Scratching a New Octave

Chapters

Chapter 2: An Octave Behind
Chapter 3: The Third Pony
Chapter 5: Valehooftorian’s
Chapter 6: Colttrane on a Train
Chapter 7: The Divisions Divide
Chapter 8: Some Pinkie Promises Made
Chapter 9: The Midnight Measurements
Chapter 10: Reciprocation in Life and In Ideas
Chapter 12: The Quite Musical End
Chapter 1: The Misleading Mark
Chapter 4: The Rising Stars
Chapter 11: The Leading Up

Chapter 2: An Octave Behind

Vinyl often wondered how long it would be before her parents berated her for not having a major area of study picked out yet. They had both wanted her to go into their respective fields, and Vinyl hadn’t had the heart to turn either of them down. She elected to take General Studies to look at the pluses and minuses to both her parent’s career paths.

She had figured out within 2 weeks that neither of her parent’s jobs would appeal to her. It took her only another week to rule out Rarity’s path too. She basically just wandered the halls of the various Faculties after that, looking for something she wanted. Today was the 6th day of wandering, and Vinyl had decided that today would be spent in the Musical Ponies Faculty.

Neither of Vinyl’s parents ever played music in or around her house as they felt it distracted more than helped them. Because of this, Vinyl had little to no exposure to music before going to the Musical Ponies Faculty. She felt an odd inclination to visit it nonetheless.

Once there, Vinyl felt no true pull any which way. Most of the classrooms here were sound proofed so that all the various types of music could be practiced without interacting or interrupting each other. As such, Vinyl didn’t have much sound to naturally pick up on. As she came upon a door marked Classical Music Studies, Vinyl decided to use some of her magic to see if she could hear the music on the other side.

Vinyl definitely wasn’t the strongest unicorn in terms of magic, but she felt content to say she was at least as adept at it as Rarity was. She let her magic flow from her horn, and almost instantly, she could hear inside the Classroom.

What Vinyl heard made her drop onto her haunches. It was an absolutely beautiful classical melody. Vinyl knew that she had to see the pony that was playing such a thing. She let go another spell from her horn, and was able to see through the door partially. What she saw made Vinyl’s sunglasses slide right off her head.

Playing the most beautiful sound she had ever heard was probably the most beautiful pony she had ever seen. Vinyl never even acknowledged the fact that this meant she was into mares more than stallions.

The mare she saw was a light grey Earth Pony with dark grey hair and grayish purple eyes. Vinyl didn’t know it at the moment, but this mares name was Octavia. She was currently renowned as the most talented Classical Music Pony and would go onto to become a largely contributing member of the Canterlot Royal Symphony Orchestra.

Vinyl knew she had to meet this pony. She was her destiny. Vinyl didn’t care if all she ever got was friendship or more in return. All she knew was that she needed to meet this pony. It was at that moment that Vinyl felt a tingling sensation by her flank. She turned her head to see, for the first time, her Cutie Mark, made up of two joined Eighth notes.

Self-control was never one of Vinyl’s strong points, but she did a good job at not breaking out into song and dance when she saw her Cutie Mark. She now had justification that the pony she heard was her destiny. This presented a dilemma to Vinyl though.

While Vinyl knew that the music was good, she knew she wouldn’t be good at it nor have been interested if she hadn’t heard that pony play it. She also knew she couldn’t very well just barge in and announce that the grey pony, who had just now finished playing, was her destiny.

Vinyl consented to find a way to become top of another department of the Musical Pony Faculty. That way, when the Year End Concert would come up, she would get to play with the grey pony. It wasn’t a full proof plan, but it was the one that made the most sense to Vinyl.

She needed to find a musical style that appealed to her. Vinyl set off again, intent on finding one. She also made it her mission to find out the name of the grey pony. Foal steps, Vinyl Scratch. Foal steps.

Chapter 3: The Third Pony

It didn’t take long for Vinyl to come across a good music style. As Vinyl continued down the hallway, she used her magic to listen in on every classroom. None of them really appealed to her, until she got to the last classroom, which she didn’t even need her magic to listen in on.

It was from this classroom that she heard what she would later find out was called Bass. The vibrations and sounds it made were intoxicating to Vinyl. Vinyl took notice of the “DO NOT INTERRUPT WHEN LIGHT IS RED” sign, and decided to wait until the light turned off to go in and introduce herself.

Barely 10 minutes had passed when the light turned green. Vinyl approached the door and knocked loudly. Within 2 minutes, a large unicorn stallion with massive headphones opened the door and looked down at Vinyl Scratch.

“Hey there. I’m Beat Box, those most ponies call me Professor Beat. How can I help you?” Beat Box asked Vinyl.

“Hi. My name’s Vinyl Scratch. I’m a General Studies Pony here who was looking for a major. I heard the awesome noise coming from here and decided to check it out.” Vinyl answered Beat Box, smiling up at him.

“Hm. So you’re interested in being a DJ Pony eh? I never turn down a willing student, so come on in Vinyl Scratch.” Beat Box told Vinyl, standing to the side and allowing her to enter.

Vinyl nodded and entered, immediately gasping as she saw the setup of the room. There were about 6 turntables setup in a horseshoe shape at the back of the room, and an even larger one directly in front of her.

Only 4 of the turntables were full, and they were all filled with unicorns. As the unicorns finished adjusting their turntables, they looked up at Vinyl and gave her a big smile along with a wave. Vinyl smiled and waved back.

“All right my little DJ’s. This here’s Vinyl Scratch, and she’s interested in joining our program. Vinyl, these are DJ Deadhor5, DJ Hay Raiser, DJ Van Horn, and DJ Filly Fiend.” Beat Box told Vinyl, indicating each pony as he said their DJ name.

“I prefer to use the DJ names in here, as it’s the name you’ll be known by once you finish my program. You need a DJ name though. Hmm. Any ideas little mixers?” Beat Box asked the other students.

“She’s the third student to join after the initial start date. Maybe something with a 3?” Deadhor5 suggested.

