A High Note Before The Dropby Applejack_HonestlyChaptersCue up the tracksFirst DropWhite NoisePitch BendMusical AscentCue up the tracks"I love you, Vin." She says, latching onto my arm. "I love you too, Olivia." I reply, she squeeze my arm a little tighter. We've been together officially for 4 years. We were that couple. The one that seems perfect. We never really fought, or disagreed on anything. We just kinda agreed on the same thing whenever something came up. I motion that I needed to get up out of bed, Olivia responsively releases me from her clutches. I meander to the bathroom to begin the morning rigamarole, Shit, shower, shave, etc. “Hey Hun, guess what tomorrow is?” Olivia pipes up from the bedroom, Probably looking at the calendar she put up over my desk. “Whath?” I mumble through my toothbrush, mirror inadvertently getting the shrapnel of toothpaste-spit all over the mirror. I do my best to wipe it down with a nearby rag. “My 25th, and yours the day after the next.” Son of a bitch. How did I lose track of the days like that?! What the hell am I going to get her? Augh... Twenty five... How did I make it this far myself, with a girl who seems to love me? I push these thoughts around for a moment before turning on the shower. “I have choir practice today, don’t forget!” she says, letting off a little giggle. This tells me a multitude of different things. One, she knows I don’t have anything planned or Two, She doesn't know and is just reiterating details I’ve known for a long time now. Yes yes, choir practice every thursday till 11 pm. I finish up and get out of the shower, and proceed out into the bedroom, nothing but towel hiding the family jewels. Olivia just smirks as I stand in the bathroom doorway, superman pose and everything. “Easy chief, If you don’t get around you’ll be late for work.” She says, laughing a little as she passes by, closing the bathroom door tightly behind her. I relax my pose and proceed to get dressed in some decent pants, and a regular button up shirt. Another soul-crushing day at a data entry job. Oh well, a good session on the DJ tables I’ve been toying with the past few months trying to learn will help recover some of it when I get home. “Bye, Olivia, I'll see you tonight.” I say, cracking open the door and sticking my head in. “Have a good day, Don’t let the nasty upper-management thugs keep you down!” She says, with a stereotypical Pep-talk tone to her voice. “Right. I’ll just threaten to beat them with a baseball bat, like I always do” I reply sarcastically. I grab my keys off the table to the right of the door. I’ll admit, soul crushing job aside... It pays pretty well. We’re in the city in a relatively decent sized apartment, with two rooms, kitchen and living room. One of which we had soundproofed as much as possible without violating the lease, for recording purposes. I’m not as musically inclined, or haven’t been until recently, as Olivia. She is in the local orchestral / choir society, and deserves to be. I get in the old beater of a car, a Toyota Tercel, that has been around probably longer than I have. All held together by the will of the automobile lords, and absurd amounts duct tape. I proceed to disengage the anti-theft device combination lock that is the ignition sequence... kick the floorboard three times... turn the steering wheel all the way to the left... then right... flick the lights... jiggle the key. Then and only then does the hatchback zombie of a vehicle gurgles to life. Okay, it is probably a little asenine to keep this thing when I could probably get something else that at least doesn’t require a rain-dance to start. What can I say? The thing has a bit of charm to it. After a load of traffic, I arrive at the complex. I noticed fewer cars than normal contained in the lot designated ‘Employees Only’. Once inside, I see a single man at the main help desk that I don’t recognize. “What...? The entire Division?! OUTSOURCED SUDDENLY OVERNIGHT?!” I’m a pretty healthy individual... but this sent my blood pressure skyrocketing. “I tried calling you!” said one of the supervisors that walked by, carrying a box of office supplies. “Should have kept your contact info up to date on the office contact list.” he piped back up, as if it even mattered anymore. Fact of the matter is, I did good work and got everything done in a timely fashion. However I undermine all non-essential things like the contact list. Vendors would just walk by, copy it, and send it off to who knows where, and suddenly half the staff had magazine subscriptions they didn’t order. “What am I supposed to do for work now?!” I say, holding back the damned floodgates of hell. “Well we’ve prepared a list of bullets points anyone can put into resumes, of which we've included reference and contact information for future employment assistance!” spoke the lackey of the big-wigs, who came down to supervise the office shut down and clean-out. He reeked of corporate slime. I wanted to massacre him, right there. Just turn him into a puddle of red jam-like substance on the weathered gravely carpet. To say I was angry is an understatement. How dare they shut the entire division down?! There was NOTHING about it the previous day! If anything there were talks about another division joining ours. I did nothing. The spokesperson had wandered away at some point, muttering something about his condolences, and wishing me good luck on the job hunt. I check my phone, at this point it is about 10:30 am. I’m emotionally drained. What will I do? For that matter, what will WE do? Olivia’s singing does get a good bit of money, but not lots. Definitely not for an apartment like ours, and not alone. I walk like a zombie back to my car. I sat there for two whole hours before making the decision to drown my new problems in potentially unhealthy doses of alcohol. With that decision made, I awaken the elder gods that keep my mode of transportation alive, and head home. I stumble into my bedroom, no decent alcohol joints are open for drink serving quite yet. I dig into my private stock of alcohol, normally saved for happier occasions. I grab a bottle, remove the cap, and thusly pitch it in whichever direction it so pleases to fly. I sit at my computer and turn it on. I look at the calendar to see two days circled in red, Tomorrow, and Sunday... SHIT! Olivia’s Birthday! I look at the untouched alcohol. “I have time...” Besides it was only 1:40 pm, I had the entire day, thanks to being let go. I decide that a little mixing would help vent as well, as I pull out my rather dusty DJ deck, with digital spindles that represent vinyl record platters. “Hello, old gal”. I take a swig of the delicious nectar of the gods and get down to business. -><- “Olivia! you were great today. Wanna come with a few of us out for a drink? It’s your birthday tomorrow isn’t it?” “Ah, yeah. I really shouldn’t though...” Olivia replies, sheepishly. Vincent would probably have something planned. “C’mon, live a little!” “No, really. Vin probably has something back at home...” “Alright! your loss!.” Olivia pulls out her cell, 11:15 pm... 45 minutes till I’m twenty five. She pulls up the contacts list and dials Vincent’s number. *ring ring* *ring ring* … “I’m sorry ‘Vincent’ is not available at the moment, if you would like to leave a message, please wait till after the beep... *BEEP!*” “Vin? are you there? Probably have your phone on vibrate... I’ll shoot a text and call the apartment, if you don’t answer I’ll be going out with some friends...Okay! bye!” She types out a message repeating the same thing as the voicemail. then dials the apartment landline. “I’m sorry the number you dialed is not available at the moment, if you would like to leave a mes-” Olivia hangs up... I guess he didn’t have anything planned for tonight... “Hey, Is that offer still available?” -><- I lift my head up off one of the turntable platforms. What the heck... Did I fall asleep DJing last night? I rub my face and open my eyes to have them barraged from the daylight from the window behind my computer, making it painfully clear that i was hungover. I bump the mouse of my computer to wake it up... the time shows 8:45 am... OH CRAP I’M G.. Wait.. I’m unemployed... Right... I would be running late... I see a lump in bed sleeping still. I get up and go toward the bed. I lift the covers enough to get in close to Olivia. Wait... What's that on her thigh? A violet treble clef? Birthday present for herself? Oh son of a biiiitch. I never got a present... Olivia begins to stir. “Vinyl...?” she says groggily. “No, I’m flesh and bone! nothin’ fake here!” I say cheesing it up worse than a cheese factory, completing it with a perfect shit-eating grin. “...What are you talking about...?” she says.. seemingly irritated. “What’s wrong with you?” i ask, concerned. “Mmmmh..drinking...” she mumbles into a pillow. She suddenly lifts her head, looking at the clock. “Vin! you should have been gone 20 minutes ago, what are you doing here?!” “I-uh- called off! yeah! Happy birthday! I’m your love slave for the next 48 hours!” “Don’t say those wooords...” she groans. “You emptied... an entire thing of spiced rum. Why aren’t you in misery with me, or dead?” “I am, just as your slave I’m not allowed to complain!” Actually, besides the initial pain of the light... I actually started to feel better. “I had the weirdest dream last night... I was on stage... solo... I was waiting for someone who hadn’t shown up... I felt like absolute shit, but something happened... and... crap I don’t remember the rest...” she says, scooting back in the bed to lean her back against the headboard of our bed. “Speaking of drinking... These something that resorted out of a drunken choice?” I expose the treble clef on her right thigh. “W-what?” She stammers and looks “OH CRAP, WHAT?!” she looks at it and rubs at it, however it isn’t phased. “This can’t be real! I wouldn’t ever think of getting anything like this!” she says panicking a little. “I think it looks kinda cute on you.” I reply, she looks up like i had insulted her on a bad level. “No! I can’t have this! The choir! They’ll kick me out! they have strict rules and crap about this kind of stuff!” she says, putting her hands into her hair. “We’ll figure it out... Wait hold still…” I lean in closer to her face. “Did.. someone give you colored contacts or something?” I say, staring into her violet eyes. “W-what? I’d know if I had contacts in... Colored? No you know I have brown eyes!” “C’mere.” I say, walking around to the other side of the bed, grabbing her outstretched hand, and helping her out of bed. We walk into the bathroom, and she looks into the mirror. “Oh. What? Wait… WHAT?” She says, failing words. she pokes at her eye, as though attempting to dislodge a contact “There’s nothing there! my eyes somehow changed... There’s no alcohol that does that, is there?! No, that’s stupid! As far as I know there isn’t ways to physically CHANGE your eye color... let alone to an odd color...WHAT DID YOU DO?!” she turns to me, like flipping a switch, instantly furious. “ME? WHAT I-” I stammer, nearly falling backward at the sudden accusation. “YOU! You.. You did SOMETHING! This is a prank or something because of my birthday! ISN’T IT!” she says, beginning to sound hysterical. “No, Olivia! why would I do something like this!” “Don’t lie to me! I know you! I called you and you didn’t answer last night! you were plotting this!” “Olivia!” I say, and throw my arms around her. she lets out a little sob. “I didn't do this! I don’t do these things! I might pick at you a little, but I’d never go as far as putting something permanent onto you!” I explain to her as convincingly as possible. I pat her head a little. She must have switched shampoos or something because DANG it’s soft as silk! I couldn't quite pin the scent either. “Your hair feels nice, if that’s any consolation...” I say comforting her in any way I could. “We have the next three days ALL to ourselves. we can look into getting... wait is it on both sides?!” I turn her sideways. she lets out a loud groan and I look at her just as i see tears start streaming from her eyes. “Aw babe, no! It’s going to be okay! don’t cry!” I hug her again, trying to cut off whatever waterworks is supplying the tears. “I need to lay back down...” She says. I release her from my embrace. I follow her as she climbs back into bed, failing half way and just laying face first across the bed, groaning. I turn on the TV that sits across from the bed. I sought distraction from the issue currently at hand and figured the media center would supply that much. Apparently, I had been playing some song from the original My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic show. I must have mixed with it at some point last night… “Ponies? Really? How’d I manage to get that-... wait a second...” I say and turn to look at Olivia. “Octavia’s Cutie mark” I say out loud Author's Note If you see something off please highlight and comment here; http://goo.gl/8Oe1a I'm still kinda new at fanfic writing! so