Harmonic Melody

Chapters

The talk
Chapter 3: MIA
Chapter 5: Lost and Found
Chapter 6: Cat Fight
Chapter 7: Marenapped
Chapter 8: Intertwined Hearts
Chapter 9: Secrets of the Past
Preparations
Chapter 4: School Blues

The talk

“Um, about what Tavi?” questioned Vinyl, as she let go of Octavia and tilted her head to the side, shrugging her shoulders, and pushing her front forehoof against the floor.

“Where were you last night?” began Octavia, staring at her, wanting Vinyl to know she was serious about this matter. It wasn’t something she was just going to let go so easily.

“Oh! I was at the club. We’ve been prepping for this huge party coming up this weekend. I thought I told you about it?” questioned Vinyl, wrapping a forehoof around her best friend and roommate. “Hey, Tavi you look exhausted. You should chill. Relax.”

“I don’t have the time to relax Vinyl.” she shoved her hoof away from her, almost in disgust. “Unlike most ponies around this place, I have work to do, obligations to fulfill, and the one thing I would like is to know where you are always wandering off too.” Octavia snorted, tilting her chin sideways and lidding her eyes, hoping Vinyl would get the message by the tapping of her hoof that this bothered her.

“Tavi...ah come on. I thought you knew about the night club.” Vinyl said, backing up slightly. Vinyl Scratch swore she had mentioned this to Tavi weeks in advance, though it was possible it had slipped her mind.

“I faintly recall you telling me about it, but I’ve just been so busy with preparing for the Gala, I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m just glad you’re here. It’s good to see you again.” replied Octavia, embracing her, and nuzzling her affectionately. She sighed.

“Awwhh, Tavi. You know I always come back. After all there’s no pony else I’d rather bunk with,” smirked Vinyl, winking at her.

Octavia couldn’t help dwelling on Mrs.Cake’s words. She bit her bottom lip as she sought to address this matter too. How did she feel about Vinyl? Staring at her like she was a piece of candy, Octavia couldn’t deny her friend was attractive, and wild. Compared to her calm and relaxed nature, Vinyl was wild and reckless, but full of energy, and always knew how to have a good time.

“Tavi? Are you quite alright? You sorta just blanked out there for a minute.” Vinyl asked, waving her forehoof in front of Octavia to get her attention back on the real world.

“Oh course I’m alright! Why would you even ask such a thing? Oh...it’s been such a long week. I’m exhausted.” Octavia said She didn’t want to address this now. Maybe tomorrow. Yes, she would talk with Vinyl in the morning. For now she was simply going to enjoy the quiet.

“Uh...well you just seemed like you were distracted, and you were just staring at me,” Vinyl said, shrugging her shoulders, and looking around the room.

“It’s nothing. Now, why don’t you tell me more about this club of yours? I don’t mind listening.”

“But Tavi...I thought you said you hated the club?” Vinyl asked. She raised a brow as Octavia gestured with a forehoof and she sat down on her bed, wanting to hear the story.

“Well...okay but don’t blame me if I bore you to tears or something like that.”

“It was totally rocking. Neon Lights and I met before hanging with the others. I’m sure you know the guy, he hangs around Canterlot a lot. I’m pretty sure the guy has got a crush on you. He talks about you a lot.”

Octavia sighed heavily at that, and sulked her head down onto her forehooves, burying her face.

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Do continue…” Octavia groaned. The less she thought of that trifle idiot stallion the better.

“The colors and the mix we were setting up for the party was a total blast. I mixed up some beats that were down yet funky. Neon was working out some dance routines and setting up the table and chairs. After everything was set up, we sat down and just you know, talked. About you.”

“Oh Celestia...Do I even want to know what you two talked about?” Octavia asked, truly wondering if she had wanted to hear this or not.

“Awwh come on, it was nothing bad. He was just mentioning how much of a hard worker you are. The dude’s crazy about you. Do try to let him down easy now, “ Vinyl teased, and Octavia pouted.

“Anyways...he and I were chilling at the club, I totally lost track of time, didn’t end up back until you were totally passed out from exhaustion. Though it was still pretty radical though. You should come, it’ll be lively.”

“Thanks for the invitation Vinyl, but the gala is in a few days. I don’t have time to party.” spoke Octavia as she laid down on her back, and covered herself up. “Goodnight.”

“Night.” replied Vinyl with a shrug. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

Octavia dreamt of what life would be like if she and Vinyl were a couple. She imagined Pinkie Pie throwing them a celebration party, but how much different would things be? It wasn’t like she didn’t spend a good amount of her time with Vinyl already. And she couldn’t deny Vinyl was attractive, and had a personality that always kept her thinking. She was fun, quaint, and even charming. There was just no way to describe Vinyl other than a good time. With a smile upon her lips, Octavia was going to talk with Vinyl once morning came. She had to know. Did she feel the same way or was she merely wishing for something that wouldn’t be. What if she liked Neon? Oh Celestia help her if that was the case. She tossed and turned, unable to sleep quite right, with the many ideas stirring through her mind.

She woke up groaning, and yawning quite loudly, she immediately covered her mouth, ashamed and blushing.

“How rude of me. What time is it?” she asked herself as she looked around for her clock.

~~~~

“What the hell are you?” questioned a young male voice staring at her. Octavia gazed up towards the voice. Standing there in front of her was what looked like a human. He had short, wavy brown hair, and deep hazel eyes. He wore a simple T-shirt and shorts, and appeared to be wearing something in his ears, with a long line that went down into the pocket of his shorts. Octavia recalled Twilight telling her about the mirror and the other world. Was she still dreaming?

“I am Octavia, and I am an Earth pony. I would think that was blatantly obvious.”

“Octavia? Pony! What? There’s a fucking pastel pony in my room. Man...what am I going to do?” he asked hearing creaking footsteps heading up to his room.

“Such language, didn’t your mother teach you proper manners young...man.” Octavia said, suddenly she felt him pushing her into a pile of clothes and putting a finger on his lips.

“Sssshhh. Be quiet,” He stood in front of his closet, quickly closing the door as his mother walked in.

“Son, I thought I heard a strange noise. Are you quite alright?” She asked, concerned.

Octavia could barely make out a shadow of a reflection, but the tone of the other human sounded feminine, and worried for this young boy.

“I’m fine mom. Just listening to some beats.” Dylan replied, scratching the back of his brown wavy locks, waiting as she walked off and closed the door behind him. “Phew...that was a close call. People are going to think I’m crazy or something. I’ve got a pony in my closet...Damn.

Right I’ve got a pony in my closet!” he hurried to open the door.

Octavia fell down to the floor, gazing upwards, tapping her hoof on the soft ground beneath her. She shoved a shirt off of her head, and some shorts off of her tail.

“It’s rude to just shove someone in a closet you know. And you still haven’t told me who you are.” Octavia reminded him, sitting on her haunches, and crossing her arms across her chest. She was not about to be stifled by a human of all things. Maybe Lyra wasn’t crazy after all. But how did she even get here? She really hoped she’d wake up from this crazy dream soon. It was just rather strange.

“Um...I’m Dylan and the reason I did that was because you're a talking pony for Christ’s sake. Do you know what would happen if my parents found I was talking to an animal? They’d think I was mad or worse…” Dylan shuttered.

Octavia took note of his room while he talked. He had posters all over his walls of young human girls in skimpy clothing, that didn’t leave much to the imagination. She noticed behind him was a computer on a desk, that also had a lamp beside it, with a chair. His bed was off to the right side, and he was standing in the middle of the room, on the other side from the bed were dressers, was this where the clothes were supposed to go? And not on her head particularly.

“First of all, I am a pony. Secondly what is wrong with the fact I talk? As far as I know all ponies can speak.”

“I can’t believe this...I’m talking to a pony. I’ve lost my mind. You’re not real. You’re just my imagination.” he said blinking and looking at her again.

“I assure you, I’m very real. Now would someone please explain to me how I got here? Princess Twilight told me of the mirror, but your skin is peachy, I was expecting some strange color like blue.” Octavia retorted, huffing. She sighed heavily. Whatever was going on, she didn’t like it, suddenly spending a night with Neon didn’t seem so bad.

“Listen pony, I don’t know how you got here. I mean I don’t even know how you can talk. So yeah, sorry dude but you’ll have to figure that out yourself.” replied Dylan with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Octavia. Oc-tavi-a. I have a name just like you do. Dylan.” she said, remembering the name he had clearly been given by his parents.

“Okay, Octavia. I still don’t know how you got here though. I was listening to my music and then all of a sudden, I heard what sounded like a crash and turned to find there was a pony in my room. Which I really wish I was dreaming…”

“So do I. But it doesn’t seem like this is a dream, and Luna is nowhere to be found.” Octavia said, amiss. Whatever was going on, this wasn’t looking good for her or this strange human.

“Who’s Luna?” questioned Dylan curiously as he was staring at this pony. She had a gray coat, with some sort of musical note upon her flank. She had long silky black hair and violet hues. He couldn’t deny she wasn’t a typical pony. She was different, more vibrant and far more interesting then any real horse he had ever seen.

“Luna is one of the Princesses where I am from and she controls the dream realm. Though you wouldn’t know that if you aren’t from there. Don’t you know a Vice Principal Luna?”

“Pfft. Our Principal is a guy first of all, and he’s a total jackass. This Luna sounds much more pleasant.” Dylan retorted as he couldn’t help staring at Octavia.

“You know it’s rude to stare,” said Octavia huffing. Granted she had stared at him at first too. This whole thing just felt too weird to be real, and yet here she was, in a new strange world with a young teenage boy that wore clothes that reminded her of a punk.

“Sorry. It’s just...you’re a pony and talking. It’s weird.”

“So are you. Can we move on? If I’m going to be stuck here I would like to get past the weird part.”

“Right...So um. This world we are in is known as Earth. And well it’s kind of flat and rather dull. I try to keep it interesting with my music though. I go to school like any normal kid. Oh shit. School. You can’t come with me to school. You’re going to have to stay here during the day. Though you can’t let anyone but me see you.” Dylan said, fidgeting in place.

“You can’t expect me to stay cooped up here forever.” Octavia retorted huffing.

“Not forever, just for a few days. Give me some time to find out a place where you can stay where you won’t be judged or studied. You’re going to have to trust me.” said Dylan.

“You are suggesting I trust a complete stranger with a half naked woman in his room? I think I’d rather take my chances with the outside world,” Octavia retorted, giving him a dirty scowl.

“Listen, you don’t have to trust me. Just stay here for a few days and let me think of something.”

“Three days, that’s it, then I’m leaving this place.” Octavia replied. She missed Vinyl right about now. She wondered how she was doing…

Chapter 3: MIA

Vinyl let out a long, groaning yawn, wiping the sleep dust from her eyelids, and blinking. She stretched out her forearms on the bed, before scooting up to an upright position.

“Man last night was lit. I really ought to take Tavi’s advice and chill out for a bit. Besides, I did promise her we’d go to the Gala together. Where is Tavi?” she questioned as she noticed her roommate was mysteriously missing.

“Weird. It’s not like Tavi to just leave unannounced.” Vinyl Scratch got up and began looking around Octavia’s side of the place. Searching for a sign of a note, or something that might give her a clue as to where she had vanished off to in such a hurry. She tilted her head out the window, the sun was up. Maybe she was already at the train station? No note, no signs of anything off. Something wasn’t right and she was going to figure out what happened.

“I’m going to find you Tavi. I promise.” Vinyl Scratch spoke, she walked over to Octavia’s cello. It was still here, she touched her hoof against the case. She flinched slightly, and shook her head. No she wasn’t going to let this get to her. Vinyl put on her shades and dashed out the door to begin her search, she only hoped that wherever Tavi was, she was safe.

~~~~~

Dylan felt the sweat drops pouring down his face, as he held his hands on his head, muttering under his breath.

