Expectations
It felt like it was going to rain. There weren’t dark brooding clouds blocking out the sun, but Octavia could feel it in the air as she walked home. The humidity; the tension closing in on well . . . everything.
At least that’s how Octavia felt about her situation. Twilight Sparkle was a witch! A witch that—from the sounds of it—had, had dealings with Vinyl on more than one occasion before. “Twilight mentioned something about a magic spell.” She wondered as she bent low to avoid being smacked in the face by a tree branch on her way home.
As soon as school had let out, she’d rushed over to Dorothy Avenue to report back to Vinyl. She told Vinyl that she’d delivered the letter, and repeated what Twilight had said about payment and the time they should be there. To which Vinyl had given her a chilling "well done". Obviously not happy the pair had met face to face before Vinyl was ready to introduce her. “Despite that fact she seemed happy though. She even cracked a smile, when I mentioned how Twilight had stormed off.”
When Octavia asked if there was anything else she could do for her, Vinyl had simply told her to head home. Saying that she’d, “Come and collect her when it was time for the meeting”. And so that’s exactly what Octavia was doing. Waiting at a stoplight, questioning whether those buttons that are supposed to make the lights change actually work, while also trying to digest the fact Vinyl was actually going to be leaving her mansion tonight.
Of course Octavia knew Vinyl left her mansion on a regular basis to grab something to eat. Even if the reports of mysterious attacks had all but disappeared from the local news (To which Octavia suspected was in no small part thanks to their local apple farmers). But for Vinyl to actually leave her home and B-line to Octavia’s? “This spell must really be important to her.”
Tired of waiting, Octavia broke out in a run across the street, praying that no one hit her. “But that brings up the question of what this spell is supposed to do?" She questioned as she stepped onto the opposite curb. “The only spell I can really think of is the one on the house. Is that what all of this cloak and dagger stuff is about?” She asked no one in particular. “Vinyl wants the house back up and running?”
All these questions and more circled around the forefront of her mind like a storm. That and the slow-moving clouds coming in from the east, she was just now noticing. Dark and heavy with rain, they signaled a storm. A storm Octavia was sure to get caught in if she didn’t hurry home.
Raising her hands over her head to protect her hair against the possibility of early raindrops, Octavia stepped up her pace. It was unnecessary though, less than a minute later she was standing in front of her house, the oncoming storm still off in the distance.
Standing at the front door, Octavia paused to look at her home. Even after years of living there it was still daunting to look at. It wasn’t a huge mansion like Vinyl’s. The white two story house was basically the average urban home, complete with a driveway, backyard and a picket fence outside. No, it was what this house represented that sent a shiver up Octavia’s spine.
Shaking off her nerves, Octavia gripped the door handle and pulled. From her first step she was enveloped in a world completely different from the one the outside of the house would suggest. Immediately, she was surrounded by the sound of music. There wasn’t a moment in the Philharmonica house where music wasn’t playing. Classical of course, Octavia’s mother couldn’t stand to listen to anything else.
Wiping off her shoes on the welcome mat, Octavia took this moment to really observe her home, and the strange majesty of it. At first glance anyone would think that her family was rich; not true, although they were fairly well off. No, all of the painted frescos and decorative white pillars in her house were to paint the illusion that the Philharmonicas are rich. Octavia blanched, “And all just to appease my mother’s bruised ego.”
Once upon a time, Adagio Philharmonica had been a promising violist (Not quite famous, but getting there). She’d had stars in her eyes, and was ready to take on a high class world that was very willing to accept her.
Then tragedy had struck. She'd gotten pregnant. Not from one of her high society friends; she hadn’t broken up any marriages or caused a scandal. She’d had a one night stand with a plain, very average, business man from a small town called Ponyville. Suddenly the world that had been so open to her Adagio before, looked down and didn’t quite like what they saw. And so the gates were closed for her. Even worse were the rumors her so-called friends had spread without her knowing.
They had ruined her reputation. She was an out-cast, not just from high society, but most of society. So with a weary heart, she’d hung her head in defeat and returned to Ponyville, demanding the business man take responsibility for his slip-up. And so Adagio Phiharmonica had married Filthy Rich. They’d settled down in Ponyville where Rich’s growing business was located, and he’d bought her this house as a testament to what she could never have.
“Octavia, is that you dear?” Octavia cringed. She’d been hoping to just sneak up to her room and disappear until Vinyl came. But of course her mother had to pour a bucket of cold water on her plans.
Hanging a right from the parlor, Octavia entered stepped into the sitting room. Which in most houses would have just been called the living room or a TV room, but her mother insisted it was a sitting room. And had done her best to make it look like that. Rearranging the furniture so that it centered around a grand piano that no one in the house actually knew how to play. Her mother’s violin sitting next to it, and Octavia’s cello propped up in the corner, leaning on their couch.
The same couch she found her mother lying on when she entered the room. Eyes half-lidded, and an arm laid over her forehead like she had a headache. As soon as Octavia stepped into the room, she seemed to spring to life though.
“How was school today, Sweetheart?” Octavia could hear the strain in her mother’s voice, as she tried to at least try and stay awake. She was trying her best to disguise it by sounding as pleasant as possible. Even throwing in a halfhearted smile for effect.
But that didn’t stop it from reaching Otavia’s ears, leaving her feeling very uncomfortable. She wasn’t used to seeing her mother this down. All pretense of civility out the window as she lied there. Hell, the woman doesn't even have on her makeup. Mother never leaves her room without some mascara on.
“Fine mother,” she replied, lying through her teeth. “I made some new friends.”
“That’s good,” she said as her smile broadened a bit, “My day has been . . . interesting. Your father’s on a business trip so I’ve had to deal with your sister running amuck.”
