//------------------------------// // Chapter 32 // Story: Refound Love // by GamerTag //------------------------------// KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK Vinyl groaned as she moved in an attempt to muffle out the sound. However, the mare's movement was stopped abruptly as she felt moving from right next to her. Vinyl looked over at Octavia, whose mane was a mess, had no bow tie, and had both her hooves around the DJ's barrel. The mare also had a peaceful smile on her face. Vinyl smirked a little as she noticed her marefriend. Heh heh, oh yeah, forgot about THAT. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK Vinyl sighed, the knocking hadn't stopped. So, she decide to investigate. However, her plans were stopped by the same mare who stopped her from moving only a few seconds prior. Vinyl couldn't help but crack a smile as she heard small complaints from the cellist. "I know I'm fun to cuddle with, but I gotta answer the door," Vinyl said, nuzzling Octavia's cheek. Octavia smiled before sighing tiredly, "Alright fine, but be back soon so we can continue our fun~" After hearing this, the unicorn grabbed her glasses and practically bolted out of the bed, causing her hooves to get caught in the covers which made her stumble. This didn't stop her, however, as she continued to make her way to the door. Vinyl glared at the ground slightly as she heard the sound of Octavia's laughter coming from the other room. Before Vinyl opened the door, she paused and decided to look into the peep hole. Vinyl almost fell to the ground as she saw who was on the other side. "Caramel," Vinyl hissed. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK Thankfully, Caramel hadn't noticed Vinyl, which meant she had time to plan. Shit shit shit. I knew it was only a matter of time before he came here. Vinyl silently made her way back over to the bedroom. Vinyl peaked through to find Octavia on her phone, texting somepony. The DJ then set her plan into motion. Vinyl set a silent spell which would cause Octavia to not be able to hear Caramel and for Caramel to not be able to hear her. Once that was done, Vinyl locked the door and went back to her front door. Well, you've made it this far, now what? Um, let's answer the door! Vinyl started moving her hoof towards the door. What?! Are you crazy?! Remember when Caramel almost BROKE YOUR RIBS?! This thought caused Vinyl to stop again. Alright fine, what do you think we should do? How about we- Vinyl's thoughts were interrupted by a buzzing. Vinyl turned around where her phone was still sitting on the living room table. The DJ levitate her phone over to her and checked it. 'I know you're in there' Vinyl's eyes went wide. It was from an unknown number. 'Who is this?' 'Where is my wife?!' Well, at least he's very forward about it, Vinyl thought to herself. 'I don't know. Unlike you I don't stalk everything she does, so you're probably the one who knows where she is.' 'Cut the bullshit. She left our house in a hurry without explaining anything, she must be with you.' 'Well, she's not.' 'Then what's that smell?' Vinyl froze. Shit. 'What smell?' He can't mean that, out of anything he CANNOT mean that. 'I'm at your house. It smells like c-' Vinyl didn't even bother to read the rest. Octavia is going to bucking kill me. Whatever, that's future me's problem. I need to deal with this first. 'Why the hell are you at my house?!' 'You've done it with Octavia, haven't you? I'm going to bust this door down and beat the ever living shit out of you!' With that text sent, Vinyl heard the sound of somepony ramming against the door. This set Vinyl to panic mode. C'mon! Open the door! We can take that dumbass! But would Octavia be okay with that? Vinyl groaned again. Why do I have to love her... Vinyl galloped to the bedroom and unlocked the door. Octavia stared at the mare wide-eyed as she burst through the door. "Vinyl, what's-" "Caramel, is here," Vinyl said between pants, "And he is trying to burst the door down." Octavia's eyes went wide with fear. "Call the police!" Octavia exclaimed. "And the firemen?" Octavia glared, "Now is not the time to joke Vinyl!" "Right right, sorry!" Vinyl quickly apologized before she started to call the police. ~•~•~•~•~ "Soooo, you don't