Chapter 3
"So that's when we decided we were going to have to move away from Canterlot," Octavia explained to her rapt audience, Vinyl nestled beside her on the couch. "We didn't have enough money to survive there after I lost all my ensemble and orchestral work and Vinyl wasn't able to find employment after the fire. Things became rather uncomfortable for us."
"It sucked,” Vinyl added flatly, memories of weeks of cheap oats making her almost gag from memory alone.
"Well, to put it crassly, yes. It sucked," Octavia agreed. Vinyl’s analysis was crude and succinct, but undeniably accurate.
"Just how bad did things get for you two?" Radiant asked from her spot on the loveseat, perturbed by the mental image of her daughter busking for bits in the street.
"They were pretty bad," Vinyl admitted uncomfortably, eyes dwelling anywhere but on her parents.
"How bad is 'pretty bad?' “ Cobalt demanded. He knew a headache was coming on, created by retroactive worry.
Octavia stalled an answer, torn between flat truth or a comforting lie. She didn’t want her fiancé’s parents to worry, especially over something in the past. But she still owed them the truth. After a few seconds of serious thought, she realized she couldn’t come up with a decent answer. Fortunately, Vinyl took matters into her own hooves. "We couldn't even afford to buy food anymore," she blithely admitted. "We were a week or two from getting kicked out of our apartment."
"Oh, Celestia and Luna," Cobalt groused, rubbing a hoof across his creased face. "Why didn't you just ask us for help?" he asked, voice pained. "You know your mother and I would have if you’d just asked us, don’t you?”
"I know," Vinyl softly agreed. "That's why I didn't tell you. I said when I left that I'd make it on my own. Or not. Either way, I wouldn't go crawling back home with my tail between my legs." Even as she said it, she knew her pride was a terrible reason to suffer, but she also knew she couldn’t have chosen any other way. That door had closed years ago.
Cobalt opened his mouth, then closed it for lack of anything to say. Leaden silence stretched out taut between Vinyl and her parents, hanging like a heavy shroud.
Silver Strings cleared his throat, loud and grating in the quiet. "Octavia, honey, you have to know that we’re wondering the same thing. Why didn't you tell us how much trouble you were in?" he asked. If nothing else, he was just grateful to hear something in that room.
"I —" Octavia began before faltering. Swallowing a cold lump of hesitation in her throat, she tried again. "I was ashamed," she practically whispered. "I didn't want you to know. And you and mom have so much tied up in the store. I couldn't ask you for anything."
"You know we would have found a way to help you, no matter what," Melody assured Octavia, wrapping a foreleg tightly around her husband. It was either that or nurture her daughter to death in front of everypony.
"I just . . . couldn't," Octavia said lamely. "You were both so proud when I started playing with orchestras and my ensemble. You gave up so much to make sure I had music teachers as a little filly and to make sure I got into the Canterlot Academy of Music." Blindly, she reached out a hoof to lay on Vinyl's side, drawing on her warmth and gentle heartbeat. "I couldn't let you know I failed after all of that," she finally admitted, screwing her eyes shut. She choked back small whimpers as Vinyl lightly stroked her mane.
Her eyes shot open in surprise as weight and warmth engulfed her, her vision blurred by fields of color the same hues as her parents’ coats. "Oh, baby, don't ever think you failed us," her mother cooed to her.
"We couldn't be prouder of our daughter," her father agreed, his grip tight around her.
A choked gasp was all that escaped her as she buried herself in her parent's acceptance. Vinyl smiled softly as she pulled herself back from their moment; she had plenty of time to spend with Octavia. Her parents deserved their chance as well.
“Vinyl, honey,” Cobalt almost whispered from the loveseat beside his wife, “C’mere.”
Warmth bubbling in her chest, Vinyl softly slid off the couch and folded into her father’s outstretched forelegs. Wordlessly, Radiant added herself to their embrace. “Thanks, guys,” Vinyl finally murmured. “You’re the best mom and dad I could ever have.”
“Oh, my,” Radiant softly said with mock amazement. “Is our little Vinyl being sentimental? This Octavia must be a good influence on you.”
