//------------------------------// // The Dinner (Part 2) // Story: A City of Opportunities // by Sasha Nein //------------------------------// “So... uh. You play the cello sometimes, is that all you do?” Vinyl walked down the street with Octavia, doing her best to start up a casual conversation with the mare. “Well, I am proficient with other stringed instruments as well,” Octavia said primly. “But yes, being a musician is all I do to make money. I have done some teaching on the side, but nothing major.” Vinyl nodded and glanced at the street around them. It was dark, the street lamps having been lit an hour or so before. Their light casting shadows that danced around the lamp posts and cobblestones. She peeked down an alley as they passed and moved so that Octavia was between her and the dark recesses. Still unsatisfied, she tried to catch a whiff of any out of the ordinary smells when they passed the alleys. A heavy stench of sweat, or maybe alcohol, was what she was hoping for. Instead, there was only the faint odor of the nearby sewer drains and a fast food joint somewhere up ahead. They continued walking in silence. Vinyl tried to calm herself when she noticed Octavia giving her, what she assumed, were incredulous glances at her nervous antics. She had to admit, it was hard not to just bolt for the restaurant. The longer they were out here, the more likely it was for them to be attacked, why play with fire? Still, she was with Octavia who had easily held off four large stallions on her own, if there was anypony Vinyl could feel safe around she figured the gray mare would be the one. Taking a deep breath, Vinyl tried to think of something to take her mind off the trip. “So how was your first day at work here in Canterlot Octy-via.” Vinyl stumbled over the nickname, catching herself too late. Octavia rolled her eyes, but made no comment on Vinyl’s use of her name. Instead she sighed deeply and grimaced. “I don’t really want to talk about it Vinyl, why don’t you tell me about your education instead. You were telling me you double majored?” Vinyl gave her a confused look. “I did?” “I- uh. Well, yes you did?” Octavia fumbled her words with a grin. Vinyl shrugged her shoulders and snagged onto the conversation topic. “Okay, we can talk about me then,” Vinyl began. “I did double major, mainly just to get a lot of knowledge down for what I do. Back in highschool I was part of the band. I enjoyed coming up with new songs for our performances, but it was such a pain to work with others who knew things I didn’t about music production.” Vinyl paused as they scampered across the street before a carriage clattered by. Once they were safely walking on the opposite side of the street, Vinyl pointed with a hoof. “There’s the restaurant,” she said, pointing a ways down to a softly lit building. “Anyway, high school. Once I moved on, I decided I really liked making music, but hated doing it with other ponies. So now, hopefully with all this college learning, I’ll be able to create music on my own and have the skills to sell it to the public. But, we’ll see, I’m just getting started after all..” Vinyl finished as they came up on the door. She danced forward and opened the door with her magic before taking an extravagant bow as she ushered Octavia in. The mare quirked an eyebrow, but thanked Vinyl as she headed inside. Giving a last glance to the surrounding street, Vinyl quickly hurried inside after Octavia. Once through the door, Vinyl squeezed past Octavia in the small lobby and made for the small entrance counter as Octavia observed the decor. It was a nice enough place with the soft lighting complementing the dark wood interior. Short walls with distorted glass windows separated the dining areas and along the edges booths with well kempt cloth seats. Simple chandeliers hung from the open ceiling which were composed of five oval shaped lanterns and arranged in a pattern across the rafters. It was far from packed, the late time at which Vinyl had booked their dinner meant that the rush hour had passed. Still, the small restaurant was around half full and filled with the quiet chatter of couples relaxing after their meal. Overall Vinyl found it to be a relaxing change from the furious pace she had been keeping lately. Glancing at Octavia, she saw the mare visibly relaxing at what she saw. “She probably thought we were heading to some loud, low class bar or something... figures.” Vinyl thought, rolling her eyes. She turned back to the waitress at the counter who was gathering up menus and silverware. At a small gesture, the two mares followed her to a quiet booth. After being introduced to the beige colored waitress, they ordered their drinks and opened their menus. Vinyl stared at the striking red mane of the waitress as she hurried off, it would probably look amazing on stage under some neon lights. Octavia glanced at Vinyl over her menu, she stared for a moment before Vinyl noticed. Raising an eyebrow she asked, “Yes?” Vinyl drew the word out comically long. Octavia stuck her tongue out at Vinyl before asking, “I was just wondering how, with all the schooling you’ve had, you ended up as a DJ in some nightclub?” Vinyl chuckled incredulously. “Really, Octavia? You make it sound like a bad thing.” She