i
The Orchestra had ended, but that didn't stop a whole audience from making sure they were there.
This was one of Vinyl Scratch's many right guesses about this morning. Once she entered the double doors off of the Canterlot streets, the voices resounded much more acoustically than heard from the outside. The sounds of screeching foals and fillies were hard to miss in such a large warehouse-like space designed for acoustics.
The place was the named Warbling Warehouse, which for its unusual name it still housed Canterlot's pinnacle music scene. The ceilings were high rafters made of iron, and the walls were drywall and beautiful woodcut beams. Add in the smooth concrete floors to the whole package, and the resounding potential stirred excitement in Vinyl.
In about 4 hours, Vinyl had a job as DJ to one of the hottest youth events held in the Canterlot. Vinyl's salary was not as important to her as the reputation she had among the much more hip folk in the capital, and both had been very much in her favor lately. Still, she was young and new to the whole music scene she participated in, and relied on a lot of ponies.
"Vinyl! There you are!" A sing-song voice called over the crowd of children, musicians, and adults. It was Berry Punch, the owner, director and coordinator, of the Warbling Warehouse. Vinyl had enough experience to know that her growth of personal responsibilities made her much more profitable, but left a lot to fear about disorganization. The only reason Vinyl would bother wading through a sea of children was to make sure some organization was accomplished.
"Good morning Berry," Vinyl replied once she had managed to her, "Concert went well?"
Berry balanced a clipboard and studied it. "It went very well. You know you're more than a few hours early, right?"
"I wouldn't mind helping with tear down, I'm much more weary from last time," said Vinyl.
"Well, since you asked so nicely," Berry replied with a brief frown, "I haven't picked up your rental from the train station. An extremely nice PA system from Ponyville we're renting."
Vinyl's eyes widened, emphasized her squinting without her trademark purple sunglasses. "Why can't we just rent from down the street? They're just as fine!"
"Yeah, but these speakers are unbelievable!" said Berry. She was really excited, Vinyl wasn't going to skirt this one.
"Where's the paperwork?" Vinyl sighed.
"Go check the booth," replied Berry, "I've got a lot of stuff to do so make sure you can hook up your equipment. The tech should be at the train station in a half hour."
Vinyl didn't hesitate to begin wading through the mass crowd. Lucky for her, she hadn't made it far into the hall, and could easily slide into the set-up sound booth. Berry Punch had already been swallowed up into the crowd in an abrupt end to the conversation they had been having.
The sound booth was a wheeled platform currently housed in the back of the warehouse. It's carpeted floor was elevated two steps above the ground floor, generously giving Vinyl stage presence. There was little roofing, so much of the precious sound was not lost to the DJ. Vinyl smiled with the empowerment her job gave her, as she thought of the massive party at her command and control, and it was something she wouldn't ever forget.
Her hoof bumped against something hard; an open case. Vinyl frowned, nobody was usually let back here unless for a show, and the Orchestra did not require any editing. Someone had clearly not been invited to leave their things behind the booth. Hopefully they would be back soon.
A shining pink object caught her eye, and Vinyl forgot all about the equipment. Inside the cello case was a small rack of pink bow ties and stiff white collars, belonging to whoever the musician was. Her horn glowed, and with her faint pink magic she expertly unbuttoned a collar and levitated it before her eyes, inspecting it with extreme detail.
Whoever owned the bows and cello was probably a stallion or mare of the fine arts, and perhaps had an attention for detail. Before Vinyl could deduce more from the collar, she was interrupted by a thump, as a set of hooves landed on the hollow platform.
"Do you always snoop through things that aren't yours?" A prim and proper voice from behind Vinyl asked.
Vinyl swiftly levitated the collar back into the package and turned around. As had her hunches been all morning, it was a prim and proper mare. An unmistakably breathtaking mare, too.
"I don't suspect anybody stopped you from cluttering my workspace," Vinyl replied.
"Truce, and my name is Octavia," said Octavia before reaching out with a hoof.
Vinyl met the hoof, "Vinyl Scratch, at your service."
Vinyl lost the normal pace of the conversation, when she had really taken the time to study Octavia's features. Her coat was a delicate grey, and was matched with an oily dark black mane that frayed at ends. A pink bow and collar was an exact replica of the five others in her case, clinging tightly around her neck and chin. Octavia had thick black eyelashes that pooled around her large magenta eyes that were only accented by thin fine eyebrows. She was simple in nearly every facet, gorgeously simple.
"Well Vinyl," Octavia interrupted Vinyl's thoughts, "If you don't mind I'll be going now."
Vinyl flinched, but Octavia did not notice as she stepped around the DJ to get her cello case. The opportunities Vinyl sought were now at hand, and she would not let them pass so easily.
