I regain consciousness the next morning long before I actually decide to get up. I open my eyes, feeling an odd sense of wrongness. Something's happened, and I'm not quite sure what it is.
Soft snores from the other side of the room tell me that Vinyl and Rainbow are still asleep. Okay. Well, in that case, I'll go and prepare that prank I have in mind for Rainbow. It's going to be so great.
For some reason, when I try to move, I can't. Like, I literally can't move my arms or legs. What the fuck? I can move my head just fine, so I bite the edge of the comforter and toss it aside with a jerk of my neck so I can figure out what's restricting me. Unfortunately, throwing a heavy comforter with just your teeth isn't that easy, so I have to do it a few times before I can finally see what happened.
I've been wrapped up in my sheets like a goddamn mummy. How did that...oh. I turn my head and glare at Rainbow. This was your idea of a prank? How lame. Come on, all I have to do is find the edge of the sheets and then roll around a bit.
It's almost too easy to find the edge. Once again craning my head forward, I bite down on the edge and give it a jerk...only to find that it won't move. It's stuck to the rest of the sheets. How the hell? I try again, giving as much effort as I can. It still won't budge, but the exertion allows me to see a strange translucent substance between the edge of the sheets and the rest. Is that glue?
Further inspection of the room leads me to notice the small bottle resting on the dresser next to my bed. It looks...very familiar. It dawns on me a few seconds later what happened. That's Liquid Rock. Fuck.
Goddammit, Rainbow. This was actually a good prank on your part. Now I can't fucking move, because Liquid Rock is practically unbreakable. I'd know, because it's what's keeping the strap attached to my rifle. But...Rarity told me that this stuff hardens only when it comes into contact with magic. Which means Vinyl was involved too. Wow, they really wanted to prank me, didn't they?
Sadly for them, they don't know who they're dealing with. I'm not just going to sit here and wait for them to get up. No, I'm getting out of this.
I start to struggle, my aim being to get at least one arm out of the sheets. I'm tied up really tightly, so it's extremely difficult to move. I can feel my arm slowly, painfully inching out. At this rate, it'll take me forever to get free. If only I were a little stronger...
Then it clicks. Bitch, I am stronger. I release the magic from my core, my vision turning green. I make sure to keep myself at the base level of emission so I don't wreck the place. At this point, if I focus my magic like Shining Armor taught me, I can probably rip the sheets to shreds, but I don't want to do that, since they're not mine. Instead, I focus my magic in my right arm and use the extra strength to tug my arm out of the sheets. That leaves enough slack for me to get my other arm out as well.
No longer needing the magic, I block it away once more, my vision returning to normal. While it's difficult to really control this magic quite the way I want to, at least Celestia managed to teach me how to stay in control, however the fuck she did it.
Anyway, with all that slack in the sheets, it's easy for me to get free. I get up from the bed, glaring at Rainbow and Vinyl. You've had your fun, and now it's my turn.
I move towards the bathroom, thinking hard. My original plan had only accounted for Rainbow, since she alone I can carry. I can't carry both her and Vinyl. I can still do my original plan, but no doubt whomever I choose to be the first victim will alert the other with her screams.
Or maybe if I use my magic again, I can carry the both of them...no, that's a terrible idea. I shouldn't have used it in the first place. It's a miracle Vinyl didn't wake up. She's a unicorn, so I think she'd be able to sense it if I used magic so close to her. Of course, I could also just not prank Vinyl, but she deserves it as well, especially with the dumb innuendos she keeps making.
There's got to be something I can do to her at the same time as Rainbow. Oh well. I can think about that while I'm preparing Rainbow's prank. I walk into the bathroom and shut the door softly.
I remember seeing a bathtub in here yesterday morning tucked against the back wall, next to the shower. Yup, there it is, and it's a lot bigger than I remember. I guess I was just tired.
The cold water knob is easy to pick out because of the blue coloring scheme. I twist it until it won't turn any more, so that frigid water pours out of the faucet. I also make sure to plug up the drain. With that, the bathtub starts to fill up. Which means I have time to think of something to do to Vinyl.
