It was late at night in Canterlot, the royal city sleeping peacefully beneath the stars of Luna's night. Their light was rivaled by the flickering flames of the street lamps that stood sentinel over the mostly empty streets.
A lone pegasus flew down one of the streets, following the trail of lights that illuminated his red coat and brown hair and made the golden trombones on his flanks glisten like they were made of real brass. He was wearing a pressed tuxedo, the ends of undone bow tie flapping in the wind as he flew. Despite the coolness of the night air, sweat trickled down his brow.
The pegasus' name was Slide Fortissimo, the first trombonist of the Royal Canterlot Orchestra. And he was in deep trouble.
Finally, he reached his home, a simple two-story establishment nestled in between two other houses, panting heavily. He paused at the threshold to catch his breath, wiping off sweat. He looked up at the door of his home as if he was just realizing where he was and sighed. He knew what was waiting for him on the other side of that door and knew that it would be nothing good.
Well, delaying the inevitable wasn't going to solve anything. Slide reached forward and turned the doorknob, entering the house. He strode into the hallway of his home, pulling off his tie and tuxedo and tossing them onto the coat rack. "I'm home," he called out into house. There was no reply. He swallowed and walked forward with all the enthusiasm of a condemned pony on their way to the gallows, entering the living room.
Sitting on the sofa was a unicorn mare with a bright yellow coat and a two-toned red and blue mane. Her cutie mark was a blue cross. She was holding up a book in her magic, her crimson eyes focused on the book rather than on him. The only sign that she acknowledged his presence was for her to turn the page of her book with a sharp flick. Slide's eyes drifted up to her horn, which was adorned with a simple silver ring: same as the one that he wore around the primary feather of his right wing.
Slide Fortissimo entered the room slowly. "I'm home," he repeated like he was trying to restart a song after missing a note. Shadow Flint still refused to react. Internally, Slide flinched; she was more upset with him than he'd hoped she'd be. "The...the concert was great. Everypony did great tonight." She turned another page. "How...how was your night?"
"I spent the night here," Shadow Flint replied in a tone like ice water slowly trickling down Slide's back. "Taking care of the children." She closed the book and set it book down and looked up, fixing him with her stern gaze as she stood up. "I would have liked to go the concert and see my wonderful husband perform in the orchestra, but unfortunately, he forgot to tell me that the Canterlot Elite Fundraiser Symphony is an invitation-only event, and I did not have an invitation."
"I know, I know," Slide said, struggling to think of the right words to say, to call up the proper emotions, as if this conversation was a difficult piece that he had forgotten to rehearse. "I'm sorry, honey, I really am. I know that it was your birthday and—"
"Yes. It was my birthday today," Shadow interrupted, stepping closer to him and jutting her face right into his so that he was forced to focus on nothing but her angry gaze. "But the fact that I didn't get anything for it isn't the worst bit; I could have lived with that. The worst part was that you promised."
The acidic accusation burned Slide's heart like fire, and he tried to flinch away from her words, but they continued to come down, cutting into him.
"You promised that I'd be able to go, be able to spend some time with you and watch you perform, and you did not live up to that promise." She paused for a moment, as if to give him time to realize his mistake.
"And I've been sitting here all night, trying to figure out why you, of all ponies—why you, the most dependable pony I've ever known—could possibly forget about this." Shadow Flint swallowed, and Slide was startled to find that she had tears in her eyes. "And the only reason I can think of is that you just didn't care." The tears started to fall much more quickly as his wife's anger dissipated into grief. She turned away and started to walk down the hallway, her hoofsteps clacking against the walls in a discordant melody.
Slide Fortissimo could only watch for a moment as his wife trotted away from him, listening to the icy sound of silence that she'd left behind. He still couldn't think of what to say: he had all of these phrases in his head, words that he had learned and assembled to be used in situations like this, but he couldn't fit them together. They jumbled together in his head like segments of different songs, drowning out one another.
Shadow Flint was about to turn the corner and disappear, and leave this unfinished. And if there was one thing that Slide Fortissimo could not stand, it was to leave anything unfinished.
"I do care," he blurted out, the opening notes of a new composition. Shadow Flint stopped at the end of the hallway, her expression neutral, but he'd gotten her attention, and that was enough to convince him to keep going. Just freeform, like a jazz solo. He had all the pieces he needed; he just needed to put them together in the right way.
Don't think, Slide. Just do what you do best; play your song.
"Do you remember your first birthday together?" he said, taking one step forward. "We went out to the Tasty Treat, way back when it had first opened. You ordered the...the, uh, those little things that are like pancakes..."
"Dosas," Shadow answered flatly.
"Right!" Slide smiled. "And then we went for a walk through the Royal Flower Garden. It was cool, and the sun was setting. We were walking underneath that maple tree when you slipped and fell in that puddle of muddy water, and it ruined your nice dress."
"And when you tried to help me up, I pulled you in next to me and ruined your tuxedo," Shadow added, a smile crossing her features.
Slide laughed. "Yeah, you did. And we both started laughing, just sitting there...and that's when you told me that you were pregnant."
He paused, a brief rest in their little duet, a chance for him to get reorganized and prepare for the second movement.
"I remember moments like that because I love you, Shadow," Slide said, stepping forward. She turned to look up at him, a small smile crossing her features. "I know I made a mistake tonight, and I'm really sorry for that. But it doesn't mean I don't love you, Shadow." He reached up and touched her cheek, and she reached up to take his hoof herself, squeezing it tight.
"I do," he whispered, touching his nose against hers. "I do love you. And I always will." He paused, closing his eyes, a fermata while he waited for her to start her counterpoint.
"I love you, too," Shadow Flint whispered back, the most beautiful notes that Slide could have imagined. She kissed him on the lips, and he kissed her back, embracing her with his wings. Two melodies combined, both in harmony once more.
"I'm sorry I was so nasty," Shadow Flint apologized. "I was just upset that you didn't keep your promise."
"So am I," Slide said. "But maybe tomorrow, we can do something special together. Just the two of us."
"You promise?" Shadow asked.
He kissed her again. "I promise." He nuzzled against her head contentedly, but then felt a yawn rising up from his chest. Before he could stop it, it escaped out of his mouth, and he yawned loudly.
Shadow giggled. "It's pretty late. You must be tired. Let's go to bed and get some rest."
Before Slide could say anything, she grabbed him in her magic and tugged him forward into the bedroom, slowly shutting the door behind them. A moment later, Slide began the third movement of their symphony with a surprised yelp.
"Hey!...That's not restful."
Author's Note
And then Slide fell asleep, much to Shadow's irritation.
This was a story giveaway for my IRL mate, Trombone15, starring his character, Slide Fortissimo. I had a bit of fun with this, trying something new in terms of story style and genre.
I hope you enjoyed this, Ben!
