Music of My Soul

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8

Chapter 1

The lively and upbeat music of jazz flowed out from my saxophone as the musical notes floated throughout the empty and silent streets of Manehattan. I was standing under the light of a lone streetlamp which flickered in staccato. The only ones who listened to my sound were the dull walls of tall buildings that stood around me, mocking me with its expressionless gaze. Yet, I kept playing, filling the monotonic streets with bright and colorful life of the sweet sound of jazz. Oh, if you were wondering, my name’s Saxy Tone. Yeah, I know it does sounds similar to ‘sexy’ but bear with me here. I’m a single earth stallion who had been kicked out from my parent’s home due to the exchange of hurtful words a week ago with only the fur on my back along with my saxophone and now... I’m playing my saxophone on the side of the street; hoping one generous pony would, at least, throw a bit at me.

I felt the cool night air brushed against my cream colored coat and silver spiky mane as I kept my music as lively as possible to brighten the mood in the sad and monotonic streets. As I swayed my body to the melody of my music, I looked into the night sky, seeing the usual bright moon was hidden behind veils of dark cloud. I closed my eyes, feeling my soul and music fused into one; bringing calmness and brightness to the -- once again -- dull streets. I swung my hips left and right, feeling the music taking over my body as I rhythmically bopped my head. Just as I noticed the end of the song was nearing, I poured my soul and all of my effort into my music, tapping my hoof and shook my head in a beat. I gave a long and steady note at the end, echoing my masterpiece into the night sky with my eyes closed as I kept pouring every soul I had into it.

I slowly opened my eyes, looking at the empty streets once more. I sighed. Ponies in the city were not like the ones who lived in rural towns. They just blew passed by me like I am just another beggar... unfortunately, I am one. I looked at the broken cobble sidewalk under my hooves, seeing only a couple of shiny bits glimmered under the streetlight as it let out a monotonous buzz. “At the very least I have something to eat today,” I muttered as I picked up the bits, putting them next to my saxophone in my instrument’s case. I picked the case up on its handle with my mouth, tasting the bitter taste of old wood on my tongue. I turned my head to the big and shiny city of Manehattan to my left with its various fancy advertisement billboards highlighted with bright spotlights and fancy blimps hovered lazily above the city.

“One day, I’ll be a big star and I’ll show my parents that my music is worth listening to,” I mumbled to myself as I walked along the broken sidewalk, passing the tall dark buildings and empty alleys. Then, I looked into the starless sky. “At least it’s a good night,” I mumbled once more, gazing at the dark space above but somehow or somewhere there was a pony up there just like to rain on my parade... literally. The dark clouds above let out a series of deep grumbles and a flash of lightning brighten the dark sky. Krapow, the thunder boomed. “Gyah!” I yelped as I was startled, dropping my case with a dull thud onto the wet and muddy ground. I let out an exasperated sigh as I shook my head, picking up the case once more. A frown tugged on my face as I tasted the earthy and gritty mud on its handle, eliciting a series of gags from me but I kept the content of my stomach down since... I needed them. I had not eaten for a day and my stomach kept reminding me by grumbling in every sight, scent or even the thought of food.

I sighed, letting the cold rain washed my coat. At least the rain gave me some justice: a free and economical shower. I listened to the heavy pitter-patter of rain dropped onto the stone streets and concrete building rooftops as I headed deeper into the city. Then, I looked over my shoulder, hearing a carriage was being pulled behind me. My eyes widened as I saw a long and sleek black limousine carriage with its gold trimmed edge passed by me but it ran over a puddle nearby, splashing me with dirty water. My coat and my cutie mark; a golden saxophone with a single note coming out of it, were covered with mud, feeling the itchy and gritty sensation on my coat as the mud slowly washed away in the rain.

“Hey!” I screamed, shaking my hoof in anger as I saw the back of the carriage vanishing in the distance with my brows furrowed and my lips pursed. “When I’m a big celebrity, I won’t treat other ponies like that,” I snorted as I continued walking, hanging my head low with my brows still furrowed in anger. The thunderous clouds above reflected my feelings as I trudged once more in the rain.

After an hour of trudging in the cold rain, I arrived at a local diner that stood between a large white and pristine bank building and a tall grey and dull office building. The small yet quaint style of the diner that was designed to look like single train cart brings a bit more life and variety into the street. The sign “Sweet Cotton’s Diner” above the building flickered. I smiled and trotted towards the metal door of the diner. I pushed open the door and the bell above it let out a cheerful ding, noticing my arrival. The bright florescent light and its monotonic hum greeted me as I looked around the near empty diner. Well, it was night time and ponies usually don’t come here unless it’s karaoke night or singles night. I trotted towards the counter as I sat on a stool that was located at the far end -- my usual spot from the day I was kicked out.

I set my saxophone case down on the floor next to me and picked up the couple of bits that I earned that day from the case, placing them the counter. “Hello,” greeted a soft pink unicorn mare who had a curly cream colored mane with a smile on her face. Her eyes; two brown orbs that radiated with kindness were locked onto me. She was wearing the diner’s uniform -- a slightly darker shade of pink dress with a white apron tied in the middle. The mare was my ange-- I mean, the one who helped me when I was scavenging in a dumpster behind the diner for food. Her name was Cotton. I think it’s quite a fitting name actually because she looked like a cotton candy since she was pink – in my opinion, that is.

“What can I do you for?” she asked as she smiled at me once again.

“Um... what can I get for two bits?” I asked in return, pushing the couple of bits across the counter with a sheepish smile. She looked at the bits with a horrified look on her face as if she saw a ghost popped into view.

“Is that all you got today, hun?” she asked as she looked at me with a questioning eyebrow.

“Well... uh...” I blabbered; my eyes darted anywhere except at Cotton’s gaze as I felt a drop of nervous sweat started to trickle down my forehead. She was leaning on the counter with her right fore hoof as her other hoof was on her waist, waiting for me to finish my nonsensical blabber. “Yes,” I sighed, my head hung in shame.

“Aww, don’t worry about it, hun,” she said in a sultry voice as I saw her hoof pushed the bits back towards me. “It’s on me,” she continued with a soft smile on her face.

“R-really?” I asked excitedly with a wide smile plastered across my pathetic face.

“Of course,” she giggled as she trotted into the kitchen.

“Thank you!” I shouted, hearing pots and pans clattered from the kitchen.

“It’s my pleasure,” she shouted back, giggling. I let out a relieved sigh, feeling lucky that I met such kind pony in this unforgiving city. I slid the bits into my hooves as I placed them back inside my saxophone case. My head scanned around at the empty tables in front of me as I listened to the monotonic hum of the lights. My stomach grumbled as I caught the scent of crispy fried grass and freshly baked bread wafted throughout the diner. My tongue lolled out and my eyes rolled in ecstasy.

“You’re sure are hungry,” I heard Cotton’s voice giggled. I quickly sat up straight, wiping the trail of drool off my face. I saw she had a plate of fried grass and bread balanced on her back as she looked at me with a smile.

“I am, actually,” I chuckled with a sheepish grin, scratching the back of my neck.

“Here you go,” she muttered, placing the plates in front of me. I took a deep breath, inhaling the delicious scent of freshly made food then quickly grabbed a hoofful of fried grass. “So, coffee or tea?” she asked with an amused grin on her face.

“Coffee,” I mumbled as I had a mouthful of fried grass. She giggled and trotted off towards the coffee maker in the middle part of the counter, my vision lingered on her flank as I slowly chewed my food. I saw her cutie mark that adorned her cute flank; a plate with a stack of pancakes. She quickly turned around as she caught me eying her cutie mark.

“You are such a naughty boy,” she said in a voice soft like silk and a teasing smile. I blushed in return as I quickly pushed my face into the plate with a clank, eating the rest of the fried grass. Yes, fried grass. Delicious! “So,” she started, setting a cup of coffee in front of me as I tentatively looked up. “How’s your effort to stardom going along?” she continued, leaning on the counter as she rested her head onto her hooves. She was... awfully close to me as I could feel her hot breath lightly brushed against my nose, making me a bit uncomfortable. I mean, I know every stallion wants a mare that are not shy to get close and personal but that’s just it, I needed some personal space and Cotton was entering a bit of ‘me’ space.

“Well, uh...” I started, backing my face away from hers. “It’s not great. Today I heard some celebrity pony was having a concert and that made my usual spot a bit less ponies than the days before,” I continued glumly, picking up the cup of coffee.

“Got any word from your parents? Is there anypony searching for you?” she asked a barrage of questions as she looked at me with pure earnest in her eyes.

“Well... no,” I sighed as I downed the cup of coffee. I let the bitter and rich taste of coffee soothe my taste buds and my aching heart, keeping my mind calm. It does its job but it cannot calm my mind like my music always did for me.

“What’s your plan?” she asked again as she refilled my cup.

“I think I’ll try to find a music producer if not, wow some talent scouts in music competitions,” I answered, tapping my chin in thought as I planned out my strategies.

“Got any place to stay?”

“Well,” I started hesitantly, looking at the rain outside. “The box that I usually crawled into is most likely soaked right now. I guess I’ll try to find some other place that’s safe from the rain,” I answered, looking at her with a sheepish grin as I scratched the back of my neck once more. I saw a horrified look plastered on her face as she listened to my answer, her hooves on her mouth and her eyes glistened under the light. Wow... am I that pathetic?

“That’s horrible,” she gasped, giving me a sympathetic look.

“What more can I do?” I forced out a chuckle as I gave a shrug.

“You stay with me,” she spoke up as she slammed the counter with a hoof; her eyes looked at me with determination.

“I already gave you enough trouble. So I really sho--,” I was cut by another slam.

“No, I insist,” she said with her brows furrowed.

“How about your parents? Aren’t they going to protest about this?” I asked as my face collapsed with worry.

“Don’t need to worry about that,” she chuckled, her expression slowly softens. “I live alone in an apartment nearby,” she explained as she gave me a casual shrug.

“Aren’t your boyfriend going to flip out when he knows another stallion lives with you?” I asked, feeling worried as I thought about my face being pounded by a burly stallion who worked as a part time body builder filled my mind.

“Don’t be silly. I have no time for stuff life that,” she answered as she untied her apron. Her white apron slowly fluttered onto the marble floor as she levitated it into a compartment behind the counter.

“Is it almost closing time?” I asked, looking at the clock hung above the entrance. I noticed it was ten o'clock in the evening.

“Yup, you better eat that bread or I’ll lock you in instead,” she said with a sly smile, giggling. With that, I quickly picked the bread up and greedily chomped down with primal vigor. My ears twitched as I heard Cotton giggled while she looked at me gulping down a cup of hot coffee, my eyes tearing up. Bad move, bad move, my mind protested as I downed the hot liquid into my mouth.

“Done,” I gasped, slamming the cup onto the counter. Took a deep breath as I almost choked myself to death, my chest heaved slowly as my heart hammered inside my throat. Cotton just giggled to my near death experience and walked into the kitchen with the cup and plates in tow by brown magical glow. I wiped my mouth with a hoof and patted my stomach as I sighed in contentment, looking up at the fluorescent light above me flickered. I turned my head to my right as I looked through the diner’s window and noticed the rain had stopped. Well... almost stopped. The cascade of rainfall from before had turned into a weak drizzle.

“Ready?” I heard her voice rang like bells. I quickly sat up and noticed that she was out of her uniform. Her small body greeted my vision as she looked at me with a coy smile.

“U-u-uh yeah,” I stammered, feeling the blood rushed into my cheeks as I picked up my saxophone case with my mouth. I hopped off the stool and walked towards the door. Cotton flipped a switch and all the lights went of with a click. Once we were outside, she immediately locked the entrance with a big golden padlock. I think robbers are most likely interested to the padlock rather than the diner itself, I pondered as I chuckled to myself. She looked at me with a questioning eyebrow as she heard my lone chuckle. “Y-yeah?” I asked, smiling sheepishly.

“Did you say something?” she asked as we walked down the streets to our left.

“N-nothing. I’m just humming that’s all,” I lied, my eyes looking into the dark sky as I let out whistle.

“We’re almost there,” Cotton spoke up as we were approaching a tall – five-story apartment building, near a street corner. She was right; her home was not that far from the diner. It was only a five minute trot. Apparently, the apartment had a couple of empty rooms as I saw a window on the fifth and the third floor was dark. “Mine is on the first floor,” she spoke up as she picked up her pace. I nodded in return, diligently followed her from behind.

“Here we are,” she chuckled as we turned to the first door on the right of the first floor in the apartment building. I saw her door had the number ‘01’ on it. She levitated out a key under the welcome mat and unlocked the door with a soft click. The wooden door let out a long whiny creak as she slowly pushed open the door, reaching for the light switch on the wall by door. With another click, the light in the middle of the room flickered to life, bathing the room with its orange glow. “Welcome to my home,” she giggled as she invitingly waved her hoof to me.

“I hope I’m not intruding,” I muttered as I slowly walked passed her, entering her home. My head looked around, scanning the four wall room. It was not much actually. The main room was not too spacious but it could fit a small family of ponies. There were a few doors that I saw from the front door. Across from me was clearly the bathroom and the door on the right was the kitchen. Then the bedroom is the door on the left, I thought to myself as I looked at the door in question.

An old fashioned black leather couch sat in the middle of the room with a glass coffee table in front of it. The wall on the right had a small bookcase filled with many books which seems to be romantic novels and the wall across from it had many framed photos hung on it. I trotted closer, looking at the pictures. They were mostly pictures of Cotton and her family. A brown unicorn stallion with a green spiky mane was standing next to a yellow unicorn mare with cotton pink mane, both of them were smiling. I assumed those were her parents as I noticed a small pink unicorn foal wrapped in a blanket who was in the mare's cradling hoof.

“Yup, that’s me,” she suddenly whispered beside me, looking at the picture with the loving affection of a child. I just silently stared at her as she looked lovingly into the photo with a smile on her face. “Well,” she spoke up, wiping her eyes with a hoof. “Looks like we’ll share the room,” she said casually with a sly grin on her face.

“W-what?!” I stuttered as I looked at her with my eyes widened in shock and my mouth agape. I was completely surprised about her split second decision on sharing a room. Honestly I want to but as a gentlecolt that I proclaimed myself to be, I had to protest about it. But... she did suggest it herself. Maybe I can—no! Bad Saxy! Bad!

“H-how about I sleep on the couch instead?” I asked with a sheepish grin, scratching my mane.

“Are you sure?” she asked me in a voice like velvet as she gave me a wink. Sweet Celestia! I could feel my heart stopped and my blood rushed into my cheeks and.... ‘other’ parts but I quickly shook the thoughts away.

“Y-yes,” I stuttered, nodding as my smile slowly faltered.

“I’ll get you a blanket and some pillows then,” she chuckled as she entered the bedroom next to the wall of pictures. I let out a sigh which had the mixture of regret and relief. I shook my ‘unsavory’ thoughts away and trotted to the leather couch, setting sad my flank on it. To my surprise, it was comfortable. Well, comfortable compared to the cupboard box that I lived for the past week. But still, I thought of it as a sweet grace of fortune from the goddess herself. I flopped my body on it, letting myself sunk into the soft leathery couch as I closed my eyes.

Then I noticed I was standing on a wooden porch of my parent’s house back in Ponyville. My parent’s had a double-story timber framed house like any other ponys’ house back home with their thatched rooftops. I saw a burly white earth stallion with black spiky mane and tail stood in front of the door with his angry eyes glared at me. Next to him was a small unicorn mare which had yellow coat with puffy green mane and tail who had a sadder expression on her face, her eyes welled in tears.

“I’m not useless! I know I can be a musician someday!” I yelled, my eyes were brimming with tears. I was looking at my parents through blurry vision yet I stood my ground.

“Your music is just a waste of time. Just be a blacksmith like your dad!” my father yelled back, his voice was deep and thundering.

“No! I’ll prove that my talent means something,” I screamed, stomping my hooves onto the wooden porch floor.

“Why don’t you go ahead then and never come back,” my father suggested with his booming voice.

“Please, honey. Don’t say that,” my mother sniffed as she tried to calm my raging father.

“Fine!” I yelled as I stomped my hoof onto the porch for the final time. I wiped my tears away with a hoof, glaring at my father. I saw he was picking up something behind the door and quickly chucked my saxophone case into the lush green lawn. I turned around and walked into the yard as I picked up my saxophone case. I let out a snort and quickly dashed away, leaving my home far far behind as I listened my heart slowly breaking in my chest.

“Please, Tone. Don’t go,” my mother wailed behind me but... I kept on going and never stopped running.

“Mother,” I gasped, my eyes shot opened as my vision was greeted with a worried look from Cotton.

“Are you okay?” she asked, levitating the promised pillows and blanket onto the glass coffee table.

“Yeah, just had a nightmare that’s all,” I grunted as I sat up, wiping my brow from cold sweat. I looked at my front hooves as I felt they were shaking for some reason.

“Are you sure?” she asked again, looking at me with her brows furrowed in worry and her lips pursed together.

“Yes,” I said as I forced a smile, trying to assure the worried mare.

“Do you need anything else?” she asked as she waved her hooves to the blanket and pillows presented on the coffee table in front of us.

“No, this is fine,” I answered, still smiling to the mare.

“Well,” she started as a small smile tugged on the corner of her lips, standing up. “I guess this is goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” I replied. Then, I saw her horns let out a brown glow as the lights turned off with a click.

“Just knock on the door if you need anything,” she said as she walked into her bedroom.

“Okay,” I replied as I placed the pillows on to the couch.

“Night,” she whispered, slowly closing the door.

“Night,” I whispered back as I heard the door closed with soft click. I pulled the blanket up to my chest as I flopped back down into the couch, looking into the dark ceiling. I closed my eyes once again as I slowly drifted back into slumber. Just before I was fully dragged into dreamland, I whispered once more, “Night.”

Author's Note

Other characters shall be introduced as the story progresses. Also, give me a smack on the back of my head if you see any glaring mistakes.

Chapter 2

I was standing on a grassy hill that overlooked Ponyville’s cemetery. The usual cheerful blue sky had been replaced by a blanket of angry clouds, grumbling in the distance as I saw flashes of lightning brighten the sky in the horizon. The warmth of Celestia’s sun was no more, only to be replaced by the cold and heavy droplets of rain, drenching my coat and mane. The sensation of cold prickling fingers of the rain and the violent howling wind that brushed against my coat reflected my inner feelings: empty, alone and cold.

I saw a group of ponies who wore black and dark clothes stood around a grave as I saw my father walked towards it with a bouquet of pink roses in his mouth. His tears and the rain mixed together as he looked at my mother’s grave with his red eyes. I felt hot tears rolled down my cheeks as I my gaze fell onto the grave, listening to my glass heart break into tiny pieces with a soft crack echoed in the back of my mind. My heart ached as if it was burning in a cauldron of hot oil and... the dam inside me broke. I felt the cascade of hot tears streamed out from my eyes as I cried, wailed, shrieked and bellowed into the dark sky, pounding the grassy hill with a hoof.

“Whyy?!” I yelled into the dark clouds above through blurry vision. “W-hyyyy?!” I screamed as I bawled on top of the hill, letting the coldness of the rain numbed my aching heart. “Mother!” I screamed until my lungs felt like they were burning in my chest and my throat getting hoarse. “Mother!” The dark sky only grumbled in return.

“Mother,” I gasped; my eyes shot open as I felt hot tears dampened my cheeks and the back of my neck. I was greeted by the buzzing sound of the light above me, bathing me with its orange glow. “I-it... it was a dream,” I breathed as I sat up, wiping the tears away with a hoof. My head groggily scanned around the room, slowly realizing that I was alone. I also noticed that my saxophone’s case was sitting next to the front door and Cotton’s bedroom door was still closed. I guess, I woke up too early, I pondered as I looked around the windowless room. I saw a wall clock hung above the bathroom door in the corner of my eyes and noticed that it was seven o’clock in the morning.

