//------------------------------// // Is She Really Gone? // Story: Meet Me In Ponyville // by BrushyBill1881 //------------------------------// The day had gone by. Octavia had sat all day outside of the coffee shop talking with Amaranth. Not wanting to dwell on her confused feelings, Octavia had asked Amaranth to explain why she left of Chicoltgo Art Institute. "Then I left and I had the adventure of a lifetime. I have no regrets about it." Amaranth smiled. "Wow, you are truly an amazing and wise pony." Octavia stared at her, eyes wide. "Well thank you dear." There was a long pause. Amaranth studied Octavia, then she remembered what she had asked right before they got off topic. "Oh I see what you did there," she chuckled. "Got an old pony to ramble on about her life, to distract her and yourself from your issues." Octavia smiled guiltily. "Don't worry about it Octavia. We all need time to think, but you did pose an interesting question earlier." "What was that?" Octavia cocked her head to the side. "How did it come to this?" Amaranth poured herself a new cup of tea. "Now I don't know the answer to that, but I think you do." Octavia sat and thought for a second. "I haven't thought about since it happened. It all happened so fast. The music swap, the audition, the fight. Her leaving." "Oh? And who is her?" the old mare looked down at her cup while adding sugar to it. "Vinyl," saying her name made her heart sink. "Uh huh." Amaranth stirred her tea. "Who is Vinyl? A friend, maybe the something more we spoke of earlier?" Octavia thought about it more. 'Was Vinyl the something more? Do I hope that since I didn't get into Braylee that I could see Vinyl again? Do...do I still love her?' Octavia heard the old mare chuckle. "You're doing it again." "Huh, oh yeah. I guess I think to much..." she trailed off. Those were the last words Vinyl spoke to her. Not in her usually playful way, in a hurtful way. "Tell me all about her." Amaranth took a sip from her cup. Octavia's flashback Not but a few days ago, Octavia woke up when the sun light shown through her window. Unlike Vinyl's room, Octavia's was very put together. Apart from a few music sheets on her desk, everything was in place. She got out of bed and wondered to the bathroom to prepare for her day. "Today is the music swap. I hope I can get that original composition by Buck." she smiled into the mirror while brushing her hair. "I'm glad Vinyl can join me," her heart fluttered. "Oh Vinyl," she chuckled. A few months back Octavia had noticed some changes in her feelings towards her best friend. They originally moved in with each other a few years back mainly to save money. Now, now she was unsure. "Come on Octavia this is Vinyl, your best friend and complete opposite." She fixed her tie. "However, they do say that opposites attract," she smiled walking out into the living room and up to Vinyl's door. She was about to knock, but stopped. 'Behind the door is Vinyl. Beautiful, sweet Vinyl. She was going to the music swap with her,' then came a thought that caused her to blush. 'Oh my goodness! Was this a date? Did Vinyl think it was a date?' Octavia's heart pounded as she raised her hoof. "Pull it together Octavia. It's just two friends going on an outing." she knocked once. From the inside she heard stirring and Vinyl grumble. She knocked three more times. "Vinyl come on! We're going to be late." She held her breath waiting to hear Vinyl's voice. "Late for what?" Vinyl called back. Octavia took a deep breath and opened the door, revealing Vinyl sitting on the edge of of her bed. Her mane was a mess and she looked half asleep. To Octavia, it was adorable and it made her giggle. "For the music swap of course. I know that one of the vendors has an original composition by Johann Sebastian Buck and I need it!" she squealed. Vinyl smiled back at her, making her heart do a flip. "Ok ok, I'm up. I'll be ready in 15." Vinyl got out of bed and stretched. "I'll be waiting outside." Octavia smiled and walked to the door. She was confused. Just from that short interaction her heart was raced. When she got outside she leaned against the door. "I don't know how much longer I can do this," she sighed. Taking a few steps forward to stand in the sun, she thought. 'When did this start?' No matter how hard she thought or tried to remember, she couldn't pick a specific point when she started feeling this way. 'Should I tell her? What would happen then? Could we still live together? Would we even still be friends? What are the consquences of each choice?' her deep thinking was interrupted by a voice. "Ready?" Shaken from her thought and startled, Octavia jumped and turned to look at Vinyl. Her hair was styled messy, and she had her signature glasses. 'She's so beautiful.' Octavia quickly regained her thought trying to avoid being awkward. "Oh goodness! Guess I was thinking to hard." she smiled trying to stay calm. Vinyl smiled and playfully pushed her. "You think too much." "And you don't think enough." she pushed back. The two started their walk to the fair grounds, where the swap was being held. Vinyl was looking all around, she appeared to appreciate everything and be a happy mood. Octavia kept her vision straight ahead and tried to avoid looking in her loves direction. She knew one look and she'd blush or make her heart race, possibly giving it away. 'I've got to say something. But what? What if I open my mouth and something that I don't want to say just comes out. Oh goodness, what if I ask if this is a date? Or worse, what if I say I love you?' Panic began to set in. 