F.R.I.E.N.D.S of Equestria: Party Squad

by ChaseTheChangeling

First published

Vinyl Scratch is a super hero, and the villain is the last person she would suspect.

The White Unicorn is a legendary hero; a hero that Vinyl is very proud of. The Mistress Strings is a villain, and everyone hates her. When Octavia and Vinyl learn some new things about these legendary rivals, they begin to question everything, even friendship.

Prologue

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The sounds of people screaming and windows breaking was more than enough to get the attention of police and other law enforcement, they knew well enough what this was, it was the same thing all the time, it was a dreaded criminal mastermind at her evil deeds again. Captain Shining came to his window and looked out, not the least bit surprised at what he saw. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders and long grey trench coat unleashed longer ink black tentacles reaching from her back; carrying her like some sick spider and smacking away helicopters and police cars, her wide angry eyes searching for anything to destroy, and her teeth bearing as she smiled at the pure carnage she was leaving. She was no taller or bigger than an average woman in body size, but the long black appendages raised her over three stories, and her evil surpassed that of some of the worst criminals in Shining's cell to date.

"Get on the phone, I want head of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S protection on this at once!" Shining yelled to his officers who stood nearby to take in any orders. The first man lifted his strong arm in a salute and dashed off, running to a nearby phone and pressing a single button, leading him straight to the people he needed.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, leader of Freedom Ready Inspectors Enforcers and National Diplomacy Security, how may I help you?" the woman over the phone said readily, as she had repeated the phrase hundreds of times before.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, head of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S department, we need your best people to help us out again." the officer said in practiced calm.

"Rampage in Manehatten from the evil Mistress Strings, I'm going to assume?"

"Yes," the officer sighed, "she is back again, this time we have no clue what she's up to, she seems to just be destroying things."

"Who do you want me to send?"

"Send the White Unicorn and her group if you can, she seems to get here the fastest."

"I have her on my dial right now, expect this problem to be sorted out within an hour."

The officer gave an approving grunt before putting the phone back on the receiver and rushing back to the office, only to hear a loud crash and a holler from the Captain. The officer kicked open the door to see his leader being dragged out by an inky black tentacle, the offending appendage wrapped tightly about his midsection and one more going for his leg. The officer brandished his sword, a determined look on his face as he prepared to charge. Shining reached for anything to hold on to to delay what seemed to be an inevitable death. Mistress Strings climbed to the window of the Captain's office, her tentacles holding tight to walls and signs to reach him with little effort.

"You thought you could stop me?" the woman hissed, her accent bleeding through only slightly.

"You won't get away with terrorizing us!" Shining yelled still trying to grab hold of the carpet that seemed to do little to hold him.

"I don't want to terrorize you pathetic little people, I want to own you, and all of your treasures...." her voice dripped with venom. The officer gulped down an invisible lump that had formed in his throat at the sight of the villain, and he closed his eyes to charge her, his sword aimed at her heart.

"FOR THE PRINCESSES AND THE COUNTRY!" he hollered, only to jump from the window and miss her heart. As he fell he swung his sword one last time, slicing the tentacle holding his beloved Captain, glass falling to his side as he plummeted to the pavement below him.
Mistress Strings hissed, a black, oozing liquid pouring from her injured tentacle, as she turned to curse the soldier that dared harm her, she instead chuckled at the sight of him nearing his death, only a few hundred feet before he would be nothing but a mere blood stain on the ground. Shining had fallen as well, his body dropping fast as he prayed for his wife's safety.
ZOOM!

Mistress Strings gasped at the sight of a pink and white streak flashing through the street, catching the officer and landing him safely on the ground, she turned to see that the Captain had been rescued as well, caught in a cardboard shipping box and placed neatly on the street next to the rescued officer.

"UP HERE CALAMARI!" a voice called from a roof, Mistress Strings scowled as she knew the voice well.

"White Unicorn! We meet again I see...." Strings hissed as she turned to see the woman in an all white leotard with highlights of blue matching the laid back but wild hair, a large backwards double eighth bar on her back, her face and eyes shielded with a large band with large round plastic lenses covering her eyes that seemed to always glow with a red-ish aura.

"We would stop meeting like this if you stopped being such a hard core bitch!" White Unicorn shouted back with a crooked grin. Oh how Mistress Strings wished she could cut that smile off of her stupid pale face.

"Perhaps, or we could stop meeting like this if you could just..." as she trailed off, she managed a large double bass from her back, and several playing bows, loading them up in the strings like an arrow and shooting them at the opposing woman, "...DIE!!"
The White Unicorn jumped from her spot narrowly dodging the bows being shot at her, before grabbing a small laser pistol from her side.

"FILLY SECOND! BASS TRIP! MUFFIN HEAD! I NEED YOUR HELP!" with that final shout, the familiar pink and white strip of light appeared, stopping and revealing a young girl with bouncy pink hair and a white leotard, pink lightning bolts falling across her form. Another flash and a young woman in a grey button up, a yellow cape and grey Dickie pants flew overhead, her face covered by a paper bag, although her long blonde hair fell from under the disguise, and lastly a young man in a granite grey one piece leotard and blue underwear on the outside, a smaller cape and thick sunglasses came to the White Unicorn's side.

"You want us to take 'er out?" the one called Bass Trip asked, his glasses catching the sunlight just so.

"We should use our canons, that'll send her back..." Filly Second laughed, her pink hair bouncing with every light motion.

"Yeah let's use our canons..." Muffin Head agreed as she came to a landing beside Filly Second. White unicorn shrugged and smiled.

"Sounds like it's unanimous, calamari breath, you're going down...."
Mistress Stings reeled back a bit biting her lip, was it really worth it? She knew she couldn't face their canons.

"Not on this day..." she hissed only barely loud enough to be heard, with a sudden movement, she dropped a large ball covering the area in a thick black smoke, leaving the heroes with no sight.
After a few minutes, the smoke had cleared and the villain had gone. The city fell silent, the few people who were hiding came back out to look into the sky at the people who had just saved them, soon filling the air with their cheers of gratitude.

"NO NEED TO THANK US FELLOW CITIZENS, WE DO IT FOR YOU!" White Unicorn shouted to the people.

"AND MUFFINS!" Muffin Head shouted quickly, causing her team to roll their eyes. The team jumped from the tall building, landing safely beside the Captain and the officer they had saved only moments ago. Shining put his hand out to shake the hand of the White Unicorn.

"Thank you again Party Squad, for saving us from that horrid villain, Mistress Strings."
White Unicorn shook his hand with a huge grin. "Don't mention it Shiny, trust me, it was a pleasure knocking that bitch down a few notches." Shining didn't even flinch at the shortening of his name as he put his arm back to his side after the brief shake.

"We should try and capture her, she keeps coming back..." Bass Trip said with concern. White Unicorn didn't pay any attention to her concerned side kick, too busy talking with a few reporters as they swarmed her.

"What will you do if the evil Mistress Strings returns?" one reporter asked, reaching over several other reporters with her microphone to get a good answer.

"Kick her sorry ass of course, what else would you expect from the heroes of Manehatten?" White Unicorn stopped to pose for a few flashes coming from a camera nearby.

"Do you think the police are doing a good job at keeping the city safe?" came another reporter's question as he pushed past with his microphone.

"Oh yes, they try hard I'm sure!" Filly Second said jumping up and down with a big smile.

"What about the muffin tax? How do you feel about the sudden change?" asked another reporter. Muffin Head gasped and covered her mouth.

"They're taxing muffins? How could they?" she cried out in terror.

"I think that's it for now, we have things to take care of!" White Unicorn shouted over the swarming crowd of reporters. "WE LOVE YOU MANEHATTEN!" she shouted punching the air above her before disappearing in a flash of blue, followed by Bass Trip who shot a grappling hook onto a building and swung off. Muffin head looked around before flying off into the air, and Filly Second dashed off into the direction of the train station.

"What wonderful kids..." Shining sighed as he watched them take off. He smiled, turning to his officer and put his hand on the man's shoulder.

"And thank you, you risked your life for me, there is nothing I could ask more from you... you deserve an award." The officer gave a kind smile before nodding and turned to the direction of the departed heroes, a single tear falling from his eye.

"Thank you Party Squad... my family thanks you too...."

Her Idol

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Vinyl looked over her comics again with a small smile, her heart beating quickly as she continued the adventures of her favorite heroes. Her hands slid over the fine gloss of the paper, the smell of old boxes and dust heavy on its pages.

Her room was that of an average reckless adult, her floor was covered in trash and clothes, old pizza boxes and soda cans littered her tables, her bed was a tangle of sheets, and her work desk was covered in papers and useless tech she planned to fix later. Her computer was at the opposite of her door, the large speakers and audio mixing gear laying neatly next to it. Her music items were the only things that were clean, dust free and shiny, not a single thing on them. Vinyl sat in the still quiet of her room for a few minutes before hearing the sounds of a soft cello playing in the next room over. Vinyl stretched her arms out and yawned; she must have been sitting there for a while if her roommate was already practicing.

