Chapters 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.
“Ms. Melody ?”
“Uh ?”
The young woman opened her eyes and immediately rose her head from the small square pillow it was resting on. The seatbelt light had just started blinking, and most passengers on the plane were preparing their belongings, while others were still asleep or simply focused on the travel route displayed on the small screen in front of them.
“Ms. Melody ! The plane’s about to land. The car should be waiting for you outside exit C, it should take you to the mansion in less than an hour.”
“Thank you Harry. What about you ? Will you be alright ?”
“Oh don’t worry, I’ll be just fine. My wife and kids should be… Well, it’s not important, I’m sure you have better things to focus on.”
“Are my parents home ? They didn’t answer my calls today.”
“I’m afraid I haven’t had much chance either. But I’m sure they have their reasons : your mother is a very busy woman, and your father-”
“-Is not the answering type, I know.”
“I heard your family hired a new driver. Hope you two will get along ! After all, you’ll be staying with us for a while this time, won’t you ?”
“Sort of… It depends on the auditorium’s schedule, really.”
“Well, I’m sure everyone at the mansion will be thrilled to have you back !”
“...Everyone ? I’m not so sure about that …” Fortissima Melody thought to herself as the plane’s tires screeched against the fields of Canterlot Airport.
}--oO0Oo--{
The car was gently making its way through the highway, as the cold air of September fogged up the windows as it collided with the warmth inside. Fortissima was simply sitting there, eyes closed, listening to the sounds around her, feeling the vibrations of the world around her. It was funny to her, in a sense : she had never been blind, or anything of the sort, but she had always enjoyed taking moments to appreciate every single bit of sound and motion she could feel in her space. The cars passing by, her suitcases moving in the trunk, the almost indistinguishable classical music coming out of the car’s stereo…
“You’re alright ma’am ? You’ve been awfully silent these past minutes.”
“Oh I’m alright, uhm… Fire Score ?”
“Firestone, ma’am.”
“Oh, I’m awfully sorry, hope I didn’t off-”
“-It’s alright Ms. Melody, I’m brand new here after all.”
The driver took a moment to slightly turn his head around to look at his passenger, hand still firmly gripped on the wheel.
“Oh, is it a bad time ? I don’t want to burst your bubble or anything.”
“No, no, I’m just… It’s been quite some time since I haven’t been able to truly relax and enjoy some true peace and quiet like this…”
“Haha yeah, I feel that. And we’re still on the highway ! Once we arrive at the manor, you’ll have all the peace and quiet that you need, but with less me spoiling your fun.”
“Oh no, you’re not-”
“I’m just messing around. Must be quite the change of atmosphere, after all your trips here and there. Not much time to breathe I imagine.”
“You could say that… It’s just… I missed the peace...”
She looked through the windshield, making the most of the things she could see : the cows and sheeps in the fields, all packed to resist against the cold wind, the wind turbines, going around and around,... The were approaching the city already. She closed her eyes again, hand pressed against the cold glass, ears eager to catch anything they could. Her breath slowed down as she synced with the rhythm of the orchestra she could hear from the radio. For a second, she could almost feel the wind blowing through her hair, despite the steel and glass separating them.
“I’m just not sure that peace is what’s waiting for me here…”
}--oO0Oo--{
Twilight hardly knew what to do. After the bell had rang, Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack and Fluttershy all had left to attend their classes, promising to meet her back at the soccer field during the break to try and talk to this world’s Rainbow Dash. She had been wandering in the school for a while, still wearing Rarity’s costume, with the fake blond hair itching the back of her neck. Spike had fallen asleep twenty minutes ago, and was now resting in her open backpack, drooling on the school supplies she didn’t have.
“Come on Twilight, you can do this… Twenty minutes to go, it’s nothing, nothing at all! Maybe you should just… lay low! And…, uh... go to the library!”
Perfect. She would not even feel time slipping by with a good book. Or two, or three. She walked up the stairs with much difficulty, grasping the handrail with both her palms, a bead of sweat running down her temple as she observed the mere five thousands steps to go. Or at least it felt like it.
“Uhm… Excuse me?”
Twilight let out a small scream of surprise and quickly turned around, only to miss a step and fall off the few ones she had managed to ascend.
“Oh my! Are you alright?!”
Yes, yes she was. And by some miracle, Spike had not woke up. Guess he really did need that sleep.
“I’m so sorry!” The newcomer apologized “I did not mean to startle you!”
Twilight looked up to face her interlocutor. It was another student, by the looks of it. Tall slim, dressed pretty much like her except for the grey and white palette. But perhaps her most noticeable feature was the huge cello case sitting behind her, projecting its shadow over half of the princess's body. She kind of looked… familiar.
“I’m fine!” Twilight assured, quickly getting up and dusting her skirt, “Tooootally fine!”
“Oh my! Is there something wrong with your hair?”
“Uh?” Twilight inquired, before realizing half her wig had fallen backwards, mixing the fake blond hair with her original purple color. “That’s… not important!”
“Uhm, forgive me if I’m being discourteous, but aren’t you that student we saw in this video?”
Twilight swallowed the little saliva she had. Of course she was going to be recognized. Even if the wig had held, the costume wouldn’t have fooled anyone for long. What could she do now? Play defensively? Admit everything?
