Chapters Chapter the First: Pre-Show Jitters
"Vinyl! I'm home!"
As Octavia took off her jacket and hung it by the door, she knew no response was coming. While Vinyl was actually home, she probably had headphones on, but not plugged in, as Octavia could hear the thumping coming from the ceiling. She was glad to have a sturdy house and a great roommate, she just wished she could be a little bit more considerate for her.
Up the stairs she went, past the two bedrooms and into the shared office. Once the door opened, the music was so much louder, but thankfully, there was a dial on the speakers, which Octavia turned down.
Vinyl looked up just then, wondering why her music was quieter, when she hadn't called for it. "Oh, you're home. How ya doin'?"
"I am "doing" just fine, thank you."
"Then why'd ya turn down the club mix I was workin' on?"
"Because I needed a word with you."
Vinyl reached over and turned off the turntables. the music immediately stopped, and she took off her headphones. "Okay, shoot."
Octavia snorted and shook her head. "I received a letter in the mail today."
"Yeah, I saw Derpy deliver it out the window. Along with a package for me. I know you don't like it when I mess with your mail, so I sent her to deliver it to you, personally."
Octavia nodded. "Thank you for that. Anyway, it seems that Thunderous Applause of the famed cello duet "Thunder and Lightning" fell and broke his wrist this morning."
Vinyl looked at Octavia's face, and she almost seemed happy. "You don't seem to be that broken up about it. Isn't he one of the top performers in your field? Is it really so competitive that him being out of the picture is advancing your career?"
The smile drained from Octavia's face. "What? No! I was going to say, "Lightning Strike has selected me as his first-choice replacement for tonight's show." Because he has. He wants me to go up on stage with him and perform for a theatre of two thousand ponies tonight!"
Vinyl slowly nodded. "Not bad, not bad..."
"Oh, come on," scoffed Octavia. "It's not like I pushed him off a ladder, or anything! I think he's great! I'm happy because I was their first choice for a replacement! Do you know how wonderful this news is?"
"Oh, I know," agreed Vinyl. "I just wish it didn't come at the cost of two other ponies' plans."
"Well, it... I'm sorry, did you say two?"
Vinyl bobbed her head back and forth. "I was going to take you out to dinner tonight."
After a long, awkward silence, Octavia chuckled. "You know, I can just tell them to find somepony else. Syrup Strings is pretty good, and she deserves a break."
"No, no, you go," Vinyl said. "I'll just reschedule. I shouldn't have sprung this on you, I just wanted to surprise you."
"You're sure?"
Vinyl nodded. "I was just being selfish. Tell you what, I'll give you a ride. The show's in Canterlot, right?"
Octavia shook her head. "Tomorrow night's show is in Canterlot. Tonight's is in Ponyville."
"Cool. Maybe we can still make dinner, after all..."
Vinyl followed the security guard backstage to Octavia's dressing room. She had wanted to wish her luck before the show, and more importantly, apologize for giving her a hard time earlier. It was ridiculous to think that she needed an escort, though. During one of her shows, Octavia could just come up onto the stage and talk to her. All of this extra protection seemed a little bit overkill. Having to ask the backstage guard to send a message with an assistant to Octavia's room, then wait for a return message, and then find another security guard to escort her in was just too much.
At the sound of rapping on her door, Octavia shouted "Come in!" The door opened, and Vinyl walked in, with the security guard escort holding her by the shoulder. "Oh, you can let her go; this is my roommate."
As the security guard stepped out of the room, Vinyl huffed. "Just your roommate?"
"It's a lot easier to explain. If I tell him we're sleeping together, then there's some inevitable follow-up questions, and he'll start looking at us with the thought "I could show her how great it is to be with a stallion." But if I tell him we're just roommates, who cares?"
"I care," snorted Vinyl. "Now I don't think I even want to give you your gift."
"Gift?"
"Yeah, I figured I'd give it to you at dinner, but it's something to help you relax, so I thought before the show would be best. But now..."
Octavia sighed. She walked over, opened the door, and said to the security guard "She's my lover; my fuck-buddy; my lesbian partner. We have sex. She's more than just my roommate."
As she closed the door, Vinyl's jaw dropped, and her sunglasses went up to show her deep crimson eyes. "You know I was kidding, right?"
Octavia sighed. "I'm under a lot of stress right now, Vinyl."
"I know," answered Vinyl, pushing the box into Octavia's hooves. "Like I said, I wanted to give you something to relax before the show."
Octavia took a deep breath and opened up the box. Inside, wrapped in a silken cushion, was a soft pink butt plug. "Are you serious?"
"You're always such a tight-arse," chuckled Vinyl. "You need to loosen up a bit. And I mean that both figuratively and literally."
Octavia closed the box and wrapped her hooves around Vinyl. "Thank you. I love it."
"I picked one the same colour as your bowtie."
"I noticed."
"Ahem." They both turned to the door, where a stallion with a puffy cravat was standing. "Are you almost ready? We still need to tune."
"Very nearly," breathed Octavia. "I was just... I was nervous, and my marefriend was trying to help with that."
The stallion nodded and extended his hoof. "Lightning Strike."
"Vinyl Scratch." She shook his hoof. "If that's all, I'll be on my way."
"You're not staying for the show?"
"No ticket," shrugged Vinyl. "I had other plans tonight. Tavi and I were planning on catching tomorrow's show. We didn't buy tickets for tonight."
"Well, we can't have you missing her performance." He turned toward the security guard. "Please escort miss Vinyl Scratch to Thunder's box and let him know that I sent her."
Chapter the Second: Sweet Music
Vinyl took her seat and extended her hoof to the pony sitting next to her. "Vinyl Scratch," she introduced. "I'm dating the cellist."
The stallion she was next to extended the wrong hoof to shake. "So am I."
"Oh?"
"Thunderous Applause. I perform with my coltfriend, Lightning Strike."
"Ah. I'm with Tavi. She's your replacement tonight."
Thunder nodded and shifted in his seat as the lights began to lower. "Is she any good?"
"The best. This one time, while we were in Vanhoover, she did this thing with her hoof that made my jaw drop."
"I meant with the cello..."
Vinyl glanced back and forth. "Yeah, that's what I meant." As she glared at Thunder, she saw the corner of his lip curl up. "Ah. A goof."
"Yeah. Lightning doesn't always appreciate my jokes. Sometimes, he can be a real tight-arse."
"Tell me about it," scoffed Vinyl. "Tavi's the same way. I gave her a butt plug tonight."
"Well, I can't do that with Lightning. The bug that crawled up there would never come out if I plugged the only exit."
Vinyl chuckled softly as the room quieted down and the curtains opened on the stage. Lightning and Octavia both walked out onto the stage, bowed to a round of light applause, then sat down with their cellos.
"She brought her own cello," whispered Thunder. "That's not one of mine."
"Yeah, she said something about the lacquer on the neck of the instrument making a big difference, so she only ever uses her own."
"That is true," noted Thunder. "I've used Lightning's cello before, and the coat was so thick that every time I moved my hoof to a new position, it would squeak. I like the neck to be nice and smooth. I'll apply my own grip, thanks."
"Tavi says the same thing."
