Chapter 1
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The West Manehattan University grounds were impeccable, to say the least. Perched atop a huge plateau of grassland just outside the city proper, it was a marvel of engineering and art. The most obvious features were the pegasus lecture theatres and labs that floated above the rest of the campus; the large bushy court in the centre, dotted with trees and a small stream, and from which the rest of the university radiated outwards along two main paths that intersected in the middle; and of course the vast array of abstract art pieces littered at seemingly random places throughout the court.
It was the beginning of a new year, and all the firstyears were nervously shuffling about and glancing at maps, occasionally gathering the courage to ask for directions. All the firstyears, that is, except for two.
The first was an earth pony with fur like pale ash and a straight mane of charcoal. Around her neck was a pink bowtie attached to a white collar. It was the only piece of clothing she wore, but it was really all she needed to wear. Every single step she took was precise and official, and despite her comparative youth she gave off the sense that she was much, much more sophisticated than anypony else there.
That’s not to say she was conceited; on the contrary, she was exceedingly polite and friendly to all who dared speak with her. She directed other first years to their rooms, having already memorised the entire campus guide herself, and helped others feel more at ease in the atmosphere that was so vastly different from the high schools many of them had recently graduated from, herself included.
Her name was Octavia, and she was a cellist studying musical theory (classical), history, and, strangely enough, psychology.
The second pony was a white furred unicorn with an electric blue mane that spoke of a thousand parties gone by and a million to come. Covering her eyes were a pair of dark purple shades that hid everything and revealed nothing. She walked confidently but carelessly, nodding to a beat that nopony else could hear. Those who approached her received a grin and a hoof-bump, those who didn’t could only watch in admiration as she dominated the area around her without even saying a word.
That’s not to say she was controlling; on the contrary, she was extremely relaxed and easygoing whenever somepony spoke with her. She exchanged passing comments regarding bands and artists with other music enthusiasts who spotted her six hoof-bands but never stayed for long. A highschool dropout, she was here on a lucky music scholarship and knew what she was talking about when it came to electronic tunes.
Her name was Vinyl, and she was a DJ studying musical theory (modern), drawing, and, strangely enough, psychology.
They met for the first time outside of a lecture theatre, brushing shoulders as they left. Neither said a word, and they forgot about each other completely within minutes of it.
A more lasting impression was made outside a tutorial room as they waited for the tutor to arrive. Twenty three ponies, including them, were also gathered in somewhat-awkward silence.
Determined not to simply be part of a crowd, Octavia turned to face the pony nearest her, which just so happened to be Vinyl.
“Hello. I am Octavia, a pleasure to meet you,” she said pleasantly, extending a hoof.
Rather than shake it, the white unicorn slugged it and flashed a smile. “’Sup. Name’s Vinyl Scratch, you’ve probably heard of me.”
Gingerly putting her aching hoof back down, Octavia shook her head. “No, I’m afraid I haven’t.”
“Does DJ Pon-3 ring a bell?” Her eyebrows bounced as if to jog the cellist’s memory.
“No.”
“You need to hit some clubs then, my music guarantees a good time.”
“In my experience, ‘hitting some clubs’ is rarely synonymous with positive emotions and experiences.”
The DJ cocked her head curiously. “Why do you talk like that? It sounds kinda silly.”
Octavia frowned as she replied, “Talk like what? This is how I normally speak.”
Snorting back a laugh at her expression, Vinyl slowly realised she wasn’t being fooled. “Oh. Wow. So were you born in Canterlot or something?”
“No, I was born here in Manehattan. Though thank-you for the compliment.” She preened happily at being mistaken for a Canterlot citizen.
“Uh-huh, no worries.” The DJ realised they clearly had very different opinions on what being from Canterlot meant.
Thankfully, she was rescued by the sudden arrival of their tutor. He was a tall stallion with frizzy red hair and orange fur. Each step he took seemed to bounce off the ground, and his tail swished non-stop with boundless energy. Every iota of his being screamed ‘Let’s get ready to learn!’
