A Different Kind of Romeo and Julietby Dragon And DraconequusChaptersChapter 1- The First DayChapter 2- The SongsChapter 3- The DuetChapter 4- The MemoriesChapter 5- The Surprise Re-Schedule Chapter 1- The First Day*BEEP BEEP* Damn alarm.. *BEEP BEEP* Shuddup already.. *BEEP BEEP* Noteshade rolled over on her sleeping mat to look at her alarm clock. The glowing numbers showed her that it was 8:45. Her alarm glowed with the neon green lights, shrieking about time. *BEEP BEEP* *CRUNCH* Noteshade brought her grey hoof down on her clock, causing it to shatter and splinter into tinier pieces. She looked at the shards of plastic and wires and realized that she would have to buy an new clock. For the second time this week. She sat up in her dark apartment, shaking her head groggily to shake away the remaining daze from sleep. Her pitch black mane fell into place along with her tail, each cut short. The grey mare slowly rose from the pile of blankets and pillows that was her sleeping area. In the catastrophe lay her drawing book, her laptop, headphones, pencils, and loads of other things in the large pile of clothes and miscellaneous objects. She was a messy mare, but she could handle it fine. She walked to her small kitchen and fetched an apple from the basket on her marble counter. She had first bought the apartment a few years ago in order to get out of college and get her own home. The place was small, but it had a bedroom, a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen, along with a great view over the Crystal Empire. The place had no limits on pets, so long as they're smaller that the average pony. While the mare didn't currently own any pets, she planned on adopting a small dog to keep her company on lonely nights. *Pitter patter pitter patter* The rain pelted her windowpane. It sounded like never-ending maracas. She loved the rain. It was a soothing noise that often meant a thunderstorm would come. The pegasi in the Empire were supposed to allow plenty of storms, since they help the prince and princess relax. For Note, it meant she could focus on her songwriting, or her drawing. Sometimes, she would take her umbrella and sit out in the rain and sing. There was never any specific song she would sing, but she would always voice her music. Sometimes she would bring her notebook and write in it if she came up with an idea for a song. It wasn't very often that she did, though. So she often left her notebook sitting on her grey marble counter top. There was a flash of light from her window and a rumbling crash following suit. Her ears perked up at the sound of thunder. It was a sound that meant she would be able to nap easily, or focus a bit better. That is, if she wasn't called in to the studio to record. Noteshade worked at Rising Hoof, a music studio that produced many of the biggest stars in Equestria. The appraised DJ PON3 had come from Rising Hoof. Along with the DJ's partner, Octavia Melody. While Note had a small chance at fame, she wasn't as good as the rest, so she wasn't top priority. So she only went in a few days a week, and worked at a small cafe as a waitress. She managed to gain enough tips each week to get her apartment, along with all of her art and singing supplies. The cafe was small, but colorful and bright, and brought in plenty of joyous patrons. They were all happy with her treatment of them, and she gained plenty of bits and tips. She pooled up her tips, and used those for the vanities such as art supplies. Her real paycheck was used for bills only, and if she needed more, she would take it out of her extra money. It wasn't very often that she would have to pull bits out of her spare money, but it was still something that happened. So she kept some money around, and didn't spend it all at once. "..If I lay here.. If I just lay here.. Her cell phone was ringing, and it was her boss. She had everyone with a ringtone by Snow Patrol. And now, her music agent was calling, probably to have her come in that day. She didn't particularly feel like walking in the storm unless it was an emergency. ...Will you lie with me.. And just forget the world.. She hesitated, then picked up the phone and said hello. "Noteshade, do you have any songs that are ready to show to a big producer?! Cos I got a phone call from a mare who wants to let out your demo! She said if you have any good songs to bring them to the building right now. " She stuttered for a moment. A chance for her songs to be released?? Buck yeah she'd run in the rain for that! "Y-Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes! Just let me grab the notebook and an umbrella!" "Hurry, she wants to meet you soon!" *Clic* She hung up. Noteshade danced around her apartment in celebration, and grabbed her neon blue and green scarf, along with an umbrella and her notebook. She sang out her joy, a ringing melody of happiness. She grabbed her light blue saddlebag and tossed her notebook and music player into it. She stepped outside and opened her umbrella; it was a bright contrast to her grey coat and black mane. She didn't mind it, though. It was ten bits at the store down the block, which was ten bits less than normal. She began to walk to Rising Hoof, which was twenty minutes away from her apartment complex unless you ran. She hummed to one of her favorite songs, titled Youth. The rain poured harder, with the lightning and thunder in the background. Her umbrella held up very good against the shower. There were very few ponies outside in the thunderstorm. She seemed to be the only one. She slowly picked her pace up to a light trot. She began to sing her songs aloud, not caring who heard. She sang loudly. She passed her cafe job, and waved to her boss through the window, and he waved back. She turned a corner, only to bump into a tall, strong stallion and fall down onto her flank. He backed away, his mane and coat soaking wet from the rain. Her saddlebag was wide open, and pages from her notebook were flowing out, and getting wet. Her scarf had come off and fallen into a puddle on the street. She didn't notice it, as she was busy picking up the notebook songs. The stallion hurried to help her pick up the blurred lyrics that Note had written on papers. He shook as much water off of them as possible. Note was frantic in putting them into her manilla folder that was kept in her bags. She took her other papers from the cream-colored stallion. He spluttered out a nervous apology, which she dismissed with a wave of her hoof. She stuck her folder and notebook into her saddle bag, and the green maned stallion pulled her up from the sopping wet sidewalk. He handed her the brightly striped umbrella, which she took with a nod. She looked closer at the taller pony in front of her. His coat was a nice shade of cream, and his mane was not unlike Soarin of the Wonderbolts. His eyes were a bright hazel, and he seemed to be very shy until he go to know a pony. His muscles were toned, showing that he was very strong. His figure was amazing, with each move of his body moving another muscle. She found it very pleasuring to watch him move. His coat and mane were well kept and actually sorta cute. "I'm v-very sorry, ma'am!.. " "No no, it's alright sir. No harm done." She replied. "I heard somepony s-singing, and followed it.. Was that you?.." He asked with a quiet whisper. She merely nodded. "You have a beautiful voice, miss.." He said with a slight tint of red to his cheeks. She smiled. "Thank you! But really, I have to go. It was nice meeting you, uhh.. What was your name?" She asked him. " I-I'm Soma.." He said in his deep voice. She smiled. "I'm Noteshade! It was nice meeting you, Soma!" He seemed shocked for a moment. Then he whispered, "You too, Noteshade.." And Note began to run. She thought about the stallion, and how nice he was, but also about how he had blindly followed her voice. She had been singing a love song that wasn't particularly fabulous, but she'd thought it was decent. Yet he had found it beautiful. She felt herself blush at that. She remained at a gallop until she got to Rising Hoof. All the while, she thought of the stallion. She walked into the building, and realized she had lost her scarf. Chapter 2- The Songs "Not my scarf!!" She yelled out when she stepped inside. The mares and stallions inside looked to her in shock at the sudden outburst. She looked quite ridiculous with her saddlebag, mane, and coat soaked from the rain, while still holding her umbrella. With all eyes on her, she shook herself off. The water was soon shaken off, and