As if to illustrate their point, Octavia was swapping back and forth between hoof positions with surprising ease, her hoof almost gliding across the neck of the cello, rather than jumping from position to position as Lightning's did. "See how smooth and even her wrist movement is?"
"I thought that just came with practice," admitted Vinyl. "Here and I thought she was so good at it that she made it look easy with her skill. Instead, she just has a really good tool."
"Well, yes, but also, she has a lot of skill. She's very good."
"Yeah. I know how to pick 'em."
As Vinyl leaned back in her seat, her elbow knocked into something in her saddlebags. While this would normally be insignificant, it coincided with a sudden, very intense vibrato from Octavia.
Along with the note, her whole body tightened, shuddering as her face clenched and her eyes went wide. It was as if, while playing that vibrato, Octavia had been suddenly struck with the meaning of the music, and while the piece was not quite over yet, there was a lack of silence in the audience as several conversations about the power of her playing was phenomenal. She glanced at Lightning, and without words, she soon recovered and resumed playing as normal, though her breathing had changed.
"What in Equestria was that?" asked Thunder. "How well does she know the piece that she can put that much effort into a single point like that?"
"She knows it pretty well," answered Vinyl. "I'm pretty sure she's played this piece a thousand times. Some kind of fugue, she called it. Although, she's played like half a dozen other pieces, also with fugue in the title, so I can't remember which one this is."
"Oh, I have a serious love of fugues. Fugues are great. That's why we perform so many, just for me. Or, I guess, just for her right now. I hope she knows about the upcoming pizzicato. The publisher for my sheet music books listed it as "Fizz," and a lot of ponies were confused about that."
"Oh, don't worry yourself. She's very good at what she does, and if your sheet music is half as good as her personal degree of skill, there's nothing to worry about."
As Vinyl leaned back again, her elbow struck the device in her bag once more, just as the music began to pick up in speed. Octavia's hoof started flying across the strings, plucking and striking them with such intense emotion and fervor that Lightning almost couldn't keep up. So full of emotion was she in that moment that the audience could feel it, leading to Vinyl leaning forward again so as not to miss it.
With her bow in the air, sweat pouring down her face, and her chest heaving, there were only a few soft and somber measures left, and Octavia pushed through them with a great deal of effort, slumping back in her chair as soon as it was done.
The crowd burst into a cacophonous cheer, clapping, stomping and whistling for the performance. Vinyl joined in, even without being a fan of classical music.
"Forgive me for not clapping," grunted Thunder, pushing his broken wrist forward. "You'll just have to take me at my word that this was a fantastic performance by a phenomenal cellist."
"You're damn right, she is!" cheered Vinyl. "She's the best! Didn't I say she was the best?"
"You did," Thunder nodded. "Very astute. Excellent job."
As Vinyl stat down, her elbow once more bumped into her bag, causing Octavia to kick her leg as she was preparing for the next piece. "What do I keep hitting?" she asked, digging around.
"Does she always twitch like that?" asked Thunder. "Perhaps she's still nervous. You should talk to her after the show."
"Nah, she's usually pretty chill at her own concerts. I've never seen her so active."
Octavia and Lightning picked up their pace with a much faster fugue that would stay under the melody throughout most of the piece, with a few lines where there was no fugue about two-thirds of the way through. As Lightning pulled away from the fugue to start in on the melody, Vinyl pulled out the device that she'd been striking with her elbow.
"What's that?" asked Thunder.
"It's a remote," answered Vinyl. "When you press the big button, it operates the butt plug I gave to Tavi. Check out the other functions."
As Thunder took the remote, his hoof pressed the button, and for a moment, Octavia's bowing ramped up in intensity. The two looked at each other, and both were graced with mischievous grins.
"Vinyl, my dear, while you came here to watch tonight's show, how would you like to play your marefriend's instrument?"
Chapter the Third: Double Date
Immediately after the show, Vinyl and Thunder made their way down to the dressing rooms. For once, Vinyl didn't need a security escort, because Thunder was with her. Their first and only stop was in Octavia's dressing room, where Lightning was already there, talking with Octavia.
"--at was great. I loved that part in Passacaglia where you ramped up right before the silence. It was great. But I can't have that kind of showboating. We're supposed to be a team; on the same page and playing off of each other and giving the spotlight freely to our partners, not grabbing it and running forward, screaming to the crowd "Notice me!""
"I'm sorry," panted Octavia, sweating all over. "I don't know what came over me. I was just so stricken with the music that I... I guess I was a little too excited."
"Excitement is good," interjected Thunder. "Truly, a wonderful show. I don't think I could have performed any better than she did. That vibrato in Toccata, oh," he sat back on his haunches and kissed his hoof. "Just magnificent."
"And the opening notes of that piece that's used in all those scary movies," gushed Vinyl. "Great stuff!"
Octavia scowled at Vinyl, but in all honesty, she had to admit that she'd never felt such a profound euphoria as she had up on the stage tonight. She'd noticed during the Danse Macabre that Vinyl was playing with something in the box, and that every time she used it, there was a sudden jolt in her toy that would cause her to suddenly be more intense. Vinyl had been messing with her, but she'd still managed to put on a good show.
"Give her a break, Lightning," smiled Thunder, wrapping his arm around his coltfriend. "I loved her performance, the crowd loved her performance, the crew probably even loved her performance. Why don't you?"
Lightning sighed. "Because we lost our synchronicity eight times during the show!"
"No, he's right," nodded Octavia. "I lost control of myself multiple times. It doesn't matter that the crowd was amazed; I was not at my best, and I'm sorry."
"That's bullshit," countered Thunder. "Lightning, there's a reason she lost control of her hooves."
"Yeah, this thing!" smiled Vinyl, holding up the remote and pressing the button. Immediately, Octavia doubled over, her hooves shaking. "See? Your coltfriend and I were messing with her through the whole show!"
Lightning grabbed Thunder's shoulder and glared into his eyes. "You told her?!" he shout-whispered.
Octavia, likewise, grabbed Vinyl by the shoulders and glared into her eyes. "Turn it off!!" she shout-whispered.
Vinyl clicked the button again and turned it off. She could already see how soaked Octavia was.
"Let me make it up to you both," smiled Thunder. "Let's all go to dinner. It's on me."
"We couldn't possibly," panted Octavia, a whining lilt in her voice.
"Nonsense," waved Thunder. "You've more than earned it. We'll even let you shower, first."
When Vinyl and Octavia arrived, they were already late to the meeting, and they couldn't find Thunder or Lightning at any of the tables.
"Thanks, Vinyl," huffed Octavia. "You made me ruin their show, and they ditched us."
"You didn't ruin their show," waved Vinyl. "They're probably just late because they started arguing with each other about who had the larger dick, and they're running behind because they're measuring."
"Vinyl!"
"What? It's more likely than your "they ditched us" theory. Come on, let's pick a table. If you're right, and they ditched us, then it's just you and me for dinner."
Octavia took a deep breath. "Fine..."
After asking for a table for four and letting the hostess know what their companions looked like, Vinyl and Octavia sat down. Vinyl had suggested the place; a cozy diner in the middle of town. It wasn't fancy, but it had good food.
"Maybe they saw the place and bolted?" worried Octavia. "They're very refined, you know."
"Oh, please, Thunder had a pack of gummy worms he was eating when we were watching your performance. He's not above diner cuisine."
