//------------------------------// // Prologue- A Year Ago: Junior year // Story: Only in Fairy Tales // by chuck-vic-norris //------------------------------// Prologue - When We Met... “GET BACK HERE!!” The raven-haired teen only ran faster as the voice followed her. She quickly escaped the cafeteria and down the hall in hopes of avoiding the football player. Why can’t I run this quickly in PE?! she thought as she weaved through the crowd of students, running at a speed that would put the track team to shame. “I WILL FUCKING END YOU!” The declaration only spurred the girl to run faster than she was originally capable of. The girl desperately searched for a hiding place to buy her some time. Heading outdoors would be suicide, the jock would capture her in mere seconds with her wings. The restrooms were out of the question since the player was unfortunately a girl as well. A classroom was too predictable and the jock would simply break down the door. Her only chance of escape was to reach the principal’s office on the other side of campus. Fortunately, there were only a few students in her path now that she was away from the cafeteria. In an attempt to confuse the jock, the teen turned in several hallways, nearly running into the lockers when she changed directions. Unfortunately, the last turn she made caused her to roughly tackle down someone. The teen saw stars and she closed her eyes tightly from the dizziness and headache she received from the collision. While she had expected to have landed on the cold hard floor, she did not expect for something warm and soft to be underneath her. A sudden groan caught her attention. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by something red and gold that emitted heat. Realizing she landed on someone, she quickly looked up and was met with surprised cerise eyes looking back at her. She lifted her head off the person’s chest and quickly recognized the short two-toned blue hair. Oh fuck me. Before the raven-haired teen could do anything, she was roughly lifted into the air and pressed painfully against a locker by a powerful arm. The girl could do nothing but quiver in fear when she realized she had been caught. “Thought you could outrun me, huh?” Were it not for the deathly glare the golden-haired jock threw at the teen, the spaghetti clinging to her hair would have been amusing. As she raised her right hand for a punch, the helpless teen looked away whimpering and covered her face with her hands in hopes of protecting herself. “Lightning Dust!” The jock turned her face to the voice coming from her left, annoyance clearly written on her face. “What, Scratch?!” she asked in frustration. When the raven-haired girl did not experience any pain, she slowly removed her hands from her face. She saw that Lightning Dust lowered her fist and was not facing her but another jock, the person she had ran into. The blue-haired jock wore a red and gold letterman jacket like the other jock, except with the varsity letter “M” for Manehattan High School proudly worn on the upper left-hand side of the jacket. Underneath she wore a white tank top with a black backwards quarter note. Resting on the top of her tank top was a charm necklace with piano keys. She walked closer to the two teens until she was right next to the raven-haired girl. Her eyes showed no sign of fear but disappointment to her teammate. “Put her down, Dust,” She said firmly. Dust’s facial expression soured. She fixed her cold gaze at the raven-haired girl. “I’ll put her down when I mess up her face like she messed up my hair.” Lightning stated, contempt clear in her voice. At the last word stated, Vinyl roughly grabbed Lightning’s arm and quickly shoved it off of the other teen. She glared at Lightning and asked “What. Happened.” Lightning aggressively released Vinyl’s grip with a shake of her arm. Returning the glare she stated “This little cunt fucking threw her lunch tray at me.” In attempt to justify herself, she pointed at her newly acquired spaghetti hat. “Get the hell out of my way so I ca-” “You’re not getting near her Dust.” Vinyl said firmly as she stepped in front of Octavia. “This is the sixth time you lost your temper.” She took a step closer the other jock. “If I was captain, your ass would be off the team right now.” Dust scoffed at the remark. “You guys ain’t shit without me,” she sneered, “I’ve made more touchdowns than anyone else on this team. I don’t care what you have to say, now fucking-” “Dust, shut up and step away from them.” All three girls turned to the masculine voice. Walking up to them was the team captain and quarterback Neon Lights. Like Vinyl, he also wore the letterman jacket with the varsity “M”. Underneath he wore a black T-shirt with neon spotlights surrounding the words “DJ MCW1SH,” his stage name of choice for his part time job at a night club. After recognizing her captain, Lightning Dust gave an annoyed sigh and resumed her glaring at Vinyl. Her glare deepened when Vinyl gave her a smirk. Once he was a few feet away, he noticed the smaller teen’s fearful gaze. In an attempt to ease her worries, he asked her, “Are you okay?” Expecting a tone of anger instead of concern, Vinyl looked at Neon in confusion. Noticing that he was looking behind her, she realized