When Vinyl opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the lack of any human named Lyra in bed with her. The absence of her friend triggered something in her brain, probably similar to someone knocking on her door, because she immediately rose her torso in a perfect right angle, now totally awake despite the early time of day displaying in red numbers on her alarm clock.

“Lyra! Where are- Oh that’s right.”

One of the biggest downsides of being mute, according to Vinyl, and it was something she kept describing to anyone who’d listen, was that she couldn’t speak up and call someone whose attention was required. She always had to either text them, ask someone to yell for her (which she kind of enjoyed as it always looked like she was a mafia boss or something), or get up her ass and go fetch.

“Well, her phone’s right there, so that only leaves one option… Ugh, at least she didn’t leave without me.”

It had happened before. Despite behaving like the worst of slackers when in school, Lyra liked to get up early in the morning, probably to make the most of her day, but more likely to get the time to prepare ten thousands cups of coffee, since she usually chugged on it like a stock market investor on overtime.

“Come on me, let’s go… Maximum effort.”

She stretched her arms high in the air and got out of the large bed with much anticipated difficulty, shivering slightly as her feet touched the cold floor boards. She grabbed a white shirt to avoid the gaze of the neighbors from across the street, and headed towards the small kitchen, walking across the living room where the two massive speakers were casting their shadows on the wall in spite of the morning sun beaming through the windows.

“You know!” A voice shouted from the kitchen, “As arousing as it is to watch you sleep in the nude, it’s not that great when you cuddle me in your sleep, all sweaty and drooling!”

Good morning to you too.

“Want some coffee? I think I made a lil’ too much…” She commented, observing the jug filled to the brim with dark liquid, awkwardly smiling like a baby who just threw his toy on the ground.

Nah, I’m good.

“Just need to find something to eat…” Vinyl thought, nonchalantly opening the mini fridge in search of anything that could be consumed without too much preparation. Or any, really. She grabbed what she could, under the concerned yet amused eye of Lyra.

“Mozzarella, almonds, beef jerky… Dude, you sure you’re not pregnant?”

Nope, just hungry - Vinyl signed with one hand, the other being occupied with holding the different produces together - Unless you’ve got something to tell me

“Very funny. Just don’t puke on me once we’re in the car.” She grinned before sitting down on the couch, sipping and burning her tongue with the hot coffee, as Vinyl opened several packages to swallow anything she could with the short time they had before leaving for class.

“Which is… fifteen minutes. Easy, ‘specially compared to the two minutes I usually have when I wake up.”

Her eyes landed on the lyre case sitting next to the couch. Today was music class, something she had been looking forward to since… the last music class, in fact. With all the shit that had been plaguing their past week, she had almost forgotten what it felt like to enjoy her passion.

“Oh, by the way, I was thinking…” Lyra said as she chewed on a few almonds, “Yesterday evening, after the end of classes, Bon-Bon decided to stick around for a bit, and you know what she saw?”

Surprise me.

“These two lil’ assholes, Shits and Sales or whatever! You know, the groupies of Sunset Shimmer! They were in the library -surprising, I know- filming and taking pictures of that girl we’re supposed to be following!”

Sounds hot.

“Very funny dude! What are we going to do?!”

Vinyl didn’t know, and honestly did not care that much. Why would she? If Shimmer had her two pseudo-henchmen doing her dirty work, it would be less trouble for Lyra and the others. She took a break from the chewing to think about it. They weren’t in an impasse, like with Sombra, but they didn’t have a plethora of choices either. Especially if they wanted to keep it a secret fro-

“Wait.”

She turned towards Lyra, who hadn’t taken her eyes off Vinyl during that whole thinking process, and frantically gestured her arms.

“What?!” The lyrist exclaimed, “You’re seriously serious?!”

Yup, we need to tell Octavia.

}--oO0Oo--{

“Just so we’re clear, we’re not telling her about the car theft, right?”

