Chapters In the Hall... Where's the Mountain King?
Sky Strings sat alone in the concert hall side entrance, focused; his last performance in the competition was nearly upon him. As a rule, Sky never really showed himself as the nervous type, but he definitely was. Despite this rule, he nervously fidgeted with his dark brown mane.
What if I screw up? he thought to himself. I'd never be able to forgive myself. These are the finals! I have to be perfect!
In that instant, he heard the door to backstage open. "Mr. Sky Strings?" said the concert hall employee. "You're up next, Ms. Melody is about to finish."
Sky nodded his head, getting up on all four hooves. His nerves began to swell, making him shake.
Deep breaths, Sky...
The door opened again, making him jump, but this time a gray mare walked through confidently. She wore a bow-tie, like him, except hers was pink. She wore an air of confidence, flicking her mane to the side as she walked down the hall toward him. He recognized her instantly, for she had taken lessons at the same time he did, with the same instructor. She smiled at him, her pretty purple eyes shining with true happiness.
"H-how did it g-g-go, Octavia?" stammered Sky, his nerves overcoming his ability to speak clearly.
"Goodness, I feel it went spectacularly!" exclaimed Octavia, her sultry voice dripping with joy. "I can only hope that your solo goes just as well! What did you choose for yours again?"
Sky began to reply, but the employee came out once again. "Mr. Strings, you're up!"
Sky's nerves swelled immensely for an instant, then it seemed to die down. He took a deep breath, his shaking ceased, and he stood up a bit straighter. "I'll show rather than tell, Octavia," he said, jokingly. "Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, would I?" He strolled off toward the door with robotic like movements. He was obviously still nervous.
Octavia looked at him puzzledly. He had told her once before, she had just forgotten in the heat of the moment.
"What surprise?" she asked, to nopony in particular.
Sky Strings got backstage and immediately his knees nearly buckled. He tore down his own air of false confidence and slowly made his way to his double bass, his head pointed to the floor. Deep breaths, Sky... he thought once again, attempting to actually calm himself. You can do this. Just play it how you always have. He picked up his bass and walked out from behind backstage. His accompanist, Midnight Measure, was already sitting at the piano, and she smiled at him. The mare was about his age, a wonderful pianist, and quite pretty to top it all off. He smiled back, and his nerves began to melt away.
"You ready, Sky?" she asked him quietly.
"You bet, let's get this show on the road." he replied, standing his bass on the end peg. He stood with it, bow at the ready, and nodded to the announcer in the lights booth.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts, please welcome our penultimate finalist to the stage. I present to you, Sky Strings, performing In the Hall of the Mountain King!"
Sky looked back at his accompanist during the applause. She nodded to him, and he nodded back. He turned back to the audience, closed his eyes, and once the audience quieted, he began to play. A soft concert F# rung out across the concert hall, pulling everyone's attention to the stage. The piece began slowly, and though it was quite repetitive, the audience remained captivated by the sheer mysterious nature of the piece. This particular arrangement was sparse, but it sounded just as mysterious as the original full orchestra. Sky played on, moving his nervous energy through his bow and out into the audience.
When he finished the piece with a flourish of his bow, the audience sat for a moment, stunned by the speed and precision of which he played. They then applauded, one by one, and slowly gave him a standing ovation. Through the sweat and heavy breathing, Sky looked back up to the audience, smiled, and turned to Midnight.
"We sure gave it hell, didn't we Sky?" she said.
"We sure did," he replied, then beckoning her toward him. "Let's bow?"
Midnight stood up from the piano, beaming. She trotted over to him, they stood side by side, and gave a deep bow. Smiling, they left the stage. As soon as they got through the door to the side hall, Sky tumbled forward. Midnight let out a giggle. The final soloist of the competition sauntered past them, snorting.
"Nice one," she joked to him. "And for your next act, you should play your bass as you do that."
"Very funny," Sky said, his nose buried in the tile floor.
They heard hoofbeats coming toward them at a fast pace. Sky looked up to see Octavia Melody running toward them with a smile on her face. She seemed extremely excited.
"That was amazing, Sky!" she exclaimed. She picked him up from the floor and gave him a huge hug. Midnight, however, audibly huffed angrily behind them. Sky barely had the breath to reply a small "thank you" from inside her bear hug. When she finally let go, Sky gasped for air. Octavia then turned her attention to Midnight. "You did exceptionally well also, Midnight." she said, smiling.
