Chapter 14: Moments Before...
There was much to do that day for our two musical ponies. Vinyl Scratch needed replacement records for the ones that had been destroyed in the home invasion. She also needed to consider buying a new speaker system and repairing her keyboard. Money, however, would be an obstruction to her plans. For Octavia Melody, simple living necessities needed to be purchased, as she left everything behind in Canterlot. It was simply unacceptable to her to have gone so long without any makeup or changing her horseshoes. Although money would not be a problem for Octavia, she had a much bigger issue to deal with. Discovering Vinyl's orientation towards mares created a rift in Octavia's trust towards her. But instead of facing it like a grown mare, Octavia decided to pretend she never found out. A friendship with such a shaky foundation might not survive another earthquake of emotion and conflict. Or at least, that's what Octavia feared. (Such drama! Well, enough exposition. Let's listen in!)
"So, if I am to understand correctly," Octavia began, in her typical lecturing tone, "you intend to replace your records, yet you haven't the faintest idea which ones are broken?"
"Pretty much!" Vinyl answered enthusiastically.
"So, you never once elected to jot down the titles as you disposed of them?"
"Nope," Vinyl proudly declared as she magically levitated a toothbrush. She spun the object effortlessly and amused herself by performing aerial tricks with it. The two ponies were strolling down a Ponyville street on their way to Vinyl's favorite record shop: the only one in town. Though it was scheduled to be a clear day, it was still cloudy above the town. Whenever sunlight did find its way down, it reflected off Vinyl's purple sunglasses that she wore confidently. The DJ continued her conversation and clarified, "Never even crossed my mind!"
"Never?" Octavia asked her with a perfectly timed eyebrow raising.
"Never."
"Your foresight is amazing."
"Thanks!"
"That was sarcasm, Vinyl."
"Thanks for the sarcasm, Octavia!" Vinyl responded sarcastically. Octavia glared at her with a mixture of disdain and confusion, but Vinyl just puffed out her cheeks and held in a laugh. Octavia rolled her eyes and waved her hoof in dismissal of the nonsense.
"We are going nowhere with this; let us change the subject."
"Yes ma'am!" Vinyl stated astutely, making her magic flying toothbrush perform a salute.
"I suppose I must commend you for straightening out the mess at the house without my supervision. You must have done it quietly, I did not hear a single noise that would have roused me from my slumber."
"Heh-heh. Well, I am pretty awesome when I try!" Vinyl vainly explained. She continued her dramatic display of toothbrush acrobatics, as if to illustrate her claim. (Like it would impress anypony.) "But I was actually pretty loud. And I totally tried to wake you, you know! You wouldn't get up no matter how much I shook or shouted. Or poked. It was like you were dead, but still snoring."
"Ugggh," Octavia groaned, in an impolite manner. Envisioning herself sleeping in like a slob while Vinyl was being punctual was disheartening, to say the least.
'Wait a moment...' Octavia caught herself thinking. 'I snore!?'
"You were sleeping like a log, so I was thinkin' about drawing on your face," Vinyl mentioned, innocently. "Maybe give you a moustache."
"You are... so sinister," Octavia accused as she squinted her eyes at her friend in antipathy. The two giggled briefly after their exchange. The playful banter with Vinyl raised Octavia's spirit, as it always did. But no amount of high spirits would erase the plethora of problems on her mind. Old worries, new concerns. Each one was difficult to tackle for her and taunted her with many possible disastrous outcomes. Hoping for some support, she decided to pick the easiest one and discuss it with Vinyl. "Speaking of this morning, did you report the break-in?"
"Oh, um... report? You mean like... tell the town guard?" Vinyl mused in an obviously guilty way; her magic floating toothbrush faltered in its flight for a moment.
"...You did not... did you?" Octavia asked coldly at her friend's suspicious response.
"Well... I didn't so much as tell the guards... as... ...avoid them entirely and pretend nothing happened," Vinyl admitted shamefully. (But she grinned, nonetheless.)
"Vinyl, I am shocked at you! This is a serious matter! Your home was invaded! They left a threat!" Octavia asserted.
"Yeah, but they didn't take nothing! It was probably just some colts playin' a prank, alright? No need to go and involve anypony else!"
"Unbelievable..." Octavia was none too impressed with Vinyl's lack of responsibility, although she's come to expect it. "Simply unbelievable. Let us hope that decision does not come back to bite you in the flank."
