Chapter 1
Vinyl quietly stood outside the large symphony hall she had been invited to by her friends, Lyra and Bon Bon. To most, it was just another historical building, but to those few musicians who got the opportunity to play in the magnificent Staccato-Legato Hall, it was a masterfully built work of art. The exterior was built to appear plain, yet held a subtle look of grandeur in the form of the large windows and hoof-crafted doors. The intricate carvings in the arches that housed the windows hinted at the craftponyship of the ponies that built the building 50 years ago. The doors also held that same intricacy with the carvings of the hall that lay inside, a picture-perfect replica of what was on the other side.
Yes, to most musicians, it was a work of art in and of itself. To Vinyl, however, it was a large piece of her foalhood, a place where she discovered her special talent as well as where she learned several of the instruments she played. Before Vinyl could drift too far into reminiscing about the past, Lyra poked her sharply in the shoulder with a hoof, bouncing up and down excitedly.
“Hey, Vee, aren’t you excited to be seeing this concert?” The mint green unicorn asked her white counterpart while Bon Bon blushed at her marefriend’s embarrassing behavior. Vinyl raised an eyebrow before giving a nonchalant shrug.
“I guess. It’s not really my kinda thing, ya know, Ly?” The white unicorn replied as she raised a hoof to rub at her right eye, lifting the purple shades she wore as she did so. Straightening her glasses out as they moved to enter the hall, Vinyl couldn’t help the small grin that tugged on her lips as she looked around the foyer.
While the exterior of the symphony hall was plain, the interior was far from the subtle grandeur outside. The rich red carpeting was accented with gold trim and the walls were painted a soft cream. There were various pictures of famous composers and musicians hanging on the walls, with the composers ranging from Beethooven to Clopin and even some newer composers. The musicians, on the other hoof, ranged from old symphonies that had resided in the building to various up and coming stars. One such star was the very pony they came to see perform, an earth pony by the name of Octavia Philharmonica.
Unbeknownst to Lyra and Bon Bon, Vinyl was actually looking forward to seeing this pony perform. She had heard a lot of great things about her and was rather eager to see if her skills were up to par with the hype. While Lyra and Bon Bon were busy reading some pamphlet on the hall, Vinyl busied herself by walking around and inspecting the pictures, finding a few she didn’t recognize. She could only assume her parents had hung new ones since her last visit.
After a half hour, the doors opened to the auditorium, allowing those waiting in the foyer to go to their seats. While Lyra was excited to be seated near the front row, Vinyl and Bon Bon found it to be quite droll, being used to sitting in the Staccato’s private balcony. Vinyl smirked to herself at the thought of what Lyra would say if she knew about that little fact. Noticing the smirk, Lyra turned to ask Vinyl about it, but stopped when she walked into Bon Bon, failing to notice she had stopped.
Vinyl giggled as Bon Bon quickly turned around and helped Lyra back to her hooves barely suppressing a giggle of her own. Lyra scowled at the two before storming down the aisle to their seats and plopping down with a huff. Bon Bon simply grinned as she took her seat to Lyra’s right and Vinyl sat to her left.
“Aw, lighten up, Ly. No need to be so high strung,” Vinyl said jokingly, beaming that annoyingly bright grin she always seemed to have. Lyra gave a snort before crossing her forelegs on her chest.
“Don’t even start with me, Scratch,” She grumbled, causing Bon Bon to give her a nuzzle in an attempt to soften her annoyance. Vinyl simply giggled once more before turning to watch the stage with growing interest. Bon Bon had gone back to reading her pamphlet while Lyra rested her head on the cream earth pony’s shoulder, reading along with her.
Ten minutes after everypony was seated, the lights dimmed as the spotlights powered on, signaling the start of the show. Despite the fact that she had been trying to act rather bored and uninterested in the show, Vinyl found herself sitting straight, watching the stage with rapt attention. Bon Bon and Lyra noticed this and giggled quietly to themselves before turning their attention to the stage as a grey earth pony made her way towards it carrying a case.
Octavia took a second to straighten her pink bowtie before setting her case down and pulling her cello out. Vinyl took this chance to really watch the female closely, going so far as to lift her glasses to get a clear view of the earth pony. Vinyl had to admit, Octavia seemed like she had some idea of what she was doing; unlike most ponies Vinyl had seen get on that stage. Most had simply played their pieces and then left without so much as a second thought about how the audience had reacted. Vinyl snorted, surely Octavia was better than those other ponies, right?
