"Hey, everypony, what's it take to liven up this crowd?" Vinyl Scratch's voice boomed through the quiet corridor of Canterlot Castle's grand corridor. Octavia never understood why she came to the Equestrian Musical Societies' meetings, they were pretty high class, just a bunch of rich ponies with a taste for classical music. Vinyl was acknowledged by the musical society, allowing her entry, but she never seemed to enjoy herself.
'I guess we just aren't the same company as the brutes with whom you spend your time.' Octavia brought a small glass of water to her lips, her conversation with Violo, an elegant stallion with a hoof for the violin, had parched her throat. Once again, the obnoxious rave pony from across the room's voice echoed about, nearly shattering Octavia's delicate eardrums.
"Hey snobs, me and my crew are leaving, try to not to have too much fun." The DJ's group crowded around her, laughing and conversing with each other as they exited the hall.
"Well I'm glad that's over, that Vinyl can be quite the rabble-rouser eh, Octavia?" Violo questioned, his face deadpan. Octavia had to admit, these ponies were not the liveliest group around, that's for sure.
"Indeed, very disrespectful to the society." As prim and proper as Octavia was, she too found these meetings to be drab and the conversations arid. As Violo continued on with his lecture of advanced monocle design, Octavia's eyes began to wander. In the far corner of the room, above a concessions table, a large ornamented clock hung. The towering time-keeper cast a shadow across the floor that reached her very hooves. The hour hand rested firmly on twelve, indicating the onset of midnight. She turned back to Violo who had stopped his rambling and began studying her, attempting to find out what had drawn her attention from his self-proclaimed "engaging tale".
"I must get going, Sir Violo, it's getting late, and a proper mare never tarries from bed." Octavia flashed a false grin, she had become a master of putting on faces at these events.
"I understand. Goodnight, Octavia." Violo walked away, melding into the crowd, 'probably to bore some other pony to death.' Octavia thought as she passed through the large Castle doors, beginning her trot home. This was not the end of Octavia's night. No, not even close.
"It's not like it's hurting anypony," Octavia's pink bow-tie detached from its owner, fluttering slowly to the ground. "Sometimes one just needs to cut loose a little, really live life." Carefully, she pulled back her hair, and kept it in place with a small elastic band. "I just need to get away from all these stuffy upper-class ponies." The musical pony's apartment was small and bland, but it gave her a feeling of security. It was hard for a pony to find a house in Canterlot, even with a prestigious job such as hers. Octavia took a look in the mirror to see her altered form. She looked so different, even her closest friends would have trouble recognizing her. Tonight was the night she finally worked up enough nerve to go out for a fun night on the town, like normal ponies do. "But...where do normal ponies go?" She trotted to and fro across the room, pacing as she thought. "Hmmm, I'm always hearing about bars, I should try there first. Luckily there is one down on Hooferson Street." The excited pony gave herself one last check in the mirror before heading towards the door, "this is going to be a night to remember!"
The walk over to the bar was filled with panic and excitement; she couldn't let anypony know what she was doing, it was a contradiction to her stature. Soon enough, the bar rose into sight from the out of focus cobblestone that lined the street. The front of the building glowed like a fiery star of neon lights, the intense buzzing invaded Octavia's ears, rattling around in the core of her brain. 'My, I'm surprised nopony has had a seizure yet.' A colossal stallion guarded the front door; his face was gruff and cold, his expression unreadable under the sheen of the black sunglasses he wore. 'Oh no, how am I to enter? Is there a certain procedure? Stay calm Octavia, just play it by ear.'
"Good evening, my good gentleman, would you mind granting me access to your building here?" she stood like an ant compared to the towering pony before her.
The bouncer lowered his head, looking the gray pony over a few times. "You got an ID?" His voice was was deep and rough, one strong enough to make even the manliest colts quake in fear.
'ID?! No, I can't let anyone know!' Octavia took a step forward, the stallion's hoof quickly blocked her path, hitting the ground with a thundering smack. The sheer volume of the stomp made her jump back an inch. "Well, you see, I don't seem to have mine on me, but you can trust me, can't you?" she looked pleadingly into his eyes.
"No ID, no entry." he pushed her aside, making room for the line that had formed behind her to enter the club.