"He would never!"
"Oh? Then what did you have, Thunder?"
Octavia's eyes shot open and she turned around to see Thunder and Lightning drawing near.
"Tasted like gummy worms to me..." smiled Thunder, sliding in next to Vinyl.
"You and your snacks," sighed Lightning. "Sorry we're late."
"Yeah," chuckled Thunder. "He had a snack of his own he wanted to taste."
Vinyl glanced down, her eyes covered by her sunglasses. There was a bite mark fading from Thunder's flank. They'd fooled around before coming out to dinner. That's why they were late. All she did with this information was smile, though.
"Y'all need ta see a menu?" asked the waitress.
"Do you have biscuits and gravy?" asked Lightning, garnering a nod from the waitress.
"Can I have mine on a shingle?" asked Thunder.
"Just regular," blushed Octavia.
"Hayburger and fries," smirked Vinyl. With a kick and a scowl from Octavia under the table, she added "and a milkshake, two straws."
"Make it two, four straws total," said Thunder, earning him an under-the-table kick from Lightning.
"Right. I'll have that right out for ya shortly."
As soon as she had left, Lightning sighed. "I would like to apologize for my partner's brashness," he and Octavia whispered in unison before looking at each other.
"You both need to loosen up," smirked Thunder. "It's not a big deal."
"Not a big--" huffed Octavia, trying to contain her voice. "She picked something more expensive than the rest of us!"
"Still under five bits," shrugged Vinyl. "Even with the milkshake."
"Not the point!" whispered Octavia.
"Let's talk about those milkshakes," added Lightning. "We're trying to remain incognito!"
"Why?" shrugged Vinyl. "Who cares, honestly? Let the ponies talk. Don't let them keep you from your happiness."
Octavia and Lightning looked down at their hooves. "It's more complicated than that," sighed Lightning.
"How so?"
Octavia looked up. "Vinyl, do you remember why I said you're not allowed to meet my parents?"
"Because they're as stuffy and prudish and close-minded as Lightning's?" offered Thunder. "Yeah, they're the ones paying the rent."
"But you know what they're not?" smiled Vinyl. "Here."
"So relax," breathed Thunder, leaning back. "Dinner and a milkshake. Then we go back home and spend some quality time with our special someponies."
Chapter the Fourth: Meeting the Parents
Vinyl walked in the front door slowly, careful not to spill anything she had carried in with her. She had tried to shake off her confetti and silly string, but she would have to take down her mane to untangle the streamers. It had been one hay of a party.
She poked her head into Octavia's room. As expected at six in the morning, she was asleep. She was lying on her stomach, and just under her tail, Vinyl could see that she was wearing a butt plug. Not the one she'd given her a few weeks ago when she had to go onstage, but one she already had. This one was just a plug, with nothing special about it.
With a mischievous grin, Vinyl placed her hoof against Octavia's exposed slit and rubbed very gently, stimulating her marefriend to cause her muscles to relax. As she rubbed, she applied gentle pressure to the plug from inside with her magic, pushing it gently out.
Once free, she slipped the new one in, intending to have some fun with it later before leaving her to her sleep. In the interim, she needed a shower.
Vinyl was awoken from her nap by Octavia shaking her shoulder. After her shower, she'd sat down on the couch with her headphones on, listening to a new album while looking for samples, or at least some inspiration.
"Wake up, sleepyhead," called Octavia. "I need you to help clean up some of this mess. Most of it's yours, anyway."
"Whazzat?"
Octavia sighed. "You forgot my parents were coming today, didn't you?"
Vinyl hadn't forgotten. Not remotely. It hadn't occurred to her when she had woken up, but now that she was half-awake, she remembered. "How could I forget? You've been fretting about it for three days."
"Then why didn't you clean up?"
"I did. Three days ago."
"And then you made another mess!" Octavia picked up an empty bag of chips and tossed it at Vinyl.
"Hey, I threw these away," Vinyl shot back, crumpling up the bag and tossing it into the trash can, which it bounced out of due to overflowing, coming to rest and uncrumpling right where Octavia had picked it up from.
"You could have cleaned it up last night! I mean, what did you even do after I went to bed?"
Vinyl reached into her jacket pocket and tossed a large bag of bits onto the coffee table. "Went to work. Came home. Took a shower. Accidentally fell asleep."
Octavia picked up the bag and, feeling its heft, shoved it back in Vinyl's hooves. "Put that away! Seriously, don't bring that up around my parents!"
"Is it really so bad if they know?" shrugged Vinyl. "Come on, Tavi, they're your parents. They should love you no matter what!"
"Could you not rub it in?" huffed Octavia.
Vinyl put her hooves up. "Hey, I think you're great. Just because your parents are missing out is no reason to lash out at me."
Octavia sighed and sat down. "I'm sorry, I just..."
Vinyl stood up and walked over to Octavia, placing a hoof on her shoulders. "Tell ya what. I'm gonna go to the store and pick up a couple cans of beans, and dinner's on me tonight. When they taste my bean burgers, they'll know that their little girl is being taken care of."
"Please don't refer to me as their "little girl" in front of them. Daddy hates that."
Rounding the corner, Vinyl spotted something she wasn't expecting. Somepony was digging through her trash. Hoisting her bag of groceries over her shoulder like a cudgel, she approached. "Shoo! Away with you, thieving racoon!"
The stallion sneered up at her. "Away with you , madame. We were invited."
Vinyl looked between her house and the neighbor's place, and spotted a mare looking in her window. "It's very badly designed," she said, coming forward. "No understanding of feng shui."
"You both need to leave, now," growled Vinyl.
"Is there a problem here?" asked a guard, approaching the trio.
"Yes," nodded the stallion. "This upstart has accosted us, unprovoked. We are the honoured guests of the owner of this domicile, and we demand that this troublemaker be removed."
As the guard placed his hoof on Vinyl's shoulder, the neighbor, an elderly stallion, walked out of his house, hobbling up to the group forming on his lawn. "That's them, officer!" he said. "They're the prowlers! They've been peeping in my neighbor's house and rummaging in their garbage!"
"Good afternoon, Mr. Portsworth," waved Vinyl.
The guard looked back and forth between the various ponies until Vinyl pulled out her ID and showed it to him. "I see..." He let go of Vinyl's shoulder and waved her forward. "You can go home."
As Vinyl approached the house, she tried to keep from chuckling. She'd just pieced together what was going on, and after dropping her groceries on the kitchen counter, she went to go find Octavia in the bathroom. "Hey, your parents are being arrested out front."
"They're WHAT?!"
Octavia burst out of the shower, barely wrapping herself in a towel before rushing to the door. As she did, she left a series of wet hoofprints on the carpet.
With a soft chuckle to pry it from her system, Vinyl shut off the tap and closed the curtain. She then, on her way out, made sure to lock all of the hallway doors. She had a strong feeling that Octavia's parents were prone to snooping around, as they'd already looked in through the windows and sifted through their trash.
"You really shouldn't be eating those things," came the voice of the mare as Vinyl was on her way back to the living room. "They'll make you fat, you know, and nopony will like you when you're fat."
"Yes, mother..."
