> The Subordinate Six: The Ensemble
>  by Legendary Emerald
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Ensemble (1/4)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Now are you sure you packed everything?” the mare asked.

“Everything but the answer to that question,” the other mare answered.

“What? Oh. Very funny,”

“Thanks," the second pony chuckled. "And shouldn't you have asked before we started this trip?”

“I'm sure I did.”   

“Well, little late to worry about it now.”

“I know, I know," the first pony sighed. "But you know me; I just can't pass up an opportunity to panic.”

“Relax, we're just up and relocating our entire lives. It's no big deal.”

“Well, when you put it that way...”

“Hey! Look outside!”

“What is it? Oh, wow...”





A yellow carriage came to a stop at the top of the hill at the behest of the brown stallion pulling it, giving the cart's two occupants a spectacular view of the sight below them. Towering skyscrapers bathed in the morning light as the sun peeked over the horizon. The heavily industrialized city stood in stark contrast to the near barren desert that surrounded it, appearing as a bunch of toys left in a sandbox. The only thing that broke the illusion was the apparent activity within, with masses of ponies and pony-drawn vehicles moving through the streets in delicate tandem.

“Isn't it everything I told you it would be, Bon Bon?” one of the two ponies in the carriage asked.

“Las Pegasus, the entertainment capital of Equestria,” Bon Bon replied. “Lyra, I think I'm going to have to start taking your word more often.”

“That's a dangerous thing to say,” Lyra teased.

“I realize." Bon Bon paused. “Why are we stopped?”

From the front of the cart, a hoof clapped against the ground twice.

“End of the road, ladies,” the brown pony in a yellow jacket and checkered cap responded in a worn out drawl. “Yer bits only get’cha so far.”

“But I thought you said you'd take us into the city for what we paid,” Bon Bon’s voice wavered slightly.

“I said it would get’cha to the city. I mean you can see it, can't you?” the stallion answered shortly. “If you don't have any more bits, this is as far as you go.”

“Haha. Wow, what an—” Lyra began to say.

“Okay. Fine,” Bon Bon interjected, a bit too cheerfully. “Come on, Lyra, this is our stop.”

A multitude of banging sounds came from the cabin as the two ponies gathered their things, and a green magic field covered the side door as it opened to let them out. Lyra stepped out first, her horn glowing with the same emerald light, and wearing a black backpack that clashed with her mint-green coat and mane. Bon Bon followed suit, with a pink purse hung over her beige neck, two large saddlebags attached to her hips, and her head balancing a small briefcase which matted down her pink and blue mane.

“Thank you for all your help,” Bon Bon thanked the stallion, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes blue eyes.

“Pleasure’s mine,” the pony replied shortly. He reared up on his hind legs and took off down the hill, leaving Bon Bon and Lyra in the literal dust. Lyra’s golden eyes closed as she coughed, while Bon Bon's smile slowly turned into a sneer as her eyes narrowed.

“Bucking plothole!” Bon Bon shouted once the carriage was out of earshot. “I gave him every bit I had, and he couldn't even have the decency to take us into the city when he's already heading there?!”

“Calm your sweets. A little exercise never hurt anypony,” Lyra said, pointing a hoof at Bon Bon's cutie mark, a trio of candy treats.

“You're not the one who has to carry all this!” Bon Bon said, indicating her luggage. “I swear he left the meter running back in Whinnychester.”

“Just like you to assume the worst in somepony,” Lyra sighed.

“I'm not going to respond to that,” Bon Bon huffed.

“Except to say that you aren't,” Lyra replied.

“Are you just going to let me suffer or are you going to offer to take one of my bags?” Bon Bon asked.

“Well since you asked so nicely...” Lyra's horn lit up as she levitated Bon Bon's briefcase to her side, next to her lyre cutie mark. “Geez Bon Bon, what all did you pack anyways?”

“Everything but the furniture,” Bon Bon replied without the least bit of sarcasm. “Not everypony can live as spartan as you.”

"Spartan? Well I've always considered myself pretty well built, so I'm glad to see you agree,” Lyra said with a quick nod. Bon Bon chuckled.

“Well at the very least, I won't be bored with you around as my roommate,” Bon Bon admitted.

With that, the two began their trudge down the hill and towards Las Pegasus.






The Subordinate Six


Episode 1: The Ensemble


Part 1/4


by Legendary Emerald


“Wow, look at that building. It's huge!” Lyra said, pointing a hoof towards a towering feat of engineering that celebrated height and the color pink. Her gaze immediately switched to another building, this one baby blue. “Oh, no wait, that one! That's the biggest.”

“Uh huh.” Bon Bon struggled under the weight of her luggage as she followed Lyra through the paved, crowded streets of Las Pegasus. The buildings were indeed tall, and sharply contrasted with the simple design of the homes back in Ponyville. Las Pegasus was a candy-coated wonderland of architecture, with buildings of all shapes, sizes, and especially colors lining the streets. Cluttering the environment even further, garish billboards jutted out from the ground on tall poles, advertising venues of interest and upcoming performances.

So distracted was Bon Bon by the glitz of the city, she almost didn’t notice a low rumbling begin to approach them from behind. As the sound finally reached her, Bon Bon's ears twitched and her eyes shot wide.

“Get down!” Bon Bon screamed, lunging at Lyra and driving the two of them to the sidewalk. A blue, ramshackle carriage shot down the road as its horn blared a tune that was far too pleasant for warning the numerous pedestrians to run for their lives. A conical purple wind-catcher covered in star decals whipped in the air above the vehicle, and several fliers poured out of an open window.

Nearby ponies groaned as they picked themselves off of the ground, some pausing to read the advertisement on the papers that the wagon had left behind. Lyra untangled herself from Bon Bon and stood up.

“Holy Celestia!” Lyra swore. She pointed a hoof up ahead. “That's got to be the biggest building ever!”

“We were almost ran over!” Bon Bon yelled, turning bright red when she noticed other ponies begin to stare at her. “I-I mean, there'll be time for sight seeing later. We need to pick up our keys before seven.”

“Fine, fine,” Lyra replied, looking at a map of the city. “Also, was it just me, or did that wagon just now not have any ponies pulling it?”

“That doesn’t make any sense, Lyra,” Bon Bon said with a sigh. “Things may be different here, but the laws of cart... motion... pulling still apply.”

“Thank you for the insight, Twilight,” Lyra chuckled. “Heh, that rhymed.”

“The apartment complex, Lyra. Where is it?” Bon Bon asked humorlessly.

“Just a little bit further. We just need to turn down this road,” Lyra said, turning and heading left. “It's in the outskirts of town. Practically in the suburbs.”

“The further from the center of town I looked, the cheaper the rent,” Bon Bon explained, following the other mare. “Phoenix Park was the only place we could afford the down payment on.”

“Phoenix? Oh. Well in that case, we’re there!” Lyra announced.

The two stopped in front of a large sign with the establishment’s name emblazoned in bold orange text. The actual apartments stood past it; three beige buildings with blue roofs, aligned in a crescent, and two stories each. A smaller one floor structure sat between the three apartment buildings, and the rest of the lot was taken up by parking spaces and some small grassy areas.

“Well it's obvious the photos I saw were from a few years ago; the paint isn’t quite as bright as I thought it would be. But this is still very nice.” Bon Bon smiled.

“I'm liking it.” Lyra nodded her agreement. “Building number 3, right?”

“And room 203. That's the second floor,” Bon Bon answered, setting down her hefty saddlebags. “I'm going to go pick up our key from the landlord. Take these to our door, please?”

“Not a problem,” Lyra replied, effortlessly taking the bags into her magic field. Bon Bon's eyes narrowed.

“Sometimes I really envy you,” the earth pony huffed, trudging over to the small building.

“Hey, this isn't as easy as it looks!” Lyra called out. When Bon Bon didn't reply, she headed out over to the building with the number 3 on it in bright blue font. “Heh, well, maybe half as easy as it looks.”

No other ponies were up and about, making the complex feel very empty. She made her way up the outdoor stairwell with some difficulty, her magic aura beginning to fade as the saddlebags repeatedly banged against the steps.

“Oops. Hope she didn't really pack the kitchen sink, or we might have a leaky faucet on our hooves,” Lyra quipped, laughing at her own joke. She set all of the bags down in front of the light blue door labeled #203. “Guess I'll just wait now. And talk to myself. Can't forget that.”

Lyra stood up on her hind legs and leaned over the railing, looking at the ground below. From her vantage point she could see a pool set up behind the small building. Nopony was in it though, denying Lyra even the simple pleasures of voyeurism.

When Bon Bon failed to exit the building after an entire minute had passed, Lyra began to sneak glances to her left and right. She slowly backed up towards the door to the apartment, and turned to face the doorknob. A sly smile crossed over her features as her horn lit up and enveloped the knob in green light.

“Let's just see...” Lyra said, sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth as gears began to click inside the locking mechanism. As she worked her magic, an equine shadow passed over her, accompanied by quiet hoof steps. 

“Are you trying to break in?” a voice suddenly asked, causing Lyra to yell and sending her entire body into spasms.

“I, uh, m-maybe!” Lyra answered in defiance, staring at the gray pegasus in front of her. The mare didn't appear to be staring back, at least not directly. Her yellow eyes, which matched her golden mane and tail, seemed to be looking off in different directions. A goofy smile was plastered across her face.

“Well you're never going to get inside just by staring at the door,” the mare laughed. She placed her right forehoof over her chest. “Don't worry, I got this.”

The pegasus took a few steps back towards the railing, and coiled her legs underneath her as her eyes narrowed in determination. Her rear wiggled like a kitten’s, soap bubble cutie mark threatening to float away. Then, with a single, powerful flap of her wings, she charged forward and slammed into the door with her entire body. The door caved under her weight, swinging inside and depositing the comatose mare across the doorstep.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Lyra asked, eyes wide. The other pony shakily got to her hooves and began to sway from side to side.

“Heh heh, everything looks all funny,” the pegasus said, eyes facing the same direction for the first time. She shook her head a few times and they returned to their crossed state. “Ah, that's better.”

Lyra laughed in spite of herself, and the other mare joined her.

“Hey, wait, I know you!” Lyra said, catching her breath. “You're Bubbles. Ponyville's number one mail mare!”

“That's me!” Bubbles said with a smile. “And you're Lyra Heartstrings. Ponyville's number one, uh, heartstring.”

"I'm glad to see my reputation precedes me,” Lyra joked, gaining another giggle from Bubbles . “I can't believe we'd meet again in Las Pegasus, though.”

“I know, right? This is really lucky.” Bubbles  nodded to herself. “Oh, jeez, this is your apartment, right? I really should have asked that before I busted down the door. I’m not aiding a criminal, am I?”

