Octavia toyed uncertainly with the headphones in her hooves. They were a shocking electric blue, and each earpiece bore a black double-eighth note, the same as their owner's cutie mark.
"Vinyl, I'm not sure..." she began.
Vinyl Scratch, her friend and roommate, interrupted her, "C'mon, Tavi! We had a deal! You said that if I went to your concert, that you'd give some of my tunes a try."
Octavia winced. Yes, she had promised Vinyl that. And it would be churlish of her to back out now, when Vinyl had upheld her end of the bargain so admirably. She sighed, closed her eyes, and slipped the headphones over her ears.
Vinyl smiled, almost wickedly, Octavia thought, as she turned on the music. Briefly, Octavia wondered again why her friend had insisted she use headphones. "Gets the sound just right," was all Vinyl would say. Octavia shrugged inwardly. At least it wouldn't disturb the neighbors.
The music began. As Octavia had feared, it was deep, throbbing, and laden with bass. Typical Vinyl fair. But Octavia was a pony of her word, and she grit her teeth and vowed to listen to the whole mess in its entirety.
Half an hour in, however, Octavia found herself tapping her hoof in time with the steady, pulsing beat. She shook herself, trying to shake off the state of torpor she had fallen into. "Relax," a part of her brain told her, "You work hard. Take it easy now and then." She blinked. That was an odd thought. Yes, she did work very hard at her cello, but it had never felt like a burden. Then again... perhaps the voice had a point. Nothing wrong with simply relaxing. Nothing at all...
When Vinyl turned off the music an hour later, Octavia's smile could not be hidden. Not because the music had ended, but because she had actually come to quite enjoy it. It gave her a warm feeling inside somehow, and the bass, which she had always despised in other music, woke something... almost primal, inside her.
"Well...?" Vinyl prompted, cautiously.
"It was... good," returned Octavia, still smiling. "I liked it."
Vinyl's shoulders seemed to loosen with relief, and that same wicked smile returned. "So..." she began, and Octavia might have noticed something strange in her voice then, had she not been feeling so contented. "Want to listen to it again tomorrow night?"
Octavia barely needed to consider. "Of course," she said, "I'll listen again tomorrow night."
Vinyl's wicked smile grew even larger.
* * *
The next evening found Octavia once again sitting on the floor of Vinyl's bedroom, headphones already on. The DJ lay on the bed, watching her carefully. Octavia looked at her expectantly, and with a smile, Vinyl hit the switch.
The steady thump thump thump of the bass came through the headphones, rhythmic and steady, and Octavia felt herself relaxing once again. A smile crept onto her face as she closed her eyes and let the warm feeling spread through her.
As she sat on the floor, enjoying the music, a thought began slowly to form in the back of her mind. She was grateful, she realized, that a pony like Vinyl Scratch was taking the time out of her nights to spend with her. After all, Vinyl was both popular and very attractive...
Octavia's eyes opened in surprise. Where had that last though come from? She looked over to the bed where Vinyl lay, watching her intently. It was true, she realized. Vinyl WAS a very attractive pony. Her coat was gorgeous, and her mane, unkempt as it was, was undeniably alluring in its messiness. And her eyes... her captivating red eyes...
Octavia let out a small moan as the warmth she had been feeling suddenly intensified, concentrating itself between her legs. She closed her eyes, trying not to think of her roommate, but it was no good. She could feel herself dripping onto the carpet, and she was overcome with a hot sense of embarassment and... something else. She bit her lip as her cheeks flushed red. What must Vinyl think of her?
As if on cue, she heard Vinyl stirring on the bed, followed by the sound of hoofbeats coming closer to her. They circled behind her, and without a word, Vinyl pressed herself into Octavia's back.
Octavia moaned again, and shuddered. She felt like she was going to burst with Vinyl so close...
A hoof touched her belly, and then slowly, achingly slowly, traced a path down, as if seeking the source of heat that lay between her legs. Then Vinyl's hoof touched her, and Octavia lost all control. She shuddered violently and cried out in pleasure as Vinyl's touch sent her over the edge.
As the orgasm faded, Octavia pressed herself back into Vinyl's coat. The unicorn's hoof was still there, and after a few long moments, she began to stoke. Gently at first, but each stroke became firmer, more insistant than the last. A steady, rhythmic motion that came in time with the thumping of the bass in her ears.
