The Strings Of Life:
Chapter 22- Las Pegasus (Day 2):
It has reached noon, and the sun was shining awfully bright today, and Octavia was wondering why it seemed so hot in their room.
She got up and realized the air conditioning was not cut on in their room, as the sun was shining though the curtains.
“Ugh, I suppose there’s no other alternative.” She said to herself, getting out of the bed. But as she got out of bed, Maestro was not found beside her.
“Maestro?” she called out, but no answer.
She however made her way around to the other side of the bed, seeing him still asleep on the floor with some of the cover brought with him on his way down. She giggled to herself with a sleepy grin on her face.
“Well look at him all out of it, and with a hangover not to mention.” Octavia then slowly trots over to him, gives him a light nudge, and whispers into his ear.
“Hello there? Is anypony home? Time to get up, okay?” she spoke softly, but nothing from him and only an ear twitch. As her breath touching his ear made it twitch in an adorable fashion to her.
“I’m going to take a shower then.” She then gets an extra towel for some reason though.
The towel then gets thrown at his head, waking him up in the process.
“Uh…what? Oh man…my head. What the heck happened last night?” he rubs his head, wondering what made him feel so bad from last night. He couldn’t recall a single thing he had done last night either, which would get a conversation going between him and Octavia about his…adventures.
Maestro heard the water running in the bathroom assuming it was her taking her morning shower, getting ready for the day.
“Goodness, why is it so hot in here?” Maestro wondered, continuing to get up from a headache he now had.
“Ugh, man my head…Octavia…what happened last night?” he yelled out to her, with a bit of a groan hidden in the remark from the headache that bothered him.
He then gets back up onto the bed, wondering for one, why he felt like crap this morning.
The water is then heard being shut off, as Octavia with her wet hoofs stepped onto the floor with a faint thump.
“Uh…Octavia? Are you…you there?” Maestro calls out again.
“Oh, you’re awake in there? Everything okay? Just give me a moment to dry myself off and I shall be right out.” She replied, as the ruffle of the towel could be heard as she dried herself off within the bathroom.
Moments later, she made her way out and towards her bag to get dressed.
“W-what happened last night? Did I…like…get in a fight or something? My head is killing me.” Maestro rubbed his head.
Octavia merely looked back at him, and stated three simple words.
“You were drunk.” She turned back facing her bag thereafter.
“What?! D-drunk? You’re kidding me? Did I really drink that much?”
“Yes, and I must say, you are awfully rude when you are drunk too. Never again, you hear me?” Octavia stated.
“Yeah, sure…but me, drunk? S-surely you’re mistaken right? he wondered.
“No, I am not mistaken. You were drunk Maestro, and I will say that honestly…it was a terrible experience to even be around you.”
Maestro couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of him embarrassing her in such a way.
“Ha-ha!”
“Hey, cut it out! I didn’t like it okay?”
“Okay…but it’s just, hah! It’s just funny as for what all I did though. What did I do though that seemed so embarrassing?” he asked.
Octavia let out a sigh, and then spoke.
“Okay, first off...you could never be serious with me. Second, your breath reeked of booze, and that I honestly wish you were aware of what happened for even a moment of that time. Thirdly, you…my goodness…you asked me to kiss you and have sex with you, how rude can you get? You honestly think that I’m-”
He then interrupted her, not wanting to hear anymore.
“Okay, okay, you don’t have to say anymore…I’m sorry if I did any of those things. It’s not like I could have stopped it or anything?”
“Well…you could have actually.” She replied.
“How so?”
“Nothing said you absolutely had to drink last night you know.”
“Oh yeah…that, he-he.” Maestro then turned his attention elsewhere.
“Yeah…that…well now you know how ridiculous you sound.” She said to him again.
“But you drink too though?” he gestures.
“I’m certainly not a brute like that when I do though. I merely drink wine occasionally, and primarily on important events or accomplishments. But well, I honestly haven’t had a drink in a while I must say.” Octavia then pauses for a moment.
“Come on then…”
“What?” she faces him.
“You heard me, let’s see if what they have tickles your fancy.” He replied.
“Are you saying that you are willing to take me out to some bar? Good heavens no, no way I will do that in my life…ever.” She then turns back around facing the window looking out over the streets, and ponies walking below in them.
Maestro rolled his eyes, as a grin then formed on his face.
“No…not a bar…some vine sampling or something like that.”
“I beg your pardon?” she looked back at him.
“Wine sampling, I’m sure they have it around here somewhere.”
“Oh, he-he, of course…right…let’s do that. But don’t you have a hangover?”
“Uh…oh yeah…right…I do actually.” Maestro realized, knowing his headache was bothering him to the point of not even being aware of it for a moment there.
Octavia then nudges him in the direction of the shower to get washed up.
“Well we shall see about that. But for now Maestro, you have to get in the shower. Once you take care of this, we need to continue trying to find Vinyl.” She said.
“Aw come on, already?”
