//------------------------------// // Pianissimo // Story: Rhythm and Melody // by NerfedFalcon //------------------------------// “Alright, everypony!” the emcee’s voice called out, and the Onyx Pit nightclub fell silent. They all knew what was coming, but they fell silent in anticipation anyway, saving their noise for what was to come. “You all know her, so show me your love... for DJ PON-3!” It was pronounced ‘pony’, but everypony knew that the 3 was there. It was a trademark, like her lightning-bolt sunglasses. The crowd cheered loudly when the spotlight came on, capturing her behind the imposingly large sound system. “Good evening, Canterlot!” DJ PON-3 shouted. “Tonight, I’m sure you’re all aware, is a special occasion. The first anniversary of the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle!” The crowd cheered, but quickly stopped when she raised a hoof. “Without her contributions to Equestria, we wouldn’t still be here today. So in her name, let’s party like there’s no tomorrow!” The roar of the crowd was deafening, and some of its members found it difficult to hear the first song coming on, but its rapid pace and hard beats quickly took over the crowd as they jumped up and down under the swinging and flashing lights. Those weren’t under the DJ’s control, but the technician running the lights was good at his job, quickly reacting to any record scratches or sudden changes. When the track switched over, hardly anypony would have caught the transition, but he was able to adjust the brightness of the lights as the music slowed down a little. Three and a half hours of music followed, and the manic grin on DJ PON-3’s face never faltered once throughout the performance. Every regular in the Onyx Pit knew she was good, but there was always a new face or two who seemed surprised at just how good she was. She liked seeing their faces in the crowd, watching them try to catch the transitions or any other errors. The party continued until the absolute tick of midnight, when the music finally reached a final climax and the crowd cheered once again, if they weren’t panting from exhaustion. “Alright, everypony, Friday’s over once again!” DJ PON-3 shouted. “It’s time for everypony to go home and get some rest. The weekend’s just beginning, so don’t burn yourselves out on me! Peace out, Canterlot!” The sign-off had been hers for a while, and it seemed like nopony would ever get tired of it. She stepped back from the deck, which was owned by the club, and left through a back entrance reserved for the performers. Strobe Light, the technician, was there to meet her as always. He lived with her, though he had a steady marefriend living in another part of the city. They’d been friends since she first signed a long-term contract at the Onyx Pit. Nopony else could keep up with her, and the light shows weren’t up to the music until he’d arrived out of nowhere. Despite being a Pegasus and not a Unicorn, he was better than anypony else at controlling the lights and following the beats, and they had no choice but to hire him when she pointed out his ability. He’d quickly befriended the mare responsible for his placement, and they’d shared their rent since. “Hey,” Strobe said as she came out the door, sliding slightly as the adrenaline wore off. He put a wing around her, helping her stay standing. “Are you feeling okay? You missed a few transitions tonight. I don’t think anyone noticed but me, but...” “Probably because you’re so good with the lights,” she replied. “I can’t thank you enough for your work, y’know. I noticed missing the transitions too, but you kept going like nothing had happened, and the lights are just as important as the music for keeping the crowd electric.” Strobe shook his head. “That wasn’t the point. The point is, is there anything you want to tell me, about why you might have been a little off your groove tonight?” She shook her head, leaning harder against him and yawning loudly. “Alright, I get it, I’ll get you home.” He led her through the streets, to all the world just a pair of ponies, perhaps brother and sister, walking down the street. The magenta sunglasses were DJ PON-3’s trademark, but few ponies knew the pony behind them: Vinyl Scratch. As soon as Vinyl had crossed through the door into her apartment, she crashed on the couch, like every other Friday night, or Saturday morning, rather. She hadn’t ever bothered buying a bed even after Strobe had moved in with her. He didn’t mind; he never slept anyway. Though there were plenty of other places he could be on a Saturday morning, he spent them watching over his best friend, making sure nothing happened to her until she woke up. It usually wasn’t until early afternoon that it happened, but that Saturday, she woke up at eleven o’clock. Strobe noticed, but didn’t say anything about it. Once she was up, he left her to go spend his weekends elsewhere. Vinyl spent the Saturday cooped up in her