I let out shuddering sigh as I brushed my mane with a hoof, looking into the distance. What was the dream all about? I asked myself, my eyes darted frantically to search for an answer but... to no avail. Then, I felt that my heart was still hammering inside my chest in alarm as I clutched my chest with a hoof, the feeling of anxiety and fear slowly grew inside me. I quickly took a deep breath as I closed my eyes, filling my lungs with fresh ai--. Wait a minute, I thought as I sniffed the air once more. I noticed the scent of pancakes wafted from the kitchen on my right as I saw a beam of light peeked through the small opening of the door.

I grunted as I stood up, sneaking towards the door. Just before I reached it, my ears twitched as they were graced by a divine sound. It was... Cotton’s voice! Her voice was soft as the silk, smooth like diamond and sweet like cotton candy. She was not even singing, she was just humming a tune as she was – I assumed – making pancakes. I slowly leaned against the wall near the kitchen door, listening to her angelic voice as I closed my eyes in bliss. I felt my worries, fears and doubts slowly faded away as I felt my heartstrings plucked in every note of her voice yet... there was a distant pain hidden in her tune. If I had to compare her voice to a sound of an instrument, I would compare it to the pure and sweet sound of the harp as the hoof of a professional harpist danced on its strings.

“Ahem,” I heard her voice coughed next to me as my eyes shot opened in alarmed once again. My head quickly turned to look at her and saw that I was greeted with a smile.

“I-I was just... uh. Trying to find my contact lenses. Yeah! That’s it. My contact lenses,” I stammered as I quickly pretended to look for my imaginative contact lenses on the carpeted floor by combing it, laughing nervously. I felt the blood rushed into my cheeks and my heart hammered in my chest once again.

“Uh-huh,” she hummed with an amused grin plastered on her face; her brown orbs were looking at me with radiating glee as she had a spatula wrapped in brown magical glow floated behind her. “Well, after you find your contact lenses, I had breakfast prepared,” she chuckled as she entered the kitchen.

I let out a sigh, my ears drooped in embarrassment. Darn it, I mentally scolded myself. I stood up on all four hooves and pulled open the kitchen window. I quickly put a hoof between my eyes and the blinding light, squinting in pain. My eyes slowly adjusted to the light as I slowly put my hoof down, looking at the small kitchen. It was half the size of the main room. It had a light pink tiled floor with cream colored wallpaper – which was a pleasant to look at. Across from me was a large window that overlooked the rising sun in the horizon and under it was an ordinary stove, oven and dishwasher lined along the wall. To the wall on the right had shelves and cupboards of ingredients and other cooking items lined along it as well. It was cramped but... still sufficed to fit a few small ponies.

Then I noticed a small dining table with two chairs faced each other sat in the middle of the kitchen. A tall stack of pancakes sat in the middle of the table, wafting its delicious smell throughout the small space. “Have a seat,” Cotton’s voice rang as she set plates onto the table, along with forks and knives by levitating them.

“Thank you,” I said as I gave my head a nod, walking towards the table. I sat down next to the table and the chair let out a whiny creak as it wobble slightly. I think she needs new furniture, I thought to myself, looking at the old wooden chair.

“Please, eat as much as you like,” she giggled, attracting my attention back towards her. She was sitting across from me, looking at me with a smile. I guess she was waiting for me to start.

“Thanks,” I chuckled with a sheepish smile, placing a couple of pancakes onto my plate. I stared at it, sniffing its wonderful scent once again as my eyes rolled in bliss. I heard Cotton giggled at my childish behavior as I snapped back into reality. “Sorry, I was being silly,” I chuckled with a sheepish smile still intact to my face as I nervously scratched the back of my neck.

“Don’t be,” she giggled, levitating a bottle of maple syrup to me. “It’s cute,” she added, smiling. I felt a cord in my heart plucked with a soft ding echoed in my mind. I nodded as I reached for the bottle, trying my best not to blush. I took the bottle in my hooves and flicked the lid open with a clack, pouring the sweet maple syrup onto my stack of pancakes. I let my eyes looked up and saw she was placing her stack of pancakes onto her plates, silently humming a tune with a gentle smile beamed from her face. The ray of light behind her gave the impression that she was an angel that graced me with her presence. If she was a pegasus, that would be even more fitting, I thought to myself as a smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

I placed the syrup bottle in front of Cotton’s reach as I stabbed the fork into the pancakes. I lifted a whole pancake and shoved it into my mouth with vigor. Then, my eyes widened upon eating it. It was spongy and in every bite, I felt a party of deliciousness exploded in my mouth. I let out a throaty chuckle, my eyes rolled in happiness. I indulged myself by slowly chewing the soft pancake, letting the sweetness of the maple syrup joined the party. I heard her soft giggle chimed in my ears. With that, we continued eating our breakfast with a few idle chats in between.

Breakfast was delicious and I was wholeheartedly surprised by Cotton’s astounding cooking – albeit she worked in a diner. But still, her cooking was great. Almost as great as her voice. I was sitting lazily on the chair, patting my satisfied and – for the first time in a week – filled stomach. Cotton placed the plates and pans into the dishwasher and turned it on with a flick of a switch as it buzzed into life. Then, she trotted to the table, sitting across from me.

“Aren’t you late for work?” I asked as my head scanned for a clock.

“I’m taking a day off today,” she said as she placed her head onto her hooves, looking at me.

“And your boss is not going to get angry or anything?” I asked again, looking at her with a questioning eyebrow. She giggled in response.

“Well, since I’m the owner of the diner... I guess I don’t mind taking a day off,” she explained, looking at me with a wide smile on her face. I resisted the urge to kiss my hoof onto my forehead.

Of course! Sweet ‘Cotton’s’ diner, I mentally screamed to myself, feeling a bit foolish. “O-oh,” I replied, smiling nervously as I brushed the mane on my neck. “So... um, how about the other workers?” I asked again, placing my hoof onto the table.

“I already gave them an early notice before you arrived last night,” she answered with a sage-like nod. Then a bright smile cracked onto her lips, looking at me with earnest. “How about you? What are you going to do today?” she asked as she once again placed her head on to her hooves, leaning closer to me.

“I was planning to try to find a talent scout today but... I don’t know how,” I answered, tapping my chin in thought as I looked into the distance. I felt my eyes welled up with tears a bit as the blinding light from the window hurt my eyes. I blinked the tear away, readjusting my eyes to the light.

“How about we have some fun?” she suggested as her head perked up and her eyes beamed with excitement, her mane bounced as a result.

“W-what?” I blabbered like an idiot, looking at her with a surprised expression plastered on my face. “Well..,” I started, looking away from her. “I guess I can take a break today from the search for a talent scout,” I continued, mumbling in thought.

“Great!” she excitedly exclaimed as she jumped out from her chair, trotting passed me.

“Where are you going?” I asked as my head followed her until she was out of the kitchen.

“I’m going to take a shower,” her muffled voice rang from the bathroom. “No peeking,” she intoned in a teasing tone. I felt the blood rushed into my cheeks once again. I sighed, jumping off the chair. I trotted towards the leather couch and flopped my sorry flank onto it, sighing once again. Then my ears perked up, hearing a familiar sweet voice. The pitter-patter of the shower and her voice created a unique orchestra. Her tone flowed smoothly as I felt excitement and relaxation at the same time.

I leaned against the couch as I closed my eyes, hearing her voice chimed throughout the room. Then images started to pop into an empty canvas; which was my mind. I saw a wide lush field of grass spanned into the horizon – safe only for a big tree with its branches that were filled with life, stood out among the flatland. I felt the gentle breeze brushed lightly against my coat as my mane fluttered in the wind. The sound of rustling grass and the whispers of the wind filled my ears. Then, I squinted my eyes as saw a family of ponies stood under the tree next to a wooden swing that was hung under the branches of the mighty tree.

I saw a brown unicorn stallion who had spiky green mane put a young soft pink unicorn filly with cream colored mane on the swing. Then the pink filly let out a hearty laugh as her father pushed the swing, propelling her into the air. Her cream colored mane fluttered in the wind and her giggles were carried into the distance, filling the emptiness of the flatland with even more life. A yellow coated mare with pink mane sat on the grass, lovingly looking at her daughter’s happy face as her father continuously pushed the swing.

“Hey,” a voice whispered as I felt a nudge on my side. I groggily opened my eyes and was greeted with Cotton’s smile. Her mane was still wet as she just got out of shower. “What were you thinking while you were closing your eyes with a grin on your face?” she asked, giggling.

“I was just thinking about a precious memory, that’s all,” I answered with a knowing smile on my face.

“Well, whatever it is, it’s time for you to take a shower,” she said, walking towards her room. “Don’t take long showers, okay?” she chuckled as she closed the door with a click. I shook my head with a grin plastered on my face as I headed towards the shower.

The soothing warmth of the sun above me and the gentle caress of the wind lightly touched my coat as we were walking in a park near the center of Manehattan city. The flat grassy park was out of place from the tall and grey buildings that stood around it as if the buildings were a great big wall that were closing in the only piece of nature left within the city.

The sound of laughter filled the park as I saw many colorful fillies and colts running around the grassy slopes and hills. The trees that were scattered around the park let out rustling sounds as a gentle breeze blew. “Eep,” I heard Cotton’s voice squeaked as she held down her white sundress hat from flying off in the wind. She was wearing a white gown with sunflower patterns on it, which fluttered in the gentle breeze. Her gown complimented her soft pink coat and cream colored mane. Then, her head turned to look at me; her brown eyes glimmered under the sunlight.

“Yes?” I asked, smiling.

“Aren’t you tired?” she asked with a worried expression. I gave her a questioning eyebrow in return. Then, she pointed at the saxophone case that I was carrying in my mouth. Now, when she mentioned it, my jaw does feel a bit sore, I thought to myself, looking into the colts and fillies galloping in front of us.

“I’m fine,” I chuckled, as I looked at her with a smile on my face.

“If you say so,” she said with worry still showing in her eyes. My eyes quickly darted around the park to change the subject.

“Hey,” I spoke up, pointing at a ice-cream cart approaching in front of us. “Let’s go buy some ice cream,” I suggested, smiling at the worried mare. She nodded in return; her eyes sparkled with excitement once more. With that, we trotted towards the cart. As we approached it, we saw a lot of variety of ice-cream flavors that were presented to us.

“What flavors do you want?” the ice-cream seller asked, looking at the both of us with a smile. The seller was a green coated pegasus mare with a bright yellow flowing mane.

“Vanilla,” Cotton excitedly exclaimed as the ice-cream seller chuckled in response, handing her a scoop of vanilla ice-cream cone.

“How about you, sir?” the seller asked again, looking at me.

“Strawberry,” I simply replied simply, nodding.

“Here you go,” the seller said as she handed my requested ice-cream cone. “That’ll be two bits,” she added, smiling.

“Um... could you?” I muttered as I looked at Cotton, handing my ice-cream cone. She silently nodded with a smile as she levitated my desert for me. I set down my saxophone case, opening it with a click as I picked the only bits I had. “Here you go,” I said as I handed the payment. The mare nodded with a smile on her face and pushed her cart passed us.

“Here’s your ice-cream,” Cotton giggled, levitating my desert towards me.

“Thanks,” I chuckled as I gave the ice-cream a lick. The sweet frozen dairy strawberry flavor exploded on my tongue as I let out a shiver. Eating a cold treat during a hot day was always an enjoyment to behold. Cotton was also enjoying her treat as she gave her frozen delight a greedy lick. “How about we find a place to sit?” I suggest. Because eating while standing in the middle of the park seems a bit odd to be honest.

“Where should we sit?” she asked, her head scanning the park around us.

“There,” I spoke up as I pointed to a big tree which provided a generous amount of shade on top of a small hill. I looked at her as she nodded. Then, we quickly trotted towards the tree with our ice-cream carefully balanced on our hoof. We let out a sigh as we sat under the cool shade of the tree, continuing to lick our frozen treats. In front of us were a group of fillies and colts who were enjoying a picnic with their parents as giggles of glee filled the air.

“Thank you,” Cotton whispered beside me as she gazed into the park, absentmindedly licking her ice-cream cone.

“For what?” I chuckled as I gave her a questioning eyebrow.

“For treating me,” she said as I saw a small smile tugged onto the corner of her lip.

“It’s nothing,” I said as I took a big and final bite onto the ice-cream, shivering by its coldness. Then I heard she giggled. I looked at her and I saw she had this... warm and gentle smile beamed from her face. But her face slowly turned solemn and sad.

“No, it’s not nothing,” she whispered, looking away. “You spent your only bits to buy me an ice-cream,” she added, her voice had a hint of sadness. I gave a hearty laugh as she looked at me with a confused look on her face, her eyes glistened with tears.

“I can get those back when I’m a famous musician,” I chuckled as I gave her a wink. For a split second, I thought I saw she blushed as she looked away with a coy smile tugged on her lips. Then, to my surprise, she took a big bite of the ice-cream like I did and her face scrunched by the coldness. I let out another hearty laugh, falling onto my back as I held my side with a hoof. She looked at me as she turned into a delightful shade of red, trying to control her embarrassment. Then she harrumphed, raising her head into the sky as she blushed.

“Sorry,” I said between bated breaths as I tried my best to stifle my laugh, wiping a tear from my eyes.

“Hump!” she snorted, clearly blushing as she looked away.

“That’s cute,” I whispered as I sat back up, looking into the distance in front of us. I didn’t see if she reacted because from there... we went silent. But, it was not an awkward type of silence. It was... different and comforting. We were enjoying each others company as we gaze towards the ponies who were leaving the park. The sound of rustling leaves above us filled the comforting silence, the breeze gently brushed against our coats and manes and the warmth of the sun caressed our body.

“Do you think I had a beautiful voice?” she spoke up softly as she set down her sundress hat onto the grass, letting her mane flutter in the wind.

“Yes,” I answered simply with a smile on my face. Then I felt pressure on my left shoulder as she leaned next to me, her gaze looked into the distance with a shy smile plastered on her face.

“Thank you,” she whispered, closing her eyes.

“No, thank you,” I whispered back as I closed my eyes, leaning towards her. I felt the warmth when our coats touched together – which was better than the sun’s warm touch. We kept our silence, listening to our beating hearts echoed in the wind. I felt something in my chest that was completely alien to me. It was a mixture of happiness, warmth, determination and hope wrapped into one and... I liked it. I had a wide smile cracked on my face as time went on. I was slowly dragged into slumber of comfort and before I was fully asleep I heard a soft whisper next to me but I didn’t hear what it was. Then, I entered into the land of beautiful dreams.

Author's Note

Like before: If you notice any glaring mistake, slap me at the back of my neck. Also, other characters will be introduced as the story progresses.

Chapter 3

While I was slowly returning from the land of sweet dreams, I heard voices were whispering nearby. “Look at them,” I heard a mare’s voice whispered that had a wild and lively tone to it as I felt a cool breeze brushed lightly on the fur of my belly.

“Don’t be like that. They’re just having some peaceful time together,” another voice whispered. But this one had elegance and maturity in her voice.

“Yeah, right,” the first voice chuckled.

“W-what?” I slurred as I slowly opened my eyes, seeing at the dark starless night sky above through the thick branches of the tree that I was under. When I raised my head to look, I saw two ponies were looking directly at me. I squinted my eyes as the streetlights and the lights in the buildings lit behind them were blinding me. After a few moments of blinking, my eyes finally adjusted to the surrounding. When my vision returned to normal, I saw a white unicorn mare with a lively spiky blue mane who wore a pair of purple shades was grinning at me. The other mare who stood next to the first one was an earth pony who had a light grey coat and long flowing black mane, looking at me with her purple eyes questioningly. I also noticed the second pony wore a pink bow tie.

“W-what time is it?” I groggily asked, looking to my left. I realized that I was lying on the grass on my back as Cotton was soundly asleep in my hooves, resting her head on my shoulders. The drumming of my heartbeat increased at the sight as she too slowly awoke from slumber, groggily looking around her surroundings. Then her eyes locked into mine and a smile cracked on her lips.

“Hi,” she whispered as she let out a small yawn, clearly still in a state of half-asleep.

“Hi,” I whispered back, smiling sheepishly at the mare.

“So,” I heard the first pony’s coughed, gaining my attention as I turned my head to look. “Having fun, huh?” she asked, grinning.

“Vinyl,” the second pony scolded, glaring at the first pony.

“Come on, Octavia. I’m just kidding around,” the mare who I assumed ‘Vinyl’ replied as she let out a chuckle.

“Oh!” I heard Cotton’s voice gasped next to me as she jumped onto her hooves, her face turned into a shade of red. “I-I’m sorry,” she squeaked softly as she looked away with a coy smile on her face.

“U-um,” I started as I slowly stood up; my cheeks were as the same shade as Cotton's. “N-no problem,” I continued as I had a sheepish smile on my face, scratching the back of my neck in embarrassment. Cotton’s horn let out a brown glow as she levitated her white sundress back onto her head, hiding her eyes under it.

“Sorry to intrude your slumber,” ‘Octavia’ I assumed spoke up nervously as she took a step forward. “My name is Octavia,” she continued as she raised a hoof for a hoofshake. “And the unicorn next to me is Vinyl,” she added, smiling.

“I-I’m Saxy Tone,” I replied as I gave her hoof a shake. “And the mare next to me is Cotton,” I continued as I shyly looked at the soft pink mare next to me. I saw Cotton gave a nod upon hearing her name being introduced.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Vinyl spoke up with a grin on her face. Her lips were quivering from stifling something as I looked at her with a questioning eyebrow. “Y-your name is ‘Saxy’?” she asked as she snorted a laugh, trying her best to stifle her giggle.

“Vinyl,” sighed exasperatedly to her partner’s impoliteness, glaring at the white unicorn.

“No, it’s okay. I’m used to it since some ponies think the name is ‘funny’,” I said with a dull grin on my face. “Yes,” I replied, looking at Vinyl as I gave her a nod. “My name is Saxy.”

“Bahahaha!” Vinyl barked out a laugh as she fell on to her back, clutching her side. “It... It... It sounds like ‘sexy’,” she said between laughs, the corner her eyes were tearing up.

“Vinyl, don’t be like that. That’s rude,” Octavia hissed, glaring at the laughing mare.

“No, it’s fine. I’m used to it. Trust me,” I said with a small smile tugged on my lips as I looked at Octavia.

“Forgive my friend,” she said as she gave her head a slight bow apologetically while her eyes still stabbing daggers at the laughing mare next to her. Then, I felt something tugged on my tail. I looked next to me and saw Cotton was standing beside me. Her eyes were still hidden under the sundress hat but I saw she was biting her lips as I heard a soft grumble emanated from her. We haven’t had dinner yet, I thought to myself as I also felt hunger slowly came crushing down on me.

“We better get going,” I mumbled to the other ponies as I picked up my saxophone case which silently leaned against the tree.

“Wait,” Vinyl spoke up as she slowly stood onto her hooves, wiping a tear from her eyes. “Let us buy you guys some dinner,” she offered with a wide grin on her face.

“Good idea, Vinyl,” Octavia finally beamed as a smile spread onto her lips. “Yes, we were just about to head to get some dinner when we accidentally came across with you two,” she explained as she looked at us, smiling.

“But I don’t have money on me,” I replied, looking at them with a worried expression.

“You don’t have to, we’re paying,” Vinyl spoke up as she brushed her mane with a hoof, grinning at me.

