Chapter 5

Octavia cycled through Neighoven's fourth symphony again as she walked home from music lessons towing her cello behind her. Her farther insisted that she learn her classical symphonies to remain ahead of her peers. She didn't complain but she still didn't find it fun.

'Full note, rest, half note-half note-quarter note-quarter note, half note-half note,quarter-half, full note...'

She stepped through the elaborate gates and down the drive toward her massive house.

'Rest, rest, rest, rest... full note, half note-quarter note. half then full...'

“Hello Octavia,” welcomed Bramblebrims, the family butler. “Back so soon? How was practice?”

“It went well, thank you. Is father home from his trip yet?”

'Half, quarter-quarter rest...' she continued in her mind.

“Yes but he and your mother went out for a walk. They will be back shortly.”

“Alright.” She started to walk away.

“Oh and if you want, head down to the main sitting room and say hello to your sister.”

'Half note, half note, full, full...what?'

“What?” She echoed the thought verbally.

“It is not my place to explain miss. You will have to wait until your father returns home.”

Octavia stood rooted to the spot with the look on her face screaming confusion. Mr. Bramblebrims walked away leaving the filly without any further explanation. She decided to find out for herself what was going on and who this new 'sister' was. Octavia silently made her way down the hall to the large oak doors that led into the large sitting room. She could hear her fathers old record of Elvis Parsley playing through the heavy door. The filly nudged it open and squeezed thorough.

At first she didn't see anypony in the cluttered room filled with musical instruments and a grand piano.

“Is anyone in here?” She called out over the music.

A young unicorn peeped over the back of the couch, blue designer glasses obscuring a good portion of her face.

“Who are you?” Octavia pressed.

“Who are you?” Scratch echoed back.

“I-I asked you first.” She immediately realized this was going to be a difficult conversation.

“I know,” Scratch replied with a crooked smile.

Octavia huffed loudly. “I am Octavia, I live here.”

“I'm Scratch, I live here,” Scratch clapped her hooves together.

“What?”

“Octavia is a long name. Ya don't mind if I call you Tavi from now on, do you?”

“What? Please don't call me that.” Octavia's temper was gradually rising.

“Too late Tavi!” Scratch's smile widened. “This is a nice house you have here. I don't know if you have been told yet but I am your new sister! The funny thing is that I am a month older than you too.”

“What?” Octavia's violet eyes bulged open.

“You say what a lot and you smell like flowers.” Scratch could hear the anger in the earth pony's voice and she wanted to see how long it took for it to spill over “I like you already! We are going to be good friends you and I.”

“This can't be true,” Octavia groaned.

“It's very true Tavi. We are sisters now! Yay!”

“Stop calling me Tavi.”

“Okay Tavi,” Scratch giggled. This was the most fun she was having all day.

“Ah, Octavia,” Mr. Maxim said as he trotted into the room followed by a deep green, weary mare who looked older than she really was. “I did not expect you to be home early. I see that you have met Scratch.”

Scratch smiled kindly at Octavia but deep down she was disappointed for not being able to enrage her new sister to the fullest.

“Is it true that she is now my sister?” Octavia looked pleadingly at her father which he mistook for excitement.

“Yes.”

Octavia replied by storming past her parents and out of the room.

“I will talk with her dear,” said the mare to Maxim.

“Very well Symphonia, I will stay down here with Scratch.”

The mare gracefully left the hall and Maxim sat down on the couch next to Scratch. He listened to the music with the filly in silence for several minutes before he spoke.

“Sorry about Octavia,” he said to her, barely audible over the music.

Scratch shrugged. “I am used to ponies not wanting me around.”

“We are going to change that,” Maxim smiled at the filly. “Oh, by the way, me and my wife have decided that Scratch is not a very appropriate name for a member of our family. How about we think of an addition to your name?”

“I like how records feel, and the crackle sound they make when you put them on the player,” Scratch said immediately. “How about Record Scratch?”

“I think Vinyl sounds better.”

“Vinyl Scratch,” she moved the words around her mouth as if tasting them. “I like it!”

The Elvis Parsley music ended.

“What shall we listen to next?” Maxim asked the filly as he rummaged through a nearby box of discs.

“All of them.”

Octavia plucked absentmindedly at the strings of her cello as the sound of another record being played wafted into her room. The door of her bedroom creaked open and her mother entered.

“I don't feel like talking mom.”

“But I can tell that you want to,” she said sweetly.

She stopped fiddling with the cello and looked at the mare.

“Why would dad adopt a new daughter? Does he want to replace me or something?” Octavia doubted that was true but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

“No, you could never be replaced in either of our hearts.”

“Then why did he?”

Symphonia sat on the bed next to her daughter.

“Octavia dear.” She stroked the filly's hair with her hoof. “How many friends do you have?”

