Octaviaverse: Music Tournament.by TheSuperponyChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1A beautiful day covered the land of Equestria. Small flocks of birds flew across the sky, along with occasional pegasus. A soft breeze flowed as well, allowing refreshment from the heat of the sun. The grass swayed a little, tickling the hooves of those walking on it. Even for those who had business in town, it was no less encouraging and charming to just stop for a few seconds and enjoy the nice day that they had been gifted with. All of Ponyville was bustling with activity. The market zone, a large of collection of tents selling and being different items and edibles, had ponies coming and going. One of said ponies was Fleur de Lys, who was happily approaching one of the stands. "Excuse me." she asked the vendor, a brown maned stallion. "Do you happen to sell ink ribbons for typewriters?" "Of course miss." He pulled a couple of small containers. "Eight bits each." "Eight bits? Certainly." Fleur smiled as she started digging through a small saddle bag on her left, using her magic to open it. Her smile diminished as she realized that she only had ten bits. The vendor, seeing her frown, tapped her shoulder, grabbing her attention. "A beautiful mare like you shouldn't have a frown on her face. Take the two of them on four bits each, ok?" Fleur was surprised for a few seconds, but smiled warmly. The vendor blushed slightly and awkwardly smiled back while putting the ink tapes in a bag. Fleur thanked him and left, carefully putting her purchase in the saddle bag. "Ink tapes, peaches, lettuce…thats about it." she told herself as she marked a small checklist. "Now I just have to take all this back home and wait for Berry to bring me the soda bottles." She stopped right in the middle of the plaza, taking a second to admire the world around her. The plaza was just as lively as the market zone. Lovely couples walked to and from, chatting with each other or simply enjoying each others company. A few children were running about. A few other ponies could be seen on the streets around her, working or just hang with each other. It was a quite a charming sight. The smile on Fleur's face grew as she continued her walk. All the good will and beauty around her served to increase her already high good mood. Then, for the briefest second, a shadow covered her. Fleur was about to look up, when the the owner of said shadow landed right besides. Cloudchaser was grinning widely, bouncing around her like a little child. "Good morning Cloudchaser." Fleur saluted smiling back at the pegasus. "I see you are in a good mood." "Yeah!" the pegasus chirped back. "May I ask why?" "Because the weather team forgot pull in a whole bunch of clouds, and the managers gave me permission to burst them! There were even rainbows between them when I popped them!" Cloudchaser giggled with excitement. Fleur smiled at the childish behavior of her friend. It felt good to seem some pony who took such a positive attitude. "Hey Fleur." Another friendly voice called. Flitter gracefully landed besides her, careful to not step on her sister. She was carrying a blue saddle bag, which was visibly filled with letters. Resting on her head, right besides her pink bow, was the blue cap that all mail ponies used. "Hello Flitter." Fleur saluted back. "Delivering letters I see. Is it a permeant job?" "No, not really. I just wanna stop asking from Thunderlane. We don't see him much lately, so I wanna spend time with him, not ask him for money." Flitter answered, digging through her bag, eventually pulling out a light brown envelope. "In fact, I gotta deliver this one to Octavia right now. Wanna come with?" "I do!" Cloudchaser chirped. "I would love to, but I'm afraid that I have to take all this things to my home now. Don't want be carrying a full bag all day now, do I?" Fleur answered, pointing towards her bag with a hoof. "Please do say hi to Octavia for me." And with a quick goodbye, Fleur continued on her merry way. Luckily, her house was close at this point, so walking a lot was not a concern. As she moved through the town, she passed in front of Minuette's house. All the windows were open, which allowed her to see Minuette moving from one place to another. "Busy as bee. Better not bother her then." she thought before moving on. Her house was simple, yet of visible high quality. The tiles were a bright red, while the walls were painted pink. There were a couple of windows on one wall, behind of which was the kitchen, another on the opposite side, right in her room. The place was single, large, square floor. No stairs of any kind existed on the inside. It did, however, have a quite a few rooms. A kitchen that was connected to a dinning room, a bedroom and her study, all of them connected to her living room, which served as the main room, with a carpet and a table right in the middle. It was an odd arrangement of rooms for a house, true. But its how she liked, not matter what any pony said. Placing everything in the kitchen, save for the ink ribbons, Fleur then headed to her study. It was big for a study. With a single, circular window on the wall opposite to the door. The room itself had few things. A shelve with a few books, both written by her and that she liked to read, and documents, most of them reviews and short essays that she liked to write. She gave the books a glance and sighted. She loved writing those books. And all the town ponies that read them loved them as well. Unfortunately, the only way to get published in bigger cities was if the Canterlot critics deemed your work worthy of it. And they would never even consider reading a story that came from a backyard town. "Maybe I could…" she murmured before interrupting herself. "No. I promised to never use their help again." Her train of thought was interrupted when a loud knock reached her ears. Without waiting a second, she left her study and headed to the door. "Hey Fleur!" Berry said. On her back was a small saddle bag, carrying a couple of bottles. "Here's the sodas." "Thank you very much Berry. How much is it?" "Nine bits total. But you can pay next time you come to the bar." Berry entered the house, following Fleur into the kitchen. "You are coming soon, right?" "Of course Berry. I would never abuse your trust like that." Suddenly a loud thump echoed from the roof. Berry and Fleur shared a confused look before looking up. Their attention was diverted when a flying, gray boulder flew in through the kitchen window, flying right between them and crashing on the wooden table, which, by sheer miracle, didn't break. "Thats a ten for not breaking anything Cloudchaser." Berry joked. Fleur, on the other hoof, immediately ran towards her fallen friend. "By Celestia! Cloudchaser, are you alright?!" she helped the pegasus up. "What in the world possessed you to do such a thing? What if you had gotten hurt?" "Or broken your table." Berry commented. Fleur shot her a glare. "Its Octavia!" Cloudchaser, panted. "She's mad! Like, really, really mad!" The walk to the tree house had been short, mostly die to the fact that the two ponies were running, with Cloudchaser flying right above them. As they approached Octavia's home, they saw a blue unicorn walk towards the door, with a decidedly angry face. "Minuette? What are you doing here?" Berry asked. "I live a couple of houses away, and I can hear Octavia's tantrum." She placed a hoof on the door, pushing hard. "Alright, Octavia, what's-" "HOW DARE THEY?! HOW DARE THEY DO THIS TO ME?! ME!" Octavia roared, pacing in the middle of the room, occasionally kicking whatever crumbled piece of paper that was on her way. Hugin and Flitter did their best to stay on the air, dodging the papers as best as they could. One of them went flying straight towards Minuette, impaling itself on her horn. Cloudchaser giggled at that from the window. "THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! THIS IS AN INSULT! A SCANDAL! A-" The rest of her tirade was cut short as Minuette used her magic shoot the crumbled ball of paper from her horn strait into Octavia's mouth, keeping there as well. "Alright Octavia, you're mad, I get it. I got when I heard you shouting all the way from my house." Minuette walked towards the musician. "But if you don't calm down and stop shouting, whatever it is that got you riled up will be the least of your problems, got it?" Octavia's frown didn't disappear, but she nodded in agreement. Minuette removed the ball of paper from her mouth, allowing her to speak freely. "Sorry for the yelling. I normally don't do it." Octavia started. "Could have fooled me." Berry said. Octavai shot her a glare. "I was trying to compose a small piece, in preparation for the summer gala." she pointed towards her desk, where a few papers remained. "Even with Hugin being his usual irritating self, I was managing quite well." "You barely had three pages in." Hugin snarked. "Be quiet you. Anyways, I was doing fine, when Flitter knocked on my door to deliver my letters. And she did, and gave me…that." she pointed towards a window, where, crumbled and visibly stomped, was a brownish piece of paper. Using her magic, Fleur lifter the paper toward her. For a brief second, her mind recognized it as the paper that Flitter had shown her and Cloudchaser earlier, but she quickly discarded the thought, instead reading the letter out loud. "Dear Miss Octavia Von Clef…" she began. "We have received your letter containing your desire to be the lead musician for this year's summer gala, along with your list of accomplishments and the reminder that you are indeed the best cello player in Canterlot…you sent them your entire resume?" "Just keep reading." Octavia growled. Fleur raised an eyebrow before continuing. "Your letter was passed forward to the music council and studied in detail. However, while we indeed acknowledge you as a very talented and accomplished musician, we must inform you that you have not been accepted as the lead musician for the summer gala this year. Hoping that you will join the gala as a guest…the Canterlo Art Society." "You see what they did?!" Octavia yelled. "Ps: We return to you the list of accomplishments, since it was not asked for." "You're throwing a tantrum…over this?" Minuette asked, making sure to emphasize the last words. "Kinda childish, don't you think? "I am the greatest earth pony musician in Canterlot! I deserve that position!" Octavia replied. "Nopony is questioning your abilities Octavia. You have done amazing things with your music. But think about what the letter said. Maybe they were looking for something else besides skills." Fleur said. "Something else? Something like what?" Octavia grouched. "What else could they be looking for in the lead musician for the summer gala?" "Something you lacked, clearly." Berry commented. Octavia frowned. "Hugin, we are going to Canterlot. Now." Flitter landed right besides Berry, both of them in shock. There rest of the ponies were just as flabbergast of the decision. "Why would we want to go there? Its not like we can change their minds or something." Hugin said, landing on the table. "Oh yes we can. If we hurry, we shall be there before lunchtime." "Don't' you think that its a bit extreme? You might makes things worse for you." Flitter