she stared ahead as she walked to her agent's office. It was filled with orange furniture and different electronics, such as phones, laptops, and other gadgets. Her agent, Starstriker, was sitting in his orange computer chair. His mane was a dark blue, with his coat a darker blue, almost black. He made his office bright on purpose in order to cause contrast between him and his surroundings. It was also because he liked the color orange. In front of Star was a middle-aged mare with her mane pulled up into a bun. She had a teal blue mane and a mint green coat. She had bright icy blue eyes and a horn. She was talking quietly to Starstriker, about something to do with paperwork. Note slowly stepped closer to the two adults. Star turned his attention to her and smiled. "Mint Solo, this is my mare, Noteshade! She's the young lady I told you about!" He said with a big smile. The mint mare stood up, revealing her height, which was surprising. She was hardly up to Noteshade's snout! She held out a hoof to Note. Her hooves were very small. But Note shook it anyways. "I am Mint Solo of Canterlot, and I have come to hear some of your musical talent. Your friend here has told me a lot about you." Her voice was surprisingly deep for a mare of her size. Almost like a stallion's voice. It reminded her of the stallion she had bumped into, Soma. He seemed very familiar. Almost as though she'd met him before, when they were younger.. "Note, snap out of it!" Said Star. She had been lost in thought. She slowly came back to reality to find she had sat down on the bright orange carpet. Her agent looked at her with a face halfway between anger and confusion, and said "Why don't you sit down in the record room and sing her one of your songs. How about Youth? Is that one finished yet?" She nodded at him and pulled her notebook out of her bag and found that Youth had fallen into one of the puddles, and had smeared ink. She had memorized most of it, but she had trouble remembering a few lines in the second verse. She slowly put the paper back in her bag and walked to the recording door on the other side of the room. The room was simply another section that was closed off by a window/wall. It was sound proof, and whomever was in the room could connect to the outside world via mic and headphones. Her mind was clouded and she found it hard to focus. She sat on the stool in front of the microphone, and sat down. She placed the headphones on her head, and spoke into the microphone. "Can I have a moment to focus myself?.." She asked quietly. Mint solo slowly climbed onto a chair to speak into the mic on the other side and whispered "Take as much time as you need. I have all day." Star stood behind her and mouthed to her "You better hurry your bucking flank up or else." She nodded, and took a deep breath and forced herself to clear her mind. She thought of nothing, and then she focused on an unheard melody. She listened to the rising and sinking notes, and began to voice the lyrics. She closed her eyes and felt herself get lost in the music. Her heart merely sped up at her song. She sang of a past that she had never known, and old memories that she had imagined. Her song was telling someone to be grateful for something, because she had been through worse, and she sang more of blame and bitterness. This was the very first time she had sang that song for anyone, and it was a contrast against her normal love songs. She felt all of her worries melt away as she sang, and she never left out a part. She faded from the song's final note to find that Mint Solo was sitting in front of the window with her mouth agape, and Star was sitting beside Mint smiling like he'd just won a prize for a contest. Note smiled and spoke into the microphone. "What do you think?.." She watched Mint turn her gaze from Note to Star and back again. She slowly pulled the other microphone down to her mouth, and she whispered. "Sing more. All of your songs.." Note smiled and sat back on her stool. She took a ribbon out of her back, and pulled her mane up. She also pulled out one of the few songs that weren't ruined. It was titled 'Is it real?' She sang of her own imaginations of different worlds and alternate realities where everything was happiness, and nothing was wrong. Mint was once again astonished at her music, and immediately demanded more. So Note kept singing. She sang for hours, gaining endless respect from the small mare. When Star's watch beeped at five, Noteshade was beginning to feel her throat becoming sore from all the singing. Mint ran into the recording area, and grasped Note's hoof in a firm shake. "You, my dear, are going to be famous, and everypony will know you. That is, if you can sing like that in front of a crowd." At this, Note froze. She was NOT a mare to do stage things. She could record in front of a few people, but only when she wasn't facing them, and even then, she was nervous. "I'm afraid I can't do that, miss. I don't do stage concerts, unless it's a small crowd, like ten or so ponies." Mint looked at her with disappointment. She then looked to Star, who was standing in the recording doorway. He was frowning at Noteshade with a look of contempt. Solo took a step back, and nodded. "I understand. That's alright. But if you don't do this, you won't have anypony to buy your music." Star looked to Note. Note stared back. "Thank you, Mint. I appreciate you coming and spending your day even though it was for nothing. I hope we can eventually progress to have those albums out when Note manages to get over her fear of crowds." He said with a hint of disappointment in his tone. Mint Solo nodded and walked out of the recording room quietly, shutting the door and taking Star with her. She shut off the other microphone, and began to talk with Starstriker. Note tried to read their lips, but they were talking too fast. Mint shook her head once and then nodded as Star spoke. They seemingly came to an agreement and Mint walked into the recording room. "I would like to come back tomorrow and record your songs. Will that be okay?" She asked with her deep voice. Note nodded. "Why do you need them recorded? I can't perform live." But Mint was already out the door. She shut the entrance for the Recording room. She spoke with Star for a moment, he nodded, and she ran out. Star walked to the door and opened it, his smile wide and proud. "Well, kiddo, you just scored a career with Mint Solo of Canterlot." Chapter 3- The Duet Noteshade was walking home. The storm was raging, but she didn't mind. The thunder and lightning and rain were loud around her. She still didn't care. She took the same route she had taken to get to the recording studio. On the way, she looked for her scarf. It was nowhere to be seen. "That bastard took my scarf!!" She yelled. The stranger she'd bumped into, Soma, had stolen her prized scarf! She walked home, her blood pressure rising as she got angrier and angrier. She walked to her apartment complex, thoroughly soaked by the time she walked into her home. She took off her saddlebags and threw them at the wall, eliciting a large thud and a crack from inside the bag. She picked it up and looked inside to find that her music player had a cracked screen and and had lost the back of it, along with the batteries. Her headphones were fine, but the player was gonna cost more to fix than to replace. She set the player down on her kitchen counter, and thought about her day. She'd been on a roller coaster of emotion. She'd woken up to a storm, gotten called in, lost all of her songs along with her scarf, scored a record deal with a big time mare, and then broke her music player. She sighed. It was an overall good day, but she still had some bad parts. *tic* She looked around, looking for the source of the noise. *tic* It was like the dropping of a coin. *tic* She took a walk around her apartment, looking for the source of the sound. She checked everywhere, but no clues could be found. Then.. it stopped. She smiled. *thud* She groaned. A knock on the door. There wasn't supposed to be anypony knocking! She wanted the rest of the night to draw and listen to music on her laptop! Noteshade opened the door. Standing in front of her was the stallion from this morning, holding her precious scarf. He had his head hanging down, with his mane hiding his face. She was shocked. This stranger she had barely known for a day had found where she lived! She looked at him. He looked back. "I found your scarf, miss.." He said in his deep, rumbling voice. She looked to him, a