Author's Notes:

So in this, and possibly future chapters, you're gonna see highlighted words or sentences; clicking them will take you to Youtube videos that I believe will help set the story's mood. Clicking them is optional, but I recommend it. Also, make sure to set a bookmark or open the link with another tab so that you don't lose your place. Anyway, here's chapter two.

Today, business was booming; Chris, Will and I were practically running around the building, writing down orders and serving drinks to our patrons. Months ago, all three of us had pooled our bits together and were able to establish Equestria's first ever japanese style bathhouse. None of us could remember exactly who it was that originally came up with the idea, but we didn't care, as we were RICH, RICH I TELL YOU!

The reason we all went home to bathtubs full of bits was because our bathhouse was specifically made for stallions in banana suits. I'm honestly surprised that no one else came up with it before us, I mean, it was so obvious! Who doesn't want to take a nice hot soak in their banana suit with an alcoholic beverage in their hooves and or hands? It took us a while, but we eventually came up with a clever name for the place: The Daiquiri.

Get it? Cause, banana daiquiris.

Chris was at the front entrance, speaking to a banana suit-less plebeian wretch of a stallion who was trying to enter. "I'm sorry sir, but in order to gain admittance, you must be in a banana suit," he said, pointing at a sign near the entrance that proudly displayed our policy regarding that. "Come back later when you get one."

The stallion seemed disappointed before he turned around and walked away. As I watched him leave, I thought to myself, Yeah, you tell him, Chris! Banana suits OP master race--er, suits!

Soon, despite all the noisy chatter, I still managed to hear Will call my name. I turned my head and spotted him at the other side of our establishment.

"Maurice!" he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth in an attempt to be louder than the crowd.

"Yeah?!" I shouted in return.

"They're asking for stronger stuff over at the V.I.P. section!" He then pointed at the area near the back that had much fancier baths and was separated by a waist high fence of bamboo.

After glancing in that direction, I turned back to Will, then gave him a thumbs up as I mouthed the words, 'Ok, got it.' Will nodded before returning to his duties, leaving me to pick up a bottle of our harder liquor from our bar, then head towards the V.I.P. section. Once I got there, I was a bit surprised by who I saw lounging in the chest high warm water with a stallion wrapped around each foreleg.

"Luna?" I asked.

She turned to me and smiled. "Ah! There you are, man servant Maurice!" she exclaimed before she used her magic to float her empty mug to me. "Pour us another! We enjoy this Earth ale of yours!"

"Uh..." As I held her mug in one hand, I looked at her with a raised brow and considered kicking her out on the grounds that she was a mare and wasn't wearing a banana suit. However, I quickly decided against it since I knew her and all, and the news that this particular bath once held royalty in it would probably strike up more business. I rolled my eyes with a grin before pouring the bottle's ale into her mug, then handed it to her. Once she took it with her magical grasp, the room started to flash red and blue and a bell hanging off one of the walls was ringing.

Luna looked around with a confused look on her face until the flashing and ringing stopped. "What, pray tell, was that?!" she asked.

I responded with a quick chortle, then raised a hand and gestured for her to wait before saying, "Hold on, happy hour...wait for it..."

Seconds later, much to Luna's surprise, all of our patrons held their mugs up and started singing at once; it was a song they learned from Chris, Will and I since most of them were regulars and all.

It wasn't until a few minutes into the song that Luna tried to join in all the reverie; she was occasionally getting the lyrics wrong, but still seemed to be having a good time, even when she failed to get her stomps in sync with all the others.

When the song was near its end, I turned to Luna and saw her happily swinging her mug around before taking a sip from it every now and then as she continued to sing along. "Now everybody's died~! So until our tears are dried~! We'll drink and drink and drink and drink, and then we'll drink some--what the?" She stopped singing, then looked around the Daiquiri with a worried expression in her eyes. "Oh no..."

