Like the whole school, the music rooms of Crystal Prep Academy radiated nobility and elegance. They weren’t quite as shiny as the rest of the school since, since the walls ceiling and floor were covered by a layer of soundproof material. Only the pillars embedded into the walls were glistening slightly in the light of the ceiling lamp. While chairs stapled on top of each other into man-tall towers occupied the spaces next to the door various instruments of almost any sort and genre were leaning against the rest of the walls. Standing in the middle of the room, Octavia couldn’t hide her astonishment as she looked at the variety and number of musical instruments. There were violins, old drums, flutes and clarinets, even a real piano, but also modern instruments, from saxophones and trumpets to E-guitars and a full set of drums. Despite the large number the instruments weren’t cramped into the room, but neatly ordered against the walls.
“I must say, the music rooms of your school are very well equipped” Octavia told Lemon who was standing behind her at the door. The case of her cello in her hand Octavia approached the instruments, gazing upon the rich assortment from up close. “You got basically every instrument I have ever heard of in here.”
“Thanks” Lemon said, though she was sounding far less impressed. From the top of a chair staple she lifted off the highest one, carefully bringing it to the ground. “Though I guess most of them have never actually been used by a student” she mumbled as she carried the chair to the middle of the room.
Standing in front of a guitar Octavia blew off some dust. “I figured that” she said. Walking along she noticed the violins and flutes were mostly clean. “The classic instruments seem to be in regular use, though.”
“Mostly for concerts of the school orchestra” Lemon explained, smirking as she put the chair in down. “The only instrument we ever use in class are calculators.”
After taking another look around, Octavia turned to Lemon. “Well, it’s not like music class in school is really about learning to play instruments” she said as she approached the chair. “But at Canterlot High, the students are highly encouraged to use the music rooms outside of school to practice, and they are free to be used for rehearsals of student bands.”
Placing her cello case on the ground she knelt down next to it, unhooked the two locks before lifting the top. As she took out the bow tucked in a pocket on the top’s underside Lemon looked over her shoulder into the open case. A large cello was resting inside, almost as tall as they were. Holding the bow Octavia took position on one end of the cello, embracing its neck with her free hand. Automatically Lemon knelt down at the bottom end. “We’re encouraged too – just as long as it’s for the school orchestra” the Crystal Prep student joked as she grabbed the end of the instruments with both hands.
As she was slowly raising the cello into an upright position Octavia raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying you are not allowed to use the music in private?” Suddenly she froze. “Wait, are we even allowed to practice here?!” she asked, her eyes widening in horror.
“Oh, tis not like it’s forbidden to play!” Lemon quickly said, to which Octavia let out a sigh of relief. As the two girls lifted the cello out of its case and placed it carefully next to the chair, Lemon was fumbling around finding the right words: “Tis just… well, outside of the school orchestra, there isn’t really much motivation to play music. There is the occasional talent show or battle of the bands, but since Cinch is usually one of the judges, only those playing classic have a real chance of winning. And classic isn’t everyone’s cup o’ tea – sorry, dude.”
Lemon set the bottom of the cello on the ground. Octavia, holding the neck of her instrument with one hand shook her head, placing the hand with the bow against her hip. “I’d imagine such an environment to be a breeding ground for rock bands rebelling against this bias. I mean I love classic, but that doesn’t mean other forms of music should be discriminated!”
Standing straight again Lemon shrugged. “I guess everyone here is too focused on winning to rebel” she said. “When there is no chance of victory involved, Preps aren’t usually very interested in it. Aside from the orchestra, the only school bands are those professionally attending in national competitions.” The green-haired girl scratched her head. “Everything at Crystal Prep is about reputation – that goes for the school as whole, but also for every single student.”
Eyes cast down Octavia sighed. “And I thought Canterlot High used to be terrible” she muttered as she sat down on the chair. Fingers around the neck of the cello she carefully placed the bow on the strings. Deep, but clear sounds resonated from the instrument as she gently lured the notes out of it. Eyes closed she turned the knobs on the cello slightly, altering the height of the tones. After adjusting her instrument, she put on a smile. “Alright, I’m ready to go!” she declared.
Lemon grinned. “Awesome!” Pulling her smartphone out of her pocket she checked the time. “Alright, Aria should be here too by now. I’ll go pick her up.”
