• Published 15th Nov 2014
  • 2,472 Views, 66 Comments

Practice - Rainbow FlutterDash



Octavia and Vinyl Scratch decide to practice their respective instruments… in the same room at the same time. Which, for anypony who knows them, obviously will lead to… problems.

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Practice

Octavia Melody gently plucked on one of her cello’s strings with the tip of her hoof. She was rewarded gratifying low thummm indicating her instrument was properly tuned.
She smiled and picked up her bow, cupping the handle in her pastern expertly, as she was trained to do. She placed the bow against the lower end of the strings and pressed her hoof lightly against the correct place at the top. She exhaled quietly and drew her bow across the strings, creating the wondrous sound that only cellos can make. She happily began to play one of her favourite classical pieces, smiling peacefully as the equally passive music filled her and her marefriend’s music practice room.

Her thoughts trailed off to her ‘beloved’ marefriend: Vinyl Scratch. How she had ended up with such an uncivilized DJ is anypony’s guess. But as much as she pretended to be arrogant and disdainful around her marefriend – all in good humour of course – she really did love her. She blushed a little bit at the thought of Vinyl, and had to pause her playing briefly to regain her thoughts – she had started to play off key.

She shook her head to clear it of her romantic thoughts and closed her eyes to concentrate. Of course that didn’t help. One’s imagination really takes hold when one’s eyes are closed. She immediately opened them and stared down at her cello, concentrating on the bow and strings.
Taking a deep breath, she began to play again, and was pleased that it sounded alright. Her relationship with Vinyl had already cost her some respect, she wasn’t going to lose anymore by messing up right in the middle of her orchestra someday.

Peace entered her mind, as thoughts of her uncouth partner left her. She smiled and closed her eyes, imagining lovely things like blossom trees and songbirds and Vinyl’s lovely flank…
Ahem
AND sunrise over the ocean...

Suddenly the door to the practice room banged open, startling her greatly; which in turn made her mess up her song, her bow scratchily shrieking across the strings.

“Argh! ‘Tavi!” cried a gruff but feminine voice. “You call that music?”

Octavia looked over at the doorway to see her marefriend clutching her ears dramatically, even though the sound was long over. “I wouldn’t have made that sound, if you hadn’t barged through the door so loudly and suddenly. Certainly you are aware of how absorbed I can become with my music? You startled me, dear.”

Vinyl shook her head as if there is water in her ears, and apparently deciding she was safe from cello screeching, placed her forehooves back on the ground. She trotted over to Octavia and pecked her on the cheek, to which her partner giggled.

“I know you can become absorbed… with a lot of things,” she grinned and cocked her eyebrows.

Octavia rolled her eyes. “What is it you want Vinyl?”

She grinned even wider. “There are a lot of things I want… but if you mean at the moment? I was just coming to practice some before I leave for the gig at eight.”

Octavia sighed. “You can’t practice now love, as you can tell, the room is taken.”

Vinyl shrugged. “So? I mean we use the same kitchen, the same living room, the same bedroom, the same bed…even sometimes the same sho–”

Octavia cut her marefriend off before she could get carried away. “Vinyl, dear, you know that is all a very different case. We can’t practice together; our music will conflict!”

Vinyl yawned, – probably just to annoy Octavia – walked over to her DJ table, and sat down. “I remixed one of your favourite classical pieces, by Beet-what’s-his-face.”

“Beethooven,” Octavia corrected flatly.

Vinyl waved her hoof dismissively “Yeah, yeah, him. Anyhow, like I said: I remixed it so we could play it together.”

Octavia inhaled sharply through her nose. “You… remixed… a classical piece from Beethooven?” She glared daggers at the white –er yellow mare. No matter how many times Vinyl explained she was technically yellow, Octavia could never see it. She was off-white at the most.

Vinyl awkwardly scratched the back of her head as she answered Octavia’s question. “Uh… yeah?”

“Why are you posing that reply as a question? Either you did, or you didn’t.”

Vinyl bit her lip, Octavia could be pretty scary when she’s angry, and Vinyl knew it. “Well I did – but now I’m going to throw that er – record away.”
She levitated a disc out of her record box with her unicorn magic and tossed it into the rubbish bin across the room.

