Concerto
“A concert is not a live rendition of our album, it’s a theatrical event!”
-Freddie Mercury
“Scratch, Hurry up!” Shining tapped his hoof against the floor nervously, his eyes darting to the clock hung on the wall every few seconds. If Vinyl didn’t hurry up, they were going to be late. One thing Shining Armor didn’t want to be was late to a high class event, the glares were too much.
After Vinyl’s little fashion show yesterday, he dragged her along to see how long it would take to get from her apartment to the concert hall. Thirty minutes if they were swift on their hooves. As of right now they had forty minutes until the show started. They should’ve been there at least thirty minutes ago.
“If you don’t come out in the next thirty seconds I’m leaving without you and you’re getting dragged along in your current state.” A bit long winded, he decided in hindsight but it got the point across. He couldn’t be late to this or else Cadence would be furious at him...well, probably not furious, but at least ever so slightly annoyed.
“Alright, alright! Calm down, Twinkle. I’m coming out.” The mare responded with no small amount of distaste. “Can’t a mare take some time to look good?” The mare’s bedroom door swung open with a creak and thud. Vinyl marched out in her ruby gown, matching lipstick, and her mane straightened and styled so that it curled a bit towards the bottom.
Shining had to admit; she cleaned up pretty well. Her usual rat’s nest of a mane looked particularly nice with some care put into it. He only hoped that Vinyl also had some manners and etiquette hidden underneath her equally disheveled personality that she could surprise him with tonight.
“So, you good to go?” Shining used his magic to straighten his bowtie. Most stallions preferred a regular necktie, but his father had always worn a bowtie to formal events and it rubbed off on him. Plus they looked mighty cool on the right stallion, and he was nothing if not the right stallion for a bowtie.
Other than that, the guard wore a simple black and white ensemble that would be commonplace at any high society gathering. No need to go out of his way to stand out: that’s what Cadence was there for. That mare made them the most important ponies in the room...not that Shining liked that very much.
“Buck yeah! What are we waiting for?” With a little more hitch in her giddy-up than usual, the eccentric pony bolted from the apartment, leaving Shining to sigh and give chase. This was going to be a very interesting night.
----
Princess Cadence stood outside of the concert hall, ponies all buzzing around her and openly gawking at her. At this point in her life it wasn’t at all out of the ordinary. Years ago she had learned that the best way to ignore those who would crowd around her and look at her differently simply for having wings and a horn was just to tune them out.
She had her very own ‘playlist’ in her head that she often used to tune out those around her. Right about now it was on a lovely little tune that Princess Celestia often hummed to herself during the early hours of the night, right when the moon was closest to the horizon. It was sweet, almost sounding like a lullaby.
As the seconds dragged on and the tune faded from her mind, the ever pervasive thought of her significant other’s persistent tardiness took over. Surely his little sister would be appalled, as should she...but Cadence knew that Shining always got sidetracked and always felt sorry about it. Plus, she couldn’t help but forgive him. It was one of her flaws; never giving up on anypony.
“Princess Cadence…?” A meek voice, preceded by a slight cough came from the crowd in front of her. Immediately, she picked the pony out of the crowd. It was Intrepid, her blind date for Vinyl Scratch.
The stallion pushed his way to the front of the crowd with great difficulty, even making sure to forge ahead with his left side in order to keep his right side ‘safe’. He wore a simple black suit, a necktie with a clumsy knot hung around his neck. The black suit nicely set off the stone gray of his coat and brought out the grey that was streaking its way into his jet black mane. It made him look...distinguished.
“Intrepid!” She pulled the stallion in for a cordial hug, quickly fixing his tie with her magic as she did so. “How are you tonight?” She put on her best smile and made sure that it reached her eyes.
“Thanks…” The stallion pulled at the necktie and wiped away a bead of sweat from his brow. “ I thought we were all supposed to dress formally…?” The pegasus said, motioning to the royal’s lack of formal dress.
“I’m wearing my crown, aren’t I? Celestia says that a crown is quite enough for royalty.” She gave her comrade a slight smile and a wink. “After all, fancy clothes are only for ponies trying to prove something. I think the horn and wings prove enough, don’t you?” Cadence heard Celestia in her own voice more than she liked in that statement. The elder monarch’s wit and secretly sarcastic ways tended to rub off on ponies.
“I suppose…” The response was simply filler, she could feel it. Intrepid was not one to give decisive or meaningful answers anymore. but she could forgive that. More often than not, he had more on his mind than she could even imagine. But that’s why she invited the depressed pegasus, to help him relieve some of that stress with a mare who was decidedly carefree.
“Can Vinyl Scratch expect such simmering replies, Intrepid?” Cadence wanted both ponies to come out of their respective shells and comfort zones in order to bond on this little excursion. She didn’t want either of them to be so pent up...though she felt that Vinyl was not going to be the problem on that front.
