//------------------------------// // Chapter Fifteen // Story: Truth // by shawnay631 //------------------------------// “Well, you look happy this morning.” There was a long pause in Vinyl’s kitchen, wherein Vinyl was doing anything but listening to Lyra. The mint unicorn’s irritation showed. “Vinyl… Vinyl.” “Huh? Oh, hi Lyra. Didn’t see you there.” Vinyl’s eyes furrowed. She didn’t want to be broken from her reverie, especially if it was only to say hello to Lyra. Lyra scowled and stepped close to her white counterpart, trying to keep her attention. “Why do you look so chipper this morning? Mornings aren’t really your thing, you know.” It took all of Vinyl’s self-control to not roll her eyes. She always got really sick of Lyra telling her about herself like she didn’t know. Her irritation washed away quickly, though, as she remembered why exactly she was in a good mood on such a chilly, grey autumn day. “Just in a good mood, is that okay?” Irritation laced Vinyl’s words in spite of the imploding levels of happiness she felt inside. “Well yeah. I mean, I’m not telling you you can’t be happy. I’m just asking why.” Lyra was growing weary. “Well, I’m just in a good mood. ‘Cause I want to be.” Lyra cocked an eyebrow and opened her mouth to push farther but, fortunately for Vinyl, Bon Bon entered the room. Vinyl took the opportunity to change the subject while the door was wide open. “You guys doin’ stuff today?” “Yeah, we’re gonna go have dinner with my parents.” Bon Bon chirped. Vinyl nodded and looked up at the wall clock. She neither knew Bon Bon’s parents nor cared to talk to either of them. She had a good mood to protect after all. “Well, have a good day kids. I gotta go to… place.” Vinyl trotted past Lyra, smiling to herself at her ingenuity and definitely not vague and awkward exit. “So things with Octavia are going well, then?” Vinyl had just pulled the door open, thinking she was home free. Venom laced Lyra’s words, though the tone in her voice was nothing but sickly sweet. Vinyl flared her nostrils. She didn’t know why she let Lyra bother her so much. Maybe after years of giving up everything and everypony to be close to her, she was sick of answering her questions. She was sick of answering to her at all. Vinyl plastered a fake smile on her face and turned around. “Yep. Things are going great.” Vinyl could tell her answer was not what Lyra wanted. They locked eyes for a moment, Bon Bon standing awkwardly in the corner, examining the floor. “Are they really going great, or are you just saying that?” Vinyl sighed and rolled her eyes. “Everything is great, Lyra, no need to worry.” Vinyl turned to walk out the door but found, as always, she wasn’t allowed to have the last word. “I just hope she’s not leading you on. You’re very fragile.” Vinyl felt a growl escape from her throat. She dared not turn around, lest she bare her teeth and lunge for the green one. “Everything is great, Lyra. Thanks.” Vinyl spat through clenched teeth before storming out the door. Stupid Lyra always getting in my stupid way. Why can’t she just leave me alone and let me be happy? “Vinyl, wait.” Despite herself, Vinyl’s muscles stopped in their tracks. She didn’t want to talk to Lyra anymore. What started out as a magnificent day had turned incredibly frustrating. “Why are you so angry? What did I do? I thought we were friends.” Here we go.< “Look, Lyra, I’m just… very irritable lately. Don’t worry about it.” “Obviously. But what did I DO? All I did was ask why you were happy this morning, and once again you ended up storming out of the house. What’s going on?” Vinyl looked into Lyra’s eyes and felt her lip curl into a growl. And then, suddenly, a familiar sense of guilt washed over her. She locked her jaw and stared past her ex. “Now isn’t the time.” Vinyl whispered. “Then when is, Vinyl? It’s never the time with you. We need to talk. Why not now?” Lyra was nearing hysterics. “Because we’re in public and you’re making a scene. The issue isn’t as black and white as you always think it is. There’s a lot of stuff going on with me right now and I really don’t need you breathing down my neck all the time.” Vinyl felt the guilt start to suffocate her when Lyra’s angry expression turned immediately stoic. Vinyl thought she saw tears well