Octavia woke up and immediately regretted doing so. Her head was throbbing and her vision was blurred. She rolled over, her body rubbing against a blanket that felt like sandpaper. Letting loose a groan, she squinted and was able to make out her living room.
Her forehead burst with pain and she winced.
What happened to me? Why does my head— Oh… Memories from last night bubbled to the surface of her consciousness. The most notable were the hammering noise of techno music and the metallic bite of alcohol still lingering on her tongue.
Blinking, Octavia looked around the room and found it barren. “Vinyl?” No answer.
Opening her eyes a little wider, she hissed as her pupils were seared by the sunlight peeking in through the window.
“Gah!” Slamming her eyes shut, she struggled with the blanket around her, throwing it over her eyes. Inhaling several warm gulps of air, she peeked her eyes open again. The blanket constricted the light, making it substantially more bearable. Eventually, she had to remove it; feeling like she might suffocate in the sea of stitching.
The sunlight slammed into her pupils again the instant she removed the blanket. Hissing, Octavia shut her eyes. She fumbled around, trying to find anything that could permanently block out the light. Her hoof wormed around on the coffee table, before bumping into something.
Octavia’s mouth tightened as she realized what it was: Vinyl’s sunglasses.
Well… better something than nothing I suppose.
Keeping her eyes pressed shut, she pushed the shades onto her face. Peeking her eyes open just a crack, Octavia looked around. The room around her was now bathed in a dark purple tint. In the last twenty-four hours, Octavia had really come to detest that particular color, but now she found that it softened the harsh light to an almost tolerable level. Her pain eased slightly, Octavia pushed herself up.
Huh… no wonder Vinyl wears these all the time. She blinked, reminded that she still had no idea where her roommate — and subsequently her body — was. Anxiety tugged at her stomach and she looked around. “Vinyl? Vinyl where are you?”
No answer.
No no no! Vinyl, if you’re off cavorting around town with my body I swear to— Octavia attempted to stand, but her hangover battered her back onto the couch. Groaning, Octavia rubbed her temples. Ugh… how many stages did she drag me through last night?
“Vinyl?” Octavia called out a little louder. Her hangover disapproved but she needed to find her roommate. “Vinyl, I am not amused. Come out here right now and tell me what you—” She paused, her eyes glancing down at the coffee table before her. A tall glass of water with melting ice cubes sat before her and next to it a small red pill that she immediately recognized as aspirin.
Octavia couldn’t have smiled wider if she’d found a cello made out of solid gold.
She swooped down, grabbed the aspirin and popped it into her mouth all in one smooth motion, then chased it with the water. Her hooves refused to cooperate unfortunately and a large portion of the water ran down her cheeks and chin. She didn’t stop drinking, however, until the entire glass was drained. Tipping her head back and tapping the bottom of the glass, she let the ice slide into her mouth.
Setting the glass down with a relieved sigh, Octavia wiped her mouth. Already her hangover felt a million times better, though given how awful it was to start with, that wasn’t too great of an improvement, but still, once the aspirin kicked in she knew she would be right as rain.
Before she tried standing again, her eyes fell on one last thing on the coffee table. A small slip of paper with scratchy writing on it hung slightly over the edge. Grabbing it, Octavia lifted it closer to her face, trying to decipher the writing.
Hey Tavs,
Apple Bloom stopped by and said Pothole Lady was almost finished with the potion to fix our bods. I would have woken you up, but figured dealing with Hangover Tavi was a bad idea. I’ll just bring the potion home when it’s done, so you can just chillax for a few minutes and not poke around the house or anything and try to beat back that monster headache you probably have right now.
K bye.
Oh and PS, that Rarity chick was totally into you/me last night, which is bitchin’. Well… for me at least. So thanks and junk.
Octavia groaned as she set the paper down. “Of course she didn’t wake me up. It’s not like I want to switch back as soon as possible.” She pushed herself off the couch, feeling a dull pang in her head.
Ignoring it, Octavia wormed her way around the furniture, aiming for the door. She had to get to the Everfree Forest as soon as possible. Celestia knew what Vinyl might do to mess up their chance to switch back; at the very least she could get the fix-it potion mixed up with something else entirely.
Octavia reached the front door and flung it open, only to find herself snout to snout with Rarity. Her hoof was held in a pre-knocking position and as Octavia inhaled she could detect the faintest hint of a lilac perfume emanating from Rarity’s coat.
