//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: Tropical Octav3 // Story: Between Bassdrops and Bowstrings // by Quillian Inkheart //------------------------------// Chapter 17: Tropical Octav3 [v] “Shoo-be-doo…?” Vinyl sputtered, coming out of a rather unusual and horrifying nightmare. She snapped her head this way and that, still half asleep, expecting to see strange pseudo-sea-ponies gathered around her, singing underwater, somehow. Instead, she was greeted with the sight of sand only inches from her hooves. Turning her eyes up, she found Octavia still asleep on the flotation ring, a beach spreading out in front of them. Vinyl couldn’t recall any known islands in the Southern Luna Ocean, but then again, it was mostly unexplored waters. She pushed the ring to shore and walked out of the water, onto the warm sand. She sighed loudly, feeling the warmth of the sun drying her coat and mane. She was coated in a layer of salt, felt grimy and achy, but she was alive! By Celestia, she was alive! Vinyl tossed her head back, laughing and cheering. She rolled over, kissing the sand, immediately sputtering and spitting out the tiny grains. “V-Vinyl?” Octavia’s trembling voice snapped Vinyl out of her excitement. The DJ looked back to her friend, who was staring around with wide, terrified eyes. “W-Where are we?” Octavia was pulling herself from the flotation ring, stepping into the water on shaky hooves. She snapped her head back out to the ocean. “Where’s the ship?! Didn’t they notice we were gone?” Octavia’s chest began to heave as she hyperventilated. “Tavi, it’s an island. I bet the ship’s long gone now.” Vinyl answered, as calmly as she could. She didn’t want to freak her friend out any more. “Calm down, okay? This is great.” “Calm down? Calm down?!” Octavia shouted, rounding on her friend. As she continued, she marched towards Vinyl, gradually getting louder. “How can I be calm right now? We’re stranded on an island in an ocean nopony has explored! We have no clue where we are! Nopony knows we’re here! And my mane is a mess!” Vinyl tried not to laugh. She really did. But in the end, she couldn’t help herself. “Tavi, chill. We’re better off than we were last night. We aren’t stuck on that tiny little ring anymore.” “Oh no, of course not; now we’re just stuck on a much larger pile of sand! That is so much more comforting!” Octavia’s voice slowly growing more frightened by the second, made Vinyl immediately shift her way of thinking. “We’ll be fine, you’ll see. The trees here are tropical and that means fruit.” Vinyl motioned to a tree-line not far from the beach. “And there’s bound to be water to clean up with and drink.” “And bugs. And predators. Probably monsters. Who knows what else…” Octavia shook her whole head, taking a step back. Soon, her entire body was trembling. “I-I… I won’t go in there, Vinyl. I-I need to… We need to get out of here!” She turned, charging back into the water frantically. Vinyl jumped to stop her, but Octavia was already flank-deep in the blue. She clearly either ignored or didn't hear Vinyl’s first and second shouts, but when she threw the words, ‘look out!’ into the mix, the grey mare paused and looked back. “For what?” Octavia asked, looking back to her friend and then followed her gaze off to the side. A large, grey fin glided closer, moving around her in a small circle. Something clicked in Octavia’s mind and she screamed, racing back to the shore. The shark angrily departed as it’s meal retreated. “T-T-That was a shark!” Octavia sputtered, hugging herself as she laid on the beach, trembling. “Still think we’re safer in the water?” Vinyl asked, a little too smugly. However, Octavia didn’t reply. She didn’t even stop trembling. She was staring at something on the horizon, but Vinyl didn’t see anything there. Perhaps she was looking back to a time when the world wasn’t so frightening. Vinyl sighed, giving up on the ‘holier than thou’ thing. “Hey, Tavi…” Vinyl sat beside her friend, nudging her face with her muzzle. “Have I ever lied to you? We’ll be fine. Please, trust me.” Octavia shifted, looking at Vinyl. After a few seconds, she calmed, smiling a very small smile. “Yes. You've lied plenty of times..." She paused, then took a deep breath. "But