Harmonic Melody

by Nailah

Chapter 9: Secrets of the Past

Each second felt like eternity. Octavia heard the shuffling of feet, and the familiar voice of Rebecca.

“Finally, with you out of Dylan’s life, he will finally be able to focus on what’s really important.” Rebecca said boldly, kicking the back doors of the truck.

Octavia leaned forward on her front forehooves ready to book it as fast as she could. She wasn’t a runner by any means, but it was now or never.

The lock was unhinged from the bolt, there was a simple click as it fell down to the step bar.

Octavia could hear the ever rapid beating of her own heart, as adrenaline kicked in, and she darted out the door, the second she saw the light of the sun. She wasted no time, running as fast as her hooves could carry her. Not daring to look back, she just ran. She had no idea where she was, or where to go, only that she knew this girl was crazy.

Rebecca opened the door to deliver Octavia to the scientists, but before she had a chance to grab the stupid horse, she had already darted off. There was no way she could keep up with that. She could have followed in the truck, but she had no clue where Octavia would go. “She’s not stupid enough to go back to Dylan’s. I’d find her easily if that were the case. So where are you going to go, little pony?”

Octavia's eyes darted about as she pushed forward. Her legs protested from the stress of running as somepony who had never been an athlete, but there was no time to rest. She had to keep going. She had to run.

She saw something up ahead that looked familiar to her, a musical note on top of a building. Not really having time for an alternative, she ran right into the music shop.

Immediately, Octavia could feel everyone in the place turning to look at her. She didn’t have a lot of time to consider whether humans might find her strange. She was a talking pony after all, and based on Dylan’s reactions, she might have put herself into a difficult spot. However, she was still safer here, then anywhere near that crazy girl. What was her deal anyways?

“Um excuse me, Miss? But um, can I help you?” asked the store owner, a sweatdrop slowly rolling down his face. He just stared at Octavia, unsure how to react to this sudden oddity.

Octavia blinked, eyebrows furrowing. This human was attempting to talk to her, and not totally freaking out? How odd. Best not waste an opportunity to learn more about this world.

“Hello sir, a pleasure to meet you. My name is Octavia, I was hoping perhaps you could aid me. I am looking for a cello.” Octavia said, biting her bottom lip, knowing full well she had no human form of money to buy anything with, but at least she could look at his merchandise as an excuse to swaddle in the store just a bit longer. Just long enough to get Rebecca off her trail.

The human stood there for a moment before gesturing with a hand for her to follow.

Octavia followed behind him, taking a few seconds every five to ten steps to be certain Rebecca wasn’t behind her. She was in the clear, however she was far from out of trouble yet. Octavia had no idea where she was, or how to get a hold of Dylan. Magic didn’t seem to work in this strange world, and she had no idea how to use what he called a “telephone”

The shop had plenty for her to gawk at, there were different instruments on every shelf. Everything from the simple harmonica, to fancy guitar’s hanging on the wall. She couldn’t help but admire how vast of a collection there was here, and wondered what sort of Cello’s they might have.

She missed playing her cello, it was calming and helped to soothe her nerves after a long day. But, more so she missed Vinyl’s odd behavior and her even stranger taste in music. There was something about that upbeat whatever she called it, pop that made her smile at the end of a long day. How many days had it been now? Four? Five? She honestly couldn’t remember, she kept scratching the back of her mane, trying to fix the frazzles in her hair as she walked.

“Ah, here we are. This is my current selection of cello’s, I’m sure you’ll find something here that suits your particular needs.” The owner instructed, pointing to the wall.

There wasn’t an empty spot to be found among the line up. Cello’s of all varieties, shapes, and even brands. Octavia gasped aloud.

“Oh my.” Octavia quickly shook her head. Compose yourself, you can’t even afford any of these!

“I shall let you have some time to think over which one you would like. When you are ready to make a purchase, please come to the front of the store. I can assist you from there.” The shop owner said calmly.

Octavia was appalled that he didn’t think it was weird nor odd to be talking to a horse. Was the economy so bad that he was desperate for any sales? No… that couldn’t be the case. There had to be a reason why the shop owner looked at her differently from the others, but she couldn’t pin her nose on what it was. Maybe it was a thing amongst musicians to be understanding?

She turned her attention back to the wall of cello’s, and found herself sighing. It was truly such a shame. Shaking her head, she hit herself with her forehoof.

“Stop it, Octavia. You don’t have time for this.” Octavia said, as she inherently looked towards the two doors to the shop. The ominous quiet, and the low whistling of the wind, didn’t settle her mind. Who knew where that girl was, and who knew what she’d do if she found her. Hand her over to scientists! What kind of crazy…

Octavia closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in. “Okay, Octavia. Settle down. Think this through. You have to tell Dylan about this girl, but how in the world are you going to find him? You don’t know anything about this world of his, and you surely don’t have time to fiddle around.

