Chapter 5
Paradiso
Chapter 5
Written by
Syvvak
Story Concept by
Lynked
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The sun shone down on the two mares, warming their backs. They were heading to Fleur's office, though neither really wanted to face their respective managers; they had conspired behind their backs and caused trouble, albeit unintentionally. They knew they had to, though. Had to get it all sorted out.
Octavia thought back on the events leading up to then. In just two days, her life had made a dramatic shift; she was at risk of losing everything she had worked for, she had been thrown into emotional turmoil, and she had her best friend back. She snuck a glance at Vinyl, who appeared to be deep in thought, her face scrunched up cutely.
Waking up that morning in her embrace had been a dream come true. Not just because of her feelings for Vinyl, but because she no longer felt abandoned and alone. She had lain there for what she believed was a few hours basking in the combined feelings. She had apparently fallen asleep again, only to be gently awoken by Vinyl. She hadn’t made any lewd remarks or said anything sarcastic, she had just gently shaken her while quietly whispering “Wake up, Tavi”.
Upon waking, Octavia had been greeted with Vinyl’s face adorned with a gentle smile, her eyes bright. After a quick hug, Octavia had gotten up and headed for the kitchen. They had eaten, then gotten freshened up, knowing what had to happen. She had decided that, no matter how things turned out, if she lost her renown, if she became blacklisted, if Fleur didn’t have a good answer, she would still be happy; she had Vinyl back. That was all that mattered. She also decided she was going to tell Vinyl what she wanted to before she left, no matter what.
“So,” Vinyl began, breaking Octavia out of her musings, “what are we gonna tell them? About me coming in with you, I mean.”
“Nothing. It is none of their business, especially after what they have done,” Octavia said, her voice full of resolve. Vinyl nodded, going back into silent thinking. “So, uh, when’s your next show?”
“I don’t have one.” Vinyl caught Octavia’s confused look and explained. “This was my last one before I went on vacation.”
“Oh.” Octavia let that hang in the air for a few moments. “What are you planning to do while on vacation?” Vinyl took a while to respond, staring at the ground. “You don’t have to tell me it you don’t want.”
“No, I... It’s fine. I didn’t really have any plans. I had a few things I wanted to try doing, but I’ve already done one.” She looked over to Octavia and gave her a warm smile, which Octavia returned.
“So, who were you gonna stay with? Family? I don’t think you have ever told me about your family.”
“No, I’m not staying with family,” Vinyl said, not giving any more.
“Well,” Octavia began apprehensively, “you could stay with me.”
“I’d like that. Thanks,” Vinyl said, unable to keep a happy tone from her voice.
They travelled the last few blocks in a content silence, both mares happy with how things were going, hoping it would stay that way. As they approached the building, neither mare took it in, their mood becoming anxious. Octavia set a slight scowl as they passed through the glass doors. She ignored the receptionist, heading straight for the elevator, Vinyl close behind. Pressing the button to take them to the sixth floor, Octavia let out a deep breath.
“Vinyl,” she said, turning to face the mare, “no matter what happens, I want you to know that I am glad you are back.”
“I am too, Tavi.” Vinyl gave the cellist a quick hug.
Octavia pulled away, pushed up Vinyl’s glasses so she could look directly into her eyes. “But if you ever leave me like that again, I will find you, and I will kill you.” She flicked the glasses back down over Vinyl’s widened eyes, bopped her lightly on the nose, and pulled her into another hug. “But we won’t ever have to worry about that, will we?”
“No. No we won’t,” Vinyl said, returning the hug. “Especially after that. Now, every time I leave the house, I am gonna be plagued with visions of you charging after me with your cello, preparing to beat me to a pulp.” Octavia gently pushed off of her. She couldn’t hold back a chuckle while shaking her head, a smirk lining her face.
Neither mare had noticed the doors had opened, leaving them facing an empty hallway. They shared a quick look before stepping out. As they were walking through the seemingly endless hallway, Octavia caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to see Vinyl looking over her shoulder every few seconds.
“What are you doing, Vinyl?” she asked, coming to a stop. Vinyl stopped as well, looking at Octavia with a very scared expression.