that she had momentarily forgotten about the girl that ran into her. Upon noticing the fear etched on her face, she walked right next to her and looked to Neon with a smirk and spoke casually, “She’s fine, probably never been this close to football players before.” When she saw the girl begin to relax, she gave a devious grin and added “She could probably join the team with how she tackled me down.” Celestia have mercy on me. The teen turned pale at the remark. “Knock it off, Vinyl. I know you’re joking but she doesn’t.” Neon said sternly. Vinyl shrugged, “Alright, I’ll take it easy.” She then proceeded to wrap her left arm around the girl’s shoulders. “Besides, I know it was an accident since Dust won’t stop being a bitch about…whatever happened.” She faced the raven-haired girl and gave her an assuring smile. “No need to worry.” The smaller teen froze when she felt the strong yet surprisingly gentle arm rest on her shoulders. When she faced Vinyl she was greeted by her gentle cerise eyes and a warm smile. Her eyes, and that smile… s-she isn’t angry with me? After I ran into her? Those amethyst eyes, wow… Vinyl lost her breath when her eyes met the other girl’s. I’ve never… seen anything… so… How come I've never met her before? The girl returned the smile with a nervous one. Vinyl smiled wider at this. Well that answers that, she’s pretty shy. The raven-haired girl couldn't help but blush at the gesture. And pretty cute too… she seems familiar though... where have I seen her before? “Ugh, why don’t you just fuck her right now while you’re at it.” While the amethyst-eyed teen made a great impersonation of a ripe tomato, the two more respectful football players gave Lightning Dust a deadly gaze that would have turned a cockatrice into stone. She was not fazed. “Alright Dust, we’ve had enough of your bullshit.” Neon stepped directly in front of her with disappointment clear in his eyes. “You can forget about getting the varsity letter. You’re off the team.” To say the three girls were shocked would be an understatement. Vinyl was the first to recover, her face brimming with hope as if the princesses were considering her to do a musical performance at the Gala. For Lightning Dust, she looked at Neon as if the world-famous Wonderbolts had rejected her a position in the group. It quickly turned into rage. “You’re fucking kidding me. I’m the fastest player on the team, you fucking need me!” “We don’t need assholes on the team!” Neon shouted as he quickly closed the distance between himself and Lightning until their foreheads were touching. “I saw when the tray hit you behind the head, it was a fucking accident! The girl just tripped cus some dumbass spilled their drink!” Neon slowly took a step back. His face went from a snarl to a deadpanned cold stare. In a calm tone, he said “We can work on speed on our own.” Lightning was speechless and only stared in surprise. “Turn in your uniform and gear. You’re done, Dust.” Looking behind the seething jock, he smirked. “And I’m pretty sure the coach will agree with my decision.” Dust merely sneered. “Like he’ll believe your a-” “LIGHTNING DUST, MY OFFICE, NOW!!” The arrogance Dust portrayed in her stance quickly vanished upon hearing an older voice. When she turned to face the person, she was met with disappointment and anger etched on her coach’s face. The great three-headed dog Cerberus would obey his every command to avoid the man's deadly glare. Lightning Dust cowered under his gaze despite how he stood twenty feet from her. Though reluctant to do so, she followed her coach similar to a dog walking with its tail between its legs as they headed to his office in the gymnasium outside of the school halls. When the coach and his player exited the hall, the two remaining jocks faced each other with smirks. As they turned to leave, a timid voice reached their ears. “W-wait…” Both football players froze at the sudden voice and quickly recalled the small teen that nearly became victim to Lightning Dust’s wrath. Both of them looked over their shoulders and are greeted by the shy and slightly shaking girl. When the two made eye-contact with her, she quickly looked away. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before bravely making eye-contact again to express her gratitude. “T-thank you, f-for saving me f-from Lightning D-dust, and I’m s-sorry for causing trouble.” Though confused at first, understanding quickly flashed in their eyes. Neon offered her a smile and a nod before heading back to the cafeteria with his friends. Vinyl decided to stay with the girl. “There’s no need to apologize,” she chuckled, “Dust’s been an ass since she’s been on the team. The coach is all about respect, and she acts like a saint whenever he’s around. If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have noticed.” She assured her and raised her eyebrows in concern when she recalled Dust’s attempt to harm her. “I’m just sorry you got involved. You okay?” The girl blushed when she received another gentle smile from the surprisingly friendly jock. She timidly averted her eyes, having expected an outburst similar to Lightning Dust’s. “I-I’m fine. Thank-” To the teen’s embarrassment, her stomach had let out a tremendous growl similar to that of a full-grown manticore. To