The ponies shuffled inside and took their seats at three large tables arranged in an abstract manner. Octavia smartly sat next to her new acquaintance and pulled out her notepad and pen, while Vinyl sighed and dumped her saddlebags on the desk.
“Alright folks, let’s get the introductions out of the way. My name is Psych. Yeah, I know, what were my parents thinking?” he laughed. Alone. “Still, it turns out they had some incredible foresight because this is a Psychology course and I’m your tutor! How crazy is that?” He laughed again, and still nopony joined in. Not even the slightest bit put off, he continued, “You’re a quiet bunch, aren’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll soon fix that. Let’s do a bit of a game to get to know each other!”
Finally, an audience reaction: Everypony groaned at the same time. Octavia rolled her eyes at their immaturity and decided to opine on the subject. “Honestly, what did any of you expect? This is the first week of the course.”
Psych shrugged. “She has a point, you know. This is pretty standard.”
“Doesn’t mean we have to like it,” grumbled Vinyl, to the murmured assent of surrounding ponies.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll like it just fine. However,” he gestured to Octavia and the DJ, “I saw you two talking on the way in, so I’m afraid I’m going to need to move you. There’s no point doing a friend-making activity with somepony who is already your friend, after all.”
As the cellist started to interject with the fact that they had only just met, Vinyl quickly floated her bags across to an empty desk on the other side of the room. “So long, Octobia.”
“My name is Octavia.”
“Whatever.” The unicorn trotted to her new place.
Psych observed the exchange with great interest and a small smile. Shaking his head, he once again brought attention back to himself. “I want you all to talk to the pony next to you and learn as much as you can, then in ten minutes you will introduce them to the class.”
The activity ended up taking a lot longer than ten minutes as Psych had too much fun listening to all the different conversations. Finally, he stopped them and began the introductions. Most were fairly accurate, with the main issue being mispronunciation of names.
“This is… um… V-Vinyl Hatch,” a small mare said nervously.
“Scratch! Vinyl Scratch! Get it right!” hollered the DJ.
“I’m s-sorry!” she squeaked. “This is Vinyl Scratch, and she… um… she m-makes electronic music and performs in clubs sometimes.”
Psych stomped the ground in appreciation. “Great work Lillycup!” A general rumble of praise emanated from the class and the anxious pony sank down into her chair gratefully.
“Now, Octavia, how about you introduce your hopeful new friend there?”
“As you wish.” The grey mare stood up straight. “This is Bonbon. She enjoys making various kinds of confectionary treats. She is taking this psychology course to help her learn how to attract more ponies to her store, such as what colours are more likely to attract attention and whatnot.”
“Excellent job, Octavia. Very succinct.” The mare smiled at the praise and sat back down. “Bonbon, would you kindly introduce Octavia to us?”
With a dark blue mane and pink highlights, Bonbon looked like a stereotypical university student, the kind that would be on advertisements explaining the values of pursuing an education. “This is Octavia. She is studying musical theory and history… and plays the… violin?” she said hopefully.
“Cello, actually.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Vinyl piped up from across the room. “Hang on, I’m doing musical theory too and I haven’t seen you at the lecture or the tutes.”
“Why in Equestria are you doing musical theory?” the refined pony replied incredulously.
“I’m a DJ. Didn’t you hear little miss shy-face over here?”
“Being a DJ hardly requires extensive education-“
“The buck did you just say?!”
The tutor reluctantly stepped in. “Easy, you two. I know for a fact that there are two musical theory classes, one classical and the other modern. There’s no need to start arguing. I’m sure you have something in common, considering both of you are musically oriented.”
“Yeah, we both like modern music – oh whoops! You like classical, don’t you Octavia? Shame. How does it feel knowing a monkey could be trained to play your cello? I saw it at the circus once.” The DJ stuck out her tongue.
