Fortepianoby AevusChaptersWell, That Went Bad.A Trying Failure and a Flustered WaiterA New Day, a New SongA Star in GoldCrescendoForteGoing to a First PracticeWell, That Went Bad.You are tired of all this crap. Your mom always raving about stupid upper class stuff. All crap! In your opinion this house may as well be the seventh circle of hell! Your dad is just as bad, saying you'll never amount to something with your violin. Saying that it is an instrument meant for mares! Ha! you'll show them what you can do. Yea that's what you'll do, that will show them who is the boss of your life, of your pride. You've been working up confidence for a week, come on Allegro you got this. "ALLEGRO!" Dad screams almost shattering your eardrums. "You dare talk like that to me, your own father! I care for you for all of your years and this is what I get! You are the worst son ever, you're failing at school, play the violin, and now you're talking like this to me!?" Dad takes another step towards you. "Also, you talk about your mother like that again and your violin gets set on fire, understood?" He says in a strict tone, but instead of nodding your head like he thought you would, you simply start running. You already have your violin with you, and all the bits you've saved up are in a small pouch at your side. It's not much, but it'll last you a couple of days, and that's all you need. By now you've sprint out the front door and your dad hasn't even given chase. Heh, you think, figures he doesn't even care, this is exactly why I left. Streets and houses of various colors fly by as you run away from home. A few ponies give you weird looks, but you just keep on running down the marble streets towards the center of town. You're a good length away from your house when you slow down to a trot. Wow, you think, this place is huge! Your dad almost never let you leave the house except to go to school and that was right next door. You've never actually seen Canterlot and wow is it amazing. The streets are extremely wide and full of ponies, the buildings painted bright greens and blues in contrast to the streets' pale white. Every time you had asked your parents if you could play outside with friends they would respond with, 'No, go to your room and study.' or 'Go play with your sister instead.'. Yea, such great parents they were making you stay home alone with nopony but your stupid 3 year old sister. Anyway, you're walking towards the market center. The town square doesn't seem particularly noisy, just crowded. Oh well, you think to yourself as you find an open spot and unpack your violin.You start to play, and you can hear the other parts of the song in your head. Ponies take notice to your music. You close your eyes and let the music flow through your hoofs. You don't even notice when a few ponies throw bits your way. The only thing that matters right now is the music. Notes seem to swirl around you the song comes alive. You draw your bow across the bow with passion that rivals all else. Phrases end then the song ends. You open your eyes and are greeted by at least 2 dozen cheering ponies. One in particular catches your eyes, she has a grey coat and a sleek black mane. Eyes are locked on you and seemingly looking through your soul. "Um... Hello?" You say, she takes a step closer and you can now see the cello case swung around her. "Do you want something?" You ask. "Oh yes, sorry to be so rude but, who the hay are you!? That song was amazing, it flowed perfectly!" She now reaches out a hoof. "Octavia Philharmonic 1st chair cellist of the Canterlot Royal Symphony. I just wanted to ask if you were going to be at the auditions later tonight." You politely shake her hoof. "Auditions? What auditions?" "You don't know? Oh well, just come to the concert hall at eleven and bring your violin." With that she turns to leave, but before she does she glances over her shoulder. "And don't be late, we could use a violinist like you." With that she walks away. The rest of the afternoon you continue to play and entertain the crowd, earning yourself a few bits. You feel a little bit tired come 10:30, but by then your walk up to one of the stands and ask for directions. The stand you walk up to seems to be a small temporary cart with a makeshift roof thrown above it. As you approach the orange mare behind the counter greets you. "Howdy partner, in what way can ah be of help?" "Could you direct me to the concert hall?" She nods and points to a large building with a domed roof and stone carvings covering the sides. "Thank you." You give a small nod then start trotting towards the building, when you enter you remember something. You forgot to dress formally. Crap, as you walk by ponies give you glares that could have been made into deadly weapons. You reach the front desk and ask were the auditions are. The idle mare just points a hoof lazily down the hall and mutters something that sounds remotely like 'good luck.'. You nod and trot down the hallway met with more looks of disgust, except one mare who grins when she sees you. "Ah there you are! I knew you would show up, now just follow me to the stage and we'll start the auditions." Ponies give you looks of confusion and hate as you follow Octavia to the stage. When you reach it you only see one small chair in the middle with the spotlight on it. You also see a small line of ponies holding violins. "Go ahead and get in line while I start the auditions, k?" You nod and get in line. You get your violin out and start playing a few scales like the others have. Yours are different though. They're filled with flowing dynamics and soulful notes. By the end of the scales you can't help but notice most of the line is now staring strait at you. There eyes wide and some jaws dropped, one mare simply started crying and ran off. "Whats the big deal?" The rest of the line continues to stare in disbelieve until Octavia's voice rings trough the room. "Welcome, welcome to the violin auditions for the Canterlot Royal Symphony, we will begin momentarily." Octavia trots back stage to see have the line still staring at you. "What did you do, play a scale?" She asks sarcastically. "Yea sorry about that, should have waited for the auditions to start to utterly blow their minds. Anyway we got auditions to start!" With that comment they start. Most of the players are mediocre at best, playing pieces they think are impressive but obviously aren't. Eventually it's your turn and heck are you nervous. As you walk out to the stage a few snickers echo through the parts of the crowd that hasn't heard me play. Oh well, Lets Play! The song starts well and now your drawing attention. The ponies that were leaving now stop, the notes gush forth with all the emotion you had pent up as you try not to drag the song on to long. By the end you fell confident. That was awesome! A Trying Failure and a Flustered WaiterYou are currently siting on the stage, in the lone chair located there, and you are speechless. Dozens of ponies are clapping their hooves together. They're not stomping, which shows some appreciation, bit clapping, which shows great appreciation. You are now standing, but not by your own will but rather the will of the grey mare that now raises your hoof. "Mares and Gentlestallions, the judges have made their decisions and we would like to officially welcome our new violinist..." She turns to you and you notice she wants your name. "Allegro," You say. "Allegro Fortepiano." With that you two take a bow and start to leave the stage, but not before one unicorn interrupts. He is dressed in a nice suit has a brown coat and a sharp yellow mane, and is standing next to a violin case. You recognize him as one of the judges. "I for one do not approve of him!" He announces, gasps and murmurs ripple through the room. "If this ruffian can not even remember to wear a suit or at least some kind of formal dress, he can not be trusted to remember rehearsals and performances!" "Rococo calm down, even if you don't approve he scored perfectly otherwise." Octavia responded with a confident stride forward. "And besides, he's ten times better than the others." At that some of the more up-tight competitors take offence while the others are humble enough to accept defeat. "Oh is that so?" He takes a step and is now only about 2 hoofs in front of you. "Then you won't mind if I pick one contestant and pin him against Allegro, will you?" He enfisized the last two words. "Fine but only if we have to play a duet with our contestant!" That takes a second to process, but when you do you freak out. A duet with Octavia! This is amazing, you think, but it also makes you extremely nervous. "Fine then I chose her!" He shouts, pointing at a mare that has a cello sitting next to her, she perks up and her eyes go wide as he points at her. "That will make it even." "Fine then," Octavia replies as you and her walk to the stage. You both get out and tune your instruments as your challengers do the same. As you finish Octavia speaks, "You can go first Rococo." The stallion mearly nods and him and his partner play! The song is slow and heartfelt, defiantly not your style, though as it goes on it escalates. The violin players takes the lead. "This is usually how Rococo plays," Octavia whispers in your ear. "As his name implies his music is mostly, but not always, excessive, ornamental, and trivial." They finish and the crowed gives a polite applause. Rococo gives you a smirk as he leaves, and you two get ready. You both start to play! The music is enchanting, flowing freely and reverberating through the room. It's one of the few songs you actually fully know by memory, and it's as if you silently agreed before the performance to play it. The music is starting to grow and the audience can here it. Rococo and his partner are staring in awe with the rest of the crowd. Your music draws to a close. Hoofs instantaneously meet their matches as the concert hall fills with the sound of cheering ponies. You close your eyes then open them again, you are once again standing with Octavia, hoofs raised. You two take your bow and the walk off stage, when you get to the bottom you are greeted by Rococo. "I'm sorry for judging you earlier, welcome to the Royal Canterlot Symphony." He extends a hoof and you shake it. It's then that you see a white mare approach. Though your parents may have tried to keep you separate from the outside world, you still recognize her. Her electric blue mane layered in seemingly