The Story of Two Musicians
The sun rose upon the city of Manehattan, stirring everypony awake by its warming light. There were trees full of green and yellow leaves around the library, with some adorning beautiful, magenta flowers. Midway on the steps to the door, there stood two manticore statues, as if they were guarding the library and the unicorn and her assistant who resided in it.
The inside was very spacious, with tables set around in an organized manner; plus, each table had a candlestick to light to help those who needed to read in the dark, and the couple of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling also helped to that a bit. The sun's rays shined through the glass windows, illuminating the cherry wood bookshelves containing books in alphabetical order and sorted genre. The marble floor also added to the shine of the room. The library was three stories tall but only the first and second floor were full of bookshelves, for the third floor served as the living quarters for its current librarian, Twilight Sparkle.
Ever since Octavia's out-of-character behavior yesterday, Twilight decided that first thing in the morning she would go to the musician's apartment, along with Spike, to help with what was bothering her. However, she had remembered that she also needed to tell her other friends of Vinyl's invitation, to let them know of the party the DJ was going to hold. Twilight was at a loss on what to do, for she did not want to choose one friend over another. Fortunately, an answer was already put out for her.
"Are you sure about this, Spike?" Twilight asked in surprise.
"Of course I am." Spike nodded. "Octavia really needs somepony to lend an ear to her, and I really think it should be you."
"But...don't you want to come along with me and help Octavia? Or I could go to my friends by myself, and you could listen..." she suggested, although she was pleasantly surprised at how selfless Spike was being.
The dragon frowned a little, scratching his head. "I really would like to do that, but let's face it: you're the better one at talking and comforting other ponies. You always know what to say. Me? I'd probably just mess it up somehow, and I really don't want that to happen. Plus, I've traveled all over the city with you, so I know where our friends live. So come on, Twilight! I gotta do this!"
Twilight smiled at Spike, proud of her assistant's resolve. She pulled him in for a hug, which he returned. "Thank you, Spike. I'll be sure to let Octavia know of what you've done for us."
So after Twilight gave Spike his backpack filled with bits inside to use the taxi-carriages if he needed to, the unicorn and dragon set out for their respective locations. Spike soon stopped in his steps as he realized something.
"Hey, Twilight?" he called out to her.
"Yes, Spike?"
"Did Vinyl ever tell us where her party was going to be?"
Twilight was silent for a moment, recalling yesterday to see if there was anything that Vinyl had said on where her party was going to be. Try as she might, even with her incredible memory, she could not remember one word on the whereabouts of the party. So the only possible explanation was that Vinyl forgot to tell them where her own party was going to be.
Twilight slapped a hoof to her face in frustration. "Ugh! Seriously, how could she neglect to tell us where her own party is going to take place!?" She was beginning to wonder if this is the kind of behavior that Octavia had to put up with from her friend at times.
"Twilight, it's no big deal." Spike calmed her down. "I'll just go to the Orange Catering Hotel, go to Vinyl's room and ask her about it. Easy."
"Y-You're right, Spike...it should be easy." Twilight sighed in relief. "Well, good luck."
"Yeah, you too."
And so now each went their separate ways to complete their task.
Spike stepped out of the taxi-carriage after reaching his destination, Orange Catering Hotel. No matter how many times he went there, he always gazed in awe at the lavish and luxurious lobby. He had to restrain himself from wanting to leap at the chandelier (not that he could) to have at least a few bites on it, or he would never hear the end of it from Twilight.
Spike shook himself out of his stupor, remembering the reason why he came here in the first place. Walking to the front desk, he pulled himself up and rang the bell on the table. It didn't take long for someone to answer.
"Hello and welcome to the Orange Catering Hotel! How may we..." Orange Sherbet greeted, pausing when she saw the purple dragon. "Oh, Spike! What a surprise! I didn't expect to see you here so early in the morning!"
"Yeah, I'm running a task for Twilight to ask Vinyl where her party is gonna be while she goes to talk to Octavia to see what's wrong with her." Spike said.
"Octavia?" Sherbet asked in surprise and concern. "She feels troubled? Why?"
"We don't really know. Twilight's gonna see if she can find out." Spike answered. "Anyway, I'm here to see Vinyl. Can you tell me which room she's in?"
"Well, we have put Miss Scratch at Room 402 at the fourth floor, but..."
