10 days before the concert.
Vinyl’s idea to show Octavia the scene she would have to write a score for worked perfectly.
Every waking moment the cellist poured her efforts into creating something that would awe her audience. She pretty much lost sight of everything else around her. Questions she wanted to ask were locked away deep within. Her focus was her music and soon she would reap the rewards for her diligence.
Vinyl knew that it was important for Octavia to concentrate on the looming performance. She did what she could to make it easier for Octavia to do her work. It did mean that they talked a lot less and rarely did anything else than Octavia playing her cello and Vinyl rewinding the scene of the bridge from the movie she had organized.
But soon it would all be over and they could forget about deadlines for a while. At least that was what Vinyl hoped. A feeling of dread kept building up in the unicorn about that day. She had no idea what the future would hold, but hoped it involved Octavia in some way. She dared not bring up that topic with her out of fear it might disrupt the cellist’s creative side.
In order to take her mind off things, Vinyl had begun making her own music again. All the tracks she had made were now property of Big Time. She had given them to him to make sure Octavia wouldn’t face any negative consequences from her antics at the club so long ago. He had kept his word and had paid Vinyl in full. Having a handsome sum of bits on her hooves was nice, but she didn’t even know what to do with it all.
Vinyl was so absorbed in her music that she barely noticed the door opening and a pony walk into the room. She jerked back in shock as the pony laid a hoof on her shoulder.
“What the…” Vinyl only now noticed who had surprised her. “Lyra?”
“What’s up, Vinyl?” Lyra smiled, but it was laced with nervousness.
“I…uhm…I’m fine.” Vinyl took off her headphones and switched off her deck. “What are you doing here?”
“The day has arrived.” Lyra answered and took a few steps back. Vinyl moved from behind her deck to stand in front of the other unicorn. “We are leaving.”
“Leaving?” Vinyl didn’t quite follow what Lyra meant.
“We are leaving for Ponyville.” Lyra answered and Vinyl remembered Lyra mention something like that a long time ago.
“Bon Bon’s shop.”
“Yeah. We finally have the bits we need to set it up there.” Lyra smiled again. “Once I get paid for my part in the concert we can buy all the equipment we need and start making sweets.”
Lyra awkwardly shuffled around on her hooves for a moment. There obviously was something on her mind, but didn’t quite know how to phrase it.
“Bon Bon is here as well?” Vinyl asked just to break the rising tension.
“Chatting with Octavia in the living room.” Lyra sighed and took a step closer to Vinyl. “Listen, Vinyl. I don’t want to just leave without at least trying to make amends with you.”
“You don’t have to do anything like that.” Vinyl protested, but Lyra cut her off.
“Yes I do. I left you sitting in the café at a time when I should have rather been there for you.” Lyra folded her ears down and lowered her head. “I’m sorry about that. It was your decision and I should have accepted that.”
“That’s ok.” Vinyl said halfheartedly, not really sure what to say.
“No, it isn’t. You are one of the few ponies I actually get along with. You are a good friend and I don’t really have the luxury to lose one.” Lyra was genuinely remorseful. “I miss just hanging out with you and have somepony to talk to. I should have buried the hatchet a long time ago.”
“I should have done the same.” Vinyl could have needed a friend to talk to quite a few times since they had last met.
“Can we just bury it all and start over?” Lyra’s tone was almost pleading. “I don’t want to leave for Ponyville feeling bad about what I did or didn’t do.”
“Yeah….yeah, let’s forget about it. Bygones and all that.” Vinyl offered her hoof in friendship.
“Don’t I get a hug?” Lyra shook the offered hoof while asking the question.
“Uh, sure thing.” Vinyl hugged Lyra. She felt a weight lift from her she didn’t even realize had been weighing her down. Regaining a friend felt great, the feeling of two hooves wandering down her sides to eventually rest on her flanks felt strange.
“You just wanted to get your hooves on my flank right?” Vinyl grinned while still hugging the other unicorn.
“Can’t blame a mare for satisfying her curiosity.” Lyra replied with an equally wide grin. “Just don’t tell Bon Bon.”
“You are terrible.” Vinyl broke the hug and took a cautionary step back from the lyrist.
“I know.” Lyra’s smirk slowly vanished. “But I really meant what I said.”
“I know.” Vinyl chuckled.
“So…what’s going on?” Lyra sat down on her rump, obviously not going to go anywhere until she had been updated on current events.
“Not really much.” Vinyl shrugged. “Lost my job. Helping Tavi with her music and that’s about it.”
“Lost your job?”Lyra raised an eyebrow. “I thought you quit?”
“It’s a little more complicated.” Vinyl also sat down. “Big Time found out about Tavi and pretty much blackmailed me into giving him all my music without taking credit for it.”
“That’s unfair!”
“I’m over that.” Vinyl shrugged it away. “It was bad in the beginning, but now I don’t really care.”
“What about Octavia? Does she know?”
“No and I don’t plan to tell her.” Vinyl gave the mint green mare a look implying that she shouldn’t say anything either.