“Yeah. Hmm. She’s a unicorn too, and the Horn bits been done already.” Filly Fiend added.

“I agree. How about something with ‘Pony’ in it? We already have a Horse and a Filly here, so it would still be distinguishing enough.” Van Horn interjected.

“Do you have any preferences from what we thought of Vinyl?” Hay Raiser asked.

Vinyl put her hoof to her chin for a moment. She had an idea.

“How about DJ PON-3? It has the 3 element and the Pony element. What do you think?” Vinyl asked.

Beat Box turned to look at his students, who all nodded after a moment of thought.

“All right. DJ PON-3 it is. Please take your seat next to Filly Fiend PON-3. Welcome to the world of DJ’s!” Beat Box added as Vinyl took her seat, eagerly looking over at her fellow students as they smiled and nodded at her.

Vinyl knew she’d be okay here. And soon enough, DJ PON-3 would become a name known throughout all of Equestria.

Chapter 5: Valehooftorian’s

Vinyl was heading towards her classroom/ extra recording studio, something she rarely did. She was often too busy mixing tracks in her dorm room or out doing gigs to attend class. She knew Beat Box didn’t hold it against her though. He encouraged everypony to get as much exposure as possible before Graduation, which would be happening in about two weeks.

Vinyl looked up at the light, that action being almost second nature to her now. Seeing that it was green, she used her magic to open up the door before walking in.

“Ah. Vinyl. Just who I was looking for.” Beat Box turned around to see Vinyl enter.

“You didn’t call me PON-3. This must be important.” Vinyl cocked her head at Beat Box.

“It is actually. As you know, Graduation is only a couple weeks away. There’s a difference at our school though. It’s in terms of the Valehooftorian.” Beat Box elaborated.

Vinyl nodded, uncertain of where Beat Box was heading.

“Here at the Canterlot Academy for Artistic Ponies, we prefer to have one Valehooftorian for each of the Divisions of each of the Faculties. I’d like you to be Valehooftorian for the DJ Division.” Beat Box announced.

Vinyl was stunned. She had never expected such an honour.

“I-I’m honoured Professor Beat. Of course I’ll be Valehooftorian. But was that really the only problem? I can’t imagine that picking somepony else instead of me is anything to pace over.” Vinyl asked, as happy as confused.

“It’s not the only problem, but it is relating. You see, we usually have a big deal for graduation. And all the Valehooftorians get special outfits designed by the Fashion Faculty. However, we’ve hit a snag in more than one way.” Beat Box continued, beginning to pace again.

“What’s the problem? One frill out of place or something?” Vinyl asked, not understanding why fashion was so important to someponies.

“Actually, all the special outfits are destroyed. The Pyrotechnic Ponies accidentally hit them the other day while they were practicing for Graduation. They also hit the Decorating Committee, putting most all of them temporarily out of commission. That also wrecked all the decorations.” Beat Box explained, feeling sweat beads all over him.

“Ouch. That is bad. I may be able to help though.” Vinyl told Beat Box, seeing him stop and look up.

“What do you mean?” Beat Box asked.

“Well, not me personally I mean. But I have a cousin and a friend who could help. My cousin’s name is Rarity and my friend’s is Pinkie Pie. Rarity is always designing awesome fashions, and Pinkie Pie is always throwing tons of awesome parties on the fly. They would probably love to help.” Vinyl told her Professor.

Beat Box immediately felt a slight weight leave his chest.

“Could you really ask them Vinyl? That would save me and the other teachers many headaches. Where are they by the way?” Beat Box asked.

“They both live in Ponyville. There’s a train leaving tomorrow. I could catch it and bring them back with me.” Vinyl told him.

“No real time. The trains don’t move frequently enough to accommodate fitting for so many outfits. Take the other Valehooftorians with you and get Rarity to design the dresses right there in Ponyville. Bring this Pinkie Pie back with you as soon as you can though. The school can pay for accommodations on both ends. I’ll deal with it all.” Beat Box told Vinyl.

“Okay then. Who are the other Valehooftorians?” Vinyl asked.

“Here’s the list of them all,” Beat Box said, floating the list over to Vinyl with his magic, where she took it with hers. “Gather them as quickly as you can and prep to leave. I have to go talk to Principal Hoofman about this.” Beat Box explained, turning to leave.

“Can do Professor Beat.” Vinyl told him, her eyes not leaving the page as she tried to keep a catch of breath out of her voice.

Near the top of the list was Octavia’s name. Vinyl wasn’t really surprised, as she knew that nopony was better at the Classics than Octavia.

Still, a train ride and sharing accommodations without letting anything slip would be hard.

“Or maybe,” Vinyl thought to herself. “You should just let her know. There’s always the chance of her feeling the same way.”

“Maybe,” Vinyl answered herself. “Let’s see how the trip goes.”

And with that last though lighting her every step, Vinyl set off to gather the Valehooftorians.

Chapter 6: Colttrane on a Train

At noon the next day, all the Valehooftorians were gathered at the Canterlot Train Terminal. Of course, Vinyl Scratch was there, and so was Octavia. There were many other ponies too though.

There was Jewels Trotternier, an accomplished female unicorn painter from the Painting Ponies Division who already had work in some museums around Equestria.

There was also Razzle Spark, a unicorn who was representing his own Pyrotechnic Division. He had nearly arrived late as he was still scrambling about attempting to apologize for his Division’s accident.

The Photography Division had sent a Pegasus pony by the name of Stifle. He was constantly dashing about, documenting everything he saw as inspiration.

Olive Oil was representing the Cooking Division. She was an Earth pony with chopping speed that would make a Pegasus jealous. She was in fact already Sous Chef at the restaurant she had stayed at after her internship.

The Fashion Division, or rather what was left of it, had decided on a zebra by the name of Zuzana. Zuzana was not quite as inventive as Rarity, but she was able to bring out base colours in a stunning way thanks to a few special potions from her homeland.

