OctaScratch Drabbles

by ShadowblazeCR

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, DJ P0N-3, Human, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Octavia, Comedy
Length: 9349

A random collection of OctaScratch one-shots.

A random collection of OctaScratch one-shots.

Published 2016-08-14 18:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-11-14 01:15:06 UTC

Guarding the Gates

Noise dominated the crowded streets of Canterlot. Merchants, vendors, and customers alike contributed to the organized chaos that greeted anyone walking through the front gate of the city. For it to be organized and hopefully not actual chaos, two guards contributed to knowing who should be allowed in and who shouldn’t.

Most were just tourists coming to see the famous city, others were there for jobs, some just came to visit their family, occasionally they would see one of the Princesses or even some of the other famous people they hung out with. All the different individuals contributed to a mostly uneventful shift, but occasionally a certain duo would come across someone interesting.

The said duo consisted of Octavia Philharmonica and Vinyl Scratch, who were each other’s BFFs. Or more specifically, as Vinyl said they had to say, Best Friends Five-ever. One of her friends, Pinkie Pie, told her that it was even longer than forever. Octavia wasn’t amused when she heard about it.

Currently the two were dealing with a man who seemed quite enamored with his cart of cabbages and was adamant about how they should be escorting him to his destination. He gestured to both of them feverently, “I’m telling you kids, this is the most important cargo you’ll ever receive.”

Vinyl sighed, “Alright gramps, we need you to get through the gate or your cabbages will be going off the cliffside.”

The old man huffed, still refusing to move. “I don’t think you understand missy. Canterlot is my last hope for selling these cabbages. If I don’t get them in there with at least two guards, they might as well go over the cliff.”

Vinyl looked to Octavia and nodded her head up and down.

Octavia realized what Vinyl was thinking and shook her head side to side.

Vinyl shrugged and began to push the cart to the side of the road, which conveniently had a cliffside not far away. “If you insist.”

Octavia went to stop Vinyl, but not before admiring how strong her friend actually was. “However much you are right Vinyl, we need to help the people that want to come to Canterlot. Not, quite literally, push them away. You wouldn’t want Princess Twilight to stop inviting you to tea time, hmm?”

Vinyl’s face contorted in anger, “We do not bring up tea time with the Princess. I’ll have you know that I cherish that time and will not let it be affected by some guy with cabbages!

She grabbed the cart by its handles and began dragging it toward the entrance, “I’ll be back Octy, don’t die or anything!”

Vinyl returned shortly after, her hair ruffled and slightly singed. Soot also covered her face, mixed with something that was hopefully dirt. She hobbled back to her post on the other side of the gate, carrying her cracked rifle. “That guy wasn’t kidding about the cart needing guards.”

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Early next morning, the two stood guard once again at the front gate to Canterlot. Vinyl yawned for what seemed like the fifth time in the same minute, tired from staying up late. She only slightly regretted it, but was still happy with her work that she’d done on her hobby. Creating a type of wub she was sure no one had thought of, but it was totally worth it.

Vinyl turned to see Octavia’s condition, expecting her to be just as bad. Octavia had her own hobby, she was somehow interested in the classy version of making music for people to sit and watch. Vinyl didn’t understand the concept behind the entertainment aspect, but she could admit that the music was soothing in the fact that it was able to make her fall asleep.

Vinyl’s mouth fell open in shock as she saw that Octavia didn’t look tired whatsoever. She was smiling too, humming some old timey classical tune. The only classical song that Vinyl could even slightly enjoy would be Flight of the Valkyries. It was always accompanied by some awesome moment. Which was really the only thing Vinyl could appreciate about her friend’s musical taste. Having an action scene mixed with classical music somehow always seemed to work.

Octavia continued to hum, not noticing Vinyl’s reaction. Vinyl shook her head, regaining her composure. “Uh, Octy, you look especially...bubbly today. Did something good happen?”

Octavia nodded her head, a grin plastered on her face, “Princess Twilight was generous enough to offer me to play with the Canterlot Orchestra in the upcoming Gala!”

A golf clap was all she received, “Tavi, you’ve already done that. Why the impetuous keenness?” Score! I totally just said something that Octavia would say. I’ve been saving up those things for weeks! I sound like such a smarticle particle.

“I may have also tried some substance Pinkamena told me would be useful to boost my alertness in the morning.” Her eye twitched.

“Ah, yeah, that would do it.” Vinyl paused. “Wait a second. You took some type of, I assume, unknown Pinkie-made energy drink because “she said it would help you stay awake”? Aren’t you supposed to be the one that has the common sense of us two?”

“I do not suspect it would do anything harmful to me Vinyl. While she may be hyperactive at times, but she wouldn’t just-” Octavia peered into the crowd flowing through the city gates. “Hold on, look at that figure by the cart. The blue and purple one. It’s wearing a long black cloak. It’s quite the challenge to see their face, but you should be able to spot them.”

Vinyl took a second to scan the crowd, eventually spotting the figure that Octavia had mentioned. Right off the bat Vinyl could tell the figure was pretty suspicious. Plus, it was already a crime to try a fashion statement like what the figure was wearing in broad daylight. The figure continued to walk only slightly behind the aforementioned cart.

Right before the figure made it through the gate Vinyl pulled on the end of their coat, dragging them away from the crowd and near the guard station. “So, what brings you to Canterlot today?”

The figure reached to pull off their hood, causing Vinyl’s grip to tighten on her rifle. But as the hood fell, she realized just who she had apprehended. “I was going to the castle to talk about the plans for the Gala next month with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. How have you been?”

Vinyl’s grip loosened considerably on the rifle, “Jeez Twi, what’s with the getup?”

Twilight sighed, “Well, I was hoping I would be able to sneak by without being noticed. Recently I’ve been getting swarmed by everyone trying to get my autograph, or interview me about my strangely on time, weekly occurring, things that happen. It just seemed easier to try this at the time.”