“Damn...no one is ever going to believe me when I tell them I’ve discovered a talking pony. Just my luck though...what am I going to do with her? I can’t keep her, she’s not like a pet. Besides that would be weird right?”

“You do know I can hear you right?” retorted Octavia giving him a slight raise of an eyebrow, and crossing her arms once more.

“Sorry. Why am I apologizing? You suddenly appear in my room and you just expect me to act like this is normal?” questioned Dylan.

“I accept your apology, and the first thing you need to do is stop treating me like I’m different. Why not consider me a friend. Let us work together. Nothing will get solved if all you do is spend your time thinking I’m strange. To me you are strange. Let’s at least agree to work together. You remind me of someone I know, I noticed you like music? Seems we may have something in common.” Octavia spoke fluently, trying to get him to understand. Things were never simple, the world was complicated and a mess and if they wanted to fix this, they’d have to at least agree to work together and be friends.

“Okay you’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just...I never expected any of this.” Dylan replied, finally moving his arms down to his sides, and looking at her once more. Dylan couldn’t help staring at her again, for a pony she had this shine to her gray coat, and her mane almost seemed to glow, and her eyes...sparked something within him.

“It’s okay. It seems like we both have things to figure out. This school you speak of. Why can’t I come?” questioned Octavia. After all she wasn’t sure she could stand spending three days couped up in a young teenage boy’s bedroom. She might be a bit stir crazy by the end of it.

“Well...um you’re a pony. We don’t have talking ponies in this world.” explained Dylan, rubbing the back of his head. He didn’t know why he had to explain this to her, he thought that fact would be obvious by how he had reacted to her.

“Right.” Octavia replied, flatly. Her expression dulled, and her head sunk slightly. “Seems like I have no choice but to stay here. Where can I sleep?”

“You can have my bed. I don’t mind taking the floor.” suggested Dylan.

“It would be improper of me to take your bed from you. And I’m not sleeping in the closet.” Octavia scoffed up her nose at the mere thought of doing so.

“Well...if you won’t take my bed because you don’t want me to lose it, then the only other option is the floor.” Dylan suggested, as in the back of his head he was fighting inside with saying something silly like why don’t we sleep together. No. That was crazy, and he didn’t even know why he was thinking that.

“Very well. I can adapt.” Octavia replied as she was already glancing around for the most comfortable spot. She might as well try to get comfortable, who knew how long she’d be here for. She supposed she should try to get along with this human, no matter how strange he was.

“Well, I’m going to go get my shower now. You just hang tight alright?”

“Alright.” replied Octavia, even if she wasn’t sure of certain human terms yet. She was fairly sure of what a shower was. However she didn’t plan to investigate this matter further. Bathing was a private thing, and she would just stay here.

Dylan grabbed a spare pair of shorts, and waved to Octavia before opening the door, and closing it behind him.

“Finally. I’m alone. So this is the human world. It’s not quite as Twilight described it.” Octavia stood up to all fours and took a tour around the room. She didn’t even want to go back to his closet. That strange area had a musky odor to it, and she didn’t care to find out what the cause of it was. Probably something about being males. Why was it that males always had this odd musk to them?

Octavia hopped up on the bed, the covers were soft and rather soothing. She felt like she could just curl up in them and drift off to sleep and after today’s events she was already feeling dreary, but it was only morning. She couldn’t sleep. She had to keep figuring out as much as she could. She was taking a page from Twilight.

Find the source of the strange magic, and then she would be able to finally return to Vinyl. She promised herself once she returned to her own world, she was going to address the situation with her, to figure out where to go from here. How did she feel? Were she and Vinyl friends, or was there more to it she simply hadn’t noticed? So many questions, and Octavia felt like it would take all bloody day to answer them.

Dylan opened the door to the bathroom which was off to the left from where his bedroom was, so it wasn’t like he was far away from the strange talking pony in his room. He locked the door, and let out a heavy sigh as he leaned his hands onto the sink’s countertop looking at his reflection in the mirror.

“I am not crazy. I’m not unstable because I talked to a pony. Nope. I’ll feel so much better after I get clean and get ready for school. Man, how am I going to tell Rebecca about this? Like...should I even tell the band? I can’t possibly keep Octavia a secret forever. Yeah. I’ve got to tell the band, they’ll know what to do.” He let go of his grip on the counter, and stripped out of his shirt first, tossing it to the side. He then went to the shower, turning on the water and checking the heat of the running current with his right hand, once it was suitable, he removed the rest of his clothing, his shorts and boxers, putting them on top of his shirt, before stepping into the shower. The water fell down straight onto his chest, he leaned his head back, letting out a soft sigh of relief.

He reached for his washcloth, and his body soap, lathering it onto the cloth. Dylan lathered his face first, scrubbing the grime and dirt.

“Man everyone is going to think I’m crazy or something, but she is kind of cute.”

Dylan blushed slightly as he lathered up his face, scrubbing out the grime and dirt, while avoiding getting suds in his eyes.

“I wonder what Rebecca would think if she knew I thought a pony was adorable. She’d probably smack me and reprimand me; she's got me wrapped around her finger.” Dylan sighed as he moved to his arms and chest, he couldn’t help thinking more of the pony while he attended to getting squeaky clean.

“Why do I feel drawn to her? Why do I even care? I mean she’s just a pony...but she is a person too. Ugh!” he hit his hand against the shower wall, causing a slight thumping. What was it about her that intrigued him?

He continued washing down his sides and waist, before moving to his back, and in between his toes, before finally taking the time to wash his manhood.

“I wonder if she has teats like a real horse…” he quickly shook that thought out of his head. He was only going to help her get back to whatever strange magical world she came from, he was certainly not going to fuck her.

He always preferred showering in the morning, that way he was ready for a long day at school. At the very least he had his band and he wasn’t a nobody so school wasn’t so bad. Just annoying. After he finished lathering up, he reached for the shampoo, putting it into his palms, and then scrubbing it into his brown wavy locks, he closed his eyes, and lowered his head to go under the jet stream of water. After he was clean, he reached for his towel, eyes closed, and wiped his face before opening his eyes once more. He reached for his new pair of clothes putting them on, and then picking up his old clothes and walking out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, and tossing his dirty clothes into the hamper.

He turned his attention to Octavia, she was sitting on his computer chair, seeming like she was deep in thought studying his machine. He just shook his head.

“That’s a computer.” he stated as he got dressed, not seeming to mind that she was in the same room as him. It wasn’t like he was embarrassed at his form. He wasn’t muscular but he wasn’t flabby either, he was just a normal guy with a love of music.

“I know what a computer is.” Octavia scoffed up her nose.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.” Dylan retorted, scratching the back of his head, and walking over to Octavia, standing right behind her, he looked at what she was looking at. Something about magic she managed to bring up on Google.

“Magic? Like the game?” questioned Dylan. Octavia tilted her head back towards Dylan.

“Game? No magic isn’t a game. It’s serious business. I believe if I can find some source of magic in this world, it may be a key in getting me back to my homelands of Equestria.”

“What in the world is Equestria?” questioned Dylan.

“It’s a world filled with magic and well other ponies like me. I don’t know how I got here, but if I can find a source of magic in your world, I may be able to use it to go home.” Octavia explained. Granted, she was no Twilight, but she had listened to enough Twilight Sparkle’s theories on magic to have a grasp of what to look for. Maybe not exactly how to use it, but she would have to figure that out once she actually found magic that wasn’t just a game.

“Well I need to go to school now. Promise me you’ll stay here and try to be quiet.”

Octavia sighed, ears drooping slightly, and biting her bottom lip. “Very well, I will stay here, but you had better come back.”

He petted the top of her mane, causing her locks to get all ruffled up and make her look like a mess.

“Don’t worry Tavi, I’ll come back I promise.” Dylan said as he smiled at her, waved to her and headed out the door.

Octavia sighed again, and fixed her mane with her forehooves. “I’ll have to remind him not to call me that, only Vinyl can call me cute nicknames.” she huffed crossing her arms, before going back to the computer to read more on Magic. Though most of what she was finding wasn’t really anything that would aid her in getting home. Octavia felt lost adrift in this strange new world, and she was going to have to rely on this human at least for now, until she figured out a way back to the place she loved, back to the person she cared for. Do I like Vinyl more than a friend? She felt her heart thumping faster and faster as she pictured her in her mind.

“Don’t worry Vinyl, no matter what I will find my way back to you.” Octavia wouldn’t give up. Because she knew deep down, Vinyl wouldn’t stop looking for her.

Chapter 5: Lost and Found

Vinyl dashed to the train station as fast as she could manage. She wasn’t the most altethic of ponies, she was no Rainbow Dash. She felt her dance moves helped a bit, but she still felt out of breath by the time she arrived.

“Huff...Huff...Huff…” she panted, halting to a sudden stop in front of the station. She immediately sought out the conductor.

“Hey there Vinyl, what brings you here today? Can I help you in any way?” the conductor questioned her politely, tipping his hat out of respect.

“Have you seen Octavia? Did she take the train to Canterlot?” she questioned him.

The conductor considered her inquiry, pondering, rubbing his forehoof against his chin. Vinyl fidgeted in place, groaning under her breath awaiting an answer.

“I can’t recall seeing her, though to be fair there are many ponies boarding trains all day long. It’s possible I may have missed her.” he replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He scratched the back of his mane, coughing against his other hoof.

“Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. I will let you know if I hear anything though.”

“Chill my friend, totally out of your control.” she gave him a pat to his shoulder, before shaking her head and moving on. Seems Octavia hadn’t been here. Man...what was she going to do now?

“Hmm...this is tough. Like what would Octavia do if I went missing out of nowhere?” she asked herself, pondering. Then suddenly her eyes widened as she facehoofed. “Duh. I feel totally stupid. Twilight. If I suddenly vanished, she’d go to Twilight for help.” With that in mind, Vinyl headed immediately towards the Castle of Friendship. Hopefully Twilight hadn’t been called off on a friendship mission and was actually home. She lifted her forehoof to knock on the door, and waited anxiously outside for a response.

“The theory of universal science is known as the…” Twilight mumbled to herself when her ears perked up hearing the doorbell. “Oh someone’s here. Spike would you mind going and seeing who it is? I feel like I’m on the verge of a new discovery!”

“Yeah...sure.” groaned Spike, as he went through the many hallways of the castle until he reached the front door, opening it to see Vinyl Scratch. “Hmmph. What’s up DJ Pon-3?” questioned Spike giving her a high five. She couldn’t help but chuckle. Spike was always full of childlike wonder and he was adorable in his own way.

“Is Twilight home? I need to talk with her.” answered Vinyl. Spike smiled and ushered her in.

“Twilight!” he shouted down the hallways. “DJ Pon-3’s here to see you. Not sure about what, seems like it’s important.”

Vinyl’s ears lowered slightly at the surprised shout from Spike. He’d make a great addition to her club. She’d have to talk to him after she figured out what the heck was going on.

“Oh hey there Vinyl. What brings you here?” questioned Twilight Sparkle as she glanced towards her.

“Octavia is missing. This morning I woke up and she was gone.” she began.

“Well did you check to see if she went to Canterlot? As I recall she does take the morning train. Perhaps you simply overslept and missed her?” questioned Twilight. Afterall, that’s the first place she would look if she was her.

“Yeah, already checked. No signs of her there. I figured the best thing to do now was talk to you.” Vinyl answered honestly, scratching the back of her vibrant blue mane, letting out a heavy sigh. It wasn’t like Octavia to just up and vanish with no note, no trace, nothing. Just poof.

“Hmm...ponies usually don’t vanish without a reason. I’ll have to see if I can find anything in my library here. Do you mind helping me look?”

“Yeah sure.” replied Vinyl without any doubts in her mind. Books might not be her jam, but Octavia meant the world to her. Vinyl searched the library with Twilight looking for anything that might seem like it would help. Granted she really had no idea if the books she was picking were helpful or just blocks in their way of figuring this out. Vinyl Scratch sighed as Twilight began shifting through the pages with a speed reading spell.

