Vinyl sighed. It had been a long time since she had moved, and the stress from packing floored her. The apartment she had chosen in Canterlot wasn’t exactly luxurious, but it wasn’t backwater either- even so, it was closer to Octavia than anything else on the market. The thought of seeing the mare- and her reaction- brought a smile to Vinyl’s face. They really hadn’t known each other for very long, but there was... something that made her need more. She had to do something, and the way Octavia yelled at her before made it quite clear that she wouldn’t be the one to act.
Suddenly, a thought popped into her mind- Hearts and hooves day was in a couple days, and she had a radio gig lined up for (guess when) the very same day. Grinning devilishly, she started thinking about how many ways she could abuse THAT. A card with a radio station and a time- that’s all it would take. She might even throw in some chocolate- mares love chocolate. Her mind started to wander, first to chocolate, then to barrel rolls, then to chocolate, then to rabbits, then to Octavia. She walked off the train by rote memory, not even noticing a grey earth pony with a curious collar board her train.
***
Octavia was worried- she had spent all of last night packing, in a furious heat of passion. If Vinyl was her muse, so be it- she would follow. Any great musician would agree, follow your inspiration- maybe that’s why R&B was so popular in Manehattan...?
‘No. Focus. We can’t miss this train, Tavi.’
To anyone else, she probably seemed like a mad mare- but to her, talking to herself was as normal as breathing. Besides, isn’t every musician worth their salt at least a LITTLE bit crazy? Obviously Vinyl was- anyone who was attracted to Octavia had to be. A little.
As her train arrived, she lagged back, thinking about what she was doing. She had a life here- granted, not a very good one, but still. On the other hand.... she had a mare in Ponyville. A mare who loved her. She knew it was true now, she didn’t need to question it further. It was blind and naive, yes, but that didn’t matter. Sometimes, things needed a leap of faith. Sometimes, the most childish thing was the right thing.
Sometimes, you just needed to board the train.
As she entered, she didn’t look back. She was ready.
***
Vinyl scratched her head with her hoof, before flattening her mane. She had been standing outside Octavia’s door for fifteen minutes now, trying to work up the courage to talk to the mare. She hadn’t expected it to be this hard to talk to her- all the feelings they had were pretty well aired out, after all, and she didn’t really have anything to lose.
‘Nothing to lose... Come on, Vinyl, you can do this...’ She reached out and knocked on the door.
No answer, at least for a minute- and when the door finally opened, she was surprised. Instead of the soft curves of a mare, she was greeted with the harsh features of a stallion.
“Can I help you?” he asked politely.
“Uh... Is this where Octavia lives?”
“Yeah, normally.”
“W...where is she?”
“She’s gone.”
“Can you tell me why, or where?”
“Personal business. I’m sure she wouldn’t care for me to share.”
“... Will she be gone long?”
“Can’t say. Depends.”
“On what?”
“Depends.”
“You’re not going to tell me.”
“Not now, no.”
“Great.” Vinyl turned away. “Tell her I came by.”
“Sure.”
She walked away. Was this a coltfriend? After they had already... Well, it was sorta not to much of a thing, before... Still, she wasn’t willing to give up on Tavi. There had to be something there, how else would they have hit it off so quickly and so well?
‘Maybe I should hold off on hijacking that radio gig...’
***
Octavia was worried. She had been working on how to apologize to Vinyl for her gauntlet of shouting from the week before, but she couldn’t get anything just right. She had writers block already, and she had just started working a few moments ago. Anything she wrote down just seemed pointless and superficial, not to mention awkward and annoying.
Perhaps she should just lay low for a few days. That couldn’t hurt anything, right?
***
Vinyl sat in the cafe where they had talked the day after they met, staring at the droves of ponies walking by on their everyday schedule with their everyday worries. It sickened her, seeing all these ponies succumbing to the rote memory of routine, never bothering to take a chance. All of them looked run down, defeated, unhappy.
In a way, this gave Vinyl strength- she had something to fight for, and that is more than they can say. She had something worth her effort and time.
She stared down at her cup and sighed. Did she really? Did she really have Octavia, or was she just lying to herself? Was it really these ponies that had no emotion and no future? Or was it her?
Vinyl decided to check the local news, bring herself up to speed with what’s happening and, more importantly, give her something to do- take her mind off of Octavia for once.
After paying her tab, she left the Cafe and walked to a nearby newsstand. She payed her 2 bits, grabbing a copy of the Canterlot Examiner. Thankfully, there was no music column today.
She walked back to her apartment with the newspaper in her saddlebags and sighed. It was evening now, and the hills in the distance radiated with the setting sun. If there was any wonder as to why Octavia lived in such a crowded place like this, it was gone now. This view was to die for.
