Octaviaverse: Music Tournament.

The 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.