Little Musicians

Chapters

First Day at School
Recess
New Friends

First Day at School

A plain red car drove down the streets past various different buildings of different sizes, painted in a wide array of colours. On the outside, there were no decorations, bumper stickers, or hood ornaments of any variety that made the car stand out as its paint glistened in the morning sun, shining off into the windows all around it as tiny rocks slid underneath the turning tyres.

The seats inside of the car were lined with plain black leather, with two headrests poking out of the front seats. A male with plain white skin and black hair was driving the car with a grey-skinned and purple-haired woman acting as his front-seat passenger. The two of them wore gold rings with a single diamond around the ring fingers on their right hands. Both of them had bags beneath their chairs that they could easily reach for once their journey came to an end.

Behind the two grown-ups were a pair of elementary school girls, both sitting by the doors with seatbelts gently strapped around their bodies. The one behind the woman had grey skin of her own but had chocolate hair tied up into a bun on top of her head. She wore a red coat with a brown skirt and wore two small red shoes with brown socks poking out of them. She had a cello case sitting next to her and casually peaked out of the window, watching all of the buildings pass her by.

The girl sitting next to the grey-skinned one was vastly different in a number of aspects. Her skin was white with bright blue and aqua hair that had no unique style and just simply hung down her forehead and back. She had a bright pink and yellow shirt on with dark green shorts and indigo shoes that had pink soles on the bottom. Unlike the girl next to her, her feet were pointed out and almost touched the back of the man's seat. She gave them a few shakes as she waited for the car to reach its destination, humming a little tune to herself as the vibrations of the moving vehicle continued to massage her butt.

"Can't believe that it's your first day of school together, girls." The man looked at both of the kids sitting in the back seat through the mirror in front of him, giving them both warm smiles as he watched both of them look up at him. "Well, technically, you used to go to Ponyville Elementary anyway, but this is the first time you're actually going together as real sisters."

"Step-sisters, Remix." The woman raised her finger and turned her head back to look at both of the children. She sighed and reached her arms out, placing her hand on the girl with grey skin. "Now I know that things between me and your dad were a bit... unsavoury, Octavia, but I don't want everyone in school to know that your mommy and daddy had a falling out that led to a big divorce. For now, I just want you to stay as beautiful as you already are, alright?"

"I don't know, mother..." Octavia put her hand to her head and felt her body grow cold as the memories flashed back into her mind. She could already hear the sounds of her previous father arguing with her mother echo in her ears as she began to drift off to her dark and hollow fantasies. "Are you sure that we're going to live well with Mr. Remix? He's a bit weird, If I do say so myself."

"Hey, chill, step-sis." The white-skinned kid looked over and held Octavia's hand rubbing it gently as she looked into her eyes. "It's fine. No, really, it is. You and I have always been best friends, right?" she asked, smiling as she patted her on the back. "Well now, we can be friends like this all the time! There's nothing really much to be sad about when you've got someone like me to help, right?"

"Thank you, Vinyl, but I'm still a bit shaken up from that divorce." Octavia inhaled and exhaled through her nose as she turned to face her step-sister, sandwiching her hand as she looked into her eyes. "I know that you and Mr. Remix are going to try, but right now, I just need some time to think."

"Hey, hey, I get it." Vinyl pushed her hands out towards Octavia and brushed her hand through Octavia's hair and watched her turn back towards the window. "But just remember that I'm always here if you wanna play and forget about your troubles."

"Thank you for being so supportive of her, Vinyl, but Octavia is right; she and I have had a few... issues trying to cope with the divorce of me and Fortissimo." The woman sighed and clutched the ring on her finger, looking out towards the road ahead. "But I think that it's great that you and your father are welcoming us with open arms. We need all of the comfort we can get after what we've had to go through."

"Symphony, it's best not to think about those kinda things too much." Remix turned down another street, replacing the buildings on the left hand side of the car with a wide open field and a massive building in the middle of it. "Let's just think about the future for now. And what better place to do it than right here?" He slightly lifted his foot off of the accelerator, slowing the vehicle down. "Take a look to your left, girls. That there is Canterlot High. One of the best—and only high schools—in the town. And soon, both of you will be going there instead of school."

"Canterlot High?" Symphony looked out at the high school and gave it a quick frisk, examining both the institute itself and the students that were walking into it. "Well, maybe that place would suit Vinyl, but my little Octavia has a place in Crystal Prep Academy for sure."

"Sure, you could go to CPA. If you had a few hundred thousand dollars in your bank account." Remix blew a small raspberry into his lips and drove past the statue. "But CHS is still just as good—and more affordable. Octavia, Vinyl, better look now, because we're gonna go soon and get you two to school."

Without another word, both of the kids turned their heads and looked out of the other car window to see them just catch the sides of Canterlot High as the car sped up and drove away. From their brief preview, however, they had seen a few teenagers talking together as they all filed into a room, ready to learn whatever lessons would be thrust unto them.

"We'll be arriving at Ponyville Elementary shortly, girls, so I'd say that now's a good time for you to get your bags." Remix nodded as he continued down the road, passing by a few more blocks and streets as his eyes focused on the road again. He turned a corner and went down one more turn, turning the vehicle to the left and down another path.

