Chapters Do You Remember Our Special Place?
Vinyl Scratch stood silently, letting the cold night air blow over her coat and tug at her mane. She shivered, drawing her fore hooves to her body, rubbing up and down over her coat in an attempt to work some warmth back into her. For the first time in a very long time, she was nervous.
Give her the club atmosphere, any day. Bring on the senseless requests, the drunks who tried to crash her booth, the horny stallions that tried to coax her home, and the managers who tried to cheat her out of her portion of the door. None of that ever got to her.
This, however, was new territory. It frightened her, filled her with a sense of foreboding and dread. Vinyl, however, was out of options. She could have laughed. So many connections in the music world, and yet when she had lost everything, no pony had anything to offer.
Vinyl brushed her hooves across her body, slapping at it, poofs of ash rising from her coat and drifting off in the wind. She reached down to her side, picking up the white saddlebag that held, at the moment, all of her earthly belongings that hadn't been reduced to cinders, and started up the steps.
Something pulled at her, holding her back. Vinyl stopped.
“Fuck.” She said.
Even stalled as she was, she had made it two whole steps further than ever before. She had tried a few times over the past few years, hoping to make things right. Vinyl sighed, and pushed onward through her own discomfort.
Finally, she reached the top, the Manehatten Townhouse looming over her head.
“Ring the bell.” Vinyl said, extending a hoof, hovering over the little button next to the door.
“Just ring the bell.” Her hoof trembled a bit in response. “Ring the fucking bell!”
DING-DONG
DING-DONG
DING-DONG
DING-
Vinyl yanked her hoof off the button, and the doorbell went silent.
The hallway light came on, and slowly, a figure approached through the tinted glass, growing larger. Vinyl resisted the urge to run and hide. Instead, she perched her sunglasses on her head, held in place by her horn. The door opened, and Vinyl threw on what she hoped was a confidant smile.
Behind the door was a light gray mare who practically radiated elegance. Her silky, charcoal-gray mane was let down behind her head. It was a sight that Vinyl hadn't seen in a long time, perfect down to the bow-tie collar.
“Yes, can I...”
Octavia froze in place, staring stunned at the mare on her doorstep. Her heart beat so fast that she had a sudden worry of it leaping up her throat. Her mind ran through emotion after emotion, from happiness to anger, before settling solidly on confusion.
“Heya Tavi!” Said Vinyl, forcing a playful happiness into her voice.
“Vinyl...Scratch?” Octavia spoke, stunned. Her eyes gave Vinyl a once over. She looked just like she remembered her. The dark magenta eyes, the white coat, the omnipresent sunglasses. Her heart gave a sudden, painful twitch.
“You...You smell like a camp fire.” She said finally, for a lack of anything better to say.
“Yes! Exactly!” Said Vinyl, clapping her hooves together. “Only...with less camping.”
“A...A fire?” Octavia asked, her confusion giving way to a hint of concern.
Vinyl gave a slow exhale, kicking the ground with her hoof. “I...I don't have anypony else to ask. My place went up in flames.” She looked back at Octavia's face, never quite meeting her eyes. “Can I crash on your couch?”
Octavia followed behind Vinyl as they made their way into the living room. Vinyl looked around, giving a whistle. “Doin' well for yourself. Very, very nice.”
The furniture was obviously high quality, and the hardwood floor's dark stain bordered a carpet with delightful patterns. A fire burned cheerfully in the fireplace, to which Vinyl gave the most hesitant of twitches. It was...clean. Uncluttered. Perfectly organized. It was everything she remembered about Octavia.
Vinyl gave her bag a twirl and tossed it into a chair, before flopping down on the couch, on her back, one hind leg up on the back of the couch in a very undignified position.
“Tavi, Thanks a bun-”
“Don't you sweet talk me, Vinyl Scratch.” Octavia spoke, picking up the bag and setting it on the floor, taking a seat in the chair, facing her. “How many ponies did you ask for a place to stay before you asked me?”
“Um. All of them, pretty much.” Vinyl admitted, her voice confidant, yet her gaze betrayed her, looking down at the floor.
The silence seemed to echo, punctuated only with the occasional crackle of a log from the fire.
“I know we didn't part on the best of terms...”
“No.” Said Octavia coldly. “We didn't.”
Vinyl didn't know what to say to that. “I just...I need somewhere...please.”
“Vinyl, regardless of our history, I will not be throwing you out in the cold.” Octavia regarded her with calm eyes, while Vinyl's heart gave a hopeful leap. “But. Do not try my patience.”
Vinyl's hopes fell once more as silence took over. Vinyl couldn't think of anything to say. Dignified as always, Octavia's eyes were closed, facing the fireplace with a calm expression. Vinyl closed her eyes as well, leaning her head down against the armrest, basking in the warmth of a thankfully contained fire.