said while Octavia picked up some of the fallen papers and placed them on the desk. "I hardly believe they can make things that worse for me." Octavia said before heading to the door, with Hugin landing on her back. "I will be back tonight or tomorrow morning." "Aren't you at least going to take anything?" Minuette said. "I have my old room in the castle. If it becomes necessary, I shall sleep there for the night." "Your'e coming back, right?" Cloudchaser asked. "Of course I will." Octavia answered with a grin. "I live here, don't I?" And before any pony else could say something, Octavia was gone, and Hugin with her, leaving her five friends in the library. "She didn't even bother to lock the door." Berry noted. "She's about to rampage the Canterlot Art Society and all you care is if she locked door?" Minuette said. "What if she gets in trouble?" "Thats exactly it." Berry explained. "I think we know Octavia enough to know that she will get in some sort of mess sooner or later. Until that happens, arguing with her is pointless. All we gotta do is wait till she starts messing up and making sure she learns from not making things worse." "That is a rather questionable method of helping friends." Fleur said. "Hey, some ponies need to learn the hard way. Besides, she's going to Canterlot, remember?" Berry joked. "Composure and all that stuff is everything over there. i'm sure she'll behave." The rest of the bearers shared a worried look between them. "So…" Berry proposed. "Who's up for a drink while we wait for the inevitable?" Chapter 2Canterlot was just as bright and beautiful as ever. The white walls that almost glowed with the sun. The clean streets that were a pleasure to walk. The whole atmosphere of elegancy and regality that anypony who considered him or herself of high class did their best to maintain. All in all, the most elegant place in Equestria was truly a holder of its title. "It feels good to be back for a while." Octavia mused as she exited the train. Hugin flew out right after her, fluttering around for a few seconds before landing on her head. "If only we had a better reason to come here other than looking for a fight." he said. Octavia ignored him, instead beginning her uphill walk towards the Canterlot Art Society, located near the Castle. As a city placed in a mountain, stairs and inclined streets were commonplace. Enough for Octavia to get used to walk up and down for quite a while. "So…let me get this straight…." Hugin said, moving from her head to her back. "Wer'e going to go the CAS, demand to know why you weren't elected lead musician, order them to make you lead musician and then just leave for Ponyville?" "More or less." Octavia answer. By now, a few ponies had recognized the protege of the princess. "You know, while I usually enjoy seeing you get in trouble, I have to agree with Berry here. This is a bad idea." "I will not stand by while they give my position to some pony else. If you are foolish enough to disagree with that, then you can meet me in my room later." Octavia said coldly, giving him an equally cold stare. Hugin blinked a couple of times before his eyes contorted in a frown. Without saying anything, he flapped his wings and flew away, heading towards the castle. Octavia looked at his form shrinking as it approached the golden roofs of the castle towers, a little surprised that he had actually left like that, instead of shooting his usual sarcasm. "Lets get back to work." she told herself before resuming her walk. Canterlot wasn't much of a wide city as it was tall. Stores placed on top of other stores was quite normal, as were apartments instead of houses. There were also a couple of small towers connected by bridges that passed over a few blocks, serving as a shortcut when you didn't feel like walking through all the labyrinth that the streets could become. Luckily for Octavia, that was only the lower market area and middle residential zone. The top of the city, right below the castle, was where all the fancy buildings stood, such as the Canterlot Library, the House of Local arquitecture, The Canterlot Royal Academy and finally, her objective. The Canterlot Art Society. The it was a small building compared to most, being only a couple of floors high, but even then, it was nothing to be scoffed at. The entire square building had banners of Equestria placed on every wall, all of the richly decorated, while the large windows were clear enough to appear as if there was no glass at all. Octavia entered with a firm pace and a stern face. She wanted information and she wanted it now. The poor receptionist at the entrance seemed to have noticed, as she immediately put down the papers she was holding with magic and smiled nervously. "M-Miss Octavia! How nice to see you again! What can I do for you?" she asked. "I would like to speak to the ponies in charge of the gala musical arrangement." Octavia said in a tranquil, yet stern voice. "Uhm, I'm afraid they are not here at the moment. May I ask what do you wish to know?" Octavia sighed in annoyance. This was not going as she wanted to. "Who was elected the lead musician for the summer gala?" she asked in a gruff. The receptionist started flipping through the small stack of papers that she was holding earlier. After a few seconds of searching, she placed the stack back down. "There is nopony elected." The mare answered. "There will be-" "Nopony was elected!?" Octavia roared. "Yes, but the-" "You mean that not only they rejected me, but they that they prefer to have literally nobody than listening me?!" "But-" "This will not stay this way!" Octavia stomped her way to the door. "Insulting me is one thing, but this is too much!" "But you haven't let me-" SLAM."… finish." Octavia walked through the streets of Canterlot, visibly angry. They chose nopony. If they had chosen somepony, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. All that she would have to do would be to prove herself better and be on her way. But this meant that they just didn't want her! "This will not stay like this!" she growled as she approached her destination. Canterlot Castle. Inside said castle, more specifically, the royal bedroom, a certain princess exited her bathroom, drying of her luscious mane with a towel. Her chambers, while smaller than what one would expect for royalty, was just as filled with books as a small library. On the desk, on shelves on all the walls, on the bed, below the bed, all of the periodically changed once they were read, re-read and then properly analyzed. The perfect hobby for the longed live ones. "Ugh, Spike needs to stop eating those green opals." she though, placing the fowl back in the bathroom and picking her crown with magic. "I'm getting tired of having to brush his jaws like this…" She could ask her servants to do it, true. But then again, few could waistband the sulfury breath of the dragon without passing out. "Maybe I could ask Shiny to do it sometime. Might help them bond." she mused as she placed her golden shoes. With a final wave of magic, her mane was complete ready for the day. It didn't flow or levitated, like many believed, instead it just hung loosely by her side. It was, of course, straightened out and spotlessly clean. "Okay then…checklist of the day…" she exited her room, a long scroll following her through the air. A couple of guard saluted as she passed by them. Twilight responded with a smile. Her chambers were located in the third largest tower in Canterlot, the other two being the royal library and the astronomy tower. She had offered Shinning Armor a room in the tower with her, but he declined, preferring something more in the castle. "Maybe I should start considering one too. I wouldn't have to deal with all the stairs, for starters." Twilight chuckled. She could just teleport, but that would rob her of something to playfully snark about every morning. "Lets see…" she began reading the checklist, making a quill appear out if thin air. "Meeting with the nobles, again. Find a tailor for the gala. Visit the senior students of the academy…" Before she knew it, she was right in front of the throne room. Nopony was there except for the guards. The princess sighed. Dealing with the nobles was part of the job. They had a certain level of political power after all. If they just could be a little less obnoxious and self obsessed. "Then again, not all of them are like that…" she murmured. "Your highness?" Princess Twilight turned around. Behind her stood a pegasus guard who, unlike the rest, didn't have a white tone mane, instead by a dark yellow. His blue mane was bare visible under his helmet. "Ah, Flash Sentry." she saluted, making the checklist disappear along with the quill. "What can I do for you?" "You are needed in your study." Flash answered, bowing his head. "Royal protege Octavia Is waiting for you there." "Octavia? What a surprise!" the princess smiled. "I shall go meet with her immediately. Please tell the nobles to wait for me once they arrive please." "Yes your highness." Without a single shred of effort, she teleported away, reappearing right in front of said study. She opened the doors and, just as Flash had told her, saw Octavia there, looking out at the landscape through the balcony. It was a large study, with every wall covered in a shelve, each filled to brim with documents, books and other texts. Octavia, hearing the doors open, turned around to meet her mentor. "Good morning Octavia! How nice it is to see you again." The princess welcomed her. "Good morning princess." The cold tone was all that Twilight needed to determine Octavia's mood. "Somepony doesn't look too happy." "Princess. I am here to denounce a terrible injustice." Octavia proclaimed. "Oh? And what injustice is that?" The princess asked with a smile, while picking a small stack of papers, slowly flipping through them. "I have been rejected as the lead musician for the summer gala!" Octavia growled. "Not only that, but they even failed to choose some pony else! The knew about my intention and rejected me outright!" "Ok." The princess pulled a single paper, which was actually an open scroll parchment. "So where is the injustice?" "Where?! A position like that requires the best musicians in Canterlot!" Octavia took a steep forward. "I am the best cello player in this city. I should be the one chosen to be the lead musician!" "Is that so?" Twilight's smile dropped a little. "And now you want me to just go toe Canterlot Art Society and make them choose you?" "Well, no. I mean…thats a rather harsh way of saying it but…" Octavia stumbled a little with her words, but quickly gathered herself once again. "But yes. I need this as a musician." "You need this as a musician." The princess repeated. "And as your mentor, you want me to help you achieve your best, as you so loudly proclaimed before I sent you to Ponyville." "Well, I-" "Because I'm your mentor, and thats what mentors do, correct?" her smile was completely gone at this point. Octavia could feel her earlier anger start to diminish. "Well, it may surprise you Octavia, but as your mentor, I have other duties apart from spoiling you." the princess explained. "For example, making sure you grow to be a cultured and smart mare. Not necessarily a scientist, but that you know the basics…" She