Both Vinyl and Octavia obeyed Remix's words and reached down beneath them, tugging on the seatbelts as they collected their bags from the floor of the car. Both of the girls had large backpacks that were capable of holding everything that they would need to survive a day of school without lack of hydration, nutrients, or writing utensils, but Octavia's was brown and had golden locks on the straps while Vinyl's was green and had a simple zipper holding it together.

In comparison to Canterlot High from earlier, Ponyville Elementary was much smaller in comparison, with only one floor but still enough rooms for every pupil. A single pathway led up to the school with a playground just branching out from behind it. Plain windows were dotted on the sides that showed basic classrooms with desks and chalkboards inside while a single flag flew from the flagpole by the driveway.

Given that there were other parents leaving their students at the elementary school as well, Remix had to parallel park to even attempt to get both his daughter and step-daughter out on time. He stopped in the middle of the road and squeezed in between a pair of cars, narrowly avoiding bumping or scratching them with his own as he managed to slide into the gap.

"Alright, you two, I'll walk you both in today and take you to your classes." Symphony opened up her door and walked out of the car before reaching to open the back doors. She opened it wide and watched Octavia climb off slowly before Vinyl leapt out afterwards. "Now, I hope that you two behave nicely today. Study hard, play well with your new friends, and please, don't bring up that me and Fortissimo broke up. That's something that I would much rather leave for the parent's evening at the end of the month."

"Are you sure that I'm ready for all this, mother?" Octavia slung her backpack around her shoulders, picking up her cello case again once she was done with the task. "What if one of the other kids start to tease me because you and father broke up?"

"If they do, then I'll have a long talk with their own parents and settle things straight." Symphony squatted down and put both of her hands on Octavia's shoulders. "Now listen, Octavia. You're always going to be my baby girl no matter what happens. And I know that this whole thing's a bit of a shock to the system, but Remix is right. We can't focus on the past for now. It's gone now and we have to think about the future." She stood back up and held out her hand. "Now come on. Be a big girl for mother and walk with me and Vinyl to your class."

"I'll be right here for you too, Octy." Vinyl held onto Octavia's other hand as she took her mother's hand. She was still able to hold onto her cello case even when Vinyl's hand clasped onto her's. "And if some big, mean bully decides to push you around, I'll be right there to save you. Best friends forever, right?"

"Y-yeah. Best friends forever..." Despite what her mother had said and that she was in the comfort of one of her only friends, Octavia's mind was still wracked with discord as she struggled to process the situation at hand. All of her life, she had lived in the care of both of her parents, but now that one of them was gone forever, it was as if half of her memories had been ripped out of her mind and heartlessly torn up right before her eyes.

Octavia, Vinyl, and Symphony walked into Ponyville Elementary, passing by a nimiety of lockers as the three of them passed through the children inside. Their footsteps reverberated through the halls but were vastly overshadowed by the sudden outburst of the school bell which signalled the end of the free periods and the beginning of the day's lessons.

Before the three of them could make it down another hallway, a woman with bright pink skin and slightly darker hair with a smiling flower hairclip walked up to them wearing what could only be described as a picnic blanket for a skirt. Her shoes were golden with open tops held together by a long nylon lace. She held a small paperclip under her arms as she looked down at both Vinyl and Octavia.

"Oh! Principal Cheerilee. I wasn't expecting to see you today." Symphony let go of both Vinyl and Octavia as she walked up to the pink woman. "Is there anything I need to know? Different timetables because of my recent re-marriage?"

"Symphony Orchestra, there's no need to worry about this." Cheerilee plucked her clipboard from her arm and held it out against her chest. "The city council already told me about what happened with you and Fortissimo. And let me be the first to say that I'm really sorry for your loss." Her smile withered into a small frown as she pulled Octavia close to her and tousled her hair. "It must be hard for poor little Octavia here, having to spend her life without her dad."

"Yes. But Mr. Remix is doing his best to try and fill the void that Fortissimo left when he tried to take my family's prize cello and sell it to try and get a harpsichord for his orchestra." Symphony looked down at Vinyl Scratch and motioned for her to step forward. She watched the white-haired child come close and give Octavia a hug. "He's got a lovely daughter, you know. Vinyl's really been doing her best to play with Octavia and keep her busy for the most part, but we've still been scarred by that jerk's brutish attempt at improving his craft."

"Well, it's good to know that both Vinyl and Octavia are getting along. After the break-up, I imagine that Octavia could really use some friends to have her back when the going gets rough." Cheerilee smiled down on the two children and looked both of them in the eyes. "And because they've both been doing well together, I should hope that them being together in the same class should bode well. So, starting today, both Octavia and Vinyl's classes are going to be the same. I hope that this way, they can learn together and feel comfortable, with or without making new friends."

"Did you hear that, Octy? We're gonna be in the same classes from now on!" Vinyl beamed from ear to ear. "Won't that be great?"

"Yes. I suppose..." A small grin crept onto Octavia's face as she was met with Vinyl's enthusiasm. Craning her head up again, she looked at Principal Cheerilee again. "So, where do we start?"

