3: The Concert
The night of the concert was quite the social event. To many in the upper echelon of Canterlot society, a night where unknown talent was being introduced was an excuse to peacock. All around the Royal Symphony Hall, noblemares and stallions were bedecked in their absolute best finery. Jewelry, dresses, tuxedos, perfume, and elaborate hats crowded the street and entryways. Not to mention the rumor mill was in full swing.
Night Light, Azure Skies, Pear Butter, and the three fillies were in a carriage which itself was in line behind a few others as VIPs were permitted first entry. The lone stallion was smartly dressed with sharp angles and dark colors being the motif of his clothing. Azure Skies and Pear Butter had only the best dresses money could buy, a perk for having Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash as benefactors. Those two queens had quite the friendship with Equestria’s most esteemed seamstress and tailor couple after all.
As for the trio of young princesses, Flurry Heart’s pink and turquoise dress was flecked with white to mimic snow. Since Stellar Drift’s rebirth had not removed the fur and mane colors her pony disguise had possessed, her dress complemented her navy blue coat and dark purple mane. And the once fearsome necromancer turned little bug horse, Amber had a cloud theme going for her gown.
Stellar Drift sat patiently on her seat while Amber and Flurry Heart’s faces were squashed against the right side windows. The two were soaking in every detail of the crowd. “You’re going to mess up your hair if you smush your faces like that,” Stellar warned.
Completely ignoring her sister, Amber cooed at a collection of mares’ hats. “Oh wooow! They all look like swans!”
Stellar Drift fidgeted in her seat trying to ignore the temptation to go look.
Flurry rocked a bit as the carriage moved forward. “Ew, that one looks like a patch of poison joke.”
That got a curious eyebrow lift out of Azure, and she scooted away from Night to investigate. Sure enough, upon peering over the little alicorn’s head, she found the blue flowered hat. “Well, isn’t that a bold move. I dare say those flowers look real,” Azure hummed with concern. “Let’s hope you’re wrong.”
Their carriage came to a stop at the red carpet with all three window watchers pulling back. Stellar saw both of the other fillies’ manes were flat in front. “I told you two, but nooo.”
Amber pouted and tried to do her mane with a hoof. “Looks better this way anyway,” she claimed while trying and failing to resist Pear’s efforts to fix her mane.
Azure primped Flurry’s mane back into shape right as a valet opened the door to allow them to disembark. Camera flashes started immediately, with Night Light and Azure Skies taking the initial brunt of the paparazzi. The fillies filed out with Pear Butter bringing up the rear. The foalsitter couldn’t stop herself from blushing from all the pictures being taken of her. She wasn’t used to wearing such expensive clothing, and all the attention she was getting was overwhelming. She tried to use the rest of the family as a shield to little effect.
Just get inside an’ forget about the cameras, Pear told herself as she tried and failed to exude confidence in the face of such judgmental ponies. She was sweating to the point it was beginning to accumulate in one of her leg holes. Oh, the itchiness that brought. Thankfully, Night Light was quite well-versed in tactfully directing attention away from Pear with a few well placed words to fellow aristocrats, while Azure Skies and the trio of fillies won over the rest of the attention.
The family made it inside with the press managing to take only a few embarrassing photos of Pear trying to scratch the offending leg hole. The lobby was filled with more nobility and staff trying to cater to everyone’s needs. The fillies made a mad dash to the concession stand. As the adults walked over to join the little scamps, Night could overhear Stellar barking orders.
“We have to get the best taste to calorie ratio. Now, Flurry—” Night Light heard nothing more.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a grey and purple mare. He sharply turned his head towards the staff entrance, only to barely catch the end of a tail as the door closed, but he couldn’t be sure if it was the two familiar colors. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but was jarred out of it by Azure waving a hoof over his eyes.
“You okay, hon?”
