//------------------------------//
// Chapter 17 
// Story: Vinyl and Octavia: University Days 
// by DawnFade 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 17



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Octavia awoke in the early hours of the morning, leaving her feeling rather disoriented at the sight of darkness outside the window. The air held a feeling of stillness, as if the world was waiting for everypony to wake up before time resumed. Their room was light enough to see more than silhouettes, yet dim enough to rob everything of colour. Everything, that is, except the bright blue mane belonging to the mare beside her.

Vinyl was snoring softly, a dopey smile on her lips. As the cellist shifted to see her better, she found out why. One of her fillyfriend’s hooves was resting gently against a very private area… belonging to Octavia.

Blood filled her cheeks as she remembered exactly what transpired yesterday afternoon. So many things had been whirling through her head, so much heat and emotion and pure, unbridled release… the very memory was enough to get her heart racing. So she ignored the white hoof that had wandered too far, and snuggled closer to her lover.

That was what they were now, wasn’t it? She would check with Vinyl later, but it sounded right. Lovers. It was such a nice word. It made her feel like part of something bigger than herself, as if she had joined the elite ranks of ponies who do things with other ponies.  Even more than that, it made her feel as though she was now half of a whole, like she and Vinyl were a single unit.

But as much as she liked the sound of that, she decided she wouldn’t phrase it quite like that if she told Vinyl how she felt. What if she scared her away by being too serious about it? What if the DJ just wanted to party a little bit? A lot of ponies did that these days.

I am not going to destroy my first relationship with my own social ineptitude!

Vinyl deserved better than that. The cellist narrowed her eyes resolutely. She would be the greatest damn lover in existence! Once she had some time alone, she decided that a major study session was in order, and not one bit of it would be related to ancient treaties. It was time to put her array of effective study strategies towards something that actually mattered.

With a little snort, Vinyl blinked awake. She had the unseeing gaze of somepony who hadn’t fully regained their senses yet, and it looked positively adorable. The unicorn shifted slightly and raised a hoof to wipe a little trail of drool from the corner of her mouth. Octavia’s eyes widened.

“Oh, hey Octavia,” slurred her oblivious lover.

“Hi.”

“C’mere, you look cute.” Vinyl slipped a hoof around Octavia’s neck and pulled her in for a short smooch. Finally, the DJ woke up enough to realise that her fillyfriend was bright red. “You okay? Or – oh wait…” Octavia could almost see the events of last night replaying over Vinyl’s eyes. “Sweeeeet.”

Despite her embarrassment, the cellist found the strength to shove her partner in the chest.

“Oof!” Vinyl winced but still grinned. “So you like it rough, huh?”

The second shove sent the white mare straight off the bed.

“Ow!” Barely three seconds passed before two red eyes peeked cheekily over the edge of their bed. “So you like it really rough, huh?”

“Vinyl! Can we just try to be serious for a few moments?” Octavia sat up and crossed her hooves.

“Hey, you’re the one who pushed me off the bed.” The unicorn climbed back onto the sheets and sat beside her cellist. At first her expression was one of playfulness, but it quickly dropped into a more solemn look under Octavia’s gaze. “Hey… you’re not, like, freaked out about last night or anything, are you?”

“Well, no, it was rather… um,” she put on her best Vinyl impression, “sweeeeet. I just… wanted to talk about it.”

Vinyl scratched the back of her head guiltily. “Sorry. I just remembered what happened and got kinda excited. But you’re right, we should talk about it.”

“I hate to look a gift monkey in the mouth, but… I like you too much to risk ruining this.”

Quickly leaning forward to hug the grey mare, Vinyl couldn’t help but chuckle at the similarity in their thoughts. “Trust me, if one of us is gonna mess up, it’s gonna be me.”

“I highly doubt that, especially after last night.”

Vinyl giggled. “So it wasn’t weird or anything? Cause if I did something dumb, you should probably tell me so I don’t do it again.”

“It was perfect, don’t worry. I do… um… feel rather bad that you didn’t–”

An insistent knock on the door broke through their private moment, and Octavia let out an annoyed groan.

“I’ll get it,” she grumbled, dropping off the bed and opening the door. Vinyl simply shrugged, as if to say ‘what can you do?’

In the hallway outside, a yellow unicorn mare was nervously pawing at the ground. “Hi,” she said with a strained smile.

“Hello… can I help you?”

