• Published 6th Dec 2013
  • 7,060 Views, 484 Comments

Vinyl and Octavia: Ponyville Duet - generalsnaz



After seeing an astounding performance by the charismatic Vinyl Scratch at the royal wedding, Octavia Melody travels to Ponyville to learn more about the DJ and her music. However Octavia ends up starting a life and a relationship she never expected.

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Chapter 19: A Date and Encounters of Fate

Chapter 19: A Date and Encounters of Fate

"Vinyl, have you awoken?" Octavia asked sleepily as she rolled over to find her friend on the bed next to her. Vinyl was snoozing dreamily and didn't respond. Feeling silly, Octavia poked Vinyl's nose and giggled.

"Meh mmrm..." Vinyl mumbled as she groaned and kicked her front hooves about, to which Octavia smirked and giggled some more. The cellist poked again, prompting several additional semi-conscious complaints from Vinyl. It was all very adorable. With one particularly lengthy thrust, Octavia held her hoof to Vinyl's nose long enough to finally wake the sleepy unicorn.

"Mm! Huh!? What?" Vinyl snorted out as she woke up from the playful suffocating. Octavia's giggling turned to laughter as Vinyl's bemused expression amused her. Vinyl shook her head to become fully conscious. "Morning, Octavia. What's so funny?" she asked in her semi-raspy voice.

"Nothing of note," Octavia dismissed, hiding the fact she had played with Vinyl's sleeping face. "What do you have on your mind for breakfast?"

"Hmm..." Vinyl hummed as she pretended to think about it. Leaning on her side, she looked Octavia over and smiled.

"What?" Octavia asked, subconsciously pulling the covers further up her body.

"I just like seeing you in my bed," Vinyl said with a satisfying grin.

"Eeyah!" Octavia shrieked as she purposely pushed herself off the side of the mattress and crashed onto the hard wood floor. It was reminiscent of the first time she awoke to find Vinyl sleeping on that bed.

"Octavia!?"

The striking pain in her back was fierce, but it was nothing compared to Octavia's embarrassment. Having closed her eyes on impact, Octavia carefully opened one to see Vinyl peaking down from the mattress. The white unicorn reached a hoof down to offer help, but Octavia bolted to her own hooves quickly instead.

"You alright?" Vinyl asked.

"I am! Sorry! So sorry!" Octavia blurted out, laughing with humiliation as she dusted herself off. She briefly thought about making an excuse, but that was the old Octavia: the one who would dodge around topics that made her uncomfortable. It was better to just voice her feelings, wasn't it? Her laughter stopped as she tried to address Vinyl sincerely. "I am sorry, I acted on instinct. I guess I am... not yet comfortable hearing that sort of thing, but I promise I will do better. For you." Octavia said, smiling.

"Thanks, Octavia," Vinyl said in appreciation. Her expression showed gratitude, but also disbelief that she could ever be with such a beautiful and understanding pony. Quickly shifting gears, Vinyl exclaimed, "By the way, I want popcorn!" in regards to Octavia's aforementioned question about their first meal of the day.

"Pop- corn? Are you referring to those starchy overheated corn kernels coated in butter?" Octavia asked, unsure if she understood correctly. The concept was not foreign to her, but she had yet to ever taste it. It seemed ghastly.

"No, I mean popcorn," Vinyl responded bluntly.

"...I do not feel like I would much enjoy that," Octavia disagreed, as she stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Besides, one could hardly call that an appropriate breakfast."

"We ain't having an 'appropriate breakfast,' dummy: it's date time and we're going to the movies!" Vinyl proclaimed, wresting Octavia's hold on their schedule. She then yelled, "Incoming!" as she leapt off the bed and tackled Octavia.

"OOF!" Octavia coughed after the second collision of the day almost winded her. It was Vinyl's turn to giggle as she held her down. The intimate contact was warm and appealing (but there's no time for that now!)

"Date-!? What!? Right now!?" Octavia exclaimed, ignoring the affectionate attack that left her pinned.

"Yeah! Right now!"

"But- but without proper nutritional nourishment in the morning-" Octavia glanced at the clock (the second one she got for Vinyl) and saw that the hour was past noon. "Oh, it is midday... But still, I protest that we consume-!" Vinyl elbowed the cellist's stomach, cutting her useless complaining (not whining) short.

