//------------------------------// // Chapter #2 - The Odd Melodious Pair // Story: The Great Crusade // by TheGJ90 //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle Later that day, at 3:55PM As badly as we wanted to spend time with Sunset at her place, we had a prior engagement to attend to and we would not dare to miss it. After we explained that to her, she offered to escort us, an offer that we gratefully accepted. Before long, we were riding in the back seats of Big Mac's truck, with the big guy himself doing the driving and Sunset in the passenger's seat. It was a good thing the back seat area was built for three people, or it would have been one tight fit! Apple Bloom, being our fearless leader, sat in the middle, with Scoots to her left, and myself to her right. I was almost bouncing with excitement as we got closer to our destination. Scootaloo was doing the actual bouncing, her seat belt limiting her movements, which didn't annoy her in the slightest. With a giant smile full of enthusiasm, she exclaimed; "This is gonna be so awesome! I mean, we're spending the afternoon with a super-nice cello player and the coolest DJ in CHS!" Like the rest of the school, the Canterlot Movie Club owed DJ-P0N3 a huge favor for helping the girls defeat the Sirens. For a personal reason, we owed both her and Octavia another favor that was just as huge. So yes, we had plenty of reasons to be excited over visiting them. Apple Bloom responded to Scootaloo's words while almost matching her enthusiasm. Almost; "Darn tootin', Scoots! It's about dern time we went on this 'ere trip!" I giggled happily for those two before Sunset chimed in; "I'm glad you three want to talk things out with them. From what I could learn during our last conversation, they've been waiting for you to do this." My eyes went wide with strong surprise. All three of us kids yelled out at once; "They've been waiting for us this whole time?!" "Eeyup.", Big Mac answered calmly, his focus aimed almost entirely on the road. I couldn't help but appreciate the two girls we were going to visit a little bit more than I did before. Sunset looked out the window on her door and answered with that sideways smirk of hers; "That's right, and it looks like they won't have to wait any longer." I turned my head to face the window on the door to my right and saw a large white house with a blue roof and large windows. The front door was tall and white with blue trimmings on the sides, the windows placed at its left and right with curtains having over them from the inside. Hanging just above the front door was an oversized vinyl record that covered a large chunk of the wall. The record had a single long scratch along its center at a sharp angle. It was pretty obvious to me as to who lived in this house as a wide grin formed on my face. Hope and joy danced and played together in my mind like two best friends. We were gonna do it! We were gonna redeem ourselves! Once we pulled up into an open spot on the driveway, Sunset and the three of us got out of the truck one at a time, with Big Mac staying at the wheel. I looked over at him alongside my friends when we planted our feet on pavement, only to catch him giving us a thumbs up. That guy could perk us up without saying a word so easily! We turned right around to face the walkway that led to the front door. A straight path to our destination: to them. With a breath, I joined Scootaloo and Apple Bloom in following Sunset to the door. But, it wasn't her who was going to knock. Once we stopped to stand within inches of the door, Sunset backed off to the side while telling us with her sideways smirk; "I can only show you the door..." Scoots already had a response lined up by the time she finished talking; "We're the ones that have to walk through it.", she finished for her with a well-acted serious voice, complete with a matching expression. That expression devolved into laughter within five seconds, with the rest of us laughing along with her. Once we calmed down, Apple Bloom demonstrated her knowledge on where Scoots and Sunset's exchange came from; "Morpheus from The Matrix. Good choice.", she said with a beaming grin that she showed to Sunset before asking her; "Did ya' watch that movie?" Sunset chuckled a bit before explaining; "Actually, I haven't watched it yet. But, Rainbow recommended it to me and asked me to use that line when we got here." She shook her head while adding; "It's like she knew how you kids would react!" We all giggled a little more while I decided in my head to give that athlete louder than usual cheers at the next school sports game. With the funny business taken care of, Apple Bloom led us to the door. No fear or guilt could stop us from knocking on the door in perfect unison. We waited for about three seconds before it was opened from the inside by the DJ herself. The silent hero of the Battle of the Bands and self-styled Bringer of Wubs: DJ-P0N3! Well, to be clear, I only knew of the DJ's dubstep work from her reputation. I hadn't even listened to her songs before my friends and I had arrived at her doorstep! I saw that she was bobbing her head to the beat of the powerful music that was blasting from her headphones to her ears. Her large sunglasses with the heavily tinted lenses made it