Octavia folded her forelegs disapprovingly. “Vinyl, we do not toss waste across the room.”

“Well I hit the bin didn’t I?”

Octavia shook her head. “You know Vinyl, I’ve always wanted to have foals someday, but I think I’m going to give that dream up because you would be a terrible mother.”

“Aww 'Tavi, that’s romantic.”

“What? That I called you a terrible mother?”

Vinyl laughed. “No, duh! That you said you’d give up your dream for me.”

Octavia blushed, she hadn’t meant for it to come out that way, but thinking back on it, it did.

The DJ laughed again. “Doesn’t really matter though, does it ‘Tav? I mean, if we –er had a foal, you could be the ‘good’ mother,” then she turned and muttered something into her hoof just loud enough for Octavia to hear. “And I could be the fun mother.”

Octavia glared at her, but didn’t press the issue. Foals were a long way off for them; they weren’t even married quite yet.

“Alright love, as charming as you’ve been, it’s time for you to go now. I need to practice,” Octavia stuck her muzzle in the air.

The stubborn unicorn mare shook her head. “No! I told you I need to practice before my gig,”

Octavia sighed “Since when do you need practice? You’re DJ-pon3, the best DJ in Equestria?”

“How sweet of you to call me by my proper title.”

“It’s not like you remind me every day or anything,” Octavia muttered back.

Vinyl chuckled. “Well, what can I say?”

Octavia rolled her eyes. “You could say the truth: That you are a self-obsessed, arrogant, uncivilized, rude mare, with no taste in music.”

Vinyl nodded dutifully and then saluted. “I am a self-obsessed, arrogant, uncivilized and rude mare, who has great taste in music.”

Octavia facehoofed – no, that's a terribly unrefined term – she placed her forehoof on her forehead in exasperation. “Pretty close, but you got the last one wrong.”

“Ya, I know,” Vinyl grinned seductively as she always did before saying something sexy or romantic. “But you forgot one too.”

“– if you say ‘has an incredibly hot flank’, we’re breaking up,” scoffed Octavia (untruthfully).

Vinyl shrugged. “I was going to say ‘has brilliant taste in marefriends’, but that works too.”

Octavia blushed again and cursed herself for it. Why do I let her get to me so easily?! “Well, that was very charming and sweet of you. But I’m afraid you still must leave the room. I need to practice and it’s getting late. I simply can’t practice with all your booming and banging.”

Vinyl grinned even wider and cocked her head. “I thought you liked me banging with you?"

Whatever parts of Octavia’s face wasn’t already red, were now bright crimson. “Well– I… I mean – I–I…”

Vinyl just smirked and placed a record on her DJ table and dropped the needle onto it. A slow pulsing beat started up on her speakers.
Octavia growled at her, her blush replaced with an angry flush. But the DJ only cranked the volume. Octavia pursed her lips… she wasn’t giving up without a fight. She grabbed the cord for cello that Vinyl had given to her last Hearth’s Warming, and plugged it into her own speakers. With that, she raised her eyebrows challengingly at her marefriend and drew her bow across the strings of her cello. The sound reverberated through the room.

The white mare grinned with pleasure and surprise at the challenge; and she accepted it with open hooves. She placed another disc on the turntable and revved up the tempo.
Octavia wasn’t a fan of overly loud music, but she couldn't give up now! She flattened her ears and turned up her speakers to the highest setting. Smiling triumphantly she began to play the most fast-paced of her classical tracks.

Vinyl glanced around in panic and switched one of the records, then proceeded to turn up her volume as well.
Octavia was sure the entire street could hear them now – but she did’t really care. She. Must. Beat. Vinyl.
Luckily she had one thing her partner didn’t have: Her instrument was manual, she could play faster and faster whereas Vinyl was restricted by the limits of her turntable.
Octavia moved her hoof back and forth faster that she thought possible. Her song barely resembled any melody any more. But neither did Vinyl’s… then again; when did it ever?