Now that she had set up and seemed prepared to play, Vinyl leaned back in her seat and grinned once more, letting her glasses fall back into place on her nose. As Octavia began playing, Vinyl’s ears perked up with a slight twitch. She recognized that piece she was playing, it was one of the compositions Vinyl had written when she was younger. Upon realization, a rather amused and proud smirk tugged on Vinyl’s lips; she was beginning to like this mare’s style. Beside Vinyl, Lyra and Bon Bon were seemingly entranced by the music that flowed from the earth pony’s skillful playing.
Lyra’s jaw had dropped long ago and refused to stay closed no matter how many times Bon Bon tried to close it, which only made the cream mare giggle softly. Vinyl, on the other hoof, found that she was staring at the grey mare with a mixture of admiration and jealousy. Watching the earth pony command the cello and craft beautiful music that didn’t seem practiced for hours made Vinyl miss her days as a musician, so to speak.
All too soon, to Vinyl, the show was over and the earth pony was packing up her instrument and departing. Part of Vinyl wanted to go after her, to ask her why she played some of the pieces she did and if she was a fan of Vinyl’s or, well, her secret identity. However, before Vinyl could act on this particular urge, Lyra and Bon Bon had nudged her in the side pulling her attention from the empty stage where she had been staring for the past five minutes.
Looking up, Vinyl gave a nervous laugh at their confused expressions before rising from her seat and trotting out beside them. While Lyra gushed to Bon Bon and Vinyl about how amazing it must be to be able to play like that without magic, Vinyl found her mind going back to Octavia’s choice of music compositions. What amazed Vinyl was the way the grey mare had so expertly taken Vinyl’s works and crafted them into something more than they had originally been. Before Vinyl could really get into her thoughts, however, Bon Bon nudged her gently in the shoulder to gain her attention.
“Hey, Vinyl. Lyra and I were thinking about going to Sardi’s for dinner. Would you like to join us?” Bon Bon asked when Vinyl directed her attention to the cream mare. Vinyl suppressed the urge to grin at the idea of eating at one of her favorite restaurants.
“That sounds like a great idea! I just need to run home an’ grab some bits. I’ll meet ya there,” Vinyl yelled as she took off at a quick gallop towards her apartment.
Meanwhile, backstage at the symphony hall, Octavia Philharmonica was busy discussing the evening’s performance with one of the owners of the Staccato-Legato Hall. The grey mare felt very excited to be able to speak to her role model, Giorgio Staccato.
“I just want to thank you, Master Staccato, for allowing me the chance to play in your magnificent hall this evening.” Octavia spoke in a soft tone, despite the excitement she felt at meeting the famous flutist. Giorgio dismissed her thanks with a wave of his hoof, smiling kindly.
“There is no need to thank me, Miss Philharmonica. You bring my family honour by playing my daughter’s compositions with such grace and poise. You remind me of her when she would play her instruments.” Giorgio spoke with a soft tone as he studied the musician seated across from him.
Octavia shifted slightly, blushing at his words. It was true that there was no need to really thank him, but she felt it needed to be said anyway. At his next statement, however, she perked up slightly.
“I do?” She asked, quite surprised by his words. Giorgio chuckled lightly and nodded before glancing at the clock on the wall. Octavia also checked the time before quickly rising to her hooves and clearing her throat slightly. Giorgio turned his attention back to her as she spoke.
“It was wonderful to meet you, Master Staccato; I do hope I get the chance to play here again. I hate to leave in such a hurry but I am afraid I have some business to attend to.” She shifted slightly as she lifted her case onto her back and patiently waited for the stallion to dismiss her.
“Very well then, Miss Philharmonica. Have a wonderful evening. Legato or myself will contact you in the future when we feel we can fit you in the schedule.” He walked around his desk to the door and held it open for the grey mare as she departed with a thank you.
“Gerard, will you kindly show Miss Philharmonica the way out.” Giorgio spoke to the rather short brown stallion that stood to the right of the door. Gerard inclined his head in acknowledgement of the request and led Octavia through the maze-like hallways that made up the back of the Hall. Five minutes later they were standing by a door that led to the main street.
“Have a good evening and a safe trip home, Miss Philharmonica.” He spoke in a rather thick Trottingham accent that Octavia couldn’t help but find amusing.
“You have a good evening as well, Gerard,” she said before trotting off in the direction of her apartment. As she was walking home carrying her case, Octavia noticed several of the attendees passing by and discussing her performance. The grey mare couldn’t help but to smirk as she passed them by, she was proud of her talents and the fact that others admired them made her happy.
