as well. She shrugged and pulled ahead of us.

“Hey, you okay?” I asked Vinyl.

She looked up at me with a grin and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, just a little out of it, I guess.”

“It’s not that late,” I replied.

“I, uh, stayed up late the last couple of nights mixing music, remember? I’m fine, honest. Come on, I was promised alcohol.”

By then we were almost back to the dorm anyway. Vinyl stayed outside while Symphonia and I stashed our instruments inside the room and took off our performance clothes. Once outside, the three of us left campus and headed for a bar owned by Lunar Note’s father for our after party.

As normal, the building was closed for our group only. The bouncer outside took our entry tickets with a smile and ushered us inside. The party was already in full swing by the time we made it inside. Drinks were quickly shoved at us as by a very excited bass player who quickly scampered off to refill her tray for the next arrivals.

We shuffled out of the doorway and staked claim to a table. As two section heads, Symphonia and I were approached by several members to congratulate us. We made sure to return the praise twofold, especially for our newer members. After some time though, it finally slowed down enough that we could talk amongst ourselves.

The general atmosphere of the room was rather upbeat. The three of us mostly kept to our corner, but even still any time a drink on our table was even half empty, another appeared. At some point, a karaoke machine was plugged in on the bar’s small stage. Lunar Note was quickly volunteered as the first pony to perform a duet, selected at random.

Of course, he couldn’t do it alone, so Symphonia suggested Lyra join him. The battlecry was quickly taken up by the entire room, much to Symphonia’s delight and Lyra’s displeasure, and she was basically pushed up the front of the room. It backfired of course, as Lyra turned out to be a good singer, but Symphonia didn’t seem to care too much.

“You guys were really, really good,” Vinyl said for the sixth time some hours and drinks later. The party had died down somewhat, leaving only about half of us there.

“Thanks, Vinyl,” I answered again. I’d honestly lost track of how much I’d drank, but it was enough that the room was very, very warm. Our table had a nice collection of half empty glasses, but I could have sworn most of them were Vinyl and Symphonia’s.

“We should probably think about heading back though,” I said, downing the rest of the glass in front of me.

“Hey, that was mine,” Symphonia slurred from across the table. She grabbed the drink in front of Vinyl and drank that down. “Now this one is mine.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Vinyl laughed.

I took a minute to group all of our empty glasses together before attempting to rouse Symphonia from her chair. “Man, she’s going to have a bad day tomorrow,” I grunted, trying to push the obstinate unicorn from her very comfy stool.

With Vinyl’s help, we managed to get her present enough to stand on her own. The three of us thanked the bartender and Lunar Note and took our leave. The walk back involved a lot more swaying than it should have, but thankfully none of us fell over.

Vinyl started fidgeting as we approached the dorm building. “Tavi,” she whined.

I only grunted in answer, focused on making sure Symphonia didn’t walk into a wall.

“Tavi, I don’t wanna go home. It’s too far.”

I stopped to look at her. “It’s, like, two buildings down.”

“Yeah, see, too far. Let me stay with you.”

“I’ll walk you to your room then,” I replied, shaking my head.

“No, because then you’ll have to walk too far, twice!” Vinyl stopped in the middle of the University pathway, somehow managing to rear back on her hind hooves so she could clap her forehooves together. “Please?”

“Vinyl, Symphonia and I have morning classes tomorrow…”

“Please?”

“And you don’t have a toothbrush or anything here…”

“Please?”

“It’s only two buildings!”

“Please?” She frantically shook her head, pushing her glasses down her muzzle enough to hit me with the puppy eyes.

“Fine,” I sighed.

“Yes!” Vinyl jumped to her hooves and ran behind Symphonia to push her forward. “Move it, drunk-butt. Sleepover!”

I pressed the tip of a hoof against my forehead. I could already feel the oncoming headache.

Author's Note

If there's one thing I think I like writing more than Rosin, it's drunk Vinyl. That was so much fun! I also apologize for these last couple of chapters coming later and later. I keep losing track of time, sorry. I hope you all are staying safe, and I'll see you next week

Snore

Snore

It took some doing, but Vinyl and I were able to get a mostly-catatonic Symphonia up to our dorm. From there I was on my own, as Vinyl decided to raid my kitchen. With more than my fair share of eye rolling and effort, I somehow managed to get Symphonia into her bed. By the time I made it out of our bedroom, Vinyl had already planted herself down at our table and was busy demolishing a massive sandwich.

“Make yourself at home,” I snarked in passing, heading into the kitchen myself to do the same.

Vinyl said something unintelligible around her sandwich in reply, which I chose to ignore. I cobbled together my own late dinner and went to join her at our table. We sat in silence while I ate and Vinyl nursed a drink she’d stolen from Symphonia.

“We haven’t done something like this in a long time,” Vinyl mused as I polished off the last few crumbs.

“What are you talking about? You forced me to that nightclub last week, and Symphonia regularly drags me out to bars after practice.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Vinyl replied, fiddling with her empty plate. “Like, the two of us haven’t just sat and talked like this.”

“We talk all the time,” I deadpanned.

Vinyl pounded down her drink and shook her head. “Yeah, I know, but that’s not…”

She trailed off then stood gently shaking her empty drink. “I’m going to get another, do you want one?”

“Sure,” I replied, shaking my head. Vinyl was busy being extra weird tonight I thought as she walked back towards my kitchen. She was gone for several minutes before returning and plopping an already open drink in front of me.

“So, how does that deal with Night-Glo work?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

She shrugged. “It’s pretty simple, really. I’m supposed to provide them with music and they pay me to play it in the club when there isn’t a DJ there mixing stuff. Plus, since we’re on the VIP list, we get some special perks there too: cheaper drinks, getting to skip the line in, and access to their lounge.”

“That is pretty nice,” I agreed. “How much do you have to make?”

“As much as possible to start with, they’re trying to build up their catalog.”

“And you get credited for it somewhere, right?”

Vinyl smiled. “Yeah, there’s going to be a list of all the music posted in the building somewhere, easy to read.”

“All it takes is a little bit of good exposure.”

We both quieted down as something thumped around in my bedroom. I shook my head and walked over to the door. “Symphonia, you okay in there?” I asked, tapping the door with a hoof.

When I received no reply, I opened the door and looked in. Symphonia had half fallen to the floor, accounting for the thump. Her head and withers rested there, while her back half was tangled in blankets up on the bed. I took the time to wrest her unconscious form back into bed and rejoined Vinyl.

“I’ve been thinking of what Midnight Oil told me though,” she said as I retook my seat. “About how Hazelblossom was bragging about me, but wouldn’t actually tell anypony about me.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I’m wondering if I should go back to The Underground and tell them myself, maybe get the credit for the music he’s probably still using.”

I took a moment to think before replying. It wasn’t a bad idea in theory, but to be honest I didn’t think anypony there cared, otherwise they would have already called him out. After all, wasn’t that why Midnight Oil said he started his own club? After a few more seconds of thought, I shared all that with Vinyl.

She nodded along until I finished talking. “Yeah, you’re probably right. It still ticks me off though, especially if the bastard is still using my work as his own.”

“There’s not much you can do about it though.”

Vinyl looked over at me and smiled sweetly. “We could go ask him ourselves?”

“Vetoed.”

“Why not?” she whined.

“Because it’ll only get you in trouble and I can’t think of a way to actually make him stop,” I replied. I took a quick drink to give me time to think of a reason she’d like better, or a way to distract her again. “I bet he only wants your attention again. It’s the same reason he sent you that letter, to make you pay attention to him.”

“Why do you have to be right all the time, Tavi?” She sighed and dropped her forehead to the table. I could just barely make out the sound of her glasses hitting the floor a few seconds later.

“It’s tough, but somepony has to do it.” I finished off my drink and stood up. “Now, I’ll get you a spare pillow and blankets, you can sleep on the couch. I have a class in the morning, so—”

I walked towards the bedroom while talking, but stopped at a gentle tug to the fur on my hind hoof. I shook off Vinyl’s magic and turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Not yet, it’s not a sleepover if you go to bed too early,” she muttered, voice muffled by the table.

“It’s almost two in the morning,” I replied after a glance at the clock. “I have a class in six hours.”

“Skip it.”

“You’re joking,” I said, fighting down a surprised laugh.

Vinyl shook her head.

“I can’t just skip class,” I retorted. I walked over to stand next to her. “That defeats the entire point of being here.”

“Sure you can, you just don’t go. It’s super easy.” She sat up to face me, leaving her glasses on the ground. I was again struck by how odd it was to see her eyes, bloodshot though they were.

“If I don’t go, I don’t learn what I’m supposed to.”

“Come on, be serious. Missing one day isn’t going to hurt anything. You’re already the best cellist I know—”

“Like you know a lot of cellists,” I retorted.

“Except maybe your Mom… that’s not the point though!” She shook her head and powered through. “You’ve been here three years, have you ever missed a class?”

“Yes, actually, I have. I was sick earlier this year, and I had to miss a few days to travel to Manehatten when Grandma Serenade fell down her porch steps—”

Vinyl lurched forward, shoving her hoof at my muzzle. “Wait, she did what? Is she okay?”

Irritated, I pushed her hoof away. “Yes, she’s fine.”

“Good, good.” Vinyl nodded her head a few times. “She’d want you to skip classes tomorrow.”

There was no escaping it this time, the laugh would not be contained. “No, she really wouldn’t.”

“Well you can’t call and ask her, it’s super late, so just trust me.”

I shook my head, exasperated. “You’re committed to being extra weird today, aren’t you?”

“Every extra argument is another few seconds that you don’t go to bed,” she stated proudly. “The longer I draw this out, the more I win.”

It hit me then that she was right. Vinyl wasn’t being weird, at least not without a purpose. She’d already made me turn around and walk from the bedroom. “You’re ridiculous.”

“You know what else is ridiculous? Late night board games! Come on, let’s play.” Vinyl bounded to her hooves and walked over to a shelf holding Symphonia’s small collection of games and started looking through them.

“All these suck,” she announced shortly later. She walked back to me and pulled me to my hooves. “Come on, we’re going game shopping.”

I dug my hooves in to stop myself, and her, from going anywhere. “Vinyl, it’s almost three in the morning. Everywhere is closed, and I still have class tomorrow. I’m going to bed.”

Vinyl turned to look at me, deflated. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Okay.” She stepped forward and gave me a short hug. “Do you at least want to put on a movie and sleep out here?”

I smiled and nodded. “Let me go get my blankets, put something on.”

While Vinyl busied herself in the living area, I slipped quietly into the bedroom. After taking a moment to make sure Symphonia was still mostly in her own bed, I stripped mine down and dragged it all into the main room. Vinyl already had everything ready to go and wasted no time helping me spread my blanket out in front of the couch. She settled right next to me after I sat, and started whatever she’d decided to play.

I fell asleep fast enough that I don’t even remember what we were watching.

The next morning I realized I hadn’t brought my alarm clock out with me. Not that I realized until entirely too late. What I did realize as I slowly clawed my way from sleep was a big ball of warmth pressed against my left side, and a burning pain throughout my head. I smacked my lips, already sick of the taste of my dry mouth, and attempted to roll to my hooves.

The warm spot protested and threw a white hoof over me, pulling me back down with the strength of those very asleep. I squeaked involuntarily in protest, but could do nothing to stop myself from being nestled back into Vinyl’s coat. I simply sighed and leaned back, after all this wasn’t the first time she’d used me as a pillow in the years we’d known each other.

From my place on the floor I heard a key slide into our door lock. I heard the door open and shut, followed by the thunk of a saddlebag being thrown down. Symphonia walked into view, smirk already planted on her face.

“Adorable,” she crooned, pinching one of my cheeks in her magic.

I couldn’t even get a hoof out to wave threateningly at her. “Stop that,” I demanded.

She did, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re right, let me go get my camera…”

“Symphonia,” I warned, “knock it off. I’m not down here because I want to be.”

“Isn’t that your blanket though, Octavia?” she said. “And weren’t you two all cuddled up when I left for class this morning?”

“If I didn’t placate her a bit she wouldn’t…” I trailed off as the last half of her sentence hit me. “Wait, when you left for class? What time is it?”

Symphonia didn’t say, instead pulling the clock down from the wall and bringing it into my vision. Both hands pointed straight up, accusingly. At first I thought she was messing with me so I twisted, to the protestation of Vinyl, to get a glance into the kitchen. The timer we kept on the counter was always fast, so when I read five past noon I knew it was right, technically.

I flopped back against Vinyl, who grunted and shifted, and sighed. “That crazy filly actually made me do it.”

“Oh my,” Symphonia said, fanning herself with a hoof. “On the floor of our living room, no less.”

Not for the first time, I lamented my birth as an Earth Pony. “Be happy I can’t throw anything at you right now, and know that I will get you back.”

“So you say, but you have to escape her first. I’m going to make lunch; you want anything?”

“Sure. Maybe food will get this oaf to wake up,” I replied. Symphonia walked away, leaving me to my fate. After a couple minutes of uncomfortable repositioning, I managed to wiggle myself enough room to move a single hoof. With my newfound freedom, I began poking Vinyl relentlessly, trying to irritate her awake.

“Come on, Vinyl, it’s time to get up,” I crooned, gently wiggling a hoof into her side. “Or at least let go of me.”

It took several minutes of work, but I eventually managed to rouse the hungover unicorn from her slumber. She groaned and rolled over without moving her hoof, pulling me over against her. “Mornin’ Tavi,” she muttered, rubbing at her eye with a hoof.

“Good morning. Could you let go of me?”

“Do I have to?” she asked while pulling me closer.

“Yes.”

I rose to my hooves once she let go and stretched, groaning as my joints popped. With the entire right side of my body a little shaky from laying on it so long I somehow managed to make my way into the kitchen. Symphonia was busy preparing what looked to be a very unhealthy lunch, but there were some things I needed to know.

“Why do you keep calling Vinyl and I adorable?” I questioned in a whisper, barely audible over the sound of popping grease.

Symphonia looked back over her shoulder. “Because you two act like such a cute couple.”

“We aren’t a couple though,” I retorted. She nodded her head towards a cabinet and I dutifully extracted a trio of plates.

“Could have fooled me.”

She stopped speaking, focusing instead on transferring our lunch to my provided plates. Right around then, hooves dragging, Vinyl wandered to the table and plopped down. I took a plate for myself and one for Vinyl over and sat beside her.

“So, how was class this morning?” Vinyl asked.

“Hush.”

Author's Note

Drunk Vinyl is best Vinyl. Probably.

So I noticed today going to post this chapter how long this story has gotten, and boy if it isn't pretty long at this point. I'm not really able to pinpoint exactly how far in we are, as the last part of the outline is still a little fuzzy, but it's well over halfway at least. I hope you all are having as much fun as I am.

Roar

Roar

“I think somewhere over here might be good,” Vinyl said, voice raised slightly over the hum of ponies around us. After getting my nod of approval she flared a quilt out over sun warmed grass. Vinyl plopped herself down and patted next to her.

I ignored the Symphonia in my head crooning something about a movie date and sat myself. We both turned to look towards a massive sheet secured between two buildings on campus. Somewhere behind us a handful of ponies from the A/V club were setting up a projector for our school’s semi-regular Campus Movie Night.

It was a good time for it this time. The late afternoon sun still peeked out on occasion from light cloud cover keeping everything comfortably warm, but not overly bright. It would get colder in a couple of hours, but I’d brought a spare blanket just in case.

“Do you know what they’re showing?” I asked Vinyl, drawing her attention away from the various stalls being quickly put up around the viewing area.

“Huh?” Vinyl looked back at me, then up towards the screen. “No idea.”

I sighed as her attention quickly returned to food. “Are you ever not hungry?” I grumbled, mostly to myself.

“Usually after you cook,” she replied.

“Be serious, I’m not even a good cook,” I laughed. I stood quickly and turned my head away from Vinyl, who herself had turned to look at me again. “I’m going to go find a program, or something.”

“Bring back food!” she called as I walked away.

“Go get your own!” I called back.

The square was slowly filling up as ponies slowly filtered in from their afternoon classes, clubs, or jobs off campus. Most came in large groups, but couples were common to see as well. I slowly meandered through the growing sea of blankets back towards the stage constructed to hold the projector and the ponies making everything go.

I found the stairs in the back and climbed about halfway up, just enough that my head poked over the edge. “Excuse me.”

A ginger pegasus glanced over and smiled at me. “Yeah?” she asked around the screwdriver held in her mouth.

“I was just wondering what’s on for tonight.”

“Shoot, did he not put the list up anywhere?” She spat out her tool and moved to a bunch of boxes stacked on one corner of the platform. A few moments later she came back with a big stack of papers and a pouch. “I know you’re not part of the club or anything, but would you mind…?”

“Of course not.”

Between the two of us we were able to get the heavy satchel secured on my back and filled up. I quickly ran around the outer edge of the square, delivering fliers to the various stalls. Once it was empty I returned the bag, claimed a flier of my own, and went to find my own blanket. It was a little tougher with the general congestion, but I found it easily enough.

“’Bout time you showed up,” Vinyl said around a mouthful of what looked to be nachos. “I was about to start looking for you.”

I settled down beside her and dropped the show bill on the blanket. “Sorry, I got mixed up helping the organizer do work someone else in their group was supposed to do. I suppose it’s just a habit.”

Vinyl grunted and picked up the flier I’d brought. I hadn’t really paid attention to it as I handed it out, but reading it over Vinyl’s shoulder I felt a slowly growing sense of dread. “Did you know?” I asked her.

“Nah, but this is going to be so cool!”

I stared down at the piece of paper for a few seconds longer, eyes glued to the words at the top of the page. “It’ll be something.”

Given the time of year, I should have guessed it would be a horror movie marathon. This wasn’t going to be a problem for me, as Symphonia had broken me of my hatred of all things scary, but unless Vinyl was over her intense dislike of blood and gore…

We whiled away the time before the first movie chatting as always. I told her about the Orchestra’s few performances that Vinyl hadn’t attended as the sun began to set. As the shadows grew longer and the temperature dropped, Vinyl told me that Midnight Oil was working on something, but was frustrating her because he wouldn’t say what.

At long last someone cut power to the streetlights, throwing us all into sudden darkness. Somepony screamed, as they were wont to do, before the projector whirred to life. Vinyl turned to look at me in the darkness, visible only in faint light reflected off her coat. She grinned at me and removed her glasses, stashing them in my bags for safekeeping.

I thought about asking again if this was something she wanted to do, but decided against it. In a few minutes I’d find out exactly how bad this evening was going to go.

Ten minutes and one excessive blood spatter later, I had my answer. Vinyl jumped high enough I almost mistook her for a pegasus and buried her face in my mane. I let her stay there for a few minutes, until the scene looked safe again, then pushed her away under the guise of grabbing the blanket I’d brought and putting it over us.

To Vinyl’s credit, she managed to make it for almost another half hour before something spooked her enough that she dove back into the safety of the back of my neck.

“You okay?” I whispered.

“Y-Yeah, totally. My, uh, my nose is just a little cold is all,” she responded.

It was true that she was shaking under the blanket, but I doubted it was from cold. “Right. Still don’t like scary movies?”

“Shut up.”

I considered teasing her for a moment longer, but it didn’t quite feel right. Over the next two movies we fell into a pretty easy system. Whenever Vinyl got spooked, or if she thought she was going to be spooked, she would hide. That meant that she spent most of the next five hours blowing hot air on the back of my neck, but I couldn’t bring myself to chide her. Whenever it seemed safe, I would tap her hoof with mine so she knew it was safe to come out.

As the credits of the last movie started the street lamps clicked back on, bathing the square in light. Several ponies shouted in surprise, Vinyl included. I simply blinked rapidly, trying to restore some semblance of normal sight. Once I could sort of see I stood and stretched, wincing as my body complained about how long I’d been sitting still.

Vinyl did the same, but since she didn’t rely on hooves to do everything, she was able to grab the blanket previously covering us and shoved it into my bag. She then took the one we’d been laying on, shook it out, and folded it onto her back.

“You’re going to get covered in grass,” I told her as we started the short walk back to my dorm.

“It’ll wash out.” Vinyl glanced down at her own coat. “Probably.”

Vinyl helped me get everything squared away back in my dorm room before leaving for the night. Symphonia looked up at me from her position on the sofa. “So, how was it?”

“Bad as always.”

<><><><><>

Vinyl missed our Psychology class the next day. I knew she wasn’t against skipping classes in general, but she always seemed to make an effort to appear for the one class we shared. Since it was on the way, I decided to stop by Vinyl’s dorm on my way to practice that night. It didn’t take much effort to navigate my way through the tight hallway with my cello and knock on her door.

I heard some light shuffling on the other side before Vinyl’s voice came through the door. “Yeah?”

“It’s me,” I said. “You weren’t at class, is everything okay?”

“Hey, Tavi. Yeah, I’m fine, just didn’t make it is all,” she responded. “Thanks for checking in, but don’t you have practice now?”

“I do, but I thought I’d stop in first.” I turned to walk away only to stop and press my ear back against the door. “Are you sure everything is okay?”

“Totally. Everything is totally, one hundred percent fine.”

She sounded normal, but something just felt wrong. “Vinyl, open the door.”

She didn’t answer, so I spoke a little louder. “Vinyl, open the door, please.”

“We don’t really have time to chat, Tavi, you should get to your practice,” she finally replied, though quieter than before.

On a hunch I pushed the handle only to feel the latch click open. The door opened just a little ways before it stopped, blocked by something on the other side. I peered in what little I could, but didn’t see anypony else. “Vinyl?”

“I’m stuck,” came the quiet reply.

“Stuck? Stuck on what?” I pushed on the door again, managing to squeeze just enough space to put a hoof between the door and the wall. I wasted no time getting my hoof in, but couldn’t get to the obstruction.

“Not stuck on something, stuck in here,” Vinyl admitted in the same voice. “I can’t go outside like this, I’ve got an image to maintain.”

“Out like what?” I demanded, trying to use my hoof to get more leverage to open the door. “You better not be holding this door shut.”

“Wait, you’re trying to come in? I didn’t even notice, hold on a second.”

Several loud clatters echoed around her small room and the hallway beyond as the entire room was washed for a moment in the glow of Vinyl’s magic. The door burst open so quickly I lost my balance, falling into the middle of a pile of junk. Vinyl must have shut the door behind me, because the first thing I heard when my landing spot stopped rustling around was the latch click home.

I rose to my hooves, careful not to damage anything, to find the room in complete chaos. Several stacks of random junk littered every surface. Shelves were practically bare, and in some cases upside down. All the boxes we’d carefully packed and organized some weeks ago were open, their contents likely added to the pile. In one corner, one forehoof buried almost up to the shoulder in a dresser, Vinyl smiled at me.

“Yo,” she said, carefully pulling her hoof out.