“I’m not really sure how to say this, but… well, I live in the room next to you two, and I couldn’t help but, um, overhear you last night.”

A prickly heat crept up Octavia’s neck and settled behind her ears. Her face burned and for a moment she felt lightheaded enough to faint. “Oh,” she squeaked. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of casting a muffling spell on your door. I used to use it to listen to music when my parents were asleep… well, that’s not important. I just thought you two should know that the walls are pretty thin, and, um, you might want to be more careful.” The mare bit her lip and hesitated before continuing. “If your… friend is a unicorn, I could teach her the spell. If you want, I mean. Am I being too nosey?”

Octavia’s heart rate began to calm down. She didn’t know what she had been expecting to happen when somepony found out, but this was much more preferable to any of the vague negative outcomes her imagination had dreamt up. “Um… not at all.” She poked her head out into the hall and quickly checked either way. Thankfully, it was too early for anypony to be wandering around. “Maybe you should come inside.”

The neighbour bit her lip again but followed Octavia through the door, closing it behind her. Vinyl was relaxing on the bed in an overly casual pose, making it abundantly clear that she had been listening in. “Heeeeey…” she greeted awkwardly.

“Hi.”

“So… got a useful spell to teach me, huh?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Alrighty then.”

Octavia looked between the two unicorns and let out a very unrefined snort. She found pride in how quickly she pushed through her embarrassment, holding her head high and offering a shrug as explanation. “What? We’re all responsible ponies here. This shouldn’t be a big deal.” That was how adults did things, right? They didn’t get all flustered over sexual matters. Right? Yes, that sounded right.

It was amusing to note the speed at which both unicorns changed their attitudes. They stood straighter yet relaxed their shoulders in a probable attempt to emulate an adult at ease. Octavia found ‘adult’ Vinyl to be rather adorable, though of course she couldn’t say anything lest she break the illusion.

The accidental eavesdropper cleared her throat. “Yes, you’re right. We’re adults, there’s no need to be coy about this stuff.”

Octavia didn’t bother correcting her. The unicorns began to talk about magic, so she quickly tuned out. She had learned long ago that trying to understand magic was a fruitless endeavour. Explaining the arcane arts to an earth pony or pegasus was frequently equated with teaching a blind pony about colour. While a blind pony could grasp some concept of sight, the idea of different shades and hues hardly seemed possible.

Thoughts like these had occupied her mind a lot when she was younger. When there was little else to do but study (which was often, thanks to her non-existent social life), all subjects became fair game.

Octavia grudgingly recalled that she had gone through a rather obsessive magic-studying phase many years ago. She had told her mother and tutors that it had been because magic was incomprehensible to her, but the truth was far simpler and infinitely more shameful.

Magic could do a lot of things. It could change a pony, change her surroundings, maybe even take her far away from those surroundings. It seemed like a miracle fix for every problem. The worst part was reading about all the amazing feats that could be accomplished with magic and knowing she would never be able to do them because she was unfortunate enough not to be born with a sharp extra bone on her head.

A teleportation spell, for when she didn’t want to go back to the psychologist, or a summon spell, for those long summer weeks without anypony to talk to. There had been unicorns on the staff in her family estate, but they weren’t allowed to do tricks or talk for too long. Most were cleaners, using their talents to expunge every iota of dirt from each room.

And so she had spent many evenings in silent envy of the unicorn race. She even went so far as to wonder if all three races were truly equal. That was one of the few secrets she hadn’t minded discussing with a professional.

Over time the feelings faded, especially when she was allowed to go to school and observe how the other students didn’t seem to care about any perceived differences. Maybe her thoughts had been the result of seeing society from outside it, rather than from within?

“…and if you need to make it for a larger or smaller area, you just redo the start again,” finished the neighbour.

“I gotcha.” Vinyl reddened slightly. “It’s… been a while since I’ve bothered to learn any new spells.”

“That’s fine. Most unicorns don’t bother with anything more than telekinesis.” She stuck out a hoof. “I’m Leafy, by the way. Nice to meet you.”

Vinyl grinned and bumped the hoof with her own. “Vinyl Scratch. Also DJ Pon-3, but it’s been a while since I’ve had a gig.”

“No, I remember you. The Drowned Town club was your regular place, wasn’t it?”

Octavia smiled at the way her DJ’s eyes lit up.

“Yes! I always had my setup on the inner ring! Were you there when I last played?”

