The crow landed atop the balcony ledge. In the grip of his dark claw was a scroll, tainted with scratches from the restless bird. The ghastly deep purple that was the curtains was soon set in motion, a wave of terror upon the night. A grey hoof extended out, grasping the parchment within her elegant hoof.
"WHAT INSOLENCE IS THIS?" The once beautiful mare cried, her face imbued with a scar she had obtained rather recently. Taking up her family business was a messy job. "HOW DARE SHE DO THIS TO ME?"
Octavia Ravenclaw was her name. She was once the most elegant of all ponies, playing music many would give their left hoof just to attend, and their right one to hear the sweet music. She was a star in the making... Until that fateful day.
It is said that the Ravenclaw family is cursed with misfortune, indeed it was. She was once playing at the Royal Canterlot Hall, playing for the princess herself. It was a momentous occasion, one she had prepared her whole life for.
She had already bought the ring. She had made up her mind that as part of the finale, she would marry her marefriend... Vinyl Scratch. One of the most talented DJs ever, famous for working with Mic the Microphone and The Living Tombstone to make a track downloaded by all in mere hours.
Ah, the day seemed to be perfect, but she was unknowingly bound to the curse. A clumsy student's pet was invited along. The young dragon had burnt down the closing curtain, which had paralysed her.
Sure, she had told Vinyl to move on, Octavia had been told she could never play again... No matter how much she wanted to. But, on one fateful night... Her mother told the truth behind the family legacy.
And so here stood her now, dark and twisted by the power she was allowed. The only thing that gave the remotest shine in her life was the diamond that had been embedded into her left hoof, the diamond from the ring she thought would bring her closer to love and yet served only as an instrument against it.
"Raven!" she cried out to the crow, her blackened hair flowing behind her, retaining some of the grace from her earlier years. "I have a job for you."
She crumpled up the parchment and cast it into the flames. The first sentence illuminated in the golden glow of the fire's warm embrace, the words fading into ash as she spoke them aloud to the dark bird.
"You are cordially invited to the wedding of Spike Sparkle and Vinyl Scratch."