My Sister's Song

by fillytwilight

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, DJ P0N-3, Octavia
Length: 7359

Octavia thought she had it all, but one Harthwarming changed everything...

Harthwarming was always a happy time for me growing up. It was the the single ray of sunlight in my otherwise cloudy school year. It was a time when my parents would finish their work at the concert hall and we would go to our private cabin out between Canterlot and Ponyville. For me, that cabin was a magical place and still is to this day. My family still goes there at Harthwarming just for the sake of keeping up the tradition. But I will never forget for as long as I live and breath the Harthwarming when my father came rushing in with the greatest gift he could have ever given my family.

Special thanks to my editor Blazewings thunder!

Artwork done by: spittfireart at http://spittfireart.deviantart.com

Published 2013-04-12 19:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-07-30 01:15:19 UTC

The Filly in the Snow

Harthwarming was always a happy time for me growing up. It was the the single ray of sunlight in my otherwise cloudy school year. It was a time when my parents would finish their work at the concert hall and we would go to our private cabin out between Canterlot and Ponyville. For me, that cabin was a magical place and still is to this day. My family still goes there at Harthwarming just for the sake of keeping up the tradition. But I will never forget for as long as I live and breath that one Harthwarming when my father came rushing in with the greatest gift he could have ever given my family.

It had been another long semester at the Canterlot Music School. The only good thing about it was that I had gotten my cuttie mark. I know that at the age of twelve I was a little on the old side for trying to find a cutie mark and probably should have moved on to looking for a different sort of talent. After all how could an earth pony, the daughter of two unicorns, do anything with an instruments without being a unicorn herself. But I knew that something with music had to be my talent, both my parents had one in music. Why couldn't mine?

Well lets forget about that little story as it isn't the one I want to tell. I did get my mark while writing my first song for the cello, but it is not as good of a story as what happened latter that year. For you see I had finally been let out on winter break. Which meant as always we were staying at our cabin. It wasn't a super fancy cabin like most people would believe with how much money my parents made. Instead it was rather simple. It only had four rooms: two bedrooms, a living room/kitchen, and a bathroom. But even at that, it was perfect. It was a get away from all the noise and wildness of the big city.

It was my second day of vacation and we had already moved into our cabin. It had only taken the previous night of sleeping in the cabin to change us from the city folk we where into the country bumpkins as people called those who lived in this area. But we didn't care. It was late afternoon that fateful day. I was playing a happy tune for my mother on my always trusty cello. She herself was busy at the fireplace using her magic to stir our dinner of celery soup. Father was off in the woods near the cabin chopping enough firewood for the rest of our stay.

The smell of food was so strong that eventually I had given up my focus on playing.If you knew my mother, her food would have the same effect on you.

"Mom, may I please have just a small bowl while we wait for dad? Please?"

I put on the biggest puppy eyes I had ever done with a grin on my face. It still didn't work. Of course it didn't work. Only with dad...

"Now Octavia," Here we go again... "You know the rules. No one eats until everyone is present. You father should be here soon."

"Humph..." Of course. If looks could kill, then in my fillyhood I would have been a mass murderer.

My mother eventually stopped stirring the soup and walked over to the window. "Looks like it has started snowing again. Oh where is your father? He should be back by now."

I walked over to join her by the window. It was indeed snowing again. I looked over at my mom. Worry was in her eyes. It was never like my father to be late. He was always there, right on time no matter what. Every concert done at our family concert hall always started right on time. My dad made sure of it.

As soon as I looked back at to the darkening world out the window, a lone figure against the snow was running towards the cabin. My father. Something was off though. His coat he had worn was draped across something large on his back and his usually smiling face was now covered with fear. He was running as though his life depending on it. My mother bolted to the door as he raced in nearly crashing into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

"Honey! 'Huff' Grab 'huff' as many 'huff' blankets as you 'huff' can!" He quickly walked over to the fire and set the thing still under his coat on the floor. Mom came rushing back into the room with magic holding a large bundle of blankets. As soon as she got to him, he lifted his coat up.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. There, lying in front of the fire, was a white filly. She was unconscious and was shivering badly. Her mane was an electric blue and she had a strange looking music note for a cuttie mark. She looked to be my age.

