Constellations

"So, what do you think about it?"

Vinyl lay on her back, her head resting on her forehooves conveniently crossed just below the back of her head, and sighed, eyeing the grey earth pony mare who was lying next to her, her face scrunched in a frown. She adjusted her head so that she was looking at the mare.

"Tavi, I think you're just overthinking things." The white unicorn chewed on her lip. "You know, it's no use raging over every trifle."

"I'm not raging, Vinyl," the grey mare retorted with a disgruntled sigh. "It's just not fair!" she exclaimed, burying her face in her hooves. Vinyl put her hoof onto the mare's shoulder. "I'm trying to make a statement in music, and she just tells me, 'It's not supposed to be played like that'?!" Octavia's face lit up with anger.

"She's a teacher, Tavi." Vinyl shrugged. "They've always been a conservative bunch." The unicorn smiled at the still frowning cellist. "That's why you should've majored in Modern Music Theory, like me."

Octavia huffed indiffirently; still, it was obvious some of her righteous anger was melting away. "No way, Vinyl. To study with a pack of uneducated, crude DJs? No, thank you."

Vinyl laughed at her indignation. "We're not all like that, you know?" She shifted closer to the grey pony. "I'm not like that."

Octavia blushed, not moving a centimetre. "I know," she whispered and planted a small kiss on the DJ's lips, immediately turning her head away in embarrassment.

Vinyl loved that about her: the shyness, the meek, layman-tier kisses that she gifted her with, the social anxiety. It was what attracted her towards Octavia. Maybe that was because she, Vinyl Scratch, lacked those qualities?

"You're being a perfectionist, Tavi," she tried to reason with the young mare. "Stop paying attention to every small thing there is."

"Don't all the small things make the world go by, though?"

Now it was Vinyl's turn to frown. "Tavi, stop being philosophical with me," she wailed theatrically. "My poor brain can't handle it!"

To the DJ's delight, Octavia giggled and nudged her playfully. The sound of the cellist's laughter was music to her ears. She liked it much, much more than any dubtrot she listened to, even if she would never admit it aloud.

"Come here, you silly filly." Octavia threw her hooves over Vinyl's waist, dragging her into an embrace. The DJ exhaled and relaxed, the warmth that the grey mare's body radiated soothing her. She would never trade that feeling for the world, and it was especially welcome now, on a cool summer night.

The DJ  looked at the sky. The stars were winking at her from every corner, sharing her mild, concentrated happiness. The white mare squinted her eyes, trying to make out constellations. She had always found it strange, enigmatic, even - the way the stars were united by an invisible string, tied tight to each other. Constellations were small families, or groups of friends, or something else. Maybe she was just imagining things; but it sounded right in her mind.

"It's art," Octavia interrupted the thoughtful silence with a grunt. Vinyl glanced at her in expectation. "Music is art, it's not science," the cellist elaborated, waving her hoof in the air. "It can't be judged like they judge it at uni."

Vinyl chuckled. "You're  just saying that because you always get a B," she teased, fires of mockery dancing in her eyes.

The grey mare frowned and gave the DJ a slight nudge. "That's not true." She let out a wistful sigh. "I just don't get it: I feel the music that way; what if I feel it differently than I'm supposed to?" She kicked the ground angrily, her leg getting dirty as it fell flat on the young grass. "If I'm holding the bow differently, I get a B. If I'm standing up while playing, I get a B. If I'm trying to accentuate an upbeat note, I get a B!"

Anger was blooming in Octavia's voice, and Vinyl was greatly perturbed by that. She pulled the cellist closer and started planting small kisses upon her neck, feeling the tension slip away from the mare. Octavia sighed and hugged the white mare tight, letting her worries fade away gradually.

"I always get a B." She exhaled, suppressing a sniff. "Ponies who are worse than me at playing the cello get A's because they follow the rules." Now she sniffed for real, burying her muzzle in Vinyl's soft, warm fur. "I j-just can't follow the rules!" she exclaimed in despair. "I don't want to follow the rules!" She looked into the DJ's mesmerising red eyes. "Is there something wrong with me?"

Vinyl smiled. "You're just a rebel Tavi, even if you don't admit it. You want to prove that you're skilful, but they think you're too young and inexperienced." She shrugged. "I've been there; all teachers are the same."