difficult to tell if she was happy to see us or not. That was, until a smirk crept up her face when she looked at us. She then turned to face Sunset, who offered her a fist bump, which she quickly accepted. Before we could say anything, she motioned to us to follow her into the house. Sunset took this chance to clarify to the DJ with a slightly apologetic grin; "Sorry, but I got somewhere to be right about now, so Big Mac's gonna drive me from here." All she got as a response for P0N3 was a quick shrug and the devil horns before she walked inside. Before we followed her, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and I gave Sunset a group hug before she could blink. I looked up at her with one of my more affectionate grins and told her; "We'll do our best, Phoenix Friend!" "Yeah, we'll totally be good to P0N3 and Octavia!", exclaimed an exuberant Scootaloo. Apple Bloom added with determination and love; "We won't let the school or our folks down again, sugarcube!" We broke out of the hug, which gave Sunset the chance to get down on her right knee and ruffle our hair, which made us giggle a little. She then began to speak with goodwill in her eyes; "Take note, CMCs..." Her smile turned into a serious frown that had a hint of sadness to it as she gave us some helpful advice; "The students you wronged may want to give you a chance, but not everyone may forgive you." I felt my guilt resurface, like a terribly heavy weight being placed in my head. I knew that weight well and I wanted it gone so badly! Like my friends, I looked off to the side. Ah, but Sunset would not let us wallow in our guilt again. With added softness in her sweet voice, she told us something that cut through the guilt with ease; "That's the thing about forgiveness: it's a choice. But..." We looked back up at her, her beautiful smile easing my guilt as she went on; "If you keep trying to be good people, no matter how hard things get, you'll find that those who matter, whether they forgive you or not, will see the goodness in your hearts." She took our hands into hers with the gentleness of a mother and gave us a simple yet meaningful request while looking at each of us in the eye; "Always remember to think with your heads and your hearts. Okay?" Those words reminded me of our mistake, but in a way that moved my heart and chased away my guilt. With happy tears raining from my eyes, I told her alongside my friends; "Okay!" One more group hug for good luck, a wave goodbye from the girl who we owed so much to, and off we went inside the house, with Scootaloo closing the door behind us. I decided to repeat Sunset's advice in my head to make sure I wouldn't forget it; "Think with my head and my heart..." The house's living room was decent in appearance. A bit plain, really, a fact that Rarity would call 'an utter travesty' in the most dramatic way possible. The plainness didn't bother me, though. The room was clean and organized, which was fine with me. It also had a cool black flat-screen plasma TV. Seeing it got me to wonder if the DJ had any streaming services available, but I shook that thought out of my head to stay focused. Movies would have to come later. I also see a few more standout items in the room. Firstly, there was a record player standing to the left of the TV with a large speaker from the old days set up above it. Secondly, there was an electric guitar sitting on a black stand to the right of the TV. Finally, there was a tall set of brown shelves to the left of the sofa that were filled with stacks of music CD cases and vinyl record sleeves, none of them being empty. Apple Bloom was the first to make a comment; "Well Ah'll be a monkey's auntie, ya'll! Our silent pal comes from a music family!", she exclaimed out of goodwill and excitement. Scootaloo's reaction was slightly more subdued; "An awesome family...", she declared in soft awe as she slowly walked over to the guitar to inspect it, her eyes sparkling at the sight of it. I made sure to take a look at the guitar as well. It had a white and blue body with a wooden neck that had a dark brown color, while the head's wood bore a much lighter shade of tan. Its steel guitar strings stood out prominently in front of the body, neck, and head. All in all, this was a guitar tailor-made for rocking out! Then again, Scootaloo would probably say that Rainbow Dash's guitar was cooler later. As I gazed at the instrument, I couldn't help but think about something; "I know this isn't P0N3's guitar. Maybe it's her dad's? Her mom's maybe?" Deciding that it was better to ask the DJ about it later I looked around for Apple Bloom, only to find her marveling at the record player; "Granny Smith would love this 'ere beauty!", she gushed with a grin. The Apple turned to face us and explained a little bit of her family's history; "She once owned a record player just like this one, ya' see. Her Pa' bought it for her when she was around my age. But..." She chuckled as the memories came rushing back to her. By this point, Scoots and I had her undivided attention as she finished; "When Winona was a puppy, she accidentally made the dern thin' fall onto the livin' room floor durin' playtime. It was still tryin' to play music, even after it broke!" Without warning, she started singing a tune older