My father quickly wrapped the shivering filly up in the blankets and then proceeded to hold her in his hooves to keep her as warm he could. All my mother and I could do was stand there with jaws on the floor. We where both speechless.

My mother was the first to speak up but her word where came out as if she had lost all the air in her lungs. "Stephano Philharmonica, what is the meaning of this?"

My father looked up at us and and began the tale. "I was about a mile off from the cabin near where I usually get the wood for the fire. I had just finished when all of a sudden I heard someone crying softly and begging for help. I looked around and about a hundred feet from me was this little one I am now holding. She was barely crawling on the ground and was shivering badly. I raced over to her but by then she had passed out. I quickly took off my coat, placed her on my back and put the coat over her. I then made a sprint here as fast as I could."

My mother had the biggest smile on her face I had ever seen he ended his tale. She quickly walked over and gave him a huge hug with the white filly in between them. They stayed like that almost the whole night keeping filly warm.

Who knew that night would be a huge changing point in my life.

To Feel Again

Warmth was a new feeling. First time in the last few days. It almost feels nice. I didn't feel like running anymore. Why should I care if they caught me? It was warm right now and that is all that mattered. I didn't dare open my eyes. The warmth might go away. I didn't want to look out and see that everything I was feeling was a lie. That had happened far too often.

But why do I smell food?

It was the strangest thing ever. The food actually smelled good. Now I knew my mind was playing games on me. How could it not? The last thing I had eaten was that half eaten loaf of bread someone had thrown out. The time before... Well I don't even remember what I had eaten before that... It had been so long.

My brain began to tease me even more. Now I was feeling something soft, like blankets? Yes, it had to be blankets. But how? The temptation to look out and see what in Equestria was going on was growing to great. I had to look.

As I slowly opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that I was lying on a wood floor. I don't even remember falling asleep on a wood floor! Now my heart was racing because I knew something was just wrong about this.

The second thing I noticed was a young grey filly, about my age, with a black mane lying a few feet away wrapped up in blanket. Again a strange sight. I was now seriously confused.

Both slowly and carefully, I began to push away the blankets that I was wrapped in. Though the thought of just lying there had crossed my mind, I needed answers. Just as I began to stand up, a gentle hoof placed itself on my back and eased me back down to the floor. I slowly turned my head to face where the hoof had come from. There in front of me stood a mare that looked similar to the one sleeping on the floor. The few differences between the two was that this one had a horn and looked considerably older.

As I stared at her, something struck me as odd. She was smiling at me differently than anyone else I had met. I don't know how to describe it. It was like that smile somehow said that this mare actually cared for me... NO! That's not possible! No one ever had. How could she be different?

"Just relax. You need to stay where you are for the moment. I promise you, everything is going to be fine, okay?"

My heart melted. Her voice was soft and full of warmth. Again, I had to wonder if this was real. Why did she sound like she cared? I felt myself nod as the blankets began to call to me again. As long as I was being treated like this, I was going to enjoy it.

Just as I was relaxing, I heard a new set of hooves enter the room. I looked towards one of the doorways to see a tall unicorn stallion with white fur and a black mane. Why did he look so familiar? He looked like something I had seen in a dream. There was... snow... lots of snow! And there was a forest and I was running...

If I hadn't been lying in a pile of blankets I would have facehooved. Of course I recognized him! It wasn't a dream. And since it wasn't a dream...

Owwww....

Yep, still there. That large bruise on my back right leg from the fall was still there. I still can't believe that I survived from a height like that...

"How do you feel?" I looked up to see that same stallion now standing above me. His face actually showed concern. This again struck me as strange. Why do these people care about a worthless piece of street trash like me? It isn't like anyone else ever had.

"I'm fine." My voice sounded heartless. And it hurt to sound like that to these people who actually sounded kind. But then the doctors had sounded nice and all they were was a bunch of cruel, heartless ponies. Why would these ponies be any different?