“Why?” Cotton finally spoke up next to me; her face was riddled with questions.

“Well, for disturbing such a cute couple in their sleep,” Vinyl chuckled with an amused smile on her face.

“W-we’re not...” I started, nervously spoke up but... I went silent because I didn’t hear any protest from Cotton. When I looked at her, she was lowering her head as she silently blushed next to me with a smile on her face.

“So, we’re eating in that place,” Vinyl said as she pointed at a building behind her. I looked over her shoulder and saw there was a small and expensive looking restaurant just across the street. There were ponies who wore expensive suits and dresses trotting in and out the restaurant. The sign ‘La Lush’ were nailed on the front roof of the restaurant.

“Are you sure?” I asked, looking at her with a questioning eyebrow.

“Positive,” Octavia answered with a nod, softly smiling at us.

“Alright, let’s go,” Vinyl cheered as she walked towards the restaurant behind her. I saw Octavia gave an inviting nod as she followed her friend from behind.

“Come on,” I whispered to Cotton. She gave a nod and began to follow the other ponies. I picked up my saxophone case that was sitting next to my hooves and walked towards the fancy looking restaurant.

The sound of the soothing piano song chimed into my ears as we entered the restaurant. The song was light-hearted and cheerful yet it had a hidden emotional depth in it as I could see the notes rolling around in the air like excited puppies running around in the lush green garden. The song kept on playing in the background as we continued to walk into the restaurant. I looked around the room that we were in and noticed it was certainly a fancy and expensive restaurant. The walls had white wallpaper and gold-trim along the bottom and the top of the wall. The ceiling had a big picture of Celestia’s golden sun and Luna’s silver moon painted in an artistic style onto it that only can be done by a very talented painter.

Golden chandeliers hung throughout the restaurant and a small statuette of the two rulers of Equestria stood in the middle of the room. There were rows of tables in front of us that were decorated into perfection. I saw lots silverware glimmered under the light. “Let me handle this,” Octavia spoke up as she walked towards a pony that stood behind the reception table. The pony wore a black suit with a black bow tie. He was a light yellow coated earth stallion with a sleek black mane.

“Octavia could get us a table,” I heard Vinyl whispered as she looked at her friend.

“May I help you with that, sir?” A voice popped out behind me as I quickly jumped, turning around with my eyes widened in shock. I saw a unicorn stallion who looked almost just like the one who stood behind the reception table except the one in front of me had a grey coat and a white sleek mane, wearing the same uniform. The stallion had the same surprised expression that I had on my face.

“H-huh?” I mumbled as I felt my jaw began to sore from carrying my saxophone case.

“Your case, sir,” the pony replied as he regained his composure, standing in a professional manner with his head held up high and stood as high as he can.

“O-oh,” I said as I set the case down. He nodded and his horn let out a gentle green glow, levitating my case into the air as he trotted away. “W-wait, where is he ta--,” before I could finished, I was interrupted by a giggle from Vinyl.

“He’s just taking your stuff at the baggage area at the back,” Vinyl explained with a grin, looking towards me over her shoulder.

“Right,” I heard Octavia spoke up, approaching us. “The waiter will take us to our seat,” she continued as she gave us a smile. Then she turned around and followed our waiter to our seats. We all nodded to each other and followed behind.

Our table was exceptionally big. Cotton was sitting to my left and across from me was Vinyl whereas Octavia was next to her. Our waiter from before set the menu on our table and pulled out a notepad from his jacket, waiting for our orders. To be honest, it was the first time I ever been into a fancy restaurant and I was completely dependent to our new acquaintance to help us settle the things in the restaurant.

“Just give us your special salad and the best bottle of wine you got,” Vinyl said as her horn let out a purple glow, levitating the menu back towards our waiter for the night.

“I-I don’t drink,” I stammered, raising a hoof in protest with a sheepish smile on my face.

“Well...” Octavia started, looking at me with a questioning eyebrow. “What do you want to drink then?” she asked.

“Just a glass of plain water would be fine,” I said, looking at the waiter. He nodded and trotted passed me – assuming the kitchen was behind us.

“So,” Vinyl started as she rested her head onto her hooves, exchanging looks between Cotton and me. “What do you do for a living?”

“Vinyl,” Octavia whispered slowly with an angry tone, glaring at her friend.

“It’s fine,” Cotton spoke up, smiling as she kept her gaze on the table. “I work as a manager and owner of a local diner,” she answered with a sheepish grin, tentatively looking at our company. Well, I don’t blame her. We were in the presence of somepony who might be a celebrity or somepony important. Paying for four ponies in a restaurant as fancy as this can't be cheap.. If an owner of a local diner would have a slight embarrassment in stating her job, it would be even more shameful of me as I was a beggar who played saxophone to earn money on the side of the street.

“I see,” Octavia mumbled as she nodded in thought.

“How about you ‘Saxy’?” Vinyl asked me with an amused grin.

“I’m... a.. saxophone player,” I admitted, blushing as I kept my stare on the table.

“Oh, really?” Octavia spoke up; her eyes sparkled in interest as I saw Vinyl nodded with her grin still intact.

“Yes,” I nodded.

“Who do you work for?” Octavia asked, looking at me with a questioning eyebrow and an inspecting eye.

“I don’t work for anypony... yet,” I answered as I played with the tablecloth, keeping my gaze away from them.

“Are you looking for somepony to work with?” I heard Vinyl asked while I twirled the tablecloth underneath.

“Yes!” I exclaimed excitedly, my head instantly perked as I felt a big smile tugged onto my face. But then... I suddenly felt every eyes in the restaurant bore into me, making me uncomfortable. I slowly sunk back under the table with a sheepish smile on my face as I heard a soft giggle from beside me.

“Well, I know a music producer who wants to find a musician with talent lately,” Octavia mumbled, rubbing her chin in thought. “Do you have a demo record?” she asked, looking at me questioningly with an eyebrow raised.

“A-a demo record?” I asked return, giving her a confused look that was plastered on my face as I tilted my head slightly.

“Yes,” Octavia nodded.

“I don’t think I have one,” I mumbled, my hope quickly deflated as my ears drooped onto my head.

“How about this,” Vinyl started with a smirk on her face, raising an eyebrow. “You show us how beastly you are with a sax right now, and we’ll give the producer a letter to give you a chance,” she continued as she leaned closer on her hooves. I nervously looked at Cotton next to me and I saw she was smiling. She gave me an encouraging nod with a warm smile plastered across her face. I nodded to her in return, nervously swallowed a lump in my throat.

“Fine,” I said, looking at Vinyl. At that point, I felt my fore hooves were shaking and my heart was hammering in my chest. My eyes darted in every direction in anxiety.

“Good,” Vinyl chuckled as she leaned back onto her chair. I saw her head quickly scanned around the restaurant for our waiter. “You!” she yelled, pointing at the waiter pony who startled me earlier. “Grab me his saxophone,” she continued as she yelled with a grin on her face. I think she knew that everypony in the restaurant was looking at her but for some reason... she liked the attention. I heard Octavia sighed as she shook her head in exasperation.

“Good luck,” Cotton whispered to me, leaning towards me with an encouraging smile on her face.

“Thanks,” I whispered back, trying my best to smile under the massive pressure.

“Here you go, sir,” the waiter pony spoke up, startling me once again as I jumped on my chair. I clutched my chest as I felt my heart nearly popped out from my chest, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves.

“T-thank you,” I breathed as I jumped off the chair. The waiter nodded and trotted to the other patrons in the restaurant behind me. I bent down and opened my case with a click. My bronze saxophone glimmered under the restaurant’s light, making me slightly more relaxed. I put on the strap over my shoulder as I stood on my hind legs. I placed my hooves onto the keys and my lips onto the mouthpiece. I heard whispers of ponies broke around me, closing my eyes.

I took a deep breath and slowly poured my soul as the notes started to flow out from my saxophone. The notes floated throughout the restaurant, gracing them with a slow and soothing sound of sweet jazz. I felt myself getting calmer as I played my instrument, recollecting the precious moments that I had with Cotton under the tree. I swayed side to side, mixing my soul, my heart and music into one with a wide smile on my face as I imagined Cotton’s warm smile.

I bobbed my head in a beat as I was immersed fully into the melody and rhythmically tapped my hoof. My hip swayed as my slow music progressed into a much livelier tone as I poured more and more soul into it. I opened my eyes and saw all the ponies were dancing on the restaurant floor with smiles on their face. I smiled and looked at Cotton. She was closing her eyes, swaying her body side to side as she listened to my sweet sweet music. I noticed Octavia was doing the same thing while Vinyl looked at me with a grin, bobbing her head. I closed my eyes once again, preparing myself for the big finish. I shook my head as I was feeling the melody caressed my body, sending chills up my spine. Then, I slowed down the melody, returning once more in a slow and smoothing pace. I gave a final blow as I ended the ended the song in a smooth finish.

I heard the sound of ponies stomping their hooves and cheering around me as I opened my eyes. All of the ponies in the restaurant were standing around me, praising me on my performance. I gave them a bow, smiling at their response. With that, all of them returned to their seats as I heard they were whispering about me. “Well,” I heard Vinyl started as I carefully placed my saxophone back into its case, closing it with a click. “I think the producer is going to like you,” she said with an amused grin.

“He certainly will,” Octavia chimed in, smiling at me.

“That was wonderful,” Cotton purred as she looked at me with an excited smile plastered on her face.

“T-thank you,” I stammered, grinning sheepishly at the praise that I got from them. It was the first time that I ever performed in front of that many ponies even if I played at the side of the streets. I felt... fulfilled. I sat back on the chair next to Cotton with a wide grin on my face.

“That was a good show, sir,” I heard the voice of the waiter who stood at the reception table spoke up next to me as he picked up my saxophone case with a smile on his face.

“Thank you,” I said as I nodded, grinning sheepishly.

“No, thank you,” he nodded back with a wide smile as he trotted towards the baggage area.

“It seems you got yourself a few fans,” Vinyl commented as she leaned back, smiling. “We’ll have to keep in touch,” she continued as her horn glowed with purple magic, levitating a business card towards me. “I’m a local Dj and Octavia here,” she began as she pointed to the mare next to her. “Is a well-known cellist.” I nodded silently and took a look at the card. It has their names on it and an address that I didn’t know about.

“Do you know where this is?” I whispered as I leaned closer to Cotton, showing her the card. She gave the card an inspecting eye, nodding in thought.

“It’s a place not far from here. I think they live in a hotel nearby,” she explained as she whispered back, looking at me.

“I see,” I replied as I gave the card another look. “Fantasia Castle Street,” I muttered under my breath, reading the address.

“Your dinner, fillies and gentlecolts,” I heard a voice announced. I turned to look and saw the previous waiter was pushing a food cart next to our table. He placed our food in front of us as well as our silverware. Honestly, I don’t know why fancy restaurants even need such large numbers of silverware. All I saw was different sizes of forks, spoons and knives set in front of me. Then the waiter placed wine glasses to the mares while I got a glass of water – not that I am complaining since I never drink. Then I heard a soft pop as the waiter uncork a wine bottle. The powerful scent of wine wafted into the air as he poured it into the waiting glasses, filling them in equal large amounts.

“To new friends,” Vinyl announced as she raised her wine glass in a toast.

“To new friends,” Octavia repeated, lightly touched the glass together with a clank. From there, dinner started. We all had a few chat while we were eating our dinner but... things got crazy when Cotton and Vinyl started to drink a tad more wine than they should. They began to converse in a language that I never heard as they slurred every word from their mouth, giggling and laughing for no apparent reasons. Octavia and I were hiding our face behind the menu as the shenanigans continued into the night.

After we think that we had enough of the two drunkards making a fool of themselves, we decided to part. Octavia and I had fair share of difficulty of carrying two drunken ponies to their homes. I had to let Cotton rest on my back all the way to her apartment. I’ll tell you: it was hard to unlock a door with a key when I had to carry my saxophone case and an asleep pony on my back who often moves in their sleep.

After an aggravating moment of fumbling the keys, I finally unlocked the door with a click as I quickly switched on the lights. I carefully set my saxophone case down next to the door as I didn’t want to wake Cotton up and swiftly headed into her room. Cotton’s room was almost as big as the main room. Across from me were her double bed which had pink covers – go figure -- and a large window above the headboard. The moon’s silver glow streamed through it, lighting the interior of the room in a soothing and gentle bluish glow.

Along her soft yellow wallpapered walls on my right were more pictures of her and her family. I gingerly trotted next to her bed as I slipped her off of me. She was mumbling something incoherent, rolling in her bed. I smiled, shaking my head. As I turned around and started to trot away, I felt my tail was tugged for the second time today. I looked over my shoulder and saw Cotton was sitting up as her glistening eyes looked at me and her lips quivered under the moonlight that beamed from the window behind her. Cotton’s horn had a brown glow around it, magically tugged my tail towards her.

“Stay with me,” she said softly with her head lowered. I still felt her magic was still wrapped around my tail, pulling me closer. I let out a sigh as I trotted next to her. She still had her white sunflower gown and white sundress on as she kept her gaze onto the bed with a solemn look on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered as I tried to look at her eyes.

“Are you leaving me?” she asked in a raspy voice. I could see a pearl of tear dropped from her eyes as it reflected the silver glow of the moon.

“No, I’m just heading to the living room. That’s all,” I whispered as I pulled on her chin to look at me, gazing into her glistening brown orbs. “I’m not going to leave you,” I said with a smile. Then, without any warning, our lips touched and my eyes widened in shock. My heart skipped a beat and I felt blood rushed into my cheeks as I saw her face was so close to mine with her eyes closed. I felt her soft lips touched mine, tasting the taste of wine on her lips and her hot breath brushed against my cheeks.

She broke off the kiss with a smile, looking at me with half-lidded eyes. “You’re mine now,” she whispered as she backed away. With that she flopped her body onto the bed, soundly asleep. I was just... standing there. I didn’t know how I should react. I knew I liked her but this... this was too fast. I slowly backed away, didn’t know what I should do or even to feel. I softly closed her bedroom door and absentmindedly trotted towards the couch. I flopped my body onto it, looking at the orange light above me. I closed my eyes as I let out a shuddering sigh.

“What should I do now?” I asked nopony in particular. The feeling of happiness, confusion and fear started to mix into one. “I think she was just drunk, that’s all,” I said to myself, trying to convince myself that whatever happened in her bedroom was just the wine acting on her mind, clouding her judgments. But somehow... that reason made my heart to ache even more. With that, I forced myself to sleep and tried my best to whisk the feelings away.

Author's Note

If you see any mistakes, let me know and I'll try to tend to them immediately.

Chapter 4

I was standing in the middle of a void. There was nothing there besides me and a wall of mirror that stretched as far as I can see. I heard no sound, felt no wind and even saw nopony besides my reflection in the mirror in front of me. My reflection: a cream colored earth stallion with spiky silver mane, stood idly. As I walked closer, the reflection did the same, like I expected a reflection would do. I reached out a hoof, touching the mirror and the reflection in front of me. I felt the coldness of the mirror slowly crept over to my hoof, looking in my reflection’s blue eyes.

Then, my eyes widened as I felt warmth spread through the mirror and my image went blurry. In a blink of an eye, I saw her: Cotton. She was doing like I did with the mirror, our hoof touched and we felt each others warmth through it. I saw her brown eyes looked into mine as tears started to brim in the corner of her eyes, smiling warmly at me. Yet... for some reason I felt scared, worried and confused. I didn’t know why I felt those feelings at that moment since... since last night.

Suddenly, I felt the ground below me started to shake, the mirror started to crack and Cotton slowly faded away before my eyes. Her smile, her eyes and her face slowly faded away as the ground shook harder and the mirror cracked between us. I tried to scream, yell and shriek but I was silent. I heard no voice, felt no warmth and felt nothing in me as my body cracked into tiny pieces.

I let out a deep gasp, my eyes shot open as I looked onto the buzzing light above me. I felt my chest was heaving slowly as if something was placed on top of me. Before I could do anything, I felt something moved in my hooves. I slowly sat up and my eyes widened upon seeing what I saw. Cotton! Cotton was soundly asleep in my hooves as her head rested on my belly – on the couch. I was... I was stunned! I didn’t know how she got there. I wanted to say something as I opened my mouth but I didn’t know what to say, even what to think at that time. All I can think was what I saw. A mare was sleeping with me on the couch.

Then my ears twitched, hearing her soft yawn rang in my ears. She groggily sat up on top of me with her hooves touched my chest. I saw her head sleepily scanned around the main room, rubbing the sleep off her eyes. Her mane was disheveled and her eyes were still half-open as she let out another soft yawn, stretching her hooves into the air. I didn’t know what to do. I felt blood rushed into my head and cheeks, looking at the mare who was casually sitting on my stomach.

Her eyes darted towards me as she finally noticed that she was sitting on top of me. A small smile started to crack on her lips. “Morning,” she yawned as she was looking at me with a wince and a smile. That’s all she had to say?! I mentally screamed.

“Morning,” I replied with a nervous grin on my face, trying to force a chuckle. “U-um,” I began, stammering. “W-why are you sitting on top of me?” I asked with a sheepish smile, blushing.

“I thought you were lonely out here so I decided to give you some company,” she softly replied as she leaned against my body, nuzzling my neck. Whoa! WHOA! My head screamed in alarm, trying my best to shake off any unsavory thoughts away from this situation.

“B-but, I’m fine. You don’t have to do that for me,” I stammered as my face turned redder than a tomato.

“I know,” she yawned softly as her head was resting sideways on top of my chest, feeling her hot breath rubbed against my coat. “But I want to,” she giggled, turning her head towards me. I resisted the urge to laugh because she was tickling my sides with her mane.

“B-but why?” I asked, stammering with a look mixed with confusion and worry.

“Because..,” she started as she looked away, sitting up on my body once again. “I love you,” she said softly, looking at me with glistening eyes as her pink cheeks turned into a shade of red. I felt a cord in my heart was plucked but... still for some reason I can’t tell what were my feelings for her. I was completely in a state of confusion. My feelings were a jumble of confusing knots of emotions. “You love me too, right?” she asked as her eyes were brimming with tears. She was forcing out a smile to hide her own doubts at that point. We knew.

“I..,” I started, looking to my side as I tried to escape her gaze. I still felt her eyes bore into me even though I can’t see her. My feelings and my mind were at war, trying to pinpoint my current feelings and thoughts. “I... don’t know,” I finally spoke up, looking into her brown eyes. They were filled with many things; tears, confusion and most of all, disappointment.

“W-why?” she sniffed, tears were rolling down her cheeks as she looked at me. Tears were streaming out from her eyes as she tried to stop them with her hooves, sniffing. I felt her hot tears wet the coat on my stomach. To tell the truth: I was also broken along with her. Not because I rejected her, no. I didn’t reject her. But it was because I can’t even provide the right answer for her. My feelings were a puzzle that was clouded in a miasma of mystery.

“Because... I’m confused,” I answered her as I sat up, slowly setting her down on the couch next to me. I grabbed her hooves away from her eyes and made her looked into my eyes. I felt tears were started to brim as well as I forced myself to look into her confused soul. “I can’t say for sure what are my feelings now but... I know in the bottom of my heart that you will have a special place in it,” I continued, looking into her teary red eyes.

“You hate me,” she croaked as her eyes started to stream once more. Her words created a deep gash in my heart but I tried to hold back from showing the pain.

“No,” I started, whispering as I gently brushed her mane. I lowered my head to meet with her gaze. I made her to look into my eyes with beaming honestly, trying to convince her that the words that will come out next were the truth which came from deep inside my heart. “I don’t hate you but... my feelings right now are... let’s say: in a jumble. The words you said were not let to waste. I wholeheartedly happy to hear that you love me but... I need time. I need time to confirm my own feelings,” I explained, looking deep into her brown eyes as I felt hot tears rolled down my cheeks.