in Lyra’s eyes but the lyrist shifted her gaze to the dirt below her hooves before the DJ could get a good look. “Look… Lyra. I’m sorry. I just… not now. Soon. But not now.” Vinyl’s had finally taken the edge out of her voice. “Do you promise?” Lyra whispered. “I… fine. Yes. I promise.” As Lyra turned and trotted back towards the big blue house, Vinyl had the insatiable urge to kick a hole through a wall. She was livid and guilty and the sudden throbbing in her head wasn’t helping. ----------------------------------- For a long moment, Vinyl stood outside of her favorite music shop. From the window she could only see a jet black mane, hanging delicately over the back of a chair. There was no majestic music flowing from a cello, only Equestria’s most beautiful pony sitting and doodling on a piece of paper. Just like she always did, being near Octavia washed away all of the irritations Vinyl faced in the morning. She could see her favorite eyes staring back at her, the dull cast of the early morning sunshine gently caressing her grey fur. Vinyl smiled to herself and quietly nudged the door open. Octavia didn’t look up from her paper while Vinyl silently made her way to the front desk. The unicorn stood but ten feet away with her love still not looking up. Octavia seemed very concentrated on what she was doing. Vinyl’s smile grew wider. She tip-hooved closer to the desk. “You’re really cute when you’re focused.” Vinyl laughed audibly as Octavia jumped, being pulled from her work. The earth pony smiled and playfully glared at Vinyl. “When did you get here?” “Long enough ago to watch you have no perception as to what is going on around you.” “Whatever.” Octavia said with a smile. “How is work today, Miss Philharmonica? It seems… busy.” “Yeah, well, you know. How’s your morning been?” “Ah, yeah. It’s been… alright.” Octavia picked up on Vinyl’s hesitance and gave her a questioning look. Vinyl sighed knowing it was useless to try to fight those eyes. “I… Lyra.” “O… kay? What happened?” “She was just getting on my case again. I got mad and stormed out of the house only to have her follow me into the street and ask when we’re gonna talk. I feel like a jerk.” “Why’s that?” Octavia didn’t seem mad, but concerned. “Because… because I WAS a jerk. The fight started with her asking why I was so happy this morning.” A light blush formed on Vinyl’s face. “And me being me… I literally got mad and stormed out. I… I don’t know why. I’m just so sick of her. So sick of being around her. So sick of answering to her. So sick of being her puppet. I think I just snapped. And I don’t want to talk to her because she’s stupid.” A small smirk played on Octavia’s face. “You don’t mean that. She’s your friend.” “Yeah, well.” Vinyl pinned her ears to her head and looked away. Octavia reached over the countertop and pulled Vinyl’s head back towards her. The DJ forgot what she was talking about for a minute, finding herself entranced in Octavia’s eyes and the very idea of the two touching. Octavia smiled. “I think you should talk to her.” Vinyl pouted. “Who’s side are you on anyway?” “Yours, of course. But I also think you’re going to feel like a jerk until you talk to her. You’ve got a lot of things you need to say, and saying them to me will only get you so far. You should talk to her and tell her all the gripes you have. And maybe then you can have your cake and eat it too.” “But she’s duuuuuumb.” Vinyl whined. Octavia laughed and rested her head against her hoof. “Yes, I know Vinyl. But running away from your problems isn’t going to help. You’ve got to actually do something about them. And, in this case, it means talking to Lyra.” “That’s a funny way of saying ‘Vinyl, Lyra is a stupid dumb face head and you should never talk to her again.’” The dismay on Vinyl’s face was impossible to miss. “You know I wouldn't tell you who not to talk to.” Octavia said seriously. The door to the shop opened, and not quietly. A bouncing noise echoed off of the pure white tiles, a noise that caused Octavia to duck under the counter. Vinyl looked as she got tackled to the floor, in typical fashion, by a quick moving pink blob. “I’ve been looking all over for you Scratchie!” The Pink One had entered the building. Vinyl grimaced. She felt like she got hit by a