The DJ shook her head, keeping her eyes on the road as she drove her blue-and-white car through the streets of Canterlot’s suburbs.

“And not about that time when Sunset Shimmer kinda sequestered you either?”

Nope.

“But we do tell her about that Twilight girl.”

Yes.

“And you think it’s a good idea?”

No.

“And you’re gonna answer all my questions with one word?”

Yeah.

“There’s one thing I don’t get though: Octavia’s gonna ask why we’re doing what Sunset wants, soooo… how exactly do we tell her about the video of us destroying her father’s car? You got a smooth sign for that?”

We don’t have to tell her per say… Vinyl signaled with one remaining hand on the wheel.

“So?”

So?

“What do we tell her?”

Oh I don’t know, just find something.

“Hey! It was your fucking idea!”

I’m kidding. Let’s just say Shimmer threatened to… call her parents and tell them about Sombra, because she found out about it or something!

“That… could work, I guess. Gotta update Bon-Bon on that then. But for the record, I still think it’s a shitty idea.”

They finally reached CHS, swiftly parking in one of the many empty spots. Bon-Bon and Octavia were already waiting for them under the horse statue right in front of the entrance, visibly concerned about something happening on the pianist’s cellphone.

“Hey fuckers!” Lyra shouted as she almost ran into Bon-Bon to hug her, grabbing Octavia’s hand to pull her along.

“Oh, hello to you too Lyra.” Octavia answered, un-eased by her friend’s behavior at such an hour.

‘Sup.

“Oh, hey Vinyl!” Bon-Bon said, I think there’s something you need to see-”

“Good morning Vinyl!” Octavia greeted, kissing her on the cheek.

“Oh sweet, Tavi’s here, and- WHOAH WHOAH HOLD ON.”

Did Octavia just kiss her? As a hello. What just happened, it had gone so fast she barely noticed it, but now all she could think about was this. Kissing on the cheek to greet was not uncommon, especially around Trottingham, where Octavia’s family was from…

“...But holy shit it was unexpected. And sweet. And it felt good. And-”

“You alright Vinyl?” Bon-Bon asked, eyes wide as she observed Vinyl’s absent face.

Yeah! Yeah sure!

“Bon-Bon and I were just looking at something truly awful she has found online! That horrible bully, Sunset Shimmer, just uploaded a video, on… MySpace?”

“MyStable.”

“Oh yes, my bad. On MyStable, where she shared some truly unsettling pictures of another student!”

“You mean Twilight Sparkle?” Lyra exclaimed.

“You know her?”

“What? No… I mean, we just-”

Lyra was suddenly interrupted by Vinyl, who had just raised a piece of paper in front of Octavia’s face, with a few lines hastily written on it:

Sunset Shimmer told Lyra and I to spy on that girl and find compromising things against her, or else she’s tell your parents (and the school) about Sombra, ‘cause she apparently heard us talk about getting him fired. So now we’re kind of stuck.

PS: your hair look nice today <3

“What?!” Octavia exclaimed, cheeks turning crimson in anger, for the first time since Vinyl had met her, “Are you saying you’re the one who took those horrifying photos of that poor girl?!”

“Oh jeez that’s scary.”

“Hey calm down, Octavia!” Lyra responded, with a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek, “It has nothing to do with us! Tell her, Bon-Bon!”

“Yeah Octavia, don’t worry! It was Sunset’s two… bodyguards, or something. Vinyl and Lyra would never do that, and you know it!”

That instantly appeased the cellist, who seemed as sorry as she was confused.

“But… How could Sunset Shimmer possibly know about Sombra? I mean, we have been so careful and-”

“Girl, it’s not about how she knew, it’s about what we do now that she knows. And that’s why we’re telling you. We don’t really… know what to do with that Twilight Sparkle…”

“Well, for a start...”, Bon-Bon added, “...find her. People are already reacting to the video, and despite their opinions on Sunset Shimmer, they still find the pictures hilarious. No doubt that new girl will be as far from other students as she can.”