her further humiliation, she heard the blue-haired player snicker. Great Faust please just smite me where I stand she thought as she tried to copy an armadillo and curl around herself. By the gods this girl is too cute. Vinyl couldn’t help but smile widely at such an adorable act. In an attempt to save the last of the girl’s composure, she called to her. “Come with me real quick.” The amethyst-eyed teen slowly faced the jock. The gentle eyes and warm smile once again were etched on Vinyl’s face. She jerked her head to the end of the hall, as a sign to follow. Hesitantly at first, the girl followed, with no idea as to what their destination was. As they neared the end, Vinyl suddenly stopped and turned to one of the lockers. At that moment, the girl realized it was Vinyl’s. After going through the combination, Vinyl opened the door. What greeted the smaller teen were posters of multiple DJs, several CD cases, and a few school textbooks. Vinyl reached for something behind the books and retrieved a small bag and searched within its contents. The raven-haired girl was confused as to why she was brought to the locker for a bag. At least, until Vinyl brandished out an apple. After finding the rather sneaky fruit, she placed the bag in its previous location behind the books and closed the locker. She then faced the other girl and presented the apple in her right hand. Despite the ravenous hunger gaze she gave, how succulent the simple fruit looked and how much her stomach yearned for a taste, she refused the offer. “No thank you, it’s fine, I couldn’t pos-” Before she could continue, she felt something rather warm grasp her right hand. She broke her gaze from the beautiful fruit and found Vinyl’s left hand gently holding hers. The poor girl blushed furiously at what she believed was a rather intimate gesture. As quickly as Vinyl grabbed the teen’s hand, she placed the apple in her palm and let go. Before the girl could offer her another rejection, Vinyl softly spoke. “I know you haven’t eaten at all since your food basically tackled Lightning’s hair like you tackled me,” The amount of blush on the girl’s face would have made someone wonder if a vein had burst. Vinyl chuckled at the display before she continued “and I’m pretty sure it’s worse since you basically ran all over campus, you don’t look like you’re used to running so much.” She gestured to the apple. “Take it.” Sheepishly, the girl accepted the apple. Hesitantly, she took a bite, her eyes widening at the sweet juicy flavor that assaulted her tongue. Without a second thought she demolished the rest of the helpless fruit. As she swallowed the last of the apple, she closed her eyes with a satisfying smile, glad to have finally eaten something. When she opened them, she noticed the smug look on Vinyl’s face. For the umpteenth time, she blushed furiously and shyly looked away as she gave a timid “Thank you”. Vinyl couldn’t help but chuckle at the yet again adorable display. Before she could tease the girl once more, the school bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Both the teenagers knew it was only a matter of time before the students would flood the halls. As the girl turned to head for her next class, Vinyl called out to her. “Wait!” The shy girl froze and turned to face Vinyl. Today had certainly been a strange day, as it was full of surprises. Not only had the girl been chased around the campus by a hot-blooded jock, but she had been saved by two more. Her assumptions of all football players being jerks were proven wrong after the incident was resolved. Now her assumption of them always being confident was also incorrect due to the suddenly shy football girl standing only a few feet from her. Her surprise doubled at the blue-haired girl’s question. “I uh, never really got your name.” The jock looked towards the side before she asked, “Do you… mind telling me?” Were it not for the recent events, the raven-haired girl would have believed this was a prank. However, the football player had done nothing malicious. Teasing remarks aside, the jock seemed to be genuinely friendly. The last thought had calmed the amethyst-eyed girl as gave a small smile. “Octavia. My name is Octavia.” Where have I heard that name before? Vinyl was pulled from her thoughts as she felt her left arm being pulled by a girl bearing teal hair with a white streak. “Hey Vi, we’ve got Chem, c’mon!” “Wait, Lyra!” Her words were unheard by her friend as she was dragged down the hall to her next class. She looked back at Octavia for one final glimpse before she turned down the hall. Octavia stood rooted in place as she replayed the recent events. In the span of fifteen minutes, she was chased down, nearly beaten, rescued, and had her assumptions of jocks proven wrong. And unbeknownst to her, caught the eye of a certain blue-haired player. It's quite odd how everything turned out alright, almost as if someone was pulling the strings. “Octavia, there you are!” Her thoughts were interrupted by a friendly voice. Facing the direction of the voice, she recognized her friend and greeted her with a smile. “Hello, Symphony.” While the two had known each other since they were children, neither of them were one for physical contact, and while they did stay fit in