Silence is the Sweetest Noise

---- The Strings That Make no Sound ----

Those who steps boldly onto the stage of the world often finds themselves
deafened by the silence that holds the crowd in its unbreakable grip.

The heavily-polished wood below her hooves possessed a strange, comforting presence, at least to Octavia. Around her stood three other musicians, each of them seeming to be deep into their own thoughts. The cellist herself was fending off the monsters of anxiety that always saw fit to attack before any performance. Her gaze drifted as the traitorous thoughts in her mind danced around the negativity, passing over the others that would soon be subject to the judgmental gaze of the crowd.

One stallion smiled a smile that was gladly returned by Octavia as their gazes met. Key Note had always been a good friend to her, not to mention playing alongside her in countless shows. A pianist with an accompanying cello was always in high demand at parties for the upper-class of Canterlot. Good luck, he mouthed before flashing her another smile and turning to face the many keys of his instrument. How anypony could remember how to play something like that was beyond her.

The last two ponies, one a stallion and the other a mare, stood apart from the rest of the group with their faces carrying that all-too-familiar air of being deep in thought. Octavia knew them only from reputation instead of acquaintance, so she took the contemptuous glares that musicians often held for those that they saw as rivals without a word. Without a word, ha. She smiled slightly at the bitter joke as she turned to look at the heavy red curtain that hung before them, quivering with the just-audible whispers of the crowd beyond them.

Octavia drew in a breath as the ponies on either side of her stiffened and pulled their instruments, or themselves, into position. They watched as, almost imperceptibly, the heavy cloth that hid them from view slowly opened to reveal them to the world. She looked out to the ponies that sat on small cushions in the auditorium, each of them staring back at her with either plain eyes or through the lenses of opera glasses. The whole world seemed to hold its breath as the four musicians raised their tools of musical creation as one.

Seconds stretched longer as they played, their notes slowing the very flow of time itself with their beauty. Octavia fell into a prison of bliss as she drew her bow softly across the strings of the cello and back again, only to move once more with a different note. In her mind, the gentle thrums of the strings were loud and clear, each of the notes blending into one another so smoothly that it was hard to believe they were separated at all. All too soon, Octavia found herself pulled from her trance and back onto the stage as their song ended with a high, sustained note that faded into nothingness.

The vibrations of hooves stomping into the ground rattled her teeth as the crowd began its applause. It seemed to go on even longer than the musical performance had, some of the onlookers choosing to throw their roses that had been stuck into their suits or dresses onto the stage. A small, reluctant smile spread across Octavia’s face before she had the chance to wipe it away. The musicians had only just started. The other three lifted their instruments once more and Octavia followed suit. They had a show to do.

Now, with a smile of bliss full upon her face, Octavia began to play again.

After the large double doors to the theater shut behind the last pony with an echoing snap, Octavia and the rest of the ponies allowed themselves to lose the expression of professionalism and heave a sigh altogether. Octavia lifted her heavy cello wearily and began to walk backstage, where the even heavier case waited to receive it. She kicked open the latches and slowly set her instrument into the folds of black padding before finally allowing herself to settle back onto all four hooves. Arching her back like a cat, the cellist stretched out the muscles that were sore from standing upright to play for so long and groaned alongside them.

The ground beneath her vibrated as the others began to walk backstage. She turned and returned the smile that Key Note flashed at her, as well as returning the flat stares that the other two directed towards her. As they passed, she shivered violently from the unease that emanated from them. Octavia turned to watch them go, surprise flashing through her spine as the stallion stopped for a second and glanced back to her. After a moment of struggling with himself, the violin player stepped over to her and held out a hoof.

Taking it, Octavia smiled at him. “It was nice playing with you.” Her mouth moved around the words like hooves would draw a bow along the strings of a cello, but much like the instrument, it would yield no wondering sounds to her ears.

He nodded. Likewise. Octavia read the words from his lips as she would from silently reading a book. I hope that we will have a chance to play with such talent again. Suddenly his head jerked over to look at his companion, who had made her way over to them with a very unsavory expression on her snow-white face.

The mare angrily waved a hoof at him as she shouted. You think that is talent? Octavia stepped back as the angry unicorn advanced toward her. You couldn’t even stay in time with the rest of us! You were always a split-second behind! Her hoof was raised from the ground as if to strike Octavia and was already closing the gap between the two mares before being caught in a light-grey hoof.

Just as surprised as the other two ponies, Octavia turned and looked gratefully at Key Note’s face. “Thanks.” The cellist could feel her quivering voice resonate in her throat, as it no doubt mimicked in the air.

