A not-a-date date is a very good way to think without actually thinking. The thoughts that I had been avoiding had not popped into my head once that day, but when Vinyl and I returned home, I had come to a conclusion.

I was, without a doubt, not into stallions.

Every stallion I had ever met just made me sick to my stomach, and the thought of having a coltfriend made me want to die. I was simply not interested in stallions. Perhaps Bon Bon had a point. Maybe I had never had a coltfriend because I was interested in mares.

“Octy, you okay? You look kinda funny,”

“I’m just fine. Confused, but fine,” I was lying on my bed, looking over sheet music for my cello.

“Confused about what?” Vinyl asked.

“Private matters,” I had hoped to dismiss the issue, but Vinyl wouldn’t let it go.

“We’re friends, right? So you can tell me. I won’t tell anypony. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not the most popular around here,” She jumped onto my bed, my sheet music falling in a messy heap to the floor. I could very easily tell Vinyl what was going through my head, but what would that mean for me? I had a reputation all planned out. Admitting that I might be a fillyfooler would change my reputation drastically.

“Vinyl, please, it’s personal,” I don’t know why I thought I could drop the matter. Vinyl was interested, and she didn’t seem the type to just let things go. She pleaded, poked, prodded, and even jabbed me with her horn a few times.

“Just tell me, Octy!” She pleaded. “Or else I’ll have to kiss you,” I knew she was teasing. She had to have been teasing. Nopony would threaten to kiss you unless they were teasing. Teasing or not, I decided I had to tell her.

“I might…it’s possible that I could be…”

“You’re a fillyfooler,” Vinyl nodded once. “Took you long enough, I thought you were going to go through the whole semester and even get a coltfriend you didn’t like before you realized it.”

“You—you knew?” I asked. “How is that possible? I didn’t even know until a few hours ago!”

“One, I’m a unicorn. I have magical powers. Two, I’m one too, and it’s easier to tell if somepony is one too.”

“So does this mean I’m suddenly going to know which ponies are fillyfoolers or coltcuddlers?” I asked, not expecting a real answer.

“Actually, you’ll find it easier to identify because now you’re looking for it. You need to know the sexuality of a pony before you can talk to them properly, or else you’ll end up flirting with a mare as straight as can be.” Vinyl smiled widely. “But it’s great that you realized it! Now I have somepony to talk about crushes with!”

“Vinyl Scratch has a feminine side,” I said in mock surprise. “I thought everything with you was just wubs?”

“I’m working on a wub-tastic project, and even us ‘non-feminine’ types like to talk about our feelings every once and a while. Have you seen the flank on Beauty Brass? I would go for that in a heart-beat!” I tried to ignore the fact that Vinyl was talking about a mare that I was going to see in orchestra rehearsals tomorrow.

“Is she one too?” I asked, suddenly wondering if everypony on campus was a coltcuddler or a fillyfooler.

“Nah, she’s into stallions. A mare can dream though,” Vinyl sighed and turned towards me. “Any mares you’ve taken an interest in?”

“Vinyl, that’s silly,” I said. “I only just realized this today, and I’m still awkward about it. I’m not going to like somepony this early on.”

“You can still like somepony,” Vinyl retorted. “Just please don’t say Lyra or Bee Bop,”

“I can assure you, my feelings for Lyra and Bee remain at a friendly level,” I shuddered at the thought of having either of the lyrists as a marefriend. They were nice, but as nothing more than friends. There were no mares that came to mind when I tried to think of which one I could possibly like in that fashion.

“I don’t have to like anypony,” I said suddenly. “I’m sorry but, Vinyl I just don’t like anypony that way.”

“You will,” Vinyl replied. She yawned, her tongue poking out to the side.

“Shall we go to bed? We do start attending classes tomorrow,” I was a bit drowsy myself, and a good night’s sleep was always appreciated. Especially when you had to play the cello for an hour in the mornings and three hours in the late afternoon to early evening.

“That sounds nice. Night, Octy,” Vinyl hopped from my bed and used her magic, which I was growing increasingly jealous of, to place her atrocious glasses on the bedside table.

“Good night, Vinyl Scratch,” I snuggled under the covers of my bed, taking comfort in the warmth that surrounded me. It was like I was a filly again, and my mother had just warmed the sheets for me to keep cozy. Then, in the middle of the night, I would awake with nightmares and my mother would have oat cookies and warm milk to calm me down and help me sleep.

If I shut my eyes and covered my nose with my hoof, I could almost imagine my mother singing a lullaby to be while I was a filly. Serenada Philharmonica was so proud of her little filly.

My mother would be furious with me today.

Filly Octavia was never rude. Music Academy Octavia had been rude on many occasions in the past few days. Filly Octavia would rehearse her cello all day. Music Academy Octavia just wasted a large portion of the day frolicking around Canterlot with an irresponsible mare. Filly Octavia would talk about her dream wedding to a well-known musical stallion.

Music Academy Octavia was a fillyfooler.

~XoXo~

Shorter than usual because of NaNoWriMo. Serenada is just the musical term serenade with an 'a' at the end. Nothing special.