Thump thump thump Stroke stroke stroke
Octavia could feel herself tensing up again, the heat welling up inside of her. She was so grateful to Vinyl for this. For showing her this wonderful music, and for taking care of her desires.
She didn't know how many more times she was brought to orgasm that night. At some point though, she simply passed out from exhaustion, but Vinyl's hoof never stopped...
* * *
Octavia came home from practice the next day feeling utterly exhausted, in mind and body. She knew that the night before had been rigorous, but she could not recall precisely why. Only that it had something to do with Vinyl. She supposed that she had been talked into drinking. Those nights did tend to conclude with her waking up exhausted, although the feeling in her head was different than any hangover she'd had before. It was considerably more... pleasant?
She was almost to her bedroom door, having deposited her cello in the living room, when she heard a sound behind her. Vinyl's own bedroom door had just opened, and the unicorn was beckoning her to come in.
Octavia sighed. She was exhausted, she wanted sleep badly. But, she had to see what Vinyl wanted first.
"Why?" a distant part of her seemed to ask, but she pushed the thought aside as she walked dutifully into Vinyl's bedroom.
"Sit," said Vinyl, by way of greeting.
Octavia noted that Vinyl was giving her orders. That wasn't right, was it? Still, she sat down on the floor as instructed.
"Good girl," said Vinyl, with a grin.
Octavia smiled at the praise even as that same, distant part of her mind told her that something was wrong.
"Now," said Vinyl, as she trotted over to where Octavia sat, levitating the headphones beside her. "I figured out how to make the effects permanent, finally. Was actually pretty simple once I figured it out. Hindsight, ya know?"
Octavia wasn't listening. She was staring at the headphones as something stirred in her mind. "I... I can't..." she managed to say.
Vinyl froze. "What? You can't what?"
The earth pony blinked, and the world seemed to come more sharply into focus. "I can't... listen to music. I have practice tomorrow, and I need to get some rest."
Vinyl considered her for a moment before she responded, "Sure you can. And you're gonna."
Octavia felt herself nodding even as she managed to say, "No, really... I'll be kicked out of the orchestra if I don't..."
"Then quit," said Vinyl flatly.
"W-what?!" Octavia gaped at her roommate as something in her brain slid into place. "I can't quit, Vinyl! That's my career! Are you insane?"
Vinyl shrugged, "You can still play gigs and stuff, just quit the orchestra. I make enough to cover us both."
Octavia simply stared for a minute, then she stood up and headed for the door.
She had almost reached it when it was enveloped in a field of magic, and slammed shut. The deadbolt slid into place with a thunk. It was a magic-operated device, and as an earth pony, Octavia had no way of opening it. She turned, very slowly, to glare at her roommate.
"What," she asked, as calmly as she could, "Do you think that you are doing, Vinyl?"
The DJ simply stared at her, her horn glowing softly. Octavia, intent on glaring at Vinyl, didn't notice the headphones magically floating up behind her. She had no idea they were there until they clamped down over her ears.
Octavia jumped in surprise, but the headphones stayed firmly in place. She reached up her hoof to yank them off... and froze. The music was back. The steady, pulsing bass, and the voice. The voice had been there before, but she hadn't realized it. This time, though, it was a different voice, and she noticed. This time, the voice was Vinyl's.
"Relax," said the voice, "Relax, and do whatever I tell you."
"Put your hoof down, Tavi."
Octavia could hear Vinyl, the REAL Vinyl, even through the music and the voice coming through the headphones. Slowly, against her will, she lowered her hoof.
"Good girl," repeated Vinyl, and this time, Octavia felt a definite jolt of pleasure at the words. Her body began to heat up as she stared in confusion at Vinyl.
Vinyl motioned her to come closer, and Octavia felt herself walking over, as though she were a passenger in her own body. She opened her mouth, but she found that she was having trouble forming thoughts. All she managed to say was, "I hear you in the music..."
Vinyl grinned at that. "Yep!" she said, triumphantly, "The unicorn who enchanted the other music did it as a laugh. The effects weren't meant to last long after the music stopped. But yours truly figured out a way to make it more permanent." She beamed, "Cool, huh?"
Octavia nodded, then caught herself. "But... you're trying to... control me...?"
"Not trying. Long as that music's going, you've gotta do whatever I say," she said with another wicked grin. "And, the way I figure it, you'll be stuck that way for good after about an hour."
Octavia shook her head. She was strong. She was independent. She had to fight this...
