As Fiddlesticks continued to tune her fiddle, Octavia started doing some cleaning. As she dusted off the coffee table and worked around Fiddlesticks, she couldn't help but hum to herself. Fiddlesticks stopped tuning and raised an eyebrow.
"Y'know, if Ah'm in yer way, y'all jus' haffta tell me," said she. "Ah can do this in another room."
"Oh, no need to trouble yourself," said Octavia, putting away her feather duster. "I can always do this room later."
Fiddlesticks shrugged and went back to tuning. "Hmm. Still sounds a bit flat. Maybe..."
There was suddenly a loud twang that got Octavia's attention. She turned to see that one of the strings on Fiddlesticks's fiddle had come undone.
"Aw, dagnabbit," Fiddlesticks growled. "Ah'll never understand why this keeps happening to me."
"Um, is there anything I can do to help?" asked Octavia.
Fiddlesticks pondered for a moment before playing a few chords. "Eh, it still sounds fine," she said.
Octavia tilted her head. "Fine? But that string is broken. Don't you think you should take better care of your instrument?"
"Well, Ah would if Ah had the tools," said Fiddlesticks. "Unfortunately, those tools are mighty expensive, and Ah find things like food and shelter to be more important."
Octavia shook her head. "Well, you don't have to worry about that here," she said. "I'll fix it for you."
"Tavia, y'all don't need to do that," said Fiddlesticks. "Ah play with broken strings all the time, and nopony has ever complained."
"It doesn't matter, Fiddlesticks. It's still important to keep your instrument in perfect condition," Octavia insisted. "I'll even give you some tools to take with you on your travels."
"That's mighty sweet of ya, but..."
"I know what you're going to say, and it's no trouble at all."
Fiddlesticks sighed. "Alright, fine," she said, handing Octavia her fiddle. "But only because y'all keep insistin'."
"Only the best for my twin sister," said Octavia sweetly. "Now, is there anything else you need?"
Fiddlesticks placed a hoof to her chin and struck a thinking attitude. "Hmm. Well, if it's all the same to you, Ah'd like to take a bit of a catnap. Ah usually like to nod off a bit before lunch."
"Of course, of course," said Octavia. "Vinyl!"
Vinyl Scratch poked her head out of her studio, and loud music burst from the room. "What's up, Octy?!" she hollered over the noise.
"Fiddlesticks is trying to take a nap! Would you mind keeping it down?!" Octavia hollered back.
"What?!" Vinyl asked.
"I said Fiddlesticks is taking a nap! Could you keep the noise down?!" Octavia repeated.
"Sorry, I still can't hear you!" Vinyl called back.
"I said Fiddlesticks is taking a nap, so keep the noise down!" Octavia shouted.
"You're still not coming through, Tavi! Hang on, let me adjust something!"
Octavia growled in frustration. "I SAID KEEP THE NOISE DOWN! FIDDLESTICKS IS TRYING TO..."
In the middle of her fourth attempt, she realized too late that Vinyl had already turned down her music. With a gulp, she turned towards Fiddlesticks, who had an annoyed look on her face.
"Y'mind, Tavia? Ah said Ah was gonna doze off fer a bit," she said.
"Um, sorry," said Octavia, her face turning a brilliant shade of crimson. "W-we're just sorting something out."
Fiddlesticks sighed. "Well, do it a bit quieter, would ya?" she said before placing her stetson over her eyes.
"Right, sorry," Octavia whispered before turning back to Vinyl. "Okay, I know you did that on purpose."
"What? Tavi, I promised to be on my best behavior," Vinyl whispered back. "I really couldn't hear you. Honest."
Octavia raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Alright, I'll let it slide for now," she said, keeping her voice low. "Now, I'm going to fix Fiddlesticks's violin. While I'm doing that, why don't you make yourself useful and prepare lunch for her?"
Vinyl's expression became deadpan. "Octy, don't you think you're taking this just a little too far? Besides, you know I can't cook."
"I'm not asking you to cook," said Octavia. "Just, make her a sandwich or something."
"Do you want me to read her mind and find out what kind of sandwich she wants, too?" Vinyl asked sardonically.
"Oh, stop being so difficult," Octavia hissed. "All I'm asking for here is a little cooperation."
"Alright, alright. I'll cooperate. No need to get pissy," said Vinyl. "But I still think you're going overboard."
Instead of responding, Octavia went into the bedroom. In the meantime, Vinyl made her way into the kitchen and took a look around.
