As Vinyl lay on her bed pondering her history with love, across the dormitory building, Octavia did the same.
Her room was vastly more organized than that of her girlfriend, and was sparsely decorated with pink and purple frills, throw pillows, and the like. Her cello, which she could play masterfully and indeed loved to do so, sat in its case in the corner. There were but two pictures on her nightstand: one of her with her parents, a starched-shirt, stare-blankly-ahead family photo affair, and an impromptu selfie with Vinyl, where she looked exponentially happier.
The grey mare let out a long breath as she lay back on her fluffy pink bed, looking up at the bare ceiling. She gently removed the pink bowtie which adorned her graceful neck and set it next to the picture with Vinyl. Octavia smiled as she recalled why she'd started wearing it.
When she'd first started at the university, she knew right away she'd be pursuing a music degree of some sort. Additionally, due to her skill on cello, she was quickly signed onto the string orchestra by Professor Oratorio, who conducted it along with several others on campus. It was during the group's practice period leading up to their first big recital that Octavia had befriended Vinyl and later started dating her. Octavia's strict upbringing as the daughter of two renowned musicians hadn't allowed her to think about romance much at all, but once she went to college and got to know Vinyl, she discovered that she possessed feelings for the same sex where no feelings at all had existed previously. Vinyl, who'd known she was gay for many years by then, helped Octavia to learn who she was and be confident in it.
Eventually, time for the recital came around. Each member of the orchestra was to order their own apparel for the event: instead of a full outfit, however, merely an accessory was required. Due to the theme of the concert being spring, mares were to wear a pink false flower or bow in their mane, and stallions, a collar and green bowtie. Octavia could remember talking to Vinyl about how she hated putting her mane up, and didn't look forward to having to do so... but then she had an idea.
It was a bit of a shock to some of her classmates, and a definite irritation to the professor, when Octavia showed up for the concert in a pink bowtie. Vinyl cheered upon seeing it however; Octavia smiled, as had it not been for Vinyl, she wouldn't have had the confidence to pull it off. The color showed that she still was a mare; the bowtie represented that she loved one, and wasn't ashamed of it.
She'd worn it every day since as a sign of pride. She'd convinced her parents that it was merely a fashion choice, as, living all the way in Hoofington, they hadn't attended her 'coming out' concert. With another sigh, Octavia rolled over on her bed, and thought how she was glad they hadn't attended. If Oratorio responded by loading her with work, she shrank at the thought of how her father might.
Octavia's parents were both renowned musicians in their own time. Her father was a concert pianist and fellow strings player from Hoofington; her mother, an accomplished vocalist and flutist from Trottingham. The two of them had met at an orchestral competition in Vanhoover, and, naturally, fell quickly and deeply in love. Within a year, they were married, and after touring together as a duet for five, they moved back to Hoofington, bought a house, and, after much difficulty in conceiving, produced Octavia, their only child.
Octavia was absolutely a daddy's girl growing up, and her father likewise adored her. She learned to play music from both her parents and to sing from her mother, but she got her love of strings and musical composition from her father. She'd earned her Cutie Mark after composing her first piece under his guiding hoof, played upon the cello she'd received for her birthday. She would literally ride his coattails around the house, laughing all the while, and he didn't mind dirtying an expensive jacket for her. Octavia was, above music or the wealth it earned him, the most precious thing in her father's world.
As she grew into a young mare, the responsibilities upon her shoulders only grew. All her teachers and fellow students expected her to match or exceed her parents' greatness: they planted dreams in her head of performing for packed concert halls in Fillydelphia, Manehattan, even Canterlot, earning the adoration of thousands and the income that came with it. In addition, her father, now middle-aged, hoped that someday she'd give him grandchildren that would likewise continue their grand musical tradition. The Melody family would be Equestria's premier recitalists for perpetuity.
Then one day, Octavia's mother saw her kiss her best friend. A mare she'd known since childhood.
She took her daughter aside that evening in her room.
"Octavia, dear..." Her mother said with careful concern as she softly closed the door.
"Did you like the concert?" A 13-year old Octavia asked cheerily as she changed into her silky nightgown.
"It was beautiful dear, as always. You make your father and I very proud, you know." The dignified mare gently trotted over, kissing her daughter on the nose as she sat upon the bed. "I'm just curious, dear, um... why did I see you kissing the clarinet player backstage?"
"Verdant Sage?" Octavia chuckled "Mummy, you can call her by name. We've been friends since we were fillies! She came to my birthday sleepover when I got my cello!"
"Hmm, yes, Sage..." her mother continued "A good girl. Talented, too. And, your good friend?"
"She's like my best friend!"
"Is that why you kissed her?"