The strange golden eyes of the pianist glanced over to her before directing their glare back to the offending pony. No problem. The mare was suddenly pushed away and Key Note stepped in front of her. You have an issue with Octavia’s playing? Even though she couldn’t see his lips move, Octavia could guess at what was being said judging by the faces of the ponies in front of her savior. She waited for the jump and the widening of eyes as the stallion revealed her condition to them. A few seconds later, and her waiting was over. Their frightful eyes stared past Key Note and at her ears as if they could see for themselves what the stallion had told them was true, as if her useless parts held some sign above them to tell the world of her ailment.

“Yes, I’m deaf.” Octavia’s words rang with sadness as her mind spoke aloud but she heard none of its tones. “I can’t hear anything, yet I still play. Albeit, a bit lesser than those such as yourselves. Forgive me.” With that, Octavia picked up her cello case and walked out into the wintry evening. She soon found herself knee-deep in the fallen snow. She shivered, but not from the chilled air. The tremors that ran through her body were brought forth by a white-hot anger that burned as hot as the snow was cold.

Octavia stalked a few more feet before a hoof was laid on her shoulder. She whipped around, ready to defend herself from whatever was attacking her, only to relax her coiled muscles when she saw who was behind her. “Hello, Key Note.” The stallion’s hooves extended outward in the universal expression for a hug, which Octavia gladly accepted. “Thanks for that, back there.”

Letting go of her, Key Note stepped back and flashed his hooves in the Equestrian Sign Language. Not a problem, they were just jealous of you anyway. He smiled at her and they walked side-by-side down the street, leaving twin furrows in the snow. He tapped her shoulder. Don’t worry, you weren’t off-time at all. That mare back there was crazy to think so. His hooves flashed as he signed it, ending his sentence with another of his trademark grins. How a pony could manage to walk down the street with his front hooves in the air was beyond her but he somehow managed to do it anyway.

“Thanks.” They turned down another street and finally broke free of the clutching snow. “I wish it wasn’t so cold. I’m freezing.”

Another tap on her shoulder drew her eyes over to the stallion beside her. Want to go get warmed up at the Music Sheet? Drinks are on me. Octavia nodded eagerly, suppressing a shiver as a gust of wind blew over them. Let’s go then! His hooves finished their excited waving and then quickly began trotting down another side street.

“Wait for me!” Octavia futilely tried to keep pace with the much-faster pony, her hooves thudding against the cobblestones as she galloped. “Key Note, wait!” She panted with fatigue as she cantered over to the stallion, who still stood quite a distance away with a playful look in his eye. “Why… did you… do that?”

What’s wrong? Can’t keep up? His body shook with laughter as she punched him in the shoulder. All right, all right, I’ll keep it slow for you this time. Let’s go. Key Note set his hooves down on the ground and began walking, still a bit faster than Octavia, towards the warm-looking windows of the building in front of them.

As Octavia walked through the door that the pianist held open for her, she looked around at the inn and its occupants. The walls were a smooth tan that gave off the impression of a stage’s floor and the windows had curtains with embossed musical notes. The floor itself was made of tile, uncommon in an inn, set in the pattern of a larger-than-life musical staff. The Music Sheet, known by everypony in Canterlot as a paradise for musicians everywhere, was completely filled with ponies of her craft, either dancing to the soundless melody that obviously filled the room or playing along to it with the tools of their trade. The grayish-brown cellist smiled at her friend as he stepped in behind her with a large smile on his face.

The innkeeper, a rather large pony with a scar that ran down his face and pulled the right side of his mouth into a permanent scowl, hurried up to them. Despite his looks, Music Sheet himself was a kind and light-hearted pony that loved music, as his name suggested. Octavia stared at the frowning lips as they moved, reading from his mouth like a book. So, what’ll it be? Can’t be a room, you guys live just down the road, unless you two are trying to get out for some private time. Octavia blushed and looked away at the stallion’s suggestive wink until a hoof lightly tapped against her shoulder.

He was just joking. Don’t worry. Key Note smiled reassuringly at her and set his hooves on the floor before turning to speak to the innkeeper with words too fast for her to read. When he looked back to Octavia, he mouthed the phrase instead of speaking it. What do you want to have?

“I’ll have a small salad sandwich and a glass of dandelion wine.” After her friend nodded, Octavia moved to sit down in a slightly quieter section of the common room. Her gaze, as did many of the other soft-spoken patrons’, roved over the bodies of the revelers as she retreated into her own thoughts. The cellist’s thoughts drew her back into the performing hall and set her down beside the two haughty musicians from before. In this world, she could hear every one of their spite-filled words. She shivered with anger and sadness as each of their words struck deeper and deeper at her heart.

The arrival of a grey stallion jolted her out of the past and back into the cheery inn. She looked up into the smiling face of Key Note, who held out a plate and a wine glass brimming with yellow liquid. Your wine, miss. He walked around to the other side of the table after setting the food down on the polished wood and sat down across from her. Octavia bit into her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully, taking a swallow of the dandelion wine after she had swallowed.

