//------------------------------// // Searching Through the Past to Find the Present // Story: I'll be One Beat Away // by wizard32363 //------------------------------// “Dammit, Vinyl, can’t you at least have the decency to clean up your atrocious wrecks?” Octavia was muttering under her breath again. If they were going to share a room together, Vinyl would have to learn to stay organized with her stuff, not just throw things all over her room. Octavia always had to pick up Vinyl’s messes, and she was getting tired of it. All of the nights she spent trying to take care of a drunken Vinyl were beating the essence out of Tavi. She couldn’t keep this up for much longer. Vinyl hadn’t come home after the party, and Tavi was fine with that. Octavia did say that she wasn’t going to help Vinyl after her nights in the club, and she meant it. After the third day, Octavia began to worry. Usually, Vinyl came home, trying to atone for everything she had done. Most of the time, Tavi condoned with Vinyl. It was completely understandable that you would be pushed to drink at parties like Vinyl’s. She had just become addicted. Tavi refused to swallow the stones that Vinyl so constantly pushed on her. Picking up a pair of socks, Octavia jumped. Why would Vinyl wear socks? Tavi looked them up and down. They were as electric as Vinyl’s mane, soft as the bow strings for her cello. Sniffing them, Octavia found them to be surprisingly clean. This was completely unnatural It took only a second. It took a complete second to slip them on, the warmth engulfing her back hooves. “Wow...who knew that these...things, were so comfortable!” The socks filled her mind with thoughts of Vinyl. Memories flooded her, a thought from her first days with Vinyl moving to the front of her mind. “Sup, name’s Vinyl Scratch. I’m sure you’ve heard of me?” Her hoof was outstretched, pulled back for a hoof bump. Octavia lifted her hoof, grabbing Vinyl’s and shaking it as if it was a flower. “No, actually. I can’t recall ever hearing the label before.” Vinyl stared down at her hoof, shocked. “Never? Are you sure? I’m a big deal throughout Equestria!” Tavi just stared at her. “I’m pretty sure I would recognize a mess of a pony as yourself. As for me, I shall not associate with the likes of you.” Vinyl stepped into Tavi’s path, blocking her from the not-so-cleverly planned escape. “Yo, yo, yo...you can’t just skip out! I’ll prove to you I’m somepony worth knowing! Just give me a chance, will ya?” Her voice did sound friendly to Tavi, but Vinyl’s music was just way too...futuristic. Octavia preferred to soothe herself with the breeze of an orchestra, an ocean consuming her body as each bow flew like the heavens across the strings; she had no time to mess around with techno music as the type she had heard of this “Vinyl Scratch.” “I’ll tell you what, Vinyl: Learn to play me two minutes of a famous concerto, then maybe I’ll listen to you. On the piano it should not be hard, but I assume you will procrastinate as you look like you would, so I don’t expect to see your face near mine ever again.” She turned away, walking off as Vinyl stamped her hoof down, walking the opposite direction. It wasn’t that Octavia was a stubborn, stuck-up pony; that would be over exaggerating. Octavia only dressed as if she were. Her formal bow tie on her neck and her mane perfectly styled, she gave off a professional impression; she looked as if she were a senior, ready to graduate with the highest of credits. Honestly, Octavia always thought of herself as lesser than the other ponies. She knew that she would never be “popular” like them, but all she really wanted was to get out of college and move on with her life, expected to live out in Canterlot. That, though, turned out to be the exact opposite of what happened that year. The end of first year so close, Octavia was at the top of her classes. She always paid far more attention in her studies, taking extensive notes at each of her seminars. Favored by the whole lot of boys around the school, she walked with the high strut of a proper mare. “Hey, Octavia! I have something to show you!” She recognized that voice, even if just faintly. At the starting of the year, hadn’t she met...oh Celestia, no…it was Vinyl Scratch. This time, though, Octavia had a plan. She just wouldn’t come into contact with Vinyl. If she didn’t see her, she could avoid all interactions, therefore staying clear of any distractions the modernized DJ could attach to Tavi. Turning around, Octavia started slow. Her gentle trots were accompanied by her soft humming, which grew increasingly louder with each step, which was quickly turned into a gallop. She couldn’t bear to gaze upon that mare plagued with the “wubs;” It wasn’t natural to have music like that! She turned a corner, stopping briefly behind it for just one second; Hooves grabbed her shoulders, dragging her back as she struggled. Her muffled screams were drowned out by the hustle of the school, on its way to the peaceful dorms around campus. She had stopped trying to fight long before; She wasn’t going to escape by fighting, so she would wait until her captor let go, in which case she would kick his face, probably knocking him out for a good couple of minutes, giving her ample time to escape. Octavia always had plans in her mind. She was a heavy thinker; She just never found the time to apply her smarts for the greater good of Equestria. She would end up as any normal pony would. When she finally felt the grip on her back loosen, she swerved around, only to face the pony she dreaded the most. With a sigh, she began the conversation. “What do you want, Vinyl?” Tavi’s eyes wandered to the stage, where there rested a large grand piano. If this was about the deal she had made so many months before, Octavia had no choice but to laugh. A mare like Vinyl Scratch would never accomplish what it took so many years for Octavia to master. “Please...Octavia, you don’t know what it would mean for me to be your friend. Let me try! I’ve been practicing for so long, and I think you’ll really like it! I composed it myself...inspired by you! You fill my heart with joy, even if we never talk...and you can’t imagine how it