"Follow me, you two." Cheerilee took the hands of both Octavia and Vinyl as she slid the clipboard underneath her arm again. With both of the kids safely in her grasp, she walked down the corridor. "And don't worry about being late. It's the first day of a new school year. Plus, I've already informed the teachers about you and Vinyl being step-sisters. I've also said that they're not allowed to tell anyone else, just to keep you safe, Octavia."

"Thank you, Miss Cheerilee." Octavia smiled as she held on tighter and turned the corner towards her first class. Just as she was about to turn away, she waved goodbye to Symphony, who proceeded to walk out of the building. "I'll see you soon, mother."

Cheerilee lead both Octavia and Vinyl into a new room where there was already a lesson in progress, with two empty seats in the front of the room ready to be occupied by both of the children. Every other desk had been taken and the lesson was already being drawn up on the chalkboard once the door had been opened. Silence had fallen between the teacher and his students as Octavia and Vinyl walked inside and took their seats.

"Have a good day, you two. And welcome back to Ponyville Elementary." Principal Cheerilee gave both Octavia and Vinyl a caring smile as she blew them kisses and walked off, shutting the door behind her.

"Ah. You must be Octavia and Vinyl Scratch." A tall man with brown hair and a plain jacket walked up to the two of them, watching as they fished their pencil cases out of their bags and laid them down on the table before plucking out their notebooks as well. "It's nice to see you here. I hope that my lessons teach you well. We wouldn't want to have a student who falls behind the others, right?"

"No we wouldn't, Mr..." Octavia looked up at the man and just stared at him bug-eyed.

"Hooves. Mr. Hooves." He shook her hand before moving on to shake Vinyl's hand. "It's very nice to meet the both of you. And, might I say that both of you are really cute? Seriously, don't ever change, both of you."

"Thanks, mister!" Vinyl almost shouted as she put her arms down on the desk and prepared for the first lesson of the day.

"You're welcome, Vinyl." Mr. Hooves flashed a grin at her. "Now then, class. For today's first lesson, we're going to be looking at one of the most important things in the history of the human race." He wrote down the subject matter of the lesson on the chalkboard and performed a slashing motion that put a giant line beneath it. "Time. More importantly, how to keep track of it and the simple basic lessons." he rubbed the board clean and began to write the first part of his lesson. "Now then, I hope that all of you are getting all of this down, because I'm going to be testing you on it afterwards."

As Mr. Hooves proceeded to explain how time works and how the students could keep track of it, Octavia drifted off to the realm of her own thoughts as she began to copy his explanations with pictures. Through her own inner turmoil, she almost ended up drawing an oval instead of a circle for the clock face, but was still able to put down the notches and hours that they represented. As she got her clock finished, she looked over to Vinyl, who was hastily drawing her own picture of a misshapen circle that didn't connect but was still close enough to being full and complete. She watched as she put out twelve more bumps to tell the time and looked up as Mr. Hooves droned on.

Octavia felt the weight of the world pressing down on her mind as she looked up and watched as Mr. Hooves told everyone about the small and big hands, and how they would move around the clock and in which way. Everything that she had heard, said, and been told was now swirling around her mind like a tornado of thoughts, with each one giving another scenario to ruminate on as she tried her hardest to focus on the lesson. Just as she felt like she was about to snap, she looked over and saw Vinyl stick her tongue out while her pencil glided over the paper, making the best lines that she could. Smiling at her best friend turned step-sister, all she could do was smile and come back to reality as her mind cleared. Even when it felt like the world could be coming to an end for her, she knew that Vinyl Scratch would always be her friend, come what may. With that solace now replacing the former maelstrom of doubt in her mind, she went on with her work.

Recess

The school bell rang, prompting the students to flood outside and cheer loudly as they charged towards the playground. Little boys and girls of all shapes, sizes, and colours stampeded out onto the grassy fields and made their way towards the climbing frames, see-saws, slides, and other playground equipment with their arms flailing around above their heads.

Octavia and Vinyl were the last ones out and trailed behind the rest of the pupils. Vinyl had a giddy smile on her face, but Octavia kept calm and clutched her cello case tightly against her chest, so as not to shake it around too much and potentially damage it. Both of them were almost immediately taken by the bright colours and beguiling shapes.

"Man, I've missed this place!" Vinyl exclaimed as she took in a big sniff of air and looked around the playground. "So, what should we do first, Tavi? Wanna go on the slides? Climb for a bit? Maybe you'd like a go on those teeter-totters over there. Whatever you're game for, I am too!"

"Vinyl, thank you for the offer, but right now, I'd just like to get a bit of cello practice in, if that's alright with you." Octavia held up the cello case and coddled it gently, rubbing the leather with her fingers.

"Aw, c'mon, Tav's." Vinyl gave Octavia a few pats on the back and slung her arm around her shoulders. "Recess is all about playing and having fun—not sticking your head into your studies."

"Vinyl, I don't think you seem to get the point of practice." Octavia pulled Vinyl's arm off of her upper body and walked away towards a nearby bench. "Now, look. I'm not going to spend the whole of recess playing on my cello, but I would at least like to make sure that I don't fall behind or forget anything mother taught me."

"A'ight. Suit yourself, I guess." Vinyl shrugged and went off to play with the other children.