I slowly looked around the room, shocked at the absolute chaos on display. It wasn’t my room, but I’d spent hours helping her get everything cleaned up. I felt my left eyebrow twitch. “You have five seconds to explain.”

Vinyl tried to take a step back, only to find the dresser behind her. She frantically pointed to her face with a hoof.

“One,” I started.

“Look, just look!” she begged.

“Two.”

She pointed vehemently at her face, eyes growing wide.

“Three,” I continued.

“It’s my glasses, I lost my glasses!”

Somehow I’d managed to miss it on entering. I blamed the complete disarray around me, it tended to fry parts of my brain. “Four.”

“But I told you! Oh man…” she whinnied, then ducked for cover.

“That’s not an actual explanation,” I said. I walked towards her and put a hoof on her withers. “They aren’t prescription glasses, you don’t actually need them to see.”

“No, but I’ve got an image to maintain!” She peeked one red eye from behind her hooves. “Are you gonna hit me?”

I shook my head. “Besides, I know where your glasses are.”

She bounded to her hooves, nearly smacking me in the jaw in the process. “Really? Where?”

“In my bags, you dork. You put them there last night during the movies, remember?”

Vinyl smacked her head with a hoof, hard.

“You might want to try that again,” I said. “I didn’t hear a hollow thunk.”

“Ha ha.” Vinyl stuck out her tongue, then rubbed at her head. “Since I’m wounded, would you go get them for me?”

“Really?” I deadpanned. I shook my head and walked towards the door. “Sorry, can’t, I have practice. If the room is clean again later, I can deliver them then.”

“Tavi? Don’t do this to me, I haven’t been able to go outside all day!” I ignored her protests and continued walking. She followed me all the way to the door, then stood off on one side and pouted. “I’m hungry…”

“Clean this up, and I’ll bring over dinner with your glasses, okay?” I replied. I felt bad, but I was going to be late as it was.

After Vinyl nodded, I hurried to the auditorium.

<><><><><>

“I swear,” Symphonia said as she turned the key to our dorm room. “I worry about that filly sometimes.”

“As do I,” I sighed. The bag from last night was still right by the door, so I quickly rustled through it. Symphonia took the glasses from my hoof and stuck them on my face. I winced as my vision washed out in aggressive purple. “How in Celestia’s name does she see through these?”

“Who knows?” Symphonia separated her own dinner from what the two of us had picked up and put the rest in my bags for me. “You better get going though; wouldn’t want your fillyfriend to starve to death.”

“We aren’t dating,” I retorted. “See you later.”

I just barely caught my room mate’s wave as I shut the door. A few minutes later I was in front of Vinyl’s again.

I knocked twice. “Vinyl, I brought food. Is it clean?”

The door clicked open, so I walked inside. It wasn’t totally spotless, but she’d managed to clear off a good section of the middle of the room, and the little table she ate at.

She lifted the glasses from my face as I stepped inside. When I turned around after setting down our dinner, she’d already planted them firmly on her face, right above a huge smile. “Thanks, Tavi.”

“They’re just a pair of glasses. Why do you care so much?” I asked, stepping between her and the table.

“I told you, it’s part of my image, my brand. I can’t just go around without my glasses on. You’ll understand, one day. It’s like how Legatus doesn’t leave home without his briefcase, or Melody doesn’t go on stage unless her instrument is freshly cleaned.”

She tried to walk around me to get to the food, but I stepped into her path. “Vinyl, seriously. I’d like to know.”

“Hazelblossom gave them to me,” she said, removing the article from her face and spinning them around so she was looking at the front. “They’re for my image, yeah, but I just got in the habit of wearing them around him, I guess. It feels weird to not have them on now.”

“Oh.” I carefully plucked her glasses from where they hovered in front of me and set them down. “I’ve always liked your eyes, though, ever since we first met. Maybe it’s okay to not cover them up sometimes.”

The room fell silent. We stared at each other for a few long seconds until she nodded. “Alright,” she whispered.

“Food?” I asked, moving away from the table.

“Food,” Vinyl confirmed. We ate in silence, watched over by the glasses where they’d been left on the table.

Author's Note

Fun fact to expand on what Vinyl tells Octavia about some ponies never leaving home without a certain possession, I've always seen Octavia in this story as not having her bow tie yet. It's not super important, which is why it hasn't been brought up in story, just a little fun fact.

Wub

Wub

I watched Vinyl pace back and forth, not bothering to hide my amusement. Bassy music from Night-Glo’s speaker systems boomed from below us. I sat with my back to the balcony overlooking the dance floor on the first floor, sipping at my drink. We were alone up in the VIP area, discounting the bartender and bouncer, giving Vinyl plenty of room to pace.

“I thought you weren’t nervous,” I teased. Vinyl had been asked to return today for a meeting with Midnight Oil after she dropped off a new song the day before. Naturally he hadn’t told her why, giving her an entire day to spin herself into more and more wild scenarios.

“I’m not nervous, but what if he has to tell me that his mother is a changeling and is making him shut down the club to return to the family business of collecting blood!” Vinyl shot back. She returned to the table long enough to drink deep from my glass - she’d already had over half of it already - before continuing to pace in front of me.

“That makes even less sense than the sentient fish people living in a lake underneath the mountain threatening to flood the club through the bar taps,” I replied.

“It’s totally possible.”

“You read it in a comic.” I glanced at a small neon clock stashed behind the bar. “It’s almost time, you should sit and take a breath, calm down a little. Do you want me to go with you?”

Vinyl did as I suggested, breathing out hard enough to flutter the napkins held in the center of our table. “Thanks, Tavi, but I’ll probably be fine. I’m just glad you came out here with me.”

“And have you lose your job because you jittered through the floor?” I teased some more. “Of course I came.”

She glanced over at the clock on the bar and nodded. Before I could react, she’d grabbed my drink and finished it off. I tried to protest, but the clink of glass on wood drowned me out. “Well, it’s time.”

“You better be fast, you owe me a drink,” I grumbled, but I waved her off as she walked down the narrow flight of steps back to the first floor.

The bartender caught my eye by raising another drink up in the air. I nodded in thanks and walked over to grab it, and ordered something for Vinyl as well. With a little effort they both made it to the table full, and I settled in to wait.

I turned in my seat to keep an eye on the stairs up, and one focused on the club below. The dance floor slowly filled with ponies as the night grew longer, and I grew slowly more concerned. After nearly an hour she finally came back.

She slowly trundled back to my table and plopped into the seat closest to the stairs. “How’d it go?” I asked.

Vinyl didn’t answer until she’d drained nearly a quarter of her drink in one go. “He, uh, really likes the work I’ve done so far. I guess in the last few months there’s been a lot of ponies hanging around between DJ sets,” she answered hollowly.

“That’s great, but…” I continued fishing, waiting for the other horseshoe to drop.

“He wants me to actually DJ a set, early in the night.”

I gasped and clapped my hooves once. “Vinyl! That’s fantastic! When?”

“Tomorrow.” She drained the rest of her glass.

“Oh…” I slid my untouched drink over to her. “That seems pretty short notice.”

With her drink empty, she started nursing mine. “Yup.”

I let her sit for a few minutes, watching as she slowly filtered through the results of her meeting. I remembered how overwhelmed I’d felt after being accepted into Canterlot University’s Student Orchestra, and even more so as our first show loomed over the horizon. It wasn’t my first performance, unlike for Vinyl, but it was still paralyzing.

“Do you think we should head back?” I asked her as the drink neared empty.

Vinyl looked out at the dance floor, then to the clock behind the bar. “Not yet. I want to see something first?”

I was saved the trouble of asking what when the current DJ ended his set. Unlike normal, the house music didn’t kick on. A small path formed on the dance floor as Midnight Oil effortlessly moved through the throng of ponies. He took the stage and a microphone before turning to face the crowd.

“Good evening, everypony. I hope you’re all enjoying yourselves,” he said. The crowd answered in cheers and stomped hooves. “I am truly glad to hear that. I interrupt Lemon Drop here to make an announcement. Tomorrow evening’s performance by Lowt3k will be performed by a newcomer, DJ-P0N3. She may sound familiar to you all, because she also was kind enough to mix much of our house music.”

Midnight Oil waited several seconds while the cheering died down again. I spent those watching Vinyl’s face slowly flush. “DJ-Pony?” I asked, smirking.

“Shut up,” she replied, pouting. “I needed some kind of stage name. It wasn’t my idea.”

“What was your idea?”

Somehow, she managed to sink further into her chair. “Shut up.”

We left shortly after the announcement. On the way home Vinyl extracted a promise from me to come with her for support. After we got back on campus, and I agreed, she disappeared into her dorm.

I asked Symphonia for help with a dress when I returned home. If I was going to support Vinyl, I wanted to do it right.

The next day I went to collect Vinyl at the time we agreed on. I had to resist the urge to fidget in Symphonia’s dress; I wasn’t used to wearing something like this in the first place, and it didn’t quite fit right anyway. It took about half a second for Vinyl to open the door after I knocked. She threw open the door and froze.

After a few long seconds of Vinyl all-but openly staring at me, I poked her.

“You’re wearing a dress,” she squeaked. “Is that really you, Tavi?”

“Of course it’s me! More importantly, why aren’t you wearing something?” I shot back, trying to hide my mounting embarrassment.

“That’s not P0N3’s style. I got these,” she shook her glasses, “and that’s it.”

“Leaning into that now, are you?”

Vinyl pushed past me into the hall. “Let’s go.”

I shrugged and fell in step beside her. “Are you nervous?” I asked as we left the building and set off towards town.

“Yeah, a bit,” Vinyl admitted. “It may not be an amazing time slot, but it’s still Saturday night. I know how all this is supposed to fit together in theory, but I’ve never done it live before.”

“I understand. I still get pre-show jitters too,” I said. “But really the only way to do this stuff is to get up there and do it. Practicing cello is actually different from playing in front of ponies. You get so focused on what you’re doing when up on stage. I tend to purposely zone out, or I know I’m going to make mistakes.”

Vinyl dodged around a pegasus staring at the ground. “Really?”

I nodded. “It’s really silly too, because I know the music and how it all fits together. I’m just never sure if I’ll be able to do it until I actually do. If I could just practice forever, that’d be perfect.”

We rounded the corner onto Night-Glo’s street. Even this early in the afternoon, there was already a small line outside the door. Vinyl laughed. “That’s ridiculous. You can’t just practice forever.”

“But if I just practice, I can’t make a mistake,” I argued. We nodded to the bouncer and gave our names. He checked a list and let us inside.

“I gotta check in with the boss man,” Vinyl shouted over the music once we entered the club proper. “Meet you in the lounge?”

“That’s fine,” I told her. We walked together to the back door by the main bar which opened into the middle of a hallway. One way lead over and up to the lounge, while the other lead to Midnight Oil’s office.

We parted at that intersection. I was about to turn down the path to the lounge when raised voices down the office hallway caught my attention. I poked back around the corner, nearly running into Vinyl in the process, to see a stallion and mare pair leaving Midnight Oil’s office. Uncharacteristically, even he looked flustered as he stuck his head out of the office doorway.

“And I’d thank you not to bring your business back here,” Midnight Oil growled. “I don’t care what your two-bit hack of a DJ has to say, nobody who performs in this club steals music. Not that the same can be said for ponies in other’s employ.”

“You…” The stallion of the pair growled back.

It looked like he was going to step forward and hit Midnight Oil, but the mare put a hoof out to stop him. “Leave it. If Oil here wants to let that sort of rabble in his club, so be it. Just means it’s our job to spread the word.”

I barely managed to pull a stunned Vinyl back around the corner before the pair turned around. We waited silently as they slammed the door back into the club open, only daring to move when the door quietly clicked back home.

Before we could move again, Midnight Oil walked around the corner as well. He shook his head and straightened his suit. “Some ponies.”

“Were they talking about me?” Vinyl asked, her voice thin.

Midnight Oil nodded. “Unfortunately.”

“Who were they?” I asked.

“The owner of The Underground, Updraft, and his star performer, After Image.” Midnight Oil shook his head again. “They were simply here to try to tell me how to run my own business. It’s no matter, Vinyl. They can blow hot air all they want, but we have the originals of the music they claim you ‘stole,’ and after the excellent set you’re bound to put on, they can complain all they want. Nopony will listen.”

“Yeah… Yeah! This time, Hazelblossom can’t steal my stuff and call it his, and once everypony sees me kill that stage, they’ll know he was lying the whole time.” Vinyl pumped a forehoof and readjusted her glasses. “I got this.”

<><><><><>

“I don’t got this. Tavi, help,” Vinyl whined. The two of us were standing in a small hallway behind the main stage. The last DJ before Vinyl had left a few minutes ago. She was waiting for the go ahead to take the stage and get set up for her first song.

“It’ll be fine,” I reassured her. “I’ll be right back here, just like we talked about.”

Vinyl had wanted me to be on stage with her, but both Midnight Oil and I agreed that it wasn’t really necessary or feasible. He had provided me a chair and a drink back here though, in a place within line of sight of the DJ table.

“What if I mess up? What if they hate it and me and I never get a job again and—”

I quickly shoved a hoof against her mouth before she could spiral even further down. “If you make a mistake, cover it up. If they hate you, work to be better next time. If you go out there like this, it’s just going to be worse. Take a breath,” I ordered.

She did so, nearly choking when the nearby employee called a two minute warning. I smiled at her and took the glasses off her face for a second. “You got this,” I told her.

Her eyes closed for several seconds. I felt a gentle tug on the glasses in my hooves, so I let them go. They slid right back into place on Vinyl’s muzzle as the employee called her to stage. She turned towards the small set of steps leading upwards with that small cocky grin I was used to seeing and slowly ascended to the stage.

I took a seat in my chair. “Break a leg, Vinyl,” I whispered to the empty backstage hallway.

It was difficult to really hear what was going on back where I was. From my time in the various back hallways of the building, I knew there must be some sort of sound suppression. The music came through well enough from the gap that lead to the stage, but it didn’t have the same impact as it would have on the dance floor or even up in the lounge.

Even with the deadened sound, I could hear the excitement in Vinyl’s voice as she took the stage. I watched closely as she started playing, making sure to smile whenever she glanced my way. Honestly, I have no idea if what she was doing was right or even done well. The bits of the dance floor I could see around Vinyl and her machines seemed to be seizing at the proper rate, but I had no real frame of reference.

What I could see clearly was Vinyl slowly growing more and more confident. I watched as the various lights of the club bounced off her coat and glasses, drowning out the light of her horn as she deftly flicked knobs, switches, buttons, and whatever else she had to do. It was oddly engrossing, not quite like watching Mother play with her normal improvised perfection, but not totally different either.

As Vinyl’s final song drew to a close, I joined the crowd in cheering her off stage; though I was much quieter. I clapped politely as she walked the entire way across the stage. She picked up speed towards the end and jumped down the stairs, practically crashing into me in the process.

“Nailed it!” she shouted, throwing her hooves around me. “How’d I do?”

I pulled her out of the way of the club’s employees as they mounted the stage to prepare whatever was coming next. “I think you did fantastic,” I told her.

We stood awkwardly in the cramped hallway. I could barely move between the chair up against my hind hooves and Vinyl practically hanging from my shoulders. What little light we had filtered in from the neon lights decorating the dance floor. She was very warm, like Mother or Symphonia after performing under spotlights for hours. It surprised me a little, since Night-Glo didn’t have any big spotlights anywhere in sight.

Vinyl breathed heavily in my ear, out of breath from her sprint, or maybe just excitement from finishing her first set as a professional DJ. Her sunglasses hung askew from only one ear, dislodged from our collision. She stared into my eyes for a few seconds, her smile slowly started to slip away.

I was about to ask if something was wrong when she darted forward and kissed me.

Author's Note

I feel bad about not posting these yesterday, so have an Extended Author's Note.

Tick

Tick

I had my first kiss in the back hallway of a nightclub in Canterlot. It was with a filly who I’d grown up with, then apart from, then close once again. I remember the hot air wafting in from the stage, partly blocked by her body as she hung off of me. Almost before I’d registered what was happening, it was over.

Vinyl pulled away from me quickly, stumbling in her haste for distance. “T-Tavi, I…”

I raised a single hoof and tapped my lips. “You kissed me,” I stated.

“I-I know, but hear me out—” She pulled her sunglasses from where they half hung across her face. All I could see of her eyes was a faint reflection in the dim light.

“You kissed me,” I repeated. It felt like there was a lot more I should be saying, but my brain had ground to a halt on that one detail. “Why?”

She took a moment to compose herself then answered, “because I wanted to.”

“You wanted to?” I repeated back slowly. Somewhere in the back of my head, a voice was screaming that I needed to stop being so dumb or I was going to feel like an idiot later.

“Yeah. I wanted to and I’d like to again.” She spoke calm and evenly, but in the light from the doorway I could just barely see her shaking.

That kicked the rest of my brain into actually working, at least enough to get some time to think. I took a very tiny step backwards and smiled at my friend. “I’m flattered, Vinyl, but I’m not sure—”

“Y-Yeah, totally, sorry.” Vinyl laughed, a little high pitched and brittle and set her glasses back on. “Guess I just got carried away. Show high and all that, y’know?”

I took a step forward now, afraid that I’d offended or hurt her. “Vinyl, I meant that I don’t know—”

She spun around, cutting me off again. “Hey, I gotta go talk to the boss man. Dunno how long it’ll take though, so you don’t have to wait for me. I’ll see you back at school after the break, okay?” With a single half-hearted wave of her hoof, she walked quickly through the backstage and back into the nightclub.

The door slammed shut with a hollow bang. I stood there, blinking, slowly trying to force some order into the chaos of my thoughts. Vinyl wanted to kiss me, and not just the one time. She’d always been a very physical friend, but had never done anything like this.

Did that mean Vinyl had feelings for me, more than just friendship?

I smacked myself in the head, startling one of the club workers walking past me. Of course it did. Ponies didn’t just go around kissing each other for no reason. Just the look on her face before she left should have told me as much. If only she’d stay long enough for me to explain. I cared about her, but not like that. She was my dearest friend,and always would be.

“Miss?” One of the club’s employees had walked over to me. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I lied with a smile. “Thank you for asking.”

He smiled back at me. “I’m glad. Now, I know Midnight Oil made an exception for you to be here for P0N3’s show, but…”

I nodded. “Ah, I apologize. I was wrapped up in my thoughts.”

The employee quickly stepped in front of me and held the door for me. I nodded in thanks as I walked through, intent on making my way to the club proper. After ordering a drink I took a seat at the same table Vinyl and I had occupied on our initial visit. From here, I had a perfect vision of both doors that lead from the club’s back hallways into the main room.

I was going to wait for Vinyl and explain myself to her. I was flattered, but not interested in her like that. I wasn’t angry at her, I didn’t see her differently, and I still wanted to be friends.

Drink near at hoof, I settled in to wait.

The next DJ took the stage and started playing, causing a surge of ponies to rush the dance floor in their haste to join the group. With even less ponies out by the tables and bars, it was even easier to keep an eye on the doors, which meant I had to spend less energy glancing around groups of ponies.

With less to do, my mind naturally started thinking again. I’d repeated my plan to myself over and over on the way out, trying to keep myself focused, but I kept slipping back to our kiss in the back. She’d felt so warm, so soft. I felt the blood start rushing to my ears again, just as it had back there, and quickly took a fortifying drink.

The Symphonia that lived in the back of my head cocked her head to gloat. She’d been telling me for months, after all, why hadn’t I realized she wasn’t just joking.

Because her default mode, just like her mother, was teasing. They could both be serious, but only when necessary. If she’d just dropped her silly little one-sided grin I probably would have listened more closely.

Or so I said. If tonight had taught me anything, it was that I wasn’t nearly as observant as I thought I was.

A flash of white and purple coming from the back caught my attention. Vinyl, head held high, had emerged from the back room. I raised my hoof and waved it frantically, knowing there was no way she couldn’t see me. Purple glasses turned my way, and for a moment I thought she wasn’t going to come over. Then, ears drooping at the tip, she slowly trotted over.

“H-Hey, Tavi,” she said, most of the strength missing from her voice. “I said you didn’t have to wait.”

“Sit,” I ordered, pushing an extra drink over to her. “I want to talk to you.”

“Yeah, I figured,” she replied. Vinyl sat, blowing out a sigh as she did so. “Listen—”

“I’m not mad at you,” I started, purposely cutting her off. “I’m not upset either. If anything, I’m flattered, but I don’t think I share your feelings.”

Somehow, she managed to deflate even more. “I figured. Sorry, Tavi, just forget it.”

The unicorn moved to stand. I quickly reached across and grabbed her hoof. “You’re still my best friend, Vinyl, that’s not going to change. I know I may not be the best pony to talk to about this, but if you need to, you can talk to me.”

After a second of wavering, she smiled, the faintest spark of her normal pep returning. “Yeah, alright. I’ll see you at class on Wednesday?”

“Lunch, before,” I countered.

We sat together long enough to finish our drinks, then left. Vinyl kept a little more distance than normal between us on the walk back, but I didn’t blame her. I couldn’t imagine what she was feeling right now. A part of me was a little sad as well, but I couldn’t quite pin down what, or why.

A short walk later we parted. Vinyl didn’t hang around talking, didn’t ask for another sleepover, just continued the trudge to her own dorm building. With a small frown, I walked into my own and headed to my dorm.

I sighed as I walked into the dark apartments, quietly shutting the door behind me. It wasn’t terribly late, but Symphonia had left a little before I did, citing plans with friends, so I wasn’t expecting her to be back yet. I almost wish she was, having something to distract me might be nice.

“How did it go?” a voice called from inside the dorm room. I jumped, surprised, and poked my head around the corner. Symphonia lounged on the couch, turned towards the doorway. She was still dressed up, as she was before leaving, but she’d been home for awhile judging by the scattered snacks. “Why the long face, did Vinyl’s show not go so well?”

“Vinyl kissed me,” I blurted out without thinking. I quickly clamped my hooves over my traitorous mouth.

Symphonia waved a hoof, dismissive. “Congratulations on escaping the closet. I’m so glad you have chosen me to share this with,” she deadpanned.

When I didn’t answer, she sat up. “Octavia, this is the part where you make some snarky comment back, like normal. Silence isn’t part of the normal routine.”

I released my muzzle just enough to whisper. “We really aren’t dating.”

“Really?” she asked, eyes growing wide.

“Really,” I whispered.

“Oh sh—” She quickly scrambled from the couch, practically bounding over it to get to me. She grabbed me gently and pulled me back to the couch. “Why didn’t you say that before?”

“I did,” I shot back as she pushed me into a sitting position. “Multiple times.”

“Well, sure, but I thought you were just…” Symphonia sat next to me. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Tell me what happened.”

I told her everything. She asked a few questions here and there, but for the most part just let me talk. When I finished, she nodded.