With a sudden spark of panic, Vinyl rushed to the kitchen and locked all of the cabinets, as well. With that sort of statement, and Octavia's acceptance of it, her coconut oatmeal cookies stuffed with marshmallow creme were in danger of being removed from the house. How could she function without snacks?
Once those were taken care of, she came out to the living room and flopped down in her armchair, flashing a peace sign and a big grin at Octavia's dad. "'Sup?"
Octavia shrank down in her seat. This was going to be a long day for her.
Chapter the Fifth: Hell is Other Ponies
"Couldn't you have picked a more reasonable couch?" sneered Octavia's mother. "This one is ghastly."
"I picked the couch," argued Vinyl. "What's wrong with my couch?"
"You have no taste," spat her father. "A good couch ties the room together. This colour; so garish, it contrasts with everything else in here. Plus, it's close to the kitchen, so it's impossible to relax. I can see the stove from here. You should never be able to see your stove from the couch."
Vinyl shook her head. "That's ridiculous. How are you going to know when your water's boiling if you can't see the stove?"
"That's not your problem," said her mother. "Let your cook handle that."
Vinyl was about to laugh, but a stern look from Octavia told her to drop it. She knew Octavia came from money and class, and that she hadn't had to figure things out for most of her life, but having her own cook? Vinyl was the breadwinner in this household, and even she couldn't afford a live-in cook. Not even close.
"How long did you say you'd be staying?"
Octavia's father scowled. "You're very rude, you know that?"
"The worst," smiled Vinyl. "Sorry to hear that you couldn't stay, but that train back home isn't gonna catch itself."
"It isn't "going to" catch itself," corrected Octavia's mother. "And we are not scheduled to leave until after nightfall."
"H-how about a tour, hm?" suggested Octavia. "I'll show my parents around the house while you talk to the "cook" about dinner."
Vinyl could see the panic on Octavia's face, begging her to help break up this conversation. She put on a smile and leaned forward. "I'll do just that."
As she moved to the kitchen and Octavia moved down the hall, she could still hear her parents complaining about the place. But rather than hearing it though the hallway, she could hear it in her headphones around her neck. She figured she must have left her microphone on when she was cleaning up. That would mean she'd need to charge it later, to keep the batteries at capacity, but for now, it gave her an ear on the situation.
"Honestly, I don't understand why you don't just kick her out," said Octavia's mother. "She's obviously on drugs."
"She's not on drugs, mother..."
"Your mother's right. Who wears sunglasses inside the house, where there's no sun? Drug users, that's who."
"Those are corrective lenses. They're mirrored so that she doesn't have to change glasses when she goes outside."
But nopony can see her eyes. Do you even know what colour they are?"
"Her eyes are red, mother."
"You see?" snorted her father. "Red eyes are an obvious sign of drug use. That's probably why your house smells awful, too."
"Have you been using as well?" accused her mother. "You can tell us if you are."
"Mother, I'm not on any drugs."
"Of course you're not, sweetheart. We'll wait out here while you pee in this cup."
That line caught Vinyl off-guard, and she had to brace herself hard to keep from bursting out laughing. She was glad Tavi'd come to her defense, despite the fact that she was taking a prescription proton pump inhibitor, but she didn't like hearing how uncomfortable Octavia was right now.
"Why don't these doors open?" asked Octavia's father. "Did she break the handles?"
"She probably locked them," answered Octavia. "She doesn't like it when ponies she doesn't know go about touching her stuff." She then mumbled something that Vinyl couldn't make out, but she could guess.
"I'm surprised," scoffed her mother. "I looked in through the window, and there's nothing in there worth stealing. Unless she has it hidden in a box under her bed, or something."
"Mother..."
"What? Drug addicts always keep something under their bed in case they need a fix at night."
"She works at night."
"So she's a dealer." concluded her dad.
There was a thump, then what sounded like Octavia whispering. "I should have just let the guard arrest you..."
Vinyl was sure Octavia had pressed her head against Vinyl's door in frustration, as she couldn't quite make out what her parents said next, but was easily able to hear even the slightest whine from her marefriend. Perhaps it was time to torture Octavia in a different way. Not in a way that would give her dread, like her parents did, but in a way that she'd probably forgive by the end of the day, and if not, by the end of the week, for sure.
After something her mother said that was muffled by Octavia being pressed against the door, Octavia responded, "I have, mother. I was in Canterlot last month, on tour. I stopped in at Treble's place and talked to him about Hearth's Warming plans. In fact, I went all the way to Manehattan for work two weeks ago, and I stopped at the house, but you weren't in. The butler said you were Cape Carnival. I had to work, so I couldn't wait three days for you to come ba--"
Octavia suddenly slammed against the door, stifling a moan. With her body pressed to the wood, Vinyl could hear the soft hum of the butt plug and the light whimpers of Tavi's moaning.
"I'm not ignoring you, mother," Octavia breathed, trying to hold herself together in front of her parents. "Why do you think I accepted your invitation to come down here and tell me how shabby and unkempt my house is? Why would I let you come here and insult me if I didn't care for you, even a little bit?"
"Now that's uncalled for," growled her father. "Your mother has been nothing but nice to you this whole time."
"The very first thing she said to me was that my topiaries were bland and tasteless."
"Well, they are , dear."
"Those are trees, mother! Normal, healthy, tree-shaped trees!"
"And infested," interjected her father.
"A squirrel and two birds do not an infestation make. And I'll have you know, those birds were invited. We feed them."
"You shouldn't feed them," replied her mother. "That's only going to encourage them to come back."
"We intend for them to come back," sighed Octavia.
As if in agreement, Vinyl sent two pulses. "Hear, hear," they meant. As they arrived, Octavia knew that Vinyl was listening to every word they said. She didn't know how, but that didn't matter right now. She just knew that somepony was watching her back, and playing with her backside.
Chapter the Sixth: Emboldened
After dinner, which Octavia's parents wouldn't eat, everypony returned to the living room. The difference in seating now had Vinyl taking the couch seat that looked into the kitchen, and Octavia sitting in front of her, as if standing on guard. Throughout it all, Vinyl had left the vibration running, pulsing it every so often to make sure Octavia didn't forget that it was there.
"Such a shame you didn't have any real food," sighed Octavia's mother. "When we went to see Treble, he treated us to ratatouille and took us to a show."
"We even had crème brûlée," chimed her father. "Far more edible than your... What did you call it?"
"Cheesecake," smirked Vinyl.
"Cheese cake," nodded Octavia's mom. "If there are two things that don't belong together, they are cheese and cake."
"Like I said, you don't have to eat it," snorted Vinyl. "And hey, you didn't eat it, which just proves my point."
Her father shook his head. "I can't believe you've convinced my daughter to eat that garbage. No wonder she looks like she's put on a few pounds; she probably has. How much do you weigh now, Octavia?"
"Father!!"
"Now, now, don't be upset, Octavia. He's just worried about your health. It's obvious that you're not eating well if you're that pudgy."
"You know," chuckled Vinyl, "In some parts of the world, being pudgy is considered very attractive. It's a sign that she's so very well fed that she has obvious money to burn."
Octavia scowled.
"And in these parts of the world, nopony would want her, because she's so very obviously not fat. Personally, I like her this way, as she's more huggable and less boney."
