//------------------------------// // Upside Down // Story: Perfect Pitch // by Wolfie 03 //------------------------------// What Windy Day wanted to share turned out to be techniques to calm oneself and allow the flow of positive energy and ideas; this turned out to be rather useful when it came to their practices, giving everypony a chance to relax and clear their minds before starting their work for the day. They practiced by improvising and listening to various newer songs and finding ones that went well together. They taught each other new dance moves and each practice session was extremely pleasant to go to. It was as though all the hardships the white unicorn had gone through were making up for themselves with such good ones. The one dark point on a bright new life was the new couple's first 'date'; though Vinyl was not willing to call that a date, more like their usual hanging out than an actual date. In order to counter that, a few days after the start of the new semester Vinyl was planning a 'proper' date. It helped that the two mares had learned a lot about each other over the course of the year and so the white unicorn knew what kinds of things Octavia liked; her favorite foods, places to go, music and much more. It was just a matter of compiling all that knowledge and making the 'perfect date'. The white mare made reservations for a cozy little restaurant that had an older age but average pony feel to it that served Octavia's favorite dishes; after the dinner Vinyl planned on going to a local theater where some of the Acting Majors were putting on a presentation of a classic tale commonly known as 'Rent'. It was a musical but with an interesting story line and Octavia was sure to love it. The white unicorn also made extra plans just in case, like a late night stroll and a cafe that stayed open all night long; she was going to make sure nothing went wrong. While going to a well scored musical was a sure-fire thing that the gray mare would enjoy, under normal circumstances it ran the risk of Octavia already playing for it as part of her club work. After their trip to Manehatten though, Octavia dropped the 'Swing Ponies' and her work in the stringed quartet; allowing for more time in the evenings for a part-time job and more time with her new marefriend. It was actually due to Vinyl's help that Octavia was able to get a job at '33&1/3'. Due to its sudden popularity, Neon Lights was able to hire more ponies to work the store and have somepony at the station at all times. Vinyl heard about the openings right away and Octavia was the first to apply; with all her knowledge of all types of music and enthusiasm to work, Neon was glad to hire her as well as meet the mare that had captured a certain DJ's heart. On the day of the big date, the two mares were in a small argument about a certain pair of glasses. “Please Vinyl? You know I prefer to see your eyes; and everypony doesn't care as much as you think they do. If anyone does have an issue with them, I'll set them straight by any means necessary...” Vinyl blinked in surprise at the threatening tone that was rarely heard from the gray earth pony. Vinyl watched with slight amusement but worry as Octavia muttered and glared at the ground; when the light-gray mare snapped back into the real world she gave a reassuring smile to the white mare who hesitantly smiled back. “So, will you please leave the glass here?” Vinyl shook her head at the insistent mare. “You sound as though if given the chance, you'd make it so I'd never see them again.” At the slightly suspicious smile and 'innocent' face on the light-gray mare, Vinyl deadpanned her marefriend. “Really Tavi? Really, you'd go that far? Fine Tav', I'll leave them at home. But don't blame me if this ruins the date.” Vinyl raised a challenging brow as Octavia smiled in triumph. After that it took the two mares very little time to be ready and they set out for the restaurant. Their night started well, the sky clear and the air crisp. They made their reservations in time and the meal was perfect, along with the fact that no one seemed all that unnerved by Vinyl's cerise eyes; if they were, they were glared into shame by the light-gray mare. Murphy's Law kicked in as the couple was leaving the cozy restaurant, for just as the two started to turn down the street there came a shout from behind them. “Octavia! Lady Octavia Philharmonic!” Both mares stiffened at the sound of Sir Pony Moore calling for the gray mare's attention. Two sets of ears flipped back as they silently debated answering or to keep going; this choice was soon taken from them as Lime Light and Niteshade cut them off on the other end of the street while Pony Moore trotted up to them from other side. As they turned to face the pale-blue earth pony, Vinyl made sure that she was in front of Octavia as she glared at the noble who flinched at the sight of her eyes, which seemed to turn a vivid red in anger. “My Lady; surely the rumors I heard that you are dating a waste of space mare