Patchwork

“Oh, honey, I’m so excited for you! I remember getting my acceptance letter from the Royal Orchestra… of course, back in my day there was only one orchestra, so perhaps it was a bit more impressive, but still!”

Grandma Melody had been in one of her rare, teasing moods since Octavia’s letter of acceptance had arrived. Octavia herself was still in a state of shock and total excitement, and hadn’t quite grasped the fact yet that she was finally achieving her lifelong dream. Vinyl showed no surprise that Octavia had won the spot— she had been confident in her friend’s abilities— but she was excited nonetheless, and listened patiently as the gray earth pony rambled on about the orchestra. Martha was at least as excited as everyone else there, and Grandma Melody even seemed to forget that she was supposed to hold a grudge against her, as the two were chattering eagerly about Octavia’s future as a famous musician. Little Elliot didn’t completely understand the enormity of the situation, but everyone else seemed excited, so he was, too.

“And I am to go in tonight with the rest of the winning contenders, and sign the paperwork to officially join the orchestra!”

“We know, cousin, you’ve only stated it 20 times so far,” Martha joked. “Though, aren’t things moving a little fast? I mean, the letters come out the only a few days after auditions, and then the musicians are officially hired in the orchestra two days after the letter arrives?!”

“Well,” Octavia said as she read over the acceptance letter for the umpteenth time, “it’s not like we start playing right away. Remember, nopony’s actually retiring until the springtime, so that’s most likely when all us newcomers will have our first concert. Although,” she mused, “we will be the understudies for the chairs we’re taking over, so there is a possibility that we could play sooner.”

“Besides,” Vinyl interjected, “the Royal Orchestra is a huge commitment. The ponies in charge want to know that their members have total dedication to it, and that includes putting it first where the calendar is concerned. I’m guessing that’s why the auditions and acceptances are so close together: to get the new members ready for the orchestra’s busy schedule.”

“Oh, Octavia, deary,” Grandma Melody suddenly said with concern, “look at the time! We’ve got to get on a carriage in two hours. You’d better start getting ready.”

Octavia nodded. She was glad that everypony would get to meet Mr. Woodwinds and the other judges, whom she assumed she would learn the names of while receiving her paperwork. She was glad, too, that her family had started treating Vinyl better. Grandma Melody hadn’t made a snarky remark about dubstep since Octavia received her present, and when Trombone Tony dropped by the night before to reclaim his scarf (he had left it there on Hearth’s Warming), he actually extended a friendly “hello” to the DJ.

Upstairs, Grandma Melody and Martha were debating over whether Octavia should wear a dress again or not, while the musician herself took a quick shower. Vinyl had said she had something to do in the basement and rushed off rather suddenly, but this had been a normal habit since Hearth’s Warming, so nopony questioned it.

Eventually, it was decided that Octavia would wear a simpler dress than the last time, and her normal bow tie instead of the necklace she’d worn for auditions. She also didn’t put her hair up, per the suggestion of Elliot, who told her that her hair looked “like a pretty night sky” when it was down (which even Grandma Melody found adorable).

After applying makeup and being escorted down the stairs like a princess, Octavia knocked on the door to the basement.

“Vinyl? Are you down there?”

When there was no answer, she opened the door and started trotting downstairs. She turned back to her family.

“Sorry, I’ll just be a minute. She probably has headphones on.”

She went down the long, winding staircase and crossed to Vinyl’s tiny makeshift room, where-

Octavia caught her breath in shock of what she saw. Vinyl turned around hurriedly, looking embarrassed and unsure of herself. She had taken off her glasses and applied a tiny bit of blue eyeshadow, as well as putting on an elegant, deep blue dress that Octavia didn’t even know Vinyl owned. She’d also somehow managed to tame her hair enough to put it in a simple ponytail, which hung down one side of her neck. Her tail also looked more brushed than usual.

“I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t ready yet, I just wanted to surprise you…” her voice trailed off as she looked at Octavia and nodded approvingly. “Well, you look good, at least.”

Octavia stammered in shock. “I… you…?”

Vinyl looked down. “I dressed up, yea. Or tried to, at least. The judges at your audition didn’t really seem to like me, so I figured I could at least try to make up for the bad first impression.” She stepped outside her room. “I’d ask you to fix my makeup, but I think it’s time to go and I don’t wanna make you late. Sorry!”

Octavia blinked a few times and cleared her throat. “You’re… you’re beautiful as you are. But you didn’t have to do this for me!”

“Yea, I know,” she said, shrugging. “I wanted to. I thought it’d make you happy.”

Suddenly, Octavia pulled her friend into an unsuspected (but not unwelcome) hug.

“It does. This means more to me than you know— just… this whole thing. Everything.” She pulled away and looked straight into her eyes. “Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.”

Vinyl hesitated for a moment, then nodded and smiled again. “You’re welcome. But, uh, we’d better get going. It’d be less than a good impression if you showed up late,” she giggled.

Outside, the carriage was already awaiting the band of five ponies. Grandma Melody stepped in first, followed by Martha and Elliot (who sat between his mother’s legs), followed by Vinyl and finally Octavia.

It’s happening, she thought in amazement as the cold evening wind blew past the carriage. It’s finally happening.

The happy band of ponies chatted and chattered in the cold as the carriage passed by one of the apartment buildings. Hearth’s Warming was over, but lots of ponies had yet to take down their decorations.

As the chariot rumbled down the street, a pegasus stepped out onto her porch and unplugged her strand of Hearth’s Warming lights.

One square on the quilt of apartments went black.