“Sorry Princess…” The pony let out a deep sigh. “I just...I haven’t really gone out like this in a...long time. It’s going to take a little while to get back into a ‘sociable’ mood.” That gave Cadence a little hope, at least she knew he was going to try.
----
Everyone else had already gone inside, that’s how late Shining Armor and this mare Cadence had set him up with were. The ushers had already started taking tickets and seating ponies. Another five or ten minutes and the doors would be closed to newcomers.
Intrepid could feel the thoughts racing inside of his head like hornets on a rampage. What if they couldn’t get in? What if Cadance tried to get them in with her status and the ushers got offended? Oh dear sweet Celestia, what if they were banned from the establishment for offending someone?! Sweat, in rivers instead of beads, started to roll down his face.
“Intrepid!” The stallions jumped a little, his eyes wide and frenzied. It was Princess Cadance, she had nudged him a bit and raised her voice to catch his attention. “Are you alright?” The concern in her voice was not of the private variety, but rather of the quite public kind. Letting him know that there were others watching.
It was at that moment he became acutely aware of another pair of ponies looking at him. His nerves flared up again in an instant. They saw him panicking, they saw him zoning out. What kind of impression was that?
“Y-yes, sorry Princess. I….zoned out there for a second. Forgive me.” He tried with all of his might to bring across a level tone and a sense of normalcy with his voice. Hopefully that would ease the Princess.
“It’s alright Intrepid. I was just going to introduce you to mine and Shining’s friend.” His attention was drawn to the ponies trotting towards them. One was the ever-personable royal guard, Shining Armor. The other was a mare whom he could only come up with one word to describe; stunning.
A ruby red dress hugged her body, nicely contrasting her pearl white coat. The two-tone mane of this lovely visage draped down her neck, leading to curls resting perfectly at the base of her neck. Most of all, he noticed her eyes...magenta. They were enveloping, with such visible energy that her whole face seemed to spark with exuberance.
“This is Vinyl Scratch. Vinyl, this is Intrepid. He’s the former leader of Her Majesty’s Exploratory Force.” Intrepid nodded a little and instinctively brought up his right hoof to make sure his mane was straight.
That’s when he noticed it, the gaze of the young mare. It was drawn to his hoof, his fake hoof. As quick as he could, he put his hoof back down and turned ever so slightly to his right in order to conceal some of his less desirable features. There was something different about Vinyl, though. Her gaze wasn’t one of disgust, but of curiosity and maybe a little hint of worry.
“It’s a pleasure, Miss Scratch.” The mare gave him a polite smile. “And might I be as bold to say you look stunning in that gown?” Where did that come from? He wasn’t one for smooth compliments, or even such civility anymore? That didn’t matter, because Vinyl’s smile spread from ear to ear.
“Thanks, Intrepid. You look pretty good in that suit too. I like the ite, but maybe that’s because I’ve been arguing with Twinkle over here how bowties are for old guys and professors.” The guard at her side shot her a glance, to which Miss Scratch responded by sticking her tongue out.
“I’ll have you know my father wears bow ties, and pulls them off very well.” Shining Armor rebutted.
“Your father is a Professor at the School, dear.” Princess Cadance interjected, much to Shining Armor’s apparent chagrin.
“There. Point made.” The non-alicorn mare said with a firm nod. “Now come on! We have to get inside, I wanna get the good seats.” WIth gusto, Vinyl nearly broke out into a sprint towards the hallway where the royalty’s personal boxes were. She only stopped to grab Intrepid’s hoof and drag him along, much to the stallion’s surprise.
He kept up with her for the most part, well in a physical sense. On the emotional level, he wasn’t sure if he could. Vinyl seemed to have such an enthusiasm to her general attitude that he just couldn’t stop thinking about. When was the last time he ran into a pony who seemed so carefree in Canterlot? It was either ‘never’ or ‘close enough to never to be indistinguishable’. It was both refreshing and worrisome...nopony in Canterlot was this happy without dealing with something. It felt as though she was compensating for something.
----
VInyl rushed to Cadance’s personal box and flashed the ticket that Shining had given to her on their way to the Concert Hall to the Usher. A one-of-a-kind chance to feel like royalty for a night! The Usher nodded and opened the door for the both of them, Vinyl and her date.
Speaking of, Vinyl decided he was a bit of an odd duck. Fake leg, or at least hoof, kinda spacey. Not bad, at least he had the courtesy to compliment her unlike most of her dates in the past. She had a hundred bits on there being an interesting story behind that hoof, there had to be. But VInyl wasn’t one to push at possibly uncomfortable memories, she had experience with that recently and it was no fun at all.