"Stop worrying about it," Vinyl commanded.
Octavia stopped worrying about it. Her expression, which had been tense moments before, relaxed. Her eyes unfocused as she looked to Vinyl expectantly.
"Much better!" said Vinyl approvingly. "Hey, I should make 'don't worry' a permanent thing for you. Right after 'Obey Vinyl'. Sound good?"
"It sounds very good," replied Octavia. And it did. Vinyl had said it, and everything Vinyl said was good. The voice in the music told her so.
"Oh yeah? So you like 'Obey Vinyl', too?"
This was an easy question, even in her befuddled state. The voice in the music was very clear on this.
"Yes. I must obey Vinyl."
Vinyl's smile grew even wider. "Good."
With that, the unicorn turned and trotted over to the bed with an exaggerated swaying of her hips. Octavia watched every sway, her breath coming in ragged pants as she suddeny realized she was very, very hot.
Vinyl reached the bed and turned, noting with satisfaction the state Octavia was in. She sat herself on the bed, and spread her hindlegs invitingly.
Octavia stared hungrily between Vinyl's legs. Vinyl was such a beautiful pony, and down there was no exception. The voice in the music told her how much she wanted Vinyl, and she could no longer deny it.
"So..." cooed Vinyl, teasingly, "Tomorrow, you'll call up the orchestra and resign?"
Octavia hesitated for only a moment, as the voice in her mind cried out in protest. And then it was gone, swept away by the thumping of the bass, the last of her resistance. She nodded.
"Perfect," said Vinyl, with satisfaction, "Well, that takes care of all the boring stuff. But we've still got about an hour to kill. Why don't you come over here and satisfy your new mistress?"
Octavia hadn't realized she had been panting. Her saliva dripped onto the floor, along with the juices flowing from between her own hindlegs. At Vinyl's words, she walked across the room on wobbly legs, and sat down before her 'mistress'.
Vinyl laid back on the bed, closing her eyes, as Octavia leaned forward, burying her snout between Vinyl's thighs. The DJ gave a moan of pleasure as the cellist's tongue began to caress her.
* * *
It was many hours later when they finally stopped, and Vinyl removed the headphones from Octavia's ears with some slight trepidation.
But her worries were for nothing. She was a unicorn of some skill, after all, and music was her special talent.
Octavia, for her part, worried about nothing. Her happiness was in serving Vinyl. And she knew would continue to serve... forever.
The club she was in was poorly lit, save for the flashes of the strobe lights and the many-colored lasers which pierced the darkness. The lights pulsed and the lasers swung in time with the deep, bass-laden music. Ponies were packed onto the dance floor, and the whole affair smelled of cheap liquor and sweat.
Octavia never came to places like this. Not until recently, anyway. She was a pony of dignity and class, and had little need for such lowbrow entertainment as this.
Yet, here she was. On the dance floor, moving her body in time with the music and the lights. She knew it was wrong, somehow, but she couldn't stop herself. She could not even say what precisely was wrong...
Perhaps it was the music. Until recently, she could not tolerate such 'noise pollution'. Now, it was all she listened to. Even when it wasn't playing, she heard it inside her head. The deep, thumping beat that seemed to drown out all thought...
She gave a moan of pleasure as one of the mares she was dancing between began kissing her neck, and her thoughts were once again derailed.
Even so, a part of her mind insisted that this, too, was odd. She had never met either of the earth ponies who were pressed against her before tonight. She didn't even know their names. The one behind her, who seemed so entranced by her neck, was a pink pony with a single white flower in her blonde mane. It came to Octavia's mind that it looked delicious. Although whether the thought was directed at the flower or the pony, Octavia could not tell...
The mare in front of her, a stunning earth pony with a pale yellow coat, slid to her knees. Octavia could see her raspberry-colored mane, with its lighter-colored streak, as she looked down at the top of the pony's head. She watched with stunned fascination as the lovely pony stuck her face between Octavia's legs, and began to kiss her with even more vigor than her companion.
Octavia felt her legs weaken. Her knees began to tremble, and she felt certain she would have fallen to the floor had the pink pony behind her not held her up. Even bearing her weight, the pony was still able to start licking Octavia's neck with indecent enthusiasm. Somehow, the licking was even more effective than the kissing, and Octavia found herself dripping onto the dance floor as the two ponies worked on her.
