"Remember Pinkamena, this is your coming of age... everypony in our family has been through it, but it is something you must do on your own."

It was a warm and sunny day on the Rock Farm. The birds were chirping, the wind was blowing, and four ponies stood in waiting at the gate of the rock farm. An older stallion, whose coat was goldish brown, ember eyes, wearing a black hat, and his mane gray in color (sporting some mutton chops) gazed kindly, yet concernedly, upon his daughter.

"Your older sister went through this passage herself... bless her heart, she decided she preferred the modern world more than ours... as is her right... and now, it's your turn. Your turn to venture out into modern Equestria, to see the world our community shuns in favor of a simpler, less chaotic existence, less filled with temptation and carnage."

Pinkamena Diane Pie looked to her father and frowned a bit. "But papa, I-I-I don't know if... I don't know if I want to go... wh... what if something bad happens? I've heard so many stories about crime, a-a-and about witches, and... I'm scared..."

Father Pie smiled and wrapped his forelegs around his daughter. "Pinkamena, I know it's scary... but believe me, it's for the best." Releasing her, he looked her in the eyes, his smile never failing. "This is how the ponies of our community become adults. Believe me, if I could change it, you'd not leave... but..." He sighed a bit and shook his head. "But... as much as it pains me to say it... it is not my right to keep you here, to deny you your opportunity to see the world."

Pinkamena's mother stepped up and gave her daughter a hug as well. "Yes, Pinkamena. We've all been through it... all save your younger sister..." Pinkamena looked to her youngest sibling, who smiled at her nervously. Pinkamena knew what she was thinking; she feared her older sister would not return, just like their eldest sister hadn't. They both loved her, but she discovered the outside world offered more freedom than the life of their humble community did.

"Remember, Pinkamena, please come home... I don't want to lose another sister..." said Pinkamena's younger sibling. She was not much younger than Pinkamena, and would herself go through this passage in a year or two. Despite the fact she tried to ignore it, Pinkamena couldn't look past the sadness and fear in said sibling's eyes, so she gave the most comforting smile she could offer and leaned forward and gave her a hug.

"Oh sis, don't worry about me... I promise I'll be back home, okay?" said Pinkamena as she clutched her sister tight. The embrace broke, and the youngest Pie nodded. "I promise this won't be goodbye forever... I could never leave my baby sister behind..."

"P... promise...?"

Pinkamena Diane Pie smiled a bit. "I promise... just... promise me you'll look after ma and pa until I get home in return, okay?"

The younger Pie smiled. "I promise, Pinkamena..."

Pinkiamena giggled a bit and ruffled her younger sibling's hair. Just then, the sound of clopping caught everypony's attention to two stallions pulling a carriage. Pinkamena quickly gathered hugs from her family. "Alright everypony... I'm off on my adventure! Please don't forget me, and please remember I love you all!"

"Of course, Pinkamena..." said Father Pie.

"We'd never forget you, child." Said Mama Pie.

"Be sure to write us!" Said youngest sister Pie.

With that, Pinkamena climbed into the carriage, carrying a sack of the few things she had. She turned to wave once more to her family as the carriage began to move forward, pulled by two ponies with a job to do. Slowly, she watched as her family disappeared into the horizon. It was sad, really; she had never been so far from her family, and now she was going to experience a world without them? How could they expect this to be anything short of terrible!? Of course, maybe that was what the point was? To show ponies the value of family? With a soft, sorrowful sigh, she turned to the ponies pulling her carriage.

"So... where are we headed?"

One of the ponies pulling the carriage turned to face her. "Why, we're heading to Ponyville!"

*****************

Pinkamena could hardly believe her eyes as the carriage had pulled into town.

There were so many ponies! So many houses! There was so much hustle and bustle, there was life, there was energy... why, she had never seen so many ponies in one place at the same time! Sure, she had seen a lot of ponies come together to raise barns and crop fields, but never so many ponies just... moving around! She could see stalls, she could see benches, she could see all manners of social exchange that her humble home did not often employ itself.

It was scary.

"Well ma'am, do you know where you're headed?"

Pinkamena gasped and nodded, reaching into her bag and pulling out a note. "Yeah, uhhh... I'm looking for... this place." She handed the note to one of the carriage pulling ponies, who took it and squinted his eyes to read it. Maybe he needed glasses? Nah, Pinkamena would not pie. I mean pry.

"Hmm... according to this, you want to go...." He turned, and began to gaze about the town, searching until his eyes fell on a small house. "Ah! There it is!" The carriage pony pointed a hoof towards the little cottage not twenty feet from them. Pinkamena smiled a bit and nodded, grabbing her sack and jumping from the carriage.

"Thanks, mister! Have a nice day!" she said kindly. The stallion smiled and tipped the hat he wore on his head, and then the two took off.

Out of earshot, one of the two stallions looked at the other. "Do I feel like chopped liver..."

