Months of despair had passed and now the day had arrived. Octavia had been sitting at the foot of her bed all morning, staring blankly at the floor. She wondered if she could avoid this day by staying there. Vinyl would be up with her breakfast at any moment, though Octavia wasn’t sure if they would eat…if either of them could eat, anyway.
As if her thoughts had been read, Vinyl came into the room followed by a floating tray of croissants, condiments, and orange juice. She set the tray down on the bed and smiled at her lover, “Breakfast?”
Octavia wanted to decline, but all she could do was shrug her shoulders and take one of the pastries.
Vinyl took a butter knife and spread cream cheese, peanut butter, and three different types of marmalades on her croissant. Then she added two slices of tomatoes and a piece of lettuce. She licked her lips while looking at her breakfast masterpiece, but then hesitated to take a bite. She looked at Octavia, who still had not touched her food. “You should eat something.”
The cellist simply stared blankly at her food. She blinked before looking back at Vinyl.
The unicorn gave her a concerned look, “Please, say something. You’re scaring me.”
Octavia sighed and whispered, “I’m sorry…but I can’t do this. I can’t pretend like today isn’t going to be one of the worst days of my life.”
Vinyl caressed her cheek and leaned in to kiss her, only to be stopped by Octavia’s hoof. “You’re acting as if we won’t be able to be together after today.”
“Well, why would we? So I can grow even more attached to you and have an even harder time letting you go?” Octavia retorted, causing Vinyl to wince. “Besides, the problem isn’t that I can’t be with you. It’s that I’ll have to deal with my love for you while pretending I’m happy with Fine Bit and you’re moving on with somepony else.”
“…You really think I’d replace you?” Vinyl asked.
The cellist resisted the urge to roll her eyes, “Don’t be so unrealistically romantic. Of course you would move on eventually.”
“Then you would move on from me eventually too,” The DJ said.
“Perhaps, but I’d still be with Fine Bit,” Octavia reminded.
Vinyl chuckled, “I still wish I could steal you away from all this.”
“Well, you can’t,” Octavia whispered sourly.
Vinyl leaned in again, and this time, she succeeded in kissing Octavia’s cheek. “You’re right… Why don’t we just shut up about it until tonight?” Once Octavia nodded she offered, “Do you want me to feed you? The only thing that could make things worse tonight is if you pass out from hunger on our way home.”
“Or I could pass out right before I give an answer,” Octavia joked.
Vinyl burst out laughing, “Wouldn’t that be something…”
“You know what we should have done yesterday?” Vinyl spoke out as she was preparing a vegetable lasagne. “We should have gone to the best club around and gotten wicked drunk.”
“Speaking of drinking…” Octavia mumbled.
Vinyl heard a bit of rummaging around as she placed the final layer of pasta on top. She picked up the pan with her magic and was about to place it in the oven when she heard the clinking of glass on marble. “Tavi...?” she asked with a lilt.
Octavia answered, “Yes, my dear?" with the same tone.
“Isn’t it a little early to be drinking?” Vinyl asked, noting the subtle scent of alcohol and fermented grapes.
“It’s actually a little late, as we didn’t get ‘wicked drunk’ yesterday, right?” Octavia joked as she offered her lover a glass. “Besides, it’s a very small amount.”
“I guess you have a point…” Vinyl shrugged as she placed the uncooked meal in the oven. Then she took the drink in her magical grip and looked at it. Octavia had been true to her word. Vinyl could probably finish off the wine in a gulp or two.
They clinked their glasses before downing it all at once. Octavia sighed, “I needed that.”
“Same,” Vinyl responded, licking her lips. “Wanna go lie down on the couch and chill while the lasagne’s cooking?”
Octavia nodded. Vinyl led her lover to the living room, happy that the cellist was in a much better mood than she had been in the morning. She lied down on her back and held her arm out for Octavia, who soon climbed into her embrace. The grey mare smiled at her DJ before leaning in and kissing her. Vinyl had wanted to keep it simple, but Octavia locked her head with a hoof and soon enough, it became a passionate session.
The cellist broke away with one last peck and smiled at Vinyl. She was about to say something when a timer went off. Vinyl laughed, “I’ll go get the lasagne.”
Octavia put a hoof on her lover’s chest to stop her, “No, no. I’ve got it. Just give me five minutes, alright?”
“Are you sure?” Vinyl asked insisted, only to have Octavia nod eagerly at her. Vinyl shrugged and lied back down on the couch.
