//------------------------------// // Arrival // Story: The Secret Life of Octavia Melody // by Terrasora //------------------------------// “Hold me back, Tavi! Hold me back!” “Vinyl, for the love of all that’s good, stop talking!” “GET OUT! NOW! GET OUT AND DON’T COME BACK UNTIL YOU FIND THAT COMPOSER!” Octavia turned towards Timely Performance, nodding furiously and straining against her roommate, trying to push her back out through that door. “I can take him! Let me go! I’ll fuck him up!” “You just told me to hold you back!” “Do that too!” Octavia gave one last heaving shove, knocking both herself and Vinyl Scratch through the doorway. A flash of light. Vinyl and Octavia were falling, the wide expanse of Equestria miles and miles below them and the concert hall hovering high above their heads. Vinyl shouted something, but her voice was whipped upwards by the rushing winds. “What?!” shouted Octavia. “I can’t hear you! We’re falling through the sky!” Thud. Octavia and Vinyl sat across from each other in rather uncomfortable seats on a rather uncomfortable train at a rather uncomfortably late time of the night. The only other passengers in that car were an elderly couple, both of them snoozing comfortably against each other. Vinyl stared through the window, watching trees whip past in the murky darkness. Octavia blinked, her gaze snapping from place to place. “Vinyl?” “Yeah, Tavi?” “Isn’t there something… strange about this?” “How do ya mean?” Octavia knit her brow. “I’m… not entirely sure. Just a feeling, I suppose.” Vinyl shrugged, turning back to gaze through the window. Octavia sighed. “Vinyl, I’m sorry for dragging you along like this.” “Sorry?” asked Vinyl, her face twisted with confusion. “C’mon Tavi, this is gonna be awesome! Heading out of Canterlot in the middle of the night, grabbing a train, sailing out to Scoltland to find a lost page--” “Sheet music written by a friend.” “Whatever! It’s badass, Tavi!” Vinyl grinned brightly and turned back towards the scenery. “I’ve always wanted to see more of the world and now we are! Sweet.” Octavia gave a half-smile. “But you’ll be missing work, won’t you?” “Ah, screw that!” said Vinyl, with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “There are more important things than work.” A pause. Vinyl turned towards her roommate, a slightly embarrassed smile on her face. “Like you, Tavi.” Heat bloomed in Octavia’s cheeks. “That’s very sweet of you, Vinyl.” Vinyl leaned forward slightly, laying a hoof on Octavia’s foreleg, her glasses lifted onto her forehead to reveal her scarlet eyes. She was sitting next to Octavia now, though the cellist could not remember when Vinyl had moved. “I mean it, Tavi,” purred Vinyl. “You’re the most important thing to me right now. That’s why I was so pissed at Timely, that’s why I agreed to drop everything and follow you onto this boat and out into Scoltland.” Octavia hardly even noticed the train car melt away, replaced by the rocking boat’s cabin. There were two beds in the room, but both she and Vinyl sat on one. Octavia was pushed up against the bed’s headboard, nowhere to run as Vinyl slowly crawled forward, bright red eyes keeping Octavia in a trance. “Tavi,” said Vinyl softly. “I care about you. I would never let anything happen to you.” She was close now, so close that Octavia could feel the DJ’s breath on her lips. “Tavi, I lov--” Slap. Thud. “Ah! Son of a bitch!” Octavia sat upright in bed, her face flush, her breath coming out in ragged gasps. Vinyl was nowhere to be seen. “A dream,” she mumbled. “Just a dream.” “What the hell, Tavi?!” shouted a voice from somewhere on the floor. Vinyl climbed to her hooves, a scowl on her face. “Vinyl?” “No shit. Why did you knock me out of bed?” Octavia’s face reddened further. “Why were you in my bed?!” “Because there’s only one bed!” Vinyl gestured around the rather small room. A desk with a lamp, a closet, a chair off in the corner, but only one bed. The best they could get on such short notice. “Oh,” said Octavia sheepishly. “Yeah.” Vinyl climbed back onto the bed, noting with the smallest tinge of confusion that Octavia scooted away from her. “So, what were you dreaming of?” “Nothing!” said Octavia a bit too quickly. “Oh really?” Octavia nodded furiously. “Who did you