“I figured something was going on between you two, the way you acted together,” Symphonia said. “But I didn’t realize that you didn’t realize. She’s probably not taking it great, but how are you?”

“Fine,” I lied. Retelling the events of the night had put what happened at the forefront of my mind and it refused to leave.

“Are you though?” Symphonia pressed. “Look, I won’t tell you what to think or feel. But from what I’ve seen Vinyl really cares about you, and you about her. There are enough ponies who think you are dating that there’s a betting pool—”

“There’s a what?” I asked, a little more shrill than I’d have liked.

“Hush, it doesn’t matter, I’m only in ten bits. My point is really only that you should really think before you see Vinyl again. If you only like her as a friend, no problem. But if you might be hiding something more, this could be a good chance.”

“I only like her as a friend,” I said, trying to forget the image of Vinyl’s red eyes drawing closer in slow motion.

Symphonia shrugged. “Alright, guess that’s all there is then. Come on, let’s go get dinner.”

I spent the next several hours with Symphonia, trying to keep busy. As long as I was doing something, I couldn’t really find time to think. Eventually though, it got too late. Symphonia went to bed first. I followed a few minutes later, not really sure what else to do.

For hours I tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw some other memory of Vinyl and I. The two of us outside of Hazelblossom’s apartment, and wanting to smack him for being rude to Vinyl. Our first visit to Night-Glo and worrying about her getting stuck in a bad agreement.

Then, I started thinking back to the night she stayed here and the campus movie marathon; to laying there with her hooves around me. It was warm, it was comfortable, it was so terribly confusing. She’d always been clingy, even when we were young. It didn’t mean anything then, why should it be any different now?

But obviously it meant something different now, at least to her. Should it mean something different to me as well?

I buried my head under my pillow, repressing the urge to shout in frustration. Talking to Symphonia had only made me more confused. I wanted to talk with someone else, but this late at night who could I?

A quick glance at my alarm showed it to be well past midnight. The only ponies I was close to on campus were Vinyl - who was out for obvious reasons - and Symphonia, who was herself out like a light. I could take a trip into Canterlot, but I didn’t really feel comfortable talking to Mother or Father about this.

I hadn’t even considered that we were raised like sisters. That just added another layer of weird onto what was already going on. Thanks, brain.

That really only left one option, though. Even though it was pretty late, there was a good chance she was still awake. As quietly as possible I got up and made myself somewhat presentable. I was out of the dorm a few minutes later, moving to hail a carriage to take me to the neighborhood where I grew up.

It was time to talk to Aunt Rosin.

Author's Note

So, this chapter and the next chapter were originally going to be one big thing, but I did that thing I do where I just start writing and don't stop. So, instead of a huge 4k+ chapter, you have to wait a week. I know, you don't have to thank me.

Tock

Tock

It always surprised me how normal Aunt Rosin’s house looked. Easily the smallest on the block, it sat squished between two veritable mansions. You’d never guess that a household name in Canterlot and beyond lived there.

I slowly passed the fence and tiphoofed to the front door. Surely even a night owl like Aunt Rosin would be asleep by now. It would be rude to wake her up, especially if she’d just fallen asleep. Doubly so if she had important work things to do tomorrow.

I shook my head forcefully, trying to stop the circle of thought I’d walked the entire way here stuck in. I obviously needed to talk to somepony, or I was never going to get to sleep and would spend the next day tired and confused. If I could solve at least one of those problems, I was sure the other would be simple.

However, that relied on the problem itself being simple, which I wasn’t sure it was. There was also no guarantee Aunt Rosin would even want to talk tonight. What a waste it would be if she just sent me home, I could always cut out a couple of steps and leave of my own accord tonight, and come back at a more reasonable time--

“How long are you going to just stand there?” Aunt Rosin suddenly spoke from the door. I jumped, shocked, as soft light bled from the open door onto my face. “What are you doing here so late? Is everything okay?”

“I need to… I mean, I would like it if…” I stuttered and stumbled over my words, attempting to right my crashed train of thought. “Can I come in? I want to talk with you.”

Aunt Rosin studied my face for several long seconds, then nodded solemnly. “Of course, kiddo.”

She stepped aside to let me into the cozy mud room. “I’ll get us some water. Head on back to my music room, I’ll meet you there,” she said.

I nodded and carefully stepped around her. I’d been inside my aunt’s house even fewer times than I’d seen it, but it was hard to not remember where the music room was. Forward into the main living area, then a hard left, through a door, and down a set of stairs.

The entire bottom floor of the house was devoted to our craft. Dozens of instruments hung on stands from the walls. Several bookshelves against one wall somehow supported hundreds of books of sheet music. Various carrying cases were scattered across another wall, all clean and closed. One corner was filled with a very comprehensive service and cleaning desk, where I’d actually learned how to polish my own cello.

My destination was in the middle of the room, a mismatched set of chairs and a couch set next to a piano. I picked one at random and sat down, nervously tapping my hoof against the hardwood floor. Aunt Rosin came down a few minutes later with a tray of cookies and glasses of water. She scooted over the piano’s bench and sat across from me.

“Now then, what’s on your mind, kiddo?” she asked.

During my long walk, I’d mentally run through several iterations of this talk. I was going to calmly explain what had happened backstage, tell her how it was keeping me on edge. Then she’d give me some advice, we’d talk for a bit, and I would go home feeling much better.

“Vinyl kissed me,” I blurted out, again.

Aunt Rosin nodded and took a big bite from a cookie. “Didja like it?”

“I’m just a little confused by it, is all. I didn’t realize Vinyl thought about me like that. I’m sure I don’t feel the same for her, but at the same time—”

My aunt’s slowly rising eyebrow slowed my words to a halt. “Did you like it?” she asked again, slower.

“I-I don’t…”

“It’s a simple question, filly. Did you or did you not like it when Vinyl kissed you?”

“I’m not sure, that’s the problem!” I countered, growing ever so slightly frustrated.

Aunt Rosin didn’t answer. She locked eyes with me and slowly bit into her cookie again.

I squirmed under her gaze. The same part of me happily spouting off that Vinyl had kissed me spoke up. “M-Maybe, just a little…”

“Do you want her to do it again?” Expecting the stalling tactic I’d learned from Mother, Rosin quickly removed the cookies before I could reach for one.

Left with nothing to occupy my hooves, I squirmed some more. “Maybe…” I answered, almost too quiet to hear myself.

Rosin nodded and replaced the plate on the table. I hurriedly snatched a sugary snack before she could deny me one again. “Then there’s no problem.”

Something in me snapped at having my concern brushed aside so easily. “What do you mean, ‘there’s no problem?’”

“Just what I said. You aren’t mad that she kissed you—”

“Yes, but—” I tried to interject, but Aunt Rosin just raised her voice.

“And you want her to do it again—”

“I-I didn’t say that, I’m not sure, that’s the—”

“Octavia, listen to me.” Aunt Rosin never raised her voice, but her serious tone stopped me all the same. “The funny thing about life is that nopony has all the answers. You can’t go into every situation with all the answers and outcomes ready and analyzed. So what if you didn’t think Vinyl wanted to play tonsil hockey—”

“Aunt Rosin!”

“—who cares? If it didn’t upset you, and you kind of want her to do it again, there’s no problem.” She stopped for just a moment, and I swear I saw her look at the row of pictures on the dusty key cover of her piano. “I’ve seen relationships start for worse reasons than that.”

As unobtrusively as I could, I tried to peek around her. From my seat on the couch I could only see a couple of the pictures: one of Mother, Father, and Aunt Rosin posing in the Canterlot Conservatory courtyard at Mother’s graduation, and one of Aunt Rosin and a stallion I didn’t recognize hanging upside down from a tree in a park I knew very well.

“But what if… what if…” I stuttered, grasping at straws. I could already almost hear Aunt Rosin’s next bit of advice; it was likely something I was already thinking about myself. “What if it doesn’t work?”

Rosin chomped another cookie with a shrug. “Then it doesn’t, but you still tried. What happens after that is up to you two.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. As was normal, Aunt Rosin had managed to punch through all the extra little things I tended to focus on when faced with a problem. “I think I understand,” I lied.

“No, you don’t,” Rosin replied with a knowing smile. “Because that’s the secret, kiddo: nopony does.”

Rosin stood then and stretched, taking a couple of extra seconds to brush the cookie crumbs from her coat and the piano bench. “I’ll go make up the spare room. It’s late, you can stay here tonight.”

“Okay,” I agreed. As she left the room, I grabbed another cookie. I honestly wasn’t too sure if visiting Rosin had actually helped. She hadn’t seemed to listen to half of what I had to say, and yet somehow I still felt a little more at ease.

Of course, I might have just worn my brain out with the frantic mental gymnastics for the last few hours, however unlikely that may have been.

As I slowly munched a second cookie, I started going over the facts. One: Vinyl obviously had some feelings for me that went a little beyond just friendship. Two: this was probably super obvious to at least some ponies around us, given Symphonia’s reaction. Three: I really needed to stop lying to myself under stress. If I was really as okay with it as I’d told Vinyl, I wouldn’t have bothered Aunt Rosin this early in the morning.

Four was where I started struggling again. Aunt Rosin had made it very clear that I should at least talk to Vinyl about doing… something more, but I was still unsure. Dating somepony implied something a little more intimate than I thought Vinyl and I were.

On the other hoof, we already spent a good portion of our free time together. We supported, helped, and pushed each other to be better. Was that too far from what ponies did while dating?

But on that logic, why didn’t I date Symphonia? The same was true for us as well as Vinyl and I. But it didn’t quite feel right. I somehow struggled even more to see Symphonia and I as more than just friends. Just living with her was a struggle, sometimes.

“You still look confused, Octavia,” Rosin said from directly in front of me.

I jumped in surprise and opened my eyes just in time to see her sit back down. “I guess I am, a little,” I admitted.

“Why?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure anymore,” I replied with a shake of my head. “I guess I just don’t really know if I feel the same way towards her.”

Rosin nodded. “That makes sense. Okay, let me try this way.”

She resituated again and confiscated the cookies. “Say that the next time you see her, you tell her in no uncertain terms that you do not and will not feel anything more than friendship for her. It takes her some time to process, but she eventually gets over it. Now, maybe a few months down the line, Vinyl introduces a new friend to you, and says they’re dating. Take a second, how does that make you feel?”

It took hardly any time for a faint sadness to wash over me, followed shortly by an irritation I immediately remembered feeling last in Hazelblossom’s apartment. It didn’t feel like how jealousy had been described to me in the past, more of a general unpleasantness.

My thoughts must have been visible in my expression, because Rosin spoke again without waiting for my verbal answer. “Yeah, that’s about what I thought. Unlike in the movies and stories, real life relationships don’t have to stew for years and come to light at some plot-critical moment. They can, but it could just be that two ponies like spending time together and want to get closer. You don’t have to be head over hooves in love.

“It’s up to you, but I’d give it a try. Just be upfront with her, let her decide if she’s willing to take the time to see if something more develops.” She stood and stretched. “Or don’t, it’s up to you. I’m going to bed now, but I’ll see you in the morning. We can get breakfast.”

“Thank you, Aunt Rosin,” I said, standing as well. “Breakfast sounds wonderful, I’ll see you in the morning.”

We both went to our rooms, but I ended up staying up much later, slowly piecing together my own thoughts.

<><><><><>

I bade farewell to Aunt Rosin the next morning as we left the cafe where we’d eaten. She left to hail a carriage back home, while I started the walk to campus. I refused to let myself think on the short trip, fully resolved to the course I’d decided on last night.

Vinyl’s building had never been further than my own, the elevator to her floor never as slow. My ears started ringing ever so faintly as I stepped into her hallway and turned to face the door. I walked slowly, trying to ignore the thought that they’d replaced the carpet with a conveyor belt, trying to draw me farther away.

I hadn’t been so nervous since I’d waited to meet Vinyl at the cafe off campus, months ago.

At the door I stopped to collect my thoughts, but only briefly. Before I could have second thoughts, I raised my hoof and knocked. After the customary shuffling, a very tired Vinyl opened the door. Uncovered by glasses, her eyes widened as she saw me. “Tavi? What are you doing here?”

“I’d like to talk to you,” I said. “May I come in?”

She glanced behind the door for a moment. “Uh, it’s a little messy…”

“It normally is,” I agreed. “I’ll just be a moment, I don’t mind.”

With the shrug of one resigned to their fate, Vinyl stepped back and swung the door wide. The room wasn’t the messiest I’d ever seen it, but it wasn’t spotless either. With an effort of will I ignored it and stepped inside.

“I, um, I’ve been thinking,” I started, once again fumbling for my words.

Vinyl’s ears drooped. “I told you not to worry about it. I was just being dumb, Tavi. That kiss didn’t mean anything.”

I realized pretty quickly what she thought. I stepped forward slightly, consciously bridging the distance between us I’d put there backstage at Night-Glo. “No, it’s not that. I mean, it is that, but that’s not what I meant to say.”

After a deep breath, I tried again. “I can’t promise anything will come of it and I can’t say that I feel the exact same for you as you do for me, but if that kiss really did mean something, I’m willing to try.”

“R-Really?” she stuttered. “I don’t know what to say…”

Watching her stumble around, I started wondering if that’s what I looked like since yesterday. It was oddly adorable. I placed my forehooves on either side of her head to keep her from moving, then kissed her.

Author's Note

I went into this chapter basically knowing exactly what the conversation between Octavia and Rosin was going to be. It was actually a joke that my editor, quick, made while we were doing dishes one night several chapters back. It was just too perfect to not use.

Man, I love Rosin.

Off Tempo

Off Tempo

Slowly, I crept through the hallway of my dorm building, careful to not bump into anything in the building’s dim nighttime light. In the last two days of our break from classes, I’d only been back at my own room long enough to leave a note for Symphonia explaining where I was in case she needed me.

The note simply said I was with Vinyl. In retrospect, it might have been a better idea to explain exactly what we were doing: which was basically nothing. We spent the entire time just sitting and talking. She mixed music; I cleaned the room and poked fun at her.

Not that I thought Symphonia would believe me, which is why I waited until so late at night to return home. I would have to endure the teasing eventually, but, if it was only in passing tomorrow morning, I’d have time to digest her best ammunition before she could really lay it on. I couldn’t really blame her either; in her eyes, I’d freaked out when Vinyl kissed me, vanished, and was only now returning home two days later.

Just because I’d brought the teasing on myself didn’t mean I couldn’t deal with it when I was ready to.

Or so I thought. A familiar voice called out to me as I sneaked into my own dorm room. “So, just what time do you think this is, young lady?”

In what was starting to feel like a pattern, I poked my head around the corner separating the hall from the main living space. Symphonia was perched backwards on the couch, with only her head and forehooves visible over the back. Already a small smirk pulled at her lips.

“It’s late and I’m going to bed,” I said, stepping into the living room.

“Vinyl’s too lumpy?” she shot back. Her eyes never strayed from me as I attempted to walk across the room without looking over at her.

“Symphonia…” I sighed and turned to face her. “Go ahead and get it out of your system now.”

“I’m happy for you,” she replied, dropping her teasing tone, “seriously. I thought you might just be in shock when we talked on Saturday, but I didn’t want to push it.”

“Yeah, I think I was too.” I walked back around the couch and sat on the floor in front of her. “I talked to Aunt Rosin though and decided it was worth a try.”

“Of course you listen to my advice when Mom gives it…” Symphonia pouted. “Whatever, I figured it was something like that after I got your note. You missed practice yesterday, by the way. Lyra was pissed.”

I cocked my head to one side. We’d just finished up a major show, meaning that practice was unofficially optional for a couple of weeks, which is why I didn’t bother going. “I’m surprised she was even there. She tends to miss practice after shows more than I do.”

“You don’t remember?” Symphonia asked, surprise evident in her voice. “It’s recommendation season.”

My stomach took the express elevator to the bottom of my hooves. “I totally forgot…” I whispered.

Recommendation Season came once or twice every year, usually after our major shows. The idea was that if an orchestra was looking for new faces, they would attend the major shows put on by student orchestras across Canterlot. If they were impressed by certain performers or the performances themselves, they reached out to faculty advisors who would then pick out students to audition.

Symphonia nodded her head at a small envelope I hadn’t noticed on our coffee table. “That’s why I’m still awake. I wanted to make sure you got that before practice tomorrow.”

For me? I mouthed, pointing at myself. In answer, she floated the small gilded piece of paper over to me. With shaking hooves I took it, carefully popping open the seal and unfolding the actual message. My eyes skimmed over the familiar writing of Bent Bow.

The message was short and to the point. It started with congratulations on my performance at the last show and at taking Percussion under my metaphorical wing as well. I nearly dropped the letter as I hit the end. Bent Bow had recommended me for an opening in the Philharmonica Philharmonic Orchestra - Father’s.

“Where have you been recommended to?” Symphonia asked. I snapped my gaze up from the letter and slowly extended my hoof. She pulled the paper from me and quickly skimmed it over. “Oh, nice.”

“Nice?” I thought back to the countless dozens of shows I’d seen Father conduct. For years I’d always imagined myself on stage just like their group was, but had never thought about specifically joining them.

“Yeah. Imagine how pissed Lyra is going to be when she finds out tomorrow. She didn’t even get a recommendation this year. Again.” Symphonia set my letter on the table and let loose a laugh.

“She’s going to be something,” I agreed, only half listening. My mind was still firmly orbiting the recommendation. There was no way that I performed at the level I needed to with my lack of magic. I couldn’t audition for any orchestra, my Father’s or no, without being the best I possibly could be to match the proficiency of unicorn players. I'd be laughed off the stage.

We both went to bed shortly after, as we both had classes looming just a few short hours away. As I drifted to sleep, I could only think one thing: tomorrow at practice I had to turn down the recommendation.

That thought drifted with me through the entirety of the next day. The gilded envelope practically burned my flank through my saddlebags. In my last class before practice, Vinyl even asked me if something was wrong. I blew her off, citing Symphonia keeping me up too late with her teasing. She seemed to believe me, but I still decided I would apologize and explain later.

As I approached our practice room in the auditorium, Symphonia’s words came back to me. I grimaced, preparing myself to deal with Lyra, and quickly stepped into the room before my nerve failed me.

“Oh, look who decided to show up,” groused a visibly annoyed Lyra.

I looked around the mostly empty room; only about a quarter of our normal number was in attendance. “Why are you here, Heartstrings?” I asked, exasperated.

Symphonia snickered from the other side of the room. Lyra shot her a haughty look before answering. “I’m here to practice, of course. Something you have been lacking in lately.”

“I missed one day,” I shot back, letting annoyance color my voice. “And judging by the turn out today, I didn’t even miss anything important.”

“You missed getting your recommendation letter with everypony else. We all opened them together, you know. Everypony except you.”

I glanced past Lyra’s head to Symphonia, who was staring open mouthed at the other unicorn. Suspicions confirmed, I shook my head. “Sure you did. If you wanted to see, Lyra, all you had to do was ask.”

It may have been petty of me, but knowing that Lyra hadn’t received a recommendation again this year, I reached into my saddlebag and hoofed over my own letter. She took it and unceremoniously opened it. She skimmed towards the bottom, eyes growing ever wider. When she finished, she thrust the piece of paper back at me.

“Of course you received a recommendation to your father’s own group,” she snarled.

“That’s a little much, even for you,” Symphonia chimed in, walking to join me in the doorway.

“It’s true, though.” Lyra sat and crossed her hooves, digging in for the long fight. “There are several ponies in our orchestra that deserve a recommendation who didn’t get one because Octavia got it instead. How many cellists are in her section and in their last year?”

“And how many actually wanted it?” Symphonia shot back. “Some ponies are only here for fun, not for a career. This isn’t the Conservatory.”

I sat back as the argument heated up in front of me. I somehow had barely registered that I was being recommended to Father’s own orchestra. It wasn’t terribly surprising either, given how the system worked. Bent Bow was recommending that I audition for Father’s orchestra, they hadn’t come recruiting me specifically. In theory, it was possible that somepony reached out to Bent Bow for me specifically, it wasn’t like his involvement was a secret, but if that was the case, wouldn’t they have just approached me themselves?

The argument ground to a halt as our door opened. I quickly scurried out of the way, jerked from my own thoughts, as Bent Bow himself walked into the room. He looked the three of us over with his normal warm smile. “Good afternoon, ladies. Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” I said first, making sure neither Lyra or Symphonia could get themselves in trouble. “I would like to talk with you, though. In private, if possible?”

He looked at me for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. I have another round of recommendations to give out, then we may speak.”

I waited patiently as he distributed another set of gilded envelopes - newly signed recommendations - trying to avoid Symphonia’s withering glare. She probably knew what I was planning, but didn’t want to get involved with the orchestra ponies nearby. After he finished, Bent Bow smiled at me and nodded towards the door. I followed him back into the hallways of the auditorium.

He led me to one of the few faculty offices in the building: a small, cozy room nestled in the back reaches of the auditorium. After clearing off a chair currently full of sheet music, he motioned for me to sit before taking his own seat behind a desk.

“Now then,” he said. “What did you wish to speak about?”

I took a deep breath and slid my recommendation letter across the clean desktop. “I cannot accept this.”

“Oh?” Bent Bow asked. He took the letter from me and quickly glanced it over. “Why not?”

“I do not believe I am skilled enough to audition for such a prestigious orchestra,” I responded.

Bent Bow slid the envelope back, chuckling slightly. “I had expected a different problem from you, but no matter. Miss Philharmonica, I recommended you and one other cellist from our orchestra. I’ve heard rumors that the Conservatory has recommended four of their own, all for that one opening. I cannot speak for those ponies, but I believe everypony I recommended has an equal chance of passing their audition.”

“But…” I tried to counter, but stopped as he raised a hoof.

“You are a phenomenal cellist, Octavia. You would do well in any group you audition for. I recommended you as I did because I believe it will allow you the most growth as a musician. It is not because of your heritage, as ponies such as Miss Heartstrings will suggest, but because of your skill. Your prowess as an Earth Pony musician lends you more weight than Legatus’ or Melody’s careers ever will.”

I sat for a few moments, trying and failing to internalize the glowing praise. “I appreciate your candor, sir, but I still do not believe I am at the skill level needed.”

“I did what I could,” Bent Bow said, his smile never faltering. “It is of course up to you whether you audition or not, but I refuse to rescind the recommendation. I will forward the audition requirements when they are sent to me, but it’s up to you whether you do it or not. You have a couple of months to decide.”

Sensing our meeting was over, I stood and inclined my head. “Thank you for your time. I’ll see you at practice on Friday.” On his nod of approval, I left the office.

I made my way back to the auditorium entrance. The only reason I’d even come today was to speak with Bent Bow, and after our earlier meeting I didn’t want to deal with Lyra again. I was suddenly very tired, the roller coaster of stress and emotion from the last few days was finally catching up to me, now aided by a slowly creeping doubt.

