Well, aside from the drum corps. practicing a never-ending crescendo in her head, this wasn’t the worst Octavia had imagined her first hangover being. Everything else was relatively quiet, it was warm, and the pillow was breathing a low, soothing hum.
“Pillow…” The gears in her head slowly began to begin churning, attempting to process the breathing pillow.
“Oh, hey.”
Breathing, talking pillow? No need to freak out…
“Last night was really amazing. How did you get your tongue to do all that?”
… Never mind.
Octavia awkwardly bolted off the bed, switching between profuse apologies, and something else, she really couldn’t figure out what the other half was, though it slowly became into a coherent lecture as she began to recognize the mare whose chest she had just seconds ago been using as a pillow.
“Oh Celestia,” Vinyl gasped between guffaws, “that was too mean!”
Octavia was sure that if she could get any more irritated, steam would begin bursting from her ears.
“Vinyl,” Octavia began after collecting herself, “I will only ask you once.”
The DJ’s laughing was instantly ceased, and instead replaced by a silent, saucer-eyed stare.
“What. Happened. Last. Night.”
“I swear to Celestia, that comment about your tongue was a joke!”
Octavia’s scowl remained, obviously expecting a more detailed explanation.
“Okay, right, I should tell you what all happened last night. But first, you want some coffee?”
“I guess… I’ve heard coffee is good for headaches.”
With a flick of her tail, Vinyl beckoned Octavia to follow her into what would be assumed as the “kitchen” area, which was just as immaculately decorated as the rest of the house- a clear door refrigerator with a small LED readout of the temperature being the first thing to greet you ask you walked in, flanked by a stainless steel oven. To their immediate left was a washing machine below a marble salt-and pepper windowsill, to match the rest of the countertops, overtop mahogany cabinets. If she hadn’t been in the rest of the house without a hangover, she would have sworn it was the hangover decorating the place.
As Vinyl began to pour the coffee, Octavia took into account that for her first hangover, she didn’t do that bad: She knew whose house she was in, and their plot- of land, she told herself- wasn’t that bad either.
“It isn’t decaf, is it?”
“Viennese cinnamon.”
“I know it’s a bit much to ask, but do you have actual creamer? I cannot stand that powdered stuff.”
“Trust me; I hate that stuff just as much as you.”
“I suppose there isn’t any real rush to it, but I would like to know what all happened.”
“The first part,” Vinyl began, “Actually starts with Doc Suds, as far as I know. He’s the bar tender,” Vinyl explained, cued by Octavia’s head tilt.
“Anyway, apparently, you can’t say no to a free sangria.”
Octavia blushed and decided that now was an excellent time to inspect her coffee, recalling at least that much of the night.
“He mixed them perfectly…”
Vinyl chuckled at the mare’s embarrassment—nopony had ever been able to reject a drink mixed by Doc Suds—she certainly was a first-timer to Space 34.
“Anyway, I’ll tell you now, the only thing you need to worry about is getting better at karaoke.”
“What?”
“After Doc ran out of wine, you sauntered up to the karaoke stand, and did a really…” Vinyl began an inspection of her own coffee, trying to think of the right word for the performance.
“Let’s just say you shouldn’t quit your day job.” Vinyl decided that any word she could find was either too weak, or too true.
“Why”, Octavia feigned offense, “I’ve always been told I had a beautiful voice!”
“Yeah, how did they tell you?” Vinyl returned the sarcasm in kind, “In sign language?”
Their fit of laughter was interrupted by a small growl emanating from Vinyl’s stomach, only to be answered by a loud roar from Octavia’s.
“Hey,” Vinyl began, through giggles at Octavia’s renewed inspection of her coffee, with heated cheeks to match, “I think we should go get some food before people around here start to think you’re secretly a manticore or something.”
“Well, I suppose we should ‘Rustle up some grub’,” Octavia agreed, exciting even more enthusiasm from Vinyl, “lest I start eating like one.”
“Ooh! That’s a great idea!”
“But—“ Octavia wasn’t entirely sure what she said, but obviously her prior sentence carried some hidden meaning.
“How did you know The Orchard was my favorite?”
“The… Orchard…?”
Right, I'm talking with a mare who doesn't do hot with slang. I think.
"You meant 'Go to The Orchard get some breakfast', when you said 'Rustle up some grub,' right?"
"No... and I've never been to any restaurant named 'The Orchard'."
Vinyl’s eyes widened until they lost their whites, and her jaw went slack.
“You’ve never been to The Orchard? As in, the restaurant run by Sweet Apple Acres?”
“No,” Octavia shook her head, unable to see what the big deal was.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Vinyl began cleaning out her ears, trying to see if there was some major blockage.
“I’ve never had anything from Sweet Apple Acres.” Octavia was giggling, seeing anypony so worked up over a restaurant was hilarious.
“I’m sorry… I don’t…”
Octavia was almost at the point of laughing uncontrollably as Vinyl rushed to pick a dictionary from the shelf.
“Those words…” Vinyl trailed off as she began searching through the dictionary, “Is it possible to use them together in a sentence like that?!”
“Oh, trust me, that will be fixed, as soon as we get going, to wherever ‘The Orchard’ is.”
“All right!” Vinyl began hoof pumping the air as she almost bounced towards the door.
“Just don’t let them hear—“
Octavia’s stomach volunteered it’s vocal services, almost knowing where Vinyl was going with that sentence.
“That,” Vinyl poked Octavia’s side playfully as she swung the door open, “or the fact you’ve never been.”
“Why?” Octavia replied with a chuckle, “Do they badger you into trying something they’re famous for?”
“Sorta like that…”
As Octavia watched Vinyl hop out the door, she could have sworn she saw that look in Vinyl’s eyes before. What it was, she couldn’t really tell—it was a mix between mischief, and Celestia knows what else. All she knew was, it was going to be funny for Vinyl, and Celestia only knew what it meant for her.
Quick Author's note:
Personally, I don't know where the funny tried going in there, but oh well. First person to point out the 2 references gets an internet cookie!