As the month went on, Octavia started seeing more and more of Vinyl Scratch. She wasn't surprised to see the DJ at a record store, but it became increasingly odd as she found her at such places as a repair shop for when her cello broke it's tuning pegs. On her way to reclaim the cello, she finally stopped Vinyl in the streets in another coincidental meeting. Vinyl took off her glasses to watch Octavia.
"What are you doing in all of these places?" she asked. "I've met you at the record store, the Chez Stallion a week ago, the repair shop just now... how are we always at the same place?"
"I don't know. I suppose it is simply Celestia's will," Vinyl said, shrugging. Octavia simply stared as Vinyl continued on her way.
"Lyra, please, just eat a sandwich or something," Bon Bon pleaded. "Your stomach has been rumbling for the past hour. You should take a break."
She was sitting on one of the two beds in the ponies' shared hotel room. Lyra was across from her, her full-size harp on the ground as she plucked at the strings. Bon Bon had long ago learned to stop being freaked out by the wierd way Lyra sat, and she was instead worried about Lyra's health.
"I'm not hungry," Lyra insisted, despite her body reading the obvious lie. "I have to be perfect. I don't know how many ponies will be there - or even worse, WHICH ponies will be there! What if there's some big studio person who could get me an awesome job, and I blow it? These kinds of things gather that type of pony, you know!"
"You stubborn mule," Bon Bon said, annoyed at her friend's insistence of ignoring her boy's basic needs. "You're almost as bad as Applejack. Remember applebuck season last year, when she all but destroyed the town with her stubbornness to ignore her health?"
"I really doubt perfecting my songs is going to destroy Phillydelphia, Bon Bon," Lyra responded, rolling her eyes.
"I don't doubt anything. Now eat," Bon Bon said, her tone now demanding. "Eat, or I will take a pair of scissors and snip every string on that harp of yours."
"Geez, ok, just don't touch my harp with any sort of sharp object," Lyra groaned. Bon Bon smiled.
Finally, the day of the event arrived. Octavia wasn't clued in on exactly what it was, but her questions were answered when a well-dressed Earth-pony gave her a program. It was an art show, selling such things as paintings, sculptures, and photographs.
An important-looking unicorn ushered them backstage from where they would be performing. As expected, Vinyl Scratch was nearby, tinkering with her turntables (Octavia suspected she'd levitated them all the way here). Octavia was more surprised, though, to see a familiar duo nearby.
"Hey! You're Lyra, right? And Bon Bon?" she called out to the two ponies. They looked startled and happy at the same time.
"Well, if it isn't Miss Octavia. Is this why you're in Phillydelphia?" Bon Bon asked.
"Yes, it is. My band and I are here to play for the crowds. How about you?" Octavia replied.
"I'm not going on-stage. I'm just here to help Lyra get ready. I'm sure you can deduce her special talent," Bon Bon explained. "Her harp is right over there."
"Well, I do love harpists. We have one named Cleft," Octavia said. Lyra's eyes widened.
"Oh, wow! Can I go see him? Pleasepleasepleaseplease?" she pleaded excitedly.
"Uh, wow, not many people pay him much heed," Octavia said. "I'm sure he'd be thrilled to see a fan. Come on."
Octavia introduced Lyra to Cleft, then excused herself to check everyone's instruments. Once that was finished, she glanced quickly at a clock.
"Celestia is going to bring down the sun in half an hour. The show begins then," she told herself.
She took a glance at her program. She was right between Lyra and Vinyl Scratch. Everyone was to play two songs. She'd picked out her songs beforehand (while they were on their way inside) so she wasn't worried. She wished, however, that they'd been informed of all this much sooner. With nothing else to do, she decided to walk over to Vinyl Scratch and find out what she'd be playing.
"Hello, Vinyl," Octavia said, after getting her attention. "What will you be playing?"
"It seems that I am directly behind some slow music players - yourself included - so I will play relatively quiet music for my normal style. Don't be afraid to shout if I'm playing too loud," Vinyl answered.
"But you wouldn't hear me shouting," Octavia pointed out.