“Modern?! All that clanging and thumping is more akin to a primitive pony slapping rocks with sticks. You have more in common with the monkey than with me, you ape.” Clearly offended, the dark-maned pony wasn’t going to just take that insult to her music.
Vinyl stood up so quickly that her chair fell over. “What did you call me, snob?”
Rising as well, Octavia held her ground. “I called you an ape.”
“At least an ape knows how to loosen up, prude!”
“Oh yes, you would know all about being loose, raver hussy!”
A chorus of gasps accompanied the DJ’s jaw dropping in surprise but she quickly recovered and narrowed her eyes before stepping closer to the cellist. “All you do is rub strings with a stick and you call me primitive? I make music with sounds you can’t even comprehend, let alone enjoy!”
Octavia’s face scrunched up into a scowl as she stepped even closer. “What kind of charlatan are you? It takes skill to make music!”
Vinyl also moved towards the target of her anger, violently squashing the absurd urge to laugh that she always got when somepony yelled at her. It had made encounters with her high-school principal tense, to say the least. “Are you calling me a fake?” she said dangerously.
The sight of the proud grey pony swallowing before replying was satisfying. Clearly, the DJ was still able to intimidate skilfully. “I’m… not calling you a fake, but I am saying that making your ‘music’ doesn’t take even half the skill that playing the cello does!” To make up for lost ground, she took another step forward and brought herself face to face with the furious unicorn.
With her cheeks flushed from shouting and her nose crinkled in distaste, Octavia looked more than a bit amusing. Vinyl opened her mouth to say as much when the tutor finally stepped in again, clearly thinking she was about to go for the throat. “Alright ladies, let’s dial it down a notch. As much as I love having two complete opposites arguing in my class, and believe me, I love it; I feel the need to stop this before it goes too far.”
Now that the tension was broken, the two mares looked around and noticed they had captured the rapt attention of the entire class. Vinyl chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of her head as she returned to her seat, while Octavia merely adjusted her mane and gracefully re-joined her table.
Taking back control of his room, Psych clapped his hooves together. “Right! That was a fantastic demonstration of conflicting personalities. I hope you were all taking notes!” The ponies scrambled to write down anything they could remember. “This presents a very unique opportunity for our class. Real life studies go a lot further than textbooks, you know.” He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Well we don’t have time to get into anything right now, but I have an idea for next week.” As ponies started packing up, he outlined his master plan. “Octavia, I want you and Vinyl to spend time together on the weekend.”
“What?!” they shouted in unison, making the rest of the class crack up.
“You want me to spend time with… her?!” exclaimed Octavia.
“Yeah, I was planning to have fun on the weekend!” Vinyl added, earning a glare from across the room.
“Because,” Pysch explained patiently, “This is a great opportunity to study how a relationship can change over time, for better or worse. We’ll compare our notes from today with your behaviour on Monday, then draw conclusions and make predictions based on that data. In fact, I may get you two to hang out together rather frequently so we have more data points. This isn’t strictly on the set coursework, but I think it will be a fun little side project.”
“Take psychology, they said. The teacher’s nice, they said,” muttered Vinyl, violently shoving her notepad into a saddlebag.
The tutor chuckled. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad. Who knows, you might actually find some common ground.”
“I highly doubt that.” Octavia latched her bags and lifted them onto her back. “What do you suggest we do then?”
Psych shrugged. “Go to a bar, go watch a movie, walk around town. As long as you’re together it shouldn’t matter.”
“Drinking it is!” declared the DJ.
“Alcohol will either make you normal or intolerable. I’m willing to take the risk,” muttered the cellist as she followed the other ponies out of the room. “But I choose where we go!” she called over her shoulder.
Vinyl sighed and trotted after her. As they walked into the boiling sun and started climbing the hill back into the main court, she forced herself to walk next to Octavia. “Alright, let’s get one thing clear. I’m gonna give you my number, but under no circumstances are you to text or call me unless it’s about our plans, kapiche?” A pen and paper surrounded by white floated in front of her and began scribbling.
