Third Movement: Harmony
The Incredibly Trying Performance of Octavia
Third Movement: Harmony
I squinted my eyes against the sunlight as I woke up to a headache. I rolled over in my bed and rubbed at my eyes as I slowly came back to my senses. Piece by piece, my mind put together the events of the past couple of days, especially those of the previous night. I remembered having to carry Vinyl back to my own apartment. It struck me as a better idea to drag her with me to my own home than go through the efforts of taking my all-but-unconscious friend back to her apartment and getting her situated. Instead I laid her on my couch, put a pillow under head and some sheets on her, and called it good.
Taking stock of myself, I determined my current foul-feeling state had more to do with fatigue and stress than the drinks from the previous night. It didn’t feel like I was going to be getting any more sleep, so I rolled out of bed with a groan and made my way gingerly to my bathroom. Starting with a couple of pills to deal with the pounding in my head, I proceeded to do my usual daily grooming rituals to get myself ready for the new day: brushing my teeth, grooming my mane and coat, and applying a modest amount of makeup.
I noted with disdain the splotch across my lap. It was still slightly discolored by the rainbow concoction which Vinyl had put into her body ... and then promptly delivered onto me. I had to wonder if I was going to have to get a coat dye to cover the blemish before the concert. It would be rather awkward to explain why that region of my coat was stained, especially considering the stance I had to take in order to play my cello would have featured my lap quite prominently.
That complete, I walked into my living room. Looking at the couch, I noticed that Vinyl was no longer there. A glance around my apartment confirmed that she was wasn’t around. I found that mildly surprising. I was no early bird; most of my work taking place during the afternoon or evening, but Vinyl was a night owl in comparison. DJing at clubs will do that to a pony. Additionally, she had been pretty thoroughly drunk from those mixers she had drank the previous night, and I severely doubted anypony could have easily bounced back from that bender of poisons.
It was possible Vinyl had managed to crawl off my couch and had made her way home or to someplace claiming to have a hangover cure. I decided I would go looking for her—after I got some coffee. No need to panic quite yet, and I wasn’t going to be helping anypony stumbling around half-asleep like a zombie.
So I went to my kitchen to make my coffee and get some breakfast. After pulling out a bowl and a spoon for some cereal, I opened the kitchen cabinet that held my coffee—only for Vinyl to fall out.
I let out a startled scream as Vinyl tumbled to the floor in a heap. “Vinyl! What are you doing in my kitchen cabinet!?”
“I don't know!” Vinyl winced at her own volume, and her ears flattened on her head. “And don't yell so loud,” she painfully groaned. She laid on my kitchen floor in a pitiful state with no visible motivation to move from where she was.
I took a moment to let my heart stop racing and spoke more quietly for Vinyl. She was probably quite miserable enough as it was. “This is why I told you not to drink too much.” I really had to wonder what in the world possessed Vinyl to climb into my kitchen cabinet like that. Those drinks must really not have agreed with her if she did something that bizarre.
“Ugggh, shut’p.” She covered her ears with her left foreleg while her right hung limply at an odd angle behind her back.
I leaned against my kitchen counter as I looked down at Vinyl. So maybe I was getting a little bit of smug satisfaction out of my friends self-inflicted misery. Only a little. “You alright there down there? Besides the headache, that is.”
Vinyl pointed at her limp right foreleg. “Cramp ... bad.”
“Geez, I don’t know why you would have a cramp from sleeping in my cabinet.” I sighed and knelt besides her. “Here, let me help you. Really, I have no idea how you fit in there.” I started massaging her leg, and after a couple of minutes of that, I carefully moved her leg back into place at her prompting.
There was an audible pop as Vinyl’s leg moved back into place, and she yelped in pain. “Owowow, needles! Needles all up my leg!” Given the way she vigorously shook her right leg, I was going to guess she was experiencing some discomfort as the blood started flowing in her leg once again. She moved her foreleg around for a bit more before she slowed down and went back to covering her head. “Ugh! I hate living.”
“I would say you’re learning a lesson, but I know you have too thick of a skull for that.” I shook my head and lifted Vinyl onto my back. “Let me get you to the couch.” I walked over to the couch and placed her carefully down on it, moving the pillow under her head. “Just lie there for a minute.” She grunted in affirmation and pulled one of the sheets left from the previous night over her head.
I retrieved a glass of water and a couple pills to help Vinyl with her headache and laid them on the coffee table opposite of her. “Take those and drink up. Rehydrating yourself will help.” She groaned, but did as I said without complaint. Satisfied, I walked back to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. I fixed some sliced fruit and a couple bowls of cereal and cups of coffee, returning to living room and placing everything on the coffee table.
I pulled up a cushion and took a sip of my coffee, very glad to get some caffeine in my system. “You feeling better?”
Vinyl sat up and drank from her own mug. “Kinda.”
There was a long moment of silence between us that neither of us broke as we each partook of the breakfast I had prepared. Normally it would have been Vinyl who broke the silence in such situations, but it was likely her hangover was keeping her passive. I wasn’t the best at socializing, myself, so as the silence extended, I found it hard to really break. It didn’t help there were some issues that neither one of us really wanted to jump into.
But those issues did need to be addressed, and I steeled myself to start up a conversation. “So ... I’m ashamed to admit it, but for a moment there I was suspicious that you might have sabotaged my instrument.” Vinyl looked like she was about to object, but I raised a hoof to stop her. “I know you didn’t. You’ve been my friend for years, but circumstances made me consider the possibility. I’ve had some bad experiences in the past, but it isn’t fair to project that onto you. For that, I’m sorry.”
“Hey, it’s cool, Tavi,” Vinyl said with a level of calm atypical for her. “I know you’re good for it. We all come up with boneheaded ideas now and then.” A bemused smirk creased her lips. “Even a pony as smart as you.”