random layers, yet it still looked good. "Hey, you," She waves to you as she walks over. "Good job out there." She turns to Octavia. "You to, Tavi." You chuckle a little at the nickname. "Thanks Vinyl," Octavia replies. "And I thought I told you not to call me that!" "I for one think it fits you." You reply and she puts on a fake frown. You can't help but laugh at the frown, it's the worst fake frown you've ever seen. Vinyl joins you in laughter and soon both of you are one the ground holding your sides. You soon recover and stand up. "Fine, then I guess I just won't take you two to dinner like I was going to." She says in the most fake sad voice you've ever heard. Note to self, Octavia is terrible at faking emotions. Like really terrible. "Ah, come on Tavi," Octavia cringes at the nickname. "It's just a joke and anyways," She leans closer to Octavia's ear. "You know you want to go." Vinyl finishes in a very seductive voice. "Vinyl not here!" Octavia shouts and you and Vinyl once again burst into laughter. Wait a second, not here does that mean..... Celestia dammit! Octavia's with Vinyl. "Whatever so where are we going?" You ask. "Oh, I have reservations for three at Osteria Francescana, I was going to bring the winner along with me and Vinyl when we went. If you don't want to come with you don't have to." You quickly nod. "Of course I want to eat with you guys, plus I haven't eaten all day." You say that last part under your breath. Octavia and Vinyl glance over at you with a quizzical look, but then turn back to Rococo. Everyone says their goodbyes and you three leave for the restaurant. On the way out you are congratulated and complimented on your performance. You feel proud of yourself, If only my parents can see me now, wait they probably will. Crap. When you arrive at the restaurant you are greeted by a black stallion with a red mane that was cut short. He looks up and cringes as he sees you, probably because you lack formal dress. "Good evening miss Octavia, do you have a reservation?" Octavia nods and the waiter shows you to your seat. Your near a stage were a few ponies are preforming, you also notice that the ponies aren't exactly doing the best job on the song they're playing. Octavia and Vinyl notice this too and when the waiter comes over to get your order you decide to mention it. After you order you get the waiters attention. "Sorry sir but could I please help the ponies playing the music? They are simply not doing the song justice." He looks you up and down. "Like you could even come close to the skill required to play the music they play." He retorts with a small smirk. You, being the brave pony you are, accept his challenge. "Challenge accepted," You pull out your violin case and pull out your violin. You start walking towards the stage and the ponies on the stage look at you with puzzled glances. When you walk onto the stage the leader of the group cuts them off. "What the hay are you doing?" He asks in a threatening voice, by now almost all the ponies are facing you and the others on the stage. In answer you lift your bow and say one thing. "Making the music better!" You shout as you draw your bow across the strings, a beautiful solo. Almost instantly all the eyes in the room are on you. You feel slightly nervous and the waiter that had criticized you earlier is just standing there, dumbfound. You feel the song coming to a close as you draw your bow across the strings one last time. You take a bow and proceed to walk off the stage, heading strait for the waiter. "Was that good enough?" Authors note: Yay! Chapter today cause I got school off for labor day! A New Day, a New SongAfter dinner, which you got for free because of the song, you realize something. You had nowhere to stay the night, not even a sleeping bag or a tent. Before you panicked though, you calmed yourself. Octavia and Vinyl stand to leave, but before they do you ask them. "Hey girls, you know of a place where I can sleep, I'm kinda homeless right now?" They look at each other and then back to you. "Yea, we've got an extra room if you need it." Vinyl responds. As she do you let out a breath that you didn't know you had been holding. You three work your way to the door, receiving some encouraging looks and complements. You follow the two mares through the street for awhile until you reach an apartment building. It wasn't huge, but then again you didn't expect it be either. The roof tiles were a navy blue and the inside was an ugly off white. You feel your inner interior designer puke. The mares lead you down a hallway and up a flight of stairs. You arrive at a small wooden door and Vinyl unlocks it with a silver key then you three enter. The walls are no longer an ugly off white but rather an even uglier wallpaper. You feel your inner interior designer fall to the floor of your mind, convulsing. You shake your head and clear your mind of that thought. Octavia is the first to speak. "Your room is the second door to the right." You nod and head for the door. You open the door with your hoof to find a blue room with a small bed in the middle. You put your violin down and collapse on the bed. You here Octavia and Vinyl walk past your door, presumably to their room, as your eyes close and you drift to sleep. You awake to the sun shining in your eyes, the sound of hoofs hitting wood as somepony walks past your room. You slowly climb out of your bed and grab your violin. You exit your room to see Vinyl on the other side of the room, walking back and forth, wearing a worried expression. "What's wrong?" You ask entering the room. She looks at you and you notice for the first time that she doesn't have her glasses on. Her eyes are a beautiful red, only reddened further by the tears dripping down her muzzle. "Tavi left earlier to go shopping and I haven't seen her since." She says leaning against you, burying her muzzle in your mane. She stays there and cries for awhile until you speak. "Well what are we doing here then! Let's go look for that mare!" You say in your best encouraging voice, which isn't very good. Vinyl releases you, her coat stained with tears but she nods and you both head towards the door. You push it open and once again cringe. Your inner interior decorator is holding a knife to its throat. You two continue down the stairs and out the door. You head strait to for the market, cold rain pouring down from the sky. Once you get there you see a most unpleasant seen. A grey stallion stand yelling at Octavia, he's saying something about the academy. The academy had burned down in a fire caused during the final testing. Vinyl runs forward and interrupts, insulting the stallion further. He backs off slightly and turns around. Then his cutie mark changes. It CHANGED, completely and totally altered itself. Instead of a passive green leaf it was now a picture of two crossing swords. He suddenly spins and a sword forms at the tip of his horn. You try to muscle through the crowd that had formed but it was to thick and you can do nothing but watch in horror. He lunges at Vinyl, aiming for the kill, you close your eyes and wait for a scream from Vinyl, but you instead here one from Octavia. Your eyes shoot open as the crowd utterly freaks out. Octavia had pushed Vinyl out of the way. That was true love if you've ever seen it, but the bastard still stabbed Octavia. Octavia collapses into Vinyl's arms as she passes out from blood loss. Vinyl is crying into Octavia's mane, her coat now dyed a crimson red. The stallion teleports away and you rush to Octavia's side. "Vinyl if there's any chance for her to live we need to get her medical attention instantly." She just nods and mumbles something incomprehensible into Octavia's mane and you use most of your magic to teleport to the emergency treatment room. The nurses and doctors take one look at you three before their eyes widen and one of the doctors starts walking away. He had an hourglass as his cutie mark and was muttering something about a different timeline. One of the nurses however starts to levitate Octavia and Vinyl reluctantly lets go of her. Vinyl stand and follows the nurse into a room, you try to do the same but you collapse promptly onto the floor. Your vision blurs slightly and the edges of your vision goes black. Must be a side affect of the teleport, you think. You never were good with magic that required that much magic. The last thing you see before the darkness consumes you is the face of a nurse and a very concerned purple unicorn. Authors note: This story is taking a lot out of me, but I hope it's worth it for you guys. Today though I've got a few things to say in this note. - First: If anypony has an OC and doesn't already write, I'll gladly write them into the story. There are some rules though. One, you have to give me a description and a picture. I don't care weather that be by comment of PM. Dos, the character will be in my writing style, so if you don't like my writing then guess what. You probably won't care for the way I write your OC. Don't worry I'll credit all people that want me to write their OC, if any! Ok guys that's it for this time, Good Luck to all you people, and have a good day. P.S. anypony that can name the story that scene ties in with gets 10 brony points. A Star in GoldYou slowly drift into consciousness. The smell of a newly cleaned room fills your nostrils. You look around and notice that you have a terrible headache, like really, really terrible. You turn your head again and are greeted with the sight off a nurse. She has a white coat and a red cross with four pink hearts surrounding it. She's writing something down on a clip board and as you look over she doesn't notice. She notices you're awake after about a minute of this and hands you a letter. "Straight from Twilight Sparkle, said to meet them at the Wonderbolts stadium. You're free to go when you want, just be out and at the stadium by 7. That's when the performance starts." You nod and try to stand, your head spins for a second but then returns to normal. You test out a couple of steps, they go well enough so you decide to go. Then you remember what happened to Octavia. You turn to see the nurse gone so you decide to find and ask a doctor. On the way out of the door you close your eyes and try to think over what had happened. When you're walking down the hallway you bump into someone. "Sorry." You both say simultaneously. You open your eyes and instantly recognize who it is. "Conundrum Enigma!" You shout pulling him into a hug. Conundrum was one of your closest childhood friends. Your parents had kept you away from him though. They said that he was a bad influence, that just because his cutie mark was a little weird that he would ruin you. For 10 years he had done just the opposite, always at your side, always backing you up. Since your parents had split you up you had only seen him for small amounts of time at school. Your parents had gone out of their way to see that you two never had any classes together. He seems surprised by the hug at first but then realizes it's you. "Allegro! I haven't see you in like forever!" You two pull out of the hug. "So, who's life going?" This question throws you off guard, life lately has been kind of all over the place. You got accepted into the Orchestra, but on the other had Octavia did just get stabbed so yea. "Life has been.... interesting lately." You reply after a moment. "Some good things have happened and some bad things have happened." "Oh, like what?" He asks. "Well I did get accepted into the Royal Canterlot Symphony, but on the other had my friend just got stabbed so yea........ Life's all over the place now a days." He cringes a it at the part about Octavia being stabbed. He contemplates his words before saying them. "Well, yea. That is all over the place. What are you doing today?" You think for a second, trying to recall what you were doing just a second ago. "Well first I'm going to visit my friend that got stabbed, then somepony named Twilight Sparkle invited me to the Wonderbolts Stadium, and after that I guess just sleep." He nods and is on his way, he had to go visit his mom, she was sick and he wanted to be with her as much as he could. You continue down the hallway and soon you here the sound of a mare crying, but not just any mare. It was Vinyl. You follow the sound until you come to a large white door labeled A-12. You push the door open and enter. The first thing you notice was that Octavia was not yet awake, but she was breathing. Vinyl was sitting in a chair not far away from her. She didn't look over when you entered so you walk over and sit down next to her. You wrap a leg around her neck and she leans into your mane and continues to cry. She cries for what seems like hours but is really just a couple of minutes. She stops crying for a second and then says something. "What if she doesn't make it? What if I wake up tomorrow and she's gone?" She begins to cry again. "Sh-she's all I ha-have!" She once again leans into your mane and cries. You gently run your hoof through her mane, causing her at first to lock up, but then she relaxes. "Shhhhh. It's ok Vinyl, everything is going to be ok. I have to leave now, but don't worry. Octavia will be okay." Vinyl slowly pulls away from you and waves you off. "Good luck wherever you're going." She says as you walk out of the door. You make your way to the exit of the hospital by following the signs on the walls. When you step out cold air hits you. A small breeze flows through your mane and you set off for the stadium. It's only a short jog away once you get your bearings. As you arrive you take in the beauty. The stadium rises high into the air, dwarfed only by the castle itself. The center of the arena is made of cloud, while the outside is made of a white marble. It eloquently curves and flows like it was made of water, frozen in the middle of a wave. You walk up to the door and a guard stops you. "Halt, do you have a pass of any kind?" The guard is a regular celestial guard. Golden armor shining in the light of Celestia's beautiful day. You nod and show him the letter. He quickly steps to the side. "Ah, there you are." Says a purple unicorn as you enter, she looks like somepony you've seen before. You just can't for the life of you remember. "You're Allegro, right?" You simply nod and walk to greet her. "You must be Twilight, it's good to meet you and all, but why exactly am I here?" You ask in the most serious voice you can muster. She giggles a little at your serious voice. BOOM A huge explosion echos through the room, and before you can ask who it is a streak of gold zooms past you. The streak slows to a stop and lands next to you. The streak turns out to be a pony. This pony is pure white and has a gold and grey mane and tail. "That reason would be me." He says. OCs in this chapter: Conundrum Enigma, OC for Citpo, Page here. Gold Star, OC for Demon killar, Page here. CrescendoAuthors Note: YES! Inspiration, finally. Sorry for the long wait, but my brain decided to take a vacation and it took my creativity with it. I have written and re-written this chapter so many times and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. I am sorry again for the long wait and hope you can understand. Without further adue, here is Fortepiano chapter number five, Crescendo! You don't know what to say, in front of you stood Gold Star, one of your best friends hero. You decide that squealing and convulsing on the ground is probably a bad idea. You decide that fainting probably won't help to much either, while you're contemplating what to do Twilight waves a hoof in front of your face. "Hello, are you okay?" You snap back to reality and give a slight nod. "Good, now I would like you to meet Gold Star, the only pony besides Rainbow Dash that is capable of a sonic rainboom. He was here so I decided that you should meet him." Okay this was really weird, why would that be relevant at all? "Okay, what the hay do you want with me. I know you didn't just want to meet me, so why did you call me here?" Her smile faltered, but she retained a small grin. Her left eye twitched. "That's it, either tell me why I'm here or I'm leaving." She didn't keep her grin through that though. "No, please." She stepped forward, Gold Star just rolled his eyes. "Come on, I don't have all day. Plus it's not that hard to tell him, goodness it's not like you're asking him on a date or something." Gold Star stated. Twilight sighed, she blew a piece of hair out of her face and spoke. "I just wanted to know if you would....uh....... maybe....... play for me?" Wow that was all?! You burst into laughter and a disappointed look spreads over her face. "Oh, sorry for bothering you." Her head drops and she turns to leave, but you put your hoof on her shoulder. "I was laughing because you were nervous to ask me to play. Of coarse I'll play a song for you, anything for a friend." Her face lit up and you pulled out your violin. Using magic hurt your head, but you'll survive. You decide to settle on a classic, one of the popular songs you used to play. You begin to play and her face is one of recognition. You continue to play and the words come to mind. You would sing but the magic was the only thing you were focusing on right now. Note by note you continue the song, Twilight is swaying to the beat and Gold Star is tapping a hoof. You used to play this song for your parents, before you left that is, but now you feel less forced to be perfect. The music flows more freely and you relax a bit. By the time you end the song Twilight is humming along and you are exhausted. You wipe some sweat from your brow and sit down. "So, how was that song?" You ask as you lay down on the floor, intent for laying there for an eternity. "Yes! That was amazing, you played it so well, thank you so much!" Twilight replies, you nod and turn and start walking, but as you are about to leave a hoof touches your shoulder. You turn to see something that you dreaded, something that you know could ruin your career. You see your parents. Well buck. You are now officially screwed, not only had they found out, but they had found you. You drop your violin to the ground, this might take a while. Both of them wore angry faces and your father even wore a little of what looked like disgust. You open your mouth to speak, but your father speaks first. "You are so stupid," Way to be subtle dad. You roll your eyes and he pretends to not notice it. "You run away from your own parents, and then you soil our name. You even helped that stupid cello player and her idiot DJ marefriend. You worthless, self centered. carele..." You cut him off right there, you could take some crap, but not from these idiots. "NO! I'm going to stop you right bucking there. I ran away because you are the self centered pony here. Before you even start to accuse me I need some liable evidence because right now all the stuff you're sayin is completely unfounded. You two have no idea what you're talking about, when I was growing up, you treated me like dirt, never supported me, and most of all never showed me love. As for soiling our name, how? I'm in the freaking Royal Canterlot Symphony you idiots. If you think you can do better that that then go right ahead. You two nitwits couldn't play an instrument with any real skill if you had a cutie mark for it. Which both of you do. By the way, another reason I left was because my own 'mother' was a hopeless drunk!" You are now fuming, that was the first time that you had let your anger out in a long time. You see the disgust has now spread to your mother, but before they can fight back, you speak once again. "And if you ever, ever disrespect Octavia again, if you do I will personally beat your door down, and tear your heads from your bodies." At this point the ponies in front of you just walked away. As they did your dad did something terrible. Something so unthinkable that you considered killing him there and then. He smashed your violin. As soon as he did, you charged at him and landed a punch squarely in his eye, causing it to start bleeding. He promptly screeched and the guards that were standing at the doors of a building close by came running. One of them picked him up and started running in the general direction while the other ones horn glowed and your wrists were bound together. The last thing you remember before the guard knocked you out was the form of Twilight Sparkle walking out of the building, yelling at the guard, and the bond on your wrists lessening until it dissipated entirely. ForteIn, out, in, out. The constant sound of your breathing is the only sound you can here in this dark room. You are currently back in the room where Octavia and Vinyl had let you stay. It's very early in the morning and you decide that you want to go for a walk. You did, after all, have to purchase a new violin. You stand and find that your neck hurts a bit, but that's not going to stop you. Stepping