“Agreed. The same goes for my number as well.” As the unicorn tore off some of the paper and slipped it into the grey mare’s bag, she simultaneously held out the pen and pad. They stopped for a few seconds so she could write, managing some impressive calligraphy considering the pen was held in her mouth, then kept walking when she finished. “Very well. Try not to hand it out to any friends of ill repute by accident.”
“Whatever. I’ll call you sometime tomorrow and we’ll go from there, yeah?”
“Try to make it at a reasonable hour, would you? Not all of us are used to staying up until four in the morning on a cocktail of alcohol and caffeine.”
“Shove it up your flank, Octavia.”
With that, the pair parted ways on the grassy court. The cellist to her next class, and the DJ to her home.
They didn’t know it yet, but their lives were already changing, dancing to the tune of conflict, and inexorably approaching something that neither of them had ever dreamed of.
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There's an Allegrezza reference in this chapter - leave a comment if you caught it!
Or, just let me know what you think!
I like this so far, and I didn't see any grammar mistakes, so nice job! I like Octavia X Vinyl, idk why. just cuz. I'm liking this so far though.
Hmm.... seems interesting. "Psych" really is a weird name Possible Psych-o joke ahead, though. I'll definitely watch and see how does this weekend ends. Judging by the tags, I have no idea what to expect!
Very well written; can't wait for more!
Cool! I'm tracking this. Sounds purty interesting.
*has read Allegrezza and has incredible memory for useless facts*
*knows refrence is in there and recogniized it, but cannot put finger on exact part*
*rage ensues*
Note to self, reread Allegrezza.
I like where this is going...very nice. I especially lost it at the “Take psychology, they said. The teacher’s nice, they said,”
YOU SIR HAVE EARNED A TRACK AND A LIKE
Cheers,
jangledorf
i really enjoyed the personalities of the two main characters, Vinyl and Octavia. especially since their personalities fit with the description everyone would guess from them. the conflict was also accurate, and i have to fully admit, i had a good laugh at some of Vinyl Scratch's grumblings.
Kudos to do, i;; follow this and see where it goes.
and this is why OctaviaxVinyl is so much fun.
And personally (probably because I'm annoyed that I can't get the real one) I would conjecture that, to some extent, most of this is an Alegrezza reference in a very limited sense, as Alegrezza, so far as I can tell, helped to set many of the aspects of fanon which you draw upon in this fic.
Which isn't to say that this fic isn't fantastic and an original concept, just that you draw from Vinyl and Octavia's relatively well-established fanons (which are fantastic unto themselves)
This probably makes me sound like a jerk in some way. Ah well, common enough. I'll probably take some time tomorrow to state what I meant and apologize. Fantastic fic!
Gah, I wait impatiently for more.
370562
Glad you like it! I'll be posting in a sporadic, semi-weekly pattern.
370572
Thank you! I hope the next few chapters will be up to the same quality.
370595
Thanks! :)
370659
Hahaha, it's quite an obscure one, but then all the best references are :D
370676
It is a really good story.
370714
I WILL TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR TRACK AND LIKE!
371434
I'm happy you're enjoying it! Plenty more to come.
371657
Oh, absolutely. Allegrezza has been a big contributor to the fanon of many people regarding Vinyl and Octavia. But lets not go overboard and say that any VxO story draws solely from that one fic. Much of their fanon personalities were established before Allegrezza, which is why we all found it so engaging: we already had a basic idea for the characters, so Coffeegrunt was able to expand on that and use it to develop them in his own way. Of course, due to the immense popularity of his fic, many bronies came to see his versions of O and V as their personal head-canon, despite the fact they were just polished and refined versions of what they were before Allegrezza. I wanted to try and nip this in the bud by including a reference straight off the bat to show that not only am I aware of (and a fan of) Allegrezza, I'm making a conscious effort to not simply ride on Coffeegrunt's characterisation.