Vinyl stood slowly, moving over to her bedroom door and swung it open, only for it to catch on some of her discarded clothing, her own shirt hanging loosely, and boxers peeking only slightly from below it. She trudged to the next door, the hallway spotless save for a few pictures and a small table holding a picture of her and her roommate at a carnival. Vinyl smiled as she looked over the picture again. She could never not smile at it. Her roommate and her long charcoal black hair done up in a ponytail, her usual formal clothing traded in for a short sleeve shirt that read "I'm with Sexy" Vinyl had convinced her to wear, and her short jeans, a large wad of cotton candy on a small cone and a wide smile on her face. Vinyl herself had worn a typical beater with short trip pants, chains hanging from them and a thick black belt, her tattoos showing, and her pierced tongue out, a large stuffed bear in her arms that she had won, only to give it to her roommate as a gift. A gift that the posh girl had said was one of the best gifts she had ever received. Vinyl laughed at that; saying that a girl of her standing should have gotten nothing less of gold plated teddy bears and platinum jewelry. When Vinyl had said that, her roommate blushed and chuckled shyly, she was always bad with compliments like that.

"Vinyl... are you still staring at that silly old picture of us?" came a soft voice from the door Vinyl had intended on reaching before.

"Oh... huh?" Vinyl asked as she raised her head looking for the source of the voice before laying her eyes on the young olive skinned girl, her long black hair falling over her soft shoulders, her grey vest covering her white button up, held together at the top with her trademark pink bow tie. Her violet eyes sparkled as she gave Vinyl a shy smile. "Uh, yeah, Tavi, I love this picture!"

"I do too..." Below the picture was a small bundle of scribbles they could still slightly make out, reading: "Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody 1949"

"It's been a while since we went out to places like that huh?" Vinyl asked moving the picture a bit and grimacing at the amount of dust that had collected over it.

"Only about two years I think." Octavia said with a grin. "We could always go out again. Nothing is stopping us."

"Money?" Vinyl added quickly.

"We have enough money, trust me."

"I guess, but how long can we keep borrowing your parent's money?"

"They said that their money is my money, so it is not a matter of borrowing, it is a matter of it being our money to use if we want to."
Vinyl's frown grew and she scratched her head. "I guess so, but do they know that you're paying for me too?"

"You don't have to worry about that , Vinyl, I will always be sure that you come first, no matter what." Octavia put her hand on Vinyl's shoulder giving her a reassuring smile.

"I guess so..."

"My music wasn't bothering you was it?" Octavia asked quickly as she walked to the living room.

"Tavi, you know I love your music!" Vinyl said returning to her normal loud self.

"Ah yes, but it is just practice, I fumble every now and again so it isn't like you're listening to me actually play anything."

"It doesn't matter to me, I just love the fact that you're playing that makes me love it."
Octavia said nothing as she lowered her head and smiled again, a slight blush forming over her face as she reached the small living room; it's simple couch up against the wall and coffee table in the middle, a TV on the opposite side by the door. The window was left with drawn curtains so that the strips of sunlight caught small bits of dust drifting peacefully in the air, that is until Vinyl ran up and karate chopped the air, causing the dust to fly desperately avoiding her assault. Octavia gave her a scolding look, only to be negated by her smile.

"Vinyl, must you do that every time we come in here?"

"It's fun, you know?" Vinyl said before flopping onto the couch, the cushions immediately accepting her as she snuggled into the soft pillows that also lay there. Octavia sat down slowly, her long black pants reaching up from her ankles as she moved, a practiced hand finding the TV remote and instantly flicking on the static laced screen until an image appeared.

"I wonder what's on the news today..." Octavia wondered out loud, turning quickly to her roommate who was playing with a metal slinky.

"I hope they're not going to lecture everybody about the dreaded Burs outbreak again, you know it's just a government scam to distract us from what's really going on." Vinyl said and chuckled as the slinky jumped from her hands and landed on the floor. The TV's sound came on and an older woman with long purple and white hair came on screen a bright smile on her face as the cameras rolled.

"On a more positive note, the Burs outbreak is slowing down, and people are getting better, the reports of the one hundred people in custody to be treated are-"

"I knew it!" Vinyl scowled as the woman continued, "They are just using this to cover up some government scandal! There is no way that there was some deadly overly contagious illness that just so happened to be fixed and contained in a few months!" Octavia rolled her eyes before hearing another update. This time a man with a short blue hair cut and a nice blue suite was seen, he held in his ear piece as he was being fed information.

"Oh, yes... of coarse...." The man said as he straighten up and gave a sure smile. "Something I"m sure all of you have been dying to hear! The dreaded Mistress Strings has been defeated again by the White Unicorn and her Party Squad! What a hero! We have not had a chance to interview her, but we are planning on trying to catch her before she disappears again." A brief clip of Whit Unicorn was shown speaking with a few reporters before her team rushed off in their own directions. "We understand that the privacy of our heroes are important, but has anyone ever wanted know who they really are? What do they do? How do they live? As far as we know, these heroes live normal day to day lives, hiding their powers to remain unnoticed by the public for the safety of themselves and family. How do you know your very neighbor isn't a superhero, a savior of people and loved by all? This goes for villains as well, who may not actually be living in a mountain side cave as previously believed! As far as villains go, we only have one major pain, and that is the evil Mistress Strings." A small photo of the woman was shown, her face covered by a large black veil of a mask, the only thing showing through being her teeth and hungry eyes. "We plan to detain this menace to society and have her unmasked! We already have a few leads on the woman and hope to have her captured soon."
Vinyl shut of the TV and sighed. "What a woman!"

"Who do you mean?" Octavia asked slowly without moving her eyes from the now blank screen.

"White Unicorn!" Vinyl chirped as she leaned forward from her seat, "She's everything I wanted to be as a child! Fast, cunning smart, a real bad ass!"

"Ah yes... I can see why you like her so much. She is a shining beacon of pure good isn't she?" Octavia rolled her shoulders and turned to smile at Vinyl, she always loved it when she would get caught up in her superhero speeches.

"Hell yeah! Could you imagine being a hero like her? Like, all that fame and love? To have people want to be you? And be with you? Can you imagine the groupies she must have?"

"Oh yes, I could only imagine how that would feel."

"And it must feel good! WOO! The rush of being up there in the sky! And those eye laser things she has! And the canons! The feeling of defeating that asshole Mistress Strings over and over again!"

"Now I wouldn't go so far as to call her an asshole..."

"But think about it, she kinda is, she steals and destroys, she hurts people, Tavi."

"I don't think the news has ever reported a body count after her... actions..."

"But that makes her bad too, her actions, what she does, she's stealing and destroying things."

"Do you ever think about why she does that?"

"I don't understand why you have such a soft spot for the villains of Equestria, Tavi, why not just worship the heroes like the rest of us?"

"Because villains are people too, they don't get to be worshiped for their hard work and energy."

"That's because their hard work is making other people's lives a living hell..."

Octavia bit her lip, and closed her eyes, trying her best to let out a smooth sigh. She stood up from the couch and walked towards the hallway before turning around. "Vinyl..." she asked quietly.

"Yes, Tavi?" Vinyl asked switching the TV on.

"D-do you still want to go to the carnival?"

"Of coarse! But we'll have to budget it, I haven't had a gig in a while, so you know... We may be a bit short on cash."

"I'll talk to my parents... how does a week from now sound?"

"Sounds good... but why so long if you're just going to talk to them about it?"

"It may take a little... persuasion...." With that, Octavia left the living room and returned to her bed room, locking the door in place.
Her room was neat, orderly, the floor was swept, her instruments in place, although her bed was a mess and her desk had papers scattered across it, the rest of the room was immaculate. She sighed as she went to her bed, a single tear falling from her eye as she thought over her plans. She would have to be quick about this. With another forced sigh she leaned back in her bed, her arms supporting her weight against the soft sheets.

"She must never know I'm everything she hates in a person..."

Her Parents

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The room lay in darkness, the basement was her home, the cold concrete ground wrapping her body in pure euphoria as she walked over it. Metal doors held back the secrets that were locked away from the prying eyes of the public. She must never know. Her long arms reached out to the dial pad, it's soft rubber buttons giving in to the pressure of her practiced fingers. She must never know. The door slid open with a hiss, the contents still hid behind yet another door. She must never know. Her legs carried her to the next door, opened by her eye, her deep violet eyes. Placing her head before the scanner, they read her shaking eyes, determining her to be their owner, and giving her access to the dark foreboding room. The secrets that lay behind the door were reviled as the metal door behind her slid shut with another hiss, it didn't bother her anymore. It was a welcoming sound, as was the humming coming from the pipes above her, the echo of her breathing, the sound of her bare feet clapping against the solid cold ground. The sudden switch of texture from the coarse concrete to the smooth metal of her lair welcomed her. Another deep breath as she flicked on a light, the room flickering to life before her. The room was a large one, mostly empty aside from the four glass containers on either side holding her four disguises, the large glass casing in front of her, and a picture on a table that lay beside her travel shuttle, a tube that led to her transport center, leading her to any part of the city she had already installed. There would need to be more stops added to her transporter. If only she could teleport like that White Unicorn, she would never need to use the blasted thing.

"You love her so much..." The sweet voice whispered as she continued to move through the room, her hand running over the glass casings, the suits in them hung snugly on the silver mannequins inside. "You would love her to no end... and never know..." She whispered again as her hand pressed in another code on the dial pad beside the glass casing. "How could I ever compete with her?" The case slid open, revealing the costume folded up and clean. "How could a villain compete with your hero? I could only dream of being that amazing... how sweet it would feel to have you love me like that... to feel you love me, to see you smile knowing that I could save the day... but being good doesn't pay for our trips... it doesn't pay for our adventures and food, it doesn't pay our rent... it never will..."
With a nimble grace she slipped on the suit, the only thing left was her face... to cover her face and stay hidden from the eyes of the ever growing hatred.