“Wait, she is new in the school?” Octavia exclaimed. “Poor girl… How could anyone do something like this?”

“By being a self-centered, close-minded bitch?”

“Lyra!”

“What?! It’s true!”

Anyway -Vinyl interrupted with brush of the hand- We wanted to ask you what you think about all of this, Tavi.

“Me?” Octavia said, with visible confusion, “I’m afraid I’m don’t quite catch why you would need me in such a situation. I’m afraid fighting high school bullies is no skill of mine.”

“I think what Vinyl means, Octavia, is that they need your help concerning that Twilight Sparkle we’ve heard about.” Bon-Bon explained, gently putting a hand on Octavia’s shoulder to ease the cellist’s worries.

“Yup.”

Yeah it’s the idea.

“B...But what could I ever do? I have never met, nor seen, this person, I have no idea how she is! Any of you could do a far better job than me!”

“But you have something we don’t have, girl!” Lyra answered.

“Do I?”

“Of course! You’re gentle…”

“...Empathic…” Bon-Bon added.

Loving.

Octavia turned to Vinyl as she saw this word written on the white paper placed in her hand, which she closed, as well as her eyes, for a couple of seconds.

“You… You all mean this?”

“Of course we do!” Bon-Bon exclaimed, hugging the cellist’s arm, “You brought out the best in all of us! I mean, just look at what Vinyl was like before-”

“...”

“...Compared to what she is now.” The girl finished, despite the middle finger pressing against her face.

“If you can’t help this girl, I don’t think anyone could!” Lyra added, arms over Bon-Bon’s shoulders.

Besides, Vinyl signed in motions Octavia only partly understood, It’s not like it’s Sunset Shimmer. That girls looks completely inoffensive, you’ve seen it yourself.

“It’s true, but… Wait, could you repeat the second half of this?”

“...”

“So?”

“...Fine, I’ll try my best. I only hope this student is not the monster the video said she was.”

“You’ve dealt with worse before.” Bon-Bon reassured her friend, gesturing her hand towards Vinyl and Lyra.

Octavia let out a small chuckle. “I guess I have.”

Suddenly, both Octavia and Bon-Bon felt something pulling them towards the other side of the hallway. It took little time to realize it was Lyra, running like hell while Vinyl was carrying both the cello case, lyre and turntables, with a face of both panic and amusement.

“Fuuuuuck! We forgot about music class!”

}--oO0Oo--{

“Alright class!” The teacher continued, after having been interrupted by the four girls bursting through the doors of the music room, “For your third week, and in the purpose of both training the beginners and sharing the experience of, well the more experienced, we’re going to make some groups!”

“Ooooh! Group session!”

“Nice!”

“Anyone here plays the triangle?”

“Quiet please, just bear with me for a moment! You have five minutes to find a group of two to three students, no more. Please try to mix beginners and experienced players, so that everyone can learn something today! Alright, I’ll leave you to it!”

As Vinyl took out her turntables, as well as the yards of cables she needed, half a dozen students suddenly surrounded her, each holding their own instrument. A couple of ones, she had seen before, like that girl with rainbow-colored hair, or this cross-eyed one with a… musical saw? Was that even allowed?

“Hey Vinyl! Can I be with you?”

“Vinyl! I’m positive a remix of my sweet guitar skills would sound super cool!”

“Forget it Rainbow Dash! I’m obviously the superior player!”

“You fucking thought, Trixie!”

“No fighting in my class people! There’s like, twenty of you, everyone’s going to find a group!”

All of them had probably either seen or heard about Vinyl’s performance at Pinkie Pie’s party. She already had received compliments during the past week. The attention was nice, she might get even used to it;

“I’ll leave you to it, girl.” Lyra said behind the DJ, “I’ve already found my dream group!”

“What? Wait, hold on a min-”

She couldn’t believe it! While she was out there, trying to figure out a way to announce she had already a group to that hoard of students, Lyra had recruited Bon-Bon and Octavia to form their own trio?!

