I Will Break The Silence

Vinyl scrolled through the many songs on one of her many playlists as she waited in the lunch line. All throughout the cafeteria the noise of chatting students and bad table manners could be heard. Once she had selected a song to listen to her gaze lifted from the phone to in front of her. Three students stood in front of her with plastic trays in their hands, the closest of which had gold and red hair and a trademark leather jacket.

"Hmm Sunset shimmer is later to the line than usual. Odd, normally she is up here with Twilight and the others but they've already sat down. She thought.

As Sunset reached the front of the line she placed the tray down and grabbed a bowl of fruit before sliding the tray down the line until she was in front of Granny Smith.

"Hey Granny! How you doing today?" She said with a smile.

"Oh just fine deary here you can have a little extra I know you must be hungry as a horse."

As Granny Smith placed a second spoon of mashed potatoes on the girls tray Vinyl noticed Sunset's face go from a smile to a slight frown. Most people wouldn't notice something like that but she was particularly gifted at reading people. It came with years of listening and none of talking. Unfortunately for Vinyl her fixation on the schools one and only magic expert resulted in her missing that there were spilled potatoes on the floor which she promptly stepped in and slipped with the comedic effect one would expect.

Time slowed as it always seems to when one falls and she tried to brace for the impact and the inevitable pain that would come with it, but it never came. When she opened her eye's she was greeted by the blue eyes and red gold hair of her savior. Sunset had looped an arm behind her shoulder and braced her feet stopping Vinyl from falling down. Once she was sure the blue haired girl had her footing back she let go before speaking.

"Whoa watch out there that looked like it would have hurt, you ok?"

Vinyl nodded.

"Wait, Vinyl?"

Another nod though this one came with a surprised expression.

"Hey we never thanked you for your help with the Sirens did we?" She paused for a thoughtful moment. "Come to think of it you have a knack for picking a good time to pitch in, you also helped Rainbow Dash at the Friendship games pep rally right?"

She shrugged her shoulders back with a small smile.

"You don't talk much huh?"

Vinyl produced her IPhone with her free hand and pulled up the text screen to use as an impromptu note pad.

"I can't talk, I'm mute."

Sunsets expression turned to one of horror at her mistake.

"Oh damnit I'm sorry I brought it up, please forgive me!"

"It's fine I'm used to it don't be so hard on yourself."

"Thanks Vinyl I was terrified I'd offended you. Hey do you want to sit with me and my friends? We have space at our table."

Vinyl gave a surprised but enthusiastic nod before falling into step beside sunset. As they walked the aspiring DJ's observational skills kicked in and she noticed a number of things about Sunset. Her jacket while in good condition was clearly worn. The weather had dried and cracked the leather in places, a trait normally only seen in old jackets or ones that had been used frequently in the rain. Anyone with leather clothing knew it ruined the leather to use it in the rain so that could indicate that Sunset didn't have another jacket.

She also noticed that her boots had been touched up in places with marker and the soles of them were well worn. This was easily noticeable to her as she had used this same pair of shoes for the past three years and the only reason they still fit was that she had finished growing early. Last she noticed a small but still present stich in her shirt that was clearly sewn by hand. All these were tell tale signs of something she knew a lot about. Making each pay check stretch as far as it would go.

"She must be hurting for money like me and mom."

Vinyl had been so focused on her observations she barely noticed that they had arrived at the table in time not to crash into it. Quickly sitting down to hide her small misstep. Sunset sat next to her and the pair were soon greeted by five of the other six most popular girls at CHS.

"Hey girls sorry I'm late I got held up at principle Luna's office."

"Your not in trouble are you Sunset?" Asked Fluttershy.

"No nothing like that. She just wanted to ask about the progress me and Twilight were making in the "better understanding of magic" project. Speaking of which where is she?"

Rarity and the others shared a clearly significant glance with one another.

"She and a certain avid reader made a rather important step in their relationship last Friday at one of their study sessions. I think she's going to spend the next few lunch's with him to umm enjoy things a little bit." Said Rarity with a knowing smile.

"You mean they..."

"Shhh Darling! mums the word!"

"No, right, Sorry! I just can't believe they finally got there. I was really starting to wonder if it was ever going to happen!"

"The poor dear was having a hard time explaining things she was wringing her wrists and-"

"An' then Rainbow Dash charged in and guessed it by dropping the F bomb, among other things." Said Applejack.

"I'm gonna throw a Twilight lost her V-"

"Pinkie Pie this is not the sort of thing you make public or throw a party for!" Exclaimed a horrified Rarity clasping her hand over the pink girls mouth.

Vinyl sat as an island in the storm of all this with her eye's darting back and fourth between whoever was speaking and whoever cut them off. Sunset eager to de-rail this subject before it got out of hand broke in the middle of Rarity explaining how this particular act of love their friend had experienced was a private matter and why a party was inappropriate.

