//------------------------------//
// Chapter 40 
// Story: Refound Love 
// by GamerTag 
//------------------------------//

"Are you alright, Octavia?" Caramel's mom asked, worried.

"Ye-yes," Octavia stammered, "I... just need to go outside for a few minutes."

Octavia then got up and quickly made her way outside, filled with worry.

Once she got outside, she found the police ponies were questioning not only Lyra, Bon Bon, and Caramel, but ponies that had viewed the whole catastrophe.

As Octavia walked up to the group of ponies, Caramel noticed her and started freaking out.

"That's her! That's my wife!" Caramel exclaimed, pointing at the mare.

Octavia raised her eyebrow at her husband before turning to the police pony.

"What was he talking about with you?"

The police pony shook his head, "He hasn't answered any of our questions and has instead just gone on some kind of rant about you and your marefriend?"

Octavia blushed, "Oh. May I ask what happened?"

"Are you really this stallion's husband?"  The police pony asked.

Octavia let out a long sigh, "Yes."

"Well then. Your husband here attempted to harm two other ponies," The police pony explained.

"I'm assuming those two ponies are Lyra and Bon Bon," Octavia assumed, pointing over to her two friends.

"You know them?" The police ponies questioned.

Octavia nodded her head, "Yes, we're friends."

The police pony narrowed his eyes, unsure.

Suddenly, another police pony, the same one who had been talking to Lyra and Bon Bon, came over.

"They aren't pressing charges."

The first police pony looked at the other one, surprised, "Really?"

The other police pony nodded, making the first one sigh.

"Well, it seems you're free to go," The police pony said, turning towards Caramel.

With that, the two police ponies walked away.

"You!" Caramel exclaimed, "You have some explaining to do!"

Octavia rolled her eyes, "As do you. Like I said, I'm on a business trip-"

"Then why were you at my parent's house with... Her!" Caramel yelled, interrupting Octavia.

Octavia sighed, "I decided to visit your parents because mine were not home today."

"Yeah right!"

"It's true!" Lyra insisted as her and Bon Bon walked up to them.

"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Caramel snapped.

Bon Bon rolled her eyes, "It's not really an opinion, more of a-"

"Shut it!" Caramel demanded, pointing at the earth pony.

"Caramel, could you at least try to act polite? They did just decide to not press charges on you," Octavia pointed out.

"So what?!" Caramel yelled, "They deserve to go to jail with that stupid unicorn!"

"How? You're the only one who's done anything illegal," Bon Bon commented.

"I said shut up!" Caramel repeated.

"I studied law for years, trust me, you're the only one in the wrong,"

Lyra raised her eyebrow at her marefriend, "You didn't tell me that you studied law."

Bon Bon cringed, "You... never asked?"

Lyra shrugged, "Fair point."

Bon Bon heaved a sigh of relief.

"You know what," Caramel started, "Fine. I'll believe this whole business trip bull crap-"

"Thank you, Cara-"

"IF! I can come with you to my parents!" Caramel finished, interrupting Octavia.

"What?!" They all exclaimed at the same time.

"What? Is there a problem with that?" Caramel asked, narrowing his eyes at his wife.

"Not at all," Octavia said through her teeth. Lyra and Bon Bon looked at one another concerned.

"Are you two coming?" Caramel asked, obviously hiding his anger.

Lyra looked at Octavia for help, while Bon Bon answered.

"Actually, we're-"

"Coming!" Octavia interrupted, "They are coming inside with us!"

"Great!" Caramel said, through his teeth as well.

And with that, the four ponies re-entered the home of Caramel's parents.

When they entered, the first thing Octavia noticed was that Vinyl and Caramel's father seemed to be talking. However, it was too quiet to hear them.

"Caramel!" Caramel's mother exclaimed as she came out of the bathroom and noticed her son.

"Hey mom," Caramel greeted.

"I was hoping you were coming as well! Oh! And who are you two?" Caramel's mother asked.

"I'm Lyra, and this is my marefriend Bonnie," Lyra greeted, shaking the mare's hoof.

"Bon Bon, actually," Bon Bon corrected.

"Yeah, but it's much more fun to call ya Bonnie," Lyra said with a shrug.

"They're co-workers of Vinyl and I's. And are also close friends of ours," Octavia explained with a smile.

