Octavia Philharmonica was a mare who loved music.
She loved everything about it. There was the elegant way it had of affecting even the deepest feelings, such that a joyous sonata could lift ones' spirits to unparalleled highs, and a funeral march could evoke the gravity and finality of death itself. There was the sheer versatility of the medium, the infinite possible variations for each piece that provided her with a truly unlimited palette to weave her tapestries of sound. There were the memories she had of particular performances -- her mother singing a lullaby to her and soothing her to sleep during a dreadful thunderstorm when she was a foal; her own performance of a particular sonata that was so beautiful that she had manifested her cutie mark at its completion; the Canterlot Symphonic Orchestra's rendition of the Symphony to Conquer Evil in which Princess Cadance herself had performed the role of Symphonia, the legendary hero who had sung the demon ram Grogar into an enchanted slumber from which it would never awaken. She loved the way music felt, the way it worked its way into her mind and delight her with all its subtle intricacies, even the way it looked when it was but markings on a parchment. Yes, she loved everything about it --
"You! Stupid! Music!"
Usually.
Octavia took a few breaths and glanced about, thinking to herself that Lyra at least would be happy to hear her. Lyra Heartstrings, one of her new friends, had encouraged her to be more emotional when she was playing. She had been explaining to the green mare how she had been trained to always be dignified and formal while performing, even if the stage was burning down around her, but Lyra had laughed at that. "It's music, Tavi! If you want to play happy, you've got to be happy! If you want to play epic, you've got to feel like you're really about to buck a gigantic dragon in the snout!" She had leapt atop a park branch, brandishing her lyre like a sword. "And if you want to play angry, you've got to imagine the pony you hate most in all the world standing in front of you and laughing!"
"...I think my teachers omitted that lesson," Octavia had said.
"Well, no worries. Lyra Heartstrings doesn't leave anything out!"
Feeling silly at her outburst, Octavia reminded herself that Lyra’s advice wasn’t really relevant for this work. This particular song wasn't an angry piece. It was an etude, or in laymare's terms, a technical exercise. It had no emotional content; it was just a set of notes designed to improve her skill. No, Octavia's frustration had nothing to do with the particular melodic patterns of the piece itself.
"Why have I not mastered you yet?" the gray mare muttered.
Shaking her head, Octavia took a few breaths to steady herself. Truth be told -- and, as Bearer of the Element of Honesty, Octavia did value the truth -- there was more to her frustration than just technical ineptitude. She was currently living and practicing in Bonbon's spare bedroom, and while it was soundproofed, she still felt uneasy about practicing in somepony else's house. Until recently, she had only played in her own private chambers, either at her family's estate in Chenneigh or in Canterlot Castle. The idea of Bonbon being able to overhear her playing something imperfectly was acutely embarrassing, akin to the mare seeing Octavia drunk, or sugar-high, or embracing that red-coated stallion that worked on Sweet Apple Acres. If she didn't master the piece soon, then Bonbon might somehow hear her screw up, and...
"Oh, stop it," said Octavia to herself. "Musicians make mistakes all the time. I would rather enjoy the camaraderie with my friends while we 'jam,' as Vinyl calls it, even if I occasionally play something incorrectly, than remain shut up in a private estate as before. Music means nothing if nopony can hear it." She brought up her bow again. "Even if Bonbon overhears this, she will not think the less of me because I have not yet mastered Czerneigh's twelth etude." She nodded firmly. "Now. Again."
Feeling a little more under control, Octavia began to tackle the etude once more. Her bow flickered about as she carefully hit each note before moving on to the next, a smooth progression of sounds in a clean and simple melody that nonetheless demanded the utmost in technical precision. She tensed slightly as she neared the most difficult part, her bow a blur as she nailed chord after chord. The melody rose, plateaued, lowered, then began to jump up and down, each successive interval more difficult to reach than the last. She shut her eyes, feeling and hearing the cello in her hooves, and went for the highest chord --
And made it.
