“C’mon Octy, get in there.” Vinyl grunted as she tried pushing her tiny pet.
Octy was having none of it.
“It’s a brand new, state of the art aquarium.” Vinyl puffed, trying to pry Octy’s tentacles from the side of the tank.
Octy made a face, continuing to hang on as tightly as she could.
“Octy, I had this set up especially for you! Nice and salty water just the way the internet told me you like it!”
Vinyl had taken Octy to her private studio in downtown Canterlot. After spending a fun night with her new pet and catching up on some sleep, the musically inclined unicorn felt rejuvenated. She was ready to get back to doing what she loved.
Octy looked at the adorable face Vinyl was making and relented. She sighed as she let go and slid easily into her watery new surroundings.
“Awww there you go.” Vinyl grinned, stepping back.
Although Octy had reluctantly given in, she was a stubborn creature and so she floated to the top, with only her eyes, ears, and the top of her head sticking out of the water.
“Squee.” She mouthed, under the water.
Vinyl shivered and was about to continue trying to pacify her pet when the door opened and Lyra trotted in.
“Hey Vinyl, sorry to interrupt but I heard you were back here and I had to check it out for myself.”
Vinyl smiled and put a forearm around her friend. “Yeah, I don’t know why but I suddenly feel really inspired. I got an invitation this morning to play at the Canterlot Music Festival. I wanted to drop some sick new beats, but Octy has been keeping me busy.”
Lyra walked towards Octy’s tank, peering in at the odd looking creature.
“I hope that’s saltwater.”
“Yeah of course. I actually do read sometimes, when it’s important.” Vinyl snorted.
“Just checking. How is she doing?”
“Octy is the best pet EVER! She slept on my tummy all night long.”
“How does she manage to breathe when she’s not underwater?” Lyra asked, suddenly realizing how odd that was.
Vinyl shrugged. “I don’t know. I searched Wikipedia for a page on the Octaviapus but got nothing. So, I just read what was on the Octopus page.”
“Maybe it’s because she has the head of a pony?” Lyra mused, reaching out to pat Octy on the head.
Before Lyra’s hoof could touch down, Octy made a low hissing noise, causing Lyra to jump.
“She doesn’t seem to like you.” Vinyl laughed.
Lyra glared at Octy and the tentacled sea creature returned her hardened gaze.
“Anyways, time for some sweet wubs!” Vinyl declared, hoof pumping.
She ran over to her turn tables and began riffling through her records. She wanted to do something completely different for the festival and was eager to get started. Vinyl loved the creative process the most.
“Who else is playing the festival this year?” Lyra asked.
“I didn’t even look. Check out the invite I got in my email. I printed it out. It’s on top of my desk.”
Lyra looked over to the desk, which was overflowing with various pieces of paper. She took a quick glance and finally discovered the invitation. Snatching it with her magic, she quickly began to read.
“Sapphire Shores is going to be there!” Lyra exclaimed, looking over at Vinyl.
Vinyl’s glasses dropped to the floor as her mouth hung open. “Oh seriously. No way. She’s the most annoying mare on the planet.”
Lyra chuckled. “Didn’t you two date in highschool?”
At the mention of Vinyl dating another mare, Octy thrust herself out of the water, leaning against the side of her tank. She listened intently.
“That was just a short fling. She’s hot, I’ll give her that. Besides, it’s easy to get over one mare. You just get underneath another.” Vinyl grinned, flashing a toothy smile.
Lyra smacked her hoof to her head.
“You are terrible. Hey Octy, it looks like your new owner is a bit of a slut.” Lyra joked, nodding at the sea creature.
Octy’s mouth opened slightly, forming a small “o”.
“HEY! Octy is my awesome pet. She would never judge me.”
“SQUEEEEEEEE!” Octy cried.
If either of the two ponies had spoken the native language of the Octaviapus, they would have known that translated into “Yes Vinyl, I totally think you’re a super duper mare-whore. But, you’re hot, and so I can let it slide. For now.”
“Look, you’ve upset her.” Vinyl scolded. “No wonder she doesn’t like you.”
Vinyl moved from her tables and over to Octy. Her pet jumped happily from the tank and into her hooves. Vinyl pressed her muzzle softly into the side of Octy’s face. The creature gently began to tickle the unicorn’s chin with her tentacles.
Lyra couldn’t help but smile. Even though she wasn’t completely sold on Vinyl’s new pet, at least her friend seemed to be enjoying it. The cool and relaxed attitude of the room was quickly gone as the door once again was hurled open and another pony stepped inside. She was dressed in a black and white striped frock and large gaudy sunglasses adorned her face.
“I, Photo Finish, have arrived!” She exclaimed dramatically.
Vinyl looked her up and down. “Beetlejuice?”
Octy gave Vinyl a quizzical look. Who was this mare and why had she “arrived”?
“Beetlejuice? Who is this Beetlejuice?” Photo Finish asked, taking her camera out. “I am here to take pictures for the Canterlot Music Festival Promotional Poster.”
“That’s a lot of words.” Vinyl mused, setting Octy back into her tank.
“Now, show me ze MAGICK!” Photo Finish said, as she began to snap pictures of Vinyl.
“Hey, wait...” Vinyl said, slowly backing away. She hated photo ops. “Can’t we talk about this first?”
As Vinyl began to run, Photo Finish began to chase her, causing Vinyl to squeal. Lyra shook her head as she watched the two crazy ponies run circles around the room. Photo Finish’s camera was on overdrive as the light continued to flash while Vinyl continued to run.
“Work it DAHLING!”
Octy watched in amazement as Vinyl made the most delightful squealing noises. As she savored the sound of the unicorn’s high pitched screams, a sudden thought struck her. This pony was making HER Vinyl Scratch squeal! And although it was sexy as hell, NOPONY made her Vinyl Scratch squeal.
NOPONY.
Octy narrowed her eyes to the size of tiny slits.
“And I’m spent!” Photo Finish announced, tossing the camera into the hooves of her assistant that nopony noticed had been standing there the whole time until now.
Vinyl collapsed on the floor. “Is it over yet?” she breathed.
Photo Finish threw an appointment card in her direction, which landed in her lap.
“Tomorrow! Same time!”
And with that, the photographer and her assistant exited the room.
“I don’t even...” Lyra started, walking over to pick up the card from her tired friend’s body.
Vinyl only heaved in response. Lyra’s eyes widened as she read the information.
“Another photo shoot tomorrow.” Lyra read. “With the headliners of the Canterlot Music Festival.”
Vinyl clutched her tummy. “You mean Sapphire Shores?”
Lyra nodded and extended a hoof, helping Vinyl up from the floor.
“Nooooooooo!” Vinyl whimpered.
As Lyra tried to calm Vinyl down, Octy grinned from inside her tank.
A photo shoot tomorrow? Perfect.
Sapphire Shores? Perfect.
Photo Finish? Perfect.
Octy could feel her tummy rumble in anticipation. A cold, sadistic smile spread over the sea creature’s face. She needed to be fed.
AND SOON!
To be continued...