"Octavia! Remember 'bout last night? We're gonna do things MY way occasionally, right?" Vinyl said, playfully nudging some more. "Remember, it's called compromise!"

"Wha-! ...You... you are correct," Octavia relinquished, hanging her head in defeat.

"Hey, I'll make it up to you," Vinyl offered as she stepped off Octavia and helped her up. "We can have a nice fancy dinner later, deal? Besides, you'll love the popcorn."

"I suppose I shall give it a try," Octavia gave in, blushing, "but do we need proper dress to attend the movie? I do have my theatre attire." (One of the few things she actually did bring.)

"Um... no. You don't need nothing like that," Vinyl said, as she rolled her eyes dismissively. After being struck by an idea, she sneakily added, "Although... you should probably wear that maid get up, just to be safe."

"Ha. Ha. Vinyl," Octavia said with a displeased look, not falling for the trick.

"Pretty please! You got it for me, didn't you?"

"Yes, however it was a one time occurrence," Octavia pointed out defiantly. She turned her nose up and walked off. "A gesture of goodwill, if you will. I do not intend to wear it again." She glanced back, expecting to see her friend's playful reaction, but Vinyl had slumped down in disappointment. Shocked that she might have actually upset her, Octavia sighed and relinquished. "Alright, I will wear it again at a later time, but it is only to be enjoyed in private. I believe it is called... compromise." She smirked slyly at getting payback for this breakfast fiasco.

Brightening up, Vinyl grinned and exclaimed, "Too-shay!"

"I believe you mean 'touché,' Vinyl," Octavia mocked confidently.

"That's what I said..."

"Yes, but I am certain you misspelled it."

"Hey!" Vinyl responded instinctively. "...Wait... You can't misspell things you say! ... ...Can you?"

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~:heart:~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

"I've been dying to show you this one ever since you got here! Remember, I asked you if you wanted to the day we met?" Vinyl reminded her friend as she literally bounced along with glee. She and Octavia made their way down the street as various multi-colored ponies passed by around them. The weather was pleasant outside; the sogginess of the previous day's rain had all but dried up in the morning sun. Despite the warmth, Vinyl was determined to spend the day cooped up in the cold, dark old movie theater.

"No, I do not recall," Octavia said as she admired the exterior of the theater when it came into view ahead of them. The building was wider than most of its neighbors and didn't have a straw roof. A large white sign listed several movie titles in dark print. Multiple unlit lights bordered the sign; a couple were straight up busted. Below that sat an octagonal box with a window and pony sitting in it, flanked on both sides by rotating doors.

"Hah! Liar! I know you're smart enough to remember everything that ever happens to you," Vinyl pointed out with certainty.

"Well, I would not go so far as to say-"

"Two tickets for The Dusk Saga: New Luna!" Vinyl interrupted as she flung far too many bits at the startled pony in the box office booth. Most of the bits hit the glass and ricocheted to the ground. Vinyl quickly levitated them and put them in the small hole that connected to the pony inside. (That's where they're supposed to go.)

"Oh, is that the title of the film we are viewing?" Octavia asked, unfazed by Vinyl's pointless actions.

"Yep!" Vinyl took the tickets from the admissions pony and handed one to Octavia, who read the little stub, astutely noticing it was similar to a ticket to the theater in Canterlot.

"'New Luna?' Does... does this film have something to do with Princess Luna!?" Octavia asked with giddiness. A movie about her idol! There had been many plays and books about Luna's descent into darkness published and Octavia quite enjoyed reading and seeing them, even before the Princess of the Night made her return. (Her redemption brought about several more publications.) Octavia was quite hopeful to see her in a new media form, perhaps even more realistic-looking than the performances she was accustomed to.

"ErmnosorryOctavia," Vinyl said in one breath as she took her change from the box office booth.

"Oh..." Octavia hung her head in disappointment. (Well, that hope's dead now.) The two ponies entered the main door of the theatre and arrived in the lobby.

"It's actually about vampire bat ponies and wereponies and a romance of this young mare," Vinyl explained, waving her hoof like she didn't approve of the plot.

"Ro-romance!?" Octavia shrieked. The few ponies in the lobby all looked at her. Being flushed red, she cleared her throat and whispered, "Oh, I- I suppose we are dating now. So, seeing a romantic film should be expect-"

"It's HILARIOUS!" Vinyl interrupted, nudging her.

