The Gray Area

It didn’t take long for the group to arrive at their destination, servants having already relieved Octavia and Vinyl of their burdens. Although the general mood seemed to be in the positive, Twilight looked particularly perturbed when Krysta caught up to them proper.

“Krysta, where are your shoes?” She asked very calmly and slowly, a familiar twitch running through one of her eyes. “I believe we spoke about your shoes.” Another twitch.

The girl in question looked downward and spotted her toes, the recollection of leaving them in the practice hall hitting her. She was lucky that her unclothed feet had gone unnoticed until now.

Vinyl looked down for probably the thirteenth time and suddenly pointed at them. “Shoes! See?! She actually has... um…” The white unicorn’s limb waved about in the air as a silent gesture for help.

“Feet. They are called feet and they are extremely del-“ Twilight began but it seemed Vinyl had only wanted the one word.

“Shoes! See?! She actually has feet that need shoes! That does it. I am never wearing those dumb things again. Like seriously, I’ve put one of these bad boys through a woofer before. Only thing shoes do is break.”

All present had mixed levels of amusement. Some of them however had larger levels of annoyance, those being Twilight and Octavia. The earth pony spoke up first, a dry tone lacing her words.“Vinyl, you meet a new intelligent species and the first thing you do is find an excuse not to get dressed up? Please tell me you are more intellectual than that.”

“Um, yeah! I am super interested in her culture. And stuff.” The DJ sounded bored beyond anything else, earning a chuckle from the Princess who had remained silent up until this point. It seemed like once again Twilight missed her chance to speak.

“As much as I would love a conversation about the merits of foot and hoof wear, I believe the tea is already cooling. We will deal with shoes later. Those with toes, keep a watch on them.” She repeated everything a second time in English, a pleasantly amused smirk following the gaze of the sheepish human.

Vinyl took the opportunity of Celestia turning about through the door of the chamber to flick Octavia’s flank with her tail, followed by a teasing whisper. “Is this gonna be like that bunk dinner you dragged me to with like, eight spoons? I don’t think I could survive another crash course in how not to embarrass you. Also, will I need my ruler?”

Octavia answered the teasing with a flick of her own, though hers was powered with a stronger intent than Vinyl’s. The white unicorn winced but said nothing, her teeth flashing that signature grin despite the slight red spot forming upon her flank. Meanwhile Krysta, totally unaware of the tail fight happening right behind her, was simply overjoyed to come to this room again. Every time she entered these doors she swears she leaved about ten pounds heavier. All in sugary goodness.

Twilight stared straight ahead, fuming so hotly she was only a few degrees away from steaming ears. Had it not been the Princess who got the last word in, her scathing admonishment would have been unleashed. Instead she took her breaths, counted her prime numbers and followed everyone else in at the end with a much cooler head.

They found their spots with relative ease, Twilight and Krysta on either side of their teacher of course while the musicians sat across from them. Both looked pleased to be there, yet tense. As was the usual when dealing with ponies who have never had tea with royalty. Golden light spun down the monarch’s horn and slowly crept its way to her throat. A spell Krysta and Twilight knew well by now that allowed the human to hear English while the ponies heard Equestrian.

“So, I can see you were here to practice. Your music is well loved Octavia. Particularly among the court. I trust you had a successful afternoon?” Golden magic wove about in ribbons of energy as a tea cup floated to her lips while it was still manipulating her voice. Another strand wrapped itself about the sugar container, ready to add more granules at a moment’s notice.

Violet eyes couldn’t help but shimmer as one of Equestria’s royalty spoke well of the earth pony’s music, the praise making a gray hoof bashfully play with the pink bow tie about the mare’s neck. “Indeed your highness! It went splendidly. I had quite the audience as well. I have never seen somepo-, hm, someone so moved before.”

The fiddling hoof motioned towards the human’s face, making the redness of her previous tears more apparent. The princess looked over that redness with a mysteriously small smile, eyes eventually closing in thought as she sipped her now perfectly sweetened tea.

Within the brief interim that followed, gentle clinks and sloshes sounded from the collection of cups. Each one there had a solid grasp upon their favorite method of taking tea. That is of course except for Vinyl. The unicorn’s saucer looked more like the table space of a mad scientist, a bit of almost every condiment available within its confines. What resulted within Vinyl’s cup was something no one there at the table thought was natural.

“I see. I had wondered about what had pushed her to tears. I imagine that Krysta has never been an audience member to such a performance.” The human shook her head to confirm it. “Hmm. And what are your thoughts Krysta? About that music?” Her eyes scanned the human slowly and thoughtfully, consideration deeply etched into her face.

~It was amazing Princess Celestia! Did you know that Octavia makes those sounds by dragging strings across other strings? How does that work? Is it more magic? I wish I could hear more of it. Are there many ponies who play music like that? Can we go listen to them?~ Her enthusiasm ran away with her mouth as it tends to do, causing Celestia to lightly chuckle as she translated.

