//------------------------------// // Dates; Varying Degrees of Success // Story: Simple Melodies are for Fillies // by bahatumay //------------------------------// The sounds of the lyre stopped suddenly. “You’re doing what?” Lyra asked, surprised. “We're going bowling,” Vinyl repeated, slightly sheepishly Lyra blinked owlishly. “But... you suck at bowling,” she pointed out. “I panicked, ok?” Vinyl protested. “I needed a date idea and it was the first thing that came to mind." She paused. "Also there was a bus driving by with a bowling alley ad on it.” Lyra suppressed a chuckle. “I’m not saying it’s bad,” she said placatingly as she resumed playing. “It’s just…” “It takes a miracle for me to break 35?” Vinyl supplied morosely. Lyra plucked the wrong string. “M- y- yeah; but…” “It’s really not showing off for the woman I love? Or, rather, I’m just showing off how much I suck at life in general.” Vinyl threw herself back on her bed and exhaled. "I fail!" she proclaimed loudly. “Y- well… You have to look on the bright side, Vinyl,” Lyra said, setting her lyre down. “Bowling isn’t everything in life. Besides, she’ll feel good about herself after beating the heck out of you, right?” Vinyl glared at the ceiling, but had to agree. In fact, if Octavia beat her badly enough, she might feel bad enough to give her a comforting hug… “It’s settled!” she said, brightening. “We go bowling!” * * * Vinyl Scratch is one of those people who sometimes worries that she forgets things. However, as she had her money, her jacket, her house keys, and her pants on, she figured she was just being paranoid. At least, until she got to where Octavia was waiting. She was wearing a nice jacket, a lovely blouse that hugged her frame but didn’t squeeze it… and a miniskirt that would be more than the tiniest bit restricting for bowling. Vinyl slowed to a stop and winced. Oops. Octavia noticed and cocked her head. “Is something wrong?” she asked. “Uh...” Vinyl said sheepishly. “I kind-of planned to go bowling, and that might not work with you in that skirt. But at least you don’t have to worry about your shoes?” Vinyl suggested hesitantly. Octavia giggled. “I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she said. Vinyl had a sudden mental image of Octavia bending over as she slid the ball down the lane, and ripping her skirt right up the back in the process, exposing her panty-covered buttocks. Vinyl couldn’t suppress a little lick of her teeth. “Besides…” Octavia paused. “Are you all right?” Vinyl shook her head. “Y- yeah,” she said. “I’m cool.” Octavia nodded. “As I was saying, I’ll be fine. You told me where we were going earlier, remember?” Vinyl blinked. Oh, yeah… “I planned to just put on my practice pants back on when we get there.” “Practice pants? As opposed to… game pants?” Vinyl asked. Octavia laughed, and Vinyl was reminded why she loved making this girl laugh. Her laugh was full, pure and crisp. “No, no; I just came from rehearsal and I have to wear pants.” Vinyl glanced down at her outfit. “You mean you don’t dress like that all the time?” she asked. Octavia giggled again. “Vinyl, the cello is played sitting down, with the body of the instrument resting between the legs,” she reminded her, hiding her smile behind her hand. Vinyl almost facepalmed. Sitting in a skirt that tight would have given the audience a real show, so of necessity there would have been another option. She was just making herself look like a downright genius tonight, wasn't she? “Right. I knew that.” * * * It was blacklight bowling night at the bowling alley. Octavia slowed as they entered, slightly overwhelmed by the stimuli of the many flashing lights, loud noises, and bright neon colors. Vinyl Scratch, on the other hand, had been dropped back into her home element. She lit the magic trails on her hands and forehead, instinctively pulsing them to the generic pop music playing, and her eyes easily adjusted to the chaos. She quickly weaved through the bodies and tables and people stumbling blindly along and bending over at the worst places to slide on their bowling shoes. Octavia, herself also attuned to the beat, noticed the pulsing patterns and wondered if this was a unicorn thing; but then realized she was about to be left behind. Octavia was a bit larger than her lithe companion, and she tried her best to follow along closely behind Vinyl. She ended up bumping a few more tables and shoulders than Vinyl did. Vinyl quickly arrived at the counter and set her hands on top. “Hi, could I get a size ten and… Octi, what size do you wear?” “Eleven and a half,” Octavia answered, breathing a bit harder at the effort needed to get through the crowd. The pegasus attendant behind the counter grimaced, and the glowstick strings laced across her wings shook a bit. “We don’t have half-sizes, and it’ll be a three hour wait for a lane.” Vinyl bit her upper lip. “Oh,” she said. She was fairly certain she couldn't hold Octavia's attention for three hours. She wasn't that interesting. “Wait,” Octavia interrupted. “Three hours?” The pegasus nodded. “The hours posted on the door say you close in two and a half, though,” Octavia said. The pegasus nodded again. “We do.” “So regardless of what shoes you do or do not have, we’re not bowling tonight,” Octavia asked to confirm. The pegasus thought about it for a moment, and then shook her head. “Nope.” “That might have been nice to know at the start of that conversation,” Octavia observed dryly. “No matter.” She turned to Vinyl. “Plan B, then?” Right. Plan B. Plan B, which was… A drop of sweat dripped down the back of her neck, and it wasn't because it was hot due to how crowded the bodies were in the bowling alley. “Uh…” * * * You’re so stupid! Vinyl berated herself. A movie? Am I back in high school? She paused, and then mentally facepalmed. No… even in high school I was never good at dating. Ponyfeathers. History aside, they stood in a long line for a movie ticket. Vinyl tried hard to avoid looking at the couple in the corner sucking on each others’ faces. As much as she wouldn’t mind getting a little physical with Octavia, watching others going at it just made her uncomfortable. But Octavia didn’t seem to notice. She gave no indication that she knew she was in a place that didn’t deserve her glorious presence, standing on a sticky red carpet that was only improved by her standing on it. She stood proudly, regally. Vinyl felt a mild twinge of jealousy. As they neared the ticket office, Vinyl realized she hadn't decided which movie to go see. She turned to Octavia. “What do you want to see?” Vinyl asked. Octavia smiled. “Surprise me.” Vinyl grimaced. This was most unhelpful! "Uh..." And then she was next in line. The pony behind the counter managed to look bored and yet in a hurry at the same time. "Give me..." Vinyl looked around and her eyes caught on the first poster, "two tickets for Robo Action Pony 2," she said. