After So Long

by ChaseTheChangeling

Under The Sweet Moonlight

~~~~Five Years Earlier~~~~

The mixed sounds of a cello and drums could be heard rocking the back of the house unevenly, the "music" shaking the floor and wracking the brain of the poor earth pony upstairs. She had been happy to have her ever excitable daughter have fun with her classmate, but she had never guessed that the two girls would be making such a racket. Her white mane frizzled from the stress, and her sweater jumbled messily across her frame, she sat in the room chugging a beer, her third she had counted, as the fillies played in the laundry room. The mare, who had a lovely electric blue coat, and spiked white mane, went by the name of Gab, and she was a loving mother, if not a rather strange one, and even with her strict no company policy couldn't resist the look on her 15 year old daughter's face when she begged for her cellist friend to come over. She could still remember the conversation well, but then again it had only been a day ago.

"Ma! Ma!" the tall and lanky white unicorn was excited about something again, her frizzy poofy mane bouncing with her each step, a spiky black leather collar rattled around her neck, a thin black biker jacket falling off her shoulders as she moved about. Gab had been cooking with a beer close by, her smile grew wider as she heard her daughter calling for her.

"Yes, Vinyl, what do you want, honey?" Gab asked as she stopped her cooking to take a swig of beer.

"Ma! My friend Octavia wants t' come over! Can she?!" Vinyl asked, her smile wide. Gab looked at her and noticed she had opted to leave her trademark red shades in her room. Likely to give the full pouting effect in case she had decided to say no.

"Have I met Octavia before?"

"N-no... but you will!"

"Um-hm, so where so you know Octavia from?"

"School, she's super cool! She's in a band and everything! We made a comic and we became friends because we both like rock music and-"

"Okay, okay heh, yes, Octavia can come over, but you have to plan it, and you have to save your money to treat her like a guest."

"Like, cook for her and stuff?"

"Well, I don't know, would she like that?"

"Eeh... I don't think she'd like what I cook."

"What? You mean she doesn't like food burned beyond recognition?"

"Ma!" Vinyl whined. Gab only laughed at her daughter's antics and shook her head. She was sure that Vinyl could handle a simple visit, she was already half way into full adult hood, she'd have to learn sooner or later.

Gab took another sip of her beer after an especially loud guitar solo echoed through the house. Why had she decided it was a good idea to give a child as loud and crazy as Vinyl so many instruments? Gab just sighed and lit a cigarette, the spongy filter sticking to her lips as she took in a long puff and turned on her TV.

"We're gonna be a HIT!" Vinyl shouted with a wide smile. Her hooves worked on her computer shortly as she typed in a few simple commands, and dropping a few simple drum samples into their slots. Vinyl fiddled idly with her spiked collar as she worked, that wide smile stayed adorning her alabaster face. Beside her sat an equally happy grey earth mare, he cello balancing in a resting hoof while the other fussed with her mane. Vinyl loved the way Octavia looked, despite her rather "unconventional" style. Her mane had been cut to a buzz in the back, leaving what would be a crew if it wasn't long enough to touch her nose, and her body was softer than Vinyl's, her body and what revealed of her maturity hidden under a thick black hoodie, and under that hoodie was a lovely black shirt with a picture of a stump wearing a checkered fedora. There was a little text that read, "This isn't a scene, it's a Celestia damned T-Shirt!".

"What should we call ourselves?" Octavia asked not really paying full attention to Vinyl who was still typing away on her computer.

"Eh... why not... Dragons...."

"Dragons, Vinyl? You can't be more original?"

"I'm thinking, hold on..."

"Don't hurt yourself."

Vinyl blew raspberries at her friend, breaking with a small grin. "Why not Destroying Dragons?"

"I don't know, it doesn't sound that great.."

"Dragons Destroying Destroyers?"

"Eww..."

"Dragons... Before.... Destroyer?"

"Uh..."

"Yeah!" Vinyl shouted with a cheer, "We'll be Dragons Before The Destroyer! We'll be the best!"