There weren’t many places I could realistically go, however. My parent’s home was too far and they were both in Las Pegasus preparing for Father’s next show. If I went back to my dorm room, Symphonia was likely to come home to bludgeon me with questions and accusations, judging by the look she’d given me when I left the practice room. Vinyl would probably let me rest but I’d have to apologize and explain afterwards.

Judging that to be my best option, I made my way across campus to her dorm. The hallway was empty when I arrived, as was normal. I knocked twice, and was about to again when the door was thrown open. Vinyl stood there, mane still dripping from her shower.

“Hey, Tavi, what’s up?” she asked, bringing a hoof across the fogged lenses of her ever present glasses.

“I find myself in desperate need of a nap, so I came to visit the expert,” I replied.

“I was going to go to the club…” she said, visibly weighing her options. Reaching a decision, she clapped her hooves together. “Alright, new plan. First we nap, then we party!”

Staying up all night seemed directly counter to not being tired, but it was hard to say no to Vinyl’s eager smile. “Okay, but I want at least three hours sleep.”

“Of course, of course. Step inside, let Vinyl teach you how to nap,” she said, stepping back to let me in. A snarky retort bubbled up, but I ignored it and entered the room instead.

I headed straight for the bed and flopped down on it’s decidedly unlumpy surface. “How do you teach somepony how to nap, anyway?”

“Dunno,” Vinyl replied, settling down beside me. I felt the pillow under our heads dampen slightly as it dried her mane. “But the first step is not talking, shhhh…”

Author's Note

We had to debate long and hard about the chapter title on this one. We've been trying to keep it to sounds ~~because I hate myself and insist on making stupid chapter title themes that I want to drop three chapters later~~ for what they bring thematically. There just wasn't really a good one here, I think.

Anyway, I hope you all are keeping safe during this crazy time and are still enjoying the story as we round the corner into the last arc. Catch ya next week.

Screech

Screech

I woke up what felt like seconds after falling asleep. Slowly, so as to not disturb the fur blanket pressed against my back, I stretched. One after another my legs popped, complaining about just how long they were stuck in that position. From my position on the bed I couldn’t see Vinyl’s only clock. I just hoped that I hadn’t kept us down so long that she couldn’t go to Night-Glo as she’d wanted.

“Vinyl,” I whispered, nudging her with a shoulder. “Come on, Vinyl, wake up.”

She sleep-muttered something suspiciously like, “dunwanna. Can’t make me.”

There was a small part of me, I can admit now, that took pleasure in rising to the challenge. Bracing all four hooves against the wall, I pushed, sending her sprawling off the bed and to the soft carpet of discarded blankets on the floor.

I then pretended to still be asleep when she raised her head over the edge of the bed. It was a struggle to resist the urge to laugh as I felt her eyes glare holes in my back, but focusing on keeping my breathing steady and even saw me through.

“Tavi?” she whispered. “You awake?”

She waited a few seconds for an answer before slowly and carefully crawling back into bed. She wrapped a forehoof around my barrel and settled in to sleep some more.

I gave it about two minutes, right until I felt her breathing start to steady out before I did it all again. Thanks to her hoof, this time we both went tumbling off the bed.

We stayed in a heap on the floor, her stunned and a little confused, while I giggled like an idiot. Vinyl turned to face me slowly. “Not the first time I’ve been kicked out of somepony’s bed. Probably the first time it’s been mine, though.”

The latest giggle died on the way out. “You often find yourself in other ponies’ beds?”

“Ah, well, no…” Vinyl scrambled into a sitting position. “It was just a joke, really.”

I thought back to when we cleaned Vinyl’s stuff from Hazelblossom’s apartment. It was a one bedroom apartment, and he’d referred to it as their bedroom…

“You went out with Hazelblossom?” I asked as the pieces all clicked into place.

It almost looked like she was going to deny it. “Yeah. Well, kind of,” she admitted in a small voice.

A few different possible next sentences ran through my head, but all that came out was a monotone, “uh-huh.”

“I wasn’t going to tell you about it,” she replied, looking down. “Nothing actually really happened. The couch I was sleeping on started really messing with me. I was having a really hard time sleeping, so he offered to let me use his bed for a while and he slept on the couch instead. After that, whenever we had to go somewhere he called them ‘dates.’ It was kind of weird, but I went along with it because it seemed harmless.”

She paused there, likely waiting for me to say something. I didn’t, just gave her a small smile.

Vinyl returned it hesitantly, and kept going. “Like I said, nothing really happened. Our heat went out one winter, so we had to sleep in the same bed to stay warm. He tried to, like, kiss me a couple of times, but I always pushed him away. That’s when he started acting like an ass, and soon after that I ran into Legatus again and moved here.”

“Sorry for not saying anything,” she finished. “I didn’t think it really mattered.”

She waited for me to respond, her uncovered eyes never breaking contact with mine. It was weird to think of Hazelblossom and Vinyl being together, though if it was as uninvolved as Vinyl said, “together” might be a bit of a stretch.

“You’re right, it doesn’t,” I eventually said. “It just caught me off guard, I think.”

She stood and moved forward slightly, planting a light kiss on my forehead. “If you’re fine, I’m fine. It’s not like his weirdness changes anything with us, right?”

“Right,” I agreed.

With a twist of her head, Vinyl pulled her glasses from the nightstand and placed them firmly on her face. “Now then, it’s the perfect time to hit the club. Party time!”

She looked at me expectantly, her smile infectious. “Party time,” I conceded.

Vinyl took a couple of minutes to whack her mane back into shape. She then stood around impatiently while I spent much longer attempting to wrangle my own hair into some semblance of order. By the time I was done, she was practically bouncing from hoof to hoof. As soon as I set the brush down, she ran behind me and started pushing.

I was thankfully able to get the door open before I was pushed into it.

We walked the familiar path from campus in a comfortable silence, making good time through the mostly empty streets. At the club, we were waved through the non-existent line without the bouncer even pausing to check our names. Vinyl put in our normal drink order downstairs, which we collected upstairs in the lounge before going to our normal table.

“Any particular reason you wanted to come here tonight?” I asked, looking over the balcony to the half-full club below. It was early evening on a weekday, there wasn’t even a live DJ playing.

Vinyl shrugged. “It’s just something to do. I like coming out here and chatting with the other ponies, and chatting with the DJs and bartenders. Night-Glo is really different from The Underground, or any other club I’ve been to.”

I’d only ever been to two: where we were right now, and the one in Manehatten we both went to as fillies. But given my limited experience, I had to agree. “That makes sense.”

“I was wondering why you showed up at my room,” Vinyl continued, leaning forward onto the table. “You never take naps, ever. Did you want to sleep with me that much?”

“Vinyl!” I gasped. “Why’d you have to say it like that?”

“Like what? We both know what happened.”

“Yeah, but you made it sound so…” I spun a hoof, waiting for the right word to come to mind. “Indecent.”

“Did you not like it? Was… Was I not good enough?”

I could practically hear the crocodile tears welling up behind her glasses. “I’m starting to wonder how long you can keep this up for.”

“I can keep going as long as you want me to,” she whispered, leaning even further over the table, until our muzzles were only apart by a few inches. “How long can you keep going?”

It would have been easy to just explain about my recommendation, but I was having a hard time working up the courage to. That meant there was only one way to distract her: play into her own joke. “Are you really sure you can keep up?” I asked, failing to keep my voice level.

Vinyl took almost a full second to process. She fell back into her chair, laughing in surprise. “I was not expecting that.”

Feeling a rush of courage, I mirrored our earlier position. “Why did you stop? I thought you would keep going as long as I wanted?” I hummed at her. The table pressed uncomfortably into my stomach, but watching Vinyl freeze up again was worth it.

“You, uh, you spend too much time around me,” she responded once I’d settled back into my own seat.

“I guess I could stop.” I made a show of standing up to leave, but stopped as soon as I looked out over the dance floor. “Is that Hazelblossom? What’s he doing here?”

“That’s a weird way to continue that joke,” Vinyl replied, laughing some more. She stopped after seeing my face and stood as well. “Seriously? Where?”

I pointed down to a small group at the main floor’s bar. A stallion was arguing with the bartender, drawing a small crowd of onlookers. Vinyl spun around and stalked towards the exit to the lounge. I tried to call after her, but she didn’t turn around, so I followed behind.

With her longer legs, Vinyl made it to the main floor before I did, though I wasn’t far behind. It was hard to hear what was going on over the music, so she started pushing her way through the crowd. I followed behind, apologizing for both of us. Once we were towards the front, Hazelblossom’s voice was unmistakable.

“So you guys just don’t take this kind of stuff seriously then? I’m saying that one of your people stole my music. I want compensation, and her fired.” Hazelblossom had pushed aside two of the stools to get as close as possible to the bar.

Sensing the impending fight, I tried to wrap a forehoof around Vinyl, to keep her from charging her ex.

It didn’t work. She broke free of my hold without much effort, pushing past the outer edge of the crowd and pulling me partway with her. “You got a problem, Hazelblossom?” she asked.

The stallion spun quickly, knocking a stool to the floor. His gaze slipped over her, then myself, then back to Vinyl. “Why do I always see you together?” He spat.

“We’re friends,” Vinyl retorted, “we spend time together. Why do I always see you alone?”

Hazelblossom’s jaw clenched. “I’m not here to listen to you mouth off. Let me talk to your boss.”

“Don’t have one.” Vinyl set one of the stools upright and sat in it, making her just slightly taller than Hazelblossom. I moved as well, to stand next to her.

“Whoever decided to let you play my music here, then.” He paused as the house music changed songs to something Vinyl had made. “Like this one, right here!”

Vinyl listened for a moment. “Weird, could have sworn this was my song. I’ve got all the pieces and everything. Might even have the original mix on vinyl somewhere back home…”

“Then explain how it sounds almost exactly like something I mixed years ago.” I was barely able to resist the temptation to knock the smug smile off Hazelblossom’s face.

Somehow, Vinyl resisted as well, though her voice froze to a hard edge. “That’s a great point. Unless you could explain how your style radically shifted close to mine, one would have to assume that I’m the one who mixed both. Wouldn’t that be weird.”

You wouldn’t have been able to hear it over the background music, but I swear the crowd gasped in shock.

“T-Thats not the point, Vinyl. I made my music first,” Hazelblossom said.

Vinyl simply stared at the stallion. As close as I was, I could just barely see the muscle under one of her eyes twitching. I poked her gently with a hoof to get her attention, then nodded towards the nearest staff door. She nodded slightly.

I purposely walked between Vinyl and Hazelblossom to address the bartender. “I’d like to speak with management, please.”

He smiled and nodded, extending a hoof towards the very same door. “Of course, miss. Through that door, down the hallway, knock on the last door on the right.”

“Thank you.” I turned to push through the crowd again, only to find Hazelblossom blocking my way.

“Why don’t we go together?” he said, once again hiding behind a cocky smirk.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Vinyl said. “How about you stay out here with me, and we’ll let Tavi go get the boss man.”

“And let her tell some crazy lie to silence my complaint?” Hazelblossom shook his head. “No chance.”

“Tavi wouldn’t lie, even if she needed to,” Vinyl snarled. She pushed her way up into his face, which still looked weird, given their height difference.

Hazelblossom took a step back when confronted with the angry white unicorn, letting me slip back into the crowd. Right before I reached the door, somepony opened it from the other side. Midnight Oil himself stepped out, followed by one of the larger doorponies.

He nodded to me, but didn’t stop walking towards the bar. “Apologies for my late arrival, I was just informed of our guest’s arrival.”

I fell in step next to him. “I was just coming to get you, actually.”

“I thank you,” he addressed me, then gently cleared his throat behind a pony in the clump of onlookers. “Begging your pardon, ma’am, I think I’m needed past you.”

Midnight Oil never once raised his voice, or pushed through ponies. Just like when Vinyl and I first met him, he seemingly melted through crowds until we were at the bar itself.

I retook my place next to Vinyl as Midnight Oil cleared his throat. “I was told somepony was looking for management?”

“Finally!” Hazelblossom shouted, throwing his hooves up. “I’m here to lodge a complaint about one of your DJs stealing my music. I’d also like to speak about your employees stonewalling me.”

The bar owner nodded along to Hazelblossom’s words. “Yes, I am aware of the first baseless complaint. As for the second, I was informed as soon as you asked, but I simply had some pressing matters to attend to first.”

“Baseless? So you aren’t going to do anything about it?” Somehow, Hazelblossom managed to get even louder. He stretched out to his full height, standing over a full head taller than Vinyl and myself, and about a half head over Midnight Oil.

Midnight Oil stood his ground, calmly looking up at the other stallion. “Yes, baseless. I’ve heard similar allegations from your colleagues from The Underground, but none of you have actually been able to provide evidence. The supposed stolen music matches Vinyl’s style almost perfectly, adjusting for a slight difference in time. In addition, she regularly delivers new music to me, but I haven’t heard of you creating anything new in quite some time.”

Hazelblossom spluttered, trying to regain his momentum. “Well, at least do something about your rude staff. This stallion ignored my questions and refused to take me to see you and Vinyl was just downright unpleasant.”

“I apologize for the rudeness. However, our staff were following the proper procedure and alerted me right away. Also, Vinyl isn’t an employee; she is a contractor at best.”

“So you aren’t going to do anything?”

“No, I am not, unless I am provided evidence; I am pleased with Vinyl’s performance and that of the rest of my staff as well. Now then, you’ve caused quite a scene here. I’m going to have to ask you to leave my establishment until such time that you have sufficient evidence to prove my employees or contractors of wrongdoing.”

Hazelblossom blinked. “Wait, you’re kicking me out?”

“Indeed,” Midnight Oil replied. The doorpony took a single step forward, easily drawing Hazelblossom’s attention. “Have a pleasant evening.”

“Yeah, whatever. This isn’t over,” he said to Vinyl, then pushed his way through the crowd, and out of the building.

Vinyl looked after him and shook her head. “Idiot. Did he really think that was going to work?”

“Maybe,” I offered. “Maybe he just wanted to stir up trouble.”

“Probably,” Vinyl scoffed. “Oh, while we’re here…”

Turning around quickly, she bounded off after Midnight Oil, trying to catch him before he retreated to his office. Being a little slower, I didn’t catch up until after they’d already started talking.

Midnight Oil nodded to something Vinyl said I hadn’t heard. “That should be fine. Have a pleasant evening, and please try to avoid stirring up more trouble, hmm?”

“No promises!” Vinyl turned back to me as Midnight Oil disappeared into the back hallways. “Good news, Tavi, I’ve got work off for our trip.”

I stared at her and blinked once, slowly. “You mean our trip to Las Pegasus to see Father’s show?”

“Yup.”

“The one I told you about months ago?”

“Yup.”

“The one that we leave for in a week and a half?”

She beamed at me. “Yup! Isn’t that great?”

I rubbed the edge of my hoof against my forehead, attempting to massage away the impending headache. Why hadn’t I asked her about it sooner? When Father had given me the tickets, I gave Vinyl hers the very next day, but that had been weeks ago. “And did you have a plan for if he said no?”

“But he didn’t. It’s fine, Tavi, it’s fine.” She waved a hoof for emphasis, trying to bat my own hoof from my face.

“You owe me a drink,” I grumbled, pushing her towards the entrance to the lounge. With everything that happened in the last few days, I’d almost forgotten about the trip Father had promised me. We would be there for a week, long enough to see the show at least twice and explore the city besides.

I would also have a chance to talk to Father about my recommendation to his orchestra. He wasn’t actually responsible for it - that was left to his aid - but he might be able to do something to rescind it. Given how she’d handled asking for time off of her DJ work, I’d probably also have to keep an eye on Vinyl to make sure she was actually ready.

As we climbed back to the lounge, I decided to not tell her about my recommendation, yet. Once we were in Las Pegasus and I’d had a chance to talk to Father, I’d be able to tell Vinyl everything, including how I’d solved the problem.

Author's Note

This week's alternate title being "Screeeeeee: Hail the Great Serpent of Ronka"

Drone

Drone

I’d spent my life in Canterlot, which many ponies in the surrounding area consider to be a big city. Since Grandma Serenade lived there, I’d also spent a not insignificant amount of time in Manehatten - which is significantly bigger in size and population. Fillydelphia is supposed to be smaller, and I hadn’t visited in years, but the way it sprawled out always made it seem big to me.

Las Pegasus was on an entirely different level.

Two of them, to be precise. About a third of the city was built in the clouds, remnants of its history as a pegasus town. Bridges of metal and stone stretched between them, allowing those of us stranded on the ground to visit. As the city grew, both in population and as a tourist spot, the ground city began to grow outward and upward as well. It now boasted some of the largest buildings in Equestria, many of them piercing the cloud layer to provide another means of travel between.

The theater in which Father’s orchestra performed was a newer addition they’d somehow managed to build in a part of the city not covered by clouds. While the entire carriage ride to the theater door was lit by the patchwork blanket of sunlight and unicorn lamps embedded in the bottom of the city above, the actual walk into the theater was only natural lighting.

Vinyl and I walked side by side into the theater, through the familiar process of getting checked in and led to our seats. We sat in the front row of our little box on Father’s good side. Mother was already there, as she’d likely arrived with Father and the rest of the orchestra.

She stood to hug me as we walked over and smiled at Vinyl. “Octavia, I’m glad you could make it. And Vinyl, it’s good to see you again.”

“You say that every time, Mother. I haven’t missed a show yet,” I replied, hugging her back happily.

“Hey, Melody,” Vinyl said as I let go. “It’s good to see you, too. And, um, thanks for everything you guys did. Sorry I haven’t come to visit.”

Mother motioned for us to sit. “You could come visit. I could at least understand it when you were trying to avoid Octavia, but it’s been months.”

“Avoiding me?” I said to Vinyl as I sat next to Mother. “I thought you didn’t know I went to Canterlot U.”

“I didn’t,” Vinyl replied, sitting on my other side. “I just… didn’t want to run into you visiting your folks. We’ve talked about this.”

“I’m teasing,” I assured her. She pouted at me, but as I turned to survey the crowd and stage below, I felt her hoof creep across my own. We hadn’t really talked about how to act around my parents. I honestly wasn’t really sure what to tell them. We’d agreed to date and we’d kissed a couple of times, but nothing really felt different. We still sat around the same places and did the same things.

A buzzer sounded in the middle of the theater, blotting out all the conversation until it died entirely. I quickly turned my attention to the stage, all concerns put aside in the excitement of seeing Father’s work. The entire auditorium stared at a completely dark stage.

Tension built in the room as everypony strained their eyes to pick out the musicians in the darkness. Right before I thought ponies were going to stand up and approach the stage itself, a single double bass cried out across the room. A spotlight snapped on, revealing that section. The rest of that section joined in, washing the room in a deep, rich tone.

A cello chimed in next, followed shortly after by another spotlight. The entire section started up, layering in over the double bass. One after another, every instrument chimed in and were illuminated in turn. As the last instrument added it’s voice to the chorus, the last dark part of the stage was lit. Father turned to the crowd, offered a tight bow, then turned around and lifted his baton.

The opening note bled seamlessly into the first song, a sweeping number that I recognized from other shows. I unfocused as I normally did during shows, zeroing in the cellist section like I always did. My favorite cellist, Silver Stanza, was seated right in my field of view. I watched her left hoof dance across the strings; the right one seemed to move independent of the bow.

For a brief moment, I pictured myself playing next to her. I was clumsy and slow, misplaying notes and never really staying on tempo. Stanza’s hooves may as well have just been unicorn magic for all they impeded her. Compared to her, my own hooves might as well have been covered by oven mitts.

I closed my eyes and sighed softly. Vinyl squeezed my hoof until I opened my eyes again and looked over to her. It was hard to see her in the dark theater and impossible to see her eyes behind the sunglasses she’d refused to take off, but it was plain to me she was worried.

I squeezed her hoof back and shook my head. “I’m fine,” I tried to tell her without speaking. She seemed to accept my answer, and turned back to continue watching the show. I did as well, though it rang a little hollow.

There was no way I could audition for Father's orchestra.

I spent the rest of the show half listening, half planning what I would say to Father. We were all going out to dinner after the show, it would be easy to talk to him alone there. All I had to do was explain my reasoning and I was sure he’d get the recommendation removed. I’d get there someday, but I wasn’t ready yet.

As this theater didn’t allow us into the back guts to wait for Father directly outside the ready room, we joined a pack of orchestral family members who claimed a part of the main lobby to wait. I sat quietly, listening to Mother and Vinyl talk about anything they could that had happened over the last few years.

Like normal, Father was one of the last to leave. Tie hanging untied around his neck and his baton stowed in a briefcase, he walked over to us, visibly tired but with his head held high. “Well, girls, what did you think?”

I walked forward to hug him as Mother answered, “excellent as always dear.”

“Yeah. I haven’t seen anything like that in awhile,” Vinyl added. A half second later she stammered, “o-other than the Student Orchestra of course.”

“You don’t have to pretend, Vinyl,” I said, rolling my eyes. “We don’t perform anywhere even close to them.”

“So, I know we’d planned on going to a really fancy restaurant,” Father said, nodding his head. We all fell in together and walked toward the theater’s main entrance. “But I was talking to a local - one of the doorponies - backstage…”

“Oh, Celestia, here we go…” Mother sighed, shaking her head in preemptive defeat.

Vinyl quickly looked between Father’s hopeful grin, Mother’s dejected gaze, then over to me. “Wha…?”

“There’s a really great street taco vendor on the other end of town, cloud side. They’re only open after midnight, though.”

Mother shook her head. “So we’re supposed to go to the other side of town, wait until midnight, then eat street tacos? I was promised fine dining with my daughter and friend.”

“I dunno, sounds good to me,” Vinyl chimed in. “Tavi?”

I looked across at all of us. “I don’t mind, but can we go change first?”

“No tacos in formal dress?” Father asked. He smiled, but turned and started walking back towards the hotel.

“I didn’t agree to this,” Mother complained, but she followed along anyway.

Our hotel was only a couple of blocks away from the theater, barely far enough to warrant the carriage we initially arrived in. Vinyl and I shared one room, directly across the hall from Father and Mother’s. We all stopped together in the hallway, between our two doors.

“I might be a minute, sorry,” Vinyl said, glancing at me from the corner of her eye. “I wanna clean up a bit if we’re going to be walking around.”

“Understandable,” Mother said. “Just knock when you’re ready.”

I unlocked and opened the door to our room without another word. Vinyl was kind enough to let me step in and close the door before she said anything. “You ready to tell me what’s wrong yet?”

“I received a recommendation to audition for a professional orchestra,” I told her in a breathy sigh.

“Woah, seriously?! That’s awesome!”

“Yeah, I-I guess…” I replied.

“Oh, wait, is the audition song like super hard or something? Is that why you’re being so weird?”

I walked over to my suitcase and removed the slightly crumpled envelope. “Not exactly,” I said, hoofing the letter over to her.