"Hmm. Well, we've got some bread. That's good," she mused, using her magic to set out two slices of bread. "Now, what shall be the sandwich du jour?"
She took a look in the fridge and cringed.
"Yeesh. Maybe getting those pickled dandelions was a terrible idea," she grumbled. "Let's see, peanut butter, peanut butter... Ah, here we go!"
She procured the peanut butter, opened it up, and took a whiff.
"Huh. Doesn't seem too bad," she said. "Then again, maybe anything smells better compared to those pickled dandelions. Speaking of which, those things have gotta go."
She took out the smelly jar and tossed it into the trash. As she got to work making lunch, she heard something from the living room.
"Pee-yew! What the hay crawled in here and died?" Fiddlesticks groused.
"Sorry, Fiddle," Vinyl apologized. "Just doing some overdue fridge cleaning. Nothing to..."
She was interrupted by Octavia marching in and wrinkling her nose.
"Ugh! What's going on in here?" she growled.
"Well, turns out that hindsight can be a real bitch," said Vinyl sheepishly. "See, remember those pickled dandelions I bought because you said you were in the mood for gourmet food that one time?"
"Oh Celestia, those things?" Octavia exclaimed. "I thought I told you to throw those out weeks ago!"
"Yeah, I really don't know what I was thinking with that one," said Vinyl.
"Welcome to my world," Octavia groaned. "Great, now I need to get out the air fresheners."
"Ah'd be happy to help," Fiddlesticks offered. "Trust me, Ah can't stand this smell, neither. And Ah once accidentally slept near a skunk's den."
"You what?!" Octavia gasped. She then cleared her throat. "Um, I mean, you shouldn't trouble yourself. Just go back to sleep and let me handle everything."
Fiddlesticks shrugged. "It wasn't recently or nuttin'," she muttered before dozing off again.
As Octavia frantically searched the linen closet, Vinyl continued making Fiddlesticks' sandwich.
"Hmm. Now for the tricky part," she said. "Crusts or no crusts?" She stroked her chin as she held the knife with her magic and stared at the sandwich. "Well, she doesn't seem to be that picky, so I guess she likes them. But then again, she is Tavi's sister, and I already know how picky she can be. But on the other hoof, Tavi likes crusts herself, so maybe Fiddle likes them, too. Hmm, what to do, what to do?"
Vinyl's musing were interrupted by the sound of Octavia spraying the inside of the trash can.
"There. That should take care of that," she said. "Vinyl, how's Fiddlesticks's sandwich coming along?"
"Almost done," said Vinyl. "I'm thinking Fiddle won't mind crusts. What do you think, Octy?"
Octavia looked over at the sandwich Vinyl prepared and raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Just peanut butter?"
"You just told me to make her a sandwich, Tavi," said Vinyl. "Besides, I keep getting this 'beggars can't be choosers' vibe from her. I could've given her the pickled dandel— Okay, that's a bad example, but you get what I mean."
Octavia sighed. "Vinyl, just because her standards are so low doesn't mean we should lower our own."
"Yeah, but it doesn't mean we should be treating her like an alicorn princess, either," Vinyl countered. "Octy, I'm warning you right now. The more you keep trying to pamper her, especially since she clearly doesn't want it, the harder it's gonna be for me to keep my promise."
"I am not pampering her. I'm just, trying to be a good host," said Octavia.
"If that's what you think being a good host means, I don't want any part of it," said Vinyl.
"Vinyl, you promised!"
"I'm not planning on breaking my promise, Tavi. I'm just not kowtowing to your sis just because you're freaking out over nothing."
Octavia was about to comment when Fiddlesticks awoke from her nap.
"Mmm. Much better," she said as she stretched herself out and walked into the kitchen. "So, what's fer lunch?"
"Got it right here," said Vinyl, using her magic to give Fiddlesticks the sandwich. "I hope you don't mind peanut butter."
Fiddlesticks grinned. "Aw, shoot. Y'all didn't haffta make that fer me."
"Actually, I did," said Vinyl, giving Octavia a sideways glance.
Fiddlesticks snickered. "Ah think Ah see who wears the pants in this relationship," she said. "Well, thank ya all the same, DJ P0N-3."
"Yeah, sure," said Vinyl. "And by the way, you can just call me Vinyl."
"Right. Ah'll remember that," said Fiddlesticks as she bit into her sandwich.
"Oh, right! I should probably finish up fixing your violin," said Octavia. "I'll be right back."
