Toshio is a unicorn from Manehatten, with a knack for making computers. Join him in his adventures
Toshio is quite a technological unicorn, whose special talent involves making small computer-like devices designed to do many things, such as prank other ponies. Join him on his adventures as he attempts to start a new life in Ponyville, meeting new ponies left and right, trying to find more friends, working on computers, and much, much more!
So, you want to know about my adventures in Ponyville, eh? Well, before I tell you, I've got a few things to say. First thing’s first: I’m Toshio, a unicorn from Manehatten with a knack for making computers and other little devices. My coat is colored in a mix of violet and navy blue, and my mane is colored green with red stripes in it. I tend to wear a pair of large glasses that are very popular with technological ponies like me nowadays, with the lenses colored blue.
Now that you know what I look like, I guess it’s time to start telling you about my time in Ponyville, and why I’m even writing a journal about it in the first place. I’m sort of new to writing journals, so I guess I’ll just start right off the bat, from when I arrived in Ponyville on the train from Manehatten…
I stepped out of my train car and took a good look around the relatively small station. A few ponies around me were going to and from the train, bringing their various luggage along with them, and greeting one another. Sure is peaceful compared to Manehatten’s train station I thought to myself, remembering the large crowds of ponies all cramming themselves onto trains, arguing over ticket prices with attendants, or simply arguing amongst themselves over misplaced luggage.
As I stood there, daydreaming of my old home, I suddenly was bumped into from behind, and I fell forward onto my face, losing my balance due to my lack of focus.
“You OK?” A grey pegasus with a blonde-haired mane and tail asked, leaning her head in next to mine and staring at me with a pair of eyes that didn’t exactly focus properly. Each eye appeared to be looking at her nose, one angled slightly upwards, the other further down.
“Yeah, sorry, I was daydreaming.” I replied with a grunt, face still pressed in the ground.
“I just don’t know what went wrong. Sorry mister!”
“It’s perfectly fine,” I said, picking me and my small suitcase up off the ground, “What’s…your…name?” I looked around, and saw that the strange pegasus had somehow disappeared. “That’s strange…” Well, I might as well get a move on… before something else happens. I then used a telekinesis spell to pick up my suitcase, and headed into the town to try and find a place to stay for the night.
This town sure is…different from Manehatten I thought to myself as I walked through Ponyville, absentmindedly levitating my suitcase behind me and looking around at the various houses and ponies. I wonder what everypony talks about in this town, because I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have to do with stocks and the like. Wow, look at that mare. She looks…happy. I saw a pink earth pony with a cotton candy-like mane, bouncing along the side of the path, humming some weird tune, and smiling like she had just been visited by Celestia herself. I trailed along behind her, curious as to what had her so happy, and ended up following the strange pony for about five minutes as she just kept bouncing around town. As I was just about to give up following her and turned around to walk away, she suddenly appeared right in front of me, and I jumped back in fright, dropping my suitcase.
“AAH!”
“Hi!” The strange mare said, beaming at me, “I’m Pinkie Pie! Why are you following me? Was it fun? OOH, OOH! I wanna try, especially if it’s super duper fun, because that makes it even better!” She suddenly gasped. “I’ve never seen you before! And if I’ve never seen you before, then that means that you’re new here, and that means you’ve never been to one of my parties, and that means you’re probably all sad, and that you need one of my parties to cheer you up!!!” She gasped loudly again, and then zoomed past me and disappeared. I just stood there, trying to piece together what had just happened.
“It seems as if you’ve met Pinkie.” A female voice (with a slight lilt of a regal accent) said from behind me.
“How did- what the- HUH?” I turned around and standing before me was a grey mare, with black hair, purple eyes, and a treble clef for a cutie mark. She wore a slightly amused expression on her face as she looked at me.
She chuckled softly, “Don’t worry; we all are just as confused as you are right now when we first met her. You end up getting used to it.” The mare shook her head back and forth slowly, and then stuck out her right hoof to shake. “My name is Octavia. What’s yours?”
After a few seconds, I finally recovered from my shock and took Octavia’s hoof, shaking it. “My name is Toshio. I arrived on the train from Manehatten today.”
“Sounds interesting. Why would you come here to Ponyville all the way from Manehatten?”
“Well, it’s quite a long story…”
“Oh, please share. I don’t often meet a pony all the way from Manehatten here in little old Ponyville.”
“Well, I guess I could tell you then… but I need to find somewhere to stay first, so-“
“Oh, I could provide you a home until you find one of your own.”
I took a step back in astonishment. “You’d let me stay in your home just like that?” Nopony gets treated with this much kindness, right off the bat anyways, in Manehatten… “Of course. You are a pony in need of a home, and I am in need of a good story, so it’s mutually beneficial.”
“Well I suppose so…”
“Great, we’ll just grab your luggage and you can begin telling me your story on the way then.”