"Hmph, I will not be treated like this! I came to have fun, and that is what I plan to do." Octavia sprinted forward past the mob of ponies, nearing the entrance. Suddenly she felt a sharp tug on her tail, she was afraid to look back, she knew the bouncer had caught her. He heaved her back, leveling their faces. Through his glasses she could tell he was angry. "Alright, pony, It's time for you to-"
"Hey, Mac, what are you doing to this mare?" An unknown voice cut through the tension between Octavia and her captor. "Listen man, she's cool, she's with me." A white unicorn stepped forward, her hair as blue and electric as her sparky personality.
The bouncer turned back to Octavia, letting out a deep breath from his nostrils, blowing her hair back a little. "Alright, Scratch, just this once, now get out of here." he released his grip, sending Octavia stumbling towards Vinyl.
"Thanks, Mac, you're the man." She flashed a smile at him, Octavia caught the glimpse of a smile of his own form on his face as Scratch led her into the bar.
"Here, take a seat, that was some crazy stuff you pulled back there, what were you thinking?" Vinyl hopped up onto a bar stool, patting the one next to her. Octavia climbed up and turned to Vinyl who was already ordering a drink for the both of them.
"I don't know, it just sort of...happened." That outburst back there wasn't like Octavia, she was usually more cool and collected than that. "How did you manage to stop him anyway?"
Vinyl grabbed the two drink the bartender had brought over, sliding one to Octavia. "I come here all the time, that was Mac back there, he looks tough but he's really a big softie." She took a sip from her glass. "What's your name anyway?"
'A name, I need to think of a name!'
"My name's, uh, Chella!"
Octavia slapped her hoof against her face, 'real original there Tavi''
Vinyl chuckled, "Nice name you got there, I guess that explains the music cutie mark, you remind me of someone actually....what's her name.....Octavia! You know her?"
"Yes I believe so, I hear she is an amazing cellist, unrivaled in fact." Octavia relished in her words, unable to pass off a chance to inflate her ego.
"So you know her, eh? I got something for you then." Vinyl called over the bartender and whispered something into his ear. The stallion just nodded and walked off, returning a few seconds later with two new glasses.
"I can't accept this, I haven't even touched my first drink."
"Just take a sip, real quick, tell me how it tastes."
Octavia hesitantly brought the glass to her lips, letting some of the unknown liquid into her mouth. She brought the glass down, confused, she looked over to Vinyl. "This drink tastes bland and uninteresting, what is it?"
A wide grin formed across Scratch's face "I call it an Octavia" the mare burst into laughter, bringing her head down against the counter, repeatedly slamming her hoof down. Octavia sat there staring blankly at Vinyl, clearly unamused by the clever joke. After a few minutes, Vinyl calmed down and wiped a final tear from her eye.
"So, I take it you don't like her?"
Vinyl looked over at her, completely serious. "It's not like that, she's a nice mare, very talented, not bad looking either if you know what I mean." Octavia's face grew warm, she turned to hide a blush growing on her face. Vinyl raised an eyebrow "Hey, you got a problem with me?" her tone had a hint of venom in it.
Octavia shook her head, trying to find the right words to come out. "No, not at all! I just...didn't expect it is all. The blush began overtaking her gray color, she turned and grabbed her drink, inhaling everything but the glass to try and cover it up.
Vinyl took one last quizzical look at her new friend, she shrugged and went back to her story like nothing ever happened. "Anyway, she acts just like all those other ponies at the music society, just another boring mare with no sense of the word "fun"."
Octavia wanted to tell Vinyl the truth, who she really was, but after that little comment earlier, she was afraid things might...end badly. "I'm sure she would be different if you gave her a chance."
"Maybe...Nothing like you though, the way you tried to juke Mac, that's what a real party pony is like. Hey, you want to hang out tonight? I know some rockin' places we can go to."
Octavia's body grew warm, something she had long forgotten. This pony wanted to spend time with her, had genuine concern for her, these things she found scarcely with the higher-class ponies. This feeling was warm, like the rays of the sun beating down upon her, was this the feeling of friendship? Octavia nodded, and the pair walked out of the bar to their next destination.
The vibrations of the bass rocked the very foundation of the building, each beat bringing with it a new world defined by multi-colored strobe lights. Ponies lined the flashing dance-floor, their dances were unprejudiced and free, they were all slaves to the music that enveloped them, and didn't seem to mind one bit. The music in the club was loud enough to make Octavia wondered how anyone near the DJ could possibly still have their hearing intact. Vinyl came here regularly as a guest DJ, it's where she started out; everyone was family here. She had quickly whisked away Octavia to the dance floor, attempting to coax her out of her shell. Octavia never had a problem with dancing, but this new kind of music was just....not her forte.