Octavia interjected, “Princess, why-”

“It’s Twilight, Octavia. I hope you would think that we’ve known each other long enough for you to at least call me that.”

“Ah,” Octavia seemed like she wanted to object, but decided against it. “I suppose that works for me...Twilight. Nonetheless, I don’t understand why you didn’t notify me or Vinyl that you were coming.” She pulled out her phone as reference. “ Or at least the attire you would wear.”

Twilight gave a meek smile, “Sorry girls, I was so focused on getting here that I didn’t think of that.”

Vinyl chuckled, “Don’t worry about it. Plus, what’s the rush? Isn’t the Gala, like, still a good month or so away?”

“Yes, that’s true. But I always have to be prepared for anything. The last few Gala’s have always seemed a little out of tune compared to the one’s that I’ve attended and heard about. So, I wanted to make the experience nostalgic for the Princesses and have a quiet and slightly modern gala.”

Octavia nodded in agreement, “Well, I’m sure the Princesses will appreciate your hard work.”

Vinyl gave a thumbs up, “Yeah, with me and Tavi providing you with the hottest mix of Classical and EDM, you’ll have nothing to worry about. I’ve got you covered with some wubtastic new beats for Pinkie Pie’s party at the end and Tavi over here’s got you with that background music during the dancing and stuff.’

Twilight pulled out her phone after a “ding” sounded, beginning to jog away as she pulled her hood back over her head. “Thanks again! I’ll be looking forward to seeing you two at the Gala!”

Vinyl and Octavia waved goodbye until Twilight was out of sight. Shortly after, they both returned to their posts.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Gala was considered one of the most prestigious balls in all of Equestria. But more recently, it had taken a more modern twist in its events. Having a glob of goo roam around certainly wasn’t the usual norm for most attending. Even with Princess Twilight’s efforts, the Gala took yet another unexpected turn. Vinyl and Octavia stood at their respective posts, discussing the events that had taken place the night before.

“I’m tellin’ you Octy, I totally saw myself in there!”

“Vinyl, just because Discord let loose an army of cardboard cutout ponies, doesn’t mean he would specifically have everyone, including you, ponified on those cutouts.”

Vinyl gave a huff, “But I saw you too. Bow tie and everything.”

“I don’t think we should be discussing what you did or did not see during our shift,” Octavia sighed, “But since I know you won’t give up, I suppose I should ask if you have any evidence. So, do you Scratch?”

Vinyl puffed up her chest, “Sure do. Prepare to have your mind blown by my ponified mix of awesomeness and cuteness.” She held up her phone to show said proof.

Octavia leaned in for a closer look, and in plane sight stood an upright ponified version of Vinyl Scratch. Complete with signature sunglasses, varying hair color, and a horn to top it off. Next to the cutout was another one that had an uncanny resemblance to Octavia. This Octavia had a bow identical to the one she had at home, along with the same hairstyle, but no horn.

“I don’t have a horn.”

Vinyl took the phone back, peering at Octavia’s cutout. “Huh, how do you hold the cello then?”

“Hmm...with practice.”

Vinyl sighed, “Honestly, that’s what I expected you to say.”

Octavia walked back over to her post, “Yes, well, we should get back to work Vinyl. I wouldn’t want someone to think we were,” She paused. “How do you say it? ‘Slacking off’.”

Vinyl silently agreed with Octavia and went back to her respective post. The job never failed to be entertaining, whether it was a crazy happening at the gate, or some juicy gossip they would hear from passing people, or even just talking to their friends. All would provide them vacations from the lapses of boredom they would experience.

Octavia had once told Vinyl that while those were many of the reasons that she enjoyed her job, none of them were the reason for her joining. She had someday hoped to become a musician, specifically a cellist, in the Royal Canterlot Orchestra. Just like most of her family had done.

But when no one would accept her style of play in the auditions for places that would eventually get her to the dream she had. Knowing that she would never get anywhere with what she did, she went to the Royal Guards in frustration. The job drawing her in for the orderly system and way everything had a reason. Just the way she liked it.

Lucky for her, the job actually gave her the chance to do her dream job. By repeatedly meeting the Princesses, Twilight eventually found out Octavia could play the cello and asked for a personal show. Which was just the chance Octavia needed for her to be personally recommended by Princess Twilight to the Royal Canterlot Orchestra.

Vinyl herself had a similar experience with joining the Guard. She had been a DJ for about a year before the difficulty of finding someone who would want her to play for them. Vinyl knew that she had skill, but all the gigs that would take DJs always wanted a set list. Some just wanted remixes instead of originals. She prided herself on being original, but that was ultimately what led to no one wanting her.

The Royal Guard was the only place that Vinyl thought would whip her into something that would go with the flow, not against it. But once she experienced guarding the gates, Vinyl knew that she had to keep her style. Yet, she couldn’t leave the Guards. They had grown on her. Especially after she met Octavia.

Eventually Vinyl met the Princesses, though it was mostly when they were rushing around. Once they found out about her hobby, they asked for a sample. This led to Vinyl eventually getting to go to the Gala and play with Octavia.

Both Octavia and Vinyl were content with where they were. Both stood guard, prepared for whatever would come their way next. Hoping that it would be something equally as fun as the last.

A Hairy Situation

“VINYL!"

Vinyl walked into the bathroom Octavia occupied and casually leant next to the doorframe. “What’s up?”

Octavia gestured wildly to her hair, “This! This is up, Scratch!”

Vinyl assessed the situation, figuring out the best plan of attack for the next few moments. “So...do you like it?”

Octavia’s face reddened. A few long exhales and inhales later, she was back to normal. “That is not the problem, Vinyl. It doesn’t matter if I like it or not. What if I had a performance or even practice? I couldn’t go looking like this. The Canterlot Elites expect me to be prim and proper.”

