//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Refound Love // by GamerTag //------------------------------// Tuesday and Wednesday were odd days for Octavia. Caramel seemed clinger than normal. Also, Octavia doesn't go to the office on Tuesday or Wednesday so she went to ensemble practice but her ensemble was acting strange too. Any mention of Octavia's other job would either result in them cringing or completely ignoring whatever she said. Things only got weirder today when she went to the office again, and found Bon Bon being extremely clingy with Lyra. "Bonnie, don't you like, you know... Need to work?" Lyra asked. Lyra was doing some stuff on a computer and Bon Bon was sitting by her. "Well yeah, but I doubt Vinyl would mind if I missed a little work," Bon Bon answered. "Hello guys," Octavia said, walking by their cubical. "Good morning Octavia," Lyra said, still focusing on her computer. "Oh, hi Octavia," Bon Bon said and then seemed to go a little bit closer to Lyra. Octavia stared at the two confused. Bon Bon is acting a little like Caramel... "Hey Bon Bon, don't you need to work?" Octavia asked. "That's what I said," Lyra said, still looking at her computer. "Yeah, but I doubt anypony would notice if I didn't do my job for-" Bon Bon started but was interrupted by another pony. "Yo Bonnie, you didn't put in any Pop Tarts into the kitchen today," Vinyl said, walking up next to Octavia. "Oh! I forgot, sorry Vinyl!" Bon Bon said and then quickly walked to the kitchen. "Pop Tarts?" Octavia asked, raising her eyebrow. "Yeah! Pop Tarts are great!" Vinyl answered. "Pop Tarts are for foals. Please don't tell me you eat them every morning," Octavia said. "Fine, I won't tell you that," Vinyl said grinning, Octavia sighed in annoyance. After a moment of silence, Octavia whispered to Vinyl, "Can I please speak with you in your office?" Vinyl looked at her confused but then shrugged and started walking towards her office, Octavia following. "Hey, where did Octavia and Vinyl go?" Bon Bon asked, coming back and holding a cup of coffee. "I don't know, probably to work." Lyra answered. Bon Bon then placed the coffee down onto Lyra's desk and sighed, "Lyra... There's something I need to ~~~At Vinyl's Office~~~ "So, what do you wanna talk about?" Vinyl asked, sitting down behind her desk. "Well, it's about Lyra and Bon Bon... Heck it's about almost everypony," Octavia answered, sitting down in the seat in front of Vinyl. "You mean how Bonnie has been acting up lately?" Vinyl asked, "Maybe something happened during the weekend," "No, Bon Bon was fine on Monday, so was everypony else, but since then everypony has been acting... Strange," "Oh yeah! I remember now that you told me Bon Bon and Lyra were having a hot make out session in the recording studio. Who else has been weird?" "Well, my ensemble has been weird. They are completely avoiding the topic of my new job," "Maybe they're jealous." "Oh please Vinyl, this job is nothing to be jealous about," Octavia said with a grin, Vinyl glared at her in response, though it was hard to tell with her glasses on. "Maybe you should question them, make the topic unavoidable," "That's a good idea actually, I am seeing Beauty later today for tea so I will talk to her then," "Alright sweet, tell me how it goes," Vinyl said. "I will, thank you Vinyl," Octavia said, getting out of her seat. "Wait!" Vinyl yelled, Octavia turned around to face her. "I am coming with you," Vinyl said and got out of her chair. "Why?" Octavia asked as Vinyl caught up to her. "Because I want to talk to Bonnie, maybe she will explain why she has been acting up," Vinyl explained and with that the two left Vinyl's office. ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ "That's insane," Lyra whisper. Octavia and Vinyl were walking to Lyra's cubical when they started hearing a conversation. "I know! I am so sorry Lyra," Bon Bon whispered. "It's not you fault. We just have to make sure to not tell-" Lyra started but was interrupted by Vinyl. "Hey guys! What are you talking about?" Vinyl asked, Octavia facehooved. Good job Vinyl.... "NOTHING," Lyra and Bon Bon both yelled at the same time. "Oh... Kay?" Vinyl said, confused by their sudden fear. "Oh! Look at the time! I need to go put more cabinets in the food- I MEAN FOOD IN THE CABINETS!" Bon Bon yelled and then ran towards the kitchen. "AND I