The Country Music Division was represented by an earth pony named Red Gala. She had a family in Ponyville, and was looking forward to sharing her music with her cousin so they could do a duet on the fiddle.

The Jazz Division sent a Pegasus by the name of Colttrane. He stood near the back of the group, perpetually wearing sunglasses much like Vinyl, slowing humming to himself and tapping his hooves along to it.

And lastly, an earth pony named Eloy Fetlock was representing the New Age Music Division. He was dashing around, listening intently to every little thing, as though wondering if or how he could use it in a song.

The train would be there within 15 minutes to take them all to Ponyville. Vinyl had sent off letters to Pinkie and Rarity last night thanks to the help of an express Postal Pony service. She only hoped they had already received them and wouldn’t be surprised or offset to see her and her, for the most part and perhaps for lack of a better word, friends.

Vinyl had just barely made it around to invite them all. Having forgotten in her almost three years out of it, that most of the various Faculties of the school were quite spread apart. If only she had been able to teleport like some other unicorns could.

Inviting Octavia had been the hardest. Vinyl had in fact had to close her eyes for the whole ordeal, for fear that she would look at Octavia and begin to blush. Thankfully, she had made it past that hurdle without any mistakes.

The rest of the trip would be different though. There were other ponies here now and she was the one that knew Ponyville the best, meaning she would have to lead the group.

She also knew that she and Octavia would be sharing the guest room at Rarity’s. The rest of the girls, save Red Gala, would be sharing Pinkie Pie’s room, as she had been unsuccessful in persuading her pink friend otherwise. The guys would be staying at Sweet Apple Acres, along with Red Gala. She had contacted her cousin Applejack, and it was apparently all cleared.

This meant that she and Octavia would eat, sleep, and get their dresses, as Rarity was sure to make dresses instead of mere outfits, fitted together. Vinyl was happy to be spending so much time with Octavia, as she rarely got to see her as was, but she was also nervous as hay.

“Vinyl Scratch? Are you quite alright? Normally you’re the life of any gathering, but you’ve been unusually quite this morning.” Vinyl heard Octavia asked.

Vinyl quickly straightened up, coming out of her worrying daydreams to look at Octavia.

“Huh? Oh no. I’m fine Octavia. I’m just still getting used to the whole ‘chosen for Valehooftorian’ thing I guess. It’s a pretty big deal.” Vinyl replied, only telling Octavia part of the truth.

Octavia seemed to believe it for the most part.

“I can relate to that. It is quite an important deal. We’re each representing our respective Division and Faculty at Graduation. I’m mildly worried I won’t be able to do a worthy enough job in my piece at the end.” Octavia told Vinyl, glad that although she and Vinyl hardly saw each other, that they were able to relate and talk like this when they did.

“What? You don’t need to worry about that Octavia. You’re the best Musician at this school in my opinion, and that takes my awesome self into consideration.” Vinyl told Octavia, glad that she was going to be able to handle conversations like this at least.

“Why thank you Vinyl. That’s quite a high compliment. I must say that whilst I don’t fully understand the pull that being a DJ has to you, that your music is impressive in its own rights.” Octavia told Vinyl, pawing the ground and turning away to blush.

“Did Octavia just blush at me?” Vinyl thought.

“Thanks. It’s really quite fun. Remixing old and new tunes is so much fun. In fact, I was wondering, if maybe you wouldn’t mind,” Vinyl asked, this time being her turn to paw the ground and blush. “Would you like to do a piece with me someday? I enjoy mixing all types of music, but I really enjoy mixing the Classics you like to use.”

Octavia was shocked. She knew that Vinyl certainly appreciated her own music, but had never thought she would ask to do a piece with her. As Octavia opened her mouth to respond, another voice cut across her.

“Hey! You mares getting on the train or what?” Colttrane called over to Vinyl and Octavia, who had not noticed the train pull in or their classmates load their luggage onto it.

“O-Oh! Of course. Just a moment Colttrane.” Octavia called back to him.

Vinyl looked around and shook her head, surprised at herself. She was supposed to be the leader here, and she hadn’t even noticed the bucking train show up.

“Vinyl? May we perhaps continue our conversation once we have boarded the train?” Octavia asked Vinyl as she loaded her luggage onto her back.

“Sure thing Octavia. Let me help you with those.” Vinyl answered, using her magic to levitate Octavia’s and her own luggage on board the train.

Again, Octavia blushed at Vinyl’s kindness as she boarded the train.

“Oh. Why can’t I just tell her? Tell her that I fell in love with her after her performance at our first Year End Concert?” Octavia asked herself.

“Perhaps if the trip goes well enough. This certainly is an inauspicious beginning.” Octavia answered herself.

By the time Octavia came back to herself, the train was already moving. She elected to take the seat across from Vinyl and Fetlock. The rest of train ride passed quite quickly, but both Vinyl and Octavia wished it could have gone on longer.

Chapter 7: The Divisions Divide

Within little to no time at all, the Valehooftorians were in Ponyville. Few of them had ever been there before, and those who had visited previously had not been by in a very long time.

“Well Vinyl Scratch? You’re the leader here. Where do we go first?” Olive Oil asked.

“Well, I suppose we should go look up my cousin Rarity and see when she wants to do our respective fittings. Then we can mostly separate, and meet back up after the last fitting to head back to the Academy.” Vinyl answered her.

“Let us set off then. I am very intrigued to meet this fashion designer.” Zuzana added.

Vinyl nodded to that, and then set off to lead her group to Carousel Boutique.

“If you don’t mind me asking Vinyl,” Stifle began. “Why did you not have your cousin or your friends meet us at the station?”

“Well, I know Ponyville well enough in regards to them, and I figured that I’ve already asked more than enough from them. I mean, they are putting us up for a bit and technically resetting the Graduation ceremony.” Vinyl explained.

“Makes sense. Also, they may have had other engagements today and can only meet us at our designated times. That’s often the case with my team anyway.” Razzle announced.

