“Urrngh...”
Sketchy’s vocabulary first thing after waking up was far from extensive. He slowly sat up, groaning, and quickly realised that he had, as he’d feared, fallen fast asleep at his desk. His neck ached in several places, and his legs and back felt stiff and sore from sleeping in a slightly awkward position. For some reason, he also felt warmer than he would have expected. As his consciousness began to return, though, he quickly fathomed out why – a blanket which had been slung over him slid off his shoulders and fell to the floor.
He took a glance over to his bed. It was empty, as he’d expected. Salad would have to be back at the shop working today, after all. He glanced briefly down to the blanket that had been covering him previously, and smiled.
“Thanks, Sally.” he said to himself as he got up off the stool he was sat on. He picked up the blanket and tossed it onto the bed, deciding that the warm covering could be returned to its normal home in one of the drawers underneath his usual sleeping location later. With a wide yawn, he carefully descended the stairs, blinking his eyes a few times to clear out the bleariness from them. Going by how light it was outside, he guessed it was already after midday. This fact wasn’t lost on his stomach, which made its emptiness known to him as he headed for the kitchen.
“Food, food...” he murmured to himself, pulling open the fridge. He blinked in surprise once more, and then smiled again as he caught sight of a plate sitting in the fridge. Upon it was a very delicious looking sandwich filled with cheese, lettuce, tomato and cucumber slices. The mingled scent of vegetables and cheese mixed with the bread went straight to his tastebuds, and he hurriedly pulled the plate from the fridge, being careful not to upset its load. As he set the plate down on a nearby work surface, he spotted a small note written on a little scrap of paper on the plate. He picked up the sandwich and tore off a big bite of it, letting out a delighted moan as the assorted flavours mixed together in his mouth. As he chomped away on his mouthful of culinary brilliance, his eyes moved back to the little note. He recognised the writing on it.
Good morning / afternoon, sleepy-head! Figured you’d be hungry, so I made you breakfast / lunch.
Love, Sally. xoxo
A huge grin plastered itself across his face as he read Salad’s simple little expression of affection. He continued demolishing the sandwich with gusto, then saw to finding himself something to drink before heading back up the stairs to where his current project lay.
The drawing was more or less finished now - the linework was all complete and as close to perfection as he could make it. Each of the ponies in the picture had been carefully shaded and toned, and their individual character and personality shone through in their depiction. Well, that was to say that, as far as he could tell from the photo he’d been working from, they did. He’d never met a single one of Equestria’s saviours in the flesh, but he’d read and heard plenty about them and had hence tried to incorporate that into his depiction.
The Element of Loyalty looked cocksure and confident, with a competitive smile on her face. The Element of Honesty had a relaxed and friendly look, her expression one of quiet confidence. It made for a good contrast to the cyan pegasus, whose expression was openly challenging.
The other pegasus in the picture, whom he knew to be the bearer of Kindness, had a very sweet smile on her face and large doe eyes which spoke depths of acceptance and care towards those that others might shy away from. Across from her was the Element of Laughter, and as he scrutinised his depiction of her again, he couldn’t help but smile himself. The frizzy-maned earth pony’s expression, and even her posture gave off the impression that she was like a coiled spring which could start bouncing at any minute.
That left only the two unicorns included in the picture to examine. The Element of Generosity had been a real pain to draw, he remembered, as he cast a discerning eye over her features. Her impeccably coiffed and curled mane was an utter nightmare to properly sketch out, and even now he couldn’t decide whether he was entirely satisfied with it. Nevertheless, it looked much better now than the first few times he’d attempted it. He hoped that if the highly strung unicorn ever did lay eyes on his work, she wouldn’t end up bursting into tears over how she looked. His eyes then moved on to scrutinise the Element of Magic, positioned roughly in the centre of the image. He smiled to himself once more at looking over her depiction. He’d heard from his Royal Guard acquaintance of how, in years past, the lilac-coated unicorn had always been the picture of studious seriousness – and that it was rare to ever see her smile.
