Music Makes The Heart

by TheVulpineHero1

15) Momentary Standstill

-Momentary Standstill-
[Ross Kmet, remixed from Sonic 3, Project Chaos bonus tracks]

---

"Are you ready for your audition, dear?" Octavia's mother asked, running a comb through her daughter's mane. Again. Vinyl watched with poorly disguised impatience. This had been the second morning in the row she'd had to wake up at normal-pony hours, and she could practically feel her sleep patterns slapping her in the face for being such an idiot.

"Well, yes, mother, but I'm not entirely sure about the dress," Octavia replied, looking down at the fabric. It had been salvaged from her mother's wardrobe, and was exactly the type of dress you would expect from a pony who owned such a magnificent and tasteless hat. Octavia wasn't quite sure there were words for some of the colours on it.

"Oh, don't be silly! It's from a top designer from Ponyville, you know. You are representing your village when you wear it!"

Vinyl's ears pricked up, and she began to look a little more closely at the garment, something she had been honestly avoiding up until now for fear of getting a colour induced headache. After a few moments, she pressed her hoof to her forehead. "I know this...thing. I saw it when I played for a fashion show a while back," she said. "It wasn't tie-dyed back then."

"Oh, you were there? I only saw the event in the newspaper, but when I did I just had to contact the designer about this dress. She was quite happy to get rid of it, very cheaply too, might I add, and I put my own little spin on it when it arrived," Octavia's mother prattled on, quite unaware of the dark looks Octavia and Vinyl were exchanging. "Oh, and did you see the armour on that pegasus? Would that I had the figure for it, I'd have snapped it up as well. Such classical elements in such a modern design!"

"Uh, yeah. Real nouveau chic," Vinyl said, in the tone of voice that indicated that somepony miles away was going to be in very big trouble the next time they ran into her. "Looks like that dress could use some taking in around the hips, though."

"Oh, the hips, hm? A fine eye you have there, Vinyl," Octavia's mom replied in the kind of knowing tone that could make grown stallions blush. "I'll just dash upstairs, then. I've got a needle and some thread around here somewhere."

Octavia looked at her mother, then back at Vinyl. Neither of them looked her in the eye. As her mother retreated to the second floor, she shot Vinyl a glance and asked, "What just happened?"

"Politics," the unicorn replied gruffly, before picking up the brush and running it gently through Octavia's mane. It was softer to the touch than she had expected. "You nervous?"

Octavia snorted. "In this dress? I'd be an idiot not to be."

She winced as the brush hit a clump. Then there was the warm sensation of magic close to the back of her neck, of the tangles being teased and unwound before the brush returned. It was oddly relaxing, even though Vinyl seemed to find every single snag and tangle in her hair before she was done.

"Don't worry," the unicorn said from somewhere just behind her left ear. "You're a good musician, You'll do fine. Just don't slack off. If you're not taking it seriously, I'll know."

"Hm? And how's that?" Octavia asked, and leaned back, just a little. She could feel breath on her ear. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

"When you're serious, my hair stands on end," the unicorn said, before pausing. "...don't tell anypony I said that."

"My little audiophile, with all her bones and angles," Octavia teased. "Shall I just play you a song instead of kissing you from now on, then?"

"Hmph. Very funny," Vinyl grumbled, but carried on brushing and untangling. "Actually, I have to ask you something."

"Go on."

"I'm going to need my glasses back soon. I have to play a couple concerts as soon as we get back to Ponyville. Part of the deal with my manager."

"...and I suppose you can't play without them?"

Vinyl didn't say anything. The brush had stopped, now, as had the tiny warmth of magic, and Octavia found herself missing the sensations. She sighed.

"Fine, fine. It was a little unfair of me to take them in the first place," she admitted. "But if I hear so much as a rumour of you kissing another pony, Vinyl Scratch, I'll have your mane to string my bow. Don't think that I won't."

Vinyl gave the tiniest snicker. "Big words from a music hall pony."

"If you think I'm joking, just go and ask Lyra Heartstrings the next time you get chance. She once gave me an impromptu haircut whilst I was sleeping off the after-effects of a mare's night out. Suffice to say, she spent the next two months with half a tail."

"Very scary," the unicorn said, and began brushing again. After a few strokes, she leaned even closer to Octavia's ear and whispered, "Your mom's at the top of the stairs, eavesdropping."

"I know. She's just worried about me. It'll work out, anyway. I haven't figured out how to explain to her than I'm dating a mare, yet. This way, I don't have to," she whispered back.

"Sneaky. I like it. She already guessed, though."

Octavia bit her lip. "What? When?"

"Moment we walked in the house."

"Oh dear. By the way, I meant to ask. What do you think of my mother?"

Vinyl stopped for a second to think. Very carefully, she said: "She's hardcore."

"Is...is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"

"No idea."

After a good thirty seconds of grace, Octavia's mother came back in, brandishing a needle and thread with reckless enthusiasm. Vinyl bit back a remark about her timing, and instead helped Octavia out of the dress so her mother could begin attacking it with what could generously be described as sewing.

"I'm still not sure about the dress, mother. I feel like it might distract the panel from my performance," Octavia said. Vinyl snorted. She'd seen house fires that were less distracting than that dress.

"Oh, come now. This may be the last time I get to tell my only daughter what she can and cannot wear. Let me savour it. Isn't that right, Vinyl?"

Vinyl almost shot her a glare, but caught herself. It seemed like one of those annoying 'parent tests' that you couldn't really win, again.

"She's right. Too distracting. Besides, if you have to rely on a dress to make you look pretty and confident, you don't deserve to play for an audience anyway," she replied, before realising that what she'd just said was not exactly an endearing sentiment. Had Octavia's mother been paying attention, she would have seen a small purple glow begin to twiddle anxiously with her daughter's mane.