I've got it. The bathtub is almost full now, so I'm going to put my plan into action. Walking back into the room, I make sure Vinyl and Rainbow are still asleep. Good, they are. Which means I can do this.
I grab the bottle of Liquid Rock from the table and open the top of it. Next, I move over to Vinyl and position the bottle right over her horn. Following the grooves in her horn, I squeeze out the substance all over it, until I reach the tip. Capping the bottle again, I grin. The next time she tries to use magic, she'll be in for a shock.
It occurs to me that the substance might be irreversible. That would be dumb, even for ponies. Even so, the thought causes my blood to run cold. I grab my rifle and take it into the bathroom, releasing a tiny current of magic through my body as I do so. I focus all of that magic into my finger, and then jab the tip at the spot where the strap touches the rifle.
To my great relief, the Liquid Rock there turns liquid again. I turn it back solid once more and place my rifle aside. So at the most, Vinyl will be annoyed, rather than crippled for life. God, that would have been really bad. Think before you act, Seth.
Now then, that aside, it's time to make Rainbow regret her dumb bullshit yesterday and this morning. She's sleeping peacefully, lying on her side with her back facing me. Excellent.
I move beside her, and then gently pick her up, holding her in such a way that my left arm is supporting her rear, while my right is holding her back. Much to my amusement, Rainbow still doesn't wake up, and instead fucking cuddles up to me, her head resting on my chest. Aww, how adorable. A shame I'm going to fucking ruin it.
A wicked grin stretches across my face as I maneuver the sleeping pony across the room and into the bathroom, where the bathtub is now filled almost to the brim with freezing cold water. I stand just at the edge of the tub, holding the sleeping pony. Rainbow snuffles gently, her front hoof twitching.
Without a word, I hold Rainbow out in front of me, and then drop the unwitting pony directly into the water.
The resulting strained scream of utter shock causes me to practically die laughing. I'm splashed with water as Rainbow kicks and flails in the tub. “WHAT THE HAY!?” Rainbow screams viscerally, jerking her head around to try and figure out where she is. Her mane is soaking wet now and covering her eyes and face in such a way that she looks ridiculous. Soon, she spots me laughing hysterically, resting a hand on the door frame to keep myself upright. “SETH!”
“Morning, Dashie!” I greet her cheerfully once I managed to compose myself slightly. Rainbow's face makes me dissolve into merriment once more. She looks scandalized, so I don't think she gets called by that name very often. Which is good. Now you know how it feels when somepony calls me Sethie.
Suddenly, Rainbow crashes into me, getting water all over my face, chest, and hair. “No, you c'mere! You little...you're so dead!” Rainbow yells at me, but I can tell she really isn't all that mad. She knocks me right off my feet and onto the plush mat on the floor of the bathroom. I struggle, trying to get out from underneath her. “No! Sit still! You're the next one going in that water!”
“I'mma go with no...” I say calmly, despite how hard I'm wrestling with her. I'm not getting anywhere, so I decide to test something out by tickling her stomach.
“Ah! No! Stoppit!” Rainbow protests, laughing. Aha, it's working. She's ticklish. I feel her muscles tense slightly, and I seize the opportunity to roll over so I'm on top of her. Well, that much doesn't work, because she finds it easy to change that. So we end up rolling over and over until we hit the tub. “Get in the tub!”
“No fucking way!”
“I said, get in the tub!” Rainbow insists, her voice louder, and then she backs off a bit, allowing me to stand. That's what she wanted though. The moment I stand up, she rushes me again, and I nearly overbalance into the tub. I halt my fall by planting my feet on the ground.
“What in the hay is going...?” Vinyl demands tiredly as she walks into the bathroom. She freezes and stares with a dumbfounded expression, as all she's seeing is a thoroughly soaked Rainbow practically draped across me, trying to push me into the tub. Seconds later, a blush covers my face when I realize that I'm wearing only my boxers. Son of a bitch.