“...Maybe?”
Alright, why not both.
“Oh I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t want to be rude or to put you in a… delicate position. To be perfectly honest, I find Sunset Shimmer’s accusations quite repulsive.”
“You know about Sunset Shimmer? How did- My bad, I’m Twilight Sparkle by the way. And you are?”
“Octavia Melody.”
“Wait, you are?”
“Of course. Why do you ask, if I may?”
This was unexpected. So her six friends weren’t the only ponies with… dopplegangers, or rather counterparts, in this world. She knew she had met Celestia and what she believed was Trixie, but this confirmed her theory: everyone was here. One way or another, everyone she knew now had legs, arms and whatever fingers were.
“No… Nothing! I just thought I’d heard the name before. Yeah, this video is… quite something, isn’t it? To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t know what I’m going to do…”
“Well, my sister would probably say that no matter what people think of you, the only thing that matters is succeeding in the goals you’ve set for yourself, but then again, my family has not always been the most effective source of inspiration…”
“Yeah, family’s tough. I mean, I remember my brother’s wedding, when Queen Chrysalis came and-”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Nothing! Nevermind, just… forget about this!”
“In any case” Octavia continued “ Concerning your concern about this video, I’m sure everything will be fine for you. I mean, I definitely am not a connaisseur on these kinds of things, but I have had my fair share of… difficult… moments. Especially these past weeks. But I’ve found people who helped me, kept me standing, despite my own personal doubts. I’m sure you’ll find such people too eventually.”
Whoah, that was… unexpected. Twilight wasn’t prepared for a conversation like that, especially with a stranger, who had spent her whole life in a world the princess didn’t know a thing about. Granted, she knew the Octavia Melody of her world, but they had never been that close, nor had the cellist been the more outspoken pony out there. This felt… unusual, odd even, but also comforting.
“I… Uh, whoah, thanks… It means a lot, really. I’m… I’m brand new here, and I don’t really know anyone, and that whole video thing really hasn’t been helping…”
“Yes, I would imagine so. Believe me, I know what it is like to feel like a complete stranger amongst other people. Sometimes you don’t know the reason, and sometimes you know it all too well…”
“Yeah, tell me about it….”
“...”
“...”
“But enough about this, you said you wanted to take actions against that Sunset Shimmer, didn’t you?”
“Did I?”
“I would certainly hope so, you cannot possibly let her slander you like this!”
“It sounds like you’re proposing to help me.”
“Thank the lord, not just me, but I do have friends who are quite eager to meet you.”
}--oO0Oo--{
That new girl’s face was feeling oddly familiar. Vinyl couldn’t say, but she definitely had seen her at a bus stop around downtown or something. With glasses. But without wig.
“So you’re that girl from the vid, uh? What’s with the costume?”
“Hello, my name’s Twilight Sparkle, and yeah, I guess you could put it that way… My friend Rarity helped me put this on to avoid being recognized for the time being. Doesn’t look like it’s doing that great of a job though…”
“Twilight Sparkle? What sort of name is that?”
“Says Lyra Heartstrings.”
“...Bon-Bon?”
“Yeah?”
“You think this little mouth of yours can still shut hermetically?”
“Nah.”
“Anyway!” Lyra exclaimed, translating the words Vinyl had started forming through the air, “You said you needed our help?”
“Well, Octavia said it was you who had help to offer…”
“Yeah, that might be it. So you know that bitch, right?”
“That… who?”
“Sunset Shimmer! She brutalized Vinyl -her- and blackmailed all of us into obedience! Just wait until I get my hands on her, I’m gonna fuckin-”
“What Lyra is trying to say” Bon-Bon interrupted “Is that we all have a common interest in taking away the power Sunset has over most people here in school, and it appears she has a certain… interest in you.”
“Wait, she brutalized Vinyl ?”
“No Octavia, she just pushed her around a little, don’t worry about it.”
Yeah, she asked us to follow you and find incriminating evidence, like the vid you saw - Vinyl wrote on a large sheet of paper - But we haven’t done anything yet.
“Yeah, that video was taken by these two brats who keep following her, nothing to do with us!”
“Calm down Lyra.”
“Oh no! I am so sorry!” Twilight said in confusion, “I had no idea it’d come to this, I didn’t want to get anyone else involved…”
Involved in what?
“Yeah, what are you talking about?”
A bead of sweat ran down Twilight’s face. She had cornered herself, and now she needed to find an explanation, a lie, quickly. It’s not like she could just come up and say “Yeah I’m a pony princess, and my dog’s a dragon, ‘sup?”.
“I definitely can’t tell them the truth… ” The princess thought to herself “...But I can tell them bits of it. ”
She looked at the confused faces staring at her. How long had she been silent? She wanted to tell them, to have someone to truly talk to, to let go of the burden this whole adventure was. But she couldn’t. Not yet. Not while her world was still endangered.
“You see… I know Sunset Shimmer… I mean, I knew her, before she came around. And recently, she stole a… a very important possession of mine. I don’t know why she did it, but getting it back means a lot to my friends and I.”
Vinyl raised an eyebrow behind her purple glasses, and signed to Lyra, who immediately translated :
“What was that thing she stole ?”