"Eh!? It's a comedy!?"

"No, it's just so bad, it's funny! Trust me," Vinyl said with a wink. "Come on, let's get some of that popcorn!" She licked her lips and galloped over to the food stand. While she did, Octavia took the opportunity to observe her surroundings. The lobby was smaller than the theater lobbies in Canterlot, and a lot less fancy. (As expected.) There were only a few other ponies there, given the hour and day of the week. Posters of the most recent features and upcoming releases lined the wall. Each one displayed too much or far too little information. To the left, a bored, acne-riddled young stallion minded the food stand and Vinyl excitedly pointed at stuff she wanted as she talked to him.

"Good heavens, that's expensive!" Octavia cried as she approached the counter and saw the amount of bits Vinyl laid out. "What are you purchasing, a golden chariot!?" Vinyl slapped her hoof onto Octavia's mouth to interrupt her, much to the shock and annoyance of Octavia.

"Nope, just buying popcorn and drinks, and this certainly is a reasonable price!" Vinyl said nervously as she grinned at the young stallion making the transaction. She turned to Octavia, still covering the cellist's mouth, and whispered, "Shhh!! Don't complain about how much it costs! I did that once and got thrown out!" She returned another cheap grin to the stallion.

Irritated, Octavia also glanced at the employee who looked like he couldn't care less what either of them said. He was scrawny and didn't look like he'd throw them out. In fact, he didn't even look physically capable of it.

'I have a feeling you must have been causing a scene,' Octavia thought, contemplating on Vinyl's usual erratic behavior. But instead of saying it, she just rolled her eyes and let Vinyl finish the transaction. The unicorn levitated the drinks then offered Octavia to take a bite of the popcorn.

"Go on! Try iiiiiiit!" Vinyl pressed, eager to see Octavia's reaction.

Octavia grimaced as she looked at the bucket. The "food" inside was puffy and white and dripping in melted butter. She took a quick sniff of them; she could tell some were burnt.

"Ah. Aaaaah," Vinyl made some baby noises as she gestured with the popcorn to entice Octavia to take a bite. The cellist finally gave in and delicately took a single piece with her teeth. Sighing, Octavia finally popped the piece into her mouth and chewed it up.

"Oh!" Octavia squeaked with surprise after she swallowed. "That... was quite a tasteful experience."

"'Tasteful experience?' I don't know if I've said this before, but you got the weirdest way of talking, Octavia," Vinyl said. "You need to relax and just... talk normal, for a change."

"Nonsense," Octavia replied as she grabbed several more popcorns and stuffed them in her mouth. "It if fou whoff feeffs fo fexfand fheir focafuffary. Mmmmf! Mmmm..."

Vinyl snickered as she reasonably contained her laughter. She levitated the popcorn bucket away from Octavia, who fell for the lure and followed it, as the gray pony was now entranced by the taste. They both headed into the theater proper. It was dark and the glow from Vinyl's magical horn helped them find their seats in the back row. By then, Octavia had taken several more mouthfuls of popcorn.

"Oh! What!? What is this?" Octavia said suddenly after swallowing as they took their seats. She grimaced as she opened her mouth and desperately rammed her tongue against her teeth. A kernel shard, lodged between her molars, taunted her with its irritating sensation.

"Yeah, popcorn has a dangerous side," Vinyl said, giggling.

"Almost... I almost have it..." Octavia struggled a bit more before emerging from the encounter victorious. She held out her tongue with the troublesome piece on the tip of it and exclaimed, "Aha!" Taking the kernel piece with her hoof, she looked around for a way to dispose of it. "Vinyl, do you have a handkerchief?"

"Here's a napkin," Vinyl said as she handed it over. After Octavia was finished and reaching for another bite of popcorn, Vinyl levitated it away from her. "Hey, save some for me!"

"Eh!? Oh, right. You are right," Octavia said sheepishly. The two stared at each other for a moment as Vinyl smirked.

"Is that all you have to say?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well," Vinyl began. "Let's see... You ate without sitting at a table, talked with your mouth full aaand you rubbed your tongue all over your teeth in public! This is so unlike you! Oh, for shame, Octavia!"

Octavia turned red and squeaked, "You are right! I have brought disgrace upon myself." She buried her face as best she could in her hooves.

