> Killing Me Softly With Her Wubs > by Dashofrainbow235 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Killing Me Softly With Her Wubs Chapter 1 It was a noiseless, sunny, and serene morning in Ponyville. Most fillies and colts were still relishing their slumber at this time in the coziness and tranquility of their own home. But not for two specific fillies. The morning became no longer tranquil as the uncouth booming of wubs burst from the stereo of a certain lightning-haired mare invaded the boulevards of Ponyville. That distasteful dubstep could be heard for miles on end and it awoke everypony from their slumber; even the heavy sleepers such as Rainbow Dash. Those blasted wubs came from none other than Vinyl Scratch, aka DJ P0N-3. "YEAH! Wub-a-dub-dub mother buckers!" Vinyl Scratch shouted. Every morning, she started off the day by blasting her incoherent wubs for all to hear. And every morning, her roommate, Octavia, received complaints from the neighbors about the dubstep. The aggravating volume being emitted from those pesky speakers would irritate the neighbors. Octavia struggled to go back to sleep, but her efforts were fruitless. She decided to just confront Vinyl on the matter. "Uh, Vinyl? Do you mind turning down the volume just a tad?" Octavia asked in her polite pish-posh manner. Vinyl wasn't able to hear her over the music and she was too busy head-banging to care. Octavia cleared her throat. This time she spoke louder, "Excuse me, Vinyl. I need you to turn down the volume of your music before we get more complaints. You wouldn't want them to call the police again." Octavia still tried to erase the memory of that day from her mind. She shuddered. Vinyl still continued to ignore her. Now Octavia's face grew red and her blood was boiling. She snapped. Octavia simply unplugged Vinyl's stereo. When the music ceased, Vinyl stepped back into reality. She lifted up her sunglasses which revealed her eyes. "You could've have just asked me to turn it down, you know." Octavia rolled her eyes at how oblivious and clueless her friend was, but that was why she liked her. *My Little Pony Intro* The DJ and Octavia sat together at the table to eat breakfast. They were having toast, eggs, and orange juice. While Octavia ate in a polite manner, Vinyl gobbled up her toast and eggs and slurped her orange juice. When she finished her juice, she smashed the glass on her forehead. "Yeahuh!" She screamed. She didn't show any signs of pain. Octavia cleared her throat and caught Vinyl's attention. She did have a short attention-span. "Guess what." "What is it?" She asked with her mouth full. Octavia pulled out two golden tickets. "I've gotten two golden tickets to the Royal Canterlot Symphony for tonight. Would you care to partake in it along with me?" Vinyl scratched her head, "Does it have wubs?" Octavia shook her head and laughed. "No, of course not, don't be silly!" Octavia answered. The DJ scowled. Vinyl shook her head, "No thanks. That's not my style." Vinyl said, pushing up her sunglasses. Octavia crossed her forelegs. "Well, you sort of owe me after last week when you took me to see Deadmare5." Octavia justified. "No way!" Vinyl exclaimed, shaking her head obstinately. Octavia rolled her eyes and finished her eggs. She then pushed her silver platter aside. "I always see the concerts with you and, quite frankly, I don't even like their music." Octavia retorted. Vinyl Scratch gasped over dramatically. "I thought you loved Deadmare5! What, with you listening to me talk about them 24/7!" Vinyl exclaimed. Octavia shook her head, "Not really. In fact, I can't stand those incoherent dubstep wubs. I think it's time you got a new hobby." Octavia suggested, shrugging her shoulders. Vinyl stared at her, dumbstruck. A tear drop fell from the corner of her eyes. That really hurt her feelings. Wubs were all she knew! Wubs were how she became a DJ. Wubs were how she got her cutie mark. *Flashback* Vinyl Scratch was just a little filly when she got her cutie mark. Back then, her natural mane color was brown and it was long. She didn't wear her usual sunglasses then. Vinyl lived a quiet life with her father and brother. Vinyl longed for excitement in her life, but didn't know where to find it. One day, Vinyl was invited to a party thrown by the young Pinkie Pie herself at Sugarcube Corner. When she walked in, she instantaneously heard this percussive noise. She had no idea what it was. Vinyl noticed that the fillies and colts at the party were dancing to it, so naturally it had to be some sort of weird genre of music. She wanted to find the source of this odd music. Vinyl pushed and shoved her way through the crowd. She found the source at the back of the room. There was a colt with a red coat and a black mane with blue shades on. He also wore a pair of headphones over his head. The disc jockey was using multiple turntables and did what was called turntable scratching. That was what made the percussive sound Vinyl was hearing. Vinyl observed that the music she was hearing was known as dubstep wubs. At first, she couldn't comprehend it, but now she was just intrigued with it. She spent the whole party watching the DJ. After the party, Vinyl Scratch stayed after the party to talk to the DJ about dubstep. The colt was kind enough to explain to her exactly what dubstep was. It is basically music centered on its bass. It is very techno and upbeat. It is best played with the volume all the way up. Vinyl wanted to know everything there was to know about being a DJ since it was the main thing on her mind right now. The nice colt showed her how the turntable functioned. By doing her chores and babysitting, she managed to save up enough money for her own turntable. Vinyl used the nice colt's instruction on how to play this thing. Every day, whenever she had free time, she practiced on the turntable. Over time, she got better and better at being a DJ. Vinyl even went as far as to change her own appearance slightly. She cut her hair, dyed it blue, and then gave it highlights. Then she bought a pair of purple sunglasses. A couple of months later, Pinkie Pie was throwing a birthday party for herself and this time, she wanted Vinyl to be the DJ as she knew how good she had gotten over time. Vinyl eagerly agreed. So because of her, Pinkie's party was a hit. She was truly an expert when it came to the wubs. Everypony started calling her DJ P0N-3 that day. When the party had ended, Vinyl looked down at her flank. Her cutie mark had finally appeared! It was two mirrored, bridged, eight notes. *End flashback* Now her tears fell freely. "I think you should find someone else to go with you." Vinyl said coldly. Octavia gasped. She stood up from the table. "Then maybe I will if you want me to!" She shouted. She ran outside the house and slammed the door on her way out. Outside, Vinyl Scratch could her yelling, "What am I supposed to do with one bucking extra ticket!" Vinyl just sat there for a moment and twiddled her thumbs—err, hooves. Vinyl realized she was alone now and dried her tears. She was gonna go find somepony else to hang out with so that