turned back to her menu, but a glance confirmed she was still being stared at. However, the stare was now one of disbelief. Sighing Vinyl set her menu down. “You know, if you think about it, being a DJ really isn’t that surprising when you go to school for what I did. The kind of music I make uses much of the same equipment as being a plain old DJ; so why not put those skills to use where I can for the bits?” “Well,” Octavia mused, “I guess I just thought it was odd to see someone of your class becoming something that is usually associated wi--” “My class? What do you mean my class?” Octavia’s eyes widened. “O-oh, Well I just assumed that... With your schooling--” Vinyl waved a hoof irritably as she interrupted, “No, it’s alright, forget it. Listen It’s not that big of a deal, I really like mixing music on the fly, which is standard procedure as a DJ. Who cares where I came from or what other skills I have?” Vinyl took a breath and lowered her voice. “It pays the bills after all, Octavia. I know I said I was making my own music and selling it, but I’ve yet to make any big hits so I’m not making much money off of it.” With a nod Octavia looked back at her menu. It was a moment before she spoke again. “I suppose it makes sense, sorry for bringing it up, it seems like a sensitive topic.” Vinyl laughed. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten upset. Its just that I’m barely out of the university and I’ve been approached by a lot of ponies already with the same questions and incredulous looks.” “Ah.” No more was said on the subject and the next few minutes were filled with silence. The waitress made it back with their drinks and promptly took their orders. As they waited for their food, they made small talk on finer points of their professions. Vinyl didn’t get much insight on what Octavia did, but she did learn more about the mare’s skill with a cello and how she came to learn martial arts. It was all very fascinating for Vinyl, but soon enough their food arrived and they dug in. Vinyl had not listened to what Octavia had ordered, so it came a surprise when she saw what the waiter had brought her. It was probably the most standard meal in the restaurant, fried rice and steamed broccoli with a simple salad. She had thought that the gray mare would have chosen something a little more exotic, after all Vinyl had ordered a shrimp platter with butter and raspberries. She levitated the first shrimp up to eye level and gave it a critical analysis. It was a creamy white while tinged with pink around the ridges and back. Vinyl grimaced as she lowered it into the butter. Octavia watched as the unicorn brought it back up into her mouth and began chewing. It had a squishy firmness to it, like a rubber band, but it did not bother Vinyl any. When she finally swallowed she gave Octavia a large grin. “That’s disgusting Vinyl, why did you order those?” Octavia scrunched up her face in distaste. Vinyl picked up another shrimpling. “Why not? I wanted to see if I liked them or not, turns out they are kinda interesting tasting. You wanna try one Octavia?” Vinyl floated one of the shrimp up questioningly. Octavia shook her head vigorously. “No thanks.” And she promptly focused on her own plate. Vinyl popped the squishy pink morsel into her mouth as the waitress returned to confirm everything was in order. Once she left, Octavia spoke up. “Wow, this is really good. Best rice I’ve ever had,” she said, promptly filling her mouth again. Vinyl stole a fork full of Octavia’s rice and sampled it before scoffing, “Oh I don’t know. I know some cooks who could put any of this to shame. Well, I don’t know about the shrimp, that’s a little beyond even my extensive expertise.” “Even better than this? I don’t know Vinyl, that seems like a tall order I think,” Octavia responded. Vinyl narrowed her eyes. “You know Tavi, if you didn’t look so serious I’d pass this off as you joking. But, I don’t think you are. Surely you’ve had food better than this?” “This is the best I’ve ever had Vinyl,” Octavia said, then looked down at her food and fiddled with it before continuing. “Of course, I was practically raised on cafeteria food.” Vinyl brought a hoof down on the table forcefully, causing the plates to rattle. She ignored Octavia’s questioning look and proclaimed, “Well this injustice must be remedied! I, Vinyl Scratch, do swear on my new record that Octavia will taste the best cherry pie in existence!” Octavia rolled her eyes. “Vinyl, it was very nice of you to bring me to this high class restaurant but you don’t need to go overboard on my account.” Vinyl grimaced. “That’s just it, Octavia, this isn’t a “high class” restaurant. Well, it is for me I guess but that’s not the point, I just didn’t want you to feel like you were out of...” She trailed off and stared at Octavia intently. “How can you not know what a high class restaurant is?” Vinyl asked after a moment. “I mean, with your upbringing...” She trailed off with a confused look. With a sigh, Octavia stopped eating and carefully lowered her fork, depositing the utensil on the table with a skillful twist of her hoof. “Vinyl, I was barely ever at home with my father and mother.” She began. “I was always being tutored by music or educational teachers. To be honest I