G Clefs And Heavy Eyelids
Dinner With The Orchestra
It was a cool, gentle night, and the lights of the city were glowing brightly, casting a soothing glow over the field of grass where the dinner took place.Tables were draped in soft white cloth and adorned with sparkling glasses, which were filled with such delectable alcoholic beverages as champagne and wines of many sorts.
These were eagerly enjoyed by the many guests, who were seated at these tables and talking amongst themselves about the events of their lives. Warm laughter and the general hum of voices drifted on the cool winds of the night. While some ponies were seated, others bustled about with drinks in hand or suspended by magic. The orchestra had set up an outdoor stage, too; one with great red curtains and a handsome glazed wood floor. A beautiful melody permeated the air, floating around the ears of the mares and stallions; the orchestra had chosen five of its most talented members (three earth ponies, a pegasus and a unicorn) to go onto the stage and do a freelance performance.
Among these five were the kind-hearted flutist mare Silver Zenith, whose shimmering gray mane and cream-yellow fur had captured the eyes of many a stallion, and quiet but always smiling bass guitarist Brick Road, who wore a pristine tuxedo over his deep red coat and a gray fedora on his well-groomed black mane.
On the violin and lyre, respectively, were Luxury Suite and Lyra Heartstrings. Lux, as he preferred to be called, was an architect and played violin as more of a hobby. Nonetheless, he often joined the orchestra in their performances. Tonight, he wore a handsome navy pinstripe suit which shimmered in the spotlights, his majestic sky-blue wings poking out from behind him and swaying slightly in the pleasant breeze. He had also taken the luxury of choosing a snappy maroon tie to accentuate his outfit. His fur was blue, paler than a summer sky, and his mane was the same color and even paler.
Lyra was a pretty young unicorn with a turquoise coat and turquoise-and-white striped mane. She was wearing a lovely leaf-green gown, which was low-cut in a rather risqué manner. Lyra was very big-chested, and she got quite a few blushing stares from stallions as she plucked away at the strings of her golden lyre, but one thing stopped her from getting even a fraction of all the looks.
The reason? The fifth member of the quintet on the stage was the most talented and most drop-dead-gorgeous member of the entire orchestra, the young beauty Octavia Melody.
How does one describe Octavia? To be quite honest, "beauty" would be a bit of an understatement. Octavia was a brownish-gray mare with a long, silken jet-black mane. She was well known for being quiet, intelligent, and composed (no pun intended). Her face was flawless, especially with the light dusting of makeup she wore. Her eyes were a bright, lucid purple color, but were now closed as she swayed to the soft but somber flow of the quintet's sound and played her cello with amazing precision. Octavia wasn't quite as bosomy as Lyra, but even so, her simple black dress gave her bust the perfect amount of attention...and drew it from the stallions in the first few rows. Enough stallions to get quite a few mares glaring at their husbands.
But what really made Octavia so irresistible was her lower body. She had quite a pair of hips, which were not too wide and not too slim, but even these were trumped by her supple backside. It was large, jiggly, and, for the few who had been privileged so to lay hands on it, silky soft. And of course, for tonight's event, Octavia had been careful to select a dress that was not only black (the color suited her fur wonderfully), but also hugged her rump in a most intoxicating fashion.
Octavia didn't mind the looks she got as she passed through crowds of ponies. If anything, the infatuated smiles she recieved from stallions who had their chins in their hands and elbows on their tables served to flatter her. It wouldn't be proper for her to openly advertise that she enjoyed this type of attention, though, so she kept fairly quiet about it.
At this moment, the quintet was wrapping up its final few bars of melody. After this, food would be served, and later, dessert. Octavia herself was enjoying her stage time, her bow gently gliding across the strings and producing a deep, robust sound that mingled with the flute, bass, violin and lyre. The night air seemed to sweep up this collective body of music and cast it through the night air and across the grass like an invisible cloud, showering the partygoers with rich and sharp notes. She swayed subtly to and fro to the rhythm of the song. The atmosphere was perfect.
At last, the quintet finished their performance. There was a thunderous swell of clapping as the ponies who were enjoying their various spirits applauded the five ponies. A good number of roses flew from the crowd, and each performer was sure to take one before bowing (or curtsying, in the case of the ladies). They picked up their instruments and began to walk offstage. All except for Octavia, that is, who simply laid her cello on the ground.
