Blue

I was trotting happily to Stillshade Clearing, a small glade in a thicket of pine trees. I was happy. A long-term dream of mine seemed to come true. You see, I managed to convince many musicians of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, to try out something new; mix our different types of music. I was giddy with anticipation. It promised to be the greatest moment in musical history: joining classical and the new sound, creating a new type of experience, that Equestria has never seen before. Musicians of my caliber were often looked down upon, those faithful to the old ways claiming it is but a bunch of random noises, and it’s only noticeable feature is it’s loudness. I guess the source of that prejudice would be Shrill Hex, whom us ’modern’ musicians would have excommunicated, given the chance: the stallion did his concerts literally with a load of junk: buzzsaws, grindstones, and even breakable windows were part of his resumé. It’s no wonder the ’classies’ think we’re talentless, he made bad name for us!... I think.

The dirt road was free of mud, thankfully. I had my worries, because rain was scheduled around these parts a few days ago. Why did we choose this location? Well, on my part, I can freely say that I wanted it to be a secret, the glade was relatively remote: not close enough to the city so it would be unlikely to be visited by wandering ponies, but close enough that some of the… whinier colleagues wouldn’t ditch it on account of being ’inaccessible’. Speaking of inaccessible, I noticed that some stands were already spread out, courtesy of the Opera Props Team (possibly). My stuff has also arrived, a gray van has been parked a little farther away, my prized mixing counter and other stuff already packed out. Even though it was managed by a different company, no delays were made. They even set up some of my loudspeakers, and connected it to the counter. I wanted to thank them for their swift and valuable work, but strangely none of the moving company's employee's seemed to be within sight.

My thoughts were interrupted when somepony called my name.

"Ah, Vinyl! You finally arrived!”

I turned around, only to be greeted by the greatest musician ever, the genius of any instrument that has strings, Octavia Fulminea. I gasped, but tried to answer her at the same time.

"Hagrmumph! Augh... I mean, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

She chuckled. Oh, Celestia, nice start, making myself look like a foal in front of my idol! Yes, she's been my idol for quite a long time: she achieved everything a musician could dream of. She had fame, talent, and even got the chance to record her own songs; a feat unheard of for many classical musicians. Nevertheless, she was just as good at playing true classics, like Moosezart's symphonies. A genius, with an incredibly charismatic personality, leader of the Orchestra at an amazing young age, respected by her teachers and colleagues both. Is it a wonder I admired her?

"Relax, Miss Vinyl." she said, giggling. "We're here to play music together. I'm looking forward to it." She motioned a hoof towards some other ponies, who were soliciting near the stands.

"Lyra, Noteworthy, Loud Trumpet and Clyde are already here. What do you say for a little... jamming session, as I believe you would call it?"

I was flattered beyond belief. When I approached her (in writing, we never actually met), she was eager to get this under roof, but she still is, even after the ridiculous amounts of preparation. This meant she was genuinely interested in playing music together, not just coerced into it by higher-ups or mentors. I could only nod, words escaping me; she smiled warmly, and took the seat nearest to my equipment, her cello already in tow. The others smiled, and waved at me, too. I flashed a smile back, and went to my mixer.

I immediately noticed that my settings were nonexistant, sliders were scattered all over the place. I got a bad feeling about it.

"Just a sec." I shouted, "Looks like somepony fiddled with my stuff."

I activated my magic, but at the same time, the mixer lit up, too. I stopped my magic, but it was glowing intensely now, and started to emit a strange noise. I glanced over the settings again. I suddenly realised they were set up in a very, very dangerous way. Normally those would be inaccessible, but it seemed like somepony rigged my equipment thoroughly. I panicked. Sound waves can hurt you, at a certain range and frequency.

"Stand back!" I yelled, "This could be--"

I was interrupted by a loud bang. Unimaginable pain filled my head. I heard a scream—was it mine? I don't know. Then I noticed something around my head. A faint bubble. It did not stop the pain, but instead of going-crazy bad, it switched back to paralysing. I passed out. When I woke up, guards were all over the place. I was cuffed, and some of them were busy pulverising my equipment. I looked around, only to see five lifeless bodies. The musicians of my hopes and dreams, whom I admired and looked up to, were no more.

And I was blamed for it.