than the average CHS student; "Oh, give me a home where the buffalo-!" She then belted out her own impression of the sound of a vinyl being scratched before repeating; "Where the buffalo-!" She did the scratch sound again, sang the same part again, rinse and repeat. Before she could do it a fourth time, Scootaloo snorted and did her best take on Rainbow Dash's famously loud laughter. I couldn't help but laugh over the AB's comedy act too. The actual scratching of a record echoed from beyond the living room, stopping our laughter dead in its tracks. We looked for the source of the sound, which came from an open doorway opposite the front door that led into a hall in the house. The scratching echoed once more and twice soon after in a quicker pace than before. Curious, we walked through the doorway, with Apple Bloom leading us. Down the hall was a set of doors, three of them to be exact. Two of them were on the left side while one of them was at the far end of the hall. It was clear that the sound came from the door at the end, which was closed to a small crack. The other doors were closed tight. At that moment, more sounds came from beyond the cracked door. But, they were different and much softer in tone. We slowly walked over to the door, the new sounds seemingly increasing in volume in a similar pace. When we stopped to stand in front of it, we could hear them clearly: the electronic sounds that, to inexperienced ears, would seem like jumbled industrial noise. But, to our ears, they were so much more than noise. Regardless, I had to be sure of what I was hearing, and so did my friends. Slowly and with care, we walked through the door, which led to a fleet of stairs that we quietly went down step-by-step. The sounds grew louder and louder as we traveled, as if they were calling out to us. I started to hear another sound mixed in with the electronics, something akin to a really subtle rumble that became noticeable as we got closer to the end of the stairs. Once we reached the end, we came face to face with another door that was completely closed. My fears told me to go back the way I came, but the call of the sounds was too strong to resist. I closed my eyes along with my friends and listened to the turning the knob as the door was pushed open by Apple Bloom. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! That rumble was no longer subtle. It was, in fact, the big bombastic booming of the bass that was rhythmically erupting from two gigantic speakers that stood at both sides of a fully decked out turntable! Just the blast of the bass alone was enough to make our eyes shoot wide open in utter shock! It wasn't loud enough to cause anyone heart trouble, but oh my stars, was it loud! The scratching sound came from DJ-P0N3, who was turning two vinyl records on her turntable to the beat that was playing around us. The numerous electronic sounds that also came from the speakers varied greatly in type and volume. But, somehow, they all came together with the bass and scratching to form music that was harmonious and, to pull a word from Scootaloo's vocabulary, awesome! I had heard from other students about how wonderful P0N3's wubs were, but to actually hear them was something else! I felt my right foot tap the floor to the beat without any conscious input from me. As if on cue and instinct, I started bobbing my head while a smile formed on my face. My thoughts became much quieter within moments as I gave myself permission to dance. I saw Apple Bloom square dancing to the music, while Scootaloo jumped right into break-dancing. As for me, I just did whatever dance moves felt right at the time, not at all going for any known style. I didn't know if I was hearing an existing song or the DJ was having a rip-roaring jam session. But, to be honest, I was too busy having the time of my life to care about such things. Right then and there, a memory played out in my head. It was one of the memories that the Canterlot Movie Club cherished the most: the night when we sang our song out loud along with the other Wondercolts and the Sonic Rainbooms. We've got the music in our hearts! We're about to blow this thing apart! And together, we will never be afraid of the dark! My mind went almost completely silent as I willingly, happily surrendered myself to the music that filled the room. The world around me faded away, save for my two best friends, the music that was moving us, and the DJ that kept it all going. The only thing in my head was the Rainbooms singing that beautiful song they had played for us all that night, with the three of us and the other students providing backup vocals; Here to sing our song out loud! Catch you dancing with the crowd! As the magic of our friendship survives! The song in my head was not at all in tune with the song in the room, but I didn't care! I was having fun! We were all having fun! Before I knew it, I was holding hands with Scoots and AB, bouncing together in a circle to the glorious beat that was taking us away to magical places we could only dream of while we giggled in pure delight; Survives! The music grew in intensity along with our shared bliss; SURVIIIIIIIVES! Right when it seemed like the music was about to explode in a thunderous chorus, it suddenly dropped into a beat