A smile worked its way to my own lips. “Thanks. Even we clever ponies can make mistakes.”
Vinyl leaned back on the couch and rubbed at the sides of her head. “Not that I have much room to complain. What’s weird is that my gear kept breaking down when I knew it was in better shape than that. Most of it’s pretty new, and I’m always double-checking things to make sure it’s good for a gig.” She shrugged. “There’d been ponies hangin’ around, but I didn’t see nopony going near my stuff.”
I sipped my coffee as I thought over what to say next. “Seems we’ve both been so absorbed in our work that we haven’t really been thinking straight. I didn’t even really think about your equipment troubles.”
Vinyl grinned through her hangover. “So no more drama?”
I smirked at my friend. “No more drama.”
“Cool, because drama is dumb.”
I frowned at a disturbing thought. “Do you think that your problems might have been sabotage?”
Vinyl leaned her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes. “Never had that much trouble before. Like I said, all my stuff’s pretty new, and a lot of the stuff that broke was in the ‘I look big and expensive: break me’ category.”
I ate an orange slice as I considered that bit of information. It was rather suspicious when combined with everything else that happened, like my strings disappearing. “And anytime I had that much trouble with strings, there was something fishy going on.” I sat back and rubbed at my eyes. “Well then, it seems somepony is trying to ruin our upcoming performance.”
“Any idea who?” Vinyl slumped back down to lie on the couch. “Don’t wanna think right now.”
I chuckled at my friend. She could be so predictable in her own way. “I think I have an idea. Not too hard to guess just based on who would benefit from the two of us failing.”
“I’ll just take yer word on that. Cool?” Vinyl covered her eyes with one of her legs. “Ya got a plan? No offense, but I’d rather work on our tunes than replacing parts all day.”
I rubbed my chin until I came up with a solution. “Yes, I think I do.”
Later that day, Vinyl and I returned to the Canterlot Royal Concert Hall to continue practicing. Vinyl managed to repair her equipment, and we redoubled our efforts to perfect our upcoming performance. The two of us were more determined than ever to make our two styles mesh to create something worthy of being listened to. We had been butting heads like two cave-ponies for the past couple of days, and we were both at the point of wanting to move past that. So we concentrated on how best to mix the deep bass wubs of Vinyl’s music with my own cello and make them work in symphony with one another. By midday, it looked like we were making solid progress creating a harmonious balance despite a few hiccups.
I took a moment to catch my breath after the two of us finished a run through one of our songs, falling to all fours and letting my cello rest along my flank while I gave my back legs a break. Vinyl, for her part, took a quick swig from a bottle of water.
I gave my friend a knowing smile. “That was a good run, Vinyl. Are you getting hungry yet, because I’m about ready to get something to eat.”
Vinyl took off her headphones and placed them down on her DJing equipment. “Sure, that be cool. Anyplace ya wanna go?”
I placed my cello within its case and closed the cello within. “There is one restaurant down the street I haven’t been to in a while. They serve sandwiches I find rather delightful.”
Vinyl gave me a bemused shrug. “Works for me.” She gave me a playful poke to the ribs. “Your treat, right?”
I raised an eyebrow. “I thought it was your turn to pay.”
“Wait...” Vinyl rubbed her chin. “When did we start paying for each other’s meals?”
I started up the main aisle of the concert hall, and Vinyl followed. “Never, we’ve never done that.”
“Ah, right.”
Having successfully avoided Vinyl trying to get me to pay for her meal, the two of us exited the building through the front door. Instead of going to the restaurant I indicated earlier, the two of us quickly trotted around to the back of the concert hall. Vinyl cast a silence spell over the two of us to muffle our steps, and we quietly and without delay entered in through the back. The two of us snuck down one of the back hallways of the concert hall to make our way behind the main stage’s curtains, carefully out of sight of anypony who might have been in the seating section or on stage.
There we stood, quietly waiting. Vinyl opened her mouth for a yawn, but a glare from me stifled it. I turned back to the stage and saw that we weren’t going to have to wait long enough for Vinyl to blow our cover. At first I didn’t notice a pony trotting down the main aisle of the concert hall with unnatural silence. It was as though my vision was just flowing past her, as though she were the least interesting pony to look at. Indeed, I wondered if I would have noticed her at all if I hadn’t been actively looking for her.
I guessed that she must have been using some sort of spell to keep herself from being noticed. I had heard of such spells in the past, and it seemed that the pony before me knew one of them in addition to whatever version of the silence spell she had probably cast on herself. Ponies had been on and off the stage periodically while Vinyl and I had been practicing. I had hardly paid any of them any mind, and now it seemed highly probable that she could have snuck onto the stage without detection at any time when Vinyl and I hadn’t been paying attention or been away from the stage.
She looked around the stage and a malevolent glimmer entered her eyes when they fell upon my instrument case. She took a moment to look around the concert hall, most likely to be sure that it was indeed empty, and I took a step back further behind the curtains to be sure that I wouldn’t be spotted. Waiting a few seconds, I stepped back forward and saw her opening my case up.
With neither ceremony or hesitation, she rose a hoof and brought it down on my cello, and I heard the snap of breaking wood. I winced at the sound of my beloved instrument, and not being able to watch anymore, I burst out onto the stage with Vinyl right behind.
Quaver’s eye widened at the sight of me approaching her. “O-Octavia! But you—Vinyl!” She looked back and forth between me and Vinyl with a hint of panic in her eyes.
I stopped short of Quaver and waved in the direction of my cello. “Excuse me, but I can’t help but notice you’re about hoof deep in cello there. My cello,” I said rather pointedly.
Vinyl snorted angrily, and I was slightly worried that she would charge Quaver. “Hey, you were right, Tavi. It was Miss Quiver McSnootyPants who was messing with our stuff.”