"What's wrong, Chella? You don't look like you're having a good time." Vinyl's expression was worried, Octavia got a small joy out of being so cared about by her new friend.
"It's nothing, I just...this music, I can't dance to it."
"That's it?" Vinyl now donned a smile, nothing was out of her control. "Don't worry, I'll be back in a second." She trotted off into the crowd of ponies, leaving Octavia alone in the center of the dance floor. Octavia spied her up at the DJ's turntable; they were conversing, it looked like. She saw the DJ give a nod and Vinyl trotted off back to the dance floor, soon rejoining her friend.
"What was that about?" Octavia was quite confused.
"Just shut up, you'll see in a second," she laughed in a bantering tone. The song abruptly changed, the music in its place was familiar. Octavia's sharpened hearing could pick up the sounds. The base of the music was a classical piece, an old song she knew, "Requiem of the Soldiers", but the beats were faster; the piece was infused with the dance beat of a newer age techno song. The music was amazing, a perfect harmony of classic and new age music, it took no time for Octavia to begin jumping around to the beat. "Now, you're getting it!" Vinyl joined in, grabbing Octavia's hoof, throwing her side to side before pulling her in close. The world around them appeared to stop as the pair danced, completely in sync, to their respective music combined. The spotlight seemed to stay on them forever, the ponies around them disappearing, it was just them. Octavia had never noticed Vinyl's eyes before, they were always blocked by the purple glasses she wore often, but tonight she had ditched them for full attention to her dance. Vinyl's eyes were a beautiful shade of red, like a rose in full bloom in the Summer. They stared right back at her, studying her. Suddenly, something had hit Octavia, the song had ended minutes ago. The pair had been standing on the dance floor, just staring into each other's eyes. She turned away, her face was completely flushed. Vinyl shook her head, exiting the trance she had fallen into.
"Are you ok?" She reached out to turn her friend around, but Octavia refused to budge and reveal her scarlet face.
"It's nothing, I just need a drink!" She dashed off to the bar, plowing through the crowd.
The bar was nearly empty, almost everypony was up and out on the dance floor, Octavia just needed to get away. She plopped down on a bar stool and waved over the bartender, "Just a water please," The barman nodded and walked off to fetch her refreshment. Octavia slammed her head down against the table, the force pulsating down, shaking the glassware that rested on it. 'Why did I just stand there gawking at her? I'm never like this!' The bartender reappeared, placing the drink down on the counter next to the sulking earth pony. Octavia lifted the glass to her lips and let the cool water help wash away her embarrassment.
"Chella!" Vinyl came up from behind, wrapping her hooves around her. "Don't tell me you're done already! You're going to miss the big surprise, It's going to be awesome!"
Octavia sat, dumbfounded, "It's nearly three in the morning, what in Equestria could you have in mind"
Vinyl grinned ear-to-ear, she grabbed her friends tail in her teeth and trotted off toward the entrance, dragging a confused Octavia along with her. "You'll see."
Octavia's hoof slipped from the door as it opened, breaking her support and sending her tumbling forward with Vinyl in her wake. They scrambled around the floor, hazily searching for something to help them up. Saying they were drunk didn't do their current cognitive skills justice. The two had been bar hopping all night and it certainly showed. Vinyl's glasses shattered, leaving jagged shards of purple glass embedded in her hair. Octavia's hair, although tied back, was frayed and unkempt, as if she hadn't seen a shower in weeks. In the back of her mind, Octavia couldn't even remember the walk back to Vinyl's. Judging by the numerous scrapes lining her legs, it must have been pretty bad.
The weightless feeling that coursed through Octavia's limbs contradicted the incredible difficulty of getting up on her hooves. At the peak of her climb, she noticed the room spinning rapidly around her. 'That's funny', she thought with her face buried deep in the carpet. It only took her a few minutes to realize what just happened. The gray sack of liquid depressant rolled over onto her back, spying Vinyl through the corner of her eye. "I think we had too much to drink, Vinyl. You alright?"
