• 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 4: Berries and that Tiny Voice (Into the Scratch Household Pt. 1)

Chapter 4: Berries and that Tiny Voice

(Into the Scratch Household Pt. 1)

"Are you absolutely positive you do not mind me staying with you?" the gray earth pony Octavia posed the query to the white unicorn Vinyl as they stepped off the train at Ponyville Station late that morning.

"I was 'absolutely positive' earlier, now I'm 'absolutely' starting to rethink it," Vinyl Scratch jabbed playfully at her companion, enunciating her words to mimic Octavia's sophisticated manner of speaking.

"Oh! I- I am sorry. I did not mean to impose. Of course I will find my own lodgings," Octavia whimpered, (once again) not catching the hint.

"Ugggh... that was a joke, Octy," groaned Vinyl. "'Course you're staying with me! It'll be a riot being in the same house, I just know it. 'Sides, no reason for you to waste bits at the inn."

"Oh, well... I suppose... if you are alright with it... Thank you for the hospitality." Octavia had started to warm up to the DJ's enigmatic behaviors on the trip, but still didn't quite fully understand her intentions when they spoke. (She also wasn't accustomed to hearing her baby name so often.) Octavia grinned despite herself.

'I cannot believe this is going so well!' she thought. A great feeling of giddiness had been bubbling inside of her ever since Vinyl's proclamation. Octavia no longer had to worry about how to introduce herself as the two of them had shared very basic information about themselves on the relatively short train ride. She felt that the hardest part of her journey was over. Vinyl had practically inserted herself into the cellist's life with ease.

The pair of ponies stepped down off the train platform and Octavia couldn't help but notice the station building was far more... simple... than Canterlot Station. It incorporated much more wood and a lot less stone. (It also had absolutely no gaudy sculptures, which is a plus.) The cellist glanced back at the various bits luggage magically hovering behind them. They followed as Vinyl's horn commanded them. All of the bags belonged to Octavia, except for two: a case containing Vinyl's records (the very same from their wedding collision) and another that Vinyl explained had her "turntables." (Which was literally gibberish to the Canterlot pony.) The luggage stuttered in the air and Octavia began to worry.

"Miss Vinyl Scratch, would you like help with those-"

"NOPE! I got this," Vinyl interrupted, proudly.

"But, they are mine and surely carrying so much is stressful on your horn-"

"It's cool, I said!" She gave Octavia an impressive grin that failed to hide the stinging pain she felt on her head as she struggled to keep the load levitated. (Such a show off.)

"Very well then..." Octavia replied, still as unsure. The pair of musicians rounded the side of the station and Octavia got her first look at Ponyville, as she was far too entranced in her conversation with Vinyl to notice the town from inside the train.

Her first impressions were as follows: It was spacious. Spacious and yellow. Wooden homes lined the street sides and each one followed similar designs. Excessive straw roofs covered each lightly colored abode that featured prominent dark wood patterns that varied from house to house. Every building furnished a welcoming display of flowers, cloth drapes, or pink windows. Shop signs dangled in the breeze iconizing the talents of their shop owners. (Also: there were trees!)

The colorful ponies walking the streets caught Octavia's attention. She first noticed that, unlike the high class and fashionable in Canterlot, most ponies didn't bother wearing clothes here. (Any dress shop owner living here would certainly have a hard time making ends meet.) She secondly noticed that the race distribution was much more even. There were quite a lot more pegasi in Ponyville than in Canterlot. Pegasi were rarely part of high class society and the elite of Canterlot was significantly proportioned in the favor of unicorns over earth ponies. Octavia had never really considered why this was true. The third distinction between Ponyville residents and those from Canterlot was that Ponyville ponies looked... happy. All the time. Everypony's default expression was a smile.

Vinyl waited patiently for Octavia to soak in the sights before gesturing her head down the market street.

"Come on, I live this way." The two ponies trotted down the dirt road in silence and Octavia occupied herself observing the day-to-day doings of the experienced market-folk. Stands of all sorts were shaded under colorful tents of various colors. Customers haggled for prices and vendors haggled for sales. There was constant activity all around. Fruits, vegetables, and bits passed hooves faster then Octavia could keep track. It was surprising, and completely different from the high quality grocers she experienced in Canterlot. Louder too. Not to mention the language being used here was much more... colorful, when a pony didn't get the price they wanted.

"Why'd you come to Ponyville anyway?" Vinyl asked, breaking the silence between the two of them. "Doesn't seem like the kind of place a high class dainty would choose to be at." Vinyl briefly thought of a certain purple-haired unicorn she knew when she asked the question.

"Oh, I um..." Octavia kicked herself for not thinking of an excuse. She wasn't prepared to tell Vinyl why she was there. It might... put her off. Octavia wasn't even sure how to explain it herself. She had seen Vinyl's performance and was... amazed? Blown away? Captivated? How could she possibly admit that she had boarded that train to come look for her? She hoped Vinyl would teach her about all this music she had been missing out on. Where did it come from? How did it start? How is it made? She wanted to discover artists with Vinyl and buy records together. She wanted to chat about the songs with her and to sing along together.