“Exactly. Now let’s get ready. Carousel Boutique is just there.” Vinyl indicated the building with her hoof.

The other ponies turned and looked and were pleasantly surprised.

“And you cousin was born here in Ponyville?” Fetlock asked. “This seems far more like Canterlot work.”

“Yeah. Well, since I was born in Canterlot and Rarity was born here, we often ending up doing play dates. I spent as much time here in Ponyville as Rarity spent in Canterlot. That’s probably why people confuse our birthplaces. After all, I don’t seem like the Canterlot norm do I?” Vinyl asked.

“Being normal is not always what’s best.” Jewels spoke up. “Being different is what makes us good in our respective arts.”

“Praise Celestia to that.” Red Gala answered.

By this time, the group had just arrived at Carousel Boutique. Vinyl raised her hoof to knock and was almost immediately greeted by the smiling face of her cousin.

“Vinyl Darling! I just finished your letter. Please do come in.” Rarity said.

“Nice to see you too Rare.” Vinyl chuckled.

“To everypony else, Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and magnifique."Rarity announced.

Everypony was flabbergasted, even Zuzana. They had all seen their fair share of Upper Class Canterlot Fashion, but very few can equal Rarity.

“Well now, what may I do to help you at the moment darlings?” Rarity asked, seeing most everypony shake their head to look at her.

“Well Rarity, we were wondering if you wanted to set up our fitting times. I know how punctual you like to be.” Vinyl answered for the group.

“Of course. Well, I just finished up my last order this morning, so I am free for the foreseeable future to assist you all. Do any of you have any preferences time wise?” Rarity asked aloud.

Zuzana was the first to speak up.

“I would like to go first Madame Rarity. My name is Zuzana. I have rarely gotten to see such fine clothes for more than a few fleeting moments, and never have I seen so many in one place.” Zuzana answered.

“Certainly darling. I take it you are the Valehooftorian of the Fashion Faculty?” Rarity asked, receiving a nod as answer from Zuzana.

Colttrane stepped up next.

“Formal greetings to you Miss Rarity. I am Colttrane. If it is alright with you, I believe me and the rest of the stallions would prefer to be scheduled at the same time. Preferably right after Zuzana so that we may be able to better prepare our acts for Graduation.” Colttrane said, turning to check with the others that what he had not spoken out of term for anypony present.

All the other stallions nodded while still being partially absorbed in the atmosphere of the Boutique.

“Excellent. It would save me much time if I did multiple ponies’ sessions at the same time. And I am certain it would do the same for you. Ponyville certainly has some unique facets that you certainly must see before you return to Canterlot.” Rarity answered.

Jewels was the next one to step up and speak.

“My name is Jewels, Madame Rarity. Seeing as we cannot be fitted with the Stallions and Zuzana would like to have a solo appointment, I suppose that Red Gala and I could go third?” Jewels turned to look at Red Gala, seeing an encouraging nod.

“Perfect darling. Divided like that, I should be able to dedicate the proper amount of time to every pony.” Rarity said.

Vinyl scratched her head in thought, realizing what it was that was missing.

“Uh Rare? You forgot to include me and Octavia in your calculations.” Vinyl spoke up.

Rarity giggled at Vinyl’s silliness.

“Oh Vinyl Scratch. You don’t think I’d really forget you do you? As you and the lovely Octavia are staying directly here with me, I can fit you two promptly during the times the others cannot be.” Rarity explained.

Vinyl blushed a bit, more at the thought of her forgetting how Rarity operated.

“Oh Right. Sorry.” Vinyl said.

“No need to apologize darling.” Rarity told Vinyl.

Rarity returned her focus to the group. She did not do so before having fully noticed the blush that passed over not only Vinyl at the mention of Octavia, but the one that appeared on Octavia at the mention of Vinyl though.

“Oh Vinyl. Octavia must be the pony that gave you your Cutie Mark. I should have realized by how you described her in your letters.” Rarity realized. “Perhaps I can help them both out.”

“All right everypony. Vinyl, Octavia. You can move your luggage upstairs and get settled. Zuzana, I can begin your fitting now. Colttrane, you and the other stallions return in 2 hours or so. Red Gala and Jewels, you may come another hour and half or so after that.” Rarity announced, seeing each pony understand her instructions.

“Vinyl darling, I believe Pinkie Pie is looking for you. And Miss Octavia, I know of a classical loving unicorn who would love to meet you. You don’t object to those being proper ways to pass the time until your own fittings do you?” Rarity asked them, worried that she may have decided too much.

“Sounds good to me. Pinkie needs a bit more info on decorating the Grad ceremony anyway.” Vinyl answered.

“And this unicorn you speak of sounds absolutely enchanting to meet.” Octavia added.

“Excellent! We begin now!” Rarity announced.

Chapter 8: Some Pinkie Promises Made

Vinyl Scratch was on her way to Sugarcube Corner, the workplace and home of her friend Pinkie Pie. She had done as Rarity had asked and gone to see her immediately after unpacking.

Pinkie Pie was known far and wide as a party pony. It often wasn’t even considered a real party if Pinkie wasn’t there or involved in some way. Vinyl also knew she was a very loyal worker and caring friend though, underneath all her bizarre energy.

Vinyl approached the door, certain that Pinkie would know she was about to knock due to a combination of Vinyl’s letter and her Pinkie Sense. Vinyl wasn’t disappointed; she hadn’t even brought her hoof down from knocking on the door when it was burst open by Pinkie.

“Vinyl Scratch! Oh I’m so super-duper uber happy to see you again! How was the train? Where are the others? When do I get to decorate for your Graduation?” Pinkie asked, as she proceeded to squeeze all the air out of Vinyl in a hug.

“Pinks…Air…” Vinyl croaked.

“Ooopsie Doopsie Whoopsie. My bad Scratchie.” Pinkie said, releasing her iron grip around Vinyl.

“No super big deal Pinks. I just can’t answer all your questions if I can’t get any air.” Vinyl answered Pinkie while massaging her ribs a little.