“Octavia...where are you?” she questioned the emptiness around her, kicking at the ground beneath her.

~~~

Octavia groaned waking up from her little nap.

“Ugh, how did I drift off like that? I wonder when Dylan will return from school. He sure has been gone for some time.” she noted to herself. She straightened out her mane, and fixed her bowtie. She glanced towards the computer once more.

“Hmm...might as well keep looking for clues, but that didn’t help me earlier. It would be helpful if I had access to a library, but I highly doubt a young boy like Dylan here would have a library of books in his room.” she stated as she glanced up to the scantily clad women on the posters.

“Human boys certainly are strange…” she muttered to herself. Perhaps she should explore the house more? No...too risky. She had no idea when his parents would be home. She wasn’t as worried about the little girl in the pictures, she was likely also at school. All she could really do was wait, as annoying as it was.

“Ah, what I wouldn’t give to have my Cello right about now.” she sighed as she looked around the room, noting something in a case, it certainly didn’t look like a cello’s case, it was much too small, but it had somewhat of a circular shape to it. Curiously, she walked over and unhooked the locks on it, opening it to reveal a pair of drums, with sticks on top of them.

“Drums? He plays the drums. How typical…” she huffed and whined a bit, eyes narrowing and quickly shoving the case away from her, shaking her head.

“Dylan, you remind me of a dear friend. A treasured friend, perhaps we can get along after all, if only you would return from school, then we could talk more on what to do next. I simply will not stay in this room forever. First of all it’s drafty, and it smells of musk, not to mention I feel cramped and isolated from the rest of this wonderful place. And why am I talking to myself? Am I going mad? No...Calm down. Breathe.” Octavia focused herself, closing her eyes, and simply breathing in and out, in and out until she felt tranquil.

Octavia would wait for Dylan to return, right now their really wasn’t much else she could do. She noticed he did have a small section in one corner of the room, that appeared to be books or magazines, but upon a closer look, at least it wasn’t porn. They were magazines about Games.
“Game Former” and such. She knew nothing about them, but she had a feeling a young teenage boy like him would like games, so she began reading. She crossed her hindleg over the over, almost sitting like a human on the bed, and began to read.

~~~~

The bell for lunch finally rang and Dylan bolted out of his seat like the school was on fire. Not because he was starving, but because he really wanted to tell his girlfriend about the strange pony in his room. I mean he wasn’t sure exactly how to tell her. If he simply said he had a talking pony in his room would she think he was mentally unstable? He shook his head as he got in line to get his food.

“Man this bums…” Dylan stated as he began to decide what he wanted. At least one nice thing about this school, they always gave you three options for meals other than the “daily” special. Which the special always seemed to be the thing that tasted the best. He really wasn’t sure why though.

He took his seat and waited for his girlfriend to join him. In his mind, he was fiddling and fidgeting over how to tell her. What made the most sense. He practiced in a low whisper to the chair beside him.

“Um...well Rebecca I woke up this morning and suddenly there was a talking horse in my room.” He quickly shook his head, and began running his hands through his hair.

“No I can’t tell her like that can I?” he questioned to himself.

“Tell me what nerd?” questioned Rebecca taking her seat beside him. Dylan gulped and felt like the weight of the world was suddenly thrust upon his shoulders. Man, why him? Why did he have to be the one to get a pony in his room? It was just his dumb luck….

“Um...well you see I have a talking horse in my room.”

“Hahahaha. Okay, seriously what did you want to tell me.” she asked again. Great, he knew she wasn’t going to believe any of this. Heck, he wasn’t sure he’d believe it if it hadn’t happened to him.

“Rebecca, you know I would never lie to you. I’m not making this up, it’s not a joke. I really do have a talking pony in my room.”

“Okay...first of all, since when do either ponies or horses talk?” questioned Rebecca.

“Never?” I spoke, a slight sweatdrop running down my cheeks, I felt my throat clenching up, and I shook nervously, it was hard to keep still. It was hard to focus.

“Exactly. So how can I expect to believe you?” she asked of him.

“You’re right. You would have to see it to believe it. Wait! That’s it. Come to my house after school. I’ll tell mom I invited you over for supper and I’ll show you. I’ll prove to you it’s not just a lie.” suggested Dylan. It was perfect, this would kill two birds with one stone.

“Sure, I’d love that. And you do know how much I adore your mom’s cooking.” Rebecca replied, leaning in to kiss Dylan on the lips. Dylan leaned in to return the kiss, lips grazing against each other as they held each other close for a few moments more.
“See that wasn’t so hard was it?” she questioned. Though in the back of her mind, she was already thinking about the possibilities of what if this was true. Think of the profit they could make if they sold this talking horse to a scientist or researcher, they’d be able to afford college bills easily.

“Don’t worry, I promise you’ll like her. She’s kind of quiet, but she’s cute in her own way.” Dylan smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

They both ate their lunches together, kissed goodbye for now to attend to the rest of their classes and the two agreed to meet up later. Dylan couldn’t wait for this day to be over. Man he still sort of wished the whole thing was just a dream, but it was very clear to the both of them, this was real, and he had to deal with it.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by quickly enough, Dylan felt much more relaxed now that he could finally share his secret with someone he trusted. He met Rebecca by her locker after grabbing his stuff from his. He took her by the hand, and the two walked together to the bus. As soon as they hopped on, the both of them went straight to the back and sat down.

Rebecca sat right on Dylan’s lap, not caring if anyone stared at them. Let them look. They were all jealous. The whole lot of them. Rebecca adored Dylan, he saw more than just a girl, he was able to see her quirks, and that’s why she didn’t intend to let this nice piece of arm candy go.

Besides, this way the person she really wanted to avoid would have less reasons to try anything if she was already with someone. His name was Jack Lockett, and he was known all across the school as the “chick” magnet. He took interest in Rebecca a long time ago, but she had given him the cold hard turn down of disinterest. Dylan was far more interesting, she could use him to her advantage.

Once they arrived, Dylan and she got off the bus, and Dylan led her straight to his room, but he stopped her a few feet short.

“Let me just talk to Octavia for a quick minute so she doesn’t freak out at seeing another human.”

“Whatever you say doll.” smirked Rebecca, crossing her arms, and simply waiting.

Dylan opened the door and quickly shut it behind him and looked towards Octavia. She was sitting on his bed, almost human like reading a book.

“Hey I’m back, how was your day? I hope you didn’t mind being in here too terribly.” he smiled gently, rubbing the back of his brown locks, doing his best not to stare. He didn’t know why, but just the way she was sitting and how composed she seemed to be, it was quaintly charming.

“It was certainly eventful, I learnt quite a few things while you were away, nothing to help me figure out how to get home. But if I dare say, I’ve learnt more about this world from exploring than the computer could possibly tell me.”

“Wait what? Octavia, you were supposed to stay in the room. What if someone had seen you?” he asked terrified.

“Don’t worry, no one was home. Besides, there was no way I was going to smell like….your garments all day long. If I must say, you really ought to clean that closet, and do laundry. It’s such a mess in here.”
“However, I can attend to my room later, there’s someone I’d like you to meet. Rebecca you can come in now.” smiled Dylan. Octavia’s ears raised slightly, and she glanced in the direction of the door, as it opened and a young female human stepped inside. Octavia felt a stiffening as she entered the room, something in her gut telling her this wasn’t good at all.

Chapter 6: Cat Fight

“Hello there Octavia, my boyfriend here told me about you. I didn’t really believe him at first, but it seems he was telling me the truth after all.” she smiled, extending a hand towards her. Octavia returned the handshake with her forehoof, tilting her head slightly.

“Right...And who might I be speaking with?” Octavia questioned as she looked her up and down. She seemed to be the same height as Dylan, but she was certainly more slender, and had this feminine to her, and yet something about her didn’t sit right in her stomach.

“Name’s Rebecca, and you are?” she questioned in return.

“Octavia, pleasure to meet you.” Octavia replied, flatly, staring her down for a moment more before turning her attention towards Dylan. “Did you figure out anything on how I can get home or at the very least out of this room.”

“Well...I didn’t really have much time to look for clues on how to get a magical pony back home, but I did think of a way to get you out of the room.” Dylan smiled, rubbing the back of his brown wavy locks, fidgeting in place.

“Oh? Well that’s progress in the right direction.” Octavia replied bluntly.

“So...what are you exactly?” questioned Rebecca studying her.

“I am an Earth pony, and my homeland is known as Equestria. Though I’m certain you wouldn’t know of it.” answered Octavia.

“Equestria? That’s a messed up name alright. Sounds magical alright.” Rebecca groaned, rolling her eyes. She couldn’t believe Dylan wasn’t doing anything about this. Imagine the profit...not like she needed money, but she wouldn’t be against giving this pony to science so it would get out of Dylan’s life and more importantly out of her face.

Octavia let out an annoyed whiny before looking towards Dylan. Was bringing this human girl here really his best idea? She had to trust him, even if she didn’t trust this girl at all.

“Like I said before to Dylan, I have no clue how I got here, but if we can find a source of magic here in this world, I may be able to use it to return home. And get out of both of your lives.” explained Octavia, raising her forehooves to each side of her face.

“Yeah I know but for now it’s probably best you not stay here. Mom will be home soon. Rebecca, do you think the band would mind if she stayed in the garage?”

“A garage? How is that…” Octavia scuffed up her nose at the mere thought of it. Well if she could at least leave the garage during the day to explore the city perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad.

“I’m sorry Octavia but it’s the best I can think of right now.”

“It’s not your fault she suddenly just waltzed into your life. You should be thanking him for allowing you to stay here.” spoke Rebecca.

Octavia raised her eyebrows at that. She continued to distrust this girl, and just rolled her eyes. For now it was best to try to ignore her, after all at least Dylan was trying to be helpful, even if he had no clue what sort of mess he was getting himself into. Octavia knew this wouldn’t be easy, but she had to start somewhere. She also had to try to get along with these humans, so she’d do her best to “tolerate” Dylan’s companions, even though Rebecca irked her and made her fur stand on edge. There was just something unsettling. Octavia waited for Dylan to give her further instructions, right now she was counting on him to be her guide into the human realm, because let’s face it, she was no Twilight. They had to work together.

“Now no fighting Becky. I’ll handle this. I always do.” smiled Dylan, smirking and leaning in to kiss Rebecca on the lips. Just then he heard his mother calling.

“Supper’s ready!” shouted mom from the kitchen. Dylan looked to Octavia.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring you something back. Just hang tight just a little bit longer.” Dylan stated, reaching out and petting the top of her mane, ruffling it a bit. “I promise, I’m going to do all I can to get you home.”

Octavia muttered slightly under her breath, as he petted her head, and watched as he and Rebecca walked out of his room closing the door behind her.

Once she was alone again, she sighed and paced around the room, talking to herself.

“What is wrong with that girl? Why does she make me feel uneasy? Why don’t I trust her? I don’t know anything about her...but there’s something up with that girl. She just didn’t know what.

Octavia finally settled to sitting on the bed once more, grabbing one of the many game magazines and beginning to skim through it. She knew it wouldn’t help her, but at least it would help to pass the time until Dylan and Rebecca returned from supper. Octavia waited.
“Any luck yet Twilight?” questioned Vinyl Scratch, scratching her bright blue mane, her eyes resting on her forehead. She hadn’t found anything that useful. She really hadn’t expected to find anything. If anyone would find something, it’d be Twilight. After all she was used to strange happenings occuring on a day to day basis.

“Hmm…” Twilight mumbled aloud, as she tilted her attention to Vinyl, shaking her head. “Vinyl, I’m sorry but so far there’s nothing I have found that explains why a pony would just disappear, I will keep looking though. I assure you, I won’t give up until we find something.”

“Is there anything I can do?” questioned Vinyl.

“Hope. You can hope that Octavia is safe wherever she is. For now that’s the best you can do for her. You should go home though, we’ve been at this for hours.”

