//------------------------------// // Wacky Wack Attacks and Butt Tattoos // Story: Octavia Crashes a Party and Wins a Roomate // by ChaseTheChangeling //------------------------------// Ponyville was rather still today. At least in the eyes of a regular resident. The sky was clear, the breeze was gentle, there were no sounds of screams or crashing buildings as monsters attacked. Nope, it was all peace in Ponyville today. The picturesque little town's grass glistening with everlasting dew drops, and the trees rattling with life as air pushed past resistant leaves, the crunching of dirt as ponies past by chatting away, their voices distant like forgettable ambiance, not a single word made out by the ever listening ears of the two mares trotting along their path. The sound of her hooves thumping rhythmically against the stone path made Octavia hum, the sounds filling her ears with music and her head with inspiration. The mare behind her, however, was more than happy to enjoy the sights, the large cottages that had made up most of her adolescence, and the happy ponies she had once known in some seemingly distant past. Vinyl hardly recalled what the layout of the town was, as there were more important things to concern herself with, like money, and charts. Soon, however, something else eased it's way into the DJ"s mind. The ever swaying hips of the grey mare in front of her, as they picked up on some rhythm Vinyl could hear in her own head. That was new... Octavia continued, her eyes locked on the large building only a few more blocks ahead, the large ginger bread top making it's way into sight above a few stray homes. They were almost there, but Octavia had been enjoying the walk. Well, until she noticed there hadn't been a single word exchanged between the two of them. That would have to change! "So, Vinyl..." Octavia began, her head turning as she continued her practiced path. Vinyl's eyes shot up from the round rear of her companion to meet hers. "You're staying for a whole week?" Vinyl nodded. Thank goodness, these would only be yes or no questions. "I read in your biography that you used to live here. Is that true?" Vinyl responded with another slow nod. Where was this going? "How long ago was that? It just said foalhood, but I couldn't be sure." Vinyl began to wonder if she hadn't jinxed herself with her last thought. "I was born here, moved to Canterlot when I was 17." "I'm sure that was an intense move, being so young." "I guess." There was silence again as Sugarcube corner was before them. Time had flown like the fastest Wonder Bolt in Equestria. It was still as awkwardly quite as the two mares trotted into the store and up to the counter, a pink pony in the back mixing some strange dough and bouncing about with more ingredients for her concoction in her arms. Vinyl looked over the counter, its yellow surface shone with fresh polish, and a large silver bell lay on its top. Vinyl tapped the tiny button atop the bell and loud thud echoed from below the counter. "OUCH!" A purple pegasus mare came up from behind the counter, rubbing a spot on her head Vinyl could only guess was the cause of the loud noise. The mare gave a small smile brushing her long black mane back and fixing her bang. "S-sorry about that..." "You don't have to be sorry," Octavia tried to sound encouraging, "is your head okay?" The pegasus looked up as if trying to see the spot on her head and her smile grew. "Yeah, it's fine, I've done worse." The mare had a little badge on her apron, the badge was black with white letters spelling J-E-S-S-I. That must be her name tag. "What can I get for you guys?" Before Octavia could say anything, Vinyl pointed out a menu item with a little green sticker that said "NEW!" "Is that ice cream?" Vinyl asked. The young server turned and looked at the menu and chuckled. "Yeah, it's my very own creation!" Jessi brushed her mane back again as she spoke, "Chocolate, cookie dough, and peanut butter cups! It's been selling like hot cakes! I don't blame ponies for buying it, it's awesome." Apparently that was all the convincing Vinyl needed as she threw several bits on the counter and requested that and a rootbeer float. "Coming right up, and what about you?" Octavia looked around and set her eyes back on the smiling pegasus. "I'll have what she's having!" Jessi shook her head and chuckled writing down the order quickly and ducking back down under the counter. It hadn't taken long before the mare came back up from under the counter and place the order on it's surface. "There you go, enjoy yourselves!" Back under the counter she went, and seemed to stay. Vinyl grabbed their orders and trotted outside as Octavia tried to look over the counter to see what was behind it. Had the mare just disappeared? "Is there anything you need?" Octavia jumped back as Jessi had popped back up from the counter only a few inches from her