> Feed Me Vinyl, FEED ME! > by ShotgunNeko > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Cool And Attractive Ponies Own An Octaviapus > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The bell above the door rang softly as Vinyl Scratch and her best friend, Lyra Heartstrings, entered the small pet shop. Vinyl removed her sunglasses as she began to search the store. The snow white unicorn had just come back home to Canterlot after an exhausting, multi-city DJ gig. It had been her biggest tour so far, and she knew she should be excited, and yet she found herself at a crossroads. Although she loved the music, and the way the music made her body move, she hated the promoters, the publicity, and the paparazzi. She just wanted to enjoy her music and have other ponies enjoy it as well. But everything these days had become too commercialized. “See anything you like?” Lyra piped up, joining her friend. It had been Lyra’s idea to come to the store in the first place. She had not expected her best friend to have succumbed to such a deep depression. It worried her immensely. Vinyl walked past a cage full of hamsters, smiling as she reached down to pet one with her hoof. Of course, they all scattered, causing Vinyl to laugh again. Lyra smiled too. It had seemed like forever since she had seen her friend laugh. The white unicorn then made her way to the reptile section. “Ooh, I’ve always wanted a snake.” She exclaimed, much to Lyra’s chagrin. Lyra secretly hated slithery, slimy things. Even though Fluttershy had told her many times that snakes were not slimy, still they gave her the heebie jeebies. “How about a kitten? Or a puppy?” Vinyl made a face. “I want a cool pet. Something different.” Lyra nodded, pushing Vinyl past the rest of the reptile section. “What about an exotic fish?” “Maybe, if it was an erotic fish.” Vinyl grinned. Lyra rolled her eyes. As they made their way down the aisles, Vinyl kept finding excuses for why each pet wasn’t to her liking. When they approached the till, they noticed a rather large aquarium behind the shopkeeper. Inside the tank was something that neither pony had ever seen before. Floating around happily with a smile on its face was a tentacled creature. The head of the creature resembled a pony, complete with a long, flowing, black mane. The body was comprised of eight tiny tentacles and there was an adorable pink bowtie wrapped around the creature’s neck. “Whoa! What’s that?” Vinyl exclaimed. The shopkeeper turned around and smiled. “Ah, you have a good eye. That is a very rare sea creature, called an Octaviapus.” “Octaviapus?” Lyra asked, scratching her head. “Is it like an octopus?” “They are related. But the Octaviapus is much, much smarter.” Vinyl stared at the tiny creature and the creature stared back. It only took a moment but as they gazed into each other’s eyes, something amazing happened. They both fell in love. “I want her!” Vinyl screeched. “She’s sooooo cute!” The Octaviapus seemed to agree as she had now floated up to the surface of the tank and poked her head up out of the water. “SQUEEEE!” she said, happily. “I’ll name her Octy!” Vinyl said, excitedly. “Now hold on a second. The Octaviapus is actually not for sale.” “No way!” Vinyl cried. “But she’s perfect.” Octy once again seemed to agree and began to make small, sad mewling sounds. Between Vinyl and Octy, the shopkeeper felt like his ears were about to bleed. “Maybe it’s for the best Vinyl.” Lyra said, shaking her friend. “You aren’t the most responsible pony anyways.” “Wait!” Vinyl grinned, using her magic to levitate a large sack of bits onto the counter. “Will this change your mind?” The shopkeeper’s eyes widened, but he shook his head. When the pile of bits magically was doubled, he felt a lump rise in his throat. “Okay.” He said quietly. “She’s yours. But, there is one absolutely crucial rule you must follow in the care and well being of the Octaviapus.” The shopkeeper eyed the creature once more before scribbling out a detailed instruction on a small piece of paper. “Just follow this rule and you should be fine.” He finished, passing her the note. Now, most ponies would heed a good warning. But most ponies were not Vinyl Scratch. Vinyl had already forgotten about the note as she magically lifted Octy out of her tank and into her hooves. The creature fit perfectly between them and curled her tentacles around