I picked up my suitcase with a telekinesis spell, and began following Octavia towards her house, telling my tale of how I ended up coming to Ponyville…
I guess my story started in a small Manehatten café, sitting at a table with my one and only friend, Gustline. Gustline was a tall pegasus mare, with a lime green coat, striped white and red mane and tail, and a cutie mark that looked like a breath of wind. Her special talent was being able to manipulate wind, which she used to make her job in weather patrol easier. She tends to hold herself in a unique way; she does whatever she wants, when she wants, and couldn’t care less what others think. It’s one of the things that contributed to our friendship, though she could get a bit unbearable at times with her opinions. She was actually acting in that near-unbearable way in the café that day.
“Tell me you’re joking.” Gustline scoffed as I nibbled on some coffee cake.
I swallowed the cake in my mouth, and sighed. “I’m telling you, I just feel like-“
“Feel like what? Leaving your friend behind and starting a new life? Don’t forget, mister, I was the one who got you your cutie mark in the first place! So now you’re just gonna leave me behind and-“
“Gustline, I’m not trying to leave you behind. You’re my best friend.”
“I’m your ONLY friend.”
“And that’s what I’m trying to say, Gustline. I want to be able to make more friends, and branch out more. Don’t get me wrong, you’re an amazing pegasus, but you can’t always be there to hang out or talk. In fact, you’re gone most of each day.”
“Well it’s not my fault I have to work on weather patrol...” Gustline trailed off, realizing what I was saying. “Why can’t you just make new friends here, in Manehatten?”
“You know that’s not possible. Everypony here is too busy to stop for idle chat, or they just don’t care. Even you and I met elsewhere, in-“
“Minneighsota, I know.” She sighed and hung her head in defeat as she realized my point. “So where do you want to move to?”
“I don’t know yet. I’m thinking a small suburb, but I might just try my hoof at every new place I find.”
“What’s going to happen to all your clients here? All the people you’ve sold your devices to?”
“I’ve been working on a helper computer at my apartment to copy and leave with everypony who’s paid for my computers.”
She kept staring at her plate. “Guess you thought of everything.”
“Nah, there’s an app for that.”
Gustline playfully punched me on the shoulder, visibly looking a little happier. “Well then, I guess you’re set for a new life outside Manehatten.”
“Guess so,” I said with a grin, “Don’t worry, I’ll send you a postcard, hehe”
“OK, now you’re just rubbing the fact that I lost the argument in my face.”
I feigned offense, putting a forehoof over my heart, “I say! Why in all of Equestria would you think that of me!”
She laughed, and punched my other shoulder. “Come on, goofball, we should finish eating.”
I laughed as well, then picked up my coffee cake and continued nibbling on it as our conversation went on to less important things, until Gustline had to go do some work, made me pay for the meal, and bid me goodbye, flying up into the clouds. I stared up at where she had punched through, and then headed to my apartment to start packing my very few belongings.
One Week Later…
I sat at the ramp that went up into the train car, hugging Gustline goodbye.
“You better come back to give me that postcard in person, mister.” Gustline said, poking me in the chest with her hoof.
“Wouldn’t dream of giving it to you any other way.” I grinned.
“Good. Now get out of my sight before I get all emotional and fly you back to your apartment and make you stay there.” She said with the barest hint of a sniffle.
I smiled sadly, and walked up the ramp into the train. The ticket collector, a peach colored unicorn walked lazily throughout the aisle, taking everypony’s tickets. He eventually reached my seat, and asked in a monotonous tone:
“Ticket, please.”
I showed him my ticket. He used his horn to pick it up, placed it into a bag at his waist, and then continued on at the same bored pace until he had collected every ticket. Soon after the last ticket was collected, the conductor came through the door on the front of the train and cleared his throat to get everypony’s attention.
“Alright, everypony, now that all of the tickets have been collected, I’d like to personally welcome you all to Equestria’s National Railway. Our first stop is going to be a little town called Ponyville, and we’ll be travelling through Cockatrice Pass to get there. So settle in, everypony, it’s going to be a long and bumpy ride!”
Eventually, the rocking motions of the train lulled me to sleep. In retrospect, there was really nothing to do on that train except stare at the passing countryside, so it wasn’t that hard to fall asleep.
“…and I woke up once the train had reached Ponyville. So far, it’s a nice town, and looks promising, so I guess I’ll stay here for a while, and if things don’t work out, I’ll simply move on to the next stop.” I shrugged.
The story had taken me a while to complete, just as I had said it would. Octavia and I had walked across town to her house, a simple establishment with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a small kitchen, and a luxurious living room, where we were now. The living room was adorned with a small fireplace, which had a few pieces of furniture sitting near them. There was a couch, an armchair, and a loveseat. I was sitting in the armchair, near the stairs that led up to the three bedrooms.
As I finished my story, Octavia, who was sitting on the couch, nodded with understanding. “I can fully understand and respect your reasons for coming here. Hopefully Ponyville is the place for you; I think I could get used to having you around here.”