"Octavia, darling!" Vinyl exclaimed with pretend shock and a faux Canterlot accent. "Such language! I know I raised you better than that!" Octavia just rolled her eyes at the jeer. "Biting somepony in the flank is far too naughty for a mare of your class!"
The real Canterlot pony blushed and grimaced.
'Oh, Celestia... I am best friends with this pony... What has my life come to?'
Vinyl nudged her friend casually, "Hey, I'm pretty good at being a stuck up Canterlite, huh?"
"I would not count your acting skills as a positive attribute."
"Uh-huh. Well. It doesn't matter. I got some techno and pop records in mind for you. Soon we'll be rocking out and you'll forget all about Canterlot!" Vinyl announced gleefully. "To the record shop, tally ho!"
"Hmm..." Octavia hummed at the prospect. "You know what? I am looking forward to it! It is high time we do what I came here to do. I am counting on your expertise and advice, Vinyl. There is so much music I have not yet experienced, and I- ENOUGH WITH THE TOOTHBRUSH!!!" Octavia snapped forward and snatched the cleaning utensil as it tried to magically buzz around her head for the 15th time.
Vinyl snickered at her friend finally responding to her masterful plan (which was appropriately titled: "Annoy Octavia With a Magic Flying Toothbrush.")
"Honestly," Octavia muttered through her teeth as she secured the flying annoyance, "do you not have any respect for personal property?"
"Only when it's mine! 'Cause I always got the best stuff!" Vinyl answered with a stupid grin, sticking out her tongue playfully.
"Ah, what a presumptuous narcissist you are," Octavia casually insulted as she tucked the toothbrush into her pack. It was actually an expensive brand that had been forced upon her mere minutes ago. Vinyl's dentist friend, Colgate, had happily given it to her for free.
(Well folks... I've received several angry "cease and desist" letters from Colgate-Palmolive Co., so I must rephrase that last sentence.)
(Ahem.)
Vinyl's dentist friend, Colgate Minuette, had happily given it to her for free. The blue unicorn seemed to have an obsession with brushing and had plenty to spare.
"I'm a what?" Vinyl asked, bewildered to Octavia's wordy insult.
"A presumptuous narcissist," Octavia repeated snidely. She knew what was coming next.
"I don't- know... I don't know what either of those words mean..." Vinyl stated bluntly, as she turned to face her friend with an oblivious stare.
"How unfortunate for you," Octavia nonchalantly replied. The two ponies continued on their stroll; the conversation didn't hinder their pace in the least.
"Wait, what were they? Pres- Presnar- Presnarump?"
"Not even close, Vinyl," Octavia giggled.
"Hey, at least I know 'troglodyte' now!"
"Oh, you are capable of recalling words from two days ago! I see your IQ level has significantly risen since my arrival. This is fantastic news!" The cellist was smiling brightly at this point.
"Haha! That's right! I'm a presnarump troglodyte now!" Vinyl declared confidently. "Presnarump! Presnarump troglodyte!" she hollered wildly, garnering attention from several ponies on the street.
"What are you doing? Keep your voice down! Everypony can hear you!" Octavia begged in a panic, her cheeks starting to pink up.
"No way! Vinyl Scratch is always the life of the party!" Vinyl replied with a smirk. This was her little revenge against Octavia's education. "Presnarump troglodyte!"
"This is not a party! We are in public, for pony's sake!" Octavia tried to reason with her friend, but it was obviously pointless.
"Presnaaaaaarump! Trooooooglooooodyte!"
A stallion from across the street called over, "Huh!? What does that mean!?"
Vinyl turned to him and shouted back, "I have no idea! But it's what I am! All thanks to her!" She pointed to her terrified companion.
"Oh, Celestia." Octavia buried her head in her hoof to hide her face. Despite her embarrassment, she couldn't help but giggle. When the two of them were engaged in silly conversation, Octavia found it easy to forget her discomfort regarding Vinyl's sexuality. Perhaps if they continued to just have a good time, and no more absurdly strange events occur, she could forget about it altogether. (But that'd be such an unsatisfying fanfic.)
"Presnarump!" Vinyl shouted once more for good measure, ensuring Octavia was thoroughly embarrassed.
"Good grief, I never said that! It was 'pre-sump-tu-ous nar-ci-ssist!'" Octavia corrected, sounding it out for her companion.