“Quaver,” she corrected as she removed her hoof from the new hole in my cello. I had to resist an impulse to immediately run to my trusty, and very pricy, instrument, but I pushed it down. Business needed to be taken care of first.
“Whatever,” Vinyl waved Quaver off. “You’re still a jerk. Breaking another pony’s instrument—seriously not cool.”
Quaver regained her composure from being surprised by our sudden appearance and looked upon us with condescension She didn’t even bother to deny what she had done; we all knew what she had done and why. “And what are you going to do about it? Attack me? Beat me to a pulp? I’m sure the gendarme will love that.”
Vinyl scrapped a hoof on the floor in an aggressive manner. “I have half a mind to do just that!”
Vinyl took a step forward, but I raised a leg to block her, and gave Vinyl a shake of my head. “There’s no need for that.” Vinyl glowered at me but didn’t move to attack Quaver, which really would have complicated things.
I looked back to Quaver and gave her my own dismissive stare. “No, I think I would rather turn you into the gendarme. They are better at handling this type of thing, I think.”
Quaver let out a short bark of laughter. “As if they would really help.” She shot us a malevolent smirk. “It’s your word against mine on what may or may not have happened, and my patrons will protect me from being prosecuted.”
It was easy to see why Quaver was so confident. As she said, it would be my and Vinyl’s word against hers, which likely wouldn’t hold up in a court of law. Especially with patrons Baron Jet Set and Baroness Upper Crust helping her to get away with her acts of sabotage. If I had to guess, those two had probably either approved or encouraged Quaver’s actions from the start and had done so in the past to help along Quaver’s career. Of course, that’s why I made sure to stack the deck before this little confrontation.
I smirked at Quaver. “You are sure about that?”
The smugness coming off of Quaver was almost palatable. “You have nothing.”
From the other side of the stage, Duchess Sparkle dropped the illusory veil that had been covering her and the two gendarmes with her. She gave Quaver an amused smile. “Unless you happen to commit a crime right in front of the Royal Guard, that is.”
Quaver jerked in surprise and turned around to see exactly who was behind her. Her eyes widened and I could see sweat start to form on her brow. “B-but—how!? Why!? What are you doing here?”
Lady Sparkle brushed at her magus cloak as though to remove dirt in an unconcerned manner. “Octavia and Vinyl were rather kind enough to allow a patron of theirs to a preshowing of their concert for this weekend. So I’ve been taking the opportunity to listen and work on some paperwork. And not wanting to distract these two, I put up a veil to make myself unnoticeable.” She fixed Quaver with a predatory smile. “It can be rather intimidating to have a duchess watching what you’re doing. Don’t you think so, Quaver?”
“N-n-no!” Quaver started looking around desperately for an escape. She turned to the main entrance to the concert hall and looked ready to bolt when all the doors and exits of the concert hall became wrapped in the pink glow of Lady Sparkle’s magic and slammed shut. “This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen!”
I felt smug satisfaction as I saw my trap close around Quaver. “Your mistake, madam—and I use that term in the loosest possible sense—was in thinking that the same tactics you used to ruin the careers of more than one promising young musician would prove effective against established performers with wealthy, powerful patrons.”
Vinyl grinned and leaned an elbow on my back. “Yeah, I thought it would have been totally radical if Tavi would have confronted you, and then you would have ran off resulting in this big, awesome, over-the-top chase until Tavi caught you in some abandoned warehouse or something. Then there would have been this big epic slugout between you two that would have set the building on fire. And then Tavi would have beaten you in some crazy awesome way that would have ended with you lying broken and bleeding in the warehouse. Then Tavi would give you this awesome one liner while she all cool-like walked out of the warehouse right as it blew up.” Vinyl sighed and shrugged, the disappointment plain in her stance. “But Tavi did the practical and boring thing and got the gendarme to help instead.”
“As entertaining as the idea of treating your face the same way you treated my cello is—” I straightened my bow in a dramatic manner, “—I consider myself above such acts of senseless violence. Besides, the gendarme are good at this type of thing.”
Quaver shook, rage mixing with her fear. “Y-you think this is funny!?”
I ran a hoof through my mane as I smirked at her. “I do find some humor in you finally getting your comeuppance, yes. You made things rather rough for us for a couple of days, there.” I would bet bits to donuts that she had done similar acts to other musicians in the past. Some ponies were just bad eggs.
“There’s some good news over you being arrested though,” Vinyl’s tone was amused. “We really didn’t need ya for the concert, so no big loss, right?”
Quaver let out an inarticulate scream. She picked up a music sheet stand and jabbed it in Vinyl’s and my direction. I may be going out on a limb on this point, but I was going to guess that Quaver had finally lost it.
Lady Sparkle’s horn glowed more brightly. Her face became an expressionless mask. “Dear, you really don’t want to do that. You’re only going to get yourself hurt.”
Quaver swung the music stand back and forth between all of the ponies gathered. “I-I’m not going to jail!” One of the swings came close enough that I felt a rush of air, and I was forced to take a few steps back for my own safety.
Lady Sparkle let out a long sigh, and her features became grim. “Yes, you will.”
With almost insulting ease, the Duchess ripped the music stand from Quaver’s telekinetic grip with her own magic. Without missing a beat, she smacked Quaver in the horn with the stand, sending the unicorn reeling. The stand then swung to hit the lyrist in the back of the knee, buckling it. The duchess never let the stand stop moving, and with a loud smack, it crashed into Quaver’s ribs hard enough to knock the air out of her lungs and bend the stand. Quaver collapsed to the stage, gasping in pain from the sudden and violent onslaught.
I had heard that the Duchess was a magical powerhouse. In fact, the reason House Sparkle had come to possess and retain a duchy was because of their magical aptitude and service to the crowns. But, it is one thing to hear about how powerful a pony’s magic is, and it is another to actually see that pony in action. Quaver had been beaten so contemptuously that it had hardly counted as a contest.
