The Amazing Adventures of Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melodyby aricaitlynChapters1 - Shatter and Scratch2 - The Note, The Cake3 - Rock Stars5 - Thou Shalt Be Enjoying It Dearly™6 - Winsom, Lose Some4 - Vinyl and Octie's Vacation1 - Shatter and ScratchVinyl Scratch, world-class DJ and musician extraordinaire, was chilling in her upstairs bedroom, blasting dubstep music. She smiled and eased her body into a comfortable position, the room practically vibrating from the volume and intensity of her bass speakers. Suddenly, a loud screech sounded from the downstairs foyer. Vinyl stood up and paused her music. "Vinyl!" "Coming!" Vinyl shouted as she zoomed down the stairs. The yelling continued, increasing in intensity. "VINYL SCRATCH!" Vinyl's hooves hit the final step, and she trotted left into the foyer. Vinyl suddenly stopped. There was a mess of shattered glass on the carpet. Standing above the mess was Vinyl's roommate, a classy (albeit uptight) cellist named Octavia Melody. Octavia was extremely enraged, much more than what Vinyl Scratch had ever seen before. Octavia gestured to the mess of broken glass on the floor. "What is this?" Vinyl looked down and gulped. "A broken picture frame. Obviously." Octavia nodded calmly, or at least as calmly as she could muster. Her body was shaking, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Ah. So you admit that you broke it." Vinyl was shocked. "What? It wasn't me, Octie. Honestly." Vinyl was hoping the use of a nickname would calm her annoyed friend down. But Mount Octavia was about to erupt. "Don't call me that!" Octavia screeched. She thrust a photograph, probably the one that was inside of the frame, into her roommate's face. "You scratched this up, and I should have expected that from somepony so irresponsible and destructive!" "But, isn't the broken glass the more important part?" Octavia sputtered, probably laughing. "The picture frame is the least of my worries. But that photograph, it meant more to me than you could ever imagine. And now it's ruined. And for once, the memories won't make up for the damage." "But I didn't even do it!" Vinyl insisted. Octavia growled and clenched her teeth, thinking of horribly awful things that she could say. She exhaled, calmed her shaking body, and trotted up the stairs, tossing the ruined photograph behind her. Vinyl followed, but just to get a better look at the photo that she had supposedly messed up. The photo was obviously aged. It was sepia tone, with a few scattered stains plus the scratches left from broken glass. There was a family standing in front of a barn and silo. The family consisted of two parents and four fillies. The parents looked tired and nearly worked to the bone, yet the fillies in the photograph were the complete opposite, standing still in recorded happiness. The three darker-colored fillies in the picture had straightened manes with forehead-sweeping bangs. The pony in the center, however, had a poofy, messy, curly mane. Vinyl looked closer, thinking for a second that she knew the filly in the center. Then it hit her: Vinyl had seen this pony in Canterlot. But why would Octavia keep an old picture of Pinkie Pie's family?, Vinyl began to contemplate. Unless...what if Octavia is one of Pinkie's sisters? 2 - The Note, The CakeAbout two hours ago, Vinyl had stepped outside for a little stroll. She needed to clear her mind. She had also picked up a surprise on the way home: a delicious and moist apology cake from Sugar Cube Corner. It wasn't a complete fix, but it was definitely a start. Vinyl stepped inside and turned left into the foyer. The floor had been swept, but the photograph sat on the table, almost naked without its frame. In the other room, Octavia was sprawled across the couch, napping. Vinyl placed the cake box on the coffee table and quickly scrawled a mediocre apology letter. It was cheesy and it was rushed, but it was truly empathetic. She finally folded the note in half, taped it to the cake box, and headed upstairs to bed. The next morning, Octavia woke up and her first sight this morning was the cake box. She peered closer and saw the note on top, written in Vinyl's undeniably messy and misspelled hoof-writing. Dear Octavia, I'm really sorry that I broke the frame and scratched that ~~sentamentel~~ sentimental photo. One of the nights you played first chair cello in Canterlot, I decided to throw a party. It got a bit out of hoof. Word of advice: never trust Rainbow Dash with the stereo. Never ends well. But, honestly, if the photo meant so much to you, I'll find a way to get it retaken. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Your friend, Vinyl Scratch With tears of happiness welling in her eyes, Octavia began to shake her roommate from dreamland. "Vinyl!" she exclaimed, but with not as much force as last night. Vinyl yawned, a little peeved that she was shaken from an amazing dream. "I'm up. What is it?" "Would you like to share this cake?" "So, Oct," Vinyl began, picking at her slice. "Yes?" "I met your sisters last night." Octavia's ears perked up. "Really?" Vinyl nodded. "Yeah. They're the ones who sold me the cake." "Well, I haven't seen them since Pinkie earned her cutie mark. After that, we all sort of...branched off." "So, why don't we invite them to dinner?" Vinyl suggested. "Well, that would be a great idea, but I've got no way of contacting them." Octavia replied. Suddenly, Vinyl pulled a large book out. The book had many pages, displaying the contact information of nearly everypony in Equestria. Vinyl began to flip through the pages, then stopped at the page that she needed. "I've found it!" "That's great, Vinyl! But what exactly did you find?" Vinyl began to read the page. "There are two addresses here: one for Sugar Cube Corner, and one for the - Rock farm? You guys worked on a rock farm?!" Octavia nodded and chuckled a bit. "Yes. It was pretty dull back home." "But you're still willing to see your family to retake the picture?" "Yes," Octavia repeated. "No matter how dull." 3 - Rock StarsWithout hesitation, Vinyl and Octavia had decided to make their way to the rock farm where Octavia and her family worked formerly. Their first stop, however, was Sugar Cube Corner. Octavia's sisters had been there the night before. Vinyl opened the door to the bakery. The smells of sweet baked goods immediately wafted out the open door. "Um, hello?" Vinyl asked, stepping in. Octavia followed in a similar manner. It was a bit earlier in the morning, which pretty much meant the shop was closed. Whomever had closed last night, however, had forgotten to lock the door. Vinyl continued to trot around but suddenly stopped at a display case filled with pastries, licking her lips at the thought of eating those delightful donuts. Octavia groaned. "Vinyl, we don't have time for this." Vinyl nodded. "If nopony's here, I'll just take a donut. Alright? Alright." Her horn lit, the magic moving straight through the display case as if it were nothing. The magic encased the pastry, and... "Anypony in here?" a cheerful voice asked. Vinyl lost concentration and dropped her donut, cursing under her breath. The pony was Pinkie Pie, one of Octavia's siblings. After discovering an amazing rainbow as a child, Pinkie's dull life was immediately transformed into a fun life of smiles and parties. She had spontaneously thrown a party for her family, which helped her to earn her cutie mark and taught her how to smile. Her sole goal in life was to help others learn to smile, too. "Hello, Vinyl! Hello, Octavia!" Pinkie grinned, then turned to the donut Vinyl had dropped. She pushed her mane to the ground, the donut sticking to it as if it were magnetic. Pinkie shook her mane out over the trash can, but then suddenly stopped. She brought her hooves up to her mane and pulled the donut out, then ate it in one bite. "Mmmm! Yummy!" Pinkie swallowed. "So, what's up?" She looked around. "We aren't even open yet; how'd you two get in here?" "We wanted to know if you knew of a faster way to get to the rock farm," Vinyl said. Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yeah, it's really not that far from here. Just a quick train ride one way, hit the train right, left, straight, around town, woo-woo! Then you're there!" Vinyl scratched her head. "Uhh...what?" "I'll go with you guys instead. Why do you need to visit?" Pinkie asked. "We were hoping to buy some rocks," Octavia butted in. "Our front yard is lacking...uh, rocks. You know how it is." Vinyl interrupted. "Octavia, you said that yard rocks looked really tacky -" Octavia shoved her hoof in Vinyl's face. "I never said that!" She then turned to Pinkie, chuckling nervously. "Whenever you're able to go is fine with us." Pinkie grinned. "Okay! I need to pack anyway..." Vinyl, Octavia, and Pinkie waited at the train station in hopes of heading to the rock farm. The trio stood quietly, with nothing to talk of. Every so often, Octavia would adjust her tie, Vinyl would cough, or Pinkie would hum a high note. "What kind of rocks are you thinking of getting, Octavia?" Pinkie asked, trying to break the tension of the awkward silence. "Uh...oh yeah! Rocks," Octavia responded. "Probably...glittery." "Like somepony went around and added a little bit of shine," Vinyl added, helping her friend out. Pinkie nodded. "Yeah! I'm sure they've got rocks like that!" Vinyl cringed. "Great." She then turned to Octavia, gritting her teeth. "How do we get into these problems?!" Octavia groaned. "I don't know," she replied monotonously. "I just don't." The train whizzed by and stopped right in front of them. "It's here, it's here!" Pinkie exclaimed, hopping up and down in place. The doors opened and the ponies got into the train to the rock farm. The train pulled in, its pastel colors barely blending in to the dull background of the rock farm. "We're here!" Pinkie shouted. She got off the train and began skipping into the field of rocks. Octavia and Vinyl followed at a steady pace. Once Vinyl and Octavia had caught up, Pinkie stopped in front of some small pebbles dusted in glitter. "This what you wanted, Octavia?" Pinkie asked. Octavia cringed and picked up one of the rocks. "I thought I was kidding," she said to Vinyl. Vinyl shrugged. "It's a sparkly rock. Can't go wrong with sparkly rocks." "Basket?" Pinkie asked, pulling a shopping basket from nowhere. Vinyl grabbed it with her magic and put the rock inside. "Thanks, Pinkie," Vinyl responded, grabbing the basket with her foreleg. "No problem!" Pinkie skipped off and knocked on the door of the barn, which was just as rickety as it looked in the photograph. Octavia gasped suddenly, grabbing her mane. "What's wrong, Octie?" Vinyl asked. "I...forgot!" Octavia sputtered, sweeping her bangs to the middle of her forehead. "What're you even doing?" Vinyl asked skeptically. "Fixing my hair. For old time's sake." Octavia grinned, having finally fixed her bangs. She looked just like the stone-gray filly in the photograph, just older. She unfastened her pink bow tie and fixed it to her head as a ribbon. "How do I look?" she asked Vinyl. Vinyl gritted her teeth. "Uh...good!" Pinkie made her way back to the two with another pony trailing her. It was Limestone, another one of Octavia's sisters. It had been so long since they had seen each other; tears began to well up in Octavia's eyes. "Hey, Marble!" Limestone said, hugging her sister. "It's been so long!" "I know," Octavia replied. "Heard you got your cutie mark." They pulled away from the hug to admire each other's cutie marks. 5 - Thou Shalt Be Enjoying It Dearly™Vinyl Scratch, world-class DJ and musician extraordinaire, was chilling in the foyer, blasting dubstep music. She smiled and eased her body into a comfortable position, her Ponybeatz™ headphones snuggling against her ears. Suddenly, a loud screech sounded from Octavia's room. Vinyl put down the music. "I'm coming, Octie!" she hollered as she dashed up the steps. Octavia sat on the carpet, weakly sobbing. Her cello lay broken on the floor next to her. "Oh...my...Celestia..." Vinyl gasped. She picked up the broken neck of the instrument and examined it. "Wow," she repeated. "I was just playing it, then I stepped away for a minute...I guess it wasn't on its stand all the way or something, but..." Octavia quickly wiped her still-flowing tears. "I'll just pick up a job at McLuna's. To pay for repairs, of course." "I'll get a job, too," Vinyl added eagerly. "We can earn twice the money that way!" "Oh, you don't have to do that, Vinyl. A nice gesture, really, but for once this is my problem." "No! I insist!" Soon, both Octavia and Vinyl were wearing red shirts, yellow ties, and dinky little visors with the Lunar Arch across the bill. "I look so cute!" Vinyl Scratch exclaimed, happy to be wearing something other than her trademark glasses. "And so do you, Tavi!" "No," Octavia corrected. "We look ridiculou-" Oct's griping was cut short by the entrance of a mare and her little filly. "A customer!" Vinyl exclaimed. "I'd like a #4 with no ketchup, a large Joke with extra ice, small fry, and filly's Lunar Meal," the customer called off, squinting at the menu above Octavia's head. Octavia expertly punched in the order, then called it back to the ponies in the kitchen. In almost an instant, the hay fries were packaged, the toy was tossed in the Lunar Meal box, the grass burger was put together with a lack of ketchup, and the soda was poured. The customer and her daughter accepted the order with smiles and trotted off to enjoy the greasy fast food. "Well, we sure earned a lot of money." Vinyl grinned. She wasn't used to having all this money just lying around. In fact, she was practically losing her mind with the inability to spend it all. "It's still not enough. The cello is broken beyond repair," Octavia replied sadly. "Well, how much does it cost to replace it?" "900,000 bits." Vinyl let out a low whistle in reply. Octavia sighed and flopped herself onto the bed dramatically. She began to sob loudly. "I'm just going to give up music! Who ever heard of