“Yes, I was on the outer ring. Did they make you pay for the subwoofer?”

“Nah, I weaselled out of it. They took money out of my pay to fix the lights though. Jerks.”

Leafy giggled and turned to Octavia. “And it’s also nice to meet you…”

“Octavia. And it’s my pleasure.” She extended a hoof as well. “Honestly, I’m surprised we haven’t met before, considering you’re right next door.”

Shrugging, Leafy turned to leave, revealing her cutie mark as a short green wand with a six-pointed star on the end. Octavia wasn’t sure what to make of it, but some ponies considered it rude to ask what a cutie mark meant, so she kept her lips sealed. “Well, if I didn’t weird you out too much, we could hang out sometime. If you want.”

Vinyl cast a questioning glance at her cellist, and, upon receiving an approving smile, floated her phone from across the room. “Sounds good to me. What’s your number?”

Once the details had been exchanged and Leafy was gone, Vinyl turned to Octavia with a thoughtful expression. “We don’t hang out with many other ponies, do we?”

“No, I suppose we don’t.”

The DJ scratched the back of her head, looking oddly guilty. “Y’know, I didn’t talk to many other ponies back when we were just friends. I kept worrying about whether we would see less of each other if we found other ponies to chill with.” Before Octavia could open her mouth to commiserate, Vinyl let out a devious giggle. “But now that we live together, you have to hang out with me no matter what! It’s the perfect trap.”

Octavia joined in the giggling and kissed the unicorn on the cheek. “What can I say? You make very enticing bait.”

It took a few seconds of blushing for Vinyl to remember where she was going with this. “Yeah, anyway, now that we know we’ll see each other all the time, we should start building a group or something. Otherwise how will we have parties?”

“I’m in no position to turn down more friends. After all, look how my first one turned out!”

Vinyl stepped closer and affectionately rubbed her cheek against Octavia’s. “You better not sleep with every friend you make. You’ll get a reputation.”

“Oh, shush.”


---


The next couple of days passed in a haze of self-indulgent bliss. Despite their mutual agreement to start making new friends and expand their social circle, it was hard to break the routine of waking up, getting breakfast together and attending classes, then spending the rest of the day wandering the city or simply lounging around at home.

Indeed, as evening approached and Vinyl led the way back through campus after another successful dinner date, she couldn’t think of a better use of her time. They could make friends and stuff later, but right now, they were content to simply enjoy their time together.

It was an odd feeling, being content. She let herself hesitantly start to believe it was here to stay, and for now nothing had proven her wrong.

They hadn’t tried the whole ‘making love’ thing again yet, but she wasn’t in a rush. That was one of the benefits of contentedness: feeling like she had all the time in the world.

“Maybe next time we should try that ‘couple’s special’ again,” she suggested innocently.

Octavia quirked an eyebrow and smiled knowingly. “I assume you just miss the taste, yes? You wouldn’t happen to be suggesting it because of the… effect it had on us?” She bumped her hips against her DJ’s as they walked down the path to the student village. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she continued, “Because you should know by now that such aids are completely unnecessary.”

Vinyl smirked. “Well somepony’s feeling feisty tonight.”

As they approached the door to their building, it opened from the inside. A mint-green unicorn stepped out, looked around with a bored expression for a split second, and then froze at the sight of the couple, who immediately did the same. Before anypony could speak, Bonbon stepped out after Lyra and gasped in surprise at the sight of them.

Considering how friendly Bonbon had been the last time they spoke to her, Vinyl shouldn’t have been surprised to see the blue-and-pink-maned mare beaming as she trotted closer. “Gosh, you two are never home when I visit! Had a night out, did you?”

Vinyl couldn’t tear her eyes away from Lyra, who apparently felt likewise. Octavia stepped in to continue the conversation, wearing a friendly smile and looking a lot more comfortable than Vinyl was feeling.

“Why yes, we did. On Psych’s orders, of course.” As soon as Bonbon winced, Octavia let out a long sigh. “You told Lyra, didn’t you?”

“I’m so sorry!” The candy-marked mare rushed forward to hug Octavia apologetically.

Vinyl’s head snapped towards her and a low growl left her mouth. The three other ponies looked at her weirdly and she blinked in surprise, realising what she just did. Her fillyfriend was very clearly trying not to smile, and Bonbon wasn’t even trying. Lyra just watched with wide eyes, remaining neutral.