out the door you hear what seemed to be muffled crying, but you think it best not to bother Vinyl at this hour so you set off. In the streets you receive many mixed glances. Ponies that didn't instantly look away from you stared at you with hate and distaste. You sigh and continue on, you can see why they would be mad at you, but did they really have to show it in public like that. After a few minutes of wondering you see what looks to be a music store. An open sign is in the window so you walk in. The mare looks up, sees you and a small frown grows on her face. "What are you doing here? Come to beat me up, or maybe punch me in the eye?" You wish nothing more than to rip her sorry little tail out right now, but you manage to contain your anger. "No, I actually came here to buy a new violin and bow." Her face sours before she bursts out laughing. "Wait, you think I actually play an instrument!? Ha, that's a laugh." Ok that was enough, you glare at her with extreme prejudiced. Even if this mare was nice on the inside, she was going down. "Well I'd like to see you play a violin better that me." She rolls her eyes, and then speaks in the most condescending tone you've ever heard. "I'll make you a deal, beat me while playing and I'll give you whatever you want in the store for free. Plus I'll give you a 75% discount on everything else. That's only IF you beat me, got it?" You nod. This mare just made a huge mistake, you think as you pick up an the most expensive violin you can find. "Ok let's get this show on the road, and before we start I have to warn you I'm going to win." She rolls her eyes and picks up a cello. She begins to play. The song is mostly pizzicato, as she plays you think of a song to play. You come up with the perfect one. She finishes and smirks, you don't miss a beat as you start. You hum the missing parts as you play. It's certainly not the most graceful thing you've ever played, but it was fun. A third part comes to your mind and you think of it. The mare just sits there with a blank expression and when you finish she speaks. "That all you got?" Ok, that was it you are going down lady. Your expression hardens and you get ready to play. You decide not to play a large piece, just some thing to impress her. You play. The mare just sits wide mouth until you finish. "That good enough for you, huh?" You ask sarcastically. She nods her head and then shakes it furiously. "Take the violin, and for that matter whatever you want. I'm sorry for insulting you like that. With the whole hitting marcato in the head unprovoked thing.." She trails off, wait unprovoked. Unprovoked! "Did you just say unprovoked!? That idiot smashed my violin, that was my life. That violin had belonged to me for my whole life. It was my way of income to, how am I supposed to play for the freaking royal symphony without an instrument?" She gives you a curious stare and you stand, grab a violin and a case, and then leave the store. You decide to head towards the hospital and check on Octavia. You're rounding the last corner when you see Conundrum walking out, tears in his eyes. Being a good friend you approach him, but when he looks up and sees you, he starts walking away from you. Weird, you think, that's unusual for him. You start to walk after him, but he always stays one step ahead of you and soon you're lost. You turn what had to be the fiftieth corner and Conundrum isn't there. Great, you lost him. You start to walk away when a couple of stallions block your way. You instantly turn and start to run only to find the other side of the street blocked by a huge earth pony. They start to walk closer and you decide to speak first. "Who are you and what the hay do you want." It was a reasonable question, but you receive no answer as the stallions continue to close in on you. They back you into a corner and you close your eyes and prepare for the inevitable. Instead you hear but one noise. BOOM You open your eyes just in time to see the earth pony fly through the concrete that was behind him. The other two simply take one look and start running away. You sigh and start walking towards the ruble that remained of the wall. You smile as Gold Star walks out nonchalantly. "Thanks man, I can only think of two words that describe that. So. Awesome." He smiles and walks up to you. "Most I could do for a friend, by the way why are you out here? This isn't the part of town you usually see musicians playing. Unless you've suddenly began DJing." He pats you on the shoulder. "Now I've gotta go, you know being this awesome requires some practice." With that he starts to take off, but you interrupt him. "Wait, do you know which way the hospital is?" He nods "Go down this street, turn left, and then keep going until you get there." He turns and takes off, sending a huge gust of wind out and nearly knocking you down. Authors Note: Sorry for the delay, I've been working on the sequel to my other story. :) Going to a First PracticeYou follow Gold Star's instructions and low and behold you find yourself at the entrance of the hospital. You cautiously make your way to room A-12, making sure not to bump into anypony else on your way there. When you reach the door you push it open and see Vinyl asleep in a chair next to Octavia. They're both sleeping so you decide to leave them alone. You're just closing the door when a thought comes to mind, you had practice today. You look up at the clock in the hallway and see that it's almost six and practice starts at six thirty. With a quiet curse you take off sprinting, going down the halls with the caution of a blind pony in the middle of a mine field. You reach the front doors and fly out of them, taking to the roads and running to the Symphony hall. When you reach it you're out of breath and sweating, not exactly something you would want to make an impression with, but it would have to do for now. You take a step into the building and you're immediately greeted with a most unpleasant sight. Your parents, because fate hates you guts. They turn to face you and you steel your face, ready for anything those bastards could throw at you. What you were not ready for, however, was the look of fear in your fathers eyes. You ignore them and start walking to the stage, where you see a few ponies already getting their instruments ready. You count seven violins, counting yourself, four cellos, not counting Octavia, a few violas, two basses, a small choir, and a couple other miscellaneous instruments. Some ponies look up and give you blank looks, while others just seem to not care. Rococo looks at you suspiciously, as if thinking your going to do something stupid. You ignore him and just keep walking. You grab your violin from your case and play a few notes, tuning your instrument as best as you could. A pony steps up to the podium in the middle and addresses all of you. "As many of you already know, since we just held auditions, we will be taking this day to rank all of you and give you new chairs depending on your skill. For know you can all just grab a chair and sit down." At this all of the ponies in the room sit down, you follow suit, not wanting to be left out. You end up sitting next to a mint green unicorn mare and a brown pegasus stallion. The mare is carrying a lyre and the brown stallion has a violin to match your own. "For now, I will be passing out a piece of music and you will sight read. We will play two pieces, one for brass and woodwind instruments, the small number that we have, and one for the whole orchestra." the conductor says as he starts to pass music out. You lean over towards the mare to ask her a question. "How will he know how good we are if we play as a group?" You ask. The mare looks at you like you're stupid for a second, but then recognizes that you're new. She leans over in her seat and responds. "Nopony knows, but he's always right. I'm Lyra by the way." You process the information and just shrug. If the conductor was that good, then so be it. "I'm Allegro, nice to meet you." You say before returning to your original seating position. By now the conductor has finished passing papers out, and for the first time in a long while, you're scared. You're a good enough violinist, but sheet music often went straight over your head. You dare to look down at the piece of paper in front of you, and your fears are confirmed. You take deep breaths, calming yourself and think of what your violin teacher had once said. 'If you can play an instrument, you should be able to read music just as damn well.' Ok, not really the most helpful quote ever, but the only one you currently remembered. "Brass and woodwinds will be going first." The conductor says as he raises his baton. The brass and woodwind snap to perfect attention. The baton falls. ((Listen to the whole song here or keep reading, I don't really care, but it's a good song.)) The song seems to end just as quickly as it began, which is unfortunate because now you have to play. "Oh, yes and because we have a new player I chose to give him first part and the rest of you back up, is that ok?" You nearly faint. The conductor is officially your new worst enemy. He doesn't even wait for a response, the baton rises again. the orchestra readies. You nearly faint again, but you focus on the music. Again the baton drops. The choir joins the orchestra in the beginning. You take one last breath and play. ((Once again you don't need to listen to this)) After the song ends the conductor gives out more sheet music, having the orchestra play them as well. Throughout the rest of the exhausting night you slowly develop a relationship with Lyra finding her ability to pluck the individual strings of her lyre without manic fascinating. When the practice finally comes to an end you once again find your thoughts locked on a certain friend that ran away from you earlier. As you pack up your violin you promise your self that you'll find him. Cold air hits you as you step out of the towering building, a clock that hangs on the wall reads eleven. The visiting hours of the hospital stopped two hours ago and the dank streets of Canterlot are devoid of any life. With nothing of value to do you trot back to the room in which you had stayed last night and collapse without any further notice, the calm rift of sleep consuming you. Author's Note A little bit small, but I once again had to re-write this chapter like four times and it still doesn't feel right, but I promised chapters, so here you go.
