The next morning, I did something I hadn’t intentionally done since I was a filly. I slept in. Now, that’s not to say that I always awoke at dawn, with the chaos of the last few days, I had started to wake up later than my wont. But today was the first time in years that I had made a deliberate and conscious choice to ignore the outside world, pull my blankets over my head, and sleep in the little cocoon I had made.
However, sometime after noon, I was finally forced to crawl out of bed due to the unbearable rumbling in my stomach. Taking a brief look in the mirror, I saw that my hair was uncharacteristically disheveled and that I had fallen asleep with my bowtie on. Part of me wanted to take the time to do some basic primping and grooming so I would look presentable when I went downstairs, but what did it matter? It’s not like anypony but Vinyl would see me, and more importantly, I didn’t particularly care at the moment. Why bother making myself look presentable? The orchestra was out of my hands, and the whole thing seemed vaguely pointless. Why bother trying when it’s obvious the day will end in a massive failure anyways? One final oddity about my appearance, my coat seemed to be grayer than usual. Probably nothing important, certainly nothing I thought about at the time.
Making my way out of the bedroom, I headed downstairs, but stopped as soon as I reached the stairwell. My house was positively packed with ponies. At a glance, I recognized Vinyl, Lyra, Bon Bon, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Fiddlesticks, and Rarity. “Vinyl, what are all these ponies doing in our house?” I asked as I walked downstairs.
“Well, after you got all sad and stuff last night, I figured I would go around and talk to your friends about what had happened, see if they could lend a hoof. They all agreed pretty much instantly.”
“That’s right,” Pinkie Pie said, jumping up and down excitedly, “I am not about to let one of my friends lose their job to some mean old nasty-wasty.”
“And you can be sure that I sent a letter informing both princesses about Royal Riff's behavior,” Twilight Sparkle said, “Also, I wouldn’t miss my chance to wave my little stick thingy around.”
“Ya don’t think I’m gonna’ let some big city slicker come in here and take my cousin’s job, do ya?” Fiddlesticks said, smiling up at me.
“We anthropologists have got to stick together,” Lyra said, “And more importantly, friends need to stick together.”
“I know I can’t actually play a musical instrument,” Bon Bon said, “But I am more than capable of providing snacks and raising funds through bake sales.”
“Ooh! Ooh! Me too!” Pinkie said, cheerfully hopping next to Bon Bon, “Can I play music and make cupcakes?”
I nodded.
“And I will not have it be said that Rarity abandoned a friend in her time of need, especially when said friend risked her own well-being to aid me.”
I looked at the ponies, my friends, who filled my living room. Their expressions were wildly different, but each one hid a note of resolve under their general cheerfulness. We might not win our battle with Royal Riff, but we would try our absolute bests.
I tried to form a small, gracious smile, but instead wound up with my forelegs wrapped around Vinyl in what had to be the tightest bear hug known to ponydom. “Thank you Vinyl,” I said as my grip tightened, before coming to my senses remembering other ponies were watching as well, “And thank you all for your support.” I released Vinyl from my death grip after that. She seemed to be mostly okay.
“You all are truly wonderful mares,” I said, feeling a tear well up in my eye, “And I thank you all for coming to help me make this orchestra the best it can possibly be. I hope to one day be capable of making it up to you.”
“Shucks,” Fiddlesticks said, “We didn’t come out here for a reward, they did it cause they’re your friends, and I did it cause we’re kin. That’s what friendship an' family is about, putting yourself out there to help those you care about ‘cause you care about ‘em and it’s the right thing to do, not ‘cause ya think they will make it up to you sometime.” The other mares nodded at that.
“Well then, thank you again,” I said, bowing before them all, “And I know that by working together and doing our very best, we will make the best Royal Ponyville Orchestra possible.” Yes, it was a lie, we were probably all doomed, but at the very least, we could try. “Now, let’s get our instruments and meet back here in half an hour. We have a lot of practice to do.” And I had to comb my hair.
“Thank you again, Vinyl,” I said after everypony else had left, “It… you really did help me out today.”
She smiled her one hundred megawatt smile, “Don’t worry about it Tavi, I would have done it even if we weren’t dating. It’s just what friends do.”
I returned the smile and gave her a light kiss on the cheek, “I know, that is one of the reasons we are dating. You never give up even when it is far far smarter to just quit.”
She blushed, “Hey, what can I say? As long as there is even the slimmest chance I have to keep trying.”
“Well, it’s a wonderful philosophy, and I thank you for giving me some hope,” I gave her a slight bow and Vinyl burst out into a fit of laughter.
“That… I am sorry, Tavi,” Vinyl said our laughter subsided, it’s just… that little way you bow when delivering any sort of compliment kind of cracks me up.”
I frowned, “What is wrong with it? It is just my way of showing respect.”
“Nothing,” she said, “But we are dating, you don’t have to be so formal around me.”
“You’re right, but at this point it is more of a habit than anything else. Still, I will try to be less… formal around you in the future.” Before I could even think about it, I gave her another bow. That time, we both laughed.
“Well,” I said, after the laughing fit had subsided, “I should probably go and make myself presentable. Now that my mood has lifted, I am starting to feel a little bit unkempt.”
Vinyl waved a hoof towards the stairway, “Go on then, I am going to go get my turntable out, unless you would like me to play the guitar, I guess.”
Oh right. I had neglected to inform Vinyl that an orchestra is absolutely no place for either a turntable or a guitar. Hopefully I could handle the situation with my usual grace and decorum.
“Actually,” I said before my roommate could get too far away from me, “We haven’t really had the chance to talk about your audition, have we?”
She shook her head, “No, and I am sorry about accidentally deafening you. Don’t know how the bass cannon got charged to 11.”
I did, but I highly doubted she would believe me if I said that Discord did it, “It doesn’t matter,” I said, waving a hoof dismissively, “The thing I wanted to talk with you about is what instrument you would be playing in the orchestra.”
Her head tilted, “What do you mean, Tavi?”
“While I understand that you are a wonderful DJ, a bass cannon has absolutely zero place in a proper orchestra. Neither does an electric guitar.”
“So… what are you saying?” Vinyl asked, tilting her head.
“I am asking if you can play any other instruments, our orchestra is distinctly lacking in woodwinds and percussion. Can you play any instruments like a flute, tuba, saxophone, or drums? Really, just anything that isn’t a bass cannon or an electric guitar.”
Vinyl thought for a moment before nodding her head, “Yeah, I think I can do something like that.” A small frown creased her lips.
“Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, I love yo… I love your DJ work, it’s just that it doesn’t really have a place in an orchestra. If I could work it in, then I would.”
“But why can’t you? I mean, you are in charge of the whole orchestra thingy?”
“Because there is no precedent for it, there has never been a recorded instance of a turntable or bass cannon working in an orchestra, and more importantly, there is a logistical problem. Most musical instruments actively create sounds while your turntable is limited to replaying noises.” I shook my head, “I have given it a great deal of thought, and it just wouldn’t work. I hope you aren’t too terribly upset with me.”
She tilted her head in thought for a few seconds, “I guess, I can understand that, I mean, orchestras are kind of stuffy, I doubt they could handle my beats anyways.”
“So, you will play another instrument?” I asked, smiling at her.
“Sure, I have a few drums I picked up after a spectacular bender, would those work?”
