Octavia's hoof slipped from the door as it opened, breaking her support and sending her tumbling forward with Vinyl in her wake. They scrambled around the floor, hazily searching for something to help them up. Saying they were drunk didn't do their current cognitive skills justice. The two had been bar hopping all night and it certainly showed. Vinyl's glasses shattered, leaving jagged shards of purple glass embedded in her hair. Octavia's hair, although tied back, was frayed and unkempt, as if she hadn't seen a shower in weeks. In the back of her mind, Octavia couldn't even remember the walk back to Vinyl's. Judging by the numerous scrapes lining her legs, it must have been pretty bad.
The weightless feeling that coursed through Octavia's limbs contradicted the incredible difficulty of getting up on her hooves. At the peak of her climb, she noticed the room spinning rapidly around her. 'That's funny', she thought with her face buried deep in the carpet. It only took her a few minutes to realize what just happened. The gray sack of liquid depressant rolled over onto her back, spying Vinyl through the corner of her eye. "I think we had too much to drink, Vinyl. You alright?"
Vinyl turned her head in confusion, probably hearing only her name in the unintelligible slur that was Octavia's question. She tried to point a hoof at Octavia to get her attention but couldn't decide which of the three mares in her eyes to follow. "Let's try to get over to the couch." Vinyl mustered the strength she could and threw herself onto her hooves.The world slowly turned right side up...and then back down the other way. The force she put into getting up sent her a bit over her mark, and cracking her head on the nearby wall. Albeit painful, she was able to bolster herself against the wall for a while until her vision cleared a bit. slowly making her way to the couch, Vinyl looked down to keep on track but kept wondering which of these eight hooves went in front of which?
Octavia had already crawled and hauled her way up onto the couch, lazily waiting for Vinyl to join her. The latter awkwardly plopped herself down on the other end, still trying to get her vision straight. The two got themselves comfortable before they caught each other staring from the other end. Neither said a word, but the silence wasn't awkward. On the contrary, they both seemed to enjoy it. Octavia could get lost in Vinyl's eyes without worrying, everything was safe here.
"You know, Chella. I been wondering." Vinyl's words came out nearly crystal clear. Years of indulging herself in the night life had granted her immunity to the drunken slurs most ponies just as hammered experience. "Just that...if you have....if you..." Her confidence was slowly slipping away. With Octavia sitting so close, staring right at her, it was hard to stay strong. "I mean if you...were at the music society meeting tonight!"
'Bucking nailed it...' Vinyl chastised herself in thought.
"I mean, with that treble clef cutie mark, I would expect you'd be there. It was pretty dull, but I go anyway. Part of being in the music biz." Vinyl turned her flank, showing off her cutie mark to Octavia.
Vinyl's cutie mark was a simple eighth note. Bold and dark, it seemed to curve just in shape with her body. The curve itself not too sharp, it seemed just right for her. Octavia continued mussing to herself before a scarlet blush appeared upon her face, realizing she was less interested in the cutie mark than where it was on Vinyl's body.
"Yessh," Octavia's slur was followed by a small hiccup, eliciting a giggle from Vinyl. She gave herself and imaginary slap to the face in embarrassment before composing herself and trying again. "I mean, Yes. I was there. I think I waaaas with Violo, something with monocles."
Vinyl's struggle to keep her laughter in check faltered, causing a loud snort to echo from the drunken rave pony. The sound was nothing short of adorable to Octavia who couldn't help but laugh with her.
"You were hanging around with THAT clown?!?! That guy could bore a dictionary to death!"
"Oh, he's not so bad," Octavia chuckled. "He just likes to check up on me, you know? He cares about me."
"Vinyl's laughs cut off into a heavy silence. Her eyes lowered a bit away from Octavia's gaze. "Oh...Must be nice to have somepony care for you."
Octavia sat confused at Vinyl's sudden change of mood. What did she mean by...."Oh! No, nothing like that. We're just good friends is all." She could see Vinyl's eyes slowly peak back up with a goofy smile plastered across her face.
As Vinyl brought her head back up, Octavia noticed a crimson trickle maneuver its way down her face. Her eyes followed the trail upwards to her hair, where a small pool of blood had stained her once light and vibrant hair.
"Vinyl, you're bleeding!" Octavia scooted herself over to the other side of the couch to assess the damage. Vinyl looked up at Octavia with confusion, she probed around her her head with a hoof, only to return it to her gaze with a shard of blood-stained glass. The impact against the wall earlier must have embedded the remains of her glasses further than she had thought. "Aeeeeei!" Vinyl let out a yelp as Octavia put pressure down on the wound with a small blanket she snagged from the side of the couch. "Not so rough!"
"I'm sorry, Vinyl. It's to stop the bleeding, it's for your own good."
Vinyl relaxed herself and smiled up at the mare helping her "It's nice to know somepony cares about me."
