It's the music that binds us.
The alarm clock broke the once quite room with the sounds of hammer meeting bells, trying to coax its owner back to the land of the living. A grey hoof poked out from under the thick comforter, waving indiscriminately until it met the top of the clock. Octavia, still covered up in bed, glided her hoof down the back of her clock till she found the switch, finally ending the insufferable chime. “Why did I even turn that on?” She had just gotten back from a week-long tour with the orchestra the other night and thought she would sleep in; but, being the creature of habit that she was, had set her alarm like any other night. She slowly slunk out of bed, groaning at even the idea of leaving the comfort of her slumber. She walked over to the window and threw open the curtains, revealing a bright sunny morning with the bottom of the sun just clearing the horizon. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden change of light and she opened the window to breathe in the fresh air. “We’ll, as long as I’m up, might as well get started with my day.”
After priming herself in the mirror and making sure her favorite bowtie was straight, she left her room and made her way to the kitchen. On her way, she stopped by Vinyl Scratch’s door to see if she would like to join her for some breakfast. “Vinyl,” she announced while knocking on the door. “Vinyl, are you in there? I was wondering if you would like some breakfast.” She received no response from the other side. Octavia figured either Vinyl had crashed at a friend’s place, sweet talked her way into sleeping at whatever venue she was at, or is home but in another one of her party induced comas. Octavia just shrugged it off and continued on to the kitchen.
She searched the pantry to see what there was she could make. Luckily, it seemed that Vinyl had eaten out more than actually made herself a meal, so the groceries Octavia had bought before she left had pretty much gone untouched beyond the empty boxes of Filly Scout cookies. “I’m not sure what I’m more crossed with,” Octavia fumed, “that she had left empty boxes in the pantry, or that she ate all of my Skinny Mintys.” She tossed the boxes into the trash and pushed the idea to the back burner for when Vinyl returned. After seeing all that she had, she felt she’d treat herself with her favorite breakfast dish: lavender pancakes. At first, she only planned on making just a couple for herself, but her growling stomach had taken over cooking and instead ended up with a stack almost as tall as her. “I guess I went a tad bit overboard. Well, I guess there’ll be enough for when Vinyl comes home.” She set most of them aside and stored them in the fridge. For her, she left a stack of five fluffy cakes nearly covering her entire plate. She grabbed some syrup and sat down at the dining room table. She poured a healthy glob of syrup over the pancakes, indulging one of her vices of making everything taste sweet, and embraced the euphoria with every bite. “Mmm, just like mother used to make.”
She had just finished her meal as the front door opened. She leaned over to the side to get a better glance and saw a pale mare with an electric blue mane and tail. “Morning Vinyl,” Octavia bellowed with a sing-song tone.
Vinyl Scratch winced at the volume of Octavia’s voice. “Morning Octy,” Vinyl whispered.
“Another hangover I take it?”
“The Apples made a special batch of cider for their reunion that’s coming up and we were able to score a barrel for the party. This stuff is far beyond what they sell at their annual cider blowout. If that addict Rainbow Dash ever got ahold of this stuff, we’d have cloud formations that’d make Discord impressed.”
Octavia smirked at the off balance mare, “And your constitution is SO much better. Need I remind you about last Hearths Warming?”
Vinyl placed her hoof over Octavia’s mouth. “First of all, we agreed not to speak of that day again. And secondly,” Vinyl moved in closer and stared into Octavia’s eyes, “I don’t remember you complaining too much later on that night.” Octavia blushed and pushed a laughing Vinyl away from her. “Oh, I almost forgot,” Vinyl got close again and kissed Octavia on the cheek, “welcome home.”
Octavia blushed even harder and kissed her back, “You too.” After a couple of seconds, Octavia cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject, “So, any mail for me while I was gone?” Vinyl nodded her head and walked over towards one of the kitchen drawers. She returned with a hefty stack of letters and placed them in front of Octavia. “Sweet Celestia, I’ve only been gone for a week. How did I accumulate so much mail?” She perused through the stack of mail, half of which were the standard bill and general ads. Some were fan letters written by those her saw her perform earlier in the tour. There was one letter that particularly stuck out to her. She pushed the other aside and began to examine it. The address read that it came all the way from Appleloosa. Her tour never went out to that area, and she couldn’t think of anyone who lived out that way. She flipped it over and saw that it had a wax seal placed on the flap. It was the image of a bow and violin. This made Octavia’s eyes go wide and she hastily opened the envelope and quickly read the letter. “No no no no no.” Octavia began to panic and looked around hoping to find an exit to this news. Her head snapped forward when she could hear a knock coming from the front door.