"Would you like something to eat?" The mare walked around me to a fire with a pot hanging over it.

Again with them being nice! This is driving me nuts! Why are they doing this for me?

"Why?" The mare stopped scooping soup into a bowl and looked at me with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well, I thought you would hungry. If your not, that is fine. I could always save you some for..."

"That's not what I meant." I interrupted. "Why are being so nice to me?"

Now the Stallion spoke, "Your only a filly. You shouldn't have been out in the woods all alone. Plus you looked hurt. I couldn't just leave you there."

He couldn't just leave me there? But I'm a nobody... right?

He spoke up again. "Now, Melody, why don't you finish getting this filly some soup." The mare, who I assumed was Melody, nodded her head and began to scoop soup into a bowl. She then place a spoon in the bowl and set it down in front of me.

"Are you able to use your magic on your own or would you like for me to get you an earth pony spoon?" asked Melody.

After a quick test the spoon was levitating towards me. I slowly placed to spoon in my mouth.

Within a matter of seconds I had already swallowed five spoonfuls. I had never tasted anything so good in my life! Suddenly a different magic took the spoon from mine.

"Wow! Slow it down! I know you must be hungry but your going to be sick if you eat that fast."

The stallion slowly allowed my magic take the spoon from his and I began eating again, slowly this time.

"Now how about we get to introductions. My name is Stephano Philharmonica and this my wife, Melody. Might I ask what your name is?"

I lowered the spoon back to the bowl. With a small voice I said, "It is Vinyl Scratch."

"Vinyl... Now that is a lovely name for a young mare." They were both smiling at me again. It wasn't bugging me as much anymore. It was kinda nice. These two really seamed to care. It was at that moment that a loud yawn. I looked over at the grey filly who was now sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Well now good morning Octavia! Would you like to say hi to our guest, Vinyl?"

And that is when things got interesting.

Author's Note

Don't worry! The bruise and the part about the doctors will be explained. In time...

Next chapter may have a mix of both Vinyl and Octavia.

Those Eyes

"Well now good morning Octavia! Would you like to say hi to our guest, Vinyl?"

They say first impressions can determine how a person thinks of you for as long as they know you. In the past, when I met someone new I was expected to offer a hoof, make small talk, and ask about life. Usually that was how things went and nothing ever went wrong.

That was not the case this time. As soon as I heard my mother speak, my front hoofs slipped on the blanket I was wrapped in and I ended up face planting on a hardwood floor. I must have yelped when I slipped because as I was sitting up I heard a light giggling from across the floor. Quickly looking around I spotted the source. Sitting right across from me was that white filly from last night, still wrapped in a bundle of blankets.

When her giggling had stopped, she looked up and locked eyes with me. That small grin on her face fell.

Though I was young at the time, I wasn't as innocent as most fillies my age. Being the only earth pony in an all unicorn school was a royal pain. I had been call everything from dirt to words that would make the guard cry. But I had gotten used to it. I was better at playing my instrument than them anyways.

Nothing had prepared me for what shot out of those fillies eyes. I suddenly felt like crying. It wasn't the fact that she had red eyes, but the pain that seemed to glow in them. What I saw staring at me were not the eyes of a filly. but of someone who had lived a full life of nothing but pain. It was though even the happiness of Hearthwarming had died and in its place was left a cold wasteland. Not even the fire or the blankets could keep me from shivering.

"Um... Ah... Hi..." I mumbled. "My name is Octavia..."

She stared at me for a second and then small smile lit her face.

"Nice to meet you. My name's Vinyl."

I honestly didn't know what to say. All I could do was stare into those red eyes. After another few moments, something inside me sparked. I stood up and walked over to her. I don't know why I did it but I reached out and pulled her into biggest hug I had ever given. I think I shocked her as much as I shocked myself. Even my parents who had been watching from the sidelines would later say they had not been expecting that.

It was strange. To be hugging someone I had just met. All I knew was her first name, but somehow it felt like the right thing to do.

I was about to let go when suddenly she placed her head on my shoulder and began to cry. My fur quickly became soaked with her tears, but I wasn't going to complain. I just held her tighter.

