Lunar Sonata sighed. These kinds of parties were always terribly boring, surrounded by the snobby Canterlot elite. All they seemed to care about was being seen with the most prestigious, the most popular figures in society. The kind of party she wanted to be at, loud and fun, were looked down upon. Being an opera singer apparently meant boring parties and get-togethers.
All night, Lunar Sonata was subject to long, boring conversations about the classes, the jobs in different classes, and how the elite didn't need to get their hooves dirty. Lunar was of course one of those that avoided hard labor, but on nights like these it seemed preferable.
After three long, tedious hours, the unicorn finally caught a break. The conversation had finally drifted from her, so she slipped out onto the balcony to get some fresh air. The night was cool and refreshing in the March evening, and brought many old memories to her as she settled herself against the terrace wall.
At just twenty years old, Lunar Sonata had lived much of what could be lived in the creme de la creme. Her parents, having discovered her singing abilities when she was just six, enrolled her in the best, most expensive schools imaginable inside the city walls. By the time she was eight, she'd earned her cutie mark, a marvelous nightblooming cereus, more commonly known as the lunar flower, accompanied by an otava and a g clef symbol.
Secretly, though, she'd obtained this cutie mark by sneaking out of her dorms at night and singing the way she wanted to under the moon, wild and freely. Had her teachers known of this highly sacrilegious behavior, she would've been booted on the spot. So in fact, Lunar Sonata's soul bloomed in the night, and not in thanks to her studies.
The truth was, Lunar Sonata simply loved to sing. She loved to be heard, she loved to perform. But according to her parents and her teachers, who all pressured her to be an elite lady and never step out of line, she slowly caged herself in, restricting herself only to the finest arts possible for her field. Over the years, she grew less and less adventurous, less wild, and less free. She pandered to the masses and sold her wild soul to the elite of Canterlot for their adoration.
Lunar Sonata was so lost in her thoughts of the past that she didn't hear the door behind her open. "Ms Sonata!" a friendly, older male voice called, making Lunar jump at the sudden intrusion. She turned with a dismayed glance, only to see with some relief the one unicorn whose company she enjoyed.
"Oh, Fancy Pants..." she trailed off, turning away to hide her rising emotions. The pressures of pandering to the rich class was finally starting to get to her, and her brief sanctuary had thought to be taken from her. It was too much to hold back.
"Oh, dear, I'm terribly sorry. Did you wish to be alone?" he said, making to return to the ballroom.
"No, don't leave, please," Lunar implored, turning to Fancy Pants, no longer bothering to hide her frustrated tears.
"Oh, of course," the stallion said gently as he approached Lunar Sonata's side, then turned his gaze out to the moon-lit night. After a moment of companionable silence, he turned to the performer. "Too much noise, is it?"
Lunar Sonata chuckled mirthlessly. "Too much noise directed at me. For once, Fancy, I'd just like to spend an evening at a party where nopony's talking about me. In fact, a place where nopony even knows me would be nice."
"Well, why not leave, then?"
Lunar glanced at her friend, unsure if he was being serious. "Fancy Pants, are you...?"
"Well of course I'm being serious," he finished for her. "Even I need time to get away from Canterlot now and then."
The mare could not believe what she was hearing. "But...you? Fancy Pants, you're at the top! You're the pony that knows everything worth knowing in the Canterlot elite! When do you even have time to get away?"
Fancy Pants chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Careful planning is essential. That, and knowing when to stand at the edge, and when to back away from it. Letting yourself fall when you had a chance to give yourself a reprieve would be a terrible waste."
Rarity's eyes grew wider and wider as she stepped from the carriage that had brought her to Canterlot. Today was going to be a bold and exciting day, as today she would help disguise and smuggle an Equestria-renowned opera singer out of Canterlot and into Ponyville, having been contacted by her recent new friend, Fancy Pants. The very thought made her giddy and gave her butterflies in her stomach.
From behind the fashionista stepped a beautiful unicorn of pale mint green coat, mane and tail of white, gold and blonde streaks, and a cutie mark of two navy blue stars covered in ice. Glow Frost was an old friend of Rarity's, another unicorn who loved to doll herself up. She was stunning all year-round, but winter was when she truly shined.
Rarity turned to face her friend, who looked about as giddy as the fashionista. "Oh, Rarity, are we really doing this?!" Glow Frost said more than asked. She looked like she was ready to explode, and Rarity wasn't far behind her. They were both fidgeting and bouncing like high school mares.