She sighed deeply, “Normally I would just leave it to her nanny, but the crazy bat quit earlier today. She just ran out screaming, ‘She’s the devil, she’s the devil. Good Lord, she’s the devil.’ And other crazy things like that. So I had to sit in on a parent teacher conference for almost an hour, while this teeny bopper teacher explained all the things Diamond did wrong in the past week. I mean honestly,” she shook her head in disbelief.
She turned her head, looking Octavia in the eyes for the first time since she’d walked into the room. “Would you be a dear and check on the little monster.” She waved her hands indicating to the stairs. “She should be in her room right about now, doing . . . whatever.” And with those last few words out in the open she shut her eyes and let out what Octavia could only presume was a fake snore.
And it was at that point that Octavia realized she was being duped. “Tired or no, mother doesn’t snore.” Annoyed at having responsibility tossed onto her shoulders, Octavia turned away from the “sleeping” heap that was her mother. Grudgingly, she made her way over to the stairs and started the climb to the second floor, intent on confronting her sister, because her mother just plain didn’t want to.
“Then again I can’t blame her,” she murmured to herself. Ever since Octavia was young it had been decided that she was her mother’s child. It wasn’t like her father had no say in her upbringing, but it was miniscule compared to her mother’s. If Octavia wanted something, it was expected of her to go to her mother for it, and if she was going to be lectured her mother would be the one to do it.
Her mother had complete control of her life from the moment she’d been born, and as a result her relationship with her father was . . . well strained would be an understatement. It was more like it was non-existent to begin with. They didn’t really talk to each other besides basic pleasantries, and just preferred to stay in their respective areas of the house when they were both home. Octavia didn’t bug him and he didn’t bug her.
Not exactly the typical father daughter relationship. And from what Octavia could garner from local gossip, it wasn’t what Filthy had been expecting out of a child. So when her parents had their second child, Diamond Tiara, her father had only found it fair that he pull her under his wing the same way her mother had done with Octavia. He doted on her, gave her anything she wanted, barely punished her; in hindsight it was no wonder she had turned into a spoiled brat.
Reaching the second floor, Octavia made a b-line for her sister’s door. “Second from the right, just follow the stench of self-entitlement.” She chuckled at her joke as she stood right outside of the room. Octavia took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and then immediately burst in and started yelling. “Alright, Brat! What did you do this time?”
The whole room was done up in a pink princess style, from the bed to the wallpaper. There was a vanity that was loaded with every type of make-up and perfume, and a dresser that looked like it had hopped out of Beauty and the Beast. Mostly because their father had, had it recreated to look like the one from Beauty and the Beast. “Good God, father, what are you doing to this girl? You’ve got her wearing a tutu and an actual tiara, as if she were really a princess.
“Calm down will you,” replied the tween, obviously ticked off that she’d been interrupted from painting her toenails. “Aren’t you supposed to be the composed one?” She asked, waving the brush in one hand, “Mom is always bragging about how sensible you are.”
Octavia ignored the obvious jab, and decided to focus on the task at hand. “I don’t have time for your bitchiness Diamond, I got enough of that at school today. Just tell me what you did and who do we have to give money to, to make it go away.”
“No one,” she insisted, holding up her hands in defense. “I’m just not allowed anywhere near glue at school anymore.” Finished with the conversation, Diamond went right back to painting her toenails.
Octavia’s shoulder’s slumped, there was really only one way to solve this. “Wanna play BlackJack?” she asked. Diamond's smile couldn't have been larger as she looked at her older sister with a look that was usually only reserved for their father when she wanted something
“Sure,” she piped up, a note of excitement in her voice, that also wasn’t usually there. “The cards are in there,” she nodded her head, indicating toward the dresser. “I would get it myself, but as of the moment I’m indisposed.”She said indicating to her still drying toes.
Octavia rolled her eyes, but walked over to the dresser anyway, pulling out the top drawer and fumbling around until she found a standard deck of cards held together by rubber bands. Walking back over to Diamond she plopped down in front of her. Crossing her legs as she handed her little sister the deck and watched as she began to cut with a practiced hand.
“So what did Sunset do?” She asked, causing Octavia to groan. Over the years of dealing with the insanity that is their parents and just life in general, they’d started this tradition as a sort of bonding exercise between siblings. “Yes, most siblings wrestle, or bake, or go out and get ice cream. But no, we sit across from each other playing Black Jack and Poker, trying to psychoanalyze each other. Although, I have to admit it is a pretty great stress reliever.”
Diamond had finished cutting and had moved on to dealing the cards. Octavia looked at what she had. Diamond had dealt her a six and an eight, “Ha, fourteen beat that.”
“I’ve got twelve.”
“Dammit,” she cursed.
“Well if you’re going to whine about it. . . “
“Shut up and hit me.”
“Not until you tell me what Sunset did?” She slipped the card off the deck and playfully kept it just out of Octavia’s reach. Well, it really wasn’t out of her reach. It’s just she didn’t feel like getting up to go and get it, and crawling around on her sister’s floor was beneath her.
“Fine,” she growled, “She insulted BonBon.”
“Ah, so she insulted your girlfriend’s pride and you sprung to protect her honor.” She said, relinquishing her hold on the card and placing it with Octavia’s others.
“Nineteen,” she mumbled. “And I think I‘ll stay. As for BonBon, was I really that obvious?”
“Completely,” she said as she drew a card for herself. “Jack, dammit.” she grunted.
“That’s what you get for cursing so much,” Octavia taunted.
“This from the woman who commented on my ‘bitchiness’ the moment she walked in.” She just had to tack on air quotes.
“Fine,” she consented, shuffling their cards under the deck and drawing new ones for the both of them. “This is what you get for doing things with glue you shouldn’t.”
“What, you mean a perfect twenty-one.”
Octavia looked down at her sister’s cards, “How did--?” A wiggle of the eyebrows was all she got in response. “Ugh,” her sister had an unnatural amount of luck when it came down to it. She still wasn’t deterred though, “Glue. Explain. Now.”