I nodded. The only percussion instruments the orchestra currently had was the drum Pinkie used as a part of her peculiar polka ensemble. A bass drum would… Before I finished the thought, I realized that if Vinyl had a drum, it would inevitably be a bass drum, and I was beginning to suspect that Vinyl could play any instrument that had the word bass stuck in front of it.
“Alright then,” Vinyl smiled and walked off into her closet of… stuff, it seemed to store everything she didn’t need, and based on how full it was, my roommate had a lot of items she didn’t particularly need. A few minutes later, she emerged with the largest bass drum I had ever seen floating behind her. How did she even get it to fit in the closet, much less get it out? The thing was bigger than the two of us put together which… formed a strangely pleasant mental image, that I won’t choose to dwell on at this moment.
“Well, while you go and get that… monstrosity set up, I will groom myself.”
Vinyl nodded. “Sure thing Tavi, if you need me I will be down here. Got to dust off all the cobwebs before everypony else returns.”
I nodded, not knowing if she was referring to literal or metaphorical cobwebs before deciding it was best to just let her be. I still had to properly groom my mane and replace my bowtie and collar with one that was slightly… fresher.
Approximately ten minutes later, I had finished refreshing myself and was now ready to lead the Royal Ponyville Orchestra to greatness or possibly into a wallowing mire of failure. Either one or the other.
Vinyl, to her credit, had managed to set up her massive drum in the middle of the living room while still leaving room for everypony else. How she did it, I have no idea. She smiled at me from her little corner of the living room, her hooves resting on the drum. I returned the smile as I walked downstairs, “I am amazed you managed to set that thing up down here.”
She shrugged, “It wasn’t that hard, just had to do some levitation magic, to get everything right. The hardest part was getting the thing out of my closet.” I had no comment.
“Well,” I said, moving to sit next to her, “The others should be returning soon, so I suppose we should take care of any final preparations.” I felt like I should say something, but I wasn’t sure what. Sustaining a successful romance was completely uncharted territory for me.
“I got nothing planned,” Vinyl said, “Want to do stuff?” She scooted closer to me, and I indulged the urge to lean against her. Hopefully nopony would walk in during such a display of affection. Knowing my luck, they absolutely would, but it was a risk I was willing to live with.
“What did you have in mind?” I asked, unsure of what she had planned.
“Hmm, well, I would love some romantic fun times, but I am guessing you wouldn’t really be a huge fan of that. Figuring we will take thing slow.”
I muttered under my breath, “Hooray.”
“So… I don’t know, never actually been in a slow-paced relationship, most of them had us jumping to the fun stuff pretty quickly… But, you know, not doing the fun stuff is still… fun.”
Wonderful save there Vinyl. Still, she was putting in commendable effort when it came to respecting my wishes. To reward her efforts, I gave her another kiss, and allowed myself to revel in the feeling of our lips touching. As they pressed together, a tingling sensation swept over my body and I felt the urge to draw her closer, to tighten my embrace, ignore the outside world, and enjoy my time with my marefriend. Of course, such a thing would be grossly inappropriate at this stage in a relationship, and so instead of indulging, I pulled away and smiled. “Thank you for being so understanding,” I said. To my great surprise, nopony had barged in. Maybe my luck was beginning to turn around. After all, it’s not I know I am fated to catch the attention of Equestria’s chaos god in four days, by doing… something,
Vinyl, for her part, seemed to be at a loss for words. “That… yeah, that’s a good start.” She immediately returned the kiss, and this time my willpower failed me. I melted under her warm embrace, and savored the taste of her moist lips pressed against mine and… Oh my, I am getting a bit carried away in the descriptors aren’t I? Thankfully, we were interrupted before my baser impulses got the better of me, as Lyra and Bon Bon barged back into the house.
“Oh, hey,” Lyra said, setting her lyre against the wall, “You two are finally dating. Or at least it looks like you are two are doing something.”
I quickly broke my embrace with Vinyl and pulled away. They were… what? Why weren’t they surprised?
“About time,” Bon Bon said, “I thought the two of you were never going to get together. Of course, you couldn’t have gotten together three days ago so that I won our little bet.”
“Wait, what?” I said, turning to face the two mares, “Yeah, Lyra and I had a little wager on when the two of you would get together, I thought you two would get together by Friday, but apparently you had to put it off until today. Unless… did you guys hook up before Friday?”
“Absolutely not!” I said, “Vinyl and I only started dating last night, and there has been absolutely no ‘hooking up.’ I am not the type of mare who would just sleep with somepony on a first date.”
Everypony else in the room blushed. Based on their reactions, I was in the minority when it came to such things, at least with my current group of friends. They were good ponies, just far too amorous for my preference.
“Actually,” Vinyl said, “There was that kiss last Monday when you got REALLY drunk, I mean, I don’t know if it would count as a hook up, but it was definitely something.”
“Yes!” Bon Bon pumped her hoof in the air, “I win Lyra, pay up.”
“No you didn’t,” Lyra scoffed, “Our bet was on when they would get together, one drunken kiss doesn’t count unless… Did you guys do more than kiss?”
“No!” Vinyl and I shouted in unison.
“You know I wouldn’t take advantage of a drunk mare, I mean, if I did then spring break…”
“I know, I know,” Lyra said, “It’s just, we thought you would make a really cute couple, and figured since it was just a matter of time until the two of you got together, we might as well have a little fun with it.”
“Yeah,” Bon Bon said, joining in the defense, “We didn’t mean to upset anypony. If you want, we can give the bet money to you.”
“Wait, what?” Lyra said, “Why would we do that?”
“Because,” Bon Bon said as patiently as possible, “Vinyl and Tavi are our friends, and Octavia is obviously a bit… discreet when it comes to her romantic relationships, and we don’t want to embarrass her.”
Right, because admitting to having a betting pool on how long it would take for me to sleep with my roommate was only embarrassing for crazy prudish ponies such as myself. Although, it was clear the wager was one that arose from affection and not any desire to mock, and the more I thought about it, the more my anger melted away. I smiled at them, “It’s quite alright, although I would appreciate it if, in the future, you refrained from making bets about my love life without asking me first.”
“Yeah! We can totally do that,” Lyra said enthusiastically, “So, can we set up a betting pool on when you two will finally bang? I am pretty sure it will be before Nightmare Night, but Bon Bon thinks you are the type to get totally turned on by a mare in costume.”
“Actually,” I said, quickly changing my mind, “If you must bet, then do so, just… don’t go around talking about what you think I am like in bed. Especially around me.”
Lyra and Bon Bon nodded, “Yeah, we can do that,” Lyra said, smiling cheerfully, “Thanks for being so chill, Tavi.”
“It’s fine,” I said, doing my best to keep my composure, “I understand that you and Bon Bon have certain… hobbies and proclivities that, while I don’t quite understand, I am more than willing to tolerate. I have to ask though, how much did the two of you bet?”
“Well,” Lyra said, “We didn’t bed money as much as we bet on who would do what in the be—”
My friend was mercifully cut off as Bon Bon elbowed her. “Lyra,” she said, “She doesn’t want to hear about that.” Bon Bon turned to me, “The bet was of a personal nature, dear.”
Thank you Bon Bon, you interrupted her before I was able to glean just what sort of deranged sexual acts the two of you were wagering on. All I was able to discover was that it involved you and Lyra doing things I would rather not know about.
