> Silent Love - Part One
>  by Sagami
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Last days of freedom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vinyl was tired. Painfully tired.

Selling guitars and CD’s in one of the biggest music shops in town wasn’t something the blue-haired DJ could complain about, but on Saturdays, when it was crowded with self-taught musicians, professional singers or newly-formed bands, she really had to force herself not to collapse.

But there was something else.

Starting a new school year is never easy, but since it was her first year living (finally) alone and, furthermore, in a new town, it’s not the calm, sweet situation she wanted to have on her last weekend of freedom.

Vinyl knew that it couldn’t be that bad though. She never had trouble making friends, probably because of her music skills and her relaxed behavior. Plus, some of her old friends from school, like Micro Chips and Lyra, were coming along on her journey to Canterlot High.

“Weird name….” Vinyl thought while getting in her car. At age seventeen, she was slightly older than most other students in her school, but having her own ride was nice. She had big plans for this car: it needed to become a whole night club of her own before the end of the next year. “Yeah right! First you’ll need some money, dumbass”.
She reached for the phone in her pocket, pulled up some directions, and started driving home. She had been living there for three weeks, and still hadn’t memorize her way back.

After about fifteen minutes of driving, Vinyl finally arrived at 55, Flash Freeze Street. She climbed the entire way to the fourth floor, waved at the neighbour, and finally reached her dark brown door. It took her an additional minute to find the right key, after trying the gate’s, the mailbox’s, and her parent’s. When she heard the tumblers finally click into place, she felt like she had just found true happiness.

Vinyl’s apartment was a mess, even by her own standards. Some furniture was still in its cardboard boxes, the kitchen was filled with freshly bought cookware, and her bed was made of a single sheet fitted onto a small mattress on the ground. “Damn... I’m so buying a queen-size for myself.” But for the time being, she didn’t care, and this improvised bed was the most comfortable place she knew.

She took off her shoes, crossed her legs on her “bed”, and looked around the room, he gaze stopping on a frame holding several pictures: one of herself with her parents, Music Wind and Cotton Blue ; one with her older brother, Volume Bass. She stopped on the third picture, and felt a tear dropping on her leg. Before she knew it, it was 8 pm, and she was starving.
She got out, bought a frozen pizza in the shop on the other side of the street, got back to her kitchen, and realised she had no oven yet.

“Fuck”.


}--oO0Oo--{


Sundays were great. Especially this one. It was, to Vinyl’s knowledge, the last opportunity she’d have to get up after 11 am for quite some time.
She forced herself to build some of the furniture she had lying on the floor, and felt a sense of accomplishment that was quickly interrupted by a dubstep remix of the usual message ringtone.
It was her phone ringing. Vinyl headed for the table, tripped on the toolbox, swore in her head, closed her eyes, hit a wall, swore again, and finally picked up the small piece of blue plastic.

“WHAT?!” Vinyl furiously typed.

“Whoaaaahhhh chill out girl!” she read on the small screen. “Is your new job that fucking stressful?”

The blue-haired girl sighed. It was Lyra, one of her best friends, texting her in the middle of the day, as usual, probably to talk about the upcoming school year.

Lyra wasn’t the kind of person Vinyl talked to in order to get a breath of fresh air. On the contrary, it was mostly when she needed action, or when she needed to get drunk with the alcohol her older brother was giving her. Lyra was a tomboyish, green-skinned, mint-and-white-haired girl who wasn’t afraid to say what she had on her mind (which sometimes led to trouble). She was also very protective, and never let down Vinyl or any of her friends. Still, she could be a bit of a bitch when she wanted to and, like Vinyl often told her, “never knew when to shut up”.

But this was a good day, and Vinyl felt in the right mood to talk to Lyra.

“Sry girl, im tryin to build these fuckin shelves”

“Riiiight dude, go on act like ur not shittin urself for the upcoming school year”

“Hey dont act like im the one with bad grades! ^^”

“Well y’know, Canterlot High is not as easy as Manehattan Public High. Plus ive heard things about some girl, Sunset Screamer or whatevr, not really cool w/ newbies apparently”

“Relaaax”, Vinyl texted, “u and i both know that if she messes w/ us, she get her ass wubbed! xD”

“Wow that sounded weird, please dont go down that road”

“Shut up dude”

“But the others seem nice, ive met some of them while visiting the school on tuesday, like a rainbow-haired one, who was suuuuch a tomboy!”

“U mean even more than u?” the DJ texted with a grin on her face.

“Fuck off”

“Well i think this kind and lovely message is a good way to end this conversation. See u 2morrow dude”

“Hey wait we only talked for like 5 minutes!”

Vinyl closed her phone, happy to imagine the face of her friend at this very moment. It was nice to see that Lyra was more of a planner than her, and went to the new school to visit. Apparently people were nice there. Cool. Maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t bother her too much with her… difference. She had been lucky to find a school where it wasn’t a major issue, but she didn’t know about the other students.

“Try to socialize on your first day dude, don’t spend it glued to your headphones.”

For a split second Vinyl considered not bringing her blue-and-white wireless headphones to her first day, but it quickly wore off. Her music was her life, and she had listened to dubstep for so long she wondered if it wasn’t carved in her DNA. Plus the headphones made her look cooler (about 20 percent).

As the afternoon was beginning to end, Vinyl started preparing her backpack. She wasn’t much of a serious student, but given the fact that it was her first day in a new school, she didn’t want to take any risks. She ate her meal, a handmade chicken and cheddar sandwich, on her “bed”, listening to the last song from Countess Coloratura, letting her mind wander aimlessly, to get rid of the anxiety brought by these freaking shelves.
Vinyl’s head had started to nod with fatigue, and she dozed off in her music, without even changing clothes.


}--oO0Oo--{


It was now Monday morning, first day of school. Vinyl got in her car with a mouth full of biscuits and an energy drink in her hand. If she was right, she was going to need it.

The DJ had planned on making a small detour, and after ten minutes of driving, stopped at a crossroad, where, on the left side, she saw Satan himself.

Actually it was just Lyra. Vinyl promised to pick her up on the first day, since she didn’t want to take the risk of being late.

“Hey wassuuuuuuup girl!!” said the mint-haired girl “Nonono don’t tell me I can read your mind”.

Vinyl was too concentrated on her map and a middle finger was the best thing she could offer to her friend. She was used to it, and so was Lyra.
After a bit of driving and listening to Lyra talk about her life, the two girls finally arrived at Canterlot High.

The building was much, much bigger than what Vinyl expected. A gigantic playground surrounded by bushes was laying in front of the main entrance, and a horse stone statue was watching over the flow of incoming students, from its cubic pedestal.

Vinyl easily found a parking spot: there weren’t many students with their own rides, and she was feeling kinda proud of it.
Lyra got out first, took her stuff, and waited for her friend to turn off the engine and join her.
After doing so, Vinyl was about to follow, when something unusual got her attention, completely out of nowhere.

“What the hell?”
> The cellist
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vinyl wasn’t expecting that.

In every school there were a bunch of strange people, for many reasons, some of which just didn’t seem to match with the surroundings.
This girl was one of them.

She was wearing a very formal white shirt under a light gray blazer; as well as a darker gray pleated long skirt. Well Vinyl could’ve sayed “grey” instead, since this girl was obviously from the eastern continent, probably Trottingham or somewhere around.
On top of that, she had a purple bowtie around her neck, and a huge cello case was attached to her back.
Vinyl was no stylist, and given her own style, she would never give any lesson about how to dress, but this girl left her…. speechless.

But maybe the most crazy feature of this new arrival was her face: smooth, pure grey skin, light pink lips that matched just enough with her bowtie and with her deep purple eyes.
Finally, long dark gray hair were falling on her back, and a decent amount was maintained in some kind of shaggy fringe that defied gravity.

Vinyl knew it wasn’t easy to arrive in a new school, but this student was the most uncomfortable and disoriented person she had seen in her life (even more than her father when she first made him listen to her music). Her eyes were at the brink of crying and her arms were crossed in a desperate move to get some comfort. Vinyl honestly didn’t know if she was supposed to laugh or to feel pity.

“Hey? Are you ok over there?”

Lyra’s voice interrupted Vinyl’s contemplation of this strange new girl. She looked at her friend with confused eyes.

“Wow dude you look reeeeeaaaally high right now, you didn’t sleep that much did you?”

Lyra didn’t wait for an answer: “Ow crap! Everyone’s in already! We’re gonna miss the welcoming speech!”

She grabbed Vinyl’s wrist and started running towards the front door. When the DJ turned her head in an effort to see the strange girl, she had already left.


}--oO0Oo--{


“Hello everyone, and welcome to Canterlot high! I am Principal Celestia, and this is Vice-principal Luna! We’ll be here today to show how around the school and to answer your every questions. We personally wanted to tell you how proud we are to welcome all of you, must you be old or new student, welcome to our big family!”

Vinyl was quite intrigued by the two women’s… flamboyant hairstyles. She looked around the room to observe the other students. Even if she was the only one with electric blue hair, she was far from being the only one with a peculiar look (Was that a good thing? She really couldn’t tell), and noticed a few interesting characters: the rainbow-haired girl Lyra was talking about (she WAS tomboyish, jeez), a pink-haired, pink-wearing, pink-skinned fuzzy ball of hair and scream who was offering/throwing cupcakes at everyone, and a strange mean-looking one in a corner, surrounded by two middle-school boys acting a bit tougher than they probably should.

“This is gonna be an interesting year… And we haven’t started the class yet.”

As the two principals were showing them around, the DJ realised how huge the school truly was. The library for example should probably be a municipal building, given its size.
“Meh. I’m not a big reader anyway, or even a reader at all.”

There was actually a music room. Sadly, she didn’t see any mix table or anything of the sort. Not a problem. She’d bring hers if necessary. She then saw a cello against the wall and thought about the girl she saw outside, who was now nowhere to be seen, but there were so many people that Vinyl assumed she had to be there somewhere.
They spent the rest of the afternoon going through the entire school: the sport hall, the classrooms, the cafeteria, the park…. Once the tour was finished, they all came back to the hall to enjoy some snacks.
Canterlot High really seemed like a place where Vinyl could feel comfortable.

“Well we’ll see about that tomorrow won’t we…”

Suddenly something interrupted her thoughts, a pink thunderbolt hit the ground a few inches away from the DJ’s feet. Before she knew it, she was face to face with the all-pink girl she saw earlier.

“Hi there! I’m Pinkie Pie and I’m the head of the party-planning committee! This means I like parties! Do you like parties? I heard you like music! That’s great! Cool music makes cool parties don’t you think?! What’s your name?”

It was kind of too many questions in four seconds, but Vinyl guessed this was the hyperactive party girl of the school. Before she tried to make a response, the girl had already disappeared in a pink streak.

“Well at least I’ll leave with one new name in my head”. Friends probably weren’t going to be a problem here.


}--oO0Oo--{


Today was the first day of class, and Vinyl couldn’t help but feel a little concerned about what was about to happen. Plus, she didn’t sleep much, and for some reason kept having the strange cellist’s face in her head.
She had left a bit early yesterday, not that she didn’t want to meet some new people, but because she didn’t want to bother anyone with her condition. Revealing it to everybody in class wouldn’t be easier, but it sure would be faster.
Lyra was ok with going back home by bus. She told Vinyl that she had met a really nice girl in the hall, Bon-Bon or something. It was nice to see that some really had the opportunity to meet people. But if the DJ’s instinct was right, thanks to this Pinkie Pie, it wouldn’t be too hard to meet anyone.

She got in her car with her headphones on, listening to some sweet dubstep, which made the ride seem way faster than it was.
After parking on the side of the building, she ran her hand through her blue hair, took a big breath, and pushed the main door.
There were still several students in the hallway, but the class was starting in only five minutes, so Vinyl hurried to classroom 38, and was happy to see that the teacher, whoever it was, hadn’t arrived yet.
She met Lyra who had taken a seat in the back, of course, and then she saw her.
SHE was there.
The mysterious cellist was sitting in the front row, her gigantic cello case against the wall near her. Strangely enough, nobody was sitting next to her.
Suddenly Vinyl realised: “She’s in my class! Thank God I’ll get to know her name when the teacher takes attendance!”
She then was tempted by the idea of abandoning Lyra to go join the cellist, but she was stopped by the teacher’s entrance.

“Hello class and welcome to your first day of school at Canterlot High! I hope you all had fun yesterday! My name is Cheerilee and I’ll be your math teacher this year, as well as the head teacher for your class! Now I want everyone to tell his name in the order of the seats, that way we’ll already get a chance to know each others!”

“Gosh” said Lyra “We’re not in middle school anymore.”

Vinyl ignored her friend and listened carefully to each name, waiting for the one she was looking for.

“Micro Chips.”

“Trixie Lulamoon!”

‘Pixel Pizzaz”

“Photo Finish!”

“Pinkie Pie!!”

“Octavia Melody.”

Octavia Melody. What a beautiful name. Vinyl wasn’t the cheesy type, but this name surely had a romantic vibe to it. And the voice which said these two small words was even more incredible. Smooth, sophisticated, definitely from the eastern continent. This accent was the cutest thing the blue-haired girl had ever heard.

“Lyra Heartstrings”

…

“And what is your name?”

…

“Go on, there’s no need to be shy.”

But Vinyl wasn’t shy. She saw Lyra’s and Micro Chips’s embarrassed expressions, but calmly picked up a paper sheet and wrote in big enough letters for everyone to see:

“Vinyl Scratch” said Cheerilee in a visibly annoyed tone “I’d like you to say your name out loud if it’s not asking too much.”

Vinyl turned the page over and wrote again:

"I CAN'T".

“Oh... ok” said the teacher, both confused and ashamed, “You’re the student Principal Celestia told me about. Well I can assure you that it won’t be a problem at all here!  Let’s continue!”

As the named kept on going, Vinyl couldn’t help but to hear the students whispering around herself, about her most likely, but she didn’t want to think about it. The first two hours were basically Cheerilee presenting the year program, the rules of the school, and the details of the math chapters of the year. Exciting.

The class then took a ten minutes break to wait for the next professor. And as soon as Cheerilee got out, dozens of students rushed on Vinyl’s desk.

“Are you deaf too? Do you hear me now?”

“Have you always been like this?”

“How do you communicate then?”

“Is blue your natural hair color?”

“What does it feel like?”

Gosh. Vinyl was used to this situation, but it felt strange every time.
That was it. She said it. She was a mute. It hadn’t always been like this, no, but she didn’t want to think about that for the time being.
She understood the others though. It isn’t common to find out that one of your classmate has such a handicap. Giving Vinyl’s style, they probably never would’ve guessed.

“Alright alright fuck off, all of you!” said Lyra. It was nice of hers to protect her friend, but the DJ didn’t want to leave a bad impression on the others, so she just took another sheet of paper and wrote:

“I’ll need your cell number if you want to talk with me, so please don’t spam the fuck outta me :) Let’s try to have a great year ok? I’m a dj by the way, so don’t worry, I’ll find a way to make some noise like you’ve never heard before!”

Before she knew it she had a paper filled with about thirty phone numbers. Damn. People REALLY wanted to know more about her. It was nice.
But she noticed one thing.
Octavia. She hadn’t moved of an inch from her seat, and was just looking at the small crowd from afar. Was she too shy? Or maybe she didn’t care? This last thought left Vinyl with a mixed feeling of curiosity and sadness.
But the cellist’s look was different than before. She was giving Vinyl quick glances, almost like she was scared of her. Maybe she was? Or maybe a serious confusion about the blue haired girl’s life?
Vinyl didn’t had the time to think too much though. Suddenly the door smashed open in a deafening sound, and a strange, deep voice came from the hallway:

“Hello everyone! Now how are we doing today? No don’t tell me! Have a seat, children!”

The man who just entered the classroom was the strangest human being Vinyl had ever seen.
He was tall. Really tall. About fifty years old, his gray skin matching with his long white eyebrows and goatee, as well as with his black and white hair. He had a thin face, and pointy nose, and one of his teeth was significantly longer than the others.
Well his hair had to be the only thing that matched in his look. He was wearing a yellow shirt with a red tie, under a brown jacket. His pants were bottle green and he had mismatched shoes, one of them being white and the other brown.
On top of that, his pupils were deeply yellow, and his eyes were constantly staring at the students, like we was trying to hypnotize them.

“I’m professor Discord! Shall we begin?”
> Lunch break
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vinyl couldn’t believe it. This man was a teacher? THEIR teacher? She looked around the room only to realise that the other students were as astonished as her. Everybody was looking at this Mr.Potato-Head of a man. His age and his stature sure made him look impressive, but his outfit was totally out of place, especially after meeting Cheerilee, probably the most normal and calm professor Vinyl had ever met.

“You look surprised. The free time is over, back to work! As I said, my name is Professor Discord, and I’ll be your physics and chemistry teacher for this year! You like chemistry right? Everybody likes chemistry. It’s so simple, but at the same time so...chaotic…”

This voice, jeez. There was no way the DJ could describe it. It was both deep and high, slow and fast, articulated and slurred. Kinda like the man. Yes, chaotic was a good way to describe him, and physics suited him well.

“Ok, so!” said the teacher “I’m not going to do the attendance, you’re not in middle school anymore!”

Vinyl heard Lyra sighing next to her.

“What I did however is talk with your lovely math teacher in the hallway. She’s nice don’t you think? I think she’s nice.”

“...”

“Oh so you’re not the chatty class I can see. Too bad. Which reminds me, Mrs. Cheerilee told me about one of you… It seems like we have a really special student with us this year…”

Oh no he wouldn’t.

“Vinyl Scratch is that right? You certainly won’t be the chatterbox! It’s rare to have someone as special as you in our school. Gotta say, I absolutely love your hair! And yes, I know you’re not deaf, one doesn’t need some studies to see that…”

The entire class was surprised. Did he hear them from the other side of the school, asking Vinyl if she was deaf?
Concerning the DJ, she couldn’t possibly tell if the teacher was being serious or not. She already had teachers who mocked her condition, at least on the first day, but this one, she really couldn’t tell. She couldn’t tell anything about him, except maybe that he wasn’t really good at choosing his wardrobe.

“Oh yes, and unlike Mrs. Cheerilee, I know sign language, so you won’t need to text me like some kind of teenager stereotype! Isn’t that beautiful?”

It was surprising at least. Vinyl herself used sign language of course, especially with her parents, but most people didn’t understand, nor knew, a single word of sign.
And this teacher was fluent? Seriously? She wasn’t expecting that. Even she was still learning the twists and turns of this. It was hard as hell.
But maybe Discord was just messing with her. Seemed like his type of thing to do. Easy to check. Vinyl made a few swift movements with her hands, creating several sounds of amazement amongst the students.

“Oh yes Vinyl, Mr. Discord is my real name, and no I don’t mind you asking. I get that a lot.”

“Wow. He does understand sign language.” That was...rare. “Has he ever had mute students before? Cheerilee apparently told him about me in the hallway, so he must have learnt a long time before I arrived... Did he learn every fucking language in the world, just in case?”

“Well now that this is set, let’s start the class shall we?”

Everyone started to take out their books when he looked towards the front row.

“And you missy, you play cello? Don’t ask me how I know, just a hunch.”

“This guy sure gets distracted easily…. Wait, is he talking to Octavia? Did he just call her “missy”? By the way great work Sherlock…” Vinyl thought while looking at the huge cello case next to Octavia.

Octavia suddenly blushed like Vinyl had never seen before, and tried to answer while also apparently avoiding the yellow gaze as much as possible.

“Y...yes I do play the cello...but s...sir would you please not call me such a v...vulgar name?...”

The teacher looked at the girl in confusion. He apparently didn’t expect that type of answer. Vinyl hoped, for Octavia’s sake, that he wasn’t easily pissed off.

“Ooowwww ok you’re not the funny one here are you? You’d make quite the pair with our silent friend over there. Nevermind then, I’ll stop if that’s what you want.”

He was not.

“How the fuck can a teacher be that much of a jerk? Wait a minute, is Octavia blushing even harder, while looking at me?!”


}--oO0Oo--{


“No homework for tomorrow, but do not worry: that won’t last! Should take me about two days to remember all your names so be patient with me would you? Alright see you on Thursday!”

“Aaannnd he’s gone. That man is fast for his age, but that may be the least surprising thing about him”.

The class felt it lasted only half an hour. Despite his cynical behavior and his bad jokes, he actually was quite a interesting teacher. Vinyl always liked science, but this guy made it more lively.

“Anyway, lunchtime. Great, we’ll get to taste this place’s food. If they put as much money in the lunch as they do in the library, this sure will be nice.”

Vinyl grabbed her bag and took out a small notepad and a black pen. She was probably going to need this.

Micro Chips wasn’t having lunch with them: he had met some other nerdy guys and they were all grabbing a sandwich in the shop next street. That left only Vinyl and Lyra.

“Hey girl one of my new friends is having lunch with us, is that cool with you?”

“Or maybe not.”

Vinyl nodded. No problem, that’d be perfect. Maybe she would get along well with that new friend. If she was like Lyra, it’d sure be interesting. She moved her arms at Lyra to ask her what was this friend’s name. The mint-haired girl had been learning sign language for two years now, and she was really getting better.

“Oh yeah that’s Bon-Bon! Y’know the girl I told you about on the first day! She’s sooooo sweet, we are like, totally different, but we complete each other like crazy! She might even become my new best friend!” she laughed.

“Bitch.”

“Oh look, here she comes!”

Vinyl looked in the direction her friend was pointing, and she finally noticed who she assumed was Bon-bon.
Gosh.
How the hell did she get along with Lyra?

The girl walking towards them was the purest and cutest thing she saw all day. “I mean, nothing compared to Octavia, but not the same category at all...”

She had light yellow skin, cyan eyes, and long, curly, dark blue and pink hair. She almost looked like a doll, with her clear and smooth skin, her thin limbs and her frilly blue dress. If, one day, Lyra stepped into a dimension where everything was opposite, that was a pretty good idea of how she would look like.

“Oh shit Lyra wasn’t kidding when she said that they were different.”

“Bon-Bon! So happy to finally see you!” Lyra screamed “How was your morning?”

“Hey Lyra. It was...uneventful I guess… But my classmates all look pretty nice.” She smiled and paused for a moment. “Oh and you must be Vinyl! Nice to finally meet you! Lyra was talking a lot about you yesterday. I’ll do my best not to be awkward or anything with you… Here, that’s my phone number, I’ve been told that this is how you communicate. I’m Bon-Bon by the way, I’ve been here since my first year of high school, so if you need anything you just let me know okay?”

Now that was a nice person. Her voice, her behavior, everything about her was sweet.

“I wonder how long she’s gonna be able to stand Lyra…”

The three girls started walking towards the cafeteria, following the flow of famished students. On the way, while Lyra was calling her parents, Vinyl had the occasion to discuss with this new girl, favoring her notepad to communicate (using her phone to type while walking usually led to finishing face on the ground). Bon-Bon was currently living in her own apartment, with a roommate named Trixie Lulamoon. “Nice girl, but a bit… overwhelming”. However she was leaving in May, and Bon-Bon was currently looking for a new roommate.

“Bet that would interest Lyra”.

She also played the piano, and was greatly surprised to learn that Lyra lived up to her name and played the lyre.
“Yeah that’s not what you expected right?” Vinyl wrote “I didn’t believe when she first told me, it doesn’t really… suit her. But she’s talented as fuck!”
When Bon-Bon asked Vinyl if she played an instrument, she wasn’t really shocked by the answer.

“It’s not really my type of music but it suits you well I must say.”

Vinyl paused and took a quick glance in the hallway’s large mirror. Mixing did suit her well: apart from her electric blue hair and white skin, she was wearing her usual dark blue tank top under her white hoodie, as well as some light blue jeans and some white sneakers. She loved blue and white.

“Yup, I do have my own style.”

That made her realise how drastically different she looked compared to Octavia. Lyra and Bon-Bon could be twins compared to them.

“Don’t worry dude: if Lyra can get along with her exact opposite, you sure can!”

“Hey girls! Are you coming or what?!”

Lyra had reached the cafeteria entrance and was waving at them from afar (Translation: Hurry the fuck up I’m hungry!).

“We’re coming!” said Bon-Bon “Come on Vinyl, this place’s food isn’t bad, and Granny Smith, the old cook, is pretty nice. Let’s get in line.”

The place was already filled with people, but a few tables were still empty. Vinyl suddenly bumped into a skinny blonde girl who was walking in zig-zags.

“Oh my bad”, said a shy and clumsy voice, before leaving quickly.

“Wait”, thought Vinyl while looking at the girl’s tray, “Is this girl only eating muffins?”

Before she could ask, Lyra pushed her in direction of the pile of trays: “C’mon girl I’m hungry!”

Vinyl gave up and followed her two friends, picked up a tray and some cutleries, and started to move forward in the line. When she finally reached the displayed food, where she chose a simple piece of meat with some peppers.

“Want’some dessert with’at?”

Wow, now that was a countryside accent. The woman in front of her was probably this “Granny Smith”. She was a really old-looking lady, but also had an undeniable warmth in her eyes, as well as a solid and strong stature.
Vinyl pointed at a lemon tartlet. It should be ok for the old lady to understand, even without her notepad.

“Oh you ain’t no big talker right? My grandson’s also that type o’guy, don’tcha worry I’m used to it!”

She handed the pie to Vinyl, who waved at the old lady to say goodbye, and joined Lyra and Bon-Bon, who were waiting at the end of the line.

“C’mon dude, let’s find a table and eat!”

Vinyl and Bon-Bon both sighed, before following the mint-haired girl towards one of the remaining tables.
Once seated, Lyra immediately started devouring her pizza slice, almost like she hadn’t eaten for several weeks.
Vinyl took a look around the cafeteria, to realise that a bunch of small groups were formed around each table.

She wrote on her notepad: “What’s with all the groups of students?”

“Oh that?” said Bon-Bon, “It’s just the way we’re organised. At CHS, most of people are part of a group: the techies, the dramas, the eco-kids… You can see them as some sorts of associations. Some students here only judge you on your group, sadly, but that’s how things are. Don’t worry though, with our instruments, the three of us are basically all in the “musicians” group.”

“That’s….a way to do things I guess. Though I can’t help but think that things would be better without these associations…”

Suddenly, as Vinyl kept looking around, something got her attention:Octavia. The cellist was all alone, at an empty table in the corner of the room. That was truly the saddest thing in the world.

“Doesn’t she have any friends to have lunch with her?”

Vinyl made a few movements to Lyra to drag her attention away from her food.

“What? This girl? Octavia right? She’s in our class I think.”

“Wow you know sign language? And you too Lyra?” said Bon-Bon.

Vinyl nodded and continued to signal her friend:

“Well I don’t know why she’s eating alone.”

“...”

“Yeah if you want to invite her, go for it girl, but she looks kinda butthurt to me.”

Vinyl ignored this last comment and started walking in the girl’s direction.
Once she got next to her, still unnoticed, she pulled out a small paper and wrote:

“Hey, are you ok over there?”

The cellist almost jumped with surprise, and quickly turned her head towards the DJ, who saw not only surprise, but also some sort of fear in her eyes, as if the blue-haired girl was about to bully her.

“Wha...what do you want?”

Vinyl swiftly wrote: “I’m sorry girl I didn’t mean to scare you, just wondering if you wanted to join our table for lunch, you look quite lonely.”

Octavia suddenly looked confused, like she couldn’t believe someone actually came up to her to talk.

“I… I’m sorry but I’m quite alright… I enjoy being alone to eat my lunch…”

Even if she wanted to sound natural, anyone could tell that every single word she pronounced was painful for her.

“Come on, nobody digs being a loner, ‘specially for lunch!”

Octavia was now confused… “digs”? Was this peculiar girl sure of the words she was using? She certainly wasn’t the kind of people Octavia was used to see. On a second thought, she wasn’t used to see a lot of people.

“I’m not quite sure I understand…”

“Fuck she is shy, and lonely, and cute,...”

Vinyl wrote again: “Just come with us, it’ll be cool to talk with some people! You don’t look like you’re a big talker, but don’t worry, neither am I.”

Octavia felt weird reading this. She knew who this strange girl was of course, since she was in her class, and she knew that she was mute. Thanks to their physics teacher, she also remembered her name was Vinyl Scratch. But she never had a conversation with a person… like her. And now she wanted her to join her table? She gave a quick glance at the said table. Heavens! Three persons! Octavia hadn’t even talked to a single other student yet, and this blue-haired strange girl was already making her feel completely lost.

“I…. I don’t think that’s a good idea… You all look like you’re having a wonderful time and I wouldn’t want to interrupt in any way…”

“You won’t be interrupting anything girl” Vinyl wrote “C’mon!”

Before the cellist could ask why she was being called “girl”, the stranger grabbed her tray in one hand and her left wrist in the other, and started walking towards her own table.

“Wha...what are you doing? Let go of me at once!”

Vinyl kept walking and wondered. What was happening to her? This kind of approach wasn’t like her, but she couldn’t help it. This cellist made her feel weird, and for some reason she really wanted to be friend with her, or at least to know her better.
Once she reached the table, she put down the tray and invited Octavia to sit.

“Oh my!” said Bon-Bon while looking at Octavia in a half-concerned half-amused voice “Vinyl, don’t drag the poor thing against her will!”

Octavia looked truly terrified, like a small child who just got a snake put around his neck.

“Is this her first interaction with other human beings?”

“No...no harm done... “ said the cellist “But I’m more used to having lunch on my own…”

“Oh of course dear, you can leave anytime you want, we’re not here to force you!”

“I...I think I’m good. I’m just not used to meeting other people in such an uncommon way.”

“Hope this bitch didn’t scare you too much!” said Lyra with a smirk on her face “Even without saying a word she manages to be all over the place!”

“Of course Lyra had to say something like this. Why wouldn’t she?”

Octavia was shocked. Did this girl just use the b-word? And what was with their looks? Octavia knew her own wardrobe was not common for other people, but except for the yellow-skinned one next to her, they certainly had...strange choices of style.

“Oh n...not at all. Excuse my discourtesy, but I didn’t catch both of your names…”

“No prob’ girl, name’s Lyra, at your service!”

“And I’m Bon-Bon, nice to meet you. You’re Octavia right?”

Octavia blushed. These three girls already knew who she was? How much more did they know exactly? She never was gifted at sharing with strangers. She didn’t really know any strangers in fact.

“I am…” Octavia turned her head to Vinyl “Excuse me but...why did you come to me?”

Vinyl looked up from her peppers and wrote a few words:

“Honestly you looked pretty sad and all, I felt like meeting people would do you some good. Plus, you’re kinda cute.”

Octavia heavily blushed while reading this. The other two didn’t see the message, but… “cute”?
She looked down her tray and tried not to look the blue-haired girl in the eyes, but couldn’t help noticing a small detail.

Did she just wink at her?
> The Melody Manor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This lunch break had been one of the most stressful moments of Octavia’s life, for many reasons. On one hand, being pulled out of her lunch by a weird girl who managed to make her feel uncomfortable without a single word, as well as having to discuss with people she didn’t know obviously never happened to her, but on the other hand it was… kinda pleasant. Octavia never really had any friends, she wasn’t the type of girl who would come up to people and talk to them like Vinyl, but she wasn’t the type who’d take part in any kind of conversation either.
She had been raised to follow her mother’s career as the CEO of Harmonia Editions, a book editors company which had always been the greatest income source of her family. But neither of her parents cared about her feelings. Her sister was the family’s pride, the winner who’d know her father’s success as a master pianist. She had been sent to CHS for the economy classes, the high-quality education, but certainly not to make friends. Playing the cello was the only pleasure her parents had ever granted her, but she would never become the great pianist they wanted. She had accepted that a long time ago.
And now those three girls treated her like they knew each others for a while, like a friend? Should she tell her parents? No, they wouldn’t care about friends, but they would care about the blue hair, the ripped jeans, the language and the questionable music choices. Octavia herself didn’t know what to think about all of this. Was she getting herself into trouble? Should she really talk to those girls? Sure they seemed nice but her mother had always warned her about “dangerous” people…
Still, it was the first time somebody treated her like a real person, like a friend…

“Hey Octavia! Are you dreamin’ girl?”

She almost jumped in panic. She was walking down the hallway, alongside Vinyl, Lyra and Bon-Bon. The afternoon classes were starting in five minutes.

“I’m quite alright, thank you Lyra, just a bit lost in my thoughts…”

“You really have a weird way with words… Are you messing with us?” Lyra said, laughing.

“Um… I’m not certain I understand what you mean…”

Vinyl wrote a few words and gave them to the cellist: “Don’t mind her, she’s just playing dumb. Btw, what’s your cell number?”

Octavia wasn’t sure of the meaning of “btw”, but luckily she could still understand the question.

“Oh I… I don’t have a cellphone. My parents never thought I’d have use for it.”

“What?!” said Lyra and Bon-Bon.

“What?!” wrote Vinyl (but it was also written on her face), “How do you want us to keep contact? I can’t mail you everything I want to say!”

“That’d be pretty funny though” said Lyra.

“I guess I could use the landline…”

Octavia immediately blushed in extreme shame after realising what she had just said. She was such an idiot! Vinyl was a mute, she obviously wanted to text her, and not call her.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to say that! Please pardon my clumsiness!”

Vinyl reaction was quite the surprise for Vinyl. She almost fell on the ground, and some sort of strange expression formed on her face, while she was holding her belly. Octavia felt completely panicked until she saw Lyra’s reaction and understood that this was Vinyl’s way of laughing. While still on the floor, she made a few signs to Lyra, who translated to Octavia in an amused voice:

“Don’t worry ‘bout that! She gets that a lot and it makes laugh her ass off every time! Even if her laughing looks more like a dying animal gasping for air.”

Octavia was both relieved and astonished. How could someone take such a disrespectful comment so lightly? It definitely suited Vinyl but still…

“Anyway we’ll have to find a way to communicate with you when you’re away!” said Bon-Bon “Don’t worry we’ll figure something out.”

“Oh crap!” Lyra shouted “It’s time for the next class!”

Octavia suddenly got caught in a wind of panic. She had never been late in her entire life, what would her mother say if that happened on her second day?”

Lyra grabbed Vinyl to help her getting up, then the DJ took Octavia’s hand and the three of them started running while waving at Bon-Bon to say goodbye.

Octavia really, really didn’t understand these girls.


}--oO0Oo--{


The afternoon class was way less entertaining than the physics lesson. The history teacher, Mr. Doodle, was everything but motivating. Never happy, never angry, just bored and grumpy. After Mr. Discord, it was quite the shock.
Vinyl and Lyra were more than relieved after the end of the two hours. This first day of class was finally over. It was certainly eventful for them. They joined Octavia as she was packing her books, and Vinyl sit on the table and wrote:

“Soooo what are we gonna do concerning this phone issue?”

Octavia still didn’t understand how this was an issue: she never really had use for a cellphone before. Each time her parents wanted to talk to her, they sent a driver immediately to pick her up. Concerning the friends well… it wasn’t really useful either.

“I… I don’t quite know. My parents would never allow me to have such a device, especially for this kind of use…”

“This kind of use?? You mean making friends and keeping in touch?” asked Lyra.

Vinyl, apparently too surprised to write, signed to Lyra, who translated: “Your parents don’t seem like the fun type. Why wouldn’t they care about you making friends and all?”

Octavia paused on this question. No, her parents were definitely not “the fun type”, and boarding school didn’t strengthen their relationship.

“Well, not really… If they found out that I’ve been hanging with people of… different social status, I surely would be sent back to boarding school at once.”

Vinyl and Lyra laughed: “Different social status?” said the mint one “Ooookay your parents are that kind of guys! I mean, I was sure that you were rich and everything, but they sound like a fucking parody!”

“Oh I’m… I’m sorry! Did I offend you with this? I’m sorry!”

“No harm done girl” Vinyl wrote “It’s just not something we’re used to hear, and it’s definitely not something you should tell someone.”

Octavia was lost. eight years of boarding school weren’t the best scenario to learn how to communicate with other people. The few lessons she had were from her mother, who always taught her to spend time with people of her category. Obviously Octavia chose her words poorly with the two girls, but they didn’t seem to care at all.

“Oh my, excuse me but I’m supposed to leave as soon as the day ends.”

“No problem girl, if that’s what your butthurt parents want, I wouldn’t want to start any family drama!”

The cellist didn’t understand half of the words, but thanked the girls and said her goodbyes before leaving quickly.

“Wow, that’s it?” said Lyra “She must be really be scared by her parents… Or she doesn’t care about friends.”

Vinyl watched Octavia walking down the stairs, her gigantic cello case still on her back.

“I wonder what her life is like. Fuck, if I was this rich I wouldn’t stay alone. Guess that’s not her decision…”

“What do you think Vinyl?”

“...”

“Yeah she’s nice and cute and all, but don’t you think she looks down on us sometimes?”

“...”

“You’re right on that. She a total doll, innocent and stuff. If you want her to feel comfortable around us, it’s gonna take time. Especially with you dude.”

“She’s being a bitch, but she’s probably right. Despite my problem, I always managed to make new friends thanks to my style and music, but I feel like it’s not gonna be the same for Octavia…”


}--oO0Oo--{



Once in the street, Octavia exhaled for five long seconds: this eventful day was over. She felt both relief and anxiety. Meeting these three girls sure had been a good experience, but she didn’t expect it to be so much pressure. Being alone sure was depressing sometimes, but it never required anything from her, like a cellphone. How would she ever convince her mother to accept that? Vinyl, Lyra and Bon-Bon were really nice to her, which was rare from her fellow students, and even if she didn’t understand why postcards and landline were an issue (except for Vinyl), she truly desired to keep contact with them. They were her very first friends, after all.
She got on the bus, took a seat and waited as the blurry landscapes went by. The Melody Manor was far from downtown, and every morning she had to wake up early to be on time. But she had always enjoyed the bus trips: they were good breaks from the stress of the school and the boredom of her house.
When she finally reached her stop, there were only a few people left in the bus: a quiet grandma with her dog, two young boys laughing and a man crying in the back seats. Octavia got off, and after ten minutes of walking past the large parks and 19th century houses, she reached the iron gates of the manor.

The family house was huge, and the whole property even more. The two hundred years old manor had three floors, and was surrounded by four towers, whose shadows were stretching over the incredibly large park, decorated with fountains, statues and flowerbeds. On the sides were located the guest house, the gardening sheds and the swimming pool that nobody but her mother was using. This palace had been in Octavia’s family’s hands for generations, and her parent’s jobs were more than enough to keep it running. Even after sixteen years living there, the cellist still didn’t know all the ins and outs of this property. But it didn’t matter. She liked this place, but living with her family made it difficult to appreciate.
She typed the code for the gate, and waited as the two iron panels slowly opened, then proceeded to walk to the main entrance.
She pushed the heavy dark oak door, and entered the main hall. At this time of the day, her parents were still working, and her sister was attending her piano lessons. The hall was empty.

“Good afternoon Lady Melody! How are you my dear?”

Octavia was a bit surprised, but she was expecting to hear this voice. She turned around with a smile:

“Dana, I’ve already asked you to call me Octavia. I’m not my mother you know!”

“Oh, excuse me dear, but you’re a grown woman now! And you know I enjoy calling you like that. Reminds me of the times when your mother was the young lady of the house.”

Octavia had an amused giggle. Dana was the oldest maid of the property. She had been here for almost fifty years, and despite Octavia’s father not liking her, the rest of the family considered her part of the family. She had accompanied Octavia and her sister through their childhoods, and provided the youngest one with the love she didn’t often get from her parents. She lived on the third floor, and was the head of the house staff, as well as one of the only reasons Octavia came back home with a smile. She was old but strong, strict with the other maids but sweet with the children.

“How did your first day of school go? It must feel better to be out instead of trapped in a boarding school.”

“It went…. better than what I was expecting, I must say.”

“That’s fantastic dear! Did you meet anyone nice?”

Octavia paused for a second. If she told Dana about Vinyl and the others, would she inform her mother. She knew the maid you never try to put her in trouble, but she loved her mother as well, and would have to answer if asked.

“I… I think so… People seem very nice in Canterlot High. I’ve talked with a few people today.”

“That’s wonderful! I’m sure you’ll make a lot of friends very fast! Now go in the kitchen, I made a chocolate latte for you. Don’t tell your mother! I’ll bring your stuff in your room.”

Octavia’s face lit up with a big smile: “Oh thank you Dana, really! Don’t exhaust yourself with my bags, I’ll take them myself!”

“As you wish young lady. Alright, see you for dinner, enjoy your latte!”

The old maid left the hallway, leaving Octavia alone. The cellist quickly went for the treat in the kitchen, and drank with pleasure, enjoying every last drop of the sweet liquid.
After finishing the cup, she grabbed her bag and her cello case, and climbed the large stairs of the hallway to finally enter her room.

Octavia’s room was… unoriginal to say the least. It was pretty large, the walls decorated by beige stone arcades were themselves painted in dark grey.The floor was covered with several white modern rugs, and a large window surrounded by light grey curtains was giving view on the park. Most of the furniture was made of modern black particleboard, but an ancient oak mirror was placed in the corner. Octavia didn’t really like nor hated this room. She had spent very little time in here during these last years, but it had always been a quiet place where she could rest and think.

And right now, she really needed that.

A few hours later, she got downstairs to have dinner. Her parents weren’t here tonight, probably both having dinner with associates or friends, if they ever had any. Her sister wasn’t here either. Unusual. Dana told her that she didn’t know the reason. When Octavia asked the maid to have dinner with her, she was sad to learn that the old woman already ate, and needed to leave to check something with the rest of the staff.

Octavia spent this evening alone, like many others.
She ate her food, and found it a little salty.
She was crying.
> Cell phone and turntables
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The light was beaming through the window of the cellist’s room, landing on her gray silk sheets, and lighting the room with a nice yellow colour. The warmth of the sun woke Octavia, who instantly looked at her alarm clock: it was 7 am. Good. She wasn’t late, thank god. She slipped out of bed, her white pajamas feeling soft on her skin, as a small draught touched her cheek and made her chill. She opened her dresser, picked a slightly grayer skirt than the one she was wearing yesterday, as well as a plain white shirt and her purple bowtie. After taking off her night clothes, she put on her underwear, followed by her skirt and shirt, and by the rest of her usual outfit. 

Once this was done, she grabbed the bag she had prepared last evening, as well as her cello case. Bringing the latter yesterday was proven to be useless, but now that she had her complete schedule, she knew she had music class today, and she was excited about it, for many reasons. First, she would finally be able to play the cello at school, in a slightly more… relaxing place than the manor. Then, she would most likely hear the three other girls playing their instruments. If she remembered well, Lyra was playing the lyre, Bon-Bon the piano, and Vinyl.... well she had yet to understand what Vinyl’s instrument consisted of. She had no idea what a “DJ” was, but according to Bon-Bon, it was related to music somehow.

Octavia got out of her room, and started walking through the old hallway of the southeast wing. In the morning light, the manor was actually quite beautiful. The dim light was passing through the thin curtains, illuminating the red shades of the carpet. Octavia reached the large stone stairs, and came down to arrive in the main hall. She then headed towards the kitchen where a small breakfast, consisting of an orange juice and a toast with cherry marmelade, was waiting for her. Dana made these for her every morning, before leaving to take care of her other duties. Now that Octavia wasn’t in boarding school anymore, she was more than happy to enjoy this little daily treat.

At exactly 7:30, the driver silently entered the hall, waiting for his bosses daughter, his hands jointed in his back, no emotion appearing on his face.
Octavia joined him, as he held the door of the manor, followed the the car’s. Her mother decided that, for the beginning of the year at least, Octavia should be brought at school by car, to avoid obnoxious bus schedules. Moreover, she wanted to have someone to blame in case Octavia was late, but it hadn’t happened yet.

The man drove silently for about forty minutes, before stopping in front of Canterlot High School. The classes were starting at 8:30, and there weren’t many people around yet. The other students were more like Vinyl, and arrived only five minutes before the bell rang. Probably better this way. Octavia didn’t know much about other people’s habits, but she guessed that having her own driver bringing her to school was unusual.

“Have a good day!”

The driver only nodded with a shade of a smile, and the car disappeared around the corner.

“Wow girl, how can you have your own personal driver and shit, but no phone? You have to rearrange your priorities, Tavi!”

Octavia turned around in surprise. It was Lyra, followed by Vinyl, both looking at the cellist in amazement. She should have seen that coming.
Wait, what did Lyra just call her?

“Oh Hello Lyra, Hello Vinyl, how are the two of you doing?”

Vinyl signed Lyra to answer Octavia’s greetings.

“Good! Finally we’re gonna have serious business! Music classes! I’ve been waiting so fucking long for these, and so has Vinyl!”

Blushing while listening to the mint-skinned girl’s language, Octavia asked another question:

“Hum, Lyra… if I may ask, what was that strange nickname you pronounced a few moments ago?”

“What? Ah, Tavi! You like it? It’s Vinyl’s idea, she thought it was a nice lil’ nickname to give you! I’ve to say it’s pretty cute.”

Octavia’s cheeks suddenly tinged in a deep pink: “Hum… I… I couldn’t possibly get used to that. Isn’t “Octavia” good enough? I don’t think such a nickname is appropriate.”

“Whoooo chill girl!” Vinyl wrote on her notepad “It’s just a cute nickname, and I think it suits you well!”

Octavia sure wasn’t used to that kind of compliments, nor did she ever get a nickname, even from her family.
She wasn’t used to getting gifts either, that’s why she was more than surprised to see a small package handed to her by Vinyl, as well as a small message attached to it: “It’s not much, one of my old ones, but I bought a small SD and a SIM card! Hope you don’t hate it <3”

Before she could ask what any of this meant, she was urged by the two girls to open the small box. Her curiosity taking over, she took off the small pieces of transparent tape and lifted the black cardboard cover, to discover a small piece of blue plastic, decorated with a little screen and some digits.

