She Woke To Fur Eliseby 71NYL-5CR4TCHChaptersChapter 1: Party hard, crash harderChapter 2: She Woke To Fur EliseChapter 3: The Meaning Of Life, As Told By Vinyl ScratchChapter 4: Revelations and RealizationsChapter 5: Concerns, Pasts, and Terrible PunsChapter 1: Party hard, crash harder"Vinyl! Wake up! You've got to go to work!" A voice echoed down the hall as a blue maned unicorn rolled over lazily in bed. She cracked her eyes open slowly, the sound of the Centerlot streets blaring beneath her. "Mmmpfh! I don't wanna get up!" A muffled voice replied from deep with in the confines of a particularly comfy pillow. Finally, raising her head, she glanced at the clock by her bedside, '9:00 pm...way to early for me... After a loud burst at her door, a stern voice aided in her escape from slumber, "Vinyl, I'm serious. If you can't pay your share of the rent this month, Imma bust your flank before I kick it out." "Guhh...Fine. What is this place again?" Vinyl asked before ungracefully scratching her rump with a yawn. "Filly-foolers. It was the only place I could find you a gig, as you have a reputation for never showing up, and the manager thinks you're hot." "Dude...I'm going to bucking kill you." Vinyl gave the most hateful stare she could muster at her friend through half closed eyes. They had known each other for years, after meeting at a club, the one where Vinyl discovered her love for DJing. He was a tall unicorn, a grey coat and messy black mane. Similar to his friend, he preferred to keep his sunglasses on most of the time, hiding his eyes behind the dark tinted glass. "Whatever. It's not like you have to talk to any of the guests. Though flirting a bit with the manager might help the paycheck." he replied calmly "I don't know how to flirt with fillys!" Vinyl exclaimed, sitting upright in her unkempt bed, bringing her hooves down on the mattress with a dull *thump*. "Vinyl, you don't know how to flirt with anypony. Seriously, you've been to every night club in Canterlot, and Manehatten, twice, and you've never brought back anypony." "Maybe we just always go to his place." She said with a smirk. "You're here, EVERY DAMN DAY. Look, just get up and go earn your half of the rent. I don't wanna kick you out, but seriously, I'm going for broke here." "Fine, fine..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vinyl Sighed as she gazed upon the club she had been hired at. Two large stallions were unloading her equipment into the dark, odorous, and downright ghetto club she would be performing for. The large neon sign, spelling out "fil y foo ers" in cheesy pink cursive, made Vinyl shudder at what DJing here could mean for her reputation. Strange sounds came from inside the club, mostly cat calls, but what made them odd, was the shrill, feminine voices which made them. Vinyl groaned as she pushed open the doors and recieved full view to the scene before her. Several platforms, each adorned with a reflective metallic pole, stood feet above an ugly, stained carpet, and rows of peeling leather booths. At the far corner of the club was a bar, being attended by a scantly dressed mare, simply wiping the same spot of bar repetitively, and a bit dispenser, if you were lucky (or unfortunate) enough to have brought your credit card along. The club was lit by low, stationary lighting,and only one (rather unattractive) mare danced on a single pole. Vinyl directed the stallions from gawking to the work at hoof, instructing them on where to place lights, amps and her turntables. While directing, a mare came up from behind and tapped her on the shoulder. "Excuse me, Miss Vinyl, I presume?" The manager was surprisingly young, only a few years older than Vinyl, and rather well kept. "I'm the manager of this fine club, and I was happy to hire you, especially on such short notice. We really could use your talent to get this place 'jumping'." Vinyl smiled, despite the unfamiliar and unpleasant atmosphere, she did know how to get a club jumping, and intended to do just that. "How many more dancer's do you have scheduled?" Vinyl asked, planning her show. "Quite a few, the night always starts slow, just especially so recently." "Then let's get to it." Vinyl answered with a smirk. Quickly finishing the last pieces of her setup, finally magically lowered her glasses over her eyes and turned on the mic. Some of the ponies in the audience began to turn her attention to the mare behind the speakers as she screamed into the microphone. "GOOD EVENING FILLY FOOLERS!!! ARE YOU READY TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED?!?!?!" A loud cheer of approval responded to her question as she lowered the house lights, and put the needle in place, a loud scratch echoing before the song came to life. As the beats began to echo through the club, small multicolored dots of light danced around the room, and began to flash as a simple drum beat gave body to the uneven melody. As Vinyl's subwoofers exploded in a wave of sound and bass, shaking the glasses on the bar, the lights burst into a beautiful multicolor display of red, blue and green. Vinyl flashed a toothy grin as the club began to sway to the beat of the song. Using magic she levitated her microphone out of it's stand and began to sing. The club came alive, cheering at the blend of musical poetry and heavy bass as more ponies strolled in from the street, eager to see the show inside. Soon, the club was packed, with not only mares but also a couple stallions, drawn in by the powerful voice of Vinyl. As the song died down, she looked around to not only see the club was packed, but alive. All four platforms in full use by the clubs best dancers, the barmare frantically jumping around to fill everypony's order, and a familiar mare, grinning from ear to ear. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vinyl sighed as she stepped down from her stage, the music and lights now set on their respective 'auto-pilots'. The club was still very much alive as Vinyl worked her way to the bar. Receiving a few unwelcome swats on the rump, she sat on an empty bar stool next to an unhappy looking earth pony. Her black mane was flawlessly groomed, along with her grey coat. She sat with her head leaning on one hoof, a half-empty glass of Applejack Daniels and ice in the other. Adorning her neck was a simple pink bow tie, giving just a spot of color to her otherwise dull body. Vinyl turned to face the mare, and first made eye contact. Beautiful violet gemstones stabbed into Vinyl's eyes, as she removed her glasses, simply to make sure it wasn't simply the tint of the lenses. But no, there in the low, grungy atmosphere of the club shinned two indigo dots, clashing against vinyl's own ruby red eyes. Vinyl simply stared at the mare for a moment, confused as to why she was in a place like this, before proceeding to speak, "No offense, but it doesn't look like you're having a very good time. Anything I can do to help?" "Thanks, but no thanks, I'm...not like that." Vinyl crooked her head to the side, confused at what she meant, before the reality of the implication of her statement hit her. "Oh! Oh nononono! Sorry, that came out wrong. Yeah, me neither, I'm just DJing tonight, wondering if you had any requests?" "Oh...I don't suppose you could take a brake from this racket and play some Fur Elise, hm?" "Whose fur now? I don't know any Elise either..." "Hmph, figures." "Hey, if you're not into mares, and you define this kind of music as 'racket', then just what in the hay are you doing here?" "I needed a drink, that's all. This place was closest." Vinyl raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. Her excuse was as good as any. Vinyl's eyes caught sight of the treble clef adorning her flank and spoke again, "So you're musical too huh? What do you play?" "Cello, thank you for asking. How did you know?" Vinyl pointed to her cutie mark with a deadpan expression, "Oh, yes. Of course." "Look, I may not be your kind of musician but I know some stuff about music. Doesn't cello play in bass clef?" "I need another drink..." "I'll join you. What's your name?" "Octavia, Octavia Phillharmonica." She said, extending a gentle hoof. Vinyl seized her hoof in her own and shook vigorously, "Vinyl Scratch!" Chapter 2: She Woke To Fur EliseShe woke to Fur Elise... The soft dance of keys first stirred Vinyl from her slumber, gentle daylight meeting her eyes. The melodious flow of the song brought her from unconsciousness, and into a realm of silky sheets, feather pillows, and a soft, forgiving mattress. As Celestia's sun first crawled into the crack of red, shimmering between two covers of white fur, she shunned it, silky linens and soft music lulling her back to sleep, calling her to re-enter the world of dreams and slumber. But try as she may the melody still beckoned her back to the living world, in the tone of a kind mother's voice . The rising and falling of notes rolled across her ears, waves of musical bliss growing and sinking, rising and falling, building to a tip toe of quiet tones, calling back and forth to one another, before returning to a familiar tune. Vinyl yawned as she began to first stir from her cocoon of blanket and warmth only to realize something was amiss...this was not her apartment. No, this place was... Warm. Welcoming. And the number one sign that gave it away to Vinyl was... Clean. The room was immaculate, save the bed in which she lay, which had been thrashed about in, as blankets were now strewn across its surface, throw pillows scattered on the carpet below. But aside from that nothing was out of place, not to mention well dusted, unstained and crisp. How