Spike did not like the sound of that last word, now fearing the worst. "...but what, Auntie?"
"After she had finished her breakfast, she immediately left the hotel, saying that she had some important business to take care of." Sherbet explained.
"What!?" he shouted in shock at the news. Manehattan was a big city and Vinyl could be anywhere in it. How would he find the crazy DJ before tomorrow?
"I do know where she went, though." Sherbet spoke, hoping to help. "I believe she went to Blossomforth's house downtown. Perhaps she went there to give her the autograph she promised yesterday."
"Thanks, Auntie! You're a lifesaver!" Spike thanked in joy. "I'd better get going before she moves away again!"
"Spike wait!" the mare called, stopping him in his tracks. "Why exactly do you want to speak with Miss Scratch?"
"It's about her invitation. She forgot to tell us where her party is, so I have to ask her to know. Now I really gotta get going!" he answered, before rushing out the door.
'Well, there he goes...' Sherbet thought. Knowing that there was nothing she could do to help, she returned back to work, hoping that Spike would be all right.
Twilight was thinking about what she should ask Octavia about her and Vinyl while she was waiting for the elevator to reach her floor. The musician had already said that there was no bad blood between her and the DJ unicorn, so what was bothering her? Was it something personal? Did something else happen between them? Either way, she was going to find out.
The ding told Twilight that she had arrived at Octavia's floor. The elevator door opened up, letting her inside Octavia's penthouse apartment. Her apartment's appearance was exactly what Twilight expected from a musician like Octavia: simple, yet with a touch of elegance. While not quite as fancy as the Orange's level of appearance, it still looked like a fine place to live in. The light brown carpet complimented with the colors of the blue wallpaper, and the couches seemed to welcome any guests that stepped inside. On one side of the room where Octavia displayed her cellos, she recognized that one of them was made from Canterlot judging from its golden-lined borders.
Now Twilight wondered where Octavia was around the apartment. "Octavia? Are you here?"
"Twilight? Is that you?" Her voice came from the hallway, most likely her room.
"Is this a bad time? I could always come back later."
"No, no. It's quite all right. I'll be right out."
After a few seconds or so, one of the doors opened, Octavia walking out of her room. Although she still had her troubled look from yesterday, she seemed somewhat calmer.
"Hello, Twilight." Octavia greeted, before noticing the absence of a baby dragon. "Where is Spike? Does he not often travel with you?"
"Yes, but right now he's running an errand for me." Twilight replied. "Vinyl forgot to tell us where her party was being held, and he offered to go and ask her himself and then tell our friends about it."
Octavia smiled upon this. "I see. How kind of him." She motioned one of her forelegs to the couch. "Please, a have a seat."
Twilight complied, sitting on one of the couches in the living room.
"Would you like to have some tea?" Octavia offered. "I should have some ready in the kitchen."
"I guess I can have a cup or two." Twilight accepted the offer.
The cellist left to the kitchen, shortly coming back with a teapot and two teacups on a tray. She poured the drink on each cup, before giving one to Twilight.
Twilight decided to cut to the chase. The sooner she solves this problem, the better. "So Octavia, you know why I'm here, right?"
"...yes, I do." Octavia muttered.
"Then let me help you. Please. Tell me what's been bothering you."
Octavia sighed, setting her teacup down. "It's about Vinyl."
"Vinyl?" Twilight asked. "But I thought you said that you two weren't mad with one another."
"It's not specifically her, per se. It's something else from her." the earth pony clarified.
"Like what?"
"It's about her invitation to the party that she will be hosting. I'm...not certain if I will enjoy it."
The unicorn wasn't sure if this was something to be so troubled about, but she decided not to question it. "Then why don't you just tell her that? I'm sure that she'll understand-"
"No. I can't do that."
Twilight blinked at Octavia's interruption. "Huh? Why not?"
"Because..." she spoke, closing her eyes. "I don't want to let Vinyl down."
"What do you mean?"
"Vinyl has already said that we met each other as fillies, correct?" Twilight nodded at Octavia's question. "Well then, let me tell you how we have met..."
While my family was not of nobility, we were somewhat wealthy, and we lived a good life together. As a foal, I have always dreamed of becoming a musician, to play music for everypony to listen, to create my own music, and perhaps one day, to perform before Celestia herself. So after begging to my parents, they had signed me up in the finest music class they could find. It had taken me a while to find an instrument most suited for me. After many tests and practice, I had become an adept at the cello. And once I had finished playing my first song flawlessly, I had earned my cutie mark. I couldn't be happier to find the perfect instrument for me.