Octavia didn't know whether to smile at being told she was right where Vinyl wanted her to be, or insulted that there were ponies that would think her unattractive because she went for a jog three days a week. In the end, she decided to feel insulted by the words coming out of her mother's mouth.
"Your opinion that our daughter is attractive doesn't matter," she said, folding her hooves. "None of your opinions matter, because it's clear that you have bad taste."
It was like a knife through Octavia's chest. Vinyl had been the one who had reached out to Octavia first, asking her out twice, and then, after finding out that Octavia was couch surfing, had invited her to just move in. To say that Vinyl had bad taste was to say that Octavia wasn't worth pursuing, and while she had been annoyed that Vinyl kept pestering her with the vibrating butt plug all night, there was always the understanding that she wanted her to stay.
"This conversation is over," scowled Octavia, standing up. "Mother, father, it is time to go home."
"I couldn't agree more," said her father. "Pack your bags, Octavia, you're moving back home to regain your culture."
"I'm staying," said Octavia. "You two are leaving. It was a mistake bringing you here."
"Watch your tongue, Octavia!" shouted her father, standing up. "You will not disrespect your parents this way!"
"You watch your tongue!" shouted Vinyl, standing up in front of him. "You will not disrespect my marefriend this way! I have put up with your bad attitude ever since you stepped into my home, because Tavi asked me to be nice! I'll not sit idly by anymore. Your daughter is a beautiful, talented young mare, and the fact that you can't see that means you have no appreciation for her. If you will not respect my little girl, then I will. Leave my house!"
Octavia's heart was pounding in her chest as she looked up at Vinyl. Her father was very affluent and influential. If he were to bar Vinyl from performing, they could both be out on the street. Octavia certainly didn't have the income to afford this place. "Vinyl, I--"
"How dare you!" scowled her father. "Don't you dare call her that!"
Vinyl puffed out her chest. "She has bid you to leave. I have bid you to leave. On your way, sir!"
Octavia's father glanced down at her, and then back to Vinyl. "Enjoy poverty," he smirked. Gathering his coat and his wife, he walked out, and Vinyl took a deep breath.
"I can't believe you did that," Octavia huffed. "Daddy's going to take everything you have."
"Don't worry," breathed Vinyl. "I'll make sure you have somewhere nice to sleep."
"Yeah, but what about you?"
Vinyl smirked. "Let's not worry about me. I have lots of things that he doesn't even want." She winked, but Octavia was unable to see it through the sunglasses. "Like you."
"He's going to try to take that away, too."
Vinyl leaned over Octavia, kissing her forehead. "He already tried. And you said no." She sat down next to her. "You can still change your mind, if you like. If you really want to try to salvage your relationship with your parents, you can go after them. I'll even help you pack up."
After a few moments, Octavia climbed up on top of Vinyl and kissed her deeply on the mouth. "Let them go. If they wish to sever all ties with me, then it shall be so. Daddy shall have what he wants, and if that means I'm not wanted, he'll not have me."
Vinyl kissed back, rubbing her hooves all over Octavia's body. As she squeezed her flank, she turned up the vibrator with her horn, causing Octavia to cling tighter to her. "I meant what I said, too."
"About what?"
"I like the way you look. You're just plain beautiful, what with your silken mane and your amethyst eyes, and that adorable bowtie..."
"And my curves?"
Vinyl chuckled. "I like you better well-fed and in shape than looking desiccated. I think you're sexy."
"Save it for the bedroom," smirked Octavia.
"Why wait?" smiled Vinyl, holding up the key. "I have a way in right now."
"Five minutes," answered Octavia, rolling off the couch. "And put away dinner before you come up."
As she walked away, Vinyl continued to pulse the toy semi-regularly, before turning to the kitchen to put away all of the uneaten food. While she was concerned about Octavia's dad's threat, she had a plan to protect her household, or at least, to protect Octavia. While she wasn't wealthy or descended from some important family, she did have some amount of influence here in Ponyville, and that may be all that she needed.
With dinner put away, she went upstairs and opened the door to find Octavia laying out on the bed, beckoning to her. How in Equestria could Vinyl say no to that?
Chapter the Seventh: Having a Good Time
Octavia moaned as Vinyl kissed her neck, pressing their bodies together and rubbing firmly.
It had been almost three months since Octavia's father had tried to take Vinyl down, but Vinyl's support system was fantastic. Since she was one of the most well-known entertainers in Ponyville, it wasn't even a week before she had to meet with Pinkie Pie for business, and Pinkie was good at finding frowns and turning them upside down.
As Pinkie was close friends with Twilight, who had known Vinyl and Octavia for several years, it wasn't long before the princess herself was involved in the affair, and that very quickly resulted in the entire case being dropped. After all, even Octavia's dad couldn't oppose the Princess of Friendship.
The lesson was pretty clear to Vinyl: Be nice to the purple unicorn that just showed up and nopony knows. When she transforms into an alicorn and becomes a princess, she'll return your generosity by saving your home, your marefriend, and your business license.
"Deeper!"
Vinyl couldn't ignore a request like that. Gripping tightly the toy she had shoved up there, she pushed a bit further, increasing the increment on the dial, as well. The way Octavia gripped her shoulders right then and there, she knew it wouldn't be long. Moments later, she felt the hot spray against her knee, and she knew that her marefriend was satisfied.
As she moved down between her legs to clean up the mess she'd caused, Vinyl looked up at the heaving chest in front of her. "Dinner's in the fridge, by the way," she said. "I picked up a gig this afternoon, scheduled for tonight, so I have to leave right after this."
"Another party?"
"A birthday party," answered Vinyl. "The birthday pony is turning thirty-eight, and it's just the office crowd, from what I hear. They originally didn't want any entertainment, because one of them is apparently a guitarist, but he caught the feather flu yesterday. You wanna come?"
"Thanks, but Ivory Chorus wants to learn a new piece tonight."
"Doesn't he play piano?"
"Yeah, but I know the piece better than he does. That'll last until ten, so..."
"That's fine. The party lasts until one, so I'll start the cleanup then and be home by two."
Octavia pulled her hooves up to her chin and took a few deep breaths. Not only was she trying to calm down from her climax, she was considering showing up to the party with Vinyl's invitation.
Slurping up the last of the fluids, Vinyl leaned forward and gave Octavia a big, sloppy kiss before wiping her mouth. "Alright, Tavi, I have to go hop in the shower. See ya tomorrow morning."
Octavia rolled over and grabbed some wet wipes from her nightstand to clean herself up the rest of the way, as well as the toy, which she turned off. She was very glad to not be separated from Vinyl, even if there were a lot of things about her that she didn't like. But why bother complaining about how she took care of her mane, her diet that consisted of six meals per day, at least one of which was pure junk food, or the way she pronounced the word "almond?" She was a good pony at her core, and all the little nitpicky things didn't matter, as long as she was genuinely happy.
Her mind made up, she grabbed her cello case and her sheet music, and set off.
"I don't know why you're having such problems with this piece," sighed Octavia. "Passacaglia is not a difficult piece. Your left hoof only moves once per measure, and your right moves down a single key eight times. Repeat that three times, and then spin off."
As if to prove how easy it was, she found the notes and played the section with just one hoof. Then she played it again, but with her left hoof playing the bass section.
"I'm not even a pianist," she scowled. "You are!"
