Chapter 1

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The West Manehattan University grounds were impeccable, to say the least. Perched atop a huge plateau of grassland just outside the city proper, it was a marvel of engineering and art. The most obvious features were the pegasus lecture theatres and labs that floated above the rest of the campus; the large bushy court in the centre, dotted with trees and a small stream, and from which the rest of the university radiated outwards along two main paths that intersected in the middle; and of course the vast array of abstract art pieces littered at seemingly random places throughout the court.

It was the beginning of a new year, and all the firstyears were nervously shuffling about and glancing at maps, occasionally gathering the courage to ask for directions. All the firstyears, that is, except for two.

The first was an earth pony with fur like pale ash and a straight mane of charcoal. Around her neck was a pink bowtie attached to a white collar. It was the only piece of clothing she wore, but it was really all she needed to wear. Every single step she took was precise and official, and despite her comparative youth she gave off the sense that she was much, much more sophisticated than anypony else there.

That’s not to say she was conceited; on the contrary, she was exceedingly polite and friendly to all who dared speak with her. She directed other first years to their rooms, having already memorised the entire campus guide herself, and helped others feel more at ease in the atmosphere that was so vastly different from the high schools many of them had recently graduated from, herself included.

Her name was Octavia, and she was a cellist studying musical theory (classical), history, and, strangely enough, psychology.

The second pony was a white furred unicorn with an electric blue mane that spoke of a thousand parties gone by and a million to come. Covering her eyes were a pair of dark purple shades that hid everything and revealed nothing. She walked confidently but carelessly, nodding to a beat that nopony else could hear. Those who approached her received a grin and a hoof-bump, those who didn’t could only watch in admiration as she dominated the area around her without even saying a word.

That’s not to say she was controlling; on the contrary, she was extremely relaxed and easygoing whenever somepony spoke with her. She exchanged passing comments regarding bands and artists with other music enthusiasts who spotted her six hoof-bands but never stayed for long. A highschool dropout, she was here on a lucky music scholarship and knew what she was talking about when it came to electronic tunes.

Her name was Vinyl, and she was a DJ studying musical theory (modern), drawing, and, strangely enough, psychology.

They met for the first time outside of a lecture theatre, brushing shoulders as they left. Neither said a word, and they forgot about each other completely within minutes of it.

A more lasting impression was made outside a tutorial room as they waited for the tutor to arrive. Twenty three ponies, including them, were also gathered in somewhat-awkward silence.

Determined not to simply be part of a crowd, Octavia turned to face the pony nearest her, which just so happened to be Vinyl.

“Hello. I am Octavia, a pleasure to meet you,” she said pleasantly, extending a hoof.

Rather than shake it, the white unicorn slugged it and flashed a smile. “’Sup. Name’s Vinyl Scratch, you’ve probably heard of me.”

Gingerly putting her aching hoof back down, Octavia shook her head. “No, I’m afraid I haven’t.”

“Does DJ Pon-3 ring a bell?” Her eyebrows bounced as if to jog the cellist’s memory.

“No.”

“You need to hit some clubs then, my music guarantees a good time.”

“In my experience, ‘hitting some clubs’ is rarely synonymous with positive emotions and experiences.”

The DJ cocked her head curiously. “Why do you talk like that? It sounds kinda silly.”

Octavia frowned as she replied, “Talk like what? This is how I normally speak.”

Snorting back a laugh at her expression, Vinyl slowly realised she wasn’t being fooled. “Oh. Wow. So were you born in Canterlot or something?”

“No, I was born here in Manehattan. Though thank-you for the compliment.” She preened happily at being mistaken for a Canterlot citizen.

“Uh-huh, no worries.” The DJ realised they clearly had very different opinions on what being from Canterlot meant.

Thankfully, she was rescued by the sudden arrival of their tutor. He was a tall stallion with frizzy red hair and orange fur. Each step he took seemed to bounce off the ground, and his tail swished non-stop with boundless energy. Every iota of his being screamed ‘Let’s get ready to learn!’

The ponies shuffled inside and took their seats at three large tables arranged in an abstract manner. Octavia smartly sat next to her new acquaintance and pulled out her notepad and pen, while Vinyl sighed and dumped her saddlebags on the desk.