“I didn’t do much though besides waste time by putting more books down for you to read that weren’t really helpful.”

“Hey, don’t say that. You’re trying, and that means more than you might realize, it means you are a true friend.” Twilight smiled, nuzzling against her.

“Thanks Twilight, I really needed to hear that. I’ll take your advice and head on home.” with that Vinyl waved goodbye to both Twilight and Spike and headed back to her crib.

She opened the door, and shut it behind her as she couldn’t help but glancing over towards Octavia’s side of the room. Vinyl wasn’t a mare to get emotional over many things, she was always able to keep her cool, keep a calm composure no matter how intense things got. She found herself walking over to Octavia’s cello case, opening it, and taking out the massive instrument, and clinging to it, she held it tightly as tears streamed down her face.

“Octavia...why? Argh! This is totally uncool.” she pouted as she sniffled and buried her head into the back of the cello, making sure not to mess up the instrument used by her roommate. She wondered what Octavia was doing right now. Surely, trying to figure out how to get back home. How to get back to her. Vinyl suddenly had an idea. A smirk raising upon her lips.

“If Octavia can’t come to me, I’ll go to her!” she shouted, jumping up and down excitedly, almost forgetting for a split second she still had tears rolling down her face. She took a deep breath in, and glanced out the window, the sun was just starting to set.

“Octavia...I’ve got your back. I’ll find you wherever you are. Wait for me.” and with that she went to the bed, and hopped up on it. It was hard to feel tired, when her head felt weary and weak. She recalled Octavia fussing at her many times for having her music too loud. Not having her here just made things dull. Vinyl could almost feel Octavia’s soothing music playing as she drifted off to sleep.
“How was school honey?” questioned Dylan’s mom.

“Eh. Same as always. Lame.” Dylan replied with a shrug. He was either to get done with supper and made sure to make sure he asked for seconds and took them to his room. He didn’t say much during the course of the meal, but he knew his mom would question him about it later. Moms just had this psychic sense of knowing when something was up.

“So Becky, are you okay with Octavia staying with you tonight?” questioned Dylan.

“You want me to take a magical pony home with me? You know very well I can’t. My dad would never even believe any of this, but I’ll come here early in the morning and we’ll get her to my garage.”

“Yeah...your right. See you in the morning.” Dylan smiled as he leaned in to kiss her once more and headed back to his room for the night. He entered the room and saw Octavia sprawled out on his bed, reading one of his magazines, he found his cheeks flushing. She looked just so adorable laying there.

“Um…” Dylan whispered as he was outright staring at a talking pony. His cheeks burned. This was too weird. He shook his head. He wasn’t totally crushing on a girl he had just met. No...besides even if he did like her like that he had a girlfriend. Man, he really needed to get his head straight.

“Hey Dylan, how was dinner? Anything good?” questioned Octavia, not really minding that the human girl was no longer with him. She felt like she got along with Dylan, but she really had a dislike for Rebecca, and it wasn’t simply out of jealousy. She had no interest in human affairs. All she was considered about was finding her way back home. She didn’t belong in this world, her home was Equestria. Octavia awaited an answer, but all he seemed to be muttered was um, and looking at her like she was some sort of model. She had never seen behavior like this except from the Canterlot nobles. They were often awed by her performances, but this was different. She wasn’t performing. She was just laying on the bed. She scooted to an upright position and hopped up off of his bed.
“You are probably ready for bed, however before you go off to Luna’s realm, there is something I wish to discuss with you.” began Octavia.

“Uh Luna’s realm? Is that like a keeper of dreams from where you are from? Here we call it the Sandman. And only kids believe in him.”

“Sandman? How...dull. I feel Luna would feel salty if she was even compared to such a bore…” replied Octavia, but continued on. After all she had to get this off her chest. “Your friend…”

“My girlfriend, what about her?” Dylan asked as he tilted his head towards her.

“I don’t like her. I don’t know why, but she just seems strange.” admitted Octavia.

“Awwh, don’t worry. Rebecca takes awhile to get to know and understand all her quirks, but give her a chance. After all she’s willing to give you a chance, and well you’re a talking horse.”

“Pony. I am not a horse.” replied Octavia with a huff.

“Right. You are a talking pony and you think a human girl is strange? Don’t worry you’ll get to know Becky over time. For now I think it’s best we both get some rest. After all I have school in the morning, plus I’ve got to get you to the garage.”

“I still dislike the thought of living in a garage, but I suppose it’s better than the closet.”

“Goodnight Octavia. Get some rest, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us in the morning.” with that Dylan threw off his shirt, and stripped off his pants so that he was just in his boxers and crawled into bed. He turned towards Octavia one more time. “If you need anything just ask, I put some food from supper up by the computer.”

Octavia simply nodded and after she was sure he was asleep, ate the food he had left for her. She noticed that he had never answered her about the food, but maybe he had too much on his plate. Literally. He had saved her quite a bit of food. She ate the food, and put the plate to the side. She waited until she couldn’t hear any noise coming from beyond his room and ventured out to the kitchen. She tiptoed her way there, knowing that she had to be quiet or risk exposure. She couldn’t let his mother see her, who knew what she might do if she found a talking pony in her kitchen.

After that was taken care of she headed back to the room, and searched for a good spot to sleep for the night. She decided right by the window, and unfurled a blanket to lay on, as she gazed out at the evening sky, she couldn’t help noticing it was a full moon.

“Princess Luna, help me. I don’t know if you can hear me, but give a message to Vinyl. Tell her I miss her, that I promise everything will be okay, and I will find my way back home.” with that she felt her eyelids growing heavy. She drifted off to sleep, falling into a slumber and dreaming about Vinyl and their love of music.

Chapter 7: Marenapped

The morning sun rising up into the sky, stirred her out of her slumber, as she stretched out her limbs, rising to all fours. She stiffled a soft yawn, groaning slightly as she rubbed the dust from her eyes. She took note that Dylan was already up and dressed. It surprised her to see how prepared he was. He looked over at her.

“Ah you're awake good. It's time to get you moved over to Becky's place. You'll be staying in the garage for now. But I promise as soon as I talk to the band, we're going to find a nice place for you to rest your head at night.” Dylan explained, rubbing the back of his head, biting his bottom lip. His eyes narrowed nervously, knowing she disliked the thought of being cooped up, but right now this was the best solution for all of them. And he had to keep her safe. There was no way he was going to let this get out of hand. He trusted Rebecca, she'd make sure Octavia was taken care of, so he had a chance to think. Thinking wasn't exactly his strong suit with his C in psychology class, but he'd manage. After all, he couldn't fail. That just wasn't an option.

“Indeed, I am looking forward to seeing what lies beyond this room. Not that your room is bad per say...it's just...” began Octavia, searching for the right word.

“Lame?” questioned Dylan crossing his arms across his chest.

“Not quite the word I was looking for, but it works nonetheless, shall we be off then?” Octavia retorted, noting the backpack he carried over his shoulders, the hat upon his head, and how he had the drum's case strapped to his sides. It was time to leave this place, to venture into this new unknown world. She didn't really know a lot, but if there was one thing she knew, she could trust Dylan to keep her safe, however she felt unsettled about Rebecca keeping her unknown to the rest of the world. However, Octavia would take Dylan's words to heart and not judge her too hastily. Besides, perhaps the young human girl was simply jealous of her. After all she had just suddenly showed up in Dylan's life, and clearly she was Dylan's special some pony, and Octavia knew very well how strong that bond could be if it was tampered with. How strong her bond could be had she realized it was there. She tilted her head to the side, letting out a heavy sigh.

“Perhaps if I hadn't been so much a fool, I wouldn't be in this situation.” she spoke to herself. She felt Dylan's hand atop her head. His smile was so soothing, so comforting, the gleeful naive charm to it. She couldn't help but feel her spirits lifted even slightly as she followed him outside. To the outside world.

The first thing Octavia noticed was the difference in the feel of the temperature. It was quite refreshing, she took a deep sigh of relief. She then noted the odd looking vechicles.

“What are those?” Octavia questioned, lifting her forehoof and pointing to them. She narrowed her eyes, tilting her head, scratching the back of her ear with her hoof. Whatever they were, they were quite odd to say the least.

Dylan turned his attention towards her, and couldn't help chuckling. It was cute how adorably naive she was.

“That's a car, though the actual name is a vehicle, but everyone just calls them cars. We have different types of vehicles though. We have regular cars, trucks, vans, and even motorcycles.” explained Dylan pointing out the different ones to her, and directing her to what looked what he said was a van, and he opened the back door.

“Hop on in. Just stay quiet until Rebecca comes to get you out and take you to the garage. I gotta go to school again. As annoying as that is, I've got to learn all I can so that I can find a way to get you home. But don't fret, I promise I'm not going to give up until I find something.” smiled Dylan as he waited for her to hop in before closing the door behind her.

“Well...I might as well try to get used to this Rebecca or “Becky” as Dylan calls her, but I still don't like her very much.” Octavia sighed, as she heard the sound of an engine starting up, and the next thing she knew, the strange machine was beginning to move forward, and at one point as it took a sharp turn, she found herself hitting the wall with a loud thud. It almost knocked the wind right out of her. She groaned as she reached a forehoof to her head to fix her mane.

“Could this get any worse?” she questioned the ceiling of the strange machine. Luna hadn't comforted her in her dreams. Was it not possible for her to reach this strange place? What if she wasn't even on the same planet. She didn't know a thing about science, but she knew enough about magic, that this just didn't feel right. There was something unsettling about the whole thing. She was really counting on Dylan, because right now, without his help it was looking more and more like she'd be stuck here for a good while, and the less she had to deal with his annoying girlfriend, the better off she'd be.

Rebecca was upfront riding shotgun. Her best friend was driving them to her house, as she didn't have a license yet. But she didn't need it to get rid of a pest. She smirked as they made the sharp turn, and could hear her groaning in the back. Little did she know that they weren't heading to her home. They were heading to a research lab, where she planned to ditch this bitch off for good. She was certain once the world knew about her, she wouldn't be getting anywhere near Dylan. He belonged to her. And even if Dylan want aware of it, she could see the bond starting to form, and best to dim the flames before it spiraled out of control.

Chapter 8: Intertwined Hearts

Dylan sat in the bus, in the very back seat, lounging his head against the palm of his hand, staring out the window. Even now, his mind wandered. He should be thinking about school, his band, but yet here he was thinking about Octavia.

“Man… How the heck did I get wrapped up into this mess? What if the band doesn’t believe me? Heck… sometimes i don’t even believe it. A talking horse.” He paused as he could practically hear Octavia in his head. “I mean pony, she’s a talking pony not a horse…”

The bus stopped and the driver shouted back at him.
“Are you getting off now, or going to follow me back to the station?”

Dylan stood up and walked to the front of the bus, looking briefly at the driver, apologizing. “Sorry, I was lost in thought about this girl.”

“Typical teenager, now get off my bus before I have to kick you off myself.” the driver muttered, angrily. His hand gripped the joystick for the bus, as he pressed on the gas pedal ever so lightly to make it rev up, jerking the bus ever so slightly forward.

Dylan hopped off the bus, rolling his eyes, as he landed his feet on the pavement. “What was his deal? Bus drivers are such a pain in the ass at times.”

Shaking his head, he put his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and walked towards the school building. Trying to process how to begin to tell the band about everything that happened to him in the past few days.

Dylan scratched the back of his brown locks. He tilted his head back, and sighed, as he hit one of the lockers.

“Damn it. What if they don’t believe me? What if they think I’m crazy, or high.Or who knows what else... There’s a pony in my life now, and I’m not sure whether I like it or hate it.”

“Dylan, dude what the heck is wrong with you? Are you feeling quite alright?” asked his fellow band member.

Dylan sighed heavily. How in the world was he going to explain this? Even he thought it was crazy. He took a deep breath in, before responding.

“I have a problem, some strange pony appeared in my closet, and I’m trying not to panic and figure out what to do about her.”