Rainbow and I freeze and look at Vinyl. There's an awkward silence so thick, you could probably hear a pin drop. Then she slowly starts to grin. “Oh, don't mind me. I'm just gonna shut the door and let you two have your...” Vinyl starts to joke, backing out of the door. She suddenly cuts off when she tries to use magic to shut the door behind her. A look of extreme discomfort crosses her face. “What the...there's all this junk in my horn...is that...”
“No, it's fine, Vinyl. Just scrub it all out. You know, it would be an elementary job!” I taunt her. Vinyl's eyes spark with understanding, and she facehoofs.
“You put Liquid Rock in my horn,” she deadpans. Her expression causes me to start laughing again. “Ugh, I suppose I deserved that for wrapping you in a sheet.”
Suddenly, I receive a buck to the chest from Rainbow. Not expecting it, I tumble right into the tub filled with freezing cold water. “Agh! Fucking...goddammit!” I rage, shivering at the sudden change in temperature.
Rainbow points a hoof at me and laughs raucously, her revenge for my revenge complete. I groan and rub my forehead. Thankfully, though, this works for me somewhat. At least now the water is hiding my body from them. God, why didn't I get dressed first before dropping Rainbow in the tub?
“This is...this is a morning. Hah, I should have known things would be crazy if I put you two in a room together,” Vinyl remarks.
“What's that, Vinyl? I can't hear you over the sound of all that Liquid Rock in your horn!” I shoot right back at her with a grin.
“Ugh, this is gonna be a pain to get out...” Vinyl groans and walks towards the vanity. She grunts as she uses magic again to turn on the faucet, while at the same time turning the Liquid Rock back to its aqueous state.
“That's great, clean it later. If you don't mind, could you both kindly get the fuck out so I can take my shower?” I ask them with mock politeness. Now that my adrenaline high is going away, I'm really starting to get cold, and there's no way I'm getting out as long as I'm wearing practically nothing.
“Yeah, I got my revenge. I'm good now,” Rainbow acquiesces and turns the other direction. “Hoo, that was fun. Meet you back in the room, Seth!”
Vinyl leaves the room as well, grumbling and rubbing her horn with a hoof. The sight of that makes me chuckle again.
Finally, when she shuts the door, I pull the plug on the bottom of the tub and climb out, dripping wet. Dammit, even my boxers are soaked through. That's my only set too. I take off my boxers as well and wring them out into the draining tub, squeezing as hard as possible to get as much water as I can out of them. I'll wear them even if they're damp, because I'm not wearing jeans without undergarments. That's like asking for a rash.
I hang them over the towel rack to dry (even though I know they're not going to dry in the ten minutes or so it'll take me to shower.), and then turn on the shower, adjusting the temperature so that it's lukewarm. You know, this makes me wonder how the hell they even warm the water without electricity, but then again, the answer is probably magic.
Twenty minutes later, I've finished grooming myself, and I've put my damp boxers back on. Unfortunately, I realize that my clothes are still outside, next to my bed. That shouldn't be too much of a problem.
“Hey, pass me my clothes, would you?” I ask, peeking my head out of the door. Rainbow and Vinyl break off from whatever conversation they are having and look at me.
“Why? Just come out and grab them yourself,” Rainbow suggests, pointing over to where my clothes are.
“Because I'm not dressed, you idiot!”
“Didn't seem to stop you when you were tussling with Rainbow,” Vinyl points out with a grin. I flush slightly, knowing that she's right. Not my fault I got caught up in the heat of the moment. “Come out and grab them. It's not that big of a deal.”
“No way. Pass them here,” I demand, reaching my hand out. Sighing, Rainbow passes the clothes to me. I immediately shut the door with a word so I can get dressed.
“He's so weird. I mean, we're not wearing clothes,” Vinyl remarks, her voice muffled by the door.
“Because you're fucking ponies,” I retort from behind the door as I slip on my pants. These are literally the only set of clothes I have with me. Ponies don't have laundry machines, so if I want to wash clothes, I have to do it myself. And I don't have the slightest idea how to do it manually.
A few minutes later, I emerge from the bathroom, fully dressed and ready for whatever. I join Rainbow and Vinyl in the middle of the room, where they're sitting on their haunches. “So what's the deal for today?"
