A Velvet-lined Case

Chapters

Bowstrings
Heartstrings
Broken Strings
Velvet Strings
Cello Strings

Bowstrings

Octavia opened her cello case and stroked the velvet lining inside with a hoof, smoothing the fabric before delicately setting her cello and bow inside and latching it shut. She stepped off the stage and began to search for a seat. After standing upright all night, she wanted to rest her hooves a bit. She looked wearily around at the full crowd, hearing some errors in the piano part. To be fair, Frederic had been playing the whole night too, and he was still playing. Finally, she spotted another gray pony like herself absentmindedly sitting at a table alone, a unicorn mare with streaked purple and white hair. She walked over and sat down, shoving her cello under the table.

After a few moments, the mare turned to look at her.

“I love listening to the music at these functions. It’s really good!”

Octavia wasn’t sure Frederic’s current butchering of Shoepin qualified, but in general… “I know.” she replied.

The mare seemed to look at her more closely, studying her cutiemark. “Oh! You’re one of the performers!”

Already tired of the conversation, Octavia answered curtly, indicating the cello case sticking out from under the table “Yes. The cellist.”

The mare, however, wasn’t done “Oh! Nice to meet you! I’m Twilight Velvet!”

Octavia made a quick calculation. On the one hand, she was tired and not particularly interested in conversation. On the other hand, connections were invaluable in Canterlot. This mare looked nice enough, and might be able to drop a good word or two for her. It was dishonest, using another for personal gain, but so was calling the rank improvisation currently ringing from the piano Classical music.

She smiled as best she could. “Oh, of course! Octavia. Glad to know you enjoyed my music.” Her ears began to ring. Was Frederic playing jazz now? Classical-inspired jazz? "I play frequently at public and private venues around Canterlot." There. That was fairly balanced, not too blatant, but hopefully enough to cause her to come to mind in case the mare across from her ever had a hoof in organizing such events. Currently, said mare was smiling expectantly at her, which prompted her to continue. "Ah, what do you do? Do you come to these sorts of events a lot?" If the answer was no, maybe Octavia could abandon her attempt at self-advertisement and...

"Oh yes. I do it for family, you know. I used to work as a librarian, but now I’m just sort of around…" Twilight gestured vaguely, sweeping a hoof at the surrounding room. Octavia found this attitude mildly interesting, in that it didn't contain any of the emotions she'd come to expect from fancy partygoers. No pride, distaste, or satisfaction... In any case, even if she did go to a lot of parties, Octavia wasn't sure that this mare would be able to push her any gigs. She didn't seem all there, especially since she'd started staring off into space after her last comment.

“Well, I... I’d love to get to know you a bit more, but I'm afraid I need a drink and a bite to eat...” Maybe she should go to Hayworthy’s as a reward for a job well done? It was a bit of trouble to lug her cello down there, but…

Twilight Velvet piped up immediately “Oh! Of course! I’ll accompany you to the refreshment table!”

Octavia thought fast. “Well, shouldn’t someone stay to watch my cello?” Not good enough, Octavia, she chided herself. Hayworthy’s was out of the question now. She could hardly say that and then cart it off.

Still, maybe the mare would recognize her rather transparent plea to be left alone. She looked up into the already standing unicorn’s face, only to see her beaming obliviously.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. The security here is excellent. I left my daughter in their hooves for her foalhood, you know!” Twilight Velvet laughed, turning her eyes to the floor.

"Your daughter?" asked Octavia in surprise.

"I… well, I’m the mother of Twilight Sparkle? She defeated Nightmare Moon?” she trailed off and laughed uncertainly.

Octavia's mind froze. This was no longer a normal, vaguely promotional encounter. Twilight Sparkle was Princess Celestia’s personal protégé. The mare in front of her was two degrees removed from Celestia herself. This could make or break her career. More likely break, to hear the horror stories told in bars by colleagues. She'd been there when Dulcet Tone ran into Blueblood while taking a break from performing on the clarinet. Not only did he never get back on stage, he never played in Canterlot again. As far as Octavia knew, after several painful months unable to get a gig, he ended up moving away and performing with a travelling show on the outskirts of Equestria. She looked down at her freshly laundered and ironed pink bow tie, resisting an urge to straighten it. She couldn't let herself be thrown out. Which meant, why was she looking down at her collar?! Her head snapped up, and she desperately regarded the mare holding her fate in her hooves, who was smiling uncertainly at her.

"Ah. Of course!" she ad libbed. Smile, Octavia! She gave a smile that was just about as wide as it could be while still possibly genuine, hoping to smooth over her moment of awkwardness. "Everypony knows about... Twilight. Sparkle."

Octavia added the second name to clarify, since the mare she was talking to was also Twilight. Unfortunately, Twilight Velvet didn't really react or respond to her pronouncement, and just kept smiling at her mildly. In the silence that followed, Octavia's thoughts raced from realizing that it might make sense for her to be sensitive about names to wondering how difficult it might be to start a career in Manehatten or Fillydelphia.

Finally Twilight Velvet gave a little, slightly nervous laugh. "Well, she'll always be my little bookworm filly in my eyes. When you get down to it, we're all just ponies." Twilight paused. "So... refreshments?"

“Oh, of course!” They'd stopped out in the hall just beyond the orchestra. Once they got moving again, everything should be less awkward. Octavia had probably been overreacting, this mare seemed nice. They made their way across the hall and to a table set with a punch bowl and h’ouderves. Octavia grabbed a plate and tried to strike a good balance between eating fast enough to sate her hunger and eating politely. Once she'd eaten enough so that attending the velvet gray mare was again at the top of her list of priorities, she turned back to her, but noticed something odd. Instead of staring at her impatiently, expectantly, or, Celestia forbid, disapprovingly, Twilight Velvet was staring into the space between the punch fountain and the desserts. There didn't seem to be anything there. Octavia considered just leaving for an instant, but there was really nothing preventing this mare from forming a bad opinion of her after the fact, not to mention that she would feel strangely bad abandoning her, at least so easily.

Instead, she decided to strike up a conversation. “So, you go to a lot of these functions then?” That was right, a nice exchange of pleasantries, this mare became indifferent or vaguely positive, and they could go their separate ways, her career saved or even boosted in the process.

“Oh, absolutely! You have no idea.” Twilight Velvet's head popped towards Octavia, giving her a smile. "Ever since my daughter moved to Ponyville I've been attending not only the functions I used to, but events in Canterlot in her stead. Last week I was at the Coltilla Premier, this week the Gala, next week the Canterlot Library Charity Drive. That's one of Twilight's, and I wouldn't necessarily go to the Premier if Twilight was here. Later on this week I'm attending the opera with Princess Luna, which, I have to admit, I'm looking forward to..."