“So, what brought this on?” At Key Note’s confused look, she sighed. “I mean, I know you always were my friend but,” Octavia waved a hoof at the plate of food in front of her, “you’ve never taken me out to eat or anything.”

Her friend’s eyes blinked once before the light of understanding finally sparked inside his eyes. Key Note lifted his hooves flashed them through the air. Well, I can hardly defend somepony and walk away alone, that’s almost asking to get beat up. It was as much for your protection as mine. He flinched as she fixed him with an angry glare, his hooves moving frantically to rectify his statement. And also because I wanted to take you out to eat for that wonderful performance. He smiled uncertainly as Octavia chuckled softly at his reaction.

“I’m only joking with you, Key Note. Relax.” Raising the sandwich up to her mouth, Octavia bit off another portion of the meal and took yet another drink of her wine. She giggled again as he looked at her suspiciously. “What?”

His head shook slightly as he waved his hooves again. Nothing. They looked around at the revelers before at each other again. So, you ready to go?

“I haven’t finished my food yet!” The stallion looked at her with concern and then pointedly down at the table in front of her. She slowly followed his gaze and allowed her eyes to settle on the empty plate where the small remains of the sandwich were trembling slightly with the soundless music that vibrated throughout the room. She nudged the wine glass that she didn’t remember finishing off with a shaking hoof. “I guess I have finished it after all.” She looked around at the slightly blurred forms of the rapidly dancing ponies who were enjoying the inn’s ambience. “All right, let’s go.” Her mouth grew heavier by the second, slurring her words nearly past the point of coherency.

Octavia leapt off the bench and swayed violently when her hooves hit the ground, nearly falling before a steadying hoof reached out and grabbed her. She felt a rush of gratitude towards the only thing that kept her from toppling onto the floor. The room jerked and slid around as the cellist worked to rebalance herself. Octavia glanced over to her savior as she retrieved her balance from the fiery pits of Tartarus that is had been banished to. “Thanksh, Key Note.” She managed, with the aid of the light grey pony, to step out into the cold once again. “Wesh-should go home. It’sh late.” They walked on for a few blocks before the silence was broken. “Key Note, you okay?”

The hoof around her shoulder stiffened and she cast a worried look over to her friend. "Key Note?" They walked on for a few more steps, passing by a dark alleyway that was rife with eyes that seemed to leer menacingly at the pair. Before she could even begin to react, Octavia found herself lying face-down in the half-melted snow that coated the dirty cobblestones, her mind sluggishly working to catch up to the reason she was on the ground or why her face was suddenly throbbing with pain.

The dazed cellist twisted around to look at the one who had pushed her down, his face contorted in a wild expression. She glanced down and back up again, the absolute terror that gripped her body working itself into horror as her mind finally worked itself around what Key Note was planning to do to her. A scream that was only half-formed in her throat swiftly became silenced by a dirty ball of wadded-up cloth being shoved roughly into her mouth.

Octavia struggled against the hooves that brushed lustily along her body, her hooves vainly kicking out as she attempted to strike the stallion behind her but only earning her a face full of snow in return. Tears slowly leaked out of her eyes as she waited for the inevitable pain and humiliation that was to come, but it never did. After what seemed like an eternity, a pair of hooves grasped Octavia and pulled her up out of the freezing water that flowed underneath her. She felt herself being turned around by shaking hooves. After a few more moments of shivering, Octavia finally allowed her eyes to open and her muscles to relax. A pair of concerned magenta eyes framed by a white face was all that she saw before an inky blackness consumed her vision.

She hefted the cello that rested on her back as she walked down the busy street. Ponyville’s market streets were the most notorious when compared to the other streets in the smaller towns of Equestria. Many of the town’s inhabitants were waving to her as she trotted past, but their hooves were left hanging in the air without any return of the gesture. “Happy birthday, Octavia!” The cellist couldn’t help but sigh as the pink pony came over to her in her usual, bouncing manner.

“Oh Celestia, no.” Her muttered prayer was obviously ignored as the purveyor of parties gave her a hug with a strength that was unbefitting of her size. “Afternoon… Pinkie… Pie.” After some effort, Octavia had managed to extract herself from between the pink hooves, accidentally bumping the excitable baker on the head with her cello’s case. “Sorry.”

“Oh, that’s all right! Is that your cello-thingy?” Not waiting for a response, Pinkie Pie seized the black case and opened it, making an appreciative ‘ooooh’ sound when the polished wood brilliantly reflected the sunlight. “Wow! I wish I could play something like this! I wonder how you play it so well because it’s bigger than you are! Do you stand up or do you set it down on the ground and when you do how do you make it make sound?” Pinkie Pie’s hooves strummed randomly along the taut strings. “Do you play it like this?”

