AMORE OBBLIGATO

Chapter 7: Ballabile

Stifling another yawn, Twilight continued walking through the early morning fog, stopping occasionally to sip from her cup of hot cocoa, which while warming her up, was doing nothing to dispel the sleepiness that was tempting her to find the nearest bench to take a quick nap. It was so early, and the fog so thick, that she could barely see three trots in front of her, but she knew the way to the university library by heart, having gone there so many times for research, so she was in no danger of losing her way. The only concession she made to common sense was a simple light spell to keep her from tripping over anything or having others run into her in the deep fog.

“Unusual to have fog this thick at this altitude. I have to wonder what the weather team is thinking.” Her words were quickly and eerily swallowed up by the morning mist, and the unicorn felt a stab of unease before her rational mind reminded her that this was Canterlot, and it was highly unlikely that monsters were hiding in the fog, waiting to pounce. However, she couldn't help but feel a little vulnerable, and so started humming a Beet Oven song to herself to ease her unreasonable fear.

She was walking slowly so as to not trip, the clicking of her hooves against the sidewalk the only sound to be heard in the oddly quiet city... that is, until she heard a scuttling sound to her left. Freezing in place, she looked in that direction, but with fog this dense, it was impossible to make anything out. In a small voice, she tentatively called out, “H- hello? Is anypony there?”

Silence was the only reply.

Swallowing hard, the filly started moving again, this time trying hard to make out any shape from the mist. She only made it a few steps before she noticed that another pair of hooves were matching her own. Twilight stopped and looked around frantically, trying to find the source, but the same eerie gray mist met her piercing gaze. Hesitantly, she took another step, and the unmistakable sound of a second hoof echoed hers. Once more looking around, Twilight could not discern the location of the sound, but she knew that it wasn't an echo; it sounded like it came from a larger pony, one with metal shoes rather than the usual rubber sole shoes most ponies wore these days.

As she was about to take another step, the sound of those other hooves started up again, and though she could not tell the direction from which they came, she could tell that they were getting closer. In a blind panic now, Twilight started running, and though the sound of the other hooves never sped up, they continued getting louder and louder, and louder, until-

Twilight ran headfirst into an unmovable fleshy wall, causing her to bounce back and fall on her butt. Looking up, she was relieved to see Princess Celestia looming over her. She was so relieved that she failed to notice the stern look on her face. “Princess! I'm so glad to see you! I- I think someone's been following me, and I-”

“What do you think you're doing, Twilight?” Her harsh tone snapped Twilight's attention to her face, which was not pleased at all. In fact, it was very much the antithesis of pleased, with more than a little disappointment thrown in for good measure.

“I- I- Whuh... Princess?”

“Do you have any idea what you've done, Twilight? The consequences?” Celestia's expression did not let up, and instead actually turned into a scowl at the unicorn's continued stammering. With a wave of her arm, some of the fog dissipated to reveal gravestones next to the sidewalk; gravestones with the names of all her classmates written on them. “Well? Don't you have anything to say?”

Horror filled Twilight's chest as she read each of the names presented to her. She looked back up to Celestia and stammered, “I- but... P-Princess, I didn't... I-”

“Don't you think that they at least deserve an answer?” Celestia asked, pointing to two more gravestones bearing the names Twilight Velvet and Night Light.

Tears were now filling Twilight's eyes, but they could not cloud the sight of those gravestones one whit. She was so stricken, that the only sound she could make was a sick little groan in the back of her throat. Suddenly, the grass in front of the stones began to move, as if something was pushing up from below. Twilight tried to back away, but ran into Celestia. She looked up to ask her mentor for help, but could not say anything as the look of disgust on the alicorn's face froze her heart.

Celestia pushed her forwards, towards the gravestones and away from her body, the look of distaste clearly evident. “It's high time you faced the consequences for your actions, Twilight. I can no longer shield you from them.”

“B- b- but, Princess, I- EEEEK!” She shrieked as she felt a cold, slimy hand grab her ankle. Looking down, she saw the rotting corpse of her mother reaching up at her with her other hand, an expression of hungry desperation plain upon her decaying features. Worms and bugs crawled in and out of the holes in her flesh, and one eye hung loosely from the optic nerve. However, she was only a pony from the waist up; below that, she appeared to have a dried up and dead potted plant for her lower half.