Looking attentive, Octavia had somewhat zoned out listening to Twilight, filling a glass of punch from the fountain and wincing at a series of wrong notes from Shoepin. His rag at the Coltilla Premier had been much cleaner, and that was harder to play. He was a perfect pianist when fresh, but his stamina was a tad lackluster. Hopefully he was prepared for a full opera next week... wait.

Realizing that she was participating in a parallel conversation, Octavia asked a relevant question, choosing to ignore what she thought she'd heard about more royalty. "Did you say you're attending the opera next week?"

To be fair, Octavia wasn't the only one who seemed somewhat surprised to be participating in a conversation. Twilight Velvet stopped, as if surprised to even be talking to somepony, and her eyes went glassy for a moment before she replied.

"Yes, that's right! Luna's living in Canterlot, but since Twilight's living in Ponyville, it's up to me to help get to know her and represent my daughter in the process of reinte..."

As soon as Twilight began talking again, Octavia occupied herself by filling another glass of punch, which she hooved over to her companion when she was done. Twilight stopped talking when she took the punch and stared at the glass instead, allowing Octavia to get another word in.

"What a coincidence! My band will be filling out the orchestra!" It might not have been the most amazing coincidence, as many of the musicians in Canterlot ended up in the bandpit on opera nights, but it was worth a remark. Twilight Velvet, however, was still staring into her punch glass.

Recognizing the pause in conversation, she looked up to see Octavia staring at her. At a loss, she gave a nervous laugh, then took a big gulp of punch, before coughing on the sugary beverage. Octavia raised an eyebrow.

"Are you okay?"

Giving another restrained laugh, Twilight Velvet looked away. "To be honest, I find the drinks here terrible. I generally prefer a good dry wine."

This captured Octavia's full attention, and her reply was instinctive. "Red or white?"

"Huh?" Twilight Velvet still didn't seem quite in tune as far as conversation.

"Which type of wine do you prefer, red or white?"

"Oh, both are good. It depends on the situation. A fuller-bodied red is the best thing for a meal, while for something lighter, such as late at night, I go for white. Canterneigh Sauvignon is is my go-to red, while for white I generally have a Pinto Grigo or Rhenishling. As far as years go, there were a couple great crops six years back..."

As Twilight continued, Octavia felt her knees weaken, and she fell down into a sitting position. She had considered herself knowledgable about wine, but the mare in front of her was a powerhouse of practical knowledge. She found herself checking the grey mare's flank, making sure her cutiemark wasn't somehow a bunch of grapes or wineglass in disguise. Twilight Velvet, for her part, didn't even seem to notice that her audience was now sitting, and simply continued her wine-centric monologue. She took Octavia through a history lesson of recent vintages stretching from the Canterlot native to the furthest reaches of Equestria. Octavia was astonished to learn that there was such a tension between some vintages, wines from the same producer which would fluctuate wildly. She even learned about a lost vintage that Twilight mourned, a once popular Ponyville red from a vineyard which had stopped operation after weather mismanagement involving a few harsh frosts, as well as competition from the cheaper, more popular cider sold in the area. As she finished that thought, she seemed to come back to herself and look at Octavia once more.

Realizing that she was still sitting, Octavia shot back to her hooves. She had to get somewhere where she could drink something at least resembling the glory this mare had described, and she was running out of time before she crashed. Still, she felt she owed her something more than an abrupt departure. "To celebrate my successful set, given the... relative quality of the refreshments here, I was going to go elsewhere to drink and dine. Care to join me?"

"Oh! I know the perfect place, just around the corner on Rockheart Way." Twilight Velvet stepped toward Octavia, clearly inclined to join her.

Octavia was surprised by the other mare's acceptance, but even more surprised by the smile she felt creep onto her face. "Excellent! Let's go then!"

The two mares left the Gala and headed out of the castle, still trading wine preferences.

The table was filled with empty glasses and even in her fairly inebriated state Octavia had noticed the bartender glancing at the clock. Either Twilight Velvet was extremely generous with her bits when drinking with a fellow wine connoisseur or Octavia was in for a financial catastrophe after splitting the bill. Either way, they'd both enjoyed several glasses of very good wine.

"Twilight, I think we should..." Octavia tried to put into words her feeling that the evening was about to cave in upon itself.

"No, no, I tol' you... told you. I'm not Twilight anymore, that's my daughter. I'm just... I don't know, Velvet or somethi..." the grey mare was hunched over her own empty glass of what used to be a twenty-year old red. She'd drunk more than Octavia, who'd bowed out of some of the really expensive stuff she wasn't sure would fit her tastes. Octavia did vaguely remember from a conversation about Twilight Velvet's family earlier in the night that she felt she needed to take lengths to avoid being confused with her daughter.

"Alright then, 'Velvet', I think it's time we started..." Octavia acerbically quoted the name, trying not to let it show too much how she enjoyed the title the other mare had chosen for herself. Unsure of exactly how to describe what they should do, Octavia decided instead to demonstrate by action, using a hoof against the table to push her chair away and stand up.

Unfortunately, as soon as she was on her hooves, she regretted it. The world span headily, and Octavia realized belatedly that even though she'd meant to eat something here, she hadn't so much as looked at the food menu. Octavia buried her head in a hoof, both to stop the spinning and in exasperation with herself. She had a feeling like she was forgetting something else, too...

Heartstrings

Octavia woke up, head throbbing. Eyes still closed, she tried to recall the previous evening. Where had she gone? For whisky? No... it had been wine. With somepony. Another mare, possessing a grey coat and refinement almost comparable to her own. Velvet.... Something. Velvet... Twinkle? That didn't seem quite right, but she'd suffered enough thought. The mare would remain Velvet Twinkle for the moment. She slowly opened her eyes to a thankfully dark and silent room... which still wasn't her own. Octavia groaned. She must have been so drunk she agreed to stay at Twinkle's place. It looked like a hotel room. Twinkle had said... something about travelling a lot, loyalty bonuses and the like. Her mind still foggy she slowly got out of bed, ignoring the soft breathing of the other mare still in the bed. She moved lethargically to the door to the bathroom, willed her body through the doorway, and clumsily grabbed the empty glass. She turned on the bathroom faucet with a bit of trouble, it appeared to have been designed with primarily unicorns in mind. After a few moments of running water she brought the glass to her lips, careful to not spill it down her front despite her hangover. After allowing the water to absorb into her parched mouth she dumped the rest out in the sink and turned the faucet off. Deciding it might help she closed the door, locked it, and stepped into the shower. She turned the water onto an appropriately scalding temperature and simply stood there, absorbing the mild burn on her skin and the water dripping down her coat. She eventually reached for the soap as well as back into the prior day.