“Wait...What? You’re telling me there’s a pony in your closet? It just magically appeared there? Dylan...are you quite alright?” asked his friend.

“Stephen… Why in the world would I make this up? I think I’m crazy. I don’t know what to do.”

Stephen put a hand on his shoulder, and gave his friend a good hearty pat.
“Hey, man it’s okay. Shit like this happens all the time. I’m sure we can figure out what to do about it. I mean it’s just one pony, surely it can’t be that hard to deal with.”

“She is a talking pony, and she even knows how to use a computer!” Dylan began trying to explain the oddity of it all. He kicked at the ground beneath his feet, hitting the locker again. He looked back at Stephen.

“I need your help. I need the band’s help. I can’t do this alone.”

“Relax, man. Since when have I ever let you down?” asked Stephen, wrapping his arm around Dylan, and twisting his fist into his hair, as he pulled him tightly to his frame.

Dylan paused for a moment, raising his eyebrow and giving his friend a stern glare. He crossed his arms, and blew a strand of hair out of his face.

“More times than I’d like to count. But I really need you now, Stephen. This...whole thing is just…” He paused. Crazy? Insane? Unbelievable? He wasn’t sure exactly how to describe it, but as he thought of how Octavia spoke of magic, he couldn’t help but think it was all strangely fascinating. He sighed, catching his breath as he panted slightly against the locker, before lifting a fist, and giving his locker a good solid punch.

“Did it help?” asked Stephen, with a raise of his eyebrow. He stood there awkwardly, fishing his hands to the sides of his ripped jeans, trying to process exactly what Dylan had told him, and whether or not, to believe it.

“We should get to class. My girlfriend is taking Octavia to your house. I hope she could stay in your garage, until I can figure out what to do about everything.” Dylan explained, as he stood up, and sucked his stomach in, he had to stay calm. Octavia was right, freaking out about this whole ordeal, wouldn’t change it. He had to accept it, he had to admit he might be crushing on a magical pony. Wait...Did he just think that?

Dylan walked his way to class, slumping as he made his way to his first class of the day, algebra. Maybe some equations would get this whole thing out of his mind for now. He just hoped Rebecca would be able to transport Octavia to Stephen’s without causing any trouble. He didnt’ want either of them hurt, and he began to realize he did care about Octavia, despite not understanding much about her at all. What was his life coming too?

Dylan sat down in his seat with a thump as his ass hit the chair harder than he had expected. He flushed slightly as the teacher gave him that ever so disapproving stare. He got out his book and opened it to the current page, 145. Looking at the different x’s and other symbols cleared his mind, and he began to focus on the task at hand, surviving another day of boredom. Music seemed to be the only time where Dylan felt something truly magical, something unique.

“I wonder if Octavia likes music...maybe I should introduce her to the band instead of hiding her from the world.” He whispered to himself as he jotted down notes, listening to the teacher as he rambled on about the fundamentals of math and how to apply it to the real world. Dylan rolled his eyes, it wasn’t like they’d ever need these skills once they graduated. The key to success was in more than simple formulas and equations, he knew that.

He found himself doodling a little sketch of a pony in his notebook, one that looked just like her, though a bit poorly drawn, he smiled as he looked down at the sketch.

“I hope you're okay, Octavia. I’ll get you home I promise…”

Octavia felt her barrel hit the back of the moving van as Rebecca took another sharp turn to the left. She groaned, and visibly flinched, as she rubbed at her shoulder. She shouted as loud as she could muster.

“Where are you taking me? Why are you doing this?” she asked her, though she wasn’t surprised when she was greeted with omedience silence.

Octavia scowled and furrowed her brows, letting out a neigh of disapproval. She rolled her eyes, as she worked her way back to a standing position. There wasn’t much room in this container she had been thrust into by Dylan. She scoffed, as she managed to wipe off the dust accumulated on her gray fur.

She heard the wheels beginning to grind against the pavement, as she hurried to hold onto one of the four ends of the strange box holding her in. She bit her bottom lip, as the vehicle turned, and she barely managed to keep her footing.

Octavia muttered under her breath. This whole thing was ridiculous. She brushed her hoof against her mane, to try to tame the frizzy strands of hair wanting to make her look like a shattered mess.

The vehicle finally stopped and halted in its tracks. Octavia blinked, as she turned towards the double doors at the end of the moving van. Rebecca would surely come to those doors, and open them. She had one chance to get away from whatever place she had been taken too, and she wasn’t going to let it slip from her.

Vinyl fumbled around in their house, as she shuffled through her many DJ notes, scrambling for an address. She knew a lot of ponies from her DJing, and she knew exactly who might be able to help her get to wherever Octavia was. If Octavia couldn’t come to her, then she had to find a way to go to Octavia.

Vinyl continued to shuffle around the papers, until she finally found it. The address to Lyra’s house. She lived right here in Ponyville, so she wouldn’t be hard to find, and Vinyl knew this mare knew quite a bit about strange events. Why had this happened? She just wanted her Tavi back…

For Octavia to be hers, to hold her close, to kiss her. To love her, but Vinyl couldn’t deny that Octavia might not love her, the same way that she loved her.

Vinyl took a deep breath, picking up the letter in her muzzle, and heading out the door. She trotted rapidly towards Lyra’s cottage. She searched her mind for what to say, how to explain what had happened, and hoping the strange mare could lead her in the right direction. To finding Octavai, to finding the answers, and fixing this whole mess.

Could Twilight have done it? Possibly. But she had already bothered Twilight with her problems with not many answers. It was time to ask some pony with a bit more knowledge of outworldly craziness, and she thought Lyra was just the mare in question.

Vinyl starred at the address in her hoof, as all the cottages in Ponyville looked practically identical. She’d be looking all day if she went off the looks of the building itself. She walked up to where the welcome mat was, and lifted her forehoof to the door, and knocked three times, hoping she was home.

“Oh some pony is at the door, I’ll get it!” Lyra exclaimed with a bounce in her step, as she opened the door, to see Vinyl Scratch.

“Oh, hey there DJ Pone3, what brings you here? Oh! Are you giving me a ticket to your next concert? That is so sweet of you!”

Vinyl shook her head.
“No that isn’t why I’m here. I wish that was the reason, but it’s much more dire than that. I need help. Your help.” Vinyl began. “Can I come in, it’s...kind of much to say out in the open.”

Lyra blinked, studying DJ Pone3, this wasn’t like her at all, it had to be serious for her to look like a frazzled mess of her typical persona.

“Yeah, come in. DJ Pone3...I mean Vinyl, what is going on? What’s gotten into you? You look…”

“Like I went to Tartarus and back? Yeah...I am not sure how to explain it, but Octavia went missing yesterday through some strange black hole. I think perhaps the magic from the other world took her there.”

“Wait what? Since when do you know anything about humans?”

“I don’t, that’s why I came here. To ask for help.”

“Well, all I know are theories, I have no clue how to actually get over to the other side of the mirror. Especially without a mirror. She was just pulled into a black hole? Sounds neat! Where is my black hole? I’d give just about anything to see a real human…”

Vinyl coughed into her hoof. She gave Lyra a stern look, before tapping her hoof against her shin.
“Listen, can you help me or not? I really don’t want to have to bother Twilight again if I don’t have too.”

“Well...I can certainly try, but I’ve never figured out how to get there myself. So it’s going to take me time, time you probably don’t have. Um...maybe Twilight has a spell?

“Already looked into that, she couldn’t find anything. And she’s got a massive library.”

“I’d think you’d have to be blind to not know that. Twilight loves her books. I wonder if she loves her books…”

“LYRA!” Vinyl shouted angrily, stomping her forehoof against the ground, before letting out a frustrated neigh.

Lyra shrunk back, flinching, and taking a gulp of a breath. She stared at Vinyl for some time, trying to process the logistics of going to the human world and trying to contain her inner excitement, this wasn’t about her, it was about Octavia.

“Well, like I said I don’t really know how to get there, so…” Lyra fidgeted nervously in her chair. Her eyes darted back and forth, as she rubbed her hoof against her head.

Vinyl looked to Lyra, her eyes wide underneath her shades. She leaned forward eagerly, barely keeping herself steady in the chair. If there was any pony that could do it, it was Lyra. Sure, she wasn’t book smart like Twilight was, but she was the expert when it came to the weird and strange, and this whole thing was pretty surreal.

“But I’m sure I can figure out a way to get you to the human world, but if I do that...would it be awful of me to ask to go with you?” asked Lyra, with a big grin spreading across her muzzle.

“Yeah, sure. I wouldn’t mind having some pony who knows a bit more than I do, to guide me. What are humans anyways? I recall you talking about them at the Gala, but I thought you had too much cider…”

“Humans are simply fascinating creatures. They have no magic, they don’t fly, and they don’t even grow their own food in the ground. They live off of their own strengths and knowledge. Isn’t that amazing?”

Vinyl coughed into her hoof again. She rolled her eyes. She didn’t really come here to listen to Lyra ramble on again. She came here to find a way to get Octavia back.

Vinyl couldn’t help but to stare out the window of the cottage, as she put her hoof against the glass, letting out a sigh.

“Octavia...I miss you. Please wherever you are, wait for me. I promise I’ll get you back.”

Chapter 9: Secrets of the Past

Each second felt like eternity. Octavia heard the shuffling of feet, and the familiar voice of Rebecca.

“Finally, with you out of Dylan’s life, he will finally be able to focus on what’s really important.” Rebecca said boldly, kicking the back doors of the truck.

Octavia leaned forward on her front forehooves ready to book it as fast as she could. She wasn’t a runner by any means, but it was now or never.

The lock was unhinged from the bolt, there was a simple click as it fell down to the step bar.

Octavia could hear the ever rapid beating of her own heart, as adrenaline kicked in, and she darted out the door, the second she saw the light of the sun. She wasted no time, running as fast as her hooves could carry her. Not daring to look back, she just ran. She had no idea where she was, or where to go, only that she knew this girl was crazy.

Rebecca opened the door to deliver Octavia to the scientists, but before she had a chance to grab the stupid horse, she had already darted off. There was no way she could keep up with that. She could have followed in the truck, but she had no clue where Octavia would go. “She’s not stupid enough to go back to Dylan’s. I’d find her easily if that were the case. So where are you going to go, little pony?”

Octavia's eyes darted about as she pushed forward. Her legs protested from the stress of running as somepony who had never been an athlete, but there was no time to rest. She had to keep going. She had to run.

She saw something up ahead that looked familiar to her, a musical note on top of a building. Not really having time for an alternative, she ran right into the music shop.

Immediately, Octavia could feel everyone in the place turning to look at her. She didn’t have a lot of time to consider whether humans might find her strange. She was a talking pony after all, and based on Dylan’s reactions, she might have put herself into a difficult spot. However, she was still safer here, then anywhere near that crazy girl. What was her deal anyways?

“Um excuse me, Miss? But um, can I help you?” asked the store owner, a sweatdrop slowly rolling down his face. He just stared at Octavia, unsure how to react to this sudden oddity.

Octavia blinked, eyebrows furrowing. This human was attempting to talk to her, and not totally freaking out? How odd. Best not waste an opportunity to learn more about this world.

“Hello sir, a pleasure to meet you. My name is Octavia, I was hoping perhaps you could aid me. I am looking for a cello.” Octavia said, biting her bottom lip, knowing full well she had no human form of money to buy anything with, but at least she could look at his merchandise as an excuse to swaddle in the store just a bit longer. Just long enough to get Rebecca off her trail.

The human stood there for a moment before gesturing with a hand for her to follow.

Octavia followed behind him, taking a few seconds every five to ten steps to be certain Rebecca wasn’t behind her. She was in the clear, however she was far from out of trouble yet. Octavia had no idea where she was, or how to get a hold of Dylan. Magic didn’t seem to work in this strange world, and she had no idea how to use what he called a “telephone”

The shop had plenty for her to gawk at, there were different instruments on every shelf. Everything from the simple harmonica, to fancy guitar’s hanging on the wall. She couldn’t help but admire how vast of a collection there was here, and wondered what sort of Cello’s they might have.

