Chapter 6

Mr. Bramblebrims trimmed the bushes around the house one summer morning. It was usualy the gardeners job but she was sick today from eating bad turnips. He listened contently to the birds chirping around him and it unexpectedly brought back the memories of when he lived in Ponyville. Walking the calm streets, daring his brother to enter the everfree forest, buying apple cider from the Apple family and eating baked goods at Sugar Cube Corner. Such sweet moments of days gone by. The birds stopped chirping and his memories were interrupted when Octavia suddenly screamed from the bench on the front porch.

“Scratch! If you poke me again I-you will regret it!”

Scratch faced her sister, a sly smile growing across her face. She outstretched her hoof again as Octavia glared at her.

“Don't,” the earth pony growled as it got nearer. “Stop. I said stop!”

The hoof inched closer.

“Ooooh noooo Tavi!” Scratch laughed. “You gonna get poked!”

“I want you to stop!”

“Poke,” Scratch said quietly as her hoof collided with Octavia's ribs.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because I can!” Scratch drew her hoof back for another poke.

“Scratch,” Maxim called out from a window above the porch. “Please quit poking Octavia. Symphonia is trying to sleep and the angry screams might wake her up.”

“Okay!” Scratch called back as she poked her sister one last time.

Octavia moaned a quiet growl, left the porch and galloped into the yard. Scratch listened to the earth pony leave and shook her head in disappointment.

'She needs to lighten up,' Scratch thought to herself.

The sound of Mr. Bramblebrims trimming the bushes caught Scratch's attention and she wondered if it was a good idea to play a prank on the stallion. She had been living there for nearly two months and she knew very little about him. She decided to go easy on the butler.

“Hey dude!” She called out. “Mr. Bramblebrims!”

He looked up from a rose bush he was pruning.

“Yes miss?”

“Does you have a good sense of humor?”

Bramblebrims chuckled and continued gardening. “I like to think that I do. And it is do you, not does you, miss.” Bramblebrims corrected her grammar then continued. “I heard a joke recently down at the cider pub that I found most hilarious. It was about a stallion and his friend who sit at a bar and one of them asks 'are you sure this is a bar? It looks more like a beam!'”

The butler laughed. Scratch's ears twitched and her brow furrowed as she tried to understand the joke.

“I don't get it,” she said.

“It wasn't a food and drink bar, it was a real metal bar.” Bramblebrims was flustered that his joke had failed to cause the wanted reaction.

“Oh, I get it now!” Scratch forced a laugh.

The front door opened and Maxim and Symphonia emerged.

“Mr. Bramblebrims,” Maxim said. “We are heading out. Could you care for the fillies for us while we are gone?”

“Naturally sir,” the butler bowed his head politely. “When should I expect your return?”

“I don't know. But if I need you or the girls I will send the carriage back here to pick you up. We are heading to the hospital for another checkup.”

Maxim helped his wife into the carriage, she was pale and persistently coughed but her grace still prevailed. She gingerly sat down followed closely by her husband. The carriage lurched forward and they soon disappeared down the road, just as a yellow unicorn toting a large case on her back appeared around the bend.

“Ah, right on time,” Bramblebrims said. “It appears Mrs. Lithe Lute is hear.”

Scratch perked up at the name of their music tutor. Unlike Octavia, Vinyl looked forward to every session with her music teachers and Mrs. Lithe Lute was one of her favorites.

“Hello Vinyl,” Lithe Lute said cheerfully as she trotted up to the house. “Where is Octavia?”

“Dunno,” Scratch shrugged. “She is probably by the lake.”

“I will go retrieve her,” Bramblebrims said starting toward the shimmering body of water in the distance.

“Are you excited as usual Vinyl?” Lute asked the filly.

“Yep!” Scratch noticed the clunking of the suitcase. “Did you bring more music for us to learn?”

“Yes, sort of.” They entered the house and walked to the sitting room, which had become even more cluttered. “I know how much you love the newer forms of music, well this is the newest.”

Lute heaved the case onto the coffee table and popped it open.

“Take a feel,” Lute said with a smile.

Scratch concentrated and sent out a wave of magic to 'see' the thing that the tutor had brought. In her mind a hazy red image formed of a box shaped, metal contraption. It had what looked like two record players and a large assortment of dials, levers and knobs.

“What is it?” Scratch asked, fascination running wild.

“Its a turntable, mixer, thing. I don't know what it is called exactly. It's a favorite tool for Djs and many modern musicians. It uses a new form of magic called computation magic to create unnaturally ethereal sounding music. I don't know much about it. I personally find the sound it makes very distasteful but much of the younger generations loves it.”

“How do you use it?”

“I don't know,” Lute sighed. “This is my brother's. I could bring him along sometime so he can teach you how to use this contraption. I just wanted to show it to you and Octavia. Quite nifty isn't it?”

“Very,” Scratch wiggled the turntable. “Please bring your brother with you. This seems so cool!”

Octavia and Bramblebrims entered the room and the gray filly immediately took interest in the turntable. Albeit negative interest.

“Oh,” she groaned. “Mrs. Lute, will we be learning how to operate this... thing?”

“No,” Lute shook her head. “But Vinyl wants to.”

Scratch smiled at her sister.

“But it isn't music! It is noise!”

“You're noise!” Scratch taunted.

“What does that even mean? Wha- tha- that doesn’t make any sense!”

“You don't make any sense!”

“What?” Octavia screamed.

Scratch replied by making cockamamie faces at her sister. Eager to prevent the inevitable, pointless argument that was soon to happen, Octavia entered the house, retrieved her cello and prepared for the lesson. Scratch did likewise and picked up her specially designed violin.

