Octavia had all but given up searching for her friends when a familiar muffin-brown stallion with a medium blue mane and tail trotted out of a house, carrying his guitar case and his saddlebag. He seemed to be in a hurry to go somewhere.
Octavia contemplated whether or not she should speak to him, but to her surprise, he spoke first.
"Octavia! Hi, it's great to see you. It's been a long time," he greeted his old friend with a smile.
"Well, if it isn't Acoustic Pulse. Good to see you too, my friend," she grinned back.
"How's Canterlot been doing?" Acoustic asked, sounding mildly concerned.
"Oh, it's fine. Things have been a lot better since the Changelings War," Octavia answered.
"Good, glad I could be of service. Being that I was born there, I couldn't just sit idly by as my hometown got invaded," Acoustic rambled.
"Well, I'm just sorry your father didn't make it out with you. He was a brave stallion," Octavia sighed.
Acoustic stared off into space, lost in thought. Octavia had triggered a flashback, which tends to happen often.
"ATTACK, MY FRIENDS! LET'S FINISH THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!" Acoustic shouted in an attempt to motivate his dwindling force.
"Acoustic! What are you doing?" his dad asked after a loud cheer from the Company (force of 100 stallions).
"Something I should've done 6 months ago," he replied, looking up at Queen Chrysalis, leader of the Changeling Army.
"Remember. We're in this together. Let's get her!" Acoustic's father shouted.
"Let's roll," Acoustic rushed at the Changeling Queen.
That was the last conversation Acoustic Pulse would have with his father, Electric Pulse. Queen Chrysalis killed him in that fight. Acoustic avenged his death by decapitating Chrysalis.
Octavia stared, bewildered at her friend. She was confused as to why he had frozen in place. It kind of worried her, she decided to try and talk to him some more.
"Acoustic, are you okay?" she asked.
Acoustic blinked and looked over at Octavia. He acted surprised as if he'd forgotten she was even there.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking," he replied.
"What were you thinking about?" Octavia retorted with another question.
"I-I don't wanna talk about it," Acoustic shot her question down.
"So, how's Ponyville?" Octavia changed the subject.
"Fine. Quiet. Peaceful," Acoustic's short responses kind of irked Octavia. She thought her friend would be more excited to see her.
"If you didn't want to speak to me, you could've just said so," she grumbled.
"When did I ever say that?" Acoustic answered with a question, raising an eyebrow.
"You didn't, just your behavior," Octavia replied.
"Look, I just don't want to talk about my past. Please don't try and force me to," Acoustic answered.
"Oh, I'm sorry... perhaps I've been inconsiderate," she concurred.
"It's okay, now what brings you to Ponyville on such short notice?" Acoustic went back to the original topic.
"I wanted to visit you and Vinyl Scratch. I've found you, now I just need to find Vinyl," Octavia said.
"Ah, I see. Well, I know where she's at. Let's congregate at her house then, shall we?" Acoustic offered.
"I would like that, sure," she replied with a smile.
"Alright, I believe it's this way," Acoustic led the way.
Octavia followed closely behind him.
The two friends trotted together towards Vinyl Scratch's house. She is a white mare with a two-toned blue mane and tail. Her cutie mark is a reversed beamed sixteenth note (♬). She wears sunglasses to cover her bright red eyes.
Contrary to Acoustic Pulse's guitar and Octavia Melody's cello, Vinyl Scratch is a DJ, her stage name is PON-3, and she is mainly the go-to-mare for party music. Her primary genre is Electronic Dance, but she's popular for her Dubstep as well. Acoustic Pulse is a solo musician, playing Acoustic and Electric guitars.
Octavia's parties are more formal. She plays classical music, and she's a very serious mare. Acoustic is laidback at times, but being a war veteran, his mood can change quickly. He can be laughing and cracking jokes one minute to completely shell shocked in a matter of seconds. Vinyl is just the party mare of the group, she's much friendlier and outgoing than her friends. She pretty much had to be, it was her job to entertain.
Many mares and stallions wonder how the three friends get along, given their contrasting personalities. They often ask questions like:
"How do a war veteran, a DJ, and a classical musician get along so well?" or "How do ponies which such contrasting tastes in music settle their differences?".
The group's answers are always the same:
"True friends settle differences and support one another, regardless of who they are. They accept each other and respect each other. Love and tolerance are good things, but acceptance is a whole 'nother ball game."
"Okay, we're here. This is Vinyl Scratch's house," Acoustic pointed to a recording studio at the edge of Ponyville.
"Now, how did I miss that coming into town?" Octavia laughed.
"Well, you entered on the opposite side of town, I think. Not sure," Acoustic shrugged.
"Looking forward to seeing her again. Going to be great to get the band back together, so to speak," Octavia smiled.
Acoustic and Octavia trotted up the front porch and knocked on Vinyl's front door. They waited for her to answer.
"JUST A SECOND!" she called from inside.
"Take your time, no rush!" Acoustic laughed.
Octavia smiled, shaking her head. The two of them climbed the steps. They got tired of standing.
Acoustic and Octavia sat in chairs on the front porch, waiting for Vinyl to come to the door. After roughly a minute or so, Vinyl came out. She couldn't believe who she saw sitting on her front porch.
"OCTY?! AP?! YO, IT'S GREAT TO SEE Y'ALL! It's been forever! I really wasn't sure if we'd ever get the band back together. THIS IS AWESOME!" she shouted over her obnoxiously loud music, greeting them by their nicknames.
END OF CHAPTER 2!