As Octavia went over towards a quieter area of the playground, she sat down, crossed her knees, and laid her cello case down by her side. Clicking the latches open, She opened the top of the case and pulled out her cello and the bow to play it with. The wooden frame glistened in the sunlight as she adjusted the strings and made them tighter. Once she was suitable with how she had tuned her instrument, she propped it against herself and pointed it upwards as she retrieved some folded up sheet music from within the case.

Octavia propped her head back against the wall and used four small rocks to hold down the sheet music so that it wouldn't get blown away while she played. She took in some air through her nostrils and exhaled through her mouth as she held her bow firmly in her hand and pressed her cello by herself.

She began to glide the bow against the strings and play the song as instructed. Some notes were longer than others, while other segments of the song asked that she play a number of different notes in a short span of time. Determined not to miss a beat, she continued with the song and played the cello accordingly, making long and short notes as dictated on the paper.

The music that she played not only coiled around her ears but began to slightly spread out towards the edge of the playground. Despite the low pitch of the cello, the song still had a calming and soothing tone to it, like a song that she would've heard her mother play to put her to bed when she had been through a long day. Every octave, clef, and beamed note flowed smoothly with every movement that Octavia made and not one part of it seemed out of place.

When she came to the final piece of the song, she began to play the notes shorter and shorter, eventually holding the last notes for as long as she could so as to give a peaceful climax to the song. After she finished, she stood up and bowed before picking her sheet music up from the ground and putting it into the case before slipping the cello back in as well.

"That was a really beautiful song."

When Octavia stood back up and held her case up, she was met by a girl wearing a pink dress and sneakers. She had a light-blue top with yellow frills around the arm holes and had a tender smile as she gave a small round of applause. She was holding a soft teddy bear in her right hand with black buttons for eyes, while bracelets could be seen on both of her arms. Her hair was pink and her skin was cream-coloured.

"Thank you," said Octavia. "I learned how to play it with the help of my mother's teachings."

"She must've been a really good mom then." The girl gave Octavia an innocent smile and fluttered her eyelids. "My name is Sweet Heart. It's nice to meet you." She held her arm out, gesturing a handshake.

"My name is Octavia Melody." She said, shaking Sweet Heart's hand slowly. "Nice to meet you too. It's good to know that there's someone who appreciates music just as much as I do."

"Me and Teddy love music." Sweet Heart nodded and brought the bear to her hip. "Whether we're playing it or making it, we just really, really like it. Even when it's being played like that." She looked around to see if anyone else was looking, then took a few steps forward and leaned into Octavia's ear. She whispered, "Hey, um... do you wanna play with me?"

"Play with you?" Octavia blinked a few times while standing completely still. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, it is recess after all, and kids our age usually play like this outside." Sweet Heart smiled as she showed Octavia the kids on the apparatus, all laughing and talking to each other. "And while I do like your music, I think you should learn to play a little bit more. Have some fun."

"Fun?" Octavia tilted her head and scratched at her chin as she watched the children playing and running around. "Running around and acting like Vinyl Scratch is fun for them?"

"You know Vinyl?" Sweet Heart's eyes lit up. "She's amazing! I've never seen so much energy in a kid before. She's so much fun to play with at recess!"

"Yes... I happen to know Vinyl." Octavia began to sweat at her forehead as she pondered whether or not she should continue on how she and Vinyl were step-sisters. "She's... a rather interesting girl."

"Well, what are we waiting for! Let's go and play with her!" Sweet Heart took Octavia's hand and began to run towards the rest of the pupils in the playground.

"H-hey! Wait!" Was all that Octavia could say before she was yanked from her position and dragged off in Sweet Heart's grip.

After a quick jog across the grass and cobbled ground, both Sweet Heart and Octavia arrived at a climbing frame with different levels, a secret grotto, and another slide poking out of the top level. All of the pillars holding it up were painted blue, with steel bolts wired into green frames underneath to keep it from collapsing on itself.

"Vinyl! Vinyl! Vinyl!" Sweet Heart ran up to Vinyl, waving her teddy bear around in her left hand.

"Sweet! What is it?" Vinyl jumped down from the frame and landed by Sweet and Octavia. She looked at the both of them and cracked a small smile. "Oh, hey, Octy! Did you finish practising?"

"Yes. I suppose." Octavia cast a small glare at Sweet Heart as she brushed her hands down her legs.

"Well, it's good to have you here, Tavs. Let me show you around." Vinyl held Octavia's hand and walked her into the climbing frame. "Just come up these stairs and you'll see the whole playground. Seriously, you get a great view from up here."

"A view? What kind of view do you mean?" Octavia followed after Vinyl, ducking underneath the ceilings of the climbing frame as she ascended the spiral.

"Oh, you're gonna love it." Vinyl gave Octavia a smile and patted her on the chest as she burst out into the light again.

Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody climbed out onto the top of the climbing frame and walked on the roof towards a wall. Following them closely were Sweet Heart and a couple of boys. To them, the whole space around them was one open balcony with both stairs and a slide leading back down to the ground.

"There it is." Vinyl walked over towards the small wall and put her arm on the edge as she looked off the edge towards the building. "Doesn't it look great, Octavia?"

"Hmm..." Octavia gave herself some time to admire the scenery. Despite the fact that it was just their school and some of the students beneath them, it was as if she was looking at a piece of art with how both the nearby buildings and sky complimented what she was seeing. "I suppose that it does have some class."