It wouldn’t have been obvious from the picture. Stood as she was with her five friends, and seeing how happy they all were together, it was practically impossible to imagine that once upon a time the bearer of the Element of Magic might have been somewhat of an introverted bookworm; or indeed that any one of them might once have not been friends with any of the others.
He picked up his pencil between his teeth, and added the last few finishing touches to the final subject’s features. Pulling his face back a bit from the picture, he surveyed the whole image one more time.
Perfect. Or as close to that as it’s ever going to be.
Having made that decision, he carefully removed the sticky tape holding it down to the board and turned the paper over. Taking up his pencil once more, he added one last finishing touch - his own signature, signed on the back of the image with a flourish. With that being done, he slowly rolled the paper up and, with a little difficulty, carefully dropped it into a cardboard poster tube. The last thing he needed, after all, was for the picture he’d spent so long working upon to blow away or tear in transit. He pushed the end cap into place and then picked up the tube itself, heading down the stairs, and then out of his flat.
Outside, the streets were still slightly damp and there was the smell of freshly fallen rain being dried by the sun. It had probably still been raining in the morning when Salad had left his home, but now the sky had mostly cleared and the sun’s warmth was beating down on the city, drying off the stone underfoot.
Sketchy set off at a leisurely trot down the hill. His destination was a place that he hadn’t often visited, primarily due to not having a call or need to: the Canterlot Royal Palace. A set of saddlebags slung over his back carried his usual load of a sketch pad and drawing tools, and on this occasion also carried the poster tube containing the piece he had been slaving away at almost non-stop of late.
The city was as much a hive of activity as usual at this time of day, and he found himself having to slow his pace a little to pick his way along some of the more narrow streets. Presently, however, he found himself crossing the grand central plaza and heading uphill towards the Palace itself. Regardless of how many times he saw it, the castle was still quite the breathtaking sight. The white stone of its construction shone in the sunlight, the decorative adornments of its towers glinting in the afternoon haze.
As he drew near to the huge front gates he slowed slightly, stopping a few feet from them. A pair of Royal Guards stood at either side of the threshold, eyeing him with their calm, neutral expression.
“Good morning!” Sketchy began. “I’m here to drop off a—” he started to say, but the Guard on his left interjected.
“—picture perchance, Sketchy?”
Sketchy blinked in surprise at that, though a smile creased his features shortly thereafter. There was only one Royal Guard, after all, who knew him by name.
“Quite right, Sergeant.” he chuckled, noticing the tell-tale icy blue gaze under the helmet, and even a small bit of blue mane poking out from under the side. “Is it OK if I just let you handle it then?”
Freeze Pop glanced to the other on-duty Guard, then back to her friend. “Private Cyclone will see to that for you.”
The other Guard nodded and approached Sketchy, who in turn pulled the cardboard tube from his bags and passed it to the armoured pegasus. “Thank you, sir.” he smiled. The Guard just gave a brief nod of his head, a click of his hooves in salute to his superior, and then took off over the gate and towards the palace.
Freeze Pop watched him go, then turned her attention back to Sketchy, who was in the middle of opening his mouth to bid a farewell.
“Just before you go wandering off, Sketchy, I wanna ask you something. What’s up with you and Octavia currently?”
Sketchy’s expression went from relatively cheerful to looking a bit dejected. “Eh... we had a bit of a falling out. I’d really rather not talk about it right now.”
Freeze Pop’s expression remained as unreadable as ever as she took in that bit of information.
“A falling out, hm. I’ll get the details from you later. Can’t stand around chin-wagging with you all day obviously, and it sounds like there’s a story to be told there.”
She flexed her wings out and in, and there was a slight ringing in the air as she did so. Sketchy was well aware of why: a part of a Guard’s training included undergoing certain physical training, combined with some inherent magic present in their armour – the end result of which was that the pegasus Guards were capable of slicing through very sturdy materials with their wings. A side effect of it was an audible signal almost every time they unfolded their feathery appendages which, either by accident or design, sounded somewhat like a blade being unsheathed. It still unnerved Sketchy a bit every time he saw Freeze do it.
