She hadn’t exactly pushed herself, either; not until after she said goodbye to her old life and started anew as an ordinary pony – as Vinyl Scratch.
Vanelda is gone...now, there's only Vinyl!
“You are not ordinary, Vanelda, and you never will be.”
No, but she'll always be better than you Voron!!!
“I … I don’t know.” Maybe in the beginning, but she had cast and recast the curse so many times over the years that the loop was the magical equivalent of titanium now. She wasn’t sure she could undo it now even if she had wanted to. But maybe she could break it; break each layer until she got to the power buried beneath them all. “You can break curses but the results can be … messy. And potentially deadly.”
Very true.
“Not from memory.”
His hoof twitched on Octavia’s head. A tear slid down her cheek.
YIKES!
“Where is the book?” Voron demanded.
“In the eaves. Under the thatch. You can’t reach it from inside. You have to climb out onto the roof and dig around for it.”
“Very clever. Hiding in plain sight.” Voron smiled. It made Vinyl’s skin crawl. “So you did retain at least some of the things I taught you.”
Yeah, so she could put her past behind her and use it to get away from you!
“Move it or lose it, big sis!”
Oh shut up Vellum!
Her hooves ate up the ground. There were a fair few ponies around. Winter was approaching and evenings darkened earlier and earlier at this time of year. Already store window glittered with Hearth’s Warming Eve displays. An aged couple cried out as she ran past them, knocking the stallion’s hat off. A mare drawing a cart yelled when Vanelda darted across the street in front of her. Cats scattered when she turned down an alleyway and vaulted a garbage area behind a coffeehouse, scaling the wire fence and galloping again on the other side.
“Well I never!
“How rude!”
“Watch out there!”
“Show some manners!”
Oi, give the girl a break! She's trying to be detached from her 'Daddy Dearest'!
“Boy, you must have rushed out of the dorm in a real hurry if you forgot to eat and you forget your books!” The flap of the pink mare’s saddlebag opened again and a notepad and pen floated out. “It’s a good thing I always carry spares. Here. I forgot mine the first time I took this class and Orchid ripped me a new one.”
Well isn't that nice?
Their gazes were fixed behind Vanelda, on the door by which they had entered. She half-turned in her seat to see nothing more than a rather plain grey mare descending the staircase. The mare was unremarkable in every sense of the word, save for the huge, black, oddly shaped case strapped to her back.
Is that...?
“Yes, I know. And yet you’re not now.” She smiled. It was a tiny smile, barely more than a vague curve of the lips, but something about it made Vanelda’s breath catch. It should have been a cruel smile. The words suggested cruelty, but the smile … the smile was almost … playful. “You’re not even in the orchestra anymore. It was my understanding that the reason you were banned was because you insulted the conductor and stormed off the stage in a huff when he told you he was making me First Chair from next semester. If you hadn’t had yet another tantrum, maybe you could have retained your seat a while longer. He may even have given it back to you after your leg healed. I guess we’ll never know now.”
OOOOOOOH, SHOTS FIRED!!!
“I’m so stupid,” she told herself in a fierce whisper. “A complete idiot.”
No you're not.
Vanelda’s own thoughts were occupied with book shops and city maps. The next night, she set out to hunt a different sort of prey, and when Thursday night rolled around, she slipped once more onto the university campus.
9272708 I get where you're coming from and after reading it, I don't blame you for having the opinion you do, but... ...What did you honestly expect from a story where the word, "Violence," is interlaced into the title?
PS: I won't down vote your comment like some people have. After all, its your opinion and you are entitled to it, because you've explained why.
Great job, Scribbler. This is my favorite chapter so far. I like seeing how a vampire like Vinyl reacts and mingles with mortal ponies. I also like the hints of the past's connection to the future. Crab Apple is obviously a ancestor of A.J. , and it's possible the green mare mentioned who was chased by Timberwolves was maybe Granny Smith (going out on a limb ). Can't wait for next Fri. to see how Vinyl goes about with her charade and how long she can keep it up before "You-Know-Who" finds out. 9282572 Most likely a ancestor. Though it DOES beg the question of how Octavia will react if or when she finds out just HOW her ancestor died.
9283188 Seriously. Backstorys great, but I'm most interested in whether Octavia and vinyl will get away. As great as the flashbacks are, when the majority of the story is in italics you know the pacing could be tweaked a bit.
9283623 I have to agree with that, but I also enjoy the flashbacks as they develop the relationship more of the main duo. I do think that within the next couple chapters it will likely finish all this flashback business will be done and Scribs will really start digging into the story.
I have to admit, the timeline isn't quite what I thought it would be. Much closer to canon than I expected. But it's not like you're spelling out the passing of years between scenes or anything.
Comment posted by Faust-Vulpez deleted May 5th, 2021
Knew that the "Miss Philharmonica" that died in the last chapter wasn't Octavia.
Vanelda is gone...now, there's only Vinyl!
No, but she'll always be better than you Voron!!!
Very true.
YIKES!
Yeah, so she could put her past behind her and use it to get away from you!
Oh shut up Vellum!
Oi, give the girl a break! She's trying to be detached from her 'Daddy Dearest'!
Well isn't that nice?
Is that...?
OOOOOOOH, SHOTS FIRED!!!
No you're not.
I wonder what her reason for that could be...?
9272708
I get where you're coming from and after reading it, I don't blame you for having the opinion you do, but... ...What did you honestly expect from a story where the word, "Violence," is interlaced into the title?
PS: I won't down vote your comment like some people have. After all, its your opinion and you are entitled to it, because you've explained why.
fully enjoyed another chapter despite being sick, thanks so much for the stories you give us ObabScribbler, looking forward to the next one
Great job, Scribbler. This is my favorite chapter so far. I like seeing how a vampire like Vinyl reacts and mingles with mortal ponies. I also like the hints of the past's connection to the future. Crab Apple is obviously a ancestor of A.J. , and it's possible the green mare mentioned who was chased by Timberwolves was maybe Granny Smith (going out on a limb ). Can't wait for next Fri. to see how Vinyl goes about with her charade and how long she can keep it up before "You-Know-Who" finds out.
9282572
Most likely a ancestor. Though it DOES beg the question of how Octavia will react if or when she finds out just HOW her ancestor died.
I like the story but when there's only 2-3 paragraphs and the rest is flashbacks it kinda sucks as there's no real story development
9283188
Seriously. Backstorys great, but I'm most interested in whether Octavia and vinyl will get away. As great as the flashbacks are, when the majority of the story is in italics you know the pacing could be tweaked a bit.
9283623
I have to agree with that, but I also enjoy the flashbacks as they develop the relationship more of the main duo. I do think that within the next couple chapters it will likely finish all this flashback business will be done and Scribs will really start digging into the story.
I like this flashback because this show Vanelda actually living. I hope she a least kill her stupid family
Did they really stay in Twilight's house? XD Did Vinyl steal her books? omg
Okay, that could be anyone, really, but she definitely was watching Granny Smith at the dawn of Ponyville's founding there. XD
I do love how Walnut and especially Bass Note just jump immediately off the page. :)
10617028
You are literally, LITERALLY the only person who got that it was Twilight's house.
10617158
I win! :D
I have to admit, the timeline isn't quite what I thought it would be. Much closer to canon than I expected. But it's not like you're spelling out the passing of years between scenes or anything.