she would feel temporarily better about herself. > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Killing Me Softly With Her Wubs Chapter 2 First, after Octavia left Vinyl Scratch, she ran into Fluttershy. Octavia knew she would be too big of a pushover to decline her offer. "Good afternoon, Fluttershy." Fluttershy smiled and waved, "Oh hello, Octavia." She said in a hushed tone. Octavia pulled out the two tickets from her bag. "I've two golden tickets to see the Royal Canterlot Symphony. Would you like to come see it with me?" Octavia requested. "I would love to," Fluttershy began. Octavia grinned. But then Fluttershy finished, "but I have a frog that has a frog in its throat to take care of. That's my top priority right now." Octavia sighed, rolled her eyes, and then trotted off. "I'm sorry! Don't be mad at me! Maybe next time!" Fluttershy called after her. But Octavia was already gone. Fluttershy sighed and went on her way back to her cottage. When trotting along the boulevards of Ponyville, Vinyl Scratch ran into Twilight Sparkle and Spike who were both carrying a stack of books on their way back to the library. Spike was having trouble holding up all those books while Twilight was more than used to carrying that many. DJ P0N-3 greeted them in her usual way. "Sup bruh." She gave the both of them bro-hooves. "Hey Vinyl. Why aren't you with Octavia?" Spike interrogated as he put the books on the ground. They couldn't tell through her sunglasses, but Vinyl was actually glaring at him. Vinyl didn't want to talk about her anymore. "I'm not talking to her ever again. She told she didn't like Deadmare5 or any wubs in particular and that I should get a new hobby! Can you believe that?" They both knew how she loved her wubs; they could hear it being blasted through her window every morning. "Then she offered me two tickets to see some symphony with her. But it's got no wubs so I don't care for it." "Has Octavia done anything for you lately?" Twilight Sparkle asked. Vinyl scowled. She thought for a moment and then responded, "Well… She did come with me to see Deadmare5 last week… But she didn't like them at all!" "How can she not like Deadmare5? They're awesome!" Spike proclaimed. Twilight scolded him. Twilight Sparkle explained to her, "Well, maybe she just went for you. Another big part of friendship is making sacrifices for the ponies you care about. Even if what they want is different from what you want. You should—" Vinyl started to get irritated with her. She didn't like admitting her mistakes. "Geez! Why don't you write a letter about it to Princess Celestia while you're at it?" Spike laughed because knew Twilight would do just that at the end of the week. "Then maybe you should go…" Twilight Sparkle gave her the evil death glare. Vinyl shrugged and trotted off. "Please yourself, then!" Twilight heard her call back at her, 'I will!' Twilight shouted one more thing to her as got farther away. "It's about giving and taking, Vinyl!" Vinyl scoffed, "I always give! I remember, just yesterday I held the door for Octavia, and, um, I poured her some orange juice at breakfast, then I washed the dishes… Oh! And I let her use the bathroom first!" Vinyl told herself. She was talking to herself once again. She sighed. Octavia ran into Rainbow Dash who seemed to be in a rush. Although most of the time, Rainbow Dash was always in a hurry. "Hello, Rainbow Dash." She greeted. "Hey, what's up?" Rainbow Dash asked as she landed on the ground. Octavia explained to her the whole situation and hoped that Rainbow Dash would be able to go with her. `She took a moment to reply, "As awesome as that seems, I have a ticket to see the Wonderbolt's airshow… Which is about 20% cooler. You understand, right?" Octavia nodded. She recognized how she obsessed over the famous Wonderbolts. "Anyways, gotta dash!" Rainbow Dash soared off to Cloudsdale overhead where the airshow was being held. "See ya around!" Octavia called. Rainbow Dash undoubtedly didn't hear her nevertheless. She had made it up to the airshow in record time. Octavia began to canter away. Then she thought that maybe Rarity would maybe go with her; she loved this sort of thing. So Octavia headed off to Rarity's boutique. Vinyl Scratch made it over to Sugarcube corner. Right when she opened the door, she began chuckling hysterically. She wiped a tear drop from her eye and stopped her laughing. When she walked in, she had heard dubstep music being produced at a turntable. She saw that Gummy, Pinkie Pie's pet baby alligator, was the DJ and Pinkie was dancing to the music. Vinyl smiled and shook her head. "Hey Pinkie Pie!" Vinyl called. She caught Pinkie Pie's attention and she ceased dancing. "You're partying all wrong!" Pinkie was surprised, "But partying's all I know!" Vinyl smirked. "Let me show you…" Vinyl struck a pose, "HOW IT'S DONE!" Vinyl stomped her hind legs, swayed her body back and forth, and swung her forelegs from side to side. Pinkie Pie liked her dance moves and did them as well. Later, Octavia had made it to Rarity's boutique. While she was explaining her situation and other problems of her life, Rarity was constructing her dress for the symphony. "I was supposed to be first chair cellist in the Royal Canterlot Symphony! How is this my life?" Octavia whined. She was supposed to be confiding in Rarity, but she wasn't really paying attention to her. "It's all because of that fluke of a Grand Galloping Gala! As Celestia is my witness, I es, I—" "That'll be 16 bits, darling." Rarity interrupted. Octavia stopped her ranting, cleared her throat, and composed herself. "Oh yes, yes, of course." She grabbed from 16 bits from her wallet in her saddle bag. Octavia gave the money over to Rarity. "You know, I have an extra ticket to see the symphony, would you care to join me?" Rarity shook her head. "That does seem like a great opportunity to wear my new dress, but I mustn't. I simply have too much work and too little time. I have to design a dozen different dresses by tomorrow." "Oh, I understand, Rarity. As per usual, I would go with Vinyl, but as she would say, she is too busy being a butt to go with me." Rarity raised an eyebrow in confusion. "That's too bad." Rarity remarked. "Indeed. I'll be going to Sugarcube Corner to get a spot of tea. Thank you for the dress though!" Octavia acknowledged. She waved goodbye to Rarity and she waved back. "Please yourself, darling!" Rarity shouted after her as she was embedding diamonds and other gems into the dress she was working on. When Octavia made it to Sugarcube Corner, she opened the door and smirked. She laughed out loud. When Vinyl and Pinkie Pie heard her, they stopped. Vinyl scowled and crossed her forelegs. "What are you doing here?" Octavia stopped laughing, "Well, I was going to buy a spot of tea, but I think I should apologize first for my earlier behavior." Vinyl Scratch was surprised; she did not see that coming. She didn't think that Octavia would be the one to apologize when it was Vinyl's own fault. "No, I should be the one to apologize! I was the one who was being stubborn and selfish!" "As true as that is, I was