Vinyl’s forelegs, lovingly. Lyra could have sworn she heard the creature making a “cooing” noise. “Yaay!” Vinyl danced towards the door. Lyra shook her head and hurried to keep up with her excitable friend. She caught up to her friend half a block down the street. “Isn’t she perfect?” Vinyl asked, nuzzling Octy. “She’s pretty cool.” Lyra agreed, as Vinyl lifted Octy onto her head. “Hey look at her!” Vinyl grinned as Octy wrapped herself around the unicorn’s large horn. “Hahahaha! Octy, that tickles!” Lyra was happy to once again see her friend smiling, but she was secretly wondering what that slip of paper said and why the shopkeeper had been so hesitant to sell them the creature. “Did you read the note?” “What note?” “The note with the shopkeeper’s instructions on it.” “Nah! Rules are for losers. I threw it into the storm drain. I’m sure we’ll be fine, won’t we Octy?” Octy smiled and tightened her grip around Vinyl’s horn. She then gazed down at Lyra, narrowing her eyes. “SQUEE!” “GAH!” Lyra said, smacking a hoof to her forehead. “Vinyl! They were probably important!” “Meh!” The unicorn shrugged, too enamored with her new pet to care. Lyra sighed and looked up at the sky. She silently prayed to Celestia that Vinyl was right. As Lyra turned her back, Octy grinned evilly. She slowly made the cutthroat sign with one of her tentacles, sliding it across her neck. Nopony was going to come between Vinyl Scratch and herself. Nopony. To be continued... > Never expose it to bright light. Never get it wet (heh). And most importantly, never feed it after midnight! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “C’mon Octy, get in there.” Vinyl grunted as she tried pushing her tiny pet. Octy was having none of it. “It’s a brand new, state of the art aquarium.” Vinyl puffed, trying to pry Octy’s tentacles from the side of the tank. Octy made a face, continuing to hang on as tightly as she could. “Octy, I had this set up especially for you! Nice and salty water just the way the internet told me you like it!” Vinyl had taken Octy to her private studio in downtown Canterlot. After spending a fun night with her new pet and catching up on some sleep, the musically inclined unicorn felt rejuvenated. She was ready to get back to doing what she loved. Octy looked at the adorable face Vinyl was making and relented. She sighed as she let go and slid easily into her watery new surroundings. “Awww there you go.” Vinyl grinned, stepping back. Although Octy had reluctantly given in, she was a stubborn creature and so she floated to the top, with only her eyes, ears, and the top of her head sticking out of the water. “Squee.” She mouthed, under the water. Vinyl shivered and was about to continue trying to pacify her pet when the door opened and Lyra trotted in. “Hey Vinyl, sorry to interrupt but I heard you were back here and I had to check it out for myself.” Vinyl smiled and put a forearm around her friend. “Yeah, I don’t know why but I suddenly feel really inspired. I got an invitation this morning to play at the Canterlot Music Festival. I wanted to drop some sick new beats, but Octy has been keeping me busy.” Lyra walked towards Octy’s tank, peering in at the odd looking creature. “I hope that’s saltwater.” “Yeah of course. I actually do read sometimes, when it’s important.” Vinyl snorted. “Just checking. How is she doing?” “Octy is the best pet EVER! She slept on my tummy all night long.” “How does she manage to breathe when she’s not underwater?” Lyra asked, suddenly realizing how odd that was. Vinyl shrugged. “I don’t know. I searched Wikipedia for a page on the Octaviapus but got nothing. So, I just read what was on the Octopus page.” “Maybe it’s because she has the head of a pony?” Lyra mused, reaching out to pat Octy on the head. Before Lyra’s hoof could touch down, Octy made a low hissing noise, causing Lyra to jump. “She doesn’t seem to like you.” Vinyl laughed. Lyra glared at Octy and the tentacled sea creature returned her hardened gaze. “Anyways, time for some sweet wubs!” Vinyl declared, hoof pumping. She ran over to her turn tables and began riffling through her records. She wanted to do something completely different for the festival and was eager to get started. Vinyl loved the creative process the most. “Who else is playing the festival this year?” Lyra asked. “I didn’t even look. Check out the invite I got in my email. I