Wireless Connection

Vinyl took her seat and extended her hoof to the pony sitting next to her. "Vinyl Scratch," she introduced. "I'm dating the cellist."

The stallion she was next to extended the wrong hoof to shake. "So am I."

"Oh?"

"Thunderous Applause. I perform with my coltfriend, Lightning Strike."

"Ah. I'm with Tavi. She's your replacement tonight."

Thunder nodded and shifted in his seat as the lights began to lower. "Is she any good?"

"The best. This one time, while we were in Vanhoover, she did this thing with her hoof that made my jaw drop."

"I meant with the cello..."

Vinyl glanced back and forth. "Yeah, that's what I meant." As she glared at Thunder, she saw the corner of his lip curl up. "Ah. A goof."

"Yeah. Lightning doesn't always appreciate my jokes. Sometimes, he can be a real tight-arse."

"Tell me about it," scoffed Vinyl. "Tavi's the same way. I gave her a butt plug tonight."

"Well, I can't do that with Lightning. The bug that crawled up there would never come out if I plugged the only exit."

Vinyl chuckled softly as the room quieted down and the curtains opened on the stage. Lightning and Octavia both walked out onto the stage, bowed to a round of light applause, then sat down with their cellos.

"She brought her own cello," whispered Thunder. "That's not one of mine."

"Yeah, she said something about the lacquer on the neck of the instrument making a big difference, so she only ever uses her own."

"That is true," noted Thunder. "I've used Lightning's cello before, and the coat was so thick that every time I moved my hoof to a new position, it would squeak. I like the neck to be nice and smooth. I'll apply my own grip, thanks."

"Tavi says the same thing."

As if to illustrate their point, Octavia was swapping back and forth between hoof positions with surprising ease, her hoof almost gliding across the neck of the cello, rather than jumping from position to position as Lightning's did. "See how smooth and even her wrist movement is?"

"I thought that just came with practice," admitted Vinyl. "Here and I thought she was so good at it that she made it look easy with her skill. Instead, she just has a really good tool."

"Well, yes, but also, she has a lot of skill. She's very good."

"Yeah. I know how to pick 'em."

As Vinyl leaned back in her seat, her elbow knocked into something in her saddlebags. While this would normally be insignificant, it coincided with a sudden, very intense vibrato from Octavia.

Along with the note, her whole body tightened, shuddering as her face clenched and her eyes went wide. It was as if, while playing that vibrato, Octavia had been suddenly struck with the meaning of the music, and while the piece was not quite over yet, there was a lack of silence in the audience as several conversations about the power of her playing was phenomenal. She glanced at Lightning, and without words, she soon recovered and resumed playing as normal, though her breathing had changed.

"What in Equestria was that?" asked Thunder. "How well does she know the piece that she can put that much effort into a single point like that?"

"She knows it pretty well," answered Vinyl. "I'm pretty sure she's played this piece a thousand times. Some kind of fugue, she called it. Although, she's played like half a dozen other pieces, also with fugue in the title, so I can't remember which one this is."

"Oh, I have a serious love of fugues. Fugues are great. That's why we perform so many, just for me. Or, I guess, just for her right now. I hope she knows about the upcoming pizzicato. The publisher for my sheet music books listed it as "Fizz," and a lot of ponies were confused about that."

"Oh, don't worry yourself. She's very good at what she does, and if your sheet music is half as good as her personal degree of skill, there's nothing to worry about."

As Vinyl leaned back again, her elbow struck the device in her bag once more, just as the music began to pick up in speed. Octavia's hoof started flying across the strings, plucking and striking them with such intense emotion and fervor that Lightning almost couldn't keep up. So full of emotion was she in that moment that the audience could feel it, leading to Vinyl leaning forward again so as not to miss it.

With her bow in the air, sweat pouring down her face, and her chest heaving, there were only a few soft and somber measures left, and Octavia pushed through them with a great deal of effort, slumping back in her chair as soon as it was done.

The crowd burst into a cacophonous cheer, clapping, stomping and whistling for the performance. Vinyl joined in, even without being a fan of classical music.

"Forgive me for not clapping," grunted Thunder, pushing his broken wrist forward. "You'll just have to take me at my word that this was a fantastic performance by a phenomenal cellist."

"You're damn right, she is!" cheered Vinyl. "She's the best! Didn't I say she was the best?"

"You did," Thunder nodded. "Very astute. Excellent job."

As Vinyl stat down, her elbow once more bumped into her bag, causing Octavia to kick her leg as she was preparing for the next piece. "What do I keep hitting?" she asked, digging around.

"Does she always twitch like that?" asked Thunder. "Perhaps she's still nervous. You should talk to her after the show."

"Nah, she's usually pretty chill at her own concerts. I've never seen her so active."

Octavia and Lightning picked up their pace with a much faster fugue that would stay under the melody throughout most of the piece, with a few lines where there was no fugue about two-thirds of the way through. As Lightning pulled away from the fugue to start in on the melody, Vinyl pulled out the device that she'd been striking with her elbow.

"What's that?" asked Thunder.

"It's a remote," answered Vinyl. "When you press the big button, it operates the butt plug I gave to Tavi. Check out the other functions."

As Thunder took the remote, his hoof pressed the button, and for a moment, Octavia's bowing ramped up in intensity. The two looked at each other, and both were graced with mischievous grins.

"Vinyl, my dear, while you came here to watch tonight's show, how would you like to play your marefriend's instrument?"