Well, That Went Bad.You are tired of all this crap. Your mom always raving about stupid upper class stuff. All crap! In your opinion this house may as well be the seventh circle of hell! Your dad is just as bad, saying you'll never amount to something with your violin. Saying that it is an instrument meant for mares! Ha! you'll show them what you can do. Yea that's what you'll do, that will show them who is the boss of your life, of your pride. You've been working up confidence for a week, come on Allegro you got this. "ALLEGRO!" Dad screams almost shattering your eardrums. "You dare talk like that to me, your own father! I care for you for all of your years and this is what I get! You are the worst son ever, you're failing at school, play the violin, and now you're talking like this to me!?" Dad takes another step towards you. "Also, you talk about your mother like that again and your violin gets set on fire, understood?" He says in a strict tone, but instead of nodding your head like he thought you would, you simply start running. You already have your violin with you, and all the bits you've saved up are in a small pouch at your side. It's not much, but it'll last you a couple of days, and that's all you need. By now you've sprint out the front door and your dad hasn't even given chase. Heh, you think, figures he doesn't even care, this is exactly why I left. Streets and houses of various colors fly by as you run away from home. A few ponies give you weird looks, but you just keep on running down the marble streets towards the center of town. You're a good length away from your house when you slow down to a trot. Wow, you think, this place is huge! Your dad almost never let you leave the house except to go to school and that was right next door. You've never actually seen Canterlot and wow is it amazing. The streets are extremely wide and full of ponies, the buildings painted bright greens and blues in contrast to the streets' pale white. Every time you had asked your parents if you could play outside with friends they would respond with, 'No, go to your room and study.' or 'Go play with your sister instead.'. Yea, such great parents they were making you stay home alone with nopony but your stupid 3 year old sister. Anyway, you're walking towards the market center. The town square doesn't seem particularly noisy, just crowded. Oh well, you think to yourself as you find an open spot and unpack your violin.You start to play, and you can hear the other parts of the song in your head. Ponies take notice to your music. You close your eyes and let the music flow through your hoofs. You don't even notice when a few ponies throw bits your way. The only thing that matters right now is the music. Notes seem to swirl around you the song comes alive. You draw your bow across the bow with passion that rivals all else. Phrases end then the song ends. You open your eyes and are greeted by at least 2 dozen cheering ponies. One in particular catches your eyes, she has a grey coat and a sleek black mane. Eyes are locked on you and seemingly looking through your soul. "Um... Hello?" You say, she takes a step closer and you can now see the cello case swung around her. "Do you want something?" You ask. "Oh yes, sorry to be so rude but, who the hay are you!? That song was amazing, it flowed perfectly!" She now reaches out a hoof. "Octavia Philharmonic 1st chair cellist of the Canterlot Royal Symphony. I just wanted to ask if you were going to be at the auditions later tonight." You politely shake her hoof. "Auditions? What auditions?" "You don't know? Oh well, just come to the concert hall at eleven and bring your violin." With that she turns to leave, but before she does she glances over her shoulder. "And don't be late, we could use a violinist like you." With that she walks away. The rest of the afternoon you continue to play and entertain the crowd, earning yourself a few bits. You feel a little bit tired come 10:30, but by then your walk up to one of the stands and ask for directions. The stand you walk up to seems to be a small temporary cart with a makeshift roof thrown above it. As you approach the orange mare behind the counter greets you. "Howdy partner, in what way can ah be of help?" "Could you direct me to the concert hall?" She nods and points to a large building with a domed roof and stone carvings covering the sides. "Thank you." You give a small nod then start trotting towards the building, when you enter you remember something. You forgot to dress formally. Crap, as you walk by ponies give you glares that could have been made into deadly weapons. You reach the front desk and ask were the auditions are. The idle mare just points a hoof lazily down the hall and mutters something that sounds remotely like 'good luck.'. You nod and trot down the hallway met with more looks of disgust, except one mare who grins when she sees you. "Ah there you are! I knew you would show up, now just follow me to the stage and we'll start the auditions." Ponies give you looks of confusion and hate as you follow Octavia to the stage. When you reach it you only see one small chair in the middle with the spotlight on it. You also see a small line of ponies holding violins. "Go ahead and get in line while I start the auditions, k?" You nod and get in line. You get your violin out and start playing a few scales like the others have. Yours are different though. They're filled with flowing dynamics and soulful notes. By the end of the scales you can't help but notice most of the line is now staring strait at you. There eyes wide and some jaws dropped, one mare simply started crying and ran off. "Whats the big deal?" The rest of the line continues to stare in disbelieve until Octavia's voice rings trough the room. "Welcome, welcome to the violin auditions for the Canterlot Royal Symphony, we will begin momentarily." Octavia trots back stage to see have the line still staring at you. "What did you do, play a scale?" She asks sarcastically. "Yea sorry about that, should have waited for the auditions to start to utterly blow their minds. Anyway we got auditions to start!" With that comment they start. Most of the players are mediocre at best, playing pieces they think are impressive but obviously aren't. Eventually it's your turn and heck are you nervous. As you walk out to the stage a few snickers echo through the parts of the crowd that hasn't heard me play. Oh well, Lets Play! The song starts well and now your drawing attention. The ponies that were leaving now stop, the notes gush forth with all the emotion you had pent up as you try not to drag the song on to long. By the end you fell confident. That was awesome!
A Trying Failure and a Flustered WaiterYou are currently siting on the stage, in the lone chair located there, and you are speechless. Dozens of ponies are clapping their hooves together. They're not stomping, which shows some appreciation, bit clapping, which shows great appreciation. You are now standing, but not by your own will but rather the will of the grey mare that now raises your hoof. "Mares and Gentlestallions, the judges have made their decisions and we would like to officially welcome our new violinist..." She turns to you and you notice she wants your name. "Allegro," You say. "Allegro Fortepiano." With that you two take a bow and start to leave the stage, but not before one unicorn interrupts. He is dressed in a nice suit has a brown coat and a sharp yellow mane, and is standing next to a violin case. You recognize him as one of the judges. "I for one do not approve of him!" He announces, gasps and murmurs ripple through the room. "If this ruffian can not even remember to wear a suit or at least some kind of formal dress, he can not be trusted to remember rehearsals and performances!" "Rococo calm down, even if you don't approve he scored perfectly otherwise." Octavia responded with a confident stride forward. "And besides, he's ten times better than the others." At that some of the more up-tight competitors take offence while the others are humble enough to accept defeat. "Oh is that so?" He takes a step and is now only about 2 hoofs in front of you. "Then you won't mind if I pick one contestant and pin him against Allegro, will you?" He enfisized the last two words. "Fine but only if we have to play a duet with our contestant!" That takes a second to process, but when you do you freak out. A duet with Octavia! This is amazing, you think, but it also makes you extremely nervous. "Fine then I chose her!" He shouts, pointing at a mare that has a cello sitting next to her, she perks up and her eyes go wide as he points at her. "That will make it even." "Fine then," Octavia replies as you and her walk to the stage. You both get out and tune your instruments as your challengers do the same. As you finish Octavia speaks, "You can go first Rococo." The stallion mearly nods and him and his partner play! The song is slow and heartfelt, defiantly not your style, though as it goes on it escalates. The violin players takes the lead. "This is usually how Rococo plays," Octavia whispers in your ear. "As his name implies his music is mostly, but not always, excessive, ornamental, and trivial." They finish and the crowed gives a polite applause. Rococo gives you a smirk as he leaves, and you two get ready. You both start to play! The music is enchanting, flowing freely and reverberating through the room. It's one of the few songs you actually fully know by memory, and it's as if you silently agreed before the performance to play it. The music is starting to grow and the audience can here it. Rococo and his partner are staring in awe with the rest of the crowd. Your music draws to a close. Hoofs instantaneously meet their matches as the concert hall fills with the