“W-will I ever see you again?”
“No! You’re not going to do this to me Octy! You’re not leaving me!”
“Why is it taking so damn long? I… I want to see her. Now!”
“Doctor! Where is she?”
“I was outside hearing you sing and play, Octy. And you did well. You really did.”
“I’ve already decided, Octy.”
Vinyl’s mind wandered to the past as she lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. It was a few years since her big fight with Octavia, and their relationship had been steadily improving since then. But that wasn’t the only thing that had improved.
”Maybe I don’t want to be a DJ anymore. Maybe a writer, or a poet.”
Vinyl had changed her profession- for the better. In her warm red eyes, an old flame died, a new risen; her fiery passion for lyrics turned into poems, and before she realised, she started performing once again, albeit for a smaller crowd than before.
Octavia, too, had changed. She got her desires soon after Vinyl left the music scene- to be as famous as Vinyl once was. However, a cellist Octavia had been, and so, a cellist Octavia was- a certain fact that remained unchanged.
Ever since the wintery incident, Vinyl heard her play more of her cello than any other instrument. It was a good thing, Vinyl thought, as she tuned in to familiar sonatas and concertos that Octavia once played. It helped her with her poems too, as Octavia would play whenever the earth, the trees and the sun sat in her audience- that was also when Vinyl showed off her literary prowess, penning down the thoughts as classical music filled her head.
She had once grimaced at the ‘emotionless pieces of music’- as she once called it-, but had now developed a soft side for it. Sure, it wasn’t like the electronic music she once adored and lived her whole life dedicated to, but slowly, she appreciated every high sharps, low flats and unnatural naturals in the pieces. With turned those raw emotions she had heard, Vinyl turned them into beautiful imagery in her works of art.
“Beyond the garden, embodiment of nature’s will… what rhymes with will?” thought Vinyl about her work-in-progress-poem as she continued staring blankly at the ceiling, her eyes fixed at darkness. Other than the once-familiar moonlight, the room voided any attempts of sight. It was void too, of wires travelling along the floors and walls, as well as of records spinning on top of turntables. Vinyl had thrown them all into the basement.
“… Still, pill, quill. Beyond the garden, embodiments of nature’s will, a quill guarded. Still, cling on and emulsify, hardened pill, embodiments of creator’s… umm… burden? Bar-den? Nah, needs to rhyme with garden… How about… pardon? Oh wait… pardoned fill. Ah… embodiments of creator’s pardoned fill.”
Those words would be penned down next morning, Vinyl thought, as she stirred around restlessly on her bed, tossing the blanket one side and carefully avoiding hitting the sleeping mare beside her.
Unlike Vinyl’s, Octavia’s eyelids, like her body, lay dormant. Vinyl knew how tired she would be after every day, often hearing whines of weary which worried Vinyl at times.
After Vinyl quit DJ-ing, Octavia became somewhat of the sole bread maker in the house. Vinyl’s pay cheque was hardly enough to feed a filly, let alone two grown mares, partly because she never asked for much of a pay. All she wanted were smiling audiences who, unlike her previous crowd when she DJ-ed, would pat her back and tell her that she did good.
Just good. Not super-amazing. That meant she was barely good enough for the act. Not for prospects of neither fame nor fortune.
Yet Vinyl carried on. She enjoyed the slow pace of life that being nobody offered. However, Octavia’s busy schedule left Vinyl feeling empty at times. With so much work to do, Octavia’s fatigue level at night often caused her to crash straight into bed, leaving Vinyl, who hoped to spend some time with her, alone with her pen and paper. Nevertheless, Vinyl stood steadfast. She wasn’t going to let this affect her or her love for Octavia.
“Octy? Hey um… you still awake?” Vinyl gently nudged Octavia with her hoof, which just made her turn her back against Vinyl. It was midnight; any chance of her waking up was rare.
“Ooocty…” Vinyl called in a foal-like voice, but Octavia didn’t budge this time. “Are you excited? In one week, it’s going to be our fifth year together, Octy.” She lit a smile and stared intently at Octavia’s face, whose shallow breathing caused her nostrils and lips to dance to its rhythms. How time flew for the married couple, whose unorthodox ways of life initially sparked unrest in the community. Gradually, the town did grow to accept them.
