The Prank

by UniqueSKD

The Prank

The Prank
by UniqueSKD

(This short story is based on the animation of the same name you'll find on my YouTube channel. Check it out, you silly fillies!)

The town of Ponyville.

A sweet and beautiful melodious hymn sounded from within the little cottage house close to the outskirts of Ponyville, its expertly played tune sweeping through the air and falling upon attentive ears of mare and stallions and foals who so happened to be passing by on their way to wherever. A smile would creep onto their faces as they swayed their heads lightly to the delightful rhythm of the cello player inside the cottage, one known to all as Octavia, practicing her instrumental prowess by playing renditions of Beethooven masterpieces, with a little bit of Horzart on the side as a personal treat to herself.

Celestia's golden sun shone through the window of the practice quarters, or so Octavia liked to call this room. After all, it was where she would practice and hone her tremendously respected cello techniques, so as to be prepared for the chance an orchestral session arose and she was the first cello player considered for participation. The warmth of the sun caressed her body as she pulled her bow across her instrument's strings, creating the harmonic sound that filled the otherwise near-empty space with the song she lived to play, and played to live, for without her cello, and without the refined arts of classical music, she had and was nothing.

Her eyes closed as the tune washed over her, causing her mind to drift away as the notes and tempo invaded her realm of imagination and fantasy, and a smile grew on her face as she entered a state of what she could only describe as something close to true enlightenment.

Unfortunately her bliss also meant that she didn't hear the hoofsteps of a particular white-coated, electric blue-haired unicorn approaching the doorway of the room, a pair of bright red eyes peeking around the corner at her upper-classy marefriend. Being so deep in thought with her awakened inner emotions brought to life by the sound of her cello playing, Octavia didn't also hear the unicorn's attempts to cease her mischievous childish snickering.

Vinyl Scratch's horn began to glow a magenta hue as she levitated forth a large metallic pail, filled near to the brim with cold water that she had collected earlier that day from the river close to their home. She brought her hooves up to her face in an attempt to silence another giggle, lest Octavia heard her and Vinyl's oh-so-perfectly-awesome-and-brilliant joke, which she had spent a long time (actually just half an hour) preparing for. Luckily for the unicorn, the gray earth pony was too indulged in her music to acknowledge the DJ's presence behind her.

Calming herself down, Vinyl grasped a firm hold of her bucket, and slowly and steadily she willed it to hover towards Octavia, raising it higher and higher above Octavia's head, the poor unsuspecting cello player still seemingly oblivious to what was happening. Vinyl threw her hooves over her mouth to hold back yet another giggle, her little laughing fit almost causing her to lose focus and nearly drop the bucket there and then. To drop the package upon her target so soon was not part of Vinyl's plan. No, Vinyl wanted to wait until Octavia strung a particularly high note before releasing her magical hold. Since Octavia almost always did cello practice every day, Vinyl had grown accustomed to the music her marefriend played, becoming familiar with the various compositions and so knew when certain pitches and notes were played.

Vinyl rubbed her hooves together inglee, as she waited for just the right moment. The musical score Octavia was playing right now was one of her favorites, and one Vinyl was very aware of. The sudden drop in the melody would come along any second now...

- - - - - - - - - -

A small crowd of mares, stallions, and foals gathered outside the cottage, smiles plastered on their faces as they swayed their heads to the beautiful music ringing out from the household, theirs eyes closed as they sat and permitted the wonderful sounds to pry into their minds and awaken a variety of fantasies and imaginations...

...which suddenly turned into images of howling banshees and crying ghastly ghosts, as the lovely song screeched to a sudden halt, and an ear-piercing scream erupted from the cottage, frightening the living daylights out of everypony who had gathered and causing them to throw their hooves up to their ears as they ran away to escape the painful noise assaulting their ear drums.