“You don’t hate me?” she sniffed, looking at me with her glistening eyes. I let out a smile, shaking my head in return as I can’t speak. I was afraid that I would choke on sadness. Then, I saw the smile that I love to see beamed from her face. It was radiating with hope. Hope that one day I would confess my true feelings for her. She lunged towards me, giving me a tight hug. I felt her chest touched mine, feeling her heartbeat on my chest. Her hot tears rolled down my back as I heard her soft sniffles rang in my ears. “I love you,” she whispered in a raspy voice.

“I know,” I replied, gently rubbing her back. Then, she pushed her body away, looking at me with teary eyes and a smile. Before I could even react, I felt her lips touched mine once again but this time it was more like a peck.

“I’ll make you fall in love with me,” she giggled with tears still in her eyes. I nodded, smiling in return.

“I’ll be waiting for the day,” I chuckled as I wiped her tears away with a hoof. Then she slowly slid off the couch and took several steps towards the kitchen before she twirled to look at me.

“Let’s make breakfast,” she giggled with a warm smile beamed from her face.

“I can’t cook,” I chuckled as I stood up, walking towards her.

“I’ll teach you,” she giggled as she gave me a wink, smiling. The last pearl of tear rolled down her cheeks. I just chuckled and followed her as she entered the small kitchen. From there, my lesson on cooking and another step in our relationship had begun. She was the master of the kitchen as she had a special dance for cooking. I gave my best in listening to her instruction on making pancakes as our laughs filled the kitchen. I stumbled a few times which resulting me covered with flour and eggs. I gave a confused look as she let out a hearty laugh. With that, I laugh as well. After a few moments of goofing off, she decide to make breakfast herself as she let me watched her and listened to her hum.

I felt a cool air brushed against my coat as I walked out of the bathroom. Then, in the corner of my eyes, I saw a note was placed on top of the glass coffee table. I picked it up and began to read. “I made extra pancakes for you if you got hungry. Also, I might be home late tonight and good luck on your search for a talent scout today!” the letter concluded. I had a smile on my face as I read it a couple more times, imagining her smiling face as she would say those words.

I walked towards the front door as I set down the note, picking my saxophones case in my mouth. I gave the place another look before I walked out as I locked it from the inside. I turned my head left and right, looking if there was anypony around. After realizing the coast was clear, I slid the key under the welcoming mat. With that, I headed towards the park that day.

I felt the cool morning air brushed against my coat and my mane fluttered in the wind. The warmth of Celestia’s sun washed over my back as its glow bathed Equestria with pure generosity. I walked towards the tree that Cotton and I sat last night and set down my saxophone case under the same tree. I opened the case with a soft click as I tighten the strap of my saxophone to my shoulders. I noticed a group ponies started to gather in front of me with curiosity beamed from their eyes, hearing a wave of whispers broke from the crowd. I smiled as I placed my lips onto the mouth piece. I started to think what song should I play then... something hit me. I felt that I wanted to play that express my feelings.

With that, I closed my eyes and emptied my mind from any thoughts. Just listening to what my heart wanted to say. Then the first note that came out was strong and true, flowing straight from my soul and heart. I felt the thumps of my heart and the melody that flowed out created a beautiful piece of music. I tapped my hooves in a beat, creating a calm rhythm for the smooth melody. I shook my head in trance, letting my heart speak through music and let my soul bare to the world to see.

I felt a smile tugged on the corner of my lips as I remembered Cotton’s brilliant smile. I felt my heart fluttered in my chest and butteflies in my stomach. As the song was nearing to an end, I poured every last bit of my soul and heart. Then the last note flowed out smoothly into the wind. I took a deep breath as I heard the crowds in front of me let out an orchestra of stomping hooves, cheering for my performance as smiles broke within the crowd.

My heart leaped as the crowds walked closer to my opened saxophone case and donated bits into it. Each one who listened gave a bit in the name of generosity. After that, the crowd dispersed back into the park as I heard the whisperings of the early performance. I sat down under the tree, counting the amounts of bits that I earned that day. “One hundred bits,” I mumbled, tapping my chin in thought. Then my eyes widened in realization. If each pony donated one bit per pony, then... I was performing in front of a hundred ponies, I thought to myself. I felt a smile broke open on my face, feeling the sensation of fulfillment but... I still felt something was missing. Maybe it was because I needed more.

“I should tell Cotton about this,” I mumbled to myself as I set my saxophone back into its case with a click. But before I could even stand up, my ears twitched as I heard something. A musical note floated in the wind. I looked around the park but I didn’t see anypony was playing an instrument in front of me. Then, I heard the musical note floated again. It was quiet yet full of meaning into it. I looked behind the tree and saw a mint colored unicorn who had a light cyan mane with white highlight leaned against a tree nearby. A golden lyre floated that was wrapped by unicorn’s golden magical aura as her hooves danced on the strings.

I walked closer, carrying my saxophone case with me as I was trapped in a trance. I closed my eyes, carefully listened to the emotion behind the music. It was sad yet it was calming as well. I felt my heart was wrapped in a cold sheet of blankets, soothing the pain within. I imagined that I was standing in a middle of a lake, on top of a rock during the night time. The stars above twinkled as the silver moon loomed above me, gracing me with silver glow. The scene was calming yet empty and sad. As the final note was plucked and floated into the air, I snapped back into reality. I felt a tear rolled down my eyes as I touched my damp cheeks. The unicorn was certainly a talented musician, no doubt about.

I gave her stomps of appreciation, smiling at the mare as she opened her eyes. She had a surprised look as she saw that I was cheering for her. Then I noticed she let out a blush, looking away in embarrassment. I gave her a nod and started to turn away. “Wait!” I heard her voice called out from behind. I looked over my shoulder and noticed she was walking towards me. I turned once more to look at her, smiling. “Were you listening before?” she asked with a sheepish smile as she nervously scratched the back of her head.

“I’m sorry if I was intruding on your privacy,” I started as I mirrored her gesture.

“No, I want to thank you actually,” she said, smiling. “I’m Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings,” she added, reaching a hoof at me.

“Saxy Tone,” I said, smiling warmly at her as I shook her hoof gently.

“Are you here a lot?” she asked as she looked around.

“This is my second time here,” I answered with a chuckle.

“Are you a street performer?” she asked me, looking at my saxophone case that I was carrying in my mouth.

“K-kinda,” I started, setting the case down with a sheepish smile. “I am currently trying to find a musical talent scout or a music producer but luckily I met two ponies who were lending me a hand,” I continued as I brushed my mane nervously.

“Me too!” Lyra exclaimed, her eyes sparkled with excitement. “But..” she continued, rubbing her hoof with a sheepish smile. “Sometimes I’m a bit nervous around crowds and I would sometimes choke,” she chuckled nervously.

“I got scared in front of crowds sometimes too but it always helped if you put your mind in a happy place,” I admitted with a nod, smiling.

“Is that so?” she mumbled, tapping her chin in thought as she looked into the distance. “I should try that sometimes,” she spoke up, giving my hoof a playful bump. “So, where are you heading?” she asked, chuckling.

“Oh, I’m going to meet with somepony,” I answered, blushing slightly.

“Ooh, you going to meet with your girlfriend?” she cooed playfully, smiling behind her hoof.

“N-no!” I blurted but immediately looked away, feeling blood rushed into my cheeks. “It’s... kinda complicated,” I continued, smiling sheepishly at the mare.

“Oh,” she said as she lowered her head, looking at me with an apologetic smile.

“No, it’s fine,” I said, smiling as I looked into the blue sky above. “She promised that she’ll do her best to try to make me fall in love with her,” I continued, chuckling to myself.

“That’s so sweet,” I heard Lyra cooed. I looked her and saw she was giving me an encouraging smile. “I know you’ll do the right thing if the time is right,” she continued with a vigorous nod as her eyes beamed with silent encouragement.

“T-thanks,” I chuckled, scratching the back of my head with a sheepish grin on my face.

“Well, you better go on your way,” she spoke up, smiling at me.

“Right,” I nodded and trotted away. “Wait,” I spoke up, looking over my shoulder. “See you around?” I asked with a grin.

“Of course,” she giggled behind her hoof. “See ya,” she said as she waved goodbye to me. With that, I gave another nod, smiling. Then I continued trotted towards Cotton’s diner through the busy sidewalk of Manehattan. A lot of ponies were walking in the city during the middle of the day. But before I reached the diner, I noticed something in the corner of my eyes. I saw a shop that was selling many accessories.

“Does Cotton like these kinds of things?” I mumbled to myself as I looked at a shop that had the sign ‘Jewels and More’ hung above it at the rows of shops on my left. “I guess I’ll find out,” I chuckled as I trotted towards it. As I entered the shop, I immediately noticed that I was in a place where I shouldn’t be. There were a lot of mares and not even a scent of stallion in the jewelry store. The shop was small but spacious enough to fit a couple dozen of mares. The walls were lined with rows and rows of jewelry accessories that glimmered under the light.

Honestly, I’m not a stallion that had eyes for those kinds of things. I never see myself entering a jewelry shop yet... there I was, looking for a present for Cotton. I knew I only had a hundred bits on me but I guess I can spare some since Cotton showered me with unconditional kindness. Even if I spent one million bits for her, that wouldn’t be enough to cover a fraction of her kindness. It has been literally hours of browsing through every accessory the store could offer and I still had no idea what to buy for her.

But then, something sparkled behind a dusty showcase. I had a big smile on my face as I knew it would be a good gift for Cotton. I called the shopkeeper as I tapped on the glass showcase. Then the shopkeeper immediately grabbed the item and wrapped it in a special box. It cost me around seventy bits but... it was worth every cent. I had hidden the gift inside my saxophone case as I carefully placed it where it would not get crushed by my instrument. I continued to head towards the diner with a large grin on my face in the entire time.

The diner door let out a ding as I entered through it. The diner was filled with ponies as most of the tables were filled and the counter was almost full. There were also a lot of workers, waiter and waitresses walked in and out the kitchen door. With that, I hastily trotted to my stool, placing my saxophone case under my hooves as I jumped onto my seat. I was waiting for somepony to take my order as I looked around at the chattering ponies in the tables in front of me.

Then I saw Cotton was busy jolting something in a notepad as she approached me, not noticing my presence. “What can I do you f--,” she stopped mid-sentence as she finally realized who she was talking to. “Hello, Saxy. You’re a bit early than usual,” she said with a smile, levitating the notepad closer.

“Well,” I started with a sheepish smile. “I got a bit lucky on bits today as I performed in front of a big crowd,” I continued as I let out a chuckle.

“That’s great!” she exclaimed as she gave me a hug. I felt my cheeks burnt as she was hugging me in front of a crowd in the diner.

“Cotton,” I whispered as I tapped her back, feeling blood rushed into my cheeks. “Ponies are watching us.”

“O-oh,” she gasped as she quickly released her embrace, clearly blushing. “S-sorry, everypony,” she said as she looked at the crowds behind her with a sheepish smile. I noticed a couple of elderly ponies were chuckling next to me. As I looked at them, I saw the elder stallion gave me an encouraging smile. I nodded sheepishly in return, scratching the back of my neck.

“S-so, um,” Cotton stuttered as she coughed into her hoof, levitating the notepad with a blush still clear on her cheeks. “What can I get you?”

“Hold on,” I spoke as I reached towards my saxophone case, opening it with a click. “Close your eyes,” I whispered as I popped my head above the counter.

“W-what?” Cotton stammered, looking at me with confusion plastered on her face.

“Close your eyes,” I repeated, chuckling while my hooves were still under the counter. I saw Cotton’s eyes darted in confusion; her cheeks were red as a tomato. Then she gave me a nod, closing her eyes. I quickly placed a small box that was wrapped in a white wrapping paper and tied by a red ribbon. “Open them,” I whispered with an amused grin on my face.

I saw Cotton’s eyes were lit with surprised as she looked at the present in front of her. Then her eyes looked at me in anticipation. “Go ahead, open it,” I chuckled, waving my hoof at the gift that was presented in front of her. Cotton tentatively unwrapped the present and opened the box. She gasped as she put a hoof on her mouth; her eyes were welled with tears.

Her horn let out a gentle brown glow, levitating a silver necklace which had orange jewel in the middle of the necklace in the shape of a sunflower. I saw her eyes darted into mine. I noticed her eyes were beaming with surprise and joy. “Y-you got this for me?” she asked, stammering as she looked at the necklace with interest sparkled in her eyes.

“Yes. I used the bits I earned today to buy it. But I don’t know if you like i--,” before I could finished, I felt Cotton gave me another tight hug. I felt hot tears rolled down my neck as she sniffed next to my ears.

“I love it. Thank you,” she whispered in a raspy voice, sniffing.

“It’s nothing,” I chuckled, patting her on the back as I closed my eyes.

“Kiss her!” a voice spoke up from the other side of the diner which made other patrons broke into cheers.

“W-what?” I stammered as I felt blood once again rushed into my cheeks as my eyes widened upon hearing the bold suggestion. “I don’t think this is a right place fo--,” I was cut once again by a kiss from Cotton, seeing a tear rolled down the corner of her eyes as she had her eyes closed and the fur on her cheeks were damp with fresh tears. Then the crowd and the other workers broke into cheers and stomped their hooves in encouragement.

“Thank you,” she once again whispered, parting the kiss with tears of joy rolled down her eyes.

“Turn around,” I whispered back, smiling at her as I grabbed the necklace with into my hooves. She nodded, sniffing and turned her back towards me. I slowly slid the necklace onto her neck and gently put the key at the back of the necklace in place. “There,” I whispered, smiling. She turned around and looked at the necklace that was placed on her neck, smiling warmly at it. Her pink coat complimented the silver necklace with orange sunflower shaped jewel quite nicely.

“Thank you,” she said once again, her eyes began to well in tears once more. I just chuckled in return, smiling softly at the excited mare.

“It’s a thank you gift for you for all the kindness you showered me with,” I explained. She nodded as she looked back at the necklace, admiring its beauty.

“H-how do I look?” she asked, looking at me with a coy smile.

“Stunning,” I answered, chuckling. Then she chuckled as well, laughing behind her hoof. Her horn let out a brown glow once more, levitating the notepad from before.

“W-what can I get you?” she asked as she wiped the tears of joy from her eyes with a hoof, smiling.

“Actually, I have to take my leave. I still have a couple of venue to play at,” I said as I closed my saxophone case, looking at her apologetically.

“Y-you’re not leaving aren’t you? Couldn’t just stay?” she pleaded, placing a hoof on my shoulder as she looked at me with a slight frown tugged onto her face. I turned my head to look at the clock that was hung above the entrance and noticed it was already five o’clock in the afternoon. Then, I looked at her with a grin.

“I supposed I can play here instead,” I chuckled as I jumped back onto my seat. I saw a tremendous amount of joy beamed from her brown eyes as she gave a vigorous nod with a wide smile on her face.

“I’ll get you a fresh plate of fried grass,” she giggled as she trotted towards the kitchen but then suddenly stopped mid-pace, looking at me over her shoulder. “For free of course,” she added with a wink. I felt heat rushed into my cheeks as I slowly sunk under the counter. She giggled behind her hoof and continued on her way towards the kitchen, disappearing behind the door.

“Well, you did the right thing this time,” I mumbled to myself as I shook my head, chuckling.

Author's Note

If you see any glaring mistakes, let me know about it.

Chapter 5

The upbeat and soothing notes of jazz floated within the diner as my hooves danced on my saxophone’s keys. I shook my head in a beat to the melody, smiling as I saw ponies were dancing to my music. Everypony in the diner were either tapping their hoof to the song or dancing their hearts out on the floor. Ponies in all age and sizes were letting themselves go to the sweet melody with smiles on their faces, filling the diner with laughter. My head bobbed rhythmically, looking at Cotton who was swaying her hips to the song beside me. I closed my eyes, smiling as I kept the song as upbeat as I possibly could. The notes floated and rolled around the diner like excited puppies in the meadows, bringing more life into the diner.

As I slowly opened my eyes, dancing to the melody, I saw a small crowd of passersby were looking through the window, listening to my music as they bobbed their heads to the song. I gave them a smile and an inviting nod. Without any second thoughts, all the ponies who stood outside immediately entered the diner and started to dance to the song. Then, I closed my eyes once again, as I immersed myself into the music. I felt as if I was floating in midair, playing my saxophone without a care in the world as I listened to the smooth melody and rhythm. Then, I felt the soft touches of hooves on my shoulders. I opened my eyes and saw Cotton was standing on her hind legs in front of me, facing me with a smile plastered on her face. She swayed her body side to side with me as I played my sax. I smiled as we danced together to the song and to the beats of our hearts. When the end was nearing, I quickly gave Cotton a twirl as she let out a hearty laugh. I let out a long and steady note into the air, declaring my masterpiece inside the diner as I closed my eyes. Then, silence followed.

I heard a massive wave of stomps as I opened my eyes. A crowd of ponies stood in front of me, hollering their cheers into the air. “Play another one!” A voice shouted in great vigor echoed at the back of the crowd, making the other ponies to nod in agreement.

“Sorry, guys. That’s all for tonight,” I said with a sheepish smile as I scratched the back of my mane. My answer created a wave of despondent sighs as I saw the ponies in front of me hung their heads low in disappointment. To be honest, I wanted to play another song but I was getting tired. But I also didn’t want the quality of my music to deteriorate because of fatigue. With that, I had to restrain my own desire to play for the sake of better quality music.

“Are you going to play again for tomorrow night?” another voice spoke up within the crowd. The pony’s question made the others to nod in agreement, looking at me with pleading eyes that were filled with hope that I would play again in another time. I looked at Cotton who was standing next to me with a sheepish grin, not knowing what to do. She turned her head, looking at me with a smile as she nodded in approval.

“I-I guess so,” I replied with a sheepish smile as I looked back towards the crowd.

“Yeah!” A gruff voice cheered from the back.

“I’m going to go here every night!” A mare’s voice spoke up from the far corner of the crowd. Then the ponies let out a series of cheers, stomping their hooves in excitement.

“Free apple cider for everypony!” I heard Cotton declared as she opened her fore hooves wide into the air with a wide smile plastered on her face. With that, the ponies broke into another series of excited stomp. I saw Cotton gave one of the workers behind the counter a nod and the pony immediately entered the kitchen. Not long after that, big barrels of apple cider rolled into the diner as multitude of mugs were arranged along the counter. Each mug was filled in a generous amount and passed around the diner.

From there, the diner had become much livelier from before. Ponies were enjoying their free drinks as they chatted among each other. I was sitting at my usual spot while Cotton was sitting on the stool on my right as we looked into the happy faces of the crowds with smiles on our faces. “You don’t mind if I play here tomorrow night?” I asked as I turned my head to look at her. She shook her head, smiling. Then her brown eyes looked into my eyes, gleaming with pure joy. Suddenly, I felt my head slowly approached hers, looking onto her pink lips. The drums in my heart were beating in a fast rhythm and I felt her hot breath caressed my nose as we closed our eyes, inching closer.

“Hey, hey,” A familiar voice chuckled; making our eyes widened in shock as we quickly backed our heads away, looking at opposite directions. I felt a river of blood rushed into my cheeks as I tried to hide my blush by lowering my head. I tentatively looked up to see whom the voice belonged to and saw Vinyl and Octavia were standing in front of us. The white unicorn mare had an amused smile plastered on her face whereas Octavia had a blush on her cheeks as she looked at other directions to avoid my gaze.