think you want to be with Concerto?" Beauty Brass asked. Symphony sighed and nodded. Once Concerto left, Symphony decided to call over Beauty Brass to have some tea with her. "WOOOO!" Beauty Brass cheered, causing Symphony to almost fall out of her seat, "That means we know who your future husband will be!" "What?!" Symphony exclaimed. "What? Now is the time of year when we meet our future spouses!" Beauty Brass replied causing Symphony to groan. "I don't even know if I like Fredric enough to date him," Symphony pointed out. Beauty Brass shrugged, "You could ask Octavia about her relationship with him." Symphony's eyes went wide, "Wow Beauty, that's actually a good idea!" Symphony got up and started leaving. "Wait, what do you mean by an actually good idea?!" Beauty Brass exclaimed. Symphony paused to give Beauty Brass a look. "Also, why not just wait until dinner to ask Octavia?" Beauty Brass asked. "Because," Symphony started, "something tells me this dinner won't be a good time to talk about anything that isn't related to Octavia's situation." With that said, Symphony closed the door and left. "I wish I could be there," Beauty Brass pouted. Symphony trotted down the streets of Manehatten, looking around the city. As Hearth's warming eve approached, more and more decorations were being put up around the city, making everything light up in a festive light. However, Symphony was too busy admiring the sights to realize where she was going, causing her to bump into somepony. This caused the both of them to fall onto the floor. "Oh! I'm sorry, are you al- Lyra?" Symphony exclaimed as she realized who she had just bumped into. Lyra's eyes snapped open as she heard her name, she looks up to find Symphony looking down, worryingly. "Hey, Symphony. Sorry, I'm in a rush, I need to go," Lyra said quickly before galloping off. Well... that was odd. Symphony shook her head before she continued walking, only to bump into another pony. Instead of saying an apology like before, Symphony immediately opened her eyes to find out who the pony was. She was not too surprised to find Bon Bon rubbing her head. "I'm guessing you're chasing after Lyra?" Symphony asked. Bon Bon nodded her head, "Did she not tell you what happened?" Symphony's eye widened. What now? "No... What happened?" Bon Bon's eyes became full of worry. "Caramel attempted to break into Vinyl's apartment... while Vinyl and Octavia were there. They called the police and-" Bon Bon would never ever get the chance to finish that sentence as Symphony was already halfway down the block. The three mares ran towards Vinyl's apartment, all extremely worried for their friend's safety. Once they got there, they found police outside the apartment. Lyra and Bon Bon looked at each other worryingly before the three continued walking towards the apartment door. "Sorry, no pony can enter this apartment at the moment," The police pony explained. "Where Vinyl and Octavia?" Lyra demanded. The police's eyes narrowed, "Who are you?" Lyra opened her mouth to respond but Symphony beat her to it. "I'm Symphony Melody, sister of Octavia Melody. These two are friends of theirs who I brought with me, may we see my sister please?" The police pony examined the mares for a second before turning to another police pony and whispering something to him. The second police pony then disappeared into the apartment before coming out with Octavia and Vinyl. "Vinyl! Octavia!" The three mares exclaimed at the same time before running over to them. The two sisters hugged one another while Lyra and Bon Bon interrogated Vinyl. "What happened to you two?" Bon Bon asked. "Yeah, and where's Caramel? I want to punch him right in the muzzle," Lyra said, moving her hoof to punch the air. "Me and Tavi woke up to the door knocking. I came in and saw Caramel on the other side, banging on my door. He texted me, don't know how he got my number but we talked. It ended with him attempting to break the door down because he thinks he smelled the scent of two ponies doing it." Bon Bon raised an eyebrow, "Think?" Vinyl blushed slightly, "Okay he DID but don't tell Tavi I told you that." Lyra smirked, "Hot." Vinyl smiled before continuing, "Caramel left before the police got here." "Oh. So I'm guessing they're going