Listen to the Music

by Alun Aleriksson

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sweetie Belle found it far more difficult to get to class than she had anticipated. With the addition of hundreds of ponies, navigating the grounds became next to impossible, let alone finding a single classroom in a specific building.

Between the jostling and the confusion and the building names and the steps and the door numbers Sweetie Belle ended up being late to her first class, Intro to Composition. The door was open, so she snuck through and silently found a seat. The professor, an older gray stallion with a quill and ink cutie mark, didn’t even look up from his lecture.

"... Assignments will be due at the beginning of class every Monday, no exceptions. If you are absent on a Monday you will receive a zero for the assignment as well as participation for the day. Now if you’ll turn your attention to what I’ve written on the board…”

Sweetie hurriedly opened her notebook and began scribbling furiously to catch up. She hadn’t been in class for five minutes and already she was lost. She knew how to read music, of course, but it had only ever been a single part she had to sing. In composition, there were several parts, and even multiple staffs to incorporate! Treble, bass, tenor, baritone; the notes began to blur together in Sweetie’s brain.

Even worse, most of the students did not seem to share her problem. Several were nodding in understanding as they wrote down key points. One colt wasn’t even taking notes: he was wearing bulbous blue headphones and tapping along to an unheard rhythm.

The hour crawled by. Sweetie Belle wrote down everything she could, but she missed a few things when the instructor erased the board, and what she did have only became messier and messier as the class period progressed. It would have been easier if the professor didn’t write down every single word he said; Sweetie couldn’t pay attention to both the writing and the talking.

When the clock chimed 11, the professor set down his chalk. “That’s all for today,” He called over the clamor of students packing up their things. “Assignment due Monday: I want you to write a simple three-part chorale, at least twenty bars in length, in 4/4 time. You can pick the key.” He paused, then decided to write the assignment on the board, which nopony but Sweetie bothered to copy.
Sweetie Belle was mentally exhausted, but the day was far from over. She had ten minutes to get to her next class.

~><~

The walk to the dining hall was significantly more draining than it should have been. Sweetie's second class, Music Theory, was easier than composition, but not by much. At least the instructor had clearly highlighted the main points instead of writing every little thing down.

The singer-in-training trudged to the queue for food and snagged a tray with her magic. Her fine-control levitation was really getting a workout today.

She selected two slices of veggie pizza, an apple, a bottle of milk, and a small brownie for dessert. Meal plans were included with tuition, so she didn't see any reason to skimp on nutrition. Well, perceived nutrition, at least. With tray in tow, she set off to find Gentle Melody and her companions.

Scanning the tables was an experience in and of itself. Just like the common outdoor area, students used the free time to discuss their particular interests in the arts. Drawings and musical scores were strewn across tables, leaving little room for actual trays of food. Some of the theater students were even standing or posing, putting on a show for their fellows. One was holding a plastic pony skull, for what reason Sweetie couldn’t discern.

“Hey!” A shout interrupted her thoughts. “Over here!” Sweetie turned to see a yellow hoof waving at her. Glad for the intervention, she made her way over to the table where Gentle Melody sat with Dulcet Tones and Bassline, as well as several other students Sweetie didn’t know. There was only one open seat left, so she took the empty spot next to Gentle Melody.

“Glad you could make it,” Melody said, as Dulcet Tones and Bassline greeted their new fourth voice with silent nods. “How’s your first day goin’?”

“Oh, you know… good.” Sweetie Belle was nervous again, especially since most of the students around Gentle Melody were listening to her, too. Being in front of crowds was a fear she had yet to get over.

“Good! Say, we never got your name yesterday. Mind filling us in?” Her conversation partner didn’t seem to notice the attention she garnered.

“I… I’m Sweetie Belle.” Her voice cracked, and she felt a hot blush spread across her face.

“Oh, you are just too cute!” Melody looked like she wanted to ruffle Sweetie’s mane, but refrained. “Well Sweetie Belle, there’s no need to be afraid around us, right guys?” She addressed to the other students around her. Nods and murmurs of agreement followed. “See?”

Sweetie found herself nodding along. Nothing to be afraid of. Nothing at all. “Are these music students, too?” She asked.

“Not all of them, but most,” Melody replied. “I like to cast my net as wide as possible.”

Something about that sentence was strange, but Sweetie didn’t have time to reflect on her confusion before the next question was directed at her.

“So when’s your next class today?”

“Not until three,” Sweetie had made sure to memorize her schedule, and after the difficulty finding her classes earlier, she was glad she had: pulling out the piece of paper to check where she was would have made the transitions all the harder.

“Great! You wanna hang out with me and the gang?”
It felt like somepony had removed the piece of her jaw holding it together. Using just her tongue to talk sounded garbled, so she forced her teeth to clack shut and tried again: “Sure, I would love to!”

~><~

Sweetie couldn’t believe it. She was establishing herself with a group of friends that could help her on her journey to becoming a musician! Gentle Melody was taking time to show her around the school and introduce her to some of the ponies that had been seated at her lunch table, not that Sweetie remembered any of their names. This was exciting! This was exactly what she wanted!

“So, what do you think?” The statement startled Sweetie.

