//------------------------------// // Chapter Forty-Nine // Story: Two's Company, Three's a Crowd // by Lithe Kamitatsy //------------------------------// The carriage moved quickly and smoothly, Vinyl napping as Octavia read a book to pass the time. Unts was snoozing peacefully on Octavia's head, tuckered out from assaulting Vinyl's ex. Octavia looked up when she felt him shift slightly and get comfortable, then remaining still. I must say, I think I just might have grown used to this... she smirked slightly as she reached up and patted him gently. Vinyl then gave a loud yawn as she sat up and stretched. "Any idea how much longer until we get to Ponyville?" Vinyl asked. "We are still a good ways away, Vinyl. I would say another good hour or so," Octavia said as she read. "Octy, how can you read with the carriage rocking back and forth like that? Doesn't it make you dizzy?" It wasn't until Vinyl pointed it out that Octavia suddenly became aware of how much the carriage was moving, and felt her stomach turn slightly as she focused on the text. She shut the book, and sighed. "Thank you for that Vinyl," Octavia said. "No problem, Octy. The last thing I want to see is you yakking all over the floor 'cause you're trying to read," Vinyl said. "Glad to be of some service to you," she grinned. "I was doing just fine until you brought it up," Octavia said. "What book are you reading, anyway?" Vinyl asked, curious. "It is titled 'Dancing Flames and Shifting Shadows,' it is a mystery novel that has to deal with romance, betrayal, and murder..." Octavia explained. "Ooh, sounds cool. What's it about?" Vinyl asked. "Well, it starts with three kingdoms that are constantly having diplomatic problems-" Octavia started, but stopped short when she saw the blank expression on Vinyl's face. "What?" "You had me, and you lost me," Vinyl said. "Vinyl, it would not kill you to read a book every now and again. It is good for you- it keeps your mind from rotting," Octavia said. "Then again, you cannot regrow what you have already lost..." she smirked. "Ain't that the truth- wait a second..." Vinyl said, narrowing her eyes as Octavia laughed. "That wasn't very nice!" Octavia managed to calm herself down enough to speak again. "You are right, Vinyl. I am sorry...it was just far too easy," Octavia admitted. "Besides, that was for scaring me with Unts earlier." "Oh, c'mon Octy. It's easy to see that you like Unts, and Unts has already claimed his territory on your head," Vinyl chuckled. "Yes, well...he certainly earned it," Octavia smiled. "You know, now that I think about it, Neon sure went through a lot of trouble to cause as much chaos as he did between us...I remember you saying you broke up with him because he went off with a group of other mares and stallions instead of you, but-" "It was on my birthday, Octy. He ditched me on my birthday..." Vinyl sighed bitterly. "Oh...I see. I can understand why. That is something you just do not do," Octavia said. "I am so sorry he put you through that...and I am even more sorry that I believed his words over yours...I truly was foalish," Octavia said softly. She let her head hang low as she felt tears stinging at her eyelids. She blinked in surprise when she felt Vinyl move up closer to her, raised her head with a hoof and shared a soft kiss with her. "Octy, listen to me...it's okay. I'm just glad you realized that Neon was lying to you. I'm pretty sure I didn't do a great job of defending myself or you. If anything, I'm the one who's sorry," Vinyl said. "Don't cry anymore, okay? Your eyes are much prettier when you smile," she winked. Octavia wiped her eyes with a hoof, and gave a small smile. "See? That's the Octy I know." "Thank you, Vinyl...I just feel like I did something horrible to you...and on top of it all, I hit you..." Octavia said. "I have no idea what came over me...it was the look on your face when you asked me if I 'enjoyed' it...like you had just something I should have been proud of..." Octavia explained. "What hurt me even more though, was the way you looked at me afterwards..." Octavia shook the image out of her mind. "I do not want to think about it..." "Well, I gotta admit, it was shocking. One minute I'm sitting there all loopy and happy, and the next my face felt like I was on fire, and you're looking like you're ready to tear my head off. What REALLY got to me was the fact that you were crying, and it seemed like it was my fault...if there's anything I don't ever want to do to you Octy, it's make you cry," Vinyl said as she nuzzled Octavia. Octavia merely smiled, and returned the nuzzle. "Hey Octy, can I ask you something?" "Sure, Vinyl. What is on your mind?" Octavia asked. "Well...I wasn't really sure how to ask this, but I figured I might as well just ask..." Vinyl said as she fidgeted a bit. "Um...I was wondering if maybe you'd be into the idea of doing a collab project?" "A collaborative effort? Really?" Octavia asked, surprised. "I would have never guessed you would be interested in including my work with yours. What brought this on?" "Well, I've been keeping an eye on what's popular in music nowadays, and with dubtrot and house really picking up steam, I've noticed that to keep it fresh, other artists have started bringing in piano and guitar tracks into their mixes, so I was wondering if you'd be cool with using your cello for one of my mixes," Vinyl asked. "I think you're not nearly as popular as you deserve to be, and I figured I would help you out with that," she smiled with a small blush. "Vinyl, that is one of the sweetest things I have heard you say...I would love to collaborate with you," Octavia smiled as she snuggled into Vinyl. "Great...we'll work on that after we get set up in Ponyville. Sound good?" Vinyl asked. "Sounds wonderful," Octavia replied with a smile. Sometime later, the carriage pulled into town, stopping just outside their house. Vinyl and Octavia exited the carriage, the two movers beginning to unload the furniture off the cart behind them. "Just open up the house and we'll put the stuff where you want it," the lead stallion said. "Sure thing," Vinyl responded. They made their way over to the door, Octavia retrieving the key and unlocking it. They entered the house and flipped on the lights. "SURPRISE!" A group of voices yelled, causing both Octavia and Vinyl to jump. Unts was startled so badly he fell off of Octavia's head. "What- what is all this!?" Octavia asked as she looked around. The entire first floor had been decorated with streamers, a banner saying "WELCOME HOME" hanging over the staircase. In the dining area stood Lyra, Bonbon, Twilight, Trixie, Spike, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Rarity, all wearing party hats. "We knew today would be the day that you were moving in, and I was afraid you were gonna be sad because you moved away, but then I thought 'They're moving into town!' and that's when I decided to throw you a HOUSE-WARMING PARTY!" Pinkie said in one breath. "We all came together and got y'all a little somethin' from all of us," Applejack said as she pulled a large, gift-wrapped object on wheels. "We had it shipped all the way from Fillydelphia," Rarity said. "I made sure that only the best woodwork would suffice," she smiled. "We hope you like it...I think it's absolutely lovely..." Fluttershy said with a demure smile. "Yeah, nothing cooler than sleeping in style, right?" Rainbow Dash grinned. "This is our special way of saying that you're one of us now," Twilight smiled. Lyra and Bonbon then made their way over to Octavia and Vinyl. "Bonbon and I made the final decision on it. We really hope it's to your liking," Lyra said as she moved over to the gift. She pulled on the bow, and the gift-wrapping fell away, revealing a magnificent, wooden crib, complete with hoof-carved musical notes as well as a mobile that hung above it. Octavia choked back tears, absolutely touched by the gesture her friends had made. Vinyl was grinning from ear to ear. "We absolutely love it!" They said in unison. The group then began the festivities as the two movers began their work, moving stuff back and forth throughout the new house. Once they were done, Vinyl paid the movers. "Thanks for everything, guys!" Vinyl said. "No problem. Congrats, by the way. Good luck to ya- as a dad, kids are something else," the lead stallion said as they lead the cart away. Vinyl then shut the door, and returned to the festivities. Octavia and Vinyl laughed and partied long into the night, surrounded by the love of their friends and the comfort of their new home.