"Please don't leave me... Not like everyone else..."

Her voice could barely be heard.

"Don't worry, I won't."

Who knew where that promise would take me?

Author's Note

Yes, yes. It is short. Tomorrows will be much longer. We are going to finally see some of Vinyl's past so stay tuned!!!

Looking Through a Mirror

I don't know why I was crying. Especially in front of a filly I didn't know. But here I was, wrapped up in this "Octavia's" arms crying like I was some fowl.

It might have been for a few minutes, but it sure felt like hours. When I had finally calmed down a little, there was a strange feeling I had never had before. Peace. After running and fearing everything thrown my way, I finally felt like I could just sit still.

I was still hugging Octavia when I felt a hoof on my shoulder. Releasing the hug and looking back I found Melody levitating a small cup next to her. First she gave me a quick hug and then handed me cup. In the past, tea was something I rarely had and it had always been bland. What was in this cup was a totally new experience. One sip of the hot liquid and I was already craving more. I drank it as fast as I could, not even caring about it slightly burning the roof of my mouth. It was just another warm feeling I could add to the list of new, happy experiences I was getting today.

Stephano chuckled a little at me then said, "You sure like your tea, don't you?"

I blushed a little and shook my head.

"Well then, Melody, why don't you get Vinyl more tea while I get Octavia some food. Then I think there are a few questions we need answering."

And with that they got to work. Octavia and I both sat as still as we could, not saying anything to each other. After a few awkward minutes, I spoke up.

"Thanks..." I said in a whisper. "For the hug..."

"No problem. You looked like you needed it."

"Yah..."

We sat quietly again until Octavia's parents came back with my drink and Octavia's food. This time I drank slowly; savoring the tea as though this would be my last glass.

After a minute, Melody walked over to me, put a hoof on my shoulder and spoke, "Now little one, I don't know how much you want to tell us, but we need to know where you came from and why you were out in those woods. It is okay if you don't want to tell us everything for the moment."

I found my eyes having a starring contest with the floor. My mind was locked in a huge debate. What should I tell these ponies? Everything? Or only a little? How much did I trust these ponies?

A lot....

They took me in without even knowing me. Gave me food, blankets, and made my feel as though what had happened in the past didn't matter at all.

They deserved the truth.

"Momma?"

"Momma?"

"Momma?"

"What do you want?!?!"

Red eyes starred me down from the bed Momma was lying in. By the sound of her voice, she had spent another night out at the bar.

"Um... I... I just..."

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM NOW!!!"

Tears filled my eyes. Slowly I walked over to the nightstand next to the bed and placed the mother's day card down. I had made all by myself. It was covered with lots of little pink hearts. Not that she would ever read it.

"GET OUT!"

More tears filled my eyes as I ran out of her room and into mine. I quickly locked the door and crawled into my bed. Today was the day I thought I could make her happy. The day I finally got her to smile at me.

But it was not. I don't even know why I had gotten my hopes up. Ever since my dad had left, she had seen me as a burden. Maybe that was all I was. A burden. Just getting in her way of spending more at whatever bar she went to.

I sat up and looked in the mirror across the room. Wiping away the tears, I looked into the mirror and gave my best smile. Looking right back at me through the mirror was a happy young filly whose world was perfect.

Why couldn't mine?

"Momma, would you like to listen to me practice for the Summer Music Festival?"

"Why?" She didn't even look at me as she grabbed another bottle from the fridge.

"Well I need to practice and I thought you could listen and tell me what you think..."

"I don't need to listen to it to tell you what I think. It's garbage, just like your father. Now if you don't mind, I would like to enjoy my drink."

And with that I ran to my room. I fought the tears as hard as I could but they still fell. Looking up I saw the mirror. I quickly grabbed hairbrush off my nightstand and threw it at the mirror. Though the mirror now had cracks, I could still see my reflection. I saw myself for what I truly was.

Broken.

I wiped away the tears and put on a half crazed smile.

And there she was again, that perfect filly who should have been me.

