The following day arrived far too quickly. Octavia spent most of the day deep in thought, mulling over what Vinyl had said to her the night before. She was far calmer than she was before, but her heart still ached. She seemed like she was telling the truth...perhaps I acted far too rashly... She sighed softly, trying to make sense of it all. It was then that she accidentally bumped into another pony walking the other way.
"Oh...very sorry about-" Octavia stopped short when she looked up and saw the same mare that had been working with Neon the night before. "...You, you are Neon's marefriend, right?"
"Ugh, I was his marefriend," she muttered, looking very much upset at Neon being brought up.
"You saw what happened?" Octavia asked.
"Saw the whole thing, and I stuck around long enough for the truth, too. Turns out Neon forced himself on your marefriend to get back at her for breaking up with him a while back," Poly said with a sigh. "So, I broke up with him and gave him a little parting gift. Jerk deserved worse, but I try to be nice...hey, you alright?"
Octavia stood in stunned silence. "...So it was true..."
"Look, I...uh...I gotta get going. I'll see you around..." Poly said as she turned to leave. Before she could take another step, she found herself caught in a hug with Octavia. "Uh, you okay?"
"I just wanted to say thank you..." Octavia said softly.
"What for?"
"For putting that idiot in his place, even if he has something worse coming for him if I find him," Octavia said.
"I'd like to think when you find him," she chuckled.
"Well, if you will excuse me, I have to find somepony," Octavia said, hurrying off to set things right.
"Uh...you're welcome?" Poly said as she watched Octavia disappear from view. "Ponies in this town are weird..." she said to herself as she walked off.
*~*~*
After spending two hours searching about town for Vinyl, she felt herself growing more and more worried when every avenue turned up empty. "...I need to find her...where else would she be?" Octavia asked herself. "...Maybe she went back to the bar...I also need to check there for my saddlebags."
Octavia returned to the bar, looking to retrieve her saddlebags which she had left behind when she galloped off in tears. To her ultimate shock, the music she heard playing was strangely familiar. She looked up to see Vinyl standing behind a mixing set, but her expression was stoic, very unusual for the extroverted DJ.
"Hey everypony, thanks a ton for coming out to support me! This next track goes out to somepony very special and close to my heart...somepony that I hurt very badly...and I just want her to know...I'm sorry.” She pressed play, and went to work.
Octavia merely sat and listened, the song vastly different in comparison to what Vinyl had done in the past. It was much slower, and there was very little to it- only distorted voices, piano notes and a very simple drumbeat. She could hear them saying something, but couldn’t quite make it out. She listened to the track, the voices repeating their message over and over, until eventually she started to understand what it was saying...and it was saying it to her.
Please tell my lover I'm down on my knees, And I really really miss you, Oh, I love you (You, you, you) All I love, all my love. (All my love)
The words coming together in one beautiful message of love and sorrow struck Octavia harder than anything she had ever felt. It was taking every last ounce of resistance for her not to burst into tears, even if they were already dripping off her chin. The audience slowly swayed back and forth, some couples leaning against one another as the song played.
Oh, Vinyl...I have been so foalish...how could I ever have thought you meant it?
She opened her eyes to look at Vinyl, and brought a hoof to her mouth to stifle a whimper when she saw her. Even though Vinyl’s expression was as solid as stone...she was crying. Vinyl, crying. Never once in the entire time they had ever been together did she see Vinyl shed a single tear over anything, but now that Octavia was gone, she was laying her soul bare for all to see. She could feel the raw emotion Vinyl was pouring out to her audience as the distorted voice suddenly became very familiar. It was Vinyl’s own voice, and it spoke one line that would spark a change. In a very broken and almost forlorn tone, it said:
I-L-LO-OVE-Y-YOU-OU-OU-OU-OU
Octavia took to her hooves at full-tilt, making a beeline straight for the backstage entrance.
I need to see her...
She dashed past the bouncer blocking the entrance to the backstage, ignoring his futile attempts at getting her to stop.
I need to be with her...
She darted around all the equipment and workers, sending a few tumbling back into the wall as she pushed her way through them.
I NEED HER!
She finally made it to where the curtains were, and yanked Vinyl back through them, the song still playing even without its DJ. Octavia forced Vinyl into a passionate kiss, embracing her like if she let go, Vinyl would disappear. She broke the kiss, and began to sob, her heart aching from both the happiness of feeling her in her grip once more, and the pain from the separation still lingering within.
“I-I’m sorry-I’m sorry, Vinyl-please-please forgive meee...” She whimpered, burying her face in Vinyl’s neck. “I’m sorry...I’m sorry...” She repeated, unable to think of or say anything else.
Vinyl could no longer resist. She began to cry loudly as she gently stroked her lover’s mane, thanking Celestia that Octavia had come back to her. “N-No...d-don’t be sorry...I was the idiot...I let it happen...” Vinyl choked out through sobs. “I-I promise this will never happen again...I promise I promise I promise!” she repeated, holding Octavia closer to her as they cried together..
“Please, d-don’t ever leave me again...” Vinyl whimpered as she held Octavia close. Octavia returned the embrace tightly, holding onto her like the moment she let go would be the last she would ever hold Vinyl.
“I’ll never let go, Vinyl...I promise...” She sniffled, focusing her hearing on the sound of Vinyl’s heartbeat. It was beating quickly, but it had a rhythm that soothed her. She let the tears continue to run, simply listening to her lover’s heart.
I will never let go...as long as you still love me... Octavia thought.
“I’ll always love you, Octy...” Vinyl murmured. Octavia blinked, shocked that she would receive such a direct answer to her thoughts. Smiling warmly, she leaned up and kissed Vinyl softly as the tears finally slowed and their hearts began to heal. After taking a little while to moment to relax and calm down, Vinyl smiled. "Hey...come with me for a second," she said as she took Octavia by the hoof. She lead her out onto the show-floor behind her tape deck, and turned to the crowd. "Thanks so much for coming out everypony! I just want to introduce you all that somepony special I mentioned before. Fillies and gentlecolts, this is my marefriend Octavia! She's the lead cello player for her ensemble that performs at the Canterlot Opera House- swing by and go see her! SHE'S AWESOME!" The crowd cheered in response as Octavia smiled, waving in return. "Alright, now that I've got the intros out of the way, I've got something to do. Just bear with me for a few minutes!" she said.
Vinyl reached into a slot in her tape deck, and retrieved a small black box with a bright red bow, and held it in front of Octavia. She used her magic to unwrap the gift and reveal the beautiful amethyst engagement earring within.
"Octavia...will you marry me?" Vinyl asked, her voice echoing through the microphone.
The entire bar fell silent, as they waited with eager anticipation for Octavia's response. Octavia brought a hoof to her mouth in complete shock and awe, tears of joy making their way down her face. Unable to respond, she simply nodded her head, eliciting a massive roar of applause and cheers from the bar-goers and audience members alike. Vinyl gave a grand smile, placing the little box back in her console, the two sharing another embrace. "Thank you all so much for being here with me tonight! As a special treat, here's a teaser for on of my unreleased tracks! ENJOY!" She then moved over to one of the other DJ's. "Cover this track and I'll split a bit of the pay with you. That sound good to you?"
"Deal!" The pegasus said, moving past her to take control of the tape deck and pressed play on the track. Vinyl quickly grabbed Octavia, and lead her back downstairs as the song began to play. "C'mon! Dance with me!" Vinyl laughed. Octavia hesitated for a minute, then gave in as the beat started to kick in, the two enjoying themselves for the first time since the incident.
They shared a quick, passionate kiss, and danced late into the night.