She allowed herself a few moments of reprieve, admiring the selection once more. It was awfully hard to walk away from such beauty. However, she had things to do. Most importantly, she had to figure out where she was, and how she could get a hold of Dylan.

She approached the front desk, hoping to speak more with the owner.

“Why hello there. Have you figured out which cello you are interested in?”

“Yes, I have but I’m afraid I left my bag at home. Do you have a telephone?” asked Octavia. She wasn’t really sure how they worked, but she would figure it out.

“Oh, I see. Right this way.” The shop owner instructed her behind the curtain to his private quarters and showed her where the phone lay on the desk. “Take as long as you need.”

Octavia waited for him to go and stared at the odd device. It looked simple enough. What was Dylan’s number? Did she even know it?

Her eyes widened as she arched her back, realizing in horror that Dylan never gave her his number. She pushed her head towards the wall, and began to lightly tap her frazzled mane against it. Light enough that it wouldn’t cause her a headache, but she just kept running into problem after problem with no resolution in sight. Octavia was accustomed to knowing what to do, no matter the situation.

This was different. This was a world not her own, and the things in it weren’t things she understood just by fiddling with them. A telephone wasn’t a musical instrument. Sure, they both had parts that made them work, but she was not a tech pony, that was more her room mate’s territory.

“Oh, Vinyl. I’ve never missed you more than I do right now.” Octavia cried, allowing a tear to shed from her eyelids. Her face was against the wall, so she wasn’t concerned that anyone would see or care. She looked at the phone, and sighed. This isn't helping. She had to find Dylan. She had to find a way home.

“Madam, if you are finished with the phone you should be on your way.” The shop owner instructed, before seeing how sad, and dismantled Octavia looked. He reached a hand outwards, but before he could even touch her, she was already running off out of his store to the wild outdoors.

“Be careful young lady, it’s dangerous out there!” The shopkeeper shouted, trying to give her a silent warning. Not everyone would react as calmly to a talking horse as he had. The shopkeeper sighed as he looked out the window of his store one last time, before turning around to return to running his business.

Octavia ran out of the store as fast as her hooves could carry her. Her fur was slightly damp from all the sweating she had done. She looked all around her, she saw the vehicles Dylan told her about, going up and down the street. She stood on the sidewalk, looking up at something that was familiar to her, a traffic light.

She recognized that green meant the cars would be going back and forth across the street, yellow wasn’t really great because some of the cars would speed right through, so her best bet was to cross the street on the red light. That was assuming she wanted to cross the street and not just walk along the sidewalk.

“Hmm… decisions, decisions.” Octavia muttered. Remembering that Rebecca could literally be anywhere and that she knew more about this place then her, she opted for crossing the street.

Crossing the street wasn’t hard, it was simple enough to figure out when to start trotting. However, the loud noises that came from the vehicles were obnoxious enough that her ears were still ringing long after she had managed to cross.

“I do not like this strange place. I want to go back home. I want to play my cello again, but mostly I just want to see her again.” Octavia sighed, realizing very quickly she had been talking aloud, and some of the humans were giving her quite the odd look. The same look that Dylan had given her the first time. Sighing heavily, she began walking in the same direction.

She could tell from where the sun lingered which way was North, so decided very quickly to head in that direction. Unsure if she’d ever see Vinyl or Dylan again, she had to endure. She was Octavia, and this was just a setback.

---

Hitting her shoe against the pavement, Rebecca cursed under her breath. Staring in the direction the pony had run off in, realizing by now she had likely hidden away in a back alley or something. It wouldn’t be as easy to capture that stupid mare now. She raised her hand, balling it into a fist and hitting the back of the van.

“This sucks. I hate that creature.” Rebecca vocalized aloud, not really realizing at first she was being watched.

“Are you okay, miss?” asked a young boy on his bike.

Rebecca froze. Had this kid heard everything she just said? She couldn’t be sure.

“Oh yes, I’m fine. Just forgot to take my medicine this morning. Throws me completely out of whack. You know how it is. Hey, shouldn’t you be in school kid?”

Before she got an answer he was speeding away on his bike. Kids. Skipping school wasn’t good, and yet that’s exactly what she had done today.

Sighing heavily, she picked up the keys to the truck and shut the back door with one giant slam of frustration.

She got into the driver’s seat, buckled herself in, and decided to pretend like everything had gone according to plan, if she could convince Dylan the mare had somehow found a way home, he wouldn’t need to know her actual plans had went down the drain, and that annoying pony was still out there trying to cause friction between her, and HER boyfriend. Stupid ponies.

She didn’t want to go home at all, but she needed to shower and change into an outfit that was clean. Her current blouse and leggings smelt like well, dirt and grim. Rebecca tried not to think about that stupid creature on the drive home, but she couldn’t help wondering where the tramp stamp had skittered off too.