“Don’t worry, I got it,” Vinyl chimed from the doorway.
Octavia raised her hoof to try and stop Vinyl, but she was still glued to the chair in shock. Even her voice failed her, only giving squeaks and gasps of air. She didn’t find the ability to move until Vinyl opened the door, but she didn’t head for the front door; she instead bolted for the wall for cover.
Vinyl opened the door and was met by a yellow mare with cobalt hair. She was dressed in a green shirt, orange neckerchief, and a ten-gallon hat that seemed a bit too big for her. The mare had a look of both confusion and awestruck when she looked at Vinyl.
“Oh mah Celestia, it’s you! You’re DJ-Pon3!” Her country twang was thick and reminded Vinyl of the Apples. “But wait, that can’t be right. Ah could have sworn this was the right address. But ah know you’re not mah cousin; but this is the best mistake ever!”
Vinyl waited for her to stop talking so she could get some words in of her own, “As much as I like meeting new fans, who are you and who are you looking for?”
The yellow mare gasped in shock, “Sweet Celestia, Ma would have mah hide if she saw me lose mah manners like that. The name’s Fiddle Faddle, but most people just call me Fids.” Fiddle extended her hoof to Vinyl, which she did in kind. “As for why ah’m here, ah was told this is where mah cousin lives. You wouldn’t happen to know where a Miss Octavia Philharmonic lives would ya?”
Vinyl smiled and turned towards the kitchen, “Octy! It’s for you!”
Octavia sighed and slowly crept out from behind the corner, “Hello Fiddle Faddle.”
“Cousin!” Fiddle flew past Vinyl and grabbed Octavia in a strong bear hug. “Oh it’s been so long since ah’ve seen you. And what’s with all this formal talk Tavi? You’ve never called me by mah real name.”
Octavia pulled away from Fiddle’s hug and hair ruffling noogies. This caused her to have the hairstyle of a crazed lunatic and Vinyl couldn’t help but snicker at the sight. “Yes, well, that was a long time ago. We’ve,” Octavia looked Fiddle up and down, “I’ve become more mature and as such carry myself with a bit more class than before.”
Fiddle leaned towards Vinyl, “Geez, since when did she become all grumpy grumps?”
Vinyl leaned even closer to her, “You mean she hasn’t always been this way?” They both laughed and high hoofed each other, annoying Octavia even further. “Oh come on Octy, we’re just having a little bit of fun. Besides, you’ve never told me about her.”
Fiddle gave a fake hurt expression, “What?! You never told your friend about me? Your favorite cousin.”
“My only cousin,” Octavia corrected.
“More the reason.” Fiddle went back to smiling and started talking to both Octavia and Vinyl simultaneously. “Ah still can’t get over the fact that my cousin not only knows DJ-Pon3, but actually lives with her.”
“Well, actually-,” Vinyl was cut off by Fiddle still yammering on.
“Ah mean, it’s not just ah’m a big fan, but you’re the reason I took my music on the road. Me and mah band are not all that famous as of yet, but you may have heard of me in small dive bars by the name of Southern Sweet.”
Vinyl’s jaw dropped so fast, you would have sworn the jaw had dislocated itself. “You’re Southern Sweet?! The up and coming country sensation?!”
“So you have heard of me.”
“Heard of you? I have every one of your CD’s”
“You do,” echoed both Fiddle and Octavia: Fiddle with excitement and Octavia with utter shock.
“Yep, I even used a couple to mix with mine at some local parties. Hope that’s not a problem.”
“Not at all; ah’m actually quite interested to see how that all worked.” Fiddle looked back and forth between them, “Ah still can’t get over the fact you two live together.” She glanced over at Octavia, “Ah actually thought you would have been living the high life up in Canterlot with some fancy stallion.”
“Is that so,” Vinyl mused. “Why would you think that?”