“Thanks. Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you: why do you have three bedrooms here if it’s just you living here?”
“Oh, I don’t live alone.” Octavia then muttered something incomprehensible.
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
“Oh, nothing. But yes, I have a…roommate.”
“Well, that makes more sense. Who’s your roommate?”
“I…don’t want to discuss her right now. You’ll eventually meet her.”
I stared at her with a confused expression. It was quite obvious that she was trying to hide or just forget something. After a few moments, she noticed my staring, shook her head violently, and proceeded to change the subject: “Would you like me to show you your room now?”
“Umm…sure I guess.” We walked up the stairs, and upon reaching the top, passed two doors directly across from each other; one adorned with a picture of a cello, the other with a picture of a record. Directly in front of us was a blank white door; inside it was a simple room, with a small dresser, a bed sized for two, and a lot of space. Octavia turned and swept her hoof around the room.
“Well, this is it. Not much, but we don’t exactly get many visitors that stay long enough to…personalize it, I guess is the right term. Most simply leave within…well, a day, and tell their friends about the…experience.”
“It sure has a lot of space,” I said, looking around the room, mind already working towards how to make it fit my personality more. Octavia sure seems nervous about me staying here. Almost as if she’s thinking I’ll leave tomorrow like everypony else… wonder why?
“Yes, sorry about that, but as I said before, we don’t-“
“I like it. Lots of space means a bigger work area.” I said as I trotted around the room, not really focused, placing things left and right in my head. When I was finished organizing everything in my head, which thing would go where, I turned to Octavia and beamed. “Thank you so much, Octavia!”
She stepped back in shock. “You actually like it? But it’s so…empty!”
“I’m already thinking of ways to change that.” I said with a grin.
//Author’s note: Thank you for reading my first attempt at MLP Fan Fiction. Please point out any errors you see in this script, and let me know what you think, or if I should continue this story. I hoped you enjoyed!
“I guess I’ll…leave you to it.” Octavia said, confused, while I zipped around the room, train of thought running on overload. As she left the room, I took another look around, making mental lists of all the different things I would have to bring in to fill the space and create the room I had fixed in my head. A desk could go against that wall, with my tinkering equipment that I brought with me, and my computer stash could go there… yeah, this is going to be awesome! I stopped myself before I got too far in my train of thought. Wait, wait, wait. I still don’t even have the stuff I need to fill the room! Well, besides my suitcase’s contents. I walked over to my suitcase, laid down on the floor before I went off on idea overload, and used my horn to open it. Inside laid a few of my precious things: an extra pair of goggles, basic hygiene needs, my favorite computer (which was an automated pranking machine that I tended to use on Gustwing a lot, and that had sold well in Manehatten to mischievous colts and fillies), some pieces of hardware (that I tended to take with me everywhere for tinkering), and finally, a picture of Gustwing and I at a Hearth’s Warming Eve party we had thrown in my apartment. I smiled as I remembered the events leading up to that picture…
Five Months Ago, three days before Hearth’s Warming Eve…
We were eating in the same coffee shop we ate at every Tuesday. Just like when I would propose leaving Manehatten a few months in the future, I was proposing something to Gustwing at the time. And, needless to say, she wasn’t very happy about it. In fact, she was downright speechless for a while. “You can’t be serious.” Gustwing finally managed to spit out, after I had told her my idea. “More than you know.” I replied, rubbing the back of my head nervously. “I know that it sounds like the whole situation is sort of awkward, but-“ “AWKWARD? IT’S DOWN RIGHT MESSED UP!!!” I sighed, knowing she was in one of her ‘unbearable’ moods again. “There is nothing ‘messed up’ about two friends having their own private party-“ “IN YOUR APARTMENT?? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY MESSED UP THOUGHTS WOULD BE PASSING THROUGH EVERYPONY’S MIND?!” I rolled my eyes (though she couldn’t see it under my goggles) and tried to be reasonable about the whole ordeal. “Well, what else do you want to do to celebrate the Founding of Equestria? Walk on the streets in the middle of the night, singing carols?” I really was starting to lose my patience. “NO, BUT WE STILL DON’T HAVE TO-“ I sighed yet again and interrupted her. “Please stop screaming at me.” Now Gustwing sighed. She calmed down, and spoke again in a tone less like ‘Mother-of-Celestia-if-you-keep-talking-so-loud-I-am-going-to-kill-myself’ and more along the lines of ‘finally-I-can-take-out-my-earplugs’. “So you’re serious about this, huh?” “Of course, Gustwing. And it’s not like I’m proposing something messed up,” Like you thought, I added to myself, “I just want to spend Hearth’s Warming Eve with my best friend, and enjoy some good 1-on-1, clean fun.” Gustwing sighed. “Well, when you put it that way, I guess it makes more sense… where did you get this demented thou- I mean idea in your head?” “You know me; I’ve got an app for that.” I grinned, like I did every time I said my favorite catchphrase. “Ha ha ha. Don’t make me punch you.” Gustwing glared at me. “Oh come on, you know you love it.” I said, still grinning like a colt. She then proceeded to hit me on the shoulder. “OW! What was that for?” “I told you I’d do it.” Gustwing said, now grinning in response to my own frown. “I thought you were joking!” “You know me; I’m a mare of my word.” “You’re a real pain in the flank, that’s what you are.” I sat rubbing my shoulder as she kept grinning. “Hey, you can get me back at the party.” I immediately perked up at that, pain in my shoulder forgotten. “You mean you’re gonna come??” “Yeah, guess so. Though if rumors pop up, you’re going to be the one to stop them.” “Aw, yeah!” Gustwing just sat there, staring at me with a tiny grin of amusement as I did a little victory dance in my seat.