face of confusion. "How did you find me here?.." She asked him. "I saw you run to that music studio, so I went there and asked about a mare with your looks, and they gave me your information.." He said quietly. She took the scarf from his hooves. It was a deep blue and dark green striped scarf that she'd made herself. She looked at the stallion again, to notice he was soaking wet, and had protected the scarf instead of himself. He was wearing his own saddlebags, marked with his name, Soma. The bags were soaked as well. She looked to him and asked him, "Would you like to come in? You look cold!" He nodded, and stepped back. "I'd recommend shutting the door so I can shake myself off.." He said. And she followed directions. As soon as the door was shut, she could hear droplets hitting the door, like a rain noise, or a continuous rattling sound. She opened the door once the sound stopped to see the stallion frantically trying to pat his mane down, hiding a few streaks of a soft lily pink. She smiled. "Are those dyed streaks?" She asked him. He looked up, surprised that she had seen the pink strands. "N-No.. I get the pink from my mother.. The blue is from my dad.." He said quietly. She nodded. "I like the pink! It gives you character!" She said to him, eyes glimmering. He looked down, cheeks a slight tint of pink. She stepped aside. "Aren't you coming in?" She asked him. He nodded and walked in slowly. She shut the door and looked to the stallion. She thought for a moment before asking, "Why isn't my scarf wet? Didn't it fall into a puddle?" "It did.. But I washed it for you.. It wasn't a pleasant sight.." He said slowly. She smiled at him. "Well, Soma, thank you for returning it so clean! I appreciate it!" She laughed. "For a while I'd thought you'd stolen it!" "No, ma'am! I would never steal anything from anypony!.." He said, taken aback by her words. She nodded. He didn't seem to be a stallion that would have the courage to steal anything. He looked like a stallion who lived with upper class ponies. He walked slowly, and his voice was a deep rumble. His muscles rippled whenever he moved. His coat and mane looked well groomed, and his eyes were beautiful. They were a deep green, with specks of gold. He practically screamed royalty! But.. He had stopped whatever he was doing in order to return her scarf. She smiled and snapped back to reality. She looked around to see her messy apartment. She had a pile of blankets and laundry in the corner, and her laptop lying open on her table. She had dirty plates lying around due to her laziness when it came to cleaning. All in all, her apartment was a pigsty. She looked to Soma to see that he was looking at her with a weak smile. She smiled at him. "Sorry about the mess! I had a rough morning!" She said with a chuckle. She picked up her blanket and folded it, and put her dirty dishes into the dishwasher. She smiled at Soma, who was now standing in the middle of her living room. "Would you like some lemonade?" She asked. He shook his head. "Is there anything I can get you in return for my scarf?" He nodded. "What is it?" He looked up at her. "C-Could you sing the s-song you were singing this morning?.." He asked her; she smiled and nodded. "Did you really like it?" She asked. He nodded. "Your voice really carries the message.. I like it.." She could feel herself blush at his compliment. She nodded. And she began to sing. She watched as he smiled. He seemed to relax at the sound of her voice. She subtly changed the lyrics, and it became a beautiful love song. She sat down at her keyboard, and began to experiment with the notes and her song. Soma watched as she poured out the song, and worked with the keyboard. Her hooves flew from key to key, seemingly of their own accord. She ended the song with a loud fading note. She looked to Soma, who was now directly in front of her, his mane no longer hiding his face. He was wearing a bright smile. "Do you have any more songs??" He asked, now showing excitement. His shyness seemed to have faded when she sang. She smiled. "Well, I do, but none of them are any good. The only good one is a duet, and I don't have anypony to sing it with." She said. He looked at her, and smiled. "Could you show it to me?" He asked. She looked at him. "You sing?" She asked with a voice full of confusion. "Not really, but I guess I could try.." He said. He was back to looking down, with his mane hiding his face. She smiled at him and went to her room. She'd kept a spare notebook of songs in there in case she lost her others. She hadn't copied down anything, but she had a lot of extra songs that she'd written late at night when she had insomnia. A few were duets that she had written after a rough day at the bakery. They were all love songs, but they were all beautiful. At least, in her opinion. So she flipped through the notebook to find her favorite two-pony song. She ripped the two pages out, and smiled. Maybe Soma would have a good voice! She walked back to the living room, where Soma was waiting by the keyboard. She smiled at the tall muscular stallion. "I got the song!" She said. Then she stopped. "Why am I singing a song with a Stallion I hardly know?.. I don't even think he knows my name.." She thought to herself. "Yes, he took my scarf and washed it, but I hardly know him.. But why do I feel like we've known each-" She froze in place. She looked to Soma, eyes wide in shock. He was looking back at her, with those all-too-familiar eyes. "S-Soma.." She said. "I remember you.." He smiled. "I knew you would.." Chapter 4- The Memories She was frozen in shock. Suddenly, every single memory from her younger days came flooding back. She remembered early mornings at her bus stop, waiting for the colt to show up. She made friends with him, and the two became inseparable. They went everywhere together, with Noteshade being the strength and voice, and Soma being the thoughts and choice. Since Soma was so shy, he tended to lie low on the radar, trying to avoid speaking as much as possible. But the bigger colts always saw him. And they always targeted him, and teased him for being adopted. At least, until Note showed up. She may have been half their size, but damn, she could throw a punch harder than all of them. She showed up, they were gone and Soma was safe. She remembered everything she had tried to forget. That one, final day. She'd waited at the bus stop. Then she'd gone to his home. His mom and dad had told her that he was gone. He'd gone out to his real parents. Farther out than Canterlot. He was now in Ponyville. Which was nearly three days away on the train. She'd sulked back to the bus stop, and taken her ride to school. Her friend was gone. And she had nopony else. She'd gotten off at school and gone to the big oak tree in front of the doors. Every morning, she and Soma would climb the tree together. It would conceal them from the older colts and fillies, providing safety. However, this morning the older colts had climbed the tree before she'd gotten there. They were hidden particularly well in the foliage of the large oak. As Noteshade approached the trunk of the old tree, the colts dropped down. There were many of them, all large in size. They slowly closed in on her, and the biggest said with a deep, rumbling voice. "You've beaten all of us.. Time to get a taste of your own medicine." She looked around frantically. All of the other fillies and colts were playing on the field, none of them paying attention to her. There were no teachers outside the door, and she was left helpless. They surrounded her, some wearing maniacal grins, others wearing faces of pure fury. She smirked at the big one. She'd been reading her mothers big-mare-books, and she had learned some new insults! She watched as the colt came snout to snout with her. Then she smiled at him. "I refuse to have a battle of strength with an unarmed colt." She'd said with a smug grin. "You're highly fed, but lowly taught, and you smell like a mountain goat. I would rather we had never met, so that I could forget the horrible look on your face right now. It looks like your muzzle caught fire and your lackeys tried to put it out with forks." He'd stood there in pure shock. His friends slowly fell back, and Noteshade heard one colt whisper to another, "Man, she just bucked up so bad.." She laughed. The colt looked at her, his brow furrowed. "You dare insult my intelligence?!" He yelled. "Well, of course not! You don't have any to insult." She said with a grin. Little had she known, that was what tipped