“Twuuuuhhh-luuuhhh...” the corpse moaned. Using her arms, she dragged herself across the dewy grass and started up the filly's legs. “Yuuurrr... faaauuulll...

Unbalanced, Twilight fell back on her rump again and tried to crawl away, but her mother's remains were far too strong and heavy. A shuffling sound to her right got her attention and she turned to find the mostly headless corpse of Honeyed Words shambling towards her. The lower jaw and tongue were still attached in some sort of macabre sense of irony, allowing her to slur out all the insults she used to have for her in school. “Nuuurrr... Geeek... 'Raaaiiinnn... Eeegg-heeeaaa...”

“PRINCESS, HELP ME!” Twilight shouted as more and more zombies ambled out of the fog, each one a horrific vision of somepony she knew; all of them gruesomely wounded by her careless actions or out-of-control magic. She looked up to see Celestia's flesh bubble and char as it sloughed off her body as if being burned away.

Celestia leaned over and said, “Time you pay for your crimes, you foal!”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Twilight awoke with a start as she hit the floor, her head cracking smartly against the carpet-covered flagstones. She tried to sit up and grab her head, but found her arms and legs restrained. It took a moment for the pain to pass enough to allow her vision to clear, letting her see that she was merely tangled up in her blanket, and not being held down by the putrefying hands of ponies she's known.

Her bedroom door opened, and Spike walked in, blearily rubbing his eyes. He took one look at her lying on the floor and said, “Again with the nightmares, Twi? Why don't you just go see the princess about them? Even if she doesn't have a spell to stop them, maybe talking to her about them will help.”

Rolling to her belly, Twilight was able to get to her hands and knees, freeing herself from the blanket. She sat back on her hooves and looked around at the pre-dawn lit room in order to avoid the poor dragon's tired and annoyed gaze. “I already told you, Spike. I'm sure the nightmares will stop eventually like they did in the past. I just have to... be patient. While I can consciously acknowledge that everything is fine, my subconscious just has to come around to that fact. In the meantime, I will not bother The Princess with something as minor as a silly little bad dream. I can endure this, and I will not have her looking at me like I'm still just a little filly who needs a story and a glass of warm milk to sleep at night.”

Spike grumbled and turned to leave, mumbling, “Yeah, and in the meantime, my sleep gets disturbed by your screams and flailing around in bed.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing!” Spike called exasperatedly out as he closed her door.

In fact, Twilight had heard him clearly, but felt too guilty about disturbing his rest to make an issue of it. With a tired sigh, she looked out the window to see that dawn was but a scant quarter-hour away. “Too early to get up, too late to go back to sleep. Great. I guess I can just take a nice, long hot shower; take my time getting ready.”

Heading over to the bathroom, Twilight almost bumped into the wall as she yawned so wide, her head almost split in two. She walked in to the smallest room and out of habit, picked up the checklist she had left there the night before, ticking off things as she did them. Toilet, brushing her teeth, weighing herself, measuring her height, casting a standardized spell to measure her arcane growth, all of it marked off of the list.

As she stepped into the shower, she thought about all the things she would have to do today, beginning with her second-to-last day of community service. I wonder what The Princess arranged for me? She said yesterday that it was something special, but would give me no other hints; just the address to the amphitheater. I hope it's not cleaning out all the toilets or something nasty... though I would deserve it.

She shampooed her mane and tail, carefully running her fingers through them to get out any tangles. Though she still had a leaden feeling in her chest whenever she thought about what she did, it wasn't as heavy today; which gave her hope that maybe she was finally starting to forgive herself. The worst part was the betrayal she was sure that Celestia felt at not being trusted to help with her problem, but that just made her resolve to never let it happen again. The very thought of The Princess not feeling like she could trust the unicorn was about the worst feeling Twilight could imagine.

Rinsing herself off, the filly stood under the spray of hot water, trying to think of a way to make up to Celestia for her misdeed, but the best she could come up with was an apology and making a new spell just for her, but The Princess had already told her that she would only accept up to three apologies per mistake, and she had maxed out that limit two minutes into her explanation of what happened in the infirmary. I guess that just leaves a new spell, then. Now, what kind of spell can I make that says “I'll never betray your trust again”?