“No no no, nothing like that,” Lyra laughed, waving away the idea. “I'm moving in here today. Just got a bit tired of waiting for my friend to get back with the key.”

“Ah. Ooh, is Candy here too, then?” Bubbles y asked.

“You mean Bon Bon? Yeah, she's right over...” Lyra began to point to the welcoming center, but stopped as she noticed the pony in question climbing up the last step of the stairwell. “Right there! Hey, Bon Bon, look who it is!”

“Oh?” Bon Bon stared at Bubbles  as the pegasus waved. She waved back nervously before her mouth opened wide. “Oh! Oh, Bubbles ! What a nice surprise!”

“Hiya, Candy!” Bubbles  replied, still waving.

“Bon Bon.” Lyra whispered.

“Bon Bon!” Bubbles  repeated.

“Simple mistake,” Bon Bon answered kindly, her smile barely faltering. “Wow, who could have guessed that...”

Bon Bon noticed the open door, as well as the vaguely pony-shaped indent on it. She laughed nervously.

“Hey, Lyra? How did you get the door open with a key?” she asked in a calm tone, smiling sweetly.

“No need to thank me, ma'am,” Bubbles  said, leaning back against the wall and rubbing a hoof against her chest. “I've locked myself out hundreds of times. No silly door can stop the Bubbler.”

“And neither can any lock, I see.” Bon Bon gritted her teeth as she inspected the chunk of wood that had been taken out of the door frame. “W-well, I guess it's nothing some duct tape couldn't fix.”

“I don't see how ducks are going to help.” Bubbles  chuckled. “Even if you catch one, they're not known for their adhesiveness.”

Bon Bon laughed, a bit too loudly and a bit too harshly. She wiped a non-existent tear from her eye.

“Oh, well it’s been great seeing you, Bubbles , but Lyra and I need to get our rest. Long morning, and we have to unpack later too. You know how it is,” Bon Bon said, left eye twitching precariously.

“Oh yeah, I know all about it,” Bubbles  said, unfurling her wings and beginning to hover towards her own apartment. “I'll see you two later, then!”

“Don't be a stranger,” Lyra said, waving as Bubbles  walked over to a door that was severely battered, with wooden boards nailed to it in multiple places. Lyra suddenly felt an arm around her neck as she was dragged into the dark apartment. A second later, the bags left outside were levitated indoors in a green light, and the door was slammed shut.





“Where's the lanterns?” Lyra asked, staring at the darkened room around her. She dropped the saddlebags and briefcase to the floor unceremoniously, and then did the same with her backpack.

“There aren't any. Now give me a few seconds so I can finish seething,” Bon Bon huffed, setting her purse down with the rest of the luggage.

"No lanterns? I'd say that's a bigger deal than a broken lock,” Lyra said. Bon Bon sighed.

“There's these new discoveries, Lyra; I don't know if you've heard of them. Electricity? The light bulb? Fascinating things, really,” Bon Bon replied, feeling around the wall with a hoof. She felt something jiggle beneath her touch and flicked it upwards. The room was bathed in soft light, illuminating the plain beige walls and light blue carpeting.

“Wow, we've got electricity here?” Lyra asked, dashing towards the switch and giving it a few test flips. “Dang, this makes Ponyville look like Podunk-ville!”

“But look at the room,” Bon Bon pointed out. “It's only about half the size of our old apartment.”

The apartment was remarkably small, split in half by a wall that stretched halfway across the width of the room. The front half of the apartment contained a table with one chair, a small wooden bookcase set against the rightmost wall, and a large mauve sofa pointed at a small kitchen area set up against the dividing wall. The edge of a bed with blue sheets peeked out from behind the divider.

“Beggars can't be choosers.” Lyra shrugged before collapsing onto the sofa, her back against the cushion and her lower hooves hanging over the edge. “Oh wow, Bon Bon, you need to sit on this couch! It's unreal!”

“Not like there's going to be anywhere else to sit for a while,” Bon Bon said, taking their solitary chair and propping it up against the doorknob. She walked over to Lyra and saw her curious seating position. “Lyra, what have I told you about that?”

“What?” Lyra asked.

“Sitting like that,” Bon Bon clarified. “It's not natural.”

“Oh really? Then what's the back of this thing meant for, then? Making sure I don't roll off?” Lyra asked, rolling back and forth across the sofa's width. Bon Bon sighed.

“Whatever. Just don't do it in public. I don't want ponies staring at us,” Bon Bon said, shivering slightly. Lyra blew air out from between her pursed lips.

“Jeez, don’t give me the wrong idea, Bon Bon. If you're embarrassed to be seen in public with me, why did you even follow me when I said I was coming to Las Pegasus?” she asked.

“I'm not embarrassed!” Bon Bon answered hastily. She quickly caught herself. “I mean... a-and I couldn't trust you to be able to make it on your own out here. You never even held a job in Ponyville.”

“Way to rub it in." Lyra rolled her eyes. "But I told you, I'm a new mare now."

"A new mare who is going to get a real job? And actually pay her share of the rent this time?” Bon Bon questioned, raising her left eyebrow.

“Right, of course,” Lyra answered, stretching her fore-hooves as she yawned.

“I'm serious, Lyra, no more panhandling with that instrument of yours,” Bon Bon warned. 

“Shh. I'm missing the cooking channel.” Lyra pointed at the oven directly in front of her. Bon Bon gave an exasperated sigh.

“I've got a few hours until my job interview at The Sweets Cart, so I'm going to try and take a nap, and forget the fact that we were almost killed by a drunk driver today. You should get some rest too, so you can be out job hunting while I'm being interviewed,” Bon Bon said before walking past the dividing wall. She stopped as she passed it, and tapped the width of it with her hoof. “Bathroom's in there, by the way. Nice of them to hide it.”

Lyra gave a half-hearted salute and yawned again before closing her eyes. Bon Bon muttered quietly to herself and disappeared behind the divider. She returned a moment later with a blue sheet in her teeth, which she draped over Lyra.

“Thanks,” Lyra said with a smile, eyes closed. “Goodnight.”

“It's seven fifteen in the morning,” Bon Bon said as she turned off the lights and headed off towards the bed.

“Oh,” Lyra said. She grinned. “Good morning, Bon Bon.”

Bon Bon took a long, deep breath and shook her head.

“Good morning, Lyra,” Bon Bon finally said, allowing herself a smile.


> The Ensemble (2/4)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Episode 1: The Ensemble


Part 2/4


by Legendary Emerald


“Riiiing, riiiing!”

As soon as the alarm sounded, it was followed by a loud 'clump' from the direction of the bedroom. Disheveled, Bon Bon stumbled out of the bedroom and over to one of her saddlebags, the source of the commotion. She unzipped it with her teeth and dug around inside with her hooves, pulling out two apples.

“I didn't put these in my bag!” she exclaimed. Nearby on the couch, Lyra yawned.

“Oh yeah, I was wondering where I packed those,” Lyra said with a sleepy smile, stretching her forehooves out wide. Bon Bon tossed the apples to the side unceremoniously and went back to searching the bag. She took out a wind-up alarm clock, which she simultaneously silenced. She sighed.

“I’m glad this thing is so loud. I completely forgot to unpack it,” Bon Bon said, shaking her head. “I wouldn't want to be late for my job interview.”

“Why are you being interviewed anyways? Didn't you say you already had the job?” Lyra asked, cracking her neck back and forth. Bon Bon shivered at the sound it made.

“Well in the letter, they said I was qualified enough, but they couldn't officially hire me until I showed up in person,” Bon Bon explained. “It's just a formality, really... I hope.”

“Because working at a diner is serious business,” Lyra said with a laugh, attempting to stand up. She squealed and clenched her teeth, doubling over. “Ow, ow, ow!”

"That's what you get for falling asleep in that awkward position of yours,” Bon Bon lectured, watching as Lyra forced her back straight in a motion that caused several loud creaks to erupt from her spine. Bon Bon looked away nonchalantly. “It's not like there isn't room in the bedroom for one more.”

“Sharing a bed with you?” Lyra's voice took on an affected accent. “Please, milady, I am nothing if not a gentle-mare.”

“Ha, ha,” Bon Bon pantomimed. She smiled. “Chivalry's not dead; it’s just changed sexes.”
        
“Quite right, quite right.” Lyra nodded modestly. “Now are we heading out or what?”

“Let me just get my purse,” Bon Bon said, ducking her head under the pink strap. Lyra took the opportunity to put on her backpack as well. “Alright, let's go.”

Bon Bon moved the chair from up against the doorknob, and opened the door. Her eyes shot wide open as she scrambled backwards.

“Good afternoon!” Bubbles  greeted the two of them, smiling brightly.

“Afternoon, Bubbles !” Lyra said. Bon Bon's mouth hung open.

“Have... you been waiting out here this entire time?” Bon Bon asked in a quiet voice. Bubbles laughed.

“Of course not,” the pegasus said, grinning. “Just most of the time.”

“Oh, well in that case...” Bon Bon rolled her eyes.

“I brought muffins!” Bubbles  exclaimed, lifting her right wing to show them the basket hanging from it. Three sizable blueberry muffins sat inside. “I figured you two haven't eaten much today, so you might wanna li'l nibble of somethin’”

“Wow, thanks! I'm starving!” Lyra said, licking her lips.

“That's very thoughtful of you,” Bon Bon said, smiling honestly.

“Are you two going out?” Bubbles  asked suddenly, catching Bon Bon off guard. “If you are, I could show you around town!”

“Sounds great!” Lyra responded, jabbing a hoof backwards at Bon Bon. “Can you swing us by the Sweets Cart, though? Bon Bon has a job interview in an hour.”

“Sure can do!” Bubbles  replied with a wink. “Just grab a muffin, stick close, and I'll show you all the wonders this city has to offer!”





“And that over there is tallest building in the city!” Bubbles said, pointing towards one particularly tall structure, and then another. “Ooh, no wait, that one!”

“Hah, see, Bon Bon? I told you!” Lyra bragged. Bon Bon groaned and took a bite out of her muffin.

The three were walking the same street that Bon Bon and Lyra had traveled through previously, now in the opposite direction. Bubbles  had her muffin cupped in a wing, while Lyra hovered Bon Bon's and her own muffin in front of their respective mouths, thanks to the use of her magic. 

“So, Bubbles , what are you doing in Las Pegasus?” Bon Bon asked.

“I don't know. I guess I needed a change of scenery after living in Ponyville for so long,” Bubbles  explained. “Oh, and I guess it didn't hurt that I'd lost my job, either.”

“How did that happen?” Lyra asked.