Fall had come. The leaves where changing and the mountain air of Canterlot chilled ponies to the bone. But none of them were as cold as I was sitting in that waiting room. No tears were falling from my eyes, but I knew it was only a matter of time.

She had gone out drinking, again. But this time was different. She would always find some way to get home before when she was drunk. Just not this time. This time there was a guard waiting to take me to the hospital.

I had been told what had happened on the way to the hospital. A bar fight. To make things worse, my mother had started it. She had run out of bits and had decided she should just take someone else's drink for them. In the end, a fight broke out. When the crowd had cleared, my mother was lying on the floor coated in her own blood.

The doctors and nurses that passed tried to comfort me. They offered blankets, books, even a few offered a should to cry on. But I accepted none. I may have hated the woman, she was my mother. Knowing if she would make it was the only thing that would comfort me.

I don't know how long it had been when a doctor came and sat down by me.

"I am sorry. We couldn't save her."

That was when the tears fell.

"Some folks from the orphanage will be by to pick you up..."

"NO!" And with that I ran. Out of the hospital I went and into the cold night. No moon or stars to light my way under the clouds. But I kept running.

Finally, exhaustion caught up with me and I stumbled onto a bench that was on a street corner.

It was cold, I was crying, and there was no one there but me.

But who cared about a filly like me?

I slowly lifted my head and looked at my reflection in window of a nearby shop. Quickly I wiped my eyes and put on my best smile. And there it was.

That perfect little filly...
And me...

Author's Note

Here it is! Today's chapter! Please comment and rate!

The Broken Filly

So here I go again. Running from the world. Running from my past. And running from the guard who is chasing me. I am sick of running. It is so cold, and I can barely feel my hooves hit the stone street. But I keep on running.

"Stop, thief!" The guard shouts.

Like that will ever happen. What thief ever just stops when being chased by guard?

Thief...

Is that what I had become? I had only stolen food. Was that enough to call me a thief? I guess...

I rounded another corner and found myself at the city gate with no where else to go. Either I ran out of Canterlot with the food in my pack or I end up locked in a cell. To me, either sounded like dying. So I ran. The winter air nipped me even more now that I was out of the cover the tall buildings had provided. At least I had food.

I didn't know if the guard was still following me, but I kept on running. The path was almost invisible in the snow and one wrong step could send me down the Canterlot Mountain and most likely to my death. But I had to move quickly.

I was still running when I must have stepped on some ice hidden in the snow.

"NO, NO, NO!!!" I shouted as I slid closer to the edge.

I couldn't believe what was happening. All I had wanted was to eat for the first time and days, but instead I was hanging by a hoof for dear life. The drop looked to be at least a hundred feet. Frozen tears filled my eyes.

Why me?

I don't know how long I had been lying in the snow. I should have been dead, but I wasn't. Thank Celestia the snow was as thick as it was. I tried to stand but my rear right leg really hurt. Eventually I got up, but I could barely put any weight on that hurt leg. It was then, that I noticed my bag was missing. No matter where I looked, I couldn't find it. Great. That whole chase had been all for nothing. Now I was tired, cold, and without food.

Only one thing to do, keep moving forward.

I had to be careful with that leg. I didn't think it was broken, but it sure hurt. Up ahead of me was a quiet looking forest. At least the trees would keep away some of the wind.

The forest was quiet. I didn't know if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. I tried not to think about what could possibly live out here. If anything found me, I wouldn't be able to get away with my leg the way it was. So I kept walking.

I must have been crawling at a turtle's pace. It had been early morning when I had been running from the guard. Now the sun was setting and I had to find shelter fast.

A small clearing appeared in front of me.

A frozen lake.

Cautiously I approached the edge and looked down. What I saw looking back scared me. It was no longer the perfect filly. In its place was a half dead filly who looked like the world had turned on it. She looked broken.

She was me.

It was so cold.
I could barely move. But I had to. The whacking noise was growing louder and I hoped it was someone who could help. If it wasn't... I didn't want to think about it. It was getting closer.

I came to another clearing. There only a short ways from me, was a stallion chopping wood using magic.

I found myself suddenly full of hope.

