>You are Octavius
>And you're pretty sure you're going to be asleep from boredom in about five minutes
>Prince Artemis stands tall at the pulpit at the front of the dining hall, sorting through his papers
>Exchanging a few words with one of his bodyguards, he clears his throat before flicking a switch on the microphone
>Strange, you don't remember Celestia turning it off at the end of her speech
>Unless...
>Oh sweet Celestia, no
>"MEMBERS OF STAFF, STUDENTS, INVITED GUESTS, PRINCESS CELESTIA OF EQUESTRIA, KING GARION OF GRIFFONIA, MAYOR MUSTANG OF PONYVILLE..."
>The Alicorn's voice booms through the hall as he speaks, his voice carrying even to the furthest corners of the room as he continues to rattle off the names of important guests
>"PRINCE BOLERO AND PRINCESS GLEAMING SHIELD OF THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE, OTHER ASSOCIATED DIGNITARIES, MARES AND GENTLECOLTS..."
>As Artemis wraps up the guest list, you prepare to breathe a sigh of relief
>Something which immediately proves itself unnecessary
>"IT IS A GREAT HONOUR TO BE HERE THIS EVENING," Artemis adds, his Royal Canterlot Voice still going strong, "THE DODECACENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THIS INSTITUTION."
 
>Vinyl leans in towards you, her muzzle now near your ear
>"Wait, hang on," Vinyl asks, lowering her voice to a whisper, "dodeca-what now?"
"Dodecacentennial, I think. Pretty sure it means like eleven hundred years or somethin'."
>"IT WAS TWELVE CENTURIES AGO THAT MY SISTER AND I FIRST LAID THE CORNERSTONE OF THIS INSTITUTION, NOW RECOGNISED AS ONE OF EQUESTRIA'S, IF NOT THE WORLD'S, PREMIER MAGIC-BASED CENTRES OF LEARNING..."
"Oh, twelve hundred. Close 'nuff."
>"Why couldn't he have just said that in the first place?"
"Mate, since when has ol' Artemis ever made anythin' simple for himself? I mean, he's got a feckin' microphone right there, and he's just shoutin' his bloody lungs out like-"
>"Shh!"
>Turning to face the noise, you see a green mare glaring at you through her monocle as she holds a hoof to her mouth
"Oh. Sorry, mate."
>As the green mare turns her attention back to the prince, you lean into Vinyl's ear and lower your voice
"As I was sayin', Artemis ain't exactly the pony t'make things simple for himself."
>"Yeah, dude," your friend whispers back, "I got you."
>"OF COURSE," Artemis continues, "THE EQUESTRIA OF TWELVE HUNDRED YEARS AGO WAS QUITE A DIFFERENT PLACE TO THE EQUESTRIA OF TODAY. THOUGH WE-"
>Artemis's voice suddenly falls silent as one of his guards taps him on the shoulder
>After a brief exchange of words and a few gestures to the half-deafened front rows, the prince slumps, defeated
>Pouting, he flicks the switch on the microphone again
>"Now," he mumbles, "where was I...?"
>Quickly, the prince runs a hoof along his papers, searching for where he left off
>"Yes, here we are. Though we now bask in the glorious light of peace," Artemis says, his voice now carrying through the speakers with a much more pleasant tone as he resumes his speech, "this institute was raised amidst the raging fires of war. For twelve hundred years ago, Equestria..."
 
>"Was in a war with the griffons, it went for twenty years, yada yada yada."
>Vinyl slumps onto the table, clearly bored as she props her head up with a hoof
>"Jeez," she quietly grumbles, "it's like I'm in grade school all over again..."
"Ugh, grade school."
>You shudder as a flood of horrible memories hits you
"Don't feckin' remind me..."
>"What," Vinyl asks, smirking playfully, "did the kids always take your lunch money or something?"
>You struggle to supress a scoff as the fancy mare from before gives you the stink-eye
"I wish, mate. Ever been stuck to a flag pole with a whole roll of cling film?"
>The smile instantly disappears from your friend's face in response to your question
>"Wait, you... got Saran wrapped to a flag pole?"
>You nod, your expression stony
"More than once, mind. Sometimes they'd stick me upside-down. Y'know, for shits and giggles."
>"Dude, that's just messed up."
"I know, right? Anyway, y'know how they say violence don't solve anythin'?"
>"Yeah?"
"Well, that's bloody rubbish."
>You feel a broad, almost menacing grin spread across your face as you speak
"Certainly solved those bastards."
>"'Tavius... what did you -do-?
"Well, y'see-"
>"SSH!"
 
