A Due

by StarkyShy


Chapter 1-A Thin String

You’ve been sitting in your chair, gently pulling your bow across each individual string for over 5 minutes in an attempt to tune your instrument. You turned the peg clockwise, and played the note again. Every note had to be perfect.

“Sharp...Flat...Still flat...Just a few more cents...Almost...There.” Now you were ready to practice. Your duet partner has not arrived yet, but that was alright. It gave you time to practice on your own. Your back hoof started to tap a rhythm. “One...two...three...four...” You took a deep breath, rested your chin on your violin, and started to play.

It started out slow, an adagio tempo. Your hoof tapped a slow beat as you played. Simple, connected quarter notes and half notes for the first part of the song. It was simple. Any mistake that might have been made would have to be intentional. Now it began to get harder. The tempo would be the same, but the notes got more complicated. It transitioned back and forth from eighth notes and triplets, not easy for many foals, but to you it was nothing. All it took was a lot of practice and dedication. The music you created sounded incomplete, but it only made sense. The piece being played was a duet piece after all, and it would sound incomplete unless both musicians were present.

Halfway through, the tempo would pick up. Your hoof-metronome raised from adagio to andante. Notes came out slightly faster than before. Not a challenge at all, every note played to its full value, every accent played.

I hate this part...

Near the end of the song was a flurry of sixteenth notes and triplets that required you to shift your hooves very quickly to accommodate with the notes.. It was the only part of the piece that infuriated you because you could never play it right. You took deep breaths and started to play. Your hooves didn’t move fast enough, and very soon, a cacophony started to emerge.

“Aaaaugh!” You screamed in the empty room, nearly throwing your instrument across the room in rage. Hours of practicing and you could never get it right. No matter how many times it was played, it was always wrong. It was unbelievable how aggravating it was to never get one section right.

“Having trouble?”

You recognized that voice. you blinked twice before you slowly turned around, and your partner was standing there in front of you. She was an earth pony, like many of your friends. Her eyes shined with a brilliant light purple, while her neatly trimmed mane sported a dark gray, which was always styled to look at neat as possible. With a purple treble clef adorning her flank and a collar around her neck, she always had an air of sophistication about her. In her hooves, a cello larger than she is.

“Hello, Octavia...I’m...glad you showed up.”

She simply smiled, it always made you feel good when you saw her smile.

“So, rehearsal time?” She looked at you, her expression turning serious.

You nodded, raising your bow once again. “Shall we?”

“One moment, please.” She started to tune her instrument, you simply sat there waiting patiently. As you waited, you played out the hoof positions for the sole piece you could never get right.

“Alright, finished. Let us begin.” She looked at you, her purple eyes gazing directly into yours.

You nodded, getting in position, ready for the duet. Your hoof hit the floor in a rhythmic pattern again, waiting for your partner to synchronize the tempo with you.

“One...two...three...four...”

You began to play your part, her slow series of half notes and quarter notes would follow after the first measure. You closed your eyes, you had practically memorized the first portion. Every note, dynamic, accidental, and accent could be played without the sheet music in front of you two. The empty room was now being filled by the two harmonies of both violin and cello. As the tempo sped up, the air became livelier, serenading an audience of emptiness.

Finally, it was time for the difficult part. You started to nail the triplets, while Octavia did octave jumps with eighth notes. It was a difficult part for both of you, and the tempo change didn’t help. It was all going well, until you heard a sudden change in volume from your partner, followed by a loud exhale.

“Ugh, not again...”

You looked over to your side to see the young grey mare with an exasperated countenance.

“Having trouble?” You repeated her words with a hint of teasing in it.

She returned a smirk, followed by a playful jab to your side. “Let’s try it again.”

“From the top?” You suggested.

She shook her head, pointing at the part where the tempo changed. “Let’s start at this section. Is that satisfactory for you?”

You nodded, tapping your foot to the vivace tempo. Your head bobbing up and down to the beat you set. “One, two, three, four.”

One hour and over fifty failed attempts later, you were ready to throw your instrument out the window.

“Why is it that we can’t get this right? Argh!” You wailed. “This is just...impossible!”

“Alright, calm down for a moment...we just need more practice.”

You brought your hooves up to your face, covering your eyes. “More practice? The concert is in two days, Octavia, we’ve practically mastered every part of this except this one solitary piece. How is this going to work? We’re going to screw it up in front of our audience and they are going to laugh us off the s-” A hoof in your mouth suddenly interrupted your rant.

“Relax. We are going to be just fine. Tell you what, tomorrow we can practice at my place, alright? I assure you we’ll be able to make this piece sound beautiful.” She retracted her hoof from your mouth before wiping any saliva off on her coat. “I’ll see you tomorrow at five?”

You had calmed down from your freakout. “Y-yes, Five is alright with me.”

“Good, don’t be late.”

She gave a quick smile before grabbing her cello and music and trotting on out. You looked at your sheet music with anxiety.

“Two days to master a part none of us can play.”