It was a scary thing to see, in its own way.
Lady Sparkle pulled a magic inhibitor ring from within her cloak and levitated it onto Quaver’s horn. Not that Quaver looked like she was going to be in much shape to resist anytime soon.
Quaver shivered on the ground while holding herself in pain. “No ... it wasn’t supposed to be like this. My music career...”
Lady Sparkle frowned down at the lyrist, giving me the impression that she got no joy out of what she was doing. “I’m afraid that you did this to yourself. Likely you won’t be doing any other performances other than busking after today. And that’s after you get out of jail; destroying another pony’s property was bad enough, but then you added attempted assault and resisting arrest to your charges. Now you are in very serious trouble.” She nodded to the two gendarmes, and they stepped forward to put Quaver in shackles.
What the duchess said was true enough. Quaver’s reputation was likely going to be irreparably damaged after today. Nopony from a respectful institution was going to hire a pony arrested for destroying other ponies' instruments and equipment. Quaver might have been a very talented lyrist, but there were going to be at least another dozen talented lyrists ready to climb over her dead career for her spot. A part of me was smug over that fact. I’m not sure what that says about me.
Quaver was wide-eyed as she was dragged to her hooves from the stage. “The Baron and Baroness! T-they’ll help me!”
Lady Sparkle shook her head. “No, I think they will likely disassociate with you. Not with so much working against you. You’re too much of a liability now, though I doubt they will escape from this unscathed. It does look rather bad when a pony you patronize is guilty of sabotaging her fellow musicians. Likely nopony will take any suggestions the Baron and Baroness make seriously for quite some time. I would like to see them punished more, but even if you testified about their roles in all of this, it would be your word against theirs, and that won’t cut it in the court. A pity.”
Quaver looked at me and Vinyl with a malicious hate in her eyes. “Well ... at least I got in my parting shot against you, Octavia.” I couldn’t help but get the sense that she was trying to grasp at straws by this point. “Let’s see you perform at your best without y—”
Quaver was interrupted when she saw my cello and its broken pieces in Lady Sparkle’s magical field. There was a flash of magic, and my cello was whole again. “Here you go, Octavia. Good as new.” She levitated the cello over to me, and I took a firm hold of it.
I gave Quaver a smug smile to rub in her impotence. I felt that words would only lessen the impact.
Quaver turned her baleful glower onto Vinyl. “At least I took a chunk out of those things that make your so-called-music. Good luck replacing everything in time for the concert.”
Duchess Sparkle pulled out a bit purse from her cloak and levitated it to Vinyl. “There you go, dear. That should pay for all the damages. We really do want to see you do well at the concert, so I hope that’s enough to get everything up and running.”
Vinyl accepted the bag of bits and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Err, thanks. Ya didn’t have to.”
“Don’t think anything of it.” Lady Sparkle gave Vinyl a small nuzzle, causing my friend to grimace with embarrassment. “I just hope Quaver and preparing for the charity didn’t cause you too much stress.”
“Nah, we’re cool.” Vinyl smirked at Quaver and shook the bag of bits to make the coins within jingle. “Hey, getting the feeling it was all for nothing?”
I nodded at Vinyl’s comment. “Quaver, you’re a small fish in a very big body of water. Stop before you further embarrass yourself.”
Quaver blinked a few times, looking like she wanted to say something, but in the end she looked down at the floor, defeated. I supposed she was going to receive a great deal of time to think about where she had gone wrong in her life. It was a bit of a shame really. She really was a good lyrist.
Lady Sparkle nodded to the two gendarmes. “Do you think you two have her under control? I think I would like to spend some time with Octavia and Vinyl.”
One of the guardponies nodded. “We have her.” The two of them started guiding Quaver along. “Come on, time to get you processed.” Quaver didn’t resist; I suppose the weight of what she had done and the consequences of getting caught had caught up to her.
Duchess Sparkle smiled at the two of us. “So, I believe you two mentioned something about a place that serves good sandwiches nearby?”
I blinked at one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria saying she wanted to join the two of us to eat. “Err, I know of a place down the street, yes.”
Lady Sparkle clapped her two forehooves together. “Excellent. Let us go then. My treat.” The Duchess turned the two of us towards the exit of the concert hall, an irrepressible force of nature I dared not resist. One simply did not turn down a meal offered by a duchess in any event. “Afterwards, we can go shopping, maybe get you two something nice to perform in tomorrow.”
Vinyl went along with the Duchess and smirked. “Cool, I’m always up for free food.”
“That ... sounds nice, your grace.” I couldn’t help but smile too.
It looked like everything was going to be all right.
With our little saboteur out of the way and sitting in a prison cell, work started progressing much faster for Vinyl and me. Most of our problems came from the two of us having our own visions of what music should be instead of what could be. Vinyl was wrapped up in her own ideas on how the two of us together should mesh together without my input. Meanwhile, I had stuck to my own stringent idealistic views of what true music is and hadn’t properly allowed for what Vinyl could contribute to our upcoming songs. Thus our log jam against progress.
But I am a professional, and Vinyl is every bit as determined as I am and has a love for music as great as my own. As much as I like to bemoan my friend, she is still that, my friend. So we worked, practiced, and talked through our difference to make something greater than either one of us could create alone. We fine-tuned everything time and again to make Vinyl’s deep bass wubs work with my own cello, to make those two sounds work in concert and flow together rather than in opposition.
After so many days working with my best friend, I needed this to work. I wanted to show the Quavers, Jet Sets, and Upper Crusts of the world that we could create something beautiful. Even though the two of us were so different, I wanted to show that we were something more because of our differences, not despite them.
Also, there were orphans that needed help. Can’t forget about that.