"I know," Ivory sighed. "I just... I'm losing my rhythm."
"It's a solid tempo," huffed Octavia. "Four/four at one hundred and thirty and after two measures at rest, it's eighth notes only, down, then up, down, up, down, up, down, up, then down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, and that last up leads into the next measure, which is the same thing, exactly one note lower. It's not even the most complex variation on this piece!"
Ivory's eyes went wide with realisation. "Wait, what?"
"I started you off with the easy one. The fugue is one of the most compelling parts. I figured we would start there. It's the very core of the piece."
"That's probably why it keeps looking wrong to me, which might be why I keep messing up." He took a deep breath. "You know this piece really well, if you can play it on an instrument you don't even practice with."
"I do know it well. It's one of my favourites."
"Why?"
Octavia shifted in her seat. "It speaks to me." She grabbed her bow and started playing softly. "Measures three through eight are all about trying to stay aloft while being pulled down, lowering yourself to meet the standards set for you, and then nine and ten are thrice struck down, and accepting that this is the way it is. The next six measures then rise, as they try to lift the spirits of the one who was broken, and they cannot accept it, still falling even as they try to rise, and then the next two measures only confirm that this is the way the world is. To me, the piece speaks of acceptance; that things are the way they are, and I see the faces of those who shot me down, and the faces of those who wanted me to be more than what I was. Every time, I see a disappointment looking back at them. Somepony who's still dreaming of being an inspiration despite being told she's not very good, or someone who can't relax because she needs to prove that she matters; a notion that seems to only grow further and further in distance. Will she really love me if I'm nothing more than a failure?"
"Who are you talking about?"
Octavia blinked a few times, not realizing what she'd said. She'd lost herself in the beauty of the piece again, and had played it through twice as she had been contemplating how she felt about it. She hadn't meant to divulge nearly as much as she had, but nothing she had said was wholly untrue. It was just strange to have heard herself put it into words.
"I'm just talking. Let's take it from the top. Remember, I'm doing the first two measures alone, then you come in for the melody."
Chapter the Ninth: Trembling with Joy
Octavia found herself unable to move, locked in place for fear of her legs giving out. She still needed to talk to Vinyl, both to tell her how she felt and to tell her where the music had gone. But neither could she shout to her, nor walk over with her legs in this state.
The cello track was from one of Vinyl's shows, a recording generously provided by Thunder and Lightning while they were on tour. As she'd been under the influence of the plug that night, her playing was very intense, and that made the vibrations for the plug right now that much more powerful and intense.
As the tune went silent for a moment, she took a few steps forward. She didn't make it very far, though, as she was halted by her own pizzicato. Followed swiftly by her own bowing, she was almost brought down to her knees by her own performance.
"Is she going to be okay?" asked one of the partygoers.
"Yeah, she's fine," nodded Vinyl, just glancing at Octavia. "She has a very strong emotional attachment to this particular piece."
"Why does she like this song so much?"
"Piece," corrected Vinyl. "You sing a song. You play a piece. As for why, I'm not entirely sure, as I didn't ask, but I know for a fact that she loves this piece, and it's been growing on me for the last two months. You can ask her yourself, she's right there, and it's rude to talk about her when she's in the room."
As Vinyl went further away to inspect the cables running from her table to the speakers on the wall, the mare that had asked about her approached. It was a slow section of the piece, so Octavia was at least able to put on a brave face.
"So, you know the DJ?"
Octavia nodded. "Her n-name's Vinyl."
"Vinyl. Good name." She nodded as she took a step closer, wrapping her hoof around Octavia's trembling and sweaty shoulders. "Listen," she whispered. "Is she seein' anypony right now? She's kinda hot, and I wouldn't mind sliding into bed with that, if you know what I mean..."
"She is v-v-very at-t-ttractive," muttered Octavia, trying to squeeze her loins closed. "I c-can even conf-f-firm that she's... g-good in bed."
"Awesome. Thanks for your input." Slapping Octavia's back, she walked over to Vinyl. "Hey, I like your stuff."
"Thanks," smiled Vinyl. "I like your work, too. My house is so much more comfortable now that we have an air conditioner. I have no idea how it works, it's just a magic box that makes my house more comfortable. Rock on, HVAC Repair Services!"
"Yeah. So hey, you wanna pop on back to my place after this?"
"Nah, I'm gonna head home and go to bed with my marefriend. But thanks for the offer."
"Oh, come on, she'll never find out. I'm good at keeping my mouth shut."
Vinyl bounced her head from side to side. "I feel like she'd find out pretty quickly, actually. If I left with you, she'd know before I even came home. Besides, I'm not that type of mare. No judgement to you, I'm just not going to cheat on my lover. And I mean that; I'm not just saying it because she's looking right at us and can hear every word I say."
Octavia knew she was telling the truth. Once, a few months back, Vinyl had come to her in tears because she'd been drinking at a party, and had gone home with two other mares and woken up between them. Octavia had forgiven her, of course, but she knew that Vinyl cared a lot about her own integrity. It wasn't about being caught, it was because she felt bad about doing something she knew was wrong. She was bigger than that.
As the manager was now becoming involved in trying to figure out what went wrong with the sound system, she approached Vinyl. "It occurs to me that, while the rest of the speakers are old ones, connected with cables, the new subwoofer didn't have a wire running to it. It came out of the box with a fibreoptic cable and a bluetooth connection, rather than the metal connector we used to use. Could somepony have stepped on the fibreoptic cable?"
"Let me look," answered Vinyl, checking the input. "Nothing." She checked the output, as well. "Nothing here, either. Meaning either something broke in the system, or it wasn't being used at all."
The manager came over and checked the computer. "It says that there is a subwoofer bluetooth connection, but I don't think this is ours. I think it's a secondary device with the same ID number."
Vinyl took a good look at the name of the device, and her face turned bright red as she looked up at Octavia, shivering and trying to maintain her composure, and it all clicked into place in her head. Immediately, she turned it down all the way, letting Octavia rest. The finale had taken everything out of her.
She whispered something to the manager, then pulled a chair up onto the stage. "Fillies and gentlecolts, we've found out what went wrong with the sound system, and we'll have it fixed in just a moment."
She rushed up to Octavia, and, using her magic to propel her hooves, whispered into her ear, "Sorry. That must have been agonizing."
"Y-you..." Octavia gasped. "I need to..."
"You need to sit down before anypony realises what's going on," finished Vinyl. As they moved behind the stage where nopony could see them, Vinyl reached back and turned off the plug before helping Octavia into her seat.
"Connected," called out the subwoofer, earning a round of applause around the room as Vinyl returned to the stage.
"Now that we've fixed that little problem, how about I bring it right on back home?"
Applause and cheering answered back.
"Here's a little ditty I wrote while listening to my dishwasher!"
The connection and volume now restored, Vinyl started her track, a piece even Octavia had come to find interesting, and started leading the crowd to bounce around once again. She needed to both create an entertaining environment for her clients, and to give Octavia a moment to rest. She'd had quite the explosive reaction, judging by how soaked the chair was.
Chapter the Tenth: Afterparty
Vinyl chuckled as she helped Octavia stay upright as the two walked home. Aside from being overwhelmed by the plug, which was still in Octavia's butt, but turned off, Octavia wasn't used to being up this late. It was easy to understand why she would be a bit unstable on her hooves. "Did ya have fun?"