“Yes little one. There are many more talented ponies here that would love to play for you. We shall visit them in due time. But first, I think we should discuss your recent absentmindedness.” Her voice remained cheery despite the seemingly negative verbiage, eyes flicking downwards upon bare toes. This received another sheepish smile from the girl. “I do not subscribe to negative reinforcement. So instead I would like to make a deal with you. With all of you.”

Every ear at the table perked up at that within the same moment, each eager and ready to hear of this deal. Whenever the Princess of Equestria says something like that, it is guaranteed to be interesting.

“Octavia, Vinyl, I would like to hire the both of you to teach young Krysta here music.” A tea cup nearly shattered as it fell from suddenly surprised fingers onto the saucer mere inches below it. “If she works hard on her studies and stays mindful of her responsibilities that is." The princess noted with amusement at the human's cup. "It would pay well, be entirely around your schedules and you would both have rooms here in the castle. You need only use them if you wish, even if it is during a time without practice.”

The most common emotion running through those present was shock, though it quickly gave way to curiosity and interest. Krysta managed to skip all of that and start on overjoyed, quickly working her way up to ‘too excited to breath’. Vinyl was the first to speak up.

“Wait wait wait… You’re telling me that I get bits and a killer room, all on my schedule? Um, no offense Princess but what gives? I see why Octavia. She is snooty enough. AND she plays an instrument. I drop beats. Waaaay different lady I can tell you th- Ow!! I mean, Princess.” The unicorn rubbed at her leg with a pout, a suspiciously wide smiling Octavia taking over the talking soon after.

“What she means to say Princess Celestia, surely there are more qualified ponies available. Ponies that could dedicate more time to Krysta to help her learn.” Twilight and Vinyl both nodded in agreement at that, each considering the ramifications of such an arrangement. Even if it was on their schedule, it would still require consistent attention. The kind of attention that bars sudden trips to Las Pegasus or other such shenanigans the DJ seemed to find herself in. Octavia more often than not was dragged along of course, though she did remain decidedly more sober than the unicorn ever did.

Celestia mirrored their nods and sipped, setting the whole thing down with a gentle clink afterwards. “That is true. But as Twilight would attest, friends end up being more important than anything else. You would be her teachers and her friends. And friends are something she definitely needs right now.”

“As for you Miss Scratch, I don’t frequent dance halls or raves, but I do remember a certain white unicorn filly with a lovely voice in my school. Isn’t that how you managed to get your cutie mark after all?” White fur filled with blush as the DJ offered a hurried nod. “Your skill is undeniable and invaluable to Krysta, particularly while she learns our language.”

This only partially sated the unicorn but she was hard pressed to voice an objection. The princess is right of course, and the gig sounds easy as pie. Vinyl instead let her eyes wander onto Octavia, waiting for the earth pony’s opinion on the matter. The violet eyed musician caught the gaze and followed through, speaking her mind about it.

“Well, it is certainly intriguing. I am guessing then that I would be teaching her an instrument. I am proficient in enough that she should have quite the options.” Her eyes took in a swift nod from Vinyl. “I suppose the only question is, would there be a term of obligation involved?”

“No Octavia. You would be free to move on at any time if you wish. Especially so if you remain friends.” This confirmation seemed to seal the deal for the pair of musicians, each looking between the princess and an excited Krysta before offering nods.

“Very well. We will speak later tonight about the details then. Now Krysta, know this. If you fall behind, or fail to follow the rules, you will not be allowed to participate until you correct your mistakes. This is not a punishment. This is your reward if you continue to impress me. You have come a long way so far, and I hope one day to put this spell to rest and hear you speak with your friends on your own. And hopefully, create music with them as well.”

~I understand Princess Celestia. I promise to keep it up! And not stop until I get it right!~ This seemed enough to please the monarch, but there was still a pony present who had some confusion.

Twilight cleared her throat as gracefully as one could, speaking up once she got the princess’ attention. “You said the deal was for us all. Is there something else you wanted me to do?” The lavender mare quirked an eyebrow to go along with the question, unable to deduce what it could be the princess wanted from her other than continued Equestrian lessons.

“Yes Twilight, there is something I need of you. I want you to go back to Ponyville. Spend time with your friends, tend to the library. I will take over all teaching of Krysta. You make a wonderful teacher my faithful student, but you have other matters to attend to. So, once your current set of lessons is complete, I will be expecting another letter.” She held a large smile upon her regal features, though her words held a finality to them that didn’t leave interpretation of a suggestion.

Twilight had the good sense to see this and of course agreed, allowing herself a small, sad, sigh once done. “At least you aren’t too far away. This just means I have one more reason to visit Canterlot more often.” An exchange of smiles and laughs took place between the three of them, leaving the musicians to simply watch. Bittersweet moments make for excellent watching it seems.

“I sincerely hope you do Twilight. There are many ponies, and a human, who would love to see you.” A great, white wing dragged itself against Twilight’s back in a sign of affection before the princess returned her attentions to the two other ponies.

“Now then, Miss Scratch. I trust that there will be no need to worry about adding vulgarity to Krysta’s vocabulary, correct?” The return of the nervous expression threatened giggles from her. Sometimes, as the princess, she loved her job a little too much.