She could smell the distantly familiar scent of Octavia on the couch, which brought a slew of memories to her mind. Familiarity gave way to calm as exhaustion slowly overtook her, leading her down into the pleasant embrace of sleep, and into the dreams of happier days.
“Mesmerized, you got me dreamin' of your eyes so bluuuue!”
Vinyl couldn't hear herself singing, not through the music blaring through her headphones, but she couldn't help herself. Her eyes were closed as her head bobbed to the beat, but she didn't need to see to work her turntable, a combination of unicorn magic and familiarity helped her find every slider and knob when she needed it.
“Hypnotized, I have no feelin' but to run to youuuuu.”
Vinyl could sense that she wasn't alone. She opened her eyes, looking at Octavia, her roommate. She could see her lips moving, and her posture suggested that she was shouting, but the headphones blocked it all out. Vinyl threw her a cocky smile, and worked her turntable, looking right into her eyes.
“Mesmerized, Can't stop this dreamin...or my thoughts of you!”
Octavia blushed, and threw herself forward, pushing the headphones off of her ears.
“What?” She asked, laughter in her voice, hooves reaching up to straighten out her mane.
“Is this supposed to be some kind of....of joke?” Octavia asked, her gray coat showing just a hint of red on her cheeks, planting her forehooves on the other side of the table.
“Nope!” Vinyl said cheerfully. “Besides, your eyes are purple, not blue.”
“That would mean so much more if your singing voice didn't sound like a griffin's roar.”
Vinyl pouted. “Aww, Octy, that hurts my feelings.”
“Did you not suggest to me yesterday that you don't have feelings?” Octavia said, unable to keep a smile off of her face.
“I always have “feelin'” when you're involved, Tavi.” She teased, ducking down and sliding under the table, climbing out and dragging her flank across Octavia's leg, swishing her tail as she turned around.
“So, what didja want?” Vinyl asked.
“Well...It's just...” Octavia blushed more, looking at Vinyl with a smile on her face. “The weatherpony is saying that we have a rainstorm coming our way...”
Vinyl jumped up, punching a hoof in the air. “Yes! What time? What time?”
“After six. Does this mean...” Octavia broke off as Vinyl wrapped her forelegs around her head, pulling her in for a delicate kiss across her muzzle.
“You. Me. Our spot. Tonight.” Vinyl said, with a smile. “You know damn well what it means.”
“It's a date, then.” Octavia smiled, nuzzling against her. “Go back to your....music. I'll meet you at six.”
Octavia pulled away with a smile, watching her over her shoulder as she walked out the door. Vinyl watched her go, flipping her sunglasses up, to focus on the grace with which she moved, the delightful curves, the way her tail slid over her flank.
She couldn't help it. A rainstorm, with her and her very special somepony. She gave a spin of happiness. By Celestia, nothing could make her happier.
Vinyl turned away from the door, only to be met with a roaring wall of flame. She screamed, wanting to reach through the fire to save her turntable, her necklace, her picture! But she couldn't. The plastic of the turntables was already molten and bubbling. Nothing else stood a chance. The flames were creeping up the walls, the charred wood was creaking, beginning to snap. Her magic would never be able to stand against this.
She grabbed her saddlebag, unsure of what she packed last, but I'd have to do. She galloped through the door, coughing through the ashes as flames burst through doors and shattered windows...
Vinyl sat up with a start, her breathing heavy, looking around wildly. It took her a few minutes before she realized that she was panting. She took a deep breath and leaned back against the couch.
Octavia's. She was at Octavia's. It was dark. Octavia was nowhere to be seen. The only light left was the fireplace, burning low and drawing out the shadows of the room, making Vinyl's coat nearly orange in it's glow. She turned away from it. She couldn't bear looking at the fire. It brought up so many memories of what she had lost.
Vinyl calmed down, slowly but surely, her breathing returning to normal, and then slowing as she walked forward into sleep once more. As her mind wandered the edges of the dream lands, she couldn't help but smile as a sudden realization hit her.
Somepony had tucked a blanket around her form.
Author's Note
In case anyone is wondering, the song that Vinyl is listening and singing along to is Mesmerized (The Missing Mix) - Darwin Ft. Fraz.
Do You Remember Our Special Place?
Octavia had always considered herself to be an early riser, unlike Vinyl. She knew from experience that the pony would stay in bed until well beyond noon. The sight of Vinyl sprawled out over her sofa, snoring loudly, the blanket in tangles around her form, was something that Octavia had simply grown accustomed to, once upon a time.
She still couldn't believe that the pony had simply trotted back into her life. Octavia had always assumed that every bridge had been burned, that both of them had, in turn, salted the earth and left, never to look back. Now, here she was. Again.
Octavia paused at the couch to look her over, trying to ignore her feelings. That part of her life was over, done with. Vinyl however, looked the same. She could almost predict what would happen. When she woke up, she would drag herself to a sitting position, run her hooves through her mane in a futile replacement for brushing, and ask for coffee. Well, she hadn't kept coffee in the house since...well, since she left. Let Vinyl be disappointed. She should be glad that she didn't simply close the door.
