After one day of repairing Appaloosa, Soren and the girls were finally leaving the nice, little (although slightly damaged) town to head back home. The six-car train pulled into the Appaloosan Train Station as everypony was saying their goodbyes.
"Y'all come back and visit real soon," Braeburn said as he waved to Applejack, who was already stepping on the train. AJ waved back as she waited for her friends. The sheriff walked up to Soren and Twilight.
"Ah can't thank y'all enough for what you did for this town," SilverStar said. "Y'all came here on a whim and saved us because of it. If there's anything you need..." Soren stopped the sheriff.
"That won't be necessary," he said sincerely. "We came here just to help, not to get a reward in return. I just wanted to do something... brave, I guess. I am supposed to be the Elemental Guardian, afterall."
"The what now?"
"It's not important. Are you girls ready?" Soren turned to Twilight and Rainbow. They finished their goodbyes and all got on the train. Running to the nearest window, the four of them waved goodbye to Braeburn and Sheriff SilverStar as the train departed. Within seconds, the train was moving towards Ponyville.
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"Run that by me again." Soren, Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were gathered around a dining car table once again. They were reflecting on the things that happened during the raid.
"After you were caught on fire, I believe the Fire Elemental took control of you, or least joined you," Twilight explained. "I heard two voices, and you used the word 'we' instead of 'I' when speaking." Soren considered this.
"I guess that makes sense, since I became a fire alicorn. So why did I pass out after the Elemental left?"
"Like I said a few days ago: magic depletion. It happens to all unicorns now and again if they push themselves too hard. Even I went through that at least twice."
"When can Soren use his magic again?" Rainbow Dash asked her.
"I would wait until we reach Ponyville to try anything. Is that alright, Soren? That way you won't exert your magic again and make it worse." Soren nodded.
"Not to sound happy that Appaloosa got attacked but that cert'nly was a good adventure in the end," Applejack said, going off topic. "We haven't had one like that in forever. Too bad the gals missed it." Rainbow and Twilight agreed.
"Our next adventure will be to waste time on this train ride," Soren said sarcastically. The mares laughed even though they all knew it was true.
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After two days and two nights on the train, the four friends finally arrived in Ponyville the next morning. The familiar sights brought a smile to all of their faces.
"We're finally back home," Soren said. Applejack and Twilight looked at him.
"Home?" Twilight asked first. "Don't you want to find your real home?" Soren shook his head.
"I've decided that I'm not going to dwell on my past. Ponyville is my new home, and you girls are my new friends and family."
"Well I'm certainly glad to have that honor, darling." The voice didn't belong to any of them. The group of four simultaneously turned their heads to the entrance of the station to find Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy standing there. "Pinkie Pie, it would seem that your senses were right once again. We made it right on time."
"My Pinkie Senses are always right!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed in her normally hyper voice, which the four of them honestly missed. "Now we just need to do one more thing to welcome our friends back."
"And that would be...?" Twilight asked, drawing out the last word.
"A 'Welcome Back Home' party, silly! I gotta go prepare. See ya later." And with a short hop and a trail of smoke later, Pinkie Pie was gone. Although Soren was confused by Pinkie's physics-defying actions, he noticed somepony was missing.
"Where's Luna?" he asked.
"Oh, she's near Town Hall listening to Vinyl and Octavia play music," Fluttershy said. "You can go find her while we help Pinkie Pie with the party." Soren looked at the three mares he traveled with. They smiled and nodded at him to go. With a smile back, Soren left the train station and took to the sky.
It didn't take long for Soren to arrive at Town Hall. He indeed saw Vinyl and Octavia playing their music for anypony that would stop and listen, but something was a little strange. Usually they play their music inside the club, Soren thought as he descended upon finding the mare he was looking for. He landed next to Luna, which caused her to look in his direction. The princess smiled then hugged him.
"Soren, you have returned!" the princess exclaimed happily. "We see thou has some battle scars from Appaloosa." Soren looked at himself to find that he still had scratches (not scars) from his battle with Coyote Colt.
"Yeah, it was definitely an interesting fight, but the town is safe. Although Rainbow Dash now has an injured wing, everyone is fine."
"You should explain everything that happened."
"I would but..." Soren turned his head towards the two musicians. He began to hear the music clearly for the first time. "Why does their music sound depressing? That's not like them at all."
"Indeed. Many ponies around here believe that those mares are trying to say something important. They believe something is wrong with them." Soren continued to watch Vinyl play slow beats on her mixing board while Octavia played on her cello. He didn't know why they couldn't ask somepony for help. When the song ended, Soren took this opportunity to talk to Vinyl. He flew onstage next to the DJ.
