"Morning, sunshine." Octavia said softly and sarcastically with her elegant Canterlot accent as Vinyl stumbled into the kitchen, eyes droopy and half closed.

It had been a normal night for her as long as sleep goes. She usually went to bed around 4 am and woke up after noon because of her frequent DJ jobs. The night before at Alex's welcoming party wasn't too different from other gigs, but for some reason, she still felt more groggy than usual. Perhaps Berry Punch did put some extra vodka in that martini last night, after all.

"How was the party last night? I'm Sorry I couldn't come."

Vinyl replied first with a yawn then continued. "It was fine, I guess."

But it wasn't just "fine". She had become very attracted to Alex in the short span of just one night, and she couldn't deny that. She was the one who invited him over to her house after the party to do Celestia knows what. Sure he wasn't a pony, but for some reason, that didn't stop Vinyl from being flirty with him last night and it surely didn't stop her from feeling butterflies whenever she simply thought of him. It was a wonder even to her why she chose not to tell Octavia about him. Perhaps it was out of embarrassment or simply nervousness. After a moment or two of considering talking to her about it, she decided to let it pass, choosing not to open that can of worms unless it was necessary. Either way, the only priority on Vinyl's mind right now was finding something to eat. She always woke up hungry since none of the restaurants or cafes in town were usually open by the time she finished her job at the night club. She opened up a bag of bagels and popped a couple into the toaster.

"So how was the uh....human?" Octavia broke the silence, a somewhat curious tone flowed with the words, but Vinyl didn't pick up on it.

"Oh...uh..." Vinyl tried her absolute best not to turn her cheeks red. "He was cool." She finally blurted out.

"I see, that's good then."

Octavia continued to munch on her lunch while Vinyl made her "breakfast". Octavia sometimes liked to play dumb for comical purposes but in the back of her mind she could tell that Vinyl was hiding something about Alex. Although she couldn't tell what it was, she decided to put it on the back burner until the subject became more important. After Vinyl retrieved her bagels from the toaster and spread some butter on them, they ate in silence for a good 10 to 25 minutes. Although to them, it seemed longer. This was a usual morning for them, as Vinyl was physically exhausted from not getting enough sleep and Octavia was mentally exhausted from morning practice with the Canterlot orchestra. Still, Octavia could clearly notice a constant smile on Vinyl's face as she ate that was there for no apparent reason. It was a kind of smile that she hadn't seen in a long time. After she finished her meal, Octavia sat up from the table and picked up her cello case before making sure her mane was in order and trotted towards the front door.

"You goin' somewhere 'Tavi?" Vinyl asked. She was somewhat confused but not entirely interested as she was still focusing on her "breakfast".

"Yes, I need to pick up a new set of strings for my cello. A few of my friends are meeting up at Sugar Cube Corner as well, fancied I might join them."

As Octavia opened the door, Vinyl yelled from the kitchen. "Oh alright, seeyah!"

After she heard the door slam shut without any sort of "goodbye" from Octavia, Vinyl checked the clock on the opposite wall next to the kitchen window.

"1:30..." She sighed. "Too early...."

Leaning back in her chair and munching on her bagel, she remembered indirectly inviting Alex over to visit and started to think about how it'd be like introducing him to her ex girlfriend. She quickly dismissed the possible scenario after cringing a bit. After a short while of daydreaming, she caught herself and put the dishes into the sink before heading back to her room to catch the few hours of sleep that she lost the night before. Plopping down on her messy bed again, she began to realize how crazy last night was. Not only did she get to meet the first human Equestria's had in over a century, but she was actually entertaining the thought of dating him. Her head was telling her not to get caught up in such a potentially sticky situation, but her heart pleaded with her to do the opposite. She hadn't felt this strongly towards any potential lover since Octavia, and she was the same species as her. Before letting her mind wander any further, Vinyl's drowsiness took over and took her to sleep.

The question hit you so hard that all you could manage to do is stare at the floor in silence.

"I completely understand that you will need time to think about this, so I'm making the deadline for this decision two weeks from today. And Alex..." Celestia digressed with a warm smile that had a way of getting beneath your skin and giving you a sudden comfort, "Please know that the other princesses and I will support your decision either way."

"Thank you princess, I'll be sure to think about it until then." You'd definitely have to.