a-alright. I trust you, Vinyl.” “Good.” Vinyl leaned back up, offering a hoof to her friend. “Come on, let’s go exploring. Nothin’ in this forest would be able to handle the two of us, together.” Octavia gave another tiny smile and took the offered hoof. Despite her misgivings about forests, Octavia was forced to admit that this was probably the most beautiful forest she'd ever see. First off, it was brighter and more colorful than every forest she had ever been in or heard of. Plants grew large and strong, meaning fruit would be plentiful and more than likely delicious as well. Her friend looked up from her side, noticing coconuts, pineapples and mangoes, along with a few other fruits, like bananas. Octavia had, at one time or another, tried every fruit on display. “Jackpot.” Vinyl said with a wide grin. Octavia looked to Vinyl, thankful for the distraction. The forest around her was making her nervous. Ever since the Nightmare Night incident, Octavia had nightmares about being chased through the forest by the Headless Pony. Once, Luna had shown up to try and ease her fears, but seeing the Princess only dragged up even more memories, only making the nightmare worse. “Fruit? Good. Can we hurry up, get them and get back to the beach? Please?” Octavia couldn’t keep the fear out of her voice. Even with the sun warming her mane, Octavia couldn’t stand being among all these trees, not able to see very far through the meshing trunks. “Hold on.” Vinyl walked around a tree bearing coconuts. “These will be a real pain to get down with magic. They’re stuck tight to the tree… We’d be better off bucking them down and saving my magic for things like the bananas.” Vinyl looked over to Octavia and smiled. “Looks like this is a job for the Earth Pony. Show this tree who’s boss, Tavi.” Octavia was more than happy to help; anything to get her out of the woods faster. She looked up at the coconuts, turning away from the tree and kicked back, good and hard. Nothing fell, but the tree swayed a bit. “Again.” Vinyl urged her, watching the curious fruit closely. “You almost got ‘em.” Octavia sighed and braced herself, giving the tree another good, solid buck. She kicked with more force this time, angry at the tree for not giving them what they needed right away. All at once, a whole cluster of coconuts fell. Vinyl shouted, not having expected that. “Whoa! Tavi, watch it!” Vinyl scrambled to catch as many as she could with her magic, but it was just too much. Several slipped past her magical net and landed on her friend. Vinyl winced as three coconuts landed on Octavia’s back, flank, and head, making her friend stumble and fall over. “Yo, Tavi, y’alright?” Vinyl hurried over to her friend, depositing the coconuts off to the side. Octavia was dazed, and had a fresh, throbbing headache. She groaned in answer to Vinyl’s question, finding words to be a tad beyond her right now. She’d just lay there a while. Yes, that sounded nice. Some movement not far in front of Octavia caught her eye. She focused on that, since the rest of the world had decided to start spinning. The little object moved back and forth, coming ever closer. It was a few moments before Octavia realized what it was. The little snake flicked its tongue out, curious about the new scent; it had never smelt ponies before. It slithered a bit closer, wondering to itself how dangerous something so… silly looking could be. Octavia screamed, jumping up and back, putting her back against the neighbor to the tree she’d bucked. She huffed out her breath, watching the snake retreat. Whatever ponies were, it had decided, they were rather jumpy. Octavia sighed and began to relax. It was just a snake. It was more scared of her than she was of it. Besides, it had been kinda cute, once it was well out of hoofs reach... and hidden in the bushes. Octavia felt something tickle her shoulder. She swatted at her shoulder with a hoof, but the itch didn’t go away. She turned her head, peering at the offending spot. A spider, big and hairy, was crawling along her arm, finding it a convenient shortcut to the branch it was scurrying to. It looked at Octavia as she looked at it, its big eyes gazing expectantly, as if it was waiting for a treat of some kind. What