Well, at least the wine last night was good. It had to be right? Even if I don't remember it well. I could never have drank so much had it been poor. And Twinkle, she was nice. And... powerful? That's right, she knew Celestia's student. I couldn't have turned down another glass from her. What if she had taken offense? I would hate to see her hurt, because she's so close to the princesses. Oh, and the event I met her at last night. That went rather well didn't it? Frederic played well, for most of the night at least. And I played as well as ever. And my cello... her mind ignited on that word cello... cello... oh BUCK!

Any remaining fogginess was banished from Octavia's consciousness as she slammed her hoof down on the handle to turn the water off, simultaneously fumbling the shower curtain out of the way. Nearly tripping out of the shower she struggled with the doorknob before remembering she had locked it. Wet hooves working furiously she managed to undo the unicorned lock and threw the door open. She stepped into the main room of the studio, soaking the carpet. There, standing mid-yawn, her hoof almost covering her open mouth, stood the mare who had brought her here. Her light grey coat was pearlescent in the half-light. No... this wasn't Velvet Twinkle, it was...

"TWINKLE VELVET!" Octavia yelled, pointing at the mare across from her.

"Twinkle? Oh, no dear. It's Twilight. Er, Twilight Velvet." Octavia filed this information away for later, but pressed forward. This was no time for minor quibbles. She closed the the distance, pressing a hoof into each shoulder of the mare in front of her, the better to impress to her the gravity of the situation. "Where is my cello? Is it here? I didn't notice it. Did we leave it at the bar, I don't remember. I was so drunk and pleased at having... such good wine. No wait, did I even bring it to the bar? Did I even bring it... to the refreshment table? No, no I left it under the table, with the guards, you said it'd be safe, well, now it's safe, way too safe, security at the castle is tight and there's no way I'll be able to get it back and I have the orchestra tomorrow, and I need to practice, and there's no way I'll get it back in time and..."

"Octavia?" Twilight Velvet was looking up at her, her eyes wide, but this frankly wasn't the time for petty pulchritudinous appeals.

"I'll have to show up tomorrow emptyhooved, and beg them to give me a loaner. A loaner. Can you imagine me playing an instrument some other pony has already played?!"

"Octavia?" Twilight repeated, looking put out. Octavia realized that she'd been pushing the other mare, rocking her back on her hooves, but what was more important, her instrument or this mare's balance?

"A string will break mid solo because no one can possibly play one of those damned things with with grace, and I'll be left unable to play a quarter of my notes, and..."

"Octavia!" Twilight said forcefully, pressing forward and grabbing Octavia's hoof. "It's fine. We'll just go get it."

"Just... go... get it?" Octavia parroted. "Just go right past castle security and... get it?"

"Yes. We'll just go get it. It's really no problem. The guards know me. I visit the castle all the time and have nothing else to do today. I can help you past the guards, though really you could probably get them to let you through in any case."

Octavia's mind raced as she made sense of the new reality she found herself in, where castle guards were not the end-all-be-all. "Oh Goddess you're a life saver! Thank you so much. Let's go straight away." Octavia couldn't help but smile at her companion.

Twilight Velvet cleared her throat, blushing a bit. "Um, don't you want to dry off a bit first, dear?"
It was only then that Octavia realized that her wet fur was dripping over the carpet, and thoroughly matted besides. It wasn't exactly... modest. She felt a prickle on her own cheeks before wheeling around and reentering the bathroom to towel off.

"Well now," the guard said while puffing out his chest to an almost comic proportion, and embellishing his speech with a guttural roll. He was talking down to Twilight, tilting his head down and regarding her out of the corner of his eye.
"You know we can't allow just anyone inside. A mare can't just waltz up to the castle and claim to be up to Princesses' security standards!"

Octavia would have been more irritated if it hadn't been clear from his smile and easy manner that the guard was, in some respect, merely joking with them. As it was, she took only a moment to be aghast at his irresponsibility before clearing her throat and speaking up. "Well, they hired me to play last night, didn't they?"

The colt paused for a moment, still standing in his rather absurd stance, before bringing his hoof to his chin in thought. "I uh, I guess you got me there Miss..."

"Philharmonica."

"Well, Miss Philharmonica, I'll be glad to let the two of you in. I'd check with the Ballroom staff as they have probably found your cello and took it in back for safekeeping and security reasons. They should be able to find it for ya'."

Twilight Velvet beamed at him. "Thank you so much Steadfast."

"Not a problem miss! Any time!" he replied while opening the gate for them.

"Enjoy your shift!"

"You too! Uh, I mean..." but the mares had already disappeared through the gate.

They made their way to the Grand Hall where they'd met last night, and Twilight Velvet quickly flagged down a unicorn mare who clearly worked in the area. An exchange of pleasantries later the mare, one Tidy Tuck, went off to bring out Octavia's cello from where it had been provisionally placed. Octavia would normally have declined to let anypony else carry her cello, but she was feeling out of place, and didn't want to offend anyone Twilight was familiar with besides.

"Do you know everypony in the castle by name?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Well, not everypony. The castle is quite large and they regularly hire new servants so..."

"But if they aren't newer then you know them?" Octavia clarified.

"Well, when you put it that way..." the mist-grey mare's face grew slightly pink in embarrassment, although Octavia's astonishment precluded her taking too much notice. How could any non-royal possibly hope to be such a welcome visitor at the castle, no less know the name of almost every pony inside? Octavia was well-mannered enough to keep her mouth from going agape, but it was a conscious struggle. After a few moments of awkward silence Tidy returned with a cello case in telekinetic tow.

Octavia squeaked in excitement, rushing forward to pull her cello from Tidy's grip and lowering it and herself to the ground, ignoring the other mares' surprise. She knew her behavior was unbecoming, but she didn't much care. She quickly flipped open the latches and slowly raised the lid, to make sure nothing was amiss. She hovered her head over her cello to inspect it. The f-holes were in fine shape and the bridge looked perfectly intact, the bow unmolested. She sniffed, and smelled the familar dry, dusty and woody scent.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Octavia murmured, as much to Celestia herself as to Tidy. The cello was exactly as she had left it, undamaged by foreign hooves. After a gratuitous tuning and rosining, and a minute or so of aimless playing, Octavia managed to repack the case and return to her polite, aloof self. They thanked Tidy for all her help and left the hall.

