//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Elemental Duet // by Limescale //------------------------------// Waking up in odd places after a night of heavy drinking didn’t concern Vinyl too much. She was a hardcore party mare who loved the nightlife as much as she loved her job contributing to it. If one of the side aspects was occasionally going too far and coming to in a strange environment then so be it. She was a seasoned soul and she knew what to do in strange circumstances. It was when she woke up in her own bed while still feeling the effects of intoxication that the DJ began to get worried. While she was fairly apt at using her magic, she knew there was no spell or process available to the average unicorn that would allow them to find their own way home while drunk out of their minds, and that meant another pony had to be involved. Shooting up from the covers, Vinyl quickly checked herself over. She was still in her jogging clothes, her shades sat where they were meant to be on the dresser, her wallet was still in her pocket and she didn’t have any bruises or signs of injury on her. Okay so whomever had brought her home had not taken advantage of her intoxicated state….though that didn’t entail she hadn’t been made a fool of in other ways. Bracing herself against the throbbing ache in her head, Vinyl got to her hooves and stepped into the bathroom. A fresh blade of pain stabbed itself through her skull as she snapped the light on. Cursing, Vinyl summoned her shades with her magic and slipped them on over her eyes. Being an albino might have benefited her iconic look when she was performing, but it sure as hell didn’t help when she needed to quickly adjust from darkness to bright light. Feeling the pain subside as her shades cut down on the glare from above, Vinyl checked herself in the mirror. There was no smudged makeup or humiliating words stamped on her face, her horn hadn’t been painted to look like a candy cane again, and her mane hadn’t been dyed in clown colors. That was three potential embarrassments crossed off the list. Vinyl started to relax, relieved that apparently her good Samaritan had had no other cause than to see she wasn’t left sleeping somewhere in the street…until she heard the soft humming from the living room and slowly thought back over what she could remember of the previous few hours. “Tavi…oh horseapples…please don’t tell me I did anything embarrassing in front of her…” She looked back to the bed and blushed upon seeing her stuffed mouse. “Yeah, like I’ve ever been that lucky before.” Picking the plush toy up and hugging it for confidence, Vinyl crossed to the bedroom door and gently pushed it open. Octavia was sitting in one of the overstuffed armchairs staring at a notepad and humming mindlessly. Every so often she’d pause and write something on the pad, then make a face as she hummed a few more bars. Whatever was written got immediately covered in angry ink crosses. “Uh…Tavi?” The angry mare promptly froze, then looked sheepishly up at the unicorn. “Oh, uh, good morning Vinyl…I think…” Octavia looked to the clock on the wall. “Well, it’s 2 AM so technically that qualifies.” Vinyl promptly dropped her mouse in horror. “2 AM? I slept through my shift at the kanikapila!?” Octavia rose and grabbed the unicorn by her shoulders. “Don’t worry, your friend, that Neon Lights gentlecolt, stopped by earlier. He said he’d cover for you.” Octavia’s face fell. “I promise if you’re worried about missing out on pay I can compensate you for that. It’s my fault for letting you have free access to my drink reserves.” Vinyl’s fear slowly ebbed away, yet her heart kept beating like a jackhammer. Slowly memories of the afternoon emerged from the blur of her mind, of the rather lewd but very fun chat she’d had with Octavia, her wowing the cellist with her own classical skills, the laughs they’d shared along with the drinks… ….and the kiss… Vinyl pursed her lips as they felt suddenly hot. Even at the height of her drunken stupor she could recall how it felt throwing caution to the wind and letting Octavia know how much she appreciated her company….and amazingly the mare had apparently not fled in disgust but had stuck around and was standing right here in front of her. For what? Why had Octavia chosen to stay? Vinyl’s thoughts were interrupted by a familiar smell in the air. “Did you make some coffee, Tavi?” The earth mare smiled and nodded. “Thought it might help you when you finally came to, at least if you feel the same way as I do after too much St. Galloway.” Noticing the