it got instead was screams and a flailing hoof. “Off! Get off of me!” Octavia shouted. She heard Vinyl trying to convince her that nothing here would try to hurt them. Octavia wanted to laugh, and not because she thought it was funny. Thinking the danger was finally past, Octavia took a deep breath. She tried to find her center. She wouldn’t let some stupid forest beat her. She let out the breath and started counting to ten. At about seven, she felt something lick her face with a long, slimy tongue. Something inside Octavia broke right about then. It was unclear what she said, how loud she screamed, or even what direction she ran off in. She didn’t care, as long as she wasn’t there. The trees became one large blur as she darted through them; sprinting, ducking, jumping, and shouting aimlessly as she rushed through the brush, trying to find the safety of the open beach. At least there, nothing would try to crawl all over her or lick her. She saw a familiar sight, some part of the forest that she thought she remembered, and turned her head to look. Taking her eyes off the path in front of her, however, proved to be a terrible idea. Unable to stop or even slow down, Octavia’s hoof snagged on a root. There was a brief moment of clarity as she soared through the air. The world wound to a stop and she was forced to see her own folly. She could have been running deeper into the forest this whole time, trapping herself in the very thing she was afraid of. Had she only had time to think, she would— The grand epiphany was interrupted by that most rude of intruders; gravity. Her reunion with the ground was as spectacular as it was painful. When the dizzying tumble skidded to a halt, Octavia realized why things looked so familiar. She had skidded to a stop just behind Vinyl, right back where she started. Vinyl peered back at Octavia, giving a low whistle. “Whoa. Full circuit. Nice.” The DJ gave a little chuckle and turned, helping her friend up. “Tired out now? Come on, we’ve got coconuts to crack and pineapples to peel. Wait, do you peel pineapples?” Octavia felt anger flush her face red. How could Vinyl be so… nonchalant about all this? How could she not see the danger they were in right now? The torrent of emotions grew in her, threatening to explode. “Fruit? You’re still worried about the bucking fruit!?” Vinyl twitched, both at Octavia’s tone, and at her choice of words. “Tavi, chill out, I just—“ “Chill out? You want me to chill out? You always do this, Vinyl! You never think about the consequences of the world around you. You never bother to stop and look at the situation. You never plan ahead! You flit through life so casually and it just… just…” Octavia found she couldn’t contain her anger anymore. It was slipping through her hooves, like the sand she’d left back on the beach. She bit her lip, knowing her friend didn’t deserve this. Turning, she started to walk again. “Just… forget it, Vinyl. Let’s get back to the beach.” Vinyl trotted to her side, levitating the fruits she’d gathered in the air between them. “At least we’ve got food now, Tavi…” Octavia scoffed, heading back towards the isolation of the beach. Vinyl watched sadly as Octavia stared out at the setting sun. The first day had been eventful, but not particularly positive. Octavia hadn’t spoken to her for the rest of the day; she had accepted her food in silence and had eaten it alone. Vinyl knew Octavia well enough to know she hadn’t meant to snap and now she was punishing herself for it. This whole situation had been way too sudden for her sensibilities. As she watched her friend torment herself, Vinyl tried to think up some kind of plan. She wouldn’t let Octavia do this for another minute. An idea crept its way into her head just then; a strange, but interesting idea. “Hey Tavi.” Vinyl trotted out onto the sands. “Tavi, come ‘ere. I wanna show you something.” Octavia ignored her, shifting the sand around in front of her. “Don’t ignore me, Tavi. I’m warnin’ ya.” Vinyl was sure to keep her tone joking, trying to keep things lighthearted. Still, the grey pony ignored her, drawing a cello-shape in the sand. Suddenly, the cello trailed off as Octavia found herself sliding back, Vinyl pulling her along by her tail. “Vinyl, stop