She quickly skimmed the letter, then handed it back with a whistle. “Wow, Legatus’, huh? I bet that audition is going to be super tough.”

“Maybe, but I’m not going to do it,” I told her, carefully stowing the letter once again. I preemptively folded down my ears, expecting a loud reaction.

“Why not?” Vinyl asked in a reasonable volume. “This is what you want to do, right? It’s a great step and a great chance, you can’t let this go to waste.”

I shook my head and slowly raised my ears back. “Maybe, but you saw the same performance I did, Vinyl. I’m not nearly good enough to play up on stage with them.”

“Filly, are you crazy? You’re, like, the best cellist I know!”

“Seriously? You only know two, and the other one is Mother. No matter how good you’re trying to say I am, I don’t play anything like she does.”

“Isn’t that the point though?” Vinyl said, scratching her head. “Melody is great, but there’s just something different about how you play. It feels more… I don’t know… technical? Like, the two of you could play the same song and notes, but they sound different.”

“You only say that because you l-like me,” I said, attempting to ignore the hitch in my voice by undressing quickly.

“W-Well, uh, not exactly? I mean no, I was serious!” Vinyl stammered.

I turned back to see Vinyl quickly look away from me. “Why are you so weird? We’ve talked about this before, we’re naked all the time.”

“Yeah, but it’s different seeing you walk around with no clothes on and watching you strip,” Vinyl retorted, slightly more eloquently. “It’s more… sexy.”

With a scoff, I pushed her lightly. “Weirdo. I’m going to go wait in the hall, don’t take too long.”

“We’re not done talking about this,” Vinyl said as I stepped into the hallway. I didn’t bother to respond.

In my haste, I just about ran into Father in the hallway. He was sitting against the wall next to his room, staring down the hallway. As my door closed, he looked up at me. “Hello, Octavia.”

“Father? What are you doing out here?” I asked, moving to sit next to him.

“Melody kicked me out for making an excellent, tasteful joke,” he said with a chuckle.

I laughed politely, thinking back to Vinyl in our room. I’d thought dinner would be the best place to do it, but with Father out here right now, this might be the perfect chance. “I actually wanted to talk with you about something,” I said.

“I thought as much,” Father replied, turning to face me. “I just didn’t want to push you, is all.”

Odd, not how I thought this conversation was going to start. Maybe he did have a hoof in my recommendation after all. “So you see why I might be worried?”

“Sure, I guess.” Father shrugged. “But you should also know that your Mother and I support you, no matter what.”

“Then… what if I told you that I didn’t want to do it?” I looked at the patterned carpet, suddenly unable to meet his gaze without feeling uncomfortable. It felt like I was letting him down, somehow.

“That sounds like something between you and her, Octavia. She shouldn’t pressure you into doing something you don’t want to, and you shouldn’t do anything you don’t feel comfortable with.” Father sniffed and shuffled his hooves awkwardly. I looked up in surprise at his answer to see a reassuring smile.

“She? What do you mean?” I asked, confused. Last I’d heard, Father’s aid was a stallion.

“Were you not referring to yourself and Vinyl being… together?” Father asked, discomfort evident in his voice.

“What?” I said, my voice a little shriller than I’d have liked. “What are you… Hold on, more importantly, how did you know?”

“Sorry, Octavia, I didn’t realize it was supposed to be a secret. She’s just been staring at you a lot and being more clingy than Vinyl normally is. I’d just assumed something was going on between you two. Is there not?”

“There… There is,” I admitted, feeling my face flush slightly. “I was talking about something else, though. I received an audition recommendation from Bent Bow, my faculty advisor.”

“Octavia, that’s excellent!” Father beamed, almost copying Vinyl’s earlier non-outburst perfectly. “Where to?”

I simply stared at him, almost afraid to answer.

It took a couple of seconds, but Father eventually caught on. Somehow, his smile managed to grow even wider. “Excellent, positively excellent. I knew we were looking for a new cellist, but I didn’t realize… Your Mother is going to be over the moon.”

“I want you to take it back,” I said quickly, afraid my nerve would falter.

“Why?” Father asked, uncharacteristically cocking his head to one side. He didn’t seem upset, just genuinely confused.

“I can’t do it,” I answered, gaze dropping back to the floor. “Especially after tonight, I can’t perform at that level. Not yet.”

“Octavia,” Father said, putting on his stern voice, “that is ridiculous. You are a phenomenal cellist, and we would be happy to add you to our ranks, providing you win out in the audition. That’s what it’s there for: to weed out the ponies who don’t perform at our level. But there isn’t a doubt in my mind that you could do it.”

“But—” I tried to argue, but he shushed me gently.

“No buts, young lady. I am nothing but confident that you’ll be on stage with me in no time. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Go get your mare, I’ll get mine, and let’s have some street tacos, hmm?”

Author's Note

No witty author's note this week. Gotta get back to Arknights now, CC awaits....

Foof

Foof

The three of us reconvened in the hallway a few minutes later. Neither Vinyl or Father said anything about either conversation on our way through the nighttime streets of Las Pegasus. After wandering around for almost another hour, much to Mother’s amusement, we ended up at a small family diner not far from our hotel. I was unsure if Father misheard or forgot the taco stand’s location, but we never managed to find it.

“We could have been at an upscale restaurant, sampling delicacies we can’t get in Canterlot,” Mother teased. “But you simply had to find and forget about a little local place, and now we’re here.”

Father rolled his eyes, but smiled. This wasn’t the first time he’d led us on a fruitless hunt through the streets of a strange city. And for all of Mother’s teasing, it would undoubtedly not be the last time. “I was just trying to get something different. Doing the same thing constantly stifles creativity.”

“Isn’t getting lost all the time the same thing?” I asked, ducking the glare Father sent my way.

“Getting lost by definition cannot be the same. If you get lost the same way multiple times, are you really lost?” Father looked over at Vinyl. “Back me up here.”

“No can do. I’m with Tavi,” Vinyl replied.

“So we’ve gathered,” Father said.

Vinyl stiffened beside me. I looked from her to my parents across the table. With the perfect timing possessed by all wait staff, our food arrived just then. We quietly distributed our plates and waited for the server to leave before continuing our talk. I spent the entire time caught between two extremes: Vinyl next to me growing steadily more anxious and Father across the table with his barely restrained smirk.

Mother sighed heavily once the server was out of earshot. “Honestly, Legatus, for an orchestral conductor your timing is terrible.”

“I thought it was funny,” Father said, pouting over his soup. “Octavia started it.”

“You told them?” Vinyl asked. “But before we left, you said—”

I cut her off with a hoof and shake of my head. “No, I didn’t say anything. Father and I had a… miscommunication in the hotel hallway, but he knew before then.”

“You aren’t terribly subtle, Vinyl dear,” Mother said apologetically. “I figured you both out in the theater. We’d planned on waiting for you two to say something first…” She trailed off and stared pointedly at Father.

“I thought she did!” he rebutted.

The table lapsed into silence while all of us except Vinyl started to eat. As soon as I noticed Vinyl hadn’t joined in, I poked her under the table. “Something wrong?” I asked.

“That’s just it then? They knew we’re, uh, dating and don’t care?” Vinyl replied, nervously turning her head to look at all three of us.

“I haven’t been disowned yet, I don’t think.”

“We’re happy for you two,” Mother affirmed.

“You should know we don’t make a big deal out of a lot of things,” Father said. He jumped a few seconds later as Mother and I both kicked him under the table. “What was that for?”

Mother ignored him. “As I said, if you’re happy, we’re happy. And since we already know you well, Legatus doesn’t have to pretend to be a big scary stallion to protect his little filly.”

“You didn’t have to say it like that,” Father said, nursing his wounded pride with his soup.

Vinyl finally started in on her food. “That’s anticlimactic,” she said.

I shrugged and went back to my own dinner. I couldn’t speak for the others, but after the long train ride and travel stress, I’d managed to work up quite an appetite. The hour and a half detour from our initial plans at the theater hadn’t helped either.

“Do you have any plans for the rest of the week?” Mother asked as Vinyl, the last one still eating, finished.

“Not really. We were just going to explore a bit,” I said. Our trip was scheduled for a week, but we’d only planned on going to Father’s first show. The rest were completely sold out, even Mother hadn’t been able to get tickets for some nights.

“I’ve never been on clouds before,” Vinyl added. “I’m excited to go up there and see what it’s like.”

“It’s different,” Father said. “Be careful to stay on the marked paths, though. Not all of the cloud up there is safe for non-pegasi.”

“That’s why I brought a parachute.” Vinyl beamed, looking pleased with herself.

“No you didn’t,” I sighed.

Vinyl didn’t answer, her grin only growing wider.

“We are not jumping off the clouds,” I admonished. “Parachute or not.”

“We might not be, but I will.”

“Father may get to do his mean stallion impersonation after all,” I deadpanned. “After Vinyl becomes part of a road somewhere.”

“Better get back to practicing in the mirror, dear,” Mother said. She flagged down our server, pulling out her bag of bits. “Shall we move on?”

A few minutes later, we did just that. The street stretched before us, comfortably lit by the myriad of unicorn lamps secured in the cloud layer above, supplemented by others embedded in shop fronts and on light poles in all directions. Night truly never came to Las Pegasus.

On the walk back to the hotel, my parents provided us with several places we could visit that they’d been to themselves on prior trips. After a round of good-nights we split in the hallway separating our rooms. Vinyl immediately plopped down on her bed and shoved her glasses to the night table.

“That could have gone way worse,” she said. “Especially since you were the one to say we should wait before telling them.”

“I wasn’t sure how they’d react,” I answered honestly. Telling them also meant telling them how and why we broke up if I couldn’t return Vinyl’s feelings.

“And here I was thinking you just didn’t want to tell them,” Vinyl teased. I tensed up, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Well, whatever. What do you want to do tomorrow?”

“Not skydive,” I answered, settling into my own bed for the night.

Vinyl sighed loudly. “Spoilsport. I bet you want to go to museums and boring stuff like that.”

“I was going to suggest going to explore the cloud castle outside of town, but that sounds like a much better idea.” I rolled over to hide my smile. “Good night.”

“Wait, Tavi! That sounds so much cooler, let’s go see the castle! Come on, how do you make a castle out of clouds anyway? What’s the point?” She carried on until I looked over my shoulder to smile at her. Vinyl smiled back, then clicked off the light. “Whatever we do, it’ll be fun if you’re around. G’night, Tavi.”

I laid silently for some time, unable to fall asleep until I felt Vinyl crawl into bed behind me.

<><><><><>

“Seriously, who builds a castle made of clouds?” Vinyl asked.

We stood on the edge of a pony-built structure piercing the cloud layer. They were a little harder to find outside of the city, but this one was right next to where we needed to be. Dominating the skyline in front of us was an old cloud castle from the tribal days. Ponies slowly trickled around us past the transition of wood to cloud. Vinyl hadn’t wanted to take that step yet. Despite all the ground ponies walking around on the reinforced cloudstuff fine, she seemed afraid to take the next step.

I hadn’t crossed over either, but that’s beside the point.

“Pegasi, the race of ponies who can walk on clouds,” I responded for the third time. “I would rather like to visit said castle, if you’re done being afraid.”

“I-I’m not afraid,” Vinyl lied. “You go first.”

“Very well, if it’ll make you move, but I reserve the right to call you chicken the rest of the day.” I walked to the very edge of the platform and held my hoof over the cloudfloor.

“I’m no chicken!” Vinyl said. Before I could take another step she jumped forwards onto the clouds. They let up little smaller clouds.

Before she could turn to look at me and gloat, I stepped off the platform as well. My hooves sunk slightly into the warm, springy surface. It was slightly uncomfortable the way it formed up around my fetlocks, not unlike warm mud. “About time.”

Vinyl bounced a couple of times, smiling. “Be quiet.”

With Vinyl by my side, we started towards the castle. Walking on cloud was an… interesting experience. We were almost to the main gate before I stopped thinking I was going to fall through, just because my hooves sank into the surface. It was almost like walking on a thick comforter on a soft bed, which I hadn’t done in years.

I resisted the urge to jump like Vinyl had. I didn’t even bounce, not even a little.

The building loomed before us, forcing us to tilt our heads back to see the top of the turrets long before we reached the gates. “I’ve seen Canterlot Castle, but this is a little…” Vinyl started.

“Different,” I finished.

“While Canterlot Castle is a defensive emplacement,” called a pony from the gateway, “it’s main purpose over several renovations has been to serve as a symbol of Equestrian political power. This one here, like the ones further north and south, have served in the past as bastions of military power. They give up on a lot of glamour for functionality.”

I turned towards the voice, spotting the small pegasus mare partially hidden behind a desk. She and the desk were tucked out of the way, in what looked to once be a gatehouse. A couple of other ponies staffed the desk, helping a small smattering of guests, but the vast majority seemed to walk through the gate without pause. Unsure of what to do, I grabbed Vinyl and led her over.

The mare smiled at us as we drew closer. “Did you have other questions?”

“A few,” I said, preemptively elbowing Vinyl in the side.

“I didn’t even do anything!” she protested, but I ignored her.

“It’s our first visit here, and I’m not really sure what our options are,” I continued. “Is there an entrance fee, or a sign up for tours?”

“Entrance to public areas is totally free. We do offer guided tours, including some places not open to general admission, but those do cost extra,” she answered. “You can sign up right here. They start every half-hour, and last for about an hour.”

I turned to Vinyl. “Did you want a tour?”

“Or we could get lost in a big, cool castle all alone.” I pictured Vinyl waggling her eyebrows, though they were hidden behind her glasses.

“Vinyl!” I admonished, and turned my attention back to the small pegasus. “Thank you, we’ll think about it and come back.”

“Of course, have a good day!” She beamed as we walked away and turned to chat with her neighbor.

“We can take a tour if you really want, Tavi. I was just teasing,” Vinyl said as we walked away.

I winced a little at the whine hidden in her voice. Maybe I’d been too harsh. “I know, I’m sorry. Let’s explore a bit, and we can take a tour after, okay?”

Whatever she was going to respond with died as we passed the portcullis and saw the castle grounds for the first time. We’d seen a bit from the gate itself, but the other side seemed much more expansive. The big open space was filled with cloud sculptures of armored pegasi soldiers, forever frozen in scenes of training and battle. Plaques and boards of information dotted the area as well, serving as natural gathering points for the castle’s few visitors.

“It’s huge,” Vinyl breathed. “We could totally actually get lost in here.”

“I doubt we’ll get lost outside,” I replied, but I had to admit that the castle proper looked much larger up close. I hadn’t thought about asking exactly how much was open to the public, but I doubted it was enough that we could truly get lost.

We took our time meandering through the courtyard, looking at all the displays. Vinyl spent the entire time directly next to me, ready with a dumb joke and smile whenever I looked her way. I was just happy she seemed to be having a good time.

After almost half an hour of meandering the grounds, we finally made it to the castle’s front doors. A helpful map was placed in the entrance, right in the middle, color coding every place we could go, along with the routes tours covered. As I’d expected, there wasn’t much open to the general public, and it was all covered by the tours.

“Should we get in line for a tour then?” I asked her as I finished surveying the map.

“A chaperone for our date, you mean?” Vinyl turned her ever present grin to me. “If you think you need one.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to a date,” I deadpanned, turning back to the gate desk.

“We should go on one before we leave,” she said. I felt more than heard her quickly trot to catch up with me. “Like tonight. We could go to one of those restaurants at the top of the cloud towers in the city.”

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. Her smile had shrunk slightly, but grown more hopeful. We hadn’t been on an official date yet. The weeks leading up to the trip I was busy with preparations for it, and with school work. That’s what I’d told her, at least.

She was waiting for an answer. Fighting down a quick surge of worry, I nodded. “Alright.”

Vinyl’s smile grew back to normal size. “Awesome! Come on, castle tour?”

A few minutes later we had hoofbands attesting to our payment for a tour, and were standing with a couple of other ponies in the courtyard, waiting patiently. An hour for the tour, another half hour trip back to Las Pegasus, then a few hours before Vinyl and I’s first date.

I hoped I wouldn’t mess it up.

Author's Note

I've got another weirdly long rambling about Octavia's character, really bad trope subversion, and cloud castles.

If you don't want to read it ~~and I don't blame you~~ I hope you have a fantastic week and are enjoying the story.

Whistle

Whistle

The waiting area for tours was right around the corner from the castle’s main entrance, underneath an awning. We weren’t the only ponies there, three others waited in roughly the same area with hoofbands on, but they kept mostly to themselves. A tourpony came and collected them a few minutes after we arrived. They offered to take us, but Vinyl decided we’d catch the next one.

I watched Vinyl look around for a bench before deciding to just sit on the cloudstuff. “Is this museum too boring for you?” I teased.

Vinyl swept her gaze across the statues in front and walls behind us. “Yeah. Super boring. Want to skip to the part where I jump off the clouds?”

“No. I want to skip over that part entirely,” I sighed. After double checking, I added, “you don’t even have a parachute.”

“Only because you didn’t let me bring one.” Vinyl patted the cloudstuff next to her. Against my better judgment I sat, suppressing a surprised squeak as I sank into the squishy ground.

“Any particular reason you passed on that last tour?” I asked. “There was more than enough room for us. Now we have to sit for half an hour.”

“Are you in a rush?” Vinyl shifted slightly, leaning into me. “Excited for our dinner date?”

I repositioned myself, awkwardly failing to settle Vinyl’s weight comfortably. “More concerned that you explicitly chose to spend a non-insignificant amount of time sitting still when we could have been doing something.”

Vinyl shrugged, knocking me from my tenuous balance. She never responded though, so we sat in silence until a familiar voice called to us from the gate.

“You two the only ones in this group?” I looked over to see the small pegasus from the desk walking over, smiling. “I promise I won’t let you get lost.”

“Of course you remember that,” I said. I wiggled out from under Vinyl and rose to my hooves, shaking my hindleg to try to wake it up. “Is there a problem with our tour?”

“Not at all, I’m here to give it. My name is Dewdrop, and I’m your tour guide! Are you ready?”

I looked to Vinyl, then nodded at our guide. “When you are.”

She led us to the yawning gates of the castle, stopping at the map we had earlier to give us a basic rundown of our route. “It’s not a very long tour, to be honest, and I’m a little new at giving it. With only the two of you, there’s also a good chance we make it out in under an hour, I hope that’s okay.”

“It’ll be fine,” Vinyl assured her. “Tavi loves this stuff.”

Dewdrop smiled and took us inside. Our tour started in the most obvious place: the entry hall, though it was really more of a checkpoint. We passed through the large outer doors into a small chamber open to the air. Another door stood propped open in front of us, leading into the castle proper. “A defensive emplacement,” Dewdrop explained. “In the event of an attack the inner doors could be sealed and the attackers pinned in this room.”

“But it’s open to the sky,” Vinyl said. “And only pegasi can walk on clouds. Wouldn’t they just fly out?”

“No other part of the castle is open like this, and all of the windows are too small to get through. It also wasn’t just pegasi tribes fighting, the spell to let unicorns walk on clouds has been known for a long time.”

“Pegasi tribes? There wasn’t just one?”

Our guide waved us through the entryway, answering Vinyl’s question with a raised hoof and smile. We were led into a long, narrow chamber, dominated by a huge overly-ornate table. A dozen cloth banners fluttered from the high ceiling, each one emblazoned with a different design.

Dewdrop motioned to them with a wing. “These banners represent the twelve largest tribes of pegasi. They all claimed ownership of this castle at one point after it’s construction.”

She went on to explain that the pegasi fought constantly, before the events of Hearth’s Warming that drew the three types of ponies together. Castles like this used to be scattered around areas the pegasi claimed dominion of. Only two were still around: Cloudsdale, and this one here.

Our tour wound us through the center of the castle, then up the central turret. “It wasn’t originally open to the air,” Dewdrop said as we mounted the last staircase. “But since it isn’t really needed for defense anymore, we opened it up. This is the fourth highest point in all of Equestria.”

I gasped as the wind whipped into my mane and coat. I’d been pretty high up in Canterlot, but this… “Still want to jump off?”

The castle stood at the edge of Las Pegasus. Civilization stretched out behind us, a picturesque backdrop of metal and cloud built around a lake. Boundless fields and forests rolled in the other direction, miles upon miles of the natural beauty of Equestria.

Vinyl climbed from the turret next to me. She looked out and whistled, the soft sound lost to the wind. “Kind of, yeah.”

“Please tell me you don’t have parachutes up here,” I said, looking around the turret top. To be safe I checked Vinyl again.

“We used to,” Dewdrop said, “but too many unicorns and earth ponies didn’t survive the drop.”

“That doesn’t make me want to jump any less you know.” Vinyl looked over at me and grinned.

“Pick one, either dinner or jumping,” I said.

Vinyl pouted. “Do I have to? It’s a really hard choice.”

I leveled my best Philharmonica glare at Vinyl, hoofed down for generations. The effect was somewhat lessened by my squinting in the harsh light, but I think it came across well enough.

“I can recommend some good places!” Dewdrop said, smiling. “For dinner or for skydiving.”

“Maybe somewhere that does both?” Vinyl asked, barely turning enough to face our guide.

I shook my head and moved to the edge of the tower. The view was stunning, inspiring. I tuned out Vinyl’s gentle teasing of our guide, focusing instead of the wind whistling through the castle, the leaves rustling on the trees further out of town. It all swirled together, from the birds above to the trees and cloudstuff below, turning into an orchestra of nature.

“Whatdya say, Tavi?” Vinyl asked, snapping me from my thoughts.

“I didn’t say anything,” I responded, cocking my head to one side.

I turned to look at her, shivering as the wind blew right past my coat to my skin. Vinyl hurried to my side, standing between me and the cold touch from the forest below. “Yeah you did, something about nature?”

“Ah…” I sighed, slightly embarrassed. “Listen.”

She perked her ears obediently, protected from the wind by a pocket of warmth between us. I already knew what to listen for, so it didn’t take much time at all to key back in. Vinyl only took a minute or two longer. I knew as soon as she’d figured it out when she gasped. “It’s like… like…”

“An orchestra of nature?” I supplied, smiling.

She nodded, turning back to face over the parapet. We stood unmoving until the chill started to seep through us once again. “Neat.”

“How eloquent,” I said, turning back to our guide. “We’re ready to… Dewdrop?” I called, not spotting the small pegasus.

Her head popped back above the trapdoor leading back into the castle. “Sorry, I don’t deal well with heights. If you’re ready…”

We followed her back down the tower and out into the relative warmth of the courtyard. “That concludes our tour,” she said. “I hope you had a great day, and we hope to see you soon!”

“Thank you, we did,” I said. I started walking out, hooking Vinyl on reflex.

“Hey!” she protested, wriggling to escape my iron grasp. “Hey, Dewdrop, gimme a shout, where can I jump from the clouds?”