to find him now and like, arrest him?" Lyra asked a small hint of happiness in her voice. Vinyl frowned slightly before taking a small glance at Octavia who was talking to her sister, "I'm not pressing charges." "What?! Are you crazy?!" Bon Bon exclaimed. Vinyl sighed, "Octy wanted me to but... I could tell that it would hurt her to so... I decided not to." "Vinyl, that's very sweet. But he's dangerous and-" "I know," Vinyl stated, interrupting Bon Bon, "that's why I'm going to change my number, move to another apartment, and start planning out how I hang out with Octy more thoroughly." Lyra and Bon Bon looked at one another before looking at Vinyl again. Bon Bon sighed, "Alright, but if he does something like this again, press charges." "Yeah! Or let us beat him up for you!" Lyra agreed. Vinyl smiled, "Thanks, guys." The DJ then hugged her friends before turning towards Octavia and her sister. "So, we should probably start getting ready for the dinner we have to go to," Vinyl said, getting the mare's attention. Octavia raised her eyebrow, "Since when did you become so excited about this dinner?" Vinyl grinned, "I'm not, just excited about what might happen after it." Octavia's face turned completely red as Vinyl just smirked. "OW!" Vinyl yelled as Octavia whacked her head, causing the other ponies to laugh. ~•~•~•~•~ "My Celestia, what are you going to do?" Symphony asked. Lyra and Bon Bon had made their ways back to their home while Vinyl, Octavia, and Symphony got ready for dinner at Symphony's home. "I don't know," Octavia replied sincerely, shaking the tea she held slightly, "I can't believe he freaked out like that... Well, I guess I kind of did since she smelled... well, you know." "Yes," Symphony said, blushing slightly, "but this is insane! Are you going to tell mom and dad about-" "No!" Octavia exclaimed, causing Symphony to jump, "If father still doesn't like Vinyl, then I shouldn’t even consider telling him that we." Octavia trailed off at the end, too embarrassed to continue. "Yeah," Symphony replied. After a moment of silence, Octavia decided to change the subject, "So, how was your date with Concerto?" Symphony sighed angrily, "Better get comfy, this is a long story." Meanwhile, as the two sisters talked to one another, Vinyl was in Symphony's bathroom, showering. "This’ll be the day that I die," Vinyl sung as she washed her mane. However, her voice was not cheery, it was low and sad. It's all our fault that happened with Caramel. No, it's not. If you didn't decide to have fun with Tavi, this would never have happened. Shut up. You know who wouldn't have had his problem? Lucky Streak. "Shut up!" Vinyl said to herself as she hit the wall. "Vinyl, are you alright?" Octavia asked in concern as she heard the sound of something hitting the wall. "Y-yeah yeah! I'm fine!" Vinyl yelled back. The DJ then sighed and looked down at the floor. "Just fine." Once Vinyl finished her shower, Octavia took her turn while Vinyl brushed her mane. Symphony meanwhile, was cleaning up the tea she and her sister had had. "I'm sorry," Vinyl said suddenly, causing Symphony to turn around. "What?" "I'm sorry the thing happened with Caramel," Vinyl replied in a sad voice as she put the brush down. Vinyl jumped when she felt Symphony out her hoof on Vinyl's shoulder. "Vinyl, it's not your fault," Symphony comforted, rubbing Vinyl's back, "Octavia doesn't hold it against you, I don't hold it against you! I mean, you did basically say the two of you had sex at dinner before." Vinyl chuckled, "I thought everypony thought I was kidding." "Oh, we did!" Symphony confirmed, "Just not anymore." Vinyl laughed before turning to Symphony, "Thanks." Symphony smiled, "You're welcome Vinyl." The two smiled at one another for a second before Symphony returned to her kitchen and Vinyl returned to brushing her mane. After a few minutes, Vinyl heard the noise of the shower stopping, giving the DJ an idea. Vinyl quietly snuck around and hid by the bathroom door. She waited a few seconds before the door opened, revealing Octavia with a towel over her mane. Vinyl took this moment of blindness to wrap her hooves around the earth pony's torso, causing said mare to let out a surprising sequel. "Vinyl!" Octavia scolded, a blush forming