She thought about it for a few minutes, until the water started turning chill, and she squeaked the faucet off. With a tired sigh, she wrung out the water from her mane and tail, before giving her whole body a vigorous shake to work out the excess water from her coat. “I can't wait until I'm as grown up as The Princess so I always know just the right things to do and say. At least then, I could minimize the mistakes made by me.”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Octavia stood on the stage, clipboard in hand as she directed ponies with the proper stage setup. “No, Milquetoast, three trots to the right. The booth must be center stage on the dais; We are trying to showcase the fusion of both sounds, not set one above the other.”

“Octavia, I'm going to run through the lights in sequence to see which need changing,” came a female voice over the walkie-talkies the amphitheater operator had given her and several students.

Hopping down to walk out into the audience seating, she took the walkie-talkie off of her waistband and spoke into it. “Go ahead. Wait for my okay after each light like we practiced, Spotlight.”

“Understood. House lights, check.” Floodlights mounted on poles came to life along the sides of the outdoor audience bench seating and would have inundated them with light, had the morning not been well underway, making them moot for the moment.

Holding down the button and ignoring the brief hiss of static as she opened the channel, Octavia spoke into the walkie-talkie, “House lights, check. Move on to the stage flood lights.”

A voice clearing itself politely behind her caused the earth pony to turn just as Spotlight's voice came over the radio, “Flood A-1, check.”

Octavia quickly turned back to confirm the light was in working order before saying over the radio, “Flood A-1, check. Hold on the rest a moment.” She turned once more to the pony behind her and saw a strapping young stallion whose shirt could barely contain his muscles. “Yes, can I help you, sir?”

The stallion jerked a thumb over his shoulder in a gesture that threatened to shred the already stressed sleeves of his t-shirt. “The speaker towers are here, are you ready for them?”

Glancing back at the stage, Octavia groaned as she saw that her classmate Milquetoast has only managed to move the dais a few centitrots towards the center where it needed to be for the performance. With a groan, she replied, “Yes, just start setting up from the outside, in, if you could, while we get the dais and deejay booth in place, please.”

She didn't even bother to wait for his reply and instead started towards the stage again. Mounting the stage in a single leap despite the confining pencil skirt she wore, she walked up to Milquetoast and handed him the walkie-talkie. “Here. Go out into the audience and perform the light check. I shall handle the dais.” Suddenly remembering something, she pulled the radio back and spoke into it again. “Spotlight, if you could, stop making out with your coltfriend and send him out here to help with the stage setup like he was supposed to be doing.”

There was a pause, and then an out-of-breath Spotlight answered, “We weren't making out; honest!”

Octavia rolled her eyes and replied, “Just send him out here to do what he promised, or I shall tell Mr. Stage Left to not give him the extra credit in drama class he requested for this work.” She handed the radio back to her diminutive classmate and said, “Go ahead and do the light check, and next time, do not let them walk all over you like that; it is bad for the orchestra's image to let the volunteer help do that.”

While Milquetoast walked out to the stands, a burly pegasus almost-stallion joined her on the stage, looking very sheepish. “Sorry, Octavia. I kinda got... distracted.”

“Never let it be said that I do not make allowances for relationships, Callback, but there is a time and place for all things,” she replied. Gesturing toward the dais, she said, “Now let us get this into position so that they can set up the speakers. I want this done before my assistant arrives so I can coordinate with her.”

Callback put his hands on the heavy dais, and with Octavia's help, easily slid it across the stage. “Yeah, I can imagine the kind of 'coordinating' you want to do with her,” he said with a lecherous grin.

Octavia rolled her eyes. “Does everypony I know only think with their reproductive organs? For your information, you are wrong on two counts. First of all, I am not thinking of that kind of coordinating, and secondly, my assistant is not of whom you are thinking.”

The dais in place, they went over to the DJ booth and standing on either side of it, lifted and crab-walked it over to the dais and easily placed it on top. “Oh? So you and Vinyl broke up?”

Sighing, Octavia replied, “There you go again, thinking with the wrong head. Just because I wanted someone organized as an assistant, does not mean that Vinyl and I are no longer together, but more importantly, whom I see is no one's business but my own; even my mother knows this.”

With a grunt, they gently set the booth down, sending a quiet BOOM throughout the amphitheater. Callback held up his hands in a gesture of placation. “Okay, okay, I get it; mind my own beeswax.”

“Um, excuse me, I was told to report here for- Octavia?”