the one who was inconsiderate! I only told you to find a new hobby because I was jealous of you. I actually love wubs for that matter, I just would not admit to it because I was simply too headstrong and angry." Octavia retorted. "You already do a ton of nice things for me and now it's my turn! I'm going with you to the symphony!" Vinyl affirmed. "No, you don't have to if you don't want to." Octavia claimed. Vinyl placed her forelegs on Octavia's shoulders. "But I do want to!" Vinyl asserted. Now Octavia smiled and Vinyl mirrored it. She held her forelegs out for a hug. "Come on, bring it in!" Octavia was hesitant at first but then she gladly hugged her best friend. Vinyl's hug was tight… A little too tight for Octavia's sake. "You're crushing my lungs!" With that, Vinyl released her. "Sorry!" She apologized, "Well, what are we waiting for? We have to get ready for the Royal Canterlot Symphony now if we wanna be there on time!" Octavia nodded and they ran back home to get dress for tonight. Pinkie Pie smiled as the two united friends left the shop. It truly warmed her heart to see two of her favorite ponies (her favorite ponies are everyone), make up. "Well enough of that. Crank up the music, DJ Gummy!" AN: For those of you who are thinking this is the last chapter, you guys are adorable and yet sadly mistaken. Keep on the lookout for chapter 3! > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Killing Me Softly With Her Wubs Chapter 3 It was the night of the Royal Canterlot Symphony's performance. Hundreds of ponies, mares and stallions, were attending the important event. A chariot pulled up to the building and two mares stepped out of it. The two mares were Octavia and Vinyl Scratch. Octavia was wearing the dress Rarity made for her last chapter and Vinyl was wearing a dress that was tucked away in her closet and she never dared to wear it. It was too girly but Octavia forced her to wear it. Octavia also forced her not to wear her signature sunglasses and that revealed her reddish eyes. "You really shouldn't wear those dreadful things all the time. Now everypony can see your eyes." Octavia said. Vinyl rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Octavia gave her two golden tickets to the ticket master and then they both walked in and took their seats in the 8th row next to a familiar looking stallion. He had a light brown coat and a white mane. The colt looked at Octavia and Vinyl and smiled. He tried to get their attention. "Hey, Octavia. It's me." Vinyl and Octavia both looked at him. "Wolfgang Amadeus Coltsart." "Oh, I get the reference surprisingly!" Vinyl claimed in her booming voice she used to DJ at nightclubs. Basically not the volume you would use here. "Vinyl, shush!" Vinyl pouted. Octavia said, "I'm afraid I don't remember you." She lied. Coltsart could see right through her lie. "How could you forget this face?" Coltsart demanded. "We went to summer music school together and we both performed at the Grand Galloping Gala. I played the piano and you played the cello. And as I recall, we used to date for a while until you dumped me." He chuckled at the memory of their breakup. Octavia blushed and Vinyl laughed at her. "Are you bucking serious? Oh snap!" "Did you really forget about me? About the breakup?" Coltsart asked. Octavia crossed her forelegs and looked the other way to hide her blush. "No, I didn't forget…" Octavia replied, calmly, "Biggest mistake I ever made in my life." Both Vinyl and Coltsart stared at Octavia. Coltsart didn't know what she meant by that. Did she regret breaking up? Or did she regret ever dating him? "Octavia, what do you mean by that?" "Shush! It's starting!" Octavia said in a sharp-whisper. Vinyl and Coltsart looked at each other, but then back up at the stage. The curtains were still closed as they were tuning. Once they had finished, the curtains opened up and the whole ensemble could be seen. The conductor walked up on the stage and bowed. He then grabbed the baton in his mouth and then counted them off. They were about to play the Equestrian National Anthem so everyone in the audience had to stand up and sing along. United Forever, In Friendship and Neighbor, Our Great Equine Empire shall ever endure, The Mighty Celestia in all of her grace, Created this world to be our sacred place, Long live our Equine Motherland, Long live our Empire oh so Grand, Long live Equestria united and Free, Strong is our Friendship Trialed by Fire, Long may that Violet flag Inspire, Shining new glory for Ponies to see, When the song concluded, the audience sat back down and the band made the needed adjustments to the setup for the next song. The next song they were playing was a medley called War, Victory, Peace, Equestria. The conductor put the baton back in his mouth and started the song. It started off with a few rolls on the snare drum and a few strikes on the chimes and tom drums. Then the brass instruments blared and played the melody. Then the string instruments came in and made the song more dramatic. And then the woodwinds came in and then the rest of the percussion. It was like a beautiful work of art. Vinyl crossed her forelegs and tried not to show any signs of liking the song, but she couldn't help it. They were really good. Then the band switched from dramatic to peaceful and serene all of a sudden. Octavia simply adored the part the string instruments played. That could've been her if she wasn't hired to play at that blasted Grand Galloping Gala. After the song ended, the conductor grabbed a microphone so he could talk to the crowd. "What a wonderful piece that is. I enjoyed conducting it as much as they enjoyed playing it. Our next piece is a fun one. It was played at the last Grand Galloping Gala…" That caught Vinyl's, Octavia's, and Colsart's attention. "It's an orchestra arrangement of that absolutely hilarious song… The Pony Pokey." "Oh ho ho! Holy cow!" Vinyl laughed. Vinyl smirked and nudged Octavia. She facehoofed. "Please Celestia. Please just strike me dead now." Colsart laughed and shook his head in disbelief. About an hour later, the concert ended. The three mane ponies stood up and exited the auditorium. One colt that was at the Gala recognized Octavia and Colsart from the Pony Pokey incident. "Hey, take a picture of me and the Pony Pokey guys, will ya!" Octavia rolled her eyes and she and Colsart took the picture. Vinyl couldn't resist so she photo-bombed it by sticking out her tongue and striking a weird pose in the picture. "Thanks you guys!" "Will my life ever start going in the right direction?" Octavia sighed exasperatedly. Colsart smirked. "You know, I've got some sort of thing something that can fix that." Colsart proposed. Octavia raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "What sort of thing?" She asked. "Well, this sort of thing happens to be an application for an audition to join the Royal Canterlot Symphony. Would you be interested in taking one, Octavia?" Octavia thought for a moment. Vinyl pushed her to him. "Go on! Get it, filly!" Octavia slowly reached her hoof out and grabbed the form. She read it over. Colsart waited