"With a cello, a guitar, a bass guitar, and a computer, all being played by two ponies?" Octavia asked with a chuckle.

"Well... I mean... yeah! We could just record it all and then we'll sell it!"

"But if we don't do live, how are we going to compete with School Yard Orgy?" Octavia asked as she tuned her cello, soon moving on to her bass guitar. Vinyl thought, knowing that School Yard Orgy was a very... "renowned" school band. She didn't think there'd be a day were she'd be good enough to challenge them. They had the looks, the beards, and the fan base.

"I guess we'll just have to practice mixing pre-made music and making it on stage? Like a DJ!" Vinyl smiled.

"Ech, I could never get into that DJ-ing stuff. You know I only like rock." Octavia gave a strum on her bass for emphasis. Vinyl let her shades slide down her nose and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah yeah, I know, you don't like mainstream." Vinyl gave her friend a wink that wasn't soon returned.

"What are you implying?" Octavia asked. She soon had to spin in her seat as Vinyl just stuck her tongue out and walked behind her, exiting the small laundry room and into the kitchen. Octavia only rolled her eyes with a smile and followed her friend.

The walk lead them through the living room and out into the brisk cold. Vinyl had a glimmer in her eye, Octavia only guessed she had some sort of idea. With a simple flash of light, a large blanket poofed beside her.

"What's that for?" Octavia asked, poking the blanket.

"It's a full moon tonight!"

"So we're..."

"Going to sit in the field and enjoy the view? Yes!" Vinyl was never fully proud of her home, as it was on the edge of a thriving city, meaning it was a row-home ridden ghetto. The streets were littered with trash, and there were always drugs and scary ponies about, the smog bothered her lungs and the guards were always lurking about. But even with all that, she managed to find some sort of bright side, and the park at night was a perfect example.

After a short walk over large rocks, trying not to trip over a large log, and climbing decaying wooden stairs, Vinyl and Octavia reached the small park. A playground at the tip of the hill Vinyl lived on, and a large wired fence to keep ponies from rolling down into the normally bustling street below. This late, there were rarely even taxi cabs running about. It was almost dead silent save for the sounds of distant towns, and the inner city, that was always bright, even from where Vinyl sat. At this peek, everything was visible, the tips of homes, the bridges, the rivers and towns, and a lovely view of the horizon and stars. Vinyl sighed as she looked over the site and lay the blanket down, taking a seat and patting the spot beside her as invitation for her friend. Octavia gave the blanket a quick once over before sitting down with Vinyl, and looking up at the sky as well.

"Isn't it lovely?" Vinyl asked, her tail swishing across the blanket in excitement. Octavia tilted her head and thought about it.

"It.... it kind of is..." Octavia smiled, despite her body shivering from the cold breeze rolling in. Vinyl looked at her friend with concern. "Uh, it's nothing, I'm just... you know." Vinyl simply smiled and placed the blanket over their shoulders, and snuggling up under the comfortable warmth.

"This is nice...." Vinyl commented quietly.

"Yeah... it is..."

Vinyl and Octavia sat quietly for a while before the silence was broken by a sudden question.

"Octy... do you remember when we first met?"

"Yeah, you mean how you suddenly started trying to talk to me in class?"

"Heh, yeah... I didn't seem weird did I?"

"Everybody is weird, Vinyl."

"Yeah, but you gave me this look like I just kicked a foal."

"Well... you know... I just don't like ponies." Octavia wasn't lying, regardless of her friendships, she was a hard pony to befriend without some basis to work off of. She liked specific things, and had unpopular opinions, and other ponies just seemed... intimidated. Vinyl never understood that.

"Well... you know why I started talking to you?"

"No, I still never figured out why you'd want to talk to me heh."

"To be honest, I didn't really know why either.... but I'm really glad I did." Octavia shuffled a bit under the blanket, Vinyl guessed she was just cold, but she didn't complain about being so close to her friend. Octavia simply smiled and looked back up to the sky and sighed.

"....Thanks...."

Comments

[The Gray Hat]

good chapter, "destroying dragons".....lol imagine that. imagine dragons