“Huh? Oh, same old, really. Breakfast first, and then we mess around in the city until it's time for the show,” Vinyl explains.
“Awesome! Hm, what else is there to do in Canterlot,” Rainbow muses. “Seth, what do you want to do after breakfast?”
“I already have plans. I'm going to the orchestra's rehearsal hall,” I reply nonchalantly. Vinyl proceeds to stare at me as if I've grown a second head.
“What? Why would you go there?” she asks in shock. “They're all just a bunch of stuffed up prudes who play bad music.”
Okay, what? Boring music? Hell fucking no, you do not talk shit about the music that ponies worked hard to create. “That has to be the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard you say,” I grunt irritably. “Music is music. Each genre has its charms. As a musician, you should know that!”
Vinyl looked almost as if I'd slapped her. “But there's no life in orchestra music. It puts me right to sleep!” she protests.
“Then it's not your thing. That's fine, and that's a reason that I can respect. But don't you ever say a style of music is bad,” I growl. “Not when those ponies put so much time and effort into it.”
“Wow...I didn't know you felt so strongly about this stuff, bro,” Vinyl admits, looking thoroughly chastened. “I didn't mean to offend you.”
“Whatever,” I emit, and Vinyl winces. Yeah, she knows she fucked up. Honestly, I could have just ignored her, but she was being so goddamn ignorant I couldn't take it.
“Well, I hope you'll have fun,” Rainbow says, breaking the silence that had formed. “But putting all of that aside, how about food now?”
“That sounds good. I'm hungry now,” I agree.
After Vinyl and Rainbow shower, I grab my rifle, and we leave the hotel and return to the same restaurant that we'd gone to yesterday for breakfast. I now have the bits to pay for the meal, so I decide to give myself a little treat and order not only the Fr...Prench toast again, but also a vanilla milkshake. Because they apparently offer milkshakes in Equestria. Oh well. Not going to look a gift pony in the mouth. (Come on, you knew I had to make that pun at least one time in my journal).
Anyway, that bumped up the cost from 4 bits to 6 bits, leaving me with 40 bits total. Still a crap ton of bits compared to what I'm used to having. And what's great is that's only going to get higher, as long as I don't do shit like splurge anymore.
Rainbow, Vinyl, and I make small talk while we eat. By that, I mean Rainbow and Vinyl talk, while I listen to them and occasionally input a smart ass comment to annoy them. So basically, nothing really worth writing about.
Finally, once we're done with our respective meals, it's about 11:15. I think I woke up a bit later than usual, and then the whole thing with the tub happened, so I guess we spent more time getting out of the hotel than we usually do. Good for me, though.
“I'm heading out, now,” I say to the two of them after we pay for the meal. We've just left the restaurant, which means we're all about to split up until later.
“Sweet. I'm gonna go chill with the other ponies from the Blazing Medley. Later, bro,” Vinyl responds, breaking off from us, leaving me with Rainbow.
“You going to hang out with Octavia or something?” Rainbow asks curiously, her head craning up to look at me.
“What? Nah, I told you yesterday. She reserved me a room with a piano in it. I'm going to go play on it for a few hours, then meet the rest of you at the bar,” I remind her. Don't know why she cares what I'm doing, anyway.
“Heh, yeah, I guess I forgot,” Rainbow confesses, chuckling. She puts on what looks like a relieved smile. “See ya later today, Seth.”
“Sure,” I reply, feeling to lazy to respond in kind. A few moments later, I'm alone, both Rainbow and Vinyl having gone their separate ways.
Now then, I just have to make my way back to the concert hall. From there, if I follow Octavia's poorly executed instructions, I should be able to find the rehearsal hall without much trouble.
I make it to the rehearsal hall as easily as I expected. Since they serve similar functions, the rehearsal hall and concert hall look very similar in their exterior design. Fitting with the Canterlot motif, the walls are white and mostly rounded, but the entrances are mostly angular. No, I have no idea which areas are open to the public, but I figure somepony will tell me if I go the wrong way. I pick one of the entrances and walk right inside.
