Cure for Pain

I knocked on Octavia’s door, ready for whatever it was I needed to say about last night. I mean, the drummer getting completely blitzed and calling a guest an “asshole” in front of everyone was something that was pretty commonplace for rock concerts on Earth, but this was neither a rock concert nor Earth. I would definitely have some explaining to do.

Octavia opened the door, obviously tired. She had dark circles under her eyes, and she was holding an ice pack on her head. “Hey, Walker.” She said with a faint smile. “What happened last night?” I shook my head in confusion. “I don’t know. All I know is that as a result of last night, my head hurts and my reputation as a party animal has been instilled all throughout Ponyville.

“I assume you did some drinking as well?” I said, giving her a mischievous grin. She frowned. “Unfortunately, yes. I love gatherings such as the Gala, but sometimes they are unbearable without alcohol.” We went inside and sat on the couch, where Octavia gave me some coffee.

“So…” I said, not having anything else to talk about. “Where is everyone else?” Octavia sat down next to me. “We postponed practice until later. They’ll be here in about an hour.”

The hour passed pretty quickly as Octavia and I talked. When the guitarist (Who’s name I now knew as Melody) and the singer (who I now knew as Mojo) showed up, we went down to the basement and went through our usual lineup. What WASN’T normal, however, was Melody and Mojo stopping halfway through the set. Octavia and I very awkwardly stopped playing, and met the gaze of the guitarist and singer. “What is it?” I asked, annoyed at the abrupt stop.

“So…” Melody said. “Are you two together now?” Octavia and I looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean?” Octavia said, concerned. Melody looked at Mojo and laughed. “Oh dear Celestia, they don’t remember.” Mojo responded with a shrug. “I’m not surprised. They were pretty shitfaced.”

“Wait.” I said, looking at Melody with a look of sheer terror on my face. “When you say ‘together,’ do you mean… like…” Melody caught the drift. “Yeah, actually. You two don‘t remember?”

Octavia and I were expecting the worst. “What happened that we don’t remember?” Octavia said, not wanting to accept what she was thinking as fact.

Mojo laughed. “We found you two in the same train car. Together. Together.” He said, putting an emphasis on the last word.

My face was about to explode. “We… didn’t…” I said. Melody was on the floor now, laughing her flank off. Mojo simply smiled. “Yeah, you did.”

I set my drumsticks down on the snare, walked up the stairs to the house, and ran home. I didn’t want to see what Octavia’s reaction was. I didn’t even know what MINE was.

I got home, face as white as a ghost and a nauseating feeling in my stomach. Coleton was flipping through a music magazine, enjoying his day off of flight practice. Twilight looked up, surprised but smiling. “Oh hey, you’re home early. What happened?” Oh, I was going to lay into her. “Apparently a lot.” I said, trying to keep my temper under control. “Spike, could you do some chores in another room, please? I have to talk to Twilight alone.” Spike was confused, but he complied and went up to the bedrooms to clean.

Twilight flashed me a look. “What was that for?” She said, a hint of worry in her voice. I smiled. “When I fell off the stage at the Gala, did I get knocked out?”

Twilight put on an diaphanous poker face. “Of course. I told you that, didn’t I?” I gave her a frown. “Well, a little birdy told me otherwise. The birdy in question told me I did something before I went to sleep. Something concerning a certain bass player. Are you familiar with this?” Coleton looked up, suppressing laughter. “Well, I am!”

Twilight sighed. “I was just trying to let it die. I figured you two were pretty drunk, so I knew you two wouldn’t remember. Who told you?”

“Mojo.” I said, an expressionless look on my face. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me? Now I’ve got to go up to Octavia every day with the knowledge that she and I had-“ She put a hoof over my mouth. “Not so loud.” She gave me a smile. “Besides, one night stands are usually only mentioned once. It won’t be awkward between you two. It was a mistake.”

I broke out in a cold sweat. “Yeah… mistake…” Twilight looked at me. “Yeah. It WAS a mistake, right?” Before I could speak, Coleton stood up. “Dude, it’s obvious. I knew you would like Octavia from the time we got to Ponyville. Everyone else knows too. The only two people who DIDN’T know you and Octavia liked each other were you and Octavia.” He stood up and patted me on the back. “Well, maybe you two know now. You know, after last night.” He said, snickering. I slapped him. Hard.