"Vinyl, is something wrong with you two? You girls don't usually play sad music."
"Oh hey, Soren. I don't play sad music but sometimes Tavi does. She's asking me to help her play music right now cuz..." Vinyl was interrupted by Octavia, who walked up to the two ponies.
"Because I'm dealing with a problem," she said flatly. "I'm playing these songs to clear my mind and to find an answer."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Soren asked. Octavia looked him over for a minute. They have met plenty of times, but they weren't particularly close.
"Fine, I'll tell you," Octavia sighed, "but only because the princess is with you and she may be able to help, do you understand?" Soren was slightly taken aback by Octavia's forwardness, but he nodded. "I shall tell you somewhere more private. Meet me and Vinyl at our house in a few minutes, and bring Princess Luna too." Soren simply nodded again.
"Don't let her bluntness get to you," Vinyl whispered to Soren as Octavia started leaving. "She's just going through a small life-crises right now. I'll see you in a bit." Vinyl ran off to catch up with her best friend/roommate. Soren walked back to Luna and explained the situation.
"One can only wonder what is troubling a high-class mare such as herself," Luna stated after the explanation.
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Soren and Luna arrived at the musicians' home. The couple knocked on the door and were soon let inside by Vinyl. She then led them further into the living room, which had two couches facing each other, a table between the couches, a small kitchen connected to the main room, and a door with a sign that read "Recording Studio." Octavia was seated on one of the couches. Vinyl sat next to her as Soren and Luna sat together on the opposite couch. Silence filled the room for a few seconds before Vinyl got the conversation going.
"Go on, Octavia. I bet Soren and Luna can help you out." Octavia waited a few more seconds before starting.
"I guess I should start by telling you both about my life before I came to Ponyville. After I moved out of my parents house in Canterlot, I found my own apartment in the same city. At first, it was very nice staying in Canterlot; the ponies, the music, the class. But after a few weeks, I was having trouble paying my rent. My job was to play my music at restaurants, only...I wasn't playing at the finest of places. The establishment wasn't necessarily bad, but I would have preferred a more popular venue.
"Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. There was no way I could possibly pay the rent and no way a famous pony would just pick me up and sign me a deal. So I left Canterlot. Carrying only my violin, I left for the easiest and nicest town to reach...Ponyville. I arrived before dawn, so I looked for a place to play my music. I was going to show those ponies what I could do, then maybe I could receive some aid to start a life. When I saw ponies leave their homes, I began to play. At first, nopony paid any attention to me. As I continued to play, more ponies listened but none really cared...except one. One mare truly appreciated my music, even if she didn't say it in the nicest of ways. This is where Vinyl comes in.
"When I took my first break around noon, Vinyl walked up to me and asked if I could 'step up my beat.' I protested but Vinyl was very persistent on asking me to try. It eventually turned into a verbal battle between the two of us. Mayor Mare had to break us up. The mayor then asked why I was in town, so I told her about me becoming homeless within a few days. Before the mayor could respond, Vinyl asked me to be her roommate. When asked why, Vinyl said that we could make music together and that we could split the rent. At first, I denied the offer, but after more consideration, I agreed. We've been roommates ever since."
Octavia could see that she went way off topic when talking about her past, so she decided to finally tell them her problem. "I promise that my past is relevant to my dilemma. Now then, it all started when I received a letter from Canterlot two days ago. It said that a prestigious restaurant in Canterlot was asking me to perform as musical entertainment along with other ponies as a job. At first, I was excited. I was finally going to be able to perform my music for other ponies and receive a decent pay. But then...I continued reading. Apparently the manager of this establishment had an empty loft for sale above the venue itself, and he wanted to rent it to me. This is when I realized that I would have to leave my friends behind just to pursue my dream of allowing my music to become well-known. Ever since that day, I have yet to come to a decision."
Silence once again filled the living room of the two musicians' home. Vinyl put a foreleg around Octavia's shoulder to comfort her, and Soren looked at Luna to discover that she had a certain expression on her face that she was trying to hide. He didn't recognize it at first because he has never seen Luna like this.
"Luna?" Soren asked. The princess looked at him. "Is there something wrong? You look... nervous."
"I am fine, Soren," she assured, turning to look at Octavia. "It is just that I may have a solution to your problem, dear Octavia." Luna turned towards Soren again. "Soren, while you were gone, my sister had a message delivered to me so that I may give it to you upon your return." Luna teleported a scroll into the room and floated it to Soren. Soren looked back at Luna, yet she simply nodded at him to read it.
Soren used his own magic to open the scroll and hold it in front of him. He cleared his throat before reading aloud.