“Even though you are standing next to me, I keep thinking you are gonna come charging up behind me on your hind legs, your cello held in your front two like a bat, foam flying from your mouth, your eyes filled with hate.” They stood there staring at each other, Vinyl’s frightened expression meeting Octavia’s incredulous one. Vinyl, having trouble keeping up the scared look while looking at Octavia, started to chuckle, her composure cracking. She broke into a full laugh, causing Octavia to scowl.
“That’s not funny, Vinyl,” she said, looking on as the unicorn laughed. It eventually became contagious and Octavia started to chuckle. She closed the small distance between them and smacked Vinyl in the back of the head, causing her to give a startled yelp. “Careful,” she said in mock-seriousness, “or it may not wait until you leave.”
“You can beat me anytime you want,” Vinyl said seductively, causing Octavia to blush. She was about to say something when she heard hoofsteps coming around the corner. Quickly putting a scowl back on, she looked up, hoping the blush faded away.
“Oh, hello, Octavia. Didn’t know you were gonna be in this mornin’,” said a young earth pony colt pushing a mop bucket.
“Good morning, Behmen,” Octavia said, her face softening. “How is that project coming?”
“Meh, it’s coming.”
“Well, if you need a little information to help, Vinyl or I could probably help,” she said, as she motioned to herself and the aforementioned unicorn. “Oh, Behmen, this is Vinyl Scratch. She is an old friend of mine. Vinyl, this is Behmen von Bleibuck. He is Fleur’s cousin and currently going to college to be a sound technician.”
“Nice ta meet ya, Behmen,” Vinyl said, holding out her hoof for him to shake.
“Likewise. My friends call me Beebe,” he said, shaking her hoof.
“Oh, so I take it you and Tavi ain’t friends,” she said with a smirk.
“No, ‘Tavi’ just likes to use proper names,” Behmen said, glancing at Octavia, whose face was a mixture of disbelief, anger, and embarrassment. “But I gotta get goin’, work an’ all. Nice to see you again, Octavia. Pleasure to meet you, Vinyl.”
Octavia gave Vinyl another smack to the back of the head as the elevator doors shut and it started to descend. The white mare was still chuckling. “Are you going to keep embarrassing me?”
Vinyl took off her glasses to wipe a tear from her eyes. She took a step closer to Octavia, putting on what she hoped was a seductive glare, and lowered her voice. “Are you gonna keep smacking me for being a bad filly if I do?”
Octavia blushed again and turned away. She wasn’t able to tell if Vinyl was just messing with her or flirting. “Come on. Let’s get this over with,” she said as she resumed walking. Vinyl ceased her chuckling as they reached the door. They shared one last look before walking into the room, faces set, Vinyl’s once again obscured by her glasses.
“Octavia! You’re here.” Fleur’s voice cracked as she looked up from her desk to face the door. Octavia felt a pang of regret at seeing the mare’s face; she looked as though she hadn’t slept in days. Just looking at her made Octavia feel dreary. Sitting next to her was the green unicorn Octavia had seen at the restaurant; she felt as though she knew who it was, but her mind just couldn’t pull it together.
“Vinyl!” the green unicorn shouted, getting up to embrace the DJ, held back only by a glare from Octavia. “Wh-where have you been? I’ve been trying to get ahold of you since yesterday. You weren’t at your room, you didn’t pick up your phone or return my texts. What are you doing here?”
Vinyl opened her mouth to respond, when the other unicorn suddenly sat down, looking embarrassed. She turned to Octavia to see her scowling at the poor mare. “Tavi-” she started to whisper, but was cut off.
“Explain,” was all Octavia said as she sat on a seat in front of the desk. Vinyl followed her lead and sat next to her.
Fleur, realizing it would be better to just get things out of the way, nodded and tried to fix the trouble she had inadvertently caused with the truth. “While I was in Manehatten on a working vacation, I was approached by Ms. Heartstrings.” That is why I knew who she was, Octavia thought, fighting the urge to facehoof. “She told me she was the manager for an old musician friend of yours, and she asked me if I would like to help her set up a... concert for the two of you to get reacquainted.