Octavia played faster and faster and Vinyl louder and louder until there was a loud twanging sound and one of Octavia’s cello’s springs snapped in half and curled up on either end of her instrument. She nearly dropped it in surprise.
Unfortunately, it broke her concentration and she dropped her bow. Vinyl’s dubtrot still boomed through the speakers. Octavia growled; unwilling to be defeated, she retrieved her bow and prepared to play again, broken string or not. But suddenly Vinyl’s music stopped, and Octavia looked up at her in surprise.

The white mare shrugged. “What can I say? Octy played hard enough to break one of her precious cello’s strings? That’s a good enough reason as any to concede. The room is yours; you win baby.”

Octavia grinned, pleased with herself. She placed her cello down next her and walked over to her beautiful marefriend. “And what is my reward?”

Vinyl leaned back and propped her sunglasses up on her forehead. “I thought you wanted to practice alone?”

“Music… yes. But there are some things that I practice better with help,” Octavia blushed at herself… she wasn’t usually this forward, but Vinyl just looked so attractive right now!
She leaned in and kissed Vinyl passionately, letting the other’s tongue enter her mouth. Vinyl didn’t complain, in fact, she kissed even more passionately than Octavia. She grabbed the grey earth pony’s head and stroked her mane. After a minute or two they broke apart and Octavia giggled.

Vinyl smirked. “Good enough reward for you?”

Octavia looked away shyly and smiled. “For now, darling.”

Vinyl shrugged. “It's just about as good as I can give now at any rate. I’ve got to get to my gig, but I won’t complain about –er expanding that reward later,” she winked and stood up.

Octavia giggled again. “That’s… a deal, love.”

Vinyl walked past Octavia sexily, heading to the door. As Octavia watched her go, she couldn’t help but give the smug unicorn one more victory. “Uh… Vinyl dear?”

She turned and raised her eyebrows. “Yes babe?”

Octavia blushed. “You really do have an incredibly hot flank…”

Vinyl didn’t respond at once, instead she only knocked her sunglasses back over her eyes and smirked her very sexiest. “You too babe.”

And with that, she left the room.
Funny enough, Octavia had an even harder time concentrating on music after that…

Author's Note:

Soooo yeah! That’s my first fanfic, how ya'll liked it.
I realize I wasn't diverse enough in my descriptions of them… I used their names far too often etc. I’m also well aware ‘Tavi sighed and rolled her eyes too much, and Vinyl grinned far too much…

But... well ignore what I said in the description… after writing this, ‘Tavi x Vinyl is now one of my favourite ships… Not that that’s hard, there are only five that I like at all!
Anyhoot, see ya'll next time!

Comments ( 66 )

Like Mydarkcookie said, you did do an excellent job on this story! (And that's saying a lot, considering this is your first one!) For most of the story, your mechanics and writing style was pretty good. The details you put in were top-notch! :pinkiehappy: And you know what, since I enjoyed this story so much, I'm becoming one of your creepers! :twilightsmile::pinkiecrazy::rainbowkiss:

5271706
5271685
Thank you both so much, it made me happy to know someone enjoyed my story. And Mydarkcookie, I was indeed intending some smiling. I actually wasn't even going for actual laughter, so the fact that you chuckled is a welcome surprise. ... I guess I should read through it again and check for the grammar mistakes... I'm too lazy for that at the moment though.
xStellar_Bubbles I'm glad you liked my writing style! It's actually not my natural style, as a crazy :pinkiecrazy: fan of the Hunger Games, I prefer first-person AND present-tense. It's a chore for my to write third-person and past-tense.
Still, I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!

PS: Since both of you are watching me, I feel I should warn you I might not post anything for awhile... if I do it'll probably be fluff. I should also warn you it could likely be Rarijack, LyraBon or FlutterDash. Or maybe not a romance at all! (Though another Tavi x Vinyl isn't out of the question...)

Great story,really made my morning

5271741
Thanks! It's night where I live though lol.

5271740 Aw, really? :applecry: Oh well, you can take your time on whatever idea comes next! :pinkiehappy:

5271912
Thanks, it's nice to feel pressured, but not too pressured, you know?
And I said it could be a long time. It could also be tomorrow. I have to let myself be spontaneous, as I am the victim of terrible mood swings lol.
Got any suggestions for my next story? Would you like to see more Octavia and Vinyl or perhaps something else?

