The Mare Who Went into the Cold
The double bass leaned against the wall of the room. "By Celestia, this is the smallest room I've ever stayed in. Not to mention the coldest," were the thoughts in the mind of the owner, one Octavia Phillharmonica, as she stood in the doorway silently observing the room. It was, as previously mentioned, small with barely enough room for the double bass to stand completely upright. And it was the exact shade of grey that seemed like its only purpose in existence was to horribly depress and sap the spirits of whomever was unlucky enough to set eyes upon it. The room was sparse, to put it lightly; with a bed, which also had the same color of grey sheets, which took up more than half the available space, a window located at the hoof of the bed which looked out into the snowy day of Stalliongrad, and a small bedside table with nothing on it. That was all. And then of course, there was the door; a door made out of a very thick wood, not one that would go down easily even if the strongest Earth Pony tried to break it, the same wood the room itself was made of. There was also a small plaque located approximately in the center of the door, which indicated the room number was 006. Just looking at the number sent Octavia's teeth chattering. Or maybe that was the frigidness of the wind blowing through the now open window.
Before Octavia got to test out the mattress and see just how rough of a night she was in for, she heard a quiet cough from right behind her, which alerted her to the presence of a porter close by. Jumping, as she had not expected any pony, she turned around to face the stallion. For a stallion it was, a youngish one, practically just out of foalhood, who was wearing a thick coat to combat the cold and had a well-brushed black mane. A shocking contrast to the white of the snow, Octavia mused, as he asked, "Do you find your room up to your standards?" Octavia figured it was just hotel policy, especially for an important pony like herself.
"I sup- That is, yes, I do," Octavia lied. The first thing she had learned growing up as an Earth Pony in Canterlot, a city filled almost exclusively with unicorns, was the wonders that a quick lie could do. The second thing was the best place to land a kick, a skill she hoped she wasn't going to have to use.
"Very well then," the porter said, and started walking down the hallway, making as if to leave. As Octavia was about to go into her room, the stallion came running back, and said, "Oh yes, before I forget. You have a message," as he levitated a note over to her. He then walked down the hallway, leaving for good.
"Thanks!" Octavia called after the stallion, hoping he had heard her. "Now, whomsoever could have sent me this?" she pondered, almost sarcastically, out loud as she walked into her room. Shivering due to the cold, she walked over to the window, and slid it down. There was a high-pitched squeak as she did so, causing her to wince. Tired, she sat down on bed, causing a few cockroaches to scurry out from underneath it. "Looks like I got the Princess suite," she muttered, as she started to read the note.
Dear Miss Octavia Phillharmonica,
I hope this note finds you comfortable in your room. I am happy that you decided to take time out of your busy schedule to come to Stalliongrad, and perform for all of us here.
Sincerely, your host.
"Oh, ha ha," Octavia bitterly laughed. "He has a sense of humor, does he?" she pondered. She didn't even know if her host was a he. Of course, she knew almost nothing about whomever had first invited her to Stalliongrad. Apart from the fact that he must know a lot about her, due to the invitation being sent to her right after she had hit quite a rough patch and was running out of bits fast. In fact, it was right after the "Grand Galloping Gala Incident." After that, apart from developing a fear of the color pink, it seemed like nopony had wanted to play alongside her. So receiving an invitation like the one she had, embossed with gold and the monogram of Royal Sisters upon it, was like a ray of Celestia's sun being shone down upon her. At least, it had been at first, until she had arrived at Stalliongrad. Now, she just hoped she could be done with it quickly, get her bits, and leave. She was not a cold-weather pony.
Yawning, Octavia got up off the bed, and looked out the window. Apart from the great white nothingness of snow, she noticed the sun was pretty low in the sky, which meant a colder night was approaching. She figured now was a good a time as any to go to sleep, so she closed the door, got under the sheets and fell asleep.