on her face as Vinyl nuzzled the back of the cellist's neck. "Yeah?" Vinyl asked in a teasing tone as she started nuzzling behind Octavia's ears. "Get off me!" Octavia said giggling, pushing Vinyl off her. Octavia attempted to glare at the mare, which didn't work due to the smile on her face, Vinyl just smirked at the mare. The two then moved in for a quick kiss before breaking it. Octavia then went over to where Vinyl had left the brush and started brushing her own mane. Once she was done, the three mares started getting dressed and ready for dinner. ~•~•~•~•~ "Why do I have to wear a dress?" Vinyl whined. "If you want to impress our parents you need to wear one," Symphony replied, a matter of factly. Vinyl groaned, "Where's Tavi?" Symphony rolled her eyes, "She needed to grab something from upstairs." Vinyl let out an annoyed sigh as she waited. Although Vinyl didn't care about this dinner, she did want to see Octavia in a dress again. After a few seconds, Octavia finally came outside the apartment where Symphony and Vinyl were waiting for her. Both Octavia and Vinyl froze as they took in what the other was wearing. Symphony getting the cue to leave them alone, started walking. "I'll go get us a taxi," The mare said before walking away, leaving the two mares to stare at one another. "Y-you look... good," Vinyl stammered. Octavia didn't reply. She looks.... dashing. Octavia then realized Vinyl had complimented her. "Thank you!" The cellist replied quickly, "You... you look positively amazing." Vinyl blushed, looking down at the floor with a small grin. Octavia opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted. "Are you two love birds coming or what?!" Symphony called from the corner of the street where a taxi waited for them. "Coming!" The two replied at the same time as they quickly galloped towards the car. Symphony got in first followed by Octavia and then Vinyl. "Where to?" The stallion asked. Octavia replied with the name of the restaurant before the car took off. Once the taxi stopped by the restaurant, the three mares got out of the car and made their way to the restaurant. When they got there, they found Octavia and Symphony's parents already there. "Octavia! Symphony! Hello!" Octavia's mother greeted, hugging the two. "Vinyl," Octavia's father greeted, walking up to the DJ. "Octy's dad," Vinyl greeted as well, causing the father to smirk slightly. "Do you still not know my name?" The father asked. Vinyl shook her head, "Nope. But even if I did, I'd still call you Octy's dad just to spite Octy." Octavia's father shook his head laughing slightly. "Hello father," Octavia greeted as she finished hugging her mother. "Hello, my fillies," Octavia's father said affectionately before hugging his daughters. "Vinyl! Hello again! You look nice," Octavia mother said with a smile, to which Vinyl returned it. "Hey, Tavi's mom. You look great too," Vinyl complimented. "Oh, be careful with who you compliment my dear, you might make your marefriend jealous," Octavia's mother teased. "Mother!" Octavia exclaimed causing the mother and Vinyl to start laughing. "So where are your parents Vinyl?" Octavia's father asked once the laughing died down. "I don't know. How ‘bout you guys go into the restaurant while I wait outside for them," Vinyl offered. "Nonsense! We can wait with you!" Octavia's mother persisted. "Well, we do need to get inside so they don't cancel our reservations," Symphony pointed out. "Symphony's right, besides, you two need to hear about Symphony's love problems," Octavia agreed, causing Symphony to look at her sister with a 'You will bleed and no one will find your body’ look, which was a look Vinyl knew all too well. "Oh! Symphony! You MUST tell us!" The mother exclaimed, pushing the mare inside. Symphony groaned before the door to the restaurant closed. The father followed after them. He paused as he opened the door and turned towards Octavia. "Aren't you coming as well?" The father asked. Octavia shook her head, "I'll stay here and wait with Vinyl. You go ahead." Octavia's father nodded his head before entering the restaurant, leaving the couple alone. Once her father was out of sight, Octavia turned towards Vinyl who was staring at the night sky in thought. "Are you alright