They stood frozen for a moment until Rarity blinked and smiled. “Oh, hello, Vinyl. Thank you for saving me the trouble of knocking.”
“Oh, uh… Rarity.” Quick, what would Vinyl do in this situation? Her eyes darting around, Octavia leaned her body against the door frame in an attempt to mimic Vinyl’s suave, devil-may-care attitude, gave a smirk that undoubtedly came off as awkward and said, “Uh… ‘sup?”
Rarity pressed her hoof to her mouth and gave a brief snort of laughter. “Hello to you too. May I come in?”
Octavia blinked. She knew she had to get to the Everfree Forest for the potion soon, but at the same time didn’t want to be rude to her friend. Stuck between her choices, she forced out a smile while she tried to think of a solution. Unfortunately, her stomach beat her to the punch with a low rumble.
With an arched eyebrow, Rarity looked at her. “Goodness, darling, haven’t you eaten anything today?”
“Would an aspirin count?” Octavia asked.
“Absolutely not. Vinyl, you should know to never skip breakfast.”
“Well, yes, it’s just that—”
“Come on.” Rarity brushed passed Octavia. “I’m not letting you leave this house until you eat at least something.”
Octavia groaned inwardly but shut her front door. She knew how commanding Rarity could be at times and didn’t doubt that she would prevent her from leaving.
“All right, but can we make it quick? I’ve got somewhere I need to be.” Octavia trotted after Rarity, who had just found the kitchen and strolled inside like she owned it.
“Oh I’m certain it won’t take to long to make a presentable meal.”
“You know, just cereal would be fine” Octavia followed her into the kitchen.
"Nonsense, I'm sure I can whip us up a more proper meal than that." Rarity opened the pantry, assessing the food within.
Octavia tilted her head slightly. "Us?"
She froze, then buried her face in the pantry to shield her expression. "Oh... I was just feeling a bit peckish myself. I hope that's all right?"
Trotting over to the pantry, Octavia reached in and pulled out a box of corn flakes. Her foreleg brushed against Rarity's as she did. "You're fine, Rarity. After all, it's just breakfast."
"Of course, darling." Rarity gave a dainty smile, but failed to conceal the faintest shade of pink flushing on her cheeks.
Octavia pulled back slightly. It is just breakfast... Right?
When her stomach thundered again, she let the subject drop. Octavia had failed to realize how absolutely starving she had been when she first woke up. The headache had drawn most of her attention after all, but now that the aspirin was starting to kick in, she felt hunger's iron grip over her stomach.
At her insistence though, they didn't prepare any other food besides the cereal, so Octavia went on the hunt for clean bowls and spoons. Vinyl hadn't exactly been keeping up with the dishes while she had been away, but luckily there was just enough.
Since she still hadn't worked out the kinks in her levitation, however, and choosing to avoid the incredible awkwardness of having to ask Rarity to rub her horn, she settled for the slightly less awkward balancing act. She shoved the spoons handle-first into her mouth, hooked one foreleg around the bowls and the other around the cereal. Her free legs shakily propelled her toward the table.
"Do you need any help?" Rarity asked.
“I gert igh!” Octavia insisted through the spoons. A split second later, she demonstrated just how much she had it when her balance failed her. Gravity yanked her down and everything she was holding scattered into the air.
Her eyes shut in anticipation. Instead of connecting with the tiled floor and shattering her nose — or rather, Vinyl’s nose — she lurched to a stop mid-fall, hitting something much softer than the ground.
Peeking her eyes open, Octavia found that she landed right into the hooves of Rarity, who had just managed to catch her. Her horn was alight with a blue aura, her magic cradling the bowls, spoons and cereal.
“T-thanks.” She pushed herself out of Rarity’s hold.
“Not a problem; though it was a very lucky catch.” Rarity levitated everything onto the table, her meticulous nature shining through as she flourished the bowls equidistant from each other and parallel with the spoons. Octavia smiled slightly, knowing that she wouldn’t be sharing breakfast with somepony as slovenly as Vinyl for once.
“Well, I appreciate it.” Octavia took a seat and filled her bowl to the brim.
Rarity slid into the seat next to her, their sides brushing against each other. Octavia flinched slightly as Rarity’s fuzzy coat intermingled with hers, though it seemed that she was the only one who minded. Cautiously, she scooted a few inches away.
As Octavia dove into her food, Rarity poured herself a contrastingly smaller amount. She chased the flakes around her bowl with her spoon, not pausing to eat any.