The young mare in question turned around to find Twilight standing before her, looking shocked. “Excellent timing, Twilight. I was getting desperate for intelligent conversation,” she said, throwing a grin and a wink at Callback, who smiled and shook his head in bemusement.

Twilight still hadn't gotten over her shock and stammered, “I didn't know I was being sent to help you.” The almost reverent way Twilight said, “you” caused Callback to cock an eyebrow, but he remained silent.

Octavia slid an arm around the filly's shoulders, guiding her backstage. “Once The Princess told me how good you are at technical matters, and knowing how organized you are, I knew I had to have your help for this production. How good are you at reading wiring layout diagrams for electrical equipment?”

Overwhelmed by the casualness of the situation, Twilight stammered, “Uh, um, I can read wiring diagrams if that's what you mean.”

They stepped around stage equipment as they navigated through the darkly-painted area behind the scenes. “Fantastic. These drawings should not be that complex since you will not be building them, just plugging in the appropriate wires into the necessary outlets and equipment. Fear not, the wires will be marked with the symbols needed, so it should make sense... I hope.”

Twilight was about to ask what she meant by that when the older filly gestured to three large, black and silver crates on wheels with luggage locks. “Here is the equipment you shall be setting up. The wires are in the big case, along with the diagram. Sort through those first before anything else; you shall likely need the time to do so. Do not start with the other boxes until the owner arrives.” She gave her a friendly slap on the back as she started off again. “I shall leave you to it, then. If you have a problem, come see me out onstage. Good luck!”

Before Twilight could utter another word, Octavia was gone, leaving the filly standing before the suddenly very ominous boxes. Swallowing hard and taking a deep breath, she cautiously approached the designated “wiring box” and with delicate care, flipped open the luggage latches. As expected, the lid opened as if under pressure, sending tangled, black wires everywhere, burying the poor unicorn. Twilight sat up and looked at the end plug of a wire, noting that it bore a tag with a pictogram of a steaming bowl of noodles. What have I gotten myself into?

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Vinyl strutted onto the scene, sipping from a steaming, disposable cup of double mocha espresso garnished with dark chocolate powder and crushed coffee beans, a similar cup of jasmine tea held in the other hand. Though her eyes were well hidden behind the oversized sunglasses, if one looked closely enough, they could detect the dark circles which surrounded those same eyes and slipped past the glasses. Those same ponies might be able to detect that her strut, while suitably full of swagger, was just a bit slower than what she usually strutted out in public. They might even note that she used the wing stairs to mount the stage, rather than simply leap up to it as she might also normally do.

However, there was no mistaking the happy smile on her face as she walked up to Octavia and slipped the cup of tea in her hand while grabbing a kiss from her. “How's it goin', Babe?”

Octavia licked her lips and grimaced. “How can you drink that... beverage? It is practically pure caffeine!”

“Hey, you want me up this early on a Satyrday, you better offer me mind-blowing sex or caffeine,” she retorted with a shrug. She looked around curiously before saying, “I see that the amphitheater is still standing, and there's no fires. I take it then, that the littlest felon is working out well?”

Octavia groaned and crossed her arms under her impressive breasts. “I really wish you would give her a chance before passing judgment on her. Twilight is a very well-behaved filly, and an excellent example of what a young lady should be, unlike some mares I could name, who spend all night partying and underage drinking.”

With a grin, Vinyl replied, “Remind me again, just who was slapped with community service?”

The cellist had no comeback for that one, and instead, decided to appeal to her in a way that she could understand.. “Just... do not call her names like that. As her tutor, it reflects poorly on me as well, and my reputation will suffer as a result.”

Vinyl held up her hands in defeat. “Alright, alright, I'll stop with the criminale nicknames.” As she lifted her cup to her lips to take another sip, she muttered, “Doesn't mean I'll stop with all the nicknames, though.” She looked around the stage again, taking note of the enormous tower speakers as tall as three ponies standing on one another's shoulders and nodded her approval. “Nnniiiccce... I wish I had these babies in the clubs I perform in. I bet when I drop the bass it'll sound like I'm dropping a bomb.”

“Yes, I believe these will be adequate to your needs,” Octavia agreed, taking in the monolithic structures.

“Adequate?” Vinyl replied, shocked. “My Dear, you are the undisputed master of the understatement. We are going to knock their fillings loose tonight.”

