//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 
// Story: The Gray Cellist 
// by WhiteDaisy 
//------------------------------//

The Scratch family rested by the sofas around the lit fireplace, enjoying the little filly’s calming song. The warmth of the fire and their full bellies made some drowsy, but the moment was so nice they gathered their will to stay awake and enjoy a second more of it. 
Vinyl and Octavia sat beside Strings as she dragged her bow one last time, finishing the song. The family cheered the filly who held her new cello with proudness. 
“So how do you like it, Strings? Your brother and I were unsure of the width of your bow, so I hope it didn’t bother you too much.” Mahogany said, paperwork piled up aside.
“Are you kidding me, it’s perfect!” She put her cello back into the case and dashed to her twin siblings, giving them a tight hug.
“You know what would be more than perfect? If Octavia played the cello now.” Vinyl suggested, looking at Octavia, waiting for a positive response. Porcelain gasped.
“Oh I would love to, but I doubt I would be able to play on a child’s cello, it’s far too small.” She confessed, giggling.
“You should absolutely not worry about that, Miss Melody, we have a cello stored that we can fetch in no time for you!” Porcelain explained, doing her best to hold her excitement.
“Right away, Mistress.” Marigold went up the stairs for it.
As the maid made her way, Octavia saw a piano hiding in the shadows, gathering dust. She considered the possibilities and outcomes, hesitating for a moment. But Vinyl was so good at it…
“May I invite you to play the piano alongside me, Vinyl?” 
Vinyl looked back at the piano she knew was at the living room, considering it. She didn’t like having to play it in front of the family so much, but… She was the one who wanted Octavia to play in the first place, it wouldn’t hurt helping her. 
Vinyl smiled.
“I would love it.” 
Marigold came back with the instrument. Octavia opened the case, revealing a slightly dusty, but beautiful cello, probably made by the twins too. She made a mental note to commission them for a cello of her own later – their work was brilliant. 
She took it in her hooves, holding the bow and playing a few strings. She looked at Vinyl who opened the lid of the piano keys, checking if it didn’t need tuning too bad, as it hasn’t been touched in so long. The sound was very good too.
Vinyl looked at Octavia, smiling. Octavia smiled back, and suddenly remembered a perfect song they could play.
“Liebestraum” she whispered. 
“What?” Vinyl couldn’t hear.
“Liebestraum” Octavia said again, louder. “Franz Liszt.”
“’You mean ‘The Love Dream’?” Vinyl laughed.
“Yes” Octavia smiled. 
They looked at each other for a moment that 
Vinyl took a moment staring at Octavia to see if she wouldn’t go back on the song picking. Octavia took the cello and played the first note of the song, looking back at Vinyl so she could follow. Vinyl smiled, blushing a little bit, and played along. 

Even though Vinyl have problems following Octavia’s great technique, they had a great musical chemistry and that reflected on every note of the song. It was melodious and sweet; it embraced the other ponies in the room and comforted them.
As the last note was played, the Scratch family stood in an ovation – they loved it. Octavia felt very happy, but not because of the ovation; the way she played with Vinyl… She was ecstatic. She had never seen something played in such different ways that sounded so good. That mix was what she wanted to work on; other ponies had to listen to that too, it couldn’t be kept amongst only them. 
Octavia looked at Vinyl and smiled. Vinyl smiled back, blushing a little bit. 
“Oh Vinyl, that was incredible!” Porcelain said to her daughter. “It makes us all wonder why you are persuading a DJ career but not a piano.”
“Mom. Just don’t. I thought we were past this.” Vinyl got quickly angered by her mother’s comment. 
“Please, I’m just stating the truth. I’m sure everyone in this room, including Miss Melody, agrees with me.” 
Vinyl looked at Octavia with watery eyes. Caught by surprise, all Octavia could do was stutter, and not actually say anything. 
“I can’t deal with this right now.” Vinyl confessed, looking down. She looked at Octavia. “I’m sorry.” She went up the stairs, crying, probably headed to her room. 
Octavia didn’t want to fight with the head of the house, but still looked angry at Porcelain before placing her instrument down and going after Vinyl.
Up the stairs, she followed Vinyl to a room in the left side. She opened the door Vinyl had just blasted closed to find the DJ sitting on the window, leaning to the side, beaten. She didn’t look back as Octavia made her way through cables and cables of speakers, computers and others. 
“Do you really think like my mom? Do you want me to just stop being a DJ and go back to the piano?” Sadness filled her voice. 
“Quite the opposite, actually. Do you want to know what I think? That song wouldn’t have been half as good as it was if you weren’t a DJ.”
“You… You really think that?” Vinyl looked back.
“Of course! Ponies think that all the musical niches must stay apart from each other, but they forget that it’s by experimenting that new, exciting things come up. Your musical basis is completely different from mine and that’s why, when we play together, something so good happens.” 
Vinyl smiled, looking back at the snow falling outside. She seemed not to be bothered by the cold at all, but Octavia was beginning to feel a cold coming up. 
“Thanks, Tavi. You’re really great, you know.” 
“Anytime, Vinyl.” She smiled back. “But could you come down and close that window? I’m freezing.”
“Oh yeah, sorry.” She jumped out of the window and closed the door. 
“I also need to talk to you about something,” Octavia confessed. “You don’t need to accept it if you don’t want to, but I thought it was a nice idea.
“Yeah?” Vinyl’s heat skipped a beat by the thought of the possibility of Octavia confessing her love to her. She knew it wasn’t going to happen though, and calmed herself down. 
“I want to open a music school, and I want you to be a teacher.” Octavia said.
“What?” Vinyl asked. “Seriously?”
“Yes. Somewhere where people don’t have to follow music sheets or any predefinitions. They can just play what they want to play, and experiment.” Octavia had the biggest smile while daydreaming about her project. “But… I don’t think I would be able to do it without you.”
Vinyl looked at Octavia, with loads of questions.
“So… What do you say?” Octavia asked again. 
Vinyl smiled. 
“Count on me.”