NEED TO... HARP," Lyra yelled and then ran towards the recording area. "Well, that was certainly interesting," Octavia said. "Yeah," Vinyl said. "Also, why did you say something?! If we listened we may have been able to hear it!" Octavia asked. "Because I did that once a long time ago, and it changed a lot of things for me," Vinyl answered, now in a more serious tone. "For the good or bad?" Octavia asked concerned. "I.... I don't know," Vinyl answered and look down at the ground. Octavia frowned at this. C'mon Octavia, think! What is something that happened on Monday that has never- WAIT! HOW COULD I BE SO BLIND! CARAMEL! "CARAMEL!" Octavia yelled. Vinyl lifted her head up, "What?" "OH NOTHING! NO PONY! I NEED TO GO TALK TO BON BON NOW!" Octavia answered and then ran towards the kitchen. Wait, why didn't I want to tell Vinyl about Caramel... Why did I feel worried? "Has everypony here lost their minds?" Vinyl asked herself and then ran towards the recording area. I need to ask Lyra about Monday. ~~~In the Kitchen~~~ "Hey Bon Bon," Octavia said, walking into the kitchen. "Oh! Hello Octavia!" Bon Bon said, she was putting more food into the cabinet. "How much food do you put in there?" Octavia asked. "Oh, a lot!" Bon Bon answered. "How much food could one office possibly need?! Well, actually, Vinyl is the boss here so," Octavia said. Bon Bon giggled, "Are you calling Vinyl fat?" "No, I am saying she eats like a pig," Octavia answered. Bon Bon giggled again. "So, Bon Bon. You never did tell me about what happened on Monday with Caramel," Octavia said, with a raised eyebrow. Bon Bon froze, she then slowly turned towards Octavia. "Oh, well uh, I found him talking to one of our coworkers and then brought him in here for coffee and we talked, that's it," Bon Bon answered nervously. She then continued putting food into the cabinets. "What did you guys talk about?" Octavia asked. "Stuff, like work," Bon Bon answered. "Hm, anything else? What about me?" Octavia asked. Bon Bon gulped, "Yes, we talked about you a little bit. About how you are doing at work and what I think of you," "I see," Octavia said, she wasn't buying it. Octavia was about to persist when she remembered something, 'There are reasons I do what I do'. Lyra's voice rang through Octavia's head. Maybe, that also applies to Bon Bon, maybe she is trying to protect me from something. Octavia looked over at Bon Bon, who was still working. She was my first friend here, she even help me connect more with Vinyl. I don't want to ruin that. "So, did you go out with Lyra on Monday?" Octavia asked, Bon Bon seemed to perk back up at the change of subject. "Yeah!" Bon Bon answered. I'll leave her alone. I don't want to make her uncomfortable around me. "Tell me about it," Octavia said with a warm smile. But I will get my answers. But not from her, from Beauty Brass. ~~~Meanwhile~~~ "Hey Lyra," Vinyl said, entering the recording area. Lyra was sitting on the chair in the recording area, she had her lyer in hoof and was playing some music. "Sup boss," Lyra answered and put down her lyer. "So, how's things with Bonnie?" Vinyl asked. "Good!" Lyra answered. Lyra has always been a good liar... Ha pun. "Even though she was a little clingy this morning and yesterday?" Vinyl asked. "Yeah, but that is over with. She was just worried about me because I have been working so hard, unlike you," Lyra answered with a grin. "Yeah, okay, keep telling yourself that," Vinyl said with a grin, "So why didn't you want me to come to work on Monday?" "Because, you have been working way too hard mate, you gotta relax," Lyra answered. "You're telling Vinyl to relax? She is already so lazy," A voice said. Vinyl turned around to find Octavia entering the recording studio. "I am not lazy!" Vinyl complained. Octavia grinned, "Sure your not," "I'm not!" Vinyl complained. "Says the pony that falls asleep in their office all the time," Lyra said with a grin, Vinyl glared at her. "Well, now that Octavia is here, we can started recording her," Lyra said, getting out of her seat. Once Lyra went through the doors to the viewing area, Vinyl started speaking. "Any luck?" Vinyl ask. "No, I felt bad pushing Bon Bon," Octavia answered. "Oh, looks like somepony's a big softie," Vinyl said with a grin. "Oh shut up Vinyl, I am going to get my answers out of Beauty Brass anyway," "Sure you will, unless it