"Thanks," Midnight replied, begrudgingly not looking at Octavia.
There was silence for a moment, and Sky sensed the tension between the two. He awkwardly coughed once he caught his breath, and stood up.
"I suppose some celebratory dinner is in order, don't you think, Midnight?" he sheepishly said, attempting to soften the near-tangible air around them. Midnight shook her head and looked at him.
"I suppose you're right," she stated, matter-of-factly. She looked at Octavia. "Sorry, I have to drag his sorry ass around town to find a good diner to eat at. If you'll excuse-"
"Mind if I come along?" Octavia interrupted with a grin with malicious undertones. "I'm absolutely starving, I could use a bite to eat."
Midnight gritted her teeth, becoming quickly and increasingly annoyed with Octavia's behavior. "No, I think Sky and I need to talk a little bit, we have to plan our next move before the results are announced." She turned to Sky, squinting at him. "Right Sky?"
Sky recoiled under her steely gaze. "R-right," he stammered, "we have to plan our next piece for our next competition."
"How unfortunate," Octavia sighed. She turned around slowly, her eyes moving from Midnight, to Sky, then to the other end of the hallway. "I'll see you both at the symphony recital on Wednesday then?"
"I suppose you will," Midnight replied.
"Bye Octavia," said Sky. He watched her walk down the hallway and disappear. He then turned to Midnight.
"Everything alright?"
"Just fine." She wouldn't look at him. "Let's go get food, I'm starving."
Author's Note
Finally getting back into the swing of writing... how's it looking? Comments, criticism, and all of the like are welcome and encouraged!
Wanna Hear a Joke About a Staccato?
As the two trotted through the streets of Manehattan, Sky tried again to lighten the mood a bit.
"Did you hear me trip up at the transition to the B section?" He scoffed at himself. "How embarrassing. I wouldn't be surprised if we lost the whole competition because of that."
Midnight rolled her eyes. "It was fine. What was embarrassing was your little display with Ms. Perfect Melody."
"What's the deal with you two? Can't you just get along? There's no reason for you to fight with her all the time."
"You're clueless." She stopped walking. "Hey, there's that sandwich joint that we've been wanting to try. How about it?"
Sky eyed the little sandwich shop. "Witch's Witches," it was called. A mutual friend of his and Midnight's had recommended it to them, saying the food there was "enchanting." He shrugged.
"I don't see why not," he mused. He began walking toward the diner. "Let's go see if it's worth all of Spade's hype?"
Midnight muttered something about doubting that under her breath but followed.
The diner was nice, though a bit cold for Sky's tastes. The interior was painted a dull green, with rainforest and jungle scenery decorating the walls and furniture. For some reason, he half expected the shop to be run by a zebra, but the cashier was a younger unicorn mare. Her apron matched the scenery, but her pink coat and cherry red mane made her stick out like a sore thumb. Midnight ordered a tofu club sandwich, and Sky ordered a BLT. Sky set down his bass as they sat down at a table to wait for their food and began to talk about the performance.
"You did a really great job, Sky." Hearing Midnight's praise made Sky's heart flutter a bit. "I liked what you did with the accel throughout the piece, and you gave me a lot of room to play around." She swept her blonde mane out of her gray eyes, and for some reason, every time she did that his brain would do a backflip. After he recovered, he responded.
"Yeah, I figured we'd have a better shot if we both contributed some musicality, instead of me just showing off as a soloist, you know?" Hell yeah, he'd said something intelligent.
Midnight smiled at him, her eyes gleaming. Her cream-colored cheeks flushed slightly, which made Sky grin like an idiot. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the cashier unicorn floated their sandwiches over to the table. The rye bread that his BLT was on smelled delicious and fresh-baked, and Midnight's sourdough tofu club also looked great. Before either of them could think, they were both digging in.
"This is really fuckin' good," Midnight said between bites. All the response Sky could muster was a nod and an "Mmhm!"
After a few more minutes of munching and a few assorted jokes or acknowledgements of the food quality, the two had finished their sandwiches.
"Holy crap," Sky muttered. "I can't believe it's gone already... I feel like I could eat twenty more..."