steaming pot sitting in the small machine atop the mini-fridge, Vinyl sighed and picked her mouse up from the floor. “Nah, I’ve learned how to handle my hangovers, but coffee does sound nice.” The unicorn replied as she slumped into one of the other armchairs. “Seriously though, that is some lethal slosh you favor. What kind of a cast iron stomach do you have to be able to drink that all day and still remain conscious?” Octavia blushed and poured another cup of coffee. “The kind culled from endless dinner parties where the booze is the only thing that helps me get through the due process. Admittedly some of the Canterlot elite are nice and interesting folks but after a while having to keep a smile painted on your face and act like you’re not bored out of your mind gets tiresome.” She said while adding sugar packets and cream to the side of the cup then bringing it over to the snickering Vinyl. “I think a more pressing question is why don’t you have the same tolerance? I’d have thought being in the heat of the moment, night after night would require you to be able to endure quite a bit.” “Yeah but I don’t push my limits. I’ll have a rum or two to help get me in the right frame of mind but after that I stick to water, keep myself hydrated.” The unicorn replied. “It gets pretty hot manning the decks under all those lights and the usual tropical weather.” Octavia looked down at the mouse clutched in Vinyl’s arms, feeling her body tremble with giggles. “So you hold back on the partying, despite being required to help set the scene for others, and still sleep with a plush toy? It would seem I’m not the only one who’s defying stereotypes here.” The grey mare replied. Vinyl’s mirth abated as she glanced to her stuffed animal and flinched. “Yeah…uh…just to get it out of the way…how much did I coo or make foal talk to Dedmau5 here before I fell asleep?” She asked reluctantly. Octavia smiled reassuringly. “Oh only a bit. Just enough to make me ponder why you’d give such a beloved personal possession such a morbid sounding name.” The mare asked, Vinyl rolled her eyes and flopped back into her chair. “He’s named after the DJ I apprenticed under. Had a gimmick where he’d man the decks in a helmet that resembled a cartoon mouse’s head, only it looked so fake and lifeless everyone started calling him ‘DJ Dead Mouse’. He shortened it to the leet speak version so it’d fit on a standard sized business card. Well that and…” Octavia sighed and held up a hand. “Let me guess, ‘bee-cowse pour litter-a-see is KEWL?” Vinyl snerked and covered her mouth with her plush toy’s head. “You know that meme?” “I’ve seen ponies wearing the t-shirts. Had to look it up just to see what in Equestria the schools are teaching foals these days.” Octavia groaned. “Still, from what I’ve seen of your work, he clearly taught you well.” Vinyl nodded. “Also inspired my own stage name, as you can probably guessed.” Octavia rolled her eyes. “Indeed, explains a lot.” More giggling ensued from Vinyl as she reached for her coffee, dumping the contents of the sugar packet in then getting up to grab several more. “Well, that name now has to make up for missing a performance. Yeah granted we’ve still got tomorrow, but I have fans out there that I don’t wish to disappoint!” She said while stirring her sickeningly sweet coffee. Octavia took a sip from her own mug as she picked up her notes. “I’ve…been pondering a few ideas on that actually, based on what you told me and that piece you played on my violin.” The grey mare hmmed thoughtfully. “You speak at length about how your work pays tribute to the elements, and then when I challenged you to do something classical you chose a melody that clearly is meant to evoke thoughts of water, and purity.” Vinyl nodded as she slurped her caffeinated syrup. “It’s actually from a narrative about time and the morality of manipulating it in order to correct the mistakes you made in life. Each piece is specially composed so that it sounds appealing whether you play it backwards or forwards.” The unicorn grinned. “Though props to you for picking up on what inspired its flow.” Octavia nodded. “I just wonder…if you can channel the same talent and the same dedication through both electronic machinery and classical instruments, why don’t you try mixing the two together?” Vinyl lowered her cup and thought it over. “Well…how do you mean? I did say that I’ve used classical pieces as a basis for my beats before.” Octavia shook her head. “I meant have a mixture of classical music and electronic music together, a duet, if you will, between