A part of her brain screamed that she didn't enjoy this sort of thing. That she wasn't a fillyfooler, or the kind of pony who would do such a thing in a public place! But the music, the lights, and her body's own reaction told her otherwise. This was exactly the kind of pony she was.
Octavia lifted her head and looked around to make sure nopony was watching her.
They weren't. In darkened corners, in booths, and right out on the dance floor, ponies were gathered in groups doing all sorts of similarly unspeakable things. Hooves and tongues worked furiously in time with the thumping of the music. Not twenty feet away, Octavia saw a magenta earth pony with curly green hair, the kind no stallion ever gave a second glance. But now she had three of them on her, thrusting into every orifice in her that was wide enough to take them. She was completely covered in sweat and bodily fluids, and even though her mouth was too full to make anything but indistinct noises, Octavia could tell from the look on her face that she was enjoying every second of it.
Everypony was so busy that none of them had a glance to spare for the grey-coated earth pony and her new 'friends'.
Except one.
She lifted her eyes to the DJ booth, set on a raised platform high above the dance floor. There, behind the turntables, sat a white-coated unicorn with a streaked blue mane, her amethyst-tinted glasses pointed down at Octavia.
The earth pony below stared up at the unicorn for several moments, ideas slowly forming in her mind. Then, the DJ lifted her glasses, staring down at Octavia with eyes the color of rubies, and gave a quirky little smile. With a hoof, she deftly moved one of the sliders on the console before her.
Octavia gasped. Suddenly, all the ponies in the room were watching her. Even the magenta pony and her partners had stopped mid-intercourse, the stallions still inside her as all four stared intently at Octavia. She was the center of attention as she climaxed, unable to hold back any longer. The ponies throughout the club watched as she came, crying out the name of the DJ in the booth. They watched as the red-maned pony greedily licked at her juices, while the one behind held her up, nuzzling into the wet spot on her neck that the vigorous licking had left.
Octavia knew none of the ponies here would remember this night, except as a vague 'good time', but that did nothing to reduce her feeling of shame. She understood, as much as she could understand anything anymore, that the combination of music and light show produced quicker results, but that it wasn't anything near as permanent as what had been done to her.
"What has been done to me?" She wondered, vaguely, as she was let down to the floor, unable to do anything but pant heavily as afterglow overtook her. "It was the music," she thought, "The music made me... better." The word sounded... wrong. But it was right. She KNEW it was right. The music made her better, and the music was made by...
She looked up from the floor, all the way up to the DJ booth, into the eyes of the pony still staring at her fervently. That was the pony who made the music. The same pony she pleasured every night. The pony whose name she had cried out in her moment of ecstasy. Her name... was Vinyl Scratch.
* * *
An hour later, Octavia found herself wandering the streets. Vinyl had let her go with just a kiss and a nuzzle, although Octavia knew from the look she had been given that tonight was going to be... intense. She felt something like tears at the corner of her eyes, but she couldn't say why.
The streets were dark and nearly all the shops were closed. Octavia let her hooves carry her until she found herself in front of a familiar building with a stylized blue and yellow candy hanging above the door.
The sign in the window read 'Closed', but there was a faint light coming through the cracks in the curtains. Octavia lifted her hoof and knocked slowly on the door.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then she heard the sound of hooves trotting up to the door, and it opened slightly to reveal a cream-colored pony with a curly blue and pink mane. The pony was already saying, "I'm terribly sorry, but the shop is closed for..." when she noticed who her visitor was.
"Oh! Octavia? What brings you here at this hour?" she asked, quizzically.
"Hello, Bon Bon. I was just wandering around and found myself here," the gray earth pony replied. "May I come in?"
Bon Bon look nonplussed, but opened the door anyway, with a muttered "Of course, come right in..."
Octavia followed her in, noting the single plate of apple fritters on the counter, half of which were eaten.
"Lyra isn't here?" she asked.
"No," came the reply, "She's still practicing with the orchestra..." the last word trailed away as Bon Bon remembered to whom she was speaking.
"Oh." Octavia said it in a flat, eomtionless voice, but Bon Bon could tell that there was something hidden beneath the surface.
"You should... go see her," she said, hesitantly. "I mean, I know you two didn't always get along, but... I think she misses you."
Octavia was stunned to find that she missed the mint-green unicorn, as well. In fact, she missed a lot of things ever since...
NO.
The voice in her head was firm, and she shook her head. "I... can't." she said, with only a touch of sadness.