Their walk back was a tad slower, Octavia now burdened by her cello case, having politely refused Twilight's offer to carry it. Walking past an enormous open door she stopped entirely at a glimpse of the hallway inside. Colors danced across the floor as the morning light illuminated the massive stained glass windows in the spacious hallway, easily taller than most Canterlot buildings. Twilight Velvet giggled at Octavia’s amazement then trotted through into the hall. Octavia followed her trepidatiously.

"Are we allowed in here?" she whispered, "This looks a bit more...” Octavia paused for a moment in order to find the right word "...sacrosanct than other parts of the castle."

Velvet responded unconcernedly "The door’s open. Why wouldn’t we be allowed in?" The slate-grey musician paused to assure herself that was logical enough before moving forward from the entrance to bask in the dappled colors. While the ceiling was no higher than in some other rooms of the castle there was far more reason to look up here. The stained glass windows stretched from floor to ceiling, so one had to skirt the far edge of the hall and crane her neck to fully appreciate their beauty.

Velvet walked to the center of the room, looking up at the window in the middle of the right-hoof wall. Octavia followed, staying a little behind her to better appreciate the scene. It appeared to contain the princesses, one a cool spot of shade despite the sun illuminating her, and the other seeming to increase the intensity of the morning light. Their horns flashed as they defeated the monster that was depicted between them. The creature they were vanquishing appeared to be an amalgamation of no less than a dozen creatures. Octavia decided that, were it not so artfully made, and without the sun streaming reassuringly through, it might have been quite disturbing. As though sensing Octavia’s thoughts, the older mare spoke up.

"This is the window that depicts the Princesses defeating Discord over a thousand years ago. These are the last panes made by the Crystal Artisans before their disappearance with their empire after King Sombra's takeover. Discord is said to be a force of nature, much like the Windigos. His force of nature is chaos, and the world was said to be so terrible during his reign that ponies simply trying to exist in the world were driven mad by its incoherency. However, by wielding the Elements of Harmony Celestia and Luna managed to defeat him and turn him into stone."

"To stone? Why not defeat him entirely?" Octavia asked, failing to keep a bemused tone out of her voice.

Twilight glanced at her. "I doubt a force of nature can be destroyed so easily. If I were to guess, stone is solid and unchangeable enough to be antithetical to his nature. In any case, he’s on display in the Canterlot gardens now." she said with a smile. Octavia nodded, then shivered slightly at the thought of such a statue sitting just outside.

She turned back to study the window some more, but her focus was ruined at the thought that Equestria had even had such an unsettling history, much less that this legacy was still on display in the sculpture garden. Besides, Twilight Velvet seemed distracted, glancing left toward the windows further down the hall. Octavia took this to mean that the most exciting windows were that way, but that she was too polite to interrupt Octavia's contemplation. She stood and walked in that direction, Twilight following a few paces behind. A surprising number of the windows seemed to depict the terrors of Equestria's past. An ice monster, a shadow monster, Discord again. Octavia skirted these, breaking into a canter, hoping for at least a few on tamer subjects. She saw one of Celestia, but that was across the hall, so it wasn't illuminated as strikingly. Octavia had all but given up hope that she'd be able to get any value from looking at these windows besides saving some face with Twilight Velvet when she came to the window at the end of the hall.

At first glance, there was no villain in this pane. Luna dominated the top of the window, her expression stern to the point of emotionless. An enormous purple web entangled her, twisting menacingly around her form. Octavia shivered, but looked down below at the six ponies who stood zapping her with beams, their coats lit colorfully by the morning sun. One looked very similar to the mare a few paces behind her, though her coat was a vibrant purple, rather than the grey Octavia was partial to. Even her cutiemark was similar.

"That's, that's..." she glanced at the Twilight behind her.

"Yes." said the less-famous mare, giving a slow nod. "That's my daughter, Twilight Sparkle."

"Oh." replied Octavia. "Then this..." she glanced at all the ponies willing to take on the Mare of the Night. "How did she get so many ponies to help her?"

"Funnily enough..." said Twilight Velvet, in a voice which caused Octavia to look over at her again, "she was always a very private pony in Canterlot. Extremely studious." she turned to Octavia and gave a weak grin before looking back to the window. "She met all of those mares in one day, believe it or not. Really makes you believe in 'fate', I guess."

"This window depicts her and her new friends defeating Nightmare Moon." She gazed fixedly toward the window in question, eyes gleaming. She seemed oblivious that Octavia was no longer looking on the window and was instead focused exclusively on her. "Twilight guided herself and her friends to discover the Elements of Harmony, lost for tens of thousands of moons, and used them to defeat the ancient curse on Celestia's sister, Luna." She sniffed, then looked down. "You know, these stars on my flank aren't just for show. When she was a little filly, Twilight and I used to stargaze together. I still wonder whether that's why she took the Mare-In-The-Moon so seriously."

Octavia couldn't help but reach a hoof out to the hunched form of the other mare. As she gently touched her shoulder, she felt Velvet's body shiver and rock with suppressed sobs. This was quite alarming.

"Hey. Hey! What's wrong? Everything is fine, right? Your daughter... she... she saved the world. Nightmare Moon was defeated. Everypony is safe."

There were a few more sobs from the floor before Twilight Velvet choked up a response. "Yes, everypony. Everypony except my daughter, the 'Saviour of Equestria', who's in danger of being called up whenever another monster comes..." she glanced down the hall, windows of past battles underscoring her point.

"Well... those were all defeated. The ice monsters..." Octavia tried.

"Windigos" Twilight Velvet supplied.

"...Windi-gos, Discord, the shadow thing..."

"Sombra"

"Sombra... they're all either defeated or sitting in the garden now, I sincerely doubt they'll be troubling anypony again."

Twilight Velvet was silent for a moment, still hunched over and rocking.

"Besides, it's not as if there's no good side, right? She's famous, and you benefit from everypony-" Octavia was interrupted again as Velvet began to cry once more.

"That’s just it. My daughter wields an element of harmony. My daughter saved the world. My daughter is the personal protégé of the ruler of the world, with all the prestige and danger that entails. And I’m just… nothing." she said through tears.