She missed playing her cello, it was calming and helped to soothe her nerves after a long day. But, more so she missed Vinyl’s odd behavior and her even stranger taste in music. There was something about that upbeat whatever she called it, pop that made her smile at the end of a long day. How many days had it been now? Four? Five? She honestly couldn’t remember, she kept scratching the back of her mane, trying to fix the frazzles in her hair as she walked.

“Ah, here we are. This is my current selection of cello’s, I’m sure you’ll find something here that suits your particular needs.” The owner instructed, pointing to the wall.

There wasn’t an empty spot to be found among the line up. Cello’s of all varieties, shapes, and even brands. Octavia gasped aloud.

“Oh my.” Octavia quickly shook her head. Compose yourself, you can’t even afford any of these!

“I shall let you have some time to think over which one you would like. When you are ready to make a purchase, please come to the front of the store. I can assist you from there.” The shop owner said calmly.

Octavia was appalled that he didn’t think it was weird nor odd to be talking to a horse. Was the economy so bad that he was desperate for any sales? No… that couldn’t be the case. There had to be a reason why the shop owner looked at her differently from the others, but she couldn’t pin her nose on what it was. Maybe it was a thing amongst musicians to be understanding?

She turned her attention back to the wall of cello’s, and found herself sighing. It was truly such a shame. Shaking her head, she hit herself with her forehoof.

“Stop it, Octavia. You don’t have time for this.” Octavia said, as she inherently looked towards the two doors to the shop. The ominous quiet, and the low whistling of the wind, didn’t settle her mind. Who knew where that girl was, and who knew what she’d do if she found her. Hand her over to scientists! What kind of crazy…

Octavia closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in. “Okay, Octavia. Settle down. Think this through. You have to tell Dylan about this girl, but how in the world are you going to find him? You don’t know anything about this world of his, and you surely don’t have time to fiddle around.

She allowed herself a few moments of reprieve, admiring the selection once more. It was awfully hard to walk away from such beauty. However, she had things to do. Most importantly, she had to figure out where she was, and how she could get a hold of Dylan.

She approached the front desk, hoping to speak more with the owner.

“Why hello there. Have you figured out which cello you are interested in?”

“Yes, I have but I’m afraid I left my bag at home. Do you have a telephone?” asked Octavia. She wasn’t really sure how they worked, but she would figure it out.

“Oh, I see. Right this way.” The shop owner instructed her behind the curtain to his private quarters and showed her where the phone lay on the desk. “Take as long as you need.”

Octavia waited for him to go and stared at the odd device. It looked simple enough. What was Dylan’s number? Did she even know it?

Her eyes widened as she arched her back, realizing in horror that Dylan never gave her his number. She pushed her head towards the wall, and began to lightly tap her frazzled mane against it. Light enough that it wouldn’t cause her a headache, but she just kept running into problem after problem with no resolution in sight. Octavia was accustomed to knowing what to do, no matter the situation.

This was different. This was a world not her own, and the things in it weren’t things she understood just by fiddling with them. A telephone wasn’t a musical instrument. Sure, they both had parts that made them work, but she was not a tech pony, that was more her room mate’s territory.

“Oh, Vinyl. I’ve never missed you more than I do right now.” Octavia cried, allowing a tear to shed from her eyelids. Her face was against the wall, so she wasn’t concerned that anyone would see or care. She looked at the phone, and sighed. This isn't helping. She had to find Dylan. She had to find a way home.

“Madam, if you are finished with the phone you should be on your way.” The shop owner instructed, before seeing how sad, and dismantled Octavia looked. He reached a hand outwards, but before he could even touch her, she was already running off out of his store to the wild outdoors.

“Be careful young lady, it’s dangerous out there!” The shopkeeper shouted, trying to give her a silent warning. Not everyone would react as calmly to a talking horse as he had. The shopkeeper sighed as he looked out the window of his store one last time, before turning around to return to running his business.

Octavia ran out of the store as fast as her hooves could carry her. Her fur was slightly damp from all the sweating she had done. She looked all around her, she saw the vehicles Dylan told her about, going up and down the street. She stood on the sidewalk, looking up at something that was familiar to her, a traffic light.

She recognized that green meant the cars would be going back and forth across the street, yellow wasn’t really great because some of the cars would speed right through, so her best bet was to cross the street on the red light. That was assuming she wanted to cross the street and not just walk along the sidewalk.

“Hmm… decisions, decisions.” Octavia muttered. Remembering that Rebecca could literally be anywhere and that she knew more about this place then her, she opted for crossing the street.

Crossing the street wasn’t hard, it was simple enough to figure out when to start trotting. However, the loud noises that came from the vehicles were obnoxious enough that her ears were still ringing long after she had managed to cross.

“I do not like this strange place. I want to go back home. I want to play my cello again, but mostly I just want to see her again.” Octavia sighed, realizing very quickly she had been talking aloud, and some of the humans were giving her quite the odd look. The same look that Dylan had given her the first time. Sighing heavily, she began walking in the same direction.

She could tell from where the sun lingered which way was North, so decided very quickly to head in that direction. Unsure if she’d ever see Vinyl or Dylan again, she had to endure. She was Octavia, and this was just a setback.

Hitting her shoe against the pavement, Rebecca cursed under her breath. Staring in the direction the pony had run off in, realizing by now she had likely hidden away in a back alley or something. It wouldn’t be as easy to capture that stupid mare now. She raised her hand, balling it into a fist and hitting the back of the van.

“This sucks. I hate that creature.” Rebecca vocalized aloud, not really realizing at first she was being watched.

“Are you okay, miss?” asked a young boy on his bike.

Rebecca froze. Had this kid heard everything she just said? She couldn’t be sure.

“Oh yes, I’m fine. Just forgot to take my medicine this morning. Throws me completely out of whack. You know how it is. Hey, shouldn’t you be in school kid?”

Before she got an answer he was speeding away on his bike. Kids. Skipping school wasn’t good, and yet that’s exactly what she had done today.

Sighing heavily, she picked up the keys to the truck and shut the back door with one giant slam of frustration.

She got into the driver’s seat, buckled herself in, and decided to pretend like everything had gone according to plan, if she could convince Dylan the mare had somehow found a way home, he wouldn’t need to know her actual plans had went down the drain, and that annoying pony was still out there trying to cause friction between her, and HER boyfriend. Stupid ponies.

She didn’t want to go home at all, but she needed to shower and change into an outfit that was clean. Her current blouse and leggings smelt like well, dirt and grim. Rebecca tried not to think about that stupid creature on the drive home, but she couldn’t help wondering where the tramp stamp had skittered off too.

Carefully, Rebecca made her way through traffic, and a few annoying drivers who clearly weren’t paying attention to the road and parked the truck at her parent’s house. Getting out of the truck, she simply stared at what was her home.

A modest two story house painted blue with the windowsill being a modest yellow. There were two cars parked in the driveway, meaning both her parents were home.

“Great, this is gonna be a nightmare.” Rebecca told herself. It didn’t matter how many times she told herself this, it never made going in any easier. Leaving was always a blessing in disguise, soon she’d graduate from high school, go off to college for four years, marry Dylan and would never ever have to worry ever again about this place she once called a home.

“Trisha, don’t you dare walk away from me like that,” Yelled a loud, familiar voice.

The backdoor opened and she saw her mother, her makeup ruined by the flowing tears drying up on her face, picking up her luggage bag, and hurrying to her car. She stopped there, seeing her daughter in the driveway.

Without hesitation, Rebecca found herself being embraced lovingly, possessively, and in a comforting manner.

“Why honey, shouldn’t you be in school?” she asked gently, leading her daughter to the passenger side of her car, and urging her to get in, and get buckled in a swift, and efficient manner.

“Mom, what’s going on this time?” Rebecca asked, like she didn’t already know. It was clear by the lingering smell of alcohol, that her dad was drunk. Her mom wasn’t exactly innocent herself, but right now she didn’t have the time to ask too many questions. Besides, it never solved the actual problem.

“I’ll explain later, just get in the car.” She replied hastily, scrambling over to the driver’s side, getting into her seat, and starting up the engine and hurrying to buckle herself in. She was watching in front of the windshield, looking to her husband who was still screaming threats at her, that if she left he wasn’t going to let her come back.

“Huff.” Her mother sighed heavily, as she looked at her daughter. “I’m so sorry honey. I never wanted to put any of this on you. Please forgive me.”

Rebecca said nothing, simply nodded. It was always the same with her mom. She always acted like the victim, but she knew. The both of them were at fault, but each of them would blame the other, to try to get their daughter on their side. Making her choose.

How could she possibly choose? They were her parents. She loved them both, despite their obvious character flaws.

All she had to do was graduate, marry Dylan and find a home for herself. A home where she’d finally be able to feel like she was home. This was not a home, it was hell.

Even as the car pulled out of the driving, leaving the moving truck in the parking lot, she had no idea where her mom was going to go, or how she was going to get back to Dylan, or how long it would take. The problem was inherent. She couldn’t stay for long.

Rebecca groaned, leaning against the window, staring out at the buildings and trying not to overthink about anything, but she couldn’t help worrying. What if Dylan liked this pony more than her? All her plans, everything would be ruined because some magical being from another world just waltzed in on her territory. Life was so unfair.

“Okay, I think I have an idea.” began Lyra. “Though, I do admit I don’t actually know if it’ll work or not, but it’s worth a try, right?”

“Yes.” Vinyl said flatly. She couldn’t stop thinking about Octavia. Her long black mane curled perfectly over her ear, and smoothed down the back of her neck. Her deep violet hues that she often found herself lost in. She was only half listening to Lyra explaining how things were gonna work. As long as it worked, she didn’t care about anything else.

“What am I gonna say when I find her?” she asked herself out loud.

“If I were you, which I’m clearly not because well I’m Lyra. I’d just tell her how you feel.” Lyra explained calmly, while focusing her magic.

Vinyl tapped her forehoof to the side of the counter, making a tap, tap, tap like sound, that reminded her of a slight hum of a drum, and she found herself moving her other hoof to the counter, and letting the counter tell her it’s heart, and began tap, tap, tapping.

“Follow me,” Lyra instructed, waving a hoof backwards, then flicking it forward for her to follow.

Vinyl let out a sigh, and then followed after Lyra. Octavia was still in the forefront of her mind, even if there was a distracting mare in front of her now.

Lyra continued talking about humans, their strange ways, and how curious she was about them, as they walked. To say it was annoying, and distracting was rather obvious, so Vinyl just played some beats in her head, thum, thum, rap, rap, bump, bump, thud, thud.

“We’re here!” Lyra announced with joy, jumping up and down in place, while giggling like a filly. She turned to Vinyl, the grin spreading over her muzzle, with this gleam in her eyes, as she started shaking Vinyl by the shoulders. “I can’t believe it! I thought it was just a rumor, but it’s really here~” Lyra exclaimed.

Vinyl tried to look at what was so amazing, so profound, to make it turn Lyra into more of a goofball then she usually was.

It looked like nothing but emptiness. The space ahead of them reminded her of the black hole that swallowed Octavia up, but that had disappeared, but this one seemed solid… and permanent. Was it a portal that not even Twilight knew about? She had so many questions to ask, but none of it mattered when Octavia needed her.

“This is what you need. Just trust me,” Lyra instructed, pointing towards the darkness.

Vinyl had no clue whether she trusted Lyra or not, but in this moment she had a connection to finding Octavia and bringing her home, and that itself was worth its weight in gold. She stepped through the blackness, as she felt her whole body disappear.

For a while, all she saw was darkness and she began fumbling with her hooves trying to feel for anything, or anyone in the distance. Then she felt herself falling downwards, and as she tried to use her magic to catch herself, her horn sparked, but ended up with only a fizzle of magic. And then suddenly, this bright orb was shining down onto her, and she felt herself land on something solid, and firm.

