//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven: Lemme show you the song of my people // Story: Inner Demons // by Spider8ite //------------------------------// I couldn’t sleep. By the time I finally managed to close my eyes for a moment, morning had already broken and the first rays of sunlight had begun to slip through the curtains. Tired though I was, at least I was warm, with my DJ’s body against me. I could no longer hear Neon’s snores… perhaps he was awake already. I didn’t pay too much attention to that, and closed my eyes again — sleeping in wouldn’t hurt anyone… But then my eyes flew open. “I have orchestra today!” But is it a good idea to let my parents stay here? I thought for a moment. Vinyl will be here with them. They must keep it cool. It isn’t like they don’t know how to do anything. Okay, so they don’t know what what this is, or what that is, but they’re not stupid — they should be able to figure stuff out without asking Vinyl. She would say that they’re weirdos or something. I sat on the couch. My back ached and a pair of hands reached around me, pulling me down. “Ugh… Tavi…” Vinyl murmured with a slurred voice, “Stay here… It’s warm.” I shook my head and stroked her messy blue hair, hearing little moans of enjoyment. “I have to go to Orchestra today, Vinyl.” “But your parents…” “What? They aren’t little kids — they can take care of themselves!” I exclaimed. “Yeah, yeah, so you say. But ya know Tavi… they’re weird. It’s like they’re from another world or something,” Vinyl laughed as she rubbed her face against the pillow, she really was a ‘lazybutt’ like Lyra liked to call her sometimes. “Tsk tsk, don’t watch too many movies, Vinyl,” I giggled. “You will get along with them. And if you think that my father doesn’t like you then why you don’t try to make friends with him?” “Nah… I don’t know. I’ll see if I can do that.” Vinyl rubbed her eyes and yawned. “… After I finish sleeping.” I stroked her hair one last time and rolled my eyes. “Dear Faust, Vinyl, you’re lazy.” “And proud of it!” she murmured, rolling over to bury her face in the cushions. I smiled and stood up with a yawn too. It would be hard to play today without falling asleep. I stopped, seeing Neon walking down the stairs with a smile on his face, and this time wearing clothes. “So Sassa isn’t mad at you any more?” “Yep, she’s forgiven me — same as always. I do something wrong, she gets mad at me, and then we get back together again. It’s like a cycle — a force of nature — it’s a beautiful thing really. This time we beat our personal best though! Just a single day! Not even 24 hours actually!” He laughed. “And thanks for letting me stay here.” “Yes, well, this is the last time.” “Why?” “You snore like hell, Neon. And now I need to go to work almost asleep on my feet!” I put my hands on my hips and scowled at him. “What can I do? It’s not like I do it deliberately.” Neon made a sad face. “Then go see Doctor Whooves or someone like that. And then I can let you stay here again. Really, I don’t know how Sassaflash can sleep!” I exclaimed wondering how she could get up the next day and go to teach the gym class at Canterlot High. “She has her tricks. Usually I get her so tired she falls asleep right away, if you know what I mean.” He raised his eyebrows and smirked. “There’s this one thing that she really likes where I take my--” “Too much information, Neon, too much information! Now go. She must be waiting for you.” I grinned ironically at him. Neon shrugged. “Seeya soon, cellohead.” With that he walked to the door and left. I sighed and I remembered what I had to do. I went up to my room where my mother and my father were still sleeping peacefully, thanks to their sound-blocking spell. My mom held Wub Wub close to her, something that the little dog would love. I didn’t really know the best way to wake them up, so I simply shook my father. And after many tries, he finally woke up with a jump. “Stop right now, Fenrir, you bas…!” Dante looked at me. “...tard?” He coughed and smiled. “Good morning, my dear daughter, what brings you up here?” “I have work to do. And you two will stay here, alone. Do you think you can manage to cope on your own?” “Of course, I’m not completely incompetent you know! Many of the things around your home are the same as we have in Tartarus — chairs, tables, doors — I’m sure we’ll manage!” He smiled and rose, adjusting his red robe. “Dad, are you sure you can keep the secret?” “Everything will be just fine!” he promised. I opened my mouth to say something else, but my father interrupted me. “Fine, fine and fine. Everything will be fine! And you don’t have to worry about anything while you’re out. It's not like we’re going to be sitting around playing trumpet while Vinyl is trying to do her DJ things.” He laughed while looking at himself in the mirror. I sighed and giggled at my father’s weird example. “If you’re sure, then I’m going.” I approached and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Bye, dad.” He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Err… Bye.” He smiled at me and I smiled back. I went downstairs and got ready, and then left the house. This was sure going to feel like a long day after such a sleepless night. Lucky for me I had “coffee power” on my side. I was right — thanks to coffee, I had