I picked up my cello, and I mentally prepared myself for our upcoming performance. It’s strange how a couple of weeks can seem to fly by when one was busy. I straightened the little black dress that Lady Sparkle had bought me the other day, feeling slightly naked without my pink bow. Wearing the bow had been an option, but it just didn’t quite work with the dress I was wearing. It also would have clashed with the look Vinyl and I had, as she was wearing a black vest with a pair of small black shades.
“You ready?” I asked Vinyl.
Vinyl flashed me with a smirk that only a pony without any doubts in the world can give. “I was born ready.”
I couldn’t help but smile myself. “We are going to look foolish if this doesn’t work.”
“Tavi, of the super snooty, boring, uptight ponies I know, you’re the best, by far.” She nudged me playfully in the ribs. “If anypony’s got this, it’s you and me.”
I listened to the general murmur of the crowd gathering in the concert hall, feeling the anticipation building as the time for the concert approached. The nervous excitement resonated within me and I felt the determination build within me. “Yes, you and me, together.”
I extended a hoof to Vinyl, and she bumped it with her own. One of the backstage ponies then gave us the signal that it was time for our performance.
I stepped out onto the stage and looked out to the wealthy and elite ponies seated within the Canterlot Royal Concert Hall. I knew them to be wealthy, for otherwise they could not afford the exorbitant prices of the tickets for this charity concert. That was rather the point. The Canterlot elite were paying those outrageous prices to prove they could to their fellow ponies while saying that they were helping a good cause. I was sure that getting a performance out of the package didn’t hurt in the least either. I couldn’t help but feel a bit smug at the fact that the concert hall looked packed.
The time for the performance had come, and I took a long breath to calm myself and made myself concentrate. I felt the audience start to settle as they felt that the concert was about to start. I looked to Vinyl to confirm that she was ready. She gave me a nod, and I turned back to the audience. I tapped my hoof on the stage four times and then started the first song of the evening.
I started up a high, bombastic, and cheerful series of notes intended to represent the concept of light. Then I worked in a series of lower, mysterious, and darker notes to represent darkness. Vinyl’s own music from her arcane music machine worked and interwove into my own music, adding in bells, cymbals, and trumpets for light, and drums and flutes for darkness. Her wubs covered the low notes while my own my cello played the higher notes. She used her illusionary magic to make the shadows and light dance among one another, flowing around each other separately.
Then I moved into the second movement of the song. The light and the darkness met, tentatively at first, but then clashing with increasingly violence and ferocity. Vinyl’s illusions of shadows and light danced and crashed in the background. The light charged in, trumpet blaring to drive the darkness back only to overextend itself and be encircled and swallowed by the darkness. The darkness would then expand, working its way through the cracks and fissures in the light to corrupt and decay it from the inside only for its spread to be spotted by the light and then blasted away to restart the process anew.
That lead into the third movement of the song. Light and darkness, now weary from their ceaseless struggle, swirled about one another. Instead of clashing with one another, the two now worked into a gentle ebb and flow. They came to work in harmony with one another, flowing together to make a greater sound than either of them separate.
Vinyl and I played out the final notes of the song, our two musical voices combining to create something wonderful, light and darkness in harmony echoing out.
Exquisite.
“That was totally amazing, Tavi!” Vinyl was bouncing with joy after we had finished with our concert. No doubt she was running off the high of the performance. Though based on the amount of sweat running off of her and all the magic she had used during the show, I was willing to bet she was going to be crashing before too long.
For myself, I was physically and mentally exhausted from continuously playing for two hours, with only an intermission to break it up. It felt good to rest backstage and catch my breath. I drank from a bottle of water before replying. “Yes, that went rather well I think.”
The audience had seemed to cheer quite excitedly at the end of the concert, so that was at least encouraging. Though time would tell what everypony really thought of the performance we had put so much work into. Part of me was just happy to have it over with. Constantly waiting and preparing for another performance could wear down anypony’s nerves, and the relief of a successful performance could feel like taking off a pair of saddlebags loaded with rocks.
Vinyl wrapped a foreleg around my neck. “We should totally do this again someday.”
Before I could reply to that, Duke Night Light and a pair of other ponies approached us. I instantly recognized Fancy Pants, though I couldn’t immediately recall the name of the white-coated mare with one of the larger hats I had ever seen standing next to him.
The duke nodded in greeting to the two of us. “Hello, you two. Great performance.”
Fancy Pants adjusted his monocle and fixed the two of us with a pleasant smile. “My word, that was quite the exciting performance.”
“Yes, rather enchanting.” The mare fidgeted with her hat. “Never seen anything like it. You two really outdid yourselves.”
I nodded respectfully. “Thank you, you’re most kind. We put a lot of effort into making that performance the best it could be.”
“Hay yeah! That was awesome.” It felt like Vinyl was starting to come off her high as she started to put more and more of the weight on me instead of her own four legs.
“Oh! Where are my manners?” Duke Night Light motioned towards Fancy Pants and the mare. “This is Fancy Pants and Rarity.” He then motioned towards me and Vinyl. “And this is Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Philharmonica.” We all greeted each other and shook hooves.
“Now then, about your performance,” Fancy Pants said. “The duke and I were talking, and we really think it would be a shame if this were to be the only time you two were to collaborate with one another.”
“Oh?” I asked, not entirely sure I liked where this was going.
“Indeed.” Fancy Pants pulled out a couple of business cards and a pencil and started writing on the card. “Personally, I think you two have come up with a smashing new sound. That’s why I want you two to start touring together.”
Vinyl’s eyes widened at that. “Whoa, really? That sounds cool.”
I wasn’t quite sure I had heard right. “Me? And Vinyl? Together? Touring?” I had enjoyed our one performance together, but I wasn’t sure about a full tour together. That could become stressful, to say the least.
“Indeed.” Fancy Pants finished writing on the business cards and levitated them so me and Vinyl could see. “Now this is a tentative amount, but you can give those cards to your agents and your ponies can talk to my ponies, and I’m sure we could hammer something out.”