“Oh… Oh my! Is that?... Is this…?”

“Yup girl, your own cell phone!” Lyra announced, smiling “I mean, it’s one of Vinyl’s crappy old phones, but eh, better than nothing am I right?”

Octavia was almost as speechless as Vinyl. She got her a phone? Like this? No questions asked, after just one lunch and a few minutes of conversation?Weren’t these expensive? She guessed this one probably didn’t cost that much, but still, she had never held a cell phone before, and this girl she barely knew just offered one to her?

“Oh… Vinyl… I… I couldn’t possibly accept such a present. This is too much, and you probably need it for yourself!”

The DJ made a few signs for Lyra to translate:

“She said she has a better one now. Her job pays pretty well. And she says not to worry, that you’ll need it.”

Before Octavia could say anything, Vinyl handled her a small piece of paper: “Hey, I’ve put my cell number, along with Lyra’s and Bon-Bon’s in the phone, your own number can be found in the phone settings!”

Octavia had really basic knowledge of how this thing worked, since the house landline kinda looked like a cell phone, but she was still shocked with disbelief, shocked by the generosity these girls, especially Vinyl, were showing towards her, who probably wasn’t deserving such kindness.

“But… But what would my parents say about this? I am not allowed to have a device like this one, there must be a reason!”

“Your parents don’t really have to know about this, do they?” said Lyra with a smile “They probably won’t mind, will they? And if they’re as butthurt as you describe, you can always hide it. A phone is pretty easy to stash.”

Octavia was struck with terror. Lie to her parents? Hide something from them? She had never done such a crime in her entire life, and was incapable of lying. Though she had never tried. That made her start to wonder about her relationship with Vinyl and the others: was it really a good idea, or was it toxic for her? If they encouraged her to hide things from her parents, who knows what they could try to make her do in the future?

“I appreciate your kindness, I really do, there are no words that could describe it, but I can’t accept this. I’d hate having so much responsibility, especially if it’s your phone, Vinyl.”

“It’s yours now Tavi, not mine” Vinyl wrote “Oh before I forgot…”

As Octavia was reading this, the blue-haired girl searched in her bag before handling her a black charger.

“It’s great!” said Lyra with a big smile on her face “We’re finally gonna be able to talk with you! I mean, text with you…” she said while looking at Vinyl with a smirk.

“I’d love to, but what are we supposed to talk about, that we cannot say in person?”

Lyra and Vinyl both bursted into laughter, one loudly and the one still looking and sounding like she was gasping for air. Lyra wiped a tear from her eye:

“I dunno dude, whatever we want! That’s the fucking point! Like, we want to hang out, we just call you!”

“I’m sorry… “hang out”??”

Octavia saw Vinyl face, both amused and moved, like she was in front of a little kitty. She didn’t know anything about normal people’s life, did she?

“You know, go watch a movie, have lunch in the park, go in a strip club, that kind of stuff!”

As Vinyl punched Lyra in the shoulder, Octavia blushed even deeper. She didn’t know what this kind of establishment was, but she could easily figure. Lyra really didn’t have any taboos.”

“I never really… hung out with anyone before…”

Vinyl suddenly put her arm around Octavia’s neck, her left hand resting on the blushing cellist’s shoulder while her right hand was writing a few words:

“Well, Tavi, this is about to change! Starting today, we’re helping you discovering true life!”



}--oO0Oo--{



The music room was packed with people. Octavia wouldn’t have guessed there were so many students in CHS who played instruments. Amongst them were some faces she recognized: Vinyl, Lyra and Bon-Bon of course, but also that rainbow-haired girl she had seen around a few times, a yellow-skinned guy with blue hair and his friend who was wearing blue sunglasses, matching with his 80’s mustache.

“Good morning students, I’m glad you chose to pursue the music classes this year!” said a tall, purple-skinned and blue-haired man, his right hand laying on a gigantic golden harp “I am Mr. Nandermane, and I’ll be your music class supervisor for this year! Yes, I know, I said “supervisor”: I am technically not a teacher, except if you want to learn about tablatures or, more specifically, harp. In fact, these two hours per week are more “practicing your talent” than strictly speaking courses. Everyone here has something to bring in order to make this year the most interesting possible!”

This man sure was motivated, and so was Octavia. She could finally feel the pleasure of playing the cello, of feeling the movement of the bow against the strings, of doing something she liked to do.
But for the moment, she was too concentrated on Vinyl’s instrument. She didn’t know what it was yet, but had no idea of what it could be: it was still in her bag, and had an obvious rectangular shape… Was it a xylophone? No, that wouldn’t be Vinyl’s style… A small synthesizer maybe? That would be more likely. She didn’t want to urge her, so she just waited as everyone started getting their instruments of of their bags, and dispersed around the room. When Vinyl finally opened her backpack, she got out the strangest object Octavia had ever seen.

Vinyl noticed the confused look on the cellist’s face, laid down the object, and wrote with an amused grin on her face:

“What? You’ve never seen turntables before?”

Turntables? What in the world were these? Vinyl’s strange instrument looked like a mashup between a keyboard and two gramophone black disc plates, everything placed on a thick metal rectangle. What sort of sound was supposed to come out of this? Octavia didn’t know a lot about technology, but this was completely beyond her understanding.

“I can’t say I have, Vinyl… What in the heavens is this instrument? I have a fair amount of knowledge on music, but it’s the first time I see something of the sort…”

Suddenly, Vinyl’s face brightened, as if she just remembered something. She put down her notepad and pulled out her phone from her jeans, before typing at an incredible speed, even faster than her writing. Octavia then heard a short buzzing sound coming from inside her bag, and realized that Vinyl had just sent her her very first text message. It took her a few seconds to navigate through all the menus and options, using the dramatically small buttons, before the message appeared on screen:

“Heeeyyyy Tavi! See? Told u it’d be faster with a phone! :) So, you’ve never seen turntables right? Shame, but I cant say it surprises me. These arent music instruments per say, they are more like computers: I’m a DJ u know?”

Wow. Octavia barely understood anything in this text, but she had one major question:

“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I understand: what is a “deed-jay”?”

If Vinyl could scream, all the glass items in CHS probably would have exploded at this moment. Vinyl’s faced was split between disbelief and deep horror, as she looked at the cellist with wide eyes. She then sent another, small text:

“Just follow me.”

Octavia started walking behind Vinyl as she was heading toward what looked like some sort of computer. Once arrived, Vinyl sat on the ground, plugged a few cables into her strange instrument, then plugged some black headphones she took from her bag, and started turning dials, pushing buttons, and moving the two black circles, in a way Octavia had never seen, with both her hands and a concentrated look on her face.
After about five minutes of enigmatic manipulations, Vinyl, who still hadn’t said a word, just handled the headphones to Octavia, along with a brief note:

“Try this.”

Octavia had never put headphones before, but she had seen enough people wearing those to know how she was supposed to. She placed them on her head, and Vinyl pressed a small black button.
> Teachers of Canterlot High
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as Vinyl pressed the button, Octavia knew that she just made a terrible mistake. She didn’t know why, just something inside of her that felt like things were about to get… complicated.
And things did get complicated.
Especially for her eardrums.

All of a sudden, an absurd amount of decibels flew into her ears, without any warning, shattering every fragment of the cellist’s mind on its way. The sound coming out of the black headphones was beyond any description: a violent mix of cars crashing, metal objects falling on the ground, and electric short-circuits. If Purgatory had elevator music, this was a good idea of what it would sound like. Octavia had never heard such a thing in her entire life, but right now she couldn’t think about this. She was too busy protecting her brain from possible implosion. She had lost control over her arms, making it impossible to take the headphones off her head.
Suddenly she felt like she was losing power in her legs as well, and would have collapsed on the ground if it wasn’t for Vinyl. Seeing the terrified expression on her friend’s face, the DJ grabbed her under her arms and swiftly took back the instruments of chaos she had placed on Octavia’s face.

If ears could gasp for air, Octavia’s most certainly would have. Being free of the headphone’s grip, she felt like she just landed on Earth after a long journey in space.

“V… Vinyl… What just happened?”

“Well, you just got introduced to my music girl! Dubstep, Tavi. Tavi, Dubstep.” the DJ wrote, Octavia probably unable to use her phone.

“D… Dub-step? What in the heavens does that mean?”

“Y’know it’s a music type..” Vinyl wrote “Like Rock or Classical.”

This was her music?? This was music? Octavia certainly expected something different, after seeing her friend’s instrument, but nothing in the world could have prepared her for what had just happened. The cellist massaged her temples, her ears still suffering from the sonic wave she had just experienced. How could any object or entity in the entire world could produce such a… music?

“Oh, it’s very… interesting Vinyl, I for sure wasn’t expecting this kind of experience.”

The DJ took out her phone and started typing again: “Hey it’s okay, you don’t like it, I get it Tavi, I wasn’t really expecting you to. I mean, you play cello, you have rich parents, a driver and all, not really the dubstep or electro type.”

“It’s not that I don’t like it Vinyl… I guess I just don’t understand how you came to study this kind of music… or how it works…”

Vinyl let out a smile, and invited Octavia to come look at her strange machine. It was an astounding mix of buttons, dials, LEDs and cables. While her left hand was laid on one of the two black plates, her right hand kept texting:

“I’m self taught. And this basically works like a computer. You start from nothing, and you add different sounds little by little to create awesomeness!”

Awesomeness… Octavia guessed that Vinyl and her had differents standards of quality. Her friend’s work wasn’t “bad”, but she had no idea what was good or bad when talking about this kind of music. Was that what the other students liked? They all seemed pretty cheerful about Vinyl being a “DJ”, so she guessed that she was the only one who didn’t like it… Was this going to be another barrier between her and her friends?

“I… I hope the fact that I am not particularly fond of your work won’t be an issue… I’m truly sorry that my tastes aren’t what you expected.”

As she heard the small buzzing sound, she looked at her blue screen:

“What are you talkin about Tavi? Of course I dont care! You dont like it, no biggie!”

The cellist still had trouble with the text messages and with her new nickname, but she was more than relieved to read these words. Her parents had always judged her on her musical performances, she was glad to see that Vinyl didn’t.

“Heyyy! What are you girls up to?!”

Octavia let a small scream as two hands suddenly laid on her shoulders. She turned around, blushing, to face Lyra and Bon-Bon.

“Wow chill out Tavi! Did Vinyl’s music traumatize you that much? I mean, not that I’m surprised!”

Vinyl made a few unfriendly-looking signs to Lyra, as Bon-Bon sat in front of Octavia:

“Tavi, right? I think it suits you well! But if you don’t like it, I can tell them to stop.”

“Oh not at all, thank you Bon-Bon, how are you today?”

“You know, just having fun. I was showing Lyra some of my piano skills. You ever played it?”

“Um… well, I tried, but my sister was already almost mastering it when I started, and my parents told me that she was going to be the one following my father’s career…”

“Uh, the more I hear about your parents, the less I want to actually meet them… Well, anyway! Lyra was about to show me her skills at the lyre! Wanna come?”

“Sure!” said Octavia “I actually quite enjoy the sound of the lyre, it’s so calm and resting…”

“Yeah not really like Lyra, right?” the pianist commented with a smile “Hey Lyra! When do we get this music demonstration?!”

“Coming at ya!”

“...”

“Yeah Vinyl” Lyra said “I’m gonna show’em my skills!”

“...”

“Fuck you, she’s gonna appreciate my music at least!”

As the DJ was furiously signing at her, Lyra grabbed the lyre she had put on one of the two giant speakers, grabbed a folding stool that was lying around, sat and crossed her legs in a very feminine pose, which didn’t match at all with her tomboyish attitude (but neither did playing the lyre anyways). Without pronouncing a single word, she started to caress the thin strings, closing her eyes as an expression of deep serenity formed on her face. The notes began to resonate in the room, gently arriving into Octavia’s ears, flowing in the air as the mint-haired girl was humming a ballad. Octavia had very rarely heard lyre before, but in her opinion, this was truly beautiful. A sentiment of tranquility flew threw her, and for a brief moment, she forgot everything: her parents, the manor, Vinyl’s music, people around her,... Everything was gone, replaced by the flow of sound, making its way into her spirit.
As Octavia reopened her eyes, she realized that everybody in the room had gone quiet, listening to Lyra’s notes.
Vinyl gave her a small paper with a smile on her face:

“Cool right? You’ll notice this is the only moment when Lyra shuts up.”

Despite Vinyl’s mockery, Octavia could see that her friend was also very admirative of Lyra’s talent.
After five minutes of playing, when the lyre’s strings finally stopped moving, everyone started to applause, as Octavia, Lyra, Bon-Bon and Vinyl exchanged large smiles.



}--oO0Oo--{



Even if she didn’t like to admit it, Vinyl was impressed by Lyra’s performance. That bitch really did have a gift. String instruments never were Vinyl’s thing (but on the other hand, neither were drums or aerophones), but she recognized a sweet melody when she heard one, and this was really good.
Bon-Bon had left early to be on time for her P.E class. Now she was wandering in the hallways with Tavi and Lyra, looking for the biology rooms. The class was starting in ten minutes, time which Lyra mainly used to remind the DJ that “Octavia liked her music better”. Jeez. She was right, but still. Even though she was expecting that, Vinyl felt kinda disappointed by her friend’s first reaction to dubstep. She didn’t know why: how could a girl like Octavia could even remotely dig this kind of sound? The cellist didn’t seem angry at her at all!
So why was she worried?

The three of them eventually reached the right room. Most of their comrades were already here, and others were choosing their seats. The only place where they could find three stools side by side was the front row. Great. Hopefully the teacher won’t be as boring as the guy from history class.

“To all of you, good morning! Are you ready to start learning?”

“And there is the teach- Woooooooooooooo……….”

The woman entering the room was… special to say the very, very least. Grey skin, blue eyes, extremely tall, she was wearing a zebra-style tube dress under her white lab coat. Golden bangle bracelets were decorating both her wrists, matching rings were piercing her ears, and dzilla necklaces were placed around her neck. On top of all that, her hair were cut in a mohawk style, almost shaved on the sides, and leaving a single lock of hair hanging before her forehead.
And she thought the two principal’s styles were weird. That teacher almost beat Mr. Discord on style.

“Good. Great year in perspective.”

“Professor Zecora is my name, in Canterlot High I’m glad you came.”

“Wait…”

“I have the honor to teach biology, to educate you I make my priority!”

“Wait! Is this woman speaking in rhymes? Where in the fuck did this school pick its teachers?! First Discord, then her? How could this get weirder?!”



}--oO0Oo--{



“Good afternoon boys and girls, I’m your P.E teacher, Mr. Sombra.”

“Oh.”



}--oO0Oo--{


Vinyl needed to pause her mind for a few seconds. The biology class had been a pain, not because of the program, which was pretty normal, but because of the teacher’s obnoxious way of speaking. Sure, she seemed like a nice person and all, but the blue-haired girl hadn’t plan on living in a fucking poem for the whole biology year.
The lunch had passed quickly, Octavia finally sat with them for the whole meal, and the three girls mainly talked/wrote about their new teacher’s special habit, which gave Bon-Bon a good laugh.
Now they were in CHS’s gymnasium, all seating on the floor, legs crossed, listening to their new teacher introducing himself and oh boy, was this gonna be interesting.

“Now let’s make something crystal clear right away students: in my class, you won’t chill out, you won’t relax or lean against a wall to take a break every five minutes! We only have two hours per week, I intend on using them! And believe me, we’re gonna use them!”

Cool. Perfect. An over-motivated, sadistic sport teacher. Discord was random, Nandermane didn’t give a shit, Zecora was confusing, and now they had this.
This guy was a monster: tall, not taller than Discord, but larger. His enormous quantity of muscle was covered by a plain white shirt, black track pants and matching running shoes. His skin was dark grey, and his hair had a deep obsidian color. To complete it all, his eyes were carmine red, like two drops of blood, staring at every student like a predator looking for a prey. Vinyl wasn’t easily scared, but this man wasn’t reassuring. At all.

“Ok class, you have fifteen minutes to get changed. Left door boys, right door girls. After that, lemme tell you that we are not going to sit and discover the year program: we will start serious business! You’ll discover the program along the way! Now go! Fifteen minutes starting now!”

“Oh boy this is gonna be good…” said Lyra as everyone got up and started walking towards the two doors “All I needed was a psychotic macho to drain every energy from me for two straight hours! But hey, heads up Vinyl! We’ll get to see some interesting stuff in the locker room, right?!”

“What the absolute goddam shit Lyra?! I know you like to mess with me, but we’re in the middle of like, thirty people!”

Vinyl threateningly signed at her friend to let her know what she thought of her comments.

“Hey chill out girl! I stop if that’s what you want, but don’t say you’d complain!”

Ignoring Lyra’s mocking, the DJ turned to Octavia. The young girl was looking truly frightened: Vinyl didn’t know if it was because of the teacher, the fact that she probably never had an intense physical activity in her life, or the perspective of being in a locker room with the rest of the girls. Probably all of the above. That was kinda cute.
The girls entered the room filled with blue metal lockers and beige benches. CHS had a big proportion of girls in their students: out of the thirty students in Vinyl’s class, eighteen or so were girls. The locker room was filled with conversations, Pinkie Pie’s voice covering most of the sound.

“Hey Vinyl!”

Talking about the devil.

“I’m throwing a big “beginning of school year” party at my place this weekend! Wouldn’t it be super-duper awesome if you were the one taking care of the music! I’ve heard great things from this Techie guy!”

This was unexpected. Already, someone was asking for her skills in a party? It wasn’t rare, but people usually waited to know her better before making this kind of demand. Although considering Pinkie Pie’s personality, or at least what the DJ had seen of it, it wasn’t really surprising.
Vinyl took out her phone. She had registered all of the names and cell numbers people gave her on the first day, and quickly found the one she was looking for.

“Well why not! :)” she texted “Just a question tho: do u think i could bring along 2-3 friends?”

“Who? Lyra, Octavia and Bon-Bon? Don’t worry about that! They’re all invited!”

Oh.

“Ok then, I’ll bring my stuff at ur place, send me the adress. I’ll talk to Micro Chips for the speakers ^^”

“Cooooooool!!! This is gonna be so much fun!!” the party planner shouted “Ok I’m going to talk to Trixie for the magic show, see you around Vinyl!”

And, like last time, she disappeared. It was cool of Pinkie to invite the others, Lyra and Bon-Bon sure would have fun.

“And Octavia well… let’s just hope her parents won’t be too much trouble.”

Speaking of Octavia, she was apparently in a difficult situation: most of the girls were already getting undressed without any problem, but the cellist was standing still in a corner, blushing as hard as one could, trying her best to look away from the naked skins of her fellow students. The scene was almost funny, if it wasn’t for the fact that if she wasn’t ready in ten minutes, her first impression to Mr. Sombra wasn’t going to be very positive.
As Vinyl was taking off her hoodie and tank top, she decided to come to her friend, still stuck in a corner.
As Octavia saw the blue-haired girl coming towards her, she turned her head in the opposite direction, and begged in an ashamed voice:

“P… Please Vinyl, cover yourself, I… I can’t look at you in this outfit!”

Vinyl took the small notepad out of her pocket, removed her pen’s cap, and wrote in amusement:

“Hey Tavi, you need to chill girl! You’ve never seen other girls wearing nothing but bras before? I thought you were in boarding school or something… Wouldn’t that be the kind of place where you get to… know each others better?”

“V… Vinyl! I don’t understand your insinuations! This… is way too vulgar, I couldn’t possibly expose myself this way!”

Vinyl smirked and wrote: “Yeah ok. But you know, you’re not bad…”

“Excuse me?”

“What I’m trying to say in your own innocent way is that there are girls here who just wished they had boobs as big as yours.”

Vinyl wasn’t a painter: she didn’t know all the possibles shades of red. But if she had to pick the one corresponding to “most embarrassed ever”, that would be a good way to describe Octavia’s face right now. The cellist didn’t say a word, but stopped looking at Vinyl altogether, turning her body to face the blue wall.

“Shit, did I go too far? Nah, she’s just being herself, such a cute doll.”

Vinyl grabbed the blue fluffy towel she had brought, and handed it to Octavia along with another note:

“Here. Use this to cover yourself and change. But seriously Tavi, you’ll have to be a tad more open-minded about… these sort of stuff.”

Octavia took the towel without a word, using it to clumsily change into her sport outfit: grey running pants and white shirt and shoes.
As she gave the towel back to Vinyl, the DJ heard a whisper:

“Thanks, Vinyl.”
> Tears and concern
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Octavia was finally done, the three girls got out of the locker room. Thirty seconds later, the P.E teacher yelled a deep and loud:

"Time's up kids! Everybody here?"

"..."

"Ok let's take that as a "yes"! Now we're gonna start with a light warm-up: everybody run ten laps!"

"What?!"

"What?!" Lyra exclaimed.

The enormous man suddenly got closer, looking the girl straight into the eyes, while his own pupils were almost glowing red.
For the first time in her life, Vinyl was truly scared for her friend. This guy didn't seem like he liked to joke around.

"You got a problem with that, missie? If you don't feel like it, you can pack your things and go. I don't want any wimps in my class. Of course you'll get an F but hey, your choice..."

Lyra's face went from green to white in an instant. She wasn't easily scared, especially not by other people, but at this very moment, her life was most likely threatened. She swallowed and breathed silently without saying a single word, the teacher's red eyes still fixed on her.

"Nothing? Good." he said, getting back in the middle of the students "Now let's get it started!"

The teenagers weren't sure what to think about what just happened but each and every one of them, including Vinyl, knew that it was no time to wonder. Everyone started running in one big group, with Mr. Sombra leading the charge, moving way faster than most of the class.
After five or six laps, Vinyl stopped thinking about the most likely imminent death that was waiting for her in case she stopped, and looked behind her to see Octavia having the hardest time of her life.
The cellist was panting like it was the first time she had to run in her life (which on a second thought, probably wasn't entirely false), sweating while her eyes were starting to water. Concerning Lyra, she was in better shape, but still concerned about both her friend and the fact that they still had four laps remaining.
Then a miracle happened. Half a miracle at least.
The teacher, still running and watching as his entire class was on the borderline of collapsing, stopped his run and yelled as loud as he could:

"Well well, looks like you kids aren't used to doing any kind of physical activity! How can you expect to meet my standards if you can't achieve a few laps?! Everybody stops!"

He didn't need to repeat himself: almost every single student fell on the ground, sweating and panting from the effort.

"Would you look at this mess! Believe me kids, starting next week, everybody who doesn't want to be excluded from this class will have to do these laps!"

"Did this guy just show a shred of compassion? That was unexpected..."

"Okay now everyone who did less than seven of the ten laps do twenty push-ups, move it!"

Half a miracle.

"What is this guy's fucking problem?! Does he judge the quality of his class by the number of deaths?"

Vinyl saw Lyra opening her mouth to protest, but quickly shutting it after remembering what happened a few minutes ago.
About half of the students in the room got on their hands and feet, starting their push-ups, some faster than others.
And by "others", the DJ meant Octavia. She was looking around her, observing how to perform this strange exercise she had never seen before. When she finally tried, Vinyl saw in her eyes that it was too much.

Octavia collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily, her head shaking from the fatigue and her pulse going crazy.
If Vinyl could have screamed, she would have done so while running toward Octavia, still almost unconscious on the concrete floor.

"Shit, shit Tavi! Don't do this to me! All of this because of that motherfucker over there!"

The said motherfucker came near the two girls, as the rest of the class had stopped moving, except for Lyra who was now on Octavia's side as well. He looked at the girl on the ground, then at Vinyl and Lyra, shouting:

"What the hell is up with her? Never done any push-ups before? It takes a certain level of weakness to be that bad!"

Vinyl couldn't take it anymore. She started to furiously sign at the teacher, while refraining from crying.
It took Lyra a few seconds to realise that her friend was expecting her to translate, which she gladly did with all the emotions implied:

"Are you crazy?! Don't you see she's almost unconscious? We need to bring her to the infirmary right now!"

The man's eyes widened, before glowing even more threatening:

"And who the fuck are you to tell me what to do kid?! If she can't do a few laps and push-ups, it's none of my business!!" He then turned to Vinyl "And you! What in the hell are these things you're doing? You think I'm feeling threatened? Don't make me laugh!"

"Asshole..."

"..."

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Answer me kid! Or are you not as tough as you pretend? You both are the kind who don't know when to shut your mouths right?"

Vinyl was almost breaking into tears. Not with sadness, but with rage: how could someone behave like that? How was he a teacher? Octavia needed help! And he was just standing there making fun of her?!

"What, you're not saying anything? Done protecting your friend? Or maybe you're too much of a coward to speak without someone to assist you?" His eyes were almost trembling with wrath, and maybe some sort of sadistic excitement as well.

As she was trembling with fear and anger, Vinyl took out her notepad and pen, and clumsily wrote a few lines:

“I’m bringing Octavia to the infirmary, if that’s an issue for you, do whatever you want, make fun of me, of my condition, but don’t expect me to listen without doing anything.”

“...What? You can’t talk? For real? Now that’s funny! How can you possibly be such a pain in the ass?!”

Vinyl ignored the teacher’s comment, signed Lyra, and the two of them grabbed Octavia under her arms. Luckily, the infirmary wasn’t far from here. As they walked away from the P.E teacher and the rest of the class, they could hear admirative whispers amongst the students, quickly interrupted by Sombra:

“Don’t think this is over! You think you can just walk away from my class?!”



}--oO0Oo--{


Vinyl was crying. Octavia had now been unconscious for ten minutes. When the three girls finally reached the infirmary, a sweet and light voice answered their knocks:

“Yes, come in!”

As Lyra and Vinyl dragged Octavia into the room, the latter had a quick look at the school nurse: she was a small, thin woman of undefined age, her light pink hair and white skin giving her a younger look. Her blue eyes were warm and reassuring, and her vintage nurse outfit gave her a really comforting vibe. Lyra didn’t let Vinyl waste time writing, and spoke first:

“We kinda have an issue with one of our friends, Miss…”

“Redheart, nice to meet you. Oh my! Is she okay?! Here, put her on the sofa over there! What happened?”

“It’s crazy!” Lyra exclaimed as the woman took Octavia’s pulse and tension, “Our P.E teacher, Mr. Sombra, forced us to do some crazy exercise, and Octavia fell down on the floor at one point! He didn’t even allow us to bring her here!”

“Oh my… Mr. Sombra again?... It’s not the first time I receive students from his classes, but this girl here is alright. Too much effort as you were probably thinking. She’ll have to rest for a couple of hours, you can stay here with her if you want, I’ll give her parents a call.”

Vinyl suddenly stood up and shook her head while crossing her arms in a “no” sign.

“Oh you must be Vinyl. Ms. Cheerilee told me about you, great job being able to cope with all these difficulties. Why are you shaking your head like that?”

“I don’t think calling Octavia’s parents would be such a good idea” said Lyra “Judging from what she told us, they’d probably sue the school or something. They’re not really the forgiving type.”

“Oh I see…” the nurse sighed as she was putting down her phone “Well I can’t just keep this information. I’ll give a call to Principal Celestia, and if your friend doesn’t wake up in the next two hours, we’ll send her home, okay?”

“Okay, thanks!” Lyra smiled.

Vinyl collapsed on her chair, both tired and shocked. How did any of this happen? Why was she still here and not calling the cops or something? Did he have the right to treat them like this?
And most importantly, was Octavia alright? Vinyl had never felt this concerned since… a long time ago. Sure, Octavia just needed some sleep, but the blue-haired girl couldn’t help but feel a lump in her throat, as tears were slowly rolling down her white cheeks. Suddenly she felt a friendly arm on her shoulder, and Lyra’s chin laid on her back as she gave Vinyl a hug.

“Don’t worry girl… She’s gonna be alright…”

Was she? Vinyl couldn’t tell, she couldn’t tell anything at the moment. This girl she met barely three days ago was suddenly more important to her than any other thing, including the fact that the two girls didn’t know how they could ever show up to P.E class again.
Vinyl looked at the sleeping girl’s face: she was calm, like she had been needing this. Her eyelids were slightly trembling, and her breath was making light sounds that felt like a lullaby for Vinyl. She could not abandon Octavia, she would not. Her friend needed her and honestly, she needed her friend as well. What kind of friend would she be anyway, if she just let Octavia rest here with the nurse?

“Hey dude you… you wanna talk about something?”

Vinyl looked at Lyra. She knew what her friend meant, but did she really want to talk about it here and now?
The DJ stayed silent, leaving her friend waiting for an answer.

“Ok no prob girl… If we’re gonna stay here for some time, I’ll go get something to eat, you want me to choose a snack for you?”

Vinyl nodded, still looking at Octavia’s face as Lyra left the infirmary. The nurse was in the back room, leaving only the two girls together.

“Octavia looks so peaceful… No one would believe what just happened by looking at her… I guess she really did need some time away from her own life…”

She looked at the cellist’s sleeping face, and a slight smiled appeared on her mouth.

“For the first time ever you look more relaxed than me, and it’s in a moment like this... I wonder what your life is like, Tavi…”



}--oO0Oo--{




Before she even opened her eyes, Octavia felt a slight headache, as well as a few cramps in her legs. Was she on a couch? What in the heavens happened? She remembered falling on the floor of the gymnasium, hearing the angry yelling of Mr. Sombra and Lyra… and then… she didn’t have the faintest idea. She took a deep breath, and finally decided to open her eyes.
She was indeed on a couch, in a corner of a grey and white room, filled with shelves and metal closets. Was this the school’s infirmary? Her sight was blurry but after a few seconds she noticed two other students in the room: Lyra was sitting on a chair, eating a sandwich and listening to music, and Vinyl was sitting next to her, with a large smile on her face.
Without any warning, the blue-haired girl suddenly hugged her, almost to the point of hurting her arms and chest.
Octavia had no idea why her friend was showing so much affection, until she realized that Vinyl was crying.

“V… Vinyl, what’s the matter? Why are we here?”

“Oh you’re awake!” Lyra exclaimed “Finally! We were worried as fuck, especially Vinyl!”

“Lyra, what happened to me?” the cellist asked while still being embraced by her friend “Is there a problem with Vinyl?”

“There was a problem with you girl! Y’know, the part where you fell unconscious during P.E class? This asshole of a teacher yelled at us and made fun of Vinyl, so we left the gymnasium to bring you here, in the infirmary. Concerning Vinyl, I’ve never seen her like this in my life, she’s been watching over you for the last hour and a half, as if you were dying or something.”

Octavia remembered the P.E class and their horrible teacher. She had never met such a rude and despicable person in her life. And he mocked Vinyl when she was trying to help her? That couldn’t be right.

“You can thank Vinyl! This dumbass stood up to the teacher, ignoring his threats and asked me to help her bringing you here! She hasn’t stopped crying like a lil bitch since!”

“Wh...What?”

Octavia couldn’t believe it. Vinyl saved her? And she had spent the last two hours by her side, to watch over her? Did she really deserve all of this?
The cellist took her friend’s hand and, almost by instinct, tightened her fingers around it, feeling the DJ’s warm skin and tears dropping on her own hand.
This was it.
She had friends. True friends.
> The principal's office
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Octavia had been awake for half an hour when the three girls left the infirmary. Nurse Redheart was nowhere to be seen, but they figured that it would be for the best to inform the principals about their friend’s new condition.
Octavia’s legs were still a bit shaky, but the smile on her face was compensating for that. They walked through the hallway, passed CHS’s huge entrance hall, contemplating the gold-and-blue banners and the shining trophies displayed behind the large glass panels, to finally arrive at principal Celestia’s door. Vinyl never liked principal offices, and neither did Lyra: when they were summoned, it was never a good sign. But there was no reason to be worried here, right?

Lyra knocked on the sky blue door, a venetian blind blocking the view of the office’s inside.
Looking at Octavia’s face, Vinyl realized that her friend wasn’t completely comfortable with the current situation. She probably never had been to a principal’s office.

“Who is this?” said an apparently interrupted-in-the-middle-of-something voice.

“Principal Celestia, this is Octavia Melody.”

“Oh, come in Octavia!”

Lyra turned the knob and penetrated in the room, followed by Octavia and Vinyl. The three girl’s minds paused on a second to observe the decor: unlike most of the school’s rooms, which were painted with different shades of blue and green, this office was entirely decorated with beige wallpaper and light brown wood panels, with old oak (or some tree like this) furniture, filled with small trinkets of all the colours of the rainbow. A giant green flag was hanging on its pole behind the principal’s desk.

“By the way, I know it’s lunch time and all, and she’s probably always eating in her office, but that’s a LOT of cake…” Vinyl thought while looking at the pile of pastries laying on the side of the desk.

“Oh good, you’re awake!” Celestia said, smiling “I was starting to get worried! Nurse Redheart told me-”

“Principal Celestia! It’s horrible!” yelled a terrified nurse Redheart bursting in the room, at the verge of nervous breakdown “Octavia Melody has disapp- Oh, there she is.”

The four persons at the desk looked at the new arrivant with wide eyes. Vinyl and Lyra really had to make an effort not to burst into laughter.

“Well in that case I’ll… fill the papers and leave you to talk… I...hum, good day girls!”

And just like that, she was gone.

“Okay girls, now that our devoted nurse’s concern is out of the way, we can talk about what happened. But first: Mrs. Heartstrings, Mrs. Scratch, could you leave the room, I’m pretty sure your friend can manage to give me her own point of view on what happened.”

“Hum… Actually principal Celestia, I’d prefer if they stayed here with me…”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible Octavia, I had a short talk with Mr. Sombra after your P.E class, and if what he’s saying is true, both your friends will have to answer to me concerning their behavior towards their teacher.”

“What?! Our behavior?! That’s bullshit! What about Mr. Sombra’s?” Lyra yelled, obviously unhappy with the direction things were taking.

“Please change your tone at once, girl. Your future, as well as your teacher’s, will mostly be determined by what your friend has to say. Now, you can wait outside, I’ll try not to keep Octavia for too long.”

“Great, we can’t help Tavi, and we’re in trouble ourselves because of this dickhead…”

As Vinyl followed Lyra towards the door, she gave Octavia a warm smile. The cellist was obviously terrified: the only reason she was confident about going in this office was because her friends were with her, but apparently fate had decided differently…

Vinyl closed the door behind her, as Lyra looked at her with a depressed expression on her face.

“Fuck.”

“Yup.”



}--oO0Oo--{





“Alright, I’ll let you girls catch up. Both of you, watch your behavior in the future. I’m going to have a talk with Mr. Sombra now, so you should leave. Get to the gymnasium and change into more fitting clothes. You’re free to leave school for the afternoon, I’ll inform your teachers.”

Celestia then closed the door, leaving Octavia reunited with her friends.

“So? What did she say?” asked Lyra.

“Um… I think you both are going to be preserved from any punishment, but sit didn’t appear she was convinced about Mr. Sombra’s exactions. Apparently, things like this have happened before, but not in such a way, that’s why she desires to have a word with him I suppose…”

Vinyl took out the paper and pen she had kept in her pocket:

“Is everything good with your parents and all?”

“Oh, I believe, yes. Nurse Redheart apparently told her that you didn’t wish to warn my parents, and after I confirmed, principal Celestia agreed. But I’m afraid that if an event like this one occurs again, I’ll have to face more consequences…”

“Well let’s hope it doesn’t happen, shall we?” Lyra said with an awkward grin.

“Oh, speaking of my parents… I’d like to thank you. For what you did with Mrs. Redheart… asking her not to call them… Even if I’m worried about what could happen if they ever found out, I think it was the right decision.”

“Of course, Tavi!” smiled Lyra. Vinyl made a few signs with a happy expression on her face “She says that it’s normal, we’re friends!”

Octavia didn’t say a word, and just smiled with a slight blush on her cheeks.

“Now what are we gonna do with our awesome free afternoon?!”

“Well… I was just about to get back to my house… After changing of course…”

Vinyl wrote on her pad again:

“Um… You sure that’s a good idea? Wouldn’t your parents ask why you’re early?”

“Oh my… You’re right…”

Suddenly, Vinyl’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She grabbed the piece of plastic, read the small text, and the expression on her face suddenly changed to a mix of joy and panic.

“No need to wonder what we’re gonna do anymore” she wrote “Entertainment has come to us by itself!”

“What do you mean?” said Lyra and Octavia at the same time.

“We have ten minutes to get changed” she wrote again “After that, prepare to face a fucking storm. My brother is waiting for us outside.”
> Meet the brother
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This really came out as a surprise for Octavia. She had no idea Vinyl had an older brother. The cellist expected her to be an only child, given her… style and behavior. Was her brother going to be a similar person?
On the way to the gymnasium, Lyra, who apparently already had seen him once, told her that his name was Volume Bass, that he was 22, and that he… was kinda like Vinyl. This sure would be interesting.

The locker room was unlocked, luckily. This allowed the three girls to change back into proper clothing. Octavia hid in a corner, behind one of the blue steel lockers, still uncomfortable with the idea of revealing herself to other people. As she was putting on her white shirt, she let her pessimistic part take control again: what if her parents learned about what happened today? They would sue the school for sure. Not that they cared about what could happen to her, but rather to their name and reputation. The principals and the nurse had all been very comprehensive about her situation, not calling her father’s number to inform him. All of this thanks to Vinyl and Lyra.

Suddenly she heard a slight sound of something hitting metal. Probably Vinyl urging her to finish getting ready. The ten minutes had already passed a long time ago. She took a look around the corner to confirm, and that’s when she saw them.
Vinyl and Lyra.
Kissing.



}--oO0Oo--{




The blue-haired girl, wearing only her jeans and bras, was holding her friend by the waist, while the latter’s hands were lying on the DJ’s shoulders. Both of them kissing passionately, eyes closed, not noticing Octavia, or anything around them for that matter.
Octavia couldn’t believe her own eyes. What was happening?! Why were the two of them kissing like this? She knew that they had been friends for a while, but she never had seen them like this. Octavia herself had never kissed anyone. Maybe one her mother’s cheek, back when she was young, or maybe Dana… But never like this. Her parents never kissed in front of their daughters or their house staff, but she saw couples in the bus a couple of times… couples… Was that what Vinyl and Lyra were? She had never heard of two women being together… Was it socially acceptable? Did anyone else know about this? If they didn’t display such attachment to one another in public, there probably was a good reason…
It was too much on her mind to process. She was heavily blushing, hidden behind the lockers, as her two friends opened their eyes.
A few seconds later, Octavia heard Lyra’s voice calling for her:

“Come on girl, let’s not make her brother wait longer!”

Octavia finished putting on her bowtie, grabbed her cello case, and awkwardly walked towards the two, trying her best not to blush, nor to look at them in the eyes.
Her pocket vibrated: it was a text from Vinyl.

“You alright? You seem even more shy and embarrassed than usual”

“Oh, I’m quite alright Vinyl, th...thank you. I’m guessing that I’m still a bit tired after this morning.”

“Yeah that’s okay” said Lyra, finishing putting on her shoes “C’mon, let’s move!”

The girls got out of the locker room, walking rapidly towards the exit. On the way towards the main hall, Octavia thought about what just happened. She had just lied to someone else. But this time, it wasn’t her parents. It was Vinyl. Should she confess what she saw? But Vinyl and Lyra most likely didn’t want her to know… She didn’t know much about other people’s feelings, but it would probably hurt them to be exposed like that. Maybe the best thing to do for the time being was to keep this information to herself: the last thing she wanted was to lose the connection she had with her new friends. Still, she couldn’t help to think about Vinyl: was that the reason why she approached her in the first place? Gave her a nickname, called her “cute”? No, she obviously liked Lyra… a lot… and really wanted to be just friend with Octavia… hopefully…

When the girls arrived in the main hall, it was completely empty: it was 2 pm, every student and teacher was already in class. Vinyl stopped in front of the main door, took a deep breath, and slowly, carefully, lifted her right foot in the air, to finally hit the door leaf with all of her strength, smashing it open in a deafening sound.
After recovering from both the surprise and the sudden assault on her eardrums, Octavia proceeded to take a look outside. There was nobody there. Vinyl was standing on the steps, obviously disappointed by the lack of any brotherly face around.

“Epic fail! I saw you coming miles away, sis!”

The three girls looked around in an attempt to find out where the voice was coming from. When Octavia heard the sound of shoes tapping against stone, she looked up, almost by instinct, and surprisingly found the man they were looking for. She notified her friends, and the three of them looked above the glass door.

“Heeeyyyy, took you long enough! Your friend here looks smarter than you! Please don’t also go blind!”

The young man -presumably Vinyl’s brother- was sitting on the door’s pediment, legs crossed, bouncing his head to the music he was listening with only one earbud, the other one dangling around to the rhythm of his song.

“Dude!” Lyra exclaimed “How the fuck did you get up there?!”

“Oh I dunno, I had time to try while you girls were making me wait!” He looked at Vinyl’s angry face, and gave her a large smile: “C’mon sis! You’re not happy to see your big bro?”

The man then swiftly uncrossed his legs, before letting himself fall. Octavia’s heartbeat accelerated, but Vinyl’s brother just casually landed on his feet, looking at the DJ with a proud smirk.

Vinyl’s facial expression quickly went from slightly upset to obviously joyful, and she gave her brother a loving hug, almost to the point of making him fall in the process. She almost looked like a little girl in the arms of her older sibling.
She took out her pen and paper, before being interrupted by a hand of his:

“No need for that bullshit, Vy! I can introduce myself to your friends here! Hello girls, name’s Volume Bass, and I’m the older, more attractive, more irresponsible brother of your favorite mute over there!” He looked in Lyra’s direction: “Hey, I know you! Already seen you around the house back in Manehattan, Vinyl told me that you had moved here too! Sweet!”

He then turned his head in Octavia’s direction, smiling like he was meeting her again after a long time:

“And yooouuuu must be Octavia, right? Vy told me about you! You’re right sis, she’s cute!”

Octavia blushed at the mention of Vinyl’s comments on her: what exactly did she tell her brother? Was there some kind of reputation spreading already about her? Trying not to think about this too extensively, she extended her hand in the man’s direction.

“My name is Octavia Melody. It’s a pleasure to meet you, although I have to admit that Vinyl told me very little about you.”

Much to the cellist’s surprise, instead of shaking her hand, Volume Bass hit her palm with his own, before bumping his fist on her fingers. That was certainly unusual, but she guessed handshakes weren’t common for Vinyl or her brother. Despite that, she had no idea what he just did.

“Oh, so formal girl! Vy told me you were a doll, she wasn’t lying!” He then turned his head towards his little sister: “And you haven’t told her about me! Cool, I’m glad to see that you miss me so much that you can’t help but talk about me aaaall the time! I mean, write!”

Vinyl took a few seconds to sign her brother. Gosh, it was going even faster than with Lyra. They must be used to using sign language together. And now she was the only one here not having a clue about what they were saying…

“...”

“Yeah you’re right! Since you girls have a free afternoon, let’s go grab a drink at... Sugarcube Corner! TrotAdvisor told me it was liiiit!”

“...”

“No, I won’t buy you any alcohol, I don’t think they even sell that there, dork!”





}--oO0Oo--{




When they finally reached the said place, Octavia was happily surprised. She was expecting a crowded, dirty place like the bar in front of her bus stop, but the “Sugarcube Corner” was everything but that.
The exterior was already beautiful: the white walls matching with the pink awnings, decorated with floral shapes, and with the pyramidal lighter pink umbrellas, protecting half-a-dozen wooden tables and chairs. The roof was different shades of brown, mimicking chocolate, with fake nut pieces embedded in the wood.

“This place looks amazing!” Octavia exclaimed.

“It’s ok I guess…” Lyra responded.

“Whoah girl, show some motivation here! Plus, I’m buying!”

“This place is fucking great!” Lyra yelled with a big smile, making Octavia giggle softly.

Vinyl pushed the double doors, entering in the café, and holding it for Octavia and Volume Bass, before letting it go on Lyra’s face.

“Hey, not cool, bitch!”

Vinyl moved her right hand from her temple to her chin, smiling at her friend.

“You’re welcome? Fuck you!”

Ignoring Lyra’s language, Octavia followed Vinyl’s brother, heading for the counter. They were welcomed by a tall, blue-skinned lady, her chubby face topped by an unlikely haircut that looked like the whipped cream Dana put on Octavia’s waffles from time to time. Her eyes looked tired yet happy, and she had a perpetual smile attached to her face.

“Hello young lady, hello young man! What can I get you?”

“Hello ma’am!” smiled Volume “We were hoping to sit at one of your tables to get something to drink!”

“Oh of course! Pick one, there’s not an awful lot of people at this time of the day, I’ll be there in a few minutes to take your orders!”