Octavia was right about the place being mostly empty. There's not a lot of ponies walking around inside. Not to say that the place is entirely empty, either. There's a few ponies walking here and there, all of them musicians. Some of them are even carrying instrument cases with them. Most of them are too busy to give me a second glance, but every so often one will stare at me curiously.
There's a counter nearby, made of wood and marble. Behind it is a very bored looking stallion who is sifting through a stack of what looks like paperwork. He looks important, so I approach him, clearing my throat to announce my presence.
“Can I help you?” the stallion addresses me, his eyes roaming up and down my body. It's almost as if he's never seen a hu...no, that joke is dumb. Suffice to say, he's looking at me with interest.
“Yeah. Can you point me to where the practice rooms are?” I request, resting my hands in my pockets.
“Of course, sir. If you turn to your left and follow that hallway until it ends, you'll find them on both of the adjoining hallways.” the stallion directs me with a hoof. “You'll have to speak to the pony behind the counter though.”
“Got it. Thanks,” I tell him casually and continue on my way. Good thing he didn't ask any questions. I'm in no mood to answer them. Then again, I'm never really in the mood to answer questions. Go figure.
His directions are much better than Octavia's, so it isn't long before I find myself walking down the hallway he mentioned. I have no idea what any of these rooms are, because all of the identifying plaques are in fucking Equestrian. It's fine, just today, tomorrow, and apparently the next day before I can go back to Ponyville and learn how to read.
The hallway ends with a small rounded room, in which there is but a single counter with a mare behind it, and two doors that lead to what should be the practice rooms.
“Greetings, sir. Do you have a reservation?” the mare addresses me while still looking at a clipboard on the counter. When she does look at me, she gives a start. She looks like she's about to ask me the obvious question, so I make sure to speak before she can.
“I do, actually. For noon. Should be under the name 'Seth Rogers'” I reply impatiently. Hurry up and do your bureaucratic bullshit so I can get to playing. Time is wasting.
The mare quickly composes herself and looks down at her clipboard, flipping through it until she finds what she's looking for. “Yes, your name is on here. You have room fifteen, down the hall on your right, until three thirty pm,” she informs me.
Without another word, I turn down the hallway she indicated, taking the folded sheet of paper that was still in my back pocket. Unfolding it, it's a simple matter to compare the characters there to the characters on the doors until I find the one I'm looking for.
Number 15. Okay, this is it. There's no windows on the heavy wooden door, which means once I'm inside, I don't have to worry about being interrupted. I can't help but get a little excited as I open the door. Four hours entirely to myself with a...holy shit.
The room isn't anything special in terms of looks, but what grabs my attention is the fucking grand piano sitting smack dab in the center of the room. Oh my god, yes please. With my jaw open like a dumb fish, I walk over to it and lay a hand on the polished wood reverently, taking in this majestic instrument.
The top board is open, revealing the gleaming inner works that look like they've been maintained extremely well. I can't help but feel a little giddy. Back in my time, one of my dreams was to one day play a grand piano like this, instead of just an electric keyboard or those tiny ones that chorus rooms often have. But they were so expensive, that I knew it would always be just a distant dream. But to have one right before me...completely free for me to use for four entire hours...this is a fucking dream come true.
The walls are clearly soundproofed as well, because I'm sure some of the other rooms are in use right now, and I didn't hear a sound from them on my way here. Which means I should be able to play to my heart's content.
I sit down on the polyester bench provided for me and start to do basic stretches to loosen my fingers and arms. I'm taking extra care of myself this time, because four straight hours of playing can really do a number on my arms if I don't stretch.
I press down on the center key to test the sound, and oh my god I think I just shivered from the epic. The sound is really clear, and the walls are designed in such a way that the sound is reflected back to me, so it has a rich, deep sound. That is fucking glorious.
Warmup time. I did this just two days ago, so it shouldn't be as hard this time around. I put my fingers to the keys, and start to play my typical warm up piece again.