Octavia continued on her way towards her apartment, pausing only for a brief moment now and then to readjust the case on her back, allowing for easier movement. After about ten minutes of walking she soon found herself outside the building she resided in and let out a soft sigh.
“It is good to be home…” She said to herself as she looked up at the large structure. The building was only a few years old and retained a brand new look to it. As Octavia trotted through the front doors and past the pony sitting at the desk, she couldn’t help but to look around at the lobby. There were many famous ponies that lived in this particular building, it was one of the reasons she had moved here, another being that one of those ponies was the Staccato heir.
Octavia blushed slightly at the thought;. She must seem like an obsessed fan by this point with as much as she would speak about the young gifted composer and fellow musician. If asked why she was so entranced by the Staccato heir she would often state that it was simply because of the gifts the other musician was blessed with, which was true.
Shaking her head to clear it, Octavia climbed up five flights of stairs until she arrived at her floor. Trotting down the hallway to her apartment, number 505, Octavia pulled her key out of a zippered pocket on her case and unlocked the door. Octavia moved inside, shut the door, and ensured it was locked before dropping her key in a bowl beside the door. She then trotted into the living room and gently placed her case in its usual location in the far right corner of the room.
Octavia’s apartment was rather plain as far as decorations went. She had a few paintings hanging on the wall, as well as shelves with her awards and various plaques. As far as Octavia was concerned there wasn’t much she needed to have out on display, as she rarely had guests over. Heaving a sigh and trotting into the kitchen, Octavia began preparing herself some dinner.
Vinyl sighed softly as she trotted through the front door of her apartment, passing through the living room to her bedroom. Heaving another sigh and pressing a hoof to her temple, she tried to recall exactly where she had stashed her bits this time. Vinyl slid her hoof down her face and levitated her glasses off as she dimmed the lights to a tolerable level.
Part of Vinyl didn’t want to go to Sardi’s where she would have to endure at least an hour’s worth of listening to Lyra state over and over again how much she loved Bon Bon. However, the part of her that wanted to go reminded her that she and Bon Bon had good times together, even with Lyra around.
“The things I do for the mare I love,” Vinyl mumbled to herself as she moved over to a dresser and dug through the drawers full of random items. However, as Vinyl was sorting through yet another drawer, she found her mind wandering over what she had just said. If she really did love Bon Bon then why was she letting her get away from her with Lyra?
‘No. Bonsie is happy with Lyra and they obviously love each other,’ Vinyl thought to herself as she tried to shoo the thoughts from her mind. After a few minutes of searching her room twice over, she eventually found her bag of bits hidden at the bottom of her laundry basket under a damp towel she had used earlier in the evening before going to the concert. ‘I’m just being selfish... That’s all.’
Vinyl stared at her magenta eyes in the mirror hanging on the back of her door, studying the rest of her features, before departing once more. ‘But is it really so selfish to want to be happy with the only one you could love?’
Shaking her head to rid it of such bothersome and depressing thoughts, Vinyl levitated her glasses back onto her face and over her eyes as she trotted out the door, levitating her saddlebags onto her back as she exited.
Once Vinyl was outside and trotting down the street, she found her thoughts cleared of Bon Bon for the time being. Taking in the night’s tranquility and smiling to herself as she started humming a new tune, the alabastor unicorn levitated some parchment and a quill from her saddlebags and started jotting down the tune. Vinyl looked around at the glowing signs for the various clubs around the ‘Night Light District’, as it was called by various Trotlantians, and smiled as she passed by her own club, ‘Livewire’. She made a mental note to swing by later to talk to her bartender and manager about how things were going for the club. She really did need to get into a habit of going there more often.
After roughly fifteen minutes, she was standing outside of Sardi’s and stowing away her quill and parchment before she trotted inside. Vinyl smirked, spotting Bon Bon and Lyra sitting in a booth near the rear of the restaurant. Assuring the host that she was meeting somepony and skirting around him as he huffed indignantly at her, Vinyl made her way back to the blue and pink maned mare. Vinyl chose to ignore Lyra for a moment as she greeted Bon Bon with a bright grin, taking a seat in the booth opposite her friends. Well, her friend and Lyra.
"So, Mare and Lyra, how are you tonight?" She asked, flashing a teasing grin as she levitated Bonsie's water glass over and pretended to take a swig to annoy Lyra. As the mint unicorn gave a huff and glared grumpily at Vinyl, she beamed innocently as she set down Bonsie’s glass and looked to her menu.