Night Light’s hard expression vanished as he returned his attention to Azure. He briefly scanned for the girls and was grateful to see Pear Butter organizing their orders. “Sorry, baby, I thought I saw somepony familiar, but I guess it was nothing.” He planted a kiss on Azure’s nose to reassure her.
It seemed to work as she brightened up and skipped forward while pulling him towards the food stand. “Come on then, let’s share a popcorn.”
Just behind the staff entrance, Twilight Velvet was shaking in a cold sweat. To her everlasting gratitude, no one else was in the short bend of the hallway but her. No no no! Why is Night here?! I have to tell Lyra I can’t be here!
After a minute or so, Velvet got her breathing under control and passed through the staff hallways without further incident. Simple music was already leaking in from the main concert hall, but experience told Velvet those were merely idle songs for now. She began to make her way to the musicians’ row, and saw a number of ponies were getting ready out in the hall. Shielded by a wall of bipedal blue drones was Lyra’s room.
Velvet hesitated at the sight of them. She couldn’t suppress a shudder of old terror, of lingering fears realized. The internal war to squash those fears led her to overhear one of the musicians she happened to stop near.
The haughty stallion was speaking to another unicorn. “What are those bugs doing here? I thought none of them could hold a tune to save their hides.”
“They’re not here to play,” the other stallion whispered so the distant changelings couldn’t hear, but Velvet could. She was using the conversation to distract herself. “Rumor has it, that Lyra character has something special in mind. You know, the mare that somehow managed to get the queens to turn her into a ‘Ling?”
The stallion snorted derisively. “So they had to poach a pony to have a musician? Sounds about right.”
The distraction wasn’t working, and the overheard conversation wasn’t helping either. Years of suppressed paranoia threatened to relapse as images of various kinds of weapons sprang to Velvet’s mind.
“Hey!” a raspy voice called out from the screen of changelings. One of them was pointing at Velvet while a second buzzed over to her. “What are you doing? Lyra said you ran off to get snacks. You forget your bits or something?”
Velvet forced herself to not look at the two stallions who huffed and trotted off. “I realized there were some ponies out there who’d recognize me and might cause a scene if they saw me.” Not a lie, just an omission of who exactly. She tried to hide that fact to keep her emotions from giving her fear away.
The blue changeling mare gave a half-frown. “Just my luck. Fine, whatever, go wait in the room then or something. I’ll buy the snacks.”
“T-thank you.” Velvet levitated over the bag of bits and the list of desired snacks.
After the changeling walked away, Velvet sped towards the closed door and slipped inside. Her initial intention to announce her ex-husband’s presence was derailed by a bewildering sight. Lyra was clinging to the ceiling as she practiced a slow dance while plucking away at her lyre. She did it mostly to playfully annoy Bon Bon.
The final distraction to completely throw Velvet's train of thought aside was the sudden music she had not heard in the hallway. It was a hauntingly exotic play style that gripped the soul. Velvet was so stunned that she stood in the open door until one of the drones outside shoved her through the threshold and closed the door.
Lyra did not react to Velvet’s entrance at all, so the older mare was able to claim a seat next to Bon Bon after coming to her senses. With the burning question of the true nature of the music on the tip of her tongue, Velvet forced herself to keep silent for now. Bon Bon patted Velvet’s hoof reassuringly, but otherwise remained quiet as well.
Taking a few moments to get a feel for the music, Velvet realized Lyra must have just started the song since it was building up in tempo. Lyra’s hands danced over the strings, and as her horn lit up in golden light. A violin and bow rose up from the chair opposite of Bon Bon and took up station to Lyra’s left. All of it still upside down. Normal unicorn levitation would completely envelop the violin and bow. Lyra’s form of control, however, was a pair of ethereal hands that grasped the instrument, with another glow pressing on the chin pad for stability.
The bow hit the strings and a pitiful tune came out of it. The notes were faint, the pitch was grating to the ears, and it was an overall miserable companion to the lyre. Velvet flattened her ears and glanced at Bon Bon who had the same occasional winces of auditory agony, but kept her ears forward and straight.