the 'Broken Cello Overture in Gray' anyway? Vinyl, just spend all of the money on your 'deejay swag' or whatever. I'll just-" Octavia immediately bolted upright from her bed, leaving the melancholy mood behind. "I'll take up your instruments, Vinyl! You hardly play them, and they sure do look easy! So many of them are built like my cello! I'll be playing the electric bass in no time, and I won't even drop it once!" She began running towards the music room and Vinyl followed nervously. Octavia was playing Vinyl's electric bass. She held it like the cello, and looked a little confused. She was playing a few notes, they just sounded wobbly and weak. "I rock!" Octavia shouted. Vinyl gasped as Octavia roughly rammed her hooves on a nearby keyboard, creating a tune with no purpose. "Oct, stop!" Vinyl protested. But her roommate didn't seem to hear. Octavia clutched a microphone in her hooves. Vinyl could only watch reluctantly as those first few notes were sang: "Call upon the seaponies when you're in distress!" As soon as Octavia finished her song, the music room window cracked. A gray projectile of sorts flew through the now-open window and into a glass of water. Vinyl looked down into the glass. The projectile was actually a small octopus in Octavia's likeness. It was gray, and it even wore a pink bow tie. "I was afraid that would happen," Vinyl remarked. 6 - Winsom, Lose Some"Twilight! Twilight!" The unicorn opened her door with a magical surge of magenta. "Oh, hello, Vinyl. Octavia. It's nice to see you he-" She took notice of the Octie-pus held in midair by Vinyl's magic. "We need your help," Octavia began. "And for once, I caused the problem." Twilight seemed a bit confused, but she nodded. "Well, come on in. There's coffee brewing." "So tell me exactly what happened." Twilight Sparkle insisted. She hesitantly took a sip of her coffee, trying hard not to burn her tongue or lips. "Well, I broke my cello and then Vinyl and I got jobs to work off the repairs. But it wasn't enough." Octavia repositioned her hooves around the mug. She looked down as she explained; she was very embarrassed and confused. "No, no, no." Twilight interrupted. "Explain this octopus." "Oh, that." Octavia relocated her glare downwards to her bottom hooves. "I sang a song and this just flew through the window." "Well, which song was it? Maybe the tune will help us figure this out." "'Call Upon the Seaponies'. You know, 'shoo be doo'?" Twilight cringed, then nodded towards one of her many bookshelves. "Spike!" she called. The purple dragon darted down the stairs. "Yeah?" Twilight pointed to a book at the top of the shelf, a title that looked pretty old. "That one, please. Right away." "Right." Spike pulled up a ladder and brought the book down with ease. Vinyl and Octavia were shocked as Twilight eagerly flipped through the pages of When You're in Distress: How to Call Upon the Seaponies the Right Way. Twilight finally stopped flipping through the pages. "'The seapony curse is cast on a pony who doesn't need any help from a seapony, but requests its service anyway. To rid yourself of this curse you must...'" Twilight kept turning the pages, then closed the book and put it down next to her mug. "The only way you can get rid of the curse, according to this book, is to drive that cephalopod out to sea. Then the one who cast the curse upon herself must sing the same song backwards." Vinyl looked up to a map. "But there's no way we can get to sea. We're landlocked." "No, there's got to be some way," Twilight corrected. "Oh, now I remember!" Octavia exclaimed. "What?" "Winsom Falls! I went there when I was a filly. Vinyl, you know how close it is, right?" Vinyl nodded. "Let's go find that waterfall." She and Oct were about to head out, but they realized that they were guests at Twilight's and it would be rude to just leave her. But Twilight gave them the okay. "Be warned," Twilight hollered. "The curse becomes permanent in three days!" "Can we take a plane?" Vinyl asked. "I don't wanna walk all that way." "I'm not sure," Oct replied. "After the Pony Beach incident, I don't want to take chances." Vinyl reminisced and chuckled a bit. "Aw, yeah. How come you're the one who always goes crazy?" Octavia shrugged. "I suppose it just runs in the family. My great-great uncle Mellow Note lost his mind on a daily basis." "Well, could we take a train or something?" "Maybe that would work." "No psychos allowed," the train conductor said. "She's not psychotic," Vinyl butted in. Octavia signaled for her to shut up, but Vinyl just kept yammering. "Octavia here is my totally sane BPFF!" Oct finally took a stand and covered her friend's nonstop mouth with a hoof. "Mpt pff mm mmfth!" is what Vinyl proclaimed with a mouthful of hoof. Octavia led the unicorn elsewhere. As before, the same "Octavia's psychotic" scenario went down as Vinyl Scratch and Octavia tried to pick up tickets at another train station nearby. "This is so dumb," Vinyl mumbled. She then recalled something. "The mirror pool?" "Mirror pool? No, we need to rid ourselves of a curse, not create another!" "Rid ourselves of a curse, not create another!" the Octie-pus repeated. Vinyl began to laugh loudly, and was rolling on the ground in no time. "Man, I wish I had my own sea-po-" Octavia cut her off. "Be careful! If you wish for your own, you'll only make it worse!" "Okay." Vinyl sighed and stood up. "So, we're hoofin' it now?" Octavia nodded. "It must be the only way, then." So the two musicians began to hoof it, with the Octie-pus, some spare bits, and a map of Equestria (stolen from Twilight's library). "Ugh," Vinyl groaned loudly and obnoxiously. "Mehhhh." "Stop that," Octavia panted. "We're...halfway...there..." "But...it's so...HOT!" "You've got...the magic to cool yourself off. You've got...the magic to refill Octie-pus' water. So use...your magic and make it so." "Oh...right. Sometimes I...forget that I'm a...unicorn." Vinyl's horn began to glow, and her sweat vanished. She used a spell to add more water in the cup. Finally, she picked up the octopus with her magic and kept on trotting. Octavia sighed. "We're halfway through..." She glanced over the map. "Halfway through...the Endless Desert." The three groaned in unison. The Endless Desert was ironically short. The three made it there in good time. Suddenly, Vinyl gestured to her horn as it lit up. "Vinyl, what are you doing?" Octavia asked nervously. "I'm teleporting us there. I feel like we're really close." The light on her forehead grew as Octie-pus was dropped from the same grasp. In some sort of dumb luck, Octavia rescued the Octie-pus just as the magic encased them. In almost an instant, they were there. "Well, here we are," Vinyl Scratch commented. "Your favorite tourist site." She picked the Octie-pus up with her magic, then tilted the glass towards the majestic waterfalls. Octavia stopped her just as a drop or two of water landed. "Vinyl! This place is guarded by magical moon gargoyles at night! One false move and - we're toast!" "How is this a false