The higher end of Canterlot City was always known for opulence and sophistication. While not filled with palaces, it did hold the oldest and most successful houses in the city. Manor houses that had been around since the city's founding who's lines survived the passage of time dominated the streets like ancient trees in defiance. In particular, ten manors reined supreme over the street. Five of these houses belonged to the scientific and economic industries that ran the city while the rest governed over the city's artistic pursuits. These were the Five Musical Families, the only truly nobelesque families that governed over the city. On the doorstep of one particular manor stood a nervous teen girl with red and gold hair.
"Wow," Sunset gulped, staring at the massive ornate rout iron gate. "I knew Octavia came from money, but this is insane."
What she saw through the gate was something straight out of a period drama. Just beyond the the iron bars stood a massive blanket of white snow covering a hundred feet of open land. Scattered through the space were various well carved and maintained marble statues of various mythical creatures. Elves, faeries, satyrs, and centaurs stood in various poses both provocative and dynamic on a field of pure white. Beyond them towered a massive building from ancient times given life. Three stories tall and three thousand spare-feet wide, the fortress of dark wood faced the teen with tall windows and oakwood doors plucked from the same realm only a handful of Equestrian nobles had access to.
Nervously, Sunset pushed a button on the intercom next to the main gate.
"Um, hello?" she asked.
"Good afternoon," a cultured male voice responded through the device. "Who might I say this is?"
"S-Sunset Shimmer?" she gulped. "I'm one of Octavia's and Vinyl's friends."
A brief pause, then the voice said in a slightly chipper tone, "Ah, yes. Both of the young misses said you would be visiting today. Wait one moment and someone will meet you at he gate and grant you access."
"U-Um, thanks," she smiled meekly.
A soft click was the only response she got at that as she shifted her attention back to the metal gate.
Calm down Sunset, she thought, taking a shaky breath. You're just going to spend some time at two friend's place. So what if they're from one of the richest families in the city? I shook hooves with nobles since I was seven back in Equestria. This is nothing compared to that!
Then again, there was a difference between tolerating a snooty entitled dingbat and leaving a good impression with a friend's family that just happens to have a giant bank account. The last thing she wanted to do was make it look like she was Vinyl's and Octavia's friend for the money.
She gulped as she saw a golf cart coming into view from the outside perimeter of the statue garden. Her nerves only grew as she saw the well-kept condition of the person driving the vehicle. The butler elegantly extricated himself from the cart and approached the gate with purpose. He was tall and elderly, yet well built for his presumed age, silver streaks mixed with his short chocolate-brown hair and many distinguished age lines carved into his white face. His gray eyes held a kind of timeless quality to them only those who lived a long and challenging life could own as he took note of Sunset's presence.
"Sunset Shimmer?" he asked, tone deep and warm as he stared at her.
She nodded.
He smiled then said, "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Fine Point and I will be your guide for the day."
"Oh, um, thanks?" she stammered sheepishly.
He gave her an understanding smile as he pressed a button from his side of the gate and it slowly slid open.
***
Octavia hummed happily as she took a sip from her teacup, gentle piano music adding its ambiance from her cellphone to the ornate library. While still prim and proper, her posture held a faint level of slouch as she sat in an ornate oak arm chair by a matching table at her right. She was dressed in a simple white T-shirt and blue jeans, her usual fair when she wanted to relax and had no real need to leave the house or impress anyone. Even her hair was slightly mussed, the closest thing she could stand to let it fall into disarray. Her sister was another story all together, as the DJ slouched in her seat on the opposite side of the small round table as she occupied one of the table's three remaining seats. Vinyl was dressed in a wrinkled white tank-top and blue pajama bottoms, a cocky grin spread across her face as she bobbed her head to whatever music she was listening to through her headphones, a can of soda waiting patiently for her on the table.
Octavia reached across the table and tapped it on the wood in front of the girl. Vinyl grimaced a little before she paused her song on her phone and let her headphones hang around her neck.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Do you think this was a good idea?" Octavia frowned. "Inviting Sunset here, I mean."
"What do you mean?" she asked, raising a brow.
"Well," Octavia frowned sheepishly. "Our home can be rather...intimidating to most people
Vinyl chuckled and took a swig of her soda.
"Are you kidding me? Tavi. Sunset's mom is a princess. I think she can handle seeing a place like this."