the two genres.” Vinyl cocked an eyebrow, not sure whether to take this as a joke or not. “You mean as in literally marry them together? Don’t use one as a foundation but as a counterpart to the other?” Octavia nodded gently, causing Vinyl to now have to cock her whole head. “You really think that’d work? I mean, the two aren’t really known for going together like that.” The grey mare settled back into the sofa, fixing Vinyl with a querying smile. “Do you know that for a fact? Or are you just basing your statement on social assumption?” She asked, slowly drinking her coffee while maintaining eye contact. Vinyl felt her body tingle, the possibility of a new kind of sound stoking the flames of her creativity. “Well…I’ve certainly never tried it….but by that logic I have no grounds for deeming it to be impossible…” A funny smile worked its way onto the unicorns face as Octavia lowered her cup and continued to stare ponderously at her. “You’re really serious about this?” “The elements, that which you describe as being the foundation for your music, were designed to compliment each other. Air helps make Fire possible, Water nurtures Earth. If we were to take that up a level and apply it to the mythical Elements of Harmony it remains true. Kindness is core to Generosity, Honesty begets Loyalty and Magic is often used to induce Laughter. Why can the same not be applied to two musical genres?” Octavia asked, grinning as Vinyl leaned forward. “Keep talking, Tavi. You now have both my curiosity and my attention.” The unicorn replied. Octavia handed over her notepad. “I’ve been thinking about a possible composition that we could do together. Admittedly I ran into a lot of false starts along the way, but if you ignore all my angry crosses and scrawling, the rest of it might intrigue you.” She said. Vinly flipped through the notepad, lifting her glasses to eyeball any spots that weren't covered in rabid lines of ink. Several pages down she came across a brief summary of what Octavia had been contemplating, listing the instruments, rhythm and timing that would suit such an unusual duet. “You’re okay with switching to a violin for this?” She asked. Octavia nodded. “If it’ll suit your beats better than my cello I am. I feel I have some ground to reclaim after watching you wow me with your own playing skills.” She said with a light snark. Vinyl giggled and kept reading. “Well…huh…you weren’t kidding when you said you saw the poetry of dubtrot. There’s quite a bit of thought put into this!” The unicorn replied as she handed the notepad back. “As you said, you have to make up for missing tonight. As the one who caused that to happen, I am bound to answer for my mistakes.” Octavia replied. Vinyl looked down at her stuffed animal and rolled her eyes. “I’d say no you don’t, but I can see you won’t accept that as an answer.” She grinned. “Besides I’m enjoying this gung ho attitude of yours towards us working together.” Octavia now was the one to feel a tingling in her body. It was surprisingly scintillating, the thought that Vinyl not only wasn’t mad at her for making her miss a gig but also approved of her rather unorthodox idea towards pooling their talents. She looked over and felt her chest grow hot at how cute Vinyl looked still snuggling with her mouse. “I came out here with a goal in mind, and I will not turn down any avenue that will let me attain it. I just may need to accept that outside help may be required.” She said with a blush. Vinyl promptly fell over from laughter. “Sheeesh, come on, Tavi, you’re sorely tempting me to make you beg.” The unicorn gasped. “Mainly because I’m sure you’d look adorable down on your knees.” Octavia raised an eyebrow, pondering if this meant Vinyl was trying to raise her hackles, or was genuinely flirting with her. “Would you honestly want to see that?” She asked, measuring her voice to make it apparent that she wasn’t averse to the idea. Vinyl’s laughter promptly stopped and she got a shocked expression on her face. “Well…I….I mean…it’d probably be funny…but I wouldn’t want to sound like I’m pressuring you to…you know…ummm…” Red slowly bled through Vinyl’s white fur, her head wilting as her blush overtook her. Octavia snickered in quiet triumph. “Yet you had no problem kissing me everywhere your lips could reach.” She said, delivering the second part of her one-two punch. Vinyl’s blush grew red enough that Octavia momentarily feared she would hemorrhage from how much blood was flowing to her face. “I did…didn’t I….” The unicorn meeped. “Uhhh…would it be worth pointing out that, in