The Mare Who Went into the Cold

by Frogmyre

A Chance Meeting of Two

The double bass leaned against the wall of the room. "By Celestia, this is the smallest room I've ever stayed in. Not to mention the coldest," were the thoughts in the mind of the owner, one Octavia Phillharmonica, as she stood in the doorway silently observing the room. It was, as previously mentioned, small with barely enough room for the double bass to stand completely upright. And it was the exact shade of grey that seemed like its only purpose in existence was to horribly depress and sap the spirits of whomever was unlucky enough to set eyes upon it. The room was sparse, to put it lightly; with a bed, which also had the same color of grey sheets, which took up more than half the available space, a window located at the hoof of the bed which looked out into the snowy day of Stalliongrad, and a small bedside table with nothing on it. That was all. And then of course, there was the door; a door made out of a very thick wood, not one that would go down easily even if the strongest Earth Pony tried to break it, the same wood the room itself was made of. There was also a small plaque located approximately in the center of the door, which indicated the room number was 006. Just looking at the number sent Octavia's teeth chattering. Or maybe that was the frigidness of the wind blowing through the now open window.

Before Octavia got to test out the mattress and see just how rough of a night she was in for, she heard a quiet cough from right behind her, which alerted her to the presence of a porter close by. Jumping, as she had not expected any pony, she turned around to face the stallion. For a stallion it was, a youngish one, practically just out of foalhood, who was wearing a thick coat to combat the cold and had a well-brushed black mane. A shocking contrast to the white of the snow, Octavia mused, as he asked, "Do you find your room up to your standards?" Octavia figured it was just hotel policy, especially for an important pony like herself.

"I sup- That is, yes, I do," Octavia lied. The first thing she had learned growing up as an Earth Pony in Canterlot, a city filled almost exclusively with unicorns, was the wonders that a quick lie could do. The second thing was the best place to land a kick, a skill she hoped she wasn't going to have to use.

"Very well then," the porter said, and started walking down the hallway, making as if to leave. As Octavia was about to go into her room, the stallion came running back, and said, "Oh yes, before I forget. You have a message," as he levitated a note over to her. He then walked down the hallway, leaving for good.

"Thanks!" Octavia called after the stallion, hoping he had heard her. "Now, whomsoever could have sent me this?" she pondered, almost sarcastically, out loud as she walked into her room. Shivering due to the cold, she walked over to the window, and slid it down. There was a high-pitched squeak as she did so, causing her to wince. Tired, she sat down on bed, causing a few cockroaches to scurry out from underneath it. "Looks like I got the Princess suite," she muttered, as she started to read the note.

Dear Miss Octavia Phillharmonica,
I hope this note finds you comfortable in your room. I am happy that you decided to take time out of your busy schedule to come to Stalliongrad, and perform for all of us here.
Sincerely, your host.

"Oh, ha ha," Octavia bitterly laughed. "He has a sense of humor, does he?" she pondered. She didn't even know if her host was a he. Of course, she knew almost nothing about whomever had first invited her to Stalliongrad. Apart from the fact that he must know a lot about her, due to the invitation being sent to her right after she had hit quite a rough patch and was running out of bits fast. In fact, it was right after the "Grand Galloping Gala Incident." After that, apart from developing a fear of the color pink, it seemed like nopony had wanted to play alongside her. So receiving an invitation like the one she had, embossed with gold and the monogram of Royal Sisters upon it, was like a ray of Celestia's sun being shone down upon her. At least, it had been at first, until she had arrived at Stalliongrad. Now, she just hoped she could be done with it quickly, get her bits, and leave. She was not a cold-weather pony.

Yawning, Octavia got up off the bed, and looked out the window. Apart from the great white nothingness of snow, she noticed the sun was pretty low in the sky, which meant a colder night was approaching. She figured now was a good a time as any to go to sleep, so she closed the door, got under the sheets and fell asleep.

For about five hours. Then, there came a knock on the door. Octavia groaned loudly as she pulled herself out of bed. "Who's there?" she called out, groggy from sleep as the knock came again, louder. The knocking, instead of stopping like Octavia thought it would, actually got even louder. Something Octavia didn't even think was possible. Sighing, she walked over to the door, and opened it. She was met with a vaguely familiar sight. "Donut Joe?" she asked, for that was who she saw in front of her. Or at least, a stallion who looked an awful lot like him.

"Wha- No! No, I have no idea who you're talking about," said the stallion. "My name is Mane. Con Mane," he added.

"Uh-huh. Riiiiight," Octavia said, eyebrow arched. "So you expect me to believe-" She started thinking, before being interrupted.