Octavia finally came up for air when her bowl was left with nothing but the dust of devoured corn flakes. She reached for the cereal box again, not even feeling partially full.
“I, um… saw your performance last night,” Rarity mentioned as the corn flakes clinked into the bowl.
Octavia paused. “Oh, uh… cool. What did you think?”
Rarity smiled. “I enjoyed myself, though I will admit that your style of music is far from my favorite. Even so, you seem to put your own je ne sai quoi into it.” She inched closer. “And… I liked it.”
Octavia dropped the cereal box sending corn flakes scampering across the table. She wasn’t the best at interpreting signals, but she could read Rarity’s mannerisms like a picture book. While Vinyl would undoubtedly be overjoyed at this development, Octavia found it difficult to breathe. Rarity had, or was at least developing, a crush on her.
Oh Celestia…
“Hey, I just realized that we didn’t get any milk. Did you want milk? Because I could really go for some milk right now.” Octavia jolted up as if electricity had pulsed through her body. It was so fast that her chair fell over, not that she noticed or cared.
Rarity blinked, nonplussed at the sudden change in her attitude. “Um… sure, I suppose milk would be nice.”
“Great.” Octavia forced a smile, all of her teeth showing. “Just great. I’m going to grab some milk then.”
She crossed to the fridge, her legs stiff with panic. Octavia swallowed several gulps of air, almost forgetting to exhale in the process. She needed to calm down somehow, but simply couldn’t stop thinking about Rarity’s feelings.
It wouldn’t be a problem if she was back in her own body, because then she could just let Rarity down easy, but this was Vinyl who Rarity had feelings for. Despite not liking mares herself, Octavia refused to ruin something that was important to her friend. Even so, it didn’t mean she was going to be comfortable with it.
After walking for what felt like a mile, she finally reached the fridge and tore it open. It was nearly empty; a testament to Vinyl living by herself for a few days. Octavia reached to the back, spying a tall carton that contained what she desired. By the time she finished dragging it out, Rarity had caught up to her.
“Vinyl, are you all right?”
“Fine. Great. Yeah…” Octavia flubbed her next few words, ending her incoherent sentence by holding up the jug and exclaiming, “milk!”
Rarity lowered her eyelids, unconvinced. She brought up her hoof, resting it on Octavia’s. With a nudge she got her to set the milk down, but her hoof lingered. “Are you absolutely sure? I hope I didn’t upset you.”
“Uh…” Octavia looked down at their still touching hooves. “You’re fine, I just… realized some things.”
“Oh.” Rarity looked down, a blush creeping onto her face. “You mean...”
“Yes.”
Rarity’s hoof finally lifted off her’s. “I see. I guess I wasn’t being too subtle, was I?”
“Uh… no.” Octavia sighed. “Look Rarity, maybe you should… think about this… uh, you and me… before you let anymore feelings bubble up.”
Rarity’s lips tightened. “What are you saying, Vinyl?”
Gah, there’s no way around this. Sorry Vinyl. “It’s just that… our personalities aren’t very compatible and I feel that that should be taken into account.”
There was a brief pause. Then, much to Octavia’s surprise, Rarity gave a rather unladylike snort.
She put her hoof to her mouth a second later to cover it, but the brunt of her reaction had slipped out, confounding Octavia.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, Vinyl, you can’t be serious.”
“What?”
Rarity let out a small giggle before elaborating. “You think I haven’t noticed by now? You’re not exactly who you pretend to be.”
“What?” Octavia reiterated, voice climbing an octave. She did not like where this was going.
“I’ll admit you constant use of sunglasses and hair gel make for a convincing disguise, but deep down you’re really a sophisticated pony such as myself.”
She blinked. “Uh…”
“I mean, your posture is near perfect and you constantly drop your little slang words for a more proper diction. Even the way you walk is a dead giveaway.” Rarity smiled. “And I can understand why you do it too. With a Cutie Mark for being a disc jockey, no pony could fault you for wanting a more… radical image. I certainly don’t.”
Octavia sucked in air through clenched teeth. “Thanks?”
Rarity gave her a tight lipped smile. “So… um.... now that you’ve learned about my… feelings, I…”
Oh no. “Uh… right… about that…”
Rarity sighed, her head turning to the floor. Clearly she had been able to read Octavia’s tone with just those four words. “You don’t feel the same way.” Her voice was flat, laced with disappointment.
Octavia ground her teeth together, Vinyl’s upset face flashing before her eyes. “No, it’s not that!”