“All the stallions were always pining over her in high school. Alas, our dear Octavia would never give them the time or day. There was one she did like. Always went on how he played the piano, that was until she found out it was a synthesizer. She let him have it right out in front of everyone. Said she felt betrayed and astounded that he could even that think what he did was called music. Come to think of it, seems odd you two could live under the same roof with your music being so different from each other.”
“I see,” Vinyl peered past Fiddle at Octavia who was trying to avoid making eye contact. “Go on.”
“Anyways, after that she pretty much swore off trying to find the right one, even if suitors still came in from all sides.”
“Well, I think Octavia has sworn off stallions in general.”
Fiddle gave Octavia a sarcastic grin, “Geez Tavi, being a bit over dramatic now are we?”
“On the contrary,” replied Octavia. “Doing so has allowed me to not only focus more on my music, but even find my special somepony.”
Fiddle’s eyes began to glisten with excitement, “Oh that’s wonderful, ah’m so happy for ya!” Fiddle ran over to her and squeezed her tightly. “Is it somepony ah know? Let me guess, it’s that bass player you’re always hanging out with after concerts.” Octavia’s only response was her eyes motioning over towards Vinyl. “Wait a sec, you…and you; together? Wow Tavi, ah’ve heard plenty of mares say they swore off stallions for good, but ah’ve never seen one venture over into the other pasture.” Fiddle walked over to Vinyl giving her a quizzical look as if she was examining her. Her face snapped into the biggest smile she could muster and yelled out, “WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!” She leaped at Vinyl to embrace her, knocking Vinyl’s sunglasses off and nearly sending her to the ground. “What does that mean ah should call you now?”
Vinyl used her magic to place her sunglasses back on her face, “Vinyl is fine. I’m just amazed how well you took it. The way Octy’s been so nervous about bringing it up with family, I would have thought she was afraid she’d get disowned.”
Fiddle gasped and looked at Octavia while still holding Vinyl, “How could you even think such a thing. Auntie Soprano, you’re mother, would be overjoyed about hearing this. To finally hear that you found somepony that makes you happy would finally give her some relief.”
Octavia cocked her eybrows, “We are talking about the same pony right? The same pony who blew her top when they legalized the marriage between two ponies of the same gender.”
“Her views of the world have become a bit more accepting as of recent. She’s even friends with a zebra.”
“No way,” Octavia began to show more excitement and friendliness towards Fiddle, “I never thought that stubborn mule would ever see sense and move out of the days of lesser thinking.”
“Ah know; it shocked the rest of the family too.”
“So I guess that means we can try visiting your parents again next Hearths Warming,” Vinyl interjected.
Octavia cleared her throat and took a couple of steps back, “While this is all fascinating, why exactly are you here. I can’t foresee you traveling all this way to say ‘HI’ after neither of us speaking to each other in years.” The change of tone caused Fiddle and Vinyl to feel they may have said something wrong.
“Well, ah will say this wasn’t the main reason ah came here. Ah’m actually here for the apple family reunion. Me and mah band was hired to play for the festivities.”
Vinyl tapped her on the shoulder, “Be sure to try the cider.”
“Of course; it’s not a true Apple get together without it.” Fiddle turned back toward Octavia with a more somber look and removed her hat. “In all honesty though, this also gave me a chance to see you and maybe settle this nasty feud of ours. Ah even brought my violin with me in hopes we could play some songs together, like the good ol days.”
Octavia sighed, “There’s nothing to settle. The past is the past and there’s nothing we can do to change it.”
Fiddle placed her hat back on her head, tilting it to cover her eyes, “Ah see. Ah’m sorry ah bothered you. Ah guess I’ll be going now.” She began to head for the door and was stopped by Vinyl.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Vinyl looked back over at Octavia, “What gives Octy? You greet your cousin with a cold shoulder, start to act as close as sisters, and then right back to the freezer.”
“Why don’t you ask her,” Octavia growled.
“Honestly ah have no idea Tavi. One sec we were inseparable and the next you were refusing to talk or write to me. Ah always felt like it was something ah did, but no matter what, ah could never figure it out. So, ah figured if ah showed up at your doorstep ah could ask what it was and maybe put it behind us.”
Octavia shot her a fearsome scowl, “You betrayed me.”