“I’ll give you a one way trip down if you don’t stop wiggling,” I threatened in a sweet voice.

Vinyl stopped struggling immediately.

Our plans for the rest of the day started with our descent from the cloud layer. As much as Vinyl wanted to hoof it all the way back to Las Pegasus on the spongy ground, I wasn’t looking forward to the long walk. It was also unlikely that the reinforced cloud we could walk on stretched that far, but that was beside the point.

We descended the tower we’d initially climbed, flagged down a carriage, and settled in for the long drive back. Evening was well underway by the time we were dropped off at our hotel. With a suitable bribe, our driver went off duty long enough for us to walk upstairs, get suitably dressed up, and return for our trip deeper in the city.

Vinyl directed our driver to one of the towers dead center in the city’s entertainment district - a massive expanse of theaters, bars, and other establishments that Las Pegasus was known for. For the second time that day we climbed an extremely tall staircase, passing dozens of landings subtly calling for our attention, and bits.

As we passed the cloud layer we were stopped by a suited pony with a clipboard. He smiled and asked for our name and reservation. I was expecting to be sent back down, but to my surprise Vinyl provided her name and a small slip of paper. Our host smiled and motioned for us to wait for a seemingly random amount of time.

Once he let us past I realized why. As my forehooves touched the next stair above the landing, they started to be pulled away. I jumped slightly once, then again as Vinyl pushed the rest of me up. “It spins,” she said. “Hurry up.”

I did so, providing enough room for Vinyl to follow. At long last we reached the top - roughly a quarter of the height of the cloud castle’s tower - and were met with another well-dressed stallion surrounded by a surprisingly sparse restaurant. It was visibly busy, but not as packed as one would expect a business of it’s reputation to be.

In the back of my mind I knew why we were spinning. The entire top of this tower was rotating, providing a full 360 degree view of both layers of Las Pegasus all around us. This was the tallest building in the town proper, providing an unrestricted view for miles.

Our waiter stood passively, likely used to the stunned silence of his guests. “Take your time,” he said softly. “The next group isn’t due for some time, we’re in no rush.”

Once Vinyl and I picked our jaws from the floor, he directed us up the thin step to the rest of the restaurant. Roughly two dozen tables dominated the middle of the room, everything else was located below the floor but before the cloud layer. A small groove ran around the exterior, wide enough for two ponies to pass side by side. Several couples stood in the groove, staring out at the night landscape.

“How did you find out about this place?” I asked Vinyl after our waiter left to let us peruse the menu.

“Midnight Oil,” she responded, flipping my menu open for me. “He got me the reservations too, his second cousin runs this joint.”

“You really thought ahead on this one, didn’t you?” I mused, shifting uncomfortably in my chair.

“I figured you’re a fancy pony, you like fancy places, I just wanted you to have a good time.” Vinyl smiled at me, the sweetest smile I’d ever seen.

My heart did a flip, unease boiling back to the surface. She’d thought so far ahead, planned everything out. I hadn’t even looked at things to do for the week we were going to be here; the cloud castle was something I saw on the way in, and didn’t even know if they’d given tours until late last night. Repressing a sigh, I looked down at the menu. “This is all pretty expensive. I hope I’ve got enough bits…”

“It’s on me.” Vinyl grinned, obviously pleased with herself. “I’ve been saving for awhile.”

We ordered shortly after, and started the long awkward wait on the food. “I’m starting to think we’re just going to spend this vacation high up.” I said.

“Where else can we spend time in the clouds?” Vinyl said. “Not in Canterlot.”

“I know your real game, Vinyl Scratch. We can explore castles, you can take me to expensive dinners, but we are not jumping off the cloudlayer.”

“Tavi,” she whined, splaying her ears. “I let you take me to a boring museum, let me jump off clouds!”

The rest of the evening passed by in a blur. We ate delicious, overpriced food and sat spinning high in the sky for the entire allotment of our reservation. She carried most of the conversation, excitedly chattering away about whatever came across her mind. I just listened with a smile, prodding her in a different direction when she started to wind down.

After dinner we walked back down the tower until we reached the cloud layer. Vinyl quieted down and stuck to my side as we strolled through the cushioned street. Neither one of us steered, we didn’t even know where we were going. Almost an hour later we ended up at the edge of a gap overlooking the ground city. We both put our forehooves on the ledge and peered over.

I sighed into the wind. Vinyl looked like she was having such a good time here, with me. Not to say that I wasn’t having fun, but I was having a hard time getting into the same carefree mindset. I just couldn’t stop thinking.

“Is something wrong, Tavi?” Vinyl asked me softly. “You seem a little… out of it.”

“Just thinking,” I replied automatically. “A-About the audition.”

“Ah, yeah,” she took the lie. “I thought you weren’t going to do it.”

“I’m not, but Father knows about it now. He refused to take back the recommendation, which means I’m going to at least hear about it from him, and probably Mother later.”

She took my hoof in her own. “Is there anything I can do? You helped me land my gig at Night-Glo, it’s the least I could do.”

I smiled weakly and squeezed her hoof. “Decide what we’re doing tomorrow? And no sky diving.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” She returned my smile with a brightness I couldn’t bring myself to match.

Author's Note

I'd like to take a moment to apologize again for not dropping a chapter last week. June is... a rough month for me personally, and it kind of all just hit me at once. I could have pushed the chapter through and out, but I was worried it wouldn't be the quality both you and I expect from myself. I'm doing better now though, and don't anticipate any more delays until the story is officially over.

Clack

Clack

I sat comfortably in my chair, lulled into a trance-like state by the rhythmic clacking of our train. Our week long vacation had flown by on the wings of companionship and uncertainty. The source sat across from me in our small little compartment. Vinyl was asleep, had been for hours, knocked out by the same soothing rocking and whatever she was listening to.

She’d always been able to fall asleep basically on command, something I was more than a little jealous about. Our ride back was almost a full day of travel, so I was going to have to sleep eventually as well, but I never could get comfortable in such a public place. Locked compartment notwithstanding.

The rest of our week had been almost perfect. Vinyl took the task I gave her in the restaurant seriously, and spent the rest of that night researching and sourcing information from Las Pegasus locals. With that information she led us both on a fantastic tour of the city, hitting nearly any place she thought I might even be interested in.

Not once did she again mention skydiving.

The whole experience had me in something of a daze. I knew she knew something was wrong, but no matter how much I tried to play it off as worry about the recommendation, there was a part of me that still feared I’d been found out. Looking at her peacefully sleeping, it’d be a lie to say that I didn’t feel something. Thinking back to our first kiss in Night-Glo was usually enough to derail any train of thought.

What was I monologuing about?

Our trip had only made my own reservations worse. After all the effort she’d put into making our vacation entertaining, how was I supposed to live up to that? It was growing more obvious that her feelings were stronger than mine. Was that fair to her?

“I don’t know what to do,” I complained to the darkness outside the window. I just didn’t want to hurt her.`

“Something wrong, Tavi?” Vinyl muttered from across the compartment.

I jumped at the sound of her voice, immediately worried that I’d woken her or that she’d spent the last two hours watching me watch her. A quick glance at her face soothed my fears; with her glasses off it was obvious by her barely-open eyes that she was only the loosest definition of awake.

“No, I’m fine. Go back to sleep.” I leaned forward, grabbing and pulling her blanket back into place.

The train rocked, knocking me within range of Vinyl. Unerring in their accuracy her hooves shot forward, displacing the blanket that put me here in the first place, and pulled me to her side of the train.

I struggled in vain for a few minutes before giving up. Within the small range of movement Vinyl gave me, I pulled the blanket over the both of us and drifted to sleep.

The sun was up when I woke up, breaching the curtains over the compartment’s window in fits and starts as they swayed in time with our carriage. I looked towards the noise that had woken me, the sound of our compartment door sliding open. Vinyl stood half in the hallway, exchanging words with somepony outside.

We were thrown into darkness as the train entered a tunnel, signaling our final approach to Canterlot. Our compartment door slid shut, and a few seconds of fumbling and swearing from Vinyl later, the lamp clicked on.

Vinyl smiled as she turned back, seeing me awake. “Morning. Any trouble sleeping?”

“Morning, and no. I made the mistake of going within five feet of you while you slept. How close are we?”

“Conductor says about fifteen minutes out.” She moved the blanket from the bench and flopped down next to me. “Sorry if I kept you up.”

“You didn’t, it’s fine.” I slowly stretched my hooves in front of me, trying to work out the sore from sleeping cramped up against Vinyl. A hoof rubbed against the sensitive fur between my barrel and forehoof. I jumped, did not squeak, and pushed Vinyl against the wall of the carriage. “And just what do you think you’re doing?”

“Ish cute,” she said through squished cheeks, “when you schqueek.”

“I do not squeak,” I threatened.

“Of coursh not. What wash I shinking?”

I reluctantly let go and moved to the safety of the other bench before resuming my stretching. Suitably chastised, Vinyl left me be until the train was pulling into the station. She pulled my luggage from the rack as a peace offering, which I accepted gracefully. We joined the shuffling wave of ponies trying to disembark, then the line of ponies vying for a carriage somewhere in the city. From there, it was another short ride back to Canterlot University, our dorms, and the arduous task of unpacking.

“Dunwanna,” Vinyl said for the fifth time as we climbed the stairs of my dorm room.

“You have to unpack eventually, might as well do it right away,” I said again as we rounded the corner to my hallway. “I’m not going to do it for you.”

“I can live out of a suitcase, it’ll be fine!” She rushed ahead of me to the apartment’s door and pushed it open. With an overly-animated bow she said, “after you, m’lady.”`

“I hate you sometimes,” I said, pushing past her into the dorm. “Symphonia, we’re back!”

“About time.” Her voice floated down the hall from her customary place on the couch. “How was the trip?”

“It was awesome,” Vinyl said. She trotted past me into the apartment and began filling my roommate in on everything. I used the distraction to pull my luggage into the bedroom and start unpacking. There wasn’t really much there, but I wanted to get everything squared away. I finished quickly and rejoined the others in the living room.

“—following her all the way back to her room, though? I’d have thought you’d be tired of Octavia after being around her for a week straight,” Symphonia said. I saw her glance over her shoulder at me and smile.

“Not at all.”

“You’ll have to give her some space for at least a little bit.” Symphonia fully turned around to look at me. “Bent Bow was looking for you after practice yesterday. I told him you were coming back today.”

A quick glance at the clock confirmed he should be in his office. It was Thursday; I could meet him after practice tomorrow, but I had a feeling it was better to get it over with earlier. “Okay, I’ll go talk to him. Vinyl, go unpack or something.”

I turned to leave, but Symphonia jumped off the couch to bar my way. “Come back after, alone. There’s a couple of things I need to talk to you about too.”

Internally, I sighed. I’d been avoiding her since she’d given me the recommendation letter. She’d been there when I asked Bent Bow to talk the day after, and I’d refused to speak at all about the meeting. Any time she mentioned it, I brushed it off. It’s not that I didn’t want to talk to her, I just knew that she would try to talk me out of dodging the audition. She would eventually give in, but the extra stress wasn’t something I needed.

“I’ll walk you out,” Vinyl offered, not waiting for me to answer before heading towards the door.

For the briefest of moments, I entertained the thought they were in it together. Vinyl following me to my dorm, forcing me to confront Symphonia and the summons from my orchestral adviser, thereby laying the trap of a later conversation. Funny, but unlikely. I agreed to meet with Symphonia later tonight and followed Vinyl from my apartments.

“Think it’s about your recommendation?” Vinyl asked as we exited the dorm building.

“Probably,” I replied. “It’s about time for the actual audition information.”

Vinyl resituated her grasp on her luggage. “Maybe. Catch you later, Tavi, and don’t forget your promise to Symphonia!”

She walked off, waving over her shoulder as she left. Maybe a conspiracy wasn’t as far-fetched as I thought…

I spent the walk to the auditorium, and Bent Bow’s office, feeding into my imagination. During her research, Vinyl found a chance to slip away and give Symphonia the heads-up on my plans to dodge the audition. Worrying about me, like they both do, they worked together to hatch a plot wherein they convince me to audition anyway. The train of thought carried me all the way to Bent Bow’s office. I knocked, then forced the thoughts from my mind. The more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

“Enter,” called a voice from within.

I opened the door and stepped through, inclining my head to Bent Bow. “Symphonia said you were looking for me?”

He waved a hoof at a chair opposite him, on my side of his desk. As I sat, he said, “I hear you just returned from Las Pegasus. Have a good time?”

“Yes. My father was performing a show there, so I went to see it and sightsee for a week. It was fun.”

“Speaking of your father…” Bent Bow trailed off, digging through the mass of papers sitting on his desk. Finding the one he wanted with a quiet, ‘ah,’ he pushed a piece of cardstock over to me. “The details of your upcoming audition.”

I looked warily at the thick paper. It was in one month’s time, at the practice building favored by Father, at four in the afternoon. The song was one I already knew by heart, a cheerful piece I’d written as a school project for Mother’s birthday four years prior. Father took and adapted it for his full orchestra, and they’d used it in their very next show. “Thank you.”

“I know we talked about it, but I believe it bears repeating that I think you should do it,” Bent Bow said. “But it’s not my place. I shall see you tomorrow at practice, Miss Octavia.”

At the stallion’s dismissal I stood, inclined my head again, and left the office. The trip back to my dorm took as long as I physically could make it. After walking nearly every path I could on campus, including a quick stop to pick up dinner from the diner nearby, I finally made my way back home. Hopefully I could deflect some of my roommate’s ire with freshly baked goods.

“Symphonia, I’m back,” I called as I opened the dorm door. “I brought dinner.”

“Good, I was just getting hungry. Now we don’t have to eat before our talk,” she answered.

I took a deep breath and walked into the apartment. I set the food down first on our small living room table, followed by the audition card. Symphonia focused on that first, picking up and skimming over the small card. Her stern expression immediately softened, and she sighed. “Good. After you wanted to talk to Bent Bow when you got the recommendation, I thought you were going to turn it down. If you’ve got this, I must’ve been wrong.”

For a blissful moment I considered going along with it. I could pretend to go, then say that I didn’t make it in. It was fun though, but I knew I couldn’t follow through. I would hate lying to Symphonia, and a simple statement by Vinyl, Father, or probably even Aunt Rosin would immediately destroy my ruse. “I’m not doing it,” I whispered.

Symphonia set the note down. “How did I know you were going to say that?”

“I’m just not ready,” I said, trying to jump ahead of whatever she was about to say. “Especially not for Father’s orchestra. You’ve seen and heard me play, I’m not there yet. I might be, one day, but it surely won’t be in just a month.”

“Okay,” Symphonia stated simply. She tore into the bag of dinner and extracted some bread.

“And I really don’t think you can change my mind. Bent Bow tried, Father tried, even Vinyl tried, but I still don’t think I’m ready,” I continued.

“Alright,” she said through a mouthful of bread. “Can you pass me that glass of water?”

I did so. “That’s all I have to say on the matter. Can we just forget this and eat dinner already?”

It took a second for Symphonia’s responses, or more accurately the lack of, to break through my own short tirade. “Wait, you aren’t going to convince me to audition?”

“For the record, I think you’re wrong, and kind of an idiot,” Symphonia said, setting down her food. “I have heard and seen you play. The only thing you do better than play cello is sell yourself short. Bent Bow was over the moon when I convinced you to apply to Canterlot University, and even more so to the Student Orchestra. He only knew you by reputation, and a couple of performances from high school, but he saw your potential, all of us do. I also know exactly how much of a waste of time it would be to bludgeon you into doing it anyway.”

She took a bite of dinner, then pulled something out of the bag for me before continuing. “Why do you think Lyra gives you so much grief? Even with hooves you’re a better musician than she will ever hope to be. You were taught by three of the best musicians in Canterlot, and actually care about it. Plus, you wrote that song. I didn’t want to talk to convince you to audition, I wanted to talk so you’d talk to me. It… kind of hurt that you hid your plans.”

I wilted, immediately guilty. “I didn’t mean to… well, I did, but I mostly just wanted to avoid another lecture. I’m sorry.”

Symphonia nuzzled me, a rare display of affection. “I forgive you. But if you want to make it up to me, tell me all the juicy details of sharing a hotel with your marefriend for an entire week.”

“I officially rescind my apology,” I deadpanned, reaching for my chilling dinner.

“Alright, alright. Sorry, sorry. How about you audition to make up for it instead.”

“Symphonia!”

Author's Note

We're slowly approaching the ending. Not quite sure exactly how many chapters left, but it's definitely in the neighborhood of five. On the one hand, I'll be sad to see this story go. It's something I've wanted to write for years, but never seemed to get around to. On the other hand, I'm tired of trying to think of sound names for my chapters. ~~Why did I let Quick talk me into it?~~

Buzz

Buzz

Symphonia and I sat up talking for most of the night. It was nice; I hadn’t realized how much distance keeping just that one thing from Symphonia had put between us. We finally passed out at some point when the sun was on it’s way up. I was exhausted from travel, something that never really made sense if you think about it. Why does sitting and waiting to be moved from one place to another tire somepony out so much?

The next morning, I woke up first, a couple of hours after our first class was supposed to start. A plan quickly formed in my head: a way to apologize fully. I extracted myself from the tangle of limbs and the blanket we’d both curled up under at some point the night prior and slipped out of our dorm. Symphonia’s favorite breakfast bar was just off campus, about a twenty minute hike. I picked up an order for two and hurried back home. Last night’s meal was a peace offering; today, I was just hungry.

I slipped through the door quietly and set the food on the kitchen table. Symphonia was still out on the couch, somehow wrapped up even further in her blanket. Knowing I had as much time as needed, I set up everything on the table before moving to wake my roommate. Which I did with a hoof, just barely tickling the tip of her muzzle. She swatted at me, grumbling at me under her breath. “Go ‘way, Octavia. You kept me up. I wanna sleep.”

“I brought breakfast,” I said quietly, easily avoiding her uncoordinated swipes. “From Icefield’s.”

Her hoof cautiously withdrew. “Icefield’s? Fresh muffins?”

I placed my hoof back on the ground, confident in my victory. “And honey butter.”

Symphonia slowly cracked open one eye and attempted to pull free from the blanket. “I’m up, I’m up. If you pamper Vinyl this much, it’s no wonder she wants to be around you all the time.”

“Is that what it is?” I responded flippantly. I helped her from the blanket and went to start on my own breakfast.

She joined me a few moments later, practically flopping into a chair and sipping at some coffee. “This is fantastic. We need to fight more often, or maybe I should just steal you for myself.”

“Be quiet and drink your caffeine. You’re not you when you’re asleep.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Symphonia quieted down, content to sip at her coffee. From time to time she ripped small chunks off of whatever I was eating to eat herself. I let it happen without comment, this was pretty normal in the mornings. Symphonia had trouble functioning without either coffee or alcohol when it was early.

One cup of coffee and about a third of my own breakfast later, she had her own plate and a second cup. “Are you and Vinyl coming to the show tonight?” Symphonia asked.

I chewed slowly, trying to remember what she was talking about. A month or so before the trip, I vaguely remembered Lunar Note putting out the call for volunteers, but I was so busy preparing for the trip that I didn’t take it. I grimaced, realizing that I hadn’t noticed that Symphonia joined up because I hadn’t really been talking to her. “Of course. Uh, where can I get tickets?”

Symphonia turned and pulled some small slips of paper from a table nearby. She floated them to me. “Here. Everyone working in the music pit got some tickets as thanks. I’ve got a couple left, since I really only have mom to invite. Take one for Vinyl, too, if you want.”

“Thanks.” I shoved the rest of my muffin into my mouth and choked it down. “I’ll go ask her before class. Hopefully she’s awake.”

“I know a way you could wake her up!” Symphonia shouted after me. I looked around for something to throw at her, but our entry hall was suspiciously absent of any suitable missiles. With an annoyed huff I stepped out into the hallway, taking care to close the door harder than strictly necessary. I made it all the way to the stairs before I realized I’d left the tickets on the kitchen table. I returned chastised and left with tickets in hoof, followed by the mental echoes of Symphonia laughing all the way to Vinyl’s door.

To my surprise, Vinyl opened her door on the first knock. I could tell right away that she hadn’t actually gone to bed by the bags visible even under her glasses. “Whassup, Tavi?” she asked, swaying almost imperceptibly.

“I came to give you this,” I said, offering a ticket to Vinyl. She took it from me and quickly skimmed it over. “I’ll be back after class and we can go together. Try to get some sleep, okay?”

“How am I supposed to sleep when I’m so excited for a date?” she asked.

I hadn’t even thought about that; was it a date? I hadn’t planned on asking her on a date; I just thought it was something fun we could do. “I’m sure you’ll manage.” Impulsively, I darted forward to kiss her forehead before hurrying to class.

<><><><><>

“Sometimes I forget this theater does stuff other than orchestra,” Vinyl said as we stood in line for entry. It was a little odd to be on the other side of the auditorium’s closed doors on a show night. We were one of the first few in line, having gone with Symphonia to wish her luck.

“The theater department puts on shows every couple of months, Vinyl. Besides, you’ve only actually been to one orchestra recital, right?” I retorted.

“Well, yeah, but the only time I’m actually here is for orchestra-y stuff. Or to meet you, or Symphonia that one time.”

The doors opened, admitting us into the lobby. A well-rehearsed group of ponies stood inside, waiting to punch tickets and direct patrons to their seats. If sitting outside waiting for entry was weird, finding our seats in the soft-lit house was even stranger. From my place on the stage, I’d always assumed the chairs were uncomfortable. Settling into the plush upholstery, I realized I was only kind of wrong. It was soft and squishy enough, but with a hard plank underneath. Deceptive comfort indeed.

We were seated in the middle of our row, towards the front of the stage. What I’d always taken as a gentle hum of conversation before a concert was much louder when down in the middle of it, almost more like the background noise of Night-Glo than the traditional quiet of the theater. Vinyl settled for barely a minute before bouncing back up, muttering something about going to the restroom. I shook my head and looked around the room.

Much to my surprise, many more ponies than I’d thought had dressed up for the occasion. I knew Symphonia did, because she had to be mostly invisible in the music pit, but neither Vinyl nor myself had. The second thing I noticed was the sheer amount of obvious couples in the crowd. Vinyl made a joke about it being a date earlier today, but did she really think it was? I hadn’t asked her, properly, and asking her now had a good chance of hurting her feelings and ruining the evening.

If Vinyl thought we were on a proper date, would she be expecting anything? Fancy dinner? Drinks? Or maybe—

“Whatcha thinking, Tavi?” Vinyl breathed into my ear.

I bit down on my tongue, replacing my surprise with a faint taste of iron. Without turning around, I placed a hoof on the side of Vinyl’s head and pushed her away with a sigh. “I was enjoying the peace and quiet,” I lied over the rampant beating of my heart.