that was far more chill in volume and rhythm than it was before. We stopped dancing about out of confusion for a few seconds before the new sounds took us away once more. This time, it was carrying us in a way that was gentle and calming compared to the wondrous exhilaration from earlier. To me, it felt like I was floating in the ocean, the waves taking me farther and farther from my worries, rendering them meaningless in the face of the musical bliss that I was basking in. I closed my eyes to fully embrace this feeling, my body rocking side-to-side in pace with the beat, my hands still clinging gently to that of my friends. The newly produced beat continued on for, I'd say, ten-to-fifteen seconds before it faded into silence. Sweet, comforting silence... And then the bass was dropped! Absolute electronic power erupted throughout the room once again. This time, though, we were ready for it. I welcomed that wild and proud power into very being as I danced like I never danced before, my eyes still shut tight. It was a good thing my friends and I knew to release each other from our grips before we really went wild! There was no rhyme or reason behind my movements. No thought or planning involved. I just danced to the rhythm of the beat while my instincts pushed me to simply exist in this moment. This incredibly fun moment! Sadly, like all good things, the moment had to end. With three more electronic blasts for the road, the music stopped with a bang followed by a gentle fade of the volume. It took me a few seconds of deep breathing to get a grip on myself and my surroundings. The breathing became panting within moments as the exhaustion I had built up from the dancing quickly kicked in. What I had also noticed was the sweat that had built up from under the front of my shirt. I looked around and saw that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were panting and sweating too. Just like me, though, they were firing beams of happiness from their faces. We aimed those beams at DJ-P0N3, who showed us the devil horns with a satisfied smirk. I was about ready to show her my very first devil horns when yet another musical sound echoed throughout the room. It could not be more different than the wubs from a moment ago. Instead of an explosion of music, this sound consisted of three somewhat high notes played on a string instrument, with the third being elongated for dramatic effected. I recognized those notes easily and quickly imagined how excited Scootaloo must have been feeling at that moment! Like my friends, I turned around to face the person behind the string music as she played three more lower notes in the same fashion as before. Performing in front of us with her trusty cello and bow while keeping her eyes closed was a young lady with grey skin. She bore black hair and a fancy outfit that Rarity would love. It consisted of black shoes, long white socks, a pink skirt of decent length with a large black cleft drawn on each side, a belt to hold the skirt in place, and a fancy purple vest with a white undershirt that had slightly puffy shoulders. It even came equipped with a distinct pink bow-tie with a white strap around her neck. The lady's posture and demeanor were silently expressed with dignity and politeness. This was CHS's very own String Queen: Octavia Melody. Octavia opened her eyes after finishing her short performance and gave us a glare that was warm and friendly. I was just about to clap for her when Scootaloo spoke in soft awe, her eyes wide to match; "That was the start of the theme song for-." Apple Bloom finished with a similar tone of voice and wide eyes; "Zack Snyder's Wonder Woman..." Octavia, with a gentle titter and a grin, explained to us; "I do apologize for not greeting you when you arrived. I was in the bathroom, you see. Once I finished my business there, it didn't take me long to hear what you were doing with DJ-P0N3." She looked over at her with a loving glare before returning her focus back on us. With a polite cough, she went on; "Feeling inspired, I grabbed my cello and bow before entering this room. Naturally, I could hardly resist having a little fun of my own." The three of us were really happy to hear even a part of a song from a cool movie be played in person, let alone by someone we liked! After we gave both Octavia and P0N3 our thanks for the musical goodness, Apple Bloom told the string player out of well-meaning curiosity; "Ah didn't expect ya' to play a movie song, Miss Octavia! Ah take it ya' seen Wonder Woman before?" She nodded while she moved her cello to the wall opposite the door and carefully leaned the instrument on it. As she returned to us while carrying her bow, she answered; "Yes indeed, Apple Bloom, and I found the film to be quite enjoyable overall." Her face lit up with gently restrained enthusiasm as she went on, her positive words keeping our attention locked on her; "The titular character's theme song is a powerful piece with a brilliant string performance that I'm certain can't be heard in any other song!" She sighed out of pure admiration before declaring with a smile; "Tina Guo is a treasure..." And the Scootaloo jumped head-first into the conversation with absolute gusto and well-meaning fandom; "Yeah, Tina is awesome with the cello! When those fearsome notes start playing, that means it's bad guy butt kicking time!" Her excitement got Apple Bloom and me to giggle, while I myself recalled the bravery and coolness that was Wonder Woman herself with a grin. Octavia's voice brought me back down to Earth when she declared; "Come along now, everyone. I'm sure you all could use some refreshment after your little dance party." I looked at her just in time to catch her giving us a jovial wink as she placed her bow next to her cello and walked out of the room. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and I followed her, with DJ-P0N3 bringing up the rear. It wasn't long before I found myself sitting at the kitchen table, with Scootaloo to my left and Apple Bloom to my right. Octavia was busy looking in the cupboards above the counter while DJ-P0N3 sat directly in front of me, her head bobbing to the music playing in her headphones without a care in the world. I wondered if she was imagining herself dancing in one of those... oh, what did Rainbow Dash call them.... raves? I felt pretty calm after the fun we had had earlier, albeit a little tired. I checked on Scoots, who was drumming on the table with her fingers with an happy smile on her face. As for Apple Bloom, she was humming one of her family's many songs to herself while waiting quietly. Sensing what was coming, I mentally counted the seconds it would take for her to start complaining about waiting a long time. I had gotten to three seconds when Octavia started passing short color cups to each of us. Apple Bloom got the red one, I got the lavender one, and Scootaloo got the orange one. DJ-P0N3's was blue, while Octavia's, which she held in her hand as she walked over to a set of steel cylinder containers on the counter, was pink like her bow-tie and skirt. I kept my eyes on her as she did this, so I was quick to notice her opening one of the containers as she asked us; "Have you kids ever had tea before?" Just hearing that word reminded me of Rarity. With a smile and happy memories flooding my brain, I told her; "I've had tea with my sister many times." Apple Bloom politely gave her own answer; "Scoots and Ah have seen Sweetie drink tea, but we've never tried the stuff before." Feeling excited, I gazed at each of my friends and suggested; "You should try some, it's so tasty and relaxing!" Scootaloo, contrary to the two of us, was silently frowning, clearly thinking hard about her answer. DJ-P0N3, in spite of the conversation playing out around her, was still bobbing her head to her music with a smirk. Scoots gave us her answer after thinking for a good few seconds; "This tea doesn't sound like something I would drink. But, my mom, dad, and aunts always told me to be polite to a good host." Apple Bloom, with an affirmative nod, added to her point; "That's right, sugarcube. Miss P0N3 and Miss Octavia invited us to this 'ere get together. The least we can do is try some of their drinks." She looked over at Octavia, who was giving us a friendly glare from the counter, and told her sweetly; "We would be happy to have some tea, ma'am." Warm appreciation was added to the cello player's glare as she responded with classy sweetness in her voice; "How delightfully charming of you three! The tea shall be ready for you shortly." She looked over at the DJ and gave her a look of romantic love that made me want to gush. She told her with a softer voice; "I have not forgotten about your tea, beloved." Somehow, in spite of her music blasting from headphones, DJ-P0N3 clearly heard her words, as evidenced by her turning her head to face Octavia and giving her a thumbs up as well as a smile before returning to her head bopping. Those two were so cute together! We waited a good while for Octavia to make the tea. I watched her closely as she worked. Turns out, the container she had opened contained packets of tea leaves, but I could not tell what flavors they were from my seat. She had pulled a tea kettle out from one of the cupboards and filled it full of water. After that, she took it to the stove that was to the left of the counter, placed the kettle on one of the burners, and turned it on. It took about five-to-ten minutes for the kettle to start steaming from its spout. Once that happened, Octavia took it off of the burner and turned the stove off. With swiftness and care, she poured the hot water into each of our cups without making even the tiniest spill. After placing the kettle on the counter, she grabbed five tea packets and took to them to the kitchen table. She then opened each one, revealing the tea bags in each packet, and placed them in our cups. While letting the tea steep for a bit, she asked us; "How many teaspoons of sugar do you girls want?" DJ-P0N3 flashed her a peace sign to silently tell her that she wanted two teaspoons. Apple Bloom exclaimed excitedly; "Three for me, thank ya'!" Scootaloo, after thinking for a moment, said calmly while giving her tea a narrow glare; "Three awesome teaspoons, please and thank you." "Four for me!", I told the cello player with a smile. I always had four teaspoons of sugar with my tea, as Rarity would tell you. With a quick nod, Octavia walked over to the counter again, pulled open a drawer that was under it, and reached in to grab a silver