"You... can't?" Bon Bon stared at her curiously.
"I'm not allowed," she thought. "Vinyl has commanded me not to go near anypony in the orchestra, and I must obey Vinyl..." But then... why was she here...?
"I should go," she said, already turning and trotting towards the door. "Thank you for the company."
Bon Bon raised her hoof, but the other pony was aleady gone before she could think of anything to say.
* * *
She wasn't allowed.
And yet, here she was. Standing in front of the practice hall she knew so well.
She couldn't go in, but... without realizing how it had gotten there, her hoof was on the door.
NO.
She heard the voice, as strong as ever, but her hoof didn't move. She had to put it down. Had to walk away and never come back.
But she couldn't.
With a push that took every last ounce of her willpower, Octavia opened the door very slightly.
She heard the music.
It was unlike any of the music she'd been listening to lately. It swelled with triumph, a clean and pure sound that filled her with a joy she had never known.
But... she had known it, once, hadn't she? Before the other music. Before the voice. Before...
The sound of the lyre came drifting through the open door. She knew who was playing it. For all of her oddities and faults, Lyra Heartstrings had a way of playing her instrument like no other pony. A way that was masterful, and yet full of innocence...
To Octavia, the sound was like a warm spring rain, washing her mind clean of all the things that had been polluting it. For the first time in weeks, Octavia was herself again. She stood there, listening to the music for a while longer, and then let the door swing shut. Her face set, the former cellist turned and trotted off into the night.
Vinyl was out of control. Music was something pure and good, and she was perverting it. Octavia felt a righeous rage burning inside her. She knew now what she had to do.
The living room was empty as Octavia slipped inside and closed the door behind her, breathing a sigh of relief. She felt confident that Vinyl was here, probably asleep in her room, but the longer she could put off confronting her, the more time she would have to prepare.
As quietly as she could, Octavia moved to the door of her bedroom and, with one last look around, let herself in.
Octavia's room was not quite as neat and tidy as most ponies would probably suspect. Certainly, it had been cleaner before she fell prey to Vinyl's music, but there were books and scrolls scattered about the room that had been there well before that.
With a quick glance, the cellist found one of the things she was looking for. The electric blue headphones were still laying on her bed from the night before. She no longer needed them, but Vinyl still liked to make her wear the headphones sometimes when they... when she...
Octavia shook her head, wondering how any of this could be real. She had trusted Vinyl, in some ways, even admired her, and her now EX-friend had brainwashed her. Had made her a puppet.
But it ended tonight.
Slinging the headphones over her ears, Octavia turned to her desk. It was piled with sheet music that hadn't been touched in weeks. In spite of everything, Octavia groaned at how out of practice she must be by now. Moving to the desk, she began shuffling through the papers.
It wasn't there.
Panic gripped Octavia as she searched with increasing desperation. She KNEW she'd left it on the desk. It should be right here! It should be... and then she saw it. It was sitting, not on the desk, but on the bookshelf. Odd.
Octavia accidentally knocked over her music stand in her haste to get to the bookshelf. It clattered loudly on the hardwood floor, and Octavia swore in a very unladylike fashion. Stepping over it, she took from the shelf the digital music player that Vinyl had given her two Hearth's Warmings ago.
She paused for a moment, remembering Vinyl showing her how it worked. How she had laughed at Octavia's ineptitude with anything more advanced than a phonograph. A tear rolled down the cellist's cheek, and she brushed it away with a hoof.
It wasn't too late, though. Vinyl was just... sick. She needed Octavia's help, and the earth pony would be there for her, in spite of everything. She had a plan.
She knew that there were speakers all around the apartment, and that Vinyl could turn them on remotely with her magic. That was the biggest danger. But with the headphones and her own music, Octavia felt confident she could protect herself from that. Then she just had to disable the sound system and... and...
She shuddered a little, hating the next part. But the only way she could think of to subdue Vinyl without hurting her was to use her own music against her. Vinyl was always careful to wear earplugs when she played the music over speakers, and Octavia knew that meant that the DJ was not immune to the effects of her own music. She hated it, but it was the only way...
With a deep, calming breath, Octavia checked that her music player still had battery life, plugged the headphones into them, and then stepped out the door.
Vinyl was there.
The unicorn smiled warmly at her roommate, "Hey babe. Thought I heard you. I just finished something I think you'll... ooooh..." Her eyes moved to the electric blue headphones over Octavia's ears. "Well..." she said, with an excited purr in her voice, "Somepony's eager tonight, aren't they?"