move?" Vinyl grinned. "We're ridding you of a curse. Now, sing!" "But -" "DO IT FOR THE OCTOPUS." Octavia sighed. "Fine." "Sertsid ni eruoy new senopaes et nopu lack! With that, the Octie-pus dove into the crystal-clear water. The curse had been lifted, but the full moon was out, empowering the gargoyles. Not only were they able to awaken at this time of the night, they had a mission: destroying those who did something wrong at Winsom Falls. The gargoyles were silent and dark as night, their pegasus wings allowing them to swoop like a bird. "I warned you!" Octavia groaned. "Hey - I've never been in a situation like this." A gargoyle reached for Vinyl's foreleg and bit down. "Troublemakersssssssss..." he hissed, further sinking his fangs into her pony flesh. Fear began to manifest itself in Vinyl. She was known for being the most calm, cool, and collected pony on the block, but how could she not just lose it at such a dire time?! So she screamed for help. "Help yourself," Octavia replied. Vinyl Scratch glanced over and saw that the gargoyles were attempting to drown her. Vinyl began to wiggle the gargoyle off her leg, but his grip grew stronger. She finally felt the blood rushing and screamed again. He finally eased up, allowing Vinyl to dump Octie-pus' glass on his head. He hissed as he burned. The two gargoyles who had tried to drown Octavia flew to the tourists' balcony and dropped her. The gargoyles flew back to their perches and hardened into their original stone forms. "That was close," Vinyl grunted. "And we broke the curse, too!" Octavia nodded. "Let's go home." "Sure." Vinyl Scratch lit her horn and beamed back home with Octavia Melody. THE END 4 - Vinyl and Octie's Vacation"Ah, Pony Beach," Octavia sighed as she glanced over a brochure that had arrived in the mail. "I'd love to visit," she added to nopony in particular. She casually looked over the prices, expecting it to be an affordable visit, for once. "Airfare is...500,000 bits?! That doesn't even pay for room service or attractions or anything!" At the sound of this ridiculously high price, Vinyl stepped into the kitchen. "That's how much I spend monthly on my equipment, records, turntables, speakers..." If she had fingers, she would have been counting on them. Octavia was now more shocked than before. "Where the hay did you get that money from? There's no way you make that much at gigs because of the expenses!" "From that jar on top of the fridge," Vinyl replied leisurely, tilting her head towards the refrigerator. "VINYL! That was our rainy day money, and you spent it all! I was planning to bring you along, but no! You're too irresponsible!" She fetched the jar, which was surprisingly quite heavy. "There's only enough for me to go. You'll be home alone for three days." "Home alone? Sweet!" Octavia immediately realized the kink in the plan. "You're too irresponsible. So I'll just have to smuggle you in." "Smuggle me in? How?" Oct groaned. "I don't know. I'll...stuff you in my luggage bag. Yes, that will do." "That's ridiculous," Vinyl moaned. "No way am I doin' that." "But it's brilliant!" Octavia interrupted. "But probably illegal." Surely enough, Octavia had gone through with her harebrained scheme. She was now ready to take her vacation and was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a fanny pack, just like the stereotypical tourist. "Are you sure it's gonna work?" Vinyl whispered from inside the crowded duffel bag. "Of course!" Oct replied. "That's because I'm the one who came up with it! Now lay low!" "Excuse me, miss," a luggage check interjected, "but I need to check your bags." "Oh, o-of course," Octavia stuttered. She wheeled the bag in front of him. "Go right ahead." The stallion tossed the duffel bag onto a luggage-checking conveyor belt. Vinyl began to feel uneasy. She knew that the machine's scanners would expose her and probably arrest her friend for doing something so risky. The siren for the machine suddenly sounded, sending the entire area into a tizzy of silence. "What is it?" a blond-maned clerk asked. "Is somepony smuggling hazardous materials?" "No, it's just another system glitch," the luggage check replied, hitting the machine with his hoof. "We really need a new one." Octavia's bag was soon corrected as "safe for travel", She picked it up and made her way towards her plane. "Psst, Octavia." The charcoal-colored pony didn't reply. She had her headphones on, playing classical music at a respectful (but still loud) volume. "Octavia..." "What was that?" a yellow stallion sitting near Octavia asked. She put down her music. "What?" "That voice. What was it?" Octavia turned to the duffel bag and saw Vinyl's magenta eyes glowing. She leaned over the bag and grinned nervously. "I talk to myself. Yes, it's just that." To demonstrate this, she began speaking in a mockery of Vinyl's voice, then in her own again. The stallion was confused, and surprised that such a psychotic pony could have gotten on the plane without a hitch. Swiftly, he pressed his hoof to a button on the side of his window. The captain's voice immediately came on over the intercom. "This is Captain Firefly speaking: we have a possible psycho to be disposed of. Thank you for flying Griffon Airlines, and we hope to see you again soon when you are not a possible threat." Soon, Octavia and her duffel bag were free-falling from the plane with a parachute, courtesy of Griffon Airlines. Oct finally unzipped the bag in mid-air so that Vinyl could breathe. After what seemed like forever, they landed on a small island with nothing there but sand and a few trees. A large building surrounded by bikini-donning mares lay far in the distance. "I'm sorry," Vinyl Scratch offered. "It isn't your fault," Octavia replied, digging her hooves in the sand. "It's the captain's fault." "You're right. But it looks like we'll be here a while. I'm still in this bag, though. Unzip me?" As per request, Octavia pulled the zipper down and left room for her friend to tumble out. "So, whaddaya wanna do?" Vinyl continued. "We've got sand, some bags, a parachute! We could build some paradise, and maybe light a flame for rescue-" She turned to see Octavia, but not as her usual self. The usually-sane cellist had traded her bow tie for a floral lei, and was donning a grass skirt as well. Oct also happened to be eating sand at the moment. "I'm one step ahead of you," she commented through a mouthful of the gritty stuff. Vinyl was clearly weirded out by all of this. "Okay then. I'll just do this myself." Not even an hour later, a small lean-to of sticks and a single parachute had been successfully built by Vinyl. The sun had begun to set, and the sky looked grim. "Hey, Octavia!" Octavia looked up from her sandwich of sand to see Vinyl holding up two snack packages, taken from the duffel bag. Octavia began to dash towards her snack-possessing friend and snapped up the familiar packages. "Do you see that resort over there?" Vinyl pointed in the direction of the resort, still surrounded by mares in bikinis. "That's Pony Beach," she leisurely explained. "So, you mean to tell us that we were within TROTTING DISTANCE of the darn place?!"