"Huh... You're right, that's not even close," Vinyl said, finally returning to normal speaking levels. "Well, since you're so smart, what's that mean?"
"It means you are self-absorbed," Octavia answered with relief that the outburst was over.
"Absorbed? ...Like a sponge? Haha! That's such a weird insult, Octavia!" Before the cellist could provide a correction, the DJ latched onto her, wrapping one hoof around her neck to prevent escape. "I'm a sponge! Squishy, squishy!" Vinyl squeezed hard against Octavia's side. The heated contact further flustered the gray pony's face. "I'll suck you all up, Octavia!" Vinyl teased playfully. But then, without warning, Vinyl did the unthinkable: she pressed her lips directly on Octavia's cheek and started to suck.
"WHAT IN CELESTIA'S NAME!?" Octavia shrieked and forcibly shoved her affectionate attacker off before the narrator could even get a chance to describe the scene further! Responding with a "Hey!" and followed by a splendid "Oof!," Vinyl crashed into a passing pegasus. The scene was reminiscent of the moment the two musicians met, as Vinyl and the pegasus hit the dirt. Octavia backed up and vigorously tried to wipe away the spot on her face where Vinyl had planted her suction kiss.
'No, no, no, no! Why? Why did she do that!? It was supposed to stay a secret!'
"Ow," Vinyl moaned from the two-pony pile up she found herself a part of in the middle of the street. "Octy!? What the hay?" she yelled, bolting up. Vinyl immediately began to lose balance and quickly realized she was standing on the chest of the gray pegasus. "Ah! Pony feathers! Sorry, Derps!" The DJ lifted the dizzy blonde pegasus up and turned her attention to her friend. "Octavia!? What the hay was that for!?" She had to shout because Octavia had put significant distance between them.
"DON'T DO THAT!!!" Octavia shrieked, as she trembled wildly in her own little bubble of panic.
"Huh!? Filly, what are you talking about?" Vinyl trotted over to her frightened friend, who tried to retreat in response, but backed into the side of a building. "Octavia, what's wrong?" the DJ asked as she closed the distance between them.
"You kissed me! Don't do that! Don't kiss me!"
"WHAT!?" Vinyl shouted, far louder than Octavia did. Looking around, Vinyl saw they had gathered the attention of several ponyfolk, most of which had been watching since "Presnarump." Blushing wildly and blatantly confused, the DJ turned back to Octavia. She kept her voice low, to keep the conversation private as she could, as she responded. "Filly, I do NOT know what you're talking about! I didn't kiss you, okay!?"
"Yeah! Yeah, you did!" Octavia's blubbering reduced her to the intellectual level of a pouting foal.
"All I did was hug you! Like I've been doing for days! That's all!"
"Then- then you kissed my cheek!" Octavia cried out.
"Would you quit saying that!?" Vinyl looked around frantically as more and more ponies began to watch the panicked scene. "What's gotten into you, Octavia!? I was just teasin' and I poked your cheek, alright? With my hoof, see?" Vinyl displayed her hoof to her friend. Both of them were confused and blushing, wishing they could be somewhere else. All thoughts of a pleasant, uneventful day were gone and the gathering crowd only fueled the agony of embarrassment.
"What? No! No, you- you were sucking on- my cheek..." Octavia claimed, slowly starting to doubt herself. Vinyl squirmed at the accusation. The pegasus, Derpy, appeared from behind Vinyl as she wandered over to check on the scene. "You!" Octavia pointed to her. "You saw! She was kissing me inappropriately, wasn't she!?"
Derpy gave her an expression of sincere concern and responded by definitively shaking her head, as if to say: "No, she didn't."
"See?" Vinyl pressed, "I don't know what's going through your head, but it isn't what happened, alright? So, could we... maybe talk about this somewhere else?"
'What? Could I have been imagining it? But I could swear to Celestia she- ...she kissed me... but she says she didn't... she didn't kiss me...'
'But you wish she did,' a dirty little voice in the back of her head said coyly.
At that moment, a raspy voice called out from above, garnering everypony's attention, "Ooookay, folks! Nothing else to see here!" In a bolt of rainbow colors, a dashing young pegasus mare flew down and hovered between the crowd of ponies and the two musicians. Before Octavia could get a good look at the blue pegasus, she felt her chest collide with something. It almost winded her, and she barely had time to comprehend what had happened as the scenery suddenly flew away before her very eyes. A great wind blew against the back of her body as she watched the crowded street of ponies shrink in size and disappear in front of her. The straw roofs of Ponyville houses came into view suddenly and dropped away just as fast. Soon, Octavia was surrounded by an excess of clouds zipping past. Looking down at the pressure on her chest, Octavia saw a blue foreleg holding her tightly. Trying to move her head against the wind on her back, she turned to see the vigorously flapping wings of a pegasus and streak of rainbow colors running along behind them.
