Allegrezza - FinaleAllegrezza: ConclusivoCoffeeGruntMounting entries on her to-do list coupled with a draining amount of time in which to attend to them had made Octavia somewhat irritable. The night of the Gala was upon them, and she was expected to be in attendance with her ensemble in no less than an hour. As such, it was very much to her chagrin that she discovered Vinyl asleep on the bed, where she should have already begun changing into her outfit.A burst of sharp jabs to the stomach remedied the situation, and Vinyl's bleary eyes were met with the sight of a rather indignant Octavia bearing down on her."Vinyl, are you asleep?!"A brief respite w
Allegrezza - Part Thirty-TwoOctavia wrapped her forelegs around Vinyl's midriff, vainly attempting to heave her away from the doorway. She dug her hooves into the ground to gain leverage, finally loosening Vinyl's grasp in a crashing, two-mare pile up. Octavia slowly brought herself to her hooves, donning her most sincerely disappointed facial expression."Look, you have to come shopping with me, whether you like it or not."Vinyl attempted to hide behind herself in a rather convoluted foetal position, groaning into the paving slabs and old chewing gum."I don't like clothes shopping. Come on, we just went to your rehearsal, can we just go home?"Octavia dug her hoo
A Very Merry VinylTavia ChristmasOctavia groaned, her more than comfortable slumber cut off by a trio of light prods to the stomach. She rolled away from her assailant, pinning her pillow tightly to her ears, and groaning further, just to drive home the point that she really did not want to be woken up at that moment.Sadly, the perpetrator of the poking failed to notice this less than subtle body language indicator, and replied with a more fervent series of prods to more tender areas of Octavia's torso. She rolled back over to face her, now fully awake and even more irritated at how awake she was. Octavia found a pair of exuberant, ruby eyes glimmering from the twilit room
Allegrezza - Part Thirty-OneThe midnight moonlight crept through the curtains, illuminating the room within. Eerie protrusions burst forth from the floor and walls, casting grim and wavering shadows that seemed to stalk their way across the room. Octavia had never enjoyed nighttime, her night sight had never been something to shout about. Sadly, Vinyl's room was full of all manner of debris, casting irregular pony-shaped shadows onto her imagination.The problem being, of course, that Octavia couldn't sleep. But an hour ago, this had been something of an advantage during the nighttime activities. Now though, it kept her mind turning over the same niggling doubts, snowb
Allegrezza - Part ThirtyThe decision having been made en route to their destination, Octavia found herself following Vinyl into her flat, carefully treading over a secondary carpet of DJing magazines and old glowsticks. She made to sit on the couch, but noticed her intentions impeded by a disarrayed assortment of vinyl records, pop tart boxes, and record player parts. She gently brushed the detritus to the side before comfortably resting herself on the sofa.Vinyl wandered off into the kitchen to organise some food, Octavia having mentioned her sudden pangs of hunger during the walk home. Alcohol made a habit of draining her stomach, it seemed, and the organ often
Allegrezza - Part Twenty-NineVinyl casually swilled another gulp of her drink, her sense of fulfillment only becoming more complete by the moment. Of course, while alcohol has rarely been considered a functional vector for gaining spiritual peace in general pony society, Vinyl had always found it to be an excellent relaxing agent. It dulled down her fervent miasma of thought into an enjoyable trickle that unveiled itself to her at a much slower and more manageable pace.It was because of this new state of mind that she failed to notice the barcolt's repeated attack runs on her vicinity, swooping down on nearby tables and claiming their abandoned glasses. Each strafe dre
Allegrezza - Part Twenty-Eight"So, what do you wanna do tonight, then?"Vinyl's grin spread across her cheeks, arching an eyebrow for good measure. Octavia gaped at her for a second, before experiencing a moment of blushing realisation. Her voice turned to a hushed whisper, tinted with laughter."Vinyl, you really can be so forward sometimes.""What, I didn't suggest anything. Not thinking dirt thoughts about us again, Octavia?""Oh, but you...You really are the most irritating tease, are you aware of that?""I aim to please, m'lady.""Well, I was feeling something more towards a nice, relaxing drink than anything else."Vinyl gently raised her shades from over her
Allegrezza - Part Twenty-Seven"Have at thee, vile Jockey of the Discs!"Octavia brandished her cello bow like a sword, waving it at the white unicorn across from her, who gasped in mock amazement."You think you can defeat my music, Violin player?""Cello.""Whatever. I will make music so loud, your precious cello will play nothing but dubstep for weeks!"Octavia took her turn to gasp in a most theatrical manner, once more jabbing her bow in Vinyl's direction."Wanton words shall be your downfall, Mistress of the Mic'! Now I will show you what real music sounds like!"Octavia brought her cello up on its stand, giving it a showmarely twirl before locking it against