I'm not sure if anything I just said made sense, or if it sounded rude or something, so if it did I'm sorry.
Crap, now I feel like a jerk.
372721
Your patience will be rewarded :)
I am liking this! Can't wait to see more... or read more, i guess
373819
Hooray, I think we managed to communicate without offending people.
And I certainly never meant to insinuate that a fic drew solely on Alegrezza, merely that said fanfic was so influential to the overall fanon that most current uses of their personalities are inherently, on some level, a reference to that fic. And there was certainly existing characterizations before Alegrezza, and while I have been generally unsuccessful in hunting down many specific instances, Thunder and Lightning and, even more significantly, The Vinyl Scratch Tapes, evidence this and likely help to cement the characterizations (particularly The Vinyl Scratch Tapes given its massive popularity and relatively early use of the OctaviaxVinyl ship).Thereby, while new stories such as yours certainly deviate from the overall characterization, the general aspects of the personalities are generally maintained.
And I still have yet to realize the actual reference. ☹
373819 It is one of my fave stories. But it's been a while since I've read it. So far you're story is good, I have to say, and quite the different take on how they met.
373819 WITH CHUCK NORRIS AS MY WITNISS, I CURSE YOU TO THREE MONTHS OF WRITERS BLOCK!
374053
I'll be posting in a weird semi-weekly way, so more's coming soon!
374193
"...the general aspects of the personalities are generally maintained."
I'll agree with that.
And I refuse to point out the reference! :D
374973
Thank you. It's always fun looking at fanon relationships from a different perspective. More soon :)
375378
NO! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!?!
Delicious. I love the succint yet very meaty descriptions of events here, especially with Vinyl and Octavia's physical reactions to their insult volley.
Excellent introduction. I enjoyed the extensive landscape of the University, and the mirror-image writing of Vinyl and Octavia's introductions.
Nice work with Psych. I love how the stallion is born of many a cheesy, formulaic romance movie. His extreme pleasure at the sight of conflict and his setting up the sparks to fly and set fire to the entire damn U makes me laugh.
Excellent work with the violent beginnings. Very realistic, and very entertaining. It is true; conflict begets comedy.
Nice writing; I love the clean, grammatically correct style, and how the flow was so natural and the non-dialogue parts fit well. The lack of speaker tags (She said) and the distinct voices of Scratch and Octavia was rather darling.
Pardon my pre-reader instinct kicking in; I believe I have identified a minor typo:
“All you do is rubs strings with a stick and you call me primitive? [...]”
Also, what kind of charlatan is she?!
i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr345/jensens7/SweetieBelle_Nice.png
I'll see what kind of cover-art I can come up with.
370659. its the charlatan reference octavia asks what kind of charlatan vinyl is which is one of the additional tags of allegreza
I agree with Octavia: Dunstep takes no talent to make.
423431
I deny your reality and substitute it with my own! Everypony should be feeling the WUB.
>>Knighty I NEED a Vinyl emoticon. Like you wouldn't even believe how much I require one.
Hmmm... Yep, I have another Vinyl and Octavia story to follow!
So far this seems like most other fics involving the two, of course on an entirely new scene. Not that it's entirely the same, I'm more saying that the characters are the same. I will say that your Vinyl -- so far -- does have her distinct differences from the commonly accepted portrayal. First off, she seems more irritable, and that kind of conflicts with your beginning description of her. You say she's relaxed, but that explosion at her little psychology partner didn't fit that too well, and neither did her first discussion with Octavia. If anything, she gives off the troublemaker vibe.
Also, I'm a little disappointed that this is going to the one iconic location in every Vinyl Octavia fic: a bar. I can see that it is a good location, and it sets up for potential situations to unfold, but it is almost always used. If anything, I'd be surprised if someone made a Vinyl and Octavia story that had no bar in it at all.