Rarity walked in before anypony else could speak up, “I am back dears, did I miss anything important?”
“Not much,” Lyra said, “Tavi and Vinyl finally got together.”
“Oh, it’s about time,” Rarity said, “They make such a lovely couple, and the romantic tension was beginning to get played out.”
“Wait, you thought we would get together as well?” I asked, furrowing my brow.
“Of course,” Rarity said, “Everypony thought you would make a lovely couple and it was just a matter of time until the two of you finished your coy flirtations and started dating. Really, I am surprised it took this long. Twilight will be just thrilled to hear the news.”
I felt my eye start to twitch. “So was the whole town just rooting for Vinyl and I to get together?”
Rarity shook her head, "Of course not, it was really just the ponies who had met you and their acquaintances which... Okay, yes it was the whole town, we even came up with a cute little portmanteau for the two of you. I was more of a fan of OctyScratch, but TaviScratch was the one that won out."
Fiddlesticks trotted into the room, “Hey there cuz, heard you and the roomie finally started dating.”
What? How did she even? Everypony who knew was in the room. That wasn’t even…
“What?” I asked.
“Heard it on the way here, whole town is buzzin’ with the news.”
The urge to crawl into a whole and hide was beginning to overpower me, but thankfully there were no convenient holes nearby. “Did anypony in town NOT think Vinyl and I were going to get together?” I asked, straining to keep my voice even.
Silence.
“Vinyl? Are you as surprised as I am?”
“Actually,” Vinyl said, “I kind of knew you were into me, I just didn’t want to say anything cause I knew you were sort of sensitive about those things and so I just figured I would give you some time.
“So… everypony knows? Was I that obvious?” They nodded.
“Ah think even the princesses know,” Fiddlesticks said, “Was it supposed to be a secret? I mean, I thought the two of you were dating as soon as I saw you sittin’ in that auditorium. Vinyl was all protective an’ the two of you just looked so cute…”
She was cut off as a high-pitched shrieking escaped my lips.
“Uhmm… should we do something?” Lyra asked, “Or is this kind of normal for her.”
Vinyl shrugged, “Kind of… I mean, the screaming is a new touch, but yeah… the freak outs are pretty much a daily occurrence.”
I would try to better describe my thoughts at the moment, but most of them were rather incomprehensible even to the pony thinking them. All I was really conscious of was the screaming. It filled me, enveloped me, and in my mind’s eye, it would fill the world. My screaming would resonate with everypony in Equestria and soon everypony would join me. Then, I slowly became aware of a pair of forelegs wrapped around me, and a reassuring voice informing me that everything was okay. Eventually, I realized it was Vinyl who was working to calm me down, and we had transitioned to the kitchen.
“There, there Tavi, everything’s fine, the folks of Ponyville are pretty liberal when it comes to discussing romantic things, and they didn’t know you were so conservative.”
I slowly ceased my screaming and worked on regathering my wits, “They are still your friends," Vinyl said, "They didn’t mean to freak you out, everything is fine.”
“Really?” I asked, finally regaining some mastery of my own mind, “Even after my little psychotic display downstairs.”
Vinyl nodded, “Of course, they are your friends, you can’t scare them away with one little freak out, even if it was rather spectacular.”
“Thanks,” I said as I got back on my hooves, “I am not sure why I got so upset, but I thank you for helping me calm back down. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“To be fair,” she said, “Without me, you wouldn’t be in a relationship and the whole thing probably never would have happened, so it is at least like… 10% my fault.”
I smiled and had to stifle the urge to laugh. “I suppose you have a point there, but I would much rather have you and freak out than not have you and be perfectly sane.”
Vinyl gave me a quick peck on the cheek, “Don’t worry Tavi, I don’t think you would ever be perfectly sane, even if we hadn’t met. You kind of go off at the drop of the hat.”
“True,” I said, blushing, “Then I would much rather be insane and have you for support than be insane and not have you. Bad things happen then.”
“Really?” Vinyl asked, “Want to tell me about it?”
“I probably will later,” I said, but for now, all you need to know is that it involves a very stressed out me using my cello as an improvised weapon.”
“Wow,” Vinyl said, “That’s kind of crazy.”
I let out a sigh, “I know, I really do feel awful about it, if I had been thinking clearly I would have never endangered my cello.”
“What about the pony you attacked?”
“What about them?”
“Well… uhh… never mind, we will deal with that later, for now let’s go back out to the living room and talk to your friends.”
“I would prefer not to,” I said. Vinyl glared at me.
“They are your friends, Tavi, they will still love you, I mean, I didn’t even have to say that much to get them to rally to your side. So don’t worry, just go down there, apologize, and everything will be supercopa-whatever.” She gave me a reassuring pat on the back.
“It’s copasetic,” I said.
“Yeah, that thing, so go on and get down there and make everything copaseptic.” I swear, she was just mispronouncing it now to irritate me.
“Hello, everypony,” I said as I trotted downstairs, “I apologize for my earlier outburst, I have a tendency of internalizing my stress as opposed to discussing it like a normal rational pony, and that leads to me having the occasional… outburst.”
“Is that how we decided to describe the high-pitched wailing?” Lyra asked as Bon Bon elbowed her again. “Geeze Bonnie, I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.”
“Yes Lyra, that is how we will describe my high-pitched wailing. Anyways,” I said, clapping my forehooves together, “If that is taken care of for now, shall we get to work on our rehearsal? We only have a few months until our first show.”
“Oh, about that darling,” Rarity said, “I meant to mention this earlier, but everypony was so busy, I didn’t have the chance to bring it up. On my way home to start designing your outfits, I ran into the mayor. We started talking, I mentioned the orchestra, and I might have volunteered you all to play at the Ponyville Harvest Festival.”
I could feel my eye twitching, “When is that?”
“Oh, about three days. I didn’t intend to, but while the mayor and I were talking Royal Riff entered into the conversation, heard that the Harvest Festival lacked any proper musical entertainment and volunteered HIS orchestra, and I might gotten a bit carried away.”
“Well, I thank you for telling me that, Rarity,” I said, somehow avoiding another screaming fit, “Normally, such a task would be impossible, but everypony here is an accomplished musician, so I am sure we will sound fine. Now let’s get to work, we have a lot to do, and apparently, very little time.”
With that, I passed the sheet music out and let Twilight try her hoof at conducting. To my great surprise, she did well. Certainly better than most of the other orchestra members.
No, that’s not entirely true, Lyra, myself, and, surprisingly enough, Fiddlesticks managed to play competently, leaving us with two problem players. Pinkie Pie and my marefriend.
Vinyl’s problem would be simple enough to correct, she played so loudly that she drowned out the rest of the orchestra. As long as I could impress upon her the need to play quietly, there would be no problem. And maybe I could convince Celestia to not raise the sun while I was at it.
Then there was Pinkie, she wasn’t even trying to play the same song the rest of us were working on and was instead marching to the beat of a very different drummer. A drummer who seemed to play exclusively polka music
.
“Alright, Pinkie,” I said, interrupting the performance, “What exactly are you playing?”
She smiled, “The Pony Pokey Polka, silly, don’t tell me you don’t recognize it. We played it together at the Grand Galloping Gala.”
Oh yes, the song from my nightmares, how did I not recognize it immediately? To my great surprise, I didn’t instantly move to strangle the bouncy pink pony, and instead just nodded my head and smiled. “Well, we aren’t playing the Pony Pokey, so I would suggest you play the same song the rest of us are.”