Yet, when she was sleeping, Vinyl always looked so...lonely. And there it was, that urge to fix the blanket, take her sunglasses off of her face, and snuggle up to her. Gently, slowly, she lifted the glasses up, which had fallen askew while she slept. She set them on the table. She should have done this last night, but the blanket had been enough.
Hadn't she cared for her enough back when they were...
Octavia shook her head as she moved to the kitchen. Those thoughts were corrosive, and would lead nowhere productive. They were over. Done with.
She filled her kettle with water, putting it on the stove and turning the heat on. She picked up an apple from the bowl on the kitchen table. She smiled at it. Sweet Apple Acres had the best apples in all of Equestria, and even though the prices for them in Manehatten was ridiculous, the taste was worth it.
Octavia set the apple down, uneaten, looking towards the living room.
“Vinyl.” She spoke softly, in a wistful sigh. “You came back. With nopony else to turn to, true, but...you came back.”
Now, Octavia simply needed to decide on, was if she had been correct in allowing her back. Was she still in love with Vinyl Scratch? She had been, once upon a time. The time they had shared as roommates (and something more, she realized with a hint of a blush) was intense, with emotions running high. Even now, the sight of her on her sofa brought back memories. It made her heart jump, but it also made her remember the screaming and the insults. The fight.
The fight that had broken them both, driven them apart for what should have been forever. Octavia had waited for her, but Vinyl never came back. So she had moved on.
Octavia should have turned her away. Slammed the door in her face, let her sleep on a park bench for all she cared.
A part of her still did care, however. Vinyl had mentioned a fire, and something told her that the saddlebag may have been all she had left. There certainly didn’t seem to be room for her turntables in there. Certainly some feelings must have remained in her.
Vinyl had said hurtful things. Broke something near and dear to her. Octavia realized however, that she was far from innocent herself.
“Celestia, it must have been...three years now? Four?” Octavia contemplated her apple. “How long since we saw each other? What were we even fighting about?”
Octavia put her apple back in the bowl, her appetite gone.
“And whose fault was it?”
Vinyl woke up just after two, sitting upright with a groan. Dreams lingered on the edge of her mind, but they were slipping away with each blink of her eyes. They hadn’t been bad, she could remember that much. She gave a yawn, stretching her forehooves up to her mane, giving it a few strokes to brush it back into position. She didn’t bother looking for a mirror. It’d look good enough.
Vinyl blinked sleep out of her eyes, looking around. She could see Octavia through the kitchen door, who had turned to look at her with an expressionless face.
“Coffee?” she muttered out as she reached for her sunglasses, tossing them over her eyes.
She could have sworn there was a hint of a smile on Octavia’s face, but then it was replaced by the cold, calm expression she had seen last night.
“I have tea.”
“No coffee?”
“No coffee.”
“Did I die in the fire, and is this hell?”
A teacup and saucer thumped down on the coffee table. “Vinyl, what did I tell you about trying my patience?”
Vinyl was silent for a moment. She picked up the teacup, ignoring the saucer.
“Sorry.” She took a sip of the tea while she contemplated what to say next. “Thank you.”
“It’s black tea.” Octavia said, as she went back into the kitchen. “It should have enough caffeine in it to get you moving in the afternoon.”
Vinyl gave a nod, and in one scalding motion, drained the rest of the tea.
Octavia shook her head. “You’ll never change, will you?”
Vinyl gave a shrug to that. She simply stared ahead at the fireplace, which had since burned down to embers. Just like her apartment, she thought with a pang. It, and everything she had owned. Except what was in her saddlebag. It wasn’t much. Two records, a scarf, an extra pair of glasses. A small bag of bits. Nothing important. No necklace, and no picture.
Octavia’s voice shook her out of her thoughts.
“Huh?” she said, turning to look at her.
“I said, what are you going to do now?” Octavia watched her over her teacup. Vinyl wasn’t sure if she had imagined the concern in her voice or not. Maybe it was just wishful thinking.
Vinyl turned back towards the fire. “I dunno. All my music...my turntables...”
She fell silent. It was gone.
Octavia watched her in silence, watching as the mare slowly came to terms with losing everything. It was hard to keep the feeling of anger in her mind, watching her like this. Like Octavia, Vinyl’s special talent was music. It may not have been music that she agreed with, but it was what she liked. It was her livelihood.
The display did not move her to comfort her, however. Too much had been said, and still remained between them, hovering unseen.
Yet it still tugged at her.
Octavia had nothing to offer. She had contacts in the music world of course, but considering the gap in their styles, it was nothing that her contacts would be willing to embrace. Octavia busied herself with the kettle, setting another cup of tea on the table.
Vinyl picked it up, but didn’t drink it.
“I still have...some prospects.” Vinyl spoke finally. “I’ll ask around. Call in some favors. We’ll see. I’ll try to be as quick as I can.”
