Ocravia and Vinyl Screech Part 1

"Deck!"

"Cello!"

"DECK!"

"CELLO!"

"All you have to do is pull some hair across a wire and you've got music. That's not hard at all!"

"Have you even touched a stringed instrument? It's more than just bowing and hoping the notes come out right. All you have to do is punch a button or two and let a pre-made track play itself!"

"Are you kidding me?! There's a hundred buttons and dials to focus on, and they all need constant attention at the same time! Only amateurs let a track do the work for them!"

"And only foals merely pull a bow and call it music."

"You have no idea how much technical expertise it takes to remix a track on the fly and have the sound come out right."

"You have no idea the amount of precision it takes to make a cello sound good, much less symphony quality."

"I bet you it's harder to get good at DJ'ing than cello!"

"It requires constant practice to reach an acceptable level of mediocrity with the cello, even for Unicorns. To become good, much less expert, requires years of consistency. The first months of practice using a stringed instrument are brutal on everypony's ears. On the other hoof, even amateurs can use a pre-made track and still be called a DJ."

"A radio DJ, maybe. But a live DJ like me? We have to know every song we're working with, the sensitivity of every dial, every effect we're able to use and their exact positions on the deck, and the tastes of the audience we're performing for, and that combination is different every time!"

"Why don't we just agree to disagree, hmm? It's obvious that this conversation is going nowhere."

"Fine!"

"Fine."

"..."

"..."

"This is really bugging me, Tavi, and I bet you feel the same way."

"As much as I hate to admit it, you're right."

"There's only one way to solve this."

"We will need some ground rules."

"Alright. One year sound good for a time limit?"

"Two. One is hardly enough when dealing with art."

"Alright, two years. What else?"

"No magic."

"I was afraid you were gonna say that."

"If we're going to do this, it needs to be on even grounds."

"Yeah, yeah. Outside expertise?"

"Unnecessary. We can do that ourselves with a proper schedule."

"What if something comes up and one of us can't make it?"

"Then you may call in a tutor for the day or hold an extra session. However, that doesn't mean that you can skip whenever you please."

"What do you take me for? A truant?"

"Vinyl, do you really want me to answer that?"

"No. So two years of tutoring each other, and no magic. Anything else?"

"Just the starting date. Shall we say, a week from Monday?"

"Deal. You're going down, Tavi."

"Are you willing to wager on that? Say, a month of indentured servitude?"

"A month of getting you to do pretty much whatever I want?"

"Or vice versa."

"Deal."