//------------------------------//
// Ch 3. Some of the Many Problems of Switching Bodies. 
// Story: Switching Up the Beats 
// by Dizzylightning 
//------------------------------//


Switching Up the Beats
Dizzy Lightning
Ch 3

Octavia walked into the living room, holding firmly to her scalding cup of coffee. She shuddered a little in the cold morning air, breezing through the broken, boarded window. It rustled her robe, that didn’t quite fit Vinyl’s body as well. “I wish that could be fixed.” She grumbled as she sank down onto the couch. Before her coffee reached her lips she felt a small tingle running from her scalp into her new horn. There was a crackling sound as blue magic filled the vacant space where the window’s glass had been. The shards of glass drifted out of the small trash can just next to the sill. Almost as quickly as it started, it was over. The window had repaired itself. Octavia blinked slightly, “Why the hell didn’t Vinyl just do that earlier?”
“Why didn’t I do what earlier?” Vinyl said shuffling out from the kitchen, her own coffee steaming away.
“The window…” Octavia said, waving a hoof at the wall.
“What about the window?” She said.
“It was extremely easy to fix, all I had to do was think about it and it happened.’
Vinyl took a second to look up from her coffee, “Well, that’s how magic works for ya.”
The white mare sighed as she settled back onto the couch, “You might have wanted to tell me about that.” Octavia said.
“I know,” Vinyl said as she hopped onto the couch with her partner. “I just got caught up in the whole ‘hocus-pocus switching bodies’ thing.” She hugged her mare. “Gee, I never realized I was so soft…”
“There are a few other things you could’ve warned me about.” Octavia blew on her coffee before taking a sip, and shuttering. “Though I should’ve guessed from the way the bathroom’s resembled a psychopathic rampage every morning.”
“Um… Sorry… on both counts.”
“It’s aright but, I do expect a box of chocolates from the store later.”
“I’m not going to the store though.” Vinyl looked over at Octavia. “Or maybe I am…”
Vinyl stood up, “I guess I should get on that.”
As she started over to the door, Octavia gave her a gentle nuzzle, and passed her the list. “Thanks Vinyl and I’m sorry I snapped at you.”
“Ah that’s okay,” She said, she lowered her head to the door, “Oh wait,” she moved her hoof to the door, and shifted out into the chill morning.
“Well, this isn’t so bad, Octavia’s not as bothered by the cold as I am,” she said walking towards the small market plaza. She checked the list, “Eggs, carrots, vegetable oil, and…” She looked up a little confused, “Cello strings? Where the heck do I get cello strings?” She wandered off into the market, merging into the crowd.
Octavia, in the mean time, was having a little bit harder of a time. “Geeze, how does Vinyl do this?” she said holding her stomach a little, “I mean really, I have a rough time of it, but this is ridiculous!” She looked at her cello, “Well, if I can’t beat it, I best try to take my mind off of it.”
She sat on her usual stool, adjusting to accommodate the minor size differences between her own body and Vinyl’s, she placed her hoof to form the first chord of her new composition. The strings thrummed, as she moved the bow with her other hoof, it was all going perfectly. Then she shifted to the next chord, and had to suppress a shudder as the note mangled itself around her. She stared at her hooves, suddenly remembering all the years of practice and toning that her own body had endured, making playing the notes seamless. Vinyl’s hooves alone were not properly trained for the job, nor were her shoulder and elbow muscles trained for the speed and stamina required. She sighed as she laid her instrument carefully back into its case, giving it a loving caress. She looked at her sheet music just before putting it into the special binder she kept her compositions in. She heard it loudly and clearly in her mind, as each note flowed into the next. Suddenly though, she realized the tingling sensation had been there the whole time she’d been reading. Looking over at her cello, she’d turned just in time to see the bow fall sideways into the case. “Oh,” Was all she had time to say before the phone rang.
“Hello?” She said, as she willed the phone to her ear.
“Oc… Octi…” She heard her voice respond from the other side.
“Yes dear, what is it?”
“I uh,” There was a pause as she tried to think of the right wording, “I need you to bail me out…”
“Why, whatever for?”
“I tried to use MY Charge card, and ID at the music store.”
“So?”
“Well, the clerk happened to notice that I haven’t exactly been myself recently.” Vinyl said with slight sarcasm, “And he decided it would be a better idea to have me explain the story to the cops instead of wasting his time.”
Octavia couldn’t really move for a second. Why, didn’t we think of that? She thought as she lowered her head. “Alright Vinyl, I’ll be down there as quickly as I can to get this whole mess straightened out.”
“Okay, see you when you get down here.”
Octavia put on her coat, and saddle bags. “That’s it, tomorrow morning; Drama is going with us to Canterlot to have a little chat with this friend of hers.” She said, as she sulked out the door into the cold.