“Alright, I can see how this looks like a bad idea. But, since you’ve got the week off, I figured we could do something fun.” She rushed back to her bathroom in the apartment, grabbing the necessary supplies for the next phase of her plan. “What if I let you mess around with my hair. Plus, it’s not like we were going to be doing anything today anyways. We could just mess around with each other’s hair for today, alright?”

“I don’t know Vinyl…”

Vinyl edged closer, “Come on Octy. This’ll be fun, trust me. You’ve known me for, like, a really long time. What could go wrong?”

Octavia sighed, “Twenty years, Vinyl. We’ve known each other for twenty years. Since middle school. And many things, especially with you.”

“Cooome ooon, Tavi! It’ll be fun!”

“I suppose I could do with something to pass the time.”

Vinyl gave an excited fist pump and rushed over to let Octavia mess with her hair.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vinyl and Octavia’s apartment in the city of Canterlot was not usually occupied. Atleast, not occupied by the two friends frequently. Octavia was mostly gone during the day, busy with practicing for competitions or with the Royal Canterlot Orchestra, or doing shows with said Orchestra. Vinyl had mostly nightly gigs that required her DJ skills, but occasionally there would be times that the gig would happen with the sun out.

Octavia would sleep on a mostly regular schedule of practicing in the afternoons, plus an occasional show at night, and sleeping away some of the night and all of the morning. While Vinyl slept throughout most of the day and went to her gigs through most of the night and morning, only coming back to sleep or prepare new music.

This led to the two almost never seeing each other fully alert and awake. When both had days off , much like the one they had currently. Vinyl would usually find something for the both of them to do. Or just rope Octavia into doing something, even if she just wanted to rest. Sometimes Vinyl would present a simple activity to waste the day away like binge watching shows or movies, she would occasionally find something that would be completely random, yet fun and enjoyable for Octavia. Though she refused to admit it.

“Pfft." Vinyl tried to contain her laughter as she saw what they had done to their hair.

Octavia joined in with a chuckle, “Alright, this may have been one of the better ideas you’ve had.”

“What about that time I built that rad cardboard box fort?”

Octavia raised an eyebrow, “Your ‘box fort’ was a single box from your incessant bass cannon you bought off the internet.”

Vinyl huffed, “Well I had a blast with both the box fort and the bass cannon.”

“All you did was sit in the box and play with small pony toys for hours.”

“...They're not toys! Anyway, I think we’re getting off track here.” Vinyl looked at their styles once again. Both had switched their hairstyle. While Octavia’s had already been done to resemble Vinyl’s by Vinyl, Octavia had taken Vinyl’s hair and made it into what her usual style was. This had led them to their current situation.

“When was this on track?”

“Well...” Vinyl paused, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I think we need to show Lyra and Bon Bon, though.”

“In public?” Octavia asked meekly.

“‘Course, it’ll be fun to see their reactions. Plus, the shop’s just down the block.”

Octavia sighed, “I suppose I could take a short walk to them. I was planning on talking to Lyra about some musical pieces anyway.”

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The two friends made their way to the candy shop. Lyra and Bon Bon were their two best friends, whom they had known since middle school. Both shared an apartment, an idea they had decided after college. Really, the four hadn’t been apart, or at least in walking distance, for more than a week. As they seemed to work together as a group.

Lyra and Bon Bon had kept in touch with Vinyl and Octavia, even after Vinyl and Octavia went to a University to pursue their musical careers. Bon Bon had convinced Lyra to go to a College that allowed for many different paths to be followed. Bon Bon had went for the Culinary Arts, while Lyra went for a musical route with Culinary Arts as a Minor.

Even though the College and University were on other sides of Canterlot, both duos were able to visit each other frequently. Once school ended, the meetings almost stopped. Everyone was too busy with trying (and succeeding) to further their respective career. But once they settled in, both duos found apartments close to each other and began to get back into the groove they had set years prior.

The shop Vinyl and Octavia were going to went by the name Sweets for All. While they did primarily sell different desserts and candy, they also dabbled in other goods like muffins. Lyra insisted muffins should be called sweets because of the chocolate chips that could be added.

As they arrived Vinyl took the lead and scoped out the store, finding that there was only a lone person there. Most likely having a quick lunch before getting back to work. The reaction to their hairstyles was still quality entertainment to Vinyl. Octavia on the other hand looked like she wanted to erase the memories of her from anyone that ever glanced, talked, or even communicated with her.

Lyra stood at the counter behind the sweets in the display case in front, her mouth hanging open from shock. “What’ve you guys done to your hair?!”

Vinyl laughed, “Do ya want the long or short version?”

Lyra sighed, contemplating if she really wanted to hear the fully story. “How about you just give it to me straight, but let's go to the back room and get Bon Bon too.”

“What about any customers that would come in?” Octavia asked.

Lyra waved a dismissive hand, “Don’t worry about it, it’s almost break time anyways. Plus, no one really comes at this time anyway. Except, maybe every once in awhile, when Rarity or Twilight come to visit.”

“I heard they’re both doing pretty well.” Vinyl commented as they made their way to the back.

“Yeah, Twi got into an internship with one of the big-shot education companies. Heard she was trying to get her own lab setup. And Rarity finally set up a boutique, actually not to far from here. I think it’s called Canterlot Carousel.”

Octavia nodded, “I think I’ve heard of the place. Many people in the Royal Orchestra get their suits and dresses prepared there.”

Lyra opened the door to the back, holding it open for Vinyl and Octavia. “Well, Bon Bon should be right ahead in the kitchen.”

Vinyl ran ahead to see Bon Bon, “Yo, Bonny! How’s it going?”