“Ah would never-“
“But you did. We had big dreams of playing music together. We were going to go to the same college, learn all we could, and then take our songs to the road, all the way up to Carneighge Hall. But then you had to throw it all away for that barnyard bumpkin noise.”
“Is that what this is all about? You thought ah betrayed you? Ah’m sorry you felt that way, but Tavi, ah just wasn’t feeling it with classical music.”
“And will you please stop with the fake country twang. You’re from Manehatten just like me. There isn’t a country bone in your body.”
“Ah know, but ah’ve been playing this part for so long that it’s become a part of me.”
“What part would that be? The part where you pass out drunk in whatever bar or barn you played last? The part where you threw away a full ride scholarship to an ivy league music institute to go traveling with the local yokels? Or would it be the part that ran off with that pack mule of a stallion and left your mother crying? By the way, how’s that one working out for you?”
Fiddle began to tear up with rage, so Vinyl stepped in to try to diffuse the situation. “Octy, I still don’t know what has come over you, but that was completely uncalled for. I suggest you apologize.”
“For what?! Everything I said was completely true. This is the real Fiddle Faddle. She’s nothing but a two-bit hillfilly!”
“Octavia!” Vinyl yelled out in horror. Vinyl was ready to berate Octavia when Fiddle took the lead.
“How dare you even talk to me like that!” While her country speech patterns stayed intact, her former Manehatten self could be heard bleeding through, “Ah have only fallen asleep drunk in a barn once, and if ah remember miss high and mighty, so were you. It was at the party after the running of the leaves when we just became of age to drink. Secondly, ah never wanted that scholarship in the first place because ah never intended on going to that school; it was what the family wanted without consulting me about it. As for the so called ‘yokels’ you speak of, those would be the others in mah band.” Fiddle made her way to the door and stopped just before exiting, “And DOCTOR Morningside and ah are happily married with two foals.” Fiddle stormed out and slammed the door behind her leaving Octavia and Vinyl staring at where she once stood. After a minute of silence, Octavia turned back towards the kitchen to finish her breakfast. Vinyl sped past her and cut her off, glaring at Octavia.
Octavia jumped back with a startled look, “What’s this all about?”
“I am astounded by the way you just treated your cousin; your own family.”
“Did you not just hear the conversation we just had? On how she tore us apart?”
“Ya, I heard that from you, but I also heard the side you apparently didn’t; her side of the story.” Vinyl began to creep closer towards Octavia until their noses were almost touching, “I also heard how much you despised me.”
Octavia shook her head in confusion, “What in Equestria are you talking about? Where did any of this convert to me hating you?”
“How many bars, barns, and other venues have you heard about me passing out drunk after a gig? How many full rides for graduate studies did you see me turn down in college all because I already had a successful music career,” Vinyl backed Octavia into a corner just next to the front door, “And do you remember the pain in your mother’s face when you brought me over for Hearths Warming and introduced me as your marefriend. By the way, how’s THAT working out?” Vinyl stepped to the side and started heading towards the front door.
Octavia turned to Vinyl with tears in her eyes; half from anger, half from sadness, “Wh-where are you going?”
Vinyl paused at the door and spoke without looking at Octavia, “What does it look like? I’m going out to try and find Fiddle and fix the mess you’ve created. After that, maybe I’ll go with her to the reunion, get drunk, and pass out at the bar with her and her band. Maybe by then I’ll have cooled down enough to come back here and talk about us.” And without another word, Vinyl left in the same fashion as Fiddle.
Octavia sat there in disbelief with tears streaming down her face. She wondered if she had gone too far, had she been too critical of Fiddle all this time, and had she possibly lost Vinyl forever. She looked over at the other wall and saw Fiddle’s violin case. She became enraged and kicked the case across the hall, “No! Once again this is all your fault! You hurt me like all those times before!” She stomped over to the case and was about to kick it again, but stopped when she looked at it closer. It was a worn and tatters case, with scratches covering it front to back and some of the stitching had frayed barely holding the cloth cover to the wooden case. It was hardly a case a musician as established as Fiddle would carry around. “Wait a sec, this is grandfather’s.” She examined it closer and found what remained of her grandfather’s initials near the handle, almost gone from the constant use.