The arpeggios in the left hand are probably the hardest part of this song, so once I have those down, it becomes easy to play the rest of the song. Oh this is great. This relatively simple song that I've practically mastered over a long period of time sounds so much better on this piano and in this room. I can actually visualize the scene in which this song was played.
The song isn't that long, so I finish it rather quickly without too many errors. Now then, let's see how many other songs I can remember to play in these next four hours.
Just as I look up to get some inspiration, I notice that there's already something on the music stand for the piano. It's sheet music, though what song it is I can't tell, because I can't fucking read. To my delight though, the musical notation is still mostly what I remember. By that, I mean, there's the treble clef, the bass clef, the staff, the notes, etc. However, the marks for dynamics, style, and other such things are in Equestrian.
I can read most of it though. What if...you know what? I'm going to learn to play this song. It's been so long since I've tried to learn new music, so this should be a good experience. I don't know who left their music here, but I'm glad they did.
A quick look at the first page shows me that the left hand is almost entirely arpeggios and chords, while the right hand seems to be a simple melody. I sift through the rest of the song as well, noticing that I was right about the left hand. The right hand, however, goes through seemingly easy notes, but with complicated rhythms that seem like they would be difficult to play at the same time as these arpeggios. Not to mention the arpeggios change practically every measure, so that will take some work to get done as well.
Might as well get started. I'll learn the left hand first, and then add the right later. With a content smile, I start playing the song with only my left hand. Like I said, I can't read the marks for the stylistic changes, so I have to interpret it myself, and add things in.
Hoo, this is difficult. I'm going through so many arpeggios it's hard to keep track of them all. But the challenge is refreshing, so I don't give up until I've made a few run-throughs of the song with just the left hand.
I try adding the right hand as well, but soon find that trying to play those arpeggios that I just learned while learning the new parts and rhythms is just impossible, so I stop and try learning just the right hand. Rhythms are important for this part, so I turn on the clockwork metronome that's resting on top of the piano, provided helpfully for me by the staff.
Unfortunately, I can't read what time signature this is in, so I have to figure that out the hard way, and count how many notes there are in a measure. The arpeggios are six eight notes each and usually take up a whole measure. If I use that as my reference, I think I can guess that the piece is in ¾ time. There's no tempo either, so I can't tell how many notes per minute. Let's go with a moderately slow pace.
This is how I spend an hour of my time in the practice room. This song is beautiful, so my goal is to play it right at least once before I have to leave.
I'm so deep into my practice, that when the door to my practice room opens, I'm taken completely by surprise. I immediately stop playing and stand up, about to tear this bastard a new asshole for daring to interrupt what little time I have.
“I have a reservation, you son of a bitch! Get the hell out of...” I rage, but then I cut off when I see who it is. Octavia smiles at me, letting my insult flow right over her. “Octavia? What the hell are you doing here?”
“I came to see you, of course,” Octavia responds as if it were obvious. She then turns around and lugs a cart into the room, which is holding her cello case. “I thought you might want some company.”
“Hardly. I was enjoying this because I could have all this time entirely to myself,” I grumble, bitterness settling over me. Octavia clicks her tongue.
“Now, don't be like that, Seth,” she admonishes me, though it's a weak admonishment at best. Really? Stop being annoyed? Let me get right on that. “Have you looked at the song I left for you?”
“What? You left this song for me?” I demand, pointing at the sheet music on the stand.
“That's right. It's one of my favorite songs,” Octavia clarifies, shutting the door behind her after she pulls the cart inside. “So, did you?”
“I did. I...may have been trying to learn it,” I admit, realizing that I'm not going to be getting rid of her so easily. Octavia's eyes light up, and she puts on a bright smile.
“Splendid! I was hoping you'd say that. That means my trip here will be well spent!” she exclaims, and then she reaches into the cart and pulls out an extendable music stand, which she sets up on the floor not too far from the piano.
“What are you talking about?” I am beyond confused, but I think that goes without saying. Octavia fishes out a glossy black folder made of laminated paper and sets in on the stand she just set up.