Bon Bon looked up from what she was making, “Vin-Oct-What is happening?!"

Octavia appeared at the doorway to the kitchen, “A simple problem, that was fully taken advantage of.”

“How-This-I,” Bon Bon’s head whipped back and forth between Vinyl and Octavia. “I’m so confuuused!"

Vinyl walked over and patted Bon Bon’s back, “Don’t worry buddy, we’ll get through this together. You’ll probably be able to guess the cause of it anyway.”

“Are you guys having some kind of quarter-life crisis or something?!”

“Okay, wow.” Vinyl looked around at her friends. “That was not even close, but somehow a really good guess. Like, I’m not the only one that never thought that would be a possibility, right.”

Octavia and Lyra shrugged.

Vinyl sighed, “Fine, I guess I really am the only one that wouldn’t think of it.”

Octavia walked over to the nearest clean counter and leant against it, “I’m sure you would’ve thought about it eventually Vinyl.” She turned to Lyra and Bon Bon. “Now, I’m sure you two would like an explanation of this...shenanigan.”

Lyra and Bon Bon nodded a few times.

“To summarize, Vinyl here, “ Vinyl waved. “Thought that it’d be a great idea to mess with my hair at a most inconvenient time in the morning.”

“What time would that be?” Asked Lyra.

“It was sleeping time.” Octavia glared at Vinyl, who smiled meekly. “I went about my morning routine, eventually stopping at the mirror to tidy up my hair as it had felt peculiar for quite awhile. I yelled for Vinyl, who by the way did not rush over, and she was kind enough to ask if I liked it.”

She looked over to the culprit, who looked over to her. This time with a layer of frosting covering her mouth, along with assorted crumbs to complete it. Their cheeks bulged with what was most likely a recently “eaten” cupcake. “Whaght?”

Octavia shook her head in despair, “Anyway, that one,” She pointed to Vinyl, who now had her finger dipped into a bowl of icing. “Somehow convinced me to do the same to her, along with convincing me that you two would want to see this.”

Vinyl pointed excitedly at Octavia, “An’ ih wash worph ih!”

“Yes, well, I do suppose this whole ordeal was worth seeing their faces.”

Vinyl nodded, proud with her work.

Bon Bon spoke up, “So, what’s the plan with the hairstyles now? Are you gonna keep them, or was this it? Becuase I hope it’s the latter. This is kinda freaking me out.”

Lyra hummed in agreement, “As fun as it was to see you two switch your hairstyles, I don’t think I could live with them permanently. It just feels weird.”

“Yeah, I gotcha, this is messing with my mojo anyway.” Vinyl began her journey to the door. “Whelp, I guess we should get going. I wouldn’t want to melt the world with this statement of hairstyles.”

The duo made their way back to their apartment, but not without a good dozen assorted sweets. The two visited often, which led to enough sweets bought that Lyra and Bon Bon would occasionally give some for free. In turn, Vinyl and Octavia would give them free tickets to their concerts and gigs. Both duos couldn't pinpoint the exact moment the deal had happened. But they were all sure it had sprung off from some random conversation about how frequently each pair would visit the other.

The two pairs somehow always kept track of who owed who. Which did cause bumps in the deal, mostly from Vinyl or Bon Bon trying to change the rules. But, overall, it seemed to benefit both parties. Though, it was most likely from Octavia and Lyra being the voices of reason within the deal.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“So, Octy?”

“Yes, Vinyl?”

“I was thinking…”

“Amazing, Scratch. I never thought you would have had it in you.”

“Oh ha, ha.” Vinyl shifted her position on their couch to face Octavia. “I was wondering if we could do something like we did this morning.”

“Do tell.”

“Okay, so we take my rad hairstyle switching idea. But...” Vinyl paused for dramatic affect. Octavia sighed. “We do it with our clothing styles!”

Octavia sighed louder.

Author's Note

This story will be a collection of random OctaScratch one-shots I write for when I need the practice or just feel like writing some OctaScratch, so don't expect much world building and stuff like that. These one-shots are for fun and I don't plan on having really any of them end like my other ones. They won't be set up to where they can have more content. So, I hope everyone can take the world each one is in and all that with a grain of salt. I'm writing this for fun, not really for the content. They're for everyone to have a nice read of OctaScratch and even give some ideas of what they would want written.

I hope you all will enjoy this little collection!

-Till the next one

The War of the Lazers

Warning: This chapter/one-shot contains some blood and gore, so if you don't want to read that skip over this. But, don't worry, I should have a new one-shot out by next weekend. So hold out till then.

The screech of laser fire dominated the battlefield. Screams of agony, misery, and all out desperation filled the ears of anyone in the nearest vicinity of the battle. The lasers flew by, so fast that you wouldn’t even be able to glimpse them. After you hear a screech from the barrel of the weapon, you're done for.

Vinyl couldn’t think of the last time she’d heard the crackle of gunfire. After the breakthrough in the technology of weapons during the past decade she had made it a self-assigned mission to master the handling of a laser rifle. The many battles she’d been through with the ancestor of the rifle, one with projectiles, played a large part in acting as a base for her learning the weapon.

Squad mates had come and gone throughout her time on the frontlines during the time of projectiles, many fell from fatal wounds to various body parts and some simply couldn’t handle the pressure. Personally, Vinyl had seen one of the worst moments in her career when one of her close friends had lost an eye to a blind fire from one of the enemies. The projectile had lodged in their eye, turning it into mush. The medic had was dispatched and they were carried off, but luckily the projectile hadn’t made it to their brain and was able to be removed.

Vinyl weaved in, out, and through the openings created by the maze of walls. The current mission was to eliminate the large enemy presence, but the catch was that Vinyl had brought along a newbie to the fight. She’d seen the mission as a good opportunity to break the newbie into the flow and horrors of battle. There was only so much studying at the Academy could do to real experience.