gave a step forward, getting closer to Octavia. "I also have make sure that you grow up to be a kind, ethical and respectful pony. And I like to think that I succeeded for the most part…" she gave another step, stopping right in front of Octavia, who suddenly felt very small. "But apparently, I was wrong." And with that, she levitated the scroll until it was right in front of Octavia. She gave a small shake, signaling her to read it. "This…this my friendship report. The one about Vinyl." "Yes. In here, you tell me about how you allowed your temper and your pride to get the best of you, and how you ended up causing a lot of trouble for everypony, but that you were trying to make amends." "I did!" Octavia replied. "Really? Then please, tell me, what are you doing here, in front of me, telling me to go the Art Society and force them to give you your supposedly rightful position as the lead musician?" "I, uh…I was…" "You wrote this letter Octavia. But how I am I supposed to believe that you learned anything, if you come here just a couple of weeks later, making the exact same mistake? What is the point of you sending me these letters, if you learn nothing from them?" Octavia suddenly felt very small, and while the princess wasn't using any harsh tone, one could tell she was upset by her grimace. The fact that she didn't look angry, but disappointed, was what hit Octavia the hardest. "Being talented in something, Octavia, is a wonderful thing, but it does't automatically make you superior to others or entitled to anything. Just like you said, you are indeed the most talented cello player in Canterlot. Nopony is denying that Octavia. But think this..." the princess leaned down on her, making sure that they were at eye level. "What good is being able to produce the most beautiful sounds…if nopony wants to be near you to hear them?" And with that, she stood fully again. Moving to the desk, leaving Octavia to wooly sit down, stunned but the words she had just told her. "You weren't elected Octavia, not because you lacked skills, but because nopony wants to hear a jerk, not matter how good they are." she continued. "As for why nopony else was elected, that has nothing to do with you. In fact, many ponies tried to apply for the position as well." "And…and what happened?" Octavia asked, trying to gather her thoughts as best as she could. "Well, while most were either rejected or changed their minds, a small group of them was deemed to talented to be thrown away. You are part of that group too, though I can't say that the idea was welcomed." "Oh…"Octavia answered quietly. "But there can be only one lead musician, right?" "Well, not necessarily, but you have a point there, so we are going to have a little competition, and whoever wins, gets to be the lead!" The princess smiled once more. "Isn't it exciting?" "Joy…" Octavia murmured. "Oh, cheer up Octavia. You still have a chance to be the lead musician. Except now that you now have to work for it." the princess headed towards the door. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go save poor Flash from the nobles before they eat him alive." And with that, she was gone, leaving Octavia alone with her thoughts, which were filled, for the most part, with shame. It had been a while since the princess had made that face. Small mouth, slightly closed eyes, looking down on her. The disappointed face. She walked to the balcony and looked at Ponyville, which was little more than a stain on the late valley that surrounded the mountain where the castle stood. She could see some colored stains move about, though they were barely visible. Had she been tike that with her friends? Treating them like that, insulting them, acting arrogant and short tempered? She completely lost her temper when read the letter. Flitter was there to witness the whole thing. Did Octavia even notice her? Or was she too busy raging about the stupid paper? "Do you need to write a letter now?" a voice said from above her. Octavia looked up, finding nopony else but Hugin hovering above her. "I thinks so." Octavia answered. "Well, I took the liberty of bringing ink and paper to your old room. Meet me there?" "Of course…" Octavia answered. "Thanks Hugin." The crow flew up, leaving Octavia lone once again. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Lets go…" she thought as she turned to leave. Chapter 3The five bearers of harmony were currently on the train to Canterlot. Cloudchaser and Flitter had their heads out the window, looking at the approaching mountain that was the castle Flitter's bow was held in place in one hoof. "Whats the matter Fleur?" Minuette asked her friend while paling her bag of tools on her side. , who was absentmindedly looking out the window as well. Her ears dropped once she gave a sigh. "Its nothing…" Fleur answered. "Doesn't like nothing." Berry in sited. "Come on. Tell me whats happening." "Its just that…this is the third time Octavia lets her temper get the best of her." the unicorn answered. "I thought she had learned last time. Guess not." "You got a point there. It is frustrating." Minuette replied, sitting besides her. "But she's our friend, so we gotta stick by her. Besides, at least this time she called us, instead of trying to send some pony to jail." Fleur smiled. "Yeah…" The door that led to the next cart opened, letting a visibly angry Berry enter. "I just went and asked if they had something to eat in this thing. You know what they said?" she ranted. "I'm sorry miss, but we are only a transport train, we do not serve food. We are the elements of harmony for Luna's sake!" "Well…it is just a couple of hour on train Berry. Its for the longer trips that they serve food." Fleur replied. "We had lunch before we came here." Minuette deadpanned. "Never heard of the after-lunch?" Berry grinned. "Why don't you start focusing on the issue at hoof?" the unicorn replied. Berry rolled her eyes before sitting besides Fleur as well. "I know I said that this was going to happen anyways…but it was a lot faster than what I thought." the bartender said. Minuette was about to respond when Coudchaser landed right on front of her, bouncing on her spot in excitement. "We're getting there! We're getting there!" she chirped. And indeed, looking out the window, one could barely see the whole mountain, with the train entering the station. The eye of the twins grew large as the looked up the white bridge towers that filled the city. The bustling ponies were all dressed with sweaters, fancy hats or just plain jewelry, but they all had that sense of superiority, with their muzzles upward and walking in slow, unnecessarily exaggerated steps. "The letter said that Octavia would meet us at the entrance of the Canterlot Art Society…I believe its this way." Fleur said. The five friends made their way up the city, careful to not bump anypony in the rather thin streets. While Ponyville was colorful and lively, Canterlot was rather cold to the sight. Sure, every building was practically spotless, with their white marble and wood almost glowing with the light of the sun, along with their purple tiles and streets made light blue cobble stones, but at the same time they seemed lifeless. The ponies were little better. Most of them were unicorns, and all of them were walking with a serious expression, as if they were constantly surrounded by something below them. A few earth ponies were among them as well, but they were few and, given their just as irritated demeanor and similar attires, could easily blend with the unicorns. Pegasus other than the twins were nowhere to be seen. The fact that the dresses they wore were borderline cartoonish, such as a top hat the size of a stallion, or a dress that was visibly wighting down a mare with all that jewelry did not help to improve the image. "I don't know who designed this clothes…but they need a better tailor." Berry commented. "Berry! Don't be rude. They might hear you." Fleur chided. "What? Its the truth." The five friends continued their walk up the city, although at an increasingly slower pace. The increasing heat, along with the endless uphill walk had them panting. Crossing street after street and walking up the seemingly endless mountain had also brought them a different problem. "You know…I think we should have taken one of those bridge thingies we saw back at the train station.." Flitter said. "And risk getting even more lost in this place? No thank you… "Minuette replied. "Hey Flitter, I thought you said you knew where the Canterlot Art Society was?" "I said I believed it was this way…It seems my memory is bit foggier than what I thought…" "Great! So we are lost in the middle of the labyrinth that is Canterlot with no hope finding our way. Can't wait until I have start wearing one of those stupid hats." Berry muttered. "I saw an ice cream store on the street before. Lets go there and think things out." Minuette decided. Before any pony could even move, Cloudchaser had vanished dashing her way towards the store, leaving a small cloud of dust in her place. The others briefly smiled before following their friend. As they approached the store, they saw that Cloudchaser was already eating a cone of mint ice cream, holding the cone carefully with her hooves. The rest quickly followed her example, wanting to escape the unrelenting heat. "I guess our sense of direction isn't the best there is." Berry said after they ordered their ice creams. It wasn't long before they were all eating their own. "Maybe we can ask some pony?" Fleur suggested. "I don't see many ponies around to ask." Minuette replied. "It's after lunch, so I doubt that they are doing something other than resting. Even the seller is gone." "Or drinking tea or trying those fancy dresses or all that stuff that fancy unicorns like to do." Berry snarked before taking a lick from her apple ice cream, wondering why would any store owner leave customers alone. Nopony else said, as they were all busy trying to figure out what to do. "Maybe I could fly to the tower? We can see it from here:" Flitter pointed a hoof towards the castle. "I'll do it!" Cloudchaser chirped before bolting outside of the store. The rest of the bearers smiled before a loud crash sound coming from outside caught their attention. Walking outside, they could Cloudchaser untangling herself from a brown stallion with white mane. A very angry brown stallion with white mane. His cutie mark was two sets of eight notes, one black and one white. His neck wore a red bow tie. "Oh my, are you alright Cloudchaser?" Fleur asked, helping her friend get up. "That feather head should be kept on a leash!" the stallions aid, getting up as well. "Hey, I'm sure Cloudchaser here is sorry for crashing you. No need to get offensive." Minuette planted herself in front of him. "And who are you to step in other ponies's businesses?" "When some pony insults my friends, its always my business." the unicorn replied. "And mine!" Berry added. The stallion was about to respond, but then his gaze moved from the Berry and Minuette and placed itself on Fleur, who, although she hadn't said anything, was right beside her friends. "I don't have to waste my time with farmers…" he said sharply, turning around and giving Fleur one last glare. "And neither should you." And with