Midnight nodded. "I'm full, but not at the same time. I could probably eat a couple more before everything I ate today comes back out."
Sky chuckled and loosened his collar and bowtie, looking up at the clock tower as he did. It had been about 1:30pm when he and Midnight had performed, and it was now nearly 2:00. He wondered if the final results had come out yet. Midnight followed his gaze, and then looked back at him.
"You nervous?" she asked.
Sky thought for a moment and shook his head. "Not really. Nothing I can do about it now. It's just up to the judges on how they score us."
Midnight let out a small sigh and leaned back in her chair. "Understandable. To be honest, I'm freaking the hell out."
"Why? We did our best. It's not like we can change the scores if we didn't like them."
"You're right, but..." she trailed off. "I dunno, I guess I just don't want to lose to Octavia anymore. She's been at the top for too long, I'm tired of being second place." As she spoke, she looked down at her empty plate on the table, fiddling with the crumbs on the dish. "I feel like I'm never gonna be better than Sol."
Sol Okeys, another pianist and Octavia's accompanist, had been fighting back and forth with Midnight to be the premiere pianist in Manehattan for years. For the last few, though, Sol and Octavia had been sweeping every competition.
"You're already just as good, if not better than Sol," Sky encouraged. If anyone understood how she felt, it was him. "I've been under Octavia's shadow ever since we were foals. I'm just as tired of it as you are." Sky reached out and held her hoof. "Today's the day that we finally break their streak. I just know it."
Midnight looked up at Sky, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She tried to give a small smile, but it was apparent that she didn't quite believe him. After a few seconds of silent staring, she cleared her throat and pulled her hoof from his, and stood from the table.
"We should probably go check the results, huh? I'm sure they're up by now."
Sky huffed, but followed suit. Sky grabbed his bass, and they walked back the way they came. When they made it back to the auditorium, they looked at each other before walking through the doors, both nodded, and walked in. The lobby was almost packed with performers, each muttering and looking up at the giant corkboard with the final results posted on it. Sky and Midnight were unsure why, but whenever they would pass others, they would get sideways glances and they'd hear extra hushed mumbling. As they continued to walk toward the corkboard, the mumbling and muttering quieted. They made it to the end of the lobby and looked for their names on the placements. Midnight was the first to see it.
"What. The."
"Fuck." Sky finished.
Author's Note
Surprise! I'm back.
It's been a long time since I've even been on this site, let alone publish a chapter of anything. Let me know what you guys think, and if I've still got it...
How Silly, My Music is Smiling at Me.
"A tie!?"
Sky didn't know how to feel. He was happy that he and Midnight had technically placed first in the competition on one hoof. On the other, he was pissed beyond all belief. How in the world could they have tied? They didn't play the same piece, nor did they sound the same in any way, so how did they tie?
Midnight stomped the ground angrily. Sky looked over and could see the tears welling up in her eyes again, but this time it wasn't out of nervousness but frustration.
"I can't believe it!" she fumed. "The one chance we get to beat her and Sol, we get the same score? That's... that's..."
"That's what?" asked a familiar sultry voice from someone in the crowd. Midnight and Sky turned around to find Octavia and Sol standing behind them. Sol flashed them a smug grin. Sky hated the way the guy looked at them, almost as if his green eyes held some sort of superiority over him. Just seeing his pastel red face made Sky's blood boil.
Midnight obviously wasn't happy to see them either, as she stood firm in front of the results. "We still technically broke your streak, Octavia. You're not top dog around here anymore."
Octavia's ears flicked in irritation. For a brief moment, Sky saw something in her face that he hadn't seen before: disappointment. She had always looked so confident, never really showing any sign of negativity toward her playing or performance. "We'll have to see about that," she said dryly. "The judges have decided to hold a tiebreak round for us."
"What?" exclaimed Sky.
Sol rolled his eyes. "Tomorrow afternoon, we're to bring a second piece prepared for adjudication. After the second round, the duo with the higher score will be the first prize winners." His Prench accent made everything he said sound insulting.
Midnight's nostrils flared. "They told you that?" She turned to Sky and gestured toward the door. "I guess we have some serious work to do then." She stormed off. Sky stood for a moment and watched her stomp toward the door. The crowd parted for her as she left and then began to disperse.