“Fine,” Diamond relented, her face drooping just a bit. “I might have glued, Applebloom and Scootaloo’s hair together with the extra-strength glue.” Her sister at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed by her grade school prank.
Octavia felt like face palming. “Oh brother, why don’t you just ask the girl out and be done with it.”
“I’m not gay,” she protested.
“’Dear Diary,’” she recited, “’I still can’t stop looking at Ms. Cheerilee’s huge—“
“S-shut up, I’m not gay!” She was really flustered now. "Even if like half the town is." That was true now that Octavia thought about it. It was almost supernatural in nature considering this was a more rural old-fashioned town. She would have to ask AppleJack about that at some point.
Octavia scoffed, “The only reason you keep saying that is because dad wouldn’t like it. And he’s so deluded into the fact that you’re his perfect little angel that he’s got you half way believing it to even though you’re not. And because you know you’re not, you feel guilty and try and force yourself to believe you’re something when you’re actually the exact opposite.”
“Well, what about you, huh?" She defended. “Don’t think I don’t know about your little identity crisis. Mom sucks you into her shadow so much, that it’s no wonder this hasn’t happened before. You try and crawl your way out, but you can barely poke your head out, let alone you’re whole self. It’s no wonder you don’t have an identity when mom just copied hers and tried to paste it onto you." Diamond crossed her arms, and indignant look on her face, "And I’d say she did a pretty decent job."
If Octavia was going to be honest that . . . had hurt. But it was something that needed to be said anyway. This was the relieving part of these talks, getting all of their dirty laundry and problems out into the air, even if they didn’t want it to be. It would leave scars true, but it was better than just ignoring the problem that was there and letting it pick at them until they had a breakdown and had to see and actual psychologist.
Octavia stood up. This was always where there game ended. The both of them returning to their respective corners in their own rooms so they could think about what they’d just heard. As for the Black Jack, they always managed to fit in a couple more rounds in-between the spaces of their rants. Right now they were tied 2-2, but if things had gone on any longer, Octavia wasn’t sure how long it would have remained that way. Her sister had a natural talent for cards.
She was probably cheating in one way or another, but Octavia had neither the time or enough empathy to actually find out how. “Maybe she has the cards tagged somehow?” That didn’t mean she didn’t devote a considerable amount of brain power to the subject though.
And it was thought’s like those that entered Octavia’s mind as stepped into her room at the end of the hall. It wasn’t as big as Diamond’s room, but then again, Octavia didn’t really need that much space. She had a bookshelf, filled to the brim with, horror novels and classic movies, as well as any musical piece that peaked her interest. She had been learning how to read b ear for a while now and she was starting to get pretty good at it if she did say so herself.
She had a dresser pushed up against the farthest wall and a closet not too far away from that. Unlike Diamonds room though, Octavia’s had the fortune to be blessed with a television and a DVD player. Not because her father didn’t want Diamond to have one, but because she never really needed or asked for one.
The most interesting feature in her room though was how her walls were completely dominated by posters of people like Boris Karlof and Peter Lorre. There was even a poster of Max Schreck sans make-up, she had yet to put up. Nos had bought it for her as sort of a practical joke, which backfired completely because she loved it.
Octavia collapsed onto her bed, her feet dangling over the side as she stared up at the ceiling and the crème de la crème of her posters; Vincent Price and Bela Lugosi in all their vampiric glory. It was a good thing to fall asleep to, which was exactly what Octavia intended on doing until Vinyl showed up and hopefully woke her up without too much of a fuss.
She briefly thought about stripping out of her clothes, but decided it would be pointless. Vinyl would probably want to leave in a rush, and Octavia having to pull on new clothes would just slow them down. As she started to drift off to Vincent Price’s hypnotizing stare, Octavia’s last thoughts were that it still hadn’t started raining.
Octavia awoke to the sound of something rapping at her window. Sitting up in bed, she rubbed her eyes trying to wipe away the sleep. At first glance it looked like a branch from the tree outside was hitting her window.
Until she realized that this branch had the body of a person attached to it. Also a mouth that was asking to be let in, and a pair of red glowing eyes that threatened to rip out her soul again if she didn’t hurry.
“There’s also the fact that the tree isn’t that bi—oh fudge.” Octavia jumped out of bed, rushing over to the window in order to let her mistress inside. She jacked open the window and Octavia stepped back as Vinyl slipped inside. Almost like a cat, Octavia thought as Vinyl’s feet hit the floor without making a sound.
“What are you wearing?” asked a shocked Octavia. Her Mistress’ usual outfit was gone, returned to whatever century it belonged in. Instead, Vinyl was wearing a loose white t-shirt, a blue hoodie, a pair of jeans, and some sneakers. Topping it off were a pair of purple rimmed glasses that were completely and totally unnecessary with how dark it was outside.
Vinyl frowned, “It’s not often I get to go out this early, so I thought I’d take advantage of the situation.” She motioned toward the window. "With the storm clouds blocking out the sun I have free range to do as I please.”
“Early?” Octavia asked. Wasn’t it close ten, like they’d agreed on?
Vinyl sighed, “Octavia, when Twilight Sparkle says one time she wants you to be there early.” She crossed her arms, her eyebrow’s hiking in thought. “Right now it’s about eight I think, plus we’re walking there so that should take up some time, thankfully Twilight doesn’t live too far from here.”
“Walk?” Octavia questioned the vampire. "Wouldn’t it be better to—I don’t know, fly?” Vinyl gave her a look that clearly got across her message of “shut up”.
“Like I said,” she said trying and failing to take the bite out of her voice. “It’s not often I get free range around town. I can fly over anytime, but getting to walk through during the day is a different experience. Now come here before we lose the light, and I decide to leave you here.” Octavia walked over to the ticked off vampire and gasped as she felt a hand grip her around her waist and pull her close.
