//------------------------------//
// Paradigm Shift 
// Story: Hey Diddle Diddle, A Visit From Fiddle 
// by Metool Bard 
//------------------------------//

	Octavia awoke to the familiar sound of dubstep being played at full blast emanating from the living room.  She groaned and growled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she shambled out of bed and into the kitchen.  Vinyl Scratch was waiting for her, looking as energetic as ever.

"Good morning, Tavi!" she yelled, straining her voice over the stereo blaring in the living room.

"Mmph.  'Morning," Octavia grumbled. "Vinyl, it's Saturday.  Can you please keep it down?"

"Huh?!" said Vinyl. "I didn't quite catch that, Tavi!"

Octavia sighed and marched right into the living room.  She lowered the volume on the stereo and turned back to Vinyl. "I was asking you to keep it down."

"Sorry!  Still can't hear you!" Vinyl hollered.

Octavia was not in the mood for Vinyl's shenanigans. "Don't do this to me, Vinyl Scratch," she snarled, making a beeline to the eccentric DJ. "I was up all night waiting for you, and I think I deserve to sleep in."

"Hey, I didn't ask you to bust me," Vinyl said without thinking.  When she noticed Octavia's mood sour, she tried to backpedal. "Uh, wait.  That came out wrong..."

"Just for that, it's your turn to get dinner on the table tonight," said Octavia sternly. "And you're using your own money this time."

"C'mon, Octy!  Why do you gotta be such a narc?" Vinyl complained. "Can't you let me off the hook just this once?"

"Don't even try it, Vinyl," said Octavia, walking into the kitchen and taking out some crescent rolls. "You know I cut you a lot of slack.  Heck, some would argue that I cut you too much slack."

"Yeah, I know," said Vinyl with a grin. "That's what I love about you, Tavi.  You let me be me."

Octavia gave Vinyl a sideways glance and a dry smirk. "You can't sweet talk your way out of this one, Vinyl.  You're in charge of dinner tonight, and that's final."

"Celestia damn it," Vinyl muttered. "Ah well, worth a try."

Octavia simply rolled her eyes as she made her way to the kitchen counter.  When she got there, she became even more exasperated. "Ugh, Vinyl~."

"What did I do now?" asked Vinyl.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Octavia said, pointing to an empty coffee pot. "If you insist on waking up at the crack of dawn, the least you can do is brew a fresh pot of coffee."

"Oh, yeah.  I knew I forgot something," said Vinyl sheepishly. "Want me to make it now?"

"No, no.  It's fine," said Octavia. "Knowing you, you'd just try to grind the beans with wubs or something."

Vinyl couldn't help but snicker. "You know, the thought hadn't actually crossed my mind until this second.  Maybe I'll try that tomorrow."

Octavia slapped her face with her hoof. "I was kidding, Vinyl."

"Really?  'Cause it sounds like a good idea to me," said Vinyl with a laugh. "That's another thing I love about you, Tavi.  You're so fun to tease."

"I am painfully aware of that," Octavia sighed as she prepared the coffee. "Now why don't you make yourself useful and see if the mail has come in yet?"

"Slave driver," huffed Vinyl, sticking her tongue out at Octavia as she made her way out the door.

Octavia sighed again and shook her head. "Why can't she ever act her age?" she mumbled to herself as she continued to make her breakfast.  A few seconds later, the door slammed and Vinyl trotted back into the kitchen.

"Let's see here," Vinyl mused, sifting through the letters. "Bill, solicitor, fan mail, restraining order..."

"Who'd you piss off this time?" Octavia inquired.

"Don't know, don't care," said Vinyl indifferently, tossing the letter away.  She then got to the last letter, and her eyes glistened with interest. "Ooh.  This one's for you, Octy."

Octavia looked over at Vinyl. "For me?" she asked. "Who's it from?"

"No clue.  There's no return address," said Vinyl, looking over the rustic yellow envelope. "It just has a picture of your Cutie Mark on it."

Octavia tilted her head. "My Cutie Mark?  Are you sure?"

"Only one way to find out," said Vinyl slyly, eyeing Octavia's flank. "And hey, who knows where it'll go from there."

Octavia gave Vinyl a bemused look. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't have the patience to put up with your tomfoolery right now.  Now, just give me the letter."

"Why?" said Vinyl.

"Um, because it's mine?"

"So?"

"So you should give it to me and let me read it."

Vinyl's lips curled into a foolish grin. "Why do you want it so badly, Octy?  Afraid that I'm gonna read it?"

"What are you implying?" said Octavia, placing her hooves on her hips.

"Who, me?  Nothing," said Vinyl coyly. "I mean, what do I care what you write to your little pen pal?"

Octavia leered at Vinyl. "Alright, now I know you're messing with me.  Give me that letter this instant."

"Only if you tell me who your little pen pal is," Vinyl retorted.

Octavia snorted. "Vinyl, stop screwing around," she demanded, marching briskly towards the white unicorn.