As she walked to the door Octavia skeptically glanced after her. “Just to make it clear: You said you met her on the street and she asked if she could join us?”
Lemon nodded. “Yup”
Octavia stemmed her bow against her side. “And you just let a complete stranger you randomly ran into join our band?”
Opening the door Lemon winked over her shoulder. “Hey, we met kinda random too, remember?”
A slight chuckle emerged from Octavia. “Fair point.” She placed her bow back on her cello. “Okay, go pick her up. I’ll warm myself up a little in the meantime.”
“Cool!” Excited Lemon stepped out of the room, the deep notes of Octavia’s cello in her ears as she closed the door behind her. Back in the shining corridors of her school she walked towards the school entrance, headphones on her ears, a relatively quiet melody underlining her on the way. Since it was late afternoon most students had left for home, Lemon only running into few other girls and boys. While the students she met seemed grumpy, Lemon was in a chipper mood. She didn’t quite bounce down the hallway, but her steps were rather light-hearted. She was excited for her band’s first rehearsal, yet at the same time felt strangely calm. Everything had come into place – she had gotten her band together, and all that was left was to actually play. It was kind of sad though she didn’t get anyone from Crystal Prep to join her – she was supposed to spread friendship at the school, after all. But, as long as she could jam with others, she couldn’t complain.
After taking a turn the entrance hall appeared at the end of the corridor. Walking towards it Lemon could already see a pair of purple pigtails swaying. With a smirk she rushed down the hallway, into the large circular hall that was the entrance to the noble high school. In front of the doors Aria was standing, arms crossed over her chest. Instead of the grey hoodie from the day before she was wearing a green vest with ripped sleeves over a white T-shirt, the hem bearing slight ruffles. A double belt with a big silver star held dark pink jeans around her waist, the denim glittering slightly on the sides. Each of her arms carried three wristlets in the same deep purple as her belt. Her boots were in the same colour, sporting high heels. Looking at the bright shining surface of her surroundings Aria seemed just as annoyed and bad-tempered as when Lemon had first met her. Chuckling the Crystal Prep student marched over the emblem of their school in the middle of the hall towards her. “Hey!” she called out, raising a hand. “Nice outfit, dude!”
Without changing the dour look on her face Aria turned to Lemon. “Thanks” she said, sounding like she didn’t care about the compliment at all. The purple-haired girl glanced over to a trophy shelf nested between two crystal pillars, before looking back at Lemon. “So, can we get started? Before all that shininess causes me to throw up on the prissy floor.”
Lemon laughed out loud. “Yeah, I know what you mean – this school’s got like, waaaay too much money! Come on, this way!” She turned to the corridor she came from, waving Aria to follow her. Calmly, with a slight sway in her denim-hugged sides she followed Lemon, the two girls walking past aisles of lockers through the corridor. On their way they came across one other girl, who had her head buried in a book as she came into their direction. As she didn’t see where she was going and Aria didn’t seem to care avoiding her the two girls’ shoulders bumped against each other. Immediately the Crystal Prep student’s head snapped up, looking in fury at Aria. “Is it too much to ask to watch where you’re going?” she asked sarcastically, groaning as she walked on with her eyes back on the book.
Still following Lemon Aria turned her head, watching the girl walk away. “What a lovely school” she remarked.
Lemon stroke the back of her head. “Sorry ‘bout that…”
“No, I mean it – this place is great. Not so long ago it would have been great for lunch.”
Lemon gave Aria a weird look, but shrugged it off. “So, here we are” she said, approaching a door. The moment she opened it soft cello music was streaming into the corridor. With a smile she held out her arm into the room. “This is our music room!”
Arms crossed Aria walked past her, taking a look around the room. “I expected more fancy” she stated. Her gaze then fixed on the girl sitting in the middle of the room, playing on her cello. Sunken in her performance it took a moment before she realized the door had opened. Immediately she stopped playing, looking a little embarrassed at Lemon and Aria.
“Aria, this is Octavia, our third band member” Lemon introduced her, closing the door behind them. “Or rather second, coz you know, you are the third and… whatever.”
Standing up Octavia made a slight curtsey. “A pleasure making your acquaintance” she greeted her politely.
Aria raised a hand. “Sup” she said, sounding rather disinterested. The two girls looked at each other, Octavia especially staring thoroughly at Aria as if she was inspecting her. “Do I have ketchup on my shirt?” Aria asked annoyed.