“But I don’t know that song.”
I facehoofed, “That is why I provided the sheet music, so we would all be on the same page.”
“Oh! Is that what all these squiggly things are for? I thought you just had really bad penmanship.”
Of course she didn’t know how to read sheet music, she never played professionally, and she seemed to do most of her playing by ear. Wonderful. “Uhmm Pinkie, why don’t I teach you the basics of reading sheet music, I am sure Octavia is busy,” Twilight said, mercifully volunteering to tutor Pinkie before I had my second mental break of the day, giving me the chance to have a talk with my roommate.
“Oh hey,” Vinyl said as I trotted over to her, “What’s up?”
“Hello Vinyl, I came to talk to you about your playing.”
“So… guessing this isn’t a social visit then?”
I shook my head, “I am afraid you’re playing your drums just a touch too loud and drowning everypony else out.”
She nodded, “So… how are you going to get them to play louder?”
“I am not,” I said, “I am asking you to play quieter.”
Vinyl’s brow furrowed as she tried to comprehend my request, “But… it is music, it is meant to be played loud. That way you can hear all of it.”
That… that made absolutely zero sense. Why would louder music allow you to hear more of it? It would just hurt your ear drums. “Well,” I said, “If you drown out everypony else who is playing then you aren’t allowing the listener to hear the full richness of sound from the other instruments, are you?”
Vinyl paused for a second, her expression unreadable with her signature goggles obscuring her eyes. “I suppose not, but why can’t they just play louder?”
“Because, Vinyl, you are playing a massive bass drum, while they are playing substantially smaller instruments. I would appreciate it if you would play your drums quieter.”
She let out a sigh, “Alright, but only for you Tavi. If word got out that DJ-Pon3 wasn't dropping the phattest beats at the loudest volume, my career would be ruined.”
I had no idea what some of those words meant, but I nodded my head anyways, “Your secret is safe with me Viney.”
“Viney? Really? Is that the nickname you are gonna go with?”
“Is it any worse than Tavi?” I asked.
“Well, no, but at least MY nickname for you gets rid of one syllable, yours just makes me sound like… I don’t know, a vine or something.”
I batted my eyelashes in mock surprise, “If you have an objection to it then I will gladly go back to calling you Vinyl.”
“Nah, it’s fine,” she said after a few seconds of thought, “Nopony has ever called me Viney before, don’t know why.”
“Then, as long as you don’t mind, I think I will keep your nickname. Consider it my revenge for you inflicting the nickname ‘Tavi’ upon me.” We both smiled at that, and I turned to face Twilight.
“How much longer do you think it will take to educate Miss Pie on the basics of sheet music?” I asked her.
“She’s actually figuring it out pretty quickly, so… maybe one or two more hours until she is ready.” Learning sheet music in only a couple of hours? That’s like learning a foreign language during a lunch break, impossible. But then, if there’s a mare who excels at doing impossible things it is Pinkie Pie. I decided it best not to comment out loud about Pinkie’s continued refusal to play by the same physical rules as the rest of us.
“Alright then,” I said, turning to address the rest of the orchestra, “While Pinkie learns how to read sheet music, we might as well take a break. Is anypony up for a late lunch? I haven’t eaten yet today, and I am starting to get a bit peckish.”
Rarity nodded. Why was she still here? “That sounds absolutely lovely darling, Would Vinyl be interested in joining us?” My roommate nodded. “Then we simply must go to this new Prench café that recently opened, I have been dying to try it out.”
First of all, Ponyville had a Prench café? Second of all, why hadn’t I heard about this until now? “I am surprised you haven’t had the chance to go there yourself,” I said.
“Well, I wanted to, but most of my friends aren’t interested in such things and I didn’t want to impose on them. I had intended to sample the cuisine with Fancypants when he was visiting the other day, but you know how busy things can be.” Especially when you have to deal with your livelihood burning down.
“Then let’s go,” I said, trotting to the door, “I haven’t had any proper haute cuisine since I came to Ponyville.”
“I don’t know if it’s proper haute cuisine,” Rarity said, following behind me, “But it is probably the closest Ponyville will get for the foreseeable future. Still, I am looking forward to it.”
Vinyl followed behind us, not saying anything. “Have you ever eaten at a Prench restaurant before?” I asked her.
“Not really,” she said, “But, I mean, it’s like any other restaurant, right, worst case scenario, I will just get a daffodil sandwich and hayfries or something.”
I winced. My roommate might be in for a bit of a shock. Still, she might be able to find something to eat. Possibly. Or maybe the whole thing would end in disaster. Because I hadn't quite had my fill of disaster yet.
Rarity led us to the café and the maître d’ ushered us to our seats. The patio seating was perfectly lovely, and I caught myself admiring the floral arrangements at the center of the table. “So, Vinyl, what do you think of the restaurant?” I heard Rarity ask.
“Seems pretty nice, kind of fancy.” She flipped through the menu, “I have no idea what any of these things are though.”
“Yes, well, what type of foods do you usually enjoy?” Rarity asked.
She shrugged, “I don’t know, pizza is good, do they have pizza here?”
“No dear, that would have to be at an Istallion restaurant. We have… do you like crepes? Well, those are really more of a dessert food.”
I decided to speak up, “I am sure she will enjoy some cheese and baguettes as an appetizer, and as for the main course, we have… Do you like soup?”
Vinyl nodded. “Great,” I said, “Then you should like this soup, or you could just go with the hay frites.”
Her eyes lit up at that, “Hay frites? Are those like hay fries?”
I nodded my head, “They are almost exactly the same.”
“I’ll have some of those then,” she said. And there goes my hope at culturing my friend.
We all placed our orders a few minutes later, I ordered a lovely bisque and Rarity helped herself to a fresh garden salad. Vinyl, of course, ordered the hay frites. “Thank you for volunteering to design the outfits for the orchestra,” I said.
She smiled magnanimously, “Think nothing of it dear. You were so helpful to me, I am more than happy to repay the favor. Besides, I would have to be absolutely insane to refuse the opportunity to design outfits for a royal orchestra. Such a thing could make a pony’s career.”
It could, unless the orchestra was completely and utterly doomed. Still, her enthusiasm was admirable.
“Mhmm,” Vinyl said, as she shoveled hay frites down her throat, “These are good, I can see why ponies are so crazy about Prench cuisine”
“Yes, Vinyl, Prench cuisine’s primary claim to fame is the invention of hay frites. They didn’t revolutionize modern cuisine or anything else, they just invented hay frites,” I said.
“Yeah, they are really good, I can see why it’s so popular.” Somehow, I managed not to facehoof.
“I can assure you, the rest of their cuisine is just as delightful,” Rarity said taking a dainty bite of her salad and saving me from having to think of a coherent response.
As I helped myself to a few small bites of my bisque, Vinyl finished off the rest of her frites. She grabbed the waiter as he passed by again, “Could I have some more hay frites? They are really good.”
The waiter nodded, “But of course, more hay frites for the madame.” Rarity and I exchanged glances.
When I was about halfway through my bisque, Vinyl was finished off her second plate of hay frites, a dish that was typically considered a side item to go with an entrée. “Do you think I can have thirds?” She asked.
Rarity and I nodded. “Help yourself, dear, lunch is on me.”