"'Oh no'?" I asked Luna before noticing that Chris, Will and all of the patrons had stopped moving, their bodies as still as statues. I then started turning towards her. "Luna, what's going o--" She scared the crap out of me when she suddenly approached and used her forelegs to grip my shoulders, then started to violently shake me.

"Don't wake up now, you dolt!" she yelled, inches away from my face. "We haven't had this much fun in over a millennia!"

"Luna, what are you talking abou--"

My eyes suddenly opened before I quickly sat upright on my bed, my body and sleeping clothes soaked in a cold sweat.

"What the fuck was that?!" I asked no one in particular once I calmed down enough. Sure, I've had plenty of weird dreams before, but never like that! What the hell was my subconscious trying to tell me?! To go run a--what was it again? A bathhouse that serves beer?

Deciding not to put too much thought into it, I laid back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling with groggy morning eyes. Soon, my eyes warmed up enough to the point where I could see the specks of airborne dust above me, highlighted by the early morning sun's rays that were piercing through sections of my window's blinds. As I stared at all the different shaped dust, I thought back to what happened yesterday when Octavia arrived.

"Vinyl Scratch, you lying little shit!"

I don't think Vinyl heard her, as she was too preoccupied laughing on the couch, her forehooves over her stomach while her rear ones kicked at the air.

"Vinyl!" Octavia yelled again, this time getting a response from the unicorn. Vinyl quickly sat upright before facing Octavia, her mouth cracking into a grin a few times before being suppressed. She then coughed twice into her hoof in order to salvage whatever she could of her composure.

"Y-yeah?" Vinyl managed to say through a short chortle that she quickly forced down.

"Why is our new roommate not a griffon?" Octavia sternly asked, pointing a hoof back at me.

"What?" Vinyl asked with a smile. "Did your folks never give you 'the talk'?" She then mirthlessly rolled her eyes before saying, "Well you see, Octy, when a mommy hooman and a daddy hooman love each other veeery much, they--"

Octavia raised a hoof, gesturing for her to just stop right there. "Enough jokes, Vinyl," she said, sounding as if she were getting fed up. "You know very well what I mean!"

Vinyl nervously smiled as she waved her hooves defensively. "Whoa there, Octy. In my defense, I never said he was a griffon; you only asked if he was some 'exotic and far-off creature'."

"Yes," Octavia stated in an annoyed and correcting tone. "Exotic and far-off: griffon."

"Well, Octy, I'm sorry to tell you this, buuut," Vinyl then pointed at me, who had just been watching through the doorway the entire time, "griffons kinda got knocked down a peg on the 'exotic and far off' list; can't get any more exotic-er and far-off-est than him!"

Upon hearing that, Octavia turned her head to the side, then pinched the bridge of her nose with her hoof. "Ugh...Vinyl..." she muttered.

"What?!" Vinyl asked with a shrug. "I didn't exactly lie! And on the plus side, the list I was shown said that the monthly bits for Maurice was twice as much as a griffon's!" Huh, I guess either Celestia or the ones in charge of the program did that in order to provide a little incentive for ponies to take me in...

Still looking to the side, Octavia shook her head a bit before responding. "That's not the point, Vinyl. You may not have exactly lied, and goddesses know we need the bits, but why in creation would you withhold the information that he was a..." She turned back to Vinyl, and despite her facing away from me, I could still see that she was cocking her head to the side. "What was it you said? A...a 'hoo-man'?"

Vinyl then flashed a shit eating grin that I think I'm gonna be seeing a lot of before she casually said, "Yep, hooman. Aaand I thought it'd be funny when you'd find out for yourself...which it was."

Octavia then rolled her head while grunting a disgruntled...grunt--what do you want from me? I'm not a damn dictionary! "That's it!" she yelled, then pointed at the room to my right. "Vinyl! My room! Now!"

"Wait," Vinyl said, sounding to be amused. "Is this the part where you give me," she then made air quotes with her forehooves while trying her best to imitate Octavia's accent, "'a stern talking to'?" Octavia didn't answer, and I could tell that she was glaring at the unicorn.