Octavia felt awkward but fuzzily remembered some of the conversation last night. About Twilight Velvet and her family trying to adjust to Twilight Sparkle suddenly saving the world with her friends, and the way that had turned their world upside down.

"Twilight…"

"Twilight is my daughter!" the savior’s mother snapped with a sob, being a tad harsher than she intended. Biting her lip she crossed her hooves in agitation, then continued. "I’m happy that my daughter did was she did and is who she is. Truly. But, I just…" She sniffled "I just feel so useless now. Like I don’t know who I am. And no matter how well I do something my daughter will always be how ponies remember me. I’m always just 'Twilight Sparkle’s mom'. And… And…" At that moment her ability to speak was overtaken by her emotions, leaving her only able to cry.

Octavia instinctively reached out with her other hoof and hugged her, allowing her to sob into her shoulder. Unsure exactly how to proceed, given she’d never really had another mare cry on her shoulder before, she simply reached a hoof up and calmly stoked Velvet’s white and purple mane. Octavia held her there for a minute while the grey unicorn let out the emotion she’d been bottling up.

A royal guard stallion appeared at the door they had come through, no doubt to investigate the sounds that were undoubtedly audible in the adjoining hall. However, upon seeing the crying mare he stopped in the door way, looking to Octavia. Giving her best "It’s fine, but please give us a moment" smile Octavia hoped he would wait outside. Celestia seemed to smile upon them as he simply hoofed a cello case inside the door and popped his head back out.

As the stream of tears thinned, Octavia gave the other mare a gentle pat and slowly separated from the extended embrace, looking into Velvet’s eyes to make sure she was alright.

"I’m…" Velvet began before sniffling for a moment and then continuing. "I’m sorry about that, I…"

"You don’t have anything to be sorry for," Octavia soothed, "but one thing. You’re a wonderful, brilliant mare, and you shouldn’t speak ill of yourself any more. Now, I know I haven’t known you for that long, but you’re certainly amazing, and your own mare besides." Velvet smiled in response, but said nothing. "So what if your daughter is 'Savior of Equestria,'" Octavia said in a jesting manner, "with two princesses in charge I doubt she’ll be called out on it, and you’re a very impressive pony all on your own." Velvet laughed slightly and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

"You really think so?" she asked, her voice betraying both her continued uncertainty in herself, and a desire to believe her companion.

"Filly, I’m pretty sure you know more about Canterlonian and Equestrian history than the princesses themselves." Velvet laughed again. This time a much deeper, mirthful laugh. "And don’t even get me started on wine. Both your knowledge, and your propensity to consume it." Octavia teased, punctuating the last words of the sentence with a playful jab. "Now, how about we head out of-"

The accomplished musician froze mid-sentence as Twilight Velvet planted a soft kiss on her cheek before stepping back. Shocked, Octavia looked over to see the other mare studying where her tears had stained the pristine marble floor.

"Thank you." Velvet said in barely a whisper. "For everything in the past day. You’ve been very kind to me, and I really appreciate it."

"You’re… very welcome." Octavia said, once again lost as to how to respond. Attempting to recover from the somewhat uncomfortable, but not entirely unwelcome, interaction she cleared her throat and attempted to pick up where they had left off. "Now, how about we head out of here. If you’d like I can tell you about one of my recent and more, shall we say, eventful performances?"

"Oh I’d love to hear!" Velvet responded, now fully recovered from earlier. As Octavia picked up her cello and began reminiscing about some of her past performances. On their way out of the hall she made sure to pause so that she could mouth a very gracious "thank you" to the guard pony before continuing the story.

Having walked well past the edge of the castle grounds and quite a few blocks into the surrounding city Octavia concluded the story, saying "And that’s how Frederic ended up having to replace a piano string mid concert with some of his own tail hairs!" Twilight Velvet laughed raucously in response.

"I'm so glad I met you. Things are fall less dull now that I can blow off some steam with somepony else," Twilight Velvet said having gotten her mirth mostly under control. "Unfortunately this is where we part ways for the time being, as I need to go back to the hotel and pack up a few things before checkout, and I've already walked a few too many blocks. Ah, not that I mind!" she quickly added seeing the concerned look on Octavia's face, "but I don't want to cut it too close."

Velvet stepped forward and gave Octavia a brief peck on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow at the opera, right?"

"Ah, yes. Yes that's correct." Octavia said, putting up a smile. "You'll be with the princess then, though, won't you?"

"Well yes, but it shouldn't be an issue. From what I understand the main point is to make her feel more at home right? So introducing her to more ponies should help with that?" something in her tone indicated that it wasn't exactly a rhetorical question, but Octavia kept herself from raising an eyebrow. Her stomach had fallen through her barrel ever since Twilight Velvet had kissed her again. This casual goodbye kiss indicated that the other mare was simply willing to kiss her acquaintances freely, which startled her. Looking at said mare, it appeared that she was still waiting for Octavia to respond.

"Yes, that's a good thought. Well, I shan't keep you any longer. I hope the rest of the day treats you well."

"You too!" And with that, the two parted ways. As Octavia walked back to her apartment she still couldn't help but feel rather down, although she couldn't quite put a hoof on why. As she entered and sat down her case inside she recalled the recent events from the past day or so. She had met a nice mare, had a few, probably free, drinks with her, and her cello was now as safe as ever. She flipped up the latches and opened the lid just to double-check. Yes, there it was, nestled into the velvet, just like she'd left it. So why did she feel so lousy? Chalking it up to nerves about tomorrow, she lifted it out, pressed the bow against the strings, and began to practice. Despite not being able to detect any shortfall in her meter or technique, she wasn't completely satisfied with anything she played for the rest of the day.

Broken Strings

Octavia was managing a good clip towards the Canterlot Operahouse orchestra pit when she almost collided with Shivering Reed. Fortunately, she was well-practiced in situations where somepony got right in front of her while she was carrying her cello at a full trot. She managed to stop herself and her cello just in front of Reed. She sighed, considering the effort it would take to resume her progress, and then realized that Reed hadn't gotten out of the way and that he was instead staring nervously past her. "Sorry." she said perfunctorily, supposing that she had been carting her cello along the underground halls a bit fast. When Reed still didn't get out of the way, she frowned.

"S-sorry." stammered Reed in reply "C-conductor Sostenudo wants to s-see you."

Octavia raised both her eyebrows at the news, but Reed was already gone in the streams of musicians heading to the pit. She sighed again and jostled her way over to the conductor's room.

