//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: Passio Patefecit Est // by Senorita-De-La-Nieve //------------------------------// Vinyl always enjoyed what she and Melody had dubbed 'Jamming Sessions' where they would compete to out-do each other with bass drops, even genuinely getting into the more softer musical categories like Beethooven and his piano music, which lead them to many impromptu 'Piano Duels'. Melody was good, but Vinyl had taken the time to listen and learn Beethoven's 3rd, and that was enough to completely obliterate anything the red Pegasus could've come up with. Although she had vowed to win today, and that made Vinyl nervous just a little bit, Melody was so much like herself it was scary. She laughed to herself as she walked towards Melody's home, lately, though, her youngest, and only protege had been acting a little... She struggled to find the right word, not daring to use the word 'smitten' as in reality she knew next to nothing about the shocking red Pegasus, although she had seen Melody giving somepony the once over more than once as they walked passed and said hello. She finally settled for 'unsettled' in her head just because she didn't know the whole story. She shook her head to herself with a light smirk on her face. She knew the signs to look out for, which is why the word 'smitten' had entered her mind once or twice. Whenever they would take a break and, for want of a better term 'pony watch', Octavia's brother had walked passed and smiled at Melody, which almost always lead to her blushing and looking away. Yes, Vinyl knew the signs, and she knew what would come next. She thought that Melody needed a little 'nudge' in the right direction. She walked up to Melody's house and knocked on the door three times and waited. For a moment nothing happened, but then she heard a few crashes and raised her eyebrow a little as the door was flung open and there stood the red Pegasus with the orange mane. Vinyl took a little step back. She had bags under her eyes and her mane had obviously not seen a brush since last week. Something she had seen before in herself when she was, dare she say it, pining for Octavia. "Whoa Mel, what's up? You look a little..." Vinyl struggled for the words eliciting a raised eyebrow from Melody, a silent challenge to continue. "Tramp-Like?" Melody offered, and Vinyl fixed her wuith an annoyed eyes-half-closed look. "I was gonna say 'Dishevelled' or even 'sleepy'" she said, and Melody nodded, stepping aside. "Please come in" she said with a fake smile, and Vinyl raised an eyebrow as she walked past her protege. Inside the house were pizza boxes and coffee mugs strewn about, music sheets were left in a dis-array on the coffee table and the mantlepiece above the fireplace, she saw some had even been burned. A horrible flashback to her crying on the couch while Octavia walked away from her house. She shook her head with a sigh, turning back to Melody with a smirk. Melody was watching her intently, and looked around. "What? It's a little messy 'cause I've been stressed a bit" she said, and Vinyl's smile grew. "So tell me, Mel, who is it?" she asked, and Mel took an involuntary step back, her eyes shiftily moving from side to side. "Who's who?" she asked, and Vinyl took a step closer to her, causing Mel to back up against the door. It swung shut with a bang, scaring her slightly, and it gave her an excuse to break the shaky eye contact by checking on it, but that gave Vinyl a chance to get closer. When Mel turned back Vinyl was a few feet away from her, and she yelped in surprise. "The lucky colt or mare you've got your eye on" Vinyl said, and Melody sighed in resignation at being caught. She mumbled something under her breath that Vinyl couldn't exactly hear, so she turned her head slightly. "I'm sorry Mel, i didn't quite get that" Vinyl said, and Melody sighed again, before mumbling something that only Fluttershy's attuned ears would have heard, but it sounded to Vinyl like, "I like one of each" "Once again Melody, I didn't hear again, I must be going deaf in one ear" she said with a friendly smile. Melody looked up, her deep azure eyes locking with Vinyl's shade covered crimson. "One of each" she finally confirmed, and Vinyl's eyes widened as she took a step back, binding as the information sunk in. Vinyl could hardly withstand being in love with one pony, let alone two at the same time. "Wha...? Bu...? Who?" she stuttered, and Melody tried to hide behind her orange mane. She was quite a shy pony at heart, only really seeking out Vinyl when she saw her play at a local nightclub one time, she wanted training and Vinyl was one of the only Disc Jockeys in the town, the others all charged more than Melody could afford. "Tempest Strings and Starlight" she said, and Vinyl scoffed, laughing slightly. "Octavia's brother and the local stargazer? Wow, you're ambitious girl" Vinyl quipped and punched her friend lightly in the shoulder, seeing a faint smile on her lips. Melody sighed and sat down on the couch. Vinyl could see the thing she needed most right now was advice on Love, something Vinyl knew about immensely, she knew what it was like to be in love with someone you thought didn't love you back, it hurt, and Melody was going through it now, doubly so. Vinyl sat beside her. "So, have you told them about how you feel?" she asked, knowing the answer, and, sure enough, Melody's answer was a shake of the head and a resigned sigh from Vinyl. "Listen kid, if you don't tell them, this is gonna eat you up, mores than it is already, look, Mel, I know what you're going through, I went through the same thing with Octavia, so if anyone knows what's going on, it's me" she explained, putting an arm around her shoulder and holding her close. She needed a friend. Melody sighed again. "I don't even know if I really do love them, it might just be a crush, right?" she asked, her eyes full of hope, but also regret if that was so, Vinyl smiled at her friend's naivety and shook her head. "Sorry girl, but you got it bad" Vinyl chided, poking her in the side jokingly, and Melody groaned and tilted her head back onto the couch. "What do I do Vinyl? I've never been in love before, let alone with two ponies at once, help me please" she begged, turning her head to stare at