Vinyl Scratch screamed.
Octavia Melody screamed.
The dust had settled and the ever-present pink fog had cleared over a lone street in Ponyville, leaving behind a trail of wisps that had disappeared into the evening sky. The two mares caught in the thick of it were staring at each other, their faces frozen in shock and horror when they had realized what had just happened to them, and they screamed, or at least they tried to. The unicorn with the messy blue mane and white coat, Octavia Melody, could barely produce a whimper from her broken vocal cords while the earth pony with the neat dark brown mane and grey coat, Vinyl Scratch, was surprised that she even COULD make sounds from her mouth, and so she did, constantly. This went on for a while until they had to catch their breath, panting and wheezing as they tried to calm themselves down and took stock of their situation.
Obviously, they weren't themselves, that was for certain. Octavia would rather entertain Parasprites in their shared home than let any hair on her head go out of place and Vinyl had never let a brush attempt to tame her wild mane in her entire life. So, the only logical conclusion they could possibly have made was that they were somehow in each other’s bodies, and whatever that had caused the pink mist was the culprit. Unfortunately, the potions cart that had produced the offending smoke was gone before they could even recognize the pony who pulled it, much less inquire if they had a way to reverse it. They would have started their search immediately, if there wasn't a much more pressing matter on both of their minds at the present moment.
Octavia buried her head in her hooves, her mind reeling with all the possibilities of how everything could go wrong tonight. She was running late to attend the Equestrian Summit taking place at the Ponyville Town Hall, in which she and her colleagues of the Canterlot Orchestra would be performing, and she couldn't go there now looking like an unkempt partygoer. In her panicked state, tears began to well up in Octavia's eyes and she let out a whimpering cry at her current misfortune.
Vinyl sighed as she watched the display before her. It was uncomfortable seeing her friend in her body break down emotionally, but she had her own problems to deal with. Losing the use of her horn was bad enough, but she was also running late to her own performance at Ponyville's local nightclub and Neon was definitely not going to let her in backstage while she had her friend's image. And so, after a few moments of desperate thought, she managed to come up with an idea of how they could solve both of their problems, but she had to calm Octavia down first.
Octavia felt a comforting hoof on her shoulder before looking up to see her friend, who was wearing her own visage, give a comforting smile before pointing towards her cello case lying on the floor and then to herself. Then, Vinyl pointed towards her own scattered headphones and dark pink shades, before pointing to Octavia who, in turn, couldn't believe what she was witnessing. If what she assumed Vinyl was suggesting was true, then ... No, it would not work. The disc jockey doesn't know her way around a ukulele, much less a cello, and the thought of having to navigate around Vinyl's turntables scared Octavia. But what other choice did she have? There was no time to find the rogue potions cart and get to both of their performances on time now, so they would both have to make it through the night as each other. Sighing, Octavia took Vinyl's hoof, agreeing to the crazy idea she had proposed, and hoping that they wouldn't mess each other's jobs up too badly in the process.
*****
Upon entering Ponyville's small nightclub, Octavia Melody winced as if she had heard the howls of the many Timberwolves that populated the Everfree Forest. Noisy places like this have never really suited her and though she had Vinyl’s ears, she wasn’t used to the constant barrage of loud beats emanating from the speakers scattered all around the discotheque, and the increased volume of the ponies within struggling to be heard over the music. Although every instinct in Octavia told her to run home, lock the door and hide under the covers of her bed, anything to get away from this never-ending assault of sound, something inside told her to stay, to at least do this for Vinyl as she was willing to help her out with her own situation. And so, with a deep breath, she put on her companion's headphones, thankful for their noise-cancelling properties, and made her way backstage, trying to ignore the loud ever-present music and chatter of ponies all around her as she went.
A pale blue unicorn with messy brown hair, round shades and a black vest greeted Octavia cheerfully as she entered the door leading to the backstage area, ecstatically raising his right hoof as she passed him. It took the musician moments to process what he was doing before she understood and returned the hoof bump with a sheepish grin. Octavia had seen Neon Lights only a couple of times on the rare occasions that Vinyl managed to convince her to go for a night on the town and from what she can discern, he seems pleasant to talk to, though she didn't appreciate his wild mannerisms the same way Vinyl did.