Vinyl?" Octavia asked, getting closer to the mare. Vinyl turned towards her marefriend, "Heh, yeah Tavi. I'm just thinking ‘bout stuff." "Care you share?" Octavia offered, getting even closer to the DJ. Vinyl chuckled, putting her hoof around the cellist, "I'm thinking about a lot of stuff. This dinner, Caramel, us." "Us? What about us?" Octavia questioned, tilting her head. Vinyl shrugged, "I don't know. Like, what do we do after your divorce." "Vinyl," Octavia said in a comforting voice as she put her hoof to Vinyl's cheek, moving the DJ to face her, "That's all things in the future. You need to think about what our current problem is and that's this dinner." Vinyl laughed, "You're really bad at not showing that you're panicking." "Oh shush," Octavia replied, swatting the mare. Vinyl just smiled and kissed her marefriend on the cheek. Octavia blushed at the gesture, and let out a content sigh. "Awww. They don't even realize we're watching them!" Long Play teased, causing Vinyl and Octavia to jump. Octavia's face turned completely red while Vinyl's just slightly darkened. "Long Play! What the hell?" Vinyl said with a chuckle while Octavia attempted to bury her head into her hooves. "It's good to see you too," Long Play said, rolling his eyes. "Oh stop. Look what you're doing to Octavia!" Vinyl mother exclaimed, laughing slightly. Vinyl and Long Play laughed at the cellist's situation while said cellist just glared. "I forgot Vinyl's whole family has the same horrible sense of humor," Octavia growled. "More like we actually have a sense of humor," Vinyl teased, causing Octavia to hit her on the chest. "Is that her family in there?" Vinyl's father asked, making his presence known. The ponies turned to look into the restaurant, where Octavia's parents were clearly interrogating a blushing Symphony. Octavia sighed at her family's antics, "Yes, that's them. We should probably get inside." The family nodded their heads as they entered the restaurant and walked towards the table. Octavia's parents noticed them and stopped bothering their daughter, causing her to turn around to see what they were looking at. Once she noticed Symphony she started glaring at her sister. Octavia's parents then got up to greet Vinyl's parents, as Long Play, Vinyl, and Octavia all sat down. "I will kill you," Symphony whispered. "I'm sure you will, Symphony," Octavia said rolling her eyes. "Huh, so THIS is Octavia's sister, eh?" Long Play asked as she noticed the other mare, "She is pretty hot." Symphony eyes went wide as she blushed at the comment. Vinyl laughed, "Oh please, you're not her type. Symphony's only into rich snooty types- OW!" Vinyl shouted in pain as Octavia slapped her arm. "What?!" Vinyl asked in pain. "Don't insult Fredric like that!" Symphony all of a sudden exclaimed, causing Octavia and Vinyl to stare at her wide eyed. Symphony then blushed even more and sunk more into her seat. "Uh, who?" Long Play asked, "He sounds like some stupid fancy guy who likes swim in his money." "That's because he is-" Vinyl paused as she felt Octavia's glare on the back of her head, "a pianist from Octavia's imbecile." "Ensemble!" Octavia's whole family corrected at the same time causing the DJ to almost jump out of her seat. Long Play started laughing, while Octavia's while family glared at the mare. "Uhhhh, mom, help me," Vinyl pleaded. "I can't dear," Vinyl's mom started as she seated herself next to Long Play, "You've brought this mess onto yourself." Vinyl gulped while Octavia's family just sighed before seating themselves. The order of the table was, Vinyl and Octavia next to each other. To Octavia's left was her sister, next to her sister was her mom and then her dad. Next to Octavia's dad was Vinyl's dad, next to him was Vinyl's mother, and next to her was Long Play. The waiter then came to their table to take their orders. Once everypony was done, the waiter left and the table became silent. "Soooo," Vinyl started, breaking the silence, "how do we start this train wreck?" Octavia's mother's response was to pull out a stack of papers, causing everypony to look at her wide eyed. "What?" She asked, "I came prepared." "Yeah okay now that is officially scary," Long Play commented. "I should take notes," Vinyl's mother thought