1 - Shatter and ScratchVinyl Scratch, world-class DJ and musician extraordinaire, was chilling in her upstairs bedroom, blasting dubstep music. She smiled and eased her body into a comfortable position, the room practically vibrating from the volume and intensity of her bass speakers. Suddenly, a loud screech sounded from the downstairs foyer. Vinyl stood up and paused her music. "Vinyl!" "Coming!" Vinyl shouted as she zoomed down the stairs. The yelling continued, increasing in intensity. "VINYL SCRATCH!" Vinyl's hooves hit the final step, and she trotted left into the foyer. Vinyl suddenly stopped. There was a mess of shattered glass on the carpet. Standing above the mess was Vinyl's roommate, a classy (albeit uptight) cellist named Octavia Melody. Octavia was extremely enraged, much more than what Vinyl Scratch had ever seen before. Octavia gestured to the mess of broken glass on the floor. "What is this?" Vinyl looked down and gulped. "A broken picture frame. Obviously." Octavia nodded calmly, or at least as calmly as she could muster. Her body was shaking, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Ah. So you admit that you broke it." Vinyl was shocked. "What? It wasn't me, Octie. Honestly." Vinyl was hoping the use of a nickname would calm her annoyed friend down. But Mount Octavia was about to erupt. "Don't call me that!" Octavia screeched. She thrust a photograph, probably the one that was inside of the frame, into her roommate's face. "You scratched this up, and I should have expected that from somepony so irresponsible and destructive!" "But, isn't the broken glass the more important part?" Octavia sputtered, probably laughing. "The picture frame is the least of my worries. But that photograph, it meant more to me than you could ever imagine. And now it's ruined. And for once, the memories won't make up for the damage." "But I didn't even do it!" Vinyl insisted. Octavia growled and clenched her teeth, thinking of horribly awful things that she could say. She exhaled, calmed her shaking body, and trotted up the stairs, tossing the ruined photograph behind her. Vinyl followed, but just to get a better look at the photo that she had supposedly messed up. The photo was obviously aged. It was sepia tone, with a few scattered stains plus the scratches left from broken glass. There was a family standing in front of a barn and silo. The family consisted of two parents and four fillies. The parents looked tired and nearly worked to the bone, yet the fillies in the photograph were the complete opposite, standing still in recorded happiness. The three darker-colored fillies in the picture had straightened manes with forehead-sweeping bangs. The pony in the center, however, had a poofy, messy, curly mane. Vinyl looked closer, thinking for a second that she knew the filly in the center. Then it hit her: Vinyl had seen this pony in Canterlot. But why would Octavia keep an old picture of Pinkie Pie's family?, Vinyl began to contemplate. Unless...what if Octavia is one of Pinkie's sisters?
2 - The Note, The CakeAbout two hours ago, Vinyl had stepped outside for a little stroll. She needed to clear her mind. She had also picked up a surprise on the way home: a delicious and moist apology cake from Sugar Cube Corner. It wasn't a complete fix, but it was definitely a start. Vinyl stepped inside and turned left into the foyer. The floor had been swept, but the photograph sat on the table, almost naked without its frame. In the other room, Octavia was sprawled across the couch, napping. Vinyl placed the cake box on the coffee table and quickly scrawled a mediocre apology letter. It was cheesy and it was rushed, but it was truly empathetic. She finally folded the note in half, taped it to the cake box, and headed upstairs to bed. The next morning, Octavia woke up and her first sight this morning was the cake box. She peered closer and saw the note on top, written in Vinyl's undeniably messy and misspelled hoof-writing. Dear Octavia, I'm really sorry that I broke the frame and scratched that ~~sentamentel~~ sentimental photo. One of the nights you played first chair cello in Canterlot, I decided to throw a party. It got a bit out of hoof. Word of advice: never trust Rainbow Dash with the stereo. Never ends well. But, honestly, if the photo meant so much to you, I'll find a way to get it retaken. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Your friend, Vinyl Scratch With tears of happiness welling in her eyes, Octavia began to shake her roommate from dreamland. "Vinyl!" she exclaimed, but with not as much force as last night. Vinyl yawned, a little peeved that she was shaken from an amazing dream. "I'm up. What is it?" "Would you like to share this cake?" "So, Oct," Vinyl began, picking at her slice. "Yes?" "I met your sisters last night." Octavia's ears perked up. "Really?" Vinyl nodded. "Yeah. They're the ones who sold me the cake." "Well, I haven't seen them since Pinkie earned her cutie mark. After that, we all sort of...branched off." "So, why don't we invite them to dinner?" Vinyl suggested. "Well, that would be a great idea, but I've got no way of contacting them." Octavia replied. Suddenly, Vinyl pulled a large book out. The book had many pages, displaying the contact information of nearly everypony in Equestria. Vinyl began to flip through the pages, then stopped at the page that she needed. "I've found it!" "That's great, Vinyl! But what exactly did you find?" Vinyl began to read the page. "There are two addresses here: one for Sugar Cube Corner, and one for the - Rock farm? You guys worked on a rock farm?!" Octavia nodded and chuckled a bit. "Yes. It was pretty dull back home." "But you're still willing to see your family to retake the picture?" "Yes," Octavia repeated. "No matter how dull."
3 - Rock StarsWithout hesitation, Vinyl and Octavia had decided to make their way to the rock farm where Octavia and her family worked formerly. Their first stop, however, was Sugar Cube Corner. Octavia's sisters had been there the night before. Vinyl opened the door to the bakery. The smells of sweet baked goods immediately wafted out the open door. "Um, hello?" Vinyl asked, stepping in. Octavia followed in a similar manner. It was a bit earlier in the morning, which pretty much meant the shop was closed. Whomever had closed last night, however, had forgotten to lock the door. Vinyl continued to trot around but suddenly stopped at a display case filled with pastries, licking her lips at the thought of eating those delightful donuts. Octavia groaned. "Vinyl, we don't have time for this." Vinyl nodded. "If nopony's here, I'll just take a donut. Alright? Alright." Her horn lit, the magic moving straight through the display case as if it were nothing. The magic encased the pastry, and... "Anypony in here?" a cheerful voice asked. Vinyl lost concentration and dropped her donut, cursing under her breath. The pony was Pinkie Pie, one of Octavia's siblings. After discovering an amazing rainbow as a child, Pinkie's dull life was immediately transformed into a fun life of smiles and parties. She had spontaneously thrown a party for her family, which helped her to earn her cutie mark and taught her how to smile. Her sole goal in life was to help others learn to smile, too. "Hello, Vinyl! Hello, Octavia!" Pinkie grinned, then turned to the donut Vinyl had dropped. She pushed her mane to the ground, the donut sticking to it as if it were magnetic. Pinkie shook her mane out over the trash can, but then suddenly stopped. She brought her hooves up to her mane and pulled the donut out, then ate it in one bite. "Mmmm! Yummy!" Pinkie swallowed. "So, what's up?" She looked around. "We aren't even open yet; how'd you two get in here?" "We wanted to know if you knew of a faster way to get to the rock farm," Vinyl said. Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yeah, it's really not that far from here. Just a quick train ride one way, hit the train right, left, straight, around town, woo-woo! Then you're there!" Vinyl scratched her head. "Uhh...what?" "I'll go with you guys instead. Why do you need to visit?" Pinkie asked. "We were hoping to buy some rocks," Octavia butted in. "Our front yard is lacking...uh, rocks. You know how it is." Vinyl interrupted. "Octavia, you said that yard rocks looked really tacky -" Octavia shoved her hoof in Vinyl's face. "I never said that!" She then turned to Pinkie, chuckling nervously. "Whenever you're able to go is fine with us." Pinkie grinned. "Okay! I need to pack anyway..." Vinyl, Octavia, and Pinkie waited at the train station in hopes of heading to the rock farm. The trio stood quietly, with nothing to talk of. Every so often, Octavia would adjust her tie, Vinyl would cough, or Pinkie would hum a high note. "What kind of rocks are you thinking of getting, Octavia?" Pinkie asked, trying to break the tension of the awkward silence. "Uh...oh yeah! Rocks," Octavia responded. "Probably...glittery." "Like somepony went around and added a little bit of shine," Vinyl added, helping her friend out. Pinkie nodded. "Yeah! I'm sure they've got rocks like that!" Vinyl cringed. "Great." She then turned to Octavia, gritting her teeth. "How do we get into these problems?!" Octavia groaned. "I don't know," she replied monotonously. "I just don't." The train whizzed by and stopped right in front of them. "It's here, it's here!" Pinkie exclaimed, hopping up and down in place. The doors opened and the ponies got into the train to the rock farm. The train pulled in, its pastel colors barely blending in to the dull background of the rock farm. "We're here!" Pinkie shouted. She got off the train and began skipping into the field of rocks. Octavia and Vinyl followed at a steady pace. Once Vinyl and Octavia had caught up, Pinkie stopped in front of some small pebbles dusted in glitter. "This what you wanted, Octavia?" Pinkie asked. Octavia cringed and picked up one of the rocks. "I thought I was kidding," she said to Vinyl. Vinyl shrugged. "It's a sparkly rock. Can't go wrong with sparkly rocks." "Basket?" Pinkie asked, pulling a shopping basket from nowhere. Vinyl grabbed it with her magic and put the rock inside. "Thanks, Pinkie," Vinyl responded, grabbing the basket with her foreleg. "No problem!" Pinkie skipped off and knocked on the door of the barn, which was just as rickety as it looked in the photograph. Octavia gasped suddenly, grabbing her mane. "What's wrong, Octie?" Vinyl asked. "I...forgot!" Octavia sputtered, sweeping her bangs to the middle of her forehead. "What're you even doing?" Vinyl asked skeptically. "Fixing my hair. For old time's sake." Octavia grinned, having finally fixed her bangs. She looked just like the stone-gray filly in the photograph, just older. She unfastened her pink bow tie and fixed it to her head as a ribbon. "How do I look?" she asked Vinyl. Vinyl gritted her teeth. "Uh...good!" Pinkie made her way back to the two with another pony trailing her. It was Limestone, another one of Octavia's sisters. It had been so long since they had seen each other; tears began to well up in Octavia's eyes. "Hey, Marble!" Limestone said, hugging her sister. "It's been so long!" "I know," Octavia replied. "Heard you got your cutie mark." They pulled away from the hug to admire each other's cutie marks.
5 - Thou Shalt Be Enjoying It Dearly™Vinyl Scratch, world-class DJ and musician extraordinaire, was chilling in the foyer, blasting dubstep music. She smiled and eased her body into a comfortable position, her Ponybeatz™ headphones snuggling against her ears. Suddenly, a loud screech sounded from Octavia's room. Vinyl put down the music. "I'm coming, Octie!" she hollered as she dashed up the steps. Octavia sat on the carpet, weakly sobbing. Her cello lay broken on the floor next to her. "Oh...my...Celestia..." Vinyl gasped. She picked up the broken neck of the instrument and examined it. "Wow," she repeated. "I was just playing it, then I stepped away for a minute...I guess it wasn't on its stand all the way or something, but..." Octavia quickly wiped her still-flowing tears. "I'll just pick up a job at McLuna's. To pay for repairs, of course." "I'll get a job, too," Vinyl added eagerly. "We can earn twice the money that way!" "Oh, you don't have to do that, Vinyl. A nice gesture, really, but for once this is my problem." "No! I insist!" Soon, both Octavia and Vinyl were wearing red shirts, yellow ties, and dinky little visors with the Lunar Arch across the bill. "I look so cute!" Vinyl Scratch exclaimed, happy to be wearing something other than her trademark glasses. "And so do you, Tavi!" "No," Octavia corrected. "We look ridiculou-" Oct's griping was cut short by the entrance of a mare and her little filly. "A customer!" Vinyl exclaimed. "I'd like a #4 with no ketchup, a large Joke with extra ice, small fry, and filly's Lunar Meal," the customer called off, squinting at the menu above Octavia's head. Octavia expertly punched in the order, then called it back to the ponies in the kitchen. In almost an instant, the hay fries were packaged, the toy was tossed in the Lunar Meal box, the grass burger was put together with a lack of ketchup, and the soda was poured. The customer and her daughter accepted the order with smiles and trotted off to enjoy the greasy fast food. "Well, we sure earned a lot of money." Vinyl grinned. She wasn't used to having all this money just lying around. In fact, she was practically losing her mind with the inability to spend it all. "It's still not enough. The cello is broken beyond repair," Octavia replied sadly. "Well, how much does it cost to replace it?" "900,000 bits." Vinyl let out a low whistle in reply. Octavia sighed and flopped herself onto the bed dramatically. She began to sob loudly. "I'm just going to give up music! Who ever heard of the 'Broken Cello Overture in Gray' anyway? Vinyl, just spend all of the money on your 'deejay swag' or whatever. I'll