Somehow, though, the Private had broken off from the main force. The urban setting did nothing to help whatsoever to aid Vinyl in her search. However, the screech of laser fire away from the main battle did give her a slight direction to go. The problem was the patrols covering the area between her and the Private.

Vinyl slinked between the buildings, occasionally taking out the paired up soldiers out on patrol. But as she seemed to be halfway to the waypoint she set for herself, a screech reverberated from the roof of a miscellaneous building. She didn’t feel the usual vibration from being shot. Somehow a laser shot would hit you and cause vibrations throughout your whole body before the searing pain would kick in. Vinyl never questioned it, she just avoided it.

The sniper fired a few suppressive shots, both equally headache-inducing from the laser screech. But this allowed Vinyl to judge distance and position. After a three count, she popped up from cover, firing at a darkened window, the body of the enemy creating a slightly darker contrast than a regular dark space. A few moments later and there was no fire from the window, Vinyl rushed to the room that the sniper fired from. After carefully clearing it, she restarted her side-mission to rescue the Private.

Vinyl snuck around to the back of where the bulk of the firing seemed to be coming from, which was a large building of about two stories and multiple rooms. She crouched behind the nearest backdoor and inched it open, using the ‘ol “slicing-the-pie” technique. As she neared the end of clearing the first room she spotted an enemy. Every few seconds a screech would echo through the room, this allowed Vinyl to sneak up behind them using the screech as a cover for the sound she made.

The barrel of her gun pressed against the enemy and Vinyl quickly tapped the trigger twice, the screech of the laser muffled by the now burning mixture of flesh and cloth. Vinyl moved from room to room on the first floor, taking out each enemy she encountered with practically the same method.

Vinyl made her way to the stairwell. But paused at the bottom when she heard shouts that had been previously overruled by the noise made by the many weapons firing from the first floor. She unclipped one of the few grenades from her belt, creeping up the stairs slowly as she pulled the pin out. Once she reached the top, she tossed the grenade around the corner.

A loud thump sounded a few second later, followed by cries of confusion and agony. The white walls now painted red told Vinyl all she needed to know about the lessened enemy presence. She quickly picked off the remainders and cleared out the rest of the floor.

The sound of laser fire had stopped altogether. Most likely because of whatever was left of the enemy had retreated from the vicinity. Vinyl made her way to the large space that the enemy had been firing at. The small wall situated in the space was the likely over for the Private.

“Private Octavia, you there?”

A head popped out from the cover, “Yes?”

Vinyl jogged over to behind the cover, “While I will most likely question whatever reason you have behind deserting your post, I’m currently more worried about our positioning in enemy territory.” She grabbed Octavia by the shoulder. “So, all you need to do if cover our six and keep up with me. Okay?”

Octavia nodded.

The pair made their way from the open space to a gap between the buildings. Vinyl open her mouth to give further orders, but the earsplitting shriek of a single laser shot commandeered her attention. Vinyl turned to give Octavia a once-over, finding out quickly by the red seeping out close to her left shoulder that she was hit. Octavia’s eyes were blank, most likely from the bolt hitting her heart directly.

Vinyl drug Octavia behind cover, checking if she really was gone. After a few seconds she deduced Octavia was. Vinyl looked to the sky and shed a single tear, yelling upwards in an all-out mix of emotions. “Noooo!"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“That was fun.”

Vinyl and Octavia walked toward their car, both had just recently come out of the building labeled All for Laser Tag.

Octavia shook her head, “I simply cannot believe you convinced me to go to...whatever that fiasco was. I would think I could handle something other than practicing the cello, but this and...what was it? Some kind of role-playing?”

“It’s called LARPing.” Vinyl said.

“Yes, well, I think you and I must try something a little more tame next time.”

“But did you enjoy it?”

Octavia sighed, “I suppose.”

Author's Note

First off I just want to say that this was done in under twenty four hours. I had wanted to take a break from writing the new one-shot/chapter and took one of the ideas from the comment section. So, this is really just a quick little writing thing I did.

But, if you all liked this short and sweet chapter/one-shot, then I've kinda got a proposal. It should give me an idea of how you all would like my posting schedule to go. Would you like to see:

Aprox. thousand word one-shots almost every weekend, occasionally two thousand-plus word ones.

Two thousand word-plus ones every other weekend, occasionally aprox. one thousand word ones.

Don't care.

Go ahead and tell me which you'd prefer in the comment section.

This was kinda fun to write, so I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I'm about a fifth or so of the way done with my next one so that'll be up soon. If you liked or disliked the fic, go ahead and tell me down in the comment section. I always am up for some feedback. If you have any ideas, go and post them in the comment section.

P.S.

Thanks to SpiritOfDancingFlames for the idea!

Aquiring a Pet

Vinyl Scratch considered herself a dog person. She hadn't actually ever had a dog, or really anything as a pet before. She had heard that rocks were pretty good pets, but based off of the many animals she had met from visiting her friend Fluttershy, she was pretty sure she wanted a dog, or maybe two, possibly all of them. Sadly, there was a slight problem with her hopes and dreams.

Her roommate -- Octavia Philharmonica -- denied any notion or suggestion of having any pet whatsoever in their apartment. Not even goldfish. Though, it seemed fate had smiled upon Vinyl, as she was currently accompanying Octavia to the pet store run by their friend Fluttershy. The occasion was to buy a pet for the music class Octavia had just begun teaching in the premier elementary school of Canterlot.

Vinyl had been skeptical of getting any pet other than a fish, but Octavia was set on making a good first impression with the young musicians. Apparently, bribing them with animals was the best way. Not that she minded that much, it gave her a chance to convince Octavia to get them a pet.