With her hooves still raised, she stared at Octavia for a few seconds before lowering them. "Fine, fine," Vinyl said with a roll of her eyes before sliding off the couch, then headed in the direction opposite of were the gray pony had pointed.

"Vinyl..." Octavia said in a near growl.

"What?!" was what I heard as her response, as well as the sound of a refrigerator opening. "If I'm gonna get yelled at or murdered in there, I might as well have a drink on me! Now where are those bananas? Cause I could really go for a daiquiri!"

As the sounds of the drink being prepared flooded the house, Octavia just stood there and remained quiet, which kinda scared me a bit--I swear to God I think I can hear her teeth grinding over the noise!

"There," Vinyl said as she walked by Octavia with the banana daiquiri held in her magic, heading to the room only to stop when she saw me standing in mine. "Oh yeah..." She then turned back to Octavia, saying, "Hold on, Octy. Just adding a little insurance."

"What?" Octavia asked, sounding confused before she turned around.

Vinyl now stood under my doorway, leaning against it before taking a sip of her drink, then addressing me. "Hey there, sport! I'm so sorry you had to see mommy and daddy fighting." She took another sip. "But just know that it's not your fault. Sometimes, mommies and daddies just fall out of love."

"Oh my God," I amusingly said with a grin before I faced upwards and slowly face palmed. This was hilarious, she was reminding me too much of myself from before the lightning incident!

Octavia spoke again, this time sounding impatient. "Vinyl... Room..."

"Alright, alright, I'm going, sheesh!" Vinyl stepped out from under my doorway, then slid out of view...only to have her head pop back in seconds later. "Oh, and if I suddenly go missing within the next twenty-four hours or so, make sure to call the police."

"Vinyl!" Octavia yelled.

Vinyl tilted her head to the side before casually saying, "Mmmaybe drain the nearby lake. You know, to find my severed body parts and all that."

For some reason, Octavia had a worried look on her face before she suddenly walked up to Vinyl and practically placed her in a headlock, then silenced the unicorn by covering her mouth with a hoof.

"Vinyl," she said through gritted teeth. "Shut. Up." Vinyl mumbled something as she tried to squirm her way out of the headlock but failed to do so, it was obvious that Octavia's earth pony strength wouldn't allow her.

"No, Vinyl. No more talking from you. This is exactly why you are in dire need of, as you said, 'a stern talking to'." Octavia then turned towards me and smiled nervously. "I'm so sorry about this, but we'll have to have a proper introduction tomorrow, after I give Ms. Scratch here her scolding." I looked to Vinyl's face and saw that her eyes were half open in apparent boredom as she mumbled what kinda sounded like an unenthusiastic 'yay'. "Would that be fine with you?"

"No, please," I said, giving her the go-ahead gesture. "Tomorrow's fine, so scold away."

"Thank you. Well then, goodnight uh...Maurice, was it?" 'Goodnight'? It just barely got dark outside, just how long does she plan to yell at her for? Disregarding that thought, I then nodded and responded in a friendly tone.

"Yeah, it's Maurice." Her face suddenly showed relief, possibly because she got my name right.

"Octavia," she said with a small bow of her head. Right when she was about to say something else, Vinyl tried to squirm her way out of the headlock again, prompting Octavia to start walking her out from under my doorway while Vinyl floated her drink after them. "I swear, Vinyl." I heard Octavia say seconds later. "In a few hours, you're gonna wish I murdered you instead!"

After a quiet chuckle, I continued to unpack, shaking my head with a smile over the thought of what just happened. Moments later, Vinyl must have somehow escaped the headlock, because I then heard her yell one last thing before a door slammed shut.

"Just make sure to bury whatever you find of me with my shades and turntable!"