PE, neither one of them considered themselves strong or athletic in any way. And so, it came to a surprise for Octavia when she was tackled down by her friend. “Thank Celestia you are alright! What happened? Are you hurt? How many fingers am I holding up?” The multiple questions did not help to ease the body ache that embraced Octavia. She did not realize just how drained she was until she felt her friend sitting on top of her. “I was fine until you bludgeoned me,” Octavia groaned. She tried to stand but there was a small problem. “Symphony, please do me a favor.” “Yes?” “Get. Off.” Upon noticing how she was straddling her friend (in a non-intimate way, mind you), Symphony quickly stood and offered a hand to Octavia. “I apologize, I saw you being chased down by Lightning Dust and feared the worst.” She said as Octavia patted down her clothes when she stood. “It’s alright. Were you in my position, I would have likely reacted the same.” Octavia reached for her phone in her pocket to check the time. “We best be going, we only have a few minutes.” Symphony nodded in agreement and the two started their journey across the campus. As they headed to their next class, Symphony regarded Octavia curiously. “If you did not get hurt, then what happened? Lightning Dust is not one to show mercy.” “You are right in that regard. She had caught up to me at some point, but I will explain more after school.” Octavia said as they weaved through the halls filled with the rest of the students to approached their classroom. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The school bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Students raced down the halls, eager to escape the dull lectures within the classroom walls. While Vinyl exited her class, she couldn’t help but recall her interaction with Octavia. It bothered her to no end why the raven-haired girl seemed so familiar. While they had never met before, Vinyl could have sworn that she had seen the girl at least once, even if they were just passing. Her train of thought broke when a familiar teal-haired girl approached her in surprise. “Hey Vi, what’s up?” Vinyl nearly jumped at her friend’s sudden appearance. Upon noticing her, she smiled. “Hey Lyra, you ready for practice?” At the mention of practice, Lyra’s shoulders slumped. “I’d rather study than go to practice, you know that.” Vinyl chuckled at her friend’s miserable look. “C’mon, let’s go.” She said as she walked towards the locker rooms next to the gym. “Fine, as long as we don’t run into Lightning Cunt.” She sighed while following her blue-haired friend. I have a feeling we won’t see her any time soon Vinyl thought with a smirk. She shuddered as she recalled the coach’s fury during lunch. She was more than happy that she was not on the receiving end of his glare. Noticing Vinyl’s discomfort, Lyra asked in concern “You okay there? You’re shaking a little.” Vinyl gave a chuckle “I’m fine, just be thankful you never saw the coach angry. He could make Nightmare Moon quiver in fear.” Lyra looked at her as if she became the next princess. “What the hell happened?” Vinyl laughed at her face expression. When she faced forward, they had just entered the locker rooms. With a smile, she replied, “Let’s just say, Lightning Cunt won’t be a problem in our games.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Meanwhile Octavia and Symphony had just walked out of their class, sighing in relief to finally be released from the horror that is Math. "It seems today was more merciful, there's no homework for once," Symphony said in exhaustion, "I have a headache from all those numbers." Octavia fared no better. Her head was experiencing a dull roar and her body ached from both the physical and mental exhaustion. Not to mention the lack of a proper meal to get her through the class. "Be thankful you did not experience what I did." Octavia groaned. "Speaking of which, what exactly happened?" Symphony asked. Octavia took a deep breath before explaining the events of lunch as they exited the building and headed towards the Orchestra class ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Trust me, you would have paid to see the look on her face when she saw the coach." Vinyl chuckled as she strapped the chest gear on. When she faced Lyra, she restrained herself from laughing out loud at the expression that seemed to be glued on her face. After several moments, Lyra gasped when she realized she wasn't breathing. She took a moment to compose herself before she spoke with hope. "Please tell me what I think this means." "I'm hoping the same thing too, Heartstrings," Vinyl replied while she putting on her cleats. "Her ass has gotta be off the team if he yelled at her like that." After tying them tightly, she grabbed her helmet. "I just feel bad that the girl went through all that." "I do too but," Lyra paused as she strapped her chest gear on and hesitantly continued. "if she wasn't there, Dust wouldn't have gotten what she deserved." She turned to Vinyl with a pained face. "You and I both know Dust has gotten away with too much." Lyra placed a hand on Vinyl's shoulder. "At least you were there prevent anything else from happening." Vinyl did not move for a few moments and slowly nodded in agreement. Lyra patted