The cello’s case slammed shut as Octavia’s hooves knocked Pinkie’s away from her beloved tool of music. “No!” At Pinkie’s wounded look, Octavia coughed lightly and blushed. “I mean, no, Pinkie, you don’t play a cello like that.” She pushed the case upright and stood beside it, holding it as she would her cello. “This is how one would play a cello properly.”

A few ponies around them muttered as they watched her, casting a few amused glances at the pair of mares who stood in the middle of the street. A blush flared up in her face as Lyra Heartstrings winked at her, no doubt thinking that Octavia was trying to act like one of the mint-green unicorn’s made-up humans. Her hooves thudded against the ground as she lifted her instrument back onto her back. “Well, yes, that is how you would play a cello, Pinkie.” A few moments of silence, uncommon for the pink mare to partake in, stretched on before Octavia spoke again. “Well, I have to go. Good day, Pinkie Pie.”

“Yeah, goodbye, Octavia, and happy birthday!” As the party-loving pony walked off, Octavia could hear her distinctly mutter under her breath, “Now where can I find a cello at this hour?”

Suddenly the image of Pinkie Pie raking a bow across the strings of some Faust-forsaken instrument floated up into Octavia’s mind. “Oh, Celestia, what have I done? No matter, it isn’t my problem anymore. I only feel sorry for the poor cello that she finds.” Octavia shook her head and smiled up at her home, which had become much closer than she had thought, enveloped in thought as she had been when she was walking. “Home, sweet home.” Her hoof slowly lifted to push open the polished door, which opened without so much as a squeak.

Then, her world exploded in a nova of blinding light and earth-shattering sound.

A flash of pain cracked the shell of black that filled her vision, sending small shafts of light spider-webbing across the void. For a moment, the walls seemed to quiver without moving until another blow shattered the darkness into thousands of pieces. Octavia’s eyes snapped open to reveal a blurry mess of color, the lights and darks mashing up into a big grey mass. As her eyelids slowly closed and opened again, allowing the outlines of the walls and furniture to become slightly clearer as well as the form of the pony staring down at her. Another blink banished the blurriness away and pulled the details of the world into focus.

The white unicorn that looked down at Octavia smiled uncertainly around the words that she deliberately slowed as they left her lips so that the cellist could understand. Morning, Octavia.

Her forehead nearly collided with her savior’s as she sat up with a start. “V-V-Vinyl?” Octavia’s hooves patted at the startled unicorn, confirming that the pony next to her bedside was indeed real. “You saved me?” The cellist couldn’t hear the confusion in her voice, nor did she see the pain that crossed Vinyl Scratch’s features at her words.

The sudden inflow of memories from the night before caused Octavia to cry out with the pain that throbbed in her mind. A pair of white hooves steadied her as she swayed violently. “Th-thank you.” Octavia suddenly turned and threw herself at the DJ, her hooves pulling the befuddled pony closer to her as she allowed a few tears to escape. “You saved me.”

Small breaths of air touched her neck in what Octavia could only assume to be comforting words. The seconds stretched on to become minutes, and those minutes seemed to become hours before they finally broke their embrace. Vinyl’s hooves lifted up into the air as she spoke with them. Of course I would save you. You think I would just leave you there to get… Vinyl’s legs faltered as she searched for a word bad enough to describe what the stallion was about to do. Well, you know what I mean. Octavia grimly nodded and sat back down on the bed. The DJ walked over to a door and pushed it open, gesturing inside with a hoof as her mouth moved around unspoken words. Are you hungry?

Just as she was about to shake her head, Octavia’s stomach chose that particular moment to send a harsh rumble tearing through her midsection. “I guess I am.” Octavia smiled slightly at the turning mare before standing up to follow the blue-and-teal tail into the other room. Octavia’s eyes widened as she stepped into the kitchen. “It’s… clean?” When she realized that she had actually said that aloud, Octavia jammed her hooves into her mouth and winced as Vinyl looked at her with a mock expression of affront. “Er, I mean, your kitchen looks nice.”

The DJ shook with laughter as she nudged Octavia. I’m only joking. Here. Vinyl led her over to the small table and gestured to the plate of fresh hay fries. The unicorn glanced over and spoke to her in what seemed to be a sheepish way. It’s not much, I know. Octavia sat down and looked uncertainly at the food, uncertain as to how one should begin to eat it. Before she could ask, a hoof reached down and snagged one of the fried blades of hay. Catching on, Octavia slowly lifted a hoof of her own to delicately lift one of the fries to her mouth, taking a small, proper bite.