“Sure thing, Freezy.” he replied, slightly nervously. “I’ll see you later.”
“Later, Sketchy.”
As the earth pony turned and walked away down the road, the other Guard whom Freeze had sent on the little errand alighted back at his post. He didn’t say anything, but just resumed standing stoically outside the gates. Freeze Pop turned her eyes toward him slightly, then back to looking ahead of her.
“Sorry about that.” she said, at length.
Her lower-ranking companion seemed a little surprised by that. “Pardon?”
“I needed a moment to talk to him alone.”
“Oh... no problem, Sergeant. Oh! Before I forget. Her Highness Princess Luna had a request for you.”
“Go on.”
“She told me to ask you if you would act as her Guard tonight, for the Summer Equinox rehearsal.”
“Hmm. I’ll report to her just now and let her know my answer. Hold the fort.” she replied with a small chuckle. Her companion nodded and saluted once more as she turned and took to the air, heading over the gates and in to the Palace itself.
Princess Luna was not difficult to find. As Freeze Pop had half expected, the Princess of the Moon was to be found in one of the palace’s state rooms, surrounded by a number of officials, numerous sacks of mail, and assorted piles of paper with all sorts of imagery on them. Considering that she was more than partly responsible for the competition, though, this was hardly surprising. It also had to be said that the dark blue alicorn seemed absolutely delighted to be surrounded by so much artwork, a fact that was further reinforced by her joyful greeting to the Guard as she entered the room.
“Freezy! Just look at all this!” she exclaimed happily, sweeping a hoof to indicate the assorted sketches, paintings, cross stitches and other works that had flooded in. “Is it not beautiful!?”
In spite of the fact that the Guards were trained to not display emotion, Freeze could not resist cracking a smile herself in the face of the younger alicorn’s excited outburst.
“It’s quite a sight, Your Highness. You wanted to speak with me?”
“Oh! Indeed I did.” the princess nodded, looking round to address the assorted officials in the room who were in the throes of sorting artwork into categories and carefully trying to find the ones that were most appealing. “If you will pardon me, friends, I must step out for a moment.” With that, she headed back out of the room, with the pegasus Guard in tow.
“I understand you want me along to practice tonight, Princess.” Freeze began.
“I do, Sergeant.” Luna replied, her tone becoming a little more formal as they made their way along the corridor. There was still a lightness in her voice however as she went on. “Tis not so much for my benefit, however.”
“I somehow had a feeling you’d say that.”
“I see you’ve kept your ear to the ground, despite your wings.” the Princess joked. “But yes, I am beginning to fear for Octavia’s well-being. I have heard reports that during the last practice where I was not present, she became so agitated that she nearly walked out in the middle of it all. I would discuss the matter with her myself, but I fear my doing so would be taken in the wrong vain by her.”
“I won’t let you down, Princess.” Freeze Pop replied with a smile. “And I think I already have an inkling as to what the problem is. I’ll talk with her tonight. I take it you’d like me to act as her escort?”
“Yes. When the practice is at an end, you are to escort her. If she attempts to refuse you, tell her it was my wish. I know she won’t turn that down.”
“Understood, Princess.”
“Thank you, dear. Sorry to make an unreasonable demand on short notice, I know you are already on duty today for the mid shift.”
“Think nothing of it, Your Highness.” Freeze Pop replied. “Helping you is my pleasure.” The smile that lit up Luna’s face at that remark was one of the brightest she had ever seen.
“Remind me to thank my big sister for making sure we still had nothing but the best in our Guards!” she beamed. “You can head back to your duties now, Sergeant. I shall see you this evening!”
“Until then.”
With that, Freeze Pop turned and headed back outside, to the gates. She would spend another few hours stood there, til her shift came to an end and she would head to meet with the younger Princess to escort her to the practice.