Perking up slightly, Rarity arched her eyebrow. “Really?”
Sweet Celestia, I can’t believe I’m about to do this. “Rarity, I think you’re great and wonderful and talented and at the same time so considerate of others. I don’t think I could picture a better pony for Vinyl, er… myself.”
Rarity smiled. “Wow… thank you, Vinyl. That was really sweet.” She leaned in, lips pursing.
Octavia’s eyes bulged. Oh no, please don’t kiss me. Her hooves backpedalled, but not far enough. Rarity’s face was inches away from her’s now. “W-wait just a second now.”
She lurched back, knocking into the trashcan right behind her. The force was so great that it sent her down along with it. Rarity wasn’t able to catch her this time, and she ended up banging her head on the tiled floor, a wave of spilled trash accompanying her.
“Oh my goodness!” Rarity rushed to her side, a hoof covering her mouth. “Darling, are you all right?”
Octavia tried to lift her head, and winced. The impact brought back her old friend, the headache. “Peachy. Just peachy.”
“I am so sorry.” Rarity bent down, maneuvering around the garbage to help Octavia up.
“I got it,” Octavia assured her. After what had just happened, she didn’t feel up to touching Rarity anyway. She moved her hoof to buttress herself against the floor and ended up rustling some paper. She was about to kick it away when she saw writing on one visible corner. It was bent and crumpled, but still legible.
Dear Ms. Octavia Melody…
Octavia froze. A letter? Addressed to me? But I didn’t receive any… Wait a moment.
She rolled onto her belly, scrambling to retrieve the paper. Unfurling it, Octavia found the bulk of the letter was unbelievably stained by whatever had been in the garbage can, but nevertheless she could read it.
“Vinyl?” Rarity inquired, voice a little concerned. “Are you—”
“Shh!” Octavia snapped. “I’m reading.” Her attention swiveled to the paper. “We are happy to inform… exceed expectations… opportunity of a callback. A callback!” She rocketed upward, slapped with the realization of who this letter was from. “I got a callback! They want me back!”
She needed to hug somepony, or something for that matter. Luckily Rarity was nearby and found herself startled with a full body wrap around. The awkwardness of it all didn’t phase Octavia, who was experiencing such ecstasy that she would have hugged a cactus out of delight.
“Vinyl, dear, calm down for a second. What callback are you referring too? And what was it doing in the garbage?”
Octavia pulled away, about to happily relay the good news about the Manehattan Philharmonics, when she jutted to a stop. Glancing at the maimed letter in her hoof, she furrowed her brow. “What was it doing in there? I didn’t throw it away and the only other pony who would have access to my mail is—” Her dark purple shades failed to prevent her vision from going bloodshot red. “Vinyl…”
Rarity blinked, nonplussed. “I’m sorry?”
The words didn’t reach Octavia’s ears. Everything around her was completely shut out in realization that Vinyl had taken her future and shoved it into the trash as if it held no more relevance than an old apple core, or a used pizza box. Octavia’s body shook with fury.
“She. Is. Dead!”
Rarity opened her mouth slightly, her ignorance of the situation “Who is dead— Vinyl? Where are you going?”
Octavia didn’t answer as she blazed out of her house. She galloped at full speed for the Everfree Forest, letter still in hoof, rage tearing through every fiber of her being.
Four short miles away, Vinyl impatiently tapped her hoof while glaring at the bubbling cauldron before her. Zecora stood opposite of her using a large wooden spoon to swirl the concoction. She was pouring laser-like focus into the task, which gave Vinyl hope that it would be completed soon.
Unfortunately for the both of them, hope only fed her impatience.
“Is it done yet?” she asked.
Zecora’s eyes shot upward, hammering Vinyl with an annoyed stare. “The potion is not yet ready, we have to wait until the bubbling becomes steady.”
Vinyl bit her lip, glancing at the spasmodic boiling below her. Unable to tell when such unpredictableness would be considered steady, she found herself growing more uneasy.
“Ya can relax, Vinyl.” Apple Bloom poked her head over the rim of the cauldron. “Zecora knows what she’s doin’.”
“Well can she know-what-she’s-doing a little faster? I really… I need to be back in my body again. And get home before… uh… before Tavi knows I’m missing.”
“I know the feeling,” another filly spoke up. Vinyl turned to see one of the two fillies she had been somewhat ignoring since her arrival pacing off to the side. “If I don’t get home before Rarity does, then I’ll be in even more trouble.”