the colt over the edge. He grabbed her by the mane and lifted her up. She screamed as he headbutted her multiple times with his unicorn horn. She could feel the blood dripping down her muzzle as the colt dropped her. His hoof had come away with multiple clumps of her mane. She lie on the ground, tears streaming down her furry cheeks. The colt grinned with malice. His fellow colts had fled the area, fearing the sudden outburst of anger from their leader. The colt stooped down to her, his eyes filled with hatred. "You aren't so tough, are you, filly.." He said, spitting at her. "..I should have done this a long time ago.." And he put his hoof into his own saddlebags, and pulled out an object that she had never seen before. It looked like a knife, but it was dull, and it had a weighted dull spike on the hilt. He smiled, and brought the heavy hilt to rest above her stomach. He then dropped it, causing Note to double over in pain from the hilt crashing against her abdomen. With this, the colt brought his hoof down on her eye, causing it to swell. She was crying, and she began to scream. The colt left her there, cackling to himself. She lie there, crying until the school bell chimed. Miss Harshwinny came out and helped her up and into class, where her mother and father were called in. From there on was pure interrogation and a lot of crying. The colt remained innocent, since Noteshade did not know his name. To this day, she still remembered his look of pure hatred. And she remembered how Soma had left her to be on her own. And now, he stood before her, smiling as though he were innocent. She looked to him. "You left me. I was alone for so long." She said, her voice no longer cheery. "We were best friends, and you left me on my own. I had a role to play and it was fun. I was your protector and you were my brains. We worked together. And you left me. Do you know what happened the day you disappeared?!" She asked him, now fighting herself from screaming. He shrunk back in fear of Noteshade's now furious demeanor. His mane was no longer hiding his face, and he whispered quietly, "I'm sorry.." She laughed. Her blood was boiling with anger, and she felt as though she would explode and start to throw objects at him. "Sorry won't take back the scars I gained that day! Sorry won't take back those memories and replace them sunshine and bucking rainbows!" She yelled at him. "I got beat half to death by a colt twice my size! He dropped a spike on my stomach and gave me a black eye that lasted three weeks!!!" She began to scream at him. He shrank back against the wall; he could see her anger. She was showing it with every single move. Her hoof movements were jerky and sudden, and her ears were cupped flat against her head. Her teeth were bared and her brow was furrowed. "WE WERE BEST FRIENDS AND YOU PROMISED TO STAY WITH ME AND WE WOULD BE BEST FRIENDS FOR LIFE!!" She screamed at him. She poured all of her negativity into three words. "I HATE YOU!!" They were muzzle to muzzle now. "I HATE YOU AND I HATE YOUR GUTS! YOU ALWAYS SAID WE WOULD BE BEST FRIENDS FOREVER! THEN YOU LEFT ME!" She screamed at him. She raised her hoof, preparing to strike Soma directly in the eye. Then she froze. She put her hoof back down to the floor. She could feel the tears breaking away at her eyes. "..Get out. I want to be alone. If you still want to talk to me, you can find me tomorrow at the bakery down the street." She said, voice quivering. Soma slowly rose from the floor, still terrified. "I'm sorry.." He whispered. And with that, he walked out the door. Chapter 5- The Surprise Re-Schedule Chapter 5- The Surprise Re-Schedule Noteshade lie awake in her bed. The time had passed. She must have been lying awake for hours. However, a check to her cell phone told her otherwise. She had been lying in bed for twenty minutes. She groaned. "This is going to be a loooong night." She rose from bed, thinking of how she would spend the night. Warm milk made her hyper, as did running. Sugar crashes never worked. Singing would make her think more, as would doing chores. She reached for her scarf, now fresh and smelling like.. Something nice.. Hmm.. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it. It smelled very nice, and she liked it; it was very calming. It wasn't a scent you could find for a candle, or laundry detergent. Whatever it was, she felt like it was amazing.. Like a drug, she couldn't stop herself from smelling her scarf repeatedly. She wrapped it around her snout, and began to wander around her apartment. She stopped in her laundry room, also known as the second bedroom. She had half a basket of dirty laundry, and two baskets of clean clothes. It was getting to be winter weather again, and she was washing all of her old quilts and jackets, along with all the other scarves she had made over the years. One of them was a deep blue, with a single green stripe down the middle. Another was crimson with a forest pattern. But none of them could compare to the one she was wearing now. It was a sky blue with a grassy green pattern, and it smelled amazing. She had completely covered her muzzle with the knitted accessory. It smelled of old spices, or cologne. The smell made her calm and collected. She paused before moving on to her kitchen. Her cooking area was small, but it was her home. It had a dark grey marble counter top, with drawers and cabinets underneath. She had a small spice rack that could swirl around to reveal different containers with her favorite seasonings, such as cinnamon, coriander, and oregano. Next to the rack was a poster that showed the ever-famous DJ PON3. She was standing above a crowd of ponies, singing a song for them. Next to her was a stallion she had often collaborated with, Neon Lights. This particular photograph was taken at the last concert the DJ had done in the Crystal Empire. Back then, her mane was a mixture of two blues, but now she'd dyed her mane to be red. She had replaced her iconic glasses with neon orange contacts, and she had started to slow her singing, now doing instrumentals while Neon Lights sang the lyrics. Occasionally she and her partner, Octavia Melody, would work together to create a fun mixture of cello and wubs. Noteshade smiled. She had met the acclaimed cellist before in the halls of the studio building, and had shaken her hoof. The two had talked for a moment, and Octavia had told the darkly hued mare to follow her dreams and to never give up. And now, Noteshade was going to record for a rich mare, from Canterlot, no less! All because of what a grey cellist had said! She would soon be able to move out of her grimy old apartment, and get a new house, right next to the castle! And she would get lots of fancy foods all the time! Suddenly, her stomach growled ravenously. Speaking of foods.. She was starving! Noteshade hadn't eaten since her apple this morning, and she was starting to realize it. So she went to her fridge and looked for something appetizing. She'd been slacking on grocery shopping and just running down to the bakery and working for food. Because of this, she didn't really have any food in her refrigerator. Other than an old bag of mushrooms, and a jug of milk, The fridge was void of food. So she checked the oven to see if she had left herself a surprise! But there was nothing but an old pie pan with leftovers burned to the bottom. She would have to just go out to get a snack. She took a moment to inhale the scent of her scarf before walking to the door of her apartment. She had a few bits, just enough to get a bagel or two from the bakery! That is, if her boss hadn't shut down early. It was getting late, and most of the time, he would get tired and close up early or have one of the workers close up later. Most of the time it was the first option. Hopefully tonight it was the latter. And so Noteshade stepped outside into the crisp autumn night, stars in the sky, not a cloud in sight. There were few ponies outside tonight, likely because of the chilly breeze that was flowing through the empire. Note soon felt the breeze and tightened the scarf around herself. Her nostrils slowly filled with the wonderful smell of her cloth accessory. She shivered before stepping out onto the sidewalk in front of the apartment complex. She looked down the street to the bakery to see the lights were still on, showing that it wasn't closed yet! Yes! She ran to the bakery, to see that there was only one other customer. A unicorn stallion. He was tall, with a white coat. His mane was a dark blue, with a few streaks of pink. And on his back were saddlebags, with the 'Soma' sewn on the opening flaps.