teaspoon with her right hand. After that, she grabbed a different cylinder container with her left hand and brought them both to the table. After placing them down opened the container up, reclaimed the spoon, and started serving the correct amounts of sugar to each of us, while making sure to stir our tea as she did this. Once our drinks were fully prepared, she did the same work for her own cup, put the containers away, placed the spoon in the kitchen sink, and sat down next to P0N3. With everyone seated, she told us with a dignified grin; "Decaffeinated Green Tea. It's good for your heart." She took her cup with her right hand, raised it up at us in a toasting gesture, and took a sip. Seeing this encouraged us to take a sip along with the DJ. Honestly, I had never had Green Tea before! Sure, Rarity had it in stock back home. But, we had never gotten around to drinking it together. Once I had tasted it, I had become dead set on letting her and our host know how much I enjoyed it! With a giggle, I told Octavia after lowering my cup; "It tastes so yummy!" It didn't take long for Scootaloo to give her opinion on the drink; "This is an awesome drink!", she exclaimed with joy. Apple Bloom chimed in with a hearty laugh taken right from her big sister; "Ya' know how to make a tasty beverage, Miss Octavia!" She then tried to take a second larger gulp of the stuff, as if it were fizzy apple cider. I knew better than to let her treat steaming hot tea like fizzy apple cider! With worry in my voice and heart, I tried to warn her with a raised voice; "Careful, AB! It's still hot!" Unfortunately, the tea had already made her tongue pay for her carelessness with its unforgiving heat. I was relieved that she managed to place her cup on the table without spilling anything as she loudly yelped in pain while sticking her burning tongue out to cool it down. The poor girl was panting while looking quite hurt and embarrassed at the same time. While I made a mad dash for the nearest empty cup to fill it with water, P0N3 was quick to help me. As we worked, I couldn't help but hear Scootaloo try really hard to hold back her snickering for Apple Bloom's sake. My two friends had learned the same lesson I had learned when Rarity introduced me to the hot drink: never underestimate tea. It was after the third or fourth sip that the relaxing effects of Green Tea had kicked in for us. I felt my body slowly sink into the chair, the tension in my muscles unwinding just a little bit in places where I didn't even know I was tense. Without thinking about it, I had let out a content sigh, with AB and Scoots following suit. Apple Bloom, with a chill grin and a relaxed voice, declared to Octavia and P0N3, who looked about as relaxed as we were; "Sugarcubes, we needed this, Ah tells ya'." Octavia, after letting out a polite titter that Rarity would appreciate, responded with a nod and a grin of her own; "I had guessed as much. Besides, we will need to be relaxed to tackle our little talk, given the..." She sighed while letting a frown replace her grin; "Topic of discussion." I had a good idea as to what she wanted to talk about, and I think my friends did to. We learned forward while placing our arms on the table, with Apple Bloom calmly speaking on our behalf; "Alright then, Miss Octavia. Let's talk." I didn't even need to look at her or Scootaloo to know that their grins were replaced with frowns. I know mine was. We waited patiently for our music-playing friend to speak, with DJ-P0N3 looking right at her as well. With an exasperated sigh, she began with calm class; "I do not blame you three for keeping your distance from the other students for so long. No doubt, you were afraid of accidentally hurting someone again." "You are right about that.", the three of us told her in perfect unison. She was slightly taken aback, probably by the way we responded, before re-centering herself enough to speak further; "Which makes dearest P0N3 and I quite glad that you found the courage to accept our invitation." She gave us a small smirk and a wink while noting with a jokey tone; "Took you little ones long enough." I knew she was only teasing us, but I felt bad for making her and her girlfriend wait so long. So, I made sure to address that issue; "We're so sorry for taking so long.", I told her with sadness in my voice. She waved it off and responded sweetly; "It is as I said, Sweetie Belle, I do not blame you three. Besides, I did not put an expiration date on that invite." My sadness was driven back by calm happiness that I expressed with a renewed smile. Octavia went on without skipping a beat; "As for your... past foolishness and the dreadful consequences there of, P0N3 and I have thought about such things for quite some time. The main issue that we have yet to fully address, more to the point, is a question that is as simple as it is heavy..." She took a deep breath before declaring the question to us; "Shall we forgive you or shall we not?" That terrible guilt deep inside my heart rose to the surface, threatening to ruin my composure as well as the conversation. What didn't help me was the mean voice in my head that decided to tell me terrible things that nearly made me cry; They'll never forgive you or your friends! Why should they forgive you? You