"I agree. After all, a master with a poor instrument can still make a song, but a novice with a great instrument can only make a noise," Octavia interjected smoothly, to Vinyl's relief. "I'd rather rely on my own skill than ornamentation."

"Quite right, quite right. I suppose the dress shall have to remain at home, for now. A pity," Octavia's mom sniffed, before shaking her head and smiling once more. "So, Vinyl! Since you're accompanying my daughter to her audition, may I assume that you are, in a sense, acting as her personal Galliope, her raison de musique?"

"She means a muse, and yes, mother, Vinyl will be providing emotional and creative support for me," Octavia explained, rolling her eyes.

"I'll get real creative if the judges start yapping off. One of 'em has a bit of a mouth on her. I remember from the last time I was here," Vinyl muttered.

Octavia's mother looked at the dress, then at Vinyl, then at the needle. Then, she smiled in a benevolent and terrifying way. "Tell me, Miss Vinyl, would you happen to know your measurements? I may very well have a present for you, in return for taking such good care of my daughter."

Vinyl's eyes widened. "No. I mean, thanks for the generosity, but I can't wear dresses. Skin complaint. Right, Tavi?"

Octavia thought for a second, before her mouth settled into an evil, evil grin.

"You've got to be kidding me," Vinyl moaned. They weren't.

---

"Oh, don't be so worried, Vinyl. It actually goes quite well with your glasses," Octavia said helpfully. They were sat outside the music hall, waiting for them to call Octavia in.

"If anypony asks, I've been drinking since three in the morning," the unicorn replied.

"You know Mother is only trying to be nice."

"Oh, yeah. It's a great gift," Vinyl said. "In fact, I'm going to treasure this dress. Fold it up real nice, have it shipped back home. And then, when we get back to Ponyville? I'm going to find Rarity, and I'm going to make her eat it."

---

A/N: Who's surprised that this actually got updated after all that time? Anyway, a couple notes: this will probably be the last chapter which follows the '+100 words every chapter' theme, since I find that once you get to about 1500, you end up having just enough space to create more ideas but not enough to elaborate on them in a satisfactory way. So, from now on, the length of the chapters will be a little more organic.

Also, the dress is probably Twilight's, hence why the hips are so wide. Additionally, for those of you not schooled in Greek Mythology, Galliope is a pun on Calliope, the Greek muse of epic poetry. If you actually got that without me having to tell you, you're probably asking why I didn't use Euterpe or Polyhymnia, who are more connected with music; the answer to that is, simply, that it would be really hard to make puns with them, and Calliope crosses so very nicely with gallop.

Comments

[TheLastBrunnenG]

Maybe Ponyhymnia?

Again, liking the fresh take on an overdone ship, and it's great to see this particular Vinyl meet her match.

[DawnFade]

You have a lovely flow. I'm enjoying this.

[Donnys Boy]

Mrs. Tavi's Mom is back! Yay!

I continue to enjoy the progression in the relationship between Octavia and Scratch. They feel so much more ... comfortable ... in one another's presence. They still spar, of course, but it read easy and affectionate to me. Like two ponies who are reasonably secure in their relationship. Lovely.

Also, totally dug the detail about Mrs. Tavi's Mom scoring the dress from Rarity. Hee!

[DaMagiks]

Back from the grave! This fic....LIVES

Only a mare of such *ahem* tastes such as Tavi's mother could love that dress (Such an entertaining character without being over the top!) and then later they force Vinyl to wear it! (best part of the chapter
And really cute with Vinyl brushing Tavi's hair (and then the hair antics between Tavi and Lyra)

[SkyWalker]

You know what's funny, I just watched Suited for Success on TV today. Talk about timing. And talk about extreme happiness, because THIS HAS UPDATED YAY

As always, love Octamom

[Ravenwood11]

I really like your take on Vinyl as a more awkward, short tempered pony. It's unique, and I'm glad you finally updated again.

[TheVulpineHero1]

1567231
Were I a less classy gentleman, I would respond with a lolcat. However, I am just far too lazy (he says, after making concious effort to provide free entertainment on the internet for no real reason).
1567274
...Derp! That's so obvious, and yet I never thought of it! Glad you're enjoying the slightly...off-kilter characterisations in this story.
1567372
Glad to hear it! Flow is really hard to quantify and fix if you're getting it wrong, so I'm always relieved when people say I'm not.
1567682
I'm sort've in two minds about the progression. On one hand, I'm like, 'They are going waaaaay too fast for this to be realistic', and on the other I'm like 'They're talking horses with butt tatoos, and you somehow want them to be realistic? Go home and be a family man'. Still, so long as it's enjoyable for the people reading it, all's well. I'm just glad to be getting back to Octamom and this fic in general, after so long!
1567837
All of the yay! (I have no idea what Suited For Success is, by the way). Feels good to be back! Also, Octamoooom. I am determined to get one more chapter before we have to say goodbye to her.
1567921
Well, it's probably not unique, just a little less common than other portrayals. Still, I'm glad you like it, and I'm happy to be updating again too.

[SkyWalker]

1568315 ._. suited for success is the episode where Rarity makes the dresses

[TheVulpineHero1]

1568808
Oh! Derp. For some reason I thought it would be some sort of Dragon's Den-esque kind of thing. (Note to self: Rarity in Dragon's Den. Make it happen.)

[SkyWalker]

1568826 I can't even begin to imagine the thought process behind that kind of idea ._.

[HaviTheWerecat]

This is like...the first fimfic I've ever read where Octavia's mom isn't a total snooty bitch.

[Delta93]

Eight more chapters, eh? Good thing I don't have any classes tomorrow.

[Cecildarkknight]

haha u go vinyl u make rare eat that dress

[HeartfireFirebrand]

2720050
Eeyup