I tried to shout, but I was so weak that all that came out was a whisper.

"Help..."

It wasn't much, but it seemed to work. The last thing I remember was him running towards me.

And then everything went dark.

Author's Note

Here we go! The second part of Vinyl's story. Hope you all like it!

Speechless

Words just wouldn't come. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't say anything to the filly crying her eyes out before me. Even my parents stood still with their mouths hanging open. It was as if Vinyl had become the only living thing in the world and everything else had been turned to stone.

Until something snapped.

It was that same instinct that had taken over me earlier, only this time it came out ten times stronger. I literally tackled her to ground in death grip like hug. Tears filled my eyes, and I soon found myself crying as hard as she was. I never wanted to let her go. It was a matter of seconds before my parents soon joined us. One giant group hug. Strangely enough, it felt right.

Vinyl and I were sitting by the fire drinking hot cocoa. We hadn't spoken much since Vinyl had finished her story but that didn't matter. We were together.

My parents had left just a short while ago. Something about needing to run to Ponyville. They had reminded me yet again of where the emergency survival supplies was and had said it should only take mom two hours before she returned. Dad wouldn't be home until late that evening or the next day.

So Vinyl and I just sat.

"Thanks..." I looked up at her as she spoke. "For... well everything..."

"Your welcome... for everything." We both giggled a little at that.

We sat still for another few moments. That was when idea popped into my head.

"You like music, right?"

"Um, yah. Why?"

"Come with me! I have to show you something!"

With that I ran to my room with her limping behind. Over in the corner was my most prized possession. My cello.

"Here, sit on the bed. I want to play you something." And with that, I began.

The deep notes filled the room very quickly. Vinyl gasped and then slowly closed her eyes, listening to every note of the music. For once, someone else was actually willing to listen to me, the Earth filly, play an instrument only unicorns were supposed to play. And by the look of things, Vinyl was enjoying it. A small smile slowly filled her face as the song came to a close.

"Wow! Your really good! I didn't know an Earth pony could play a cello!"

"Hahaha... Ya, it took forever to learn but it was worth it."

"Well it sure sounded amazing! If we ever get the chance, you should listen to my music too!"

"Oh! What instrument do you play?"

Vinyl chuckled at that which confused me.

"I don't exactly play an instrument." Now I was lost.

"Then do you sing?"

"Nope!" She had the strangest grin on her face. "I'm a DJ silly!"

"A... DJ? What is that?" After I said that, I knew it was a mistake. I don't think I want to even try to repeat the look on her face. Her right eye was twitching and her jaw hit the floor. I think I might have almost broken her....

"You don't know what a DJ is?!?!?!?" Her face still full of shock.

"Um... should I?"

"YES!!!!! A DJ is a person who mixes other people's music to make something new. We also sometimes make our own stuff from scratch. Man filly... Are you from a different planet or something?"

"I.... I... I'm sorry..." Maybe she was just like the Unicorns from school...

"Hey, it's alright. I didn't mean to make you sound stupid or anything. I am really sorry."

"It... It's fine."

"You want to talk about it?" Her voice was full of concern. Maybe I should tell her. She did trust me with her story. But I hadn't even told my parents about the bullying...

"Hey mud pony! I think you came to the wrong school!" They laughed.

Just ignore them and keep walking. Your better than them.

"I bet her parents took home the wrong filly from the hospital!"

One tear...

"Nah, that's not what I heard! Rumor has it her mom cheated on her stupid husband with some stupid stallion from Ponyville!"

Two tears... Keep moving....

"I know the truth! Her parents are both messed up and so is she!"

Three tears... RUN!

I didn't stop until I made it to the filly's room. Tears just wouldn't stop falling.

"I HATE UNICORNS!!!" That was half true. I hated unicorns, except my parents. But at the moment I was angry. All the other fillies and colts just didn't understand. How could they? It wasn't like their moms had been sick with some rare disease during most of their pregnancy! I should have been dead!

Instead I was just some cruel joke of pure luck.

Just a joke...

"I'll tell you tonight...." She quickly wiped the tears in her eyes away. Memories like this only brought her down.

