Frosted Memories

The morning was bright and warm, the snow melted giving way to a perfect spring walk. Octavia basked in the sun’s light as she trotted happily in the street, not a care in the world. She didn’t know when or why she had gone out, she just found herself enjoying the warm glow of the sun and the smiles on the faces of those she passed. Her mind began to wander as she walked, until she heard the high pitched din of a whistle in her ears, the sound an unpleasant constant ring. As she looked around for the sound she looked up in time to see a cart careening down the hill. As she tried to move out of the way she found herself rooted to the spot by what seemed to be literal roots. The whole world turned to black as the cart slammed into her. She lay there, broken, alone, and afraid as her mind drifted away. In her blurry periphery she saw a flash of grey, then, all that remained was the black of the void.

*****

Octavia was shaken awake, the remnants of her dream slowly fading away as all dreams do. Sweat beaded on her face as she panted, her heart beating in time with the pounding in her head. Slowly, Octavia sat up and climbed out of bed, dizziness from her hangover nearly knocking her off her hooves.

Octavia tried her best as she kept her balance, making her way slowly and shakily to the door. She opened the door into the rest of the apartment and nearly fell over multiple times on her way to the bathroom on the other side of the apartment. A deep snore nearby sent a surge of pain through her head. Once she recovered she looked toward the offending noise and saw Vinyl fast asleep on the couch with a pillow and blanket. A pang of guilt lurched in her heart, but was quickly squashed as her stomach began to turn over. With renewed vigor, Octavia made her way to the bathroom as quickly as her wobbly legs would allow.

Her stomach settled as she made her way to the sink and began to fill it with cold water. Once the basin was filled Octavia splashed water on her face to help refresh her and wake her up. After a while of just throwing water on her face the mare dipped her entire face in the water. Fully refreshed and headache dying down slightly, the grey mare drained the sink and walked slowly back to the living room.

Vinyl had sat up and was stretching when her friend entered the room. “Morning Tavi, how’d you sleep?”

“Horrendously. I think I had way too much to drink last night.” Octavia sat down on the couch rubbing her head.

“Here, I’ll make some coffee, the caffeine should help.” Vinyl got up and walked to the kitchen.

“How do you not have a debilitating headache?”

“Please, half a bottle of liquor ain’t enough to give me a hangover. I play in clubs all the time, it be rude to turn down drinks everypony offers me.” Vinyl returned with a mug and a prench press in her magic. She set it down on the table and let the coffee slowly brew in front of them.

Staring at the black coffee grains at the bottom slowly turn the water above it black, flashes of her dream invaded Octavia’s mind. An alabaster hoof on her shoulder snapped her out of a daze she didn’t realize she was in. “Tavi, you ok?”

“Yes…no…I don’t know. Last night I had the strangest of dreams, almost nightmarish.” The dream slowly came back into her mind. Vinyl just stared at her, silently encouraging her to continue. “I was walking through the city, I didn’t know where or why I was there. I was crossing the street and…I was hit by a cart. I couldn’t move out of the way, there were these root things keeping me in place. I lay there in the middle of the street and everything went...black.”

Vinyl just rubbed her friend’s back as she listened. Her mouth moved to speak but when she couldn’t find any words to say she pulled her friend close to her and held her. After a moment of sitting there Octavia leaned in and rested her head on her friend’s shoulder. “You’re so warm.”

Vinyl shifted awkwardly and slowly pulled herself away. “Hey, you hungry? How about some breakfast to go with this coffee?” Octavia nodded as the unicorn walked to the kitchen, a little disappointed to see her friend go.

*****

After breakfast Vinyl had excused herself to work on her music in a makeshift studio the unicorn had made out of a second bedroom, while Octavia took the liberty to clean the dishes. After the dishes had been cleaned the grey sat in the living room so as to not interrupt the musician at work.

After not being able to settle on a book to read from a small bookshelf next to the couch, Octavia began to examine the room around her. The living room was kept clean and the furnishing rather miniscule. Two tall lamps stood on either side of the couch connected to a switch on the wall that turned both on to illuminate the room at night. Across the room a moderately sized stereo system sat on a table with two monstrously sized speakers on either side connecting it. Octavia was sure if Vinyl had ever turned it on she was sure to be evicted if it weren’t for the glowing runes around the edges and molding of the walls alluding to a powerful soundproofing spell. In front of the couch was a simple oak coffee table, upon which rested another cup of coffee for Octavia and…her eyes lingered on the copy of ‘Musician’s Monthly.’