Three days later, on the day of Hearth’s Warming Eve…
I zipped around my apartment, setting up drinks, making sure the beat box was plugged in, and that everything was in place when I heard a buzzing sound from the door. I turned my zip to my computers into a dash for the door, and answered the call. “Hello?” A distorted, but still decipherable voice came through the speaker: “Hey Toshio, it’s me Gustwing; let me in, would ya? I’m freezing my tail off here.” “I’ll let you in.” I said, and went to hit the button, but decided to have a little fun with Gustwing first. I turned back on the microphone, and spoke through: “Oh, great. Looks like the door unlock button’s broken. Hold on, let me try and fix it.” I quickly turned off the loudspeaker and snickered, waiting for a response, but when none came, I quickly grew concerned. “Gustwing? You there? Oh Celestia, did you freeze to d-“ “Forgot about my wings.” “YIKES!” I jumped in surprise, almost smashing my head through the roof. “What the-, how did you get in?” “You left the window open, genius.” Gustwing laughed, and then shook her wings to prove her point. “Oh…yeah.” I had opened the window to try and get some cool air in before our mini party started. Celestia knows all of our dancing and partying would heat up the small apartment quickly, so I figured a little cold air might help make it less stuffy. Guess it didn’t help with the prank I tried to pull. “Maybe your cutie mark should be a dunce hat.” She chuckled. “Hey, you’re the one who needed my help last week fixing a small logic error in your scheduling computer.” I smirked. That problem was so easy to fix. A filly could do it! “You’re the computer whiz. Don’t blame me for not understanding your mumbo-jumbo.” “Hehe, and you call me a dunce?” “Let’s just drop it.” “But I’m having so much fun!” I smiled innocently at her – until she hit me, of course. “OW!” “Don’t be such a smart-flank.” “Ugh, let’s just drop it.” She smirked, and agreed. I then proceeded to show her all I had done in my apartment for our little party, and she was really impressed (at least I liked to imagine; her face sort of remained neutral through the whole ordeal). Soon, I had some music playing through the beat box, and we were drinking cider, laughing, and joking around. Around 11:55 PM, according to the clock, we had pretty much exhausted every small stock of food and drink I had bought for the party, and were about to call it quits, before I proposed the last party activity I had planned. “Hey, before you go, let’s take a picture together!” I said with enthusiasm. She paused for a bit, then slowly replied “…why?” “Because, silly filly, I want us to be able to remember all the fun we had tonight, and I still don’t have a proper photo of you and me!” “You’ve got that one from back in Minneighsota,” “You mean from when we were just a filly and colt?” “Was it really that long ago?” She asked, bewildered. “Yep.” “Well…I guess a single photo won’t hurt, since nopony’s around to see but us…” “Exactly my point!” I said with a grin, already inching towards the camera I had set up before she arrived. “Ok, I’ll do it.” “WOO!” I turned my inching into a full on gallop, dragging Gustwing along with me, and plopping us down in front of the camera. I reached over, hit a key on a small computer setup, and said: “Say Eve!” “Eve.” The camera flashed, and our faces were put on the slip of parchment I had loaded into it. Gustwing had an obviously fake smile pasted on her face, and I had the grin of a filly…
Back in the Present…
I suddenly snapped back to the present as a knock on my door went off. “Toshio? Are you in there?” Octavia’s voice asked from behind the door. “Oh, yeah! Sorry, was just daydreaming…” I miss Gustwing already… The door opened, and Octavia poked her head in. “Are you, by chance, hungry? It’s near dinner, and I was wondering if you wanted to…go out, and see what Ponyville has to offer.” “Sure! I need to find a electronics shop for supplies anyways, so let’s head out!” I hopped up from my sitting position and trotted past Octavia as she said something that sounded awfully close to: “What’s an electronics shop?”, but laughed off the thought. Everypony knows what an electronics shop is!