“Well the official word was that I'd put too many letters in the wrong boxes, and I was a workplace hazard, with no sense of direction...” Bubbles  paused to take a bite from her muffin. “But I think that the higher ups were just worried I was gonna take their jobs.”

“Yup. The old guard is always keeping the little pony down.” Lyra nodded solemnly.

“Eh, it turned out alright. At first I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get a job here doing the same thing, but they hired me right on the spot!” Bubbles  said. “Turns out they'd just fired someone for licking every single stamp in the office. Heh, even I've only gotten through a few sheets before my tongue has gone dry.”

Bon Bon laughed uncomfortably, and stopped when she felt something soft and muffiny smash into her face. She backed up and sputtered.

“Lyra, watch what—” she cut herself off, seeing that not only had Lyra stopped, but so had almost every other pony on the street. A loud voice seemed to reverberate from not that far ahead, passing through the thick crowd that had somehow gathered without her notice.

“Come one, come all, and experience the Great and Powerful Trixie!” the voice proclaimed, as if amplified by a megaphone.

“Trixie? Hey, I remember her!” Lyra hopped up and down excitedly.

"Wasn't she responsible for nearly destroying all of Ponyville?” Bon Bon asked, brushing crumbs off her muzzle.

“No, silly, that was an Ursa Minor,” Bubbles said. “I'm preeetty sure Trixie is a pony.”

“That's not what I...” Bon Bon sighed. “Is there any way to get around this? Lyra?”

Bon Bon looked around and saw the edge of a green tail disappear into the crowd ahead of them. Her muzzle scrunched up in annoyance.

“C'mon, Bon Bon, let's get a better view!” Bubbles  said, picking up the mare before she could protest. Bubbles  flew up and above the crowd, crossed eyes scanning the ponies present. “Ooh, there’s Lyra..”

“Great, now put me dooooown!” Bon Bon's scream trailed behind her as Bubbles  barreled into the crowd, causing several ponies to be knocked out of the way. They managed to touch down just next to Lyra, who noticed the two of them out of the corner of her eye as Bubbles  set Bon Bon down.

“Oh, hey, you forgot your muffin,” Lyra said, before placing the squashed treat on top of Bon Bon's head. Bon Bon glared daggers as crumbs fell down her face, but her attention was quickly diverted as fireworks erupted from a few feet in front of them. Lyra's eyes lit up. “It's starting!”

In the middle of the street stood a large blue wooden platform which sat upon four wheels. A light blue sheet was held up by two poles on either side, serving as a backdrop for the performance. A chair sat vacant next to an oaken chest on the right side of stage, next to one of two spotlights that stood on opposite ends of the platform and illuminated the purple clad performer who stood in between them.

“For too long, you poor denizens of Las Pegasus have gone without witnessing the greatness that is Trixie,” the sky blue mare boasted, pulling her wizard hat over her face and horn. A wind began to blow from out of nowhere, sweeping out her star spangled cape and silver blue tail behind her dramatically. “Today, all of your wildest dreams come true!”

“My dream is to cross the bucking street! Move your act somewhere else, lady!” a stallion in a top-hat yelled from the crowd. Several other ponies voiced their assent.

“Well, Trixie is a showstopper. It only stands to reason that traffic should stop for her as well,” Trixie teased. She took out a magic wand from the folds of her cape and pointed it at the heckler. “Trixie thinks you need to 'cool' down a bit.”

Trixie's horn lit up as she twirled the wand for dramatic effect, and the stallion's hat burst into flames.

“Oops. That, uh...” Trixie cringed as she watched the pony start to scream and run around wildly. The crowd began to boo loudly. Trixie stammered, “Okay, that was less than perfect! B-but Trixie assures you, anything you can do, Trixie can do better! Any volunteers?”

“Ooh, ooh! Me, me!” Bubbles  shouted, hovering above the ground and waving emphatically. Without waiting to be acknowledged, she flew forward and onto the stage, where she sat down with a happy look on her face.

“Oh, err...” Trixie muttered as she stared into Bubbles' unfocused eyes, their owner tilting her head to the side questioningly. Trixie cleared her throat. “Okay! Pegasus! Show Trixie what you are best at, so that she may prove her own superiority in front of this crowd!”

“Oh, uh, well, there is this one thing,” Bubbles said, standing up. She tensed her hooves in preparation, and then started to slowly walk around in a tight circle.

“What? What is that that you’re doing?” Trixie asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Trying to catch my tail,” Bubbles answered nonchalantly.
        
The crowd was completely silent while they watched in confusion as Bubbles continued to spin around and around. Beads of sweat began to fall down Trixie's face as she quickly glanced at the faces of her audience members.

“W-well, Trixie will show you how it's really done!” she finally blurted out. Trixie closed her eye, took a deep breath, and then started to rotate.

“This is a magic show?” Bon Bon scoffed, watching as the two grown mares made complete asses of themselves. The crowd broke out into uproarious laughter.

“S-stop laughing at Trixie!” Trixie demanded, halting her orbit. She fixed Bubbles  with a glare, and the pegasus's tail was enveloped in a blue aura. With a look of triumph, Trixie ripped Bubbles  from the ground and held her aloft by her tail. “There! Trixie has caught the tail!”

“Ow, ow, ow!” Bubbles  cried, wincing in pain. The crowd of ponies resumed their hissing and booing.

“There she is, right there!” a voice called out. Trixie turned her head to see a pony with a singed hat pointing two police officers in her direction. The law enforcers reached into their uniforms and produced batons as they approached the podium.

“Uhm, this concludes Trixie's show for the evening!” Trixie sputtered, dumping Bubbles  back onto the platform. “And now for the disappearing act!”

The entire stage began to glow and shake around Trixie. Bubbles  got to her hooves and flung herself off the platform just as it began to collapse in on itself. The edges of the stage flipped upwards and then retracted inward with a series of clicks. When the transformation was complete, a solid oak box had formed around the performer.

“Rest easy, little ponies, for The Great and Powerful Trixie will return!” Trixie's voice resounded from inside the makeshift wagon. A second burst of magic was seen, and the entire contraption reared back on its hind wheels before racing away from the pursuing police, but not without leaving behind several fliers to flutter in the breeze. The crowd slowly began to disperse.

“Well, that was... interesting,” Bon Bon commented. "What in Equestria was she doing here?"

"I should find out. She might need a lovely assistant to help tie her act together," Lyra said, performing a little twirl.

"Lyra," Bon Bon chided.

"What? You told me to start job hunting," Lyra replied. Lyra's eyes were drawn upward by the sound of wings flapping, and she saw Bubbles coming in for a landing.

“Wow, did you see me?" Bubbles asked, setting down next to the pair. "I got to be on stage!” 

“Are you okay? That looked like it hurt,” Lyra said, glancing at the pegasus's tail.

“Nah, not really. Just about as much as it would have if I'd actually caught my tail,” Bubbles waved away the comment. “Besides, did you hear everypony laughing when we were spinning around? Totally worth it!”

“If you say so.” Bon Bon shrugged, and then turned to Lyra. “What time is it?”

Lyra levitated a stopwatch from out of one of the pouches of her backpack and examined it.

“Twelve fifteen,” Lyra answered, putting the watch away.

“Twelve fifteen?!” Bubbles shouted. “Oh jeez, oh jeez, I was supposed to start work fifteen minutes ago! Sorry, but I'm going to have to cut the tour short.”

“Oh, that's too bad,” Bon Bon said, sounding slightly relieved. “You'd better hurry.”

“Right! Las Pegasus's number one mail-mare, away!” Bubbles proclaimed, taking to the sky with gusto. Bon Bon breathed a sigh of relief.

“She's a sweet mare, but I'm not sure she's got it all going upstairs,” Bon Bon said, making a circular motion around her ear with a hoof. 

“Hey, isn't that the Sweets Cart right there?” Lyra asked, pointing towards a red and white candy striped building. Wheels were painted onto the front, and the name of the diner was displayed on a white sign above the entrance. “Aw, it looks cute!”

“Appearances are very important in this city,” Bon Bon said, rolling her head around to move her mane into place. She took a deep breath. “Twelve fifteen... well, it's a bit early but I guess I could go in now.”

Bon Bon walked over to the diner, Lyra following behind. When she reached the front door, Bon Bon stopped.

“Uhm, Lyra?” Bon Bon hesitated. “Remember what I said earlier about not being embarrassed to be seen with you?”

“Yeah.” Lyra said, looking at something over her shoulder.

“Well I don’t want to be hypocritical, but do you think you could—?” Bon Bon was cut off by a wave of Lyra's hoof.

“Hah, say no more. I don't want to say something wrong and blow your chances.” Lyra smiled. “I'm much more interested in seeing what's going on in this other store anyways.”

Lyra pointed towards a building painted entirely black, with the words 'The Spinning Record' painted over it in bold white brushstrokes. The windows showed a much brighter room inside, and the glass appeared to be jiggling ever so slightly.

“Thanks. And you should ask if they're hiring while you're there,” Bon Bon said, “I'll meet you back outside in... well, I don't know how long I'll be, but...”

“Go get 'em, Bon Bon,” Lyra said, clapping Bon Bon on the shoulder. Bon Bon smiled, and Lyra turned around and headed towards The Spinning Record.

“Okay Bon Bon, you can do this.” Bon Bon pepped herself up. She shook her head back and forth, and took a few shallow breaths. She stilled her shaking hooves and replaced her nervous expression with a mask of serenity. When she stepped through the front door, the only indicator of her discomfort was a single bead of sweat running down her forehead.





As soon as Lyra opened the door, a small bell jingled above her. Not that it could be heard over the cacophony of drumming coming from the back end of the room. Lyra glanced back at the throbbing windows, and then at the store she had dared to enter. The front end of the establishment was filled with racks of CDs and records, while the back end had various instruments stood up or hung on the walls. A white pegasus pony with a fluffy brown mane was ravaging a display drum-set, oblivious to Lyra's entrance, and the store's only employee seemed to be asleep at the checkout counter.

“We don't have it,” called the seemingly comatose store clerk.

“Excuse me?” Lyra asked, stepping towards the checkout.

“I said we don't have it,” the voice repeated, slightly slurred because its owner had her face laying sideways on the counter. A large pair of earmuffs covered the white unicorn's head, and a bright, two-toned blue shag of a mane obscured her face.

“I'm sorry, I can't...” Lyra pointed to her ears.

The white unicorn sighed and lifted her head, lazily opening a pair of piercing red eyes. She wordlessly took off her headset and focused her attention on the back end of the room as her horn began to glow. Lyra watched as the drumming pony had a drumstick snatched right out of her hoof, where it levitated in front of her before snapping in half, causing the mare to flinch. 

