//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Drop It // by FakeKeys //------------------------------// CHAPTER 3 "Hey, watch were you're going moron!" Vinyl grunted an excuse and stumbled left and right a moment before recovering her balance. After a quick look over her shoulder to confirm the stallion she had bumped into didn't plan on going past harsh words, she looked back down at her front hooves, concentrating on the pavement lines to walk as straight as possible. Getting all swervy at this time of the day would get her some attention she preferred avoiding. As the mare walked mindlessly towards the town park, she ran back the last couple of hours through her brain, not for any particular reasons beside the sake of understanding. She didn't quite remember the exact words that she and Octavia used - she didn't even remember how it truly had come to that point - but she had clear bits of it circling her mind; reading the letter, the comments about her parents and having foals, learning how much the rent was... The terrified look on Octavia's face... Vinyl shivered. She remembered clearly her eyes, those beautiful eyes, so wide open and yet so deeply narrowed by sheer fear. Not any fear mind you, the fear of herself, Vinyl, her marefriend. The thought almost brought back the tears to the unicorn's eyes, but she quickly rubbed it off and kept on walking, her head as low as she could. After what felt like a hundred miles, Vinyl's hooves finally came in contact with the soft and lush grass of Canterlot's peripheral parks. Sure, the inner city had some landscaped green spots, but it was often just one big tree and a pond. The outer gardens were really something else, sporting a couple of acres of grassy fields and hills spotted by the occasional trees. The perfect place to hang out with friends away from the buzzing city, or when you wanted guaranteed fresh air for you and you alone. The unicorn looked slightly upward at the sun slowly setting. It was probably close to seven now, and since they were still fairly close to the summer equinox she'd probably get one hour or so of light before being politely hustled inside the walls by guardponies. which should be fairly enough to sober up a bit, considering she would still have to walk back home afterwards. With a little luck she would also manage to find some words to bring back with her, hopefully. The pony sighed at the thought. As much as Octavia had of a part in their fight, Vinyl couldn't stop wondering about how the other mare felt right now, unable to shake off the image of the love of her life bursting into tears as she spat out her little raging monologue at her. After pondering for a couple of minutes, Vinyl decided to stop thinking about it. Regardless of how much she would try to guess, she would probably end up wrong anyway. Maybe Octavia would still be crying when she got back, maybe she would be enraged in her turn, prompting Vinyl out of the house. Only time would tell, and Vinyl would have to suck everything up and try to be as sincere as possible in her excuses. Because if Vinyl had learned one thing from living with Octavia, it was that taking the blame was always the easiest solution. Because even though Octavia acted all stoic and untouched by anything most of the time, Vinyl had slowly learned during their common years at university that Octavia was just a mare that never got to be a filly. Because of the pressure of her parents and their self-imposed social class, she never really had any real friends or fun of any kind before they met. And not-so-deeply hidden beneath the gray coat of seriousness, Vinyl knew there was a very fragile, naive and sweet filly living in a body that was forced to grow too soon. So whenever she had the chance, the unicorn took all the flack, because, of the two, she was by far the one that was the most used to it, and truly, she didn't care. So if she came back home and Octavia was to blame herself in any way, the solution was already all warmed up and ready. "Its my fault honey, don't blame yourself," she whispered, like some sort of surreal rehearsal. "Aha, excuse me?" a voice merrily asked. Vinyl's eyes opened wide as her head shot straight back up. Taking a moment to analyze what just happened in her slowed down brain, she finally looked back at where the sound came from, immediately falling face to face with a very recognizable mint unicorn. "I knew that you were completely nuts for a long time, but I never heard yourself ask forgiveness to grass before." The other unicorn walked the gap separating them, stopping aside her friend, staring intensively at the ground before them. Vinyl raised an eyebrow. "Or was it the ants? Maybe you asked forgiveness to the ants? I can't really tell. You were never a grass pony were you?" She looked back up at the confused unicorn, bursting out in laughter, shortly followed by said unicorn. "Nah, it was indeed the grass Lyra," she answered, still chuckling. The mint unicorn raised an eyebrow in her turn. "Indeed? Since when do you say 'indeed'?" "Meh, I guess Tavi is rubbing off on me." Vinyl's expression hardened at the mention of her marefriend but she quickly shook off the thought. She hadn't seen Lyra in months, this would be a great occasion to catch up a bit and clear her mind as