"Well, how lovely!" Caramel's mother said with a smile, "Please, come sit! We've put some cheese and crackers out for you all!"

As they went to sit down, Lyra opened her mouth to talk to Octavia, only to be interrupted.

"I know," Octavia said, rolling her eyes as she already knew Lyra was going to make the same comment as Vinyl.

Octavia sat down next to Vinyl, causing Caramel to immediately sit on the other side of the mare as he attempted to get closer and closer to the mare. Meanwhile, Lyra and Bon Bon opted to just sit down next to Vinyl.

"Hey, son!" Caramel's father exclaimed.

"Hey dad," Caramel greeted.

"I thought I saw police ponies outside, are you all alright?" Caramel's mother asked, concerned.

Octavia opened her mouth to respond, only for Caramel to cut her off.

"Yep! We're fine!" 

Caramel then glared at his wife, as if saying "Not a word."

Octavia's ears folded back as she looked down to the floor.

"So," Lyra started, "What did we miss?"

"Nothing much," Caramel's father responded, "Vinyl and I were just talking about some upcoming movies!"

Octavia then noticed that Vinyl seemed to be fidgeting. The cellist gave Vinyl a confused look, to which Vinyl just sheepishly smiled back.

She has to be hiding something....

"Oh! I forgot you tell you! Cherry Fizzy will be coming home soon," Caramel's mother explained, "We told him that Octavia was here so he's on his way home now."

"Oh alright," Octavia replied with a shaky smile.

Caramel's mother nodded before turning to the three new mares, "Cherry Fizzy is Caramel's brother."

"Octavia informed us of him, as well as Burnt Oak," Bon Bon said.

Caramel's mother nodded her head again before finally sitting down on the couch across from them, next to her husband.

"Oh, this is so cute! All of us here!" Caramel's mother suddenly said with a smile, "What brings you all here anyway?"

"We're here on a business trip so we decided to drop by to say hi," Vinyl explained casually.

"And what do you all work for?" Caramel's father questioned.

"We work for this unicorn here," Lyra said, wrapping her hoof around Vinyl.

"Yep!" Vinyl agreed, "I'm the great DJ-PON3! And these here mares are my workers!"

"Oh! DJ-PON3? What does DJ-PON3 do?" Caramel's mother asked before taking a sip of tea.

Vinyl blinked, before she suddenly slouched, "You've never heard of me?"

"Well, I haven't," Caramel's father answered.

"Same here!" Caramel's mother stated.

"Taviiii, how could they not know me?" Vinyl asked with a pout.

"Honestly Vinyl, I don't think you're as famous as you claim to be," Octavia said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, but we're too old to know these kinds of things," Caramel's mother interjected.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Vinyl agreed, "See Octy, I am famous!"

Octavia just rolled her eyes.

"Anyway," Vinyl continued, "I'm a DJ! The greatest DJ you'll ever meet!"

"Wow!" Caramel's mother said in awe.

Vinyl puffed her chest as she enjoyed the raise in her ego, which made Octavia run between her eyes in annoyance.

"Be careful guys. If Vinyl's ego grows any more, she could blow up all of Equestria," Lyra joked.

They all laughed, except for Caramel who was sitting there angry.

"So, what movies were you two talking about?" Octavia asked once the laughter died down.

"You know, upcoming movies," Vinyl answered with a shrug.

Octavia narrowed her eyes, "I don't know movies very well, could you maybe elaborate?"

Vinyl cringed, "Like... we didn't talk about certain movies. More just how upcoming movies are not as good as.... older movies?"

"You sound unsure about that," Lyra pointed out with a grin.

"It was quite the interesting conversation," Caramel's father commented, nodding his head.

Octavia raised her eyebrow but said nothing, they were definitely hiding something.

"So," Caramel's mother started, "How are things with you, Caramel?"

"Great!" Caramel exclaimed, startling the ponies sitting on the same couch he was, "Octavia and I are in love as ever!"

With that said, Caramel wrapped his hoof around Octavia, pulling the mare closer.

"Well, that's great!" Caramel's mother said, happily, "How about you three, anypony you fancy?"

"Yep! Me and Bonnie go way back," Lyra replied, wrapping her hoof around Bon Bon, who blushed slightly.

