EWYHP: Even When Years Have Passed

"Octavia!" Quarter Note shouted. He was having a hard time carrying two ice creams with his two hooves, bad thing he ordered ice cream cones, plus, he was standing on his two hind legs, careful not to fall while walking weirdly. He was surprised that he could make this far. "Why do ice cream vendors need to be that far?" the ice creams were beginning to melt, much to his chagrin. He wasted his thirty-six bits for the melting ice creams. He regretted the fact that he didn't make Octavia come with him.

Quarter Note took a deep breath, then he walked again using his two hind legs. "Octavia! Argh, blasted ice cream cones! They should have cones suitable for earth ponies like me! Not these bloody cones!" he didn't notice the looks ponies around gave him, he was too busy walking with sheer focus. He was sweating, but he would not stop. He would give the ice cream to Octavia, no matter what happens. He was the stallion who never breaks promises.

Such was his dismay when he lost the sight of both fillies. He elicited a loud ground while rolling his eyes. "Screw this," he devoured the two melting ice creams whole in a rather disgusting way. Knowing he committed a deadly crime against the god of table manners, he prayed silently to the god, asking for forgiveness, if there was even a god of table manners. That was the first time he broke a promise from Octavia, but he shrugged it off.

Finally getting back on his hooves, he rushed towards the direction where the fillies went. He needed to keep an eye for them, he didn't want the fillies to get lost. Sure, Octavia could read signs and could get out of the park, but he couldn't help but to be an almost protective brother. When he couldn't find them, he was stunned by their ridiculous speed and their perfect blending-in-the-background skills. His ears drooped, now he had lost them, he was going to take responsibility for not watching his sister. He gulped when he remembered that Octavia had a company with her and how he imagined what the filly's mother's reaction would look like.

Knowing that he must continue searching for the fillies in order to prevent to suffer the consequences, his eyes lit up with new determination. He scanned the crowded area thoroughly, not missing every pony he set his eyes on, he wondered why there were so many ponies in the late morning. When he caught a glimpse of grey and black, he quickly ran to the spot, only to find a trotting colt that resembles Octavia, but had a lighter shade of grey. He decided to take a rest because of the slight leg cramp he suffered earlier by walking in a weird manner. Quarter Note went to the white bench and sat on it, making himself feel comfortable. He sighed and smiled.

"At least she made her first friend."

/-/-/

Vinyl trotted behind Octavia, following her wherever she went. She saw that Octavia was sweating and elicited a small chuckle. She wasn't exactly planning to help Octavia or meet her, but she does these things without a thought, and she was happily helping her.

She remembered that she hadn't asked her about how her brother looked like. How could she help her if she didn't ask about the details about her brother? She smacked herself with her hoof, then she was surprised that she did it roughly. She ignored the pain and trotted close to Octavia, gesturing her to stop. "Hey, Octavia, how does your brother looked like?"

Octavia put her hoof under her chin in a cute manner, then she spoke up. "He looks like me but he has a brown mane and green eyes. He's slightly bigger than that pony," she pointed at the small earth pony mare and continued, "and his mane is combed backwards," Octavia looked up in the sky, watching the birds fly and smiled. Now she had a great fascination for birds.

Vinyl formed a small 'o' in her mouth then she turned her eyes to the grey stallion, who was fifteen meters away from them. The stallion rested on his back before closing his green eyes. Vinyl closed her mouth then pointed at the stallion. "Is that your brother?" she inspected the stallion's features carefully: grey fur, combed, brown mane and eyes that she didn't know what color because the stallion closed it.

Octavia nodded vigorously and drew Vinyl into a quick hug before trotting quickly towards her brother, "Brother!" she cried happily, considering the fact that she found her brother who was fifteen meters away from her, with the help of Vinyl Scratch, of course. "I thought you were lost in this park!" she jumped straight to Quarter Note and hugged him.

Quarter Note's eyes widened, not because of shock, it was because of Octavia's bone-crushing hug that was making him suffocate. He tried to push her away, but he failed. Before he was about to say something to stop her, Octavia stopped hugging him and looked at him happily, like a puppy finally finding his master after a very long time. "Octavia! I told you to wait there!" he said with concern in his eyes.

She bit her bottom lip, fearing that her brother might tell their mother about this. Disobeying the ponies older than her was intolerable in their family. If she disobeyed the rule, she would suffer the consequences made up by their mother. Knowing what his weak spot is, she looked at her brother, putting up the best puppy eyes she could. "Please do not tell mother," she begged.

He smirked and ruffled Octavia's mane, making Vinyl giggle. "Never mind that, Octavia, I promise I'll not tell her," he received a cute smile from Octavia, then he stared at Vinyl's red eyes. "Well, hello there filly, mind telling who you are?" he asked politely while smiling widely, not wanting to scare Octavia's new friend.

Vinyl Scratch greeted him with a big smile before offering him a hoofshake. "Hi! My name's Vinyl and I'm your sister's friend!" she looked at Octavia, who turned slightly pink. She cocked her head, wondering why she was flustered. Her attention to Quarter Note was back when he shook her hoof.

