'Octavia Philarmonica, having been impressed by your performance at the Royal Galloping Gala, I would like to invite you to audition to become part of a small private orchestra. Auditions are next Thursday at ten pm. Yours sincerely, Princess Celestia'
"What do you think of that, Vinyl?" Octavia asked, over the too-small table of Donut Joes, her glass keeping the scroll flat as she yanked at her bowtie. Vinyl smirked.
"Aw, bless. Our Tavi's going up in the world" Vinyl managed to choke out, before bursting out laughing. "You realise now you're going to have to wear that bucking bowtie all the time?"
Tavi laughed, struggling ever harder to undo the knot, until Vinyl's magic surrounded it. As the unicorn manipulated the fake silk, Tavi examined the top of her sister's head. Her roots were coming through, the blue fading into the dark grey they shared. She debated telling her, but Vinyl's pursuit of her true passion meant she wasn't exactly rolling in bits.
Her clients didn't know that Vinyl and Tavi were sisters. D.J. Pon-3 was frowned upon in Canterlot, and the snobby ponies Tavi played for would certainly boycott her if her connection with Vinyl got out. Like many ponies had noticed, and few had pointed out, Octavia's cutiemark and her choice of instrument didn't exactly match. Her cutiemark was a treble clef, and she played a double bass. The reason being, she wasn't actually a massive fan of classical. But though she'd like nothing more than to drop the uncomfortable bow and join Vinyl on the club circuit, she really needed the bits that playing boring music to stuffy ponies awarded.
"So" Vinyl grinned, as she levitated the crumpled tie next to her "are you gonna say yes?"
Tavi frowned., rereading the letter. "I think I have to, Vi. I need the bits, and working for royalty's gotta help my rep, right?"
Vinyl snorted.
"Sure, give up even more of your life for your rep. And of course the bits." She sighed, then dropped the tie into Tavi's almost empty coffee cup. "Sorry. It just pisses me off that you have to put on this, this...persona, almost a disguise, just to get some bits. It's not fair."
Octavia chuckled, then threw down a couple of said bits and stood up. "Yeah, you got that right" she muttered, before moving towards the exit, Vinyl following her. The previously pink tie started to slowly stain brown with coffee as they made their way down the cobbled street, and the moon started to rise.
As the two musicians were entering their flat, two other sisters were sitting awkwardly in a small antechamber of Canterlot Castle. Celestia's mane swirled around her, a maid gently rubbing her hooves as she sipped her tea. Across the room, Luna gazed out of a floor-to-ceiling window at the city below. Large mansions almost directly beneath the palace had dim windows as their residents began to settle down for the night. A pair of lovers walked in a nearby park, the stallion nuzzling his special somepony's nose as the streetlamp light washed over them, before they wandered further along the path. Luna frowned. They were probably heading home to sleep too. In the poshest quarter of Canterlot, very little had changed in over a thousand years.
Celestia cleared her throat softly. Her sister's tail flicked slightly in recognition, but its owner carried on watching the city. Celestia coughed daintily, then withdrew her hoof from the maid and murmured a 'thank you' and kind dismissal. Once the maid had withdrawn, the princess turned her eyes back on her long lost sister.
"Luna" Celestia said, "we should start."
Luna frowned again, then turned from the window to face her sister.
"Yes, I suppose we should" she murmured, unfamiliar with the quiet tones of her voice. She had been home only a few days, and her voice had not yet recovered from a thousand years of neglect, nor the Royal Canterlot Voice she insisted on using with all but her sister. "Which group is it today?"
"Food, I believe" murmured Tia, glancing at a scroll in front of her, then collected a small bell within her magic and rang it. The doors opened instantly, and the Royal Guard outside entered, followed by several ponies looking excited and nervous. The last of them was followed by another guard, with several dishes on a wheeled tray.
Celestia stood, and greeted the chefs before her, before inviting the first forward. The earth pony had a pale blue coat and yellow mane and tail, and introduced herself as Puff Pastry. While Tia interviewed the pony, Luna picked up the tray of food Puff had brought, and nibbled at the various snacks and sweets.
The evening progressed in much the same way, Tia interviewing the candidates and Luna ruining her breakfast. There were earth ponies, unicorns, a single pegasus, and even a mule, who had made a mole out of chocolate mousse. Finally, the chefs left the room and the two princesses made their choices. The pegasus, whose soup was far too peppery, was rejected, as was the snooty unicorn who made a snide comment about the recent unusually long night. Puff Pastry, another earth pony, a unicorn and Mulia Mild were accepted to be a part of Luna's staff.
Celestia yawned. She stretched, then kissed her sister lightly on the cheek and walked to the door, wishing Luna a good night before leaving to go to bed. Luna returned the sentiment, then returned to the window.
The spreading grounds of the Castle were empty and dark. The hulking houses of the nobles were unlit, and the streets weaving between them were almost empty. A single Royal Guard marched quietly down one of the lanes, his steps echoing off the walls. Luna glanced up, at her moon and stars, and scowled. The snobs of Canterlot were missing a meteor shower. The white streaks swept across the sky and burnt up almost instantly, their beauty fleeting and unnoticed. Much like her little ponies. Her sister's little ponies, that was. They'd made it very clear that they did not love her as they did her sister. She gazed up at the sky.
"Once upon a time," whispered the Princess to herself, "there was a little pony who wished on a star..." Her voice trailed off as she remembered the few ponies who had actually enjoyed her night, a millennium ago. She had watched them from her tower, not rejoicing in their existence, but cursing their scarceness. Now they were all long dead.
A single tear slid from Luna's eye, and fixing her eyes on the stars, she made her wish.
She turned from the window, and made her way to the empty hall, for another useless Night Court.
Author's Note
This is my first fic! I'm not massively happy with the second half of this chapter but it serves its purpose for now.
Like the description says, this is set in an Alternate Universe where, essentially, Twilight's role is pretty minimal. She has been sent to Ponyville, but the events of the Friendship is Magic episodes (part 1 and 2) have not taken place. Instead, Celestia was the one who defeated/saved her sister.
Also, I'm disobeying fanon to say that Vinyl and Octavia are sisters and roommates, not lovers or best friends.
Ok that's it for background - please feel free to point out any and all mistakes, inaccuracies and jarring sentences, thanks.