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she winced. Was this even one Octavia would enjoy? She didn't seem like the kind to enjoy gratuitous violence. Wait. Would Vinyl enjoy it? She couldn't meet Octavia's eyes as they walked to their theater. It was all over, really. If Octavia made any excuse to leave from now until the end of the film--or maybe even afterwards--she'd know she'd blown it completely. * * * Vinyl walked Octavia home this time. It would only be right, right? It didn't help that she was still reeling from the movie. Sure, the plot had been nonsensical and somewhat laughable, and the acting only average; but the fight scenes had been intense, and then there was that soundtrack! The pounding industrial soundtrack that had permeated the movie would almost guaranteed find its way into her next song. Octavia led the way back to where she lived. This section of town was definitely brighter than the one Vinyl lived in. Octavia lived in a nice apartment, and Vinyl wasn't surprised. Her eyes flicked over the brick facade and iron handrails… And then something warm pressed against her hand. Vinyl looked down and to her shock, Octavia was holding her hand as they climbed the stairs. She lived on the third floor, and kept her hand in Vinyl’s until they had climbed both flights and had arrived outside Octavia's apartment. Octavia giggled as she released her hand to unlock her door. “I was going to try that during the movie, but you kept squirming. Maybe next time?” Vinyl could only nod dumbly. Octavia brushed her hand against Vinyl’s cheek. “Good night, Vinyl.” She winked as she closed the door behind her. Vinyl looked at her hand as she descended the stairs. This hand had touched Octavia’s hand. So if Vinyl touched her butt, it would be like Octavia was touching her butt. Knowing full well that she probably looked ridiculous, Vinyl slid her hand into one of her rear pockets. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she had to. It was kindof nice. And it made her feel pretty good. Vinyl removed her hand from her pocket and began jogging lightly as she headed for home. Lyra would be out for a long while tonight, right? Yeah, she was going to go see Bon Bon tonight. She’d definitely have time. * * * Vinyl Scratch lay on her back on her bed, on top of the sheets. Normally this would be a normal occurrence; but normally she was wearing pajamas, or clothing of some kind. And this time, she was not. Her eyes were closed and she was lost in her fantasy as she moved her hands behind her head, exposing her body and her pale skin completely. “I know I’m not real curvy; but I’m all yours. I mean it, really… you can touch me anywhere you want, Octavia. Anywhere. I won't say no.” “And if I were Octavia-” Vinyl jumped nearly two feet into the air—a rather impressive accomplishment, seeing as how she had laying been on her back with her legs spread—and landed on the edge of her mattress. Unable to balance, her body continued rotating and she tumbled off face first onto the floor. “-I would totally take you up on that offer,” Lyra finished. “Geez!” Vinyl panted as her entire face grew bright red once again as she reached back and pulled the bedsheets off the bed to cover herself. “Don’t you ever knock?” “This is my house, too,” Lyra retorted as she roughly took off her shirt. “And you need to shave.” Vinyl hurriedly rolled over so her back was towards Lyra and quickly examined herself. She squinted. Sure, maybe she could have used a little touch-up here and there, especially around the edges; but surely she didn’t merit anything that harsh- Oh. Vinyl crawled back into bed and made sure she had covered herself completely before asking. “So, date didn’t go so well?” Lyra finished pulling on her sweatpants. “Shut up.” Vinyl winced. “Ok; I just…” Lyra raised her hand and shot out a bolt of magic at the light switch in an attempt to turn it off; but in her frustration she put too much energy in the spell and instead sent a jolt of energy coursing through the wall so powerful it blew the light bulb up in a shower of sparks. Now sitting naked and in darkness, Vinyl coughed. This was mildly uncomfortable. “That bad?” she asked meekly. Lyra sat down on her bed and sighed. “It was going so well, and then I… I went in for a kiss, there in the moonlight; and she sortof… side-stepped. Shut me right down. I barely got a hug from her at the very end.” Vinyl winced. Lyra’s primary love language was touch, and Vinyl could tell that this had deeply cut her. “Oh, Lyra…” she said. “It’s fine,” Lyra said. “It was a nice hug.” At least, those were her words; but the way the pitch of her voice had increased by nearly an octave indicated that she did not think it was fine. “That’s awful,” Vinyl said. “But she let me try some of her new chocolates, stuff that they’re still testing and haven’t even started selling yet, so… I don’t even know what to think.” Lyra groaned and placed her face down on the pillow. “Dating is hard,” she said, her voice muffled by the pillow. “I hear you there,” Vinyl murmured. “You want to grab some ice cream?” Lyra snorted. “Maybe. If you put clothes on.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “And I’m sorry about the shaving comment.” “It’s fine,” Vinyl said, pushing herself up. “I’ll get it.” And they ate their ice cream together by the light of their magic trails that night.