anypony could keep a room so well kept she had no clue, nor could she grasp the concept of why anypony would want to. But it did give the room a very open, comforting feel, despite being rather bland with off-white painted walls and simple furniture. But now she smiled, and listened the new explosion of melody from down the hall, mixing with the chirping of morning birds. Her head still lay upon crumpled pillow, mane tossed out of her eyes as she listened to the beautiful melody and sounds of a waking world. While ordinarily she was woken by the strident calls of an alarm, this morning she had the pleasure of arising with her ruler's sun. As the melody once again slowed she rose in her bed, stretching her forelegs with a loud, exaggerated yawn only to realize something else was amiss... She had no clue where in Equestria she was. It didn't matter terribly much. She had woken up in a few strange places before, normally friends houses after she had too much to drink, there was always somepony she knew at just about any club, and had ended up crashing at one of their places more times than she cared to count. She was lucky Canterlot was regarded as polite enough society that somepony could always have a place to sleep among friends. But she didn't recognize this room. She had never been here before. None of her friends were this refined, all of their apartments were as bad, if not worse than her own. Vinyl gulped quietly, she wasn't in a friend's house... Vinyl racked her brain to remember, let's see...I was DJing...at a club...the club was...kinda dirty...good crowd...name was... She bolted upright, scrambling out of the bed and looking around in horror at the realization of who could have just taken her drunk flank home. Panicked thoughts rushed to her mind, Where am I? What if somepony...some mare...DID something to me?! She looked at the slightly opened bedroom door and burst through it, in excpectation of the worse news she could possible see, but instead sat a familiar mare before a piano, buried in music as her hooves wildly danced across the keys, her attention captured by the music, she failed to even noticed the shocked mare now standing beside her. Soon, her facial expression softened as she returned to a familiar tune, but her eyes remained closed, locked in a seperate world she created for herself simply by pressing the keys of a piano. Her body swayed softly from side to side as she felt the music pulse through her, slowly dying away into a soft, somber tones. Upon opening her eyes she noticed the awestruck mare beside her, mane strewn about her face, ruby eyes starring at her in disbelief. "That was...uh...really good..." VInyl spoke softly, unsure of what to say. "I'm glad you appreciated it...and I'm happy to see that you're alive, and awake. I'm honestly surprised you don't have so terrible of a hangover any music would bother you..." "Oh I wouldn't be worried about that," Vinyl waved a dismissive hoof, "I've been to clubs in full swing with a hangover before." "I...see. Well, you certainly had enough to drink last night..." "Yeah, about that...where am I, exactly? And who are you? And perhaps most importantly, why was I in your bed?" Vinyl wore a concerned expression, particularly worried about the reply to the last one. "Well, perhaps you can't recall, My name is Octavia, we met at the bar last night. You are currently in my apartment in northern Canterlot. Thirdly, don't flatter yourself, you were sleeping in my guest bedroom." Vinyl let out a sigh in relief, "Oh good...So we didn't..?" Octavia simply gave a deadpan expression, "No, Miss VInyl,I wouldn't think of it, I was raised better than to take advantage of a drunk." "I'm not a drunk, I just was drunk. Besides, I doubt you'd want much to do with a mare like me." Vinyl watched closely for her reaction. If she remembered the name of the club correctly, there was a good chance she was a filly fooler, and Vinyl felt she needed to know. "It wouldn't matter if you were drunk everyday or for the first time in your life. I do NOT take advantage of the inebriated. Stallion or mare. Now, could I interest you in some tea?" "Um...maybe. I've never had tea before...What's it like?" Octavia stood from her piano stool and looked at Vinyl suspiciously, "You've never had tea before? Where have you been living, under a rock?" Vinyl frowned, "No, I've just never tried it." Octavia sighed, "Very well, what kind would you like to try?" "There's more than one kind?" *facehoof* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vinyl sipped cautiously at the cup before her. The liquid Octavia had poured was very hot, and had little odor. After going through a list of teas longer than the princesses' mane, Vinyl had decided on 'Green' tea, but the drink before her, while green, looked like someone had dumped lawnmower clippings into hot water and called it 'tea'. As she drew the first sip to her lips, she was quickly relieved to find the drink did not, in fact, taste like grass clippings, but instead a pleasant bitter flavor, instantly relaxing her nerves as she drank. The warm, soothing liquid washing away the dry feeling in her mouth and awakening her senses as she took in a deep breath after her drink, closing her eyes. The two chatted idly about the events which had unfolded the night before. Vinyl was shocked to find out just how much she had to drink...and just how friendly she became. Vinyl chuckled a bit, "Yeah...I was always a happy drunk...it wasn't anything personal, no offense." Octavia smiled, "None taken, I was rather enjoying all the free drinks from you." Vinyl's face fell, "Wait...how was I buying you drinks? I'm flat broke!" Octavia shrugged, "Apparently not. Supposedly the deal your friend had set up for you was that you'd earn 10% of any revenue that was larger than average. Plus the manager was happy to give you drinks on the house." Vinyl thought for a moment, "10% of additional profit? How much did I make, like, 200 bits?" Octavia laughed outright this time, "No, Vinyl, apparently before you got started was average, you made about 1,000 bits, if I recall correctly." Vinyl was prepared to jump for joy at this news, until she realized she would have to give most of that money up to pay for her rent. Instead she nodded and picked up her cup and began to sip her tea again. Octavia sat across from her, enjoying her drink with a calm expression. As the two mares set down their cups, they locked eyes and starred for a moment, the scene from the bar replaying itself as Vinyl found herself lost in those lavender pools. Vinyl quickly looked away after realizing she had been starring, a small blush adorning her cheeks. Little did she notice, Octavia's actions had mimicked her own... Something about those eyes... they thought. Chapter 3: The Meaning Of Life, As Told By Vinyl ScratchVinyl sighed as she levitated her saucer back down to the table before her. It was nice being in such a peaceful environment, at least for a while. Vinyl allowed another deep breath to come into her lungs as she laid back in the couch. "So, Octavia?" "Yes, Vinyl?" Octavia replied, looking her friend in the eye. "What WERE you doing in that club last night? Honestly, because your story doesn't quite check out." "Didn't your mother ever teach you it was rude to be nosy?" Vinyl looked downward, a frown now growing across her lips "Um, no, I guess not..." "Well it is. However, I suppose you deserve the truth, even if it does make you uncomfortable. I have many friends there I suppose. And other reasons..." Vinyl looked back to Octavia, who's eyes averted her own. She raised an eyebrow, "Like?" "Well...It's...it's strange..." Vinyl sat quietly as Octavia bowed her head and looked away, somewhat in shame, somewhat in embarrassment. She took a long breath in before continuing, "I was always raised to believe that 'fillyfoolers' were lesser, immoral ponies...it's what my parents said, it's what I believed...but not too long ago, I found out a good friend of mine, Lyra, was a...a 'fillyfooler'... Celestia, I hate that word, don't you? It seems so...demeaning, I suppose...anyhoof, I found out she was, let's say, 'into mares', by her invitation to her wedding." Octavia chuckled a bit and looked upward in recollection, "I remember opening the letter and being so shocked...and I didn't know what to think! All my foalhood I was taught they were just bad ponies, but I had known Lyra all my life! She wasn't a bad pony at all! And how could I have known her for so long and not even known she was into mares?! I even knew she was in a committed relationship! I knew the ponies name, Bon-Bon, just not her gender apparently." Octavia chuckled before becoming somber again, "I was very confused for a while...it was the first time the world had showed me that the standards I was raised to believe were just...wrong." Vinyl levitated her tea back to her lips, taking a sip before pulling a small notepad and paper seemingly from nowhere and nodding quietly, "mmhmm...go on." Octavia shot an annoyed glanced. Allowing her scowl to change to exasperation, she continued her story, "Well I ended up attending her wedding as the mare of honor...it was an absolutely beautiful ceremony. After that I just...couldn't find anything wrong with them." Vinyl nodded, "That's a very cute story, but I didn't ask you why you were tolerant of...um...mares into mares...I asked you why you were at the club. It just doesn't seem like your scene, not because of the crowd, but the atmosphere." Octavia smirked, "My 'scene'? I suppose it's not, no, but as I mentioned before I played a large roll in