critique is encouraged! there are some things I may readjust and expand upon later, but the story itself won't really be affected. (It'd be more potential hole-filling edits more than anything.) Other than that, enjoy! if ya liked it, tell me so, and favorite! First Drop"Who's what?" Olivia says. "Octavia, from mlp forever ago!" "Oh god, that was forever ago, wasn't it... So whatever is happened... So someone decided that i liked ponies too much a couple of years ago, and gave me a free cutiemark? This is still so bizarre..." "You know you can get tattoos removed" "That stuff is painful... I don't know how they managed this the first time." "You wanna try seeing if its just some high end water tattoo?" "Are you trying to say i need a shower?" "Easy! I wasn't implying anything! Why are you getting so snappy?" "Sorry... Its just this stuff... Who would be such a low-life to do this?" I shrug, I haven't the foggiest clue on what's happened. I'm admittedly more curious about the eye color change than the tattoo. Olivia eventually gets back up, and paces into the bathroom, shower cranking on to follow. After a few minutes, she begins to sing... A melodic tune I find completely new to my ears... Was this a song the choir gave her to sing a part for solo? I turn off the Tv, which now had just become nonsensical background noise, and get back on the computer. I open up ye olde google image search, and type in "octavia". Sure enough, the violet cutiemark of a treble clef was matching the one on Olivia's thigh. I pull up a face shot of her. The first thing I notice is Octavia's violet eyes. I chuckle, whoever was doing this, maybe they think her as earth's version of Octavia? Thats some crazy stalker shit. I think about it more... She's not really been the center of the show even for one song. I look at my cell phone, 3 missed calls 4 text messages, and a notification of voicemail messages. I look at the texts first; Tried calling, you must be busy or something... I'll try the house, if i cant get to you, I'll be going out with a few girls from the choir. 11:46 pm Woops... I must have passed out at that point... hey just wanted tosay thanks. 12:34 am Thanks for what? the girls are telling me i might have a shot at a solo spot i 1:20 am How late were they drinking? you're a great friend vinl and i love you Wait what? She's my fiance... Did I just get drunk girlfriend friendzoned? Eh... Nah can't be. How about that typo? 'Vinl' I chuckle, and stop half way into it. "Vinl... Vinyl..." I say out loud, and then I recall her say that when I woke her up... Was she meaning...? I type in "octavia and vinyl" into the google image search. Yep, low and behold, the brony fandom famed musician shipping of classical and modern pony musicians. Vinyl Scratch with her mythically red eyes, latched on to Octavia Melody, as if protecting her or defiantly hugging a teddy bear after declaring it "mine!" My mind went wild creating theories... Mind control nano machines? No, thats dumb. Hypnosis? How does that give someone outwardly visual changes? Aliens? I sigh at the thought, sounding the most plausible of the theories. My belly rumbles. I double check the time. The computer clock says about 10:00 am. Just in time for breakfast. Perhaps some pancakes, eggs, and bacon will cure this weirdness. I begin preparing a breakfast of champions! Well, maybe if you don't mind slightly crunchy pancakes. The eggs turn out well, the bacon's pungent scent making my mouth water. "What on earth is that DEATHLY smell?!" Olivia says, coming into the kitchen. "Deathly? Thats the smell of freshly cooked bacon, from our fallen enemies!" I say, poking fun at Olivia. "No, it literally smells like rot in here! Turn on a damn vent! How are you cooking and not wanting to vomit?!" I take a big draft of the bacon-flavored air. I shrug, and follow her request. The vent above the stove whirs to life. I prepare her plate and mine and lead her to the living room. "What is wrong with these pancakes...?" She says, a bite of them partially chewed impeding speech. "Don't like the added calcium?" "Augh, this bacon smells rancid... I can't eat any of this!" She says irritatingly setting the mostly untouched plate of food on the coffee table. "...I'm sorry babe, I was just-" "Its quite alright... Probably this hangover wreaking havoc on my stomach..." "So what do you want to do?" "To be honest, I kinda want to be alone..." "Are you sure? I mean what if your creepy stalker tattoo artist comes back?" "My what- Oh... Great now thats on my mind again... Why don't you call your boss to see if you can just go in late, we can't afford you to call in sick." My insides suddenly twist. "No no, I'm here for YOU today! Lets worry about worries later!" She looks at me with a dubious expression, but turns towards the window "I'm going to do some recording... I need to keep in vocal-shape if I hope to get that solo part..." "Are y-" I start, but interrupt myself. Mid thought so not to sound like a broken record. "I've not worked since I was little to get lazy now." She gets up and enters the sound room, securing the door behind her. I let out a sigh, its getting to be a pain dodging these bullets. She's definitely acting a little strangely though. -><- I shut the door behind me, the satisfying click knowing that whatever I said in here was unlikely to be heard outside allowed me to sigh in relief. I feel as though I am becoming more and more frustrated with vincent. Though its nothing passed the normal. He can't cook, the kitchen was a disaster area, and his wit, while usually charming, seemed to poke a little deeper than normal. Maybe it was the alcohol? Its neering 11 hours since I recall starting to drink. I move a stool around to a mic set on the desk, turned on the recording software on the laptop dedicated for such things. I ran through a number of the choir's previous songs. Something felt off about singing them. I glance about the room, sipping a bottle of water, and spot one of the instruments we managed to pick up cheaply, yet were still in good condition. A trumpet, snare drum, and a cello. I stared at the ladder. I’d taken lessons on how to play it, but it had never lit the creative fire in me like singing. My mind wandered while I stared. It was in playable shape, but its previous owner had been... Cruel, to say the least. Mother wanted me to become some featured piece in an orchestra, but settled when I was accepted into the choir group. I grab the cello and set up a previous recording to play while recording the cello's music. I played... And played... I kept playing long after the echo of my voice in the recording silenced itself. A cord snaps, lashing at the bow of the cello. As if broken from a trance I look about. Stunned, I replace the cello in its spot, shut off the recording and examined the time... Nearly 4 pm. I look back at the sad cello, cord bouncing slightly. The sight of it made me feel depressed, like a friend left, and wouldn't be back for a long while. I sigh, and go to the door. I begin to feel a little weak, as I open the door. I step through, and feel my leg gave out. -><- I look up in time to see olivia step, and begin to fall. She hits the carpeted floor about the same time I get to her side. "Olivia?!" "...Vin..yl..." "Olivia, are you alright...?" "I... I think I just need some rest..." She says, starting to get back up. I help her up carefully, and get her to the bed. The second she hits the pillow she's out like a light. I look her over, worried. She barely had breakfast... Given the bit she had may as well had been littered with eggshell. She was in the soundroom through lunch, and it was nearing dinner time. So maybe it was just a lack of food to blame for this? God I'm a piece of work, to let the girl they want to marry get this way... I admit defeat, and allow her the entirety of the bed. I consign myself to the couch, where I let mindless netflix movies carry myself also into an early sleep. -><- I am on stage, singing, and playing the cello, bow clutched in a hoof, an art form only a few dedicated to playing have learned, let alone mastered. I scan the crowds, Vinyl is missing, still. Figures. This has become synonymous with her that she'd be too 'busy' to show support during these silly events. Work before friends, right? Tears build on my eyelids. The song ends, and a light opens from the back, somepony coming in during the small break. My heart jumps for a minute, then the curtains drop- "What I-" I say, turning to the side stage. An evil chuckle comes from all around it seems. "Pardon, I need the stage." Its words roll off its tongue like venom. "Excuse me, but you're interrupting my performance! Leave NOW!" "A performance? For who? Your friend that never showed up? Hahaha" his chuckle was like salt in the already gaping wound. "You have no rights to be up here!" "Face it Octy, your DJ found something or someone better." "Shut up, you don’t know what you’re talking about." "Let me just do you a favor then? Its a little ditty that I've been playing to death lately! It goes something like this..." "Five score divided by four.." Author's Note So here's chapter 2! Let me know if you catch anything wrong or messed up grammatically. Made this chapter short because of it feeling a little dry for me. So yeah, OPINIONS PLOX. White NoiseI awake, irritated, like I had just dealt with horrendous traffic, and been blocked from my exit on the highway. I roll out of bed gross with sweat, onto the balls of my feet. I bounce a little, before attempting to go full foot on the floor. I wince a little, I’d find this odd, but wearing heels for a concert that lasts hours has done almost similar things. So I brush it off, with a flick of my tail. Wait... -><- "Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" I jump about a foot into the air, before falling to the floor in front of the couch I had been asleep on. "Olivia?! What is it?!" I say scrambling to my feet to see what the problem is. Olivia is standing in the bathroom, in just an under shirt and underwear, Octavia's cutiemark clearly visible. Did her hair always be that lon- HOLY CHEESE BISCUITS IT MOVED! "What the hell?" "I have a tail! I have a little horse's tail." "What in the seven layers of hell...?" I stand there in disbelief. Olivia, my would-be wife is standing here with... A rather adorable ponies' tail. It matches her hair perfectly in color... Or did her hair color change slightly? Hard to tell, its always been black, but it seems lighter somehow. "Stop standing there staring!" "What do you WANT me to do?!" "Fix this." "Olivia, trust me, if I knew how I would." "Why me? I was where I wanted to be... Meanwhile you're sitting perfectly fine at your job, I'm going insane!" She slumps against a wall. I feel another nail driven into my soul, as I perpetuate the lie of my termination. I crouch down beside her and lean against the wall. "Whatever happens, just know I'll be there for you." I tell her "Oh Vinyl..." "Vinyl?" "What?" "You called me Vinyl." "No I didn't?" "Yes, you did" "I said 'Oh Vin', like I always call you." "Honey... You said Vinyl." "Don't talk to me like that! I know what I said, Vinyl-" She stopped. "Wh.. What is going on with me...? My mind is a mess, my body is weird... Its like im going through some horrific puberty but instead of discovering PMS I start calling people different names, and not realize it? I'm afraid, I don't know what to do..." She says. I roll over her and weasle my arms around her for a hug. "Thats alright, you can call me whatever. Octy." I threw in the last bit as a joke, only to receive a slap on the back of the head. "Ow!" "It is not polite to make fun of ponies in a poor situation!" She says in the posh accent of Octavia. I feel she did it jokingly, however it felt scarily accurate. "Is this really happening though? Am I going to wake up and be a horse?" She muses aloud "And why is it just me? Its clear who or whatever doesn't care about YOU." "I don't know." "I had that dream again last night... I was Octavia and I was performing... I was irritated because Vinyl had blown my concert off for the lost number of times... Then Discord shows up out of the blue and I wake up in a cold sweat, and angry..." "Heh, sounds like the crap series finale... Five score-" I start saying the line discord used on Twilight when Olivia looked like she was about to tear someone to shreds "He did that! He did that to Octavia because he wanted the stage for some silly reason in the damn middle of the concert!" "Calm down, Olivia, it was just a dream" i say trying to bring her down some. "I don't even understand why I'm getting angry over this!" "I'm kind of curious about why he wanted the stage... He's the ruler of chaos, couldn't he just... Magic one up?" "I don't know but this is getting frustrating..." "Well lets get things straight first... It seems whatever is happening is taking it's sweet time. We should set stuff up just in case if you do go full equine." I say, trying to plan things out "Oh