At the public park of Other-Questria, the trio of Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom were having a peaceful time amongst the flowers. Apple Bloom was playing a little tune on her fiddle, while Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle moved left and right, the latter clapping to the beat of the music.

Apple Bloom's little music finished soon after, and her friends promptly clapped and cheered.

"Thank you! Thank you! Ah'll be 'ere all week!" Apple Bloom giggled as she put her fiddle down. "Anyway, that was mah fiddle. What do ya think?"

"It's really good, Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle remarked, Scootaloo nodding in agreement. "Heck, I might even say you could become a professional musician!"

"Nah, ya're crazy, ah'm not dat good," Apple Bloom replied, snapping her fingers as she added, "Ah know! Ya should see how Applejack and Granny Smith play it! They taught me everything ah know!"

"Really? That's-"

However, before Sweetie Belle could finish, the trio heard a quiet, yet calm melody in the air, one that brought a serene feeling to the atmosphere. And while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo began humming to the tune, Apple Bloom just looked around confused.

"Ya guys 'ear dat too?" Apple Bloom asked, earning no response. "Guys?"

Once she turned around, she saw Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo walking away towards the source of the noise. With them leaving undeterred, Apple Bloom saved her fiddle and followed the duo towards the source of the quiet melody.

They eventually found it came from a certain grey-skinned musician, sitting on a bench. The most surprising thing about the musician was that, even though her eyes were closed, she managed to play her violin as if she had them open.

And if memory served them right, the girls remembered her for her performance at the Battle of the Bands.

"She looks familiar," Apple Bloom remarked, scratching her chin. "But ah can't fer the life of me remember her name."

"The name's Octavia."

The melody finished and the trio saw the musician looking at them with half-open eyes. "And if you don't mind me asking, do you need something?"

Apple Bloom walked up to the musician, who stood up and backed away a little. "We just couldn't help but follow ta melody yer violin was playing. It was really good."

"You think so?" Octavia got a little smile. "I do consider myself a classically trained musician, so being noticed like this makes me happy."

Apple Bloom glanced at her friends and asked, "Say, do ya do lessons?"

"Depends," Octavia tilted her head. "Have you ever had any experience playing instruments before?"

"I play ta fiddle," Apple Bloom answered, revealing the instrument to a shocked Octavia. "Does dat count?"

"Well yes, but actually, no," Octavia waved her hand. "It's a very common misconception between musicians and people who wouldn't know what's music if it was played right in their ears, but the fiddle and the violin are not the same thing."

Scootaloo glanced at the two instruments. "They look similar to me-"

"BUT THEY'RE NOT!" Octavia snapped, pausing to take a deep breath. "But... they're not. Sorry, you have no idea how frustrating it is to have to explain the same thing to someone repeatedly."

Apple Bloom frowned. "Sorry 'bout dat, miss."

"It's okay, little one," Octavia sighed. "However, knowing how to play the fiddle isn't the same as knowing how to play the violin. You could join us, but you'd have to leave the fiddle behind."

"What? Why she would she need to do that?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"A musical mind, no matter how good it is, can only hold so much knowledge at a given time. True, that can apply to any mind, but let's stay focused," Octavia pointed at Apple Bloom's fiddle. "Surely, learning how to play the fiddle can't have been an easy task. And while I don't like the idea of a violin and fiddle being compared, they do have a similarity in that neither of them are easy to master."

Octavia lowered her eyelids. "In other words, if you want to learn how to play the violin, you'll have to forget how to play the fiddle."

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged confused looks, and eventually, Apple Bloom calmly replied:

"Dat would be a tough decision t' make... if ah wanted t' learn how to play it."

Octavia blinked twice. "Excuse me?"

"Ya 'eard me, ah'm not interested in learning ta violin," Apple Bloom shrugged. "Mah friends might, but ah don't."

"B-B-But, you were the first to speak up about how you liked my music!" Octavia pointed out. "A-And you also asked if I gave lessons!"

"Dat was just outta curiosity, and 'cause ah thought mah friends might wanna learn," Apple Bloom explained, pointing at the nervous Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. "Tay enjoyed ta music more than ah did."

"Oh..." Octavia glanced at the duo, then smiled a little. "Were you now?"

"Yeah, we're guilty of that," Sweetie Belle giggled, scratching the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "Once we heard your melody, we couldn't help but go after it."

Octavia's smiled widened. "You don't say... would you be interested in learning how to play it?"

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle chirped. "Well, I do. I don't know if Scootaloo would want to, since she doesn't seem like the type to practice instruments."

"I'm not, but if you're going to be around, I don't think it'd hurt to give it a shot," Scootaloo folded her arms. "Maybe another day, though, I made plans with Rainbow Dash to watch a sports movie she likes."

"I'll need to practice another day, too," Sweetie Belle blurted. "I have to go help Rarity at the Carousel Boutique."

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. "Ah thought she never asked ya for help?"

"Just 'cause she doesn't ask for it doesn't mean she doesn't need it."

Octavia hummed, and her smile faltered. "Alright, I get the hint, I guess I'll just keep playing here for a little while before going home."

The trio nodded in agreement, and Octavia turned around, playing a long note on her violin as her smile gained a hint of malice. From the strings of the violin, green magic came out, and entered through Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's ears, and out the others.

As for Apple Bloom, the magic flew around her before dissipating. The girl looked confused at this for a moment, but she quickly shrugged it off as Scootaloo spoke:

"Actually, you know what? I think I could ask Rainbow to watch the movie another time. We've seen the movie several dozen times already."

"And maybe I should wait until she asks me for help, before I make things worse," Sweetie Belle frowned and lowered her head. "I don't think she's forgiven me yet for tapping those dresses together that one time."

"Yeah, speaking of which, are those still around?" Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Belle shook her head. "Rarity managed to split them and then threw them into the trash."

Octavia turned around and raised an eyebrow. "That was rather mean of her, wasn't it?"

"No: I tapped the dresses in such a way that once they were split apart, they got ruined and Rarity had to start all over again." Sweetie Belle sighed. "I'm pretty sure steam was coming out of her ears from the frustration." then she chirped up. "So, while she calms down, I guess I could learn some violin!"

"And what about you... Scootaloo, right?" Octavia tilted her head. "Would you like to learn how to play the violin?"

"Sure, let me tell Rainbow Dash we'll have to see the movie another day and I'll come with you," Scootaloo replied.

"I'll go see if I can get Rarity's permission, too!" Sweetie Belle chirped.

The girls promptly ran off back to their houses, leaving the satisfied Octavia and confused Apple Bloom behind. "Dat's weird, ah've never seen them change opinions so quickly."

"Well, life can be weird sometimes," Octavia shrugged. "Anyway, you're the only one who doesn't want to learn, so I'm gonna go take my leave now."

"Huh? Eh, sure," Apple Bloom flashed a little smile. "Ah hope we get t' see each other again."

Octavia eyed Apple Bloom's fiddle, then turned back to the girl with a forced smile. "I hope we meet again, too."

Octavia walked off, and as she left the horizon, Apple Bloom couldn't help but notice her previous statement had a hint of... animosity? Towards her. She looked down at her fiddle, the object she felt was the receiver of the animosity, and she couldn't help but wonder...

Was there something wrong with her fiddle?

Author's Note

What's this? An Apple Bloom-focused story? While I'm in the middle of writing another story? That's more likely than you think.

I just had this idea to have some kind of fiddle versus violin story, and this is what I got. I hope you enjoy it, because things are gonna get crazy down the line.