"I love you, Vinyl... and this is the only way to show you... that you are my one and only..." the small picture that sat on a table beside her shuttle tube was of Vinyl and her, another event she cherished. A picture of her and Vinyl in front of their house, their house. It was their house to have, to live in, together. Vinyl had said after collage that she wanted them to move in together. She had said that... not Octavia, no she had no guts to say something like that. Oh no, she would have quietly let the DJ slip by, letting her go on with her life, as if they had never met, and quietly sobbed about it. "You have taught me better than that now..." Her olive hands rubbed over the picture as she let a small smile inch over her face. "We'll go to the carnival... I'll take you, and make sure you're happy... forever...."
The shuttle tube roared to life as she pressed one more button, letting the picture set back on the table. As it opened, she placed her hand over a small container holding a black mist. She closed her eyes and whispered her chant, having said it hundreds of times before. She could never do this without the mist, the shadow magic in it making it so that she could go about her "job" without the fear of her dejection, without fear of being hurt or hated. It was always after the mist had left that she felt instant guilt. But she managed to keep it quite, that's what she was good at. Keeping quiet.


"Oh shadow of the fallen empire... gift me with the power to slay without fear, the power to end all without remorse, and to complete my goal without hesitation..." As she finished, the ink black shadow covered her arm, inching to her face, sweeping it and shrouding it in black, leaving only her mouth and eyes free, her eyes glowing green with a misty purple magic seeping from it's sides like gravity defying tears. Her smile returned, but instead of a sweet loving smile, she bore one of a psychopathic killer, her eyes wide, and pupils the size of pinpricks as she stepped into the shuttle, her coat in hand, and her body concealed with her grey and black one piece leotard.
"Oh Vinyl... I'll give you only the best...." her voice hissed as the shuttle closed and took her to the center.


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"Oh yeah! And then they swooped in and BAM! Knocked her right on the ass!" Vinyl shouted as she finished her story. The group around her laughing, all but one young man, his tan face frowned as he leaned into his fist.
The group of four sat around a table at the Kazam Arcade, discussing other worldly things, ignored by the children who occupied the place. The four more than adults had planned to meet here, they always had since they met here several years ago. The carpets were never changed, and the pizza was still good, the creepy animatronics danced about on stage, every now and again coming down to play with children and deliver food. Although they had one that did that all the time anyway, Vinyl just guessed it was because a lot of people ordered pizza at once.

"I can't believe they don't just detain the damn bitch!" the man said with a scowl.

"Come on Neon! You know that they can't just catch her! It takes time to get a villain that big!" Vinyl said as she waved over the large duck animatronic to take their order. It hobbled over with it's overly large grin and dead eyes.

"Yeah, and she's like, a biggy!" a pink haired girl said bouncing in her seat.

"Pinky is right," Added the cross eyed blond sitting beside Vinyl, "she's pretty big, you can't really just walk up and stop her, especially with that ink ball thing she has."

"And they have tried before, remember? The Party Squad got her and tried to detain her, but that black thing on her face starts to go crazy and she blows everybody away, she's too hard to stop and lock up, they'd have to get her while she's 'normal'," Vinyl explained turning to the patiently waiting duck. "We'll have two large pizzas, one with pepperoni and another with... um... what do you guys want?" Neon gave Vinyl a look of confusion.

"You're eating a whole pizza by yourself?" He asked the shock growing.

"Yeah man, I'm staving. Derpy, you want a muffin don't you?" Vinyl asked the blonde girl sitting to her side. Derpy nodded eagerly.

"The muffin cake please, with blueberries and chocolate!" Derpy added.

"I guess I'll have that pizza with rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream!" The pink haired girl shouted with her shrill voice. Neon rolled his eyes.

"I'll share the pizza with Pinkie..." he said making a shooing motion with his free had, the other still supporting his head.

"Thank you for your order," The animatronic said with a jerky head motion, its plastic smile still stuck in place, "I will be back in a moment to give you your food." With that it stood up straight and moved to the counter to receive the food.

"Those things still creep me out." Derpy said with a small frown, her eyes looking at both Pinkie and the ceiling.

"I want to be one! They look so sweet and cute! Especially that teddy bear one, Fritzo! He's my favorite!"

"They look like they would kill you..." Derpy said quietly, hoping that Pinkie wouldn't respond. She didn't, and Derpy was glad for that.

"So," Neon spoke up again after pushing some napkins across the table, "what do you mean they could only catch her if she were 'normal'?"

"She can't have her shadow thing on," Vinyl said looking elsewhere.

"But what if that's like, her power?" Neon retorted.

"Neon is right, Vinyl," Pinkie chimed, "if that's her power, they would never be able to stop her!"

"I'm sure she doesn't have that as a power, she lives a normal life like the rest of us and the heroes, if that was her power, they would notice and bring her in for questioning." Derpy said flicking a crayon over the pressed wood table.

"Yup, there is no way someone would just be walking around with a shadowy face and nobody notice it." Vinyl agreed with a sly smile.

"They just aren't trying hard enough, I bet you Bass Trip could stop her all by himself!" Neon said with a cocky grin, only to be greeted by three pairs of confused eyes.

"That dupe doesn't even have any powers!" Vinyl said with a laugh, "How is he going to stop her? Grapple hook her to death? Hahahaha!" Neon sat back in his seat and forced a hard breath out through his nose.

"He can do anything just as well as the others, he doesn't need super powers!"
Vinyl laughed again, wiping away a small tear she had shed during her laughing fit. "Wow, you're good, but um... I'm sorry, he can only do so much."

"He can invent things." Neon protested.

"He should invent some super powers." Pinkie said quickly trying to hide her grin. Neon grit his teeth and and turned away from the girls. He pushed up from the table and balled his fist, storming out of the arcade with a strong frown.
"He's a great hero! You'll see!" Neon shouted before running out of the arcade. The girls sat there in silence, watching as their friend left in a flurry.

"We shouldn't have been so mean about it..." Derpy said quietly, "He takes not having powers so strongly, he must hate it."

"I can imagine," Vinyl said as the duck returned with their food, "being super smart isn't really a super power, I can't imagine not having the
ability to teleport or use my eye lasers..."

"And he did build that canon for you..." Pinkie whispered.

"We should apologize..." Derpy said taking her muffin cake and looking at it... and the empty seat in front of her.

"Maybe another time, for now we have to be vigilant, I have a feeling that octo-bitch will be doing something soon." Vinyl said before shoving a slice of pizza into her mouth. The duck stood at the table looking at them, it's cold eyes just staring awaiting a chance to speak.

"Thank you again for coming to the Kazam Arcade, feel free to call me over if there is anything I can do for you..." With that, the duck stood up straight again and walked over to the counter to await another order. The girls ignored the creepy duck and continued to eat in silence.


--------------------------------


"Princess Twilight Sparkle, leader of Freedom Ready Inspectors Enforcers and National Diplomacy Security, how may I help you?"

"Princess, we have a break in at our local bank!" The voice on the other end of the phone shouted with fear. It was a simple bank teller, his back to the counter he worked at, the sounds of breaking walls and bending metal reached the receiver, as did the sound of petrified people screaming.

"I will send my top people over as soon as I can." with a click the woman was off the phone, and the man dropped it, covering his head as he saw an ink black tentacle reach over and land before him, leaving a hole where it stormed down with powerful force.

"YOU WILL OBEY ME! I WANT EVERY DAMN PENNY YOU HAVE IN THE SAFE!" The hissing demonic voice shouted as the woman towered over them, carried by the inky tentacles.
The man whimpered and turned, reaching for the safe and opening it, producing all of his cash. "P-p-please... d-don't hurt m-me..." The man cried as he handed her the money. The woman came down from her immense height, the tentacles still lifting her just above the ground.

"Now what reason would I have to hurt you?" she hissed with an evil grin. "You're helping me out, I think I might just owe you one... I've never been caught, so you have no worries about me being upset with you..."

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" came the loud shout of an all too familiar voice. Mistress Stings balled up her fist, turning around to see the White Unicorn and her team, Bass Trip, Filly Second, and Muffin Head, all standing in the hole she had created crashing into the building.

"WHITE UNICORN YOU HEFFER! WHY DON'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME BE!" Mistress shouted before raising a tentacle and slapping the woman to her side. White Unicorn recovered quickly, making a quick hand motion to signal her team to move. Bass Trip nodded reluctantly, grabbing his grappling hook and aiming for the ceiling, as Muffin Head jumped into the air flying to the evil woman's left, leaving Filly Second to dash between a few tentacles, grabbing them as she moved. White Unicorn ran to the right, ignoring her friends as they attempted to tangle Mistress in her own tentacles.

"THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GIVE UP MISTRESS!" White Unicorn shouted before stopping beside the woman as she struggled. Filly Second had grabbed the tentacles and tied them, leaving up to Muffin Head to drag her outside, Bass Trip already having reached the roof.

"YOU'LL NEVER STOP ME!" Mistress shouted, a heavy hiss escaping her throat.

"That's on you babe..." White Unicorn said with a cocky grin as the woman was dragged out to the street. Bass Trip stood at the roof, his net gun loaded and ready with three separate nets.

"READY!" He called from his spot.

"FIRE!" White Unicorn shouted as she ran outside. Bass Trip gave an evil smirk.

"As you wish... Vinyl..." He whispered. He shot the gun, the three nets zeroing in on Muffin Head, Filly Second, and White Unicorn, leaving Mistress Strings to free herself from her tangled tentacles.

"For shadow, these are a real pain in the ass..." Mistress whispered to herself as the magical appendages undid themselves. As she lifted herself on the freed tentacles, she noticed the heroes laying on the ground, struggling with binds holding them in place.

