The Things Tavi Says

by shortskirtsandexplosions

Melodious Things

The train rolls into station, hissing loud and crimson.

I grab my saddlebag and step out.

The cold mountain air greets me with a delightful sting. Ponies trot left and right, dressed in high class formal wear.

I glance at my reflection in a passenger car window. With my braided mane and blue silk scarf, I do believe I fit in. With a smile, I adjust the weight of my saddlebag and trot forward with a slight spring to my step.

The streets of Canterlot are covered with a thin layer of snow. White frost clings to the polished blue rooftops. Curved pale buildingsides glint with sunlight, bringing a dazzling lustre to the heart of Equestria. It's cold out—cold enough to see my magenta breaths take literal form. The streets are mostly vacant, making it easy to search... to scour the nippy air for color.

At last... I sense it. A vague burst of violet. She's in a happy mood. I'm glad.

I turn the corner and find her. She's the only mare insane enough to sit outside on the cafe's verandah. She tilts her nose up from sipping a hot mug of cocoa and nearly chokes. Fumbling, she sits up from her favorite travel cushion.

"There you are!" Octavia exhales with relief. "Goddess alive! I was afraid the train had fallen into a ravine or something!"

"I'm so sorry for being late," I say, grimacing slightly. "Prince Flash has set up extra security checks all along the route."

"Well, can you blame the Captain?" Octavia smirks. "After all, Twilight's getting close to eleven months."

"You really didn't have to sit out here in the cold, waiting for me."

"Are you kidding?" She sits down on her cushion and readjusts her coat. It looks good on her. Even snowflakes look good on her. "Being out here in this chill?" She hugs herself and smiles past a slight shiver. "Makes me know that I'm alive." A wink. "And you know how much I love being alive."

I chuckle.

She arches an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing." I wink past her violet breaths. "I just adore how dry you can be when telling the truth."

"Back to being a living lie detector, huh?" Tavi smirks as she lifts the mug to her lips again. "Bet that annoys the piss out of Beau."

"Mmmmm..." I sit down across from her. "He's too distracted."

"What, does he have a new coltfriend already?"

"Nah." I shake my head. "It's the new solo album that he's working on. I'm happy for him and all, but I wish he'd get more sleep instead of spending so much time in the studio."

"As if Capricorn could have forced you to go on a date with the Sandmare while putting together Cyan Saves."

"Hmmm." I smile. "Touche."

"Would you like to go inside, love?" Tavi gestures to the frosted windows. "No need to suffer just because I'm feeling courageous."

"No. This..." I smile, rubbing my forelimbs and gazing at the bright buildings. "This is great. When I'm on tour here, I never have time to drink it all in."

"Well, we'll have all the time we want this weekend." She smiles. "I adore your mane, by the way."

"Heehee..." I brush the braid over my neck. "Thanks..."

"Who do I have to thank this time? Capricorn? Rarity?"

"Mmmmm..." I smile at her, rosy-cheek'd. "Sweetie Belle."

"Oh?" Octavia blinks. "Switched talents, has she?"

"No, she's just..." A silly sigh. "She's just Sweetie Belle." I clear my throat, weathering the magenta burst. "Lyra's putting the finishing touches on her debut album."

"She decided to be her sound editor after all?"

"Yeah. Better to have a firm foundation in Ponyville before being thrown to the sharks of the music industry."

"Luna's bollocks, you're telling me!"

"Shhhhh..." I grimace, gazing around. "Tavi! Must you?"

"Oh, come off it, love." She waves a hoof, chuckling. "Not like the Royal Sisters can hear us from their ivory bastion. Besides... if you've performed at as many Galas as I have... you could tell that they encourage such levity."

I nevertheless shudder. "I'll take your word for it."

"Say, speaking of Miss Hearstrings." Octavia leans forward, eyes bright. "Did you bring the pictures?"

I look at her. I grin. With gentle telekinesis, I lift a cluster of photographs from my saddlebag and hold them before her.

Octavia takes them in her hooves. She gasps. "Oh! Oh my!" She reaches out for an invisible glass of wine, then chews on her fetlock. "Why... these are absolutely stunning!"

"I-I figured you would be the better judge," I say. "I would have shown you sooner, but... what with the tour and your rehearsals..."

"Oh, Rarity's totally outdone herself this time!" Octavia looks up. "And these are just for the bridesmaids?"

"Uh huh..."

"I shudder to think how jaw-dropping Bon Bon's wedding gown must be!" Octavia brushes her bangs aside. "Isn't it enough that the ceremony's scheduled for right around the time the Princess is supposed to give birth?"

"Yes, well, Lyra has a contingency plan for that."