She stopped eating at that, “Oh no, I don’t want to run up the bill on you, I mean, I thought Tavi was paying for me…” I glared at her, “Or that I would pay for myself.”
“Think nothing of it dear,” Rarity said after a short little laugh, “I enjoy treating my friends to a nice lunch now and then. It is my way of thanking you all for the business opportunity.”
For being the Element of Generosity, I always felt like she was getting the better deal. We are gifted a few fancy dresses, and she gets to be the talk of Canterlot and be inundated in business orders. I think I found a new role model.
“Thank you for your kindness, Rarity,” I said, nodding my head to her, “I will have to make it up to you some time.”
“Please, it’s not a competition, dear, friends help friends, you don’t have to make it up to me.”
“I know,” I said after another bite of bisque, “Still, I dislike the idea of being in another pony’s debt, even if, rationally, I shouldn’t.”
“Well, if it would make you feel any better, I could use a bit of help in the shop getting ready for Nightmare Night,” Rarity said.
Well played. “I would love to,” I said, “But I don’t know all that much about dress design.”
“That’s perfectly fine,” she said, “I would be indebted to you if you just helped me mind the till so I can focus on making the costumes.”
“I can do that,” I said, nodding my head. Had she set all this up? Probably not, but she still knew how to take advantage of a situation. I smiled, balance had been restored to the universe. “When do you need me?”
“The two days leading up to Nightmare Night are usually the busiest, so if you could come over Wednesday or Thursday, that would be lovely.”
I nodded my head, “I think I will come by Thursday. The last time I came by your shop on a Wednesday, unpleasant things happened.”
“Alright, I look forward to seeing you then. I am sure it will go better than last time.” Oh sweet merciful Celestia, why in Equestria would you say that? Why would you tempt the fates so blatantly? You’ve doomed us all!
“Is something wrong dear?” Rarity asked, “You look like… Well, you look like you just saw Discord sneaking in the bushes.”
“Oh yeah,” Vinyl said after shoveling, “She kind of freaks out when someone says anything like ‘what’s the worst that can happen’ or ‘I am sure everything will be fine.’ She kind of thinks it means bad things will happen to her. Based on the way the past few days have been, she might be right.”
Rarity tapped her chin, “Well, if we called attention to it in a conversation then do you think we would avert whatever horrible doom we had brought upon ourselves?”
Maybe. I hadn’t considered that angle before, “I suppose it might, but only if we operate under the assumption that something horrible will happen Thursday.” I certainly knew something horrible would be happening the day after that, but I saw no need to incite a panic. Also, for all I knew, the knowledge of Discord’s prank could just be an attempt to make me look foalish. I wasn’t about to play his game.
“Then… let’s do our best Thursday to make sure nothing terrible happens,” Rarity said.
“Okay, that… we might have a chance then, but only if we avoid making any assumptions about how the day will go.”
The rest of our meal was uneventful, and Vinyl helped herself to two more servings of hay frites. Our waiter refrained from making any rude remarks, and Rarity was able to keep her composure upon seeing bill. I offered to reimburse her for a portion of it, but she refused again, saying that I could pay her back Thursday.
“If you’ll excuse me,” she said, getting up on her hooves, “I really do have to get to work if I am going to fill all these orders before Nightmare Night and get your outfits ready before your concert on… Oh dear. Octavia, I just remembered, the orchestra has their first little performance on Thursday, it completely slipped my mind, so if you can’t make it then, I will understand.”
I tapped my chin, “I suppose I could come over a day earlier, just… promise me we won’t be burning down the shop again, I am still having the occasional coughing fit.”
Rarity smiled at me, “I won’t make any guarantees, but I will do my best.”
“That’s fine,” I said, getting up on my own hooves, “Vinyl, we should really be heading back, our lunch break won’t last forever and apparently Pinkie is some sort of prodigy that can learn to read sheet music in less than a day.”
“Yeah, about that,” Vinyl said, following me out of the restaurant, “Isn’t it kind of odd how quickly she can figure out how to read sheet music? I mean, it took me months to figure it out, and I am still not the best.”
“Out of all the impossible things Pinkie Pie does, that is the one that gives you pause?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that Pinkie seems to do twelve impossible things before breakfast. Take that ridiculous polka suit of hers, do you ever wonder how she manages to play it?”
Vinyl shrugged, “I figured it was just like… Pinkie being Pinkie.” She blinked a few times, “Huh, that mare does do a lot of weird things when you think about it.”
That was the understatement of the millennium. “I think I will check around and see if anypony else noticed anything odd about her as well.” Good luck with that, I thought, the whole town seems to have blithely accepted the maxim of “That’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.” I didn’t say anything to dampen Vinyl’s spirits though, who knows, maybe she will convince the rest of the town to see reason.
“Oh, and by the way,” I said as we continued the walk back to our house, “Hay frites, really? Those are at best, a side order, you don’t go and make an entire meal out of them.”
“But they were so good,” she said, trotting next to me, “I mean, they make regular hay fries look like… well, those are still pretty good too, but these are better.”
I let out an exasperated sigh, “It’s Prench cuisine, it’s all good, you just have to take a chance and expand your horizons. You could stand to try new things.” I poked my hoof at her for emphasis.
“You mean like taking time out of my DJing and partying to play in some super fancy orchestra or going out with a mare who could also be described as super fancy?” She asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Yes, like that,” I said, letting out a sigh, “But there is so much more, and not everything that is super fancy is boring or stuffy.”
“True,” she said, nodding her head, “I mean, you’re pretty okay, even if you are pretty stuffy.” Vinyl smiled and I swatted at her playfully, “But, you have to meet me half way here, I mean, if I am gonna be trying all this fancy stuff, you need to—”
“Yes, yes, I need to let my mane down,” I said, finishing the sentence for her, “You’ve told me that so many times now, I am beginning to think you might be serious.”
“I am serious,” she said, returning my earlier gesture and poking me in the chest, “You’re great and all, but you are just SO prissy and proper, it’s like pulling teeth to get you to go out and have fun.”
“Well,” I said, “There is this one mare who caught my eye, she isn’t particularly sophisticated, and her table manners are simply atrocious, but she has a certain… je ne sais quoi. Perhaps I will go and ask her out sometime.”
Vinyl looked at me, her eyes narrowed, “You’re talking about me right?”
I nodded.
“Good, cool, thought so, I just wanted to make sure. I mean, it is so weird hearing you try to be funny, I had to go and double check.”
“That… I have gotten a lot better since I came to Ponyville. I’ve gone drinking, made friends, I somehow convinced you to go out with me, and I can do this in public without having a panic attack.” At that, I leaned in and gave my marefriend a small peck on the cheek. After all the other terrible things that have happened to me since coming to this town, the idea of a brief public display of affection didn’t seem so terrifying. Besides, it’s not like the whole town already knew somehow.
Vinyl nodded her head, “I will admit, you have made a lot of good progress, keep at it, and you might trade your cello in for… I don’t know, like… an electric cello.”
I laughed at that, “Trade in the cello that you helped make? Not even for a one-way ticket back to Canterlot.”
“Actually, about that,” she said, “What are you going to do when this whole thing blows over? I mean, I would hate to move back to Canterlot, but I can find work there. DJ-Pon3 is always in pretty high demand, especially after those nobles heard that I played during the royal wedding.”