"Oh! Did I do that?" Bass Trip asked in mock innocence, "Guess I'll have to stop the Mistress Strings myself!" Bass Trip jumped from the roof and grappled the building behind the Mistress, swinging and aiming his legs to hit her in the face. Mistress Strings laughed and disappeared in a liquid like poof of smoke, appearing behind him and pushing him with a tentacle until he crashed full force into the building. His body hurt, all over, the feeling of sharp pain spiked through his body as he began to fall.
White Unicorn grunted as she tried her best to undo her bindings. Soon wriggling enough to loosen the net and sit up. Grabbing her head she looked down at the net and growled. "That stupid good for nothing," She mutter as she focused on the net, no sooner zapping it with a laser of pure red. The net came loose and fell limply at her sides. Standing, and ignoring the rest of her struggling friends, she ran up to Mistress Strings, who was currently leaving with bags of money in hand. "STOP! I'M WARNING YOU! I DON'T WANT TO BE FORCED TO HURT YOU!" White Unicorn hollered after the girl.

"Oh! But you won't..." Mistress hissed again, turning slowly to the hero.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I've already gotten away clean..." Mistress reached in her coat pocket with a free tentacle and retrieved a small black ball. White Unicorn scowled. This was the part where she would throw the ball, the smoke would appear, and Mistress would be gone.

"WHY DON'T YOU FIGHT ME LIKE A REAL WOMAN?!" White Unicorn shouted with sheer anger.

"I wouldn't want to hurt you too badly my dear..."

"LIKELY STORY, YOU'RE JUST A COWARD!" White Unicorn retorted crossing her arms. Without a chance to react, a tentacle grabbed the hero and lifted her to Mistress Strings' face withing mere seconds, her arms bound to her sides and unable to move. The Party Squad gasped as they watched their friend being grabbed by the evil woman. White Unicorn frowned as she was brought face to face with her enemy. Her eyes glowing green, the seeping purple magic now obvious to the hero. Mistress' smile fell as she grew near, her eyes holding a look of death.

"I am no coward... what I do is an act of love..." Mistress whispered to the White Unicorn, "I doubt you even know just how much I even envy you... I wouldn't dare put a scratch on your face lest I cause your fanbase to crumble into tears...." White Unicorn growled, her eyes leaking their ever present luminescent red glow, a sign that she was building her laser powers.

"If you envy me so much, why don't you just become a hero?" White Unicorn hissed back between gritted teeth.

"It's a little late for that now, isn't it? Besides... Being good doesn't pay the rent...." With that Mistress flung the woman down the street, knowing full well that she would just teleport to safety as she normally did, however, that would have to wait, as White Unicorn unleashed a powerful laser beam to scorch the woman. Mistress had barely begun to turn around to leave when she saw the beam and hardly dodged it. Her right hand catching the aggressive shot, burning her and causing her to scream in a blood curdling tone. She threw the ink ball down and shrouded the area in smoke once more.

White Unicorn teleported to the spot she was thrown from and looked around, her friends having undone themselves from the nets finally and walking to their friend.

"What was that all about?" Muffin head asked floating over. Filly Second zoomed over as well, about to speak before seeing that White Unicorn was looking down at something on the ground.

"What's that?" Filly second finally asked as White Unicorn knelt down to pick it up.

"Looks like the shell of the ink ball she threw down... and a playing bow, she must have dropped it when she was hit." White Unicorn looked over the bow closely, it was red wood, with blonde horse hair. The engraving on the back said: "Courtesy of the Philharmonics Company"

"What does that mean?" Muffin Head asked running her hand over the bow.

"I don't know.. but this looks like a job for a detective..." White Unicorn nodded to her friends in the direction of the collapsed Bass Trip. His body laying limply on a pile of ruble. "And we're gonna have to talk to our buddy over there during our next hero summit."


-------------------


Octavia's whimpering cries echoed through the hollow hallways leading to her lab. The metal walls providing little comfort to her pain. The shadow fell from her face as tears ran down it, the magic leaving her to her pain. The money fell from the shuttle onto the floor, she kicked it out and let her coat drop to the ground. She would put it away later, but now was not the time. She cried again, the sobs only growing as she held her now bleeding hand, the blood cooling the burn. There was no feeling, it was numb, her hand was gone for her now, nothing could be done but to wrap it and place ice on it. How would she explain this burn to Vinyl? Would she believe her? Octavia only prayed that she could hide it.

"I could tell her I put my hand on the stove." Octavia reasoned as the tears continued to roll down her dusty clothes. "I need to shower, then I can run it under water, and I'll out ointment on it... it will be just fine... I'll tell her I visited my parents... and it will be fine... just... just fine...."

Her Love

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Vinyl put her feet up on the table, a sigh escaping her lips. What a hard day. Vinyl reached fot the remote and switched on the TV, it's buzzing and image showing up in seconds.

"-aeded Mistress Strings was unfortunately not stopped this time from her crime spree, as our heroes were stopped by a failure to complete a simple maneuver. They were caught in their own nets and let Mistress Strings get away with a large sum of money, estimated to be fifty thousand." The man on the news sighed and looked back down at his paper. "We can only hope that we can actually stop this menace and and put her behind bars forever."

"You and me both brother," Vinyl whispered. The sound of a door creaking and footsteps leading to the living room revealed her roommate in a bath towel, too busy heading to the kitchen to notice Vinyl was in the living room. "Octavia?" Vinyl asked concerned. Octavia shuddered, dropping a few things on the ground before scrambling to pick them up.

"N-not now Vinyl... I'm doing something..." came Octavia's reply, her voice shaking in fear.

"Octavia? Are you okay? You sound shaken up? What happened?"

"Nothing, Vinyl, I'm fine... just ran into some problems at my parents place..."

"What happened? Did you get into an argument?"

"No..."

"The what happened?"

"Nothing..."

Vinyl walked into the open archway leading to the kitchen, her roommate on the floor struggling with bandages and ointment as her hand bled. "OCTAVIA!" Vinyl shouted rushing to her friend's side. "Octavia! What happened to you hand? Are you okay?"

"Y-yes... I'm fine, Vinyl." Octavia tried her best to stay calm for Vinyl's sake.

"Oh Octy..." Vinyl whined as she wrapped up the girl's hand and wrist. The blood soon slowing from the pressure. "Octy... how did this happen?"

"The stove..."

"Don't lie to me Octy, this isn't a stove burn. It looks like you were burned with fire or something, or like, a laser beam!"

"NO!" Octavia shouted causing Vinyl to jump. Vinyl's eyes grew wide, although they were hidden behind her glasses, Octavia knew well that she had shocked the woman. "I-I mean... It was nothing..."

"Are you sure? You don't want to talk to me about it? I won't judge you... I promise." Vinyl said, calming down from the shock and holding the girl to her chest.

"Y-yes, Vinyl... I know you wouldn't judge me... but... I just can't..." Octavia whispered as another set of tears stung at her eyes.

"It can't be that bad..."

"It's worse..."

"What is it?"

Octavia raised her head, her tears now falling freely from their hold, a small smile creeping it's way onto her face. "It's nothing... honest..."

Vinyl only held her closer, running her fingers through Octavia's long black hair, only to feel a small bit of rock fall from it. Vinyl looked down to see that is was a beige piece of ruble, like the one that was stuck to her hair from earlier. Vinyl shook her head quickly and dislodged the thoughts in her head. It was silly, it was dumb. It didn't need to be mention or thought about again.


----------------------------------


The house was silent that night, Octavia was unable to play her cello. She had tried, only to fumble with her bow and drop it. Vinyl sighed as the moon leaked in through her window, lighting up a small strip in her room. The bow she had found was in her closet, and she looked over at it. Vinyl would find out who the Mistress Strings was. Her hands ran through her blue streaked hair as she thought. More of the ideas popping into her head. What if? Vinyl shook her head violently again, dislodging the thoughts invading her peace of mind. She was too sweet. She loved her too much. Vinyl sat up in her bed, throwing her legs to the side of it and and lowering her head. This was dumb, all of it was dumb. Vinyl couldn't stop thinking, her thoughts rushing in as quickly as they went out, but one thought prevailed. Vinyl finally stood up, dragging her legs to the closet and sliding it shut. It couldn't be her.

Octavia sat in her chair staring at the cello against her wall, the wooden instrument glaring back at her. She grabbed it back again, looking into the F-holes and reached in, pulling out a small piece of wrinkled paper. It was an obituary for two people. A man with a sweet and soft smile, and a woman with a straight face, her eyes cold as stone. Mr. Melody and Mrs. Melody, their birth and death dates written on the paper, 1945. Octavia let a single tear fall as she looked at them. It was after that dark year that she had met Vinyl, after that dark year that she found peace of mind and love, and realized that she would do anything to keep her by her side.

--------------September 3, 1947 Canterlot University for Gifted Musicians---------------

"There she is!" A voice called loudly, a harsh voice, one that meant no good. The small girl shook as she heard it, knowing what would happen. It happened all too often. "Hey babe," the voice said again before the girl was aware of the large arm wrapping around her shoulders, "you miss me?"

"No..." the frail girl mumbled. Her long black hair draping over her large shaking violet eyes.

"Sure ya did!"

"Leave me alone Noteworthy..."

"Or what? I thought we were in love?" The man walked in front of the girl, holding her shoulders in his strong hands and looking at her over his sun glasses, "You can't tell me you're just going to stop seeing me! What, did you fall for someone else?" The girl shook free holding her books close to her chest as she tried to make her way down the halls.