The Canterlot Operahouse was enormous, and technically ancient, although it had been thoroughly maintained and remodeled over the past centuries. Under the stage ran a vast warren of rooms for the use of the performers. It was one of these rooms that was traditionally reserved for the conductor to review the upcoming performance. As she approached, Octavia reflected how rare it was to be called here in such a manner. She'd only had a preshow meeting like this with the conductor a few times, and that was always with her entire section. She hoped this was good news.

"Bad news, Octavia." Conductor Sostenuto spoke quite a bit slower than most Canterlot ponies, rolling every word out for a few beats. His mouth quirked in a controlled grin and Octavia's heart froze. While it tended to be difficult for conductors and musicians to get along, she'd liked Conductor Sostenuto. He was tough and uncompromising, but she'd thought he was fair in his criticism and she liked the dry jokes he cracked from time to time besides. She couldn't believe he was firing her right before a performance. "Long Stop seems to be out sick today." He stared at her a few moments as he finished, silent for about as long as it took him to say 'today'. "The First Cellist. I think you know him." At any other time that would have tugged a smile out of her, but Octavia was still dreading whatever came next. "This means that the solo part is yours. As Second Cellist. If you want it. We can alw-"

"No, no! I can do that part. I've actually practiced it recently!" Octavia interrupted. It was true. Since she hadn't felt like her music was up to snuff the past couple days, she'd decided that perhaps she just needed to play something different, and practiced both the First and Third Chair parts. It didn't change her self-assessment, but there was no passing up an opportunity like this. Performing her first solo in the opera house to the royal box. She would be living any musician's dream.

"Well then." replied Sostenudo, looking pleasantly surprised, "Thank you. Just, do your best." and he turned back to the sheet music he was reviewing.

Octavia cantered to the nearest practice room, and peeked around the door. Seeing it empty, she thumped her case next to the nearest chair. She opened the case and drew out her music folder, flipping hastily through the music until she came to the solo. She hoofed out the relevant pages and arranged the solo on the stand. She drew her cello carefully out of the case, took a deep breath, and started to play through the solo. She cringed at a too-long note, but her rendition was otherwise passable. She took another deep breath and played it again. No better, but fortunately no worse. She considered whether or not she had time to play it through once more. Time was certainly tight, but perhaps...

Her consideration was interrupted by Beauty Brass giving a soft cough from the door. She gave a quick smile before speaking, "Hey, Octavia. The conductor wants his cello soloist."

Octavia sighed, hurriedly packing her cello back into its case. "Yeah, that's me..." she replied, stuffing the sheet music back into its folder before tossing it in and snapping the lid closed. She gave a nervous laugh before hoisting her cello case up with a hoof. Beauty gave another smile as she said "Big part." Her voice was a bit soft and lacked intonation, possibly due to hearing loss caused by her sousaphone playing. Octavia had played several gigs with her, and liked her, if not as a friend, then at least a fellow musician.

They chatted mutedly as they trotted down the hallways to the band pit. "Nervous?" Beauty asked. "Marginally." Octavia replied, and gave another laugh. As they exited into the band pit Octavia got a moment to take in the audience. The operahouse was almost full. Looking to the back as she made her way to the cello section, she saw a dark blue mare with a glinting mane in the center box. Next to her, she thought she could just make out a small splash of grey which had to be Twilight Velvet. As she gave the crowd one last sweeping gaze before taking her seat, she was filled with a sense of calm exhilaration. She felt almost like when she was a filly, picking out melodies on her viola. A sudden resolution suddenly overcame her as she unbuckled her case and picked her cello from the velvet lining. She was going to give this audience a solo, one not just merely good, but memorable.

Octavia took a deep breath and prepared to retune herself, but she'd hardly touched the strings when the rest of the orchestra quieted and Sostenudo raised his forehooves for silence. The house lights began to dim and Octavia shifted in her seat instead, quickly arranging the music on her stand under the cover of the quieting murmurs of the audience.

The violins softly crescendoed into the intro of the opera. Several measures later Octavia came in perfectly on time with the bass section. She felt elated, as if Luna's eyes were already upon her. This wasn't any different from what she had practiced. The pit had two of each instrument on each part, expect for solos. She played by rote.

The solo came during a climactic fight in the second act and as the opera marched forward, the solo drawing ever closer, Octavia couldn't help but feel as though ever-watchful Luna had been replaced by Nightmare Moon herself. Though she could not look up for fear of losing concentration, not to mention seeing Twilight Velvet.

The spying presence pervaded her performance, suffocating it as her solo drew near. Practiced from many Galas before, she took a deep breath, touched the sheet music, and focused all her energy on playing the solo. It began soft as the colt on stage readied his lance, and grew in intensity as he descended down the stairs of the extravagant set on stage.

Her bow flew over the strings as the colt did battle with the antagonistic pony portraying the evil griffin on stage. The parries perfectly paired with the solo underneath it all. The colt struck true, as the story demanded, and when he did so the accented notes Octavia hammered away on rang clearly throughout the chamber. One thrust, another, and another, until the griffin was defeated. A triumphant chord played underneath the elated solo, as it came to an end.

High off of her achievement, Octavia had to practice breathing exercises while playing the remainder of the show to keep from rushing while accompanying the heartfelt singing that concluded it. She had never in her wildest dreams thought she might play the solo so expertly. She silently sent a prayer of apology to Luna, for thinking she might be the beast that had overcome her, and thanked the goddesses for her instrumental victory.

The show came to an end, as it must, and after the orchestra played the bows Octavia practically launched her cello into it's case, leaving it in the pit for recovery later, grinning ear to ear.

Octavia galloped up the stairs into the reception hall, searching for another grey mare. Suddenly, she saw a giant, ethereally blue, streak of starry hair bobbing above the crowd and headed toward it. She nearly ran smack into a cobalt blue stallion, and slowed her pace to navigate the crowd. As she approached, she caught Twilight Velvet's eye. Velvet smiled at her and beckoned her over with a hoof. Octavia took the last few steps toward the smiling mare and Luna.

Octavia's throat felt dry, so she gulped, feeling her mouth, before she said "Greetings!" The end of the word felt forced even to Octavia, and she fell silent. Luna's hair surged forward, falling towards the floor in front of Octavia. She tilted her head down slightly and stared toward her. Octavia opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. She froze, dreading the moment when the imposing figure in front of her would notice she was at a loss.

"Luna, this is Octavia! The cello soloist I told you about" came a voice from Octavia's left.

Suddenly, a change came over the somber face that regarded Octavia. It broke into a wide smile. The hair between Luna and Octavia flowed away as Luna stepped forward.