becomes to hard for you and you start crying for an apology," Vinyl said with a grin. "I AM NOT THAT WEAK! I AM VERY PERSISTENT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" Octavia huffed. "Yeah, and I'm not lazy," Vinyl said with a grin and walked out of the recording studio. That pony can be so annoying sometimes... ~~~Later~~~ "Hello Octavia!" Beauty Brass said smiling warmly. Octavia then walked into Beauty Brass's apartment. Octavia had just finished work a few minutes ago. "Hello Beauty," Octavia said, sitting down on her sofa. Beauty then went into the kitchen and grabbed a tray that had two cups of tea on it. Beauty placed it down onto the coffee table in front of the sofa and sat down next to Octavia. "So Octavia, what are we talking about today?" Beauty Brass asked, picking up one of the cups of tea. "Well, I would like to talk about my office and Monday," Octavia said smugly. Beauty cringed, "Oh... What about it?" "Well, ever since Monday, you, Harpo, Fredric, Bon Bon, and Caramel have been acting strange. So Beauty, I am not leaving until you tell me what has been going on," Octavia answered. Beauty started at her for a moment and then placed her tea back down onto the coffee table. Beauty then sighed heavily, "Okay, I'll tell you, it's been eating me up for the past three days," Octavia leaned in, excited to hear what has been bothering her friends. Beauty Brass then opened her mouth to speak, and then got up and bolted towards the apartment door. Octavia immediately got up and chased after her. Beauty Brass was already losing Octavia. She opened the door to escape but was stopped by a white unicorn, who grabbed her with it's magic. "What in Equestria?! Put me down right this instant!" Beauty complained. "Good job Vinyl," Octavia said with a smile and walked right next to where the now frozen Beauty Brass was. "This is Vinyl?!" Beauty Brass asked. "The one and only," Vinyl said, putting a hoof to her chest. "Okay Beauty, tell us what happened now," Octavia demanded. "Okay fine, but I want Vinyl to leave the room, she can stay outside and guard but I don't want her to hear this," Beauty Brass said. Vinyl gave her a questionable look, but Octavia nodded her head. Vinyl let go of Beauty and closed the door. Beauty and Octavia walked back into the living room and they sat on the sofa. Beauty picked up her tea, drank a little, and then finally answered Octavia, "On Monday, Fredric, Harpo, and I went to your office to check on you because we were worried about how having Caramel at your office could affect you," "That's it? That's nothing, I don't care if you-" Octavia started but was interrupted by Beauty Brass, "I'm not done, we got to the office and went to the kitchen area where we found Caramel kissing Bon Bon. According to Caramel he was getting revenge on you because he believed you were cheating on him with Bon Bon," Octavia started at her, she had no emotions on her face. That... That makes so much sense. Everything connects now... My Celestia.... "Octavia?" Beauty asked in a concerned tone. "I... I need to go and think about this, thank you for telling me Beauty, I'll see you soon," Octavia said and then walked towards the door. "Good bye Octavia," Beauty Brass said, and Octavia shut the door. ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ "I hope Beauty doesn't try anything else," Vinyl said to herself. Vinyl was standing outside the apartment door, she was right next to the door and was waiting for Octavia to come out. "Hey Tavi, did she tell you?" Vinyl asked. Octavia just looked at Vinyl, and then hugged her. Vinyl was caught off guard, but hugged her back. Oh Celestia something horrible is going on. "You okay Octy?" Vinyl asked. Octavia stopped hugging Vinyl and looked at her. "Yeah, thanks for coming here, I knew Beauty would try and escape," Octavia said with a sad smile. "No problem, but did you learn what happened?" Vinyl asked. "Yeah, though I wish I didn't," Octavia answered. "I know that pain," Vinyl said and then n put her hoof around Octavia. The two started walked out of the apartment in silence. Once they were outside the apartment, Octavia started talking, "Oh, I never asked you, are you feeling better?" Octavia asked. "What? Feeling better from what?" Vinyl asked. "Lyra said you were sick..." Octavia answered. "Octavia.... Lyra told me not to come to work,"