“I don’t think we should disturb them like that, Vinyl,” I heard Octavia whispered behind her hoof as she kept her head to other places, tentatively looking at me. She was also blushing at that moment but I didn’t know why. Maybe it was because she witnessed something that should’ve been a private matter.

“I think it’s lucky that I stopped them. Because things might get spicy if I don’t,” Vinyl replied as she gave me a grin. I felt my cheeks flushed even harder, lowering my head in embarrassment.

“Vinyl!” Octavia shouted, glaring at her friend while she was still clearly blushing from witnessing something she shouldn’t have.

“Okay, okay,” Vinyl chuckled with an amused grin on her face, raising her hooves into the air. “Sorry to ruin the moment with your girlfriend,” she continued as she trotted next to me, nudging on my side with her elbow. Even though she was wearing her purple shades, I had a feeling that she was giving me an encouraging wink.

“O-oh!” I gasped, looking at Vinyl with a sheepish smile. “W-we’re not...” I trailed off, tentatively looking at Cotton who was sitting next to me. She had a smile on her face, playing with the skirt of her uniform as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“It’s kinda complicated,” Cotton continued in my behalf as she looked at Vinyl with a sheepish smile, blushing. For some reason, I felt a slight twinge inside of me as I heard she said those words.

“Wait a minute,” Vinyl mumbled as lowered her shades. When she lowered her shades, a brick of realization hit me at the back of my head. It was the first time that I saw the color her eyes. She had deep magenta eyes which were staring at Cotton with an inspecting eye. Then without uttering a word, an amused smile slowly crept onto her face as she put back her shades.

“You got eyes for accessories, my man," she said, nudging me on my sides once again with a wide grin tugged on her lips. Upon hearing Vinyl’s words, Cotton immediately let out a soft gasp, clasping the newly-bought necklace with a blush and a shy smile on her face. I knew it was not out of embarrassment, it was out of joy. I was happy to know that she liked her gift.

“Oh my, such beautiful necklace,” I heard Octavia gasped, her eyes sparkled in interest as she trotted closer to Cotton. “May I?” she asked as she looked at Cotton in the eyes, tentatively reaching for the necklace. Cotton gave a soft nod, smiling sheepishly as she slowly lowered her hooves from it. The sunflower-shaped jewel glimmered under the light, creating a dim orange glow. “This is such a beautiful necklace,” she commented, looking at the necklace with an inspecting eye. “It is a first that I saw a stallion bought something this beautiful for a mare,” she chuckled as she backed away, looking at me with a wink.

I felt like I was going to melt with all of these embarrassing comments. I lowered my head so much until to a point that my head was almost touched the surface of the counter. My mind was reeling frantically as I tried to search for another subject to talk about. “Oh!” I exclaimed as I raised my hoof into the air, smiling sheepishly. “W-what are you doing here?” I stammered, looking at our new friends with a nervous grin.

“Oh, right,” Vinyl started with a chuckle. “We were asking around if anypony knows where is the closest diner from the park around the city and somepony we met along the way said that ‘this’ diner was probably the closest. And so, here we are,” she explained with a smile.

“Why?” I asked, looking at her with a questioning eyebrow.

“To give you this,” Vinly said, levitating me a letter. “Inside this is a reservation card for ‘La Lush’ restaurant. We told the music producer about you and we got him interested. You’ll be meeting with him tomorrow night at the restaurant around eight o’clock,” she explained. I took the letter and gave it a tentative look. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to pay for the food. It’s on me. Just show the waiter at the reception desk the card and he will take you to the reserved table,” she spoke up, noticing my worried expression.

“I don’t know how to repay you for this,” I said, looking at her with a worried expression that was still plastered on my face.

“You don’t have to,” she chuckled as she waved a dismissive hoof with a smile on her face. “We’re all friends after all.”

“Thank you,” I spoke up, looking at her with appreciation beamed from my eyes and a wide smile plastered on my face. She just chuckled in return.

“I think it is time for us to take our leave,” Octavia spoke up as she trotted next to Vinyl, smiling warmly at the both of us. “We have should spend some time together in the near future,” she continued as she gave a bow.

“Yeah, we all should do something fun together,” Vinyl spoke up, grinning.

“Sure,” I chuckled as I gave a nod.

“It would be nice to see you two again,” I heard Cotton said softly next to me. As I looked at her, I saw she gave them a timid wave. With that, Octavia and Vinyl returned the wave as they trotted towards the diner’s exit. The bell on top let out a cheerful ding, marking their leave.

“That was... fun,” I spoke up as I looked at Cotton with a sheepish smile. She just giggled behind her hoof in return as her eyes slowly moved over to the door, looking at the clock above it.

“It’s almost closing time,” she whispered as she jumped off the stool next to me. I took a look at the clock and saw it was almost ten o’clock at night.

“I’ll wait outside,” I spoke up as I picked up my saxophone case. She nodded with a smile as she trotted towards the kitchen.

I was lying on the leather couch back in Cotton’s apartment as fatigue slowly washed over me. I had performed for three hours at Cotton’s diner that day and I’ll tell you what: performing for three hours straight was certainly an exhausting experience. I looked at the orange light above me as I listened to its monotonic buzz resonated in the room. I felt my eyelids were getting heavy in each passing second. As I slowly crawled into the land of slumber, I heard a whisper echoed the main room.

“Saxy,” Cotton’s voice rang inside my ears.

“H-huh?” I slurred as I sat up, groggily looking around the room. I saw Cotton was standing in front of her bedroom door with a blush on her face, biting her bottom lips. I noticed she had already taken off the necklace. “Y-yes?” I asked as I tried to smile, looking at the mare through sleepy eyes.

“C-could you stay with me in my room tonight?” she squeaked as her ears drooped on her head. Cotton’s eyes were glistening and she was still biting her lips as she looked at me with her cheeks that were in a delightful shade of red. To be honest, she was very cute. I felt my heart was beating so fast that I almost blacked out.

“W-why?” I stammered as I slowly stood up, trotting towards her with a questioning eyebrow. At that moment I had butterflies in my stomach. I really didn’t know why but I was feeling anxious all of the sudden.

“I need somepony next to me,” she squeaked softly, lowering her head in embarrassment. I tried by best to lower my head as well, trying to look into her eyes. When our eyes connected, I felt sadness were radiating from them.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly as I gently lifted her chin with a hoof, gazing deeply into her glistening eyes. She looked away in response as she silently walked towards her bed, silently beckoning me to enter. Her bedroom door was wide opened and I saw the light wasn’t turned on as her room was only lit by the silver glow of the moon that streamed through her window. I saw she slowly climbed into her bed, sitting on it with a wooden box sat in front of her. She had this... solemn look on her face as she gazed at it.

I hesitantly entered her room, looking at the framed pictures adorned the walls as I trotted towards her bed. “Hey,” I whispered as I sat beside her bed, taking several quick glances at the box while I tried to look into her eyes. After a second of close inspection, I noticed that it was an old music box that had a golden heart painted at the top of it. The wood was slightly moldy from age and the key as well as the screws that held it together were rusty. Then, I heard a soft sniffle from Cotton. I lowered my gaze to take a better look at her and saw her eyes were red and her cheeks were dampened by tears. Pearls of tears rolled down her cheeks in rivulets, wetting the bedsheets below her. Cotton’s eyes had an empty stare as she kept her gaze to the box. “What’s wrong?” I whispered as I sat next to her on the bed, rubbing her back gently. She just shook her head in response, pushing the music box away gently with a hoof.

“Don’t worry, I’m here,” I said softly as I scooted closer, grabbing her by the shoulders. Her head softly leaned on my shoulders as I felt her hot tears rolled down my coat, wetting my fur. Then we just sat there... in the silence that was accompanied by Cotton’s soft sniffles.

“Tell me a story,” she croaked as her eyes looked into the distance in front of us.

“I don’t have any stories to tell,” I admitted softly as I followed her gaze, gently rubbing her back in attempt to calm the mare.

“Tell me how you got your cutie mark,” she sniffed, wiping tears away from her eyes. I had no idea what was happening but I also don’t have the courage to ask yet. The best thing to do at that moment was to calm the mare in any way. I had a sad smile tugged in the corner of my mouth as I tried to remember my younger days.

“Well,” I started, looking at the dark ceiling above. “When I was still a young colt, I had this weird passion for music. I love listen to all kinds of music, regardless what kind it was. If it has meanings to it, I will certainly listen to it. So, from there, I figured that maybe my cutie mark might be related to music,” I continued, chuckling at the precious memories.

“One day,” I began once more as I looked at Cotton, smiling. “I decided to try every instrument that was displayed at one of Ponyville’s music store. I tried the drums, the trumpet and even an accordion but something felt missing. I didn’t feel my soul mixed well to them. So, I carried on, trying each and every instrument available. Also the store owner’s patience was almost at its end when I played the tuba too loud. But before the owner decided to drag me out of the shop, I saw a saxophone sat on its display case in front of the store display window, silently beckoning me to play. I pleaded and begged to the owner to the point I had to use the ol’ puppy dog eyes trick.

“I heard owner let out a long defeated sigh, and then told me that I can only play it once and after that I had to leave. I agreed and immediately dashed towards the saxophone in a speed of a bullet as my heart was pounding in my chest with excitement. When I first laid my hoof on it, I felt tingles of excitement and glee jolted into my spine as I rolled my eyes in bliss. Then, without wasting another second, I began to play the saxophone with my eyes closed. The first note that came out from it was smooth and soothing as I felt my soul mixed to the melody. The sound of sweet jazz filled the store as I swayed my hips in trance. When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw the store owner and a couple of customers were listening to the music with their eyes closed and their hooves tapped in a beat. I was overwhelmed with joy as ponies were entertained by my music. Suddenly, I felt a tickle sensation on my flank, revealing my cutie mark. From there, my dream to become a famous musician started,” I concluded as I let out a soft chuckle, smiling softly at the mare.

Then a soft smile cracked from Cotton’s lips, looking at me with a spark of joy in her eyes. “That was a nice story,” she said softly as she gently pushed herself away from me, sitting with her head lowered.

“How about you, how did you get your cutie mark?” I asked as I tilted my head to look at her. I felt that it was a bad move to ask Cotton about her past during times like that. But I had to take a chance to see if she wanted to tell her story or not. I saw her gaze slowly fell at the music box that silently sat in front of her. She reached out a hoof and slowly pulled it closer. Her gaze was unreadable as she looked at it. I felt the air around her had a mixture of sadness, joy and fear. The sound of her fragile heart cracked echoed in my mind as time went on in silence, seeing her lips were quivering and her eyes were brimming with tears.

“My father...” she started as her voice went raspy, looking at the box with teary eyes. “My father and my mother were talented chef who worked at a local cuisine hotel here in Manehattan. One day, while I was still a filly, my father wanted to create a small diner in my name. At that time, I didn’t know why but I was happy that my parents decided to create a diner with my name on it. They had quit their jobs at the hotel and decided to work full time at the diner in hope to create a steady family business. As time went on, the business began to bloom,” she continued, looking at me with glistening eyes. I quickly scooted closer, gently leaned her head onto my shoulders as she let out a soft whimper.

“One day,” I heard her voice cracked in my ears as she looked into the distance. “When my father was busy tending to the customers’ orders, I noticed that he was completely tired; his mane was disheveled and he had dark lines under his eyes. Then I decided to make him something to cheer him up. I immediately rushed into the kitchen and decided to make something simple yet had meaning to it. So I tried to make him the best pancakes he ever had. After I finished making it, I wrote ‘Best Daddy Ever’ on it with chocolate syrup and decorated it with strawberries. I saw his eyes widened in surprise when I first showed him the pancake that I made. As I watched him took the first bite, I saw his eyes beamed with joy and glee with a wide smile on his face. I was happy that I was able to cheer him up with my cooking. Then, at that very moment, I got my cutie mark,” she continued softly as I felt her body shook. She was trying to hold back her sadness; hearing soft whimpers escaped her mouth.

Then, the next words that escaped my mouth might be the biggest mistake I ever made. “Where are you parents now?” I asked as I gave her a questioning eyebrow, looking at the music box in front of her.

“They’re dead,” she answered as her voice choked on sadness, solemnly looking at the item in front of her. I felt my heart dropped into my stomach and I immediately held my breath in shock. Why did you ask her that question, idiot! I inwardly screamed at myself as I mentally bucked myself in the head, looking at the saddened mare next to me. At that moment, I didn’t see a fully grown mare crying. No. I saw a small and fragile filly who was weeping for the lost of her parents.

“I-I’m... sorry,” I stammered as my ears drooped onto my head. I felt guilt started to boil in me as I looked at her glistening eyes. Her brown eyes were locked onto the box. Then, I saw she shook her head in response, wiping her tears away. She looked at me with a smile etched on her face as pearls of tears rolled down her cheeks.

“It’s okay,” she sniffed with her eyes closed, smiling at me. “If you’re with me, then everything’s alright,” she said softly as she looked at me with glistening eyes and a cheerful smile. I felt a twinge in my heart, seeing her like that. She lost everything that she ever loved and yet, she kept herself strong and looked at the better side of things. In all honesty: I don’t think that I will ever be that strong if I experience what she had experienced in her life. I felt all of my heart went for her, silently supporting her as I tried to hold back a tear.

“That’s right,” I coughed, trying my best to hide my sadness. I was slowly chocking in grief, looking at the saddened mare before me. “I’m always with you,” I said softly as I wiped her tears away, smiling.

“Thank you,” she whispered, holding my hoof to her cheeks.

“It’s time for you to go to bed,” I whispered back as I slowly climbed down her bed. I noticed her horn let out a brown glow, levitating the music box away as she slid into the covers.

“Good night,” she said softly, looking at me with a smile.

“Night,” I replied with a soft smile as I trotted towards the door. I gave her a final look as I turned around, listening to her soft snore. I slowly backed away, closing the door with a soft click. I turned around once again and immediately dropped onto my haunches with an audible thud. My ears drooped as I hung my head low. I felt a shuddering sigh escaped my mouth, feeling the sadness in me started to burst. I felt warm tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked at the floor through blurry vision, sniffing. I felt my heart was aching as I cried in silence. I didn’t cry for me, no. I was crying for Cotton... and for her parents.

Author's Note

If you see any glaring mistakes, throw a brick at my head to let me know.

Chapter 6

I was standing in a field of flowers that stretched as far as my eyes could see. Many colorful flowers swayed as I felt a gentle breeze brushed my mane and coat, shivering by its coolness. The ever-wonderful sun bathed the land with warmth and light as the birds flew freely in the wide blue sea above. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with cool and fresh air. Then, I let out a contentment sigh as my ears twitched, hearing soft giggles carried in the wind.

I turned my head to look and saw a soft pink mare with curly cream colored mane stood behind me. She was wearing a long white gown that fluttered in the wind. Her mane flowed in the gentle breeze as the mare enjoyed the warmth of the sun, closing her eyes in tranquility. Then, I noticed her eyes slowly opened, revealing two beautiful brown orbs that glimmered under the morning sun. Her head turned towards me as a smile slowly crept on her face.

I felt my heart was hammering in my chest, felt butterflies fluttered in my stomach and a smile slowly tugged on my face. I took careful steps towards her as I was mesmerized by her beauty. Then, she turned towards me and broke into a gallop. Her gown and her mane furiously fluttered in the wind as she lunged at me, smiling in joy. I opened my fore hooves wide as I stood on my hind legs, welcoming her to an embrace with a wide smile on my face.

Our bodies touched as I fell backwards, falling onto the flowerbed with an audible pomf. She was standing above me as I was on my back. We giggled while we looked into each others eyes. Her curly mane swayed as a gentle breeze blew passed us, hearing our heart beat echoed in the wind. Then her head slowly inching closer to mine with her eyes closed. I watched her as she was closing in for a kiss, feeling her hot breath brushed my cheeks. Without hesitation, I inched my head closer as well, touching our lips together. The sweet taste of sugar filled my mouth as we passionately kissed.

I felt her head slowly backed away, parting our lips. She had a warm smile on her face, her eyes brimming with tears. “I love you,” her divine voice chimed in my ears as a thousand angels’ voice.

“I love you too,” I whispered back but... I was silent. Her face suddenly turned for confusion, looking at me with doubt in her eyes. I tried to repeat myself yet again but, I still can’t hear my own voice. She slowly backed away from me; tears were rolling down her cheeks as she hid her mouth behind her hoof. No, I mentally screamed as I watched her backed away from me. Don’t leave me, my mind shouted, reaching a hoof towards her. But it was for naught. She kept backing away with sadness filled her eyes. The blue sky above me had been replaced by a slate of dull grey and empty sky. The flowers near me wilted in an unearthly rate and the whispers of the gentle wind were replaced by a howling gale.

“Cotton,” I gasped as my eyes shot open as the buzzing sound of the light above me and its bright orange glow greeted me. I quickly sat up on the couch, clutching my chest. I felt my heart was hammering against my chest with my hoof as I took several deep breaths, filling my lungs with air to clear my murky mind. I tentatively touched a hoof at my cheeks as I felt hot tears dampened them.

“Are you okay?” Cotton’s voice whispered behind me.

“Gyah!” I screamed, leaping off the couch as I turned to look. I saw Cotton’s eyes widened in shock to my ever-so delicate reaction as I also noticed her mane was in a state of disarray.

“Are you okay? I saw you were mumbling in your sleep as if you had a nightma--,” before she could finished her sentence, I immediately lunged towards her into a tight embrace. I felt her body froze to my unexpected hug. “W-what are you doing?” I heard voice stammered in my ears as I tighten my hug, eliciting a soft squeaked from her. At that very moment, I emptied my mind as I listened to my heart. It was beating like crazy; making me realized what were my feelings for her. I knew that if I do it, I can’t turn back. It’s all or nothing.

“I love you,” I whispered as I planted my face onto her shoulders, feeling hot tears rolled from the corner of my eyes. “I love you,” I sniffed, waiting for her to reply but... she didn’t. She kept her silence as she didn’t return my embrace. Then, I suddenly had a glimpse of regret in my mind, thinking that it might be a mistake to reveal my feelings for her at that moment. With that, I slowly released her from my embrace, backing away as I hung my head low. I tried to keep my gaze as low as possible while I tentatively looked at her. My eyes widened as I saw rivers of tears flowed from her eyes with a warm smile plastered on her face. Her lips quivered as she tried to give me a smile, hearing soft whimpers escaped from her mouth.

In a blink of an eye, she lunged at me, returning my embrace as I felt hot tears rolled down my back. I wrapped my hooves around her, pulling our chest closer. We felt our heart beat in unison as she pulled back her head to look at me. “I love you too,” she sniffed. The light pink furs on her cheeks were darkened by her tears as she looked at me with glistening eyes. With that, our face inched closer as our lips touched. The kiss was deep and passionate as a sign of our love. I felt the knots of emotions that were jumbled together in my heart slowly parted away. I finally listened what to my heart wanted to say, liberating me from the miasma of confusion. I felt my heart began to open up as there was somepony that I can show it to. The pony was none other than: Cotton. We slowly parted our lips, breathlessly looked into each others eyes with smiles on our face.

“I love you,” I whispered once again, gently her tears away with a hoof.

“I love you too,” she whispered back as she gave me a soft peck on the cheek while her face was flushed red. I chuckled in response, releasing her from the embrace as I took a step back with a smile on my face.

“This calls for a special breakfast!” she exclaimed excitedly, her eyes sparkled with joy as she clapped her hooves together. It was great to see her that happy. It made my life even better than ever.

“Is it pancakes?” I chuckled as I gave her an amused grin.