"Well, alright... That's fine. Let's just..."

"Octavia, Vinyl!"

"Look's like mom is back!" We both ran out of my room. There in the main room was my mom with some strange mare in a white coat.

"Vinyl, this is Nurse Checkup. She is just going to make sure that you are all right..."

"NO! GET THAT DOCTOR AWAY FROM ME!" With that she ran back into my room and slammed the door. I could faintly hear the lock turn and something being pushed in front of the door.

This was not going to be easy.

Author's Note

Sorry this is being posted late at night...

I Hate Doctors...

"Vinyl, please open the door." Melody spoke in a soft tone.

"NO!!! HOW COULD YOU????" I was angry, confused, and scared. How could they? I trusted them and they bring some doctor person. After mom had died, I had purposely dodged everything that reminded me of a hospital or a doctor. Sure it wasn't the doctors' fault she had died. However, they had tried to send me to an orphanage and after hearing my mom threaten to send me there enough times, it didn't sound like a good place.

"Vinyl, Nurse Checkup is only here to make sure you are healthy. We wouldn't want you to be sick with something you caught from living on the streets, now would we?"

"No..." I paused. "She... She isn't going to send me to an orphanage, is she?" My voice was full of fear.

"No dear, she is not here to take you away." She spoke softly to me. "We just want you to be okay little one."

"You... You promise?"

"I promise Vinyl. Will you please open the door?"

I slowly used my magic to move the dresser out from in front of the door. Even slower than that, I unlocked the door and opened it. The second the door opened, strong hooves came around me. Melody lifted me up and began to cradle me like a small fowl. She held me to her ear and quietly whispered into it. "I promise you, no one will ever take you away."

Tears filled my eyes as she held me there. She had given me the one thing I had been asking for my whole life, to be held and loved.

Loved...

Slowly she set me back down and using her muzzle, began to push me gently towards Nurse Checkup. The nurse herself had a very gentle smile on her face as I walked up. Quickly looking around, I spotted Octavia who was sitting in the corner with a look of concern on her face.

"Alright Vinyl. I am just going to check you over and give you a few shots. It should only take a few minutes if you just sit still, okay"

"Okay... Wait a second... SHOTS?!?!?!?!?"

Octavia next to me rubbing a hoof down my back.

"I hate shots..."

She giggled a little.

"Just be thankful that it is over."

"Humph..."

We were sitting on the bed in Octavia's room again. Nurse Checkup had left moments ago and Melody was busy preparing dinner for the evening.

"What do you think my dad is doing?"

"As long as it isn't another doctor, I don't care."

"Oh come on. It wasn't that bad."

"I guess... Nurse Checkup was pretty nice..."

"Anyway, I hope whatever dad is doing, he does it quick. He promised he would play the fiddle yesterday and we know how that went..."

"Hey! I thought I was a pretty good surprise!"

She giggled again. "Of course you were. I just like teasing you."

"Double humph..." We both ended up giggling. Even with the checkup, everything today had been better than basically my whole life. If I could have relived this same day everyday for the rest of my life, I would. This day would be the record that span round and round; I wouldn't even try to scratch it.

Since we didn't know if Stephano was going to make it to the cabin in time, we were already eating when we heard the door open. And there he was, the biggest grin I had ever seen.

"I take it everything went as planned?" Melody was smiling.

"Even better. But that is a story for later."

Both Octavia and I looked at each other with confused looks on our faces.

"However, I believe I broke a promise to a little filly last night so I better make it up to her. After I eat, we will have a good old fiddling time!"

Like I said before. The best day of my life.

So far...

Author's Note

And now it is fixed. Enjoy!

Lost

My bedroom felt really cold at the moment. Not even the blanket I was wrapped in seemed to be doing any good. I was sitting on my bed, watching Vinyl's sleeping form on the air mattress on the floor. She looked so relaxed, but I had to tell her. I made a promise to tell her about the bullying at school and I intended to keep it. Just take a deep breath. In, out... That didn't work... But I have to do this...

"Vinyl..." I whispered.

