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// Chapter 3: Random Mood Swing 
// Story: Lady Octavia 
// by Cyber Clash 
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Monday morning was Vinyl’s first actual workday. At 5: 45, she awoke her mistress, and went down to the kitchen to prepare a nice breakfast for her. According to the random page she stopped on in the cookbook, today she would be making croissants. She prepared the dough and slid them into the oven. The unicorn made a cup of coffee with almond milk while she waited for the pastries to be done.

Once the croissants were ready, Vinyl took them out and let them cool for a while. She heard Octavia coming down the stairs, and set her coffee down on her table.

“Good morning,” Vinyl greeted with a smile.

“Good morning to you as well.”

Vinyl pointed toward the baked goods on the counter, “Uh, I made croissants. They’re almost done cooling down, but if you want a warm one, I can quickly get the cheese and daffodils out.”

“Yes, please. They smell delicious,” Octavia said, mouth watering as she relished the smell of the bread.

The pale-coated mare followed Octavia’s command and prepared a croissant for her. She placed it in front of the cellist, and afterward decided to get one for herself. She, again, stuffed the bread with cheese and daffodils.

Vinyl sat down and began to eat her own meal, while Octavia spoke, “You don’t have to walk me to the music hall this morning. I would prefer you to get as much work finished as possible.”

The mare before her swallowed before speaking, “Okay, but I am going to walk you home when you’re done there. It looks like it’s going to rain and I wouldn’t want you walking home and getting your cello, as well as yourself, soaked.”

“So it shall be,” Octavia responded. She looked at her kitchen clock on the wall, and quickly ate the rest of her croissant and downed her coffee, “I have to go. I’ll see you in the afternoon, okay?”

Vinyl levitated Octavia’s cello to her and opened the door. Octavia adjusted the instrument on her back and stormed off. “Bye, Miss Octavia,” Vinyl shouted, though she doubted the cellist had heard her.

Vinyl Scratch closed the door and got all of her cleaning utensils. The first room she cleaned was the study room. It was filled with about as many books as the Ponyville library. No, it probably had less, but it still had a lot of books.

The alabaster mare dusted the shelves, along with each individual tome. Upon swiping all the dust, she found a small book that seemed very obtrusive amidst all the filthy books. Out of curiosity, the servant took it out of its shelf and looked at it. It had a treble clef on the cover, and as she opened it, the prying unicorn could see journal entries.

Vinyl thought for a second, open journal still floating in front of her, Well, this could give me a few tips on what she expects of me…but if I find something personal in there, I’m not sure what I’d do. It’d be best if I left it alone. I mean it’s my third day here. I wouldn’t want her to think I’m a bad pony. Vinyl sighed and put the journal back in its place.

The unicorn then moved on to cleaning the music room. She carefully cleaned each instrument with pipe cleaners and polisher. Every wooden instrument shined like metal and every metal instrument shined to the point where it almost gave off its own light.

Vinyl Scratch cleaned the wooden shelves that housed Octavia’s compositions. The unicorn figured it wouldn’t be like prying into her journal. She quickly looked through the mare’s compositions. She thought they were amazing, as she imagined the music in her head. The pale mare made a mental note to ask her mistress about it later.

After a few hours, the ensemble had finally finished their practice. The four musicians were in front of the exit of the building, chatting as they always did before saying goodbye, and trying to wait out the rain. Octavia, however, wasn’t paying attention to the conversation. She was lost in thought about how Vinyl had accepted her homosexuality so easily.

“Don’t you think so, Tavia?” Beauty Brass asked, anger coating her voice.

“Hm?” the cellist blushed, realising that her friends were talking, “M-my apologies, I was thinking about something. Could you repeat that, please?”

“I said that that noise-loving club down the street is the worst place to end up at! I was trying to enjoy a simple drink from the bar, and some imbecile of a stallion comes up and asks me a bundle of sexual questions!”

“Hmph,” Frederic retorted, “Absolutely despicable!”

