Vinyl Scratch was very serious about her work. If it was work in the recording studio, work in the club, or work in the bedroom, she was always serious. However when her wife laughed at her every time they finished and were ready to fall asleep in each other’s hooves it was hard to stay relaxed.
“Come on Tavi! What are ya laughin at this time? I was totally awesome tonight.”
Octavia Philharmonica Melody Scratch was also very serious. However her seriousness filled every aspect of her life. From work at the concert halls to play with Vinyl, she always carried herself with the utmost seriousness, but when her partner in the throes of passion would cry out, ‘Ah yeah Tavi! Drop the bass!’ The classically trained cellist couldn’t help but mock her wife.
“Come now Vinyl, surely you can’t expect me to take you seriously when you use that kind of pillow talk.”
“Yer damn right sweet cheeks. And what about you, always askin me ta play ya like a violin. I mean honestly, can you imagine the therapy we’d need ta invest in if our kid heard that?”
“Well we certainly aren’t going to be doing this in front of her, are we? Only a pervert like you would even think about doing this where our... chi-” Octavia paused and stared blankly at the mare she loved. Her heart always moved at a breakneck pace whenever Vinyl mentioned foals, especially foals of their own. “Vinyl, you know we can’t have foals. We don’t have the money or the time. Celestia’s beard, I have enough trouble taking care of you.”
Vinyl glared at the insinuation that she couldn’t take care of herself. She was about to defend her pride when she realized the real reason behind Octavia’s apprehension at having a foal of their own. “Tavi, you would make an awesome mom. Buck it all I should be the one worried about leaving the kid unsupervised with the bass cannon or stuff like that.”
Octavia’s eyes softened as she realized that her fears were the same as Vinyl’s. “Vinyl, I’ve seen the signs at your club encouraging your customers to bring ear protection and I’ve seen you refuse to perform for any underage ponies because their ears aren’t fully developed and they could be permanently damaged. Vinyl, you actively care more about your listeners’ than anyone I know in the orchestra.” With a calm smile the young cellist brushed her wife’s cheek with a gentle stroke of her hoof. “Are you sure you want to try? I mean there is no guaranty and, well... I don’t want you to be hurt—“
In a flash, Vinyl leapt wrapping her forehooves around her lover’s neck. “Oh Tavi, you’re the best! I promise you won’t regret this! Now get ready, tonight I’m gonna make this the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
Octavia scoffed at the idea of Vinyl’s constant efforts to outdo herself. Still she lovingly offered her expertise. “You mean your magnum opus?”
“My magma what now?”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Octavia sat quietly in a sterile room with her wife. The white unicorn however could not stay still to save herself.
“Vinyl, please cease your incessant fidgeting. I swear you’ll wear a hole through the floor at this rate.”
Vinyl twitched once more before turning her gaze to the one mare who could calm her spirits. “Sorry, it’s just... what’re we supposed to do? What if the doc laughs at us or calls us perverted deviants?”
Octavia smiled warmly at her wife’s concerns. Then reaching out and gently patting the unicorn’s mane she replied, “Vinyl, I assure you that the Doctor is—”
“Standing right behind you.” Sure enough a middle aged mare wearing a lab coat stood wearing a smirk behind Vinyl. Her calm golden eyes radiated kindness and experience. She seemed to have a familiarity with handling nervous patients as she continued, “Please relax, while this is a rather new procedure, I promise that it is entirely safe. Rather than the old method which could cause permanent disfigurement or unforeseen mutations.”
Talk of mutation was certainly not going to calm most stressed patients, but in this case it actually helped. While Octavia remained calm Vinyl nearly jumped. “Mutations like what? Could me and Tavi have an alicorn?”
Octavia rolled her eyes before putting a stop to her lover’s mad ranting. “Octavia and I, also no, the doctor cannot help us bear a princess. She is referring to undeveloped organs and limbs. Fortunately the new procedure has greatly reduced the risk.”