After staring at the ceiling for a good five minutes, I was startled when I heard a quick series of clinks and clanks coming from outside of my room. Out of curiosity, I managed to get out of bed, walked over to my door and was about to open it before I stopped and considered whether to change into a different set of clothes or stay in my sleeping ones which consisted of a white, loose fitting T shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. Choosing the latter, I opened my room's door and stepped out, instantly seeing that the living room looked the same as when I turned in for bed. Only, the difference being that the windows, which previously had their curtains closed last night, were now pulled back, causing the white walls to give off a slight orange tint due to the fact that the sun was starting to rise outside.

Taking a few steps out of my room, I heard the noise again, as well as a familiar voice. "Oh, darn." Hmm...British-y... Yep, Octavia, and it sounded like she was in the kitchen.

I then headed towards it, walking around the coffee table as I passed through the living room. Once I was close enough, I spotted Octavia in the kitchen, standing on her hind-legs before the stove where a kettle and a frying pan were resting above the lit burners. I watched as Octavia scooted sideways a bit before stopping at the kitchen sink's countertop where a metal bowl with a whisk in it was. She then bit the whisk's handle and started mixing whatever was in the bowl, causing the noise I heard earlier.

I just stood back and quietly observed with my hand on my chin when Octavia stopped mixing, pulled the whisk out, set it aside, then carefully moved the bowl over to the stove and poured out some kind of yellow-ish gooey liquid from it into the waiting pan. There was a bit of a sizzling sound that didn't stop until the bottom of the pan was filled. Moments later, I caught a scent in the air and immediately realized what all this was. She was making pancakes, and judging by the smell, it was buttermilk flavored; my favorite.

"That smells great," I said, causing Octavia to tense up before quickly turning around to face me. I obviously startled her, because she was looking at me with wide eyes while taking short, yet quick breaths.

"M-Maurice?" she asked, a hoof over her chest as she tried to slow her breathing.

"Whoops, sorry," I said in a half grimace, half smile, nervously rubbing the back of my head as I regretted not making my presence known earlier. I then pointed at the simmering pan, being slower this time as to not startle her again. "Are you...making pancakes?"

"Eh, y-yeah..." Her response sounded a bit nervous; whether it was because she hadn't relaxed yet or she was nervous about me being a hooman--er, human, I couldn't tell. I hadn't exactly had the time to tell if she were comfortable with that fact, but I do remember that she promised to properly introduce herself, and I planned to do so as well.

She turned her head to the pan before looking back at me, then repeated that act, only with her eyes this time. "Would you...like...some?" she asked, gesturing at them with her hoof.

I smiled. "Y-yeah, sure, of course. I'd love some." I moved over to the kitchen table and sat in one of the seats, then propped my elbow up on the table as I placed my head on my open hand, ready to watch Octavia work. She flashed a short, nervous grin before turning her body back to the stove, not turning her head away from me until the very last second.

A few awkward minutes of silence later, a nice, freshly made, golden brown pancake was on a plate before me on the table, along with a fork and butter-knife, a bottle filled with syrup, and a smaller bowl filled with berries of various kinds. I then looked up from them and noticed that two more sets of the same items--except the syrup--were on the table; one across from me, and the other to my side. Thinking that the third breakfast was most likely Vinyl's, I picked up a fork and was about to get a berry with it, but stopped when I heard Octavia's voice.

"Maurice," she called from over at the countertop. I looked towards her and saw that she was pouring something from the kettle into a teacup resting atop a saucer. After she finished pouring, she set the kettle aside, turned back to me and continued. "Would you like some tea?" Wow, the accent and she drinks tea; the British stereotype is strong in this one...

I really didn't want any since I'm not much of a tea drinker, but I couldn't turn down her hospitality after she just made me a nice looking breakfast. With that in mind, I put on a cheery smile and reluctantly accepted. Minutes later, I got my tea and Octavia was sitting at the opposite end of the table from me. Right when I was about to dig into my pancake, I was distracted by what I saw before me. Octavia, she wasn't using the kind of utensils that were made with straps attached that I've seen other earth ponies and pegaseses--the flying ones--use; instead, she was somehow holding them with her hooves alone, operating both a fork and butter-knife in precise and fluid movements to either slice off a section of her pancake, or to stab a berry before bringing it to her mouth.