Rarity giggled like a little filly one last time, then cleared her throat daintily and composed herself. "Why, yes we are, dear Frost. Now come, we'll be late for our rendezvous if we don't hurry." With that, the two mares made quickly for the palace gardens to meet with Fancy Pants.
It didn't take them long to arrive at the gardens. It was springtime, and while it was still a bit chill, everything was turning green after a long, cold winter. Violet pansies and fresh calendula flowers were the flowers of the season, offering a striking contrast of yellow and purple. Wild red and green birds chattering and flitting through the air and among the trees made it a lively place.
Rarity and Glow Frost, while both giddy with apprehension, couldn't help but 'ooh' and 'aah' as they passed the colorful flowers and raised their heads to see the birds. Celestia and Luna both had outdone themselves with the spring planning. Soon, the two came to a clearing. There was a beautiful white gazebo in the center, with dozens of beautiful and tastefully coordinated flowers planted in a circle around it. Sitting inside it were two ponies, one of them obviously Fancy Pants, dressed in his usual gentlemanly flair.
The other, which was most certainly Lunar Sonata, sat on a bench under the gazebo's shade. She wore what could have passed for funeral dress; a dark, poofy dress that covered the entirety of her body, along with a dark shawl that covered her head.
"...Do you think she's overdoing it a little?" Glow Frost whispered to Rarity as they approached the gazebo.
"Darling, she's a celebrity that's trying to get a little anonymity. It is absolutely necessary to be inaperçu in public if somepony like her wants to get anywhere around Canterlot in peace."
Glow Frost thought on this a moment, then squealed quietly. This was exactly what she was looking for; a chance to be noticed. As the two of them rounded the gazebo to reach the stairs, Fancy Pants, who had been speaking quietly with the shawled pony, turned and smiled to the approaching mares before bowing politely. "Rarity, so good to see you again, and I can't thank you enough for this," he told the fashionista, before reaching for her hoof, which she graciously offered in return. He turned to Glow Frost then, with a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye.
"My word, our friend Rarity has certainly chosen the right mare to be our scapegoat, er, partner I should say, in this little play of ours." He offered Glow Frost the same courtesy he had shown Rarity, garnering a giggle and a blush from the wintery mare. She took his hoof and made a little bow.
With his greeting out of the way, Fancy Pants stepped back into a perpendicular position to adequately halve his attention between his comrades. "Now then, ladies..."
The figure all wrapped in black let out a sigh. "Here goes, I suppose," she said. Rarity and Glow Frost both seemed to lean a little closer, their eyes wide with anticipation. Only Rarity had seen what Lunar Sonata looked like, and only once during her stint in popularity in Canterlot. The large coat was removed, revealing a lean dark charcoal grey body. Finally, she removed the shawl covering her head. She shook out her lustrous two-toned metallic grey mane, revealing a horn emerging from the finely styled hair. Beautiful brown eyes stared worriedly at the two mares before her. "So...can you do it?" she asked Rarity.
The fashionista sputtered for a brief moment as she caught her bearings. "Ca-can I do it? Of course I can. It's just a matter of getting to know you, darling."
"Know me? Well, I guess I can tell you a little-"
"Oh no, no, dear," Rarity interrupted with a nervous titter. She stepped closer and sat on her haunches before the singer and reached up to her hair, pausing before making contact. "If I may?"
Lunar sighed and sat down as well, nodding her ascent. "Please."
Rarity smiled happily and got to work. She ran her hooves through the dark mare's mane, lightly humming to herself as she acclimated herself with the new and fancy mane style. After a moment she stuck her tongue out in concentration and took Lunar's hoof in her own, delicately studying the dark complexion. "Mm...I do believe I am ready if you are, miss Sonata."
Rarity smiled and stepped back from the singer and pulled into a perpendicular position, now facing Fancy Pants. The two shared a look of excitement before the fashionista glanced at both mares. "Now, this may take a moment. I haven't cast a glamour spell of this caliber in quite some time..." Both singer and model watched with trepidation as Rarity's horn began to glow the usual blue. The color began to change, though, as the fashionista prepared her spell. She grunted with some effort as little sparks of magical effort flew from the white horn. She trembled and finally released her spell, releasing a light too bright to see that shot out through the gaps in the gazebo.
When Fancy Pants could see again, the first thing he saw was Rarity, lying on the ground with her legs propped under her, but clearly awake. He quickly went to her aid and helped her stand. When he turned to see if the other girls were unharmed, he did a double take. Had Lunar Sonata been at the entrance to the gazebo, or the back? He turned in the other direction, to the back of the gazebo, where he saw Glow Frost staring at Luna Sonata across from her. "...Miss Rarity," Fancy Pants said cautiously. "Either your spell transported the girls to their opposite locations, or your spell worked!"