We walked out of the house and into the streets of Ponyville. As we walked, Octavia started telling me about her life and accomplishments, such as how she had been selected to play cello at the Grand Galloping Gala. But according to her tale, life after the Gala didn’t exactly take off, I guess you could say. “After the Gala, my career sort of went…downhill. No pony would hire me anymore, and I ended up losing my apartment in Canterlot. I had to move here, in Ponyville, to cover my loss of bits. Ever since then, I’ve been sharing a home with…her.” Weird, she trailed off again. What’s so bad about her roommate that she can’t even mention her name? I decided to try and get her mind off of the subject. “Hey, what’s that building there?” I pointed towards a house that looked like it was made out of ginger bread and frosting. “Oh, that’s Sugar Cube Corner.” “Why does it look like a ginger bread house?” I asked, confused. “I actually do not know. It must have to do with what they sell.” “Which is…?” “Sweet foods like cake or cupcakes.” “Heh, maybe we should eat there.” I joked. “You might not want to go there just yet.” “Why?” I turned to her, confused. “Because Pinkie Pie lives in Sugar Cube Corner with Mr. and Mrs. Cake.” “Oh…” “Yes, I doubt you want to go through another Pinkie Moment so soon.” Octavia chuckled. “In that you are right.” I shuddered at the thought of having to endure another assault of exclamations and gasping. “Come on, I know a good place to eat that has something more than just sweets.” Octavia said, walking away from Pinkie’s Lair. “Good. I was worried I might have to go insane before getting some food in my belly.”
We ended up eating outside at a restaurant called The Blooming Beacon, which was fairly nice (though nothing compared to some of the restaurants in Manehatten); Octavia ordered a sunflower sandwich, and I got some celery and hay fries. While we were waiting on the food, I decided to bring up Octavia’s roommate. It’s about time I know who the hay she is, and why Octavia doesn’t ever talk about her. As soon as the waiter brought our drinks, I brought up the issue: “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you: who’s your roommate?” Octavia suddenly stiffened up, and started to stutter. “Wh-what? What do you mean?” “Exactly what I said: who’s this roommate you keep changing the subject over?” “Well…um…she’s a pony called-“ She was suddenly interrupted by a loud exclamation behind us: “Hey, there’s my roommate! What’s up, Tavi??” Octavia just groaned.
Almost immediately after Octavia’s groan, I turned around to see a white unicorn with shades almost identical to mine, wearing her mane in a crazy spiky-like fashion, colored navy blue and streaked with an electric blue stripe. She had a confident posture that dared you to throw anything her way, and was currently grinning at Octavia’s, (or “Tavi’s”) reaction. “Who’s your friend?” the mare asked Octavia, turning her grin to me, “And why does he have such great taste in headwear?” “I’m Toshio.” I said, returning the grin, I like this pony already. “I’m new in town, and Octavia was kind enough to lend me the spare room in your home.” “Aw, Tavi, you got a crush?” Octavia lifted her head up and glared at the unicorn. “No, I just thought it would be kind to lend him a helping hand in getting settled here.” I silently watched the exchange, failing to hide a small snicker. Octavia sure doesn’t like this mare; though it sure is funny to watch them argue! Upon hearing my suppressed chuckle, Octavia turned her glare to me for just a second, her eyes saying shut up, before turning it back onto her arch nemesis. “Excuses, excuses!” the mare said in a sing-song voice. Octavia just rolled her eyes. “So, Tavi, whatcha been up to? Besides attempting to make a new coltfriend, of course.” “Well, I’ve been-“Octavia began. “Oh, I almost forgot!” she interrupted. “Your coltfriend doesn’t know who I am!” She sure likes to poke fun – and I mean a lot. There was an awkward silence, followed by an annoyed voice: “Well? I’m waiting! How’s he to know who I am when you’re too lazy to introduce me?” Octavia just sighed once again, still glaring at the unicorn, and reluctantly turned her head to me. “Toshio, this is my roommate…Vinyl Scratch.” “Goddess of wub, and Queen of awesomeness! Vinyl boasted, standing on her hind legs and assuming a random pose. “Nice to meet you, Vinyl.” I said, sticking my hoof out to shake. “Likewise, Toshio.” Vinyl replied, grinning at me and turning the shake into a brohoof. “So, what brings you here to little old Ponyville? Where ya from?” Vinyl plopped down in between us, clearly intending to stay for a while, and started to (literally) try and wave over a waiter/waitress as I spoke. “Well, I came here from Manehatten-“ “Hold it. Did you say Manehatten?” Vinyl interrupted me, hoof stuck in mid-wave, and turned to stare at me as I continued speaking. “Um, yeah, I used to live there with my friend Gustwing, but I got tired of all the formality and how-” “Everypony was too busy to talk…” Vinyl finished my sentence with me, suddenly looking a lot more reserved. “Yeah, I know the feeling; I used to live there too. Nopony would ever open up; even when they were at a rave, they weren’t too open either.” Now it was my turn to be surprised. “You lived in Manehatten too? When did you come here, then?” “I don’t know, maybe about a year and a half ago. I left for the same reasons you left.” Vinyl shrugged. “I ended up coming here and offering my services as a DJ, and I guess I became so popular, I just decided to stay. Even Pinkie Pie