For about five hours. Then, there came a knock on the door. Octavia groaned loudly as she pulled herself out of bed. "Who's there?" she called out, groggy from sleep as the knock came again, louder. The knocking, instead of stopping like Octavia thought it would, actually got even louder. Something Octavia didn't even think was possible. Sighing, she walked over to the door, and opened it. She was met with a vaguely familiar sight. "Donut Joe?" she asked, for that was who she saw in front of her. Or at least, a stallion who looked an awful lot like him.
"Wha- No! No, I have no idea who you're talking about," said the stallion. "My name is Mane. Con Mane," he added.
"Uh-huh. Riiiiight," Octavia said, eyebrow arched. "So you expect me to believe-" She started thinking, before being interrupted.
"I have a twin brother who just happens to look just like me!" explained Mane, accidentally finishing Octavia's thought. "That's the Joe you know," he finished.
"What ever you say," said Octavia, exasperated, "So tell me, Con Mane, why did you knock on my door at dark 'o clock at night?" she asked, clearly irritable and pointing to the moon hanging high in the sky.
"Your room?" Mane asked shocked and in disbelief. "Isn't this room number 007?" he asked, in addition to his exclamation.
"No, this is room 006. You know, the number before seven. Don't you have a light spell or something? I mean, you are a unicorn and all. And for that matter, why would you knock in the first place?" Octavia asked, with a sharp tone clear in her voice.
"Oh yeah, I... do have a light spell. Heh heh," he weakly laughed. He then snapped, "And I was expecting somepony in my room, thank you very much!"
"Oh, like that makes it better," thought Octavia, as heard him mention he was expecting somepony in his room. She was not prepared for what Mane was about to say however.
"So, do you come to Stalliongrad often?" he asked, leaning against the doorway and with an eyebrow raised. "And I must say, I like how the color of your eyes matches your mane."
Octavia then became aware of something which had been floating at the top of her subconscious. Mane's attitude, his wording, everything about him... she just couldn't stand it. And his last statement, his audacity of trying to flirt with her, it sent her over the edge. "You're kidding, aren't you?" she asked, her mouth agape, barely able to believe her ears. The frustration of the day finally culminated in one action, that of Octavia hitting him right in an extremely sensitive spot on his horn, just before slamming the door on him. The third thing that Octavia had learned whilst growing up in Canterlot, was that all unicorns, whether or not they know it, have a very sensitive spot at the very tip of their horns. So sensitive, in fact, that a hard enough force against it would knock the poor unicorn out and cancel any magic they were casting.
After the slamming of the door, there was a resounding thunk as the door hit Mane. Or at least, that's what Octavia thought and hoped it was. "Serves him right," she thought before going back to bed, and welcoming the bliss of sleep. For she was greeted by a dreamless sleep, something she felt she deserved after the trials of the day.
Sunlight softly streaming through the closed window fell upon Octavia and slowly brought her out of her slumber. A delightful, if not faint, scent of pancakes wafted up from the hotel kitchen, greeting her nose as it took it in with a deep breath. She slowly got out of bed, yawned once as she was still tired, and opened the door. Trotting out, she decided to look at the room right next to hers, 007. Knocking, she awaited a response. She might not condone his behavior last night, and she felt guilty, but she wanted to be sure he was okay. It's not like she was heartless, she did care about whether or not he was alright.
A few minutes later, she still hadn't gotten a response. "Well that's weird," she thought, before trying the door. It was locked. "And that's even weirder," she thought before shrugging and walking off. There wasn't much she could do, so she followed her nose, and headed towards the kitchen to get some of those delicious smelling pancakes. Trotting down the hallway, she noticed it was lighted by a series of small torches. An unusual method, and yet it worked well enough, so she wasn't going to complain.
Finally, after walking down the hallway a little while with a few turns here and there, she ended up in the kitchen. It was a large room, divided by a counter spanning one end of the room to the other. In the half that Octavia was currently standing, there were several tables surrounded with seats, a few of them currently occupied. In the other half, from what she could tell, was the proper kitchen area, currently staffed by a single unicorn. She could also smell the pancakes coming from that half, so that was a large amount of proof for that being the kitchen area. The stack of pancakes currently on a plate on the counter was a small hint as well. There was also a sign reading, "Free pancakes," attached to the counter, an offer Octavia couldn't refuse.