The DJ closed her eyes and relax, yet kept her ears up to figure out what Octavia was up to. She could hear Octavia cursing to herself as she took out the lasagne. It must be really hot. Wow, they really should invent some sort of jaw mittens for earth ponies. Eh, maybe I’ll get that patented some day. Soon, Vinyl forgot that she had been listening in and zoned out into her thoughts until she was beginning to fall asleep.
Vinyl Scratch moaned when she felt a gentle hoof shaking her. “Vinyl, lunch is ready. Come on.”
The unicorn let herself fall off the couch before quickly propping herself onto her hooves, earning a laugh from her violet-eyed lover. “Yay, I’m starved!”
Vinyl was about to make her way to the kitchen, but was stopped by Octavia. “Ah-ah. Not so fast, my love. First, cover your eyes.” The DJ shot her a confused look before shrugging and obliging. She felt Octavia take her hoof and lead her to the kitchen. When they entered, Octavia whispered into her ear, “Open them.”
The unicorn peeked one eye open before the other and gasped in delight. The table was set with two candles on opposite sides on top of a lovely golden tablecloth. There were two empty glasses and the bottle of wine from earlier. And in the centre was the eggplant lasagne, steaming and begging to be eaten. “Octavia…”
“I’ve been making this whole situation about me and ignoring how much this whole thing is going to hurt you too. So to make up for it, I figured we could have our own sort of dinner date—or lunch date, in our case,” The cellist smiled.
Vinyl’s lips broke out into a grin so massive, it hurt her cheeks. She ran up to Octavia and pulled her into a tight hug. “Goddesses! I am going to miss you so much!” She placed a wet kiss on her lover’s cheek before letting her go. “You’re an amazing pony and I—I don’t know what I’m going to do without you!”
Octavia chuckled and brushed Vinyl’s hair out of her face, leaving her garnet eyes in clear view. She pulled out a chair and invited, “Come sit down, darling. I’ll pour you some more Chardonneigh.”
Vinyl happily took her seat and smiled as Octavia poured filled her glass and then turned to her own and did the same. Then Octavia went to a cupboard and grabbed a spatula. She placed a large piece of the lasagne on her lover’s plate and then a smaller slice for herself.
The DJ’s mouth watered at the sight of the food on her plate. As soon as Octavia sat down, Vinyl grabbed her fork and knife and began cutting away at her meal, not even bothering to place a napkin on her lap. She brought a large piece to her mouth and gave a pleased hum. She swallowed and commented, “Not to brag, but I’m pretty sure I make the best veggie lasagne in the world. This is so good, it definitely puts any other pasta dish out there to shame!”
“You know, Vinyl, when you say ‘not to brag’ you’re still supposed to be somewhat humble,” Octavia giggled.
“Hey, I’m not ashamed to be proud of my accomplishments. I am confident in my skills and this just shows that I don’t just ‘talk the talk’ so to speak. So if I want to brag, then by Luna, I will brag! ...Just with a disclaimer.” She proclaimed.
Octavia took a small bite of her food and nodded. She swallowed before smiling, “Okay, maybe you do have a right to brag on this one. However, that doesn’t excuse the fact that you just insulted every grandmother with a secret recipe for lasagne.”
“Well, then my apologies to all those grandmothers, but it’s still a damn good lasagne,” Vinyl asserted.
Octavia rolled her eyes and then they continued to eat in silence, smiling whenever their gazes met.
Finally, the sun was setting and the moon was rising. Octavia put on an extravagant violet dress that matched her eyes. The collar was itchy and the back bothered her tail, but she had to look her best for the pictures. Damn media ponies…even at the day where I choose to throw my joy away, they appear!
Vinyl brushed her black mane to one side and placed a lovely diamond necklace on her neck, “There you go.” She smiled at Octavia through the vanity’s reflection. “You look wonderful.”
“Thank you,” Octavia offered a fake smile of gratitude. “The same could be said about you.”
The servant was wearing a simple lilac dress so as to not take attention away from Octavia’s wear. Vinyl grinned. “Alright, the carriage is waiting on us. We should go.”
“Wait,” Octavia pulled her back by the tail just as she was turning around. She gave the unicorn a quick peck on the lips and whispered, “Now we can go.”
The earth pony cantered out of the house, Vinyl following after to lock the doors. The couple stepped into the carriage and were lovingly greeted by the chauffer, “Good evening, ladies. Are you both ready to go?”
“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Vinyl simpered.
“Very well, then. Off we go!” The stallion cheered as they took off.