for her to respond. Octavia looked up from the paper. "I'll do it." Colsart smiled in victory. "I'll be auditioning as well. The ensemble could use a skillful piano player." Octavia nodded. She was still nervous around him. "Well, I should be leaving. Maybe we could go out for dessert some time?" This time Octavia smirked which Vinyl knew was completely foreign to her. "That can be arranged. How about next Thursday?" "Sounds fine. So I'll see ya around." Colsart said. Octavia and Vinyl waved. When he left, Vinyl decided this was the perfect time to pick on Octavia. "Well, well, well." "Well, what?" Octavia demanded. "You have a crush on Colsart!" Octavia didn't deny it. "Is it really that obvious?" "Come on, Octavia. Every time you look at him, you start to blush. I notice these things." Vinyl teased. "Whatever! What about you? Did you like the symphony?" Octavia interrogated. "Meh, it was alright," Vinyl answered, "it didn't have any wubs, but it was okay." She shrugged her shoulders. Octavia shook her head. "What?" "You know you loved it!" Octavia retorted. Vinyl scoffed while waving a hoof in dismissal, "Filly, please! Don't make me laugh! It's not my style. Nice try though." "Come on! Admit it! You should've seen the look on your face!" Octavia countered. She mimicked her exact expression during the medley. She looked totally awestruck and mesmerized. Vinyl playfully shoved her friend. "Dude, shut up!" She laughed. Octavia pushed her back. "That's the fun Octavia I like to see!" "What? There's a time to be fun, and a time to be serious." Octavia declared. Vinyl rolled her eyes. "And of course now the boring Octavia is back." Vinyl joked. Octavia chuckled, "Why do I put up with you?" "Because I'm awesome, and you know you love my wubs." Vinyl remarked. Octavia scoffed. "I'll admit that to you when you admit that you loved the symphony!" Octavia exclaimed. Vinyl shook her head. The two mares left the building and went back on the chariot that would take them home tonight. So in all, both Vinyl and Octavia had a good time. And now Octavia had to practice for her audition which was in early October. Now it's June so she only three months to prepare. But she can do it. Vinyl and Colsart, her two favorite people, believed in her. AN: The Equestrian National Anthem was written and sung by YouTube's 'Coconeru'. War, Victory, Peace, Equestria was also composed by him. Subscribe him, you won't regret it! > Chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Killing Me Softly With Her Wubs Chapter 4 Vinyl Scratch had another gig at one of Pinkie Pie's legendary parties. Today, it was for Applejack's birthday. Applejack was literally having the time of her life at the party. "Yeehaw! You really do know how to throw a party!" Applejack cheered. Everyone was there including Octavia, who took the time out of practicing her cello, went to party. Although, Rainbow Dash realized that Gilda the Griffon was the only one not there. She had eventually made up with the ponies and they had become friends so she was invited to the party. "You put WHAT in these cupcakes!" Rainbow Dash screamed at Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Rainbow Dash suddenly felt the urge to throw up her cake. She clutched her stomach. "I'm not feeling right, Pinkie." "I'll take you into the basement to fix you right up!" Pinkie Pie gleefully proposed. Rainbow Dash gulped and then followed her downstairs. Anyways, now that the party was over, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia were walking back home after a long morning of partying at Sugarcube Corner. They both agreed that Pinkie Pie really knew how to throw awesome parties for any sort of special occasion. "Alright, let's get practicing!" Octavia declared, hold her hoof up. On Vinyl Scratch's iPod Touch, she put on a song she mixed herself and recorded. She called it Vinyl Beatz. Instead of practicing her cello, she danced with Vinyl to the song first. Vinyl had finally gotten her to loosen up a bit. Being the best friend Octavia could be was her top priority now. Even if she didn't make it into the Royal Canterlot Symphony, she would still have Vinyl. The two fillies jumped up and down around the house and waved their forelegs from side to side. Then they turned opposite each other and ran across the room in a semi-circle until they met up again. The next song was called Ready to Die by Andrew WK. Vinyl grabbed Octavia's hoof. "Spin it, man!" She held Octavia's hoof as she spun around in circles. Vinyl and Octavia then began to air guitar and lip synch to the song. Vinyl ran and jumped into Octavia's hooves. Octavia then took her cello and began playing along with the song. Then she put it down and next they tapped their hind legs on the floor. Soon, they fell on their backs on the carpeting and panted heavily. "Man, that was fun!" Vinyl exclaimed while breathing heavily. "I concur." Octavia agreed, nodding. "We should probably get to work now, though." Vinyl suggested. Both she and Octavia jumped back on their feet. They headed over to the cello and music stand in the corner of the room. "Now, I've decided I'm going to play an old Equestrian medley called Friendship, Fear, and the Moon on my cello for the audition." Octavia explained. Vinyl nodded. "Okay, I'll count you off." Vinyl proposed. Octavia got in a playing position. "One and two and three and four!" Just because Vinyl was a DJ didn't mean she could read music really well. She had to learn how to play a drum set for a little while, but she wasn't all that good at it. So Vinyl was able to read the rhythm correct for the most part, but she just didn't know note names. So according to Vinyl, Octavia had played it perfectly and precise from what she could hear. Octavia didn't agree with her. Although her rhythm was mostly perfect, she had played some notes wrong and hesitated going into some of the entrances to another musical phrase. She thought she was way out of tune as well and that her tone and interpretation were all wrong. Vinyl rolled her eyes, "You're never going to feel confident about yourself if you criticize every little thing you did wrong." Vinyl Scratch reasoned. "Oh what do you know? You're just a DJ!" Octavia said rudely. Vinyl glared at her with narrowed eyes and scoffed. "Hey! I know enough!" Vinyl contended. Octavia sighed. Then she apologized, "I'm sorry. It's just that the stress of the audition is starting to overwhelm me." Vinyl stood up and spoke boldly, "Octavia, I know you can make it into that dumb symphony. If you believe in yourself, they will have to pick you for sure! And if you keep practicing, you can get better and better as you do it!" "Thank you. Where would I be without you?" Octavia questioned. Vinyl grinned, "I'm a sensation, I know. Okay, once more from the top!" Meanwhile, Colsart was practicing for his audition as well in his private study. He was playing an old Equestrian hymn tune called Ponies in Peace written by Princess Celestia herself. He arranged the part for piano himself. Every time he went through it, he made a small change by adding or crossing something