The Midnight Composer

Recitative

The warren boomed loudly as an Alpha's voice scatters throughout every cave.

"Get out!" was all that was heard before a loud smack drove a blur of white fur through various tunnels until it pops out into the open air. The mass of white landed with a loud thud onto the hard, dry earth. After a few scratches and scuttling, the chimney hole is plugged up with dirt, closing off the warren. The evicted hound rolls over onto his back, rubbing his muzzle. He sat up, looking around to find his bearings.

The first frost of winter was starting to settle in; white flecks of snow came in from a northerly front, lightly landing with slow grace onto the crass permafrost below. He hoped to be out before the first snowfall, not during.

"BISCUITS!" He swore, standing up and dusting off his fur. A brisk gale rushed passed his long black tunic, sending a eviscerating chill up his spine. He cursed the fact that his clan was centered right under the mountain range of Neighagra Falls, which got extremely cold mid fall. Although bred to combat the cold conditions underneath the surface, it was nothing compared to the now dagger-like blizzards currently churning through the open air. He brought out his pack, supplied with only a few gems as well as a compass and map, but nothing else.

He took out his compass, clicking open the silver casing to reveal the red and black needle underneath, pointing due north. He sighed, easing out a wisp of silver vapor. He closed it with a light click and traveled south to the closest town on his map: Canterlot. He buttoned up his tunic, wrapping his white scarf around his neck, one he scavenged from a lonely expedition down one of the abandoned tunnels and refurbished with some water he had gotten from the lake.

The Alpha was not one to take leaving the clan so lightly, and it rarely, if ever, happened. He just happened to be the rare occasion to want to leave.  However, it wasn't just a spur of the moment 'thing' that just happened. The growing feeling of wanderlust had seeped into his bones ever since he first caught sight of the surface world.

Ubi was sick of diamond dog life, mining the dreary caverns for gems day in day out--monotonous, exhausting, and often dangerous work as well. After years of wondering about the surface world, a glimpse of it through a knot hole from a displaced root showed him just what he was missing out, a world filled with vibrant, living color, wonderful scents and sound that he had never heard before. From that point on, he knew he would have to leave sooner or later.

Today was the day he finally built up the courage to ask the Alpha to leave. He didn't take to it very well, of course. But now, Ubi was finally free to enjoy all the luxuries his dream had to offer. But a nagging feeling crept back into his mind: He could never go back, never visit any one back in the mines ever again. It was a small matter of course, but it still nagged at him nonetheless, as if he was forgetting something.

'I'm overthinking things again...' He thought as he trudged through the growing blizzard that within an hour's time had coated the ground with a thin, pliable layer of snow. He shivered, pulling his tunic tighter around him, wrapping the scarf twice around his muzzle.

After a few hours, he arrived at a lone train station, crowded by a few ponies gabbing about the latest celebrity scandal going on in the Royal Court. Throughout their gossip, no one noticed him towering above every pony else as he shuffled his way to the ticket booth.

"Ticket to Cantelot..." The salesman looked up at Ubi.

"I think you mean CANTERLOT, and sure, 4 bits please," he said as he slid the ticket under the window. Ubi looked down at the ticket before the concept of currency came to mind. He rustled through his pack and brought out a sizeable gold nugget.

"Is this enough?" Ubi asked, sliding the nugget under the window. The stallion's eyes widened.

"Sweet Celestia! That's as big as my--" He stopped and cleared his throat. "Yes, sir, that'll do." He raked the nugget off the table with a wide grin. "Enjoy the ride, and come back any time."

Without another word he took the ticket and sat down on a bench, all the while staring at the letters printed on the slip of paper no bigger than two of his fingers. He could barely make out the words 'Departure' and 'Arrival' before the train wheeled into the station, tooting its whistle loudly. He clapped his paws over his ears in pain. After the piecing whistle ceased, the conductor stepped off the train shouting his traditional phrase:

"All aboard!" Ubi merged with the crowd to get on the train, handing the conductor his ticket. The conductor gave him a curious look. "Strange looking feller you are. Where ya hailin' from?"

"Neighagra Falls," Ubi mumbled before going to take his seat.

"*Whistle* Neighagra Falls eh? Heard it's beautiful this time of year, what with the famed double rainbow happening at the top every 4 years or so." Ubi passed a glance in response and placed his pack on his lap as he took his seat.

"Not a talker, are you? If you don't mind me askin', whatsa feller like you heading to Canterlot for; you don't look like a celebrity or a noble for that matter."

"I just want to get to the nearest town." Ubi pulled a newspaper from a rack near the front of the train, holding the latest news. Ubi could only make out a few words from the main articles: concert, gallery, princesses, among other things. He tossed it aside as the train cruised its way towards Canterlot. Ubi wondered what this new town of Canterlot had in store for him. Snow started to streak past his window as the train sped down the tracks, many ponies retired to their booths to rest while Ubi stayed in the main car, clutching his small pack.