Not one for same-gender shipping... even so you're a good writer.

While I'm not a fan of Octascratch, personally, I still enjoyed this story. Well written, and quite interesting.

5272435
Thanks! That means even more coming from a non-shipper of OctaScatch/TaviScratch (Whatever you call it...)

I saw on your profile that you like FlutterDash... you can expect some of that from me someday! Best. Ship. EVER! :rainbowkiss:

Hah that was incredibly fun to read, well done! Certainly for a first story, keep it up. :pinkiehappy:

Lol this was hilarious I really enjoyed this fic

My main problem with this story is that Octavia plays the double bass, because she stands whilst playing.

Comment posted by Rainbow FlutterDash deleted Nov 15th, 2014

5273170
Yeah she does seem to. However, in merchandise, such as cards, it says that she plays a cello.
Also, William Anderson, Meghan McCarthy and Jayson Thiessen - the show's composer, writer and director respectively - have all referred to it as a cello. And I have yet to see a fanfic that refers to it as a double bass. (Not that the fans opinions matter that much...) Anyway, not asking for you to agree with me, just explaining my reasons.

I hope you enjoyed the fiction other than that. :pinkiehappy:

Beside grammar mistakes it was very good story bravo to your first piece I really enjoyed it

I enjoyed this. Like, fav, and since I loved your other fic, follow.

5279500
Thank you! I'm thinking of writing another short OctaScratch soon... but I'm fresh out of ideas.

5279508 What about Octavia and Vinyl go to one of Octavia's friend's B-day party(who doesn't know Octavia and Vinyl are dating, or that Octavia is a fillyfooler leading to a cliche him asking out Octavia and being rejected), and Vinyl crashes it with wubs. Somehow. That may or may not be a good idea. I don't tend to have good ideas...and anything in parentheses isn't good I think...

5279553
Hmm, that's actually not terrible. A little cliche maybe, but cliches are cliches because they work.
I might not use it it, but I'll copy and paste your comment into my "Ideas" document on my computer. :pinkiesmile:

5279580 I am planning on writing an idea I had a while ago once I get internet back, that Apple Bloom got her cutie mark...and she doesn't like it. I think that's cliche, but...well, I kind of want to see if I can write good.

5279637
That's not a bad plot really.
If you want my advice - based on being a 'just posted first story writer' - would be do something simple, short. Get the hang of writing and letting people read it online. I was really nervous before posting both stories.
Another advice I'd have is try to do something that's hard to dislike. It doesn't have to be great, but if it's something simple like Octy and Vinyl practice in a 2000 word one-shot... as long as the grammar is coherent, no one is going to dislike it unless they are spiteful or homophobic.

I've had a plot in the back of my head regarding the CMC for awhile... I though what if only one of the CMC gets her cutie mark? Then the others would have to deal with jealousy, and her with possible rejection from the group. Anyhow, it's probably been done before...

5279678 Part of me wants to do a short fic with Button Mash waking up one day feeling...different Instead of staying inside all day and playing video games, he has a foreign want. He wants to go outside

5279709
Sure! Whatever feels good to you and whatever you're comfortable with. I don't know anything about Button Mash myself, except that he's the colt that Sweetie Belle says "This one's too young." about in "The Perfect Stallion" song. I also know that he apparently likes video games. But then again, I've heard Princess Luna does too... (Which is ridiculous!)
But really, the choice is yours. Your Button Mash story sounds simple and not very dislikeable, so it's great. Same is true for your Apple Bloom story.

I am really lucky that both my stories had positive feedback, the opposite, I imagine could be devastating. I am really no master at fanfiction writing yet and am hardly the one to give advice. However, I am pleased to relay my discovers to another potential author.