out which made it sound better every time. Now he felt that it was perfect. Today was Thursday, and Colsart was going to have his date with Octavia at six. He was going to be thoroughly practicing every part up until that time. He couldn't wait. It was 3:00 now, so he had about three hours left. That should be enough time to practice for the audition. Two and a half hours later, Octavia stopped practicing so that she could get ready for her date. She showered and then went to her room. Vinyl sat on the bed and watched Octavia dig through her closet looking frantically for the right outfit to wear. It amused her so. Vinyl used her magic to find a purple dress on the floor with ribbons and emeralds embedded into it. "How about that one?" Vinyl suggested. Octavia looked at it for a second and then shook her head, "This old thing? You're being ridiculous!" Octavia commented. "Am I? I'm just trying to help you out." Vinyl shrugged. Octavia settled on a yellow dress with glass slippers and she replaced her pink bow with a yellow one. Then she wrapped a scarf around her neck. The doorbell rang. Vinyl sat up. "Who in the hay could that be?" "Oh! It's probably Colsart right now! How do I look?" Octavia asked her friend. Vinyl looked her up and down, "Like a walking banana." Octavia smiled, "That's the plan." She joked. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and hurried downstairs to open the door for her date. When she opened the door, she was expecting it to be Colsart, but it was Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?" "I came here to hang out with Vinyl." Rainbow Dash clarified. "Are you feeling alright?" Octavia necessitated. Rainbow Dash tilted her head in confusion. "What? Oh yeah! Pinkie Pie fixed me right up! You see, what had happened was—oh hey Vinyl!" Rainbow Dash greeted. "Wassap bruh." Vinyl greeted. As per usual, she bro-hoofed Rainbow Dash. Then there was another knock on the door. Octavia opened it, and this time Colsart was here. "Sorry I'm late; I just wanted to do some last minute practicing for the audition." Octavia smiled, "You're fine. I would've done the same. Shall we go?" "Yeah, let's." Colsart obliged. They left the house and went to a fancy restaurant for their date. At the restaurant, they took their seats and looked at the menu. After looking at it for a minute, they knew what to order. Then the waiter came to them. "Um, I'll just have some lasagna and a breadstick... And also a cup of water." Octavia said. The waiter wrote down her exact order. "Uh, how about some caviar, carrot soup and a piece of the Sweet Apple Acres' Apple Pie?" Colsart ordered, except in French. The waiter understood him and wrote down exactly what he wanted then left. Octavia was amazed. "I didn't know you could speak in fancy—err, in French. Sorry, I've been hanging around Applejack a lot today." Octavia said. "Didn't I tell you already? Hmm, well, I started learning it a few weeks before the Grand Galloping Gala." Colsart explained. "Interesting. Well anyways, I was thinking," Octavia began, "what if we were to become more than just friends?" Colsart's eyes widened at her sudden move, "Um, like a couple again?" "No, I meant like best friends. You know, friends with benefits, but not as much as a couple. I still haven't completely forgiven you for what you did." Octavia said. "Yeah, I figured." Colsart said. *flashback* What Colsart did that made Octavia break up with her was actually just breaking her cello. One day, when Octavia and he were practicing their instruments together, before Vinyl had moved in, Octavia told him to watch her cello while she went upstairs to get her metronome. "Consider it done!" Colsart replied. He sat at his piano, minding his own business when a parasprite flew in through the open window right by him. His initial reaction was to grab something to kill it with and that's what he did. Colsart grabbed the thing nearest to him which was Octavia's cello. He swung it around but kept missing. When the parasprite landed on the floor, Colsart smashed the cello on the floor right on top of the bug. The parasprite was dead now. And surprisingly, the cello was still in one piece. Colsart stood the cello up and then had a sigh of relief. He wiped away a sweat drop from his brow and accidentally knocked over the cello. This time, when it impacted the ground, it broke into a million pieces. Colsart panicked. He could hear Octavia's voice. "Is everything okay down there? I was just going to tell again how I always had this school filly crush on you and there's probably nothing that can change my opinion on you--" Octavia made it downstairs and saw Colsart's guilty expression and her broken cello on the floor. Octavia's face grew redder than it ever had before. "YOU! How dare you! Do you realize how much money I spent on that cello? A lot! It had the best sound ever and you ruined it!" Octavia screamed at the top of her lungs. She threw her metronome at his face.Colsart tried to calm her down. "I'm sorry, Octavia! Listen, if you want, I'll cover it for you—" "I want you to get out of my life! Forever! LEAVE!" Octavia continued her rant for five more minutes. Colsart finally took a hint and left. Colsart bought her a new cello after that and it was actually better than her old one. It was the cello she was using now. It cost him a fortune. When Octavia received it, she almost forgot about her old one. But there were a lot of memories with that cello. So Octavia still never forgave him. *end flashback* "Now that think of it, I think now might be the time… To forgive you." Octavia supposed. "Really?" "Indeed. You went the extra trouble to buy me a new cello that was better than my old one. I was just too stubborn, headstrong, and angry to forgive you then." "Thank you, Octavia." Colsart acknowledged. "Yes, but I still believe that it would be best if we just remained best friends and nothing more." Octavia thought. "Agreed." > Chapter 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Killing Me Softly With Her Wubs Chapter 5 The three months seemed to go by really fast as before they knew it, the day for the Royal Canterlot Symphony audition came. Octavia had high hopes for the best of results. She and Vinyl woke up extra early to leave for Canterlot. Vinyl had a hard time just keeping her eyes open until she had three cups of coffee which made her very alert. At 7:00 am, they left their home for the trip. "Octavia? Do you think those Canterlot ponies will appreciate my dubstep wubs?" Vinyl asked. Right now, the two mares were on a train going to Canterlot. "Dubstep wubs?" Octavia shook her head and laughed. "Is that all you think about?" Vinyl shrugged her shoulders and then looked out the window. She knew how prim, proper, and narrow-minded those Canterlot ponies could be; they'd most likely find her wubs to be extremely repulsive and distasteful. Some ponies already hate on her dubstep back in Ponyville too, but she thought there would be even more haters in Canterlot. Of course Octavia being a Canterlot pony herself wasn't like that at all. Two and a half hours later, the