"In that case, you're dismissed, Alex. Thank you for coming."

You smiled and bowed politely before about-facing and striding towards the main doors, but there was a blur of emotions and thoughts going on inside of you. There was so much you had to think about and so many ponies you had to ask for advice. You'd certainly need to talk to Twilight, Vinyl... Hell, even Discord could be of help. On your way out, you politely bowed to the guards, still somewhat unsure of how to treat them since you were so new here. To your surprise, before you reach the doors, a guard pony sneakily "psst"ed at you and asked for an autograph. You felt a bit flattered as you chuckled and signed the guards notebook scrap, careful not to draw attention.

As you closed the large double doors behind you, you let out a sigh. It wasn't out of relief, but as an attempt at calming yourself. You drifted your eyes towards the last few slick marble floor tiles of Celestia's throne room while you took in her last statement. To be honest, it made sense to you. If you were to be changed into a pony, you could never go back to this world, people wouldn't even know who you were, let alone want to refrain from freaking out and calling the police after seeing a talking pony. And, it wouldn't be right to let you stay here forever in your current form. You could'nt imagine living the rest of your life here without ever truly being able to relate to anypony because of who you were. Loneliness would set in quickly. Nonetheless... Escaping a world like yours and being a part of a world that embraced kindness as a critical attribute, as well as being a part of a society that actually gave two shits about you as a person to an extent, intrigued you as well. After what seemed like decades of thinking while walking through the Canterlot streets, you hopped back on the train and took your usual seat in the furthest back car next to the window. You looked up at the orange sunset sky through the window and it relaxed you a bit as you remembered how it was back home, which made you think about the ordeal all over again. A flurry of emotions cluttered your mind as you took the long trip back to Ponyville, which keeps you from napping, so you were left with nothing to do or pass the time for an hour or two while the train chugged and pulled its way towards town. It really made you wish you had put your phone in your pocket before leaving your room that night and being willfully abducted so that you could play tetris or something. But, the more you thought about it, the more you thought that needing a cell phone in a place like Equestria would be absurd on many levels.

The train was almost at it's final destination when you remembered Vinyl and wondered what the consequences would be if you discussed your dilemma with her. After all, you had only just met her last night for a few hours. Coming to her with all this drama out of the blue might risk complicating whatever potential relationship you two might have had. Nonetheless, you really wanted to see her. With the exception of the recent drama, she managed to take up a majority of your thoughts. After having a couple more daydreams about her, you decided you would stop by her house on the way home. It was mainly just to visit in return for last night, but also to talk to her about your predicament if the subject came up. After a slight jolt from the sudden stop of the train, you stepped out and take a deep breath. The air and overall atmosphere in Equestria, or at least in Ponyville, was very soothing. Every moment was like walking outside and smelling the fresh morning air after the rain. Catching yourself, and almost running into multiple ponies, you made your way down the station and onto the dirt road in search of the DJ's house.

You completely forgot how Vinyl told you to get to her house, so you scanned the town in search for anything that might have anything to do with music or a DJ. You stumbled into the front lawns and porches of ponies you didn't know, and after apologizing to many of them humbly, you finally found a medium-sized house with a picture of a vinyl record and a treble clef above the front door. You went up to the door to give it a knock but before you did so, you began to hear a soothing melancholic tune leak out of the house. On any ordinary occasion, hearing a song wouldn't have distracted you from your daily business, but this song was different. From what you could tell with your limited orchestral knowledge, the tune was either coming from a cello or a double bass. The way the riff flowed from minor to major so smoothly almost made you drowsy in relaxation. You almost considered sitting down on the doorstep and relaxing until the melody was finished. But, at the last minute, you flicked back to reality and gave the door a knock after remembering why you came here in the first place. However, you still felt guilty for making the musician stop playing.

As the door opened, you became frozen in surprise, but not in the way you'd expected. Instead of having Vinyl at the door greeting you, you were instead greeted by a grey-furred and black furred mare holding a cello. Even though, to the keener eye, most would instantly identify the pony by name, it took you a look of her bow and cutie mark to realize that you were talking to none other than Octavia, one of the greatest cellists in Equestira. She had her usual outfit on, which was just a bow tie, but her mane was pulled back into a pony tail, which was probably the culprit of you not recognizing her right away. It was a cute style for her, though.