“Alright folks, let’s get the introductions out of the way. My name is Psych. Yeah, I know, what were my parents thinking?” he laughed. Alone. “Still, it turns out they had some incredible foresight because this is a Psychology course and I’m your tutor! How crazy is that?” He laughed again, and still nopony joined in. Not even the slightest bit put off, he continued, “You’re a quiet bunch, aren’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll soon fix that. Let’s do a bit of a game to get to know each other!”

Finally, an audience reaction: Everypony groaned at the same time. Octavia rolled her eyes at their immaturity and decided to opine on the subject. “Honestly, what did any of you expect? This is the first week of the course.”

Psych shrugged. “She has a point, you know. This is pretty standard.”

“Doesn’t mean we have to like it,” grumbled Vinyl, to the murmured assent of surrounding ponies.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll like it just fine. However,” he gestured to Octavia and the DJ, “I saw you two talking on the way in, so I’m afraid I’m going to need to move you. There’s no point doing a friend-making activity with somepony who is already your friend, after all.”

As the cellist started to interject with the fact that they had only just met, Vinyl quickly floated her bags across to an empty desk on the other side of the room. “So long, Octobia.”

“My name is Octavia.”

“Whatever.” The unicorn trotted to her new place.

Psych observed the exchange with great interest and a small smile. Shaking his head, he once again brought attention back to himself. “I want you all to talk to the pony next to you and learn as much as you can, then in ten minutes you will introduce them to the class.”

The activity ended up taking a lot longer than ten minutes as Psych had too much fun listening to all the different conversations. Finally, he stopped them and began the introductions. Most were fairly accurate, with the main issue being mispronunciation of names.

“This is… um… V-Vinyl Hatch,” a small mare said nervously.

“Scratch! Vinyl Scratch! Get it right!” hollered the DJ.

“I’m s-sorry!” she squeaked. “This is Vinyl Scratch, and she… um… she m-makes electronic music and performs in clubs sometimes.”

Psych stomped the ground in appreciation. “Great work Lillycup!” A general rumble of praise emanated from the class and the anxious pony sank down into her chair gratefully.

“Now, Octavia, how about you introduce your hopeful new friend there?”

“As you wish.” The grey mare stood up straight. “This is Bonbon. She enjoys making various kinds of confectionary treats. She is taking this psychology course to help her learn how to attract more ponies to her store, such as what colours are more likely to attract attention and whatnot.”

“Excellent job, Octavia. Very succinct.” The mare smiled at the praise and sat back down. “Bonbon, would you kindly introduce Octavia to us?”

With a dark blue mane and pink highlights, Bonbon looked like a stereotypical university student, the kind that would be on advertisements explaining the values of pursuing an education. “This is Octavia. She is studying musical theory and history… and plays the… violin?” she said hopefully.

“Cello, actually.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Vinyl piped up from across the room. “Hang on, I’m doing musical theory too and I haven’t seen you at the lecture or the tutes.”

“Why in Equestria are you doing musical theory?” the refined pony replied incredulously.

“I’m a DJ. Didn’t you hear little miss shy-face over here?”

“Being a DJ hardly requires extensive education-“

“The buck did you just say?!”

The tutor reluctantly stepped in. “Easy, you two. I know for a fact that there are two musical theory classes, one classical and the other modern. There’s no need to start arguing. I’m sure you have something in common, considering both of you are musically oriented.”

“Yeah, we both like modern music – oh whoops! You like classical, don’t you Octavia? Shame. How does it feel knowing a monkey could be trained to play your cello? I saw it at the circus once.” The DJ stuck out her tongue.

“Modern?! All that clanging and thumping is more akin to a primitive pony slapping rocks with sticks. You have more in common with the monkey than with me, you ape.” Clearly offended, the dark-maned pony wasn’t going to just take that insult to her music.

Vinyl stood up so quickly that her chair fell over. “What did you call me, snob?”

Rising as well, Octavia held her ground. “I called you an ape.”

“At least an ape knows how to loosen up, prude!”

“Oh yes, you would know all about being loose, raver hussy!”

A chorus of gasps accompanied the DJ’s jaw dropping in surprise but she quickly recovered and narrowed her eyes before stepping closer to the cellist. “All you do is rub strings with a stick and you call me primitive? I make music with sounds you can’t even comprehend, let alone enjoy!”