"Hey girls this is Vinyl! You might remember her from the battle of the bands or some of her other performances?"

"Oh but of course! Where are my manners? How wonderful to meet you more properly darling!" Said Rarity in her trademark manner.

"Howdy!" Said Applejack taking her hand in a crushingly strong shake.

"Hey the DJ from the Pep rally! Awesome!" Rainbow Dash yelled fist pumping.

"Oh maybe I can throw a welcome to our school's lunchroom table party for Vinyl! Said Pinkie with a burst of confetti coming from seemingly thin air.

Fluttershy simply waved with a soft smile as Vinyl, barely recovered from the barrage of welcomes waved a reply before pulling out a notepad to write out a proper one.

"Thanks for letting me sit with you guys, and thanks for the welcome."

"Well why wouldn't we be happy ta see ya suger cube? We might not have stopped the Sirens without your help! We owe ya a lot more than a place to sit at lunch."

"Thanks but this is more than enough, I get tired of sitting by myself sometimes so...thanks!

"Why do you sit alone?" Asked the quietest of the bunch.

"I don't really have any friends that go to this school so I just keep to myself mostly."

"WHAT!" Burst out the pink one after reading the reply.

Vinyl felt hands on her shoulders as pinkie reached out and shook her making her glasses slide to a lopsided position.

"How can this have happened! A person with no friends to sit with at lunch and I didn't know! We have to throw you a party and get you lots and lots of friends stat!"

"Pinkie Pie let her go you'll strangle the poor dear!"

"Oops...sorry."

Vinyl took a moment to catch her breath and recover before scribbling down a sloppy "Sall' good!."

"Darling if I may ask why do you write instead of speak?"

Sunset was about to interject but Vinyl put a hand on her shoulder before shaking her head with a smile. Sunset seemed to get the message and sat back down as Vinyl tor off the used up sheet of paper and began writing down the answer.

"I haven't been able to talk since I was born, it's got something to do with my genetics is all the doctor could tell me."

"Oh my we're sorry to hear that." Rarity paused a moment before putting a hand over her mouth and correcting herself. "I mean read not hear because-"

Vinyl raised her hand with a smile gently shaking her head from side to side. Looking back at the group of girls across from her she pointed at them then herself before giving a double thumbs up. They all gave a collective sigh of relief as the DJ began to scribble out a sentence.

"It's ok I know it takes some getting used to in order to talk to someone like me. It's pretty hard to offend me so don't worry about a slip up every now and then. We're cool."

"That's very good of you Vinyl." Said Sunset putting a hand on her shoulder.

She simply smiled and shrugged.

"well I think I speak for all of us when I say we'd be more than happy to have you sit our table Vinyl, if you want to of course." Said Sunset.

Vinyl smiled broadly at that.

"All my friends call me V!"

/l---)O(---/l\

The final bell. The sound that almost every high school student in history waits for every single weekday. That was the sound that all of CHS heard at this moment and it took mere seconds for the halls to be filled with students running to their lockers, cars and the bus so they could go home and do as they pleased. Octavia Melody a woman of punctuality, poise and precision found herself in a difficult situation. She had been re-stringing her cello and lost track of time while doing so and as a result the bell had caught her off guard.

By the time she had packed her cello and made it outside to the bus stop the vehicle was long gone. She released an exasperated sigh of frustration while tugging on her hair. Hard enough to relieve some stress but not enough to pull out strands. Once she was calm again she sat down on the bench and pulled out her phone. A quick text revealed that her mother was not going to be able to pick her up which meant that unless she wanted to wait two hours for the next scheduled city bus arrival she had to walk home...with her cello.

As she put a hand to her forehead in frustration someone entered her peripheral vision causing her to look up. She was greeted by a note pad.

"Are you ok? You look upset."

"Oh I'm fine dear I just need to figure out how to lug this great thing home by myself." Replied the grey skinned girl.

"Don't you take the bus?"

"Yes I normally would but I missed it today, I was tuning my cello you see and I lost track of time. Now I need to find a way to get this big hunk of wood home with me and I live ten blocks away."

Vinyl had put away her notepad by the time Octavia had finished saying "missed it", and was now shouldering her backpack so that it was supported by both shoulders. Much to the astonishment of the Raven haired cellist Vinyl picked up her cello and gestured down the road in the direction of the apartments she walked by everyday.

"Are you...? No I couldn't ask you to carry my cello all that distance for me! I'll manage I'm sure."

The DJ took a few steps foreword and waved her hand in a follow me motion.

"But I..."

Vinyl just smiled and gestured for her to follow again finally the young woman complied.

"This is most decent of you but if it gets to be too heavy please let me know alright?"

She gave a thumbs up with her spare hand.

"You won't be going out of your way will you?"

She shook her head.

"Might I ask your name? I see you walk by my home often but I never asked."

Vinyl pulled out her phone from her left pocket and picked out the text screen. With her thumb she typed her reply.