Inside of the Royal box, there were six tiered seats. Three in the front row, two in the middle, and one in the back. It was an odd arrangement to say the least, but royalty was a weird crowd.
“C’mon, in the front. I want the best seats!” VInyl hurriedly hopped over the middle row of seats and plopped down in the middle front seat. It wasn’t ‘ladylike’ or anything, but at the moment VInyl didn’t care. This was the Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra! There was no time for class, this was something amazing!
“You’re very excited.” Intrepid sat to Vinyl’s left, he fidgeted about in his seat until he looked decently comfortable. “It’s actually rather refreshing, most ponies who come here are rather….” THe stallion bobbed his head for a few seconds, thinking of an appropriate word.
“Stuck up?” VInyl finished his thought for him.
“I was going to say ‘snooty’, but that works too.” It was then that VInyl noticed something that had not caught her eye in the lobby, Intrepid had a gray wing coming out of his suit jacket on his left side...but from what she could recall, not on his right.
“It’s one of those things, y’know? They’re used to it, it’s like living in Manehatten and just passing by the Statue of Friendship everyday like it’s no big deal.” VInyl was never really ‘good’ with words, roundabout ways of saying things were common in her day to day.
“They’re jaded.” Intrepid simplified. “An orchestra, what a terrible thing to be jaded about. I couldn’t imagine music such as this being so commonplace in my life that I’m indifferent about it.” Intrepid raised his faux hoof and stroked his chin. “Music like this, it shouldn’t be wasted.”
“Finally, somepony who gets it!” A loud ‘shhh’ came across from one of the other boxes. VInyl ignored it though, tonight she was royalty and could do as she pleased before the show started. “So many ponies just ‘listen’ to music as like entertainment. B-but it’s feeling and life put to sound!” Music was something that VInyl could talk about for hours, ever since she was a little filly listening to her parent’s records it had always been intoxicating to her.
“It’s magic, that’s for sure.” Intrepid added to the conversation. “How does it work? How does the chaos of an orchestra pit, all of the different sounds and shapes, make something so many ponies can identify with? It’s certainly as mysterious as magic.” There was excitement there, just beneath the surface. It was something that no other pony besides her father had been able to experience with her, a deep love for music.
Before VInyl could say another word, a tapping came from below, silencing the orchestra that was tuning their instruments. The conductor, an elderly stallion named Major Key, turned around to address the audience.
“Welcome fillies and gentlecolts to the Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra of Her Majesty, Princess Celestia.” He gave a slight pause for the light applause that followed. “Normally I would not engage the audience like this, but I’m afraid we have a few adjustments to our lineup tonight.” There was a murmur of concern among the audience. “Our first string Cellist, Bow String, is out with feather flu at the moment, so taking his place is second chair, Octavia Philharmonica.”
The crowd applauded for the grey earth mare who stood up and bowed from the first chair cellist position. Her pink bow tie made her stand out from the rest of the orchestra quite well.
“Told you bow ties were cool…” VInyl heard Twinkle murmur quietly, with an added smug laced in the statement.
“Our pianist, Frederic Horseshoepin is also out tonight, due to urgent family business.” A louder smattering of discontent spread through the audience of upper crust ponies. “Seeing as we could not find a replacement in time, I’m afraid all scores with a piano accompaniment will be swapped out for another piece.” This time boos came from the audience, just a few though. Those ponies were seen getting up and leaving.
“Well that’s a bit disappointing, isn’t it?” Intrepid murmured. “I figured they have backup pianists for situations such as this.” His brow furrowed as he looked at the still grand piano on the side of the stage.
“Therefore-” The conductor continued with a stern tone added for good measure. “We are replacing ‘Mareiposa’s Sixth’ with ‘Moonfall’, and ‘Bearton’s Ninth’ with ‘Rage of Chaos’. We do not mean to inconvenience you.” With that the conductor turned back around to set a booklet of music sheets on his stand.
“I don’t think I know those pieces.” VInyl thought about it, and nothing came to mind. Then again, she only dabbled in classical, she wasn’t really a connoisseur of the genre.
“They’re from Celestia’s personal collection.” The whisper came from Cadance behind them. “They are very old, and haven’t been heard in quite a while. It should be quite a show, VInyl.” That made VInyl feel a bit better, knowing that these pieces, like this opportunity, were a special singular moment.
The first few songs were simple and well known: ‘Song of the Seaponies’, ‘Rise of Harmony’ and ‘Symphony of Solitude’ to round out the familiar crowd-pleasers. All very beautiful songs in their own right, but too ordinary. VInyl wanted to hear something special.
Then it started; the Bases and Cellos started a deep swell, like an ever-growing wave on the horizon. As the swell got more intense and closer to its climax, the violins joined in, adding an air of creatures scrambling away from a growing threat, chaotic and beautiful.