just-" Octavia immediately bolted upright from her bed, leaving the melancholy mood behind. "I'll take up your instruments, Vinyl! You hardly play them, and they sure do look easy! So many of them are built like my cello! I'll be playing the electric bass in no time, and I won't even drop it once!" She began running towards the music room and Vinyl followed nervously. Octavia was playing Vinyl's electric bass. She held it like the cello, and looked a little confused. She was playing a few notes, they just sounded wobbly and weak. "I rock!" Octavia shouted. Vinyl gasped as Octavia roughly rammed her hooves on a nearby keyboard, creating a tune with no purpose. "Oct, stop!" Vinyl protested. But her roommate didn't seem to hear. Octavia clutched a microphone in her hooves. Vinyl could only watch reluctantly as those first few notes were sang: "Call upon the seaponies when you're in distress!" As soon as Octavia finished her song, the music room window cracked. A gray projectile of sorts flew through the now-open window and into a glass of water. Vinyl looked down into the glass. The projectile was actually a small octopus in Octavia's likeness. It was gray, and it even wore a pink bow tie. "I was afraid that would happen," Vinyl remarked.
6 - Winsom, Lose Some"Twilight! Twilight!" The unicorn opened her door with a magical surge of magenta. "Oh, hello, Vinyl. Octavia. It's nice to see you he-" She took notice of the Octie-pus held in midair by Vinyl's magic. "We need your help," Octavia began. "And for once, I caused the problem." Twilight seemed a bit confused, but she nodded. "Well, come on in. There's coffee brewing." "So tell me exactly what happened." Twilight Sparkle insisted. She hesitantly took a sip of her coffee, trying hard not to burn her tongue or lips. "Well, I broke my cello and then Vinyl and I got jobs to work off the repairs. But it wasn't enough." Octavia repositioned her hooves around the mug. She looked down as she explained; she was very embarrassed and confused. "No, no, no." Twilight interrupted. "Explain this octopus." "Oh, that." Octavia relocated her glare downwards to her bottom hooves. "I sang a song and this just flew through the window." "Well, which song was it? Maybe the tune will help us figure this out." "'Call Upon the Seaponies'. You know, 'shoo be doo'?" Twilight cringed, then nodded towards one of her many bookshelves. "Spike!" she called. The purple dragon darted down the stairs. "Yeah?" Twilight pointed to a book at the top of the shelf, a title that looked pretty old. "That one, please. Right away." "Right." Spike pulled up a ladder and brought the book down with ease. Vinyl and Octavia were shocked as Twilight eagerly flipped through the pages of When You're in Distress: How to Call Upon the Seaponies the Right Way. Twilight finally stopped flipping through the pages. "'The seapony curse is cast on a pony who doesn't need any help from a seapony, but requests its service anyway. To rid yourself of this curse you must...'" Twilight kept turning the pages, then closed the book and put it down next to her mug. "The only way you can get rid of the curse, according to this book, is to drive that cephalopod out to sea. Then the one who cast the curse upon herself must sing the same song backwards." Vinyl looked up to a map. "But there's no way we can get to sea. We're landlocked." "No, there's got to be some way," Twilight corrected. "Oh, now I remember!" Octavia exclaimed. "What?" "Winsom Falls! I went there when I was a filly. Vinyl, you know how close it is, right?" Vinyl nodded. "Let's go find that waterfall." She and Oct were about to head out, but they realized that they were guests at Twilight's and it would be rude to just leave her. But Twilight gave them the okay. "Be warned," Twilight hollered. "The curse becomes permanent in three days!" "Can we take a plane?" Vinyl asked. "I don't wanna walk all that way." "I'm not sure," Oct replied. "After the Pony Beach incident, I don't want to take chances." Vinyl reminisced and chuckled a bit. "Aw, yeah. How come you're the one who always goes crazy?" Octavia shrugged. "I suppose it just runs in the family. My great-great uncle Mellow Note lost his mind on a daily basis." "Well, could we take a train or something?" "Maybe that would work." "No psychos allowed," the train conductor said. "She's not psychotic," Vinyl butted in. Octavia signaled for her to shut up, but Vinyl just kept yammering. "Octavia here is my totally sane BPFF!" Oct finally took a stand and covered her friend's nonstop mouth with a hoof. "Mpt pff mm mmfth!" is what Vinyl proclaimed with a mouthful of hoof. Octavia led the unicorn elsewhere. As before, the same "Octavia's psychotic" scenario went down as Vinyl Scratch and Octavia tried to pick up tickets at another train station nearby. "This is so dumb," Vinyl mumbled. She then recalled something. "The mirror pool?" "Mirror pool? No, we need to rid ourselves of a curse, not create another!" "Rid ourselves of a curse, not create another!" the Octie-pus repeated. Vinyl began to laugh loudly, and was rolling on the ground in no time. "Man, I wish I had my own sea-po-" Octavia cut her off. "Be careful! If you wish for your own, you'll only make it worse!" "Okay." Vinyl sighed and stood up. "So, we're hoofin' it now?" Octavia nodded. "It must be the only way, then." So the two musicians began to hoof it, with the Octie-pus, some spare bits, and a map of Equestria (stolen from Twilight's library). "Ugh," Vinyl groaned loudly and obnoxiously. "Mehhhh." "Stop that," Octavia panted. "We're...halfway...there..." "But...it's so...HOT!" "You've got...the magic to cool yourself off. You've got...the magic to refill Octie-pus' water. So use...your magic and make it so." "Oh...right. Sometimes I...forget that I'm a...unicorn." Vinyl's horn began to glow, and her sweat vanished. She used a spell to add more water in the cup. Finally, she picked up the octopus with her magic and kept on trotting. Octavia sighed. "We're halfway through..." She glanced over the map. "Halfway through...the Endless Desert." The three groaned in unison. The Endless Desert was ironically short. The three made it there in good time. Suddenly, Vinyl gestured to her horn as it lit up. "Vinyl, what are you doing?" Octavia asked nervously. "I'm teleporting us there. I feel like we're really close." The light on her forehead grew as Octie-pus was dropped from the same grasp. In some sort of dumb luck, Octavia rescued the Octie-pus just as the magic encased them. In almost an instant, they were there. "Well, here we are," Vinyl Scratch commented. "Your favorite tourist site." She picked the Octie-pus up with her magic, then tilted the glass towards the majestic waterfalls. Octavia stopped her just as a drop or two of water landed. "Vinyl! This place is guarded by magical moon gargoyles at night! One false move and - we're toast!" "How is this a false move?" Vinyl grinned. "We're ridding you of a curse. Now, sing!" "But -" "DO IT FOR THE OCTOPUS." Octavia sighed. "Fine." "Sertsid