Vinyl turned her head in confusion, probably hearing only her name in the unintelligible slur that was Octavia's question. She tried to point a hoof at Octavia to get her attention but couldn't decide which of the three mares in her eyes to follow. "Let's try to get over to the couch." Vinyl mustered the strength she could and threw herself onto her hooves.The world slowly turned right side up...and then back down the other way. The force she put into getting up sent her a bit over her mark, and cracking her head on the nearby wall. Albeit painful, she was able to bolster herself against the wall for a while until her vision cleared a bit. slowly making her way to the couch, Vinyl looked down to keep on track but kept wondering which of these eight hooves went in front of which?
Octavia had already crawled and hauled her way up onto the couch, lazily waiting for Vinyl to join her. The latter awkwardly plopped herself down on the other end, still trying to get her vision straight. The two got themselves comfortable before they caught each other staring from the other end. Neither said a word, but the silence wasn't awkward. On the contrary, they both seemed to enjoy it. Octavia could get lost in Vinyl's eyes without worrying, everything was safe here.
"You know, Chella. I been wondering." Vinyl's words came out nearly crystal clear. Years of indulging herself in the night life had granted her immunity to the drunken slurs most ponies just as hammered experience. "Just that...if you have....if you..." Her confidence was slowly slipping away. With Octavia sitting so close, staring right at her, it was hard to stay strong. "I mean if you...were at the music society meeting tonight!"
'Bucking nailed it...' Vinyl chastised herself in thought.
"I mean, with that treble clef cutie mark, I would expect you'd be there. It was pretty dull, but I go anyway. Part of being in the music biz." Vinyl turned her flank, showing off her cutie mark to Octavia.
Vinyl's cutie mark was a simple eighth note. Bold and dark, it seemed to curve just in shape with her body. The curve itself not too sharp, it seemed just right for her. Octavia continued mussing to herself before a scarlet blush appeared upon her face, realizing she was less interested in the cutie mark than where it was on Vinyl's body.
"Yessh," Octavia's slur was followed by a small hiccup, eliciting a giggle from Vinyl. She gave herself and imaginary slap to the face in embarrassment before composing herself and trying again. "I mean, Yes. I was there. I think I waaaas with Violo, something with monocles."
Vinyl's struggle to keep her laughter in check faltered, causing a loud snort to echo from the drunken rave pony. The sound was nothing short of adorable to Octavia who couldn't help but laugh with her.
"You were hanging around with THAT clown?!?! That guy could bore a dictionary to death!"
"Oh, he's not so bad," Octavia chuckled. "He just likes to check up on me, you know? He cares about me."
"Vinyl's laughs cut off into a heavy silence. Her eyes lowered a bit away from Octavia's gaze. "Oh...Must be nice to have somepony care for you."
Octavia sat confused at Vinyl's sudden change of mood. What did she mean by...."Oh! No, nothing like that. We're just good friends is all." She could see Vinyl's eyes slowly peak back up with a goofy smile plastered across her face.
As Vinyl brought her head back up, Octavia noticed a crimson trickle maneuver its way down her face. Her eyes followed the trail upwards to her hair, where a small pool of blood had stained her once light and vibrant hair.
"Vinyl, you're bleeding!" Octavia scooted herself over to the other side of the couch to assess the damage. Vinyl looked up at Octavia with confusion, she probed around her her head with a hoof, only to return it to her gaze with a shard of blood-stained glass. The impact against the wall earlier must have embedded the remains of her glasses further than she had thought. "Aeeeeei!" Vinyl let out a yelp as Octavia put pressure down on the wound with a small blanket she snagged from the side of the couch. "Not so rough!"
"I'm sorry, Vinyl. It's to stop the bleeding, it's for your own good."
Vinyl relaxed herself and smiled up at the mare helping her "It's nice to know somepony cares about me."
There they were again, those two beautiful rose colored orbs piercing through her soul. Vinyl's gaze captured her in an everlasting lock that she just couldn't break. She thought it was a trick of the haze, but Octavia could swear that her eyes were getting closer. It dawned upon her that it was not only Vinyl moving forward. Their faces closed in slowly, and everything Octavia had suppressed that night welled up in a ball of emotion. Her prefect laugh, the butterflies that exploded through her stomach whenever their fur touched, and those eyes...Octavia looked into those scarlet iris and understood. Everything tonight had been leading up to this. From the bars to the club to sitting right here beside her, Octavia had slowly been falling in love with this mare of another world.
Their faces were no more than an inch apart, close enough to feel the heat radiating from the other's body and the warm breath against their cheeks. Neither said a word, but only closed the gap between their muzzles. Their touch was electric, a feeling previously unknown to Octavia. In this moment together, the two weren't so different after all.