"I know. It's perfect!" Vinyl said, a mischievous smirk painted across her face.
"You know, something has come to mind. Does your job not involve matching beats?" Octavia asked.
"Well, yeah. It's sort of necessary to make my music," Vinyl answered, shrugging.
"How do you do that if you're deaf?" Octavia asked.
"Well, check this out," Vinyl said. He pulled up the records he had brought along, and showed her chalk numbers written on the backs of each of them. "All of my records are numbered, and I have a chart that lets me know what each and every record has on it. One of my friends back in Ponyville did this for me after I first got struck deaf."
"Sounds like you've got it all figured out, then. Quite ingenious, really. Well, break a hoof," Octavia said.
Lyra went on-stage at the announcement of the MC. Bon Bon came behind her, setting up Lyra's music sheets as the unicorn lifted her harp with her telekinesis.
She hadn't been sure about accepting this request when it came for her by letter. She ad always thought her music mediocre at best ("special talent" or not), but she'd accepted at the urging of Bon Bon. She had practiced vigorously every day in Ponyville, at one point having spent the entire day (barring necessary trips around the house) in her music room. When they'd arrived in the hotel, she was uneased by the lack of any private space to practice, and went out of the room less and less, practicing for hours on end. Even tonight, she'd been quite frazzled despite Bon Bon's promises that Lyra had practiced to absolute perfection. However, after a discussion with Cleft, and letting him hear a few chords, she was assured of her ability to perform.
She began strumming her first song, "Fantasie" (an old Coltic song), while peering over the audience. It was a simple room, but it was obvious that many important ponies had arrived. They were all wearing formal outfits. She could not, however, pick out any particular ponies that she recognized as "big names". She sighed, slightly out of relief but mostly from the lack of a big chance. She strummed a last few notes, fading out of the song. She took a small break and allowed the applause to die down before beginning her next song, "Stairway to Heaven". Not much was known about the song, and even it's artist had chosen to remain anonymous, but it was a well-known tune.
When the music was finished, Lyra felt a sense of relief that she had not felt since getting the invitation to play about two months ago. She stood up and took a bow on her two hind legs, which shocked most of the crowd. Backstage, Bon Bon groaned. Bon Bon stepped out on stage and gathered Lyra's things, as the MC called for one more round of applause for Ms. Lra Heartstring. Lyra, as usual, took her own harp back.
"Well, feel better?" Bon Bon asked hopefully.
"Much. Looks like my big break's not here in Phillydelphia, though," Lyra said resignedly.
"Don't be so sure," Octavia said as she passed by, giving a wink. She had her cello in a large case beside her, prepared to go on-stage.
The Galloping Quartet finished setting up (they had to have magical assistance to transport the piano safely), and they each took their positions. Octavia was at her cello, Cleft with his harp, Treble on the piano, and Forte with her tuba. With practiced ease, they slid into "Moonlight Sonata", by the famous composer Beethooven. It was an old song, dedicated to Celestia's beautiful night that most people took for granted, favoring the day. The dedication had since been given to Luna by Celestia, since it was now her duty to brighten the night with the moon and stars.
The song finished all at once, and the entire room exploded into cheers at the well-known band's performance. Octavia nodded to the audience, but kept a passive expression. If she got too excited, she played too fast, and the whole song was ruined. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed a few familiar faces from the Gala the year before, but like Lyra, she confirmed that there was noone there who could give Lyra a jump-start to fame.
She pushed aside her thoughts as the next song began. It had no true name, simply called "air on the G string". It was by J.S. Buck, yet another legendary maestro. The room was silent as it played, but it's ending brought about the same din of cheers.
Two unicorn stagehands helped to get the piano and harp off-stage as the two mares lifted their own instruments. As soon as Octavia was back-stage, she found herself face-to-face with Lyra.
"What did you mean, 'don't be so sure'?" she asked hoarsely. "Did you see anyone out there who can help me?"
"Yes, I did. if you would be willing to wait until the end of the musical performances, I would be more than happy to introduce you," Octavia said calmly. Lyra bounced up and down, grinning like a maniac.