“Yes,” she nodded in vigor. “With cupcakes, muffins... ooh! Don’t forget the apple tart,” she mumbled happily to herself, trotting into the kitchen. I chuckled, shaking my head to her antics. I guess... that was her charm that made me fell for her. In the inside, she was a strong mare, keeping herself up even though she lost her parents in such a young age. She often made everypony around her happy and her cooking could make the gloomiest to smile. To me, she was special. “Why are you standing there?” she giggled, popping her head under the doorway as she looked at me with glee in her eyes.

“I’ll be there,” I chuckled, trotting towards the kitchen as she popped back in. That day was the start of a new chapter in my life. I finally had a special somepony to love and I’m inching closer to my foalhood dream. I never felt so happy in my life before and I hoped my life would get better in each passing day. As I entered the kitchen and saw Cotton’s excited face while she was preparing the special breakfast, I had no doubt that my life will be in a smooth sailing from there.

I was leaning back against the chair as I patted my full stomach. I saw Cotton was doing the same across from me with a brilliant smile plastered on her face. The kitchen was accompanied by the soft buzzing sound of the dishwasher doing its job as we enjoyed each others company while we took some rest from breakfast. The breakfast we just had was... amazing. I never ate so many things before. She had prepared a feast for a family to a two ponies breakfast. I had to work overtime to get all the food done, not wanting to waste any of the special cooking. My stomach was like a balloon that was ready to pop in any second. I quickly shook my head as the thought of popping like a balloon scared me.

“Why are you shaking you head?” Cotton giggled behind her hoof.

“I was thinking something silly,” I said while I tried to sit up. The chair under me was making more creaking noises than usual and for that, I was kind of worry that the chair might break in any second. After realizing that, I used my hind legs to support most of my weight off the chair.

“What are you going to do today?” she asked, looking at me with a soft expression on her face.

“I think I am going to the park today. Play a few songs and maybe relax a bit before meeting with the music producer tonight,” I answered, tapping my chin in thought with a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. It was a good day to just enjoy life and to spend every second of it as much as possible.

“Can I join you?” she asked with a smile so bright even the darkest day couldn’t bring it down. I was elated to know that Cotton was eager enough to spend the rest of the day with me but there was one thing that put a damp to the whole thing...

“What about your work?” I asked with a questioning eyebrow raised onto my forehead. She shook her head with a smile still plastered on her face, her curly bed mane bounced happily in the process.

“I think the workers can manage without me,” she answered as she looked at me with eyes sparkled with joy. I was happy to hear that she wanted to spend the day with me, it brought tears to my eyes. “Besides...” she started once again, looking at me with glimmering eyes and a hidden smile behind a hoof. “I want to spend the first day with my... boyfriend,” she whispered, her face brighten into crimson red.

“I-I’m... glad,” I replied with my head lowered. I felt my cheeks were heating up and my heart was beating in a fast beat in my chest. I had a wide smile on my face while I looked at my hooves below, trying to hide my elation. I perfectly remembered that I just confessed my feelings to her not too long ago but the experience of having somepony else to love and to be loved by was completely new.

I heard the clopping sound of hooves touched the marble floor of the kitchen as Cotton jumped off her chair. Before I could even react, I felt her soft lips touched my cheeks. I looked at her, wide-eyed. I felt my cheeks were heating up more than before. “I’ll head to the shower first,” she whispered in my ears, sending chills down my spine as she gave me a wink. At that point, I was... speechless and couldn’t respond. Instead, I just looked at her until she disappeared from the doorway, hearing her giggles echoed in the next room.

I slowly touched my cheeks where she kissed me with a hoof while my mind wandered into bliss. I felt something different inside of me. I was not the doubt, fear or confusion that clouded my mind in earlier days. It was something... great. I felt a new sense of peace bore inside of me, thinking that there was somepony in the world that loves me for who I am. I felt a lone tear touched my hoof that was still on my cheek. I had a small smile on my lips as I wiped the tear away. I jumped off the chair and stood on all fours, looking at large window across the kitchen. I was bathed by the glow and the warmth of the sun which reflected my feelings pretty well: happy and peaceful. I let a small chuckle escaped my mouth as I gave the golden sun a bow of appreciation. With that, I turned to go, heading towards the main room.

The sound of Cotton’s cheerful hum greeted me from the bathroom as I entered the room. Her voice was like the peaceful sound of wind chime that rang in my ears, bringing new level of peace and serenity into the apartment room. I quietly trotted towards the couch while I drank in Cotton’s voice, listening to her hums echoed throughout the room even though it was a bit muffled. I slowly set my flank down onto leather couch with my eyes closed, drinking in her voice.

I shoved any thoughts away while I listened to her voice echoed in the room, creating a blank canvas in my mind. I immersed myself in every note of her hum. What seems to be a blink of an eye, I saw something began to flash in my mind. Not long after, I saw myself sitting under the tree back at the park. But instead of buildings stood in front of me like they should, I noticed there was an expanding field of grass before me. I heard the sound of leaves rustling above me and the whispers of the wind. I looked to my side and saw Cotton was lying on her back. She was looking at the blue sky above with her fore hooves out stretched to touch the blue canvas above. Her giggles floated in the wind as she turned her head to look at me. Then I watched her rested her hooves onto her belly, looking at me with a bright smile on her face. I noticed her mouth was moving but I didn’t hear what she was saying. After that, she stopped with that brilliant smile still intact. She turned her head back towards the sky, staring into it with peace beamed from her eyes.

My eyes shot open as I felt cold droplets of water dripped onto my lap. I was greeted by Cotton’s smiling face. She was literally inches away from my face, giggling. Her mane was matted on her head as they were still wet with water. The strong scent of strawberry scented shampoo filled my nostrils. She leaned closer and slowly inched her mouth to my left ear. “It’s your turn to take a shower,” she whispered that was followed by a soft giggle. Cotton slowly back away and looked at my with half-lidded eyes. She gave me a seductive wink and playfully flicked my nose with her tail. I felt the blood rushed into my face while my heart was beating furiously. She let out a hearty giggle as she noticed my heated cheeks. “Don’t take too long,” she giggled. At that point, I was unable to speak without blabbering like an idiot and instead, I held my tongue. After that she headed towards her room, adding more swing to her hips than usual as my head followed her. Just before she closed the door to her room, she looked over her shoulder and gave me another wink. I felt a new wave of blood rushed into my cheeks as I slowly sunk myself into the couch, hiding myself from her vision.

I heard she giggled and the door closed in a soft click. That teasing mare, I sighed inwardly, looking at the opened bathroom door across from me. I took a deep breath in attempt to calm my excited heart. My hooves shook slight as I stood up. I inhaled the air around me that was still had Cotton’s scent in it, smelling the sweet scent of strawberry and cotton candy filled my nose. I took a step forward towards the bathroom, fantasizing what the day was going to be like.

The sweet taste of strawberry filled my mouth as I took a greedy lick on my strawberry ice cream cone under the tree at the park. The warm wind and the warmth of the sun caressed my coat, filling me with serenity as I enjoyed my delicious frozen treat. Next to me was Cotton, who was also enjoying her ice cream. She had the same flavor as before: Vanilla. We were leaning against the tree at the park that slightly overlooked the whole place as we quietly enjoyed each others company while eating our ice-cream.

“This is nice,” Cotton spoke up, breaking the silence before she took another lick at her treat with a smile on her face. Her gaze was staring off at the group of fillies that were running around in the grassy park grounds.

“Yeah,” I chuckled as I took a long lick on the ice cream, looking at the restaurant across the street. That’s where I’ll be meeting with the music producer that night. I was nervous, to be honest. I didn’t know what kind of pony he was and that made me a bit more anxious than I needed to. Is he the stern and strict type or the laid back and casual type? I asked myself, absentmindedly licking the strawberry flavored ice cream.

Then I felt the prickling sensation of hair filled my tongue. My eyes darted down to see Cotton chomped down on my ice cream with a smile on her face. She pulled back her head, wiping the residue of the strawberry ice cream from her mouth with a hoof. “Hey! That’s mine!” I whinnied, looking at her with my lips pursed and my brows furrowed.

“What are you going to do about it?” she said in a teasing tone with an amused grin on her face. I felt a smile slowly crept on my face as I lowered my head, hiding my calculating eyes from her.

“Mine!” I screamed as I lunged towards her, aiming at her floating ice cream cone.

“Ah!” she giggled, falling onto her back while she struggled to levitate the ice cream high above me. I quickly put my fore hooves onto her sides and immediately gave her the tickle of a lifetime. She let out a series of hearty laugh as she tried to concentrate on her magic. She was squirming under me, trying to escape my tickling wraith. I didn’t held back and kept on tickling her sides. I looked up and noticed her levitation field was faltering. I immediately stretched my neck towards it, waiting for the right moment. “Nooo!” she giggled with tears started to form in the corner of her eyes as her levitation spell exploded with a small pop, dropping the ice-cream towards me.

I swiftly chomped the ice cream during mid-fall. Then, in an instant, the fur on my neck stood on end by the coldness, sending shivers down my spine. My brain was assaulted by a sharp dagger of chill and my nose went numb. “B-b-brain freeze,” I muttered. I had my hooves clasped on my slowly freezing head, closing my eyes to withhold the short bursts of pain.

“Are you alright?” I heard Cotton’s voice asked that was filled with worry.

“I-I’m fine,” I gasped, looking at her with an eye. I saw she had her head lowered and she was nervously rubbing her hoof. I watched her head turned to look at me, looking at me with an apologetic expression on her face. Her ears drooped on her head and there was a small frown tugged on her face. “Don’t worry, I’m okay,” I chuckled as I stood on all four hooves. I trotted towards her and gave her a peck on the cheeks to assure the mare. Her ears immediately perked up and a smile beamed from her face, returning the gesture.

“Hey, I know you. You’re from the diner!” a voice piped next to us. I turned my head to look and saw a yellow unicorn stallion with spiky orange mane was looking at us with a smile beamed from his face. “Are you going to play in the diner tonight?” he asked. His eyes were beaming with excitement.

“Well, uh...” I started with a sheepish smile on my face as I scratched the back of my head. “I have a meeting tonight with an important pony. So, I can’t,” I answered. I saw his ears drooped in disappointment and his head lowered with a small frown tugged on his lips. “But...” I spoke up. His head perked up once again, looking at me with radiating hope. “I could play now if you want,” I continued, smiling sheepishly.

“That’s so awesome!” he exclaimed excitedly, pumping his hoof in the air. I turned my head to look at Cotton who was standing next to me, giving her an apologetic smile. She just shook her head in respond, smiling. Without uttering a word, she gave me a quick peck on the cheeks as she levitated me my saxophone from its case behind us.

“Thanks,” I whispered, grinning as I felt my cheeks heated up. She just giggled and trotted in front of me, standing in a crowd that was slowly converging before me. I slung my saxophone strap onto my shoulder and stood on both hind legs, looking at the curious and excited faces of passersby and the crowd. But my eyes were focusing on one thing... or in this case, one mare: Cotton. She was silently supporting me through her eyes. I shot her a smile and closed my eyes. I listened to the music in my soul and slowly put my lips on the mouthpiece.

I took a deep breath and poured my soul into the music. The note came out strong and true, like the love resided in my heart. I mixed my love and passion into it as my notes floated in the wind throughout the park. I was fully immersed myself to the music, swaying my body to the melody and tapped my hoof in a beat. My hooves danced on the brass keys, hitting every note with precision and gusto. I slowly opened my eyes to look into the crowd and saw Cotton was swaying her body to my music with a smile that was beaming with tranquility. I let out a smile on my own as I bobbed my head to the melody, feeling the music flowed through me. I felt my body slowly relaxed as the last note came out slow and smooth.

Then the sound of excited stomps and hollered cheers filled the park. I shot a sheepish smile to the crowd while I balanced myself on my hind legs. I gave them a bow and stood back all on four hooves. I noticed Cotton immediately lunged towards me and gave me a flying hug, hearing her giggles rang in my ears.

“That was amazing,” she gasped in excitement, wide-eyed when she looked into my eyes. She had her mouth opened in awe, looking at me with disbelief in her eyes. “Where that came from?” she asked, gazing deeply into my blue eyes. I can see my own reflection in her glistening brown orbs. I let out an amused grin, chuckling.

“From my heart,” I said softly, nuzzling her in the neck. Her face suddenly brightened into crimson red as she returned the gesture.

“You’re great with your saxophone,” a familiar voice chuckled. We turned our head to look and saw Lyra was approaching us. Then she stopped mid-pace, looking at us with a confused look. “Am I interrupting something?” A slap of realization hit me on my cheeks and maybe Cotton realized it too as we quickly released ourselves from the embrace, smiling sheepishly at the dispersing crowd.

“N-no, it’s fine,” I stammered. I felt my cheeks were heating up, noticing I was nuzzling with Cotton in public. I knew that it was completely normal between ponies in relationship, but I thought it might be more of a private matter. I took quick tentative glances to my side and saw Cotton had the same shade of red on her cheeks, lowering her head to hide her coy smile.

“So,” I heard Lyra spoke up, returning my attention back to her. “This is you...” she trailed off to let me fill in the blanks, looking at Cotton with curious eyes and a questioning eyebrow.

“Cotton, my... girlfriend,” I answered softly, smiling sheepishly in return.

“Nice to meet you,” Cotton spoke up. She took several steps forward and lifted up a hoof. She had a warm smile on her face and she was openly blushing to the mint colored unicorn mare. I watched them both as Lyra’s face slowly softens. Then she giggled behind her hoof.

“Nice to meet you too, I’m Lyra Heartstrings,” she said, shaking Cotton’s hoof in a hoofshake. “So,” she spoke up again, breaking the hoofshake as she took a step back. “You two finally solved the confusion between the both of you, huh?” she asked with an amused grin.

“Y-yeah,” I nodded, chuckling.

“Congrats,” Lyra giggled. Then, I watched as Lyra gave Cotton an encouraging wink. The pink unicorn mare just blushed even brighter in respond.

“Are you performing again today?” I spoke up, looking at Lyra with a smile beaming from my face. I was excited to see if she’s going to perform again because her music was something amazing. Listening to her performance would be a bonus to my already amazing day.

“Well, actually no. I’m here just for a walk, that’s all,” she answered, scratching the back of her head with a sheepish grin. “But by a stroke of good fortune, I managed to see you perform in return,” she added excitedly, motioning her hoof in a sweeping gesture. My head locked on to Cotton who was trotted towards me, listening intently to our conversation. She stood beside me, staring at Lyra with an unreadable gaze.

“Um..,” I started, looking at Lyra with a smile. “I hope that you liked my performance.”

“I love it! It was amazing,” she replied, chuckling.

“Are you doing anything today?” I asked in return. I extended my hoof towards Cotton and grabbed her closer to my side. I managed to make her elicited a surprised squeak as she looked at me with her lips pursed, blushing brightly.

“I don’t know yet. Why?” Lyra asked with confusion plastered on her face.

“Well, Cotton and I were just thinking about having a picnic, and it would be great if you could join us. We can get to know each other a bit better,” I answered. With that, Cotton’s horn let out a brown glow, levitating a picnic basket that sat next to the tree towards us. The delicious smell of apple pie and various other baked good wafted into the air around us. I heard my stomach let out a soft grumble when I started to think about food.

“I guess I can hang out,” Lyra spoke as she scratched her hoof nervously with a sheepish smile on her face.

“We’ll have tons of fun,” I heard Cotton excitedly piped up next to me. I watched as her horn glowed once again, setting up the blanket onto the ground below the tree and swiftly arranged the food and drinks in place.

“Let’s eat,” I chuckled, giving Lyra an inviting nod. With that, Cotton and I trotted together to our spot with Lyra in tow. Then, the picnic started. The food that was prepared by Cotton was still fresh, as if they were just out of the oven. While we were enjoying the food, all of us began to tell stories about ourselves and our experiences in life – but Cotton and I cut out the gloomy part. Well, since we didn’t want to ruin the happy vibe.

From the conversation that we had, Cotton and I learned that Lyra was... let’s say; a mare who likes other mares. She didn’t feel ashamed for telling us that and in return, we didn’t protest nor bashed her for it. Instead, we respected her honesty and choice. Truth be told: she didn’t know that we would be as accepting in first glance but... looks can be deceiving I guess. I respect other ponies’ opinions and choices if they respect mine in return. Life is more of a give and take in my opinion and needs more compromise in every decision.

Anyway, we learned a bit about Lyra but we didn’t ask her anything on how she got her cutie mark. Not because we were not interested, but because we didn’t want to bring any unnecessary dark memories from the past. As time went on, laughter and giggles filled the air around the tree that stood above us where we forged a stronger bond as friends. I looked at the orange sky as the sun slowly gave way for the moon, thanking the goddess for gracing me a wonderful day and silently prayed that nothing could ever change that.

Author's Note

If you see any glaring mistakes, throw a brick at me to let me know.

Chapter 7

Our talk with Lyra had been going for hours since we started our picnic under the tree at the Manehattan city park and it had become more and more animated as time went on. The sky above us was the usual starless night sky but we were graced by the silver glow of Luna’s moon that loomed above us. I shivered as I felt the cool night air brushed against my coat and mane while I watched Cotton and Lyra were absorbed in their conversation about the latest fashion that was currently booming in Canterlot.

Then my gaze slowly fell towards the restaurant that had ‘La Lush’ sign on it. Seeing various ponies entered and exited the restaurant reminded me the first time I went there and played my saxophone in front of my first crowd. I let a chuckle escaped my mouth, looking into the dark sky above me with a smile carved on my face.

“What’s so funny?” I heard Lyra’s voice asked. I looked back down and saw she had a questioning eyebrow raised at me while Cotton was doing the same thing beside me.

“I just remembered the first time I played in front of a crowd, that’s all,” I answered, chuckling. My ears twitched as I heard Cotton let out a soft chuckle next to me. Probably realizing what I was talking about.

“Really?” Lyra intoned questioningly, looking at me with interest in her eyes with an amused grin on her face. “Where?”

“Right there,” I answered her, pointing a hoof at the expensive looking restaurant across the street, behind the mint colored unicorn mare. I watched as Lyra’s head looked over her shoulder to see where I was pointing at. Then I saw her head quickly snapped back towards me with shock on her face. Her sudden reaction startled me, making me jumped slightly on my haunches as my heart skipped a beat. Her eyes were wide and her mouth agape in disbelief.

“Y-you played there?” she stuttered, her voice was filled with disbelief for some reason. Was that restaurant haunted or something? If not, I didn’t know why she was being all skeptical and shocked about it. I mean, it was a normal fancy restaurant like any other fancy restaurant in Equestria. I bet most musicians in the city had played there at least once yet her reaction made it looked like the restaurant was some kind of a big deal. I noticed Lyra was still waiting for my answer, her hoof was pointing at the restaurant behind her. I answered her with a nod and a nervous grin on my face. Then, I quickly shot a confused look at Cotton, who was sitting next to me. Even she didn’t know what was happening as she gave me a shrug with the same confusion plastered on her face.

“Do you know how hard is it to reserve a spot to play in there?” she asked with incredulity beamed from her golden eyes, jumping onto her hooves with an audible clop.

“Uh... I didn’t know about that,” I answered her, scratching the back of my head with a nervous grin plastered on my face. Well... I guess that restaurant was a big deal after all. “But...” I started, smiling sheepishly at Lyra. “I was actually challenged by a friend to play at the restaurant. So, I didn’t reserve an official spot to play there,” I continued, silently hoping that the answer would somehow calm the mare down.

“And... who is this ‘friend’ of yours?” she asked again, her eyes became more skeptical than before.