train had arrived. Octavia and Vinyl trotted the rest of the way to the Canterlot Musical Arts Center where the auditions were being held and where the symphony had their rehearsals. Octavia, who was in a hurry, was nearly galloping with her cello case over her shoulders like a backpack. While she was rushing, Vinyl was just moseying along with her headphones over her head, listening to music. When they got in the building, they talked to the mare at the front desk. "Excuse me miss?" Octavia called, while putting her cello down. The mare looked up from her stack of paperwork and smiled. "Can I help you?" She asked. "Yes, I need to audition for the symphony." Octavia answered. Vinyl looked around and noticed how big the place was. She spun around and circles and looked up at how high the ceiling was. A couple of Canterlot mares walked passed her and couldn't help but criticize her appearance. They also took note that her music was loud enough to be heard out of her headphones and recognized it as the dreadful dubstep. "Well I declare! What is that disorderly mare wearing those appalling sunglasses doing in a place like this? Honey, the clubs are on the other side of Canterlot!" One mare demanded with a very posh accent similar to Rarity's. The other mare nodded. "Indeed! And I can hardly call what she is listening to music! It's that highly offensive dubstep, I can tell!" The other pony rudely added. Vinyl glared daggers at the both of them. "Why I oughta… Dissing my music is one thing I'm used to, but when you talk hay about my shades…" Vinyl murmured to herself. The mare at the front desk told the two mares to go upstairs to get ready. As they walked up the stairs, they saw many of the band members trotting around, doing their own thing, while wearing their given uniforms. Octavia was too busy admiring their uniforms to notice the glares they were giving Vinyl Scratch. "If that dumb mare disses my shades one more time…" Then Octavia kept going on to the band room to get her cello ready. Vinyl stayed behind and peeked in one of the rooms where the symphony was having a rehearsal. She truly thought they sound wonderful, but she'd never admit that to Octavia. In the band room, Octavia removed her jacket and then took her cello out of its case. She took out a rag that was in her case and well and began to clean her cello before she auditioned. Then she tuned it with a tuner they had in the room. There were several other fillies and colts in the room auditioning for the symphony as well. One mare started conversing with Octavia. She had a yellow coat and had a musical coda symbol on her flank for her cutie mark. "Hello. Nerve wrecking, don't you think?" Octavia simply nodded. She didn't have anything she wanted to say and she didn't like to talk to other competitors. There were only ten spots left in the band and she absolutely had to get a spot. "I'm Da Capo al Coda but most people just call me D.C. or Coda. Where are you from?" This time Octavia answered, "Ponyville." The filly nodded. Vinyl was still watching the symphony rehearse their songs. She began to like this type of music as much as dubstep. Octavia left the band room with her clean and tuned cello and saw Vinyl watching the ensemble. She laughed but then looked at the time. "Vinyl! Vinyl! For Princess Celestia's sake! My auditions about to start!" She said in a sharp whisper. She was about to enter the audition room, but then she stopped and sighed. "I don't think I can do this." "And why not?" Vinyl interrogated. "What if the judges don't like me? And if I do miraculously make it, what if the band members don't like me because I'm not good enough?" Octavia panicked. "Octavia, don't lose your nerve. Even if you were bad, none of that matters. I get hated on all the time for my music." Vinyl explained. Octavia tilted her head perplexedly, "When do people hate on you?" She asked. "Are you that clueless? I soon as I walked into this building, I was glared at like fifty times by those ratchet stuck-up ponies. But you get used to it." Vinyl answered while shrugging her shoulders. That didn't really help Octavia in her current situation though. "If they don't want you, that's just because you're too good for them and you'd make the rest of the band members look bad with your awesome amount of skill and expertise. But what they didn't realize is that they'd be lucky to have you." Octavia smiled. "Thank you, Vinyl." She approved. 'If I only had some guts!' Vinyl nodded and waited outside of the audition room as Octavia walked in with her cello. "You'll do fine, Octavia. You're the best cello player in Equestria and I mean that." "And who might you be?" The judge in the middle asked. Octavia gulped, "Octavia, from Ponyville." She answered apprehensively. The judges nodded and wrote her name on their sheets of paper. Octavia took a deep breath and put her music on the music stand. It fell down a couple times because of the breeze in the room which made her even more anxious. The anxiety she was feeling was absolute purgatory. Then she sat with her cello. D.C. was right. This was nerve wrecking. Octavia took a strand of hair behind her ear and took another deep breath. The judges took note of her posture and discussed that factor amongst each other. Apparently, they were judging on posture as well. Octavia looked at the ground and took more deep breaths. Outside of the audition room, Vinyl was pacing back and forth waiting for the, hopefully, positive results to arrive. "Okay, whenever you're ready." The judge in the middle said. Octavia nodded. 'Come on, Octavia. This is your only chance to wow the judges. Don't ruin it!' Octavia thought to herself. First Octavia played her tuning note which was a G. The judges took note on if she was in tune or not. Then Octavia cleared her throat. She began to play her song, Friendship, Fear, and the Moon. The judges were looking for three things: Correct notes and rhythm, great tone, and interpretation. Octavia was so nervous she felt like she would pass out right on the floor in front of them. Soon enough the song was over and the judges wrote down the last few observations on her score sheets. Octavia knew she wouldn't get in because of how bad she had played it. She had played a sharp instead of a natural three times. That probably hurt her score a lot. Then the judges gave her the sheet. After taking the result sheet, Octavia nodded and opened the door to leave the audition room. Vinyl Scratch and Colsart were waiting outside. Finally the moment had arrived for them to hear the good news. Octavia completely disregarded them and walked right past them to a couch. She took a pillow and held it over her chest and took deep breaths. Octavia carefully read over her score sheet. The she knew the results and whether she had made it in or not. Octavia still didn't say anything though. She just held the pillow to her chest and stared into space with a sad facial expression. Vinyl Scratch and Colsart looked at each other and then went over to Octavia. "Well?" Colsart asked. "Yeah! Spill the beans!" Vinyl exclaimed. Octavia sighed