After the five were done explaining what happened, Octavia was left speechless.
“So, all those rumors...were true, huh?” She asked quietly.
“Yes, and we need your help.” Dr. Whooves said.
“What do you need my help for? What can I do?” She asked.
“Well,” Derpy started, “Bonbon here said that you’re really good with music, so we were wondering if you would like to come with us.”
“Sure, if it’s to help them, I would do anything. They saved our lives twice.” Octavia said. She looked around. “Can you believe that most ponies here in Canterlot, and other cities isolated from Ponyville are totally oblivious about the fact that they were almost taken over twice?”
“Oh, and I didn’t tell you guys something else about Octavia.” Bonbon said. “She has another special talent.”
“Is that so?” Dr. Whooves asked. “Well, what might that be?”
“Well,” Octavia started to explain, “using my cello, I can tell where things are. For example, if we were in a pitch black room, and I couldn’t see a thing, I can play my cello, and using my hearing, I can tell where you all are.”
“Very impressive.” He said.
“Oh, and I might have to bring along one more pony along for the trip.” Octavia said.
“The more, the merrier!” Derpy said happily.
“But I think that’s about it.” Spike said. “It’s getting to be a lot.”
“Well,” Lyra said, “that’s true. And if you notice, after Octavia gets her friend, we will have six ponies, just like Twilight and her friends. And all with special talents.”
“Well, my friend may have a special talent, but I’m not entirely sure. While I do admit, my friend taught me to use my cello to determine the things around me, but I don’t know much after that. I haven’t seen her since high school. But, I can say that she is very special...In her own way, at least.” Octavia said.
“Well then, let’s go get her.” Dr. Whooves said.
“Yes.” Derpy agreed.
“And I know just where to find her.” Octavia noted.
“You know, that transportation device of yours is really cool, Lyra.” Octavia said after being transported to Coltifornia.
“Thanks, I built it myself...although I have never used it until today.” Lyra laughed. Then her stomach growled. “Oh, Celestia, I’m so hungry.”
“I’ve got food!” Bonbon called out.
“Since when?” Derpy asked.
“Right before we left from Canterlot. Didn’t you see me go into that restaurant?”
“Nooo...”
“Well, I did, and I got enough food for all of us.”
“Oh, wonderful.” Dr. Whooves said.
“Yay!” Derpy cried. “Did they...”
“Yes Derpy, they had muffins.” Bonbon smiled.
“Awesome.” Bonbon handed Derpy some muffins. “Mmm...so good. And blueberry too! Thanks Bonbon.”
“Yeah, thanks a lot Bonbon.” Lyra agreed. “We’re not even on the trip and you’re already thinking ahead.”
“Thank you everypony.” Bonbon blushed.
“Okay guys, it should be near here...help me look for a building called KColt Records.” Octavia asked.
“Is it that one up there?” Spike asked. He pointed at a tall building that looked like it was 20 stories tall.
“Yeah! That’s the one. Let’s go.”
They walked inside the building. There was a single pony at the reception desk. Octavia trotted up to her. “Oh, hey Starlight.”
“Hey Octavia. What can I do for you?” She asked.
“Vinyl Scratch?”
“Yes, let me check…Okay, she’s here. Seventh floor.”
“Thank you Starlight.”
“Sure thing Octavia. Have a nice day.”
‘You too. And nice seeing you.”
The six started to walk off, when Spike went up to Octavia. “Wait a minute. Vinyl Scratch? You mean, like, ‘Dj Pon-3’ Vinyl Scratch?”
“Yes, her.” Octavia said, smiling.
“She is amazing!” He noted.
“Yes, yes. She is quite the pony. Like I said, I’ve known her since high school.” She entered the elevator and clicked floor seven. “And everypony, I must warn you about Vinyl. She can be…eccentric at times, and she has a weird sense of humor, but you’ll get used to it.”
The elevator binged as it stopped at the seventh floor. The door opened and they walked out. Octavia made a left and they stopped at a door that read ‘Vinyl Scratch aka Dj Pon-3’ She knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” Somepony called out.