Vinyl set the still full cup of tea down, and slid off of the couch. She rummaged through her saddlebag, throwing her scarf around her neck; blocks of color in varying shades of blue, matching her mane.
“Vinyl?” Octavia spoke, as the white mare trotted towards the door. Vinyl turned around.
“I have a recital tonight. I’ll...leave the spare key under the flowerpot for you.”
Vinyl looked like she wanted to say something, hesitating at the door. Then she nodded, gave a slight smile of thanks as she opened the door, and was gone.
Seven hours later, Vinyl’s hooves were killing her.
She had trotted all over town, not bothering with public transportation. Until she got out of this mess, that little bag of bits was going to have to last a while. Celestia forbid she ask Octavia for money. Even asking her for somewhere to sleep had been a stretch. It was amazing that she hadn’t simply left her out on her flank.
Her prospects were evaporating left and right. Without her records and her turntables, she couldn’t put on any show. Even one new turntable would cost more than she could afford. A few clubs had offered to provide equipment, but they didn’t exactly have any music to spare.
Most of the radio stations in town weren’t hiring. One of stations she had spoken to thought that there may have been an opening for a technician job, and Vinyl certainly knew her way around a sound system, but it wasn’t anything solid.
She had stopped by her apartment. The rubble was still smoking.
Her trot had slowed to a depressed walk. Just one job, and she’d be able to work herself up again. New equipment, new records, and then she’d be back to doing what she loved. Until then, though...
Vinyl gave a shout of anger. She had run herself ragged all over town, and had nothing to show for it. Now, it was the walk of shame, back to Octavia’s townhouse. The lights were off, and the door was locked.
“Right! Flower pot!”
Just as promised, there was a silver key hidden underneath the flower pot. A part of her had wondered, during her travels around town, if it was going to be there when she had got back. She pictured Octavia debating whether or not to put it there.
Vinyl closed and locked the door behind her, flipping on the lights. Octavia wouldn’t be back for another hour or so. Vinyl could feel the emptiness in the house.
“This how you felt, Tavi?” She asked aloud. “When I walked out, and left you all alone?”
Vinyl had been angry. She had shouted. Octavia had shouted back. They yelled. Insulted each other. Broke things, things that they knew would hurt each other. Then Vinyl had left, stormed out, leaving Octavia in an empty apartment.
Vinyl should have come back right after. However, anger had given way to shame, and shame to embarrassment. The more she had thought about it, the more she had been convinced that Octavia would never forgive her.
So she tried to move on. But she couldn’t. She had kept the picture. And the necklace. She never wore it. She couldn’t bring herself to do so. But it was the only tangible link she had had to Octavia. A link to a time when she was happy.
Vinyl couldn’t help herself. She felt a tear roll down her cheek, sliding along the curve of her muzzle. She trotted over to her saddlebag, pulled the sack of bits out, and dashed out of the townhouse at a full gallop. She couldn’t handle this alone. She needed something.
Octavia smiled as she stepped down from the carriage. It had been a delightful night. Her recital had gone perfectly, as usual, and she had handled it with poise and grace, and had even managed to keep thoughts of Vinyl from clouding her mind. Then dinner and drinks with Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis! She had flagged herself after her third glass of wine. A lady needed to keep a clear head.
Carefully, she carried her cello case up the steps. She tried the door, finding it unlocked. It seemed that Vinyl had remembered where she had placed the spare key. A nice soothing cup of tea, and then bed. She leaned her cello into the corner, stepping into the living room.
“Hey Tavi. How’d it go?”
The words sounded slurred, but Octavia couldn’t find where they were coming from. Then she noticed it; a white hoof poking out from under an armchair. She moved the chair aside to find Vinyl, slumped in the corner. She looked up at her, eyes unfocused, her sunglasses laying forgotten next to her.
Tear tracks ran down her cheeks and muzzle, her eyes were bloodshot from a combination of drinking and crying. Vinyl raised a bottle to her mouth, throwing it back and gulping down the last third of the bottle, letting it clatter to the floor as she lowered it.
It joined another empty bottle.
“Lost it. Lost it all, Tavi. I lost it.” She muttered, making no move to get up.
“It’s....It’s okay, Vinyl.” Octavia had seen Vinyl drunk before. When you worked as a DJ, drinking was an unwritten part of the job description. It had never been like this, though. Wild and loud, yes. Sobbing, no.
“Not. Not. Not okay. S’not.”
Vinyl staggered as she climbed up, but her hooves couldn’t seem to find any placement under her. Octavia stepped back as she stumbled, one hoof against the stone of the fireplace. She started forward again, but slid sideways. Octavia reached out, letting Vinyl lean against her.
“Easy, Vinyl.” What could she say? The mare was beyond drunk in her home. She should have been furious. Looking at her, though...It was pitiful. It must have been the wine. More than two glasses always did this to her; made her relaxed, and mellow. “You’ll get it all back again. A new apartment, new records.”