This all felt weird to Octavia: it was the first time she went somewhere without her parents knowing. But a café visited mostly by students was pretty harmless, and compared to what had happened this morning, she thought more about the positive aspects of the situation, for once.
They both went for a table against a wide glass panel, with Lyra and Vinyl joining them a few seconds later, one arguing while the other one was laughing silently. The lady from the counter came to take their orders soon after. Octavia ordered an orange juice, she had tried to convince Volume Bass to pay for her own drink, but couldn’t get him to change his mind. That was nice of him, so at least she had chosen a cheap order. Lyra and Vinyl obviously didn’t go through the same process though: the DJ ordered a giant mint and chocolate ice cream covered in whipped cream, and the other one choosing a exotic cocktail of some sort. Vinyl’s brother laughed, seeing that his money was being well-spent, and took a cherry soda with an unpronounceable name.
Waiting for the food to arrive gave the cellist a little time to observe her friend’s brother, and one thing she knew is that it was obvious that they were related: Volume Bass was basically a male version of Vinyl: tall, slim, only wearing jeans, white shirt, black leather jacket and sporty shoes. His carmine hair were a mess, much like Vinyl’s, but his eyes were light blue.
The atmosphere around him was strange: it made Octavia feel comfortable and safe, much like Vinyl, but also similar to Bon-Bon.
Vinyl and Volume loved each others, and they weren’t hiding it: always laughing together, picking on each others, and talking in sign language so fast that even Lyra was lost. This felt weird to Octavia: she never had this kind of relationship with her sister, hardly any kind of relationship at all. And here were Vinyl and her brother, acting more like best friends than siblings. Was that like this in every family? Or was Vinyl even more special than she thought?
The three girls kept talking with Volume Bass for about forty minutes, when he suddenly got a call from his cellphone:

“Gotta go girls, I’m meeting my friend Zephyr Breeze downtown in ten minutes, Haven’t seen him in a while as well! I’ll see you tonight Vy!”

The blue-haired girl shook her hands horizontally to ask him what he meant.

Oh, haven’t mom and dad told you? I’m sleeping at your place!” He said as he was paying for the food and grabbing his jacket in a hurry “Bye sis! Nice to meet you Lyra and Octavia, see you tomorrow maybe!”

The door closed behind him, not giving Vinyl enough time to throw the salt shaker in his direction. She looked really upset, and Lyra dying of laughter next to her wasn’t calming her down. Then she looked at Octavia smiling, and a cheery expression came back on her own face.
That quickly changed when someone they didn’t expect pushed the doors of the café, ordered a donut and sat at their table:

“Well, hello girls! How are the three of you? Don’t answer yet, we need to talk about something!”

The three teens were speechless, their jaws dropping at the sight of the man inviting himself at their table.

“I’ve been told that they had been some mischief with one of your teachers… I think I could help…” Discord said, smiling.

“I love mischief.”
> Chaos Theory
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-”

Vinyl’s mind needed time to process. A lot of time. What the hell was going on?! Discord had just entered the bar, ordered a milk chocolate doughnut with cotton candy sprinkles, and sat next to Lyra like it was nothing.
And what exactly did he just say?

“Um… Hello sir, can we help you?” Lyra asked in a confused yet blasé face, her eyes expressing something closer to “Um… Hello sir, can you GTFO?”

Octavia, as for her, was part scared, part confused, probably because where she was from, teachers didn’t talk to students outside of class, especially not in a café at 3 pm. She hadn't had a fantastic first impression of the chemistry teacher, and much like Vinyl, her eyes were expressing serious concern about his presence.

“Oh well, actually you can Ms. Heartstrings! Could you hand me the water pitcher?”

Lyra looked at Discord’s smiling face in disbelief, but then slowly proceeded to pass the jug, probably fearing for what would happen to her grades if she didn’t. Discord served himself some water, drank a whole glass in about two seconds, and looked towards the three girls.

“Actually, I’m here to help you three, if you want to of course…” he offered in his strange but still as hypnotical voice. This man wasn’t doing much effort to behave differently in class: he was completely the same during his time off: same scary eyes, same large smile with one abnormally long teeth, same mismatched clothes. Whatever he was offering to do, it couldn’t be good.

“To… to help us? Why would we require any help?” asked Octavia, faking not to understand what her teacher meant.

“Yeah, we don’t have any kind of problem at all!” Lyra threw with the fakest smile Vinyl had ever seen. She was a crappy liar, always had been.

“Oh girls, don’t lie to me, it’s not respectful. You know what I’m talking about: your lovely physical education teacher, Mr. Sombra! Now that you got the chance to meet him in person, what do you think? Isn’t he a nice fellow?!”

“Listen, sir…”

“You know Ms. Heartstrings, I’m technically off-duty, so you don’t have to force yourself to call me “sir” here.”

“Listen, dude: We don’t know how you heard about this, but as you said, we’re not in class, and you don’t have any authority here, so we don’t have to listen to whatever you think you’re offering.”

As Lyra was having her talk with Discord, Vinyl took a look at Octavia: she was certainly scared, probably because of the mint-haired girl’s behavior towards one of their teachers. What if he decided to hold a grudge against them from now on?
As she pat down her friend’s shoulder, the DJ felt the gaze of the man landing on her:

“And you?” he said, his head turning back in a angle way too large for a normal person, smoothing his long goatee “Ms. Scratch, what do you think about all of this?”

Vinyl, still holding Octavia’s shoulder, used her remaining hand to sign Discord. Luckily (was it really luck?), he understood sign language. Only three movements: shaking her hands, pointing at him and grabbing air towards herself. Enough for him to understand.

“What do I want? I told you, I want to offer my help! Kids these days really don’t listen, do they?

“Ok that’s enough, we’re leaving.” Lyra uttered, standing up and grabbing her bag “Come, Octavia.”

As the confused cellist was starting to move, Vinyl wiggled her fingers in an attempt to tell Lyra to wait.

“No dude, whatever’s happening, it’s not his business!”

“...”

“What do you mean, you want to listen to what he has to say?! We can take care of ourselves!”

“I would never doubt that, Ms. Heartstrings, but in this situation, it’s your word against Mr. Sombra’s, and that’s not a game you’re gonna win. Not alone, that is.”

Vinyl was starting to get really intrigued about this man. What was his interest in all this? Was he always like this? And more importantly, why was she considering his offer?!

“Yeah right!” Lyra laughed ironically “So we’re a special force against the evil forces of the P.E teacher? Like a grand task force? Please!”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a task force.” Discord answered “We’re closer to some kind of suicide squa-”

“You’re our physics teacher!”

“And chemistry.”

“We’re not friends, man! Why are you even proposing to help?!”

“Just for fun, of course!”

“Say what?”

“Just imagine: you’re joining a hunting group: you’re with people you don’t know, in an unknown territory, chasing and killing animals you won’t eat. But you still do it. Why? Because you want to! Because it’s fun!”

“So you want to hunt some wild Mr. Sombra?” Lyra smiled.

“I don’t like hunting.” Octavia mumbled.

“...My point is,” Discord said with a stink eye thrown at the cellist “I don’t need a particular reason, especially not a good one. But if you absolutely want one, then let’s say that I’m your teacher, that you’re my responsibility, that I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, blah blah blah… Satisfied?”

“Nope.”

“N...Not exactly sir…”

“...”

“Listen, I like you three. Not even one week of classes and you already seem like the inseparable team. Reminds me of these five other girls, some time ago. Believe me or not, but I care about my students, and this particular teacher has been a severe source of trouble these last years. I have two issues with that: first, trouble is my job, and then, he’s not helping the good mood of the students. I want a lively class, not schoolers who are afraid of being traumatized by their teachers.”

“So you’re only doing that for the sake of your students, ‘cause you’re such a good person?”

“Don’t insult me, please Lyra. Can I call you Lyra? Your name is kind of a mouthful.”

“Um, no-” Lyra started, before noticing Vinyl’s look, urging her both to sit down and to relax a bit.”

“...Yeah sure, go for it dude…”

“Marvellous! Now Ms. Scratch… Vinyl?”

“...”

“Vinyl it is! Now Vinyl, what do you think?”

“I’m gonna regret this, one way or another.”

Vinyl looked at Octavia, as to ask what she thought of this. Her friend, despite being obviously unsure, gave the DJ a shy nod.

“...”

“What’s my plan? That’s easy! I’ll explain everything to you three, and if you agree, we can start next week!”

“Whatever.” Lyra sighed.

“I’m not in favor of plotting with a teacher, but if that is what’s required to make Mr. Sombra face his actions, I… I guess we can give the idea a try…”

“Here we go.”

“Now girls, we’ll start by doing this…”



}--oO0Oo--{



When the three girls said their goodbyes to their teacher, they were in a much better mood than when they said hello. Despite his obnoxious sense of humour and personality, the man was smart. Very smart, it seemed. Now they’ll just have to wait until the next P.E class. Discord also taught them about the relation between CHS and Mr. Sombra: he wasn’t known to be a pleasant teacher, but he offered really good results every year, and sadly the two principals cared a tad more about that. Incidents like today’s had happened, and the teacher got a few suspensions over the years, but there weren’t that many available sport teachers around, and the incidents had never been too severe.
According to Discord though, the main issue Sombra was causing were more of the relational ones: the “weak” students he enjoyed to mock became scared of the teachers in general, and the “strong” ones became overconfident and egotistical.

“What a mess…” Vinyl thought, looking at Octavia eating a chocolate pastry, smiling, her cheeks made pink by a cold breeze. Discord had bought them cakes to compensate for his intrusion, but also probably to earn their trusts.

“Thith dude’s not buyingh ush with pashtries!” Lyra muffled, chewing her mint ice cream. She loved ice cream, even in September.

Vinyl gave her friend a large smug, moving her hands to judge Lyra’s morals.

“Yeah I’m shtill eating it! Won’t let ith go to washte!”

“My bus stop is over there” Octavia pointed “We still have got ten minutes before the end of the classes. I wouldn’t want to arrive home early and turn all your and the principal’s efforts to ashes…”

“Don’t worry, Tavi!” the cellist read on her phone “Your folks will never know! A masterplan like this, produced by the two greatest brains of a generation (me and Lyra!), is 100% flaw-proof!”

“...”

“You ok Octavia?” Lyra asked, moving her head back and forth to an imaginary music.

“I… I just guess I want to thank you again… For all of what you did today: making me discover your music, Vinyl helping me in the locker room, looking after me in the infirmary, making me have a truly wonderful time with your brother, and searching for a solution, even if it is with Mr. Discord… We… We’ve known each others for barely two days, but you act like I have been with you since when you were in middle school. I… might still have a lot to learn about, well… everything, because I’ve never truly experienced life before, but I feel like if you are with me, I can overcome ever-”

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? An emotion sequence?”

The three girls turned around rapidly, only to see the three other people facing them. Vinyl immediately recognized them: it was this girl she had briefly seen at the principal’s speech, on the first day of school. Following her were the same two 9th graders, one of them small, chubby, with sky blue skin and orange hair, the other slim, tall, with yellowish skin and green hair. An interesting combo. The girl in the middle was most likely Sunset Shimmer, the girl Lyra told her about on the phone.

“Nice to meet you three, let me introduce myself, my name is Sunset Shimmer.”

There. This girl certainly was mean-looking. Her yellow skin reflecting the pale sunlight, and her red-and-gold hair flowing on her shoulders like fire (Or bacon… It kinda looked like bacon). She was wearing a black leather jacket, as well as dark purple shirt and short skirt, and some black long boots. Her green eyes were adding to this “cartoon villain” style. Beautiful.

“Looks like a bitch, but in the mean way or the meanest way? Can’t tell.”

“I’ve never seen you girls around before, you must be new! You probably have heard of me, right? Oh, what am I saying? You live cut off from the world, you are deaf and you are probably too busy hitting on girls. Let me explain it to you as simply as I can: here in CHS, I’m in charge: I get everyone to do what I want, and it’s not going to change any time soon, so yeah, just to let you girls know.”

As Sunset Shimmer smiled, proud of her little introduction, she felt a pat on her arm, and saw Vinyl, handing her a piece of paper. She looked down and read:

“I’m not deaf, bitch.”

When she looked back up, it was already too late. Vinyl’s fist went right in her stomach, cutting any possibility of breathing. The bully didn’t get any time to think about what was happening: her feet almost took off the ground, as the punch sent her a good feet away from Vinyl.
She fell on the ground, before the confused eyes of her two “bodyguards”, as Vinyl got closer to her, followed by Lyra. The blue-haired girl made a few signs, and her friend crouched near Sunset, her right foot crushing the girl’s hand. As the teenager shouted in pain, Lyra translated calmly:

“She said that first, all mutes aren’t deaf ; second, that you’re lucky we’re in a hurry, and third, that if you ever insulted or bullied one of our friends again, bitch, she’d personally come to kick your ass. I added the “bitch”, by the way.”

Lyra got up, exchanged a few smiles and laughs with Vinyl, and the two girls each grabbed an arm of Octavia, before leaving towards the next street, leaving behind Sunset Shimmer, moaning in pain and shame.

“Was all of this really necessary, Vinyl?” Octavia asked “I know this girl wasn’t very friendly, but was there a need to hit her like that?! I sure hope she’s alright…”

Vinyl laughed, and gave a paper to Octavia:

“Don’t worry Tavi, I can guarantee things like this won’t ever happen to you anymore. Now run, girl! Your bus is just around the corner!”

Octavia accelerated to reach the bus stop, and waved at her two friends as she got in, holding her gigantic cello case.
As Vinyl watched the bus drift away, she looked at Lyra, and the two girls bursted into laughter.

“There will be other times like this, and you know it girl ; she’s too much of a doll to stay outta trouble.”

“Maybe” Vinyl texted “But we’ll be here for her. Always.”
> No place like home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the streets were rapidly passing by through the bus's windows, Octavia took a moment to contemplate the landscape. Canterlot High was located in a less dense area of the city, away from all the skyscrapers, and the mounds, trees and lakes making up the view were truly beautiful at this time of the day.

Today had been exceptional for Octavia. Never before in her life had she lived such adventures, and experienced such feelings: the P.E class, then the infirmary ; Vinyl and Lyra kissing, meeting her friend's brother, plotting with one of her own teachers against another, and finally watching as Vinyl and Lyra protected her from that bullying girl. After all, not only had her life been lonely, it had also been uneventful, and living that much in a single day was both thrilling and scary for the young girl. She didn't know how to feel about this: it was too much.  But there was something else.

She felt weak.

Weak because she didn't do anything but collapse on the ground during P.E. Weak because she was too shy in the locker room. Weak because she couldn't understand Vinyl, because she didn't dare to ask her about the kiss, because she couldn't stand up against the bully, because...

Octavia hold her face in her hands, sobbing. She had made amazing friends in an absurdly short time, and as it turned out, they were more than friends to her: they were protecting her, against the others, but also against herself, against this part of her that made her lonely and silent. It was amazing how a mute girl had managed to make Octavia feel more comfortable about expressing herself.

But could this weakness of hers mark the end of this relation? If she was too much of a burden for them, wouldn't they be forced to abandon her at some point?

No, she couldn't let herself succumb to this manner of thinking. This was part of her weakness, and it wasn't good for anybody. The only things she cared about at this very moment were her friends. She held both on that thought and on the taste of chocolate left in her mouth. Even her chemistry teacher, whom she barely knew, had been kinder to her than her parents ever had, even though he was still frightening her a little.

She continued staring at the roadside, observing every person walking in and out of the bus, until it was her turn to exit the vehicle. She waved at the driver and at an old woman sitting near the door, and took a step on the sidewalk. She walked for a couple minutes, her cello case weighing on her back, and finally arrived to her destination.

"Home, sweet home." Dana always said. Octavia didn't know what it meant exactly, but it surely didn't apply to the Melody Manor, casting its menacing shadow over the garden, like some kind of prison from a dark novel. Not much difference between here and the boarding school. Sure, the place was an architectural masterpiece, and she enjoyed the overall sight of the property, but knowing what was waiting for her inside, it had lost its natural beauty.

"Oh it's the little Ms. Harmony!"

She looked in the direction the voice came from, and recognized the gardener. Mr. Greenhooves had been here for almost as long as Dana, and even if she didn't see him quite as often as the chief of staff, he always had been kind to her.

"Hello Mr. Greenhooves, I hope your day is going well."

"Oh, you know, 'comme ci comme ça' as they say. The usual stuff... Here, I'll open that  for you."

He put down his bag of ripped off weeds, and used a key to open the gate. Of course, Octavia wasn't allowed to possess such an item, since there were always supposed to be a member of staff inside the manor. The metal door opened slowly in a robotic sound.

"Thanks, sir. My apologies for disturbing you."

"Haha! This young girl, always apologizing! You're not disturbing me in any way kid. Now go find Dana, I'm sure she has prepared you a lil' snack!"

The cellist smiled at the old man and walked towards the main door. Dana was already waiting for her in the hallway, a plate of lemon biscuits in her hand. After hugging the maid and grabbing a few of the sweets, Octavia looked at the old woman, her eyes filled with excitement:

"Dana, can I ask you for a big favor?"

"Well, of course my dear, anything, as long as I can help!"

"I want to learn sign language."



}--oO0Oo--{



"And this is how to ask 'How are you?' "

"Like this?"

"That's right dear, you're doing pretty good!"

Octavia was smiling so much her cheeks were in pain. She hadn't spent that much time alone with Dana in months, and almost had forgotten how kind and funny the old woman could be.

Dana spoke sign language. Kind of. The rules had changed a bit over the years, but most of the words were still the same. Several years ago, she had told Octavia that back when she was a little child, her grandmother was almost deaf, and that she had to learn how to sign to communicate with her. Now she had lost a part of that knowledge, but what she remembered was more than enough to help the young girl with the basics. They had been practicing for one hour now, and even though Octavia knew that the maid was exaggerating her compliments, she was more motivated than ever.

"A mute friend, uh? That's not something one sees everyday. And you say it is the first person that came to you in the entire school? I'd keep a friend like that if I were you."

"Yes, that's why I've decided to learn sign: I enjoy Vinyl's company very much, and I'd hate to trap myself inside a language barrier, even with the phone she gave-"

Octavia stopped speaking all of a sudden. How stupid of her!

"A phone?" Dana asked, raising an eyebrow "She gave you a phone? Like a cellphone?"

Octavia blushed in shame before her own foolishness, expecting the kind of reaction she was used to with her parents.
But it never came. Instead, Dana's face illuminated with a warm smile:

"Damn, they gave you a cell phone? Those are some really good friends you got there! It's so thoughtful! I guess most of young people these days need this to communicate after all, and if you made such good relations, why wasting them by not staying in contact?"

She took a moment to think.

"Oooh, and you were worried that I'd tell your mother? Don't worry my dear, it'll be our little secret! Just like I told you, I'd never get in the way of your newly formed friendship, even if it means hiding a lil' something from your mother! She used to tell me all her secrets when she was your age, let's just say it's a good poetic justice. You won't have to fear anything from me."

Octavia smiled back at Dana, and giggled a bit, picturing her mother telling her secrets to her maid.

"Thank you Dana. It's good to know that I can count on you."

"Of course you can count on me, dear! Here, come and give me a hug!"

Octavia got up from her bed, walked towards the old woman and curled up in her arms. It was warm, and soft, definitely like a mother. But not like hers.

After a few seconds, a phone rang in Dana's pocket.

"You have a cellphone too?"

"Hey, I'm still young!"

Dana spoke only a few seconds, in a very formal tone, hung up, and looked back at Octavia.

"We'll have to continue with the signs another time, dear. Your father is home, and he wants to see you."



}--oO0Oo--{



Crescendo Notes was a serious man like no others. Tall, slim, a straight stature for a noble man, proud of what he was, of his name, of his appearance. He definitely was a "all business, no fun" kind of person, and it was readable on his face quite clearly. The few wrinkles on his face didn't make him look older or weaker, but more determined and strong instead. Always in a black three pieces suit, that he ditched every concert for another black three pieces suit. Someone nice to talk to if you are in the music business. If not, no need to try.

As soon as he heard footsteps from the main stairs, he turned his head to land his gaze on his daughter. A shadow of a smile appeared on his face, as he called for her:

"Octavia, my dear, please come down ; we have plenty to talk about!"

"Yes, father, I'm coming right away!"

As she continued walking down the stairs, her father went inside his office, located near the main dining room.
When she joined him in, he was already sitting behind his desk, grabbing a bottle of sparkly water and serving himself in a small whiskey glass.

"Octavia, what have I told you about coming in my office?"

The girl stopped for a moment before realizing, and taking a few steps backwards.

"Oh, I... I'm sorry, father. It won't happen again!"

She got near the opened door, and knocked slightly, almost silently, on the wood panel.

"Come in, child. Take a seat." he offered in his calm voice.

Octavia sat in one of the three red armchairs facing the desk, not making a sound. She hadn't seen her father in days, and even though she was not expecting him to be any different from this, she was still scared when called for like this, in her father's dark and cold office. The only reassuring element was the soft sound of the classical music played continuously by the speakers hidden in the walls. At least there was not going to be any long, terrifying silences.

"So, Octavia, how were your first days in your new high school?"

Octavia was surprised. Usually, being called in her father's office was bad news. But now he just genuinely wanted to know how her first days had been like? This couldn't be it.

"Oh, hum... I would say that it has been quite nice."

"No trouble with the bus? Is the class's quality acceptable? Your mother and I did some research on the teachers before sending you there of course, and although we didn't find anything on your... physics teacher I think, all of them seem competent enough. It should ensure a good quality education for you."

"Yes, they are all very nice."

"It's not an affair of being nice, my dear. It's a question of discipline and rigour."

"Well, I found the classes of rather good quality."

"Good."

This was all going too... normally.

"...And what about the other students?"

Octavia almost flinched in surprise. Why was he concerned with the other students? He never did back when she was in boarding school.

"They're truly respectable and hard-working, from what I've seen."

"All of them?..."

Now Octavia was starting to get really worried. What was his point?

"O... Of course... I haven't had any problems and-"

"Octavia, I'll be honest with you: I think trust is more than important in a relationship, even more between a father and his descendants. Now let me be truthful: my driver saw you talking with some people he described as "far from respectable": a girl with blue hair if I recall, as well as another one with short hair and bad manners, both of them wearing inappropriate clothing for people of their age."

Octavia gasped, as she started to feel a lump in her throat, listening her father talking about who she could only be sure were Vinyl and Lyra.

"Now let me be clear: I know you cannot stop other people from talking to you, especially when they are studying in the same school. But you are going to do your best to avoid this type of people. I do not want you to be distracted from your studies, or worse, from your social standards. I can only hope that you didn't intentionally get close to them, or else I'll have to take measures."

"Father, I-"

"Silence, girl. From now on you won't be seeing these girls. This conversation is over."
> Raising the volume
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vinyl watched the bus leave, thinking about everything that had happened this day. She was a girl of action, but right now, she needed a break ; it was too much. She let her thoughts flow like a melody vibe in the air, while a silly smile was taking shape on her face.

"Wow dude, you're making that face again. The one you do when you skip your morning energy drink."

"Oh yeah, that's right, Lyra's here too. But she looks in waaayyy better shape than I do. Guess beating up that bitch got a bit of adrenaline flowing in her body."

“Boy, today was crazy! Okay, maybe kinda scary at first, with the whole P.E class and taking Octavia to the infirmary… But then, with your brother -super cool guy by the way- and the bar, Discord… I guess… and finally kicking the shit out of this self-proclaimed queen of the school! I’ll remember this!”

Vinyl paused for a moment. She wondered how Octavia was feeling at this very moment. Obviously she had a tough life outside of school, and even though she was smiling with joy only a few minutes ago, now that she was away, the smile most likely had faded.

“...”

“Yeah I’m worry about her too… From what she told us, her place isn’t exactly the “home, sweet home” type. Must be tough to switch from eating snacks with us to going back with her butthurt folks.”

“...”

“Don’t worry, she’s gonna be alright.”

As Lyra was pronouncing these words, she got closer to Vinyl, taking the DJ’s hand in her own.

“I thought you were supposed to be the chill one.”

Vinyl’s lips met with her friend’s, her hands holding Lyra’s hips, as the two girls shared a long and passionate kiss. It was certainly unexpected, but the blue-haired girl’s negative emotions suddenly drifted away, as she enjoyed the physical contact with her friend.

After they broke contact ; Lyra, clearly proud of her good influence on Vinyl’s feelings, looked at her in the eyes before asking:

“Hey,... You think we should tell her? And also Bon-Bon? About us two?”

Vinyl emitted an embarrassed sound. She didn’t know the answer. They had known both Bon-Bon and Octavia for only a couple of days, and the last thing she wanted was to make the atmosphere awkward.

“Plus, Tavi would probably ask me how it is possible to date another girl, and I do NOT want to explain that to her. Not yet.”

“I mean, I’m probably telling Bon-Bon one day or another. She’s super cool and all, so I don’t really want to keep any big secret like that to her. And I wouldn’t mind a three-way relationship.”

Vinyl punched her friend’s shoulder, laughing at her dumb jokes. No, she wouldn’t tell Octavia. Not now, not before this whole shitstorm with Sombra is solved, at least.
She grabbed her car keys from her pocket, waving them in front of Lyra’s face.

“Oh, bringing me back home and stuff? You’re the boss! Let’s go, dude!”

Vinyl sighed: Lyra’s place wasn’t exactly on her way home, but she had a day free of any classes, and felt brave enough to face the girl’s jokes during the trip. With a sign of the hand, she invited Lyra to follow her to the school’s parking lot.

Once they reached the car, Vinyl opened it with a slight press of a button, and sat in front of the wheel. Lyra grabbed the two sides of the opened door and hopped in the passenger’s seat, almost crushing the gear stick in the process.

“So, we’re going or what?”

Vinyl smiled and turned on the engine, while Lyra was rampaging through the glove compartment, throwing everything she didn’t need in the back of the car.
Finally, she waved a shiny blue disc labeled “compil 3.” at the DJ, proud of her discovery.

“Hey dude, look at this! It’s that time when you recorded me playing the lyre and mixed it into that sweeeeet tune! Wanna listen to it?”

“Well, why not. I’m kinda proud of this actually. Never thought Lyra’s instrument could sound so good when remixed.”

Vinyl gave a nod of agreement, while backing up the car to exit the lot. As the tires were rubbing against the cold pavement, Lyra inserted the CD in the small player her friend had installed in her car, and shouted in glee once she heard the first notes playing:

“Awwwww yeah, it’s on! Let’s go, dude! Drive!”



}--oO0Oo--{



Finally. Home. It had been a pain to find the fastest way to get to Lyra’s place, but now Vinyl’s car was parked in front of her apartment, and she was more than relieved by the perspective of jumping on her couch and staying still for the remaining of the day.

That’s when she noticed her brother’s car, parked next to her. A fine red compact car, with one broken wing mirror. The sight of the car triggered something in her head, and she rushed to the entrance, ran up the stairs, unlocked her door and looked in every corner of the living room.

There they were.

Her turntables. The real ones, not the portables she carried around in school. Some big, incredibly heavy material, surrounded by two gigantic black speakers with blue woofers, as well as a fuckton of cables and adaptors. Finally she could get to work, shit was gonna get real.

She then went in her room to leave her bag before installing everything, but someone was waiting for her:

“Heeyyy Vy! How’re you doing?!”

Vinyl smiled at her brother. She had almost forgotten that Volume Bass was staying here for a few nights. What she didn’t forget was that she asked (well, forced him really) to bring some of her stuff along with him, using that nice ride of his. She jumped into her brother’s arms, thanking him for his help by moving her hands from her lips in his direction.

“See? I didn’t forget! That stuff is heavy as hell, but my friend Zephyr Breeze helped me carry everything up here, in exchange for, well, some of the stuff in your fridge…”

Vinyl looked at Volume in surprise and ran to the kitchen, opening the fridge: everything was gone, except for some lettuce and butter. She turned around to face her brother’s mocking smile, with a look that didn’t require sign language to be understood and feared.

“Relax! You were planning on buying some groceries anyway, right?”

“No.”

Vinyl shook her head in disbelief, and smiled. Having her music material was well worth getting out to fill her fridge again. Seeing that his little sister wasn’t actually angry at him, Volume Bass smiled back, grabbed a couple of beers from his bag, and handed one to Vinyl.

“Hey, promise you won’t tell mom and dad about this, ‘kay?”

Vinyl smirked and swiftly edge-opened the bottle on the kitchen table. She loved her brother: always here for her, always the right words. He was kinda like her, minus the whole DJ-thing, although he played the guitar. They had always had a more “best-friends” than “siblings” relationship, and she didn’t mind that at all.

“Oh, by the way!” yelled the said brother from the living room, “I’ve ordered a little something for you, from mom and dad! They gave me some money for it and it should arrive any minute now!”

As he pronounced these last words, the doorbell rang. Vinyl, raising an eyebrow, opened the window and looked down, only to see a giant truck labeled “Crafty Crate Company”, surrounded by two big guys, one of them at the door.

Vinyl didn’t have time to say “Who the fuck are you?” that her brother rushed out of the apartment, grabbing his keys and leaving the door opened behind him.
As the DJ was starting to wonder what Volume had planned that he reappeared in the stairway, holding multiple large-sized cardboard boxes, with the help of the two truckers.

Once everything was placed in the middle of Vinyl’s room, the two guys handed a paper to Volume Bass, and left as soon as he signed, waving at him and his sister.

“STOP. What the hell is going on?”

She shook her hands from left to right, an expression of pure questioning stucked on her face, as her brother was smiling proudly in front of her.”

“Oh? That? It’s your new bed, of course! You didn’t think we’d let you sleep on a mattress for more than a few days, did you?

“What?!”

The disbelief was now widely tainted with excitement. A new bed? From her parents?

“Yeah, they knew you’d want a queen size, now that you’re on your own, and also yours back home is now being used as a guest bed, soooo I chose one for you, they paid for it and now there it is! I’m kinda jealous, actually.”

Vinyl couldn’t believe it: her parents bought her a queen-sized bed? These things were kinda expensive, and she was planning on using her first salary to afford one. She knew that her parents loved her, but that was unexpected.

She smiled at her brother ; a true, sincere smile she wished she could express in many words. Sign language was good enough for a lot of things, but thanking people had always been a bit awkward. Instead, she gave one more hug, her blue hair tickling her brother’s neck. She then grabbed her phone, and started typing, her sibling watching over her shoulder.



}--oO0Oo--{



As Music Wind was calmly watering her plants on her terrace, she gazed at downtown Manehattan’s buildings, only a few streets away. Suddenly, her phone buzzed, with her daughter’s face appearing next to a small text:

“WOW! MOM, DAD! Thx soooo much for the bed! Its so awesome, just what I needed! :D Love u both so much!”

Vinyl’s mother smiled at the message, and started typing back:

“You’re welcome sweetie, we didn’t want you to spend your first salary on some basic life tools, go have fun with it instead! You should also thank your brother for choosing the model and ordering it! Hope you're happy with the deal you two made!”

“What deal?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“WHAT DEAL”

“Kisses, sweetie <3”

She put down the phone and giggled. She was glad to see that Vinyl was having a good time with her brother.

“Honey! It was Vinyl!”

“Ow! She received the bed yet?”

“Yup.”

“How’s Volume?”

“Good, but maybe not for long.”



}--oO0Oo--{



Volume Bass was hiding in a corner of the living room, terrified as his sister’s magenta eyes were staring at him in sheer anger.

“Hey relax, Vy! I only told them that since I ordered he bed, I had the right to sleep in it for the time I’m at your place, no?!”

Vinyl shook her head, hitting repeatedly her brother’s shoulder and arm as he was laughing at his maneuver.

“RAAAAAAAAH!! How could he do that? That’s my bed, and he wants to take it hostage for the next two days?! No way!”

“Come on -ouch- Vy! I’m gonna -ouch- build it myself to compensate if that makes you happy!”

Vinyl stopped her every moves at this proposition. Spending three hours building the bed wasn’t a idea she was enjoying, and despite not wanting Volume to use the new bed before her, him building the furniture wouldn’t only spare her some body aches, but also give her time to install her turntables. It was a hard decision, but she made her choice.

She got up, helped Volume do as well, and used her right hand to do two simple signes: O.K

“Great! Perfect! God, you hit hard, sis! Imma leave you to your electronics, and I’ll do the manly work! I can’t wait for my bed to be built! I mean, your bed, of course!”

Vinyl ignored her brother’s mockery, giving him the universal sign for “fuck off”. She then went to the living room, stood in front of the gigantic speakers, and exhaled in happiness.

“Oh boy… Here we go.”



}--oO0Oo--{



After a good hour of work, Vinyl took a step back to contemplate the results, wiping a drop of sweat from her temple.

It was beautiful. She knew a good setup when she saw one, but her own was above average. It didn’t seem cocky to say that in her opinion, given the time, money and efforts she had put into this over the last years: every month at least, finding a better component, changing it, boosting the speakers, adding more options. If this version wasn’t perfect, it was really close.

Volume Bass had also brought some of her acoustic foam, along with four background supports to hold the whole thing together. She didn’t want any problems with the neighbours, and since she was planning on exercising every week (at least), she couldn’t allow noise complaints.

“That looks awesome as fuck. Good job, dude. We’re going to light this city up!”

That reminded her of that Pinkie Pie girl’s party this Saturday. She, Lyra and Bon-Bon had already accepted, but they’d have to make Octavia come one way or another… Wasn’t going to be easy with these parents of hers.

“Yo! Vy! Come check that out! I finally finished building the bed!”

Vinyl opened the door to her room, and found herself facing the most beautiful piece of furniture she had ever seen.

Well, not really, it was just a normal bed made of black particleboard, with four giant drawers serving as its base, but for Vinyl, this was everything. She had always dreamt of sleeping in a queen size, arms and legs spread to occupy the maximum space. The DJ had thousands of glittery stars in her eyes, as she was admiring what could only be a life changing element of her existence.

“Sis?”

“...”

“HEY! VY!”

Vinyl turned her head towards her brother, only to notice that he was covered in sweat, with some of his fingers slightly bleeding from what she assumed was a badly placed screw. But he looked happy of his work. She had to admit, he did some good work, and only in one hour.

“Not bad, uh? I’m pretty excited by the thought of spending the night in this.”

She ignored her brother’s sarcasm, and pulled him by the sleeve to bring him in the living room.

“Wow Vy! Nice job on your setup! Looks even bigger! And as we both know, bigger is…”

Vinyl smiled and put her right hand on the mouth, before giving a thumbs up.

“Better! We’re so mature.”

“That’s what I’m talking about! Now I’ll be having dinner at a bar with some friends, so you can use your hellish machine to bring down the building. Just wait until I leave the place.”

A few minutes later, once he had taken a shower and chosen new clothes, Volume Bass kissed his sister goodbye, and left the apartment. Only a few minutes later, after finishing some connections, Vinyl stepped behind her turntables.

As soon as she turned everything on, the woofer went glowing with an electric blue color, the turntables illuminated with the colors of the rainbow, and a small vibrating sound came out of the machine. Vinyl plugged her laptop into the turntables, pressed a few keys, adjusted some settings, and finally picked her blue headphones and placed them on her ears.

“Ok. Now let’s up the tempo.”
> Hot water
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four hours of sleep most likely weren't enough, but Vinyl didn't care. First, it was high school: nothing to worry about ; then, it had been well worth it: she finally got her hands on her turntables again, and she made the whole building know that.

When she was in her first years of middle school, music was a way to find out what she enjoyed: if she could do something while listening to her tunes, it was a good thing. If not, it wasn't worth it. It got her quite a reputation around the school: a weird but cool girl for her fellow students, and a has-capacities-but-does-not-use-them for the teachers.

But music, yeah music was her haven bag, a place where she could forget about every crappy event of the moment, and focus on the vibrations and their effect on her. At twelve, she had already made her life choice. Why would anybody want more? Living at the rythm of the music, choosing your style of work through your style of tempo, and sharing all these positive effects on the people listening to her.

Sharing. That'd never had been her thing. Not that she was selfish or anything, but she wasn't big on sharing her emotions in middle school. And she wasn't much of a talker at the time.

"Yeah, I wasn't... Although at the time, I could've been..."

She couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic of those times, as she caressed the scar tissue on her neck, usually covered by her jacket. She then took a look at the frame placed on the small bedside table, and a wave of emotions flew through her body.

"No dude, don't cry, past is in the past."

She wiped her eyes and tried to think about something else. Something funnier. Easy. Her brother was snoring like a bear, sleeping in her fucking bed. This douche had came back at 2 a.m, and had directly fallen asleep, not giving the slightest shit about the dubstep shaking the furniture. Oh well.

Vinyl took a minute to observe her schedule: Maths, History, Biology and English, starting at 8 a.m. She still had around fifteen minutes before having to drive to CHS. God, it was nice to have her own car. And now that she had her turntables, she could focus on installing a better sound system in the vehicle. She was going to need it in order not to break down before school and work-

"WORK! OH SHIT! I completely forgot about the shop! I was supposed to be there yesterday evening!"

Fuck, fuck, fuck. It had been like, barely one month, and she was already skipping her shifts! Vinyl took her cellphone, searched in her contacts list, and realized she didn't have her bosse's number.

"Okay, okay, calm down dude. You'll just spend today's evening at work to compensate? Surely they will accept that and everything will be forgiven, right? Or perhaps if I tell them that I was too busy working on my music, they will understand. It's a music shop after all..."

She wasn't exactly convinced by her own plan, but there was no need for abusive concern about this. She grabbed a white towel hanging at her chair. A shower would do her good. Her hair was a mess, but she liked it that way. Even in a world like hers, where hair colours took every color possible, electric blue was pretty rare, and she was often asked if they were dyed. Teachers usually thought they were, and it added to her punk reputation. Nice. Better that than looking like her history teacher: a completely boring person. And honestly, having blue hair was stylish.

Once in the small bathroom, she took off her tank top and her mini-shorts, stretched her arms and tuned the water on. She had never understood people in constant need for cold showers. Screw cold water. Hers were always around  a hundred degrees. The only proper temperature for a shower. She let the water flow through her hair and, on her face and chest, enjoying every second of the moment.

After five minutes, she proceeded to dry herself with her towel, and wiped the fog off the bathroom mirror above the sink. She took a look at her naked body, as her eyes looked at the reflection of her breasts.

"Damn, they're small. I never actually noticed before I met Tavi, but when I talk to her, I can really see the difference. Lyra's pretty much average, I think... But how has Octavia never been hit on by boys before? Um... Boarding school wasn't exactly mixed, I guess."

Vinyl remembered her friend's embarassment back in the locker room. Jeez, to show this kind of shame, she must have never had any talk about sex or anything attached to sex with her mother or sister. And given her temperament, the possibility of her asking her former schoolmates or friends, if she had any, was... thin.

"Yeah, Lyra was right. Explaining that to Tavi would be complicated. But hey, we're going to make her feel more comfortable. That's the point of friends, right?"

She got out of the bathroom, her towel wrapped around her, and took some new clothes out of her suitcase.

"No wardrobe yet, but some turntables. Priorities."

She rampaged through the clothes, and chose some light blue jeans, a black sjort tank top and a white jacket. She looked down at her exposed belly, and smiled.

"No, no piercing. Ever. One day I'll probably get a tatoo though. Bet it'd make Tavi faint."

Damn, she was thinking a lot about Octavia. Okay, they were new friends and all, but since that day when she first saw her, Vinyl's head was often filled with the image of the cellist. She wasn't sure why. She wasn't sure of anything concerning Octavia. Okay, maybe one thing: her parents sucked. If they ever learned about the cellphone, or even that their daughter was hanging out with a mute punk DJ, they'd probably take actions.

But that would never happen.
> More than words
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Shower taken, clothing chosen, bag prepared. Last one was quick. What classes do we have today again?”

Vinyl grabbed her car keys, her wallet and her headphones, and knocked two times on the wall to notify her brother. Once she got a muffled “goodbye” from Volume, she entered the staircase and slammed the door behind her.

“Awww fuck yeah! This hot shower really did wake me up! Unlike captain squatter over there, my body is ready to attack the day!”

Vinyl suddenly stopped, a feeling of sheer panic embracing her. She rushed back up the few steps she had walked down, opened her door after dropping the keys in stress twice, got in the kitchen, and grabbed a Redbulk energy drink from the fridge.

“Ok, now I’m ready.”



}--oO0Oo--{



As Vinyl’s car was approaching CHS’s parking lot, the DJ noticed someone waving at her from a bench. A thin and joyful girl, cheeks turning to pink with the cold wind of September, and coming nicely along with her blue and pink hair.

“Bon-Bon! Right! We need to tell her everything about yesterday!”

Vinyl stopped mid-thought to analyse the situation.

“Wait… Bon-Bon? And neither Lyra or Tavi are here?”

She looked at her watch: 7:57 am. Then she took a look at the picture of the schedule she had taken with her cellphone.

“Balls! Today’s classes start at 8:30! I’m thirty minutes early!”

Well that was new. Not once in her entire lifetime had Vinyl ever been early. She was usually either arriving just before the teachers, or sneaking up as they did the attendance. Her time needed to be well-spent, and by that she meant sleeping or wubbing.

She slammed her head on her steering wheel, letting the blaring sound of the car horn resonate in the parking lot. Bon-Bon giggled at the sight of her friend’s confusion, unwrapping a small blue candy and putting it under her tongue.

“Hey Vinyl, you okay over there? I thought you were starting classes later than me today… Did you came early?”

Vinyl blew steam on her window, before writing on the fog with her finger:

“I DIDN’T MEAN TO…”

The pianist smiled as her friend got out of her car, grabbed her bag and started walking along with her towards the main entrance.

“Well I’m sure you’re exhausted after all what happened yesterday. I mean, I don’t know what the fuss was about yet, Lyra texted me that we’d have something to talk about at lunch. You want to walk me to my classroom?”

Vinyl gave a thumb up, before engulfing a last sip of her energy drink and throwing the can in a nearby bin.

“Oh God, you sure these are good for you Vinyl? I don’t doubt they give you the required energy to drive, but the side effects on your body can be…. Oh right, I forgot you and Lyra have these type of bodies that never get fat. I envy you… I can barely eat any sweets without getting scared for my waistline.”

Vinyl looked down her exposed belly. Yup, she was slim. Skinny, almost. All the pizzas and burgers in the world weren’t helping. But she liked it. She didn’t care much about physical appearance, but not getting fat was a nice bonus the existence gave her.

Once the two girls reached the hallway on the second floor, Bon-Bon noticed the flow of students entering her classroom, gave Vinyl a smile and a quick wave, and disappeared behind the door.

“Great. Now, thirty minutes to kill. Easy.”



}--oO0Oo--{



It wasn’t easy.

“Of course my phone would run out of battery! Why wouldn’t it?! No music for you, you fucking dumbass!”

Vinyl was angry at herself: two bad decisions on the same day, it was already too much. She was walking in circles in front of the giant horse statue decorating the park. She looked at the pedestal, and almost saw her reflection in the stone.

“Weird…”

She looked up to the statue watching over the school, like a stone guardian.

“Why a horse anyway?”

She went back inside, walked around the hall, went back outside, inside again, then looked towards the big golden clock above the door, eyes filled with hope.

“C’mon! It must’ve been like, twenty-five minutes now!”

It had been three minutes.

“Oh for fuck sake!”

Suddenly Vinyl heard the sound of tires stopping from afar. These were from Octavia’s limousine’s. She didn’t really know how she knew that, but she just knew. Perfect. Not only wasn’t she alone anymore, but she could spend the next twenty minutes with Tavi. What could be better?

She slammed the front door open, and rushed to the corner of the street to welcome her friend. When she arrived, the car was already driving away, and Octavia was standing still on the side of the pavement.

“She is so cute…”

The DJ smiled and waved at her friend, before arriving in front of her and giving her a joyful hug. It was such a relief, she wasn’t waiting alone anymore.

But the reaction she got wasn’t the one she expected. Of course, Tavi had always been a little uncomfortable with physical contact ; but this time, she completely backed off, leaving the blue-haired girl in the awkward position of a failed hug.

“Wut?”

Vinyl looked at her friend, an expression of amused embarrassment on her white face.

“G...Good morning Vinyl…”

“Oh shit, she started to stutter. That’s not good.”

Vinyl didn’t take time to take out her notepad: she drew a question mark in the air with her right hand, looking at Octavia as the latter was trembling in front of her.

“Vinyl, I… I don’t think we can be friends anymore…”

Vinyl giggled and smiled at what was surely a joke from her friend. She was starting to use humour. Good.

“No Vinyl, I mean it… We… We can no longer see each others anymore…”

This time, Vinyl took out her pen and paper, and swiftly wrote a few words, a lump starting to build up in her throat.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that we just can’t see each others again!”

Her voice had suddenly become more serious, more firm. But her fists her closed tight, and trembling next to her hips.

“We have nothing in common! We cannot even communicate together! How can we even remotely be friends? I think it would be best for the two of us if we parted ways. I am also counting on telling Lyra about my decision.”

Wait, pause. That was too much information at once. What was Octavia doing? Why was she like this all of a sudden? Did she just say that they should… part ways? Vinyl feverishly scratched the paper with the tip of her pencil:

“What? Why would you do that Tavi?”

“I… I don’t believe I have to explain myself. This is my decision, please accept it. And also Vinyl…-”

Octavia stopped mid-sentence, as to swallow her tears.

“Please, don’t call me “Tavi”...”

These last words broke Vinyl’s heart. What happened between yesterday and today? Dis her parents get word of what had happened with Sombra? Or with the bully? Did the principals call them after all? In any case, despite what she was saying, it was clearly not her own decision. If that was her parent’s work, it was going to be an issue. Apparently Octavia was pretty scared of them.

“Everything that could’ve gone wrong went wrong.”



}--oO0Oo--{




Vinyl had been anxious like she’d never been during the math class. After her little speech, Octavia had disappeared, asking Vinyl not to follow her. She apparently later told Lyra about her decisions concerning the three of them, and had asked her to inform Bon-Bon as well.
Now Vinyl and Lyra were sitting at the back row, both their faces in their hands, contemplating the situation they were in.

“What the fuck dude…”

“...”

“WHAT THE FUCK DUDE!”

“Jeez, I heard you Lyra.”

Vinyl looked at her friend and touched her ear while shaking her hand. No need to inform the whole classroom about their problem.

“What the hell is wrong with her?! Does she think she’s better than us?!”

