A tale of three sisters

by Widow Peak

Surprise

“You can’t delay it anymore!”

“Of course I can!”

“You’ll have to tell them sooner or later!”

“I would rather do it later!”

“The sooner, the better!”

“Pinkie.” Octavia lowered her voice into a warning growl. She didn’t want to discuss this right now, and it’s not like Pinkie had any word in the matter. “I am not introducing Vinyl to father and mother yet, and that’s the end of it.” she turned around and walked to her bed. She took a moment to search for her bowtie and put it on. “Now, if you excuse me, I have to go to Gravelpit.”

“Awww, you can’t go now!” mused Pinkie, folding her ears back.

Octavia stopped next to the door, her hoof hovering over the handle. “Why not?”

“Because you’ll miss the show!”

The shadow of a suspect downed on Octavia. “What do you mean?” she asked, frowning.

A massive grin slowly spread on Pinkie’s face. “Well, I talked to Vinyl on yesterday evening, and she said she would pay a visit today.”

Octavia’s right eye twitched. “She…she wouldn’t dare.”

“I’m not so sure.” chirped Pinkie, tapping her chin. “I mean, we’re talking about Vinyl.”

Octavia grimaced. “She would completely dare.”

***

Waiting for Vinyl was like waiting for a disaster to happen. Octavia sat on the couch with her two sisters, fidgeting with her hooves and biting her lower lip all the time. Pinkie was behind her, gently brushing her mane with a comb while she hummed a little melody. Limestone was completely oblivious to her twin’s distress, busy as she was with a book. Meanwhile, Cloudy Quartz did crocret on her chair and Igneous read the newspaper on his armchair. On the table, right on the reach of his hoof, there was a glass filled halfway with the scotch Pinkie had given him as a present.

It was a perfectly normal and comfortable scene, but it didn’t help to calm Octavia. In fact, it may be making her get even more on her nerves. She shot glances to the door every few seconds.

Right after Pinkie had told her about Vinyl’s plans, Octavia had scrambled downstairs and made a run into Gravelpit, followed by Pinkie; only to find that Vinyl had left the inn, and the keeper had no idea of where she could be. After an unsuccessful search around the town, the gray pony gave up and decided to go back to her house, just in time for lunch.

That had been three hours ago.

As the white mare hadn’t specified when exactly she was going to come, Octavia was left with nothing to do but just wait…and hope. Granted, she could just wait for Vinyl on the path to the house and ask her to wait for another day, when at least she had talked to her parents.

However, she wasn’t going to do it. Because, deep inside, she knew Pinkie was right: The sooner her Igneous and Cloudy knew, the better. So, instead of stopping Vinyl on her tracks and make her turn around, she decided to wait.

‘Celestia’s mane, when is she going to come?’ Octavia though. Her anxiety was slowly turning into impatience. It was a fine evening, but she couldn’t enjoy it because she had no idea of when Vinyl would knock on the door.

She was suddenly startled when she felt a tug on her mane. “Pinkie?” she muttered. “What are you doing?”

“A ponytail.” she replied in a whisper. Octavia turned her ears a bit at the sound. It was extremely unusual to hear Pinkie speak in such a gentle tone. “I just thought it would look good.” she added, as she slid a band into her mane.

Octavia nodded. “Thank you.”

“Would you like me to brush your tail too?” she suggested.

Octavia hesitated. Because of its position, the tail was considered more private than the mane. There were some ponies that couldn’t stand if anypony that was not a lover touched their tail too close to the base. Octavia wasn’t one of those ponies, but it still felt weird to have it brushed by a pony that was not Vinyl. “Um…sure.” she responded.

Pinkie hopped off the couch to give Octavia space to lie down comfortably, although Limestone scooted away a few centimeters from her, as the first was almost burying her nuzzle on the tail of the second. ‘Perhaps Limestone is one of those ponies.’ though Octavia as she closed her eyes. She felt the teeth of the comb tracing lines on the dense hair of her tail, and suddenly her anxiety vanished. Her shoulders slumped and she let out a sigh of content. For a few minutes, there was only bliss, her worries completely forgotten.

That is, until Pinkie Pie decided that she wasn’t comfortable enough on the floor, and decided to sit somewhere else. Since the couch was completely overtaken by the gray twins and the other two seats were occupied as well, she decided to sit on the inmediatly softest object: Octavia’s bottom.