"Lighten up! I'm kidding!" Vinyl nudged her. "I'm always kidding. Like 80% of the time."

"I am aware of that, but it does not make it any less true... I- uh, you? " Octavia stopped as she noticed Vinyl had put her shades atop her horn, revealing her red eyes. They looked like they would have glowed in the dark, but they didn't. However, Octavia could see them clearly. "You do not cover your eyes here? Is that... safe?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Usually. It's so dark and I never come when it's crowded so it's fine. Just gotta be careful when somepony comes down the aisle to leave." Vinyl grinned and gave a half-hearted laugh.

"Oh... alright then. If you are sure." Octavia turned to look at the screen and the pre-movie advertisements, but her mind was elsewhere (what else is new?) She had never really thought about it before, but... Vinyl's strange eyes must severely limit her interactions with other ponies. Her very gaze was venom and she could never make eye contact with anypony: they couldn't ever see past those thick sunglasses. Could you really speak to somepony with heartfelt sincerity without looking them in the eyes? For that matter, who knew about Vinyl's eyes besides herself, Octavia wondered. Vinyl's parents? Had she been this way since birth? Her mother... Octavia vaguely recalled something Vinyl said... or yelled, about her mother. What was it? (See, she doesn't remember everything.) Berry Punch might know. They never got around to discussing Berry much, but Octavia considered it a strong possibility.

Octavia also came to the conclusion that she hardly knew anything about Vinyl. Her past, that is. Who Vinyl Scratch truly was. She never asked, had she? They were just constantly having fun or... well, fighting, to be honest. But, they had finally gotten past that point, right? At least, Octavia hoped so. Perhaps it was time to find out about Vinyl's history. A relationship was much deeper than just having a good time together. But that would also mean Octavia would need to share her own past as well...

That thought was unpleasant. Octavia's past wasn't tragic, or horrible. Quite the opposite: she was very privileged growing up. She had success, praise, admiration. But had she earned it? She was unsure if she truly had. It still troubled her... that fake smile she always gave at the end of every performance. Would Vinyl understand how she felt about it? She was even more unsure about that.

'I will require more time to consider this...' Octavia thought in the end.

"Oooooh! Filly, it's starting! It's starting!" Vinyl exclaimed in a soft voice, bouncing up and down in her seat.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~:heart:~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

"Oooooh! Show me what you bought, Filly! Show me what you bought!" Vinyl exclaimed in a loud voice, bouncing up and down on her hay bundle of a seat. She and Octavia were sitting around a mushroom table outside at the fanciest restaurant in Ponyville. It was the same one they went to when they decided they were best friends three days prior. (Same table too, but that's not important. No, that's not important at all. Not even worth mentioning, really. Kind of a waste of words. But, there you have it.)

"Calm yourself, Vinyl," Octavia responded as she reached into a large plastic bag sitting by her side. "I took the majority of your suggestions, but chose a few of my own." Fiddling around inside the bag, she pulled out one musical album sleeve and set it on the table, facing Vinyl. The sleeve bore a portrait of a suave stallion with fantastic hair. A collage of objects and colors with some sort of well-thought-out meaning surrounded his head. "Darren Hay," Octavia said clearly, displaying it to her friend.

"Voice like butter," Vinyl said with satisfaction as a succinct description of the artist. "Next."

"Very well. The next one is..." Octavia put the record back and, after briefly rummaging, pulled out another. "The Buckcorral Colts," she said, placing it as she did with the previous.

"A little out of style, but cool," Vinyl critiqued, waving her hoof.

"Saddle Ravine," Octavia said as she continued the process.

"Spunky."

"Maredonna."

"Classic."

"Hoofsunny Miracle."

"...Never heard of her."

"Oh, well how about... Britneigh Polearm?"

"Totally gorgeous. A little crazy, though."

"Hooflly Stream."

"She's smooooth."

"Candles."

"Pretty enchanting."

"Valkyries & Couriers."

"What? ...How in Equestria did you find that one?" Vinyl asked, reaching over and grabbing the experimental rock album.

"I do not know, it looks fantastic though," Octavia squealed with delight.

"Yeah, well. It is awesome, but I was just gonna keep you strictly with Pop music for a while," Vinyl admitted, passing the record back after looking it over. "Maybe branch out later."