feels.” Without another word, Vinyl soared to the stage, resting on the bench in front of the clavier that had been so delicately brushed off before. She closed her eyes as if in remembrance, bringing her hooves to the parlor grand. What filled the room at that moment all but caused Octavia to explode inside. She loosened up her bow, stepping up to the stage to watch over Vinyl’s shoulders. With each gentle stroke of a hoof, they glided over each key with benign grace. Octavia tracked each key’s placement in the masterpiece created, closing her eyes to allow imagery to escapade inside of her consciousness. What she saw couldn’t even begin to be described. Her eyes opened up to a luscious forest, Vinyl in the middle going away at her tune. The birds were glissading overhead, their tweeting accompanying the beautiful melody of the piano. The clouds in the sky curved and twisted into fine shapes, those of musical notes and instruments of all kinds. The wind wafted through Octavia’s mane; She had never seen a piece of music so delicate since her years with Luna. She couldn’t help herself; Stopping Vinyl mid-song, she cantered up and threw her arms around Vinyl. “You are definitely going to be my roommate next year, Vinyl Scratch!” That was where it all started, and that was when Octavia saw Vinyl for more than what she let loose in the real world. Outside, Vinyl made herself out to be a cool pony who didn’t care about the rules as long as she was popular. Around Octavia, though, she acted different. When she was alone with Octavia, Vinyl wasn’t afraid to let her feelings out. She practiced learning the cello all day during their college years together. When Vinyl had finally asked Octavia to share a house with her, they were both happy as can be. This was, of course, before Vinyl started to play at the clubs. Octavia sighed, forgetting about the comforters that strapped themselves to her hind hooves. Looking out of the window, tears filled her eyes. She missed Vinyl, and wasn’t able to bear a single minute more without her. She rushed over to her desk; This was the desk where she had spent many hours preparing music exquisite, just right for a princess. Taking out a large stack of papers, she began to write. Many hours later, she was prepared, saddlebags strapped on her back and mane brushed to perfection. She rushed outside as quickly as she could with her solid posture. Rushing around Ponyville, she started to hand out flyers about the missing mare; Nopony seemed to know where Vinyl had gone. They all gave the exact same story. “Well, we were all at that party. After you stormed off, everything got really wild, Octavia. Drinks rose high in the club, and Vinyl’s songs got faster. Finally, she just...I don’t know how to say it exactly. She just passed out. There was no sign that it was going to happen. Everypony began dropping, and finally I fell under the spell, falling to the floor just as everypony else did. When I woke up, Vinyl was gone; We all assumed that she went home with you.” Right now the only logical conclusion that Octavia could come up with was that Vinyl ran away, but that made no sense. If she ran away, where in Equestria would she go? Would Octavia really scour Equestria just to find this one mare? That in itself was a stupid question to ask herself. Of course she would: She would go to the ends of time to find Vinyl Scratch, no matter how long it would take. Once the flyers were all evenly distributed around Ponyville, Octavia returned home, the darkness falling upon Ponyville. Even Octavia knew better than to go out after dark. There was always the rumor that Princess Luna went out to prank any ponies still out after dark, and Octavia did not want to go through that pain again. Taking her normal place in the large bed, Octavia truly began to feel life without Vinyl around. For the first few days, she had peace in the house, but now it felt empty. She missed Vinyl’s body next to her at night; she missed hearing the dishwasher on high volume every morning. Everything that Vinyl did added a piece to Tavi’s heart that was no longer there. She couldn’t hold back tears. Crying herself to sleep, all she could think was that all of this was her fault. “Come on, Tavi, don’t be a slowpoke! Last one there has to buy hay sandwiches!” Vinyl was running off ahead of Octavia. It was a cool day on the campus, the Equestria games soon to start in the Canterlot Castle; Vinyl had supposedly never missed the Equestria games, and she definitely wasn’t going to start now. “Vinyl, wait up! I’m going as fast as I can here among all of these ponies!” It was true; Octavia was being bombarded by a wave of students, most of whom she had never met before. Pushing her way through the infestation of plebes, she saw Vinyl’s buzzing mane just up ahead, disappearing behind a wall of undergraduates. Octavia sighed, finding a space in the crowd to run quickly so she could catch up. When she turned the corner, she saw the tip of Vinyl’s shades peeking out of the top of the crowd. She chased them down, catching up quickly and pouncing to land on Vinyl. Laughing, she looked down, only to discover it wasn’t her Vinyl Scratch; Somepony was definitely wearing her glasses, but the pony in possession was not Vinyl. Standing up, Octavia quickly apologized and spun around the entire mob multiple times, trying to find Vinyl. She couldn’t see her, beginning to yell out Vinyl’s name. It was as if she had disappeared, and Octavia frantically rushed around to find the missing mare. Finally realizing all was hopeless, the tears streamed down her face as she collided with the grass. She tipped over to fall onto the dirt… And she sat up in bed, wet from the apparent onslaught of tears she had shed in her dreams. The sun radiated through the window. That was it. She was going to find Vinyl, whether she had to travel to the ends of Equestria or not. Vinyl meant the world to Octavia, and it would be so...unthoughtful if Tavi left Vinyl sitting in the gutter somewhere, probably begging for money wishing she had just listened to Octavia. Dammit, Vinyl...you may have messed up this time, but hell if I’m not going to find you and save you...wherever you may be...