out loud, scratching her chin. "Wha- mom!" Vinyl and Long Play exclaimed causing the mare to laugh. "Ha! Wow, and I thought my interrogation was bad!" Symphony teased, causing Octavia to glare at her sister. "Oh don't worry sweetie, you'll get your own list soon!" Octavia's mom replied in a loving voice, causing Symphony to gulp in fear. "What's that list for?" Vinyl's father asked, tilting his head slightly. "It's a list of questions for not only you all but for Vinyl and Octavia. Oh! And also things you can ask us!" Octavia's mother replied with a smile. "Wow! That's amazing!" Vinyl mother exclaimed, causing Octavia's mother's smile to grow. "Well at least our moms are getting along," Vinyl whispered to Octavia. "Yes, but I cannot tell whether that's a good or bad thing," Octavia whispered back. "Alright, first question," Octavia's mother announced, "What do we all think of Octavia and Vinyl's relationship." "Oh, I think you can answer this question first," Vinyl's mother said, nervously. "Oh no, please, go first," Octavia's father insisted. "No no, it's alright. You go!" Vinyl's mother replied. "No, really it's al-" "I think their relationship is fine," Symphony said, interrupting the father, "I mean, it's not like Octavia is just using Vinyl for sex or something like that, she's just moving on." Octavia glared at her marefriend as she could basically see what Vinyl was thinking through her glasses. The parents turned to face one another. "Wow, guys. So afraid that your own daughter is more willing to talk," Long Play laughed. "Shut up Long Play," Vinyl's mother growled slightly. "I also think their relationship is good!" Octavia's mother agreed, "They're both happy so who am I to complain?" Octavia smiled at her mother, who gladly returned it. "Well," Vinyl's father started causing everypony to look towards him, "I don't really know that much about... anything going on so I don't think my opinion really matters." "What do you mean you don't know anything? How do you just feel about your daughter dating a married mare?" Octavia's father questioned. Vinyl's father just shrugged, causing Vinyl's mother to sigh. "He didn't spend his time around them while they were foals. He barely knows Vinyl, the two of us are divorced actually." "Oh," Octavia's mother exclaimed, "I'm sorry." Vinyl's mother chuckled darkly, "It's fine. I guess that's why in a way I don't really know how I feel yet. I still see myself a little in the husband of Octavia but from what I've heard, and have partially seen, Octavia is really just trying to move on." "I have the opposite problem," Octavia's father replied, "I know all about Caramel and what he's done, but I don't know much about this Vinyl or if she's even worthy of my Octavia." "Dear, that's not something you say to the parents of the mare you said may not be 'worthy' of our daughter," Octavia's mother said annoyed as she rubbed her eyes. "Nah it's cool," Vinyl said, causing everypony to look at her, "Sometimes I don't know if I'm worth Octy myself." Octavia's mother and Symphony both went "Awwww!" Meanwhile, Octavia just smacked her head onto the table with a groan, in order to hide her blush. Vinyl's mother chuckled at the scene, shaking her head, "You two are something." "Something terrible," Octavia replied, head still on the table. "Don't say that Tavi! You love this relationship!" Vinyl teased as she ruffled the mare's mane. Octavia finally lifted her head again to glare at her smirking marefriend before she then fixed her mane. "Hello! Is anypony going to ask how I feel about their relationship?" Long Play asked in an annoyed tone. "Sure, how do you feel sweetie?" Vinyl's mother asked her son. Long Play shrugged, "Meh." This caused Vinyl's mom to facehoof. "Hey, we should totally do this again!" Vinyl exclaimed, "Except this time with Frideric, Concerto, and Symphony." "No!" Symphony stated, getting out of her seat. This caused Vinyl to laugh while Octavia just giggled. "What's our next question?" Vinyl's father asked, facing Octavia's mother. Octavia's mother went through her list before pointing her hoof at a spot on it. "Do you/we want to help the two in their journey to make their relationship a thing and to get the divorce?" Octavia's mother read before turning