"Class? I just think that it looks good." Vinyl turned towards Octavia and rubbed up to her. "Y'know, it's recess. You should know how to act more like a kid, not like your mom."

"But how, Vinyl?" Octavia turned towards Vinyl and threw her arms out. "I don't know how to act like a kid. All my young life, I was taught how to talk, act, and be a lot like my mother. Granted, I started at the age of five, but I'm still not like you or these other kids. I don't really know how you and your friends seem to act, so I just spend my time practising my cello." She showed the case off to Vinyl and the other kids.

"Well, Octavia, if you don't know how to act like a kid, I suppose that we could teach you how to be one." Sweet Heart tapped on Octavia's back and watched her turn her body to face her. "First, being a kid shouldn't be about learning how to play the cello at recess." She heard a few giggles emanate from the other kids around her. "Second of all, just go with what you're doing."

"Go with what I'm doing?" Octavia tilted her head. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"Tavi, let me show you what Sweet means." Vinyl walked Octavia towards the slide at the end of the frame. "The slide. This is probably the funnest thing on the playground. If this doesn't teach ya something, then I dunno what will."

"It looks a bit... odd." Octavia examined the curvy slide that curled around the base of the structure and ended at a grassy patch. "How do you have fun with these things?"

"Like... this!" Vinyl pushed Octavia down the slide, hearing her scream loudly as she careened down it. "Woo-hoo! Comin' down!" Vinyl jumped in after her and slid on her back, lifting her arms back as she shot down the tube.

After a brief trip down the slide, Vinyl popped out of the other end, seeing Octavia hanging over the edge. Because of the velocity that Vinyl had picked up, she ended up slamming into Octavia and knocking her onto the ground before they both rolled around for a few moments before coming to a stop with grass all over themselves.

"Woo! What a rush!" Vinyl raised her hands as she jumped back onto her feet and pulled Octavia up. "Don't you think, Octy? Was that a fun ride or what?"

"Ride? You risked breaking my cello!" Octavia opened her case and examined her cello, looking to see if the trip had damaged it. After a brief examination, she could see that the instrument had sustained no damage and was still in pristine condition. "Phew. You're lucky that cello cases are built to withstand tumbles like that. Next time you want to push me down something, let me know beforehand, alright?"

"Yeah, but let's get real for a moment, Tavs. You liked it, didn't you?" Vinyl closed up the case and handed it back to Octavia. "I mean, potential damage aside, it at least woke you up and blew the cobwebs away, right?"

"Well..." Octavia watched as Sweet Heart and the two other boys popped out of the slide's exit, along with a few other pupils that she hadn't seen climb up. "I did give me quite an adrenaline rush. Not sure whether I'd consider it fun given how you pushed me down it, though."

Vinyl groaned and slapped her forehead. "See, Tavi, you're just a bit too tight. When you're a kid at recess, you just laugh these things off and continue playing, not just talking about how your things were nearly broken. Everyone else does it." She pointed around and showed how everyone else was wrapped up in their playtime and games with big smiles plastered onto their faces. "Now c'mon. Let's try something else."

"Something el—"

"Tag! You're it!" Vinyl slapped Octavia on the chest and started to run off. "C'mon, Octavia, you know this game. We played it all the time back at dad's house!"

"A game of Tag? Now that, I can't refuse." Octavia gave a small grin of her own as she tightened her hands into fists and chased after Vinyl as fast as she could, shaking her case back and forth as she chased after her. "Get back here, you little scamp!"

"Yeah! That's more like it! Lose yourself in the game, Tavi!" Vinyl smiled as she ran ahead and saw as Octavia closed the distance on her. "Catch me if you can!"

"Oh, I plan to." Octavia smirked as she gathered speed and pursued Vinyl throughout the playground.

As Octavia and Vinyl exchanged the role of "It" between each other with each touch, they soon found themselves both laughing and giggling just like the rest of their peers. Slowly but surely, everything around them seemed meaningless as they let themselves get engrossed deeper and deeper into their game.

After a while, Vinyl began tapping more and more kids, roping them into the game as well. Sweet Heart was the first one that she tapped, then a few other girls with varying hairstyles and clothing choices, and even some of the boys that were littered around the playground. For both her and Octavia, their game of tag grew over time until almost all of the playground was in on it, playing with them and all of the others as they all frolicked and ran through the morning sun, trying to avoid the role of "It," or shift it on to someone else.

Octavia was about to tap Vinyl again one last time, but as soon as she landed the blow and said, "Tag! You're it, Vinyl!" The school bell rang out, attracting the attention of all of the students.

"Aww, dang it!" Vinyl swung her arm in front of her as she and the other students began to walk back inside the building. "Well, looks like you win, Tavi. This time at least." As she climbed up the small flight of stairs back into the building, she looked at Octavia and gave her a small grin as she bumped her arm against her friend's shoulder. "So, how was that? Fun, wasn't it?"

"Oh, Vinyl. You know how you and I love a good game of Tag now and again to wake us up." Octavia's smile still lingered as she strode past the corridors and lockers that covered the walls. "If this is what those kids call fun, then I actually quite like it."

