A Tale of Two Mares

by CharmingChaos

Unexpected Nonsense

Octavia opened her eyes sleepily, reaching out blindly to turn off the gentle classical music which served as her alarm clock. She glared at the fuzzy outlines of her bedroom, then rolled out of bed and reached for her glasses.

Crunch

"Oh, ponyfeathers!" Octavia swore softly as she felt and heard them crumble under her hoof. She stumbled into the bathroom to put in her contacts.

Being nearly blind had always been a soft spot for Octavia; she hardly ever told anyone about her condition. But in truth, Octavia could hardly see past the tip of her muzzle without her contacts. The glasses didn't matter too much, they only served to get from the bathroom to the bedroom and back in the morning and evening, but still, it was a shame to break them.

Maybe Vinyl Scratch needs those weird purple glasses, Octavia thought as she placed her oatmeal in its usual pot and turned on the stove. Who knows? Maybe she has some unheard-of visual disorder that makes her need extra huge, garishly purple glasses that make it impossible to see her eyes? Octavia shook her head. She was just being sarcastic now. Nopony needed purple sunglasses. That was just crazy. Impossible. Not even worth discussing.

Octavia shook her head as the timer above the stove beeped, signaling her oatmeal's readiness. She poured the perfectly creamy oatmeal into a bowl, added a splash of maple syrup, grabbed a spoon, and moved to the kitchen table, still thinking.
Before long, Octavia left the table, her meal barely touched, heaved the cello onto her back, and left for her orchestra practice.

---

What would Vinyl think of this? Gah, she'd hate it as much as I hate her-- though I shudder to call it so-- music. I certainl--

"Miss Octavia?" The conductor spoke sternly, tapping her music stand with his baton, and Octavia blushed a deep crimson, bowing her head in embarrassment. "Are you with us, Miss Octavia?"

"Oh! Uh, yes, sir. O-of course, sir. You were saying...?"

"I was saying, let us begin? But not, of course, if you should wish to remain silent, Miss Octavia?" He arched an eyebrow quizzically, causing a rustle of laughter to run through the orchestra.

Oh, for pony's sake. Octavia groaned inwardly. They're all fully grown mares and stallions, and they still laugh?

The practice dragged on, and for once playing the cello wasn't Octavia's idea of perfection. She'd never really liked the conductor, but playing in the Canterlot orchestra was a huge honor, and Octavia intended to treat it as so, no matter how trying the conductor.

---

Confident that her favourite bar would be quiet now, Octavia pushed open the door, ears fully prepared to flip back at the slightest notice. But silence, save for the clink of glasses, reigned once more.

As she sat sipping her drink, a less-than-pleasant sound made Octavia jump in her seat.

"Hi-ya, 'Tavi," said Vinyl Scratch, amiably. Her silky flank against Octavia's own made her skin tingle. The white mare leaned in close, making Octavia's cheeks flare scarlet. "Miss me?"

Octavia ignored her question, scooting away slightly, still blushing.

"Hey, you're kinda hot when ya blush, 'Tavi," Vinyl Scratch said, grinning. She tapped her hoof against the counter,drawing the attention of the barmare.

"Whatever she's got, but make it, like, twice as strong. Oh! And one of whatever you gave me yesterday. I like that shit."

Octavia rolled her eyes, still leaning away from the crazy mare next to her. The barmare set the two drinks in front of Vinyl, who nodded slightly before turning back to Octavia.

"Here," she said, nudging the strengthened version of Octavia's cocktail. At her arched eyebrow, Vinyl shrugged. "What? Never had anyone buy you a drink before?"

"Well--"

"Hey. I like you, 'Tavi. Just take it, okay?"

Octavia sighed. What the hay? she thought to herself. I may as well just go along with the crazy mare.