sound of cheering ponies. You close your eyes then open them again, you are once again standing with Octavia, hoofs raised. You two take your bow and the walk off stage, when you get to the bottom you are greeted by Rococo. "I'm sorry for judging you earlier, welcome to the Royal Canterlot Symphony." He extends a hoof and you shake it. It's then that you see a white mare approach. Though your parents may have tried to keep you separate from the outside world, you still recognize her. Her electric blue mane layered in seemingly random layers, yet it still looked good. "Hey, you," She waves to you as she walks over. "Good job out there." She turns to Octavia. "You to, Tavi." You chuckle a little at the nickname. "Thanks Vinyl," Octavia replies. "And I thought I told you not to call me that!" "I for one think it fits you." You reply and she puts on a fake frown. You can't help but laugh at the frown, it's the worst fake frown you've ever seen. Vinyl joins you in laughter and soon both of you are one the ground holding your sides. You soon recover and stand up. "Fine, then I guess I just won't take you two to dinner like I was going to." She says in the most fake sad voice you've ever heard. Note to self, Octavia is terrible at faking emotions. Like really terrible. "Ah, come on Tavi," Octavia cringes at the nickname. "It's just a joke and anyways," She leans closer to Octavia's ear. "You know you want to go." Vinyl finishes in a very seductive voice. "Vinyl not here!" Octavia shouts and you and Vinyl once again burst into laughter. Wait a second, not here does that mean..... Celestia dammit! Octavia's with Vinyl. "Whatever so where are we going?" You ask. "Oh, I have reservations for three at Osteria Francescana, I was going to bring the winner along with me and Vinyl when we went. If you don't want to come with you don't have to." You quickly nod. "Of course I want to eat with you guys, plus I haven't eaten all day." You say that last part under your breath. Octavia and Vinyl glance over at you with a quizzical look, but then turn back to Rococo. Everyone says their goodbyes and you three leave for the restaurant. On the way out you are congratulated and complimented on your performance. You feel proud of yourself, If only my parents can see me now, wait they probably will. Crap. When you arrive at the restaurant you are greeted by a black stallion with a red mane that was cut short. He looks up and cringes as he sees you, probably because you lack formal dress. "Good evening miss Octavia, do you have a reservation?" Octavia nods and the waiter shows you to your seat. Your near a stage were a few ponies are preforming, you also notice that the ponies aren't exactly doing the best job on the song they're playing. Octavia and Vinyl notice this too and when the waiter comes over to get your order you decide to mention it. After you order you get the waiters attention. "Sorry sir but could I please help the ponies playing the music? They are simply not doing the song justice." He looks you up and down. "Like you could even come close to the skill required to play the music they play." He retorts with a small smirk. You, being the brave pony you are, accept his challenge. "Challenge accepted," You pull out your violin case and pull out your violin. You start walking towards the stage and the ponies on the stage look at you with puzzled glances. When you walk onto the stage the leader of the group cuts them off. "What the hay are you doing?" He asks in a threatening voice, by now almost all the ponies are facing you and the others on the stage. In answer you lift your bow and say one thing. "Making the music better!" You shout as you draw your bow across the strings, a beautiful solo. Almost instantly all the eyes in the room are on you. You feel slightly nervous and the waiter that had criticized you earlier is just standing there, dumbfound. You feel the song coming to a close as you draw your bow across the strings one last time. You take a bow and proceed to walk off the stage, heading strait for the waiter. "Was that good enough?" Authors note: Yay! Chapter today cause I got school off for labor day!
A New Day, a New SongAfter dinner, which you got for free because of the song, you realize something. You had nowhere to stay the night, not even a sleeping bag or a tent. Before you panicked though, you calmed yourself. Octavia and Vinyl stand to leave, but before they do you ask them. "Hey girls, you know of a place where I can sleep, I'm kinda homeless right now?" They look at each other and then back to you. "Yea, we've got an extra room if you need it." Vinyl responds. As she do you let out a breath that you didn't know you had been holding. You three work your way to the door, receiving some encouraging looks and complements. You follow the two mares through the street for awhile until you reach an apartment building. It wasn't huge, but then again you didn't expect it be either. The roof tiles were a navy blue and the inside was an ugly off white. You feel your inner interior designer puke. The mares lead you down a hallway and up a flight of stairs. You arrive at a small wooden door and Vinyl unlocks it with a silver key then you three enter. The walls are no longer an ugly off white but rather an even uglier wallpaper. You feel your inner interior designer fall to the floor of your mind, convulsing. You shake your head and clear your mind of that thought. Octavia is the first to speak. "Your room is the second door to the right." You nod and head for the door. You open the door with your hoof to find a blue room with a small bed in the middle. You put your violin down and collapse on the bed. You here Octavia and Vinyl walk past your door, presumably to their room, as your eyes close and you drift to sleep. You awake to the sun shining in your eyes, the sound of hoofs hitting wood as somepony walks past your room. You slowly climb out of your bed and grab your violin. You exit your room to see Vinyl on the other side of the room, walking back and forth, wearing a worried expression. "What's wrong?" You ask entering the room. She looks at you and you notice for the first time that she doesn't have her glasses on. Her eyes are a beautiful red, only reddened further by the tears dripping down her muzzle. "Tavi left earlier to go shopping and I haven't seen her since." She says leaning against you, burying her muzzle in your mane. She stays there and cries for awhile until you speak. "Well what are we doing here then! Let's go look for that mare!" You say in your best encouraging voice, which isn't very good. Vinyl releases you, her coat stained with tears but she nods and you both head towards the door. You push it open and once again cringe. Your inner interior decorator is holding a knife to its throat. You two continue down the stairs and out the door. You head strait to for the market, cold rain pouring down from the sky. Once you get there you see a most unpleasant seen. A grey stallion stand yelling at Octavia, he's saying something about the academy. The academy had burned down in a fire caused during the final testing. Vinyl runs forward and interrupts, insulting the stallion further. He backs off slightly and turns around. Then his cutie mark changes. It CHANGED, completely and totally altered itself. Instead of a passive green leaf it was now a picture of two crossing swords. He suddenly spins and a sword forms at the tip of his horn. You try to muscle through the crowd that had formed but it was to thick and you can do nothing but watch in horror. He lunges at Vinyl, aiming for the kill, you close your eyes and wait for a scream from Vinyl, but you instead here one from Octavia. Your eyes shoot open as the crowd utterly freaks out. Octavia had pushed Vinyl out of the way. That was true love if you've ever seen it, but the bastard still stabbed Octavia. Octavia collapses into Vinyl's arms as she passes out from blood loss. Vinyl is crying into Octavia's mane, her coat now dyed a crimson red. The stallion teleports away and you rush to Octavia's side. "Vinyl if there's any chance for her to live we need to get her medical attention instantly." She just nods and mumbles something incomprehensible into Octavia's mane and you use most of your magic to teleport to the emergency treatment room. The nurses and doctors take one look at you three before their eyes widen and one of the doctors starts walking away. He had an hourglass as his cutie mark and was muttering something about a different timeline. One of the nurses however starts to levitate Octavia and Vinyl reluctantly lets go of her. Vinyl stand and follows the nurse into a room, you try to do the same but you collapse promptly onto the floor. Your vision blurs slightly and the edges of your vision goes black. Must be a side affect of the teleport, you think. You never were good with magic that required that much magic. The last thing you see before the darkness consumes you is the face of a nurse and a very concerned purple unicorn. Authors note: This story is taking a lot out of me, but I hope it's worth it for you guys. Today though I've got a few things to say in this note. - First: If anypony has an OC and doesn't already write, I'll gladly write them into the story. There are some rules though. One, you have to give me a description and a picture. I don't care weather that be by comment of PM. Dos, the character will be in my writing style, so if you don't like my writing then guess what. You probably won't care for the way I write your OC. Don't worry I'll credit all people that want me to write their OC, if any! Ok guys that's it for this time, Good Luck to all you people, and have a good day. P.S. anypony that can name the story that scene ties in with gets 10 brony points.