Princess Luna was of course not the only pony with the evening’s practice in mind. Octavia had spent most of her morning with her music, again checking over everything to ensure it was perfect. She had been at this for so long that it had now become her daily routine to wake up, spend some time reading through the whole composition, make small adjustments here and there, and then spend the rest of her free time either taking care of any house work that she had outstanding or, just recently, spend some of it in the company of her stallion friend.
She got up from having read over what was currently the last page, and stretched out her limbs. She needed some exercise. Staying inside all day would do her no good later, and leaving the house would grant her a much needed reprieve from straining her eyes for hours on end. She scooped up her saddlebags and slung them over her back, then headed for the door. She paused momentarily in the entrance-way, however. A part of her wanted to tilt her gaze up slightly, to where she knew the depiction of herself was hung on the wall. At the same time, though, another part of her didn’t want to be reminded of the artist responsible for its creation right now.
After a few moments’ internal struggle, the stone grey pony shook her head and left the house, keeping her gaze fixed downward until she was out of the door. Not until she had walked the path out to the street itself did she lift her gaze once more; the sight of the familiar surroundings and the pleasant scents of flowers from her own front garden, mixed with the smell of recent rainfall served to lift her mood. She took in a deep breath of the refreshing air, then set off down the street at a steady pace.
Canterlot was as full of activity as ever, and yet nevertheless as much a delight to the senses as always. The summer sun warmed Octavia’s coat as she trotted along, the steady sound of her hooves hitting the paved streets mixing in with those of hundreds of others. Everywhere she looked, the city was full of colour: bright summer blooms and lush green leaves mixed together with the lively colours of shop fronts and other ponies’ summer outfits. She made her way through the town, heading for one of her preferred haunts. Before long, she had reached the small café located in the royal quarter. As much as she tried to avoid it, there were admittedly some aspects of her personal tastes that could be considered just the slightest bit snobbish. She was careful to avoid seeming so most of the time, but when you made a point of heading to one particular café in the part of town known to be frequented only by the more wealthy ponies, and you went there just for getting only certain kinds of tea from said café... it was a little difficult to not seem pretentious.
At least it is only a given impression.
The thought was reassuring to her, and she soon had the attention of a well-groomed waiter who was quick to take her order upon recognising her. It wasn’t long before she had a pot of tea before her and a fine porcelain cup to sip it from. She relaxed and took in the simple pleasure that the indulgence brought her, taking the time to enjoy the taste of the beverage and the relative calm of her surroundings, punctuated only by the background clatter of teacups, the quiet chatter of other patrons, and the dull clamour of passing ponies’ hooves.
Presently, she cast her gaze upon a clock face adorning one of the local businesses. She had but a few hours to spare until she would have to depart for the amphitheatre. She raised a hoof to her chin in thought. With the amount of time she had free to her right now, she would have time enough to idle here a while longer prior to heading home and freshening up... or, if she were to set off now, she could probably reach her stallion friend’s apartment, perhaps with enough time left to talk over their quarrel from earlier in the week.
Her stomach twisted a bit at that latter consideration – but then again, she considered, if she really wanted to clear the air between herself and her friend, one of them had to take the initiative.
I certainly do not see him making any attempt. she thought to herself as she rose to her feet, the thought of asserting herself for once spurring her on to action. Her resolve set, she began making her way towards Beech Grove. Her expression was one of quiet determination, eyes focused on the road ahead as she made her way purposefully through the town. This was the sort of look she usually reserved for pushing her way through crowds at concerts; but what with the way she was focused right now, her face had subconsciously moulded itself into the oft-worn expression.
Her single-minded resolve had soon driven her all the way to the top of the winding, tree-lined thoroughfare. She stood for a few moments, looking at the Old Chapel, before squaring her shoulders, taking a deep breath, and strolling confidently along the driveway leading to the door.
I am sure he will want to talk things over, also. It has been a few days since our disagreement. I need only tell him I should like to talk. If he will not indulge me, then I shall not waste my time.
She nodded to herself at that. Her plan was simple and neat, there was nothing that could go wrong with it. She peered at the array of doorbell buttons on the panel next to the door, and then firmly pressed her hoof on the number of Sketchy’s apartment. She waited expectantly for a few moments.
