//------------------------------// // Old Strings on an Old Guitar // Story: Broken Record // by Scourgeous //------------------------------// Tight under the hood of her parka, Octavia stood close to Rarity, the white unicorn constantly fussing with her own hair and making the odd statement about ponies who walked by. There was obvious excitement in her voice as she looked around under her parasol, which was just thick enough to keep the light drizzle off her dry coat. Canterlot was enough to get her hopes high, but the prospect of a new fashion line with Tavi's hair sent her wheeling. "You'll adore Fluttershy," She went on, fluttering her long lashes. "She's positively sweet, darling." Octavia nodded, her eyes on the train tracks, not quite listening to the blabber. She wasn't interested in this talk of Rarity's friends and job right now, any other time and she would of delved into the gossip like a seapony to water, but this simply wasn't the time or place to be chattering. She had to find Vinyl if it was the last thing she did. Oh Vinyl, I hope you forgive me. The train appeared in the misty gloom, slowly getting brighter as the lights of the station reflected on its shiny paint, and it's headlights beaming the path ahead. The rain glinted around them, then the train came to a slowing halt and the horn called, a static voice coming from a speaker phone somewhere telling the ponies to board. The doors shuttered open, and Tavi let Rarity step on first, then hopped on after her. The cabin of the train was well lit and nicely furnished. It was mildly warm, enough to comfort Octavia but not such a contrast to the outside that it would make her sweat into her already damp fur. She pulled her parka off and folded it neatly, ducking away from Rarity closing her parasol, then slid into a seat beside the Ponyville unicorn. "Tell me, Octavia, would you mind me meddling with your hair a little?" She said, leaning her chin on her hooves dreamily as she stared at her. Octavia swallowed nervously. "Not at all. Do whatever you want, as long as I get to go to Sugarcube Corner." "Like sweets do you?" She said, blinking endearingly. Tavi suddenly started to feel very uncomfortable under her admiring blue gaze and she turned away to stare out of the window, eyes on the world whirling past at speed. She felt very nervous about leaving Canterlot. The last time she had ever left her home was when she told her mother that she must leave to find her own destiny. Suddenly her body when very rigid, and she stared out the window with eyes as round as moons. She thought to a time long before now, when she was just a young filly with a blank flank. She'd watched her mother play the fiddle, who had said that by doing so would make the apples sing, and apples who had sung would taste nicer. She'd tried to play the fiddle, but the small instrument wasn't something she had accustomed to very well. She had grown flustered as her mother seemed to look sadder and sadder at the prospect that her daughter was not following in her footsteps. When she was old enough to leave the farm, Octavia had written a note telling her mother that she had to leave and find her true destiny with music, and that the country life was not the life for her. On Vinyl's first day staying she had made Octavia skitter and drop the framed picture of her mother and herself. With that one movement, Octavia had found the hope to stop brooding over her lost family relationships. It also seemed that that movement had caused Octavia to forget her destiny seeking altogether. When Vinyl had told her that her destiny didn't lie in Canterlot, all Tavi had done was overreact as if nopony should do something like that. She looked down at her hooves, a few hot salty tears streaming down the sides of her face. "Octavia darling, are you alright?" Rarity said, smiling sweetly and tipping her head to one side. Tavi looked up slowly, eyes watering. "No... I threw away my best friendship for somepony doing what I did long ago, but I only just realized that now..." We both wanted to find our destinies... and we drifted apart. Nurse Redheart waved a hoof in front of Vinyl's face as she blinked her eyes open sleepily. The nurse mare smiled and blinked, setting her hoof down as the unicorn regained consciousness. The room was bright white, and there was a curtain on one side of her bed, but it was drawn over. There was a faint pain in Vinyl's head, and she tried to sit up, but the nurse pushed her back down. "Please, you need to stay still." She said gently, eyes soft. Vinyl groaned and rubbed her sore head with a hoof. She could feel bandages all over one side of her head on the right ride up to her horn. She sighed bitterly and wriggled a bit, staring with dismay at her hospital gown. She watched as the nurse left, then looked around. There was a little trolley at her bedside with a tray on it. She could smell the fragrant food, but it looked more like slop to her. Leaning over with a wince as her back twinged, she pulled the trolley closer and picked up a glass of water and threw her head back, taking it like a shot. With a refreshed sigh, she leaned back and stared at the ceiling, enjoying the brief moment of silence as she pondered what had happened. Obviously taking a wide step backwards on a narrow stage wasn't the best idea. Her back felt bruised but nothing severe, but her head was throbbing now that she had awoken. "SURPRISE!" Confetti jetted into the air along with streamers and other colorful bits, and Pinkie Pie leaped up from the base of the bed, blowing a toy horn as loud as she could. Vinyl let out a scream of fright and skid back, ignoring the splitting pain in her head from the movement. "Pinkie! You scared me!" She screeched, breathing heavily. Pinkie Pie giggled and cupped her hooves to her mouth. "Oopsie woopsie! It was a surprise silly, not a scare!" "I almost jumped out of my fur." She hissed, then smiled gently as the friendly pony skipped around to her side, a few loose bits of confetti in her wild pink hair. "They only let in one visitor at a time, and only for a itty bitty bit." She pouted, sitting down with a thump. Vinyl blinked, leaning against the bed head and crossing her fore-legs. "Who else wants to see me?" "Some pony who got off the train and ditched my friend Rarity," She said angrily, making a face. "She really wanted to see you but I came in here first!" Tavi? No... "Well, I don't know any ponies from anywhere else." She said stubbornly. "Just my friends in Ponyville now." Pinkie looked suspicious for moment, then she grinned and nodded. There was a trotting sound outside the door, and it swung open, letting in the ghostly white light from the hall. A stallion walked in with a white surgical cape around his neck, spectacles sliding down his nose. "Your time is up, Miss Pie." He said, wiggling his muzzle to get his glasses back up by his eyes. She sighed, then glanced at Vinyl. She muttered a goodbye, then gathered her usual cheer and hopped out after the doctor, going on to him about how Vinyl should be let out of the hospital and how he should come and buy some of her cupcakes from SugarCube Corner. As the excitable mare made her way down the stairs and out into the foyer, a brownish gray mare ran into her way, her eyes wide with worry and hope. Pinkie leaned back and looked her over, making a small noise in her throat at the damp, teary eyed Earth Pony. She was pinned up in a dress covered in Rarity's ribbon, lace, and jewels, and she'd had lots of makeup on her face, and her hair was decorated with jewels and feathers. "Vinyl doesn't know any ponies from Canterlot!" She snapped, bobbing her tail. "So give those things back to my friend Rarity! You hurt her feelings by leaving!" The mare stared back at her, eyes full of burning tears. "But I had to leave! I came here to see Vinyl! She does know me!" She watched Pinkie strut past and back to her group of friends, which consisted of Twilight and Applejack. "She loved me..."