"I am sure it will be lovely," Octavia said as she squeezed the album and closed her eyes in glorious devotion. "This is the first time I have purchased music with you, Vinyl! I will hold each one dear! Never will a scratch or blemish stain these vinyl discs!"

"Yeah, okay," Vinyl said, giggling and rolling her eyes.

"Why do you scoff!?" Octavia demanded. "Surely a music enthusiast such as yourself should understand cherishing your collection?"

"Mmmm... Yeah, but..." Vinyl struggled to find the words. "It's not really the record that's important to me, you know? It's the music inside it. I don't care much about the physical copy as I do the songs themselves. You saw the condition I kept them in before you cleaned up, right?" Vinyl said this proudly, like it was an accomplishment to be so dirty and haphazard. "Shouldn't get so attached to material things, Octavia."

"While that sounds very noble, I do recall several instances where you lost your temper when a possession of yours was destroyed, Vinyl. Perhaps you remember the wedding? Your album was crushed and you lost all control. Furthermore, you demolished your stereo and was quite distraught afterward."

"... ...See! You remember EVERY little detail! It's ridiculous!" Vinyl complained.

"Perhaps I do," Octavia said cheekily.

"Ugh. Alright you caught me. I'm VERY attached to my stuff. I was just trying to look cool," Vinyl admitted as she hung her head.

"Ah, but you failed," Octavia said pleasantly.

"Don't rub it in. Hey, what do you think Twilight was shouting about earlier?" Vinyl asked, abruptly changing the subject to avoid further scrutiny.

"I do not know, she seemed rather distressed about a test of some sort," Octavia wondered, as she thought back on the brief encounter with Twilight after their viewing of the movie. They didn't even have a moment to exchange words as Twilight rushed past with Spike hanging on desperately to her tail.

"Your supper, mademoiselles," the mustached waiter who had served them earlier said. He appeared suddenly as the two friends were so engaged in their own conversation that they failed to notice his approach. He placed down their plates, as well as additional refills of their drinks. Vinyl's plate had two carrot dogs. (It's like a carrot... in a hot dog bun... Ponies are weird.) Octavia had ordered the exquisite salad. (Not the regular salad. The exquisite salad.)

"Why, thank you sir," Octavia said with delight to the waiter. She leaned down and took a tantalizing bit of lettuce and chewed it up. Vinyl admired at the daintily way she ate.

"You got the same thing as last time, huh?" Vinyl asked as she watched.

"Hmm? Yes, it was quite enjoyable," Octavia explained. She remembered to swallow before talking this time, as fancy dinners were more her forte.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that's the only thing you can eat!"

"I understand that, but why should I not simply choose what I know I enjoy?"

"You need to try different things someti-!" Vinyl stopped her complaint in its tracks. After pausing to consider, she chuckled and explained, "You know what? This is how I lost my stereo, so maybe we should stop." Octavia giggled and agreed.

The two ponies laughed together and began to eat like normal. The day had been quite normal. The movie had been normal. The expedition to the record store had been normal. Their conversations were normal. It was normal. Too normal.

"Hey, wait a sec!" Vinyl exclaimed suddenly, spitting out nearly chewed bits of carrot. "This isn't a date!"

"It's- not?" Octavia asked, glancing around confused.

"No! It's not! We're just hanging out and talking about stuff! This is the exact same as just being friends!" Vinyl pointed out angrily. She crossed her forelegs in disgust like she had just been wronged and there was somepony to blame.

"This has been rather pleasant, but you are right, I suppose," Octavia admitted, upon thinking about it. Their day together had been nearly identical to the time before Octavia found out about Vinyl's sexuality. Besides calling it a date, there was nothing unique happening between them, nothing to indicate their new relationship status. "What should we do to make it more, um... *ahem* ...romantic?"

"I... uh. I don't know," Vinyl said, clearly fazed when questioned. They sat in silence as the diners around them chatted casually, unaware of the situation the two ponies found themselves in.

"Well... what have you fantasized you would do with me on a date?" Octavia asked, legitimately unaware of the mistake she just made: giving Vinyl consent to blurt out whatever she wanted.

"*Gasp!* Make out!" Vinyl answered immediately with great excitement.