“Decibel, you broke another stick,” the cashier said, jabbing a hoof towards the door. “Out.”

Grumbling something about 'poise' and 'anger', the mare did as she was told. The white unicorn turned her disinterested gaze back to Lyra.

“Now, where were we?” the cashier asked. “Oh, right. You were about to leave, because there’s nothing here.”

“Wow, I don't think I've ever been to a store that didn't want me to buy anything before,” Lyra replied, turning her head back and forth. “Are you sure? You seem to have pretty much everything here.”

The unicorn snorted.

“Yeah. Everything except good taste,” she said. “And I'm not about to sacrifice my integrity just so you can listen to some hip hop boppin' bullshi—”

The door labeled 'manager' next to the register suddenly creaked open, and an older looking gray stallion with a brownish-red mane popped his head out. He first looked over to the vacant drum set, and then to Lyra.

“Vinyl Scratch, you'd better not be tryin' ta ward off customers again,” he warned in a thick country accent. The pony known as Vinyl grumbled under her breath.

“No, Mr. Earp,” Vinyl said in an bored, sing-song tone. The manager nodded his approval, and retreated back into his office. Vinyl sighed and reached down below the counter, pulling out a pair of black rimmed glasses and putting them on.

“Vinyl Scratch?” Lyra spoke the name questioningly. “You know, you look kind of familiar. Have you ever been to—”

“No,” Vinyl cut her off immediately and firmly. “Now are you going to buy something or not?”

“I thought I wasn't allowed to buy any of this tasteless stuff,” Lyra said with a smirk.

“Pssh. I wash my hooves of your sins.” Vinyl waved her hooves as if she was drying them off. Lyra chuckled.

“Actually, I didn't come here for anything in particular. I'm just waiting for a friend to get done with her job interview,” Lyra admitted. “I just thought I'd take a look around in here, seeing as I'm a bit of a musician.”

“Isn't everyone?” Vinyl mocked under her breath.

“I play the lyre,” Lyra clarified.

“Fascinating,” Vinyl grunted.

“Oh, you wouldn't happen to have any amps here, would you?” Lyra asked suddenly. “My new apartment has electricity, and I was wondering what it'd be like to hook up my instrument.”

“Amps are in the... wait, what?” Vinyl asked, almost falling back in her chair. “You want an amp for a lyre?”

Lyra nodded.

“You want to play. An electric. Lyre,” Vinyl clarified, lowering her glasses and looking at Lyra above the rims.

“Yeah,” Lyra said, raising an eyebrow. “You know what a lyre is, right? I mean, you do work in a music store so...”

Vinyl Scratch suddenly burst out laughing, pounding the desk with one of her hooves. Mr. Earp stepped outside of his office again to see what was going on. He looked at Vinyl and then at Lyra, who just shrugged and smiled obliviously. The manager shook his head and slowly backed away into his office.

“Celestia's Sun, an electric lyre. That's great, just, wow,” Vinyl said, managing to catch her breath. She momentarily took her glasses off to wipe a tear from her eye. “Ya know, maybe I was wrong about you.”

“You were?” Lyra asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah. I mean, meeting somepony like you who still has an ounce of originality in her flank? That's something I don't see much these days,” Vinyl explained. “You must be new to town.”

“Yup. Just moved in this morning.” Lyra nodded.

“Awesome. So from now on, you and I are tight. Got that?” Vinyl asked. She didn't wait for an answer. “Now, this place isn't good enough to sell what you're looking for, but I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, you're probably looking to carve out a place for yourself in this city, aren't you?”

“I guess. Bon Bon's really been riding my flank about getting a real job for once,” Lyra said, turning red in the face. "Why, is this place hiring?"

“Hah! No. But I have a friend you need to meet,” Vinyl said, taking out a pen and paper and starting to write with the use of her telekinesis. “Octavia. Lives at this address... part of a classy band here in Las Pegasus. Not really my scene, but they've been needing a replacement harpist for a while now. You're a good enough lyrist to make do, right?”

“Well these marks on my flanks aren't just for show,” Lyra boasted, giving Vinyl a good view.

“Awesome,” Vinyl remarked, crumpling up the paper she'd been writing on. “You know what? Buck this hole, I'll take you there myself. Octy and I have been living together for the past few years. She can be a bit hostile around ponies she doesn't know.”

“Sounds good,” Lyra said, looking outside and seeing a familiar face. “Hey, Bon Bon's out there. She must have finished her interview.”

“Perfect timing. You got your instrument with you?” Vinyl asked.

“In my backpack,” Lyra said, nodding at her case over her shoulder.

“Let's roll,” Vinyl said, moving out from behind the counter and revealing her double eight-note cutie mark.

“What about your job?” Lyra asked, looking towards the manager's office.

“Ah, nopony ever comes in here anyways,” Vinyl answered, already halfway out the door. Lyra trotted after her, the door closing behind the two as the bell rang out.

Five seconds later, the office door opened a third time, and Mr. Earp looked out to see his entire store vacant. He sighed.

“Damn it, not again...”

> The Ensemble (3/4)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Episode 1: The Ensemble


Part 3/4


by Legendary Emerald


“Bon Bon, over here!” Lyra said, waving. Bon Bon frowned, and lifted up her head to see two unicorns walking towards her. She put on a weary smile.

“Made another friend?” Bon Bon asked, her voice sounding tired. Lyra nodded.

“This is Vinyl. She works at that music store I was checking out,” Lyra explained, motioning first towards Vinyl, and then towards The Spinning Record.

“Nice to meet you, Vinyl,” Bon Bon said, extending a hoof. “My name's Bon Bon.”

“Okay,” Vinyl replied, not even glancing at the outstretched appendage. Bon Bon furrowed her brow, but smiled anyway.

“So did you get the job?” Lyra asked, bouncing up and down slightly.

“Oh, well, yes and no,” Bon Bon answered, not meeting Lyra's eyes. “It turns out there was a bit of a disconnect between the higher ups. One assistant manager hadn't been told that I was coming in today, and it seems that he hired somepony else only 5 minutes before I walked in.”

“Dang!" Lyra stomped her hoof. "What about the 'yes' part?” 

“Well, they felt pretty bad about what happened, so they offered me the only other position they had available.” Bon Bon smiled through her sorrowful expression. “So for now, I'm a... waitress.”

“Wow, Lyra,” Vinyl chuckled, nudging Lyra with her shoulder, “your friend is kind of a loser.”

"Hey, that's not nice!” Lyra said, fixing Vinyl with an indignant pouty face.

“Don't worry, I won't judge you by the company you keep." Vinyl grinned.

“Hahaha, yes, well...” Bon Bon's words caught in her throat.

“C'mon Lyra, we gotta go,” Vinyl said, pulling on Lyra's backpack strap. “Your friend can come too, long as she doesn't embarrass us.”

“Wait, where are you two going?” Bon Bon asked.

“Over to Vinyl's place. Her roommate is in a band, and they need a lyrist. Even if they don’t know it yet." Lyra winked.

“Is it a real band? Do they perform?” Bon Bon questioned, ears perking up.

“Yeah, that's typically what a band does,” Vinyl answered matter of factually. “They play huge shows over at the main theater, and that's only one of their gigs.”

“Oh, wow!” Bon Bon exclaimed. Smiling nonchalantly, she sidled up to Lyra, and started to whisper sweetly into her ear, casting occasional glances at Vinyl. “Alright Lyra, no room for screw ups this time. If you don't get this job we're going to be eating nothing but hayseed for a month. You got that?”

“What's wrong with hayseed?” Lyra asked in her usual tone of voice.

“Too mane-stream,” Vinyl quipped. “Now are we going or not?”

“Yup. C'mon Bon Bon, you're slowing us down,” Lyra said. Vinyl began walking down the street, and the other two ponies followed her.





“This is Octavia and I’s pad. We call it Chateau le Musique,” Vinyl announced, fiddling with her keys. “Well, I call it that.” 

“Dang, this place is way bigger than where me and Bon Bon are staying,” Lyra said, looking out over the spacious apartment complex.

“What was that you told me earlier about beggars being choosers, Lyra?” Bon Bon asked with a polite smile.

“Quiet. Octavia can be a bit touchy around strangers. I'll make sure the coast is clear,” Vinyl hushed the two.

There was a jingle of keys, and then the door to the apartment opened to let in the three ponies. Lyra, Bon Bon, and Vinyl walked inside across plush mahogany carpet. There was a large sofa facing away from them as they entered, pointed towards an old television set. A sink and bathroom area were to the immediate right of the entrance, while a sectioned-off kitchenette was located on the left. On opposite sides of the couch, two closed doors were situated.

“Honey, I'm home!” Vinyl called out. When there was no response, she walked over to the door on the right and opened it up. The sound of a cello escaped the room, but was quickly silenced.

“You were followed,” a grave voice responded.

“Yeah, don't worry, it's cool. I invited them,” Vinyl said dismissively. Her voice dropped low and she whispered, “Put that thing away before you hurt somepony.”

Lyra's ear wiggled, but Bon Bon's attention was focused on a nearby painting of a jungle. 

“Lyra, not-Lyra, over here,” Vinyl said, waving a hoof over towards herself. Lyra and Bon Bon obliged.

Vinyl opened the door all the way, revealing a richly decorated room. The walls were painted a deep mahogany, matching the shade of the carpet. A red silk curtain hung across the back of one half of the room, made of similar material to the red sheets of the queen size bed that took up most of the bedroom. A trio of candles lit up the room, their flames reflecting off of a wall-mounted glass case containing several bottles of wine.

And in the middle of the room, standing upright with a large cello next to her, was Octavia. Her light gray coat and dark gray mane fit the somber look of the room like a glove, an environment that not even her pink bow-tie could put off balance. The tie went well with her treble clef cutie mark and her eyes, all three of which were nearly the same shade.

“Good afternoon,” Octavia greeted them somberly, pushing something with a long metal barrel between her mattresses.

“Hey!” Lyra waved.

“Good afternoon,” Bon Bon echoed with a very slight bow.

There was a small moment of silence shared between the four. Octavia looked to Vinyl expectantly.

“Oh, yeah,” Vinyl said, pointing to Lyra. “Octy, this girl right here is Lyra. Says she wants to join your band.”

Octavia took a moment to look over Lyra from horn to hoof.

“Instrument?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Lyre,” Bon Bon answered quickly.

"Acoustic. For the moment, at least,” Lyra added.

“For the moment,” Octavia repeated the phrase slowly. Again, she shared a glance with Vinyl. When it ended, she turned back to Lyra. “We were looking for a harpist, but we are flexible. If you want to try out, I won't stop you.”