that, the stallion was gone, leaving an angry and rather confused group of mares standing in the middle of the street, unsure as to what to do. A small flap of wings caught their attention. Before any pony could anything, Hugin landed on Minuette's back. "Hello girls." "Hey pal." Berry saluted. "Where's Octavia?" "She should be joining us soon. I saw you girls hopelessly lost and thought I should come down for rescue you. Not before telling Octavia where you were, of course." Hugin said before jumping to Berry's head. "You didn't much problem, I hope. Besides being lost I mean." "Oh no, just a rather unpleasant encounter with the king of jerks." Berry snarked. "Seriously, is everybody here like that?" "Canterlot can be a little rough sometimes." Hugin answered. "Can you explain to us what exactly is going on?" Fleur asked. Hugin dropped his cheerful tone as he turned towards her. "I would rather have Octavia tell you what happened, but I guess you could say that she went to the wrong pony for help." It didn't need to be said who said pony was. Considering who Octavia was and her earlier statement before leaving Ponyville. "You know, having black feathers doesn't exactly do well for my bodily temperature, how about we go under a roof or something while wait. Octavia shouldn't take long." And with that, they returned to the ice cream shop, ready for a second round of delicious ice cream. Just as Hugin had said, Octavia quickly appeared at the door of the establishment. A rather awkward silence filled the room as the earth pony joined her friends inside. Fleur was about to start talking when Octavia suddenly took the initiative, planting herself firmly in front of Flitter. What came next was completely unexpected though. "I am sorry Flitter." Octavia. "I started shouting and howling like an animal right in front of you when you were only doing your job." "Its okay Octavia. You were pretty mad." Flitter answered with a kind smile. "It doesn't justify my actions. I have a better mind than to start bellowing like a mad pony." Octavia pulled a seat towards them and explained what had transpired before they had arrived, from the moment she left the town and her talk, and subsequent verbal punishment, with the princess. "Wow, she really let you have it this time, didn't she." Berry said. "Don't remind me." the music pony muttered. Fleur eyed her friend without saying word. Once again, Octavia was acting regretful and being sorry for what she did. And she was being honest about it, there was no doubt about that. But will it stick? "What will you do now?" Minuette asked. "I have to go back to the CAS and meet with the other musicians. More instructions shall be given over there." "Does it have to be now? The heat is killing me, even in the shadow." Hugin said. "Yes. Now." Octavia answered, returning to her old tone. "Were just waiting for Cloudchaser to eat her ice cream… and clean her mane too." The walk to the CAS, now leaded by Octavia, was mostly quiet. The only sound was the occasional gasp of amazement from one of the twins that came from admiring the beauty around them. Fleur walked besides Octavia, keeping pace with her friend. "I take it you learned your lesson this time?" Fleur asked. "I did Fleur. Now please stop rubbing it in." Octavia replied. "I will when you stop making the same mistake." Fleur replied. Octavia opened her mouth to answer, but shut it after no reply came to her head. Minuette eyed the two of them carefully, noting the tension between the two of them. After a few more minutes of silent walk, the group arrived to the CAS building. It was just as it was when Octavia left it a few hours ago, with one difference. A small group four ponies had gathered at the door. All of them fancy looking. "Here we are." Octavia said. As they approached they building, a few heads turned to face them. All of them were unfamiliar, except for two. "Girls!" Fiddelsticks smiled as she saw them approach. "Fancy seen you all again here!" "Hey Fiddelsticks. How is the farm going?" Berry asked. "Still with a few issues, but we're getting there, thanks to help of you three. Speaking of which…" the farm pony turned to Octavia. "Are you here for the contest?" "I am." Octavia answered. "It is good to see you Fiddlesticks." "Well I'm not happy to see you Octavia." a voice said, followed by a loud cough. All heads turned to the center of the group. An earth pony mare with a light blue coat and brown mane stood. Her cutie mark was a purple fa clef that contested with her light blu coat. But more noticeable than all that, was the visible anger on her face. "And who are you?" Berry asked. "Oh, please excuse my rudeness, I should have introduced myself. My name is Beauty Brass, and I intent to participate in the competition. And I would not like to have my presentation interrupted by anypony." she pointed a hoof towards Octavia. "Specially one who needs to put others down in order to show great she thinks she is." "You're talking about the incident with Vinyl." Minuette said. "How do you know about that?" "Are you kidding? The entire musical community knows about it." another mare, right behind Fiddlesticks said. her coat was mint green, as was half of her mane, while the other half was snow white. her cutie was a golden harp. "It was kinda obvious, since you're the protege of the princess and all that…" "And you are angry as well?" Octavia asked. "Well, I think that it was kinda of a jerk move, but if you feel sorry for what you did…" the mare glared Octavia. "You are sorry, right?" "I am." Octavia relied, backing off a little from the glare of the mare. "I find that hard to believe." the fourth pony, a stallion, said. "You!" Berry growled. Standing between the musical mares was none other than the stallion Cloudchaser had crashed. And he looked just as angry as he did before. "It would seem that brutes tend to group together." he said with a smirk. Before anypony could say or do something else however, the doors of the CAS opened, allowing a very familiar face to walk through it. "Okay, I asked about the rules and…" Began Vinyl Scratch, but the words died in her mouth as she saw just who was there. Tension and awkwardness increased as Octavia and the DJ locked eyes. "Hello Vinyl." Octavia said quickly. A little too much. "Hey Octavia." Vinyl replied, just as awkwardly. Awkward silence stretched for nearly a minute before Minuette cleared her throat. "Ehem, Vinyl Scratch, you mentioned something about the rules…" the blue unicorn said. "Uh, yeah." Using her magic, Vinyl pulled a paper from inside the door, levitating it in the middle of the group. The paper was yellowish in color, while the letters were written in green ink. Flitter could swear she saw some glitter powder on it. It was a very pretty letter actually. "Well, what does it say?" the stallion hurried. Vinyl briefly glared at him before beginning to read out loud.. RULES FOR THE MUSICAL TOURNAMENT FOR THE SUMMER GALA. Objective: To decide the lead musician for the Summer Gala, who will get to decide all the musical arrangements for the night. Participants: Lyra Heartsrings. Beauty Brass. Octavia Clef. Vinyl Scratch. Frederick Horseshoepin. Fiddlesticks Apple. Phase one: At eleven in the morning, all contestants shall meet in the CAS music hall, where they shall play a composition of no more than five minutes long from memory, after which they shall be judged by three judges. Four contestants shall be selected for the next phase. Phase two: At four in the afternoon, the four remaining contestants shall meet again in the CAS hall music and shall play another piece, this time of at least five minutes and no more than ten minutes long. Two contestants shall be chosen for the third and final phase. Phase three: At eight in the afternoon, the two final contestants shall meet in the royal music theater, where they shall play a original composition each from memory. The musician that is deemed the winner shall be elected for the position of lead musician for the summer gala. Criteria: Contestants shall be judged for their technique, artistic ability, interpretation and presentation. Final notes: The day before the competition, at seven in the afternoon, any and all contestants can go to the CAS music hall in order to meet the judges. The first two phases are private, though the contestants are allowed to bring audience if they wish. The final phase will have a general audience present. Have fun and good luck! Beauty Brass coughed loudly as Vinyl finished reading. "Are you okay?" Cloud Chaser asked. "Stupid coughing…" Beauty grunted. "I have to take my medicine…" Before anypony else could say anything else, the stallion, now recognized as Frederick, walked away from the group, making sure to swat Octavia's face with his tale. "Hey!" But Frederick did not answer, instead making his way fast and haughtily, raising his nose and ignoring his competitor. The rest of the group stayed quiet unsure what to say, until a loud cough from Beauty snapped them out of their daze. "Well, I have to go find a place to crash for now, so see you all tonight I guess." Vinyl said, turning around to leave, not before giving Octavia one final glance. Lyra and Beauty soon followed her example, leaving the bearers alone with Fiddlesticks. "So, do you have a place to stay Fiddlesticks?" Fleur asked. "Nah, Ah' just arrived this morning. Ah got lost for too long before Ah' had to get here." the earth pony answered before leaving. "Though Ah' should get on it. So, see ya later!" "We should do that too. if we're going to stay." Minuette said. "We're staying?" Flitter asked. "I think its only the right thing to do if we are going to sat and watch Octavia compete. Besides, I don't think anypony here wants to do the entire trip from and to Canterlot at least two more times." Minuette explained. Berry groaned. "I'm gonna have to do it anyways, cu'z I have to go close the tavern and pick Ruby. She can't be left alone in the house." "You can leave her at our house for the night." Flitter offered. "Thanks Flitter." "I also have to go back and lock my house." Fleur said. "And you Minuette?" "I always lock my house up before I lave anywhere. I'm surprised you girls didn't." Minuette pointed a hoof towards the door of the CAS. "We'll meet here at six." Octavia wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything to say. On one hoof, she was a little irritated. It was enough that she had been humiliated, both in front of her friends and in front of other ponies. She didn't like it, and she didn't like that, in her mind, the public humiliation continued. On the other hoof, she was thankful for her friends and their company. Since currently half the entire music community seemed to be angry with her, their support was welcomed. "Alright then. See ya later." Berry grinned and turned around. "Come on Fleur. I think the next train leaves in an hour." "And what about us?" Flitter asked. "I have some coins with me. I'll rent us a room for the night." Minuette answered. "I can get you a room." Octavia. Her three friends stared at her, making her feel a bit uncomfortable. "I mean, I could ask the princess to help you a bit." "Thats rather nice of you." Flitter said with a smile. Octavia blushed a little bit. "Just don't get used to it." she replied quickly. A little too much.