Despite the minor social hiccup, Neon was all too pleased to lead her up to the turntables to 'work her magic' as he said while behind her shades, Octavia could only roll her eyes at the comment as she wasn't used to levitating objects with Vinyl's horn yet, much less excel at what Vinyl did. She could only stare, intimidated, at all the various buttons, sliders and knobs that littered the various instruments on the table before her. A degree in rocket science would be far easier to obtain than operating this thing and she was expected to 'work her magic' on the first try? She gulped.
Neon, upon seeing her hesitation, asked her if she was feeling alright, to which she nodded her head vigorously, due to the lack of a voice to tell him so. With a kind smile, he offered to at least help put the records on the turntables, a gesture that she had sorely appreciated. Soon, the music shifted, and the crowd cheered, continuing to move their bodies to the rhythm as Octavia found herself sighing with relief at the realization of the ease of her task. All she had to do was put the records where they needed to be and switch them out whenever the music needed changing. It seems simple enough to do, at least for now, and she hoped that the whole night would go just as smoothly as this.
*****
Vinyl Scratch, in the meantime, was bored out of her mind as she sat listening to the representatives of the various cities in Equestria attending the summit at the Town Hall drone on and on for what seemed like hours. The other members of the Canterlot Orchestra that sat backstage with her, waiting patiently for their cue to perform, weren’t much for conversation either, not that she wanted to say much as she was still trying to get used to finally having a voice in her mouth. It was too quiet, too formal, too dignified, and Vinyl felt as if one hoof-step out of place could get her roommate kicked out of the orchestra for good. She couldn’t believe that Octavia seemed to prefer this stiffness over the wild and exciting atmosphere of her favorite nighttime haunts.
Soon, the time came for the orchestra to do a last-minute rehearsal and as the performers got their instruments ready, Vinyl was nothing but confident. She had seen Octavia practice her cello dozens, if not hundreds, of times in their shared home. How hard could it be?
As it turns out, it was much more challenging than she had expected it to be. Firstly, she had to get the heavy instrument, which she almost dropped a few times, into place while she stood next to it. Next, with the cello in position, she had to hold the accompanying bow with one hoof while holding the weighted instrument in the other, a task that was just as tricky to do and made her wish that she still had her unicorn’s telekinesis to make this step so much easier.
Once she had managed both of these things, Vinyl went towards the stand that held the sheet music that Octavia was to play, her eager expression turning to utter confusion as she couldn’t make heads or tails of whatever was written inside as her musical knowledge only came from following her fellow disc jockeys’ hoof-steps in the ways of dubstep and hip hop. Sensing her nervousness, Octavia’s band mates inquired as to whether she was feeling alright, but she brushed them off with a smile and merely pointed to her mouth while faking a cough, suggesting a sore throat but nothing more. With a hint of determination to make this work somehow, she turned to the sheet music, picked up the bow and began attempting to ‘work her magic’ on the cello as the conductor raised his baton.
A loud screech could be heard throughout the room as all eyes looked around in confusion before slowly turning to Vinyl, who was grinning sheepishly with a blush on her borrowed face. Undeterred, the orchestra tried starting up again but another loud screech from Vinyl’s attempt to use the bow on the cello brought her more uncomfortable looks from those involved. No matter how many times she tried, Vinyl was not able to play the cello the way Octavia did until finally, with a frustrated sigh, the conductor suggested that she take a break from playing the cello, only miming the action and hoping that the loss of one instrument wouldn’t affect the whole piece. Begrudgingly, Vinyl agreed, with her own hopes that she didn’t mess up her friend’s musical career too much by doing this.
*****
Octavia was panicking.
She had been dreading this moment all night, hoping that it wouldn't occur during her entire shift as she dutifully switched the records on the turntable. But as soon as one of the ponies on the dance floor cheered for DJ Pon-3 to 'work her magic' and 'spin some tunes', seemingly every-pony began to chip in and in a few moments, the whole nightclub's attention was all on her. Her hooves froze in the air, her lips felt dry, and she began to sweat as her mind raced a thousand miles a minute, looking for a way out of this situation. Despite being in Vinyl's body, she didn't know how to use Vinyl's synthesizer and soundboard just as skillfully as the disc jockey had and she felt that if she made any mistakes in doing this, her dear friend might have to kiss her stable job at the nightclub goodbye.