Before she knew it, her hooves were scraping against the empty porcelain. A blue glow surrounded the plate and whisked it into the sink, which had already been filled with soapy water. Octavia looked accusingly into Vinyl’s excited face as she lowered her hooves from where they had been ready to take the plate away. Wanna see something I’ve been working on? The cellist gave a small, hesitant nod that ignited the fires of eagerness deep within the magenta eyes of the unicorn next to her. Awesome!

Octavia felt more than a hint of confusion tickle against her mind as the DJ pulled her off of the chair and onto the floor. Vinyl smiled warmly at Octavia and then allowed her face to dissolve into one bearing the expression of seriousness, her white hooves flashing through the air to spell out her excited words. All right, this is going to be strange. I don’t know if it is going to work or not, but… The rest of the sentence was lost as Vinyl’s poor ability with the sign language slowed her hooves to a stop. Shrugging, the unicorn lit her horn and slowly leaned in to Octavia. Unsure of what to expect, the confused cellist braced herself for the worst.

For a few moments, nothing happened, and just as Octavia was on the verge of pulling away, something pricked at her mind. Not painfully, just something that was there, something that was touching her. She shivered as the feeling spread slowly across her mind, small pricks and needles running down her back as she waited. Suddenly the feeling vanished, drawing into a single, condensed spot before disappearing completely.

“Testing. Testing. One. Two. Three.” Shock froze Octavia’s limbs as the voice echoed through her mind, sounding just like it had all those years ago when her ears had still be functioning. “You okay, Tavi?” The cellist slowly lifted her hooves to her ears, feeling at them and trembling as they twitched with the touch. “Tavi?” Octavia’s hooves slowly reached for Vinyl as tears slowly welled up in her eyes. “Um, can you hear me?”

The sensation of sound suddenly disappeared as Octavia pulled the confused DJ into a tearful hug, her grayish-brown body shaking with sobs as she tightened her hold on her friend. “Yes, I can… I can hear you. I can hear you, Vinyl.”

His throbbing head is what woke him, the spikes of pain pulling Key Note roughly out of the black world of unconsciousness and into the throes of bright reality. After a moment of struggling, he removed his hooves from underneath the garbage that they had been buried in and clutched his head, groaning as the pain wracked his mind with its flashes of bright red. “Agh! Bucking… crazy… mare!” The pianist rolled off of the cushion of trash and splashed into the half-melted snow that surrounded him.

Spitting out the dirty liquid that somehow found its way into his mouth, Key Note wiped a hoof across his dripping mouth and bared his teeth. “No matter, I’ll just have two for one then.” His hooves made deep holes in the snow as he fought his way through the white mass and into the street. “Where’d they go?” Glancing around wildly, Key Note allowed his anger to warm his cold shell into action. “Where are they?” His golden-eyed gaze lowered to the ground and a smile floated onto his face. It wasn’t a smile of happiness, but eagerness.

“I’ve found you, little fillies.” A gust of wind tore the words from his mouth and sent a shiver down his spine as he set off in search of his prey. “Time to pay for that meal, Octavia.” Key Note’s smile grew all the wider at the thought of getting that other pony within his grasp. “And time for your friend to pay for saving you.”

“So, where did you learn this spell?” Octavia poked the horn that was touching her forehead and looking questioningly into her friend’s eyes. “I mean, it can’t be just anywhere you can learn a spell like this.” The two had spent the past thirty minutes having back-and-forth conversation from the deepest of topics to the most superficial discussions until Octavia suddenly felt a surge of curiosity towards the spell that had made it all possible.

The white unicorn smiled at her with an air of mischievousness. “I didn’t learn it.” At Octavia’s confused look, Vinyl chuckled lightly and tapped herself on the horn proudly. “I made it up myself.” Octavia pushed the DJ away and frowned, her eyes throwing accusing looks at the pony that was comically sprawled on the floor with her hooves dramatically posing. Vinyl lifted her hooves and flashed them through the air, spelling out the words that Octavia couldn’t hear. I’m not lying. If you don’t believe me, I dare you to go find a book anywhere in Equestria that has a spell like this in it.

Octavia felt a small pang of guilt at the wounded way her friend stared at her. “I believe you, Vinyl.” Octavia lifted herself from her sitting position and pulled her friend to her hooves, smiling as the unicorn brushed herself off. “I just have a hard time believing this, that’s all.” The horn touched her forehead once more, sending that same pinching feeling through her mind before the words floated up to fill the silence once again.

“That’s fine, Tavi, I understand. I could hardly believe it either when I first did it.”

“And when was this?”

“Yesterday, at the Music Sheet.” Upon seeing Octavia’s widened eyes, Vinyl elaborated. “I was working on the spell, trying to get it to work. And, because the Music Sheet is a musician’s bar, there had to be somepony who was bitter because of being deaf, like you.” Octavia glared at the innocently smiling unicorn. “Erm, not that you’re bitter, just that you can’t hear.” Vinyl help up her hooves as she frantically worked to reword her statement.

