• Published 28th Jan 2016
  • 946 Views, 29 Comments

My Language is Music - SoloBrony



Against her better judgement, Octavia goes to Changeling Hive Chrysalis via the cultural-exchange program in order to investigate a mysterious composer.

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It's not an adventure

"I still can't believe we're actually doing this!"

So exclaimed my roommate, Vinyl Scratch, as we packed our bags away under our seats. We had a train-car all to ourselves for the ride. I must admit to sharing her sentiment, somewhat; things had escalated from 'crazy idea' to 'plan' to 'action' in as little as a day, and I was shocked at my own impulsiveness.

"This is of utmost importance to me, Vinyl. It is only natural that I should take it seriously."

I was trying to sound confident, but in all honesty this felt anything but natural to me, and Vinyl's comments to that effect were making me question my own judgement. I wondered if perhaps I had been far too hasty.

"I know you're really worked up about this old composer, Octy. It's just that you're not usually so... adventurous."

In case you're wondering, 'Octy' is just my roommate's pet name for me. My given name is Octavia, which seems to be two syllables too much for her to be troubled with.

"It's not an adventure, Vinyl. We're just going to a foreign city to do some research; why, it's no different from the travel-study programs at Canterlot University."

Vinyl flopped on her seat and tossed her head back in laughter. She peered at me over the top of her shades, a wide grin on her face.

"Oh yeah, because they totally send ponies to the changeling hive on a travel-study program. Come on, Octy, this isn't like that at all; I mean, can you imagine? I think we're the only ponies who are going to even be there! We're the only ones on the train, at least."

I could feel the color draining from my face as she spoke about that. To be honest, I'd been prepared for the possibility that there may not be any ponies in sight at the hive; I had been informed that the cultural exchange program wasn't very popular among ponies, and had primarily been used by changelings to visit Equestria. That having been said, I had somehow not put together the idea that this meant I was already away from others of my kind, and I found the realization daunting. Vinyl continued her speech, laughter still in her voice.

"I mean, they invaded Canterlot back in the day, and like, drain love and kidnap ponies and stuff, right? Or something like that? I mean, I know they're not all like that, but it's still kinda funny to think about; we're heading to a city that is basically, like, a bunch of shapeshifting bug-monster ponies, in order to track down information about some mysterious composer. How is that not an adventure?!"

Vinyl had been right in her earlier assertion; I am not, generally, a very adventurous pony. Her analysis of our outing was making me start to consider disembarking before the train started moving towards our destination.

"... Perhaps this was a bad idea. It could be dangerous, and there's no guarantee that what we're looking for is there, anyway, so—"

"Hey, Octy. Don't worry, okay?"

Vinyl walked across the train-car to sit next to me on the bench seat. She gently put a hoof on my shoulder and looked at me with a serious expression before continuing.

"I didn't mean to freak you out, okay? I'm just really excited. It all kinda feels like something out of an adventure book, is all. I'm sure it's not really dangerous; Celestia wouldn't have signed the treaty if she thought it'd put us in danger, right? And I know how important this is to you, so, like... let's give it a shot! Even if they don't know who this 'Cecily' mare was, at least we can snag a few neat souvenirs or somethin', right?"

Honestly, it all cheered me up more than I thought it should; I found myself smiling, despite my nerves. Really, it was her I was worried about; I had decided it was worth the risk to have a shot at finding out the source of the mysterious manuscripts that had shaken the classical music world more than a decade ago, but Vinyl had little interest in that. She was just here to support me – and maybe for a kick or two along the way.

I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to her.

"I'm sure you're right, Vinyl. I just... jumped into this, so I didn't really consider how foolhardy it must all seem, until you brought it up."

Vinyl snickered, taking off her shades.

"Octy, you always worry too much; I think it's really cool you decided to go after this."

I found myself smirking wryly at her sudden change in attitude.

"I guess that, when compared with your carefree attitude, I must seem a nervous wreck half of the time."

To my surprise, rather than doubling down and asserting her coolness, Vinyl got quiet and looked away, staring out the window. When her voice came back to me, it was slow and thoughtful.

"Nah, Octy. There's plenty I worry about. Heck, there's stuff I'm too nervous to try – that's why I think it's so cool you decided to do this. You're going after what you care about."

Despite knowing each other for so many years, Vinyl had never admitted something like that to me; it came as something of a shock. Normally, she just doubled down on acting silly when things got serious. I considered pushing her for details, but decided against it. We sat in companionable silence until the door to our car slid open, revealing a pair of mares, one green and one blue. The blue one just looked surprised, while the green one smiled and greeted us.

"Oh, hello, there! Would you mind us sharing your car for the journey? I didn't expect to see any other ponies here!"

I glanced at Vinyl, who shrugged with a grin, slipping her shades back on. I gestured at the seat across from us, and the two of them sat down – close enough that their coats were brushing up against each other. The blue mare stayed quiet, watching us with an almost uncomfortable intensity, while the green one chirped up energetically.

"It's so good to see you! I'm Astra, and this is Stargazer. We'd heard that the exchange program was almost exclusively changelings coming to visit Equestria. I was worried I'd be the only pony there!"

Vinyl quirked an eyebrow at that, and I voiced her unspoken question.

"What about Stargazer, there?"

The two mares exchanged an amused glance, and Astra spoke up again.

"Starry here's actually a changeling. I got a job teaching history at the hive, so we're moving there!"

I'll admit, that whole statement took me off guard. I worked my jaw a bit, but it was a while before I could think of anything reasonable to say. Vinyl just had this crazy grin the whole time, which just made things worse. Once I got over it, though, I started asking them all sorts of questions. We were so engrossed in conversation that we hardly noticed when the train left the station – or, the three of us were, at least. Vinyl stayed silent, but that's not unusual for her. By the time we had arrived in the hive, I knew a great deal more about the society I had come to – and where to start my search.