“Now,” Vinyl began. “To answer all your questions in order. The train ride was fine. The others are getting fitted for dresses and suits by Rarity or unpacking their stuff. And you can come up and decorate the school once me and the others book our return train.” Vinyl told Pinkie, glad to see her friend hopping in place at all the news.

“That’s great Scratchie! Now tell me what’s wrong.” Pinkie announced to Vinyl.

Vinyl instantly felt her eyes widen. Had Pinkie been able to pick up on that already? She knew Pinkie was good, but not that good.

“W-What do you mean Pinks?” Vinyl asked, knowing Pinkie would probably see right through her lie.

“Oh Scratchie. We’ve been friends ever since you first came to Ponyville. Aside from Rarity, I know you best here. Did you think I wouldn’t notice the slight tilt of your head or your misplaced hoof steps? All that tells me that something’s on your mind.” Pinkie announced, as energetic as before, but quieter so as to not arouse unnecessary attention.

“Okay Pinkie. I’ll tell you what’s bugging me. But can we go inside and into a separate room first? I’d prefer it if everypony didn’t know.” Vinyl asked.

“Sure thing Vinyl. The Cakes are out right now, so it’s a perfect time.” Pinkie answered her, leading Vinyl inside.

They quickly climbed the stairs to Pinkie's Room. Well, Vinyl did at least. How Pinkie could hop up and down stairs always eluded her. Once they arrived at the room, Pinkie went first to clear her room a bit and move her Party Cannon. She returned momentarily and showed Vinyl to her bed, where they could sit and talk.

“Okay Scratchie. We’re safe to talk here. My room’s super-duper noise proof and nopony enters without asking me.” Pinkie announced to Vinyl, taking a still seat herself to prove she would listen intently.

“Thanks Pinks. Let me start.” Vinyl said, stopping as she realized she had no idea how to say all this out loud.

What were her feelings for Octavia? Were they even feelings for her? No. Vinyl knew she had feelings for Octavia, and that they had begun 3 years ago. And now they were a whole lot stronger.

“Well Pinks, I’m in love.” Vinyl stated, waiting for the inevitable emotional explosion.

Pinkie stayed quiet for a moment, before launching herself all over the room.

“Oh my gosh Scratchie! That’s great! Who is it? Huh? Huh? Huh?” Pinkie ecstatically asked.

This was where Vinyl felt a snag. Would her old friend accept her as she was? Or would she shun her?

“Uhm well…It’s one of my classmates.” Vinyl began, deciding to edge into it.

“Oh! Are they one of the Valehooftorians here right now?” Pinkie asked.

“Actually, yes Pinks. They are here in town right now as one of the Valehooftorians.” Vinyl felt it become easier as Pinkie came to the conclusion on her own.

“Hmmm…” Pinkie thought, her hoof on her chin.

The room remained quiet for a while. Pinkie got up occasionally to bounce around for a bit or look at Vinyl. Even once, she raised her glasses to look right at her eyes.

“Is it Octavia?” Pinkie asked, happy to see Vinyl’s jaw drop.

“H-How did you know?” Vinyl answered with a question, not understanding how Pinkie could know. She had only mentioned Octavia once or twice in her letters to Pinkie, and not in as near great detail as in Rarity’s letters.

“My eyes. They see a lot you know. You may not even know yourself, but you write Octavia’s name slightly differently from everything else in your letters. And I can’t imagine anypony else from what I’ve seen of your performances with her at your Concerts.” Pinkie answered calmly, only getting another shocked expression from Vinyl.

“You came to our Concerts? How? How does a pony with you coat and mane colour hide?” Vinyl voiced aloud.

“I had Rarity make me a cloak so I could come and see your shows without making you nervous that I was in the audience. Rarity comes too, in another cloak. We sit closer to the back, but we hear everything you and the others do. And when you play with Octavia, your beats seem to flow smoother and you seem calmer.” Pinkie told Vinyl.

“Wow Pinks. I had no idea I did all that. What else do you know about all this?” Vinyl asked, almost jokingly.

“Well, I don’t really know cause I haven’t met her, but I think Octavia feels the same way.” Pinkie answered, hoof on her chin again.

This time, when Vinyl’s jaw opened wide, her sunglasses came right off too.

“WHAT?!” Vinyl almost yelled at Pinkie.

Pinkie wasn’t fearful of Vinyl’s volume though. She knew Vinyl just wanted an answer.

“Well, Octavia plays calmer and smoother when she plays with you nearby too. It’s a lot more noticeable with her, but I doubt unless it was somepony like me listening, nopony would ever notice.” Pinkie explained, picking Vinyl’s glasses off the floor as she did.

“Pinkie!” Vinyl shouted, turning to Pinkie and grabbing her hooves in her own. “Do you swear what you say is true?”

“I’ll do you one better Vinyl.” Pinkie answered. “I Pinkie Promise it’s true.” Pinkie finished, smiling as she saw Vinyl's face light up.

This was it. Vinyl knew she had felt that something good would come out of this trip, but she hadn’t expected this. All she had expected was a bit more hang time with Octavia. She hadn’t expected to find out that Octavia felt something for her too.

“Thank you Pinkie.” Vinyl said, pulling Pinkie into a hug.

Pinkie was very surprised. Vinyl normally wasn’t this expressive.

“It’s fine Scratchie. I’m just happy to help. What are you gonna do now?” Pinkie asked Vinyl, releasing the hug.

“Well, I’d like to go tell her, but I think she’s visiting somepony else right now. I’ll wait til after our fitting session tonight.” Vinyl explained.

“Great idea Scratchie! Come tell me how it goes when you can. And don’t forget to bring me back with you when you leave Ponyville!” Pinkie told her.

“I doubt I could ever forget you Pinkie. I’ll see you soon okay?” Vinyl asked, turning to leave and go back to the Carousel Boutique.

“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie answered, waving to Vinyl as she did.