“Oh, but here’s the punch line,” the blue-coated mare continued, “I thought he was nice at first--before all the carnal inquiries, I mean. He said he wasn’t like the ‘other stallions.’ He kept talking about how he didn’t understand why his friends had to be so bad. And what do you know? He was only trying to sweet talk me!”

“That’s how they all are.” Harpo said, “They tell you they’re not that bad, so that you won’t feel disgusted, but they disgust you even more than before by lying to you like that!”

“Right you are,” the grey mare replied meekly.

Just then, the door opened, and a pale unicorn with an umbrella levitating beside her came in, “Hello, my lady,” she smiled.

Beauty Brass leaned in and whispered, “Octavia, who is that?”

The grey mare sighed, “She’s my new servant.”

“Your what?” Frederic asked loudly.

“My servant,” Octavia repeated. She could see the curious looks on their faces, “I would love to tell you all more about this, but I must leave now.”

Vinyl held the door open and waited for the cellist to get under the umbrella, “Do you wanna go straight home?”

“Of course,” Octavia responded as they walked down the road, “why would we do anything else in the pouring rain?”

“I don’t know. I was just offering.”

“Well, I don’t need anything, so let’s just go home,” the cellist retorted.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, until Vinyl asked, “So, how’d practice go?”

“Well. It went well,” she responded.

“Miss Octavia, are you okay?” the unicorn asked.

“I’m completely fine.”

Vinyl took a deep breath, “Alright, then.”

The rest of their walk home was silent and uncomfortable. Octavia felt rage wash over her for some reason. Her servant, meanwhile, was puzzled and melancholic about the cellist’s sudden change in demeanour. Millions of thoughts rushed through Vinyl’s head, all asking what was wrong and what she could do to make it better.

The unicorn opened the door with her magic, making sure that Octavia wouldn’t get wet when getting out from the umbrella. The servant smiled, hoping that the mansion’s neatness would please her.

Vinyl’s smile soon disappeared when Octavia looked around, shrugged, and heaved her heavy cello upstairs. The unicorn lifted the instrument up with her magic; at this gesture, the cellist nodded to her in acknowledgement and proceeded to the music room with the string instrument.

The blue maned mare desperately wanted to know what was wrong, but when she asked if Octavia needed something or if she felt all right, she was only answered with a shrug or a nod.

The cellist, as well, knew of her new behaviour. She wanted to stop, but some sort of rage stirred inside her whenever she saw Vinyl. After what Beauty Brass had said, Octavia couldn’t trust her servant. She felt like the pale mare would attack her or worse if the echelon wouldn’t make her feel scared.

And her parents weren’t exactly making things better. Everything they sent to her talked about how they wanted to see her perform but were “too busy to do so.” The mare loathed her parents and wished that they would stop sending her mail. They’ve never even been to any of her performances. If they really wanted too, they would have made time to go to one.

Days passed by, and Vinyl tried harder and harder to make the grey mare smile again like she used to, but to no avail. Saturday came and the unicorn was in the shower, wondering what she could make for breakfast. After a few minutes of thought and soap, she stepped out, dried herself off, and put on her shades.

Vinyl went downstairs into the kitchen and grabbed butter, milk, eggs, and other ingredients to make batter with. She made a creamy mixture and poured some into a pan. She let it cook on one side before flipping it. The mare continued this process until the batter ran out.

Octavia yawned and entered the kitchen, “Good morning,” she said in a bland tone.

Vinyl took a deep breath, turned around and smiled, “Good morning, my lady,” she said. The unicorn had trained herself to pull off a happy façade. Octavia didn’t complain, so she figured that she should keep it. “For breakfast, I made pancakes.”

The cellist arched an eyebrow, “Really? Pancakes? Are you serious?”

“Yeah, everypony loves pancakes!” she smiled.

Octavia groaned, “Whatever.” She sat down and sighed.

Vinyl Scratch brought her a plate with three pancakes stacked over one another, along with syrup, strawberry marmalade, honey, and cream cheese, “So, what do you want on it?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had this kind of breakfast,” Octavia retorted.