“Guess who.” Octavia replied.
“Let me guess…Somepony I haven’t seen since high school?”
“Maybe.”
The door flew open to reveal a white coated unicorn, with glasses on, and a light and navy blue colored mane. She also had a music not cutie mark. “Octavia!! Hey! What are you doing here!? It’s been such a long time. Since high school I recall.” She went up to Octavia and hugged her. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” Octavia smiled.
Then Vinyl started rubbing Octavia’s mane. “And don’t think I forgot about that noogie I owed you in our senior year!”
“Ah! My mane!” She cried out.
“Hahaha!” Vinyl laughed. “Sorry, here, let me fix it back.” She rubbed her hoof in her mane and fixed it back. “See, all better.” She looked at everyone else. “Who are your friends?”
“That’s what we came here to talk about. Can we come inside?” Octavia asked.
“Sure. Come on in, all of you.”
They all walked into Vinyl’s room. It was loaded with records and had a huge stereo in the back. There was a bunch of Dj equipment everywhere.
“So, what’s up?” Vinyl asked. “Wait, introduce yourselves first. I wanna know who I’m talking to.”
“Well, I’m Derpy!” Derpy said. “Nice to meet you!”
“I’m Dr. Whooves.”
“My name is Lyra.”
“And I’m Bonbon.”
“My name is Spike!”
Vinyl looked at them. “Alright then.” She turned to her friend. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
They all told Vinyl about what happened. They told her about the rumors, and how Twilight Sparkle and her friends mysteriously disappeared. They also noted that they were going to set out to find them and that they needed her help.
Vinyl took a sip from her drink. “Alright, I’ll help you guys out. Glad to help.” She turned to Octavia. “You still remember that thing I taught you with your cello, right?”
“Yes, I still remember. I practice it from time to time.” She responded.
“Cool.” Vinyl took another sip. “By the way, you were all telling me how we all have special talents, like Twilight and her friends, right? I also have a special talent.” She became grim all of a sudden. “But…I wouldn’t call it a talent…more of a mental condition…wait, not mental…maybe, I don’t know.”
“Well, what might it be?” Dr. Whooves asked her.
“Octavia, do you know why I never took off my glasses in high school?” She asked.
“Um…” She thought for a second. “You said that they made you look cool.”
Vinyl smiled. “Haha, yes, they did make me look cool. But the real reason was this…” She took off her glasses to reveal one red colored eye and one blue colored eye.
“Oh, well, that’s pretty cool if you ask me!” Derpy called out.
“But how is that a talent?” Spike asked curiously. “Oh, no offence implied.”
“None taken Spike.” She turned to Dr. Whooves. “Can you please turn on my stereo over there and turn it to track 19?”
“Sure.” He went over to the huge stereo, turned it on, and clicked the pad to say ‘track 19’. All of a sudden, loud electro music started blaring from the speakers. Startled, he lowered the music a bit. He turned back over to Vinyl to see that her left eye color turned from blue to a light red, almost matching her other eye color. “Your eye changed color!” He noted.
“Yep, now turn it to track…um…oh track 57.”
He imputed the number 57 on the keyboard, and classical music started playing.
Octavia was shocked to what she was hearing. “Is that…”
“Yes, it’s your solo from that winter performance back in high school. I had it saved. I recorded it that night.” She explained.
“I…didn’t think you would like this kind of music…you always blast that electronic music of yours, let alone it being my solo.”
“Hey, I enjoy a little change in my likings.” She said.
Octavia just noticed her eye color. “Hey, your eye is now purple!”
“Yes,” Vinyl smiled, “this is what I can do with my left eye.” She started to explain. “When listening to music, the color reflects what kind of music I listen to. It also reflects mood, pain, and feelings.”
“Well, that’s a pretty cool talent.” Lyra acknowledged.
“I agree.” Bonbon said.