Chapter 1- The First Day*BEEP BEEP* Damn alarm.. *BEEP BEEP* Shuddup already.. *BEEP BEEP* Noteshade rolled over on her sleeping mat to look at her alarm clock. The glowing numbers showed her that it was 8:45. Her alarm glowed with the neon green lights, shrieking about time. *BEEP BEEP* *CRUNCH* Noteshade brought her grey hoof down on her clock, causing it to shatter and splinter into tinier pieces. She looked at the shards of plastic and wires and realized that she would have to buy an new clock. For the second time this week. She sat up in her dark apartment, shaking her head groggily to shake away the remaining daze from sleep. Her pitch black mane fell into place along with her tail, each cut short. The grey mare slowly rose from the pile of blankets and pillows that was her sleeping area. In the catastrophe lay her drawing book, her laptop, headphones, pencils, and loads of other things in the large pile of clothes and miscellaneous objects. She was a messy mare, but she could handle it fine. She walked to her small kitchen and fetched an apple from the basket on her marble counter. She had first bought the apartment a few years ago in order to get out of college and get her own home. The place was small, but it had a bedroom, a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen, along with a great view over the Crystal Empire. The place had no limits on pets, so long as they're smaller that the average pony. While the mare didn't currently own any pets, she planned on adopting a small dog to keep her company on lonely nights. *Pitter patter pitter patter* The rain pelted her windowpane. It sounded like never-ending maracas. She loved the rain. It was a soothing noise that often meant a thunderstorm would come. The pegasi in the Empire were supposed to allow plenty of storms, since they help the prince and princess relax. For Note, it meant she could focus on her songwriting, or her drawing. Sometimes, she would take her umbrella and sit out in the rain and sing. There was never any specific song she would sing, but she would always voice her music. Sometimes she would bring her notebook and write in it if she came up with an idea for a song. It wasn't very often that she did, though. So she often left her notebook sitting on her grey marble counter top. There was a flash of light from her window and a rumbling crash following suit. Her ears perked up at the sound of thunder. It was a sound that meant she would be able to nap easily, or focus a bit better. That is, if she wasn't called in to the studio to record. Noteshade worked at Rising Hoof, a music studio that produced many of the biggest stars in Equestria. The appraised DJ PON3 had come from Rising Hoof. Along with the DJ's partner, Octavia Melody. While Note had a small chance at fame, she wasn't as good as the rest, so she wasn't top priority. So she only went in a few days a week, and worked at a small cafe as a waitress. She managed to gain enough tips each week to get her apartment, along with all of her art and singing supplies. The cafe was small, but colorful and bright, and brought in plenty of joyous patrons. They were all happy with her treatment of them, and she gained plenty of bits and tips. She pooled up her tips, and used those for the vanities such as art supplies. Her real paycheck was used for bills only, and if she needed more, she would take it out of her extra money. It wasn't very often that she would have to pull bits out of her spare money, but it was still something that happened. So she kept some money around, and didn't spend it all at once. "..If I lay here.. If I just lay here.. Her cell phone was ringing, and it was her boss. She had everyone with a ringtone by Snow Patrol. And now, her music agent was calling, probably to have her come in that day. She didn't particularly feel like walking in the storm unless it was an emergency. ...Will you lie with me.. And just forget the world.. She hesitated, then picked up the phone and said hello. "Noteshade, do you have any songs that are ready to show to a big producer?! Cos I got a phone call from a mare who wants to let out your demo! She said if you have any good songs to bring them to the building right now. " She stuttered for a moment. A chance for her songs to be released?? Buck yeah she'd run in the rain for that! "Y-Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes! Just let me grab the notebook and an umbrella!" "Hurry, she wants to meet you soon!" *Clic* She hung up. Noteshade danced around her apartment in celebration, and grabbed her neon blue and green scarf, along with an umbrella and her notebook. She sang out her joy, a ringing melody of happiness. She grabbed her light blue saddlebag and tossed her notebook and music player into it. She stepped outside and opened her umbrella; it was a bright contrast to her grey coat and black mane. She didn't mind it, though. It was ten bits at the store down the block, which was ten bits less than normal. She began to walk to Rising Hoof, which was twenty minutes away from her apartment complex unless you ran. She hummed to one of her favorite songs, titled Youth. The rain poured harder, with the lightning and thunder in the background. Her umbrella held up very good against the shower. There were very few ponies outside in the thunderstorm. She seemed to be the only one. She slowly picked her pace up to a light trot. She began to sing her songs aloud, not caring who heard. She sang loudly. She passed her cafe job, and waved to her boss through the window, and he waved back. She turned a corner, only to bump into a tall, strong stallion and fall down onto her flank. He backed away, his mane and coat soaking wet from the rain. Her saddlebag was wide open, and pages from her notebook were flowing out, and getting wet. Her scarf had come off and fallen into a puddle on the street. She didn't notice it, as she was busy picking up the notebook songs. The stallion hurried to help her pick up the blurred lyrics that Note had written on papers. He shook as much water off of them as possible. Note was frantic in putting them into her manilla folder that was kept in her bags. She took her other papers from the cream-colored stallion. He spluttered out a nervous apology, which she dismissed with a wave of her hoof. She stuck her folder and notebook into her saddle bag, and the green maned stallion pulled her up from the sopping wet sidewalk. He handed her the brightly striped umbrella, which she took with a nod. She looked closer at the taller pony in front of her. His coat was a nice shade of cream, and his mane was not unlike Soarin of the Wonderbolts. His eyes were a bright hazel, and he seemed to be very shy until he go to know a pony. His muscles were toned, showing that he was very strong. His figure was amazing, with each move of his body moving another muscle. She found it very pleasuring to watch him move. His coat and mane were well kept and actually sorta cute. "I'm v-very sorry, ma'am!.. " "No no, it's alright sir. No harm done." She replied. "I heard somepony s-singing, and followed it.. Was that you?.." He asked with a quiet whisper. She merely nodded. "You have a beautiful voice, miss.." He said with a slight tint of red to his cheeks. She smiled. "Thank you! But really, I have to go. It was nice meeting you, uhh.. What was your name?" She asked him. " I-I'm Soma.." He said in his deep voice. She smiled. "I'm Noteshade! It was nice meeting you, Soma!" He seemed shocked for a moment. Then he whispered, "You too, Noteshade.." And Note began to run. She thought about the stallion, and how nice he was, but also about how he had blindly followed her voice. She had been singing a love song that wasn't particularly fabulous, but she'd thought it was decent. Yet he had found it beautiful. She felt herself blush at that. She remained at a gallop until she got to Rising Hoof. All the while, she thought of the stallion. She walked into the building, and realized she had lost her scarf.
