Octavia was always amazed just how much energy Vinyl seemed to have. Hyperactive as the unicorn was, it was often difficult keeping up with her when she was on a roll. Vinyl would bounce from one activity to the next, always looking for something new and exciting to entertain herself with and give her inspiration for her music. Age hadn't mellowed her out one bit. In fact, at times she became almost like Pinkie Pie in her zeal for life and having fun.
Every so often when they were out together, when Vinyl would go dashing off on her own to look at something, Octavia got the odd question of how she could handle having someone so... active living with her. And Octavia would smile and say that that while some moments were more difficult than others, she always had a secret weapon for when she needed Vinyl to calm down for a few minutes.
It was actually quite easy, really. All she ever had to do was call her over and give her a kiss. She would hold it for a few precious moments, wrapping her forelegs around Vinyl's neck until steadily she would feel Vinyl calming down and relaxing. She'd break the kiss then and seal the deal with a gentle smile, watching her blush as they held each other. After that, she could count on Vinyl to be calm, at least until she found something especially exciting to rile her back up again.
In fact, upon further consideration, kissing Vinyl seemed to be a good start to helping her through any problems she was having too. When Vinyl was stressed or upset about something, a bit of cuddling and soft kisses did a wonderful job of soothing her while they talked it out together. It wasn't always an appropriate answer, nor was it always effective, but it almost universally helped in letting her know she was there for her.
If nothing else, her life was never boring with Vinyl Scratch around. Octavia liked her comfort zone of classical music with a bit of smooth jazz and even a little bit of swing when the particular mood struck her. Vinyl, by contrast, never appeared to be satisfied in any sort of comfort zone. She always wanted to find something new and never wanting one of her songs to sound the same as anything else. Consistency was, in her mind, just a fancy excuse for not innovating.
Indeed, her fear of stagnation was something so deeply rooted that even Octavia couldn't quite grasp it. She'd tried several times to get Vinyl to explain in detail what she meant, but every time Vinyl would end up talking in circles and then apologizing for not making sense but also trying to explain that it made sense to her. And Octavia would just nod and smile gently, letting her know that it was alright and she'd be here for her.
And sometimes that was all Vinyl really needed. Somepony she could talk to, who would listen and offer advice that she'd usually ignore. Somepony who would sigh and pretend to listen as she rambled on and on about nothing after drinking a little too much. Somepony would who be the straight mare to her bouts of insanity while keeping them both grounded in relative reality. Octavia was happy to play those roles, among others, tiring though it may be at times.
After all, that was what you did when you were in love, right?