Loading up a plate with pancakes, Octavia sighed about the lack of syrup and walked over to the nearest unoccupied table and sat down. She caught a few snippets of conversation from the nearby tables. A few of the notable ones went as followed:
"Have you heard? The P-"
"I heard that pony was found in the snow! Alone-"
"Why don't they have any muffins?"
"I heard He was flying in via His airship!"
As Octavia was about to dig in into her pancakes, feeling quite hungry, a strange unicorn mare sat down on the seat opposite her. She had a two toned mane, one part a sharp cyan, the other a darker cobalt, and she had a coat that could only be described as off-white. Curiously enough, even considering how cold it was, she wasn't wearing a jacket, or anything else. Octavia couldn't see the strange mare's eyes, as she was wearing large glasses with purple lenses. "Name's Vinyl Scratch," she introduced herself, "sometimes known as DJ Pon-3. Yours?" she asked, head on the table, supported on her front hooves.
"The name is Octavia Phillharmonica," Octavia introduced herself.
"You don't mean THE Octavia Phillharmonica, do you?" Vinyl interrupted.
"Yes I do. Have you heard of a different Octavia Phillharmonica?"
"No, it's not that... it's just that I'm a big fan of your work! I mean, an earth pony, born and raised in Canterlot, who rose to be one of the most renowned double bass players in Equestria! As a piano player myself, I am in awe of your skill!" praised Vinyl.
"A piano player? Would have never pegged her as one," Octavia thought, as she said, "Well, I thank you for your kind words, but can you please tell me why you're over here, and why you're eating my pancakes? I doubt you recognized me from that far away." Speaking of recognition, she vaguely remembered the name DJ Pon-3, having read the name on a flier once. The name Vinyl Scratch, however, rang a faint bell. But she couldn't place it, annoyingly enough.
Vinyl, who had leaned into a magically levitated plate, which had been Octavia's, dropped it, and pushed it back into its rightful place and righted herself and was now in a more natural sitting position. "Well, Octy, you're wondering why I sat over here? Simple!" Vinyl was oddly ecstatic as she explained, "Whenever I see a mare in such obvious distress as yourself," she held a hoof up to stop Octavia from interrupting, as she saw the look on her face, "I consider it my civic duty as a DJ to sit by her!" she finished. With a sheepish grin on her face, she added, "...And I was hungry for pancakes."
"Well, since you're here, maybe you can help me. Have you heard any news regarding," here Octavia took a break to swallow the piece of pancake she had managed to get, "A stallion by the name of Con Mane?"
Vinyl froze. "Con M- M- Mane?" she gulped, "No, I haven't heard any news regarding him. Why? Why do you ask?" she asked, sounding oddly urgent. She had a look of a pony who didn't want to hear the answer to the question they had just asked.
"Well... I may have accidentally caused him to lose consciousness," Octavia said. Of course, she wasn't going to say that she had hit in on the horn, slammed the door on him, and that it wasn't an accident in the slightest. She noted how urgent Vinyl had sounded, and asked, "Why? Do you know him or something?" She thought it weird, as Vinyl didn't seem like the kind of pony who'd know him.
"Me? Oh no. I've just... heard of him," Vinyl said, sounding nervous. "Oh, look at the time!" she exclaimed, pointing at a blank spot on the wall. "I've gotta go! Hey, do me a favor, and let me know if you hear anything about Con!" she said, running out of the kitchen.
"Wait! You didn- And she's gone," said Octavia, as she started to eat her pancakes again. "What a weird pony," thought Octavia as she continued eating. A few minutes later found Octavia finished with her pancakes and thinking, "I do wonder what happened to Con Mane." As if the universe itself heard what Octavia was thinking, two ponies came out of the other half of the kitchen, carrying a stretcher. They walked through an open portion of the counter, which was when Octavia noticed just who it was. It was, of course, Con Mane with bandages wrapped around his muzzle. Octavia gasped, and walked over to one the ponies and asked, "What happened to him?"