But of course, like I've said before, I am not a noble. However, my foalish, naïve mind thought otherwise. I admit that as a filly, I was rather...unkind.
"Excuse me, but what are you two doing here?" the grey filly frowned at the yellow unicorn colt and the white earth filly, sitting around one of the tables of the library reading a book.
"Um, we're studying." the filly answered. "Why? Is there a problem?
"Yes, there is. First off, you're not allowed in here."
"Oh yeah? Says who?" the colt challenged her.
"Says me. You're not allowed in here for breaking rules."
"Rules? What rules?" the filly asked. "I didn't know that there were any rules."
"Oh, but there are." Octavia smirked, enjoying the moment. "First off, neither one of you are very rich or nobles. You need to be at least one of those to be here, but you're not."
"But that's not fair! There aren't even that many rich ponies around here!"
"Well, that would be your problem, not mine. And secondly..." she pointed to the colt. "You don't have a cutie mark. No blank flanks are allowed in here."
"SHUT UP! You're not the boss of me!" he snapped.
"So should I go get the librarian and tell her that you've been shouting again? She won't like it..."
Unable to think of a comeback, he could only stand there, glaring at her.
"That's what I thought." Octavia said smugly. Then, she turned to the filly. "Don't think I've forgotten about you. You have to leave too."
"But why!? I have a cutie mark! Look!" the filly protested, revealing a slice of cake on her flank.
"And that's where rule three comes in: nopony with a stupid cutie mark is allowed in here. You have a slice of cake for one? Whatever does that mean, that you eat so much cake that you'll get fat? Heh, what a poor choice of a cutie mark."
The poor filly began to cry, making the colt even madder. "Come on, let's get out of here." he told her. "I promise that she will pay for this." And with that, the two foals had left the library.
Satisfied, Octavia returned back to the task at hoof, getting a book of Beethoofen to practice for the youth musical competition next week. She knew that she was going to win. Compared to her, the other musicians were foolish amateurs who should know their place. And she was going to win to prove it to everypony.
Finding what she wanted, she settled the book on her back and began to walk out the door.
"Excuse me little filly..."
Octavia turned to the voice that called her, the librarian mare. "Yes, what is it?"
"If you want that book, you should come over here to the front desk to check it out." she explained.
Octavia only scoffed at this. Why does she need to do that? It was so tedious and pointless. She will return the book later, so what was the point in it? Still, she did as she was told, reluctantly going through the standard procedures of checking out the book.
"Is that it?" she asked impatiently.
"Yes, that will be all." the mare nodded. However, before Octavia could open the door, the mare called out once again. "Wait, one more thing."
Octavia groaned in annoyance. "What!?"
"Octavia, I would appreciate it if you stopped chasing foals away from the library. If you keep doing that, they won't come back here again."
"It's not my fault, Miss Bookmark. They broke important rules here, so I had to teach them a lesson." the grey filly said with an innocent tone in her voice.
"Come now Octavia, the only rule in this library is to not talk loudly." Bookmark frowned. "And as far as I know, neither one of those foals broke that rule."
"I don't know Miss Bookmark, that colt sure was loud before. And since that filly was with him, she deserved it too." Bookworm was about to scold her before Octavia interrupted her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must get home to practice for next week. I've already wasted enough time here." And so Octavia closed the door, not giving the librarian a chance to call her again.
Twilight was very surprised at what she has heard. She never would've expected to hear that Octavia, the Element of Kindness, was a bully in her foalhood. She decided to not tell about any of this to Spike.
"I know, I'm not proud of how I behaved as a filly." Octavia said.
"But you're not like that now. Not even close." Twilight noted. "So what happened?"
"'Nopony stays the same forever. They all change in some ways in their lives." Octavia explained. "And I am thankful that it happened to me."
"So what happened? What made you change?"
"I had met a white, energetic young unicorn filly who was excited at learning everything she could at music."
"Vinyl Scratch." Twilight said in realization.
"Correct. Although our first meeting wasn't the most pleasant..."