punch?” “Nopony!” Vinyl leaned in a bit, noting the pink tinge that Octavia had taken. “Why are you so red?” “N-No reason!” “Tavi, you’re acting weird.” “I am not!” “Yeah, you kinda are. Here, let me feel your forehead.” “No! Stay back! Back I say!” *** Octavia and Vinyl stepped out onto the docks. The cellist fixed her bowtie slightly, shouldering her packs. Vinyl sported a brand new bruise. They stood in a town drawn right from a storybook. The building were made, or at least looked like they were made, of cobblestone, blue-black shingles adorning every building and the tops of trees just visible beyond the rooftops. It was a grey day and both Octavia and Vinyl shivered slightly in the cold, but the locals briskly walked through the roads without so much as a scarf to protect them. A green sign, just off to the side of the docks read “Welcome to Ayr.” “Ayr,” said Octavia. “We’re certainly in the right place.” “Right, so now what?” “Find Harpo. What was the address on that letter he sent us?” Vinyl’s magic flared around her horn, zipping open one of her bags and floating out the bit of brown parchment. “17 Saddle Road, Ayr, Ayrshire, Scoltland.” She glanced up and down the docks. “Alright, now we find Saddle Road.” “Right.” Neither of them moved. “Alright, let’s go Tavi.” “Yes, quite.” Neither of them moved. “Excuse me,” said a gruff voice in a decidedly Scoltish voice. “But you’re blockin’ the path. Plannin’ on movin’ anytime soon?” Octavia and Vinyl turned, finding themselves face to face with a rather large Earth Pony. The stallion was a dark green, his mane a golden-orange. “Pardon us,” said Octavia, stepping to the side. The stallion snorted in response, walking past them at a brisk pace. “Hey, Tavi,” said Vinyl, gathering their bags. “Come on, this is our chance.” She trotted forward, keeping pace with the stallion, leaving Octavia to catch up. “Hey, we’re looking for 17 Saddle Road. Any idea where it is?” The stallion raised one of his eyebrows. “And what business do you two mares have at 17 Saddle Road?” “We’re looking for a friend,” said Octavia. The stallion snorted again, then turned towards Vinyl. “17 Saddle Road is a tavern, lass. And it’s not the nicest tavern in Ayr. I don’t know much about your friend, seein’ as I haven’t been back home in a while, but I’d advise that ya start your search elsewhere.” He glanced over at Octavia. “‘Specially if ya have her walkin’ around with ya.” Octavia started in surprise. Vinyl knit her brow together. “What’s wrong with Tavi?” “Nothin’, I’m sure. But she’s nothing but Canterlot when she talks. Now, I’ve been around a bit more so I’m a fair bit more calm at the accent, but there are plenty around here who don’t feel the same.” Vinyl and Octavia exchanged glances. “If it’s too much,” began Vinyl, “I can go in there and get Harpo out. That way we won’t have to worry about anything.” The stallion nodded. “Not a bad plan.” “No,” said Octavia firmly. “This is my problem, and I plan on following through.” “That’s brave of you, lassie, it really is. Stupid, but brave.” “Hey!” Vinyl rounded on the stallion. “Nopony calls Tavi stupid!” The stallion held up his hooves. “You’re right. They’ll probably call her worse.” He stopped walking, placing a hoof on an entrance. “We’re here. Best walk in with me if you’re walking in, it may help a bit.” Without a warning, he pushed open the tavern’s door. Vinyl and Octavia hesitated just a moment, then followed him inside. It was, quite frankly, the epitome of taverns and bars, just as one would expect to find in a story about the Wild West. A band played off in the corner, quick, flighty tunes that seemed to propel the atmosphere towards a brawl. It wasn’t, given the rather early hour, the fullest of bars, but there were certainly quite a few ponies. “Mornin’ ya piss-drunk sack o’ cunts!” boomed the stallion. A dozen unfriendly eyes fixed onto the newcomer. “What? Has the drink killed so much of your brains that ya can’t even remember me?” Octavia leaned in worriedly towards Vinyl. “This was not a good idea. Why would Harpo come here?” “Tavi, it’s Harpo and this is a bar.” “Ah. Yes, that explains it perfectly.” The bar exploded. “Awrite, Bigyin Bevvy?!” “Gonna grab a bevvy Bevvy?!” “Where ya been, Bevvy?” “Too good to