Vinyl blinked, memories of a pretty face and a nice set of curves flashing across her eyes. She moved away from the cauldron, grateful to find a distraction with which to kill time. “You know Rarity?”
The filly nodded. “Yeah, she’s my sister.”
Oh shitsticks. Vinyl had recognized the kid before her as one of the ones she had indirectly given cider to. With the knowledge that she was also the sister of the hottest mare Vinyl had ever seen was definitely cause for some concern.
“And, uh… the whole being in trouble thing probably has something to do with the buzz you had going the other day?”
She nodded. “I’m grounded until the day I die and then some.”
“That sucks ass,” Vinyl astutely remarked. When the kid gave her a look, Vinyl kicked herself for swearing in front of foals again. “Hey uh… you didn’t tell her the whole story behind the cider, right? Specifically the part where I might’ve accidentally been the whole reason for it?”
Mercifully, the filly shook her head. “She doesn’t know anything yet. My head was too fuzzy last night to comprehend anything outside of her screaming ‘Sweetie Belle, this is completely unacceptable!’ and when I woke up this morning, all there was was a note telling me not to leave before she got back.” She nervously glanced toward the door. “Which for all I know could’ve been an hour ago.”
As Vinyl sighed in relief, Apple Bloom walked over. “Sweetie Belle, if ya’re so worried, why don’tcha just go home?”
“I’m not walking through the Everfree Forest alone. It’s dangerous.”
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “No more dangerous than the three of us walkin’ in it alone.”
“I’m still not taking any chances.”
“Then take Scootaloo with you.”
Their heads swiveled to the other side of the room and Vinyl followed their line of sight. Toward the back was the orange filly from yesterday who had been even more boozed-up than Sweetie Belle. She was curled in the fetal position with her head resting on one of the many urns lying around with her eyes closed.
With the lack of any talking, they could faintly hear Scootaloo mumbling in her sleep. Vinyl could’ve sworn it was something about Diamond Dogs and jackhammers, but didn’t hear it too well.
“I think I’ll pass,” Sweetie Belle replied.
“Fine, suit yerself, but if Rarity comes chargin’ in through that door lookin’ fer ya, Ah won’t make any excuses.”
“So… about Rarity,” Vinyl said, bringing the conversation back to something that interested her. “Do you think she’d ever go for a date with a really awesome DJ by any chance?”
Sweetie Belle blinked. “Uh… maybe?”
“Cool… hey, she doesn’t like to do anything freaky in the bed, does she?”
Sweetie Belle’s lips tightened. “You mean, besides sleep?”
Before Vinyl could open her mouth and essentially destroy Sweetie Belle’s innocence, she was beaten to the punch by a rhyme. “Vinyl, worry about your love life at some other date. For now, I’d say this switching potion is great.”
She whirled around, an ecstatic smile threatening to conquer her face. “Whoa, it’s done?” Zecora gave a curt nod and Vinyl trotted back over. “Huh… I guess it’s true what they say: a watched pot never boils. Er… or a watched cauldron something something steadily bubbles.”
Zecora lowered her eyelids, unamused. Vinyl coughed. “So, it’s ready you say?”
“Indeed, this potion is exactly what you need. You and Octavia must merely drink it at roughly the same time and place and then, once again, you will be wearing your own face.”
“Bitchin’.” Vinyl glanced over the murky green liquid and then examined the cauldron. “So am I just supposed to push this thing home, or…?”
Zecora bent down, disappearing behind her side of the cauldron. Vinyl stood on the tips of her hooves to try and see what she was doing, but this proved fruitless a second later when Zecora stood back up with two glass bottles in her hoof. She gestured with them at the cauldron.
“Oh… put the potion in the… yeah okay, that makes more sense.”
Zecora gave a grunt of affirmation and dipped the bottle into the potion. When they were both full, she stuck a cork into both, sealing the green substance in there for safe keeping.
“Thanks a million for doing this, by the way,” Vinyl said as the bottles exchanged hooves. “I think I might’ve died if I had to stay in Octavia’s body for more than a day or so, let alone the week it would’ve taken Princess Twilight to get home and fix this.”
“Oh no, Twilight!” Apple Bloom shouted. “Ah’d completely forgotten ‘bout her! She’s gonna be so mad when she finds out what happened!” She started hyperventilating, making Vinyl think she might actually pass out.