Chapter 1A beautiful day covered the land of Equestria. Small flocks of birds flew across the sky, along with occasional pegasus. A soft breeze flowed as well, allowing refreshment from the heat of the sun. The grass swayed a little, tickling the hooves of those walking on it. Even for those who had business in town, it was no less encouraging and charming to just stop for a few seconds and enjoy the nice day that they had been gifted with. All of Ponyville was bustling with activity. The market zone, a large of collection of tents selling and being different items and edibles, had ponies coming and going. One of said ponies was Fleur de Lys, who was happily approaching one of the stands. "Excuse me." she asked the vendor, a brown maned stallion. "Do you happen to sell ink ribbons for typewriters?" "Of course miss." He pulled a couple of small containers. "Eight bits each." "Eight bits? Certainly." Fleur smiled as she started digging through a small saddle bag on her left, using her magic to open it. Her smile diminished as she realized that she only had ten bits. The vendor, seeing her frown, tapped her shoulder, grabbing her attention. "A beautiful mare like you shouldn't have a frown on her face. Take the two of them on four bits each, ok?" Fleur was surprised for a few seconds, but smiled warmly. The vendor blushed slightly and awkwardly smiled back while putting the ink tapes in a bag. Fleur thanked him and left, carefully putting her purchase in the saddle bag. "Ink tapes, peaches, lettuce…thats about it." she told herself as she marked a small checklist. "Now I just have to take all this back home and wait for Berry to bring me the soda bottles." She stopped right in the middle of the plaza, taking a second to admire the world around her. The plaza was just as lively as the market zone. Lovely couples walked to and from, chatting with each other or simply enjoying each others company. A few children were running about. A few other ponies could be seen on the streets around her, working or just hang with each other. It was a quite a charming sight. The smile on Fleur's face grew as she continued her walk. All the good will and beauty around her served to increase her already high good mood. Then, for the briefest second, a shadow covered her. Fleur was about to look up, when the the owner of said shadow landed right besides. Cloudchaser was grinning widely, bouncing around her like a little child. "Good morning Cloudchaser." Fleur saluted smiling back at the pegasus. "I see you are in a good mood." "Yeah!" the pegasus chirped back. "May I ask why?" "Because the weather team forgot pull in a whole bunch of clouds, and the managers gave me permission to burst them! There were even rainbows between them when I popped them!" Cloudchaser giggled with excitement. Fleur smiled at the childish behavior of her friend. It felt good to seem some pony who took such a positive attitude. "Hey Fleur." Another friendly voice called. Flitter gracefully landed besides her, careful to not step on her sister. She was carrying a blue saddle bag, which was visibly filled with letters. Resting on her head, right besides her pink bow, was the blue cap that all mail ponies used. "Hello Flitter." Fleur saluted back. "Delivering letters I see. Is it a permeant job?" "No, not really. I just wanna stop asking from Thunderlane. We don't see him much lately, so I wanna spend time with him, not ask him for money." Flitter answered, digging through her bag, eventually pulling out a light brown envelope. "In fact, I gotta deliver this one to Octavia right now. Wanna come with?" "I do!" Cloudchaser chirped. "I would love to, but I'm afraid that I have to take all this things to my home now. Don't want be carrying a full bag all day now, do I?" Fleur answered, pointing towards her bag with a hoof. "Please do say hi to Octavia for me." And with a quick goodbye, Fleur continued on her merry way. Luckily, her house was close at this point, so walking a lot was not a concern. As she moved through the town, she passed in front of Minuette's house. All the windows were open, which allowed her to see Minuette moving from one place to another. "Busy as bee. Better not bother her then." she thought before moving on. Her house was simple, yet of visible high quality. The tiles were a bright red, while the walls were painted pink. There were a couple of windows on one wall, behind of which was the kitchen, another on the opposite side, right in her room. The place was single, large, square floor. No stairs of any kind existed on the inside. It did, however, have a quite a few rooms. A kitchen that was connected to a dinning room, a bedroom and her study, all of them connected to her living room, which served as the main room, with a carpet and a table right in the middle. It was an odd arrangement of rooms for a house, true. But its how she liked, not matter what any pony said. Placing everything in the kitchen, save for the ink ribbons, Fleur then headed to her study. It was big for a study. With a single, circular window on the wall opposite to the door. The room itself had few things. A shelve with a few books, both written by her and that she liked to read, and documents, most of them reviews and short essays that she liked to write. She gave the books a glance and sighted. She loved writing those books. And all the town ponies that read them loved them as well. Unfortunately, the only way to get published in bigger cities was if the Canterlot critics deemed your work worthy of it. And they would never even consider reading a story that came from a backyard town. "Maybe I could…" she murmured before interrupting herself. "No. I promised to never use their help again." Her train of thought was interrupted when a loud knock reached her ears. Without waiting a second, she left her study and headed to the door. "Hey Fleur!" Berry said. On her back was a small saddle bag, carrying a couple of bottles. "Here's the sodas." "Thank you very much Berry. How much is it?" "Nine bits total. But you can pay next time you come to the bar." Berry entered the house, following Fleur into the kitchen. "You are coming soon, right?" "Of course Berry. I would never abuse your trust like that." Suddenly a loud thump echoed from the roof. Berry and Fleur shared a confused look before looking up. Their attention was diverted when a flying, gray boulder flew in through the kitchen window, flying right between them and crashing on the wooden table, which, by sheer miracle, didn't break. "Thats a ten for not breaking anything Cloudchaser." Berry joked. Fleur, on the other hoof, immediately ran towards her fallen friend. "By Celestia! Cloudchaser, are you alright?!" she helped the pegasus up. "What in the world possessed you to do such a thing? What if you had gotten hurt?" "Or broken your table." Berry commented. Fleur shot her a glare. "Its Octavia!" Cloudchaser, panted. "She's mad! Like, really, really mad!" The walk to the tree house had been short, mostly die to the fact that the two ponies were running, with Cloudchaser flying right above them. As they approached Octavia's home, they saw a blue unicorn walk towards the door, with a decidedly angry face. "Minuette? What are you doing here?" Berry asked. "I live a couple of houses away, and I can hear Octavia's tantrum." She placed a hoof on the door, pushing hard. "Alright, Octavia, what's-" "HOW DARE THEY?! HOW DARE THEY DO THIS TO ME?! ME!" Octavia roared, pacing in the middle of the room, occasionally kicking whatever crumbled piece of paper that was on her way. Hugin and Flitter did their best to stay on the air, dodging the papers as best as they could. One of them went flying straight towards Minuette, impaling itself on her horn. Cloudchaser giggled at that from the window. "THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! THIS IS AN INSULT! A SCANDAL! A-" The rest of her tirade was cut short as Minuette used her magic shoot the crumbled ball of paper from her horn strait into Octavia's mouth, keeping there as well. "Alright Octavia, you're mad, I get it. I got when I heard you shouting all the way from my house." Minuette walked towards the musician. "But if you don't calm down and stop shouting, whatever it is that got you riled up will be the least of your problems, got it?" Octavia's frown didn't disappear, but she nodded in agreement. Minuette removed the ball of paper from her mouth, allowing her to speak freely. "Sorry for the yelling. I normally don't do it." Octavia started. "Could have fooled me." Berry said. Octavai shot her a glare. "I was trying to compose a small piece, in preparation for the summer gala." she pointed towards her desk, where a few papers remained. "Even with Hugin being his usual irritating self, I was managing quite well." "You barely had three pages in." Hugin snarked. "Be quiet you. Anyways, I was doing fine, when Flitter knocked on my door to deliver my letters. And she did, and gave me…that." she pointed towards a window, where, crumbled and visibly stomped, was a brownish piece of paper. Using her magic, Fleur lifter the paper toward her. For a brief second, her mind recognized it as the paper that Flitter had shown her and Cloudchaser earlier, but she quickly discarded the thought, instead reading the letter out loud. "Dear Miss Octavia Von Clef…" she began. "We have received your letter containing your desire to be the lead musician for this year's summer gala, along with your list of accomplishments and the reminder that you are indeed the best cello player in Canterlot…you sent them your entire resume?" "Just keep reading." Octavia growled. Fleur raised an eyebrow before continuing. "Your letter was passed forward to the music council and studied in detail. However, while we indeed acknowledge you as a very talented and accomplished musician, we must inform you that you have not been accepted as the lead musician for the summer gala this year. Hoping that you will join the gala as a guest…the Canterlo Art Society." "You see what they did?!" Octavia yelled. "Ps: We return to you the list of accomplishments, since it was not asked for." "You're throwing a tantrum…over this?" Minuette asked, making sure to emphasize the last words. "Kinda childish, don't you think? "I am the greatest earth pony musician in Canterlot! I deserve that position!" Octavia replied. "Nopony is questioning your abilities Octavia. You have done amazing things with your music. But think about what the letter said. Maybe they were looking for something else besides skills." Fleur said. "Something else? Something like what?" Octavia grouched. "What else could they be looking for in the lead musician for the summer gala?" "Something you lacked, clearly." Berry commented. Octavia frowned. "Hugin, we are going to Canterlot. Now." Flitter landed right besides Berry, both of them in shock. There rest of the ponies were just as flabbergast of the decision. "Why would we want to go there? Its not like we can change their minds or something." Hugin said, landing on the table. "Oh yes we can. If we hurry, we shall be there before lunchtime." "Don't' you think that its a bit extreme? You might makes things worse for you." Flitter said while Octavia picked up some of the fallen papers and placed them on the desk. "I hardly believe they can make things that worse for me." Octavia said before heading to the door, with Hugin landing on her back. "I will be back tonight or tomorrow morning." "Aren't you at least going to take anything?" Minuette said. "I have my old room in the castle. If it becomes necessary, I shall sleep there for the night." "Your'e coming back, right?" Cloudchaser asked. "Of course I will." Octavia answered with a grin. "I live here, don't I?" And before any pony else could say something, Octavia was gone, and Hugin with her, leaving her five friends in the library. "She didn't even bother to lock the door." Berry noted. "She's about to rampage the Canterlot Art Society and all you care is if she locked door?" Minuette said. "What if she gets in trouble?" "Thats exactly it." Berry explained. "I think we know Octavia enough to know that she will get in some sort of mess sooner or later. Until that happens, arguing with her is pointless. All we gotta do is wait till she starts messing up and making sure she learns from not making things worse." "That is a rather questionable method of helping friends." Fleur said. "Hey, some ponies need to learn the hard way. Besides, she's going to Canterlot, remember?" Berry joked. "Composure and all that stuff is everything over there. i'm sure she'll behave." The rest of the bearers shared a worried look between them. "So…" Berry proposed. "Who's up for a drink while we wait for the inevitable?"
