Thick notes hummed through metal pipes in accordance with a musician's touch. Melodia, whose stature was miniature compared to the massive organ she played, directed the sounds with a graceful dance of her hoofs. The tune ran up and down the keyboard with tremendous control, blending the sounds of the heavy notes like caramel and chocolate; its delicious din was as exquisite as music could get.

Colgate, though initially taken by the instrument's power, paid little attention to her friend's prolonged play with the black and white keys. The adventurer was too occupied studying the artwork that decorated the newly-discovered performance hall.

Though a very adventurous sort, Colgate had an unfortunate, hereditary forgetfulness. Such places as the hall in which she and Melodia sat had escaped her restless mind as newer places to explore took priority over time. The fact that the students had never needed to enter into the indoor amphitheater did not help either. Its existence was rarely mentioned, if even at all, over the course of the semester’s opening weeks.

But now that it had been found, the chamber filled with beautiful song. Melodia, a musician and admirer of all things rich in sound, hadn't even observed the room beyond the shining silver organ that sat front and center in the giant chamber. Since she first touched a key on the organ Melodia hadn’t stopped; similarly, her roommate hadn’t removed her gaze from the wall since first spotting a cluster of hoof-drawn maps.

After ending her song with a drawn-out finale, Melodia listened to the closing tolls travel through the hall. Content, she stepped back and gazed at the entirety of the colossal organ and drew in a long inhalation. A graceful smile crossed her lips.

“Isn't it beautiful, Colgate?” she sighed as her eyes locked on the pipes reaching skyward.

Her roommate, who had still been staring at a the assortments of maps, stole a glimpse of her friend and the organ.

“Yep, it's huge,” Colgate said unemotionally. “Pretty impressive.”

Melodia flipped her hair to the side and murmured, “I was referring to the sound, but the size is indeed tremendous.” She glanced at Colgate, who still hardly seemed to be listening. “What does the music make you think or feel? Awe-inspiring? Motivating?”

Colgate’s eyes rolled up. “Good.”

Melodia's shoulders slumped. “Just... good?”

“Yeah, it was nice.”

“You weren't even listening, were you?” Melodia pouted with a stomp. “No, you must have heard it all! It's too loud to simply ignore.”

Colgate returned her gaze to the array of charts hung before her. “You'd be surprised at my selective hearing.”

“I'm not sure you know exactly what 'selective hearing' is, Colgate,” Melodia uttered. “I suppose I should've guessed that you were somewhat deaf, though. After all, your last 'adventure' was really a result of your-”

“That's nice,” Colgate said absent-mindedly. She waved a hoof to shoo her away.

“What are you looking at?” Melodia asked crossly as she trotted over to her roommate.

Hung all across the walls were portraits of all sorts, varying in content, shape and size. Directly in front of Colgate was a map with a black outline of the island, its underlying parchment a faded tan texture. Features across it were roughly sketched like ink applied to a rough surface; the end result had been blurred images that neither pony could make out very well. Landscapes were crudely marked with quick repetitive lines and covered a good half of the geographic guide.

Other things had more clear indicators, such as the two buildings for the academy and a large black hole for the western cave. One depiction, however, just as clear as the others, was not quite as familiar as the rest. Its detail included a cluster of buildings, each one drawn out with strange precision. The curious picture was located northeast of the school, its area roughly the size of the academy's.

The doors to the performance hall suddenly burst open. Short breaths followed the echoed creaks of the heavy doors.

“I dunno what I just heard, but it wasn’t all that bad,” declared the newcomer. “It just needs some bass, that’s all.”

The two roommates glanced over their shoulders to see the familiar white and cyan figure of Vinyl Scratch. She stood staring directly at the silver organ and its metallic brilliance gleaming in the torchlight surrounding the hall.

“Whoa, sweet organ!” Vinyl remarked as she lifted her violet glasses, revealing her red irises. “Didn't even know we had one here.”

“Oh, did you hear the music earlier?” Melodia asked, feigning bashfulness.

“Sure as hay did, that was pretty intense,” Vinyl said with small nods of acknowledgement. “I was thinking about what kind of mix I could throw that into more than anything. Sounded kinda big, or maybe... evil?”

“Yes, that was some of Johann Stallion Bach’s darker work,” Melodia said. “You seem to me quite the musically-inclined!”

Vinyl looked at her own cutie mark and shrugged. “Gee, what gave that away?”

“It's something every good artist can sense,” Melodia remarked with a swift brush of her long mane. “Might you be an organ player too, perchance?”

Vinyl laughed. “Psh, no way. I don't think I could work that. I prefer scratching 'n' stuff; stick to my guns and all.” She glanced over at Melodia, who simply gave a puzzled gaze. “You know, remix? DJ? Electronic, trance, dubstep..?”

Melodia continued to stare.

“Don't tell me,” Vinyl murmured as she let out an irritated sigh. “Either you’re as hard of hearing as a geezer, or you’re from Canterlot. Or both.”

“Well, yes- er, I mean, you guessed correctly that I’m from Canterlot,” Melodia confirmed.

“Ugh, look, I don’t have any personal beef with you, but all I've been getting recently from your kind are complaints,” Vinyl said.

“My kind? Complaints?”

“Yeah, complaints. I've been havin’ my own jam sessions too, ya know. Lemme ask this: did anypony barge in here and tell you stop playing today? Anything like that?”

Melodia raised a hoof to her chest in shock. “Of course not.”

Vinyl growled and clicked her teeth. “Figures. Everypony at this academy's got bad taste, I tell ya. Of course they'll stop me when I'm rockin' out, but not the blasting organ this late in the evening.”

“Perhaps you should practice in here; then no pony would bother you,” Melodia said.

“You're tellin' that to somepony with way too much sound equipment,” Vinyl smirked. “There's no way I'm heaving everything here and back every time I want to mess around on the turntable. That's why I pay others to do it for me.”

“Well, perhaps you should consider carrying a lighter load,” Melodia suggested, her obvious lack of understanding displayed through a condescending tone.

Vinyl massaged her forehead and tried to laugh away the tension. “Look, I don't think you understand: I don't play a dinky little violin or flute. I don't have the luxury of just putting my stuff in a single case and wandering out of the dorms to wherever I please.”

“I don't either; this organ's set in stone.”

Vinyl cocked her head to one side. “Is every Canterlot pony's understanding as bad as their taste in music?”

Melodia gasped. “We have a perfectly fine taste in music, thank you very much!”

“Oh really? What's so great about Canterlot music?”

Melodia, challenged, felt taken aback. “There's no easy way to describe it. Its complexity is too great to merely summarize. If you really wish to know, you'd come to Canterlot and see such a venue for yourself.”

“That's too much time and money I really don't have to spare,” Vinyl said with a smirk. “I'll stick to Ponyville and other places nearby, thanks.”

“I assure you it would be worth the effort.”

“Whatever you say,” Vinyl said, rolling her hidden eyes. “Colgate, I'm headin' to dinner. You comin’ along?”

Colgate's ears did not even twitch, she was so absorbed. Vinyl simply shook her head in reply and sighed.

“Whatever. See you two around, I guess.”

… If I don't die from overexposure to complete dullness first.

Next Chapter: Chapter 13 (Episode 4): DJs Don't Take Notes Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 6 Minutes