Octavia’s face scrunched up into a scowl as she stepped even closer. “What kind of charlatan are you? It takes skill to make music!”

Vinyl also moved towards the target of her anger, violently squashing the absurd urge to laugh that she always got when somepony yelled at her. It had made encounters with her high-school principal tense, to say the least. “Are you calling me a fake?” she said dangerously.

The sight of the proud grey pony swallowing before replying was satisfying. Clearly, the DJ was still able to intimidate skilfully. “I’m… not calling you a fake, but I am saying that making your ‘music’ doesn’t take even half the skill that playing the cello does!” To make up for lost ground, she took another step forward and brought herself face to face with the furious unicorn.

With her cheeks flushed from shouting and her nose crinkled in distaste, Octavia looked more than a bit amusing. Vinyl opened her mouth to say as much when the tutor finally stepped in again, clearly thinking she was about to go for the throat. “Alright ladies, let’s dial it down a notch. As much as I love having two complete opposites arguing in my class, and believe me, I love it; I feel the need to stop this before it goes too far.”

Now that the tension was broken, the two mares looked around and noticed they had captured the rapt attention of the entire class. Vinyl chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of her head as she returned to her seat, while Octavia merely adjusted her mane and gracefully re-joined her table.

Taking back control of his room, Psych clapped his hooves together. “Right! That was a fantastic demonstration of conflicting personalities. I hope you were all taking notes!” The ponies scrambled to write down anything they could remember. “This presents a very unique opportunity for our class. Real life studies go a lot further than textbooks, you know.” He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Well we don’t have time to get into anything right now, but I have an idea for next week.” As ponies started packing up, he outlined his master plan. “Octavia, I want you and Vinyl to spend time together on the weekend.”

“What?!” they shouted in unison, making the rest of the class crack up.

“You want me to spend time with… her?!” exclaimed Octavia.

“Yeah, I was planning to have fun on the weekend!” Vinyl added, earning a glare from across the room.

“Because,” Pysch explained patiently, “This is a great opportunity to study how a relationship can change over time, for better or worse. We’ll compare our notes from today with your behaviour on Monday, then draw conclusions and make predictions based on that data. In fact, I may get you two to hang out together rather frequently so we have more data points. This isn’t strictly on the set coursework, but I think it will be a fun little side project.”

“Take psychology, they said. The teacher’s nice, they said,” muttered Vinyl, violently shoving her notepad into a saddlebag.

The tutor chuckled. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad. Who knows, you might actually find some common ground.”

“I highly doubt that.” Octavia latched her bags and lifted them onto her back. “What do you suggest we do then?”

Psych shrugged. “Go to a bar, go watch a movie, walk around town. As long as you’re together it shouldn’t matter.”

“Drinking it is!” declared the DJ.

“Alcohol will either make you normal or intolerable. I’m willing to take the risk,” muttered the cellist as she followed the other ponies out of the room. “But I choose where we go!” she called over her shoulder.

Vinyl sighed and trotted after her. As they walked into the boiling sun and started climbing the hill back into the main court, she forced herself to walk next to Octavia. “Alright, let’s get one thing clear. I’m gonna give you my number, but under no circumstances are you to text or call me unless it’s about our plans, kapiche?” A pen and paper surrounded by white floated in front of her and began scribbling.

“Agreed. The same goes for my number as well.” As the unicorn tore off some of the paper and slipped it into the grey mare’s bag, she simultaneously held out the pen and pad. They stopped for a few seconds so she could write, managing some impressive calligraphy considering the pen was held in her mouth, then kept walking when she finished. “Very well. Try not to hand it out to any friends of ill repute by accident.”

“Whatever. I’ll call you sometime tomorrow and we’ll go from there, yeah?”

“Try to make it at a reasonable hour, would you? Not all of us are used to staying up until four in the morning on a cocktail of alcohol and caffeine.”

“Shove it up your flank, Octavia.”

With that, the pair parted ways on the grassy court. The cellist to her next class, and the DJ to her home.

They didn’t know it yet, but their lives were already changing, dancing to the tune of conflict, and inexorably approaching something that neither of them had ever dreamed of.

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There's an Allegrezza reference in this chapter - leave a comment if you caught it!

Or, just let me know what you think!