//------------------------------// // Act III: A Tale of Two Sisters Part I: Solstice // Story: Destitute Illusions // by Earl Grey //------------------------------// Rarity was so annoyed that she forgot to say thank you to the carriage drivers when she and the others had arrived at the concert hall. Instead she stomped irritably down the small steps leading onto the pavement and continued walking without looking back. Fluttershy was the first to follow the prissy unicorn, mumbling a hasty apology to the carriage drivers and trotting swiftly towards the concert hall. When she caught up to Rarity, Fluttershy laid a hoof on the unicorns withers and asked her to stay calm. They both turned their heads to see that Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were walking slowly towards them. “Twilight said she'd meet us inside didn't she?” Rainbow Dash said, taking flight and landing next to the unicorn. “Will you stop acting like a drama queen for a few seconds?” “I am not being a drama queen, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity replied irately, “Twilight is messing up my schedule by not being ready for the carriage when she should have been.” The unicorn stamped a hoof to the ground and looked at each of her friends in turn, but saw that her annoyance was mirrored in none of them. “Woah there, sugarcube. Twi's gotta right t' go where she pleases, besides, she said she'd meet us here an' ah believe her,” Applejack added, smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring fashion. Rarity relented and began to compose herself, she was about to attend a high-class event after all, one must appear calm and collected. It wouldn't do well to appear dishevelled, so the unicorn took a deep breath and put on her most nonchalant smile before entering the concert hall. The main foyer was certainly magnificent, but it lacked an opulence that Rarity was hoping for, she had to remind herself that she wasn't in Canterlot and that this was first and foremost an earth pony founded city. By nature, the industrious earth ponies seemed to favour function over form and it was displayed in their architecture, they had none of the ancient elegance of Cloudsdale or the gothic majesty of Canterlot. That isn't to say they couldn't create beautiful things, there can be beauty in simplicity after all, Rarity was a pony that knew this very well. The foyer was rather busy, but there was more than enough room for Rarity and her friends to manoeuvre around together. The unicorn had apparently spotted something important because she sped up, her friends making sure to keep close on her tail. “Good evening, this is the staircase to the upper level, yes?” Rarity was stood before a fairly wide staircase blocked by a velvet rope. The staircase did indeed lead towards an upper level of some variety, although it was hard to tell exactly what from their vantage point. A well-dressed security pony was stood in front of the staircase and barely flinched when Rarity had asked him the question. He took off his sunglasses and surveyed Rarity and the others for a few seconds, almost as if he was making sure they weren't carrying dangerous weapons under their dresses. “I'm sorry, I don't have anypony on the list by the name of-” he put his sunglasses back on, “-Captain Obvious.” Rarity stared, her mouth wide open, as if her indignation towards that comment had frozen her solid. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof, she was trying her hardest to keep her sides from splitting. “Excuse me, sir! Is that how you treat all of guests of the Princess herself?” Rarity had found her voice, her tone serious. She also got the feeling that, were she here, Twilight wouldn't appreciate her friends name-dropping Princess Celestia to get preferential treatment. Rarity had been walking a tight rope for the past few hours however, and was not in the mood to ponder too much on hypothetical situations involving friends who are not punctual when it suited her. At that moment, another similarly dressed security pony sidled up to his colleague and whispered a few choice words into his ear before whisking away just as quickly. “So sorry ma'am, can't be too careful at an important event like this. Security is here for a reason.” The burly pony lifted the velvet rope and allowed the five ponies to pass. “Thank you,” Rarity said, smiling smugly as she began the ascent up the staircase. “Well that was weird,” Applejack said in a hushed whisper, looking back to the security pony. “He didn't look set on lettin' us pass. Until that other pony came along, that is.” Rarity scoffed, “Well of course they were told to expect us, that guard was obviously not important enough to be told about it.” Despite her previous annoyance, she seemed perfectly