"I met you the other day," the dark haired girl whispered, "I don't know why you think we're in love..."

"Octavia, baby, we can make this work," Noteworthy said in a mock begging voice.

"I said leave me alone..." as the girl tried to raise her voice she made it out to the courtyard, its vast grassy field reflecting the sunlight perfectly, and the trees blowing in rhythm to the wind.

"What do you want me to do? Want me to give you gifts? I have money you know." Noteworty walked in front of her again, preventing her escape to the peaceful scene outside.

"Why don't you just leave?" Octavia whined trying to walk past him. Noteworthy growled, and pushed the frail girl to the wall. Octavia let out a small yelp and whimpered under his strong hold, the rigid textured brick wall scratching into her soft skin.

"I'm trying to be nice about this, but if you want me to be a jerk about it-" before Noteworthy could finish he nearly fell from an impact from behind.

"She said to leave her alone, take a hint loser!" another voice said as Notewothy turned to see who had hit him.

A young pale girl, her frizzy free hair a bright electric blue with highlights. She wore a black, short sleeve D34D H0R53 shirt and long black trip pants, the chains rattling as she moved, her eyebrow and ears were pierced, purple shades covered just above her eyes, and she her face said that she wasn't going to go down easy.

"You stupid bitch!" Noteworthy hollered as he charged her. The man reeling his fist back about to hit her before she dodged and gave him a swift kick to the back. He toppled over like a bag of bricks as he tried to stand up again, his face contoured in pain.

"You wanna try that again? Looks like you lost your footing their pal." The blue haired girl taunted as the man fell over again.

"I'll get you for this..." he gasped as he fell to his chest again. The strange girl walked up to Octavia, wrapping her arm around her and gave her a cocky grin.

"How ya doin' there? You okay? That creep didn't hurt you did he?" she asked looking over the frail girl's body for scars.

"N-no, I'm fine, thank you... um..." Octavia trailed off, looking to the girl to offer her name.

"Oh! How rude of me!" the girl let go of Octavia and put out her hand, "Name's Vinyl Scratch, I'm here for modern music. I'm gonna be the best DJ this side of Equestria!" Octavia smiled and shook Vinyl's hand.

"Pleasure to meet you Miss Scratch, my name is Octavia Melody..."

"You can just call me Vinyl, I prefer it actually, calling me Miss makes me feel old."

Octavia nodded saying nothing in return, leaving the two in awkward silence.

"Sooo...." Vinyl tried as she rocked on her feet, "you from around here or..."

"Oh yes, I'm from Canterlot, but I'm staying at the dorm."

"Why not just stay with your parents? Wouldn't that make life easier?"

"Oh! Well... they always tell me to go out and live my own life... so I decided this would be the best way to do that." Octavia felt bad for lying to someone who had just helped her, but it would be socially unacceptable to come right out and tell her about her late parents.

"Ah, I see, have you met your dorm mate?" Vinyl asked, ignoring the sound of Noteworthy still groaning on the ground nearby.

"Uh... no actually, she was away or something, but she should be back today. She had a lot of technology in her room, computers and keyboards and things." Octavia gave Vinyl a small grin as she finished. Vinyl nodded and looked up at the sky.

"Huh... what kind of keyboard? I have a Yamaha."

"I think that's what it's called. I have a cello..."

"Huh... does this roommate have a turntable with records on them?"

"I think so..."

"Blink-182 poster over the bed?"

"Yes..." Octavia began to feel a bit nervous, how did she know about all of this?

"I'm going to go on and guess you're the girl in room T-78?"

"Y-yes... I am..."

"Oh cool! You're my roomie!" Vinyl wrapped her arms around the thin girl, making her whimper a bit as she relaxed.

"Yes, I suppose I am..."

"Aw don't worry, I'm super chill, you'll love me!" Vinyl walked towards the door as she saw Noteworthy begin to stand up. "I'm heading to my room before grabbing dinner out on the town, you wanna come with?" Octavia's eyes grew wide as she heard Vinyl say this.

"Uh... s-sure..."

"You must be a serious wall flower." Vinyl laughed as she held the door open for her roommate.

"I'm not! I'm just... shy around new people. Not to mention my time here hasn't been the most peaceful considering the males here see me as
some kind of status prize." Octavia swept her bangs from her face as she rushed back into the building, now free of the annoying boy.

"Well you seem a lot more outspoken now."

"I guess so."

"I have that effect on girls, don't worry about it." Vinyl put her hands behind her head as she walked giving Octavia a crooked grin. Octavia only responded with a light blush and turned her head quickly.

"I-I'm sure you do..."


-------------------------Present Day--------------


The door to Octavia's room creaked open, her eyes focused on the shadow that leaned against the door frame. "Hello, Vinyl, what are you doing up so late?" Octavia asked moving her paper to the desk. Octavia took a breath as the memories from her times with Vinyl during collage flooded back, making her feel better.

"How is your hand?" Vinyl asked with little emotion.

"F-fine... are you okay?"

"Y-yeah... I'm fine, can we talk?"

Octavia sat down on her bed, abandoning the chair she had been in for so long. She patted the side of the bed, welcoming Vinyl to sit. Vinyl didn't hesitate and moved over to the girl swiftly. Sitting on the bed, Vinyl looked up at Octavia, the darkness of the room only slightly stopped by the moonlight freely roaming the room bathing it in a light blue glow. Vinyl sat quietly holding her breath as she looked at Octavia, this wasn't a face of evil.

"Vinyl... please talk to me... are you okay?" Octavia placed her left hand on Vinyl's shoulder. Vinyl said nothing as she lifted her head again and bit her lip. Octavia was confused, what did Vinyl want? Was she okay? Before another thought crossed her mind, Vinyl had wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close.

"Octy... I'm so sorry," Vinyl whispered. Octavia was even more confused. But her being so close to Vinyl had made her concerns and confusion fade. Octavia couldn't explain it, but she felt safe, like nothing else would happen to her, nobody could get to her. Octavia moved back and looked into the DJ's uncovered eyes as they shook, there was something there, but Octavia couldn't quite place it.

"Vinyl... it's okay..." Octavia didn't know what she was accepting an apology for, but it might have been the only thing to make the DJ feel better. Vinyl smiled as she heard the words nodding and looking back down again. Octavia's heart began to race as she thought about how close she was to Vinyl again, they hadn't held each other this close for this long before. What if it meant something?

Before Octavia could do anything, Vinyl stood from the bed and messed the cellist's charcoal hair, smiling down at her. "Thanks..." with that, Vinyl turned and left the room, leaving the emotionally confused girl to be on her own again in the dark, seemingly empty room. It was cold to Octavia now that Vinyl had left her without contact, and it was infuriating. Octavia soon wondered what would it have been like if she were that damn White Unicorn character Vinyl loved so much.

"I'm sure she would have seen her and jumped into her arms in a heart beat..." Octavia mumbled angrily. She crossed her arms, the image of Vinyl kissing the hero and wishing that they would always be together crossing her mind. "They can't be together if that stupid overly cocky ass is dead..." Octavia paused for a moment, and tried to think about what she had jest said. If she killed the White Unicorn, Vinyl would be devastated, and she would hate Mistress Strings even more than she had. What if she acted more like the White Unicorn at home? Octavia grinned to herself at the prospect, Vinyl would have to love her then, not that Vinyl didn't already love the girl, but it was a friendly love, not what Octavia would have hoped. "You would think that after so long, she would fall for me, we've been friends for years, and my feelings for her have grown tenfold, yet, she still seems like she just wants to do chummy things like hanging out at bars and playing card games." A tear fell from the cellist's eyes. "I can't wait for the day where she asks me to cuddle with her, kiss her, comfort her, to be her one and only..."
Octavia slid further into the bed, laying just so as to avoid hurting her hand any further. "I'll have to mend this with that blasted shadow spell..." It had been a number of times she had been injured during "work", and the first time had been the worst, a large hole in the gut she had to wrap. Luckily for her, that wound was never shown to the DJ, as she had been away for a gig. It took the shadow until the next day light to heal her, the fine print for this magic was never read. Octavia sighed, happy at least that the wound would be gone, but upset that she would have to come up with another borderline lie to keep her identity a secret from her love. "I don't think I could ever tell her the truth about me..."

Octavia turned in bed, the water in her eyes still falling over olive cheeks, and the soothing feeling of emotional release sending her off to sleep.

His Proof

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Neon was going to show them, he was going to show them all! He had long since collected himself from the ruble that he fell into, his pain subsided after vigorous exercise and medicine. There weren't enough pills in the world for his job, but he would try. The rush of the high from the muscle relaxers had left him, and he was left to think in his cave.

On the side of the Canterlot mountain was where he dwelled, just under the waterfall below the city, a hole that was accessible by only him and his two helpers, Noteworthy and Harpo Parish Nattermane. The cave was one of few that had enough room for his inventions, and the only one so close to Manehatten with such a lovely view of Equestria. He was a true hero, with a true lair and a true costume, and real gadgets to get him by, not like that stupid Vinyl with her stupid little side basement and GPS and her lazy teleporting powers and eye lasers. Neon growled as he looked out the window that faced the city of Manehatten from the back of his cave.

"They'll see," Neon hissed trough his teeth, "I'll catch that stupid Mistress Strings on my own, and they'll never need that White Unicorn..."