her shoulder before gesturing towards the door. "C'mon, I don't know about you but I don't plan on being late if the coach is still pissed with Dust." Vinyl froze for a split second before rocketing towards the door, shouting over her shoulder. "Hurry up, lazyass!" Lyra was taken back by her friend's sudden departure. She shook her slowly while chuckling before exiting as well. She was surprised to find Vinyl smirking while waiting just a few feet from her. Together they walked towards the field for the upcoming practice. As they walked, Vinyl contemplated in asking Lyra a question, unsure if Lyra would be of help. Deciding to take the chance, she spoke up. "Hey, Lyra?" "Yeah?" Might as well go for it. "Does the name 'Octavia' ring a bell?" Lyra froze in her tracks. Vinyl stopped as well, wondering why her friend stopped suddenly. Lyra looked at Vinyl with wide eyes. "Vinyl... was Octavia the girl you saved from Lightning?" Vinyl's eyes mirrored her friend's. "Yeah, you know her?" Lyra's facial expression did not change. A few seconds, a smile began to surface, and moments later it turned into a wide grin. "You have no idea how lucky you are." Vinyl raised an eyebrow at her words. "What makes you say that?" Lyra gave a chuckle. "Octavia is the lead cellist in the Orchestra." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ When Octavia finished her tale, Symphony was speechless. Her assumptions of the jocks were spot on with Lightning Dust, but the friendliness of the other two was, for lack of a better word, unexpected. After finally finding her voice, Symphony stated the obvious. "You are one lucky bitch." Despite the curse, Octavia couldn't help but laugh at the statement. "While I am not a 'bitch', I agree that I am lucky." she said while giggling. After a few seconds the giggling stopped but the smile remained present. "It would seem I was wrong about Vinyl." I wonder... could we... Although Symphony cannot read minds, she was able to read her friend's face. She stopped in front of Octavia and spoke in a warning tone. "Bad idea, Octavia. Just because Vinyl helped you does not mean she is willing to be around you." "And what is that suppose to mean?!" she replied angrily. "She is more willing to spend time her time with the athletes of the school instead of the 'music nerds' as some of them call us!" Symphony replied in kind. Octavia blinked before responded in a slightly pleading tone. "But what if she is different? Need I remind you that she saved me and gave me the apple to barely get me through the class?" She walked past her friend and continued heading towards the orchestra class. "Need I remind you that she is one of the popular teens in the school?" Symphony countered as she sped up to her friend. Octavia slowed down to a stop right before the classroom door. She stood still, making nary a sound as she contemplated Symphony's words. While she hoped it was all a lie, the words rang true. She gave a sigh in defeat. "You are right, I don't know what I was thinking." She lowered her head and closed her eyes, letting reality step in. Symphony watched in guilt as she watched her friend sulk in front of the door. She had not meant to sound harsh but she knew she had to blunt. Taking the final steps to the class, she placed a hand on Octavia's shoulder. "I know it's hard to accept. Celestia knows I wish it was not real. But the truth of the matter is that we are not them, and they will not accept us." Symphony let go of her shoulder and entered the class. Octavia did not move from her position. Symphony's final words clawed at her heart but she reluctantly accepted them. Vinyl will never be interested in a girl like me. She followed Symphony inside, reaching for the cello near the back of the class. Inside the room were the rest of her band mates in the orchestra. The teacher requested they stayed after school to practice for a show later in the year. All of the students were ecstatic to take part in the event. Except one. The students began tuning their instruments and played with vigor, their excitement clearly heard in the instruments. As Octavia played the cello, her notes could be heard without any emotion in them at all. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Well, now I know why she's shy. She probably spends more time with music than around others." Vinyl smirked as they reached the football field. She couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows together at Lyra's previous statement. "Wait, you said I was lucky. How?" "'Cus you had a chance to meet her. When it comes to stringed instruments, she has a gift. I wanted to see if she could give me a few pointers on the lyre." Lyra said in excitement. "Why not just go up to her and ask?" Vinyl raised an eyebrow. "You forget she's shy and is absolutely terrified by us? Well, maybe not with you anymore." Lyra responded. "Anyways, we better hurry up, the coach looks like he's gonna blow a gasket." Lyra ran to the center of the field with the rest of the team, leaving Vinyl to her thoughts. So not only is Octavia cute but she likes music too. Vinyl smiled at the thought. She ran to join the team, with more energy coursing through her in each step. If Lyra's right... maybe I could see her in one of her shows.