Lyra's wedding...and her bachelorette party... It was at Fillyfoolers, and at the time, the club was a nicer establishment. I guess I just grew particularly fond of the club, even though I can hardly tolerate the music they play..." "Careful," Vinyl warned, "that's my bread and butter you're insulting..." "Well I hardly see how it's music! It's all repeating patterns and noises! How does one put soul and fire into the press of a key?! Or the push of a button?! No matter how wll you perform, or feel the emotion of the piece, it will not change!" Vinyl frowned, "Ocatvia, putting yourself into music is important, yes. The only difference is, with my music I put myself in when I write, not when I perform. Have you ever even written a piece for anything other than cello?" Octavia opened her mouth to speak, but was at a loss of words. Vinyl leaned in a bit, as if sharing a secret, "Have you ever even written music for the cello?" Octavia remained silent. Vinyl gave an annoyed look, "Octavia...you can't feel true emotion in somepony else's piece! Because it is their emotion! Their piece!Music let's you get what's inside of you out, so the rest of the world can hear. It's meant to be broadcast and felt, but not relived. That's why cover bands are always shit." Octavia giggled. "I suppose you're right Vinyl...my composer writes all of my music...it...it has always been easier to follow than to feel, I suppose..." The pair remained silent for a moment, Octavia deep in thought, while Vinyl merely stared. She saw so much activity and wonder in the mare across from her, so much emotion that seemed to be sealed in a conditioned layer of society and judgment. "Octavia?" "Yes, Vinyl?" "What do you 'feel' right now?" "...I...I don't know...confused?" Octavia looked to Vinyl, clearly suspicious of the point of this conversation. "Why?" Octavia sighed, "I...I guess I have been living within music my entire life...it's been everything I am...everything I do...so how do I put that into music? My life has no romance, no struggles, no pain nor adventure...how am I to write music about music? And furthermore, why, if all I know of life is music, is the most disheveled, party-going, craziest mare I have ever met giving me the most profound speech of my art I have ever heard?!" Octavia raised her voice, throwing up her hooves. Vinyl smiled, "My life is what makes my music, and where I go and what I do makes up my life. It just happens to keep bringing me right back to shady places like that." Octavia sighed, "As is my story as well...but nothing happens at my 'clubs'! It's the same lot of stuffy ponies merely sitting and listening, until I have performed and felt the works of somepony's very heart being poured onto a stage, into an audience, only to be met with 'polite applause'...perhaps that's why I like clubs...you can pour yourself into something and transform a crowd's behavior! When you are finished you can bask in a roar of approval, not a simple pattering of hooves. You can make a club jump, or sway. Dance or come together...there is a reason nopony attends formal concerts with the intention of attracting mates." Vinyl chuckled before looking into Octavia's eyes. "It sounds to me like I know how you feel right now." "How?" Octavia raised a suspicious brow. Surely if she didn't know her own head this mare didn't. "Trapped, frustrated, and above all, bored." Vinyl stated matter-of-factly. Octavia sat still for a moment, basking in the raw truth of what she was told. It was true, she wanted to escape her classical, stuffy regime and live freely, chaotic almost. She was tired of the order, the rules, and above all, what was right and wrong. "So I am...but it's not as though I can simply change my life." Octavia scoffed. "Why not?" Vinyl asked curiously. "What? What do you mean 'why not'? I have...a job! And friends, and...and an apartment! I have so many responsibilities!" "So?" Vinyl asked in the same manner, "Can you grasp this concept, Octavia? That you can always just leave? Quit? Move on? That's what I loved about what I do, if one day I just decided 'I'm done with Canterlot, going to Trottingham!' do you want to know how long it would take me? The trip to Trottingham and 30 minutes to pack." Vinyl stated, unamused by Octavia's theatrics. "How could you do that? Just get up and leave on a whim?!" "Because whims are your brains way of telling you that now is the perfect time to do it." Octavia blinked. "Come again?" "Spontaneity is the way life should be lived. Not 'according to plan'. Plans fail, fate doesn't seem to, it just has bumps in the road. You can't say you failed to get where you're going if you've got no place in mind." "So...you're telling me...that if I want to do something I should just...do it? Without question?" Octavia sat, wide-eyed. Vinyl kicked back and put her hooves behing her head, stretching out, "That's my philosophy." "And...how has that worked out for you?" Octavia put a hoof to her chin, adopting a somewhat smug smile. 'There's no way this mare makes the kind of bits I do, or had anywhere near the grades... Octavia thought. "Well, I'm certainly not as wealthy as you, or as 'classy' but I'm happy. I'm happy with where I am and what I do, and honestly? I wouldn't trade that for the approval of the princess herself." Octavia took a moment to think, 'Happy? You traded all of that just to be...happy?' "Do you even care what anypony thinks of you?" "Just my friends, or ponies that I decide their opinions matter to me." "So basically, you just run through life with no plan, not a care in the world, doing what you want, when you want, and not giving even a fraction of a buck what anypony thinks about you?" "Pretty much." answered Vinyl, now closing her eyes and letting out a breath relaxing. "That sounds...fantastic." Octavia replied, eyes wide open. 'Just being...happy...' "Then try it. Nopony's stopping you." Octavia blinked a few times before standing up, a blank expression upon her face. She simply stood, walked around the center table to where Vinyl sat calmly upon her couch, closed her eyes... and planted a gentle kiss upon her lips. Chapter 4: Revelations and RealizationsVinyl blinked. Octavia took a step back, slowly opening her eyes, a blush spread across a new expression of bliss. A calm, satisfied smile hung on her lips. Vinyl blinked again. Octavia’s eyes widened, her blush amplifying as she looked to Vinyl for some sort of reaction. Octavia’s smile quickly dropped from her face, turning into a concerned frown. Vinyl’s face remained still while her mind reeled, attempting to grasp the situation before her. “Um...I’m...I’m so sorry Vinyl...I...I don’t know what came over me...I...I just thought that...” tears began to swell in Octavia’s eyes as she stepped away from Vinyl, her voice rising to an inaudible squeak. Vinyl took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, pausing a moment before reopening them. “You...you kissed me...” “Y-Yes I did and I-I apologize and it was foalish of me and I shouldn’t have and...” Octavia looked down in shame, her eyes darting from place to place on her carpet. “Was that what you wanted to do?” interjected Vinyl, her face a mask of calm hiding the chaotic swarm of thoughts buzzing inside her head. “Well...at the time yes but...” Octavia stuttered. Vinyl shut her eyes and waved her hoof, signaling for Octavia to stop talking, her face changing to one of near disgust, “Don’t apologize. You can’t have regrets.” “But...but I...” “You only regret how I reacted.” Vinyl gave a dead-pan stare. “Well, I suppose, but...” “Stop. You know what you’re doing? You’re giving a buck. Stop giving a buck.” “But...” “No. Bucks.” Vinyl’s face became deathly serious. “Well...well how can you say that?! How can you just do whatever you please and just not care?!” Octavia was fuming now, angered by her confusion more than her situation. ‘How can she just not care?! How DARE she just not care?! I...I kissed her! And she just doesn’t care! She’s...she’s the only mare I’ve ever kissed...she's the only pony I've ever kissed’ Vinyl stood up, “Because most everypony isn’t worth my attention,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Well...well who is huh?! What makes somepony worthy of the Almighty Vinyl Scratch’s attention?!” Octavia looked enraged, yet tears continued to spring from her eyes. “Theirs.” Octavia prepared to respond, but caught herself before she could continue her rant, “Wh-what?” “If somepony doesn’t give you their attention, they aren’t worth yours.” Vinyl spoke simply, stoic, almost. “S-so, I shouldn’t care because...you don’t?” Vinyl opened her mouth to speak, to tell her ‘no, in fact she didn’t’ but something nagged at her deep subconscious. ‘But...I do care...why do I care? I never care. She...I don’t even know her! I don’t...like her...do I? She’s a MARE for Celestia’s sake! I...wha...why? Why do I care?’ Vinyl blinked and looked into Octavia’s eyes. ‘Those eyes...those...beautiful violet eyes...I can’t stand seeing tears in those eyes...’ “Well, Vinyl?” Octavia sniffled. Vinyl swallowed, “I...I didn’t say I didn’t care.” “But you’re saying I shouldn’t care.” “I didn’t say I did care.” “Well Vinyl? What is it? Should I care?” Vinyl sighed, “You aren’t getting it. You can’t care until you know somepony cares about you!” “And how am I supposed to know?” Vinyl swallowed again, “Because...she’ll...show you...” Vinyl stepped closer, looking into Octavia eyes. “How? Should I just wait for...for somepony to tell me they care? What will ‘she’ do?” “She’ll...” Octavia looked back to Vinyl now, her eyes somewhat reddened by tears. “She’ll do something like this...” Vinyl closed her eyes and took a leap of absolute faith. Never before had she put such trust in somepony else’s hooves. Never before had she left her heart open, exposed, for any pony to be tender to or stomp on. Never before had she closed her eyes, leaned in... And kissed back. Octavia blinked. Vinyl leaned back. Now it was her turn to watch for a reaction. And the first time she, cared. “So...you...uh...do care?” “Uh huh.” Vinyl wore a goofy smile. “About me?” “Yes, Octavia.” Octavia paused for a minute before allowing an enormous smile to spread across her muzzle. “So...you’re glad I kissed you?” “Yes...yes I am, “Vinyl smiled now. “But...I have to ask...I thought you said you weren’t...you know...into mares?” “I...I don’t know. With my schedule and lifestyle I haven’t had time to be into... well... anypony, honestly.” “I can kind of relate. I’m always all over the place, and I’m always running the places where ponies are supposed to meet each other.” “Did...did you know, though?” “Know what?” “That you were...into mares?” Octavia asked, embarrassed. “No, not really...but I never really tried. Aren’t you scared though?” “Scared?” Octavia raised an eyebrow, before a adopting a confident grin. “I don’t have to care what anypony thinks anymore.” Vinyl knocked Octavia on the shoulder with a playful hoof, a smile plastered across her lips, “Now you’re getting it!” Octavia giggled, “Granted, I will need some time to adjust, but I think I can appreciate this sort of lifestyle.” Vinyl smiled, “I certainly do,” and then sat down on her couch. Octavia sat down next to her, with a look of mild concern, “So...does this mean we are...dating?” Vinyl wrapped a hoof around the mare next to her and pulled her close, “If you want to call it that.” “I...I’m not sure what to call it. I’ve never had any sort of significant other...” “I have...I guess...” Vinyl looked down in recollection. “You guess?” Octavia leaned back from Vinyl, looking into her eyes. “Coltfriends in highschool...never anything to serious...I always wondered what I didn’t see in them, I think I have a good idea now,” she chuckled. “My parents always tried to find Coltfriends for me...I was never interested, too busy practicing I suppose...I never did like the pressure.” Vinyl nodded before pulling Octavia closer against her, snuggling up next to each other on the couch, “Well, the pressure’s off now,” and placed a quick kiss upon her forehead. Chapter 5: Concerns, Pasts, and Terrible PunsVinyl sighed as she embraced the feeling of Octavia nuzzling up to her on the couch. Octavia grinned, new sensations of bliss washed over her normally fretful mind. It was nice to have another pony there, to hold and be held by. It had a magical power of allowing the pair to feel like they were alone in the world, isolated from anypony else. ‘It’s so liberating,’ Octavia thought, ‘to not have to care about other’s opinions. I don’t need to impress anypony anymore! From now on, I will do things for myself! Not for the director or my band mates or Mother or Father...’ Octavia’s smile washed away. ‘Mother and Father...’ Now sadness began to creep into Octavia’s mind, knowing of her parent’s undoubted disapproval of her relationship. ‘Mother will be so disappointed...and Father will...oh Celestia...’ Vinyl looked down at the mare in her hooves and saw tears had began to well up in her eyes. Vinyl’s smile changed to a look of concern, “Octavia? Octavia, are you alright?” Octavia sniffed, “No...No Vinyl I’m am not ‘alright’...Do you remember what I told you about my parents?” Vinyl nodded, her concern growing. “You said they...they don’t like homosexual ponies...or fillyfoolers...” Octavia shook her head, “No, Vinyl, they don’t just dislike them, they utterly loathe them, they find them to be the bane of Equestria. That they’re just...” Octavia’s tears began to stream down her cheeks, “just...disgusting! They’ll think I’m disgusting! They’ll think WE’RE disgusting!” Octavia now sobbed openly, tears streaming down her face as Vinyl began to run a hoof through Octavia’s mane. Octavia took this as an opportunity to bury her muzzle into Vinyl’s shoulder, sobbing against her neck. Vinyl continued to run a hoof through Octavia’s mane as her tears started to overflow, occasionally accompanied by muffled gibberish, and then more cries. After a few minutes Octavia’s cries had stopped and Vinyl remained still while the last trickles of tears came from the mare she embraced. Now only sniffles escaped while Octavia began to calm herself. She wiggled out of Vinyl’s embrace, wiping her eyes and straightening her bow tie in an attempt to fix her unkempt appearance. Vinyl levitated a nearby box of tissues to Octavia and allowed her to grab one and blow her nose. After a moment of silence Octavia spoke up. “Vinyl...I...I apologize for my behavior...it was quite foalish of me,” She spoke calmly while wiping her eyes with a tissue. “I know you say I should disregard the opinions of those I who disregard mine but these are my parents! I...I can’t imagine life without them! They’ve always loved me...so much...” Vinyl nodded, “Then they will still love you.” Octavia shook her head, “No, Vinyl, don’t you see?! I...I am what they despise! They could never love a...a fillyfooler like me! I won’t be anything to them anymore...” Vinyl grabbed hold of Octavia’s shoulders, forcing her to look Vinyl in the eye, “Do they love you? Truly love you?” “They do now...” “Listen to me, Octavia! They still will! If they hate fillyfoolers more than they love you, then they don’t love you, they only love a fake, make-believe version of you. Not the real you. If they love the real Octavia, then they will continue to.” “And what if they don’t, Vinyl?!” “Then they were never worth caring about to begin with.” Octavia was becoming angered again, “How can you say that Vinyl?! They are my parents! How would you react if one day, you found out your parents just didn’t love you anymore?!” “They never did to begin with.” Vinyl stated with a hollow chuckle. “Wh-what?” “I said, they never did to begin with. My parents always hated me, and they made that very clear every day. Everything I did disgusted them, and they made sure to tell me so. According to them I was the bane of their existence from day one and they weren’t about to let me forget it.” Octavia’s anger melted to pity, “Vinyl...I...I’m sorry I didn’t realize...” “Don’t be sorry. I left as soon as I could and never looked back. I’m a stronger mare for it and I do just fine on my own.” “Did...did they ever hurt you, Vinyl?” “Hah!” Vinyl gave a fake laugh, “Yeah, you could say that...” Using her magic, Vinyl levitated her mane from the right side of her head to the left, exposing numerous scars from beatings to the back of her head. “My dad, I called him asshole, he called me little bitch; don’t you just love pet names? Anyway, asshole used to always hit me in the back of the head claiming it was supposed to ‘knock some sense into that retard brain of yours’ and then he would put my mane over it, telling me that if I ever showed anypony, he’d kill me.” Octavia brought a hoof over her mouth to cover her gasp before speaking, “Vinyl...that...that’s awful...I can’t even imagine.” “Good, ‘cause trust me, you don’t want to.” Octavia nodded solemnly, “How old were you when you left?” “About 14, I think. I don’t really have any way of knowing.” “You...don’t know how old you are?” Octavia asked. “Nope, I was born in Stalliongrad, and when we moved to Equestria, my birth certificate was never brought along. My parents didn’t tell me when my birthday was, they said it was for spoiled little shits, so I didn’t have one. To this day I can only estimate how old I am.” “That’s terrible! How did you leave?” Octavia’s face was one of pure shock. She had never considered herself to be an overly sheltered mare, but this was unspeakable. “It wasn’t that hard. One night they were both drunk and passed out, so I just left the apartment, sold what little I had to buy a train ticket, and rode it as far as it would take me. That’s how I ended up here, in Canterlot. I got off the train and enrolled in the first high school I found. I lived in the school for a while, then I moved in with a good friend of mine and his parents. I still live with him now.” “You two must be very close...” “Yeah, we are. He’s like a brother to me. He saved my flank in a lot of rough patches. He actually got me that job at FillyFoolers’...looks like I have another reason to thank him.” Vinyl smiled as she brought Octavia close to her, placing a kiss upon her lips. And another... Octavia sighed, the feeling if Vinyl’s warm muzzle pressed up against her was so comforting, so loving. It was easy to get lost in the euphoria of her lips. Vinyl opened her mouth slightly, allowing her tongue to gently glide over Octavia’s lips. Octavia’s mouth opened in return, allowing Vinyls tongue to slowly explore inside her mouth. A soft moan escaped Octavia’s lips, the pure bliss of these new sensations washing over her. Vinyl pressed her mouth deeper against Octavia’s as their tongues began an intricate dance, gently swirling in passionate harmony. Octavia finally broke the kiss, gasping for air, her hoof over her heart and panting through words, “My...that *pant* was certainly *pant* something else... *whew* how are you *pant* not out of breath?” Vinyl chuckled, “Because I have a nose?” A deep blush washed over Octavia, “Right...breathing through the...nose...I can do that...heh” Vinyl grinned, slowly placing her purple sunglasses over her eyes, “I guess you could say I really...took your breath away! AAAWWWWWWW YYEEEAAHHHHHH!!!!” Octavia facehoofed, “Of all the mares in Equestria, I fall for you...”