“Just let it die.” Twilight suggested. “It may be awkward between you two for the time being, but after a little while, it’ll be a thing of the past.”

I shrugged in agreement. Before I could respond, however, Spike came barreling down the stairs with a scroll. When he got down to us, he handed the scroll to Twilight. “Winter Wrap-up Assignments.”

Huh. Winter Wrap-Up? What were Coleton and I qualified for? Twilight held up the scroll, reading the assignments off for the entirety of Ponyville. “Fluttershy wakes up the animals, as usual. Rarity helps with the nests, as usual… here you two are. Coleton… you will be accompanying Rainbow Dash leading the birds back up north. And Walker… this one’s a bit strange. It says you will be entertainment coordinator.

“Further details on the back.” She handed me the scroll. I looked at the back. “Decide what music to play. Use your CDs to play some good music over the radio. Decide what type of music would be more ideal and increase work and productivity. It would be a good motivator for the citizens.”

Twilight grabbed the scroll back. “Winter Wrap Up starts tomorrow. Go to the radio tower tomorrow and bring some music. You’ll be a host of sorts for the time being.” Huh. Never knew Ponyville had radio. The thought of a Ponyfied Mr. Blonde torturing some poor defenseless pony cop listening to "Stuck in the Middle with You" flashed through my mind, and I shuddered.

Coleton was ecstatic about his assignment. “I can’t believe it. Third week here and I’m already assigned one of the highest priority jobs there is.”

He came up to me, a serious look wiping over his face. “Listen dude…  go to Octavia and talk to her. It’s really the best option.”

I looked at him beggingly. “Don’t make me do it. Besides, Twilight said to just let it die.” Coleton looked around, making sure that Twilight was out of earshot. “Does Twilight seem … skilled… in the art of relationships? She’s smart and talented, but you can’t base romance on books, like she obviously does.”

I looked at Coleton in acceptance. There really was nothing else to do, was there? “Thanks, man.” I said. “If this backfires, though, I’m blaming you.” Coleton simply grinned. “You’re the one that shagged her in the first place.”

I wanted nothing more than to kill Coleton when he said that, but he was right. “Yeah…” I said, heading out the door.

I knocked on Octavia’s door, ready for whatever it was I needed to say about last night. With this new information, things would be awkward to talk about, but it needed to be done. Octavia opened the door, a look of fatigue on her face. “Hey…” she said with a smile. “What’s up?”

I simply shrugged. “Everything’s weird now, and I figured we needed to talk about it.” She stepped out of the doorway, letting me walk into her house. “I agree. But really what is there to talk about?”

“Well..” I said, face burning up. “Why exactly did it happen? I mean people who don’t like each other don’t just go and… do that type of thing, even when drunk. So why did it happen?” She sighed, and I figured out what she was going to say before she said it.

“I kinda liked you from the beginning. Ever since I saw you at the music store, and I acted… rather harshly… I wanted to say I was sorry for it. It was purely chance that you showed up to that bar that night, and the rest… well, our friendship developed. But I didn’t want it to be just a friendship.”

So many emotions were trying to force their way out of my mouth, yet I couldn’t find the will to speak. I eventually figured I would tell you the truth. “Same here. But it wasn’t for the way you looked. Hell, I don’t even know what defines a good-looking mare from a bad-looking one. But I love your personality. You’re nice, hospitable, and we seemed to connect at the bar. We both loved the same type of music, we had the same sense of humor, we just kinda-“

I was cut off by a kiss. It wasn’t passionate, it wasn’t “sexy,” and it sure as hell wasn’t arousing. But it was comforting, and I didn’t want it to end. When it did, both of us were at a loss of words. I finally mustered up some courage. “So... are we… together?” She simply chuckled. “I guess you could say that.”

“Yeah!” I heard from outside the house, followed by a “Shut up, you idiot!” I ran out of the house to see a brown pegasus flying away, with a pony I couldn’t identify hauling flank away from the house, laughing hysterically. The moonlight shone on both of them, and there were guitars on both flanks.

“COLETON! MELODY! YOU ASSHOLES!” I yelled before walking back into the house. I sat down next to Octavia, everything even more awkward from what just happened. “So, Winter Wrap-Up…” I started.