Vinyl Scratch had a spinny chair. This was, in and of itself, not a very remarkable achievement; most other students at the Canterlot Conservatory had spinny chairs if only for the purpose of wheeling from workplace to minifridge. However, Vinyl had a very profound relationship with her spinny chair. It was very comfortable, rolled very smoothly, and was one of the few pieces of furniture that she had not fallen from. That, added to the fact that it had been a gift from Long Play, made it a very special spinny chair.
Vinyl sat in that chair, spinning in a slow circle as night fell over Canterlot. She had sat through Harmonia’s lecture, far more concerned with the crowd of students packed into the hall than the mare who stood at the front of it all. Vinyl had meticulously searched through each row for nearly all of the two and a half hours that Harmonia spoke, but to no avail. Octavia hadn’t been there. The other pony, the purple one with the long name, wasn’t there either; a fact which slightly bothered Vinyl.
There was nothing she could do about it, however, and Vinyl had quietly slipped out of the lecture hall about half an hour before Harmonia had finished her lecture. Vinyl had been in her room since then, sitting in her spinny chair and glancing down the hallway anytime she heard hoofsteps approaching.
Not one of those hooves had belonged to Octavia.
“This is kinda creepy,” Vinyl said to herself. “What am I, a dog?”
A set of hooves sounded in the hallway. With hardly a thought, Vinyl pushed against the ground, her wheely chair crossing the room and stopping at the doorway. However, the mare in the hallway was not grey but a light blue.
“There you are!” said Beauty Brass. “I wasn’t sure if you made it back to the dormitory.”
Vinyl grimaced slightly in disappointment. “I made it,” she said curtly.
“Good.” Beauty tried for a smile.
Vinyl did not return the smile.
An awkward silence fell between the two. Beauty Brass scratched at the back of her mane. Vinyl remained impassive, searching for any excuse to wheel back into her room proper.
“Has my roommate come in?” asked Beauty. “Oc… Octave, was it?”
“Octavia,” muttered Vinyl.
“I apologize; I have a terrible memory for names. Octavia, then. Have you seen her?”
Vinyl shook her head.
“Do you think she’ll be back soon?”
Vinyl shrugged.
“I see…” Beauty frowned slightly, but covered that frown just as quickly. “Well, if you see her before I do, please warn her that a strange mare is going to be in her room.”
“Okay.”
Beauty blinked. “That was meant to be a joke,” she muttered to herself. Then, a bit louder: “I’ll be off now.”
“Okay.”
With that and a few awkward nods, Beauty Brass stepped out of the room, breathing the lightest sigh of relief as she did so.
Vinyl rolled back to the center of her room, shutting the door with a flick of her magic. The room had grown darker in those few moments that she’d spoken to Beauty. Peeking through the window, Vinyl was just able to make out the moon and the first few stars.
Vinyl Scratch let out a groan, shoving herself into a slow spin.
“Damn it, Tavi.”
***
Octavia turned the corner and past the other dorm rooms. Her time with Harpo and Noteworthy had gone on for far longer than expected. After eating, they had said goodbye to Noteworthy and Octavia had had every intention to return to her dorm. Harpo, however, had insisted on walking around and getting acquainted with the area.
Canterlot Conservatory, as it turned out, had a very large campus.
Now, trudging through the hallway of the top floor of the girls’ dormitory, Octavia Philharmonica wanted nothing more than to rest her tired hooves and head to sleep.
Yet, Octavia didn’t make a beeline for her room. She paused, just for a moment, in front of a door marked ‘V. Scratch’.
I wonder if she’s in, Octavia thought to herself. It’s been what, five years? It couldn’t hurt to catch up. She held up a hoof, poised it to knock.
Two sets of hooves walked down the hallway, making Octavia jump. The two mares, neither of which Octavia recognized, gave her curious looks as they passed, but opted not to say anything.
Octavia let out a sigh, throwing another glance at Vinyl’s room. Then she walked on, unlocking and entering her own dorm room.
The room looked much the same way that Octavia had left it; everything on what she’d chosen as ‘her side’ neatly packed away and well-kept. However, the other side of the room, left bare when she’d left with Harpo, had since come to life. Whereas Octavia’s side was rather sparsely decorated and kept to a grey theme, the other side was brimming with pastel colors. Admittedly, it was not quite as bad as it could have been, but it was enough to nearly cut the room in half.
Another mare, light blue with a brown mane, stood by the room’s window. She turned as Octavia entered.
“Octavia Philharmonica?” asked Beauty Brass.
Octavia nodded, taking a few steps forward. “Indeed. I take it that you’re Beauty Brass?”
Beauty smiled, quickly trotting forward and bumping hoofs with Octavia. “That’s me. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. I would have been here earlier, but a friend was taking me on a tour of campus.”