Lyra? She signed.

“Yeah?”

I’m going to desecrate your face so badly that from this day onwards the mere thought of going to church will light you on fire.

“God that was hard to translate, even for me. Anyhoo, I’ve got to talk to my group so… see ya!”

“Wait a second you fucking-”

She could not hear her. Of course she could not. What a life.

Meanwhile, Octavia was looking at her friend from a distance, sitting on a small stool next to the piano Bon-Bon was tuning.

“Lyra! I still don’t think it was very cordial of us to leave Vinyl alone like this… Maybe we should split up into groups of two…”

“Nah, she’ll be fine, trust me! Plus, electro music doesn’t sit well with my lyre, it certainly won’t work with you, and… I just wanna be with Bon-Bon, so here we are!”

“Should we get a room?” The pianist asked jokingly.

“Fuck yeah we should!”

“Do not worry about Vinyl, I’m sure she’ll find someone she’ll be happy to work with!”

The girl paused for a few seconds to try the pedals on the school’s piano, before addressing her two friends an excited smile:

“Plus, I may have prepared a little something in the events we were to work together!”

“Did you now?” Lyra asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh really? Bon-Bon, that’s so thoughtful of you!”

“Hey, don’t give me that much credit. I’ve basically searched for ‘piano cello harp music’ online.”

“You mean lyre?”

“No Lyra, I mean harp, because your goddamn hipster instrument is really just a tiny harp.”

“Riddle me this: does one need his teeth to play the piano?”

“You wouldn’t want Vinyl to teach sign language to two persons would you?”

“Careful about what I want, because as the Vengaboys say, Boom Boom Boom, I want you in my roo-”

“You were saying, Bon-Bon?” Octavia interrupted, with a bead of sweat running down her face.

“Yes, so! Have a look at this!” Bon-Bon continued as she took out what looked like music sheets out of her bag, giving a couple to Octavia, and the rest to Lyra. The two teens took a moment to look at the notes.

“Uh.”

“So? What do you think.”

“Uuuhhhh…”

“Lyra?”

“I think she likes it, and so do I.”

“Damn Octavia, I’ll be honest, I was more worried about your reaction than hers. You know, about actually playing with other people and all…”

“Oh, yes, I mean,... My sister and I, we used to play together quite often, back when I was discovering the cello.”

“Uh, that makes sense.”

“Say!” Lyra commented, “You never really talk about your sister. she sounds pretty important to you though. Is she like your parents or something. Doesn’t sound like it.”

“Uhm… I mean… It’s… complicated. I’d rather not elaborate for now.”

“I see, yeah. Family’s always trouble isn’t it? Sometimes I’m glad I’m an only child, my folks are pretty chill about things.”

“Is that why you’re already trying to move out?”

“Alright, you know what-”

}--oO0Oo--{

“So then I could do like, a nice solo, and after that, bam! You come in with the first part, but with that second bass boost!”

Vinyl was smiling at Rainbow Dash’s… approximative directions. After deliberating for a few minutes, she had finally chosen the only person in the room, maybe in the entire school, who acted more like a boy than Lyra, which was a tough bar to pass.

“Why wasn’t she at the party though?...”

Of all the people in CHS, Rainbow Dash was probably one of the only students who wasn’t at Pinkie’s last week. Odd. But she probably had something going on. Whatever. She was pretty cool.

“So! Whaddya think?”

“...”

“Wow! You have really good handwriting! You’ve been doing that your whole life or som…”

Rainbow Dash stopped mid-sentence, reflecting on the question she was about to ask. Vinyl didn’t even need to look at her to know how embarrassed the girl was.

Hey, don’t worry. -She wrote- I’m not going to get pissed at you or anything. And to be fair, I haven’t been doing this my whole life, so you’re good.

“Ha… Ha ha! Cool! I’m glad!” The guitarist answered awkwardly, scratching the back of her head and looking at the watch she didn’t have. “So, you wanna keep going?”