Chapter 1: Party hard, crash harder"Vinyl! Wake up! You've got to go to work!" A voice echoed down the hall as a blue maned unicorn rolled over lazily in bed. She cracked her eyes open slowly, the sound of the Centerlot streets blaring beneath her. "Mmmpfh! I don't wanna get up!" A muffled voice replied from deep with in the confines of a particularly comfy pillow. Finally, raising her head, she glanced at the clock by her bedside, '9:00 pm...way to early for me... After a loud burst at her door, a stern voice aided in her escape from slumber, "Vinyl, I'm serious. If you can't pay your share of the rent this month, Imma bust your flank before I kick it out." "Guhh...Fine. What is this place again?" Vinyl asked before ungracefully scratching her rump with a yawn. "Filly-foolers. It was the only place I could find you a gig, as you have a reputation for never showing up, and the manager thinks you're hot." "Dude...I'm going to bucking kill you." Vinyl gave the most hateful stare she could muster at her friend through half closed eyes. They had known each other for years, after meeting at a club, the one where Vinyl discovered her love for DJing. He was a tall unicorn, a grey coat and messy black mane. Similar to his friend, he preferred to keep his sunglasses on most of the time, hiding his eyes behind the dark tinted glass. "Whatever. It's not like you have to talk to any of the guests. Though flirting a bit with the manager might help the paycheck." he replied calmly "I don't know how to flirt with fillys!" Vinyl exclaimed, sitting upright in her unkempt bed, bringing her hooves down on the mattress with a dull *thump*. "Vinyl, you don't know how to flirt with anypony. Seriously, you've been to every night club in Canterlot, and Manehatten, twice, and you've never brought back anypony." "Maybe we just always go to his place." She said with a smirk. "You're here, EVERY DAMN DAY. Look, just get up and go earn your half of the rent. I don't wanna kick you out, but seriously, I'm going for broke here." "Fine, fine..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vinyl Sighed as she gazed upon the club she had been hired at. Two large stallions were unloading her equipment into the dark, odorous, and downright ghetto club she would be performing for. The large neon sign, spelling out "fil y foo ers" in cheesy pink cursive, made Vinyl shudder at what DJing here could mean for her reputation. Strange sounds came from inside the club, mostly cat calls, but what made them odd, was the shrill, feminine voices which made them. Vinyl groaned as she pushed open the doors and recieved full view to the scene before her. Several platforms, each adorned with a reflective metallic pole, stood feet above an ugly, stained carpet, and rows of peeling leather booths. At the far corner of the club was a bar, being attended by a scantly dressed mare, simply wiping the same spot of bar repetitively, and a bit dispenser, if you were lucky (or unfortunate) enough to have brought your credit card along. The club was lit by low, stationary lighting,and only one (rather unattractive) mare danced on a single pole. Vinyl directed the stallions from gawking to the work at hoof, instructing them on where to place lights, amps and her turntables. While directing, a mare came up from behind and tapped her on the shoulder. "Excuse me, Miss Vinyl, I presume?" The manager was surprisingly young, only a few years older than Vinyl, and rather well kept. "I'm the manager of this fine club, and I was happy to hire you, especially on such short notice. We really could use your talent to get this place 'jumping'." Vinyl smiled, despite the unfamiliar and unpleasant atmosphere, she did know how to get a club jumping, and intended to do just that. "How many more dancer's do you have scheduled?" Vinyl asked, planning her show. "Quite a few, the night always starts slow, just especially so recently." "Then let's get to it." Vinyl answered with a smirk. Quickly finishing the last pieces of her setup, finally magically lowered her glasses over her eyes and turned on the mic. Some of the ponies in the audience began to turn her attention to the mare behind the speakers as she screamed into the microphone. "GOOD EVENING FILLY FOOLERS!!! ARE YOU READY TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED?!?!?!" A loud cheer of approval responded to her question as she lowered the house lights, and put the needle in place, a loud scratch echoing before the song came to life. As the beats began to echo through the club, small multicolored dots of light danced around the room, and began to flash as a simple drum beat gave body to the uneven melody. As Vinyl's subwoofers exploded in a wave of sound and bass, shaking the glasses on the bar, the lights burst into a beautiful multicolor display of red, blue and green. Vinyl flashed a toothy grin as the club began to sway to the beat of the song. Using magic she levitated her microphone out of it's stand and began to sing. The club came alive, cheering at the blend of musical poetry and heavy bass as more ponies strolled in from the street, eager to see the show inside. Soon, the club was packed, with not only mares but also a couple stallions, drawn in by the powerful voice of Vinyl. As the song died down, she looked around to not only see the club was packed, but alive. All four platforms in full use by the clubs best dancers, the barmare frantically jumping around to fill everypony's order, and a familiar mare, grinning from ear to ear. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vinyl sighed as she stepped down from her stage, the music and lights now set on their respective 'auto-pilots'. The club was still very much alive as Vinyl worked her way to the bar. Receiving a few unwelcome swats on the rump, she sat on an empty bar stool next to an unhappy looking earth pony. Her black mane was flawlessly groomed, along with her grey coat. She sat with her head leaning on one hoof, a half-empty glass of Applejack Daniels and ice in the other. Adorning her neck was a simple pink bow tie, giving just a spot of color to her otherwise dull body. Vinyl turned to face the mare, and first made eye contact. Beautiful violet gemstones stabbed into Vinyl's eyes, as she removed her glasses, simply to make sure it wasn't simply the tint of the lenses. But no, there in the low, grungy atmosphere of the club shinned two indigo dots, clashing against vinyl's own ruby red eyes. Vinyl simply stared at the mare for a moment, confused as to why she was in a place like this, before proceeding to speak, "No offense, but it doesn't look like you're having a very good time. Anything I can do to help?" "Thanks, but no thanks, I'm...not like that." Vinyl crooked her head to the side, confused at what she meant, before the reality of the implication of her statement hit her. "Oh! Oh nononono! Sorry, that came out wrong. Yeah, me neither, I'm just DJing tonight, wondering if you had any requests?" "Oh...I don't suppose you could take a brake from this racket and play some Fur Elise, hm?" "Whose fur now? I don't know any Elise either..." "Hmph, figures." "Hey, if you're not into mares, and you define this kind of music as 'racket', then just what in the hay are you doing here?" "I needed a drink, that's all. This place was closest." Vinyl raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. Her excuse was as good as any. Vinyl's eyes caught sight of the treble clef adorning her flank and spoke again, "So you're musical too huh? What do you play?" "Cello, thank you for asking. How did you know?" Vinyl pointed to her cutie mark with a deadpan expression, "Oh, yes. Of course." "Look, I may not be your kind of musician but I know some stuff about music. Doesn't cello play in bass clef?" "I need another drink..." "I'll join you. What's your name?" "Octavia, Octavia Phillharmonica." She said, extending a gentle hoof. Vinyl seized her hoof in her own and shook vigorously, "Vinyl Scratch!"
Chapter 2: She Woke To Fur EliseShe woke to Fur Elise... The soft dance of keys first stirred Vinyl from her slumber, gentle daylight meeting her eyes. The melodious flow of the song brought her from unconsciousness, and into a realm of silky sheets, feather pillows, and a soft, forgiving mattress. As Celestia's sun first crawled into the crack of red, shimmering between two covers of white fur, she shunned it, silky linens and soft music lulling her back to sleep, calling her to re-enter the world of dreams and slumber. But try as she may the melody still beckoned her back to the living world, in the tone of a kind mother's voice . The rising and falling of notes rolled across her ears, waves of musical bliss growing and sinking, rising and falling, building to a tip toe of quiet tones, calling back and forth to one another, before returning to a familiar tune. Vinyl yawned as she began to first stir from her cocoon of blanket and warmth only to realize something was amiss...this was not her apartment. No, this place was... Warm. Welcoming. And the number one sign that gave it away to Vinyl was... Clean. The room was immaculate, save the bed in which she lay, which had been thrashed about in, as blankets were now strewn across its surface, throw pillows scattered on the carpet below. But aside from that nothing was out of place, not to mention well dusted, unstained and crisp. How anypony could keep a room so well kept she had no clue, nor could she grasp the concept of why anypony would want to. But