Chapter 2Canterlot was just as bright and beautiful as ever. The white walls that almost glowed with the sun. The clean streets that were a pleasure to walk. The whole atmosphere of elegancy and regality that anypony who considered him or herself of high class did their best to maintain. All in all, the most elegant place in Equestria was truly a holder of its title. "It feels good to be back for a while." Octavia mused as she exited the train. Hugin flew out right after her, fluttering around for a few seconds before landing on her head. "If only we had a better reason to come here other than looking for a fight." he said. Octavia ignored him, instead beginning her uphill walk towards the Canterlot Art Society, located near the Castle. As a city placed in a mountain, stairs and inclined streets were commonplace. Enough for Octavia to get used to walk up and down for quite a while. "So…let me get this straight…." Hugin said, moving from her head to her back. "Wer'e going to go the CAS, demand to know why you weren't elected lead musician, order them to make you lead musician and then just leave for Ponyville?" "More or less." Octavia answer. By now, a few ponies had recognized the protege of the princess. "You know, while I usually enjoy seeing you get in trouble, I have to agree with Berry here. This is a bad idea." "I will not stand by while they give my position to some pony else. If you are foolish enough to disagree with that, then you can meet me in my room later." Octavia said coldly, giving him an equally cold stare. Hugin blinked a couple of times before his eyes contorted in a frown. Without saying anything, he flapped his wings and flew away, heading towards the castle. Octavia looked at his form shrinking as it approached the golden roofs of the castle towers, a little surprised that he had actually left like that, instead of shooting his usual sarcasm. "Lets get back to work." she told herself before resuming her walk. Canterlot wasn't much of a wide city as it was tall. Stores placed on top of other stores was quite normal, as were apartments instead of houses. There were also a couple of small towers connected by bridges that passed over a few blocks, serving as a shortcut when you didn't feel like walking through all the labyrinth that the streets could become. Luckily for Octavia, that was only the lower market area and middle residential zone. The top of the city, right below the castle, was where all the fancy buildings stood, such as the Canterlot Library, the House of Local arquitecture, The Canterlot Royal Academy and finally, her objective. The Canterlot Art Society. The it was a small building compared to most, being only a couple of floors high, but even then, it was nothing to be scoffed at. The entire square building had banners of Equestria placed on every wall, all of the richly decorated, while the large windows were clear enough to appear as if there was no glass at all. Octavia entered with a firm pace and a stern face. She wanted information and she wanted it now. The poor receptionist at the entrance seemed to have noticed, as she immediately put down the papers she was holding with magic and smiled nervously. "M-Miss Octavia! How nice to see you again! What can I do for you?" she asked. "I would like to speak to the ponies in charge of the gala musical arrangement." Octavia said in a tranquil, yet stern voice. "Uhm, I'm afraid they are not here at the moment. May I ask what do you wish to know?" Octavia sighed in annoyance. This was not going as she wanted to. "Who was elected the lead musician for the summer gala?" she asked in a gruff. The receptionist started flipping through the small stack of papers that she was holding earlier. After a few seconds of searching, she placed the stack back down. "There is nopony elected." The mare answered. "There will be-" "Nopony was elected!?" Octavia roared. "Yes, but the-" "You mean that not only they rejected me, but they that they prefer to have literally nobody than listening me?!" "But-" "This will not stay this way!" Octavia stomped her way to the door. "Insulting me is one thing, but this is too much!" "But you haven't let me-" SLAM."… finish." Octavia walked through the streets of Canterlot, visibly angry. They chose nopony. If they had chosen somepony, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. All that she would have to do would be to prove herself better and be on her way. But this meant that they just didn't want her! "This will not stay like this!" she growled as she approached her destination. Canterlot Castle. Inside said castle, more specifically, the royal bedroom, a certain princess exited her bathroom, drying of her luscious mane with a towel. Her chambers, while smaller than what one would expect for royalty, was just as filled with books as a small library. On the desk, on shelves on all the walls, on the bed, below the bed, all of the periodically changed once they were read, re-read and then properly analyzed. The perfect hobby for the longed live ones. "Ugh, Spike needs to stop eating those green opals." she though, placing the fowl back in the bathroom and picking her crown with magic. "I'm getting tired of having to brush his jaws like this…" She could ask her servants to do it, true. But then again, few could waistband the sulfury breath of the dragon without passing out. "Maybe I could ask Shiny to do it sometime. Might help them bond." she mused as she placed her golden shoes. With a final wave of magic, her mane was complete ready for the day. It didn't flow or levitated, like many believed, instead it just hung loosely by her side. It was, of course, straightened out and spotlessly clean. "Okay then…checklist of the day…" she exited her room, a long scroll following her through the air. A couple of guard saluted as she passed by them. Twilight responded with a smile. Her chambers were located in the third largest tower in Canterlot, the other two being the royal library and the astronomy tower. She had offered Shinning Armor a room in the tower with her, but he declined, preferring something more in the castle. "Maybe I should start considering one too. I wouldn't have to deal with all the stairs, for starters." Twilight chuckled. She could just teleport, but that would rob her of something to playfully snark about every morning. "Lets see…" she began reading the checklist, making a quill appear out if thin air. "Meeting with the nobles, again. Find a tailor for the gala. Visit the senior students of the academy…" Before she knew it, she was right in front of the throne room. Nopony was there except for the guards. The princess sighed. Dealing with the nobles was part of the job. They had a certain level of political power after all. If they just could be a little less obnoxious and self obsessed. "Then again, not all of them are like that…" she murmured. "Your highness?" Princess Twilight turned around. Behind her stood a pegasus guard who, unlike the rest, didn't have a white tone mane, instead by a dark yellow. His blue mane was bare visible under his helmet. "Ah, Flash Sentry." she saluted, making the checklist disappear along with the quill. "What can I do for you?" "You are needed in your study." Flash answered, bowing his head. "Royal protege Octavia Is waiting for you there." "Octavia? What a surprise!" the princess smiled. "I shall go meet with her immediately. Please tell the nobles to wait for me once they arrive please." "Yes your highness." Without a single shred of effort, she teleported away, reappearing right in front of said study. She opened the doors and, just as Flash had told her, saw Octavia there, looking out at the landscape through the balcony. It was a large study, with every wall covered in a shelve, each filled to brim with documents, books and other texts. Octavia, hearing the doors open, turned around to meet her mentor. "Good morning Octavia! How nice it is to see you again." The princess welcomed her. "Good morning princess." The cold tone was all that Twilight needed to determine Octavia's mood. "Somepony doesn't look too happy." "Princess. I am here to denounce a terrible injustice." Octavia proclaimed. "Oh? And what injustice is that?" The princess asked with a smile, while picking a small stack of papers, slowly flipping through them. "I have been rejected as the lead musician for the summer gala!" Octavia growled. "Not only that, but they even failed to choose some pony else! The knew about my intention and rejected me outright!" "Ok." The princess pulled a single paper, which was actually an open scroll parchment. "So where is the injustice?" "Where?! A position like that requires the best musicians in Canterlot!" Octavia took a steep forward. "I am the best cello player in this city. I should be the one chosen to be the lead musician!" "Is that so?" Twilight's smile dropped a little. "And now you want me to just go toe Canterlot Art Society and make them choose you?" "Well, no. I mean…thats a rather harsh way of saying it but…" Octavia stumbled a little with her words, but quickly gathered herself once again. "But yes. I need this as a musician." "You need this as a musician." The princess repeated. "And as your mentor, you want me to help you achieve your best, as you so loudly proclaimed before I sent you to Ponyville." "Well, I-" "Because I'm your mentor, and thats what mentors do, correct?" her smile was completely gone at this point. Octavia could feel her earlier anger start to diminish. "Well, it may surprise you Octavia, but as your mentor, I have other duties apart from spoiling you." the princess explained. "For example, making sure you grow to be a cultured and smart mare. Not necessarily a scientist, but that you know the basics…" She gave a step forward, getting closer to