I looked at the back of the business card and my eyebrows shot up when I saw the amount Fancy Pants was offering. It wasn’t exactly going to make me rich or make money problems just go away, but I wouldn’t be doing badly for myself. Especially on top of all my other performances I was getting paid for.
“That—um ... I’ll make sure to give your offer careful consideration.” I slid the business card into my instrument case, not really seeing myself turning that deal away outright.
Fancy Pants smiled and nodded. “I look forward to seeing how it turns out.”
Vinyl tightened her grip around my neck. “Ya hear that, Tavi? We’re gonna be hanging all the time now!”
I applied my hoof to my face. “Oh joy. Somepony kill me now,” I mumbled under my breath.
But despite myself, I smiled.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Comma-Kazie · 9.7k words · 254 15 · 3.4k views
- JaketheGinger · 21k words · 372 24 · 6.2k views
- Comma-Kazie · 15k words · 258 20 · 3.5k views
- Ponibius · 13k words · 441 15 · 5k views
- Chengar Qordath · 16k words · 584 57 · 6.9k views
- JaketheGinger · 108k words · 363 35 · 4.5k views
- Rodinga · 18k words · 359 13 · 3.8k views
- Shukumei · 2.1k words · 232 21 · 2.7k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.093 seconds
Total duration
943 users online
349,608 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Hope you all enjoyed my take on Octavia and Vinyl Scratch for the Winning Ponyverse! But don't worry, this isn't likely to be their only appearance in the WP canon. They will be making future appearances elsewhere in good time...
Also here is some music that I used for inspiration on just what Octavia and Vinyl might sound like if they were to work together. Also you plebs need some culture in your lives.
Music puns. Music puns everywhere. You brilliant, devious person you.
Another solid story with our favorite musical mares!
Gotta say, I like your take on Octavia and Vinyl, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of them in the future.
Gawd, I love the head-canon you made up for Vinyl. And Octy, classy and awesome as always.
A really great read and a fun addition to Winningverse.
I know I'm not alone in wondering about the difference between an Alpha and an Alpha Plus. I want to knooooow.
I'm loving the Vinyl-Tavi dynamic, as always. And Twilight's mom is a serious badass.
...
...Oh, and I'm glad that they were able to help the orphans, too! (I knew I was forgetting something...)
EDIT: One last thing! Here's another dubstep/string instrument song for your listening pleasure (technically a Christmas song, but still a good one). Plebs ain't got nothing on me.
A wonderful look at the musical atmosphere in Canterlot, and a long string of wonderful lines and brilliant concepts that continue to build the metaphysics in the Winningverse in great ways.
Very good, can't wait to see more of this pair elsewhere.
3177085
It's the difference between teleporting easily and teleporting as second nature (which Twilight does.)
it's the difference between creating and maintaining a shield around a city for at least a matter of days, and moving a water tower, a three story bear, and several cubic miles of air across miles of space simultaneously without looking. Oh, and just for the record, air is Heavy.
That answer your question?
3177331
This is the first time I've seen her depicted as such, and it does my heart so much good.
And so Octavia makes her debut in the Winningverse, and what a debut indeed! This was a lot of fun to read; it was really interesting seeing how nobility and their patrons interact with one another.
The music business is also a cut-throat one, it would seem.
3178512 IF Night Light is sleeping around and their marriage was arranged as it is implied (or possibly out and out stated, I don't remember) then his wife almost certainly knows exactly what he gets up to. And she probably does it too.
This was fantastic. I loved the way you handled the characters, the cutthroat music industry felt natural (I think this is a big part of why Lyra is performing in the park), and the story was handled beautifully.
Also, this got me thinking about Lyra again and I am really hoping to see her interact with Octavia at some point. I can easily see them getting together for an improvised duet if the tour takes Tavi to Ponyville or if Lyra is playing on one of her trips to Canterlot, and there is a nice new opening for a Lyrist to solve that whole job issue she has going on right now.
WINNINGVERSE, WHEN WILL YOU DIE?!
*cough* that is all.
3178931
I don't know the answer for your question but after a lot of thinking I think, I found a solution for your problem.
If you don't like winningverse... Ready? Don't read it. That will be your little way of getting around, and that will show the fans who love it, right? Right?
Since It's been said that there will be more Vinyl/Tavi action, and that they'll be touring, I very much hope that succeeding stories will feature them shipping up.
While I am a great fan of many varied ships across MLP, the absolute foremost of my favorites is this fabulous pair.
~OvO
3178520 I like to think that she's secretly in on it too. Where's the drama if they're all gonna shack up together anyway!
If/when the Winningverse gets to the Canterlot Wedding, I really hope someone writes a scene similar to this lol. All I could think about once martial arts was said.
The way Twilight Velvet nuzzled Vinyl at the end of Quaver makes me think she doesn't mind Vinyl's origin.... She seems to like the blue maned DJ (seriously, who wouldn't?
)
3180302
I'm 1000020% with you on that thought
3180444 indeed!
what about 'fleur de lis' her and fancy pants I think are married
3180515 That's not something that ever happened in the show. She was just there with him in Sweet and Elite.
Gah! Another one of these "The Adjective-y Verb of A Verbing Pony/Character" stories! I still don't get them!
3180444
Here's a thought: Assuming that Night Light Is Vinyl's father, of course....
*Ahem*
If Twilight Velvet is indeed aware of Scratch's origins, and is yet alright with Quill Scratch being a common and active part of hers and her husband's life, I propose that Quill is more than simply a friend of the family, and personal secretary -- They totally have/did have the occasional threesome! Assuming Scratch is in her early twenties or so, than she'd have to have been conceived between the births of Shining Armour and Twilight Sparkle....or perhaps Twilight was even conceived at that same time!