train. Though, when she thought about it, she kind of did. “Then how did you find me, Pinkie?” Vinyl croaked. “Silly willy. I just waited until I found you and then I knew you’d be there.” Pinkie smiled as if she had made all the sense in the world. Octavia stifled a laugh. Vinyl wanted to facehoof. “Okay, well, now that you’ve found me, what can I do you for?” Pinkie stood up, finally unpinning Vinyl. “Well, My little Dashie is going to be going on a trip and I thought that it only made sense to have a party to wish her good luck so then I came here to invite you and Octavia and now I’m here and isn’t that GREAT?!” Vinyl stared off for a second, trying to get the words to catch up with the rate at which they were being said. “So… you’re having a party? When? Where?” “Tomorrow night, silly! We can’t just wait forever to have a party! Forever is a long time and if –“ Vinyl shoved her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth. Slowly she retracted, shaking her head as the grin on Pinkie’s face was still as wide as the day was long. “Well, I guess we can come by, but not too late.” “Okie dokie lokie! Be at Applejack’s at seven!” Vinyl shook her head as The Pink One bounded out of the store just as quickly as she bounded in. Finally pushing herself to her hooves, Vinyl cast a glance at Octavia. The gray mare was smirking, a face to which Vinyl grimaced at. “And what is so dang funny?” “Pinkie Pie. She’s… humorous.” Vinyl rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, that’s one way to put it.” “Anyway. I should really get back to work.” “Right, you’re working really hard.” Vinyl joked. “Oh shush you. I need to start playing in hopes of luring some people into the store.” Octavia trotted to the sales floor from behind the desk. Vinyl watched and smiled. “Yeah, you have a way of luring ponies, don’t you?” Octavia cast a glance over her shoulder and smiled. Really Vinyl? REALLY? You’re nervous now? After all the stuff you guys have done… just… you just go. Go do it. Now. Stop staring at her plot at go. Now. VINYL. Vinyl shook her head, breaking her concentration from Octavia. Slowly, and shyly, Vinyl trotted up to Octy, who was fine-tuning her cello. Vinyl gulped and stood as close to the cellist as she could. Octavia looked up and smiled sweetly, causing Vinyl’s heart to lurch into her throat. “I, uh, I’m gonna go then. See you at home?” Vinyl stuttered. “Of course.” As awkwardly as a baby chick trying to walk for the first time, Vinyl leaned into Octavia. What she found wasn’t fire and tears as she envisioned, but the soft kiss of her favorite pony in all of Equestria. Vinyl felt the heat rush to her face, mocking her internally for being so silly around Octavia still. Octy pulled back mere inches and smiled, looking down at Vinyl’s snout. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Octavia teased. Vinyl felt her cheeks burn hotter as she chuckled, trying to regain her composure. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Octy.” Octavia smiled and shook her head, kissing Vinyl again on the nose. “Go home you butt.” Octavia whispered. “Home. Right.” Octavia chuckled as Vinyl absent-mindedly about faced and walked towards the door. Dos Tavi smooches. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to ‘em… Vinyl looked back through the windows and saw as Octavia set herself up to play. Vinyl smiled, feeling the emotions in her chest swell. There was something about Octavia that always kept her coming back for more. She didn’t know if she’d ever get used to the affect Octy had on her. From the way she spoke, to the way she was definitely the most beautiful pony ever, there was always something Vinyl was admiring. Vinyl couldn’t help but smile to herself. She was sure she looked like a doofus, standing on the sidewalk and grinning wildly, but she didn’t really care. Standing there, she finally felt like she was the too-cool-for-school pony that everypony thought she was. She felt like she had found something she never knew she was missing. Vinyl felt happy. Good. ------------------------------------------- “So when can I start telling ponies I have a marefriend?” “Probably when you have one.” Vinyl’s ears pinned back to her head, dejectedly. Her face scrunched in confusion as she