are false, of course.” Octavia rolled her eyes, assuming that this was a last ditch effort of making her see 'reason' by her parents. “Of course they are.” Vinyl looked back for a moment in panic; when she saw Octavia wink at her the white mare faced the stallion once more, reassured that the gray mare was going in a different direction than how that statement sounded. Pony Moore looked reassured at this statement from Octavia until she continued on, causing his smug look to fall rapidly into anger. “I am dating the most wonderful and considerate of mares which means that Vinyl is not a waste of space, so of course those rumors are false.” Octavia shot Pony Moore a smug look from beside the white mare who smirked in triumph at the sight of the annoyed stallion before them. “So... It is true, you are disgraced... Why Octavia, why? I could have given you everything; this, this orphan can never afford to give you the life-style you had before!” Pony Moore saw Vinyl flinch and smirked at her discomfort. “Yes, after I heard who you had chosen I did some research on who she is; I know all about her now. Nopony has ever liked her; she must have put an evil spell on you to bring you together.” At this statement Octavia pushed Vinyl aside slightly as she glared daggers at the 'noble'. “I have never heard such disgraceful garbage in my life! I don't care if the life-style is different than the one I've had so far; it will be one that I've worked for and will care for a thousand times over! And she has never, and I mean never, cast a harmful spell on me nor ever used physical force; something I cannot say the same for you!” During the gray mare's retort, Pony Moore had been getting more and more aggravated; by the time Octavia had finished he was livid at how she was disagreeing with him and charged forward with a roar, his two lackeys following suit a moment after. At the sudden movement Vinyl pushed forward once more as she activated her semi-transparent sound proof barrier; she smirked grimly at the frustrated faces of the stallions and noticed that Lime Light was powering up his magic at the order of Pony Moore. Vinyl tsked as she focused half of her attention to creating bubbles full of magic which she then made vibrate rapidly. Once these bubbles were vibrating at such a rate that the entire thing could barely hold its circular shape, she sent them to rest next to the stallions and made them explode in a wave of high pitch sound; causing the offending stallions to flinch and try to cover their ears. Octavia frowned slightly in confusion; she didn't understand what was happening since they were in the soundproof barrier and couldn't hear the high pitch sounds, though she was able to see some of the flashes of light caused by the sudden release. Octavia leaned into the white unicorn as she watched apprehensively at the sight of the three stallions trying to cover their ears. “Vinyl, what- what's happening?The shield is vibrating; it's never done that before...” One ear flicked back as Vinyl kept her eyes on her opponents; after another barrage, the white unicorn stopped her assault and raised a brow to the black unicorn, challenging him to try and use magic. Lime Light saw the challenging brow and shook his head rapidly; he wasn't going to try again. The black stallion tried to back away only to be snapped at by Pony Moore. As the two argued, Vinyl turned her head to the mare beside her and gave her a quick nuzzle. “I thought about how to deal with this pinhead ever since you said he rigged the competition; I knew he wasn't going to leave you alone but I couldn't get into another fight. Then I realized I had the best kind of defense; the same kind of shield I use to keep my headphones so focused and what I used to keep you out. The exploding spheres are balls of magic that I can make vibrate and explode into a blast of sound; making it hard to anyone to focus enough to attack back. “Looks like they're getting their act together, let's see if I can make the shield not so sound proof and give them a chance to give up...” With a squeeze of her eyelids in concentration, Vinyl was able to remove the sound proofing aspect of her shield just in time for Pony Moore to try and rant some more. “...you may have bought yourself time but I will teach you a lesson you'll never forget! Do you hear me Scratch!? You'll be sorry you were ever born! When I get in-” “You'll do nothing. If you haven't noticed, I had my shield up the entire time you were having fun with my sonic booms. I think I can out live anything you dish out. Oh and so long as Tavi is with me, I'll never regret being born again. Guard, you heard him correct?” Four ponies' attention shifted to the white pegasus that was flying nearby with a scroll in his hoof; during Pony Moore's rant the guard had flew by after being called due to the magical disturbances to be in time to find the pale-blue noble making threats against both mares in the protective bubble. “That I did, Miss. Sir, are you Sir Pony