Vinyl blinked and looked down to the ground, to avoid the intensity of the sunlight beaming down on her.

“Where am I?” she asked herself, looking around and seeing she was on some kind of gravel. It felt scorching to the touch, making her immediately move over to the grass which felt as real as the grass she knew from her world, but then she saw these weird shaped vehicles blasting by her onto the gravel she had just been on. That could have been really bad…

Looking up, she found someone staring down at her, pointing a finger at her, and seeming to try to form some kind of sentence.

“I… Um. What?” He said, while keeping his gaze right on her. It seemed like he had never seen anything like her before, meaning the darkness must have been a portal. She rubbed at her forehead, and promised herself to worry about all the questions that caused later. She had to find Octavia, and maybe this person, whoever he was could help.

Stephen stared at Vinyl, trying to form a coherent sentence even now. He managed to open his lips, and finally say something.

“He wasn’t lying, nor crazy. There’s a pony in front of me…,” He told himself, almost as if to confirm he wasn’t also going insane. High school was always kind of hectic, and crazy at times, but he never had to deal with such bizarre things as magical creatures from another world just appearing out of nowhere.

“Hello, my name is Vinyl. Have you seen another pony around here? She has a black mane and tail, gray coat, deep purple eyes?” asked Vinyl, trying to get through to the strange human in front of her. Looking at him, and his casual t-shirt and ripped jeans, she could immediately recognize there was something about him that seemed to resonate with her. And then she heard that same beat she had been feeling in her head earlier, to distract her from Lyra’s obnoxiousness.

Speaking of Lyra, Vinyl turned her head from one side to the other, and then turned around, looking for her. But she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Why? I thought she had really, really wanted to come through to this world. Maybe the portal only worked once? Then how would she get back home? She felt her head throbbing, and not because she had had too much to drink like the last time.

Stephen blinked rapidly, rubbing at his eyelids like he wasn’t seeing or hearing what was happening in front of him. No wonder Dylan was worried about people thinking he was crazy. He couldn’t believe what was happening and he was seeing it right before his eyes. A real talking pony!

“Hi there, Vinyl. I’m Stephen it’s um nice to meet you,” he started off, hesitantly reaching out his hand to shake hers. His parents had always told him to be polite and to greet a lady properly, even if she was a pony. “I admit I haven’t seen the pony you mentioned, but my friend might know her.”

Hope filled Vinyl’s eyes for the first time since Octavia vanished, and she jumped forward, immediately wrapping her forehooves around the strange human and hugging him.

“Oh, thank you! Could I stay here till you can contact this person?” she asked, as the more she looked at the cars rolling by, the more she knew she was gonna need help. Someone familiar with this world, and it just so happened this human knew some other guy that might know where Octavia was, and that was enough for now. It was more than she had in the past few days.

“I’m coming, Octavia. Just wait for me.” She said aloud looking up to the young teen and letting go of her hold, coughing into her hoof. “Sorry, I got excited.”

“Um…it’s okay,” He replied flustered. “It’s not often girls just suddenly hug me like that. You are a girl right?”

“Yes, I am a girl. Stallions have more prominent muzzles than mares do. But you probably wouldn’t know that.”

“No, I don’t know anything about ponies.” Stephen said, while still awkwardly staring at her. He finally reached out, and booped the front of her nose. “Uh, not a dream.”

“No, I’m really here,” Vinyl began, she was about to explain more, when a car pulled up into the driveway. The driver door swung open, and out stepped Dylan.

“Stephen, what’s going on? This isn’t the pony I told you about.” He began looking right at Vinyl. “Do you happen to know an ''Octavia``?

Light filled her deep purple eyes, behind her shades. She gasped, and felt her heart pounding a mile a second. “Yes, I know her. We’re roommates. It would be hard not to know her.”

Author's Note

Thank you for reading this, if you're still here. I realize my update consistency, is well inconsistent but I'm glad you care enough about this story to stick around. I'm gonna start working on Chapter 10 next week, and try to be better. But, I can't guarantee when it'll be done because I'm a slow writer, but this year I wanted to get better with updates, so expect less time between updates. Thank you for your patience.

Preparations

The gentle hum of the music finally ceased to a halt, she could hear the waves of applause from the crowd. A soft comforting smile forming upon her lips, as she bowed towards the ground, leaning one hoof against her massive cello. She exited the stage with the rest of the Orchestra.

“Nice performance Octavia, but then again you never disappoint.” smirked Neon Lights, jabbing her in the side, causing a muffled groan from her lips.

“It isn’t in my nature to disappoint Neon, I thought you’d know that by now. Now if you don’t mind, I would very much like to be off. Vinyl will be expecting me home.” she retorted, snuffing up her nose, and shaking her head, rolling her eyes and moving onwards away from current annoyances.

Octavia sighed, and packed her cello into its case, locking it shut, and strapping it over her back, locking the door to her room that Celestia had so kindly arranged for her and headed home. Her smile always brightened by the thought of returning to whence she came. She and Vinyl might not exactly be the same, but they agreed enough to live together. It gave her this strange sense of comfort and solace knowing she was there. Knowing that no matter what happened, she could count on Vinyl to be there.

Octavia took the train home, the ride was always relaxing and soothing. She closed her eyelids and listened to the gentle hum of an audiobook through headphones that Vinyl had given her as a gift. When the train stopped at Ponyville, she got off and immediately went to her house. It was getting dark, surely Vinyl would either be in bed by now or be mysteriously missing, she hoped she’d be there, it was always refreshing to see her. Not as much to be tackled the minute she stepped inside.

Octavia opened the door to their little home, stepping inside. She placed her cello against the wall ever so delicately before clearing her throat.

“Vinyl, I’m home.” she announced. She waited, bracing herself for the impact. Blinking when she came to the realization the tackle hug wasn’t coming, she let out a sigh of relief, and a heavy sigh of disappointment. “Gone again. Where in Celestia does she go at night?” she walked over to Vinyl’s side of the place. Everything seemed like it was a complete and utter mess, and yet Vinyl always assured her it was “a chaotic organized mess” how could that be? It simply baffled her, but she easily found the note on the table.

“Hey Octavia, I’m going out tonight and I didn’t want you to worry. You can be a bit dramatic at times. I won’t be home till morning.

Vinyl.

“She even put a little scribble of me at the bottom. How cute.” Octavia scuffed up her nose, shaking her head. “At least she’s a musician, her art leaves much to be desired....” She put the letter to the side and walked back to her side of the place. At least she could enjoy a quiet evening.

Octavia glanced over towards Vinyl’s side of things, and her own more organized side. Her roommate was quite the wild one. It wasn’t unusual for this to happen, but after the long day she had really been hoping to spend a bit of time with a close friend, whom she treasured deeply. The house just didn’t feel right without her here with her. Octavia smirked as she thought they might not agree on many things, but they agreed they needed each other.

“It’s almost too quiet without her.” Octavia retorted to herself as she prepared for an evening of rest. She had a long week ahead of her. Though a musician's work was never truly done. There was always another performance and she had to keep practicing so that she’d stay in the flow as well as the other musicians in her troupe. Octavia gently laid herself down onto the bed, covering herself with the blanket, and lidding her eyes. She opened them once looking over once more to Vinyl’s side of the room.

“I must remind her to tidy up her side by morning light.” With that, she lidded her eyes and drifted off into a soft slumber. Dreaming of classical tunes to soothe the very soul.

Octavia stirred awake, yawning, and stretching out a bit before sitting up and rubbing her eyelids. She looked over for any sign of her roommate.

“Still not here I see.” she spoke aloud as she got up and went to make herself some breakfast. She knew she needed to catch the nine o’clock train, but she had hoped to speak with Vinyl before she left. It seemed that the likelihood of talking to her was growing more dim by the minute, and minutes she didn’t have to spare. She took up a pad and scribbled down a note for her to read.

“Dear Vinyl,
I tried to wait for your return but it seems your “evening events’ keep you too busy to come home. I must go to Canterlot for yet another practice for the upcoming events. I do hope you are safe wherever you are. If you need to reach me, I’ll be staying up in Canterlot.

Sincerely,

Octavia.

Octavia put the note right on her DJ stand. The one place she knew she wouldn’t miss seeing it. She grabbed her cello strapping it to her back once more and headed out the door, she locked it shut tightly behind her knowing Vinyl had her own key. Octavia trotted towards the train station, but she made a quick detour by Sugarcube Corner. She wasn’t as crazy about sweets as Vinyl, but she did enjoy them occasionally. She walked in, clearing her throat as she spoke up in an elegant manner.

“I would like to order a dozen cupcakes. You may decorate them however you wish, but I’d like if they’d have vanilla inside of them.”

“Oh of course hun. That’ll be no trouble at all. I do say I haven’t seen you around here for awhile. Surprised you’re plus one isn’t here.” Ms.Cake chuckled.

Octavia blushed slightly, fidgeting in place, clearing her throat once more. “Um, Vinyl and I are just roommates not girlfriends.”

“Oh heavens. I shouldn’t have assumed, it’s just you two are always together and get along so well. Sort of reminds me of how I act around my husband.” Mrs. Cake smiled politely.

Octavia put the bits on the counter and sat down while she waited for her order to be filled. It wasn't like she was in a hurry. Octavia couldn’t help but ponder on Mrs.Cakes words. Her and Vinyl in a relationship? She had never even considered it, of course she cared quite dearly for her roommate but as any good friend would, not as a lover would. Did she love her? Octavia had to ask herself that. But just as she was about to think of an answer, she heard Mrs. Cake calling her.

“Your order is done. I do wish you well hun. Do not strain that beautiful voice too much.”

Octavia was about to mention she wasn’t a singer, when she noticed the time. She had to get going or she’d miss her train. She put the cupcake box carefully in her mouth and ran to the train station, the sweat drops running down her face as she finally approached, hurrying to hand the conductor her ticket and hopping onto the train just in the knick of time. She wiped her brow and sighed heavily. All of this trouble for cupcakes. Well she was sure her orchestra buddies would enjoy them.

“Hey Octavia!” Neon Lights called out as she arrived.

“Hello Neon…” she spoke with a bit of a restrained sigh in her tone. When would this stallion take the hint you were not interested?

“So...I’m curious you got a date for the gala yet?” he asked curiously, a slight blush rising on his cheeks.

“No. I will be performing. I will not be attending the gala for fun. Unlike most ponies around here I have responsibilities to fulfill, now if you don’t mind I must be going. The others are expecting me.” She retorted, trying to push past him and move towards the Canterlot Castle where the gala would be held.

“Aww...come on Octavia.” pouted Neon Lights, ears drooping slightly as he kicked at the dirt.

Octavia smiled slightly. Good riddance. She arrived to meet up with the rest of the Orchestral crew and gave them each a cupcake, and she still had a few left if any pony wanted another. After all there were only about eight of them in the orchestra. Octavia couldn’t help her mind wondering if Vinyl had gotten home yet and had gotten her note. She sure hoped so, she really wanted to talk about Vinyl. Perhaps figure out how she felt about other ponies assuming they were an “item”.

“Octavia, are you quite alright?” asked Piano Keys, a concerned expression forming upon his lips. He put a hoof on Octavia’s shoulder.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m fine.” Octavia retorted, a slight drop of sweat ran down her cheek. It was only partly true. She was worried about Vinyl, and she never really made a fuss of her going out like this before. Did she feel something for her roommate? She shook her head instinctively. No...they were just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. It was less complicated that way.

The performance that evening was quite the spectate, they had a grand audience that Princess Celestia had gathered for them. Octavia played her heart out, trying to show through her music how strongly she felt a connection with not only music but with a certain pony. She didn’t even realise she was blushing. The crowd applauded them once more, and Octavia bowed towards the crowd, before each of them took turns exiting the stage. Octavia’s lips rose into a slight smile as she wiped the slight sweat drops off her face. She was tired once again it was time to head home. It seemed like this was the normal routine nowadays, She’d leave early in the morning, get her performance practice out of the way, have the actual performance and then go home to greet her roommate. Just lately her roommate hadn’t been home, and Octavia was starting to get a little concerned by her absences.