“...”

“Yeah I know it’s not that, just… let me make my scene!”

After a few minutes of angry muffling and tapping her pen against the table, Lyra finally took a breath and turned back towards Vinyl.

“Now I think we both guessed that this lil’ show was her parent’s doing. Great, we needed that. As if Sombra and Discord weren’t enough, we now have to deal with Tavi’s folks. How do you think they know about us?”

That was a good question. Octavia surely didn’t tell them herself, she wasn’t this clumsy. So someone else did. Before the class, she gave the principals, as well as the nurse, a quick visit: none of them had ever called the Melody family. When asked why, Vinyl had to lie and tell them that Octavia just wanted to be sure. They couldn’t afford to get the staff’s attention on this.

“So who the fuck could it be? Discord? No, he doesn’t have any interest in this, and that was kinda his thing. Sombra? No, he liked to handle things himself apparently. This Sunset Shimmer? No, Octavia’s parents wouldn’t listen to her. Plus, she didn’t have the phone number.”

Vinyl’s brain was starting to melt when she heard a sound from outside the window. It was a delivery truck for the nearby mall. The sound was the one of tires. Tires screeching.

“Holy fucking shit! The driver! Of course it was the fucking driver! Why would it be anybody else?!”

She touched Lyra’s arm to get her attention, and mimed using a steering wheel.

“What?... Oh! No fucking way! The limo driver? That motherfucker we don’t even know just snitched to Octavia’s parents?”

The DJ nodded, trying to calm her raging friend with a pat on the shoulder.

“That piece of shit! I know whose tires I’ll be piercing tomorrow! Who does he think he is?”

Vinyl took a second to think. That was not good.This guy was bringing Octavia to school three or four times a week, and who knows if his boss asked him to stay a bit around to check on her daughter.

Suddenly, Lyra’s eyes lightened up.

She had an idea.

A very bad idea.



}--oO0Oo--{



As Cheerilee was packing her things and leaving the classroom, Vinyl came to Octavia’s desk on the front row. The few feet between the two desks had seemed like a walk through a desert to the DJ, and she still didn’t know exactly what to tell her friend yet.

When she arrived face to face with the cellist, the latter turned her head towards the wall, pretending not to see her friend, her eyes filled with shame. She tried to say a word, but Vinyl just smashed the table with her hands, as to captivate the cellist’s attention. She took out a piece of paper she had prepared during math lessons, and handed it to Octavia:


Hey Tavi,

I’ve never good at writing long-ass letters (Weird right? Can’t talk, can’t write), but I feel like you need this.
Me and Lyra aren’t stupid: we know that it’s your parent’s decision, not yours, to distance yourself from us. We also know that it’s your limo driver who told them about us.
I know that we’re not the best of friends somebody could ask for and honestly, yes, we might be a bad influence on you. But if a bad influence can help you discover the world, the people, and make some new, better friends, then I say it’s worth it.

We love you Tavi. Me, Lyra and Bon-Bon. No butthurt parents or limo driver can ever change that. So if you really don’t want to see us again, that’s fine, but if not, know that we will find a way to escape your folk’s surveillance, whatever it takes. They don’t want us to hang out together? Well screw them!

Cause even if we don’t speak the same language, even if we barely know anything about each others, even if our ways of living are as different as they could be, I know it’s worth it.

You’re worth it.


As Vinyl watched her friend read the last few lines, she noticed she was trembling while holding the letter. Octavia’s eyes started to water, as she laid down the paper.

And then something happened, something Vinyl wasn’t prepared for.

Octavia folded her middle finger and ring finger, and clumsily moved her hand from her chest to Vinyl, and then folded her index finger, leaving only the thumb and little finger pointing at Vinyl.

I love you too.



}--oO0Oo--{



As Lyra searched in her list of phone numbers, she looked at her two friends from afar. Hopefully, things were going to go well for the three of them.

She finally stopped scrolling down once she found the number titled “Octavia’s House”. She clicked on the dial icon, and waited as the ringing played in her ear.

This was such a bad idea.

“Good morning, this is the Melody Manor intendant. What is the purpose of your call?” said a loud and severe voice.

Lyra took a big breath, and tried her best to do a forty-something woman voice:

“Hello, this is Canterlot Police Department, we have reasons to believe that there was some kind of trouble in a street surrounding the mall this morning, and we are looking for some potential witnesses.”

“Oh my” said the voice, obviously concerned “I certainly hope nobody in our house is in any sort of trouble. If that is in fact the case, we’ll have to appoint our lawyer.”

“Oh, no need for that” said Lyra, as she was starting to feel a bit of panic “We just have reasons to believe that the black Hoofield limo that passed by the Canterlot High School this morning is owned by your domain. Is that correct?”

“It is.”

“Well, I’d like to ask a few questions to the driver of the said limo. Do not worry, he is not in any kind of trouble whatsoever. We just think he could bring some information about what he might have seen in the streets.”

“Um… You’ll have to excuse me, I’ve never been part of anything like this. But we’d be glad to help the CPD.”

“Glad to hear that. Now, can I talk to the limo driver, if you don’t mind?”

“I’m afraid he’s not home right now, but if you are in a hurry, I can give you his cell number.”

“Lyra smiled at these news.

“I think it’ll do just fine.”
> Vengeance is fun
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Light Tire wasn’t eager to attend this meeting. He had been informed that the Canterlot Police department had been asking for him this morning, concerning some “potential witnesses of an accident”. Weird. He hadn’t noticed any accident near the school, or anything out of the ordinary for that matter. But it was better that way: he would just come at the rendez-vous point, say hello to the cop, tell her or him that he didn’t see or hear anything, and it would be over. Easy.

He got in the limo and started the engine. The best part about this job, apart from the high pay, was that he could use the car for his personal business during the week. That was worth driving this whining rich brat every now and then. At least her father wasn’t that fucking gloomy all the time.

He had seen this blue-haired girl before, smoking with her friend… boy or girl, he didn’t really know. Future artists who thought they could rule the world. Bullshit, just future losers he’d have to pay the welfare for. He couldn’t care less about the friends her boss’s daughter, but he knew that Mr. Melody wouldn’t appreciate, and that he could get some gratitude out of this whole affair. Too bad for the girl, but money buys friends anyway, and probably better ones.

He drove for fifteen minutes before arriving to the agreed location: the Sugarcube Corner, a small café just near the school. At least it was easy to get to. It was a strange choice of place for a police questioning, but he guessed that since he wasn’t a suspect or anything, it would not be very formal. Also that way, he could get a coffee.

What a pain. He had better things to do than answering some useless questions from a suspicious cop. The maid who took the call told him it was a woman’s voice. Maybe at least he could invite her to have a drink afterwards.

Nevermind. It was a man. He didn’t look like a cop at all, but he was the only client in the café, and his badge was lying on the table. Very young, maybe twenty-three, black leather jacket and jeans. Maybe an intern. Did the CPD even have internships?

He sat in front of the young man, who smiled at him and passed a hand through his red hair.

“Hello sir, I’m inspector Volume Bass. How are you today?”



}--oO0Oo--{



Vinyl looked through the café’s window, and smiled at the sight of her brother talking to Octavia’s driver like it was nothing. Lyra’s idea may’ve been crazy, but this brought in a whole new level to the illegal stuff she had done over the years.

“Hey, Volume shouldn’t have a fake badge to start with. But it’s pretty handy when it comes to getting easy access to concerts or abandoned building to hang out.”

She looked at Lyra, who was apparently trying her best not to burst into laughter. Things were going surprisingly well.

“Dude!” the mint-haired girl smiled “Good thing Tavi’s not here! She would’ve freaked out!”

True. After the events of the morning classes, Octavia had asked Vinyl and Lyra for some alone time to “think about all of this”. Vinyl didn’t like the idea of leaving her friend alone during lunch break, but it had allowed them to set their plan into motion as soon as the bell rang.
They had thought about disguising Lyra, but the idea was scratched after two seconds, it would’ve never worked. Then came the possibility of asking Volume Bass. He had spent the entire morning in the bed, so there had been no disponibility problem. And he had brought his fake badge, because reasons.

“You never know I guess. But it’s super sweet of him! Now, phase two!”

“Phase two? We’re such nerds.”

“Okay, it’s your turn!” Lyra continued “Are you ready?”

“I guess so.” responded a panicked Bon-Bon, adjusting her apron, obviously unsure about her life choices. “Are you sure this is legal?”

“Of course it is not! It’s not a question of doing things legally, it’s doing the right things! C’mon girl, it’s for Octavia!”

“You’re right. She doesn’t deserve what’s happening to her.”

Vinyl observed the interior of the café through the window. No other clients, and the barmaid was inside the kitchen. It was time. She waved her fingers in Bon-Bon’s direction. The pianist immediately got up, took a deep breath, and walked inside quietly.

Vinyl and Lyra watched their friend as she walked towards the only occupied table. She was certainly uneasy about the situation, but her eyes had a true determination, like nothing the two girls had ever seen before.

“She’s sooo cool!” Lyra smiled, admiring her friend’s courage. She was the only one the driver hadn’t seen with Octavia, so it kinda had to be her, but after being told about the cellist’s situation, she had taken the decision herself.

Once Bon-Bon arrived in front of Volume Bass, she gave the biggest smile she could offer, and asked for what the two man wanted to drink. The driver, clearly annoyed by this interruption, quickly asked for a coffee, not noticing the cleaning towel Bon-Bon had placed over his car keys. Once she finished taking note of the orders, she grabbed the towel, with the small pieces of metal still folded inside.

She then put the stolen item, along with the piece of cloth, in the apron’s pocket, and went to the bar to meet Vinyl, who had just bought a fresh coffee, careful not to be seen by the driver. The DJ handed the drink to her friend, who then brought it to the table.

“Don’t worry about the drink.” said Volume Bass, smirking at the man in front of him “I’m buying.”



}--oO0Oo--{



“This was the most stressful thing I’ve ever done…” Bon-Bon said, collapsing on the pavement under the weight of her emotions.

“You rocked, girl!” Lyra laughed “He didn’t see a thing! We’re kinda lucky though, the barmaid didn’t notice you when she was serving Vinyl… But hey! Now we can continue! Bon-Bon, you were awesome!”

There it was, the craziest part of any plan Vinyl had ever thought about. This was such a bad idea, she didn’t even know what planted it in her brain.

“Be careful, both of you!” Bon-Bon warned.

“Right, let’s be careful. It’s not like we have a real cop to cover for us.”

Vinyl and Lyra got up, turned right to the nearby street, and looked at the parked limo.

“You sure you wanna do this, girl?”

Yes, she was sure. This guy deserved it. Vengeance was sweet, and sometimes, honestly, it could be fun. She opened the doors, and used her free hand to sign Lyra.

“Fuck no, I’m not scared! This guy wants to ruin Octavia’s life, so there’s nothing to regret!”

“That’s the spirit.”

Okay, now the serious business. She sat in the driver’s seat, with Lyra taking place next to her. She had never driven a car like this one before, but it shouldn’t be that complicated. Using the stolen key, she turned the engine on. They could’ve hijacked the car, but it was not the point of their plan.

They got out of the parking spot, and drove backwards to exit the street by the other side. No need for the driver to see them steal his car. Once they arrived in the next avenue, they drove during five good minutes, before arriving at the Canterlot scrapyard.

“Oh yeah, this is such a bad idea, but such a great bad idea.”

Vinyl couldn’t help but feel excited about this. They had just stolen a limo, and things weren’t going to get any better in the next few minutes, but it had a rebellious charm to it, and it felt great.

Lyra got out of the car, and looked Vinyl in the eyes, hers being filled with a mix of excitement and concern.

“You’re sure about this, right?”

Vinyl didn’t even sign at her friend. Instead, she leaned towards her and kissed her gently on the lips. Then she got back on the wheel, her magenta eyes filled with confidence.

“Ok then, you won.”

Lyra shut the door, and ran to the entrance of the scrapyard. The street was completely empty. She waved at Vinyl to get her attention, and lifted her thumb up to signal the place was secured.

“Ok dude, you got this, you got this.”

She turned the radio on, selected her favorite dubstep program, took a big breath, crushed the accelerator pedal, and smashed the car into a pile of rusty steel beams.



}--oO0Oo--{



“Dude! Are you okay?!”

Vinyl opened her eyes slowly, massaging her temples as her friend tried to open the driver’s door. She was alright, but the airbag had knocked her unconscious for a few seconds.

“This fucking thing doesn’t want to open!”

The DJ took a look at the front of the car, or what was left of it: the steel beams had smashed through the hood, destroyed the bumper, and exploded the windshield in the impact.
The left side of the car was also noticeably damaged, explaining why Lyra couldn’t get the door to open.

Vinyl calmed her friend down with a sign of the hand, and crawled over the shift lever to reach the passenger seat, and opened the door on the other side of the vehicle.

Immediately after she got out, Lyra fell into her arms, hugging her tightly. Vinyl returned the squeeze, feeling her friend trembling in her arms. She looked into the lyrist’s golden eyes, and gently kissed her on the forehead. They stayed in this position for a few seconds, holding each other’s hands tight.

Lyra finally broke the silence with an embarrassed laugh:

“This was such a bad idea! I almost shat my pants seeing you crashing into these! But on the other hand, it was so fucking awesome! You were like an action movie star! Call Jason Stablham and you’ll get a role in his next movie for sure!”

Vinyl smiled at her friend’s amusement, and looked at what was once an expensive black limo: she didn’t know if deliberately crashing a car could be called “a job well done”, but they had achieved their goal for sure. This car wasn’t going to be driven again for a long time.

“Don’t you kinda feel bad, though?”

“Fuck no. Both the guy who owns the car and the one who drove it were assholes.”

The only thing she regretted was that Octavia would have to go to school by bus more often, but it was certainly better than driving with a man who had no respect for her or her friends whatsoever.

“...”

“Yeah, me neither. By the way, I took the liberty of filming your little stunt with my phone. Just to show Bon-Bon.”

“...!!”

“Now, don’t worry, I’ll delete it immediately after! After uploading it on my PC…”

“For fuck sake Lyra… Okay, now let’s get the hell outta here before somebody sees us…”

Vinyl grabbed her friend’s wrist, and the two girls ran out of the scrapyard, one of them laughing while the other one was realizing that they had ten minutes to get back to CHS by foot.



}--oO0Oo--{



“Okay, now please sign here to confirm your deposition. Riiiight here…. Thanks!”

Light Tire was not in a good mood. This interview had taken way more time than it should have, with this obviously newbie cop asking some completely idiotic and useless questions. Who cared what his Zodiac sign was?!

Inspector Volume Bass rose a hand to get the waitress’s attention, grabbed a few coins from his pocket and payed for the drinks.

“Thank you for the coffee.” the driver grumbled. At least he got something out of this. But he wasn’t sure if it was worth it.

As expected, he did not help the police department in any way concerning the “accident” that took place near the mall. Big surprise. He watched as the young policeman got up, waved at him to say goodbye, and got out of the café.

Immediately after that, the inspector rushed back in the café, holding a small car key:

“I’m sorry, I must’ve grabbed your keys believing that they were mine! My mistake!”

The driver sighed, but smiled at the young man, taking his keys back and saluting the cop as the latter was exiting the building once again.
He took a few moments of relaxing loneliness to finish his second coffee, got up and left, ignoring the goodbye from the owner.

Finally over. He could get back to the manor, drop the car there, and enjoy the lunch the old Dana had prepared for the staff members.

He turned left to the next street, searched for his key in his pocket, pressed the small button, but didn’t hear the beeping noise of an opened car. He looked back up, at his parking spot, only to realize that the black limo had disappeared.

“God…” he said out loud, contemplating the empty spot.

“I am so fired.”
> Back to class
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord wiped the left side of his yellow jacket with his hand, straightened his red tie and passed his other hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. He had always enjoyed the reflection of his face in the mirror. Some called it ego, he preferred “justified pride”, mostly because it sounded better. But he did care about his looks. Beauty wasn’t centered on matching clothes, or muscles, it was something that one could build himself, if he had the desire, and the spirit. And Discord had both.

He caressed his abnormally long teeth with two of his fingers, smiled at the mirror, grabbed his keys, and headed towards the door. But the sound of someone walking a few feet behind him made him turn around:

“Hhmmmhhmm… Baby… Where are you going?” said a smooth and feminine voice, apparently barely awakened.

“I’m having coffee with an old friend… Hum, what’s your name, again?”

“Sassy… C’mon babe…”

“Yes, yes, that’s right. Sassy! I’ll be seeing you later. Maybe.”

“Oh! Here babe, I wrote my number here, don’t forget to call me!”

“I won’t.”

“What?!”

“No, I mean I won’t forget.”

“Aww you’re the sweetest! See you later babe!”

“That’s right…”

Discord shut the door behind him, and threw the small piece of paper in the nearest trashcan. He then hopped in his convertible, jumping over the driver’s door. He grabbed a milk chocolate can from the backseat, and started driving, putting the radio’s volume on max.

Living in downtown Canterlot had its good sides, but traffic was a nightmare. Luckily, he had left half an hour early. Just to be sure he wasn’t going to be late. His “old friend” didn’t like this kind of sloppy behavior.

After exactly twenty-eight minutes of driving, he parked in front of the bar they had chosen as a rendezvous point. He chose a seat in a corner, near the window covered by a red curtain of poor manufacture. Before he even had the time to order something to drink, the door opened once again, and he immediately recognized the newcomer.

The tall woman walked slowly to the table, pulled a seat, threw her backpack on the ground, and sat without breaking eye contact with the chemistry teacher.

Discord smiled at her rude behavior and angry look, accentuated by the long scar across her right eye.

“Hello Tempest, how have you been?”



}--oO0Oo--{



Vinyl, Bon-Bon and Lyra were laughing as they were running through Canterlot High’s hallways. This lunch break sure had been stressful, but also some “good quality bonding time” as someone who’s likely over forty most likely said one day. Now they were late for class, and even if neither Vinyl or Lyra cared for it at this point, Bon-Bon had insisted on going, to clear her head.

“Not a bad idea. After all of this, some boring classes would maybe calm our blood pressure…”

The two girls left Bon-Bon in front of room 404, and headed towards the other side of the hallway, in room 407. The door was closed. Shit. They had biology, and even though the teacher seemed kinda nice, they weren’t aware of her policy concerning delays.

Lyra raised her fist to knock at the door, when suddenly the latter opened, to reveal Ms. Zecora, smiling, with the whole class already sat behind the desks, staring at the two girls.

“Good! You’re here at last!” said the teacher “Being late for the second class sure would have left me aghast.”

“We’re sorry. We were… busy.”

“Dammit Lyra, shut up.”

“Oh I am sure you were. And you are going to be: go stand over there.” she smiled at the lyrist, pointing the platform in front of the teacher’s desk.

“Um… I’d rather not?” Lyra smiled awkwardly, hoping for her teacher’s compassion.

“Stop this complaining and do it. You, you can go seat.”

“Well, being mute has its benefits. Good luck Lyra…”

“Now, Ms. Heartstrings, do tell us about what we studied yesterday. And I am asking for details, if you may.”

Vinyl chuckled as she searched for a seat. Lyra had done it again. Her big mouth got her in trouble again. She then found what she was looking for: Octavia, with an empty seat next to her. Perfect.

“I should tell her that we help her. Well, maybe not every detail, she would totally freak out. Let’s leave…. everything illegal aside. Jeez, that doesn’t leave much to say…”

The DJ let herself fall on the wooden chair, laying both her arms on the table and passing her hand in her blue hair. She looked for a second at Lyra, trying to collect every fragments of the previous class ; but her gaze quickly centered on the girl sitting next to her.

“Oh, he… hello Vinyl. I was afraid you and Lyra were in some sort of trouble, but then I remember her telling me that… being on time wasn’t her “thing”, or whatever she meant by that.”

Almost by instinct, without realizing that it was a foreign language to her friend, Vinyl moved her hands to ask how Octavia was doing.

“Oh I’m… doing alright. Is that what it means? I’m not really sure yet.”

That lightened up Vinyl’s face with a large smile. With all these events, she had almost forgotten that Octavia had taken on sign language. It was so cute and nice, exactly like the cellist.

She gave her friend a thumb up and kept trying some simple signs to test Octavia’s comprehension.

“Have I… learned to eat…?”

Vinyl smiled and took out her pen and paper, much to the shame of Octavia. She pushed the pen’s button and quickly scribbled a few words, before passing the paper over to her friend.

“I… I don’t know Vinyl. I cannot go against my parent's orders, but I took time to think during the lunch break. What struck me first was how lonely it felt. I am more than used to take some alone time to consider things ; but here, without you three, it felt… bland. And I was scared to meet this bully again…”

The DJ placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder, in an effort to comfort her. Her life wasn’t easy, that was for sure.

“...And I don’t know how I could possibly get out of this situation. I want to be with you all, but if my father finds out, I won’t see you ever again… I’m not aware of how he knew about our relation, but he can most likely do it again.”

Vinyl smiled, put her index to her lips and pointed it towards her friend, shaking her head.

“You are not… sure? What do you mean?”

This time, she took a paper to explain:

Me and Lyra found out how. It was your driver. But we took care of it.

“The family driver? Gosh, of course! My father must have been asking him to keep him informed of my whereabouts whenever he drives me here!”

But Octavia’s expression of surprise turned suddenly into confusion.

“Wait… What could you possibly mean by “you took care of it”? You didn’t do anything improper, did you?”

“Well “improper” is a way to put it. I was right, she’s not ready to hear the whole “faking a police interview” and “stealing and destroying a car” thing. Sorry Tavi.”

Don’t worry Tavi, let’s just say you’re going to have to take the bus to school a bit more often.

"What? What do you possibly mean?... Vinyl, what did you do?"

"Oh boy."

Vinyl leaned back in her seat, keeping her hand on Octavia's shoulder, and watching as Lyra was making the whole class feel better about their knowledge of Biology.
> Life's a party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Lyra, be courteous towards Vinyl! She didn’t do anything wrong to you!”

Octavia was unsuccessfully trying to calm the mint-haired girl, as the latter was repeatedly punching Vinyl’s shoulder. In turn, the DJ was doing her regular “laugh”, which made several students turn around to check if somebody was having a heart attack. Octavia sure wasn’t comprehending this… game between the two of her friends. Was that something every good friends did between to each others? Was she going to have to be hit, or worse, hit someone?

Once the storm of punches had stopped, Vinyl got back on her seat, panting from her laughter, and massaging her right upper arm and shoulder, which had turned red after experiencing her best friend’s wrath.

“Vinyl, I swear to God, if something like this happens ever again because of you, I’m gonna send fucking fire and brimstone on your ass!”

Vinyl gave her friend an evil smirk, as she was signing to Lyra. That gave Octavia a chance to test her understanding of this new language. The couple of hours she had had with Dana had been productive, but she only understood bit parts of the sentence: “not my”, “you have”, “mouth”...

“Big mouth my ass! I was sent there alone just because you can’t talk! You’re lucky murdering handicapped people is illegal!”

“Um… Lyra, I believe that aggravated assault on anyone is illegal…” Octavia said in a shy mumble, in a desperate try to get her friend’s attention elsewhere.

Lyra turned her head towards the cellist, her eyes still filled with the red taint of sheer anger. Octavia let out a slight scream, before whispering a “I’m sorry!”, face between her hands.

Seeing her interlocutor’s panic, Lyra smiled and sat beside the terrified girl, messing her dark grey hair with her pale hand.

“Goddamnit Tavi! You’re making me feel bad! I’m not really pissed at Vinyl, you know? You’re so innocent!”

She paused mid-sentence to look at Vinyl laughing.

“You’re so cute when you’re scared though, I should do it more often! I’m sure it’d please Vinyl!”

Octavia looked at Lyra in a confused look, putting her now messy hair back in place with both hands.

“Oh… Oh no, please don’t. I couldn’t possibly handle the idea of you not being here for me anymore… You all did so much for me already.”

“You have no idea, Tavi.”

“Speeeeaaaaking of which!” Said Lyra, stretching her arms and legs, producing an unbelievable amount of cracking sounds that made Octavia shiver. “You know what day we are, right?”

“I believe we’re on a Thursday, but I do not see the-”

“Right! And so, that means we have two days before Saturday, you agree?”

“Well, how couldn’t I?”

“Sure. And on Saturday, we haaaaave……?”

“I… don’t think we have any class on Saturday.”

“I’m not talking about classes girl! I’m talking about the party! At that girl’s place, Pinkie Pie! You remember?!”

“Oh, um, well… I have to admit, I was not planning on attending this event.”

“What?!”

“What did you expect Lyra?”

“Why wouldn’t you? It’s gonna be awesome! Bon-Bon told me that Pinkie Pie is the best at organizing parties! Hell, she’s even the head of the party-planning committee! Don’t you think it’s a great occasion to have fun, make some friends, drink all night? I mean, I don’t think there’ll be any alcohol, but since Vinyl’s brother is in town, maybe he can get us some sweet stuff! Right girl?”

“...”

“See?! It’s perfect! Come with us, don’t be a loner!”

“It’s… It’s not that I don’t want to come. I appreciate the invitation, I truly do, but I’ve never been out during the evening, especially not in a stranger’s home. As you may imagine, my parents don’t allow me, but it’s not like this restriction has ever caused me any grief. This is the first time I’ve been invited to something like this and… even though it appears to be a nice idea, I’m afraid I can’t go… Furthermore, with what happened between my father and I yesterday, there is no possible other outcome.”

“Aw crap. That’s right, your parents. Why do they even act like that? They think locking up their daughter in their house is good for her?! Don’t they want you to make any friends?”

“Well, I believe we can all testify that they’re not fond of our newborn friendship…”

“True… So what’s their deal exactly?”

“Their… deal?”

“What’s their problem?”

As Lyra was astonished by the cellist’s parent’s behavior, Vinyl watched at her two friends, legs crossed on her table. Yeah, she wanted to know about the Melody parents as well. How could they even remotely think that’d be good for their daughter? Were they like this with Octavia’s sister too?

“Damn, this isn’t gonna be easy…”

She checked the time on her phone. Two minutes of break left. Today was the first English class, with a teacher they hadn’t met yet: Mrs. Harshwhinny. Probably not from here.

“I… I don’t know Lyra. That is just the way they educated me. It had done me no wrong up until now. But they… ask that if I was to socialize with other students, they should be of a similar social status.”

“What?! That’s complete bullshit and you know it!”

“Lyra, please, watch your-”

“No girl, I won’t! They think they can stop you from having fun? From making the friends you want? From being free?!”

Lyra’s indignation was only met with silence from the cellist. Deep down, even though she didn’t want to admit it, Octavia knew that her friend was right. She had accepted the cellphone, she had watched them beat up that bully,... But this was a more serious affair. She couldn’t just leave her home and meet her friends at this party…

“Hey, you know what? Why don’t you wait until night to leave your home and meet us at the party?!”

“Wha-”

She was cut mid-sentence by the room’s door opening, followed by the sound of high heels knocking loudly against the wooden floor.

The whole class immediately got silent. Every single student, in a heartbeat, ceased their activity or conversation, just as if they got put into shock by the sudden arrival.

The newcomer stepped in the room, not uttering a single word, not making a sound, except for the same sound of heels against wooden planks.
This woman was impressive, to say the least. Not only by appearance, with her purple three-piece suit, completed by a bright white shirt and a few golden pieces of jewelry ; but also her presence, her aura, which was filling every square inch of the room. Her blue eyes were calm yet alert, and her posture was sign of professionalism.
One thing was for sure: this woman wasn’t here for any funny business like Discord, or for creative self-development like Nandermane. She was here to teach, and not in the “teach” sense of teach, more in the TEACH sense of teach.

“Good afternoon students, take your books and open them page five.”

“Oh shit. No time to fuck around.” Lyra whispered at her DJ friend “Now that’s an accent though. You think she’s from the eastern continent? Like that other girl over there, Photo Finish?”

“Excuse-me young lady, are you already breaking the school’s rules and having your private conversations during my class?”

“Lyra, I swear to God…”

“Well, I, uhm…”

“Hello Miss! Why don’t we start by introducing everyone?! Every other teacher does that!” yelled a high-pitched girly voice. Saved by Pinkie Pie.

“We will start by setting things right: my job is to make you succeed. If you don’t succeed, what kind of teacher would I be? And... what kind of students would you be?”

“Aw great. Perfect. A stuck-up strict teacher. We now officially have all the stereotypes. This school is a fucking zoo of teachers if I ever saw one.”

“But, if that is the way you can find motivation on this first day, so be it: I am Mrs. Harshwhinny, and I’ll be teaching you the twists and turns of English language. I am from Horseburg myself, and I certainly hope you’ll be as fast at learning as I was.”

“Concerning the rules in class…” She continued, taking a disdainful look at Lyra, “I have a zero-tolerance policy about delays, chatting and misbehaviors of any sort. I hope I will never have to take measures against any of you.”

“Great!” Pinkie Pie smiled, obviously not realizing the current situation, nor the teacher’s dark glance, “Our turn! I’m Pinkie Pie, and-”

“I know who you are.” She said, leaning forward on Pinkie’s table, “And let me tell you something: you seem to be the troublemaker kind. The other professors may not care, but I do. I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”

She uttered every single word, overly articulating and casting her shadow over half the class.

“Sure, she doesn’t look straight up mean like Sombra, but I sure won’t be looking forward to going in English class in the future.” Lyra whispered, getting an approving nod from Vinyl. Octavia seemed to have absolutely no problem with that, probably because of her past years in boarding schools. Every teacher there must’ve been the same. Poor Tavi.

“I already put a name on each and every one of your faces, students. Why waste time on that?” She took a brief break to search through the crowd, stopping on Vinyl. “I also learned that we have some sort of… special situation this year.”

Vinyl got tempted to sign something like “Hello bitch”, but if Discord had taught them anything, it was that some teachers knew sign language. Better just introduce herself. She did a few signs, starting gasps of admiration from her fellow students.

“No, Ms. Scratch, I do not understand sign language. I sure hope you got something planned to make yourself understood in class.”

Lyra rose her hand, not waiting for an answer to talk:

“Well I’m always here to translate, and Octavia over here is also startin-”

“When I want a student to talk, Ms. Heartstrings, I interrogate him! Remain quiet, we’ll talk about your behavior later!”

Lyra’s face turned red. She was about to blow up. Vinyl put her hand on her friend’s lap to calm her down, not looking away from the teacher’s gaze.

“Concerning your… handicap, Ms. Scratch, I certainly hope you’re not planning on using it as an excuse to skip oral classes. Now from next week onwards, you’ll be sitting in the first row, and will be answering my questions on paper.”

She stopped for a moment, before smiling:

“But at least we won’t have any problems of you chatting.”

No one laughed at the joke.



}--oO0Oo--{



“I’m on a Hiiiighway to Hell….”

This song was great. Discord had always liked it. It was both classy and dynamic, and pretending he was a twenty-something rebel in his convertible, driving at 75 mph, without a care in the world, was a guilty pleasure of him. He was trying to keep himself in good shape, but he was getting old, and feared the limitations that would come with the age.

He shook his head and sighed. No need to think about this. Time was a precious thing, and his shouldn’t be wasted. He thought about the new generation, these young girls he was helping. With their lives and their issues. One of these issues in particular required his doing, and he was more than decided to help them with it.

His ear twitched as the small phone laying on the passenger seat emitted a small beep. Keeping his left hand on the wheel, he opened the flip phone with the right, and saw a couple words under the name “Tempest”:

“ 5 days”

He smiled, closed the phone and accelerated, with a few cars honking behind him.
This was going to be fun.

“And I’m going down…”

“All the way…”
> At the arcade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Raaaah, screw this!”Vinyl thought, wandering around the large hallways“Can’t we just have one class where I can chill without getting harassed by a weird teacher? The only one who doesn’t care is the music class guy, but it’s the only class I actually care about! Karma’s a bitch, I guess…”

The afternoon was ending, and Vinyl was waiting for Bon-Bon. Her and Lyra had asked the DJ if she wanted to hang out at the bowling alley. The prospect of getting her ass handed by Lyra at bowling wasn’t pleasing, but spending time with Bon-Bon was cool. Shame she wasn’t in their class, but she apparently had made good friends amongst the other class’s students. There was that hot rainbow-haired girl, fittingly named Rainbow Dash, and a small shy girl, Fluttershy, that spoke so little that people thought Vinyl was only the second mute in town.

Lyra exited the bathroom by kicking the door, her hands still soaked with water.

“Dude, the hand dryer’s broken again!”

She smirked at Vinyl, and before the DJ could try anything, she shook both her hands, sending every water drop she could on her friend’s face.

Lyra laughed at her incredibly developed prank, not paying attention to Vinyl taking her bag off her back. Next thing she knew ; 11 pounds of books, pens and energy drinks sent their entire momentum in her left hip. The impact made her stagger, as Vinyl looked at her with flaming eyes.

“Haha… Ouch man, that kinda hurts but,... You were so surprised.”

“...”

“I’m sixteen, thanks for asking, but nothing wrong with a little childish humor! I’m sure Bon-Bon would agree!”

“What would I agree with?”

The two girls turned around, now facing their friend. She was wearing light blue jeans and a yellow shirt, covered by a darker blue fluffy coat, and a white scarf. The stick of a lollipop was stuck between her lips. A true allegory of cuteness, especially giving the “squee” Lyra was making.

“Vinyl, how come you only wear a tank top and a jacket? It’s fifty-three degrees!”

Vinyl smiled at the girl’s confusion, and wrote a small note on a crumpled paper she had found in her pocket:

I don’t really get cold. Dunno why, always has been a mystery to my family.

“Oh well, fair enough.” She smiled “Is Octavia not coming?”

“Nah.” Lyra replied “You know her, she had to get back to her place.”

“Too bad… I wish I had more time to talk to her. She doesn’t reply to texts very often.”

“Well, her phone is not something she can have around in her house.”

“You’re right. But I’m happy to spend some time with you two! How’s your English teacher?”

“She’s… pretty normal I guess, considering all the specimen’s we’ve had so far. Constant angry face, formally dressed, here to put bad grades and take names. You know what I’m talking about.”

“Oh I sure do, we have a similar one in our class. Well, shall we be going? I have to say I’m pretty excited, I’ve never been to an arcade before. Do you think there’ll be something to eat? I’m truly starving.”

“Don’t worry, after I kick your ass at “Return of Maniac”, you’ll feast on your own tears.”

“I’d love to see you try Lyra.”



}--oO0Oo--{



“You owe me five dollars Lyra.”

“Wha… wait, wha? Wh...What?”

Damn. Vinyl hasn’t expecting that. Bon-Bon just annihilated Lyra at that game. After Lyra had beaten her, just as planned, a few minutes ago, she had chosen a table and thrown her bag on the bench seat, crossing her legs on the table. She was now laughing from afar at her friend’s confusion. Nobody had ever beaten Lyra at that game, and neither her or Vinyl thought that Bon-Bon was going to be the chosen one. But the gods had spoken, and both girls were now walking towards the table, one smiling at her victory, and the other other contemplating changing her identity to prevent anyone from learning about this moment of her life.

“Vinyl, you should’ve seen that: everything that could've gone wrong went wrong…”

“Oh I saw that Lyra. You got your ass kicked.”

“Heads up Lyra!” Bon-Bon said, a warm smile on her face “I’ll buy you a drink.”

“Really? Thanks dude!”

“Don’t thank me, you paid for it.”

“Oh that’s right. Fuck you then.”

The pianist laughed at her friend’s insult, raising her hand to get a waiter’s attention.

“I’ll have a cranberry juice.”

“Make that two.”

“Mint syrup” a paper read, met with a confused eye from the young man.

“Vinyl, I was wondering, why don’t you have any kind of badge that warn people about your condition or something? I feel like it’d come in handy with a lot of situations.”

“Oh that’s easy!” Said Lyra before Vinyl could ever take out her pen “First, a badge looks dumb as fuck. Then, it’s kinda funny to observe people’s expressions when they don’t realize that you’re mute. Even funnier when they finally do.”

“That is… a fair point I guess. Anyway, you still haven’t told me about the end of today’s operation on Octavia’s driver! What did you do? Where did you put the car? Did he notice?”

“Oh boy, that’s right, you weren’t there! Well, promise you won’t freak out, okay?”

“Yeah, of course!” She said, eyes shining with anticipation like a child under the Christmas tree.

“Okay then. Vinyl, care to do the honors?”

Vinyl smiled, took out her phone and wrote a few lines. When Bon-Bon’s phone rang, she immediately unlocked it and went to read the text:

We kinda stole the car, then crashed it in a junkyard w/ me inside (im alright btw). Also the guy didn’t notice anything until he left, and Volume didn’t give him any way of contacting him. So there’s that. Pls dont freak out. xoxo

“WAIT, WHAT?!”

“Aw shit.”

Bon-Bon couldn’t believe her eyes. What exactly did she just read on her phone’s screen? Vinyl and Lyra crashed a 72” limo in a junkyard, and with Vinyl driving the said vehicle until its final moments?!

Her eyes suddenly became ablaze with flames as she turned towards the girl sitting next to her:

“Lyra…”

“Hey hey hey, hold on! Don’t look at me like that! It was one hundred percent Vinyl’s idea! I wanted to put a brick on the pedal or something, but she insisted on driving herself!”

Bon-Bon’s eyes quickly went from anger to true worry:

“Vinyl, is this true?”

Vinyl looked at her friend with guilty eyes, her usual smirk having disappeared at the pianist’s words. She closed her fist and shook it vertically, confirming her friend’s suspicions.

Suddenly, Bon-Bon’s eyes started watering, and her hands shaking. She stood up, went to Vinyl’s seat, and without a warning, took the DJ in her arms, holding her tight as she herself was trembling.

“Don’t you ever, ever do this again without me or Octavia…”

Vinyl’s first surprise by her friend’s hug quickly wore off to let her realize what was going on in the girl’s head right now. She and Lyra had taken monumental risks without even telling her, and thinking that she would simply accept the facts was a fucking dumb idea. She squeezed back, returning the hug, as a tear rolled down her left cheek.

Vinyl didn’t cry easily, but there was one thing she couldn’t handle: to watch as the ones closest to her were in pain.

As she was hugging Bon-Bon, the scar on her neck started to feel strange, itching and burning like it was trying to remind her of why she cared about her friends even more than about herself.

“No. Never again…”




}--oO0Oo--{




Bon-Bon and Lyra were now sitting next to each others again, sipping their cranberry juices, while Vinyl was adding three extra cubes of ice in her mint syrup. They had now been talking for thirty minutes about this morning’s events. After her initial shock over Vinyl’s stunt, she had delighted in the details of Volume Bass and Lyra police impressions, as well as Vinyl’s unexpected skills at driving a limo.

“Hey by the way Bon-Bon!” Lyra exclaimed, swallowing the little sugar cube placed next to her drink, “Vinyl and I are together.”

This made Vinyl spill her entire drink on the table, in the most fantastic derp face since that girl they saw in the lunchroom. She wasn’t expecting this at all. She wasn’t angry, sure, Lyra had already told her that she was planning on telling Bon-Bon, but the final reveal was a bit more… brutal than anticipated.

“Together, as in a couple you mean?” asked the girl with an amused grin.

“Well, yeah… I mean, we’ve been like this for a while now, but we just wanted to tell you. You know, so it doesn’t get awkward or anything…”

Bon-Bon chuckled in an almost inaudible laugh:

“Oh Lyra, I’ve known since the first day, you know. You two already act like an old couple, always arguing on the smallest things, but at the same time giving the other one loving looks.”

“Shit, is it that obvious?”

“Well, I don’t think so. I’ve never heard anyone in CHS even remotely evocate you as a couple. I guess for me, it’s more of my mother’s sociology degree kicking in. I’m quite good at figuring out these sort of things.”

“So, you’re okay with that or whatever?”

The girl took several napkins to help Vinyl clean the green liquid off the table, and gave Lyra a warm smile:

“Why wouldn’t I be? If you two are happy, then I am too!”

Vinyl looked at her friend in the eyes, and noticed a small twitch on her face as she was pronouncing those words. For a few seconds, she felt intrigued, before smiling at what she had just discovered.

“Although I can’t say I’ve had a gay couple of friends before… Is it okay for me to say this? Or do you think it’s offensive?” she blushed.

Lyra and Vinyl both laughed at their friend’s confusion, the latter scaring every other client in the room with her gasps for air.

“Yeah dude!” Lyra laughed, wiping a tear from her eye, “What else do you want to say? We don’t get offended that easily here.”

As Bon-Bon was finishing cleaning the spilled drink off the table, Vinyl tapped her partner’s elbow, showing her a text she had just wrote:

“She said she’s ok, but she’s jealous af girl. Saw it in her eyes. I think she likes u.”

Vinyl then took a few seconds to refrain from screaming after having her foot crushed by Lyra’s heel. She found it cute, really. And she never had any problems with Lyra liking other girls. If they couldn’t do what the fuck they wanted at their age, when else would they do it? She had been told multiple times that it was “weird of her” to be totally okay with that, but hell, Lyra was her friends before anything else.

“May I ask” Bon-Bon resumed “How did you get from friends to lovers?”

Lyra was about to answer when she got touched on the shoulder by Vinyl, who gave her a calm smile and a few hand signs.

“Okay dude, I’ll let you do the talking. Pun intended.”

The DJ shook her head in a desperate attempt to get that joke out of her brain, grabbed her phone in one hand and what was left of her drink in the other, and with a surprising agility and speed, she started typing on her screen, going way faster than somebody using his two hands.

After looking at her friend for a few minutes in admiration, Bon-Bon heard a small beep from the phone laying next to her arm:

We dont really know, but we’re not exactly lovers, i guess. Its kinda more like, experiencing. We’ve been friends for over 6 years, and felt like it could be a bit more… spicy. ^^ Long story short, i’ve been w/ girls before, Lyra hasn’t, she wanted to try, and since we were both moving in a new city and leaving everyone else behind, she went for me (i know she’s weird, dont ask). I wouldn’t say we’re in love, neither would she, it’s more of a friendship thing brought to the next level. Sounds dumb and complicated when i write it like this, but i swear to you its as simple as that xD

Vinyl took the opportunity to text Lyra a few words:

Bet she’s glad to learn that.

The text was met with crimson cheeks from Lyra. Bon-Bon, on the other side of the table, had just finished reading, and an expression of pure calm and joy was written on her face.

“I’m so happy for you girls! You both are so cute together! I’ve had some… unsuccessful experiences with boys before, makes me want to tr…”

She stopped instantly mid-sentence, blushing and drinking her fruit juice to avoid the subject. The two other girls exchanged a knowing glance.

“Well if you eveeeeeer want to know what it’s like, I… We would gladly tell you. So far, fun. Better than my past boyfriends. Also sex is better.”

“Oh!” Bon-Bon said in an awkward laugh “I’m sure it is! I’m also glad Octavia isn’t here, she most likely would have called a cab to get as far from here as possible right now!”

“Lyra, maybe there’s a thin line between announcing that we’re together and talking about fucking each other.”

“Talking about Octavia, what are we going to do concerning Pinkie Pie’s party on Saturday?” Bon-Bon asked, probably willing to change the subject before saying something she could regret.

“Well, she doesn’t want to come, right? We shouldn’t force her.”

“But maybe we should! It’s the first party of the year! The first time all the students come to meet each others and have fun! Plus, I’ve been told Pinkie Pie has some serious skills when it comes to planning stuff like this. She already asked me to make candies, I don’t know how she knew I made some, but she did. I’m sure she’s asked Vinyl to use her skills as a DJ, and I’m also sure you and Octavia could bring your instruments for the ones wanting to listen to you!”

“Sure, but-”

“And you know she wants to come, it’s her parents who keep her away from socializing! They even went as far as forbidding her to talk to us again! How do you want her to be happy if she’s alone like this?!”

Vinyl felt tears coming up. Not that she had learned or realized anything about Octavia’s life, but because sometimes, rarely but sometimes, she was sick of being mute. Of not being able to show how much she cared about her friends, like Bon-Bon was doing at the moment. She wanted to stand up, put her hands on the table, and say “Ok, here’s the plan”. But she was stuck in listening to others. Sure, she had her paper and her phone, but how could she ever express what she felt through a page or a screen?

“We need to find something.” Bon-Bon continued as Vinyl rubbed her eyes with her napkin and Lyra was listening closely, her head wrapped in her green scarf “Either something that would convince her to come with us, or a way to have her go anyway.”

“Wow, okay” Lyra laughed “So we’re going on the kidnapping scenario? I’m cool with that.”

Vinyl smiled at her girlfriend’s joke, but deep down she felt like this had no way out. They couldn’t force Tavi into an open war with her parents, and the latter most likely had enough influence to get the three of them into some serious shit. Suddenly, her pupil widened, as she possibly found the perfect idea to get her friend to come and, for the first time, take a look at what a true life was.
> Relationships 101
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Like this?”

“No no, dear, more like this: palm facing your ear, then under your chin.”

“...”

“Here you go! You’re a fast learner!”

Octavia smiled at the old woman sitting in front of her. She had been home for an hour now, and after finishing a few mathematics exercises, she had called Dana to continue learning the basics of sign language.

She was now sitting on her bed, legs crossed, facing the older woman, who had taken the desk’s chair. The staff chief never got too comfortable in a room, in case of anyone needing her. Octavia had taken off her jacket and shoes, but leaving her bowtie on as well as her shirt buttoned up. The black tights, along with the grey pleated skirt, gave her an elegance and a charm even she wasn’t aware of.

“Thank you, Dana, I’m trying my best!”

“And it’s starting to pay off dear: in only two days, you’ve made huge progress!”