"I have a twin brother who just happens to look just like me!" explained Mane, accidentally finishing Octavia's thought. "That's the Joe you know," he finished.

"What ever you say," said Octavia, exasperated, "So tell me, Con Mane, why did you knock on my door at dark 'o clock at night?" she asked, clearly irritable and pointing to the moon hanging high in the sky.

"Your room?" Mane asked shocked and in disbelief. "Isn't this room number 007?" he asked, in addition to his exclamation.

"No, this is room 006. You know, the number before seven. Don't you have a light spell or something? I mean, you are a unicorn and all. And for that matter, why would you knock in the first place?" Octavia asked, with a sharp tone clear in her voice.

"Oh yeah, I... do have a light spell. Heh heh," he weakly laughed. He then snapped, "And I was expecting somepony in my room, thank you very much!"

"Oh, like that makes it better," thought Octavia, as heard him mention he was expecting somepony in his room. She was not prepared for what Mane was about to say however.

"So, do you come to Stalliongrad often?" he asked, leaning against the doorway and with an eyebrow raised. "And I must say, I like how the color of your eyes matches your mane."

Octavia then became aware of something which had been floating at the top of her subconscious. Mane's attitude, his wording, everything about him... she just couldn't stand it. And his last statement, his audacity of trying to flirt with her, it sent her over the edge. "You're kidding, aren't you?" she asked, her mouth agape, barely able to believe her ears. The frustration of the day finally culminated in one action, that of Octavia hitting him right in an extremely sensitive spot on his horn, just before slamming the door on him. The third thing that Octavia had learned whilst growing up in Canterlot, was that all unicorns, whether or not they know it, have a very sensitive spot at the very tip of their horns. So sensitive, in fact, that a hard enough force against it would knock the poor unicorn out and cancel any magic they were casting.

After the slamming of the door, there was a resounding thunk as the door hit Mane. Or at least, that's what Octavia thought and hoped it was. "Serves him right," she thought before going back to bed, and welcoming the bliss of sleep. For she was greeted by a dreamless sleep, something she felt she deserved after the trials of the day.

Sunlight softly streaming through the closed window fell upon Octavia and slowly brought her out of her slumber. A delightful, if not faint, scent of pancakes wafted up from the hotel kitchen, greeting her nose as it took it in with a deep breath. She slowly got out of bed, yawned once as she was still tired, and opened the door. Trotting out, she decided to look at the room right next to hers, 007. Knocking, she awaited a response. She might not condone his behavior last night, and she felt guilty, but she wanted to be sure he was okay. It's not like she was heartless, she did care about whether or not he was alright.

A few minutes later, she still hadn't gotten a response. "Well that's weird," she thought, before trying the door. It was locked. "And that's even weirder," she thought before shrugging and walking off. There wasn't much she could do, so she followed her nose, and headed towards the kitchen to get some of those delicious smelling pancakes. Trotting down the hallway, she noticed it was lighted by a series of small torches. An unusual method, and yet it worked well enough, so she wasn't going to complain.

Finally, after walking down the hallway a little while with a few turns here and there, she ended up in the kitchen. It was a large room, divided by a counter spanning one end of the room to the other. In the half that Octavia was currently standing, there were several tables surrounded with seats, a few of them currently occupied. In the other half, from what she could tell, was the proper kitchen area, currently staffed by a single unicorn. She could also smell the pancakes coming from that half, so that was a large amount of proof for that being the kitchen area. The stack of pancakes currently on a plate on the counter was a small hint as well. There was also a sign reading, "Free pancakes," attached to the counter, an offer Octavia couldn't refuse.

Loading up a plate with pancakes, Octavia sighed about the lack of syrup and walked over to the nearest unoccupied table and sat down. She caught a few snippets of conversation from the nearby tables. A few of the notable ones went as followed:

"Have you heard? The P-"

"I heard that pony was found in the snow! Alone-"

"Why don't they have any muffins?"

"I heard He was flying in via His airship!"

As Octavia was about to dig in into her pancakes, feeling quite hungry, a strange unicorn mare sat down on the seat opposite her. She had a two toned mane, one part a sharp cyan, the other a darker cobalt, and she had a coat that could only be described as off-white. Curiously enough, even considering how cold it was, she wasn't wearing a jacket, or anything else. Octavia couldn't see the strange mare's eyes, as she was wearing large glasses with purple lenses. "Name's Vinyl Scratch," she introduced herself, "sometimes known as DJ Pon-3. Yours?" she asked, head on the table, supported on her front hooves.

"The name is Octavia Phillharmonica," Octavia introduced herself.

"You don't mean THE Octavia Phillharmonica, do you?" Vinyl interrupted.

"Yes I do. Have you heard of a different Octavia Phillharmonica?"

