Inevitable Fate

Uninterrupted, Sonorous continued to explain how the musical tone captivated her. How it seemed to drown out the entire world, leaving only the melody to fill the void. By now Octavia had to hide her face, considering it now resembled a bouquet of roses. Vinyl was munching on her haywich, trying to look nonchalant, as she stared at the dusky sky.

Sonorous took a drink of cider and was about to speak again until she noticed the reactions of the two mares. Quite annoyed by the apparent lack of interest, a mischievous smirk appeared on her face. "It's a shame I didn't meet that pony, probable for the best though." "You know what they say, famous ponies are stuck up," Sonorous sneered in a matter-of-fact tone.

A stupor Vinyl spewed cider all over the window she had been looking out. Octavia brought her face to stare at Sonorous, any trace of embarrassment was gone. These reactions confirmed that Octavia was the mystery performer. However feeling that she had been played the foal, she wasn't done yet. Ignoring Octavia's shocked stare, instead asking if Vinyl was ok.

Vinyl wheezed an acknowledgement, although she was still hacking. Satisfied, her attention turned back to a fuming Octavia. The air was so tense that neither of them noticed Pinkie Pie. The pink mare was peeking over the edge of the table, almost as if watching a drama unfolding.

A blue mare, noticing the ruckus in the corner booth, trotted toward the disputing mares. Meanwhile both Octavia and Sonorous continued to exchange verbal stabs at each other. Pinkie Pie, hearing the sound of hooves behind her, spun around to stare at Mrs. Cake. The pony cleared her throat to get the attention of the feuding mares.

Startled, they turned to see a blue mare with an apron on. Her mane and tail was stripped pink/light pink. Her mane looked as if somepony styled it to resemble a descending line of wavy icing on a cake. She wore a pair of pink pearled earrings. Her cutie mark was three pink frosted cupcakes with cherries on top of them.

Mrs. Cake spoke in a soft but stern voice, telling the mares that they had to leave due to their disruptive behavior. Sonorous merely shrugged, got up and left for the door. Octavia, not nearly done chewing her out, rushed after her. Vinyl reluctantly dropped the bits for the bill, apologizing to Mrs. Cake, then trotted out after the bickering mares.

Darkness now blanketed the sky as the three ponies trotted down the street. "What's your problem Sonorous," Octavia demanded as she caught up to the departing mare. Sonorous turned to glare at Octavia, only when Vinyl caught up, did she speak. "I don't know about either of you but I don't care to be taken the foal," Sonorous retorted.

Both mares gawking back, Sonorous took the opportunity to continue. "I was trying to locate the musician that was at the theater," she fumed. "However you two let me ramble on like a filly with a crush." "Don't think I didn't notice how each of you were acting while I was talking." Sonorous continued to lay into them, her voice rising in volume.

"Worst yet, you Octavia, hung your head like I was boring you." "I know that you must be tired of praise all the time, that doesn't mean you can just ignore ponies," Sonorous was now shouting. A pony stuck his head out the window and yelled for silence. A very "colorful" response from Sonorous met the pony's ears.

Shutting the window, he muttering incoherently as he did so. Heaving now Sonorous started to turn and leave however she stopped when Octavia spoke up. Her voice carried a mixture of anger and a hint of resentment. "How dare you presume to know me, you have no idea!" Octavia retorted. "You think that just because I can play an instrument, praise is shoveled upon me."

"You unsophisticated dullard, are you really so blind to think that all musicians are so famous?!" Octavia yelled in a indignant tone. "I'm so sorry that you felt perturbed, you cretin," Octavia sneered. Tears beginning to stream from her eyes, Octavia fell silent as she hung her head, silently sobbing.

Vinyl stepped forward, "I thought you'd be surprised that the pony we were meeting was the pony that you were looking for. Vinyl confessed. "You reacted quite unexpectedly from what I thought you would have," she continued. "I forgot that you were still griffinized."

Vinyl gave a slight sigh. Sonorous stared from Vinyl to Octavia before speaking, "Yea, its been quite the struggle today," Sonorous groaned, tired of apologizing. Several minutes passed before the silence was broken. "You don't expect me to accept such an inadequate excuse," Octavia croaked.

Sonorous narrowed her eyes and retorted angrily, "I honestly don't care if you believe me or not." Beginning to turn away, she stopped, when Octavia clear her throat. "You wouldn't happen to play an instrument?" Octavia asked sternly.