Octavia smiled and nodded. "It was very nice, actually."
"You looked like you were full to bursting with excitement when I put on Passacaglia. Tears running down your cheeks and everything."
Octavia jammed her elbow into Vinyl's ribs. "That wasn't fun, you know..."
"Oh, I bet it was. If you took out the fact that everypony was watching you and you were unable to move, it'd be awesome. We can do the whole thing again in the comfort and privacy of our home, and see if it truly is as bad an idea as you think it is now."
"We'll see," sighed Octavia, shaking her head with a small smile. "I think we'll have to try other pieces, though..."
"So, what changed your mind?"
Octavia shrugged. "I know more intensive pieces that will probably work better."
"No, no, I mean, what brought you to the party?"
"Well, like I said, I wanted to talk to you."
After several seconds of silence, Vinyl asked, "About what?"
"I just..." Octavia still hadn't come up with how she wanted to say this. She'd wasted all of her time being enamored with Vinyl's work, instead of thinking of what she was going to say to her. "Why don't you start?"
Vinyl shrugged. "Okay. I guess the reason I called you here was because I wanted to talk to you about the way you leave the toilet paper dispenser."
"What?" Octavia's jaw dropped. "I always replace the roll when I finish!"
"Yes, but you keep setting it to roll under. It should be set to roll over."
"You can't be serious..."
Vinyl shook her head. "You scoff, but having the tail of the toilet paper pressed against the wall like that is bad for the paint job, long-term."
"We have tile, not paint!"
"Still, ceramic tiles can be scratched, and the less often we have to replace those, the happier our home."
"It's one bit for five tiles."
"Plus spackle, when we could instead by a tomato and a half for the same price. Don't you like tomatoes?"
"I do."
"Then turn the toilet paper the right way."
Octavia sighed. "Is that really why you called me out here?"
"No, I legit wanted you to come out and have fun. It doesn't take even ten seconds to flip the toilet paper the right way; it's not a big deal. Seriously, though, what'd you want to talk about, Tavi?"
Octavia swallowed hard. "Before I say this, I want you to know that I love you, and I don't want these words to hurt you. I'm not saying this to make you mad or to start a fight, but I... I can't leave these words unsaid."
"I promise," swore Vinyl. "I won't take any of it personally, and I'll do my best to make it right."
"Well, I mean... don't do your best best, I mean... some of the things that would make me feel better about it are very mean things to do to somepony. So be reasonable, or I'm just going to have a worse problem."
Vinyl shrugged. "I can't do anything until you tell me, so spill it."
Octavia took a deep breath and stopped leaning on Vinyl, turning to look her right in the mirrored lenses. "You have been very good to me ever since we met. The very first time I saw you, you said I was the hottest mare at the party."
"And I meant it."
"And after meeting you a few times a week for a month, you found out I was moving from house to house, living off the generosity of Ponyville."
"Actually, I knew before you told me. Pinch told me you had fallen asleep in tears when I went to help install the microphone in his new office."
Octavia cleared her throat again. "Be that as it may, you invited me to stay at your place because of the low rent. And then I found out that the rent wasn't nearly as low as you told me when I tried to pay both our halves of the rent and found out I hadn't even paid half of it."
"Eighty percent, twenty percent, it all added up in the end."
"Yes, but... If something should happen to you, I would not only be separated from somepony near and dear to my heart, but I'd be unable to recover enough to even maintain our home." Tears began to run down her cheeks. "Vinyl, I need you, in more ways than one. I can't live without you. The reason I wanted to talk to you is that, because I've become so dependent on you, I don't know what I'd do if we were ever separated, either by my dad, by some argument about toilet paper, or even by the ravages of some weird disease."
She began to sob as she sat down on the curb. "It hurts me to see how little I contribute to our future. It's agonizing to know that, without you, I can't support myself. To know that if anything bad happened to you, that my whole life would be upended. Lastly, it's harrowing knowing that I owe you so much for taking me in, for keeping me fed and bathed, and for buying me all these nice things, with the added knowledge that I can't ever pay you back."
Vinyl lowered her head and thought for a moment before sitting down next to Octavia. She placed her hoof on Octavia's shoulder and gradually pulled her into a hug. She didn't know what to say. Most ponies would be happy to have somepony taking care of their needs. An easy solution would be to increase Octavia's rent so that they were equals, but all that would do is make Octavia indebted to her even worse. She had to come up with a solution.
"Come on," she sighed, picking Octavia up and leading her back home. "Let's put you to bed."
Chapter the Eleventh: Vinyl's Greatest Gift
"Pinks! How's my favourite party planner?"
Pinkie looked up from her breakfast of cake frosting-filled bismarks and licked her face clean. "Vinyl! Good to see you again! How was last night's gig?"
"Yeah, great, whatever," she brushed off. "Hey, listen, I need a favour. Or more like a lot of favours, but let's start with just the one."
"Hey, I can't keep bailing you out," waved Pinkie. "I'll do what I can, but my clout only reaches so far."
Vinyl shook her head and sat down across from Pinkie. "No, no, nothing like that. Look, I'll even pay for the chair we broke, I'm cool with that. This is something else."
"Oh. Okay. Whatcha have for me?"
Vinyl took off her glasses and looked Pinkie right in the eye. "I need you to find some gigs for Octavia."
"That's it?" Pinkie scoffed. "I thought this would be tricky. Come back at the end of the day, I'll have found her something."
"I don't think you understand," answered Vinyl, leaning forward. "I don't just want a gig for her. She told me last night that she doesn't have the capacity for decent earnings, and it's really starting to bother her. She needs something steadier. So I need you to try to find a market for a fantastic cellist."
Pinkie took a deep breath. "That is a toughie... Consider it done, though." She covered her left eye with her hoof. She was now bound to her word.
Vinyl smiled and put her glasses back on. "Good. Trust me, this is going to make her very happy."
"You know I love happy ponies," smirked Pinkie. "You popped the question yet?"
Vinyl shook her head. "I was going to this weekend, but after hearing how unhappy she was, I figured I should try to fix that right away."
"Good call. Nopony wants to be burdened with thoughts of low self-worth when being proposed to. Kind of flies in the face of the goal. It's hard to feel special when you feel like you have no value."
Vinyl nodded. "Anyway, party went fine, except a hiccup with the hardware, but it only went down for like, ten minutes at most."
Pinkie fell silent for a moment. "So, tell me how you ruined their chair..."
Vinyl flopped onto the bed and slipped her hooves into the restraints Octavia had purchased for her. Steadier work and a steadier paycheck had lifted a lot of Octavia's anxiety, and she felt she could finally start giving back to the household. It had meant a bit of a pay decrease for Vinyl, as Pinkie was having them double up at some events, meaning they would split the payout, but a higher entertainment budget meant that, between the two of them, the amount coming in was higher than before.
In addition to their rent ratio coming closer to equality, now at sixty/forty, their love life had also balanced out a bit. Vinyl had taken to receiving more often, and she certainly felt a touch of what Octavia had been talking about. Even though she liked having her own world rocked by Octavia, it always felt better to know she was the one spreading the joy, making her marefriend shriek in delight.