it did give the room a very open, comforting feel, despite being rather bland with off-white painted walls and simple furniture. But now she smiled, and listened the new explosion of melody from down the hall, mixing with the chirping of morning birds. Her head still lay upon crumpled pillow, mane tossed out of her eyes as she listened to the beautiful melody and sounds of a waking world. While ordinarily she was woken by the strident calls of an alarm, this morning she had the pleasure of arising with her ruler's sun. As the melody once again slowed she rose in her bed, stretching her forelegs with a loud, exaggerated yawn only to realize something else was amiss... She had no clue where in Equestria she was. It didn't matter terribly much. She had woken up in a few strange places before, normally friends houses after she had too much to drink, there was always somepony she knew at just about any club, and had ended up crashing at one of their places more times than she cared to count. She was lucky Canterlot was regarded as polite enough society that somepony could always have a place to sleep among friends. But she didn't recognize this room. She had never been here before. None of her friends were this refined, all of their apartments were as bad, if not worse than her own. Vinyl gulped quietly, she wasn't in a friend's house... Vinyl racked her brain to remember, let's see...I was DJing...at a club...the club was...kinda dirty...good crowd...name was... She bolted upright, scrambling out of the bed and looking around in horror at the realization of who could have just taken her drunk flank home. Panicked thoughts rushed to her mind, Where am I? What if somepony...some mare...DID something to me?! She looked at the slightly opened bedroom door and burst through it, in excpectation of the worse news she could possible see, but instead sat a familiar mare before a piano, buried in music as her hooves wildly danced across the keys, her attention captured by the music, she failed to even noticed the shocked mare now standing beside her. Soon, her facial expression softened as she returned to a familiar tune, but her eyes remained closed, locked in a seperate world she created for herself simply by pressing the keys of a piano. Her body swayed softly from side to side as she felt the music pulse through her, slowly dying away into a soft, somber tones. Upon opening her eyes she noticed the awestruck mare beside her, mane strewn about her face, ruby eyes starring at her in disbelief. "That was...uh...really good..." VInyl spoke softly, unsure of what to say. "I'm glad you appreciated it...and I'm happy to see that you're alive, and awake. I'm honestly surprised you don't have so terrible of a hangover any music would bother you..." "Oh I wouldn't be worried about that," Vinyl waved a dismissive hoof, "I've been to clubs in full swing with a hangover before." "I...see. Well, you certainly had enough to drink last night..." "Yeah, about that...where am I, exactly? And who are you? And perhaps most importantly, why was I in your bed?" Vinyl wore a concerned expression, particularly worried about the reply to the last one. "Well, perhaps you can't recall, My name is Octavia, we met at the bar last night. You are currently in my apartment in northern Canterlot. Thirdly, don't flatter yourself, you were sleeping in my guest bedroom." Vinyl let out a sigh in relief, "Oh good...So we didn't..?" Octavia simply gave a deadpan expression, "No, Miss VInyl,I wouldn't think of it, I was raised better than to take advantage of a drunk." "I'm not a drunk, I just was drunk. Besides, I doubt you'd want much to do with a mare like me." Vinyl watched closely for her reaction. If she remembered the name of the club correctly, there was a good chance she was a filly fooler, and Vinyl felt she needed to know. "It wouldn't matter if you were drunk everyday or for the first time in your life. I do NOT take advantage of the inebriated. Stallion or mare. Now, could I interest you in some tea?" "Um...maybe. I've never had tea before...What's it like?" Octavia stood from her piano stool and looked at Vinyl suspiciously, "You've never had tea before? Where have you been living, under a rock?" Vinyl frowned, "No, I've just never tried it." Octavia sighed, "Very well, what kind would you like to try?" "There's more than one kind?" *facehoof* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vinyl sipped cautiously at the cup before her. The liquid Octavia had poured was very hot, and had little odor. After going through a list of teas longer than the princesses' mane, Vinyl had decided on 'Green' tea, but the drink before her, while green, looked like someone had dumped lawnmower clippings into hot water and called it 'tea'. As she drew the first sip to her lips, she was quickly relieved to find the drink did not, in fact, taste like grass clippings, but instead a pleasant bitter flavor, instantly relaxing her nerves as she drank. The warm, soothing liquid washing away the dry feeling in her mouth and awakening her senses as she took in a deep breath after her drink, closing her eyes. The two chatted idly about the events which had unfolded the night before. Vinyl was shocked to find out just how much she had to drink...and just how friendly she became. Vinyl chuckled a bit, "Yeah...I was always a happy drunk...it wasn't anything personal, no offense." Octavia smiled, "None taken, I was rather enjoying all the free drinks from you." Vinyl's face fell, "Wait...how was I buying you drinks? I'm flat broke!" Octavia shrugged, "Apparently not. Supposedly the deal your friend had set up for you was that you'd earn 10% of any revenue that was larger than average. Plus the manager was happy to give you drinks on the house." Vinyl thought for a moment, "10% of additional profit? How much did I make, like, 200 bits?" Octavia laughed outright this time, "No, Vinyl, apparently before you got started was average, you made about 1,000 bits, if I recall correctly." Vinyl was prepared to jump for joy at this news, until she realized she would have to give most of that money up to pay for her rent. Instead she nodded and picked up her cup and began to sip her tea again. Octavia sat across from her, enjoying her drink with a calm expression. As the two mares set down their cups, they locked eyes and starred for a moment, the scene from the bar replaying itself as Vinyl found herself lost in those lavender pools. Vinyl quickly looked away after realizing she had been starring, a small blush adorning her cheeks. Little did she notice, Octavia's actions had mimicked her own... Something about those eyes... they thought.
Chapter 3: The Meaning Of Life, As Told By Vinyl ScratchVinyl sighed as she levitated her saucer back down to the table before her. It was nice being in such a peaceful environment, at least for a while. Vinyl allowed another deep breath to come into her lungs as she laid back in the couch. "So, Octavia?" "Yes, Vinyl?" Octavia replied, looking her friend in the eye. "What WERE you doing in that club last night? Honestly, because your story doesn't quite check out." "Didn't your mother ever teach you it was rude to be nosy?" Vinyl looked downward, a frown now growing across her lips "Um, no, I guess not..." "Well it is. However, I suppose you deserve the truth, even if it does make you uncomfortable. I have many friends there I suppose. And other reasons..." Vinyl looked back to Octavia, who's eyes averted her own. She raised an eyebrow, "Like?" "Well...It's...it's strange..." Vinyl sat quietly as Octavia bowed her head and looked away, somewhat in shame, somewhat in embarrassment. She took a long breath in before continuing, "I was always raised to believe that 'fillyfoolers' were lesser, immoral ponies...it's what my parents said, it's what I believed...but not too long ago, I found out a good friend of mine, Lyra, was a...a 'fillyfooler'... Celestia, I hate that word, don't you? It seems so...demeaning, I suppose...anyhoof, I found out she was, let's say, 'into mares', by her invitation to her wedding." Octavia chuckled a bit and looked upward in recollection, "I remember opening the letter and being so shocked...and I didn't know what to think! All my foalhood I was taught they were just bad ponies, but I had known Lyra all my life! She wasn't a bad pony at all! And how could I have known her for so long and not even known she was into mares?! I even knew she was in a committed relationship! I knew the ponies name, Bon-Bon, just not her gender apparently." Octavia chuckled before becoming somber again, "I was very confused for a while...it was the first time the world had showed me that the standards I was raised to believe were just...wrong." Vinyl levitated her tea back to her lips, taking a sip before pulling a small notepad and paper seemingly from nowhere and nodding quietly, "mmhmm...go on." Octavia shot an annoyed glanced. Allowing her scowl to change to exasperation, she continued her story, "Well I ended up attending her wedding as the mare of honor...it was an absolutely beautiful ceremony. After that I just...couldn't find anything wrong with them." Vinyl nodded, "That's a very cute story, but I didn't ask you why you were tolerant of...um...mares into mares...I asked you why you were at the club. It just doesn't seem like your scene, not because of the crowd, but the atmosphere." Octavia smirked, "My 'scene'? I suppose it's not, no, but as I mentioned before I played a large roll in Lyra's wedding...and her bachelorette party... It was at Fillyfoolers, and at the time, the club was a nicer establishment. I