"Why do you ask" Sonorous replied in a puzzled voice. Octavia pointed a hoof to the Bass Clef upon her flank. Mentally giving herself a facehoof, Sonorous stated that she'd dabbled a little. "In that case, I challenge you to a musical duel," Octavia spat out, hateful eyes glared at Sonorous. Not relaxing her stern expression, Sonorous gave a hysteric laugh. "You've got to be kidding me,"she jeered.

Octavia wouldn't back down, her pride wouldn't allow such actions."I'm a proud musician, I've been insulted, and I demand satisfaction," Octavia gave a low growled. Sonorous' ears perked up at the challenge, her mocking face turned to a solemn one. With a stern tone in her voice, she spoke, "you demand satisfaction, very well I accept your challenge."

Without waiting for an answer, she turned on a hoof, and trotted away from the two mares. Sonorous reached the edge of town where her "borrowed" wagon sat. Entering the wagon, she closed and locked the door, shutting the blinds, then set to making a secret compartment to store information for her royal coup.

Her horn blazed to life as she sliced a small block of wood off each leg. Quickly whittling a smaller square on all four of the blocks that would later fit into the hollowed legs. Next she began to hollow out the legs. Replacing the make shift caps to hide the new compartment in the bed legs. She stepped upon her bed, pawing to try and soften it up. With a low growl of annoyance, she dropped her disguise, before laying down to sleep.

The sounds of chirping birds, once again disturbed Chrysalis' slumber, signaled the new day. Getting up from her bed, she stretched her legs, like a cat would. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she strolled to the door. Reaching for the knob but paused when she saw her black hoof. With a sigh and a blink, her Sonorous persona appeared into existence once again.

Opening the door, she stepped out, and immediately shielded her eyes from the bright sun. Once her eyes adjusted, she made her way into town. She decided to do some reconnaissance of the town. She passed several vendors on the street, stopping briefly to see their wares. As Sonorous trotted into a store, the salesmare approached and began their sales pitch.

Turning to look at her with a blank stare, Sonorous asked dryly if they sold parchments and quills. Not deterred by the cold customer, she nodded and waved a hoof toward the back of the store. The shelves contained quills of every shape and size, parchment of different lengths, and rows of inkwells.

After picking up a cheap saddle bag they sold beside the check out. Sonorous started picking up quills, rolled parchments, and several inkwells. After trotting through the check out, the clerk rang up the total cost. Without waiting for the amount, Sonorous narrowed her eyes and began to cast a hypnotic spell.

Green energy snaked up Sonorous' horn, before leaping off and through the pony's head, into their mind. The eyes of the pony shone a light green for a split second before returning to normal. Don't worry about it ma'am, I'll take care of it, the pony droned.

Completing the transaction as normal, handing the receipt to Sonorous, even calling out for her return as she left the store. A couple of minutes after Sonorous left, the bewitched pony was released from her spell. With a blink, the clerk went along with his job, completely ignorant of what just transpired.

Continuing down the road, Sonorous was humming a tone of a malicious nature. Sonorous squinted as she spotted a dust cloud that appeared to be heading toward her. Rolling her eyes at yet another interference, Sonorous stopped and waited in defiance of whatever raced toward her. Mentally wanting to pulverize the unfortunate creature that dares impede her.

The dust cloud racing every closer, soon Sonorous was able to make out a rainbow maned pegasus. A strained sigh escaped her mouth, "am I doomed to meet all those insufferable pest," Sonorous muttered under her breath. Now only several meters separated her from the rainbow maned pegasus, a collision seemed imminent. The rainbow pegasus was shouting now, advising everypony to get out of the way.

In response, Sonorous conjured a magical net that caught the pegasus in mid-air, encasing the mare in magic. "What do you think your doing, you need to get to safety,"demanded the pegasus. A hostile sneer replaced her contentment as Sonorous slightly tilted her head to see past her.

A dozen or so timber wolves were stampeding down the street. A nonchalant huff flared from Sonorous' nostrils. Looking back at the pegasus, she dryly replied, "is this all?" Lifting the pegasus above her head before rotating the mare 180° to face the stampede. The magic that encased her began to expand into a sphere.

Sonorous' horn took on a deeper emerald glow, a result of pouring more magic into the hovering sphere. As the wolves barreled down the street, the front potion of the sphere began to glow. The pegasus shut her eyes tightly preparing for the worst. Several seconds past but when nothing seemed to happen, she opened her eyes and gawked.