"Oh! T'was thou who dids't perform that solo so admirably!" Luna's voice was resonant and strangely intonated.

"Ah... yes! That was me!" Octavia was warmed by the memory of her performance as well as Luna's compliment.

She was still lost in savoring the memory when she noticed Luna's hoof extended toward her. She glanced back and forth between Twilight Velvet and Luna before gingerly placing her hoof onto the princess' silver shoe. Suddenly, the princess lifted her hoof slightly, pulling Octavia's up with it. "Congratulations!" she declared. Her voice was slightly louder than their earlier conversation, and several of the surrounding ponies noticed. Octavia could hear whispers running through the crowd. She flushed, and pulled her hoof back instinctively, using it to poke softly at the ground.

"T... Thank you. I was just..." Don't blow it, Octavia said a voice inside her mind. Unfortunately, this made her words dry up, and so she was left open-mouthed again.

This time, though, Luna saved the conversation "The method in which thou managed to prefigure the finale was remarkable! It recalled my time as a filly, when I woulds't listen raptly to Groningian chants." she smiled softly at Octavia.

Octavia was astonished, "You listened to Groningian chants?"

Luna's smile widened. "Indeed, whenever I hads't chance. They were the prevailing style of my fillyhood."

"Did you prefer the chants based around tetrachords or hexachords?"

"They both amused us greatly. I did favor the hexachord style somewhat, as it was novel in my youth."

Octavia's hoof fell to her cello. "I do enjoy playing hexachords, they are a great deal of fun. It must have been fascinating to be there for the development of music theory." She smiled back up at the princess.

Twilight Velvet stepped slightly toward Octavia and Luna, closing the gap between them. "Oh, I know a little about this. Did you like Anadolian or Dolian mode more?"

Luna flinched, jerking her head back a bit and opening her mouth, but not saying anything.

Octavia figured it was her turn to salvage the conversation. "We were talking about Groningian chants, there was no Anadolian mode back then."

Luna gave a small smile and seemed to relax a bit. "Indeed. That was after my time."

Octavia turned to Twilight Velvet, hoping some further detail would sate her curiousity. Twilight smiled at her as she explained, "Ponies in that age had to rely on transposition to create today's scales." She turned back to Luna to continue their conversation. "In any case..."

Twilight Velvet's voice came again from the left. "How did they tune things then?"

Octavia felt a spark of frustration ignite in her as she searched for a reply that would enlighten her partner and put an end to these boorish interruptions. "Twilight, don't be foalish, pre-Equestrian ponies relied on relative pitch to tune things." She shifted back to Luna, but Luna suddenly seemed to by preoccupied looking over her shoulder.

As Octavia considered whether she should interrupt Luna's contemplation of the middistance, a cobalt stallion with a crescent moon and star came up on Luna's left. He seemed somehow familiar.

"Hey, Luna, I hope you two enjoyed the opera. I know I wouldn't have..." the stallion gave a chuckle. "Say, where is Twilight?" he continued, peering around Luna's barrel.

"Ah, we were just conversing, but she left suddenly." Luna replied in a guarded tone.

"Just up and left? That doesn't sound like my wife." Night Light cocked his head. "Why would she do that?"

"We are... not sure exactly why. Perhaps Octavia knowst?" Luna replied.

Octavia was still processing the word 'wife' and was startled by the inquisitive expressions of the ponies in front of her. "Oh, we were discussing Groningian chanting and I answered her question about medieval tuning. Beyond that, I'm... also not sure."

"Thou dids't seem rather harsh of tone." Luna looked toward her, left eyebrow drawing an arc high on her forehead.

Octavia's mind replayed the last few moments as she studied the eyes of the ponies in front of her, and her heart sank. She'd made mistakes, more than one.

Velvet Strings

"I... I... we were just talking about chants..." Octavia stammered. She tried to regain some composure, but felt like she was drowning in Luna's uncompromising eyes.

"Hah, yeah, my wife loves her history. Did you snap at her after she talked your ear off about Barouche music? She loves that era. Five Barouche composers in a single conversation is too many, am I right?" Night Light joked. He quieted when he saw the stern expressions of the mares next to him.

Octavia's mind whirled. There was that word again. Also, it sounded like Twilight Velvet had an actual love for historical music, which shouldn't have surprised her. Even if her favorite era came slightly afterwards, she hadn't just been interrupting pointlessly. She felt terrible. Raising her eyes back to the princess' she said falteringly "I- I think I need to go find Twilight and... set things straight."

Luna's expression remained impassive, but her eyes seemed lighter. "Yes." she said "Please do what you must."

Octavia glanced back at Night Light, who didn't seem concerned. See her look, he grinned at her. "Let me know if you find her!" he said. "We can walk home together."

Her emotions surged as Octavia pushed through the crowded opera hall. She felt frantic. Where could Velvet be? Given what Octavia knew of her, she didn't actually enjoy being around so many other ponies at the best of times. She enjoyed places that were beautiful, secluded...

Octavia's eyes were drawn to the public garden next to the opera house. On instinct, she rushed out the doors and toward the garden, hoping that she was correct.

The garden was much quieter than the opera house. Octavia moved along the neatly trimmed paths in the twilight without seeing anypony else. She was losing hope when she heard a fountain up ahead.

A large marble fountain soon came into view, water lit magically from within illuminating the surroundings. Octavia was distracted for a moment by the intricate depictions of ponies and other animals, before noticing a figure slumped in the growing darkness at the base of the fountain.

The fountain had masked Twilight Velvet's sobs. At a loss for what to do, Octavia settled for sitting down next to her and putting a hoof she hoped was comforting on her shoulder. Octavia's heart twisted as Velvet continued to cry for several more moments. All her elation from nailing the solo evaporated. She now felt worse than if she had played nothing but sour notes for the entire opera. One of things that drove Octavia to perfect her practicing was that you could never redo a performance. Now, she reflected that this applied to other things besides music.

Finally, Twilight Velvet stopped crying and looked up. Her mouth dropped open and she looked at Octavia in surprise before adopting a forced smile. "O-Octavia." she said shakily. "It's... it's okay. You don't have to pretend."

"Pretend?" asked Octavia absently, studying Velvet's face carefully. Her eyes were shining in the dim light.

"I- I know you were just getting close to me so I could... show you around." Velvet winced. She took a deep breath and smiled sadly. "I-It's okay, now you've met the princess, she seems to like your music. You don't need me anymore." She began to turn away, crumpling in on herself.