Octavia felt nervous. It was strange being this close to Vinyl. Especially considering how the vampire used every situation possible to put her at a distance. That nervousness was replaced with abject fear though when Vinyl jumped out the window, pulling Octavia with her.
Octavia screamed. Or at least she would have if Vinyl hadn’t been using her other hand to cover her mouth. They hit the ground and Octavia felt her heart finally crawl its way back into her chest from where it had been hiding in her stomach. It was a little burned from the stomach acid, but other than that it was good.
Vinyl slowly let loose of her grip on Octavia. Watching as her assistant slowly tried to steady herself. “Never. Do that. Again.” she breathed
Vinyl smirked at her, “You know that feeling you just got when we jumped.” She nodded. “Good, now imagine the rest of your time with me like that and get used to it.” Octavia groaned, but made no further complaints as they started the trek to Twilight’s.
Even though she’d complained about the walking, Octavia had secretly hoped she could use the time as a sort of bonding experience. Vinyl hadn’t been kidding when she’d said Twilight’s house was close though. If Octavia had to guess it had taken a good ten minutes to reach Twilight’s home, the majority of which was taken up by Vinyl just sightseeing. A venture that consisted entirely of Vinyl pointing out different places where she'd feasted on people and how differently they looked in the light
Octavia had managed to gleam one bit of knowledge from the vampire though. She confessed that she loved the rain. Besides being one of the few times she can step outside in the middle of the day, she said that it made her feel clean. Like everything had been washed away, and what she was seeing was a new world hidden underneath the one they were used to.
Octavia couldn’t quite see Vinyl’s point of view, but she had smiled anyway as her mistress looked up at the sky expectantly. It was really humid out now, to the point it felt almost suffocating with each breath she took. So it was something of a relief when they finally reached Twilight’s home.
It was a nice house, almost like a little slice of suburbia had been set aside in this more upscale part of the neighborhood. Built up with brick, with a yard large enough to protect against the pretentiousness of the mansions right next door. Octavia couldn’t help but help but smile at the modesty of the home. This seemed like someplace that Twilight Sparkle would live.
Vinyl didn’t waste any time in walking up to the front door and ringing on the door bell. When that didn’t yield any immediate results she started knocking. “Are you sure you should be doing that?” Octavia asked hesitantly, “I mean Twilight is a witch she could turn you into something or—," Octavia stopped talking once she noticed the look Vinyl was giving her.
“Octavia if I was afraid of Twilight, I wouldn’t be making deals with her.” She said that as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
The door suddenly flung open to reveal a very ticked off Twilight Sparkle. “You know, you’re lucky my parents aren’t home or you would be a newt right about now.”
“Yeah, yeah,” said Vinyl, brushing off the threat as she moved inside with Octavia hot on her heels.”
“I’m serious,” Twilight closed the door behind them and began ushering them inside. “You know my parents don’t like you, so why would you purposefully try and tick them off?” Vinyl just shrugged and let Twilight lead them down the hall.
If Octavia was looking for a word to describe the Sparkle home, that word would be books. Books, novels, chronicles; whatever you’d like to call them they were everywhere. All placed on bookshelves stacked side by side right next to each other up and down the hall. almost as if they were in an actual library. Every once in a while, Octavia would pass, a movie version of something, or a skull or candle set up for atmosphere, “Then again, this family knows magic so maybe not.” But mostly it was just books, in what was otherwise a fairly normal looking/non-magical home.
Twilight led them into the sitting room. Years of living with her mother had trained Octavia to call it that, but the difference was she got the feeling Twilight’s family actually used it to, you know, sit down as a family instead of just using it as a decoration for guests. And Octavia wouldn’t blame them, it was incredibly comfy looking. There were the usual wall to wall bookshelves, but besides that floor was covered in a sort of thick white carpeting. In the middle of the room there were a couple of couches and sofa chairs surrounding a clear glass coffee table, but all still aimed at a flat screen TV propped up on an entertainment system. The existence of which shocked Octavia. Just the idea that this family still found time to sit down and watch something as mindless as TV, with all the reading they were apparently doing, was astonishing.
Twilight waved for them to take a seat. “Please, sit; pour yourself something to drink.” For the first time since she entered, Octavia took notice of the slightly impressive spread that had been put out for them on the coffee table. All sorts of desserts and pastries all lined up in a row, organized a canister of what she assumed was tea, but was giving off a faint chocolatey smell.
Vinyl took a seat on the nearest couch, crossing her legs and looking as nonchalant a she always did. “Well,” Octavia thought as she sat down next to her, From the way Twilight and her talk, she’s obviously been here before. Why would she be surprised?” Finally, their host sat down in a seat across from them, and they began.
“Do you have my payment?” Twilight asked, right off the bat.
Vinyl groaned, and then did something that threatened to make Octavia’s eyes bug out of her sockets. Reaching out, Vinyl’s hand seemed to almost disappear, as the air around where her hand seemed to shift and warp. Almost as if the disappearance of her hand was causing reality to be torn apart at the seams.
Vinyl’s arm moved back and forth, grunting in frustration she tried to latch onto what she was looking for. Finally, feeling something solid enter her hand, she pulled her hand back into this plane of existence. She hated using pocket dimensions. She never cleaned them and they always ended up too cluttered for her to find anything.
With the eyes of her visibly astounded servant on her, Vinyl handed Twilight the object she had pulled back from the rift. A very rare copy of a history book, which had probably been sitting in her library at home ever since Nos had first built the place. Most people would have demanded money for their services, but not Twilight Sparkle. No, her witch friend much preferred to be paid in knowledge she could use. That made her easy to work with, but also quite dangerous in certain ways.