Vinyl’s retort was cut off by the buzzer, signaling the start of the play. Even though I knew, from personal experience, that the ponies making up the orchestra were recessed into the floor and asked to wear black clothing, I still tried and failed to pick out Symphonia. Or any of the musical cast for that matter, normally at least one of them forgot.

Vinyl lent into my side as the opening fanfare started and whispered, “what’s this play even about?”

I opened my mouth to answer, and froze. I hadn’t looked, and Symphonia hadn’t said. “Good question.”

The question went unanswered for most of the first act. Our story followed a dorky document clerk and her fumbling romance with an easily-flustered nanny. It seemed like a pretty standard romance, albeit a little rushed. Vinyl seemed to be enjoying herself, which was good. Ten minutes into the show, she’d decided to raise the hoofrest between our chairs and nestle into my side. She might have been sleeping, I couldn’t tell, but I also couldn’t bring myself to check just in case she was.

Right before intermission a new character was introduced: an impish, whimsical socialite now vying for the clerk’s affections. The curtain dropped, the house lights rose, and ponies began moving around. Vinyl did the same, finally detaching from my side and standing slowly.

“Done with your nap?” I teased. “Didn’t I say I’d be upset if you slept through the play?”

“I wasn’t sleeping,” she replied defensively, pulling on my hoof until I stood as well. I nearly fell; sitting in one position for so long had put my legs to sleep. Vinyl laughed and helped steady me. “And you want to give me a hard time for sleeping.”

“I was too busy being a pillow to sleep,” I retorted. I started walking towards the lobby, intending to use the restroom and get something to drink. “What do you think of the play so far?”

She shrugged. “It’s fine. Not the sort of thing I thought you’d go for, to be honest.”

“Symphonia’s helping with the music.”

“Ah.” Vinyl nodded. “That makes sense.”

I bought us drinks and a quick snack, which we ate while wandering around the spacious lobby. We made our way back inside before the warning buzzer sounded. I made Vinyl sit first, so I could try to get comfortable before she held me in place for the next hour. The chair was already getting a little uncomfortable before intermission, and while standing for a while did help, I had a feeling it was going to get worse fast.

As expected, Vinyl flopped into my side as the buzzer sounded the second half of the play. It was surprisingly good, keeping at least me in suspense on what was going to happen until the very end. I won’t spoil the ending, in case you get a chance to see it yourself, but it almost seemed like the playwright didn’t really know who was going to “win” until the very end.

Vinyl bounced up as soon as the curtain dropped. I stretched slowly, feeling out and enjoying every pop as my joints resettled. We joined the slow-moving lines back out the doors to the lobby where we instead joined the crowds of ponies still milling around.

“Have a good time?” I asked, trying to find us a mostly empty spot to wait for the traffic jam at the door to die down.

Vinyl nodded. “Yeah. I was surprised, though, I kind of thought you’d want some time to yourself since we just spent the last week together.”

“Symphonia said the same thing, but I didn’t want to suffer alone.”

“Well, I’m happy to suffer with you.”

I smiled and shook my head, turning my gaze back towards the main entrance and the throng of ponies leaving in pairs. Even though I hadn’t planned for it, the night had felt kind of date-y, but after everything Vinyl did and planned for us in Las Pegasus, it didn’t quite feel fair to call it that. To me, a date was something that should be planned out, or at least approached with more care than none at all.

“So,” Vinyl said. “Did you, uh, want to do anything else? Any other plans?”

“I hadn’t planned on it, no,” I responded, carefully watching her face. Would she be upset? Disappointed? Hurt that I hadn’t put any thought behind the first thing we did after coming home when she dropped everything to make our vacation to Las Pegasus fun and interesting?

“Alright. I’m feeling kind of hungry, wanna grab a late dinner?”

My heart fell. Vinyl didn’t sound sad or upset, but I couldn’t help but feel I’d let her down. “Sure. Any place in mind?”

Vinyl motioned towards the door and started walking. “Nah. Somewhere cheap and unhealthy.”

“My favorite.” I followed after her, slipping through the theater doors with no problem. We walked across and left the campus randomly hunting for somewhere cheap, unhealthy, open, and not packed. A broad set of restrictions, but we found one eventually. It was a small little diner, located a fair walk away from college. It was a small, seat yourself sort of place, with a single page menu and only two ponies visibly working outside the kitchen.

I ordered something small and light, and watched Vinyl. She’d been uncharacteristically quiet the entire walk, but didn’t seem unhappy. I watched as she put in her order and started looking around the room, decorated to look like a wooden saloon from the frontier. “How did we never find this place?” she asked.

“It is a little out of the way,” I replied. It did seem like the sort of place she liked, even if it wasn’t quite to my own tastes. “If it’s good we can always come back.”

Our food showed up soon thereafter, and was quickly devoured. At least in Vinyl’s case; I hadn’t been very hungry in the first place and had only really tagged along to keep her company. Watching her bowl of fried something vanish did nothing to help my appetite. I picked at my garden salad, moving the various bits and pieces around more than actually eating. Every time she looked at me, I made sure to take a bite, but even with her much larger meal, she finished long before I did.

“You okay, Tavi?” she asked as she pushed her empty bowl away.

“Yeah, I just… have some things on my mind. I’m not very hungry.” It wasn’t technically a lie. There’d been that little part in the back of my head being loud all day long, and only getting louder as the night went on. I was completely worn out, and apparently unable to hide it. Giving up on any pretense of eating more, I also slid my plate away.

“What’s wrong? Want to talk about it?” Vinyl rose from her seat and moved to sit right beside me.

Her closeness really wasn’t helping anything. “There isn’t much to talk about. The trip was kind of stressful, and as soon as I got back I received the date for my audition.”

“I thought you weren’t doing it?”

“I’m not, but I said something to Father about it during the trip, and now he expects me to. I’ve tried to turn it down twice, but Bent Bow refused to revoke the recommendation.” I sighed and bit my tongue, hoping that little bit of it would be enough to satisfy her.

“You could do it, I know you could. I told you as much in Las Pegasus. I’m sure Legatus said the same, and that’s why Bent Bow won’t let you back out. Everypony says you can do it, Tavi, you might as well give it a shot.” Vinyl smiled at me reassuringly. “There’s always the chance you don’t make it, but at least nopony can say you didn’t try.”

I shook my head. “You don’t understand, Vinyl, there are four ponies from the Conservatory that are auditioning too.”

“And?”

“A-And that is their entire focus of study! They’ve probably been playing their entire lives—”

“Aren’t you here studying music theory, too? And I know for a fact you’ve been playing your entire life,” Vinyl said, cutting me off. “And have you ever actually seen these ponies play? Like, actually been to one of their performances?”

I opened my mouth to retort, then paused. “No. No, I have not.”

“So you could be better?” Vinyl was starting to get that excited hitch in her voice. She leaned in just a little closer, so I could see the reflection of my own eyes in her glasses. “You could kill that audition, show all those snobs what’s up, and get the career you want?”

“I suppose it is technically possible,” I conceded, pushing on her chest gently until she backed up. “But you don’t just apply to the Conservatory. They seek out the best musicians in all of Equestria and bring them to Canterlot.”

“Didn’t you turn them down, though?”

Anger flared in my chest, fueled by her constant, instantaneous rebuttals. I bit down my immediate response and slid from the other side of our booth. “I did, Vinyl, but I do not wish to speak of it anymore. I am rather tired, so I think I’m going to head back. Have a good night.”

I didn’t wait for her response, just left enough bits to cover our meal on the table and walked through the doors into the lit streets of Canterlot.

Author's Note

I left a nice little Easter Egg from a different story in this chapter. Let me know if you guys find it. I also want to give a shoutout to my own lack of spelling ability here. Octavia and Vinyl went to go see a play at the autditorium. Which apparently is a common enough misspelling that it has multiple hits on Google search.

Whine

Whine

I regretted my choice the second the diner’s door shut behind me. The unease and unpleasantness I’d felt vanished with the bell. Vinyl meant well, but she was trying to help with a problem that wasn’t really the problem. Not that I could tell her what the actual trouble was. The last thing I wanted to do was upset her with my own uncertainty.

For that reason I trudged through the streets in silence back towards campus. The diner Vinyl found was a little out of the way, but it wasn’t too long before I was back in my own dorm room. I answered Symphonia’s greeting with a half-hearted hoof wave and went straight to my room, to my bed. Maybe half an hour after I curled under my blanket, I heard a knock at the door. Symphonia talked to somepony, then shut the door.

Sometime after that I must’ve fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, it was morning. I groaned and rolled to face the rest of the room. Symphonia’s bed was empty, which didn’t mean much by itself. There was always the chance she’d fallen asleep on the couch. After glancing at the clock on my bedside table, I also conceded that she might be out, seeing as it was well into the late morning.

Saturday morning, to be specific. I had no plans, nothing going on, and nothing to do. Symphonia would have another show tonight, maybe even one in the afternoon. What I needed to do was go apologize to Vinyl, but it was hard to even think about talking to her. For the first time since we’d reconnected, I was almost dreading our mutual class on Monday. Assuming of course that she showed up. The last time I’d snapped at her for no reason, I didn’t see her for years…

I flopped back over to face the wall again and scooted a little closer to it. She wouldn’t leave again, would she? Of course not, I wouldn’t let her. I just needed more time before I could face my shame. In a few long minutes, I drifted into a thankfully dreamless doze.

A distant knock interrupted my doze. I resettled and curled up in a different position, pulling the blanket up until all that stuck out was the top bit of my head. Symphonia could get the door, I was busy moping. The knocking came again, faster and more insistent. Again I waited for Symphonia to answer the door, but when the knocking came again just a few short seconds after the first, I bade goodbye to my comfort and stomped out of my bedroom.

“One second,” I said towards the hallway. I took a minute to make sure my mane and coat weren’t complete disasters - listening to the knocking and growing more annoyed all the while - before throwing open the front door.

Any snarky or annoyed comment died at the sight of the white unicorn standing outside, standard grin fixed under her trademark sunglasses. “Heya, Tavi. What’s shakin’?”

I stared at her in shock, my half-asleep brain struggling to process what was happening. Vinyl was there, staring at me like nothing had happened, like I hadn’t snapped at her last night and stormed out on our not-date. “G-Good morning, Vinyl. What… What are you doing here?”

“It’s, like, two.” She smiled at me again. “Can I come in?”

Since I had no way to politely refuse, I stepped aside. She strolled in and headed straight towards the couch in the living area. I followed slowly, building my courage. If she was going to show up today, I might as well take advantage of it. “I-I’m glad you’re here, Vinyl. I need to apologize to you.”

“For what?” Vinyl perched on the couch and watched me for a moment. For a horrible second I thought she was going to make me explain, but it seemed to click. “Oh, about last night? Don’t even worry, filly, I get it. You were tired and I was poking a little too hard. No hard feelings.”

That was it? “But, I—”

Vinyl waved her hoof dismissively. “Nope. Stop. If you really want to make it up to me, come with me to this tonight.”

She fished two small slips of paper from her single saddlebag and floated them over to me. They were tickets to something, and at first I thought it was another play, maybe even the one we’d gone to see the night before. Once they were closer, however, I was able to properly read them. “You’re joking.”

“Nope. I came to talk to you last night, after you left, but Symphonia opened the door. We got to talking, and she told me about how this audition thing has been really getting into your head.”

I made a mental note to kill my roommate, but Vinyl continued before I could think of a way to turn her down politely. “Look, I understand thinking you’re not good enough, but you’ve got something you compare yourself to. Let’s go, together. I’ll suffer right next to you and prove that you’re at least as good as those snobs.”

The tickets floating in front of me were for a quartet from the Canterlot Conservatory, for tonight. Four ponies: a violinist, flutist, pianist, and cellist. I looked slowly over the entire ticket, then over to Vinyl. “I don’t…”

“Please.” She scooted closer and took one of my hooves in her own. “Just one night. I just want to show you how I see you play.”

It was hard to listen to her pleas and turn her down, and I did feel like I owed her something after last night. “Okay, it’s a date.”

She smiled. “Yeah, a date. Hey, I’d love to stick around, but I’ve got some work to do down at the club. I’ll come pick you up around six, okay?”

I agreed and she left me alone so I could panic in peace.

And panic I did, for at least an hour. Although, panic may be a strong word. I definitely was stressed and apprehensive, but if it would placate her, I would do it. Thankfully, I knew exactly where the entrance to the public auditorium our show was, and I had enough fancy dresses for myself and Vinyl several times over. All of that aside, what really scared me was the possibility of being recognized.

Since both of my parents graduated from the Conservatory and were well respected in the classical music community, I was known in the community as well, just from being who I was, and since I looked a lot like Mother, it wasn’t uncommon for me to be mistaken for her. High society was never a place I enjoyed being, which was another reason why I chose Canterlot University over the Conservatory. If I was recognized, I could at least behave properly; a web of unspoken rules that Vinyl had never really grasped. At the end of the day, any embarrassment would just be hot air from ponies I didn’t really care about, but something best avoided.

I spent the last hour before our meeting trying to pick out a suitable dress. It was a tricky prospect finding something fancy enough to be noticeably fancy, but not so much that it would make either of us stick out. I’d turned my attention to thinking of a way to convince Vinyl to leave her glasses behind when somepony knocked at the door again.

Being half in a dress and unable to go answer it myself, I shouted through the open bedroom door, “it’s open, come in!”

The front door clicked open. “Tavi?” Vinyl called out. “Where are you?”

“Bedroom,” I responded, continuing my fight against the dress. Even though I was turned away from the door, I still heard her approach from behind me. “Just trying to find something to wear.”

Feeling the familiar tingle of Vinyl’s magic, I relaxed myself and let the dress be pulled free. She levitated it up against me and nodded. “Yeah, I think this looks good.”

“Really, Vinyl, offering fashion advice now, are w—” I turned to face her, and my jaw dropped. Vinyl stood in the doorway, horn lit, in a very sleek evening dress. Her mane was done simply, and her glasses were nowhere to be seen.

Vinyl smiled, visibly nervous. “It was all Symphonia’s idea,” she blurted. “The dress and concert and stuff. She said I’d need to wear something fancy or we’d get politely ridiculed by the Conservatory snobs. I think that dress looks good, though.”

I’ll admit, I may have been staring. Vinyl shuffled her hooves and dropped my dress. It coiled into a line at my hooves with the soft slither of fabric. “Stop staring, Tavi, you’re gonna make me blush.”

“Sorry,” I stammered, forcing myself to look away. “I’m just not used to seeing you like this. Usually I have to fight you into a dress, not to mention taking your glasses off.”

“We’re going to this thing for you,” she said, voice soft. “If getting all fancy and losing the shades for a night helps, I’m more than happy to.”

I lowered my head, hoping my mane would hide the goofy smile I couldn’t get rid of. I quickly picked up my discarded dress and started wriggling back into it. “I… appreciate it.”

We spent the last half hour before we needed to leave together. I put on my dress, made sure my mane was perfect, and mentally prepared myself to rub fetlocks with the elite of Canterlot. Right on time, Vinyl led me out of the dorm room to a waiting carriage and we left for the Conservatory.

“Are you nervous?” Vinyl asked as the carriage pulled away from the University gates.

“Nervous about watching a performance? I can’t say I am,” I lied. It was more of a half-truth, actually. I wasn’t nervous about the show itself, more about where it was and who was going to be around.

“Hey, y’know if you--” She was interrupted by a bump of the carriage. “If you don’t actually want to go, we can just go do something else.”

I took a moment to consider the offer, but rejected it after some thought. Vinyl had to have gone through a lot of trouble to get tickets at short notice, and it couldn’t have been cheap. “It’s not that I don’t want to go. In fact, if it were anywhere except the Conservatory, I would be overjoyed that you’re taking me to an orchestra recital.”

“Then why--”

Another bump stopped her again, and I cut over her muttered insult to the road workers. “I just worry about all the hot air we’re going to have to sit in.”

Vinyl snorted and smiled. “It’ll be good for you. Like a sauna, but with music.”

“The music should be good at least,” I responded, then turned my attention out the window.

The Conservatory campus reminded me of the theater Father used to perform in, where we’d taken Vinyl before she officially moved in with us. It was a mockery of conservation, seconded only in opulence to Canterlot Castle itself. Unlike the theater however, the school was not in the castle’s shadow. It resided around the curve of the mountainside, right in the middle of the richest district in the city.

Vinyl made a gagging sound as we were ushered to our - very plush and cushioned - seats. “Yuck. I think I might be allergic to fake gold.”

“It’s probably real gold,” I snarked back, happily returning her smile. Just like that, the tight knot of worry in my chest loosened. It wasn’t gone, just not quite as overbearing.

We were forced to speak quietly, so as to not draw the attention of the neighboring ponies. The room was nearly silent, only a few sparse pockets of conversation broke the oppressive nothing. Everything about this show just seemed… off. The ponies in the crowd were silent; the instruments were sitting out on the stage. There was a surprising lack of showmareship in this theater.

The show started with no fuss or fanfare. Since the audience was mostly silent anyway, no buzzer was rung. The four musicians, all unicorns, walked on stage and took their instruments. They all wore the same clothing, and never spoke. I immediately locked onto the cello player, as I usually did. She was tall, slim, and visibly collected.

I didn’t recognize the first song they played, but it was nearly technically perfect. They were perfectly on tempo, the strings players never once so much tilted their bows wrong. The cellist stood perfectly propped up against her instrument, the faint haze of magic barely visible against the cello’s dark wood. Her performance was nearly perfect. It wasn’t hard to see her on Mother’s level of skill in a few short years. But even with all the skill on display, it felt like the show was missing something. It wasn’t something easily quantified, but once I noticed it was hard to hear anything but.

Either way, it was an impressive show of musicianship, even if it was short. After an hour of sitting and a minute or two of polite applause we were done. At least conversation started up again once the quartet was off stage. It was mostly polite compliments on the music and speculation on what was going to be on offer in the atrium, but it was better than the near-silence from before the show. Vinyl and I joined the organized exodus and followed the crowd towards the snack tables.

Though the front doors were open, it would have been rude to simply leave. Vinyl picked out some refreshments while I made polite conversation until we could slip away to one of the many tables set up around the room, thankfully alone.

Vinyl looked around surreptitiously, making sure nopony was near enough to overhear. “So, what did you think?”

I told her exactly what I thought: it was an excellent performance that I didn’t have the dexterity in my hooves to match. The cellist had perfect posture, tempo, everything I’d been struggling to match for years. “But thank you for bringing me, Vinyl. I appreciate what you were trying to do.”

“That’s just it though, that’s all unicorn stuff. Not to be rude, but they’ll always do better than you at the little stuff.”

“Gee, thanks,” I snarked, rolling my eyes.

“Listen.” Vinyl looked around again and spoke quickly, trying to finish before we were ambushed by a group of Conservatory students making the rounds. “That’s all great for them, but you’ve got something different. You play differently because you can’t rely on magic like we do, and that difference makes you sound unique. When you play it sounds just as good, but it gets something because you have to play differently. It’s totally you, and nopony will ever be able to match it.”

I was going to retort, to argue that compensating for my lack of natural ability wasn’t good enough to replicate the type of playing we’d just watched, but I had no time. A fake, high-pitched voice finally made it’s way over to our table. “Is that… it is, isn’t it! Octavia Philharmonica, I never thought I’d see you at one of our little concerts.”

“I was in the neighborhood,” I lied, turning to face the new threat. Vinyl did as well, but I could see a glint in her eye. I repressed a sigh, knowing this conversation was not over.

Author's Note

Alright, nobody panic, but I have started work on what may be the last chapter of Filly Friends. It may be split into two, depending how long it is, but we're almost there. A preemptive thank you to everyone who has been with us since the beginning, and a warm welcome to everyone who has showed up since the end. Expect a rather lengthy Extended Author's Note after the Epilogue, which will be posted at the same time as the last chapter.

E: New carriage scene added thanks to inspiration from Noobblue

Finale

Finale

The backstage hallway of Night-Glo was exactly as I remembered it from my dreams and memories. I hadn’t been back here since the night Vinyl kissed me. Not that I had expected a nondescript concrete hallway to change, but you never know. Vinyl and I were the ones who changed. This time, I was the one about to take the stage and she was going to be sitting and waiting.

“Five minutes,” a stagehand called from the other end of the hallway before retreating to finish preparations.

Vinyl looked at me, then to the stairs leading to the stage. “It’s been awhile since we were back here together.”

“I was just thinking the same thing. It’s not an easy day to forget,” I replied.

She looked at me and smiled, then did a double take. “You… you mean that in a good way, right? Right…?”

I took a deep breath and a seat on the stairs leading to the stage. I was still keyed up from my argument with Hazelblossom, on edge from the looming concert, and getting tired of lying to myself and the ponies around me. “Honestly I wasn’t so sure. You remember I was really confused when you kissed me the first time?”

Vinyl nodded, dumbfounded and visibly confused.

“Even after my talk with Aunt Rosin, it was hard for me to get a grasp on how I felt. It’s not that I didn’t care for you, more that you were so… so…” I spun a hoof in the air, digging for a word.

“Vinyl-y?” she supplied.

“I was going to say you are much more invested in… in us than I,” I finished. “Like, you worry so much about me, and put a bunch of effort into our trip in Las Pegasus, and you went through all this effort to attempt to convince me to make a step in my own career. I just felt… inadequate.”

She sat down on the stairs next to me. “Tavi, that’s ridiculous. I never once thought you didn’t care, you just show it differently.”

“That’s my whole point. I can’t really explain when I figured it out, but it all kind of clicked when I saw you talking with Hazelblossom earlier.” I leaned against her, enjoying the warmth in the chilly back hallway. “I think I have it figured out, now. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

The stagehand poked his head back in. “Two minutes, Miss Philharmonica.”

“Apology accepted,” Vinyl said. “You’re gonna kill this show, Tavi.”

“I hope so.”

Vinyl stood and kissed me once, gently. “I gotta get to my seat. See you soon.”

I watched her walk back towards the club floor. Even after she’d turned from sight I kept watching until I heard the clatter of the door shutting. This was always the worst time for me and one of the reasons I stopped performing by myself. I knew the second I stepped out on stage and started playing my nerves would vanish and I would feel okay. All I had to do was play this one concert and then…

I could figure the rest out tomorrow.

“I’ve got this,” I whispered to myself. “I’ve got this.”

“I believe in you, miss,” one of the stagehands said. An announcement from the club floor echoed back into our little hallway. “We’re ready for you.”

“Thank you.” I took a deep breath and turned around to face the stage. Three short, creaky steps separated me from my instrument. Night-Glo didn’t have a curtain or anything of the sort, so the minute I stepped over the last step I was visible to the crowd. Around one hundred ponies had crammed into the club, most sitting in folding chairs, but some were standing around the edges of the room as well, and it looked like Midnight Oil had opened the VIP balcony to some as well.