hires me sometimes, for very special parties. Surprising, considering she’s a pretty good DJ herself.” “Pinkie Pie? You mean that weird pony that nearly killed my ears with her rapid-fire gasping and screaming?” “Sounds like her!” I shuddered, imagining the energetic pony bouncing around me, bombarding me with rapid-fire bullets of questions and exclamations. “Looks like you met her,” Vinyl commented, clearly seeing my shudder, “don’t worry, you get used to Pinkie after a while. We’ve all gone through the things you’re experiencing right now.” “That’s what Octavia said.” Vinyl turned her shaded gaze over to Octavia, who was busy swirling around her straw in her drink, gaze distant. “Sounds like you’ve been teaching the newbie some tricks, Tavi!” Octavia looked up, as though coming out of a dream, replied with a “Huh? Oh, yes, I’ve been telling him some things about Ponyville…” then went back to swirling her straw. What’s with her? I leaned over to Vinyl and whispered in her ear: “Hey, why’s Octavia so zoned out?” Vinyl glanced over at Octavia again, and then whispered back: “No clue, she tends to get like this when I’m around.” I’m going to have to ask Octavia about that later… but for now, I guess I’ll just shrug it off and enjoy talking with Vinyl. After about a minute of awkward silence, I decided to change the subject. “So, do you design your own music? I mean, your cutie mark’s a pair of musical notes, so…” “Well, yeah, why do you think I call myself the Goddess of Wub?” Vinyl scoffed in reply. “Oh…yeah. By the way, what’s a wub?” I’d never heard the term before, as I never really had nighttime escapades in Manehatten. Vinyl Scratch’s jaw dropped, and even Octavia seemed a bit surprised, looking up from her drink-swirling to stare. After yet another awkward silence, Vinyl took off her glasses and looked me in the eye with strikingly bright magenta eyes. “Toshio, I think you need a lesson in awesomeness.” Her horn flared, and I was suddenly unceremoniously picked up and floated behind Vinyl as she put back on her glasses and started to walk out of the restaurant. “Hey! What about my food?!” I protested, struggling against her spell. Vinyl stopped only for a moment to turn back towards Octavia. “Tavi will box it up for you.” “But-“ “But nothing, newbie. You aren’t going to be living in my house if you don’t know what wubs are!” Before she could start dragging me away once again, I turned to Octavia, lifting my glasses up and putting on my best please help me look. She just shrugged in apology, and then Vinyl Scratch began to tug me back to her house, grinning like a foal.
Eventually, after bearing the brunt of many confused mares and stallions’ looks, Vinyl managed to get me in her house, up the staircase, and through her door without more than a few bumps on my head. She wouldn’t even let me walk up the stairs myself, so I just sat in her telekinetic hold, face in my hooves, waiting for Vinyl Scratch to let me go. As soon as we entered her room, she did so, but not after closing the door and locking it, undoubtedly to keep me from escaping. Vinyl Scratch’s room was, in short, my room, but packed to the brim with different sets of electronic equipment. Her bed was exactly the same as mine, albeit with some decorations of records and such, and her walls were plastered with different posters, all having to do with either Vinyl Scratch herself, or things like records and musical notes. To my left was what looked like a table of sorts, adorned with various small and large knobs, sliders, etc. Vinyl was on it currently, headphones on, obviously preparing something for me to hear. To my right was a stack of various speakers, boom boxes, and other audio-blasting equipment. It looked like some of these speakers were hooked up to the table Vinyl was using; as I got closer, it appeared like all of them were. I took a hesitant step back, unsure of my safety, and turned to Vinyl, about to ask if having all those speakers set up was safe, and saw her take off her headphones, about to start whatever she had been working on. My original protest died in my lungs as she picked me up with her magic, and a new one arose: “Hey! What the-“ But Vinyl Scratch interrupted me before I could finish my protest: “LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!” She yelled, and slammed her hoof down on a button in the center of her setup. At that moment, a lot of things happened: First, Vinyl released me from her magical grip, and went to work on her table, adjusting this slider, turning this knob just a smidgeon, etc. Second, I was thrown back by a sudden BOOM of bass from the speakers, and skidded into the wall next to Vinyl. Third, my ears were assaulted by a frenzy of beats, booms, synthesizers, and… I guess I should call them wubs. At first, my ears groaned in protest, but as I got used to the loudness of the song, it started to grow on me. My heart beat in time with every beat of the bass. My legs felt rejuvenated with every new wub that pulsed throughout the room. My blood pressure rose and fell with every fluctuation of the synthesizers. By the end of the song, adrenaline was pumping through my body, my heart was pounding, and I, in general, was so filled with energy that I felt like I was going to burst. I picked myself up from the floor, turned and gaped at a grinning Vinyl Scratch. “What in Celestia’s name was that?!” I exclaimed, and that just widened Vinyl’s grin even more. “That, my friend, was the best wubs in Equestria.” She bowed dramatically, and as she stood up again, she said: “Goddess of Wubs, at your service.”