"Oh, him?" the pony, a stallion, shrugged over to Mane, "We found him outside the kitchen, covered in snow and with a broken nose." He then continued walking out of the kitchen, ignoring Octavia's continued attempts to speak with him.
"What in Equestria was he doing outside in the snow?" Octavia mused, as she noticed a hither to unseen door in the other half of the kitchen which she figured must lead outside. As that had been where the two ponies carrying the stretcher had come from.
As Octavia didn't have much else to do, she returned to her room, and looked at the calender stuck to the wall. "Only two more days until my concert. I've already been here for roughly two, and they've been pretty... hectic, to say the least. I wonder what could possibly happen next," she said out loud, tempting fate. Fortunately for her, fate was in a good mood that day and didn't smite her with a lightning bolt.
For the rest of the day, not much happened. She tuned her double bass again, making sure it was properly tuned for the concerto she had been hired to perform. A personal favorite of hers, something she wondered if her host knew. Probably, knowing just how much information he already knew. As she pondered the words of the enigmatic Vinyl Scratch, she suddenly noticed something odd. Vinyl had said something about playing the piano. And this exact piano piece called for the double bass to be played along side a piano. Based off what she had played the Grand Galloping Gala, in fact. This coincidence bugged her until night came. And even as she was falling asleep, she felt it nagging in her brain.
The Mare Who Went into the Cold
I Swear it was an Accident
When Octavia awoke, she found herself in a cramped room, one that she could only describe as an interrogation room. This was mostly because Princess Luna sitting behind a table, in the middle of the room. Octavia suddenly realized she was sitting on an uncomfortable chair, opposite the Princess's. Taking a look around, she noticed the room was dimly lit, with its only light source being the moonlight pouring in from the window, opened only a sliver of the way. There wasn't even a door, leading Octavia to question how she had gotten there in the first place.
"What are you doing here Princess Luna? And for that matter, what am I doing here?" Octavia asked the Princess, as she tried to get up off the chair. Oddly enough, it felt like there was some kind of force preventing her from moving off the chair.
But Luna didn't say anything. All she did was put her hooves on the table, and rest her head on them. Octavia, not having much else to do in a room without a door, looked into Luna's eyes. This was a mistake. It's a common saying that if a pony looks into the abyss long enough, the abyss looks into them. Octavia, however, had never expected to witness it herself. For what Octavia saw in was a never-ending starry abyss, which left her in an almost hypnotized state.
Fortunately for her, Luna snapped her out of it. Unfortunately for her, she did it by saying, "Octavia Philharmonic, you are in serious trouble." Her tone was disconcertingly quiet, even for the Princess of the Night.
"Wha- what?" asked Octavia, confused, and still feeling oddly groggy.
"Tell me, what do you know of this pony?" asked Luna, ignoring the question as she changed the subject. A phantasmal image of Con Mane appeared, hovering over the table.
"Con Mane? What is he doing here? Last I saw him was... oh wait, this is a dream isn't it? Well that makes sense," thought Octavia, as she answered, "Well, he looks a little like Donut Joe back in Canterlot..."
"Oh, is that so? Are you sure you don't recognize him from knocking him out with a door after kicking him in the horn?!" Luna pressed, suddenly sounding very angry as her eyes blazed white with fury.
"Wha- I swear it was an accident!" Octavia lied, hoping Luna wouldn't know she was.
Of course, Luna knew it was a lie. "You are but a knave, if you think that lying to one of your Princesses will get you anywhere. I know exactly what happened to Con Mane, and it was no accident. Now, as I am sure you are wondering why I brought you here, it's simple. I wish to offer you a choice," said Luna, her eyes changing once again.
Octavia, who by this time was sweating in her seat, asked, "What kind of choice?" There was something about Luna's eyes that was off-putting. Octavia couldn't quite put her hoof on what it was though. And then she took a second look. The stars in Luna's eyes were going out, one by one, in a very unnerving fashion, almost like a countdown until the end.