In spite of herself, Octavia felt a thrill go through her. Felt her body warming at Vinyl's words, and the hungry look in her eyes. She fought it, staring into Vinyl's ruby eyes with her own violet ones.
"You know," the DJ went on, stepping slowly closer, "I was getting pretty jealous of those two mares in the club tonight." Her movements were slow, deliberate. Like a jungle cat stalking its prey. "I thought, 'Maybe Tavi prefers earth mares to unicorns?' Is that true? Do I need to start bringing an earth pony over every night to make sure you're fully... satisfied?"
The last three syllables came out in a low, breathy voice, and Octavia found the heat inside her going up another notch. But when she spoke, her voice was as cold as ice.
"I can't believe you, Vinyl."
The white unicorn stopped, looking with surprised curiosity at her roommate. "Can't believe what?"
Octavia stomped her hoof, "This! All of this! This brainwashing! The things you've made me do! That you've done to me!" She kept her voice from cracking, but only just. "You've used me like a toy. But I'm not your toy, Vinyl. I'm free of your control, and this. Ends. Now."
Vinyl stared at her for a long moment, and the silence that filled the room was deafening.
Finally, the unicorn spoke. "I don't get it," she said, and the words surprised Octavia. "I gave you everything. I gave you awesome sex, paid for all your stuff, made sure you were always happy... and this is how you repay me?"
Octavia blinked. She had expected any number of responses, but this... this was none of them.
"Vinyl," she said, and was startled at how soft her voice had become, "What you've been doing... it's wrong."
"Wrong?!" the DJ's eyes blazed as she said the word. "No... 'wrong' is what you were before. Every day, you came home exhausted and miserable. Every day, I listened to you complain about that miserable conductor, and those other ponies who resented you because you were better than them. In all the years, did any of them, apart from Lyra, ever give you the respect you deserved?!"
A hundred thoughts raced around Octavia's mind. This was nonsense, of course. She loved her music. That was absolutely true. And she loved being in the orchestra... even if they did work her too hard sometimes. Even if the other ponies made jealous, spiteful remarks about her when they thought she couldn't hear. Even if she was passed over time and again for first chair because she wasn't popular with the conductor...
She bit her lip, and gave her head a shake. It didn't matter. What Vinyl was doing was wrong. And she had to put a stop to it.
"Vinyl," she said, as calmly as she could, "You're insane. You can't escape your problems with... any of this."
Vinyl tilted her head, "Sure you can. And you will." Her horn began to glow. "If it's going to be a choice between you living happily as my plaything, and you being free but miserable, then I'll make that choice for you."
As soon as the glowing earplugs entered her ears, the music started. Octavia was ready, though. She pressed the play button on her music player, and the sweet sounds of strings drifted through the headset.
Something was wrong.
It was her music. The music she loved. But it was different. It sounded the same, but... it wasn't.
She looked up at Vinyl, who was smiling. "That's kinda funny, actually," the unicorn said with a half chuckle.
Octavia stared at her, uncomprehending, as the music swelled with a sense of triumph. A triumph over hardship. A triumph over pettiness. A triumph over free will.
Oh no.
"That's actually what I was going to tell you, Tavi. I knew how much you love your boring classical stuff, so I've been working on a way to improve it for weeks now. The dubstep was much easier to make work, but I finally got your stuff fixed, too!"
Octavia hit the 'next' button, and the track shifted to a fugue she knew well. A light, quick piece where each new instrument celebrated the joys of Vinyl Scratch.
Octavia recoiled. She couldn't think, not because of the hypnotic suggestions filling her mind, but out of shock. It felt like her music was betraying her. Like her oldest and dearest friend had turned on her when she needed it most.
"Two lessons I've learned, then," Vinyl was saying, as she trotted up to the pony who seemed momentarily paralyzed. "First is that this stuff seems to work better when it comes with music you already like. I know you were never a fan of dub, so I guess it's no surprise you never really listened to it when it told you what to do."
She reached Octavia, lifting a hoof and running it through the earth pony's dark mane. Octavia simply stood there. Her brain had finally started moving, and was shouting at her to yank the headphones off. But her music told her it was alright. She just had to stand still, and Vinyl would take care of her.
"Second..." Vinyl continued, her expression darkening, "Is that you need to be properly trained. Otherwise, you'll just end up betraying me again."