'Maybe I can get a job, save enough money, and buy a ship. Then I could travel anywhere I wanted.' He tried to keep his excitement hidden. This was the first time he'd ever been outside the warrens. It was all happening so much, so fast. He didn't really know what to do with his newly liberated life, having done nothing else but dig and guard the horde.

'Maybe I can find my, what do ponies call it... special talent?' He hadn't really tried to do anything else, but ever since that soft light came in through that small hole in the wall that divided him from them, he had become absolutely fascinated, asking the others what the surface world is like, with only a few having actually been there. One such dog was an elderly mutt who taught him a bit on how to read. From there he had read many books on life on the surface, but many of the concepts inside were foreign to him and hard to understand. Life on the surface was truly different than life underground.

But his first few hours on the surface were rather, disappointing to say the least. He had thought that riding the train would be fun, how he read about it going fast across the tracks, but for him to actually ride it himself, it was just a glass and wooden box from which he watched the world go by. He sighed, worrying that all he had dreamed about, all he had ever hoped for would turn out to just be one big let-down after another.

However, the solace he got from gazing out onto the snowy plains gave him a sense of inner rest at the very least. Constantly, he had to listen to the constant ping of claws against rock to dig for gems, it often drove him to restlessness, tossing and turning in his room at night. Now it was silent, and he was alone. The lamps of the main cart were blown out for the night, leaving only the moonlight to illuminate the cart in shallow beams.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" A voice whispered from the shadows. Ubi turned to the source, and out stepped a light gray-coated mare, bangs swept forward in a fringe, the rest of her mane folded over to the right.

"I'm not tired," Ubi replied, taking out a small ruby and placing it between his teeth.

"Oh." She went over to the seat opposite him, "Do you mind if I sit here for a bit?"

"Sit where you like." He bit down, pulverizing the ruby into fine dust; the mare flinched at the sight.

"Might I also ask, what are you? I've never seen a creature like you before," she asked with nervous curiosity.

"I come from underground, I am a diamond dog." Ubi licked his teeth clean. She cringed, wondering how Ubi could eat an entire ruby.

"We eat gems to live," he explained, as if reading her uneased expression, "I spent years digging for my clan."

"Oh, so why are you on a train to Canterlot?"

"I want to leave, Alpha kicked me out."

"Alpha, is that like your-"

"Leader. He cares for whole pack."

"Well, I kind of wanted to know why someone like you is going to Canterlot of all places."

"Someone like me?" Ubi's ears perked up, "What does that mean?" he asked with a suspicious glare.

"Well, we don't get many other species going to Canterlot, especially those so, well, roughly attired." Ubi cocked his head, confused.

"Canterlot's a place for nobility and those who provide services for high-class events such as me."

"High-class events?"

"Yes, for example the Midnight Masquerade happening in about a week, I'm performing there."

"You do tricks?" Ubi's mind wandered to the thought of the pony in a clown outfit. She chuckled.

"No, not that kind of performer," She stepped into her booth and brought out a large Saddlevaari cello, and started to play a warm, low melody.

It was like nothing else Ubi had ever heard before. The pacing was smooth and rich, the feel was warm and light, bringing a glow about the room as if the lamps had come back on to dance across the car. He found himself humming along with the tune of the cello, accompanying it lightly in ambience. The mare moved her bow back and forth across the strings so adeptly, without even breaking a sweat. Although the low pitch of the cello was loud, it seemed to blend into the walls as if the whole car was contributing to the sound of the cello's bellowing voice. Soon the tune came to a close with a last draw of the bow.

Ubi started to clap as if by instinct, stopping after a few moments after realizing he might wake every pony on board.

"That was..." he could find no words to describe it, "What was tha-" The mare raised a hoof as if she knew exactly what he wanted to say.

"That's only the prelude, nothing to really be amazed about."

"Prelude?"

"A beginning of a song, in laypony terms."

"There's more?" Ubi's ears perked up, tail wagging.

"Yes, if you want to hear the entire suite, I'll be performing at the Canterlot Garden Concert Hall." She started to sway, yawning, "Oh, excuse me. I guess I should be going back to sleep." Ubi raised his paw, but let it drop. He wanted to hear more, but didn't want to keep her awake.

"Can I ask what your name is?" She turn and smiled gently.

"Octavia." She placed her polished cello in its red velvet lined case. After clasping it shut, she turned around, "And yours?"

"Ubi."

"Ubi... What a peculiar name," she remarked, then left for her booth. Ubi slumped in his seat, looking out across the now frozen landscape, now with a wide grin across his face.

He knew what he wanted to do now...