Vinyl imploring her for answers. Vin ylk sighed and drew her in for a hug. The embrace lasted for longer than was deemed necessary, but Vinyl felt the tension ease from her freind. "Feel better?" Vinyl asked, and Melody sniffed, nodding her head and offering a weak smile. Vinyl smiled too and rubbed her hoof soothingly. "But I still need help, V, what do I do?" she asked, and Vinyl thought for a moment, scratching her head in contemplation. She looked at Melody and smiled, taking Melody's hooves in hers. "Who do you see yourself with in five years?" she asked, and Melody blinked. "What? Five years? Vinyl, why would I be thinking about something five years from now?" she asked, and Vinyl smiled wider. "The one you can see yourself with in five years is the one you should go for. Remember that when it comes to love, you want to amke sure that they're the one for you, otherwise it leads to heartbreak later on" Vinyl explained, and Melody's eyes drifted away, she stared off into space for a minute or two and sighed. "Well, Starlight is beautiful, her eyes sparkle whenever she talks about stars, her mane is just amazing, graceful like water and flowing like it too" she stopped for a while to give a wistfull sigh, and Vinyl smiled at her, ushering her to go on. "And then there's her smile, beautiful and sparkling jsut like her eyes" she explained, and Vinyl's smile grew. So far it looked good for Starlight. "Does she like you too?" she asked and Melody's smile disappeared. Her eyes ceased to be glazed and she focussed on Vinyl, shaking her head. "We're friends, but, I noticed her eyes linger on mine for a bit too long, or she sometimes sneaks glances of me when she thinks I'm not looking" she said, a bit of a smirk etching its way onto her face, Vinyl smiled again. "I don't know, I think she does, but, I don't know for sure" She said, and Vinyl nodded. "So what about Tempest Strings?" Vinyl asked and Melody sighed, closing her eyes. "He's amazing, such emotion, he's kind, but not a pushover, he's strong and when he plays..." she stopped and sighed yet again, and Vinyl furrowed her brow in confusion. Melody really, really had it bad for both of them. It was going to be hard for her to decide. But, looking at her now, a question came to mind, should she have to decide, what if she chose, then the other party turned her down, this lead Vinyl to her next idea. "I think" she said, breaking Melody out of her trance like state "That you should talk to them both, find out which of them would be willing to be in a relationship with you" she said, and Melody nodded. "Okay, so now I just have to work up the courage to tell them both?" she asked, and Vinyl nodded. "Exactly, but, a penny for your thoughts; If you don't tell them it'll eat you inside, then comes the self-deprecation. Don't make the mistake of thinking they don't want you, if all else fails, at least they'll still be your friends, okay?" she asked, and Melody nodded. "Well, now that that's out of the way, how about we actually play some music?" Vinyl waved goodbye to Melody as she walked away from her house. It had been a good session, Melody had secured a contract with a recording studio for three songs in the next three months, it was a big order, which is why mid-way through the session Melody had asked her for her help, she would even give her a share of the royalties should the songs make it big. Vinyl had declined the money, but said "As long as I get credit where credit is due". Melody had happily agreed to those terms and they had spent the rest of the session talking about what Melody would do if she made it big. She was a good kid. Fragile too. That worried Vinyl. She was about to make a big step into the world of Music, and Love, at the same time, she might not be able to take it... Vinyl shook her head. She could do it, she was confident enough to make it on her own now, hell, the Recording contract was evidence of that. Vinyl sighed as she walked back towards her house, but, suddenly, something caught her attention. The hospital. Big and looming. She took a look around instinctively to make sure there was no one around to report on her back to Octavia, as Octavia had explicitly said to her not to visit Noteworthy, but, now, standing there, she just had to hear his excuses for herself, she thought she had that right at least to that. She stepped into the hospital and walked up to the main desk. The nurse standing behind it gave her a warm smile, which she returned. "Hello miss Scratch, whoa re you here to see?" she asked and Vinyl stepped closer, veiwing the manifesto of all the ponies admitted. She read the names until she came to the one she was looking for. He was still there, good. "Mr Noteworthy" she said and the Nurse raised an eyebrow. "Are you here on behalf off miss Octavia?" she asked and the fake smile came back. Vinyl nodded, mimicked by the nurse behind the counter. "Very well if you'd just like to sign signifying you've visited and you can visit him. He's in room 11 in Ward 2" she said, and Vinyl nodded gracefully in thanks. She picked up the pencil with her magic and wrote her name in neat cursive font on the line as she walked away, setting the pen neatly down in the middle of the book. "Enjoy your visit!" the Nurse called to her, but Vinyl was already gone, walking past the hospital beds and the various rooms before she reached room 11 of Ward 2. She was about to enter, when voices drifted through the doors. After the story, Daisy's explanation, Vinyl had to wipe a tear from her eye. She opened the door to find the pair looking into each other's eyes, hoofs touching in an almost tender embrace. Well, that was... enlightening" she said from the doorway, and they turned, seeing her standing there watching them, forehooves crossed as she leant on the doorway. They quickly separated and made contact with the floor, and, quick as a flash, Daisy and Noteworthy separated too and Daisy took her seat at her chair. "I'm sorry miss, do I know you?" Noteworthy asked, and Vinyl Scratch shook her head. "No, but I know you. And I believe we both know my mare-friend Octavia" she said, and Daisy's eyes widened. "You're Vinyl Scratch? How long have you been standing there?" she asked, and Vinyl smiled knowingly at the pair. "Long enough..."