Octavia was practicing with her cello at her music school with her teacher, having to sit on a chair to play her instrument properly. Although she played well, she couldn't play without a music sheet, still not able to completely memorize music in her mind. She knew that a true cellist has to feel the music and its true meaning. With that in mind, she knew that she had to win the competition. For herself.
"Well done, Octavia." her teacher, High Note, complimented her. "Now let me hear you on fourth position."
Octavia nodded, settling her hooves in fourth position...
WUBWUBWUB WUBWUBWUB WUBWUBWUB WUB!
WUBWUBWUB WUBWUBWUB WUBWUBWUB WUB!
She and her teacher pressed their hooves to their ears, cringing at the sound of the terrible, loud music, if she could even call it that. She couldn't hear herself think with that accursed...whatever it was...playing so loud. Whoever that pony was, he or she had no right to call themselves a musician.
Octavia would not tolerate this. She marched right out of the classroom she was practicing in and went to where the loud noise was being played to give that pony a piece of her mind.
Opening the door to where that accursed music was being played, she had found the culprit: a white filly with headphones over her ears on a turntable, rocking and bopping her head along with the beat. It was a wonder that she didn't make herself go deaf with the awful racket she herself was making.
"Hey!" Octavia shouted over the music. Apparently the filly didn't hear her, for she kept waving along with her music. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Answer me!" To her annoyance, the filly continued to play, as if she didn't even notice Octavia in the room. When High Note joined her in the room, she decided to use him to her advantage. "Mister Note, please make her stop playing this terrible noise! It's hurting my ears!"
The teacher complied, walking up to the DJ filly and gently nudging her to get her attention. "Excuse me, Vinyl?"
The filly, Vinyl, blinked, turning down the music, much to Octavia's relief, and looked to High Note.
"Yo, teach! How's it going? Did ya come here to check out my mad skills?" She exclaimed with a cocky grin. "The new piece I'm playing is gonna blow everypony's minds when they hear it!"
"Yes, quite literally too." Octavia deadpanned, already disliking this Vinyl filly.
"Of course not, it's just an expression!" she laughed. "So what's you name, girl? Mine's Vinyl Scratch. But one day, everypony will be calling me DJ-PON3! The Wubmaster! The queen of beats! And..." she paused, seemingly unable to think of another title. "...meh, something else, I'll think it up later."
"My name is Octavia Melody." the grey filly said, clearly irritated. "And that piece you were playing was ridiculous."
"Octavia, don't talk like that!" High Note scolded her, much to her shock. Why was he, a wonderful cello teacher, siding with this amateur? She knew nothing of music, and he's protecting her?
"Nah, she's got a point, it is kinda ridiculous." Vinyl agreed, shocking Octavia even further. Not that she wasn't happy to hear it, but why would she criticize her own song? "I keep skipping over some beats by accident and I always keep trying to play the beats I did miss, screwing up my whole piece. So in short, I suck! Hahahaha! Sure wish that my teach didn't catch the sniffles! He'd be sure to give me a few pointers!"
"And you're fine knowing that?" Octavia questioned, seeing a perfect opportunity to humiliate her. "You admit that you're terrible at playing music, and you're fine with it?"
"Octavia, that's enough." High Note warned her, not liking his student's behavior towards another student of the school.
"'Course not." Vinyl answered, not affected in the least by Octavia's taunting. "I know that if I keep playin over and over again, I'll eventually get better. Though I don't know if I'll get better at hearing since I couldn't understand a word you said to me while I was putting the Wubs on! Heheh..."
Octavia didn't know what made her most annoyed: that her insult didn't make Vinyl the least bit angry or the fact that the white filly knew that she was there before, and paid her no mind. She was a huge nuisance.
"By the way, are you gonna join in the school's music competition next week?" Vinyl asked, grinning.
"Yes. What of it?" she narrowed her eyes, not liking where this was going.
"I'm joining up in the comp too! We can listen to each other's pieces!" she threw her forelegs around Octavia, much to the cellist's great irritation.
"Just wonderful..." Octavia moaned.
"I know, right!?"
After my first meeting with Vinyl I became even more determined to not let her beat me, my young mind believing that she was not worthy of winning the competition. I practiced on my cello everyday to make sure that I would win. On the day of the competition however, something I was not expecting had happened...
