The foyer of Baron Fries' mansion was filled to the brim with both members of the Canterlot Elite and a few humans. Each of them mingling and chatting about, waiting for the perfect time to strike and climb up the social ladder while dodging verbal bullets from others alike. Mozart was among them, doing the same thing as the ponies and occasionally glanced at my direction, silently telling me to amuse him.
A familiar sight. Made more familiar was a particular human standing next to me.
"Once again I thank you, Steibelt," I said in a quiet tone. "It's been a while since we last met."
He smiled, and the bitterness in it left a terrible aftertaste inside my mouth. "Indeed it's been a while, Ludwig. You'd have to thank Mozart for convincing me about this."
"..."
"..."
"It's odd, don't you think?"
"That two ensembles chose us as their guests of honor to compete with each other? Yes, Steibelt. I think it is."
"Well, no matter how odd it might be, let us each do our best."
"But of course, Steibelt. May the best win."
"Of course I will, Ludwig."
"Funny."
Realizing our banter is over, a yellow unicorn that is our host, Baron Fries, stepped forward and greeted the eager guests. "Fillies and Gentlecolts! It is my honor to host tonight's competition of our beloved and well-known ensemble, The Harmony."
The guests gave applause as all attention was dragged to the group of three ponies, which smiled and waved. Octavia was among them, and her posture now a lot more confident than two days ago.
Baron Fries continued, "Tonight, The Harmony will meet more than their match, I believe. May I present the brilliant, the up to now unbeaten, all the way from Germane, Das Rosenholz!" After the guests cheered on the other group of three ponies, he continued, "Now, I must say that our show tonight won't be our usual.
"By suggestion from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and agreed by both competing sides, two guests of honor have been chosen to temporarily replace their respective pianists and lead the ensemble. It won't be easy, but isn't it what we need? A challenge like no other, to prove to the world that their skill goes beyond the scripted notes; to improvise and to create as beautiful a music on-the-go!
"Chosen by The Harmony is the legendary, the magnificent, Ludwig van Beethoven!"
All eyes landed on me. I smiled, waved, and stepped forward to join The Harmony.
"On the other side, chosen by Das Rosenholz, is another legend by his own name. He's dextrous, he's dashing, he's Daniel Steibelt!"
The Ball of Ego and Grudge smiled and raised his head high, stepping forward and joining Das Rosenholz on the piano. His ensemble followed suit, readying themselves on their respective instruments.
Steibelt began the symphony speedily, joined effortlessly by the harp and the cello, then the sousaphone. The symphony was fast, energetic, and exciting. The ensemble all kept their eyes on the musical sheet, but it was naught but a mere reference, as Steibelt's notes flew like a storm, quite a tangent to the original, and the improvisation was clearly over the roof.
He's clearly going all out on this.
Halfway through the symphony, I was taken by surprise as Steibelt completely skipped the bridge and directly into the final refrain, putting aside nearly a quarter of the entire symphony. His ensemble fumbled, but only a trained ear could notice it. As the guests were not, they stared at awe as the symphony ended in an abrupt thunder that stretched for a few seconds.
The guests cheered loudly, and the ensemble smiled smugly at us, proclaiming an early victory.
I heard a gulp. Looking beside me, Octavia was sweating, unnoticed by the guest standing too far away.
She looked at me worryingly.
I smiled reassuringly, and she relaxed, albeit just a little.
As Das Rosenholz put the instruments back, The Harmony took their place and readied ourselves.
I, on the other hand, walked towards Octavia and her cello. Looking at the few sheets of music the previous cellist forced to set aside, I smiled.
It was perfect.
Octavia shot me a questioning look as I took the parchment from her stand and asked, quietly, "What are you doing?"
Taking the part Steibelt skipped for the piano, I showed it to her side-by-side with its cello part. "This is astounding." Then I flipped them upside down. "This is perfection."
She gaped. A surprised one, but in a good way. She nodded, shot me an almost evil grin, and took the piano parchment, all the while making sure the guests—and Das Rosenholtz—could see it clearly.
We both showed our switched musical sheets to the guests, still upright, and flipped them upside down with a flourish, setting them up on the stands. The harp and sousaphone, meanwhile, nodded in understanding and kept their sheets upright.
I started the symphony slowly, as the parchment, and the harp and sousaphone followed with theirs—not upside down, still similar to the original. Octavia followed after a quarter of the sheet, dragging her bow long and slow, accompanied by me, while the harp and sousaphone played poco-a-poco.
When the harp started his crescendo, I and Octavia simultaneously joined in and dropped in a steeper crescendo, bringing in the storm.
Well, I digress. It wasn't a storm at all. It was a hurricane.
My fingers ran and danced through the keyboard, hitting highs and lows and trills, even managing to slip a glissando in the middle, somehow at sync with the harp's own.
Octavia was...
Octavia was enjoying the time of her life, taking the storm in stride and synchronizing with the rest of the ensemble.
Nearing the end of the symphony, the door of the mansion slammed shut. The guests looked at its direction, while we, knowing already what had happened, didn't flinch.
Unlike them, we finished our symphony with a trickle, ending in a decrescendo.
Looking up, I saw all I'd expected: The guests staring slack-jawed at us and, abruptly, stood and cheered. A stampede of applause thundered across the room, and The Harmony all bowed to the audience.
All I'd expected but for one: Steibelt, who by all chances didn't storm out of the room with Das Rosenholz, applauding.
As the applause died down, the guests crowded against The Harmony and me, bombarding us with words of appreciations and somethings along the line of 'awesome'.
I made a beeline toward Steibelt and, reaching him, stretched out my hand. "I must say, you surprised me, Steibelt. Not going to exile yourself out of Canterlot this time?"
He took my hand and shook it, all the while still frowning. "I should've known better," he said, his tone one of acceptance. "And no, my ego isn't big enough to make me leave this beautiful city forever."
I smiled at him and wrapped my arm around his neck. "Don't be like that, Steibelt! Come on, the drinks are on me."
"The drinks are free around here."
"..."
"And I'm holding one in my hand right now."
"I'll teach you how to play the piano, then."
"I would've flipped my finger at you if you haven't already flipped my sheet."
And that, Fillies and Gentlecolts, is how I and Octavia flipped sheets.