"Yeah, it's great! And it's not just Tag that gets these kids so happy and playful at recess." Vinyl walked with a spring in her step as she approached her locker and began to open it. "There's Hide-and-Seek, Red Light Green Light, using the slides, all kinds of things get us like this."

"It must be great for them all then." Octavia opened up her locker and slipped her cello case into it and opened her backpack. She fished out a notebook and her pencil case before closing the locker up again. "Y'know, I have to thank you again, Vinyl. That was the most fun I think I've ever had in, well... ever."

"No problem, Tavs." Vinyl closed her locker up, holding her own notebook and pencil case in her hands. "I'd do anything for you if it meant that I'd get to see you happy like that again."

"No really, Vinyl. Thank you so much." Octavia walked over to Vinyl and gave her a big hug, patting her on the back as she rested her head on Vinyl's shoulders. "Thank you for showing me that Tag's not just a game that we can play at home. Thank you for teaching me how to act like the rest of the kids here at Ponyville Elementary. And most of all, thank you for being such a good friend to me—even after mother and father's divorce."

"You're welcome, Octavia." Vinyl hugged Octavia straight back, rubbing her friend's back as she closed her eyes and felt her warm embrace pushing against her body. After a while, they broke out of the hug and smiled at each other. "Now, let's get to class, shall we? Don't wanna be late."

And without another word, both Octavia and Vinyl walked through the corridors holding their hands and smiling as they passed door after door on their way towards the class they were designated. After a long game of Tag with each other, they both needed to calm down and do something else to pass the time. And they both knew that a long lesson in class would be just the thing to do it.

New Friends

Octavia and Vinyl took their seats in the classroom. Thanks to some string-pulling from their parents and foster-parents, the school had generously allowed them to sit next to each other in the middle of the class. As the other kids in the class filed in and sat down as well, the two of them felt like they weren't so alone anymore. Though they couldn't hold their hands because of how the desks were spaced out, both Vinyl and Octavia could both feel the bond between them was as strong as ever.

The chatter from the other kids was brought to an end as Principal Cheerilee walked into the classroom. Her magenta hair was still as curly and bouncy as it always was. She had a clipboard in her hand; one that she placed down on the desk as she stood before it; looking out to the class, who all fell silent as they looked towards her.

"Welcome back, class." Cheerilee started, addressing the class with a smile on her face. Teaching had always been one of her greatest passions, despite being the principal of Ponyville Elementary. It was one of the greatest joys that she got in life, to share knowledge with other kids and have them take that knowledge and make their lives better, as well as give them brighter futures for the years to come. "I hope you all had fun during recess. For now, though, it's time to get back to learning things." She took the clipboard again; seeing that it had the names of all of the students written down; names that were mostly plays on words; not that she minded.

One by one, Cheerilee called out the names of the other students in the classroom. There was quite a few students to go through, with names such as Burn Rubber, Star Seeker, Golden Note, and Sweet Heart. Names that while they would have been laughed at or at least sniggered, were just met with the students reaching their arms into the air and calling that they were here. At last, Cheerilee came to Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, who also both raised their arms when prompted, lowering them after they called that they were here, starting with Vinyl and ending with Octavia.

"Good. Everyone's here, so let's talk about one of my favourite subjects." Cheerilee started as she laid down the clipboard, took a piece of chalk, and wrote one word. A word that she said herself as she put the chalk down at last and stepped aside so that everyone could see it. "Unity."

"Miss Cheerilee?" A student with green hair and pink skin raised her arm into the air. "What's a you-knee-tea?"

Cherilee just giggled at the girl's explanation. "Unity, Lemon Zest. It means the bond between two or more people." And as she said that, Cherilee just started making some more chalk illustrations to get her point across. "A more common term for unity would be friendship. When you're friends with someone and they are friends back with you, the stuff that you do together can be called unity. It helps your bond grow because you do and feel things with them; things that you normally wouldn't feel when doing it alone."

"Like what me and Tavi do!" Vinyl blurted out, raising her arm into the air. "We have all kinds of you-knee-tea together! And we have lots of actual tea too!"

"Vinyl..." Octavia slunk back into her chair slightly. She wasn't used to Vinyl just saying things on her behalf. She was much more of a girl who liked to speak for herself; despite how young she was. Octavia could already hear the other kids giggling over the mispronunciation.

"You could say that, yes." Cheerilee still kept on smiling as the other kids calmed down. "But unity isn't just related to just friendship. You could still have great unity with a group of people who aren't friends. Like a team of football players. Not all of them are as friendly with each other as they are with other people, but they still have a lot of unity because of how well they work as a team. Unity isn't just bound to friendship." She went on, drawing up some more illustrations of the concept of unity. "It also applies to other big groups as well. Dance troupes, people on a ship, men and women at work, they all have great unity with each other because of what they do and how much hard work they put in, and how that hard work benefits them and everyone else around them."

