When Octavia awoke, she found herself in a cramped room, one that she could only describe as an interrogation room. This was mostly because Princess Luna sitting behind a table, in the middle of the room. Octavia suddenly realized she was sitting on an uncomfortable chair, opposite the Princess's. Taking a look around, she noticed the room was dimly lit, with its only light source being the moonlight pouring in from the window, opened only a sliver of the way. There wasn't even a door, leading Octavia to question how she had gotten there in the first place.
"What are you doing here Princess Luna? And for that matter, what am I doing here?" Octavia asked the Princess, as she tried to get up off the chair. Oddly enough, it felt like there was some kind of force preventing her from moving off the chair.
But Luna didn't say anything. All she did was put her hooves on the table, and rest her head on them. Octavia, not having much else to do in a room without a door, looked into Luna's eyes. This was a mistake. It's a common saying that if a pony looks into the abyss long enough, the abyss looks into them. Octavia, however, had never expected to witness it herself. For what Octavia saw in was a never-ending starry abyss, which left her in an almost hypnotized state.
Fortunately for her, Luna snapped her out of it. Unfortunately for her, she did it by saying, "Octavia Philharmonic, you are in serious trouble." Her tone was disconcertingly quiet, even for the Princess of the Night.
"Wha- what?" asked Octavia, confused, and still feeling oddly groggy.
"Tell me, what do you know of this pony?" asked Luna, ignoring the question as she changed the subject. A phantasmal image of Con Mane appeared, hovering over the table.
"Con Mane? What is he doing here? Last I saw him was... oh wait, this is a dream isn't it? Well that makes sense," thought Octavia, as she answered, "Well, he looks a little like Donut Joe back in Canterlot..."
"Oh, is that so? Are you sure you don't recognize him from knocking him out with a door after kicking him in the horn?!" Luna pressed, suddenly sounding very angry as her eyes blazed white with fury.
"Wha- I swear it was an accident!" Octavia lied, hoping Luna wouldn't know she was.
Of course, Luna knew it was a lie. "You are but a knave, if you think that lying to one of your Princesses will get you anywhere. I know exactly what happened to Con Mane, and it was no accident. Now, as I am sure you are wondering why I brought you here, it's simple. I wish to offer you a choice," said Luna, her eyes changing once again.
Octavia, who by this time was sweating in her seat, asked, "What kind of choice?" There was something about Luna's eyes that was off-putting. Octavia couldn't quite put her hoof on what it was though. And then she took a second look. The stars in Luna's eyes were going out, one by one, in a very unnerving fashion, almost like a countdown until the end.
"It is quite a simple one. Con Mane was an agent of a secret part of the Night Guard. He was assigned to Stalliongrad to counter a plot we learned about against Celestia's life. Due to the nature of the informant, I can't reveal who it is. But rest assured that He is trustworthy," Luna started. Octavia found it weird that Luna would specifically mention that the informant was trustworthy, but shrugged it off as Luna continued.
"Unfortunately, you managed to throw a large wrench into our plans. A wrench in the form of you causing Con Mane to loose consciousness," Luna said.
"It was an accident, I swear!" repeated Octavia almost out of habit. She knew it wasn't an accident, and she knew Luna knew it, but if comforted her to hear it.
"Remember what I said earlier?" asked Luna, glaring at Octavia before continuing, "And after that happened, he was severely injured. Now, from what I can tell from your dreams, you're not the kind of pony who'd do anything like break his snout and dump him out into the snow. Whomever did that must be found, but for now, I trust you. So here is your choice: You can have your entire memory wiped of this entire incident, and continue your stay in Stalliongrad as if nothing had ever happened-"
Octavia interrupted, "What good could that possibly do?"
Luna's eye twitched as she replied, "None whatsoever, I'm afraid. However, it is the normal punishment for such actions, and what most of the Night Guard thinks I should do. Now, if I may finish what I was saying, the other option is you can taking Con's place, and complete the mission in his stead and be excused of your actions."
Octavia just sat in her seat, as she weighed the two options in her mind. "A total mind wipe versus taking part in what could possibly be a life-threatening mission," she thought, locking eyes with Luna. Not that Octavia would ever admit it, but the very prospect of the mission excited her. As a filly she had read tales of heroic spies, and dreamed of one day being one. And now, so many years later, to be given the chance... it was no surprise her answer was, "I'll take Con's place." The fact that the very idea of a mind wipe was unappealing to her was of major consequence as well.
Luna smiled a knowing smile as she said, "Very well then. Now I'm sorry to tell you this, but all we know from our informant is that there was some form of plot brewing in Stalliongrad."
"What? That's all?!" exclaimed Octavia. She had expected more information than that, and was about to get angry at Luna, when she suddenly found herself hurled out of the room.
"I'm sorry, but that is all!" echoed Luna's last words as Octavia woke up back in the hotel room in Stalliongrad.