To my confusion, she then give me a questioning look while chewing. She swallowed, then asked, "Is something the matter...Maurice?"

I lightly shook my head, just now realizing that I'd been staring. "Oh, uh, n-no, nothing. Nothing's the matter," I said with a nervous smile and chuckle before picking up my own utensils and using them to cut the pancake into bite-sized chunks.

For a while, things got awkwardly silent, the only sounds being heard was that of metal clanking against plates as we ate. Eventually, and much to my surprise, Octavia spoke up.

"Well I...I believe I promised you a proper introduction, correct?"

I looked up from what remained of my pancake to face Octavia, then replied with an awkward smile. "Um, yeah...you did."

She raised a hoof and gestured towards me. "Well, why don't you start? Because of Vinyl's little...joke, I don't really know much about you other than your name, and I am quite curious since I've never met a hooman before. So...tell me about yourself."

Oh no... I hate being asked that question. This is the part where I have to analyze every part of my life, yet still fail to come up with a proper answer before I start thinking, Oh God, who am I?! I didn't want to just sit here and not respond like some idiot, so I tried to wing it as my eyes wandered the room and I rubbed the back of my neck.

"There's not really much to tell... Uh...my name's Maurice--which you know already, and I'm ah...a twenty one year old human. I'm...currently unemployed--oh, uh, but don't worry, I'm gonna pull my fair share! Some mares I know are willing to give me a few odd jobs until I find something more permanent. And uh...what else, what else? I'm...from the planet Earth."

"My, another planet you say?" Octavia said, her hooves holding her tea near her lips. She took a sip of it, then asked, "And how is it that you came to Equestria, if I may ask?"

I rested back into my seat and lazily waved my hand before answering with an amused scoff. "Not with a spaceship if that's what you're thinking; really complicated science, magic, some cosmic entity loves to see me suffer, maybe some crazy combination of all three, I-dunn-know, take your pick. All I know is that I was in college, just heading to a class when lightning hit me, then," I snapped my fingers, "'poof', ended up here."

To my surprise, Octavia looked down at her tea and lightly chuckled while slowly shaking her head.

"What's so funny?" I asked with an amused and curious tone.

She looked back at me and I could see she was still smiling. "Oh, forgive me, I wasn't laughing at your expense. It's just that...your story reminded me of a similar situation that happened to me."

I raised a brow. "You got 'poof'ed to another world before?"

She shook her head again, this time I caught what resembled a blush on her cheek's dark fur. "Well, 'poof'ed yes, but not to another world mind you." She then took an unnecessarily long sip of her tea, giving me the feeling that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Come on, you got me curious now, so spill," I said as I did the hand-it-over gesture.

Octavia placed her tea down. "Oh all right," she said as she rolled her eyes with a smile, then pointed at me. "But just be aware that it's a very short story." When I nodded, she continued. "You see, one day, I was at home, just doing the dishes, when suddenly there was this green flash and the next thing I knew, I was at a foal's birthday party playing ball music."

"Ok, that's kinda weird; not my situation weird, but still weird," I said, prompting Octavia to lightly shake her head before responding.

"Hold on, I'm not done yet. Things took a turn for the weirder, cause when I got home...I found a mariachi player in my house."

"Wait, what?" I asked with a smile. "How did that happen?"

Octavia shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't know how I got to the birthday party, and he didn't know how he got to my house." She then took a sip of her tea before finishing with, "Was kind of him to finish my dishes though..."

Ok, that last part was funny, it caused me to chuckle as I placed my hand over my forehead. However, I stopped when Octavia asked another question.

"So do you have any family back on--oh, I'm...sorry... That was terribly rude of me." Looking back at Octavia, I noticed a somber expression on her face, and it didn't take long for me to realizing why.

"No no, it's fine," I said reassuredly as I gave her a dismissive wave. "I uh...have three family members back home: mom, sister, and a niece."