"Dear Soren,
It has come to my attention that your singing talents are very popular among the ponies of Ponyville. It is because of this that I hereby grant you a chance to show the ponies of Canterlot your talent. I invite you (and whomever you shall bring with you) to perform a concert for the citizens of Canterlot. You may also bring any friends you wish so they can watch the performance. I'll be sure to make room for them. There is no set date, for I do not know if you will accept this invitation. Please send me a letter of response whenever you have the chance.
Your ruler,
Princess Celestia
PS: I would love to hear if Luna plans to perform with you in this concert."
Soren rolled up the scroll and placed it on the table between the couches. A smile appeared on his face as he thought of something.
"Octavia," he said, "would you and Vinyl like to perform in the concert?" Vinyl looked excited but Octavia still showed a neutral expression. Everypony waited for the cellist to say something. It took a couple of seconds before she did.
"This is what I will do. I'll accompany you in the concert, Soren, but I only want to be there to show those ponies what they missed when I was living in Canterlot." Soren and Luna looked surprised. Octavia didn't simply refuse the offer from her letter, she wanted to shove her music in their faces! "They had their chance to recognize my talent, but they never did. So now, I'll show them what they were too blind to see. When should we start preparing?"
"I don't know yet," Soren said slowly, still trying to believe what Octavia said. "I need to tell the princess that I accept first. Luna, could you go have Spike deliver the message to Celestia while we think of the things we need, please?"
"Of course, I shall be back soon." Luna teleported out of the living room within a second after responding. I should have known she would do that, Soren chuckled to himself.
"So what do we need, Soren?" Vinyl asked. "We have me, you, and Octavia. Who else should we bring?" Soren put a hoof to his chin in thought.
"I need ponies that can play certain instruments. Using magic on all of them would be too exhausting for me during a long performance. I could also use a small choir to sing with me. That would keep the concert interesting."
"Where will Vinyl and I fit into this performance?" Octavia asked.
"That's an easy one. You two are the opening act." Soren held back a chuckle upon seeing his friends' surprised expressions. "You two didn't think I would let you blend in with my performance, did you?"
"Soren, you never stop amazing me," Vinyl said while smiling.
"Agreed," Octavia added. "I could gather a few ponies for the choir and one or two instrumentalist for the band. Vinyl, can you find more ponies to join us?" Vinyl nodded. "Now all we need is Luna to-"
"SURPRISE!!!"
Both Soren and Octavia fell back over their couches in surprise. Vinyl was dying with laughter as she stayed on her side of the couch. Luna teleported all seven of Soren's friends into Vinyl and Octavia's living room to surprise him...and it obviously worked. Soren stood up and smiled at Twilight, Spike, and the other mares.
"Was that really necessary?" he asked. Luna and the others nodded. He sighed. "Alright then. Luna, did you send the letter?"
"Not yet. I teleported to the library and asked Spike to send the letter. Twilight and her friends were also inside. Since they were about to ask about the letter, I chose to teleport them here not only to surprise you, but so you can also explain everything." Soren blinked. He looked at his friends.
"Long story short: Celestia gave me the honor of performing in Canterlot." Gasps of shock were heard, but one excited gasp from Rarity could also be heard. "And Octavia wants to go so she brag about her musical talents." A collective 'What?' was uttered.
"That is not what I said I planned to do," Octavia frowned.
"Come on, Octavia. That's the gist of it, and you can't deny it." Octavia sighed in defeat. "Ok, now then, here's everything we need. Me, Octavia, Vinyl, a choir, instrument players, and whomever else will be playing at this concert. I will of course have to teach the instrumentalists...?" Soren looked at Octavia to make sure he said the word correctly. Octavia nodded. "...I will teach the instrumentalists my songs in time for the concert."
"When is it?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We'll find out after Luna sends the letter affirming that I will perform. Speaking of performing, Rainbow Dash, would you like to be my lead guitarist?"
"What kind of question is that?" she said with a smirk.
"Should've known. Anyway, Luna, would you like to sing a song or two with me?" When Luna said 'No', everypony showed their own shocked expression. "Why not?"
"Do not fret, Soren. We would love to be apart of this event, but we do not think it would be wise to show our subjects that their princess is flying around Equestria singing instead of doing her political duties." Soren nodded. It would be wise to let Luna sit this one out. Who knows what would happen to her reputation if she sang in the concert?
"Fine, but I promise that we will do something together soon." Luna nodded and began writing the letter with her magic. "I believe that's everything. If I miss something, I'll fix it down the road, but for now, we need to prepare. And I'm going to need all of your help, girls."
"You can count on us," Applejack assured.
"We are always there when our friends need us," Rarity added.
"What are we doing standing around here for?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Let get started!" With a combined 'Yeah', the ponies were off to start preparing for the concert.