Octavia took deep breaths to calm down, appreciating the fact that they were in an open carriage, which allowed the cool wind to blow on her face. She shifted a lot, trying to accommodate herself in the plush seats but Octavia simply couldn’t find a way to sit comfortably with the accursed dress.
Vinyl noticed this and shifted herself so that she was seated on her flanks and her hind legs stuck out in front. Then she told Octavia, “Here, lie down on my lap.”
Octavia blushed furiously, “Vinyl, no! Sit properly. Your dress raises when you sit like that and...that position isn’t very appropriate.”
“Oh quit fussing and lie down. It’ll cover me up if you do,” Vinyl winked.
Octavia sighed in defeat, “Fine.” She lied on her side and rested her head on Vinyl’s lap. She looked up at the unicorn from her position, noticing the smirk and pink cheeks. “No,” Octavia pointed up at her lover. “I know what you’re thinking. Take those thoughts and kill them.”
“There are some thoughts I can’t control, Tavi,” Vinyl licked her lips.
“Well those thoughts won’t be happening in real life any time soon,” Octavia huffed.
“Hmm…you’re right. It’d only seem real if we switched positions,” Vinyl mused.
“One more word and I will cut that tongue out of your mouth,” Octavia warned. Before the unicorn could make another clever comeback, Octavia placed her hoof over her lips, “Don’t even think about saying it.”
“Alright, we’re here,” The chauffer announced a few minutes later. As both mares stepped out he said, “I was already paid in advance, so you ladies just enjoy your night!” He waved before dashing off into the dark streets of Canterlot.
Vinyl and Octavia stood in front of Pearl Posh’s mansion. The gates were open and there were crowds of ponies waltzing in, paying no mind to either of them. The mansion was far more than just extravagant. The windows were made of the finest crystals from the Crystal Empire, The front doors were made of a wood they had never seen anywhere else. The entire home was surrounded with precious gems that shined almost too brightly. Octavia thought it was hideous a hideous combination, however it had one quite a few awards for its aesthetic. …Though, she might have just paid her way to the top for that as well.
Vinyl glanced at her, “Well, we don’t want to keep them waiting. Come on.” She held out a bent limb for Octavia to link her arm through.
The cellist took a deep breath and let her servant escort her inside. The guards at the front doors bowed toward her and let them both inside. Once they entered, Octavia whispered, “Vinyl, I’m going to need you to stay by my side, alright?”
“Of course,” she said. Then her eyes went wide as she looked beyond her mistress. “Uh-oh. Posh is heading right toward us.”
Octavia turned to meet her aunt and a trio of servants behind her with a smile, “Auntie Pearl Posh! How are you?”
“My dear, I should be asking you that. Why, this is a big step for you and Fine Bit. Are you not nervous?” The mare asked as she looked to see who was watching.
Ah, pulling of a façade, are you, Auntie? If my life is going to hell, then you’re coming with me! “Nervous? No, not at all! Why, Fine and I have been eagerly waiting for this! Speaking of which, where is he?”
“I believe he was speaking to your father. Here, I’ll lead you to them.” She smirked as she turned to her servants, muttering something to them. “Come along.”
The servants nodded and beckoned Vinyl to follow them. “Wait, I think it’s safer if I stay with my mistress.”
“She’ll be fine,” One of them, a young stallion with a blank face reassured. “Sometimes servants get in the way, and we don’t want that, now do we?”
Octavia looked back at her and mouthed, “It’s okay,” earning a nod from Vinyl. The grey mare followed her aunt to Fine Bit and Piano Forte. “Hello father,” she greeted.
Piano turned to her and Pearl Posh and scrunched his face in drunken disgust. “Hello, my daughter. I see you’ve brought a ghoul with you. How quaint.”
“Now is that any way to speak to a lady, much less your sister-in-law?” Pearl Posh gasped, as if hurt.
“A true lady does not use money for poison. And I don’t welcome any demons in my family,” the elder stallion spat.
“But you seemed to welcome Crescendo almost as soon as you met her.”
Piano Forte stomped and snorted in anger, ready to attack. Fine Bit held him back. “Mister Forte, please, not in front of your daughter.” He called one of the guards in the house, “Could you please keep these two separated? Thank you. Also, Lady Octavia and I would like a bit of time alone, so do not bother us.”
The guard nodded and led the two older ponies away. Octavia tuned to Fine Bit. “Good evening.”
“Don’t say that. This evening is anything but good. Hmph, maybe I should have let your father rip off that serpent’s head off after all. Maybe then it would be a good evening,” Fine Bit seethed.