A Star in GoldYou slowly drift into consciousness. The smell of a newly cleaned room fills your nostrils. You look around and notice that you have a terrible headache, like really, really terrible. You turn your head again and are greeted with the sight off a nurse. She has a white coat and a red cross with four pink hearts surrounding it. She's writing something down on a clip board and as you look over she doesn't notice. She notices you're awake after about a minute of this and hands you a letter. "Straight from Twilight Sparkle, said to meet them at the Wonderbolts stadium. You're free to go when you want, just be out and at the stadium by 7. That's when the performance starts." You nod and try to stand, your head spins for a second but then returns to normal. You test out a couple of steps, they go well enough so you decide to go. Then you remember what happened to Octavia. You turn to see the nurse gone so you decide to find and ask a doctor. On the way out of the door you close your eyes and try to think over what had happened. When you're walking down the hallway you bump into someone. "Sorry." You both say simultaneously. You open your eyes and instantly recognize who it is. "Conundrum Enigma!" You shout pulling him into a hug. Conundrum was one of your closest childhood friends. Your parents had kept you away from him though. They said that he was a bad influence, that just because his cutie mark was a little weird that he would ruin you. For 10 years he had done just the opposite, always at your side, always backing you up. Since your parents had split you up you had only seen him for small amounts of time at school. Your parents had gone out of their way to see that you two never had any classes together. He seems surprised by the hug at first but then realizes it's you. "Allegro! I haven't see you in like forever!" You two pull out of the hug. "So, who's life going?" This question throws you off guard, life lately has been kind of all over the place. You got accepted into the Orchestra, but on the other had Octavia did just get stabbed so yea. "Life has been.... interesting lately." You reply after a moment. "Some good things have happened and some bad things have happened." "Oh, like what?" He asks. "Well I did get accepted into the Royal Canterlot Symphony, but on the other had my friend just got stabbed so yea........ Life's all over the place now a days." He cringes a it at the part about Octavia being stabbed. He contemplates his words before saying them. "Well, yea. That is all over the place. What are you doing today?" You think for a second, trying to recall what you were doing just a second ago. "Well first I'm going to visit my friend that got stabbed, then somepony named Twilight Sparkle invited me to the Wonderbolts Stadium, and after that I guess just sleep." He nods and is on his way, he had to go visit his mom, she was sick and he wanted to be with her as much as he could. You continue down the hallway and soon you here the sound of a mare crying, but not just any mare. It was Vinyl. You follow the sound until you come to a large white door labeled A-12. You push the door open and enter. The first thing you notice was that Octavia was not yet awake, but she was breathing. Vinyl was sitting in a chair not far away from her. She didn't look over when you entered so you walk over and sit down next to her. You wrap a leg around her neck and she leans into your mane and continues to cry. She cries for what seems like hours but is really just a couple of minutes. She stops crying for a second and then says something. "What if she doesn't make it? What if I wake up tomorrow and she's gone?" She begins to cry again. "Sh-she's all I ha-have!" She once again leans into your mane and cries. You gently run your hoof through her mane, causing her at first to lock up, but then she relaxes. "Shhhhh. It's ok Vinyl, everything is going to be ok. I have to leave now, but don't worry. Octavia will be okay." Vinyl slowly pulls away from you and waves you off. "Good luck wherever you're going." She says as you walk out of the door. You make your way to the exit of the hospital by following the signs on the walls. When you step out cold air hits you. A small breeze flows through your mane and you set off for the stadium. It's only a short jog away once you get your bearings. As you arrive you take in the beauty. The stadium rises high into the air, dwarfed only by the castle itself. The center of the arena is made of cloud, while the outside is made of a white marble. It eloquently curves and flows like it was made of water, frozen in the middle of a wave. You walk up to the door and a guard stops you. "Halt, do you have a pass of any kind?" The guard is a regular celestial guard. Golden armor shining in the light of Celestia's beautiful day. You nod and show him the letter. He quickly steps to the side. "Ah, there you are." Says a purple unicorn as you enter, she looks like somepony you've seen before. You just can't for the life of you remember. "You're Allegro, right?" You simply nod and walk to greet her. "You must be Twilight, it's good to meet you and all, but why exactly am I here?" You ask in the most serious voice you can muster. She giggles a little at your serious voice. BOOM A huge explosion echos through the room, and before you can ask who it is a streak of gold zooms past you. The streak slows to a stop and lands next to you. The streak turns out to be a pony. This pony is pure white and has a gold and grey mane and tail. "That reason would be me." He says. OCs in this chapter: Conundrum Enigma, OC for Citpo, Page here. Gold Star, OC for Demon killar, Page here.
CrescendoAuthors Note: YES! Inspiration, finally. Sorry for the long wait, but my brain decided to take a vacation and it took my creativity with it. I have written and re-written this chapter so many times and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. I am sorry again for the long wait and hope you can understand. Without further adue, here is Fortepiano chapter number five, Crescendo! You don't know what to say, in front of you stood Gold Star, one of your best friends hero. You decide that squealing and convulsing on the ground is probably a bad idea. You decide that fainting probably won't help to much either, while you're contemplating what to do Twilight waves a hoof in front of your face. "Hello, are you okay?" You snap back to reality and give a slight nod. "Good, now I would like you to meet Gold Star, the only pony besides Rainbow Dash that is capable of a sonic rainboom. He was here so I decided that you should meet him." Okay this was really weird, why would that be relevant at all? "Okay, what the hay do you want with me. I know you didn't just want to meet me, so why did you call me here?" Her smile faltered, but she retained a small grin. Her left eye twitched. "That's it, either tell me why I'm here or I'm leaving." She didn't keep her grin through that though. "No, please." She stepped forward, Gold Star just rolled his eyes. "Come on, I don't have all day. Plus it's not that hard to tell him, goodness it's not like you're asking him on a date or something." Gold Star stated. Twilight sighed, she blew a piece of hair out of her face and spoke. "I just wanted to know if you would....uh....... maybe....... play for me?" Wow that was all?! You burst into laughter and a disappointed look spreads over her face. "Oh, sorry for bothering you." Her head drops and she turns to leave, but you put your hoof on her shoulder. "I was laughing because you were nervous to ask me to play. Of coarse I'll play a song for you, anything for a friend." Her face lit up and you pulled out your violin. Using magic hurt your head, but you'll survive. You decide to settle on a classic, one of the popular songs you used to play. You begin to play and her face is one of recognition. You continue to play and the words come to mind. You would sing but the magic was the only thing you were focusing on right now. Note by note you continue the song, Twilight is swaying to the beat and Gold Star is tapping a hoof. You used to play this song for your parents, before you left that is, but now you feel less forced to be perfect. The music flows more freely and you relax a bit. By the time you end the song Twilight is humming along and you are exhausted. You wipe some sweat from your brow and sit down. "So, how was that song?" You ask as you lay down on the floor, intent for laying there for an eternity. "Yes! That was amazing, you played it so well, thank you so much!" Twilight replies, you nod and turn and start walking, but as you are about to leave a hoof touches your shoulder. You turn to see something that you dreaded, something that you know could ruin your career. You see your parents. Well buck. You are now officially screwed, not only had they found out, but they had found you. You drop your violin to the ground, this might take a while. Both of them wore angry faces and your father even wore a little of what looked like disgust. You open your mouth to speak, but your father speaks first. "You are so stupid," Way to be subtle dad. You roll your eyes and he pretends to not notice it. "You run away from your own parents, and then you soil our name. You even helped that stupid cello player and her idiot DJ marefriend. You worthless, self centered. carele..." You cut him off right there, you could take some crap, but not from these idiots. "NO! I'm going to stop you right bucking there. I ran away because you are the self centered pony here. Before you even start to accuse me I need some liable evidence because right now all the stuff you're sayin is completely unfounded. You two have no idea what you're talking about, when I was growing up, you treated me like dirt, never supported me, and most of all never showed me love. As for soiling our name, how? I'm in the freaking Royal Canterlot Symphony you idiots. If you think you can do better that that then go right ahead. You two nitwits couldn't play an instrument with any real skill if you had a cutie mark for it. Which both of you do. By the way, another reason I left was because my own 'mother' was a hopeless drunk!" You are now fuming, that was the first time that you had let your anger out in a long time. You see the disgust has now spread to your mother, but before they can fight back, you speak once again. "And if you ever, ever disrespect Octavia again, if you do I will personally beat your door down, and tear your heads from your bodies." At this point the ponies in front of you just walked away. As they did your dad did something terrible. Something so unthinkable that you considered killing him there and then. He smashed your violin. As soon as he did, you charged at him and landed a punch squarely in his eye, causing it to start bleeding. He promptly screeched and the guards that were standing at the doors of a building close by came running. One of them picked him up and started running in the general direction while the other ones horn glowed and your wrists were bound together. The last thing you remember before the guard knocked you out was the form of Twilight Sparkle walking out of the building, yelling at the guard, and the bond on your wrists lessening until it dissipated entirely.