For the second time that day, I was able to resist an almost overwhelming urge to strangle somepony. I might have to write back to Dr. Whooves and inform him of my rather violent impulses. Those probably aren’t normal, but then, I doubt any aspect of my life would be considered normal these days. Still, I really didn’t want to have a repeat of my post-garden party meltdown. That would be… unpleasant for all parties involved.
“Truthfully, I haven’t given it much thought, and assuming I can survive my time in Ponyville, I will consider the whole thing a success.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know you think this town is some sort of all-devouring hole, but what do you want to do when you are done with the orchestra?”
I… I actually hadn’t considered that eventuality before. It seemed strange considering how desperately I wanted to leave this town, but there it was. While I did value my friends, I absolutely despised the town proper (or more accurately, I disliked all of the interesting things that happened to me while in the town), and I adored Canterlot. I could either choose to stay with my friends in Ponyville, or abandon them to return to Canterlot. Either way, it felt like I would be leaving a piece of myself behind. The question then, was which part of me should go? The mare I had always wanted to be or the mare I was slowly turning in to?
Of course, all of this speculating is purely academic, and for all I knew, the orchestra could prove to be a smashing success (Not likely), meaning that I would get to spend most of my time on tour, away from both my life in Ponyville and my life in Canterlot.
“That all depends on what happens with the orchestra,” I said, “But tell me, what is prompting this concern.”
“Well,” she said, “I don’t know if you realize this, but I kind of like you, and kind of don’t want you to leave.” Right, she was worried because she didn’t want to lose me, and upon reflection, I decided that I didn’t wish to lose her either.
“I see, if I am forced to move back to Canterlot, you could always come with me,” I said. My apartment isn’t the biggest in the world, but I am sure I could turn the study into a spare bedroom.”
“Right,” she said, nodding her head, “But what about Lyra and Bon Bon, I am kind of their main friend in town.”
“They could move to Canterlot as well, but who knows, I might just end up being stuck in Ponyville indefinitely.” And for some reason, that thought didn’t fill me with an almost palpable sense of dread. That worried me more than almost anything else.
We talked for a little while longer about the possible outcomes of the Royal Ponyville Orchestra, before eventually reaching the house. Everypony else had returned from their little break, and Pinkie Pie had indeed mastered reading sheet music in the span of a few hours. Vinyl and I exchanged a glance, but nothing more was said on the subject. Pinkie Physics are just an accepted part of life here, I suppose.
The rest of the rehearsals went surprisingly well. I am not saying everypony played perfectly, they didn’t, but they played competently, and the more we rehearsed, the better they became. If it weren’t for the fact that Royal Riff was almost certainly going to take the orchestra from me, I would go so far as to say or task might not be entirely hopeless.
Several hours later, our rehearsal concluded and most ponies went back to their house after a few minutes of small talk, eventually, only Vinyl, myself, and Fiddlesticks were left in the main room. “Hey cus, ya got a real nice orchestra goin’ here, I bet it will wind up bein’ the biggest, fanciest orchestra of all time, gotta tip my hat to you.” I nodded my head gracefully at that, although I doubted the authenticity of her statement. If six mares managed to form the biggest, fanciest orchestra of all time, something was deeply wrong with the world.
“Yes, well, hopefully I will be able to maintain control of the orchestra and Royal Riff won’t take over.”
“Even if he does, I’m not gonna follow anyone who takes a job away from my kin.”
I smiled. “Thank you for your loyalty Fiddlesticks, now was there something you needed?” I asked, wondering what was prompting her to linger.
“Oh yeah, the Apples are havin’ a little hootenanny tonight, and I thought that, since you is kin, you might want to come along.”
Ahh Fiddlesticks, while we might be related by blood, you can be certain that I will never, not even in my wildest dreams, go to anything called a hootenanny. Ever.
“Sure,” Vinyl said enthusiastically, “That sounds like fun. I am sure Tavi and I will love it.” Vinyl, just because we are dating, and I am admittedly rather fond of you, don’t assume I won’t hesitate to end you. Still, I smiled, nodded my head, and agreed that that sounded like a lovely idea while figuring out how best to plan my revenge without permanently damaging our relationship.
“Why did you agree to go to this?” I whispered to her.
She shrugged, “It sounded fun.” Vinyl turned to address Fiddlesticks, “You go on ahead, we will be heading out in a bit.”
“Alright,” she said, turning to leave, “I’ll see in you in a bit, cus.”
“In what possible world does a ‘hootenanny’ sound like a good time.”
“Well, you know, it’s an Apple family party, so the food is guaranteed to be great, and I have always wanted to go to the harvest hootenanny.”
“Then why didn’t you?” I asked.
“Because,” she said, “It’s an Apple family party, only family and friends of the family are allowed. But since you’re their kin and I am your friend…” She smiled. Well played Vinyl.
“Still, I am sure you could have just befriended one of the Apples if you really wanted an invitation. If they are anything like Fiddlesticks, I am sure they would have obliged you.” I said.
Vinyl nodded, “Yeah, probably, but... I don’t know, dragging you along is just way more fun than going by myself.”
I nodded, I would definitely have to get my revenge against Vinyl once all this was over. Still, if she wanted to go to a party, we could go to a party. “Alright,” I said as I finished reorganizing the living room, “I suppose I can be persuaded to go just this once, but you owe me.”
“Okay,” she said as we headed out the door, “But I promise, you will have fun.” I highly doubted that, but then, I had been proven wrong before. In fact, I had been proven wrong with an alarming frequency during the past few days.
“You may be right,” I said, “But I just don’t see the appeal of a bunch of anything called a hootenanny.”
“Do you know what a hootenanny actually is?” She asked, turning to look at me.
“Well, not exactly, but—”
“Alright then,” Vinyl said, “So maybe you should go there and see what it is all about before going on and judging it. Ya know, common courtesy and all. After all, the Apples are your family.”
Very, very distant family. And although I didn’t spend all that much time with them, the Oranges would never dream of hosting something called a hootenanny. They were rather fond of their soirees though. “You have a point, Vinyl, I will refrain from passing judgment until after the party, although I still doubt I will enjoy it.”
“Good enough,” she said, “Besides, you enjoyed the last party you went to.”
“The last party I went to was Rarity’s grand reopening and you and the rest of Ponyville collaborated to give me the most wonderful gift imaginable, so of course I liked it. That doesn’t mean I will enjoy a hootenanny.”
“I get it, but hey, on the upside, your favorite mare will be there, and she might just ask you to dance with her.”
I took a moment to think that over, “While I am not typically a fan of dancing jigs, or whatever the customary hootenanny dance is, I suppose it might be slightly more bearable with you to suffer with me.”
“What’s that about suffering?” Vinyl asked, “I am going to be having the time of my life, there’s gonna be apple cider, apple pie, apple fritters, apple everything really, and it is all going to be delicious.”
“That’s incredible, Vinyl, you have actually managed to make me look forward to something called a hootenanny. You are a miracle worker.”
Vinyl gave me a peck on the cheek and wrapped her foreleg around me, “If you think that is amazing, you should see what else I am going to make you look forward to.”
Five minutes later, Vinyl had managed to coax me out from under a nearby park bench. “Alright, I am sorry, I forgot you are kind of a prude,” she said.