"What about your father?" she asked in a curious tone.

I grimaced before turning to the side and scratching my cheek. "I...don't really want to talk about him..."

Her eyes widened while her ears lowered. "Oh, I...I'm so sorry for your loss..."

I narrowed my eyes at her in confusion before realizing what she meant, then shook my head while waving both of my arms in front of me. "Oh, no no, he's not dead--I mean, when I got zapped here he wasn't! I just, like, don't really want to talk about him, that's all."

After that, things were starting to get quiet again, and I could feel the awkwardness returning. In order to drive it away, I decided to ask my own questions.

"Sooo, what about you? Any family?"

She quickly looked me in the eyes while flashing a nervous smile. "Uh, yes. My mother and father are back in Canterlot."

"Oh, well that's nice. I've been there, Canterlot, pretty good place--much fancy, very wow."

"What?" Octavia asked, a confused look on her face. Dammit, when you've spent years being that guy in your group of friends who makes reference based jokes all the time, you kinda unknowingly form a habit out of it.

I gave her a dismissive gesture, shaking my head as I said, "It's nothing, never mind." I then remembered something from last night that I could use as a conversation topic. "Uh...yesterday, you said something about you and Vinyl 'really needing the bits' or something like that."

Octavia seemed to be in thought before her face lit up. "Oh, right, that. Yes, well, a few months ago, Vinyl and I used to live in Canterlot--not together like we are now, separately."

"Uh-huh," I said to let her know I was listening and for her to continue.

"Well I had my own place, near the Cloud District, very expensive, but back then, I was in a position where I didn't have to worry about bits."

"So what happened?" I asked.

She bit her bottom lip while turning to the side before saying, "Well...I don't really want to go into any details because it's a long and complicated story, but just know that a...a series of events happened which forced me to leave Canterlot." She then turned towards me, a small smile shown on her face. "Luckily, Vinyl was there to offer support and told me of this place that was vacant at the time." She then made an amused 'hmph' sound before saying, "Just imagine just how mortified I was when I saw how much the rent here was."

I started to put two and two together. "Vinyl moved in with you to help with the rent, didn't she?"

Octavia nodded with a smile. "She really didn't have to, but she insisted." Her mouth then formed into a small frown. "However, despite the bits I get from preforming at the local jazz club and Vinyl DJ'ing at parties," Huh, so that's what they do, "we barely made enough to scrape by for these few months. Also, it probably doesn't help that in order for us to make bits, we have to spend some; fees for maintenance of Vinyl's equipment and my travel expenses for when I'm required to perform out of town, things like that."

I placed my hand on the table and gave it two quick taps as I said, "Aaand that's why you needed another roommate!"

"Correct," she said with a nod, then took a sip of her tea. "We've tried to find another roommate before, but...there'd be no takers once they saw just how much they'd have to pay for their share." Octavia shrugged before continuing. "Then, one day, I heard about the program that would allow other species to experience Equestrian society as well as the bits that were involved, and found that it was the perfect solution. Vinyl agreed, and right when I was about to go to the mayor's office to sign us up, something happened..."

"What happened?" I curiously asked.

"Well, I was about to go, but something came up that I had to take care of, so I made the error of trusting...ugh--Vinyl to sign us up..." She took another sip of her tea, then set the cup back onto the saucer with a loud clink, hinting that it was finally empty. "You can see just how well that went..." She raised her eyes from the tea set and looked at me with worried, widened eyes along with a nervous smile accompanied by a blush that appeared on her face. "Th-that's not to say that I don't enjoy your company! I just would have preferred knowing that you were a human instead of a griffon all this time!"

I gestured for her to settle down, casually saying, "It's fine, no offence ta--HA!" I yelled because a banana coated in a purple-ish glow just floated by my face, scaring the crap out of me! Keeping it in my sights, I saw it was Vinyl who was using her magic to bring the yellow fruit over to her.