Twilight let out a very undignified squee as the book came into her grasp, clutching it to her chest like her life depended on it. “A first edition history of the underworld! I can’t believe you actually had it.”
Vinyl decided to take this moment where their host was distracted in order to appease her curious servant. Who at the moment, was sending her big questioning eyes, that had about five different questions brewing in the back of her head. “I know what you’re going to ask,” she whispered, “But the answer is; shut up and eat a cookie.”
Octavia huffed, but complied with her mistress’ will. Not because she’d ordered it, but because they were cookies and they looked good. Taste good too she thought, as she proceeded to start stuffing her face with a few.
Octavia was already making her way through her fifth cookie and her second cup of hot chocolate by the time Twilight came down from her Book high. “Well, now that that’s over,” said Vinyl, “We can start focusing on the deal at hand.”
“Ehem, quite right,” said Twilight, trying to regain her composure. Setting her payment down, she poured herself a cup of coco and began to talk. “I’ve studied the enchantment around your house and I have to say it’s a pretty unique piece of work. Excellent craftsmanship on the runes especially,” she took a sip from her drink and then placed it down on a cup holder. “I’ll be honest with you Vinyl, I can’t replicate that kind of work. Not with the equipment I have on hand.
“So you can’t do it?” Vinyl asked.
“I didn’t say that,” Twilight replied coolly. “It’s just going to take a bit more time than I’d imagined, and even then the spell won’t be as powerful as it once was.”
Vinyl leaned forward on her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. “Twilight, how long would the spell last.”
Twilight shrugged, “A couple of months,” Vinyl cringed. “I could probably add on an extra year if I got the right materials. But those specific materials are very expensive.” She put extra emphasis on “expensive, and Vinyl’s eyes widened in understanding.
“Exactly how much do you need?” She sighed.
A devious look appeared on Twilight’s face. “Well,” she started tapping her chin. “I might consider tapping into my savings and buying them myself if you do me a slight favor.”
“Name it.” Vinyl ordered.
“Give me a few minutes alone with her.” She pointed at Octavia.
Vinyl blinked in disbelief. She wasn’t sure what game Twilight was trying to play, but she knew she didn’t like it. Because for right now at least she was a pawn, and that did not suit her well.
“Fine,” she snapped as she tried to suppress a growl. Vinyl stood up, and marched out of the room. Leaving behind a grinning witch, and a thoroughly confused Octavia. For Octavia though, that wasn’t an unusual feeling. She was used to understanding less and less every time Vinyl left a room. But now she had Twilight thrown into that mixture and she wasn’t really sure what to make of that.
Twilight looked at the doorway where Vinyl had left. Wiggling her fingers, she uttered something that to Octavia’s ears vaguely sounded like “silence” and then turned back to her guest with a smile on her face. “Good, now she can’t eavesdrop on us.”
Octavia swallowed he last piece of shortbread that was still in her mouth before she began to speak. Deciding to get right to the point she asked “Uh, Twilight, what is it exactly you want from me?”
“Elementary, my dear cellist. I just think we can help each other out in our joint mission.” She proclaimed as an even broader smile overtook her face and she took a bite out of what Octavia could only assume was cheesecake.
“Joint mission?” Octavia quickly searched the darkest corners of her mind searching for anything that Twilight and her could possibly be working on; and came up empty.
“Yes, our research into this other world of ours, that seems so closely tied to our own.
“You mean the supernatural world?”
Twilight shrugged, “The underworld, realm of darkness, whatever you’d like to call it, its hidden right under everyone’s nose and nobody ever notices.” Her brow suddenly creased and her lips pursed as stared down at the piece of cake in her hands. “I’ve been living in this world all my life, but now I’ve suddenly discovered theirs a lot more too it then imagined. Secrets upon secrets, hidden away and no one will tell me anything; Not Vinyl; Not Applejack; Not even Principal Celestia.”
Octavia blinked, trying to figure out if she'd heard that right.. “Principal Celestia? What’s she got to do with this?”
Twilight looked up, snapping out of her moment of pity to help teach someone something. “Principal Celestia is the leader of my Covenant.”
“Covenant?”
“Did you not get the brochure?” She questioned. Octavia nodded, remembering the small pamphlet Applejack had handed her earlier. “It should have given a description of some of the important things around Ponyville." Octavia nodded again, she remembered that, although she hadn't had really taken the time to read through the whole thing. "Well in there it should have told you about the Covenant of the Sun, an ancient order of witches with Principal Celestia as our head. Though in actuality it’s more of a school for those adept in magic hidden within our normal school.”
“You don’t say?” The way Twilight made it sound, it was as if being a part of this school was some huge honor.
“Yep,” she chirped. “And I just so happen to be Celestia’s Private student. That means she gives me more hands on training than anyone else.” For a second Octavia was afraid that she’d be subjected to another squee but Twilight seemed to be fresh out for the day.
“You mentioned something about secrets?” Said Octavia hoping to get back to the matter at hand.
“Oh, yes. While I don’t know all the details, I can definitely say this. Something fishy is definitely going on in the supernatural world. I don’t know if we’re being attacked or some shift in power, but a lot of odd things have been happening over the past couple years. “
Twilight had Octavia on the edge of her seat now. If Applejack wouldn’t tell Octavia what she wanted to know then Twilight would. “Like what?”
“Well for one thing Ponyville itself. Ponyville used to be a relatively unimportant town. Sure it had a few big names, like Vinyl’s grandfather and Principal Celestia, but other than that, the count of supernatural beings was relatively low. The ones that were here were mostly older ones, living out here because they didn’t want to be bothered by any of the big city business.
In the last few years though the numbers have spiked. Supernatural creatures of all shapes and sizes have been piling in to towns like Ponyville. And whatever it is pushing them into these town, and I believe it’s also the reason my family moved here at the begging of Middle school. A decision my parents didn't exactly explain very well to either me or my brother”
“It’s almost as if they were running from something.” Octavia theorized.