As soon as she left Octavia's sight, her expression softened. She looked back at Sky and gave a small smile. "Good job, Sky. I'm excited to see what you bring to the stage tomorrow evening." She flipped her mane out of her eyes and walked forward to shake his hoof, but before she could, Midnight called out.
"You coming, or what?"
Sky looked back at the door, seeing Midnight standing right outside, and decided that he probably shouldn't keep her waiting for too long. "Thanks, Octavia, you too," he said and trotted toward the outside. He caught up with Midnight, and they headed to Midnight's apartment.
"What are we gonna do?" Midnight sighed. "I didn't think we'd have to prepare another duet for another day or so."
"Yeah, I could use a break, " Sky said, "but I guess the best never rest."
Midnight scoffed. "I'd bet you any money that Octavia rests way more than we see. How else would she look like that constantly?"
For some reason, Midnight saying this gave Sky an idea. His eyes lit up, and he stopped walking for a moment as he pondered the feasibility of his plan.
"What?" Midnight stopped a few feet in front of him, looking at him quizzically.
"What if," Sky mused, tapping his hoof on his chin. "What if we played Blue Bells of Trotland?"
Midnight's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? That's way too hard to prepare in a night! There's no way we could―"
"I've already been working on it at home."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah, I'm actually just about done. It just needs a bit of polishing in the last variation."
"Oh." Midnight looked down and kicked a rock. "I dunno if I'll be able to learn the accompaniment in one night."
"If anybody can," Sky said, beginning to walk again, "it's you."
Midnight gave a hefty sigh and followed. She didn't say anything, but Sky's confidence made her think that it was possible.
They walked the rest of the way to Midnight's apartment in silence. Midnight buzzed in her apartment code when they got to the complex, and the door opened. They walked to the elevator and headed up to the fourth floor. Sky tensed as soon as the elevator started moving.
"You okay?" Midnight asked, watching him try to steel his nerves.
"Yeah, you know me and elevators."
He had always been a bit afraid of elevators. Something about the fact that he was in a metal box being pulled upward by a metal cable just didn't sit right with him. Midnight leaned against him, and he relaxed a bit.
The elevator dinged, and they walked out onto the fourth floor toward her apartment. They got to a door labeled "418" and walked in.
Midnight's apartment was relatively small, with a living room with a connected kitchen and a single bedroom. Her decorations, though, made the place look amazing. She had three keyboards: an upright piano and an electric keyboard in the living room and a synthesizer in her bedroom. There was sheet music everywhere in the apartment, pinned up on walls, in books, and lying on tables. Her record player was sitting on the coffee table, with classical and jazz records sitting around it in boxes. She headed straight for the record player and rifled through the vinyls to find one to play. Sky took off his bass and set it in the corner of the living room.
"Colt-rain or Charlie Horser?" asked Midnight.
"Colt-rain."
Sky went to sit down on the couch, and after a few seconds, soft bebop saxophone started coming from the record player speakers.
"What do you want to do, then?" Midnight asked, and walked over to the couch. She sat with Sky and leaned her head on his shoulder. He leaned into her and sighed.
"I think we can do Blue Bells of Trotland," he said. "I can help you with the accompaniment, I'm sure it'll be easier to learn with the melody."
"I don't know, Sky. I feel like I'm not good enough for that."
"Come on, Midnight. I know you can do it." He sat up and turned to look at her. Her grey eyes were stormy and turning red as she began to cry.
"I'm scared, Sky." Her voice broke. "I feel like we're going to lose, and I can't lose to Sol anymore."
Sky put his forelegs around her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. She began to sob quietly into his chest. "You can do this," he said, "I know you can. We're gonna win. I won't let Octavia and Sol beat us again."
After a few more minutes of Midnight's quiet tears, she calmed down and stood up from the couch. Walking around the living room, she searched for the accompaniment sheet music. Sky also stood and headed over to his bass to grab his copy of the bass part. After they both had the music, Midnight sat at the upright piano and sighed.
"We're gonna do this?" she said, looking at the keys with a mix of hesitance and determination.
Sky pulled out his bow and bass, put his hoof to the fingerboard, and nodded to Midnight. "Let's do it."
Sky played the opening cadenza, and Midnight began to sight-read.