Carefully, Rebecca made her way through traffic, and a few annoying drivers who clearly weren’t paying attention to the road and parked the truck at her parent’s house. Getting out of the truck, she simply stared at what was her home.

A modest two story house painted blue with the windowsill being a modest yellow. There were two cars parked in the driveway, meaning both her parents were home.

“Great, this is gonna be a nightmare.” Rebecca told herself. It didn’t matter how many times she told herself this, it never made going in any easier. Leaving was always a blessing in disguise, soon she’d graduate from high school, go off to college for four years, marry Dylan and would never ever have to worry ever again about this place she once called a home.

“Trisha, don’t you dare walk away from me like that,” Yelled a loud, familiar voice.

The backdoor opened and she saw her mother, her makeup ruined by the flowing tears drying up on her face, picking up her luggage bag, and hurrying to her car. She stopped there, seeing her daughter in the driveway.

Without hesitation, Rebecca found herself being embraced lovingly, possessively, and in a comforting manner.

“Why honey, shouldn’t you be in school?” she asked gently, leading her daughter to the passenger side of her car, and urging her to get in, and get buckled in a swift, and efficient manner.

“Mom, what’s going on this time?” Rebecca asked, like she didn’t already know. It was clear by the lingering smell of alcohol, that her dad was drunk. Her mom wasn’t exactly innocent herself, but right now she didn’t have the time to ask too many questions. Besides, it never solved the actual problem.

“I’ll explain later, just get in the car.” She replied hastily, scrambling over to the driver’s side, getting into her seat, and starting up the engine and hurrying to buckle herself in. She was watching in front of the windshield, looking to her husband who was still screaming threats at her, that if she left he wasn’t going to let her come back.

“Huff.” Her mother sighed heavily, as she looked at her daughter. “I’m so sorry honey. I never wanted to put any of this on you. Please forgive me.”

Rebecca said nothing, simply nodded. It was always the same with her mom. She always acted like the victim, but she knew. The both of them were at fault, but each of them would blame the other, to try to get their daughter on their side. Making her choose.

How could she possibly choose? They were her parents. She loved them both, despite their obvious character flaws.

All she had to do was graduate, marry Dylan and find a home for herself. A home where she’d finally be able to feel like she was home. This was not a home, it was hell.

Even as the car pulled out of the driving, leaving the moving truck in the parking lot, she had no idea where her mom was going to go, or how she was going to get back to Dylan, or how long it would take. The problem was inherent. She couldn’t stay for long.

Rebecca groaned, leaning against the window, staring out at the buildings and trying not to overthink about anything, but she couldn’t help worrying. What if Dylan liked this pony more than her? All her plans, everything would be ruined because some magical being from another world just waltzed in on her territory. Life was so unfair.

---

“Okay, I think I have an idea.” began Lyra. “Though, I do admit I don’t actually know if it’ll work or not, but it’s worth a try, right?”

“Yes.” Vinyl said flatly. She couldn’t stop thinking about Octavia. Her long black mane curled perfectly over her ear, and smoothed down the back of her neck. Her deep violet hues that she often found herself lost in. She was only half listening to Lyra explaining how things were gonna work. As long as it worked, she didn’t care about anything else.

“What am I gonna say when I find her?” she asked herself out loud.

“If I were you, which I’m clearly not because well I’m Lyra. I’d just tell her how you feel.” Lyra explained calmly, while focusing her magic.

Vinyl tapped her forehoof to the side of the counter, making a tap, tap, tap like sound, that reminded her of a slight hum of a drum, and she found herself moving her other hoof to the counter, and letting the counter tell her it’s heart, and began tap, tap, tapping.

“Follow me,” Lyra instructed, waving a hoof backwards, then flicking it forward for her to follow.

Vinyl let out a sigh, and then followed after Lyra. Octavia was still in the forefront of her mind, even if there was a distracting mare in front of her now.

Lyra continued talking about humans, their strange ways, and how curious she was about them, as they walked. To say it was annoying, and distracting was rather obvious, so Vinyl just played some beats in her head, thum, thum, rap, rap, bump, bump, thud, thud.

“We’re here!” Lyra announced with joy, jumping up and down in place, while giggling like a filly. She turned to Vinyl, the grin spreading over her muzzle, with this gleam in her eyes, as she started shaking Vinyl by the shoulders. “I can’t believe it! I thought it was just a rumor, but it’s really here~” Lyra exclaimed.

Vinyl tried to look at what was so amazing, so profound, to make it turn Lyra into more of a goofball then she usually was.

It looked like nothing but emptiness. The space ahead of them reminded her of the black hole that swallowed Octavia up, but that had disappeared, but this one seemed solid… and permanent. Was it a portal that not even Twilight knew about? She had so many questions to ask, but none of it mattered when Octavia needed her.