“That was quite the performance, we were very impressed with all of you.” spoke Princess Celestia towards the group. Octavia as well as the others bowed before the Princess, merely out of respect.

“Thank you, your Majesty.” Octavia replied, raising her head ever so slightly.

“You may stand up now. You needn’t bow to me. Every pony should be treated the same. Now if you don’t mind, I must be off. I must read a certain letter I’m expecting.”

With that Celestia was off, and Octavia was ready to head home. She felt sluggish from the past week of preparation. She headed for the train station, she was ready to return to Ponyville after this whole week was finally over. She intended to have a talk with Vinyl as soon as she returned.

“I sure hope she’s home, and if she isn’t I’m going to go after her. That pony really needs to learn how to stay still for at least one night.” she sighed as a few of the ponies traveling on the train, gave her stares like she was crazy. She tilted her head back, groaning, doing her best to ignore the stifles of the onlooking ponies. She’d be home soon enough and she could finally rest for a few days before the Gala was upon them.

Octavia got off of the train and headed to her home. She wasn’t about to waste any time. She opened the door once more.

“Vinyl, I’m back.”

“Tavi!” replied Vinyl, jumping at her, causing her to chuckle, and pet the top of her vibrant colored mane.

“I’m glad to see you too Vinyl, it’s good to be home.” smiled Octavia. Finally, she could rest, but she wasn’t about to forget to scold Vinyl. “We need to talk.”

Author's Note

So I decided to do something different! I'm challenging myself to write 2k a day of this new story. Whether I can actually do it, well that remains to be seen! But do let me know what you think. This is my first time write Octavia, and I'd love to hear feedback. Thank you for reading this. <3

Chapter 4: School Blues

Dylan headed to school, but his mind was anywhere but on homework. What was he going to do about this pony? Why was this happening to him? How in the world was he going to explain this to his band and more importantly his girlfriend? He was sure he’d figure it out, or so he hoped...

“I’m hiding a pony in my room. How can this be normal? This is anything but normal. This is weird…” Dylan said to himself, scratching the back of his head as he hopped onto the bus, and immediately headed all the way to the back to take a seat next to Rebecca.

“Hey Nerd, it’s about time you showed up.” she smirked, wrapping her arm around him, and leaning against him. Dylan blushed slightly, as he leaned over to kiss her. He pressed his lips against his, able to taste just a hint of her lipstick.

“Hey Becky, it’s nice to see you too.” Dylan smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. As long as he acted like everything was normal, then things would be okay. But...he couldn’t just pretend like there wasn’t a pony in his room. What would happen if his mom found out? Or worse yet his little sister...he could only imagine, and he was certain that neither of them wanted that.

“You seem distracted. More so than usual…” commented Rebecca, running her hand upon my thigh.

“Me? Well it’s just you know. Exams are coming up.” He quickly tried to think of something other than the truth. Would she even believe him? What if she thought he was crazy or something? Rebecca and he had been dating for a few months now, and things were great, but he wasn’t about to let some random magical pony ruin that for him. He had to proceed with caution.

“Since when do you care about exams?” questioned Rebecca, giving him a look.

Dylan felt the sweatdrop running down his face, as he took a gulp of a breath. She always could figure him out. He didn’t know why he was trying to lie to her.

“If I tell you, promise you won’t think I’m crazy?” he asked her.

“Seriously? You know I won’t judge you, after all you didn’t judge me when we met in detention.”

“That was the best detention I’ve ever been in, and I would get in trouble any day if it meant getting to be with you.” replied Dylan, leaning his head against his girlfriend and holding her close.

“You are such a nerd. A cute one though.” Rebecca smirked as she closed her eyes, and held onto him, not caring if the others stared at them. Jealous. They were all upset they didn’t get to be with this up and coming rockstar. She could see Dylan had talent, and she planned to use it to her advantage.

“You’re far cuter. I still remember that day like it was yesterday.” began Dylan as he thought about how they had first met.

“It was just another boring day at school. I was listening to some tunes on my mvp paper, and I ended up bumping into this guy. He totally took it the wrong way and got all up in my face, and well punched me. I got up and slapped him right in his fat ugly mug. That’s when the teacher came out and gave the both of us detention. I had never gotten in trouble before, I was so ashamed of myself.” sighed Dylan remembering. But then he looked at his girlfriend.

She had been sitting on top of her desk with one leg over the other, using a nail filer to keep her nails nice and smooth. She wore a leather black jacket, with a plain pink blouse with a skull on it, and a black mini skirt. Her whole attitude gave him bad ass vibes and he felt his heart pounding a mile a second. He had been swooned, and he just walked right up to her and asked her out on the spot. He was shocked when she said yes.

He was so distracted in telling his story he didn’t realize they were almost at school. He wouldn’t have time to explain to her about Octavia, without making things even more awkward.

“Okay. So um...I’ll let you know at lunch alright?” he asked to herself as he heard the bus coming to a stop, signaling it was time for them to get off and head into school to learn. School was annoying, but at least it got him out of the house. Dylan kissed Rebecca before heading to his locker, putting his backpack away, grabbing his books he would need until lunch, and headed to learn. However, his mind was still distracted.

He could picture Octavia on his bed, curled up into a ball like a kitten, and how cute she would look asleep on his bed, he didn’t even realize he was blushing slightly. His pencil lead snapped, and he cursed under his breath as he had to get up to go to the sharpener, but it gave him time to clear his thoughts.

“She’s just a pony. There’s no reason for me to feel this way. Why do I even care? I could just let mom know, but what would she do? She’d probably send me to the meadows…” he shivered, he heard stories of a few classmates that had gotten sent there. They were never heard from again. He couldn’t, not he wouldn’t let that happen to him.

“Octavia is my responsibility, I have to take care of this, no matter how difficult it might be.”

“Dylan...please take your seat.” the teacher instructed, tapping her foot and giving him a bit of a stare. It was like teachers could see into your very core. It was weird. Teachers were like psychics or something.

“Of course.” replied Dylan, as he returned to his seat. As he sat down, staring at the chalkboard, he couldn’t help but wonder how Octavia was doing at home. He hoped she wasn’t causing too much of a stir. She seemed like a calm pony with an intelligent mind. Surely, she wouldn’t do anything crazy right?

“Time for a pop quiz on what you’ve learnt in the past week.” the teacher said suddenly. The students all groaned. Dylan didn’t groan, he wasn’t even thinking about tests. He was thinking about a gray pony with black silk locks back home on his bed all curled up and as adorable as ever. He sure hoped Octavia was doing alright, and staying out of sight.

~~~~~

Octavia sighed heavily, the computer has not been helpful to her so far. She managed to find quite a lot of information about a game called Magic the Gathering, and the only other magic related articles were about fantasy creatures, including dragons. That was a start for sure, but she was sure that dragons didn’t exist in this world. After all if he was freaking out about her being a pony, she could only imagine what his reaction to a dragon would be. The answer was simple enough;not good at all.

His room was very simple to navigate, but she couldn’t possibly just stay in his room forever. At least she was out of that dreaded closet. She shook her head, her whole body smelled of male musk from being in there for even a few minutes. She wasn’t sure what she’d smell like if she had to spend a good amount of time in there. She had remembered he spoke about a shower. She didn’t know if his parents were home or not but she had to take a chance.

“I’m not going to remain musky until he gets back. I still don’t understand why I couldn’t go with him. It’s not like I’ve never been to a school before. I’m sure it can’t be that much different from our own.” she spoke as she dared to open the door, and tilt her head from side to side, ears twitching, listening and watching for any signs, any sound, any signal that she wasn’t the only one here.

“Phew, what a relief.” she spoke as she stepped out of his room. The hallway was long and narrow. Octavia noticed the carpet was a mossy green, and the walls were covered with photos of children. She immediately noticed the one as Dylan, there were also pictures of a younger girl. Carefully she opened the door to the right side of Dylan’s room. As soon as she opened the door, she was relieved to see this was indeed the room she was searching for, the bathroom.

Octavia didn't want to fiddle around, she needed to get clean. Though this bathroom was laid out in a similar enough manner, that she could easily figure out how it worked. Humans didn't seem to be that different from ponies. Sure, they walked on two legs, and wore clothes, but they both had to eat and drink, and keep a clean coat, for humans she guessed they didn't call them a coat, but right now she didn't care. She hopped under the hot steaming water and began lathering herself up. She couldn't help thinking about Vinyl as she washed up, hoping she was okay.

She hopped out of the shower, and brushed her mane with the comb laying by the sink. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, she didn’t see herself though, she could picture Vinyl’s expression. She could almost feel her concern. She felt the slightest drop of a tear running down her cheeks. No...she couldn’t cry.

“I am Octavia, and I will get through this. Vinyl wouldn’t expect anything less.” she retorted stubbornly, as she then exited the bathroom, and considered exploring. Surely if no one was here she could have a look around at her new place of residence. She didn’t plan on telling Dylan. She might not be as wild as her roommate, but she could be a bit curious. Octavia opened up the door to the left side of Dylan’s room, to find it turned out to be another closet. She quickly shut that door, already learning quite early on in her experience here, she didn’t like these places. And she wasn’t about to get her mane dirty after having just gotten clean.

She walked further down the hallway to the living room. She saw what looked like a loveseat in the center, with a coffee table in front of it, she could see two end tables with lamps on them beside the couch. Then to the left of the couch there was a recliner. In front of the couch, a good distance away was the television. She could see more pictures on the walls, above the couch, this time of two older looking humans. She could piece together, they were Dylan’s parents. The house was oddly quiet.

“I do believe he was worried over nothing.” she spoke to herself, relieved to be able to stretch out her legs a bit. She was stiff from how much time she had spent on the computer to no avail. If she wanted a solution, she clearly was going to have to look elsewhere. Octavia decided to continue onwards into the kitchen.
The kitchen area was finely laid out, the table in the center, and the cupboards around it. She could see the sink attached to the wall, and more countertop space, a stove, and a fridge.

She felt her stomach rumble, almost begging her to raid the fridge. She felt like it was rather improper of her to just take food without asking, but her stomach rumbled again. Surely, he’d understand her need to eat. After all if he was going to help her, why would he allow her to starve?

“I’m overthinking this. I need to relax and just pretend like I’m home.” she reminded herself. Though seeing the magnets on the fridge, brought a few more teardrops to her face. She could see what reminded her so much of Vinyl’s studio setup. It had her flare to it, she had to keep focused. She opened the fridge to see what was inside.

She saw milk, eggs, and condiments. Most normal things any person would have in a standard fridge. She looked towards the bottom where she knew there might be fresh fruit, and sure enough, luck would have it, there was a bag of macintosh apples. She couldn’t help scoffing at the name a bit, reminding her of Big Mac from Apple Acres. Why was this place constantly reminding her how much she missed her home? How much she missed being with Vinyl. Mrs. Cake’s words rang in her ears, and she found herself flushing as she took a hoofful of apples and trotted back into Dylan’s room. She shut the door, not wanting to take any more risks for today, she was just happy to get food in her stomach.

“Oh Celestia...how did I find myself here? What sort of cruel torture is this? Am I supposed to learn a lesson about Friendship?” questioned Octavia to the nothingness that surrounded her. Eventually she drifted off to sleep after a while of just laying on Dylan’s bed, curling her tail around her, trying to find some solace in this. It wouldn’t last forever, she was going to find her way back to Vinyl, find her way home.

Author's Note

Phew! I was really pushing this close. Like too close for comfort, but I managed to get it out before midnight. This challenge has certainly been interesting so far, and getting me to write something I never thought I'd write. I do hope you all enjoy it.