“Celestia knows you needed one,” Cobalt added, struggling to keep a straight face as he ruffled her unruly mane.
“Daaad,” Vinyl protested, worming free of his grip. “What the hay’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you’re a silly filly, and we love you,” Radiant added, pecking Vinyl on the cheek.
A slightly strangled laugh in a familiar Canterlot accent from behind her reached Vinyl’s ears, painting her cheeks red with embarrassment. “Mom, are you trying to make me look like a foal in front of my fiancée?” she demanded.
“You do that quite well on your own, love,” Octavia brightly chimed in.
“Celestia’s own truth,” Cobalt agreed, nodding sagely.
“Why the hay does everyone have to pick on me?” Vinyl demanded indignantly, casting a look full of theatrical betrayal back at Octavia. “I thought you loved me, Octy? Could love be so cruel to me?”
“Yes. Yes, it could,” Octavia agreed.
Vinyl hung her head in defeat, letting out a sigh of remorse. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”
“Vinyl?” Octavia asked the mare sprawled out beside her on their bed.
“What’s up, Octy?” Vinyl answered, turning her head so that her ruby eyes, glinting softly with moonlight, peered back at Octavia.
“I think our parents’ introductions went well, all things considered. Don’t you?”
“Well, neither of us got threatened with being disowned or being written out of the will, so I guess it went alright,” Vinyl agreed. It had been sappy as hay, too, but that was probably unavoidable.
Octavia snorted softly. “I think you’ve been watching too many soap operas again,” she chastised. “That kind of nonsense doesn’t happen in real life.”
“Speak for yourself, Octy,” Vinyl muttered.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Octavia asked, blinking in surprise.
“Let’s just say that my parents and I’ve had some problems,” Vinyl admitted uncertainly. “We put most of it behind us before I ever met you, but I still wasn’t completely sure if my mom and dad would be here.” It seemed an awkward topic to bring up, but she supposed the subject was inevitable.
Octavia gaped at Vinyl, trying to understand. “But . . . your parents seem like such nice ponies and it’s obvious that you love each other. What in Equestria happened that would make you worry like that?”
A long sigh escaped Vinyl as she considered, twiddling her hooves in absent thought. “It happened when I moved away from home. I worked as a DJ for a year or two in Fillydelphia and I got pretty popular. I wanted to go to Canterlot to see if I could make it big there. My mom and dad, though . . .” Vinyl trailed off, heaving another sigh. She really didn’t want to talk about this. There were better things to do in a bedroom with her special somepony, but they would have to wait. “They said they didn’t mind me being a foal and playing at being a DJ in Fillydelphia, but they didn’t want me to go anywhere else. They wanted me to go to school and become a music teacher. Something safe and stable and boring. They said I was guaranteed to fail if I tried to chase my ‘stupid dream.’ ”
Vinyl trailed off into silence, awareness turned towards the past. The emptiness stretched on long enough for Octavia to become anxious and she lightly pressed a hoof to Vinyl’s cheek, recalling her to the present. “Vinyl?“ she quietly prodded.
Vinyl shook her head in defeat. “I was so mad. The next day I just left Fillydelphia. Took all my stuff and went. I left my parents a note. Told ‘em I’d send them a letter when I got settled in so they’d know I was alive. That was all I said to them for almost four years.”
“But your parents are here now, and your relationship hardly seems strained,” Octavia pointed out. “Surely you must have made things right at some point.” If Vinyl was still estranged from her parents, it was a very friendly estrangement from the looks of things.
“I did eventually get back in touch with them,” Vinyl agreed. “After I was successful and making good money. After they couldn’t say I was wasting my life anymore. We just kind of forgot about everything that happened and moved on. Still, I don’t think things were ever completely the same between us. I guess I was afraid they wouldn’t show up out of spite or something. I didn’t actually think they’d do that, but still . . . “
“Vinyl,” Octavia began, shifting position so she could lay her head on Vinyl’s chest. “I may not know your family or your past like you do, but I don’t think that the ponies I met here today would be capable of being so cruel to their daughter.” She paused uncertainly, then continued with a soft smile. “At the very least, I don’t believe that they can be all that bad if they produced a good pony like you.”