that! It hurts!” Octavia protested, tugging her tail loose from her friend’s mouth. “I warned ya. It got you to talk, though,” Vinyl said, chuckling. The two were off the sands now, on the grass between the beach and the trees. Octavia scowled harder – clearly upset at being forced from her moping – and rose to leave. Vinyl caught one of her front hooves as she stood. Before Octavia could even understand what was happening, Vinyl had pulled the cellist into a mock dance, their muzzles only inches apart, moving with that strange unison the two had found during Nightmare Night. Vinyl was humming the tune Fiddle had played as Octavia stared straight into Vinyl's eyes with a wide look that was filled with both confusion and mirth at the direction these events had taken. It was only seconds before a huge smile spread on her face. The two abandoned any sense of order – if any order was there to begin with – and began dancing more freely, Octavia joining her friend in the humming. The pair laughed, swinging together in the light of the setting sun. The more they danced, the happier they became, growing more impassioned with every second. Eventually, swinging her too hard, Octavia tossed Vinyl. The DJ, not as used to standing on two hooves as Octavia, couldn’t find her balance and fell into the grass with a grunt. “Oh no, Vinyl, I’m so sorry!” Octavia rushed over to her friend's side. Vinyl couldn't help but smile at Octavia's genuine worry about something so small. With a light chuckle, she held out a hoof, silently asking for help up. The second Octavia grabbed it, Vinyl tugged, pulling her friend down to the grass next to her with a cheerful laugh. The two tumbled, rolling out onto the sand and battering one another in a mock fight. They hadn’t played like this since they were fillies. The two wound down, both ponies heaving in exhaustion and laying side-by-side, staring up to the sky as the stars flickered to life. “Maybe… You were right, Vinyl. Maybe this place isn’t so bad after all. I mean, I’m not alone here; that means something.” She paused, and then rolled onto her side, staring at her friend. “But I shant spend the rest of my life here.” “Never said we would.” Vinyl leaned up on one hoof, staring over her friend. She was quite a sight; her mane and coat filled with salt and sand, her necktie untied and hanging loosely from her neck. Her smile was back, as radiant as the stars. Vinyl had to admit, Octavia’s beauty could rival the sun. Vinyl had to admit a lot of things, admittedly. The DJ scooted closer to her friend, her face growing serious. “Yo, Tavi; about what we were talking about on the ship…” “No; don’t worry about it.” Octavia chuckled, shaking her head. “I was being selfish and rather silly. This time with you made me realize something again; time with you is more important than anything else. It doesn’t matter that you turned me down. I know now you’ll always be my friend.” Vinyl let her finish, but raised an eyebrow before her sentence was through. She gave a small chuckle and leaned forward, their faces almost touching. Octavia blushed, feeling her friend’s breath on her face. “When did I ever say I turned you down, Tavi?” Before Octavia could react in any way, Vinyl kissed her friend gently, letting her eyes close. Unlike the kiss on Nightmare Night, this kiss lingered. Emotions surged between the two and Vinyl was reluctant to break it, even for a breath of air. When she finally relented, she left her friend in a blushing, dumfounded daze, her mouth half-open and her eyes wide. “Listen, and listen good, Tavi.” Vinyl sat up properly, paused and laughed. “And close your mouth. You’ll catch flies in there.” Octavia gave a sudden, embarrassed giggle, like a schoolgirl talking to her first crush. She sat up straight in the sand, ignoring Vinyl’s grin, clearing her throat. However she didn’t speak; only listened. “I won’t waste either of our time by lying to you. Ah hay, who am I kidding, I couldn’t lie to you. Not about this.” Vinyl shifted a hoof in the sand, kneading it under her. “I love you, Tavi. When we were little, you were like my mentor. You were the pony I dreamed of being like. When I got older and you moved away, to make you proud so I could see