All The Right Notes

by 404error


Chapter 3 - The Gala

The next morning was warm, but had a nice breeze to it. It also was very quiet, the square was empty, save a couple of ponies doing morning walk, and the skies were clear. Soarin’ woke up feeling his best. He had to, the Gala was that night and he needed to be refreshed for the performance. He walked downstairs and saw Spitfire, once again, helping herself to anything out of his fridge. He saw her pull out, milk, eggs, and what looked like sausage. She quickly glanced at him and jumped.
“Wow, you sure are quiet walking down those stairs.” He chuckled.
“Hah, uh, thank you? Anyways, what’s going on?”
“Well, you need to eat something before practice today. We’re going over the routine that will be happening at the Gala tonight.”
“Oh, go ahead and make you something, I’m going into town. I’ll be back later.”
“Going to see Octavia?” He chuckled again.
“No, it’s too early for her to be up, plus she’s playing at the Gala tonight, so I’ll be taking her up there.”
“Alright, be sure to be up there around 7 tonight to get set up. Practice starts at 10.” He nodded as he walked out the door, heading towards Ponyville.
He took his time, just gliding towards middle of town. At this time, ponies were either, still asleep, or getting things ready for the gala: dresses, suits etc. and Soarin’ was kinda glad it was empty. He wasn’t in the mood to wait 10 minutes to walk a couple of feet to get something to eat. He landed in the middle of the square, and headed towards Sweet Apple Acres. His stomach growled even more the closer he got to the farm. I really hope they have their pies out. I’m in the mood for one. He thought, and sure enough, they had fresh baked pies being loaded onto a cart.
He walked over and kindly asked the orange pony loading the pies onto the cart, “Um, may I buy one of these pies?”
“Dontcha think it’s ah little too early fer pie?” She looked at him, he had a frown on his face, and with a smile said, “Sure thing sugarcube. That’ll be 3 bits.”
He put the bits down and looked at the pie with a very excited look. He grabbed the pie and walked back to the square. He figured with it being so quiet and empty, he could sit at a bench and peacefully eat his pie.
Soarin’ got to a bench and set his pie down next to him. He looked up at the sky, noticing that the skies were clear of clouds and pegusi. He started eating his pie when he saw somepony step out of her house. She stretched and looked over at him. She smiled, and he smiled back. She trotted over to him and sat next to him, still looking at him. She put her hoof on his and they kissed.
“Good Morning Soarin’. Didn’t expect you to be awake so early.”
“Mornin’ Via,” She gave a shy grin at the nickname he gave her. “I have Wonderbolt practice in a couple of hours and needed to do something to pass the time.”
“Well, you could come over, and we could have one of our 2 hour long talks that seem to happen all the time.” She was right. Soarin’ visited her nearly every day.
“I’d like that. Just, let me finish my pie. This is delicious.” She giggled.
Soarin’ finished his pie and they walked over to Octavia’s house. He could smell the tea being made in the kitchen. He loved her tea. It always made him feel better. They walked into the kitchen as the tea was just finishing. She poured him a cup, and herself and they sat down.
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A couple hours passed and Soarin’ just realized the time. It was almost 11.
“Oh no! I’m late for practice!” He yelled.
Soarin’ quickly got up, gave Octavia a kiss and headed off to practice. He flew so fast he almost lost control when he got to practice.
Spitfire was furious with him, “Soarin’, you’re late. AGAIN! What were you doing?!”
“Uh, um, I was with...” He was cut off
“Oh save it. You seem more occupied with her than us. Need I remind you that the gala is TONIGHT?” He shook his head.
“Look Spit, I’m sorry, I lost track of time. Let’s just go over the routine.”
She paused for a couple of minutes then said, “No. If you’re going to spend most of your time with her, then you’ll miss the performance tonight.”
He looked at her, and scoffed. “Fine. I’ll still be showing up to the gala with her.”
“How, you aren’t performing with us.”
“I was able to get a ticket for Octavia, until I learned she was playing, so I kept it, just in case.”
“Whatever. Just go away, we’re busy.”
He then started to fly back to Octavia’s house. He was angry. Why can’t she just be happy with us. She was the one to urged me to do anything. Thinking this made him angrier. He needed to cool down, and fast. He reached Octavia’s house and banged on the door. She opened up the door to see Soarin’ like she’s never seen him before.
“Soarin’? What’s wrong love?”
“Spitfire’s furious at me for being late to practice. I’m not performing tonight because of it.”
“Oh...” She felt partially at fault for making him late. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s mine for losing track of time. Can I stay here until the gala? I’ll still be attending, but not performing.”
“Sure, come on in. I was getting ready to practice for the gala. I can’t wait for you to hear it.”
Soarin’ sat down in the living room and waited for Octavia to return with her cello. He was still mad at Spitfire, but he deserved it. At least to him, it wasn’t time wasted. It was with her.
She came in with her cello and started to play. He was immediately captivated by it. "Wow, this is beautiful." She saw the pleasure in his face and she smiled.
When she was finished with her song she shyly asked, “So, did you like it?”
“Like it? I loved it! I especially loved that one part....” And as he described it, she couldn’t help but stare in his eyes. She loved him - alot. Whenever they were together, she felt happiness like she’s never felt before.
She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek gently as he was talking, and he smiled and chuckled. She returned the smile and they kissed. He was calm now. The whole Spitfire incident was behind him. Now he was with the mare he loved.