stared at the floor beneath her hooves. She gently lowered her empty dinner plate into the sink, not really aware of what she was physically doing anymore. She let her mind run. But… I thought… what? Did I fool myself this entire time? Vinyl heard a soft chuckle come from behind her and turned her head around to see Octavia trotting past, taking care to brush against the DJ. The grey pony leaned against the counter, only a few feet away from Vinyl. Vinyl looked up at Octavia, completely unsure of what she was trying to say. Octavia smiled broadly, enjoying the confused look that faced her. “What… uh, does that mean?” Vinyl was unsure at best. “It means you’re goofy.” As confused as Vinyl was, she saw comfort in Octavia’s smile, which she found spreading to her own face. “But what does THAT mean?” Vinyl said with mock irritation. “It means that I never heard anypony being asked anything about being a marefriend.” “Really?” Vinyl said, flatly. “Really.” Octavia responded, still smiling to the point of near laughter. “After everything we’ve done, you won’t let me call you my marefriend until I ask?” Octavia’s eyes were lit up from the pure joy she was getting out of this conversation. “That’s what I’m saying, Vina my dear.” “You’re ridiculous.” There was light air in Vinyl’s voice, despite her face being completely deadpanned. “Yeah, well, you started all of this.” Nothing could wipe the smile from Octavia’s face. “You’re going to be stubborn about this, aren’t you?” “Me? Stubborn? Of course not. I prefer the phrase, ‘unwilling to settle for less than what I want.’” It took every ounce of self-control Vinyl had to not jump around the room. She found this was often a problem when dealing with Octavia. And she wants ME. Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes-okay Vinyl calm down. “So all I have to do is ask?” Vinyl was still celebrating in her head; it was nearly impossible to keep the excitement out of her voice. “That’s it.” “What day is it?” Vinyl knew someday this would be important information. “The 22nd.” “Alright then…” For a pony who’s occupation was being in front of large crowds and entertaining, Vinyl realized how truly awkward she was. She knew the answer to her question and she knew she wanted to ask it. But the words caught in her throat as her heartbeat picked up. She took a deep breath and pulled her glasses from her face, bearing her eyes into Octavia’s. Both seemed drawn into the moment, and after a few seconds of Octavia-induced calming, the words flowed out of Vinyl’s mouth like fresh water from a spring. “Octavia Philharmonica, can I have the privilege of calling you my marefriend?” Octavia smiled at Vinyl for a long moment, letting the moment really soak in. When she saw the unsurity flash across those crimson eyes, she finally answered. “Of course Vinyl. As if there was ever any doubt.” Vinyl nuzzled Octavia gently and the two shared a quick kiss. The silence wasn’t thick or suffocating, but rather the perfect silence between two ponies who didn’t need to say anything to convey how they felt. Suddenly, a thought hit Vinyl. “Hey Octy?” “Yes?” “Well… I mean, how open do you want to be about this whole thing? I mean, I know you have a reputation to uphold and… well, it’s not like you’ve done this before. I just want you to be comfortable.” Octavia smiled and nuzzled Vinyl. “Just because you’re the exception to the rule, doesn’t mean I’m ashamed of you. Do you know why I picked the nickname for you that I did?” Vinyl furrowed her brow. “Vina? I thought you picked it because you wanted payback for me calling you Octy.” Octavia laughed softly. “Yes, but do you know what it means?” “It means quit calling you Octy?” Octavia gently headbutted Vinyl on the nose. “No you dolt. ‘Vina’ means beloved.” “That’s sweet Octy. Who would have thought that you picked that all those weeks ago.” “You are so dense sometimes.” Octavia laughed. “Waitaminute! I, you. But that. And you can’t. But I didn’t. And how does-“ “Exactly. And if all that is the case… why would I want to hide my beloved?” Vinyl blushed deeply, her cheeks almost matching her eyes. Octavia once again nuzzled Vinyl, bringing herself near Vinyl’s ear. “You might be the only exception,” Octavia whispered. “But you’re still my favorite one.”