‘Exactly!” Twilight exclaimed. “ Not only that, there’s also the sudden drop in power some of the more influential members of this world seem to have. I can’t speak for Vinyl, but Principal Celestia is definitely slipping. Remember the fire,” Octavia nodded. “Well isn’t that weird? Celestia is one of the most powerful witches in the world, but she can’t stop her school from burning down, and when they want to build this new state of the art school, she doesn’t flex her skills or her influence to get it done. She just goes with the school boards decision that there’s not enough money.” Knowing what she knew now, Octavia had to admit that was weird. If Celestia was supposedly this incredibly powerful witch, why wouldn’t she use her powers to rebuild her school, let alone save it from burning down in the first place?
Octavia looked at her new partner in crime. Trying to decide whether she should trust her or not. Those emotions only lasted a few seconds though as she finally returned Twilight’s smile. “Vinyl has been having some money troubles lately, she had to borrow some money recently from another vampire lord named Nos.”
“Really?” Twilight looked like a kid in a candy store, “The Venture are a very wealthy and influential clan, not as strong as they once were, but strong enough. If Vinyl’s having money problems then that means whatever is happening isn’t just power related, it’s affecting their economy too. So whatever this force is, it’s got both power and influence behind it. It’s probably been around for a while too, so maybe I can find something about it in the school library—the hidden section of course,” she amended, when she caught Octavia's blank stare.
Octavia watched as Twilight went off on a rant, spouting theories and possibilities, one after another. But a thought had come unbidden into her mind and she just had to speak it. “Twilight?” The young witch turned to look at her. “How did you know I was looking into these things?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” she replied nonchalant, “Applejack told me.”
Of course. Twilight and Applejack were friends. Friends who probably talked about this kind of thing all the time. Talking about their day, sharing secrets, “But apparently, friendship only goes so far with Applejack when it comes to spilling things from her job.”
Octavia snapped out of her thoughts as Twilight started to talk again, “Well, now that all of that’s settled that only leaves the question of will you help me? The young witch leaned forward expectantly, Octavia wasn’t sure why though, if she’d been talking with Applejack then Twilight knew exactly how badly she wanted to solve this mystery. If teaming up with Twilight would help her with that, she was more than willing to comply.
She nodded her head with curt, “Alright.” She reached out her hand to shake and Twilight grasped a hold of it in both of hers. Shaking vehemently.
“I can’t wait to get started,” her excitement shining through on her face. “Right now you’re in the best position to get information.” She pointed out. “Vinyl’s position makes her an important figure and with you as her . . . assistant, that means you’re right in the eye of the storm. If you find out anything tell me, and I’ll try and get you caught up on as much about this world as possible.
Octavia frowned slightly. Twilight had hesitated when looking for a word to describe her relationship with Vinyl. “Did I really get the short end of the stick with that deal? And am I really going to make another one?” The sudden realization that she hadn't really thought this through before signing on suddenly hit her.
Octavia jumped when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Twilight had moved closer without her noticing and was now smiling down on her from the arm of the couch she was sitting on. "Look, I know this is all really shady, but I’m asking you to trust me with this. Applejack told me about your wish, and if you really want to enter this world of ours you can’t come in half-cocked not knowing anything or you could get yourself into some deep trouble. And if what’s going on is as big as I think it is, then everyone deserves to know that we’re in trouble, the people in charge can’t keep it hidden forever.”
The way she spoke about this mystery sent a chill down Octavia’s spine. It was the same type of determination etched onto Twilight’s face that she’d had when she marched into Vinyl’s home and asked her to turn her into a vampire. Still Octavia wasn’t quite sure though.
As if sensing the doubts Octavia was having, Twilight rushed to appease her. ”Look,” she said, the smile on her face finally dimming. ”I don’t want you to think I’m trying to cheat you, or use you, or whatever. I just want to know what’s going on. And if you won’t help me as a partner, will you at least help me as a friend?” Twilight held out her hand for Octavia to take again. There were no smile or devious looks on her face, just a solemn face that was asking for help.
Without hesitation, Octavia took Twilight’s hand and shook it. “Great,” said Twilight. Leaping off of the couch and straightening out her skirt. “I’m going to use that book Vinyl gave me to do some research. I’ll meet you in the library after school tomorrow and we can discuss our plan of attack. They can’t hide the truth from us forever.” She cried out
Seeing Twilight all puffed up and determined, Octavia couldn’t help but crack a smile. “No they really can’t,” she replied, standing up and dusting off the crumbs that had gathered on her from her cookie massacre.
“Oh, speaking of Vinyl we’d better let her back in,” Octavia’s eyes widened as she remembered her mistress who was just in the other room. “That spell I cast, doesn’t just keep her from eavesdropping, I slightly modified it so she can’ actually reenter the room. Twilight waved her hand in the air, “There that should do it.” Octavia didn’t see anything, but Twilight insisted that the spell was gone now.
“Vinyl,” she called out. “We’re done in here you can come back now.”
The vampire in question peaked her head back in. “Finally,” she groaned. “I don’t know if you two realized it, but you’ve been talking for almost half an hour.”
“Oh, I realized,” said Twilight quite pleasantly, as she started to lead them back towards the door. “There was just a lot to talk about, plus I wanted you to suffer a bit.” She sniggered, but Vinyl’s eyes narrowed.
When they reached the front door, Vinyl turned to Octavia and told her to wait outside. “But it could rain any moment,” she complained.
Vinyl scoffed, “Oh, please if it hasn’t let loose in the past six hours, I’m pretty sure a few more minutes isn’t going to make much of a difference.” Octavia grumbled a complaint about Vinyl not being a weather detector, but she stepped outside anyway, into the humid air.