“Relax kid, I know a thing or two about getting out of trouble. I’m sure if I just tell her it was a prank or something then she won’t be pissed at you.”
“That idea is awful, in every meaning of the word,” Zecora interjected. “The best thing to do is to let your honesty be heard.”
Vinyl gave a mock wince. “I’m pretty sure that’s not a smart move. Besides, what Twilight doesn’t know won’t hurt her, so why shouldn’t Apple Bloom lie through her teeth?”
“Because if she is open with Twilight about all that occurred, she will be respected for her honesty, don’t you concur?” She turned to Apple Bloom. “Twilight will likely be cross when she finds out, but lying to her would cause more rage to come about. Telling the truth is the right path to take and I suggest doing it now before it’s too late.”
“So… ya’re saying that Twilight will be mad at me if Ah tell her the truth, but she’d be even madder if she found out I lied?” Zecora nodded.
Apple Bloom's eyes shifted left and right as her mind raced. Vinyl chewed her lip, weighed down by the logic behind what Zecora had said. It made sense, in a way. Thinking back to the letter she had shoved into the trash in a moment of panic, Vinyl wondered if she should go back and fish it out. It was pretty uncool of me to throw it out.
At the same time though, she knew Octavia would be absolutely livid when she found out. If there was one thing she wanted to avoid, it was that.
"Ah reckon Ah hafta tell her,". Apple Bloom decided, cutting into Vinyl's thoughts.
Zecora smiled and rustled the filly's hair. "You have made the right choice, Apple Bloom. Anything else would've just caused you gloom."
"Hey, listen, I gotta get home." Vinyl held up the potions. "Thanks again and stuff."
Before Vinyl could turn around, the door to Zecora’s hut slammed open. The forced was so strong that it shook some of the bottles lining the shelves around the cottage and rippled the potion in the cauldron.
Whirling around, Vinyl saw her body standing in the middle of the doorway, mouth creased in a frown, eyes hidden by her sunglasses. It took her a moment to realize who it was, but she smiled when she finally did.
“Hey, Tavi, good to see you woke up.”
No response.
“So guess what I’ve got.” She dangled the two bottles in the air, sloshing around their lime-green contents.
Still no response, though the frown did deepen.
Vinyl finally got the message that something was wrong, and she lowered the bottles. “Tavi, is something up?”
“How can you just stand there and act like you didn’t do anything wrong?” Octavia’s voice was cold, almost as if she was numb with anger.
Sweat creeped onto the back of Vinyl’s neck. “You uh… you upset that I didn’t wake you up? ‘Cause I totally would have it’s just that—”
Octavia raised her hoof, clutching a sheet of paper. Vinyl’s heart all but stopped pumping, her worst fear confirmed. She didn’t even need more than a passing glance to realized the crumpled mess in Octavia’s hoof was the letter she had thrown out last night.
“Oh…” Shit, shit, shit!
“Oh?” Octavia asked incredulously, slamming her hoof on the floor. Ripping off the shades, she drilled Vinyl with her eyes. “That’s all you have to say for yourself? Oh?”
“W-what do you want me to say?”
Octavia narrowed her eyes. “Oh… I don’t know. How about an apology for throwing my future away! Or at least an excuse. Literally anything other than just ‘oh’!”
“Okay, okay… I’m sorry, Tavi.”
“That’s not good enough!” Octavia screamed.
Scootaloo jolted awake at this point with a “huh?” of confusion. Her surprise didn’t last long when she quickly joined up with Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Zecora as a wide mouth spectator as the scene unfolded.
Octavia advanced, forcing Vinyl to back up. “You betrayed my trust! You threw my dream job — the future of my career — in the garbage like it was nothing!”
“Octavia…” Tears stung Vinyl’s eyes. “I didn’t mean… I didn’t want…”
“And the absolute worst part of it all? I don’t even know why. Why, Vinyl? Why would you do something so… so horrendous?”
Vinyl took another step back, her hind legs making contact with the cauldron. She had no where left to go with Octavia still angrily advancing.
“Well?” came the angry demand. “Answer me!”
“I just… I couldn’t… I didn’t…”
“Vinyl!”
“You were going to leave!” Vinyl shouted, squeezing her eyes shut. “You were going to go off to Manehattan and just… leave me behind. You’re my best friend Octavia… I didn’t want to lose you.”
Octavia blinked, none of her fury dispersed. “What made you think I would’ve left you behind?”