Someone handed her a microphone from behind the curtain. Octavia then brought the mic to her lips and cleared her throat, signaling that it was okay to stop clapping. Smiling warmly and looking over the now-quiet crowd, she began to speak in her gentle accent. Her voice played from concealed speakers somewhere onstage.
"Hello, ladies and gentlecolts, and thank you for attending our symphony and dinner party." Octavia said. She had to pause and wait calmly as a slightly muted wave of applause began.
Once it had ended, she spoke again.
"Thank you all very much for attending this event. We hope you are all enjoying yourselves and the music. Food is being served now, and dessert will be served in twenty minutes." At this point, waitrons dressed in crisp black-and-white outfits had indeed begun to scurry about the tables, scribbling down the dishes that the partygoers ordered on small notepads.
Octavia continued. "Before we dine, I would like to toast to the well-being and happiness of us all. Any who wish to join me are entirely welcome to do so." Octavia produced a glass and a bottle of wine from behind her cello case. Deftly popping the cork, she poured a glass and set the bottle down at her side. The simple act of bending over to place down the wine fetched the gaze of most of the stallions in the audience. A young colt in the front row actually fainted.
Octavia, for the sake of her public reputation, pretended not to notice. She straightened her back and held her glass to the night sky. Everyone joined her, the sole exception being the incapacitated colt, whose Chardonnays had spilled all over his trousers.
Octavia smiled warmly. "To prosperity."
The crowd spoke back in a muddle of voices, some young, some old. "To prosperity."
Octavia sipped her wine as glasses tilted all across the field. All was well.
Noteworthy was truly enjoying himself.
It was such a beautiful evening to attend the recital and dinner. Holding it outdoors was an excellent idea, as well. And, best of all, he got to dine with four of the most talented musicians in the Canterlot Orchestral Ensemble.
Noteworthy was a considerably handsome stallion with dark blue fur and a navy mane. Fitting to his name, his cutie mark was a cluster of three eighth notes. He was an all-around string musician who sold records at a shop in Ponyville Plaza. He had become fairly prestigious, and soon received an invitation to the orchestra's performance in Canterlot. He was eager to attend, choosing his finest vest and necktie for the occasion.
After he had arrived late due to a carriage breakdown, four of the quintet's members ("Octavia's helping to dismantle the stage." Brick Road had said) had seen him wandering about and were kind enough to offer him a seat at their table. Once greetings were exchanged, he had quickly gotten settled in, ordered, and begun conversing with the table's occupants.
Silver Zenith was quietly enjoying a garden salad, while Brick Road and Lux consumed similar plates of assorted vegetables. Lyra hadn't eaten anything, and instead had chosen to consume a few too many glasses of champagne.
"So, Noteworthy. How's life treating you?" Lyra said, punctuating the end of her sentence with a suppressed hiccup.
Noteworthy turned to Lyra and smiled. "Very good. Thank you for asking."
"Lyra, you shouldn't have your elbows on the table. That's not proper." Lux said in his smooth voice. He gracefully picked up his wine glass and took a sip.
Lyra shifted her arms into her lap and turned to Lux. "Loosen up a bit, Luxy. It's a party. It's s'posed to be fun." She lidded her eyes halfway and gave her best seductive look. Seeing how tipsy she was, she looked more like a griffon in heat.
Lux was unfazed, but still smiling. "I'm aware, Lyra, but it's a formal party. There is an etiquette here. It's not like one of Pinkie's and Vinyl's parties; there's no loud, obnoxious "wubs", we try to keep the atmosphere generally calm, and there's none of that-" Lux grinned and sighed. "-what is it called? Ah yes, 'twerking'. There's no twerking. It's a different kind of party."
Lyra leaned back in her chair and sighed, unintentionally holding her chest out. "Bonnie's really good at twerking..."
Brick Road and Silver Zenith looked up from their plates and simultaneously mouthed "She's a lesbian."
Noteworthy nodded slightly, grinning.
Lux just stroked his forehead. "Lyra, if you haven't gathered, openly voicing your enthusiasm for your partner's aptitude at performing posterior-oriented dances also violates said etiquette somewhat."