"I also got somepony," Vinyl said with a slight smirk as Caramel started to glare at her, "She's a really great mare. Both kind, and really hot."

Octavia had to use all her energy not to kick Vinyl as a giant blush spread across her face.

"Wow! I wasn't expecting for all three of you to be into mares. Did you know I've done some work with supporting gay couples?" Caramel's mother asked.

"No! That's really great!" Bon Bon exclaimed.

And with that, their conversation turned into a conversation about gay rights, however, Octavia wasn't paying attention, she was too busy trying to find out what happened when she had left.

After a while, their conversation was stopped as the front door was heard opening.

"Hey, everypony!" Cherry Fizzy greeted as he entered the door.

"Hello Cherry Fizzy!" His parents greeted at the same time.

"Hey bro," Caramel greeted, nonchalantly.

"Hey bro- Woah, who are these ponies sitting on my couch?" Cherry Fizzy asked as he entered the living room.

"Greetings Cherry Fizzy," Octavia greeted, warmly.

"These three mares are Octavia's coworkers," Caramel's father explained.

"Oh, nice," Cherry Fizzy commented, "Are any of them single?"

"No," The three mares replied simultaneously.

"Well damn," Cherry Fizzy then shrugged, "Can't blame a stallion for trying, right?"

Caramel laughed while Octavia and his mom just shook their heads.

"So, why are they all here?" Cherry Fizzy asked as he sat down next to his parents.

"We're here on a business trip," Bon Bon explained.

"Oh, that's cool what do you work for- wait.... Is that DJ-PON3?!" Cherry Fizzy suddenly yelled.

"Ha!" Vinyl cheered turning towards the cellist, "I told ya Tavi! I AM famous!"

Octavia just rolled her eyes.

"And yes!" Vinyl said, turning back towards Cherry Fizzy, "I am the one and only, DJ-PON3!"

"That's awesome!" Cherry Fizzy exclaimed, "How the hell did you let somepony like Octavia work for you?"

Vinyl shrugged, "I needed to spread out my music, you know, to please the fans?"

"Ohhhh," Cherry Fizzy said in realization.

"Uh, guys? Maybe we should change the subject before Octavia blows a blood vessel," Bon Bon suggested as she noticed Octavia's anger rising.

"Oh! That reminds me! Dinner is ready!" Caramel's mother announced as she got up from her seat.

"How does she-"

"She keeps a timer on her phone," Cherry Fizzy explained, interrupting Lyra.

And with that, the ponies made their way into the kitchen.


~•~•~•~•~


"Hey."

Vinyl snapped her head around to find Octavia exiting the house.

"I saw you step out, are you alright?" Octavia asked.

Vinyl just shrugged, "Yeah. I'm just not really used to Caramel being all over you."

Octavia raised her eyebrow, "How?"

"Well, normally you would come closer to me as I guess a way of protection?" Vinyl laughed when Octavia started blushing.

"Yeah, I noticed that," Vinyl said with a grin, "But anyway, I'm used to you protesting against his affections. But now you have to go along with it so you don't hurt his family."

Octavia sighed, "Yes, I can see how that could bother you."

Silence then fell over the two. Vinyl stared out into Canterlot while Octavia just looked at the ground.

"Vinyl is it alright if I ask you something," Octavia asked suddenly.

Vinyl looked over at her marefriend, "Yeah, what's up?"

"What did you REALLY talk about with Caramel's father," Octavia questioned, her eyes narrowing.

Vinyl cringed, and then chuckled, "Wow Octy, I really can't get anything past you, can I?"

Octavia smiled triumphantly.

"Well," Vinyl stated, "I kind of, maybe, possibly, a little bit, could have, told him that you two were getting divorced."

Octavia's eyes went wide with anger, "What?!"

Vinyl's ear folded down in shame as she cringed, "I know, I know! You wanted to tell them, but we were alone and he asked me if Octavia and Caramel were doing fine and I just couldn't lie to the old guy!"

Octavia groaned loudly, "You love to lie! Why couldn't you just lie the one time I asked?!"

"Hey! I like to lie only when it's fun," Vinyl argued, "And besides, he wasn't even bothered by it!"