“I love you Via.”
“I love you too Soar.”
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They spent a couple more hours talking in the living room, with Octavia playing some songs here and there, and Soarin’ loved every minute of it. They both looked up at the clock and noticed the gala would be starting in 2 hours. Octavia rushed to get everything set up for her performance that night, and Soarin’ went back to his place to get an old tuxedo he had. I’m surprised I still have this.
He turned around and saw Spitfire standing at the doorway.
“What?” He asked coldly.
“Look, Soar, I’m sorry for what happened earlier, but you have to realize you can’t be late to practices for big events.”
“Yeah, I know. Like I said, I lost track of time. I didn’t even expect her to be awake.”
She sighed. “Alright, everything’s cool with us?”
“Yeah, I guess.” They both chuckled.
“Good, get your Wonderbolt suit on, we’ve got one practice before our performance, and I think it’s easy for you to learn.”
He frowned, “Oh, uh, well since I wasn’t performing, I told Octavia I’d watch her perform. It’ll mean a lot to her.”
She sighed again, “Fine. But come to see us at least once during the night. It’d be weird to not see you during a performance.” He laughed.
“Alright, will do.”
Spitfire turned to leave, and Soarin’ got into his tuxedo and walked out of his house. He flapped his wings and headed towards Octavia’s house to pick her up and head for the gala. He knocked on the door and saw the dress she was wearing. He was in awe at what he saw.
She saw his expression and smiled. “So, what do you think of my dress? I asked Rarity to make it for me.”
“I-it’s beautiful. I’m speechless.”
She blushed. “You look just as handsome in your tuxedo.” He grinned.
“Thanks Via. So you all ready for the gala.”
“Yes, I’m a bit nervous, but I’ll get over it. I’m excited to see Beethooven again. He’s such a good pianist.”
“Ha, alright. Let’s head off.”
She climbed on top of him for the first time, getting ready for her first flight with Soarin’. He flew at a comfortable speed for the both of them, allowing her to get more suited to flight. They didn’t talk most of the way up, mainly because Octavia was scared out of her mind. Luckily the flight didn’t take that long. She got off of Soarin’ shaking. He laughed.
“Not used to flying eh?” Without skipping a beat she shook her head. “You’ll get used to it as days go by. It can get pretty cool when you’re above the clouds.” She was still frightened, and he walked her to where she will be performing.
When they arrived at the hall, Beethooven was already playing his music, along with a tuba player. Soarin’ asked Octavia to dance to the music being played, and she blushed.
“I’m not a very good dancer.”
“Neither am I, but let’s do it.”
The two got close and started to dance in the empty hall. The two performers noticed them dancing and played a slower song. Octavia put her head in Soarin’s shoulder, and he kissed her on the forehead.
He whispered, “I love you.”
She whispered back, “I love you too”
The two ponies shared a kiss, and Octavia had to get on stage and get ready to play. Soarin’ waited patiently for the performers to start playing, and he started to get excited. Octavia got on the stage, picked up the cello, and started playing. The other two picked up on what she was playing, and Soarin’ loved it. They sound great together. This should be a great night.
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3 hours passed, and most of the guests arrived to Canterlot for the gala. Soarin’ noticed Rainbow Dash and her 5 friends with her, and gave them all a wave.
Between two songs, Soarin’ told Octavia he had to go see the Wonderbolts do some tricks.
“... I promised Spitfire I’d be there.”
“Alright, have fun. I’ll be here for the rest of the night.” She laughed.
Soarin’ walked to where the Wonderbolts were performing, and saw the performance. He thought they looked good, and wished he was with them, but he was glad he was there to support Octavia.
He was able to watch most of the performance that was left, then he turned back and went back to the hall where Octavia was playing. He stayed there the rest of the gala, listening to the music being played from the three instruments. Even though there was only three performers, it still sounded really good. He enjoyed every song that was played, some more than others.
By the time they finished playing, most of the guests had left, the gala pretty much over. He waited for Octavia to get finished with everything, saying good bye to the other performers, and congratulating them on a job well done.
They smiled at each other and Soarin’ said, “You guys sounded REALLY good tonight. But then again, you always sound good.” She blushed.
“Thanks Soar.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Well, I’m ready to go. Are you?” He nodded. “Great, let’s get going.”
When they got outside, Octavia climbed on his back again, expecting for the ride to be fast. They were both tired, so Soarin’ took his time flying from Canterlot to Ponyville. Since they were so tired, the flight was, again, quiet. Soarin’ noticed Octavia yawn every once in a while, and thought he could go a little faster to get her home. She was too tired to argue with him going faster.
They arrived at her house, and she climbed off. The two ponies looked in each other’s eyes and kissed.
“Good night Via, I love you.”
“Good night Soar, I love you too.”
And with that, Octavia went right to bed. Soarin’, flapped his wings and went straight home. He couldn’t wait to get in bed. He got to his house, and for the first time in a while, Spitfire wasn’t raiding his fridge. Seeing no distractions, he took off his tuxedo, and climbed into bed. He drifted off to sleep pretty quickly, but before hand, he thought about Octavia, and he fell asleep with a smile on his face, remembering the mare he loved.