god... Hooves... I'll be completely useless!" She says starting to delve into the erosion of her humanity. "Come on now, we gotta focus. The more we prepare now the easier it will be for you to be independant" "You're right..." She sighs, dropping her hands and standing up. "For the doors... We can attach something to the knobs to make them more lever-y... Maybe just replace them entirely... Maybe ropes and stuff on other things like drawers..." "Food... I don't think I'll be able to handle meat at any time in the future... And if you don't make pancakes like those again it will be too soon." "Probably explains why you were nearly gagging on the smell of the bacon. So Fruits and veggies, maybe some nuts or something..." "Do you recall if the lease allowed pets?" "Uh, no, why?" "Well I'll be a-" "An intelligent equine who knows right from wrong and knows the operation of a toilet. You are NOT a pet and fuck me if the manager gets pissy over an uncontrollable change in humanity" "I'm sure he'll understand" Olivia says, fetching a pad of paper and a pencil, she begins writing down a grocery list, and hardware list. This was the similar tactic we started with when we set up the sound room. She tears off the sheet and hands me it. "Go fetch. I'm going to poke around online to see if theres anyone else out there. Or if theres information on what happened to cause this." She holds out the paper, and i frown. "What? You expect me to go out in public like this?" I grumble, snatch the paper up, stick my tongue out at her with a "Pfbbth". I look over the list "... Cello strings?" "Yes, one snapped on me when I was playing it" "Priorities?" I say with an eyebrow raised "I'm going to be house bound, I want to be able to do whatever while I can." "Mmokay Octavia~" I say playfully. -><- I logged into my side of the computer. Opened up google and typed in "woke up with a cutiemark". It comes back with several thousand results... None of which cared about the context of the search. I knew this wasn't going to be as easy as asking the internet for a cure. I decide to check my usual internet stops... Facebook, youtube, etc. I read several posts... The mundane lives of these people blown out of proportion because they think they're all a one of a kind special snowflake. Facebook always serves to make me bitter and hateful. Browsing youtube consisted mostly of jumping from music video to video. Leaning heavy on the orchestral string based music. I'd never taken to the dirty grunge dubstep Vincent likes. I tolerate it on the principle that the work behind those songs is quite a skill. Nothing like mastering the care of various antique instruments featured when the choir is in concert. I hit a specific song... It started off like a phone conversation... Between Vinyl Scratch and Octavia. Things get a little heated when Octavia hangs up and it transitions into the actual song... I sit in the computer chair, frozen. The song came and went, ending with what sounded like an incoming cell phone call being rejected. I did not select a new video. The sum of my dreams and emotions was pretty much explained before me in a song that parodied another from a few years ago. Vinyl was a terrible pony... She could never pull herself out of her little world once she's set into inspiration. She'd explain... But it always felt like she was avoiding me... Avoiding Octavia. I stood up and moved to the bed, promptly falling face first into it. I begin to wonder if I am really alone in this... Vincent seems to not be changing or anything... So if this is some disease or something, atleast i wont be quarantined and pinpricked like a pincushion. Who am I kidding... Of course I will be. A charcoal grey cartoon pony roaming open air? You've got to be really dull to not think that strange. I roll over and look at my hands. They've been feeling stiff since i woke up. Thats not a happy feeling, definitely not for my humanity. A few hours and Vin returns and begins prepping doors and other things for fingerless usage. I feel like I should be breaking down more than I am over the thought of becoming a four legged fingerless tiny horse. However I feel something telling me that its okay. Its almost like when Vincent was hugging me earlier. Telling me we'll be alright. "Alright. All done. Doors are lever action, anything that can't be modified has a length of rope that when it comes to it you can just pull it open." He finishes, plopping down onto the bed with a grunt and a sigh. "I'm sorry I'm becoming a pain to deal with, especially on our mid-day" I say. The midday referred to the day between his and my birthdays... I wonder if I should give him his gift early. "Oh stop, theres no way in hell you'd been able to tell you'd turn into a pony." He retorts. "Mhm... Anyways, I was thinking... Why don't I give you your present early?" "You..? But i completely forgot to get you anything..." "All the better for my enjoyment then!" "... YOUR enjoyment?" I pull out a small box. "I got them late the other night." He opens up the box and inspects it's contents. "Pfft. Really?" He laughs. It was a pair of violet lensed sunglasses i picked up somewhere while blazing a path of alcoholic misery. "What, don't like them?" "You just are dead set on making me your Vinyl Scratch aren't you?" "Oh My Gosh I didn't even realize how alike they were, giving them to you was just a joke!" "You're terrible at lies" "I'm not lying! I swear!" "Sure..." I groan and roll my eyes at him. I lay in the bed a while longer before I begin to doze off... -><- "Octavia!!" I heard a familiar voice yell, she was running toward me as Discord wove whatever devious act. As I turn to face her I'm enveloped in a bright light "Vinyl!" I say... Just before everything fades to white, the last thing I feel is the embrace of my dearest friend Vinyl Scratch. Author's Note When I write these i usually give them a placeholder chapter name. It helps Me stay inspired on some silly level. This one was titled "Grand Symphony", Mainly for the ongoing musical theme I want in the chapters. But considering the feelings of helplessness Olivia keeps feeling, i figured White Noise would be a better fit. Pitch Bend“For Five Score! Divided by Four! Your memories removed, your body confused! For your insolence you must pay, Cast off to a land far far away!” These were the only words I heard after calling out to Octavia. Discord was doing some strange magic, and I was damn sure i was going to mess it up, if not stop it. "Hitchhiker. Heh good luck with that one Miss Vinyl." -><- I woke up, shaking the dream off of me. What was that all about? Just visual equivalent of white noise, and voices... Gah there it goes. Forgot what they said. I hate that. "Oliv-" i stop short. I spy A strange appendage hanging outside the bedsheet Olivia always had at bed. It looked hooflike, and covered in fur. Thats definately going to put her in a mood today. Cautiously, i move the blanket to see the scope of the damage... It appears to have crawled halfway up her calves. Her tail shifts as she starts to wake up. "Nnnnn" she hummed. "Sleep well princess?" I ask "Shut it, is the nightmare over or has it gotten worse?" She asks. "Uhm... That depends on your definition of worse... And got.. And has" i say trying to keep a higher spirit. She shifts about and sits upward. She tosses the sheet to my side of the bed. "My hooves." "Yeah, it appears they are." "Well then. I don't know what to do." "You rest, i'm going in for my birthday shower." "What? You're just going to leave me to my self pity just like that?" "You betcha sweet cheeks, besides its a shower. Unless you want me to smell up the place with my musk." "Ugh okay okay go. Just... Don’t get any 'musk' on the carpet." "Nooooo promises." I say ducking into the bathroom, stripping down to the au natural form. I turn to start the water of the shower when something catches my attention in the corner of my eye. "... No..." I mutter to the sound of the acoustics of the bathroom. "Nonononoonoono..." I begin rubbing my thigh. For it bore a mark in pure black, a music note, not unlike Olivia's treble clef. "What is it?" Olivia calls from the other side of the door. There was no beneficial reason to hide this from her... In fact i might be in the same boat as her in a day or two. "Babe... You're not going to like this." "Pleeeease don't tell me you did something-" "No, worse." I say opening the door. "Oh my god... I I I'm sorry... This has to be my fault somehow... Maybe the glasses were cursed or something, or whatever i caught was contagious..." "Stop. This couldn't have been your fault. And even if there is foul play at work how the heck were we to see it coming? Lets calm down for a minute. Lets focus on setting you up while we still have hands." I stood there looking at Olivia. I felt myself clenching my teeth holding back the torrent of emotions, and failing. Olivia moves closer and drapes her arms around me. I wrap mine around her as the first of many sobs escape. I ball up my fists, holding her shirt in them tightly, while hugging her tightly. She was quietly making my shoulder damp with her own tears. The reality of it finally struck home. I feel selfish just thinking about it taking ME to experience this to get here. "Its going to be okay, Vinyl... I'll be there for you just like you always were for me" she says, a comforting singsong to her words. "I'm scared..." I choke out. Quickly getting to the ugly snotty sobs. "I am too…” she grabs a tissue from the nightstand, and cleans my pathetic self up. I felt her hand movements were clunky. Motor control wasn't her friend right now. -><- I eventually recomposed myself. I stood up, stumbled a bit, but full functionality as a bipedicular. My belly groaned, Oct- Olivia’s groaned in agreement. “Well… Assuming if I’m following the same path… Meat is now an enemy…” I say, the words falling from my mouth as though a lifetime of being a guy who enjoyed crispy bacon, steaks done rare, and hamburgers were a religion I had just denounced. I shivered at the thought. “How about I cook, you go get clean… besides you've been sitting here buck naked for the past thirty minutes.” she chuckles. I find solace that she’s at least getting her humor back… wait was that a pony pun? I look down at myself, then to the eighth notes on my thighs. I grimace a little, then make my way into the bathroom in silent agreement. Vinyl had been a casual favorite of mine. sure, other ponies would catch my fancy from time to time. Octavia bouncing on and off the list, but Vinyl being a pretty constant ‘best pony’. I turned on my bathroom’s bluetooth speaker, it immediately queued up my music library from the media center. I recognized the song immediately from the fast-paced sounding cowbell at the start. I didn't know whether to party to the beat of the ‘Base Cannon’ or to just shut it off in frustration from the implications. -><- Opening the refridgerator. I scope out what can be used to make SOMETHING edible… I wasn't sure about the eggs. Do ponies eat eggs? I mean sure… the eggs were used in baked goods. I grumble and take out the carton. It slips from my hands, and onto the floor with a dissatisfying crunch. I wince, then look at my hands, as though expecting them to explain themselves. The stiffness only told me one thing, that they weren't far behind from the fate of my feet. I look at the mess I had made on the floor, thankful that it hadn’t claimed all the eggs. I carefully set them onto the counter, and pull out whatever veggies we had… some spinach, green onion, some tomatos. As I thought about it I nixed the tomatoes and onions. both would need chopped up,and I’d likely lose a finger. I heard Vin’s music crank up. and up. and up. if it weren't for the speaker she were using it’d be unbearable to listen to. belching out that greasy dubstep like the bacon grease left in the pan from the other day. I gagged a little, and moved the pan to the farthest point in the kitchen. Vin will be the one to handle that situation. Spinach omelette it is. The thought occurred to me that this could very well be the last meal I’m able to cook. While Spinach was sounding extremely delightful on it’s own, that fact soured my mood. I began to attempt to crack the eggs. sure enough, shells made their way everywhere. I steeled myself. Cooking, which used to come almost as naturally as singing, now was a painfully frustrating task, and this music certainly isn’t helping. As though Vin had heard my thoughts, the music shut off. Thank Celestia. I looked at the bowl of egg based torture. I hadn’t even begun cooking. “What’s cookin’?” Vin poked his head into the kitchen. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” I snapped in my pent up anger. Vin notices the carcasses of egg shells in the bowl with their respective membranes mixed together with them. He opened his mouth, and rose a finger. I glowered at him. the mouth shut and the finger came down. instead, in nothing but a towel, Vinyl walks up to the bag of fresh spinach, and takes a handful and munches on it. “H-Hey!” I half protest. “Manth thom?” she spoke, mouth full. “Please, Vinyl, swallow your food THEN speak.” I chided. “And go put some clothes on!” Vinyl hands me the bag and i attempt to grasp it. -><- The bag falls to the floor. The air quickly became electric. I quickly realize the gravity of having her cook, and how she may as well have been trying to cut diamond with a butter knife. Octavia was in the floor herself, instantly in tears. Fuck. “I-I can’t do anything! I can’t go outside, I can’t cook, I can’t even hold simple things without dropping them!” she sobbed. I wanted to scream, scream for her, scream so hard that the powers at be would end these changes in us. Instead, a thought occurred. I picked her up, carefully, walking her into the soundbooth. inside sat the cello, string still broken. Crap. looks like I’ll have to change that. I sat her on the stool. picked up the pack of cello strings she’d requested of me the day before, and proceeded to restring it. I had done it once or twice before. so it wasn’t to difficult. Satisfied, I get up off of my knees, and look at my fiancee. no longer sobbing, but only a weak smile on her face. I approach her, and hug her tightly. “Here.” I hand her the bow, she looks at me, fearful. As though her simply touching it would cause irreparable damage. “Take it. I believe in you.” she looks at the cello, eyes wide. “...What do.. you want me to play?” she croaks, and sniffs. “Just play.” I smile. she finally accepts the bow, and I move the cello over, accidentally clunking it against the music stand. she stares daggers at me. I wince, but place it safely at her side. she envelopes it unlike I’d seen her do before. Now MY eyes go wide. She begins, slowly at first. then gets right into the time and melody of what I’d later learn to be Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Cello suite No 1’. like something you’d hear in a ritzy snooty high upper class dinner party or something. Beautiful, coming from her, ugly anywhere else. She dropped her bow beside herself, and looked up at me. “Vinyl… you’re mouth is open.” “That was Awesome!” I exclaim. “Hardly.. It’s a relatively simple song, if you know what you’re doing.” “Welp. I’m cold. I should have gotten dressed… I don’t wanna know how long ago.” “Dunce.” she said, sticking her tongue out, cutely. “You know.. before too long.. we may not have to worry about that.” “Don’t remind me.” she lets out a sigh. “Who knew this old thing would be my last bastion of sanity…” she says, practically hugging it. “I’m getting all kinds of jealous here.” “GO PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!” Author's Note Eh, fuck it. I'll just do it. I re-read my previous chapters... I may rewrite after I've finished the 4th chapter. there's some inconsistencies across the 3 current ones, and knowing the ending of the main story, and having some extra information I wanna try and fill it out a bit more. No doing a complete overhaul, the majority will remain the same, just gonna add some surgical padding, and fix up some off details (ie: timing. ~~their stuff started on the 25th~~(nevermind, I didn't give a date, misread as their 25th birthdays.). everyone else started at least in the first week. Also I wanna try and stretch out some extra worldbuild by adding some supporting or background characters. None to serous, or direction changing. just make the story feel more stable instead of these two characters being surrounded by a city of boxes with cardboard cutout puppets for interactions. Check out what I'm doing for the chapter here; also, Mighty spoilers ahead. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DZxKGYZ27e0Xuzoz988QtF6X5EizrW5Ii5iZORm4i8I/edit NOTE: THIS IS A ROUGH DRAFT LINK. WHAT CURRENTLY CONTAINS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Also, please feel free to point out grammatical flaws, and mis-spellings. or inconsistencies. I HATE inconsistencies. Musical AscentThe phone beeps in my ear signalling the disconnect. the altercation sat on me like a load of bricks. consider this friendship over, you've let me down too many times... I sat there in the studio, those words causing a hurricane of glass in my mind to spin out of control. my musical partner placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Everything alright, Vinyl?” “I’m sorry, Neon, I just.. I gotta go.” I said in a hurry “Huh- wait! Vinyl! what about the project?! VINYL!” the door slammed behind me, as I took off towards the concert hall. If I hurry.. I may just be able to get in. -><- I stirr from my nap. wiping tears from my eyes. It was only a few hours since Octavia’s session in the soundbooth. I can’t barely remember what I had just dreamed of.. but whatever it was about, I was a teary mess. and I didn't quite understand why. I shake off the feeling as best I can. Olivia notices my waking up, and subsequent crying. “You.. alright?” she asks tentatively, sitting next to me on the couch. “I’m fine.. I’ve.. no idea why I was crying.” I sniff, rubbing my eyes again. she makes a funny face at me, squinting as if trying to see something far away. “.. OH MY GOD, VINYL, YOUR EYES ARE RED!” “.. My eyes are… hold on you had an accent!” “What? No I don’t! I’ve alw-..” she cuts herself off, and lightly feeling her neck. once again wide eyed. She clearly didn't notice it until I had pointed it out. “What on earth is happening to us…?” she asks, the new singsong of her accent, actually pleasing and weirding me out at the same time. “I don’t know… Has the internet proven helpful at all?” I ask, getting up to look into the bathroom mirror. Sure enough, there they were, the piercing red irises of Vinyl Scratch. “Not much… I dug up a couple tweets on some people waking up with strange tattoos. I shot a couple messages, but no response yet. I’m not sure what good they’ll do. the ones I saw were a few days before us, even if it’s the same thing as what we've got… chances are they may not even be ABLE to reply.” “We need to do something.. I’m getting tired of being cooped up in here.” I express to her. “I’m sure not sticking my head, let alone hoof outside that door. not looking like some weird satyr looking creature!” she says pointing at her gray fur covered hooves and legs. she had managed to put on a pair of shorts, for the time being, however uncomfortable she seemed to be in them. I resisted to comment on the accent further. glancing back into the mirror again. It was almost like it was an entirely different person staring back at me. My wild thoughts threw it back at me. of course it’s someone else. it’s Vincent, not you, Vinyl. I shook my head hard to throw that thought away. “We’ll need food, what we have is quickly not becoming a possibility, and what we DO have won’t last much longer either between us eating it, and it going bad.” I said refocusing my attention to our current situation. Suddenly the mellow trumpet of my phone’s ringtone spills into the room. I look at it hesitantly, before answering it. “Uh, Hello?” “Uhm.. Vinyl- I MEAN ugh, VINCENT…” I pull the phone away from my ear for a minute as he just about yelled into it, for correcting himself. “Ne- .. Nick?” I ask, in bewilderment. “Oh god, man. I don’t know what’s going on! I got these.. fucking stars on my legs, and now I’ve got hooves and shit. I’ve been cooped in my apartment for the past three days! I kept looking to my phone, and whenever I crossed you I kept reading your name as ‘Vinyl’ and I’m seven kinds of confused as fuck.” “Hold on.. I’m coming over to get you. We've got to talk about some things.” “I’m losing my damn mind here, man. Hurry up!” I hang up the phone and clumsily put on my shoes, thankful they still fit my still human feet. “Who was that?” “You remember Nick, right, buddy of mine from work?” “And?” “Neon Lights.” She paused for a minute then covered her mouth. “I’ll be right back, I figure it’s best we stick together, if he’s going through this also.” She put on a face of disgust, then nodded. “Do hurry back, Vinyl.” I nod, grab my car keys, and my new sunglasses, to help hide my eyes. -><- The car ride was uneventful, thankfully. I’m yet unsure if it’s a negative placebo effect knowing that my hands and feet may become hooves, but I swear they feel stiff. I pull into the parking structure, and pick a decent spot… On the roof of the complex, because let’s be honest there’s never a decent spot available. I approach his apartment’s door and knock. “Who’s there?!” He yells, in an angry.. frustrated tone. “Who do you think, Neon.” I hear a light clip clop of his hooves on his tiled entry-way. The door opened a crack. in it i could see a pair of baby blue eyes peering through, worried. “Vinyl? I MEAN VIN-” “Shh, yeah. you ready? Octavia and I have a lot to talk to you about.” “Octavia? Vin.. What’s going on?1 what’s happening to me? Why can’t I just say your name normally?!” He’s clearly shut himself in tight. I’m not sure if he’s done any research on what’s happened. “I don't have all of the information.. We're still in the dark on a lot of things, but if you’re going through the same thing… maybe we can glean some new clues as to what the deal is. It’s probably a good idea if we get you over to our place. We've done some minor prep work, just need to do a food run soon.” His door shut and the sound of a chain bolt slid and he opened the door. he was wearing a black button up shirt, with a loose tie. Pants forgone, but his lower extremities mostly hidden by a long leather jacket. he also had on his sunglasses he usually wore the day after getting shitfaced drunk after a week of work, or if he’d been at a party. Getting Neon back home was easy, now. However my mind quickly ticked over to what might happen next. Three cartoon ponies wandering around a city like THIS? We’d surely get abducted, or at very least caught by the good ol’ cops, and taken to some government facility. I didn't want to think about it. Instinctively, I had put on the loudest, most sound- powering songs I could think of. Neon seemed to approve. it seemed to be enough to drown out these thoughts for now. The thought of bringing home a friend like him cheered me up though. Neon eventually turned down the volume, I frowned a little. “So… I.. What…” “Do you know of the show My Little Pony, Specifically the one that restarted the series in 2010?” “No? I can’t particularly recall what I was doing in 2010, let alone what shows were on. I was probably busy being a nuisance to my family.” he said in a half joking way. “Well.. Basically this; We’re turning into some of the characters from it for some reason. Octavia.. Olivia is about as far along as you, I seem to be lagging behind by 24 hours. some kinda shitty birthday present from the universe if you ask me.” “Birthday? Mine was also a couple of days ago!” he replied. I stopped hard at a red light I almost ran through. “The 1st?” I ask “Yeah!” “Odd… Octavia’s is also, mine was on the second…” I pondered “That’s a very peculiar coincidence.” he answers my muse. “ if it WAS a birthday thing.. why am I staggered out? some shitty virus or something that my body seemed to resist or something?.. that can’t be it, cause it happened the morning of MY birthday, I would assume the same as yours…” I grumble… a moment of quiet passes by, and i frustratingly crank up the music again to kill the soured mood. Neon wasn't quite expecting it this time, slapping his hands over his ears as though a bomb went off. I just bobbed my head to the beat, the song pausing to build up for the base drop. It dropped. “and Vinyl Scratch!” an announcer called out as the audience goes nuts, I could barely hear them through my gear. the music belched from the sound system. Neon Lights next to me on his soundboard, tweaking pitch knobs, and handling the turntables for his set. I flashed him a smile and turned back to the audience. “HAHA, YEEEAH! LET’S GO MANEHATTAN!” I yelled, as the song I queued up began it’s early buildup to get the audience hyped up for my set, as Neon crossfaded his set over to me. I look at him, he’s worried I see him mouth “Vinyl” “Vinyl!” the second time, pierced my headset’s sound proofing. “VINYL!!! HOLY SHIT! SNAP OUT OF IT!” he was screaming into my ear, having practically thrown himself into the driver’s seat, to grab the wheel, after throwing the emergency brake, hazard lights and everything. he managed to put the car in an alley. I sat there in horrified shock. What the hell just happened? What WAS that?! “We.. need to get home. Now…” I said, breathing heavily. I looked at the radio, and punched it, and the audio, that Neon had again turned down trying to snap me from my trance, died out. I gathered myself, quietly, and then made our way back to the apartment. Author's Note THIS CHAPTER IS UNEDITED. Please poke it for things to fall apart so that I can fix them. The alternate titles for this one were Seeing Red (Vinyl's eyes reference. not musical themed enough) and Musical Accent (like the accent that Octavia acquires). I went with Musical Ascent later on, as you can probably put together.