“Oh, um… It’s a… a family heirloom. A crown.”
“A crown uh ? Yeah the bitch looks like she’d be into stealing that.”
“Lyra !”
“Sorry Tavi.”
“One thing I don’t follow you on” Bon-Bon commented “The video said something about you becoming princess of the fall formal ? What’s up with that ?”
“Well, I met with Fluttershy earlier today, who told me she had found the crown and-”
“Neat ! So you have it !”
“...No, she gave it to principal Celestia, who has decided to use it as prize for this year’s fall formal princess.”
What
“That’s the stupidest decision I’ve ever heard.”
“Totally.”
“Oh my, couldn’t you just… explain that whole situation to her ? If she learns the crown was stolen, she will surely give it back to its true owner.”
“But I have no way to prove it actually belongs to me… And since I just arrived here, she has no reason to trust me…”
So what’s happening -Vinyl wrote- Is that you now have two problems : winning that pageant to get your crown back, and dealing with Sunset Shimmer, who by the way has beef with us too, so there’s that
“What ? What happened ? What did she do ?”
“We may or may not have beaten the shit out of her.” Lyra answered with a sadistic grin “But to be fair, she was like, one hundred percent asking for it.”
“I believe you told me about this, yes. She really is something, isn’t she…”
“So what you’re saying is, you don’t have anyone to help you out ?”
“Well, I do actually. I’ve brought together my frien- I mean, a group of students here together, who all have been wronged by Sunset Shimmer in the past. I’m actually on my way to get the help of Rainbow Dash.”
“Oh, Dash ! I like this girl ! Want us to tag along ?”
“It’s okay, I’d rather go on my own. But even with their help, I hardly see how that’d be enough. Sunset Shimmer has been crowned as princess of the fall formal many years in a row, and I hardly know anyone here. And now with this video…”
“Hey, it’s going to be fine, alright ?” Bon-Bon reassured the girl, with a warm smile “I actually know what we can do to help you.”
“You do ?”
“You need to earn the staff and students’ trust right ? Well, who better to help you than someone who knows everyone here ?”
“What are you trying to say, Bon-Bon ?” Octavia asked.
Yeah, who are you talking about ?
“Well…”
Bon-Bon didn’t add anything. She didn’t need to. As soon as Lyra and the others saw that expression in her eye, the entire room exploded.
“No !”
No way !
“Nonononono-”
}--oO0Oo--{
Twilight was confused. And terrified. Mostly terrified. Of all people inhabiting this world, she was not expecting this.
“Why hello there girls ! I see you’ve made a new friend ?”
It couldn’t be.
“Well” Discord continued “It’s about time I came back in this story.”
Author's Note
Good God I hate myself.
I'm still alive though, haven't died from Corona Virus yet, so there's that. Probably going to write more now (yeah right), since I have lots of free time and am not subscribed to Netflix.
Shorter chapter to get back into the mood and characters, but with heavy consequences on where the story is headed, which is : staying canon with the movie while still making some stuff happen behind the scenes. It's not a choice everyone will enjoy, but it certainly is mine.
Anyway I probably lost half my reader base after this SEVEN MONTHS HIATUS JESUS CHRIST but I'm gonna keep going.
Love you all, wash your hands and don't touch your face.
Bisous,
Saga.
Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes : there was no mistaking it, in spite of his... humanoid... appearance, this was Discord, the spirit of chaos, the very essence of disharmony and wickedness. The same Discord who had fought her friends and her, back in Equestria, who had corrupted the elements of harmony, brought chaos to Ponyville and lied, tricked and twisted his way to power multiple times. There he was, all smiles and manners, sporting a horribly tasteless outfit, eyes glowing and tooth out.
“Why you…!” The princess let out as she took what looked like a battle stance, only slightly less convincing due to her lack of horn, magic, and everything that made her any sort of powerful.
“Me ?” The professor repeated, visibly confused, but still keeping his ever detached attitude.
“Discord !”
“I’m sorry young lady, do I know you ?”
“Don’t play-”
Oh, that’s right. Twilight suddenly remembered : this was not Equestria. These were not DJ Pon-3, Octavia Melody, or Lyra Heartstrings. And this was not Discord.
“If you’ve come to ask for a private lesson, you’ll have to ask someone else. I heard that Ms. Zecora would be more than happy to help you. That is, unless you’ve come for an autograph…”
He paused to turn his head towards Vinyl and the others, as his smile creepily widened and his eyes started to shine.
“Or a favor.”
Alright. Abort mission. To hell with the crown and the fate of Equestria. Back to the castle with a hot cocoa, a comfy pillow and a very very solid door. Twilight definitely was not prepared to deal with the Lord of Chaos a second time.
“Yeah yeah, listen” Lyra answered, completely unaffected by the man’s demeanor, “We need your help with a… situation of ours.”
“Do you now ? Well talk about a change of narrative… I liked part one better anyway.”
“What ?”
“What ? ...Anyway, what is it I could possibly help you with ? Hold you horses, I didn’t agree yet ! I suppose it has something to do with that one over there, who seems to know just soo much about me, don’t you, miss… ?”
“Sparkle… Twilight Sparkle.”
