The Snow on Her Cheek

Chapter Fourteen

Two for the Road

***

Octavia held a dramatic pause for a few seconds. To her surprise, Vinyl just nodded and motioned with a hoof for her to carry on.

"Vinyl? Aren't you... shocked after such a dreadful revelation?" the cellist wondered, slightly perturbed by the fact that the whole theatrical effect was lost on the white pony.

"Nah." The pianist shrugged idly. "You know, it was kinda obvious. I mean, black suits? Sunglasses? All this family business?" She grinned, taking off her goggles, a gesture appreciated by Octavia, to reveal the fires of laughter in her red eyes. "I guess even George would see that Alexandro's head of the marefia." She smirked confidently.

Octavia blinked in astonishment. How come she is all right with this? "Love, aren't you... disappointed in me?" she asked, trying to break through the invisible wall of emotion that Vinyl's heart held. "Do you still love me, my being part of a marefia clan?"

The pianist almost fell on her back from laughter, and would have, if it weren't for the fact that she was in a train, for the outline of the compartment prevented her from doing so. "Tavi, of course I love you, you silly mare!" She immediately leaned in to plant a quick kiss on her cellist's lips, to prove her affection. "Hay, it's awesome! My marefriend's part of the marefia!" She grinned even wider, while Octavia bathed in the aftertaste of the kiss. "Tell me tell me tell me!" Vinyl suddeny exclaimed, activating her inner (Not so inner, Vinyl... Ah, who cares! It's the marefia!) foal mode. "What do you do there? Smuggling?"

"Vinyl-"

"Bribery?"

"Vinyl!"

"Gambling?"

"VINYL!" Octavia practically roared, interrupting her pianist. "I.  Don't. Know."

"Huh?" Vinyl blinked. Care to explain? her look expressed.

Octavia sighed and regained her composure. "I can't tell you anything about family business because I have never been, and am not, part of it." She smiled at her marefriend apologetically. "I guess it's probably exciting, but my familia is just that, family, to me." Her smile grew warmer as memories of her foalhood made their way into her mind. "I love my family dearly, but they are only relatives to me. Not marefia, not businessponies. Just my loving and caring parents and brothers."

"I see..." Vinyl nodded respectfully, getting all contemplating all of a sudden. "Well, this is great." She pondered for a moment, speculating what to ask next, given the opportunity. "So... could you tell me more about your mother and that other brother of yours?" His name was Cornelio or something?

Octavia smiled and nodded. "Sure thing. My mother, Sofia Philarmonica..."  The cellist closed her eyes, the image of her mother, regal and beautiful, appearing before her closed eyelids, smiling gently. "She is a wonderful pony. She is kind, and caring, and she loves me dearly." Octavia's smile faded slightly as she shook her head. "But she is a rather... well-known violinist, and she's always on tour..." The grey mare gulped, seeing Vinyl's mood darken a little as well. "Still, she has always used every minute of her free time to tend to me," she concluded, longing to change the subject. "As for Cornelio, my brother..." The cellist smirked, shaking her head. "He's always been all brave and determined. He always takes everything too close to his heart. I remember that one time when colts at school used to pick up on him for being Scoltcilian..." The grey mare chuckled. "He sneaked into Father's room that evening and stole his gun. You should have seen the look on those bullies' faces when he took it to school with him next day!" The cellist laughed light-heartedly at the memory. "What's peculiar, however, is that Father didn't punish him for it." Octavia rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "If I recall correctly, he only patted him on his head and started giving him shooting lessons afterwards."

Vinyl shifted uneasily. Well, I'm glad Tavi's all right with that... but guns? She gulped at the thought of such a concept. A colt taking a gun to school? What possible consequences could it bring about? However, her mind eagerly substituted the image with an elaborate, well-depicted scene of Octavia in a hat, a gun in her hoof, a cigarette hanging out of her mouth... A particular scene unfolded before her eyes...

"Now who's been a bad filly?" Octavia spat on the floor, taking a drag of her cigarette.

"I! I've been a bad filly!" Vinyl screamed, tied to the bed, hoofcuffs preventing her from moving, and a horncuff preventing her from casting magic to escape.

"Well well well..." Octavia huffed with a smirk and a sly grin, moving closer to the bed. "It seems this bad filly needs a proper punishment..."

Vinyl blinked and snapped back into reality.

Oh my, that's hot. We totally need to buy a gun... and a hat...

"Well, anyway." Octavia coughed politely, seeing her marefriend drift into the world of fantasy. "He is really nice at heart and soul, and he's always been protective of me," she concluded, holding a pause. "Vinyl?" she placed her hoof on the table, only a few inches from her marefriend's. "I think that now it's your turn."

Vinyl sighed and braced herself, closing her eyes. All right, Vinyl, just cut it short. Here goes nothing...

"Well, I don't have any siblings," she began her hoof drawing circles atop the table. "My folks... I guess they were kinda... tolerable..." She frowned. "...When they weren't drunk, of course. I would go to school, study, then go back home and make dinner. Then they would come round, yell at me some, maybe beat me up-"

Octavia gasped loudly, pain striking her chest. Vinyl... she thought solemnly. What did they do to you?.. But she knew better than to interrupt her marefriend when she finally resolved to unveil the curtain of her past.

"-and then they'd drift off to sleep and I would do my homework. Day by day, stuck in the same routine. Oh, and when I came home one day and said, 'Mom, Dad, I'm a filly-fooler', they threw me out of the house and threatened to call the police if I ever returned. Which I did not want to do," she concluded, a rather painful expression upon her face. "I think it was for the better that they kicked me out. Living in the streets was far better than living with those two..."

"Vinyl, if you don't want to talk about it, you needn't..." Octavia rose and moved towards her marefriend, occupying the place next to her. Oh Vinyl, you poor thing... she thought and stroked her mare's mane gently.

"Nah, that's all in the past. I did time for filly-fooling, you know?" Vinyl suddenly said and  smirked at the aghast expression on her cellist's face. "Don't worry, Tavi - those were mere brief affairs." She smiled and grabbed her marefriend by the waist, dragging her closer. "You are the first mare I ever loved..." The pianist placed a gentle kiss upon the cellist's lips. "...And also the last one and the only." She smiled and nuzzled Octavia, who returned the gesture.

"Vinyl..." The cellist whispered, snuggling closer to the white mare, feeling her warmth soothing her. Together, we will overcome everything, she assured herself. I know that with Vinyl by my side, tomorrow will always be a better day...

"Hey, how about I tell you how I met George instead?" Vinyl suggested, her face brightening up at the pleasant memory.

Octavia nodded contentedly, and the white mare began to tell her story, while the sound of the train calmly jumping on the tracks supported the tale with its soothing ever-present tranquillity.