//------------------------------// // Concerto // Story: The Music That Binds Us // by Dreams of Ponies //------------------------------// She was in so much trouble. "And what exactly was that, VInyl?" Vinyl turned and blushed, her 'partner' vanishing in a flash. Slowly trotting towards Octavia, Vinyl attempted to explain herself out of what was a very incriminating scene. However... "Nope, I don't want to hear it." Octavia walked over, now feeling quite capable with the small surge of anger supplying her with energy. She grabbed a hold of the colorful tuft that was her roommate's tail and proceeded to drag her inside. "Octavia...?" Vinyl said, a touch of fear and concern in her voice. Even through a mouth full of hair, Octavia still managed to convey a decipherable message. "It's time to tune my cello." "Ohh... right there!" "Oh, you like that, don't you?" Vinyl teased as she carefully moved her hooves. "Yes! Just like that!" Vinyl grinned at Octavia as she worked, every little pulse from her horn making Octavia squeak adorably. "I've got something to tell you, Octy." "In just a minute," Octavia scolded her. "We're not finished!" A pair of grins were exchanged as Vinyl bent over once more. "You know, this isn't exactly what I had in mind when you said — " "Hush, you," Octavia interrupted. "There'll be time for that later, after you've finished making up for earlier." Vinyl rolled her eyes. "I told you that's not how it was! You can't hold that over my head forever, you know!" "I can if I want to!" Octavia huffed. "The things I do for love," Vinyl murmured as she applied the finishing touches with her magic. "Annnnnd done!" Vinyl lifted Octavia's cello back up and onto its stand. Then, with a quick motion, she pulled her hoof across the strings. The perfectly tuned chord rang out into the living room, sending chills down both their spines. "That's... quite lovely." Octavia smiled at the instrument, before moving her gaze to Vinyl. "I'm sorry for earlier, Vinyl. I overreacted a bit and I should have known better." "Hey, I know I'm a catch! I don't blame you for being jealous, filly." Octavia thumped her with a hoof, but cracked a smile anyway. "You don't have to make a joke out of everything, you know?" "Yeah, but that's just how I am." Vinyl tilted her glasses down and stared unblinkingly at Octavia. "Would you really have it any other way?" "Of course not." Vinyl wrapped her hoof around Octavia as they embraced each other. "So... what did you have to tell me?" Octavia whispered into her ear. "I've got a party planned for tonight, just for you." "Oh?" Octavia blinked, thinking it over as they separated. "Perhaps we can just have a quiet evening instead?" Smiling, Vinyl stepped forward and stole a kiss, leaving Octavia's cheeks tinted red. "The party isn't until late, and I know just how I want to spend the day." "Vinyl..." Octavia started, already rolling her eyes. "As much fun as that sounds, I had a different idea," Vinyl said, chuckling at Octavia's confused expression. "Well? What is it, then?" Octavia pulled her bow across the strings of her cello, slowly and with perfect poise. She'd gone through several compositions already, and was working her way through some of the older pieces she knew. And the entire time, Vinyl sat in front of her mixing table, completely enthralled with every note. Vinyl bobbed her head slowly, her glasses resting on the top of her head as she watched Octavia with admiration. Hours passed with Vinyl only moving to fetch Octavia a glass of water, or to occasionally fiddle with her equipment. Seven full suites and a variety of original pieces later, Octavia was finally exhausted. After resting her bow on top of the music stand, she placed the cello back into its cradle, giving it a final loving stroke with her hoof. "That was amazing." Vinyl trotted over, a small bit of water clinging to her eye. Octavia lifted a hoof and gently wiped the moisture away, her smile bigger than it had been in weeks. "I thought that classical pieces weren't your thing?" Vinyl smiled back, levitating her glasses off her head and into her hooves. "They're not. But when you play, Octavia, you just make it sound so much better." And with that, Vinyl placed her glasses on Octavia's face, careful to fit them exactly right. "When you play, it's like the whole world stops to listen." Octavia blushed fiercely, her hoof touching the glasses as she got the perfect view into Vinyl's perspective. Then a knock came from their front door. Octavia shot Vinyl a questioning glance, but she just shrugged and opened the door with her magic. They both blinked in surprise upon seeing their visitor. Rarity stood before them, her mane perfectly styled as usual, smiling at the pair. "Good afternoon, Ms. Melody, Ms. Scratch. I'm here at Princess Twilight's request to invite you to Ponyville's first hosting of Starswirl and the Red Giant." "Oh? Is that what the costumes were