“Vinyl told me. I’m so sorry about all this,” Octavia’s apology was cut short by Fine Bit raising his hoof.
“I do not need your pity.”
Octavia was about to say something else when the music started. The whole house went silent as everyone listened to a violin soloist play. Then a harp joined in. Harpo? The stallion was deeply focused on not missing a note. Then the piano joined in—Frederic! And finally the cello came into play. Octavia’s eyes widened in disbelief. Beauty Brass!? I didn’t know she could play so well.
Fine Bit cackled humourlessly, “The irony of it all.”
Vinyl was taken down to the basement, where other servants were mingling and watching over their masters’ foals. “Stay here until called by your mistress.” The three ordered simultaneously.
Vinyl huffed in disapproval, but soon recovered as she caught sight of a scrawny stallion in a tux. His face was down in his hooves and he was sitting alone in a corner. Recognising the poor fellow, Vinyl sat beside him and whispered, “Hey, Light Eye.”
The stallion jolted, his teary face pulling into a broken smile. “Oh, he-hello, Vinyl,” he sniffed.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Oh n-nothing. I’m—I’m just a bit sensitive about weddings and proposals and—and—“ he buried his face back into his hooves and sobbed harder.
“There, there,” Vinyl rubbed Light Eye’s back comfortingly. “I know how hard it must be to lose someone you love to someone who doesn’t even love them back.”
Light Eye rose up, “You…know? About us?” Vinyl nodded. “He…he’d started sleeping with others. He…even slept with a mare to get used to it.” Light Eye hiccupped. “I—I know he was only trying to get me to hate him, but it hurts him! It hurts him so much to push me away and I can’t bear it.”
“Oh damn... Come here, pal,” Vinyl wrapped her arms around Light Eye and gave him a kiss on his head. “I know how awful this is for you. But you can still see him in secret once he and Octavia are wed.”
“No, I couldn’t stand to see him so broken! I just want us to run away, to just...elope!” He sobbed.
Vinyl stroked his mane gently, “That’s what I’ve been telling Octavia. But…she can’t do it and neither can Fine Bit. I wish they could… I wish we could all just disappear and live happily ever after or some bullshit like that…”
Light Eye pulled away. He rubbed away a tear that had escaped from Vinyl’s eye unbeknownst to her. “But I assume you have accepted by now that we won’t have our happy endings, right?”
Vinyl nodded. She tried to take a deep breath, but it came out a shudders, “But damn it, I hate feeling so helpless! Heh, I haven’t told anyone about how I feel about this except for Octavia.”
“Oh, don’t even try telling other ponies,” Light Eye scoffed with a wave of his hoof. ”It’s as if everypony has lost their ability to give good advice! Do you know what someone said to me? They said, ‘Hey, you’re a free stallion! You can just court anyone in Equestria!’ as if it were that simple! And I am sure that this pony knew that I was still living with Fine Bit, still seeing him every day as my heart sank lower and lower.”
“That’s just ignorant!” Vinyl shouted with a grin. “It’s like these ponies have never heard of a heartbreak. This shit takes time to get over and it is powerful! Did you know you could die from that? It’s called ‘stress cardio-something-or-another.’ It’s a real thing!”
“How terrible! I’m surprised I’m still breathing,” Light Eye laughed.
“I feel ya!” Vinyl joined in, chuckling. Once they both grew silent, she spoke again, “Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Yes, anything,” the stallion nodded.
“Well, from what I’ve seen, Fine Bit acts like a total jerk, but then there was that time when I found out he actually had feelings and I realised I had only seen one side of him,” she explained. “So, what is he like…towards you?”
The other servant rubbed his chin and answered, “Quite lovely, when no one is around. He’s constantly giving me bouquets, kissing me deeply, taking me out to places…and he’s the most adorable little cuddler in his sleep!”
“A cuddler!? I somehow suspected that,” she laughed. “Okay, so what’s the story between you two?”
Light Eye pursed his lips in thought before beginning, “Well, when I was first hired, years ago, even before this betrothal catastrophe had gotten to him, he was quite the gentleman. His requests were always followed with ‘please’ and ‘if it wouldn’t be too much trouble.’ In fact, he was so generous that we spent most of our nights sneaking out to give food, money, and blankets to any poor souls in the alley.”
“Really!? Wow that’s…unexpected.” Vinyl commented.