really didn’t like being at home, so I found the martial arts to take up any spare time I might’ve had to spend at home.” Vinyl shrugged. “Okay,” she said, disarming the conversation. Octavia seemed a little uptight about this topic and she wasn’t going to press, that’s not what they were here at dinner to do. “Huh, she and her parents must not get along well. I didn’t notice anything when her father was at the hospital so they must keep it quiet.” Vinyl thought as she watched Octavia relax quite visibly. The rest of the evening passed rather uneventfully. Vinyl learned a few things about Octavia through small talk and it was all quite interesting. She couldn’t quite place her hoof on it, but it didn’t seem like Octavia’s stories quite all fit together seamlessly. Ignoring the discrepancies however, Vinyl spent much of their time chatting about her own life. It seemed Octavia was the most interested in it as she continually bombarded Vinyl with questions. She told Octavia about her parents, that they were Canterlot nobility. She explained how she had changed her name to avoid any negative attention that might come of her station. Then there was college, four and a half years of hell in her opinion. But, Vinyl admitted, she had made it that way herself with all the classes she took in an effort to be be finished early with two degrees. Then there was her new job and all the new experiences she was having, they weren’t many but were some of the most vibrant Vinyl had experienced in a long while. One thing she noticed was that Octavia kept glancing over her shoulder with a small frown. But when Vinyl finally looked back, all she saw were a few more late night patrons. Octavia waved it off as her concentrating on what Vinyl said. If she had actually believed that, Octavia was now being rather rude as she had stopped looking past Vinyl’s shoulder. Eventually they were ushered out by the waiters who were preparing to close up for the night. As they stepped into the lobby, they found out it was raining. Vinyl almost swore aloud, she had forgotten about the late night rain that had been scheduled! She didn’t care about the rain, in fact, she gave a loud whoop and pranced out in it. But she quickly came back to Octavia. “Heh, sorry, Octavia, but I didn’t bring an umbrella,” she said, giving the mare an apologetic grin. Octavia smirked. “Good thing you don’t mind getting wet then.” With that, she plodded out into the rain with Vinyl following close behind. As they hurried back to the apartments Vinyl made it a point to jump in any puddles that had formed, her hooves making loud clops as they hit the cobblestone beneath the water. However, she was sure not to stray far from the light or Octavia. “It seems like somepony likes to make a mess of themselves, why am I not surprised?” Octavia rolled her eyes but was unable to hold back a chuckle. Vinyl splashed Octavia before responding. “I never got to do this at college, or around my parents. I’m a new, and my own pony now, I’m gonna enjoy it!” “I’m sure that you will,” Octavia said, looking up an alley with a grin. Her smile dropped, and she paused staring for such a short instant Vinyl almost missed it. Picking back up her grin she continued hurrying home as Vinyl glanced back at the dark street. “Are you coming?” She called. Vinyl turned back to Octavia. “Yea, but uh... What were you looking at?” “Oh it was just the light playing tricks,” Octavia responded quickly. “C'mon, I want to get out of this rain.” The continued on their way, but Vinyl stopped splashing around and trotted next to Octavia. While the gray mare made small talk and kept a grin on her face, Vinyl was noticing the mare sneaking glances in alleyways and up rooftops when she thought the unicorn wasn't looking. Vinyl tried to see through the haze of raindrops as well, and to listen for anything unusual through the pounding of water, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They even saw a few other ponies hurrying about their own business, each staying in the middle of the street and keeping their heads under wisely acquired umbrellas. Finally, when they were almost three quarters of the way home, Octavia suddenly stopped. “Vinyl why don’t you go on ahead, I want to go see a friend really quick.” “What!? At this time of night?” Vinyl squeaked, suddenly feeling a little panicky. “Relax Vinyl, she’s a night owl like you. I’ll catch you up at your apartment okay? This night isn’t quite over, I still have to thank you for dinner!” Octavia said smoothly. “Well why don’t I just come with you?” Octavia suddenly looked nervous. “Uh, she doesn’t really like new people Vinyl. True, she is up all night, but she’s about as antisocial as they come.” “Uh...” “Look, she’s part of my music... stuff. It will only take a few moments to pop in and see how she is doing. Hurry home okay? I’ll be there soon.” Octavia said giving Vinyl a push, then heading into a nearby alleyway she was swallowed up by the darkness and rain in an instant. Vinyl stood there for a moment, at a loss for words. However the cold rain on her head quickly made her realize she was now alone, in the dark and rain. As she turned a loud shout rang out followed by a thump pierced the downpour and made her jump. In a panic, she