Vinyl pushed away from her, falling onto her side on the carpet. “Who cares! About the place. I don’t.”
“Lost it all. Lost what mattered. Lost the picture. Lost the necklace. All of you I ever had left. I lost it. And it’s gone. Gone, gone...” Vinyl choked out, before her voice was lost in sobs.
Octavia sat down next to her, reaching out to touch Vinyl’s side, trying to reassure her. The picture and the necklace. An entire apartment burned to the ground, and that was what she was concerned about. The anniversary present.
“Remember, Tavi? Remember the necklace?”
Octavia closed her eyes. She hadn’t thought about that in a long time.
“Yes. I do.” She couldn’t help but smile at the thought. It was a pleasant memory, one that brought back both happiness and pain. “I...I had gotten it for you. For us. I wanted to get us something special for our first year anniversary.”
Octavia knew the necklace well. It was simple, an extremely basic accessory by all standards. A plain, silver medallion on a matching chain. One side of the medallion had been engraved with a treble clef, the other, a bridged pair of eighth notes. Their cutie marks.
“Loved that necklace. Loved you. Never stopped.”
Octavia looked down at her. Her eyes were closed, but tears still streamed from the closed lids.
“I ruined it. Ruined us. I’m sorry. So sorry.”
Octavia closed her eyes, fighting back her own tears. “You left, Vinyl. You broke my cello, and you left me waiting. And you never came home. I waited. I wanted you back. And you never came back.”
“What was it?” Vinyl asked. “What’d we fight about?”
Octavia let out a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. “I was hoping you remembered.”
They could both remember the fight. They had shouted at each other. Vinyl’s unicorn magic had snapped the neck clean off of her cello. Octavia, as an earth pony, didn’t have the luxury of magic. She had, however, used her powerful legs to shatter an entire box of her records in just one buck, and had turned her attention to Vinyl’s turntable while Vinyl broke her bow in half.
However, neither of them could remember which one of them had broken something first.
“You broke my cello...and then you left. That’s what hurt, Vinyl. That’s what hurt more.” Octavia said, letting her tears flow freely. “It was just an instrument.”
Octavia trailed her hoof across Vinyl’s mane, gently stroking it. She wasn’t sobbing anymore, but she was still crying.
“Do you remember our special place?” Octavia asked.
“The hilltop. The park.” Vinyl said softly. “Always looked forward to the rain.”
“Every time it rained, we’d go there.”
“And all the other ponies would go home...” Vinyl sniffed, opening her eyes and looking up at her. “And we’d sit.”
Octavia looked down at her, meeting her eyes, the lovely magenta eyes. “And we’d sit. We’d watch the rain over the city, while we got soaked. We’d stay out there until we were freezing.”
Vinyl gave a laugh. “We...We were the only ponies in town...who looked forward to a rainstorm!”
“And we were always alone, just you and I...”
“And when we couldn’t take it anymore...”
“We galloped home.” Octavia said with a smile. “We would dry off, and get warm.”
“Together.” Vinyl said.
Octavia smiled at the memories.
“I...I never went back there.” Vinyl said quietly. “I...I couldn’t. Couldn’t handle it. Didn’t deserve it.”
“Vinyl. I went back.” Octavia said, leaning down to pull her up and into her arms. “I still went. Every rainstorm, for months afterward. Hoping I’d see you there.”
Vinyl’s hooves wrapped around her neck, pulling herself closer to Octavia, nuzzling into her neck and letting out a sob. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Octavia stood up now, easing Vinyl towards the couch. “Come, Vinyl. You need sleep. I think...We’ve had enough reminiscing for one night.”
Vinyl groaned, but didn’t protest. It wasn’t the first time Octavia had carried a drunken Vinyl. Was that what they had fought about? Octavia wished she could remember. It seemed so...so idiotic, looking back on it. Whatever they had fought about had been so tiny that they couldn’t remember it?
Vinyl let out a grunt as Octavia moved her onto the couch. Vinyl’s body sprawled out across the cushions. As Octavia moved to get up, Vinyl’s hoof grabbed her own.
“Stay with me tonight?” Vinyl asked, looking up at her, with those beautiful eyes. “Please?”
Octavia couldn’t help it. A smile crossed her face. “Sure.”
She gently eased Vinyl’s head up, sitting down, letting Vinyl’s head rest against her legs. Vinyl nuzzled into her.
“Tavi?”
“Yes Vinyl?”
“Can we fix this? Us?” Vinyl asked, and Octavia could hear the pain in her voice. The hope.
“I don’t know.” Octavia said truthfully, stroking over Vinyl’s mane in smooth, soft strokes. “Just enjoy the moment, Vinyl.”
“Kayyy.” She said softly. So much still drifted in the air between them, left unsaid, but the tension had lifted. “Missed you, Octy.”
“Missed you too, Vinyl.” Octavia said, smiling fully for the first time since Vinyl had shown up on her doorstep.