“I must say I have a good teacher.”

“Don’t try to flatter me, that won’t get you extra cake for dinner. And I’m sure your friend will be amazed at your improvement as well.”

Octavia’s train of thoughts abruptly stopped, leaving her to wonder about what the old lady had just said. Was she really that great of a friend? She didn’t “hang out” with Vinyl and the others, she brought her father’s wrath upon them, she was shy, fragile and stuck-up. Her friends had proven time and time again that they didn’t care about these flaws of her, that they understood her situation and her way of thinking things.

Still, she feared that the huge cultural gap between her and the rest of the world might leave her beyond help at some point. She didn’t understand half of the other student’s vocabulary, she didn’t know any famous movie, or singer, she didn’t watch or listen to the news. She was like a little child who needed explanations for every small detail, and her friends could only babysit her for so long.

She also knew her physical appearance was an issue. It didn’t take much effort to realize that her look wasn’t really conventional. She liked her outfit, sure, but she was perfectly aware that it wasn’t the kind of thing you wore when you’re a sixteen-year-old sophomore.

To top it all, Vinyl’s recent comments regarding her... body had left her with quite a few questions in mind. She took a deep breath and turned towards Dana:

“Dana, could I ask you a question of… personal… feminine matter?” she asked, blushing at the temerity of such a request.

The old woman smiled at the girl’s obvious discomfort.

“Well of course! I’m here for that too you know! Especially for that, dare I to say since your mother and sister are so often away.”

“I was wondering… Is breast size really important for a woman?”

Dana’s smile widened, both because of the question and the look of pure shame on the girl’s face.

“Oh sweetie, there’s nothing to be ashamed of! At your age, it’s perfectly normal to think about this sort of questions! It proves that you care about your look, and that’s a great thing!”

“Is… Is it?”

“Of course! Now tell me, where does your sudden interest on this come from? Knowing you, it’s not a question out of nowhere, right?”

“It is not… In fact, it’s Vinyl who commented on that. She said something along the lines of “a lot of girls wants to           have... breasts as large as yours”... We were in the locker room just before gym class, and it was so confusing, all these other girls wearing nothing but their underwear, some of them even noth-”

“Calm down dear, I think I have a good idea of what’s going on in your head.”

“You do?”

“Yes: you’re not used to being in situations like this, thus you’re not used to this kind of comment. But trust me, it was a compliment.”

“Was it really?”

“Of course! I’ve been young like you, you know; and even then girls were jealous of the ones with more… distinct features. There’s no “right” and “wrong”, it depends solely on you, and the importance you attach to these parts of your look.”

“But I don’t… attach any importance to this!”

“That’s where the other’s point of view kicks in, dear: nowadays, people with good-looking bodies are often more appreciated. It’s neither a good or a bad thing, everyone has its tastes, but trust me, you have the chance to have a beautiful body, you got that from your grandmother, so enjoy the compliments! The size of your chest has the importance you give it, no more, no less.”

“I guess I’m just a little confused… From what I understood, the size of… these has always been important for men, right? Why would Vinyl have such… precise views on this topic?”

“Maybe she just admires you, maybe she wishes she was the same… Maybe it was just a compliment she thought you’d like. Or maybe-”

“Yes. Yes, it was probably just that. She thought I’d like the compliment.”

As Octavia pronounced those words, the scene of Vinyl and Lyra kissing in the locker room came back in her mind like a politician after “retiring from politics” a few years prior.

“Or maybe what?”

“No, nothing dear, it is not important.”

“...”

“...”

“Dana?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Have you ever seen… two women kissing?”

The old woman’s eyes went wide in surprise. She obviously wasn’t expecting this question from Octavia. From every other person on Earth yes, but not from Octavia.

“Well, I have to say this is quite the unexpected question you have here dear. Not that I mind, but what is your sudden interest in this topic?”

She took a second to look deep into the young girl’s eyes, with a grin of both amusement and concern:

“Did you…”

“No! No, no, no, no! Are you out of your mind? I would never, ever do this! Is it even allowed? Isn’t it… abnormal?”

She tried to cover her crimson cheeks by holding tight on her white pillow. She had never felt so uneasy and stupid, especially in front of the only person in this house who cared about her well-being.

“It’s just that I’ve seen… two girls… kissing in the… hallway. I didn’t know who they were though… Are they in trouble?”

Dana gave a suspicious smile, which the girl didn’t notice, crossed her legs despite her long skirt, and laid her back against the chair.

“No Octavia, it isn’t “abnormal”, it’s perfectly fine, normal even. Some women like the company of men, and others like other women more, that’s all! Young people of your age want to experience things, to discover what their lives should be like; and love is part of that. That may surprise you, but it’s a question a lot of young women ask themselves during their teenage years!”

“Well, I’ve never asked myself this question, and I don’t really want to! It is already so awkward for me to look at a boy and a girl in an open relationship on the school grounds, but I’ve never seen two girls together before…”

“That’s also normal dear: even though a lot of girls question their preferences, the vast majority of them tend to prefer boys, and that is not something anyone can explain. But nowadays, there are a lot more than you can imagine. Back when I was your age, women… interested in other women weren’t a common thing at all. I had a friend like this at the time, and people in general, well… they were not too understanding with her. But now everything’s changed, you know, and despite what… some people may have told you, there is not a single thing wrong with two women kissing. It’s just love! What could be more normal?”

Before Octavia could say anything, Dana’s phone rang in her pocket.

“Yes? Of course, I’m coming down. Sorry dear, looks like your parents are having guests this evening, and I need to start making dinner. Don’t worry, I’ll prepare a plate just for you.”

“That’s really sweet, Dana. Thank you. For everything.”

“I’m here for that. And I’m glad you’ve grown up enough for us to have these kinds of discussions. Now get some rest, young girl!”

The old woman stood up, put the chair back behind the desk, and kissed Octavia on the forehead before leaving the room, closing the massive wooden door behind her.
Octavia stayed seated for a few seconds, eyes gazing into the emptiness of the wall in front of her. Then she laid on her back, her head hanging upside down on the side of the thick mattress.

Love… That worst echoed in Octavia’s head during what seemed like hours. She knew nothing about that. Romantic love of course… Well, now that she was thinking about it, she didn’t get a lot of parental love either.

She didn’t understand: were Vinyl and Lyra in love? Why else would they kiss?

“They had been friends for years, maybe there is no more to it. Vinyl and Lyra obviously have a really... personal way of displaying affection, that’s probably part of it.”

Despite Dana’s explanations, she still couldn’t figure out why two girls would be together. Not that she understood romantic relationships between a man and a woman (and her parent’s relationship was so empty that she never had any quality example), but wasn’t it supposed to lead to… having children and all? What was the point then? How would they even…

She surprised herself, thinking about matters she had never thought she would think about one day. What happened to her? Why did she ask such questions to Dana? And more importantly, why was she feeling so gloomy about Vinyl and Lyra being together?


}--oO0Oo--{


Crescendo Notes was driving his car down Hoofington Boulevard, as a slight classical music came out of the hands-free phone kit placed over the radio. It was his wife, Golden Gaze, calling him most likely about the dinner they had tonight with Filthy Rich and his wife.

“Yes, dear?”

“Good afternoon, Crescendo. There’s something we need to discuss.”

“Can this wait? I am currently driving to the manor.”

“No, this cannot wait. And why in the name of God are you driving yourself?”

“That’s a matter I’m going to fix as soon as I arrive.”

“You have your hands-free kit?”

“Of course.”

“Perfect. Let’s talk then. About Octavia.”

“I thought I told you: I already talked to her about her recent misbehaviour. She will not see those people anymore.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’m her father, and she will do as I say. As we say.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be enough. Have you noticed she’s spending more and more time in her bedroom, but not as much time practicing the cello.”

“How could you know?”

“The butler told me. She comes back to her room as usual, but he can’t hear any music.”

“Maybe she is just working. What else could she be doing?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she just sleeps too much, maybe she wastes her times, or even worse, maybe she fantasizes about some low-class high school boy.”

“That is a possibility.”

“So, what are you going to do about this?”

“Me? I am going to attend that urgent matter I told you about, and then I’ll prepare everything for tonight’s dinner. You are my wife, and that gives you every right and duty towards Octavia. Put her back on the right path, and if she continues to drift, we’ll set things right once and for all.”

“...Fine. But I expect you to take every measure necessary.”

“Anything for our daughter’s well-being.”


}--oO0Oo--{


“Listen, Mr. Tryer…”

“Uhm… It’s Tire.”

“Probably. Listen, Mr. Tire, I think the most important thing in an employer-employee relationship is honesty. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Well… Of course sir!” The driver answered, with a drop of sweat rolling down his neck.

“Perfect! Then I’ll be honest: whatever is said during this conversation, know that your position will be terminated.”

The man emitted a short chuckle that was both one of surprise and confusion.

“W… What?”

“Well of course! You didn’t think that after today’s events you could just continue your job like nothing ever happened. Should I remind you that you lost a limousine? No, no, no, let me rephrase this. You lost my limousine! Lost! Just like that! Do you have any idea of how many people like you I could pay with only the price of this very limousine?! And now it’s gone, probably stolen by some street thugs!”

“...”

“And for what? Attending a pitiful police questioning about an accident you’ve never even heard of?!”

“But, sir, my contract stipulated that I could use the car during the day, as long as you didn’t need my services…”

“Do not try to find an excuse! This is not how this works! But if you care so much about what your contract said, let me read it for you.”

As Crescendo Notes pronounced these words, he grabbed a few pages happening to be exactly on top of the pile of documents placed on the left side of his oak desk.

“Let’s see… Ah, here it is: Any damages done to the attributed vehicle that does not result from a natural disaster, an armed attack, or any conditions that would endanger the safety of the undersigned as well as the integrity of the vehicle, are the responsibility of the undersigned. Which is, in case you didn’t figure it out, you.”

“But… But sir, I…”

“No! Do not say anything! You’ve proven yourself to be incapable of such a basic task, I simply cannot believe I was stupid enough to ask you to watch over my younger daughter! This was a mistake I surely will not make again.”

Octavia’s father was angry, but he also was the kind of man who knew how to hide his negative feelings. After all, he was an educated rich gentleman, and could not afford such unholy manners. He had barely raised his voice during the conversation, and his breath was slow and silent. But not for long.

The landline on the desk rang, shaking both the pencils laying on the wood and the driver’s entire body in surprise. Crescendo notes sighed, nodded towards Light Tire to apologize for the inconvenient, and picked up the black phone.

“Yes. Crescendo Notes here.”

“Yes, hello Mr. Notes, this is the Canterlot Police Department. You’re the person who filed a complaint regarding the disappearance of one black T-301 limousine?”

“That is correct, yes.”

“Well, I’m afraid I have bad news for you, sir. Your vehicle was found crashed and abandoned in a junkyard in Griffon Street. Seems like whoever stole it had a problem and crashed into a bunch of rusted beams.”

The pianist stayed completely motionless and emotionless during that description, the only unusual movement being the one of his hands trembling.

“So, I’m very sorry about your car, sir, but you’re gonna have to come here and make a few declarations for us. You told us you weren’t the one in charge of the car when it was stolen? Could we possibly speak with the driver?”

“I’m afraid…” Crescendo Notes uttered slowly and with a vivid hate in his voice “That the said driver doesn’t work for me anymore…”

“Oh, oh that’s a shame. Well, come to us as soon as you get the time, okay sir?”

“I sure will…”

He hanged up calmly and walked back towards the driver even more calmly. Standing in front of him, desperately trying to keep his hands from shaking with rage, he pronounced slowly:

“If you do not get out of this property in the following two minutes, I can assure you I will use every resource in my disposition to transform your pitiful life into a living hell…”

Light Tire didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to, and his basic survival instincts were telling him it was for the best. He stood up, avoiding any eye contact, opened the door and got out without looking behind him.

Crescendo Notes was tired. And he still had a whole dinner to plan. And now he had to go to the CPD station in the next few days, and all this, because a stupid driver couldn’t watch over his car during a mere police questioning!

“Wait a second… That questioning, with that CPD agent…”

In a swift move of the right arm, he took back the phone in hand, dialled the police number, and waited for the small ringing sound to cease:

“Yes, Canterlot Police Department, how can I help you?”

“Yes. Hello. This is Mr. Notes again.”

“Oh, the man who got his car crashed, right?”

“...Right. Tell me, apparently during the stealing of the limousine, my driver was having an interview with one of your man concerning an accident in the neighbourhood.”

“What? Wait a second, lemme check…. No, we don’t have any records of any accident during the last week in this part of the city, nor do we have anything about an agent tasked with questioning civilians.”

“You don’t?”

“No, sir. And honestly, if you have further information concerning this, it’d be very practical to share and-”

“Thank you, this was all the information I needed.”
> A new ally
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday had passed quickly. Well, there had been plenty of classes: History, Physics, Philosophy… As expected, they didn’t get a dedicated teacher. Instead, Mrs. Harshwhinny had been assigned as their philosophy educator.

Vinyl and Lyra had passed the entire History class talking about Octavia’s situation, and their plans concerning Saturday’s events, and how could they get Octavia to come with. When Bon-Bon had finally arrived, she announced that she had searched all evening, and that she might have found just the right idea.

“But it is risky. Very risky.” She had said.

“Worse than impersonating an officer, stealing a car and destroying then abandoning it?” Lyra had answered with a sarcastic smirk.

The discussion had stopped here. It was indeed a strong argument.

“But Bon-Bon’s idea was risky, that was a fact. And illegal. Probably more than the whole affair with the limo. Shit, how are we gonna-”

“Is everything alright Vinyl? You look pale…”

Vinyl looked at her pure white skin, and smiled at Octavia.

“Well, I mean… Even paler than you already… Uhm, sorry.”

Vinyl took out her phone, and typed a few words as she continued walking. Octavia had to stop to look at her screen. After all, she wasn’t used to using a cellphone, especially while walking.

“I know what you mean, Tavi, don’t worry. Also yeah, I was thinking about… a lot of shit.”

“Yes, a lot of… things. I understand. We had quite a busy first week. But I’m glad things are this way. I was afraid CHS was going to be too… tranquil at first, but I was positively surprised to realize that they give us a decent amount of work.”

“Oh God, if only it was only that. Man, I wish.”

As she started typing back, she looked at Octavia: her friend was looking through the window, her long grey hair reflecting the sunlight, and her nose turning red by the cold air passing through the flaps of the large window. The DJ couldn’t help but feel a bit of guilt in her stomach: lying to Octavia about her intentions like this… Making her come to this party… Was this really the right call? Wasn’t she just damaging the trust Octavia had placed in her?

“No. Nonono. She didn’t like this driver. She wants to go to this party. She told us. She’s just so pressured by her parents all the time that she forgot what’s good or bad for her.. Jeez, I’m starting to sound like a cheap psychiatrist.”

“Admiring the view, I see!” Lyra yelled from the other side of the hallway. She had been gone for a couple of minutes, talking with Pinkie Pie about what they should bring to the party.

“Yes.” Octavia answered, “The park is beautiful from up here, especially with this slight fog.”

“Actually, I was talking to Vinyl.” Lyra chuckled, interrupting both girls contemplations.

She was met with a discreet blush from the cellist, as well as a slap on the back of the head by the DJ.

“So” Octavia asked, “What do you two need to bring to this celebration?”

“Nothing! You believe that?! It appears Pinkie Pie already has everything planned! So I’ll just help Vinyl with packing her speakers and other stuff.”

“Oh. That is nice… Well I certainly hope you two and Bon-Bon have fun!”

Her voice was sincere, but tainted with sadness and disappointment. She wanted to come, and everyone could see that. But she had given up a long time ago.

Vinyl put her hand on her friend’s shoulder, looking her deep in the eyes. Instead of taking out her notepad or typing on her phone, she just used her remaining hand to slowly perform a few signs for Octavia:

You’re sure you don’t want to come with us?

“I do want to come with you, Vinyl. I really do. But I can’t. You already know why…”

He eyes got wetter as she tried to hide her feelings from the DJ and her friend.

“Trust me, if there was a way I could come, without provoking my parent’s wrath, I would. But it is fine, you know. I’m… really used to this.”

These last words shattered Vinyl’s heart in a million pieces. She was used to this? Used to living alone, forced by her motherfucking parents to stay away from everybody else? Used to staying in her room while her new friends have fun?

“We really cannot get you to come?” Lyra asked.

“I’m afraid not…”

“Shit. It was the first party of the year, after all…”

“...”

“Well, let’s accompany you to the bus, girl!”

“Thank you Lyra, that’s really nice of you two.”

Vinyl smiled, grabbed Octavia’s arm, and guided her through the hallway alongside Lyra. Behind her back, her fingers were crossed.

“Let’s hope that will work.”



}--oO0Oo--{



Dana closed the door, stretched her arms and sat on her favorite chair. It was 5pm, and there was nothing left to do or to supervise in the manor. She had one or two hours of rest ahead of her. In half an hour, Octavia would probably come back, and she would press her a few oranges, and maybe teach her some more sign language afterwards.

Learning a whole new language to communicate with just one person… She was a good girl. Almost anybody knew that. Too bad the only people who didn’t were the ones in charge of her education… Dana left her mind to wander across the room. Sometimes, she wished she had a daughter, or a son, a child to raise, to love. Many people saw the complications in having a child, but she had taken care of enough to know that these flaws were nothing compared to the joy of watching a kid grow and learn.

She leaned her back against the chair, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the third floor.

For twenty seconds.

Then her phone rang.

“Oh dang it! Really!”

She rolled her eyes, and reached for the small cellphone on the nearby table. She didn’t use it often, but they had been provided by the manor, and all the staff members were required to carry them at all times.

“Yes?” She answered with a rather annoyed voice. It wasn’t really her style, but she had been looking forward to her break. Hopefully it was nothing of importance.

“Hello…” The voice of a young girl, probably the age of Octavia, uttered hesitantly.

“Hello?”

“Is this… Dana? From the Melody Manor?”

That was certainly surprising. Nobody had this number except for the rest of the staff, Octavia’s parents and Dana’s few close friends. This voice didn’t sound like any of them.

“I am Dana, yes. Who is calling?”

“Hello, yes, my name is Bon-Bon, I’m a friend of Octavia… She gave me your number.”

Bon-Bon, yes, this name was ringing a bell. Octavia had talked about her, amongst the new friends she had made. She was a good girl, apparently.

“Yes. Yes Bon-Bon, Octavia told me about you. You girls are taking care of her, right?”

“We are trying our best. And if I’m calling, it’s about Octavia.”

Dana raised an eyebrow, and let the girl on the other side of the phone continue.

“We need your help.”
> Preparations and anticipation [+18]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pink-and-blue girl stretched her arms and grabbed the warmest coat she had. It was around forty degrees today, and she wasn’t resistant to cold like Vinyl. It was 5pm, and they now had three to four hours to execute tonight’s plan. Yesterday’s conversation with Octavia’s maid had gone more than well, and they could proceed to the next phase.

Gosh, she sounded like a movie supervillain.

And she loved it.



}--THE EVENING BEFORE--{



“A party? This is such a good idea!”

“It is, isn’t it? It’s the first time of the year when all students can come together outside of class and have a great time.”

“Oh… I think I may start to see where you’re going…”

“I know. We really want Octavia to come.”

“And I do as well, dear. I too think it’s what’s best for her. But her parents, my employers, require her to stay inside the manor’s perimeter whenever she’s not in school.”

“That’s what she told us, yes. That’s horrible! How can she ever live like this?!”

“That is not mine to say, young girl. Octavia is… in a lot of pain sometimes, and I’m glad she found people to talk to about this.”

“That’s my point: don’t you think we could do more?”

“...More?”

“You see, this party for exemple… What if she still came with us?”

“What?”

“What if we find a way to make her come with us tomorrow night?”

“Well, I don’t really think that’s possible. She’s not going to disobey Madam and Sir like this.”

“Yes, we’ve tried… But we thought about something else. Wat if… she snuck out of the manor?”

“What?! You can’t possibly be serious?”

“I am, actually.”

The old woman stayed silent on the other side of the line. She surely wasn’t expecting this. How could have she been?

“She could just come with us! We’d be waiting with a car at eight, and bring her back at any time she wants!”

“What?...”

“We can keep her safe! She’d be so happy!”

“That sounds preposterous, young girl. I hope you realize that.”

“Maybe, but we know it’s the only way to make her discover what a normal life looks like. And I think you know it too.”

“Don’t put words into my mouth, that’s not polite!”

“Sorry…”

“...”

“...”

“But you may be right. At least partly.”

“So you agree? You will help us?”

“Calm down, young girl. What you are planning to do is strictly illegal. You’re taking her from under her parent’s authority, and breaking in a private property.”

“Well, not exactly… First, she wants to come with us and-”

“It is not as simple as that.”

“...And then, we would not break into anything, that’s why we’re asking for your help.”

“Are you asking me to sneak Octavia out of her home?”

“Well, when you put it like that, it sure sounds bad…”

“That’s because it is ba-”

She stopped mid-sentence, as she realized the young girl’s determination. Octavia’s three new friends had probably been planning that for days now. They didn’t want Octavia to come for their own interest, they wanted her to come so that she could be with other people, have fun, for a night. She sighed deeply, and put her mouth back against the phone:

“If I help you or not… Either way you three are going to try your little plan; aren’t you?”

“Most likely.”

“Are you really that desperate?”

“I think Octavia is that desperate.”



}--oO0Oo--{



Lyra had now been rolling over her friend’s new bed for ten entire minutes. It looked like she was trying to iron the sheets. Vinyl, shoes off and wearing only her jeans and bras, was sitting legs crossed on her chair, a Redbulk in one hand, and her phone in the other.

“Holy shit dude, your bed is soooo fucking soft! Do you have two mattresses on top of each others? And these pillows, god! It makes me want to move in with you!”

Vinyl, without turning her head away from her phone, put her drink on her desk, and made her friend understand that fuck no, no way, never, two days with her would already be a bloody desert experience.

“Calm down, jeez dude. I know, I know, you like your privacy. Also I’d probably die from internal bleeding after your music destroys my eardrums. Nice setup, by the way. Feels weird to see it here and not in Manehattan anymore.”

Vinyl smiled. Bon-Bon had just sent her a text. She was about to leave her house. Her roommate, Trixie Lulamoon, had filled the living room with props and magic accessories that she was planning on using at the party; and the DJ had invited her friend to take refuge at her own place.

“Ok, holy shit, tonight is the big night. We’re breaking Octavia out of her own house, and driving her to this party. Totally fine. No pressure at all.”

“Hey dude, you’re okay?”

She looked up to face Lyra, now sitting on the bed, with a slightly more serious expression.

“You look worried. It’s about tonight? Don’t worry, we’ve seen worse.”

This time, Vinyl didn’t let go of her energy drink. She used her right hand to type the answer on her screen, sending it promptly to Lyra, who grabbed the phone she had left on the floor, next to her bag.

I’m fine. Just a bit stressed I guess. I mean, we don’t know what Tavi’s reaction is gonna be.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. Don’t think about this too much. We’ll see once we’re there.”

“God, that was so Lyra. Living in the moment, not giving a damn about what happened or was going to happen.”

“Hey, come here!” The lyrist invited, reaching Vinyl’s arm with her hand. You need some attention, I think.”

Vinyl smiled, shook her head, and joined Lyra on the bed. Volume Bass had left this morning, and she could finally enjoy her own queen size. Holy shit, it was soft!

“I think you need something to take your mind off these boring thoughts…” Lyra said, before kissing her lips quietly, without any warning. Vinyl felt the warm contact her friend’s hands on her bare shoulders, enjoying every second of this kiss.

They both laid down on the bed, and kept on exchanging kisses on each other’s lips, necks, and shoulders. Suddenly their tongues met, in a delicate yet intense french kiss, that lasted for a few minutes, before breaking contact. Lyra’s hands had lowered on Vinyl’s body, reaching her hips, and encouraging physical contact between their bodies. Vinyl was still holding the back of her friend’s head, her fingers passing through the short mint hairs, as she was panting from the kisses the girl was dropping on her upper body. She then felt on of Lyra’s hands passing under her jeans to reach her panties, and massage her butt from between the two pieces of clothing.

Vinyl stopped to slightly push back her friend, keeping a hand on her neck and using the other one to communicate, her phone having been left on the desk.

“Nah, she just left her place!” Lyra responded “She won’t be here in like, twenty minutes!”

As she finished these words, she grabbed the bottom of her blue shirt, and took it off in a single movement.

“That leaves us plenty of time…”

“Hell, Lyra really is horny. But gotta say, this view doesn’t leave me indifferent either…”

Unlike Bon-Bon, and especially Octavia, Lyra had pretty small breasts. Not as small as Vinyls, that was for sure, but still. In spite of that, the DJ had always found them extremely sexy. It accorded perfectly with Lyra’s tomboyish style and personality. In a swift and precise move, Vinyl unhooked her own bras, and watched as Lyra tried to do the same.

“God dammit! These things are impossible to take off!”

Vinyl gave the most cocky smile she could, and passed her hands behind Lyra’s back to unhook the white piece of lingerie.

Lyra responded with an embarrassed smile, followed by a small scream of surprise when Vinyl grabbed her by the hips and kissed her, her tongues coming directly into contact, and their bodies rubbing against each others, the sensation of their nipples caressing enough to turn them on even further. They stayed in this position, holding tight to each other, before Vinyl felt the sudden urge to please her partner in another way. She let her hand slide down Lyra’s naked back, passed over her hip and arrived in front of her belt buckle. Without breaking the kiss or opening the eyes, she undid the belt, unzipped the jeans, and left her hand to wander under her friend’s panties.

As soon as Lyra felt the contact between the DJ’s hand and her shaved pubis, she bit her own lips in anticipation, staring deep into Vinyl’s eyes. She placed her hands on both sides of her friend’s face, as it was descending to reach her chest. Vinyls tongue started making circular movements around Lyra’s dark green nipples. The blue-haired girl started to rub her partner’s clitoris as well, making the girl moan multiple times, which was always music to Vinyl’s ears.

After five minutes of teasing, Vinyl’s hand was already dripping from Lyra’s excitation, and she decided to take things to the next level. She put her lips around one of Lyra’s nipples, playing with the tip using her tongue, and occasionally nibbling on it. It was one of Lyra’s favorite things, and she hadn’t forgotten it. At the same time, she slowly penetrated her friend’s tightness with her index and middle finger, making her heavily moan in surprise and pleasure. She felt Lyra’s entire body shiver, as well as her lower parts tightening around her fingers, which started performing back-and-forth movements, each one of them emitting a sound of wetness that aroused the DJ so much, her own pants started to drip with humidity.

“Aren’t you annoyed by these?” Lyra asked, smiling and breathing heavily. “Here, lemme help you get rid of ‘em.”

She raised on her arms, grabbed Vinyl’s unbuckled jeans by both sides, and proceeded to pull it all the way down, caressing her friend’s pure white legs in the process.
Once the pants were out of the way, Lyra admired the electric blue hotpants facing her. The piece of cloth was decorated with thin black lightning bolts on the side, which Lyra would almost find cute, if she wasn’t incredibly turned on at the moment: cute or not, it was blocking her way. She dragged the underwear halfway down the thin legs, and contemplated the sight of Vinyl’s intimacy: a soft, immaculate skin, ornate by blue trimmed hair, wetted with pleasure and anticipation. Lyra stared deep into the magenta eyes looking at her, smiled naughtily, and placed her head right in between the girl’s legs.

“Oh shit! I forgot how good this feels!...”

A spectacular explosion of feelings occurred throughout the DJ’s body, as her friend’s tongue entered inside of her, searching for every spot that could bring pleasure. Lyra had always been good at this, but every time it was like rediscovering the incredible sensations of having Lyra exploring her.

Suddenly, her entire body tensed up, hands holding the blanket tight and legs shaking, as the foreign tongue started to please her most sensual spot. As Lyra was gently nibbling on her clitoris, she couldn’t help but let go a loud moan of pleasure. She could feel her friend’s lips caressing her flesh, and the tip of the tongue poking her harder and harder, each time giving her more satisfaction.

“Oooohhh Lyra… I’m gonna fucking…”

At that very moment, as Vinyl was about to reach the pinnacle of pleasure, the screeching sound of the doorbell made the two girls jump in surprise.

“Annnnnd Bon-Bon’s here.” Lyra said, disappointed, before burying her head in shame between Vinyl’s pillows.

“Fuck everything.”



}--oO0Oo--{




“Jeez Bon-Bon, what’s all that?”

“What? This? Oh, just a few things we’re probably going to need…”

“Okay… Let’s see: a flashlight… understandable, candies, water bottles, three different phone chargers, talkie-walkies… and climbing rope?”

“Yes, you know… in case we need some material.”

“We, uh… The… Nevermind. When are we leaving, Vinyl?”

The DJ wasn’t listening. She was busy packing her stuff for tonight’s party. It was going to be her first chance at showing the school what she could do, and she wasn’t planning on missing this opportunity. She was choosing carefully every cable, every adapter, every drive. When she was a party’s DJ, she was a party’s DJ.

“Yo Vinyl!”

The blue-haired girl turned her head, bumping into one of the enormous speakers. Not being able to swear, she punched the ground to show her hate against everything breathing on this Earth, much to the amusement of her two friends.

“When are we leaving, girl?”

She rose her head, holding her ring finger with her thumb.

“Seven? Okay, good for me! So what are we gonna do to spend this hour we have left?”

“I brought my music!” Bon-Bon replied. “And my little speaker!”

The two other girls looked at her in perplexity, then looked at the two meter-tall black speakers.

“Oh.”
> Mission: Extraction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Octavia closed the large wooden door, took off her silk slippers, and sat on the bed. It was only 7pm, but she already had dinner: a small vegetable medley she had prepared herself. For an unknown reason, Dana was nowhere to be seen, and the manor’s cook was with her parents, at yet another important dinner.

She looked through the window, admiring the gardens. If there was one thing she adored about this place, it was the exterior decoration: the flowers, the fruit trees, the marble statues… Sometimes, when she felt down, she would go there and sit under one of the big stone arches, covered with flowers shining with morning dew. She would spend almost an hour there, alone yes, but this used to be the only occasion when she enjoyed being alone.
Then came boarding school, and this was taken away from her as well. The facility didn’t allow the students to wander around the garden or the small forest behind the track field. But there was no time to try anyway.

She gazed through the thick glass, observing the red colour the sunset was giving the pines on the horizon. She also noticed a security guard near the back entrance. Several robberies had been reported in town during the last few months, and Octavia’s mother had insisted to hire a couple of watchmen… just to make sure.

She laid down on her blanket, the back of her head landing on the large pillows, and her black hair flowing through every wrinkle of the white sheets. The room was completely quiet, and the warm air she was feeling on her skin encouraged her to close her eyes, surrounding herself in a familiar darkness.



}--oO0Oo--{



When she opened her eyes, she quickly looked at the small alarm clock on her table. Was it Sunday morning already?

“No. Thank God no. I’ve only slept thirty minutes.”

Only thirty minutes, yes, but her limbs felt heavy and her brain tired. She let her eyes adjust to the light of the lamps, and looked around her bedroom. Her gaze stopped on one of her desk’s drawers. She got up, opened the drawer and took out a medium-sized cardboard box. This was the only safe place in her room, the only spot where even her parents wouldn’t look for any hidden objects. She opened the little red cover, and looked at the box’s content: it was filled with childish drawings, little necklaces made  of plastic pearls, and old photographs. These were from another time. The time when she was young enough not to suffer from her family’s oppression.

She shuffled through the pictures and jewelry, and grabbed a small piece of blue plastic. She had figured it would be the perfect place to keep the phone Vinyl gave her away from her parents’s surveillance.

She sat back on her bed, leaving the phone on her pillow. She thought about her three friends: where they were, what they were doing… without her… Should she have acted against her parents’s rules? No, never. Well, she already had… but this was not the same thing. There was nothing to be gloomy about: this was just a typical weekend… But also the first two days she would spend alone.

“But if I had the chance to go back on my decision, would I? Would I?...”

She stopped to pinch herself. This question would lead her nowhere…

“They’re already gone anyway… They must be arriving at the event as of as I speak…”

Suddenly, the screen of the phone she had just took out started to illuminate, as a little icon indicated her of a new message. She reached for the pillow to drag both the latter and the phone to her. The cellist was slightly surprised as she saw the name of Vinyl displaying on the white background:

Hey Tavi, we’re coming 2 pick u up in 10m! Prepare ur best party outfit!

It took a few seconds for Octavia to adjust to her friend’s syntax, but once this was out of the way, the only presence left in her brain was sheer incomprehension. What exactly did this mean?

“This obviously a joke from the others… But it’s unusual of them to act so… mean. Are they making fun of me not being with them?”

Suddenly, her ear twitched as she heard a knock on the door. She quickly threw the phone in her bag, and as she was realizing how bad of a hiding place this was, Dana entered the bedroom.

“Dana! It’s just you! I haven’t seen you anywhere today!”

The old woman was looking a bit pale, in between worry and panicked. She was walking at a fast pace, and arrived in front of Octavia, putting her hand on the young girl’s shoulder.

“Sorry dear, I’ve been busy with a lot of things today… How are you?”

“I’m fine… I guess… I can’t help but think about Vinyl, Lyra and Bon-Bon.”

“You say that like it is a bad thing.”

“Well, it might be! What if they think that because I didn’t come to this party, I don’t want their friendship?”

“I can guarantee you that won’t happen.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because you’re going to this party with your friends, dear.”



}--oO0Oo--{



Octavia was confused, to say the least. It was now the second time she heard that she was going to attend tonight’s party. While it was most likely a joke of some sort, what were the odds for Vinyl and Dana to have the exact same idea at the same time?

“Wait, Dana… I’m afraid I don’t understand: what’s happening? What do you mean?”

“We don’t have much time dear, your friends will come to pick you up in a few, if the guard notices them, it’ll be too late! We have to hurry: here, put your shoes on.”

“What?” A disoriented Octavia asked, grabbing the pair of black Oxfords, “What do you mean “pick me up”? They are attending Pinkie Pie’s party!”

“Listen to me, Octavia.” The old woman said, putting her hands on both of the girl’s shoulders, “Do you want to go to this event? If you had the opportunity, would you go?”

“Well… I want to go, yes, I really do. But I also do not desire to go against my parents’s orders. Why do you ask this so suddenly?”

The old maid did not move a muscle, staring at the evening light through the window, as if she was trying to evade the question.

“Dana, what’s going on? You’re starting to scare me…”

“Shhh, calm down dear. You’ll get a proper explanation in a few. For now, you’ll have to trust me and come along, alright?”

Octavia had no idea what to do. What in the heavens was going on? Why was Dana talking about Vinyl and the others like they knew each others? And most importantly, where did she want Octavia and her to go?
She had many questions, yes, but she trusted Dana. Probably more than anyone else in the world. The old woman would never try anything that could harm her whatsoever. And this, all of this, whatever it was, was most likely no exception.

“A… Alright Dana. Let’s get going…”

“I know you’re scared sweetie, don’t worry, it’s going to be okay. Here, take this. Now let’s get going.”

Octavia grabbed the small handbag the maid gave her, and the two of them exited the bedroom, with Dana locking the door with the master key only she and Octavia’s parents had.

“So… Where are we going Dana?”

“Outside, in the gardens.”

“What? At this hour? But I can’t be there! And what if the guard sees me?!”

“We are taking the kitchen door. Also, that young man should be on his break right now.”

As they were talking, they got down the smaller stairs situated on the other side of the hallway. The two women then crossed a laundry room, and arrived at their destination.
The manor’s kitchen were huge. A thirty feet prep table was situated in the center of the room, surrounded by all sorts or ovens, fridges, dishwashers and shelves. Ancient copper cookware were hanging on the stone walls, and two gigantic chandeliers were hung eight feet above their heads.
The maid took great care in turning no light on, closing every door behind her and making the least amount of noise she could. She was obviously anxious, but a touch of curiosity and thrill could be perceived in her eyes. She and Octavia finally reached the small wooden door leading to the gardens. It was mostly used to take out the trash, and almost every staff member had access to it. Dana turned the key, and grabbed the doorknob to take a peek outside. She quickly went back inside and close the door as quietly as possible.

“Shoot! He is still here! Why in the heavens is he not on break?!”



}--oO0Oo--{



“You sure this is here Vinyl?”

The DJ didn’t look at her friend on the back seat: she was way too busy looking around for Octavia’s presence.

“Lyra, I think this house corresponds pretty well with Octavia. She should arrive any second now!”

“Yeah, if she decides to come. I’m still not sure calling one of her maids was such a great idea! What if she told the folks? Bam! We’d have the whole CPD on our asses for intrusion!”

“...”

“I know we didn’t enter the property Vinyl! But Tavi’s dad doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who lets people lurking around his place!”

“Hey! Hey girls!” Bon-Bon exclaimed, eyes against the binoculars she had brought, “I can see someone moving behind this small door!”

“You have X-ray vision now?”

“It’s a windowed door, Lyra.”

“Fair enough.”

“It has to be Octavia! Why doesn’t she come… Oh wait! There’s a guard outside!”

“A guard? Shit, I told you this guys liked to keep his private property private.”

“He doesn’t look like he’s going to move any time soon. What should we do?”

“Shit, that’s unexpected. How are we supposed to make this guy move AND not notice us?”

Vinyl’s eyes suddenly lightened, as she just had a new step to add to their ongoing stream of bad ideas.



}--oO0Oo--{



Carbon Fiber was in good shape. He had taken his ten minutes break a bit earlier this evening, and the hot coco, along with the warmth of the manor’s kitchen, had made him forget about the cold air of the night. Now he had two hours left, until the other guy came to take over. This job was pretty tranquil: he was provided with room and board, and the overall experience wasn’t as stressful as he thought it would be: most of his days consisted of sitting on a small black stool under the porch, back against the wall, and watching out for visitors, should they be authorized or not. But they had very little trouble around here. Heck, now that he was thinking about it, he never had had any problems or seen any intruder.

“Yeah I own this beat! You can call me the-”

He stood up quickly to look in the direction of the forest behind the fence. What was that? Music? Sounded pretty funky, definitely not from the manor. It was close enough so he could hear it, so whoever was listening to this was most likely trespassing at the moment. Great! Finally something to spice up the evening! Was he going to go for the nice guard style, or the angry guard style? The latter was definitely the funniest, but you never know when you’re going to meet some dude working for the mayor or something, just taking a piss in the bushes.

“Felon on bass, getting hoarse at the mic-”

Screw it, he was just going with his guts. Easier and cooler. With a bit of luck, it was a pretty girl. Maybe he could get her number. But that would require the "good guard" approach. Oh well.

He grabbed his phone, keys and flashlight he had left on the little wooden table, and walked towards the source of the music. He felt the cold wind slipping under his jacket, making his back shiver. He turned on the flashlight, illuminating the dark gardens with the artificial yellow light. As he got closer, he realized that the troublemaker had parked his car in the dirt road a few feet behind the fence. There, was also located a small gate the gardeners used to chop wood for the living room fireplace. It wasn’t opened, thank lord. But the car was still in private property, and being on the right side of the fence wasn’t going to change anything. He stopped in front of the black steel bars, and waved his arms towards the windshield.

“Hey! Hey you! Hey!”

…

No answer. What the hell was that? Did some jerk parked his car there and went… Where would anyone go at this hour? There was nothing around the manor, only acres of woods and rock quarries. He took out his keys, searched for the black piece of metal supposed to open the small gate. Once he finally opened the door, he reached the car and directed his light towards the driver’s window. The vehicle was absolutely empty, except for several cans of energy drinks, magazines, and a duffel bag filled with what looked like electronic devices. On the passenger seat was a cell phone, obviously the source of the music, which had now stopped, as if it was waiting for him to show up.

“What the hell is going on…”

He didn’t get much time to think, as he felt a light tap on his shoulder, from behind his back.

“HOLY MOTHER OF-”

He turned around as fast as he could, hitting his toes against one of the car’s wheels, taking out his weapon, before realizing he didn’t have any. The owner didn’t want to take risks.

But what, or rather who, he found facing him was not what he expected.

It was a teenage girl, probably around eighteen, tall, slim, blue hair and white skin, with an uncommonly huge headset covering her ears. She had a can of soda in one hand, and her phone in the other. She didn’t look as lost as he was, although his scream had probably surprised her quite a bit.

“Who… Who the hell are you? This is a private property! You have nothing to do here!”

“...”

“Is this your car?”

“...”

“Answer me!”

Carbon Fiber was angry: he shouldn’t have lost focus like that. And who knew what this girl wanted. She was obviously not a friend of the owners. Not really their style…
He then realized that she was slightly moving her head back and forth, as if she was listening to…

“Hey! Are you even listening to me?!” He said, taking the headphones of the young girl’s ears and placing them on top of the car. “What are you doing here?!”

The girl’s next move left him quite speechless: instead of answering, or even looking at him for that matter, she simply took out a pen and paper, and started writing a few lines, not stopping once to look at the man facing her.

“You piece of-”

Before he could finish, he got handed to him a small notebook, with the previously mentioned words filling the white paper. Despite the smoke coming out of his ears and nose, he took a few seconds to read what the intruder had written:

Howdy dude, 
Got a problem with my car, it was making a weird noise and I didn’t want it to blow up in my face, so I just kinda stopped here.
You think you could help me check whatever is making that sound? Thanks.
PS: I’m mute, yours truly.

Oh.

Oh.

Okay then. That was new.



}--oO0Oo--{



“Is he gone yet?”

“Nope.”

“And now?”

“It’s been one second, Lyra.”

“...”

“...”

“Is he gone now?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“No! I will tell you when he is!”

“Not that I don’t like hiding in the bushes with you, Bon-Bon. I mean, it has kind of a Daring Doo vibe to it. Once the mission is over, will we go bang in a five-star hotel?”

The other girl shook her head, chuckling at her friend’s joke. Vinyl had been gone for about two to three minutes now, she should have found the perfect spot.

“You sure about Vinyl’s plan? Sounds a bit like the first twenty minutes of a crappy romantic movie to me…”

“We only need a few minutes, Lyra. Just the time for Octavia to cross the garden and to get out.”

“And how exactly do you plan on getting her out? I don’t think climbing fences is one of the classes taught in boarding schools, and if we could open the entrance gate, we proooobably would have done that already.”

“I have this covered. I think.”

“What? So you have a plan? Why does nobody tell me anything?”

Bon-Bon took a break from observing the guard to look at the lint-haired girl sitting next to her. She looked genuinely disappointed at the moment. It was the first time she had seen Lyra in such a mood. She took a leaf out of the lyrist’s hair, smiling at her.

“I’m sorry Lyra… I guess I’m just a bit anxious with everything that happened lately… and that is happening as we speak. I just… I just want everyone to have a good time, including Octavia. And that is why we must take her with us tonight.”

“Yeah, yeah you’re right girl. Sorry. I get it.”

“So, want to know my plan?”

“Hell yeah!”

“Okay, so-”

Suddenly, the two girls noticed a sound of metal against metal: the guard had just picked up his keys and flashlight, and had started moving in the direction of what was most likely the place Vinyl had chosen for her little distraction.

“I guess you’ll have to see for yourself! Hand me the bag!”

“What?”

“The bag, the one next to you.”

“Oh, here.”

“Thanks.” The pianist said, rummaging through the materials she had brought, finally taking out the climbing rope. “Here, hold this.”

“What are you planning to do with this?” Lyra asked, receiving the opened bag right on her face.

“Uhm… What people do with climbing ropes?”

“It’s a metal fence, not a climbing wall!”

“Samy same.”

“With spikes at the end!”

“Gotta watch out for these.”

“You’re not really thinking about climbing this, are you?”

“Are you?”

“Fuck no!”

“Then I’ll do it.”

“What? No!”

“Yes. And before you ask, you have to stay on this side so that you can catch Octavia.”

“You mean when you throw her from atop the fence…?”

“Yes.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“Oh well.” Bon-Bon said, tightening the black rope around her waist and making a noose on the remaining end, throwing it in the air until it tightened itself around one of the spikes, eight feet above the ground.

“Wait! You didn’t even check if the dude was far away enough!”

“Is he?”

“Uhm… I can see his light in the back of the gardens, I think we’re good.”

“Cool. I’ll be going then. Don’t worry Lyra, it’s not like you can’t see me right through the fence.”

“Maybe… Maybe, but this is soooo risky…”

“More than crashing a car in a scrapyard, with Vinyl still in it?”

“Fair point. By the way, did you know I took a video? I should show it to you one-”

“Lyra, now is not a good time!”

“Right! Stay safe!”

“I will.” Bon-Bon answered, hugging he friend before grabbing the rope with both her hands, and placing her feet against bars which, luckily, were large enough to allow a certain stability.
Carefully measuring every step she took, not going too fast and risking to fall, and not going too slow and wasting time. As she was raising from the ground, she could feel Lyra’s gaze, as well as a few drops of sweat going down her forehead.

“Calm down… No need to get anxious. There’s no difference between this and middle school’s climbing class. Except this is illegal. And dangerous. And you don’t have any safety equipment.”

This might have been a bad idea.

“C’mon dude, you’re almost there!” Lyra whispered, trying to hide her obvious concern about the current situation.

“Okay, okay, here you go.”

In a final push on her legs, she managed to grab the spike she had attached the noose to, pulling herself up and crouching on top of the fence, each foot between two pieces of pointy metal.

“Good job girl! Lyra complimented as loud as their mission’s stealth allowed her.

Bon-Bon Then turned around, turning her back to the manor. She took out a descender out of her pocket, placed it on the rope, and started going down on the other side of the fence. The adrenaline had calmed down in her body, and she almost felt like they had completed the mission. She slowly got closer to the ground, before finally feeling the ground under her feet again.