I glared at her, and she felt the need to quickly amend her statement, “Not that that’s a bad thing, I mean, I knew going into this relationship that you and I have very different ideas about what is and isn’t okay to talk about—”
I shoved my hoof over her mouth, shushing her. “It’s fine, I know I am a prude, and because I am a prude, I would appreciate it if we didn’t talk about relationship things in public. It just isn’t proper.”
“Oh, right. Sorry. Can we talk about it when we get home?” She asked.
I nodded.
“Alright, you aren’t too mad at me then?” Vinyl asked.
“I am not upset in the slightest; I just like having my privacy and not discussing personal matters in public.” That was half true, I wasn’t upset about the relationship thing. I was still very much annoyed about being forced to go to a hootenanny.
“Okay, just so long as you aren’t mad then.”
We continued our walk to the hootenanny, which was apparently being held on a farm way out of town. The trip took us thirty minutes, and once we finally got there… Well, whatever I had imagined a hootenanny would entail was far too tame. Large groups of ponies danced with wild abandon to Fiddlestick’s fiddling and food and drink was available in truly massive quantities. If the food wasn’t all fried and the music wasn’t so… lowbrow, it might have been fun. Still, I had promised Vinyl that I would try to enjoy myself, and I intended to honor that promise.
“Well howdy,” an orange mare I recognized from the Gala said, Applejack, I assumed, “Twilight an’ them have told me so much about ya, I am glad you decided to come. Once Fiddlesticks told me we were kin, I knew ya would have to come to the next Apple Family Hootenanny.” She shook my hoof rather vigorously, and I did my best to smile. “Now go on and get to mingling, there are plenty of ponies around and we got more food than you can shake a stick at.”
Vinyl perked up at the mention of food and quickly trotted off to the buffet table. “Thanks for inviting us to your party AJ, think this one will be as good as the last one?”
My eye twitched, I would definitely have to murder Vinyl after all this was through. “You bet,” Applejack said, “Now don’t go eatin’ all our fritters like last time, and help yourself to the cider.”
“So… might I ask what the occasion for this party is?” I said, turning my attention back to Applejack (Although a small part of my brain was redoubling its efforts to scheme against Vinyl).
“Sure thing Sugarcube, every year, once we finish the zap apple harvest, we have a big old party to celebrate and enjoy each other's company, so we get some local family around and just go hog wild. And since you are family and live in the area, I figure that means you got as much a right to be here as anypony.”
“Well, thank you,” I said, genuinely surprised at her generosity, “I will do my best to have a good time.”
“I’m sure you will, now best be getting’ to your marefriend before she eats the entire buffet.”
I nodded at that, thanked her again, and trotted off to have a little talk with Vinyl.
“You said you’d never been to one of their parties before.”
“No, I said I’d always wanted to go to this party. AJ and them have invited me to a few of their other little parties, but never the official End of Harvest Hootenanny.” Oh, that was much better then, and did they honestly call this party a hootenanny? I had just assumed it was their casual and rustic way of referring to a party. But no, it turns out the party was actually called a hootenanny. Somepony flipped through a thesaurus, found all the possible synonyms for party, and decided that ‘hootenanny’ was the best word for describing their party. Of course, the place was absolutely packed, so they must have done something right.
“Still, you could have—”
I was interrupted as Vinyl shoved what she called an apple fritter into my mouth, “Stop talking and try this.”
It was absolutely amazing. The apples and cinnamon mingled perfectly, the breading was the right consistency, and every last one of my taste buds sang out in ecstasy. “Mhmm,” I said, swallowing the fritter, “I forgive you for everything you did in order to get me here because it led to this fritter. Unfortunately, I now have to leave you for somepony who knows how to make more of these.”
“Fair enough,” Vinyl said, taking another bite of her fritter, “Although I should warn you, most of the Apple Family is pretty traditional when it comes to those things.”
“Damn, in that case would you be interested in helping me steal the recipe for the aforementioned fritters?”
She nodded, “Sure, but before we do that, you should probably try out the rest of the food here. The apple pie makes the fritters look like… well, they still look pretty amazing, but go on and try it.”
The apple pie was fantastic, the apple dumplings were delectable, the caramel apples were perfect, and every dish I sampled was absolutely wonderful. It took every ounce of my willpower not to cram myself full of apple themed confections as Vinyl was doing. “Hey Tavi,” she said whilst coming up for air, “Have you tried the hard cider yet? This is one of the few times you can actually get some without having to stand in a line. Well… a long line.” She gestured to where a group of ponies had lined up patiently waiting for Apple Bloom to pour them a mug of cider. I followed my roommate’s advice and got in the queue.
“Oh hey Octavia,” Apple Bloom said as I reached the front of the line, “What brings you to our little get-together?”
“Well, apparently I am an Apple by distant relation,” I said, “And once that became common knowledge, I suppose it was only inevitable that Fiddlesticks decided to invite me to one of your family’s events. I have to admit though, I am enjoying myself far more than I initially expected.”
“Glad to hear it,” the filly said after pouring my mug of cider, “The more the merrier right? And hey, maybe if things go your way, Vinyl will be joining the family too, always wanted a cool cousin who cousin.”
I thought of a lot of things during that second. My first thought was that I would very much like to curl up into a ball and vanish into nothingness, second, I thought that Apple Bloom was far FAR too young to know of such things, third, I thought she might have a small point (This thought didn’t last particularly long), and finally, my mind returned to the idea of dropping to the floor and curling up into a ball. I quickly decided that this was the proper course of action.
“You alright, Tavi?” Apple Bloom said, looking down at me from her booth, for my part, I stayed completely motionless. Vinyl noted the commotion and came over to investigate.
“What’s going on?” She asked Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom just pointed to where I had curled up on the ground.
“Tavi, this is the third time you have freaked out today, we really need to do something about that,” she said.
I nodded my head by about a fraction of an inch.
“Alright,” she said, lifting me up on her back, “Let’s go get you fixed up. Oh, and Apple Bloom, could you save a few cups of cider for us?”
The yellow pony nodded as Vinyl carried me off to a nearby barn. “Okay Tavi,” she said, setting me down on the ground, “Are you okay?”
I shook my head.
“Want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Start by telling me what happened to trigger this episode,” Vinyl said, sitting next to me and draping her foreleg over my body.
“Well,” I said, laughing slightly in embarrassment, “Apple Bloom offhoofedly mentioned the possibility of us getting married and I… Well, I suppose I lost my calm.” Yes, it was a truly massive understatement. Yes, Vinyl and I both knew it was an understatement. No, neither of us commented on such a blatant lie.
“So, was this just a propriety thingy or whatever, or do you actually have some problem with marriage?” She asked.
“It’s not that, it’s just that... I don’t know,” I said lamely, “I have this anxiety about ponies knowing about my personal life. I am not sure why it exists, but whenever I feel like my personal life is being made public, I tend to react poorly.”
“No kidding,” she said, nodding her head, “Any idea why you get all anxiety-ey?”
“Not really, it is just the way I was raised, I suppose. My parents were very strict about me not bringing up personal issues in public, and whenever I erred, they were always sure to apply an appropriate punishment.”
Her brow furrowed, “Like what?”
“No physical punishment of course, they weren’t abusive, they mostly just grounded me. One time, I remember being grounded for a month because I asked about why my uncle had to go to the hospital while we were in public. They weren’t upset of course, but I needed to learn about personal boundaries and why I shouldn’t cross them.”