Vinyl chuckled softly. “You know, you’re sooo adorable when you sleep. Do you know that Octy? Do you?” She hugged Octavia, who still didn’t move an inch, and brought herself closer to her until she could feel her heartbeat against her chest. Then she brought the blanket over the both of them, sheltering them against the darkness, and gave her a quick peck on her right cheek.
“I doooo. Good night, my little cutie Octy.” Vinyl closed her eyes, her body resting against Octavia as she let herself drift off to sleep. She thought of nothing but happiness, of how her fifth anniversary was going to super special for the both of them, and giggled. Eventually, Vinyl dozed off, and the moonlight in the room dimmed, for overcast clouds stood in moonlight’s way, and the stars dimmed.
~ ~ ~♪♫♪♪♫~ ~ ~
Nothing lasted forever; night made way for dawn, then for the horizon to light up, and finally for the sun to take its rightful place in the day. Vinyl’s eyes flickered open to bright light and a pair of purple eyes staring at him. With those happy eyes accompanied a smile.
“Morning,” beamed Octavia as she inched towards Vinyl’s face, posture upright, body resting against the bed frame.
“What in the world? I thought you’ve some rehearsal thingy this morning,” said Vinyl as she sat upright, her height now in level with the grey mare. “Wait, did you oversleep, Octy?” In alarm, Vinyl leapt off the bed, flipping the blanket towards Octavia who instead chuckled, and bolted towards Octavia’s cello. “Oh my Luna, quick! You’ve got to--”
“Calm down, Vinyl,” reassured Octavia to the startled mare, “Today’s Sunday. No rehearsals.”
Vinyl stopped in mid-track as she turned to face a grinning Octavia. “Oh?”
“Mhmm,” nodded Octavia.
“Uh… uh… I knew that. Yeah. Sunday. Cool.” Vinyl shook her head in disbelief and brought her hoof to her head. “I’m becoming more like you… ugh. And wow. I can’t believe it’s Sunday already.”
“Yep,” said Octavia as she slowly made her way out of the bed, stretching her limbs and smacking her lips as she pulled the blankets away. “Relax, Vinyl. And I’m the spazzy one,” teased Octavia as she approached Vinyl.
Vinyl had often called her a ‘spaz’ for overreacting to minor issues. She would demand immediate action- a broken string had to be restrung immediately so her career wouldn’t be in ‘jeopardy’, and spilled juice had to be cleaned immediately so insects wouldn’t ‘devour’ her in the night- and if she didn’t get what she wanted, she would panic, letting out screams as unpleasant as cacophonous orchestras.
“Yep. Still are.”
“I’m afraid from today, you are.” Octavia poked Vinyl in the chest, which made both of them chuckle.
“Nope,” denied Vinyl as she returned the poke with a jab. “You.”
“Tell you what. Admit you’re the spaz, and I’ll make breakfast,” smiled Octavia slyly as she closed the gap between Vinyl and herself. Vinyl could feel her morning breath, although slightly foul, still hinting of sweet-smelling lavenders.
“I’ll tell you what, oh mighty spaz.” Octavia rolled her eyes at Vinyl’s sarcasm. “I’ll make breakfast, and I’ll throw in a free kiss too, if, and only if, you admit it.” Vinyl closed the gap even more, their nose and forehead leaning against each other, and their lips hovering mere centimetres apart. The lips both formed a smile as they fought the temptation to leap onto the other’s mare’s and dance in each other’s company.
“Hmm… you’re tempting me. Should I?”
“Let me help you decide,” said Vinyl as she moved in for the kill, wrapping her lips around Octavia’s gently. She could taste the metallic taste on Octavia lips, probably from the morning breath, as she caressed her lips, nibbling on them slightly as she made her away around her lips. Their tongues soon found their ways into each other’s mouths and danced around; exploring the other mare’s mouth at every nook and cranny it could reach. It swirled and twirled, until they got bored and started dancing with each other.
After minutes of passionate kissing, Vinyl broke free and gasped to catch some air, much to Octavia’s disappointment.