“Okay…” Vinyl felt a shock of fear as Octavia’s face darkened. “So that explains why you were there to save me from that monster.” Octavia’s twisted look melted into a warm smile directed at her savior, her grayish-brown hooves thankfully hugging around the white pony. “Well, I might not know the first thing about magic, except the magic of music of course, but how in Equestria did you get the spell to suddenly work?”

“Well, I guess it was because I saw you.” The magical feeling that had been cast over Octavia’s mind disappeared as she suddenly jerked away with a warm blush rising to her face. A hoof on her shoulder prompted Octavia to turn and look at her concerned friend, whose mouth moved around the words that Octavia couldn’t hear. I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just that I didn’t see you for so long, it shocked me into having it work. Vinyl touched her with the horn again, casting the azure glow back over Octavia’s dark-brown hair. “Did you catch that?”

“Yes, I did.” Octavia tore away from the azure light and slowly walked out onto the tiny square of sunlight cast into the semi-dark room by the window. She cast a small, warning glance behind her to halt Vinyl’s hesitant approach. “So, you were trying to make this spell to help me?” Suddenly, the embarrassment that had been plaguing her face burned away to make room the anger that had begun to pulse hotly behind it. She didn’t allow the DJ time to defend herself before continuing. “I thought I told you to not feel guilty for what happened.” The DJ shuddered with the chill in the cellist’s voice, but Octavia didn’t relent. “I told you that it was bound to happen regardless.”

Unable to verbally defend herself, Vinyl slashed her hooves rapidly through the air. It’s my fault though, you would have never had to suffer like you do if it wasn’t for me. Octavia stomped over to the unicorn, who visibly recoiled as Octavia’s hoof touched lightly on her shoulder.

“It’s not your fault. The doctor said it was only a matter of time before it happened naturally.” Octavia’s voice grew sad as the memory of her mother drifted up from beneath the sands of time. “My mother suffered the same ailment.” She watched as Vinyl mumbled something to the floor, no doubt muttering something about it still being her fault. Octavia’s grayish-brown hoof reached under the unicorn’s chin and drew her face upwards to stare into Octavia’s own. “It isn’t your fault, Vinyl.”

The magenta eyes glistened with tears as the white pony shook her head, her blue-teal mane brushing away the drops of liquid that had escaped her efforts of holding them back. It is my fault. I wish you had never met me, that way you wouldn’t be like this. Whatever else Vinyl had been about to say was silenced by Octavia’s hoof’s slapping across her face. Tears of her own sprang to Octavia’s eyes as she shook the stunned DJ slightly.

“It isn’t your fault!” She slapped Vinyl again. “It isn’t your fault!” Another slap. “It isn’t your fault… It isn’t… your fault!” Octavia slowly became overwhelmed by tears as she brought her hoof to touch against the now-bruised face of her friend. “It’s not your fault…” The grayish earth pony shook with sobs as she drew Vinyl into a hug, trembling with the emotion that roiled through her body.

The seconds seemed to stretch into hours as they stayed in that same spot, the sunlight pooling across their bodies as it peeked into the scene through the speckled windowpanes. Vinyl tilted her head slightly to connect with Octavia’s own, sending another pulse of magic down her horn as she did so. “Hey, Tavi?” When she didn’t reply, Vinyl continued. “I wanna show you one last thing… before you go anyway.” Removing herself from between Octavia’s hooves, Vinyl slowly trotted over to where her portable music player stood in the corner, the oversized headphones draped over it like a pair of inside-out mouse ears.

At an impatient gesture from Vinyl, Octavia walked over and stood awkwardly as she stared at the device. “What’s this going to do?”

The unicorn shook her head and began setting up the player, exchanging the record for a newer-looking one that glistened with a freshness that was all-too-often lacking from Vinyl’s disks. A blue glow surrounded the headphones and landed easily onto Vinyl’s head and she lifted a hoof to pull Octavia closer. The DJ flipped a switch and leaned in to touch her horn to Octavia’s head once again. For a second all that she could hear was a faint crackling, as if somepony was slowly crumpling paper beside her ear.

Then, with the painful slowness common of most classical music, it began. First it was a cello that broke the crackling, playing softly at first and growing in volume to dominate the silence. The warm strums of a bow sliding across the strings were joined by an electronic beat, each pulse of it creating a tempo for the instrument to play alongside. In and out the melody flowed, darting between the strong pillars of thrumming bass and weaving the prettiest of patterns around their colorful sides.