They meandered toward the section of, you guessed it, fish. The walls were covered in fish tanks and filled with dozens of fish of many different types. Fluttershy had tagged along to assist Octavia in her endeavor, but had held back after giving Octavia the needed information to adventure into the sea of fish.

Vinyl shuffled over to Fluttershy, hoping to get her to find Vinyl a dog to show Octavia and convince her to get one. “Psst, Flutters.”

“Eeep!”

Octavia turned around at the sound; Vinyl awkwardly smiled and waved until she returned to looking at the fish. “I need you to do something for me,” she whispered.

Fluttershy nodded and replied in a practiced whisper, “Why, anything for a friend. What do you need?”

Vinyl grinned at her success so far, “Could you maybe grab a dog or cat to show Octavia and I? Just to see if I could convince her to get something. Whatever you think suits us is fine, I trust your judgement.”

Fluttershy nodded again, giving an ever quiet, “Mhmm.” Leaving to do what she agreed to do.

Vinyl sauntered over to where Octavia was. At the moment she was looking at a tank of Angel Fish. “Found something yet?”

Octavia shook her head. “No. I was hoping to get something eloquent, something that represented what I will teach. Not some goldfish, not some practically cardboard cutout.,or whatever the other boring ones are called.”

Vinyl glanced at the Angel Fish, “Why not those, they look pretty fancy to me.”

Octavia sighed, “I suppose. They help the, what is it called now? Aesthetic?”

“Yup.”

“Well, let's get this over with. Fluttershy? I'd like to know about these fish.” She turned around to look for Fluttershy and was greeted with…

A breath full of, well, dog breath.

Octavia coughed, maybe a little more than that. “What is that?”

‘That’ gave a happy bark. Fluttershy petted its head and began to explain, “Well, I figured you two would want a dog the most, because, um, the large dogs, um Huskies to be exact, like Snowball here is super sweet and energetic, but she also likes to be close to you, um, and so,” Fluttershy gestured with her free hand to Octavia. “she’s a great companion for when you two are working on your music.”

Vinyl grinned, “Sweet! Octavia, can we get her?”

Octavia sighed, “Vinyl, you know my rule about pets.”

“At least pet her some. If you don't like that at least, then Fluttershy can take her back and we can leave.” Vinyl gave her the best puppy dog eyes humanly possible.

“Vinyl, it's not like I will immediately like this animal based off-” Octavia paused as she petted Snowball subconsciously, something inside her forcing her hand to feel the fluffiness of the Husky. “Oh my. Wow, you’re so soft.”

Octavia continued petting Snowball, completely ignoring and forgetting about her conversation with Vinyl. Along with any indication that she noticed Fluttershy’s presence. Vinyl was about to say something to get Octavia’s attention, but stopped herself as Snowball snuggled into Octavia’s neck. She watched as Octavia, as close as it could get, melted into Snowball.

“I suppose we could work something out,” Octavia mumbled into Snowball’s fur.

Fluttershy smiled, “Well that's great, I'm sure that Snowball will greatly appreciate having a home.”

Vinyl gave an excited fist pump, “Yes! Alright Flutters, whatta we gotta get for the apartment and Snowball.”

“Well, um, first we should move to the dog aisles of the store.” Fluttershy began moving toward the said aisles once Octavia was done snuggling Snowball.

As Fluttershy led them through the process of gathering the things they needed to give Snowball the best time they could, she found out that it was going to be a lot more work than she originally thought it would be. She had been hoping it would be just buying a pet and bam, that's it. Have a great time with your amazingly awesome new companion.

Apparently, based off what Fluttershy showed the items that Vinyl and Octavia should get, it would require a lot more work on their end then Vinyl would've liked. Not that she wouldn't mind doing all the work required to keep their to-be new pet happy, she wouldn't have minded a self-sufficient pet. But that was just the laziness in Vinyl speaking.

Snowball was a welcome addition to the apartment of Vinyl and Octavia. During the day, while Octavia was practicing her cello, Snowball would provide welcome company and nap next to her while Vinyl slept in. During some of the afternoon and the night, Snowball would accompany Vinyl to the club she worked at. The others that worked there almost immediately became used to her visits and occasionally let her wonder the club during open hours for the clubbers to pet.

Author's Note

So, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter/one-shot. I actually published half of it accidentally, so some of you that caught it got to read some of the story early. But, nonetheless, it was a nice and quick write so I'm pretty happy about that. I should have another one next weekend, then a different one-shot than normal all together. So keep a lookout for those.

-Till the next one

Channel for One

Vinyl and Octavia’s apartment was relatively small compared to other ones, as it only had two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and small living room. With only one TV in their living room, they both agreed that it would most likely create problems from their differing preferences of television shows. Thus, they took a piece of their time and made a schedule for who would watch and when. If one of them had a certain show that would run longer than their time limit, they would try to work it out. The same would apply to anything relating to the television and it's airing shows.

Currently, Vinyl occupied the couch as she was watching a favorite action movie of hers. The time she had left before the set limit was waning and Octavia was finishing up her practice, meaning Vinyl had to finish up her forty minutes of the movie in ten. She figured, more so hoped, that Octavia would let her finish the movie and wait for her own show. If she was lucky, Vinyl thought she might be able to get Octavia to watch it with her. Something that would be an opening for Vinyl to test some of her “moves”.

The clanking of swords interrupted Vinyl’s thoughts as the movie’s plot moved on to the “thrilling” action scene. Vinyl wasn't particularly impressed as the scene took too many “inspirations” from other, more popular, movies and almost plagiarized them. The acting was sub-par at best and she was really just watching it because she had a guilty pleasure in movies that were so bad that they were good.

Octavia on the other hand, had a slight obsession with the old timey movies, ones that were black and white and had horrible audio quality in one package. Occasionally, Vinyl and Octavia would find a movie that had both great action and a pleasing orchestral track. However, the movie that Vinyl was watching did not have that combo.