Octavia thought for a moment. In reality she had no true friends. The closest thing to friends she had were ponies that talked to her every once in a while. It wasn't that they didn't like her, Octavia's parents were famous musicians and they loved her for it. Its just whenever they tried to talk to her she would try her hardest to stay away from them. Eventually most gave up. She had a hard time differentiating between ponies being nice because of her parents or if they were honestly trying to be friends.

“Three.” Three more than she really had.

“Why do I never see you play with these friends?”

The only response she got was a heavy sigh from her daughter.

“Your father is worried about you,” she said sweetly. “I am worried about you too. One of the reasons we adopted her is to be like a friend to you. The other reason is that we have such a large house with plenty of room we felt inclined to share it with somepony less fortunate.”

“But did he have to adopt a pony so different from me?”

“True, she is a little rough around the edges but if you gave her a chance you two just might become good friends. She sort of reminds me of your father when he was younger.”

Octavia remained quiet.

“Promise me you will give both Scratch and your father a chance.”

“I'll try,” Octavia replied.

The table was set with a large assortment of food which Octavia was in no mood to eat. Scratch happily munched on her dinner making loud crunching noises while she chewed. Octavia's violet eyes glared murderously at the unicorn filly. Symphonia suddenly went into a coughing fit and was promptly escorted out of the room by her husband. Octavia took this opportunity to chide Scratch for her eating habits.

“Could you try eating more quietly?” She growled.

“Sure,” Scratch replied with a smile and continued munching loudly.

“That isn't any quieter at all.”

“You asked me if I could eat quietly.” She smiled widely, reveling some of the chewed up food in her mouth “I can, I just don't want to.”

Octavia willed herself to stay calm.

“Are you ever going to take those sunglasses of?”

“No.” Scratch stopped chewing for a moment. “Well maybe when I sleep but other than that.”

Octavia's anger fizzled for a moment and was replaced by innocent curiosity.

“Uh...” Octavia started to say and Scratch guessed it was going to be something relating to her eyes. “What do your eyes look like?”

“They are red and they are round,” Scratch replied with a smile.

“Can I, um, can I see them?”

Scratch thought quietly for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders and slipping of her glasses. Her eyelids remained closed.

“Get ready for your excitement of the day!” She announced.

Her eyelids snapped open and Octavia's mouth dropped in a mixed reaction of horror and wonder.

“What ya think?” Scratch winked at her.

“Wow,” Octavia replied dumbfounded.

Scratch slid the glasses back on and continued eating.

“Just don't ask to see my eyes ever again.”

"So, you are completely blind?" Octavia asked timidly.

"Yep," Scratch replied flatly.

The two adults returned before the conversation could get any more awkward and they sat back down at the table silently. Symphonia looked even more tired and ill.

“What was wrong,” Octavia asked them.

“It was nothing bad,” Symphonia replied reassuringly.

Octavia would have believed her if it wasn't for the look of pain and anxiety on her father's face.

“Until we get the other bedroom cleaned up you will be sleeping in here with Octavia,” Maxim said as he unfolded a small cot at the far end of Octavia's room. When he finished he proceeded to walk out of the room but before he left he paused at the doorway. “Goodnight girls, I love you both.”

He left them the darkness and silence. But it didn't remain so very long.

“Hey, Tavi!” Scratch hissed a whisper.

“What is it Vinyl?” Octavia moaned. She sat up and immediately wished she hadn’t. The faint, red glint of two eyes staring back at her made her squeak in surprise.

“What?” Scratch asked. She sat quietly for a moment, then asked in a tone laced with annoyance. “You can see my eyes, can't you?”

“Yes,” Octavia squeaked back. She was preparing herself for the nightmares that were bound to arise when she fell asleep.

Scratch's eyes disappeared into the darkness. Octavia waited for her to continue with whatever question she was going to ask earlier but the unicorn remained quiet.

“Were you going to ask me something?”

Scratch sighed. “Yep.”

Octavia waited again before realizing that she had somehow hurt Scratch's feelings.

“Sorry for being afraid of your eyes,” she said quietly. “Now what were you going to ask me?”

“Is your mom sick?” Scratch asked cautiously.

“I guess,” Octavia stared at the shadowy ceiling. “They never talk to me about it and they say she is fine. But her cough has been getting worse and worse. That is why she stopped being an opera singer.”

Scratch heard faint hoofsteps walk away from the bedroom door and she guessed the Mr. Maxim had been eavesdropping. The two fillies decided that it was time to go to sleep.

Orchestratus Maxim sat down next to his sleeping wife and watched her chest rise and fall rhythmically with her breathing. He ran his hoof through her mane for a few minutes before leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. He noticed a white handkerchief on the pillow. Maxim lifted it gingerly and stared sadly at the speckled blood stains from her coughs. He struggled to restrain the tears welling up in his eyes and eventually they broke through and down his face.

“Please don’t leave me,” he whispered. “Please don't leave us.”

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I do not own MLP:FIM.