As soon as she was gone Vinyl had shut the door and locked it behind her. The blue haired vampire turned back around to see a pair of very accusing eyes, piercing her for answers. “What are you planning Vinyl,” the owner of those eyes asked.
“None of your business, Sparkle.” All pretense had disappeared from her voiced. Any trace of superiority or regality seemed to ebb out of her stance as she relaxed slightly. Around Twilight she could be herself.
“I think it is my business. You’re acting like those snobby vampire royals you hate so much. And you’ve claimed that poor girl as your slave.”
Vinyl shrugged, “We prefer the term, ‘indentured servant’.”
Twilight was in her face now, almost seething with rage. “Vinyl we both know that you may not have asked her to do anything to demeaning, but that girl is as good as your slave.” Twilight peeled back a bit, crossing her arms. “And we both know that it won’t be too long, before you ask her to cross a few lines she won’t want to. What happens then, huh?” She asked accusingly.
Vinyl cringed from the pure amount of venom her old friend’s words were laced with. But she knew this had been coming and she wouldn’t be deterred. “Twilight, if I’m going to be playing with the big dogs I’m going to have to play their games. If that means dressing like a clown, and acing like an ass I’ll do it.”
“Hah, you don’t need any help with the acting part.”
Vinyl ignored her interruption. “As for Octavia, I won’t ask her to get involved in anything to deeply. She’s a tool, a tool I’m going to use to set things in motion.” She pointed an accusing finger at Twilight, “That’s why she doesn’t need to get involved in things that have nothing to do with her. Do you think I’m an idiot? It doesn’t take five seconds to realize what you two were talking about in there.”
“’Nothing to do with—you have absolutely no plans to turn her into a vampire do you?” The fury was back in Twilight’s eyes again. “How dare you,” she almost screamed," stringing her along like that, she—“
“I just can’t okay,” Vinyl screamed, and then watched as Twilight put the rage she’d been about to unleash on the back burner. “Look, Twilight,, it’s better this way.” Vinyl’s shoulders sagged this wasn’t how she’d expected this to go. Twilight had always been the more reasonable of the pair of them and Vinyl had hoped she would understand. But right now her friend refused to look her in the eyes, biting her lip as she tried to keep from exploding in a flurry of curses. Actual curses, she was a witch after all
Vinyl rubbed her hand across her face, trying to collect her thoughts. “Twilight, if you know as much as you think you do. Then you know that right now things are dangerous for us, all of us. By turning Octavia into a vampire, I’d be putting her in mortal danger, and I can’t in good conscious do that to her.”
Twilight looked at her with deadpan eyes. “You’re lying,” she said.
Vinyl's eyes narrowed as she tried to plead with her, “Twilight, I insist—,“
Twilight chuckled, “Oh you ‘insist, do you?” An look of disbelief overtook her face, “Do you even hear yourself Vinyl?” Twilight took a deep breath, “This is just . . .,” she shook her head, “No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’?”
Twilight visibly shuddered, “I mean get out of my house right now, and don’t come back until you’ve regained your soul, or at least a bit of your dignity.” She hissed.
Twilight reached for the doorknob, to let her out but Vinyl stopped her. Grabbing onto her arm and holding it in front of her face as she whispered threateningly. “If you haven’t noticed, my soul has been twisted for a very long time.”
“I can see,” said Twilight in a dead tone.
Vinyl bit her lip. This wasn’t how she’d wanted things to go. “How long until the spell is ready?” She asked.
Twilight’s lips pressed into a thin line. For a second it just looked like she was going to reach for the doorknob again, but then she let out a deep sigh and looked her friend in the eyes. “It’ll take a couple of days for the materials to get here, and even then a couple more for me to set everything up. If I start prepping the potion now though, it might make things go a bit faster, so I’d say about a week and a half at most.
“I don’t have all the things I need here at home so I’m going to have to head back to school and do it there. Principal Celestia trust me enough that she lets me go in and out of the school a whim.” She chuckled again, but this time it was forced. As quickly as that moment of levity had appeared it was gone. “I’ll head out as soon as you two are gone.”
A flash of concern crossed Vinyl's face, “Are you sure? It’s late right now. You could just start it in the morning.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Twilight shook her head, giving her best impression of a heartfelt smile. “The sooner we complete this business of ours and part ways, the better.”
Vinyl nodded. And without looking back she turned, opened up the door, and walked out into the night to meet her loyal servant waiting on her.
“I don’t see why we had to come back to your home.” Said Octavia as she once again stepped inside Vinyl’s humungous mansion. “After all, my house is closer, and it wouldn’t have been such a walk for me.”
“And I told you, that I need you at the moment.” An exasperated Vinyl answered. Octavia hadn’t stopped pestering her since they’d left Twilight’s.
“Yes, but you still haven’t clarified what that is exactly,” she persisted.
Vinyl was about to walk up the stairs to her room when those words hit her. Slowly she turned to meet her servant’s eyes. “Look Octavia, right now I just need someone I can rely on. Someone who won’t pepper me with questions or put me under the spotlight to try and see what they’ll find. Can you do that for me? Just for tonight?”
Octavia blinked, at the moment her mistress looked completely and totally exhausted. And ever since she’d had her private conversation with Twilight, she’d been in a notably sour mood. “And I doubt my constant questioning helped anything.” She lamented.
Finally, Octavia shot her mistress a smile. “Alright, Vinyl, if all you need right now is someone to be here for you then that’s what I’ll do. Ask me anything and I’ll do it.”
An actual smile appeared on Vinyl’s face. “Whoa, whoa, let’s not go that far. Besides,” she joked, “It’s already your job to listen to everything I say.”
“Duly noted,” Octavia replied, which produced a snort from Vinyl.
“Come on,” she waved for Octavia to follow. “I’ll show you to your room for the night.”