“Well Ms. Sparkle, I’m positively thrilled to make your acquaintance ! Apparently you already know who I am for some reason, so let’s skip the small talk. You three, what sort of pickle have you gotten yourselves into this time ?”
“Sunset Shimmer”
“Oh my, we’re name dropping already ? Nothing like a bit of high school drama, which isn’t surprising considering that young lady…”
“Yeah she’s a piece of work…” Bon-Bon let out in a sigh.
“I was talking about our mutual friend here but whatever. Mhm. Get it ? Mut-”
“Anyway” Lyra continued without giving the pun a second thought, “She’s stolen some sort of family heirloom belonging to Twilight, and has also… done us wrong in the past. It’s complica-”
Are you going to help or not ?
The entire room stopped to look at Vinyl, who had just signed a few words right in front of her teacher. She did not seem happy. Or patient. Which in Twilight’s opinion was hardly a surprise when addressing Discord.
“Well young lady, I’d gladly try my best, if you ever want to actually explain what you want from me ! I don’t suppose a class in advanced Newton laws would solve your issues now would it ?”
“Simply put, we need your help to take her out of the picture” Lyra explained in her classic diplomacy.
“Take her out of the picture ? Come on now young lady, this is one of your classmates we’re talking about, you can’t just ask me to help you do… whatever it is you want to do !”
You helped us with Sombra ! Vinyl exclaimed. With her hands. By basically moving very fast.
“Sombra ?! ” Twilight thought, getting more and more confused by the second. She could hear Spike shake in her backpack. Looks like he didn’t like what he was hearing either.
“With Sombra, the situation was totally different, for a number of reasons. And I shouldn’t have to justify myself ! Just report that girl to our dear principals if she’s that much of a nuisance !”
“You think nobody’s tried that before ? She bullied everyone into submission !”
“I wouldn’t have thought that was any concern of yours.”
“Point taken, but we still need you !”
“If you give me one good reason, I’d be glad to offer advice.”
“Please !” Bon-Bon begged.
“Oh god where is this going ? This was a bad idea. I should get back to Fluttershy and the others… ” Twilight thought.
“What has Sunset Shimmer even done to you four ?”
She’s blackmailing us !
“...”
“...”
“What ? ”
“I’m sorry my dear, what did you say, I mean, sign ?”
She’s fucking blackmailing us ! Vinyl continued, angrily waving her fingers, eyes almost red with anger, Me and Lyra, we made a mistake, big one, and she’s learned about it, now she’s using it against us ! We can’t fucking do anything !
“Dude” Lyra interrupted with a hand on her friend’s shoulder, “We shouldn’t-”
Vinyl knew what the lyrist was about to say : Octavia was here, right by her side, she knew. She knew, but she didn’t care. Less talking, more action, and her goal right now was to convince this prick to help them.
“I fucking need to do this. Come on… ”
...There is a video. Of me and Lyra. And no, not this kind of video, more of the illegal kind. We did something we shouldn’t have done and she… she knows about it, she got the file. Now she’s blackmailing us.
“Yeah we can’t tell the principals…” Lyra added.
“...That’s why we’ve come to you.” Bon-Bon continued.
Octavia did not say anything. She had sitten on a chair, trying to process everything she’d just heard.
“Oh.” Discord simply let out.
“Oh indeed ” Twilight thought. This seemed more serious than what she had thought.
“Alright.” Discord said.
Alright ?
“Yes, alright. I’ll help you at the best of my capacity. But this time we’re talking about a CHS student, so I will keep you girls in check.”
“Yeah sure, whatever.”
“Do not test me, Ms. Heartstrings.” Discord suddenly responded, with a heavier and somehow scarier tone than before.
“...Okay, alright…”
“So ! He said, turning to Vinyl and Twilight, “What is it you’re planning to do ?”
Okay ,Vinyl continued, trying to stay calm in spite of the variety of emotions flowing through her mind like a very slow tidal wave, We need three things : get the video back from Sunset, have her expose herself for what she really is, and get the principals to somewhat help us.
“So I assume my role is once again to convince our sweet principal Celestia and her sister to help us ?”
At least to make Twilight’s life a little bit easier. Even though she met the principal, she’s not a student here, so we should keep her out of trouble.
“But what did you mean by ‘expose herself’ ?” Bon-Bon inquired.
“We need her to step out of the shadows, give both the staff and the students as a whole, a glimpse of what she can really do…” Twilight explained.
“Like, I dunno, kidnapping someone ?” Lyra proposed, with an eye on Vinyl.
“That sounds a bit too extreme…” Twilight responded, with Discord nodding in approval. As mischievous as he was, there was simply no way he’d let a student of his get into this type of situation. Maybe.
What about your dog ?
“What did she say ?”
“What about your dog.”
“Spike ?! No ! There’s no way I’d let that… I’d let Sunset take him !”
“I’d do it.” The teacher simply said.
“Don’t you start !” The princess commented, her purple skin turning crimson, “How could you even propose such an idea ?!”
“I mean, we’re not gonna let her kidnap a person, and most people here have seen you with your dog, so they’d understand the situation. Also you know, we wanna get her either silenced or expelled, not thrown in jail.”