A familiar, energetic voice spoke in the grey pony’s mind, your cutie mark is a treble clef so…something musical perhaps. As she reached for the magazine the voice spoke again. Do you remember what you used to do? Like an instrument or write any songs? She pulled the magazine closer and gazed at it for a second. As she flipped open the magazine a voice rang through her mind once more, this time it was her own. Could she have been onto something? She began flipping through the pages, skimming through the articles, trying to see if anything jumped out at her.

The magazine was full of all sorts of articles and music charts all separated by genre. In the electronic music section Octavia was pleased to see her new friend placing second in the listing, and was equally amused to find the number one slot scratched out, giving light to Vinyl’s passion and competitiveness for her music. Octavia was about to give up she flipped through the classical section. Images of orchestras and ensembles and intricately crafted instruments resonating with something deep in her chest. This section had been separated by category of instruments, brass being in the front and strings in the back.

Octavia read each article carefully, sipping her coffee as she continued, urged on by the feeling of familiarity. Page after page turned until she finally reached the strings section of the magazine. There in the front, in all its beauty, an image of a cello resided on the page. Octavia gazed at the image for what seemed like an eternity, instantly feeling a connection to the instrument. Her mugged slipped from her hoof, falling to the floor as an image of a cello scroll falling to the pavement, shattering upon impact flashed in her mind. The piece lying in shards away from the rest of the smashed instrument in her mind’s eye.

Vinyl entered the room as the mug shattered on the ground, the sound not reaching Octavia’s ears as she stared blankly at the page. “Tavi, everything alright?” The concerned unicorn looked at her friend as she stared with wide eyes at the magazine. “Tavi?” She approached the mare and noticed the image of the cello she was staring at. “Are you ok, filly?”

Shaken out of her daze she looked up at the unicorn and saw the look of concern on her friend’s face. She slid the magazine to her as she shook her head clear of its fog. “I-I think I had one of these with me. I think I was carrying a cello on the day of the accident.”

Vinyl looked from Octavia to the image and back again before closing the magazine and smiling. “Are you sure? I, mean, I kinda figured you didn’t get your cutie mark by becoming a blacksmith.” Vinyl sat next to the mare and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“I’m positive Vinyl. I don’t know, maybe I was a cellist or…maybe I was carrying it for someone? I don’t know, but I had one with me, I know it.” Octavia placed a hoof on her head as she tried to remember more than the sad image of a shattered scroll. “It’s still hazy, but I feel if I could get my hooves on one I might remember more about myself.” Octavia looked to her side and saw a grin creeping onto Vinyl’s face. “No, no, no, no, I couldn’t possibly let you to purchase one on my behalf. Cellos are terribly expensive.”

“Aw c’mon Tavi, you’re no fun. You finally have a lead about figuring out who you are and you don’t want to follow up on it? More importantly, you don’t want me, your best friend, to help you?” Vinyl feigned an expression of hurt on her face. After a second she dropped the expression and smiled at Octavia. “Alright, I get it. You want to find a job and purchase it yourself instead of having little ol’ Vinyl doing you a solid. At least you finally remembered something, it’s a start.”

Octavia wrapped a hoof around Vinyl, pulling her into a side hug. “Thank you, if it weren’t for you this never would’ve happened. You’re my angel from Celestia.”

Vinyl blushed at the high praise she was being given, “It’s no problem, really.”

*****

“Are you sure about this? It sounds like she could be upset if you do this for her.” A few days had passed since Octavia made her big discovery. The snow had long been melted, allowing the DJ to exit the apartment complex freely. Vinyl had made the executive decision to buy Octavia a cello despite her wishes to earn the bits herself to pay for it. Along with her was a Bon-bon, a cream colored earth pony with a blue and pink curled mane and tale. Her cutie mark was a trio of wrapped candies.

“Nah filly, it’s cool. Hearth’s Warming is coming up in a few days, I can totally get this for her as a present and she couldn’t argue with me. It’s the perfect plan!” The two had turned into the main shopping district and began looking for the telltale signs of a classical music store. “Besides, I know a guy that owes me a favor. I saved a party he was hosting when his DJ came down with a wicked bad stomach bug. Dude was probably just drunk, but eh. He owns a shop around here but the napkin I wrote the address on tore in half.”