snout. "Wh-what? How?" Octavia rushed back over and tried to look over the counter again, but to no avail. "That's really cool..." "You're cute." Was Jessi's only response before dipping back under the counter. "Come on!" Vinyl shouted into the door. Talking was getting easier, but it wasn't any more fun than it was a few days ago. There was still a lot of time until she felt like she even wanted to hear more music. Octavia trotted out, confused, but happy with the bizarre encounter in the little bakery. The patio for Sugarcube corner was well furnished, the large wooden tables where painted a bright and almost obnoxious yellow, with large red parasols held up by poles reaching from center of the table and mounted in the ground below. The large bushes were alive with flowers and little bugs buzzing around them. Birds flew over head and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. It would have been a great day for the beach. Vinyl sat down at a table, far off in the corner away from prying eyes. Octavia was soon to join her as she placed the food and drinks on the table releasing them from her magical grip. "Are you okay?" Octavia asked after a short while. "Yeah, why?" "You look really irritated about something... anything you want to talk about?" Vinyl only shook her head in response and took a sip from her rootbeer. "There must be something bothering you?" Vinyl only turned her head away and distracted herself with the scenery. "Whatever..." Octavia grit her teeth before trowing back her mug of rootbeer, followed by a grimace. The drink was a bit strong, although Vinyl seemed fine with it. Octavia looked back over at the DJ, her shades still reflecting what little light was left from the sun as it began to set. Vinyl was so cool... and photogenic. Octavia wished Vinyl wasn't being such a child, but that's what happens, your idols are never what you expect them to be. Although the mysterious silent type was the image Vinyl had been going for, and it seemed to Octavia that the charm of a mysterious and stoic musician was wearing off, and began to seem more bothersome than anything. Well at least Vinyl wasn't being rude. "You lookin' to get lucky tonight?" So much for not being rude... "Excuse me?" Octavia tried to sound offended, although it was interesting that Vinyl had asked her of all ponies. "It's just yes or no..." Octavia huffed and turned her head, arms crossed at her puffed out chest. "I hope you don't really think I'll jump in bed with you if you ask!" "No, that's why I bought us food and fixed your chain." "So your 'apology' was just a way to get me into bed?" "No, it was sincere." "I don't think someone would think saying sorry would get them laid..." Vinyl heaved another sigh and finished her ice cream. She still had to walk this pony all the way home... ------------------------------------- "-And then I punched him in the face! He had to get one hundred stitches in his jaw, and they said I broke a few bones in his legs and maybe punctured some important organ, but it was worth it!" Vinyl stayed quite, her eyes wide behind her shades as she listened to Octavia's story, something about buying a record and a large stallion trying to take it first. She had been talking since they left Sugarcube. Octavia's home was still a ways away, but it was peaceful, even with Octavia constantly talking. There was nothing there to look at as they walked, as the sun had fully set, and the only thing worth noting were the nats that clung to sticky fur and flew too close for comfort. The two mares stayed collected through the barrage, as a simple spell kept them at bay. "Do you have any stories?" Octavia asked swishing her tail to catch Vinyl's leg. Vinyl looked away and thought for a moment, the action of her leg being touched throwing her off. "I don't think so..." "What about your cutie mark? Does that have a story? Or your glasses?" "I'm on vacation, that means no paparazzi." Vinyl said flatly before turning and snickering. Octavia raised a brow and smirked at the joke. "Ah I see, you won't even answer for a poor little fan?" Octavia batter her eyes once Vinyl's laughing had slowed. Vinyl stumbled, her face turning a light red. "Heh... d-don't do that!" "What did I do?" "That thing with your eyes..." Octavia blinked a moment trying to comprehend. Vinyl was that distracted by her just batting her eyes? "Um.. I guess I can tell you about my cutie mark," a short pause as Vinyl tried to fix her glasses, "but I warn you, I'm no good at telling stories." Octavia just looked one waiting for Vinyl to speak. She seemed nervous, and licked her lips, her eyes looking up to the sky as she tried to remember the story that occurred so long ago. "Well... I'll start about a week before...." ---------------------------------------------- I was a quite filly, I didn't like to talk much, I didn't see a point in it. I loved