Anyway, don't mind me, I can't help but compare these two characters to other stories' versions And don't take any of this as offense, so far this is interesting, and I'm eager to read the rest, I just have a habit of typing what I think. With that, time to read more!
img.ponibooru.org/_images/307ed7552e99c250955f4c24a3bfbc13/32701%20-%20%5E%5E_%5E%5E%20artist%3Aphysicallypossible%20caption%20fluttershy%20happy%20yesh_this_pleases_meh%20you_shall_be_spared.jpg
chzbronies.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-burn1.jpg
Was the reference your description of Vinyl Scratch; "... nodding to a beat that only she could hear?"
I swear to god I've read that before.
- MS
430864
Eeeeenope!
Reference: the description of Allegrezza on EqD ends with "what kind of charlatan are you?", the same question Octavia asks Vinyl. Am I right? I dunno.
Anyway, very good first chapter. Now, I shall read the rest before I go to sleep
Is the reference the connection Octavia made between dubstep and the sound of rocks banging together?
"The dull thud of the bass reminded Octavia of a Pilohippus banging rocks together, and probably carried the same calibre of musical talent with it." from Allegrezza, Concerto Uno
I choose where we go to drink.
- Chapter 1 reference guess.
Octavia and Vinyl, Y U ARGUING?
Cello: Takes a shitload of practicing to really master. Yeah, it's really hard.
DJing: Requires a shitload of technical knowledge. Never tried it, but I'm pretty sure it's really hard.
"Two's Company, Three's a Crowd" is also a good Vinyl & Octavia story.
It's only problem: it is LONG and still going.
But in that tale, you find out Vinyl's real name. (Vinyl is a name she chose for herself because her real name doesn't fit a modern mare.)
Ok this is my first post ever as a broni, so ... that's about it. Great fanfic btw oh and i think i got the reference, is it the violin part ?
I spy a meme in here...I'm on the internet way too much.
Anyways, fantastic work, its great back-and-forth between the two that makes them my favorite pairing, and you certainly aren't going to disappoint me it seems
I found the reference in chapter one!
Octavia’s face scrunched up into a scowl as she stepped even closer. “What kind of charlatan are you? It takes skill to make music!”
Is the reference about the bar and the alcohol?
...How do you add something to your read later list?
Oh! I just got the reference! It's the color of Vinyl's magic color being the same as her coat color!
I busted up every time they had an exchange.
Definitely interesting thus far, will continue on my literary trek
"Take psychology, they said. The teacher’s nice, they said,” 29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lltzgnHi5F1qzib3wo1_400.jpg
Not a bad fanfic at all I've always liked the "Octavia + Vinyl" thing
I'm only like three paragraphs in and all I can think about is how well-written this is. So excited to read the rest now.
And I think Psych is a cool name.
This is great.
As for the reference...
*hasn't read alegrezza in forever*
Is it that they all go to the bar, where I think I remember the two meeting in allegreza?
Just a wild guess, I have to re-read that fic.
Oh this is good, the drama is built into the relationship, these two go together like oil and water. And... 2/3 of the way into the first chapter I already want to shout at these two to go get a room already. Well done.
the reference was the little deal. they'll go out drinking, but Octy chooses the place. I can't remember which chapter, line or word it was, but both Vinyl and octy each get a turn at choosing the bar. as a reward for putting on a bad-ass show, either way they go out drinking in the end xD
Very nice story. Cant wait to read more. Wonder if my dad is watching...
Their psych teacher has a bit of a point. One of the important factors in learning how to create media is dabbling in things that one hates. This isn't just a requirement for music or writing, it's a requirement for all art. Reading Altus Shrugged isn't going to be enjoyable for me, but I will learn more about being a writer by reading it.
We'll just see if Musical Theory will teach them that. After all, college is usually where someone learns even more about complex thinking. (At least, that was the case for me.)
Cool.
I made it to the argument before thinking, as i wiped tears of laughter from my eyes, I get 30000 more words of this? Day = Made
mother of god...the dislike bar is a ninja, you know it's there but you can't see itv