Blushing Octavia cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, it’s just… do we know each other?” she asked, again looking over her.
Aria shrugged her shoulders. “I’d say I’d remember meeting someone like you, but you’re pretty much a background character.”
“Aria said she used to be playing in a band” Lemon told Octavia, stretching herself a little. “Maybe you’ve seen her on stage once?”
Octavia raised an eyebrow. “In a band?” she repeated. She looked over Aria again. A look of horror suddenly crossed her face. “Wait a second… now I remember who you are!” she screamed, her face turning pale as she pointed straight at Aria. “You are one of those Dazzlings!”
Unfazed Aria blinked. “Wow, you’re quick to notice” she said, looking left and right. “Anyone got a pen so I can write ‘slowpoke’ on her forehead?”
Confused Lemon first stared at the shaking Octavia, then at Aria. “Was that the name of your old band? Dazzlings?” she asked.
“It wasn’t just a band!” Octavia yelled. The look of fear on her face was replaced by one of anger, being directed right towards Aria. “And she is not a normal girl! She is a magical sea horse monster from another dimension who turned all the students of Canterlot High against each other to feed of our hatred and force the entire world to worship her and her friends as pop idols!!!”
“You forgot the part where we absorbed the magic of friendship to amplify our powers to infinity” Aria said, apparently not caring she was revealed as a monster. “It’s an important part.”
Octavia turned towards Lemon. “I refuse to play in a band with that… thing!” she shouted, her face full of spite.
Lemon, seeming a little overwhelmed by all this, slowly turned towards Aria. “Is that true?” she asked. “Are you really a… sea horse monster?”
Aria shrugged. “Sea pony would be more accurate, but yeah.”
“And you did all that stuff?” Lemon asked. “Mass hypnosis, trying to conquer the world?”
Aria bit her lip. “Yeah” she mumbled.
Silence fell over the room. Lemon stared at Aria, while Octavia continued to throw scornful glares at her.
“That’s… AWESOME!”
Startled Aria and Octavia watched as Lemon suddenly jumped into the air, grinning from ear to ear. “Dude, we have a real monster in our band!” she shouted. “How radical is that?!” Dashing forward she shoved her face right into Aria’s. “Hey, how does it feel like to eat someone’s hatred?” she asked. “Does it taste like chicken?”
After staring wide-eyed at the hyperactive girl Aria quickly regained her composure. “More like despair and broken friendship” she deadpanned.
Octavia gaped at Lemon, her jaw dropped in disbelief. “Are you seriously admiring her for nearly destroying our school?!” she shouted angrily.
Lemon looked over her shoulder. “This is Crystal Prep, ya know - we ain’t really the nicest of people here, either” she told her, showing a mischievous smirk to Octavia. Turning back to Aria she said with a finger on her chin: “Though I have to say, sea pony monster doesn’t sound THAT evil.”
“I’m actually a siren, if it sounds more ominous to you” Aria said, taking in a deep breath. “Or rather, I WAS a siren. I lost all my powers and abilities when those Rainshrooms or whatever they’re called beat us.” She sighed. “Now I’m just a regular teenage girl suffering the pains of high school, arbitrary math lessons and the company of my fellow ex-sirens. No more plots to conquer the world, no more feeding on hatred, and no more hypnotizing people with an enchanted voice for me.”
“See?” Lemon smiled at Octavia. “She’s all cool now!”
Still glaring at the former siren Aria put her hands on her hips. “Humph! Even if I were to believe that, the last time I heard you sing I remember your voice being not so enchanting anymore. What could YOU contribute to the band?” she asked, leaning slightly forward.
Rolling her eyes up so far one could almost only see their white, Aria put her hand into her pocket. As if she was expecting her to draw a weapon Octavia winced, only to look in surprise when she pulled out a thumb drive. After looking around a little Aria set her eyes on a keyboard standing in the corner. She walked over and pulled it forward, and after inspecting it plugged her drive into a port at the side. Taking position behind it she fumbled around the settings, Octavia and Lemon watching her in curiosity and concern (the latter mainly in the former, the former mainly in the latter).
Once she was done Aria placed her finger on the keys, and pressed one. Instead of a piano or techno sound, the serene voice of a girl came out of the instrument, singing a high, tranquil note. Immediately Octavia jumped behind her cello, a look of horror on her face as she turned her back to Aria while covering her ears. Lemon watched her in confusion, while Aria giggled impishly. “Relax” she told the frightened girl. “Without my gem, the notes don’t have any magical power to them.”