“This song isn't just for the piano. While it can be performed with just the piano, it is better expressed through a duet of both piano and cello,” Octavia explains. It clicks in my mind just as Octavia removes her cello from its case what she intends to do.
“You want to play with me?” I ask incredulously. Octavia nods. What the fuck. I've never played with someone else before, ever. It's always just been me. Hell, I've never even played in front of anyone until the music store, and I regretted it. “Why!?”
“Seth, I play in an orchestra. Playing with other individuals is part of my job,” Octavia reminds me, much to my chagrin. “Besides, I don't know any tolerable pianists I can play this song with.”
“You better keep looking. I'm not exactly the most amiable of individuals,” I remind her. I almost said people, but thankfully I mentally corrected myself before I said it.
“Oh please. You're not nearly as bad as these two buffoons that sit behind me in the orchestra, constantly challenging me for my chair,” Octavia says dismissively, setting up her cello and lifting the bow with her right hoof. “Now then, shall we begin?”
“Am I even getting a choice here?” I demand, rubbing my forehead. “I'm not sure I'm comfortable playing with somepony else here.”
“You always have a choice, Seth. You're free to tell me to leave, if you so choose,” Octavia corrects me. Wait really? I can just tell her to fuck off, and she will? “All I'm saying is that you should try it. Working together to make music is a fulfilling experience.”
“I doubt that. I've always found practicing on my own is fulfilling enough,” I say doubtfully. Octavia thinks for a moment, and then she makes a a small sound, as if she'd had an idea.
“Let's make a small wager then, shall we?” Octavia offers. I raise an eyebrow. “Let's rehearse together. If you don't enjoy it, I'll treat you to lunch tomorrow.”
Is she really making this into a fucking bet? Even so...free lunch. Not technically free, since I'd be doing this rehearsal thing for her, but that's only if I hate it. “What happens if I lose this bet?” I ask tentatively.
Octavia smiles. “If you enjoy the rehearsal, you enjoy the rehearsal. It's as simple as that. So really, either way, you win. What do you say?”
I ponder that for a moment. I'm still not sure I'm comfortable with all of this, but still, I get free lunch if I don't enjoy it. Might as well give it a shot. “Fine, I guess. What do you want me to do?”
“Do? Just start playing, and we'll see how far we get,” Octavia directs me. I nod, and then heave a sigh. Well, if I'm going to do this, I might as well get it over with.
I start playing the first measure. I don't get very far, however, before Octavia stops me. “You're playing too fast. Slow down and let the melody flow,” she directs me. Irritated, I try again. To my surprise, it does sound better at this speed. Is this what it's like to have an instructor? I taught myself how to play, so I have no clue.
Playing both hands on this song is hard, but this time I manage to do it, if a bit shakily. The whole time I'm playing, Octavia remains completely still. Her lack of movement lasts until measure seventeen, when there is written an odd pause in the melody. Like, for some reason, the left hand continues without the right hand. When I was playing it earlier, that always struck me as odd.
When I start playing the melody again, Octavia puts her bow to the cello and starts to play. The cello's deep sound blends very well into the sound of my piano, adding depth to the melody and making it sound so much better. Goddamn, this sounds beautiful as fuck.
I've just started to learn how to play this song, so I'm not perfect, making a few stutters along the way. Octavia is very patient though, recovering well to each mistake I make. Nothing I do trips her up. Even when my hands derp for seemingly no reason and I have to pause the music for a moment, Octavia stops as well and waits for me to continue before she picks up again, right where we left off.
After finishing the song once, we take a short break. That was far from perfect, but Octavia doesn't seem disappointed. “Now then, there are a few stylistic things I'd like to mention,” she says, setting her cello down carefully and approaching me with a pencil, which she puts into her mouth.
I watch as she marks a few things down on the sheet music. “That's a crescendo,” Octavia tells me, circling a certain set of characters on the page. To speak clearly, she had to take the pencil out of her mouth for a moment. “That's a decrescendo,” she continues, checking next to another part.
“I see,” I acknowledge, but inwardly I'm glad I can see the dynamic changes. Now I don't have to worry about interpreting the high and low points of the piece.