“What!? Really? Wow, you know what? Here, hold on,” Vinyl went to the refrigerator and got a banana, two strawberries and whipped cream. She poured honey on the pancake. Then the unicorn sliced the banana and strawberries and served them on top of the whip cream she squirted on to the food.

Octavia looked at the plate before her, studying it. She grabbed her fork and knife and began cutting off a piece with a small slice of strawberry. Vinyl watched as she drew the food closer to her mouth, waiting for the mare’s reaction. The cellist chewed carefully and shrugged, “Well, it’s not all that bad.” She tried to act blasé, but her servant noticed how she ate the meal quickly and savoured every bite.

“So, did ya like it?” Vinyl asked.

Octavia nodded, “It was a nice change from the other breakfasts I’m used to.”

The white unicorn took up the plate and washed it in the sink. From her peripheral vision, she could see Octavia sulking. She decided that she would ask the mare about her behaviour, and press on the matter until she was given a decent answer.

“Miss Octavia,” she began as she walked toward the monochromatic mare, “what’s wrong?”

The cellist rolled her eyes, “You’ve asked me this a myriad of times. I’m fine!”

“You’ve answered with that every single time, but I don’t believe it.”

Octavia felt Vinyl’s hoof on hers, but the cellist quickly jerked it away, “I am fine. I promi-“

“Don’t make fake promises, my lady.” The unicorn took off her shades, her eyes were closed, but she opened them after a second. “Tell me and I will try to fix it.”

“I…” the grey mare felt Vinyl’s scarlet eyes pierce into her, “It’s just that…my father keeps asking me to visit my mother.”

“Then why don’t you go visit her?” she asked, her eyes giving off a sense of curiosity.

Octavia couldn’t look at the other mare’s intense gaze anymore. She looked down, “We always end up bickering over something.”

“Well, you can just visit her later, you know.”

The cellist closed her eyes, “The problem is, Vinyl, the more I procrastinate seeing her, the less I want to go. And I have to see her because she might…”

“Then go today.” Vinyl said, now understanding the situation, “We can buy her a nice bouquet and I’ll be there just in case things get intense.”

“Are you sure I should do this?” Octavia asked, half to her servant, and half to herself.

The mare nodded and placed her shades back on, “Yeah. Now, let’s go see her.”

After walking around the market, trying to find the most extravagant bouquet possible, the two mares grabbed a taxi, and drove to a large white building. Octavia’s heartbeat grew louder and louder the closer she got, and the smell of antiseptic didn’t calm her down very much.

“May I help you, ladies?” asked a pale-coated mare from behind a counter.

“Yes, please.” Octavia answered, “Um, we are here to see Missus Crescendo. She is my mother.”

The mare smiled, “Oh, of course. Just sign in. She’s in room 354; it’s on the third floor to the right. I believe her husband is there as well.”

The grey mare wrote her name and the time, “Thank you.” She turned to Vinyl, “Come on.”

The unicorn, bouquet in her mouth, followed her mistress upstairs. They followed the nurse’s directions and ended up in front of the room door. Octavia took the bouquet from Vinyl’s muzzle, allowing her to speak, “Are you ready?”

Octavia nodded, took a deep breath and went inside the room.  She found a light grey stallion with short black and cyan hair sitting down on a chair in the corner. She put the bouquet in an empty vase and whispered, “Father? How is she?”

The stallion looked up with sad amethyst eyes, “She…probably won’t make it, sweetie. I’m sorry,” he said in his heavy Itailian accent.

“No, actually, I’m sorry,” she apologised as she looked at the bed with a sleeping mare nestled in it, “I should have visited sooner.”

The stallion got up and hugged his daughter, “It’s okay. You’re here now,” he sobbed.

The grey mare wrapped her forelegs around her father, “Daddy, I need to speak to her alone. Could you please, maybe…”

“Of course,” he said pulling away, “She really wants to hear your voice. She’s missed you.”

“I know. You told me.”