- - - - - - - - - -

Octavia's mouth hung wide open in shock, her pupils shrunk and her body trembling from a mix of fear and coldness. Her wet hair covered her face, her soaking fur dripping onto the floorboards, adding to the slowly expanding puddle of water beneath the cello player. The only sound in the room right now was that of Vinyl Scratch, the DJ unicorn rolling around on the floor in a fit of hysterical laughter.

Octavia slowly turned her head around to look at Vinyl, her mouth closing and forming a snarling expression that bared her teeth, lips and even her gum-line quivering from the seething rage that was beginning to build up in the otherwise calm and collected earth pony. Underneath her soaking hair, Octavia's eyes reflected the fiery anger she was amassing.

Laying down her instrument and bow, she wrapped a hoof around the handle of the bucket, which had fallen to the ground after Vinyl released her magical hold over it. The white unicorn was still laughing, unaware of the walking embodiment of wrath and fury that was walking towards her. Her giggling fit only started to come to an end when Vinyl noticed a shadow looming over her, but by then it was too late to guard herself against Octavia and she reared back her foreleg and...

- - - - - - - - - -

"Would you like another ice pack, Vinyl?", Octavia cooed across the kitchen table, a smug smirk on her face.

Vinyl shot Octavia a deadpanned look with her good eye, the other obscured behind a large bag filled with ice to mask the black bruise and soothe the pain it brought. "No, I'm good with this one", Vinyl responded.

Author's Note:

The moral of the story, people, is never interrupt somepony when they're playing their cello.

Comments

[gamexpert1990]

Horzart

That is the best horse pun variation of that particular musician's name I've heard yet.

[Disconcerted]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)rekt

[UniqueSKD]

5023767 Thank you. I expect people to start using that name themselves soon. XD

[Azure Wolf 227]

Oh Vinyl! You stupid thing!

[UniqueSKD]

5024838

Story and Animation by UniqueSKD.

Thank you for reading, kind sir/madam!

[ShadyCanopy]

Thanks for giving me an early-morning laugh!

[UniqueSKD]

5024956 I live to give people a laugh, good sir or madam!

[ShadyCanopy]

5025008 That, I already knew!

[Azure Wolf 227]

5024899 It's miss! Or is my avatar not clear enough. Anyway, that was funny!

[UniqueSKD]

5026243 Stick around. I may not be the most talented or gifted Brony, or human being for that matter, but I always aim to do what I possibly can to help put a smile on my audience's face.

Remember - Perfection of oneself is achieved only when oneself learns to love oneself's imperfections.

Be unique and stay that way, lovely madam. Be safe, stay healthy, eat muffins and never be afraid to be yourself. Because to be different is to be special, and to be special is to be different.

Thank you very very much for the view, madam. (bows politely and kisses your hand before defying gravity and floating away)

[Azure Wolf 227]

5026575 That was such an inspiring message, my dear sir. Thank you.

[UniqueSKD]

5027916 Like I said. I'm not a perfect guy. I'm not as talented an animator or artist or story writer as a lot of other people, and my sanity is indeed quite questionable, but if anything I did was able to cheer someone up, anywhere at anytime in the world, no matter how many views or likes my stuff got, it would be worth it.

To be honest, I'm stunned by how far I've come in the past year. I'm getting a small but nevertheless respectable following, and I'm coming to know a lot of amazing and inspirational people I'd never have known if I never became a Brony.

So the world can abuse me, and glance at me with looks of hate and disgust
But I know my calling is to make you smile, and forget your troubles for a while
My objective is my oath, my cause is just
- UniqueSKD, 2014
XD

You know, you seem alright, madam. I shall follow you, but not like a stalker. So no worries, I won't be outside your house. :)

I like your new curtains though. XD

[Azure Wolf 227]

5028047 Better hope that my dad doesn't hear that last bit, though.

[UniqueSKD]

5028380 Better hope your family lives somewhere other than the United Kingdom too, cause' I doubt he'd pay for a flight over here just to ask me how in the hell I knew about these 'new curtains' that I honestly just guessed. XD

[Azure Wolf 227]

5028403 nah, don't worry.