"Ooh, I hope he liked my performance! Or was it a she? It was a she, wasn't it?"
"End. Of. The. Performance," Octavia emphasized sternly. Lyra pouted for a single second, before bouncing off to tell Bon Bon the exciting news.
"Well, guess I'm up next," Vinyl said, as she lifted her turntables with her telekinesis. "I'm gonna hope that you guys didn't do anything that I can't top."
"I assure you, our performance was most mediocre. We could've done much better had we had the whole night, though. It takes a few songs for us to truly begin to shine," Octavia said, once she was certain Vinyl was looking at her.
"I'm not quite sure what you said, but whatev," Vinyl said, shrugging. "See ya' after I'm done."
"Hey! Is everypony ready to rock with DJ P0n-3!" Vinyl yelled as soon as she set down the turntables, as unicorn magic snaked two amplifiers' cords to connect with it. "I know you guys have been listening to slow and steady music, but I specialize in getting ponies on their hooves, so you better clear the chairs for a dance floor! Don't think you're too classy to dance, because I can assure you that nopony is too classy for this!"
She pulled out two records, checked their numbers, and set them on the record track. Music blared, and Vinyl - DJ P0n-3, rather - grinned as strobe lights poured over the audience with no discernable source (yet another use of her magic).
The song chosen, though unrecognized by the vast majority of ponies in the audience, was Fire Burning, a song that DJ P0n-3 had played at more than one gathering. To be honest, she had never actually heard it (it was released afte she became deaf), but she usually got positive responses from the ponies that did hear it. She noticed reluctance from the audience, but at the same time, she could see that some were tapping their hooves to what she assumed was the beat. With a practiced timing, she caused a small scratch to the turntables at the exact moment that had been directed by her friend back in Ponyville. As the song concluded, she could see several mouths moving excitedly. She didn't need to hear their cheers to know what they were doing.
"Alright, next up is a little rendition of the popular filly's song, the Pony Pokey," DJ P0n-3 said, pulling out another record. "Before you react, I'll tell you that this is remixed quite heavily. I haven't heard it myself, but I more than trust my friends who did this."
The mention of the song had gotten the attention of the Galloping Quartet backstage. They had not easily forgotten the odd song request back at the Grand Galloping Gala. They all pressed their ears against the curtains to listen.
They were thoroughly thrown off when what came through the speakers was not anything resembling the Pony Pokey, but instead a jumbled mishmash of at least a dozen different songs. The crowd gasped and scooted back. On the stage, DJ P0n-3 had a confused look on her face, not being able to figure out why the audience was reacting so abhorrently.
"I picked the right music, didn't I?" she wondered. She dove behind her turntables and shifted through her records, and sure enough the right number was on the track. She shut off the music, which caused the entire audience to relax.
"Well, it appears that it was unpopular. Sorry, folks, guess I'll have to get it remixed again," she said, maintaining a happy facade. She couldn't make out what any of the ponies in the audience were shouting at her about. She knew that her two songs were done, so she unplugged the turntable and took everything backstage.
"What do you mean, that wasn't the Pony Pokey?" Vinyl asked incredulously, as more music played on-stage from a different performer.
"Well, it may have been the Pony Pokey, but if so, it was remixed beyond recognition," Octavia said. "Believe me, I know. It sounded more like a mix of many, many different songs that, to be honest, did not work well together."
"Buh- I- huh?" Vinyl said, sitting down and scratching her head. "That makes no sense. They said it would rock their hooves off!"
"It was more like loose rocks under their hooves, really," Octavia said bluntly.
"Bah. So I flopped a peformance. No biggie," Vinyl said, shrugging. "I mean, it's easy to pick yourself up from defeat. Even if you think your performance was just horrible."
"Well, that's a relief to hear," Lyra said, stepping over and sitting beside Octavia. Bon Bon stood nearby. "Oh, and that was the last performer just now. The MC's clearing the area for the art auctions, so can you introduce me to the pony, now?"
"Alright, alright," Octavia said, smiling and rolling her eyes. She stood up... and walked to the other side of Lyra. She held out her hoof, while Vinyl silently watched. "Well, well, well, you must be Ms. Lyra Heartstrings," she said, in an over-the-top impersonation of a stuffy celebrity (a role she only fulfilled half of).