you again, without being ashamed at least, was what drove me to become the musician I am today. Through every danger, I’ve been scared witless about loosin’ you again. But, I guess, learning how you felt about me made me rethink how I felt. “I’ve been a real moron. I’ve been scared of hurtin’ Neon, being his idol and all. I get the impression love is a pretty rare thing for him and I was afraid of bein’ a bad special somepony. I tried to be half the idol you were to me for him, but I doubt I could ever manage that.” Octavia started to reply, but Vinyl stopped her, covering her mouth with a hoof. “Don’t stop me. I’m on a roll here.” She chuckled and tilted her head to the side slightly, staring deeply into Octavia’s violet eyes. “I gotta be honest with myself, for both our sakes. I love a mare, and her name is Octavia Melody. I’ve loved her since I was a little filly, but not in the same way I did later. And now?” Vinyl chuckled, blushing a little bit. “I don’t wanna hurt Neon too bad, but I ain’t about to miss out on life with you, Octavia. He’s a great guy and I wish him the luck in the world, but you’re the only pony for me. Call it fate, destiny, or just dumb luck or whatever. I think we were brought together for a reason. This reason. You and I, we’re livin’ proof that nothing can come between two ponies in love; not gender, genre or anything else. None of it matters when you’re in love. “I’m just so sorry I made you suffer so much.” Vinyl smiled, leaning over, touching her nose to Octavia’s. “I won’t tie any knots or anythin’ just yet – not till I’ve had a chance to leave Neon. He deserves no less than the best I can give him. But, as of now, another pony holds my heart in her hooves.” She gave Octavia a brief, passionate kiss, chuckling and blushing afterwards. “I’m pretty sure you always have, actually. It just took me this long to realize it.” Octavia scrunched up her face, trying hard to not cry, but halfway through Vinyl’s speech, two lines of joyful tears were running their way down her face. After Vinyl had finished, the cellist drew in a breath, and Vinyl realized that Octavia hadn't taken a single breath while Vinyl had been speaking. “This all… I just…” Octavia shook her head, floundering and laughing at her own ineptitude. “There aren’t any words, Vinyl. I don’t know how to express how happy I am. I never imagined this would happen.” “Me neither.” Vinyl smiled, putting herself right by Octavia’s side, leaning into her. “But it has. And I figure, you and I should make the best of it, don’t you? I mean, we’ve got a lot of missed time to make up for.” Vinyl grinned, and then gave Octavia a light bump with her head. “Come on. I know it’s late, but we should build some shelter and get some sleep. I’m thinkin’ a palm-tree mansion, right there.” Vinyl held up a hoof, sweeping it over a large space in an imperious gesture. Octavia chuckled, bumping her back. “Perhaps that’s a little grand. At least for tonight. Perhaps we should think up something more modest?” “Heh… Yeah, you’re probably right.” Island life quickly became more bearable, now that the two ponies had laid their emotions bare. Stress removed from the equation, Octavia found life on the island to be relaxing, in its own way. Here, there was no concerts. No noise – aside from all the noise Vinyl made. Just peace and – relative – quiet. In the calm, she found herself writing songs; new compositions filled with love and hope. She hadn’t written music like this since she was a filly and it made her heart soar to see such music come from her hooves once again. She couldn’t wait to get home and play them and share them with the world. Vinyl had also taken to composing music, but in a much louder way than her humming counterpart. She had found several hollowed out logs and rapped on them with strong branches, trying to find a certain pitch that she could use for an album she had in mind: ‘Tropical Octaves’ Octavia felt herself blush as she considered that she was the primary inspiration for the album, leading her to name the compositions she was making ‘The V-Scratch Sessions’ in response. It was the eleventh day of their sojourn from Equestria, the two mares adapting nicely to the life on the Island; they could