“I understand that Lyra, but I-”
Twilight suddenly felt a tap against her back. It was coming from inside her backpack, where Spike was still hidden to avoid the principals. Why he was still in there at the moment was unknown though, maybe he just enjoyed the smell of pencil sharpeners and chestnut snacks. Did the dragon want to talk to her ? She needed to find a good excuse to hide for a moment.0
“Can I use the bathroom real quick ?”
Not the most original approach, but you do what you can do in a new world.
“Yeah sure, there one next door in the hallway, but-”
“Thanks !” The princess simply said before taking off in a hurry.
“...Okay…” Bon-Bon commented. She had been somewhat quiet during this whole exchange, instead trying to focus on her friend sitting in the corner : Octavia looked pale, and her eyes were riddled with doubt and incomprehension, or at least that’s what the pianist interpreted. As Discord, Lyra and Vinyl were still talking, she moved over to the latter and gently tapped her shoulder to get the DJ’s attention.
“Vinylyshoudtaktotavia…”
What ?
“You should talk to Octavia.” She said in a slightly clearer voice, trying to keep this conversation away from the rest of the room.
Yeah I know, I have some explaining to do. Vinyl wrote on her notepad. Despite her best efforts, Bon-Bon was far from fluent in sign language.
“But like, right now. Don’t worry, we’ll handle Discord and Twilight. Plus, the lunch break’s almost over, so you don’t have much time to set things right.
Okay.
“Setting things right uh ? That’s… not gonna be easy… ”
“Hey, we should probably discuss this in another room.” Bon-Bon addressed the two remaining people, “Octavia has… a few things to process…” She whispered to Lyra. Discord had heard that too, but she didn’t care, and neither did he.
“Fair enough.” The man simply put, before grabbing his things and following Lyra and Bon-Bon outside.
“Okay, this is… ”
Vinyl didn’t really know what to think. There she was, in an empty classroom with Octavia, still sitting by herself in the corner, but now looking at her with a look she could not describe were she held at gunpoint.
“...Okay. ”
It was now or never. She could not afford to simply wait it out, nor could she try hard to appear like her careless and gleeful self, that would be like trying to perform stand-up comedy in a courtroom.
“Here goes… ”
She didn’t know what to say, but she needed to say something , about the car, about the video, something to give Octavia at least half an explanation. She started moving her hands in the air :
Hey, so I-
“What were you talking about ?”
Wow, that was surprising. And scary. Octavia had never interrupted someone like that, much less one of her friends.
“...”
“Vinyl, what was this about ? What did Sunset Shimmer say to you ? What is this video ?”
“Fuck this is going way too fast. Where are the brakes ? ”
The DJ’s hands stayed put. She couldn’t say anything : where to even begin ? With her and Lyra crashing a car or her getting sequestered in a garage by a school bully ?
“If this is between you and Lyra, then so be it. But it is now my concern as well. Please Vinyl, I need to know.”
“...”
Fine.
So she told Octavia everything.
Author's Note
Howdy there young folks !
What do you mean more than a year ?
In all seriousness though, I hope you and your loved ones are safe. The world's a shitshow right now and I'm not helping by not giving any news or updates on these characters you and I got to love. And for that I am sorry.
I know this chapter was short, too short. I wanted to add a part about Fortissima at the end, but I liked it how it was. Hoping the next chapter will be longer. And won't take as much time.
As always, bisous, stay safe, wash your hands, love each others,
Antoine.
EDIT : I realized I posted a chapter in April 2020 so I'm not as trashy a human being as I thought and also the beginning of this note doesn't make sense now but you know what let's say it's been a year.
Hey bro, you’re still awake? I know it’s two in the morning But I also know that to you, ‘late’ isn’t a thing Couldn’t stay awake even with my tunes, it’s not fair, Then I woke up all of a sudden, a nightmare. I know it's not the time, that's it's a delicate subject to dive into But I needed to let go, I needed to talk to you So I had a nightmare, it may sound like nothing But tonight, I'm afraid to lose everything...
Vinyl placed her phone back on the bedside table, under the single lit lamp, projecting beams of light across the room. It was late. Or early, depending on how one saw things. For the DJ, it was neither. She wasn’t asleep, nor was she awake. A sleepwalking zombie, with eye bags like hammocks, and an oversized white shirt as a nightwear. Her blue hair were looking like they just experienced Canterlot Park’s latest rollercoaster, and her mouth was numb.
“Fucking nightmare… ”
Waking up in the middle of the night was the worst. Only slightly worse when it was before a big day at school. Which it was. Fuck. She had jumped out of the bed five minutes ago, covered in sweat despite the fifty degrees outside and the absence of heat system in the bedroom, hands clutched, legs weak and a desperate need to scream. Something she hadn’t done for years. She had to force herself for a few moments to put her mind somewhere else. Anything but where it was when she woke up.
“Calm down. Calm down. You’re not there. You’re not in that fucking bus… You’re in your bedroom… ”
A single tear had rolled down her cheek before being absorbed by the artificial fabric of the T-shirt. She had grabbed her phone immediately: Volume always told her when he was feeling down, maybe it was her turn.