“Cool. When's tryouts?” Lyra asked, smiling.

“Right now,” Octavia deadpanned.

“Right now?” Bon Bon echoed, her voice wavering.

“No time like the present, right?” Vinyl answered with a chuckle.

“You missed our normal practice time. Not that anypony but our pianist shows up,” Octavia said, beginning to place her cello in a brown leather carrying bag that sat against the wall. “We may be able see him on his way out.”

“You have a building rented for practice?” Bon Bon asked. Vinyl grinned.

“Something of the sort,” Octavia answered.





“This is where we practice,” Octavia said, indicating the most garishly decorated building in the city. It was a large, circular structure, with a pantheon styled entrance. The rim of the roof was covered in a string of what appeared to be Christmas lights, turned off for the day. The large light-up sign declaring the establishment's name, however, was left on. “El Grando Teatre.”

“How... why...” Bon Bon's face was a mask of confusion. “I'm pretty sure ‘teatre’ isn't even a word!”

“Neither is ‘grando’,” Lyra chimed in.

“The Teatre wasn't built for high class performance acts, but after the original owner's family lost the rights, the city bought it back and it became our main cultural center,” Octavia explained. “They decided to keep the name, for its 'special place in our history'.”

“They can take away its sleaze, but they can never take away its special place in our hearts,” Vinyl said, reverently placing a hoof over her chest. “Or its 90 bit entrance fee.”

Octavia led them through the large double doors and into a spacious white holding area with a linoleum floor. It was expertly cleaned despite its tackiness, and contained two ticket booths and entrances to the bathrooms. Four glass doors at the end of the room barred the entrance to the theater proper. Octavia walked over to one and placed her hoof against it; the door swung inward without protest.

“He's still here,” Octavia noted. She stepped through the doorway, the other ponies following suit. They entered into a plush red auditorium, four pews wide and many more lengthwise. A series of four light-producing chandeliers hung from the ceiling in a row down the middle of the room, providing just enough light to walk around in.

“I see where Octavia gets her decorating sense from,” Bon Bon said, gazing around herself at the familiar surroundings.

"You're a regular Sherclop Holmes, aren't you?” Vinyl chided, sticking close behind Octavia as the cellist neared the performance stage. Bon Bon leered at the back of Vinyl's head.

“We practice backstage,” Octavia said, stepping across the wooden stage and through the red curtain that served as a backdrop. The others followed suit.

After passing through the curtain, they found themselves surrounded by various theater props; paper mâché trees were stood up on either side of the room, and wooden cutouts painted to look like clouds hung from the rafters. The biggest curiosity was an enormous wooden bust of Princess Celestia, tucked away in a corner at the back of the room.

“This is where you practice?” Bon Bon asked, cringing.

“It's not much, but it works,” Octavia answered, taking her cello out of its case.

“This place is so cool!” Lyra said with a bounce. She sprung towards the giant head and got behind it. “There's a bunch of levers on the inside!”

“Lyra, please,” Bon Bon begged, holding a hoof to her forehead.

“My little ponies!” Lyra's disguised voice come out from the prop as the mouth opened and closed. “I do decree today to be Walk-On-Your-Hind-Hooves Day! Anypony who does not participate? To the moooon!”

Bon Bon sighed heavily and held her head in her hoof. At that moment, a brown pony with a white mane and tail stepped out from the treeline and saw the current spectacle. He walked over to Octavia and the other ponies, two pairs of eighth-notes on his flank, one white and one black, bobbing in time to music that wasn't playing.

“Why is the princess talking?” the pony asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“I always knew this place was haunted,” Vinyl leaned back on a tree prop and crossed her hooves.

“I'm so sorry,” Bon Bon apologized. “My friend is just a little...”

“Frédéric. I have somepony for you to meet,” Octavia interrupted. She turned her head to the statue. “Lyra! Front and center!”

Frédéric, Bon Bon, and Vinyl cringed at Octavia's sudden shift in tone, but Lyra simply popped her head out from behind the stage prop with a smile, and then trotted over to the others.

“Lyra, Frédéric,” Octavia explained succinctly. “She's here about the opening. Lyrist.”
        
“Oh really?” Frédéric asked, tone lightening considerably.

“Is it true that your harpist exploded?” Lyra asked suddenly, standing up and throwing both of her front hooves out.

“What?” Frédéric asked, taking a step back.

“Yeah! Vinyl told me you were all playing one day, and then—” Lyra was interrupted by the sound of cracking wood. She turned her head to see Octavia brandishing a broken bow and Vinyl wearing a bump on her head and a goofy smile.

“We lose more good bows that way.” Frédéric sighed. His horn lit up as a small stack of papers levitated to him from off to the side. He hovered them in front of Lyra. “It's unorthodox, but... this was to be our next performance. Do you think you can manage to create a sound that is not altogether hideous?”

"Are you kidding? I could play that in my sleep,” Lyra boasted, hardly even looking at the note chart. The right edge of Frédéric's mouth pulled to the side in disbelief.

“I-it's true!” Bon Bon interjected, beads of sweat on her forehead. “Sometimes she even keeps me up at night. S-sleep... playing. Umm...”

Lyra looked at Bon Bon questionably, and the panicking mare minutely nodded her head and pointed at Frédéric with her eyes. Lyra's mouth opened as she got the message.

“Oh, yeah, totally!” Lyra exclaimed. “I just can’t help myself. The doctors say surgery is the only solution, but I can't afford it.”

Bon Bon face-hoofed as Frédéric rolled his eyes and Vinyl chuckled. Octavia's face betrayed no emotion.

“Well I'm glad you're such a prodigy, because we are performing tonight at 8:30,” Frédéric said, pushing the papers forward. “And against my better judgement, you're going to be in it.”

“I am?” Lyra asked incredulously, taking the notes in her own magic field. “Wait, does this mean I'm in the group?”

“If you can keep up with us on stage tonight, you can count yourself among our ranks. Not like our usual audience will even notice a change in instrumentation,” Frédéric muttered as he walked off stage.

“Is this standard hiring procedure?” Bon Bon asked Octavia with a hint of disbelief.

“Frédéric doesn't play safe,” Octavia answered before turning to Lyra. “6 hours until curtain. Can you play as well awake as when asleep?”

“Of course,” Lyra nodded while Bon Bon smiled uncomfortably behind her. Octavia closed her eyes.

“I will help you practice, after Vinyl purchases me a new bow,” Octavia glanced at Vinyl for half a second. “But when you step on stage, it's going to be trial by fire.”

Bon Bon gulped.

“Trial by fire,” Lyra muttered. “I hope I don't end up like that poor harpist...”

Vinyl chuckled and Octavia fixed her with a glare. The white unicorn gave a stiff salute and left the stage.





Nothing remained in the dusty room other than two ponies, the instruments in their hooves, and the decaying sound of musical notes dispersing throughout the back of the auditorium. Bon Bon had left earlier, not wanting to interrupt the two musician’s practice, and Vinyl had disappeared shortly after delivering a new cello wand to Octavia.

"You're not doing terrible,” Octavia stated, no inflection in her voice..

“Is that a compliment?” Lyra asked, laying her lyre across her lap as she sat on a small, uncomfortable stool.

“Yes,” Octavia answered.

“Did you expect me to do terrible?” Lyra questioned, cocking her head to the side.

“No,” Octavia answered.

“‘k,” Lyra said. She let out a deep breath. “I'm trying as hard as I can. Doesn't Frédéric know it isn't easy to replace a harp with a lyre?"

“Didn't you know that when you agreed to try out for this position?” Octavia shot back, sounding only the tiniest bit snippy.

“It's just taking me awhile to adjust. I'll handle it, don't worry,” Lyra replied, petting the wires of her instrument gently.

“I trust that you'll be able to." Octavia nodded.

“Thanks." Lyra smiled. "But why didn't you guys just wait for another harpist? Wouldn't that have been easier?”

“Probably. And we planned to. But Vinyl vouched for you," Octavia explained. Her expression softened at the mention of her roommate. "I've come to trust her judgment on matters of musical talent.”

“But she never even heard me play," Lyra said.

“Oh." Octavia frowned. "Well, I suppose there is something to be said about luck and timing, then.”

Lyra laughed.

“Hey, how did you and Vinyl meet?” Lyra asked suddenly. Octavia raised her eyebrows, and then looked off into the distance. Her expression was unreadable.

“She wouldn't want me to say,” Octavia finally answered.

“Oh.” Lyra frowned. She looked around before grinning conspiratorially. “Could you tell me anyways?”

“I apologize, but I've been sworn to secrecy,” Octavia said, glancing over at Lyra and betraying the barest hint of a smile. “All I can say is... well, no, I really shouldn't say that either.”

Silence hung between the two for several moments.

“You’re fun to talk to. Like trying to figure out a murder mystery in a math textbook,” Lyra said cheerfully. Octavia sighed and moved her cello into position.

“Again?” she questioned, laying her bow across the strings.

“Sure," Lyra replied, readying her lyre. “A one, an’ a two, an’ a one, two, three.”

Lyra strummed a single note.

“Silence!” a loud voice boomed from behind them, knocking Lyra off her seat and sending a single piercing note from her lyre. Octavia spun around, and saw the bust of Princess Celestia wheeling about as if it were a live, severed head. She looked down at Lyra, who was picking herself off the ground.

“Don't look at me!” Lyra said. Fire spewed from the nostrils of the animated stage prop, stray embers sticking to its face.

“Your music has displeased the phantom of the Teatre!” the statue warned, slowly wheeling towards the pair on squeaky wheels. “Be gone with you!”

“Wait, that sounds like—” Lyra’s words cut off as Octavia hoisted her cello's neck over her shoulder and aimed the bottom of the instrument at Celestia. Lyra blink. “Huh?”

The cello clicked and whirred. A panel swung out on the bottom, and a metal barrel extended outward, followed by a long rod with a small flame at the end.

“Woah, cool!” Lyra exclaimed.

“This stage belongs to—” the Celestia statue started to exclaim. Its wheels suddenly screeched to a halt, and the whole monstrosity began to shudder. “No, no, no!”

The entire structure collapsed, breaking into a pile of painted plywood and sawdust. In the middle of the carnage lay a light blue unicorn in a purple costume, hooves still holding onto the sticks of a control panel that was no longer attached to anything.

“Trixie?” Lyra asked, jaw nearly hitting the floor. Octavia lowered her cello, the flame-thrower segment hiding itself away at the press of a button.

“P-pay no attention to the mare behind the... rubble,” Trixie warned, futilely working the controls.

“What are you doing here, Trixie?” Lyra asked.

“What does it look like Trixie is doing?!” Trixie roared.

