“At least our first date wasn’t as bad as our first meeting, you know?”
Octavia stirred her milkshake, squinting at the rainbow sprinkles. She wondered if the other ponies here could sense what she was listening to; or, at least, had guesses. Most were likely assuming she had music playing. Well, maybe in a way, it was music - or something equally as beautiful.
A voice she hadn’t heard in almost three years.
“Okay, so yeah, I took you to the most cliche date spot in town. Everypony goes to Sugarcube Corner for the first date. But how was I supposed to know that? I had only been in town for a few weeks.”
I didn’t find it cliche one bit, Vinyl, Octavia thought, smiling to herself. I found it charming. Adorable, actually.
She really did wish that Vinyl was saying all of this to her face - so they could have a real conversation for the first time in a very, very long time…
“So, because I was half-broke that day, I took you to a bakery instead of out to lunch. Not my best move, probably, but I’m glad to know it turned out okay. We had common ground. We both loved music. We talked about it over milkshakes and cupcakes; you were a classical fanatic who could play practically every instrument known to ponykind and I was a disk jockey, and a fan of synth-pop and rock-n-roll with a small passion for singing. We were different. But we clicked.”
A long time ago, if anypony told Octavia she’d be a fan of electronica music, she’d laugh in their face. Now, her music library was half and half. It wasn’t just hers anymore, after all. It was theirs.
Hers and Vinyl’s.
“I don’t know why, or how. But we did. Probably because we both had big dreams about the music business. I wanted to be a hit maker, you wanted to be part of the Royal Orchestra. We scribbled down song lyrics and melodies on napkins - I think we used almost every single one in the dispenser - and when we left to go our separate ways for the day, you kissed me.”
Vinyl paused, softly laughing to herself.
“Lots of ponies kiss on the first date, and usually, I’m one of them - but in public? With somepony they barely know? From the get-go, I knew that you were something else. Which was why I asked you if you wanted to go out again. The rest, as they say, is history.”
Octavia sipped her milkshake, listening to the track skip for a few seconds into a pause, until the voice; Vinyl’s voice, which was restricted and breathless and by some standards, ugly, rose from the silence. In a way, it sort of sent chills down Octavia’s spine.
“You can get another present from Pinkie, along with Tape Three.”
Click.
The end of another simple story. Another beginning of something unexpected.
With a heavy sigh of contentment, Octavia opened up the tape player and turned the cassette over in her hooves. How laughable - and maybe ironic; a mare named Vinyl Record Scratch making cassette tapes. Octavia traced the edges and contours of the tape.
How much effort had Vinyl put into this? How long had it taken her?
“Here you gooo!” Pinkie shrieked.
Octavia yelped, and nearly fell out of her seat when she noticed the other mare bouncing up and down right next to the table. “What are you-” Her vision trailed down to the tabletop, where another tape was sitting, with what looked like a train ticket and a note. “Oh.”
“See ya!” Pinkie cheered, skipping back to her job.
Octavia,
Here’s a very important present. If you look back at the list i gave you, three of those places are in canterlot. Well, how else are you supposed to get there? Here’s a roundtrip ticket. Your train leaves at noon, and you should be back in ponyville by six. the tape is a soundtrack for you jam out to on the train. it’s all the songs we’ve made - together.
Love, Vinyl.
Octavia could have sworn, she was tearing up. Just a little. There had to be some kind of occasion - her birthday? No, that wasn’t for a few months. Their anniversary? It was in a few weeks, but Vinyl usually didn’t celebrate that extravagantly. Hearts and Hooves Day wasn’t for a long time…
…the reason could only be found out through the tapes. So onward she would go to find the rest of them. The other stories of the life she has been sharing with Vinyl.
Octavia had a train to catch.