for?" Vinyl asked. "Of course. Now, I am aware of the party planned for later this evening, and it has been pushed back late enough for you to attend both." "Pinkie thinks of everything, doesn't she?" Vinyl said, chuckling lightly. "If it's dessert, celebration, or in any way related to having fun, then yes," Rarity affirmed. "Well?" Octavia smiled at Vinyl, giving her a nudge with her hoof. "Up for a little drama?" "Totally don't have enough of that already," Vinyl said. She was immediately stared down by twin angry-mare glares. "Just a joke, I swear." "Why do I even put up with you?" Octavia teased. "Because I can—" Vinyl began to say. "—be very romantic, yes," Octavia finished, doing her best to hide her embarrassment. Turning back to Rarity, Octavia bowed slightly. "We would happily attend, Ms. Rarity. Where is the play being held?" "In front of the castle, of course." To say that they had a good view would have been an understatement. Octavia and Vinyl had the best seats in the house, or castle, in this case. They sat on lovely lavender cushions, overlooking the play from the terrace. A generously sized wooden stage occupied the path to Twilight's castle, an enormous red curtain serving as the only backdrop. "How did they even get that set up that fast?" Octavia asked, leaning against Vinyl with an easy sigh. "The magic of friendship, I suppose," Vinyl said with a smirk. "Or maybe just one particularly gifted unicorn." "Hmm..." Octavia murmured. "If she did that all on her own, I might just have to upgrade." Then she gave a small bop against Vinyl's horn and giggled. "Oh, very funny," Vinyl grumbled. "It's not just the size, you know?" "Shh! The play is starting!" Vinyl turned to face forward as the curtain was raised, before a small dragon scampered forward and grabbed the microphone. "Oh, they're getting Spike to do the commentary?" Vinyl peered down at the stage, before giving a small shrug. "He's not actually in the story, but hey, at least he still gets to be useful." "I wish they'd give him the spotlight once in a while," Octavia mused. "But maybe he's better just being supportive." "He's helped bring out the best in Twilight. Being supportive is not only what he does best, but what he loves most." The voice was soft, coming from somepony that was slowly approaching from behind them. Octavia and Vinyl turned to behold the arrival of Princess Luna, who was smiling at them with mild amusement. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." They shook their heads fervently, and got up, and were about to bow before Princess Luna when she waved them off with a hoof. "Neigh, my dear ponies. I'm here to enjoy the performance as you are. Formalities are only a way of keeping ponies apart, and tonight, there is no need for such things." "We'd love for you to join us, Princess," Octavia said, an easy smile coming across her face. "I think I might just do that." "That was awesome!" "Indeed." "Fluttershy played the Redwood so well, you'd think she was born for the part." "I've performed in front of small crowds and gotten more nervous than she did. She did magnificently." They slowly made their way towards Sugarcube Corner, the evening streets of Ponyville filled with ponies chatting about the play. "Starlight played a good Starswirl." Vinyl waved her hoof in the air, a big grin on her face. "Was that just an illusion, or did she actually poof up that giant boulder?" Octavia shrugged as she bumped Vinyl with her flank. "Don't tell me you're jealous?" "No way, filly," Vinyl laughed as she put a hoof over Octavia. "But I wonder if she could teach me that..." "You want to summon giant boulders?" "Um, duh. That way my concerts would always rock!" Whack! "Hey!" "Sometimes, Vinyl, you're just too much." "You know you love me." "Tis' true. I've fallen for Equestria's cheesiest DJ." They shared a small kiss, fully aware that ponies were watching them. Vinyl smirked as they parted, blowing a bit of her mane away from her face. "Let's not keep Pinkie waiting," Vinyl said with a goofy smile. "That reminds me... How did you get this set up on such short notice?" Vinyl laughed, giving a good-natured shake of her head. "I had to promise all sorts of strange things to her, things that I'd rather not discuss with an innocent mare such as yourself." "Do you even have an off button?" "Oh yeah. You already know where to find it!" "Vinyl..." Octavia said, but smiled all the same. Sugarcube Corner was brilliantly decorated that night, every fixture possible having been affixed with glowing treble clefs. "Wow, Vinyl. That's just... beautiful." "Still can't compete with you." Vinyl pressed close to Octavia as they strode up to the front door. "If you butter me up any more, I'm going to melt through the floor." "Sounds delicious." The conversation was put on hold as they entered the bakery. All the center tables had been pushed to the side to make room for an impromptu dancing