"Would you like a glass of whisky, sir?" Harpo asked as he walked into the room, his head held slightly up. He hated his job, the personal ass
kisser of a super hero wannabe in his opinion. That snot nosed brat wasn't a hero, he was a kid with fancy toys and a lot of money.

"Yeah, get me a glass of the good stuff, you know what I like." Neon quickly waved his assistant away. Harpo suppressed the groan that was building in his throat and instead opted to get his 'master' the drink he was so fond of. Neon stood, supporting his weight on the ledge below his window reaching up to almost one hundred feet wide and fifty feet tall.

"Those people don't know true heroes when they see them! If they did they would be cheering my name!" Neon growled once more before hearing more footsteps in the cave.

"Wassup boss?" came a cheery voice. Neon turned to see the man, tall with large muscles and a purple jacket, his shades rested atop his 'just out of bed' hair, and his thick mutton chops reaching down just before a break leading to a spiky goatee.

"What do you want, Noteworthy?" Neon asked as he turned back to his window.

"I don't get why you keep staring out that window... you know Equestria like the back of your hand by now!" Noteworthy dropped his book bag, no doubt filled with beer and porn magazines on a leather swivel chair that sat at the end of the conference table, several of the same chairs sat around it in the center of the large room.

"I just like to look over that pathetic town everyone seems so fond of..." Neon finally turned to sit at the conference table with Noteworthy who had already pulled out a book and a beer. "May I suggest you don't drink at work?" Noteworthy looked up and gave Neon a condescending stare as Harpo returned with a glass full of whiskey.

"You drink, sir..." Harpo said with a flat tone. He swiftly moved to another chair and again, was not surprised at the lack of other heroes.

"Perhaps we could get a smaller table?"

"NO!" Neon shouted slamming his hands on the table, "When I rule the heroes, they will sit here, and I will be sitting at the head of this table, all of them awaiting my orders before leaving and doing their jobs."

"But there are so many heroes!" Noteworthy said with an exasperated sigh, "Like, we have the Masked Matter Horn, we have Flash Dash, we also have Filly Second, Muffin Head, you, Bad Brass, Silver String, Black Keys, Zap Apple and her two friends Fire Wheel and Sweet Note, not to mention-"

"I get the point! Besides, Zap Apple, Sweet Note and Fire Wheel are children, they aren't really heroes.."

"But you're only eighteen, sir, you, by technicality, are still a child as well."

"Don't give me your shit today, Harpo! I have enough stress to deal with as it is! Speaking of which, did you organize the weapons, papers, taxes, and file all of my suites in alphabetical order?" Neon turned back to his glass of whiskey and sipped it awaiting an answer.

"Yes, sir, all of it is done, and the cave has been cleaned to your liking..." Harpo soon wondered why he wasn't being paid more for this. But it was really the only job he could get aside from his music job.

"What are the plans for today?" Noteworthy asked cracking open his beer, despite his boss's orders.

"We need to figure out how to find Mistress String's true identity." Neon said as he finished his glass of whiskey, placing the cup a little too hard on the table, "Maybe then I can take her down without much problem."

"What does she look like?" Harpo asked.

"Well, I'm sure you've seen her, long black hair, shadow on her face, grey trench coat, long tentacles, green glowing eyes-"

"Sounds like Sombra's magic," Hapro interrupted, "Maybe look up what makes the magic weak?"

"Isn't it like," Noteworthy threw back a gulp of beer before finishing his sentence, "love, or something?"

"That's what I heard from the Princess of F.R.I.E.D.S," Harpo agreed producing a small bottle of water from his side, "If you have love, then the shadow will disappear."

"So I have to love her?" Neon asked leaning into the table. How would he manage loving a girl he doesn't even know?

"Or find someone who loves her in her outside form?" Noteworthy added, "Maybe the shadow will fly off, it gets power from sadness and hate, if you think about it, that's kind of how we treat all villains, so basically we're bringing this on ourselves."

"Do you have anything else that might help us find out who this mystery woman is?" Harpo asked, cocking a curious brow.

"Well, Vinyl told me during our Hero Summit that a playing bow was dropped, it said 'Courtesy of the Philharmonics Company' in gold." Neon scratched his chin and lit up at the name. "Harpo!" the man in question jumped slightly at the shouting of his name, "You play for the Canterlot Philharmonics orchestra, don't you?" Harpo nodded and tried to sip his water again. "So do you know who would have a bow like that?" Harpo considered it and smiled.

"Yes, the first chair violinist, bassist, and cellist would have such a bow."

"Who are they?" Neon asked eagerly.

"Well, there's Upright, but he's a man, there's Fiddle Sticks, and there is Octavia Harmony."

"What do they look like?"

"Well, like I said, Upright is a man, and Fiddle Sticks has long blue hair, and Octavia Melody is a very beautiful girl with-" Harpo was cut of suddenly by an overly excited Noteworthy.

"OCTAVIA?" Noteworthy gave a low whistle, "That girl is a knock out! We went to collage together, she was totally into me!" Noteworthy put his feet onto the table, placing his hands behind his head, "She was such a wall flower too, she always needed help with something! I swear!"

"Last heard from Vinyl, you harassed her to no end and she had to fight you off of her because she wasn't interested." Neon said sipping more of the whiskey and leaning back into his chair. Noteworthy grit his teeth at the remark and sat quietly waiting for Harpo to continue.

"...Hmm... Like I was saying... Octavia is a very beautiful woman with long dark black her and violet eyes, she seems fond of the colour grey, and wears a pink bow tie all of the time." Harpo lifted his nose slightly in the air and cleared his throat to signify he was done.

"Doesn't Mistress Strings have long dark hair and a grey suit?" Noteworthy asked leaning forward again.

"Yes..." Neon answered slowly as he thought until exploding into excitement, "Yes she does! Oh my sun! She might just be! OCTAVIA IS THE VILLAINOUS MISTRESS STRINGS!" Harpo and Noteworthy hardly flinched at their boss's sudden burst and instead opted to continue drinking their preferred beverages and waiting for him to calm down, a flat look on their faces.

"So... what?" Noteworthy began with a confused look, "Are you going to waltz up to her place with some cuffs and show her off to the cops?"

"No you fool!" Neon shouted jumping onto the table, "Octavia is a friend of Vinyl's isn't she? What if Vinyl finds out that Octavia is Mistress Strings? She wouldn't want to fight her! Then I would swoop in and BOOM! I'll take her out and save the day! And with any luck, Vinyl might try to stop me, and she'll be hated! Then I will be the true hero I DESERVE to be!" Neon broke out into a laughter that could only be described as creepy.

"Well, sir, you wouldn't be doing something heroic would you? Turning a friend on another?" Harpo asked after finishing his bottle of water and setting it down in a bin below him.

"Harpo is right" Noteworthy added quickly, "if you want to be a hero, you should be doing a heroic thing, not making people hate each other..."

"But isn't Mistress Stings a villain?" Neon asked. The two other men nodded. "Then if I stop her, it will be saving the city, and we have to get her while she has that shadow thing off of her face, so it's not wrong of me! Vinyl will find out sooner or later."

"I'm quite surprised she hasn't already..." Harpo chimed, "Maybe she has, but doesn't want to admit it..." Neon smiled at this. It was looking better and better. His actions were justified as good, he wasn't hurting anyone, he was just ridding his city of an evil monster that no one liked anyway. So what if a hero who didn't know she was her friend the true bad guy gets hurt? She should have known. Besides, she might even thank him for ridding her of that evil Octavia, begging him to be leader of the team even! Then he would decline, instead starting his own team and being the leader of that one! Neon would be a great leader.

"Now all we need is a reason to arrest her." Neon said scratching his chin.

"A false claim? An interview?" Noteworthy quickly listed off his ideas.

"Perhaps we should inform the Princess of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, she might know what to do." Harpo began to say standing from his spot at the table.

"I will prepare the call for you, sir." Neon smiled almost darkly.

"Good job, I should give you a raise..." Neon jested. Harpo only rolled his eyes and prepared the viewing monitor. Soon the face of a darker skinned girl appeared on screen, her face one of impatience and stone. She had a flat bang and long indigo hair, a small crown on her head, and glasses placed loosely over her nose. This was the ever famous Princess Twilight Sparkle of F.R.I.E.N.D.S

"Neon? What do you want now?" Twilight was well aware of Neon and his goofy and childish antics. She had no time for his schemes and ridiculous attitude. She wondered how he had even become a hero in the first place.

"I have some news that might interest you, Princess Twilight," Neon said with a sly grin as he climbed from the top of the table and into the head chair. Twilight leaned in a bit to listen to what he had to say, she had to at least look interested. "So princess... do you know anything about... a miss Octavia Melody?"

Her Fate

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Octavia sat, back straight as she looked over the crowd. Their bustling and hurried movements sending calming feelings over her. The house lights had yet to fall, as she watched a few other patrons clamber in. They were mostly aristocrats, their noses held high and hair freshly cut and done up for this event. Octavia never understood it, even as a child living with them, she never understood why they would dress so well for such a small concert. It was like paying for box seats at a neighborhood baseball game. She was a fine cellist, but it was only her ensemble today.

Octavia jumped a bit as she felt a hand grasp her shoulder. Turning quickly she saw the worried eyes of her friend, Harpo. His blue hair slightly messed, his dark blue jacket ruffled and his tie scrunched up a little out of it. Fredric scrunched his nose at the sight of Harpo, he shook his head and went back to checking the strings of his piano.

"Octavia..." Harpo began with a nervous voice. Octavia could only give a thin unsure smile before answering.

"Y-yes Harpo? What is it? You seem.... out of it?"

