Inner Demons

by Spider8ite

Chapter Six: “Let’s go Shopping!”

My parents should be ashamed — not me. But I was, of course. In fact, I had never understood why they always wore those clothes — they must be very uncomfortable in the heat of hell. Maybe they just wear them for status — to show who’s in charge.

But I must admit that the clothes their tailor makes for them are very elegant, and it would probably be very expensive to buy something like that here, if indeed anything like them still exists, that is. Yet that does not relieve my shame.

Leaving the building and walking the streets towards Carousel Boutique — just a few blocks away — I felt the weight of many people’s stares. It was pretty obvious that if they were going to a party they would drive. My father however was curious with the looks they received. “Why are they looking at us like that? Isn’t my disguise spell working anymore?” Dante raised an eyebrow.

I giggled. “They’re not really used to seeing people wearing expensive things in this part of the city. This isn’t really a rich part of town, and they also don’t see women dresses like that. It looks like a wedding dress!” I said, pointing at my mom. The people who walked behind her were trying to not step on the long trail of fabric behind her, muttering curses.

“Well, in hell that’s totally normal!” he exclaimed, gesticulating wildly. I made a signal for him to lower his voice. “That’s normal I said.” Now he sounded like a male Fluttershy speaking — much better.

“But here it’s not. And that’s why we have to see Rarity, my… well, she’s Vinyl’s friend really, but I became her friend because of Vinyl.” I stopped to think about how Vinyl had actually said she had lived with her. Before she’d told me that I wouldn’t have ever imagined it — in fact even now I hardly can. “She’s a stylist; she does amazing dresses but also has a boutique that sells not just dresses, but normal clothes.”

“They must be elegant!”

I facepalmed. “No! I won’t let you buy anything elegant! It can be…” I tried to think of a word between ‘elegant’ and ‘casual’. “Smart. But not elegant — it has to be something normal for your day to day life. If you two are going to stay here for a whole year, and you don’t want to look like two Game of Thrones fans going to a convention, then you have to buy something like that and look like normal people.” I smiled, remembering what Neon had said about them.

“Okay, fine. We’ll do whatever you think is best for us…”

“It’s not just for you two, it’s for me too. This will make me happy! I’d love to see my parents actually join my world.” I smiled and he looked at me for a moment.

He let out a slow sigh and mumbled “fine”.

“I’m not complaining, darling!” my mom said happily.

I laughed and shook my head. “I think Rarity will like mother. They both love… fashion things.”

“Well, you want to see us making new friends?” my father asked. I nodded. “Well then,” he said, “that’s a start — for her.”

“Don’t you want to make new friends, grumpy?” I asked, joking with him.

My father shook his head and scratched his beard, thinking for a moment. “Maybe I can? If it would make you happy, then I can try. It would be kind of nice to have someone else to play chess with. You know… Miss Death can be a big cheater sometimes!” He whispered, knowing that Death can be lurking around the corner when you least expect it.

I smiled. “I can play chess with you, if you make new friends.”

“Then I’ll do what… write a friendship letter?”

I didn’t pay any attention to my father as we arrived at the boutique. “Here we are — time to choose something you want.”

We entered and were received by Rarity’s smiling assistant, Coco. She answered the door and quickly went back to scribbling in a small notebook. “Rarity isn’t here, she had to go to an important uh… fashion show in Canterlot.”

“Oh, so that’s what she was talking about yesterday…” I said to myself and she nodded, not really knowing what I was talking about. She put down her notebook and turned her attention to my parents.

“So these are uh... Mister Melody and Miss Melody?” Coco asked, smiling. “You’ve never told us anything about them…”

“A long story, Coco. Too long to tell you now…” I looked at the two for a moment and then called them to see what they wanted. “Here, choose.” I gestured at the racks of clothes.

“Where do I find the tuche-…” I looked at him with a disapproving face. “Okay, I’ll look.”

After a long while, and some very nasty comments from my father regarding some of the clothes, and endless gushing from my mother about how the costumes were so glamorous, they finally picked something that they found acceptable.

I waited for them as they used the dressing rooms. Finally I heard the curtain of my mother’s dressing room open. I looked up and she asked, “How do I look?”

“Normal. That’s really good, mom. I personally really like this t-shirt saying ‘Rise Me’.”

“T-shirt?”

“Yes, that’s what you’re wearing right now! That’s what it’s called.” The sound of another dressing room curtain being opened took my attention.

“So how do I look?”

“Where on Earth did you find a top hat?”

“Oh, okay, spoilsport…” He took off his hat. “Better now?”

“Really good. Now we need to choose…” I performed a quick mental calculation. “Twenty more outfits like that.”

“Yay!” Eisheth exclaimed.

My father just sighed. “What wouldn’t I do for my dear daughter…?”

Later…

My normally dressed parents and I walked home carrying mountains of shopping bags — mainly my mom’s. I must say, she got more than I expected — way more than twenty outfits.

“This is simply divine! I need to get a dress from your friend once she’s back in town, and give her a giant hug! Like this big…” She flung her arms out to demonstrate, slapping my father’s face with her bags.

“Ouch!” He rubbed his face and pouted.

My mother smiled, taking his cheek with one of her hands and rubbing it, yet still holding the bags. His face went red and I laughed. “Sorry Dan, I didn’t mean it!”

“Okay…” My father was quiet for a moment until his belly rumbling interrupted the silence. “I really need something to eat. Do they have peppers here?” Dante scratched the back of his head.

My mom nodded. “Yes, I could do with a meal too.”

“Well…” I looked at the sun setting. “It’s almost night. We were at the boutique for longer than I’d expected.” It was a Friday, and usually Friday was Vinyl’s day to cook something Italian for us to eat before she went to work. “It’s time to you two to try something we call lasagna.”