Chapter 2- The Songs "Not my scarf!!" She yelled out when she stepped inside. The mares and stallions inside looked to her in shock at the sudden outburst. She looked quite ridiculous with her saddlebag, mane, and coat soaked from the rain, while still holding her umbrella. With all eyes on her, she shook herself off. The water was soon shaken off, and she stared ahead as she walked to her agent's office. It was filled with orange furniture and different electronics, such as phones, laptops, and other gadgets. Her agent, Starstriker, was sitting in his orange computer chair. His mane was a dark blue, with his coat a darker blue, almost black. He made his office bright on purpose in order to cause contrast between him and his surroundings. It was also because he liked the color orange. In front of Star was a middle-aged mare with her mane pulled up into a bun. She had a teal blue mane and a mint green coat. She had bright icy blue eyes and a horn. She was talking quietly to Starstriker, about something to do with paperwork. Note slowly stepped closer to the two adults. Star turned his attention to her and smiled. "Mint Solo, this is my mare, Noteshade! She's the young lady I told you about!" He said with a big smile. The mint mare stood up, revealing her height, which was surprising. She was hardly up to Noteshade's snout! She held out a hoof to Note. Her hooves were very small. But Note shook it anyways. "I am Mint Solo of Canterlot, and I have come to hear some of your musical talent. Your friend here has told me a lot about you." Her voice was surprisingly deep for a mare of her size. Almost like a stallion's voice. It reminded her of the stallion she had bumped into, Soma. He seemed very familiar. Almost as though she'd met him before, when they were younger.. "Note, snap out of it!" Said Star. She had been lost in thought. She slowly came back to reality to find she had sat down on the bright orange carpet. Her agent looked at her with a face halfway between anger and confusion, and said "Why don't you sit down in the record room and sing her one of your songs. How about Youth? Is that one finished yet?" She nodded at him and pulled her notebook out of her bag and found that Youth had fallen into one of the puddles, and had smeared ink. She had memorized most of it, but she had trouble remembering a few lines in the second verse. She slowly put the paper back in her bag and walked to the recording door on the other side of the room. The room was simply another section that was closed off by a window/wall. It was sound proof, and whomever was in the room could connect to the outside world via mic and headphones. Her mind was clouded and she found it hard to focus. She sat on the stool in front of the microphone, and sat down. She placed the headphones on her head, and spoke into the microphone. "Can I have a moment to focus myself?.." She asked quietly. Mint solo slowly climbed onto a chair to speak into the mic on the other side and whispered "Take as much time as you need. I have all day." Star stood behind her and mouthed to her "You better hurry your bucking flank up or else." She nodded, and took a deep breath and forced herself to clear her mind. She thought of nothing, and then she focused on an unheard melody. She listened to the rising and sinking notes, and began to voice the lyrics. She closed her eyes and felt herself get lost in the music. Her heart merely sped up at her song. She sang of a past that she had never known, and old memories that she had imagined. Her song was telling someone to be grateful for something, because she had been through worse, and she sang more of blame and bitterness. This was the very first time she had sang that song for anyone, and it was a contrast against her normal love songs. She felt all of her worries melt away as she sang, and she never left out a part. She faded from the song's final note to find that Mint Solo was sitting in front of the window with her mouth agape, and Star was sitting beside Mint smiling like he'd just won a prize for a contest. Note smiled and spoke into the microphone. "What do you think?.." She watched Mint turn her gaze from Note to Star and back again. She slowly pulled the other microphone down to her mouth, and she whispered. "Sing more. All of your songs.." Note smiled and sat back on her stool. She took a ribbon out of her back, and pulled her mane up. She also pulled out one of the few songs that weren't ruined. It was titled 'Is it real?' She sang of her own imaginations of different worlds and alternate realities where everything was happiness, and nothing was wrong. Mint was once again astonished at her music, and immediately demanded more. So Note kept singing. She sang for hours, gaining endless respect from the small mare. When Star's watch beeped at five, Noteshade was beginning to feel her throat becoming sore from all the singing. Mint ran into the recording area, and grasped Note's hoof in a firm shake. "You, my dear, are going to be famous, and everypony will know you. That is, if you can sing like that in front of a crowd." At this, Note froze. She was NOT a mare to do stage things. She could record in front of a few people, but only when she wasn't facing them, and even then, she was nervous. "I'm afraid I can't do that, miss. I don't do stage concerts, unless it's a small crowd, like ten or so ponies." Mint looked at her with disappointment. She then looked to Star, who was standing in the recording doorway. He was frowning at Noteshade with a look of contempt. Solo took a step back, and nodded. "I understand. That's alright. But if you don't do this, you won't have anypony to buy your music." Star looked to Note. Note stared back. "Thank you, Mint. I appreciate you coming and spending your day even though it was for nothing. I hope we can eventually progress to have those albums out when Note manages to get over her fear of crowds." He said with a hint of disappointment in his tone. Mint Solo nodded and walked out of the recording room quietly, shutting the door and taking Star with her. She shut off the other microphone, and began to talk with Starstriker. Note tried to read their lips, but they were talking too fast. Mint shook her head once and then nodded as Star spoke. They seemingly came to an agreement and Mint walked into the recording room. "I would like to come back tomorrow and record your songs. Will that be okay?" She asked with her deep voice. Note nodded. "Why do you need them recorded? I can't perform live." But Mint was already out the door. She shut the entrance for the Recording room. She spoke with Star for a moment, he nodded, and she ran out. Star walked to the door and opened it, his smile wide and proud. "Well, kiddo, you just scored a career with Mint Solo of Canterlot."
Chapter 3- The Duet Noteshade was walking home. The storm was raging, but she didn't mind. The thunder and lightning and rain were loud around her. She still didn't care. She took the same route she had taken to get to the recording studio. On the way, she looked for her scarf. It was nowhere to be seen. "That bastard took my scarf!!" She yelled. The stranger she'd bumped into, Soma, had stolen her prized scarf! She walked home, her blood pressure rising as she got angrier and angrier. She walked to her apartment complex, thoroughly soaked by the time she walked into her home. She took off her saddlebags and threw them at the wall, eliciting a large thud and a crack from inside the bag. She picked it up and looked inside to find that her music player had a cracked screen and and had lost the back of it, along with the batteries. Her headphones were fine, but the player was gonna cost more to fix than to replace. She set the player down on her kitchen counter, and thought about her day. She'd been on a roller coaster of emotion. She'd woken up to a storm, gotten called in, lost all of her songs along with her scarf, scored a record deal with a big time mare, and then broke her music player. She sighed. It was an overall good day, but she still had some bad parts. *tic* She looked around, looking for the source of the noise. *tic* It was like the dropping of a coin. *tic* She took a walk around her apartment, looking for the source of the sound. She checked everywhere, but no clues could be found. Then.. it stopped. She smiled. *thud* She groaned. A knock on the door. There wasn't supposed to be anypony knocking! She wanted the rest of the night to draw and listen to music on her laptop! Noteshade opened the door. Standing in front of her was the stallion from this morning, holding her precious scarf. He had his head hanging down, with his mane hiding his face. She was shocked. This stranger she had barely known for a day had found where she lived! She looked at him. He looked back. "I found your scarf, miss.." He said in his deep, rumbling voice. She looked to him, a face of confusion. "How did you find me here?.." She asked him. "I saw you run to that music