“And what about Octavia herself?” Lyra asked with a smirk.
“The way it always is.” Vinyl sighed. “I sit and suffer as usual. Maybe after the concert we could have a moment to talk about stuff like that.”
For a long moment Lyra didn’t reply. Vinyl feared she would object, perhaps using the last time they were all together in this town to force some kind of confrontation.
“It’s your call.” Lyra gave her a small sad smile and closed the distance between them. Lyra put a hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder and her look turned serious. “Just promise me that if things go bad and you need help or just a shoulder to cry on, that you will come to me. Ponyville isn’t that far away and has a train running through every few hours.”
“I promise.” Vinyl gave her friend a genuine grateful smile. It felt good to be able to call Lyra a friend again.
“Then let’s see what our mares are up to shall we?” Lyra offered to which Vinyl just nodded in response. Together they made their way into the living room.
____________________________________________________________________
Octavia smiled as Lyra and Vinyl entered the living room. Bon Bon had told her while they were alone that Lyra’s attitude had become more relaxed. Thanks to the information provided by Octavia, the sweetmaker knew how to deal with Lyra’s stressful time at work. She had thanked her again for telling her and also had informed her of them leaving the city.
It was something of a shock to Octavia. Apart from Vinyl, Lyra and Bon Bon were the only ponies here that she had any sort of regular contact with. Knowing that they would leave the city saddened the cellist. Yet at the same time she was happy that they could achieve the dream they had about running their own little shop.
She hoped that she would be able to achieve her own dream very soon. There were things to consider, but those could wait.
“I actually have something for you.” Octavia told Bon Bon while trotting over to the small pile of letters on the kitchen table. After a bit of rummaging around in the disorganized pile, she finally found what she was looking for. “This is for you.”
“What is it?” Bon Bon took the small thin piece of paper in her hooves and examined it with widening eyes. “This is a ticket for the concert!”
“My parents sent me their tickets.” Octavia explained to the awestruck Bon Bon. “They are out of town unfortunately during the concert, but left me the tickets to give to you rather than just giving them back.”
“Thank you!” Bon Bon had tried to get a ticket for herself, but that particular concert was sold out almost immediately. As was the usual case for anything that Princess Celestia would be attending.
“Check out the seating.” Vinyl nodded to the ticket in Bon Bon’s hooves. She had been given the second ticket and was happy not having to somehow break into the place to see Octavia play.
“Front row!” Bon Bon was speechless. The ticket in her hooves cost more than she had made in ten months working at her old job. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Think nothing of it.” Octavia said with a smile. “You should see Lyra on stage.”
“Awesome!” Lyra made a hoofpump. “That means there will be one pony in the audience that I’ll gladly play for.”
“What about me?” Vinyl feigned being offended at being left out.
“I’ll make some kind of silly face for you, Vinyl.” Lyra laughed along with Vinyl.
“Please not during my part.” Octavia knew that Lyra wouldn’t make any silly faces, after all she was rather professional when it came to playing on stage, but she still felt the need to make that request.
“I’ll try.” Lyra winked at the cellist.
_____________________________________________________________________
Bon Bon and Lyra had stayed on for dinner. After a lot of chatting and Bon Bon gushing over her new place in Ponyville the evening came to a close.
It was a bag of mixed feelings for all mares involved. On one side they would see each other soon again in Canterlot, but on the other side it did mean that they would be far apart once more. Writing letters was fine, but it just wasn’t the same as hanging out and sharing a laugh.
Slightly teary eyed the friends said their goodbyes to each other. Octavia closed the door behind them and sighed. There were a few things she should talk about with Vinyl, but her heart wasn’t in it at the moment. Vinyl seemed to think the same way as she remained uncharacteristically silent.
“We should start thinking about when we should go to Canterlot.” Octavia said as she sat down at the table to sort her mail a bit more thoroughly.
“I don’t really mind when. Any date you pick is fine by me.” Vinyl replied from the kitchen and began cleaning up the leftovers from dinner.
“Don’t you have to work at the club?”
“Nah, don’t worry about the club. They most certainly won’t mind me going someplace.” Vinyl chuckled without humor.
“Then I think we should go a day or so before the concert.” Octavia’s eyes lit up as she remembered something else. “We can go to the firefly dance.”
“I’m not really a pony for dancing.” Vinyl let the sink run full of water.
“No, that’s…haven’t you ever been to that event? It is every year.” Octavia turned around in her chair to look at Vinyl.
“It is in Canterlot and has something to do with dancing.” Vinyl grinned. “So no, I never went. Twirling around in a dress isn’t my kind of entertainment.”
“It isn’t…” Octavia stopped herself from revealing anything. “We’ll go to that dance.”
“Really?” Vinyl sighed in defeat as Octavia’s tone of voice left no room for discussion. “Do I have to wear a dress?”
“No, you don’t.” Octavia grinned. “It will be a surprise. Trust me, you’ll like it.”