scampered home through the now drenched streets, her anxiety level rising with each step. Mere minutes passed by the time Vinyl was shoving a key into her apartment door, but it always seemed longer when there were those nasty imaginary goblins on your tail. With a relieved sigh, not a sob, she opened it and entered. Closing the door she leaned back against it and tried to calm her racing imagination. She had been unable to tell where the sound had come from, but it seemed too coincidental that Octavia had left at that exact moment. Vinyl knew Octavia was able to handle herself; heck she knew it firsthand that the mare was no sissy. But she was still worried that something might happen to her new friend. Vinyl glanced up at the clock. She would give Octavia ten minutes to show up or she was heading back out to find her. How hard could it be to find two ponies standing on a doorstep... In a downpour... Maybe within a mile radius? Vinyl grabbed an umbrella and a kitchen knife before heading back to the door, facing the clock. The minutes counted down agonizingly slow, each minute only making the unicorn more anxious. At the seven minute mark Vinyl got up and growled at herself, she was more jittery than a rabbit. Her! A nighttime goddess who had ponies from all over Canterlot bowing to her beats. Of course, they were extremely drunk but that wasn’t the point! Vinyl continued to pace in front of her door, dripping all the while as she continued to try and give herself a pep talk. Just as she felt like she could wait no longer, the clock finally reached the ten minute mark. Firming her magical grip on the kitchen knife and umbrella, she wrenched open her door and charged out. At least, she was going to. Octavia stood in the doorway, with one hoof raised to knock, dripping all over the place. She raised her eyebrows at Vinyl who didn’t look any better, but was brandishing a kitchen knife at her. Vinyl grinned and magicked the knife back into the kitchen, wincing as she heard it thunk into the far all. “Octavia!” Vinyl exclaimed, throwing herself forward to give the mare a soggy hug. The mare took a moment to reciprocate the gesture, but once she did she relaxed under Vinyl’s hooves and shuffled them both inside. “Sorry about that, Vinyl,” Octavia said. “She was delighted to see me of course, I gave her my apartment number and hopefully we will be able to spend some more time later.” Breaking the hug, Octavia gave Vinyl a questioning stare. “Why did you have a knife?” She asked. Vinyl grinned sheepishly. “Oh, uh... Well I heard something after you ditched me and I thought you might have been... Well, you know...” she trailed off, leaving her conclusion open. Octavia looked at the floor, embarrassed. “Oh, sorry, Vinyl... I ran into a trash can. I didn’t mean to ditch you. I just wanted to get this little errand out of the way and didn’t want you to be out in the rain any longer.” “Hey it’s cool, at least you’re okay,” Vinyl said. “Here, let me get you a towel,” she glanced at the floor, “and me one too I guess.” Vinyl moved past Octavia to the small bathroom and grabbed a two towels from inside her dryer. She offered one to Octavia but she declined. “No, I need to be heading home and I’ll just be getting wet again,” she said with a shake of her head. “Already? You sure you don’t want a drink or something?” Vinyl asked with a frown, draping a towel over herself. She gestured at her kitchen, which was little more than a bar separating it from the rest of her apartment, but Octavia shook her head. “No, I just came over to reassure you I didn’t ditch you.” Vinyl chuckled but let Octavia continue. “I want to thank you for taking me to dinner, it was quite enjoyable.” “No problem, Octavia, I’m glad you went out with me... I- I mean, accepted my invitation,” Vinyl corrected quickly. “It’s the least I could do, for... you know, saving me.” She finished awkwardly. Octavia smiled and pulled Vinyl into a side hug. “Hey, just keep making that awesome music and taking me to more dinners. You will get it paid back eventually.” Vinyl rolled her eyes at the sarcastic tone on “awesome” but grinned back at Octavia. When the gray mare pulled away she made for the door. “I’ll see you in a couple days bright and early mmkay?” She said, pulling the door open. Vinyl gave her a mock glare. “Don’t you dare, if it’s any time before noon I’ll be sure to pull that knife out of the wall and put it to use!” They both laughed, and Octavia departed. Vinyl stared at the door for a moment before she sighed and moved to replace her now wet towel. That mare was odd, but it probably came natural to somepony who spent half their life learning martial arts like some kind of ninja! She couldn’t wait for their next get together. Vinyl grinned, realizing there actually was going to be another get together; it had been too long since she had a friend. Octavia was hiding something, she knew it, it was going to be fun trying to figure out what it was. “Detective Scratch is on the Octavia case,” She thought smugly. Her eyes glinted, at least, she imagined they did, as an idea for a new song came to her. With a short pit stop at the beverage dispenser, also know as the fridge, Vinyl headed over to her music equipment and began powering them on.