Rarity gasped and looked between the girls. 'Lunar Sonata' was looking at her hooves and trailing them through her mane, an excited look in her eyes, while 'Glow Frost' was doing much the same, though a much more tame look in her eyes. "Oh...I - I can't believe that wo-I-I mean, of course it worked," Rarity gushed, clearing her throat daintily as she stepped over to 'Glow Frost' and lightly touched her shoulder. "There you are, darling, you look marvelous. How do you feel?"
The Glow Frost look-a-like sat down and thought for a moment. Would her voice have changed as well? Should she try singing? No, that would just make things awkward if her voice had changed. Best to play it safe..."I feel fine," she finally said in her own voice. She sighed quietly, a hoof touching to her throat. "It hasn't changed..."
Rarity nodded soberly. "Well of course it hasn't. I may be talented, but I am certainly not a miracle worker. We shall just have to make sure you don't randomly burst into song when we're returning to our carriage," she joked, tittering nervously. Unlike some ponies, she thought to herself.
"She came through this way about ten minutes ago," an excited voice said some ways away, on the other side of the garden. All four ponies perked up at the sound, nervous glances exchanged within the gazebo.
"Perhaps it's time to put this plan into action," Fancy Pants told the mares. He slicked back his mane and stepped over to 'Lunar Sonata' and offered her a gentlemanly foreleg. "Come, my dear, it's time to give the cameras what they want," he said with a wink.
'Lunar Sonata' gasped and stared at Rarity. She'd thought they would have time to go over personality changes! The fashionista looked at her disguised friend with a panicked apology. "Just go with it, darling! Be fabulous and try not to overdo it."
"Oh..." the disguised model whined as she and Fancy Pants stepped past her image and Rarity. "Good luck, I hope you find some peace!" she told the singer.
Rarity turned to see Fancy Pants throw her one last grateful glance, then the two of them headed off in the direction that Rarity and Glow Frost had come. Remembering the coming paparazzi, she grabbed the changed Lunar Sonata and gingerly pulled her and herself under the shawl she'd come dressed in, and not a moment too soon. A group of ten or eleven ponies suddenly raced by, all dressed in the usual shady coats and hats of the paparazzi. One of them stopped to look at the shawl on the gazebo floor, but quickly lost interest and resumed the pursuit.
A moment later, Rarity poked her head out from under the black shawl. "Oh, my, that was close. Let us away, darling," she said as she helped the changed Lunar Sonata to her hooves. "We'll have you back in Ponyville in a matter of hours and you'll be free to walk around without your disguise."
As the two mares stepped down the gazebo stairs, the singer looked at Rarity incredulously. "Are...are you sure it'll be safe to take off this enchantment? Won't the ponies there recognize me?"
"Oh not to worry," Rarity told her reassuringly. "There's good reason why the elite of Canterlot are only in Canterlot, darling. No self-respecting socialite would want to stay in Ponyville longer than necessary. I'd find it completely and utterly shocking if you ran into anypony there that knows you."
"Do ray mi fa soo-no. Dooo...raaaay...m-me er miii..."
The soft, angelic voice coming from the Crusader's club house cracked ever so slightly. A grunt of frustration rang out, echoing in the surrounding silence of the cool afternoon. Sweetie Belle sat alone in the clubhouse at the table. She had a chart of the basic notes that she kept hidden out of sight, and only brought it out when the other girls had gone home.
The frustrated filly sighed as she glared at the instructions. This solfège' that Cheerilee had given to her a few weeks ago didn't seem to have much more purpose in it than to...well, harmonize with seven different notes. So what next? The unicorn sighed as she stared at the chart. Never had she been so bored out of her mind. Finally, after having a staring contest with the chart for a further twenty minutes, she gave up and put the chart away into it's hiding place.
With a dejected sigh of defeat, she moved to the window to prop her hooves up on the sill to watch the sun lowering in the sky. She just wanted to get better at singing, but it was such a boring task she was less and less sure if that's what she wanted to do. This was something that had been going on in her head for a while now; she and the girls had been at this crusading business for so long, and had gotten nowhere together, so in her free time she'd been studying up on her favorite things to do on her own, hoping that singling out something she loved to do would help her get her cutie mark.
Wasn't there an easier way to do this?