“Is that it? I might have to reconsider then.”
“Well… admit that you’re the spaz, and you might, emphasis on might, get more.”
“Nope.”
“Well then,” Vinyl broke off from their embrace and headed towards the door, “Guess I’m going to make breakfast then. And you won’t be eating those pancakes I’m making. Laters.” As far as pancakes were concerned, Vinyl made the best Octavia had ever tasted.
She stared as Vinyl made her way out of the room and towards the kitchen. Without much pondering, she chased after Vinyl.
“Fine! I’m the spaz. You happy? Now make me some pancakes! Pleeeease!” shouted Octavia.
“Got it, spazzy!”
“Meanie!”
~ ~ ~♪♫♪♪♫~ ~ ~
“So, any… plans… for… today?” asked Octavia as she munched on a piece of pancake.
“Nothing much. How about you? How are you gonna spend your day off?” asked Vinyl as she poured some pancake syrup over her pancakes.
“With you, of course,” said Octavia with a smile. “Wanna walk in town after we’re done? Maybe go watch a movie and finish the day with a romantic dinner.” Octavia fluttered her eyelashes at Vinyl.
“That sounds amazing! But…” Vinyl sighed. “I’ve got… some… umm… never mind, it’s no biggie! I can always… umm… but I kinda wanna… umm…”
“What is it?”
”Well,” Vinyl let out a nervous chuckle, “I sort of made an appointment with Lyra this afternoon. I mean like, if it’s okay with you.” The news dipped Octavia’s mood. She frowned and her shoulders dropped.
“Who’s this… Lyra?” quizzed Octavia.
“Oh, just some mare I met last week. She’s some sort of musician. Plays the lyre actually. But she’s got connections with some mares that can publicise my works. You know, so I don’t exactly have to rely on you for bits.”
“Vinyl, we talked about the bits issue. It’s okay, what’s mine is—”
“Your’s?”
“Precisely.” Vinyl let out a sigh. “Don’t worry, Vinyl. The income I pull in is far more than what you earned last time. In fact, you don’t really have to work at all. I can take care of you.”
“But what if one day you get into some kind of crazy accident that makes you—”
.
“I won’t. I didn’t break any of my hooves even when I jumped that fence with you… you remember that day?”
“Oh, yeah!” exclaimed Vinyl exuberantly. “The wolves. That was too close for comfort.” Vinyl breathed out a sigh of relief in memory of past experiences. “Never will I pull such a crazy stunt ever again, and neither are you.” Back when they were dating, in an attempt to court Vinyl, Octavia wanted to show how ‘rebellious’ she could be so she could win Vinyl’s love. One crazy event led to another. The next thing they knew, they were jumping ditches and escaping the law.
Vinyl didn’t like that; instead, in her own attempt to court Octavia, she had tried to tone herself down, much to Octavia’s distaste. But unpredictable circumstances bonded them much more than they thought, with lips often pressed against each other at awkward times.
One day, Octavia proposed. And the rest, well… was history- a big part in which Vinyl forgot.
“Wait, wolves? I remember it was an angry farmer who started chasing us with a pitchfork for taking her apples. It was also the night of our three-month anniversary.”
“Oh right! Yeah. Three months… umm… did we really do that?” Vinyl scratched the back of her head, tilting her head one side, in an attempt to remember.
“Y-y-you don’t remember?” Octavia nearly dropped the pancake that she was chewing, her face radiating signs of fury.
“’Course I do. It’s just… hazy. And I forget things. A lot.”
“But you don’t even remember--” Three sharp knocks on the front door saved Vinyl from Octavia’s accusation. Letting out a sigh of relief, Vinyl left the table to greet the visitor, but Octavia stuck her hoof out. “I’ll open it. And we’re not done with this yet.”
Vinyl let out a tiny whimper as Octavia swung the door opened. As much as Vinyl wanted to see who it was, Octavia’s body conveniently blocked the entire doorway.
“Hello. Does Vinyl live here?” asked the visitor.
Octavia’s eyes widened as she stared at the teal mare in front of her.