and then replied slowly, "I… I got in." Vinyl cheered loudly and hugged Octavia tightly; again, a little too tight. Octavia received a small hug from Colsart too. "You're the man, Octavia! I knew you could do it! You're the best around!" Octavia smiled. "Good job, Octavia." Colsart acknowledged politely. She blushed bright red and shrugged her shoulders. "Oh yes, did you make it in?" Octavia asked. Colsart's smile turned into a frown and then he cleared throat. He lowered his head in disappointment. "I didn't make the cut." He replied. Octavia was crushed, and Vinyl frowned. "But it's quite alright though." "Pardon my English but that must suck." Octavia remarked. Colsart nodded. "Well, it most certainly isn't at all good." Colsart stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "Anyways I got the paper with the information you should know." Colsart hooved it over to Octavia and she began to read it. "'There will be a provided meal after every required rehearsal which if you skip without a legit reason; we will hunt you down—'" Octavia read. Vinyl interjected. "For skipping a meal or rehearsal?" Vinyl asked. Octavia looked the paragraph over, "Both." She said. Vinyl nodded. "'You will be staying at the Grand Canterlot Hotel for free and you will be moving there by next month.' Now we should probably return so I can make some preparations for my move to Canterlot." "Suh-weet! It'll be just the three of us chilling in a totally sick five star hotel! How awesome!" Vinyl remarked. She wrapped her forelegs around both Colsart's and Octavia's necks. They both escaped her grasp. "I believe there is a misconception here." Octavia pointed out. Vinyl looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Mostly because she didn't know what 'misconception' meant. "What sort? Colsart can't come? That's too bad." Vinyl though. "We're sure gonna miss you Coltsart. I promise we'll write to you everyday." Vinyl said, jokingly. Coltsart rolled his eyes. "That was so funny I forgot to laugh." "Only I can move into the hotel. Only band members can stay and I presume that it's much too late for you to audition now, there were only 10 spots left in ensemble so it's most likely already filled." Octavia clarified. Behind her sunglasses, Vinyl's eyes widened in shock. "WHAT! Whoa, hold your horses there, partner. Little red flag going up!" Vinyl exclaimed. She shook Octavia's shoulders. "You can't move to Canterlot without us! I would buy a house in Canterlot, but the houses there are much too expensive and you how I feel about those poo-brain Canterlot ponies… So you've got to stay! Don't go away!" Vinyl argued. Octavia looked at Vinyl sadly. Even though joining the symphony was her biggest dream since forever, she has been Vinyl's best friend since before forever. Vinyl tried to reason with her, "Either you can stay with your friends who you've know your whole life, or you can move along to Canterlot and leave us behind." Colsart claimed, "Vinyl, it is her decision you know." Vinyl crossed her forelegs. "I just want her to make the right decision." Vinyl retorted. "I realize that you care a lot about Octavia, I do too. But it's been her lifelong dream to join the symphony. So even though she wants something that is different from what you want, you should just accept that. Now let her decide." Colsart proclaimed. Vinyl Scratch nodded solemnly; she had already heard that before from Twilight Sparkle. Octavia looked at both of her two favorite ponies in Equestria. She was happy that she had friends who cared for her that much and wanted her to live dream, but if she left them, it would be hard to find friends as good as them. So she could be a famous cellist if she left, but then she'd be alone if; she may make friends with some of the band member, but it would not be the same. If she stayed with her friends, Octavia would be able to hang out with them whenever, but then she could only dream of being section leader cellist. 'I wasn't expecting this decision to be so problematic at all.' Octavia thought. Vinyl decided that it was necessary to break the fourth wall at this time, "Well it's a good job we're ending this chapter here and then going onto the next. This is getting too long." Vinyl said. > Chapter 6 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Killing Me Softly With Her Wubs Chapter 6 "Then I'll stay. It wouldn't feel right to leave you two in Ponyville." Octavia decided. Coltsart and Vinyl both frowned. Now Vinyl felt guilty that she made Octavia choose to stay back in Ponyville when she had the chance right now to move on to bigger and better things. Octavia scowled. "Would you make up your mind for Celestia's sake?" Vinyl scratched the back of her head nervously. "Octavia, I've changed my mind. You didn't come all this way just to give up on your dream!" Vinyl didn't want her to miss out on her dream just because she had a selfish best friend. Octavia had done so many things for the white unicorn and Vinyl still hasn't fully paid her debt to her. Vinyl proclaimed, "I was selfish just a moment ago. You deserve to have your dream come true after everything you do for me out of the kindness of your heart, or just to get me to shut up about it. If it weren't for you, I would be living on the streets!" Coltsart nodded in agreement, "Indeed. You've worked much too hard to just walk away now. Vinyl and I just want you to be happy in life and we think this would be the best way for you to do so if you joined to symphony." Coltsart explained. "So please?" Vinyl pleaded, gently nudging Octavia's side. Octavia lowered her head. Now she had no idea what to choose. "I… Dunno…" Octavia said calmly. "Come on Octavia! Being first chair cellist has been your dream since… Since forever! Since before you met us, and that was a loooong time ago!" Vinyl reasoned. She used her horn to get a picture of Octavia doing her first recital when she was just a little filly. Even younger than the Cutie Mark Crusaders. That brought back some memories. Octavia looked at both of her friends and then down at the floor. She wanted to join the ensemble desperately, but she was afraid that soon Vinyl Scratch and Coltsart would just be a distant memory to her and nothing more in the future. Octavia really didn't want that to happen at all after all that they have been through. But then again, she had been dreaming and waiting for this moment for a long time now and that she got her chance, she didn't want to buck it all up for herself. 