“I know,” he smiled before continuing. “When he was at the peak of his adolescence, though, he started to act a little…odd. He would lock himself in his room, and whenever he bumped into me, he would blush madly, and sometimes, I could hear him crying in his room…” Light Eye sighed. “One day, his father ordered me to find out what was wrong, so I talked to Fine. It took an hour of comforting and then a thousand promises to keep a secret before he told me that he was interested in someone…a stallion.”
“Ooh! That’s you, right?” Vinyl squealed.
“Not yet,” Light Eye chuckled. “It was a high school crush of his. Being a few years older than he was, he sought advice from me. I told him there was nothing wrong with how he felt, but we both knew that others in his school felt differently. It was a petty crush, mostly harmless…until the rumours started. This greatly upset Fine Bit. Any mention of love, school, or mistreatment, he would snap at! He told me I was a fool for thinking he was normal. And finally, he hit his lowest when his crush got a mare pregnant.”
“Damn, that must’ve sucked!”
He nodded, “Oh, it was definitely hard on him, and I was there for it all. Then he was introduced to his future bride. Fine expressed his disgust, but everyone told him that a mare is only made perfect by a stallion, or some bullshit like that. And suddenly, he started acting strange again. This time, though, he would be incredibly kind to me. Fine Bit would ask me to escort him to my favourite restaurants, and to concerts and symphonies and I…I grew fond of him. Though, I couldn’t act upon my feelings just yet as he was still a minor and I would never forgive myself. Anyway, it wasn’t until his birthday that I finally did something and kissed him square on the lips. And that’s that.”
“Aww! That kind of makes Tavi and my story look like trash. She just took me in, gave me work to do, got me back into my career and then one day, we kissed,” Vinyl shrugged.
“Well, of course it’s going to sound boring if you tell it like that!” He complained.
“Hey, there’s not much more to tell! She was nice, then got really mean, then her mother died, then she was nice again, and then kiss!”
Light Eye sighed, “We need to work on your story-telling skills.”
Octavia was shaking from head to hoof. The servants had finally been released upstairs, but Vinyl only had the chance to speak with her for a mere second before Octavia was bombarded with excited aunts, cousins, and even a few journalists advising her not to faint before answering. They are far too excited for this…
After the crowd had died down, Vinyl came to her with a shy smile, “You ready?”
“I need a drink.”
Vinyl laughed, “I thought you might say that, so I came prepared,” she said, hovering two glasses of white wine over to her mistress.
“I don’t think that will be enough… Could you give me some of yours too?” Octavia pleaded.
“Darling, the second glass is also for you.”
Octavia giggled, “Aw, you even learnt my drinking habits for when I’m nervous.”
“Oh shut up before someone listens in,” Vinyl joked, but looked around to see if anyone had heard. She caught sight of Light Eye, who seemed to be talking to Fine Bit.
When the unicorn turned back around, both glasses were completely empty. She gaped at Octavia who only responded, “You would have done the same.”
Vinyl shrugged. She was about to crack another joke when someone tapped a spoon to a glass. Vinyl put down the empty glasses on a nearby table.
All the attention was on Pearl Posh, who was standing on the first step of the stairs to make herself seen. “Good evening everyone. As you all know, we are gathered here for a very special occasion. Two young lovebirds have been waiting patiently for this moment. Well, perhaps ‘patient’ is the incorrect word, as they had me move this up a few months.” The crowd laughed politely. “Moving along, it’s time Mister Fine Bit asked a very important question to a special lady.”
Fine Bit stepped out from the crowd, a small box balanced on his left hoof. “Octavia, if you please,” he said in a grave tone.
As soon as Octavia came out, there were thousands of flashes coming from the whole group of the media. As if my image hasn’t been captured enough times.
Fine Bit reluctantly kneeled down and opened the box, “Dearest Octavia, will you marry me?”
Octavia stared at the ring in front of her. It was a gold ring, with a diamond that seemed like it could fall off due to its immense size. For her, time seemed to stop, however, it was definitely still flowing around her, evident by the whispers and camera flashes that could still be heard. She looked at Vinyl and instantly regretted it. There she was, a hoof over Light Eye’s shoulder, with tears quietly streaming from her eyes.
Then she looked back at Fine Bit. From her angle, only the top of his head was visible and he seemed almost attractive. Here he was, a stallion who was better off dead with his family, kneeled down before her. And here Octavia was, taking all the time in the world, feeling the alcohol heat the tip of her ears and cheeks. Go on then, she told herself. Say it. You’re causing Vinyl so much hurt by delaying this and making her watch. Come on! Speak! Speak!
Finally, Octavia regained her ability to speak. She opened her mouth and said the one word that would change her life for good.
“No.”