//------------------------------// // Disappointment // Story: Different Circles // by Anonymous Pegasus //------------------------------// “Can’t you just choose an instrument?” Octavia asked with a huff, staring over her shoulder at Vinyl. The unicorn shrugged, plucking at the strings of a guitar slowly. “Nope. I’d be quite happy if I could.” “You’ve been through three different instruments in the last half hour!” Octavia protested, scowling slightly. “And you’ve been on the piano the entire time,” Vinyl pointed out with a shake of her head. “Because the piano is my instrument,” Octavia replied smugly, dancing her hoof down the keys to demonstrate. Vinyl arched a brow. “And yet you can only play sheet music?” “Making music up is for composers. I am a musician. Not a composer,” the earth pony stated, waving a hoof. “I’m not a composer...but I know what music I like. I can play pretty much any instrument and make up the notes as I go along. Why can’t you?” the unicorn asked, raising a brow. “Because I never tried,” Octavia replied uppishly, raising her nose. “Try now,” Vinyl stated, waving a hoof at the piano. “I...I don’t know how,” the young earth pony admitted, her ears splaying. “Put your hooves on the keys,” Vinyl said, moving up behind the other pony and placing her hooves on top of Octavia’s, and then moving them to the keys of the piano. “Close your eyes...and play.” Octavia frowned, but did as asked, closing her eyes and letting out a long exhale, starting to play a few notes. Vinyl slapped her hooves away from the keys, frowning. “Play something that’s you. I know that song!” The earth ponies ears splayed backwards, and she concentrated for a long moment, hitting one or two keys, and then several in a flurry, before pausing and thinking about what to hit next. Vinyl drew back, shaking her head. “Nono...it’s all wrong. Play what you feel.” “I...I can’t,” Octavia said with a soft sigh, slumping in the seat. “I’m not meant to play my feelings. I play from sheets.” The unicorn shook her head again. “Then try a different instrument until you can.” “I...I don’t know how to play any other instruments...” Octavia admitted quietly, splaying her ears backwards. Vinyl rolled her eyes. “I’ll teach you. C’mere.” Tentatively, the earth pony slipped over to the unicorn, where she was standing with a fiddle held in outstretched hooves. Octavia awkwardly took the fiddle and bow, cautiously dragging the bow across the strings, and wincing at the horrible hissing sound it produced. “This isn’t going to work,” Octavia predicted, moving to place the fiddle back down. Vinyl snorted, stepping up behind her and pushing her into an erect position before she could protest, adjusting her limbs. “Now, draw the bow across the strings in a flat, smooth motion.” Octavia did so, making the fiddle tremble with sound. “Slower. But more firmly,” Vinyl stated, lifting a hoof to guide the earth pony in her motions. “And then press on the strings with the edge of your hoof to change the pitch of the notes.” Octavia nodded her understanding, pressing on the string with her hoof and listening to how it changed the sound, moving her hoof up and down the strings on instinct. “You’re a natural,” Vinyl smiled, and then pressed down on the ponies elbow to make her draw the bow across two strings at once. “See, you make it move across the other strings by tilting it up or down. That way you can hit individual strings or two at once, and make different sounds.” Octavia nodded by didn’t respond, instead experimenting with the different angles and placement of her hoof to get the correct sounds. “It sounds very odd...too high-pitched.” Vinyl nodded, taking the fiddle from her and placing it back on the stand, holding up a violin instead. The earth pony took the violin, and arranged it into the same position as she’d held the fiddle, getting into the correct playing pose with a little help from Vinyl, and then began to work the bow over the strings with a slow, steady stroke. “It...it sounds very nice,” Octavia admitted with the faintest of smiles. Vinyl nodded in agreement. “It does, yes. It suits you better than the piano.” “The piano is my instrument,” Octavia insisted. “But...This is nice. What are the notes? I would like to play from a sheet.” The unicorn shook her head. “I’m not telling you. Just make up something as you go.” “You’re trying to make me move away from the piano, aren’t you?” Octavia accused, cottoning on rather quickly. Vinyl nodded once. “You don’t like the piano. I can see it.” “I love the piano!” Octavia protested, laying down the violin, frowning, shaking her head once. “Its range of sound is superior and the music it produces is beautiful.” “There is a difference between liking an instrument and wanting to play it,” Vinyl stated with shake of her head. “I...The piano is my instrument,” Octavia repeated, lowering her head a little bit. “But...I would like to learn some of these other instruments. They are...different,” she pointed at the drums, “Teach me to play them next?” Vinyl nodded slightly, taking the violin from her and placing it on the stand, following Octavia towards the drums. “Now these are fun. They make a whole lot of noise,” Vinyl said with a grin. “Octavia, what are you doing?” asked a snooty male voice. Vinyl blinked, and turned to look at the door of the music room, where an elderly unicorn wearing a monocle was standing, staring in at them. Octavia flushed, immediately placing the guitar aside. Her tone was shy and submissive as she said, “J-just playing with the instruments, father.” “Well stop that, Octavia. You must make sure your piano solo is perfect for tomorrow’s show,” he said, stepping into the room and wrinkling his nose at the guitar. “These other instruments are beneath you.” Vinyl instantly disliked the other unicorn on sight. He was everything that she hated about the high-class unicorns. Upper class, posh accent, expensive suit, monocle, nose constantly in the air like there was a bad smell under his nose. “And who is...that?” he asked, eyeing Vinyl like one might regard something they found on the bottom of their shoe. “S-she’s just another student here,” Octavia stuttered, her ears splayed backwards. “She’s r-really nopony important.” “Very good,” the unicorn said, turning towards Vinyl. “Begone, you. People with real talent have to practise, now.” Vinyl’s eyes narrowed behind her glasses, and Octavia gave her a sad, helpless look, trying to apologize with her eyes. “Whatever,” Vinyl said with a shrug, brushing roughly past the male unicorn and heading for the door. As she stalked down the hallway, she heard the sound of a familiar refrain on the piano. An old song, colourless and flat. The young unicorn just sighed.