As she said that, she casually gestured to her surroundings with a flourish of her hand.
"If anything, I think we should be the nervous ones."
"True," Octavia mused. "I just don't want her to feel uncomfortable."
"Trust me," she smirked. "We've got nothing to worry about."
As if on cue, Fine Point opened the door to the library and stood to the side of the opening.
"Miss Sunset Shimmer," he said, his thoughts hidden behind his usual stoic professionalism.
A second later a very stiff-looking Sunset entered the room. Octavia gave Vinyl a raised brow before rising out of her seat to greet their friend with a kind smile.
"Welcome Sunset," she chuckled, closing the gap between them. "Come, make yourself at home."
As she said that, she put a hand on the nervous girl's back as she gently guided her back to the table. Vinyl pulled a chair out for her before returning to her own seat.
"You okay?" she asked, both confused and concerned for her friend.
"Y-Yeah," Sunset stammered as she gave the DJ a stiff smile. "Kind of a lot to take in, you know?"
"I guess?" Vinyl blinked. "Isn't this kind of par-for-the-course for you?"
"Kind've," she sighed. "I'm not a High Royal here, remember?"
"I see," Octavia nodded. "Though I admit, I fail to see how a shift in status could effect your sense of normalcy."
"I guess I just got so used to castles that a "simple" mansion stands out to me," she frowned, staring at the table.
"I suppose," Octavia mused. "All the same, be at ease love. In the end, it is nothing more than a house."
"A really big house, but still a house," Vinyl shrugged. "Want anything to drink?"
"Sure," Sunset smiled, her nerves seeming to loosen thanks to her friend's words.
"Cool, what do ya want?" Vinyl asked, smirking.
"A Sprite sounds good," she nodded.
"Awesome," she chuckled, then looked up at Fine Point and asked, "Can you get two Sprites for us?"
"Of course," he intoned. "Will that be all?"
"For now," Octavia nodded.
Fine Point nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him as he went.
"Now then," Octavia smiled, a hint of mischief evident in her features. "How are things between you and Derpy?"
"Great," Sunset smirked, a bit of a blush coloring her cheeks. "Now that everything's settled down, we've been spending a lot of time together."
"I bet," Vinyl chuckled, a lecherous smile spread across her face as she took a swig of her drink.
Sunset raised a brow at that.
"You know love," Octavia mused, catching Sunset's attention. "You never told us how the two of you officially became a couple."
"Uh, sure I did," Sunset gulped, her face heating up.
"Right," Vinyl smiled. "C'mon, Spill. It's been bugging us for days and Derpy won't tell us anything."
Sunset glowered at the two girls, her blush still on full display as she stared at them.
"Fine," she grumbled.
***
Laughter filled the air as two girls sat in front of a giant television, countless gaming equipment and snacks spread out between them. While it paled in comparison to Lyra's collection, Vinyl had quite the extensive assortment of games at her disposal. It served as an excellent followup to the interrogation of Sunset and Derpy's adventures in Equestria. While she didn't have too much of a problem telling them what happened, there were a few details she left out. She doubted that they needed to know what they did after Sunset's battle with Gold Vine or the battle itself for that matter.
"C'mon-c'mon-c'mon!" Vinyl demanded, frustratedly jamming the buttons on her controller.
Sunset smirked triumphantly as she calmly tapped the buttons on her controller.
A loud battle cry filled the air followed by a frustrated growl as Vinyl watched her character fall. A giant KO dominated the screen as Sunset's fighter struck a victory pose.
"Damn it!" Vinyl frowned, slumping in her navy-blue gaming chair and crossing her arms.
Sunset chuckled at her as she set her controller aside and took in her friend's room.
On top of being bigger then her's and Derpy's rooms combined and having a giant TV, the room was largely dominated by the DJ's passion. The TV stood as the dividing point of the room with the bedroom's door and a wide array of technical equipment dominating its left side while a large oak wardrobe, desk, and queen-sized canopy bed stood at its right. Rock and punk band posters were spread unevenly on the walls at random places like hunting trophies through out the room. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling with its bulbs dimmed thanks to a dimmer switched installed in a wall by the door.
"How the heck did you get so good at this game?" Vinyl demanded, pulling Sunset's attention away from her surroundings.
Sunset's lips pulled themselves into a sad smile as she said, "Rainbow and I used to play this a lot."