“Absolutely, because finding her is the real reason why we traveled here to begin with, don’t you recall?” she replied.
“Uh…” he then looks around, and acts like his heads bothering him. To avoid embarrassing himself and making himself look like a real idiot for forgetting why they were really there, he immediately makes his way into the bathroom locking the door behind him.
“Be sure and get behind your ears.” Said Octavia teasingly.
“You’re not my mother, so don’t start.” He replied over the sound of the water being cut on.
Octavia then giggled a bit, and then was continuing on with getting dressed, along with styling her mane the way it has always been it seemed to everypony. Her gorgeous black mane and tail seemed to match with her eyes perfectly, and her fur color matching with these two other great features of her body just as good.
After an extra twenty minutes or so, Maestro had finished taking his shower he was in dire need of.
“Okay…I’m…I’m done.”
“Good job Maestro, did you be sure to flush little one?”
“Octavia!” he yelled out in frustration.
She chuckled after having yet another moment of teasing with him again, but Maestro’s hangover made him have less patience and made him a tiny bit grumpy. But he knew he didn’t need to be like that in front of her. She enjoyed seeing the good side of him, so despite being forcefully woke up and having a hangover, he knew what he needed to do for her.
“Okay…so, uh…we’re looking for…”
“Vinyl Scratch, Don’t you even remember?”
Awkward silence the broke out between the two of them.
“What? Oh uh, yeah of course.” he replied.
He thought about it a little more until he legitimately recalled what they really were there for.
“Okay, yeah, of course I do Octavia. Yeah, we’re uh, we’re here to find Vinyl…right?”
“I just said that Maestro…are you even awake yet still, perhaps?” she raised an eyebrow.
“Um…yes?” he replied awkwardly, as the door was still shut between them.
“I hope so, because me and you are heading to the main areas of where the citizens of Las Pegasus reside.”
Maestro then opened up the bathroom door. With his mane all a mess, Octavia was trying to keep from laughing at the ridiculous site.
“Goodness Maestro, your mane…it...looks…” Octavia still trying to keep from having even a small outburst of laughter, his mane did in fact look pretty rough at the moment.
“I know it looks silly right now, that’s why I style it to what you have seen it appear to you before.” he replied.
“Oh, so you’re still in efforts to flatter me?” She asked softly.
“Well um…I suppose maybe…a little bit?” he shrugged towards the end of the statement.
“Well then…shall we be off to the other districts of Las Pegasus?” she then turned facing the door.
“Yeah sure, let’s get out for a while…need some pain pills while we’re out too, this headache is certainly a bother and a burden to me trying to think straight.” He added.
Minutes later, Maestro and Octavia had left their hotel, as they both had now called for a cab to the other districts of the city. Hoping that this search would come to an end, and hopefully soon.
They both by cab had now arrived at a more “club-like” area of the city, and on their way down to their destination, there was still no sign of Vinyl anywhere.
“Well, there’s some apartments I can see, and nice ones too.” Said Octavia.
Maestro figured they should then check out the apartments, but it was certainly not going to be an easy task. He faces her, wondering if she had even thought this plan of hers through.
“Have you even thought this through?”
“Y-…well…actually…” she then looks off into the direction of the apartments.
“No…I haven’t…sorry. But we can find her, and we will tell her everything that has happened. I just hope nothing bad has happened to her.” Octavia wondered worrisome.
“Octavia, you know what you did was a mistake, but I am atleast willing to help you out of good faith, you know that.”
“I know Maestro, and I don’t think I could do this alone honestly without your help.”
“Right, now then…let’s just get out there and get this done as you intended all along, okay?” Maestro nudged her in the direction of the first set of apartments.
“Thank you Maestro, I agree, let’s get this over with as you would say.” she replied with a smile of content.
Hours had passed, as they continued up and down flights of stairs from each and every room they could manage to find. They had been receiving time after time a “no” from each resident who lived there as to Vinyl’s whereabouts. They had repeated this process for hours now, going from complex to complex, and into some regular neighborhoods as well, and nothing significant still.
“I don’t think she lives anywhere near here, what if she has moved to another city or something along those lines?”
Maestro faces towards Octavia after stating such a thing.
“Hey, listen, she hasn’t moved away that fast okay? You know she doesn’t have the money to do something like moving again so quickly.”
“But what if she’s-” Octavia is then interrupted by his sudden intrusion.
“No, do not think like that, keep your head on straight.”
“But what if-”
“No, that’s enough, okay? I thought you told me one time that your grandmother wanted you to be strong? If so, then keep that promise to her, do it for her, not Vinyl or anypony else.” Maestro states to her again.
Octavia then looks back at him with a grin once again.
“Y-you’re right Maestro, I’ve got to finish what…what I started.” She said.
“That’s it Octavia…exactly.” Maestro nodded.
Minutes later, they set off once more, and kept at her goal. Not letting negative thoughts linger around in her mind about what could and/or would happen in the future, she was now focusing on the now and nothing more.