"AHH! NO! I meant-!" Octavia blushed, shielded her face, and bent down close to the table. Her two hooves blocked out vision on both sides of her periphery, like that somehow mattered or would help clear the embarrassment. She groaned as she tried to remain calm. "Sorry, but we're not doing that!" she eventually hissed.

"Okay, okay!" Vinyl said, hooves up in admittance. "I didn't even think you'd say 'yes.'"

Octavia sighed deeply and whispered, "Pick something a little lower on your fantasy list."

"Uhhhhh... Hold hooves?"

"Oh! I could do that!" Octavia said with relief, coming out of her little hoof-made shelter. She reached over the table and laid her hoof out for Vinyl. "Go on then."

"That was a quick turn around," Vinyl said quizzically, reaching over and grabbing Octavia's hooves. There was silence again as they just sat and waited for something to happen.

"Is this doing anything for you?" Octavia asked.

"...You know what? It is," Vinyl said, turning just the slightest bit red. "This is... nice. It's like a smaller version of hugging you. But it feels more intimate. I mean, Pinks hugs me all the time, but she's never done this."

"Oh, good then," Octavia said. They just stared at each other for some time. Octavia soon found herself blushing too. The two started to giggle at their own incompetence.

"Are... are you enjoying it too?" Vinyl asked, wiping a small laughter tear from her eye.

"...I am..." Octavia said, smiling sincerely.

"YES! Make out session here I come!" Vinyl cheered.

Octavia retracted her hoof and instead smacked Vinyl's, like she was disciplining a dog, and shouted, "No! Noooo, Vinyl! Not yet." She was of course, blushing again.

"Okay! Okay! Yeesh... What's next! What should we talk about?" Vinyl asked excitedly, glad that the hoof-holding was a relative success.

"Well, let's see..." Octavia pondered. She thought back to the many romance novels she's read. Usually in them the stallion would speak paragraphs of descriptions of how much they loved their mare. Octavia wasn't quite ready to say those kinds of things, but got the gist of it. "In a relationship, you must speak about... what you like about your partner. "

"Easy. Done," Vinyl said, leaning back with her hooves behind her head. "You're good-looking, smart, beautiful, talented, cute, kind, gorgeous, fun, pretty, aaaand you're rich."

"Pfft!" Octavia snorted as she contained a laugh at the last one, which was obviously just to tease her. "That's quite a lot of adulation," Octavia said as she shyly looked away. "However, I could not help but notice you repeatedly complimented my appearance many times," Octavia pointed out as she nervously stroked her hair. "Am I... really that attractive to you?"

"Yeah, Octavia. Why do you think I want to kiss you so bad?" Vinyl said playfully, but sincerely at the same time. Octavia buried her face in her hooves once again in embarrassment. But it was the good kind of embarrassment. "Okay, I told you what I like about you, what about me?" Vinyl pressed, fishing for a compliment.

"Hmmm? Oh, right. Of course. You are loud," Octavia said, plainly. "You are obnoxious, arrogant, possessive, persistently annoying and you are quite the sloppy homeowner."

"...Those are the parts about me you like?" Vinyl asked, extremely skeptical.

"No, I am simply clearing the terrible parts of you off the list so I can try to find if there is anything left," Octavia teased.

"Hey!"

Octavia giggled and continued, "And I've found that you are sweet, Vinyl... You are caring... Inspiring... Strong... Generous... Supportive... and full of love..."

"Oh, wow..." Vinyl said blushing. She hadn't ever received such nice words before, at least not like this. Vinyl couldn't help but laugh: a natural response to feeling something unfamiliar. For once, her boisterous tone lowered and she asked, "You really think I'm all those things?"

"Of course, Vinyl. I would not say them otherwise."

Vinyl and Octavia sat and basked in each other's glow. They both bubbled with pleasant emotions and sensations. However, Vinyl was struck by a particularly different sensation.

"I thought of something else I am," Vinyl said, grinning with awkwardness. "I am in need of the little filly's room, right about now." Vinyl hopped out off of her hay seat.

"Oh, and you are amusing," Octavia added, giggling.

"Heh heh. Be right back," Vinyl said as she trotted off.

Octavia watched Vinyl leave. She sighed, rested her elbows on the table and propped her head up on her forelegs as she waited for Vinyl. Everything that had happened, it felt so unreal, like a dream. She couldn't wait for Vinyl to return. This life was so different, so new, so exciting. When would Vinyl be back? Octavia closed her eyes and began to hum happily. Vinyl would be back soon. Everything had been much better once they agreed to date. She could hear Vinyl's hoofsteps as she approached. She was happy now. Vinyl was almost there.