As clouds flew by her, Octavia had enough information to finally compose a hypothesis to her situation, despite her spinning head: the pegasus had grabbed her and flew into the sky, very quickly. (Such an astute observation!) But just as this realization dawned upon her, Octavia's abrupt chauffer dove, collided violently with the dirt and screeched to a halt as dust and debris blew up behind her. After the landing, the pegasus released Octavia, who fell, flabbergasted, onto her side. The cellist didn't even try to rise to her hooves, but simply struggled on the ground to catch her breath. She wasn't hurt, but she was certainly panting for air.
"You guys okay?" the same sudden raspy voice asked.
Octavia finally looked up at the pegasus to see a grinning face shadowed underneath unruly, rainbow-colored bangs.
"Celestia, RD! Why'd you go that fast!? I almost lost my shades!" Vinyl coughed beside Octavia, who noticed the DJ's presence for the first time. Vinyl was partially collapsed on the ground and was vigorously fixing her sunglasses. The pegasus had obviously brought the both of them along for the abrupt ride. Quickly discerning her surroundings, the cellist found her group in the shade of a building on the edge of town. There were no other ponies around to see them.
"Heh heh! Sorry, but 'fast' is my only speed!" the rainbow pony chuckled as her wings began to flap again. She lifted off slightly and hovered before Octavia. "Need a hoof?" She reached down for the Canterlot pony, who, after a moment, cautiously gave her hoof to her. The pegasus yanked Octavia up a little faster than she was comfortable with, but it got her to her hooves nonetheless. Hovering over to Vinyl, she offered the same. Vinyl waved her hoof in defiance to shoo the pegasus away.
"I'm fine," the stubborn unicorn said as she rose, wobbling, to her feet.
"Eh, suit yourself," the rainbow colored pegasus shrugged.
"Excuse me," Octavia began, finding her confidence after losing it in front of all those ponies, "but explain yourself! What just happened? Who are you?" The other two ponies gave each other a glance, before Vinyl tried to answer.
"This is-"
"Name's Rainbow Dash!" the blue pegasus interrupted, both verbally and physically, when she flew in front of Octavia's face to block Vinyl from view. "I was busy clearing the sky when I saw you guys having a fight, so I SHZOOM!!! dashed down there and grabbed the two of you. I figured you didn't want to have that crowd watching, so I hightailed you guys outta there." Rainbow whipped her own tail at the expression to demonstrate.
"Oh, well-" Octavia tried to begin.
"No, no! No need to thank me! Heh heh!" Rainbow flew up quickly to gain an altitude advantage. "Just make sure you mention to everypony in Canterlot how much of a hero I am."
"Canterlot? How did-" Octavia began again.
"If word gets around Canterlot that I helped out one of their own, maybe the Wonderbolts will hear about it! Heeheeeee!" Rainbow squealed like an adorable fanfilly. Without warning, she flew behind Octavia and shoved her forcefully towards Vinyl, stopping after about half the distance. Octavia fell flat on her flank, and in that instant, Rainbow bolted to behind Vinyl. She pushed her the rest of the way towards Octavia, until the two friends were touching and Vinyl too, fell to her rear. "Okay you two, time to make up!" Rainbow announced, crossing her arms. "I'll get out of your manes now. I got clouds to bust anyway. Catch ya later, Vinyl!" With that, the pegasus bolted into the sky in a brilliant streak of rainbow, leaving a flabbergasted cellist behind.
With the energetic Rainbow Dash gone, there was an awkward silence between the two musical ponies, as they sat uncomfortably close to one another. They averted each other's gaze, but neither made a move to separate.
"Vinyl..." Octavia said, breaking the quiet, "how did she know I was from Canterlot?" Octavia looked to the sky, but saw no sign of the pegasus.
"Oh, uh... RD goes to the club I played at last night. I guess I- kinda told her about you," Vinyl explained, still avoiding eye contact. She added, "And she's friends with AJ... and Twi... and Pinks..."