Harpo shook his head and tried to get her to stand up. Octavia, although unsure, let him lead her from her seat to backstage.

"H-Harpo? What is this about?" Octavia began slightly alarmed. She knew how to fight if this were to get too out of hand.

"Octavia, you are a dear friend... you know this right?" Harpo began a little less shaken up. Octavia nodded and gave him a concerned look, one of which Harpo quickly disregarded. "I don't think this is a safe place for you... They know...."

"Who knows what?" Octavia began to get a little more worried.

"They know that you're..." Harpo looked around and whispered the last part, "Mistress Strings..."

"Who!?" Octavia asked quickly before slapping her hands over her mouth. She turned back to the opening to the stage and turned back, whispering and trying to stay calm.

"Well, I can't really tell you who, but just don't perform tonight. I have a feeling someone might be here-"

"Yes... yes they are..." a deeper voice said from behind the two. Behind them was Fredric and Beauty, ignoring the still rustling crowd sure to upset at the prolonged absence of the ensemble.

"You should be more careful where you say these things..." Beauty added as she walked up to the two.

"We won't tell anyone... and since you are a friend, we could help you out." Fredric said in with a distant look. Octavia's heart began to race.

"What do you mean?" She asked in quiet panic.

"We are heroes, Beauty and I, we intended on telling you so that you may join us, but it seemed you had no powers, such a shame."

"Yes, it was a shame, but we had no idea you were such a villain in your town." Beauty added again, her hand resting on Octavia's shoulder. Harpo looked behind the three noticing another figure walking towards them. It seemed to be Noteworthy.

"Ah! Noteworthy! What brings you here?" Harpo asked quickly as he ran around the group to face the muscled man.

"Oh just here to see my favorite girl of course!" Noteworthy pushed past Harpo as he spoke. "Where is that girl? Someone is just dying to meet her!" Harpo grit his teeth. Inside the cave he had to behave and kiss ass, outside, he would do whatever he pleased, and knocking this douche out seemed pretty nice right about now.


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Vinyl stood at the door of the orchestra building in full White Unicorn costume, prepared for the worst. She had been told to help take down Mistress Strings for good. Vinyl still couldn't believe this was happening, it seemed like some blurry dream.
The courtyard to the theater was large, Vinyl's spot was behind one of the large trees lining the small path leading from the gates to the hall doors. A large fountain across from her in a small clearing surrounded by beautiful pink and blue flowers flowed steadily, another hero sitting behind it, she was almost sure.

The sudden sound of crashing and shouting echoed from the theater halls. A large stampede of people rushing out, and a large explosion from the back of the building caused Vinyl to jump up and look over. Two heroes she recognized as Black Keys and Bad Brass flew overhead, the man in a brown one piece with a black and white utility belt, black gloves and small rockets attached to his back, and Bad Brass with her long flowing brown hair and blue sailor scout uniform and knee high boots, her belt holding a small wand that Vinyl knew would turn into a staff if she did her weird dance moves right. Vinyl didn't like those two, they always seemed so strange.

Although the aesthetics of the two heroes amused her, there was one thing that caught her eyes quickly. In Black Key's arms was a thin figure, long black hair draped over her head and her grey vest and white collared shirt was visible as Black Key's turned to see another guy storm out of the building with a gun.

Noteworthy ran from the building, his hands shaking as he tried to shoot down the hero, his bullets missing each shot as Black Keys tried to spin and move from his cross-hairs. The sound of more feet rushing behind him as he emptied his gun on the sky. Black Keys narrowed his eyes as he heard the clicking of an empty round and turned to escape, only to be stopped by a woman with a dark mask and white suit appearing in a flash of blue before her.

"W-White Unicorn?!" He shouted, only to be punched in the face and lose his grip on Octavia. She plummeted to the ground with White Unicorn by her side, and Black Keys still reeling from the impact above her. This was it for her, White Unicorn was here, and she was sure that she would either die from the fall, or be captured and killed by her enemy. Octavia closed her eyes as the feeling of wind rushed past her ears and forced her hair back.

White Unicorn reached out her arm, grabbing Octavia from her fall, only to be greeted with her struggling.

"Don't you DARE touch me! This is YOUR FAULT!" Octavia screamed as White Unicorn held her close, concentrating her magic to teleport to the ground safely. When they had finally reached the grass below, Octavia stumbled from the hero's grasp, landing on her hands and knees to the grass and trying to catch her breath. That was a pretty close call, but her troubles weren't over just yet. Octavia looked up to see White Unicorn tower above her; her masked face looking down, no sign of emotion and her arms crossed. "I don't need your help..." Octavia hissed. White Unicorn only nodded and turned her back.

Vinyl was unsure, should she reveal herself to Octavia? That would make things harder than they already were. But she couldn't turn Octavia in either, that would be bad too. But she had broken so many laws, so many horrid things, there was no redeeming her at this point. Vinyl was so caught up in thought she had hardly noticed the sound of Octavia getting to her feet.

This was Octavia's last chance, she knew that hurting this woman would lead to Vinyl being pissed, but it was too risky keeping her here so close to her. Octavia looked over herself, a small paper in her pants pocket that held small scriptures, that would help. She grabbed it, looking it over as she smiled, it was weaker than her normal powers, but would help her at least fend off the other heroes long enough so that she could escape. She whispered under her breath cautious to the hero before. The power quickly overcoming her body with a viscous black goo, covering her face arms and legs. Before the spell had completed, White Unicorn turned quickly to see that she had been covered in her mysterious magic. It was much too late for her now.

"So..." Octavia hissed as the goo lifted her body, "You know my true identity, but that won't stop me..." the goo quickly quaked and shuddered as it grew, the power seeming stronger than she realized. More people began to run over as they noticed the event unfolding. White Unicorn grit her teeth and took a defensive stance, much unlike her normal poses where she looked more likely to send a punch or aggressive attack, but Octavia chalked it up to herself having the upper hand.

"D-don't do this..." White Unicorn pleaded as she watched Octavia begin to meld into the form more comfortably, at this point, the frail girl was encased in a thick glob of shadowy slime, her eyes growing red and the body moving at her will, several thick arms protruding from the sides as if she were in some horrid mech suit.

"Why? So that you can capture me and cause me more pain than you already have?!" Octavia began to grow more irate as she saw more people rushing to her, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE PUT ME THROUGH? All I wanted was to be happy, to make the love of my life happy! But you have to come along and FUCK IT ALL UP! You should be ashamed to even call yourself a hero! You are supposed to save people! But you're nothing but a stupid egotistical BITCH! A horrid heart breaker! All you do is take those people love and force them to love you! Is it so much to ask for to have friends? Love? Peace? NO! I CAN'T HAVE JUST ONE MEASLY BIT OF PEACE NOW THAT YOU'RE HERE!" Octavia's voice began to distort into a deeper, more demonic voice, she smiled as she watched White Unicorn grow uneasy below her gaze, her stance falling slightly, looking almost dejected. "But that will all change tonight... Tonight! TONIGHT WILL BE THE FALL OF WHITE UNICORN! AND THEN I'LL BE FREE TO LOVE WITHOUT SOME BITCH COMING AROUND TRYING TO RUIN ME!"

"You're jealous of me?" White Unicorn tried to shout, but the gross feeling in her stomach made her words slightly fumble. "Why? Don't you think she just enjoys this? The thrill of being a hero? What makes you think she's not in love with you?"

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HER!" Octavia shouted, quickly after swinging an arm to swipe the annoying hero away, her athletic body went flying, crashing into the side of the theater building. Octavia laughed as she watched the woman fall from her crash spot near the roof, a devastating one hundred foot fall. The clambering of other heroes shouting caught her attention, only a few, she had imagined many more would have arrived. Bass Trip stood farther away, near the fountain a goo fifty feet away, Filly Second and Muffin Head began their advance.

"TAKE HER DOWN!" She could hear a voice call from the side. As she turned to see who it was, she instantly recognized the man who had bothered her since collage, his large toned arms pulling out a riffle as her yelled. Black Keys was gone, as was Bad Brass, and about five other heroes she didn't know well advanced. Their strategy unclear.

"JUST KILL 'ER!" Bass Trip shouted as he was finally closing in the distance. Octavia huffed and jumped from her spot, leaving a large mound of goo all over the area. The tentacles swiped back and forth, swatting away heroes as they tried to punch or kick, all of them getting stuck, the body discharging them into a heap of the black stuff on the ground.

Vinyl sat up from her spot, a large crater left where her body made the impact. I hurt, it all hurt. Her body, her head, her heart. If only she had known this was what was going on, she would have stopped it long ago, but now there was nothing but fear, the fear of death by a girl she had always cared for, but never wanted to admit it. It seemed like some sort of stupid metaphor now, her being a hero, and the beautiful girl she cared about having turned into a raging beast trying to kill her. Vinyl shook her head and stood upright, seeing that Octavia was actaully rushing towards her. There had to be a way to stop this, but how would she? This was all too difficult. Octavia came even closer, she was almost within reach of those shadow tentacles. There had to be a way... a way to stop this, and everyone would be happy.


SMACK!


Another devastating blow to the hero from the arm of Octavia, causing her to fly almost the distance of the courtyard. Vinyl didn't even care anymore. This was it, she would die, and she would die by the hands of Octavia. It wasn't a horrible way to go. Vinyl's body crashed, the dirt giving way as her form skid across it. She lay on her side, whimpering as she tried to reason with the situation. Her body aching and bleeding. Her head was throbbing, all those other fights were jokes, Octavia never wanted to kill, and Vinyl knew she was spoiled before as a hero, never having to worry if she would live through an encounter with a foe. The sticky sounds of the goo advanced closer. Vinyl had to do something, anything would do!