There they were again, those two beautiful rose colored orbs piercing through her soul. Vinyl's gaze captured her in an everlasting lock that she just couldn't break. She thought it was a trick of the haze, but Octavia could swear that her eyes were getting closer. It dawned upon her that it was not only Vinyl moving forward. Their faces closed in slowly, and everything Octavia had suppressed that night welled up in a ball of emotion. Her prefect laugh, the butterflies that exploded through her stomach whenever their fur touched, and those eyes...Octavia looked into those scarlet iris and understood. Everything tonight had been leading up to this. From the bars to the club to sitting right here beside her, Octavia had slowly been falling in love with this mare of another world.
Their faces were no more than an inch apart, close enough to feel the heat radiating from the other's body and the warm breath against their cheeks. Neither said a word, but only closed the gap between their muzzles. Their touch was electric, a feeling previously unknown to Octavia. In this moment together, the two weren't so different after all.
---------------
"'Tavi! Wake up, 'Tavi, it's breakfast time!"
Celestia's golden sun shone brightly through the windows, blanketing Octavia in its warmth. She flinched as she opened her eyes, the sudden light burning deep into her corneas. "Agh!" She yelled, rubbing furiously at her eyelids to alleviate the pain. Every little sound reverberated inside her ears like a restless gong. She listlessly tried to lift herself from the warm white pillow beneath her to no avail.'That's right, I was at Vinyl's....but.....what happened?' Octavia could feel butterflies bustle inside her as she thought back to the pair's drunken kiss from last night, but everything after was a blur. She lifted herself to her hooves at last, the blinding light leaving her sight ingrained with colorful circles and lines dancing about. The carpet sunk beneath her every step on her way toward the mystery voice calling her from the room over. The sound of clattering metal and sizzling filled the air, along with the enticing aroma of a fresh-cooked breakfast. Octavia peaked her head around the corner to spy a white mare, whistling happy to herself as she prepared the table for breakfast.
"There you are, 'Tavi! Sheesh, you sleep even later than me, it's two in the afternoon." Vinyl beckoned Octavia over to the table where a place had already been laid out for her. her hair was as bright and vibrant as ever; scrubbed clean of the blood that stained it the previous night. Back at the table eggs, toast, and a heaping plate of pancakes laid waiting for her.
The meal certainly looked amazing. Octavia never would have guessed that Vinyl was such a good cook. In fact, she never would have guessed a lot of things about her. She stopped for a second to realize how little she actually knew this mare before a tremendous force send her stumbling forward.
"Come on, 'Tavi. I'm not letting you leave until you've had a bite to eat, hospitality and what not." Vinyl smiled as she continued pushing Octavia over to her seat.
Octavia plopped down in her chair, waiting as Vinyl joined her from the other side of the table. The food sat steaming on her plate, how could she deny a hot, fresh breakfast? She tore a small piece of pancake from its entirety, tentatively tasting the morsel. Octavia nearly dropped her jaw as the rich flavors exploded inside her mouth. She thought the food would taste as good as it looked but this was just unbelievable. In seconds, Octavia found herself tearing through entire cakes at a time. Her breakfast slowly evaporating before her eyes. She hadn't even realized how hungry she was until now. All that partying must have burned away four years worth of those insignificant h'orderves they served at the meeting last night. As she finished her last bite, Octavia looked up to see Vinyl staring shocked across from her. Her face turned crimson as she realized the extent of the barbarity she had eaten with.
"That...was....AWESOME" Vinyl nearly jumped right out of her seat as she cheered for her friend. "I knew I was a good cook but damn! You went to town on those pancakes."
Octavia couldn't forgive herself for the vulgar display she had just put on, but the acceptance of Vinyl made her a bit more comfortable. "Heh heh, sorry. I guess I was hungrier than I thought," She said sheepishly.
"Don't try to apologize around me, Octavia. I'm having the time of my life." Vinyl scooped up a couple pancakes from her plate and crammed them into her own starving mouth. Octavia had to admit, it was interesting to watch to say the least.
Something struck Octavia in the back of her head. "What did you just call me?"
Vinyl chuckled to herself, "What? You thought I actually believed you were a different mare? You put your hair up in a bun and took your bow tie off, it wasn't rocket science to find out who you were. You don't see me taking my glasses off and calling myself Lady Pompustine II. By the way, Chella? You couldn't think of anything better?" Her laughter filled the room as Octavia hid her head in embarrassment.
"Seriously, why in Equestria would you put on such a...faci....face..."
"Facade"
"That, just to go out to party for one night."
Octavia sighed and traced her hoof along the grain of the table. "It's just not that easy for me. People expect so much of me, and what they do definitely isn't partying. I have a nice life and I don't want to lose it, but..."
Vinyl tapped her chin, straining to think of a solution. "I got it!"
"Got what?" Octavia looked up from to table in confusion.
"Another one of those fancy-pants music meetings is today, right? Well how about we go there together and have some fun?" Vinyl flashed a goofy smile; Octavia already knew this was going to end horribly. She grabbed the other pony by her tail and began dragging her toward the door.
"This seems kind of familiar," Octavia let out. Unfortunately, her voice had been drowned out by the front door slamming behind them.