fairness, I WAS completely wasted?” Octavia scooted herself a little closer to the unicorn, leaning on the sofa’s armrest. “It would, if indeed that’s all it was.” The grey mare replied. “I’m not judging you either way.” Vinyl looked up, slowly raising her shades to look Octavia in the eye. Octavia felt herself again be entranced by how Vinyl’s red eyes shimmered exactly like jewels; life, wild energy, and raw passion dancing away within their depths. She wondered what Vinyl saw in turn within her own teal orbs. Perhaps the flawless poise and grace cultivated from her noble upbringing? Maybe her own passion and care for her art? Or was it possibly Vinyl saw something else in her? Something even she wasn’t aware of due to knowing herself too well to notice? Octavia took a step back from her mental pondering as Vinyl leaned forward a bit more, realizing there hadn’t been many ponies that would set her off on such deep introspection. This DJ really was something else…something she wouldn’t mind exploring more, assuming she was reading the signals correctly. Octavia leaned towards Vinyl, closing the gap between their muzzles by that much more. If the unicorn was being genuine with her affection then who was Octavia to complain? Sadly it seemed Vinyl wasn’t sure herself as she withdrew and sat back down in her armchair again. “Well…uhhh…give me a little more time to think on that, Tavi. I’m…erm…well, this is all very new for me.” She said. Octavia nodded softly. “Me too, but it feels…like a right kind of new.” The grey mare mused. “In return though, I likewise don’t wish to come off as too strong.” Vinyl’s ears lowered themselves, as if she now regretted giving Octavia the wrong idea. “Yeah well…let’s work on your duet a bit more.” Time drifted by unnoticed as the two mares tossed ideas back and forth. Some of them, Octavia wrote down for future reference. Others she simply gave Vinyl a reproachful look and shook her head as the unicorn pouted at such blatant close-mindedness. Eventually one of them looked over at the clock again and snorted upon seeing it was drawing ever closer to dawn. “I think we should try getting a few more hours of sleep. Given what tomorrow promises, we’re going to need it.” Octavia said as she put down her pad and yawned. Vinyl nodded as she rose and stretched. “Sounds like an idea. Coffee can only keep me going for so long.” Octavia looked into the bedroom. “Are you okay for me to take my leave now, Vinyl?” The unicorn followed her friend’s gaze and thought it over. “Considering the time you’re welcome to stay and grab a few winks with me. Probably be better than going all the way back to your boat.” The unicorn walked into the bedroom. “I even have a shirt you can wear.” Octavia raised her eyebrow again, dreading whatever Vinyl would deem suitable attire for a houseguest. Her apprehension turned out to only be partially misguided when the unicorn returned holding up a white shirt with a picture of a lightning bolt striking a set of turntables, with numerous pony skeletons bursting out of the ground around it. ‘DIG UP THE OLD AND GIVE IT NEW LIFE’ was emblazoned in jagged letters underneath. “What do you think? Harkens back to what you said during our conversation on your boat in a way. Right?” Octavia rolled her eyes and took the shirt. “I guess. Enough that I can’t argue with you about it.” She walked into the bathroom and changed into the shirt, folding up her other clothes and placing them on top of the hamper. Stepping back out, she braced herself for the inevitable snicker. “Awww, see I knew it’d suit you, Tavi! Plays to your refreshingly forward mindset!” Vinyl exclaimed as she pulled on another t-shirt with the cartoon head of her DJ mentor splashed across it. Octavia had to agree, Dedmau5 did cut a very still and disturbingly empty visage, though the way his face folded so lewdly over Vinyl's ample bust did make up for it a bit. “Least it’s comfortable to sleep in.” She muttered while climbing into the bed. “Night for now, Vinyl.” Vinyl turned off the lights and slid under the covers, though she was considerate enough to keep herself situated on the other side, allowing Octavia enough room to adjust her position if she desired. Octavia wasn’t sure whether she appreciated that, or regretted not being made to step a little further out of her comfort zone. After all if she was willing to go this far what reason did she have to not keep at it? The turnout had been surprisingly pleasant thus far... Another yawn told her now was not the time to be over thinking such things as her eyes