“Is... that's a rhetorical question, right?” Lyra scratched the top of her head.

“Trixie is trying to run you two out of the theater!” Trixie shouted, tossing the useless control panel away. Octavia began to heft her cello again; Lyra put a hoof on it, stopping Octavia.

“Why?” Lyra asked.

“Trixie requires a fitting venue for her act,” Trixie explained, dragging herself out of the mess she'd made. “The roadside show didn't quite go as planned.”

“Maybe that's because roadside shows are supposed to take place on the side of the road, not, you know, in the middle of the road,” Lyra pointed out with smile.

“Trixie has no time to argue over semantics!” Trixie declared, stomping towards Lyra on her hind-hooves. “Now let Trixie take over this theater or she will have you both turned into whales!”

Trixie stood there, chest heaving with the exertion of her speechifying.

"Can I eliminate her now?" Octavia asked Lyra. Lyra emphatically shook her head, and smiled at Trixie.

“Let's start over,” Lyra said cheerfully. She cleared her throat and extended her hoof. “Hi, my name is Lyra Heartstrings!”

Trixie's eyes lit up in rage, but the fire behind them almost immediately dimmed. She sighed.

“And you are speaking to The Great and Powerful Trixie,” Trixie replied, returning the hoofshake.

“So, what're you here for?” Lyra asked innocently.

“Trixie is looking for a place to perform her feats of amazement, so that she can prove to all of pony kind that she is the greatest and most powerful and perfect and extra—”

“Cool,” Lyra cut in. “So you came to ask for permission, right?”

“Trixie does not ask for permiss—”

“Octavia, there's enough room on stage for two acts tonight, right?” Lyra asked, ignoring Trixie's protests. Octavia exhaled through her snout.

“It's... not my decision to make. You'd have to ask Frédéric,” Octavia answered, looking away from the other two mares.

“Somepony call for me?” a familiar voice responded from behind the red curtain. Frédéric soon spilled through the fabric, and immediately saw the mess that Trixie had made. “Dear Celestia, what happened to... Celestia?”

“I dunno. I guess she couldn't take the pressures of royal power any longer,” Lyra suggested with a shrug.

Another pony passed through the curtain, flank first, revealing a brown tail, sky-blue coat, and pink bass clef cutie mark. Then the pony's head followed, teeth grasping a large black instrument case that dragged along the ground. Once completely through the curtain, the pony let go of the case and raised its head with a flourish, stylishly combed mane staying as securely in place as the pink bowtie around its neck.

The pony seemed to notice the rapt attention it was receiving from those gathered. Pink eyes with long eyelashes winked at the three gathered mares. Octavia didn't react, while Lyra slightly blushed, and Trixie masked the red in her own cheeks with a look of indignation.

“Well, it was ugly anyway,” Frédéric sighed, bringing the other ponies' eyes back on himself. “Dusty old thing hasn't seen use since Hearth’s Warming Eve ten years ago.”

“Ew. You really shouldn’t talk about yourself that way around ladies, Frederic,” the beautiful blue pony responded, in a sultry masculine voice. “It can really hurt your chances.”

Lyra and Trixie's eyes shot wide simultaneously, a fact which the effeminate pony didn't fail to notice. He chuckled alluringly.

“Good evening, ladies. The name's Beauty Brass,” the stallion introduced himself, taking a small bow. He stole a glance at Lyra's head. “Mmm, I really like your mane.”

“T-thanks?” Lyra answered, taking a step back.

“No, really. It reminds me of toothpaste.” Beauty Brass continued in his suave tone. “I bet you're very... hygienic.”

“Heh, then you should meet my friend Colgate back in Ponyville,” Lyra waved away the compliment nervously.

“She sounds delightful,” Brass purred. He then turned his eyes on Trixie. “What's this? Two mares for the price of one tonight? Lucky me.”

Trixie appeared quite flustered, and did not respond. Frédéric seemed to notice the showmare's presence for the first time. He looked to Octavia.

“This is...” Octavia began.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie,” Trixie said, introducing herself with most of the usual flourish.

“I know. You were on the six o'clock news,” Frédéric said, raising an eyebrow. “What I want to know is why you're standing on my stage.”

“She wants to share the stage with us tonight when we perform,” Lyra said. “Octavia said it's fine, so don't you agree with her?”

Octavia narrowed her eyes at Lyra and opened her mouth to speak. Frédéric interrupted her.

“Hmm. Well we've already got an untested, narcoleptic lyrist on stage with us tonight.” Frédéric shrugged. “Sure, why not double down on all my risks?”

“You will not regret this decision, Trixie assures you,” Trixie boasted.

“She didn't even question whether that was sarcasm or not,” Beauty Brass muttered to Frédéric, who just smiled in return.

“So!” Frédéric clapped his hooves together. “Now that we're all here, before curtain call, for once, why don't we all do a practice run through our routine?”

“Okay. Sounds good to me,” Lyra said, picking her lyre off the ground. Beauty Brass began to unzip his case, taking out a sousaphone.

“Trixie has no need for practice. Trixie is perfect the first time, every time,” Trixie said, head held high.

“Suit yourself,” Frédéric said, walking past her and towards a piano half-hidden behind a tree prop. “We'll begin with the second song.”

All four of the musicians nodded in unison, hefting their instruments and waiting for Frédéric to give the signal to start. When it came, a simultaneously soft but piercing melody began to fly throughout the air.

Meanwhile, Trixie lay down in the corner, and gave an exaggerated yawn. But her ears remained up, catching the sound of the music. As they song continued, a smile tugged at the edge of her mouth. She began to mutter to herself

“Hmm... yes... and maybe then... perfect, as always,” Trixie concluded, grinning devilishly.

> The Ensemble (4/4)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Episode 1: The Ensemble


Part 4/4


by Legendary Emerald


Two tickets swiftly exchanged hooves. Bubbles dragged Bon Bon past the doorpony and into the theater, their hooves not bothering to touch the ground.

“Bubbles, please,” Bon Bon begged as Bubbles raised her above the other ponies milling about in the auditorium, holding onto the pegasus by only one hoof, “I know you're excited, but there's no rush.”

“I've never been invited to a show here before! We need to get the best seats possible!” Bubbles replied, holding her spare forehoof over her brow as she scanned the pews.

"Can't we just sit somewhere back here, where nopony will notice us?” Bon Bon asked with a polite smile.

"Ahah! Found a spot in the splash zone!” Bubbles answered, eyes lighting up. Her wings began to flap harder.

“Splash? I don't think it's that kind of shoooow!” Bon Bon's words trailed after her as Bubbles swooped forward through the air, Bon Bon trailing behind like a kite string. 

Bon Bon was unceremoniously dropped down onto a cushioned pew in the second row. Bubbles dropped next to her, almost causing Bon Bon to fall out of her seat.

“Why does this keep happening to me?” Bon Bon whimpered, holding her head between her hooves. “The concert hasn't even started and already I have a headache.”

“'S up?” a familiar voice called from Bon Bon's right. She turned her head to see that she was seated next to Vinyl Scratch. “Not-Lyra, right?”

“Bon Bon,” Bon Bon corrected in an even tone.

“Ah. Silly me." Vinyl shrugged.

“Don't worry Vinyl, I forget her name all the time too,” Bubbles piped in with a smile.

“Right? It's just so unmemorable,” Vinyl concurred, throwing her hooves to the side.

“Well, I see you two know each other already,” Bon Bon huffed.

“Of course!” Bubbles said, stretching her hoof out across Bon Bon and towards Vinyl.

“Not really. She delivers the mail,” Vinyl answered, ignoring the hoof-bump attempt and causing the mail mare to deflate. “There was that one time she crashed a delivery truck through the record store, though. Demolished the entire pop-rock aisle and nearly gave Eurp a heart attack. Pretty awesome.”

“Yeah, that was pretty neat,” Bubbles said, smiling as she retracted her hoof. “For some reason they never asked me to drive again after that.”

“Tragic.” Vinyl closed her eyes and nodded.

“I see,” Bon Bon said, taking a flyer from behind the seat in front of her and familiarizing herself with the set list for the evening.

The lights in the room began to dim until the entire auditorium was taken over by darkness. A hush fell over the gathered crowd.

“Ooh, it's starting!” Bubbles said, lightly clapping her hooves together.

A single light came back on over the stage. The spotlight illuminated a brown and white pony wearing a blue bow-tie and white collar.

“Good afternoon, everypony,” Frédéric addressed the crowd. He looked out over the crowd for a moment, taking in the silence. He took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out slowly; as he did so, the curtain behind him split apart, moving towards either end of the stage and revealing Octavia, Lyra, and Beauty Brass, instruments in their hooves. “We are the Equestrian Greats. And we will now begin.”

Frédéric turned from the crowd and stepped towards his piano, set just to the right of the other performers.

“Wooh! Rock em' dead!” Bubbles cheered. Vinyl smirked, while Bon Bon hid her face in her pamphlet.

"Thank Nightmare for the dark,” Bon Bon whispered to herself, beet-red.

Seated behind his piano, Frédéric tapped his hoof against the ground three times. On the third tap, all four of the musicians began to play.

As the song played, the uniqueness of the ensemble made itself immediately apparent. The four instruments on stage worked together in unusual ways. Frédéric's piano and Octavia's cello traded the main melody back and forth, and Lyra's lyre lent support to the melody, plucked and strummed through the finesse of her magic rather than her blunt hooves. Beauty Brass's sousaphone  rose to task when called for, and played an extended solo midway through the piece. It was an eclectic mix, to be sure, but the audience was captivated nevertheless.

“Oh, wow. They're really good,” Bon Bon whispered partway through the song.

“Meh.” Vinyl shrugged. “I'm really only here for Octavia. A bit disappointed Lyra isn't really playing in her sleep, though.”

“Speaking of,” Bon Bon interjected, “what was the plan if a harpist or lyrist couldn't be found in time?”

“Kazoos,” Vinyl deadpanned.

“Kazoos?” Bon Bon asked, a grim set to her mouth.

“Three ponies walk on stage wearing black business suits and dark sunglasses. They take out their five bit kazoos and take the audience on an jazz odyssey for the ages,” Vinyl explained, taking Bon Bon's flyer and rolling it up into a tube before handing it back.

“You're pulling my hoof, aren't you?” Bon Bon asked warily, looking to her left and right before dropping the ruined pamphlet to the ground.

“Why? You feeling sore?” Vinyl asked with a smirk.

The song came to an end, and the only sound that could be heard was Bubbles' clapping hooves. Several ponies began to look in their direction. Bon Bon scooted away from Bubbles and nearer Vinyl, who pushed her back towards Bubbles.