My thought is that all involved,
-- (save perhaps the Sparkle children who don't know(?) ) --
Are all quite alright with this
~OvO
3180524 sorry but sometimes my head cannon gets mixed up with what actually happened in the show
3180544
That might also be a good possibility
I wonder if she's older than Shining or not though...
Well, all would be revealed when Twilight will meet Vinyl at the wedding, the mood will probably fall flatly after Love is in Bloom
Y'know... I don't think I remember any other author who has written a Vinyl and Octavia story and not had them make out by the end of the story, so good job on that regard (I don't mind the ship, just I don't think I've actually read any non-shipping stories).
Anyway, it's always interesting to see the different interpretations of the dynamics between these two, and you certainly did not disappoint.
Also love the way you all-but-said that Night Light is Vinyl's father. Now watch him turn out to be a red herring
.
The tour also opens up the possibility of more stories following up on this. So I certainly look forward to that.
3177085
You and me both. Someone write a story where an Alpha and an Alpha-plus faces off against each other in some way or other, and let us see just how outmatched the Alpha is.
3180544
I am strangely okay with this...
3180444 Heh, I just had a thought... considering that it's the Winningverse, what if Night Light isn't the one who sleeps around, and Velvet is Vinyl's 'dad'?
More seriously, going into chapter 3 I was starting to suspect a possible fake-out with the whole Night Light thing and have it turn out that Fancy Pants is Vinyl's father (and possibly Shining Armor's, too) but the interaction at the end doesn't really have that tone.
In The Study of a Winning Pony, Cloud Kicker confess Twilight about having banging Twi´s half sister, and talks her about the rumors of Night Light´s illicit affairs outside his marriage (much to her disbelief).
So, it was Vinyl al along.
Very nice story, Ponibus. I look forward to seeing more Vinyl and Octavia in the Winningverse.
And way to fan those flames of speculation on the subject of Night Light's sleeping around.
3180532 You poor, poor, thing. The clop door is over there... ==>
I have to admit this worked, and worked well. I had to play some ELO to get a decent feel for what they were doing, though. Dub ain't my thing, but others have fused rock and orchestra before, with equally fantastic results.
Bravo.
3181329 Holy crap, why'd I get three thumbs downs? All's I said was that I didn't get these stories. I didn't insult them or their readers.
Some people are strange.
Excellent job of stacking the deck, Octavia. Vinyl's plan would have been pretty awesome though.
Damn, Lady Sparkle is awesome enough all on her own.
Yeah, there's no way she doesn't know.
It really is a shame when someone with a lot of talent throws themselves on their own Lyre, so to speak.
There’s the cover image outfits. Nice.
How did I guess that the mare with the giant hat was Rarity?
Very fun story.
3181459 You're JUST NOW figuring that out?
3181144 No way! Spacious!
3181459 Head over to Chengar Qordath's page and read "Incredible Dense Mind of Rainbow Dash." It is the starting point. "Life and Times of a Winning Pony" is the primary storyline for all of these stories. It will give you the background necessary to understand.
It's like the Lunaverse, Trixieverse, Fallout Equestria, etc.
3180789 Now that's an interesting idea! I had a similar thought when Vinyl's mom was described, she rather sounds like she shares Shining's color scheme. Maybe she could be his 'Dad' in addition to being Vinyl's mom?
The Winningverse: threesomes, threesomes everywhere.
These details we're getting about the Sparkle family make me think that the eventual revelation of who Dinky's father is might actually go over fairly well. If anything, I could see Shining getting in a bit of trouble with Night Light for siring a bastard without taking any responsibility for her upbringing.
3176766
Damn that's some classy insulting!
Seriously though, I really enjoyed this story! Vinyl and Tavi have a great dynamic like always. I find it kind of funny that in the winningverse, where everyone's banging, Vinyl and Tavi are just friends. This is of course, not a bad thing.
Now someone just has to write a version of this story where this happens!
3176766 I freakin love some Lindsey Sterling!
I liked the back and forth between Tavi and Vinyl and the thought they will be touring together now.
Tavi better stock up on some pills for the headaches to come and also a disguise for when she travels in the Wubs-Wagon.
Oh and thanks for the story.
I hope to see more of these two in the Winningverse soon.
3181523 Wait, Trixieverse? Lunaverse!? What the hell am I missing in this fandom!?!?
3182085
"Ima look at the comments on this page" *sees above comment*
Read that as I had a Stirling CD playing in the background. Matches these two almost perfectly. Also, this confirms suspicions about Vinyl. Seeing as how Twi doesn't know her, can I also assume that Shining is unaware of his half sister?
*Read comments before reading story... Is now confused
and will read story in secret*
3182478 lunaverse is an AU where Celestia went nuts instead of Luna. Trixieverse is... Uhhh...
Look up "trixie's magic bit" at your own damn risk. I take no responsibility for what you see there.
3182626 The description alone was enough to make me stay away.
Why does everyone say Octavia is a classical musician? She's only been seen in a chamber ensemble.
3177331
I'll admit to liking the idea of making Twilight's mom more of a badass then you normally see in the fandom. Granted, I haven't seen that much done with her in general, given in many Twilight centered fics I have seen her parents in they were of minor importance in her life at best. So badassing her up and making her more important in general struck me as right. After all, Twilight and Shining Armor seem to be magical powerhouses and important ponies in their own rights, so they must have picked that up somewhere, right?
And yes, them orphans, they're important...
3177085 3177772
The difference between an Alpha and an Alpha Plus could very well be shown somewhere down the line in one of the WPverse stories. To state it simply, it comes down to a difference in magnitude. To give a sloppy analogy, Your average unicorn has a stream or pond's worth of magical muscle, a Beta has something like a small lake or small river's volume, an Alpha has a major lake or major river's power, and Alpha Plus has a sea's volume, while Celestia and Luna have an oceans worth.
3178512 3178520
What Duchess Twilight Velvet knows where her husband is concerned will certainly be covered in good time in Study of a Winning Pony.