studio, so I went there and asked about a mare with your looks, and they gave me your information.." He said quietly. She took the scarf from his hooves. It was a deep blue and dark green striped scarf that she'd made herself. She looked at the stallion again, to notice he was soaking wet, and had protected the scarf instead of himself. He was wearing his own saddlebags, marked with his name, Soma. The bags were soaked as well. She looked to him and asked him, "Would you like to come in? You look cold!" He nodded, and stepped back. "I'd recommend shutting the door so I can shake myself off.." He said. And she followed directions. As soon as the door was shut, she could hear droplets hitting the door, like a rain noise, or a continuous rattling sound. She opened the door once the sound stopped to see the stallion frantically trying to pat his mane down, hiding a few streaks of a soft lily pink. She smiled. "Are those dyed streaks?" She asked him. He looked up, surprised that she had seen the pink strands. "N-No.. I get the pink from my mother.. The blue is from my dad.." He said quietly. She nodded. "I like the pink! It gives you character!" She said to him, eyes glimmering. He looked down, cheeks a slight tint of pink. She stepped aside. "Aren't you coming in?" She asked him. He nodded and walked in slowly. She shut the door and looked to the stallion. She thought for a moment before asking, "Why isn't my scarf wet? Didn't it fall into a puddle?" "It did.. But I washed it for you.. It wasn't a pleasant sight.." He said slowly. She smiled at him. "Well, Soma, thank you for returning it so clean! I appreciate it!" She laughed. "For a while I'd thought you'd stolen it!" "No, ma'am! I would never steal anything from anypony!.." He said, taken aback by her words. She nodded. He didn't seem to be a stallion that would have the courage to steal anything. He looked like a stallion who lived with upper class ponies. He walked slowly, and his voice was a deep rumble. His muscles rippled whenever he moved. His coat and mane looked well groomed, and his eyes were beautiful. They were a deep green, with specks of gold. He practically screamed royalty! But.. He had stopped whatever he was doing in order to return her scarf. She smiled and snapped back to reality. She looked around to see her messy apartment. She had a pile of blankets and laundry in the corner, and her laptop lying open on her table. She had dirty plates lying around due to her laziness when it came to cleaning. All in all, her apartment was a pigsty. She looked to Soma to see that he was looking at her with a weak smile. She smiled at him. "Sorry about the mess! I had a rough morning!" She said with a chuckle. She picked up her blanket and folded it, and put her dirty dishes into the dishwasher. She smiled at Soma, who was now standing in the middle of her living room. "Would you like some lemonade?" She asked. He shook his head. "Is there anything I can get you in return for my scarf?" He nodded. "What is it?" He looked up at her. "C-Could you sing the s-song you were singing this morning?.." He asked her; she smiled and nodded. "Did you really like it?" She asked. He nodded. "Your voice really carries the message.. I like it.." She could feel herself blush at his compliment. She nodded. And she began to sing. She watched as he smiled. He seemed to relax at the sound of her voice. She subtly changed the lyrics, and it became a beautiful love song. She sat down at her keyboard, and began to experiment with the notes and her song. Soma watched as she poured out the song, and worked with the keyboard. Her hooves flew from key to key, seemingly of their own accord. She ended the song with a loud fading note. She looked to Soma, who was now directly in front of her, his mane no longer hiding his face. He was wearing a bright smile. "Do you have any more songs??" He asked, now showing excitement. His shyness seemed to have faded when she sang. She smiled. "Well, I do, but none of them are any good. The only good one is a duet, and I don't have anypony to sing it with." She said. He looked at her, and smiled. "Could you show it to me?" He asked. She looked at him. "You sing?" She asked with a voice full of confusion. "Not really, but I guess I could try.." He said. He was back to looking down, with his mane hiding his face. She smiled at him and went to her room. She'd kept a spare notebook of songs in there in case she lost her others. She hadn't copied down anything, but she had a lot of extra songs that she'd written late at night when she had insomnia. A few were duets that she had written after a rough day at the bakery. They were all love songs, but they were all beautiful. At least, in her opinion. So she flipped through the notebook to find her favorite two-pony song. She ripped the two pages out, and smiled. Maybe Soma would have a good voice! She walked back to the living room, where Soma was waiting by the keyboard. She smiled at the tall muscular stallion. "I got the song!" She said. Then she stopped. "Why am I singing a song with a Stallion I hardly know?.. I don't even think he knows my name.." She thought to herself. "Yes, he took my scarf and washed it, but I hardly know him.. But why do I feel like we've known each-" She froze in place. She looked to Soma, eyes wide in shock. He was looking back at her, with those all-too-familiar eyes. "S-Soma.." She said. "I remember you.." He smiled. "I knew you would.."
Chapter 4- The Memories She was frozen in shock. Suddenly, every single memory from her younger days came flooding back. She remembered early mornings at her bus stop, waiting for the colt to show up. She made friends with him, and the two became inseparable. They went everywhere together, with Noteshade being the strength and voice, and Soma being the thoughts and choice. Since Soma was so shy, he tended to lie low on the radar, trying to avoid speaking as much as possible. But the bigger colts always saw him. And they always targeted him, and teased him for being adopted. At least, until Note showed up. She may have been half their size, but damn, she could throw a punch harder than all of them. She showed up, they were gone and Soma was safe. She remembered everything she had tried to forget. That one, final day. She'd waited at the bus stop. Then she'd gone to his home. His mom and dad had told her that he was gone. He'd gone out to his real parents. Farther out than Canterlot. He was now in Ponyville. Which was nearly three days away on the train. She'd sulked back to the bus stop, and taken her ride to school. Her friend was gone. And she had nopony else. She'd gotten off at school and gone to the big oak tree in front of the doors. Every morning, she and Soma would climb the tree together. It would conceal them from the older colts and fillies, providing safety. However, this morning the older colts had climbed the tree before she'd gotten there. They were hidden particularly well in the foliage of the large oak. As Noteshade approached the trunk of the old tree, the colts dropped down. There were many of them, all large in size. They slowly closed in on her, and the biggest said with a deep, rumbling voice. "You've beaten all of us.. Time to get a taste of your own medicine." She looked around frantically. All of the other fillies and colts were playing on the field, none of them paying attention to her. There were no teachers outside the door, and she was left helpless. They surrounded her, some wearing maniacal grins, others wearing faces of pure fury. She smirked at the big one. She'd been reading her mothers big-mare-books, and she had learned some new insults! She watched as the colt came snout to snout with her. Then she smiled at him. "I refuse to have a battle of strength with an unarmed colt." She'd said with a smug grin. "You're highly fed, but lowly taught, and you smell like a mountain goat. I would rather we had never met, so that I could forget the horrible look on your face right now. It looks like your muzzle caught fire and your lackeys tried to put it out with forks." He'd stood there in pure shock. His friends slowly fell back, and Noteshade heard one colt whisper to another, "Man, she just bucked up so bad.." She laughed. The colt looked at her, his brow furrowed. "You dare insult my intelligence?!" He yelled. "Well, of course not! You don't have any to insult." She said with a grin. Little had she known, that was what tipped the colt over the edge. He grabbed her by the mane and lifted her up. She screamed as he