back up to the table. "Hell yeah!" Long Play yelled, causing everypony to jump, "I could beat the crap outta Neon! Or even that guy, what's his name? Carmel?" "Caramel," Octavia corrected. "Yeah yeah, Caramel, Carmel, same thing," Long Play said, waving his hoof. "I can see you and Long Play both dislike pronouncing words correctly," Octavia commented, causing Vinyl to smirk slightly. "I would also like to help!" Symphony agreed, "Although, I don't think we'll have to resort to violence." "Like that's not gonna happen," Vinyl replied with a laugh. "I would also like to help!" Octavia's mother said, "I want my daughter to be happy after all." "I still have no idea what's going on," Vinyl's father said, putting his hooves up. "I've already said that I am willing to help," Vinyl's mother reminded. "And I'm already trying to help my daughter get her divorce," Octavia's father answered. "Well look at that!" Octavia's mother exclaimed, "We all easily agreed on something and it didn't take forever to do so!" The ponies chuckled. Just then, the waiter came back carrying their food. Once their food was placed down, they started eating. While they ate, they decided to skip the main topic so they could just enjoy their food, and so they could know each other better. However, once they finished eating, they continued their topic. "You know, at this point. I wonder if I even needed the list," Octavia's mother said as she pulled back out her list. "Of course you didn't!" Octavia exclaimed. "Well actually it kind of helped at the start," Symphony pointed out, causing Octavia to groan. "Yeah, good thing Symphony gets one too when it's her turn," Vinyl teased, causing Symphony to glare at her. "Shut. Up," Symphony replied, causing Vinyl and Long Play to laugh. "So," Vinyl's mom started, "what's our next question?" "Hmmm let me see," Octavia's mother said, going through the list. "I actually have a question for Octavia and Vinyl," Octavia's father said, interrupting them, "I was wondering if Caramel has done anything new." Vinyl, Octavia, and Symphony all froze. They knew this would happen at some point, too bad they didn't plan for it. Vinyl and Symphony looked over to Octavia. Although everypony else just took it as them waiting for an answer, they were actually just afraid to say something that would upset the mare. Octavia sighed, "N-no. Nothing has happened for awhile, thankfully." "Oh, that's good," Octavia father said in a relieved voice. "Yep! Now let's continue!" Vinyl's mother exclaimed. "Alright!" Octavia's mother started, "What's our next steps?" Everypony stared at the mare who just asked a question nopony was ready for. Said mare looked up confused, "What? It's my final question! We ran out of time with all of the talking while we ate!" "Our next steps," Vinyl repeated to herself quietly as she looked at the table. Octavia let out a long breath through her nose, "I would think our next step is to work on the divorce with Caramel." "Yeah," Long Play agreed, "but what about Vinyl? Can't she be in danger because of this?" "That is true," Vinyl's mother agreed. "Oh please!" Octavia's father exclaimed, "Caramel is completely harmless!" Octavia's mother raised an eyebrow at her husband, "Did you forget when Caramel put Vinyl in the hospital?" "I'm also worried for Vinyl's health. But what about Octavia?" Vinyl's mother said, "What if their relationship becomes a physically abusive relationship?" "I doubt that," Octavia interjected, "He only hurts ponies in the way of what he wants, not what he wants. He wants me so he'll only hurt the ponies stopping him, like Vinyl." The cellist then turned to her marefriend, "It doesn't help that said pony continues to aggravate him in the stupidest of ways." Vinyl put her hooves up, "What did I do?!" Octavia raised an eyebrow, "Remember when I was sick?" Vinyl slowly put her hooves back down and gave a sheepish chuckle, "Heh heh haaaaa sorry." "This is why Vinyl and Octavia shouldn't date until after the divorce!" Octavia's father exclaimed. "But, what if they just hide it," Long Play argued, "If they make sure to keep Vinyl far away from Caramel while still keeping their relationship, everything could turn out well!" Octavia smiled at Long Play, remembering the conversation