No reply. She frowned, pressing the bell again. Moments passed, and no reply. Her expression began to knot with frustration, and she stabbed a hoof at the button once more. Still no reply.
Octavia let out a loud groan of exasperation.
Of all the times that he could have been out, why did he have to pick NOW!?
Turning back down the driveway, the cellist stalked away with a disgusted look on her face. She felt utterly foolish for plodding all the way over there only to find the stallion missing from his home. Not only had she now wasted almost an hour of her time in getting there, she now had the considerable annoyance of having to walk all the way back without having accomplished her goal. It almost felt as though, through some form of clairvoyance, the tall stallion had foreseen her visit and planned his absence accordingly. She shook her head at such a foolish thought, as she knew full well he possessed no such power. It did little to help her mood, however, as she trudged all the way back down the hill and into town.
By the time she reached the comfort of her own home, her hooves were throbbing slightly from all the walking she’d done. She had perhaps half an hour of free time left before she would have to make her way to the amphitheatre. She resolved not to waste that, at least, and promptly headed to the bathroom to start the water running. It wasn’t long before her bathtub was filled with sweetly scented water, delicate bubbles popping on its surface.
Octavia daintily climbed into the tub, the warm water instantly soothing her tired muscles. She let out a contented sigh as she settled into the water to relax for a while, the scent of lavender filling the air around her and easing her mood a little. The pleasing aroma and the soothing waters were almost enough to make up for the wasted effort she’d had earlier. She leaned her head back and let out a sigh, deciding that it was not a thought worth dwelling on for now.
As the sun was beginning to sink towards the horizon, Freeze Pop found herself once more in the company of royalty. Since now and the end of her shift she had found just enough time to locate the dark-coated pegasus with whom she’d become recently acquainted, explain to him that she had extra duties to attend, briefly stop by her sandwich making friend’s shop to pick up some refreshments, and then return to the Royal Palace. She now trotted alongside her sovereign, the latter of whom was flanked by another of Freeze Pop’s colleagues to her side, and another two behind her.
“I am grateful that you were able to help me on such short notice, Freezy.” the alicorn said quietly, only just loud enough to be heard over the collective sound of her and her escorts’ hooves.
“It’s my sworn duty, Your Highness.” Freeze Pop replied, her expression remaining neutral – though her tone carried a warmth to it. “I am bound by oath and reason to assist you. Not that I would have needed either to make me want to help in this instance.” she added.
The Princess giggled slightly at that, nodding approvingly. “Of that I am aware, and it makes me glad to have ponies such as yourself around me whom I can count upon.”
The armoured pegasus’s response to that was to puff her chest out a little with pride, smiling to herself a bit as they continued on. “It makes me proud to be thought of that way by you, Princess.” she replied as they approached the amphitheatre itself. Their arrival, whether by design or coincidence, brought them to the doors of the grand building right as the stone grey earth pony responsible for much of the composition work arrived.
“Miss Octavia! Good evening!” Luna called out, making the shorter pony stop in her tracks and look towards the alicorn and her escorts. Her expression brightened a little and she made her way towards the Princess.
“Good evening, Your Highness.” she replied, her tone as polite and refined as ever. “It is a pleasure to see you, as always.”
“And to see you, too.” Luna replied, nodding her head briefly to her escorts to signal them to head on without her.
The four large pegasi took wing, soaring up over the wall of the building and then down through the open topped roof to land among the seats below. Their task, as always, was to perform a security check of the area to ensure that there were no unsavoury types with designs on the Princess’s head lurking in the place. Of course, the likelihood of that was so low as to render it nigh-on unnecessary, but there was no point in taking risks regardless. Besides, there was always the chance that there could be lesser security risks to take care of, such as trespassing ponies wanting to get a sneak peek of the performance, or obsessed fans wanting to see their idols at work. As she expected, though, Freeze Pop found no lurking assassins, terrorists, trespassers or crazed fans, and she and her fellow Guards had soon flown back out of the building and reported their findings to the Princess.