"It is quite a simple one. Con Mane was an agent of a secret part of the Night Guard. He was assigned to Stalliongrad to counter a plot we learned about against Celestia's life. Due to the nature of the informant, I can't reveal who it is. But rest assured that He is trustworthy," Luna started. Octavia found it weird that Luna would specifically mention that the informant was trustworthy, but shrugged it off as Luna continued.
"Unfortunately, you managed to throw a large wrench into our plans. A wrench in the form of you causing Con Mane to loose consciousness," Luna said.
"It was an accident, I swear!" repeated Octavia almost out of habit. She knew it wasn't an accident, and she knew Luna knew it, but if comforted her to hear it.
"Remember what I said earlier?" asked Luna, glaring at Octavia before continuing, "And after that happened, he was severely injured. Now, from what I can tell from your dreams, you're not the kind of pony who'd do anything like break his snout and dump him out into the snow. Whomever did that must be found, but for now, I trust you. So here is your choice: You can have your entire memory wiped of this entire incident, and continue your stay in Stalliongrad as if nothing had ever happened-"
Octavia interrupted, "What good could that possibly do?"
Luna's eye twitched as she replied, "None whatsoever, I'm afraid. However, it is the normal punishment for such actions, and what most of the Night Guard thinks I should do. Now, if I may finish what I was saying, the other option is you can taking Con's place, and complete the mission in his stead and be excused of your actions."
Octavia just sat in her seat, as she weighed the two options in her mind. "A total mind wipe versus taking part in what could possibly be a life-threatening mission," she thought, locking eyes with Luna. Not that Octavia would ever admit it, but the very prospect of the mission excited her. As a filly she had read tales of heroic spies, and dreamed of one day being one. And now, so many years later, to be given the chance... it was no surprise her answer was, "I'll take Con's place." The fact that the very idea of a mind wipe was unappealing to her was of major consequence as well.
Luna smiled a knowing smile as she said, "Very well then. Now I'm sorry to tell you this, but all we know from our informant is that there was some form of plot brewing in Stalliongrad."
"What? That's all?!" exclaimed Octavia. She had expected more information than that, and was about to get angry at Luna, when she suddenly found herself hurled out of the room.
"I'm sorry, but that is all!" echoed Luna's last words as Octavia woke up back in the hotel room in Stalliongrad.
She grumbled as she got out of bed. She had honestly thought that Luna was going to tell her more. Trotting out of her room, she pondered Luna's words and what kind of plot could possibly be going on against Celestia. Certainly there couldn't be a pony who hated Celestia that much, could there?
However, this pondering did not last for long. Soon enough, absorbed in her thoughts, Octavia accidentally bumped into a pony standing in the hall. "Why are you-" Octavia started to ask, before she heard the general hubbub, and noticed that the pony she had bumped into was part of a much larger group.
"The prince! The prince is here!" Octavia heard shouted a few times. And as if to prove it, the crowd parted down the middle, and the hotel's doors were flung open. She saw a pony walking through the doors, a tall white unicorn with a yellow mane. In other words, Prince Blueblood. A pony standing at the edge of the crowd said, "Make way, make way. The royal prince Blueblood is here!"
Octavia suddenly felt a hoof push against chest, and found herself up against the wall along with the other ponies of the crowd. Octavia heard the Prince trot through the crowd, slowly approaching her location. Soon enough, the Prince got close enough to Octavia that she caught a glimpse of his eyes. And within his eyes, Octavia could swear she saw a core of some indescribable emotion. Indescribable, but not unfamiliar to Octavia. For she had seen that exact same core, in the exact same pony exactly once before. At the Grand Galloping Gala, after a cake had landed on him. But this quickly passed and was replaced by a tint of familiarity as Blueblood caught sight of Octavia. He stopped walking, and spoke out, "Why... could that be- Are you Octavia Philharmonica?
Dismissing the uneasy feeling Octavia had felt upon looking into his eyes the first time as her wanting to see something, she responded, "Yes I am. It honors me that you remember my name."