Then it all crashed down at the signal of the cymbals. The strings died, and the brass section kicked in, letting loose deep and foreboding tones that echoed through the room and sent shivers down Vinyl’s spine. The tubas and trumpets were heralds of something awful and dark, and it was coming this way.
Then the woodwinds jumped in, quick and light, seemingly halting and quieting the rumble of brass. The strings jumped in again, providing an ominous background for the battle that was taking place on the stage.
It was an ever-surging back and forth between sections, every triumphant moment punctuated by the roll of the timpanis and crash of the cymbals. Whatever story this piece was telling, it was an epic for the ages.
It all came to a head when the harp joined in on the side of the woodwinds, bolstering its force and quelling the strings to a near silence. Then it all started to die until all that was left was the light back and forth between a flute and a Cello. The Cello’s once deep and mighty sound now left to roll in like the tide every few moments, only to have its sound linger. The flute responded with a sorrowful tune that formed a beautiful dichotomy with the stringed instrument. Its light notes always present and going as the Cello waxed and waned.
It all came to an end when the rest of the strings started to surge again and the flute let it’s sound die in the tidal wave of deep notes.
VInyl was acutely aware that she was sitting on the edge of her seat now, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. Then she looked around and realized everypony else was feeling the same thing...excitement.
“That was….exhilarating.” Intrepid commented, the stallion’s breath shaking as he spoke. “Quite something, that piece…”
VInyl could feel it too, it was quite something. There was electricity in the air; excitement and fear. There was something about that piece that stirred something very primal and old in the hearts of all of the ponies in the room. Something too real to quantify or qualify. It was wonderful!
Several orchestral pieces later
The concert was over. After a very...weird performance of Rage of Chaos that consisted of several kazoos joining the orchestra, and a few more regular songs to round off the night, it was time to go home.
“I, uh, had a very nice time Miss Scratch.” They were all in the lobby now, ponies filing by them in droves heading home for the night. “It was probably my best night in a very, very long time.” There was a hesitation from the stallion. “I cannot thank you enough.”
VInyl was taken aback when Intrepid embraced her in the coming moments, but she would not object to it. Warmly, she reciprocated. It was nice to connect with a pony who shared at least one of her major interests, even if he did have a few perks.
“We’ll see each other again, alright?” The unicorn pulled back and gave the nervous stallion a wink. “You can count on it.” With that, Vinyl turned away, catching Shining’s collar in her magic and pulling him away from Cadance, who he was nuzzling in a way that made VInyl uncomfortable. “C’mon Twinkle, we stay any longer and I have a feeling you’ll get charged with indecent exposure.”
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YES!!! This story is already making me fuzzy and warm inside!
"tie" has been misspelled. There is also a "THe" present.
Nice to see a Vinyl that appreciates music of any genre. Too many people just have her with complete disdain for anything that is not what she herself plays.
also many "I",s are capitalized where they shouldn't be most notably in VInyl, but I think it's more a keyboard thing so I'll let it slid.
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Yeah....My fingers sometimes don't get off of the tab key quick enough, so I end up capitalizing things I don't mean to.
Other than that, how did you guys like the new chapter?
This story is back, oh yeah :)
That's the best Author's note I've read in a while.
... I must take notes!
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There was a One year wait for that chapter. I felt it to be appropriate.
I was scared for a minute there when Octavia was introduced into the story. But thankfully this isn't a OctaScrach fic so i'm saved from the lack of originality. Loving the story so far cannot wait to see where this goes!
You've accidentally done that a few times, just find and replace all VInyl with Vinyl.
Sounds like the place must be a real joy to live.
This is going well, sounds like a pretty special concert. Those ponies that got up and walked out when Frederic's absence was announced really screwed up.
Oooooo, this Vinyl appreciates all types of music? I certainl;y approve of this, nicely done!
I had honestly expected an Octavia / Scratch ship. Nice choice of character though.
" She had her very own ‘playlist’ in her head that she often used to tune out those around her. Right about now it was on a lovely little tune that Princess Celestia often hummed to herself during the early hours of the night, right when the moon was closest to the horizon. It was sweet, almost sounding like a lullaby"
Mark Twain wrote a number of semi autobiographical novels about his travels. In one of them, he said that one of the cities (Vienna ?) had the rule that if you were late to the opera, they wouldn't let you in until the intermission. (This was to keep latecomers from interfering with the performance)
It’s been years since I’ve been invested in reading fics chapter after chapter. In beginning, I didn’t like Vinyl but she starting to grow on me.
I don’t ship mare and stallion, even female/male media but I love this, them so far. Especially, Shinning Armor.
Hey author, found a typo. Extra capitalized letter there.