The drink turned out to be good despite it's potency, and by the end Octavia began to feel almost tipsy. She was acutely aware of Vinyl Scratch leaning heavily on her shoulder, having downed three more of whatever it was she was drinking, thoroughly drunk. As she slurped the potent beverage noisily, Vinyl sat up suddenly.

"Hey." She slurred, rocking slightly. Octavia looked at her, puzzled. "You shud rilly try thish," she said, thrusting her red plastic cup at Octavia. "S'good shtuff, y'know."

The drink sloshed dangerously close to the edge, encased in a wobbly blue magic aura, leering in Octavia's face.

Shutting her eyes, Octavia took a cautious sip.

"Eeep!" Octavia said, reaching for her own glass. Whatever poisonous brew Vinyl had been drinking burned her throat like liquid fire. Vinyl downed the rest of the cocktail in one gulp.

"Thish is good, too, 'Tavi. Hey! C'we get nother of both?"

Octavia blinked at the red cup was thrust at her again. "But I--" The cup found it's way to her lips, and Octavia was forced to down the rest of its foul contents all at once. She came up coughing at the fiery, bitter taste.

"What is that?" Octavia asked, voice raspy.

"Beatsh me," Vinyl shrugged dramatically. "But ish good."

After her second cup of Vinyl's drink, Octavia felt ready to go home. Her companion had downed two more of Octavia's special cocktails, and was singing something incomprehensible as she lay across Octavia's lap, her muzzle dangerously close to Octavia's posterior.

Octavia shuddered as she felt something warm and wet on her inner thigh. "Vinyl Scratch!" she whispered, apalled. "What in Equestria do you think you're doing?!"

"You tashte gurd." Came Vinyl's muffled voice.

Octavia pushed the fuzzy blue head off her lap. When she looked up, another red cup had appeared before her. She downed it, still half loathing the taste, then fumbled in her pocket for her money. Leaving a hoof full of bits on the counter, she slid to the ground on all fours, pulling Vinyl with her by the ear.

The two drunken ponies stumbled along down the street, making slow but relatively steady progress toward Octavia's house. As they reached Harmonica Drive, Octavia gasped. Fire engines lined the entire block, and the telltale reddish glow midway down told Octavia all that she needed to know.

"Whuh's wrong, 'Tavi?" Vinyl Scratch asked, shaking her head and knocking her glasses sideways.

"See that fire, Vinyl?" Octavia asked, suddenly feeling worse then she had in a long time. "That. Is. My. House."

Comments

[RainbowShy1241]

OMG!!!!! Love It helariously awsome.

[Samson]

The fic reminds me to much of the plot to fight club

[Archvile]

uhm... i think this is like the 3rd or 4th fic with Vinyl and Octavia where one of their homes is on fire... whats the odds?

[CharmingChaos]

981036
strange. but I had to get rid of Octavia's house somehow...

[Journeyman]

BURN ALL THE HOUSES!!!

[Joseph Raszagal]

Lotta fire in these ScratchTavia fics lately .

[Jay Cruiz]

Aww poor 'Tavi, i liked her.

[Night Runner 01]

898977

your not supposed to talk about that.

[Lambda462]

981036

How am I not getting any of that? This is a first for me, and I've read plenty. Well, like, 8 or 7 or something, but still plenty.

[PinkiePieCupCakeSlayer]

You tashte gurde

I lost it at this point

[kingthe13]

1033215 try lava next time or cotton candy cloud storm.

[Lucky424]

Don't worry Tavi, I found the culprit!!!
encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRmvfD-qpzbF-FvBRhYpXwid5vRbIM_sFYajJhIaWta3BNlO1J-LA

[Dapurple]

Poor cello.

[Electric Mix]

"See that fire, Vinyl?" Octavia asked, suddenly feeling worse then she had in a long time. "That. Is. My. House."
Ouuuuuuuuuuuuch. Gotta see how that happened.

[moonrose]

OH ST!!!!!! WHERE WILL OCTY STAY jk i totally know where, or who, shes staying with