Vinyl tapped her chin, “Tavi, don’t take this the wrong way, but the more I learn about your parents, the more your weirdness kind of makes sense.”
I tilted my head, “I am not sure if I should interpret that as a compliment or an insult.”
“It’s neither Tavi, it’s just… wow, your parents really did a number on you.”
“You make it sound like they were abusive, they weren’t. All they wanted was for me to be absolutely perfect.”
“Yeah, see,” Vinyl said, “That’s not normal. I mean, I get all parents want what’s best for their children, but there is a difference between supporting them and pushing them to reach an impossible goal. Like, my parents, they didn’t want me to be a DJ and thought I was kind of wasting my potential, but once it was clear that that is what I had my heart set on, they actually supported me. Although, they did make it clear that I should have a fallback career in mind in case DJing didn’t pan out. They supported me and gave me advice, they didn’t just disown me for not doing what they wanted me to do.”
I got up on my hooves, feeling the need to defend my parents, “I understand that Vinyl, but my parents were more… traditional. They felt love and affection were something that needed to be earned and shouldn’t just be handed out. Maybe it’s not the popular parenting style, but it made me the mare I am today.”
“Wait, you mean they didn’t love you?” Vinyl asked.
“No, no, of course they loved me, I am sure of that. Granted, I don’t think they ever actually said it, but they spent ten years raising me. Yes, they kicked me out later, but only after they thought I was capable of living on my own.”
“At the age of twelve,” Vinyl said.
“Yes, at the age of twelve, which, granted is a bit earlier than most, but they still wanted what was best for me.”
“No, they wanted you to do what THEY thought was best for you, it doesn’t sound like they cared about what you wanted.”
I felt my body trembling with a strange emotion, every part of me felt like it had been twisted up and the only two options available to me were to lash out or to collapse in on myself. I stood, locked in combat with myself, trying to keep my body from ripping itself apart.
Vinyl noticed my distress and moved to wrap her forelegs around me, “Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, I just…”
I hate admitting to crying. It strikes me as the ultimate weakness, an inability to control one’s emotions that leads to such a violent physical outburst. Worse yet is sobbing as I lose almost all control of my body, and with it, my dignity. So believe me when I say that crying in front of a mare whose opinion and estimation of me I valued above all other’s was one of the least pleasant situations in my life, and I feared she would walk out on me for such a display of weakness.
If my parents had seen me then, they probably would have killed me for being so uncouth, for having the audacity to not just cry, but cry in front of somepony. To my credit, I did try to pull away from Vinyl so that I could deal with my shame in private, but she refused to let me go. Instead, she did something completely unexpected, she whispered reassurances to me, she told me that everything was going to be okay. She didn’t berate me, she didn’t judge me for my many many weaknesses, she just held me and said that everything was going to be fine. I loved her for that.
Finally, my fit subsided and I was able to collect myself somewhat, “Thank you.”
“For what?” Vinyl asked, “For doing what anypony would do in a similar situation? For comforting a mare in need? Yes, you’re my marefriend so I want to help you more than I would most ponies, but that… that was just basic kindness.
I smiled at her, “You really earnestly believe that don’t you?’
Vinyl nodded, “Of course I do.”
“It’s funny, really,” I said, “My whole life, my parents told me that no pony would care about my problems, and that any emotional outburst or display was a sign of weakness. I spent my whole life convinced that if I ever opened up to somepony they would leave in disgust. Maybe that’s still true, maybe it isn’t, but for the first time in my life, I am thinking that maybe other ponies will still accept me eve if I am honest with them, that maybe my parents weren’t right about how the world worked. For the first time in my life, I feel like I can express myself freely around somepony without fear of judgment or recrimination.”
After that, I kissed Vinyl. It wasn’t a quick peck on the cheek, but was instead a slow lingering thing. Our lips met, our bodies drew close, and for a few moments we were content to just be near each other as I basked in the sensation of her lips upon mine.
From outside, I heard the faint sounds of fiddling, and an idea crept into my mind. “Viney, what would you say to a dance?”
She smiled and headed to the barn door, “I would say that I’d love to, just so long as you wouldn’t mind dancing to something so lowbrow.”
“I think I can make an exception just this once,” I said, “Just promise me you won’t go around telling every pony that I actually had fun at a hootenanny, my reputation would be absolutely ruined.”
“Whatever you say, Tavi,” Vinyl said as we opened the barn door and walked out into a pack of dancing Apples. Before I could properly react, she had dragged me out into the center of the dance floor, and our forelegs wrapped around the other’s midsection. Standing on just two hooves, we danced to what I later discovered was the traditional Apple barn raising song.
Our bodies twirled round each other. At times, we were connected only by our forehooves, and at others, not an iota of light could shine between us. The dancing was wild and frantic, an expression of pure exuberance. When the music called for it, we would trade partners, and I would spend some time dancing with an unknown relative, but Vinyl and I always managed to be reunited within a few minutes. Around us, hooves stomped, ponies laughed, and the music played.
The memories of the rest of the night tended to blur together, but there is one moment that is preserved perfectly in my memory. It was, I think, during the third chorus of the barn raising song and ponies were singing all around us. The wind was blowing through my mane, undoing all of my previous grooming efforts, but that wasn’t what was on my mind. Instead, I was thinking of my dance partner, of the way she moved on the dance floor, of the way her forehooves felt wrapped around my body. At that instant, our eyes locked, a second stretched out for an eternity, and I felt as if I knew my roommate perfectly, and I think she could see me as well. She was a mare who loved everything, who assumed all ponies were basically good until proven otherwise, and who wanted, more than anything else, to share her love with the world, and I felt that if I could live that one instant over and over again, I would be a truly happy mare.
After that, the rest of the party was uneventful, although I did try the Apple Family Cider, and it was absolutely amazing, just as Vinyl had promised. If it hadn’t been overpowered by the other wonderful events of that night, it might have made more of an impact on me, but it was still very good.
Several hours and several more mugs of cider later, Vinyl and I staggered back into the house. We were both singing a truly awful rendition of ‘Raise this Barn,” but neither of us were particularly concerned about pitch our key at the moment.
“Well that was… That was a very fun night Viney,” I said as I slammed the door shut.
“See, see, I told you you’d have fun,” she said, heading towards the stairs.
“Just, just what do you think you’re doing Miss Scratch?” I asked, moving between her and the stairs.
“It’s late, I’m going to bed, and then maybe to pee, or maybe I will pee first and then go to bed.”
“N-no you’re not, you are too drunk to be climbing up any stairs. I don’t want to wake up in the morning and see that you’ve gone and cracked your neck in your sleep.” Had I mentioned that we were both quite inebriated by this point?
“Well then… then what do you suggest?”
“We have a perfectly… perfectly lovely couch that you can get to without climbing up any stairs. Once you’ve sobered up you can go back to your bed.”
She nodded, and confident that the situation was now resolved, I decided I could now safely climb the stairs and go to bed. Obviously, after making such a fuss about my roommates inability to deal with stairs, I tripped on the first step and banged my head against the wall. Would you expect anything less?
“Hey, Vinyl,” I said, getting back up on my hooves, “Is there room on that couch for two ponies? I think I might be a little bit tipsy.”
Vinyl nodded and I crawled onto our extra-large couch with her. That night, with Vinyl’s forelegs wrapped around my body, I managed to fall asleep quickly and slept soundly for the rest of the night.