"O-oh...Hello. Can I help you?" She said, quite surprised of your human-ness.

Now that you thought of it, Octavia lived with Vinyl, didn't she? So why were you so surprised to see her? You called yourself an idiot mentally while observing her for the first time.

"Ahem..." Octavia cleared her throat in response to your daft inability to respond to a simple greeting.

"Oh! Sorry...Um... M- My name's Alex and I was just wondering...."

Octavia cut you off, but not in an impolite way. "Yes, yes I know who you are... Please come in, I have a pot of hot tea that's almost ready, if you'd like." You wouldn't pass up that invitation for the world, even if you were more of a coffee fan.

As you obediently followed her inside, you observed that the house Octavia lived in was in somewhat of a dichotomy of styles. In some places were elaborate and classical paintings and musical instruments like violins and cellos, but there were also wires and cords and speakers spewed about the house. Despite the inconsistencies, the house was pretty nice. It had a very cozy relaxing feeling to it. She led you into the kitchen and offered you a chair as she fiddled with the tea she had recently made. As she finished making both of you a steaming cup, she sat down in the chair opposite of you.

"I'm terribly sorry I couldn't make it to your party, I was playing in a concert in Canterlot at the time and somepony didn't inform me." She gestured to the back of the room which had a closed which you could only assume contained Vinyl.

After debating whether or not to go in and look for her, you sipped on your tea, realized how bitter it was, and added about three or four spoons of sugar.

"Oh, its alright. By the way, what's she doing in there?"

"Knowing her, she's probably sleeping. Her sleep cycle is rather... Off..." She continued in her thick Canterlot accent. "There's no use trying to wake her now. Trust me.... You wouldn't want to see that."

"I see..."

You chuckled a bit at the thought of seeing Vinyl with a crazy bed mane talking in a drowsy slurred morning language. You took another sip of tea, using the pause tactically to think of the more important matter to discuss.

"So anyways, I guess you're wondering why I came by... I met with Celestia today and..."

This made Octavia respond with a surprised look. After all, it wasn't everyday that a random pony from Ponyville got to meet the princess, and that included you. Being a human in Equestria had its perks, as you had quickly noticed. You guessed that being in the close company of the princess was one of them. You continued after a gesture from Octavia to do so.

"Well... I sorta have a tough choice to make and I'm looking for everyon... Everypony's help in making a decision."

"I'd be glad to help, Alex. What's the matter?"

You chose not to sugar coat the issue. "Well, Celestia gave me the option of either becoming a pony and having to stay here forever, or keeping my human body and having to leave Equestria and not being able to come back."

After a while of Octavia spacing out and looking down into her tea for quite some time, she put in her two cents.

"Although being a pony here would help you connect to your friends and feel more intertwined in society, I feel like abandoning your home, no matter how bad it may be, would be a greater price to pay. Certainly you have family at home that would miss you?"

In fear of having to pour your heart out twice in one day, you gave a response that could easily have been taken as cold. "Well yeah... But I'm not sure if they'd miss me. You can't choose your family, after all."

"I...suppose. However, you can make all the friends you want in a lifetime. If you lose your true family, you can never get them back."

That seemed like the logical choice. But then again, this was Octavia. She wasn't ever one to go with a gut feeling or thrill aspect like being thrown into a new world and letting loose. However, there were valid arguments for either position, so you took the advice humbly and decided not to complicate the debate any more than needed.

"You're right...Thanks. Its just a big decision you know? I kinda need all the advice I can get..." As you sat there yet again with a lack of response from her, you notice Octavia's "gift" of creating awkward silences.

"She talks quite a bit about you, you know? Vinyl..." Her sudden flattering statement almost made you choke on your tea.

"O-oh, really?" Your cheeks turned a bit pink, and it was at that moment that the thought came to your head. Weren't Vinyl and Octavia an "item"? The sudden realization made you a bit nervous since your flirting last night may have upset the pony in font of you.

"I-I don't mean to intrude on anything...I mean...I'm sorry if..." You fumbled for words, trying to say what you need to say without potentially hurting her feelings.

As if reading your mind, she grinned slightly and retorted, "Don't worry, there's nothing....romantic-" She said with a slight roll of her eyes. "going on between me and her."