"Vinyl..."

"Vin..."

"You don't have to keep saying my name to wake me."

"EEPP!" I covered my mouth with my hooves.

"Shhhhh..... Man filly! Do you want to wake your parents up?" She whispered.

To that, I just rolled my eyes.

"Wow..."

"Yah... Before you, the only unicorns who liked me where my parents."

We both sat in silence. It felt really good to finally tell someone.

"I think they are afraid."

"Huh, afraid? What do you mean?"

"Well think about it. You, some earth filly, walks into a school full of unicorns who have to use magic to play their instruments and you don't. They are probably worried that now that one pony other than a unicorn can play a complicated instrument without magic, others will rise up and do the same. It would make using magic to play an instrument seem pointless. I mean sure, using magic does make learning and playing an instrument incredibly easy, but anyone with hooves who was willing to work hard could now do it."

"Wow... I never thought of it like that... I guess to them it must feel like I'm stealing something really important from them."

I pondered that for a few more minutes. It finally made sense! The unicorns just didn't want to be robbed of something only they could do for the longest of time.

"Now, not that I'm happy you told me this or anything," She yawned, "but I am a living being who likes to sleep, a lot, so good night Tavi."

"Tavi?"

But my question was too late as Vinyl was already fast asleep.

It was now the afternoon of Harthwarming Eve, a normally calm and peaceful time for my family.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

Thanks for ruining that Vinyl... and Dad!

Trees flew past as Vinyl and I rode down the hill on the sled my father had purchased for us. I asked him before we left why he bought it, and he says it was so my new friend and I could have some fun together. Personally I think he's trying to kill me...

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Vinyl laughing like a mad pony.

"Hang on tight Tavi, we're about to get some major air!"

"NOOOO!!!! OH SWEET CELESTIA SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE ME!!!!"

WOOOOSHHHHHH!!!!!!

For about ten seconds, everything seemed to slow down. I was flying through the air with Vinyl, our sled crashed into a snow bank behind us. The best part was that we were both laughing. So this is what a Pegasus feels like when fly.

Too bad it could only last a few seconds before everything went black...

"Owwwwww....." Vinyl's groan was what woke me up. Sitting up wasn't easy... and OWWW MY LEG HURT!!!!! I fell face first back into the snow. Great. I think I broke my front left leg... There goes a month's worth of practice. Placing all my weight on my right leg, I decided to take a look around.

We were both under a tree, our sled smashed to pieces. Looking around I could tell we were somewhere deep in the woods and it was getting dark quickly. Night was coming fast.

"Well that was fun... Come on Tavi, why don't we head home."

"Um... Vinyl, I think broke a leg..."

"Oh no.. no, no, no, no... I am so sorry Tavi! I shouldn't have made you do this! Please don't hate me! Please..."

"Vinyl stop! It isn't your fault. You had no way of knowing this would happen."

"But, you wouldn't be hurt if..."

"Don't even finish that sentence. I made the decision to get on the sled and I had plenty of chances to say no. Now come on, let me lean on you so we can get home."

The sun had set at least an hour ago and it was getting way too cold for us to stay out any longer. The sky was clouded making things even worse. If we didn't find shelter soon, we would probably freeze to death by morning.

We had to move slowly with my leg, but Vinyl was helping me the whole way. She had even sacrificed her scarf to make a makeshift sling to help me along. I had urged her to just use mine but she had refused. I could tell she was getting cold since I was leaning on her but she kept saying she was fine. So that is how we went, her freezing while balancing me out and me feeling guilty about it the whole way. I could even hear her stomach growling with how long we had gone since lunch that day without eating.

Just as we were entering a clearing in the trees, I could feel my strength failing. We were going even slower and I could barely feel anything other than her by my side.

"Come on Tavi, we gotta be getting close. You have to keep moving."

Just her saying that was enough to warm me a little to keep moving. The clearing was slowly becoming the hill we had started our dangerous sled ride at. That meant the cabin was just on the other side, I think at least... The snow must have shifted a little with the wind because there weren't any tracks from our run.

Oh please be on the other side...