"Um, Tavia? It's a fiddle," said Fiddlesticks, looking up from her lunch.
Octavia blinked. "S-sorry, faux pas. I didn't mean to insult you. I, just don't see the difference."
"Well, if it were a violin, mah name would be Violinsticks, wouldn't it?" said Fiddlesticks with a chuckle.
"She's got a point, Tavi," said Vinyl.
Octavia was too confused to argue. "I'll, just go and fix it now," she said before trotting off into the bedroom.
"So, you need anything else?" Vinyl asked.
"Hmm? Nah, Ah'm good fer now," said Fiddlesticks. "Don't fret, Ah'll let ya know when Ah need sumthin'."
"Looking forward to it," Vinyl mumbled under her breath as she went back into her studio.
Fiddlesticks shrugged and continued eating her sandwich. Just as she finished, Octavia reemerged from the bedroom.
"Alright, I'm back," she said. "Here it is, good as new."
Fiddlesticks looked over the fiddle in amazement. It wasn't just the one broken string that was fixed. It was also cleaned and polished, and all of the other strings were refitted so that they wouldn't come undone.
"T-Tavia. Ah-Ah don't know what t'say," said Fiddlesticks. "Ah mean, this is too much. Ah-Ah can't even begin to repay y'all fer this."
"Oh, you don't need to repay me," said Octavia. "And here, some tools so you can keep your vio— fiddle in good condition."
Fiddlesticks looked at the tools on the table, and then at Octavia. "Okay, Tavia. Ah'm very grateful an' all, but enough is enough. Ah know you want the best fer me an' yer tryin' so hard to make me feel at home. Nevertheless, Ah want ya to stop givin' me this fancy schmancy treatment. You're makin' me uncomfortable."
"I-I don't understand," said Octavia. "How are you uncomfortable? Surely, you must find this better than sleeping out in the elements and fending for yourself."
Fiddlesticks sighed. "Tavia, Ah told ya before. Ah don't need what y'all have got here. Ah like to keep things simple. And Ah certainly don't want nopony bendin' over backwards to do me favors."
"W-well, maybe I'm worried about you," said Octavia. "Maybe I think that nopony should deserve to have so little like you do."
Fiddlesticks lowered her hat over her eyes. "So, that's what this is all about, huh? Y'all feel sorry fer me."
Octavia cast her eyes downward. "W-well, perhaps a little..."
Fiddlesticks walked up to Octavia and placed a foreleg around her. "Listen, Tavia. Ah know this might be difficult fer y'all to understand, but Ah don't need no pity. Ah'm happy with mah life. Sure, it ain't glamorous, but Ah've got no use for glamour. If Ah did, Ah wouldn't have left."
Octavia tilted her head. "Wh-what do you mean by that?"
"Ah can't tell ya," said Fiddlesticks somberly. "It'd break yer heart."
"Fiddlesticks, I'm your sister," said Octavia. "If something's bothering you, I want to know."
"Nuttin's botherin' my, Tavia," said Fiddlesticks. "Look, you're tryin' too hard. Ah'll tell ya if Ah need anythin', but barrin' that, jus' let me be. Alright?"
Octavia sighed. "O-okay," she murmured.
"Good," said Fiddlesticks, giving Octavia a pat on the back. "Now, Ah think Ah'm gonna practice some. Tell Vinyl to keep it down, will ya?"
"Of course," said Octavia. Fiddlesticks then scooped up her fiddle and made her way to the living room. Before she left the kitchen, Octavia looked up.
"Wait."
Fiddlesticks turned. "What is it, Tavia?"
"L-listen, I don't doubt you or anything, but why can't I remember growing up with you?"
Fiddlesticks closed her eyes and shook her head. "It's probably better if ya didn't know," she said. She then looked up and offered her sister a weak smile. "Ah'm very happy for ya, Tavia. Don't lose that happiness by worryin' 'bout me."
With that, she left the kitchen. Octavia walked up to Vinyl's studio and knocked on the door. Once again, loud music blared as the door opened.
"Yo, Tavi! Does Fiddle need something?!" Vinyl asked.
Octavia gave Vinyl an icy glare and pantomimed turning down the volume. Vinyl used her magic to produce a sign that said "Okay" in rather poor hoofwriting. She then closed the door, and Octavia looked over at Fiddlesticks.
I don't want you to worry about me, either, she thought. I'm your twin sister. You can tell me what's on your mind. I won't laugh or anything...