“So that was called dubstep?” I asked, digging into the food Octavia had brought back from the restaurant. Vinyl and I had saw her come through the door, with three paper plates filled with food, as we exited Vinyl’s room and walked down the stairs. We were now in the kitchen, eating at the small table by the dishwasher. “Yep. Most people like to call it wubs; sounds cooler.” Vinyl said between mouthfuls of her hay fries. “Vinyl tends to turn up the volume… a bit loudly. Are you alright?” Octavia asked, turning her eyes on me; they were full of concern. “I’m more than alright! I feel absolutely rejuvenated!” I exclaimed. “Told ya you needed a lesson in awesome.” Vinyl snickered. After that, we were too busy digging into our food to talk any more. Octavia dug in with us (she had saved her food to eat with us at the house), and we just ate in silence, shoveling food into our mouths with glee. As we finished, I turned to Vinyl and asked: “Hey, do you know where I can find an electronics store in this town? I mean, you’ve got a lot of hardware in your room, and I couldn’t find any stores in town, so-“ “Oh, I built that equipment in there, man; best when you do it yourself, right?” Vinyl commented, leaning back in her chair and putting her hooves up on the table. “Well, where did you get the parts then? I need some.” “Oh, I have a guy in Fillydelphia who sends ‘em to me when I need ‘em.” “Oh…” My good mood was thrown for a loop when I heard that, and I lowered my head to stare at my newly-emptied plate. Octavia seemed to notice my sudden gloom, because she turned and asked me “Toshio, what’s wrong? You seem upset.” “Yeah, dude, what’s got you in the dumps?” “It’s just that I need some parts to start building computers to sell here; I won’t be able to stay for very long if I don’t have bits to pay you two for rent, and to pay for my meals.” I said gloomily, and kept staring at my plate. “Dude, I can totally hook you up with some parts!” Vinyl exclaimed, slamming her front hoof on the table. “Yes, and what made you think you needed to pay for rent?” Octavia chimed in, “You’re our guest, and we’re delighted to have you filling that old room upstairs.” “But, how can you afford to house me? I mean, didn’t you move here, Octavia, because you were becoming broke?” “Well, yes, but ever since I moved here, to Ponyville, things have picked up a lot more. You’d be surprised how many ponies like classical music here.” “And my wubs make enough bits to keep us going for a long time!” Vinyl grinned. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. These two ponies, who I had just met today, were letting me stay in their home for free. And on top of that, it looked like I was going to be able to get a hold of parts and start making my computers again. I felt a tear run down my face. Octavia just smiled at me, and Vinyl had on her signature grin, beaming my way. “Thanks, you two. You’re the best friends a guy could hope for.” I managed to say, smiling, then reached out and pulled them into a surprised group hug from across the table, tears of happiness streaming down my face.
It was two weeks after I had met Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, and things were going great. Vinyl had somehow managed to hook me up with an electronics parts provider, and I was currently in my newly-adorned room, assembling a little device I liked to call "Toshio's Annoy-O-Matic Mk. 3". On top of that, Octavia had started to spread the word around Ponyville about my wares, and I was actually starting to make some bits by filling out orders. As I grew to know them both more, I found out that while Octavia seemed to loathe Vinyl, the two were really good friends; Vinyl just tends to take all of the attention when she's around, and her overactive, fun-poking attitude would scare away most ponies, so Octavia tends to keep new arrivals away from her. It's why Octavia had been so reluctant to share who her roommate was; she was afraid that Vinyl would scare me away, just like she had many other ponies, or that she would take up so much of my focus that I wouldn't even glance at Octavia. Rest assured, while Vinyl had originally done the latter, I soon grew to a middle ground, including both in my conversations, and being a limit-keeper to all of the jibes exchanged. After the first set of parts from Vinyl's provider arrived, I settled into a daily routine. A normal day would go like this: I'd wake up around 8:00 to the sound of Vinyl Scratch cleaning the dishes (using a dishwasher that played dubstep so loudly that the house seemed to shake, thus waking me up every morning) and would vibrate out of my room, down the stairs, and to the kitchen table, where Octavia had laid some breakfast out for the three of us (our plates were duct taped to the table so that they, and the food on them, wouldn't vibrate to the floor). Vinyl would usually be standing on her hind legs near the dishwasher, shades off, with an apron that said "Wub the Cook" on, pumping her hoof in the air in time with her wubs. I'd finish eating with Octavia, then go up to my 'Cave of Geek' (as Vinyl had officially dubbed my room), close the door, and plop myself in the middle of my room, using my horn to levitate multiple computer parts out of various crates I had laid out, and begin to work. While I wasn't the strongest unicorn, I was still pretty adept at magic, namely telekinesis, and could levitate up to 15 small parts at once without struggle, for extended periods of time. I could usually produce about 2-3 computers a day, depending on their size and function; however, if I got a particularly tall order, for a complex computer, I would definitely be working on it for a few days. At lunchtime, which was around noon for me, I would set down my work and walk downstairs to have lunch with my friends. We tended to eat lunch in the house, or, if we were out of lunch foods, we would just go out into Ponyville for lunch. After lunch, it was basically the same thing as before: assembling computers and placing completed ones in a specific crate, ready for delivery. At about 4:00, I'd stop work for the day, and deliver any computers I had completed, showing my customers how to use them, and making sure they knew how to take care of them, which usually would take about an hour per pony. Then, at about 6:30, I would make my way back to the house to have dinner with both of my friends, one of them, or just eat by myself, if Octavia and Vinyl were both out attending a gig or anything of the sort. Then, it was a few hours of free time, which I usually spent designing new computer ideas I had, and then I would go to sleep, and repeat. Needless to say, I didn't expect a sudden shift in my routine so soon...