"You're kidding," Lyra said, narrowing her eyes and groaning.
"Kidding? About what?" Octavia said, sticking out her tongue. "I assure you, I'm very serious when it comes to business. I have talked with my band, and due to Cleft's... occasional issues, we thought that it would be rather handy to have a backup harpist." Lyra's jaw dropped. "You can't accept without moving your mouth, you know."
"I- I- this is all a big prank, right? You can't seriously want me in your band? I mean, you guys are famous! What if I drag you behind?" Lyra asked.
"Lyra, we've discussed this," Bon Bon interjected. "You've honed yourself to perfection these last two months. Miss Octavia's giving you the chance to reap what you sow."
"Your friend has the right idea, Lyra," Octavia said. "I'm going to be honest, and say that you're not perfect. Nopony is. Music is a very, very hard talent. And that's why only the very best ponies can embrace it. You are very, very close to being on the same level as us. With our help, you can become a star. So, what do you say?"
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh... yes, yes, yes, yes!" Lyra squealed, hugging Octavia. "When is the next practice?"
"Hold your ponies, Lyra," Octavia said, laughing. "There's a bunch of legal stuff to work out, and you'll have to move to Canterlot-"
"That's almost no issue at all. Bon Bon has a summer home there. I was there during last year's Summer Sun Celebration, right?" Lyra said. Bon Bon nodded. "Great. I just need to gather the bits to buy it off her, and then I'll be in Canterlot faster than Celestia can raise the sun!"
"Well, good to see that you have everything worked out. You and Cleft will normally be alternating performances, but sometimes two harps are never a bad thing, and of course you shall need to over for each other when one cannot make it," Octavia explained.
"So, to make sure I read this right, Lyra's got a gig with you guys?" Vinyl asked.
"Yes, I have a gig! A real one!" Lyra exclaimed.
"Well, that's good for you. Care to celebrate tonight? It doesn't have to be a big blowout, just a nice, small celebration with really loud music," Vinyl said, grinning.
"That would be lovely," Octavia said. "I shall see you ladies tonight, but I must get packing. We are leaving tomorrow, and I'd rather not get my bags packed at 6:00 in the morning."
Octavia woke up the next morning, refreshed despite having partied until approximately 1:00 in the morning. The party had been much slower than Vinyl would've liked, and she had managed to get work done with Lyra while the music blared over their voices. Forte was just coming out of the shower.
"So, have fun last night?" she asked.
"Yes, quite a bit. I think I shall go down to Ponyville very once in a while. I have managed to make a friend there," Octavia said.
"She's the first deaf musician I've ever met," Forte said thoughtfully. "How does she do it?"
"Well, her friends help her. Even if they do mess up on occasion, they're there for her enough to make those mistakes seem paltry. In fact... Spike, take a letter." She paused to see Forte's reaction. Forte just looked at her quizzically. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. The Princess' protege says that often, or so I've heard. Usually has to do with finding something more about friendship, so I thought it appropriate. I guess I just can't deliver a punchline well enough."
"Yeeeaaahhh...I'll see you at the wagon," Forte said. Octavia nodded, and the purple mare left the room with her suitcase and tuba case in a cart.
Octavia took a brief shower and finished her packing. A knock came at the room's door, and she opened it to find Lyra, Bon Bon, and Vinyl.
"Well, hello, ladies. What are you doing here?" Octavia asked, obviously a bit surprised.
"We know you're leaving in a few minutes, so we came to say bye," Bon Bon explained. "Well, on a technical note, you shall likely be seeing Lyra again very soon, but that's beside the point."
"I may never hear your music, but I don't doubt that it's great," Vinyl said.
"And I wanted to say thank you again, oh so much!" Lyra said. "This is really a big thing for me!"
"Do not worry about farewells. I will see every one of you very soon. After all, what are friends for?" Octavia asked.
"Music," Lyra said.
"Candy," Bon Bon added.
"Parties," Vinyl finished.
"Eh, close enough."
The End.