The restraints were nice and loose. They were less about making sure the recipient stayed still, and more about not falling off the bed. They were something to grip and hold tight to. "Ready."
"Not yet, you're not," smiled Octavia, taking off Vinyl's glasses and setting them on the bedside table. She brought over a blindfold and wrapped it around Vinyl's head. "I want you to really hear this. I want you to really listen to what's happening."
Vinyl felt the smooth surface of the plug slipping up her butt, locking in place as it slid in. "You expect me to be able to concentrate with that thing up there?"
"I expect you to feel the love in every note," answered Octavia. She tapped the microphone with her hoof. "Is it working?"
Vinyl squirmed in her restraints. "Yep. Felt every bit of it."
"You lie," snorted Octavia. "It's still turned off."
With the click of a switch, the microphone was powered up, and a small buzzing was felt by Vinyl as the plug connected wirelessly to the sound system. "What was the name of this piece again?"
"Antponio Vivaldi's "Winter,"" answered Octavia, bringing her cello into position in front of her.
It started with a soft pulsing, the plug vibrating with every rhythmic note Octavia played. This was something Vinyl could put up with for quite a while with no issue.
Then came the vibrato. It wasn't just a basic vibrato, either, it was quick, and it struck on every note. Winter was a fitting name, as it sent chills up Vinyl's spine, and her legs began to tighten against the restraints as they twitched.
Then the slides. As the notes went from higher to lower, the vibrations a soft buzz to a strong rumble, over and over with each iteration. And just like that, it was back to the vibrato, very softly.
Vinyl could feel it now. She'd been playing for just over a minute, and the waves of intensity had crashed over her.
But that wasn't the end. She could feel it building up, dividing down into half beats as everything grew louder and louder.
Then came a high section, buzzing and vibrating as if teasing her. Immediately, the next several beats bounced from high to low, as if pounding into her arse like a hammer. Then it would tease her again before pounding again, a step down and far harder. Then it would tease and pound a third time.
Just as Vinyl was able to brace herself for the teasing of the high section, it changed its pace and tone, flying up above where she had ever expected it to go. She was right on the edge and unable to finish. She stayed there for several measures until, out of nowhere, Octavia suddenly became more intense.
That was it. Within two minutes of starting, Octavia had shattered Vinyl's walls. "I give, I give!" shouted Vinyl. "I'm sorry I called Classical symphonies calming and relaxing!"
Octavia chuckled. "And don't you forget it."
Chapter the Eighth: Joining the Party
Octavia hoisted her cello up onto her back and started back home. Ivory had managed to learn the fugues and the bass section that went with it. While it had been hard for him to grasp the idea of the section, once he could wrap his mind around the piece, it was a simple matter of practising until he had it down. It turned out that having an emotion to tie to it was more helpful than the sheet music itself.
She was still in shock at her own admissions. She did love Vinyl; of that, she was sure. She knew that Vinyl loved her in turn, but she hadn't been aware of her own anxiety. Now that she'd declared it, she had to tell her. She had to be the one who told Vinyl how she was feeling, as it would only hurt more coming from somepony else.
On the walk home, she thought about what she would say. How does one even start a conversation like that? Being blunt and honest wouldn't work. "Vinyl, I wanted to tell you that I feel weak whenever you're around," certainly wasn't a good opening. "I hate that I feel inferior to you despite my best efforts to maintain a positive force on my life," was equally bad. She didn't know how to address her thoughts without sounding like she was insulting the one who had offered her a hoof to climb out of the hole she'd dug herself into.
She rounded the corner and spotted Vinyl through a window. She had been invited to attend earlier in the night, despite not being on the guest list. Vinyl was facing away from her, and likely couldn't see her out there on the sidewalk. She looked like she was entertaining a smaller crowd than was at the theatre. Still, the payout was likely to be grander, as the three dozen ponies that were in attendance looked to be enjoying themselves more than Octavia's audience. Octavia had no hopes of making her audience stand up and dance. It just wasn't going to happen.
It had to be there. It had to be tonight. Even if it wasn't convenient, she had the example right in front of her as to what she considered to be her biggest failure. But the dancing looked wild, so she couldn't bring her cello with her. She had to stop at home, first.
She hurried on her way at a brisk trot. She still didn't know what to say, but at the very least, she could buy some time by telling her that they needed to talk after the show, and then sit down at a table and listen to the music, clapping at the end of each performance.
As she moved her cello from its case to its stand, she spotted the butt plug on the nightstand. She had worn it when her parents were around, and it had given her the resolve to stand up to them. Before that, it had been used to tell her when she needed to push forward just a little bit harder to really wow the audience. For all intents and purposes, it was a good luck charm, or at the very least, she felt more confident while wearing it. Perhaps that was enough.
She quickly popped it into place and took a few breaths, both to adjust to the feeling and to calm her nerves. Tonight was a big night, and this time, Vinyl wasn't going to have her back, because she was going to be face-to-face with her.
Shaking the anxiety from her head, she left the house, returning to the coffee shop where Vinyl was entertaining. The door was a fair distance from the window, and as she tried to walk in, one of the hostesses that worked there held her back. "Sorry, but we're closed for a private function."
"I was invited to stop in if I had the time," answered Octavia.
"Oh, okay," smiled the hostess. "What was your name?"
"Octavia Philharmonica."
"The hostess looked down the list. "Sorry, but you're not listed. Do you have your employee ID badge?"
"I'm not part of the company. I'm here with the Disk Jockey. I'm here for her."
The hostess sighed uncomfortably. "Can you wait here, please? I have to talk to some ponies."
Octavia watched as the hostess moved through the crowd of celebrating ponies until she found a mare with a tiara. They spoke back and forth for a moment, then looked at Octavia, still standing by the door. They spoke a moment longer, then the hostess nodded and walked up to Vinyl.
Vinyl, upon hearing from the hostess, scanned the crowd until she saw Octavia by the door. Due to the nature of the coloured, swirling lights, it was hard to tell who was who, but when she saw the bowtie, she smiled and waved Octavia over. Soon after, the hostess waved her over, as well, indicating that it was okay to come in.
This was it. With a sheepish smile, she had to walk up to Vinyl and tell her why she was unhappy, and why she was telling herself that she had no right to feel that way. Even if not to have the whole conversation, she had to at least open it up for discussion.
As she made it to the buffet table, though, several very odd things happened in rapid succession. First and foremost, the bass track on the subwoofers stopped suddenly. Following that, a calm voice played over them, uttering a single word. "Disconnected." It then produced a short, sharp tone as Vinyl started checking her equipment.
The guests were only just starting to look around in confusion when Octavia's butt plug suddenly blasted to life at full tilt, pulsing and grinding to the exact beat of Vinyl's music.
"Fillies and gentlecolts of Filthy Rich and Associates Office Park, we're experiencing minor technical issues at this time. If we could all take a moment to calm our mood and relax for a moment, please remember to stay hydrated and please enjoy your buffet while we diagnose the problem. In the meantime, here's something acoustic, to help set the mood for an intermission."
Octavia was shocked, not by Vinyl's quick thinking, but by her choice in intermission filler. With no bass, she opted for a remix based on the violin half of a duet of Passacaglia. There was still a cello accompanying the ensemble, but since the speakers that played it had been disconnected, every note went right up Octavia's butt.