Octavia rolled her eyes in complete annoyance as Vinyl played her turntable onstage. She even proved herself to be downright mad, doing a hoofstand on top of the turntable with her forelegs. What was worse, the audience seemed to be enjoying her performance. Octavia could not believe that they would actually like awful music like that. Well, once she began her performance, they would see how truly wrong they were, and rightfully place her at first with the blue ribbon.
Octavia decided that a little bit of practice before the performance wouldn't hurt. Walking back to her room, she opened her cello case and reached for her saddlebag to pull out her music sheet.
She froze upon feeling that it was empty.
She began to panic, wondering what had happened to it. She needed that music sheet, for without it she could not play at the competition. Did she misplace it back at her home? No, she had checked, it definitely was in there before. Had it flown away? No, her saddlebag was tightly strapped, she was sure of it.
During her panic, she had noticed some paper tied to the strap of her saddlebag. It read "This is payback for making my friend cry. Serves you right."
Anger was added to her panic. How dare those two foals steal from her! They would pay once she had her hooves on them! But she had no time to worry about them, for in a few minutes, she would be playing next. Without her music sheet to guide her, she was sure to lose. Not knowing what else to do, she fell to the floor and cried, feeling defeated.
I truly thought that it was over. That the colt and filly I had bullied at the library had beaten me, and have completed their retribution against me. Fortunately, a certain somepony was willing to help me...
"Hey girl! How's it going in there?"
Vinyl's smirk vanished when she saw Octavia sobbing on the floor. Now looking serious, she walked up to the crying filly and placed a comforting hoof on her back.
"Hey, what's wrong?" she softly spoke. "Why are you crying?"
"What's wrong!? Two rotten ponies stole my music sheet, that's what!" Octavia snapped, tears falling down her face. "I didn't even do anything to them! Now I'll get last place, thanks to them!"
"I see...I'm sorry to hear that, girl."
"Wh-What am going to tell everypony out there? They'll all laugh at me...I don't want to get laughed at..." she sniffed.
Vinyl stood thinking for a moment before smiling, an idea coursing through her head. "Hold on, girl! I know how to fix this mess! Stay here, I'll be right back!" After that, she ran outside of the room in a flash.
'I hope she does something terrible to those two who robbed me...' Octavia thought bitterly.
After a few moments or so, Vinyl came back, bringing in some papers via levitation.
"Is that my music sheet!?" the cellist exclaimed in surprise and excitement.
"See for yourself." Vinyl smirked.
Octavia took the papers without so much a thank you, and began to read over them. As she saw the notes on the sheets, her excitement faded away, her face of joy now replaced with a deep frown.
"What kind of sick joke is this!?" she demanded the unicorn filly. "This isn't my music sheet!"
"I know, I made it for you." Vinyl simply replied.
"For what?"
"For you to use it at the competition out there, what else girl?"
Octavia gaped at her in disbelief. "Now I know you're joking! I've never even played this score before! What makes you think that I will put up a good performance with this!?"
"Trust me, I know that you'll knock them out of their horseshoes! After all, it is my talent!" Vinyl assured her, proudly displaying her cutie mark.
Before Octavia could talk back, one of the teachers had called her to perform onstage. "Octavia, you're up next!"
"This is your chance, girl! Time to show 'em your mad skills!" Vinyl cheered.
'This score had better be good, or I will tell the teachers that she sabotaged my music sheet.' Octavia thought as she made way to the stage with her cello and new music sheet.
Making her way to the center of the stage, Octavia prepared her cello and music sheet, not as confident as she once believed that she was going to be.
'Well, here goes...'
Octavia took a deep breath, and began to play.
The music that Vinyl had written for me was incredible. I had never heard anything like it before. I noticed that she had mixed a bit of her music along with mine to play, and it surprisingly fit well. The fast notes that I had to play entertained the audience very much. The quick change of positions she wrote for me were smooth and graceful, keeping my music in rhythm with the melody. The audience loved what I had played. In fact, it was enough for...
"...and the blue ribbon goes to...Octavia Melody!"
As the audience cheered for her, Octavia could not smile back, for she was too surprised and baffled as to what happened. To her right stood Vinyl, smiling with a red ribbon on her chest. One very important question passed through the earth filly's mind: why did Vinyl do all of that? She was clearly being mean to the unicorn, she had no reason to help her. If she didn't, she would have been the one with the blue ribbon in her possession. Octavia couldn't help but wonder: why?