the two had at Vinyl's mom's home. "Yeah! They could even come to one of our homes and spend the time there in case they just can't find time without Caramel around," Vinyl's mom suggested, "That could also help with Vinyl getting to know her father more." Vinyl's father looked at his ex-wife with hopeful eyes, to which Vinyl's mother just smiled back. "But what if it doesn't work?" Octavia's father persisted, "What if he gets Vinyl cornered and takes action? We don't know what he's capable of." "He can't be that-" "You're right," Octavia agreed suddenly, interrupting Vinyl's father, "It took me years to see the crazed stallion he really is, who knows how deep he'll go? All I know is that he won't hurt me, but to what extent will he go for Vinyl?" "Maybe his parents would know," Octavia's mother suggested, "They are his parents, they know things before their foals realize it." "Caramel's parents? No, thank you," Vinyl replied. “They're actually very nice ponies," Symphony said, turning to Vinyl, "Honestly, it'll be a little sad to not be able to see them anymore." "Yeah but now you got us, and we're a ton better!" Long Play said with a grin. While the families laughed at Long Play, Octavia was deep in thought of Caramel's parents. His parents? I never even thought about them. I've always thought of them as... a part of my family. How will they react to this? To learning their son's wife is cheating on him? ~•~•~•~•~ "Hey Octavia, can I ask you something?" "Sure?" "Are you happy?" "What?" "Do you feel abandoned? And lonely?" "What- why are you asking me this?" "Because, I know my son is never around for you anymore. I know that you spend almost all your time alone at home. So, do you?" "I.... I don't know." ~•~•~•~•~ "Yo Tavi, you alright?" Vinyl asked, snapping Octavia out of her thoughts, "You were like, zoning out." "Oh! Yes, I'm fine Vinyl. What's going on?" Octavia asked. "We're leaving," Vinyl answered, a grin forming on her face, "It's the first time we've had a successful dinner without some weird shit happening, or some kind of fight happening." Octavia giggled, "There's a first time for everything I guess." Vinyl smiled, "Yeah. C'mon let's go." With that, everypony got up and started getting ready to leave by putting on their coats and other winter clothes. "Goodbye, dears! I hope to see you all soon!" Octavia's mother said as she hugged her daughters. "Bye mother, bye father," Octavia said as she kissed both her parents on the cheeks. "See ya bro," Vinyl said as she hugged her brother. "See ya, don't screw over your marefriend too much alright?" Long Play said with a grin. Vinyl laughed, "No promises." Once everypony finished their goodbyes, they all went their separate ways. Vinyl and Octavia walked Symphony home before saying goodbye to her, and of course wishing her luck on her date the next day. Once that was done, the two mares made their way to Vinyl's apartment, before going inside and laying down on the bed. Vinyl was almost fully asleep when she heard a voice. "Vinyl? May I ask you something?" Vinyl groaned slightly before looking down at her marefriend who was laying on her chest. The DJ has one hoof draped over the cellist. "What's up?" "I was wondering if you think our parents liked each other," Octavia said. Vinyl chuckled, "Yeah, I think they fucking loved each other." The DJ then closed her eyes again. Octavia giggled, "Well, you get very dirty mouthed when you're tired." Vinyl smirked, eyes still closed, "Babe, my mouth is always dirty after I spend time with you." Octavia laughed, "What?" "I don't know, that sounded a lot better in my head." Octavia continued laughing, causing Vinyl to smile. "Do you think we should talk to Caramel's parents?" Octavia asked once she stopped laughing. Vinyl shrugged, "I don't know. It's up to you. I mean, I would like to get some revenge for all the times he's contacted ponies I knew." Octavia sighed, "Alright, I shall think about it then." "K cool," Vinyl replied. Octavia giggled slightly at the sleepy-sounding voice Vinyl had. The room then became silent for a few more seconds before Octavia spoke again. "Hey, Vinyl?" "Yeah?" Octavia's heart raced as she squeezed Vinyl's hoof. "I love you." Vinyl's smile grew, "I love you too Tavi."