"No, it's not that... it's just that I'm a big fan of your work! I mean, an earth pony, born and raised in Canterlot, who rose to be one of the most renowned double bass players in Equestria! As a piano player myself, I am in awe of your skill!" praised Vinyl.

"A piano player? Would have never pegged her as one," Octavia thought, as she said, "Well, I thank you for your kind words, but can you please tell me why you're over here, and why you're eating my pancakes? I doubt you recognized me from that far away." Speaking of recognition, she vaguely remembered the name DJ Pon-3, having read the name on a flier once. The name Vinyl Scratch, however, rang a faint bell. But she couldn't place it, annoyingly enough.

Vinyl, who had leaned into a magically levitated plate, which had been Octavia's, dropped it, and pushed it back into its rightful place and righted herself and was now in a more natural sitting position. "Well, Octy, you're wondering why I sat over here? Simple!" Vinyl was oddly ecstatic as she explained, "Whenever I see a mare in such obvious distress as yourself," she held a hoof up to stop Octavia from interrupting, as she saw the look on her face, "I consider it my civic duty as a DJ to sit by her!" she finished. With a sheepish grin on her face, she added, "...And I was hungry for pancakes."

"Well, since you're here, maybe you can help me. Have you heard any news regarding," here Octavia took a break to swallow the piece of pancake she had managed to get, "A stallion by the name of Con Mane?"

Vinyl froze. "Con M- M- Mane?" she gulped, "No, I haven't heard any news regarding him. Why? Why do you ask?" she asked, sounding oddly urgent. She had a look of a pony who didn't want to hear the answer to the question they had just asked.

"Well... I may have accidentally caused him to lose consciousness," Octavia said. Of course, she wasn't going to say that she had hit in on the horn, slammed the door on him, and that it wasn't an accident in the slightest. She noted how urgent Vinyl had sounded, and asked, "Why? Do you know him or something?" She thought it weird, as Vinyl didn't seem like the kind of pony who'd know him.

"Me? Oh no. I've just... heard of him," Vinyl said, sounding nervous. "Oh, look at the time!" she exclaimed, pointing at a blank spot on the wall. "I've gotta go! Hey, do me a favor, and let me know if you hear anything about Con!" she said, running out of the kitchen.

"Wait! You didn- And she's gone," said Octavia, as she started to eat her pancakes again. "What a weird pony," thought Octavia as she continued eating. A few minutes later found Octavia finished with her pancakes and thinking, "I do wonder what happened to Con Mane." As if the universe itself heard what Octavia was thinking, two ponies came out of the other half of the kitchen, carrying a stretcher. They walked through an open portion of the counter, which was when Octavia noticed just who it was. It was, of course, Con Mane with bandages wrapped around his muzzle. Octavia gasped, and walked over to one the ponies and asked, "What happened to him?"

"Oh, him?" the pony, a stallion, shrugged over to Mane, "We found him outside the kitchen, covered in snow and with a broken nose." He then continued walking out of the kitchen, ignoring Octavia's continued attempts to speak with him.

"What in Equestria was he doing outside in the snow?" Octavia mused, as she noticed a hither to unseen door in the other half of the kitchen which she figured must lead outside. As that had been where the two ponies carrying the stretcher had come from.

As Octavia didn't have much else to do, she returned to her room, and looked at the calender stuck to the wall. "Only two more days until my concert. I've already been here for roughly two, and they've been pretty... hectic, to say the least. I wonder what could possibly happen next," she said out loud, tempting fate. Fortunately for her, fate was in a good mood that day and didn't smite her with a lightning bolt.

For the rest of the day, not much happened. She tuned her double bass again, making sure it was properly tuned for the concerto she had been hired to perform. A personal favorite of hers, something she wondered if her host knew. Probably, knowing just how much information he already knew. As she pondered the words of the enigmatic Vinyl Scratch, she suddenly noticed something odd. Vinyl had said something about playing the piano. And this exact piano piece called for the double bass to be played along side a piano. Based off what she had played the Grand Galloping Gala, in fact. This coincidence bugged her until night came. And even as she was falling asleep, she felt it nagging in her brain.

Comments

[BlondeSky]

This story has definitely caught my attention. I like the concept, and it's well written out too. There was just a few little things like

"Oh, like that makes it better, thought Octavia

I think that was supposed to have another quotation mark after the first comma. Definitely excited to see more

[Frogmyre]

5552290
Little bit of a late reply, but that wouldn't stop the King of Heroes, nor would it stop me!

Thank you! Seeing a comment like this makes me happy! I fixed that error you pointed out, by the way, so thanks for that!

And a new chapter is on the way soon!