somehow managed not to fall asleep and crush half the orchestra’s string section by dropping my cello on them. Opening the door I sighed, glad to be back home, and saw my mother reading a book and my father sitting on the couch, looking deep in thought. I raised an eyebrow. “Welcome back, Octavia!” my mother exclaimed without taking her eyes from the book. “This book is so good!” “This is…” I took the book from her to see what she was reading. “… a dictionary, mother.” I gave her it back. “It doesn’t have story…” I facepalmed and laughed. “Oh… that must be why your girlfriend asked me why I was reading it.” “What’s happening with dad?” I left my cello leaning against the wall and sat on the couch. “Bad things are happening, I can feel it!” “Do you have Pinkie Sense too?” I smiled, remembering the day at the Equestria Games when Pinkie said she was feeling that a team would lose by seven goals. She’d been exactly right. Since then Rainbow and Applejack have always asked her for game results. I keep asking myself if that girl might have some kind of magic in her body… “I don’t know what is that, but if it tells you what will happen, then yes.” “Don’t worry, we’re here to relax and visit our daughter, remember?” my mother asked, leaving her book on the coffee table and stroking his hair. “But I don’t like this feeling!” “What feeling, old man?” we heard Vinyl’s voice asking. Her hair was wet, probably straight from the shower. I bit my lip. “He just doesn’t know how to relax darling, that’s all,” Eisheth said. “Oh yeah? So…” she sat next to me and smirked, “I’ll play you the song of my people tonight! I know you two are old, but that doesn’t matter. And Buttavia is going too!” Vinyl caught me suddenly and gave me a kiss. “What do you mean by that?” “Me and Neon have got a gig at Cloud Kicker’s party. You lot are coming — you need to have some fun and relax with some beats!” Vinyl put her shades and did a little dance. “But…” “Nah, you’re going. And you can’t do anything to stop me!” Vinyl stood and smiled proudly. “We’re going at ten o'clock. Also the chef here made something special for you, Tavi.” I raised my eyebrow. She went to get something from the kitchen. “Here we have fat beets and dropped bass for your dinner.” She smirked. I shook my head and sighed. “Vinyl, that pun isn’t funny.” I looked at my parents. “She makes this at least once a month, just for the pun.” “Anyways, you have to eat and get ready!” She left the plate on the kitchen table and walked past me again, slapping my ass and making me blush. “Vinyl!” I sat down at the kitchen table to eat. “This will be a long night… again.” Later… Neon was the kind of guy who got a lot of women, but Cloud Kicker made him look like an amateur. She just got all the girls she wanted, in one night. In the past she’d even spent a night with Vinyl! Neon was not there to try to compete with her, but to help Vinyl with the DJing some of the time, and give her a chance to enjoy the party. It was the least he could do to make up for last night. I watched everyone dancing while I drank a smoothie. My father sat beside me looking at my mom dancing. “You don’t want to go up there?” “I don’t really know how to dance to this kind of music.” “I think you just… jump.” Dante shrugged. “I’m going! I’m not going to stay here all night, and neither should you. Why don’t you go and dance with Vinyl? You need to… ‘relax your bones!’” He smiled as he nodded his head to the beat. “Vinyl told you that, right?” He nodded. I got up. “Okay, let’s go.” What followed was a lot of drinking, which would no doubt lead us all to have a lot of headaches the next day. But at that moment I didn’t really care, having already finished off three alcoholic smoothies. The only person I could blame was Vinyl Scratch. Oh, Vinyl… My head ached when I woke up to see Vinyl at my side, sleeping with a beer can in her hands. I frowned and looked at the ground where my mother lay sleeping like a stone in an air bed. I rubbed my eyes and got up, feeling my aching legs. “Good morning, dear. Or should I say good afternoon?” My father appeared with a coffee cup in his hands and a smile on his face. “You slept well last night, maybe because you didn’t the night before.” He laughed a little. “Here, this shall make your head better.” I grabbed the cup and took a sip. “Thank you.” I looked at him for a moment. “You look… worried.” “I am. Something is wrong and I know it. Vinyl can say it isn’t, but I know it is. And I think you may be telling the truth soon.” He looked around making sure nobody was listening. “I brought you home using magic, but I don’t think anybody saw.” Dante walked to the kitchen and I followed him, drinking the coffee. “Well, if you say that no-one saw you then I suppose that’s fine. But do not use magic again. So, why do you think that?” “I don’t know, it just feels like something’s wrong. I don’t know if it’s something here, or back home. But something just isn’t right. My demons senses are… very high right now.” He looked at me. “But I’ll try not to worry about that now. And you should be working, right?” My eyes flew open in realization. “Oh, my sweet…” I looked at him, “Crap! It’s afternoon!” I gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks, dad!” I rose and walked upstairs. “Any time, my little Octy.”