slipped closed. *** “So, I’ve been thinking, for while you’re here, Harpo.” “Hmm?” The stallion replied, looking up from his quite delicious salad of lettuce and blended tropical fruits and vegetables. “One major aspect of instilling a peaceful, relaxing mood during a massage is music. As you heard, I’ve got plenty of albums to pipe through the parlor’s sound system, but I’d love to see what having a live musician on the premises would be like.” Beauty Brass smiled. “Since playing a trombone while trying to pummel stress out of a pony isn’t really practical, what do you think of showing me what you can do with a harp tomorrow?” Harpo pondered, taking a moment to swallow what was in his mouth before grinning back at the mare. “I’d be happy to give it a try. My harp isn’t doing much except collecting dust in the hold of Octavia’s boat.” The stallion snickered. “Not really sure why I brought it, save for I feel naked without it…and that boat has so much storage space I didn’t see why not…” Beauty Brass giggled. “Well, we’ll have to make it a date then. Maybe something more if my customers find your talents suit the mood, as I’m sure they will.” Harpo cocked his head. “You sound so confident about that, without having heard me play yet…” Beauty Brass rolled her eyes, though her smile did not falter. “Yes I have. Your recitals are part of my collection, as are Octavia’s and many more of your colleagues.” She replied. “Just because I no longer play full time in the symphony doesn’t mean I still don’t enjoy listening what other talent has come after me.” Harpo was stunned into silence for a moment, which then slowly stretched into two as he began to consider the mare’s offer in this new light. “You think I’m decent material to play for your business?” He asked. Beauty Brass shrugged. “Why not? The harp can be very soothing to listen to with the right tune, and besides you said you want to stay out here if you could.” Harpo nodded and licked his lips as new oppourtunity softly knocked. “I did…but after talking to Octavia, I guess I kind of accepted it wasn’t practical…nor possible…yet now you’re offering me the means…just, wow, I did not expect this…” He smiled. “Though I am immensely grateful for the offer!” Beauty Brass giggled again, an act Harpo noted made her look exceptionally cute. “Then let’s see how you’re received tomorrow and from there you’ll have a better idea if it’ll work or not. I know it’s a huge step, but you seem as drawn to the island life as I have.” Subconsciously Harpo reached over and gripped Beauty’s hand. “This place does have a charm, in many ways. I mean, the prospect of leaving Canterlot behind is daunting…yet still I feel like I’d find life out here more preferable, along with the company.” Beauty Brass raised a flirty eyebrow. “Think I’m starting to see where Octavia was getting the idea about us being something together…” Harpo blinked. “Well…I uh…umm…” Red slowly began to seep onto his face. “You think so?” The mare looked down at the table. “You’re holding my hand.” Harpo followed her gaze, then felt a spark of excitement shoot through his soul. “Well…You’re not doing anything to let go.” Beauty Brass snickered as a blush overcame her face. “More evidence that we need to try another date tomorrow.” *** Sunlight filtered in through a crack in the curtains, slowly beckoning Octavia from a light but uninterrupted sleep. Slowly opening her eyes the mare looked over at the curtains, judging it had to be fairly late in the morning. She made to get up, intending to grab a shower before heading back to her boat, but found herself now held down by a strange weight. Looking down, Octavia’s eyes went wide upon seeing Vinyl was snuggled up to her, her arm draped across the grey mare’s chest to gently hold her close. Instantly the same whirlwind of emotions that had risen from Vinyl’s kiss shot through Octavia again. Several times she contemplated pushing the unicorn off her, waking her up and telling her to move, or trying to slide out from her grasp as best she could. Interestingly, however, she ended up doing none of the above. Vinyl looked so at peace, nuzzled up against her chest, and it wasn’t like having a soft, warm body against her was at all unpleasant. Though her heart continued to pound, Octavia’s breathing slowed as she lay her head back down, staring at the unicorn’s serene expression and finding it too endearing to disturb. “Mmmm…well let’s be honest, this does feel good.” The grey mare said to herself as she stroked through Vinyl’s spikey mane. “Yeah, I could get used to this.”