Though Octavia had performed in front of a crowd many times before, it was with an instrument that she had been practicing for months at least. Now, she was feeling the pressure as all eyes were on her, bringing her back to a nightmare she occasionally had when she slept. She was back at high school, and it was her first time playing an instrument for a genuine audience in the school's talent show, and though she prepared a lot for this moment, she was a nervous wreck when she saw the sea of ponies in front of her. And she froze, her bow touching the strings but barely being able to produce a sound. Without the calming tones of music to distract her, the condescending voices of her audience began to appear in her head, judging her, criticizing her, saying that she wasn't ready, that she wasn't good enough, that it was a mistake for her to get into music at all, and she broke down crying.
Neon found her a few moments later curled up below the turntables, rocking back and forth, mumbling incoherently, and though she had Vinyl's shades on, he could tell she was tearing up within. He didn't know what had happened to his colleague to cause a sudden nervous breakdown like this, but he knew he had to do something, or the night would go poorly for the both of them.
Octavia once again felt the calming touch of a hoof on her shoulder, and she looked up to see a friendly face staring back at her with a smile, reminding her of her long-time companion's reassuring grin. From their first days at school, Vinyl had been a good friend to her and their shared love of music had brought the two together. Sure, they didn't manage to convince each other to give their genre of choice a chance, but they had grown to accept and support each other despite that. And it was that incident on stage that had cemented their friendship towards each other, as Vinyl started beatboxing on stage, thus giving her the rhythm that she needed to start her performance, and she remembered the applause they both received when she managed to complete her piece with Vinyl by her side.
With concern, Neon asked once more whether she was alright and needed some help. With renewed vigor, she nodded and wiped her tears before getting up and returning to complete her task. The crowd looked on as both Octavia and Neon emerged from the turntables and after reassuring every-pony that everything was alright, Neon added another record to the players and the music started up once more, eliciting the excited cheers from the various ravers on the dance floor. As the loud music blared through the speakers, Octavia felt a prod from Vinyl's colleague as he pointed to the soundboard and once more, she was gripped by panic and confusion as to what she had to do. But seeing Neon's reassuring grin reminded of her of young Vinyl at the school talent show and so, she took a deep breath, steeled her soul, held her eyes shut and proceeded to press one of the various buttons on the soundboard at random.
The sound of a loud air horn could be heard throughout the nightclub, producing cheers from the audience, who raised their hooves in joy as the rhythm of the music in the records played out. Upon hearing the surprisingly positive outcome of her risky maneuver, Octavia opened her eyes and began to smile with relief at the roaring crowd before her. Seeing confidence return to his colleague, Neon directed Octavia to press another button again and this time, the sound of a siren blared from the speakers and once more the crowd was ecstatic. No matter which button she pressed on the soundboard, there were no criticisms from the audience, no scorning cries that she was doing it wrong, and that made her relax and enjoy the music more and more. And so, under Neon’s direction, Octavia was able to let the beat drop with various noises that made the music unique and fun for the crowd and she could feel the excitement rise within her as the night went on.
*****
Vinyl was definitely not enjoying things on her end.
It wasn't because she was failing in her role spectacularly. In fact, the performance seemed to go off without a hitch and no-pony noticed the absence of the low notes of the cello accompanying the orchestra and her mimicking the movements topped off the illusion that she was contributing to the music as well. Everything was going smoothly, and yet Vinyl could sense something was amiss in the atmosphere of the Ponyville Town Hall foyer.
The audience of dignitaries and state representatives were listening to the music and enjoying it, or at least they appeared to be. But Vinyl could tell that some of them were nodding off, some were rushing to use the washroom, and others were gathering as many sandwiches from the refreshments table as they could. It was as if they were looking for an excuse to leave their seats so that they wouldn’t have to face the boredom for a minute longer, which caught her off guard. Vinyl had her own reasons why she wouldn’t enjoy this type of music, but if the intended audience wasn’t having fun listening to it either, there was definitely a problem with the whole arrangement.
And then there were Octavia's band mates. While they were focused on playing their part in the orchestra, Vinyl could tell they were not enjoying the experience. Some of them were sweating, some of them looked like they were about to pass out and some of them whose parts have not come up yet resigned to looking bored staring at their colleagues, wishing that their parts would come sooner, so that they had something to do once more. Even the conductor was looking uncomfortable as he noticed the disinterested audience behind him. They were taking their performance so seriously, that they didn't stop to consider that no-pony was enjoying the experience of getting to play music, and that seriousness was mirrored in Octavia every time she did her rehearsals at home, so much so that Vinyl was beginning to worry about her wellbeing as well. Something had to be done to help lighten the mood before some-pony in the orchestra or in the audience would break down, either due to stress or to boredom.