"Well, isn't that a nice nam—"

Suddenly, a bright flash of white light appeared in front of them, causing the two siblings to squint and flinch slightly. After the bright light was gone, a white unicorn mare with long, black mane appeared. Her face was in complete shock when she saw that her sister was with a stallion. Moving quickly, she snatched her sister away from him with her magic, causing puzzled looks from Vinyl and the siblings.

"How did you find me here?" A defeated look painted Vinyl's face, making her cross her hooves while being levitated by Snow Beat. She placed Vinyl on her back before she could say another word.

Snow Beat ignored the filly and glared at Quarter Note, who was staring at her with confusion. Before she could utter words at him, Quarter Note quickly started.

"Who might you be?" he drew the also confused Octavia close to him while talking to her, making her feel comfortable and less confused when she climbed her brother's back.

Realizing that he was not a bad pony because of Quarter Note's tone and voice, she looked at him with a neutral expression, allowing Vinyl to move freely by releasing her from her magic. In fact, she was surprised that she claimed that Quarter Note was a bad pony, she thought that was because she lived in Manehattan that it made her to become aware of strangers. "I'm this filly's sister," Octavia caught her attention when she elicited a cute squeak when she said that she was her sister, causing her to stare at the grey filly for a few seconds. "Are you Vinyl's friend, dear?"

Octavia nodded silently, looking at Vinyl who was staring at her. Snow Beat couldn't help but to smile at the cute filly. "Aren't you cute?" she giggled, making Vinyl groan because she was ignoring her. "I'm sorry, Vinyl, but uncle invited us to eat lunch with him. You'll be able to play with your cute friend over there," when Vinyl's and Octavia's eyes lit up, Snow Beat held her hoof up. "As long you as you behave, Vinyl."

Vinyl turned to Octavia, "So, meet me here at, uhh... hmm..." she put her hoof under her chin, she remembered that she couldn't read the time, so Snow Beat scoffed at her, making her glare at her.

Smiling, Octavia placed her head on top of Quarter Note's head. "Two o'clock will do."

"Uh, yeah! Right! I was thinking of that too!" she rubbed her back while chuckling, then she saw that Snow Beat rolled her eyes, she smirked at her. "What?" Vinyl asked, causing Snow Beat to groan.

"Nothing."

Quarter Note coughed, not because he was sick or whatsoever, he did it with politeness. "Okay, I guess we'll see each other later, then," he nudged Octavia, ordering her to say goodbye to the siblings.

"Bye Vinyl and thanks for your help! And bye... um..." the filly's voice trailed off, looking at her brother, asking for help, but he shrugged at her. Octavia gulped nervously, she didn't want to ask for ponies' names, but she was going to do it now. "M-miss?"

"Snow Beat," she smiled at the filly, making Octavia feel less nervous.

She picked up her confidence, then she smiled with great enthusiasm, a little surprised that she can do that without hesitation. "Bye Miss Snow Beat!"

Snow Beat turned around, smiling to herself while Vinyl was waving back at Octavia, who waved back as well. The other siblings turned around, going in the complete opposite direction of hers. Snow Beat glanced at Vinyl and was surprised when she found that she was also smiling to herself. She shrugged it off and continued walking.

Quarter Note smiled at his sister when she let out a high-pitched cheer. "I did it! I did it! I did it!" she squealed, unable to control her happiness as she sat on her brother's back. "Brother, I finally made a friend!"

"Yes, yes you have," Quarter Note rolled his green eyes nonchalantly as he surveyed the ground, careful not to trip over mischievous rocks. Then he stared at the birds again, ignoring Octavia while she discover the world of happiness.

After moments of high-pitched squeals and giggling, Octavia remembered something. She looked at her brother in complete horror, causing Quarter Note to cock his head. Then he realized what Octavia had remembered. His blood went cold, he was going to suffer high-pitched cries.

"Brother, where's my ice cream?"

He groaned in defeat.

/-/-/

"Sis," Vinyl Scratch said, stretching her back while crossing her hooves. She noticed that Snow Beat was smiling to herself when they left the park, even now. She found that creepy, especially when Snow Beat elicited small giggles after every ten seconds. It was a rare sight for her to see that Snow Beat was smiling to herself and giggling uncontrollably. There was that one time she saw Snow Beat doing the same thing when she received her first fan letter, but Vinyl was so young back then she couldn't even remember what happened after that. But even if it was rare, it was still creepy, for her, of course.

"Hmm?" she replied, not looking back. She surveyed her surroundings with great enthusiasm, she didn't know why, though. Canterlot was indeed a beautiful place, but she saw more beautiful places than Canterlot, one of the places was Baltimare, the place where she and her family decided to travel there. It was a beautiful sight; sky-rise buildings and such.

Vinyl hesitated to ask, but she continued, furrowing her eyebrows. "Why are you gigglin' like a crazy pony?" she asked with concern, getting down from her sister's back. She looked up, noticing that it was noon, her belly rumbled. Vinyl walked faster in order to eat her lunch.