SQUISH THUMP, SQUISH THUMP, SQUISH THUMP


The sounds grew closer, it was now or never, she would die or live, but based on her current state, she would be surprised if she even managed to stay alive for another hour. It would be a damn painful hour.

"IF YOU AREN'T DEAD YET," The distorted voice of a once loving Octavia shouted down to the helpless heap, "YOU WILL BE SOON.."


POW!


Nothing happened, Vinyl lay there, her body shaking as she lifted her head slowly from the dirt. Octavia was still there, but her body, as it stayed inside of the black goo seemed distressed. Octavia grasped at her torso, her face contoured in pain, her body twisting as if trying to escape.

Behind her was Bass Trip and Noteworthy. Both holding guns and aiming for Octavia. They were going to kill her. This was it, no punishment, no trial, she was going to be killed then and there. Vinyl stood up despite the feeling of knives and burning tar running though her body. She grit her teeth again and struggled to focus her magic.
Noteworthy held the gun up and tried to aim for her heart, Bass Trip going for the head. As Bass Trip steadied himself, he was thrown off by a quickly turning Octavia, her body still submerged into the goo. He retried his aim as she moved, this couldn't stop him.


THWACK!


Noteworthy fell from his stance and collapsed to the floor. His body slightly convulsed as he tried to recover, Bass Trip ignored his partner and opted to shoot the woman by himself. His aim lined up, but he turned as he saw the woman looking behind him with wild eyes.


THWACK!


Bass Trip feel to the ground as he was struck by his own partner, White Unicorn. She stood over him, her face one of sheer anger and pain.

"She wants you to leave her alone...." Vinyl whispered before looking up to Octavia. She was still bleeding, her blood mixing with the dark goo. Octavia didn't have time to really question what had just happened. She didn't even really seem to care. Octavia advanced again, her eyes narrowed and she came closer to the hero.

"What... are you doing?" Octavia hissed, as she leaned in close enough for Vinyl to see the pained details in her glowing red eyes, the pinprick pupils shaking.

"Trying to help...." Vinyl tried to say, a small dribble of blood soon falling from her mouth, "I care too much to hurt you... I should have just said something to you before.... from when we were in school together... I-I just didn't want to make anything too hard on you... I didn't even know if...." Vinyl stopped and opted instead to reach for her mask, Octavia didn't move, if this White Unicorn tried anything, she could still beat her down. Vinyl's mask fell from her face as she undid it, and ran her hands through her slicked hair, frizzing it, the electric blue falling into a familiar pattern around her head as it bounced, and those bright red eyes shimmered as she looked back up at Octavia, a noticeable change in her face present. Something akin to fear, pain, and heartbreak.

"V-Vinyl...." Octavia whimpered. This couldn't be... she hadn't even seen it, she couldn't have pieced it together? What was wrong with her! Octavia continued to mull over the situation, her heart beating faster as she realized all she had done to Vinyl. "V-Vinyl... why?" Nothing was said, nothing had to be said, only the few moments they shared.
Then she fell.

Vinyl's body had gone through enough. Enough stress, enough pain and torture, enough surprises. Vinyl's eyes rolled back as she collapsed into a heap on the ground beside the two unconscious men who had only moments ago tried to kill Octavia. No responses, no trying to stop her fall, she just... fell.

Octavia let her eyes scan over the mess she had made, the destroyed courtyard, the heroes still trying to free themselves from the shadow magic that encased them. There was no need to continue trying to fight. She had lost what she was fighting for, and it was all because of her. Octavia raised her hand, recalling the spell she cast, the goo receding and disappearing into thin air. She let tears fall freely from her eyes as they changed from the demonic glowing red.

The mess was cleared, the goo had gone, and she was left on the grass on her knees beside Vinyl, who was still slightly struggling in a doomed attempt to stand. Octavia reached an arm out to Vinyl, her own arm still in pain after having been shot in it; her gut bleeding heavily from beneath the now torn grey vest and white button up. The sound of Bass Trip clambering to his feet could be heard from behind her. She didn't care. She held Vinyl, hopefully she would be okay. Vinyl only gave a small smile, no words.

"You're under arrest!" Bass Trip yelled with a small pistol aimed at Octavia's head. Octavia didn't move. "Do you know your rights?" Again, Octavia sat there, a blank look, and not even a flinch. Bass Trip didn't bother with the cryptic crap Octavia was pulling, and opted to cuff her. Octavia gave little resistance, as far as she was concerned, she deserved it.
Only seconds later did the other heroes get to the scene, looking on in horror at the mess of blood and dirt that had scattered. Octavia whimpered as her arm was forced behind her back and cuffed to the other, the metal clamps placed much too tight around her wrist and pinched at her thin bones.

"So what happened here?" A woman asked as she walked from the crowd. She had dark skin, and long indigo hair with a purple and pink highlight running its length, a purple mask covered the top half of her face and there was a horn protruding from her bangs, a long tail that looked much like her hair coming from below a school girl skirt, and large purple angle like wings.

"I have captured Mistress Stings, Princess Twilight!" Bass Trip proclaimed in a proud tone. the woman looked down to the sobbing woman and nodded.

"Is that White Unicorn?"

"Yes it is Princess, this disgusting beast attacked her and-"

"Okay, all I asked was if that was her..." The woman called Princess Twilight interjected. "Is she still alive?" Octavia looked down at Vinyl as she tried to move again, only succeeding in turning her head and twitching a finger.

"I guess so." Bass Trip mused. Twilight was not impressed with his distance.

"Get her an ambulance, I'll take care of Mistress Strings." Twilight said pushing Bass Trip aside. He promptly grabbed a small device, almost like a cell phone, and called for medical back up. Octavia looked up at the Princess and frowned, what was going to happen now?

Epilogue: Her Life

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The hotel's lobby was a clean one, and welcoming, warm red carpets and lit candles all over, the room even more so. The warm lighting bouncing from the walls of the small hotel room and the smell of cinnamon made this an ideal place for Vinyl to receive the rest she needed for her weak body. She sat happily against the headboard of her soft mattress, the soft sounds of rushing water from the bathroom shower the only ambiance. She had only stayed in the hotel for a few days, but it was already starting to bother her, as it was not the home she loved so much. But she wouldn't be going back there. She wouldn't even be able to return to Manehatten, those were the rules set by the princess herself. Vinyl reached down for an envelope that lay there, delivered by the hotel staff, the words "READ ASAP" written in pen on the back. Vinyl had gotten her briefing, and she was sure that this would only just cover what she had already learned.

The door to the shower room swung open, the shadowy figure of her lover emerging from the misty room. Vinyl paid no mind, too caught up in the envelope to really care. As Vinyl sat staring down at the envelope, the bed sank, giving way to the weight of the other girl.

"Is that from the princess?" the posh accented voice asked. Vinyl finally looked up and smiled.

"Yeah, Tavi, I'm sure it's just going to say we can't go back to Manehatten anymore, and that we can't be in contact with the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. team," although it was nice to not have to worry about the burden of having to leave Octavia alone anymore, and save a city from peril, Vinyl felt a little odd not being a hero. It was so ingrained in her at this point, it didn't seem like an option to just not be a hero.

"We should read it then." Octavia reached over and grabbed the letter, opening it with care and pulling out the contents. The letter unfolded and out fell two train tickets, and a pamphlet with a lovely modern style house on the front.

"What does it say?" Vinyl asked looking over the items with curiosity. Octavia cleared her throat and read the letter out loud.

"Let's see... it says, dear Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody, we are sorry to say that from this point on, you are no longer permitted to particapate in the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. of Equestria, and banned from entering Manehatten or your home. You are also sworn to silence, not to ever speak of being a hero or to speak of other heroes identities or work having been done during your time with us. That being said, we understand that you two were doing what was right, and for saving us from what was a misunderstanding, and not being banned for other dishonourable reasons, we are giving you two first class tickets to Hoofington, and a nice house, fully paid for and furnished for you to live in happily. We thank you for your help miss Vinyl Scratch, and we hope all is well with miss Octavia Melody. We have a few extra things for you to live comfortably, this is considered a retirement, so please enjoy yourselves, and remember the difference you have made. Yours truly, Princess Twilight Sparkle of F.R.I.E.N.D.S." Octavia looked over the paper again and squinted, half expecting to see more.

"Looks like there's something else in here..." Vinyl said as she looked into the envelope. She finally produced a small cheque, looking closer, a large grin spread across her face, "It's for 50,000 dollars!" Vinyl squealed. Octavia took the cheque and squealed as well, throwing her arms around Vinyl.

"Vinyl this is great! We can live normal lives! No more fighting, no more hiding! Isn't it great?"

Vinyl nodded and looked at the cheque and smiled. "Yeah, yeah it is." The only thing left was the nagging in her head. What would she do now that she couldn't be a hero?

"Vinyl, what should we do first? Oh! We should go to the carnival, or better yet! We could go to a theme park! How does that sound?" Octavia asked eagerly. Vinyl hadn't seen her so happy in a long time. Perhaps this was better than being a hero, going and enjoying herself with Octavia. They hadn't been together for so long.

"Why don't we go to dinner first?" Vinyl asked with a grin. Octavia squealed and hugged Vinyl again.

"Yes! That would be lovely!"

Vinyl hugged Octavia back and sighed, I just don't think I can live without being a hero...