Octavia made a shooing gesture at her. “Yes, yes, very nice. Now go unpack your gear before I have Twilight do it for you. She has almost finished setting up the wiring and-”

At that moment, Twilight walked from backstage, covered in dust and grime and dropped out of sight under the deejay booth. “Speak of the nightmare. There is your assistant,” Octavia said. She gave the unicorn a gentle push and added, “Now, go play nice with her; I still have too much to do, and too little time in which to do it.”

Vinyl grinned at her as she walked backwards toward the booth. “Hey, it's me!”

“That is precisely what worries me,” the cellist said under her breath.

Walking around the booth on the dais, Vinyl was surprised when a young voice emerged from behind it. “Mind your step, please. I have these wires precisely laid out, and I am told that their owner is very particular about their layout.”

Vinyl hopped up on the dais and leaned over the booth, looking down at the filly upside down. “Would you perhaps say that she's a hard ass about it?”

Twilight looked up at the unicorn above her and shrugged. “I wouldn't for several reasons.”

“And those would be?”

Finally getting the wire stuffed under the rubber raceway and leaving enough slack to run up to the booth's work surface, Twilight looked up for the first time. “First of all, I don't know her; I only know that she is very particular about this aspect of her work, despite being an utter slob when it comes to storing the cables. Secondly, while I cannot condone how she treats her equipment in storage, I can sympathize with her desire for it to be treated in a particular manner, even, no especially by others. Thirdly, she has a system for this, which is something I can respect. Fourthly, when one is in charge, they have the right to be particular.”

To say that Vinyl was surprised would be a gross mischaracterization; more so that the surprise was a pleasant one. Her smile evolved into a grin and she offered a hand to the filly. “Name's Vinyl. I happen to be the utter slob who owns that equipment.”

Shaking the offered hand, Twilight replied, “Twilight Sparkle. I'll be assisting you and Octavia today and tomorrow.”

Still holding the hand, Vinyl hopped over the booth and helped the filly to her hooves. “I like your 'tude, kid. You don't back down, even after learning you just insulted the pony who can make your punishment worse. Come on, I'll show you how to work a turntable; maybe offset some of that snooty violin learning Octy's stuffed into your noggin.”

As she was dragged backstage, Twilight muttered under her breath, ”Octy?”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Twilight was fascinated. After helping to set up the equipment in the deejay booth and learning what the symbols on the wire tags meant, Vinyl showed her how she mixed and created her music on the fly. The smaller filly watched with rapt attention as a familiar song was twisted into something new and different. When the song was over, she asked, “Don't the artists get mad at you for changing their songs?”

Vinyl shrugged as she fiddled with the controls of her main mixing board. “Enh. Some do, but most are just happy to know that their song inspired somepony to do something fresh with it. Most understand that up and coming talent needs to start somewhere, and like they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Some though... Some never go through all this; never suffer for their art, have to scrape a living from working clubs, never blow out their hearing from standing next to speakers blaring out music at a hundred-twenty Doseybells for hours on end. Either that, or they forget.”

Her attention solely on the distortion knob with which she was playing, Twilight replied, “Maybe some are just scared of losing their success because somepony did something with their music that they never thought of, and became bigger than them. Scared of being forgotten.”

The deejay considered this for a moment. “You know, I think you may have a point. Success is a fickle thing, especially in the music industry. What's burning up the charts one day, can be cast aside faster than you can say, 'where's my fifteen minutes?'” She sighed and took the record from the turntable. “It's a musician's greatest fear; becoming old hat before you even have a chance to make a name for yourself. I can see how someone could be afraid of another pony capitalizing on their hard work and becoming more successful with it.” She then smiled and shifted emotional gears so fast, you could almost hear her mental clutch grinding. “But that's a concern for the future! You have to rule your fears-”

“Or they'll rule you,” Twilight finished for her. She smiled as she added, “Page twenty-one of Proverbs from a Platinum Princess.”

Vinyl returned her smile and ruffled her mane. “Alright, smartypants. You seem how I mix my kind of music, let's see what you can do with it.”

Selecting a disk from the milk crate of records, Twilight placed it on the turntable and fiddled with some distortion and preset knobs before setting down the needle. As she worked the soundboard, twisting this, turning that, and fiddling with the other, she came up with something that had the deejay nodding her head in approval. Just as the filly was really settling into her groove, Vinyl carefully and expertly pulled the needle away without scratching the record. “Not bad, Sport; not bad at all. But, I need to see the lighting director about the visual part of the show.”