"Oh, I try and remember all the names of those who perform at events which hold a... special place in my memory," the Prince said, charmingly. Then he leaned in close to Octavia, and whispered in her ear, "And I look forward to your Concerto." As Octavia reeled back, he retracted his head, and continued trotting down the hallway.
"Wha- How could he possibly? Unless... but it can't be, can it? But that's the only explanation that makes sense!" were the thoughts racing around the head of Octavia, with the winner being, "So he's my mysterious host? The one who set this up? I suppose that makes sense."
Bringing her out of her thoughts, was a quick tap on her shoulder, and a voice saying, "Ma'am, can you please move? I'm trying to sweep up here."
Octavia shook her head as she realized she had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed everypony leaving. She turned and said, "Yes, sorry about that," as she walked over to the entrance. She knew it was far too early to retire to her room, and as she had yet to do any investigation, she decided to go outside, with hopes of finding a clue of some sort. Walking over to the door, she pulled it open. A flurry of snow accompanied the sudden movement, as she looked out into the blanketed landscape.
A blanket of pure white snow covered the ground, snow that would never leave for most of the year, with only brief moments of respite. In fact, it was snowing now as a strong and cold wind blew through the scant, bare trees surrounding the hotel. There were very few buildings surrounding the hotel, but there was the music hall not too far away. Its close proximity to the hotel rendered it the main attraction of the area. All the plays, ballets, and musical performances also weighed up quite heavily in the reasons of why it was so popular. The music even more so, with the hall being well-renowned as a place where some of the brightest musical minds known to Equestrian kind had first composed their music.
As Octavia thought about this, a snippet of music caught her ear. It sounded like the piano accompaniment to her double bass, and was coming from the musical hall. And, to Octavia at least, it was one of the best versions of it she had ever heard. Greatly intrigued, she rushed out of the hotel into the cold which she just shrugged off.
As she got closer to the music hall, the piano piece got clearer, and she definitely recognized it as the accompaniment and figured whomever was playing it must be the pony who'd be playing alongside her. When she finally reached the door, she stopped for a few moments to take in the sheer size of the building. It was far taller than any building that she'd seen in Canterlot, rivaling even Celestia's castle for height. Shaped like a large half-dome, it had been painted a lively blue when it was first constructed, but now all that was left was cracked and flaking paint. But the fact it was still around was a testament to its builders. Finally, she opened the door, walked in, and gasped.
Not at the pony at the piano, as she hadn't seen who ever it was, but at how vast the interior was. Even after seeing the outside, she wasn't prepared for the inside. There were two easily definable halves of it. One half was where the audience would sit, was filled with seats, lined with red velvet, going up all the way to the back of the hall, with several boxes near the ceiling for those ponies who could afford to reserve them.
The other half was an equally vast stage, one currently taken up by a grand piano, its top open obscuring Octavia's view of the pony playing it. The music resounding throughout the hall was still the same piano piece, nearing its final glorious crescendo. Octavia couldn't help but move her hoof through the air in time to it.
When the final note was hit, Octavia brought her hoof down from the air, and walked up onto the stage. Octavia saw two white hooves were stretched upwards from the seat where the piano player was sat, and noticed a blue mane sticking up over the top. "Could it be?" thought Octavia, as she walked up to the piano, and started walking around it.
"Vinyl!" Octavia exclaimed, upon seeing the aforementioned pony sitting on the seat.
"Octy!" responded Vinyl Scratch as she heard Octavia.
"What in Equestria are you doing here?" Octavia asked, walking closer to Vinyl, as if she didn't believe it actually was her.
"Well, what does it look like?" Vinyl responded, gesturing towards the piano.
"But you- that was- I can't- What are you doing?" sputtered out Octavia, still unwilling to believe her eyes and ears.
"I was practicing for my part in our concerto!" Vinyl exclaimed, arms thrown open towards the piano.
"When you said you played the piano, I never imagined," Octavia waved to the whole the piano, "this! So you're going to be my piano accompaniment in the concerto?"