Octavia picked it up and brought it to the kitchen table. She slid her hooves across the front where the two parts met until she found the metal locks. She popped them open simultaneously and slowly opened it, the hinges making a scuffing and creaking noise due to the mild rust. While the case looked like it had gone through a tornado, the violin looked as if it had never been used. Octavia pulled the bow out and peered down the length of the hairs. These were obviously fresh and couldn’t be more than a couple of weeks old. The bow itself however, while gleaming of lacquer and polish, did show signs of wear from bouncing on the strings and the occasional knocking into the music stand. She placed the bow back in the case and carefully pulled out the violin itself. Like the bow, the strings looked just as new as the hairs, but the rest of it showed signs of use and repair. Just before putting it back, she froze while looking at the back of the violin’s neck. On it was an inscription that was put there ever since she was a filly, because she was the one that put it there.
Cousins by blood, Sisters by music
Her hooves began to tremble, so she placed the violin back in the case before she might drop it. She closed and locked the case, and sat quietly at the dining room table. “I can’t believe she still kept it after all this time. I don’t even have the same cello from when I began playing.” She stared at the tattered case, rubbing her hooves across the top. “Oh Fids, what have I done? How could I have been so angry with you when you have done nothing wrong to deserve it?” She looked towards the door and sighed, “I guess there is only one way to make this right.” She slung the case over her shoulder and bolted out the door, almost forgetting to lock it on her way out.
She scoured the town looking everywhere for Fiddle. She asked around to see if anyone had seen her cousin, but none were of any help. Most were just amazed that she had a cousin that they never heard of. She was almost about to give up when she had remembered something from her past. Anytime Fiddle became upset, she would always go to a particular tree in Manehatten; one that sat alone from all the others. Octavia didn’t think she would travel all the way there for the tree, especially with a gig coming up, so she looked around for any alternatives. It wasn’t long till she found a lone tree in the distance…with a single pony lying next to it. She ran with all the speed she could muster until she was almost on top of Fiddle. She took some time to compose herself and walked over to her side. Fiddle looked as if she was sleeping and had streaks of dried tears on her face. Octavia placed the violin next to Fiddle, which startled her awake. She looked at the violin and then up towards Octavia. Octavia gave a sweet smile to Fiddle, “You left this behind.”
Fiddle rolled her eyes and laid back down looking away, “Thanks.”
Octavia drew circles in the dirt with her hoof, “Look Fids, I’m-“
Fiddle snapped up and interrupted Octavia, “So now it’s ‘Fids’! And here ah was starting to think you had forgotten all about me!”
“I’m sorry Fids. I was worse than a mule’s behind. Going over what I said to you and how I treated you, I’m surprised you even tried to reconnect with me and I wouldn’t fault you for never wanting to see me again.” Octavia bowed her head and sniffled, “I’ll be more amazed if Vinyl even speaks to me again.”
Fiddle cooled down a little, but still angry with Octavia. She looked down at the case and cocked her right eyebrow, “So, you opened the case?”
Octavia nodded her still bowed head. She raised her head after the second nod with a puzzled look. “Wait, how did you know I opened the case?”
Fiddle let out a small chuckle, “Ever since Grandpappy gave me this case, it would never close right unless pushed back on the lid when closing the latches. He said it’s because of some bar fight he got into when he toured Griffinstone.”
“That’s right. He said he hit that griffin so hard that he almost broke his beak clean off.”
They both laughed out loud remembering the story, but awkwardly came to a stop remembering the current situation they were in.
Octavia was the first to break the tension, “So I see you kept good care of the violin I gave you.”
“Of course. It was one of mah most precious treasures. It let me know that no matter where ah was, ah would always be close to my cousin…or in this case mah sister.” Both began to cry and hugged each other.
“While I still don’t fully accept the choices you made,” Octavia interjected, “I am glad that they made you happy. Also, maybe someday I can meet the little ones.”
“Ah’d love that. And while ah am not completely over the accusations you had against me, ah am sorry ah ever made you feel that way.”
“Thank you Fids, now I just hope I can smooth things over with Vinyl just as easily.”
“While ah don’t know how well that will go over, ah might have something that might help.” Fiddle reached into a pocket on her shirt and pulled out two back stage passes. “One was always for you, but ah had a couple more that the agency wanted me to pass out to fans I came across. You could give the other to her and say you appealed to my better nature and weaseled one out of me.”
“Thank you Fids, we wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