Twilight's eyes shone with excitement. “May I come as well? I have some ideas based on what I saw of the song lineup. I'll need to see what equipment we have in order to make sure that they're even feasible, or if I'll have to cast some light spells and illusions.”

Vinyl clapped her hard on the back. “I knew I liked you for a good reason, kid. Let's go see a pony about some lights.”

As she lead the filly away, Octavia watched the two of them with a smile. I knew they would get along famously if she just gave her a chance. Though she was indeed very happy that they had become friendly with one another, if not friends, she still could not help but feel a stab of worry for her fillyfriend and her future- their future together.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

There was a definite tang of anxiety in the air as the musicians put the finishing touches on their clothes and a last bit of polish on their instruments. Stagehands bustled back and forth in such a hurry that they would have caused several collisions, had they not been so practiced at this organized chaos. Everyone deftly dodged each other as well as more static obstacles such as cords laying on the ground, the odd crate or unattended musical instrument. Light and sound ponies were performing their final checks while ushers patrolled the audience seating area, looking for any trash that may have blown into the open amphitheater since they had last performed this check an hour ago.

Through it all, Octavia stood on one of Vinyl's empty equipment crates, directing everyone and solving those minor crises which always seemed to arise at the last minute before the curtain rose. “No, Milquetoast, I do not care what she said, you will not stand beside her with a fan and bowl of peeled grapes throughout the performance! Now go tend to your instrument. If it is not properly tuned before curtain call, I will make sure that you and Prima Donna do not receive the extra credit for this performance!” Looking over to an out of the way spot where several ponies lounged and leered at several mares who were putting the final touches to their evening wear, She shouted, “You four!Go do your jobs! If you are done with those, then go help the ushers! MOVE!” Her roar sent the skivers running for the relative safety of the audience seating, but not before two of them tripped over each other in their haste.

“Octy!”

Looking down, the cellist saw Vinyl, who was dressed in her best club gear, which consisted of a black, felt jacket which under a blacklight, turned into a riot of colors and shapes that was simultaneously eye-catching and blinding, a black vinyl skirt, and a black tank top which contained a LED array which lit up in time with ambient music when turned on. All of this was accented with glowsticks and glow in the dark jewelry, and contrasted sharply with her stark white coat and electric blue mane and tail. By contrast, Octavia's red, sequined dress was a study in disparity to Vinyl's outrageous clothes, despite the scandalously long slit up one side that went so high, it was plain to anyone that if she was wearing panties, they would have to be a G-string. She glared down at the deejay from her perch and said, “What!”

Vinyl's horn lit up, and her sky blue magical aura surrounded the irate earth pony before taking her off of the crate and gently setting her down on the floor. “You're making everypony even more nervous than they already are with your barking orders like a diamond dog. Chill out while we all still have a nerve to jump on.”

Octavia pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “Vinyl, I just- I- We'll talk about that later. Are you ready for your part?”

Pulling out Twilight, who had been hiding behind her, Vinyl replied, “I am, thanks to this little genius. I don't know where you found her, but I'm keeping her. She's given me more ideas for my shows today than I've had in the last six months.” She hugged the filly from behind possessively, as if she would refuse to let her go home.

Octavia smiled and bent over at the waist to bring her eye level with the younger unicorn, unintentionally giving her a front row view of her generous cleavage. “I am glad to hear that. Thank you, Twilight. I knew I could rely on you to help make this show a success.” She leaned forward, and planted a friendly kiss on her cheek.

Twilight felt her whole body heat up as she blushed. She tried to say something clever, or at least something that wouldn't make her look like a fool, but all the came out was indistinct mumbling.

Straightening up again, Octavia said, “I am ecstatic that you two are bonding, but she does have a home already. You shall have to take it up with her parents if you wish to 'keep her', as it were. In the meantime, we have a show to put on, and Twilight needs to take her place in the control booth. The additions she has made to the visual aspect of the show will require her presence there.”

“Sheesh, Octy. Could you possibly sound any stuffier?” Vinyl asked, rolling her eyes. She looked down at Twilight who was still trapped in her embrace and said, “We know what we're doing, right, Twi?” Getting only another mumble in reply, she smiled at her. “See? Now get to your post, soldier! We're on in fifteen!”