After the victory ceremony was over, Octavia had wanted to find out from Vinyl herself. She approached the table where Vinyl was happily munching a daisy sandwich.
"Excuse me, Vinyl?"
Pausing from her snack, Vinyl turned to Octavia and beamed at her. "Hey! Girl, you were awesome out there! Ya totally owned the comp! Congrats! You're totally-"
"Vinyl, please." Octavia interrupted, but instead of the harsh tone she has always used on ponies she looked down at, she was now gentle with it. "May I ask you a question?"
"Uh, sure. Shoot!"
"Why did you help me backstage with my problem? I had insulted you! Made fun of you! Called your music complete trash! You could have chosen not to help me. And yet you did. Why?"
"Why?" Vinyl smiled softly. "Because you needed help, that's why. So what if you were a jerk to me and other ponies? You needed help, and I gave it when you needed it the most. I couldn't just leave you there crying, it's not me. And if it cheered ya up in the end, then it's worth it. Sometimes, all you gotta do is show a little kindness."
Octavia was stunned to hear all of this from Vinyl herself. Despite all of the mean things she had done to Vinyl, she was still willing to help her in the end. And she also felt ashamed, having insulted the filly that had helped her win first place at the competition. Looking back, she felt ashamed at every terrible thing she had said and done to other ponies. She wasn't even sure why she did all of that in the first place. Now, it was time for a change.
"Vinyl..." Octavia began, holding the blue ribbon toward her. "I want you to have this."
"What? Why?" Vinyl asked, shocked by her offer.
"I don't feel like I deserve it. That was your music I played, not mine. If anypony deserves the credit, it should be you."
"Nuh-uh. You keep it." Vinyl shook her head, frowning. "I'm not taking that ribbon for any reason you come up with. You won it, you keep it."
"But I must repay you somehow..." Octavia insisted.
"Ah, I'm sure you'll think of something else Octi! Can I call ya Octi?"
"I suppose so, I don't mind..."
After that day, I had turned over a new leaf. I had apologized to anypony I have wronged before, giving them gifts to show that I was serious in my actions. It had taken some time, but I had eventually earned their trust. Only Vinyl was left, and I knew what sort of gift she would love...
Octavia had arrived early for her music class, but it was not meant to show off. She was waiting for Vinyl to arrive so she could give her present to the unicorn; and since their classes start at the time, this would be her only opportunity to do so.
It didn't take long for Vinyl to arrive, with her still looking as energetic as ever.
"Yo Octi! Wassup?" she grinned, before noticing the wrapped gift box beside her. "Hey, nice box. Who's it for?"
"Vinyl, this is for you." Octavia said, giving the box to her. "Think of it as a thank you gift after what you've done for me the other day."
Vinyl raised her eyebrows in uncertainty. "Uh, Octi? You conked your head a little hard or something? I appreciate the thought and all, but it's just a box."
Octavia couldn't help but slap a hoof to her face. "No Vinyl, it's inside the box..."
"I know, I'm just messing with ya!" Vinyl laughed, making Octavia slap another hoof at her own face.
Not wasting anymore time, Vinyl used her magic to rip up the box's walls, revealing a small case inside it. Curious, Vinyl opened the case and gasped, looking overjoyed at what was inside it.
"AWESOME!!! SUNGLASSES!!!" She cheered, levitating the dark, purple sunglasses over her eyes. Then, she hugged the former bully that gave her what she had always wanted. "Thanks, Octi! You're the best!"
For the first time in a long while, Octavia smiled a genuine smile, returning the hug. "You're welcome, Vinyl."
Octavia took another sip from her tea, Twilight listening in awe at her story. In all honesty, she kind of envied Octavia for having such a wonderful friend in her foalhood. Twilight remembered that she kept pushing away possible friends to continue her studies, and now she has regretted it since, missing the chance to have made some friends in her foalhood. The only ones that she truly did consider friends at that age were her BBBFF, Shining Armor, and the best foalsitter ever, Princess Cadence. She had always remembered them both telling Twilight to go out and make new friends. Now, she would completely agree with the both of them.
"So what happened? How did you and Vinyl get separated from one another?" Twilight asked.
"Vinyl's father had very important business in Canterlot, requiring him to move there. And he didn't wish to leave his family behind, so Vinyl and her mother had to move to Canterlot with him. We wrote letters to one another, talking about how we're doing with our lives. And you know the rest of the story from here..."