"W-wait!" Vinyl pleaded. Octavia turned in acknowledgement, nearly about to step out of the booth and be lost once more in the crowd. "I'm having a show tonight, and I'm performing. Will you come?"
Octavia stepped back with an eyebrow raised. "What do you play? I have a feeling we don't share the same taste in music."
Vinyl swallowed hard. It was questions like these that ended the conversation, tried and true, historically proven. Still, she puffed her chest out with all the confidence she could muster, and replied, "I'm the DJ for the meet-up tonight."
"That's what I thought," sighed Octavia, "those kinds of things are far too loud for my delicate ears. Besides, I suspect there isn't anyone old enough to buy me a drink there."
Without any further hesitation, Octavia hoisted her cello bag and left for the last time. Vinyl had run out of reasons, she just had to fully let go. The entire conversation had wiped Vinyl's memory of what Berry Punch had said.
There was still work to be done. Even still, it had been a very long time since she had been in love.
***
A bank of thick steam rolled in from the mass iron engine of the train, polluting what could have been an untouched blue summer sky. Still, the sun that streamed through made Vinyl Scratch long for her sunglasses. It was entertaining enough to the DJ unicorn to rock her hooves back and forth on the creaky platform, while a clumsy intern managed the storage car.
Octavia had still not left her mind, she stirred something in Vinyl she had not expected to feel, for at least today. It was a terrifying prospect to think she had left her life forever and deprived Vinyl the emotions she felt. If she closed her eyes and tried to describe it, it was a stomach lurching inspiration, that did not fail to melt the contents of said stomach; Vinyl closed her eyes to describe it a lot.
The train station had been mostly empty for the entire length of Vinyl's long loiter on the platform. Besides the occasional scurry, people watching left a lot to be desired. Even more daunting was the fear that the intern sorting suitcases had many more cars to check, for ponies who weren't present at the moment.
Vinyl finally slumped down against a support post, and silently cursed Berry Punch before taking a light nap. Her late hours did not provide ample sleep, so the ability to sleep light became valuable when you needed to do a lot, which she did.
"What do you mean my train has been cancelled? Do you know how much I paid for this ticket?"
Her red eyes flickered out from sleep, seeking the disturbance and it's solution. At the sales desk in the front, was none other than Octavia. Once more, the mysterious feeling began to ram her stomach against her Adam's apple, as Vinyl scrambled for something to help her anger.
Anger, Octavia was angry. Through logic, it might be determined that Octavia was without a ride home, to where she lived far away. Not only had the stakes been risen for this opportunity, but the probability of it's success had too.
"Well ma'am," a stallion officiate said from behind the booth, "I'm happy to get you a seat in two days."
Octavia flamed red, and contained her rage through concise syllables. "I'm due back to take care of my many responsibilities, I need to get to Ponyville tonight!"
"I think I may be able to offer my services," Vinyl said, entering the conversation as smoothly as she hoped.
"Vinyl Scratch," Octavia answered with a cheeky smile, "it seems we meet again."
Vinyl returned the cheeky smile. "I'm just as puzzled as you are. What time do you need to be home by?"
"Tomorrow morning, I'm due for breakfast with my mother," said Octavia. "Ms. Scratch, you better be some sort of miracle worker to pull that one off."
The stakes went even higher; Octavia was a master of excitement, whether she knew it or not. From her saddlebags, Vinyl levitated a train ticket to Ponyville for much later that night.
"As you may have heard, I'm having a concert tonight," Vinyl explained as deadpan as she possibly could. She failed. "My rental's only good for tonight, so I need to return my equipment to Ponyville late tonight."
"That's a cargo only ticket ma'am, you're suffering from a bit of false advertising," interrupted the pony behind the counter.
Vinyl continued, with Octavia's waiting eyes. "This ticket includes a escort for the cargo. I'd be perfectly happy to give it to you."
"Oh Vinyl, would you?"
"I said I would, wouldn't I?" Vinyl smiled.
Octavia threw her forelegs around Vinyl's neck, smiling ear to ear and constantly whispering 'thank you', and inadvertently choking Vinyl. The warm feeling inside Vinyl multiplied tenfold. In the privacy of Octavia's closed eyes, and the ticket pony's raised newspaper, Vinyl smiled the largest she ever had.
"So then you know what my one requirement is, right?"
From out of the hug, Octavia looked up. "I can do the equipment, no problem. I just need an address and it'll be there."
"I could care less about the equipment since it's not mine," said Vinyl, "but you will need to come to my show tonight."
Octavia swallowed.
***
An entire crowd of ponies screamed out of pure joy. Vinyl sat on her pedestal, queen of the teen spirit that shook the warehouse floor, spinning the music she believed in. With a flip of several switches and knobs, several blue lasers shot out of the dark at untamed masses, providing their own shouts of joy.