Slowly Octavia poked her head out behind the cello, a slight blush on her cheeks. “Very well” she muttered, coming out of her hideout. “But the question that remains is can you play something that doesn’t violate the ears? From what I’ve heard before you fled the stage at the battle of the bands, you not only lack the trained voice of a singer, but also have no feeling for rhythm, ear for the melody or any other form of musical talent.”
Aria darkly glared at the Canterlot High student, then set her gaze on her keyboard. Her fingers hovered over it for a moment, before she lowered them on the keys. A calm, yet aggravating melody filled the room. Each key she pressed lured out another, slightly different voice piece from the instrument. Some were higher, some lower, some more quiet, some were singing different vocals than others. Closing her eyes Aria’s fingers quickly danced over the keyboard. As she played multiple notes at once it sounded like she was directing a chorus. Despite the tranquility of the notes, her fast-paced play put some urgency to the melody. A thriving beat was underlining the siren chorus, almost sounded like dance music. While Lemon tapped her feet to the pop-like melody, Octavia just stared wide-eyed at Aria, completely speechless.
Eventually the song came to an end. With a smug smirk, Aria glanced at the dumbfounded cellist. “I have been practicing.”
Quickly Octavia shook her head. “W-well, even so, I am afraid you still don’t have a place in this band” she stated, resuming to look dismissively at Aria. “Cello and background pop-singing doesn’t mix too well together.”
Aria nodded. “Agreed. Want me to show you the door?”
Faster than one could see Octavia rushed over to the keyboard, furiously leaning over it and staring Aria right into her eyes. “I BEG YOUR PARDON?!”
“You can beg long for that” Aria calmly replied.
Lemon hasted behind Octavia, gently pushing her back. “Okay girls, just calm down for a moment” she suggested.
Suddenly Octavia turned around, while at the same time Aria stepped out from behind the keyboard. “Tell her to leave!” they both shouted at Lemon, each pointing at the other girl.
At first Lemon was startled by the combined assault. “Hey, I ain’t tellin’ no one to leave!” she then made clear, scowling at her bandmates. “‘sides, don’t cello and background singing actually go really swell together?”
“Only if you want to bore your audience to death” Aria moaned. “I want to play REAL music the people are willing to pay money for!”
“Oh please!” Octavia scoffed, waving her off. “You wouldn’t know what real music if someone slapped your face with!
“Actually, someone once blasted my face with it.”
Sighing Octavia massaged her forehead. “Let’s forget about who should stay and not for a moment” she mumbled. “But since you just brought it up, we should at least agree on the genre we want to play first, one that actually works with our instruments.” A sly smile crept over her face. “The easiest would be if you just lowered the pace of your melody – then it would go well with a classic cello arrangement.”
Aria harrumphed. “If you’re really half as good as you pretend to be, I’m sure you’ll be able to play your cello in a faster, more modern way” she said, a mocking ring in her voice.
“Of course I’d be able to” Octavia replied, inching a little closer to Aria “The question is would you be able to match me eye to eye?
“I could” she said, also approaching Octavia. “But I don’t like to bend down.”
Their faces were only millimeters away from each other. As they were staring with squinted eyes at each other Lemon stepped between them. “Okay gals, I think maybe you should take a step or two back” she told them, pushing them slightly away. She then made a puzzled face when both girls turned to her, looking expectantly at her. “Um, what’s up?”
“We probably could solve this faster if you told us what instruments you play” Octavia suggested.
“Yeah, rebel” Aria agreed, pointing her thumb at Octavia. “Tell that stuck-up music granny you’re only playing instrument invented AFTER the middle ages.”
While Octavia glared at Aria and Aria glared back, Lemon looked around the room. Her eyes wandered over the various instruments leaning against the walls, from the wind instruments spanning centuries of musical history to the guitars, both electric and acoustic ones, until reaching the piano, drums and all the rest. “Um, guys” she said as she had looked at every single instrument in the room “I just remembered something that might be a problem.”
Interrupting their stare-off the two girls turned to Lemon. “Oh yeah?” Aria moaned.
“What is it?” Octavia asked.
Turning toward her bandmates, Lemon smiled sheepishly at them. “I don’t play any instruments.”