Upon realizing that both the audience and the orchestra were not paying attention to her, Vinyl began to slowly lower her bow and idly pluck the strings of the cello to pass the time. Octavia was going to be mad at her later, but honestly, it was far more preferable than doing absolutely nothing but fake playing the cello for any longer. Being a disc jockey, Vinyl was used to playing with rhythm and so, began to strum soft slow beats on the classical instrument, mimicking the loud ones she produced in her shifts at the nightclub.
It didn’t take long for the orchestra to notice the off-key rhythm as one by one; the instruments were following a different beat from what the conductor was playing, which was quicker and catchier than the slow harmonies of the original piece. When even the conductor detected the change in rhythm, he was about to turn to Vinyl to scold her for interrupting the harmony of the music, only to realize that the members of the audience behind him were nodding their heads and tapping their hooves to this new beat that was more energetic than what was currently playing.
And so, after a few moments of thought, the conductor tapped his baton on his stand to stop the orchestra for a moment before pointing to Vinyl with a smile, encouraging her to do what she was doing moments before. Returning with a sly grin, the disc jockey turned cellist began plucking the strings of the cello in earnest sending out a catchy rhythm that the orchestra followed when they began the piece once more, playing a jazzy number that aroused the interest of the delegation, who watched in earnest as the energy of the atmosphere in the town hall began to rise. Soon, the members of the audience were even getting up from their seats and dancing to the rhythm and Vinyl smiled as she remembered the familiar atmosphere at one of her sets at the nightclub. And so, the orchestral party went on for the rest of the night and Vinyl even got to take a bow alongside Octavia's band mates for her contribution into making the performance at the summit much livelier than what was expected.
*****
The sweet sound of birdsong was all Octavia could hear as she left her bedroom the next morning to freshen herself up in the washroom. After splashing her tired face with cold water from the tap, she took a good long look at herself in the mirror and thought back to the events of last night after her performance had concluded. Though Vinyl and Octavia had spent the better part of the night searching, they never did find the pony responsible for their predicament and so, returned to their shared home, hoping that the spell contained within that pink mist would wear off in the morning. Judging by the gray-coated earth pony reflected back at her, their suspicions had proven to be correct, but why didn't she feel like herself today? It was as if the familiarity of being her own self seemed strange now due to having experienced an entire night in a different body, and her curiosity of what life was like being her closest friend had never subsided despite already doing her job in her form for just one night.
Octavia then walked down the stairs into the kitchen for some breakfast and as she passed the music room where she and Vinyl kept all of their instruments and equipment, she stopped upon hearing music coming from within, but it wasn’t the loud wubs of the speakers which she got used to hearing her friend play, and that could only mean one thing. Cracking open the door a little, she peered in to see the unusual sight of her roommate standing before a music sheet and holding up her cello and bow, attempting to make heads or tails of what was written within and producing the worst sounds imaginable from her favorite instrument. Normally, Octavia would have scolded Vinyl for touching her things but having experienced life as the disc jockey the previous night, she could only feel sympathy towards her friend as to what it must be like trying her best to perform with an unfamiliar instrument.
Vinyl turned and froze when she saw Octavia, her hooves holding the bow mid-stroke on her friend's cello and her expression mirroring that of a filly being caught with a smashed vase beside her. She watched nervously as her roommate slowly walked towards her with a serious look on her face, and she clenched her jaw and closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the telling-off that was to come. However, to her slight surprise, Octavia merely placed her hooves on her back and right fore-hoof, straightening them into the proper posture so that Vinyl could hold both the cello and bow comfortably. Next, she put Vinyl's other hoof on the correct strings, and then proceeded to move her arms, indirectly playing the piece on the music sheet with her cello and producing the lovely tones that she usually played when she practiced.
No words were said. There wasn't a need to.
As the impromptu performance went on, Vinyl closed her eyes and let Octavia continue to manipulate her hooves into playing her instrument and showing her what she had passionately been doing ever since their school days, smiling in appreciation as she mimicked her friend's movements. Someday, she would show Octavia how to use her disc jockey equipment to produce some awesome tunes that even she would like, but in the moment, she let go of all of her concerns and allowed her closest companion to 'work her own magic' and let them make, if not perfect, but wonderful music together.