***
Octavia couldn’t sleep- the silence from this town was deafening. It was a far cry from the urban noise and general feeling of being among other ponies, and it was keeping her up. Noise pollution was a bitch.
No matter. She could tune it out. She was a musician, for Celestia’s sake, and a damn good one at that. If she could tune out a room full of bad cellists and play perfectly, she could sure as hell sleep through silence. She needed all her strength to face up to Vinyl after what she had done.
Soon, she began drifting off to the peaceful realm of dreams, with naught but a whisper outside.
***
Vinyl woke up and did a double take before remembering where she was. It had been a while since she had gotten up inside somepony else’s house before- except that the somepony wasn’t there.
‘Okay.. so I didn’t get TOTALLY wasted last night. That’s good. No hangover, in my own bed, no vomit... Alright, we’re doing pretty well.’
She got up and went to the kitchen, deciding it would be a good idea to whip up a bit of food. Hell, her kitchen was even sanitary... for now.
***
Octavia woke with a start. After tuning out the silence for so long, the rooster’s call was... abrasive. At least she didn’t need an alarm clock.
It wasn’t like she was really in a deep sleep- to many things were going through her mind for her to really fall asleep, so she was in and out the whole night. This much nervousness could not be healthy.
She needed to talk to Vinyl, it was now or never. That much was certain.
Although, there was still the question as to where Vinyl lived- that was never really a topic of interest when they were talking. At least, not the specifics.
She had a good feeling of where to start, though- the library seemed to be pretty large for such a small town.
After a few cups of coffee and a quick shower, Octavia decided it would be prudent to head out.
Walking through the town square, she did her best to blend in to the surrounding ponies and keep her head down.
“HEY! I’ve never seen you in Ponyville!”
Damn. So close. She turned to see a pink pony with a cotton candy mane, still yammering away. Octavia came to a sudden realisation as to who this is- the pink tormentor from the Gala!
“... And when I haven’t seen anypony around before, the only thing there is to do is throow a PARTY!”
Octavia blinked. For all she knew, this pony could have rewritten Equestria’s constitution in the time she had spaced out- and in a single breath. Did this pony even breathe?
“Uh... before we have a party and everything, it might be better if I... ya know, found out your name?”
“I’m Pinkie Pie and I know absolutely EVERYPONY in Ponyville. Who are you?”
Pinkie Pie. How fitting. “I’m Octavia.”
“Good to meet you, Octavia! Can I call you Octy? OOH! Or Tavi? That sounds way better. Tavi...”
“Yes, yes enough pleasantries. Wait.. did you say everypony? Do you know where I can find a Vinyl Scratch?”
Pinkie brightened- if that was at all possible. “You know Vinyl? Cool! She’s my DJ for all of my parties! Or.. Was...” Pinkie grimaced.
“Was?”
“Yeah, she kinda started to suck. Ran off a few days back.”
Ran off? “Where to?”
“Canterlot, I think. Not sure, though.”
Octavia facehoofed. Of course, Vinyl was the one who was “at fault” when she left, but Tavi hadn’t expected her to ‘come to her senses’ and apologize so quickly. Really, why did she make that big of a deal out of such a small thing?
Pinkie was staring. It was creepy.
“Uhh... do you have a phone number I can call or something? I really need to talk to her.”
“Well.. she.. She left in a bit of a hurry. Seemed a little preoccupied.”
“Heh. Yeah.”
“Anyway, Party at the Library at 7:30. Be there.”
“... Sure.”
***
Vinyl walked out of her apartment. It had been a full day since she moved in, with whatever meager possessions she had. At least the unpacking was easy.
As she neared the cafe, which was strangely becoming a fixture in her life, she stopped by the newsstand. Damn, it is easy to get into a routine.
She looked at the news and saw nothing that shocked her. At least there wasn’t anything terribly bad, no news is good news.
Honestly, the most interesting thing that had happened so far was the foam art in her coffee.
It was a heart. How wonderfully specific.. OH CRAP. Vinyl had forgotten about the radio show today. Glancing at the clock, she sighed. She still had some time. Not much, but some. Enough to at least finish her coffee.
Unsurprisingly, every other table had a couple at it. Great, just another reminder of Tavi. Maybe she wouldn’t do the shoutout on the radio. Octavia doesn’t seem like the pony to enjoy... overt acts such as that. She was a bit more subtle.
Maybe a few songs that Tavi liked? She had the same albums that she heard the day after they met, and that might mean.. something to her. Not sure if the message will get through, but it’s better than nothing.
Vinyl payed her bill and left. She had some things to get straightened out before the show. Her mind being the least of them.