happy now that she was on her way to the upper level. “Twilight Sparkle or none, I'm at least determined to enjoy myself and take in a show.” At the top of the staircase was a long corridor that stretched across the length of the room. Both directions lead somewhere else judging by the doors at either end, but it was the double doors in front of them that was their destination. The sign outside read 'Private Function – Invite Only'. Another security pony was at the door, it seemed to be the one that had intervened earlier, he barely had to look at them before pushing the door open and allowing them through. Rarity bowed her head politely and walked into the room, the others following suit. Upon seeing what it was like inside, Rarity gasped. This was the kind of opulence she was hoping for. Very few ponies were in here compared to in the foyer, there was plenty of room to move around and the carpet under their hooves made moving around a very comfortable experience. Soft jazz poured into the room from a live band in the corner, but nopony seemed to be paying them much attention, although a few hooves could be seen tapping along to the music. Along the back of the room, various curtains could be seen, a few of them were open, showing the large hall beyond and even a part of the stage. “Excuse me, madams?” A thin looking pony approached them from the side, his accent was thick, but his words were understandable. “You are ze royal guests, non?” Rarity allowed herself a self-important smile before nodding her head in agreement. “Right zis way, madams.” He turned and headed towards the back wall, leading them to the curtain in the very middle of the room with the royal insignia above the entrance. He held it open and waited until the last pony had made it through before saying something. “Where is Miss Sparkle? I was told she would be accompanying ze group.” “You mean she isn't here?” Rarity turned quickly and faced the attendant, fixing him with a fierce glare. “You are ze first of ze royal guests to arrive, madam.” Rarity looked around uncertainly. On one hoof she was angry that Twilight wasn't there, but on the other, she was worried that Twilight wouldn't turn up at all, Manehattan wasn't as friendly as Ponyville. Almost as if reading her mind, Applejack spoke up, “Don't worry, Rarity. Twi's a big pony, she can take care of herself.” Rarity sighed, speaking quietly, “I know.” She looked up however, steeling herself. “But she should be here, damn it!” The attendant raised an eyebrow at this odd behaviour. “I shall wait for Miss Sparkle, non?” he said before bowing out and letting the curtain fall behind him. Now glowering, Rarity took a seat on the large, plush couch and stared over the railing towards the stage where various ponies were setting up equipment. The royal box had a perfect, unobstructed view of the entire stage, which was laid out directly in front of it. If one were to look down over the barrier, one could see the ground floor seating, a mass of chairs sitting in rows all pointed towards the stage. The stage itself was huge, a massive red curtain lay across the majority of it, blocking all but the front few metres of the wooden structure. A microphone was stood in centre stage, a pony testing to see if it was working properly. To the microphone's left, or right from the perspective of the royal box, was a small stool stood next to a large wooden instrument, most likely a Cello. On the other side was a heavy looking piece of equipment that looked like the love child of some turntables and a keyboard. Rarity heaved another sigh. “Stupid, tardy Twilight.” – Half an hour had passed and Twilight still hadn't shown up. Rarity had insisted on staying put and waiting, but her friends had all been for a quick wander around to get snacks or drinks or even just to engage in some polite conversation. Applejack was surprised to meet a successful owner of a chain of farms and had talked his ear off about her own apple orchard. Rarity however had acted sulky all night, resting her head dolefully upon the railing that overlooked the stage. She had seen some ponies come onto the stage and test the instruments a few times to make sure they worked, but other than that, all she had to occupy herself was the steady trickle of ponies filling the ground level seats and her own thoughts. “You okay, Rarity?” It was Applejack, she had obviously finished talking with the farm owner. “I heard somepony say the show was about t' start. I told the others t' get back here and watch the show.” Rarity didn't turn around, merely contenting herself by muttering a quick “thank you”. She felt the weight of several ponies joining her on the couch, but still her head remained fixed on the stage. “Still no word from Twi?” Applejack asked, the apple