She grumbled as she got out of bed. She had honestly thought that Luna was going to tell her more. Trotting out of her room, she pondered Luna's words and what kind of plot could possibly be going on against Celestia. Certainly there couldn't be a pony who hated Celestia that much, could there?
However, this pondering did not last for long. Soon enough, absorbed in her thoughts, Octavia accidentally bumped into a pony standing in the hall. "Why are you-" Octavia started to ask, before she heard the general hubbub, and noticed that the pony she had bumped into was part of a much larger group.
"The prince! The prince is here!" Octavia heard shouted a few times. And as if to prove it, the crowd parted down the middle, and the hotel's doors were flung open. She saw a pony walking through the doors, a tall white unicorn with a yellow mane. In other words, Prince Blueblood. A pony standing at the edge of the crowd said, "Make way, make way. The royal prince Blueblood is here!"
Octavia suddenly felt a hoof push against chest, and found herself up against the wall along with the other ponies of the crowd. Octavia heard the Prince trot through the crowd, slowly approaching her location. Soon enough, the Prince got close enough to Octavia that she caught a glimpse of his eyes. And within his eyes, Octavia could swear she saw a core of some indescribable emotion. Indescribable, but not unfamiliar to Octavia. For she had seen that exact same core, in the exact same pony exactly once before. At the Grand Galloping Gala, after a cake had landed on him. But this quickly passed and was replaced by a tint of familiarity as Blueblood caught sight of Octavia. He stopped walking, and spoke out, "Why... could that be- Are you Octavia Philharmonica?
Dismissing the uneasy feeling Octavia had felt upon looking into his eyes the first time as her wanting to see something, she responded, "Yes I am. It honors me that you remember my name."
"Oh, I try and remember all the names of those who perform at events which hold a... special place in my memory," the Prince said, charmingly. Then he leaned in close to Octavia, and whispered in her ear, "And I look forward to your Concerto." As Octavia reeled back, he retracted his head, and continued trotting down the hallway.
"Wha- How could he possibly? Unless... but it can't be, can it? But that's the only explanation that makes sense!" were the thoughts racing around the head of Octavia, with the winner being, "So he's my mysterious host? The one who set this up? I suppose that makes sense."
Bringing her out of her thoughts, was a quick tap on her shoulder, and a voice saying, "Ma'am, can you please move? I'm trying to sweep up here."
Octavia shook her head as she realized she had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed everypony leaving. She turned and said, "Yes, sorry about that," as she walked over to the entrance. She knew it was far too early to retire to her room, and as she had yet to do any investigation, she decided to go outside, with hopes of finding a clue of some sort. Walking over to the door, she pulled it open. A flurry of snow accompanied the sudden movement, as she looked out into the blanketed landscape.
A blanket of pure white snow covered the ground, snow that would never leave for most of the year, with only brief moments of respite. In fact, it was snowing now as a strong and cold wind blew through the scant, bare trees surrounding the hotel. There were very few buildings surrounding the hotel, but there was the music hall not too far away. Its close proximity to the hotel rendered it the main attraction of the area. All the plays, ballets, and musical performances also weighed up quite heavily in the reasons of why it was so popular. The music even more so, with the hall being well-renowned as a place where some of the brightest musical minds known to Equestrian kind had first composed their music.
As Octavia thought about this, a snippet of music caught her ear. It sounded like the piano accompaniment to her double bass, and was coming from the musical hall. And, to Octavia at least, it was one of the best versions of it she had ever heard. Greatly intrigued, she rushed out of the hotel into the cold which she just shrugged off.
As she got closer to the music hall, the piano piece got clearer, and she definitely recognized it as the accompaniment and figured whomever was playing it must be the pony who'd be playing alongside her. When she finally reached the door, she stopped for a few moments to take in the sheer size of the building. It was far taller than any building that she'd seen in Canterlot, rivaling even Celestia's castle for height. Shaped like a large half-dome, it had been painted a lively blue when it was first constructed, but now all that was left was cracked and flaking paint. But the fact it was still around was a testament to its builders. Finally, she opened the door, walked in, and gasped.
Not at the pony at the piano, as she hadn't seen who ever it was, but at how vast the interior was. Even after seeing the outside, she wasn't prepared for the inside. There were two easily definable halves of it. One half was where the audience would sit, was filled with seats, lined with red velvet, going up all the way to the back of the hall, with several boxes near the ceiling for those ponies who could afford to reserve them.
The other half was an equally vast stage, one currently taken up by a grand piano, its top open obscuring Octavia's view of the pony playing it. The music resounding throughout the hall was still the same piano piece, nearing its final glorious crescendo. Octavia couldn't help but move her hoof through the air in time to it.
When the final note was hit, Octavia brought her hoof down from the air, and walked up onto the stage. Octavia saw two white hooves were stretched upwards from the seat where the piano player was sat, and noticed a blue mane sticking up over the top. "Could it be?" thought Octavia, as she walked up to the piano, and started walking around it.
