Chapter 5: Mulligan

The Instructor and Octavia said their goodbye's to one another and went on their separate ways home. The instructor, home to where his restless kids and loving wife awaited for him to return. Eager to hear all the details of tonight's performance.

An as for Octavia, she too went home. She was actually overjoyed at the mere idea of heading home to the mare she loved. Especially with the advice the Instructor had just given her. The fact that she now knew that Lyra had rather deep feelings for her sent Octavia's heart racing and filled her stomach with butterflies. Although you wouldn't be able to read her true feelings as she headed home in a smooth and even pace while her face retained a warm smile and nothing more.

But all those warm and fuzzy feeling changed once her walk was over and she was sitting right in front of their white apartment door. Joy, hope, excitement, love, all those things that had filled within Octavia were flushed out in an instant and replaced with fear, remorse, guilt, sorrow, and depression now that the moment was now at hoof.

Her grey coat turned a shade lighter as her forehead broke out in a cold sweat. Her legs began to quiver and her stomach became queasy. Her whole body was shot including her mind which had begun replaying the spat the two mares had had a little while ago. The way Lyra looked... The hate and pain she held within her eye's as she looked upon Octavia and said those words that broke Octavia's heart in two. The pain still very much fresh in Octavia's mind caused her to whimper as she replayed the evenings event.

Octavia took a gulp as she rebuilt her courage up again. She stood up, regained her posture and reached for the doorknob, only to stop a few inches from it. Her hoof remained motionless in the air as she started down the doorknob as her whole body grew cold again. With her courage faded once more she plopped herself down and resumed staring at the door.

"What if she's still mad at me? What if Lyra doesn't want to see me... What if the Instructor is wrong and she really doesn't love me!" Octavia thought to herself.

"Sweet Luna your an idiot! Octavia thought, lashing back at herself.. How can you be such a wuss?!"

"I'm not! I just don't want to screw this up again..."

"Well if you're not scared, then why are sitting out here like a frightened filly when the love of our life is inside, waiting for us."

"Because..."

"Because why? What reason could you possibly have to sit out here?"

"I just..."

"Just what? Scared? Grow up."

"No..."

"Then what? If you're not scared why are we still out here and not embracing her?"

"I'M TERRIFIED ALRIGHT! Scared doesn't began to express how I feel... This is our last chance, no more second chances, no more mulligans, this is the endgame... If we screw this up now, that's it. We loose her forever."

"All the more reason to go in. Obviously we're not going to get anywhere just sitting out here in the cold while she's in there."

"What am I going to say?"

"Well, let's try with sorry for starters."

"But what if we mess this up?"

"Come on, it's Lyra. We wont mess this up."

"But-"

"Stop second guessing yourself and just do it!"

"I CAN'T!"

"DO IT!"

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Octavia screamed aloud as she gripped her head with both hooves, her eye's clenched shut. Her inner argument with herself had finally sent her over the edge into a flustered fit.

"STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!" Octavia continued to scream aloud as she pounded her head repeatedly against the apartments door. She was an emotional mess, her innards were twisting all around inside as she continued to release the tension that had been building up inside of her the only way that seemed fit at the moment, screaming. Octavia raised her head from the door and began to thrust her head forward to make contact with it again when suddenly the door flung wide open, causing all of Octavia's force that was originally designated for the door to reroute its course to the wooden floor of the apartment. Instantly Octavia blacked out from the contact with the hard surface.

A Little While Later

"Tavi, you okay? Hello?" Octavia could hear a fuzzy alarmed voice ringing in her ears as she began to regain consciousness. "Come on Tavi wake up." The same voice could be heard, this time sounding more alarming than before.

A few seconds passed before she heard a clacking of two hooves. Octavia became more conscious as she heard the hooves another time. Her eye's still remained shut as Octavia let out a pained groan as one of hooves slightly shuffled on her chest.

"Oh thank Celestia." The voice said as it exhaled a nervous chuckle. There was a sniffle and a throat clearing before the voice was heard again. "Come on Tavi, wake up." The voice had become eased and relaxed.