“So what, you think he’d just give you a cello for free? Do you really think you’re musical prowess is good enough to finance such a thing?”

“Hey, step off dude, I once banked double off a gig with after the entire left panel on my board got drenched! My ‘prowess’ is more than enough, and if not I’m sure I can get him to budge at least on the price. It’s not like I’m selling an arm and a leg for a piece of wood and some strings.”

“I don’t know Vinyl, what if she isn’t a cellist and this all goes downhill? Then you have wasted time, wasted money, wasted effort, and imagine what it could do to her if she found out she was the one who wasted your hard earned bits on something she probably has never played in her life?” Bon-bon, ever the voice of reason in Vinyl’s small group of friends, had a few good points. However, when Vinyl had a hunch she was often right. Bon-bon was typically the first one to always question Vinyl’s gut when it came to important things, but even she couldn’t deny that Vinyl could be right most times. Still, the candy maker had to play Devil’s Advocate in the event that Vinyl was wrong, however rare that may be. She was just looking out for her friend, especially when money was involved.

“I hear what you’re saying, I really do. I don’t know Bon, you should’ve seen the way she stared at that picture. Maybe it’s a music intuition thing, or something, but the way she looked at it was like, I dunno, like she found a part of her that was missing. Maybe she doesn’t know it yet, but as a fellow musician I can say with ninety percent certainty that she is someone who can play, and I owe it to her to help her along the way.”

“And the other ten percent?” Bon-bon didn’t seem completely convinced, but appreciated that her concern was noted.

“Then I have a new decoration, or I could give it away to somepony who could put it to good use. Or maybe I could find a way to work it somewhere in my music. I’ll figure something out.” Vinyl pondered this conundrum as she continued along the street, before getting distracted by the idea of classical music being woven into electronic music. “Hmm, that’s not a bad idea…”

“Alright Vinyl, as long as you know what you’re doing then I’ll support you all the way.” Bon-bon smiled reassuringly at Vinyl, her smile slowly turned into a mischievous grin. “Are you sure you don’t have any ‘other’ reasons for buying such a big gift?”

“Very funny, I just met her a few days ago and you know that I’m not that easy.”

“Says the mare that just a few weeks ago was getting shot down so much and so badly. Yeah, you’re not desperate at all.”

“Hey, not cool Bon, I said I’m not easy, there’s a clear difference between desperate and easy.” Vinyl looked up the street and ran toward a building with a sign on a on it that had an image of a bass clef intertwining with a treble clef. “Here we are, man I never thought we’d find this place. It’s a good thing we got directions or we’d have been wandering around for hours.”

“Well, I can’t wait to meet the mare that actually managed to get Vinyl Scratch to walk into a classical music store with the intention of seriously buying something. At least now I can go and get Lyra a present while you find the Octavia a cello. I’m gonna find her a pretty dress and take her to a lovely dinner on Hearth’s Warming.” Bon-bon turned to leave when she felt magic start to drag her in by her tail.

“Actually…” The unicorn blushed sheepishly. “Did I forget to mention that I asked you here because you’re about the same size and build as Tavi?” The cream colored mare looked at the unicorn with an expression of perplexity. “Cellos are made in different sizes for different sized ponies, and I REALLY need your help with this.” The unicorn chuckled sheepishly as it dawned on her that she probably should’ve told her friend why she had asked her there. When no response came, the white unicorn dropped to the ground. “Please? I’ll go with you to the dress shop and help you pick out your gift for Lyra.”

Bon-bon didn’t find anything about her situation amusing. “Fine, but you’re splitting the bill with me.” Bon-bon walked past Vinyl and stopped in front of the door. “Let’s go and get this over with.” The two nearly walked in the store before Bon-bon stopped and turned to Vinyl. “You know, helping this filly as much as you can won’t fix what happened to her.”

“I know Bon-bon, but at least I can try to help her figure out who she is…or who she can be.” Vinyl walked past the cream colored mare and entered the store.

Bon-bon followed after Vinyl mumbling under her breath so Vinyl couldn’t hear, “I wasn’t talking about Octavia…”

*****

Octavia sat at home reading a thrilling book when the front door opened and her roommate entered with a very large wrapped gift box. She placed the box in the corner where a small plastic pine tree sat, along with another, mush smaller box floating to rest on top of the larger box.

