Your Family and You

“Nervous?”

Glancing up from what I was doing, I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I contemplated the question asked of me. After a moment, I slowly bobbed my head side to side before speaking. “I guess? Maybe a little. I mean, it’s weird, isn’t it? I’ve been through so much more than this, so it should be easy, right? So why is my stomach in knots right now?” As if responding to my words, my stomach twinged, causing me to wince.

“Because it’s a different kind of turmoil, so to speak,” came the reply. “Someponies can dive head first into a burning building to save a life no problem, but the same pony will be scared stiff if forced to be in the same room as a spider.”

“I’ve stood toe to toe with a timberwolf alpha and survived a manticore attack,” I said.

“Burning building. Spider.”

“I’ve fought in a human fighting pit and faced monsters of chaos.”

“Giant spider.”

“I’ve slapped a princess in the face.”

“Do you like being the center of attention?”

I frowned. “No, I can’t say that I do.”

“Well, there you go. There’s your answer.” Octavia smiled at me as she patted my shoulder reassuringly. “You don’t like a bunch of strangers staring at you. Thus, you’re nervous. It’s okay to not like being stared at.”

“I’ve done this before though,” I said as I went back to polishing my cello. Having already rosined the bow and tuned the strings, I was in the process of making the instrument look presentable, oiling the black wood until it gleamed like a mirror. “Back home, er… on Earth, I was part of dozens of concerts and concertos before I even set foot in Equestria. I don’t like being the center of attention, but I can handle it long enough to play. This though… this one feels… different.”

“Because you’re playing in front of ponies instead of humans?” Octavia asked.

I paused my polishing for a moment. “Maybe?” Leaning back, I took a deep breath before lifting an arm up in front of me. My hand trembled slightly. “Does it really make that much of a difference? Strangers are strangers. Am I that pathetic?”

Even though I hadn’t meant that last part to be heard, Octavia still gave me a sympathetic look. “You’ve been through a lot in the past year. It’s not surprising that some of the trauma might linger. You might not be able to do the same things you used to without some trouble.” Placing her own cello back carefully on its rack, she approached me.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” she said softly.

I laughed weakly. “You set it up though.”

“I’ll cancel it too.”

“And have all those ponies upset with you? Ruin your career? Talk bad about you?”

“If you are not feeling comfortable with this,” Octavia said firmly, “I will march out onto that stage right now and tell all those ponies that unforeseen circumstances have come up and the show is canceled. Without batting an eye.”

I stared at her before smiling weakly. “No need to do that. I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t want to cancel because your mate is in the audience,” Octavia said with a smirk.

“And her sister-in-law too.” I gave my cello one last look over before placing it aside on a stand. Standing up, I cracked my back and glanced at myself in a mirror located in the corner of the backroom. Despite my protests, I was decked out in a beige cutaway coat with golden accents over a white, frilly waistcoat. A cravat was wrapped around my neck, causing my beard to itch whenever I looked down. The outfit was completed with a pair of knee-length breeches, stockings, and buckled shoes.

Overall, I looked like some kind of English nobleman.

“Remind me again why I’m dressed like this?” I asked as I gazed at my reflection sourly.

“It fits the concert's theme,” Octavia answered, not looking up as she sorted through her music. She was adorned in a matching outfit, but instead of beige, her coat was blue and she didn’t have to wear breeches or stockings. “Besides, you look dashing in it. Even with the scars.”

I pulled at the large, frilly cuffs. “Where did you even find this? It fits me perfectly.”

“I have my sources,” Octavia smirked.

“It has shoes,” I said, lifting a foot. “I haven’t been able to find a place that makes shoes since I got here. I had to make my own!”

“I have very good sources.”

“Well, I hate it,” I said before turning away from the mirror. My stomach twinged again, and I rubbed at it. “Alright. No use putting this off any longer. Let’s do this.”

“Right.” Octavia closed her music folder with a snap. “You remember the itinerary, yes?”

“...Yes?” I said, swallowing thickly.

“Three of our songs, then one of yours, then we bow and it’s over. Short, simple, and leaves them with something exotic for the finale.” She gave me a reassuring look that quickly morphed into a nervous one. “Erm… you did decide on a song from your world for us to play, yes?”

I nodded weakly. “I believe I have a good one in mind. It’s called “The Four Seasons”. Granted, I could only really remember the opening of it, but the, uh… “magic of harmony” thing should take care of the rest. It’s worked every single time in the past, so I’m not worried.”

“If you’re talking about what happened when we first played together, then I trust your word on it,” Octavia said. Tucking her music folder inside her coat, she lifted her cello onto her back and waved me towards the door. “After you, good sir.”

“I think I’m gonna throw up,” I muttered before grabbing my own cello.

We made our way down the hall towards the stage. The main curtain was still closed, but from the other side I could hear the murmur of dozens of voices; ponies talking quietly to each other while they waited for the show to start. The stage was decorated with various velvet banners and drapings, all centered around a pair of chairs and music stands center stage. Off to the side, partly hidden behind the hanging banners, was a massive grand piano with a burgundy velvet cloth draped over the open lid. A white unicorn sat behind it.

“What’s up, brony?” Vinyl asked softly as I moved across the stage. “Ready to make some music?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I murmured back. Sitting down in the right chair so that I could keep Octavia out of my blind spot, I set up the sheet music in the proper order. Octavia did the same next to me before getting her cello into position. We did one last quick check to make sure none of the strings became untuned on the way over. Then Octavia gave Vinyl a firm nod.