hurt them so terribly! You hurt the whole school for that matter! You don't deser-! Before the voice could finish that last insult, Octavia unknowingly interrupted it, the sadness in her words keeping me fixed on the present moment; "I will not disrespect you, my beloved, or myself with lies: your past actions had hurt us both on an emotional level and now, P0N3 and I shudder to think about what the consequences of said actions will be for us and our relationship." We lowered our heads to face the kitchen table while feeling a ton of shame. I could barely hold myself back from whimpering out of pure regret. The guilt inside was growing in strength. But, before it could try to crush my heart, the cello player spoke again, this time with more sophistication than sadness in her voice; "However..." We looked back up to see that she was giving us a most dignified expression when she continued; "Recent events have pressed upon me the importance of not wallowing in pain or sorrow. The importance of moving forward." She gently grabbed her cup of tea and, with an extended pinky, took a graceful sip before returning the cup to its place on the table in utter silence. After taking another breath, she said with surety all over her entire demeanor; "Consider this how I wish to move forward." She glared at each of us. The mere feeling of her gaze was enough to make us gulp in fear. But, what came next had banished that fear. She declared to us with a combination of calmness, surety, and class; "I do not know if I can forgive you, Canterlot Movie Club. But, I will give you a fair chance." She allowed a smile to form on her face as she added while we tried valiantly to hold back our growing joy; "I am quite sure that DJ-P0N3 will give you a chance as well." We looked over at the DJ, who bumped her chest with her right fist while smirking to silently agree with that wonderful notion. We could not hold back any longer. With Apple Bloom leading the charge, we rushed over to the pair of musicians and gave them big movie club hugs. As we did this, we exclaimed to them with happy tears streaming down our faces; "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" Octavia laughed jovially while accepting each and every hug she had gotten. P0N3 embraced us back in silence. Once the hugs were finished, we returned to our seats and looked at our two new friends with beaming smiles and eyes filled with sparkling glee. It was at that moment, after she had recovered from being pounced, that Octavia suggested while raising her cup; "I propose a toast." We raised our cups alongside DJ-P0N3 before she declared with a hopeful smile; "To the undiscovered country." That got her looks of confusion from my two pals and me. Recognizing this, the cellist clarified without losing a hint of her classiness; "The future." That was good enough for us! With raised glasses, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Octavia, and myself all said at the same time; "To the undiscovered country." We then did the toasting motions, with the DJ following along in silence. Whilst we continued to enjoy our tea, Apple Bloom noted to our new friends with a determined glare; "Make no mistake, sugarcubes, we're gonna make amends with the both of ya'." Scootaloo, feeling really excited at the prospect, declared with an enthusiastic bounce on her seat; "Yeah! We're gonna make things right with everyone we wronged! You'll see!" DJ-P0N3, with a big grin, raised her right hand up to Scootaloo to offer her a high-five, which she accepted with gusto. I nodded at Octavia to further emphasize our shared drive. She held her chin with her right index finger and thumb in a thinking manner while looking at each of us. She then responded with a short nod; "A noble endeavor... If you need assistance with achieving such a positive end, you are encouraged to call upon us." My eyes went wide with surprise as she turned her head to face P0N3. She then asked her with a loving grin; "Would that be fine with you, my dear?" The DJ looked back at her and gave her a thumbs up with a smirk for good measure. Apple Bloom exclaimed with wide eyes of her own; "Now hold on a second 'ere!" The two lovebirds returned their shared gaze on AB, who went on with a slightly calmer tone of voice; "We've only just connected with each other and ya'll want to help us with our crusade already? Ah ain't complainin' none, but where did that idea come from?" Octavia tittered politely once more before answering with a warm smile that could melt ice-cold hearts; "Did we not give you aid once before?" Immediately, I had guessed in my head that trouble was brewing for Scootaloo, who I looked at in a hurry. Thankfully, I was wrong, for she was giving Octavia and P0N3 a look of gratitude and sweetness that could make someone's teeth hurt. Her wide teeth-baring smile made her appreciation even more clear. But, to seal the deal, she declared to the pair with heartfelt goodwill; "Thank you both so much!" The cellist nodded, her smile refusing to vanish. I saw that Apple Bloom's smile was beaming almost as brightly as Scoots' and, frankly, so was mine. This was a good day for us all. For the Canterlot Movie Club in particular, this was a good start, however small it was, in our long quest for redemption.