“Seems your escorts are back.” Octavia noted as the four pegasi touched down. “I suppose that would mean all is well.” she added with a wry smile.
“So it would seem.” Luna nodded after a moment’s pause to hear the briefly whispered security report. “Let us be on our way, then. I am looking forward to tonight’s practice.”
Octavia simply nodded in reply, leading in to the theatre itself. She and Luna were met with the usual warm greeting from her compatriots, a few of whom had looked as though they were going to make some sort of remark on the cellist’s slightly late appearance. That was until they noticed whom she had entered with, and hence why she was a few minutes late walking in. Octavia took up her usual position on stage, along with the other members of her quartet. Most of the rest of her fellow performers in the orchestra pit were either in the midst of tuning their instruments or arranging their sheet music. She took hold of her cello, which had been carefully set in a stand by her seat awaiting her arrival, and experimentally plucked its strings. She frowned slightly. The instrument was, unsurprisingly, the tiniest bit out of tune. That was natural of course - any instrument played for an extended period of time and then left to rest would need to be tuned just a little bit upon picking it back up. Or at least, it would require that for concert accuracy.
It took the classically trained pony little time at all to have her cello once more perfectly in tune, and she proceeded to glance round at her fellow musicians. The hall slowly fell silent as the rest of the orchestra finished their own adjustments.
“Good evening, fillies and gentlecolts.” Octavia enunciated. “I trust the evening finds you all well. I should like to start tonight with the third movement, if you would all kindly find your positions.” She paused for a few moments as the air was filled with the quiet rustling of sheet music being moved about on stands. “This part of the symphony so far has been the most problematic, and I should like us to iron out those issues as soon as possible.”
There were assorted murmurs of agreement from around her. She allowed herself a small smile at that: despite the differences of opinion she may have held with some of her colleagues, it was at least a relief to know that they were able to admit when they were having difficulty with the music.
“From the beginning of the movement, then.” she directed. “One, two, three...”
The rest of the evening was filled with the sounds of music, played with the sort of expertise and finesse only found from the most talented of orchestras. To the untrained ear, there was not a single flaw nor fault throughout; but to Octavia’s ears there were still problems. Problems which, she just knew, the Princess must have picked up on. Time and again she addressed the musicians whose performance was what she would deem sub-par, urging them to focus more. Her mood was not helped any when the part of the performance that was reliant on the weather team pegasi came, and they subsequently made somewhat of a mess of it. A stray bolt of lightning resulted in all of the electrical equipment within the amphitheatre shorting out and shutting down, earning the airborne performers a harshly-worded scolding from the highly strung musician that brought their heritage into question.
It was at that point that the general consensus was reached that a halt should be called to the rehearsal, a point with which Octavia had to admit she agreed with. She had just about reached her breaking point, all things considered, so she was eager to return home. As she started on her way out of the theatre, however, she was halted in her tracks by a voice she was swift to recognise.
“Miss Octavia!”
She turned her head to see the easily recognisable shape of a Royal Guard approaching her. She also recognised the voice, though.
“Madam Freeze Pop?” she ventured. The approaching guard gave a nod of her head, and even the briefest hint of a smile.
“Correct. I am to be your escort home tonight.”
Octavia frowned at that, mulling over the idea in her head for a moment or two as to whether or not she honestly needed or wanted an escort home. She looked back into the steady ice blue gaze of her escort-to-be, and paused. She could see a hint of concern in the keen eyes of the armoured pegasus.
“It’s by Princess Luna’s request.”
Octavia’s expression softened at that, and she shook her head with a knowing smile. “Of course. She does concern herself an awful lot with me, for whatever reason. Very well then, madam. Please show a lady home.” she replied, her tone regaining at least some of the buoyancy it had lost over the past several hours.
The taller mare smiled, drawing alongside her musical companion. “By your leave, my lady.” she chuckled, matching her pace to the musician’s as the two set off.