farmer determined to help her friend feel even the slightest bit better. “Not a peep.” Rarity sighed once again. “Why are y'all so hung up on Twi not bein' here anyhow? Don't get me wrong, ah'd love for her to be here, but why is it bothering y'all so much?” Rarity finally managed to pull her head from the railing and looked at Applejack. She wasn't the composed pony that had entered the building, that was for sure. “I told Twilight that I would look after her on this trip and she pulls this on me. I just feel a little disappointed in myself because I knew she was feeling down and I can't even help her.” Applejack smiled in a way that told the worrisome unicorn that everything would be okay. “What Twi needs is a friend, not somepony t' fuss over her. Sometimes ponies need space and as friends we should know when t' give it t' her.” “Shush, be quiet.” Rainbow Dash nudged the two ponies, trying to halt their conversation. “Somepony is coming on stage.” The pony Rainbow Dash was referring to was a white unicorn mare, unlike Rarity however, this pony had an unkempt shock of electric blue hair. Her eyes were hidden behind a large pair of dark sunglasses, how she saw out of them was a mystery. She trotted over to the microphone and coughed once. “Hello Manehattan, thank you for attending. This is a performance of our award winning stage show, 'A Tale of Two Sisters', a fictionalised history of Equestria. I am Vinyl Scratch, we are Triumvirate, Maestro if you please.” The unicorn walked out of view and a small orchestra sitting underneath the stage began to play. The strings and the brass began a slow paced melody, the woodwind kicking in every so often. Ponies watched entranced as the red curtain began it's ascent, revealing a large picture filling the entirety of the back wall. It displayed a verdant meadow at dusk, the muted greens of the grass and trees, the multicoloured flora, the stars almost twinkling in the sky. Atop a hill in the distance stood two ponies, one was pure white with a flowing pink mane, the other the complete antithesis, dark and brooding, her coat and mane done in the hues of the night sky. The music faded away and two ponies came onto the stage, the unicorn from earlier went and stood behind the keyboard slash turntables, she donned a pair of headphones and nodded to the other pony. She was an earth pony, her coat was grey and her mane was dark, she would look almost monochrome if it wasn't for her bright, lavender eyes. She wore an elegant black dress, gothic in style with a tight corset around the waist and a veil over her face. The grey mare took hold of the Cello and grabbed her bow, nodding silently to the unicorn before playing a mournful tune. The microphone at centre stage remained vacant however. A voice drifted across the audience, it's source the unicorn mare at the turntables. There was a smaller microphone attached to her headphones which she talked into to deliver the opening monologue. 'In the beginning, there was a garden. This garden stretched out beyond imagination, but it was home to only two creatures, ponies of unimaginable grace and beauty. Neither pony was aware of how the other came to be, but each knew that the other was special. The pony from the East was a being of light and warmth. The pony from the West was a being of darkness and mystery. Despite their differences, both ponies realised that they were two halves of a whole. Just as night must always follow day, the two ponies became inseparable. After long, the two ponies had forgotten what life was like apart, settling into a calm lifestyle in the unending garden. No matter what solace the two ponies found in each other, they steadily became lonely by themselves. Each pony would share stories of their homeland, but neither of them could say that they had seen another being quite like themselves until the two had met. It wasn't long before they had both decided to go looking for others. With both East and West out of the question, the pair began their journey North.' The curtain fell and the unicorn pulled the microphone away from her mouth. The earth pony on the Cello finished her tune with a flourish, bowing slightly to the audience. As a generous but politely quiet applause swept the stands, another pony walked onto the stage, a yellow pegasus pony with a blue and white two tone mane. She took her place by the microphone and coughed once, nodding to the unicorn and the earth pony in turn. In the Royal box, all was silent and all eyes were on the stage, even Rarity found her worries floating away. Perhaps becoming absorbed in a stage show was just what she needed right now. Even she had to admit, the dress the cellist was wearing was fantastic. She had half a mind to ask who the designer was and congratulate them herself.