Cue up the tracks"I love you, Vin." She says, latching onto my arm. "I love you too, Olivia." I reply, she squeeze my arm a little tighter. We've been together officially for 4 years. We were that couple. The one that seems perfect. We never really fought, or disagreed on anything. We just kinda agreed on the same thing whenever something came up. I motion that I needed to get up out of bed, Olivia responsively releases me from her clutches. I meander to the bathroom to begin the morning rigamarole, Shit, shower, shave, etc. “Hey Hun, guess what tomorrow is?” Olivia pipes up from the bedroom, Probably looking at the calendar she put up over my desk. “Whath?” I mumble through my toothbrush, mirror inadvertently getting the shrapnel of toothpaste-spit all over the mirror. I do my best to wipe it down with a nearby rag. “My 25th, and yours the day after the next.” Son of a bitch. How did I lose track of the days like that?! What the hell am I going to get her? Augh... Twenty five... How did I make it this far myself, with a girl who seems to love me? I push these thoughts around for a moment before turning on the shower. “I have choir practice today, don’t forget!” she says, letting off a little giggle. This tells me a multitude of different things. One, she knows I don’t have anything planned or Two, She doesn't know and is just reiterating details I’ve known for a long time now. Yes yes, choir practice every thursday till 11 pm. I finish up and get out of the shower, and proceed out into the bedroom, nothing but towel hiding the family jewels. Olivia just smirks as I stand in the bathroom doorway, superman pose and everything. “Easy chief, If you don’t get around you’ll be late for work.” She says, laughing a little as she passes by, closing the bathroom door tightly behind her. I relax my pose and proceed to get dressed in some decent pants, and a regular button up shirt. Another soul-crushing day at a data entry job. Oh well, a good session on the DJ tables I’ve been toying with the past few months trying to learn will help recover some of it when I get home. “Bye, Olivia, I'll see you tonight.” I say, cracking open the door and sticking my head in. “Have a good day, Don’t let the nasty upper-management thugs keep you down!” She says, with a stereotypical Pep-talk tone to her voice. “Right. I’ll just threaten to beat them with a baseball bat, like I always do” I reply sarcastically. I grab my keys off the table to the right of the door. I’ll admit, soul crushing job aside... It pays pretty well. We’re in the city in a relatively decent sized apartment, with two rooms, kitchen and living room. One of which we had soundproofed as much as possible without violating the lease, for recording purposes. I’m not as musically inclined, or haven’t been until recently, as Olivia. She is in the local orchestral / choir society, and deserves to be. I get in the old beater of a car, a Toyota Tercel, that has been around probably longer than I have. All held together by the will of the automobile lords, and absurd amounts duct tape. I proceed to disengage the anti-theft device combination lock that is the ignition sequence... kick the floorboard three times... turn the steering wheel all the way to the left... then right... flick the lights... jiggle the key. Then and only then does the hatchback zombie of a vehicle gurgles to life. Okay, it is probably a little asenine to keep this thing when I could probably get something else that at least doesn’t require a rain-dance to start. What can I say? The thing has a bit of charm to it. After a load of traffic, I arrive at the complex. I noticed fewer cars than normal contained in the lot designated ‘Employees Only’. Once inside, I see a single man at the main help desk that I don’t recognize. “What...? The entire Division?! OUTSOURCED SUDDENLY OVERNIGHT?!” I’m a pretty healthy individual... but this sent my blood pressure skyrocketing. “I tried calling you!” said one of the supervisors that walked by, carrying a box of office supplies. “Should have kept your contact info up to date on the office contact list.” he piped back up, as if it even mattered anymore. Fact of the matter is, I did good work and got everything done in a timely fashion. However I undermine all non-essential things like the contact list. Vendors would just walk by, copy it, and send it off to who knows where, and suddenly half the staff had magazine subscriptions they didn’t order. “What am I supposed to do for work now?!” I say, holding back the damned floodgates of hell. “Well we’ve prepared a list of bullets points anyone can put into resumes, of which we've included reference and contact information for future employment assistance!” spoke the lackey of the big-wigs, who came down to supervise the office shut down and clean-out. He reeked of corporate slime. I wanted to massacre him, right there. Just turn him into a puddle of red jam-like substance on the weathered gravely carpet. To say I was angry is an understatement. How dare they shut the entire division down?! There was NOTHING about it the previous day! If anything there were talks about another division joining ours. I did nothing. The spokesperson had wandered away at some point, muttering something about his condolences, and wishing me good luck on the job hunt. I check my phone, at this point it is about 10:30 am. I’m emotionally drained. What will I do? For that matter, what will WE do? Olivia’s singing does get a good bit of money, but not lots. Definitely not for an apartment like ours, and not alone. I walk like a zombie back to my car. I sat there for two whole hours before making the decision to drown my new problems in potentially unhealthy doses of alcohol. With that decision made, I awaken the elder gods that keep my mode of transportation alive, and head home. I stumble into my bedroom, no decent alcohol joints are open for drink serving quite yet. I dig into my private stock of alcohol, normally saved for happier occasions. I grab a bottle, remove the cap, and thusly pitch it in whichever direction it so pleases to fly. I sit at my computer and turn it on. I look at the calendar to see two days circled in red, Tomorrow, and Sunday... SHIT! Olivia’s Birthday! I look at the untouched alcohol. “I have time...” Besides it was only 1:40 pm, I had the entire day, thanks to being let go. I decide that a little mixing would help vent as well, as I pull out my rather dusty DJ deck, with digital spindles that represent vinyl record platters. “Hello, old gal”. I take a swig of the delicious nectar of the gods and get down to business. -><- “Olivia! you were great today. Wanna come with a few of us out for a drink? It’s your birthday tomorrow isn’t it?” “Ah, yeah. I really shouldn’t though...” Olivia replies, sheepishly. Vincent would probably have something planned. “C’mon, live a little!” “No, really. Vin probably has something back at home...” “Alright! your loss!.” Olivia pulls out her cell, 11:15 pm... 45 minutes till I’m twenty five. She pulls up the contacts list and dials Vincent’s number. *ring ring* *ring ring* … “I’m sorry ‘Vincent’ is not available at the moment, if you would like to leave a message, please wait till after the beep... *BEEP!*” “Vin? are you there? Probably have your phone on vibrate... I’ll shoot a text and call the apartment, if you don’t answer I’ll be going out with some friends...Okay! bye!” She types out a message repeating the same thing as the voicemail. then dials the apartment landline. “I’m sorry the number you dialed is not available at the moment, if you would like to leave a mes-” Olivia hangs up... I guess he didn’t have anything planned for tonight... “Hey, Is that offer still available?” -><- I lift my head up off one of the turntable platforms. What the heck... Did I fall asleep DJing last night? I rub my face and open my eyes to have them barraged from the daylight from the window behind my computer, making it painfully clear that i was hungover. I bump the mouse of my computer to wake it up... the time shows 8:45 am... OH CRAP I’M G.. Wait.. I’m unemployed... Right... I would be running late... I see a lump in bed sleeping still. I get up and go toward the bed. I lift the covers enough to get in close to Olivia. Wait... What's that on her thigh? A violet treble clef? Birthday present for herself? Oh son of a biiiitch. I never got a present... Olivia begins to stir. “Vinyl...?” she says groggily. “No, I’m flesh and bone! nothin’ fake here!” I say cheesing it up worse than a cheese factory, completing it with a perfect shit-eating grin. “...What are you talking about...?” she says.. seemingly irritated. “What’s wrong with you?” i ask, concerned. “Mmmmh..drinking...” she mumbles into a pillow. She suddenly lifts her head, looking at the clock. “Vin! you should have been gone 20 minutes ago, what are you doing here?!” “I-uh- called off! yeah! Happy birthday! I’m your love slave for the next 48 hours!” “Don’t say those wooords...” she groans. “You emptied... an entire thing of spiced rum. Why aren’t you in misery with me, or dead?” “I am, just as your slave I’m not allowed to complain!” Actually, besides the initial pain of the light... I actually started to feel better. “I had the weirdest dream last night... I was on stage... solo... I was waiting for someone who hadn’t shown up... I felt like absolute shit, but something happened... and... crap I don’t remember the rest...” she says, scooting back in the bed to lean her back against the headboard of our bed. “Speaking of drinking... These something that resorted out of a drunken choice?” I expose the treble clef on her right thigh. “W-what?” She stammers and looks “OH CRAP, WHAT?!” she looks at it and rubs at it, however it isn’t phased. “This can’t be real! I wouldn’t ever think of getting anything like this!” she says panicking a little. “I think it looks kinda cute on you.” I reply, she looks up like i had insulted her on a bad level. “No! I can’t have this! The choir! They’ll kick me out! they have strict rules and crap about this kind of stuff!” she says, putting her hands into her hair. “We’ll figure it out... Wait hold still…” I lean in closer to her face. “Did.. someone give you colored contacts or something?” I say, staring into her violet eyes. “W-what? I’d know if I had contacts in... Colored? No you know I have brown eyes!” “C’mere.” I say, walking around to the other side of the bed, grabbing her outstretched hand, and helping her out of bed. We walk into the bathroom, and she looks into the mirror. “Oh. What? Wait… WHAT?” She says, failing words. she pokes at her eye, as though attempting to dislodge a contact “There’s nothing there! my eyes somehow changed... There’s no alcohol that does that, is there?! No, that’s stupid! As far as I know there isn’t ways to physically CHANGE your eye color... let alone to an odd color...WHAT DID YOU DO?!” she turns to me, like flipping a switch, instantly furious. “ME? WHAT I-” I stammer, nearly falling backward at the sudden accusation. “YOU! You.. You did SOMETHING! This is a prank or something because of my birthday! ISN’T IT!” she says, beginning to sound hysterical. “No, Olivia! why would I do something like this!” “Don’t lie to me! I know you! I called you and you didn’t answer last night! you were plotting this!” “Olivia!” I say, and throw my arms around her. she lets out a little sob. “I didn't do this! I don’t do these things! I might pick at you a little, but I’d never go as far as putting something permanent onto you!” I explain to her as convincingly as possible. I pat her head a little. She must have switched shampoos or something because DANG it’s soft as silk! I couldn't quite pin the scent either. “Your hair feels nice, if that’s any consolation...” I say comforting her in any way I could. “We have the next three days ALL to ourselves. we can look into getting... wait is it on both sides?!” I turn her sideways. she lets out a loud groan and I look at her just as i see tears start streaming from her eyes. “Aw babe, no! It’s going to be okay! don’t cry!” I hug her again, trying to cut off whatever waterworks is supplying the tears. “I need to lay back down...” She says. I release her from my embrace. I follow her as she climbs back into bed, failing half way and just laying face first across the bed, groaning. I turn on the TV that sits across from the bed. I sought distraction from the issue currently at hand and figured the media center would supply that much. Apparently, I had been playing some song from the original My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic show. I must have mixed with it at some point last night… “Ponies? Really? How’d I manage to get that-... wait a second...” I say and turn to look at Olivia. “Octavia’s Cutie mark” I say out loud Author's Note If you see something off please highlight and comment here; http://goo.gl/8Oe1a I'm still kinda new at fanfic writing! so critique is encouraged! there are some things I may readjust and expand upon later, but the story itself won't really be affected. (It'd be more potential hole-filling edits more than anything.) Other than that, enjoy! if ya liked it, tell me so, and favorite!