Curiously, the next song did not start right away. Frédéric's eyes minuetly gazed around himself, and so the other musicians did the same.

“It's already over?” Bubbles asked, standing. “What a gype! Good thing we got our tickets for free, huh Bon Bon?”

Bon Bon dragged Bubbles back into her seat. On stage, Frédéric shrugged and began to tap his hoof against the ground three times. On the last hoof fall, Octavia played a single note.

“Behold!”

The cello was silenced as the front of the stage exploded into multicolored smoke at the bold proclamation, causing the crowd to gasp. From inside the cloud, the figure of a pony in a cape and wizard-hat could barely be made out. Bubbles curled up in her seat and grabbed hold of her tail.

“This stage has been taken over! By the great! And powerful! Trixie!”

As the dominating voice spoke, the gas began to rise. It swirled up and around itself, revealing Trixie in all of her glory and blanketing the roof in a cloud of mesmerizing colors.

“I gotta get out of here!” a pony in the audience shouted at the top of his lungs as he lunged out of his seat, charred top-hat falling off in his haste.

“Maestro!” Trixie commanded. Frédéric frowned, but commenced tapping his hoof. On the third beat, Octavia's cello began to sing once again. Trixie smirked and reached into the back of her cape, pulling out a magic wand. She pointed it up at the cloud above her. “Now, watch in awe!”

Lightning shot between the wand and the cloud, causing electricity to race around the contours of the gaseous mass. It was a beautiful sight that caught the rapt attention of everypony in the audience.

“Now this is more like it.” Vinyl grinned and nodded her head.

“Popcorn?” Bubbles offered, pushing a bag pver Bon Bon's lap.

“Where did you...?” Bon Bon let her question trail off into nothingness as a sound like thunder rolled throughout the auditorium, calling her attention back to the display of power.

The light that had been cast into the cloud began to form itself into tiny beads, crafting a picture against the cloudy backdrop. Purple specs dotted the ghostly canvas, shining like stars in the night sky. More and more appeared, until the illusion was complete. The stars grew larger as the focus of the image changed to the distance beyond them. As the image picked up speed, the stars gave way to concentric pulsating circles of energy, formed by the same glowing motes of light.

As the last hoop swallowed the audience, a new form began to take shape. Blue ovals raced downward over a sloped surface, soon revealed to be the moon, with the ovals being the craters that dotted its surface. Over the heavenly body's horizon appeared a familiar constellation: the Ursa Major.

The constellation raised its head as if were roaring, and then turned around to look out at the audience. It slowly bound forward, getting closer and closer to the surface of the moon. When it did finally reach the blue moon's circumference, the view point swung outward, and showed the Ursa Minor balancing on the moon as if it were a ball. The constellation ran in place, with the moon rotating underneath it. The audience laughed as the Big Dipper fell down from the sky, and the Ursa held above its head like an umbrella as it performed its act through the cosmos.

Suddenly, the viewpoint the audience had shot forward, through the legs of the Ursa, and into the stars beyond. A new spherical shape appeared, one that was even more intimately familiar to them then the moon. It was the Earth, cast in green and blue lines of majesty. The planet drew ever closer, until the perspective of the illusion crashed into the surface at breakneck speed, ending up in a winding purple valley. The outlines of craggy rock passed by on either side as a castle loomed in the distance.

Lyra began to lose her concentration as she stared up at the display from the other side, seeing a mirrored image of what the audience was seeing. The castle exterior had been replaced by the interior, where outlines of ponies in royal armor stood at attention, silently watching the audience pass them by.

Then, a door-like portal appeared in the forefront of the image, and behind it was a path surrounded on either side by darkness. But as the illusion continued, water began to fill up either side of the walkway, until waves crashed into the path on either side, submerging the path entirely. Another door was waiting at the end of the watery trail.

The journey reached its endpoint in a regal throne room, which was soon soiled with the water that had been let inside. Sitting on the throne was a manifestation of Trixie herself, a malicious smirk upon her face.

“Why didn't I see that coming?” Bon Bon groaned, ignoring Bubbles' frantic popcorn munching.

The perspective of the scene swiftly changed, revealing that the whole scenario had been seen through the eyes of an enormous sea serpent. The serpent had eyes only for Trixie, and they were filled with malice.

“Nice hair,” Vinyl joked, noting the monster's obnoxious pompadour and curly mustache. The serpent roared as if in response, and snaked its way through the air at the image of Trixie. Another beam of magic shot from the physical Trixie's wand into the cloud, appearing to power up the illusionary Trixie.

Frédéric quickly looked towards Octavia and tapped his hoof five times. Octavia nodded, and then she, Frédéric, and Beauty Brass began to play a different, more aggressively paced song. Lyra didn't get the memo, and stumbled over her notes as she tried to switch to the fifth song in their set as quickly as the others had.

Faux Trixie's horn grew with shining white light, taking on the appearance of a blade made from the sun itself. She stepped down from her throne, brandishing her new forehead mounted weapon. At the same time, the serpent opened its jaws wide as it neared ever closer to its prey. Faux Trixie wheeled her head backwards, and then whipped her neck forward just as the beast got in range. The light from her horn severed the creature's head from the rest of its body midway through the neck, and what remained of the beast fell writhing to the ground.

The majority of the audience gasped, while a smaller number cheered. Trixie grinned wildly and shot another blast of magic into the cloud.

The serpent began to reform itself. From the stump of its neck, two more heads grew outward within seconds. Faux Trixie tried the same strategy as before, leaping forwards and claiming two heads with one swing of her magic blade. But even as the eyes on the beast's skulls closed for the last time, four more heads had already begun to take their place.

Outnumbered, her current strategy useless, Faux Trixie backed away from the angry serpent until she stood upon her throne once more. The castle walls around her collapsed as the water from the hallway burst in with increased fervor, breaking down the regal structure as if it were sand. Trixie was left alone in a wide open ocean expanse, with only her throne as solid ground to stand on, and four vicious faces staring her down.

“Throw a thunderbolt!” Bubbles shouted, tossing her popcorn to the ground.

Faux Trixie did not take the advice, and was swept off of her throne by the four heads of the monster. They constricted around her tighter and tighter, until the light from her horn went out and she could no longer be seen under the mass of writhing scales.

Trixie twirled her wand five times and pointed it back towards the scene she'd crafted. She shot a third beam of magic into the cloud. The entire theater was blanketed in searing white light, and when it receded, Faux Trixie was free of her bonds, and encased in a white aura.

From four charred stumps arose eight more heads. The light surrounding Faux Trixie grew brighter and brighter, until it could be contained no longer. Orbs of brilliant white light blossomed out of Faux Trixie's body, striking the serpent from every angle.

Trixie closed her eyes as she began to laugh maniacally, pumping more and more of her magic into the illusion she had cast. She didn't notice when one of the spells her fake self was casting broke free of the illusion and hit the ceiling, setting it on fire.

The crowd murmured worriedly, and their fears were confirmed when another orb of magic shot out into the crowd, turning the pony it hit into a frog. The audience began to scream, panic, with an occasional croak being heard over the cacophony. More and more spells went out of control, veering into the path of the audience and transforming ponies into various beings, both animate and inanimate.

“This can't be part of the show!” Bon Bon cried out, watching as Lyra and the rest of the band tried to play through the rest of the song while dodging stray bolts of magic.

“Get down!” Vinyl shouted, suddenly putting her hooves on Bon Bon's head and pushing it down onto the seat. An orb of light streaked right through where Bon Bon's face had been.

“Thank you,” Bon Bon managed to squeak out, raising her head to see Vinyl shaking her hooves and then wiping them off on the back cushion of her seat. The pony behind Bon Bon screamed. Bon Bon looked back and stared into the oversized eye of a cyclops pony. “Waah!”

“I can see... everythiiiiing!” the one-eyed pony screamed. “Aaaaah!”

“Ooh, neato!” Bubbles said, watching as the cyclops pony ran out of the theater wailing. She bounced up and down excitedly. “Me next, me next!”

Trixie was completely oblivious to the chaos she was causing, eyes focused only on the spectacle she was crafting above her head.

“Now you have seen the true power of the one and only Trixie!” she finally yelled. Trixie lowered her wand, and Faux Trixie stopped her attack. The hole-ridden body of the serpent hovered momentarily above the water, still managing to stand up by some unexplainable means. The mass of scales and necks then finally collapsed into the ocean, creating a tidal wave.

A tidal wave that spilled out of the illusion, and into the theater.

The band finally stopped playing as they saw nearly half of their audience washed out of the building, while the remaining half clung onto their seats like barnacles to a boat.

Trixie stood at the front of the stage with her eyes closed, panting heavily, but with a triumphant smile upon her face.

“Thank you, thank you everypony!” she gasped, before opening her eyes and seeing a veritable lake out in front of her. Her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open. “Did... Trixie go too far again?”

“Ya think?!” Beauty Brass asked, hefting a transparent sousaphone that now doubled as a fish tank. He blew into the instrument and hit Trixie in the back of the head with a guppy.

A very wet Bubbles hovered over the stage, front hooves hooked around Bon Bon and Vinyl. She deposited the two soggy ponies onto the stage, and then sat herself down. Lyra dropped her lyre and ran over to Bon Bon.

“Are you okay?” Lyra asked, putting her hooves on Bon Bon's shoulders.

“I'm fine,” Bon Bon said, dripping all over Lyra. “Are you?”

“Yeah. Beauty Brass got the worst of it. The ol' dumb luck got me through just fine, though,” Lyra joked. She looked towards Trixie and frowned. “I'm a bit worried about her, though.”

“Her? She's the one responsible for all of this!” Bon Bon accused, raising her voice.

“I know! We should all thank her.” Bubbles said, gaining a frustrated glance from Bon Bon. Lyra released herself from Bon Bon's grasp and trotted up to Trixie.

“Trixie... failed again... in front of everypony,” the magician muttered to herself, eyes not looking up from the floor. “Just like Ponyville...”

“Don't worry, Trixie. You may have failed spectacularly, but you have the rest of us to back you up,” Lyra consoled, sweeping a hoof out towards all of the other ponies on stage.

A small rowboat approached the stage, manned by a single police officer.

“Okay, who all of you is responsible for this?” the officer demanded in a slow drawl.

“All her,” Beauty Brass said, suddenly next to Trixie and pointing straight at the showmare. The officer nodded and reached into his pocket to produce a sheet of paper.

“Or not.” Lyra smiled sheepishly.

“You are hereby banned from ever stepping hoof into this premises. Sign here, here, and here,” the officer stated, putting the paper on the ground and producing a pen for Trixie's use.