3179337
This mysterious technique you write about has befuddled and eluded many a person on the internet.
3180433
I have to admit, a badass Tavi does appeal to me.
3180515
Fleur De Lis and Fancy Pant's relationship hasn't really been established yet in the WPverse. Thus far its been left open to allow anyone who wants to talking something like that in a story maneuvering room to do as they like if they have a cool idea.
3180544
Who knows what and how everyone is related relationship wise will be explored in Study of a Winning Pony in the future.
3180736
Yeah, I decided to see how they worked out when they weren't shipped together. Funny enough, this being the WPverse. Nothign wrong with the ship, but I do like to do things a bit differently where I can to make things entertaining.
And a Alpha versus Alpha Plus fight is certainly possible down the line. In Lunar Rebellion and Midnight's Shadow you have a number of Alpha's running around, and Midnight is the next best thing to an Alpha Plus during her generation.
3181474
Octavia is certainly one not to leave much to chance when she can prevent it. Why do things the hard way when there is an easier solution?
I do rather find a lot of fun in badassing Twilight Velvet up. Twilight and Shining had to pick up their own badass genes from somewhere, right?
And yes, exactly who knows what and their opinions will be covered in good time in Study.
It is a shame when someone throws away every opportunity their natural talents give them for the sake of taking a shortcut, or just make a bad decision along the way. There is certainly more then enough examples of that in real life.
3181662
Very awkwardly and at an angle.
3181807
Everyone could stand to have a bit more culture.
There is some irony that given the way the WPverse is, Vinyl and Tavi are just friends. Not that there is anything with them being great friends of course. Still lets me build the dynamic I had here.
3182085
Lindsey Sterling is pretty amazing. I'm really happy that a friend showed me her stuff. Whoever said that great music is no longer being made isn't looking hard enough.
And who knows, maybe Tavi will get an opportunity to show how badass she is someday.
3182479
What Shining does and does not know will be covered in the future for Study of a Winning Pony.
3183222
It's a common portrayal of the character due to her being a cello player.
3183222 Because lots of chamber ensembles are made up of classical musicians, and most/all of her appearances are in settings where classical music would be expected (Gala, Noble Garden Party).
I was excited to see another Winningverse story in the Featured Box, but I must say, I was underwhelmed here. I'll keep my criticisms as constructive and specific as possible, because simply saying "I didn't like it" is useless at best, and I hope that I can contribute something more than that.
The first thing I noticed was that the dynamic between Octavia and Vinyl was a very familiar one, and not in a good sense. The Winningverse has always taken well-established characters (canon or fanon) and added a unique twist to them that is distinct to this universe. The personalities for these two, on the other hand, were very stale in comparison. Octavia is the wild party mare dubstep DJ, and Octavia is the refined classical musician with an upper-class background - nothing we haven't seen before. The Winningverse is a character-driven story, and the Octavia and Vinyl I just read don't add anything to it.
Another complaint of mine is that the plot seems very token. I could be wrong, but it seems more like the aim of this story was to introduce Octavia and VS to the Winningverse rather than telling a compelling narrative. The mindset that could produce such a result is very understandable. Giving a separate introduction to characters that will feature later allows for a smoother segue into the main arc once they show up. The final product, though, feels uninspired. I'm sure these characters do more than play music and drink, but that's all we've ever seen them do in ponyfics. The Winningverse excels at showing the "other side" of life for so many characters, but here, it's more of the same.
This is more trivial than my previous points, but the connection with the Winningverse here seems very tenuous. A few names dropped does not a connection make. For universe canon, that's all we get - the Sparkle family features in minor roles. No mention of any of the ponies we've come to associate with the Winningverse - CK, Blossom, Derpy, Dash, Fluttershy... All missing. Stylistically, there is very little in the way of interpersonal tension. Octavia and Vinyl each believe that they've sabotaged each other, but it gets resolved quickly and without much fuss. I expect a Winningverse story to ride that for all it's worth, possibly digging up some dirt from each others' pasts in the process.
This last part is directed to Ponibius specifically. The reason I've chosen to address these here is that I know you and the Winningverse are capable of so much more. I wouldn't be so picky if it weren't for the connection to a universe I've grown quite fond of. Your previous additions to the universe have been among my favorite reads on this site. Seeing your name on a fic in the FB brought me a giddy anticipation that few others can. This time, though, it fell flat. Perhaps I'm being overly critical, and perhaps I'm a very small minority in my opinions. I certainly hope I haven't offended you. Winningverse stories tend to get showered with praise simply for being part of the universe, though, and I hope that dissenting voices can keep the quality high over time. I'd have loved to see this fic reach the level of Incredibly Embarrassing Parents or Study of a Winning Pony, two fics I greatly enjoyed.
To conclude, I don't think Incredibly Trying Performance is bad in and of itself. I think that it is overly ambitious in introducing these characters. I think a story of smaller scope, like Incredibly Grumpy Life would have worked better overall - short, comedic, and uniquely Winningverse.
great story I love how you brought tavi and vinyl into this verse, those two are probably my favorite BG's with lyra and bon bon following. hey lyra could easily take quavers spot XD.
oh and you made scootaloo very happy with this charity function
3180433 it is possible that in my opinion that this story was just the opener for octy and vinyl in the winning verse, so it is possible that the author might do something like that when it comes around, also it would be awesome if vinyl were to show up right when octy gets surrounded and blasts two of them with her bass cannon XD
3180444 I am of the personal opinion that Twilight Velvet and Quill Scratch are actually really good friends and Vinyl Scratch/Twilight Sparkle were the result of a heat induced frenzied threesome
3183949
!
Since it's a winningverse sorry, I wouldn't be that much surprised if THAT was what happened the moment Vinyl and Twilight were sired.. Oh the drama it would bring to Twilight