“I’m back Tavi, how was hangin’ out with Lyra?” The white mare flopped down onto the couch next to her roommate, clearly looking exhausted from an eventful day.

“I had fun, I also got you a gift as well. A little way to say ‘thank you for everything.’” The grey mare closed her book as she turned toward Vinyl. “How was your day?”

“Oh my Celestia, Bon-bon could not settle on a dress for Lyra, it was ridiculous. I’ve never seen a pony look at dresses for two hours before.” Vinyl slowly sat up and looked to the book. “Watcha readin’?”

“Oh this? Oh it’s exciting, it’s a fictional story about a colt who has the ability to see into the minds of the dead. He’s able to communicate with them and give them so form of clarity and respite from the afterlife. He’s able to learn so much from communicating with those that have had naught to do but think for many years.” Octavia cleared her throat as she realized how excitable she was at the moment. “Sorry, it was a really good read. The cover is a bit ghastly and off-putting but the story is captivating.”

“I might have to give it a read sometime.” Vinyl stretched and let out an audible yawn. “Well, it’s been a day. I think I’m gonna get ready for bed.”

“Don’t forget our arrangement Vinyl.” The white unicorn turned to see a pouty Octavia.

“I’d never forget, saving my back a heap of trouble.” The unicorn ducked into the hallway as Octavia made her way to the bedroom.

*****

Darkness swirled around Octavia as she stood motionless in the void once again. All her senses stripped from her, all except sound. She could hear hooves walking passed her, some calm and steady, others frantic and trying to get to their destination as fast as possible. There was a scream and then the sickening sound of a cart colliding with a full grown pony. Immense pain flowed through Octavia, causing her to drop to the ground, convulsing in pain. When she looked back up, she was surprised at the sight before her.

Octavia saw herself on the floor in the void, facing herself, blood pooling around her, her eyes focused on the Octavia before her as she spoke. She said one inaudible word. Octavia couldn’t tear her eyes from the gruesome scene playing out before her. The mare on the ground spoke again, this time louder, no sound reached her ears. She shouted the word and once again Octavia heard nothing. The injured mare gave up trying to speak and just grinned sincerely at Octavia. She looked at something off to the side as red a tear rolled down her cheek. Octavia looked at where the mare on the ground looked and saw the remains of a destroyed cello, its scroll still falling slowly to the ground. When it finally reached the ground and shattered as Octavia had seen before, she heard the word the mare tried to convey whispered in her ear. Remember. The grey mare on the ground before Octavia slowly faded away, once again leaving Octavia in the darkness.

*****

Octavia jerked awake, rising to a sitting position on the bed panting in a cold sweat, a nightmare once again plaguing her mind. She looked off to her side to see her roommate undisturbed from her slumber. The two mares had made a mutual agreement to sleep in the same bed as Octavia after she had woken with a scream in the middle of the night from another one of her nightmares. Nightmares were a common thing with Octavia as a piece of her brain tried to force her to remember something that isn’t there, instead burning the image of her left for dead in the middle of the street. Vinyl had been so worried for the troubled mare that the two came to a mutual agreement that would help Octavia have some semblance of security and spare Vinyl the pain of sleeping on such a stiff couch every night.

She took a few deep breaths and rubbed her face with her hooves to calm herself while that one word repeated itself in her mind. Remember what? Is my mind trying to tell me something? After a few moments her shaking started to slow as the dream started to leave her mind. It’s OK Octavia. It was just a dream. She reassured herself and looked around the room to remind herself that this was reality and the dream wasn’t. Just a dream.

Octavia looked at her friend and noted, with a small tinge of regret, that this was the first time she had seen Vinyl without her glasses. Vinyl normally woke up before Octavia and was normally the first of the two to fall asleep. As she took a moment longer to compose herself from her own psyche, Octavia once again laid back down to sleep, easing herself closer to the DJ out of need for comfort from her fear of abandonment. Now mere inches from the unicorns face, Octavia closed her eyes and drifted slowly to sleep as Vinyl’s warmth radiated against Octavia. As sleep slowly claimed her mind, Octavia idly lay a hoof across Vinyl and pulled her closer too tired to notice her action, drifting further into sleep once again.