“Oh please,” Vinyl shouted, eyes open again. “I can’t just go with you to Manehattan. No club’s going to want a DJ that’s had one gig in a tiny town. My career would never take off.”
“So it’s about you, huh?” Octavia’s glare could’ve frozen fire. “This is about your career. What you want.”
Vinyl’s eyes bulged. “No, that’s not what I—”
“After everything I’ve done for you, you can’t deign to let me have this. I’ve paid your half of the rent for Celestia know’s how long, picked up all your messes and even after you switched our bodies, I saved your career and flirted with one of my closest friends just to make you happy!” Tears of anguish welled in Octavia’s eyes. “And you couldn’t let even let me have my dream. Not when I’ve worked so hard for it… you just walked all over it like the doormat you think I am.”
“NO!”
Octavia grabbed Vinyl by the shoulders, causing her to drop the potions. “Liar!”
“Enough!” Zecora shouted, stepping forward. “You are becoming too rough!”
Octavia didn’t listen, tightening her vice-like grip. “I swear, if you weren’t in my body right now… Oh forget it.” She raised her hoof, ready to slap Vinyl, or much worse.
Vinyl pushed against Octavia’s hold. It was strong, but she was stronger. If she could just roll out of the way…
Glancing into the angry, hurt eyes of her friend, Vinyl paused. Octavia was furious, and with good reason. Vinyl knew she was in the wrong, not matter what her justifications were. She stopped struggling, shut her eyes and waited for the inevitable.
But that would have to wait.
A sweaty, exhausted pony burst through the doorway, indigo mane flopping wildly from her frantic run to catch up to Octavia.
“Vinyl!” She cried.
Vinyl’s eyes snapped open. “Rarity?”
Rarity blinked in confusion as she absorbed the scene. “Octavia?”
Octavia turned, hoof still raised. “Rarity?”
“Rarity?” Squeaked out a shocked Sweetie Belle.
Rarity’s head whipped in the direction of her sister’s voice. “Sweetie Belle?”
The poor filly’s pupils shrunk in fear. “Uh… Apple Bloom?” She ducked behind her friend.
Rarity turned around accusingly. “Zecora!”
Zecora opened her mouth to respond, but Octavia beat her to the punch.
“Rarity, now is not a good time,” Octavia growled, her rage still undampened.
Rarity glanced back to her, pushing the thoughts of her sister to the back of her mind. "Vinyl, what are you doing?"
"It is a very long story," Octavia replied, hoof still raised. "One that I really don't wish to discuss right now."
"Can you at least put your hoof down. Honestly, Vinyl, this isn't like you; you are not a ruffian."
Octavia snorted. "You don't the faintest idea what Vinyl is like."
Rarity tilted her head. "What?"
"Look, Rarity, you deserve an explanation," Vinyl interjected. "You see, I... er, Vinyl did something incredibly stupid and Octavia just found out about it. Naturally, she got angry and wanted to slap Vinyl upside the head." She glanced at Octavia's hoof, still poised to strike. "Really wanted to slap Vinyl upside the head. Despite how sorry Vinyl was, Octavia stayed rightly pissed off. Things got violent and... here we are... in a situation Vinyl never wanted to be in with her best friend."
Octavia gritted her teeth, but her hoof started to lower.
Rarity cocked her head, more confused than ever. "I'm sorry, but when did we start referring to ourselves in the third person? And what are you even talking about?"
Vinyl ignored Rarity. "The point is that Vinyl is sorry. Extremely sorry. Like, sorrier than a... thing that's really sorry."
Octavia set her hoof lowered her hoof and released Vinyl. Her face was muted from expression as she calmly picked up the two bottles Vinyl had dropped. She held one out to her.
"Drink." It wasn't a request.
Vinyl tentatively took the bottle, knowing she wasn’t off the hook just yet. In fact, she was in all likelihood still very much impaled on said hook.
“Is anypony going to give me a proper explanation of what’s going on?”
Octavia twisted the cork off her bottle while Vinyl opted to just bite her’s off and spit it at the ground. If that bothered Octavia, she didn’t show it.
“So… are we going to do like a countdown, or—”
“Just drink it.”
“Okay, all right… geez.” Vinyl hesitantly brought the concoction to her lips. With a quick whiff she found it didn’t have a smell. Her eyes darted upward to see that Octavia had already downed half of her potion. Knowing she couldn’t afford to wait any longer, Vinyl guzzled hers down.
