I stared at my music sheets, my head throbbing angrily. I hadn't been able to get any new ideas since talking to Bee, and I was getting annoyed. My entire life was based off music, and the cutie mark on my flank proved it. I tossed out another scratched out sheet and groaned, taking another painkiller.

"Why can't I get this right?" I snapped, kicking my chair across the room. It rolled away and crashed into the wall loudly. If Octavia were here, she'd be yelling at me for making noise. She wasn't here though. She was with Lyra and Bonnie, entertaining Lyra's sister from Ponyville. I put my headphones over my ears, trying to use my old stuff as inspiration.

Nothing was working. I had been run dry, and I hadn't even started my career yet. I turned in early for the third night in a row, slightly discouraged. Octavia never seemed to have this problem. When she lived here, she was writing new music every other night. If Lyra was right, Octy was still writing amazing music and playing it on her damned cello every night.

I sat up in bed, my horn sparking in excitement. The cello. That was Octy's secret. She could write all sorts of different songs because she played a cello. She didn't have to stick within the likes of dubtrot. Her music could do anything. I had to make upbeat dance music, and I wasn't feeling upbeat. I'd heard Octavia playing sad pieces just hours after playing bouncy, classical dance music. She had more freedom with her stupid cello than I did with my endless possibilities of electronic beats. Besides, if an earth pony like Octy could learn to play the cello, a unicorn like me would have no problems mastering the thing.

~XoXo~

Somepony should have told me that cellos are expensive. Nearly three hundred bits for a slightly used cello, and that was just for the cello itself. The case was an extra fifty and lessons were 'to be determined'. Most of the money I had earned working for Dad at the club went into getting a cello that I didn't even think I wanted. I just needed to get something written before I went insane.

"Miss Scratch?" The stallion at the counter said, trying to sound polite. "Are you going to be taking our lessons? We'll need you to sign the paperwork now, so we can get you on the schedule." He said 'schedule' in the typical Canterlot accent and I cringed. Octy said it the same way. I cringed again thinking about Octy. I cringed again thinking about how it hurt to think about Octy.

"I'll take the lessons," I said, taking the pen in my magical grip. "Where do I sign?" The stallion tapped a line with his hoof and I scribbled my name on the line with a smile.

"And what time will you be available, Miss Scratch?"

"I guess five. That's usually when I get finished with classes and homework," Like I ever actually do the homework.

"I'm sorry, Miss Scratch," the stallion said, looking truly sorry. "I'm afraid the five o'clock slot has been filled for the time being. Would six work or shall we find another time?"

"Six is great," I said quickly, not really caring. I just wanted to get good enough to start writing again. "Do I just come back here or...?" I looked around the music store. It seemed too small for lessons, but I was pretty sure there were rooms in the back for the ponies rich enough to get lessons.

"The only lessons we have here are for piano," the stallion replied. "Our lessons for everything else are actually held in a different building. We're located at 426 North Street. Do you need me to give you directions?"

"Nah, my dad works across the street," I replied, picturing the building. It seemed shabby for lessons, but who was I to judge? I'd lived in a pretty shabby place until Dad opened up the club. "How much is this costing me? I've never been told 'to be determined' when paying before."

"Well, that depends, Miss Scratch," the stallion said with a smile that made me regret asking. "What is your skill level as far as the cello is concerned?"

"I've watched my old roommate play a few times," I said, thinking about all the times I had spent watching Octy's hooves across the instrument. The way her strong earth pony hooves moved flawlessly across the strings, or the way her mane cascaded down across her face when she was concentrating...

"But you've never played a cello before, correct?" The stallion's question pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, never played one. I'm a DJ, so I'm really more into the whole electronic thing,"

"What made you decide to switch over to the cello of all things?" The stallion asked as he filled in the paperwork for my lessons.

"I needed a change of pace," I shrugged. "So, how much?"

"Well, for beginners such as yourself, it would be around fifty bits for each hour long lesson. The further you go into the lessons, the more expensive the classes will become, but I'm sure that won't be a problem, Miss Scratch?"

"Yeah, that's fine," I said. Fifty bits was easy to come by with my profession, and the lessons were pretty important to writing music. "Six, right?"

"That is correct, Miss Scratch,"

"Please," I said with an attempt at a friendly smile. "Just call me Vinyl,"

"We will see you at six o'clock sharp starting Monday evening, Vinyl," the stallion smiled. I passed him a bag of bits and adjusted my new cello on my back, groaning under it's weight. How Octavia, with her slender build and lithe looking form, could carry this thing was beyond me. I used the help of my magic and left the shop, a string of possibilities forming in my mind.

~XoXo~

The cello sat in the corner of my room over the weekend, collecting dust. I had cleared out my working space, placing my laptop in its case and stowing it under my bed to have enough room for the empty sheets that would soon be filled with cello music. I'd seen Octy write music for her cello, and it didn't seem too different from the way I wrote out the music to remix, so I figured I could just write out anything I wanted and play it back later. I had three measures of a slow piece written out before I realized that I had no idea what it would actually sound like. The only cello pieces I could hear in my head were ones that Octavia had played before she moved out.

I decided that no harm could come if I just picked up the cello and tried playing. It couldn't be that hard, if an earth pony could do it. Horns made everything so much easier, I decided as I pulled the cello out of its case. I wasn't entirely sure what Octavia did to prep the thing, but the stallion who sold it to me had tuned it before putting it in the case. I took the stick thingy in one hoof and sliding it across the strings, wincing at the screechy noise it made. Octy had never had that problem, I was sure. She was just born knowing how to make music.

"Alrighty then, cello," I said aloud, putting on my most serious game face. "It's just me and you. Let's show Octy what we can do."