'Say something!' " "You looking for anything specific today?" Her question seemed to startle Vinyl out of her own thoughts. "Oh um not really" Vinyl responded quickly. The quickness of her response concerned Octavia. Trying to stay on the topic of music to stay away from others, she continued. "Weren't you looking for an original record of Balloon Spirit by the Horseflys?" "Oh yeah, that! Yeah it'd be great to have that one to go with my poster." Vinyl smiled. Her smile put Octavia at ease. ""What about you, going after anything besides the stuff from Buck?" Octavia thought for a second and shrugged. "If I see anything I like I'll get it, but nothing specific comes to mind." The two arrived at the fair ground. A massive crowd had gathered. Tons of ponies were milling around. Octavia had never seen so many different types of musical ponies and genres. "Oh my gosh, I hope I'm not too late." she nervously stamped the ground. She looked over at Vinyl who was smiling at her. Her smile made her heart stop, but again it put her at ease. "Go on to your place Tavi, I'll meet up with you at the center when you're done." Tavi, she loved the nickname Vinyl had given her. Her excitement boiled over and without thinking she hugged Vinyl. "Oh thank you Vinyl!" After the hug ended she raced into crowd of ponies, because of excitement, but mostly due to the huge blush on her face. Her mind raced even faster then before. 'I hugged her, I hugged her!' she blushed even more. She stopped running when she came to the booth she was originally there for. "Ok I can clear my mind and just look for the music. She walked in and found the sheets relatively quickly. While reading over them, admiring the work, she heard a voice. "Hello, I see you are a appreciator of Johan Buck." a well dressed pony smiled at her. "Oh yes, I love all of the classical composers but Buck is definitely my favorite." Octavia responded. "Do you happen to play any classical instruments?" "Yes, I play the cello." "Hmm interesting," the pony rubbed his chin. "That's not something you see an earth pony play often. But that makes it intriguing. Listen, I am a retiring professor from Braylee in Canterlot, and I think I can get you an audition." the professor smiled. Octavia's jaw dropped. "Braylee? Audition? Are you serious?" she asked getting a big smile. "Of course. I can't guarantee your admission, but I can at least get you an audition." "That would be wonderful!" she squealed. "Wonderful! How does next week sound? Say Wednesday?" Octavia nodded aggressively. The professor nodded and walked away. Octavia stood there and then turned to the vendor. "That just happened right?" The vendor nodded and then asked. "Are you going to buy that." He pointed at the sheets of music. "Oh yes." Octavia payed and began walking to the middle hill. 'Braylee is my dream. If I can get in I can travel the world. See new places, play for different crowds. Vinyl will be so excited.' The thought of Vinyl stopped her train of thought. 'What about Vinyl. Do I leave her?' She made it to the hill. 'I don't think I can just leave her. After all...' Octavia looked down at the crowd and spotted Vinyl running towards her. "I do love her," she smiled. 'Maybe she'll come with me.' When Vinyl reached her, she yelled. "Octavia!" Causing her to jump a little. "Vinyl! Look." She showed her the sheet music. "That's great Tavi, but-" without think Octavia continued. "And guess what?! While at the booth I met a professor from Braylee! They're going to get me a school audition next week. Oh just think of it Vinyl. I can play there and become well known and travel the world like I have always dream." she smiled waiting for Vinyl's response. "Braylee?" her tone threw Octavia off. "That stuck up school? You sure you want to go there? Now?" Octavia's heart sunk. "Well, yes." she frowned "Vinyl, you know it's always been my dream to attend Braylee. This is my chance." "Yeah, but it so far away, and you know who wants to be among such snobs all the time." Vinyl said with a harsh tone. Octavia couldn't believe it. She had hoped this would be a stepping stone to telling her true feelings. "I thought you would be happy for me Vinyl." Octavia could feel a tear fall down her face. "Yeah well, kind hard when you're abandoning everything that we've made together here." Vinyl responded angerly. "I am just thinking of the future Vinyl." She was hurt, and like hurt ponies do, she lashed out. "But I guess you don't think enough!" Vinyl turned to her. She could see the hurt on her face. "Well you think to much!" Octavia took a step back. Vinyl turned slowly and walked down the hill leaving her on the hill. "What just happened," asked as tears streamed down her face. She sat through the hill the rest of the day. Thinking through the events and trying to figure out when it wrong. 'Was it her fault? No, Vinyl's inability to be happy for her wasn't her fault. I guess it wouldn't have worked out.' She sighed and began her walk home when the sun had set. Octavia entered the house to find it completely empty. 'Had Vinyl not come home yet?' she wondered as she walked in. Once in the living room she noticed a note on the table. It read, "Gone to live my dream in Las Pegasus, Goodbye Tavi." Octavia sat hard onto the couch. "She's gone." she silently cried. Back to the coffee shop "That's how it came to this." Octavia sighed. Amaranth nodded her head. "Hm is she really gone?" the old mare asked. Octavia looked up from her tea cup. "I mean yes, she never came home. I was home for a few day before coming here and-" Amaranth held her hove up to stop Octavia's current pessimistic train. "No dearie. Is she really gone?" Octavia sat back in her chair confused. "Octavia, we always tell ourselves that no one is ever really gone, as long as we keep them in our hearts. Now tell me." Amaranth pointed to Octavia's heart. "Is she really gone?" Octavia sat in shocked silence. This hold time she tried to keep Vinyl off her mind, as not to distract her. "Maybe, I'm relieved about Braylee, because in my heart...my dream isn't here...it's with Vinyl." Amaranth nodded in agreement. "I think you're on the right track. Also something in that note of yours tells me that your not really gone from her heart either." Amaranth smiled as she finished her tea. "Thank you miss Fil- Amaranth." Octavia smiled. "What should I do now. I doubt she's back home." Amaranth gave a smile. "In true classical form, write her a letter. The pegasus will find her." They finished their tea as Octavia began to think of to say in her letter.