Vinyl and Octavia: Ponyville Duet
Prelude to the Wedding
"Replaced!?" the group of musicians exclaimed in unison.
Frederick Horseshoepin stamped down his hoof more aggressively than a pony of his class and good nature should.
"That is absurd! The Princess chose us specifically!" he barked.
"Ah, uh- well... I'm sorry, but y-yes- you see..." stuttered a timid green unicorn. With every syllable he spoke, the servant pony's suit appeared to become more disheveled. As he stumbled to explain, he averted his eyes from the three ponies before him, and for good reason. Their death stares could frighten even the wildest and most dangerous Cockatrice.
There were four musician ponies standing there in the early evening waiting to get into Canterlot Castle through a servant's entrance. They had come to perform at the royal wedding reception, but had run into an unexpected snag at the door. Frederick Horseshoepin was the most imposing of the group; his tall, tan stature made him tower over the fool unicorn blocking their way. He snorted in anger as he waited for an explanation. It was quite unlike him to lose his calm, but it had been a rough few weeks for Frederick and his ensemble. And this was the straw that broke the camel's (err... I mean, "horse's") back.
Beside him stood Beauty Brass. The eyes of the normally composed and restrained mare twitched in agitation. Like her name, Beauty was quite a pretty pony, with an elegant light blue coat and gorgeous facial features (but it was hard to tell that through that look of disgust she was giving.) While Beauty was doing her best to contain herself, Parish Nandermane was obviously about to lose his 'oh so posh' cool. The dark blue stallion tapped his hoof repeatedly and began to grind his teeth, creating an unpleasant sound that was only drowned out by the loud chatter from an excited wedding crowd inside the castle.
Behind those three furious ponies stood the last member of their ensemble: an earth pony with a gray coat and flowing black mane. She waited quietly by the instrument cart as she watched her friends. Octavia Melody was her name and she was not angry at the situation at hand (or hoof.) Rather, she appeared… indifferent.
The castle servant blocking their way began his explanation.
"A-as you probably know, P-Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was- was being impersonated recently... and well, all the... decisions about the wedding were err... made by the imposter Changeling Queen, so- so..." Frederick and Beauty both relaxed their expressions. Gears began to turn as the two remembered they had been originally selected during the impersonation of Princess Cadence. The unicorn at the door continued to explain, relieved to see the daunting stares end. "So... the real Princess had to remake all the choices for the ceremony, and she ended up taking the advice of her reception planner by choosing a DJ from Ponyville. It seems she wanted to have a more upbeat reception than... what... you... would perform..." he finished sheepishly.
Frederick and Beauty both seemed to accept this, with quick nods to each other. However, Parish had had it with this fool castle servant, and honestly, this whole week.
"What!?" he burst, thoroughly breaking any remaining remnants of sophistication. "You cannot just do this! You scheduled us weeks ago! You cannot revoke our performance the very second we walk in! Can you imagine the number of offers we had to turn down just so we could prepare!? This wedding was supposed to be the highlight of our careers! Why, I ought to wring that neck of yours-" Frederick cast out his hoof to silence Parish (and stop him from assaulting a public servant.) He had quickly regained his composed demeanor and wasn't about to let his friend turn this into a scene. (Not to mention taking charge made him look good to Octavia, if she wasn't busy not caring.) Parish backed down almost immediately. Frederick was the leader, and he knew it.
"It cannot be helped, Parish. The circumstances around the wedding were unusual and unforeseeable. No pony is at fault. However, in their hurry to throw together the Princess's real wedding, the Castle forgot to inform us our services were no longer needed. Am I correct?" Frederick posed the question to the young stallion at the door who nodded shamefully.
Frederick himself was still upset at the situation, however. The weeks of rescheduling to make this relatively sudden wedding appearance were nightmarish. The previous attempt at the ceremony with the impostor Princess had ended in disaster, as well. The changelings who invaded the whole of Canterlot not only threatened the lives of his friends, but they also almost ruined his piano with their sticky changeling goo. It took a full week of cleaning to get the nasty stuff out from between the keys. (Gross.) Despite his feelings, the ensemble leader knew the situation should be handled with poise and charm, lest their reputation be tarnished. Luckily, this was his forte.
"We will, of course, pardon this abrupt cancellation and respect the Princess's wishes. I apologize for my rudeness and that of my friend here," he gestured slightly to Parish as he bowed.
"Oh, uh… No problem?" the servant replied scratching the back of his head.
"And... our payment?" Beauty Brass asked slowly. The Castle had paid them plentiful bits in advance for their performance.
"Of course! Princess Cadence said to keep it and she apologizes for the inconvenience. She would have told you herself, but she's just been so busy."
"Well, I suppose the bits are all that matter..." Parish mumbled, still visibly angry but now reining in his rage. It was a relief to know that his share of the pay (which had already been spent on services from unscrupulous ponies) would not be taken from him.
"Ah, yes- well. I'm awfully sorry about all this too," started the green unicorn servant. "If you still want to be part of the wedding, it is open invitation to any and everypony who wants to be there. But you'll uh, have to use the front door." He pointed sheepishly to the large crowd trying to cram into the castle entrance. Nopony would be getting inside easily.
"Thank you, sir. We wish the bride and groom a wonderful wedding. My friends, I believe our business here has concluded." Frederick bowed one last time, and he and his ensemble turned to leave. The servant glanced briefly at the mare that had stood in the background throughout this whole ordeal. He didn't get a very good look at her, but he could tell she was incredibly pretty, maybe more so than Beauty Brass. There was something off about her though, like what she wasn't watching what was happening in front of her. The unicorn sighed, putting it out of his mind, and returned to work inside the castle. There were many snobby socialite ponies inside who needed hors d'oeuvre platters carried to them. (Eh, it’s a living.)
The ensemble started the disheartening trot back to the main street through the castle lawn. Frederick led the way on the cobblestone path, shortly followed by Beauty. Parish had been harnessed to the instrument laden cart and was bringing up the rear.
"This is unacceptable," Parish exclaimed, his anger resurging after two seconds of manual labor. "Who does that bloody foal think he is? I cannot think of a time I have ever been so humiliated in my life!"
"I'm fairly certain I can come up with a few," Beauty Brass replied condescendingly. Parish snorted and tried to retort, but she cut him off. "Sweet Celestia," Beauty yawned. "I, for one, am relieved it was cancelled. These last few days have been quite exhausting, but I suppose an invasion by vicious changelings is prone to tire a pony. Hmm... I'm thinking of visiting Luna's Delight. I hear they are still open tonight. You will, of course, be joining me Parish?"
"That evening spa you have been prattling on about for weeks? Heavens no, Miss Brass. You must get your hooficure without me."
"Without you, Parish? Perish the thought!"
After a brief pause, the two broke into high society giggles. The pun was so silly it caused them to lose it and even Frederick snorted, holding himself back from joining them. With a simple joke, (that was, for the record, horrible and should never be repeated to friends) the ensemble returned to its usual atmosphere.
"Well," Beauty giggled as she wiped a tear, "Octavia, darling, what about you? Care to join-" She stopped mid-sentence as she noticed the mare in question wasn't among them. "Octavia?" Their little procession halted as the three ponies looked for their missing friend. They spotted the quiet gray pony several paces back, staring silently at the castle walls.
"Octavia?" Frederick approached with concern. "Are you alright?"
Octavia glanced at her friend's uncertain faces before refocusing on the distant murmurs inside the castle and saying, "I think... I shall go see the wedding."