[The Cosmic Consciousness]

Never interrupt a musician when they're playing, never interrupt a writier when they're writing, and NEVER EVER interrupt someone eating a muffin. Good lessons to learn.

[VGI]

Nice Slice of Life short story. Simple, short, easy to read, one-shot.

Love the simplicity of the animation. I..uh...actually found the animation more entertaining.

Spotted some possible errors (or, I'm the one mistaken):
1. She brought her hooves up to her face in an attempt to silence another giggle, lest Octavia heard her and Vinyl's oh-so-perfectly-awesome-and-brilliant joke, which she had spent a long time (actually just half an hour) preparing for.

2. Vinyl rubbed her hooves together inglee, as she waited for just the right moment.

3. A small crowd of mares, stallions, and foals gathered outside the cottage, smiles plastered on their faces as they swayed their heads to the beautiful music ringing out from the household, theirs eyes closed as they sat and permitted the wonderful sounds to pry into their minds and awaken a variety of fantasies and imaginations...

[UniqueSKD]

5684312 I write how I write.

I'm not a great story teller, but at the very least if someone sees my stories and thinks they can write it much better, I am happy knowing my bad stories at least gave them an idea.

[VGI]

5684489 To be honest, your ability to "show" (as opposed to "tell")...well, you make it look so easy. I'd like to be able to make it look like it's easy too, but I have to think hard to come up with good "showing."

Most of my editors (those who watch me write online, especially), watch me try, and tells me that I can do better. Then I ask them how they'd do it, and they show me. And yes, they're right. I can do better.

As for me enjoying the animation more...I guess I just had my fill of words. It's quite refreshing to actually see the story instead of reading, and then imagining it. Not that the story is bad per se, which it isn't.

And I kinda envy you. You can animate your stories. My days in the local animation industry is over ever since the managing director of the animation studio I was with died. Nowadays, I just go pass by TopDraw Studios whenever I'm in the Philippine Stock Market. And the guard they have posted outside won't even let me take a picture of the wall divider they have behind their glass front door. It's got posters of all the franchises they have in-production, including MLP:FiM.

[UniqueSKD]

5686845 Nothing about it is easy. There is nothing easy about writing if you don't go into it prepared.

My Followers keep telling me that I do good stories, and I believe them on the ones that have gotten a lot of views because at the time I had good ideas. But recently I have had a bad spell with stories. Gonna be totally honest with you here - you're really helping to put me in a better mood with your flattery. XD

I'm not the best writer. This is a fact and I accept that. Hell, I don't want to be a great writer. I just want to be good enough that people understand what I'm trying to portray in the story, what it is about, see characters as close to in character as possible, and overall just have a good read. I can't produce five-star quality material, but I try my best to write whatever I can for the good folk I'm lucky to have on my side.

Also, just wanna throw in there that I also do drawings and YouTube basic-level animations. UniqueSKD. Self-promoting his crap wile laying on his bed in his underpants with no shame. Manly epicness, and heavy rock music plays me out. Thank you, goodnight Seattle! XD

[VGI]

5686882

[UniqueSKD]

5686885 I must sound like the saddest piece of shit you've ever come across, but at least when you ever feel down in life you can think of me and say to yourself, "Thank the Lord Jesus Christ I never told people that I was in my underwear even f it was for comical laughs." XD

[VGI]

5686967 Yeah. I never did got into the habit of going around in my undies, even in the privacy of my own room.

[UniqueSKD]

5686986 Let's not talk about underwear. I'm still trying to get a date with a lovely girl I'm smitten with and stuff like this can make things complicated. XD

[VGI]

5687002 Ah. Of course.

[ShadowLDrago]

The moral of the story, people, is never interrupt somepony when they're playing their cello.

As a someone who plays the cello, this is correct. Also, Vinyl had that coming.

[UniqueSKD]

6778176 Come back here, you speedy bugger! Speed hopping from story to story! XD

[ShadowLDrago]

6778192

*meep meeps away*

[MixMassBasher]

Talk about hijinks