Paradiso

by Syvvak

Chapter 3

        Vinyl walked through the streets of Canterlot, the overhead lamps and full moon lighting her path. She looked up at the moon as it made its ever-so-slow descent to the horizon, trying to gauge the time. She eventually concluded it was well past midnight and turned her gaze back to the street.
        She had just escaped the after-party for her victory over the head of classical music, Octavia. Vinyl hadn’t wanted to go, but her agent had sent her a message telling her to attend for publicity’s sake. She was barely able to keep up her facade of happiness, her mind often straying to the mare whose life she had just destroyed. She had even stayed away from the bar out of fear of becoming a sobbing drunk.
        She hadn’t known it was Octavia she was going up against; she hadn’t even known she was doing it until a couple hours before it started, giving her enough time to set up. Had she known it was Octavia she was dueling, Vinyl probably would have had a panic attack. She had barely been able to keep herself together when she saw the cellist on the stage, her immaculate black mane glistening under the lights, her eyes sparkling with nervous energy.
        Vinyl had never thought how she would confront Octavia, but she had always expected it to be on her terms; she didn’t think the other mare would care enough to do it herself. She always thought it would end with her apologizing and them becoming friends, not Octavia storming off telling Vinyl she hated her for ruining her life.
        She didn’t even play bad, Vinyl thought, her hooves carrying her toward her destination. She was wonderful. How could she think them snobby ponies didn’t see that? How could one not-even-bad performance ruin her life?
She sighed. Maybe she would try to apologize tomorrow. Maybe she could get Lyra to put together another duel and she could throw it so Octavia could get her prestige back. This thought brought a smile to Vinyl’s face. She would get the perfect chance to fix the whole mess and apologize to Octavia. Hopefully, the grey cellist would forgive her for all she had done.
        Her mind slowly backtracked to her agent. She hadn’t seen her since before the competition. She had thought Lyra would be there to take care of any agenty stuff that may have come up. Vinyl started to get worried; Lyra was never late, nor did she miss important events like the duel.
        Worst case scenario in her tired mind, Vinyl picked up her pace and ran the rest of the way to the hotel, the fact that her friend had sent her a text a few hours before slipping her mind. She burst through the double-doors, running toward the stairs; the elevator would take too long to get her where she needed to be. Sprinting up five flights of steps, Vinyl finally came to the floor that her and her manager’s rooms were on. Hardly slowing her frantic pace, she came to what she prayed was the right door and started pounding on it.
        Vinyl heard a pony bumping around inside, knocking over things in their haste to stop the incessant racket. The door flew open, revealing a slightly angered and confused aquamarine unicorn, the mint green of her mane messily fused with the white running up the middle. She looked around frantically, unsure of what was happening. When her sunglow eyes locked onto Vinyl, she let out a sigh that was cut off as the DJ wrapped her in a tight embrace.
        “Wha-” she began, but Vinyl didn’t hear her and started to talk.
        “I didn’t know if you were okay. You weren’t at the concert hall and that is something I didn’t think you would want to miss with how important it was and you haven’t contacted me since before it and now I realize just how foalish that sounds. Sorry.” She released the other unicorn and looked away sheepishly, a blush hinting at her cheeks.
        Lyra chuckled. “It’s fine. Sorry I couldn’t make it. Bon Bon had called and told me that they messed up the reservations for the dinner I had with her parents and that they couldn’t reschedule it. It was really important to her that I go, so I did. I must have been so caught up in everything that I forgot to tell you. I am really sorry, Vinyl.”
        “‘S okay. Kinda overreacted. Thought you were injured or something bad like that.” She gave an embarrassed chuckle. “So, how did the dinner go?”
        “Eh, fine, I guess,” Lyra said with a shrug. “It was just a casual dinner. They asked me how me and Bonnie were doing, what with me on the road with you and her having to stay in Ponyville to take care of her sweets shop. Mostly just small talk. So, how’d the gig go?”
        “Horrible.”
        “What? How?”
        “I won. Now, Octavia hates my guts,” Vinyl said, whispering “even more” so Lyra didn’t hear. “She thinks this ruined her career and blames me.”
“Vinyl, this won’t ruin her career. She just needs some time to cool down,” Lyra said soothingly, trying to calm the distraught mare.
“Why did she even agree to it if she thought that?” Vinyl didn’t hear what her manager had said, working herself to the edge of an anxiety attack. “Maybe she thought she was going to win and embarrass me in front of all those ponies. But she didn’t even seem to know it was me until she saw me. Maybe she... I... Argh!” She let out an angry growl. “Had I known it was her, I wouldn’t have done it. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lyra jumped as the mare suddenly turned all her anger and frustration toward her. “I... it was... well...” Lyra stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence between how tired she was and the angry mare in front of her.
“It’s your fault! My one-time closest friend hates me even more now and it’s all. Your. Fault!”
Vinyl spun around, heading for her own room across the hall. She grabbed the door handle with her magic, giving it a twist. Vinyl kept moving forward even though the door didn’t open, it being locked, harshly smashing her muzzle into it. She let out an angry growl, searching around for her key.
Lyra cringed at the state her friend was in. “Vinyl are yo-”
“FUCK OFF!” Vinyl shouted as she opened the door, walking through and slamming it shut behind her. The aquamarine unicorn just stood there staring at the door that separated the two of them. She saw a small wet spot glisten in the light. Sighing, she walked back into her room, hoping to get a bit more sleep before trying to sort things out.
        