As the lesson went on and on, Vinyl and Octavia thought about their unity; their bond. They had always been friends, even before Octavia's parents divorced and she found herself with only a mother and Vinyl's father to serve as her replacement father. Still, she was happy that of all the people that she could have been adopted in during such a trying time, that it was with Vinyl Scratch. By all accounts, given how different the two of them were, then there was no rhyme or reason that the two of them should have ever become friends, but they were still friends regardless; happy to be with each other no matter how different they were. With Vinyl's rugged, unhinged, free-spirit life, and Octavia's gentle, refined, almost lady-like personality, the fact that they were best friends proved that they didn't care how the world painted opposites out to be contrary to one another. They were still going to be friends no matter what happened and who they met.

Eventually, when Cheerilee stopped presenting, the two girls were both given a sheet of paper and were asked what unity meant to them. Octavia's read, "Unity for me is the friendship that I have between myself and Vinyl Scratch. The two of us like different things and it's almost impossible for us to get to agree on the things that we like. But that's just how much it shows that we're friends despite the differences."

Vinyl's reponse, on the other hand, was something along the lines of, "Unity's when you have two people or more having a blast with each other. Me and Tavi are two kids who just love each other to bits and the stuff we get up to is on a whole 'nother level! The fact that we can do all of these things together as friends just shows how strong that unity is too!"

Both girls finished writing, then put their pencils down and waited for Cheerilee to take the papers back. As they did, the two girls looked around the classroom to see if there was anyone else that had a unity with each other. They could see that the desks were close to each other and they could see heads looking towards other kids, but there was nothing that the two of them could gleam.

Vinyl Scratch in particular looked at Lemon Zest. Or rather at the back of Lemon Zest's head because she couldn't see her eyes. The way that she had just spoken like that reminded her of herself in places. She could tell that Lemon Zest was a fun-loving kid; even if it wasn't time for lunch or another recess period. Vinyl wanted to make Lemon her friend as soon as possible so that she could properly judge that for herself.

Octavia, on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking about Sweet Heart. But was she really the only friend that she could have made in a place like this? Especially given that there were so many other kids around her? For everything that she, Sweet, and Vinyl had done in recess, Octavia thought for sure that there would have been other kids in this class or even this school that shared her love for music. Music was in particular one of her favourite subjects when it came to anything, really. Her cello served as an omen to how much she adored music. None of the other students showed anything from the offset that screamed 'I'm a music lover. Please be my friend, Octavia Melody!'. For now, Octavia had to judge purely on name, face, appearance, and personality alone.

One long lesson later, the school bells rang once again, and the kids were dismissed for lunch.

"Woo! Lunch time!" Vinyl giddily called as she jumped from her desk and threw her arms out to the side, very nearly slapping Octavia in the face with them. "C'mon, Tavi! Let's get some good grub!"

"Vinyl, please, just wait a second..." Octavia tried to speak, but before she could even get a word in edgewise, Vinyl took her hand and dragged her out of the classroom; her feet almost lifting off of the ground as she had no choice but to run with Vinyl.

Vinyl just threw her backpack on her back, stuffed Octavia's on her back, and went off with her out of the class, off down the corridors, and towards the lunch hall. All the while, Octavia had no choice but to follow on after her. At least her cello was safely stored in her locker so that she didn't have to worry about Vinyl or one of the others breaking it along the way. Still, once again, she found herself thrust into another one of Vinyl's on-a-whim runs. At least she knew where she was going this time.

The Ponyville Elementary lunch hall was buzzing with activity. Students were lining up with trays to get the food of the day. All kinds of things from mashed potatoes to vegetables, with the odd bit of gravy here and there, all accompanied with silverware so that they could eat them without getting their hands dirty. As well as their food, each of the kids also had a drink, ranging from cartons of milk and juices, to little cups of water.

Almost all of the tables were being taken by the kids. Some of them were fully filled, but others had empty chairs waiting to be filled. Most of them were with pairs of students who were friends, while others were with boys sitting with girls for reasons more than just because they were different genders. There was only one or two tables that were completely empty. Vinyl and Octavia's table was not one of those empty chairs.

In the middle of the lunch hall, Vinyl and Octavia were sitting side-by-side together, both looking down at their lunch. Vinyl had decided to get more mash than vegetables, with only a few pieces of sweetcorn and peas sticking out of the white mush. She had a carton of apple juice sitting by her side, with a straw poking out of the top of it. As well as that, she had some small sausages dangling out of the mash; though she had stuffed them in there herself so that it looked more awesome.

Octavia had been given more of the same, though her portion was much more civilised. She had separated the mash and the vegetables into different slots of her tray, with a cup of water sitting at her side. Octavia was much more into drinking water than juice, not because she didn't like it, but in case she needed to sing in places, she wanted to make sure that her throat was just as ready as the rest of her body was. Octavia was using her knife and fork, gently scooping vegetables up before sticking her fork into the mash, scooping that up as well. She brought the whole concoction to her mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed; smiling politely as all the mash and vegetables danced around her throat before landing in her belly.

"Excuse me? Is this seat taken?" A familiar voice asked, pulling Vinyl and Octavia out of the moment. There ahead, the two kids could see her. With that magenta hair on her head and a tray in her arms, it was none other than Lemon Zest, who put her food down before the kids and parked herself on the stool, looking at Vinyl. "What am I saying? Of course it's not taken! We're all friends here, right?"

