Characters belong to Hasbro, except for the OCs.

The Ballad of the Angel

Chapter 2: Free Period with Vinyl Scratch

Her song is sweet, Her song is sad,

Lovely, her power can be,

War bands come to seek advice,

From the Angel of Melody.

"Wait," Rainbow Dash said, puzzled. "DJ Pon-3 is your partner?"

"Yeah," I said to the Main Six, Dawn and Light, sadly. "I can't believe that looney teacher pairs me with the worst kid in the class! (No offense to Vinyl Scratch fans) What did I do wrong?" I looked at the list again, hoping it was just a dream. Too bad. This is reality, and it tastes like manure.

"What's wrong with Vinyl?" asked Dawn. "She's pretty nice."

"She's a nice DJ, but she just scored me an F!" I tore the piece of paper in half and tossed it in the trash can. Pinkie Pie quickly retrieved the bits of paper and started folding it. With one piece, she made an Oragami version of me and an Oragami version of Vinyl with the other. She joined their hands together and shoved them in my face.

"But look," Pinkie said, with excitement. "You two look cute together!"

I have to admit, I was surprised. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Listen, Matt," Twilight rummaged through her bag and gave me a rock. It was completely round and it was as grey as the wall behind me. What the hell is this supposed to mean?

"What's with the rock?" I was really confused.

"I'm just saying that no two rocks are the same. Like no two people are alike, unless you're Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo. They are different on the outside and the inside." Twilight gave me a wink and nudged her head at the rock. I was confused at first, until...

"So you're saying that there's more to a person than meets the eye?" I asked.

"YES!" Twilight cheered. "Maybe Mr. Hooves paired you and Vinyl up for a reason. Try to talk to her, start a conversation with her." I groaned, but I accepted it.

"Awesome!" Light chanted, and the girls walked away, leaving me hung to dry. Tomorrow, I'm going to have to have a chat to Vinyl, since I have Science first thing.

When a loved one disappears,

Then, grows a pain inside me,

The only one who can take it away,

Is the Angel of Melody.

Science wasn't bad, the next day. We mixed more compounds and Derpy actually succeeded in this lesson, even though she was supposed to get a few things for the teacher. The bell rang and everybody left, except for me. I know my free period is here, but I wanted to talk to Mr. Hooves about Vinyl. Hooves noticed me and approached me.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Swift?" He asked. "You need help with something?"

"Yeah, I want to talk about Vinyl." I answered. Hooves looked confused.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to be partners with her, no offense."

"Why?"

"She looks strange, she always listens to her music, and she barely pays attention! Need I go on?"

"Hmmm," Hooves was thinking, I noticed. Then, he asked me a question: "Do you know Vinyl?"

"Well, no..." I said.

"Then, how do you know if you don't like her if you don't know what's inside her?" Hooves asked. On the inside? What's that mean? So I asked him.

"Have you ever seen a geode, Mr. Swift?" He replied.

"A what?"

"A geode. It's a kind of formation that occurs in ignious and sedimentary rock. I doubt that you have one so I can show you?" I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out the rock Twilight gave me earlier. "Is this a geode?" I gave it to him.

"Yes." He smiled and placed the gnarly rock on his desk. Why would Twilight give me a geode? Then, Hooves slammed the rock on his desk with a hammer and it broke in half. Inside the rock was a million little amethysts, sparkling in the sunlight from outside the window. I was amazed by it's beauty, and if Mr. Hooves hadn't of done that, I would've threw the rock at Sunset Shimmer's window. 'It's beautiful." I said, quietly.

"See what I mean?" Hooves gave me one half of the geode. "True beauty lies within. You just have to go beneath the surface."

"Huh." I huffed and placed the geode in my backpack. Just then, Vinyl walked in. She wasn't wearing her headphones, so that was a start, but her shades were still over her who-knows-which-color eyes. "Hey, Matt." She said.

"Oh, hey, Vinyl," I replied, without looking at her. "I gotta go, Vinyl, so catch ya later." I tried to walk away, but the tall girl stood in front of me.

"Hang on, little dude." Vinyl said, cooly. "What about our project. It's due on Monday."

"She's right, Mr. Swift." Mr. Hooves came to her side. "Tell you what, I'll let you two use this room until lunch, how about it? I have a couple errands to do." He walked out and shut the door. Great, I thought in sarcasm. Now I'm stuck with Weird Girl 'till lunch. Just perfect.

"So," Vinyl sat at a desk beside mine. "What should we work on, little man?"

"Beats me," I rolled my eyes as I sat next to her. "I got nothin'."

"Well, we gotta come up with something. Maybe, sound barriers?" WHAT?! We are not going deaf during this project!

"Uhh, no, I don't wanna go deaf for this." I said, and then I saw that Vinyl was laughing.

"Good one, dude!" She chuckled. "You're just like my sister. Maybe when you come over to our house, you guys can get along!"

"Okay?" Twilight told me to talk about her, so... "You're sister must be like you, right?"

"Well, duh. I ought to know, cause I live with her."

"You live with your sister? What about your parents?" I probably shouldn't have said that, because Vinyl's smile faded, and she took off her glasses. Her eyes were like Rainbow Dash's, tourmaline-pink. A tear was falling from her cheek.

"My mother died when I was born, and my dad travels a lot, so we rarely see him." Her eyes were really teary, but I stared at them, with sadness. Then, a sudden jump from my heart I felt, and I began to cry, too.

"I'm sorry, Vinyl." I said, calmly. "I went through the same thing."

"You did?"

"When I was 10, my dad died of a heart attack, and he was a geologist, so he travels a lot, too. My mother was a complete jerk, so I ran away, and I came here." I had a tear in my eye, too. Vinyl held onto my hand and grasped it tight.

"I'm sorry, Matt." Vinyl, sadly replied.

"It's okay." I looked in the sky, remembering my dad. I miss him, and he died a few weeks after my birthday. I looked at Vinyl and I think she misses her parents too. "I think I have an idea on a project."

"What?" Vinyl was now happy again.

I huffed my chest and said "How about "True Beauty?"

That's it for Chapter 2! The thing about my dad dying of a heart attack was true, so I miss him a lot. May he rest in peace. This story is in dedication to him. I love you, Dad, if you can read this. And if anyone reading this lost a loved one when they were young, may God or Celestia bless you. Thank you. Please review and follow.

- Mathew Swift