“Room? But what about my parents?” It was a stupid question to ask, Filthy was out of town, and there was little chance of her mother noticing with the headache she’d had, but there was always a chance for something to go wrong.
Vinyl simply shrugged off her concerns. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of everything. For now though, here’s your room.” Vinyl opened a door to reveal a room that wasn’t too far off from her own in terms of style. The same large curtains, the same huge bed, even the dresser and the desk were there.
“There’s a door over there that leads to a shower,” Vinyl spoke up bringing Octavia out of her analysis of the room. “There should be a nightgown in the dresser over there, top shelf I believe. If you need anything, I’m just down the hall.” Octavia hadn’t noticed, but Vinyl’s room was indeed only a few doors down from her own.
“Shouldn’t I be telling you that,” she replied rather cheekily.
Vinyl was tired, but not tired enough to let that comment go without a retort. “Yes, yes you should,” she yawned. She turned to leave. “As for me I’m going to bed, I’ll see you in the morning.” Octaiva watched as Vinyl’s figure retreated to the end of the hall, turned, and then entered her own room.
The moment Octavia sat down on the bed she’d been given the exhaustion hit her. She hadn’t realized exactly how stressful a day she’d had until it had the chance to hit her full force. She’d tried and gotten mixed results milking Applejack for information. She’d been picked on by Sunset Shimmer, and discovered the existence of witches in her school, but most importantly she’d made two new friends.
And it was that thought that comforted her as her head hit the pillow and she began to close her eyes. That and the sound of rain drops hitting her beginning to hit her window.
“Wake up!” shouted a small shrill voice. Almost drowned out by the fierce storm that was battering the house. But it was just high enough that it woke Octavia up. Sending her head rocketing off the comfy pillow she’d been resting on and into what was almost a crash course collision with a tiny, glowing, person with wings.
“Uh,” Octavia was dumbstruck not really sure what to say. She didn’t have to think long, though, as the door to her room was suddenly launched open to reveal to the form of her severely out of breath mistress.
“Vinyl, what the—“
“Good, you’ve caught it. Now crush it with your bare hands.”
“What are you talking about?” She cried as the mysterious creature in question had decided that Octavia’s hair was a safe place to hide.
“It’s a fairy,” Cried Vinyl. “Even worse than that it’s a pixie. The little rats cause nothing but trouble, and in my opinion should be locked up in cages.”
“How dare you,” the pixie in question poked her head out of Octavia’s hair. Insulted and determined to defend her honor. “I’ll have you know that I am quite tame, and that I’ve come with a message from my Mistress Celestia.”
That go Vinyl’s attention, and the glare she was directing at the little pixie slowly faded from her face. “Fine, what does the old bad want?” She asked with a huff.
“Ah, how rude.” Screeched he fairy. Which wasn’t very helpful since she was right by Octavia’s ear at the moment. “And to think I came to tell you that my Mistress wants your presence at the hospital. Twilight Sparkle has been attacked.
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Ummm, please more? Like, tension mate. Fucking tension.
6056976 *Leans back in chair* That's how ya keep 'em coming back.
Wow. Twilight has been attacked? That doesn't sound good.
Diamond's a fairy?
Out of all the stories i track this has me the most interested and also updates the slowest...
But i guess the reason i'm interested in it has something to do with the amount of time you spend writing it.
(Or its cuz vinyl and tavi are in it)
(about 50/50 really)
6057118 Nah. I completely lose interest in but a few stories if they're not updated with a semi-regular schedule.
Vinyl can get out of this deal, she said she would turn Octavia when she thought Octavia was ready, so if she thinks she's never ready she'll get out of it.
I swear this just keeps getting better and better
6057130 No, I'd say that's the opposite of good. but the start of something huge.
6057524 What, no, I just meant that both Diamond and the fairy messenger were spur of the moment ideas I thought I could play with.
6058981 Well then I'll try and hurry things up.
6059749 Yes, that is quite the conundrum . . .
You're not getting anything else out of me except that.
6059996
well that's better than the alternative
6058364 : Keep guessing, it's fun to watch.
6060328 Update your schedule as you want. In the end, I'm naught but a face in a crowd of thousands. A shade, even.
6060328 Sorry your wording was confusing.
6060450 You sir, deserve a rimshot . . .
. . . And here it is.
Well, I have considered your request. Charachters beeing ooc isn't something that leaves any impressions and those stories are rarely good so I'm going to give you two of my stories. I can't link when I write on my phone, but you'll find them on my user page. The Bride of sparkle and Shotgun Blues. First one ooc Twilight, second one Rainbow. (bjt it might just be so the stories are really bad...)
Oh, and this story? Loving it. The best chapters are those who mix planning with spontanity.
Hmm..
> Octavia wants to be a vampire
> Nearly gets into Heaven
> Few stuff with Applejack and Vinyl
> School Problems with Sunset
> A witchy situation with Twilight and Ponyville
> Octavia having her own room
> Twilight in trouble (probably because of what Octy and Vinyl did.)
> [???]The group in trouble
> [???]Octavia learns she won't be a vampire
> [???]
Maybe you mean "it's also the reason my family moved here at the beginning of Middle school."?
Wow i think this is too much hype already i have been waiting for three to 4 weeks
XD
Covenant of the Sun? Praise the Sun!
Oh my god when is the next one i have been waiting for days even a whole month
6218838 Long story short: It's basically finished, I've just been going through rewriting a whole bunch of stuff. It shall appear only when I deem it acceptable; So probably some time this weekend.
so...
Octavia: Slave or Indentured servant
Vinyl: Vampire
Apple Jack: Monster Hunter
Rest of apple family: Monster Hunters
Lyra: Ghost
Twilight: Witch
Celestia: Witch
I don't get it who does diamond like???
Sorry if I don't get it
6219012
Was there an issue somehow?