'This day was supposed to go perfectly! Why must this decision be so difficult to make?' Octavia thought, angrily. Octavia thought for a few moments and then made her final decision. "I'll do it." Octavia said. "Aww yeah!" Vinyl cheered, "You'll kick both flank and tail in the symphony!" She pretended to buck the air with her hind legs. Coltsart and Octavia chuckled at her remark. "Now you have much to prepare for your big move to Canterlot. We should head back to Ponyville now." Coltsart suggested. The two mares nodded. They trotted down the stairs and went out the front door. They walked to the same train station they used earlier to catch a ride back home. Roughly a month later, the day has finally arrived for Octavia to leave for Canterlot and take all of her stuff with her. It was also the day for her to say goodbye to all of her pony friends in Ponyville. On one occasion, between now and after the audition, Vinyl Scratch had met a unicorn stallion whom she seemed to like; like a lot even. His name was Neon Lights. He was the brother of Lime Lights, Spot Lights, and Head Lights. Neon has a spikey black mane and a light blue coat. Just like Vinyl, he had on a pair of sunglasses except his were black. Neon Light's cutie mark is a 16th note engulfed in a blue flame because he is a good singer, rapper, and songwriter. So he and Vinyl like to collaborate with each other sometimes. Octavia woke up bright and early to the sound of a certain DJ unicorn blasting her dubstep out the window like always to wake up the neighbors. Vinyl Scratch stood right across the room by the window with her iPod plugged into her boom box. She stuck her head out of the window and screamed while hoof pumping, "WHAT UP! WHAT UP, PONYVILLE! CHECK IT OUT; YOU GOT VINYL SCRATCH RIGHT HERE WITH HER AWESOME BASSLINE!" Then she started making random dubstep noises with her own mouth such as 'wubs' and 'wobbles'. A random pony cried out, "SHUT THAT DOG UP!" Vinyl Scratch gasped in surprised. Then she grinned. "You hear that, Octavia? That guy appreciated the music so he called me 'dawg!' Can you believe that?" Octavia facehoofed and stepped out of bed. Even now, she still was not used to this. But then recently, Vinyl wanted to help out more around the house and started washing the dishes with some kind of wub machine. She said cranked up to 11, it would clean the dishes on a microscopic level. When Octavia ate her breakfast, she was forced to use paper plates and cups because the vibrations were so strong that it could shatter her plate and cup. But then she wondered what had happened to the dishes that were inside of the new 'dish washer'. Octavia sighed. She loved Vinyl Scratch, but at times she did more trouble than good sometimes without realizing it. Neon Lights and Coltsart came by to take Octavia to the train station with their horse-drawn carriage. "Sup everypony, am I late? Neon Lights asked as he jumped out of the carriage. Vinyl Scratch galloped out of the door and dashed at NeonLights. She immediately gave him a hug. "That's what's up!" Neon declared. "You're just in time!" Vinyl said, grinning widely. Neon chuckled and then she released her grip on him. "I have something for you." He went to his carriage and brought out some sort of irregular looking stereo. Vinyl Scratch gasped dramatically, "A BASS CANNON!" A tear drop fell from her eye, she was so happy. She hugged Neon again for a second, but then went to hug her new bass cannon as if it were alive and could feel compassion. "Alright, Vinyl. Put that thing inside so we can leave." Octavia proposed. Vinyl glared at Octavia, still hugging the bass cannon. "Can't you see I'm having a moment!" Octavia, Coltsart, and Neon Lights all laughed at her. "Or you can just take it with you…" Coltsart suggested. Before he could even finish speaking, Vinyl Scratch, without delay, picked up her bass cannon and ran on her hind legs to the carriage. Neon Lights laughed at her again. That was why he liked her; liked her a whole lot even. "Let's go!" He shouted. He and Octavia stepped into the carriage with Vinyl. Coltsart was the driver. He had two stallions pulling the carriage. "Next stop: The train station!" Coltsart proclaimed. Then the carriage began to move. After about thirty minutes of small talk and of Vinyl cracking jokes, she asked Octavia, "So you finally get to live the dream. How do you feel?" "Dunno. It feels good, I guess," Octavia answered. She couldn't really explain it, how she was feeling right now. She was very excited but also very nervous at the same time. Though she felt this sudden change in her quality of living would affect her whole life positively. "I suppose I—" Neon Lights interrupted her, "Yo, Octavia. I'm real happy for you and Imma let you finish but—" "We are not referencing this!" Octavia exclaimed. Neon shrugged. They made it to the train station and Coltsart stopped the carriage. Octavia grabbed her suitcase and they all stepped out of the vehicle. "Well, I suppose this is it." Octavia said, sighing. "It's been great to have the pleasure of being one of your best friends." Coltsart claimed, smiling. Octavia smiled back. "Though I think I'll miss you most of all, Vinyl." Vinyl blushed, "Oh no you won't." She said, being modest. She waved her hoof in dismissal. Octavia nodded, "I will, honest." Before Octavia could hug them all one last time, Coltsart grabbed her hoof and dragged her to the train. "Could I have a minute?" "You're going to miss your train!" Coltsart cautioned. Octavia removed her hoof from his. "Stop being an old bucking woman, would you?" Octavia requested. Vinyl and Neon both laughed. They loved it when Octavia loosened up like that, and they had never heard her swear before. Coltsart rolled his eyes at her. Octavia went to hug both Neon Lights and Vinyl Scratch. Then she turned to Coltsart. They both stared at each other for a moment awkwardly. She then smirked. Octavia grabbed his shoulders and planted a small kiss on his cheek. She whispered, "See you around." She took her suitcase and then cantered into the train. Coltsart just stood there, stunned. Octavia sat in the window seat where Vinyl was looking up at her on the outside. "I'm gonna miss having you around." Vinyl said. Though Octavia couldn't hear a word she was saying inside the bus. She cupped her ear and then Vinyl Scratch repeated that again but louder. She still couldn't hear but she shrugged it off. Vinyl did too and waved as the train started to move. She galloped after the train when it began moving. Octavia ran to the back of the train, pushing ponies out of her way, to meet Vinyl half way. She pressed her face on the window and smiled.The gang just stood there for a moment as the train continued to go. Eventually, when it was out of sight, they all left. In the train, Octavia sat, looking out of the window and sighed. Slowly but surely, they were leaving Ponyville, her home, and all the friends she had come to know and like. She thought, maybe one day she'd come back to visit them all. She wouldn't stay in Canterlot forever. Octavia promised herself that one day, didn't matter when, by Celestia's witness, she would come back to Ponyville to meet with her friends again. Through all her years as a band member making new friends and having many a performance, her strong conviction kept her from forgetting her true friends back home in Ponyville. She really was fortunate to have known them. Even with whatever else that came her way, good or bad, she would never forget them. Octavia marked her calendar. "My vacation's coming up. I guess I'll be taking the Canterlot Express back to Ponyville." AN: Crappy ending. I know. Hey yo critics, I'm real happy for you and I'mma let you finish but--