The mare’s eyes shot open. This no longer felt like her sister brushing her tail. There was just a single pony in the entire world that had done something similar to what Pinkie was doing at that very moment…and that had been in private, and it was bounded to very personal memories.

Octavia stop upright, sending Pinkie back to the floor with a loud ‘thudd’ before she even had time to let out a yelp. The three other ponies looked up in alarm, but quickly relaxed when they saw Pinkie was grinning. “Oh, I didn’t know we were doing a rodeo!” she chirped. Igneous, Cloudy and Limestone didn’t understood what she meant, but they didn’t question it either. The three of them quickly returned their attention to their activities.

Octavia stared at her sister, wanting to reprove Pinkie, but being unable with her family there. She was thankful her family was focusing on Pinkie, or they would have noticed the massive blush on her cheeks. Instead, she just shot her sister a glare that hopefully made clear her point.

Pinkie covered her mouth to suppress a giggle. “Sorry.” she mouthed, stashing the brush inside her mane. She hopped back on her hooves and went to the kitchen, just because she fancied a snack.

The pink mare opened and, after a quick scan, grabbed a peach and tossed it upwards, in a perfect parable to fall into her open mouth. But then, she felt it.

Knotty throat, butterfly belly, shuddery spine!

Somepony that loves a pony close to you is approaching!

Pinkie Pie bolted back to the sitting room, leaving the luckless peach hovering mid-fall. She stopped in front of Octavia, and nodded to the door. The gray pony barely had time to understand the message when Vinyl knocked the door.

Cloudy Quartz looked at the door and got up with a little grunt. “I wonder who could that be.” she said as she trotted to the door. She stopped on her tracks when Octavia quite literally jumped on her way, holding up both hooves and with a panicked expression on her face.

“Wait, wait!” the gray pony begged. “I was, uh, expecting a visit and…and here it is!” she said with a nervous smile. She could feel a drop of cold sweat making its way down her forehead.

“Oh? Well, then let’s not make that pony wait, hm?” said Cloudy with a smile.

“Y-yes, it is just…” Octavia fidgeted with her hooves and looked down. There was no way this was going to go alright, was it? She had to breathe deeply three times before continuing. “Father, mother, sisters…I want you to meet my special somepony.” And with that, she trotted to the door and flung it open.

On the other side there was an all-white unicorn mare with her mane combed to a side and a pair of square glasses sitting on her nuzzle. Around her neck she wore a dark gray scarf with a pair of treble clefs embrodied on it. She was standing in a rather awkward way; much like a Guard would, with her forehead up and her pose quite stiff. Unlike a guard, however, she seemed to be at the edge of collapsing in a pile just by sheer anxiety. After a few seconds of deafening silence, Vinyl slowly raised a hoof and waved it to the other four ponies inside the house. “Hello.” she said weakly.

Everypony just stared at her for a few more seconds, except Pinkie, who waved back and even replied with a ‘Hai!’

Cloudy Quartz was the first to react. She gave her head a shake and smiled, trotting the small distance that separated her from the unicorn and offering a hoof. “Hello. I am Cloudy Quartz.”

Vinyl shook her hoof with uncertainty. “I’m…I’m Vinyl Scratch.” she stammered.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” continued Cloudy. “It’s so nice to meet you. Octavia never told us she had a special somepony! Please, come inside.” She waited for the mare to cross the threshold, and closed the door after her.

“Y-yeah.” replied Vinyl. She knew the older mare had not meant it that way, but that felt like a sting to her. There was a small part of her mind that wondered if Octavia was ashamed of dating her because she was a mare. “She doesn’t talk a lot about me.” She took a moment to check the sitting room.

“I am Limestone.” said the other sister, hopping down from the couch and offering a hoof to Vinyl, who shook it without hesitation. “I am Octavia’s twin, and I can’t believe she hasn’t told me about you.” she said well-mannered, shooting a glance to Octavia.

“And I’m Pinkie Pie!” chirped the pink pony. “But you already know that because-” Octavia cringed at the incoming disaster. She was going to speak about their encounter a couple of nights ago. “-I hired you to play in Shining Armor and Princess Cadenza’s wedding!”

Seeing Pinkie and the mention of the event immediately drawn the DJ side into Vinyl, and her expression turned into a confident and cocky grin. “Heck yeah! And what a night it was!” she said, slapping Pinkie on the shoulder. One second later, what she had just done downed into her, and Vinyl cleared her throat and quickly tried to mend her slip. “I mean. Yes, I remember.”