enjoy it, so long as they were together. The two sat side by side, fishing on the bluff not far from their beach. “Got one!” Octavia shouted, her line jumping as a fish thrashed on the other end. The two hadn’t eaten any of the fish they’d caught, just letting them back into the water after they were done. The two mares simply enjoyed the chance to share in one-another’s company. “Hold on! I’ll give you… a…” Vinyl trailed off as she approached, stopping mid-step, staring out at the horizon. Octavia pulled the fish up, only cheering for a second longer before she noticed Vinyl’s silence. “Vinyl?” “A ship.” Vinyl whispered, a smile growing on her face. “A ship!” She motioned out to the water, bouncing on the rocks of the bluff. Her horn started shimmering, a small ball of light breaking off from the tip and drifting to her voice. She rushed to the very edge of the water and started shouting, her voice amplified to carry over the water. “Yo! Over here! Mayday! Ponies overboard!” Vinyl threw her head back, shouting as loudly as she could, lasers and exploding fireworks filling the air. In the morning light, the lasers wouldn’t be of much use, but Vinyl's excitement couldn't be contained. It was like too much water in a tiny jug. However, a bright flash of red light erupted over the ship in response, one of Neon’s signature spells. Vinyl cheered and jumped up and down, laughing. “Tavi, we’re saved! I told ya, it was only a matter of time!” Octavia found herself feeling slightly upset. She wished this little vacation with Vinyl had lasted just a little longer, but she was also glad at the prospect of returning to civilization. She honestly couldn’t say what her feelings were at the moment, but she was acutely aware that she hadn't had proper hygiene products in nearly two weeks. She pulled the fish off her hook, deposited him back into the ocean, set her fishing line aside, and stood to watch the ship. As the vessel drew closer, she smiled and walked over to Vinyl, leaning herself against her friend as the DJ charged down her magic. “I wonder if Fiddle is on there.” She wondered aloud. “No doubt, if Neon’s there.” Vinyl grinned from ear to ear, and then looked over to Octavia. Her grin faded to a soft, loving smile. “I’ll talk to Neon as soon as possible. Don’t worry, nothin’ll change my mind.” Vinyl hadn’t needed to say anything, but hearing it sent a wave of warmth through Octavia’s chest. “Good luck.” She whispered, pecking Vinyl on the cheek. Vinyl turned, giving a more liberal kiss. She ended it with a sigh, looking out to the ship. “I’ll need it. I’ve never broke up with somepony before. I hope I don’t hurt him too much.” The ship drew closer quickly and the pair of ponies rushed back to their camp, gathering up anything they wanted to bring with them. Octavia swept up her compositions – written onto palm leaves with a charcoal-like stone they'd found – while Vinyl picked out the log she’d chosen for her music, levitating it to her side. They snatched up a few other little things, like the grass skirts they’d made for a laugh and the makeshift instruments Vinyl had tried to make for her. They had sounded absolutely horrendous, but Octavia had appreciated the gesture. Octavia did stop to gingerly pick up one of the pairs of flimsy drums, carrying them with her as if they were her most prized possession. She wouldn’t take them all, but she wanted at least one instrument to remember the island by. The ship dispatched a small skiff, which made its way towards the beach. As it got closer, Vinyl and Octavia saw roughly five ponies on board, Neon and Fiddle included. When it drew up to the sand, everpony on board was met with the unusual sight of Vinyl and Octavia, dressed in leaves and dirt and sand, grinning at their loved ones happily. “It’s about time.” Vinyl said, trying to sound relaxed. “I’ll say. We were running out of fish to catch.” Octavia added, before they both broke into relieved laughter. Neon jumped off the boat first, splashing into the water before the ship had fully reached the shore. He rushed to them, laughing loudly and caught Vinyl in a hug. “By Celestia, I was so worried about you two!” He leaned in, kissing Vinyl before she had a chance to do anything. Vinyl’s