Vinyl set off from Sugarcube Corner, a new bounce in her hoof steps. She now knew Octavia felt something for her. Whether it was as strong as what Vinyl felt or not, she didn’t care. All she knew was that she had to tell Octavia.

Chapter 9: The Midnight Measurements

To Rarity, the midnight oil was almost non-existent. When she set her mind to accomplishing something, she would simply do it, regardless of the amount of time it took. Her work often demanded that she spend large amounts of time on her dresses anyway.

The outfits for the Valehooftorians were no different. In the first 3 sessions, Rarity had completed her designs and taken all the major measurements. While she waited for Octavia and Vinyl to come down for their fitting, Rarity set about beginning each of the designs.

By the time Vinyl and Octavia came for their fitting, Rarity had already finished Zuzana’s and Red Gala’s dresses. She was also mostly done Jewels', requiring only a few more of her namesakes to finish the attire. The stallion’s attires were also near their halfway point as Vinyl spoke up.

“Hey Rare. Hope I’m not late.” Vinyl stated.

“I hope that as well Miss Rarity. You are already helping us all so much. I would hate to make you wait.” Octavia spoke up.

“No need to fret my dears. You are right on time.” Rarity spoke up, laying down the last few pieces of fabric for the other outfits down.

“Okay. So what do you need us to do Rare?” Vinyl asked.

“Well, I would like to take your measurements first. Then, as I like to base my designs on the ponies in question, I would ask that you merely relax and let me observe you to come up with my designs.” Rarity answered, already levitating her measuring tools.

“Certainly Miss Rarity.” Octavia spoke up.

“Oh darling. Please feel free to simply call me Rarity.” Rarity told her.

Octavia nodded, and took her place on one side of the room. Vinyl took the other side, and both remained quiet and still while Rarity set about her work. Not a word was said, but a blush eventually appeared on both Vinyl and Octavia’s cheeks.

“Alright. I am finished collecting your measurements. Please feel free to simply relax and lounge about down here whilst I draw my designs.” Rarity told them both.

Octavia and Vinyl both simply nodded, fearful speaking might give away their respective embarrassment.

As they set about the room, Rarity noticed that while each of them was attempting to be relaxed, they were each quite stressed.

“Please darlings. Do attempt to properly relax and go about whatever you see fit. Talk to each other perhaps.” Rarity spoke up, seeing the reaction she had hoped that comment would inspire.

Vinyl and Octavia looked quickly at each other, and then almost as quickly away. They both proceeded to the table set up in the middle of the room. Once they had both sat down, Rarity set about brewing some tea with her magic.

Uncomfortable silence passed while the tea was prepared. Rarity dared not interrupt this one. She knew the repercussions of such a thing. Octavia and Vinyl simply sat and sipped their tea for a while.

Eventually, Vinyl chose to speak up.

“Uh Octavia?” Vinyl asked

“Y-Yes Vinyl?” Octavia answered her nervously.

“C-Can I tell you something?” Vinyl asked, pawing her side of the table.

“I-I should suppose you can.” Octavia answered.

“O-Okay then. H-Here goes.” Vinyl began.

Chapter 10: Reciprocation in Life and In Ideas

“I-I love you.” Vinyl stated, almost not believing she had really said it.

The silence that followed those words was not overly long, but it felt like an eternity.

“C-Could you please repeat that?” Octavia asked, not daring to believe her ears.

“S-Sure. I love you. I have ever since I first heard you play. You’re the reason for my Cutie Mark. A-And the reason I’m telling you this now is because I heard a rumour that you might feel the same way.” Vinyl replied in a near whisper.

“W-Well Vinyl, the truth is, that the rumour you heard is indeed true. I love you too. And I also fell in love with you when I first heard you play.” Octavia replied.

This time there was another silence, or at least it appeared so to the two artistic ponies. In reality, there was a huge shuffling of paper and fabric as Rarity ditched her old designs in lieu of this new information.

“Do you mean that?” Vinyl asked, unsure that this was all really real.

“I do Vinyl. Hearing you say it has finally given me the courage to say it.” Octavia told her, feeling a warm smile on her lips.

“I love you Vinyl Scratch. And I promise you I always will.” Octavia added.

Vinyl smiled and lifted her glasses, seeing Octavia’s shocked expression as she finally saw her eyes.

“I’ve heard a lot of great things today, but that is by far the best. I love you too Octavia. And I promise to return all the love you give me, forever and always.” Vinyl replied, seeing Octavia smile again.

Octavia and Vinyl inched closer over the table, feeling the pull towards each other. Once they were mere inches from each other, they said one last word each.

“Vinyl.”

“Octavia.”

Once those last words were spoken, Octavia and Vinyl lips met for the first time. The kiss was far from the most romantic one they would ever experience, but this one would always be the most magical.

Each of them stayed in the kiss for a long time, neither wanting it to end. They simply revelled in the feeling of each other’s lips, adding or subtracting nothing to the experience. It was simply perfect as it was.

Eventually, they separated slowly to stare deep into each other eyes. How long they stayed that way, they never knew. It could have been years for all they cared. What eventually broke their moment was a single word shouted from the other nearby unicorn, whom they had both forgotten about.

“Done!” Rarity shouted.

Vinyl and Octavia stared at her, confused at first, and then embarrassed soon after. They had long since forgotten that anypony else was there in the world.

“Done what Rare?” Vinyl asked, taking Octavia’s hoof in her own.

“Your dresses for Graduation obviously.” Rarity spoke up.

“Wait.” Octavia began. “You mean you’re simply done the preliminary sketches right?”

“Why no darling. I am finished the final product. As well as most of all the others. I will need to go out to finish Jewels ensemble though. And the stallions are a bit harder to design for. Minor details though in the long run.” Rarity replied, seeing their shocked faces.

“You’re done all that!? How can you be? How long were we…you know.” Vinyl asked, blushing at the end.