“Oh, that’s no problem, it gave me time to settle into the room.” Beauty smiled, gesturing back to the window. “We have quite the view.”
Octavia nodded, walking over to her bed and taking a seat. “I spent most of the morning at that window.”
“It’s still nice at night.”
“I’m sure that it—” Octavia let out a yawn “—Excuse me. I’m sure that it is.”
“I’m sorry, I must be keeping you up.”
Octavia smiled wanly. “I suppose that I am a bit tired.”
“Don’t feel as though you have to stay awake on my account. I’m getting a bit tired as well.”
Octavia yawned once more, a dainty yawn that she covered with a hoof. “Then I’ll be going to sleep.”
Beauty nodded. “It was nice meeting you, Octavia.”
“Likewise.” Octavia undid her bowtie, setting it on a nearby desk.
“Oh, just one more thing, if you’re not too tired,” said Beauty.
Octavia glanced up at her roommate.
“There was a mare by the name Vinyl Scratch looking for you today. Have you seen her since then?”
A pang of guilt went through Octavia, making her wince slightly. If Beauty noticed it, however, she didn’t show it.
“I haven’t,” admitted Octavia. “I’ll be sure to find her tomorrow.”
Beauty smiled. “Good night, Octavia.”
“Good night, Beauty.”
Octavia crawled under her bed covers, wrapping them securely around her. It was autumn and the window was open, but Canterlot nights were gentle things. It was warm in the dorm room, and even warmer under the covers. Uncomfortably warm, even. It took some time before Octavia was able to find a comfortable condition; her head placed against the cool wall and the thickest bed cover laying half off of her.
Even after she’d found that semi-comfortable position, however, Octavia could not fall asleep. She lay awake as the moon continued on its course and was still awake after Beauty Brass had crawled into her own bed and fallen asleep.
“Damn it, Vinyl.”
***
“Octavia,” said a soft, Canterlotian voice. “Octavia, are you awake?”
“Harmonia?” asked the groggy cellist, rolling over and away from the wall. The window was still open, filling the room with a flood of light. Octavia had to hold a hoof over her eyes.
“No, it’s Beauty Brass.”
It took a few moments for the name to register. New roommate. Right.
“What’s happening, Beauty?” asked Octavia, her bleary eyes turning towards the other mare.
Beauty Brass seemed wide-awake and ready for the day. Her mane was perfectly combed, her saddlebags sat neatly packed on her bed, and there was not a hint of sleep in her eyes. Essentially, Beauty looked the exact opposite of how Octavia felt.
“Well,” began Beauty, suddenly bashful, “I’m sorry for waking you, but th-there’s about 45 minutes left until class begins. I wasn’t sure if you would wake up on time.”
Octavia sat up in her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “What class?”
“Basic Music Theory.”
“Oh.” A pause. “I’m not taking that class.”
Beauty furrowed her brow in confusion. “Aren’t you here to study music?”
“Yes, but I tested out of Harmo—Professor Philharmonica’s class. I’m taking the Intermediate class.”
“Oh. Oh!” Beauty covered her mouth with a hoof. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just assumed… I’m sorry.”
Octavia waved a dismissive hoof. “It’s fine. I have to be up in—” Octavia checked her clock “—an hour and a half anyway. Might as well do it now.” The slightest sigh colored Octavia’s words.
“I really am sorry!”
“It’s fine, Beauty.”
Beauty’s hoof moved upwards, hiding her eyes. “I feel like an idiot.”
“It was an honest mistake,” said Octavia with a half-smile. “And I certainly appreciate the sentiment behind it.”
The hoof came down, and Beauty smiled. “That’s kind of you, Octavia.”
Octavia returned the smile. “Though I might go to sleep again now that I have the time.”
“Of course. I was just about to leave, so you’ll be able to sleep in peace.” Beauty trotted over to her bed, tossing the saddlebags onto her back.
“Rather early isn’t it?” asked Octavia. “It can’t be more than a 10 minute walk to the lecture hall.”
“I want to be early,” responded Beauty brightly. “To make sure that I get a seat in the first row.”
***
True to her word, Beauty Brass had found a seat in the front and center of the hall, nearly directly in front of the podium.
‘Nearly’ was, however, the key word in that sentence.
The seat directly in front of Professor Philharmonica’s podium was already taken. A light brown stallion with an off-white mane and a serious expression had already been in Beauty’s intended seat as she walked in. He had been writing something in his notebook at first, but he broke off from his work and glanced up when Beauty walked in.
“Good morning,” said the stallion. Beauty heard the slightest Prench accent in his voice.
“Good morning,” replied Beauty.
