Repetition
Nature is an amazing thing. It can repeat and continue things for infinite periods of time. Life truly is a cycle. So what happens when something breaks out of that cycle?
~-~
A grey earth pony mare dashed through the streets, streetlamps flashing over her as she ran. A large black case was straddled on her back. One would’ve assumed that this mare was late for a concert or something of the sort if it wasn’t for the tears streaking down her cheeks. Many knew this mare by Octavia. Calm and composed, her mother’s friends considered Octavia to be the model child.
On this particular night however, Octavia could care less what her parents thought of her. As far as she was concerned, her parents were out of the picture. I highly doubt they’re going to waste their time on me anyway.
When she had brought up the issue that she was bound to bring up, they outright shunned her. It had been at least a year since then, and barely a word had passed between Octavia’s parents and her. She would still be there if she hadn’t overheard her parents’ conversation.
~-~ Earlier that night ~-~
Octavia approached the bannister cautiously, poking her head over the edge as discretely as possible. She could see her parents below engaged in a heated discussion seated at opposite sides of the dinner table.
Her father slammed his hooves on the table, “I am not having one of them living in this house, dear. I don’t care if she was our daughter, I won’t have it. She’s over eighteen. Can’t we just kick her out?”
Octavia’s heart sank. Things were worse than she thought they had been. Did I really expect them just to forget and learn to deal with it over time? Octavia felt like the most naive pony in Equestria.
“Like it or not honey, if we kicked her out, the media would have a field day. I can see the headlines now, ‘Melodies kick out their daughter for being a fillyfooler’. Can you imagine how the media and their groups would react? No, she stays until she leaves herself, then we can forget all about her. “
Her father said exasperatedly, “Then what are we supposed to do? We can’t keep ignoring her until she leaves on her own accord.”
“We could take away her cello,” Octavia’s mother mused, “that might make her beg us for forgiveness or something.”
That’s it. Octavia pulled away from the banister, her hooves falling faster as she went down the hall. She entered her room already deciding what to take with her. The first thing she took was her cello, hoisting it on to her back. Her cello case already contained her bit pouch inside it. Do I need anything else? She gave a glance around the room; she wouldn’t have a problem leaving any of this behind.
The light reflected off of a small, metallic device, her cellphone. She stared at it for a while, not moving. Taking it would be giving them a way to contact me. Do I want that?
Octavia took the phone.
~-~
Those memories from mere hours ago sparked vivid emotions within her. Couldn’t I just go back home with some stallion and have everything be okay? The thought was tempting. A chance to have everything go back to the way it was; a silent house with nobody who talked while she was awake. Octavia shook her head still running, Coward, you’d never be happy and you know it.
At one point, her parents had cared for her. They helped her along every time, whether it was a music related question, or just something for school. That went away when she had come out. They had looked shocked, distraught even.
The sidewalk veered off into the park, Octavia followed it. Her gallop slowed to a trot, then a full halt. She sighed and slumped down next to an oak tree, sliding her cello case off her back and onto the grass next to her.
Octavia simply cried. This is for the best. She needed something, anything, to take her away from the issue at hand. Octavia glanced at the cello case, moon light illuminating the black surface.
She opened the latch that sealed it and lifted it out. She tightened the bow, then rested her cello on one foreleg, and held the bow in the other. She did the only thing that came naturally to her, she played.
Lower pitched notes flowed out of her instrument into the night air, relieving some of Octavia’s tension with it. All of her fears went away. She didn’t question what she was leaving behind, or even how she would make it into the next day. In that moment, Octavia truly believed that everything would be okay.
~-~
Rejected, alone, those were just some of the words that Vinyl could use to describe how she was feeling at that moment. Vinyl just stared at her belongings sitting on Neon Light’s doormat accompanied by a rather short note. Vinyl didn’t look at it, she didn’t need to.
Vinyl levitated the boxes on to her back. She considered giving the door a buck as well but thought better of it. We both knew it wasn’t working. Vinyl turned, and walked off down the sidewalk.He just wasn't the right pony... Vinyl had said that far to often for her tastes.
A light breeze blew through the night air, bringing relaxation with it. Vinyl sighed, things could be a lot worse. Her DJ career was gaining in popularity. Although classical music remained the most popular in Canterlot, EDM’s statistics were growing rapidly. Vinyl had been maintaining her work enough that she had been able to rent her own apartment in upper Canterlot.
As Vinyl trod further down the sidewalk she could hear music emanating from somewhere. Vinyl stopped, looking for the source of the music. Normally, Vinyl wouldn’t have had given it a second thought, street musicians were fairly common in Canterlot. This music however, felt different to Vinyl. It was filled with something that Vinyl could not place. One thing was clear to Vinyl; this pony was passionate about her craft.
Vinyl followed the sound off the sidewalk and into the park where it seemed to be coming from. The notes grew louder. Vinyl could now see the source of the music, a grey colored mare playing away on a cello. Wow. In Vinyl’s mind, there was only one way to describe her, Beautiful.