“I had assumed it was an orchestrational friend, not a DJ. I didn’t think you were one to keep company with those types of ponies. No offense, Ms. Scratch,” she added quickly. Vinyl only gave a grunt of acknowledgement, so Fleur continued. “I told I was too busy to set it up, but she said she could do it on her own. I told her I would think about it, and we exchanged details. I looked into who Mrs. Heartstrings was, and thought she would be capable of handling it herself, so I allowed it. She told me it would be one of the biggest events of the year.
“I had no intentions of hurting you, ma chère. I guess if I had helped set it up, things may not have happened like this. Or had I asked who your friend was. Or even had I talked with you about it. I am really sorry, Octavia.” By the end of her explanation, Fleur had her head hung low with tears building in her eyes.
“I... It’s fine. I guess we have all made a hasty decision or two without really thinking it through,” Octavia said, with a nigh-imperceptible glance at Vinyl, who gave a slight blush and turned her head. “And I apologize for how I reacted. Towards all of you. It was uncalled for and, even though I was... distressed at the time, I should not have said some of the things I did. It was uncalled for, and, for that, I am sorry.”
Although it was somewhat true for everyone in the room, she had directed her apology at Vinyl, who seemed to have caught that and gave a soft smile. The smile swiftly dropped, and Vinyl raised her head to look at Lyra.
“You never told us why you set it up like you did. It really made no sense. With our music being so different, as with our crowds, they would be hard to compare in a way like that and get a fair adjudication. The only way we would get that is in front of a group of musical experts from all walks, not fans. Fans are too... discriminating.”
All eyes in the room went wide. Octavia was the first to recover. She put on a slight smirk and said, “That is some fancy talk coming from somepony such as yourself, Ms. Scratch.”
“Eh, I’ve been around this snooty earth pony too much. Musta rubbed a bit off on me.” Octavia just kept smirking and gave a slight chuckle. “So?” she asked, directing the question at Lyra.
“Um, well,” Lyra began nervously, “you see, when I was writing up the form to reserve the space, it was really late and it had been a long day helping Bonnie in the shop. I had filled it out wrong, there was another one I was working on for another show around the same time. I had meant for it to just be a collaboration event, seeing as Vinyl had done so well with my own music, I figured the two of you could do it even better. But I had filled it out as a duel, that is what I was working on before, and sent it out as so.
“When I realized it, I immediately went to fix it, but they told me it had been too long and they couldn’t change it. I just rolled with it, hoping for the best.” Lyra scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “Not my brightest idea. Oh, Bonnie’s gonna kill me for this. She told me not to do important stuff late.”
“Wait, so am I gonna be collabing with some DJ now, instead of dueling them?” Vinyl asked.
“No! No, that one was filled out fine. I just filled out Octavia’s as though it were that one. Sorry.” She looked at Octavia, afraid of what the mare was gonna do. She was sitting there with her eyes closed, breathing slowly, rhythmically. She knew everyone was looking at her, expecting her to do something. What? That was up to them. She knew there was only one thing she could do after all this.
She looked up, locking eyes with Lyra. “It’s fine. I’m over it.” All three of the unicorns stared at her incredulously, none of them expecting her to say that. “I will just do what I need to make it obsolete. That is all I can do, unless I found a magical blue box that can take me back in time to stop it, but where’s the fun in that?” All of the mares shared a laugh at that, glad that the situation was finally defused.
“So, Lyra, how did you find out about me and Vinyl?” she asked, mostly wanting to make friendly conversation, though she was somewhat interested.
“Well, we went out on my birthday and had a few too many. We were sitting on my couch when it somehow got brought up, like something only can when you’re drunk. She told me how you helped her out when she graduated from boarding school, giving her a place to stay and helping her get on her hooves. She told me how you introduced her to some ponies, and she ended up getting some work thanks to it.
“She told me you were mad at her, though she wouldn’t say why. I decided I would try to fix it, since she didn’t seem to think she was able to, so I set up the concert, and here we are.” Lyra finished with a big smile on her face, waving her arms to encompass the room. Octavia gave her a confused look.