"Well, maybe ponies would talk to you more if you'd talk back?"

This would likely continue for a bit... but that's another story entirely.

Pinkamena trotted towards the small house that stood before her. She looked up at the imposing structure; it was no bigger than her own home, but somehow so much more intimidating. It seemed rather old, like it was receiving just the bare minimum of it's required maintenance, and she couldn't help but feel like there was... vibrations coming from it. Biting her lip, Pinkamena raised a hoof to the door and clutched her eyes shut and gently knocked it...

Nopony responded.

She blinked a few times and knocked again. Maybe she didn't knock loud enough?

Once more, nopony answered.

Pinkamena frowned and leaned her head against the door, pressing her ear against it. From inside, she could hear... music? Wait, that wasn't any kind of music she had heard before. It was... noise. It was strange, unusual noise that came together like music.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Pinkamena fell face first into the floor.

"Huh? Oh, hey! You must be Octi's lil' sis aint ya?"

Pinkamena rubbed her face and looked up to the sight before her. Standing above her was a white-coated mare, whose mane was electric blue, wearing a pair of glasses that obstructed the view of her eyes.

"Oh, uh,... Octi? You mean Octavia?"

The mare nodded. "Well yeah, who else would I mean?"

With that, the mare reached down and grabbed Pinkamena's hoof, pulling her up, who responded with a grateful smile. "Well, thank you, miss...."

"Oh, uh, just call me Vinyl! Enjoy it while you can, cause in a few years, everypony's only gonna know one name: DJ PON3, the greatest Disc Jockey in all of Equestra!"

Pinkamena quirked an eye brow. "Disc Jockey? What's a Disc Jockey? Do you ride discs? What's a disc!?"

Vinyl visibly quirked a brow of her own behind her shaded glasses. "What? ... Wow, Octi wasn't kidding, you girls really ARE separated from modern Equestria..."

Just then, Pinkamena let out a loud gasp before dropping to the floor, covering her head with her hooves and trembling. "D-DON'T PUT A CURSE ON ME OR EAT MY SOUL!"

Vinyl reeled a bit, looking around. "Wha-holy... what are you talkin' about, crazy lady!?"

Just then, the strange sounds that seemed to be filling the house stopped and the sound of hooves stomping on wood game from somewhere inside.

"Hold on! I'm here, Pinkamena!"

Pinkamena raised her head at the sound of a familiar voice. Suddenly, Vinyl was pushed aside by a grey hoof, and standing before her was none other than her eldest sister.

"O... Octavia...?"

Octavia smiled. "Pinkamena! You're here!"

Pinkamena was still trembling, fear obvious in her eyes. Octavia looked at her, confused a bit, then looked to Vinyl. Realization crossed her.

"Ohh... it's been so long I almost forgot..."

"Oh... yeah, me too..."

Octavia sighed. "Pinkamena, it's okay. Yes, Vinyl is a unicorn, but don't worry, the stories back home aren’t true..."

Pinkamena's pupils were pinpricks. "B-b-but Octavia, their accursed horns pierce the fabric of reality and pervert creation by casting hexes and spells and curses that shouldn't be! They're abominations!"

Vinyl smirked. "Nice to meet you too."

Octavia groaned. "Not now, Vinyl... this is serious..." the gray mare helped her sister up, holding her close. "You remember my reaction when I first met you, don't you? It would have gone so much easier if you hadn't been such a... a..."

Vinyl grinned. "Smart ass?"

"I was going to say ruffian, but that works too..." said Octavia, furrowing her brow. Pinkamena looked at her sister and at Vinyl. "... a... are you sure she didn't just brain wash you...?"

Octavia sighed. "Pinkamena, if I were brain washed, could I do this?" With that, she threw a hoof up and swatted Vinyl in the back of the head.

"OW! Hey! What was that for!?"

"For scaring my sister, for being rude, and for not doing the dishes! Last night was your turn, and you know it!"

"Psh, well, yeah, but once I get my new Dishwasher project finished, I'll make up for the difference! Even chores will be AWESOME!"

Pinkamena was still visibly nervous, though she had relaxed considerably. Octavia smiled. "Well, Pinkamena, allow me to show you to your room? Rather... our room..." Octavia lead Pinkamena into the house, and Vinyl shut the door behind them. Much to Pinkamena's surprise, the house seemed so very small, and visibly... bachelor?

There was a single couch with a table in front of it - the table itself littered in cans and having a pizza box on it. There were various bits of clothing scattered about, and a picture hanging from the wall of a mare in a rather sensual pose, lying over a couch. A strange table sat a short distance away, with various little knobs and buttons, and two discs on it - Pinkamena assumed this is whatever Vinyl Scratch must have rode on, which made her come to the assumption that a Disc Jockey was a mare of the evening. Next to it was a large... what did Octavia call it? Cello? Double Base? Pinkamena made a mental note to ask her later. It still surprised her that none of her sisters had discovered their cutie marks - it wasn't until Octavia actually left the farm that she found her own destiny.