"My name is Vinyl Scratch."

"Thank you for your help miss Scratch, I'm sorry you must find it rude of me to not know your name despite seeing you go passed my house often for four years. Not to mention after you offered to help me get my cello home."

"It's ok I'm happy to help and it's no trouble, I go passed the Crystal Apartments every time I walk home so it's on the way."

"Still at least for today you're my hero."

Vinyl tried desperately to hide her growing blush and even harder not to go into a fantasy world where she was saving Octavia from some high up tower with naught but a sword and a shield. The thing she fought hardest to not think about was the idea of a hero's reward for saving her.

"Are you alright dear? You look a bit flushed."

Vinyl quickly shook her head before dry swallowing and nodding in reply.

"Well when we reach my place I'll be sure to get you something to drink as a thanks for helping me, perhaps a snack as well?"

Vinyl shook her head no with a small smile but her stomach rumbled loudly causing her face to get redder. Octavia giggled before speaking up again.

"Dear me you must be hungry, don't worry about trying to be polite and proper thanks is in order and if you are thirsty, hungry or both it's the least I can do to say thank you."

With a quiet sigh Vinyl nodded in defeat. Besides if she said yes it meant she would get to spend time with Octavia...at her house...Alone...where her bed was-"Damnit Vinyl get your head out of the gutter and stop fanaticizing!"

/l---)O(---/l\

As Vinyl carefully carried the cello case through the door Octavia followed close behind closing the door after them. The blue haired girl soon found herself amazed at the sheer size of the apartment and the fine finish on the walls and woodwork. In the main room hung numerous paintings and a gas powered fireplace, the windows were crystal clear and there were even stairs leading to a second floor of the enormous apartment.

"You can set the cello down in the corner when your done looking around dear."

Vinyl started in place before complying as Octavia opened the chrome finished fridge and withdrew a tray of egg salad sandwiches cut into triangles. Once placed on the kitchen island she returned to the storage unit and produced a pitcher of iced tea. Upon turning back around she saw that Vinyl was already on her third sandwich and seemed to be eating hungrily.

"My you were hungry weren't you?"

Vinyl swallowed before typing out an apology on her phone.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to be rude!"

"Oh it's fine dear don't worry, help yourself while I get some glasses for the tea." As she turned her back to fetch the glasses she realized something. "She's awfully thin for someone who eats so ravenously, It must be all the walking she does."

Vinyl had finished half the sandwiches by now and was forcing herself not to swallow the rest. the truth of the matter was that today had been the most she had been able to eat all week. She got lunch on weekdays due to the schools system paying for her but more often than not there was no breakfast at home towards the end of the month and dinner was even rarer. nights that she went to bed full we're uncommon to say the least. Octavia carefully poured out two glasses of tea at exactly the same height before pushing one towards her guest who drank three gulps in quick succession.

"I say you must have been thirsty! I'll pour you a bit more shall I?"

She prepared to pour more of the beverage but stopped when Vinyl placed her left hand on top of the glass and wrote a sentence down with her right.

"Don't worry this is enough."

"Oh, alright then."

The two sat in silence for a moment as they both sipped their tea. The DJ pushed the tray of sandwiches towards Octavia but she promptly pushed them back and told her to go ahead as she rarely ate them. The blue haired girl persisted but was beaten when the cellist refused to hear contrary. Finally Octavia broke the silence with a question.

"Why is it you don't speak if I may ask?"

Vinyl swallowed the sandwich she was chewing before looking down at the table. For a minute the raven haired girl thought she had offended the other woman but she looked back up and producing the note pad again wrote the answer to her question.

"I was born without properly developed Larynx so I can't make most of the sounds needed to speak. I can make sounds like f,s or sh but that's it, I can only make those because they use the tongue and lips instead of the Larynx to be pronounced but since I can't make vowel sounds I can't talk."

"I'm sorry to hear that Vinyl and I'm sorry asked you such a personal question I shouldn't have intruded."

"It's fine Octy, I wouldn't have told you if I didn't want to."

"Octy?" Asked the cellist with an amused look. Vinyl's face paled as she franticly scribbled a reply.

"Sorry I was just short handing! If that's not cool than I'll write your full name next time!"

"Vinyl dear it's fine, I actually kind of like it. It has a certain ring to it, Octy...it's nice."

The DJ gave a silent sigh of relief before glancing at the clock on the wall and seeing the time had gone to four thirty.

"I should go, I need to get home and clean up some before my mom gets back from work."

"Oh alright then, have a safe trip home dear."

She gave a thumbs up.

"Oh and Vinyl?"

She paused at the door.

"Thank you for being so kind today, If you want you can sit with me and my friends at lunch I'll save you a spot."

The DJ smiled and blushed a bit before nodding and waving as she left through the door. As she walked down the steps to the street she found herself smiling happily, for a bad start to the day it had turned out pretty good after all.