apartment, recovering from the previous night’s party. She opened herself up for parties and social events on Sunday, to get some extra money on the side, but there weren’t any available that Sunday, so she spent most of it at home. She didn’t feel like going out, but couldn’t have explained why. From Monday to Wednesday, Strobe was out working at the Onyx Pit, running the light shows for the other musicians who performed there. Vinyl spent the time working on records. Part of her talent was for taking vinyls with existing music and changing their sound, speeding them up or slowing them down to fit her mix and adding artificial sounds. Sometimes she even composed her own original beats, scoring them directly onto the records and letting the non-existent beats fill her head and putting them directly onto the records. In all of Monday and Tuesday, though, she couldn’t pick up a single record. Nothing got done, and she just sat in her apartment, staring out the window and blanking out. She barely even noticed when Strobe got home until he shouted “Vinyl!” right in her ear. She practically flew through the ceiling, scrambling away until she realised who it was. “What are you doing?” he asked more gently, trying not to worry her more than he had. “Nothing...” she said, like he was accusing her. In a way, he was. “That’s what I was afraid of,” he said quietly. “What’s wrong, Vinyl? You haven’t been yourself lately. You’ve been missing transitions, you haven’t managed to make anything new this week...” She shook her head, unable to say anything. “C’mon, we promised not to keep secrets from each other.” As he said it, he covered himself in green flames, returning to his ‘naked’ form as a changeling. Vinyl sighed; he’d used it a number of times on her. She’d insisted that they not keep secrets from each other, and as part of it, he’d shown her his true nature. He kept doing it every time he felt that she was being cagey with him, and it never failed. “I’m just not feeling it,” she said, looking down at the floor. “I haven’t been inspired all week... Am I losing my touch?” Strobe thought about it for a few minutes. “Maybe...” he started, then stopped, trying to find the right words. “Maybe you can take inspiration from others’ music.” “I’ve listened to a few songs at home,” she told him, “but I’m still not feeling anything.” “Then find something that you’ve never listened to before. Hey, I’ve got an idea.” He turned back into the Pegasus that she knew, and put a hoof around her shoulder. “There’s a major event at the Royal Concert Hall on Thursday. I think you should go to that. Maybe it’ll give you some ideas, or it’ll just help you know your own style better. I always try pulling a disguise other than Strobe and Blue Harvest when I’m having trouble holding these.” “How am I even going to get in there? I don’t have any money, and I don’t know anypony...” “I know a few ponies that I can get it put on their tab and probably get away with it. Leave everything to me.” “And all the other ponies there... Will they...?” “You could teach me about blending into a crowd. You’re a wallflower, a background pony. I’m sure that you won’t attract any undue attention.” He picked up her glasses in one hoof. “Maybe you need to get away from these for a while...” he placed a hoof on her chest, “...and get back in touch with this.” Vinyl didn’t say anything, only nodding after a few minutes. “I’ll be back soon,” Strobe told her as he left the apartment. Something new... Is that really what I need? ~ Vinyl’s Wednesday passed as uneventfully as the past two days had. Strobe had given her the ticket in the morning and told her not to lose it. He didn’t say whose money he’d stolen to pay for it, and she preferred it that way. Mostly, she was wondering about the concert. What kind of music would it be that she’d never heard anything like before? On Thursday, she spent the time shopping, like she normally did. Thursday was always Vinyl’s day, when she wouldn’t have to be DJ PON-3 at all. She used it to buy groceries, go to parks and relax, and just about anything else that she’d rather not be followed by adoring fans to. Perhaps that was why Strobe had chosen to get her a concert ticket for Thursday; they were playing on multiple days, but today was the day where her habit would allow it. As much as he talked about trying something new, he didn’t want to push her too hard, she thought. The concert hall was far larger than the Onyx Pit, and not just because most of the Pit was built underground. The building seemed almost as big as the palace, and Vinyl felt immediately self-conscious as she saw all the other ponies entering it. She’d tried to comb her hair, but to no avail, and she didn’t have anything to wear to the occasion. She caught a few sideways glances as she stepped inside, but the stallion in the ticket booth was nothing but praising, telling her it was an honour to have her around. She