Lyra giggled like a child. "It's like you're speaking another language, Luxy."
Noteworthy decided to lead the topic in a more mature direction, as Silver and Brick were too busy judging Lyra and Lux to interject.
Turning back to Lux, he said, "So, Mr. Lux, are you in a steady relationship with somepony?"
Lux smiled warmly at Noteworthy. "Indeed I am. We're very happy to be together."
Noteworthy nodded. "And who would this lucky mare be?"
Lux stiffened momentarily.
"I'm afraid you misunderstand." he said, grinning slightly and setting down his wine. "I prefer the romantic company of stallions to mares."
Noteworthy blinked. "So you're gay."
Muted snickers ran around the table.
Lux chuckled a little himself. "I suppose that would be a more concise way of putting it." He took another sip.
Noteworthy shook his head slightly. He was finding out a lot about this group just for spending a mere five minutes with them.
He turned to Brick. "So, where's the rest of the orchestra?"
In response, the stallion simply gestured across the expanse of the dining area, and Noteworthy noticed that there were indeed ponies dressed in the orchestra's signature uniform, a deep maroon suit with gray trousers, scattered about. This led Noteworthy to wonder why the quintet wasn't in uniform like the rest of them.
As if reading his mind, Silver Zenith looked up and said, "We were pardoned from wearing our uniforms. Since we were performing, just the five of us, after the main concert, we were allowed to wear something else to distinguish us from the other members."
Noteworthy looked at her. "Kind of a hierarchy you have going on here."
Silver shrugged. "I wouldn't call it that. We try to keep things even here, actually; no matter how talented a pony is, they aren't held in any higher esteem than a newer pony with less experience. Octavia is usually the voice of reason here. She keeps things in line, makes sure that everypony is treating each other fairly."
Noteworthy nodded. "Speaking of which, you'd think she'd be done by now. It's been nigh an hour and a half." He craned his neck to look at the collapsed stage. The cellist was nowhere in sight.
Lyra snorted. "Probably off hypnotizing some poor sap."
Lux shot Lyra a bladed look. "You've had about enough to drink, young lady!"
Noteworthy looked to Brick for an explanation. He sighed and gestured subtly to Lyra. "As our tipsy friend says, Octavia is actually a seasoned hypnotist."
Noteworthy's eyes shot open. "Fascinating!"
Silver nodded. "She's an expert at rapid inductions. To briefly explain, those are small sequences of movements, like a finger snap or a tug on the arm, that can jar the mind and make it easier for her to quickly put he inductee into a light trance. From there, she can deepen the trance, making them increasingly suggestible."
Noteworthy nodded. "Amazing! I don't know much about hypnosis at all."
Lux chuckled softly. "I've found it a mite hard to wrap my head around myself. If you can find Octavia out here, I'm sure she'd be more than delighted to explain it to you in greater detail."
Notworthy nodded. "Good idea. I'll have a look around." He began to get up out of his seat.
"Hold on, Noteworthy." Silver said. She was grinning faintly. "You should probably fix your tie."
The blue earth stallion looked down at his tie. It was twisted. Dammit.
He nervously straightened it and slipped it back to its normal position. "Thanks for that." He said to Silver, wiping his brow. "I wouldn't want to look indecent at a gathering like this."
Silver nodded. "Not a problem. I made similar mistakes at your age. Once, I was flighty enough to wear striped socks with a short dress." She shuddered. "Big mistake."
Noteworthy laughed heartily. Adjusting his tie again, he turned and walked into the cool breeze behind him. He then meandered across the field towards the stage, dodging waitrons and passerby.
Halfway there, he just had to pause and take in the atmosphere. It was so welcoming, with the scents of delectable food and spirits drifting on the wind, gentle light from street lamps illuminating soft white cloth. People laughing, people smiling. Noteworthy loved how the same joy of pounding, electric raves or pre-teen dance parties could be felt here, in such an indirect way.
He smiled and closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath and holding it. He looked skyward, basking in Luna's glorious shimmering light.
And then he was on his way again, softly singing under his breath:
"Everypony here is out of sight...
They don't bark and they don't bite,
They keep things loose, they keep things light.
Everypony was dancing in the moonlight."