"Well... yeah, I guess." Octavia smiled and cuddled her pillow. "Not only have we been friends our whole lives, I think she's really pretty; I wish I had her looks, but then, of course, she thinks I'm pretty too. On Hearts and Hooves Day, neither of us had special someponies, and so we spent the day together. She told me how I'm a really special friend to her--and of course, she's just as special to me--and she wondered if that meant we were each other's special somepony."
"And?"
"Well... I kind of like the idea. She gave me a kiss on the cheek, and a little while later, we both had our first kiss." The little grey mare was brightly blushing. "Since then, we've kissed in parting whenever nopony's looking. I didn't know that being best friends could turn into wanting to be special someponies together... but I'm glad it did!"
Octavia gave a pearly white smile of excitement to her mother. Her mother returned a look of nervous concern and a deep sigh.
"Octavia, darling... when did you, um..." The matronly mare scratched the back of her neck to force out the awkward question. "Octavia, when did you start your heat, dear?"
"Um... just last summer. Why?"
"Did Sage start hers at the same time?"
"I think so. Why?"
"Hoo, okay..." Her mother sighed nervously. She put her hooves on her daughter's shoulders as though she were about to deliver grave news.
"Octavia... what you're feeling... well... you know that most mares, when they start their heat, start wanting to be friendly towards stallions, right?"
"Like... wanting them to be their special someponies?"
"Right." her mother replied. "Well, you and Sage... some mares... some mares are... different. When their heat starts, they start wanting to be close to other mares."
"I-Is that... bad?" Octavia asked, unsure of herself.
"Oh no! No!" Her mother shook her head. "Or, at least, I don't think so. Not everypony agrees." She took a deep breath and let it out shakily. She hadn't expected this day to come at all, forget so soon. "Your father..." she began slowly "...does not think that it's okay for mares to do that."
Octavia gave a small gasp and hugged her pillow tightly. "Does that mean he doesn't like me?"
"Oh no, dear, he loves you with all his heart and soul. It's just that... two mares can't..." There was an awkward pause as her voice trailed off. "Octavia... do you happen to know where foals come from?"
"From mother mares?"
"Well, yes, but do you know... how they... happen?"
The preteen filly shook her head.
"Okay, well, suffice it to say that a foal can only happen if a mare and a stallion are involved. Two mares can't make any babies."
"They can't?" Octavia was quite surprised at this revelation.
"No, dear." Her mother continued. "That's why your father doesn't like that. He thinks it's unnatural. And I've seen him get very, very cross over it. I hate to tell you this dear, but for everyone's good, this might have to just be our little secret."
"Does that mean I can't be friends with Sage anymore?" The child looked crushed.
"You can still be friends, dear." Her mother comforted. "It just mightn't be wise to kiss her where anypony might see. You'll just have to act like all you are is good friends. And definitely don't tell your father about her."
Octavia's mother kissed her daughter goodnight, tucked her in, then left the room, turning out the light. Octavia proceeded to gaze out at the Mare in the Moon and worry herself to sleep over her father, her girlfriend, and herself. The next morning over breakfast, her father, from behind the morning paper, asked a question which caught her mother off guard.
"Octavia," he addressed his daughter "I'm curious: are there any boys at school you like?"
Across the table, Mother hid her worry quite well behind her teacup; that said, her daughter's response quite surprised her.
"No, Daddy." Octavia kept a straight face with her eyes on her plate. "I'm only interested in my music and my schoolwork."
Father gave a surprised look at first, lowering his paper, though this quickly turned to a pleased smile. "That's my girl." He said, patting her on the shoulder and returning to the city council proceedings.
Octavia and Sage's relationship wouldn't last for but a couple months after that. They still remained good friends until they were 15, when Sage's family moved back to Baltimare. Since they had broken up, Verdant Sage had begun dating another mare from town; word spread quickly, and Octavia's father forbade her from spending time with them. Shortly after, Sage left town, but by then, Octavia had become skilled at repressing emotion. It was the stiff upper lip she'd shown at the table that concealed and absorbed her broken heart, and told her mind and marehood to turn themselves away from thoughts romantic. Though she still had heat, it became an annoyance to complain about rather than an opportunity to find herself. Before she started college, Octavia probably would've considered herself asexual; it was only meeting Vinyl that made her heart beat once more, and revived the closeness she'd once felt with Sage, only this time, amplified a thousandfold.
Octavia worriedly pondered all this as the clock on her nightstand slowly ticked onward. She didn't even want to think about what might happen if her father ever found out about the truth she'd concealed from him: right now, she was focused on her love for Vinyl, and how she might express that love in the intimate way she wanted to. Octavia had long since learned, on paper, how her private parts were used in the act of mating. She knew, mechanically, how sex should work; however, she didn't understand what she and Vinyl were to do: a seemingly crucial part was missing from the equation.
"At least I won't get pregnant." she thought to herself. "Though it would seem my education on mating covered only the details of foal-making."
How a mare could pleasure a mare... was there perhaps some way to research this?