“Vinyl Scratch,” I answered with a nervous chuckle. If you think she was in a state in great disbelief before, you were wrong. As I said the name, she immediately dropped back onto her haunches, mouth agape in shock. “And... Octavia,” I added, wincing for her next reaction. Her jaw almost hit the ground below. If there was a meter for shock at that time, I think she would be at her limit.

“Haza- wabeh- mehe-,” she blabbered incoherently as she stood back up, pacing back and forth while she mumbled to herself, occasionally shot me a look that was a mixture of shock and confusion. But her expression was... more to shock. “H-how did you--,” before she could even finished what she wanted to say, she went from blabbering incoherently to hyperventilation. That was a dramatic escalation of situation. She was breathing heavily, taking deep gasps of air while her eyes darted frantically and her pupils dilated into tiny dots.

“R-relax,” Cotton quickly spoke up as she immediately tended to Lyra, gently rubbing the mint unicorn’s back. I frantically reached the picnic basket which was sitting behind me and rummaged through it.

“Aha!” I cheered triumphantly, pulling out a paper bag. I jumped onto my hooves and quickly trotted towards Lyra, handing her the paper bag. She swiftly swiped it from my hoof and breathed into it. Her breathing gradually returned to its normal pace as she slowly relaxed, sitting on her haunches.

“Gah,” Lyra gasped for the final time, releasing the paper bag into the wind. I watched her as she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Then she let out a long sigh, opening her eyes to look at us. Cotton and I were sitting across from her with nervous smiles plastered on our faces, readying ourselves if she went into another panic attack. “How did you guys know Octavia and Vinyl Scratch, who are the most renowned ponies in Equestria?” she asked in a hushed tone, exchanging a questioning look between Cotton and me.

“We met them here,” I answered with a sheepish smile as my ears drooped onto my head.

“Where?” she asked, looking at me questioningly.

“Here,” I repeated, pointing at the spot that we sat on.

“You mean where we’re sitting right now?” she asked again, this time her voice was low and calm yet had a hint of intimidation. Lyra was looking at me with an expression where a parent would have when they suspected their foal did something wrong. I nervously swallowed a lump in my throat as I nodded sheepishly in return. “How?”

“W-well... They noticed us while we were asleep as they were heading towards to the restaurant,” I answered with my head lowered in attempt to escape her frightening stare. Even though I can’t see her, I felt her gaze bore right through me.

“Is that so?” I heard she intoned questioningly. I tentatively looked up and saw a smile spread across her face. “Sorry if I’m being overly dramatic,” she chuckled. Her expression slowly softened back into her normal cheery self. “I mean, why I wouldn’t be surprised and a little bit shocked that— “a little bit? I inwardly retorted, “—you met with two famous ponies in Equestria AND played in one of the top restaurants in Manehattan!” she exclaimed, raising her hooves into the air excitedly. “You must be one of the luckiest ponies in Equestria,” she concluded, looking at me with amazement sparkled in her eyes.

“I don’t know about that but...” I started as I turned my head to look at Cotton, who was sitting next to me with a smile plastered on my face. “I know one thing that made me realize that I am one lucky pony.” Cotton noticed that I was looking at her and she immediately shot me a cheeky smile, her cheeks brightened in crimson.

“Well,” I heard Lyra sighed. I turned my head to look and saw she was looking at the night sky. “I think I have to take my leave,” she said, shooting a wink at Cotton and me. She let out a grunt as she slowly stood up, smiling warmly at us. “I’ll see you two around,” she chuckled. She gave us a nod of appreciation and turned around, trotting towards the park’s gateway. But then, just before she exited the gateway, I saw she stopped and twirled around to look at us. “Don’t do anything naughty, okay?” she said a bit too loud than intended, waving a hoof towards us. After that, she turned back around and trotted deep into the city. We watched as Lyra slowly disappeared into the maze of buildings in front of us. I felt my cheeks heated up, feeling the suspicious stares of passersby bore into me.

“I-I think we should get going as well,” I stammered, tentatively looked at Cotton with my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. I saw she nodded in response; her horn glowed with brown magical aura, levitating the picnic basket behind her. I looked at her and noticed she was blushing furiously, hiding her eyes behind her curly mane as she stood up. I had a sheepish smile plastered on my face while I looked at her, standing up onto my hooves. Hold on, I inwardly spoke up, snapping back from cloud nine. My head scanned around the tree that we were under, looking for my saxophone case but... it was nowhere to be seen Oh no, I mentally gasped, my eyes widened in shock. But before I had a chance to panic, Cotton immediately spoke up.

“You put this behind the tree,” she giggled, levitating my saxophone case towards me. I inwardly sighed in relief, taking the handle of the case with my mouth.

“Thank you, I almost freaked out,” I said, looking at her with appreciation beaming from my eyes with a sheepish smile carved on my face.

“I’m always here to help you,” she said softly, looking me with passion in her eyes. Her words meant a lot to me as my heart began to hammer in my chest and blood rushed into my cheeks. She really did know how to make me feel happy and for that, I’m glad that I had her by my side.

“I think it’s time to meet with the music producer,” I chuckled. “Come on,” I added, nodding towards the restaurant across the street. I watched as she nervously rubbed her hoof, looking tentatively at me with her head lowered in uncertainty.

“You want me to follow you?” she squeaked. I felt a small smile tugged in the corner of my mouth, looking at her being doubtful for such trivial reasons. I think she knew what my answer would be, but she wanted to hear the answer from me to assure her thoughts that I always wanted her to be by my side. I trotted towards her while she had her head lowered to the ground; her nose almost touched the grass below and lifted her chin with a hoof. Our eyes connected as I looked into her glistening brown orbs. I saw her mouth opened to say something but before I let a word to escape her mouth, I immediately kissed her with my eyes closed, dropping my saxophone case with an audible thud on the grass below. Then I backed up my head, parting the kiss. I looked at her with a smile plastered on my face, brushing her mane from her eyes with a hoof.

“Did that answer your question?” I whispered. Cotton’s face was completely red with her eyes widened. Her stare was filled with surprise as she looked at me. I bet she didn’t expect I answered her question that way. Then I watched her as her surprised expression slowly soften into a coy smile, her cheeks brightened in crimson.

“Yes,” she replied in a hushed tone, biting her bottom lips shyly as she turned her head away.

“Let’s go,” I chuckled, picking up the saxophone case with my mouth. I turned around and walked towards the restaurant. As I walked, I looked over my shoulder and saw Cotton was trotting behind me with her head lowered, clearly blushing with the picnic basket floated lazily in tow. She noticed that I was staring at her and looked towards me. I gave her a sly wink that made her already red blush into a much brighter color, imploding her magic as the empty picnic basket dropped onto the ground with a soft thud. I let out a hearty chuckle, looking back towards the direction I was walking.

“Tease...” I heard her voice squeaked from behind.

The sound of chattering ponies and clattering plates filled my ears as we entered the restaurant. Upon entering, I saw the expression of the waiter who stood at the reception table two nights ago brightened when he saw me. When I slowly approached the reception table, I looked around the restaurant and saw several more faces lit up as I looked at them. The ponies immediately whispered to one another with excitement flashed in their eyes. I guess there were several ponies who saw my first performance were present at that time.

“Good evening, sir. Do you wish to reserve a table for you and your mare?” he asked with gusto in his voice, exchanging smiles between Cotton and me. I didn’t know what happened since I left the restaurant for the first time, but it seems the place felt livelier than before. I slowly set my case down before I spoke up...

“Well, no. I have a card that—“ as I started, a golden card that I received from Vinyl last night floated next to me by a brown glow. I looked over my shoulder and saw Cotton was the one who levitated the card to me with a smile on her face. I returned her smile and grabbed the card with my teeth. Before I could continue, the waiter pony nodded.

“Your guest has arrived moments ago,” the waiter spoke up. “I shall escort you to your seat,” he added with a clap of his hooves. In a blink of an eye, a couple other waiter ponies took my saxophone case and Cotton’s picnic basket away. They completely took us by surprised as Cotton and I blinked vacantly at one another. “This way sir,” the pony coughed. I turned my head to look and nodded. With that, Cotton and I followed the waiter through the maze of tables towards a large table that was sitting in front of what seems to be a stage. Upon approaching to our seat, I saw a white coated unicorn with a sleek black mane stood as he saw our presence. He was wearing a shiny silver jacket blazer and his golden eyes glimmered with interest, looking at me.

“Thank you, Charles,” his voice was deep and confident, talking to the pony who escorted us.

“We will bring the menus shortly,” ‘Charles’ I assumed the waiter pony’s name was, replied, adding a bow. With that, he trotted away to do his duties. Meanwhile, Cotton and I were just standing in silence, watching the ponies in front of us.

“Ah,” he chuckled with a wide smile plastered on his face, extending a hoof towards me. “I’m Golden Note, but call me Note instead.”

“I’m Saxy Tone,” I replied as I extended my hoof, placing it for a hoofshake. My eyes lingered on his flank and saw his cutie mark; a golden treble clef.

“Nice to meet you,” he chuckled, shaking my hoof. His hoofshake was firm and professional yet friendly. “And how about the lovely mare?” he intoned questioningly, looking at Cotton with a warm smile.

“My name is Cotton,” I heard Cotton replied from behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw she gave a curtsy bow. I inwardly chuckled to her charming antic.

“Please, sit down,” Note chuckled, invitingly waved a hoof to the seats across from him as he sat down. I nodded and trotted to our seats. Cotton was sitting to my right and Note was sitting directly across from me. Before we went to business, Charles arrived with our menu.

“What it will be, sirs and madam?” he asked in a professional tone, setting down the menus onto the table as he pulled out a notepad and a pen.

“Just bring us the caesar salad and a bottle of your best wine,” Note said, looking at Charles with a smile on his face. Before I could protest, Charles turned his head to look at me.

“A glass of water, sir?” he asked with a grin on his face. I nodded with a sheepish smile on my face, scratching the back of my head.

“What’s wrong with wine?” Note asked me quizzically, raising an eyebrow to his forehead.

“He doesn’t drink,” I heard Cotton spoke up next to me. I turned my head to look and she shot me a smile.

“Huh,” Note hummed, tapping his chin in thought. “Well,” he spoke up, looking at our waiter of the day. “I think that’s it. You can go now.” With that, Charles gave us a small bow and swiftly trotted away. “Right,” he spoke up once again, looking at me with interest sparked in his eyes. “You’re the one who Vinyl spoke highly about,” he continued with an amused grin on his face, leaning his back against the chair. The air around him had changed. The lighthearted and casual feeling had been replaced by a more cold and official tone to it.

“I-I don’t know about that,” I chuckled nervously. What did Vinyl told this guy? I inwardly fussed while I kept my smile intact. Golden Note eyes were filled with anticipation as he looked at me, making me felt more nervous in each second.

“Do you have any experience on stage or in a studio?” he asked while he was patting the pockets of his blazer in search for something.

“No, I haven’t,” I replied, shaking my head. While he was still searching for something in his pockets, I shot nervous glances at Cotton next to me. She just smiled and put a hoof on my thigh, silently supporting me through her eyes. I tried my best to return her smile but all I managed to do was a slightly crooked grin.

“Found it,” I heard Golden Note cheered. I looked at him and saw his horn had a bright golden glow around it, levitating a piece of folded paper to the middle of the table. If I didn’t know any better, I think that’s a contract, I thought to myself while I kept my eyes onto the paper.

“What I have here is a contract,” he started. I knew it! I inwardly cheered but I kept my face as serious as possible. “And in this contract, you will be under my company’s name and all of your music will be under copyright laws. You will be set for five-album deal, probably around eight years long contract. Also, twenty-five percent of your total earnings will go to me,” he concluded, tapping his hoof onto the piece of paper in front of me. “Did you get that?” he added, looking at me with a questioning eyebrow.

“I... guess so,” I mumbled, reaching for the paper.

“But,” he spoke up, slamming his hoof onto the table. I quickly retracted my hoof, looking at him with my eyes widened in shock. I saw a toothy smile crept onto his face. “You have to prove to me that you are as beastly as Vinyl said you to be,” he continued, chuckling. He still had his hoof on the contract, pulling it away from me with an amused smile plastered on his face. “Do you got what it takes?” he added.

I shot a nervous look at Cotton as I felt my heart was hammering in my chest. I didn’t know if I have what it takes to be a star but... my foalhood dream was literally a hoof away from me. If I didn’t take the chance, I might not have another chance like it in my lifetime. I saw Cotton gave me an encouraging smile and a nod, placing her hooves onto my hoof. I nodded in return, swallowing a lump in my throat. “I-I’ll do it. I’ll prove that I have what it takes,” I stammered, looking at Golden Note.

“Good,” he chuckled with a toothy smile. Then his head scanned around for our waiter. “Oh Charles,” he called out, looking over my shoulder. “Please give this pony his saxophone, he’ll perform for us this evening,” he continued as loud as possible, attracting everypony attention towards our table. I felt my body froze and my eyes were fixated to the wall in front of me. My heart began to hammer once more and my mind reeled in panic.

“Of course, sir,” I heard Charles replied from behind me.

“Good luck,” I heard Cotton whispered next to me, followed by a peck on my cheek. I immediately relaxed a bit as I gave her a faint smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll be great,” she added, trying her best to assure me.

“Thanks,” I whispered back, returning her kiss on her cheek.

“Here you go, sir,” Charles spoke up next to me, setting my saxophone case down with the greatest of care. “Good luck,” he added, whispering to me with an encouraging smile. I sheepishly nodded to him with a nervous smile tugged on my lips. I opened the case with a soft click, revealing the magnificent brass instrument that lies within.

“It’s show time, baby,” I mumbled to the saxophone as I picked it up, slinging the strap over to my shoulder. I took a deep breath, filling my lung with air to calm my frantic mind. I tried to think up a happy thought. I tried to think about Cotton’s brilliant smile. What should I play now? I asked to myself, figuring what song I should play at that time. We need something fun, something upbeat and something that makes ponies dance, I inwardly mumbled. I know! I mentally cheered; feeling a smile slowly crept on my face.

I opened my eyes and saw all of the ponies inside the restaurant – including the workers, stood in front of me in a form of a big crowd, looking at me with great anticipation. I shot a nervous look at Note who was still sitting on his chair. He grinned at me and waved his hoof to the stage next to our table. I let out a long sigh, calming myself once more. Right, I mentally pumped a fist as I nodded my head. I quickly trotted to the stage and balanced myself on my hind legs, looking at the large crowd in front of me.

I closed my eyes and put my lips on the mouthpiece. Here goes nothing, I inwardly sighed. The first note that came out was strong and soothing. Then the melody slowly started to pick up as I added more energy to it. I felt my fore hooves danced on the keys, my hind legs started tapping and my head bobbed in a beat. Soon enough, I was fully immersed to the melody. Letting the music flowed out from my saxophone and into the restaurant, mixing my soul and heart into it. I swayed my hips side to side as I was no longer in control of my body. The music had taken full command of my mind, soul and body. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the ponies in the crowd were dancing, tapping their hooves, bobbing their heads and swaying their hips to the song. I felt a smile cracked onto my face as I noticed a couple of ponies were head banging to the sweet sound of smooth jazz with their hoof in the air. I looked at Cotton and watched her shook her head to the music with her eyes closed in serenity. Golden Note was bobbing his head with an amused smile on his face, looking at me with more interest in his eyes.

I closed my eyes once again as I felt the end was nearing. I kept swaying my hips as I was sent into cloud nine of music. Floating with the notes in the air and let the melody caressed my soul. The last note that floated into the air was smooth and slow, replacing the upbeat vibe into a more calm tone. When the last note disappeared in the wind, silence followed. I slowly dropped down on my hooves and opened my eyes towards the crowd.

The excited roar of the crowd filled the restaurant, rumbling the whole place until the golden chandelier above me chimed by the cheering ponies. The loud wave of stomps and cheers filled my ears. I felt a wide smile tugged on the corner of my lips, giving the crowd in front of me a bow. I looked towards our table and saw Cotton was hollering her cheer at me while Golden Note had a toothy amused grin on his face, nodding his head in approval. “Thank you everypony,” I spoke up, waved a hoof to the cheering crowd and immediately trotted towards my table.

Before I could even sit on my chair, Golden Note spoke up. “You got yourself a deal,” he chuckled, levitating a pen and the contract towards me. “Just sign at the bottom left corner and we’ll be in business,” he continued, leaning his back against the chair with a wide grin on his face. Without another word, I took the pen and contract into my hooves and immediately signed my signature on it. I was smiling like a colt in a candy shop. My dream was a step away and I can’t wait for it to finally become a reality.

“Congratulations!” Cotton exclaimed excitedly, pulling me into a hug. I could hear her giggles of joy rang inside my ears. I let out a hearty laugh, returning the gesture as I gently patted her back.

“Excellent,” Note chuckled, levitating the signed contract into a pocket inside his blazer. “We’ll be keeping in touch,” he said as he stood up.

“Wait,” I spoke up, reaching a hoof towards him. “Where are you going?” I asked, looking at him with a quizzical expression plastered on my face.

“I have other business to tend to,” he answered, straightening his blazer with a hoof as he looked at me with a smile. The lighthearted and casual air began to surround him once again.

“B-but, what about the food?” I asked again with my confusion still plastered on my face.

“You can have it. I’m not even that hungry,” he chuckled with a grin tugged on his lips. His horn let out a gentle golden glow, levitating a pair of dark shades from his blazer. He slowly set it down onto his nose, smiling. “Also,” he spoke up as he raised a hoof. “Don’t drink too much. We need you to be as fresh as possible. It’s going to be a long ride, kid,” he concluded, trotting away. “Also, the bill is on me,” he called out without looking back, continuing on his way.

“That was... odd,” I said, looking at Cotton with a confused look.

“Well, at least we can enjoy our dinner since all of that business talk is done,” she giggled as she stood up. I looked at her with a questioning eyebrow and watched her trotted to the seat across from me. “This is our first dinner date,” she said as she sat down, giggling. I felt my cheeks heated up, realizing that her words were true. It really was our first dinner date and I felt the flutters of butterflies in my stomach.

“That was seeeensational!” a voice next to us piped in a sing-a-song tone. We both looked and saw an earth pony mare that was taller than anypony in the restaurant. She had a pale olive coat and her mane as well as her tail was a mixture of light brilliant cobalt and light azure. Her mane was exceptionally puffy whereas her tail was long and flowing. She was wearing a white ruffled dress with gold trim that had purple collars. The mare also wore purple shoes on all of her hooves that had gold embedded around it. The other things that stood out were the fluffy plume on the back and the long white top hat that sat precariously on her head.

While Cotton and I were looking at her with confusion on our faces, the mare’s bright amber eyes looked at me alluringly as she batted her eyelashes. Her eyes were filled with interest and hunger. Not for food but... for something else. Cotton might realize what was going on and coughed loudly into her hooves. My head quickly snapped towards her as if I escaped some kind of a trance. I blinked several times, trying to regain my focus.

“Who are you?” I heard Cotton asked. I turned my head to look and saw she had a smile on her face yet I felt the subtle sensation of irritation radiating from it, looking at the tall mare next to us.

“My name is Sapphire Shores, the Pony of Pop!” she answered in gusto, shaking her head in the process. Then her eyes looked towards me. “And who might you be, baby?” she asked as she trotted behind me. I nervously looked at Cotton across from me and noticed she had irritation beamed from her eyes while a smile was still intact on her face. Her gaze followed Sapphire Shore’s every movements. I subconsciously shivered, feeling the cold anger that was radiating from Cotton.

“I-I’m Saxy Tone,” I stammered, keeping my face as straight as possible. I felt chills shot down my spine.

“Mmm... sexy,” Sapphire intoned, whispering. I felt her hot breath touched my neck and saw a glow of anger flashed in Cotton’s eye.