"I... suppose so?" Octavia lifted a brow. She was just about to ask Lemon what she was doing here when another student followed after Lemon Zest and laid her tray down next to her. Unlike Lemon, she looked away from the girls, focusing more on her food than the rest of her company. She had shimmering azure hair fashioned like a wave of ocean water., with neon blue skin, yellow eyes, and a purple skirt on her. "Oh? Who are you?"

"Me?" She asked, tilting her head at Octavia. "Uhm, well... my name's... Allegro. Allegro Waltz."

"Allegro... Waltz?" Octavia asked, blinking as she looked at the new girl before her. "That's a very... interesting name for sure."

"How so?" Allegro asked, blinking at Octavia.

"Well, because of how Allegro and Waltz clash with each other." Octavia explained, putting her elbows down on the table. "Usually, the allegro is a rapid, brisk piece of music. Whereas the waltz is much more slow, dignified, and gentle by comparison. I would never think of putting the two together personally, but it's interesting how you have."

"Oh, uh... th-thanks?" Allegro just tried to smile as she looked into Octavia's eyes.

"No problem." Octavia chuckled as she never took her eyes off of Allegro. In the background, she could hear Vinyl Scratch and Lemon Zest talking much more about what they liked and what they were doing, but here and now, Octavia was much more focused on the chat between her and Allegro than she was with her sister. "So, do you like music, Allegro?"

"I do. Yes." Allegro spoke softly, taking a bite of her mashed potatoes before swallowing. "My mommy and daddy play the harp and the piano. And I play the flute. It's a funny instrument, but I... I like it. It's small and long; like an arrow from all those archer movies and books."

"Oh, I think it's more than just funny. I think it's rather beautiful as well." Octavia nodded. "The flute can really bring a special kind of charm to music. While the piano and the harp play their own tunes to a wonderful degree, the flute is what truly makes the music come alive if you're going for something more uplifting and jovial. Personally, I play the cello myself, and while I can't make anything as jolly-sounding as you can, I can at the very least try and bring some delight to the people listening to me."

"You play the cello?" Allegro asked. "Wow... I wish I could play the cello..."

"If you like, I could help you play it later today." Octavia offered, reaching a hand out for Allegro. Allegro looked at her hand and was hesitant to reach out for it, but she still couldn't tear herself away from it. "It'll be my treat. You don't have to worry about a thing, Allegro. Promise."

"O-O-Okay..." Allegro slowly reached her hand out for Octavia's. Her hand was shaking and trembling as she brought it closer to Octavia's hand, but Octavia eventually took it herself, held it firmly, and shook it gently and delicately; a motion that made Allegro stare at Octavia with wide eyes. The handshake went on until at last, Allegro couldn't help but feel a small smile forming on her face. She could tell that with Octavia by her side, that she and her would be great friends.

"No way... so you're really into music like me?" said Vinyl Scratch, on the other side of the conversation as she spoke to Lemon Zest. "What kinds? Dance music? Synth? Neo? Vaporwave? Maybe even sci-fi?"

"I mean, those are all pretty sick-sounding types of music, but I like a bit of rock music myself." Lemon Zest nodded her head. "My favourite bands are all those really-screechy ones; the ones that make all kinds of noise that make others bang their heads up and down like this!" As she said it, Lemon Zest demonstrated by headbanging for Vinyl Scratch; a motion that just made Vinyl laugh.

"You're funny!" Vinyl said as she was still giggling.

"Thanks! Mommy and daddy always said that you should try and make other people laugh." Lemon stopped headbanging and held her hands together. "Do you like rock too?"

"H-yeah! It's a little bit crazier than the kind of music that I'm into, but it's really fun too!" Vinyl Scratch nodded as she clasped her hands together; eyes that were full of twinkling stars. "You wanna be besties, Lemon?" She reached out for Lemon Zest's hand.

"Eh, why not?" Lemon just smiled and threw her body over the table, grabbing hold of Vinyl's hand and shaking it vigorously; a gesture that made both of the energetic little music-lovers grin more as their handshake turned into a competition to see who could shake the other's hand the longest before they finally gave up.

And so, there in the lunch hall of Ponyville Elementary did two new friendships begin to blossom. The friendship between Octavia Melody and Allegro Waltz; who both bonded over the gentler and peaceful orchestral music that they loved to hear and play, and the friendship of Vinyl Scratch and Lemon Zest; a pair of free-spirited little girls who loved fun, music, and fun music above all else. The four little musicians ate their lunches together, while talking about stuff that they really liked, as well as what they wanted to be when they grew up.

The answers to their futures were all the same, but with different paths. Vinyl and Lemon wanted to become DJs, playing all the songs that they wanted to play, while Octavia wanted to be a professional cello player and play on stage just like her mother. Allegro, on the other hand just wanted to be a flutist; not caring about the rest of the details unless she was happy playing the flute.

Regardless, they all knew that this was only just the beginning. The beginning of a wonderful new pair of friendships; friendships that they hoped would branch out to the other girls in the group; so that they weren't just friends with one person. Then, as the bell rang, the four kids all left the lunch hall together. Vinyl and Lemon holding each other's hands, and Allegro and Octavia holding each other's hands too. Lemon and Vinyl were talking among each other, while Octavia and Allegro were happy to just smile at each other as they walked, letting their body language do all of the talking for them...