Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, despite all of their protests and objections that they were simply friends, seemed to have a relationship issue. Namely, they weren’t in one. Every time either one was out in public, it was only a matter of time before somepony suggested that they would be perfect for each other, due to either clashing personalities (Because opposites attract), deep, hidden similarities (the only similar thing the two had was a shared love of music), or simply because both of them played/made music (music, by itself, had never been a good founding for any relationship, anywhere), and thus should obviously kiss. Mostly, it was fairly harmless, just casual suggestions, or subtle hints. Vinyl and Octavia had taken to keeping ‘score’ on a blackboard of how many ponies implied, suggested or outright stated that the two musicians should be in a relationship. But for the most part, the behaviour was mostly harmless, and Vinyl and Octavia took it in stride.
Except on Hearts and Hooves day, the one day a year where neither Octavia nor Vinyl really wanted to go outside, because they knew the moment they did, somepony would be there, and would decide that what the two really needed was a ‘push’ to get together. That had never ended well, for anypony.
But as much as the two ponies would have liked to stay indoors, where it was safe from the horrors of the matchmakers infected by the atmosphere of Hearts and Hooves Day, work beckoned. Octavia had been paid an almost ridiculous amount of bits to play in Canterlot Park, to provide background music for a romantic date, and Vinyl had been hired to DJ a wedding reception, leading to a quip from Octavia about how it had better not be another royal wedding, or Vinyl would not wake up the next day. Vinyl had chuckled nervously, and assured Octavia that it was not a royal wedding. And so, both musicians exited the safety of the apartment, and as they suspected, somepony, caught up in the Hearts and Hooves Day mood, saw them, and decided to take action.
The matchmaker approached Octavia first, and through the usage of a badly forged note, some excuse about being asked to deliver it, and the originator wishing to remain anonymous (all of which Octavia saw through in under two seconds, but played along with anyway because she was bored), and the matchmaker was convinced that her plan was working perfectly, and Octavia had a dinner at Bridle’s, one of the more exclusive restaurants in Canterlot.
The next step in the matchmaker’s plan involved infiltrating the wedding that Vinyl was DJ’ing at, but knowing that she couldn’t do it herself, she recruited a partner, who flawlessly entered the reception as though she belonged there, and relayed the message that the master mind had told her to; that a fan of Vinyls’ would like to take her out to dinner at Bridle’s (Vinyl may have been a bit slow on the uptake sometimes, but this was so obvious it was hard for her not to laugh). And so, Vinyl and Octavia were now due to have a romantic dinner together at a classy restaurant, and the mastermind was content that her plan was progressing perfectly.
[Time]
As the day wore on, the matchmaker and her partner kept delivering hints designed to push ponies towards a relationship to Vinyl and Octavia. The two musicians, for their part, saw through each and every one, knowing exactly who their dinner partner was going to be, but they played along anyway, acting out their perfect reactions.
By the time that Dinner rolled around, and Vinyl and Octavia pretended to be surprised at the other’s presence at the reserved table (In a booth, towards the back of the restaurant), the two matchmakers were convinced that they were the ones who had finally cracked the infamous Vinyl/Octavia relationship.
Until Vinyl threw her bread roll as hard as she could magically when the waiter wasn’t looking, knocking the matchmaker’s partner, a pink earth pony, forwards, and straight onto the lips of the mastermind matchmaker, a white unicorn. Startled by the sudden lip contact, the two matchmakers immediately separated, but were suddenly very engrossed in their conversation, and too busy to notice that Octavia and Vinyl had snuck out of the restaurant, turning their table over to a young, recently engaged couple.
Outside, Vinyl and Octavia smiled at surviving yet another Hearts and Hooves day, hoofbumped each other, and went back to their apartment to work on their own projects (Vinyl an essay for the Conservatory, and Octavia her own composition). Back inside the restaurant, the white unicorn and the pink pony had decided that making out was way more fun than talking, and were nearly pushing the decency laws.