She wanted to see Vinyl perform again. She wanted to see Vinyl's smile radiate from behind the turntables. She wanted to tell her the reason it had to be Vinyl Scratch, the very pony she stayed up thinking about all night. The real real reason. The reason she didn't want to admit to herself.

'Quiet, you,' Octavia commanded her own thoughts. 'Do not go down that road.'

'Why not?' they responded.

"Gah!" Octavia exclaimed, shaking her head vigorously in response to her own mind talking back to her.

"Huh? There a mosquito or something?" the DJ asked casually.

"No, I-"

"Oh, horse apples! Hide!" Vinyl's sudden exclamation saved Octavia from having to fumble out an answer. The unicorn released her magic hold on Octavia's belongings and darted to the safety behind the small pile of luggage that had fallen to the ground. Squatting down, she frantically motioned to a confused Octavia to join her. When the cellist replied with a vacant stare, the DJ smacked the ground and whispered as loud as she could, "Come 'ere!"

"What is going on?" Octavia asked as she reluctantly trotted over and joined her uncomfortably on the dirt.

"Shhhh!!! I don't wanna deal with her right now," Vinyl explained pressing her hoof to Octavia's lips. (Obviously this cleared nothing up for Octavia, but it did make her blush.)

"Deal with who?"

"Berry! Just- just check to see when she's gone!" Vinyl motioned to her to peek over their defensive pile of luggage. Octavia complied. Sweeping the market she saw no pony who looked particularly dangerous.

"Miss Vinyl, I do not-," she reported as she turned back around, but stopped upon catching the gaze of the grumpy market vendor whose stand was being blocked by two suspicious mares and a pile of luggage. The annoyed red haired earth pony stared down at Octavia over a cart full of flowers.

"Um, do you mind?" the vendor asked, directing her question more towards Vinyl.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry. We were just-" Octavia tried to explain.

"Chill, Rosey," Vinyl replied flatly. "We'll be gone in a minute. Just- go eat a sandwich or something." Vinyl shooed her away. Roseluck, as the pony was named, rolled her eyes and reluctantly walked off, mumbling something about sandwiches. Octavia was both impressed and confused.

"Oh. She was quite... lenient."

"Yeah, ponies 'round here are pretty laid back. Listen: is she gone?" Vinyl pointed back to the marketplace.

Octavia took a look and still not perceiving a threat, answered, "Um. Yes?" Vinyl poked her head up before quickly retreating.

"She's still there! What the hay Octy!?"

"I am sorry, you did not describe who you meant!"

"I shouldn't have to! Her name is 'Berry,' for Celestia's sake. Take it from there!"

"What are you talking about? How does that help me identify her?"

"Obviously she's got fruit on her cutie mark and she's like- berry colored!" Octavia was still rightfully confounded. That literally described half the ponies she saw. Luckily for her (but not so much for Vinyl) the mare in question had overheard the sudden argument and upon recognizing Vinyl's voice, approached.

"Hi, Vinyl," Berry Punch coldly interrupted the two as she towered over their pathetic luggage defense line. Her voice shot a shock through Vinyl's spine. The anxious DJ jumped up to face her attacker, but utilized the camouflage of her sunglasses to avoid direct eye contact.

"Oh, hey BP! How's it going?" Vinyl cracked out nervously. The plum colored earth pony with a raspberry mane eyed Vinyl with almost... discontentment. Octavia had gotten up as well and backed away from the confrontation with worry. It seemed like there was something subtly uncomfortable between the two ponies.

"Were you hiding?" Berry asked rhetorically.

"What? No! Nah, we were just- uh... resting! Just got back from Canterlot you know? Long train ride."

"Uh-huh," she replied, thoroughly unconvinced. The three ponies stood awkwardly there for a moment and Octavia thought about introducing herself, but was too uncomfortable to pipe up. Berry took a quick glance at Octavia, and flashed a sarcastic smirk. "Is this your new fillyfri-"

"OH HEY LOOK AT THAT!" Vinyl interrupted desperately, "It's getting kinda late and I promised this mare that I just met on the train that I'd help get her luggage to the inn! Well, nice talking with you BP, gotta go!" She levitated Octavia's belongings and trotted past her, hissing a whisper as she did, "Come on, let's go."

"Mm-hm. See you later then, Vinyl," Berry called after her with a grin, before facing Octavia. The cellist flustered her a quick smile and performed a brief curtsey.

"It's been a pleasure," Octavia managed to say, then she trotted after Vinyl. Berry Punch just shook her head as they left and continued down the market.

"What was that all about? Who was she?" Octavia asked Vinyl when she caught up.

"Nothing. She's nopony. I mean- she's a friend... sorta. Listen, maybe I'll tell you later...." Vinyl accelerated her pace to prevent Octavia from seeing her red cheeks.