Octavia nearly choked at the word. SHE was the one who had been betrayed, not Vinyl! ...right? She was no longer quite so sure... Then, another word registered with her.
"Trained?" she gasped out, "Vinyl, I'm... I'm not your pet..."
Vinyl simply laughed. "Well then... let's see what we can do to fix that, shall we?"
A magical glow enveloped her horn, and from her room, a box surrounded by a similar glow came floating over to the pair of ponies.
"It will be some time before the music really gets you," the DJ told her plaything happily. "And before it does, I intend to train you to be the perfect pet. When I'm through, you'll be all mine in mind..." she ran a hoof down Octavia's back, all the way to her rear, "...and body."
Octavia felt a thrill run through her as Vinyl touched her. Whether it was pleasure or fear, though, she couldn't be sure. Then, the music stopped. The headphones were no longer on her, and Vinyl was trotting sedately away. She reached the sound system before Octavia realized what had happened, and then turned to look at her earth pony captive, smiling wickedly as the music player floated at her side.
It was too late to run. Even without the music, her hooves felt like lead, and she was so, so tired. She didn't have the strength to run.
But she could still fight.
She raised her head and looked Vinyl straight in the eye. "I won't let you control me," she said, with iron determination.
Vinyl made a noise of pleasure, as though her victim had just whispered sweet nothings into her ear, "Mmm... Tavi... I love it when you struggle..." And with that, she plugged Octavia's music player into the speaker system.
The music that had been filling her headphones now filled the whole room, and the gray earth pony felt her strength leaving her again. She stood helplessly and watched as Vinyl turned her attention once more to the box she had brought out.
A strip of shiny black leather came floating out of it, a metal buckle on one end, and a shiny silver heart dangling from the middle.
Vinyl floated the collar close, holding it up so Octavia could see it. "I had all this stuff made just for you, so it ought to fit perfectly. See? It even has your name on it."
Sure enough, the silver heart in the center had the word 'Tavi' carefully engraved on it.
Octavia wondered briefly why Vinyl even had such a thing... and what else was in the box.
"I refuse to wear such a..." she began, but Vinyl cut her off.
"Oh no, I'm not putting this on you. Not yet. You don't deserve it." Her face was loving, but stern, and Octavia felt a momentary regret that she had hurt her friend so... and quickly realized that she was having trouble separating the music's message from her own thoughts.
"You'll get this when I'm sure you'll be a good pony. Not before." Vinyl lowered the collar back into the box, and Octavia could hear a group of clarinets that seemed to say 'You want to be a good pony.'
"I want to..." Octavia started to say, and then caught herself.
Vinyl turned and looked at her, trying not to smile, "You want to what?"
Octavia shouted at herself mentally. She was giving up without even fighting! She had to resist, because that was what Vinyl wanted... no! She had to resist because it was what SHE wanted! She didn't want to be a slave! Didn't want to submit to Vinyl... to live a life of comfort as Vinyl's pet... to be happy forever...
She broke free of her reverie as she felt the buckles of the saddle on her back secure themselves below her. She hadn't even noticed Vinyl taking it out of the box, but now she felt it squeezing her firmly.
"It looks great on you!" Vinyl told her, her hooves tap-tapping the ground in apparent frustration. "Too good, maybe... it's hard not to reward you like I want to..." the DJ licked her lips, her red eyes hungry. "But I have to be strong... for you," she told her friend, after a moment of indecision
Then, the white unicorn reached out a hoof, and for a moment, Octavia thought that she had changed her mind. That she was going to be rewarded with Vinyl's caress.
Something of her thoughts must have shown in her eyes, because Vinyl laughed coldly. "Oh no," she said, "Not yet. But soon, I think..."
Instead, she gently pushed Octavia, who moved obediently, although moments before she would have sworn her hooves were nailed to the floor. She turned until she stood facing the pony-length mirror by the door. What she saw in it took her by surprise.
The shiny, black leather saddle did indeed look good on her, and it fit perfectly, accentuating her curves quite nicely. What surprised her, though, was the look on her own face. It wasn't stern or defiant. It was hungry. It was a face that begged for release. She tried to change her expression, to at least appear to have a modicum of self-control, but it only made her look more desperate.
In the mirror, she saw the glow of Vinyl's magic once more, and contained within it was what looked like a tangle of leather and small bits of metal. Octavia couldn't tell what it was supposed to be... until it began to fit itself firmly around her head.