“Heh. Thanks, Octy,” Vinyl said sheepishly, a hint of a blush creeping up her cheeks. “I dunno why I’m being such an idiot about this. Like I said, my family and I put all that behind us before I even met you. It’s not like it’s a big deal or something.”
“Well, you may be a silly filly, but you’re my silly filly,” Octavia purred silkily. “But, I have to ask: why didn’t you tell me that you were worrying about this before now?”
Vinyl snorted. “Because I knew that I was worrying over nothing. Not that that stopped me from worrying anyway.” She shook her head in bemusement. “I guess I just didn’t wanna bother you with something so silly when there are more important things to worry about.”
“Vinyl Scratch,” Octavia said, emphasizing her lover’s full name in her seriousness, “Did we not agree to share our feelings with each other rather than hiding them? That includes silly feelings, too.”
“Yeah,” Vinyl sheepishly admitted. “Yeah, we did. Sorry, Octy. It wasn’t like this was something I meant to try and keep from you. I just didn’t wanna let myself act like I was actually worried about something I knew I shouldn’t be.”
“You’re forgiven, love. It’s not as if I was angry. I was merely reminding you that, with our wedding looming, we should be prioritizing our communication.”
“Well,” Vinyl said with a devilish grin creeping across her muzzle, “there is something else I’ve been meaning to tell you all day. I kinda forgot with all the other stuff going on.”
“What is it, V—“Octavia began before falling silent as Vinyl’s warm lips closed over hers.
“I love you, Octy,” Vinyl whispered, sultry heat cracking her voice as she finally released Octavia from her passion. “More than anything.”
“Oh . . . well,” Octavia panted, “That wasn’t necessarily what I had in mind, but still quite satisfactory.”
“Fist I get picked on all day, and now I’m just ‘satisfactory,’ “Vinyl sighed. “I’m gonna develop an inadequacy complex or something.”
“Vinyl, that horn-enlargement infomercial on television last night is the only reason that you know what an ‘inadequacy complex’ even is,” Octavia said flatly. She could remember that Vinyl had seemed quite engrossed by its promises to increase horn length and girth, despite the obvious snake oil.
“See!” Vinyl cried in faux dismay. “You’re doing it again! You’re making me feel inadequate!”
“Oh, shush,” Octavia said. “There’s nothing inadequate about either you or your horn.” Truthfully, Vinyl was generally quite satisfying in every way that mattered. Plus, a bigger horn wouldn’t help any of the other areas, like doing dishes properly.
“Well, good. I’m glad to hear it,” Vinyl said. The reassurance helped her ego sting a little bit less, at least.
“But Lyra’s is still bigger,” Octavia replied cheekily, helpless to resist poking fun at what she knew now was a sore spot.
“Octyyy!”
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You should write more with alcohol this was a great calm before the storm.
If there is going to be a storm...
There are two key points every OctaScratch writer should know: Vinyl is incredibly self-concious about her horn; and Lyra's horn is bigger, at least by a few centimetres.
yaaaaayw more.. was wondering what happened to you.. good to see your still alive and kicking.
Thank Luna another chapter! I saw a spelling error "fist I was picked on all day" I think you meant first. :) I love these two
Yay! This chapter was well worth the wait!
And no, you're awesome Errant!
Great new chapter, can't wait for more!
Totally worth the wait, i shall wait eagerly for the next chapter
being the grammar and spelling Nazi I am, it's first, not fist. I almost thought they somehow got fisting into a topic. O.o. awesome story and can't wait for more.
Love the crater worth the wait like any chapter can't wait for the next chapt
Totally worth it.
Nice chapter, keep um coming
I've had that epic wub time remix in my head all day, so the part about doing the dishes properly completely threw me...
“Fist I get picked on all day, and now I’m just ‘satisfactory,’ “
Supposed to be First, and the quotation mark is supposed to be back a space. Otherwise, there's nothing I noticed. Drunken you is a good writer.
“Vinyl, that horn-enlargement infomercial on television last night is the only reason that you know what an ‘inadequacy complex’ even is,” Octavia said flatly.