“Er… as I was saying, I’m very sorry. It was a moment of weakness. She promised not to tell anypony, though!”

“It’s alright, I understand. No secrets between friends, right?” Octavia replied, regaining a bit of her good mood at the lack of bad consequences so far.

“Yes, exactly.” Bonbon looked over her shoulder at Lyra, who had yet to look away from Vinyl. “Oh for Celestia’s sake, Lyra, stop gawking like a foal in a circus and come say hello!”

The unicorn jerked at the mention of her name, breaking free of the odd staring contest and walking over to stand beside Bonbon. She swallowed and nodded at the DJ opposite her. “Vinyl.”

The DJ in question nodded back. “Lyra.”

Bonbon looked exasperated. “Really, you two? This isn’t a duel.”

Rolling her eyes, Octavia decided to refocus the conversation before anything unfriendly began. Not that she was too worried; both unicorns were remaining quiet. “So what brought you here to see us so late?”

“Oh, yes! I almost forgot. Lyra has moved in with me into the flat above my shop, and also begun working there. With her help, it’s actually making enough money to live off. I don’t have to be a waitress at that other store anymore!”

Vinyl grinned evilly. “Moved in together, huh?” she asked Lyra, who raised a hoof defensively.

“It’s not what it sounds like. I’m straight as an arrow.”

“Yeah, me too.” Vinyl winked.

“I am!” Scowling, Lyra looked to her friend for support. “Tell her, Bon!”

After exchanging an ‘I can’t believe I have to actually do this’ look with Octavia, Bonbon nodded. “Yes, she is. Anyway, since none of that would have happened if it weren’t for the two of you, I wanted to invite you both back for drinks or something.”

“Thank you, but I can’t drink yet,” Octavia explained.

Lyra snorted. “Well there goes my number one theory on how she ended up with you,” she muttered off to the side.

“How ‘bout I theorise my hoof through your face?” the white unicorn hissed back.

They exchanged glares and looked away. Likewise, Octavia and Bonbon exchanged looks of worry.

“Lyra…” Bonbon said softly.

The mint green mare clenched her teeth and turned back to Vinyl. “I’m sorry.”

The DJ’s head snapped around. “Y’what?”

“I’m sorry. For what I said. It was mean.”

“Well… uh… no problem, I guess.”

Nodding in satisfaction, Bonbon returned her attention to the cellist. “It’s getting a bit late now, and we probably picked the wrong night to do it anyway. Just… if you ever need somewhere to go, our doors are open. The store isn’t difficult to find, I’ve used almost every trick in the psychology book to get ponies to notice it.”

Octavia smiled. “We’ll definitely come by soon. I’m so glad everything worked out.”

With her goal achieved, Bonbon started trotting away with Lyra following close behind. “Oh, and I extended the same invitation to Psych, so if you’re still hiding anything from him, you may want to approach cautiously,” she called over her shoulder.

As soon as they vanished out of sight, Vinyl led the way inside the building, rubbing at her eyes tiredly as she did. “So let me get this straight. Are we friends with them now?”

“It would appear so.” Octavia skipped a little bit with each step, a silly grin on her face. “That makes three new friends, including that Leafy mare. We’re making good progress!”

“Uh huh,” Vinyl replied uncertainly.

They climbed the stairs and went the short distance down the hallway to their room. As had become tradition, as soon as they made it through the door they collapsed onto the giant makeshift double bed with two big sighs.

Octavia wrapped her hooves around Vinyl’s waist and kissed her stomach twice before snuggling closer. “Isn’t everything just perfect, Vinyl? And we’ve still got a whole week before exams! We can go visit Bonbon’s shop tomorrow, see if Leafy wants to come into town the next day, buy Psych a big bouquet of flowers the day after that–”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Uh, Octavia? What are you talking about? We had a whole week left. Today’s Sunday. Exams start tomorrow.”

The cellist’s eyes widened considerably. “Oh dear,” she squeaked.
 


 
 
A totally kickass piece of liquid dubstep was made by Princess Addictia! Charge! Fan stuff is always welcome, and I’ll happily plug it down here in the author’s notes.

This chapter goes out to PonIver, who doesn’t think he’s a good writer. You are. Shut up.

I wrote a silly rhyme for anyone who didn’t like Leafy. Enjoy!

(Also, we seem to be on a song streak here, the last few chapters have each had a song with them. Crazy, right? We’re going to have a full album at this rate!)