The sphere was now blasting small needle like slivers at the timber wolves. The needles sped off with such velocity, instantly dispatching the wolves. To any on looker, the barrage would have appeared as a blur except to the mare in the bubble. She had the best view of the lot, she could see the formation of the needles.

Soon the needles stopped as the last wolf fell into a crumbled pile of lumber. When the dust settled, a huge pile of mangled wood remained. Rotating the pegasus back to face her, Sonorous lowered the pegasus to hover inches above the ground. The rainbow mare was dumbstruck at what she just witnessed. Her mouth shone a huge grin, her irises so huge, they threatened to burst from her sockets.

"THAT WAS AMAZING!" the mare screeched, before she started to recount the events in a stuttering frenzy. Sonorous smirked as wide as she could before speaking in a overly sweet tone. "I'm glad you enjoyed the show my little pony." Releasing the mare from her magical cage, she fell to the ground with a soft thud. The impact seemed to have snapped her out of her raving.

Sonorous soon spotted five more ponies climbing over the piles of wood. The purple pony called out, Rainbow Dash, as they closed the gap between them. The rainbow maned pony, identified as Rainbow Dash, turned to call back. The group slowed into a trot as they reached her. "What happened here," the purple pony asked with a concerned look on her face.

"It was amazing Twilight, this pony here took out all the timber wolves," Rainbow Dash spoke as she pointed a hoof behind her. Twilight gave a puzzled look before inquiring who Rainbow dash meant. Spinning around, Rainbow Dash noticed the mysterious mare was gone. "Where did she go?" Rainbow Dash wondered, her ears drooping in disappointment.

"I really wanted you all to meet her,"she groaned. Twilight put a hoof on her friend's shoulder before turning to look at the piles of lumber that laid on the road. Moments later Sonorous reappeared from her teleportation spell. She stood in front of the theater. Sonorous strolled up the stairs to meet with Vinyl and Octavia.

Once inside, she saw a large group of ponies huddled at the base of the stage. Unfazed by the sight, she trotted toward the stage. Reaching its base, she bent her legs in preparation to leap over the huddled ponies. Using her telekinesis, she leaped quite higher then normal. Clearing the obstacle, Sonorous landed onto the stage with a loud thud.

Vinyl poked her head out from behind the curtain and gasped as she saw her standing there. "Hey Sonorous, I'm glad your here maybe you can help us back here," she inquired. Shrugging her shoulders, Sonorous trotted back stage to see that Octavia was tuning the string instruments. When Octavia spotted Sonorous, a smirk spread across her face.

Putting down the instrument, she got up and strolled toward Sonorous. "So why are there ponies huddled at the stage?" Sonorous asked nopony in particular. "Didn't you hear, a pack of timber wolves was spotted in Ponyville," Vinyl replied, a tone of worry in her voice.

Sonorous feinted a started look, then asked if Octavia was tuning the instruments for their duel. Octavia began to speak but stopped halfway through her statement. "Well we could begin our duel, that is if you don't mind an audience," she stated in a mocking tone. "It doesn't really matter to me, I won't back down" Sonorous grinned.

A sly smile flashed across Octavia's face as she waved a hoof toward the pile of instruments. Putting down her saddlebags, Sonorous looked over the rows of instruments: trumpets, tubas, trombones, flutes, clarinets, violins and much more laid on the floor. Finally she levitated a small figure eight looking case upon a small table. When the case was opened, a violin was revealed inside.

Levitating the instrument and bow into the air, Sonorous nodded in confirmation. Nice choice chimed Octavia as she went to fetch her cello. The three ponies trotted back on stage to face the frightened ponies. The dueling ponies looked at each other, waiting to see who would begin. Octavia waved a casual hoof at Sonorous with a raised eye brow.

Sonorous nodded her head as she raised the instrument up. She rested her jaw on the cushioned base of it, while wrapping a hoof around it's slender neck. Using her magic to levitate the bow, Sonorous lowered it onto the strings. Drawing the bow across the strings, slow at first, producing a deep/calming tune.

The huddled mass of ponies began to lift their heads as the tune fill the theater. Soon Sonorous' tempo increased slightly as she closed her eyes. Her hoof moved gracefully along the violin's neck, holding the strings to produce different pitches. The audience was now completely fixated on the stage, their worries vanishing with each note.