>You sigh as the fancy green pony shushes you again
"Ugh. I'll tell you later."
>"'Kay," Vinyl whispers back before the two of you look up at Artemis once more
>Without missing a beat, he continues droning on how important investing in the younger generations is, even in the face of things like war
>Or, at least, you're fairly certain that's what he's going on about
>To be entirely honest, you're finding it hard to concentrate at this point
>"Over the centuries," the prince notes, "this foresight has been amply rewarded. For it was research done at CMU which resulted in the first ever memory restoration spells, the derivatives of which are now a key component of modern dementia treatment."
>And now he's onto the listing-the-achievements part
>Oh joy
>You feel your eyes growing heavy as he goes on about the deeds of obscure unicorn scientists and researchers who all passed through the university's halls at some point or another
>Names like Mistral Snow, Lettuce Patch, Starswirl the Bearded, Velvet Swirl and Wispy the Wise all get a mention
>All names you've heard before at some point or another, yet you can never quite remember who did what
>The only thing you know for certain is that Artemis's dreary tone certainly isn't putting you in the mood to start learning
>Instead, you lean forward onto the table before deciding to give your eyes a brief rest...
 
===
 
>"Dude," a familiar voice sounds, jolting you from your reverie
"Huh? Wuzzat, mate?"
>You look up to find Vinyl looming over you, gesturing subtly to the stage as she taps you on the back
>"They're calling you!"
"Oh, right!"
>Sheepishly, you rise from your seat, doing your best to ignore the impatient glares of the ponies around you
>As you trot towards the front of the dining hall, the prince and his guards stand aside, inviting you to take the stage
>You bow deeply as you pass by him, hopeful that he didn't catch you dozing during his speech
>Reaching the pulpit, you look out over the vast sea of ponies before you
>Taking a breath, you close your eyes as you try to summon up your 'stage voice'
"Good evening, mares, gentlecolts and other sapient folk."
>Speaking slowly and purposefully, you cringe internally as you focus on enunciating every syllable and sounding 'proper'
"First off, I would like to thank His Royal Highness for that... rousing speech of his. Truly, education is key to understanding the past and preparing for the future."
>You pause for a moment as you quickly steal a glance at Prince Artemis, now seated next to his sister
>Judging by the smile on his face, he doesn't suspect a thing
>Brilliant
"Now, this evening, I wil be playing a piece for all of you. The composition is titled 'Frolic'."
>The audience gives you a collective look of vague interest as you slip over towards the grand piano on stage
>From there, you pull your electric cello, amp and loop pedal out from hiding
>Setting the three up, you pop your cello's bow into your mouth before rearing up onto your hindlegs and taking proper hold of your instrument
>Looking down one last time to make sure your loop pedal is in its proper place, you press down a few strings on the cello's neck and prepare to play your piece
 
===
 
>You are Vinyl Scratch
>And you're about to watch your best friend blow some high-roller pony minds
>An eerie silence falls over the room as Octavius gets his hooves into position
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cOLktrdIXM
>Then, without warning, it begins
>He starts simply enough, slapping the neck and hoofboard of the cello a few times before tapping the pedal below, setting up an almost hypnotic looping percussion line
>You think you can even see him bobbing his head a bit to the beat as he fetches the bow from his teeth, readying himself for the next loop
>The bow dances across the strings as he lays down a backing tune of sorts, keeping perfect time with the metronome of his previous beat
>Then, he taps the pedal again before cutting straight through with a piercing, almost haunting melody
>Your head sways from side to side as you close your eyes, letting your mind lose itself in the music's flow
>Soon, you hear Octavius set up a second layer to the melody, harmonising consummately with the first
>The tremors of nearby hooves tapping to the beat carry up through the table as your friend's tunes continue to echo through the halls, the only disturbance from the otherwise-silent audience
>Suddenly, however, the sound of something completely different breaks you out of your trance
>The strumming of a guitar
 
>Cracking an eye open, you look up to see Octavius with his bow in his teeth once more
>His brow furrows in concentration as his bare hooves fly across the strings, his cello now playing the role of a deformed, oversized ukelele
>He begins openly headbanging as he syncs into his own rhythm, truly rocking out as he picks up the intensity
>After a few more bars of this, though, he pops the bow out of his mouth once more
>His right hindleg messes with his pedal again, terminating half the loops and giving himself space to build a fresh crescendo
>Quickly, layer after layer of raw, intense beats build upon one another into a cacophony of strings, the tension in the tune growing with each bar
>Then, just as things seem to be reaching their breaking point, the loops fall silent as Octavius strikes his last note with a flourish
>The ponies around you stare up at your friend, their mouths agape at what they've just heard
>Whether that's from sheer awe or simple disgust at what your buddy just did with that cello, you're not entirely certain
>But to be honest, you really couldn't care less
>As far as you're concerned, that was pretty frickin' awesome
>Rising out of your seat, you stomp the floor in an energetic, if somewhat lonely, round of applause
"Woo! Dude, you rock!"
>Octavius grimaces slightly as he watches you from the stage, unsure of what to make of your reaction
"Encore!"
>"Encore?" The green shushing mare from before looks disapprovingly towards you, scoffing. "Are you quite mad? That... 'music', if you could even call it that, was nothing but-"
>"Encore indeed," another voice chimes from behind you
>Looking over, you see a very fancy-looking blue-maned unicorn rising to her hooves, her bespectacled eyes locked upon your friend as she joins you in your applause
>"Such energy," she proclaims, "such passion! Truly, a masterpiece. Encore!"
>"...nothing but total genius," your neighbour sheepishly finishes, climbing out of her seat. "Encore!"
 
===
 
TO BE CONTINUED...