        Octavia heard her recorded voice drift to sleep before Fleur closed her phone and set it on the table. Octavia bent down to clean up the spilled food to keep herself from having to talk to Fleur, but it was all swept away by a seashell white aura. With a slight scowl, Octavia walked over and sat on her purple loveseat.
        “Just because I am an earth pony does not mean I cannot clean up my own messes,” she said, trying to cover her discomfort with anger.
        “Of course. I just figured you should be able to relax after such a... difficile day yesterday.” Octavia gave a huff and turned away. “You want to talk about it?” Fleur asked, her voice laced with sympathy.
        “There is nothing to talk about,” Octavia said, her voice just above a whisper. “I played poorly and lost. Now I will be shunned and nopony will want to hire me.” Tears started to well up in her eyes.
        “Octavia,” Fleur started with a soft, compassionate voice, “you played magnificently. The ponies were in awe. Why would you think nopony would want to hire you?” Octavia opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by a sharp wave of the other mare’s hoof. “Never mind. We will talk on that later. For now, we shall talk about that phone call I received last night.”
        “It was drunken rambling, nothing more,” Octavia said, not bothering to look up. When she didn’t hear a response, she looked at Fleur. The white unicorn’s imperial purple eyes were filled with empathy, but also told Octavia that she wasn’t getting out of the conversation. She sighed, looking away. “It is none of you business.”
        “Octavia, something is obviously bothering you.”
        “I... I do not want to talk about it.” Octavia took a deep, calming breath before looking back to her manager. The mare was regarding the cellist. She knew Fleur was probably upset with her, but Octavia couldn’t tell her something so embarrassing and personal.
        “Octavia...” Fleur began, probably preparing to push the issue. She looked around the room, trying to gather her thoughts. She finally locked eyes with Octavia. “I am famished. What say we go out for some lunch and catch up. We haven’t seen each other socially in a while.” She held the grey mare’s gaze as she flipped her cherry blossom pink mane over her shoulder.
        “So long as you do not ask me about last night.”
        “Magnifique. Allons-y!” Fleur said, heading for the door, a smile adorning her face.
        Octavia sighed, getting off the couch and heading after Fleur. Stepping out the door, she turned around. Her eyes locked onto the royal purple loveseat. She knew she would have to tell somepony eventually. Letting out another sigh, she closed the door and followed Fleur to lunch.

        “... and then he tried to pounce on the bird, but hit the window,” Fleur finished, laughing. Octavia gave a small, but genuine, smile and chuckled.
        “Wait. When did you get a cat?” she asked, the thought just coming to her mind.
        “Oh, Fancy found him as he was coming home the other day. It was raining, very badly, and he said the poor type” -- she pronounced it teep -- “was in a box on his own, so he decided we would take care of him. We put up poster in case his owners are looking for him. I kinda hope they don’t, though. I like him,” Fleur finished sheepishly.
        “Well, if they do come get him, you could always get a new cat,” Octavia reasoned.
        “Ah, but it would not be the same, non. It would be like trying to replace a good friend, you know?” Fleur looked down at her plate to scavenge the last bits of her meal, missing Octavia’s pained grimace. She place a hoof on the table, accidentally setting it on her plate, covering it in salad dressing. Grumbling about her misfortune, she got up.
        “I will be right back, Fleur. I must rinse this off my hoof,” she said, heading toward the bathroom in the back without waiting for a response. On her way there, she almost bumped into an aquamarine unicorn. After giving a hasty apology, she stepped into the restroom and proceeded to rinse her hoof.
        Turning off the water, she looked up into the mirror. She knew Fleur would try to get her to tell what that call was about, no matter how stubbornly she refused. Thinking back, she didn’t know why she had tried to call Vinyl; she didn’t even have her number. Octavia closed her eyes, let out a sigh, and hung her head in shame. “Stupid rum.”
        She raised her head, looking around for a hoof dryer. She spotted it by the door and proceeded to dry her wet hooves. The warm air rushing over her hoof caused her to smile; she had always enjoyed the feeling. It seemed to raise her mood.
        Octavia stepped out of the bathroom chuckling. She couldn’t help but realize how absurd this situation was, and how immaturely she had acted. Deciding that she would tell Fleur her story if she asked again, the grey mare headed back to the booth.
Just a few steps away from the booth, she paused. She heard Fleur speaking in a subdued whisper to an unknown pony. She crept closer to hear what they were saying. She quickly regretted the decision. What she heard caused her jaw to drop and mind to reel. But... why would...
        She stepped in front of the table, revealing herself to the other ponies, tears welling in her eyes. She looked to see who Fleur had been talking to; it was the same mare Octavia had bumped into a couple moments ago. She looked vaguely familiar, but Octavia couldn’t put her hoof on where she had seen her before. Turning to Fleur, the pained tears started to overflow. She silently worked her mouth, unable to find words.
        “Wh-why would you do that to me? You said you didn’t set it up.” Octavia’s breathing became stuttered. Hurt was evident on her face as tears streamed from her eyes.
        “Octavia, I-”
        “You lied to me, just like she did.” Octavia stood there for a moment, before turning around and sprinting out the door.