music though, so my dad, he was a bassist for a traveling jazz band, decided he'd get me something. Something about music. He saved up and got me a keyboard, and a microphone, so I got it, and I loved it! I was on it all the time, and it was a lot of fun, and you would think, that you know, after all of that I would get my cutie mark? Nope, I still had a ways to go. I went to school this one day... and like, a friend told me about this thing happening, it was a battle of the bands. I wasn't planing to join, but a friend of mine needed some more ponies in her group. She played like... the cello or something, and there were three others, one played drums, and the other one played guitar, and the last one sang. We're all still friends now, actually. You know Sapphire Shores, Sorin, and Spitfire? Yeah those three, the cello player was an old friend Frolic. She runs a bar now. Uh... well anyway, she asked if I wanted to play for her band, and I said sure. So we all just tried to work on a song for a few days, and we decided it was too hard. Spitfire thought is was a good idea to start from scratch, but yeah, like I said, too hard. We didn't even know what we wanted the song to sound like. Frolic wanted something fast to show off her cello skills, Spitfire wanted something heavy with distortion, Sorin wanted a drum solo, and Sapphire wanted it to be poppy and and techno. So I thought, you know, why not combine it? It sounded horrible, and I guessed it would be best if we just stop. We all took a break, and it lasted a day. My father came back and asked how my music was going. I said it was going pretty bad, so he suggested I do something called a remix if I can't think up something original. He said, a remix is like adding your own flair to a song that is already written. I thought that sounded cool, so I got the group back the next day at lunch and I took one of my dad's old songs from when he was writing and playing his own compositions, and we decided it was good enough to play. We played it a few times and I heard it, and thought it needed a heavier beat. So I kept tweaking it by ear until it sounded just right, and I added my keyboard in with synthesized basses and stuff, and we felt like the song was perfect. We go to the battle of the bands, and all the other ponies had groups that looked really good, like they had instruments that complemented each other, like a band with a viola, a guitar, an upright bass, and a mandolin, and a band with two guitars, a bassist, a drum set and a singer. We had the weirdest band, with our guitar, cello, drums, and keyboard. The other ponies thought we would never make it, but I was sure we would win, we had the best song! The other kids did covers... it was bad, like, they all did the exact cover, no flair or anything. I was bored to death it was like listening to the radio but less fun. Soon my band was up, and we set up and began to play. Some ponies thought it was great! Sometimes ponies would dance to certain parts, but most sat still or covered their ears complaining. The judges said we lost, but I didn't care. There was something about watching ponies dace to my songs that made me feel good. I wondered what it would be like if they were all dancing? If I could make a song that all ponies enjoyed enough to dance to, and if I could make the song better? I asked around about what could have been different, and it was mostly the way the cello got drowned out under the drums, and how the sounds tend to clash. My dad heard about the show, and he asked if I wanted to continue to make music, and I said yes. So he got me a mixer and a few amps from an old show. Frolic, Sorin, Spitfire, Sapphire Shores, and I would all get together regularly to make more music, and we would learn to mix the sounds so we could hear the cello over the drums, and the guitar wouldn't sound weird with the synth's bass. I wanted to try out the song again, we had tampered with the sounds and changed the notes, the lyrics had changed too, and we felt like it would be perfect! I offered to be a performer at a party at this other school, and although we were very young, and it was a high school, they thought it would be funny, so they hired us. I guess they planned to laugh about what we would play, might have thought a few fillies and a colt would get up there and play twinkle twinkle little star on recorders. You should have seen their faces when we set up. They thought it looked crazy cool, but they still seemed skeptical of what we would play. I got up on my keyboard and looked over the crowd as a few snickered in the back. The others got up on stage and Frolic counted off. It was crazy how when she played that first note made everypony shut up right then and there. She sped it up and let the music ride through the silence, only to have a shaking bass rumble through the amps as well, too low to disrupt the