“At least a few hours Vinyl dear. I do keep clocks down here to monitor my deadlines, but once I reach my groove, I do happen to forget to glance at them. I had a flash of inspiration, and I descended into my own world while I let you two stay in yours.” Rarity responded, happy to see the new couple smile instead of simply blush and look away.

“Wow. You are simply amazing Rarity.” Octavia spoke up.

“Pay it no mind my dear Octavia. You had much better things to partake of no?” Rarity inquired.

Vinyl and Octavia looked at each other again, smiled and got up from their chairs. Each noticed that their haunches felt a little numb, indicating that they had indeed been sitting there as long as Rarity had stated.

“So can we see em Rare?” Vinyl asked after moving to stand next to Octavia.

“Heavens no!” Rarity told them being quite defiant.

“Why not?” Octavia asked, mildly confused.

“These are very special to me. I want the first time you see and wear them to be special. So for that reason, I’ll be guarding them personally from prying eyes until you leave and coming back with you to make sure that nopony, especially you two, sees them before graduation.” Rarity elaborated.

“Wow Rare. These must really be something. I understand though. Fashion is to you what music is to us.” Vinyl answered, looking to Octavia as she said it and seeing her nod.

“Indeed Rarity. We will respect your wishes. And we would both be happy to have you there for our Graduation.” Octavia added.

“Excellent! Now, I hope you two don’t mind, but I must go collect my friend Spike and begin searching for Jewels. If all goes well, I will be back before sunset. Your return train is three days after tomorrow isn’t it?” Rarity asked, seeing nods as her answer.

With that, Rarity was out the door and on her way. Octavia and Vinyl looked at each other, and came to the same conclusion.

“Sleep sounds good doesn’t it?” Vinyl asked.

“Without a doubt dear. Shall we head upstairs then?” Octavia added.

Both ponies then proceed to head upstairs, heading towards the one room they were sharing, both seeing two beds within it. Octavia turned to Vinyl.

“You don’t mind if I ask to sleep in the same bed as you do you?” Octavia asked, proceeding to look down after she asked, worried she may have overestimated the extent of their new relationship.

Vinyl turned around to see Octavia’s worried face, and came forward. Seeing Vinyl’s shadow move, Vinyl looked up. Once she did, Vinyl kissed her again. This kiss was shorter, but felt even sweeter than before.

“Nothing would make me happier than to have my new marefriend share my bed.” Vinyl answered after separating from Octavia.

At that comment, Octavia smiled and followed Vinyl the rest of the way to the larger bed. Within moments, they were in the bed. It took a great deal longer for them to fall asleep though. Neither of them wanted this day to end.

“Hey Octavia?” Vinyl whispered as she held Octavia close to her.

“Yes?” Octavia whispered back.

“Love you.” Vinyl told her.

Octavia smiled.

“I love you too Vinyl.” Octavia answered, snuggling close to Vinyl again.

Shortly after that, both ponies fell asleep. It had been a long day that would mark the beginning of the rest of their lives.

Chapter 12: The Quite Musical End

Graduation. An important and unavoidable event for anypony and everypony. Now Vinyl and her whole class were having theirs.

The week leading up to the Graduation had been magical for every one of the Valehooftorians, all of whom were now walking on stage and prepping for their respective Finales.

Vinyl and Octavia had not spent a moment apart, even writing their final songs together. How fitting then that Rarity’s outfits would reflect that.

Vinyl’s dress was a grey cocktail dress with a musical progression of the first song Vinyl had heard Octavia play stitched into it. It also came with a new pair of sunglasses, grayish purple, to reflect the color of Octavia’s eyes.

Octavia’s dress was a white flowing dress with designs of eighth notes and vinyl records placed intermixed. Octavia’s dress also came with a new hair bow, white with a spot of cerise on either side to reflect Vinyl’s eyes.

The other Valehooftorian’s outfits were also quite impressive.

Jewels’ outfit looked as though it were a living shimmering canvas, constantly flowing as she moved about the stage demonstrating her now complete gallery of paintings and adding one last painting that she started and finished within the ceremony itself. Her last painting was that of everypony throwing their tassels in the air.

Stifle’s outfit was what appeared to be a simple black tuxedo, but it was much more. The design of it all was in fact woven together to look like developed film. He was flying about, taking pictures every few seconds and collecting them. Within a few moments, he had all the photos arranged into a large collage in the shape of a heart.

Red Gala’s outfit was that of an outwardly spiralling flower, colored to look like various types of apples. She performed a duet she had written in Ponyville, accompanied by her cousin Applejack. It did not last overly long nor was it overly complicated, but it was beautiful to everypony who heard it.

Olive Oil’s was a dress designed to look like the suit worn by a Head Chef, complete with the signature Chefs Hat. For her Finale, she created a scale model of Princess Celestia out of chocolate and various icings. It left everypony in awe.

Colttrane’s was a black and blue suit, layered in such a way that both colors were apparent, to represent how Jazz could be interpreted as dark or sad depending on one’s mood. He performed one of the songs he had written with Big Macintosh on vocals. Nopony had ever heard Big Macintosh sing, and they were all quite appeased with the results.

Razzle wore a suit that looked as though it were woven from an actual explosion. He and the other Pyrotechnic Ponies set about a large scale show that ended in a firework representation of the activation of the Elements of Harmony.

Zuzana’s dress was woven in such a way that it appeared to be invisible next to her coat. In her Finale, Zuzana had a section of the other graduating ponies come up and reveal the secondary outfits she had created for them to wear underneath the standard outfit.

Eloy had a suit that looked as though it were a keyboard with differently colored keys on it. He performed background music for a song that Fluttershy sang. It was quite beautiful to hear Fluttershy sing, and the mixing of various sound done by Eloy was normally not possible by anypony but the DJ Pony’s.

As Fluttershy sang her last note, Vinyl and Octavia stepped up, preparing to do their finale. As Octavia looked to Vinyl and saw that she was nervous, she instantly knew what to do.

“Hey Vinyl?” Octavia asked.