“That was fast,” Trixie said as she telekinetically operated the pen to sign her name. The officer picked up the completed form in his teeth, and stuffed it back into his pocket.

“Heck yeah it was fast. Mayor Goodmare was in the audience tonight,” the officer said, looking towards a soaked pony in the audience who was glaring daggers at Trixie. "And don't leave town. The bill will be coming your way for property damage."

"How much?" Trixie asked, cringing.

"More than you can afford, if there's any justice in this world. You're just lucky those hippies had moon imprisonment declared unconstitutional," the stallion concluded. He turned around tapped a hoof against the keel of the rowboat. "C'mon, officer Silver, let's get the good mayor out of here.”

The officer's last comment was directed at the boat, which obeyed his command. The rowboat began to move on its own, and as it departed, Trixie saw a pair of pony-like eyes glaring at her from the boat’s rear.

“Those spells will wear off eventually, right?” Bon Bon asked. “Right?”

The remaining members of the audience began to swim out of the auditorium. Frédéric and the rest of the ensemble, aside from Lyra, started to pack up their instruments. The other castaways just stood still, basking in the glow of the night's glorious failure.

“Good show, everypony,” Frédéric said cheerfully. The other ponies stared at him. “No, really! Octavia usually counts at least three ponies falling asleep per show. This show? Not a closed eye to be seen.”        

“I can't imagine why.” Vinyl smirked, blowing on her glasses to try and dislodge the droplets that had collected on them.

“Oh, and Lyra...” Frédéric walked up to Lyra and clapped her on the back, “I won't be seeing you here this Wednesday for band practice. Because nopony who's a member of this ensemble actually shows up.”

Lyra cocked her head to the side, and then straightened out as a large smile spread across her face.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Lyra hopped up and down. Vinyl and Bon Bon both smiled at her reaction, while Octavia merely closed her eyes and nodded her head.

“There's a rear entrance backstage. I'll be seeing you,” Frédéric said with a nod, and then walked off backstage. Beauty Brass followed him, blowing into his sousaphone and leaving behind a trail of goldfish. 

“Everything went better than expected!” Bubbles proclaimed. Her attention was stolen by sound of hooves pounding against the stage.

“Celestia damn it all!” Trixie cursed loudly, eyes beginning to water. “Ever since Ponyville I haven't done anything right! Why does everything turn out fine for everypony but Trixie?”

“Oh, yeah. She's here,” Vinyl pointed out, placing her glasses back on.
        
“Aaaargh!” Trixie moaned, slamming her head against the ground and lying it there.  “And now Trixie's hurt her horn, too.”

“Well, to be honest, what did you expect?” Bon Bon asked, drawing slightly closer to the showmare.

“To be showered with love and attention! Was that not obvious?” Trixie retorted. Her voice took on a plaintive tone as she gazed at the other ponies. “Wasn't it?”

“Heh, you wanted to be showered, but everypony else got wet instead,” Bubbles chuckled. “That's like a... a funny thing.”

“Not helping, Bubbles,” Lyra said with a polite smile, and then turned her attention back to Trixie. “What are you going to do now?”

“Run. Leave town. Just like the last time something like this happened,” Trixie explained succinctly. “Trixie has embarrassed herself and been barred from the only venue in this town that befits her. Trixie will just... try again. In a different town. Where nopony knows her name.”

“Okay, well that's one plan. Or...” Lyra stretched the word out, “you could stick around a bit and make some friends.”

“Friends?” Trixie scoffed, tears in her eyes.

“Friends,” Lyra repeated. She pointed at each of the ponies on stage in order. “Bon Bon, Bubbles, Vinyl, Octavia... I didn't meet most of them until today, and now we're all friends.”

“We are?” Bubbles asked excitedly. She ran over to Octavia and abruptly hugged her, causing the cellist to stumble.

“We are?” Bon Bon muttered, looking at the odd assortment of ponies she had become associated with. Octavia raised one eyebrow raised curiously as she gently unwrapped Bubbles from her body. Vinyl appeared indifferent towards the suggestion, hitting the side of her head and dislodging water from her ears.

“Well, maybe I'm skipping ahead a bit.” Lyra admitted. “But what's to stop us from trying, right?”

“I... Trixie doesn't know.” Trixie stumbled over her words. "W-why do you even care about Trixie? Trixie is a failure, and has caused you nothing but trouble."

"That's not true. Well, mostly not true. At least partially not completely... look, what I'm trying to say is..." Lyra sighed, and lowered herself closer to Trixie and began to speak quietly, "I used to think I was a failure too. I've never had a steady job, and most of my money has been made by playing my lyre on the sidewalk. Most ponies would just pass me by every day on the street, never taking the time to get to know me, let alone help me afford a meal.

"But then I wound up in Ponyville, and I met this one mare. She didn't know how big of a buck up I was, so I managed to weasel my way into her apartment as her roommate. I guess I'm just charming like that." Lyra smiled, casting a glance over her shoulder at Bon Bon. "We became friends, even though we had nothing in common. She was tough on me sometimes, but that's just because she wanted what was best for me. And when she found out I was just a useless bum, she didn't kick me out. She tried to help.

"Heck, I accidentally burned the apartment down last week, and she's still trying to help me! She followed me all the way here just to make sure I didn't get in any trouble," Lyra exclaimed. Bubbles, Octavia, and Vinyl all looked towards Bon Bon, who blushed in response.

"She must really care about you," Trixie remarked, wiping away her tears. Bon Bon's blush grew even fiercer, and she suddenly found something very interesting about the ceiling.

"She's the friend I needed when I was at my lowest point. And I want to follow her example," Lyra said. "That's why I want to make friends with everypony I meet. Even the ones who flood auditoriums and set hats on fire."

"Haha," Trixie laughed lightly, smiling. “But, even if Trixie had... friends... there still may not be a place in this city for Trixie.”

“That's a lot of hooey! A glitzy town like Las Pegasus? It’s made for a show-pony like you!” Lyra argued, standing back up and extending her hoof. “And we can all help you, too! Just give it a chance.”

Trixie looked at each of the gathered ponies, all of whom had formed a circle around her at some point. She saw that some of them were just as nervous as her about the idea. But they hadn't backed off yet. Trixie sat there in silence for a moment longer. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

“Trixie agrees that... that it might not be the worst idea Trixie has ever heard,” Trixie finally said, the vaguest hint of a smile appearing back on her face. She took Lyra's hoof, and lifted herself up. “In fact, it might even be...”

“Group hug!” Bubbles suddenly butted in, stretching her hooves out. She tackled both Bon Bon and Lyra on her way towards Trixie, forcing them to participate. Octavia shrugged, and then robotically hugged Trixie from the opposite side.

“H-hey! Trixie does not appreciate this!” Trixie complained through her laughter. She glanced at Vinyl, the only one not involved in the affair.

“Sorry. I don't do 'touching',” Vinyl explained, wiggling her front hooves as if she was handling something vile. “I guess you can use your imagination, though. Or make an illusion me to hug you. That'd be pretty sweet.”

A chunk of the roof fell down, splashing into the stagnant water below. The whole ceiling began to creak disturbingly.

“Structural supports have weakened. I suggest we evacuate the premises,” Octavia summarized, picking up her cello's case.

“I'm going to agree with that statement." Bon Bon nodded.

“Hey, is anypony else hungry? I'm feeling pretty hungry,” Lyra suggested, rubbing against her stomach.

“Ooh, I'm hungry too!” Bubbles said, throwing her hoof up into the air.

“Well, it's true Trixie hasn't eaten since this morning,” the showmare said, brushing off her outfit and readjusting her wizard cap.

“Awesome. I know this one okay bar that's hidden around here,” Vinyl said, waving them all towards the exit behind the stage.





“Night Bubs!”

“Goodnight Bubbles.”

“Night night, girls!”

There was a loud crash, followed by sound of a door closing shortly after.

“Is she going to be alright?” Bon Bon asked
        
“Ah, she's fine, she's fine,” Lyra said with a wave.

Lyra tried to insert her key into the door, and when she did so, the door to their apartment swung inwards without protest.

“Oh yeah, we should get that fixed some day,” Lyra chuckled, stepping inside the dark apartment. Bon Bon trailed in after her and turned on the lights. Lyra shrieked. “Hey, turn that off, I'm goin' blind!”

“Well, that's what you get.” Bon Bon sighed, flipped the light switch again and closed the door behind her, drenching the apartment in darkness once more. “I can't believe you took Vinyl up on that drinking game.”

“I can't believe you didn't!” Lyra responded, her words slurred and pitch slightly higher than usual. "Affer all, she was buying."

“Well, one of us has to be the responsible one,” Bon Bon retorted, setting her pure down on the counter.

“Whatever you say, Ms. Margarit. Ah.” Lyra chuckled, dropping her backpack to the ground. “Get it? Margarita. It's a pun because...”

“I get it,” Bon Bon cut Lyra off with a smile, setting her purse down on the floor. “What can I say? I needed at least a little something to help me deal with all those crazy ponies.”

“Our friends,” Lyra corrected, flopping down onto the couch.

“I guess,” Bon Bon said, shaking her head. “New apartment, new friends... what have you gotten us into, Lyra?”

“Nothin' you can't handle. After all, you are the responsible one,” Lyra said with a smile, throwing her blanket over herself. “Such a good lil' wifey.”

“W-what?” Bon Bon stuttered. Lyra giggled like a filly, making Bon Bon blush. “Oh, shut up!”

“Hah ha! Ow. This couch is terrible,” Lyra complained, rolling back and forth.

“This morning you said it was amazing,” Bon Bon smirked.

“That was then, and this is drunk,” Lyra said. She suddenly sat upright. “Hey, you said there's room in the bed for two, right?”

“W-well, yes,” Bon Bon said. Before the words had finished leaving Bon Bon's lips, Lyra had waddled off of the couch and into the bedroom, leaving her blanket in a heap on the floor. Bon Bon followed after her roommate, just in time to see Lyra belly-flop on top of the sheets of the double bed.

“Much better,” Lyra mumbled, already drooling on the pillow. Bon Bon approached the bed from the opposite side, sliding between the covers and the mattress. She lay there silently, blushing like mad, staring up at the ceiling until Lyra spoke up again. “Hey Bon Bon?” 

“Yes?” Bon Bon answered, glancing over at Lyra.

“Good morning, Bon Bon,” Lyra said through half shut eyes. Bon Bon paused.

“Lyra, that joke doesn't work anymore. It's night,” Bon Bon explained humorlessly.

“Oh,” Lyra said. She didn't say any more. Bon Bon listened to the sound of Lyra's steady breathing, and smiled sweetly.

“Goodnight, Lyra.”



THE END