The cellist tried to figure out what possibly could have happened between the two of them, but with so little information to go on, she couldn't conclude much of anything. What was that word Berry almost called her? Vinyl had interrupted so she couldn't quite hear it. But it almost sounded like... ...fillyfriend?

Octavia blushed at the possibility.

'No, that cannot be it. Do not go there, do not even think it,' she told her thoughts.

'Why not?' they responded again.

Octavia just groaned.

The two arrived at Vinyl's house shortly after without any further incident. The DJ's residence appeared no different than the other houses Octavia had seen thus far. However, it did border a large open space with a tree in the middle that- (wait, are those windows on that tree?)

"*cough* Well, here we are," Vinyl declared trying to push the encounter at the market out of her mind. The unicorn brought the cellist's belongings inside and set them down, much to the relief of her horn. Octavia followed, unsure of what she'd find inside, but then immediately found out.)

It was dreadful; Octavia was mortified. Pizza boxes lined the floor, most still containing a few (probably moldy) slices. Empty drink cups laid adjacent to stains on the floor. In one corner there were several stacks of records, not so neatly lined up and plenty had fallen over, scattering the sleeves and their contents. To one side of the room, was a singular bit of furniture: a couch that looked like it had sat through several hurricanes... and a mudslide. But there was one part of the room that was (relatively) clean. A large sound system that was similar to the one Vinyl had used at the wedding stood parallel to the couch. Beside it was a strange mechanical setup with a keyboard. Granted, to any other pony of Ponyville, this would appear to be simply "just a bit messy," but to Octavia of Canterlot, who had lived her entire life in perpetually sterile environments, it was a pig sty (no offense.)

"Oh dear," was all Octavia could squeak out.

"Yep, sure is something," Vinyl declared confidently. She then turned to Octavia and put one hoof on the cellist's terrified shoulder. "Okay, Octy: listen. Listen. Now that I'm home, there's something I really need to tell you, and there's something I really need you to do."

Octavia blushed a little and responded nervously, "Oh- al-alright. What is it?"

Vinyl leaned in closer. Her expression was so positively serious, it drew the quivering Octavia in.

"I have not slept. In like three days," Vinyl stated. "I'm going to collapse on that couch in like 5 seconds, and I need you to make yourself at home, because I'm gonna be out... like a candle... for a few hours..." Vinyl let go of the shocked cellist, hobbled over to the couch and promptly fell onto it, flat on her face. "Ow," she mumbled, then slowly pulled her sunglasses out from between her face and the cushion. Her hoof dangled over the couch side, holding her sunglasses slightly above the carpet before she dropped them. Unsurprisingly, she began snoring moments later.

Octavia just stood in a stunned state. Before long, she began to giggle. This unicorn was ridiculous! Who lets a complete stranger come into their home, then falls asleep on them?

'Apparently Vinyl Scratch.'

Octavia walked over to the sleeping DJ (careful not to step in moldy pizza) and picked up the fallen sunglasses with her mouth. She set them on the hoof rest beside Vinyl and took a look at the sleeping pony. She was face down in the dirty couch snoring up a storm. Octavia giggled some more, then started to investigate Vinyl's home.

The kitchen was adjacent to the first room, but it looked like it had never been utilized for cooking. Rather, it seemed to be a place to toss trash. She grimaced and continued her investigation. She found the bathroom and after embarrassingly realizing she needed to go, made use of it. After washing up (of course), she followed the staircase up.

The entire second floor was one large room. The walls were plastered with posters of angry looking musician ponies in outfits that desperately needed stitching. It was significantly less messy up here, though the floor was covered with used T-shirts. There was a small record player of some design next to the DJ's bed.

Octavia yawned. The sight of that comfy spread made her remember that, she too, had been up the entirety of the previous night and was exhausted. With little thought and the excuse of, 'She said to make myself at home,' Octavia happily snuggled into the bed.

Everything had happened so fast. Just yesterday she was preparing for another performance with her ensemble and now she was in a strange town, miles away from her home, taking a nap in the bed of a pony she barely knew. This was completely unlike her. Had Vinyl's performance moved her that much? Was it really just the music that caused her to up and abandon everything she worked for in Canterlot? Was Vinyl herself the real reason-

'That is enough, brain,' she commanded to her thoughts once again. 'You need to stop that.'

'Why?' they asked.

...

'You know why.'

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

The gray earth pony softly breathed in and out with barely a sound, and wore a look of complete contentedness on her face.

'She even sleeps pretty.'

The white unicorn watched the sleeping pony for a moment longer before sighing. She carefully levitated the covers and crawled into the bed beside her.

Author's Note:

Ugh, I hope all my chapters aren't this long.

I'd like to dedicate the rest of my story to Thesaurus.com because I totally can never remember the words I want to use.

Also: HA! You thought I was lying when I put Berry Punch on the tag for important characters! Serves you right for doubting me. >:)

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