'Another nickname,' Octavia thought. 'AJ, RD, Twi, Pinks, BP, Rosey, Minny, Derps... ...Octy...'
"You... give everypony you know a nickname, don't you?" the observant cellist asked, recalling back to her memories of everypony she's heard Vinyl interact with.
"Huh? Yeah... I guess," Vinyl scratched the dirt with her hoof.
"But you no longer use mine." Octavia proposed this matter-of-factly, but Vinyl didn't reply. The silence between them lingered for a moment. Octavia swallowed before continuing, "Why is that?"
"You said you didn't like it, remember?"
"I do remember." Octavia contemplated for a moment before adding, "However, that's not the real reason, is it Vinyl?" Knowing what she knew now, her instincts told her there was a different reason. But she didn't know why she was pressing the issue so, fully aware it would lead towards some dangerous territory. Did... she actually want to hear Vinyl say it?
"Well... no..." Vinyl admitted slowly, awkwardly shuffling her position on the ground. The two of them were barely touching hooves as they sat in the place Rainbow Dash had put them. "It's 'cause... you're my only- err, I mean... you're my best friend... using your real name... means you're special to me..."
It's not exactly what she expected to hear, but Octavia still blushed at that and her heart jumped. She already knew her status, but being reminded of it gave her joy. She felt comfortable with Vinyl. Everything between them always worked itself out, no matter how silly or how serious. It was natural they would stay so close.
Octavia turned to face her friend with confidence, "I do not know what to say, Vinyl. You are my best friend, as well."
Vinyl spun around immediately, raised up her hooves in expectance of an embrace and exclaimed, "I'm so happy! Can we hug it out now!?" She pouted with tearful puppy-dog eyes to entice Octavia to humor her. The cellist chuckled and followed her cue. The two ponies squeezed each other like sponges like good friends as Vinyl grinned. "Does this mean you forgive me for... whatever happened back there?" she asked.
Octavia pulled out of the hug quickly, but still held Vinyl's shoulders. "No, it was my fault, Vinyl." Octavia quickly ran an excuse-making program in her brain to explain herself. "I am just- a bit overwhelmed right now and was feeling dizzy. I must have imagined it. I am so sorry." The truth, of course, was different. Her mind would go wild whenever Vinyl touched her, causing many such imaginary situations to run amok in her head. Even though she tried to destroy every fantasy as they appeared, one slipped out and she confused it with reality.
"Dizzy?" Vinyl placed her hoof on Octavia's forehead. "You're not sick or nothing, are ya? Should we just go home? Do you need to lie down?"
"No, I'm-" Octavia took a deep breath. "I am fine, Vinyl. Let us forget this business and go to the musical store; I think we have delayed enough." She got up, finally letting go of her friend. "Where... is it exactly?"
"Um," Vinyl got up as well, and looked around for any landmarks. All she could see from the edge of town was an open field. She wasn't even sure if that forest in the distance was Everfree or not and Canterlot mountain was simply not in view from their place behind a building. "RD brought us to- uh... ...um... ...I have no idea."
"For pony's sake," Octavia murmured as she face-hooved.
"Hey, don't worry! Ponyville's not that big. Come on!" Vinyl picked a random direction back into town and casually motioned to her friend to follow. The unicorn and the earth pony walked for a while and had a delightful conversation about Vinyl's sense of direction (or lack thereof.) As they found their way back to a route that Vinyl knew, she became uncharacteristically quiet. There was silence between them for a few moments as they traveled until the DJ spoke up. "So... you kinda freaked out back there."
"I told you to forget that business," Octavia replied quickly. "There is nothing to be gained by pursuing it," she added, trying to end the discussion.
"Right, but... I mean. All 'cause you thought I kissed you, haha. It's kind of funny." Vinyl's voice started to crack as she spoke, and Octavia became silent. After clearing her throat, Vinyl continued. "What I mean is... even if- if I had... done that... it... wouldn't have been so bad... right?"
The both of them stopped in their tracks. The distance between the two ponies seemed to stretch into miles and the silence turned from awkward to painful. Vinyl had just taken a tremendously bold step: a step Octavia had been dreading would eventually happen. Neither of the two dared to look at each other. The classical cellist kept to studying the dirt beneath their hooves and the contemporary DJ kept her attention on some far off street.
A sinking feeling in her gut weighed her down, and Octavia's lips never moved to say the words in her head:
'Maybe not...'