headbutted her multiple times with his unicorn horn. She could feel the blood dripping down her muzzle as the colt dropped her. His hoof had come away with multiple clumps of her mane. She lie on the ground, tears streaming down her furry cheeks. The colt grinned with malice. His fellow colts had fled the area, fearing the sudden outburst of anger from their leader. The colt stooped down to her, his eyes filled with hatred. "You aren't so tough, are you, filly.." He said, spitting at her. "..I should have done this a long time ago.." And he put his hoof into his own saddlebags, and pulled out an object that she had never seen before. It looked like a knife, but it was dull, and it had a weighted dull spike on the hilt. He smiled, and brought the heavy hilt to rest above her stomach. He then dropped it, causing Note to double over in pain from the hilt crashing against her abdomen. With this, the colt brought his hoof down on her eye, causing it to swell. She was crying, and she began to scream. The colt left her there, cackling to himself. She lie there, crying until the school bell chimed. Miss Harshwinny came out and helped her up and into class, where her mother and father were called in. From there on was pure interrogation and a lot of crying. The colt remained innocent, since Noteshade did not know his name. To this day, she still remembered his look of pure hatred. And she remembered how Soma had left her to be on her own. And now, he stood before her, smiling as though he were innocent. She looked to him. "You left me. I was alone for so long." She said, her voice no longer cheery. "We were best friends, and you left me on my own. I had a role to play and it was fun. I was your protector and you were my brains. We worked together. And you left me. Do you know what happened the day you disappeared?!" She asked him, now fighting herself from screaming. He shrunk back in fear of Noteshade's now furious demeanor. His mane was no longer hiding his face, and he whispered quietly, "I'm sorry.." She laughed. Her blood was boiling with anger, and she felt as though she would explode and start to throw objects at him. "Sorry won't take back the scars I gained that day! Sorry won't take back those memories and replace them sunshine and bucking rainbows!" She yelled at him. "I got beat half to death by a colt twice my size! He dropped a spike on my stomach and gave me a black eye that lasted three weeks!!!" She began to scream at him. He shrank back against the wall; he could see her anger. She was showing it with every single move. Her hoof movements were jerky and sudden, and her ears were cupped flat against her head. Her teeth were bared and her brow was furrowed. "WE WERE BEST FRIENDS AND YOU PROMISED TO STAY WITH ME AND WE WOULD BE BEST FRIENDS FOR LIFE!!" She screamed at him. She poured all of her negativity into three words. "I HATE YOU!!" They were muzzle to muzzle now. "I HATE YOU AND I HATE YOUR GUTS! YOU ALWAYS SAID WE WOULD BE BEST FRIENDS FOREVER! THEN YOU LEFT ME!" She screamed at him. She raised her hoof, preparing to strike Soma directly in the eye. Then she froze. She put her hoof back down to the floor. She could feel the tears breaking away at her eyes. "..Get out. I want to be alone. If you still want to talk to me, you can find me tomorrow at the bakery down the street." She said, voice quivering. Soma slowly rose from the floor, still terrified. "I'm sorry.." He whispered. And with that, he walked out the door.
Chapter 5- The Surprise Re-Schedule Chapter 5- The Surprise Re-Schedule Noteshade lie awake in her bed. The time had passed. She must have been lying awake for hours. However, a check to her cell phone told her otherwise. She had been lying in bed for twenty minutes. She groaned. "This is going to be a loooong night." She rose from bed, thinking of how she would spend the night. Warm milk made her hyper, as did running. Sugar crashes never worked. Singing would make her think more, as would doing chores. She reached for her scarf, now fresh and smelling like.. Something nice.. Hmm.. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it. It smelled very nice, and she liked it; it was very calming. It wasn't a scent you could find for a candle, or laundry detergent. Whatever it was, she felt like it was amazing.. Like a drug, she couldn't stop herself from smelling her scarf repeatedly. She wrapped it around her snout, and began to wander around her apartment. She stopped in her laundry room, also known as the second bedroom. She had half a basket of dirty laundry, and two baskets of clean clothes. It was getting to be winter weather again, and she was washing all of her old quilts and jackets, along with all the other scarves she had made over the years. One of them was a deep blue, with a single green stripe down the middle. Another was crimson with a forest pattern. But none of them could compare to the one she was wearing now. It was a sky blue with a grassy green pattern, and it smelled amazing. She had completely covered her muzzle with the knitted accessory. It smelled of old spices, or cologne. The smell made her calm and collected. She paused before moving on to her kitchen. Her cooking area was small, but it was her home. It had a dark grey marble counter top, with drawers and cabinets underneath. She had a small spice rack that could swirl around to reveal different containers with her favorite seasonings, such as cinnamon, coriander, and oregano. Next to the rack was a poster that showed the ever-famous DJ PON3. She was standing above a crowd of ponies, singing a song for them. Next to her was a stallion she had often collaborated with, Neon Lights. This particular photograph was taken at the last concert the DJ had done in the Crystal Empire. Back then, her mane was a mixture of two blues, but now she'd dyed her mane to be red. She had replaced her iconic glasses with neon orange contacts, and she had started to slow her singing, now doing instrumentals while Neon Lights sang the lyrics. Occasionally she and her partner, Octavia Melody, would work together to create a fun mixture of cello and wubs. Noteshade smiled. She had met the acclaimed cellist before in the halls of the studio building, and had shaken her hoof. The two had talked for a moment, and Octavia had told the darkly hued mare to follow her dreams and to never give up. And now, Noteshade was going to record for a rich mare, from Canterlot, no less! All because of what a grey cellist had said! She would soon be able to move out of her grimy old apartment, and get a new house, right next to the castle! And she would get lots of fancy foods all the time! Suddenly, her stomach growled ravenously. Speaking of foods.. She was starving! Noteshade hadn't eaten since her apple this morning, and she was starting to realize it. So she went to her fridge and looked for something appetizing. She'd been slacking on grocery shopping and just running down to the bakery and working for food. Because of this, she didn't really have any food in her refrigerator. Other than an old bag of mushrooms, and a jug of milk, The fridge was void of food. So she checked the oven to see if she had left herself a surprise! But there was nothing but an old pie pan with leftovers burned to the bottom. She would have to just go out to get a snack. She took a moment to inhale the scent of her scarf before walking to the door of her apartment. She had a few bits, just enough to get a bagel or two from the bakery! That is, if her boss hadn't shut down early. It was getting late, and most of the time, he would get tired and close up early or have one of the workers close up later. Most of the time it was the first option. Hopefully tonight it was the latter. And so Noteshade stepped outside into the crisp autumn night, stars in the sky, not a cloud in sight. There were few ponies outside tonight, likely because of the chilly breeze that was flowing through the empire. Note soon felt the breeze and tightened the scarf around herself. Her nostrils slowly filled with the wonderful smell of her cloth accessory. She shivered before stepping out onto the sidewalk in front of the apartment complex. She looked down the street to the bakery to see the lights were still on, showing that it wasn't closed yet! Yes! She ran to the bakery, to see that there was only one other customer. A unicorn stallion. He was tall, with a white coat. His mane was a dark blue, with a few streaks of pink. And on his back were saddlebags, with the 'Soma' sewn on the opening flaps.