“Hey there, beautiful.”

She looked in front of her, and saw Lyra’s face on the other side of the bushes, facing her with an awkward, but relieved, smile.

“And I’m okay! See, Lyra? Easy!”

“Yeah, didn’t even break a sweat here. Okay, now…”

She grabbed her phone and typed a few words, quickly putting it back in her pocket to avoid anyone seeing the screen’s light.

“Cool, I told Octavia she could come out now. She should arrive any second now!”



}--oO0Oo--{



“What is it, dear?”

“It’s a message from Bon-Bon… The person who called you… Vinyl managed to distract the guard… Heavens, I hope she’s alright… Apparently, Bon-Bon and Lyra are waiting for me… right outside?”

“Let’s see…” Dana said, opening the kitchen door, “The guard is gone, yes, god knows how. Oh, and I think I can see your friend! She’s… Is she on our side of the fence?”

“What? How did she-”

“Octavia, listen to me: there’s probably not much time before this young man comes back, so you will have to get to your friend on your own. Promise me one thing.”

“Yes, Dana?”

“Enjoy your night. Enjoy your life. Don’t hold back, you’re not in boarding school anymore. If this has to be the first time you taste the sweetness of being young, have the best time you could ever have. And if these persons are only half as trustworthy and kind as you told me, you sure have nothing to fear…”

Before the young girl could answer, she was given a warm hug by the old maid, followed by a kiss on the cheek.

“No go, get to your friends, they’re waiting for you!”

And for the first time in her life, Octavia ran to her friends, without a second thought, without any worry or anxiety in her mind. She saw Bon-Bon, waiting for her near the fence, and she smiled, smiled at her friends who were here for her, despite everything that got in their way.

“Bon-Bon! It’s really you!” She said, jumping in her friend’s arms. She then quickly got face-to-face with the pianist, an expression of anxiety painted on her face:

“What in the heavens are you doing here? If my parents find out…”

“They won’t, Octavia. Don’t worry.”

“What about the guard who was posted there?”

“Vinyl is distracting him.”

“Vinyl? Is she here as well?”

“Of course, and so is Lyra!”

“Heya babe!”

“Oh my gosh! You scared me! Hello Lyra.”

Octavia paused to realize what was exactly happening, and a small tear rolled down her cheek:

“You all came here for me…”

“Of course we did! But now’s not the time for emotions, we’ve gotta get out of there!

“How… How are you planning on doing that? And how did you even pass the fence, for that matter?”

Then she noticed the rope hanging from one of the spikes.

“Oh dear.”

“I know, right?” Lyra shrugged. “And now it’s your time to give it a try!”

“What?! No, no, no… I would never do that! That sounds way too dangerous, we will find another way, I’m certain!”

“There really is no time, Octavia.” Bon-Bon answered, putting her hand on the cellist’s shoulder. “Hey. Do you trust us?”

“Of course I do…”

“Then put that rope around your waist, we don’t have much time, since as you may know, Vinyl hasn’t planned on killing the guard.”

“Oh my, I certainly hope not…”

“Just… Don’t worry, okay? It’s just like climbing trees.”

“I’ve never climbed trees before.”

“...Okay, you’re up! Get on my shoulders, it’ll be at least four feet less to go!”

“Oh lord…” Octavia mumbled, standing with little assurance on her friend’s shoulders, holding the rope tight. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it.”

“Of course you will! Plus, Lyra will be here to catch you when you’ll jump!”

“When I what?!”



}--oO0Oo--{



“That went well.”

“Well?! Lyra, I’ve almost had a heart attack!”

“Chill out Octavia! You’re alright, and it was fun, right?”

“Fun wouldn’t exactly be the first qualifier that comes to my mind. Thanks for catching me, Lyra.”

“Of course! Here, Bon-Bon, why did you bring a selfie stick?”

“To be able to take the rope off the spike before we leave. Leaving it there would be the stupidest mistake.”

“Neat.”

“So, what are we going to do now? Where is Vinyl? I hope she’s okay…”

“Chill out, Octavia, Vinyl is a-okay I’m sure!”

As Lyra pronounced these words, the three girls heard the distinct sound of tires on the nearby dirt road. Bon-Bon grabbed the bag, took Octavia’s hand, all the three of them joined with Vinyl, who had just gotten out of her car to greet her friends.

“Vinyl! Octavia yelled, coming face-to-face with the DJ. I was so scared, I…”

Before she could finish, the blue-haired girl gave her a warm hug, her chin leaning against Octavia’s neck, and her hands holding the cellist tight.

“So, Vinyl, we accomplished our part of the mission, how did it go for you?”

Vinyl took out a few pieces of paper she had apparently already written:

I’ll tell you on the way.
Now let’s move.
This is gonna be a night to remember.
> The mane event
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Octavia had always loved night-time.

When the sun settled, and she was still awake, she would leave her bed, open the big window on the north side of her room, and gaze through the darkness, listening to the faint little sounds of her surroundings: the wind blowing through the leaves, the birds moving in the trees, the few cars passing by the manor, the footsteps of the staff members upstairs… It was her part of the day, her own little moments of tranquility. She was alone, yes, but it was not like school or dinner with her family: she enjoyed this loneliness, this calm space, free of worries or duties. At her lowest points, she would look at the stars in the black sky, close her eyes and let the cold air give her goosebumps. It gave her the strength to carry on.

But this wasn’t her lowest point. This wasn’t low at all. In fact, she had never been so thrilled in her whole entire life. She felt that tranquility, as if she was looking through the window, only a million times better.

“Yo, it’s time to go get our fuck on!”

Well, minus the calm part.

“For the love of God Lyra, turn it down a bit…”

“Screw that Bon-Bon! Don’t you realize?! We just had the coolest, Splinter-Cellish adventure, and now we’re on our way to an awesome party!” She then turned to face Octavia. “And Tavi is with us! What could be better?!”

Octavia smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm. She still hadn’t fully realize what had just happened, what she was doing, and the risk her friends had taken, and were taking, just to have her have a good time.

“Octavia, are you okay?” Bon-Bon asked, “I know this is a bit much, and I know you must be scared. I certainly hope we took the good decision by bringing you along like this…”

“Of course it was the good decision!” Lyra replied, feet on the glove compartment, arranging her short hair with her hands, before getting punched in the shoulder by the pianist.

“I’m fine, do not worry Bon-Bon. I guess I’m only a tad… shaken up by the past hour. It has been quite the unexpected journey, but I appreciate being here with you. It would almost make me forget the possible consequences of my actions…”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit, boï!! Now Vinyl, step on it and turn the volume up!”

Octavia looked at her blue-haired friend, at the wheel of her unusual but certainly appropriate car. She was happy, Octavia could feel it. Happy like she had never seen her before. Smiling, laughing (as much as she could, which was as much as she could simulate a stroke without scaring her friends) and jiggling on her seat. The DJ turned the radio volume to an obnoxiously high level, and for the first time, Octavia didn’t mind the decibels forcing their way through her ears. She was happy.

She looked at the buildings passing by, lit only by a few bright windows.

Octavia had always loved night-time.

And this night was going to be unique.



}--oO0Oo--{



Vinyl looked at her friend on the back seat, and smiled.

“Jeez, Octavia looks legit happy. I thought that she would be panicked and asking us to turn back, but it looks like her nanny found the right words.”

She squinted to look at the road. It what already immersed in darkness, and the DJ had to pay close attention to the signs and potential cars. She didn’t like to pay attention. Not really her thing.

“Hey dude, looks like our little doll over there is starting to enjoy the taste of freedom! Bravo to us! Well, to me. I did all the job, really.”

“...”

“Whaddya mean, “copilot”? Can’t you see the road? Do you need glasses?”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. Why would she ever need glasses? She kept her left hand on the wheel, and used the remaining one to communicate with her friend.

“Ah, I’m just messing with you. As usual, as usual, I know. So, are you gonna tell us how you distracted that guard?”

Vinyl smiled, and used her right hand to simulated a back-and-forth movement in front of her mouth.

“What?!”

“WHAT?!” Bon-Bon’s voice screamed from behind Vinyl’s seat.

“I’m sorry, what?” Octavia uttered, with a visible incomprehension.

“O-Octavia, dear, don’t listen to that…” Bon-Bon calmly advised, putting both her hands on the cellist’s ears. “Now, what the hell Vinyl?”

“Did you blow this guy?! For real?!” Lyra yelled, jaw sweeping the car floor.

The DJ rolled her eyes, shaking her head, and using her free hand to inform Lyra. Sorry Bon-Bon, no text and drive. No write and drive either. But it didn’t quite roll of the tongue.

“Oh Jeez, thank God…” Lyra expired, collapsing in her seat.

“What?”

“Yes, what?” Octavia repeated, with an innocent, almost naive, look on her face, “What does “blow” mean in that context?”

“Wait, did you hear all of this?”

“Of course Bon-Bon! You let go of my ears just a few seconds after… What happened?”

“...Nothing! Vinyl was just telling me how she made the guard look at the car battery, then “accidentally” dropped the hood on the dude’s fingers. She then…” She continued as Vinyl continued waving her fingers vigorously, “...Proposed him some bandages and rubbing alcohol, which Bon-Bon had brought with us as well becaaaauuuse…?”

“You never know.”

“...Because you never know, I guess. So yeah, that kept him occupied for a good five minutes, more than enough for us to perform our little fence-climbing trick.”

“You mean for me to perform my little fence-climbing trick?”

“Shut it!”

“...”

“No, I didn’t seat on my ass and watch her do all the work! I strategically stayed in the bushes for cover.”

Her friend’s magenta eyes were so filled with judgment that they could open a courthouse and nobody would ask any question.

“But hey, I least I caught Octavia! High five on that, girl!”

Octavia hesitated while looking at the risen palm, wondering what could be the meaning of this move.

“It’s a high five, Tavi.” Bon-Bon smiled. Here, let me show you.”

She then slapped her friend’s opened hand, surprising Octavia, who was most likely expecting something quite different.

“Now, your turn!”

Octavia stayed still for one or two seconds before timidly raising her own hand, gently tapping it against Lyra’s.

“Heeeeyyyyyy, that’s my girl! Oy Vinyl! Are we there yet?”

Instead of a spoken (well, signed, really) answer, she got hit on the head by her seat as the car stopped on an empty parking lot.
The street was completely empty. A stray white cat passed by the now silent car, only to run away in a nearby alley. An owl hooted from atop their heads, in a large tree decorating one of the many front gardens of the area.

Everything was silent.

Except one house.One house wasn’t silent at all.

And it was really pink.



}--oO0Oo--{



“Okay! This is our stop girls!” Lyra yelled like she was a train conductor, as Vinyl turned off the engine and grabbed the blue-and-white headphones resting on the center console.

“Oh my, it is incredibly dark…” Octavia muttered. “You would think that they would have installed lights in this part of the city…”

“Aaaawwww Tavi are you scared of the dark?” Bon-Bon asked with a kind, yet amused smile.

“I… I am not!”

“Well don’t worry, look over here!”

The cellist took a peek through the window, before stopping on an obnoxiously coloured house, with multicolor lights beaming out of the windows, and loud music coming from the opened garage. It was strange, but beautiful. Like a nightlight in the dark, an iridescent pink gem in the black of the night. A very loud and kind of scary gem.

Lyra jumped out of the car, and proceeded to open the door on Octavia’s side, bowing down as the girl stepped on the pavement.

“Lyra, please…” the girl giggled awkwardly.

“Your turn, princess!” The mint-haired girl said to the pianist, still sitting in the back.

“Lyra, instead of joking around, go help your actual partner!” Bon-Bon mocked, pointing at the DJ trying to sign a peace treaty between what her arms could carry and the amount of music material she had brought.

“Her… partner?” Octavia asked, obviously confused.

Bon-Bon’s and Lyra’s hearts ceased to function for a second.

“Yeah, Octavia, you know, Vinyl and her have been friends for quite some time now, I just used the first word that came to my mind!” the pianist explained, with a few drops of sweat rolling down her neck.

“Oh, yes, of course. You’re right Bon-Bon.”

As Octavia watched her friend run to the back of the car to help carry the heavy duffle bags, the picture of Vinyl and Lyra kissing in the locker room made her way back in her head.
Partners… Were her two best friends romantically involved? Did Bon-Bon know? If yes, why wouldn’t she tell her? Were they afraid of how she might react?

“Maybe they are right. I have no idea how I would react to such a thing. I’m… not even certain I understand this situation… Maybe I’m just overthinking all of this, maybe they just kissed one time, by mistake. Or maybe they did not even kiss, maybe I missaw the whole thing…”

“Hey Octavia! You’re coming or what?”

The cellist jumped when she heard her name spoken from Lyra’s mouth. The three girls were already crossing the road, and Vinyl, with the press of a button, locked the car, triggering the blink of the blue traffic lights and a small trumpet sound.

“Or… what?”

“Nevermind, come here!” Lyra smiled, reaching the arm that wasn’t occupied by a bag, “Time to have fun!”

“Of course, I’m coming!” she answered, looking at both ends of the deserted road before crossing the pavement, regretting the lack of crosswalks.

As they walked towards the house, the sounds of teenagers talking and music playing intensified. They could smell the scents of chocolate and pizza in the air, and hear dozens of students talking, laughing and yelling to hear each others over the music.

Octavia took out her phone, which had just started vibrating:

If they can’t hear each others now, just wait until I take the matter in my own hands :P

Octavia smiled both of amusement and panic at the idea of her friend blasting her ear-shattering sound waves into her ears, when she got distracted my something else.

“Vrrrrmmmmmmm”

Some sort of buzzing sound, of Doppler effect, like a really fast car passing by. But she didn’t see anything. Was it part of the music being played on the speakers?

“Vrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmm”

Again. That was certainly unusual. The intensity had changed. Definitely not from the music. And this time, just for less than a second, she could have sworn she had seen movement. Not movement from the students they could see gathered in the garage or inside the house, but something else. Something faster…

“Vrrrrmmmmm”

Like a streak.

“VRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMM”

A pink streak.

“Oh lord.”

She ran to hide behind Bon-Bon’s back. It was coming closer, whatever it was, whoever it was. And she had a pretty decent idea.

“HI GIRLS!! YOU’RE HERE!! YEEPEE!!!”

The streak had stopped right in front of them, revealing itself as a pink-haired, pink-skinned, pink-wearing girl, with both the messiest hair and the largest smile Octavia had ever seen. That was without a doubt Pinkie Pie, their fellow student who had organized this party. She was the head of the party-planning committee (although Octavia had trouble finding the use of such an association) and was known to be the funniest, and loudest, person around.

“Yes! All the four of you! I’m so excited! Are you excited? You should be, it’s the first party of the year! And you know what people do in parties? That’s right, they learn about each others and become friends! And so tonight, everyone’s gonna leave with dozens and dozens of new friends! Isn’t that fantastic?!”

Wow. That was a lot of sentences for only five seconds of total speaking time. Octavia had barely understood half of it, but the other three seemed to understand the hyperactive girl perfectly.

“Vinyl! I’m soooo glad you came! I’ve prepared a spot just for you, you’ll have plenty of space for your material! I entrust you to raise this roof all the way to space!”

Vinyl smiled at the girl, dropped the bags on the floor and took out her phone to text Pinkie Pie. Even though Octavia didn’t see the message, it was probably to thank her for inviting the four of them.

“Lyra! I’m so excited! Never really got the opportunity to talk to you that much. Oh well, we’ll fix that tonight! Also, I have tons of super duper nice friends to introduce!”

“If they’re cute, be my guest!” Lyra answered before getting ht on the back of the head by Vinyl.

“Bon-Bon!” Pinkie yelled, running from one girl to the other, “How’s your class?! Such a shame you’re not with us! But tonight you’ll get to meet everyone in our class! Isn’t that awesome?!”

“That sounds great Pinkie Pie!”

“Oh call me Pinkie, silly! Here, I heard you had a sweet tooth!”

The girl suddenly plunged her hand deep in her hair, rummaging through the pink strands, as if she was searching a bag or a shelf. She finally took out a small plastic pouch of coloured candy, which Bon-Bon accepted with a giggle and an envious look.

“Oh my.” Octavia thought, as she realized that it was her turn to be introduced. She looked in the direction of their host, but much to her surprise, she was now nowhere to be seen.

“And you have to be Octavia!”

“AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” The cellist screamed, drawing the attention of everyone around.

Pinkie Pie was now behind her. Somehow, some way, the pink girl had escaped Octavia’s attention, and reappeared behind her back. Here she was, smiling as if nothing had just happened, as if the girl in front of her hadn’t just screamed in sheer terror.

“I’m so excited you came! You and I are gonna be the most bestest of friends! You’ll meet tons of cool people! Here, lemme give you a big warm hug!”

Octavia looked in confusion (and still a tiny bit of fear) at her interlocutor, arms raised and smile going from ear to ear. She didn’t have the faintest idea of what to do. This was a completely different world, with completely different people, from what she had known so far.

“I… I’m not really used to… hugging. But I appreciate the offer Pinkie P… Pinkie.”

“Okay! No biggie Octy! Here! I’ll show you girls around!”

“Octy?!”

Before she could protest, the overexcited girl grabbed her by the wrist, as well as Bon-Bon by the waist, as Lyra dodged the attack to take refuge behind the pianist. Octavia was scared, yes, but she had now understood that this girl had simply a more… experimental way of forming bonds. Even though her manners had progress to make, she could be a door to meeting new people. And her three friends were here with her, so what could possibly go wrong?

After a few moments, they all stopped, only to face some sort of giant, whose shadow was big enough to cover Octavia’s whole body, including the fear in her eyes.

“Heya Big Mac!” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully, waving at the giant, “AJ is in the basement, right?”

“Eyup!” The giant answered, nodding and making his long ginger hair move like crops in the wind. Looking at him more closely, he wasn’t threatening at all. In fact, there wasn’t a single pejorative thing Octavia could state about this boy at first glance. Other than the fact that he could probably crush her with his foot if he didn’t pay attention.

“Pinkie?” Lyra asked, “Who’s ‘AJ’?”

“She’s a super friend from Bon-Bon’s class! You know, the cow-girl styled one!”

“Oh yes!” Bon-Bon answered, under the confused looks of her two friends, “We haven’t had the opportunity to talk that much, but she seems very nice. Quite rough on the edges, but also generous and strong! I think you’d like her, Octavia!”

“You do?”

“Totally!” The party-planner answered, “You have tons of things in common! She lives in a big house far from downtown, she dresses and talks weird, and she’s super cool! Just like you!”

“Uhm… Thanks… Although I’m not sure about the definition of ‘coo-”

“”HEY APPLEJACK, COME OVER HERE!!!!!” Pinkie Pie shouted as loud as she possibly could into the basement staircase, making the foundations of the house tremble.

“My gosh, Pinkie! I don’t think there is need to scream like that… Your friend would most likely not appreciate…”

“What are you saying, Octy? Of course she would! She’s used to it!”

"Of course ah love it! This one right here has been screamin' in mah ears fer years now!"

Octavia gazed in shock. The girl who had just pronounced these words, and who was now shuffling Pinkie Pie’s hair, wiping a few drops of sweat from her forehead.

“Howdy y’all! Name’s Applejack, but ya can call me AJ! Excuse this one right here, she can be a tad… tirin’ sometimes.”

Wow. Octavia hadn’t understand a word of that. Pinkie Pie was not kidding when she stated that her friend had a “weird accent” (although she had difficulties picturing how this was any close to her own way of speech). She was obviously from the countryside. And by obviously, she meant that it was literally parodic to watch: with her high boots, her large hat, her freckles and ponytail, this Applejack was quite the specimen. And also the opposite (along with Vinyl) of what Octavia’s parents considered as the right social class to have a night with.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Applejack. I’m Bon-Bon, this is Octavia, and the skinny one behind me is Lyra.”

“‘The skinny one’?! Hey hey hey, fuck you!”

“I love you too.”

“Haha y’all seem like a fine bunch! Octavia, huh? Ah’ve heard quite a few words about you.”

The cellist’s cheeks instantly became crimson, as her muscles became tense and her palms sweaty.

“Oh, you… you have? Nothing too… inappropriate I hope…”

“Inappropriate? Nah sugarcube, but mah granny who works in CHS, ya know, the cafeteria lady, told me than y’all and that DJ put up quite a fight against that fellow PE teacher! Never really liked that guy, tah be honest…”

“Oh, oh my. Words really travel fast around here, don’t they…”

“Meh, ah wouldn’t worry about that. Why dontcha come with me? Ah got crates of our famous apple cider that are been keepin’ fresh in the basement! Want me tah bring you one?”

“You mean alcoholic beverages? Heavens, I’m afraid I’m far underaged… And aren’t most of the people here as well?”

“No no no, nothin’ like that at all sugarcube! No alcohol in our cider! Not the one ah brought, that is…”

Octavia looked around her, only to find the insisting looks of Lyra and Bon-Bon, as well as the slightly more insisting sign held by Pinkie Pie which said “SAY YES!!!!”.

“Well then, I guess I could accept your offer.”

“Alright! Want sum’ for you bunch as well?”

“With pleasure!”

“Yup.”

“Yoki Doki!”

“Kay! Be right back!”

“Don’t worry AJ, I’ll keep them busy!” Pinkie Pie yelled as her friend climbed down the stairs, “C’mon girls, I have tons of new people for you to meet! This is gonna be so fuuuun!”

“Oh my.” Octavia thought, “This is going to be a long night.”



}--oO0Oo--{



What’s your name btw?

“Oh!” said the boy, reading the text and passing a hand through his blue hair, “It’s Flash. Flash Sentry. I’m in Pinkie’s class, she almost begged me to come and share my music skills with everyone here!”

You too?

“Haha yeah, along with the rest of my group. I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d go at first, but Pinkie promised me that she wouldn’t invite my ex.”

Vinyl raised one of her blue eyebrows. Both her hands were now rummaging through cables and plugs, so this guy would have to do with only her facial expressions.

“Yeah, Sunset Shimmer, a girl I used to date, don’t really know why. I’m pretty sure she was only interested in my popularity at the time, as given how she turned out, I’d say it was the good call.”

“Sunset Shimmer?! That fucking bitch who made fun of Octavia, insulted Lyra and I? God, I don’t know if I should congratulate that guy for breaking up with her or punch him for dating her in the first place. At least now that we’ve kicked the shit outta her, we’ll-”

“You know her?”

She shook her hands: What?

“You’re making a face like you know her, and not just by reputation.”

Vinyl had an awkward laugh. She freed one of her hands and grabbed her cellphone:

What? Nope, no sir no ma’am! Hey, who’s that over there?

“Oh, her? That’s Rainbow Dash. You’ve probably seen her around, she’s the captain of like, every sport team in CHS: soccer, handball, tennis, you name it.”

“Oh boy, dodged a bullet. You’re the best, girl.”

“I mean, being completely honest, I tried approaching her once. Turns out she prefers girls. Well, sucks to be her.”

“Alright, fuck this dude.”

Before Flash Sentry could protest, she stood up and left towards the kitchen, acting like she had recognized someone she knew. Anything to escape from people like that.
As she was casually walking, looking around and trying to connect names with faces, she heard someone calling her from behind a small door at the back of the garage, which she assumed led to the garden behind the house:

“Psssst, Vinyl.”

“What the shit?”

“Vinyl…”

“Oh jeez, what’s that again?”

She opened the door, only to find… nothing. Only a small shack filled with gardening tools and brooms, with another door on the right side, that most likely led outside. Other than that, nada.

Clac

She turned around slowly. The door had just been closed from someone outside the shack, in the garage. Great, what was happ-

“Hello again, bitch.”

She turned again to face Sunset Shimmer, fist risen and approaching dangerously fast towards her face.

“Oh.”

The impact knocked her against a wooden plank. As she was feeling her body letting go, she heard the other girl snicker. She closed her eyes and everything went black.
> A night to remember
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vinyl was awaken by the pain in her wrists. She could feel her hands behind her back, tied with what felt like clothesline. Very tight clothesline. Sunset Shimmer didn’t take half measures.

“That bitch. Where the fuck is she?”

Vinyl searched for a few seconds, before realizing her eyes were still closed. In fact, opening them felt like the toughest thing she ever had to do. When she finally managed to look around, she noticed the brooms and other tools: she was still in the shack, tied against one of the wooden pillars maintaining the small roof. It took her several extra seconds to adjust to the light of the single lamp again. Sunset Shimmer was nowhere to be seen.

“Well well well, she finally wakes up!”

“Oh, nevermind, she was sitting next to me.”

There she was. Looking down on Vinyl, wiping the dust off her leather vest, with an eternal smirk on her face, acting like Vinyl hadn’t beaten her ass the last time they saw each other. An archetype of high school bitch.

“How’d you sleep, miss DJ?”

“...”

“Oh, poor you, can’t even answer! Too bad you got such an awful disability, that must be truly terrible! Not that I care, of course.”

“...”

“Well? Cat got your tongue?”

She laughed at her own joke for a good ten seconds. Those were the longest ten seconds of Vinyl’s life.

“Ha… But in all seriousness, you’re gonna pay for what you did to me the other day. And so is your friend. That lesbian bitch will regret it…”

“Don’t you fucking dare.”

“Oh?” The other girl answered, noticing the tension of the rope increasing, as well as the DJ’s murderous look, “Did I hit a nerve? Is your little friend that precious to you? What, are you two banging or something?”

“...”

“Oh my god, you are! Oh this is rich! I need to post that online! Perhaps I should get back on MyStable…”

Vinyl kept giving the bully the darkest gaze her magenta eyes were capable of producing, wiggling her arms to try and get out of these ropes. She acted tough, but she was feeling… kind of helpless. For the first time in a years, she realized the consequences of her condition.

“Sorry bitch, I’m not a lip-reader. But if you feel the desperate urge to beg me for forgiveness, you can always try to write on this!”

She threw Vinyl’s pen and paper behind the tied-up girl’s back. She thought she was smart, forcing Vinyl to write with her hands tied and out of sight. Unfortunately for her, she had mastered the technique of writing-something-without-looking-and-with-your-hands-very-close-to-each-other during family meals, when she and her brothers exchanged written messages under the table, while still looking at their aunt Georgia because this is the polite thing to do. Long story short, joke’s on you bitch.

She grabbed the pen and paper, and wrote a few words furiously. This whole time, since the first glimpse she had at Sunset Shimmer, there had been one question she was dying to ask her. And now was the time. This bitch would not escape. She had to tell Vinyl the truth. No more lies. Her kidnapper took the paper back, reading it out loud:

“Is your hair bacon- WHAT?!”

She crunched the piece of paper and threw it in a corner. Her face has even more red than the sun symbol on her shirt. Nice.

“Do you think this is funny?”

“I mean, you gotta have humor about these sorts of things.”

“Nevermind. It’s not like you’d have something relevant to say anyway. And if you think you can report me for all of this, don’t you worry: I have a solid alibi and photo proof of me attending another party…” She said, taking out several pictures of herself, awfully edited on some stock photo of a sleepover.

“Boy that’s bad. How could anyone believe that these are authentic?!”

“Not bad, uh?”

Vinyl shook her head.

“Why you… Anyway, that’s just the tip of the iceberg: I happen to have found your friend’s phone that she carelessly left on her desk during a break yesterday… I was looking for compromising stuff about the three of you, and you’ll never guess what came out…”

“Oh no.”

“Just one small, twenty seconds-long video.”

“Oooooh no.”

“Say, do you often destroy expensive cars during your free time? Is it a hobby of yours?”

“Lyra, you dumb fuck! I told you to delete this goddam video! What were you thinking?!”

The other girl smiled at the DJ’s reaction. Obviously this was the outcome she expected. She crouched to make eye contact with Vinyl, whose face was now painted with anger.

“Oh yes, that’s what I was looking for! Not so tough and cool now, uh? I don’t know whose car it is, but something tells me all of this isn’t exactly legal… Am I mistaking?”

“...”

“Oh, you don’t need to answer, really. But don’t fear, I won’t bring this to the principals, or to the police. No, I’m not that kind of girl, I’m forgiving, even generous, I would never do something that terrible to one of my dear schoolmates.”

“Yeah, totally. That’s why you fucking tied me up in a gardening shack. How nice.”

“So I’ll keep your little secret. However, don’t you think my generosity deserves recognition?”

“No.”

“Of course it does, what am I saying? And I’m sure you agree. So here’s how it’s going to be: I saved my number in your phone.” She continued, throwing Vinyl’s phone on her laps, “If I ever need something from you, or from, let’s say, Octavia, I’m sure my new friends would never let me down, am I right?”

“Great. Now, blackmail. I should’ve seen this coming. But if this bitch even tries speaking to Tavi, I’ll make fucking fire and brimstone rain on her stupid bacon face.”

“I’ll take your silence as a yes! Perfect, it’s a deal! I’m so glad we’re friends now! You’ll see, you three and I are going to be besties!”

“Listening to this bullshit is actually way more efficient psychological pressure than her blackmail.”

“But now, it’s time for me to make my exit, see you later, mute girl! Don’t worry, somebody will come for you.”

She smiled at the defeated girl lying on the floor, and enjoyed the sweet taste of victory.

“Eventually.”



}--oO0Oo--{



“Where in the shit is Vinyl?”

“Lyra, please, your language…”

“I know Octavia, I know, but it’s been twenty minutes since she disappeared now, and nobody has seen her, it’s making me crazy!”

“I’m… I’m worried too, you know… I hope nothing happened to her.”

Lyra noticed a tear forming in the corner of the cellist’s left eye. She put her drink on a nearby table, and placed both her hands on the girl’s cheeks.

“Hey, hey, Octavia. It’s fine, okay? Nothing happened to Vinyl: her car is still there, nobody has seen her leaving. She’s probably just hiding in one of the rooms, smoking pot with random people.”

“Smoking… pot?”

“Forget that part. My point is: I know you think Vinyl left for one reason or another, but she would never, okay? Never. Plus, she can defend herself, I think you can confirm.”

“I guess so… You’re probably right. Thank you, Lyra.”

“Hey, no problem. How’s your cider?”

“It’s… surprisingly tasty. And Applejack is indeed very nice. She even gave me her cell phone number… Oh my, it feels strange saying this…”

“That’s what I’m talking about, Tavi! You’re making friends! Vinyl should disappear more often!”

“Oh… Oh lord no.”

Lyra’s attention got suddenly attracted by a vibration in her pocket.

“Speaking of the devil, guess who just sent me a message. Stay here, finish your drink. I’m gonna bring her back here. I hope she’s not too high.”

“...High?”

“Be right back!”

Lyra quickly ran away from her confused friend. For whatever reason, Vinyl apparently ended up in the gardening shack…

“Jeez, it’s not even 9pm and she’s already unable to move. She could’ve at least invited me to her little private party…”

After a couple of minutes, she finally reached the door she was looking for. It was behind a small curtain, away from everyone. Vinyl really did find the right place to get fucked up.

“Hey dude, I don’t mind bringing your dead body back at your place, but it’s a bit early don’t you th- WHOOOOAAAAT THE SHIT??!!”

Vinyl was looking at her, sitting on the floor, hands tied behind a wooden pillar. Her phone, pen and notepad were laid on her legs, with the small screen still bright from the text it had just sent.

“Holy fucking shit dude, what happened to you?!”

Lyra rushed to her friend’s help, quickly untying her wrists and helping her get up. Vinyl looked troubled, yes, but surprisingly not much more than during the usual shit they had faced before. She didn’t take the time to use her pen and paper, and instead performed a succession of signs in her friend’s direction, detailing everything that had just happened to her.

“THAT FUCKING BITCH!! I knew we should’ve broken her legs! Does she think she can just get away with this: kidnapping you, tying you up, psychologically torturing you?! Screw her little blackmail attempt, who cares if we get in trouble for this video, let’s beat the living shit outta her!”

“...”

“Whaddya mean, ‘calm down’?! How can you be so calm?! For fuck’s sake, you just got sequestered and blackmailed!”

Vinyl suddenly stop her movements, grabbed Lyra’s wrist, and looked directly in her eyes. There was no need for signs here. They had known each others for long enough to understand emotions like this. And on Vinyl’s face was accusation.

“I know dude, I know… I screwed up. Big time. Shooting this video… And keeping it… It was a mistake. One I don’t think I can undo now… But lemme at least make up for it! I’m gonna break every bone in this girl’s body, find the record she has of us, and destroy everything! Including her life, if possible. I will-”

She got stopped by an unexpected kiss from her partner. She certainly wasn’t expecting this, after all she did. And it wasn’t a ‘shut up’ kiss, it was a truly passionate one, filled with care and worry, but also a kiss to make a point.

“...You’re right…”

Vinyl looked at her, wiping her humid eyes with her white sleeve. Lyra couldn’t do that, and she knew it, even though she didn’t want to admit it.

“You’re right dude. We have to think about Bon-Bon and Octavia, about your brother, about our parents… And even though the prospect of getting gangbanged in the prison showers has its appeal, it’s not really worth it.”

Vinyl couldn’t help but chuckle at her friend’s jokes. Even in moments like this, she could find the funny thing to say. She used to be like that. Unfortunately, writing wasn’t as practical.

“So, what are you planning to do? We can’t let that shit slide, still.”

“Fuck no we can’t. And this Sunset Shimmer is gonna pay for what she did to me, and what she threatened to do to Lyra, Bon-Bon…”

She stopped her thinking process for a few seconds.

“...And to Octavia.”

She turned back to Lyra, with a determined smile back on her face. There wasn’t time to think about these sorts of things. There was a whole evening awaiting for them on the other side of the wooden door.

“What, we just go back like nothing happened?”

“...”

“Yeah, I don’t want to ruin the others evening as well, but still… Maybe we should at least tell Pinkie Pie or something…”

Vinyl strongly shook her head. Pinkie Pie was nice, yes, trustworthy, most likely ; but she probably had never held a secret of her entire life. Didn’t seem like her trademark. Telling her would be a mistake. Telling anyone would be, for that matter.

“Alright, you win. But I’m not taking my eyes off you or the others for the rest of the night. And you look after yourself as well, alright?”

Vinyl took Lyra’s hands, holding them tightly, as she laid a small kiss on the girl’s lips.

“Deal.”



}--oO0Oo--{



When Vinyl came out of the shack, the lights and movements in the house unexpectedly surprised her. The night had begun quite some time ago, and everyone who was invited had now arrived. The DJ noticed some familiar faces: Micro Chips was there, with some of his nerdy new friends, that Flash dude from before was playing a few chords on a wooden guitar, and Pinkie Pie was running around, refilling glasses who weren’t empty and blowing the eardrums of everyone.

“Speaking of which…”

Vinyl looked at the small wooden stage installed in the garage, at the two humongous speakers set on both sides, and at the black turntables disposed on a folding table. On that moment, she forgot about everything and everyone else. Music was calling her. It had been too long since she last played for a crowed, and now was the time to show this school what she was capable of.

She stepped on the stage, verifying all the details and connections of every cable, adjusted her settings, and grabbed the backpack Lyra threw at her, taking out her pair of large white headphones. She placed them on her equally white ears, caressing the audio cable falling down her body. Already, her heartbeat was increasing, she could feel the blood pumping in her limbs, fingers twitching, desperately wanting to share the vibrations stored in her computer. Her magenta eyes sharpened and a smile appeared on her face.

She was ready.

She gave Lyra a signal. Her friend quietly went for the large HiFi standing on one of the garage shelves, and using her foot, not breaking eye contact with the DJ, she unplugged the whole thing.

“Eeehhhhhh!”

“What?”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, what just-”

“Is the HiFi broken?”

That was her cue. With a flick of a switch, the blue-haired girl turned on the dozen of multicolored lights she had wired on her speakers years ago. On the same time, she passed her left hand on a small control panel, triggering a slow kick-drum, attracting the attention of everyone in the house. Everything stopped, like the moment had been frozen in time, with just the hands of Vinyl moving across the buttons and keys.

“Yes, that’s it. That’s the sensation I’m looking for…”

She closed her eyes, letting her fingers do the work. All these years of sign language had made her extremely dexterous with her hands, and she had always appreciated the positive effect it had had on her music skills. Then the sub-bass came into place. Now her fingers were flowing through the air, vibrating like the frequency in her headphones, and the rhythm accelerated, as she started bobbing her head up and down, feeling the movements of her audience. She opened her eyes again. Some were bobbing their head as well, others were filming with their phones, others were simply listening to the vibes…

This was it. This was her way of talking. Her way of shouting. Of yelling her emotions at the world, at the ones she loved, the ones she hated, and everyone who listened to her music.

This was her language.

The volume rose, along with the rhythm. And rose again. And again. The students started to move more rapidly, waving their arms, raising their hands. Then Pinkie Pie took out a strobe light machine, which she wired in a few swift movements, and turned off all the lights in the room. Then the beams of coloured lights met the ceiling and the walls, moving slowly at first. Then faster. And faster. Following the sound waves propagating through the air.

And suddenly, everything stopped. Sound, light, time. Vinyl looked around her, in this instant frozen in time. She looked at her public, who did not know her, who she didn’t knew, but who were here with her. She looked at Lyra and Bon-Bon, cheering for her on the side of the stage. She looked at Octavia, silently sitting on a chair in a corner of the room, drinking a glass of cider with some country-looking girl. But the cellist wasn’t paying attention to her new comrade. She was looking at Vinyl. In her eyes, searching for something to attach to in that sea of unfamiliar faces, in these waves of sounds she knew nothing about, in this new life of hers.
Maybe Vinyl should have cried, or feel sorry. But instead, she felt even stronger, even more compelled to play. All of this, all the things they had gone through to get here, in was for her, for Octavia, to show her there was more in life than… boarding school and classical music.
And the second part was about to be taken care of.
She looked around again, observing every detail, every drop of water or carbonated drink, frozen in time and floating in the air. Her fingers, like untouched by those physical binds, were moving on the keyboard, rising the tension and the volume.

Time unfroze itself. And she dropped the beat.

The walls vibrated under the pressure of the sound, the floor was trembling, both people and heartbeats jumped, transported by the avalanche of sensations that just came out of the black speakers. Some were yelling, some were dancing, some were just swallowed whole by the sound waves.
Every emotion in Vinyl’s body was expressed through these notes: her hate for Sunset Shimmer and Sombra, her desire for Lyra, her love for Bon-Bon, and especially for Octavia… All those things she couldn’t say, wrecking balls inside her brain… She would scream them loud tonight.

“Can you hear my voice this time?!”

With all her strength and will, she placed her hands on the mixing tables, fingers touching the two large disks, pushing them back, forward, adjusting the sound, adding notes and changing the vibes as the flow of emotions in her body flew through her fingers and into her music.
Fuck everything. Fuck Sombra, fuck Discord, fuck CHS and the classes. Fuck Lyra too, but not like that. If she could spend the rest of her life like this, mixing, playing, yelling like she had a voice, sharing her beats, she would. No second thoughts.

“Yeah, maybe I could… But not alone…”

Her eyes stopped on Lyra and Bon-Bon, cheering for her in front of the stage. Bon-Bon was obviously not used to this kind of music, but she was having her share of fun with Lyra by her side. Vinyl smiled at them, then looked through the room for someone else. Someone she wished was in front row with the others, so that someone could see true excitement in the DJ’s eyes.

With the push of a button, she started the song cue she had prepared for the night, filled with some of her finest works. She got off the stage, walking through the small crowd filling the garage, with some people interrupting their motions to congratulate her, compliment her, pat her on the back and asking for her number. That felt good as well. She had to be honest: being loved was also fun. People loved her music. But also loved her.
But at first very moment, her mind was focused on something else. After taking a couple of pictures with some CHS students, including Pinkie Pie, who hugged her so tightly she almost suffocated, she left for the kitchen.

“Tavi, where are you?”

A few students were still in the kitchen and living room, drinking and eating from the incredibly large buffet their host had settled. She grabbed a glass of cider and a slice of salmon pizza, and headed for the living room.

There she was. The cellist was sitting in a (pink) puffy armchair, facing the bow window and contemplating the street shrouded in darkness. Vinyl took a look as well: it was nice, really. Silent, too. She could still hear her music playing in the garage, but it was not as ear-shattering here. Probably the reason Octavia chose this place.

Feeling the presence of someone behind her, the cellist turned around, facing Vinyl, before standing up and hugging her tightly.

“Oh Vinyl, where did you go?! I was so worried for you. Lyra went to search for you, and next thing I know, you were on the stage, playing your… songs. I… didn’t even get a chance to talk to you.”

“Damn, she’s right. She wasn’t with Lyra and Bon-Bon, and I was concentrated on my music… Shit, I hope she didn’t take it too badly.”

“It’s okay you know… I’ve actually managed to have some fun.” She chuckled, smiling at the DJ, “Applejack is very nice, and Bon-Bon introduced me to a few very smart and interesting people, even though I was a bit scared…”

“Great. Okay. Perfect. Please don’t make me feel bad for not coming with you, please, please, please…”

“You know, if you want to spend the evening with other persons, I have absolutely no issue with the idea…”

“Noooooo!!!”

“I mean, I completely understand: we have spent the last week with each others, it’s normal that you desire to meet new faces, like you were this past hour… I don’t want to intrude in your life…”

“What?”

“And I kno-”

Vinyl grabbed Octavia’s arm, stopping her mid-sentence. She grabbed her other arm, maintaining the cellist in front of her, looking her in the eyes. The surprise stopped Octavia from speaking, as the DJ let go of a hand to slowly sign her friend. Octavia analysed every movement, one by one, to be sure to catch the blue-haired girl’s answer:

“Vinyl, the thought of you being… ‘sick’ of me didn’t cross my mind, of course! But despite my… different tastes in musical entertainment, I saw how you behaved on this stage. This is your life. This is how you want to be. And how could… someone like me… ever help with any of this? How could I ever be anything but a burden?”

These last few words shattered the DJ’s heart into a million pieces. How could Octavia think that? Yes, of course, she had always been lacking confidence, but this was a whole new level. Something had to be done. Right now. She grabbed her pen and paper. What she wanted to say could not be misinterpreted. Octavia needed to understand that. She wrote as fast as she could on the white sheets, constantly giving Octavia quick reassuring glances. She was not going anywhere. Not until she got this message.

Listen to me Tavi,

I know we’ve not been friends for super long. I know it’s hard for you to meet new people. And I know you have some crazy pressure with your family. And despite all this shit, you manage to be an awesome, intelligent girl. I wish I knew more people like you.
Nah, you know what, scratch that. I don’t want to know other people like you. You’re unique Tavi. Maybe you’re a little weird sometimes, in the cute way of course, but hear me out:
I will not leave you.
Not for my music, not for other people, not because of your fucking parents (sorry).
And you must have gotten this by now, I don’t give up easily.
So if anything wants to drive you afar from me and the others, it’ll be over my fucking dead body.
Now look at me.

Octavia rose her head, and realized Vinyl’s face was now only a few inches away from hers. A small tear started forming in the corner or her eye, as she realized how stupid she was. After everything Vinyl, Lyra and Bon-Bon had gone through for her, after everything they had put at risk, only to make her feel wanted, to make her be able to experience what their life was. What true life was.
Vinyl took Octavia’s face between the palm of her hands, looking the cellist right into her eyes. And when Octavia looked in the center of the two magenta pupils, she realized her friend didn’t need a voice to speak, to help her, to reassure her. Was that… was that what true friendship looked like?
The DJ got closer to Octavia, and delicately pressed her forehead against her friend’s.

This was both the most intense and relaxing moment of Octavia’s life.

They stayed together like this, as Vinyl’s music played in the background, and the few remaining lights went out in the street shrouded in darkness.
> Feeling free
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wind was blowing through the branches of a dead maple tree, shaking the sign of the “Storm Diner”, projecting its shadow on a few late patrons, finishing their coffee and listening to some of the most popular 60’s tubes on the jukebox.

The wind was blowing on the roof of a light grey RV parked a few yards behind the diner. A small table, covered in beer cans and cigarette stubs, was set under a purple awning, and light was beaming out of the windows, despite the absolute silence filling up the place. A large; black-and-grey dog was chewing on a bone, occasionally barking at the rare cars driving by.

“Grubber! Get the fuck back inside, it’s gonna rain soon, and I don’t need your wet face all over my stuff!”

Finally, the wind was blowing on the RV’s owner’s purple hair, arranged as a mohawk, which had seemingly not been washed for a few days. Her dark purple skin and equally dark clothes made her almost invisible in the night, but her shining green eyes pierced the shadows like two colored flames. As the dog climbed the three steps and came inside, shaking his tail and heading for the passenger seat -his seat, really-, his owner sat on the bench seat and grabbed her laptop, covered in stickers for different brands of cars, cigarettes and sport gear. 

The inside of the RV was, to say the least, messy. The wallpaper was partially teared down, a pile of dirty dishes was sitting in the sink, and the floor was covered in papers, cans and teared down wallpaper. It was horrid. But it was home. A document appeared on screen, listing dozens of codenames, addresses, and amounts of money. Big amounts, in some cases. Her job was a messy one, but it didn’t have to be an unorganized one.

“Alright, what’s the amount again…”

Page twelve, line five… Her eyes looked through a few codenames: “Phoenix”, “D.D”, “Brutter”... before stopping on the one she was looking for. “Chaos”.

“Jeez Discord. One hundred grams? That’s something. Whaddya even need this for?” she mumbled, sipping beer from a measuring glass.