A few squeaking floorboards announced Octavia’s arrival to the living room, which also implied that Vinyl’s movie time was over. She did hope that she could convince Octavia to let her finish though, as the movie was getting to the worst part, or best in Vinyl’s opinion.

Octavia flopped down on the couch, something out of character and unladylike for her, but she did not seem to care. This could also be deduced by the disheveled hair and long, but loud sigh she produced while she sunk into the couch cushions.

“Vinyl, may I have the remote control?” Octavia stretched her hand out, patiently waiting for said remote to be placed in her grasp.

Vinyl looked to Octavia and back at the television, repeating the action a few times, “B-But it's such a great movie! Come on Tavi, just wait till this finishes!”

Octavia shook her head, “Vinyl, first of all this is a rerun you've already seen a dozen times and no, I'm not exaggerating. Secondly, I haven't seen worse acting since the local drama performers used a cardboard cutout as a replacement for a main performer.”

Vinyl nodded, “That is true, no one could replace Mr. Fluffles.” She paused. “But that's not the point! This is great, bad quality movie content and should be watched multiple times. It's the same thing with those...what do you call them? Fanfictions?”

Octavia’s face turned a light red color, “I thought we agreed never to discuss that.” Vinyl shrugged, causing Octavia to scowl. “Anyway, I have a live concert to watch, Lyra told me that she knew someone that would be participating in it.”

The weight of the remote disappeared from her hand as Octavia snatched the remote away and flipped through the channels. Eventually she arrived at the most boring channel, other than the 24/7 live feed of a weed growing, and turned the volume up slightly. The concert hadn't begun, but was looking like it would at any moment. The camera angles switched around for a bit while the musicians set up, giving Octavia ample time to grab any snacks or drinks that she would need. The feed cut to a close up of the orchestra, signaling the beginning of a lengthy and boring classical music compilation.

“Tavi?”

“Yes, Scratch?”

Vinyl shifted to a more comfortable position, “If this turns out to suck even by your standards, we go back to my stuff?”

“I suppose.”

At first the orchestra delivered and had a relatively abysmal start, at least that's a what Vinyl thought. She couldn't understand what was good and what wasn't in the genre of classical music, she tended to let Octavia be her go to source on all things with it. She turned her head a few degrees, curious as to what Octavia’s reaction was to it.

Octavia had fallen asleep, somehow she also already had a line of drool hanging from her mouth. Vinyl’s mouth dropped open, but she cringed as a shriiing reverberated from the speakers. This most definitely wasn't supposed to happen in an orchestra, even Vinyl knew that. Octavia seemed to agree as she had bolted up from the couch, and her slumber, to clutch her ears and scowl at the TV.

“What kind of person would cause such a monstrous murdering of a beautiful instrument?!” She squinted, trying to pinpoint the culprit.

After that Octavia refused to watch and listen to the concert any longer, allowing Vinyl control of the TV. Vinyl flipped through the channels this time and searched for her movie, only to find that another movie was playing. The start of the concert had taken so long that the movie had ended and letter her with an actual bad movie. She sighed and went to the movie, deciding that she had nothing better to do. But even that couldn't entertain her, she turned to Octavia, who was in the same boat as herself.

“Hey, Octy?”

Octavia turned toward Vinyl in response, indicating Vinyl had her attention.

“Wanna practice kissing?”

“Sure.”

Author's Note

Here's yet another simple one-shot. I have one that I've started and didn't feel like writing, so when I wrote this one I was actually using it as a tool for procrastinating for writing another one-shot. Though, it was short, I hope there was enough for you all to have enjoyed reading it.

Anyway, I hope you all liked this and if you did go ahead and comment down below. If you didn't, well, go ahead and tell me. I like knowing how I could improve my writing.

-Till the next one

Shopping for "Fun"

Vinyl wasn’t sure she was going to make it through the day. She was on the brink of going crazy, and it wasn’t even time for lunch. She had a feeling that she wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a cardboard box, and a pony by the end of the day.

Vinyl’s best friend -- Octavia Philharmonica -- had told her that they would go see a certain action movie if she went to the mall with her. Sadly, Vinyl was too occupied in gloating over the chance to try out her new pick up moves on Octavia during the movies to realize what she had agreed. The next day, Octavia was outside her door, ready to spend --somehow -- a whole day at the largest mall in Equestria.

Vinyl was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes by the time they got to the mall, since Octavia had thought it was, and quote, “a brilliant idea” to leave early at nine-thirty. Her goal was to get there around the time the mall opened, specifically to skip past all the troubles of waiting in line. Vinyl had made it a personal rule to not do anything requiring most motor functions by ten ‘o'clock, Which created a problem with leaving so early. The problem was caused from Octavia being at Vinyl’s door, actually her bedroom door since she had given the other keys to the house to Octavia.

Vinyl hadn’t done anything to be remotely presentable, since she had been sleeping until Octavia had woken her. While it was inconveniencing that she had to get ready, Vinyl was more focused on how she wouldn’t be able to sleep more, but nonetheless, they were out the door around the time Octavia had wanted.

Their first stop was a friend's clothing shop. Now that Vinyl thought about it, she was pretty sure that all their stops were stores manned by their friends. The shop itself featured extravagant clothing, all unique in their own way. It was one of the main reasons that their friend Rarity was so popular as a clothing designer, but Octavia was there for something simple and elegant for her first performance in the Canterlot Orchestra.

“Hello, and welcome to the Canterlot Carousel! If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask!”

Octavia made her way to the counter, waving to Rarity as she came into view. Vinyl stayed back, letting the two do their own thing. “Hi Rarity!”

Rarity’s eyes widened as she realized who her customers were, “Oh, Octavia! What’s the occasion? And Vinyl, dear, how did she convince you to come?”