well. "So, how are you doing nowadays?" Vinyl finally asked. "I'm the one who should be asking, you smell like you just had a concert in a pear orchard. A very old orchard. Full of fermented pears." Vinyl blushed a bit. She certainly was not in an optimal socializing state by any stretch of the imagination. "Yeah, that's a long story, I'd rather not talk about it. I just came here to sober up a bit and get some fresh air." "I see..." Lyra chuckled. "What are you doing in Canterlot anyway?" Vinyl sat down unceremoniously, prompting her friend to do the same. "They were out of lyre strings in Ponyville, so I decided to do the distance. Walking is good for the health." "That's still, like, four walking hours, no? Quite the trek." "Yeah, it is..." Lyra's expression darkened a bit as her ears flattened on her head. After a short pause she perked back up at her friend. "To be honest...I also needed to get away from Bonbon a bit." Vinyl raised an eyebrow. "Why?" Lyra sighed and briefly buried her face in her hooves. "Meh, I dunno. She's acting all weird lately. I've been hanging out a lot with Cherilee, since she broke up with Big Mac, and I think Bonbon is getting a bit jealous or something." "That sucks," Vinyl stated simply. "Yeah, it does... I mean, I'm pretty good at getting over exes by now you know. Bonbon should be a little more trustful." "It took you quite sometime to get over me.." remarked Vinyl, granting her a violent nudge right in the ribs. "I hate you Scratch, you know that right?" "Yeah, sure. As much as I hate you!" Both mares chuckled. There was a long pause, the two friends simply looking absently at the sun getting lower and lower. "Speaking of which, I stopped by your house earlier." Vinyl eyes narrowed as she tried to ignore Lyra's subtle accusing tone. The white unicorn looked slightly away from her friend, just in case she suddenly gained the power to see through reflective lenses. "I damn well hope you'd come by while being in Canterlot," she joked tentatively. "Yeah well you weren't there, obviously." Lyra continued. "And even though I don't know her as much as I would like, I'm pretty sure Octavia is not usually crying alone in her house for no reason." Vinyl flattened her ears in shame and looked down at the ground, sighing deeply. "No, she isn't." She paused a moment, considering telling Lyra the truth. She clumsily removed her glasses, revealing her full expression. "We kinda had a fight." Lyra simply nodded, Vinyl took a deep breath. "Like, the 'yelling a lot and crying' kind of fight." "That sucks." Vinyl chuckled at the irony of her friend's response. But it was not enough to refrain her eyes from watering. Lyra put a hoof around the other unicorn, shaking her slightly. "Hey there now, don't let it get to you. Everypony fights sometimes. Beside, you two must be used to it by now." She squeezed Vinyl a bit closer, trying to comfort her friend. "Yeah, well, no, that's the thing. We've never had any real fights until now... It feels so strange." Lyra's eyes widened. "Wait, are you telling me that in what, two years of living together?" Vinyl nodded silently. "Holy cow. Two years and you never fought?" "Not like that, no." Lyra started laughing out loud, much to Vinyl's confusion. "And you're getting drunk over it? Wow, if Bonbon and I fought only once in two whole damn years, I'd probably have grown wings by now." Vinyl looked up at the mint unicorn, frowning slightly. "Yeah, I guess I see your point." All around the fields ponies were starting to scramble around, packing whatever stuff they had brought with them as Celestia's sun was going down more and more by the minute. Guardponies started reaching out to the stragglers, proposing they got inside the main walls while it was still easy to see where you put your hooves. Lyra stood up, extending a hoof to her friend. Vinyl magically swooped her glasses back up and grabbed Lyra's foreleg, clumsily getting up. The dizziness came back as soon as the mare stood back on her four hooves. "Dammit, I'm still tipsy." Lyra leaned against the unicorn, helping her regain her balance. "It's not that bad, you can talk correctly enough." Vinyl chuckled while the green unicorn patted her jokingly on the back. "Come on, I'll walk you home." "And how exactly did you plan on going back to Ponyville?" The other mare asked. "I didn't, really. It took me more time than I had expected to get here." Lyra waved a hoof around. "I'll just go crash at Dawn's place, it's not like Bonbon will die from one little night alone. She's got toys for that." She winked at Vinyl, smiling a bit too much. The white unicorn rolled her eyes. "Gosh Lye, too much unwanted information, please." Both mares laughed as they started walking towards the main gates. Vinyl's mood was definitively getting better, thanks to Lyra's strange caring carelessness, if that made any sense. They walked silently towards Vinyl's apartment, only talking when the mare accidentally bumped into random ponies. By the time they came in sight of the well-kept building Vinyl lived in, it was already night. Gas employees were going around, lightning up the streetlights that were not magically linked yet, bringing a warm, soothing light to the streets of Canterlot. As the two mares approached the luxurious wooden door, Lyra felt her friend