Octavia led Pinkamena to a staircase, and up the stairs. A short distance later, they had passed a door that Octavia opened and showed Pinkamena into. The room was decorated with a single bed, a dresser, a closet, and on the walls, posters that seemed to be based on classical musicians. This room, in comparison with the rest of the house, was actually rather clean, with no clothing or cans on the floor... it was, perhaps, the single most well cared for part of the house she had seen thus far!

"This, dear sister, is my room. The humble little place I call mine!" said Octavia with no shortage of pride. "Since you are my guest, you will be sleeping in the bed. I've got a sleeping bag that I can sleep in on the floor, so think nothing of it!"

Pinkamena gasped. "What!? Octavia, you can't do that!"

Octavia waved her hoof. "It's no trouble, young sister. I've done it several times before."

The pinkest of the Sisters Pie quirked a curious brow. "What? Why?"

Octavia groaned. "Vinyl showed me the magic of hard cider... I'd really rather not talk about that story, if I can be so honest?"

Pinkamena gasped. "I knew it! She lulled you into sinfulness and evil! I'll grab the torch and--"

"NO PINKAMENA!" Octavia all but yelled. Putting her hoof to her mouth she reeled a bit. Sighing, and rubbing her forehead, Octavia continued. "No Pinkamena. She wasn't using actual magic. Truth be told, the cider was a product of a nearby Earth Pony farm, if I'm not mistaken..."

"Hey! I thought I heard something about torches! Are we burnin' somethin', Octi? Can I join?"

Octavia groaned once more in frustration. "Pinkamena, do me a few favors while you're here..." The older sister pulled her younger sister towards her. "Do not encourage Vinyl. Unicorns aren’t as bad as we've been led to believe, but Vinyl is... well, she likes to drink, she likes to cause destruction, and she likes to party--"

Just then, Pinkamena's eyes widened. "She likes to party...?"

Octavia nodded. "Yes, she-" just then, realization hit her. "Oh goodness no what have I done..."

Pinkamena hummed and tapped her hoof to her chin. "You mean... like the parties I threw for ma, pa, and you girls?"

Octavia bit her lip and looked around. "Uh, well, sort of, but, uh... she... likes to be noisy, and drink hard cider, and... and..."

Pinkamena shrugged. "Well... it doesn't sound like my kind of partying, but hey! I'm here to enjoy the world I won't get to enjoy when I go back home, right? If Vinyl likes to party, surely she can't be all bad, right?"

Octavia groaned. "No, but she's still the bane of my existence..."

Just then, Octavia turned around to see Vinyl levitating a lit match and a bottle of hard cider with a rag hanging out of it.

"... Are we still burning something?"

"Vinyl, you've already got charges of public drunkenness--"

"They were giving out samples..."

"-- Public disturbance --"

"Those noise laws are totally bogus and you know it!"

"-- Public intoxication from illegal substance --"

"I had a prescription for--okay, yeah, you got me there..."

"-- And, how you managed this in a town of ponies that never wears cloths I will never know, Indecent Exposure."

"Yeah, well, it takes greatness to break a law you didn't even know existed!"

"Do you REALLY want to throw arson and/or destruction of property on the list of growing reasons why you should probably be locked up for life?"

Vinyl didn't respond.

Oh dear heavens, she was actually thinking about it.

"Vinyl!"

"What? Oh, uh, sorry, no, yeah, you're right. I'll... uh... yeah."

Vinyl waved the match around, snuffing the fire out. She pulled the rag from the bottle of hard cider and took a large gulp of it before trotting off towards her room. "Hey! Mind if I turn the music back on?"

Octavia looked at Vinyl with death in her eyes. "I've been listening to that droll for three hours. If you turn it back on, I swear to you Vinyl, even Celestia will not be able to figure out what I've done to you."

Vinyl held her hooves up. "Whooooa, okay there, missy. Yeesh, no need to bite my head off..." With that, the unicorn mare trotted down the hall towards a door and stepped into the room, closing it behind her. Octavia let out a frustrated sigh and turned back to her sister.

"Yes, well, sorry about that Pinkamena. I'll give you some time to settle in... Later on, if you like, we can show you around town?"

Pinkamena nodded a little, still visibly nervous, but smiling. "I'd like that very much, Octi."

Octavia smiled a bit and hugged her sister tightly. The hug lingered before the two pulled apart. Octavia sighed as she remembered. "Also, so you know... if you hear strange noises coming from Vinyl's room... don't investigate..." Octavia gave a flat stare. "She's... adventurous sometimes..."

Pinkamena quirked a brow. "You mean she's a mare of the evening? That she rides tables?"

Octavia raised a hoof, but blinked. "... Wait... rides tables? What do you...." Octavia shook her head. "Ugh... no, I'll explain it to you some other time, Pinkamena."

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TO BE CONTINUED...