Octavia opened her mouth. She wanted to scream at Vinyl, she wanted to let out all of her anger onto the mare. But she didn't because she remembered the conversation.

Are you happy? Do you feel abandoned and lonely? 

So instead of screaming, and letting out all of her anger, she cried and left out her frustration and fear instead.

The cellist hugged Vinyl, and Vinyl reflexively hugged back, even though she had no idea what just happened.

"Uh, isn't this the part where you kill me?" Vinyl asked.

Octavia let out a small chuckle, "I will."

Vinyl rubbed Octavia back as the mare continued to cry.

"I swear, at this point, we should be keeping a crying chart," Vinyl joked in an attempt to stop the mare's tears.

This time, Octavia let out a laugh, which made Vinyl smile.

Octavia continued to cry for a few more minutes before she started stopping.

"Are you alright Tavi?" Vinyl asked.

Octavia broke the hug and smiled at her marefriend, her eyes still red, "Yes. I'm sorry Vinyl, I just really needed that."

"Hey it's no problem," Vinyl said with a shrug.

"Now, we should probably head inside," Octavia commented.

"Yeah," Vinyl agreed.

And with that, the mares made their way back inside.


~•~•~•~•~


"Shouldn't you four get back to your business trip?" Caramel asked, his eyes narrowing.

The group of ponies had just finished their meal and were now back in the living room.

"Yeah! I bet DJ-PON3 has a show tonight!" Cherry Fizzy agreed.

Vinyl waved her hoof around, "Nope. I'm meeting somepony who could possibly join my business, and they wanted me to bring some of my workers with me."

"So you choose to bring Octavia," Caramel asked, his voice threatening.

"Well, it was more of a vote. I had a meeting about it with my producer," Vinyl explained.

"So why did they choose Octavia?" Caramel's father asked.

Octavia jumped and glared at Vinyl when she felt the DJ slap her back.

"Cause she's a great worker!"

"Unlike you," Lyra joked.

"Oh put a sock in it Lyra," Vinyl replied.

"You all seem really close as workers, which is really nice," Caramel's mother commented.

"Well, you see, Lyra, Vinyl, and I all went to high school together," Bon Bon explained.

"Ohhhh," Caramel's family all said at the same time.

"And I think it's time we start to head off," Octavia said, getting up from her seat.

Her friends got up as well. Lyra gave Vinyl a confused look, as she was wondering if Octavia ever said anything about the divorce to them.

"Oh, well it was great seeing you!" Caramel's mother said as she hugged Octavia.

"Hey, bud. Maybe I can get you some tickets to see my show sometimes," Vinyl offered.

"Hell yeah!" Cherry Fizzy cheered.

"It was so nice meeting you all," Caramel's mother said as she started hugging Octavia's three friends.

"Bye Octavia," Caramel's father said as he hugged Octavia.

"And good luck with your divorce," He whispered into her ear as they hugged.

Octavia's grip around the stallion tightened, "Thank you. And please tell the rest of the family."

The two broke the hug and Caramel's father nodded.

The group then said their final goodbyes before they left.

"So," Vinyl started, "Are you going to go back to Manehatten now?"

Caramel narrowed his eyes, "No, I want to see how REAL this business trip really is."

Vinyl rolled her eyes before she started walking away.

Octavia and Bon Bon looked at one another before the rest of the group followed after Vinyl.

After a few minutes of walking, the group stopped in front of a house. Vinyl then rung the doorbell.

After a few minutes, Buzzer opened the door.

"Hey Vinyl! Come inside!" Buzzer greeted.

Vinyl turned around and smirked at Caramel before she entered, followed by her friends.

Once the door was shut and locked, Octavia started speaking.

"Vinyl, why are we here?" Octavia asked.

"What? I thought we would need a backup plan," Vinyl commented.

"Wow Vinyl, I'm surprised, that's actually a good idea!" Lyra exclaimed.

"Oh shut up Lyra," Vinyl said, hitting her friend.

As Octavia watched her friends, she sighed.

It seems things are going to get much easier from now on.


~•~•~•~•~


“Hey, uh, I need to talk to you about something,” Caramel’s father said, sitting back down onto the couch.

“What is it, dear?” Caramel’s mother asked, sitting down next to him.

Caramel’s father sighed, “Sweetie… Octavia’s getting a divorce.”