And now here she was, sitting on the bed, legs crossed and back against the wall, trying to forget things she should have forgotten long ago. She took a look at her desk, where lied a brand new pair of sunglasses, with dark purple glasses and black frame. The shape was odd, but it suited her. She reached to the desk to grab them and put them on. This brought her back to that moment on the steps of CHS, where her friends gifted her these. Bon-Bon, Lyra of course…
“... and Tavi. ”
There it was. Something else to think about. Octavia. God, she still didn’t know how she felt around her. Well, she felt good, that was for certain. But then what? She felt good around Lyra too. But it wasn’t the same. Perhaps because Lyra and her were fucking, but that wasn’t the point. Or was it? She didn’t know. But Octavia was special. She was… Octavia, a clumsy and timid porcelain doll who didn’t know much about the world outside her family mansion, and who always had to endure said family’s butthurt tempers. Lyra, Bon-Bon and Vinyl were trying to help her, but some things don’t change in the course of a few weeks. It was like trying to castrate a T-Rex with a butter knife: difficult, takes time, and might not be worth the effort given the troubles than can appear along the way.
“Shit I’m tired. ”
Hopefully she could get back to sleep quickly.
}-- FIVE HOURS LATER --{
“Fuck. ”
}--oO0Oo--{
“Good morning Vinyl, how was your- Oh dear! Are you alright?!”
“...”
“Don’t worry ‘bout it Octavia! She probably had a weird dream and touched herself all night.”
“Touched… herse- What?”
“Nothing!” Bon-Bon interrupted, coming from Lyra’s back to once again protect the integrity of Octavia’s innocence, before taking a look at Vinyl, “Wow! She’s right though! You really look like crap!”
I was up all fucking night.
“She said she was up all night.”
“Oh, I understood ‘I was cooking all night’...”
“Jeez! You made some progress girl!”
“Thanks Lyra, but I’m sure you were a much faster learner than I was.”
Vinyl let out a loud coughing sound, hitting the wall with her fist to simulate the laughter she could not produce.
“Lyra, a fast learner?” Microchips commented as he passed by, “Back in middle school, it took her months to memorize three words of Spanish!”
“You!” Lyra yelled, as her mint skin turned crimson, “I’m gonna fucking end you!”
Vinyl was now almost on the ground, between laughter and slumber, as Bon-Bon was trying her best to give the guy a few seconds to run, holding her friend by the hips as Octavia gazed at the whole scene from a few feet away.
“Is she… smiling? Uh, I guess she’s gotten more used to our bullshit. ” Vinyl thought.
“Ladies!”
“Wow!” Bon-Bon almost screamed in surprise, letting go of Lyra who went crashing against a locker. The girls were now towered by one of their teachers, an impressively tall lady, rocking the amazing combination of a lab coat and a mohawk haircut.
“Your morning class will soon begin, and I believe Mrs. Cheerilee is waiting.”
The biology teacher turned to Lyra:
“And you, young lady, please watch out for school property.”
“Sure! No worries! The locker won the duel anyways!” The lyrist answered, massaging her bleeding nose.
As the woman walked away towards another group of students waiting for her in the hallway, Bon-Bon waved goodbye to her friends, before rushing up the stairs to be on time for her first class of the day, while the other three continued their way towards the usual classroom.
“Man, some teachers here sure are weird!”
“I will say, I’m not quite sure about Mrs. Zecora’s general appearance. Do a lot of teacher dress in such a way?”
“Nah… Wait, do you know who that is?”
Vinyl turned around to follow her friend’s gaze, and found someone, a girl, who she’d never seen before. Dark purple hair, light blue shirt and purple skin, followed by a… purple… dog. Sure, why not. she appeared to be lost, and had difficulties walking. Vinyl barely had the time to approach her to ask if she was okay when Lyra grabbed her arm and pulled her alongside her and Octavia, as they were running down the hallway.
“C’mon dude, we’re gonna be late!”
As Vinyl finally started running as well, she could hear the voice of the girl in the distance:
“What a strange new woooooooooooooorld…”
“...Is she singing?! ”
}--oO0Oo--{
“I did NOT miss maths!”
“...I like maths, I think.”
“Well good for you Octavia! It’s been what? Two days since we last had this class? I feel like it’s been… I dunno, nine months!”
“That’s an oddly specific thing to say.”
“I don’t know! I just-”
Lyra suddenly became motionless, her usual stream of jokes and rants stopping as if she saw a ghost. She tapped Vinyl’s shoulder, getting her friend’s attention and pointing her in the direction of…
“...Sunset fucking Shimmer ”
Here she was. The insufferable, self-proclaimed queen of CHS, followed by her two… lackeys, for lack of a better word, two first-year students who were probably hoping she would quite literally step on them one day. Vinyl hadn’t heard of her since their… encounter at Pinkie Pie’s party, and she hadn’t been complaining.
“But I guess now that Sombra’s gone, the place of “generic cartoon villain” has to be filled someway… ”
“Hey, uhm… Octavia?” Lyra called “Can you give us a second? We’ll join you in class in ‘bout two minutes.”
“Oh, well… Sure, Lyra, of course. I guess I’ll try and keep two seats in the front for you.”
“In the front, yeeaahhh… Great idea… Thanks girl.”
“Thank god she didn’t see that bitch .” Vinyl thought as she looked at Octavia walk in the other direction, towards history class. She didn’t want to make a mess like last time.