Moore, noble of Manehatten?” Pony Moore glared at the guard as he gruffly replied. “I am and who are you to speak with me in such a way?” The guard dropped down with four others who came as backup. “I am Lieutenant Albus Rescue and I am putting you under arrest for violating the restraining order placed against you on behalf of Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch.” Two of the guards came forward and began to restrain the now thrashing noble. “Preposterous! I have never heard of such a thing!” The Lieutenant rolled his eyes and pointed to the scroll where at the very bottom was Pony Moore's signature that showed that he had been informed and acknowledged the restraining order. “This is a magical scroll that has connections to all other important legal documents to allow easy access to things like restraining orders or warrants. Boys, take him away; he is a pathetic excuse for upper class ponies everywhere. We'll have to take you two in as well.” The guard pointed towards Lime Light and Niteshade who gave small nods and followed along without resistance. Only after Pony Moore was out of hearing range did Vinyl take her shield down, where the two mares found themselves face to face with the white pegasus. “Misses, I'm sorry that we weren't able to come sooner; are you two alright?” The couple checked each other rapidly before relaxing in relief. “We're fine; thank you for the help. Was there anything else we can help you with?” Octavia asked as she leaned into the white mare beside her, finding her steady heartbeat to be rather soothing. The guardspony smiled rudely as he looked to the unicorn. “Yes; you wouldn't happen to know about a loud disturbance of high frequency sounds do you? Seems some musical unicorn was making sonic blasts that disturbed the neighborhood...” The guard raised a questioning brow at the two mares who went still at the original cause for guards. Octavia decided to go with whatever Vinyl wanted and gave her verbal cues as to where she stood. “Why no, I didn't hear a thing. Did you Vinyl dear?” Octavia turned her wide innocent seeming eyes to the mare beside her who looked back in surprise before sighing in resignation; part of being with the light-gray mare meant she had to grow up and own up to her mistakes. After giving Octavia a nudge on her shoulder with her head, Vinyl turned to the guard who watched with amusement. “While we didn't hear anything due to my protective barrier, I did use magic to disrupt the unicorn, Lime Light, from attempting to find a way around or through the barrier to do us potential harm.” Vinyl stepped forward to receive her punishment from the guard wearily; while she didn't want to have to leave the light-gray mare, she did cause a disturbance in the area. The guard smiled back warmly at the brave front the unicorn presented and waved a warning hoof. “Considering the circumstances and how you didn't cause any damages, as well as this being the first time you've come to my notice, I'll merely give you a warning that I may just happen to forget once I leave. You mares enjoy your night and stay safe, alright?” Barely waiting for their nods of agreement the white pegasus took to the skies to file the report of what had happened. As the crowds around them began to disperse, Vinyl turned to face the gray mare when she was suddenly the target of a tight hug. “That was a really brave thing you did. I wasn't going to expect you to turn yourself in; you did nothing to warrant getting into trouble for, it was all self-defense. As much as I applaud you for your honesty, I don't want you to be arrested on my behalf.” Vinyl smirked and returned the embrace as she whispered her reply; she still wasn't used to public displays of affection. “I don't want to have to lie to be with you; I probably would have gotten off anyways if I was arrested since it was in self-defense. And so long as you are with me and want me, I'll do anything that would help you.” The two held the hug for a little longer before stepping apart, though they remained next to one another. “I know the date kind of went downhill, but would you like to watch a play to lighten the mood?” Octavia smiled warmly as she nuzzled her marefriend. “That sounds like a good idea. What play did you have in mind?” Vinyl couldn't help but nuzzle back as she gently lead the gray earth pony along. “There's a presentation of 'Rent' playing at the Four Horseshoes.” At the name of the play the gray mare perked up in excitement and smiled warmly. “Yes, please!” With that the two enjoyed the remainder of their evening and forgot about the violent noble entirely. Vinyl had gotten balcony seats in the theater that had been dug into the ground in order to have multiple stories without being taller than one story on the surface, which made watching and listening to the play easy. The plot was an emotional one with twists and turns along the way that kept the audience on the edge the entire time; following a set of friends as they tried to deal with