slowing down. "Something wrong Scratch?" she asked half-jokingly. "I, uh. I guess I'm nervous, that's all." Lyra turned Vinyl's head towards her with a front hoof, forcing the white unicorn's eyes - or at least her glasses - to meet her own stare. "Hey, it'll be alright okay? Whatever this fight was about, it's something you can work out." She nudged Vinyl's chest, prompting the unicorn to straighten up. Vinyl's ears fell slightly again as she turned back towards the door. "Yeah... I guess." Lyra nudged the other unicorn again. "Oh come on Scratch, if you managed not to fight for two whole years it must be because you found some sort of mystical way of solving problems or something." Lyra pushed Vinyl towards the door with a chuckle. "I'll drop by tomorrow so we can hang out a bit before I head back to Ponyville, 'kay?" Vinyl turned back towards her friend, a slight smile gracing her lips. "Yeah, okay." Lyra nodded and turned back in the direction of old Canterlot. "Hey, Lye." The unicorn stopped, looking back at the DJ. "Thank you." Lyra laughed out loud, waving a hoof at Vinyl. "Remember, if all else fails, try sexy time. It always works with Bonbon!" Vinyl laughed in turn and waved her friend goodbye, turning confidently back at the door. She tried the knob reticently, fearing it would be locked, but to her surprise the door opened silently. As she made her way inside she looked at the kitchen clock; it was barely half an hour past eight, surely Tavi wouldn't be asleep yet. "Hey..." Vinyl froze at the voice she recognized too well. It was coming from the living room, but she couldn't see the owner of the from the doorway. "Hey." she told back. The unicorn slowly closed the door and made her way towards the center of the room, looking for a familiar spot of gray fur. All the lights were out, except for what looked like a lantern in the middle of the room, partially obstructed by the couch. Vinyl moved forward, finally noticing her marefriend, lying down on the floor, reading. As she approached, the cellist looked up from her book. Her eyes were still red and her coat was ruffled and spotted by tears. The sight broke Vinyl's heart. "I..." both mare started in unison before interrupting themselves. Octavia spoke first. "I'm so sorry Vinyl.. I.." the mare couldn't finish her sentence before breaking down in tears. Taking a deep breath to restrain her own tears, Vinyl slowly laid down beside her marefriend, running a comforting hoof through her unkempt mane while the earth pony quietly sobbed for long minutes. "Shhh.. it's alright Tavi. It's not your fault." The other mare nodded slightly, interrupting her sobbing a moment before turning towards Vinyl, her eyes smiling amidst the tears. The unicorn removed her glasses, returning the smile and the two mares stared at each other for some time, both failing to find something to say, getting closer and closer each second, until Octavia finally leaned in, kissing Vinyl passionately. Surprised at first the unicorn soon returned the attention, squeezing against the earth pony even more as they continued their embrace. When they finally parted their lips, the couple looked longingly at each other in silence. The love in their respective stares making them forget all about their fight for an instant. Lyra was right, Vinyl thought, it was not a coincidence they never fought for two whole years. They truly were meant for each other. Octavia finally broke the silence. "You taste like very old pears." she said, issuing a chuckle that completely faded away the sadness in her eyes for a moment. "Do I?" the other mare simply replied. "I know I really could use a shower." "I could tell you that much." Octavia replied. The two mares chuckled, breaking their stare to lay back down against one another, Octavia's snout buried inside the electric blue mane of the unicorn. "I love you, Vinyl Scratch." "I love you too, Octavia." she replied. "And I'm sorry I yelled at you." "And called my mother a bitch." Vinyl nodded. "And called your mother a bitch." The mare paused a moment. "Although it seemed very appropriate at the time," she added. Octavia chuckled. "It still is, I just wanted to verify how docile you were." Vinyl raised her head from the floor, her mouth hanging open in faked disbelief. "You are an evil pony, miss, I hope you know that." "Guilty as charged." The two mares let their respective heads fall down to their original position while smiling from ear to ear. This was what they were used to. This was what made their relationship possible. This was the couple they really were. And no rent or bitchy mother should ever be allowed to disturb that. "You really do need a shower though if you want to sleep in the bed tonight, you smell horrible." Octavia remarked. "But I like it heeere... It's comfy." Vinyl replied, mimicking a foal's plea. Octavia playfully nibbled Vinyl's ear before standing up, softly kicking her flank. "Come on gal, I'll help you scrub your back." Octavia added with a wink, using a tone Vinyl immediately recognized. She looked up at her marefriend. "Only my back?" "It does get very slippery in there doesn't it? I might just miss once or twice." Vinyl grinned widely and immediately stood back on her hooves, following her marefriend into the small bathroom. "You truly are an evil pony."