Getting the right stuff had been a pain. If it weren’t for this guy, she would have given up already. But she couldn’t say no to him. Not after everything he had done for her. She might be a dealer, but she had a sense of honor. And Discord had earned her respect. Furthermore, she had gotten the package in the end, so no harm done. It was even easier than anticipated.
She got up, leaving her computer on the seat, grabbed a box of dog treats from a shelf, and filled Grubber’s bowl. The sound of food against metal instantly woke up the rottweiler, who ran to his owner, devouring the food while she was petting him. With her remaining hand, she reached for a small bag on the counter.

“What the fuck do you need that for, old man…”

The bag contained an airtight pouch, filled with about one hundred grams of small blue crystals. A black label on the side indicated:

“Storm King”



}--oO0Oo--{



“Heeeeyyyy, there you are! Tavi, are you stealing Vinyl from me?”

“Oh Lyra, you’re here! Oh, uhm… What? No, never, I… I’m sorry, what?”

“Haha, I’m just messing with you, girl! I understand you running away from the garage though. If I wanted my ears shattered, I’d just put my head inside a bongo drum.”

Octavia blushed. She wasn’t used to her friend’s blunt attitude quite yet, but things were starting to get slightly better: they had been here for a little less than an hour now, and after hearing over and over some of these expressions she didn’t know, she had started to guess the meanings of several of them. She felt quite ridiculous, not knowing the sense of all these things which were basic for so many people, but it was… more gratifying than she thought, understanding the people around her. Not that she would ever use this language, but it was certainly a start.

“Hey!” said Bon-Bon, cheerfully, a glass of cider in one hand, arriving behind Lyra’s back and putting a hand around her neck, “What have you girls been up to?!”

“Oh, well, Vinyl and I were practicing some basic lessons of sign language. I’m trying my best to remember all the basic verbs and adjectives.”

Vinyl smiled. For the last twenty minutes or so, they had both been sitting on the couch, face to face, practicing. The DJ’s cheeks were still painful: she had smiled and laughed so much, watching her friend learn, try, and get confused by the similarities in this whole new form of expression. Not only was she happy, but also proud, and moved. Octavia, the most homebody and reserved person she had ever met, was going out of her way to learn about something which would not benefit her in any way, except being able to talk to a friend.

“I mean, she’s already pretty out of her element here.”

Perhaps Octavia was less shy and clueless than she thought after all.

“Hey, Octavia, come dance!”

Alright, maybe not that much.

“I’m sorry?”

“Yeah!” Bon-Bon continued, “Come on, now that you’re starting to enjoy the evening, it’d be crazy not to try that out! I can teach you some moves if you want!”

Vinyl looked closely at her pianist friend for a few seconds, staring at her like a turtle trying to win a contest of who’s-gonna-yawn-first, then picked up her pen and paper from the table and shoved it in her face after writing a few words:

Dude, are you drunk?

“A little bit.” The girl answered, smiling at the DJ.

“Same.” Lyra added, with even crazier eyes than usual. “Crazy what you can find in those duffel bags.”

Vinyl facepalmed so hard the sound of her hand against her forehead shook the (pink) frames on the walls. Way to show Octavia a good time. Hopefully these two weren’t going to do anything stupid. Alright, maybe something stupid would be fun. Hell, embarrassing Octavia could be kind of fun sometimes. Just not dangerous.

“Hey Lyra, I’m gonna dab!”

“Oh fuck.”

“NonoNONONONONO”

The lyrist jumped on her friend to prevent her from crossing a line one should never cross, with the two girls ending up on the couch, laughing as Bon-Bon was trying to free herself from Lyra’s grip. Vinyl and Octavia were looking at them, one undoubtedly astounded by the situation, the other trying to contain her laughter, because laughing at drunk people is not fun. Or maybe it’s extremely fun. But she shouldn’t do it.

After a couple of minutes of fighting aimlessly on the couch, Lyra got up, reaching for Octavia’s hand at the surprise of the cellist.

“Alright Tavi, since this one over there is obviously not in the shape, I’ll be the one to make you dance!”

“I’m in a very good shape!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes.”

“What time is it?”

“The color blue.”

“Alright.”

“Don’t do it!”

“I’m gonna do it!”

“No!”

“Oh yes.”

“Okay.”

“Holy fucking shit.”

“Let’s go Octavia! Before this one can stand up or this one understands that dancing means stopping her un-danceable music!”

“Lyra, stop!” Octavia panicked, pulling the sleeve of the mint-haired girl in the opposite direction, “What do you mean, dance?!”

“Uhm… duh? Dance, you know? Like everyone does in a- okaaaaayyyyyyy I think I see the problem.”

“...”

“You’ve never danced before, have you?”

“As a matter of facts, I have! I used to ballet dancing when I was a kid.”

“Ballet dancing? Oh for fu-”

She was interrupted by the soft yet painful pressure of Vinyl’s fist on her shoulder.”

“Alright then. I presume you’ve never tried rock, shuffle, twist or any sort of choreography?”

“I have no idea of what any of those are.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll learn sooner or later! That’s what I’m here for! Because I dunno about Bon-Bon, but between us, Vinyl can’t dance for sh- AOUCH!”

Vinyl had just finished writing the second chapter of the love story between her right fist and Lyra’s shoulder when she took her phone to send a small encouragement text to Octavia. She needed that.

“No Lyra, I’ve never done this before!”

“So when did you plan on doing it?!”

“I didn’t!”

“See? Now come with me! I’ll promise that if you don’t enjoy it, we’ll stop!”

“But everyone will look at us and think I’m ridicule! Both of us will be ashamed! And what if someone records me?”

“Nobody will! Everyone’s cool here! And I’m sure you’re far from the only one here who’s never danced.”

“...You are certain about this?”

“Positive.”

“...”

“So? Whaddya say?”

“...No, I can’t. What would my parents say? This is not how I’ve been raised…”

“Bullshit!”

Lyra’s intervention caused Octavia to jump in surprise, and tremble at the visible anger of her friend.

“You’ve been raised like this, so what?! I think we both know your parents aren’t exactly folks of the year! And I’m sorry, but if this is what they taught you, then screw them! It doesn’t benefit anyone! They just don’t wanna take any risks, so they forbid you from having a fucking life! Also-”

The girl stopped her tirade once she saw the tears forming in the corners of Octavia’s eyes. She obviously wasn’t used to getting such a talk, especially from a friend. And the lyrist’s style may have been a little aggressive for her.

“I’m sorry, Octavia. I shouldn’t say that about your family… You know me, I’m like that. Also, I’m a little bit drunk, so that doesn’t help… But hear me out on this: if you can’t never let anything happen, then nothing will ever happen.”

Octavia looked at Lyra: she had never seen her friend with such a serious expression on her face. Despite Lyra’s usual carefree behavior, she obviously was as sincere as can be on this. The cellist could definitely see the resemblance with Vinyl. Then she thought about what all of her friends had done to get her here tonight. She owed them that. And quite possibly, she owed herself that.

“Alright Lyra.” She answered, with a determined smile on her face, “Show me how you dance.”

“YES!” The girl yelled, catching the attention of every student, animal, and probably every single particle in a one-kilometer radius, “Haha! I knew you had it in you girl! Let’s go!”

She grabbed Octavia by the hand, and started running towards the garage, much to the panic of her prey.

“Vinyl! Come with us! You need to shut down your shit! Pinkie Pie sent you a playlist of songs normally-constituted humans can dance to!”

“Alright, we’re in for a ride I guess. Better keep tracks of this moment for later complimenting and/or humiliating purposes.”

“Vinyl!” Octavia shouted, “Are you planning on recording this?”

“Yes.”

“Of course not” She signed, feeling some mix between guilt and fun.

“Oooh lord, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It’s a great idea!” Lyra laughed, “Tell me what wrong could it possibly do, learning how to dance. Trying to learn maybe.”

“When you put it like that…”

“It’s perfect! I know! I’m that kind of chick! Let’s go! Everyone’s waiting for the songs to start!”

“Ev… Everyone will be there?!”

“Of course! But they’ll be dancing too, not looking at us, so no worries girl!”

“Oh my…”

“Hey, you sound like a girl I know!” Pinkie Pie added, passing by and refilling cups.



}--oO0Oo--{



“...Like this?”

“Almost there, more like this. Careful, don’t trip.”

“Oh lord, this is not really instinctive.”

“Oh, you know, you get used to it.”

The two girls had been practicing for about fifteen minutes now. The garage was filled with students, most of them in groups of two or three, listening and dancing to various rock and pop bands from the last two decades. The mood was greatly different compared to the previous hour, smoother, calmer, despite the electric guitar tunes and the dozens of teenagers dancing in the room. And although Octavia wasn’t used to this kind of tracks, it was at least something she knew the existence of. And that didn’t shatter her ears into a million pieces.

“Hey, that’s better! Loosen up, you look like you’ve swallowed a street light!”

“Easier said than done, Lyra!” Octavia answered awkwardly, maintaining her grip on her friend’s hands, moving her left left and right, back and forth, trying not to strengthen her relationship with the concrete floor. She was exhausted, trying to follow Lyra’s movements, moving in circles and staying constantly in motion. Sometimes, Lyra let go of a hand and made Octavia spin around for a couple of seconds, much to the cellist’s fright. 

“Alright Octavia, let’s try something a little more advanced.”

“Advanced? I mean… already?”

“I mean, it has been fifteen minutes, so we should consider the idea of trying a second movement, don’t you think?”

“I… I think it sounds fair.”

“Perfect! Okay, just relax, and lemme show you. Keep your hands attached to mine.”

“What are you planning to doooo-”

She was stopped by a sudden movement from Lyra’s hands, placing Octavia’s back against the lyrist’s chest, with the two girls’s arms encircling her, and Lyra moving from side to side behind her, not letting go of her hands.

“Lyra, what is this?!”

“Told ya, it’s a new move, chill!”

“I, uhm… This is quite unusual.”

“I bet. Okay, now let go of my left hand.”

As soon as Octavia obeyed, her friend used her right hand, still attached to Octavia, to make the latter spin around, to finally end up facing her again, catching her left hand, and continuing the dance like it was nothing.

“Heyyyy, you’re starting to get good at this! Or maybe it’s just the alcohol speaking. Oh well.”

“That was… unexpected, Lyra. But also kind of thrilling, to tell the truth.”

“Haha, yes! HEY VINYL! SUCK IT! I’VE DONE IT!”

“Lyra, calm down, everyone is looking at us…”

“YOU OWE ME FIVE DOLLARS DUDE!”

“Maybe it’s time we took a break…”

“No way dude! You’re starting to enjoy this, let’s make it count!”

Octavia looked at Lyra, smiling and moving back and forth in front of her, still holding her hands. She was hesitant. But this new experience, this whole new world was… liberating.

Maybe for once she should do what she wanted to do.

And she didn’t want to let that pass.



}--oO0Oo--{



Octavia was dancing. Not ballet dancing, during classes her parents wanted her to take when she was seven. Actually dancing, like a normal teenager. Facing Lyra, her friend. Watching Vinyl and Bon-Bon, her friends. All of them helping her, reassuring her, letting her choose her own fate. She was on a concrete floor, in a garage in a house from the suburbs, but it felt like best place she had ever visited. She had learned so much in one night, and not just about dance. She thought about these moments she had shared with Vinyl, the intimacy and sincerity of the instant. She felt safe.

She felt free.

The past half hour had been spent trying to dance, following Lyra’s movements and directions, making one step back, and two steps forward. And now she was almost used to half a dozen moves she had no idea existed one hour ago. A sentiment of accomplishment was flowing through her veins. She closed her eyes…

When she opened them, she was in the car.

Did she fall asleep for a moment? She was on the back seat, face against the window, as the trees and houses were passing by her eyes. Not a sound around her, except for the engine. She looked around. Lyra wasn’t there, nor was Bon-Bon. But Vinyl was driving, quietly, concentrated on the road ahead, plunged in darkness.

“Vinyl…”

The DJ’s eyes instantly looked in the rear-view mirror, noticing Octavia. She smiled warmly at her friend, not letting go of the wheel.
After a few seconds of thinking, Octavia remembered: they were n their way back to the manor, where Dana was waiting for them. At this hour, the guards’s shifts were over, and she could easily open the back gate to let Octavia in. She looked at her phone screen: they were on time, thank god.

“Vinyl, I ought to thank you for bringing me back at the manor.”

Her friend couldn’t use her phone or notepad, but made a few simple signs to notice the cellist that it was normal, and that Lyra and Bon-Bon had stayed at the party, where she would join them back later.

“I… I still cannot quite believe everything that happened tonight.”

She saw a large smile on Vinyl’s face, followed by a few hand motions:

You were amazing.

Before Octavia could think about blushing, the car stopped. They had arrived to the manor. Vinyl stopped the engine, opening Octavia’s door. 

“Oh my Vinyl, you seem so impatient, are you alright?”

Then she noticed Dana, who was already there, near the opened gate, smiling at them from a few yards away. Octavia waved at her, happy to see the old maid. Suddenly, she felt an intense pressure on her chest. Before she could realize, she was in Vinyl’s arms. The blue-haired girl was holding her tight, not saying a word, or writing one. Past the initial confusion, Octavia realized how this evening had been as important for Vinyl as it had been scary for her. She smiled, and hugged back. 

When the DJ finally let go, she looked deep in Octavia’s eyes and smiled, taking a piece of paper and simply writing:

I’ll see you on Monday :D

-with a cute little smiling face at the end. Octavia smiled back, holding the paper tight, as her friend got back in her car, and as she was walking towards Dana. She looked at the blue lights moving away in the dark of the night.

“Dana?”

“Yes, dear?”

“I think I know how to dance.”
> It's in the cards
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Teacup!”

“...”

“Teacup!”

“Mrgbllmgblrmwhat?”

“TEACUP!”

Lyra jumped out of the bed, ears in alert after hearing that scream of rage. She did not know where she was, what time it was, and who the hell was screaming “teacup” in the next room. Her temples her burning, and her eyes couldn’t see anything past the brightness of the sun beaming through the large window of the wall facing her. She looked for her phone in her pockets, only to realize she was wearing her shirt, along with knee-long night pants that weren’t hers.

“Oh boy.”

She finally grabbed her cellphone from the jeans lying near the bed, moaning in displeasure as the white light attacked the integrity of her pupils. 11am. Alright.

“Okay, now, where the fuck am I?”

She looked around the room, noticing the school books, clothes and movie posters: this was definitely belonging to a girl of her age. Maybe the one who was screaming on top of her lungs behind the door? 

“Wait a second…”

She slowly but surely turned around to face the other side of the bed. Something, or someone, was under the blanket, not making a single sound that would have revealed its presence. With a quick move of the hand, Lyra uncovered the mysterious entity, only to see a girl with dark blue-purple hair and light yellow skin sleeping next to her.

“Oh… Oh.”


}--oO0Oo--{


Bon-Bon opened her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sunlight on her shoulders. She didn’t use alarm clocks. Never had to. The light and fresh air of the morning always were, in her opinion, the best ways to wake up. And it was working: not once had she been late to class. Well, not because of when she woke up at least. But who needed loud irritating noises when you could just have a calm morning?

“TEACUUUUUUUP!”

Oh, that’s right. Not everything was quiet around here. She slowly opened her eyes, sitting on the bed, stretching her arms. She then slowly turned around to look out the window, only to find herself one inch away from Lyra’s face.

“AAAAHHHH!”

“Wow! Don’t scare me like that!”

“Wha… Wh… Oh, Lyra, it’s you! I’m sorry I scared you.”

“Bon-Bon! Heeeyyyyy, how are you girl?!” The lyrist responded, with the most awkward smile one could ever perform.

“Good! Great, actually! How was your sleep? I hope you didn’t wake up too…”

“TEACUP!”

“...brutally.”

“Nonono it’s cool! I slept like a baby…”

“Perfect!”

“Yeah…”

“...”

“Say, did we….? Last night….?”

“Did we… what?” The girl asked with the brightest smile.

“You know…”

“What? Oh no, Lyra, come on!” Bon-Bon laughed, patting Lyra on the shoulder, “I wouldn’t do that to Vinyl! Also, you were waayyyy too drunk!”

“Ugh… Was I?”

“Well apparently you don’t remember the end of the night.”

“Clever.”

“Well, to be honest, we drank a bit too much during Vinyl’s absence. I tried to maintain a certain level of soberness, because I get depressed when I’m too drunk, but I don’t think you had this problem.”

“Yeah, I’ve been told I’m more of an obnoxious drunk.”

“Well in any case, once Vinyl came back, she made us pack our stuff and leave, because we weren’t supposed to drink alcohol at this party.”

“That doesn’t sound like Vinyl at all.”

“I know, that’s what you were screaming, amongst other things, in the car, before we realized she had driven to that abandoned firehouse near the river, where she took out four or five bottles she had brought along, apparently.”

“Nice! That definitely is more like her!”

“So we basically drank and listened to music for a couple of hours. By the way, the law forces me to tell you I have a video recording of you trying to play the lyre with probably more alcohol than blood in your veins.”

“Bon-Bon?”

“Yeah?”

“Delete this or I will delete you.”

“Never. I’ll keep it at least until your birthday.”

“Do you really attach that little importance to your well-being?”

“Yep. Anyways, we got super drunk, I remember you showing me the video of Vinyl crashing that limo into a pile of freaking metal beams -you are both crazy by the way- and then we talked about our lives, families, and-”

“TEACUP GODDAMMIT!”

“...Roommates.”

“Oh.”

“Then Vinyl drove us very very slowly to her place which thank God was two streets away, and called us a cab from there. I hope she managed to climb her stairs…”

“Wow, what a night! I like how this year is looking! 

“I know right! Me too!”

“Too bad we didn’t fuck.”

“...” 

“I’m kidding.”

“You sure you’re sober?”

“Giving the headache, yeah. So, are you going to tell me what kind of endangered specie is currently dying in the other room?”

“Haha yeah, it’s my roommate, Trixie. Trixie Lulamoon. She’s in your class I think.”

“I’m very bad with names. Who are you again?”

“Very funny. Come, we’ll get something for breakfast.”

Bon-Bon got up, putting on some fluffy slippers and stretching her arms and back, making every joint in her upper body crack. Lyra decided to stay in the night pants her friend gave her, and looked out the window. The light was beaming over the rooftops of the buildings, and the wind was blowing through the thin curtains of the pianist’s room. They were on the sixth floor or so, and the view Lyra had on the city was more than appreciable.

“Did we really climb six floors yesterday?”

“Nah, I just carried you to the elevator where you proceeded to enter zombie mode.”

“So, wait, did you put these on me?” She asked, pointing at her blue cotton pants.

“Noooooooo…”

“Uh uh.”

“...Hey! Let’s go eat something, shall we?!”

“Sure, I’m certain you want to escape my question. I mean starvation.”

Bon-Bon opened the door and entered a small hallway, connecting apparently all the rooms in the apartment: bathroom, toilets, kitchen, and of course, the other bedroom.

“Trixie!”

“Mmmmh?”

“I have no idea if you’re making some tea or just screaming your deepest fantasies to whomever wants to hear, but can you avoid attacking my ears at eleven on a Sunday?!”

“What are you talking about? I’m practicing my latest grand amazing trick!”

The girl in the other room was taking a lot of space. Not physically, she was pretty slim, tall, with long crystal hair arranged on one side of the head, with a star-shaped brooch on the other side. Her cyan skin matched with her purple mysterious eyes, fully concentrated on a small shiny spoon placed on a table in front of her. She was wearing a simple hoodie with track pants, but had already makeup on. But perhaps the most noticeable thing about her was the state of her room: ‘messy’ was certainly a common and useful word of the English vocabulary, but it couldn’t quite catch the essence of what was going on in there. Not a single item was at its place, not a square inch of floor was breathing. Dozens of boxes, of all colors and of all sizes, were piled up and filled with costumes, props and stage decorations. It looked very much like the backstage of a circus, except it had to be reduced to a hundred square feet. And turned upside down. And burned. And turned upside down again. And reorganized by a monkey smoking crack.

“...You know this isn’t a teacup, right?”

“Of course I know that! But thanks to her mighty powers, the great and powerful Trrrrrixie will turn this miserable spoon into a magnificent porcelain teacup!”

“Ooookay, sounds good. If at one point you learn how to turn them into rent money, you tell me. You’re still two weeks late!”

“Artists don’t need frivolous things such as money!”

“Sure. By the way, this is-”

“I’m Lyra! Hey girl, nice room you got here, kinda reassures me on the state of mine. So you’re a magician? That’s dope.”

“Uhm… yes, hello! You have the honor to talk with the soon-to-be best illusionist of the country, what am I saying, the world!”

“Wow. That’s neat. Say, you have a trick you could show me right now?”

“Oh! Already a fan! I like you! Alright, I am going to read your mind! Are you ready to be amazed?!”

“Ready like a teddy.”

“Okay!” She answered, placing her hand a few inches away from Lyra’s forehead, closing her eyes, and whispering something only she could understand, “Spirits, grant me the power of passing through all the doors of the mind! Open the gates of wisdom and knowledge!”

Bon-Bon was looking at the whole scene from the doorway, eyebrows risen, a glass of milk in her hand. She probably had seen this spectacle more than once. Her roommate finally put her hands back on her hip, opened her eyes, declaring with a smile:

“You are going through a difficult period of your life, and were thinking about how your family might play a part in your well-being!”

“Hmmm… Close.” Lyra answered with a smirk, “I was actually thinking about your roommate’s amazing ass. Nice try though. Oh by the way, you left your newspaper opened at the astrology page.”

“I… You… Wha-”

“C’mon Bon-Bon, breakfast time! I’m fucking starving!” The lyrist said in a yawn, leaving the magician in a state of confusion while her friend laughed in the small hallway.



}--oO0Oo--{



“...”

“Loud. She’s loud.”

“...”

“Nah, I don’t know how Bon-Bon manages to live with her either.”

“Ms. Heartstrings! Ms. Scratch! Despite the natural talent one of you possesses, I should let you know the entire class, me included, can hear you conversing in the back! Calm down or I’ll be forced to take measures!”

“Ugh… Yes, sorry Ms. Harshwhinny.”

The two girls exchanged a smile, taking quick looks at their teacher writing lines of grammar on the board, while still using their hands to communicate under the table. Sunday had passed quickly, all of them had basically been resting, eating pasta boxes for some and grilled lamb with a side of mushrooms for another, playing cello for some and handheld games for others. Now here they were, back on the chair of the classroom, for Monday morning’s English class. Nothing like conjugation and grammar to set the mood.

“...”

Vinyl looked closely at her partner’s hands. No, she did not know what to do with that Sunset Shimmer, nor did she know when that bitch was going to contact her. Should they just wait and see? Or talk to the principals and risk getting into trouble because of that godforsaken video? She gave Lyra a dark look that cataloged all the different ways to say ‘I fucking told you so’.

“Hey, this isn’t my fault!” Lyra whispered violently. “Okay, maybe just a bit, but this piece of fuck wasn’t even supposed to look into my phone in the first place! We’re lucky she didn’t find anything worse…”

“That’s it! Ms. Scratch and Ms. Heartstrings, please get out of my class! SInce this is only the second time we see each others, I will be merciful and not notify the principals, but I better see two model citizens on Thursday!”

“Pfff, whatever…” Lyra sighed as Vinyl smiled at her, probably very happy to skip a few moments of class, ‘There’s only ten minutes left anyways.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Nothing!”

The two girls walked down the steps towards the door, passing by an Octavia so shocked and scared she looked like she was having a heart attack. Vinyl held the door opened for Lyra, who stepped out of the room, followed by Vinyl, who closed the large door leaf behind them.

“Boy.”

“...”

The two girls suddenly burst into laughter, with Lyra trying her best not to be heard through the wall, holding Vinyl by the shoulder and letting her bag fall on the ground.

“Easiest ten minutes of my life dude!”

“...”

Come here.

With a smirk and an intrigued yet malicious look, Lyra got closer to the DJ, watching two ivory arms get behind her neck and equally white lips touching hers. The two girls kept kissing a good thirty seconds, before breaking contact and smiling back at each others.

“Haha, man that was a good kiss.”

“...”

“What?”

“...”

“What?!”

Vinyl kept the silence, looking at Lyra with the biggest smirk she could possibly make. She still didn’t know if she should be at her, but almost two days had passed now, it was way above her anger standards. She just smiled at the lyrist, bumping her fist against her shoulder, and signing with her other hand.

“Yeah, totally, Bon-Bon’s place is dope! Oh! Also I couldn’t tell you that in front of everyone, but I woke up with clothes that weren’t mine!”

“...”

“Of course they were hers! You think she’d have given me Trixie’s?!”

Although the prospect of Lyra waking up with a rabbit between her thighs was tempting, Vinyl had to go for the logical answer. Craving for some juicy details, she kept moving her hands faster and faster, asking questions only the two of them could understand.

“Whoooaaaaa, settle down kid! One at a time! Yeah, I woke up wearing some stylish -and comfy, may I add- short night pants, which were obviously too baggy for me because unlike Bon-Bon, I have no ass whatsoever. So like, you know I was way too drunk last night right?”

“I may have noticed a slight abuse of alcohol, yes.”

“So I was like: ‘I could never have put these on myself, so who the fuck did?’. Then I asked her if it was her, and she was all blushing and being like ‘nooooo not at all why would you think that?’!”

The idea of Bon-Bon being embarrassed like this in front of Lyra made Vinyl smile. It wasn’t as cute as Octavia, of course, but it took more to embarrass the pianist, so either Lyra had been really going for it, or Bon-Bon was hiding something.

“Then you know what she told me? ‘I would never do that to you’! I mean, to Vinyl. Which is you. She said to you, but not as in ‘you’. As in Vinyl. That’s you.”

“Hm.”

“Yeah, ‘I would never do that to Vinyl’, that’s what she said. I kinda feel bad for her… Whaddya think?”

Vinyl put her hand under her chin, squinting in concentration, passing the other hand through the mess that constituted her hair. She looked at her friend for a brief second: Lyra seemed legitimately concerned, that was rare enough to be emphasized.

“...”

“Yeah dude, I know we’re together, and so does she, but you know… What if she likes me? Like, actually likes me? I’ve never been in a serious relationship before, shit!”

Vinyl calmed the mint-haired girl down, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her a smile. She took out her phone to write a message. Sometimes, she liked to switch between phone and hands, depending on the situation. Now her wrists her just tired.

Don’t overthink it, you’ve known her for a week, we’ll talk about it later alright? ♫♫

“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right. I guess we’ll see how things turn out! Alright, shouldn’t classes be over by n-”

She was suddenly interrupted by the school bell, announcing the end of morning classes and the beginning of the lunch break, a moment greatly awaited by many students.

“Yes! Lunch time! I’m so fffffuckin’ hungry I could eat an… a… a table… Ok I might not know where I’m going with this comparison.”

Vinyl shook her head, smiling, as she looked at the classroom doors opening, and all her fellow students get out one by one, high-fiving several of them and receiving a surprise hug by Pinkie Pie. After a few minutes, she finally saw the cellist, carrying her heavy bag with difficulties. As soon as she crossed the doorway, Vinyl grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her out of the way of the other teenagers and making her drop a slight scream of surprise.

“Hey Octavia! How’re you?!”

“Lyra, hello!” She said, gasping and turning back to face Vinyl, “Vinyl! You scared me to death! You are so inconsiderate!”, hitting the DJ on the chest with little conviction, much to the amusement of her two friends.

“That’s because we enjoy watching you suffer babe!” Lyra added, an evil grin painted on her face.

“What…?”

“I’m kidding of course! Why so serious?!”

“Oh, I’m sorry… That was very humorous, Lyra.”

“You don’t have to force yourself either, or else you’ll explode at one point. Either way, lunch time! I hope you’re hungry!”

“Actually I had a decent breakfast and-”

“Perfect! Let’s get this show on the road! Everyone to the cafeteria!” Lyra yelled, leading the way with a determinate walk, followed by Vinyl who had grabbed Lyra’s bag and put it on her back.

“Oh no, Vinyl, please, let me hold that, you are going to break your back!”

The other girl smiled, writing a few words on her phone before sending them to Octavia, who grabbed the piece of plastic from inside her coat:

Don’t worry about me! I wouldn’t want you to get hurt, porcelain is tough to fix once it’s broken ;)

“Oh uhm… Oh my…” Octavia blushed, seemingly losing the ability to talk. “I… Thank you, Vinyl…”

Vinyl couldn’t help but to be totally absorbed by Octavia’s adorableness at this very moment. She was obviously not used to receiving compliments like this, but the fact Vinyl was the one giving them was probably all the more confusing.

“Also, Vinyl, I wanted to tell you… Thank you for what you did on Saturday.”

“...”

“No, I don’t necessarily mean bringing me back home, I mean, of course it was wonderful from you, but I meant for everything you, Lyra and Bon-Bon did. I… don’t think I quite realized what happened yet, and it will most likely take me a bit of time but… thank you.”

The DJ gave her friend a comforting look, walking by Octavia’s side as Lyra continued yelling her love for everything on the planet that’s edible.

“Now, shall we go?” The cellist added cheerfully, “Lyra may have managed to make me hungry!”



}--oO0Oo--{



“...Lyra, what is this?”

“This, babe, is a box! Is your mind blown yet?!”

“Uhm… I’ll have to back Octavia on this one, Lyra. I have no clue what that is…”

“Patience, you too! Vinyl and I will explain everything! I mean, I will, because this one is still eating because she is FUCKING SLOW!”

As Lyra ignored the raised finger facing her, she placed on the cafeteria table a small black box covered in white motifs and letters. They had eaten pretty quickly, and had now thirty minutes until the beginning of the next class.

“This, ladies and gentlemen -or mostly ladies, don’t assume genders- is a game called ‘Cards against humanity’.”

“Oh lord, that’s a frightening title.”

“Ooohhh, I think I’ve heard of this!”

“Most likely, you want me to explain the rules?”

“With pleasure.”

“Sure.”

“No.”

“Alright, everyone agrees! Okay, it’s pretty simple: we each have seven white cards, and must keep seven of them at every moment, which means that as soon as you use a white card, you draw another from this pile. Each turn, one of us will draw a black card from this pile here, and read it out loud. There will be one to three blank spaces in the sentence, that we all need to fill using our white cards. At the end of the turn, everyone reads the ‘complete’ sentence, and we vote which one is the best one! Deal?”

“Alright!” Bon-Bon said “Prepare to be destroyed!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about dude, I’m gonna crucify you!”

“I think I understood everything.” Octavia added. “Tell me, what kind of words do we get to complete the sentences?”

“Oh, you know, totally normal words, very common stuff, you’ll see…” Lyra said, trying to contain her laughter.

“Really? I feel like you’re being sarcastic here, Lyra.”

“Nooooo!”

“Why would she?” Bon-Bon asked, smiling widely as well.

Don’t be ridiculous. Vinyl wrote.

“Alright, I’m ready then.” Octavia smiled innocently.  

“Perfect!”

Lyra started distributing the white cards, one by one, among the four of them, with incredibly swift movements, as if she had done this her whole life. Once that was done, she placed the remaining white cards in the box, as well as the much smaller pile of black cards in the middle.

“Alright, the rule, and I quote, states that the player with the worst grades in English has to start!”

The next seconds were completely silent. Well, as silent as a high school cafeteria on a lunch break could be, which is approximately a airplane-colliding-with-a-shipment-of-moo-boxes level of silence. Everyone stayed completely still, until all the eyes gazed towards a same target, as if they were communicating.

“Okay! I get it, I’ll start!” Lyra threw, annoyed by the painful yet comprehensible lack of faith her friends had.

She reluctantly picked up a black card from the pile, reading out loud:

“When I was a kid, all the others wanted to become firemen or princesses, but my dream was… blank.”

“Ooooh that’s a good one!” Bon-Bon smiled. Given Vinyl’s face, she was most likely thinking the same.

“Alright, so that I’m sure I understand, Lyra: I have to choose one of my cards to fill your blank?”

“Say that again, but out loud.”

“I… What?”

“Haha, just kidding, yes, that’s exactly what you need to do.”

“Alright, that sounds simple enough! Let’s see.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“Lyra?”

“Yup?”

“I don’t understand any of my cards.”

As Octavia was saying those words, Vinyl and Bon-Bon both put their hands on their mouths, trying really hard not to explode into laughter.

“Oh, yeah, I kinda knew that was coming.” Lyra answered, chuckling as well at the idea of what the next question was going to be. “C’mon, gimme an example of a card you don’t understand!”

“Alright, uhm… Let’s see… What’s a bukkake?”
> The plan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You sure she’s alright?”

“I’m sure she’s alright.”

“...”

“She didn’t come to school yesterday.”

“Vinyl said she was feeling sick!”

“Sick because of the food or because you proceeded to thoroughly explaining to her what a bukkake is?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault! Vinyl, help me out on this one!”

The DJ took her headphones off, placing them on her knees. The three girls were sitting on the white stone steps of the school’s main gate, waiting for both their friend and the beginning of Wednesday’s music class. She moved her hands in the air, answering her friend’s question:

Nah, it’s totally your fault.

“You bitch!”

“Anyway, Vinyl.” Bon-Bon continued, “She did tell you she was coming to school today, didn’t she?”

Vinyl nodded, chin in her hands, elbows on the black backpack containing her turntables. After Monday’s lunch break, Octavia had suddenly been feeling sick, and had gone back to the manor immediately. Now it was Wednesday, the big day. Where everything could go sideways for them. Deep inside, Vinyl knew Octavia both needed to be here, and really shouldn’t be here.

“Soooo… When are you three meeting with your physics teacher?”

“During lunch break, in one of the labs apparently.”

“I still don’t understand why he’s helping you…”

“You tell me! And what the fuck is he planning to do?! Like, he might want to trick us or something! Shiiiiit… You sure you want to do this Vinyl?”

Vinyl confirmed. Yes, she was sure. Even though Discord obviously had his own motives, it was a good occasion to stop Sombra from harassing the students. And since the principals weren’t taking any measures, their teacher’s plan was all they had. Whatever that plan might be…

“So he still hasn’t told you anything?”

“No! And it pisses me off! We never should’ve trusted a guy that looks like this!”

“Calm down Lyra, someone is going to hear you…”

“And you know what? I stubbed my toe this morning and it hurts like hell! Plus, I…”

As Lyra continued ranting about everything she could get her mind on, Vinyl noticed the bus stopping on the other side of the street. As she watched the passengers get out, she finally saw a girl wearing a grey pleated skirt, a white shirt with a purple bowtie and a thick winter coat, carrying a cello case which probably weighed twice as much as her. Vinyl immediately stood up, leaving her bags and friends behind, and ran towards the cellist, waving her hands in her direction. 

“Come oooon, why is it so fucking hard to get people’s attention when you can’t talk?!”

When Octavia finally noticed the DJ, she waved blissfully at her, keeping her chin in the warmth of her coat and holding her cello tight. She was certainly not reassured about the day ahead. When Vinyl came to face her, opening her arms wide to propose a hug, Octavia blushed and nodded, now used to her friend’s unusual way of greeting her.

“Vinyl! How are you?!”

The blue-haired girl started taking out her notepad, before realizing the progresses her friend had made in sign language, probably even further than she thought after this day off.
She therefore started making signs slowly, so that Octavia could understand most of what was in front of her. When she saw the expression of joy on the cellist’s face, she knew she had understood everything, and was proud of it.

“That’s good to hear. Yes, I am feeling better. Dana gave me some hot soup and a few tablets to get me back on my feet. I’m quite honestly still not sure if my condition was due to the weather, the food, or maybe… Lyra was joking, right? About what she said on Monday?”

Vinyl smiled awkwardly, remembering the sheer horror in Octavia’s eyes during their last lunch together.

Yeah, she was joking, of course girl.

“So… What’s a bukkake?”

“Oh boy.”

I’ll tell you later. Come, it’s music time.



}--oO0Oo--{



“Alright everyone, I see some of you brought the instruments they forgot on the first day… I hope we’ll get to hear some good music today! Ms. Lulamoon, I recall you needed to change your A string. Ms. Finish, Stop taking pictures of these drums, and play them for a change.”

Mr Nandernane was walking between the students, watching and dispensing advices as everyone was preparing and tuning their respective instruments. Lyra was playing a few chords on her golden lyre with Bon-Bon watching her and going through a few pages of solfege, and Vinyl was alternatively plugging and unplugging cables to try and find out why the yellow-light-that-isn’t-supposed-to-flicker was flickering. Octavia was sitting on one of the large speakers, cleaning her cello strings with a small napkin, when Lyra appeared behind her back, without a warning.

“Hey Octavia! You know, we haven’t had the opportunity to listen to you play, Vinyl, Bon-Bon and I!”

“Oh, you… you haven’t?” The cellist blushed, scared of the request she saw coming a mile away.

“I know, crazy right?! Last time, you both listened to me play -probably the best choice by the way- and then Vinyl shattered all of our eardrums with her stuff!”

“Oh yes.” Octavia chuckled, looking at Vinyl’s angry face, “I remember now.”

“So, today’s special, you know! We should totally celebrate! And what better way than you playing your big ol’ cello?!”

“Oh, I can think of plenty of-”

“Nothing! That’s what I’m saying! C’mon Octavia, with all your training, you must be a total beast!”

“Uhm, I…”

“It’s a compliment.” Bon-Bon reassured her.

“Oh. I mean, sure, I can try…”

“Yes!” Lyra exclaimed, as Vinyl was extricating herself from the sea of plugs and cables she had been swimming in for the past ten minutes. She sat next to her two friends, a large smile on her face, taking of her headphones and throwing them in her backpack, letting her messy blue hair flow on her ears. 

“Oh, uhm… Right now?”

The three nodded with spirit. Octavia then picked up her bow, made a jew adjustments and trying a few notes.

“Yes! C’mon!” Lyra encouraged.

Do it Tavi!

“Come one Octavia, it’ll be beautiful!”

As Octavia looked at her friends facing her, she realized something.

She had never had an audience. With the exception of Dana, it was the first time people were listening to her music just for the sake of listening. It felt… weird. Weird, but comforting. Once again, she felt special.

She let the small vibrations of the strings spread through her fingers up to her elbow, enjoying the smell of the wood and its contact with her skin.

And closed her eyes.



}--oO0Oo--{



“That was amazing!”

“Bravo!”

“Holy shit!”

“Hey! No swearing in my class!”

“Great job Octavia!”

“Wow, this was so cool…”

The cellist opened her eyes. All the students previously minding their own business with their instruments were now, alongside Vinyl, Lyra, Bon-Bon and their teacher, circled around her, clapping and cheering after listening to the girl’s music.The room was filled with glee and the notes were still resonating between the walls.

“Dude! That was sick!” Lyra yelled, standing up and fist-bumping Octavia’s shoulder.

“Indeed!” The pianist added.

That was smooth as fuck. Vinyl signed, grinning and picking up Octavia’s cello to place ot against a wall.

“Thank you, all of you.” Octavia timidly said, holding her elbows and blushing at the small crowd gathered around her. “You… didn’t tell me the whole class was listening.”

“Yeah, we didn’t know, they just started grouping up! Can’t blame them, you were amazing!”

“Haha, well… Thank you. I’m happy everyone did apparently enjoy, I… I’ve never had an audience before… It feels like a big leap to go from training alone to this.”

Vinyl grabbed her notepad, writing a few words with a smile on her face. She gave the paper to Octavia alongside a gentle pat on the arm, as if she was trying to comfort her.

Hey, with your skills, you’ll get in the conservatory in no time, so get used to it Tavi!

“Oh, I’m… I’m sure I’m still in need of much training before even hoping to reach such heights. But… But thank you Vinyl.”

The DJ started writing again, while the rest of the class got back to its duties, with Nandermane congratulating the cellist one last time before helping Bon-Bon with the piano.

Say, don’t you think a remix of your music would be sick?

“A… remix?”

Yeah, like, I record your music, and then I arrange it with my own stuff! I’m more than just a DJ you know!

“I… don’t really quite picture what you are planning on doing, but I’d love to play again if you want me to!”

When Octavia saw the excitement in Vinyl’s eyes, she knew that was indeed what she wanted. She stood up to pick her cello, sat back on the stool, as Vinyl rummaged through her back to get a small black recording device, such as the ones Octavia had seen Dana use when she was playing for her.

“Alright… Here we go...”



}--oO0Oo--{



“What? You let her tape your music?”

“Of course! Why?”

“You know Vinyl, she’ll turn it into her monstrous dubstep! And before you hit me Vinyl, just know I agreed to carry your turntables for the precise purpose of dropping them in case of violence.”

Vinyl ignored her friend’s comments, kicking her in the knees as Bon-Bon tried to stop her. After the music class, they had ran to the science lab to attend their first practical biology class. Octavia had been scared all morning at the idea of having to dissect a frog or any other animal, but was reassured when realizing the year’s first chapter was focused on geology. The two hours flew by quickly, as Ms. Zecora gave them advices and informations about the upcoming year, with the help of her fellow scientist and Bon-Bon’s biology teacher, Mr. Neigh, obviously as passionate about teaching as Zecora was about rhyming.

“Oh Lyra, Vinyl does whatever she wants with it! But I’m certain it will sound delightful!”

“You’re not seriously thinking that.”

“Uhm… Bon-Bon, do you know what the menu is today?”

When the bell rang, Octavia woke Vinyl up from the deep slumber she had fallen in, helping her remove the shards of rocks they were supposed to study from her hair. Once out of the lab, they were immediately joined by Bon-Bon, and started heading towards the chemistry lab a few doors away, where Discord was supposed to meet them.

I’m not sure we’ll get time to eat, Tavi.

“You’re right.” Octavia answered, putting her phone down. “Although I am certainly hoping we will. I wouldn’t want to attend P.E class with an empty stomach.”

“You know there proooobably won’t be any P.E class to attend, right? Whatever our dear physics professor has planned, it might provoke a few changes in our schedule.”

“Oh, you’re right Lyra… I hope we are not going to get Mr. Sombra in too much trouble.”

“Here, you see that thought? Put it in a box, a tiny cute box with silk interior and a few ribbons, then burn it, cast the ashes in concrete and throw everything in the river.”

“Lyra, don’t you think you’re a bit harsh on-”

“No Bon-Bon, I’m not! Screw this guy! He’s a terrible person, and according to Discord, it might be even worse than we think! So I don’t know what the other guy has in store, but if it gets us rid of Sombra for good, the I’m in!”

Vinyl nodded in agreement. This whole thing might be risky, it might be extreme, but if it was what it took to feel safe in their fucking high school, so be it.

“He’s not… He’s not going to make Octavia cry ever again.”

They finally arrived in front of the door labelled “LAB 25”, where they usually attended Discord’s class. Strangely enough, the door was locked, and the interior curtain was pulled, obstructing any attempt to see what was going on inside.

“Well, that’s ominous.” Lyra stated.

“Can we go back?” Octavia asked, shivering.

For the record, you know Discord doesn’t know Bon-Bon, right? Vinyl wrote.

“Ah fu-”

The door suddenly opened, revealing the tall stature of the teacher, bearing a wide smile on his face, his yellow eyes shining in the dark of the room.

“There you are you three! You are three minutes late! Or is it early? Time flies when you’re in prison. Or high school. What’s the difference, really?”

His red pupils scrutinized each of the four girls, before stopping on Bon-Bon.

“And who are you, if I may ask? Did you get lost? I can call your parents, or the department of noisy kids?”

“Hey, she’s with us!” Lyra responded, cheeks slightly red with anger. “Watch what you say!”

“Now you watch what you say Lyra, I’m still one of your teachers.” He said with a mocking smirk.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure this is a totally regular situation in which teachers are authorized to participate.”

“Any wayyyy…” The man added with an obviously annoyed look, inviting Vinyl, Octavia and Lyra to pass the door, “I’m going to have to borrow them for a tiny little while, miss…?”

“Bon-Bon. Just Bon-Bon.”

“Ugh. Why do half the people here not have family names?”

“Why don’t you?”

“That’s not the point. Here, take this. You can wait here.”

“Is that… a lollipop?”

“Eggplant-flavored.”

Before the pianist could say anything, the door slammed in front of her, sending her hair flying everywhere across her face.

“Alright! Discord exclaimed, turning around to face the three girls now standing in the dark of the lab, “First and foremost, how was the music class?!”

“Don’t act like you care.” Lyra abruptly answered, obviously still angry at her teacher for leaving Bon-Bon in the hallway.

“I do care!” Discord said, placing his hand on his chest in a falsely offended expression. “I actually do not care. It was a lie. Now! I’m sure you have tons of questions!”

“Why did you leave her outside?” Lyra asked.

What’s next for us? Vinyl continued, moving her hands in the air. Thank god Discord knew sign language.

“Uhm… Can we turn on the light?” Octavia whispered.

“Yes, yes, and yes.”

“What?”

“So!” Discord added, switching on the neon lights, revealing the empty lab tables as well as his large satchel on the front desk, “I’m surprised you didn’t ask me what was next! I’m going to explain everything! Come here, there are cups of water. I wanted to make coffee, but I hate coffee, so I don’t know why I said I wanted to make coffee. Anyway, sit here, will you?”

Lyra reluctantly sat on one of the stools, as a shivering Octavia placed her cello case on a nearby table with the help of Vinyl, before sitting on the other side of the desk.

“As you all know, the four of us recently discovered a mutual interest in stopping the misbehavior of a certain P.E teacher towards his students. You don’t appreciate his actions, and I don’t appreciate the consequences the said actions have on my students. That is why I’ve came up with a plan to… take him down.”

You planning to kill him and throw his body in the nearest dumpster? Vinyl jokingly signed.

“As fun as this sounds, I have to admit the illegal part of this strategy makes the whole idea slightly less tempting. No, I wouldn’t want either you three or me getting in any… complicated situation. That is why I’ve opted for a more subtle approach.”