ForteIn, out, in, out. The constant sound of your breathing is the only sound you can here in this dark room. You are currently back in the room where Octavia and Vinyl had let you stay. It's very early in the morning and you decide that you want to go for a walk. You did, after all, have to purchase a new violin. You stand and find that your neck hurts a bit, but that's not going to stop you. Stepping out the door you hear what seemed to be muffled crying, but you think it best not to bother Vinyl at this hour so you set off. In the streets you receive many mixed glances. Ponies that didn't instantly look away from you stared at you with hate and distaste. You sigh and continue on, you can see why they would be mad at you, but did they really have to show it in public like that. After a few minutes of wondering you see what looks to be a music store. An open sign is in the window so you walk in. The mare looks up, sees you and a small frown grows on her face. "What are you doing here? Come to beat me up, or maybe punch me in the eye?" You wish nothing more than to rip her sorry little tail out right now, but you manage to contain your anger. "No, I actually came here to buy a new violin and bow." Her face sours before she bursts out laughing. "Wait, you think I actually play an instrument!? Ha, that's a laugh." Ok that was enough, you glare at her with extreme prejudiced. Even if this mare was nice on the inside, she was going down. "Well I'd like to see you play a violin better that me." She rolls her eyes, and then speaks in the most condescending tone you've ever heard. "I'll make you a deal, beat me while playing and I'll give you whatever you want in the store for free. Plus I'll give you a 75% discount on everything else. That's only IF you beat me, got it?" You nod. This mare just made a huge mistake, you think as you pick up an the most expensive violin you can find. "Ok let's get this show on the road, and before we start I have to warn you I'm going to win." She rolls her eyes and picks up a cello. She begins to play. The song is mostly pizzicato, as she plays you think of a song to play. You come up with the perfect one. She finishes and smirks, you don't miss a beat as you start. You hum the missing parts as you play. It's certainly not the most graceful thing you've ever played, but it was fun. A third part comes to your mind and you think of it. The mare just sits there with a blank expression and when you finish she speaks. "That all you got?" Ok, that was it you are going down lady. Your expression hardens and you get ready to play. You decide not to play a large piece, just some thing to impress her. You play. The mare just sits wide mouth until you finish. "That good enough for you, huh?" You ask sarcastically. She nods her head and then shakes it furiously. "Take the violin, and for that matter whatever you want. I'm sorry for insulting you like that. With the whole hitting marcato in the head unprovoked thing.." She trails off, wait unprovoked. Unprovoked! "Did you just say unprovoked!? That idiot smashed my violin, that was my life. That violin had belonged to me for my whole life. It was my way of income to, how am I supposed to play for the freaking royal symphony without an instrument?" She gives you a curious stare and you stand, grab a violin and a case, and then leave the store. You decide to head towards the hospital and check on Octavia. You're rounding the last corner when you see Conundrum walking out, tears in his eyes. Being a good friend you approach him, but when he looks up and sees you, he starts walking away from you. Weird, you think, that's unusual for him. You start to walk after him, but he always stays one step ahead of you and soon you're lost. You turn what had to be the fiftieth corner and Conundrum isn't there. Great, you lost him. You start to walk away when a couple of stallions block your way. You instantly turn and start to run only to find the other side of the street blocked by a huge earth pony. They start to walk closer and you decide to speak first. "Who are you and what the hay do you want." It was a reasonable question, but you receive no answer as the stallions continue to close in on you. They back you into a corner and you close your eyes and prepare for the inevitable. Instead you hear but one noise. BOOM You open your eyes just in time to see the earth pony fly through the concrete that was behind him. The other two simply take one look and start running away. You sigh and start walking towards the ruble that remained of the wall. You smile as Gold Star walks out nonchalantly. "Thanks man, I can only think of two words that describe that. So. Awesome." He smiles and walks up to you. "Most I could do for a friend, by the way why are you out here? This isn't the part of town you usually see musicians playing. Unless you've suddenly began DJing." He pats you on the shoulder. "Now I've gotta go, you know being this awesome requires some practice." With that he starts to take off, but you interrupt him. "Wait, do you know which way the hospital is?" He nods "Go down this street, turn left, and then keep going until you get there." He turns and takes off, sending a huge gust of wind out and nearly knocking you down. Authors Note: Sorry for the delay, I've been working on the sequel to my other story. :)
Going to a First PracticeYou follow Gold Star's instructions and low and behold you find yourself at the entrance of the hospital. You cautiously make your way to room A-12, making sure not to bump into anypony else on your way there. When you reach the door you push it open and see Vinyl asleep in a chair next to Octavia. They're both sleeping so you decide to leave them alone. You're just closing the door when a thought comes to mind, you had practice today. You look up at the clock in the hallway and see that it's almost six and practice starts at six thirty. With a quiet curse you take off sprinting, going down the halls with the caution of a blind pony in the middle of a mine field. You reach the front doors and fly out of them, taking to the roads and running to the Symphony hall. When you reach it you're out of breath and sweating, not exactly something you would want to make an impression with, but it would have to do for now. You take a step into the building and you're immediately greeted with a most unpleasant sight. Your parents, because fate hates you guts. They turn to face you and you steel your face, ready for anything those bastards could throw at you. What you were not ready for, however, was the look of fear in your fathers eyes. You ignore them and start walking to the stage, where you see a few ponies already getting their instruments ready. You count seven violins, counting yourself, four cellos, not counting Octavia, a few violas, two basses, a small choir, and a couple other miscellaneous instruments. Some ponies look up and give you blank looks, while others just seem to not care. Rococo looks at you suspiciously, as if thinking your going to do something stupid. You ignore him and just keep walking. You grab your violin from your case and play a few notes, tuning your instrument as best as you could. A pony steps up to the podium in the middle and addresses all of you. "As many of you already know, since we just held auditions, we will be taking this day to rank all of you and give you new chairs depending on your skill. For know you can all just grab a chair and sit down." At this all of the ponies in the room sit down, you follow suit, not wanting to be left out. You end up sitting next to a mint green unicorn mare and a brown pegasus stallion. The mare is carrying a lyre and the brown stallion has a violin to match your own. "For now, I will be passing out a piece of music and you will sight read. We will play two pieces, one for brass and woodwind instruments, the small number that we have, and one for the whole orchestra." the conductor says as he starts to pass music out. You lean over towards the mare to ask her a question. "How will he know how good we are if we play as a group?" You ask. The mare looks at you like you're stupid for a second, but then recognizes that you're new. She leans over in her seat and responds. "Nopony knows, but he's always right. I'm Lyra by the way." You process the information and just shrug. If the conductor was that good, then so be it. "I'm Allegro, nice to meet you." You say before returning to your original seating position. By now the conductor has finished passing papers out, and for the first time in a long while, you're scared. You're a good enough violinist, but sheet music often went straight over your head. You dare to look down at the piece of paper in front of you, and your fears are confirmed. You take deep breaths, calming yourself and think of what your violin teacher had once said. 'If you can play an instrument, you should be able to read music just as damn well.' Ok, not really the most helpful quote ever, but the only one you currently remembered. "Brass and woodwinds will be going first." The conductor says as he raises his baton. The brass and woodwind snap to perfect attention. The baton falls. ((Listen to the whole song here or keep reading, I don't really care, but it's a good song.)) The song seems to end just as quickly as it began, which is unfortunate because now you have to play. "Oh, yes and because we have a new player I chose to give him first part and the rest of you back up, is that ok?" You nearly faint. The conductor is officially your new worst enemy. He doesn't even wait for a response, the baton rises again. the orchestra readies. You nearly faint again, but you focus on the music. Again the baton drops. The choir joins the orchestra in the beginning. You take one last breath and play. ((Once again you don't need to listen to this)) After the song ends the conductor gives out more sheet music, having the orchestra play them as well. Throughout the rest of the exhausting night you slowly develop a relationship with Lyra finding her ability to pluck the individual strings of her lyre without manic fascinating. When the practice finally comes to an end you once again find your thoughts locked on a certain friend that ran away from you earlier. As you pack up your violin you promise your self that you'll find him. Cold air hits you as you step out of the towering building, a clock that hangs on the wall reads eleven. The visiting hours of the hospital stopped two hours ago and the dank streets of Canterlot are devoid of any life. With nothing of value to do you trot back to the room in which you had stayed last night and collapse without any further notice, the calm rift of sleep consuming you. Author's Note A little bit small, but I once again had to re-write this chapter like four times and it still doesn't feel right, but I promised chapters, so here you go.