Vinyl was quieted when she realized that Octavia had actually done research on what they were trying to accomplish. She lowered her head and softly asked, “So Doc, what are ya gonna do? Ah, um, I mean how is this gonna go down?”
The calming smile on the doctor’s face never flinched for a moment. It was her job to help ponies and these two obviously needed her help. “Well you see Miss Scratch-”
“Mrs. Scratch.”
“Ah yes, of cour-”
“And Vinyl is fine... I mean you are gonna be... well you know...”
“Certainly. Now as I was saying, I and a small team of nurses will be facilitating the conception by magically removing an egg cell from one of you. I will then modify the egg at a cellular level so it will be able to combine itself with an egg in the other’s uterus. The two eggs will become a single cell then begin dividing normally. Now tell me, which of you will be carrying the foal?”
Vinyl laughed at the doctor’s question, thinking that obviously this medical professional had no idea how parenting worked. “Duh, both of us. Even if Tavi isn’t gonna let me help that much, I’m not gonna make her do all the work.”
Octavia began rubbing her forehead and before the doctor could explain to the oblivious D.J. she gave the now obvious answer, “Me, I read that earth ponies are better suited mothers with this kind of procedure and obviously my partner is not up to the task. I swear in eight months she would be confused about why she was suddenly fat.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vinyl stared at her wife’s stomach. I had been eight months since they had taken part in a procedure that would make them mothers and the stress was giving Octavia thoughts on throwing Vinyl of a tall building.
However it was in those moments that Vinyl managed to absentmindedly extend her life with a few words. “Hey Tavi, you’ve changed something... did you get a new mane cut?”
“No Vinyl. Why do you think something has changed about me?”
“Well, you’re prettier. Not like suddenly your body got hotter. I mean your legs are the best. All other legs dream of being half as hot as yours. I just mean, well I don’t know. You just get more beautiful every time I see you.” Octavia’s anger melted away at her wife’s distracted compliment. She was about to reply in thanks when Vinyl continued, “I think having a kid of our own’s got something to do with it. I think this is the... um Tavi, what’s that word for like the best thing we’ve ever done?”
“You mean our magnum opus?”
“Our magma what now?”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Vinyl, do you know what I regret?” Octavia glared daggers at her just out of reach wife between labored breathing and cries of pain.
Vinyl foolishly chose that moment to don a playful smirk as she replied, “You mean aside from how silly your mane looks right now?”
Four more death glares were immediately pointed at the DJ. Two belonged to the doctor and her nurse, while the other two belonged to the unborn foal’s godparents
“Now Bonnie, would you kindly— AIGH!” Octavia screeched as another contraction hit her. The painful spasms were coming faster and only increased the anger directed at her wife. Still she had enough peace of mind to take a deep breath before continuing, “As we discussed, please.”
Vinyl shivered when she felt Bonbon’s hooves pushing her forward. When the cream colored mare noticed the confusion in Vinyl’s eyes she smiled guiltily as she explained, “Sorry Vi, but Octavia promised that I could be your daughter’s godmother.”
Those words struck home and Vinyl fought back. She had nothing against Bonbon being her kid’s godmother, but she knew that only terrible pain was waiting for her if she got too close to the love of her life.
Bonbon looked quickly to her own romantic partner and smiled warmly as she spoke, “Oh Lyra sweetie, would you be a dear and help me?”
“Well I’ll help, but can I just be a unicorn instead? Being a deer is hard work and it’ll take too long.” Bonbon held back a laugh as she nodded to her incredibly eccentric lover.
In an instant Lyra was helping to push Vinyl to her doom. Vinyl cursed herself for leaving her glasses at home thinking to herself that DJ Pon3 would know what to do. Instead she pouted at Lyra and whispered softly, “Et tu, Lyra?”
“Yep! Bonnie said I could be Foxtrot’s godfather, also I get to name her Foxtrot!” Lyra was more than excited as she quoted back her list of prizes only to have Bonbon herself roll her eyes before correcting the silly mare.
