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Organised by
RogerDodger
Word limit
400–750
Routine
The sweet aroma of citrus wafted through the air as Octavia lounged in her reading chair. Bringing the cup to her lips, she sipped her morning tea slowly, content to watch the ponies outside her window go about their routines. This too, had become a routine for her. Wake up, put the kettle on, and prepare her modest breakfast of toast and jam. Then, relax on her chair and watch the day come to life around her, before taking up her cello.
“Awwwwww yeahhhh!”
This had become part of her routine as well. A quarter measure of breath was all the time she had to prepare for the inevitable decibel earthquake to shake the house’s foundations. The cup and saucer were in her hooves in a flash, and she stretched her foreleg out to suspend the cup of scalding liquid as far away from her as possible.
vrrrrvrrrvrrrvrrrerrrerrrerrr-wubwubwubwubwubwubwubwub-vrrrvrrrvrrrvrrrrrerrrerrrerrr
Octavia grit her teeth and stared down her hoof, mentally willing the tea to remain within her cup. If there was ever a time she actively wished she were born a unicorn, this was that time. She remembered when she entered Ponyville’s Barnyard Bargains and asked a very confused clerk if it was possible to order an entire bulk shipment of bubble wrap. The manager, in great sympathy, implored her to take as much as she could possibly carry, along with the advice that she wrap her most precious heirlooms at least three times over.
At last the vibrations subsided, and Octavia was pleased to note that the tea had not spilled onto her hoof this time, at least. Placing the cup and saucer upon a side table, she rose from the window and crossed her room to the cello case resting on the ground. She had just begun to apply a fresh coat of rosin to her bow when she heard a knock coming from outside her door.
“Come in!” Octavia called, not looking up from her task.
The door opened partially to reveal a bedraggled, grinning unicorn leaning into the bedroom.
“Hey Tavi, awesome day to be alive, ain’t it?”
Octavia glanced up with a small smile. “Yes, it is, and good morning Vinyl. I’m getting ready to start my practice, if you’d like to stay and listen?”
“Buck yeah I do!” Vinyl kicked open the door and trotted over to lay in Octavia’s chair, waiting as Octavia finished her preparations.
Octavia ran through each of the cello’s strings, stopping to tune a peg until the note rang true. Soon enough, she flung herself into the music, closing her eyes and smiling as she listened to her bow flutter gracefully across the strings. Her entire body seemed to dance in place, the passion for her craft readily apparent by how her head swayed through the melody singing from her cello. A shaft of sunlight crept through the window, lighting Octavia in a golden haze.
She pulled her bow across the final chord, letting the final notes echo through the room. Opening her eyes once more, she looked to Vinyl to find her frowning hard, seeming to stare past her.
“Oh, was it no good?” Vinyl seemed to jump at Octavia’s words, who was now resting the bow beside her and leaning into her cello. “I suppose I did pick up the tempo slightly near the middle, perhaps I should-”
“No! Tavi no, that’s not it. It’s like,” Vinyl rubbed her neck, searching for the words, “you’re just so…good. You’re like, amazing! You could have been anything in Canterlot! And now you’re just here. With me. Tutoring ponies that have no business to even be holding an instrument!” Vinyl shouted, flailing her legs.
She hung her head, staring at the ground, a far cry from the brash mare Octavia had come to know. “I just don’t know why you’re here.”
Octavia gently lay her cello down and approached the somber mare. Her hoof reached out to lift up Vinyl’s sagging head. She looked down into her beautiful, expressive eyes, and then solidly bopped Vinyl right in the nose.
“Wah!” Vinyl cried out, nearly falling off the chair. She held her muzzle between her hooves. “What the hay was that for!?”
“Hush,” Octavia whispered, climbing into the chair, and leaning into Vinyl.
“But!-”
“No.”
“Tavi-”
“Shh-”
Octavia closed her eyes, resting against her closest friend. Bathed in the sunlight, she wrapped a foreleg around Vinyl and watched as Ponyville came to life outside her window, welcoming the start of a new routine.
“Awwwwww yeahhhh!”
This had become part of her routine as well. A quarter measure of breath was all the time she had to prepare for the inevitable decibel earthquake to shake the house’s foundations. The cup and saucer were in her hooves in a flash, and she stretched her foreleg out to suspend the cup of scalding liquid as far away from her as possible.
vrrrrvrrrvrrrvrrrerrrerrrerrr-wubwubwubwubwubwubwubwub-vrrrvrrrvrrrvrrrrrerrrerrrerrr
Octavia grit her teeth and stared down her hoof, mentally willing the tea to remain within her cup. If there was ever a time she actively wished she were born a unicorn, this was that time. She remembered when she entered Ponyville’s Barnyard Bargains and asked a very confused clerk if it was possible to order an entire bulk shipment of bubble wrap. The manager, in great sympathy, implored her to take as much as she could possibly carry, along with the advice that she wrap her most precious heirlooms at least three times over.
At last the vibrations subsided, and Octavia was pleased to note that the tea had not spilled onto her hoof this time, at least. Placing the cup and saucer upon a side table, she rose from the window and crossed her room to the cello case resting on the ground. She had just begun to apply a fresh coat of rosin to her bow when she heard a knock coming from outside her door.
“Come in!” Octavia called, not looking up from her task.
The door opened partially to reveal a bedraggled, grinning unicorn leaning into the bedroom.
“Hey Tavi, awesome day to be alive, ain’t it?”
Octavia glanced up with a small smile. “Yes, it is, and good morning Vinyl. I’m getting ready to start my practice, if you’d like to stay and listen?”
“Buck yeah I do!” Vinyl kicked open the door and trotted over to lay in Octavia’s chair, waiting as Octavia finished her preparations.
Octavia ran through each of the cello’s strings, stopping to tune a peg until the note rang true. Soon enough, she flung herself into the music, closing her eyes and smiling as she listened to her bow flutter gracefully across the strings. Her entire body seemed to dance in place, the passion for her craft readily apparent by how her head swayed through the melody singing from her cello. A shaft of sunlight crept through the window, lighting Octavia in a golden haze.
She pulled her bow across the final chord, letting the final notes echo through the room. Opening her eyes once more, she looked to Vinyl to find her frowning hard, seeming to stare past her.
“Oh, was it no good?” Vinyl seemed to jump at Octavia’s words, who was now resting the bow beside her and leaning into her cello. “I suppose I did pick up the tempo slightly near the middle, perhaps I should-”
“No! Tavi no, that’s not it. It’s like,” Vinyl rubbed her neck, searching for the words, “you’re just so…good. You’re like, amazing! You could have been anything in Canterlot! And now you’re just here. With me. Tutoring ponies that have no business to even be holding an instrument!” Vinyl shouted, flailing her legs.
She hung her head, staring at the ground, a far cry from the brash mare Octavia had come to know. “I just don’t know why you’re here.”
Octavia gently lay her cello down and approached the somber mare. Her hoof reached out to lift up Vinyl’s sagging head. She looked down into her beautiful, expressive eyes, and then solidly bopped Vinyl right in the nose.
“Wah!” Vinyl cried out, nearly falling off the chair. She held her muzzle between her hooves. “What the hay was that for!?”
“Hush,” Octavia whispered, climbing into the chair, and leaning into Vinyl.
“But!-”
“No.”
“Tavi-”
“Shh-”
Octavia closed her eyes, resting against her closest friend. Bathed in the sunlight, she wrapped a foreleg around Vinyl and watched as Ponyville came to life outside her window, welcoming the start of a new routine.