Although this made your spirits lift a bit, it still made you ever the more curious. In all the stories you read about the couple, almost all of them have stated, or at least suggested, that they were lovers. Again, trying not to step on any toes (or hooves, for that matter,) you tried to investigate without prying too much, knowing all too well that you were beyond your jurisdiction of the two mare's relationship towards each other.

"Oh... Are you sure? But I thought that you two were... You know... Really into each other..."

Octavia took a deep breath, as if the subject made her remember something she didn't want to. "We tried having a....Relationship, a long time ago. I admit that it was exciting for a short while. However, after countless arguments and what not, let's just say it didn't really work out." She explained as she stared down into her tea again.

After a short time thinking, you decided to investigate a bit more. "What happened between you two? I mean... If you don't mind me asking. I'm just curious, that's all."

"Well..." She looked towards the ceiling after finishing her tea. She was obviously in deep thought. You wished she would look you in the eye out of politeness, but seeing as the subject was a bit sensitive for her, you let it slide. "Suffice it to say we suffered the curse of the majority of failed couples... We would argue about the most insignificant of things, and the fact that our jobs and musical tastes separated us in a lot of ways didn't help much. I guess Vinyl is a bit too.... Unpredictable. For my tastes, at least."

"Oh I see... I'm sorry it didn't work out..." You admitted truthfully.

Even in your real world, it wasn't a habit of yours to come in between a failed relationship. But, the truth was that you really were regretful that it didn't work out between them. Octavia and Vinyl were exact opposites, but that's why they were so appealing as a couple. Seeing them split up like this was certainly a disappointment. You tried balancing the happy feeling of opportunity with Vinyl with the feeling of respect and not stepping on toes. Or in this case, hooves. It made you guilty to be happy at the two mares not being together in that way.

Another gift of Octavia's was her ability to read faces as if it were a profession.

"Don't worry, we're both fine," She reassured you.

"The break up could have definitely gone worse. We've learned to share on differences over the years and we're still good friends. That being said, I think you two would work out quite well. You seem fairly compatible in my humble opinion." She ended with a warm smile that you could tell was sincere. You flustered a little at her suggestion of you and Vinyl as a couple.

"W-well I mean we're not like that, n-not yet at least. I'm not implying that we will for sure, but..." Your eyes dart around the room, trying to avoid contact with Octavia's amused grin and raised eyebrow.

"It certainly seems that way to me." She said while sitting up from the table and putting her cup in the kitchen sink, losing her smile slightly when she noticed that Vinyl left dirty dishes in the sink for her to clean again. You gave an embarrassed smile as your face slowly turned pink.

You reminded yourself that it was probably getting late and you looked down at where your watch would've been if you had one.

"It is getting a bit late." Octavia said as she finished cleaning all of the dishes and looked out of the window at the sun falling below the horizon.

Not wanting to over-stay your welcome, you humbly thanked her for her assistance and her hospitality and reluctantly took your leave. After a somewhat awkward goodbye, you started to wonder what the norm was in terms of salutations. Certainly on Earth, giving a girl a light hug for greetings and goodbyes was acceptable, even if it was just a friendly relationship. Would be acceptable here? This was Equestria. You'd think hugs would be commonplace. However, giving a hug to Octavia seemed a bit inappropriate since she had such an elizabethan set of manners. The last thing you wished to do was make everyone around you feel uncomfortable, especially her.

Your way back to Twilight's treehouse was a lot easier to navigate, mainly because her house was a giant tree and you would have to be blind or Derpy Hooves to miss it.(*) You started to feel the fatigue of traveling back and forth from Canterlot and unloading your life story to Princess Celestia, and almost Octavia as well. A bit of disappointment began to set in because you didn't get to see Vinyl like you had hoped. Then again, you would've felt guilty for making her wake up from a much needed nap just to talk to you. At least Octavia was there. She was just as elegant and beautiful as you remembered. Approaching the front door of the treehouse, you instinctually reached for your pockets for a key to open it, but then realize that for some reason, none of the homes here ever had locks. You went into the front door and across the main living room, not feeling the need to knock on the door first or announce your presence, and crashed on the couch just before you heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs. No doubt, it was Twilight coming to de-brief you on today's "lesson" with the princess. On a side note, it intrigued (or rather, confused) you as to why Twilight never chose to use her perfectly good set of wings. She almost always chose to trot instead of fly, which would've, at least in your thoughts, been a lot more convenient.