It didn’t take long for Vinyl’s breathing to become slow and even, before giving way to the snore that Octavia had grown used to so long ago. Carefully, she extracted herself from under her head, looking at her, considering her. Vinyl had kept the necklace, and now it was gone.
“Can we fix this?” Octavia whispered. “I really don’t know. But I’d like to try.”
Octavia trotted up the stairs, knowing exactly what she was looking for. Octavia had kept her necklace as well, tucked in her jewelry box. After all these years. She looked at it as she descended the stairs, spinning the medallion around, to view the engraved musical symbols on either side. She paused just enough to turn off the lights, before she loosened her bow tie collar, setting it on the table.
She contemplated the necklace. It was simple, but Octavia had requested it that way. She knew that Vinyl never wore anything flashy and ornate. Would it be enough to help? She slid the necklace over her head, the first time she had worn it in years. It seemed to bring her comfort, and just a bit of hope.
Carefully, she slid alongside Vinyl. The couch was less than roomy, but it’d be enough for now. She pulled the white mare into her hooves, holding her close as she slid the blanket up over both of them. She took in her scent, hidden under the alcohol.
She relaxed against her, listening to her breathing. It wasn’t perfect. But it was a start.
Author's Note
Maybe I should have broken this up into two chapters. Oh well. A bit more sappy romance. For those waiting for sex, patience. We'll get there in time.
Do You Remember Our Special Place?
Octavia trotted through the rain, her hooves splashing through the muddy puddles of the packed dirt road. It was dark; there were no lights in the park, but that didn’t matter. She’d been here so often that she didn’t need light to know where she was going. She didn’t used to trot down this path alone, however. Where there had once been joking and flirting and laughter, now there was only silence.
She didn’t cry. She used to, when she first came here by herself. Now, however, it was just part of the routine. Octavia wondered if her tears were all used up, or if she was simply getting over it. It didn’t explain the hurt that she still felt, however.
Octavia came to a stop, turning towards the hill. It had been their special place. The hill was known by many as the fireworks hill, where ponies would gather to look over the city and watch the fireworks during any big celebration. During the winter, it was the sledding hill, where ponies, colts and fillies alike, would trudge to the top and slide all the way back down, just to do it again.
During a rainstorm, however, it was their special spot. It had been Vinyl’s idea. The mare was always bubbling over with enthusiasm, almost to the point of being positively manic. Octavia had suggested a picnic in the park, but once everything had been set up, the clouds had simply opened up. Vinyl was not about to let the rain spoil their day.
“C’mon, Tavi! Let’s watch from up there!”
The rain had chilled them both, but she followed Vinyl, like she always did. They ran up the hill, Octavia feeling like a filly again. It wasn’t particularly steep, but it was high, and running up an incline like that would make any pony feel winded. When Octavia had looked, though, the sight had taken what remained of her breath away.
All of Manehatten lay before them. The dark clouds above them only made the lights of the city stand out more. Octavia could see everything; she could see the waves that the wind made through the grass below, carrying raindrops in thick sheets of water. She could see the raindrops illuminated in the streetlamps of the distant streets.
Vinyl had nuzzled her neck, and they had kissed. Then they sat and watched the storm together, leaning against one another. They were soaked, and every time the wind blew, it would chill their bodies even further, but they took comfort in the heat of their bodies. It drew them closer together.
When they couldn’t take any more, they galloped. They ran down the hill at full speed. Octavia had tripped that first time, tangled in her own legs, and found herself sliding several yards across the wet grass. When she looked up, there was Vinyl, rain water trickling down her sunglasses, her normally messy and spiky mane slicked flat against against her body. She smiled, took her hoof, helped her up, and they galloped together.
Octavia could see the trail even now, still etched in the grass. The path they had ran while running each and every rainstorm. She looked up at the summit, hoping to see a pony’s form in the shadows, but it was dark. She started trotting up the hill.
Their special place. Octavia had come here, again and again, every rainstorm, hoping to see her, to forgive her, to take her back and tell her that everything is alright now. That she can come home again. To apologize.
Vinyl never came. Octavia picked up speed, galloping like a madmare, her eyes locked on the top of the hill, hoping, praying to Celestia that she’d be there. Octavia reached the top, panting. Once again, nopony.
Octavia sat, closing her eyes. She didn’t want the view. How could it mean anything without Vinyl to share it with? She couldn’t even tell if she was crying. The water poured down her form, trickling down her hair and over her muzzle. Was it rain, or was it tears?
It had been just over three months, now. The fight that had caused them to split apart. It had been brewing for months, but neither of them had seen it coming. Vinyl’s fame was rising; she didn't need to go looking for clubs to play at. They had come to her. Octavia had been putting in so many hours practicing her cello. She was at the top of her game. The orchestra was going to be playing an exclusive concert for the Canterlot elite! Even the Princess was going to be there!