Octavia looks up. "And that is?"

"Three words. Militant. Mule. Uprising."

"Hahahahaha!" Octavia practically tosses the photos back at me—then gasps at the gesture. "Oh! Bollocks! Snkkkt—I'm s-sorry! Heeheehee!"

I laugh, easily sweeping the photos back up in my telekinesis. "It's going to be awesome. Just you see."

"Anything to see Beau show up wearing a pink suit." Octavia's grinning teeth glint. "You know... he did promise."

"He was drunk at the time," I drone. "Not all creatures can hold their wine like you."

"Yes, well... something something carbonated beverages, love."

I clear my throat. "You know I finally gave that up over a year ago." I bite my lip. "After... after that one trip to the hospital my kidneys put me through."

Octavia winces. "How soon I forget. Goddess... feels like ages since we last sat together like this. No pressure... no constrained schedule or anything."

"Yes. Uhm... s-sorry." I clear my throat. "The latest tour is coming to an end. I promise."

"I didn't mean to pull a guilt trip on you, darling," Octavia says. "Besides..." She arches an eyebrow as she leans in for another sip of cocoa. "...we've run that conversation into the ground more than once, now haven't we?"

"Yeah. We have." I look at her. I fight a slight wave of dizziness and speak: "How're the rehearsals going?"

She finishes her sip, swallows, and looks up at me. "Swimmingly."

I cock my head to the side. "How swimmingly?"

"Let me put it this way." Octavia leans back, arms folded. "According to Harshwhinny, I should be in first chair by this summer."

I lean forward. "For real this time?"

"Of course." Octavia rolls her eyes. "If Harshwhinny had her way, I would have had first chair over a year ago. But... you must understand... there's a great deal more politics involved than I ever... ever would have anticipated."

"Well, sure. Naturally, I guess."

"It's not a question of talent." Octavia's eyes dart between the blue rooftops. "It's simply a matter of... the old crotchety fart of a seat warmer ahead of me croaking in this lifetime."

"Taviiiii..."

She chuckles. She leans forward, waving a hoof. "In all seriousness, it's..." She sighs. She looks up at me with a warm smile. "It's positively magical, Vine." She exhales, her voice serious and purple. "Every day... the elegance... the sophistication." Her lips curve softly. "I am surrounded on all sides by beauty. It's like... taking a warm, fragrant shower though my eyes and ears ever second that I'm sitting with that orchestra."

I smirk. "And we all know how you love fragrant, warm showers."

"Well, more to the point..." She clears her throat. "...we all know how much I love being in the one place I absolutely adore more than anything else..." Her muzzle hangs open. "...except one place."

I feel a lump forming in my throat.

"You know..." She sighs, her eyes full of me. "...feels like only yesterday we were wow-ing an entire crowd at another wedding." She grins, her voice shaky. "Bet Matilda and Cranky never knew what hit them."

I tug at my scarf while giving her a coy smirk. "Do you think Ponyville's ready for an encore?"

"They bloody well better be," Octavia blurts.

I laugh.

"Or else Lyra won't be the only mare itching for a militant uprising."

"Doesn't Flash have enough on his hooves?"

"Apparently not."

Chuckles. Magenta and violet.

"Ohhhhhhh goodness..." Octavia takes another sip of her mug. "This is nice. I can't wait to show you the apartment."

"You mean the loft that you upgraded to?" I gaze at her. "You keep writing about how the view from the east window is absolutely killer."

"That's putting it poetically." She clears her throat. "Although, you may wish to watch your hooves on the way in."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Scribbler. That's why."

"What?" I blink. Then I feel my ears droop. "Oh jeez... she's at it again?"

"It's vindictive, I tell you," Octavia groans. "Every single time I move, she does this. And I've moved a lot since I joined the orchestra. As well you know, Vine."

I scoot my chair closer and prop my smiling chin atop a pair of hooves. "Tell me all about it."

"Well..." Octavia leans back, gesturing with her hooves as her purple voice fills the snowy air. "It wasn't a big deal at first, but then it became an everyday occurrence. Especially at this new place. At first, I thought that maybe she had a feline fear of heights. Sounds daft, I know. But then it occurred to me that maybe she's lonely—what with me being gone half of the day and then coming home to immediately throw myself into the shower like some filthy tart. Personally, I don't see why any puss would be kitty-phobic of such a residence. Shouldn't they adore high places? I mean, would it truly suffer her to leave a note next time? Eheheh... After all, she's certainly keen on leaving presents in the most inconvenient places, so I don't see why n—" She pauses, then blinks towards me. "Uhm... please do stop me, love, if I've prattled on about this before..."