cello, but enough to vibrate the ground. Then there were the drums, Sorin pounded them to death as the beat picked up, the techno sound of my synth preparing for the drop. And when it dropped, it DROPPED! Everypony was shaking their flanks and shouting, they were smiling and thrashing about, and I felt like a god at the reigns of their primal outbursts, their were ponies grinding and twerking, ponies sweating and the smell of nothing but party and beer filled the air. I loved it, and soon I felt this tingling. It wasn't until after the party that Spitfire told me that I had something on my butt, and it was a cutie mark! I was so happy! I got home and my parents gave me this look, like they were angry at me. I had Spitfire and Frolic with me, and I guess we smelled like we were in a bar fight at a strip club, because my parents scrunched up their noses. They freaked out and asked where I had been and what I had been doing. I explained and they didn't seem impressed. I told them I got my cutie mark, and their jaws dropped. ------------------------------------------------- "-And that's how I got my cutie mark..." Vinyl took a deep breath as she saw Octavia's house in the distance. She was glad she could go back to silence for a while. "That's a really cool story! Why don't you tell more ponies that?" Octavia asked grinning wildly. Oh boy, she had just gotten a secret story never told to anypony about her favorite DJ! "I really don't like talking that much." "Why not? You have so much to say!" "It's normally because I already hear so much noise, but aside from that, I just don't like talking, there isn't a point in it." Octavia left it at that, and let a short silence fall between them. It wasn't awkward, it wasn't bad, it was just a break from all of the talking. Octavia opened the door to her little home, the feeling of air conditioning rushed over her sticky fur as she trotted in with a smile. She turned to Vinyl who was standing outside on the door mat. "Are you going to invite me in?" Oh right, Vinyl's being weird again. "Sure thing, come on in, Vinyl." Vinyl walked in and enjoyed the air, shaking her mane. "So... you doing anything?" Octavia just raised a brow, well she obviously wasn't planning to do anything beyond a shower and sleep. Was Vinyl just going to stay over? "Um, not really, are you planning to stay?" "I mean... I could leave?" "NO!" Vinyl jumped at Octavia's sudden outburst, "Uh.. I mean you don't have to go, it's much more comfortable here..." A famous DJ staying the night at her house? Sounded scandalous, even if she wasn't planning anything, well maybe she could get a signature for her shirt. That would be nice. Vinyl closed the door and went to sit on the sofa, patting the seat beside her for Octavia to join. Octavia gladly jumped up onto the sofa. A few more minutes wouldn't hurt her. The two sat quietly for a bit before Vinyl sighed and removed her glasses, tossing them to the glass table and laying on her back, her head on Octavia's lap. This was the first time she had ever seen the DJ's eyes. "What?" Vinyl asked, a small smirk spreading. Octavia knew that Vinyl knew exactly what she was doing. They were a beautiful shade of red, so why not humor the unicorn a bit? "My, Vinyl, your eyes..." Octavia sighed with a suddenly changed expression, "You know... I've never seen them..." "Yeah, ponies don't usually get to see them unless they're very very lucky..." "Ah yes, I'm sure this is quite a privilege," Octavia's eyes were now half lidded and she let her hoof trace circles on the tuft of fur protruding from Vinyl's chest. Vinyl's eyes darted back and fourth as Octavia got closer, "any other privileges that I can get from you?" Vinyl said nothing, only gulping as Octavia changed from just sitting to standing above her, her legs on either side of Vinyl and her tail swaying. "A-and what would that be?" Octavia took a mental note that Vinyl's charisma and daringly cool attitude seemed to have dropped. "Well... I have always wanted a...." Octavia's hoof traced from Vinyl's chest to her belly before stopping, "autograph on my rave T-shirt...." Vinyl' eyes seemed to shoot up and open from looking at Octavia's hoof that had now left her body. "An autograph?" Vinyl repeated before taking in a deep breath. Well, at least she wouldn't have to embarrass herself with her nervousness. "Y-yeah... sure." "Was I any good?" Octavia asked innocently before jumping from the sofa. Vinyl only stared, her mouth open wide. "I'll take that as a yes." With that, Octavia trotted to her room to grab the shirt she wanted signed. 'Dammit, Vinyl, why can't you just not be a total dud?' Vinyl sat back in her previous position as she re-imagined the feeling of that mare above her. Oh how odd this feeling was, it was like a mix of what she felt with her friends, and when she made music that ponies liked, but ten times better.