First Drop"Who's what?" Olivia says. "Octavia, from mlp forever ago!" "Oh god, that was forever ago, wasn't it... So whatever is happened... So someone decided that i liked ponies too much a couple of years ago, and gave me a free cutiemark? This is still so bizarre..." "You know you can get tattoos removed" "That stuff is painful... I don't know how they managed this the first time." "You wanna try seeing if its just some high end water tattoo?" "Are you trying to say i need a shower?" "Easy! I wasn't implying anything! Why are you getting so snappy?" "Sorry... Its just this stuff... Who would be such a low-life to do this?" I shrug, I haven't the foggiest clue on what's happened. I'm admittedly more curious about the eye color change than the tattoo. Olivia eventually gets back up, and paces into the bathroom, shower cranking on to follow. After a few minutes, she begins to sing... A melodic tune I find completely new to my ears... Was this a song the choir gave her to sing a part for solo? I turn off the Tv, which now had just become nonsensical background noise, and get back on the computer. I open up ye olde google image search, and type in "octavia". Sure enough, the violet cutiemark of a treble clef was matching the one on Olivia's thigh. I pull up a face shot of her. The first thing I notice is Octavia's violet eyes. I chuckle, whoever was doing this, maybe they think her as earth's version of Octavia? Thats some crazy stalker shit. I think about it more... She's not really been the center of the show even for one song. I look at my cell phone, 3 missed calls 4 text messages, and a notification of voicemail messages. I look at the texts first; Tried calling, you must be busy or something... I'll try the house, if i cant get to you, I'll be going out with a few girls from the choir. 11:46 pm Woops... I must have passed out at that point... hey just wanted tosay thanks. 12:34 am Thanks for what? the girls are telling me i might have a shot at a solo spot i 1:20 am How late were they drinking? you're a great friend vinl and i love you Wait what? She's my fiance... Did I just get drunk girlfriend friendzoned? Eh... Nah can't be. How about that typo? 'Vinl' I chuckle, and stop half way into it. "Vinl... Vinyl..." I say out loud, and then I recall her say that when I woke her up... Was she meaning...? I type in "octavia and vinyl" into the google image search. Yep, low and behold, the brony fandom famed musician shipping of classical and modern pony musicians. Vinyl Scratch with her mythically red eyes, latched on to Octavia Melody, as if protecting her or defiantly hugging a teddy bear after declaring it "mine!" My mind went wild creating theories... Mind control nano machines? No, thats dumb. Hypnosis? How does that give someone outwardly visual changes? Aliens? I sigh at the thought, sounding the most plausible of the theories. My belly rumbles. I double check the time. The computer clock says about 10:00 am. Just in time for breakfast. Perhaps some pancakes, eggs, and bacon will cure this weirdness. I begin preparing a breakfast of champions! Well, maybe if you don't mind slightly crunchy pancakes. The eggs turn out well, the bacon's pungent scent making my mouth water. "What on earth is that DEATHLY smell?!" Olivia says, coming into the kitchen. "Deathly? Thats the smell of freshly cooked bacon, from our fallen enemies!" I say, poking fun at Olivia. "No, it literally smells like rot in here! Turn on a damn vent! How are you cooking and not wanting to vomit?!" I take a big draft of the bacon-flavored air. I shrug, and follow her request. The vent above the stove whirs to life. I prepare her plate and mine and lead her to the living room. "What is wrong with these pancakes...?" She says, a bite of them partially chewed impeding speech. "Don't like the added calcium?" "Augh, this bacon smells rancid... I can't eat any of this!" She says irritatingly setting the mostly untouched plate of food on the coffee table. "...I'm sorry babe, I was just-" "Its quite alright... Probably this hangover wreaking havoc on my stomach..." "So what do you want to do?" "To be honest, I kinda want to be alone..." "Are you sure? I mean what if your creepy stalker tattoo artist comes back?" "My what- Oh... Great now thats on my mind again... Why don't you call your boss to see if you can just go in late, we can't afford you to call in sick." My insides suddenly twist. "No no, I'm here for YOU today! Lets worry about worries later!" She looks at me with a dubious expression, but turns towards the window "I'm going to do some recording... I need to keep in vocal-shape if I hope to get that solo part..." "Are y-" I start, but interrupt myself. Mid thought so not to sound like a broken record. "I've not worked since I was little to get lazy now." She gets up and enters the sound room, securing the door behind her. I let out a sigh, its getting to be a pain dodging these bullets. She's definitely acting a little strangely though. -><- I shut the door behind me, the satisfying click knowing that whatever I said in here was unlikely to be heard outside allowed me to sigh in relief. I feel as though I am becoming more and more frustrated with vincent. Though its nothing passed the normal. He can't cook, the kitchen was a disaster area, and his wit, while usually charming, seemed to poke a little deeper than normal. Maybe it was the alcohol? Its neering 11 hours since I recall starting to drink. I move a stool around to a mic set on the desk, turned on the recording software on the laptop dedicated for such things. I ran through a number of the choir's previous songs. Something felt off about singing them. I glance about the room, sipping a bottle of water, and spot one of the instruments we managed to pick up cheaply, yet were still in good condition. A trumpet, snare drum, and a cello. I stared at the ladder. I’d taken lessons on how to play it, but it had never lit the creative fire in me like singing. My mind wandered while I stared. It was in playable shape, but its previous owner had been... Cruel, to say the least. Mother wanted me to become some featured piece in an orchestra, but settled when I was accepted into the choir group. I grab the cello and set up a previous recording to play while recording the cello's music. I played... And played... I kept playing long after the echo of my voice in the recording silenced itself. A cord snaps, lashing at the bow of the cello. As if broken from a trance I look about. Stunned, I replace the cello in its spot, shut off the recording and examined the time... Nearly 4 pm. I look back at the sad cello, cord bouncing slightly. The sight of it made me feel depressed, like a friend left, and wouldn't be back for a long while. I sigh, and go to the door. I begin to feel a little weak, as I open the door. I step through, and feel my leg gave out. -><- I look up in time to see olivia step, and begin to fall. She hits the carpeted floor about the same time I get to her side. "Olivia?!" "...Vin..yl..." "Olivia, are you alright...?" "I... I think I just need some rest..." She says, starting to get back up. I help her up carefully, and get her to the bed. The second she hits the pillow she's out like a light. I look her over, worried. She barely had breakfast... Given the bit she had may as well had been littered with eggshell. She was in the soundroom through lunch, and it was nearing dinner time. So maybe it was just a lack of food to blame for this? God I'm a piece of work, to let the girl they want to marry get this way... I admit defeat, and allow her the entirety of the bed. I consign myself to the couch, where I let mindless netflix movies carry myself also into an early sleep. -><- I am on stage, singing, and playing the cello, bow clutched in a hoof, an art form only a few dedicated to playing have learned, let alone mastered. I scan the crowds, Vinyl is missing, still. Figures. This has become synonymous with her that she'd be too 'busy' to show support during these silly events. Work before friends, right? Tears build on my eyelids. The song ends, and a light opens from the back, somepony coming in during the small break. My heart jumps for a minute, then the curtains drop- "What I-" I say, turning to the side stage. An evil chuckle comes from all around it seems. "Pardon, I need the stage." Its words roll off its tongue like venom. "Excuse me, but you're interrupting my performance! Leave NOW!" "A performance? For who? Your friend that never showed up? Hahaha" his chuckle was like salt in the already gaping wound. "You have no rights to be up here!" "Face it Octy, your DJ found something or someone better." "Shut up, you don’t know what you’re talking about." "Let me just do you a favor then? Its a little ditty that I've been playing to death lately! It goes something like this..." "Five score divided by four.." Author's Note So here's chapter 2! Let me know if you catch anything wrong or messed up grammatically. Made this chapter short because of it feeling a little dry for me. So yeah, OPINIONS PLOX.
White NoiseI awake, irritated, like I had just dealt with horrendous traffic, and been blocked from my exit on the highway. I roll out of bed gross with sweat, onto the balls of my feet. I bounce a little, before attempting to go full foot on the floor. I wince a little, I’d find this odd, but wearing heels for a concert that lasts hours has done almost similar things. So I brush it off, with a flick of my tail. Wait... -><- "Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" I jump about a foot into the air, before falling to the floor in front of the couch I had been asleep on. "Olivia?! What is it?!" I say scrambling to my feet to see what the problem is. Olivia is standing in the bathroom, in just an under shirt and underwear, Octavia's cutiemark clearly visible. Did her hair always be that lon- HOLY CHEESE BISCUITS IT MOVED! "What the hell?" "I have a tail! I have a little horse's tail." "What in the seven layers of hell...?" I stand there in disbelief. Olivia, my would-be wife is standing here with... A rather adorable ponies' tail. It matches her hair perfectly in color... Or did her hair color change slightly? Hard to tell, its always been black, but it seems lighter somehow. "Stop standing there staring!" "What do you WANT me to do?!" "Fix this." "Olivia, trust me, if I knew how I would." "Why me? I was where I wanted to be... Meanwhile you're sitting perfectly fine at your job, I'm going insane!" She slumps against a wall. I feel another nail driven into my soul, as I perpetuate the lie of my termination. I crouch down beside her and lean against the wall. "Whatever happens, just know I'll be there for you." I tell her "Oh Vinyl..." "Vinyl?" "What?" "You called me Vinyl." "No I didn't?" "Yes, you did" "I said 'Oh Vin', like I always call you." "Honey... You said Vinyl." "Don't talk to me like that! I know what I said, Vinyl-" She stopped. "Wh.. What is going on with me...? My mind is a mess, my body is weird... Its like im going through some horrific puberty but instead of discovering PMS I start calling people different names, and not realize it? I'm afraid, I don't know what to do..." She says. I roll over her and weasle my arms around her for a hug. "Thats alright, you can call me whatever. Octy." I threw in the last bit as a joke, only to receive a slap on the back of the head. "Ow!" "It is not polite to make fun of ponies in a poor situation!" She says in the posh accent of Octavia. I feel she did it jokingly, however it felt scarily accurate. "Is this really happening though? Am I going to wake up and be a horse?" She muses aloud "And why is it just me? Its clear who or whatever doesn't care about YOU." "I don't know." "I had that dream again last night... I was Octavia and I was performing... I was irritated because Vinyl had blown my concert off for the lost number of times... Then Discord shows up out of the blue and I wake up in a cold sweat, and angry..." "Heh, sounds like the crap series finale... Five score-" I start saying the line discord used on Twilight when Olivia looked like she was about to tear someone to shreds "He did that! He did that to Octavia because he wanted the stage for some silly reason in the damn middle of the concert!" "Calm down, Olivia, it was just a dream" i say trying to bring her down some. "I don't even understand why I'm getting angry over this!" "I'm kind of curious about why he wanted the stage... He's the ruler of chaos, couldn't he just... Magic one up?" "I don't know but this is getting frustrating..." "Well lets get things straight first... It seems whatever is happening is taking it's sweet time. We should set stuff up just in case if you do go full equine." I say, trying to plan things out "Oh god... Hooves... I'll be completely useless!" She says starting