ni eruoy new senopaes et nopu lack! With that, the Octie-pus dove into the crystal-clear water. The curse had been lifted, but the full moon was out, empowering the gargoyles. Not only were they able to awaken at this time of the night, they had a mission: destroying those who did something wrong at Winsom Falls. The gargoyles were silent and dark as night, their pegasus wings allowing them to swoop like a bird. "I warned you!" Octavia groaned. "Hey - I've never been in a situation like this." A gargoyle reached for Vinyl's foreleg and bit down. "Troublemakersssssssss..." he hissed, further sinking his fangs into her pony flesh. Fear began to manifest itself in Vinyl. She was known for being the most calm, cool, and collected pony on the block, but how could she not just lose it at such a dire time?! So she screamed for help. "Help yourself," Octavia replied. Vinyl Scratch glanced over and saw that the gargoyles were attempting to drown her. Vinyl began to wiggle the gargoyle off her leg, but his grip grew stronger. She finally felt the blood rushing and screamed again. He finally eased up, allowing Vinyl to dump Octie-pus' glass on his head. He hissed as he burned. The two gargoyles who had tried to drown Octavia flew to the tourists' balcony and dropped her. The gargoyles flew back to their perches and hardened into their original stone forms. "That was close," Vinyl grunted. "And we broke the curse, too!" Octavia nodded. "Let's go home." "Sure." Vinyl Scratch lit her horn and beamed back home with Octavia Melody. THE END
4 - Vinyl and Octie's Vacation"Ah, Pony Beach," Octavia sighed as she glanced over a brochure that had arrived in the mail. "I'd love to visit," she added to nopony in particular. She casually looked over the prices, expecting it to be an affordable visit, for once. "Airfare is...500,000 bits?! That doesn't even pay for room service or attractions or anything!" At the sound of this ridiculously high price, Vinyl stepped into the kitchen. "That's how much I spend monthly on my equipment, records, turntables, speakers..." If she had fingers, she would have been counting on them. Octavia was now more shocked than before. "Where the hay did you get that money from? There's no way you make that much at gigs because of the expenses!" "From that jar on top of the fridge," Vinyl replied leisurely, tilting her head towards the refrigerator. "VINYL! That was our rainy day money, and you spent it all! I was planning to bring you along, but no! You're too irresponsible!" She fetched the jar, which was surprisingly quite heavy. "There's only enough for me to go. You'll be home alone for three days." "Home alone? Sweet!" Octavia immediately realized the kink in the plan. "You're too irresponsible. So I'll just have to smuggle you in." "Smuggle me in? How?" Oct groaned. "I don't know. I'll...stuff you in my luggage bag. Yes, that will do." "That's ridiculous," Vinyl moaned. "No way am I doin' that." "But it's brilliant!" Octavia interrupted. "But probably illegal." Surely enough, Octavia had gone through with her harebrained scheme. She was now ready to take her vacation and was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a fanny pack, just like the stereotypical tourist. "Are you sure it's gonna work?" Vinyl whispered from inside the crowded duffel bag. "Of course!" Oct replied. "That's because I'm the one who came up with it! Now lay low!" "Excuse me, miss," a luggage check interjected, "but I need to check your bags." "Oh, o-of course," Octavia stuttered. She wheeled the bag in front of him. "Go right ahead." The stallion tossed the duffel bag onto a luggage-checking conveyor belt. Vinyl began to feel uneasy. She knew that the machine's scanners would expose her and probably arrest her friend for doing something so risky. The siren for the machine suddenly sounded, sending the entire area into a tizzy of silence. "What is it?" a blond-maned clerk asked. "Is somepony smuggling hazardous materials?" "No, it's just another system glitch," the luggage check replied, hitting the machine with his hoof. "We really need a new one." Octavia's bag was soon corrected as "safe for travel", She picked it up and made her way towards her plane. "Psst, Octavia." The charcoal-colored pony didn't reply. She had her headphones on, playing classical music at a respectful (but still loud) volume. "Octavia..." "What was that?" a yellow stallion sitting near Octavia asked. She put down her music. "What?" "That voice. What was it?" Octavia turned to the duffel bag and saw Vinyl's magenta eyes glowing. She leaned over the bag and grinned nervously. "I talk to myself. Yes, it's just that." To demonstrate this, she began speaking in a mockery of Vinyl's voice, then in her own again. The stallion was confused, and surprised that such a psychotic pony could have gotten on the plane without a hitch. Swiftly, he pressed his hoof to a button on the side of his window. The captain's voice immediately came on over the intercom. "This is Captain Firefly speaking: we have a possible psycho to be disposed of. Thank you for flying Griffon Airlines, and we hope to see you again soon when you are not a possible threat." Soon, Octavia and her duffel bag were free-falling from the plane with a parachute, courtesy of Griffon Airlines. Oct finally unzipped the bag in mid-air so that Vinyl could breathe. After what seemed like forever, they landed on a small island with nothing there but sand and a few trees. A large building surrounded by bikini-donning mares lay far in the distance. "I'm sorry," Vinyl Scratch offered. "It isn't your fault," Octavia replied, digging her hooves in the sand. "It's the captain's fault." "You're right. But it looks like we'll be here a while. I'm still in this bag, though. Unzip me?" As per request, Octavia pulled the zipper down and left room for her friend to tumble out. "So, whaddaya wanna do?" Vinyl continued. "We've got sand, some bags, a parachute! We could build some paradise, and maybe light a flame for rescue-" She turned to see Octavia, but not as her usual self. The usually-sane cellist had traded her bow tie for a floral lei, and was donning a grass skirt as well. Oct also happened to be eating sand at the moment. "I'm one step ahead of you," she commented through a mouthful of the gritty stuff. Vinyl was clearly weirded out by all of this. "Okay then. I'll just do this myself." Not even an hour later, a small lean-to of sticks and a single parachute had been successfully built by Vinyl. The sun had begun to set, and the sky looked grim. "Hey, Octavia!" Octavia looked up from her sandwich of sand to see Vinyl holding up two snack packages, taken from the duffel bag. Octavia began to dash towards her snack-possessing friend and snapped up the familiar packages. "Do you see that resort over there?" Vinyl pointed in the direction of the resort, still surrounded by mares in bikinis. "That's Pony Beach," she leisurely explained. "So, you mean to tell us that we were within TROTTING DISTANCE of the darn place?!"