Tears flowed down her face as she watched the notes float through the air like the bubbles that Derpy Hooves had always liked to blow around when she was at school with her. Suddenly, the echoing backbeat dropped away, leaving the cello to crescendo and die away slowly. It was over, the symphony that was crafted from modern and classical. The Symphony of Vinyl and Octavia.

For a few moments there was nothing but a hanging silence, quivering ever so slightly as the two ponies shifted slightly while still maintaining the magical connection. Vinyl’s hesitant voice shattered the peaceful quiet into a thousand shards of colorless sound. “Did… did you like it?” When Octavia didn’t reply, Vinyl pulled away from her and looked into her blankly staring eyes with concern. Octavia? You okay?

The cellist didn’t say a single word as she slowly reached up with her hooves and pulled the most-amazing unicorn in Equestria into an embrace, her tears slowly dripping onto the white coat of her friend as she let her emotion come forth. After what seemed like hours, she slowly drew away from Vinyl and gave the misty-eyed DJ a watery smile. “It was lovely, Vinyl.” With that, she threw her hooves around the unicorn once more into the warmth of a hug. “Thank you.”

The horn softly touched against the side of her head, sending the now-familiar, magical feeling to rest over her mind. “No prob’, Tavi.”

The light-grey stallion stood out in the street, oblivious to the shivers that ran up his spine due to the snow that still resiliently clung to the ground despite the sun’s attempts to melt it. Blinking away the snow that had been picked up by the gusting wind, Key Note glared up at the house that was at the end of his trail. “I’ve finally found you two.” His teeth bared themselves in what could pass for a grin, although it was far from a happy one. “Time to finish this.”

His grey hooves clicked on the cobblestones as he quickly trotted towards the door, wincing at every other step with the soreness that still plagued the side of his body that was thrown against the ground earlier. “I’ll get that white one first. Teach her to throw me around.” The howling wind that blew over him nearly knocked him back into the snow as it brushed past, bringing with it another wave of cold that chilled him to the core.

The front door swung open at his touch, bringing that same smile that didn’t touch his eyes back onto his face and the glinting light back into his golden eyes. “They don’t even lock the door. It’s like they want to be robbed or something.” He chuckled to himself as he let himself into the building, taking the time afterward to barricade it with one of the spare chairs that dotted the sides of the entryway.

The sounds of laughter, followed by an indignant retort, drifted to him from a different part of the house. He looked back at the door he had come through, pushing it with a hoof to test his makeshift blockade should anypony else come to the mares’ rescue. Key Note’s hooves cautiously made their way across the wooden floor, their owner wary of the possibility of creaking boards that sometimes gave away even the wariest of ponies with their traitorous squeaks.

The grey stallion soon found himself standing outside the door that his prey hid behind, their soft-spoken words drifting to him through the cracks in the wood. “Finally found you. I can’t wait.” Key Note shoved the poor wooden barrier into the opposite wall with enough force to send an ear-splitting crack cutting through the air, the two mares’ heads jerking around to look at him with the sweet confusion akin to an animal stuck in front of a racing cart that was soon to end its life. “Hello, ladies.”

The world seemed to stop as Octavia and Vinyl stared at the stallion who had so casually thrown himself into the room and shut the door behind him with a swift kick. He walked past their staring eyes with the ease of a predator that had cornered the object of his hunt, free to take as much time as he felt that he needed to properly enjoy his meal. The stallion flashed a smile at them, one that didn’t touch his eyes, which glinted like frozen copper.

In another instant the flow of time resumed its normal course. Octavia was pushed to one side as Vinyl lunged at the stallion, who simply drew his hoof back and knocked the white pony aside with ease. The cellist watched in horror as Key Note slowly cantered over to where Vinyl lay, dazed against the wall she had collided with. The unicorn’s eyes slowly looked up to the looming stallion, slowly filling with fear as he stepped closer and closer with every second. Even though she couldn’t hear what was being said Octavia knew what he was planning to do to them both.

With a scream of rage that ripped her throat, Octavia leapt onto the back of their attacker punching her hooves against his neck and head as she brought him down to the ground with her weight. Suddenly she found herself lying on the floor with black spots swimming across her vision, looking up to the dark outline of Key Note standing over her. A blow to her face sent her down into the void that is the boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness. She watched as if from behind a thick window as a white shape tackled the stallion and threw him into a wall. Octavia screamed a silent scream as a hulking hoof struck Vinyl full on in the face and knocked her bodily across the room, watching with horror as the stallion slowly stalked over to the fallen DJ.

Octavia felt her blood freeze as the stallion reared back and kicked both of his front hooves into the unicorn’s chest, a torrent of tears and anger pushing against the walls that held her in stillness. Another hoof reached out and tilted up the bruised face of Vinyl Scratch as if the stallion was saying something to the soon-to-be-dead pony. Octavia’s heart swelled as she looked into the magenta eyes that were filled with defiance and at the mouth that moved around spiteful words. Go buck yourself.