“This is what you need. Just trust me,” Lyra instructed, pointing towards the darkness.

Vinyl had no clue whether she trusted Lyra or not, but in this moment she had a connection to finding Octavia and bringing her home, and that itself was worth its weight in gold. She stepped through the blackness, as she felt her whole body disappear.

For a while, all she saw was darkness and she began fumbling with her hooves trying to feel for anything, or anyone in the distance. Then she felt herself falling downwards, and as she tried to use her magic to catch herself, her horn sparked, but ended up with only a fizzle of magic. And then suddenly, this bright orb was shining down onto her, and she felt herself land on something solid, and firm.

Vinyl blinked and looked down to the ground, to avoid the intensity of the sunlight beaming down on her.

“Where am I?” she asked herself, looking around and seeing she was on some kind of gravel. It felt scorching to the touch, making her immediately move over to the grass which felt as real as the grass she knew from her world, but then she saw these weird shaped vehicles blasting by her onto the gravel she had just been on. That could have been really bad…

Looking up, she found someone staring down at her, pointing a finger at her, and seeming to try to form some kind of sentence.

“I… Um. What?” He said, while keeping his gaze right on her. It seemed like he had never seen anything like her before, meaning the darkness must have been a portal. She rubbed at her forehead, and promised herself to worry about all the questions that caused later. She had to find Octavia, and maybe this person, whoever he was could help.

Stephen stared at Vinyl, trying to form a coherent sentence even now. He managed to open his lips, and finally say something.

“He wasn’t lying, nor crazy. There’s a pony in front of me…,” He told himself, almost as if to confirm he wasn’t also going insane. High school was always kind of hectic, and crazy at times, but he never had to deal with such bizarre things as magical creatures from another world just appearing out of nowhere.

“Hello, my name is Vinyl. Have you seen another pony around here? She has a black mane and tail, gray coat, deep purple eyes?” asked Vinyl, trying to get through to the strange human in front of her. Looking at him, and his casual t-shirt and ripped jeans, she could immediately recognize there was something about him that seemed to resonate with her. And then she heard that same beat she had been feeling in her head earlier, to distract her from Lyra’s obnoxiousness.

Speaking of Lyra, Vinyl turned her head from one side to the other, and then turned around, looking for her. But she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Why? I thought she had really, really wanted to come through to this world. Maybe the portal only worked once? Then how would she get back home? She felt her head throbbing, and not because she had had too much to drink like the last time.

Stephen blinked rapidly, rubbing at his eyelids like he wasn’t seeing or hearing what was happening in front of him. No wonder Dylan was worried about people thinking he was crazy. He couldn’t believe what was happening and he was seeing it right before his eyes. A real talking pony!

“Hi there, Vinyl. I’m Stephen it’s um nice to meet you,” he started off, hesitantly reaching out his hand to shake hers. His parents had always told him to be polite and to greet a lady properly, even if she was a pony. “I admit I haven’t seen the pony you mentioned, but my friend might know her.”

Hope filled Vinyl’s eyes for the first time since Octavia vanished, and she jumped forward, immediately wrapping her forehooves around the strange human and hugging him.

“Oh, thank you! Could I stay here till you can contact this person?” she asked, as the more she looked at the cars rolling by, the more she knew she was gonna need help. Someone familiar with this world, and it just so happened this human knew some other guy that might know where Octavia was, and that was enough for now. It was more than she had in the past few days.

“I’m coming, Octavia. Just wait for me.” She said aloud looking up to the young teen and letting go of her hold, coughing into her hoof. “Sorry, I got excited.”

“Um…it’s okay,” He replied flustered. “It’s not often girls just suddenly hug me like that. You are a girl right?”

“Yes, I am a girl. Stallions have more prominent muzzles than mares do. But you probably wouldn’t know that.”

“No, I don’t know anything about ponies.” Stephen said, while still awkwardly staring at her. He finally reached out, and booped the front of her nose. “Uh, not a dream.”

“No, I’m really here,” Vinyl began, she was about to explain more, when a car pulled up into the driveway. The driver door swung open, and out stepped Dylan.

“Stephen, what’s going on? This isn’t the pony I told you about.” He began looking right at Vinyl. “Do you happen to know an ''Octavia``?

Light filled her deep purple eyes, behind her shades. She gasped, and felt her heart pounding a mile a second. “Yes, I know her. We’re roommates. It would be hard not to know her.”

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading this, if you're still here. I realize my update consistency, is well inconsistent but I'm glad you care enough about this story to stick around. I'm gonna start working on Chapter 10 next week, and try to be better. But, I can't guarantee when it'll be done because I'm a slow writer, but this year I wanted to get better with updates, so expect less time between updates. Thank you for your patience.

Comments

[gabe2252]

I'm really enjoying this story

[Nailah]

11136490
If you don't mind me asking, what is it about this story you like so much?