With Vinyl working the clubs at night, and Octavia practicing during the day, there hadn’t been any time to be together. Octavia would come home just in time for a kiss as Vinyl headed out for the night, and she’d be fast asleep by the time she got back.
“I didn't mean it, Vinyl.” Octavia whispered to the rain. “I’m sorry.”
Octavia had gotten fed up. Tensions grew, pulled tight like a rubber band, until the snap that had set it all off.
“I bet you’re doing this on purpose!”
It had been a terrible thing to say. Octavia knew that Vinyl loved her. To suggest that she was intentionally avoiding time with her was near blasphemy. She had been angry. She had lashed out.
Vinyl had lashed right back.
“With you practicing seven nights a week? I don’t play at clubs that often! You’re the one who never took a day off in her life! All you’re doing is preparing for the orchestra! Why? So you can be around all the other snotty little elites like yourself?”
Vinyl’s comments had rankled her, and Octavia had shot off in response.
“You simply don’t understand Canterlot culture. As if a pony like yourself would be able to understand what class is! How any kind of lady can stand coming home drunk at all hours of the night is beyond me! And I need to take care of you! Celestia forbid you ever care for yourself!”
Both of them had blamed each other, their career paths, but neither of them had blamed themselves. Finally, Vinyl couldn’t take any more.
“Your orchestra is the problem! You want me to solve it?”
Vinyl’s horn had illuminated with a purple light, lifting her Cello off of it’s stand. There was a sudden crack and the wood had splintered, the neck attached to the body only by it’s strings. Vinyl threw it into the corner.
“There! Problem bucking solved!”
Octavia had responded in kind.
“Oh, you want a buck?” Octavia shouted, turning away from Vinyl. She lifted her hind legs up, and put all her strength into the kick. The box of records flew from the top of the table, filling the air with the splintering sounds of vinyl.
Vinyl had snapped her bow in two while Octavia bucked the table again, turning it over and letting her equipment spill onto the floor. There had been more screaming. More insults.
Then, Vinyl had levitated her one good turntable into the air, put her saddlebag of records over her back and walked out the door without another word.
Vinyl didn’t come back.
Octavia had waited for her. The apartment seemed emptier, colder. The bed was so much bigger than she had remembered. She was lonely. She shed tears, not at the sight of her broken cello, but of how the pony she loved had walked out of her life. How she had started it all with a thoughtless accusation.
Octavia had started looking for her, but Vinyl seemed to have vanished. She wasn’t in any of the clubs, she wasn’t at any of their mutual friends. Vinyl had become a ghost. So, Octavia had come to the one place they had shared together.
When Vinyl didn’t show, she had come again, and again, and again. Every rainstorm. What had she been expecting? For them to make up? Apologize to each other, share a kiss on the hilltop, and run down like they used to?
Octavia waited. She waited until she was soaked through, until her skin was numb, until she couldn’t feel her muzzle any longer. Finally, she accepted the truth. Vinyl wasn’t going to show. Ever again. The mare had left her life for good.
Octavia turned, walking down the hill, avoiding the path they had once cut with their hooves. She’d put Vinyl out of her mind. She’d move on with her life. She’d never come back here again.
The bright morning light from the windows woke Octavia. She didn’t open her eyes. She was almost afraid to do so. The dreams of her last trip to the hilltop lingered in her mind, yet she could feel warmth next to her. She could hear light snoring, and the gentle puffs of breath on her neck. She could smell Vinyl, and didn’t want her to suddenly vanish into her imagination.
She lay there for what felt like hours, taking in the gentle sensations. Finally, she opened her eyes.
Her gaze was filled with tangled blue mane.
Octavia looked down at Vinyl’s face, sleeping peacefully against her, her muzzle planted into the crook of her neck, her hooves holding onto her, wrapped around her waist. Octavia smiled, blinking away tears. She was really here.
The daunting task of repairing their relationship, however, was also present, as an uninvited third party on the cramped couch. They had been apart for years, and Vinyl, with nopony else to turn to, had come to her as a last resort. Now they were sharing a couch.
Octavia pushed the uncertainty out of her mind. She didn’t want to dwell on this. Not right now. She just wanted to enjoy the moment. She closed her eyes and pulled Vinyl’s body closer to her, taking in everything she could; the smell of her mane, the feel of her coat. Everything. Repairs could wait.
Vinyl had said it herself. Her soft, uncertain voice uttering “Can we fix this?” had stuck in her mind. There was a lot between them that needed to be dealt with. Octavia would cross that bridge when she came to it.
Vinyl gave a sudden stir and a grunt of discomfort as she lifted her head up. Octavia opened her eyes to meet Vinyl’s magenta ones. Vinyl stared, eyes half-lidded, her face expressionless.
“Octy?” She muttered softly.
“Yes, Vinyl?” Octavia replied, a slight smile playing over her face.
“Move please.”