Eyes still closed, Sonorous' melody became more lively. Filling the air with different tones, along with slight changes of tempo. Sonorous brought her melody to a sudden halt. Opening her eyes, she turned her gaze to the cellist. Octavia, slightly impressed by Sonorous' partial performance, only smirked. Taking up her bow, she leaned slightly against her cello and began her rebuttal.

The cello sung out in a deep tone, Octavia started out slow but increased her tempo gradually. The deep melody delivered its own essence of uplifting reverberations and deep soothing decibels. Octavia's song, contained a much more balanced set of octaves. The complete opposite of the violin's wide tone variations. Yet no less beautiful, the cello offered a strong, steady embrace to any who accepted its melody.

After a short piece, Octavia also stopped her playing, waiting for Sonorous to answer her call. Vinyl recognizing that they were building up their performances. Quickly went back stage to get her sample recording board. Vinyl was always on the look out for sounds and music to sample.

Sonorous again raised her violin and continued where she left off. Her hoof moving considerable faster then before as she played. Once again her eyes were closed yet she didn't miss a beat. Hoofing out the notes with precision matching that of a seasoned musician.

Playing by sound alone was her way. She could see in her mind the elegant dance of the music. Every pitch swirling into the next, gracefully adding its melody to the song. This time Octavia joined in with her own brand of musical magic, her lyrics rang out it's benevolent tone.

Vinyl was busy taking samples of the concoction of raw emotional harmony. However, she soon stopped taking samples, finding herself overwhelmed by the music. She stared at the two ponies, mesmerized at the ethereal concert that unfolded right before her eyes. Soon the two compositions slowly began to merge, quickly becoming one giant euphony of pure bliss.

Meanwhile Twilight and her friends tiredly strolled down the road. Exhausted from removing all the timber wolf remains from Ponyville. The six friends immediately stopped as the symphony of music rushed from the theater. The music filled their ears, cradling their souls in a euphoria of warmth. Any trace of exhaustion chased away, replaced by overwhelming energy.

The friends darted into the theater, extremely curious about the alluring music. As they trotted through the doorway, the six gasped as they stared down toward the stage. They saw the crowd of ponies staring at the performers, on stage was Octavia, in center stage, and Vinyl, who was off to the side, along with another pony.

Rainbow Dash squinted at the third pony on stage before her eyes grew wide. She swirled her head toward Twilight and pointed toward the stage. "I know that pony, she's the one that stopped the timber wolves," Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Twilight whipped her neck back to stare upon the stage with new interest.

Starting down the stairs, Twilight was split between being a spectator or meeting the mysterious pony. The remaining friends, feeling the ever flowing ecstasy from the music, followed her. By now the music began it's diminuendo as the beautifully improvised piece came to an end. With a few more strokes of their bows, they finished playing, the last of their melody fading away.

Sonorous opened her eyes and scanned the room. The crowd of ponies stared in awe, tears streaming down their face. Sonorous turned toward Octavia and Vinyl, noticing tears in their eyes as well. The most shocking revelation was that she to, had a tear threatening to escape. Silence now filled the room but for only a second.

Everypony began to clapped and stomped their hooves like never before. Sonorous, still looking toward the two mares, watching Vinyl raise her forehooves in awe. Octavia slowly stood up, Sonorous followed suit, they both faced the crowd and bowed. As Sonorous raised her head, she could smell a massive cloud of love over the crowd.

Nopony would notice if I helped myself to some refreshments she thought. As both ponies took another bow, Sonorous absorbed a big portion of love from the crowd. Octavia, Vinyl, and Sonorous went back stage to put away their instruments. After putting everything away and whipping the tears from their face, Octavia and Vinyl turned toward Sonorous.

"Where in all of Equestria did you learn to play like that," Octavia spoke excitedly. Sonorous, beaming with pride, replied that she was self-taught. Octavia felt a slight twitch of envy but it quickly subsided. Despite the argument the previous day, Octavia was overjoyed that another pony appreciated classical music as she did.

The cheering subsided to a dull chatter that could be heard from the departing crowd. Twilight and friends began to navigate toward the stage. Murmurs, about the performance, filled the air. Comments like: that was astonishing, and who is that mysterious pony was heard from across the crowd. Why were we here anyways, asked a confused pony. To which came an answer from somewhere in the crowd, there were timber wolves in town.