hang around, then?” The stallion, whose name was apparently Bigyin Bevvy, held up his hooves for silence. “Alright, alright. I’m back from business, and I met these two bairns outside. Say they’re lookin’ for a friend o’ theirs.” He and every other pony in the bar turned towards Octavia and Vinyl. Vinyl stepped forward, clearing her throat slightly. “Yeah. If he’s not here, then he was here some time in the last few days. We’ve got a picture if you need to see it, but his name is Harpo Parish Nadermane.” The ponies whispered amongst themselves at the name. They were not friendly whispers. “Aye,” said an older pony sitting at a card table. A stack of poker chips stood in front of him, balanced by the absence of chips held by anypony else at the table. The whispers stopped respectfully. “Parish was here. If yer lookin’ fer him, then you’re a bit late. But me an’ a few others, we got a bit of a debt to settle with Parish.” Vinyl glanced around nervously. “Right. Do, ummm… Do you know where he went?” “Aye. He talked about it quite a bit. And then he vanished with three bottles of whiskey and about 100 bits of debt to me and me boys here.” Vinyl giggled nervously. “Oh, that Harpo. Well, if you tell us where he is, we’ll be sure to yell at him and have him bring everything back.” The elder pony shook his head. “Nae, lass. As friends, his debts are yours.” “We’re not even really friends!” protested Vinyl. “He’s just like this guy we know!” “Celestia damn you, Harpo,” muttered Octavia. Bigyin stepped forward. “Now, Full House, I don’t think that they’re carrying around the means to repay somethin’ like that.” “That’s a shame,” said Full House. “Shouldn’t have come here lookin’ for him, then.” Vinyl glanced down at the table. Then up at the stallion. Then back down, then back up. “We’ll play you for it.” Full House blinked. “Begging yer pardon, lass?” “We’ll play you for it. A game of Tespur Hold ‘Em. We win, you ignore the debt and you tell us where Harpo went.” “Nae,” said the stallion with a shake of his head. “Ain’t no meanin’ to it. What am I supposed to be gettin’ off this deal?” “You win, we pay back double Harpo’s debt.” The room broke out into low whistles and murmurs of interest. A few ponies brought out their bit bags, betting on whether Full House would take the bet, whether the mares actually had a chance, and whether or not Bigyin would intervene. Bigyin Bevvy stepped forward. “Now hold on!” A few bits exchanged hooves. “Bevvy,” said Vinyl. “It’s alright. I think I know what I’m doin--Whoah!” Octavia wrapped a hoof around Vinyl’s neck, pulling her close and whispering into her ear. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? We can’t afford that, we won’t have enough money to get back home!” “It’ll be fine, Tavi. I know what I’m doing.” Vinyl grinned, a touch of megalomania showing in her pearly whites. “Alright,” came Full House’s voice. “I’m willing to work with ya. We’ll play a game. Each of us will start out with the hundred bits that your boy owes me and we’ll go on until one of us, probably you two, have nothin’ left. How’s that?” “And if we win,” said Vinyl, “you’ll forgive the debt and tell us where he went?” “On my honor.” Vinyl trotted over to the now vacated table, dropping heavily onto her seat before pulling one out for Octavia. The cellist sat down nervously. “I’ll be dealer,” said Full House. He took the deck in his hooves, expertly cutting and shuffling and bridging. While he did this, his friends painstakingly counted out the bits, dropping a huge pile of gold coins in front of Full House and two slightly smaller ones in front of Octavia and Vinyl. The cards slid across the table, a pair stopping in front of both Octavia and Vinyl. Three cards went into the center, all face down. Full House rested his hoof on one of them. “Ready?” he asked. Vinyl nodded. Octavia raised her hoof. For a few moments, every single face in that bar except Octavia’s was the same. A look of sheer and utter confusion had descended on Ayr. “Errr… yes, lass?” asked Full House. Octavia put her hoof back down. “How do we play this game?” Again, Ayr moved in perfect harmony. Every jaw dropped towards the floor. Bigyin Bevvy slapped a hoof over his eyes. “Poor, poor Canterlot. I cannae bear to watch.”