printed it out. It’s on top of my desk.” Lyra looked over to the desk, which was overflowing with various pieces of paper. She took a quick glance and finally discovered the invitation. Snatching it with her magic, she quickly began to read. “Sapphire Shores is going to be there!” Lyra exclaimed, looking over at Vinyl. Vinyl’s glasses dropped to the floor as her mouth hung open. “Oh seriously. No way. She’s the most annoying mare on the planet.” Lyra chuckled. “Didn’t you two date in highschool?” At the mention of Vinyl dating another mare, Octy thrust herself out of the water, leaning against the side of her tank. She listened intently. “That was just a short fling. She’s hot, I’ll give her that. Besides, it’s easy to get over one mare. You just get underneath another.” Vinyl grinned, flashing a toothy smile. Lyra smacked her hoof to her head. “You are terrible. Hey Octy, it looks like your new owner is a bit of a slut.” Lyra joked, nodding at the sea creature. Octy’s mouth opened slightly, forming a small “o”. “HEY! Octy is my awesome pet. She would never judge me.” “SQUEEEEEEEE!” Octy cried. If either of the two ponies had spoken the native language of the Octaviapus, they would have known that translated into “Yes Vinyl, I totally think you’re a super duper mare-whore. But, you’re hot, and so I can let it slide. For now.” “Look, you’ve upset her.” Vinyl scolded. “No wonder she doesn’t like you.” Vinyl moved from her tables and over to Octy. Her pet jumped happily from the tank and into her hooves. Vinyl pressed her muzzle softly into the side of Octy’s face. The creature gently began to tickle the unicorn’s chin with her tentacles. Lyra couldn’t help but smile. Even though she wasn’t completely sold on Vinyl’s new pet, at least her friend seemed to be enjoying it. The cool and relaxed attitude of the room was quickly gone as the door once again was hurled open and another pony stepped inside. She was dressed in a black and white striped frock and large gaudy sunglasses adorned her face. “I, Photo Finish, have arrived!” She exclaimed dramatically. Vinyl looked her up and down. “Beetlejuice?” Octy gave Vinyl a quizzical look. Who was this mare and why had she “arrived”? “Beetlejuice? Who is this Beetlejuice?” Photo Finish asked, taking her camera out. “I am here to take pictures for the Canterlot Music Festival Promotional Poster.” “That’s a lot of words.” Vinyl mused, setting Octy back into her tank. “Now, show me ze MAGICK!” Photo Finish said, as she began to snap pictures of Vinyl. “Hey, wait...” Vinyl said, slowly backing away. She hated photo ops. “Can’t we talk about this first?” As Vinyl began to run, Photo Finish began to chase her, causing Vinyl to squeal. Lyra shook her head as she watched the two crazy ponies run circles around the room. Photo Finish’s camera was on overdrive as the light continued to flash while Vinyl continued to run. “Work it DAHLING!” Octy watched in amazement as Vinyl made the most delightful squealing noises. As she savored the sound of the unicorn’s high pitched screams, a sudden thought struck her. This pony was making HER Vinyl Scratch squeal! And although it was sexy as hell, NOPONY made her Vinyl Scratch squeal. NOPONY. Octy narrowed her eyes to the size of tiny slits. “And I’m spent!” Photo Finish announced, tossing the camera into the hooves of her assistant that nopony noticed had been standing there the whole time until now. Vinyl collapsed on the floor. “Is it over yet?” she breathed. Photo Finish threw an appointment card in her direction, which landed in her lap. “Tomorrow! Same time!” And with that, the photographer and her assistant exited the room. “I don’t even...” Lyra started, walking over to pick up the card from her tired friend’s body. Vinyl only heaved in response. Lyra’s eyes widened as she read the information. “Another photo shoot tomorrow.” Lyra read. “With the headliners of the Canterlot Music Festival.” Vinyl clutched her tummy. “You mean Sapphire Shores?” Lyra nodded and extended a hoof, helping Vinyl up from the floor. “Nooooooooo!” Vinyl whimpered. As Lyra tried to calm Vinyl down, Octy grinned from inside her tank. A photo shoot tomorrow? Perfect. Sapphire Shores? Perfect. Photo Finish? Perfect. Octy could feel her tummy rumble in anticipation. A cold, sadistic smile spread over the sea creature’s face. She needed to be fed. AND SOON! To be continued...