Journal of Occasional Nonsensicality

by Acryliks

Pranked!

“Don’t you think that this is a little... I don’t know... cliche?” I asked with a perplexed look on my face. Octavia was standing on a step ladder on the inside of Vinyl’s room.

“What do you mean?” she asked me as she looked past her own foreleg.

Three days ago, Vinyl had thought that it would be a hilarious idea to prank Octavia. She had taken the liberty of acquiring some “Xtra Hot Chili Flakes” from a comedy store she found in downtown Canterlot, and when her roommate was not looking, she slipped some into her food that night. Vinyl had told me all about it, but I got a completely different story from the victimized mare.

When Octavia bit into her food, she got a taste that she was not particularly fond of. Octavia had never been one to appreciate spicy food; in fact, she tried to avoid it if at all possible. This, coupled with the fact that Vinyl had removed all dairy products from the house and disconnected the water, had lead to an extremely amusing and over the top reaction from Octavia.

Or so I had been told.

“I mean, hasn’t the whole ‘water bucket on top of the door’ been done to death already?” I asked as I gazed up at my friend.

Octavia had never really be one for revenge, but when Vinyl did what she did, she must have crossed some sort of line with her roommate, because Octavia had started scheming almost immediately.

“And not that it wouldn’t be funny, but...” I said as I looked around Vinyl’s room.

“But what?” Octavia asked as she came down from the ladder with the bucket tucked into her left foreleg.

“I mean... Vinyl has a lot of expensive equipment in here, of which she probably needs to do her job. Don’t you think that this would be the worst place in this house to start throwing water around?” I half-asked, half-hinted. Octavia looked towards all of Vinyl's DJ equipment for a moment, before sighing.

“I suppose you are right. Really, I’ve never been one for pulling practical jokes,” she said with a huff as she set down the bucket full of water. I thought for a moment, before an invisible light bulb appeared over my head.

“You know what? I have an idea...” I said darkly.

---

Two hours later...

---

“Do you think that this might be a little too mean?” Octavia asked me with a look of concern on her face.

“I don’t think so. Besides, I really, really want to see her reaction when you break the record,” I said with an evil grin on my face. Octavia nodded, before standing up from the couch where we were sitting.

“Alright, everything should be ready, so you keep a look out, and when she’s coming up to the house, you let me know, and I’ll do it,” she told me. I craned my neck to look behind me.

“Well, you better start going, because she’s coming right now,” I told her, seeing Vinyl approach the door to the house through the living room window.

“Really? Oh Celestia, alright, play it cool!” she told me as she ran up the stairs and into Vinyl’s room.

“Play it cool... nice,” I muttered to myself with a laugh as Vinyl opened the door to the house.

“Hey man, what’s up?” she asked me as she set her keys down on the coffee table with her magic.

“Nothing, just hanging out. Octavia just went upstairs to get something,” I told her. It wasn’t technically a lie, since she really was upstairs grabbing something.

“That’s cool, say, do you-”

“Vinyl!? Is that you?” Octavia yelled from upstairs.

“Yeah, I’m here Tavi, what’s up?” she yelled back. I smiled slightly, making sure that Vinyl didn’t see my grin. I heard the sound of hoofs coming down the stairs.

“I wanted to ask you a question about one of these record you have,” Octavia said as she came down the stairs. In her right foreleg sat one of Vinyl’s most prized possessions.

A vinyl record. Cohoof and Cambria. Their fourth album. Autographed personally by the lead guitarist. In absolute flawless condition.

I had learned that it had been a birthday present from her father, and since it was Vinyl's favourite band of all time (surprisingly enough), she had immediately preserved it in a glass viewing case for all to see. It was of immense value to her. Priceless, really.

“I was wondering if you- oops!” Octavia snapped as he pretended to trip on the last step into the living room. To catch herself, she needed to extend her right leg. To catch herself, she needed to let go of the record she was carrying.

Crash!

The record hit the floor, still in it’s original paper packaging, with a loud breaking sound. It sounded like glass breaking, albeit a little lower in tone.

“Hey, Octavia, are you okay?” Vinyl asked her as she came to her side.

“Ah, yes, I’m fine. The record, though...” she trailed off.

“Hey, it’s fine, it’s just a record. I can always buy ano-” Vinyl stopped mid-sentence as she turned to see what record Octavia had been carrying. Her eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped open. Octavia came up next to her.

“I am really sorry, Vinyl. I had to catch myself, and I couldn’t with the record in my arm. You understand, right?” she asked innocently.

Of course Octavia knew how valuable that record was to Vinyl. Of course this was my idea...

...of course it was a fake record in fake packaging. I'm not that mean.

“Octa... you... that was...” she gasped in disbelief.

“I’m really sorry Vinyl...” Octavia trailed off.

“That was... that... that was the record that my dad gave me...” she said with her mouth still agape.

“I know dear. Do you know what else it was?” Octavia asked while placing a hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder. Vinyl looked to her with malice and confusion in her eyes.

“...a prank,” Octavia said innocently. Vinyl flinched and blinked a few times.

“You... what?” she asked confusedly.

“Next time don’t disconnect the water, you know how much I dislike spicy food,” she told her roommate, and with that, she sauntered into the kitchen, humming a light tune to herself as she did. Vinyl watched her as she walked away, before turning and looking to me.

“Gotcha,” I said with a laugh. Vinyl lowered her head and took in a large breath.

“That.... was not funny!” she yelled towards Octavia.

“It was hilarious!” Octavia yelled back.

A little too far? Perhaps.

An amazing, once in a lifetime experience? Absolutely.

Author's Note:

A little longer than the other chapters, but still true to the name of the story!