Riiight, I forgot that all unicorns were one with the force... Wait...was Vinyl coming out of Octavia's room?

As my mind was running over the implications, Vinyl stood in the living room, unpeeled the banana, then bit and ate just the tip of it before setting it down onto the coffee table and heading towards us. As she got closer, I could see that Vinyl was obviously tired; her hair was disheveled, and she seemed to be having trouble keeping her eye lids up, as her blinks were slower than they ought to be, also, her walk was more of a slow, forward stumble.

Once she reached us, she stared at her breakfast that was placed for her on the table, then grinned to Octavia before speaking in an exhausted, yet chummy tone. "Aw, Octy, ya made me breakfast."

Octavia rolled her eyes. "It was either that or let you starve; just so you know, I was very tempted by that second option after what you did. Also," she then pointed at the partially eaten banana over on the coffee table before continuing in a slightly annoyed voice, "why did you take a bite out of that if you're not going to finish it?!"

Vinyl casually shrugged. "Cause I didn't notice you made your special pancakes until after I took the bite; I'm not gonna waste precious stomach space when I see that you finally decided to make these babies." She said as she pointed a hoof at her pancake. Vinyl then leaned her head towards me and gave a mock whisper. "Word of advice: don't get hooked. She only makes them for special occasions. So unless it's your birthday, or Hearths Warming, or maybe you're dying," Octavia made an irritated grumble, which Vinyl ignored," you won't be seeing much of these, so enjoy them while you can."

"Vinyl," Octavia said in that 'scold-y' tone I heard yesterday.

In response, Vinyl raised an amused brow. "I get the feeling that another lecture might be heading my way, sooo I'm gonna take this to my room." She used her magic to pick up her breakfast, then turned and headed for her room. "Oh, and mornin', Maurice," she said with a wave while walking away, not bothering to look back. Seconds later, I had the syrup bottle that I was about to use on what remained of my pancakes yanked away from my hand by her magic. I gave her a glare, but she just grinned at me from her room as she started to close her door.

Once her room's door shut, I immediately turned to Octavia and brought up something that I just had ask.

"So...Vinyl just came out of your room... Are you two..." I made rolling gestured with my hands, which seemed to confuse the gray earth pony.

"Are we...what? Roommates? Because I thought we've already established that."

I shook my head, my face getting warm from the embarrassment of having to ask. "No, I mean, are you two...together? Like, I know the male/female ratio here is a little iffy, and I already know that a few girls here swing that way--and just so you know, I'm perfectly cool with it if you two are--" She seemed to get my meaning when she raised her hoof and shook it.

"Oh, no no no no no!" she said in quick succession, her mouth formed into an awkward smile. "Vinyl just fell asleep ten minutes into my lecture last night! Besides, the only love in my life is Marchello." Did she mean to say 'Mar-cell-oh'? Because what I heard was 'Mar-che-lo'.

"Eh, Marchello? Is that your boy--eh, coltfriend?"

To my confusion, she placed her hoof over her mouth and giggled into it for a minute or two. When her giggle fit began to die down, she shook her head with a smile, then responded with, "Oh, Maurice, that was very humorous. No, Marchello is the name of my cello."

"Your cello?" I asked as I moved my head forward an inch. "The uh...the big instrument that looks like a giant violin, right?"

"Yes, that's the one. I named him after my fillyhood tabby, Marcella." A thought just hit me.

"Wait, wait, wait...wait..." I then pointed at her, saying, "You can play the cello?"

She appeared to be a bit taken back by my question. "Of course, what else would I play at the jazz club and at that foal's birthday party?"

"Well uh...I'd love to hear you play."

Her face lightened up a bit. "Really?"

"Yeah, I love classical music." Actually, I wasn't really into any genre, if I liked a certain song, I liked it; I was just curious as to how she'd be able to play it. Picking up utensils is one thing, but playing a violin on steroids is another.

