//------------------------------// // Music and Magic // Story: The Show Must Go On // by libertydude //------------------------------// Octavia took a deep, nervous breath when she stared up at the mahogany doors. The Town Hall of Hilltop was before her, not so much standing as squatting between the local post office and a confectionary shop with candy cane stickers slapped onto the windows. The shortness of the buildings had undoubtedly been for the winter months, as the buildings were already quite burdened under the recent snow upon their roofs. All of the buildings were close to the edge of the hill the city square sat on, a plethora of stilts holding up what parts of them tipped over the sides. This visual reminder of the town’s precarious position upon a large mesa prodded Octavia’s deeper mind, though she thought more of her tardiness to the mayor’s request than the risk of a long fall down snow-covered slopes. I shouldn’t be here, Octavia thought, a forlorn expression on her face. Not on Hearth’s Warming Eve. I should be back in Ponyville with Vinyl. The cold wind that had been hounding the town all morning picked up again, and Octavia shivered. She could remember the winter storm that had diverted her zeppelin from Ponyville to Hilltop, only to seemingly follow her all the way here. For three days, she’d waited for the wind to die and the snow to stop falling. She’d even gone to the town post office to ask for an emergency Weather Patrol who could break up the clouds. The wrinkled old mare behind the desk gave her a look that bordered somewhere between contempt and amusement. “I had you figured for a Canterlot pony,” she said with a slight drawl. “Only they would think winter starts and stops whenever you want.” She then explained, with a little more condescension than Octavia appreciated, that Hilltop was an Earth Pony town. The only Pegasi or Unicorns they saw came through on ships like Octavia’s, and there weren’t enough of them to break up the clouds. The best she could do was put in a request to the mayor for an emergency dog sled ride back down to the base of the mountain, but that was a slim chance if any. Nopony had seen the sledder, a stallion named Slush Puppy, in town for almost two weeks. So Octavia filed the evacuation request, then sat in her motel room for three straight days. The monotony broke only when she adjusted the strings on her cello and tried to string together a tune into a discernible piece. She’d just gotten towards the sixteenth measure when the knock on her door rang out and the mayor’s summons were handed to her. The romantic in her prayed this was a sign of her salvation, where some surprise gaggle of cute winter dogs would eagerly stare up at her and whisk her down the mountain. The whole walk to the mayor’s office perpetuated this small glimmer of hope, though the lack of movement within the town added quiet whispers of uncertainty to Octavia’s already uneasy mind. Octavia pushed the doors and stepped inside. She realized the Town Hall was only one room, with a small, empty secretarial desk in the front and the mayor’s desk in the back. The latter appeared to be an oaken desk, with there being just enough room for a large leatherback chair to sit behind it. Two chairs sat in front of the desk, one of them occupied by a light blue mare with silver hair. She looked back at Octavia with a small smirk, her purple hat and cloak rustling with her every movement. She looks familiar, Octavia thought. Had she been to Canterlot? Yet it was the plump stallion in thick overalls sitting behind the desk that caught Octavia’s attention the most. He sat deep in his thick leather chair, staring out at her with gleaming eyes. “Come on in, Miss Octavia,” he said. “Trixie and I have been waiting for you.” Octavia gave a quick nod and made her way over to the chair. “Thank you so much for contacting me, Mr. Mayor. I was worried I’d never get home.” “Oh, the both of you will,” the mayor said smiling. “Just not tonight.” “What?” Octavia said. “Then why did you call me over?” “That’s just what I was telling Miss Trixie here about.” He leaned forward. “She put in the same request you did, only with a whole cart instead of just a cello. Fact of the matter is, nopony’s getting out of here any earlier than a week. No Pegasi were on the airships coming in, nor any Unicorns sufficiently proficient in magic.” “I beg your pardon!” Trixie said. “Weather magic, Miss Trixie. Any who, fact is you’re both stuck here, and I wanted your help to make this whole mess a little more hospitable.” “Hospitality is Trixie’s middle name!” Modesty certainly isn’t, Octavia thought. Her mind dictated a thousand things wrong with the pony sitting beside her, all of them pointing to the fact she was a rambunctious and off-putting showboat. “I’m glad you say so,” the mayor said. “Because I tell you this weather’s as hard on us as it is on you folk. We don’t mind a nice bit of snow, but this storm’s got a mean streak a mile wide. Blizzards all day and subzero temperatures all night. Folks are too nervous to even go to the general store. I had to dodge three falling icicles just to get to the office.” He shook his head. “Worst winter I’ve ever seen in these parts.” He leaned back in his chair, his stomach jiggling in time with his body. “That’s why I need your help. Word is around here that you’re both showponies. Musical and magical fortes. Gals who know how to catch a crowd’s attention and keep it.” “Well,” Trixie said, a faux blush coming across her face. “I have been known to attract the odd crowd or two.” Octavia did her best not to gag at the display, before adding: “I’ve done more than a few concerts, Mayor.” “Great!” he said. “Then you two could put on a show tonight. A Hearth’s Warming Eve Spectacular!” “What?” Octavia said. “A show, here?” “Of course! We got a dance hall on the other side of town where we have parties. You gals could just take up space there and fill ‘er up with Hearth’s Warming cheer.” “Wait!” Octavia’s front hooves waved around her head like she didn’t know how they worked. “This…This is all rather sudden.” “Life is rather sudden, my dear Octavia,” Trixie said with a large smile. “The best we can do is try to keep up.” “Right you are!” the mayor said. “And you two aren’t doing anything except waiting for a dog sled, so why not put your talents to good use?” Octavia paused in thought. He has a point. I've not been making much progress on the piece, and boring myself to death won't get me out of here any faster. She glanced sideways at the grinning mare beside her, hat still wiggling with each turn of the head. She’s going to be a problem, though. But I’ve dealt with plenty of prima donnas in the orchestra. I’m sure I can deal with one in the magician’s trade. Octavia stood up tall. “Alright, Mayor. I accept your invitation.” “I accept it even harder!” Trixie said, her cloak billowing when she stood up. “Excellent!” the mayor said. “I’ll see you two tonight. Feel free to use the dance hall for practice. Nopony’s dancing around here as long as there’s lotsa sleet and no music.” Octavia turned and started towards the door. She felt her progress impeded by a blue aura surrounding her and pulling her back. She landed in an iron grip provided by Trixie’s forehooves. “Have no fear, Octavia!” Trixie proclaimed. “I will-I mean, we will put on the best Hearth’s Warming Eve Spectacular Hilltop will ever see!” I am immediately regretting this, Octavia thought.