Octavia facehoofed and shook her head. ‘Well, at least mother and Limestone had reacted well.’ she thought, relieved.

However, there was one last impediment to face, and that was Igneous Rock, who had not moved since Vinyl had crossed the door. The two ponies crossed sights, and the unicorn couldn’t help but gulp under the stern glare of the old stallion.

“Igneous?” gently said Cloudy. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Rock looked at her wife, then back at Vinyl. He carefully folded the newspaper and dropped it on the table. With a groan, he got up from his armchair and walked to the unicorn, each step resounding in the silent room. Igneous was a small stallion, so he was at the same eye level as Vinyl. However, his glare made her feel very small.

“So you´re a mare.” he stated.

“Y-yes sir.” replied Vinyl. It seemed like the proper way to address him.

“And you´re dating mah daughter.”

“Yes sir.” repeated Vinyl.

Igneous gave a sharp nod, and started to slowly circle around the mare, assessing her. Vinyl audibly gulped. The stallion stopped again in front of her and made a pause before speaking again. “So, are you like the stallion of the relationship?” he asked.

Octavia gaped and felt her cheeks warm. “Dad!”

“Uh…y-yes. Sir.” replied Vinyl, both embarrassed and confused with the question.

“Alright then.” Igneous moved to Vinyl’s side and put a foreleg over her back. “Do you see that pick over there?” he asked, pointing to his old pickaxe, that decorated one of the walls of the sitting room.

“Y-yes, sir?”

“If you break my daughter’s heart, I’ll make a mine to your brain.” he growled, loud enough for all the ponies to hear. He gave Vinyl a gentle tap on the shoulder and let her go. “Got it?”

Vinyl just nodded, her mouth hanging open and feeling paler than ever.

Igneous let out a chuckle. “Hey, don’t worry too much. Just be good, and yer skull will be safe.” He gave Vinyl a good-hearted slap on the shoulder. “Welcome to the family, lad…eh, no.” The stallion tapped his chin. “Gal! Yes, welcome to the family, gal.”

***

“…and we’ve been dating since then.” finished Vinyl. She levitated her glass and took a sip. Her throat was dry after so much talking. For some reason, Octavia had remained completely silent, letting the white unicorn do all the telling.

Shortly after Vinyl’s arrival, Cloudy Quartz had started to prepare the dinner. The unicorn, not expecting them to dine so early, had tried to excuse herself and leave, but the old mare insister otherwise.

About thirty minutes later, the dinner was ready. Carrots, peas and beans, accompanied with buttered bread and mashed potatoes. Vinyl felt her mouth watering the very instant the smell reached her nostrils.

The six ponies sat around the table of the kitchen. It was crowded, but not as much as the three sisters were in Warm Light’s house yesterday. The closeness also helped Vinyl to feel part of the family, and even if she had just introduced herself, she felt quickly accepted inside the little familiar circle.

“So, what is the exact meaning of your mark?” questioned Limestone, chewing a carrot. “You said you play music, but what exactly is your specialty?”

“Well.” Vinyl tapped her hoof on the table. “Most ponies assume it is being a DJ, but that is just what I do for a living, and I am good at it, but that is not my talent.” she explained. “Just like Pinkie’s talent is not baking, my talent is not disc jockey-ing. I am a composer.” Her lips twisted in a small smile of pride. “And I am especially good at using discordances.”

“What she means with that is that she will destroy your ears and you will enjoy it.” muttered Octavia with a small smile. Vinyl shot her a glare, but then smiled.

“That’s more accurate than I’d like to admit.” said Vinyl, taking a scoop of her mashed potatoes. “That’s probably the reason why I’ll never be admitted in a ‘serious’ music academy. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know my stuff.”

“I’d like to hear some of your compositions some time.” stated Limestone. “Do you think Octavia could play it?”

The gray mare stared to her twin in disbelief, while Vinyl let out a chuckle. “If you wanna stay in good terms with your sister, I wouldn’t suggest anything similar in front of her like, ever.” she said, making a cutting gesture with her hoof. “But…nah. It wouldn’t work. I need something that can make louder and higher sounds. The cello is just too much in the bass side.”

“So, what do you use to play?” asked Limestone.

“You’ve never seen a mixing table?” asked Pinkie, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “I’ve seen them a couple of times, but Vinyl is the only pony I’ve seen using one.”