Octavia could feel a hoof petting her hair and eventually her forehead. It was calming until the hoof rubbed over the fresh bump Octavia had received from her tumble a few moments again. Instantly Octavia sprung up, fully awake and head throbbing with pain. She hissed at the displeasure as she reached her hoof up to touch her head.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." The voice said, only this time it wasn't fuzzy. It was crystal clear in Octavia's ears that it was Lyra. Forgetting about her pain for a second she lowered her hoof as swung her head back around to see Lyra sitting there in front of her in her lavender colored robe.

"Lyra? Wait, what's going on? Why am I on the couch... I'm on the couch... I'm inside." Octavia said now realizing that she was indeed inside.

"Well yeah, I couldn't leave you there on the floor, blacked out and what not... Now lay down, you took a nasty fall." Lyra demanded as she put both her hooves on Octavia and forced her roommate down back onto the couch where a pillow laid awaiting Octavia's aching head.

"But But But." Octavia began to chant hysterically as she tried to lift herself up again.

"Shh, down." Lyra said as she pushed her back down and pulled the blanket that had draped down to her waist over her once more.

This time Octavia did as Lyra said and laid her head back down on the pillow, all the while watching Lyra with great focus. Lyra walked over to the open section of the couch above Octavia's head and took a seat down herself before starting up again.

"What in Equestria were do you doing out there?"

"Uhh, I don't honestly know..." Octavia said with pure innocence, she in fact had her full memory still. However Octavia thought that perhaps if she were to play dumb she would never have to live with her stupidity.

"Uh, your hopeless.." Lyra said as she exhaled a sigh at the end of her sentence. Lyra slouched her posture a bit as she began fiddling with her hooves. The two remained in silence as Octavia laid there staring at Lyra from her position while Lyra looked at her hooves on her lap until she spoke up. "So you feeling okay then?"

"Yeah... Besides a little bit of a sting from the bump I'm okay. How did I injure myself anyways?" Continuing her lie to Lyra.

"I don't know, you just came flying through the door and hit your head on the floor." Lyra said very sharp and bluntly as she once again exhaled a sigh at the end of her sentence. Lyra patted her hooves on her lap as she leaned forward of the couch to signify the she was done talking. "Well, if your feeling okay then I'll be going to bed now." Lyra started walking past Octavia towards her room.

"Wait Lyra!" Octavia said as she jerked herself up to a sitting position to talk to Lyra, completely ignoring the sting from her forehead. Lyra stopped and stood there, stiller than stone. Octavia's heart began to pump erratically as she looked to Lyra. Her whole coat was becoming drenched from a cold sweat.

"What." Lyra asked as she turned her head back towards Octavia, keeping her eyes glued to the ground, just like before when Octavia confessed her love to her.

The two stood there for an eternity, and Octavia could feel the weight of each second passing by piling up on top of her; and with each moment that passed she could feel her chance slipping more and more. Octavia took a sharp inhale and opened her mouth as to speak but no words made their way out. Her mind and body had become two separate entities. While her mind was swimming with ideas, sentences and actions that could get Lyra to be hers, her body however was a vessel deprived of any and all actions. After a little while more Lyra shook her head and blew her hair from her eyes before turning her head back around to head down to her room.

"Do something idiot! Your blowing it!"

"I'M AN IDIOT!" Octavia involuntarily shouted aloud to Lyra. Lyra immediately stopped in her place.

"What?" Lyra turned her head again but this time made eye contact with Octavia instead of with the ground.

"Not exactly what I had planned... But role with it anyways.

"I am a stupid, thoughtless, selfish idiot." Lyra now had fully turned her body to face Octavia and had a surprised, confused look on her. "For what I did on your bed, for what I did to you; forcing myself upon you... Missing the performance, and then hurting you the way I did. I can't take any of that back, as much as I wish I could, I can't." Lyra took a step towards Octavia as she continued talking. "I could simply say an apology but that wouldn't be justice to what I truly want to say to you." Octavia's eyes began to tear up some as she grew more emotional on her apology. Lyra noticed Octavia's eyes watering up causing her blush some herself.

"What are you getting at Tavi?"

Octavia hesitated for a moment before responding. "I-I don't know exactly."

"You don't know?" Lyra's expression of confusion increased dramatically as she began squinting her eyes trying to comprehend what her roommate was trying to say to her.

"No, wait I do.. It's just, GAHHH!" Octavia flailed her hooves up and pounded them back onto her lap. "I know what I want to say, I just don't know how to say it."

"Just say it." Lyra took another step towards Octavia.