"Welcome back!" Twilight said happily, apparently not as tired as you were, given the circumstances of last night. She levitated a pillow and tucked it under your head kindly as she took a seat on the stool opposite the couch. You greeted her with a "Hey", wishing you could appear more polite despite you being utterly worn out.

"So I assume the princess asked you the big question huh?" Right to the point.... Just like Twilight.

"Yeah... I asked her if I could think about it a bit more... Wait, you knew about that?"

"Sorta..." She said with an innocent and adorable smile, "But anyway, it's okay to not be sure yet. It's a big decision after all. Besides, your next meeting with Luna isn't until the day after tomorrow, and you'll have a couple of weeks to think it over."

"So, what do you think? Which should I choose?"

"Well...." Twilight thought long and hard. Now that you thought of it, Twilight, or anypony for that matter, wouldn't really understand the kind of decision you had to make since they've been ponies all their life. Even though Twilight went to the human world once before, your situation was a bit different. But still, she didn't gain the prestige of being a princess and an alicorn for nothing. You listened intently, open to any and all advice.

"Obviously, it's up to you. But if you asked me... Leaving your friends and family behind certainly isn't a good thing... But, if the world you come from is such a bad place compared to this one, the sacrifice would be somewhat worth it, wouldn't you agree?"

You were surprised that Twilight didn't immediately shoot down the idea of leaving your friends and family back home like Octavia did, and you answered with a nod as you closed your eyes. She noticed your subtle hints of fatigue and sighs.

"Oh well. Like I said, you have a couple weeks to think it over. A late and wise decision is always better than a quickly answered and uncertain one."

"Let me guess... Starswirl said that?" You say with a grin and a raised eyebrow.

"Yup!" Twilight smiles with a tiny *squee*.

Instead of going into the potentially prolonged speech about her fascination of Starswirl, she levitated a blanket over you on the couch, and gave you a quick but sincere "good-night" before trotting back up the stairs to her bedroom. After settling in and getting comfortable with the couch setup, you found your mind spinning again because of the question you had to answer. Was your family really worth going back to? Was there really that much of an investment in them? Wouldn't living in a world like this be like a My Little Pony fan's dream? Who would pass up a deal like that? If you hadn't been traveling back and forth from the castle today, the ordeal would've kept you up all night, even though you had been thinking about it all day. But, your worn out body was telling you otherwise. Your final thoughts before you drifted off were of Vinyl, predictably. You thought more and more about how long it was since you had seen her and you already started missing those big red eyes. They were so beautiful...

Two hours later...

Suddenly, you were awakened and your eyes popped open. Not from fright, but from a far away yet strong sound that reverberated against the wood of the tree. You noticed that it was still night time and, from the angle of the moonlight entering the room from the single window, you could guess that it was just past midnight. If it weren't for the strange noise, you could have probably heard a pin drop. But, the more you picked up on it, the more you realized that it wasn't just a sound, it was a beat; a constant solid bass kick with a medium rhythm. You got back up from the couch and stretched with a yawn, then went to put some clothes on before remembering you never took them off in the first place. You walked to the front door, being careful not to stub your toes on anything in the dark. Opening the door confirmed your guesstimate of the time by looking at the almost-full moon directly over your head. The open door and the quiet night made the beat clearer to hear and you saw that, far down the road, there was a house with lights and flashes coming from it. Thanks to the drowsiness, it took you a few seconds to realize it was Vinyl and Octavia's house. The urge in your stomach begged you to go find out what was going on. You knew for a fact that it was Vinyl playing the music. Who else would it be? It might be a rare opportunity to see her now that you were aware of her irregular sleep cycles that put her in bed all day long. But... Would Twilight get mad at you if you left without her knowing? You looked back inside, then back at the house. It was a peaceful night's sleep versus a night of partying with Vinyl and a potentially frustrated Twilight....

It took you about a half second to decide which you'd rather. You silently and carefully closed the door behind you and made your way down the dimly lit road towards the mare of your dreams.

Author's Notes:

*No offense to a certain wall-eyed mare who happens to be the most adorable pony ever.

PS: Again, please forgive any grammatical errors that may or may not occur.

PPS: <3