Octavia. "I also have make sure that you grow up to be a kind, ethical and respectful pony. And I like to think that I succeeded for the most part…" she gave another step, stopping right in front of Octavia, who suddenly felt very small. "But apparently, I was wrong." And with that, she levitated the scroll until it was right in front of Octavia. She gave a small shake, signaling her to read it. "This…this my friendship report. The one about Vinyl." "Yes. In here, you tell me about how you allowed your temper and your pride to get the best of you, and how you ended up causing a lot of trouble for everypony, but that you were trying to make amends." "I did!" Octavia replied. "Really? Then please, tell me, what are you doing here, in front of me, telling me to go the Art Society and force them to give you your supposedly rightful position as the lead musician?" "I, uh…I was…" "You wrote this letter Octavia. But how I am I supposed to believe that you learned anything, if you come here just a couple of weeks later, making the exact same mistake? What is the point of you sending me these letters, if you learn nothing from them?" Octavia suddenly felt very small, and while the princess wasn't using any harsh tone, one could tell she was upset by her grimace. The fact that she didn't look angry, but disappointed, was what hit Octavia the hardest. "Being talented in something, Octavia, is a wonderful thing, but it does't automatically make you superior to others or entitled to anything. Just like you said, you are indeed the most talented cello player in Canterlot. Nopony is denying that Octavia. But think this..." the princess leaned down on her, making sure that they were at eye level. "What good is being able to produce the most beautiful sounds…if nopony wants to be near you to hear them?" And with that, she stood fully again. Moving to the desk, leaving Octavia to wooly sit down, stunned but the words she had just told her. "You weren't elected Octavia, not because you lacked skills, but because nopony wants to hear a jerk, not matter how good they are." she continued. "As for why nopony else was elected, that has nothing to do with you. In fact, many ponies tried to apply for the position as well." "And…and what happened?" Octavia asked, trying to gather her thoughts as best as she could. "Well, while most were either rejected or changed their minds, a small group of them was deemed to talented to be thrown away. You are part of that group too, though I can't say that the idea was welcomed." "Oh…"Octavia answered quietly. "But there can be only one lead musician, right?" "Well, not necessarily, but you have a point there, so we are going to have a little competition, and whoever wins, gets to be the lead!" The princess smiled once more. "Isn't it exciting?" "Joy…" Octavia murmured. "Oh, cheer up Octavia. You still have a chance to be the lead musician. Except now that you now have to work for it." the princess headed towards the door. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go save poor Flash from the nobles before they eat him alive." And with that, she was gone, leaving Octavia alone with her thoughts, which were filled, for the most part, with shame. It had been a while since the princess had made that face. Small mouth, slightly closed eyes, looking down on her. The disappointed face. She walked to the balcony and looked at Ponyville, which was little more than a stain on the late valley that surrounded the mountain where the castle stood. She could see some colored stains move about, though they were barely visible. Had she been tike that with her friends? Treating them like that, insulting them, acting arrogant and short tempered? She completely lost her temper when read the letter. Flitter was there to witness the whole thing. Did Octavia even notice her? Or was she too busy raging about the stupid paper? "Do you need to write a letter now?" a voice said from above her. Octavia looked up, finding nopony else but Hugin hovering above her. "I thinks so." Octavia answered. "Well, I took the liberty of bringing ink and paper to your old room. Meet me there?" "Of course…" Octavia answered. "Thanks Hugin." The crow flew up, leaving Octavia lone once again. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Lets go…" she thought as she turned to leave.
Chapter 3The five bearers of harmony were currently on the train to Canterlot. Cloudchaser and Flitter had their heads out the window, looking at the approaching mountain that was the castle Flitter's bow was held in place in one hoof. "Whats the matter Fleur?" Minuette asked her friend while paling her bag of tools on her side. , who was absentmindedly looking out the window as well. Her ears dropped once she gave a sigh. "Its nothing…" Fleur answered. "Doesn't like nothing." Berry in sited. "Come on. Tell me whats happening." "Its just that…this is the third time Octavia lets her temper get the best of her." the unicorn answered. "I thought she had learned last time. Guess not." "You got a point there. It is frustrating." Minuette replied, sitting besides her. "But she's our friend, so we gotta stick by her. Besides, at least this time she called us, instead of trying to send some pony to jail." Fleur smiled. "Yeah…" The door that led to the next cart opened, letting a visibly angry Berry enter. "I just went and asked if they had something to eat in this thing. You know what they said?" she ranted. "I'm sorry miss, but we are only a transport train, we do not serve food. We are the elements of harmony for Luna's sake!" "Well…it is just a couple of hour on train Berry. Its for the longer trips that they serve food." Fleur replied. "We had lunch before we came here." Minuette deadpanned. "Never heard of the after-lunch?" Berry grinned. "Why don't you start focusing on the issue at hoof?" the unicorn replied. Berry rolled her eyes before sitting besides Fleur as well. "I know I said that this was going to happen anyways…but it was a lot faster than what I thought." the bartender said. Minuette was about to respond when Coudchaser landed right on front of her, bouncing on her spot in excitement. "We're getting there! We're getting there!" she chirped. And indeed, looking out the window, one could barely see the whole mountain, with the train entering the station. The eye of the twins grew large as the looked up the white bridge towers that filled the city. The bustling ponies were all dressed with sweaters, fancy hats or just plain jewelry, but they all had that sense of superiority, with their muzzles upward and walking in slow, unnecessarily exaggerated steps. "The letter said that Octavia would meet us at the entrance of the Canterlot Art Society…I believe its this way." Fleur said. The five friends made their way up the city, careful to not bump anypony in the rather thin streets. While Ponyville was colorful and lively, Canterlot was rather cold to the sight. Sure, every building was practically spotless, with their white marble and wood almost glowing with the light of the sun, along with their purple tiles and streets made light blue cobble stones, but at the same time they seemed lifeless. The ponies were little better. Most of them were unicorns, and all of them were walking with a serious expression, as if they were constantly surrounded by something below them. A few earth ponies were among them as well, but they were few and, given their just as irritated demeanor and similar attires, could easily blend with the unicorns. Pegasus other than the twins were nowhere to be seen. The fact that the dresses they wore were borderline cartoonish, such as a top hat the size of a stallion, or a dress that was visibly wighting down a mare with all that jewelry did not help to improve the image. "I don't know who designed this clothes…but they need a better tailor." Berry commented. "Berry! Don't be rude. They might hear you." Fleur chided. "What? Its the truth." The five friends continued their walk up the city, although at an increasingly slower pace. The increasing heat, along with the endless uphill walk had them panting. Crossing street after street and walking up the seemingly endless mountain had also brought them a different problem. "You know…I think we should have taken one of those bridge thingies we saw back at the train station.." Flitter said. "And risk getting even more lost in this place? No thank you… "Minuette replied. "Hey Flitter, I thought you said you knew where the Canterlot Art Society was?" "I said I believed it was this way…It seems my memory is bit foggier than what I thought…" "Great! So we are lost in the middle of the labyrinth that is Canterlot with no hope finding our way. Can't wait until I have start wearing one of those stupid hats." Berry muttered. "I saw an ice cream store on the street before. Lets go there and think things out." Minuette decided. Before any pony could even move, Cloudchaser had vanished dashing her way towards the store, leaving a small cloud of dust in her place. The others briefly smiled before following their friend. As they approached the store, they saw that Cloudchaser was already eating a cone of mint ice cream, holding the cone carefully with her hooves. The rest quickly followed her example, wanting to escape the unrelenting heat. "I guess our sense of direction isn't the best there is." Berry said after they ordered their ice creams. It wasn't long before they were all eating their own. "Maybe we can ask some pony?" Fleur suggested. "I don't see many ponies around to ask." Minuette replied. "It's after lunch, so I doubt that they are doing something other than resting. Even the seller is gone." "Or drinking tea or trying those fancy dresses or all that stuff that fancy unicorns like to do." Berry snarked before taking a lick from her apple ice cream, wondering why would any store owner leave customers alone. Nopony else said, as they were all busy trying to figure out what to do. "Maybe I could fly to the tower? We can see it from here:" Flitter pointed a hoof towards the castle. "I'll do it!" Cloudchaser chirped before bolting outside of the store. The rest of the bearers smiled before a loud crash sound coming from outside caught their attention. Walking outside, they could Cloudchaser untangling herself from a brown stallion with white mane. A very angry brown stallion with white mane. His cutie mark was two sets of eight notes, one black and one white. His neck wore a red bow tie. "Oh my, are you alright Cloudchaser?" Fleur asked, helping her friend get up. "That feather head should be kept on a leash!" the stallions aid, getting up as well. "Hey, I'm sure Cloudchaser here is sorry for crashing you. No need to get offensive." Minuette planted herself in front of him. "And who are you to step in other ponies's businesses?" "When some pony insults my friends, its always my business." the unicorn replied. "And mine!" Berry added. The stallion was about to respond, but then his gaze moved from the Berry and Minuette and placed itself on Fleur, who, although she hadn't said anything, was right beside her friends. "I don't have to waste my time with farmers…" he said sharply, turning around and giving Fleur one last glare. "And neither should you." And with that, the stallion was gone, leaving an angry and