"You have?" Octavia sniffed, rubbing her nose against Vinyl's shoulder. Her white fur was a little soaked from tears, but she didn't mind.

Vinyl nodded. "Once, when my teacher said he wished I were more proficient, I said," Vinyl cleared her throat, "I may be not as proficient as Coltrex, but I'm still more proficient than you." The DJ grinned. "Never got an A ever since."

Octavia looked up at the white mare, drying her tears with a hoof. "Really?" She snickered through tears at Vinyl's ridiculous behaviour.

"Really." Vinyl smiled. "You see, we can't be circum- um... suppressed by boundaries," the DJ amended herself with a blush. She would often misuse words, or forget them altogether. Still, to her relief, it seemed that Octavia didn't mind. "You can't be kept in a cage, I can't either. And this will lead to a lot of trouble in the future." Vinyl's face turned serious. "We're damned to be free, in a way." She let out a sombre chuckle, not shared by the grey mare, who seemed to be lost in contemplation.

"You know, you can really be philosophical at times, whatever you say." Octavia kissed the white mare on the tip of her horn. "And that's why you're the best marefriend in the world."

Vinyl blushed slightly, averting her eyes. "Th-thanks. I love you, Tavi." The mares shared a deep, passionate kiss, expressing their love to each other. Breaking the kiss, the mares looked at each other, as if they were trying to memorise every facial feature, every wrinkle, every movement.

"Look at the sky, Tavi," Vinyl whispered, and the grey mare obeyed her marefriend's command.

Not a single cloud ruined the perfect night sky. Constellations shone brightly across the nocturnal dome, like a beacon of warm trust and magnificent glory, like a testament to what ponies could be if they were perfect. Vinyl saw the stars as perfect beings, perfectly independent, perfectly free. They had no boundaries to follow.

"It's all about boundaries." Vinyl shifted, laying her hoof atop the cellist's chest. She could feel her marefriend's chest rise and fall as she breathed slowly, marvelling at the silent night. "They make boundaries for us; life makes boundaries." She chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "It's our choice to follow them or break them."

"But if we choose to break them..." Octavia began, a realisation setting in her mind.

"We automatically get into trouble; so we are the ones who have chosen this trouble, in the first place."

Octavia fell silent, her ear twitching slightly. A vernal breeze rushed from the west, making her shiver and crawl closer to her marefriend. "So you are basically saying that it is ultimately our fault that we experience difficulties at uni, and in life?" the grey mare clarified.

"Exactly." Vinyl bowed her head slightly.

Octavia frowned. "You know, I'd rather be free and face difficulties than lead an easy life and be restricted," she said, her tone determined, her face honest and tranquil.

Vinyl couldn't suppress herself and leaned in for a kiss that lasted a little longer than the previous one. "That's why I love you," the DJ said simply, holding the wonderful cellist close to her chest, feeling Octavia's fresh, minty, invigorating breath on her cheek.

"Oh, only because of that?"

Vinyl could sense the hint of mockery in her marefriend's voice, and grinned in relief. Philosophical debates weren't really her forte. "No, you're also a damn good kisser~" she said in a sing-song voice, planting a sloppy smooch on the cellist's neck.

Octavia giggled and waved her hoof with a blush. "Oh, come on, you flatterer!" She pecked the white mare on her cheek and rolled over, glancing at the star-shimmering sky. She sighed. "Do you think it'll all be better in the future?"

Vinyl frowned, casting a look at the stars. They were silent and still, never perturbed by the issues of mortals. "I don't know, Tavi. Chances are, we'll still be as stubborn as now." She smiled warmly. "But you know what's the best thing?"

Octavia cocked her head aside - a cute gesture that made Vinyl's heart melt.

"We'll be together." Vinyl nuzzled her marefriend lovingly.

"I hope," the cellist replied with a smile of her own.

The DJ shook her head. "I know."

That sent Octavia's heart aflutter, and she nuzzled her mare in return. "Vinyl, would you like to come to my performance tomorrow?" she wondered, already knowing the answer. "Sure, I'll get a B, as usual, but-"

Vinyl silenced her with a kiss. Then she smiled and pierced her cellist with her stunning red eyes.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."