'Wait a moment...' Octavia paused as the thoughts crept up on her. 'Am I falling for... ... ...already?'

"Hi, Octavia!" a voice from behind her snapped Octavia out of her fantasies. She turned around and beheld the true owner of the hoofsteps that had been approaching her: Berry Punch. The purple pony was smiling warmly and had a pleasantly normal demeanor. However, Octavia couldn't help but leave her jaw agape in shock and awe, like she had just witnessed a war crime. Totally unsure of what to do as she stared face to face with the pony, memories of her encounter with Berry flooded back to her. The meeting in the market. Her drunken stupor. Her poisonous words. Along with the memories came the few lines she'd heard about her from Vinyl: She liked her. They never dated. It never got that far. Berry snorted in amusement as Octavia continued to stare. "Haha! You look funny!" Berry motioned to Octavia's wide open mouth.

Octavia blushed and, in a panic, covered her mouth and managed to sputter out, "Miss Berry Punch. Good evening."

"Please, drop the 'Miss'. Just call me Berry Punch," Berry said nonchalantly as she wandered over to Vinyl's seat and sat down on it. "Or just Berry, if you want. You enjoying your time in Ponyville?"

"I...? Yes... Yes, as a matter of fact I am having a wonderful time." Octavia was struggling with this. It was a simple conversation, yet she was sweating bullets and panicking nonetheless.

'What do I do? What should I say? Should I tell her about Vinyl and I?'

"Good, good," Berry said pleasantly before she took a sip of Vinyl's mug.

"I beg your pardon, but that is Vinyl's beverage..." Octavia said, despite herself. Berry put the mug down and stared with no expression at Octavia for ages. At least, it felt like it.

"I know. She won't mind," Berry said confidently, with a smile back on her face. Her words stung at Octavia for some reason. "She won't mind if I drink this or eat her food. She wouldn't mind if I did anything to her. In fact, I could probably break every bone in that body of hers, and she'd let me." The sudden malice shocked Octavia. "Not that I ever would," Berry added quickly before she took another sip, finishing the mug.

"I... see..." Octavia said timidly. She was uncomfortable. Berry Punch was making everything uncomfortable. It was unreal.

"Hey, are you two dating?" Berry Punch abruptly asked.

"What!? I-!? No-! We-!" Octavia fumbled out, unable to use words she was supposed to know.

"Hahahaha!!!" Berry Punch earnestly laughed at Octavia's reaction. "You don't need to say anything! Your face says it all! Well, here's to you two!" She raised Vinyl's second mug and began to drink. It was full and she slowly took it all in, constantly gulping the liquid down. Octavia watched, somehow horrified by the act. When she was done, Berry slammed the mug down forcefully, sending a small jolt through Octavia. Berry and Octavia continued to stare at each other in absolute silence. "Grape juice, huh?" Berry said suddenly, lifting up Vinyl's drink to look into it. "Vinyl never did like hard cider. What a shame. I could use a warm fuzzy one right about now."

"Are- are you sure you should be drinking alcohol?" Octavia said, managing to speak. "Last time we spoke, you-"

"Last time we spoke, hmm? That was when you first came to town, wasn't it?" Berry recalled.

"No... It..."

"No? When was... Ah... Ah, I remember now," Berry said smiling. "The other night. I was certainly drunk then, huh?" she admitted, laughing a bit.

"Ah. ...Mmm..." Octavia nodded quietly.

"I honestly don't remember much of anything about it," Berry said as she got up and strolled over to Octavia. "I was probably just spouting nonsense anyway. I hope I didn't say anything funny?"

"No... You did not," Octavia lied softly.

"Great! Well, I'll see you around," Berry turned to leave, but stopped before straying too far. "Oh, before I go, I have a quick question." She trotted back up and leaned in close to one of Octavia's ears. She was closer than she needed to be. Her lips were a speck of dust away from touching the inside of the ear. Licking her lips succulently, she whispered, "Has that freak ruined you yet?"