“Oh, that’s not my talent.” She said. “That’s my medical condition, or whatever it is. My talent is on my right eye.”
“Then…what is your talent?” Octavia asked her.
“Well, I won’t show you because it’s a little dangerous in this case, but I’ll tell you. With my right eye, I can control ponies’ minds and movements.”
“Amazing!” Dr. Whooves exclaimed. “Is that connected with your unicorn powers?”
“Surprisingly, no, it’s not.” She explained. “It’s just something about my eye and mind.” She turned to Octavia. “Do you remember that fight in high school?”
“Wait…wait a minute,” She looked freaked out by something, “Oh, that was you controlling that colt?! No wonder…”
“What happened?” Derpy asked.
“I…don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay, now that we all understand each other, will you help us Vinyl Scratch?”
“Yep, I’ll help.” Vinyl snickered. “Anyway, Pinkie Pie owes me five bits.”
“Oh, Vinyl, same as always.” Octavia rolled her eyes.
“Okay, just give me a second.” She went over to her phone and dialed a number. “Hello…Hello? Oh, you’re there…No, listen Chain…Chain Algorithm!...No! No, I need you to do something!...Yes, it’s important! See, here, I’m handing the phone to my friend Octavia.”
Octavia received the phone and put it up to her ear. “Um, hi.”
“Octavia, is that you?” Chain asked.
“Yeah, I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Yep…anyway, is what Vinyl saying true? Is it really important?”
“Yes, it is. Six ponies in Ponyville mysteriously disappeared a week ago, so we banded six ponies and a dragon to go and find them.”
“Oh, alright. Coming from you, it must be important. You know how Vinyl can be.”
“Haha, yes, I do.”
“Well, I’ll see you later.” Chain said.
“Yes, you too. Bye.” She handed the phone back to Vinyl.
“See! I told you…Oh, shut up!...I tell the truth sometimes!...Oh, whatever…just…No! Just come by and run the studio...Yes, yes, I promise to work on a track with you…Come on, just do it!...Well, I don’t know how industrial music and electro music go together…Thank you, bye!” She hung up the phone and looked back at her friends. “Okay, all set.”
“Alright then,” Dr. Whooves said, “we should be going back to Ponyville.”
“Yep, there are a couple of things I have to grab before we go.” Derpy agreed.
The seven walked out of the building, and started walking towards Lyra’s teleportation system.
“Ah, I’m so glad I was able to bring my radio!” Vinyl Scratch exclaimed. “It was able to fit in my saddlebag.”
“I have to go get a couple of things from Canterlot, can we go there first Lyra?” Octavia asked.
“Sure, we’re close by anyway.”
“Then, after that, back to Ponyville.” Spike said.
Once they made it to her device, they all entered, and Lyra imputed the codes for Canterlot. She entered after she was finished, and they transported soon enough.
“That was cool!” Vinyl said happily
“I know right!?” Derpy agreed.
“Okay, stay here, I’ll be right back.” Octavia told them.
She left for about ten minutes. She returned with her saddlebags and her cello strapped to her back.
Vinyl started snickering. “Haha, wow, very convenient ‘Tavi, but you look ridiculous with that on your back!”
“Oh, quiet!” Octavia snapped.
“Will that even fit in here?” She asked.
Lyra looked over. “I believe so.”
“See!” Octavia said. “Besides, it’s kind of small.”
“Small-ish, more like it.”
“Hey, it’ll still fit.”
“Oh, how I have missed you so much.” Vinyl smiled.
“Maybe…Yeah, I’ve missed you too.”
The door opened.
“Wait, what?” Octavia asked. “We’re already in Ponyville?”
“Um, yeah, while you and Vinyl were arguing, Lyra already had imputed the codes.” Bonbon told her.
“Oh.”
Once they got out, they all became speechless.
“Oh…dear Celestia…” Dr. Whooves choked out.
“What’s…what’s going on?” Derpy asked quietly.
“What happened to Ponyville?!” Spike yelled out.