"I was being modest," said Vinyl, with a sheepish grin on her face. She then answered, "Evidently, I am, Octy!" sounding happy. She got up off the seat and headed over to the backstage. "There's a spare double bass over here. Up for a recital?" she asked Octavia, who had been following her.
"Whilst I doubt it is up to my standards, a recital would be nice," responded Octavia, as she spotted the double bass leaning against the wall. As Octavia reached for it, it was surrounded by a magical aura and floated front-stage. Sighing, she turned to Vinyl, and said, "Thank you, Vinyl," as she walked onstage.
"Oh, it was no problem at all, Octy," said Vinyl, as she sat down on the seat by the piano.
When Octavia was standing by the double bass, bow in hoof, she asked Vinyl, "Vinyl, could you please not call me Octy?"
"Hm..." Vinyl pretended to think about it. "Nah!" she exclaimed, starting her piece.
Octavia sighed as she lifted the bow to the double bass, and started her part.
Several minutes later, they were in the middle of the piece. And Octavia couldn't help but admit that this was the best performance of the piece she'd ever heard. She was so caught up in the music, that the questions she wanted to ask Vinyl about Con Mane were swept to the back of her mind.
Of course, the universe hates to stand still, so as Octavia hit the second-to-last note of her part, she heard a loud clicking noise coming from the seats near the top of the music hall. "What was that?" asked Octavia, suddenly stopping before playing the final note.
Vinyl sighed as she stopped playing and got up off the seat. "Octy, I didn't hear anything," she said, looking at Octavia.
"But I swear I heard something," muttered Octavia, as she put her double bass to the side and laid the bow near it.
"But if it helps, Octy, I'll investigate with you. Anything to keep your mind on the Concerto, right?" asked Vinyl as she started walking to the seated area.
"Thank you," said Octavia, as she followed Vinyl.
A few seconds later, they were at the highest row of seats. There was a velvet rope barring their way, but no pony guarding it. "Well, since no pony'll mind," said Vinyl as she levitated the rope to the side, ignoring Octavia's glare. There was just one line of seats, each with a small card on it. Vinyl read them out as she walked down the lane. "Let's see here, 'Fancy Pants,' 'Shining Suit,' 'Hoity Toity,' 'Prince Blue-' Why hello there," Vinyl stopped beside Prince Blueblood's seat. "What's this?" she asked, levitating a strange device out from under the seat.
"How ever did you see that?" asked Octavia as she examined the device, "And for that matter, what is it?" she asked. It was made of a strange metal, in a cylindrical shape, a small red gem visible at one end, and a green one of the same size at the other. It rattled as Vinyl slowly shook it.
"This, my dear Octy, is a magical sound detector. That is to say, a magical device that only activates when it hears a single sound," explained Vinyl, "But what is it doing here?" she added as an afterthought.
"How do you... know all this?" asked Octavia, puzzled.
"Oh, you learn a few things when you're a DJ," said Vinyl with an annoying smirk upon her face. One quickly wiped from her face as she took a long look under Blueblood's chair. "What on Equestria are these doing here?" she said out loud.
"What are you talking about?" Octavia pressed, yearning to take a look for herself as she was blocked by Vinyl's current position.
"Well, I found what the device powers," Vinyl grimaced as she continued, "A bundle of magical explosives. Probably designed to destroy this seat, and this seat only."
"I repeat, how in Equestria do you know all this?" asked Octavia, as she thought, "Is it possible? In my mission to find out about a plot on Celestia's life, have I stumbled across a plot against Blueblood's? Or could they even be one and the same?"
"As I said. It's amazing what you can learn when you're a DJ in Canterlot," explained Vinyl, infuriatingly.
"Well, I'll be sure to ask you later. For now, I think that I should tell the Prince this, wouldn't you agree?" asked Octavia.
"Oh yes," agreed Vinyl, before continuing, "But now I've got to run. Goodbye!" as she ran out of the music hall.
"What is it with that mare?" muttered Octavia out loud as she pondered what to say to Blueblood. Shrugging off the idea for later, Octavia ran out; ran out back into the cold, to return to the hotel and warn the Prince of the attempt on his life.