"I'm not giggling."

"You are!"

"Am not!"

Vinyl narrowed her eyes, it wasn't the first time Snow Beat lied, but she hated it whenever she lied. "You ARE gigglin'!" she held her nose up, mimicking the ponies in Canterlot. She was annoyed, she couldn't get used to it, she just couldn't.

Sighing exasperatedly, Snow Beat massaged her temples slowly, inhaling and exhaling. She hated fillies and colts sometimes, especially when they were annoying her. She looked at Vinyl Scratch, giving her a fierce glare. "Fine! I was giggling and I don't know why!" her voice cracked, then she harrumphed. She found herself being immature because of her conversation with Vinyl Scratch. She continued walking towards her destination, with Vinyl hot on her heels.

She raised her eyebrows, walking beside Snow Beat, who stopped giggling and smiling. "Oh?" then she realized something and stared at her in amusement. "Could it be, you fell in love with Octavia's brother?" it was now Vinyl's turn to giggle, making Snow Beat stare at her incredulously.

"Vinyl! I don't remember having a talk with you about 'love'! Where did you—" Snow Beat stared at her for a few seconds, "—wait, what do you know about 'love'?" she asked, walking slowly. She was certain that Vinyl was innocent and doesn't know what love is, because she was only six years old. If she was no longer innocent, she swore to herself that she would find the pony that took her innocence away.

She smiled widely, "Love is friendship! Did you fall in 'friendship' with Octavia's brother?"

Snow Beat sighed in relief, looks like her innocence was still with her. She smiled weakly and gently patted Vinyl's head, making her yelp in surprise. "Nope, Vinyl, I don't," she chuckled, reaching the front gate of her uncle's residence. She looked at her sister and ruffled her mane again, Vinyl was getting annoyed by it, but she shrugged it off.

She just stared at her with a puzzled expression painted on her face, following her inside her uncle's house.

/-/-/

Octavia ate her lunch like a hungry dog, receiving a horrified look from her brother. She finished her food quickly without dabbing her mouth with a napkin. She asked for seconds and the maids in the Philharmonica residence gave her food without complaints. Melody Heart, a light brown coated mare with a black mane and a quarter note inside a heart as her cutie mark, smiled while dabbing her mouth with a napkin. She looked at Quarter Note's shocked expression and chuckled at him. She neatly placed the silver fork on the alabaster plate and patted Octavia's head.

"Dear, you still have much to learn," she said in a motherly tone, causing Octavia to stare at her for a few seconds then grin happily. Melody Heart smiled back, wondering what Octavia got her so happy. Probably because she decided to take a break teaching her good manners for a month, but her happiness was more than that. She decided to ask her own daughter, while she was eating. "Octavia, dear, why do you look so happy today?"

She stopped eating for a moment, drinking the juice provided for her in case she was choking, then she smiled again. "I made a friend, mother!" she squealed in happiness when she said that, making Melody Heart to laugh heartily. "Her name is Vinyl and she is friendly! She didn't get mad when I accidentally bumped into her, instead, she introduced herself to me and asked me if she can become my friend!" she proudly talked about Vinyl, receiving a proud smile from her brother, who taught her how to make friends.

Melody Heart felt proud. Her five year old daughter finally made a friend. She couldn't help but to let out a small tear of happiness because her daughter was growing up, she noticed that she was overreacting but she didn't care, she wiped the tear with her hoof. "Congratulations, dear! I feel so proud. Did you apologize when you bumped into her?" she asked, placing her hooves on the table.

Octavia nodded before devouring the whole dish, she saw Quarter Note fighting the urge to cry because of disgust, she couldn't help but to laugh. "Of course! I couldn't just leave her there, plus, she helped me find brother in the park!" Octavia pointed her hoof at Quarter Note, who was finishing his food quickly to get out of the disgusting scene.

Melody Heart formed a small 'o' in her mouth before saying something. She would never imagine Quarter Note getting lost, but here, Octavia said that he was lost. This tickled her fancy and wanted to know more. "Oh? Is that true, Quarter?" she said before eating her peas one-by-one.

Quarter Note waved his hoof dismissively and shook his head. "No, I will never get lost, mother," his reply was flat-toned, he continued eating his food quickly, in a polite manner, of course. His mother's teaching caused him to become proper and gentle and he was half-dismayed by that. He actually wanted to become stallioner, the secret he only shared with Octavia.

"Oh? I doubt that," Melody Heart chuckled and continued talking with Octavia.

He swung his head around and almost choked. Staring at her golden eyes, he asked her. "What do you mean by that?!"

She just stuck her tongue out, teasing him.

He groaned when his mother and sibling laughed at him. However, Octavia didn't know why she was laughing, because she didn't know the word 'doubt'. She tried to ask her mother about it, but she was distracted when the desserts came, devouring the three cupcakes whole without chewing them, making her eyes widen.

Screams filled the room when Octavia choked.