“Should we go ask what she wants?”
“...”
“...Should we go ask what she wants?”
“...”
“Yeah let’s go ask what she wants.”
They both walked towards the crimson-haired girl. Vinyl was looking right into her eyes through her purple sunglasses. She wasn’t scared of her. But she was worried about what the video she had could do to her friends.
“Hello there!” Sunset started with her usual obnoxious tone “It’s the school’s new musical celebrity! And… you, I guess!”
This was followed by a few mocking laughters from the two subordinates, swiftly interrupted by Lyra’s death stare. Sunset didn’t pay attention, and instead leaned towards Vinyl almost to the point where she was whispering right in the DJ’s ear:
“You know, if you behave well, I may even let you play your little music at my coronation…”
“Coronation?” Lyra interrupted, visibly not amused, “You mean the fucking fall formal? You think anyone’s gonna vote for you?”
“Oh I know everyone’s going to vote for me!” She added, brushing her hair aside like an unconvincing wannabe model, “They don’t have much of a choice, and neither do you…”
“Yeah right. I think I’d rather die right here right now…”
“Oh I can certainly kill your reputation, if that’s what you want. Not that you have much of a reputation to start with… But with this…” She continued while displaying a certain recording on her phone screen, “With this I could easily end the two of you… Maybe even your little rich friend…”
Suddenly Sunset’s eyes widened, as she realized Vinyl’s gaze had changed. Before she could react, she was pinned against the wall, with the DJ’s left forearm under her chin, pressing against her neck. Vinyl’s breath was heavy, and her magenta eyes were looking more red than usual. In spite of all this, the bully didn’t seem impressed whatsoever.
“Yeah, what are you going to do? Hit me, in the middle of the school?”
“That would be a nice start .”
“She’s thinking about it” Lyra added, translating the signs Vinyl was making with her remaining hand.
“Oh I wouldn’t suggest that. You already have one incriminating video of you… Wouldn’t want the list to get longer now would be?”
“What the hell do you want?” Lyra continued translating.
“What I want? Easy: I want you to do a little something for me. Do that and I’ll wipe away the debt…”
“The debt? Why you-”
Lyra was interrupted by Vinyl, who had let go of Sunset and raised her sunglasses to look more closely at that person who thought she could have control over them. She took a small paper and simply wrote:
What.
“See…” The bully continued, “A certain… acquaintance of mine recently showed up in CHS, and I don’t really need her walking around, spreading rumors and lies about me…”
“She sounds pretty cool to me.”
“Would you kindly-” Sunset continued, ignoring Lyra, “-keep her away from… well, anything, really. If you see her talking to someone, or doing something suspicious, I want you to tell me at once.”
“Sooo… You want us to stalk her. And here I thought you had two minions perfectly molded for that exact job.”
“Are you saying you’re not accepting my offer?”
“...”
“Very well then! I’ve got a MyStable account ready to share this video! I’m sure everyone in the city will enjoy your driving skill!”
She paused for a second to face Vinyl:
“Should be hard for you to talk yourself out of it…”
Vinyl had a lump in her throat. A lump made of anger, worries, hatred… towards Sunset Shimmer and towards herself. She had placed her friends in harm’s way. And now she had to do the exact same thing to someone she didn’t even know.
“Alright.” Lyra concluded, “We’ll do it.”
She turned around to look at Vinyl, and they both exchanged a few signs nobody else could understand.
No we won’t.
Oh fuck no we won’t.
“So! What’s the girl’s name?”
}--oO0Oo--{
Volume Bass peeked through the window of his room, glancing over the streets of Manehattan. The sun was getting low, and the autumn wind was sending ochre leaves on the roof over his head. The sounds they made mixed nicely with the vibrations of his guitar strings, the impacts of his empty beer bottles against each others, and the bus passing in the street outside. He took a look at his cellphone. Vinyl’s message from this morning was still there.
“A nightmare, uh?”
She seemed tense. Maybe he should come, maybe he should be here for her. He thought about everything he saw last time: her friends, that driver, the car… That girl, Octavia… Vinyl was still talking about her. Well, texting, really. She was special, that was for certain, but how?
“Aw sis, if only you could see past these goddamn memories…”
But he knew things just weren’t that easy. Even he used to see her, when he closed his eyes: a young girl, with a beautiful voice, skin white as a pearl and blue hair barely reaching her thin shoulders. Smiling. Singing. Loving. Loving her parents, loving to sing and perform small concerts with her older brother, loving her friends, and not knowing what she wanted to do with her life. But it didn’t matter. She was happy. A perfect picture, a fine story.
Then the pictures fades. It always does, always fades, twists, changes. Fire. Debris. Screams. The girl is no longer smiling. She’s just lying on the pavement, motionless. Alone. Volume wasn’t there, he should have been there. To protect her. To protect them . He reached his hand towards the phone. Maybe he should talk to his sister about thi-
“No. You don’t have to relive this, Vy.”
He had promised. Promised he wouldn’t bring up the subject anymore. His sister was better now, she had changed. Him… Not so much. Not enough.
“I see you growing up, it concerns me a bit… But in my head, sis, you’ll always be a kid.”