To say that Twilight was stunned would be an understatement. She never expected for somepony like Vinyl to have such an impact on Octavia's life. She had now seen the DJ unicorn in a new light.
"So...now do you understand Twilight?" Octavia asked. "Vinyl helped me see the error of my ways as a filly. It's thanks to her that I have made such success around Manehattan. She's also most likely one of the reasons why I am the Element of Kindness. I...I owe a lot to Vinyl. So I can't reject her invitation. Not after everything she's done for me."
"But...are you sure you don't want to tell Vinyl about this?" Twilight suggested again. "If she is as you told me, I'm sure that she'd understand. Besides, it's just a party, right?"
"I'm afraid that you don't understand, Twilight." Octavia shook her head. "Vinyl is very passionate with her music and festivities. Rejecting to go there would be like rejecting her friendship. Although I admit that I don't know what I'm supposed to do there. I'm...afraid."
"Don't be, Octavia" Twilight comforted her, putting a hoof over her. "You won't be alone in there. You'll have me and everypony else helping you. Trust me, we will all support you to the end."
Octavia couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, Twilight. I truly do appreciate it."
After listening to Octavia, Twilight had to return to the library to continue her job as librarian. Some time had passed by, and Spike still hadn't returned. She was beginning to worry for him. He couldn't have gotten lost, he said so himself that he knew his way around Manehattan. Did he make a mistake somehow?
"TWIIIIIIIIIILLIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Twilight immediately ran outside, and she saw Spike running towards her. And he was running as if Tirek himself was chasing after him.
"TWILIGHT!" he shouted, running right behind her. "Is Blossomforth chasing after me!?"
"Um, what?" Twilight uttered, completely taken aback by that question.
"IS BLOSSOMFORTH CHASING AFTER ME!?"
"Um...no?" she answered, not seeing any signs of her pegasus friend nearby.
"Good..." Spike sighed in relief. "I can finally take a breather..."
"Um, Spike? What exactly happened between you and Blossomforth?"
"Well, Vinyl wasn't at the hotel, she was at Blossomforth's place. So I went there to talk to Vinyl..."
Earlier that day...
Blossomforth lived down at the suburbs, close to the hotel and the library, so Spike knew that it would be easy to find Vinyl at Blossomforth's house; it was the one with flowers in the front yard, the backyard and a greenhouse full of many kind of colorful flowers. Walking to the front door, Spike knocked on it a few times.
"I'm coming!" Blossomforth called from inside.
Few seconds later, the cream-colored pegasus opened the door, smiling when she saw the baby dragon at her doorsteps.
"Oh, hi Spike. What brings you here?" she asked him.
"I've heard that Vinyl went here, and I want to ask her something." Spike said. "Is she still home?"
"Yes, of course! Do you want her autograph too?"
"Uh, maybe some other time. I really need to talk to her."
"Ok, come on in."
Walking inside her home, Spike wasn't surprised, but still impressed, to see that everywhere he looked, there was always some kind of flower standing around. Whether they be on the kitchen table, hung on windows, inside vases, neatly decorated along the stairs, or even used as curtains, there were flowers everywhere. And they smelled good. Too good. The smell intoxicated his nostrils, making him want to sneeze.
'I'd better make this quick...' Spike thought, desperately trying to hold his sneeze in, knowing what happened the last time he sneezed. "Uh, so where's Vinyl?"
"She's outside looking at my garden. She also gave me her autograph!" Blossomforth squeed, showing a paper signed 'To one of my awesome, rockin fans, Vinyl Scratch.
"Wow, that's pretty cool." Spike grinned. "Anyway, can I see her? It's really important."
"Of course. Right this way."
Blossomforth led the baby dragon outside to her garden, also filled with flowers. The only type Spike could recognize were the sunflowers. He and Blossomforth had spotted Vinyl near the greenhouse, looking curiously at the flowers around it.
"Vinyl, we have a guest with us!" the pegasus called.
"Yeah?" Vinyl turned her head, seeing the flower-lover along with Spike. "Oh hey, little guy! What brings ya here? Do ya also want my autograph?"
"Actually Vinyl, it's about your party..." Spike began.
"Oh yeah, I'm totally stoked for it! What's best, Octi will be there to enjoy the wubs with me! What about you, ya up to groovin in the dance floor too?"
"I guess so, but I also gotta know where your party is gonna be."