The stallion had gone back to his work immediately after that. Beauty had taken a seat to his left, allowing for one empty space between them. Then, for a time, the only sound in the entire lecture hall was the scratching of the stallion’s quill against his notebook.
The rest of the students began filing in after ten minutes or so, most of them heading towards the middle of the seats and bunching up in their respective groups. A few braver souls sat in the front row.
Soon enough, a pleasant, if slightly nervous, chatter filled the lecture hall, much like yesterday’s pre-lesson, but magnified by the sheer number of students. There were, perhaps, double the amount of ponies on that day than had attended yesterday’s class. Beauty Brass found the mumble nearly deafening. The stallion, however, simply continued his work.
Harmonia Philharmonica made her entrance five minutes before class was set to begin. The classroom mutter died down. Beauty heard a sigh come from the stallion to her right. He had put down his quill.
Harmonia walked to the podium, taking her place. She took a few moments to arrange her notes, then took out a stack of papers.
“Frederic,” said Harmonia, holding the stack of papers out to the brown stallion in the front row, “would you mind holding these?”
‘Frederic’ took the sheets with a nod.
“Thank you.” Harmonia turned towards the gathered students. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” responded the students.
“If you didn’t attend yesterday’s lecture, I’ll ask you to come up here and take the syllabus from Frederic and—” Harmonia broke off, glancing around the lecture hall. She let out a sigh, stalking through the entrance and out into the hallway. She returned a few moments later, this time accompanied by Vinyl Scratch.
“I’m sorry for the interruption,” continued Harmonia. “Come up to the front and take a syllabus from Frederic or Vinyl.”
What? thought Beauty Brass.
“These two will be working as my assistants for this semester, if not for the entire year. Feel free to ask them any questions you may have about the course work.”
What? thought Beauty Brass.
“Vinyl, take half of the packets and stand on the right side. Frederic, do the same on the left.”
What?!
There was a sudden rush of movement as half of the students climbed to their hooves. Beauty got up with them, quickly trotting over to Vinyl, blowing past a short line of students that had already formed in front of Vinyl Scratch.
“Vinyl!” greeted Beauty.
Vinyl glanced at the other mare, her eyes barely visible beneath her purple shades. “You have to wait in line.”
“What? Oh, no, I already have a syllabus.”
“Okay.” Vinyl turned away, her magic methodically distributing packets of paper. The line was moving at a rather brisk pace.
Beauty had almost grown used to Vinyl’s curt responses. “Are you actually taking this class, then? Or just acting as an assistant?”
“Just an assistant.”
“That’s incredible. You get paid for it, don’t you?”
“Yeah. It’s a job, I guess.”
“A rather nice one to have, at that.” Beauty smiled. “You’re very lucky.”
Vinyl bristled at that, the slightest scowl crossing her face. However, the moment passed quickly. “Yeah.”
Harmonia stamped lightly on the floor, the sound of her hoof against the tile somehow carrying through the entire room. “At this point, if you haven’t picked up a syllabus yet, please do so after class. If you know anypony who decided to miss both yesterday and today, please tell them that my office hours run from three to five and they should come see me then.”
Another rush of movement as the few students who hadn’t received their packet returned to their seats. Beauty joined them, retaking her seat in the front row. Frederic had abandoned his own seat in favor of one in the top right corner of the classroom. Vinyl took a seat on the opposite side.
Harmonia surveyed her class for a moment, her face a perfect mask of impassivity. “We’re going to begin at the very beginning. If you already know what we’re going to cover, then I will kindly ask you to relearn it.” She turned around, approaching the blackboard behind her and picking up a piece of chalk. Harmonia drew five horizontal lines on the board, one on top of the other and each the same length. “This is a staff. It will tell you everything you need to know about a musical composition.”
***
Canterlot Station in the morning was always a bit of a toss-up. On some days, it was absolutely packed with ponies, each one of them rushing desperately to their stations with breakfast sandwiches or cups of coffee hanging from their mouths. More than one suit had been ruined by a poorly timed step, and there were too many close calls to count.
This morning was one of those mornings, ponies of all shapes and sizes walking to and fro in a chaotic jumble. Trains zoomed back and forth from their platforms, adding to the general rush and movement that characterized Canterlot Station.
There was, however, a certain disturbance in the movement. There was one pony who, instead of rushing around with a straight expression, strolled through the station with a grin on his face, his head bobbing to music only he could hear.
The unicorn worked his way through the crowd, heading towards the exit of Canterlot Station. His grin widened with every step until, finally, he was out in Canterlot proper.
He stood outside, simply taking in the city. The mountainside, the soaring building and, above it all, Canterlot Castle. How long had it been?
A breeze ran through the street, blowing a strand of his two-tone red mane out of place. Long Play brushed the strand back into place, letting out something between a sigh and a cheer.
“Celestia, it’s good to be back!”