"So, Octavia, how was your concert yesterday?" I asked before taking another bite out of my sunflower sandwich. "Oh, it was alright; I didn't get as much of an applause as I expected, though." It was Saturday; we were sitting in the kitchen, enjoying the last of our lunch food. Octavia and I were both eating sunflower sandwiches, and discussing the past few days. She had been fairly busy, playing in quite a few concerts and classical restaurants the past few days, so we hadn't spoken much. Vinyl was out on business for a couple of days, getting some more parts for her and I's contraptions from her accomplice. "Well, at least you got a good response, even if it wasn't very big." I pointed out. "True." Octavia shrugged, then changed the subject. "How's your business coming out? Have the ponies I talked to contacted you?" "Yeah, I've been getting quite a few orders, to be honest. Most are just for simple organization or pranking devices, though, so it hasn't been very hard." I took another bite of my sandwich. "But hey, it's bringing bits into my pocket, and giving me a chance to pay for myself, so I'm not complaining. The fact that I'm doing what I do best for a living helps too." I grinned. "I bet." Octavia smiled in return, then took a bite out of her own sandwich. We spent the rest of the meal making small chat, and I went back up into my room to continue working for an hour, but then I ran out of parts, and had to call it quits for the day. Good thing Vinyl's bringing back the newest shipment soon. I trotted over to Octavia's room, which had the lilting notes of a cello escaping through the door, and knocked on it. "Hey Octavia?" The cello stopped playing, and she opened the door, a confused look on her face. "Toshio. I thought you were working...?" "I ran out of parts." I explained with a shrug. "What do you think I should do? I know you're practicing, but-" "Oh, that's quite alright." Octavia said with a smile, stepping outside of her room and gently closing the door behind her, "I can stop practicing for one day; I mean, its not like I never practice, is it?" I smirked at her response. "Yeah, guess so. Whacha wanna do, then?" "Well, I was thinking we could stop by Sugar Cube Corner, and get some sweets." I perked up at the thought of cupcakes. "Oh my gosh! Why haven't we done that before?!" "Because Pinkie Pie lives there, and she still hasn't thrown you a welcome party." My smile of good humor was immediately replaced by one of horror upon hearing the words "Pinkie" and "Pie". Octavia noticed my sudden change of attitude, and simply said, "It's got to happen sometime, Toshio. She's probably really anxious to throw you a party, since you haven't left the house hardly at all since you got here, and our house isn't an optimal place for a party." "But what if I don't want a party?" I said, shuddering at the thought of the overly excited ball of pure pink energy seemingly teleporting everywhere around me, yelling random things that come into her head. "Think of it this way, Toshio: the longer you put it off, the worse it's going to be when Pinkie finally catches you." I sighed. It's hard to imagine that pony being any worse than when I first met her. I should probably do as Octavia says...though I reallydon't want to. "Come on, let's go get you a cupcake." "Fine..." I followed Octavia, head lowered in defeat, mind going through all the different ways I was going to lose IQ points to Pinkie that day.
We arrived at Sugar Cube Corner, and I swallowed nervously as Octavia went in, then sucked it up and followed. Inside was a small counter, with a glass container of newly-baked cupcakes inside and a familiar pink pony, who was currently handing a box of muffins to yet another familiar pony; the same pegasus that had knocked me over at the train station when I had first arrived. I groaned. Looks likethisday just got a lot more interesting... Right after my groan, Pinkie turned from the grey mare (I still didn't know her name) and saw me. Her eyes widened to the size of plates, and she made the biggest gasp I've ever heard anypony make in my entire life. "OhmygoshIrememberyou! YouweretheponythatwasfollowingmethenIsaidhiandthenIsawthatyouwerenewandthen-" Her rapid fire speech suddenly turned into an even bigger gasp, and then she pulled out a pink cannon and aimed it at the lobby of Sugar Cube Corner, or, more specifically, me. MOTHER OF CELESTIA, SHE'S GOING TO KILL ME!!!
Author's Note
As a little apology for not updating for so long, here's a shorter chapter for everypony :). Hope you enjoy, and I'll try my best to get the next chapter out soon!