"Hey you two!" Vinyl greeted us in her sleep-weary state.
"Hey, Vinyl." I said, happy that a good soul was in the room.
"Hello, darling." Octavia said in her pseudo-British accent. I always wondered at that. If there was no England or Britain in Equestria, where did the accents come from? That wasn't exactly what was on my mind at the moment, however.
"Vinyl, would you make me a cup of tea please?" Octavia asked.
"Oh, come on. She just got up." this next part still pains me. "I'll make you some tea, Octavia."
I know it seems trivial, but I didn't want to service her in any way, shape, or form considering how she acted. But I did it for Vinyl. I like to take pride in my chivalrous moments. I did make her the tea but I put a small squirt of mustard in it for good measure. Little battles. I told myself. That's sort of my mantra. I figure if I win enough little battles, I'll eventually win the war.
"Here you go." I said snidely.
She didn't even thank me.
Octavia and I tried staying out of each other's ways that day. Octavia, however, sent me on a trip to the store to buy some "very special supplies" that she needed because she had a "delicate pallet of tastes". I figured 'why not go and mess with her stuff a little bit?' I did. I got brown eggs instead of white ones, beer instead of champagne, and a water gun. Yeah, you read that right. I just wanted a water gun, sue me.
I knew the little things would annoy the living hell out of her, and they were small enough that I could act like they were just small mistakes. I felt devious. I didn't get much of that here in Ponyville, so I took what I could get. When I left the store I kept singing the "Little Battles" song I'd wrote in my head when I was a kid. I trotted home, practically on air. I opened the door and no one was in the living room. I set the groceries down on the kitchen counter and headed toward the stairs. I heard some pretty loud trance music coming from Vinyl's room.
Must be working on something. I thought.
I'll just go see how she's doing. I said to myself.
And I wish I hadn't. I knocked on the door, it opened, and there on Vinyl's bed was her and Octavia sucking face with each other.
I trotted over to my room and slammed down on my bed. The music stopped once I got in my room. I heard Vinyl telling Octavia that she needed to see what was wrong with me, or something along those lines. I was blinded by heartbreak. I knew we weren't together, but seeing Vinyl with Octavia struck a chord in my heartstrings. I get really weird and metaphorical when I'm sad. I sat on my back and stared at the ceiling. All I could think of was Octavia's laugh from my nightmare.
She won. I told myself.
I had a battle with myself on that bed.
Octavia won dude. Give up.
"No, we need to keep fighting for her. Octavia's gonna be gone in a little while anyway. After that, she'll probably end it again."
It's no use. We saw them! They were making out like it was their last day to live!
"We can't give up that easily. We need to keep fighting for her."
You do whatever, she's knocking on the door.
"River? Can I come in?" Vinyl asked.
"Yeah, sure." I said, monotone.
She sat on my bed like a mom. "Listen, I know that was weird, what you just saw, but I promise we'll make sure to lock the door next time." she tried consoling me.
"It's not that. It's... It's complicated and I don't wanna bother you with it right now. Go back to your lover." I said lover very bitter and harsh, almost like a mocking child. I regret it now, she looked hurt. I could tell she wanted to try and console me more, but I guess she didn't have it in her. Or didn't have the heart to tell me she loved Octavia.
I sat downstairs and waited for them to finish whatever the buck they were doing in there. I tried not to think about it. Octavia was the first one down. Awesome.
"Hey, River." she said, condescendingly.
"I'm not in the mood, Octavia." I said, shooting her a glare.
"She was." she said as she winked at me.
I put my hooves over my eyes and tried to force her out of my head. She just kept showing up and I'd had it. It was like she had implanted a chip in my head and I couldn't get it out. It tormented me every day she was there.
"So when do you think you'll go back to Canterlot?" I asked her, hopefully.
"Oh, I don't know. I'm starting to consider staying here and doing my work from home." she looked at me.
Fuck.
"But doesn't the orchestra need you on their tours?" I asked, annoyed.
"Oh, no. Those are just normally for show. The real work we do is in the studio. There's really no problem if I don't show up for a show. I can just record here with Vinyl and send it to Canterlot. So I won't have to leave..." she said with bad intentions.
I grabbed her by her collar and pushed her against the wall. I really had no reason to, but it felt right. Octavia must've seen Vinyl before I did, because she started to fake cry and break away from my grasp.
"Why would you do that? I've done nothing to you..." she said between feigned sobs.
"River, what the hell were you doing with her?" Vinyl asked angrily. "I know you're uncomfortable with us being together, but there's no reason for violence!" she yelled.
I tried to find the right words to say, but nothing came out.
"I'm sorry, Vinyl..." I tried to apologize.
"Just leave, River..." she sighed.
"It'll never happen again, Vinyl, I swear! Just please give me another chance..." I tried reasoning with her, but care for Octavia clearly blinded her reason.
"You have some explaining to do, but I just don't wanna hear it." she sighed. She pointed her hoof to the door. "Have a nice life, River." I opened the door and trotted out. Trotted out on the one I love.