Great, now his head was full of old memories with various degrees of depressing. He needed something to take his mind off all that. He was about to light a cigarette when his phone buzzed again. It was his friend Roxie:
Yo I got booze and nobody to drink with me! Get your ass over here before I invite someone else!
“That oughta do it.”
}--oO0Oo--{
“That oughta do it!” Lyra exclaimed, eyes shining as she grabbed the energy drinks in the small fridge, halfway across the apartment. Vinyl could barely hear her from the bed ; her legs were still under the blanket and her skinny arms tightly holding onto one of her gigantic white pillows. It was cold outside, but the warmth of the bedroom was kept by the double glazing. Installing those was the best decision of her life.
“So!” Lyra continued, now standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but her underwear, opened can of energy drink in one hand and her own bras she had just picked up from the floor in the other, “Are you gonna tell me what your plan is?”
Plan?
“Y’know, concerning that… Twilight Sparkle girl… God that’s a weird name.”
You’re one to talk.
“Shut up! Shut up!” Lyra yelled, jumping on the bed to get a few punches at Vinyl’s legs, trying her best not to be cautious about the drink in her hand whatsoever, “At least my name isn’t an overused comedic sound effect!”
The two took a pause from the cat fighting, laughing together as Lyra pulled the blanket back on her body, burying herself beneath the warmth of the fabric. She looked at the DJ, and realized she also was facing her.
“What?”
Nothing. You’re just too sexy tonight, I’m wondering if there’s something wrong.
“You fuck-... Thank you, I guess.”
Don’t thank me, I was kidding.
“BITCH!”
After delivering a few unsuccessful punches, the lyrist finally got tired and put her arms back under the sheets. Her partner was still looking at her, with these magenta eyes Lyra loved so much, mostly because according to her it looked like red cabbage and she always had loved this vegetable to a quite problematic extent.
“Sooo… What’s the plan?”
Vinyl shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t know, of course not, she didn’t think these sort of things through. Only thing she knew was they needed to get that video back, one way or another.
“We’re probably gonna have to do what she asks, uh?”
What?!
“Yeah…” Lyra admitted, “I mean, she’s probably already made copies of the vid, so stealing the original won’t do us any good, although the irony of stealing an evidence of us committing theft is really fucking ironic. And as much as I’d like to tell her ‘Do it bitch, we don’t care’, it’s just… not the right decision. Y’know, it could get your bro and the others into some serious shitstorm as well…”
“She’s right. Of course she’s fucking right. ”
“Of course I’m right.”
You can read minds now? Vinyl signed at her friend, with a sarcastic grin.
“Nah, you’re just making your lyra-is-right-but-i-can’t-tell-her-that face. It’s very obvious you know.”
So you’re going to obey?
“Did I say that? I didn’t say that. I said we were gonna have to do what she’s asking…”
She paused to look at Vinyl with a gaze filled with all kinds of perversion, as she placed her arms around the DJ’s hips.
“But you and I both know, we’re not good at following the rules…”
After a few seconds of eager wait from Vinyl, her partner’s lips finally landed on hers, exchanging a long and passionate kiss. She could feel the warmth of Lyra’s bare skin under her cold hands, and her short hair tickling her forehead.
“Say…” Lyra added, interrupting the kiss to look closely at Vinyl, putting two fingers on the DJ’s white lips, “You really needed this, didn’t you?”
“Not gonna lie, today hasn’t been the dopest.” Vinyl thought, as she nodded to her friends. She crossed her legs and put her head against Lyra’s shoulder, enjoying the warmth of the skin, and closed her eyes as she moved her hands in front of her friend:
So, you got any news concerning that girl?
“Yeah, actually. Been meaning to tell you this: she met with Pinkie Pie and Applejack in the afternoon. Apparently she’s a new student from some other city, dunno where. And…”
And?
“...And for whatever reason, she wants to win the fall formal.”
What? Vinyl asked, shaking her hands and raising her head away from the comfort of the shoulder in surprise.
“I know right? What the fuck! Anyway, according to Pinkie, it’s the first time in a couple years that Sunset Shimmer has actual competition for the prize.”
“Is that why the other bitch wants us to follow that ‘Twilight’? ”
But what does she want from that contest?
“Hell if I know!” Lyra shrugged “Maybe she’s watched too many beauty pageants! Or maybe it has just something to do with Shimmer. The two don’t seem to get along.”
I don’t think she gets along with anyone.
“So what do we do?”
Vinyl paused to give more thoughts to this whole situation. At the current time, she could not care less about some high school contest. But they needed that video back. And for that, they needed to know more about that new girl. And maybe help her. Maybe.
But being a pain in Sunset Shimmer’s ass definitely was the priority.
Author's Note
That's right everyone, Vinyl and Octavia are back for the second part of their story!
Thank you, to all of you, for your amazing support on this adventure that has been 'Silent Love: Part One'. It means so much to me, seeing hundreds of people liking, commenting and bookshelf-ing (?) my story! It warms up my cold dead french heart!
Once again, I hope you'll keep supporting me through that journey,
With much amour,
Antoine, Sagami.
-oOo-
PS: As a quick reminder for those who forgot:
-This is narrationThese are character's thoughts (usually Vinyl's) "These are sign language or written text (texting, writing, etc.)
Alright see you next time!