eyes went wide, and then slid over to Octavia, who was looking at the ship, pointedly not looking in their direction. She understood how hard this would be for Vinyl, so she vowed to let her take her time. Neon broke the kiss, smiling happily. “We were both so worried you two had—” “Neon, look, hold on a sec, okay? We need to talk.” Vinyl said simply. Neon looked confused, but didn’t say anything about it. “’Kay... Well, when we learned you two were missing, we looked everywhere. We couldn’t call off the cruise, but we were given a ride back to shore and found someponies willing to help us find you. Are you two alright?” He blinked a bit. "Oh, yeah," he said suddenly, taking something from a small pouch he was wearing. "I figured you lost yours, so I snagged these from your stash." He levitated a pair of Vinyl's shades in front of her, grinning. "DJ-Pon3 can't not have her shades." Octavia peered over her shoulder as Vinyl started leading Neon off, looking back to the ship just in time to see Fiddlesticks hop down onto the sand. Octavia could see her little sister’s tears as she rushed over, only then realizing just how terrified she must have been. The two hugged tightly for a moment, leaning apart with smiles. “I-I was… I was worried sick, yanno.” Fiddle choked out, sniffing. “Don’t ya ever do that to me again…” She wiped her tears, and then smiled. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Octi. I was so scared that I’d never see ya again. It would’ve been all my fault…” Octavia hugged Fiddle, cutting her short. “Please, don’t blame yourself. How could any of this been your fault? It was my own pig-headedness that landed me in all this mess.” She looked over her shoulder at the two DJs, and then back to her sister. “Well, I’ll explain it all later. Come on, sis. Help me get some things onto the boat. I think Vinyl will want some privacy…” Vinyl watched as Octavia lead her sister back to the boat, carrying a random assortment of things. She even noticed the flotation wheel they arrived on among the pile. She was distracting herself, procrastinating. She didn’t want to do this, but she had to. She closed her eyes and levitated her glasses to rest on her horn. She couldn't be DJ-Pon3 right now; she needed to be just Vinyl Scratch. She took a deep breath, letting it out as a breath of pure confidence. She would be fine. She just hoped Neon would be too… “Listen, Neon, this is important…” Vinyl looked back to her somewhat-special-somepony, smiling a weak smile. “I… uh… How do I say it?” She asked herself, running a hoof over her mane. “I-I just… Neon, out here, I realized somethin’ about who I am. Something I hadn’t admitted ever before. You’re an awesome stallion, I want you to know that. You’re not only a great stallion, but a great friend. We make rockin’ music together and I never want that to change…” Vinyl trailed off, a knot forming in her chest. Neon frowned as he listened; obviously he knew where this conversation was going. Vinyl struggled for a second longer, before Neon urged her on. “But?” He offered sadly. Vinyl took a step back, upset that she’d been so predictable. This wasn’t going like she’d hoped. “B-but… On the ship, I realized somethin’. I like you a lot, but… somepony else won my heart a long, long time ago.” Vinyl turned, looking over Neon’s shoulder as Octavia helped Fiddle load one of her ratty drum sets onto the ship. Neon followed her gaze and sighed. “I turned you into a lesbian. Well, I think I’ve committed the most heinous act imaginable. Stallions everywhere are gonna hate me.” He paused, chuckling a weak, forced chuckle. “Mares‘ll be thankful enough though.” Vinyl laughs just as weakly, shaking her head. “I’m really sorry, Neon. I never wanted to hurt you. You’re a really awesome dude, the only one who can make club music as good as me. This decision had nothin’ to do with you. It had everything to do with her.” Vinyl nudged her head towards Octavia. “I never imagined this would happen… Could you have?” Vinyl asked him with a wry smirk. Neon didn’t return it as he looked back at Octavia. “Yeah. Yeah, I probably could have.” Neon muttered, making Vinyl’s smirk vanish. “You two were always so close. You know, I used to be so jealous of