“Lyra! I told you that you would be her godmother, but you most certainly do not get to name Octavia’s daughter.”
Almost the moment Bonbon finished, Vinyl squeaked as she felt her wife’s strong foreleg wrap around her own. Wearing an apologetic smile she began her most desperate attempt at sweet talk she had made since she had proposed, “Hey there beautiful. What’s up?”
Octavia’s anger reached a new level, previously unseen by all but the doctor and nurses who often saw it with other mothers in labor. Pain streaked across Vinyl’s face as the powerful earth pony she loved began twisting her defenseless limb. She was about to beg for release when she saw the pain and despair in Octavia’s eyes.
Tears began streaming as the cellist spoke, “Vinyl, it hurts so much. Why would you let the doctor do this? Why is the filly inside me? I thought you loved me enough to not let me hurt. Viny— AHH!” The sudden contraction left Octavia gasping for air giving Vinyl enough time to embrace her and begin speaking.
“Well Tavi, there was this super smart pony. She was kind of cute, but she was nowhere near as pretty as you. And she told me that our daughter would be so much happier inside you, because you’re quieter, and you have a better job that lets you have maternity leave without firing you, and yer stronger than me, and... Oh Tavi, I believe in you. I know you can do this, just breath like the doctor told you and I promise you’ll be fine.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hours passed slowly and Vinyl never left Octavia’s side. She went mad with worry when her wife was suddenly silent but suddenly stopped when the sound of a tiny foal crying for her mother echoed through the otherwise silent room.
As she looked up, Vinyl saw the nurse holding a tiny grey unicorn with a blue mane toward her with a smile and a kind hearted, “Congratulations it’s a healthy filly.”
Instead of igniting her horn Vinyl raised her forehooves and gently lifted her daughter from the nurse’s grasp. The tiny unicorn filly’s light grey coat and blue mane still needed to be thoroughly cleaned nut Vinyl didn’t care. In her opinion the foal was, “Perfect... hey Tavi. What’s that word for the best thing—” Alarms suddenly rang out in the small room. High pitched beeps went out of control along with Octavia’s breathing and heartrate.
Vinyl and her newly born daughter were moved quickly to the side as the doctor and her nurse began their work. The new mother watched the medical professionals work like a perfectly balanced machine.
It seemed like an eternity when again everything went silent. The doctor looked up with repentance in her eyes as she spoke softly, “I’m sorry—”
“No!” Vinyl interrupted quickly as she moved as quickly as she could while carrying her foal. Tears were already streaming when she reached her true love and began to plead, “Please Tavi, you can’t be gone. You need to teach our filly how to play some boring stringy instrument and, and you have to yell at me when I give her too many cookies... Tav- Octavia, you have to tell me that word that means the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Octavia blinked slowly as she stared at her distraught wife. She tilted her head in confusion as she replied, “Do you mean magnum opus? It often refers to the most important work of an artist.” Vinyl was struck silent as Octavia calmly spoke on the subject of her distraught wife, “Vinyl, why are you staring at me like I’m some kind of ghost?”
“Th-th-the doctor said—”
“No, Miss Scratch, I was merely going to apologize for the scare. This old equipment malfunctions from time to time. I assure you, your wife is in perfect health for having just given birth. She just needs a good night’s rest and we can send the three of you home in a couple days.”
Vinyl’s face almost glowed bright red at her assumption. When she saw Octavia open her mouth she shrank away expecting a reprimand, but was surprised to hear, “I love you Vinyl; now get over here so I can kiss you.”
Vinyls grinned playfully all the stress was forgotten and with a solid measure of sass she replied as she moved forward, “Come on Tavi, you don’t need to trick me so you can get a better look at our Magnum Opus.”
Octavia chuckled warmly before giving her wife a quick peck on the lips and her daughter the same on her tiny forehead. Then looking into Vinyl’s eyes she smiled as she said, “Our Magma what now?”