"Whuh? You mean...you don't know?" Asked a confused Vinyl.
"No, because you forgot to tell us where your party was going to be yesterday. You just told us to go see you, and that's it." Spike replied with a flat look on his face.
Vinyl took all that information in pause, before laughing out loud. "I guess I did forget to tell ya! Man, I'm never gonna learn!"
'Octavia must have been really patient to put up with Vinyl for so long.' Spike thought with a sweatdrop.
"Right, so the party where I'll be putting beats on is at a club called The Boom Room, on 34th and Malbec. You'll know it when ya see it."
"All right, thanks for telling me." Spike nodded. "Now all I gotta do is tell the others about it."
"Hold up." Vinyl stopped him. "How 'bout you give me your buddies' addresses, and I tell them where it is? It's the least I could do after giving ya so much trouble."
It was a tempting offer. Even though Spike was sure that he could carry out the task by himself, he didn't want to waste all of the bits Twilight gave to him. He saw no harm in letting Vinyl do the work for him. "Uh, sure I guess. Gimme a sec..."
After giving Trixie's, Octavia's and Daring's (which he remembered to write with her real name, Honey Do) addresses, he felt that his business was done, and that it was time to leave.
"Yo Blossom, what's that kind of flower near the windows?" Vinyl asked, pointing to a green, bushy flower.
"This one? This is ragweed. It carries pollen through the wind. I also have many other wind pollinated flowers around my garden." Blossomforth explained.
Spike tensed up, the mere mention of the word 'pollen' making him want to sneeze. He felt a strong tingle in his nose. 'Oh no...' He attempted to hold it back with little success.
"Ahh...ahh..."
"Hey little guy, what's wrong? You're not looking too good..."
"Aaahhh...aaahhh..."
"Spike? Are you okay?"
"AAAAAAAACCHHOOOOOOOO!!"
Spike let out an accidental flame along with his sneeze, suprising both mares around him. However, it didn't take long for Blossomforth to scream in horror.
"MY FLOWERS!!! MY POOR FLOWERS!!!"
The pegasus stared in sheer terror at the burnt patches of what used to be flowers. Spike, sensing the worst about to happen, slowly tip-toed away from the garden.
"You...flower murderer..."
Spike slowly looked back, and fear completely struck him. The timid, down-to-earth pony looked absolutely terrifying. If looks could kill, Spike would be a dead dragon.
"You did this..." she hissed.
"Blossomforth, it was an accident, I swear it was!" Spike yelped, fearing for his life.
"You will pay!!!"
She grabbed the nearest object she could take: a broomstick. While somewhat a ridiculous weapon, Blossomforth made it look dangerous.
"Dude, start running." Vinyl whispered frantically, also afraid by the mare's reaction.
Spike didn't need to be told twice, going as fast as his feet could run. Blossomforth immediately gave chase, trying to smack the dragon with her broomstick every time she saw an opportunity, with him barely dodging each swing. From another pony's point of view, this scene would've looked comical, but Vinyl was absolutely scared at Blossomforth's other side.
Eventually, Spike had managed to escape to the front door with Blossomforth right behind him.
"Come back here!!!"
"No, get away from me!!!"
"Wow...Blossomforth actually did that?" Twilight said in shock.
"Just ask Vinyl, she was there!" Spike trembled. "Now I'm afraid to go to bed at night...what if she gets me in my sleep!? I can see her doing that!"
"Spike, don't worry. I'm sure that Blossomforth isn't a pony that holds a grudge for so long. I'm sure that she will calm down in time." Twilight assured, patting his head to calm him down.
"For my sake, I hope you're right..." Spike sighed. He was SO not looking forward to go to bed.
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Great Chapter!
Awesome and I can imagine octavia being a bully in her childhood nice turn around you did,
Yeah, this is gold.
Wow! That's not something you see everyday, folks! What flexibility, what skill! Though they do look kind of silly leaned all the way over like that...
3833525
Man, do I feel dumb for overlooking that mistake.
It's fixed now. Thanks for pointing it out.
Reminds me never to anger Blossomforth...
Um, if you ever do a Rainbow Box, I know what Octavia's key will be.
I think my heart just exploded.
Were any of those flowers cousins to Dragon Sneeze Trees?
Officer: "So you're saying you want to charge this dragon for several accounts of... herbicide?"