"Oh," Vinyl frowned, then asked, "How have you been doing lately?"
"Pretty good, why?" she asked, raising a brow.
"Just checking," the DJ sighed. "No...relapses, right?"
Sunset froze for a moment, then stiffly brought her hands together as she struggled to find her words.
"No," she gulped. "I've got Derpy, you girls, and mom in my life again. I don't have any reason to go back to that place again."
"You're damn straight you don't," Vinyl growled. "But I don't want you to keep that stuff to yourself."
Sunset blinked at that, but didn't get a chance to respond as Vinyl gave her a hard frown.
"Look, I get it. Some things are hard to talk about, even with people you care about. Thing is, sometimes you still need to talk to someone."
Sunset nodded, eager to see where the DJ was going with this.
Vinyl let out a frustrated growl as she nervously scratched the back of her head.
"I'm not very good with words like Tavi, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know what its like to be in a really bad place."
Sunset's eyes widened at that as the implications started to take shape. While she was familiar with the toxic history of Vinyl's original family, it never really occurred to her that the DJ was still bearing the scars of that relationship. The crass, smiling girl always seemed so untouchable and aloof that it was hard to see anything bothering her for too long. A sharp pang of guilt filled Sunset at that realization.
"Do...you want to talk about it?" Sunset asked.
A weak smile formed on Vinyl's lips.
"You sure you want to hear?"
She nodded, sporting a determined frown as she stared at her friend.
Vinyl sighed, then leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.
"There's not much to say. My mom was a bitch and Tavi saved me. I guess the case wasn't very cut and dry at first, but that doesn't really mean much."
"What do you mean?" Sunset asked, raising a brow. "Octavia had that recording and everything, didn't she?"
Vinyl laughed bitterly at that.
"That could only get the case started. Since it was taken without Record's permission, it couldn't be used as evidence against her. Luckily, Granny Philharmonic has some of the best lawyers in the city on speed dial and fixed that problem real quick."
A heavy silence filled the room as Vinyl let certain memories she hadn't dwelt upon in a long time wander through her mind. A faint tremble ran through her lips as a particularly bitter memory came to her.
Sunset noticed.
"Vinyl?"
Vinyl let out a shaky breath as she continued.
"At one point, the bitch managed to get in touch with me during the hearing. I wanted to hang up on her, but I guess she still had some kind of hold on me at the time. She wanted me to lie to the court. She said that if I left her, I'd have nothing. That Tavi's folks would dump me the second I didn't do as they said and that she was only doing what she thought was right for me. She said that she loved me."
A cruel smile spread across her face as she added, "Too bad I didn't give a shit about her."
She sat up straight, her smile becoming more cocky as she locked eyes with her friend.
"I told the court everything. All of the abuse, manipulation, and even the whole thing that got me put in the hospital. I didn't know all the specifics at the time, but apparently my testimony had just the push my lawyer needed to get me out of that bitch's hands. After a couple weeks in the foster care system, Granny managed to pull enough strings to get me fostered to her and later adopted me."
"I bet that was a lot to get used to," Sunset stated, feebly trying to lighten the mood with a smirk.
Vinyl laughed then said, "You have no idea. Yeah, I came from a top family, but there's a pretty big gap between five and one. When I first came here, I nearly shat my pants at the front gate! For a while, I thought Record was right about Tavi's folks and I was always on edge. I actually lost my lunch when Granny called me up to her room and said she wanted to hear some of my music."
"What? Why?" Sunset asked, blinking in shock.
Vinyl gave her a flat look as she said, "Sunset, I was a Junior High student that spent most of her life under a narcissist's thumb. How do you think I would've reacted?"
"Good point," Sunset cringed. "How did it go?"
"It was a disaster," she groaned. "I was so nervous that I couldn't get my mixes to harmonize at all. Tunes were off, rhythms were flat, it was a mess. Hell, at one point I got so scared that I froze up and just waited for her to yell at me."
"Did she?" she asked, lips pulling into a faint knowing smile.
"Nah," Vinyl chuckled. "She gave me a hug, told me to take a deep breath, and try again. It was way too much for me to take at the time and I started crying like a baby for a bit. When I tried again it was still a mess, but it was a lot better then the first one. She let me try as many times as I wanted and kept cheering me on. Eventually, I found my groove and gave her a real show."