"No!" Octavia surprised herself by grabbing at Velvet's shoulder and turning her back to face her. Twilight Velvet's wet eyes shone softly as she regarded Octavia, reflecting the light coming from the water. Suddenly, Octavia was conscious of the rich earthy scent of the gardens, she even fancied she was close enough to smell Velvet's fur. Seeing the tears on her face she was struck by a sudden impulse to kiss them off. Distracted by the uncouth thought, and noticing Velvet's eyes quietly watching her, her intended response jumbled in her mouth. "I- at first I may have been-"

It had been the wrong thing to say, especially haltingly. Octavia felt a sense of panic burn her chest as she noticed Velvet's expression getting imperceptibly sadder. She quickly placed her other forehoof on Velvet's other shoulder "But!" she continued. Oh Goddess, what was she doing? Instead of considering further she just let the words flow out. "As soon as you showed me how much you loved wine, and how much you knew about it, and then we went to the palace, and you not only showed me around, but you knew everypony, and also all about the history and..."

Octavia's muzzle was now close to the other mare's. Whether Twilight Velvet's grey face was wetter from tears or fountain dew Octavia wasn't sure, but the hairs on her muzzle and her mane were plastered back. She couldn't help but stare at the beautiful mare in front of her. She was so intelligent, caring, pretty... and sad. Octavia just wanted to make her feel better. There was no reason for the grey-coated mare to be unhappy. She was well-liked, quietly passionate, discerning... She was an excellent mother ...and she's married, Octavia said a voice inside her head which Octavia hated.

As if burned by the thought, Octavia pulled back, "I- like you, Velvet." she said quietly. "I... admit that I may have... taken some liberties with our relationship. I shouldn't have snapped at you and I- I shouldn't try to make it into something that it's not. I hope we can remain... friends." For some reason, Octavia felt miserable at the idea. She should be happy, her relationship with Twilight Velvet brought her so much joy, but she suddenly felt herself breaking into tears.

Her tears hadn't reached the end of her muzzle before Twilight's forehoof landed on her shoulder, pulling Octavia back toward her. Again, their muzzles were almost close enough to brush. "I like you too, Octavia." she whispered, smiling slightly.

Octavia swayed forward, letting their muzzles touch. Her lips found the end of Velvet's snout and suddenly Velvet's lips were pressing against hers. Octavia pressed in, hugging Velvet tightly. They spent a moment entangled like that before Octavia loosened her grip. Velvet tightened her hold and leaned back towards Octavia, starting another kiss. After another moment, Octavia pushed her gently away.

"W-w... ? Don't you have a husband?" she asked.

Twilight Velvet gave a bitter laugh that still held some humor. "It's not like that."

"Oh?" said Octavia. She stared intently at Velvet's lips and leaned forward.

Twilight Velvet smiled and leaned back in, rejoining the kiss. Octavia squeezed Velvet in her forehooves, then relaxed into the embrace.

Octavia rolled over and sighed contentedly. She examined her apartment from her bed, reflecting that it seemed so much more comfortable and cozy than she remembered. She turned back to the mare sleeping beside her and took in her pretty grey coat. It was probably all due to her presence. Like a low legato note, Twilight Velvet was lending a rich tone to her humble quarters. She rolled back to the mare beside her and wrapped her in her forelegs. This elicited a light groan before the mare raised her own forelegs and wrapped them gently around Octavia's neck.

It took Octavia a few moments to realize that Velvet's eyes were open and looking at her. "Hi." she said.

"Hello." said Velvet, smiling back at her.

"Well." said Octavia, relishing Velvet's gaze on her. "What shall we do today? I'm mostly free, though I should practice and..."

She suddenly sat up, staring around the room, but she knew it wasn't there "My cello?!" Next to her, she heard Velvet stifle a chuckle, and then she felt a giggle rise in her own throat. They both shared a laugh, Octavia relaxing despite herself. With Velvet's help she felt, irrationally, it would turn out all right anyhow.

Cello Strings

Octavia and Velvet trotted through the halls of the castle. Velvet was setting a quick pace, turning back and smiling broadly at Octavia every so often, and Octavia was having to rush a little to keep up. She'd thought Velvet had been walking slower in the castle previously out of a sense of decorum. Now, she wondered whether it hadn't been low spirits that had slowed her pace earlier. Or, maybe it was the opposite. Perhaps she was simply walking fast now, jovially drawing castle eyes to her new marefriend... or marestress? No, Octavia thought, blushing as she caught Velvet's eager gaze looking back at her, and shaking her head slowly back and forth as she rushed to catch up. Twilight Velvet had explained that, with two children and a town hungry for scandal, she and Night Light had mutually decided that the end of their romantic relationship didn't have to mean the end of their marriage. Still, as far as she knew, she was Velvet's first... extramarital activity, while Night Light had had at least two.

Soon, the decor changed as the two entered the castle suites, and Velvet slowed her pace slightly. It had been embarrassingly easy to find out that Luna herself had taken Octavia's cello from the operahouse. Upon arriving at the castle, however, they discovered that instead of placing it somewhere for them to pick up, Luna wanted to return the cello herself. Octavia worried that she might have offended the sovereign, but Velvet seemed to have no such concerns. Finally, Octavia found herself following Velvet down a side corridor, toward a stallion standing guard. As they drew near, Octavia saw that he had a pair of large, leathery wings folded by his sides. He held up a hoof to stop the pair, then nodded at Velvet.

"Twilight." he said. He turned, "And you must be Octavia." he said, looking at her. Octavia nodded, and the stallion looked her up and down for a moment before turning to one of the doors at the side of the hall and rapping on it with a hoof. Then he stood back, moving further down the hall.

The door opened Princess Luna and stepped out. She looked a little tired, but upon seeing her visitors she beamed at them, and a familiar cello case came floating out of the doorway, wrapped in dark blue telekinesis. It landed in front of Octavia, who hoofed it lightly towards herself.

"We took it upon ourselves to care for your instrument personally, in light of our meeting and recognition of your performance yester-eve." Octavia stared up wonderingly at the alicorn, and Luna smiled broadly at her. "We can continue our conversation on musical styles another time." She drew a forehoof up to her mouth to cover a small yawn, then gave another quick smile at the pair of mares. "We realize thou and Twilight had more... pressing matters to attend to." She winked at Octavia before turning around and returning to her room.

Octavia just gaped as Twilight Velvet laughed, then threw a forehoof around Octavia's withers and squeezed her to her side.

This time, when Velvet offered to carry her cello for her, Octavia accepted.