"Alright, I'm ready for my first music session!" announced Ebony tiredly after her first day of lessons. She was sitting on Octavia's perfectly made bed, too scared there was a rodent crawling around in Vinyl's tangled sheets.
"This'll be a piece of cake!" enthused Vinyl, scrolling through her songs on her goPod.
Octavia rolled her eyes, warily eyeing Ebony. "Mess up that bed and I'll rearrange your face," she warned.
Eyes widened, Ebony nodded. Already she shifted her weight so her body barley touched Octavia's bed. Maybe it was better to sit on the floor..
"Alright!" Vinyl finally chose a song. "How about we first listen to 'Aroma'?"
"Are you kidding me?" Octavia scowled. "It's bad enough that I have to put up with that song at 2:00 am, but now you have to drag it into our lessons?"
Vinyl wilted slightly, then jumped up again, renewing her frantic scrolling. Ebony finally gave up on keeping Octavia's bed perfectly made, and lightly hopped off.
"And besides," Octavia continued. "We have to manage the shop today, remember?"
"What shop?" asked Ebony, looking up at Octavia.
Octavia rolled her eyes. "You know, when we met yesterday, the shop we were in?"
"Ooh.." Ebony slowly nodded her head, feeling stupid at her short memory.
"Well, then! Better get a move on!" Vinyl suggested. "Oh, and how about 'Lucid Dreams'?"
Octavia wrinkled her nose. "That doesn't seem like a proper song for Ebony to listen to. It's more advanced,"
"Yeah, you're right," sighed Vinyl, heading out the door as she was continuing her search for songs.
Ebony and Octavia followed closely, until they finally reached the busy streets of Manehatten. All around, there were cart vendors and shops, not to mention the garbage trashing the sidewalks and gum sticking to buildings.
Uncomfortable without shoes once more, Ebony tried to avoid touching the ground as much as possible, which was quickly deemed unsuccessful. Her hoof landed in a puddle of polluted water, and she recoiled at the unpleasant feeling it sent running through her body.
Looking up from her soggy hooves, she saw a familiar pony standing across the street, huddled in a corner with another shady looking pony.
"Hey girls, do you know those two ponies?" Ebony asked, her gaze never leaving the dark alleyway.
Octavia turned to where Ebony was staring.
"Oh, yeah. I know that pony with the red coat. Real shady guy. My cousin Quill knows him really well,"
Ebony turned to face Octavia in surprise. "Quill is your cousin?"
Vinyl decided to pop into the conversation. "Yeah, he's pretty cool. Why, do you know him?"
"Yeah, he's my roommate," Ebony tried her hardest not to blush, but the pink was creeping up onto her face.
"Ah, well that's unlucky for you," Octavia said. "So what about that pony there?" she gestured towards Ebony's dad.
"Oh, well, uh... He looks really suspicious," stammered Ebony. She'd be so embarrassed if they ever found out that he was her dad. What if she'd lose the only friendship she had?
"Well, he comes to Manehatten, twice a week," explained Vinyl.
"He deals around those rare drugs like radiated lily pads and Celestial vines," included Octavia.
Both of the musicians noticed Ebony squirming around uncomfortably.
"What's wrong?" Vinyl asked, tucking away her goPod.
"That's guy's my dad," Ebony explained in a rush, wincing at how bad that sounded.
Vinyl's eyes widened, until it looked like they'd pop. Octavia's usual stoic expression remained the same, only an eyebrow lifted to acknowledge Ebony's words.
Ebony slowly backed away, knowing that Vinyl and Octavia would probably ditch her. To her surprise, a determined look took place on both of their faces.
"Then we shall make sure he gets caught!" declared Vinyl.
"If you don't mind," added in Octavia.
Waved of relief filled Ebony to the brim, making her grin widely. "Of course I don't mind!" she laughed, worrying Octavia that she'd go into hysterics. Thankfully, she didn't.
"I'm just so surprised that this is the real life of my father," Ebony admitted, looking down at her sopped up hooves.
"We're surprised too," sighed Vinyl. "But I know what will make you feel better!"
"What?"
"A music session!"
"Oh," chuckled Ebony, pushing the thoughts about her father and Quill to the back of her mind. Her first mission was to earn her cutie mark.
The ponies made their way over to the shop, which Octavia had to unlock since Vinyl had no idea how to unlock a door.
"Alright, now to start out first music lesson!" announced Vinyl, climbing up on a counter to give her a higher ground. "Four score and twelve years ago, our fouding stallions have created a-"
"Vinyl! Seriously?" Octavia's sharp voice sliced through the speech.
"Aw.." Vinyl wilted, not even bothering to fight back. It was hopeless against Octavia.
"Well, how about we start with something that involves acoustic guitar? I really like those," Ebony suggested.
"Alright, then!" Vinyl regained her powerful voice. "Decades ago, the great mare Whimsical Whisp invented the guitar! It was long, grueling process, but-"
"Vinyl!"
"Aw.. What am I doing wrong?"