area. Several ponies were already mingling to a recording of Sapphire Shore's latest hits, and others were enjoying the many treats that had been provided by Pinkie Pie. "Oh, there you two are!" The pink party pony herself popped up in front of them, her frizzy mane decorated with pieces of wrapped candy. She beamed at them, pulling them forward with her hooves. "Hey, Pinkie Pie. Thanks for putting this together for me," Vinyl managed to say as they were brought to the middle of the stage. "Any reason to throw a party is good enough for me," Pinkie Pie said, and then bent down, her voice lowering significantly. "I put a lot more effort into this one, but don't tell the other parties that, okay?" "Don't worry, Pinkie. Your secret is safe with me." Octavia rolled her eyes, but still held a sincere smile on her face. "Pinkie, you really have a knack for making ponies happy," Octavia said as she gestured to their surroundings with a hoof. Pinkie Pie giggled and then pointed at Vinyl. "I think she could give me a run for my bits, though. She's got something super sweet cooked up, right?" "Don't ruin the surprise." Pinkie Pie covered mouth with a hoof. Funny enough, said hoof was white and attached to a confused white unicorn. "Oh, hey, Rarity," Pinkie Pie said, giving Rarity her hoof back. "The play was great! Your costumes are always so amazing!" "Thank you, darling." "Oh, I need to go get something ready. I'll be back in a bit!" Then she winked at Vinyl and took off towards the kitchen. "What was that about?" Octavia asked, blinking in confusion. "It's just Pinkie Pie, dear. It's best to not to think about it." Rarity levitated a bite-sized pastry over and nibbled on it gently. "I hope you all enjoyed the play." "It was spectacular," Octavia responded. "I wish Twilight was here so we could thank her properly." "Unfortunately, she's lecturing Starlight right now... Something about the difference between creating matter and teleporting it from afar." "Sounds complicated," Vinyl said before chuckling. "I bet they're loving every moment." "Those ponies and their spells," Rarity mused. Then the lights dimmed slightly as Pinkie stepped out onto the dance floor, and bounced up to the record player. She popped the needle off with her nose and pulled out a shiny new record from inside her mane, set it down carefully, and then spun herself around. "And now the coolest new hit, straight from Ponyville's own Vinyl Scratch!" The small crowd of ponies stomped and cheered as Pinkie lowered the needle down. A powerful beat started pulsing through the bakery, followed by a catchy electric rhythm. Octavia's smile faded slightly as she looked at Vinyl. "I'll try and stay as long as I can bear it." Vinyl shook her head, smiling as Pinkie Pie trotted over with a small blue box. "I wrote this song for you, Octavia." Her horn glowed, the box popping open. Out floated a pair of polished grey headphones, complete with a treble clef carved elegantly onto both sides. "What's this?" Octavia reached out and took it with her hooves. "I suppose it might help a little, but..." "Just put 'em on, filly." Octavia didn't hesitate, sliding them over her ears. They fit comfortably and were even warm and fuzzy on the inside. What made Octavia stop, though, was what she heard. The music had... changed somehow. What she heard now, while similar in its rhythm, was the beautiful sound of a cello, playing powerfully into her mind. "What..." But she stopped once again, the music striking through her like she'd never felt. It was strange at first, but soon she realized it was her own cello, being played back to her. The thing that really mesmerized her, though, was that she didn't know the song. Here and there, she could hear the special little flourishes she gave to certain notes and chords, but the arrangement... "Vinyl," Octavia called out, pulling the headset off. "What is this?" "It's a special little something I whipped up earlier." Vinyl grinned broadly. "I got those," Vinyl pointed a hoof at the headphones, and then continued, "specially made by some special ponies to filter out everything but certain sounds." Then she gestured to the record behind her. "It's actually part of the song playing right now." "You're serious?" "It makes for a sick mix, Octy, trust me." Vinyl enveloped the headphones with her magic, giving them a small twirl as she continued. "These let you hear what's really special about the song." "You mean..." Octavia started. "Yeah. A part of you, babe. I finally found a way for our music to be together." "It's beautiful, Vinyl. You're beautiful, you know that?" "With you to inspire me, it's hard not to shine." "One more cheesy line from you and I'll have you tuning my cello for the next month." "Is that a promise?" Octavia stepped close, her tail curling around Vinyl's waist. Her breath tickled Vinyl's ear as she closed the distance, her nose pushing into Vinyl's mane. "A Pinkie Promise."