The bridle, which was made of the same shiny black leather as the saddle, was sliding into its proper place when Octavia felt something cold and hard on her lips. Glancing in the mirror, she could see the bit pressing against her closed mouth, wrapped in Vinyl's magic.
This was too much. Octavia pressed her lips tightly together in defiance.
"Oh come on..." came Vinyl's voice behind her, but, Octavia didn't budge. This is where she would resist Vinyl's control with everything she...
She felt Vinyl's hoof, which knew her so well by now, slide inside her and give her clit an expert flick. Octavia gasped in surprised and pleasure, and the bit slid into her mouth.
She had lost, she reflected sadly, as the bridle magically tightened itself around her head. It was over.
But it wasn't over.
"Did you think that was it?" Vinyl said, smiling condescendingly. "A little dress up and I'd forgive you?" She shook her head. "You've got a streak of defiance in you, Tavi. And I can't just suppress it. I know that now."
Octavia heard the sound of something clipping to the back of her saddle. "MY saddle?" she thought, dully. And then Vinyl pushed something inside of her.
It wasn't very large. At least, it wouldn't have seemed so normally. But inside Octavia, it felt enormous. She couldn't tell what it was, but it was smooth, and seemed to be egg-shapped. She squirmed, but whatever it was was firmly inside her now. It hurt at first, but after a moment, she had to admit that it wasn't an entirely unpleasant sensation.
Vinyl's lips were right next to her ears now, and even though she whispered, Octavia could hear her words perfectly. "Before I can make you my pet, I've got to break you."
Octavia barely heard the click before the thing inside her began to vibrate.
The sensation was incredible. She knew what vibrators were, but the dignified earth pony had never tried one for herself before. Now, as it sent waves of pleasure through her whole body, she wondered why. It only took a few moments before she felt herself climbing towards...
"No." Vinyl told her firmly, looking straight into her eyes. "No orgasm for you. Not until I say it's okay."
Octavia stared at her. She had to come. She needed release so badly...
Slowly, Octavia nodded.
"Good," Vinyl told her approvingly. The earth pony felt a sense of pleasure that seemed somehow even greater than the vibrator inside her. This was how things were supposed to be.
The music filling the room was now almost perfectly in sync with her own thoughts. Or was it the other way around...? Octavia couldn't think about it. Not now. She could scarcely think of anything except Vinyl, and how good she felt. The mindless pony ran her tongue over the thick metal bit in her mouth, savoring the feeling of it as she licked. She was vaguely aware that she was drooling, but it didn't bother her in the slightest.
Something else floated out of the box. A riding crop. The brass section swelled, and Octavia longed to be whipped by her mistress.
Mistress?
"Yes," she thought, "My mistress, Vinyl Scratch."
A second later, her hopes were answered as Vinyl struck her on the rear, with a firm, "Trot."
Octavia trotted obediently around the room, following each of Vinyl's commands perfectly. Every command started with the wonderful sting of the riding crop on her rear, and ended with Vinyl's words of praise. Both caused her more joy than she had ever imagined.
During her exhibition, Octavia had left a trail of juices across the living room as she moved around it, but there were still plenty left when she was given the final command. Her scream of pleasure was muffled by the bit in her mouth as the waves of pure ecstasy washed through her.
Then it was over, and everything was clear to her. Her own juices ran down her legs as she stood there, breathing heavily and utterly spent.
Vinyl came closer and nuzzled her pet affectionately, then stepped back to look at her face.
Octavia stared into her mistress' eyes. The bright red eyes that seemed to pull her in and drown her. She happily drowned in them now, giving her will, her mind, and her body fully to her mistress.
She saw her mistress' horn glow once more, and the bit came out of her mouth, allowing her to speak.
"I'm so sorry," she told her mistress, with absolute sincerity. "I should never have defied you."
Vinyl stared at her for a long moment, and then broke out into a smile. "It's okay, my slutty pony. I forgive you."
Tavi could still hear, far at the back of her mind, a small voice crying out. It shouted that she still needed to fight. Which was, of course, stupid. Fighting her mistress was like fighting the passing of days, or the flowing of the tides.
Vinyl's pet smiled happily as the collar came up once more, the silver heart that read 'Tavi' flashing in the light. It slid around her neck.
"No! No no n..." the voice said, but was interrupted, silenced forever, by the soft *click* of the collar.
