Rarity was speechless. "Y...y....you..."
Vinyl rubbed her hoof behind her neck and looked away worredly. "Yeah, I've been meaning to tell you, but..."
Octavia hid her face in her hooves. "I apologize so much, Rarity. I feel very embarrassed...I promise, this won't happen again..."
Rarity closed her eyes. "Don't be, darling. It's just such a shock that you're gay..."
Sweetie Belle, who had been eavesdropping on the trio's conversation, gazed from over the door frame with her light green eyes. "Rarity? What does gay mean?"
Rarity swung around with surprise and replied, "Oh, Sweetie, it means happ-"
"It means two people of the same gender loving eachother," Vinyl interrupted casually. Rarity whipped back around to glare at the quite honest unicorn, who stared back at her with a confused look; like a puppy who just got in trouble for something and it didn't know why.
"I thought only mares and stallions liked eachother. How can two mares or stallions like eachother? I don't get it."
Rarity and Vinyl glanced at eachother once more, knowing what they had to do. "Sweetie, sit. We need to have a discussion."
Sweetie Belle nodded and hopped up onto the bed. "Oooh, are they like, just really good friends? Are they like sisters? Then I think I'm gay for you, Rarity!"
Vinyl dove her face into her front hooves, her snickers turning into a fit of giggles. Octavia put her hoof over her mouth with laughing eyes, but didn't make any noise. Rarity only blushed and glared at her sister once more, but she was too busy laughing to pay any attention.
"Not exactly, Sweetie," Octavia said. "Think of it like this. You know how your mother and your father love eachother? That's how being...homosexual works."
"So like, boyfriend and girlfriend? Except with just girls or boys?"
"Yes. Exactly like that. For example, Vinyl is my girlfriend, and I'm Vinyl's girlfriend."
"But," Vinyl said after calming down, "Don't talk about it in public or at school. People are way too sensitive about that sorta thing, because of religions and what-not." She rolled her eyes.
"Oh." Sweetie shifted uncomfortably and looked to the ceiling. "Rarity, I have another question."
"Yes, Sweetie?"
"Where do babies come from?"
----------------------------------------------
The four ponies were settling down in a quite fancy restaurant, where Vinyl was munching on all of the chips they had for an appetizer. "I just want to say," Rarity said to Octavia, "We welcome you warmly to our family."
Octavia smiled. "Although you found out on quite a...bad note, I'm glad you've welcomed me here." Vinyl said something through a mouth full of chips, making Sweetie Belle giggle as Octavia shot daggers at Vinyl with her eyes. Vinyl, getting the hint, swallowed the chips and then finished what she was saying. "Tavi and I are very glad that you've been able to deal with our relationship." She wiped off her face.
Octavia gave her an approving nod and looked back to Rarity, who said politely, "So, when did your relationship first start?"
"A few years ago, when we started being roommates. I realized Vinyl had the look, and the voice, and everything about her was just perfect. Although she was a handful sometimes, I realized how badly I wanted a relationship with her."
"I felt like, just the same way," Vinyl said. "I ended up kinda accidentally on purpose asking her out on a date to the movies, and I may have accidentally on purpose kissed her on the cheek during a romantic scene at the movies. Which led to a stallion throwing a diet Pepsi on us." Vinyl rolled her eyes angrily. "Like, seriously? Who even DRINKS Pepsi? And a DIET one, at that?!"
Octavia laughed a bit. "Which is why we try our best to do nothing more than a hug in public. Vinyl, being already famous, helped me start off my career as a cellist-"
"-And Tavi, being so strict, helped me quit smoking altogether and drinking so much. But, y'know, I have a drink every once in a while. Too bad the smoking left a little yellow in my fur," she said, looking down at her coat.
Rarity smiled. "I'm so glad you two are in such a healthy relationship. You make such a wonderful, romantic coup-"
"Ahem." A pink-eyed creamy brown stallion was next to them. "If you two wouldn't make such remarks in front of the children?"
Vinyl's smile fell, along with Rarity's, but Octavia nervously laughed, her laugh shaky and high pitched.
The stallion turned to Octavia. "If you like girls, why are you dating one that looks like a guy? I bet if I gave you a bit of fun, you'd change your mind about being lesbian."
Vinyl's eye started to twitch. She screamed out, "Why are YOU such an ASSHOLE?!"
The waiter glanced at Vinyl, and back to the nervous earth pony. "Look at your little girlfriend. Girls are so catty. And I thought only straight girls would like classical as much as you. So, what do you say?"
Octavia smacked the waiter with hard force, her anger seething and boiling over. Vinyl was speechless, watching the usually contained and polite earth pony lash out. "I LOVE this mare sitting before me, and if you can't realize you won't change that, then..." She breathed in. "You're a HUGE SHITWIPE!" She then threw her iced tea onto the stallion.
Next thing Vinyl knew, they were sitting outside of the restaurant on a bench after being kicked out. Octavia was attempting to calm herself with no result. Rarity was awkwardly sitting there. Sweetie Belle was looking down at the ground, sad and angry, hot tears streaming down her face.
Rarity said quietly, "I'll get a taxi."
Soon after, the cab arrived with a yellow mare with black hair driving it. "Where ya goin' to?"
"Carasoul Boutique," Rarity said, not looking at the mare.
"Ah, alright. Get in. It's startin to rain." She observed the group and whispered, "On the house. See you've had a pretty bad night, eh?"
Rarity smiled and said, "Thanks so much."
As they were sitting in the cab, rain started pouring down onto the windows, matching everyone's terrible mood.
Octavia closed her eyes and finally managed to calm herself. Vinyl glanced at her, and then gulped. "Octavia Melody."
She opened one eye and peered back at Vinyl.
"Ahem. Octavia Melody, you are just the most perfect mare in the world. I love you with all my heart. We were going to be in the restaurant, I was going to order a fancy cake and get down on one knee, and I was going to give you the cheesiest speech, and-" Vinyl breathed in deeply, her voice getting shaky and her eyes starting to water. "I...I was going to have the waiter bring in a candle light and your napkin was going to say, 'Will you marry me?' on it. It didn't turn out exactly like that, but I swore to myself I would do it tonight, so..." Vinyl was at full tears right now, her voice shaking even harder. "Octavia M-melody....W-will you...m-marry me?"
Octavia gasped, and she covered her mouth as tears were brought to her eyes as well. A small squeaking sound escaped her lips. Everyone else in the cab stared at Octavia, mouths hanging open, waiting for the stricken mare's answer.
"Vinyl Scratch...yes."