“A-and this is my girlfriend, Cotton,” I quickly added as I waved a hoof to the mare in front of me, trying my best to diffuse the situation before it escalated into a cat-fight.

“Oh?” Sapphire asked in a mock-like tone. “I didn’t see you there, sorry,” she chuckled. Before I let Cotton react, I shot her a nervous smile, silently pleaded her to calm down. She noticed my stare and held back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, doing her best to calm herself. Then, she slowly opened her eyes with a smile slowly crept onto her face.

“Is there a reason you came here?” Cotton asked, smiling at the intruding mare.

“I just saw his amazing performance and just had to meet in person,” Sapphire explained, trotting between Cotton and I. “But...” she spoke up, exchanging glances between us. “It seems you two are busy. I guess, I’ll see you two around,” she concluded as she turned around. “I hope to meet with you in private,” she added, whispering while her eyes stared at me. I felt a chill sent down my spine as I tried my best to keep my smile intact. My ears twitched, hearing Sapphire let out a chuckle. With that, she trotted away. Even her stride was confident and exuberant.

“Oh goddesses,” I sighed, sinking into the chair. I looked up to see the mare across from me and saw she was openly glaring where Sapphire stood. “U-um.. Cotton. Are you okay?” I stammered, nervously smiled at the angered mare.

“I don’t like her,” she admitted with a frown tugged on her lips as her eyes looked at me.

“Well... she was a bit intrusive,” I said, nervously smiling at her.

“Intrusive!?” she exclaimed, slamming her hooves on the table with her eyes burned in anger. I jumped and quickly sunk under the table. “She was looking at you as if you were her toy,” she huffed, crossing her hooves together and her brows furrowed. “She looks like the ones who like to play with other pony’s feelings,” she grumbled, leaning back against the chair. I felt a small smile tugged on my lips as I stood up, trotting behind her. She was angry to the whole situation that she didn’t notice that I was behind her. I slowly wrapped my hooves around her body, playfully nuzzled her neck from behind.

“You don’t have to worry. She’s just another ordinary mare in my eyes. But you... you are special to me,” I whispered before I nuzzled her neck once more. I heard a soft moan escaped her mouth as her face heated up. She looked over her shoulder, tickling my nose in the process and let out a soft giggle.

“Thank you,” she whispered with a smile on her face. Her face was blushing and her eyes glistened under the light.

“You’re welcome,” I chuckled, backing away.

“Ahem,” a familiar voice coughed from behind me. I slowly looked over my shoulder as my face flushed in a sudden realization that I was nuzzling Cotton in public once again. I saw Charles was standing behind a food cart with our food and drinks on it. “You’re food, sir,” he continued with a straight-face.

“Y-yes... please proceed,” I stammered, trotting back towards my chair with a sheepish smile on my face. I felt my cheeks were heating up like crazy, seeing Cotton had the same expression across the table. With that, our first dinner date began. The food prepared was delicious but... it can’t defeat Cotton’s cooking though. Cotton and I enjoyed our dinner as we had small talk between meals that gradually became more animated as time went on. But things got out of hand when Cotton drank too much wine – again – and I had to face the difficulty of carrying a picnic basket, a saxophone case and a drunken pony back to the apartment. I’ll let you all know this: it was excruciating. I often stumble in every few steps and the journey home was a challenge that I never fathom in my entire life.

Thankfully, after long moments walking and stumbling on my hooves, I managed to arrive at the apartment without any trouble. That night, Cotton was drunken than before because she drank a whole bottle of wine herself. Therefore, it hindered her to make any sense every time a word came out from her mouth. I am a self-proclaimed gentlecolt and I never took advantage to a mare that was in such a fragile state. So, I proceeded by setting her onto her bed and quickly exited the room. Even though the night wasn’t as smooth as I wanted it to be but the whole day had been a blast. I finally confessed my true feelings and I am a step closer to my dream. I was thrilled that my life had turned into something much better and I prayed to the goddesses of Equestria to help me get through to the whole experience without a hitch.

Author's Note

If you see any glaring mistakes, let me now by pelting me with pebbles.

Chapter 8

I was walking on the red carpet towards a golden glimmering archway that had a large banner with my face on it. The sound of ponies chanting my name filled the air around me and the barrage of camera flashes assaulted my eyes. Ponies of all ages and sizes hollered their cheers to me as I waved my hoof at them, creating another wave of excited cheers and stomps into the starless night sky. I had a big smile tugged on the corner of my lips as I got closer towards the archway, feeling the excited beats of my heart hammered in my chest. Yet... even though I was at the top of the world, bathed in the adoring chants of the ponies around me, there was something missing. I felt it was something that meant a lot to me, something that I held dear to my heart. The more I think about it, the more I felt that something was missing as I kept on walking on the luxurious red carpet towards my fame. Before I could figure what it was, I smelled the delicious scent of freshly made pancakes wafted into my nose.

My eyes shot opened and was greeted by the warm smile of Cotton who was standing next to me, levitating a plate of pancakes above her. She was wearing her pink diner dress uniform. Probably she was getting ready for work. Cotton had a wide smile on her face, her smile was brilliant and calming as ever, looking at me with affection beamed from her eyes. The beaming light above her created an illusion as if she was sent from heaven just for me, to keep me safe from the outside world. Just as I’m about to say something, I felt her soft lips touched my forehead. “Good morning, sleepy head,” she whispered, levitating the plate of pancakes onto the glass coffee table behind her. I felt my cheeks heated up a bit while I tried to sit up, looking at the unicorn mare with a cheeky smile.

“Morning,” I replied just as soft, planting a kiss on her right cheek. She looked away bashfully with a smile etched on her face as she sat next to me on the couch. I looked at the freshly made pancakes served in front of me, sniffing the air around it once again as I closed my eyes. The sweet and delicious scent of the pancakes filled my nostrils and calmed any cloud of anxiety in my heart, making me felt more relaxed. I opened my eyes and saw a fork with a pancake on it hovered in front of my face that was glowing with Cotton’s brown magical aura. I turned my head to look at her and saw her face was brightened in crimson, hiding a coy smile behind a hoof while she played with her white apron with her other hoof.

“Let me feed you,” she squeaked, her eyes tentatively looked at me as her cheeks furiously blushed. I gave her a warm smile as I chomped on the pancake in front of me, shooting her a wink. My ears twitched, hearing a soft squeak escaped her mouth while she hid her flushed face behind her hooves. I cracked a smile, pulling my head away from the hovering fork as I enjoyed the pancake. The pancake was soft and sweet and each bite created a party of sweetness in my mouth. Then we repeated the same thing again without speaking another word as we silently enjoyed each others company. To tell the truth, even we didn’t speak with each other; the silence had meaning to it. Cotton and I wanted to spend quality time together as much as possible and even through the silence, it was a time well spent. The fact that the pancake was made with Cotton’s love made it the best pancake that I ever eaten. Each bite was sweeter than the last, resembling Cotton’s ever-growing loving affections. But... eventually, good things must end. I took the last bite of the pancake as I felt my stomach was getting full.

“That was great,” I sighed, leaning against the couch while I patted my stomach in contentment. I turned my head to look at the soft pink unicorn and saw her horn let out a brown glow. Cotton easily levitated the plate and the fork into the kitchen as she had her eyes closed in concentration with her brows furrowed. Even though I grew up with many unicorn friends in my life; it was still an awe to me to see one could easily levitated items away into far distances. Sometimes I wished I was born as a unicorn. It would help me a lot on my saxophone playing skills but I guess I can’t complain about it. While I was staring curiously at Cotton’s simple yet amazing magic at work, I noticed she was looking at me with a questioning eyebrow.

“Are you okay?” she giggled as her horn stopped glowing.

“O-oh, nothing,” I replied with a sheepish grin on my face, scratching the back of my neck as I felt blood rushed into my cheeks. I didn’t know why I was blushing at that time but I guess I was embarrassed because I was caught staring at her. But hey, even though I lived my life around unicorns, their magic always managed to impress me.

“What are you going to do today?” Cotton asked as she scooted closer, looking at me with curious eyes.

“I dunno. Maybe I’ll stay here for today in case of Golden Note or Vinyl and Octavia decide to drop by,” I answered her, shrugging nonchalantly. I felt her coat touches mine as she leaned against me with her head rested on my shoulders. Cotton had her eyes closed and a soft smile was tugged in the corner of her lips. I felt the air around her was filled with the sense of tranquility as we listened to the cheerful ticking of a clock nearby. “Are you okay?” I asked with a whisper while I looked at her, smiling warmly at the mare.

“I’m fine,” she whispered. “It’s just,” she started as she scooted closer for a snuggle. “I want us to be together, that’s all,” she continued. I felt a wide smile slowly crept onto my face as I pulled her closer with a hoof. In all my years, I never been that close with anypony else, even with my parents. I guess it was... refreshing that somepony wanted to be close with me. I opened my mouth as I wanted to say something but instead, I held my tongue. I looked up into the ceiling and I silently mouthed ‘thank you’ to the pony upstairs – to the goddesses, not the ACTUAL pony who lived on the floor above us. Then, I my gaze slowly fell on the clock above the bathroom’s doorway across from of us.

“Umm..,” I started as I lightly patted Cotton on the back. “Aren’t you late for work?” I asked, looking at her with a questioning eyebrow. Immediately, her eyes shot opened in shock.

“Oh no!” she gasped, jumping of the couch and off my embrace. “I’m late. I’m late. I’m late!” Cotton said frantically while she jogged in place, her eyes darted in confusion and her head scanned the room in panic.

“You better head to the diner now,” I spoke up as I tried to stifle a laugh, looking at her with a smile plastered on my face. It was cute to see her like that. I know that sounded cruel but, it was cute nonetheless.

“Great idea!” she exclaimed excitedly as she quickly trotted towards the front door. I just chuckled in return, rolling my eyes. “I’ll be home around ten tonight. If you have some free time, drop by to the diner. I bet the other ponies would be glad if you would,” she said while she poked her head under the doorway with a smile --that beamed brighter than the sun-- plastered on her face.

“Sure,” I chuckled as I waved goodbye. Cotton nodded and closed the door with a soft click. I heard her galloping hooves echoed from the hallway that quickly faded as she continued on her way. Then, the apartment immediately changed from lively to somber. I was accompanied by the sound of the buzzing light above me and the buzz of the dishwasher in the kitchen. Whenever she leaves, the world felt a bit duller than before. I shook my head of the thought and tried to focus on my plan for that day.

“Should I wait for somepony to come and visit or... go to the park today?” I mumbled to myself while I tapped my chin in thought. I knew that it was eight in the morning at the time and I had a lot of free time on my hooves but it was hard to decide on what I should do. While I was still in thought to plan out my day, hours literally felt like seconds and when I looked back at the clock in front of me, I noticed it was almost twelve in the afternoon. “Wow... time flies whenever I zoned off,” I mumbled once again as I jumped off the couch. Then, before I could think of anything else, I smelled something odd wafted into the room. I was familiar but I can’t put a hoof on it. I lifted a hoof to my nose and sniffed it. “Ugh...” I groaned as I set my hoof back on the floor, grimacing. My coat was drenched with sweat and it smelled like a week old of sweaty socks. The assaulting odor attacked my nostrils as I walked towards the bathroom. “I need to take a shower... now,” I mumbled, trying to hold my breath.

“Much better,” I sighed in contentment as I walked out from the bathroom. I felt the soft and cool breeze from the kitchen brushed against my coat and mane, sending chills up my spine as I shivered. “Nothing beats a cold shower during a hot day,” I mumbled to nopony in particular while I shook the last drops of water off my mane. Then I smelled the strong scent of Cotton’s strawberry scented shampoo filled the main room. It was soothing as it made me think that she never left the room. I felt a smile tugged in the corner of my mouth as I remembered her brilliant smile that morning, chuckling softly to myself. I slowly walked towards the leather couch and lazily flopped my body onto it, looking at the ceiling above me. “I wonder if she’s thinking about me,” I whispered, reaching my hoof outwards to the ceiling as I tried to grab something that can’t be seen. “Maybe,” I chuckled as I sat up, stretching my hooves. Then, I heard a series of knocks on the front door.

“Hey, Saxy. Are you home?” Vinyl’s voice rang behind the door.

“I-I’m home,” I stammered for some reason as I jumped of the couch and quickly trotted towards the door. I unlocked it and opened the door as wide as it could go. I saw Vinyl was standing in front of me with her usual purple shades that hid her magenta eyes and her usual amused grin plastered on her face.

“Good thing that you’re here. That means I don’t have to search for you in the city,” she chuckled as she brushed her mane with a hoof.

“Why are you looking for me?” I asked, looking at the white unicorn mare with a questioning eye.

“Golden Note, you know... the music producer, wanted me to tell you that your first recording starts today and I’m here to pick you up,” she answered with a chuckle.

“Today?!” I exclaimed, my eyes widened in shock. It was surprising for me to the fact that Golden wanted to get down to business that quick. That pony really means serious business when it comes to work. Probably Golden Note was a pony who took his job very seriously.

“For sure,” Vinyl nodded with a grin plastered on her face. I guess it was amusing for her to see me that surprised. “Oh,” she gasped as she looked towards the apartment building’s entrance. “We really should get going,” she chuckled as she quickly turned around and walked away.

“W-wait,” I called out as I quickly grabbed my saxophone case in my mouth that sat next to the door, turned off the lights and closed the door behind me. As I stepped outside, I immediately covered my eyes with a hoof. My eyes were almost blinded by the bright sunlight that beamed from above. I slowly set my hoof down as my eyes slowly adjusted to the light. When my vision finally came back, I was surprised to see what was in front of me. If I didn’t have my saxophone case in my mouth, I would drop my jaw in awe. In front of me was a long and sleek white carriage limousine. It had gold trims on the edges of the doors and roof and its dark tinted windows reflected the sunlight back into my eyes. I quickly stepped forward to avoid the blinding beam. I noticed there were a couple stallions who were assigned to pull the carriage. They very looked strong and very well dressed. They were wearing dark grey formal attire and they were wearing dark shades that were oddly similar to Vinyl’s.

“Why are you standing there like a garden gnome?” I heard Vinyl asked, chuckling. “Come on, we have to get going,” she continued as she entered the carriage. I was speechless and I was only able to nod in return as I followed her. The interior was also as amazing as the exterior. It was very spacious to the point it could fit several ponies and still have some space left in it. I also noticed there was a mini bar in the far end of the limousine and the interior was lit by a rotating disco ball. I never thought I would see a disco ball in my time and it somewhat fits the atmosphere of the limousine. The seats were very comfortable and had built-in massager in them. My ears twitched as I heard a faint sound of thumping beats echoed inside the limousine.

“Like what you see?” Vinyl asked with an amused grin plastered on her face as she leaned back on the seat across from me. She had her hooves folded behind her head and had a questioning eyebrow raised at me.

“Y-yes!” I answered with gusto, looking at her with a beaming smile. “This is the first time that I enter a limousine carriage and it looks amazing,” I continued as my head excitedly scanned around the interior like a colt in a candy store.

“When you become a big time music star, you’ll have your own limousine,” she chuckled as she lowered her purple shades, looking at me over it. Her eyes were sparkling with interest while she still had her usual grin plastered on her face. Her gaze made me felt a bit uncomfortable. Then without another word, she put her shades back on and tapped on the roof of the carriage. I felt my body jerked forward as we began to move.

“Where are we going?” I asked, slowly trotting to a seat behind me. I carefully set my flanks onto the expensive looking seat and felt the automatic massager activated. The vibrating massagers amazingly released the tensions in my back that I got from carrying Cotton from the restaurant to the apartment last night. I heard soft coos escaped from my muzzle as I was momentarily distracted by the heavenly touches of the massagers. I quickly put a hoof on my mouth, looking away as I felt a river of blood rushed into my cheeks. What are you doing!? I inwardly screamed to myself, feeling embarrassed.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Saxy,” Vinyl started, chuckling. “I was just like you when the first time I had this limousine,” she continued with a wide grin plastered on her face. Oddly enough, I heard a sense of nostalgia in her voice for a second there. I nodded in respond as I lowered my head to avoid her gaze. I still felt completely embarrassed by the whole thing. “As for your question,” I heard she began again as I kept my eyes on the floor and listened to my heart hammering in my chest. “We’re going to Golden Note’s place.”

“Huh?” I spoke up as my head perked up to look at her with a quizzical expression plastered on my face. “Aren’t we supposed to go to a recording studio or something?”

“Golden Note has his own recording studio at his place and he told me that he prefers to do his work in private,” she answered with a grin. Her horn lit with purple magic as she levitated a glass of red wine to her muzzle, slowly sipping its content.

“Is there a reason why he wanted to work in private?” I asked again as I looked outside. I noticed that the tall city buildings were replaced by tall green trees and lush green landscape that stretched into the horizon. The sky was bluer than I remembered and a group of clouds were lazily floating in the sky off in the distance. I guess Golden Note lived outside the city area, I thought to myself as my gaze fixed to the lush green fields outside. Suddenly, I felt a slight twinge in my heart, remembering my home back in Ponyville.

“I dunno,” I heard Vinyl answered back. I looked at her once again and saw she poured herself another glass of wine.

“I don’t think you should drink too much during the middle of the day,” I spoke up, looking at her with a worried expression on my face.

“Don’t worry,” Vinyl chuckled as she levitated the glass to her lips, taking another long sip. Then she let out a sigh of contentment, levitating the almost empty glass away. “It will take a lot more than a bottle of wine to make me feel lightheaded,” she explained with a grin on her face as she poured herself another glass. Her statement left me with my mouth opened in awe. Is she for real? I mentally exclaimed to myself, looking at the white unicorn mare with pure shock. She noticed my look and just nonchalantly shrugged in return as she raised the glass in a toast towards me. With that, she took another long sip of the wine. I immediately shook my head, trying to regain my focus.

“Looks like we’re here,” Vinyl spoke up as she pointed a hoof at the window behind me, looking at me with a grin plastered on her face. I tentatively turned my head to look and my mouth dropped in awe once again. I noticed that we were approaching a large and fancy looking golden gate that was leading towards a winding gravel path. Far behind the gate was a large white mansion that stood on top of a large hill that overlooked the area around it. I saw a tall white tower stood proudly in the middle of the mansion as its golden roof glowed under the sunlight. In front of the extravagant mansion was a large circle field of colorful flowers that had a large statue of the princesses of Equestria stood in the middle of it. The statue of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood proudly among the colorful flowers. The land around the mansion was a wide and green flatland that was well kept. The grass around the mansion looked like it was often trimmed to perfection and there was no offending leaves that can be seen on it. The pony who worked on it must be a very dedicated to his or her task and for that, I felt humble to see such determination can be shown in the simplest of ways.

“T-this is Golden Note’s house?” I exclaimed while my eyes still fixated to the enormous home that we were approaching.

“Yup,” I heard Vinyl giggled behind me. “He lives at the mansion with only his housekeepers. He only goes outside for his job and he rarely participate any company parties or gatherings unless it is important,” she continued.

“I see,” I nodded as I tapped my chin in thought while my gaze still glued to the mansion in front of us. He rarely goes out, huh? I wonder why, I inwardly mused as my eyes darted left and right. I was trying to think up a good answer but... to no avail. I guess it’s nothing, I mentally shrugged as I shook my head from my reverie. I nervously clenched my teeth together as we were getting closer to the entrance of the mansion, slowly tasting the taste of fame on my tongue. “It’s show time,” I whispered to myself as I looked at my golden gateway to fame.

Author's Note

If you see any glaring mistakes, let me know by dropping a brick on my head.