“I didn’t help her when she graduated boarding school, I helped her when her apartment building was closed down and she had nowhere else to go.” Both mares turned their gazes to Vinyl, who was shifting nervously. Fleur just sat behind her desk twiddling her hooves, unsure of what to do.
“Vinyl...” Octavia said gently, but firmly, letting the mare know she wanted answers.
“I... I don’t want to talk about it right now. It...” Vinyl trailed off, leaving the room silent other than the ticking of a clock.
“Sorry to cut this short, but I have a meeting I must get to shortly,” Fleur said, breaking the tension. “Maybe we could grab lunch tomorrow and get acquainted under better circumstances, non?”
“Sure,” Octavia said, the other two just nodding. “I’ll see you then.” She stood up and walked out of the room, the other two close behind. They silently walked to the elevator and out of the building. As they stepped outside, Lyra turned to face Vinyl and Octavia.
“I gotta go. Got some managery stuff to do, then gotta call Bons, make sure she hasn’t burned down the house,” she said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. “Nice to officially meet you, Octavia. See ya soon, Scratch.”
“Goodbye, Ms. Heartstrings. It was a pleasure to meet you, as well.” Octavia gave her a polite smile.
“Bye,” Vinyl said, not really paying much attention. Both mares looked at her, before Lyra turned and left.
“Come on, Vinyl. I’ll make us some lunch.” Both mares turned in the direction of Octavia’s house and started walking. Neither spoke as they walked, both lost in thought.
They made it to the house a short while later. Vinyl sat on the loveseat, while Octavia went straight to the kitchen to make a light lunch. She came out a few minutes later with two salads and two cups of tea. She put them both down on the table and gave Vinyl a small smile, which she returned as she thanked her.
They ate in silence, both still wrapped up in thought. When they finished, Octavia took the dishes to the kitchen, rinsed them off, then sat beside Vinyl on the loveseat. She leaned into Vinyl, basking in her presence. Vinyl leaned back, before she began to talk.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
“For what?” Octavia didn’t move, but thought she felt something hit her hair.
“For lying to you. I guess I thought that I could forget about it if I didn’t tell anyone.” Octavia shifted, embracing the now crying unicorn in a tender hug.
“Shh. It’s okay,” she whispered, trying to comfort the distraught unicorn, who returned the hug. When her breathing started to return to normal, Octavia continued. “Do you want to tell me about it? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Vinyl held onto her for a few moments before pulling away and removing her glasses, wiping her eyes. “Okay.”
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WOOOHOOOO! New chapter on my birthday!
Damn my 'must connect instinct'
Excellent way to wake up at............... 4:42
Anyway nice chapter, can't wait for Vinyl's story
Now, if you excuse me... I'm going back to sleep
Loved this chapter. Your writing is getting better and better!
2559424
Well happy b-day, Mari (that is your name now. Accept it). Glad I could help make it better. And I already have her story planned out (a song solidified part of it). I HOPE to write it soon.
2560508
Thanks. Why ya think I edit so much? Not to mention the stuff my editor caught.
2561094
Say, is it hard editing your own work?
2561118
Not a clue. I don't even reread it. (unless I mark a spot and tell myself to go back to)
2561121
Neither do I, actually. I just thought that you, being an editor, edited your own work. Guess I was wrong then.
2561124
Do you really think I'm that stupid (not saying people who do that are stupid)?
2561125
I don't get your point. Why would it be stupid to edit your own work?
2561128
There are certain grammatical errors that you will make that seem natural to you, so you will usually never catch them. You may not read it as attentively, since you are the one who wrote it, which could cause you to miss some errors. YOU made the errors, therefore you have written them once, and you may not catch them as wrong the second time round. Plus, when isn't it nice to have a second pair of lookers to glance at your stuff, especially when they're there specifically to find errors?
2561142
True. You're right.
2561170
Usually am.
2561094
Mari?
...
That's at least better than 'Cheat' or 'Maria'
2561190
Now I just need someone to call Pippin (get it? Merry and Pippin?)
2561197
oh?