As the teacher pronounced those words, he took out of his brown satchel an electric blue plastic pouch, covered with large grey duct tape. He handed the thing to Vinyl, who weighed it using her right hand, before passing it over to Lyra and Octavia, both gazing at the object with curious eyes.

“Uhm… What is this?” Octavia timidly asked, much to the surprise of her friends.

“Well I’m glad you asked, because I really wanted to say that I can’t answer this question! All you need to know is that this is a good enough reason for Mr. Sombra to get expelled of Canterlot High.”

“What’s the connection between Sombra and this?” Lyra asked, analyzing every square inch of the item.

“That’s where you three come in: I need you to place this among your P.E teacher’s belongings.”

“What?!”

“I’m sorry sir?!”

What in the what?!

“Yes. You have P.E class this afternoon, right? This will be the perfect opportunity to plant this in his bag. Of course, you’ll need to hide it so that he doesn’t find out immediately.”

“Wait wait wait… What the fuck is in that bag?! How did you get it? And why would we want to put it in Sombra’s stuff?”

“Lyra…” Discord continued with a slightly more serious tone, “I’d really appreciate if you didn’t ask that many questions about this. Just know that it contains something incriminating enough to see Mr. Sombra expelled from this school rather quickly. Concerning its origin, let’s just say I still have friends in spite of what you could think.”

“Jesus fucki-”

“Now now, calm down. It should be easy enough. The P.E teacher is supposed to keep his belongings in a small closet right next to the entrance of the gymnasium. If my memory is correct, this closet also contains the fire extinguisher, so it should be unlocked at all times. The operation should be a piece of cake!”

And how are we supposed to perform that magic trick?

“In all honesty, I don’t want to know. Don’t ask questions about this package, I won’t ask questions on how you place it in the bag. You three are smart girls, I’m sure you will find a way.”

Much to everyone’s surprise, Octavia was the first person around the desk to speak:

“Sir, this seems highly irregular… You are asking students to frame a teacher for the possession of an unknown object that may compromise his career?”

“Well, it does sound bad when you put it like that.”

“That’s because it is!” Octavia responded, “...I’m sorry, Vinyl, Lyra, I don’t think I can do it…”

As the two other girls pat their friend on the back to try and comfort her, Discord’s eyes shined with a yellow taint, an evil grin appearing on his face.

“I see… Fair enough, Ms. Melody, fair enough. Then I suppose there will be no resolution to that problem of yours…”

“I’m… I’m sure we could find a better, more appropriate way…”

“Oh yes? The principals won’t do anything, neither will the other students. The teachers aren’t even aware of the situation, so it’s your word against his in the end. Tell me, what do you think will happen? Oh, maybe he will get suspended for a week, maybe two… But when he comes back… I sure won’t be the one he’ll be angry at.”

He took a break, watching the terrified look on the cellist's face, as tears started to form at the corner of her eyes.

“Or maybe option two, do nothing, and be stuck with this man for at least a year. I mean, at least he will not be angry directly at you. Although after what happened last week, I do have my doubts.”

“So what?” Lyra asked, “You’re blackmailing us now? I thought you were on our side.”

“Oh but I am on your side! And I am merely exposing the situation to you girls, based on what I know about this man. I am not forcing you to do anything. Why would I? I told you, I’m doing this for my students.”

“I don’t believe that.” Lyra curtly answered.

“You believe whatever you want, if you want to believe that aliens exists, or that we are actually all the instruments of a superior being writing our destinies, please do. I’m your teacher, and my role is to guide and advise you. This is my advice.”

Vinyl had stayed motionless for the past minutes, holding Octavia’s hand in her own and looking at their teacher. There was something going on. She just couldn’t put her finger on it. But they had to do what was best for themselves and for the other students.

“Especially Octavia…”

She let go of her friend’s hand, getting Discord’s attention with her elbow, and started to move her hands before their eyes:

We just put this thing in his bag?

“Yes.”

That’s it?

“Absolutely.”

“...”

“...”

Alright.

“Vinyl!”

As soon as the DJ heard Lyra’s complain, she turned towards her, grabbed her pen and wrote a few words only for the lyrist to see:

Just trust me on this one. We have to do this.

Lyra looked intensely into her partner’s eyes. She was looking for uncertainty or doubt, but she only found determination. And hunger. It was 1pm.

“...Alright, fine. I’m in. You, come here.”

“Me?” Discord answered, surprised by that change of tone.

“Yes. We need to let these two talk. You don’t exactly have the tact necessary with Octavia.”

“...I guess that’s fair. Come, we’ll talk about that exercise sheet you had to finish for yesterday.”

“Aw shit.”

As Lyra and their teacher got in a corner on the opposite side of the room, Vinyl turned to Octavia, still silent and looking at the desk, contemplating the situation she had gotten herself into. Suddenly, she found a small piece of paper between her arms. She looked at Vinyl, and met her bright magenta eyes, and finally read the few words:

Tavi,
I know this isn’t easy. I know Discord looks like he’s up to no good. But sometimes you gotta dare the devil. We basically have to choose between plague and cholera right now, so let’s settle for the best option. And yes, I know our “best option” isn’t that great.
But you’ve seen that before: you disobeyed your parents, gone out during the night, climbed the fucking fence to hang out with us. You have it in you girl. You can do this.
Plus, Lyra and I will try and do everything, so don’t worry, we got this.

As she was going through Vinyl’s words, Octavia started to smile, before finally finishing, and looking at her friend with eyes full of hope and thanks.



}--oO0Oo--{



Bon-Bon jumped when she heard the door unlocking, and smiled at her three friends coming out of the room. They all looked fine, maybe a bit shook up, but nothing serious. She smiled at Lyra. Lyra smiled back. Good start.

“So! What happened?”

“Oh you know…” Lyra answered.

“Mmh?”

“We’re in deep shit.”
> Takedown
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So… How are we gonna do this?”

“...”

“I know we need a distraction, genius! Just how are we gonna perform a distraction?!”

“Calm down, Lyra, Mr. Sombra could hear you…”

“Great! If he comes in the girl’s lockers, we will at least have a decent reason of accusing him!”

“Oh my… Forget I said that.”

All the girls in Vinyl’s class were not taking off their casual clothes, switching to something more appropriate for the sports class. They had been given the usual five minutes to do so, and everyone was in an apparent rush. While Lyra was struggling with her shoes, Octavia was sitting quietly in a corner, doing her best to change clothes without being seen. Suddenly a pair of hands appeared in front of her eyes, delivering a message only the two of them -since Lyra was unavailable- could understand:

Here, lemme hold this in front of you.

As Octavia looked up to see Vinyl facing her, the latter grabbed a sport towel and held it in front of her friend, hiding her from sights without drawing too much attention. Octavia blushed, and proceeded to get changed faster, but stopped instantly when she met the DJ’s eyes.

“Vinyl… What are you doing?”

Not only was the blue-haired girl turned towards Octavia this time, but given her look, she was obviously focused on a certain part of her friend’s body. Interrupted by the cellist’s question, Vinyl’s head rose up in surprise, with now both confused and embarrassed eyes.
When the two girls’ eyes met, Octavia’s cheeks became crimson red, redder than the last time she was in this room.

“Vinyl! Heavens, stop!” The cellist exclaimed, quickly finishing putting on her shirt and grabbing the grey towel from the girl’s hands. This drew the attention of a few students, who swiftly got back to changing up after looking at the clock on the concrete wall.

“...Fuck.”

The DJ was just caught red-handed by her friend, that wasn’t the plan. Now Octavia had taken refuge all alone in the corner, lacing her shoes, her face so red Vinyl heard several worried voices behind her.

“Alright girls!” Lyra said, clapping her hands and ready to go, “Let’s do this as fast as we can, I’ve got places to be and people to do!”

Preferring not having to face the look of the cellist for now, Vinyl followed Lyra outside the locker room, along with the classe’s girls, obviously lacking motivation about the upcoming two hours. Vinyl accelerated to get closer to her partner, and motioned her hands as they advanced towards the gymnasium.

“Yeah, I have Discord’s mystery pack or whatever. Don’t worry, it’s well-hidden. Just remind me to avoid eating spicy food for the next three days or so…”

The lyrist watched as her friend gave her a suspicious look, filled with so much doubt that she could become the poster child for a conspirationist website.

“I’m kidding! I have it right here, inside my towel.” She said, holding a rolled green sport towel.

“...”

“Nah, he won’t notice anything, almost everyone’s got one! By the way, you’ve talked to Octavia concerning the distraction thing?”

“...?”

“Octavia. Distraction.”

“...”

“You know, so that Sombra can be like ‘Oh I’m not looking towards the closet oh wee mama!’...”

She was met with shameful eyes, an expression she wasn’t used to see on the DJ’s face.

“Vinyl, what happened? You know what, I don’t even wanna know. We need to get her ready nice and quick, you can take care of that without Sombra noticing?”

“Alright, shouldn’t be too hard.”



}--oO0Oo--{



“You need me to what?!”

“Raaaahhh! Never speak too soon!”

Octavia and Vinyl were running around the gymnasium, alongside the rest of the class, breathing heavily and feeling their sweat ice in the cold air of the room. The class had barely started, but everyone’s stomachs were already aching from this sudden effort after lunch. The running made it harder for Vinyl to write, and since cell phones were forbidden here, she had to use basic sign language to communicate with Octavia. Plus, it was quiet, so Mr.Sombra wouldn’t have any reason to complain.

Yes, you know, just fake being hurt or something.

“Even if I did, I recall our teacher doesn’t have much consideration for our well-being.”

“After last week...” Lyra added, running next to Octavia, “...The vice-principal came to talk to Sombra and told him that from now on he should personally bring anyone who’s injured to the school nurse. That’s what she told me.”

Why were you with the nurse?

“I was bleeding from the back of my head.”

“Oh dear, what happened?”

“I may have slipped on an empty peanut butter crackers bag.”

...Okay, so, that’s perfect: you fake an injury, you get him to take your to the infirmary, and we put this in there.

“Like daddy in mommy!”

Don’t listen to her. You think you can do that?

“I… I don’t think so… I’ve never really lied…”

“You mean except the time when you lied to your parents about not seeing us anymore?”

“Well…”

“And that time when you broke out of your own place to come to a party?”

“I… Alright Lyra, yes, maybe it has happened quite more than I’d have liked. But this isn’t the same thing, this is a teacher!”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t give him the right to be a fucking asshole.”

“Lyra please, your language…” 

“All I’m saying is, you’ll barely be lying! You just act like you’ve twisted your ankle or something, then he brings you to the nurse -don’t say anything to him by the way- he leaves you there, and you’re good!”

“But what about Ms. Redheart? What will she say?” 

“...”

“Lyra?”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“What? So you haven’t thought this through?”

“Sheesh Octavia, come on! It’s perfect! We won’t get a better opportunity, I thought we all agreed to do this!”

Octavia turned to her left, panting like crazy under the effort, and looked at Vinyl. The one who set everything in motion, the one who had helped her times and times again, and who had convinced her to perform this stunt. Never had the DJ ever let Octavia down. So now was not the time to let her down.

“...Alright, I’ll do it.”

“Nice! Alright, you’re ready?”

“Wait, are we doing this now?”

“Sure, the earlier the better! Vinyl, catch!”

“Uh?”

Before the two other girls could say anything, Lyra placed her foot right in front of the cellist’s legs, who proceeded to trip and fall down, aimlessly trying to find something to latch on to. As she was getting dangerously close to the concrete floor, her right wrist was grabbed by a white hand, stopping her inches from the disaster. Vinyl looked at Octavia with confident yet kind eyes, and dropped the cellist on the floor.

“Ouch! Lyra, Vinyl, why would you-”

“Hey hey hey! What the hell is going on?!” A deep voice yelled from the other side of the gymnasium. As soon as the students heard these words, they quickly backed away from Octavia, followed by Vinyl and Lyra.

“...”

“I want to stay with her too dude, but we gotta make it look legit…”

Vinyl knew it. Of course they had to. Octavia was already on to them, and Octavia was about to get yelled at a second time. They didn’t need any more suspicions.

“What happened?” Sombra asked, visibly both annoyed and angry, with his newspaper still in hand. He looked at Octavia struggling on the ground, faking an internal injury the best she could. “You again?! What did you do?”

The teacher’s imposing stature was towering Octavia, still on the ground, obviously terrified about her current situation, as were the rest of the students. This man didn’t seem like the kind of person one wanted to anger twice in barely seven days.

“I… I think I may have twisted my ankle, sir…” the girl muttered, not daring to look at the man directly in the eyes.

“Have you now? It seems I can’t have a nice, simple two hours-class without you ruining it uh?”

“I…”

“Don’t answer! Jeez, one day kids will learn what a rhetorical question is… Now stand up!”

“I don’t… think I can sir.” Octavia answered with a surprisingly convincing voice.

“Is she actually… good at this?” Vinyl thought while watching the scene with a worried eye. This wasn’t the field of competences she expected the cellist to be skilled in.

“Do I look like I care about what you think? Get up.”

Octavia rose up with much -although fake- difficulty, to face the teacher, while carefully avoiding to look at him. She was rubbing her right ankle with her left foot, and kept it a couple of inches from the ground to simulate pain.

“Damn…” Vinyl thought, looking at the faces surrounding her, “Everyone’s legit scared for Tavi… Can’t say I blame them, and can’t say I really don’t want her to be alone with this fucker.”

“Goddamn! Last week you fell from fatigue, now this?! What are you made of, porcelain?!”

“I’m… I’m sorry sir…”

“You better be! Interrupting my class again! The hell have I done to you?!”

Sombra stopped himself, putting his hand against his grey chin, sighing as loud as he probably could. He then turned to the rest of the class, with eyes filled with both anger and frustration:

“What are you all doing standing there? You think this is a show? Last time I checked, I ain’t freaking Hugh Jackmare, so get back to it! Two of you stay to get this one to the infirmary!”

“Aw shit…”

“Ah fuck!” Lyra barely muffled, completely panicking. In a momentum of madness, she turned to the first person she had in her sights:

“Hey, Pinkie Pie, want to make the easiest ten dollars of your life?”

Meanwhile, the rest of the class was slowly getting back to work, stretching before they run again, with nobody daring to come to the teacher and answer his call. Vinyl was starting to seriously worry about their near future, when suddenly, a pink ball of happiness busted in to almost yell in the professor’s ear:

“Hey, Mr. Sombra sir! Aren’t you supposed to bring students to Ms. Redheart yourself?”

“What the-”

“Well you’re certainly an annoying one! Again! Guess I’m unlucky with my class this year, everyone’s on my ass like goddamn creditors! And where did you get this from?!”

“Aw, you know, it’s high school…” Pinkie Pie answered cheerfully with her usual smile, “Everyone knows everything!”

Sombra rose his head, looking at the ceiling and massaging his nose with his large hands. He obviously wasn’t pleased with the situation, and even less pleased by the increasing number of annoyances he had to deal with.

“And he’s about to deal with one huge fucking more…”

“Alright, you noisy bra- kid, I’ll bring this one to the nurse, and when I come back, your shoes better smell like burning rubber, because you’re doing ten more laps!”

“Oki doki!” The pink girl smiled, completely unaffected by this punishment.

“Alright everyone!” The teacher yelled, “I’m bringing this one where she belongs, but let me be clear: this is not a fun, resting session, this is my class! And if you don’t want to end up with a nice “F” on your grade sheet, you’ll work harder, faster, and better! You think the weak built our world?!” 

He paused, taking the time to look directly into Octavia’s eyes.

“They are nothing.”

He turned around and headed to the exit, followed closely by Octavia.

“Now get to it! No dodgers in my class!”

He then accelerated, until he reached the heavy metal doors he pushed violently without a care for Octavia walking a few yards behind him. Just as the cellist crossed the doorway, she gave a last look to her two friends, followed by something else. Something neither of them were expecting. Without even looking at what she was doing, she made a few motions with her hands, something as simple as two words, but which warmed Vinyl’s heart and appeased her mind, at least a little:

Good luck.



}--oO0Oo--{



As soon as the door closed, Lyra ran towards the towel she had left along with the other students’ water bottles and jackets. Given the teacher’s anger, there was no chance he could come back for whatever reason, and even though the infirmary was on the second floor, they had very little time on their hands to carry out the plan.

“Alright, no time to waste, let’s just get this over with! We’ll just go in, hide… whatever this is in his bag, notice Discord, and get the hell out. If he surprises us, we just tell him you have a dirty clothes fetish, deal?”

“...”

“Okay, sounds good! Let’s do this shit!”

They both sped up to reach the closet where their teacher was supposedly keeping his personal belongings. Like Discord mentioned, it was unlocked. Open even. Sombra apparently didn’t think that anyone would be stupid enough to rummage through his stuff.

“Oh how wrong he is. This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done and oh boy, has the past week set the bar.”

They both waited a few seconds which seemed like forever in front of the door, pretending to rest and drink, waiting for everyone to look in any direction but theirs. Once all the eyes finally focused back on the class -or on the phones, for the few who didn’t care about the teacher’s warnings- they pulled the door as quickly as they could, rushed in the closet and closed behind them, all of this in a mere second.

“Oh fuck it’s dark!”

Dark indeed. Vinyl couldn’t see anything past the outline of her hands. The room could’ve been the size of a shower or of a soccer stadium, that she wouldn’t realize. She searched blindly around the door for a light switch, without any success. As she turned to Lyra to try and ask for help despite the very likely possibility of not seeing her hands, she got completely blinded by a white light, she realized was coming from her friend’s phone. Lyra had managed to find the flashlight app on her phone, thankfully.

“Okay, so!” Lyra whispered with a bad 2000’s thriller character voice, “I find the bag, hold this!”

She handed the blue plastic bag, still covered in old tape, to the DJ, and used the phone’s light to look around the room.

“Damn, feels like I’m playing a horror first-person game kinda shit!”

The closet was indeed small, and the only furniture consisted of half a dozen shelves on the right wall, as well as a small steel table on the left. The walls were old, and damaged by a leak in the ceiling. On the shelves were many boxes of different sizes, filled with sport gears of every kinds: badminton shuttlecocks, soccer balls, volley nets, table tennis rackets,... Even a few old fencing helmets were lying in the dust. The table was covered in newspapers and empty coffee cups, but one piece of equipment got Lyra’s attention:

“The bag! Here it is! Come here, you motherfucker!” Lyra exclaimed, reaching for the bag placed under the table. It was a classic dark green duffel bag, very military-like, although quite empty, since the only things the girls could see through the opened zipper were casual clothes, as well as a water bottle and a pack of cigarettes.

“Ugh, and he smokes too? This guy really’s got all the bad habits!”

You smoke as well. And so do I sometimes.

“It’s not the same thing!”

Vinyl sighed, grabbed the bag and looked everywhere to find a place discrete enough to hide their package. After a few seconds, she finally noticed a pocket on the right, filled with shredded tissues and car tickets. It was the perfect size, and they could even hide it under the papers. She took the blue bag and shoved it right inside.

“Wait wait!”

...What? Vinyl asked, shaking her hands left and right.

“...”

What is it, Lyra?

“...Don’t you want to know what’s inside?”

“...”

“C’mon dude! Your silence speaks volumes! I mean… Anyway, we need to know!”

You mean you need to know?

“Potato-potato dude! Don’t act like you don’t care!”

“No Lyra, I act like he only have a minute or so.” The DJ thought. Yes, yes of course she wanted to know, but that was not the time. Or the place. Or anything that made it the right decision whatsoever.

“Look, I found a small opening! We can open it without damaging it or anything!”

But the temptation was strong. And Lyra wasn’t helping. Her curiosity had already put them on trouble’s way, now was not the moment to let that happen again.

“But if we knew what was in there, we could find out why Discord is helping us…”

“Alright, if you really don’t want to, I can just-”

The lyrist was interrupted by her friend crouching next to her, urging her with light repeated taps on the arm  to open the bag.

“This is such a bad idea…”

“I’m sure you’re thinking this is a bad idea, but come on! Where is your sense of thrill? Plus, what could go wrong? We’re just looking.”

“Lyra, please, never ever ask what could go wrong. I’ve seen enough 90’s cartoons to know where this will go.”

“Alright, let’s see… Careful…” Lyra whispered, opening a small crack in the bag with her index and middle finger, and peeking inside as soon as the slit was large enough.

Then Vinyl saw something. Something she had very rarely seen before. Lyra’s pupils widened, she moved the blue bag away from her head as fast as she could, and stayed still, without a word coming out of her mouth. She was unbelievably surprised, but that was not only that.

She was scared.

Vinyl took the bag from her friend’s hands, and quickly took a look inside as well. What she saw was… surprising: lots and lots of extremely tiny, almost glowing blue crystals, like thousands of minuscule gems enclosed in a dark cave. She had never seen these before, but she had a pretty good idea of what it was. At her right, Lyra whispered, still in shock:

“...The motherfucker gave us drugs…”



}--oO0Oo--{



Calm down Lyra.

“No, I ain’t calming shit down! Do you even realize what we’re doing? Holy fucking shit we’re so screwed!”

Lyra was completely panicking. It was rare enough to get noticed when she did. Now she was walking in circles in the dark closet, hands on her face, muffling something between her fingers, which most likely contained the words ‘fuck’, ‘Discord’, ‘shit’, ‘drugs’ and ‘fuck’. Several times maybe. Vinyl was still crouched near Sombra’s bag. She had closed the slit with one of the pieces of duct tape placed on the blue plastic, carefully avoiding to place her fingerprints on the pouch, and erasing the ones they both would have made so far. She was scared, but she needed to stay calm. They didn’t have much time, they had to get out of this place.

“How can you stay so calm dude?! Do you even know what this is? It’s fucking-”

Before Lyra could continue, she got her wrist grabbed by Vinyl, as the latter half-opened the door to check for possible witnesses. Seeing no one around, she swiftly opened the door, pulling Lyra out with her, and closed behind them.

“...It’s fucking Storm King…” Lyra continued as the two walked forwards, “A brand new stimulant drug, even stronger than cocaine… Shit, how did Discord get his hands on so much of it? You have to sell a kidney to buy this shit!”

Her eyes crossed Vinyl’s. The DJ’s pupils were full of doubt, and the usual magenta was abnormally dark.

“I know what you think Vinyl. No, no, I’ve never taken any of this, I may smoke and shit, but I stay away from stuff like this. Don’t want to end up in a fucking rehab center… However, I’ve heard of it, everyone in the street has.”

“Thank god Lyra…” Vinyl sighed with relief, “The situation’s bad enough, I don’t need to picture you doing drugs in your spare time…” She continued signing, taking advantage of the fact that nobody around them could understand:

Ok, now we need to stay calm, don’t overthink it. I don’t think Discord wants us to go to prison, it wouldn’t be great news for him, so he must have thought this through.

“You’re putting waaaay too much trust in him dude, need I remind you-” She lowered her voice, noticing the curious looks, “...Need I remind you he tasked us with hiding some fucking drugs?”

I didn’t forget. And he’ll have to answer to our questions. But for now, let’s focus on telling him the plan is a success, and get Octavia back, alright?

“...Jeez Vinyl, of all the people out there, how are you always able to find the right words?”

That’s because they’re more than words, now let’s move.

Sombra should be back any second now. She grabbed Lyra’s phone, as well as a piece of paper Discord had given them. As she was entering the digits, Lyra commented:

“3-(81)-15-2093? What the fuck? What kind of a phone number is this?”

Vinyl ignored the note, and typed a few words addressed to her physics teacher:

Done.
PS: We need to talk.

Lyra barely had the time to put her phone back in her pocket when the gymnasium doors slammed open, as Mr. Sombra entered the room.

“Alright kids! I hope you’re all fired up, because now the real challenge starts!”

“You have no idea, shithead.”
> Conclusions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the P.E class had been stressful, to say the least, for Vinyl and Lyra. The teacher definitely was irritated by the early intermission, and he knew all too well the two girls didn’t like him. They had watched the closet, as discretely as they could, during the entire session, hoping he would not go check what was inside. And that was without even taking into account his idea of what a sports class should be. Everyone was exhausted. But it was over.

“Boy!” Lyra exclaimed, taking off her shirt in such a nonchalantly sexy way that several cheeks in the locker room turned red, “This is finally done with! Now let’s get out of there and get Octavia before-”

She was interrupted by a knock on the locker’s door. Most of the girls let out a surprised gasp, as a voice came from the other side of the wood:

“Girls, this is your vice-principal Luna. I am afraid I need all of you to finish changing as quickly as you can and evacuate the gymnasium. Me and your principal have important business we need to attend here. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

The news generated several curious and irritated reactions from the students, all wondering why they had to rush after being finally released from such a physically exhausting class:

“What?”

“What the hell?!”

“Why?”

“Important business…?”

“Why in the gymnasium?”

“Hurry up, boys and girls!” The voice of principal Celestia shouted from the hallway, “You have two minutes!”

Lyra turned to Vinyl in surprise, incredulous about what was going on:

“What the fuck is happening?!”

Vinyl sighed, looking at the phone she had texted Discord with.

You know exactly what’s happening.

Lyra’s memory finally rebooted, as she understood the situation they had both triggered.

“Alright. Time for Sombra to get fucked.”



}--15 MINUTES EARLIER--{



Done.
PS: We need to talk.

Discord smiled, revealing his abnormally long canine, and deleted the message he had just received. It was his turn to play a part in Sombra’s downfall now, and he was going to enjoy it. He looked at himself in the mirror of the teacher’s room, took a small pot out of his briefcase, and used the gel inside to arrange his hair, slicking them back just the way he liked when he was about to do something serious. Which was, admittedly, pretty rare. he perfumed his neck and buttoned up his jacket, smiling at his reflection in the mirror. He was happy. Everyone was happy when they knew a problem was about to be solved, like when a plane ticket was finally booked, or when their loud neighbor was moving out, but this… This was something big for Discord. 

“Looks like these girls are as smart as they are entertaining…” He said to himself, passing two finger down his chin to adjust his grey goatee.

He thought about what Ms. Scratch wrote. ‘We need to talk.’ They had probably opened the bag. That was expected, of course, especially given Ms. Heartstrings’... impulsive nature. And they apparently knew what it was. He was most likely going to have to give the girls some explanations. But later. Now was the time to enjoy himself. After all, he had all the cards in his hands.

He grabbed his coat, took a last glimpse in the mirror, and switched the lights off before leaving the room. With an energetic pace, we walked in the large hallway towards the two principals’ offices. He liked them. Especially Celestia. She always acted all strict, but she had a soft side. A point he enjoyed reminding her, between two sarcasms. Her sister scared some of the students, the main reason being that of her love for dark spaces, which gave her office quite the menacing look. But he had seen her numerous times eating sweets or reading girly magazines: she was still a child. But now was the time to act serious, for once. Although he was positive he wouldn’t be able to resist annoying the principal at least a few times, willingly or not. He grabbed the doorknob, and pushed the door, not bothering knocking, and exclaimed as dramatically as he could:

“Principal Celestia! We have a situation!”

The sudden irruption obviously scared the woman, who almost jumped from he leather armchair and let go of her pink frosted sprinkled donut.

“Mr. Discord! How many times have I told you? Teachers are not exempt from knocking!”

“Well, you see, as a great man once said, ‘Talk fast, knock in last’.”

“Is this something you just made up again?”

“Maybe? What’s the difference, really? Tell me, how are you doing today? Isn’t the sun beautiful? I mean, the wind is a tad cold, but nothing too-”

“Mr. Discord, I’m quite busy, and as much as I enjoy getting news from the professors, there are certain matters that I don’t-”

“Precisely! Don’t worry though, you’ll soon be back to your sugary business! I just need your attention, as well as your sister’s, for an instant!”

“My sister? Why in the heavens would you need both me and vice-principal Luna here? I’m usually the one who takes care of the teachers’ matters…”

“Why, yes, but the current situation I’ve found myself in requires both of your presences. I’m sure she won’t mind being interrupted for a little while…”

The woman sighed before Discord’s eternal smile. She was too tired to resist his convoluted tactics. She looked at the half-donut with a touch of regret, and pushed a small button on her landline:

“Luna, can you come here for a moment? We apparently have some pressing ‘situation’ at our doorstep…”

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the dark blue-haired woman entered the room, wearing a simple black tank top, along with purple silky pants and equally purple heels. A moon-shaped brooch was decorating her wavy hair, which were almost moving on their own, as if they were motioned by a mysterious force.

“Yes, Celestia? What is it? I was just about to- Oh, good afternoon Mr. Discord…”

“Hello, dear Ms. Luna! May I say you’re looking absolutely lovely today! They say dark is fuel of nightmares, yet you could easily make any dreamer’s crazy wishes come true!”

“Mr. Discord, please…” Celestia interrupted, massaging her nose to forget the completely extraterrestrial conversation happening in her office, “Let’s get to the point: what is it that you required both of us here for?”

“Yes yes yes, of course! I shouldn’t keep you waiting, you have lots of work, I’m sure! I’m here today to talk about a colleague of mine… Mr. Sombra, our dear sports teacher.”

“The P.E teacher, yes.” Luna confirmed, “What about him?”

“Well as you may know, he has been involved in some sort of incident lately, regarding one of my students.”

“How… How do you know that?” Celestia asked in shock, obviously not expecting the discussion to go this way.

“Well, Ms. Melody is one of my students, and you two of all people should now I take good care of my students, especially when they have to face… adversity…”

“Alright, so, I’ve talked to the girls and their teacher, case is closed.” Celestia added, “Was that all? I’m afraid you’re quite late to the party.”

“Oh, dear principal…” Discord continued with his most theatrical tone, “I certainly wish that was the end of the story… Unfortunately, further development has stepped in the light of day… Not concerning the girls, no, but concerning Mr. Sombra!”

“What?”

“Don’t say ‘what’ like that Luna, it’s rude… What are you talking about, professor?”

“I’m afraid the man has been practicing some… extracurricular activities lately… I’m not going to put baby’s gloves, I’m a little concerned for the well-being of the students…”

“Their well-being? What are you saying? Is it that serious? What activities are you talking about?”

“So many questions, vice-principal… I wish I could bring answers to all of them, I really do, but unfortunately, I’m limited to what I’ve heard myself…”

“Which is…?” The principal asked with an annoyed impatience.

“I think Mr. Sombra might be smuggling… forbidden materials on school grounds…”

“What?!”

“Luna! But excuse me, what?!”

“Yes… Believe me, I was as shocked as you are at the moment, but I immediately came to you to seek aid. I’m not aware of the precise nature of what we’re talking about, but I believe it’s something.... far more than illegal… Something that easily-corrupted young minds could well be tempted by…”

“Wait wait wait… Let me get this straight…” Luna asked, still in shock, resting her back on her sister’s desk, “Are you saying Mr. Sombra, our P.E teacher, is smuggling drugs in Canterlot High?!”

“Oh my, I wouldn’t go as far as saying this…”

“...”

“...But now that you’re putting it like that, I must admit this was the conclusion I myself came up with when I learned about this situation.”

“When you learned… By whom?”

“You’re missing my point, dear principal! The important matter, the one we need to take care of right away, is the possibility of this man influencing our students in a way I couldn’t even picture!”

“Yes, you’re right…” Celestia admitted, as she was starting to hyperventilate, “We should… Call the police…”

“Wait…” Discord responded.

“Wait, Cel! Luna interrupted! These are just some accusations! We need to have something more thick than that if we want to involve the law in all of this! For the safety of the children, don’t you think it’s preferable to go and see what Mr. Sombra has to say for himself regarding these accusations first?”

“This is also my opinion, principal.” Discord nodded, “Getting the police on school grounds immediately wouldn’t do anything but scare the students and expose the school in a possibly unnecessary scandal.”

“You’re… You’re right…” Celestia breathed heavily, before suddenly standing up with a regained confidence: “Let’s go see for ourselves, the sports class should be over soon as we speak. We need to expose the accusations to Mr. Sombra, I am sure this is nothing but an unfortunate misunderstanding. Mr. Discord, you’re coming with us.”

“Of course!” Discord agreed with a large smile, “I’m sure everything will soon be sorted out!”



}--oO0Oo--{



“Mr. Sombra!”

“Principal! Vice-principal! And you… What can I do for you?!” Sombra greeted with the fakest smile the world had ever seen in two thousand years of politics.

“Me and my colleagues need to talk to you about some urgent matters. I hope you have nothing planned.” Celestia answered, arms crossed and death stare going on.

“...Not at all, not at all… What’s the matter? I’m all ears!”

“We need to take care of something first.” Celestia continued, before walking towards the locker doors, followed closely by her sister.

“What do you want, you old psycho?...” Sombra hatefully uttered, as Discord looked at him with his usual smile.

“You’ll soon see, dear colleague.”

“Girls, this is your vice-principal Luna. I am afraid I need all of you to finish changing as quickly as you can and evacuate the gymnasium. Me and your principal have important business we need to attend here. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” A voice shouted from the other side of the room.

“Hurry up, boys and girls! You have two minutes!”

The two principals walked back to the men, quickly followed by students, who passed near the four adults, saluting them and leaving the gymnasium to finally end the school day. As the physics teacher looked around the room, he noticed two particular students, a girl with blue hair and large headphones and one with short mint hair and ripped jeans. He nodded at them with a confident smirk, watching as they obviously noticed him but did not dare to interrupt.

“Damn!” Sombra commented in a falsely impressed way, “That thing you want to discuss must be pretty important, eh?”

“It is indeed.” The vice-principal responded with a much more cold and serious tone.

After a couple of minutes, the flow of students finally stopped, and the room filled with silence. Celestia took a quick glance inside both locker rooms to check for any late student, and came back satisfied of the result.

“So! Everyone’s out now! What do you want? If it’s about last week’s incident, know that I’m gladly applying your request, by the way-”

“Mr. Sombra, I’ll be blunt.” Celestia interrupted. “There have been allegations concerning you lately. Quite worrisome allegations, may I add.”

“Allegations?” The teacher suddenly stopped, his eye instinctively gazing at Discord, “What allegations?”

“We have reasons to believe you have been involved in the transportation of objects that violate the school’s guidelines.” Luna explained, surprising Discord with her professionalism.

“...What? What kind of bullshit is this?!”

“Please, watch your language. As you know, we at CHS take the safety of both teachers and students very seriously. However, since these are just unfounded allegations, we haven’t placed you in any sort of legal procedure. I’m sure whoever claims that may or may not have made a mistake, but for the time being, I’ll ask you to grant us access to your belongings, so that we can proceed to a quick search.”

“You want to search my stuff? What happens if I refuse? I mean, I don’t want trouble with you, principal, but you’re no cop, unless I missed something! Also, why is he here?”

“Why, I’m here to explain what will happen if you refuse, as it is my duty as both a teacher and your colleague.” Discord cheerfully answered, his disconcerting calm troubling both the principals, “The school will have to start a legal procedure against you, to search not only your belongings, but also your house, your car, and also probably put you on a hold for a few months. For the cop part, though, I’ll let our dear principal explain the details of her career if she ever feels the need to.”

“What Mr. Discord means…” Celestia added, obviously tired of the man’s lack of any form of serious behavior, “Is that it would in everyone’s interest if you just accepted to have us search your bags, for the time being.”

“...Ugh, fine!” Sombra accepted, visibly both annoyed and bored, “Search! These accusations are unfunded, and I’m positive you won’t find anything but clothes and annoyance!”

He turned around and took a step towards the closet, when a white hand got in his way, forcing him to stop.

“I’ll go and check myself, if you don’t mind.” Celestia said, not breaking eye contact for a second.

“Ugh...fine. The teacher accepted. At this point he was too angry and/or annoyed to contest. Just a quick search, they’d realize they were wrong, and it would be done with.

“Alright then.”

The principal continued towards the small wooden door, followed by her sister and the two teachers. She grabbed the doorknob, entered the room, turning on the light and immediately grabbed the duffel bag lying on the table.

“Is that everything?”

“Yes. Yes that’s everything. Can we hurry up? False accusations really builds up an appetite.”

The woman sighed, looking at her sister before opening the bag. She took out the casual clothes Sombra came to school with, ignoring the smell, then came the newspapers, phone charger and tissues. After a few minutes searching different pouches, she finally noticed the medium-sized one located on the inside layer of the cover. She opened the zipper, to find a relatively big plastic bag, and her pupils widened.

“What is this?”

“What?! I could ask you the same thing! This isn’t mine!”

“Sister! What have you found?”

“I’m not quite sure…”

“Hey, I told you that wasn’t mine! I have no idea how this got he-”

“Silence! I hope this isn’t what I think it is... “ Celestia turned to the man on her left, “Mr. Discord, I know this is probably outside your field of competences, but could you try to identify the content of this pouch?”

“I… I’ll try, for sure.” Discord answered in a vaguely uncertain act. He took off part of the duct tape with his fingers, opening the bag and grabbing several small blue crystals between his thumb and index. As he examined the substance, Sombra’s eyes filled with shock and anger:

“This is not mine! I’m telling you, this is not mine! Someone must have planted that in my bag!”

“...I’m afraid…” Discord said, ignoring the teacher, “...We are looking at some variant of methamphetamine hydrochloride…”

“Which is…?” Celestia asked with a both curious and worried look.

“Crystal meth. Kind of. A powerful stimulant drug. I have never heard of such product though. Must be a rather modern formula… Maybe containing methylene?”

“That… will be enough, Mr. Discord… Thank you…” Celestia said, voice vibrating from the shock of the news. She turned towards the P.E teacher, who had been as astounded, but way more angry, as she had. Until now.

SLAP

The sound echoed in the whole gymnasium. Discord and vice-principal Luna almost jumped in surprise, whereas Sombra obviously wasn’t expecting that. He had now moved a few feet backwards, massaging his red cheek with his hand.

“Are you crazy?!”

Celestia did not answer. Instead, she grabbed the bag from Discord’s hands, and started walking towards the top left corner of the room. Here was a small water drain, covered by a metal grill, made to dispose of the dirty water when the gymnasium had to be cleaned every semester. She bent over, took off the grill, and proceeded to dumb the entire bag of blue crystals in the pipes.

“Wow.” Discord simply commented. “Was not expecting that.”

“Cel!” Luna yelled!

The principal slowly walked back to the three others, dropping the now empty pouch on the ground. Sweat was forming on her forehead, and her mouth was opened, yet she could not speak.

“Mr. Sombra… I… I’m expecting your resignation letter on my desk by tomorrow. Don’t bring it yourself... From now on, your presence on the school grounds is strictly forbidden…”

“Cel, what are you doing?! We need to call the police!”

“Calm yourself, vice-principal…”

“No! I’m not calming down, Mr. Discord! Do you realize what this man has done?!”

“What?!” Sombra shouted, finally breaking his silence, “I haven’t done anything! What the fuck are you saying?! You think you can just fire me, without anything to-”

“SHUT UP!”

Everyone looked at the principal’s face, now filled with bile and hatred.

“The only reason I’m not calling the police is to protect the school, its students and its other teachers. A police investigation most likely would lead to the temporary closure of CHS, and that’s something we cannot tolerate…” 

She inspired heavily.

“Mr. Sombra… You have endangered not only the integrity of our system, but the safety of our students. For that, I will never, ever, regard you as a human being anymore. You have lost your right to speak on those grounds, except maybe thanking us for not sending you directly to prison. Of course, I guarantee full discretion on what happened here, so that the school’s image is not damaged by your exactions…”

She turned to Luna and Discord:

“I expect both of you to do the same.”

“Of course, principal.”

“What? But sister…”

“We’ll talk about this later, Luna.”

“...Alright. Just… get him out of here…”

“Of course. Mr. Sombra, grab your belongings and what’s left of your dignity, and please leave this school without any complications. Don’t make me regret my decision…”

The man’s eyes were now filled with every negative emotion ever experienced by the human race. His red eyes were even more bloodshot than usual, with face was read and his fist were so clenched, his knuckles had turned white. He was breathing slowly and heavily, like a wounded animal who still wanted to kill.

“This is…”

He didn’t finish his sentence. He grabbed his clothes scattered on the floor, shoved them in his bag, not bothering picking up the other stuff, and walked away, slamming the gymnasium doors behind him.

“...The sewage water should dissolve the crystals.” Discord commented, trying to break the now dead silence. “I’ll take the pouch and throw it somewhere the students can’t access.”

“...Thank you, Mr. Discord… You’ve been… of great help.” Celestia said, still in shock.

“Of course. It is my duty. I will of course keep all of this under silence.”

“Thank you.” The youngest sister responded. “Now, if you will excuse us, I think my sister and I need to talk.”

“Of course. I’m glad I could help.”

Discord walked away to the door, leaving the two principals with one another.

“Glad I could help…”



}--oO0Oo--{



Sombra threw his bag in the truck of his small car, shutting it so strongly he damaged the metal. Whatever. It was rental. He opened the driver’s door, before stopping mid-motion, standing still, not bothering to look behind him.

“Are you happy now?”

“You know, I think happiness is relative. It’s like buying a new car: you are only truly happy when you realize all the good consequences it has on your life.”

“I should kill you right here, right now.”

“I certainly would not suggest that.” Discord responded with amusement, “You already barely escaped from this, homicide isn’t going to improve that. You don’t put out fire with gasoline.”

“How did you-”

“I’m a man of ressources, I thought you’d have gotten that a while ago.”

“You think you’re smart…”

“Oh I don’t think I’m smart. I do however, think you’re not. What did you think was going to happen?”

“So that’s it? You make me lose my job, send me away from here, just so that I can’t reveal your little secrets?”

“I do want to keep my chocolate cake recipe to myself, yes.”

“Don’t play dumb with me you old shit! You know what I’m talking about!”

“You mean what’s over there?”

Sombra looked to his right, where the teacher pointed his finger. There was nothing. Cars. In a parking lot, big news. When he turned back to his car, Discord had already disappeared. All that was left was a small candy wrapped in plastic, placed on the roof of the car. 

A lollipop. Eggplant-flavored.

“RAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Sombra yelled at the top of his lungs, kicking and punching the metal of the car under the setting sun.



}--FIVE DAYS LATER--{



“Hey Octavia!”

“Oh, hello Bon-Bon!”

“Sup!”

“Hello Lyra! ...That was a ‘hello’, right?”

“Haha sure it was! Had a nice weekend?”

“Uneventful, but the good kind of uneventful. I still cannot believe Mr. Sombra resigned… It seems like a divine blessing.”

“I know right?! That makes me think, we’re prooobably gonna have to thank Discord at one point, uh? Fuck, I didn’t think of that.”

“Haha I know that seems impossible Lyra, but you’ll manage, I’m sure!” Bon-Bon laughed.

“By the way! Octavia, how do you like my idea?!”

“Oh, you must talk about Vinyl’s gift… Well, I don’t really know much about these sorts of things, but knowing her, I am certain she will enjoy it.” The cellist answered with a smile warm enough to compete with the cold air of October.

“I’ll take that as a complete, one hundred percent approval! Bon-Bon, you agree?”

“Yup! I’m sure she’ll like it!”

“God I’m so fucking talented at picking gifts!”

“Oh dear, here she comes, lower your voice Lyra!”

“Oh fuck you’re right… Oh hi Vinyl! How’s it hanging dude?!”

The DJ climbed the steps of Canterlot High’s main entrance, bobbing her head to the music playing in her headphones, only taking the latter off when she arrived in front of her three friends. She shook Lyra’s hand in a way still unknown to Octavia, with many different quick movements. Then she proceeded to hug both Bon-Bon and Octavia, making the first one chuckle and the other one blush.

“Dude, we’ve got something to tell you!”

Yeah?

“You know, between Octavia’s parents, the party, and Sombra, it’s been a… tough couple of weeks, right?”

Totally.

“Can’t argue with that.”

“Oh my, it has been indeed.”

“...But you know… You’ve always been here to help us out, explain stuff to Octavia, give Bon-Bon indications, calm me down when I was freaking out… So… Thanks.”

Vinyl smirked at her three friends, before motioning her arms in the air:

Shut up, you’re going to make me cry. And I’m waiting on the maths test to do that job.

“No but like seriously, and-”

“I think what Lyra means…” Octavia suddenly intervened, “Is that we are all grateful for the support you’ve shown. That you have proved times and times again that you’re the best friend one could ever have…”

Vinyl didn’t answer. She just stayed motionless, eyes looking at the sky, for a few seconds. Then she grabbed the three girls, and pulled them together in a group hug, much to the laughter of every one of them.

“So!” Bon-Bon added, “In order to thank you, we got you a little something!”

Uh?

“Yes, a present! I know it’s not your birthday, but hey dude, you give me free rides, so I need to pay my bill somehow!”

“For the support and new music you got me to listen!” Bon-Bon cheerfully said.

“For the chance you gave me, the help... and the love.” Octavia added with a slight blush.

“For… a lot of things I’m not gonna elaborate on.” Lyra laughed, handing the DJ a small box, wrapped up in blue paper.

She tore down the paper with excitement, and opened the box, uncovering the mysterious gift. Her face lightened, and her eyes shined with surprise.

“We were not sure you were going to like it…” Octavia said.

“Fuck that! I was sure!” Lyra yelled.

Vinyl looked at her friends, and smiled. She put the purple sunglasses on, and looked at the morning sun.

Something told her this look was going to catch on.



}--oO0Oo--{



All the students were gone. The class had started one hour ago. The square in front of the entrance was completely empty, and the giant horse statue was watching over the walls of CHS. A few cars were passing by, occasionally scaring the birds and butterflies wandering on the grass.

A normal day.

Suddenly, the stone pillar under the statue glew. Brighter. And brighter. And had came out of the light, then a shoulder, then a torso.

A girl fell on the ground.

In a strange new world.






END OF PART 1