“Lasagna?”

“Yes. But it isn’t the normal one. It’s Vinyl’s, and that means…” I sighed happily thinking about her mouthwatering food. “The best lasagna in all of Equestria. And also the best in hell, because… we actually don’t have it down there…”

“Does it have peppers in?”

“No!”

They both looked at each other with sad faces, opening and closing their mouths wordlessly like two goldfish in a tank.

“Don’t be like that! You two are going to experience the food of gods!” I said.

My father looked at me with suspicion. “Food of gods?! I already don’t like it!”

“That’s just… it’s just an expression. I just mean it’s really good food, and you two will eat it. Vinyl might even want a little help around the kitchen. Even if…” I started, thinking about how it could end up in disaster.

“How? We only know how to cut peppers!” My mom exclaimed with a pout.

“That’s why you two need to help her! If you two could learn how to cook something other than peppers, then perhaps, when you go to hell again, you could have a more varied diet!” I said as we entered the building. “I think a lot of the people there would appreciate it. It’s always nice to change your routine a little.”

“Okay…” they both said despondently.

“I’m sure you two will love helping her. After all that idiot needs some help…” I murmured.

I just hope everything has been cleaned up now… at least I did my part, picking up clothes for Neon.

---

After some of Vinyl’s jokes, and my father complaining about how his beautiful new shirt got all dirty because of the sauce, and my mother chattering about how easy all this cooking stuff was, we finally sat at the table. Vinyl, still wearing her apron written 'Wub the Cook', served the food.

“Buon appetito!” She took off her apron and flung it away, not caring where it landed, before sitting at the table.

My father looked at his food and looked back at me. Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “What’s that? You don’t like it?”

“No… uh… I’m… just waiting for it to cool down before I eat it.”

What a good liar my father is…

Vinyl shrugged.

Meanwhile my mom was loving it. She finished her plate in minutes, then disappeared to the kitchen to help herself to a second portion. Reluctantly, my father ate it. He clearly liked it, even though he’d never admit it, grumbling and shaking his head disapprovingly.

I smiled. It was a start.

After we’d all finished, my mother volunteered to wash the dishes. Meanwhile, Vinyl was upstairs to deliver the clothes and and a plate of food to Neon, who had stayed in the bathroom.

“Mom, just make sure to not break anything… okay?” I called through to the kitchen.

She nodded happily. “Of course I will!” She shook her hand to the side, still holding a dish, and dropped it. My father started clapping in amusement at the scene and I facepalmed. My mother laughed nervously. “Don’t worry, I’ll clean this up!”

My father rubbed his hands together. “And I’ll watch the TV… right?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll watch the TV!”

I helped my mother to pick up the pieces of her mess and decided to wash the dishes myself. I should have done that from the beginning really…

By the time I had finished, my parents were already asleep — Vinyl had showed them to the bedroom. Wub Wub liked my mother so much that he’d even decided to sleep with them. Well, he liked almost everyone who stepped into this house — even Neon!

“God, they’re weird,” Vinyl murmured as he arranged herself in the mirror, getting ready for work.

I pressed the ‘mute’ button on the remote control and looked at her. “Who?”

“Your parents. Like… who doesn’t bring clothes when they’re coming to stay somewhere for a whole year? And he didn’t like the lasagna, you know!” She walked over and sat beside me.

“Of course he liked — everyone likes your lasagne!”

Vinyl laughed and gave me a kiss. “Later, Octopussy.” She got up and left the apartment. My only choice now was to try to get to sleep there on the couch.

Later…

The next day I was due to perform a special show in Manehattan Square. And I knew it would go terribly, because I wasn’t going to sleep at all that night. Even from downstairs, I could hear Neon’s snore…

I sighed for the tenth time, I think.

My parents had magic to deal with this sort of thing. And they probably thought it was me snoring, and wouldn’t ask anything.

Maybe… *snore* Yes, is official, I won’t sleep tonight… Ugh…

I rolled over and tried to sleep. Tried.

Author's Note:

All the hype for the 100 episode with Octavia is getting me and when I saw it will have Vinyl... I just died As always thanks to VitalSpark for the editing! Seeya!

Comments

[Star Brush]

IZ LIKE DIS!

[HoneyBadgerTheGhoul]

Vinyl.... will be in the 100th episode?
*squeeeeeee!*
Now everyone is staring at me, the 6 and a half foot tall black man who just squeed.

[Spider8ite]

5835848 Don't ya worry man, we all squee in times like that

5835549

5825650 I try my best!

[Sandy Sam]

'Of course I won't break anything!'
*smash*
'Oops'
Octavia's parents are great.

[Crystal Night]

Wub Wub it's almost like my dog, he's really friendly. Thats why I like him so much!

[Philosophysics]

IT NEEDS MORE!

[Crescent Glaive]

Here you go Octavia
Take this personal device that projects a soundproof field around you (fields radius is max 5 feet around you and can be adjusted)
Uses 3 double A batteries as power.

[poisonflame616]

still wearing her apron written 'Wub the Cook', served the foof.

foof? I thought they were having food, not foof

[Venoar]

5838677 HEY, don't make fun of foof, its DELICIOUS.

[Spider8ite]

5838677 Thanks for pointing out, it's correct now.

[Azure Ravenscroft]

I came for the demons, I'm staying for the comedy

[MoNNgol]

>> My father shook his head and scratched his beard, thinking for a moment. “Maybe I can? If it would make you happy, then I can try. It would be kind of nice to have someone else to play chess with.

I know with whom he can play.
fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/356/3/d/ready_to_play__by_johnjoseco-d4juitf.jpg
Even two options.
fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/178/f/f/the_seventh_seal_by_willis96-d5550jv.jpg