Mother waved slightly from the front row. Both she and Father were smiling at me, just barely visible in the light cast towards me from the spotlights. Vinyl was there as well; she mouthed something at me I couldn’t really understand, but took to be encouragement.

My cello stood waiting for me on a small stand in the middle of the stage. It stood proudly, gleaming, next to a stool that was honestly there more for show. I almost didn’t want to touch it, knowing exactly how long I spent polishing it the night before. I walked in measured steps to the middle of the stage and rose gracefully to my hind hooves. Quickly, so I wouldn’t fall over, I pulled the cello from it’s cradle and against my body. It took a few seconds to get the balance right so I could grab my bow.

I took a deep breath and held it to clear my mind. My left hoof found the string and fret for the first note; my right set my bow on the string. I pulled, coaxing the first note of the night from my instrument, and everything fell away. Given the short time I had to prepare, I had to pick simpler songs that I knew well from Mother’s collection.

The first song was one I knew very well: the first song I saw Mother perform when I was a filly. It took me back to when I was young, watching Mother practice in the early afternoons. The song was the first I’d wanted to learn after having my cutie mark dropped on me. Even before my hoof could really reach around the neck of the cello I was trying. It was the first I’d played, the first I mastered, and still something I played often to warm up. Compared to even the normal pieces I knew, it was neither technical or complex, but I found the soothing song to be the good start to almost anything.

Music flowed from my instrument and I, blanketing the club floor in rich sounds. The original plan called for me to stop for a few beats to readjust for the next piece, a much more upbeat and fast-paced song. In the heat of the moment I saw a way to bridge the two pieces together. Acting on impulse, I pulled the last few notes in quick succession, then skipped the bow across the next few notes of the first part of the next song. It created an interesting effect, almost like my cello was attempting to play two different songs at the same time.

Mother smiled at me and shook her head teasingly, knowing immediately what I did. It was technically a mistake, one I used to make a lot when I was first learning how to properly apply pressure with the bow. I smiled back at her and continued playing, quickly losing myself once again. I’d worried that playing by myself would bring back some of the stage fright Aunt Rosin had used against me the other night, but so far that didn’t seem to be the case. In a lot of ways it was liberating; I only had to focus on myself and my movements, not the symphony around me as a whole.

Much to my surprise, the second piece went just as smoothly as the first. It was a little more technical and tight, but if I made any mistakes they were minor enough that even I didn’t notice them. The trouble came during the transition to the third song I’d selected, about halfway through what I’d decided to perform. I wanted to mix the two songs together, as I had with the first and second, but it didn’t flow together nearly as smoothly as I wanted. It wasn’t a major mistake, I honestly doubt anypony else noticed, but I did.

Once I’d made and acknowledged the first mistake, that seemed to be all I could notice. Everything sounded fine, the crowd watching didn’t seem to have any objection to my playing, but all I could notice were technical missteps. The fretting off by a fraction of an inch on this note, a fuzzy transition between these two notes, the small mistakes started to pile up.

Externally I kept my cool, but internally I was berating myself. This is exactly what I was worried about, this was why I wasn’t going to audition for Father’s Orchestra. Even if most of the ponies in the audience couldn’t hear my mistakes, I could. Mother probably could as well, and ponies of the caliber that would be working for Father would be able to as well.

I cast about for a solution or at least something I could focus on to stop my own spiral. My gaze landed on Vinyl. I doubt she could tell that I was troubled, but she smiled and waved slightly, though she kept her hoof low enough that I doubt anypony else saw it. I was reminded of years worth of afternoons spent in the practice room, both of us toying around with our respective instruments and styles. It was fun, and memories I drew fondly upon any time I practiced in a group. Seeking that feeling again was why I auditioned for my school’s orchestra right after Vinyl left.

Unlike most of my recent decisions, that one hadn’t required consulting Symphonia, or Aunt Rosin. It was just something I knew I had to do, just like I had agreed to play here, tonight, with nothing more than token resistance. Some part of me knew that my life in orchestra would be done in less than a year when I graduated. There was no guarantee I’d get another recommendation or anything to my tastes outside college.

Lost in thought, I barely even noticed the swap from the third song to the fourth, or the forth to the fifth. I was lost to the music and lost to the feeling of weight lifting from my shoulders. Maybe eventually I’d be able to face more of my troubles head on, like Vinyl, though I wasn’t sure my head was hard enough to manage it.

I finished the last piece with a flourish and took a bow. Normally after a classical concert, the applause was perfunctory and rather tame. Standing ovations were common, but not nearly of the length or loudness expected from any sort of other performance I’d ever been to. Naturally I was expecting something similar tonight, but I forgot two things:

One: we were in a nightclub.

Two: Vinyl was here.

As I stood half bent over, using my cello for support, I recognized Vinyl whooping from the front row of the seats. Before I could straighten up and shush her, another pony joined in, then a third. I raised my head enough to recognize several of the club’s regulars joining in. To mine and Mother’s surprise, Father joined in as well. I took another deep bow then, after stowing my cello back on the stand to be collected later, hopped down to the dance floor.

Vinyl jumped forward and hugged me as soon as my hooves touched the ground. “I knew you’d kill it.”

“Yeah, I know you did. I think it went alright,” I responded, hugging her back. Mother smiled at me over Vinyl’s back, then turned to try and deal with Father. “So, where is the after party?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Vinyl said, feigning ignorance. “Why would you think I had something like that planned?”

I didn’t grace her with an answer, simply raised an eyebrow.

It didn’t take long for Vinyl to cave. “Boss man is gonna convert back to normal after we leave. I was gonna send your cello back with Melody and have us swing back around.”

“Alright, but I can’t stay up too late. I need to practice for my audition starting tomorrow.”

Author's Note

A/N to follow

Epilogue: Prelude

Prelude

“What time do you have to leave?” Vinyl asked me, shaking me from my thoughts. She moved to stand next to me in the mirror of our apartment and took my brush from me. “You can’t sit and brush your mane all evening, you’ll be late.”

“When did you get so responsible?” I snarked, but turned around when she twirled the brush. I felt her resume brushing where I stopped. “I’ve got about an hour left, long enough to eat something and get dressed.”

“Do you mind if I leave with you?”

I shrugged. “If you want, but I don’t know if the staff will let you in and I have to go in early to check tuning with my section. You should probably know that by now, though.”

Vinyl floated the brush down to our vanity, then sat in a chair nearby. “I do, but I like going with you. I don’t mind waiting in line for a bit.”

I stood and tied up my mane, to keep it out of my way while I played. It also made it easier to wrangle into my show suit, which I had to put on after dinner. “It’s not quite like Canterlot University, Vinyl. There isn’t really a line.”

“Then I’ll make one.” She stood and followed as I walked into the apartment proper. The table was already full of food, courtesy of Vinyl’s old roommate. She’d opened a diner right after leaving university, and thankfully it was nearby. It had quickly become a favorite of Vinyl’s and not entirely just for the free food.

I ate quickly, then returned to the bedroom to finish dressing. I had a suit to put on, complete with bow tie, as did the rest of the orchestra.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it,” Vinyl called as somepony knocked on the door. I’d anticipated it, knowing that some friends or family members who couldn’t make it to the show tonight would want to come and wish me well. I didn’t expect Mother to walk in, a small white box and dress bag floating behind her.

“You look beautiful, as always,” Mother said. She draped her belongings across the bed and moved to hug me. “Are you nervous?”

“No more than normal,” I answered.

“I’ve heard you practice and I know you’ll do great.” She stepped back and floated the small box between the two of us. “I have a present for you, for your first show with Legatus’ orchestra.”

“You didn’t have to.” I took the box from her and set it on the vanity, in the light.

“I wanted to,” she replied. “Now, I know that you have a strict dress code, but both Aunt Rosin and myself informed Legatus that this should be fine, at least for tonight.”

I cocked my head, but didn’t answer. Instead, I gently lifted the lid of the box to reveal a single muted pink bowtie, nestled in velvet. Just like Mother’s.

Her magic lifted the bow tie from the box and moved to fasten it around my neck. “My mother gave me a tie just like this when I played my first performance out of the Conservatory. I’m sorry to say I don’t have that bow, at least, not anymore.”

Gently, I tapped the cloth attached to my collar, too overwhelmed to speak. “I’ll take care of it.”

“I know you will.” She hugged me again. When we parted, I pretended not to see the tears in her eyes. “Now you better get going. I need to wrangle your marefriend into a dress and don’t want you caught in the crossfire.”

“See you after the show,” I promised, then left the apartment.

Author's Note

I'll keep this brief because I have a more traditional super-wordy Extended Author's Note here for you if you want it.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to anyone who has read or will read this in the future. You are all fantastic, and great people. I'd also like to shout out the two people who helped me write this.

quick_study served as an editor, storyboarder, neighsayer, and basically whatever else I needed during writing, up to and including roommate. Dusty Old Qrow only really came in for the last few chapters, but an outside look at a story that wasn't tainted by knowing the outline was a super big help, and it's not a lie to say that his thoughts of the last couple of chapters shaped the edits I posted.

I'm off to go binge the new FFXIV content. See you all later

Crescendo

Crescendo

Despite my initial concern, Vinyl didn’t return to our prior conversation after the socialites had left. She didn’t bring it up on the way home, or when we grabbed a late dinner, or even the next morning. I spent the next two days on pins and needles around her, waiting for her to just mention the audition again.

A week after the concert I learned the reason for her silence: to lure me into a false sense of security.

It started with me returning late from a trip out to town. I could just barely make out voices from outside the dorm, so I knew Symphonia and at least one other pony were inside. When I walked inside to see not just my roommate, but Vinyl and Aunt Rosin all waiting for me, I knew I was in for a rough evening. They all turned to look at me at once. “That’s… not a good sign. I don’t suppose you’re here for dinner?”

“Nope,” Aunt Rosin said. She pushed Vinyl off the couch, then pat the newly-vacated spot. “Park it.”

I parked it on the edge of the offered cushion, guard raised. Symphonia, on my left, refused to make eye contact, meaning she’d probably called Aunt Rosin here. Vinyl sat across from me, sans glasses, with a worried expression. Aunt Rosin was to my right, looking directly at me. It only took me a few seconds before I snapped. “Why is everypony staring at me?”

“Vinyl and Symphonia told me what was going on,” Aunt Rosin answered. “Congratulations, first off. Second off, why are you trying to avoid this?”

“Did they not tell you?” I asked.

“No, they did, but I want to hear it from the horse’s mouth.”

Vinyl grimaced. “Really?”

Aunt Rosin shrugged. “Hey, gotta keep things light, y’know?” She turned back to me and stared, making sure I knew I couldn’t get out of answering the question.

It was tempting to try, but I knew that Aunt Rosin wouldn’t let me wriggle out of it, no matter how much I wanted to avoid repeating myself. The audition had been lurking in the back of my mind for weeks. Whether I wanted to actually do it or not, I couldn’t shake the persistent rattle of it in the back of my mind. “I don’t think I’m good enough to perform with Father’s orchestra, and I don’t want to waste their time.”

“We’ve been trying to convince her otherwise,” Symphonia said. She locked eyes with me, and shrugged.

“So you tattled to your mother?” I said to her, only slightly joking.

Vinyl snickered.

“I didn’t tattle, it just came up in conversation.” Symphonia pointed a hoof at Vinyl. “This was all her idea.”

“Whoops.” Vinyl ducked as I swung around to look at her. “Busted.”

“What was her idea?” I asked, biting back my growing sense of dread.

Vinyl bounced forward from her spot on the floor until she was right in front of me. A folder full of papers from the table floated between the two of us. “You’re afraid of performing, right?”

“No,” I answered instantly, and honestly. “I mean, I’ll admit to a certain amount of stage fright on show day, but it hasn’t prevented me from playing a show since I was young.”

“I remember that,” Aunt Rosin said. “I had to bribe you with candy to get you on stage. Wait, would that work now? That’s way easier than what Vinyl was wanting to do.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Symphonia snickered. “Is that why you gave me chocolate before my first show?”

Vinyl snorted in laughter again, ducking behind her folder to hide from my angry glare. She shoved the manila envelope at me as a distraction. “There’s no candy in here, just some paperwork we need to fill out together to get the ball rolling.”

“On what?” I pulled the folder from her grip and pushed past her to rest them on the table again. I flipped open the cover and stared in confusion at the dense legalese on the first paper. Night-Glo’s logo was displayed prominently on every page. “What is this?”

“The standard disclaimer, waiver, and planning sheets to reserve stage time at Night-Glo,” Vinyl answered. “It’s pretty standard stuff, Symphonia said it’s a lot like the stuff you signed before taking the stage at the University’s auditorium for the first time. The last couple of pages are for setting up lights and transitions and stuff for a show.”

That feeling of dread was growing harder to ignore. “Did you need help getting something together for your next set, or…?”

“It’s for you,” Aunt Rosin said. “The only way to get rid of performance anxiety is to do it.”

“I don’t have performance anxiety,” I said, then immediately jabbed my hoof at Vinyl. “Don’t say a word.”

“Call it anxiety, call it lack of faith in your own skills, call it whatever you want,” Aunt Rosin interjected. “I’ll call it what it is: you’re afraid.”

I shook my head, preparing a retort, but Aunt Rosin stopped me with a raised hoof. “You can’t even try to deny this one, Octavia. Whether you’re afraid of failing the audition and disappointing Legatus, or afraid of passing the audition when you didn’t deserve it is irrelevant. You’re afraid, and that’s okay, but what’s not okay is letting something like this pass you by because of it.”

“So I talked to Midnight Oil,” Vinyl continued. She placed a hoof on mine and forced me to look at her. “He agreed to open the stage to you, and to advertise a solo performance.”

“I don’t know what to say…” I answered honestly. I hadn’t done a solo show since I was young, and it wasn’t something I really enjoyed doing. Joining my own instrument with that of others helped hide all the things I struggled with.

Symphonia moved to sit on the floor with Vinyl and I. She slid a pen over towards me. “Nothing. Start writing.”

Seeing my hesitation, Aunt Rosin put a hoof down on my shoulder. “Remember when you were young and didn’t like practicing? I came over with a viola and made you play something with me. You didn’t like it until you got going and I think that’s all the push you need here too. We all believe in you, kiddo, but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t believe in you.”

“I could still say no.” I was grasping at straws now. I couldn’t simply turn down Vinyl’s offer after she’d gone to such lengths to help me. At least, that’s what I told myself. Honestly, part of me was just sick of always having the same conversations - with other ponies and myself. If this show went poorly, it would only prove my point. And it did sound like fun, if a little terrifying. My hoof twitched towards Symphonia’s offered pen.

Vinyl leaned close to my ear. “Chicken,” she whispered.

Symphonia reached across me to smack Vinyl upside the head. “Seriously? We went through all this trouble, Mom is making all sorts of inspiring speeches, and that’s what you have to add?”

“You can do it, kiddo,” Aunt Rosin whispered behind me. “And we’ll be here for every step of the way.”

With my two friends squabbling on either side and Aunt Rosin behind me, I shakily picked up the pen and started to write.

<><><><><>

“I can’t say I ever expected my club to be used for something like this,” Midnight Oil remarked. He, Vinyl, and I all stood in the middle of what was normally a designated dance floor in Night-Glo. It was the first time I’d ever been here after - before? - hours. Seeing the room in normal lighting and not the normal neon glow was taking some getting used to. It wasn’t unlike trying to navigate familiar streets in the dark instead of sunlight.

“Thank you again,” I said for about the tenth time today. The show was only a short time away, less than an hour now. When Vinyl said she’d talked to Midnight Oil, she’d neglected to tell me they’d worked out every single detail beforehoof. All that was left was the formality paperwork I’d filled out the week prior. Thankfully Mother had plenty of cello solo pieces that were easy enough for me to learn, or I would have never been ready in time.

Midnight Oil stepped back quickly, avoiding a wildly-swinging chair. “It was my pleasure. I still owe Legatus from my time in the Conservatory, so it’s the least I could do.”

“Sorry, boss!” a unicorn stallion called before gently placing his chair down in line with the others. About a half-dozen of such ponies were busy filling the dance floor with a proper seating arrangement. All they had on hoof were folding chairs, but they would be sufficient.

“You met Father at the Conservatory?” I asked, surprised. It felt like every time we talked to Midnight Oil we learned something new and odd.

“He convinced me to leave, actually. I was always more interested in the business side of music, anyway.” He adjusted his tie and stepped back in line with us. “I’m under no impression that I was extended an invitation for my musical prowess. I was likely a recruitment of lineage, as my family has served in the castle for generations.”

A pony called to Midnight Oil from the hallway leading to the entrance. Night-Glo’s proprietor bowed and took his leave, leaving Vinyl and I alone in the middle of the room. Seeing the lines of chairs marching steadily back towards us, we decided to step off to the side, where refreshments were to be set tonight after the show.

“Nervous?” Vinyl asked me again.

“Terrified,” I replied. I tossed a glance towards the stage, empty save a stool and my cello. It looked so empty without the normal equipment up there. “I can’t believe I let you three talk me into this.”

“We didn’t talk you into anything, you just stopped being a big ol’ chicken.” Vinyl ducked the half-hearted swipe I took at her and laughed. “Seriously, though, give yourself some credit. What sort of musician is going to dodge the chance to perform and get her name out there?”

“The same one who has been avoiding the best chance a pony in her position can get,” I sighed, ignoring the sting of truth in my own words.

“Setup is done, boss!” somepony called from the stage area. “Audio is good, too!”

Midnight Oil’s deep voice boomed from the entrance hall. “Hurry up with the food then, so we can start letting people in!”

Vinyl and I were shooed away from the tables as food and drinks started arriving from the kitchen. We made our way up to the VIP lounge, which was still off-limits to non-VIPs. I draped myself over the balcony edge, watching the final preparations complete. The call went out for lighting, and a few seconds later the neon lights around the club clicked onto a soft white. Soft classical music started from the speaker system. The overhead lights dimmed to match, making the entire room almost look like a legitimate auditorium. Almost. Vinyl joined me right after, appearing with a glass of water.

“Almost time,” she said. The first few ponies were starting to filter in, led by Mother and Father. Aunt Rosin and Symphonia rounded out the ponies I actually knew were attending.

“Is it bad that I was hoping nopony would come to see a cellist in a nightclub?” I joked.

“Kind of, but I know the feeling. I remember hoping nopony would show up to see a nobody DJ like me before my first show here.” She laughed and swept her gaze across the steadily-filling room. “I wonder if that’s a normal thing…”

Noticing her trail off, I followed her gaze towards the club’s entrance. Something was happening by the entrance. It looked like a single pony was trying to enter the building, but the staff were stopping him. The altercation was starting to draw attention other than ours as well, several heads from the crowd were turning to look back. This was starting to look uncomfortably familiar…

“You’ve got to be joking,” Vinyl growled from beside me. “Isn’t he banned?”

I took a closer look, then mirrored Vinyl’s sigh. On further inspection, the stallion couldn’t be anypony other than Hazelblossom. I didn’t know the answer to Vinyl’s question, but since the bouncers were trying to keep him out, I had to imagine the answer was yes. “Quite possibly.”

“Stay up here, Tavi,” Vinyl said. She pulled back from the balcony, her face set. “I think it’s time I finally have it out with this joker, and I’ll be damned if it’s going to ruin this for you.”

I barely managed to jump in front of her. “We’ll go together.”

To stop her from arguing, I went down the stairs first. By the time we made it downstairs, the bouncers had pulled Hazelblossom aside so as to not prevent any more admissions, but it was obvious they couldn’t do anything without Midnight Oil’s say-so. One of them was already heading in the direction of his office. Another employee had been conscripted to direct traffic away from the conflict. Vinyl went in swinging, metaphorically speaking, but she was able to push past the bouncers.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“I came to watch the show, same as everypony else!” Hazelblososm whipped an entrance ticket from somewhere and shoved it in Vinyl’s face. “Why else would I be here?”

“You don’t even like classical music,” Vinyl retorted. She snatched the voucher from his grip, crumpled it into a ball, and chucked it towards the bar. “Cut the crap.”

“Alright, fine.” He took a step forward. “I’m here for you, to apologize.”

Vinyl matched his step forward with her own back. “What?”

“I want to apologize to you for the last time we talked, and for how I acted when we lived together.” He stepped forward again, likely noticed as I did that Vinyl was a little put off. “I just want to talk.”

“And I don’t care.” Vinyl smacked away his attempt to touch her. “I thought I made it pretty clear last time that I want nothing to do with you.”

“You’re going to do this here, when your friend is supposed to play something?” He turned to look at me now, unable to hide a slight smirk. “Don’t you need to go get ready for that? I’d hate for something unpleasant to interrupt your night.”

“Don’t even think about it. I have nothing to say to you, and I don’t want to see your ugly mug ever again. Just leave. Please.”

Hazelblossom sneered and stepped forward once again, leaving only a scant few inches between him and the much smaller Vinyl. The nearby employee looked about to intervene, but I was closer and faster. Unfortunately for him, Hazelblossom looked like a great target for all the stress I’d been under the last few weeks. I pushed forward, physically placing myself between the two of them. I wasn’t much bigger than Vinyl was, but the action still caught both of them off guard.

“Enough,” I snarled at Hazelblossom. “Have you lost hearing listening to that drivel you make and call music? Vinyl asked you to leave her alone, and you’ve been told not to come here anymore. Leave.”

“Nopony was talking to you, get out of here.” It looked like he was about to reach out and move me himself, but the bouncer took a few more steps towards us. They couldn’t remove him without the boss’ permission, but they wouldn’t let things escalate either. “This isn’t even about you, it’s between me and Vinyl.”

“If Vinyl is involved, I am too,” I stated, standing my ground. “We’re together now, actually together unlike you two were, and that means her problems are my problems, insignificant as you may be.”

Vinyl stepped up beside me before Hazelblossom could reply. She waved a hoof over her shoulder, where Midnight Oil and another bouncer were approaching. “You heard the lady. There’s nothing for you here. There never was.”

“I’ve got a show to prepare for,” I said, then wrapped a hoof around Vinyl. “Come dear, would you help me prepare?”

The two of us walked away, passing Midnight Oil on the way. Vinyl stopped long enough to whisper something in his ear and receive a nod in return before we headed into the depths of Night-Glo for my final preparations.

Author's Note

Here we go, the beginning of the end. Honestly, I expected this week to be the last chapter, but as I started hammering this one out (which I did over the course of one day) I knew that it was just going to be too long. I could have kept it all together, but I think splitting it like I am will be just as good. Next week, expect the last chapter, followed shortly after by a short epilogue. It may not be the day of, but I'll do my best.

Also, word of caution, don't try to upload a chapter while half asleep. You will Ctrl+A the entire doc and attempt to paste it into fimfic. All 255 pages, and Chrome will have a mild stroke.