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// 37 Time by TaviPlaysTheBass 
// Story: Rhythm and Harmony: The Octascratch Prompt Collab 
// by lyra_lover777 
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Time by TaviPlaysTheBass



Well, that was certainly something.
Octavia stood in Ponyville Park as the Foal and Filly Fair disassembled itself around her. The young ponies she had been playing for waved goodbye to her as they grabbed their belongs and left, and she waved politely back as they disappeared in the distance.
Her head throbbed faintly. She was still quite disoriented by the rapid series of events she had been through. First, she had been enjoying a nice stroll through downtown Canterlot, when a bright flash of green light had blinded her. The next thing she knew, she was playing her bass for a bunch of little foals in Ponyville of all places along with her bandmates. On top of that, there had been those spontaneous transformations happening to things all around her, the streets had even turned to gold. Once it had stopped, three princesses had shown up in town to deal with cleaning up the mess.
Octavia still wasn’t sure what had caused all this, but the strange day had left her absolutely exhausted. Nothing sounded better to her than heading home, pouring herself a nice glass of chardonneigh, and curling up in her nice warm bed.
Unfortunately her bed was miles away in Canterlot, and she had a two hour train ride to look forward to before she could do any relaxing. Heaving a long, tired sigh, Octavia turned and started walking slowly toward downtown Ponyville. She wasn’t quite sure where the train station was, so she hoped that she might meet someone on the way who could direct her.
How quaint, she thought as she looked around at the small shops and cottages that lined the streets of Ponyville. She was so used to the glamour and large buildings of Canterlot, that it was rather refreshing to see smell the clean air and to hear the sounds of ponies laughing together.
Time moved differently here. Days weren't just made up by a series of appointments. Ponies didn't spend all their time going between point A and point B. She saw friends sitting together in cafés, and lovers embracing each other in the street.
It wouldn’t be all that bad to live somewhere like this. Octavia knew this was impossible though, no matter how appealing the idea was. Her bass kept her firmly rooted on Canterlot with all the orchestras and smaller ensembles she was involved in. And though she loved her music dearly, she wasn’t too attached to the other parts of Canterlot life.
She was annoyed by all the self-entitled stuck up ponies who felt as if her music was their right. She was annoyed at the way they constantly looked down on everything around them. Most of all, she was annoyed that no one in Canterlot was willing to say what was really on their mind. The high society ponies functioned as a hive mind, only ever liking things that their peers liked; basing all of their opinions on what was “in fashion”.
If her orchestra performed a new piece, all of Canterlot would decide what they thought of it based on the reviews of one or two critics. Works that had negative reviews rarely had any viewers at all after the first week. Everypony was vain and insincere, and Octavia was just sick of it.
That’s not to say that everything about Canterlot bothered her. She had been raised as a high society pony, and shared some of their high society sensibilities. A nice glass of wine, tea and biscuits, or the sharing of small talk around the hors d'oeuvres table were all things she quite enjoyed.
Overall, she just felt confused.
Looking up, she noticed a small music shop nestled in between a music shop and a flower stand.
The F Hole, read big bold letters over the door. Approaching the window, Octavia could see what looked like a large selection of CD’s and vinyls, as well as a good selection of musical instruments. She even saw a beautiful, old bass standing in the corner.
This looks like an… interesting spot, she mused to herself. It couldn't hurt to just take a look inside. As she pushed through the opaque glass double doors, a bell overhead heralded her arrival.
The place was quiet, dusty, and empty as far as she could tell. As she looked around, her eyes fell on the antique bass in the corner, and she walked toward it, it certainly looked like quite an instrument of quality.
“Hey, what’s happening? Can I help you with anything?” A white-coated unicorn with a shock of electric blue hair appeared from behind a towering shelf of old CD’s.
“Aahh!” Octavia jumped, startled. Then, when she realized it had just been a friendly employee, she blushed lightly. “ Oh, I apologize, you startled me.”
“It’s totally fine. Is there particular in here you were looking at?” The strange pony asked.
“Well, that is a beautiful bass you have there. Might I ask where you got it?”
“That old thing? I’m not really sure. I sorta just inherited this place. I’d normally tell you to ask my dad, but he’s… well…”
Octavia caught on quickly. “ Oh, you poor thing. It must be hard to have to run a shop that isn’t yours.”
The employee looked downtrodden. “Yeah, it’s tough. But I’m glad I’m doing it, y’know? The shop’s always been in the family and now it’s my turn to take the lead.” She said. “It’s just hard because sometimes I don’t know everything the customers ask. I’m learning though.”
“Yes, well I’m sure you’ll catch on quickly. Do you play anything yourself?”
“Me? I’m a DJ,” The unicorn announced, some of her former enthusiasm returning. “I make electronic music. What about you? I’m guessing you play the bass.”
“However did you know?” Octavia responded sarcastically.
“You wanna check it out? You can play it if you like.” Octavia felt herself being led over to the corner. She looked at the clock on the wall.
“Oh no, that’s fine. I should be heading out anyway.” She started walking towards the door. “Thank you for your time… what was your name?”
“I’m Vinyl.”
"I’m Octavia. Thanks for your time Vinyl, I hope all goes well with your father’s shop.”
“Thanks. Bye Octavia.”
Octavia pushed out the door and back into the streets of Ponyville. She was once again shocked by the crisp, clean air.
I do hope Vinyl does alright with her business.