Octavia’s pace was relatively slow as they walked away from the theatre - although Freeze Pop had an inkling as to why. She was soon to be proven right, as a clearing of the musician’s throat caught her attention.
“So... madam Freeze.”
“Yes, my lady?”
“How have you been? I have not seen you since that day at the reservoir.”
“Life has been treating me well enough.” After a few moments’ thought, she spoke up again. “If you don’t think it too improper of me to say, though, it seems life has treated you somewhat harshly.”
Octavia glanced up at the taller mare, then returned her gaze to the road ahead. “I suppose there is little point in trying to hide it. Yes, things have been... difficult. And I would wager the Princess has noticed, hence her assigning you to escort me tonight.”
“That would be an accurate assumption.”
“I... suppose I might as well explain. If it is not a bother to you?”
“It’s no bother, my lady. The Princess requested that I see you safely home, so until we reach our destination I am responsible for your well-being.” the pegasus replied. She then turned her head to smile at her charge as she added “If that means letting you sound out your problems, so be it. But let it be known that I’m happy to do so, duty or not.”
Octavia turned her head toward the pegasus at that. Seeing her smile and hearing her words, she couldn’t help smiling warmly back. “You are too kind, madam. But thank you.”
“You know what they say, friend of a friend is a friend of mine. Besides, I know what it’s like to need to get some things off your chest.”
“Yes, quite. Very well... allow me to explain, then. I have been feeling just the slightest bit out of sorts for some time, now. But, of late, there have been occurrences which have not helped. I would go so far as to say they have been to my detriment.”
“Like your falling out with Sketchy?”
Octavia winced slightly at that. Freeze Pop was very direct and to-the-point. Still, there was no sense in skirting the issue.
“Yes. That would be one such occurrence, I suppose we should begin from there.”
“Alright. So... what all happened? Because all I’ve heard is that you had a falling out, but I don’t know over what.”
“Well, in essence... I believe that I may have poorly turned a phrase, and it was misconstrued. And...” She had to pause for a moment to compose herself, as the memory threatened to upset her once more. “Pardon me. He... accused me of being far too wrapped up in the concerns of others. But that is not what I had said! I merely made mention of the fact that there are those whom I work with that like to gossip, and make assumptions about my character, and that this was a bother to me. Not once did I say that I cared for their opinion!”
“Hmm. That doesn’t sound like him...” Freeze pondered aloud, averting her gaze momentarily in thought.
“Are you doubting my word?” Octavia questioned, a brief spark of anger flaring in her voice. She was very quickly cowed back into reason, however, when her pegasus escort’s gaze met her own. It was the focused look of a professional, with a keen icy edge to it that chilled her blood.
“No, my lady.” Freeze stated firmly. Her expression then rapidly softened as she seemed to realise she had used the same sort of look on the cellist that she usually saved for putting the newer recruits in their place. Her tone when she spoke once more was more level and smooth. “All I am saying is that his conduct was unusual. That doesn’t mean that you’re being dishonest. It means that he’s being weird, and if he’s being weird then there must be something the matter with him.”
“I... see. I apologise, that was poor form of me to assume that of you.”
“Don’t let it worry you. I’ve had worse!” the sturdy pegasus joked, though her expression became serious again shortly thereafter. “What did you do when he said that about you?”
The cellist’s gaze met the floor. “I... am ashamed to admit, I took leave of my sense of reason.”
Freeze quirked an eyebrow at that, wondering for a moment whether or not the comments the musician had addressed to the weather pegasi earlier counted as a loss of her reason or not, but she put that thought aside.
“I take that to mean then that you responded somewhat harshly?”
“I do not believe I have ever felt so incensed as I did at that moment. I could not believe what I was hearing, and so I demanded to know if he honestly thought me to be so shallow that I would put such merit in the opinions of others. Granted, I may have a reputation to consider, but it is by no means my sole concern in life!” The stone grey pony’s agitation was clear to see, as she raised her voice slightly towards the end of her sentence.
“I am aware, my lady. And then?”