The stallion nodded and headed toward the door, “I’ll be outside, then.”

The grey stallion sniffed and saw a blue-mane pony in front of the room. He greeted her, “Hello.”

“Hey.”

“Were you…a friend of Crescendo?” he asked.

“No. I’m just Octavia’s servant. Vinyl Scratch’s the name,” she smiled.

“Ah. I didn’t know she had an employee. I’m Piano Forte, Octavia’s father,” he introduced, holding out a hoof.

“Oh, really?” Vinyl said as she shook the outstretched limb. “Huh, I thought her parents would have a Canterlotian accent like her.”

“Her mother does, but I’m originally from Itaily,” Piano explained.

“I see.”

Meanwhile, Octavia pulled up a chair next to the bed her mother was lying in. She heard her mother shuffle as she was awakening, “Octavia. What a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you. How is the music business?”

“It’s fine, Mother. I have a few shows coming up.”

“That’s nice, dear. Perhaps I can see one if it comes up on the telly,” she smiled.

“And how is it going for you?”

“Well, the doctors said I’d be out in a few months. They said I don’t even need chemotherapy. Soon, I will be able to go to all of your shows and see you more often,” she said happily.

Octavia’s face fell. How could they tell her that? “Oh…that’s great. I’m so happy you will be out of the hospit-al,” the grey mare choked a little.

“Don’t cry, dear. A lady should smile always.”

Octavia sobbed, “Mother, I need to tell you something.” The cellist didn’t know if she would see her mother again.

“Yes, Tavia? What is it?”

“I-I…I’m-“

“Don’t stutter, darling. You have to be sure of what you want to say,” her mother interrupted.

Octavia bit her lip and took a deep breath, “Mum, I’m into mares.”

Her mother’s eyes went wide, “What was that?”

“I am…into mares.”

“But what about Fine Bit? What about my grandchildren?”

Octavia shook her head, “I know you don’t like it, but I had to tell you. I don’t want to marry Fine. In fact, I’ve never felt like he wanted to marry me either.”

“Oh,” Crescendo looked down, “that’s fine, dear. This is just…a lot to take in. However, I won’t force you to marry a stallion you don’t like for my sake. All I want is for you to be happy,” she smiled as she looked at her daughter again.

The cellist began to cry heavily. She hugged her mother tightly, “Thank you, mummy. I love you so much,” she sobbed.

“I love you too, dear. You’re a good filly, and I want all of Canterlot to know it.”

The cellist pulled away, wiping a tear from her eye, “I have to go now.”

“I understand. You have to go and amaze Equestria with your music. Make me proud.”

“I will,” she smiled, “Goodbye.”

Piano and Vinyl’s conversation was interrupted by a door opening, and a grey mare coming out with puffy eyes.

The stallion went up to Octavia, “Are you alright?”

The mare nodded, “Yes. We had a nice talk.”

“That’s good to hear. Why don’t you head on home and relax? Your mother needs some rest.”

“Thank you, father,” she felt him kiss her on the forehead, and say goodbye.

Once they had signed out and exited the building, Vinyl asked Octavia, “So, did you guys get into a fight?”

“No. Actually, I told her about ‘it’.”

“Wait, you came out to her?” the unicorn asked in surprise, “Wow. How did that go?”

The cellist smiled, “Actually, it went well. She said that as long as I’m happy, she doesn’t mind.”

Vinyl noticed the earth pony’s smile and let a grin grow on her own face, “We should celebrate, then. How about we go eat somewhere nice?”

“That sounds splendid.”

After a wonderful lunch and a silent walk home, the two mares spent the rest of the day talking and working. Vinyl was cleaning around the house as Octavia took out a parchment and wrote on it.

My Dear Father,

When I saw Mother, she told me that the doctors said she would be out of the hospital in a few months. That isn’t what you told me, though. Could you please come over tomorrow if you’re not too busy and explain why she thinks this? I really hope you didn’t ask the doctors to tell her such a lie. Anyway, I hope you can see me tomorrow.

Sincerely,
Octavia