Vinyl pushed open the door, levitating her irregular pile of record into the living room and dumping them on the couch with a sigh.

"I'm home, Babe!" She called, voice slightly hoarse from shouting at yet another one of Pinkie Pie's spontaneous parties. It had been a long day, and Vinyl felt she deserved a good glass of cider and a big kiss. She stepped into the kitchen in search of her missing marefriend, and found Tambourine, Octavia, and a light blue unicorn with a dark blue and white mane sitting at the kitchen table.

Octavia stood up, quickly crossing the room to give Vinyl a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hey, Sweetheart. How was your day?" She asked smoothly.

"Fine. Who's that?" Vinyl pointed at the blue mare, not caring that she was being rude.

"That's Colgate. She's an old college friend of mine and a dentist. She came over to look at Tambourine's teeth. She says you should - "

"Can't she speak for herself?" Vinyl asked roughly, feeling jealousy bubble up inside of her. This was all very suspicious.

Octavia patted her hoof gently. "No, dear. She's mute."

Colgate nodded, moving her hooves in a strange way. Octavia frowned.

"What? No! Vinyl is fine, Col'. She just doesn't like strangers in her house." She leaned in confidentially, speaking in a loud whisper. "And, she can get a bit jealous."

Colgate's mouth opened in a soundless giggle, and Vinyl scowled. "Hey, I'm not the only pony who gets jealous around here. And how the hay did you know that's what she said?"

"Sign language. We used to be really close, so I learned so we could communicate. Anyways, Colgate says we need to stop giving her so many sweets if we want her to have good teeth when she's older. She'll get a cavity if you keep giving her all that sugar all the time."

Vinyl pouted. "But she likes it. And you're so over-protective all the time, I have to be the good cop, you know?"

Colgate smiled gently, hooves moving rapidly. Octavia translated with a grin. "Colgate and I both think you don't get the idea of 'Good Cop, Bad Cop.' Being the 'good cop,' as you call it, doesn't mean you spoil her teeth completely rotten."

"That's a terrible pun, whichever of you made it up. And I like spoil her. She likes it too, don't you, Tamby?"

Tambourine, nodded as she slid out of her chair and trotted to the bedroom, grinning.

Vinyl smiled benevolently after her. "See?"

"Yes, Vinyl. But Tambourine is too young to know what's best for her. It's our job to show her that. That's the entire reason ponykind doesn't abandon their foals at birth. We don't have enough instincts to take care of ourselves until we are at least sixteen. Didn't your parents make sure you ate well and such when you were young?"

"My parents weren't as model-parenty as yours were, 'Tav. They were more interested in their booze then they were in me. I was lucky in my mom was awake in time to say goodbye to me when I left for school."

Octavia stared at the ground. "Oh... I'm sorry, Vinyl."

"It's nothing. It's all in the past now. Anyways, I'll tell you more about how I never had perfect parents as a foal when Colgate leaves. Meanwhile, do we have any cider?"

"In the fridge." Octavia pointed. "And she's not deaf, you know. She can hear, she just can't talk."

"I know, 'Tavi," Vinyl said as she levitated a dark brown bottle from the fridge. "I may not have as varied a vocabulary as you, but I'm not illiterate."

"Wrong word. Illiterate means you can't read. It has nothing to do with how many words you know how to say."

"Whatever. You having any of this, Babe?"

Octavia shook her head. "Maybe with dinner. Which reminds me, I need to start the pasta water. We're having pasta with some kind of cheese sauce tonight. Are you staying, Col', dear?"

Colgate shook her head, signing.

"Oh, yes, I forgot about your date with Berry. Well, in that case, you'd better go. Good luck!" Octavia smiled as she gave her mute friend her coat and showed her to the door. "Have fun, Colgate! Tell Berry Punch hello for me."

As she closed the door, Vinyl pounced. "What was all that about? She's a fake, I'm sure. You're lying to me--"

"Vinyl, if you heard yourself, I think you would be embarrassed. Colgate is honestly a dentist and a mute. I promise."

"Oh, come on. Colgate is a completely fake name. I mean, it's a bucking toothpaste!"

"Language, darling. Tambourine is too little to hear the majority of your vocabulary. But look. Colgate isn't her real name, it's Minuette. But everypony who knows her calls her Colgate because of her mane color. Are you satisfied?"

"No." Vinyl scowled. "How the hay do you know a dentist from college? Didn't you go to like, a music school?"

"Yes, I did. But the dentist's school in about a block away. We often ate lunch at the same restaurant, the Blue Mare. So we started talking. I mean, I started helping her out with stuff because she couldn't talk. Also, her apartment was really close to my house back on Harmonica, where I was still living at the time. We started carpooling in taxi's, because we were both broke. Do I have to explain every single thing we did ever for you to believe she's just my friend?"

Vinyl rolled her eyes. "I don't know. I guess I believe you."

"I find it a bit insulting that you only 'guess you believe me,' Vinyl. Do you really not trust me so much? I mean seriously, we've been together for years now, do you really think I would cheat on you? And with her?"

Vinyl looked sheepish. "I... I guess I'm being silly. I'm sorry, Octy."

"I don't know what you were thinking, Vinyl. She's not my type at all. Obviously, I only fall for the big dumb, irresponsible type, like you," Octavia teased, pulling Vinyl into a hug.