“Shall we run through it again?” Octavia asks with a smile. I nod, and the two of us jump into another rendition.
The time seems to fly by as Octavia and I work on the piece together. After the first few playthroughs, I get over the fact that I'm not playing alone, and I put all of my effort into making this song the best it can be in the time I have left.
Octavia is very helpful. Sometimes she'll stop us in the middle of a run-through to make a stylistic note, or even change what's already there to something that sounds better. She never gets on my back for messing up either, which I do a lot since it's a new piece for me.
With each new run-through, my playing gets stronger and I make less mistakes. I also admit that I'm having a lot of fun with this. This is my first time playing with someone else, and I find that I actually like it. This is a beautiful piece. The sound of the piano goes very well with the deep tones of the cello, to the point where if we master this, I feel like it would move me just to play it.
Finally, when it's around 3:15 and we only have fifteen minutes left, Octavia looks at me with a satisfied expression. “I think we have time for one more run-through before it's time to leave.”
I grin back at her. “I think we do too. Let's do this.” I put my fingers to the keys, and we go at it with a passion, using everything we've learned over these few hours we've spent together.
We walk out of the practice room together after we finish that last run-through, which is one I feel particularly satisfied with. In fact, I have to admit, I enjoyed the hell out of that. It's weird to know that I'm not the only one who feels so strongly about music. When we were in that room together, nothing else mattered but the music we made. It was an incredible feeling.
“Okay, you win,” I admit to Octavia as we pass by the counter, where the mare promptly does a double take when she sees me with the popular cello player. “That was fun.”
“I'm glad you enjoyed it...” Octavia expresses. She then adopts a wry grin. “And so is my bank account. The lunch place I had in mind is rather expensive, you see.”
“I hear that. This is Canterlot, after all,” I say understandingly. Finally, we come to a stop near the counter of the stallion that had directed me earlier, though I'm confused as to why we're stopping. So I voice that to her.
“Unfortunately, we must part here. I still have rehearsal with the rest of the orchestra today,” Octavia admits sadly. “And I think I am busy until for the rest of your time here.”
“That sucks,” I reply, and I mean it. Too bad I can't do this with her again. Or ever, since I doubt I'll be coming back to Canterlot if I can help it. “Yeah, I'll be back in Ponyville soon.”
“Perhaps I should give you my mailing address? I wouldn't mind coming down for a visit to play some more, if that's all right with you,” Octavia offers, much to the shock of the stallion behind the counter.
“Sounds good to me, though it might be difficult finding a piano while we're there,” I inform her. The only piano I know of there is Lyra's, and like I said before, I don't want anything to do with her if I can help it.
“Don't worry about that. I know a few ponies down there that can help,” Octavia assures me, and then she writes down what I assume is her mailing address on a sheet of paper that she pulls from somewhere in her cart. The stallion behind the counter promptly stares slack-jawed at us. “Here.”
“Did...” the stallion stammers, looking at me with wide eyes. Octavia and I both look at him with raised eyebrows, just noticing that he exists. “Did you just exchange mailing addresses with Octavia?”
I can't help it. I have to laugh at the look on this guy's face. What, so he's a fan, and he's jealous? That's fucking priceless. I have to resist the urge to flap the address in his face to see if he'll try and kill me for it. Octavia, however, looks affronted. “What? I'm not that unapproachable, am I?”
“I dunno, your face when you play is pretty damn frightening,” I tease her, causing her to flush in embarrassment.
“No it isn't...are you being serious?” she asks in a scared tone.
“I might be,” I respond ambiguously, and then I turn the other direction. “Well, you and I both have places to be. So I'll see you later.”
“Of course. I look forward to receiving your letter,” Octavia says, and then, with a small two-fingered wave, I leave her and the rehearsal hall behind.
You know, apart from getting my shit wrecked by Celestia on top of the mountain, I think I can safely say that this Canterlot trip has turned out to be pretty fun. It's been a lot better than I expected, that's for sure.
And who knows what other stuff I can experience before it's time to head back?