Vinyl was about to confirm when something caught her attention. Something coming from the corner of the room, where Octavia and the others were. A couple of light notes… Piano, but also harp…

“...And cello.”

She turned around, followed by Rainbow Dash, intrigued by what caused the DJ to lose all attention. As she got closer to her destination, the music got louder, more precise, and more enchanting. One by one, the other students started to notice the tune, despite their own group works.

“Wow…”

Bon-Bon was sitting in front of the piano, eyes barely open as her hands traveled from one side of the keyboard to another, barely pressing any of the keys, in a way only as delicate as the music she was creating. Lyra was standing up, back against the end of the piano, listening to her friend’s notes and accompanying her with her lyre, fingers moving through the strings, in a lullaby style that surprised many students, probably not expecting such delicacy from someone like Lyra. She was looking at Bon-Bon, concentrating on the movements of her friend’s hands on the piano, rather than on the music sheet she had tossed on the ground.

“Damn Lyra, music really can change people uh?”

The golden instrument seemed so delicate and precious between the girl’s palms, it was hard to conceive she had kept it in such a pristine state for years. It was adorable, but Lyra didn’t like that word. ‘Too childish’ in her opinion. But true nonetheless.

Then Vinyl’s gaze finally landed on the third member of the group: Octavia was sitting on the other side, back almost against Bon-Bon’s, holding the gigantic wooden cello against her chest, arms vibrating as the bow slid along the strings. She was most likely the more experienced in the trio, and it showed: her body appeared like it was one with the instrument, the bow seemed like an extension of her arm, and the music felt like a song. A beautiful song she didn’t write, but which she carried on her shoulders, alongside the cello’s neck.

“She looks so… peaceful.”

As the trio continued, Bon-Bon’s music became more and more intense, Octavia’s movements accelerated, while Lyra gave the tempo with various chords on her harp. Soon the entire room filled with the sound of piano, harp and cello. Vinyl looked around her, at the walls, at the ceiling, she could almost see it, see the music flow around everyone, on every surface, in every particle of air, the vibrations inspiring, exhilarating, both so intense and so steady, she closed her eyes, and smiled, and smiled.

“This is what I want. What I want people to feel. This. Just this.”

And she turned, and she moved, like a wave under the sun, like a sound wave in a concert, a single music note in an ocean of feels, surrounded by colors, sounds and sensations, this music she loved, played by people she loved. The genre didn’t matter, the instruments didn’t matter. What matter was the spark it create in her, that emotion she couldn’t describe to anyone who would ask. She was just… Just in the right place. A place where the senses converged into what gave her life a meaning. And she didn’t need her voice for that, only her, only her friends, only to keep moving, keep spinning, and again, and again…

...Until she opened her eyes.

Bon-Bon played one last note, and everyone cheered, including the teacher. Vinyl wiped a single tear from her cheek. She ran to the trio to hug them all, noticing that for once, Octavia did return the favor.

It felt nice.

Author's Note

Gee wiz, that took its time didn't it?

Chapter's finally out! Jesus fuckjkjjjojo Christ that took forever! Once again, I'm sorry about that, but also not too much because my fourth years as an engineering student started and I'm full of alcohol and regrets.

Yes, Vinyl has synaesthesia. And so do I, in a way. Not quite the same though, and not as strong, thankfully. If you have it too, tell me in the comments and sub to my channel, don't forget to punch that bell!

Since I've been asked this, let me specify: this story is supposed to be canon with the movies. I'll try my best to respect the timeline of the events set in the EG movies (which should only be hard for the first one because I swear to god this entire plot happens in like, three days). There are going to be some differences of course (Discord is a teacher, Vinyl and the others interact with the Mane 6,...), but nothing that can actually be disproven by the movie (i.e we don't know, it could have happened off-screen).

Alright, that'll be all! See you next century for that third chapter!

Bisous,

Saga.