"I take it she liked it," Sunset chuckled.
"Yeah," she smirked. "Then she asked me to show her how to do it."
"Wait what?" Sunset gawked.
Vinyl laughed at that.
"Yeah, I said the same thing. She said since I was her new granddaughter, she wanted to get to know me a bit better. Since we both were music fanatics that was the best place to start. I was on cloud nine for a while after that."
"I bet you were," Sunset smirked.
"Yeah," she said, smile turning wistful as she stared at the ceiling. "It was like when I ran my first set all over again. 'Cept now I wasn't doing it to give the bitch the finger. I had people backing me up that gave an actual fuck about me for a change and it felt great. I mean, yeah, I had to learn a bunch of etiquette crap, but that was just when we had to go to big events and stuff. Behind closed doors or out on the streets I could do whatever I wanted so long as I didn't do anything too extreme."
"Sounds like things really turned up," Sunset nodded.
"Yeah," the DJ chuckled. "I got pretty lucky."
Silence filled the room again, only now it was less dense then the last time. It was broken as Vinyl gave Sunset a roughish smile and said, "We're a lot alike, aren't we?"
"Yeah," Sunset chuckled.
"You've got Derpy and I've got Tavi and her folks, but we both got fucked by life before we found them," she laughed. "Want to know how I to deal with it?"
"How?"
Vinyl gave her the widest, brightest smile she could manage and said, "I smile and tell life to go fuck itself. That I'm not going to be its bitch anymore. No matter what."
Sunset blinked at that, then smiled as she said, "Damn straight."
Both girls bumped fists and laughed, the dark atmosphere from before vanishing in the light of there mirth.
"Anyway," Vinyl grinned as she picked up her controller. "That's enough gloom and doom for now."
"Right," Sunset nodded, picking up her own controller.
As they set up the next match, Vinyl gently nudged her friend and with a soft smile said, "Thanks for listening by the way."
"Anytime Vinyl," she smiled.
***
Sunset groaned as she tossed and turned in her borrowed bed, the dark unfamiliar room only adding to her insomnia as she stared at the ceiling. By the time she and Vinyl finished there gaming marathon, it was already well past time for Sunset to head back home. After a quick call to let Derpy know where she was, Octavia made arrangements to let Sunset use one of the mansion's many guest rooms for the night. While the bed was just as comfortable as her bed back in Equestria, it was still difficult for her to fall asleep. She let out a frustrated growl as she dragged herself into a sitting position.
"I need a drink of water," she grumbled as she dragged herself out of bed.
As she stepped out of her room, she struggled to remember how to get to the kitchen on the first floor.
Let's see. I think it was first left then right to get to the stairs, then I need to cut through the main hall.
Five minutes later, she let out a frustrated grumble when her chosen rout took her to the mansion's pool room. She took a different rout and nearly cursed when she found herself in one of the mansion's libraries. She would've screamed if the next room she found wasn't Vinyl's. When she found herself standing in front the front doors to the mansion, she let out an annoyed huff as she leaned against a nearby wall.
"How does anyone find anything in this place?" she grumbled. "I grew up in a castle! This shouldn't be this hard!"
She let out a groan as she pushed herself off of the wall to resume her search. As she walked away from the wall, a faint sound caught her attention. Curious, she followed it down a nearby hallway to her left and beyond. As the sound grew, it became easier to identify. With all the time she spent around music and instruments, she would have to be deaf not to recognize the sound for what it was. Sure enough, she soon found herself standing in front of the music room. Through a crack in the door, a haunting, lilting tone crept out into the dark hallways. With Curiosity gnawing at the back of her mind, Sunset peeked through the partially opened door into the room beyond.
Like she expected, the room was loaded with instruments of all shapes and sizes, all of which hung from stands or in cases along the walls. A beautiful grand piano stood at the back of the room opposite the door, but even its radiance paled in comparison to what stood in front of it. Eyes closed and dressed in lavender pajamas stood Octavia, a gentle expression gracing her face as she played her cello. Sunset was in awe at the poise the girl displayed as her bow glided across the strings like a bird in the open sky. The skill on display was just as apparent as the love Octavia held for her craft as the room was filled with the fruits of her labor. Sunset was so absorbed by the small concert that she barely registered it when she wandered into the room. Octavia was none the wiser as she continued to play, serenity never leaving her face as she unwittingly charmed her guest.