“They’re quite rare.” explained Vinyl. “And very few ponies actually know how to use them. The first was made, what, fifteen years ago? Around that. I am just the second generation of DJs.”

“Oh, so you´re a pioneer.” spoke Cloudy Quartz, who had kept her attention in the ongoing conversation, despite not having a clue about that specific genre of music. “What do your parents think about that?”

Vinyl hesitated a moment before answering. Octavia bit her lip. “They’re okay, I guess. Not that they have much to say about my decisions. I don’t know, it’s been a long time since I actually talked to any of them. It was my big brother who mostly took care of me when I was a foal, and it was thanks to him how I got my cutie mark.”

Silence reigned for a moment in the table. “I’m sorry I brought that.” Cloudy apologized. “I didn’t meant to-”

“Oh, don’t worry.” interrupted Vinyl with a sad smile. “I am over it already. My parents were quite careless with my brother and I. They enjoyed being together and alone too much, so they often left us with friends and family while they traveled around Equestria. So when my brother got enough money to get himself a house, I moved with him.” She made a pause and shook her head slightly. “I dunno, I guess they didn’t really think though the whole thing of having kids.” She was thankful the question was asked so late in the dinner, because every other pony seemed to have lost its appetite, except Igneous, who was still eating, apparently unaffected.

“Well don’t worry about that anymore.” interjected Pinkie Pie. “Because now you have a family that cares about you.” There was a round of nods and agreements on the table, and Vinyl perked up clearly. “Now, who wants a dessert?”

Not waiting for an answer, Pinkie hopped from her chair and bounced to the kitchen. She opened the door of the fridge and rummaged inside until she extracted half a cake that was left from another day. She also grabbed six small dishes and the same number of forks. Before she left the kitchen, however, Pinkie trotted back to the fridge, leaned her head back and opened her mouth, catching the peach and chomping it down.

***

“It’s been a pleasure to meet you.” said Cloudy Quartz as she embraced Vinyl Scratch. She let the unicorn go and smiled at her. “I’d like to see you again before you two return to Canterlot.”

“Oh, sure.” replied Vinyl, mirroring her smile. “It’s been a nice evening.”

With the dinner finished and over, Vinyl and Octavia decided to leave, as both of them were feeling exhausted and wanted to get some sleep. Limestone and Cloudy tried at first to convince them to stay a little longer, but it was to no use. It was obvious than none of the mares would be able to stay for longer and walk all the way to Gravelpit.

“I will see you tomorrow.” said Octavia, suppressing a yawn. She gave her mother and sisters a nuzzle. “It’s likely that we will sleep until late tomorrow, just so you know.”

“Same goes for me.” added Vinyl, trying and failing to suppress her own yawn. “See? I’m gonna fall sleep while standing.”

“Well then we won’t hold you anymore.” replied Cloudy. “Goodbye!”

“Bye mother.” “Bye, miss Quartz!” said the two mares, before turning around and starting their way towards Gravelpit and the bed they needed so much.

The rest of the family gathered once again on the sitting room, much like they had been that evening, before Vinyl arrived. Pinkie, with no Octavia to brush her mane, decided to do the same with Limestone, who hesitated at first but then presented no objections. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it even more than her twin, as Pinkie felt the gray pony almost melt under her hooves.

“She was very nice.” casually commented Cloudy. Igneous let out a hum of agreement. “But I was surprised. A mare? I would have never guessed it!” The stallion emitted a sound of agreement. “And Igneous? You were very silent during the dinner. Is anything wrong?”

The male pony looked up from the book and eyed his wife. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the floor. “No. It´s just…I fergot her name and I didn´t feel like askin’.”

Pinkie Pie exploded in giggles.

Author's Note:

I like how Vinyl would look with her hair undyed, her fancy manedo, her glasses and Octavia's scarf.

Comments

[Widow Peak]

4932569 I was very confused because your comment appeared right after I uploaded chapter 11

Limestone has a boring life. Well, she's teaching in an university, and that is hardly boring. But it's just not her thing.

And Fling 'n' Steel is a nice fella.

[danisanerd]

4932650 sorry about that! the new chapter made me realize that i hadn't read the last one! This chapter pretty fun though!

[Widow Peak]

4938077 Oh, don't worry about that.

And thanks! I am very glad you're enjoying this story ^^

[Meridian Prime]

Igneous forgetting Vinyl's name was classic.