“You're using the violin today and not the harp?” Lute asked.

“Yep.”

“Very well, we will start with Moseyheart's third symphony part one.”

Mr. Bramblebrims decided to finish gardening as the house was filled with music.

Octavia laid on a flat topped rock and stared out across the lake deep in thought. Below her, Scratch sat listening to the warm breeze ruffle the leaves and the occasional splash of a fish or frog. The sun was setting and the red glow bathed the surrounding countryside in scarlet hues.

“Is something bothering you?” Scratch asked as she twisted onto her back and faced the sky.

“They have been gone for a while now.” Octavia let out a heavy sigh.

“Your mom is probably okay. She hasn’t been coughing as much as usual,” Scratch replied with as much cheer as she could muster.

“Yes, you are probably right.” Octavia didn't sound convinced.

Scratch wanted to distract the other filly from her depressive thoughts but she didn't know the best way to approach the situation. But before she could say anything Octavia leaped off the rock and headed toward the house.

“Where are you going?” Scratch asked.

“Going to bed early.”

“But it's only a little past seven o’clock and we haven’t had dinner yet!”

Octavia didn't answer and kept walking. Scratch decided to look on the bright side.

“More food for me,” she said with a smile.

Internally the concern remained.

'I really hope Symphonia is okay.'

The next day Scratch sat out on the front porch waiting anxiously for Mrs. Lute to arrive. She was bringing her brother, a local music legend, Solar Sound. His real name was Tickle Beat and Scratch could see why he went by a different name. Her patience was soon rewarded by the sound of hooves and a cart approaching the house.

“Hello Scratch,” Lute said in her usual cheerful tone. “This is my brother.”

“What up girl,” Solar Sound said enthusiastically. Scratch instantly liked the stallion. “How ya do'n? Staying chill I hope?”

“I am very chill,” she replied with a laugh.

“I can tell that your cool already. Girl, you cool.” He ruffled her mane. “So ya wanna be a disk jockey, DJ, tech sound master, the queen of the wubs?”

“Yep!” She squealed with delight.

“Then what we wait'n for?”

“I will be out back in the garden practicing with Octavia,” Lute said. “Scratch, try not to get to annoyed with my brother's way of talking and his over the top actions. Oh, and don't offer him any food, he will eat it all.”

“Kay,” Scratch replied.

“Sister, I ain’t over the top, you under the bottom.”

Lute shook her head. “Whatever you say. See you in a little while Vinyl.”

She trotted around the house and made her way to the garden. Mr. Bramblebrims walked out of the house and Solar Sound took immediate interest in the butler.

“Cool, ya have a butler. Yo, butler dude! Ya mind helping a bro carry his equipment?”

“I do not mind,” Bramblebrims replied calmly.

After what felt like half hour to Scratch, the turn table, stereos and wires were all unpacked and set up in the sitting room. Scratch plopped down in the seat next to him.

“Ya ready for the show?”

She shook her head violently in agreement. He started the music and at first Scratch was a little disappointed. It sounded just like normal music, though a bit more ethereal and echoic. She liked it but it was sort of anti climatic. So much equipment to create something so simple that could be done with a normal band.

Then the bass dropped and her world was turned upside down. She felt the music, the pure unsullied sound reverberate through her body. Scratch became lost in a world of absolute rhythm and beats, her heart just another pulse in the song. She never wanted to leave. She didn't want it to end. For a few minutes everything in the world was music.

Octavia tried her best to concentrate on her lesson. But the heavy sound of the 'music' Solar Sound and Scratch were playing continued to distract her. For an hour the songs alternated between ones well formed that Octavia presumed were being played by Solar Sound and sloppy ones done by Scratch. But soon the differences in the music disappeared and Octavia could no longer tell who was doing the songs. Both of them sounded well formed and organized.

'Well formed and organized for a bunch of noise,' Octavia groaned mentally.

The music came to an abrupt stop and a scream of joy pierced the air.

“What was that about I wonder?” Pondered Lithe Lute.

Octavia shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

Moments later Scratch came charging out of the back door followed by Solar Sound. She was talking so fast that neither of the ponies knew what she was saying.

“Slow down please,” Octavia huffed.

Scratch took a deep breath and turned sideways, showing them her flank. Octavia's eyes bulged in horror. A backwards double quaver cutie mark shined in the sunlight.

“It's an eight note!” Squealed Scratch jumping up and down “Solar Sound saw it while I was doing the most recent song!”

“That is wonderful Scratch!” Lute congratulated.

“Wonderful indeed,” Octavia said dully.

“Oh, what is wrong Tavi?” Scratch noticed the acidic pitch of her sister and she decided to build off of it. She continued in a mocking tone. “Are you aw swad cuz ya don't have a cutie mark before me?”

Octavia glared murderously at the white unicorn. Scratch stared back, a trembling lower lip faking sadness.

“I despise you sometimes,” Octavia growled.

“I love you too sis.”

“Girls,” Bramblebrims called from the door. “Get ready to leave. Your father wants us too meet him at the hospital.”

All of the anger disappeared from Octavia's mind to be replaced by anxiety.

“What- what is happening,” she croaked through her fear.

“I do not know miss,” he replied. “But the carriage ponies said it was urgent.”

Octavia remained frozen and unmoving, her eyes searching the expressionless face of the butler for any answers. Scratch forced herself to remain optimistic but deep down inside she knew something bad had happened. Something that would tear apart this wonderful family that she had just become part of.

___________________________________________________________________________________
I do not own MLP:FiM.
I apologize before hand but the next chapter is going to be very sad.
Please leave a comment if you want to.