A grin broke over her features as Octavia sailed into the coda of the etude, finished with a soft, rich sound, then lowered her bow. She looked at the score, then her cello, then herself in the mirror. Even at a glance, anypony would be able to tell she was happy. Her warm smile took care of that.
Every note perfect, she thought. Every bit of shading, every intonation, every dynamic. I did not forget a single thing. I...
She paused, her grin fading. The word 'forget' seemed to stick in her mind. Was there something else that she was forgetting? Something important?
Frowning, she went to her day planner on her dresser. She had woken at dawn, as scheduled, and had breakfasted on scones and tea in the cafe section of Bonbon’s shop. Then she had gone to the market to fetch some groceries, stopped by Cheerilee's schoolhouse to pick up the foal's music compositions that she had somehow been roped into grading, and returned to her room for a few hours of practicing. The only other thing on her list before dinner was one of the 'jam' sessions with her friend, but that wasn't for at least five minutes, and--
Octavia blinked as she looked at the clock again. Five minutes?
And then she was shooting out the door.
***
My little pony...
Ah ah ah...
(My Little Pony)
Friendship sounded so off-key to me.
(My Little Pony)
But now you're here, and now I see...
A loyal backing
Honest melodies!
Songs to share
With loving harmonies!
Joyous dance --
Such a lovely feat --
And magic makes the perfect beat!
You are my little ponies...
Friends make the best music of all!
***
Octavia stopped running as she reached the dwelling that Vinyl called her house. The watch on her foreleg said that she was at least twenty seconds early, which, honestly, was better than the preceeding week’s session. That time, she'd been fifteen minutes late. I, Octavia thought, Need to pay more attention to my friends... But she had no time for self-pity. She raised a hoof and knocked on the door. "Vinyl? I have arrived," she called.
"It's open!"
Octavia still hadn't quite gotten used to Vinyl's house, which represented nothing so much as a large bat cave trapped inside a pony dwelling. The main room was a dimly-lit domed structure with platforms jutting out from the walls at various points. Vinyl's bed and dresser were mounted on wooden supports about halfway up the north face, while a large set of studio equipment and speakers was on a raised stage near the bottom. Studio gear, bookshelves, even an old disco ball were mounted along the walls at various heights. As for reaching them, there were no stairs, or lifts, or even floating clouds. There was instead a jungle gym.
Vinyl was about halfway up the southern wall, hanging from a gym support with one hoof while she used the other to scratch down some musical notes on lined parchment that was taped to the wall. Her horn was glowing, providing just enough illumination for Octavia to see the composition, as well as two other quills that were floating and making notes on other parchments. If Vinyl hadn't been hanging off of a jungle gym, she would have looked just like any other serious composer, albeit one writing multiple compositions at once. As it was, Octavia felt slightly dizzy looking at her.
Vinyl gave a sudden start, which Octavia recognized as the sign of her being inspired for another piece. Sure enough, she hauled herself up the jungle gym, easily swinging across the bars and climbing near the top, where she lay atop the highest bars and began working on some parchment secured to the very top of the dome. One of the floating quills joined her, while another floated to a parchment nearer to where Octavia was standing.
Octavia coughed. "Vinyl, would you like to begin our session?"
"In a minute!"
Vinyl scampered up and around the room, making notes here and tweaking compositions there, once even ripping a parchment off of the domed wall, balling it up, and dropping it. (Octavia assumed it was pure coincidence that it landed on her head). Still, the mare was slowly migrating in Octavia's general direction, so Octavia didn't say anything. Instead, she looked at the electronics equipment on the ground. The only part of the room that wasn't strangely vertical was a large mess of speakers, wires, a metal frame of half a pony, and other odds and ends arranged in some complicated order on the ground. She knew that Vinyl worked on her equipment almost as much as she worked on her music and playlists, and she was hoping that Vinyl had in fact finished her latest upgrade. She was interested to see what could be done with--
Her thoughts were interrupted by Vinyl, who swung down from a jungle gym bar until her face -- upside down -- was directly in front of Octavia's. "HI TAVI!" she yelled.