guess I just grew particularly fond of the club, even though I can hardly tolerate the music they play..." "Careful," Vinyl warned, "that's my bread and butter you're insulting..." "Well I hardly see how it's music! It's all repeating patterns and noises! How does one put soul and fire into the press of a key?! Or the push of a button?! No matter how wll you perform, or feel the emotion of the piece, it will not change!" Vinyl frowned, "Ocatvia, putting yourself into music is important, yes. The only difference is, with my music I put myself in when I write, not when I perform. Have you ever even written a piece for anything other than cello?" Octavia opened her mouth to speak, but was at a loss of words. Vinyl leaned in a bit, as if sharing a secret, "Have you ever even written music for the cello?" Octavia remained silent. Vinyl gave an annoyed look, "Octavia...you can't feel true emotion in somepony else's piece! Because it is their emotion! Their piece!Music let's you get what's inside of you out, so the rest of the world can hear. It's meant to be broadcast and felt, but not relived. That's why cover bands are always shit." Octavia giggled. "I suppose you're right Vinyl...my composer writes all of my music...it...it has always been easier to follow than to feel, I suppose..." The pair remained silent for a moment, Octavia deep in thought, while Vinyl merely stared. She saw so much activity and wonder in the mare across from her, so much emotion that seemed to be sealed in a conditioned layer of society and judgment. "Octavia?" "Yes, Vinyl?" "What do you 'feel' right now?" "...I...I don't know...confused?" Octavia looked to Vinyl, clearly suspicious of the point of this conversation. "Why?" Octavia sighed, "I...I guess I have been living within music my entire life...it's been everything I am...everything I do...so how do I put that into music? My life has no romance, no struggles, no pain nor adventure...how am I to write music about music? And furthermore, why, if all I know of life is music, is the most disheveled, party-going, craziest mare I have ever met giving me the most profound speech of my art I have ever heard?!" Octavia raised her voice, throwing up her hooves. Vinyl smiled, "My life is what makes my music, and where I go and what I do makes up my life. It just happens to keep bringing me right back to shady places like that." Octavia sighed, "As is my story as well...but nothing happens at my 'clubs'! It's the same lot of stuffy ponies merely sitting and listening, until I have performed and felt the works of somepony's very heart being poured onto a stage, into an audience, only to be met with 'polite applause'...perhaps that's why I like clubs...you can pour yourself into something and transform a crowd's behavior! When you are finished you can bask in a roar of approval, not a simple pattering of hooves. You can make a club jump, or sway. Dance or come together...there is a reason nopony attends formal concerts with the intention of attracting mates." Vinyl chuckled before looking into Octavia's eyes. "It sounds to me like I know how you feel right now." "How?" Octavia raised a suspicious brow. Surely if she didn't know her own head this mare didn't. "Trapped, frustrated, and above all, bored." Vinyl stated matter-of-factly. Octavia sat still for a moment, basking in the raw truth of what she was told. It was true, she wanted to escape her classical, stuffy regime and live freely, chaotic almost. She was tired of the order, the rules, and above all, what was right and wrong. "So I am...but it's not as though I can simply change my life." Octavia scoffed. "Why not?" Vinyl asked curiously. "What? What do you mean 'why not'? I have...a job! And friends, and...and an apartment! I have so many responsibilities!" "So?" Vinyl asked in the same manner, "Can you grasp this concept, Octavia? That you can always just leave? Quit? Move on? That's what I loved about what I do, if one day I just decided 'I'm done with Canterlot, going to Trottingham!' do you want to know how long it would take me? The trip to Trottingham and 30 minutes to pack." Vinyl stated, unamused by Octavia's theatrics. "How could you do that? Just get up and leave on a whim?!" "Because whims are your brains way of telling you that now is the perfect time to do it." Octavia blinked. "Come again?" "Spontaneity is the way life should be lived. Not 'according to plan'. Plans fail, fate doesn't seem to, it just has bumps in the road. You can't say you failed to get where you're going if you've got no place in mind." "So...you're telling me...that if I want to do something I should just...do it? Without question?" Octavia sat, wide-eyed. Vinyl kicked back and put her hooves behing her head, stretching out, "That's my philosophy." "And...how has that worked out for you?" Octavia put a hoof to her chin, adopting a somewhat smug smile. 'There's no way this mare makes the kind of bits I do, or had anywhere near the grades... Octavia thought. "Well, I'm certainly not as wealthy as you, or as 'classy' but I'm happy. I'm happy with where I am and what I do, and honestly? I wouldn't trade that for the approval of the princess herself." Octavia took a moment to think, 'Happy? You traded all of that just to be...happy?' "Do you even care what anypony thinks of you?" "Just my friends, or ponies that I decide their opinions matter to me." "So basically, you just run through life with no plan, not a care in the world, doing what you want, when you want, and not giving even a fraction of a buck what anypony thinks about you?" "Pretty much." answered Vinyl, now closing her eyes and letting out a breath relaxing. "That sounds...fantastic." Octavia replied, eyes wide open. 'Just being...happy...' "Then try it. Nopony's stopping you." Octavia blinked a few times before standing up, a blank expression upon her face. She simply stood, walked around the center table to where Vinyl sat calmly upon her couch, closed her eyes... and planted a gentle kiss upon her lips.
Chapter 4: Revelations and RealizationsVinyl blinked. Octavia took a step back, slowly opening her eyes, a blush spread across a new expression of bliss. A calm, satisfied smile hung on her lips. Vinyl blinked again. Octavia’s eyes widened, her blush amplifying as she looked to Vinyl for some sort of reaction. Octavia’s smile quickly dropped from her face, turning into a concerned frown. Vinyl’s face remained still while her mind reeled, attempting to grasp the situation before her. “Um...I’m...I’m so sorry Vinyl...I...I don’t know what came over me...I...I just thought that...” tears began to swell in Octavia’s eyes as she stepped away from Vinyl, her voice rising to an inaudible squeak. Vinyl took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, pausing a moment before reopening them. “You...you kissed me...” “Y-Yes I did and I-I apologize and it was foalish of me and I shouldn’t have and...” Octavia looked down in shame, her eyes darting from place to place on her carpet. “Was that what you wanted to do?” interjected Vinyl, her face a mask of calm hiding the chaotic swarm of thoughts buzzing inside her head. “Well...at the time yes but...” Octavia stuttered. Vinyl shut her eyes and waved her hoof, signaling for Octavia to stop talking, her face changing to one of near disgust, “Don’t apologize. You can’t have regrets.” “But...but I...” “You only regret how I reacted.” Vinyl gave a dead-pan stare. “Well, I suppose, but...” “Stop. You know what you’re doing? You’re giving a buck. Stop giving a buck.” “But...” “No. Bucks.” Vinyl’s face became deathly serious. “Well...well how can you say that?! How can you just do whatever you please and just not care?!” Octavia was fuming now, angered by her confusion more than her situation. ‘How can she just not care?! How DARE she just not care?! I...I kissed her! And she just doesn’t care! She’s...she’s the only mare I’ve ever kissed...she's the only pony I've ever kissed’ Vinyl stood up, “Because most everypony isn’t worth my attention,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Well...well who is huh?! What makes somepony worthy of the Almighty Vinyl Scratch’s attention?!” Octavia looked enraged, yet tears continued to spring from her eyes. “Theirs.” Octavia prepared to respond, but caught herself before she could continue her rant, “Wh-what?” “If somepony doesn’t give you their attention, they aren’t worth yours.” Vinyl spoke simply, stoic, almost. “S-so, I shouldn’t care because...you don’t?” Vinyl opened her mouth to speak, to tell her ‘no, in fact she didn’t’ but something nagged at her deep subconscious. ‘But...I do care...why do I care? I never care. She...I don’t even know her! I don’t...like her...do I? She’s a MARE for Celestia’s sake! I...wha...why? Why do I care?’ Vinyl blinked and looked into Octavia’s eyes. ‘Those eyes...those...beautiful violet eyes...I can’t stand seeing tears in those eyes...’ “Well, Vinyl?” Octavia sniffled. Vinyl swallowed, “I...I didn’t say I didn’t care.” “But you’re saying I shouldn’t care.” “I didn’t say I did care.” “Well Vinyl? What is it? Should I care?” Vinyl sighed, “You aren’t getting it. You can’t care until you know somepony cares about you!” “And how am I supposed to know?” Vinyl swallowed again, “Because...she’ll...show you...” Vinyl stepped closer, looking into Octavia eyes. “How? Should I just wait for...for somepony to tell me they care? What will ‘she’ do?” “She’ll...” Octavia looked back to Vinyl now, her eyes somewhat reddened by tears. “She’ll do something like this...” Vinyl closed her eyes and took a leap of absolute faith. Never before had she put such trust in somepony else’s hooves. Never before had she left her heart open, exposed, for any pony to be tender to or stomp on. Never before had she closed her eyes, leaned in... And kissed back. Octavia blinked. Vinyl leaned back. Now it was her turn to watch for a reaction. And the first time she, cared. “So...you...uh...do care?” “Uh huh.” Vinyl wore a goofy smile. “About me?” “Yes, Octavia.” Octavia paused for a minute before allowing an enormous smile to spread across her muzzle. “So...you’re glad I kissed you?” “Yes...yes I am, “Vinyl smiled now. “But...I have to ask...I thought you said you weren’t...you know...into mares?” “I...I don’t know. With my schedule and lifestyle I haven’t had time to be into... well... anypony, honestly.” “I can kind of relate. I’m always all over the place, and I’m always running the places where ponies are supposed to meet each other.” “Did...did you know, though?” “Know what?” “That you were...into mares?” Octavia asked, embarrassed. “No, not really...but I never really tried. Aren’t you scared though?” “Scared?” Octavia raised an eyebrow, before a adopting a confident grin. “I don’t have to care what anypony thinks anymore.” Vinyl knocked Octavia on the shoulder with a playful hoof, a smile plastered across her lips, “Now you’re getting it!” Octavia giggled, “Granted, I will need some time to adjust, but I think I can appreciate this sort of lifestyle.” Vinyl smiled, “I certainly do,” and then sat down on her couch. Octavia sat down next to her, with a look of mild concern, “So...does this mean we are...dating?” Vinyl wrapped a hoof around the mare next to her and pulled her close, “If you want to call it that.” “I...I’m not sure what to call it. I’ve never had any sort of significant other...” “I have...I guess...” Vinyl looked down in recollection. “You guess?” Octavia leaned back from Vinyl, looking into her eyes. “Coltfriends in highschool...never anything to serious...I always wondered what I didn’t see in them, I think I have a good idea now,” she chuckled. “My parents always tried to find Coltfriends for me...I was never interested, too busy practicing I suppose...I never did like the pressure.” Vinyl nodded before pulling Octavia closer against her, snuggling up next to each other on the couch, “Well, the pressure’s off now,” and placed a quick kiss upon her forehead.
Chapter 5: Concerns, Pasts, and Terrible PunsVinyl sighed as she embraced the feeling of Octavia nuzzling up to her on the couch. Octavia grinned, new sensations of bliss washed over her normally fretful mind. It was nice to have another pony there, to hold and be held by. It had a magical power of allowing the pair to feel like they were alone in the world, isolated from anypony else. ‘It’s so liberating,’ Octavia thought, ‘to not have to care about other’s opinions. I don’t need to impress anypony anymore! From now on, I will do things for myself! Not for the director or my band mates or Mother or Father...’ Octavia’s smile washed away. ‘Mother and Father...’ Now sadness began to creep into Octavia’s mind, knowing of her parent’s undoubted disapproval of her relationship. ‘Mother will be so disappointed...and Father will...oh Celestia...’ Vinyl looked down at the mare in her hooves and saw tears had began to well up in her eyes. Vinyl’s smile changed to a look of concern, “Octavia? Octavia, are you alright?” Octavia sniffed, “No...No Vinyl I’m am not ‘alright’...Do you remember what I told you about my parents?” Vinyl nodded, her concern growing. “You said they...they don’t like homosexual ponies...or fillyfoolers...” Octavia shook her head, “No, Vinyl, they don’t just dislike them, they utterly loathe them, they find them to be the bane of Equestria. That they’re just...” Octavia’s tears began to stream down her cheeks, “just...disgusting! They’ll think I’m disgusting! They’ll think WE’RE disgusting!” Octavia now sobbed openly, tears streaming down her face as Vinyl began to run a hoof through Octavia’s mane. Octavia took this as an opportunity to bury her muzzle into Vinyl’s shoulder, sobbing against her neck. Vinyl continued to run a hoof through Octavia’s mane as her tears started to overflow, occasionally accompanied by muffled gibberish, and then more cries. After a few minutes Octavia’s cries had stopped and Vinyl remained still while the last trickles of tears came from the mare she embraced. Now only sniffles escaped while Octavia began to calm herself. She wiggled out of Vinyl’s embrace, wiping her eyes and straightening her bow tie in an attempt to fix her unkempt appearance. Vinyl levitated a nearby box of tissues to Octavia and allowed her to grab one and blow her nose. After a moment of silence Octavia spoke up. “Vinyl...I...I apologize for my behavior...it was quite foalish of me,” She spoke calmly while wiping her eyes with a tissue. “I know you say I should disregard the opinions of those I who disregard mine but these are my parents! I...I can’t imagine life without them! They’ve always loved me...so much...” Vinyl nodded, “Then they will still love you.” Octavia shook her head, “No, Vinyl, don’t you see?! I...I am what they despise! They could never love a...a fillyfooler like me! I won’t be anything to them anymore...” Vinyl grabbed hold of Octavia’s shoulders, forcing her to look Vinyl in the eye, “Do they love you? Truly love you?” “They do now...” “Listen to me, Octavia! They still will! If they hate fillyfoolers more than they love you, then they don’t love you, they only love a fake, make-believe version of you. Not the real you. If they love the real Octavia, then they will continue to.” “And what if they don’t, Vinyl?!” “Then they were never worth caring about to begin with.” Octavia was becoming angered again, “How can you say that Vinyl?! They are my parents! How would you react if one day, you found out your parents just didn’t love you anymore?!” “They never did to begin with.” Vinyl stated with a hollow chuckle. “Wh-what?” “I said, they never did to begin with. My parents always hated me, and they made that very clear every day. Everything I did disgusted them, and they made sure to tell me so. According to them I was the bane of their existence from day one and they weren’t about to let me forget it.” Octavia’s anger melted to pity, “Vinyl...I...I’m sorry I didn’t realize...” “Don’t be sorry. I left as soon as I could and never looked back. I’m a stronger mare for it and I do just fine on my own.” “Did...did they ever hurt you, Vinyl?” “Hah!” Vinyl gave a fake laugh, “Yeah, you could say that...” Using her magic, Vinyl levitated her mane from the right side of her head to the left, exposing numerous scars from beatings to the back of her head. “My dad, I called him asshole, he called me little bitch; don’t you just love pet names? Anyway, asshole used to always hit me in the back of the head claiming it was supposed to ‘knock some sense into that retard brain of yours’ and then he would put my mane over it, telling me that if I ever showed anypony, he’d kill me.” Octavia brought a hoof over her mouth to cover her gasp before speaking, “Vinyl...that...that’s awful...I can’t even imagine.” “Good, ‘cause trust me, you don’t want to.” Octavia nodded solemnly, “How old were you when you left?” “About 14, I think. I don’t really have any way of knowing.” “You...don’t know how old you are?” Octavia asked. “Nope, I was born in Stalliongrad, and when we moved to Equestria, my birth certificate was never brought along. My parents didn’t tell me when my birthday was, they said it was for spoiled little shits, so I didn’t have one. To this day I can only estimate how old I am.” “That’s terrible! How did you leave?” Octavia’s face was one of pure shock. She had never considered herself to be an overly sheltered mare, but this was unspeakable. “It wasn’t that hard. One night they were both drunk and passed out, so I just left the apartment, sold what little I had to buy a train ticket, and rode it as far as it would take me. That’s how I ended up here, in Canterlot. I got off the train and enrolled in the first high school I found. I lived in the school for a while, then I moved in with a good friend of mine and his parents. I still live with him now.” “You two must be very close...” “Yeah, we are. He’s like a brother to me. He saved my flank in a lot of rough patches. He actually got me that job at FillyFoolers’...looks like I have another reason to thank him.” Vinyl smiled as she brought Octavia close to her, placing a kiss upon her lips. And another... Octavia sighed, the feeling if Vinyl’s warm muzzle pressed up against her was so comforting, so loving. It was easy to get lost in the euphoria of her lips. Vinyl opened her mouth slightly, allowing her tongue to gently glide over Octavia’s lips. Octavia’s mouth opened in return, allowing Vinyls tongue to slowly explore inside her mouth. A soft moan escaped Octavia’s lips, the pure bliss of these new sensations washing over her. Vinyl pressed her mouth deeper against Octavia’s as their tongues began an intricate dance, gently swirling in passionate harmony. Octavia finally broke the kiss, gasping for air, her hoof over her heart and panting through words, “My...that *pant* was certainly *pant* something else... *whew* how are you *pant* not out of breath?” Vinyl chuckled, “Because I have a nose?” A deep blush washed over Octavia, “Right...breathing through the...nose...I can do that...heh” Vinyl grinned, slowly placing her purple sunglasses over her eyes, “I guess you could say I really...took your breath away! AAAWWWWWWW YYEEEAAHHHHHH!!!!” Octavia facehoofed, “Of all the mares in Equestria, I fall for you...”