"Okay." Octavia took a large breathe to ease her nerves before starting up again. " I'm not sorry.."

"Excuse me?" Lyra's expression instantly changed from confusion to anger.

"I'm not sorry for the things I've done these past few days." Octavia stated as she slowly got up from the couch, wobbling a bit as she put all four of her hooves onto the floor.

"But you just said you were before." Lyra said.

"I know I had said sorry before. And although I do feel guilty and slightly ashamed, I am not sorry anymore." Octavia exclaimed in a scared tone as she could see Lyra's expression continue to change. "I admit I know what I did was wrong and I shouldn't have done it. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted you to be with me while I was in your room. I wanted to kiss you while you were in mine, and I wanted you to know I love you." Lyra looked away to the ground avoiding her eye contact with Octavia again.

"You don't love me..." Lyra muttered under her breath.

"That's not true Lyra, and you know that! If it weren't true then why would I be telling you this right now?"

"If that were true then why'd you sleep with some hussy!" Lyra snapped back at Tavi showing Octavia her tears.

"Because I was devastated!" Octavia planted a hoof firmly on the floor adding extra emphasis on her words. "I was just thrown out of my house by not only my best friend but the mare I love on top of that!"

"So what?! You go out and flaunt your flank around town until you got somepony to have sex with you?!"

"No! Yes! I mean, that's not how it happened! I was heartbroken, with nowhere to go. I even contemplated sleeping in the park for Luna sake! That was until I saw a bar open..."

"Oh that figures, you got drunk off your ass again!"

"I didn't plan to drink at first, honest!" Octavia protested as she grew closer to Lyra.

"Save your breath Octavia, we're done here. I'm going to be-" Lyra's sentence was cut short as Octavia's hoof made contact with her face.

"No! You are not going to walk away from this!" Octavia demanded as Lyra turned her head back to face Octavia. Her expression was that of pure shock as her mouth hung agape. She raised her hoof to the spot that Octavia had hit and did nothing more. "I didn't know what I was doing that night... I had been thinking about how things were left unresolved between us, and it frustrated me to no end. So much so I bursted out and ended up hitting some mare in the snout... Vinyl." Lyra continued to stand there motionless as Octavia continued her explanation of the events that transpired that evening. "She obviously could sense something was up with me, and lent me her ear so that I could vent my feelings. We began to drink some as the time passed by. With what was originally one drink turned into five then ten.. Before I knew it I was indeed flaunting my flank at her."

Octavia took a second to catch her breath. She then plopped herself down on the ground and hung her head down low as it could go before hitting the ground.

"And we had relations... In the bathroom of the bar. And I think her house, maybe." Octavia mumbled, she was so ashamed of herself. Not only for her actions with Vinyl but the fact that she lied before about them having relations, although Vinyl's call earlier pretty much cleared that up for Lyra earlier.

Octavia clenched her eye's shut, embracing to be chewed out from Lyra but the exact opposite happened. Rather than a hurt and scornful voice coming from Lyra a gentle, weak voice muttered from her breath; simply asking "why?"

"Why what?" Octavia lifted her head back up and un-clenched her eyes to look upon Lyra again.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Lyra asked as she put her hoof down from her cheek.

"Because the first time I told you this I tried lying to you. I know it was stupid but I figured with how emotional you were that the truth may not be the best thing at that exact moment. But now I know that's not how it should have gone down, I should have been straight up honest with you. Because I know you love me as much as I love you, and you would have forgiven me no matter what. You do love me, don't you?" Octavia asked with a voice as fragile as glass.

"I don't know Octavia. You hurt me... So much." Lyra looked down to the floor once more.

"You know I never meant to hurt you, I never want to hurt you." Lyra gave no response to the grey mare as the two stood there in silence. With each passing second Octavia could feel her already delicate heart begin to crack again from receiving no response from Lyra. After a minute or two had passed Octavia felt she had gotten her answer. "I never meant to hurt you Lyra... Just know that." With that Octavia walked away from Lyra and curled back onto the couch facing away from her as she began to let the tears that she had been building up out onto the couch.