"Vinyl!" Octavia exclaimed, upon seeing the aforementioned pony sitting on the seat.
"Octy!" responded Vinyl Scratch as she heard Octavia.
"What in Equestria are you doing here?" Octavia asked, walking closer to Vinyl, as if she didn't believe it actually was her.
"Well, what does it look like?" Vinyl responded, gesturing towards the piano.
"But you- that was- I can't- What are you doing?" sputtered out Octavia, still unwilling to believe her eyes and ears.
"I was practicing for my part in our concerto!" Vinyl exclaimed, arms thrown open towards the piano.
"When you said you played the piano, I never imagined," Octavia waved to the whole the piano, "this! So you're going to be my piano accompaniment in the concerto?"
"I was being modest," said Vinyl, with a sheepish grin on her face. She then answered, "Evidently, I am, Octy!" sounding happy. She got up off the seat and headed over to the backstage. "There's a spare double bass over here. Up for a recital?" she asked Octavia, who had been following her.
"Whilst I doubt it is up to my standards, a recital would be nice," responded Octavia, as she spotted the double bass leaning against the wall. As Octavia reached for it, it was surrounded by a magical aura and floated front-stage. Sighing, she turned to Vinyl, and said, "Thank you, Vinyl," as she walked onstage.
"Oh, it was no problem at all, Octy," said Vinyl, as she sat down on the seat by the piano.
When Octavia was standing by the double bass, bow in hoof, she asked Vinyl, "Vinyl, could you please not call me Octy?"
"Hm..." Vinyl pretended to think about it. "Nah!" she exclaimed, starting her piece.
Octavia sighed as she lifted the bow to the double bass, and started her part.
Several minutes later, they were in the middle of the piece. And Octavia couldn't help but admit that this was the best performance of the piece she'd ever heard. She was so caught up in the music, that the questions she wanted to ask Vinyl about Con Mane were swept to the back of her mind.
Of course, the universe hates to stand still, so as Octavia hit the second-to-last note of her part, she heard a loud clicking noise coming from the seats near the top of the music hall. "What was that?" asked Octavia, suddenly stopping before playing the final note.
Vinyl sighed as she stopped playing and got up off the seat. "Octy, I didn't hear anything," she said, looking at Octavia.
"But I swear I heard something," muttered Octavia, as she put her double bass to the side and laid the bow near it.
"But if it helps, Octy, I'll investigate with you. Anything to keep your mind on the Concerto, right?" asked Vinyl as she started walking to the seated area.
"Thank you," said Octavia, as she followed Vinyl.
A few seconds later, they were at the highest row of seats. There was a velvet rope barring their way, but no pony guarding it. "Well, since no pony'll mind," said Vinyl as she levitated the rope to the side, ignoring Octavia's glare. There was just one line of seats, each with a small card on it. Vinyl read them out as she walked down the lane. "Let's see here, 'Fancy Pants,' 'Shining Suit,' 'Hoity Toity,' 'Prince Blue-' Why hello there," Vinyl stopped beside Prince Blueblood's seat. "What's this?" she asked, levitating a strange device out from under the seat.
"How ever did you see that?" asked Octavia as she examined the device, "And for that matter, what is it?" she asked. It was made of a strange metal, in a cylindrical shape, a small red gem visible at one end, and a green one of the same size at the other. It rattled as Vinyl slowly shook it.
"This, my dear Octy, is a magical sound detector. That is to say, a magical device that only activates when it hears a single sound," explained Vinyl, "But what is it doing here?" she added as an afterthought.
"How do you... know all this?" asked Octavia, puzzled.
"Oh, you learn a few things when you're a DJ," said Vinyl with an annoying smirk upon her face. One quickly wiped from her face as she took a long look under Blueblood's chair. "What on Equestria are these doing here?" she said out loud.
"What are you talking about?" Octavia pressed, yearning to take a look for herself as she was blocked by Vinyl's current position.
"Well, I found what the device powers," Vinyl grimaced as she continued, "A bundle of magical explosives. Probably designed to destroy this seat, and this seat only."
"I repeat, how in Equestria do you know all this?" asked Octavia, as she thought, "Is it possible? In my mission to find out about a plot on Celestia's life, have I stumbled across a plot against Blueblood's? Or could they even be one and the same?"
"As I said. It's amazing what you can learn when you're a DJ in Canterlot," explained Vinyl, infuriatingly.
"Well, I'll be sure to ask you later. For now, I think that I should tell the Prince this, wouldn't you agree?" asked Octavia.
"Oh yes," agreed Vinyl, before continuing, "But now I've got to run. Goodbye!" as she ran out of the music hall.
"What is it with that mare?" muttered Octavia out loud as she pondered what to say to Blueblood. Shrugging off the idea for later, Octavia ran out; ran out back into the cold, to return to the hotel and warn the Prince of the attempt on his life.