The Cello and The Guitar

Sunset let out a pleased groan as she slid the helmet off of her head, shaking her head as her feet sat firmly on the concrete of the school parking lot. God that thing was tight!

It had been a couple days since the events of the Battle of the Bands, her and the Rainbooms having spent most of the weekend relishing their victory of the event, as well as saving the world from the Sirens. Evil though they were, Sunset still wondered where they ran to after their loss, and she would have chased after them if her fellow Rainbooms hadn’t stopped her from doing so.

She waved back at a small group of Wondercolts who were walking past the student parking lot and towards the school, Sunset chuckling at just how much things had changed since Friday. She slid off of the moped, patting it affectionately as she started to open it up to store her helmet inside. Sure, the helmet was designed to be used for motorcycles and looked out of place on someone riding a moped, but it was a future purchase Sunset had justified at the time.

She had just finished depositing the helmet and locking up the storage when the rumble of an engine caught her attention, the young woman hoisting her backpack onto her shoulder as she turned to watch, along with the small group of students who had previously waved at her.

A long limo, the longest Sunset had ever seen, pulled in front of the school and parked. Strange, she thought. Octavia almost never uses that limo unless-

“I do not care what you say, Octavia!” a harsh voice could be heard radiating through the air as the driver exited the vehicle, the poor old man rushing to the other side to open the door, just in time for an older woman to burst out, her voice roaring further. “I will not accept that some, thinks-they-can group of peasants could be better than yourself in regards to music!”

“Darling, please do calm down.” an older man came out of the limo next, equally dressed to the nines as he chased his wife. “Octavia doesn’t need you-”

“I will not have my family’s name tarnished by such an occurrence!” the woman whipped around on her husband in the blink of an eye, her body radiating hatred even as far away as Sunset was. She gave a small sigh before she started walking towards the school, the grounds empty save for her, the two adults, and the other student of Canterlot High School who had just exited the limousine, nodding understandably to the shaking butler.

The granite skinned girl appeared as though she gave a small sigh before following the butler to the back of car, retrieving a massive case and giving a small, polite curtsy to the older man. Sunset had more than enough time to make it to the small monument that the portal to Equestria, waiting and waving to Octavia as she got close.

“Heya, Octavia!” Sunset smiled warmly, watching as the Wondercolt paused mid step, a fraction of a moment before continuing on her way, a stern, yet apologetic look on her face as she neared.

“Good day, Miss Shimmer.” came the deeply cultured and stoic voice of the cellist, the girl pausing to give a small curtsy, only to jolt when the woman’s voice called out.

“Octavia Melody!” came the banshee screech. “Why must we continue to wait for you?”

“Sorry, Mother.” the girl called, passing Sunset at a brisk pace and not paying her a second notice. Sunset gave a knowing frown, waiting for the trio to start moving before she pushed off of the statue and started making her own way towards the school.

Octavia was incredibly well mannered, well cultured, and impossibly polite. Even if she somehow got upset with you, it was hard to tell thanks her voice always sounding like it should be wearing a top hat and monocle.

Her mother on the other hand…

The only reason Sunset knew of Octavia’s mother and father was thanks to her own unsavory past, and while Octavia had never risen to be a threat, Sunset was careful to find out as much about the girl as possible.

And boy was there a lot to learn.

Octavia was the only daughter of the Fortepiano family, and had been raised entirely since her childhood to be a great musician. While she mainly focused on her preferred cello, earning invitations from famed musical academies across the country, she seemed more content to try and finish her standard education first.

She was a friendly girl, mostly remaining with the more respected cliques of the school once things started to separate during the early parts of Sunset’s reign of CHS, but wasn’t afraid to branch out slightly. She preferred things of a higher class, and was often seen spending what free time she could afford with Rarity, the two able to bond over their tastes of high fashion and good teas.

But she was never seen as a true threat to Sunset’s reign at the time, and was thusly ignored. However during her cataloguing of the girl, she discovered just how much of a monster the girl’s mother could be, thankfully only ever running into the matriarch of the house on one occasion, when she had come to the school to raise hell at the Principal and Vice Principal in regards to some perceived slight of her daughter.

Sunset had felt the walls shake in the hallway.

Now, though, Sunset was more worried about Octavia, and what could possibly be happening if both of her parents were here to discuss the happenings of the Battle of the Bands with Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. Octavia was incredibly reserved just previously, just like how she appeared in the few videos Sunset had found online of when the charcoal haired girl performed.

...She should try and talk to Octavia at lunch.