Lyra could feel her heart sink in her chest as she stood there watching Octavia bawl her eyes out onto the couch. She raised her hoof onto her cheek once more to feel the spot that was no longer stinging from Octavia's slap. Lyra rubbed her cheek some as she turned her head to face the phone where she could see the new message from Vinyl still being shown on the answering machine.Taking all things into consideration Lyra decided to take action. Putting her hoof back onto the ground Lyra puffed out a quick exhale as she slowly made her way over to Octavia who was oblivious to Lyra's presence.

"Do you really love me?" Lyra said as she stood above Octavia. Octavia's ears perked up instantly as she ceased her crying. Octavia then raised herself up and turned around to face the mint mare.

"With all my heart." Octavia gulped at how corny her sentence sounded. She couldn't believe that her mind couldn't come up with something better but it would have to do.

Lyra didn't say a word to her. The two just looked into each other's eyes until Lyra put one hoof onto Octavia's shoulder and her other one behind Tavi's head. Lyra then jerked Tavi's head towards hers and embraced her in what would be their first true kiss. Octavia's eye's instantly went wide as her pupils became the size of pebbles. Pure shock, and joy coursed throughout her entire being as she let Lyra's tongue invade her mouth.

Closing her eye's, Octavia wrapped her hooves around her friend, her mare. Lolling her head back, Octavia began to pull Lyra's entire body back with her onto the couch. Never once breaking the kiss Lyra had gotten on top of her while Octavia rested her head on a nearby pillow as she toiled with Lyra's hair. With a heavy heart Lyra broke their kiss and rolled to the inner side of the couch to lay side by side with her Tavi.

"Lyra I-" Octavia tried to blurt something out in response but was stopped by Lyra's hoof. Not resisting Octavia remained silent as Lyra moved down and snuggled into Octavia's neck.

"I do love you Octavia.I've loved you since we were fillies,playing our small instruments and thinking big dreams. The entire time I wanted to be closer to you, like we are now. But I couldn't. How could I? Since I didn't know if you felt the same way about me, and when you finally kissed me I-I paniced. I honestly had no idea how to respond to your feelings because I couldn't understand how to respond to my own. And when I finally did have a response for you, it seemed like it had come to little too late with this whole Vinyl scenario. It was as if my whole world had been shattered around me in an instant. And even though I'm still hurt, I m willing to give us a shot." Lyra said as she clenched Octavia closer to her chest. She could hear Tavi's heart beat erratically causing Lyra to giggle at how nervous she is.

"So do you forgive me then?" Octavia asked.

"Yes, I'll forgive you... Just make sure it doesn't happen again. Got that buster!?" Lyra said with a playful grin and tone as she nudged Tavi in the shoulder with her hoof. Setting her head back down, Lyra closed her eye's, and began resting her head on Tavi's chest.

"Thank you." Octavia let out a sigh of relief as she heard that she was forgiven.

The two laid there embracing each other, never wanting the moment to end. Especially for Octavia. The advice the Instructor had given her had worked, Lyra truly did love her and she was relishing every moment the two were now sharing. It was as if the gods themselves had made this perfect moment in time, where all seemed right with the world and nothing could go wrong. This was it, this was all that mattered, no job, no mortgage, just tonight.

"Can we just stay out here tonight?" Lyra asked as she yawned a bit at the end of her sentence.

"Of course we can."

Although in the back of Octavia's mind her problems still remained ever present. She would have to ensure that Vinyl never bothered the two of them again to allow their relationship to be. But that problem would have to wait for another day. Tonight is about her, and her marefriend; Lyra.

Author's Note

Okay so wow, like what? three, four months since my last update? MAN I'M AWFUL! But! I do have a good reason for that. I kind of got burned out on MLP on all honesty. With work and all my other real life responsibilities I just didn't have time for anything MLP and when I finally did... Well it didn't have any appeal to me. So I pretty much stopped logging onto anything related to this fanbase or any episodes in general.

That was until I saw "Double Rainboom" a fan made episode of MLP. And I got re-inspired to make fics. So I do plan to finish this fic up and start work on other idea's that I have been getting in my head lately.

So in short, I stopped everything MLP for a while and now I'm back with a vengeance! So I hope you enjoy this chapter, I really enjoyed typing it and I hope to see all of your responses to it.

Also the next chapter will come with a URL to my new fic that I'm currently working on. Guess who it's starring? Yup Vinyl, Lyra, and Octavia! GOD I'M ORIGINAL :P I want to show you guys the story first hand before I upload so I can get some much needed feedback until I get back into the groove of things.