As the grey hoof pulled back again Vinyl’s horn suddenly glowed azure, growing in intensity until the light became blinding even to Octavia. The world seemed to hold its breath for a moment as Vinyl looked to her with fearful eyes. Even she didn’t know what she was about to do. The universe exploded with a force that seemed to rip through the fabric of reality and finally tipped Octavia into the realm of true blackness, its midnight tendrils reaching up to claim her as their own.

The first feeling to return to her was the sensation of pain. It licked up and down her body in red-hot waves of fire. She groaned soundlessly as she shifted slightly, suppressing a scream as a particularly fierce knife of agony stabbed into her side. She took a few steadying breaths before pushing against the ground in an attempt to stand, instantly regretting her decision but not quitting when the first pangs began. The heavy weight that pressed down on her back was suddenly lifted away allowing the cellist an easier trip to her hooves. When she managed to put her shaky legs below her Octavia glanced about herself with squinting eyes.

The entire half of the room that Vinyl had been in was demolished, a large smoking crater marking where the explosion had originated from. She looked down into the steep sides of the smoldering rocks which were spattered lightly with a crimson substance. “Oh, Vinyl…” It was then that the tears started, cutting through the tracks of dust that had begun to coat her face. “Vinyl, no…” For the second time that day her scream pierced the afternoon air. “NO!”

A hoof on her shoulder made her freeze. Octavia slowly turned to look into the pained face of a pony that she thought she would never see again. The unicorn’s mouth moved wordlessly and her eyes grew wide as the dust swirled from the passing of her words. Tavi, the magenta eyes searched the air for nothing as the pony spoke, I can’t hear myself.

“What are you talking about, Vinyl?” The unicorn slowly shook her head and pointed to her snow-white ears from which twin rivulets of blood stained the perfect coat below them, with a trembling hoof.

I can’t hear, Octavia. Small tears slowly dripped down the DJ’s face as she stepped closer. I can’t. Vinyl slowly buried her scratched face into Octavia’s nearly black mane, sobbing silently as the horrifying realization washed over her.

Octavia slowly lifted her hoof to brush through the grimy blue-and-teal mane, tears of her own dropping into the dirty hair.

"It's okay Vinyl. It's okay." As the sun set upon the world it left the two ponies embracing each other amidst the harsh realities of life in the dark cloak of the early night.

---- Epilogue: The Symphony of Vinyl and Octavia ----

The blue glow that encompassed the black case of her cello faded away allowing the heavy instrument to softly land on the floor with the smallest of vibrations. She smiled at the worn surface as she ran a hoof along the bumps and ridges that the years had worn into it. “It’s time for another concert. You had better be ready.” She clicked open the latches and slowly lifted the lid exposing the diligently polished wood of her cello to the world outside of its usual confines within the dark case.

Octavia lifted the instrument from the black velvet and set it up on its stand that stood off to one side of the stage. Suddenly it lurched to one side as she brushed up against it, threatening to fall to the floor until a sheet of azure light caught it and set the tool of music back into place. Octavia glanced gratefully at the source of the saving magic, the conjuror of it returning the smile that she sent over her shoulder.

You ready to play? Vinyl walked over and playfully nudged her with a hoof, jerking her head back to her already set-up DJ equipment that stood at attention, ready for its inevitable battle against silence. I know I am.

Octavia smiled at her friend’s usual cockiness, nodding eagerly and lightly touching her cello. “Yeah, let’s play this… er… thing?” Vinyl chuckled at her weak attempt at using modern slang and trotted over to the waiting table.

They both waited with bated breath as the outline of a pony crossed before the thin, red curtain that was draped in front of them. As the form slowly walked away from the center of the stage, Vinyl ignited her horn and lifted the records onto their posts sliding the playing needles into position. The confident air that she possessed was mimicked by Octavia as she lifted herself onto her hind legs and grabbed her tool of musical creation.

Then ever so slowly the curtain drew back to reveal two friends standing alone on the brightly-lit stage. Octavia breathed in and exhaled quickly, pulling her bow into position and drawing it across the strings to produce the first note. It sounded clear in her mind, as crisp as it had when Vinyl had played it for her all those years ago. Note after note drifted from her cello, which was soon accompanied by the music produced from the disks of black upon Vinyl’s table. The sweet sounds of classical and modern music weaved between themselves and into an impossibly complex melody of beauty.

It was the combination of two tastes. It was both of their lives woven into one. It was the Symphony of Vinyl and Octavia. And they played it for the world to hear.

Even if we step out onto the world's unforgiving and unfeeling stage, we can always find one pony to stand with us and share the burden of the crowd's silent judgment.

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