For what felt like hours, the two girls were in their own little worlds as they let the symphony take them away. Then with a final long note, Octavia finished her piece with a wide flourish of her bow.
"The world is my stage," she whispered, a slightly cocky smile gracing her lips as she opened her eyes.
Her eyes widened when she saw Sunset sitting cross-legged across from her.
"S-Sunset!" she stammered, face heating up. "Did I wake you?"
"Huh?" she blinked, then quickly shook the mist out of her head before she explained.
"I couldn't sleep, so I thought a glass of water would help."
"I see," she nodded, fluster replaced with understanding as her blush faded away. "Has it?"
"It would if I could find the kitchen," she muttered.
"Pardon?" she asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion.
"Never mind," Sunset sighed, then asked, "I guess you couldn't sleep either, huh?"
"No," she sighed, staring somberly at her instrument. "Lately, I've found my mind wondering."
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
Octavia gave her a faint smile and said, "Nothing too out of the ordinary, love. Just the usual drama."
"I don't have anywhere I need to be," she shrugged.
Octavia giggle at that, then let a thin smile grace her lips as she stared at the fiery girl.
"I believe Vinyl gave you a more detailed take on what her first few days were like here?"
Sunset nodded.
"I suppose she told you a tale of how I saved her from a terrible fate at the hand of her ogre of a mother. Would it surprise you if I said it was the other way around? That she was the one that saved me?"
"What?" she asked, blinking owlishly at the musician.
Octavia giggled at her friend's reaction.
"It's true. Remember, before we met, I was completely obsessed with my craft. Everything had to be perfect. Absolutely no deviations from the trodden path of the masters. Nothing short of absolute perfection could be permitted."
Sunset nodded, starting to get an idea where this was going.
"I'm sure Vinyl told you of how difficult I was back then," she continued, a sheepish smile forming on her lips when Sunset nodded. "In time, she had enough with my antics and literally dragged me out of the house. It was thanks to her that I started to let other things and people into my life."
A small grimace marred her face as she added, "One of those very people is the source of my restless mind at the moment unfortunately."
"Who?" Sunset asked.
Octavia froze, face lightly twisted into a conflicted frown before she took a deep breath and said, "Rarity."
"Oh," Sunset said hollowly.
"It would seem that she fell back into her old vice," she continued, eyes drifted to the ground along with Sunset's. "She appears to be taking steps to get back on track, but I still worry about her."
"Right," Sunset gulped.
"I'm not the only one," Octavia sighed. "According to Vinyl, Rainbow was on Canter Bridge a few days ago."
"What?!" Sunset gasped. "Is she okay?!"
"Yes, love," she smiled. "She's fine."
"Good," she sighed, slumping against the wall she sat in front of. "What about the others?"
"Unfortunately, that is all I know," Octavia frowned.
"I see," she frowned. "Thanks for letting me know."
"Anytime love," she smiled.
Sunset returned the smile, then turned her gaze to the ground as she processed what her friend said. While she was still mad at the girls, she couldn't deny that maybe this whole situation had gone on long enough. Bad blood never made things any better for anyone involved, especially when one party was clearly repentant for their crimes.
If I was willing to forgive the CMC, what's stopping me from doing the same with the Rainbooms?
With that in mind, she nodded to herself and sported a determined frown as she looked up towards Octavia. It was time to purge the last drop of poison out of her life once and for all.
"I want to talk to her."
Octavia blinked, shocked by the sudden change in her friend's demeanor.
"Are you sure love?"
She nodded, then said, "And not just her. I'll send a message out to all of them to let them know when and where we're going to do this."
"I see," Octavia nodded, a matching look of determination decorating her face. "However, I must insist that Lightning and Fluttershy be present. While I doubt they will try anything, it never hurts to be cautious."
Sunset shook her head.
"I get where you're coming from, but this is something I have to do alone."
Octavia blinked owlishly at the girl then stammered, "B-But Sunset-"
Sunset put up a hand to halt her friend's protests and asked, "Do you trust me?"
Momentarily staggered by her friend's question, Octavia paused, then said, "Of course love."
"Then please," she gulped. "Let me do this."
The two girls stared at each other for a long moment, then with a withering sigh, Octavia nodded.
"Very well love. Just promise me you will be careful, okay?"
"I promise," she smiled.