Allegrezza - Part Twenty-SixThe quartet of acquaintances finally departed the side room. With the truce now in place, Zimmer sighed as he looked at his watch. It had taken the pair of string instrumentalists an hour to essentially tell one another to be quiet and play the notes. This job was too taxing for an elderly stallion. After his paycheck went through, he'd book a nice, permanent holiday to the beaches of Sri Llama.Vinyl and Bonbon got comfortable in the seating area once again, while Lyra and Octavia reclaimed their space on the stage. Each found the sheet music they had scattered around in their standoff, and pored over it together. Octavia noted an interesti
Allegrezza - Part Twenty-FiveLyra and Bonbon stared at the subtle whisps of smoke diffusing from Octavia's heated temperament. Ironically, the closer Vinyl was to danger, the more she pushed herself towards it by taunting Octavia. Thus, Darwhinny's Theory of Natural Selection was given a beautiful demonstration as Octavia shunted Vinyl in the ribs, causing her to collapse onto a seat. Vinyl rearranged her legs after landing to make it seem as it if were purposeful, rather than having her rump kicked.Bonbon lightly clapped her hooves as Octavia finally cooled down, offering an apologetic hoof to help Vinyl back onto her own."Wow, Octavia, you sure do have a temper. Be
Allegrezza - Part Twenty-FourIt would be understandable for Octavia to note that she found the experience of a 'time-out' rather humiliating. It had cut through her fourth tirade about how Lyra's method of play was akin to a llama castrating a cat in a most irritating manner. It worried her deeply, however, that Hoofz Zimmer had decided to split the pair from the group and deposit them outside the performance hall in a somewhat embarrassing tirade. Thankfully, he hadn't decided to simply fire Octavia and Lyra from the quartet, they were simply left to cool down.However, while Octavia enjoyed the idea of Lyra suffering at the same time as her, she didn't enjoy the curre
Allegrezza - Part Twenty-ThreeOctavia set the case on the stage, deftly flicking open the clips and unveiling the instrument within. The whole situation was much calmer now, especially in contrast to her ragged nerves that night. Zimmer knew her skill and prowess, she had nothing to prove this time. Instead, she simply had to learn the notes required for her.Learning was something that came relatively naturally to Octavia. Truly, any musician worth their salt-lick was also a fast learner. Decoding notes, rhythm and timbre at a speed ponies of other professions found difficult to match. Octavia's own specialty was more the art of learning and understanding a piece. Looki
Allegrezza - Part Twenty-TwoThe short walk to Octavia's rehearsal passed in something akin to an awkward, heated silence. Octavia had made it quite vocally known exactly how difficult it had been to recalibrate her sound system to her usual specification. It was around the moment when Vinyl suggested that her modifications had improved the sound of the system that Octavia almost felt like throwing one of the Ponysonic speakers at her.Vinyl had left Octavia to it. After eating the pancakes, making something up about a DJ-ing gig, and exiting stage left as rapidly as possible while Octavia was still in one of her moods. At this moment in time the tension was still persi
Allegrezza - Part Twenty-One"I suppose I could hardly have expected an emotionally searching evaluation of last night, then?""Aww, come on. When was I ever big with emotions and stuff?""True."Octavia shifted slightly, causing her stomach to quake. It was far later than her usual breakfast time, maybe she should break away from Vinyl for a moment to gather up some food."Are you hungry, Vinyl?""Sorta, got any Cheerileeos?""No.""Zeco Pops?""No.""Scootabi-?""I have pancakes. Will pancakes do?""Only if they're the big, flat pancakes. Not those little, fat dumpy ones."Octavia groaned. "Yes, yes, I will make you some crepes. You'll just need to get off
Allegrezza - Part TwentySunlight finally drifted through the window, it smote the dust that curled and flurried in the new morning breeze, like the blizzards seen in a snowglobe. It crawled its way across the floor as time rolled on, finally alighting upon a pair of ponies asleep on the sofa, and in one-another's embrace.The sun was what raised Octavia from her uncharacteristically late slumber. She shifted herself slightly as she woke, reworking muscles that had lain comfortably unused for the night. Her eyelids flickered open to see the pillow of electric-blue hair she had fallen asleep on that night. The night before came rushing back, Octavia's cheeks lighting
Allegrezza - Part One+Octavia fidgeted backstage, ensuring her mane was in perfect form, her cello tuned, and that her bow wasn't frayed or missing any strings. Her equipment was perfect, and as she strode out onto the stage, cello in one hoof, bow in the other, she felt pleased that her performance would match her instrument's perfection as well.Carefully, she set down the cello, resting it by the long spike that protruded from its bottom. She stood on her hind legs, a delicate and graceful synergy as she and her cello used each other for balance. Finally, she raised the bow to the strings, and began to play. The sweet melody of Beethoofen's Sixth filled the ha