difficult and complex issues as well as somehow making a living in the rundown neighborhood. By the time it was over, both mares had shed a few tears and stood along with the crowd in the thunderous applause. After receiving many 'thank you' kisses for having gotten tickets to the play, Vinyl led the way out as Octavia gushed over both the play and the musical score. “... And that end music was just so touching, the perfect balance between high and low instruments. Oh, thank you so much Vinyl, this has been a wonderful date.” Vinyl gave a gray cheek a quick peck as they walked to the general direction of their dorms. “It was nothing at all. Would you like to do anything else or just head back?” Octavia leaned into the unicorn for extra warmth as a soft wind blew by. “As much as I would like to do more, let's head back for some hot chocolate and cuddle together for warmth.” Vinyl smirked at the suggestion which did indeed sound pleasing and led a more direct route back to their room; it was only just turning into spring time and the nights still retained some chill to them. As the two mares entered their room Vinyl started her spell to heat some water for two cups of hot chocolate and together the couple lied down in Octavia's bed with all the blankets wrapped around them. The two mares shared Octavia's single bed, meaning they had to lay extremely close and Vinyl draped half of herself over the mare next to her; while neither minded the closeness, Vinyl was concerned about her weight hurting the gray mare and tried to think of a solution that would allow them to remain close but without potential for uncomfortableness or pain. Octavia watched cerise orbs flicker around the room, resting on beds, desks and even the walls before stopping on lavender eyes filled with curiosity. Vinyl gave her marefriend a sheepish grin along with a nuzzle to the top of her head before explaining herself. “As much as I like sleeping next to you, as well as being a pony-blanket, I don't want to hurt you by resting my weight on you.” Octavia gave a soft sigh along with an eye roll before kissing Vinyl's neck, causing her to stretch her head forward in pleasure; something the light-gray mare took note of for future use. “Of course you worry about small things, Celestia forbid you relax.” Octavia teased the mare who panicked only for a fraction of a second before noticing the teasing glint in the gray mare's gaze. “I'm pleased to see you are easing up about being teased.” Another kiss found its target as Vinyl smiled back; after enjoying the sight of the white unicorn pleased with neck kisses, the light-gray mare continued speaking. “Aside from the fact that I rather like my white fuzzy blanket that snores dubstep-” “Hey! Do not!” “-if it's such a big concern for you, why don't you move the beds together? They are the same height and size, it would be like it's a double bed; though we may have to move some of the other furniture as well.” Octavia's gaze swept the room before resting on the white mare once more who stared back in mild surprise at how easy Octavia made it sound and seem. After another moment during which she contemplated on how she could have gotten such a wonderful marefriend, Vinyl came back to reality in time to see Octavia's worried face and reassured her with a passionate kiss. “I wasn't sure you would want to do that; I'll get to it right away!” “Huh? Vinyl wait-” Octavia tried to prevent the mare from leaving the bed when Vinyl lit her horn with magic and began to levitate the various objects around the room. Octavia face-hoofed at how she had forgotten that Vinyl could do magic once more (and after the incident earlier!) and watched as the two desks were pushed together on the other side of the room, Vinyl's bed levitated to be next to the one they were in and then both beds to be moved closer to the window now that the desks had been moved out of the way; all of which was done as the two remained in bed and not lifting a hoof to do anything. Octavia turned to Vinyl bemused as the white mare centered them both before she settled down next to the light-gray mare instead of almost completely draped like she had been. “Really Vinyl? And didn't you use- Vinyl are you ok?!” Octavia cut herself off from her teasing when she noticed the white unicorn's heavy breathing and exhaustion; Vinyl cracked any eyelid open at the sound of the light-gray mare's voice and gave a soft response. “Yeah... Just, a little tired.... Even with all the- the practice, I used a lot... Of magic, tonight. I think I'll just-...” Vinyl's voice trailed off as she felt her eyelids close against her will; Octavia smiled as her DJ fell asleep in the middle of her explanation. Even with the extra space afforded by the double beds, Octavia snuggled as close as possible and rested her head on the white mare's chest. “Good night Vinyl; I love you so much, even with all your quirks.” As the gray mare fell asleep, the white one couldn't help but smirk in her sleep at the complement.