That… figure. Those… hips. Those eyes… oh my. They’re so… incredibl— What in the world am I thinking?! … Ugh…
“Hello? Earth to grey pony. Do you read me?”
Snapping out of her thoughts, she tried focusing on the visitor, but Octavia was undeniably enraptured by the mare’s stunning look. “Uh, uh, yes. Y-you’re are?” Octavia looked away, hoping to hide the blush she had.
“I’m Lyra. I just dropped by to ask if the meeting was still on.”
“Lyra?”
“Oh yes! Definitely! We’ll discuss more about the contract later.” Vinyl ran up to the door and waved at Lyra, who returned the gesture.
“Contract?” exclaimed Octavia in appall, her aghast eyes staring at Vinyl.
“Okay. Remember. La Noire Café. Two o’clock. Try not to be late,” stated Lyra as she coolly walked away.
“No problem!” Vinyl slammed the door shut, but the flabbergasted Octavia was left staring blankly into space. Swivelling her head, she turned to face the grinning white mare whose smile she had seen one time too often whenever she was excited. And whenever Vinyl bounced happily, Octavia had to admit Vinyl did look cute; it reminded her of happy experiences with the ex-DJ.
“That’s Lyra.”
“Yeah, I know,” said Octaiva deadpanned, “What’s this… contract?"
“Oh… well… like I said, I’m trying to publicise my works.”
“I know that too dear,” said Octavia as she headed towards her unfinished plate of pancakes, “But you sure you wanna do this again? I thought you liked to be left alone.” She sat down on her chair and took a bite on the half-eaten pancake, only to look up to see Vinyl put on a frown.
“Yeah, but I can’t possibly stay home all day. I gotta put my share of effort in this relationship. Besides, I want to do this.” Vinyl sat down and rested her right forehoof on the table. Bringing her chin down on it, she stared at Octavia finishing her breakfast and let out a sigh.
“If it’s money you worry, like I said-”
“No, no. I mean this as in like… you know… want to see what others would think of it. Others as in other then my usual crowd in them bars and pubs.” Vinyl levitated a fork and played around with it out of sheer boredom, poking either against the marble table or the plastic plate. “And besides, how do you expect to get better without constructive criticism?”
“True.” And I wouldn’t be this famous if I didn’t allow that to happen. “Well, the day’s still young. What do you say to walking in town with me? You can go meet her later in the afternoon.” She stuffed the pancake inside her mouth, chewing on it, as she brought the empty plate- Vinyl had levitated hers already- into the sink. Feeling full, she rubbed her belly and let out a belch.
“Octy!” Vinyl stared incredulously at the grey mare. She knew that if the public knew about Octavia's... gastrointestinal habits, she would be deemed uncouth. Rumors would spread, and she would be the laughing stock of the town.
Vinyl understood well enough the power of media; she was once at the receiving end of it, and it wasn't pretty. She had accidentally let some gas escape from her hind, and some pony caught that. Just for that, she was called 'DJ-Gas' for a month. And at every beat that dropped, her crowd would make farting noises, and shout "DJ-Gas".
Thankfully, the media shifted away from that to her jaw-dropping, ear-popping performances. Before she knew it, no one dared to call her that anymore. It was simply an insult to comment on the 'Princess of Music's'- as quoted and coined from several magazines- behaviour,
“What? I’m in the privacy of my own home. It’s not like anypony saw me.” She burped once more, albeit a softer one this time.
“There’s always the possibility of those pesky tabloid reporters hanging around.”
“Well, I’ll take my chances. You coming?” Octavia slipped her hooves into her white fur coat and draped it around herself before putting on her scarf.
"Yep." Vinyl followed suit, lifting her brown leather jacket over herself, and topped it by donning her retro purple shades. She swung the door open with magic, and the two blissful mares, with hooves around each other, trotted outside, bracing big winds and falling red leaves. The floor too, littered with dead leaves and broken twigs as the autumn winds blew against their soft manes.
Some ponies said fall was inevitable, maybe even needed at times for the seasons of life to continue. Unknowingly to the pair, a mare that had perched on a tree outside their home had leapt off. She trotted away, grinning heartily at the camera in her hooves.
“Gotcha.”