“Yeah?” Vinyl answered.

“Love you.” Octavia replied, smiling as she saw Vinyl do the same.

“I love you too Octavia. Now and forever.” Vinyl replied, straightening up and finally readying herself for the show.

Vinyl and Octavia’s performance would be talked about for years. The way their styles blended together was beautiful, each complimenting the other in a way that nopony else could do. Their song was the last act, and thus was the longest. When it ended, Vinyl and Octavia looked at each other again as the entire audience erupted in applause.

Shortly after that, the picture Jewels had painted became a picture Stifle could take. In the crowd of falling hats, many ponies were caught kissing. Vinyl and Octavia’s lasted far longer though, and nopony anywhere could care. Their school lives had come to a musical end, but the rest of their lives were just beginning to crescendo. Everything was perfect in the end to them, and nopony else’s opinions mattered but their own.

The End

Chapter 1: The Misleading Mark

Vinyl Scratch was her name. She went by another name too though. Throughout Equestria, Vinyl Scratch was also known as DJ PON-3 to her avid fans. Vinyl had quickly risen to fame after performing at a fashion show by her cousin Rarity for Hoity Toity and at the Royal Wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor.

Vinyl hadn't always wanted to be a DJ pony though. In fact, the only visible aspect about her that told this was her Cutie Mark. If one looked closely, her Cutie Mark was that of two bridged Eighth notes. An odd Cutie Mark for somepony who would go on to become one of Equestria’s best DJ’s, no?

Vinyl’s Cutie Mark dated back to a time she was just another filly student among the masses. She was been studying at the Canterlot Academy for Artistic Ponies, only being a General Studies student way back then. Back when she was first enrolled at the Academy, Vinyl had no idea what her special talent was or even what she wanted to do with her life.

Vinyl had considered going into fashion like Rarity, but she just didn’t have the same eye for fashion that Rarity did. She also thought about following in her dad’s step, as an actor, or her mom’s steps, as a painter. Colors and 'pretending', as Vinyl saw it, never appealed to her either though.

Vinyl spent near 2 months in General Studies before she discovered just what it was that she wanted to do. She discovered it one day when she was passing through the Musical Ponies Faculty of the Academy. It was on that day that Vinyl both got her Cutie Mark, and also found her special talent.

Chapter 4: The Rising Stars

Vinyl Scratch. Nopony had known her before she hit her 6 months of study mark. Everypony certainly knew her from then on though.

After about a week and a half of introduction classes, Vinyl had immediately caught on and caught up. She was soon top of her class, even nosing out DeadHor5 and Hay Raiser. She was also booking DJ gigs left, right and centre.

Professor Beat Box was very lax in assigning homework for his students. He instead opted to tell them to make reports of the gigs and songs they would write in and outside of class. That way, he gave his students the freedom and independence they would need after graduation, while at the same time still appearing to his colleagues as a viable teacher.

By the end of the end of their second year of studies, all of Beat Box's students were out of his class more than in it. While each of them was an accomplished DJ on their own, they also collaborated from time to time on jobs and songs. DJ PON-3 led the charge, but she was only mildly ahead of the rest.

Vinyl also fulfilled her other dream of meeting the grey Classical loving pony. She found out her name was Octavia. She already had a reserved seat on the Canterlot Royal Symphony Orchestra, which was something that rarely happened.

Though appearing to be complete opposites to each other, Vinyl and Octavia at least had a pleasant acquaintanceship. Vinyl wanted more than that, but she was also content to wait.

She would get her chance in their third and final year of study, thanks to some help from her cousin Rarity and her friend Pinkie Pie.

Chapter 11: The Leading Up

The next 4 days in Ponyville passed by as if it were a daydream to Vinyl Scratch and Octavia. They indeed went out and about to see the sights Rarity had recommended, but the greatest sight they saw there was each other.

Heading back to the train on their last day, Pinkie Pie and Rarity in tow, yielded some other unexpected results. It turns out many of their classmates had found something that made the trip to Ponyville even more worthwhile.

Olive Oil and Red Gala had become a couple too. Once Olive Oil had found out that Red Gala could also cook, they had gotten to talking more. Once they had finished talking cuisine, it turns out they had much more in common than just that. Eventually, they simply came to the realization that they were perfect for each other. Vinyl and Octavia were both as happy for them as they were for themselves.

Jewels and Stifle had found a lot of inspiration in Ponyville and in each other. They too had become an official couple. Even as everypony was catching up, they were making art. Jewels was painting their meeting and Stifle was taking pictures, both of them managing to find different ways to make the scene beautiful to themselves and to each other.

Razzle and Zuzana had decided to ‘collaborate’ as they called it. They both blushed whenever they said it though. They were currently in the process of figuring out how to make the Graduation pyrotechnics more colourful thanks to some special potions Zuzana could brew to add stronger elements to the Pyrotechnic Ponies magic.

Colttrane had found ‘the next big sensation in Jazz’ as he called him. It turns out that Red Gala’s cousin, Big Macintosh, had the perfect voice for Jazz. Colttrane had somehow gotten him to agree to come back to Canterlot to record some songs. They were off to the side discussing details.

And Eloy had discovered ‘his greatest inspiration yet’ in another Ponyville resident. This pony was a Pegasus named Fluttershy. Eloy had been wandering about, listening for all sorts of things when he had heard Fluttershy and then her animals. He openly admitted he was instantly smitten, stating he could write 3 lifetimes of songs just about Fluttershy herself. This made Fluttershy blush, but she also seemed happy to have found a special somepony in Eloy.

Vinyl felt extremely happy, but worried for Professor Beat. He had promised to supply accommodations on both ends of this trip. And there were now an excess of four ponies returning rather than one. Once Octavia nuzzled her though, Vinyl instantly pushed the thoughts out of her mind. They could wait.

In what seemed like no more than a few seconds, the train was there. Once everypony was on board, they got to continuing their conversations and talking about Graduation. It was after all, just over a week away.