her. I was so sure she’d steal you from me, and that’s another reason I was so rude to her. Guess I was right.” He chuckled and looked back to his once-special-somepony. “So, this is it, huh?” “I… Yeah... We had a great time though. Don’t be sad, alright?” Vinyl said, hopefully. “Hard thing to ask, Vinyl. I know it ain’t your fault, I promise. I’m not mad or anythin’. Hay, I lucked out with all the good times we had, up till now. How many stallions can say they were with their hero?” Slowly, Neon smirked. “How many can say they were their hero’s first time.” Vinyl blushed. “Yeah, I’m a lucky stallion…” He reached out, patting Vinyl slightly. Everything Neon did was forced, Vinyl could tell. “Octavia’s a hard nut to crack, but I think you two fit together really well…” Neon nodded, this time looking more certain.”Yeah… You two really do make a cute couple.” He gave a small, resigned shrug. “Well… Lots of fish in the ocean, right?” He grinned a genuine grin at Vinyl, who returned it in kind. “Believe me, I know. We caught, like, half of them.” Octavia passed the drums up to Fiddle, feeling eyes on her back. She forced herself to not look, respecting Neon enough to not make this any harder on him. “What’s the matter, Octi?” Fiddle asked, accepting the drums. The crew behind her politely ignored the conversation, going about the preparations for departure. “Vinyl’s breaking up with Neon.” Octavia stated bluntly. Fiddle blinked once, peeked out at the pair, and then looked back. “To be with you?” Fiddle asked, setting the drums aside. She gave her head a small tilt, trying to not seem too intrusive. Octavia nodded and Fiddle let out a little squeal of joy. “That’s great news, Octi! So, when’s the weddin’?” Octavia nearly fell over at the question. It was shocking enough that her dreams had become a reality; she couldn’t handle the idea of even more right now! “Fiddle!” Octavia tossed one of the grass skirts at her sister, who dodged nimbly. Fiddlesticks giggled and snatched up the next item, the second of the skirts. “But seriously, I can’t said I ain’t glad.” She set the two skirts aside, leaning over the railing. “You two are perfect together.” Octavia blushed, but smiled. “Thanks Fiddle.” Octavia said as she passed up the last items, the leaves with both hers and Vinyl’s collective musical scores. “S’nothin.” Fiddle waved a hoof after she safely set down the bundle of leaves. “Besides, I reckon this means Neon’ll be up for grabs now.” She gave a mischievous little grin and giggled. Octavia paused for a moment, thinking back to Fiddle’s recent confession of affection. “Wait… You mean the pony you like…?” “Well, I ain’t told him yet! Come on, Octi, he was with Vinyl before this.” Fiddle put her hooves up on the railing, looking over the side of the boat to her sister. “But yeah, I like ‘im.” She blushed, looking out to Neon and Vinyl. “He’s a really sweet guy. A bit on the brash side, but no more 'n Vinyl is. Besides, who ain’t these days?” Fiddlesticks sighed happily, resting her head on her hooves. “And his music, ain’t it just so cool? It makes you wanna shake your flank when ya hear it.” Humming one of Neon’s tunes, Fiddle began swaying her flank from side to side, distracting one of the sailors so badly he fell off the side of the ship. “I think I’ll wait a bit before askin’ him out though. He’ll be pretty broken up over Vinyl, I’m sure. He really cared about her somethin’ fierce. You should’ve seen how he worried…” Fiddle smiled a hopeful, happy smile. “I wonder if he’ll feel the same about me?” Octavia felt herself smile too, happy to see her sister so happy. “Be careful, Fiddle.” Octavia said, climbing onto the ship. She bumped her sister with her flank playfully. “If the fact that he dated Vinyl is a sign of anything, I’d say he’s a wild one.” “Well, you’re datin’ Vinyl now, ain’tcha? And I’m your sister, so that means I can handle him just as good as you can Vinyl.” She puffed out her chest with pride, tossing back her head and laughing. “Good times ahead, sis.” Octavia looked over the sight of Neon and Vinyl, bumping hooves as friends. She felt her heart swell as Vinyl looked over to her and winked. Yes, she had to agree with her sister. Good times were, indeed, ahead.