Octavia sat in the back with absolute shocked silence. Never before had the refined mare seen so much debauchery in one contained area, or had ever seen herself a part of it. Ironically enough, she had to persevere for her mother's sake. It was a place of fun, with no fun at all.
"TA! Come here!" Vinyl shouted over the music, as a young colt scurried off of his game player.
"Y-yeah, Ms. Scratch?" The colt said, uselessly quiet.
Vinyl leaned down to his level, striking a small but encouraging amount of fear into him. She levitated two bits out of her saddlebag, and grabbed a shivering hoof, before extending it. "Go get me a sparkling water?"
There was a massive and uncontrolled bass drop, and the colt rolled off onto his back before falling onto the stage. Luckily, he landed on scurrying hooves.
Once assured he hadn't done anything fatal, Vinyl got back up to her post, fading in a new track. Vinyl liked her job because the proof of success was immediate in the form of praise. When she had succeeded, she would bounce her electric blue hair with unrestrained energy to the music. Her own energy was encouraging to the whole room of people.
With a quick nudge to her side, Vinyl looked and saw TA had successfully gotten the sparkling water.
"Get yourself something kid," said Vinyl, levitating bits into his hoof. TA grinned and blushed, before running out of the booth much more carefully this time. Vinyl's plan had come to fruition.
Supposedly there was a benefit dinner the previous night, and Vinyl had found the wine glasses they had hidden in the booth. She would only need the one she was currently levitating, as she was also gently levitating the bottle of sparkling water with her bright blue horn she tried concealing in the dark. It was, after all, a surprise for Octavia. The finishing touch was a lemon slice from the small kitchen in the supply closet.
Vinyl faded out the current song in favor of a new one. It was one of her favorites, just because it felt classic. Hopefully Octavia would appreciate the slight reduction in noise as much as her audience had just received it: screams upon recognition. Once the auto-roll was set up, Vinyl placed her gift on her back and stepped into the arena.
The entire floor shook as at least a thousand hooves slammed into it's surface. Vinyl levitated the glass back in front of her, too afraid of what it might happen should she overlooked it. Still, Octavia remained at the front of the hall with no energy at all. The cellist continued a glazed stare as if she tried falling asleep, and forgot where she was. Vinyl lightly whipped her tail in her way, almost flirtatiously. She looked up.
"I got you you're drink, now you owe me a dance," Vinyl winked.
Octavia gave her unicorn friend a few different glances, and then lightly sipped the sweet drink. "Not bad, how virgin is this?"
"More than you if you don't have this dance with me," Vinyl winked. She extended the cleanest hoof she had, and Octavia stared at it. It was the crowd she was worried about, not what Vinyl intended.
The drink was empty and Octavia had ran out of excuses at the train station. Cautiously, she linked hooves with VInyl, and was yanked out of the air. Once her hooves touched down, Vinyl locked eyes with Octavia. Vinyl then began to back up and sway her hips in time to the song.
Vinyl's tail whipped side to side in time to the steady beat, and she raised alternating forehooves and hindhooves. Octavia continued to shyly rock her head back and forth. Her eyes whipped from side to side; her hooves only scuttled on the hardwood floor. Every time a flashy laser would shoot down, she would flinch or take in a sharp breath. Solutions could not rip through Vinyl's mind faster, because this would be her last memory of the DJ.
"This is silly Vinyl!" Octavia shouted over the roar of ponies.
Vinyl grinned and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Do this! Other hoof!"
Octavia complied. Then Vinyl nodded for her to put it down and Vinyl put hers down as well. As soon as it was down Vinyl put another hoof on her shoulder, this time the opposite one. Hesitantly, Octavia followed suit. They alternated between this to the rhythm of the tune, Octavia at some point following Vinyl's hip shaking.
"It's my party and it freaks me out!" Vinyl shouted above the noise. Octavia giggled and cheered, finally letting loose.
Flashes of searing neon light flashed between the two mares, as Octavia slid back and threw her head around. A black mess of hair fell in front of her eyes and she locked eyes with Vinyl and choreographed her steps. With half-lidded, very sexy eyes, Octavia slid beside Vinyl's own dance and bumped against her with a wink.
I love her.
"You finally got me Scratchie," Octavia said, "I'm having a lot of fun!"
I love her so very much.
Vinyl saw her time had finally come; she had gotten things right with Octavia, and was perfectly happy to pursue her. She was unfortunately fearless.
"H-hey Octavia?" Vinyl asked a little too quietly. Now, she was unconfident and nervous. "Octavia, I need to ask you about something."
Octavia now had her attention. It was time for Vinyl Scratch to play it dangerously.
***
6 months later.
"Okay Vinyl Scratch," Octavia huffed quietly, "You better have a really good reason for having me here today."