"... hi," managed Octavia, though she did smile. "Having fun?"
"Oh, you know it! Days like today, I feel like the music just pours out of me!" Vinyl reached around Octavia to scribble a few notes on some parchment on the door behind her. "In fact, I think I'm almost done with my latest work!"
"Wubstep?" asked Octavia.
"What else could it be?" Viny laughed. "But I got a real big contract for a month from now. Filthy Rich wants me to DJ his daughter's cutecenara. Gotta make sure I got all the best stuff." She grinned, and Octavia could see the fierce pride on her face. "This is gonna be awesome."
"Congratulations." Octavia smiled. "That must mean a lot to you."
"Oh, it does. But anyway!" Vinyl flipped off the jungle gym and landed on her hooves with an ease that Octavia envied. "Ready to rock?"
Octavia looked around. "Is it just us?"
"Well, Bluenote is tutoring students in Trottingham today, and Lyra said something about going on a quest to ‘commune with the flowers.’" Vinyl laughed again. "I don't think she's coming."
"What about Medley and Fluttershy?"
"Oh, they got here a few minutes ago.They're in the back."
Vinyl's other room was much more conventional. It included a small kitchen and dining area, some couches and chairs, and a few pictures of famous electronic musicians. Medley was sitting on a couch drinking a hay soda and talking animatedly with Fluttershy. The latter was perched on a little chair, sipping tea daintily.
"... it's hard to get the metal just right. You need a nice clean tone when the chimes... oh, hey." Medley looked up at the two newcomers. "We all here?"
"Yep!" said Vinyl. "Come on, let's chat and then let’s jam! I've got music in me that's just bursting to blast out!"
Octavia nodded. "I apologize for my tardiness."
"You're not tardy," said Fluttershy, looking at a wall clock. "Er... well, only by a minute anyway. It's not a problem."
"Yeah, no sweat," said Vinyl.
As was their custom, before they began to play, the group talked about their latest musical adventures. "I," said Medley, "might have a good opportunity coming up. The Ponyville filly scout chapter want to incorporate some musical merit badges into their curriculum, and the scoutmistress wants to rent from my shop. Should be able to get things worked out pretty soon..."
Fluttershy soon picked up the conversation. "I'm having my birds sing at a political rally next week," she said. "Representative Monocle is proposing a motion to cut art and music funding for Equestrian foals. My dad asked me to go perform music for a protest rally." She shook her head. "I can't believe anypony would want to prevent little colts and fillies from learning about music... but I'm sure that my birds will be able to show Representative Monocle the true beauty of music." Octavia recognized that smile of hers, the one indicating that somepony was going to recognize true beauty, like it or not. "Oh, and I just adopted out Robbie my robin redbreast..."
When it was Octavia's turn, she briefly listed the etudes and other works she was working on. "I was thinking of making a recording of my etude performances. I would like to remember what they sound like even years from now... they are very useful pieces." She nodded firmly, then turned to Vinyl, the only pony in the room who had not yet spoken.
"What about your work with Miss Cheerilee?" asked Fluttershy.
Octavia blinked; that had slipped her mind as she had thought about the etudes. "It goes well. The foals seem to have learned the basics, at least those that do their homework. While their compositions are probably not refined enough for individual performances by the end of the term like Cheerilee had planned, we are going to try to have them write different voices for one or two pieces, such that, when all played together, the result is music the class can be proud of..."
Vinyl was twitching in her seat, and Octavia looked at her. "Is there something you wanted to say?"
Vinyl nodded eagerly.
"Very well. I have nothing else of significance to discuss, so--"
Vinyl jumped to her hooves. "I," she announced, "had an AWESOME week."
The other three stared.
"Could you... elaborate?" asked Medley.
"First off, I had some killer inspiration. I had a dream where I was skiing down an erupting volcano--"
"Very realistic," commented Octavia.