Returning the gesture, Vinyl cracked her neck before her horn lit up. Soft piano music filled the air, and the voices on the other side of the curtain died off in an excited hush.

Octavia gave me one last pointed look. I answered by placing my hand on the fingerboard and positioning the bow above the strings. She nodded for a third time, and the curtains slowly raised, exposing us to the crowd.

I stiffened as tens of dozens of eyes stared at me from out of the darkened auditorium. The sight sent my heart rate skyrocketing and my mouth was suddenly bone dry. The tremor in my hand returned and the bow bounced against the strings, making a soft whine.

Beside me, Octavia hissed something out of the corner of her mouth, but I couldn’t hear what she said. All I could hear was the cheering. The loud, bloodthirsty cheering—

Above me, the crowd of ponies roared with delight, pounding their hooves on the boxes and crates as they cried out for more blood. Bags of bits exchanged hooves as bets were placed and deals struck. Pegasi flitted through the air above, trying to get a better vantage point of the carnage below. Shrieks of human suffering rent the air, causing the crowd to roar louder, pumping their hooves wildly. A splash of crimson liquid exploded forth, sending the spectators wild.

“—Max!”

My left eye swiveled around and stared at Octavia.

“Are you alright?” she hissed, barely moving her lips. Behind her, I could see Vinyl giving me a concerned look as well, still playing the piano, waiting for us to start. Dimly, part of me realized that I had been sitting there for so long that she was repeating parts of the music in an attempt to make the long pause sound intentional.

I stared at both of them, completely frozen in place.

Then movement caught my attention.

A familiar face appeared from the gloom at the front of the crowd, right at the edge of the stage. Violet eyes gazed up at me with worry, accented by a faint rosey glow as her horn glowed mutely. We stared at each other for a moment before I felt myself relax. While my heart rate didn’t return to normal, it didn’t feel like my heart was going to explode anymore.

Twilight gave me a soft smile.

“That’s it. I’m stopping this,” Octavia muttered and she began to lower her bow.

“No,” I hissed back. “I’m… I’m fine. Let’s do this.”

By now, a general murmur of confusion was rippling through the crowd. I ignored them and focused instead on Twilight. From beside me, Octavia sighed before nodding. “Alright.” Positioning her bow back on the strings, she tapped her hoof in tempo and started to play. As music filled the air, the crowd calmed and the muttering faded.

Our first song was a slow piece. Something called “The Dawn of Harmony”. It was an introduction to help warm up the concert. Octavia would play a few phrases, and I would answer with a more chipper version, all the while Vinyl provided a background melody of soft piano chords. Then there were moments when we came together in a harmonic duet only to break apart again, falling back into calling and echoing each other.

I’ll be honest: despite my nervousness and my brief mental breakdown, it felt so good to be playing once again. The cool wood in my hand, the deep notes filling the air, and the scent of rosin—it was like taking a drink of cold water after a hot summer day. I threw myself into the piece, letting the world dissolve around me until it was only the sheet music and Twilight’s face, my gaze drifting between the two. She was my rock at the moment. As long as she was here, I was safe. Nothing could happen while she was present.

The first song came to a gradual end, the last notes of Octavia’s part fading into silence. Before the crowd had a chance to react though, we had launched into the second piece. It was the same tempo as the first, but instead of ‘dueling’ each other, both of us played in harmony, building off each other’s phrases in a swirl of notes. With Vinyl supporting us, it sounded like three separate voices all fusing together. Hence the name “Three Tribes, One Kingdom”. My part was light and airy, that of a pegasus. Octavia’s was steady and deep like an earth pony. And Vinyl’s—being on the piano—was sporadic yet majestic, signifying the unicorns.

The piece continued for a while until we all gradually merged into the same chord, all three of us ending the piece together. Like last time, there was not enough dead air for the audience to react before Octavia launched into the final Equestrian song.

It was a more lively piece, with trilling phrases and a high tempo beat. My bow flashed back and forth across the A and D strings, and my fingers danced quickly across the vibrating strings. Octavia answered my high notes with low notes, although the vigor remained the same. Her leg flailed back and forth, her whole body rocking in effort to keep the pace. Likewise, my right arm looked like I was trying to take flight. Now I can see why this piece was called “Flight of the Sisters”. By contrast, Vinyl’s part was more relaxed. For every eight notes Octavia and I seemed to play, she only played one.

It was a long song too. By the time we were nearing the climax, I could feel sweat dripping down my forehead. Octavia was breathing hard as well, but was able to maintain her composure as well. Up a scale we went, only to end the whole piece on a loud and abrupt note.

In the moments of silence afterward, many ponies began to clap politely and some general discussion could be heard as they commented on the music. I made the mistake of glancing out at the audience only to see that dozens of them were still staring just at me—the novelty of a human playing an instrument still new to them.

My gaze quickly darted back to Twilight’s smiling face.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Octavia watching me expectantly, waiting for me to start my piece. Taking a steadying breath, I focused on recalling the start of “The Four Seasons”, having had it drilled into my head by my instructor back in school. Just as I was about to start the piece though, something inside me shifted. A smirk flashed across my face as a completely different song suddenly leapt unbidden into my mind. Before I could stop myself, my bow was already moving.

Short crisp notes sounded out, silencing the crowd. Octavia started up along with me, playing short, accenting notes, the music of harmony letting her instinctively know which notes she needed. It was a slow piece at first, but steadily picked up speed. Faster and faster we went, far faster than any of the songs before. I could hear confused murmuring in the crowd, unsure faces glancing at each other. Still we played on, our speed growing and growing and growing until suddenly—

Thunder.