"I'm not a big dumb - well, I guess I am kinda irresponsible," Vinyl grinned suddenly, resting her forehead against Octavia's. "Oh, well. I'm just glad that you were dumb enough to go and fall for me."

Octavia sighed. "It's the best choice I've ever made in my life, so I must be pretty damn stupid."

Vinyl bent down slightly to kiss her the grey mare in her embrace gently. Octavia returned the kiss with pleasure, savouring the moment as the two ponies lost themselves in each other's embrace.

But as their lips met for the second time, a tap at Octavia's hind leg made her break away. She glanced down to find Tambourine staring up at her from the floor with large eyes.

"H-how long have you been there?" She asked shakily, still slightly out of breath from the kiss.

"Not long. But, Mama? I just wanted to say that your pasta is burning up." Tambourine pointed at the pasta pot, which was indeed overflowing and beginning to smoke.

Octavia sighed, leaning down to kiss the top of Tambourine's head. "Thank you, darling. Vinyl, would you call that take out place you like? I'm too tired to cook anything else."

Vinyl and Tambourine high-hoofed with a little cheer as Vinyl levitated the phone to her ear to make the order.

Octavia rolled her eyes. "She's going to be just like you when she grows up. The only difference between you two is that Tambourine appreciates my cello music."

Octavia lay nestled in Vinyl Scratch's embrace on the dingy sofa in the den, eyes closed as she enjoyed the warm, sleepy haze that surrounded her mind. She watched the flicker of the television's light on the wall with that sort of languid fascination that can only be achieved when one is half asleep.

Vinyl placed her muzzle directly above her marefriend's grey ear, whispering breathily, watching the tiny hairs bend and twist under her breath. She trailed a hoof down Octavia's stomach seductively. "You know, we haven't done anything fun, just the two of us, for a long time, don't you think? I don't even know if I can clearly remember the last time we had any alone time, can you?"

Octavia yawned, settling deeper into the crook of Vinyl's body with a contented sigh. "It was last week, Vinyl. Not that long ago. And besides, I'm tired."

"You're no fun, 'Tav," Vinyl grumbled, poking her already messy mane. "Every single time I try to turn you on you just find some excuse to... to, I don't know, not be turned on. It's... annoying."

"Sorry," Octavia grinned sleepily. "Can we just cuddle tonight? I'll kiss you."

"Fine..." Vinyl tried to hide the fact that she didn't mind too much. For some reason she liked Octavia's sleepy kisses better than her awake ones. Maybe it was that they were sloppier, and less conscientious on how it would look to outside eyes.

Octavia wrapped all of her hooves around Vinyl and locked them into a passionate kiss, licking Vinyl's muzzle before flopping back down in her lap, looking pleased with herself. "Are you happy now?"

Vinyl sighed. "That just turned me on more. But yes, I'm satisfied, I guess. Just not as satisfied as I could be," she hinted, looking at Octavia hopefully.

The other mare shook her head, pushing herself out of Vinyl's lap and standing up. "Sorry, Sweetheart. You're not getting any tonight. I'm going to bed. You're welcome to join me if you like."

Vinyl followed her up the stairs with an over-dramatic sigh. "I guess I'll have to do it myself tonight then."

"Eugh, Vinyl, no!" Octavia whipped around to face her, nearly falling back down the to the den. "That's disgusting, and you know it. We sleep in the same room as our filly, in case you didn't notice."

"I know, but you said I wasn't getting any," Vinyl whined plaintively, a triumphant look on her face.

Octavia rolled her eyes. "I did, and I meant it. You aren't."

"Then I'll have to do it myself." Vinyl grinned, still looking pleased with herself. She knew she'd won now.

"Put your I-beat-Octavia-in-an-argument face away, Vinyl. There's no way we're doing anything more than making out tonight, and there's no way I'm letting you do...that,either."

"Well, I don't know what's stopping me from just locking myself in the bathroom like all the colts do, but okay, Octy. You're pretty scary when you're mad at me. Whoops. I meant sexy. Not scary, sorry." Vinyl had a devilish look on her face. It was fun to torment Octavia.

"Well, you can sit here on the stairs and be as obnoxious and disgusting as you want, with all your suggestions, but I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight, Vinyl darling." Octavia made her way up to the bedroom, hips swaying haughtily.

Vinyl turned off the T.V. before following her up the stairs. She brushed her teeth, spending a bit more time in the bathroom than usual just to scare her sometimes rather prude-ish marefriend before joining her in the bed.

"Hey Babe," she said as she curled up behind Octavia with a sigh. "Mare, that felt good. I'm sorry you missed that one."

"You're disgusting, Vinyl. I hope you washed your hooves afterwards," came the muffled reply. Even through what sounded like a mouthful of pillow the sentence positively dripped with disdain.

"Why? It's not like you've never touched it before." Vinyl ran a hoof up Octavia's spine as she spoke, reveling in the shiver she felt under her hoof. "I think we both know you've given me a hoof-job many more times than I've done it to myself."

"I doubt that. Goodnight, Vin'. If you keep talking I'll make you sleep in the den," Octavia said sweetly giving her arrogant marefriend a peck on the cheek.

"Like I said before, you're pretty sexy when you're mad."

"That's it. Out."

"But Octy--"

See you in the morning, Vinyl," Octavia deftly kicked Vinyl just hard enough to push her off the bed. "I'll give you a massage tomorrow for the sore back you're going to get."