didn’t quite get it until he mentioned Prince Blueblood. She’d met the stallion before and immediately took a dislike to him, as most ponies did. And Strobe gets on my case about keeping secrets, she thought as she took the ticket stub and walked into the auditorium. She sat there for a few minutes, listening to the conversations blending into one another, creating a white noise. Now and then she picked out a few words, but none of them held any meaning to her out of context. Suddenly, everypony fell quiet, and the lights went dim. A single spotlight fell upon an elderly Earth Pony wearing a bowtie. He bowed to the audience and turned to the orchestra, who were barely visible from the light coming off the spotlight. Slowly, each member began to play their instruments all at once, and Vinyl wondered what they were doing. The notes were mostly the same, only slowly coming together into a single note, led by what she thought was the violin. The organised chaos appealed to her, and she applauded as the music quietened to nothing. The other ponies applauded as well, masking her own appreciation, though she wondered if it was actually for the performance she’d just seen or in anticipation of what was to come, like at her own shows at the Pit. The pony standing in front of the others bowed again, then pointed a baton at a grey mare with a large stringed instrument. The spotlight fell on her, followed by all eyes in the crowd. Raising a bow to the strings, she began to play a melody. The notes filled the air, as though they were coming from everywhere at once. Vinyl wondered why she kept pausing every so often, holding a note longer than expected. She counted the beats in her head, following the rhythm more than the melody. But the song was more than just rhythm, she realised. The way the mare was moving her hooves back and forth, up and down along the instrument were creating an equally complex melody to accompany her internal rhythm, and the effect was almost entirely unlike anything Vinyl had ever heard before. As the song reached a final note, the crowd applauded politely again, and the performer bowed as the light spread away from her and to the entire orchestra. The other ponies were starting to look forward, or at the leader. As the grey mare looked into the crowd, she and Vinyl made eye contact for just a moment. Vinyl didn’t know what she saw in that instant, but something clicked in her head, and she shot up in her seat. The pony behind her murmured something about quieting down, and when she’d turned back, the mare was focused solely on her instrument again. The orchestra began to play another song, but throughout the performance, Vinyl’s eyes were fixed solely on the grey mare. When she stopped playing for a moment, allowing the other instruments to come in, she looked at the stallion leading them. He was giving them the beats, keeping them all in time, speeding up and slowing down in a way that would be anathema to a dancer. Each time, after some observation of a movement in the piece, her eyes returned to the mare, watching her hooves moving back and forth again. Most of the other ponies had little sheets of paper in front of them, but that one didn’t. She just played her instrument on her own, eyes fixed upon the leader. Playing without any assistance, focused solely on her music... It inspired Vinyl, and she almost left the performance then and there. The music continued into the night for about two hours, and everypony applauded the loudest when the leader took a final bow and the orchestra stood up in acknowledgement. Vinyl filed out with the others, wondering what she’d just seen. “Excuse me, sir?” she asked an usher. “Who was that grey mare with the really big instrument, on the leader’s right?” “The conductor’s right, you mean? With the cello?” Vinyl nodded assent, not knowing either term. “Wow, you don’t get out much, do you? That’s Octavia, only the most famous cellist in Equestria. There’s a reason she got a solo where nopony else did, y’know, she’s just that good. Probably the best musician I’ve ever heard...” She nodded again. Octavia... I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about you that I can’t take my eyes off, she thought to herself as she left. ~ As the crowd left, Prince Blueblood watched them go. He’d been informed that he’d bought a ticket to the orchestra and charged it to his account, but he had little interest in the musical arts; certainly not enough to send somepony he’d never even met to a concert. He couldn’t make out which pony would have been stupid enough to do it, but then his eyes fell upon somepony who didn’t look like the type to go to a concert. Her wild mane and lack of any clothing marked her out, and he made a note of her. A pony out of place, perhaps using his money behind his back... In the morning, he’d hire a private investigator to look into her. Nopony stole his money and got away with it.