5279746 Thank you! I guess when I have more than a phone to go on this site, I will try to write one or both.

5279769
Ahh yeah... this site's mobile version is terrible. Not to mention, writing on a phone would kill your fingers...
Good luck! I'm watching you, so I'll probably read them when you post them. Especially the Apple Bloom one, as I said, I'm not too interested in Button Mash.

Nice job! This was a fun read, I always love a good Vinyl x Tavi fic, and it had the right amount of witty humor, fannon character quirks, and just that hint of romance without going too overboard. Thanks for your hard work and I look forward to seeing more stories from you. :pinkiehappy:

5298656
Thanks so much! Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
I hope to post another story next week... But no promises.

I already have another story up though. It's a LyraBon featuring a certain pink party pony.. You should check that out if you haven't!

PS: Thanks for the watch!

Vinyl Scratch! VS! Octavia Melody!

BEGIN!

[youtube=youtube.com/watch?v=EmxUTR5kLzs]

5741664
Haha! Yes! :twilightsmile:

Glad you liked the fic, and thanks for the fav!

First off I have to say I absolutely adore Octavia and find her quite elusive, if you will. Not much is known about he and yet we can see so much just from observing her design and the way she holds herself to the truthfulness of the old classic musicians producing beautiful symphonies and arias and truly awe inspiring works of art (I am a sucker for string instruments if you couldn't tell lol). You have a rather eloquent style and are really good at writing as far as I am concerned (sorry I have been reading too many troll and bad fanfics for research purposes and the quality of this was a huge whiplash lol). Okay enough about technicalities! lets get down for the story yo!

How she had ended up with such an uncivilized DJ is anypony’s guess.

It's not that difficult. Both of you are musicians with interesting opposite styles and have complimentary values i.e the perfect posinega relationship.

Okay this fanfic is going in my favorites pile. I don't care what anypony else says this is a wonderful tale. A true shipfic (at least for me) makes me believe the ship that the author is building and even changes my perception of the age old question 'Could they work?'. This fic certainly did so (even though I already believe in Octascratch but that is besides the point). You did a wonderful job at fusing comedy romance and slice of life in this piece of work. And for your first work it is realllyyy impressive. Also

Octavia facehoofed – no, that's a terribly unrefined term – she placed her forehoof on her forehead in exasperation

I just love little tid bids like these. The detail here is a blik and you'll miss it moment but it really leaps out like when you find a hidden chamber in a videogame. You just feel like the work has rewarded you with something and it just feels so nice to find a detail like this which is both funny and character building. Beautiful! So yeah I officially support this fanfic! And in conclusion I have only one thing to say:
31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4nin8iAye1qfndyi.gif

PresentPerfect
Author Interviewer

Okay, being a first fic explains a lot about this. You definitely did better than a lot of other first fics I've read, so that's something. :)

Really Fun story, Good job! :scootangel:

6182445
Then why didn't you "like"?! :flutterrage: ... I'm kidding. :raritywink: :rainbowlaugh:

6182526 Oh my gosh, for the second there, you scared me. :rainbowlaugh:

6182529
Heheh, sorry. :rainbowlaugh:
Thanks for liking it though. :twilightsmile:

6182533 No problem! :ajsmug:

Have you read any of my stories yet? Just asking, i only like 2 of my stories, hehe. :twilightblush:

6182540
:pinkiehappy:

No, no I haven't yet. :rainbowwild: I haven't read a fic in months tbh. :twilightsheepish: :rainbowlaugh: Which stories do you like? Perhaps I'll look at them, but I'm very picky when it comes to stories I read. I haven't even read my boyfriend's only story! :rainbowlaugh:

6182549 Don't worry, I don't mind, since My grammar can be a problem. Well, i do like My story "Sonata apologizes" and "You're day with Twilight" But, that one is still getting approved. :twilightsheepish:

6182564
Ah, human tag is no go for me, :twilightsheepish: I have very strict rules... :rainbowlaugh:

6182577 Haha, Alright. :pinkiehappy:

6182581
Thank you for being understanding! :twilightsheepish:

You need to write more baby :heart:

6427400 you can do it. I believe in you baby :heart:

6441924
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :pinkiehappy:

6441933
I did. You have gained my attention.:twilightsmile:

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