Vinyl scoffed as she and Octavia made it to the counter, “What? I can't come to this amazing mall, full of extremities, and shop for elegant dresses? Oh, and visit a couple of my friends?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow, “I do believe that you said you despise malls, and they were for, and I quote, “squares?” Also, you mentioned that you would never even go to visit your friends here, only when they weren't at the mall. So, Miss Scratch, what did Octavia offer?”

Vinyl sighed in defeat, “A movie…”

“Well, I'm glad you’re here, nonetheless.” Rarity turned to Octavia, “Now, Octavia, what can I do for you?”

“I was hoping you could help us find some new clothes, something say…up to date? Stylish?” Octavia waved a hand mindlessly, “Whatever you think would work.”

Rarity clapped her hands together in joy, “Why, I'd love to!”

Vinyl looked back and forth between the two, “We? No, no, no, there can't be a we in there.”

Octavia glared at Vinyl, “Would you like to go to the movie, or not?”

“I doooo.” Vinyl sighed, “Fine, what do you have in mind Rarity?”

Rarity grinned, “Oh, I already have some marvelous ideas!”

Rarity proceeded to guide Vinyl into her own changing room, grabbing Octavia to discuss what she should try on. Then, a few moments later, a pile of neatly folded clothes were handed to Vinyl. When she glanced at the attire, her long detested trails of trying on new clothes filled her thoughts. Nonetheless, she put on the chosen clothing.

“It's fine, I guess. Definitely a little more airy than usual, but it'll work for dancing. Actually, it'll flow really well for dancing.” Vinyl checked her new style out in the mirror that was situated out by the entrance to the changing rooms.

“It most definitely compliments your natural body type,” Octavia nodded appraisingly.

“I concur darling, it just shows off all the right places. Simple, yet very likable,” Rarity said.

Vinyl continued to look at the new clothing, admiring how it really did hug all her assets. The white simple v-neck shirt, and short shorts that barely covered her buttocks, let alone held it in. She scratched her chin in mild confusion, wondering how Octavia would have even suggested shorts so, well, short.

She raised a questioning eyebrow at Octavia, but it was Rarity who stepped in and answered, “In case you're wondering, I was the one that chose those adorable shorts.”

Vinyl glanced down at the shorts, “Adorable… yeah.”

Next up was Octavia, and Vinyl had a vague idea of what she wanted to have Octavia try out. A few minutes later, Octavia came out with the clothing she had picked out: a grey tank top, with tight fitting jeans. Nothing too showy, but the tank top gave off enough cleavage for the imagination and eyes, while the jeans completed the look, but also complimented Octavia’s figure.

Octavia shifted her hips side to side, looking at the chosen articles of clothing in the mirror, “I expected something I would never consider wearing Vinyl, but I'm surprised how much you held back. I do like the choices of clothing, though.”

Rarity clapped her hands together in excitement, “Wonderful!” She snapped the tags off the clothes, “They're yours, no need to pay. Consider it a payment for how good you two have been to me over the years, plus, they're just too cute on you two.”

And with that, Octavia and Vinyl went on their way to the next stop on their long trip. After a large amount of refusing and huffing, they grabbed some bags, and threw their previous sets of clothes into them. The two quickly stopped by a pretzel stand to grab lunch, and meander their way throughout the mall. Vinyl munched on her own pretzel, while Octavia listed her ideas of places to go with what time they had left.

“How about the bookstore?” Octavia asked.

Vinyl shrugged, “Sure.”

The bookstore wasn't far, but they both finished their pretzels by then, which was a good thing, as there was no food allowed in the store. They casually walked in, and were greeted by Twilight, the manager and owner of the bookstore.

“Hi girls! How's your day been?” Twilight walked up to the duo, and gave each of them a hug.

“Hello Twilight,” Octavia smiled, “We were gonna grab some books. Any suggestions?”

Twilight’s eyes lit up, “Of course! Oh, Vinyl, you're getting some too?”

Vinyl scratched her chin in thought, “I guess, Dash has kept pestering me about this one series. Something about how realistic, and well-written it is.”

Twilight nodded feverishly, “Yup, totally know what you're talking about. Here, “She began to walk towards one of the aisles of bookshelves. “I'll show you the books.”

Vinyl waved her off, “Nah, we can do that later. Go ahead and get Octavia her stuff.”

Vinyl followed behind Octavia, and Twilight as they made their way to wherever Twilight had in mind. Interestingly enough, it was to the fiction section of the store. She flitted over to the romance section, skimming over the books until she let out an, “Ah!”

Twilight handed a book to Octavia, “This should do as an introduction to this genre, I assume you haven't read books in this?” She gestured to the card with ‘Romance’ plastered across it.

Octavia’s cheeks were tinged red as she replied, “Uh n-no, I have not.”

Twilight grinned, “Great! Alright Vinyl, let's grab that series that Dash reccomended you, yeah?”

Vinyl nodded, “Yup, show the way.”

A few moments later, the trio was in the Adventure section of fiction. Vinyl was skimming through the summary of the first book, “Daring Do, huh? Cover art’s pretty good, not to mention, the story sounds pretty cool. I don't see how this would be realistic, though.”

Twilight shrugged, “It seems that Rainbow Dash is adamant about it being so, maybe ask her about it the next time you see her?”

“Guess I will.” Vinyl began to walk towards the check out, Octavia in tow, “Thanks a bunch Twi!”

Twilight waved them goodbye, “No problem!”

Once both of them had paid, Vinyl and Octavia hefted the now doubled amount of bags they held through the exit of the bookstore. Octavia sighed, and turned to Vinyl.

“What?” Vinyl said, slightly confused.

“I suppose you've earned a movie,” Octavia checked the time. “We have enough time to go see one.”

Vinyl pumped her fists in victory, “Sweet!”