In a fit of uncontrolled rage, Octavia slammed her hooves down on the table and bolted up. She glared angrily at Berry who simply stared back with a smirk. Their faces were so close. There was no friendship here. No ounce of love. Just hatred. Berry had brought it upon herself to interfere with Vinyl and Octavia's evening and Octavia couldn't stand for it anymore: a line had been crossed. The uncertainty and anxiety swirling inside Octavia turned to anger in that moment, and she burst. She wanted to punch Berry Punch. The passive Canterlot pony had never wanted to commit violence so desperately in her life. But she contained herself aside from the table-slamming and simply spoke instead.

"No. She wouldn't do such a thing," Octavia defended, her voice trembling from adrenaline and fear. "I know everything about Vinyl. Everything. So you needn't worry about me."

"Do you now? ...I think you'll find there are some dangerous things you don't know about her, that I do." Berry leaned over to Octavia's ear again and hissed, "And it's got nothing to do with her eyes."

With that, Berry flicked her tail in Octavia's face and swaggered off. Octavia turned back to her table, propping her head up with hooves. Vinyl came prancing back at just the right moment to rejoin her, narrowly missing the exit of Berry Punch.

"Everything okay, Octavia?" Vinyl asked, upon seeing her friend's stressed out appearance.

"...Yes. Everything. Is. Fine."

"Mmm... Okay," Vinyl said, shrugging. "Hey, what happened to my drink!?" However, Octavia wasn't listening to her question. Her blood was boiling, fuming with anger. Her teeth were scraping together, a habit she thought she lost as a child. Her hooves clenched together tightly. (It looked as though cartoon steam should be coming out of her ears.)

'This... this is a first," Octavia thought, miserably. 'I think I hate that pony. Berry Punch is the first pony who I hate...'

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~:heart:~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Unbeknownst to Octavia, Berry intended to leave the café after the encounter, but a certain sight caught her attention. She slowed to a stop as recognition lit her face. But she didn't recognize something pleasant; on the contrary, it stopped her dead in her tracks, paralyzing her with fear. The upper hand she had displayed versus Octavia vanished, leaving her to plummet to the metaphorical bottom. The two stallions who intruded into her home sat nonchalantly by a table on the outskirts of the dining area. They both were wearing their dark fedoras and sunglasses that stood out against their light blue skin and curly orange hair. One held up a newspaper and pretended to read it. The other was looking dead straight at Berry Punch's face. He was smiling slightly. As the alarming sight struck her incapable of moving, Berry's eyes darted around instinctively. She quickly found a pair of town guards chatting casually at a nearby table. She looked back to the blue stallion, who turned to glance at the guards as well. He took off his sunglasses and returned Berry's gaze, but now he was frowning. They locked eyes. Sweat rolled down Berry's brow, though she was too terrified to feel it. The stallion slowly shook his head, never letting his eyes move from their deadly piercing gaze on Berry. The movement would have looked normal to an outsider, but it held a terribly menacing meaning for Berry. She swallowed a nervous gulp and lowered her ears and head as far down as she could in defeat. She began to walk, inching forward, past the two stallions, eyes staring straight down. She bit her bottom lip as she felt the stallion's watchful gaze burrowing into her back. Once she was out of the café grounds, her slow walk turned to a quick trot, then to a gallop as she ran far, far away.

The first blue stallion, Merits, put his sunglasses back on and turned to his companion, Benefits. Benefits was keeping a close watch on Octavia and Vinyl's table from the shield of his newspaper. Without moving at all, Benefits calmly said, "I believe we have all we can obtain at this point. I will stay and continue to observe. Go report."

Merits nodded and said, "Agreed."

Author's Note:

Oh no! Just when things are starting to go right, trouble rears it's... cute adorable head!

If you can seriously name all the names of the artists I ponified, you get 100 cookie points. I'm serious. You can take those cookie points and redeem them at McDonald's. No joke. In fact, you can all have 3 cookie points just for reading this. Take them down and get 'em redeemed. It'll be fun. I swear.

Whatchy'all think about making the narrator's (Aside text) in a different color, so those of you that don't like them can just avoid them when they see the color? I'm thinking about it. Like so:

Octavia had feelings. (Took her long enough, sheesh.) Then she cried because reasons.

Thoughts? Opinions? Would the color make it a worse distraction? ...What's that? You want me to stop with the asides all together? Well, hold on now! Let's not get crazy here. Idea deleted. Story will continue as normal.

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