"Well, a-alright," Octavia shyly said before she pushed her chair back, then headed into her room. Minutes later, she reemerged from it with Marchello on her back; she obviously took excellent care of it, as the fine wood it was crafted from was polished to the point where I could kinda see my reflection on its surface. I also noticed that she had the bowstring secured in her mouth and that a white collar with a pink bow-tie was wrapped around her neck, which in all honesty, I thought looked pretty nice on her.

She stopped in the living room and gestured with her head for me to move over to the couch. Once I plopped my butt onto it, I felt the couch's fabric with my hand and wondered if this really was leather. I mean, it couldn't be since that would imply that someone was murdered to make it--but who cares! It's glossy, smooth, feels cool to the touch and it's freaking comfy!

Once I got myself into a more comfortable position, I gave Octavia a nod, signaling for her to go ahead. She carefully lowered Marchello, extended a retractable stand attached to the bottom of it, placed it upright, then used it to balance herself on her hindlegs as she grabbed it from behind while her right forehoof held on to the bow.

She cleared her throat before she placed her left hoof over the fingerboard--is that what they called it here? I'd hate for that to be the only thing I know about string instruments, then have it be completely wrong in this world--while she readied her bow atop the strings over the cello's center.

Suddenly, and without warning, she slid the bow over the strings in a series of rapid and precise volleys, causing the following sounds to blend perfectly with one another in order to create incredibly pleasant...well, music. What I was hearing...I-I couldn't really describe it, and at this moment, I was glad I wasn't a musician; it would have been like a child looking up at a rainbow and seeing it as a magical and wonderful thing, while a scientist looks at that same rainbow only to see simple physics.

As she got further into her song, I found myself leaning forward, my eyes mesmerized on both Octavia and Marchello as a whole; she was swaying as she played, making it seem as if she and Marchello were in their own personal dance, the two cut off from the rest of the world. From what I saw of her hooves' movements, it was as if Marchello itself was using Octavia to speak its own language, a language that I would never be able to decipher, yet somehow understand the emotion underlined in every note it made.

Soon, to my disappointment, her song ended with a quick flourish and Octavia had her bow raised as she smiled at me.

"So...h-how was that?" she asked.

With my eyes wide and my face dumbfounded, I immediately got up and applaused. "Octavia," I said. "Tha--that was amazing!" My praises might have been too much, because she blushed before trying to hide behind Marchello.

"It was nothing special, really," she said, trying to be modest.

When I tried to make more mouth sounds that would describe how good she was, Vinyl walked out of her room, causing Octavia and I to look back at her.

"Oh, I see you're showing him Marchello." Vinyl said before pointing a hoof towards her room. "Ya mind helping me move some crap out of the way so I can show him Wubz?"

"Wubz?" I asked, wondering if I should have given my fourth grade recorder a name as well.

Octavia rolled her eyes--lot of eye rolling going on here--before scoffing and responding with, "Knowing you, Vinyl, you're probably just trying to trick me into cleaning your room for you...again..."

Vinyl shrugged while smiling. "Eh, worth a shot." She then walked over and sat on the couch next to me. "So, what's next on 'The Concert de Octavia'?"

"You want to hear me play?" Octavia asked with skepticism.

"Yeah, I could really go for a laugh." To my surprise, Octavia didn't seem to get angry, annoyed, or even upset after hearing Vinyl's comment. Instead, she had a cool demeanor on her face as she waited for me to sit down on the couch before adopting the same position that she held at the start of her previous song.

"Well then, Vinyl," Octavia said, confidence laced in her tone. "Prepare to be rolling on the ground."

Soon, she was sliding her bow across Marchello's strings, the sounds it made reverberating around the house, almost causing me to believe that more than one cello was being played. While my head swayed left to right with the music, I turned to my side and saw Vinyl, who was sitting upright with her forelegs crossed behind her head. She was trying to make it seem like she was bored, but she couldn't fool me, not when I caught her head slightly swaying as well, along with a small smile that slowly spread across her mouth.

You know what? I think I'm gonna like it here...