The taste stung the inside of her mouth immediately, causing her to almost gag. Her first body switching potion had tasted like lizard piss, but that was far too kind a monomer for something this retched. She wanted to spit out, but found it was already sliding down her throat. She tore away the bottle coughing.
Octavia’s mouth scrunched in discomfort as she finished her potion. Setting the bottles down they stood, waiting.
Rarity glanced from one to the other, confusion masking her face. “Um… what exactly was that for?”
Vinyl blinked. “Well it was supposed to—”
SNAP!
Vinyl squeezed her eyes shut as a torrent of pain gripped her body. It lasted only a fleeting second, but it left her muscles feeling like pudding. Barely standing, she opened her eyes only to be greeted by blurry vision.
Blinking, she managed to clear up her line of sight. The first thing she was able to focus on was the cauldron on the other side of the room.
Wait, wasn’t that behind me… Snapping to attention, she looked up and saw Octavia — gray coat, bow tie and all — rubbing her forehead.
“It worked!” She cried out, hoof pumping the air. For a moment, she relished being able to use her own voice “It worked it freakin’ worked, Tavi!”
“I’m aware Vinyl,” Octavia deadpanned.
“Wait a second.” Vinyl turned to her sunglasses, which Octavia had left forlorn on the wooden floor. With a flick of her horn they levitated upwards, ensnared by her blue aura. She set them back on her face with a grin. “Hell yeah, everything’s back to normal!”
“I’m sorry,” Rarity interrupted, “but what in the name of Equestria is going on?”
“Oh uh… right. You’re still totally in the dark.” Vinyl clicked her tongue and sucked in air. “Sorry ‘bout that.”
“Then would you care to explain?”
“It’s kind of a long story… like, sit-down-and-drink-some-alcohol long.” She looked around. “And there aren’t any chairs here.”
“Um… all right.” Rarity glanced over Vinyl, as if she wasn’t sure she was talking to the same pony she had been. Vinyl remained silent and Rarity looked around. “Do… you want me to come over later then?”
“Oh, uh… yeah, that’d be cool. Thanks.”
Rarity furrowed her brows. “Right then. Sweetie Belle!”
“Wha— Ah!” Sweetie Belle, who had been scaling the back wall in an attempt to sneak out the window, fell to the ground.
“Home, now!” Rarity’s voice had gone from cute and confused to icy in mere seconds.
“But, sis, I can explain.”
“Then you can explain at home. I feel as though we’ve wasted enough of Zecora’s time.”
“Yes, thank you,” Zecora turned to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “And you too.”
“Aw, but Ah’m not gonna get in trouble with Applejack!”
“Can’t I just go back to sleep?”
Zecora shook her head firmly.
“Aww…” Both fillies moaned in unison, but followed Sweetie Belle and Rarity out the door.
Vinyl turned to Octavia. “Well, we’re going to have a crapload of explaining to do, aren’t we?”
“You mean you are.” Octavia’s voice was back to numb. She walked over and picked up her callback letter.
“What do you mean?” Vinyl asked, pulling her shades up.
“I have an audition in Manehattan to get to, remember?”
“Wha… but… that isn’t until Thursday!”
“Yes.” Octavia smoothed out the paper as best she could before calmly folding it up. “It will give me time to find an apartment.”
“An apart—” Vinyl stopped short. “You’re moving out?”
“Yes. Whether I get into the orchestra or not.”
Vinyl held her breath, knowing her tenuous friendship with Octavia was fizzling into nothing. “But… I said I was sorry… Octavia…”
“You did apologize, Vinyl, but I don’t care. Some things can’t be fixed by simply saying ‘sorry’ and this is one of them.” She made contact with Vinyl’s eyes. “Goodbye, Miss Scratch.”
Vinyl watched her leave, legs glued to her spot on the floor. Octavia politely shut the door behind her and that was it. She was alone. Almost.
Zecora trotted up next to her, a placid look on her face.
“I guess it’s just you and me, eh, Pothole Lady?” Vinyl looked to the floor. “I really bucked up…”
“You did, I suppose. But from failures is how one grows.”
Vinyl sniffled. “Thanks for the words of wisdom. Say, you wouldn’t happen to have any booze around, would you? I kinda need a pick-me-up.”
Zecora lowered her eyelids.
“Oh come on, don’t be like that.” Vinyl hooked her foreleg around Zecora’s shoulder, trying desperately to make the best out of her situation. “We could totally be drinking buddies. What do ya say?”
Zecora faced forward, unamused. “Get out of my house.”