Still blushing from the kiss as well as seeing Octavia in the stunning dress, Twilight wasted no time in running off to the control booth. Octavia arched an eyebrow at her fillyfriend. “You realize that if you have turned her away from learning the violin, I shall have some rather strong words for you.”

Vinyl looked down at her watch and said, “Well, would you look at the time! I better go do a final sound check. See yah!” She then turned tail and ran to get away from the cellist's deadly glare.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Fancy Pants looked out at the audience from his seat and smiled. “I say, father. It was worth donating to these concerts, just to see the looks of excitement on these children's faces.”

Nodding at his son, Posh Fabric replied, “Indeed. From what I've heard, this... disk jockey is quite popular amongst the clubs. If anypony can show these young folk that there's more to classical music than stuffy old ponies wearing smoking jackets discussing the finer points of a good golf swing, it is she.”

A flash of pink mane in the audience caught Fancy Pants' attention, and he couldn't help but stare at a lovely unicorn filly on the cusp of blooming into full marehood. Posh Fabric noticed this and leaned over to whisper into his ear, “Of course, if one can manage to make some connections, then any function could be said to be a success.” Nudging him with an elbow, he added, “Go on, son. I'll be here until the end of the concert.”

With a slight blush, Fancy Pants got up and walked over to the filly, who was sitting amongst her friends. Posh Fabric turned back to the stage. Ah, to be that young again...

Just then, the house lights dimmed, and the curtain opened to reveal the orchestra already in their seats, an unusual occurrence. The circumstance was even odder, as the stage was only dimly lit, affording only a silhouette view of the performers at best. Behind the orchestra stood the largest speakers anypony in the audience had ever seen, and in the middle stood the deejay booth, festooned with glowsticks which glowed their neon colors. Smoke filled the stage, and the assembled concertgoers grew silent in anticipation.

As the first beats of the music started up, laser beams of all colors sprouted from the booth and out into the audience, blinking on and off in time to the music, as if the music was plucked of the beams. By the time the string instruments started in, most of the gathering was on their hooves, loudly cheering.

The blacklights turned on, flooding the stage with eerie, ghost-like apparitions of ponies playing their instruments, all led by the deejay in the center, who worked her turntables like a mare possessed. The smoke moved out into the audience, dispersed enough to see through, but cohesive enough to become a screen onto which the lasers projected vague images of dancing ponies. The younger members of the crowd seemed to take this as a signal to dance, themselves.

Some of the adults in the audience were affronted by this display of youthful frivolity, but Posh seemed more pleased than ever. While he was smart enough to realize that he was far too old and out of shape to join them, he was both amused by their antics and pleased that he had helped to bring this small bit of joy to them.

By the end of the two hour concert, every pony present (the disapproving and haughty elite had long since abandoned the field) was exhausted, but more than pleased with the evening's events. While the crowd filed out of the amphitheater, the performers gathered backstage, sweaty, but all smiles.

Posh Walked up to Octavia and Vinyl and bowed to them both. “A splendid performance! I daresay that if you all are willing, I'd like to sponsor many more of these concerts in the future. What say you?”

Both fillies grinned wide, but Octavia was the only one to return the bow; Vinyl simply grabbed his hand and pumped it vigorously. “You got it, pal!” she happily exclaimed.

“What my friend here means to say, is that we would be more than happy to finish out the concert season,” Octavia said, bumping hips with the eager unicorn, causing her to drop the hand. “Once the new school year starts next year, we will both have graduated and moved on to higher education.”

Clapping his hands together excitedly, Posh replied, “Well then, I better make use of your services while I can. I'll have my major domo get in contact with you to hammer out the details. Until then, I bid you ladies good night.” He bowed to them once more before taking his leave.

Vinyl jumped atop a crate and shouted, “Did you all hear that? We're booked for the rest of the school year!” Cheers and whistles greeted her statement as she jumped down again and straight into Octavia's arms. The two kissed, ignoring the catcalls from the gathered ponies, still riding the high from an outstanding and successful performance.

Unseen by anyone else, a teary-eyed Twilight Sparkle ran from the backstage and out the amphitheater.

Author's Note

Sorry this one took so long. I'm still settling into my new job, and the scheduling is very tenuous. Hopefully, it will sort itself out soon.