rather confused group of mares standing in the middle of the street, unsure as to what to do. A small flap of wings caught their attention. Before any pony could anything, Hugin landed on Minuette's back. "Hello girls." "Hey pal." Berry saluted. "Where's Octavia?" "She should be joining us soon. I saw you girls hopelessly lost and thought I should come down for rescue you. Not before telling Octavia where you were, of course." Hugin said before jumping to Berry's head. "You didn't much problem, I hope. Besides being lost I mean." "Oh no, just a rather unpleasant encounter with the king of jerks." Berry snarked. "Seriously, is everybody here like that?" "Canterlot can be a little rough sometimes." Hugin answered. "Can you explain to us what exactly is going on?" Fleur asked. Hugin dropped his cheerful tone as he turned towards her. "I would rather have Octavia tell you what happened, but I guess you could say that she went to the wrong pony for help." It didn't need to be said who said pony was. Considering who Octavia was and her earlier statement before leaving Ponyville. "You know, having black feathers doesn't exactly do well for my bodily temperature, how about we go under a roof or something while wait. Octavia shouldn't take long." And with that, they returned to the ice cream shop, ready for a second round of delicious ice cream. Just as Hugin had said, Octavia quickly appeared at the door of the establishment. A rather awkward silence filled the room as the earth pony joined her friends inside. Fleur was about to start talking when Octavia suddenly took the initiative, planting herself firmly in front of Flitter. What came next was completely unexpected though. "I am sorry Flitter." Octavia. "I started shouting and howling like an animal right in front of you when you were only doing your job." "Its okay Octavia. You were pretty mad." Flitter answered with a kind smile. "It doesn't justify my actions. I have a better mind than to start bellowing like a mad pony." Octavia pulled a seat towards them and explained what had transpired before they had arrived, from the moment she left the town and her talk, and subsequent verbal punishment, with the princess. "Wow, she really let you have it this time, didn't she." Berry said. "Don't remind me." the music pony muttered. Fleur eyed her friend without saying word. Once again, Octavia was acting regretful and being sorry for what she did. And she was being honest about it, there was no doubt about that. But will it stick? "What will you do now?" Minuette asked. "I have to go back to the CAS and meet with the other musicians. More instructions shall be given over there." "Does it have to be now? The heat is killing me, even in the shadow." Hugin said. "Yes. Now." Octavia answered, returning to her old tone. "Were just waiting for Cloudchaser to eat her ice cream… and clean her mane too." The walk to the CAS, now leaded by Octavia, was mostly quiet. The only sound was the occasional gasp of amazement from one of the twins that came from admiring the beauty around them. Fleur walked besides Octavia, keeping pace with her friend. "I take it you learned your lesson this time?" Fleur asked. "I did Fleur. Now please stop rubbing it in." Octavia replied. "I will when you stop making the same mistake." Fleur replied. Octavia opened her mouth to answer, but shut it after no reply came to her head. Minuette eyed the two of them carefully, noting the tension between the two of them. After a few more minutes of silent walk, the group arrived to the CAS building. It was just as it was when Octavia left it a few hours ago, with one difference. A small group four ponies had gathered at the door. All of them fancy looking. "Here we are." Octavia said. As they approached they building, a few heads turned to face them. All of them were unfamiliar, except for two. "Girls!" Fiddelsticks smiled as she saw them approach. "Fancy seen you all again here!" "Hey Fiddelsticks. How is the farm going?" Berry asked. "Still with a few issues, but we're getting there, thanks to help of you three. Speaking of which…" the farm pony turned to Octavia. "Are you here for the contest?" "I am." Octavia answered. "It is good to see you Fiddlesticks." "Well I'm not happy to see you Octavia." a voice said, followed by a loud cough. All heads turned to the center of the group. An earth pony mare with a light blue coat and brown mane stood. Her cutie mark was a purple fa clef that contested with her light blu coat. But more noticeable than all that, was the visible anger on her face. "And who are you?" Berry asked. "Oh, please excuse my rudeness, I should have introduced myself. My name is Beauty Brass, and I intent to participate in the competition. And I would not like to have my presentation interrupted by anypony." she pointed a hoof towards Octavia. "Specially one who needs to put others down in order to show great she thinks she is." "You're talking about the incident with Vinyl." Minuette said. "How do you know about that?" "Are you kidding? The entire musical community knows about it." another mare, right behind Fiddlesticks said. her coat was mint green, as was half of her mane, while the other half was snow white. her cutie was a golden harp. "It was kinda obvious, since you're the protege of the princess and all that…" "And you are angry as well?" Octavia asked. "Well, I think that it was kinda of a jerk move, but if you feel sorry for what you did…" the mare glared Octavia. "You are sorry, right?" "I am." Octavia relied, backing off a little from the glare of the mare. "I find that hard to believe." the fourth pony, a stallion, said. "You!" Berry growled. Standing between the musical mares was none other than the stallion Cloudchaser had crashed. And he looked just as angry as he did before. "It would seem that brutes tend to group together." he said with a smirk. Before anypony could say or do something else however, the doors of the CAS opened, allowing a very familiar face to walk through it. "Okay, I asked about the rules and…" Began Vinyl Scratch, but the words died in her mouth as she saw just who was there. Tension and awkwardness increased as Octavia and the DJ locked eyes. "Hello Vinyl." Octavia said quickly. A little too much. "Hey Octavia." Vinyl replied, just as awkwardly. Awkward silence stretched for nearly a minute before Minuette cleared her throat. "Ehem, Vinyl Scratch, you mentioned something about the rules…" the blue unicorn said. "Uh, yeah." Using her magic, Vinyl pulled a paper from inside the door, levitating it in the middle of the group. The paper was yellowish in color, while the letters were written in green ink. Flitter could swear she saw some glitter powder on it. It was a very pretty letter actually. "Well, what does it say?" the stallion hurried. Vinyl briefly glared at him before beginning to read out loud.. RULES FOR THE MUSICAL TOURNAMENT FOR THE SUMMER GALA. Objective: To decide the lead musician for the Summer Gala, who will get to decide all the musical arrangements for the night. Participants: Lyra Heartsrings. Beauty Brass. Octavia Clef. Vinyl Scratch. Frederick Horseshoepin. Fiddlesticks Apple. Phase one: At eleven in the morning, all contestants shall meet in the CAS music hall, where they shall play a composition of no more than five minutes long from memory, after which they shall be judged by three judges. Four contestants shall be selected for the next phase. Phase two: At four in the afternoon, the four remaining contestants shall meet again in the CAS hall music and shall play another piece, this time of at least five minutes and no more than ten minutes long. Two contestants shall be chosen for the third and final phase. Phase three: At eight in the afternoon, the two final contestants shall meet in the royal music theater, where they shall play a original composition each from memory. The musician that is deemed the winner shall be elected for the position of lead musician for the summer gala. Criteria: Contestants shall be judged for their technique, artistic ability, interpretation and presentation. Final notes: The day before the competition, at seven in the afternoon, any and all contestants can go to the CAS music hall in order to meet the judges. The first two phases are private, though the contestants are allowed to bring audience if they wish. The final phase will have a general audience present. Have fun and good luck! Beauty Brass coughed loudly as Vinyl finished reading. "Are you okay?" Cloud Chaser asked. "Stupid coughing…" Beauty grunted. "I have to take my medicine…" Before anypony else could say anything else, the stallion, now recognized as Frederick, walked away from the group, making sure to swat Octavia's face with his tale. "Hey!" But Frederick did not answer, instead making his way fast and haughtily, raising his nose and ignoring his competitor. The rest of the group stayed quiet unsure what to say, until a loud cough from Beauty snapped them out of their daze. "Well, I have to go find a place to crash for now, so see you all tonight I guess." Vinyl said, turning around to leave, not before giving Octavia one final glance. Lyra and Beauty soon followed her example, leaving the bearers alone with Fiddlesticks. "So, do you have a place to stay Fiddlesticks?" Fleur asked. "Nah, Ah' just arrived this morning. Ah got lost for too long before Ah' had to get here." the earth pony answered before leaving. "Though Ah' should get on it. So, see ya later!" "We should do that too. if we're going to stay." Minuette said. "We're staying?" Flitter asked. "I think its only the right thing to do if we are going to sat and watch Octavia compete. Besides, I don't think anypony here wants to do the entire trip from and to Canterlot at least two more times." Minuette explained. Berry groaned. "I'm gonna have to do it anyways, cu'z I have to go close the tavern and pick Ruby. She can't be left alone in the house." "You can leave her at our house for the night." Flitter offered. "Thanks Flitter." "I also have to go back and lock my house." Fleur said. "And you Minuette?" "I always lock my house up before I lave anywhere. I'm surprised you girls didn't." Minuette pointed a hoof towards the door of the CAS. "We'll meet here at six." Octavia wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything to say. On one hoof, she was a little irritated. It was enough that she had been humiliated, both in front of her friends and in front of other ponies. She didn't like it, and she didn't like that, in her mind, the public humiliation continued. On the other hoof, she was thankful for her friends and their company. Since currently half the entire music community seemed to be angry with her, their support was welcomed. "Alright then. See ya later." Berry grinned and turned around. "Come on Fleur. I think the next train leaves in an hour." "And what about us?" Flitter asked. "I have some coins with me. I'll rent us a room for the night." Minuette answered. "I can get you a room." Octavia. Her three friends stared at her, making her feel a bit uncomfortable. "I mean, I could ask the princess to help you a bit." "Thats rather nice of you." Flitter said with a smile. Octavia blushed a little bit. "Just don't get used to it." she replied quickly. A little too much.