Octavia blinked, but she slid off the couch. Vinyl hadn’t even seemed to notice the necklace. Or maybe she had. Octavia stepped back a few paces, watching nervously as Vinyl stood up, blinking as she looked around the room.
Then she walked into the hallway. For a half beat of her heart, Octavia thought she was going to leave again. Instead of the front door, however, Vinyl opened the closet, walked right inside, and closed it behind her.
Octavia couldn’t help it. She laughed. She had forgotten how Vinyl was after a night of heavy drinking. A groan of pain and hoofbeats on the door made Octavia stifle her laughter. How many times had she seen Vinyl climb right out of bed after a night of drinking only to lock herself in the bedroom closet?
Vinyl was nothing if not predictable. She’d come home drunk, then sleep, and if she had a hangover, she’d go straight into the darkest corner she could find.Octavia had spent so many years trying to put Vinyl out of her mind, that she had almost forgotten the finer points of her personality. Finally subduing the last of her laughter, she gently tapped the closet door with her hoof. She heard a grunt from behind the door.
“Vinyl? Can I come in?” Octavia asked, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice, the irony of needing to ask to enter her own closet.
Vinyl didn’t say anything. Octavia tapped the door with her hoof again.
“Vinyl, I’m coming in.”
There was no response, so Octavia carefully opened the door. Vinyl had her face crammed into the corner of the closet. Her boots and shoes had been shoved all to one side, with Vinyl curled up against herself. Octavia gently pushed her shoes out of the way and took a seat, closing the door behind her.
“You can’t drink two bottles of alcohol and not have anything to show for it.” Octavia said, watching as Vinyl stuffed a coat against the line of light at the bottom of the door.
Vinyl gave a mutter and leaned back against her corner of the closet with a groan.
“Do you remember last night?” Octavia asked softly.
“I don’t black out, Tavi.” Vinyl said, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. “You know that.”
Octavia shifted in the closet. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, being able to make out Vinyl’s form.
“Do you want to try again, Vinyl?” Octavia asked, a hint of uncertainty to her voice. “Were you being honest? Wanting to fix us?”
Vinyl remained quiet in the darkness. There was a thump as she stretched out her hoof against the opposite wall.
“After....After we fought...I wanted to come back. I was angry. I just booked a room at a hotel and...I wanted to go back in the morning.” Vinyl spoke softly.
Octavia remained silent. She could feel the tension lifting, bit by bit, as Vinyl continued.
“You loved that cello. When I calmed down...when I realized that I had broken it...” Vinyl gave a sniff. “I just...I couldn’t go back. I was sure...sure that you hated me for it.”
Octavia reached out in the darkness, hesitating, before taking Vinyl’s hoof in her own.
“It was a cello, Vinyl. It wasn’t you. What did my cello matter compared to the pony I loved?” She said, feeling Vinyl’s grip tighten against her hoof.
“I couldn’t play.” Vinyl said. “My music, I mean. I...I didn’t want to. For months afterwards. I was just....”
“Depressed?” Octavia offered. Vinyl nodded in the darkness.
“So I blew all of my savings on a small apartment. Sold some of my vintage records while I did a whole lot of not working. Finally, I managed to play again...I was such an idiot.”
Octavia reached out, pulling Vinyl’s hoof towards her. She pressed it against her throat, letting her feel the chain, trailing it down to the necklace. Vinyl gave a sudden, short gasp when she realized what it was.
“Your...Your necklace.”
“Yes. I kept it. I had tried to push you out of my mind. I wanted to move on, to forget about you. But I couldn’t bear to part with this.” Octavia released her hoof. Vinyl lowered it to her side once more.
“I want to fix this, Octy. I want to fix us.” Vinyl slid boots out of the way, sliding over to sit next to Octavia. “I don’t want to leave you again.”
Octavia couldn’t help but voice her fear. “We might not be able to fix it. What if we-”
Vinyl leaned in to nuzzle her neck. She didn’t kiss her. Not just yet. Vinyl tried to communicate everything she could with that nuzzle. Affection. Hope. A desire to try.
“Together, Octy?” she asked, whispering against her neck.
Octavia rested her head against Vinyl’s mane. She couldn’t help but smile in the darkness. “Together, Vinyl. We’ll try together.”
Octavia closed the closet door gently to minimize any sound it’d make. Once it was closed, she heard the coat shove up against the underside of the door once more, and she couldn’t help but grin. A hungover Vinyl was somewhat familiar to her, a nostalgic thought that brought with it pleasant memories.
For better or for worse, Vinyl was back in her life. Neither of them knew what was going to happen, but by Celestia, they’d try.
Vinyl would be staying in the closet for a while. Octavia headed towards the front door.
“Alright, Vinyl,” Octavia said to herself as she walked out onto the front steps, taking in the fresh air. “Let’s get you some coffee.”
Author's Note
Move along, nothing to see here. Just a fuck-all long dream sequence and two ponies in a closet.*
*EDIT: I mean that in the literal sense.