"--And there was this awesome backing, and when I woke up I was totally inspired." Vinyl chuckled. "I think I worked on that one for two days without sleeping. Finished up a couple other pieces too. Then I got a few gigs booked -- the cutecenara, told you about that already, and I'm doing scary music by the Everfree tomorrow for a camping group, and I'm in Canterlot at a club in three days and I have a show over in Hoofington in five..."
"You're busy," said Medley. "You getting enough sleep?"
Octavia frowned and looked closer. Vinyl was wearing her usual sunglasses, despite the somewhat dismal lighting conditions of her main room, but the cellist thought she saw some bags under Vinyl's eyes. The DJ, though, didn't seem bothered about it. "Course I am. I'm awesome; I don't need sleep. I'm gonna be the best DJ in the world; no time to waste!"
Fluttershy grinned. "I know you can do it!" she chirped.
Vinyl rattled off a few more gigs that she'd gotten booked since the last jam session before moving on to other things. "I got a letter from somepony wanting to talk to me, since I'm the Element of Magic. Any of you know of a 'Twilight Sparkle?'"
"Yes," said Octavia. "She is the sister of the Captain of the Guard." The one that excoriated me. "She was also relatively famous in Canterlot a while back."
"What did she do?" asked Medley.
"She qualified for the Mage's Academy, which is virtually impossible to do if you have no prominent mages in your family. The entrance exam is supposed to be more difficult than many conventional magic school's graduation tests, so if you have not been casting spells since birth, it is nearly impossible to pass." said Octavia. "Twilight Sparkle's parents were both commoner shoemakers; she lacked access to prominent mages or even the specialized libraries some older families have. Nonetheless, she took first place on the entrance exam." Octavia thought back for a moment. "Princess Cadance mentioned that she might be the greatest mage since Star Swirl the Bearded. I have not heard of her in a while, though... but I would assume she is near graduation by this point."
"Greatest mage of the generation, and she wants to talk to Vinyl?" joked Medley. "Better figure out how to sound smart, DJ PON3."
"Bah. I know my stuff. And I'm always eager to chat with a fan." Vinyl grinned. "She's in tomorrow. If Bluey's back by then, maybe we can show off the Elements for her."
"That could be fun," agreed Medley.
Vinyl turned the discussion back to her recent activity, focusing first on her new speaker designs and then transitioning to the magic she was developing so the speakers could handle her music. Octavia tried to focus, but she knew little of magic and found her attention fading. She wished she'd had another chance to play that one etude, really lock it down--
"Hey! Earth to Octavia!" called Medley. "Anypony home?"
Octavia started. "I -- I apologize. I became distracted." Her face flushed. Not again...
Vinyl shrugged. "No worries. Anyway, I realized that there simply weren't enough wubs for--"
Somepony knocked on the door.
"Expecting company?" asked Medley.
"Maybe it's Lyra!" said Fluttershy. "Maybe the flowers are communed."
Octavia blinked. "I do not believe that is actually a word."
Vinyl got to her hooves and began to trot to the door. "I'll bet it's another fan," said Vinyl. "She heard my awesome wubs and wants to get my autograph before I'm on every billboard on Manehattan!"
"Or," called Octavia. "It could be a solicitor."
"Party-pooper," said Vinyl, opening the door. "Hello! Welcome to the home of DJ PON3. Hope you're here for some Pure Awesome, cause that's what I've got!"
The mare at the door chuckled. "The offer is appreciated," she drawled. "But unneeded. Vinyl Scratch, yes?"
Octavia froze. I know that voice!
"Yep!" Vinyl was saying. "What's your name?"
Octavia sprang to her hooves and galloped to the door. Her eyes fell on the mare -- her blue coat, her silver-white hair, her purple hat and cloak. "I..." she began.
The mare's gaze shifted. "Oh! Octavia! How lovely to see you again. Won't you introduce your..." She smiled. "Friends?"
Octavia nodded, her noble training kicking in. "Yes, of course."
She turned to the others and took a breath.
"Everypony, I would like to present the heir to the Duchy of Neigh Orleans." She paused for a moment, then continued. "Trixie Lulamoon."