“He made it clear enough that he did indeed consider me to be so, and that he would stop associating with me. Thus I told him that if that was honestly how he felt, then he may as well be gone with! He had expressed the opinion that my association with him was little more than a cause of further difficulty, and that I would be better off without him. So I stated in reply that perhaps I would indeed, and he had the impertinence to state that indeed perhaps both of us would! And then... and... and then...” she trailed off. A choked sob escaped her throat.
Freeze Pop frowned, and then stepped closer to the smaller pony. Octavia was somewhat surprised, but also relieved to feel a soft feathery wing wrap itself loosely over her shoulders.
“I am sorry...” she sniffed, taking a deep breath.
“You needn’t apologise, miss Octavia.” Freeze stated calmly. “As I said before, I am responsible for your well-being until we reach your home.”
The smaller mare let out a grateful sigh, leaning into her escort slightly. “Thank you, madam. I shall be alright. Where was I?”
“I think I can more or less guess what happened after that.” Freeze replied. “After you screamed at each other, you both turned round and went home. And once you got home, you felt utterly horrible. Would that be about right?”
“I felt as though I would be sick at any moment.”
“I see. Hmm... well, I think that settles that little mystery.”
Octavia looked round at the pegasus with a slightly puzzled expression, her eyes slightly damp. “Which mystery would that be?”
“The one regarding what caused the falling out. Or whom, I guess.”
“Ahh...”
“And in this case I can safely say that Sketchy has been an absolute idiot.”
“I... what?” Octavia blinked, her eyes going wide at the guard’s plaintive remark.
“He’s been an idiot. Not that that’s anything new. He does some really stupid things sometimes, just like anypony else. What has me worried is why he’s been so dumb.”
“Oh? To what would you attribute it, then?” Octavia enquired, her tone curious.
“Haven’t the foggiest!” the white pegasus replied cheerfully.
“You seem remarkably happy about that fact.”
“Oh, make no mistake I’d be happier if I had all the pieces of the puzzle to put together.” Freeze Pop replied. “But nevertheless, I at least know now what went on from your end. I was more concerned about the difficulty of finding time when you would be free to talk about it than I was for him, so I’m glad we were able to converse.”
“I... must admit, I am grateful for this also.” Octavia stated, drying her eyes with a foreleg. “You may find it rather strange for someone such as myself, but I have very few ponies that I would call my friends. I honestly did not know to whom I ought to turn.”
“It’s less strange than you’d think, my lady.”
“I shall take your word for it.” the cellist replied. What little remained of their walk consisted of the two of them sharing snippets of small-talk, mostly revolving around what Freeze had been up to of late. Octavia made no mention to her escort of the particular feelings that had stirred within her regarding their mutual acquaintance; for the time being she didn’t feel it was something that she understood well enough herself to discuss with anyone else. Soon enough, they had reached her home. She turned to the pegasus accompanying her.
“Well, I believe this is where we part ways, my honourable knight.” she smiled. “My thanks for seeing me safely home, and for your listening ear.”
“Twas a pleasure, my lady – on both counts.” Freeze Pop replied, mirroring the cellist’s expression. “Have a good rest. I’ll no doubt see you again some time soon.”
“I am certain you shall.” Octavia nodded. “Good night, dear. Have a safe flight home.”
“G’night!” the pegasus replied cheerfully, spreading her wings and springing into the air.
Octavia stood for a while at the path to her house, watching the resplendent Guard soar up and away. As she faded from view, the refined earth pony turned and made her way inside. It had been a long and demanding day, but for the first time since she had argued with her fellow earth pony musician, she was feeling better about it all.
Freeze Pop seems to know him well enough to be able to discern his behaviour. No doubt she will get to the bottom of things. Perhaps then he will see sense, and this matter can be settled.
She was a little surprised at her own train of thought as she settled into bed. You honestly want to forgive his indiscretion, do you not? She mulled that over, and then a smile crept across her face as she settled down, her eyes slowly closing.
I suppose that I do. Perhaps the art of making friends has not eluded me, after all.