Bon Bon smiled softly and rolled her eyes at Vinyl’s antics before noticing Lyra’s annoyed expression, “Lyra, please relax. You know Vinyl means no harm and only does these things to get under your fur.” Bon Bon whispered softly into Lyra’s ear as she gave her lover a gentle kiss on the cheek, causing Lyra to blush slightly and nod.
Vinyl watched the small loving scene that played out before her, feeling something in her squirm in jealousy as she watched the mare she had always loved displaying affections to another. Forcing herself to look away so the two could enjoy the tender moment without her interrupting, Vinyl found herself wishing she had just stayed at home and not bothered coming out with the couple so they could enjoy a nice dinner together without a third wheel.
Seemingly noticing Vinyl’s discomfort, Bon Bon turned back to the white unicorn and smiled softly. “So, Vinyl, what did you think of Miss Philharmonic’s performance?” Bon Bon smirked inwardly as she knew Vinyl was going to have a difficult time judging the performance from a DJ’s standpoint rather than a composer and violinist’s standpoint.
Vinyl shifted for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, her nose crinkling as she adjusted her shades while contemplating the best way to word her answer. “Well... I think she did well. She performed the pieces perfectly and definitely up to par for a musician of her caliber. There wasn’t a single missed note or pitch, which is to be expected for somepony of her talent. That being said, she did pick a couple of pieces that didn’t really show us her true potential, but that’s just my opinion, and we all know I’m not exactly qualified to make such assessments. Mister Staccato and Legato are better suited to decided who is best fit to play at their hall.”
Bon Bon smiled as she turned to Lyra who sat there staring at Vinyl in surprise at her assessment, “What are your thoughts, Lyra?” She asked kindly, giggling as Lyra gave a slight squeak and jumped, not expecting to be asked for her opinion.
However, before Lyra could respond the waiter trotted up to take their orders and Lyra felt relief flow through her as she was no longer the center of attention for the moment. She knew that Vinyl would bring up the topic after the waiter had departed, but she was safe for the moment.
After the waiter had departed, Vinyl turned back to Lyra and rested her chin on her steepled hooves as she studied the unicorn closely from behind the tinted lenses of her shades. “Sooooooo,” Vinyl said, drawing the word out and catching Lyra’s attention from where she had been looking at one of the various pictures of famous ponies that had eaten at the restaurant.
“Sooooo, what?” Lyra quipped back, looking a mix of wary and playful. She had a feeling Vinyl was about to grill her for an opinion on Octavia’s performance. Her mind racing, Lyra tried to put a calm face on as she ‘patiently’ waited for Vinyl to speak making the snow colored unicorn chuckle softly.
“What did you think about Octavia’s performance?” Vinyl asked as she took her drink from the water and thanked him before taking a sip of her wine. Bonsie smiled as Lyra bit her lip in thought as her eyes darted around looking from one picture to another, as if
“W-well…” Lyra began with before smiling as a waiter trotted up to them once more, causing Lyra to let out a quiet sigh of relief as the stallion asked Vinyl to repeat something he had miswritten and wanted to confirm. Lyra’s eyes darted about as she tried to find another subject to start up in conversation before Vinyl could latch onto Lyra’s hesitation at answering her rather simple question.
Sadly, before Lyra could find a suitable topic, Vinyl had finished with the waiter and turned expectantly to the mint mare and quirked an eyebrow as she waited on a reply to her earlier question, making the mint mare give a sigh as she formed the best response she could.
“I think she gave a wonderful performance…” Lyra managed to say after a moment or two of thought. “The way she… uhm… played the cello was…. very good!” She stammered out as Vinyl giggled and Bon Bon facehooved at Lyra’s stammering.
“Certainly sounds like she did a wonderful job.” Said Vinyl with an innocent grin as Bon Bon shot her a look for putting Lyra on the spot. “What? I was just trying to get Lyra’s opinion.” Vinyl said with a chuckle as she took a sip of her drink.
Bon Bon heaved a sigh and pressed a hoof to her temple, ‘This is going to be a long night…’ She thought to herself as she took a sip of her wine.
Author's Note
Here it is, The re-written version of Chapter One... You'll notice a lot of similarities as well as several changes, including making the conflict between Vinyl and Lyra a little more noticeable. I hope this one reads better than the previous... And yes, the writing is back on. :) Chapter two will hopefully be out in the next couple of months.