Vinyl gulped, but held her resolve. It had been what felt like years since the day they first met; the day when she had gone to Vinyl's concert, the day when Vinyl had proclaimed her love to a shocked and disgusted Octavia. It had happened all too quickly, and it was Vinyl's fault. She hadn't let go of that memory, and in all reality probably hallowed it to the extent of worrying about her mental state. Today she sought resolution of her worries.
"You may have noticed there's been a six month gap between us," began Vinyl.
Octavia raised a solitary eyebrow. "Oh? You've been keeping track?"
"Of c—"
"And then this harp here has nothing to do with those things I said before we left?" Octavia interrupted, threatening to overturn Vinyl's whole attempt at redemption. Vinyl solemnly drank her coffee with a solemn look in her eyes. She didn't bother wearing sunglasses today.
"Yes it is," Vinyl sighed, "Those things stuck with me for a very long time. I did seek harp lessons, and I found them to be a learning experience." The harp levitated up out of the bag and into the player's lap, as she gently began to stroke it's chords. She made sure to not cause a distraction in the cafe, but make it loud enough to tickle Octavia's ears. Octavia watched on with only the slightest curiosity. "I met a mare by the name of Lyra."
"And how was that? A taste of your own medicine?" Octavia scoffed.
Vinyl looked up from the harp. "You know it's rude to interrupt."
"You also know it's rude to kiss someone you don't know if they're gay," replied Octavia.
Vinyl looked back down and continued to strum the harp. Inside, a small vestige of moral strength remain, and she picked at it gently. Octavia had already leaned back into her seat, filled with a seething anticipation. There were at least two mares at that table interested in redeeming themselves.
"So you know Lyra?" Vinyl asked, bravery restored.
Octavia looked up from her coffee. "She's the only mare and mare couple I've met. From what I can tell, she is not a serious person at all."
Vinyl swallowed. "Lyra invited me over after a practice in the park to go eat a lunch and meet Bon Bon, her partner. I was having fun until she made a pass, one she probably practiced often. The two of them have a very open relationship and don't mind inviting outsiders like myself."
"Was it everything you had hoped for?"
"Excuse me?" Vinyl asked.
"Nothing like a bit of free love to ease the joints," said Octavia bitterly, "Was it everything you could ever have wanted?"
"N-no! We never did anything! I left right after that!" Vinyl pleaded.
Octavia raised a solitary eyebrow. The mug was now empty; no longer could there be distractions from truth. Vinyl would not escape her lesson.
"That's not what you said at the train station," Octavia said. "What was it you said? If I can quote you badly–"
"'There's no sense in letting any kind of love go to waste', believe me I know," said Vinyl. It was true, those words were tattooed on her mind, as they had for the past six months. Maybe if she talked it over with Octavia, they might rub off and be forgotten forever. Clearly, Octavia had not lost sight of that phantom kiss at all or any of the rage of that night. There was only one way out and Vinyl could do it.
"So, you admit you were wrong," Octavia instigated with a tapping hoof.
Vinyl sighed. "I was wrong. I can't keep going through life like this unless you forgive me, and that means I need to be sorry. Believe me, I am so very sorry."
Both mares locked eyes. Vinyl had finally reached out to Octavia, and the stone grey features of her face softened slightly, lavender irises gyrating. To her shock, they hardened once again. She hoisted her saddlebag and left the bits for the coffee Vinyl already paid for, with no intent of returning.
"Listen to me Vinyl because I hope to Celestia these are the last words we ever exchange: Don't ever know something about you that just isn't true. Never take that out on others, and especially don't cover up what you seek."
Vinyl choked. The entire conversation had Octavia extracting the little facts from the conversation, only to publish it and strike Vinyl between the eyes. What felt like blood pooled in her throat, and no matter what it was she swallowed hard. Honoring Octavia, she didn't say a word.
"You were wrong Vinyl Scratch," Octavia said at the door, "So very wrong."
Now alone in the coffee shop with the comforts of strangers, Vinyl leaned back in the chair defeated. Defeated once more, she would wonder, and why no improvement showed even more mysterious. Whilst she mulled it over, she began to strum the harp, fabricating a song out of pure tinkering.
When Vinyl felt the song had reached it's end, she dumped it in her saddlebag and left the coffee shop. Outside, Octavia had set up her cello and began to play in the city square. People would pass and drop well-thanked donations into the case; if Vinyl could guess, it was probably for another train ticket away from Canterlot.
On the walk past Octavia, Vinyl levitated the harp over the case and released the magical field. She may have heard the twang of breaking strings, or maybe had imagined it, but she certainly didn't hear Octavia stop her playing. Vinyl continued to walk to her apartment three blocks away.
It didn't matter, she was done playing it forever. But she was willing to be wrong again.