“Um… well…”

Gentle Melody chuckled. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but you get used to it. Someday, this campus will be your domain, with you at the top of the totem pole.”

“I…”

Suddenly the older student leaned in close to Sweetie Belle’s ear. “And I’m going to give you everything you need to get there.” As quickly as she approached, she receded and giggled. “Won’t that be fun?”

“Y-yeah...” reluctance crept into Sweetie’s voice. “Fun…”

“Come on! I still have lots to show you!”

Following along warily now, Sweetie scanned the campus, barely listening to Melody anymore. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what her new mentor was saying. Passing by the stairs leading to the music hall, a flash of blue and silver caught her eye.

Sweetie did a double take. She would recognize those headphones anywhere: it was the colt from her composition class! He was sitting on the stairs, still incessantly tapping all four hooves to whatever beat he heard. Deciding that this colt was more important than Melody at the moment, she took a closer look.

He was an chestnut earth pony with a tan mane that hung around his eyes. The eyes themselves were closed as he lost himself in the rhythm. She tried to get a peek at his cutie mark…

“Hey, whatcha lookin’ at?” The older unicorn followed Sweetie’s gaze to the steps.

Sweetie jerked at the sound of Melody’s voice. “Huh? Oh, he was just somepony I recognized from class.”

“Him?” Melody regarded the colt for all of two seconds before making her judgement. “Looks like he’s got some weird muscular disease. You can do much better.”

“Huh? What do you mean, better?”

Her mentor sighed in response. “Oh, Sweetie, you have so much to learn. Never fear, I’ll get you to the top eventually. By the end of the year, you’ll see what being popular can really do for you. But it’s all about image, and that colt? He’ll ruin yours.” She finished, saying the last part with as much certainty as she would have used claiming that Celestia raised the sun. It bothered Sweetie, but she couldn’t put a hoof on why.

~><~

The corridors of Fillymoore Hall were silent due to the soundproofing measures on each of the musical practice rooms. Sweetie Belle walked slowly, almost reverently, her hoofsteps echoing softly off the marble floor.

"116... 117... Here it is: 118!" The young unicorn stopped and regarded a plain wooden door that was cracked open slightly. This was the class she had been most eager for: Voice Instruction. She had been assigned an advisor for the entire four years that she would be enrolled in the Institution. Said advisor would teach, recommend, and otherwise guide her in developing her voice to the best of her ability, if all went well. But not if she stood out in the hallway all afternoon. Sweetie lifted a hoof and rapped gently on the door.

“Come iiiin!” lilted a high, but pleasant voice. Pushing against the portal, Sweetie found a cream colored Earth pony mare with a flowing pink and blue mane. She was bent over a modest desk, writing in what looked like a journal or agenda. At the sound of the door hinges squeaking, she glanced up. “Oh, you must be Sweetie Belle!”

The mare’s disarming smile and the faint smell of lilacs in the room eased Sweetie’s fears. At least her advisor wasn’t some old crone stuck in their ways who would teach you to sing like they had been taught because by golly it worked for them and music don’t change.

“Yes. Are you Miss… Fee? Fi? Fo?” The letters on her schedule were arranged in a twisted semblance of a word.

“Fioritura, dear.” The mare corrected with the experience of one who had pronounced her name for every pony she had ever met. “You can call me Miss F. Please, close the door behind you and have a seat.” Fioritura gestured gracefully to the chair set across from her desk.

Sweetie Belle settled down and scanned the rest of the room. A worn keyboard occupied the far corner behind her. The curtains over the windows were an airy blue, made from a thin fabric that tinted the light coming through them. Potted flowers were arranged on shelves and in the window sill. A stick of incense smoldered on the desk, the source of the lilac odor, Sweetie guessed. The effect was very calming.

“So then, let’s get started, shall we?” Fioritura smoothly rose and walked around the desk, as poised and confident as any unicorn in Canterlot. Her self-awareness impressed Sweetie Belle, as the only other pony she had seen move with such grace and surety was her sister. She sat herself at the keyboard a coaxed out a simple melody. “Show me what you’ve got!”

~><~

Dear Rarity,
Today was the first day of classes. They’re a lot harder than Miss Cheerilee’s lessons, for sure! My favorite, though, was definitely my voice instruction. Miss F was so nice! Also, I think she might have some unicorn blood in her, too. She walks like she knows she’s beautiful.
I met up with some of the friends I found yesterday, and they gave me a tour of the campus. I think they like me, but it’s going to take some getting used to. I miss Apple Bloom and Scootaloo… Can you say hi to them for me? I know Bloom’s probably busy with the harvest, but It’d make me feel better knowing that they know I’m thinking of them.
With sisterly love,
Sweetie Belle

Dearest Sweetie,
I’m so happy things are going well for you; you’ll have to tell me all about your new friends. I can’t wait to see what you do with your education there. If the upper classes say you’ve got what it takes, I look forward to seeing you grow into the beautiful mare you were meant to be.
Of course I’ll give your best wishes to both of your friends; they’ll be happy to hear from you.It sounds like you have a lot of work in store for you, but I know you’ll be able to handle it. Have you tried asking some of your friends or classmates for help with classes? They might surprise you.
All my love,
Rarity