"'Tavi! Wake up, 'Tavi, it's breakfast time!"
Celestia's golden sun shone brightly through the windows, blanketing Octavia in its warmth. She flinched as she opened her eyes, the sudden light burning deep into her corneas. "Agh!" She yelled, rubbing furiously at her eyelids to alleviate the pain. Every little sound reverberated inside her ears like a restless gong. She listlessly tried to lift herself from the warm white pillow beneath her to no avail.'That's right, I was at Vinyl's....but.....what happened?' Octavia could feel butterflies bustle inside her as she thought back to the pair's drunken kiss from last night, but everything after was a blur. She lifted herself to her hooves at last, the blinding light leaving her sight ingrained with colorful circles and lines dancing about. The carpet sunk beneath her every step on her way toward the mystery voice calling her from the room over. The sound of clattering metal and sizzling filled the air, along with the enticing aroma of a fresh-cooked breakfast. Octavia peaked her head around the corner to spy a white mare, whistling happy to herself as she prepared the table for breakfast.
"There you are, 'Tavi! Sheesh, you sleep even later than me, it's two in the afternoon." Vinyl beckoned Octavia over to the table where a place had already been laid out for her. her hair was as bright and vibrant as ever; scrubbed clean of the blood that stained it the previous night. Back at the table eggs, toast, and a heaping plate of pancakes laid waiting for her.
The meal certainly looked amazing. Octavia never would have guessed that Vinyl was such a good cook. In fact, she never would have guessed a lot of things about her. She stopped for a second to realize how little she actually knew this mare before a tremendous force send her stumbling forward.
"Come on, 'Tavi. I'm not letting you leave until you've had a bite to eat, hospitality and what not." Vinyl smiled as she continued pushing Octavia over to her seat.
Octavia plopped down in her chair, waiting as Vinyl joined her from the other side of the table. The food sat steaming on her plate, how could she deny a hot, fresh breakfast? She tore a small piece of pancake from its entirety, tentatively tasting the morsel. Octavia nearly dropped her jaw as the rich flavors exploded inside her mouth. She thought the food would taste as good as it looked but this was just unbelievable. In seconds, Octavia found herself tearing through entire cakes at a time. Her breakfast slowly evaporating before her eyes. She hadn't even realized how hungry she was until now. All that partying must have burned away four years worth of those insignificant h'orderves they served at the meeting last night. As she finished her last bite, Octavia looked up to see Vinyl staring shocked across from her. Her face turned crimson as she realized the extent of the barbarity she had eaten with.
"That...was....AWESOME" Vinyl nearly jumped right out of her seat as she cheered for her friend. "I knew I was a good cook but damn! You went to town on those pancakes."
Octavia couldn't forgive herself for the vulgar display she had just put on, but the acceptance of Vinyl made her a bit more comfortable. "Heh heh, sorry. I guess I was hungrier than I thought," She said sheepishly.
"Don't try to apologize around me, Octavia. I'm having the time of my life." Vinyl scooped up a couple pancakes from her plate and crammed them into her own starving mouth. Octavia had to admit, it was interesting to watch to say the least.
Something struck Octavia in the back of her head. "What did you just call me?"
Vinyl chuckled to herself, "What? You thought I actually believed you were a different mare? You put your hair up in a bun and took your bow tie off, it wasn't rocket science to find out who you were. You don't see me taking my glasses off and calling myself Lady Pompustine II. By the way, Chella? You couldn't think of anything better?" Her laughter filled the room as Octavia hid her head in embarrassment.
"Seriously, why in Equestria would you put on such a...faci....face..."
"Facade"
"That, just to go out to party for one night."
Octavia sighed and traced her hoof along the grain of the table. "It's just not that easy for me. People expect so much of me, and what they do definitely isn't partying. I have a nice life and I don't want to lose it, but..."
Vinyl tapped her chin, straining to think of a solution. "I got it!"
"Got what?" Octavia looked up from to table in confusion.
"Another one of those fancy-pants music meetings is today, right? Well how about we go there together and have some fun?" Vinyl flashed a goofy smile; Octavia already knew this was going to end horribly. She grabbed the other pony by her tail and began dragging her toward the door.
"This seems kind of familiar," Octavia let out. Unfortunately, her voice had been drowned out by the front door slamming behind them.