Allegrezza - Part Two+Octavia heard the late-night bar long before she even laid eyes on it. It was exactly what she expected to be open at such a late time in the night. The dull thud of the bass reminded Octavia of a Pilohippus banging rocks together, and probably carried the same calibre of musical finesse with it. She spotted a young colt pointing a hoof at her as she waited outside, his friends chuckling amongst themselves. They had absolutely no chance of being let in; manes spiked with gel, hoofs shod with trainers, and dressed in trashy tracksuits that Octavia imagined must be really, 'hip,' with these types of vagrants.Octavia herself, on the other hoof
Allegrezza - Part Three+One merit Octavia had to give to Buck Daniels, was that it slowly washed away any capability she had for tasting, until she no longer grimaced with each sip. In fact, she even gained the courage to move up to, 'slugging,' the drink, not that she'd ever be caught dead using that phrase. It was after several on-the-house glasses, from an unknown benefactor, that she found herself lacking the co-ordination to even pick up the glasses anymore. Her teeth simply failing to gain purchase on the sides. Upon blearily inspecting the two glass-mirages in front of her, she noted that instead of the stout glasses she had been given all night, she was inst
Allegrezza - Part Four+Octavia would never dare admit it to another pony, but that morning was not the first morning in which she had awoken in the painful vice grip of a hangover. It wasn't the first time her taste for whiskey had gotten the better of her either, nor the first time that her thirst for it had become quite this excessive.It was, however, the first time it had landed her in bed with another mare.She blearily opened her eyes, the open curtains allowed Celestia's sun to invade her retinas in full force, making her clamp them shut again. She then clamped a pair of hooves to her head, and took up the foetal position. The irritatingly familiar sensati
Allegrezza - Part Five+Octavia juggled the various utensils and pans simmering away in her kitchen. It was beginning to dawn on her that perhaps an entire three-course meal may be a bit more than was necessary to prove the point. However, Octavia had made her bed, and she was perfectly willing to lay in it...as long as it was otherwise empty, that is.The daisies simmered in the baine-marie, while she lightly fried some cowslips in olive oil. The lettuce was being steamed nicely, she felt she could quite happily declare this dinner a success. It was difficult to fail in creating a salad at least, but she had prepared a delicious basil and parsley dressing for it,
Allegrezza - Part Six+Octavia had spent much of the last hour preparing herself to see Vinyl's, 'gig.' She had ensured her mane was correctly combed and conditioned to its usual lustrous sheen. Her bow-tie was carefully tied around her neck, which was no small feat considering the inherent clumsiness of the hooves she was forced to use. A final glance at the mirror, a proprietary shot of Glenmorangie to start the night, and she felt ready to watch as Vinyl acted upon her wager. The dinner had went well, all things taken into account. The majority of it was idle chatter, to be fair, but she had promised to watch Vinyl play tonight, at the very least to ensure she h
Allegrezza - Part Seven+Vinyl snuck the tip of her hoof under the record, flicking it so that the record somersaulted up into the air, before catching it with her teeth. She bowed and thanked her audience, before revealing her iridescent grin to Octavia. Octavia was loathe to admit it, but Vinyl had thrived without the aid of her horn. Though she had to give Vinyl her due, she was glad the show had went without any catastrophic failures that would culminate in the mob storming the stage. Octavia still had to buy the drinks tonight, though."So, Octy. Shall we head to the bar for those drinks you owe me?"Octavia tried her best to save face. Which, for her, meant s
Allegrezza - Part Eight+Octavia returned to the table, delicately balancing the two drinks upon her forehooves. One was her Shiraz, having moved on from the Sauvignon Blanc she was drinking earlier. The other, of course, being Vinyl's drink. She delicately placed the glass on the table, but still with enough force to produce a noticeable bang. She had to hoof it to herself, she was doing well despite the fuzzy veil of alcohol that was draped over her mind.Vinyl shot up from her semi-conscious position, her eyes turning from bright joy to dulled confusion. She tapped the glass, sniffing the contents before turning her confused gaze to Octavia."What the hay is thi
Allegrezza - Part Nine+Octavia brandished her chocolate-pickle tipped spear at Vinyl's muzzle, who had her own stick locked between her teeth. The two stared each other down, willing the other to make the first strike. It was Octavia who made the first light jab, aiming for Vinyl's mouth. Vinyl parried the stick with a deft move of her own, poking Octavia's cheek for good measure. Octavia jabbed once more, pulling back as Vinyl moved to block the attack, then bombing the pickled onion straight into her open mouth. She laughed triumphantly, a wicked grin spreading across her face as Vinyl grimaced at the taste in her mouth.To an outside observer, this may have pre
Sta.sh