to delve into the erosion of her humanity. "Come on now, we gotta focus. The more we prepare now the easier it will be for you to be independant" "You're right..." She sighs, dropping her hands and standing up. "For the doors... We can attach something to the knobs to make them more lever-y... Maybe just replace them entirely... Maybe ropes and stuff on other things like drawers..." "Food... I don't think I'll be able to handle meat at any time in the future... And if you don't make pancakes like those again it will be too soon." "Probably explains why you were nearly gagging on the smell of the bacon. So Fruits and veggies, maybe some nuts or something..." "Do you recall if the lease allowed pets?" "Uh, no, why?" "Well I'll be a-" "An intelligent equine who knows right from wrong and knows the operation of a toilet. You are NOT a pet and fuck me if the manager gets pissy over an uncontrollable change in humanity" "I'm sure he'll understand" Olivia says, fetching a pad of paper and a pencil, she begins writing down a grocery list, and hardware list. This was the similar tactic we started with when we set up the sound room. She tears off the sheet and hands me it. "Go fetch. I'm going to poke around online to see if theres anyone else out there. Or if theres information on what happened to cause this." She holds out the paper, and i frown. "What? You expect me to go out in public like this?" I grumble, snatch the paper up, stick my tongue out at her with a "Pfbbth". I look over the list "... Cello strings?" "Yes, one snapped on me when I was playing it" "Priorities?" I say with an eyebrow raised "I'm going to be house bound, I want to be able to do whatever while I can." "Mmokay Octavia~" I say playfully. -><- I logged into my side of the computer. Opened up google and typed in "woke up with a cutiemark". It comes back with several thousand results... None of which cared about the context of the search. I knew this wasn't going to be as easy as asking the internet for a cure. I decide to check my usual internet stops... Facebook, youtube, etc. I read several posts... The mundane lives of these people blown out of proportion because they think they're all a one of a kind special snowflake. Facebook always serves to make me bitter and hateful. Browsing youtube consisted mostly of jumping from music video to video. Leaning heavy on the orchestral string based music. I'd never taken to the dirty grunge dubstep Vincent likes. I tolerate it on the principle that the work behind those songs is quite a skill. Nothing like mastering the care of various antique instruments featured when the choir is in concert. I hit a specific song... It started off like a phone conversation... Between Vinyl Scratch and Octavia. Things get a little heated when Octavia hangs up and it transitions into the actual song... I sit in the computer chair, frozen. The song came and went, ending with what sounded like an incoming cell phone call being rejected. I did not select a new video. The sum of my dreams and emotions was pretty much explained before me in a song that parodied another from a few years ago. Vinyl was a terrible pony... She could never pull herself out of her little world once she's set into inspiration. She'd explain... But it always felt like she was avoiding me... Avoiding Octavia. I stood up and moved to the bed, promptly falling face first into it. I begin to wonder if I am really alone in this... Vincent seems to not be changing or anything... So if this is some disease or something, atleast i wont be quarantined and pinpricked like a pincushion. Who am I kidding... Of course I will be. A charcoal grey cartoon pony roaming open air? You've got to be really dull to not think that strange. I roll over and look at my hands. They've been feeling stiff since i woke up. Thats not a happy feeling, definitely not for my humanity. A few hours and Vin returns and begins prepping doors and other things for fingerless usage. I feel like I should be breaking down more than I am over the thought of becoming a four legged fingerless tiny horse. However I feel something telling me that its okay. Its almost like when Vincent was hugging me earlier. Telling me we'll be alright. "Alright. All done. Doors are lever action, anything that can't be modified has a length of rope that when it comes to it you can just pull it open." He finishes, plopping down onto the bed with a grunt and a sigh. "I'm sorry I'm becoming a pain to deal with, especially on our mid-day" I say. The midday referred to the day between his and my birthdays... I wonder if I should give him his gift early. "Oh stop, theres no way in hell you'd been able to tell you'd turn into a pony." He retorts. "Mhm... Anyways, I was thinking... Why don't I give you your present early?" "You..? But i completely forgot to get you anything..." "All the better for my enjoyment then!" "... YOUR enjoyment?" I pull out a small box. "I got them late the other night." He opens up the box and inspects it's contents. "Pfft. Really?" He laughs. It was a pair of violet lensed sunglasses i picked up somewhere while blazing a path of alcoholic misery. "What, don't like them?" "You just are dead set on making me your Vinyl Scratch aren't you?" "Oh My Gosh I didn't even realize how alike they were, giving them to you was just a joke!" "You're terrible at lies" "I'm not lying! I swear!" "Sure..." I groan and roll my eyes at him. I lay in the bed a while longer before I begin to doze off... -><- "Octavia!!" I heard a familiar voice yell, she was running toward me as Discord wove whatever devious act. As I turn to face her I'm enveloped in a bright light "Vinyl!" I say... Just before everything fades to white, the last thing I feel is the embrace of my dearest friend Vinyl Scratch. Author's Note When I write these i usually give them a placeholder chapter name. It helps Me stay inspired on some silly level. This one was titled "Grand Symphony", Mainly for the ongoing musical theme I want in the chapters. But considering the feelings of helplessness Olivia keeps feeling, i figured White Noise would be a better fit.
Pitch Bend“For Five Score! Divided by Four! Your memories removed, your body confused! For your insolence you must pay, Cast off to a land far far away!” These were the only words I heard after calling out to Octavia. Discord was doing some strange magic, and I was damn sure i was going to mess it up, if not stop it. "Hitchhiker. Heh good luck with that one Miss Vinyl." -><- I woke up, shaking the dream off of me. What was that all about? Just visual equivalent of white noise, and voices... Gah there it goes. Forgot what they said. I hate that. "Oliv-" i stop short. I spy A strange appendage hanging outside the bedsheet Olivia always had at bed. It looked hooflike, and covered in fur. Thats definately going to put her in a mood today. Cautiously, i move the blanket to see the scope of the damage... It appears to have crawled halfway up her calves. Her tail shifts as she starts to wake up. "Nnnnn" she hummed. "Sleep well princess?" I ask "Shut it, is the nightmare over or has it gotten worse?" She asks. "Uhm... That depends on your definition of worse... And got.. And has" i say trying to keep a higher spirit. She shifts about and sits upward. She tosses the sheet to my side of the bed. "My hooves." "Yeah, it appears they are." "Well then. I don't know what to do." "You rest, i'm going in for my birthday shower." "What? You're just going to leave me to my self pity just like that?" "You betcha sweet cheeks, besides its a shower. Unless you want me to smell up the place with my musk." "Ugh okay okay go. Just... Don’t get any 'musk' on the carpet." "Nooooo promises." I say ducking into the bathroom, stripping down to the au natural form. I turn to start the water of the shower when something catches my attention in the corner of my eye. "... No..." I mutter to the sound of the acoustics of the bathroom. "Nonononoonoono..." I begin rubbing my thigh. For it bore a mark in pure black, a music note, not unlike Olivia's treble clef. "What is it?" Olivia calls from the other side of the door. There was no beneficial reason to hide this from her... In fact i might be in the same boat as her in a day or two. "Babe... You're not going to like this." "Pleeeease don't tell me you did something-" "No, worse." I say opening the door. "Oh my god... I I I'm sorry... This has to be my fault somehow... Maybe the glasses were cursed or something, or whatever i caught was contagious..." "Stop. This couldn't have been your fault. And even if there is foul play at work how the heck were we to see it coming? Lets calm down for a minute. Lets focus on setting you up while we still have hands." I stood there looking at Olivia. I felt myself clenching my teeth holding back the torrent of emotions, and failing. Olivia moves closer and drapes her arms around me. I wrap mine around her as the first of many sobs escape. I ball up my fists, holding her shirt in them tightly, while hugging her tightly. She was quietly making my shoulder damp with her own tears. The reality of it finally struck home. I feel selfish just thinking about it taking ME to experience this to get here. "Its going to be okay, Vinyl... I'll be there for you just like you always were for me" she says, a comforting singsong to her words. "I'm scared..." I choke out. Quickly getting to the ugly snotty sobs. "I am too…” she grabs a tissue from the nightstand, and cleans my pathetic self up. I felt her hand movements were clunky. Motor control wasn't her friend right now. -><- I eventually recomposed myself. I stood up, stumbled a bit, but full functionality as a bipedicular. My belly groaned, Oct- Olivia’s groaned in agreement. “Well… Assuming if I’m following the same path… Meat is now an enemy…” I say, the words falling from my mouth as though a lifetime of being a guy who enjoyed crispy bacon, steaks done rare, and hamburgers were a religion I had just denounced. I shivered at the thought. “How about I cook, you go get clean… besides you've been sitting here buck naked for the past thirty minutes.” she chuckles. I find solace that she’s at least getting her humor back… wait was that a pony pun? I look down at myself, then to the eighth notes on my thighs. I grimace a little, then make my way into the bathroom in silent agreement. Vinyl had been a casual favorite of mine. sure, other ponies would catch my fancy from time to time. Octavia bouncing on and off the list, but Vinyl being a pretty constant ‘best pony’. I turned on my bathroom’s bluetooth speaker, it immediately queued up my music library from the media center. I recognized the song immediately from the fast-paced sounding cowbell at the start. I didn't know whether to party to the beat of the ‘Base Cannon’ or to just shut it off in frustration from the implications. -><- Opening the refridgerator. I scope out what can be used to make SOMETHING edible… I wasn't sure about the eggs. Do ponies eat eggs? I mean sure… the eggs were used in baked goods. I grumble and take out the carton. It slips from my hands, and onto the floor with a dissatisfying crunch. I wince, then look at my hands, as though expecting them to explain themselves. The stiffness only told me one thing, that they weren't far behind from the fate of my feet. I look at the mess I had made on the floor, thankful that it hadn’t claimed all the eggs. I carefully set them onto the counter, and pull out whatever veggies we had… some spinach, green onion, some tomatos. As I thought about it I nixed the tomatoes and onions. both would need chopped up,and I’d likely lose a finger. I heard Vin’s music crank up. and up. and up. if it weren't for the speaker she were using it’d be unbearable to listen to. belching out that greasy dubstep like the bacon grease left in the pan from the other day. I gagged a little, and moved the pan to the farthest point in the kitchen. Vin will be the one to handle that situation. Spinach omelette it is. The thought occurred to me that this could very well be the last meal I’m able to cook. While Spinach was sounding extremely delightful on it’s own, that fact soured my mood. I began to attempt to crack the eggs. sure enough, shells made their way everywhere. I steeled myself. Cooking, which used to come almost as naturally as singing, now was a painfully frustrating task, and this music certainly isn’t helping. As though Vin had heard my thoughts, the music shut off. Thank Celestia. I looked at the bowl of egg based torture. I hadn’t even begun cooking. “What’s cookin’?” Vin poked his head into the kitchen. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” I snapped in my pent up anger. Vin notices the carcasses of egg shells in the bowl with their respective membranes mixed together with them. He opened his mouth, and rose a finger. I glowered at him. the mouth shut and the finger came down. instead, in nothing but a towel, Vinyl walks up to the bag of fresh spinach, and takes a handful and munches on it. “H-Hey!” I half protest. “Manth thom?” she spoke, mouth full. “Please, Vinyl, swallow your food THEN speak.” I chided. “And go put some clothes on!” Vinyl hands me the bag and i attempt to grasp it. -><- The bag falls to the floor. The air quickly became electric. I quickly realize the gravity of having her cook, and how she may as well have been trying to cut diamond with a butter knife. Octavia was in the floor herself, instantly in tears. Fuck. “I-I can’t do anything! I can’t go outside, I can’t cook, I can’t even hold simple things without dropping them!” she sobbed. I wanted to scream, scream for her, scream so hard that the powers at be would end these changes in us. Instead, a thought occurred. I picked her up, carefully, walking her into the soundbooth. inside sat the cello, string still broken. Crap. looks like I’ll have to change that. I sat her on the stool. picked up the pack of cello strings she’d requested of me the day before, and proceeded to restring it. I had done it once or twice before. so it wasn’t to difficult. Satisfied, I get up off of my knees, and look at my fiancee. no longer sobbing, but only a weak smile on her face. I approach her, and hug her tightly. “Here.” I hand her the bow, she looks at me, fearful. As though her simply touching it would cause irreparable damage. “Take it. I believe in you.” she looks at the cello, eyes wide. “...What do.. you want me to play?” she croaks, and sniffs. “Just play.” I smile. she finally accepts the bow, and I move the cello over, accidentally clunking it against the music stand. she stares daggers at me. I wince, but place it safely at her side. she envelopes it unlike I’d seen her do before. Now MY eyes go wide. She begins, slowly at first. then gets right into the time and melody of what I’d later learn to be Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Cello suite No 1’. like something you’d hear in a ritzy snooty high upper class dinner party or something. Beautiful, coming from her, ugly anywhere else. She dropped her bow beside herself, and looked up at me. “Vinyl… you’re mouth is open.” “That was Awesome!” I exclaim. “Hardly.. It’s a relatively simple song, if you know what you’re doing.” “Welp. I’m cold. I should have gotten dressed… I don’t wanna know how long ago.” “Dunce.” she said, sticking her tongue out, cutely. “You know.. before too long.. we may not have to worry about that.” “Don’t remind me.” she lets out a sigh. “Who knew this old thing would be my last bastion of sanity…” she says, practically hugging it. “I’m getting all kinds of jealous here.” “GO PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!” Author's Note Eh, fuck it. I'll just do it. I re-read my previous chapters... I may rewrite after I've finished the 4th chapter. there's some inconsistencies across the 3 current ones, and knowing the ending of the main story, and having some extra information I wanna try and fill it out a bit more. No doing a complete overhaul, the majority will remain the same, just gonna add some surgical padding, and fix up some off details (ie: timing. ~~their stuff started on the 25th~~(nevermind, I didn't give a date, misread as their 25th birthdays.). everyone else started at least in the first week. Also I wanna try and stretch out some extra worldbuild by adding some supporting or background characters. None to serous, or direction changing. just make the story feel more stable instead of these two characters being surrounded by a city of boxes with cardboard cutout puppets for interactions. Check out what I'm doing for the chapter here; also, Mighty spoilers ahead. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DZxKGYZ27e0Xuzoz988QtF6X5EizrW5Ii5iZORm4i8I/edit NOTE: THIS IS A ROUGH DRAFT LINK. WHAT CURRENTLY CONTAINS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Also, please feel free to point out grammatical flaws, and mis-spellings. or inconsistencies. I HATE inconsistencies.
Musical AscentThe phone beeps in my ear signalling the disconnect. the altercation sat on me like a load of bricks. consider this friendship over, you've let me down too many times... I sat there in the studio, those words causing a hurricane of glass in my mind to spin out of control. my musical partner placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Everything alright, Vinyl?” “I’m sorry, Neon, I just.. I gotta go.” I said in a hurry “Huh- wait! Vinyl! what about the project?! VINYL!” the door slammed behind me, as I took off towards the concert hall. If I hurry.. I may just be able to get in. -><- I stirr from my nap. wiping tears from my eyes. It was only a few hours since Octavia’s session in the soundbooth. I can’t barely remember what I had just dreamed of.. but whatever it was about, I was a teary mess. and I didn't quite understand why. I shake off the feeling as best I can. Olivia notices my waking up, and subsequent crying. “You.. alright?” she asks tentatively, sitting next to me on the couch. “I’m fine.. I’ve.. no idea why I was crying.” I sniff, rubbing my eyes again. she makes a funny face at me, squinting as if trying to see something far away. “.. OH MY GOD, VINYL, YOUR EYES ARE RED!” “.. My eyes are… hold on you had an accent!” “What? No I don’t! I’ve alw-..” she cuts herself off, and lightly feeling her neck. once again wide eyed. She clearly didn't notice it until I had pointed it out. “What on earth is happening to us…?” she asks, the new singsong of her accent, actually pleasing and weirding me out at the same time. “I don’t know… Has the internet proven helpful at all?” I ask, getting up to look into the bathroom mirror. Sure enough, there they were, the piercing red irises of Vinyl Scratch. “Not much… I dug up a couple tweets on some people waking up with strange tattoos. I shot a couple messages, but no response yet. I’m not sure what good they’ll do. the ones I saw were a few days before us, even if it’s the same thing as what we've got… chances are they may not even be ABLE to reply.” “We need to do something.. I’m getting tired of being cooped up in here.” I express to her. “I’m sure not sticking my head, let alone hoof outside that door. not looking like some weird satyr looking creature!” she says pointing at her gray fur covered hooves and legs. she had managed to put on a pair of shorts, for the time being, however uncomfortable she seemed to be in them. I resisted to comment on the accent further. glancing back into the mirror again. It was almost like it was an entirely different person staring back at me. My wild thoughts threw it back at me. of course it’s someone else. it’s Vincent, not you, Vinyl. I shook my head hard to throw that thought away. “We’ll need food, what we have is quickly not becoming a possibility, and what we DO have won’t last much longer either between us eating it, and it going bad.” I said refocusing my attention to our current situation. Suddenly the mellow trumpet of my phone’s ringtone spills into the room. I look at it hesitantly, before answering it. “Uh, Hello?” “Uhm.. Vinyl- I MEAN ugh, VINCENT…” I pull the phone away from my ear for a minute as he just about yelled into it, for correcting himself. “Ne- .. Nick?” I ask, in bewilderment. “Oh god, man. I don’t know what’s going on! I got these.. fucking stars on my legs, and now I’ve got hooves and shit. I’ve been cooped in my apartment for the past three days! I kept looking to my phone, and whenever I crossed you I kept reading your name as ‘Vinyl’ and I’m seven kinds of confused as fuck.” “Hold on.. I’m coming over to get you. We've got to talk about some things.” “I’m losing my damn mind here, man. Hurry up!” I hang up the phone and clumsily put on my shoes, thankful they still fit my still human feet. “Who was that?” “You remember Nick, right, buddy of mine from work?” “And?” “Neon Lights.” She paused for a minute then covered her mouth. “I’ll be right back, I figure it’s best we stick together, if he’s going through this also.” She put on a face of disgust, then nodded. “Do hurry back, Vinyl.” I nod, grab my car keys, and my new sunglasses, to help hide my eyes. -><- The car ride was uneventful, thankfully. I’m yet unsure if it’s a negative placebo effect knowing that my hands and feet may become hooves, but I swear they feel stiff. I pull into the parking structure, and pick a decent spot… On the roof of the complex, because let’s be honest there’s never a decent spot available. I approach his apartment’s door and knock. “Who’s there?!” He yells, in an angry.. frustrated tone. “Who do you think, Neon.” I hear a light clip clop of his hooves on his tiled entry-way. The door opened a crack. in it i could see a pair of baby blue eyes peering through, worried. “Vinyl? I MEAN VIN-” “Shh, yeah. you ready? Octavia and I have a lot to talk to you about.” “Octavia? Vin.. What’s going on?1 what’s happening to me? Why can’t I just say your name normally?!” He’s clearly shut himself in tight. I’m not sure if he’s done any research on what’s happened. “I don't have all of the information.. We're still in the dark on a lot of things, but if you’re going through the same thing… maybe we can glean some new clues as to what the deal is. It’s probably a good idea if we get you over to our place. We've done some minor prep work, just need to do a food run soon.” His door shut and the sound of a chain bolt slid and he opened the door. he was wearing a black button up shirt, with a loose tie. Pants forgone, but his lower extremities mostly hidden by a long leather jacket. he also had on his sunglasses he usually wore the day after getting shitfaced drunk after a week of work, or if he’d been at a party. Getting Neon back home was easy, now. However my mind quickly ticked over to what might happen next. Three cartoon ponies wandering around a city like THIS? We’d surely get abducted, or at very least caught by the good ol’ cops, and taken to some government facility. I didn't want to think about it. Instinctively, I had put on the loudest, most sound- powering songs I could think of. Neon seemed to approve. it seemed to be enough to drown out these thoughts for now. The thought of bringing home a friend like him cheered me up though. Neon eventually turned down the volume, I frowned a little. “So… I.. What…” “Do you know of the show My Little Pony, Specifically the one that restarted the series in 2010?” “No? I can’t particularly recall what I was doing in 2010, let alone what shows were on. I was probably busy being a nuisance to my family.” he said in a half joking way. “Well.. Basically this; We’re turning into some of the characters from it for some reason. Octavia.. Olivia is about as far along as you, I seem to be lagging behind by 24 hours. some kinda shitty birthday present from the universe if you ask me.” “Birthday? Mine was also a couple of days ago!” he replied. I stopped hard at a red light I almost ran through. “The 1st?” I ask “Yeah!” “Odd… Octavia’s is also, mine was on the second…” I pondered “That’s a very peculiar coincidence.” he answers my muse. “ if it WAS a birthday thing.. why am I staggered out? some shitty virus or something that my body seemed to resist or something?.. that can’t be it, cause it happened the morning of MY birthday, I would assume the same as yours…” I grumble… a moment of quiet passes by, and i frustratingly crank up the music again to kill the soured mood. Neon wasn't quite expecting it this time, slapping his hands over his ears as though a bomb went off. I just bobbed my head to the beat, the song pausing to build up for the base drop. It dropped. “and Vinyl Scratch!” an announcer called out as the audience goes nuts, I could barely hear them through my gear. the music belched from the sound system. Neon Lights next to me on his soundboard, tweaking pitch knobs, and handling the turntables for his set. I flashed him a smile and turned back to the audience. “HAHA, YEEEAH! LET’S GO MANEHATTAN!” I yelled, as the song I queued up began it’s early buildup to get the audience hyped up for my set, as Neon crossfaded his set over to me. I look at him, he’s worried I see him mouth “Vinyl” “Vinyl!” the second time, pierced my headset’s sound proofing. “VINYL!!! HOLY SHIT! SNAP OUT OF IT!” he was screaming into my ear, having practically thrown himself into the driver’s seat, to grab the wheel, after throwing the emergency brake, hazard lights and everything. he managed to put the car in an alley. I sat there in horrified shock. What the hell just happened? What WAS that?! “We.. need to get home. Now…” I said, breathing heavily. I looked at the radio, and punched it, and the audio, that Neon had again turned down trying to snap me from my trance, died out. I gathered myself, quietly, and then made our way back to the apartment. Author's Note THIS CHAPTER IS UNEDITED. Please poke it for things to fall apart so that I can fix them. The alternate titles for this one were Seeing Red (Vinyl's eyes reference. not musical themed enough) and Musical Accent (like the accent that Octavia acquires). I went with Musical Ascent later on, as you can probably put together.