"Aw.  I thought you liked screwing around," said Vinyl seductively, using her magic to play keep-away with the letter. "C'mon, Tavi.  You can tell me.  Is it somepony I know?"

"Vinyl, I don't know who it is!" Octavia shouted, struggling against Vinyl and pawing for the letter. "I wasn't even expecting any mail today!"

"Oh ho ho!  The plot thickens then," said Vinyl sinisterly, keeping the letter out of Octavia's reach. "Now I really want to read it."

"Don't you dare, Vinyl Scratch!" Octavia warned. "I swear to Celestia, if you open that letter..."

"I'll have to be in charge of dinner for a week.  Yeah, yeah," said Vinyl dismissively, pushing Octavia away and opening the letter with her magic. "Hey, maybe you've got a secret admirer."

"Stop it right now!"

"Or maybe you've got a special gig lined up that you didn't know about."

"This isn't funny, Vinyl!"

"Or maybe..."

Vinyl trailed off as she read the letter.  Her cockiness was slowly replaced with confusion. "You've got a twin sister?"

Octavia rolled her eyes. "Vinyl, I know it doesn't say that," she growled. "Now give it here."

"I'm not lying here, Tavi," said Vinyl, still staring at the letter. "That's really what it says."

"Oh, stop being silly!" Octavia snapped, snatching the letter from Vinyl's hooves. "I don't have a sister, let alone a twin.  You know that."

"But Tavi..."

"Don't even start, Vinyl," Octavia grumbled, cutting across her roommate. "Now, let's see here..."

As her eyes scanned the page, her expression changed from grumpiness to surprise.  She tried to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat.

"Sounds like you owe me an apology," said Vinyl complacently. "So, what does it say?"

Octavia looked over at Vinyl. "D-didn't you read it?"

"I only got to the part where it said you had a twin sister," said Vinyl with a shrug. "You took it away from me before I could read any more."

Octavia sighed. "Alright, I might as well," she said. "It doesn't surprise me that you have no respect for other ponies' privacy, anyway."  She cleared her throat and began to read the letter aloud.


Dear Octavia:

You cannot imagine how hard it is for me to contain myself while writing this.  You may not remember me, but that's because when we last saw each other, you didn't even have your Cutie Mark.  So, I think it's only proper to reintroduce myself.

My name is Fiddlesticks, and I'm a traveling musician.  Now, you might not believe it, but you and I are twin sisters.  I know, hard to believe, right?  But, it's the truth.  And I aim to prove it.

See, after a certain performance, I got to thinking about you, and began to wonder how you were holding up.  I heard on the grape vine that you live in Canterlot now (pretty fancy there, Sis), so I'm gonna drop in and set a spell.  I'll be leaving Appleloosa this Saturday on the 7:25 train, so I should come in at around eight in the morning (hope that isn't too early for you).  I'd give you a picture, but trust me, you'll recognize me when you see me.

Looking forward to seeing you, Sis.  It should be fun.

Hugs and kisses,

Fiddlesticks


When Octavia finished reading the letter, Vinyl smirked.

"Well well.  Life's full of surprises, huh Octy?" she said, nudging Octavia with her elbow. "So, what do you think your sister's gonna be like?"

"H-how am I supposed to know?" said Octavia. "Th-this has to be some sort of prank.  I never had a sister growing up."

"Hey, you never know," said Vinyl with a shrug. "You can't just doubt everything, Octy."

"Even if it's something this outlandish?" said Octavia, pointing to the letter. "Vinyl, some things need to be treated with a certain amount of skepticism."

"Oh, you're just being a pessimist," said Vinyl. "Think of it as a good thing!  Sure, it might be a bit sappy, but you like that kind of stuff, don't you?"

"This isn't a matter of me liking sappy stuff," said Octavia, getting annoyed. "This is a matter of somepony playing some sort of joke on me."

"Well, if you think it's a prank, why don't you go to the train station and prove it?" said Vinyl. "I mean, look at the time.  She should be here by now."

Octavia looked up at the clock.  Indeed, it was half past eight.  Even so, her expression remained deadpan.

"Do you take me for a fool, Vinyl?" she asked. "I'm not going to rise to the bait like that.  That's just stupid."

There was suddenly a knock at the door.

"I bet you twenty bits that's her," said Vinyl.

"Oh please," said Octavia, rolling her eyes and shaking her head as she made her way to the door. "That only happens on those late night sitcoms."

When she opened the door, her jaw dropped.  Standing right in front of her was a mare that looked almost exactly like her carrying what appeared to be heavy saddlebags.  She wore a rustic green shirt with a red cord for a sash, an orange bandana, and a white stetson.  Her coat was bright yellow, and her mane was a deep blue.  She had a large grin plastered on her face, and her sky-blue eyes glistened with delight.

"Howdy, Sis!" she proclaimed, spreading out her forelegs.

Octavia simply stared back at the newcomer in stunned silence.  She didn't even blink.

"Hang on, I think my mixer has a laugh track," said Vinyl, making her way to her studio. "Oh, and by the way, you owe me twenty bits."