Lyra didn’t get very far before she stopped her dancing and the music cut off. She detached from the ceiling and dropped heavily to the floor. Instead of looking at the other mares in the room, she turned away, and tilted her head, letting one ear hang limp. “Gah! I can’t practice with it like this.” She paused, staring blankly at some point on the ground. “Well, I know that, but how can I get an ear for it without it plugged in?” Lyra turned away from the other two mares and said nothing further aloud.
Confusion washed over Velvet for a second or two before realization struck her. Must be that hive talk.
A gentle hoof on her shoulder brought Velvet’s attention to Bon Bon who had a half-grin. “She’s a mad one, I’ll grant you that,” the pale earth mare stated as she tried to read Velvet’s expression. “The violin will sound worlds better when she gets on stage.”
“I would hope so.” Velvet tensed a bit to ask that question. “Is that the surprise her fellows outside were talking about? Being able to play two instruments at once?”
Bon Bon chuckled and waved a hoof. “A little. That’s mostly Queen Blitz giving Lyra enough extra brain power to multitask, but even then Lyra can’t do that for very long. No, the bigger surprise is the violin being electric.”
“Electric?” Velvet had to search through her admittedly limited musical knowledge. Staying locked away in an archive for six years tends to limit one’s knowledge of modern advancements. “I know there are mana guitars, is that the sort of thing you mean?”
Bon Bon shook her head. “I made that mistake too when I first heard about the violin. But it’s different than mana instruments.” Bon Bon wiggled a hoof and looked up trying to think of the right words. “Lyra could explain it better, but there’s a more… gut feeling to electrics over the more lofty and floaty mana ones. That’s why you don’t see any mana bass instruments. Plus, these electrics can perfectly imitate acoustics and mana variants with the flick of a switch.”
“I see… I hope she remembers to flick that switch before showtime.” Velvet sighed with a shudder, and inwardly chided herself with heavy self-deprecation. Idiot! If the changelings were up to something, the princesses would have called them out on it by now.
The horrid music started back up, yet Lyra couldn’t stand the noise after a few miserable notes and dropped to the floor with a sour face. “Ugh, I can’t practice without the amps.”
Before anyone could give a response, a yellow light bulb lit up next to the door, causing Lyra’s face to brighten. “Looks like the first act is starting. I still have a few minutes.” Lyra flew over to her fancy chair by the vanity mirror to rest in a slouch. Her violin was delicately set in its case.
With the lull in noise and conversation, Night Light returned to Velvet’s mind. Assuming she would need to bring the issue up with her parole officer, she approached Lyra’s relaxing form. “Pardon the interruption, Miss Heartstrings, but I feel it might be better for me to stay here during the show, or at least somewhere out of public sight.”
With a kick, Lyra rotated her chair to give Velvet a grumbly face. “Look, I know the violin sounded bad, but that’s because my sisters set the amps up on stage. Gimme a break. By the way, where’re my chips?”
“I’m sure it will sound lovely,” Velvet lied with a forced smile. “I was going to get your chips, but I saw my ex-husband in the lobby.”
“And?” Lyra spat back with a glower most dire. “Isn’t the whole reason why you’re in Canterlot to face your family?”
Bon Bon got off the couch to join the others as Velvet gave a worried response. “Yes, but didn’t you want all that to wait until after your big night?”
The dots finally connected for Lyra and she started to freak, only for Blitz to waylay the emotional outburst with what amounted to dousing her in emotional cold water. Lyra averted her gaze to speak rapidly with her queen until eventually nodding. When Lyra next faced Velvet, she bore the eyes of her queen. Her body seemed to burst into flames, and revealed the standard blue furred and rainbow maned colors of her brood. Lastly, the outline of Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark manifested on Lyra’s prismatic wings.
Velvet recoiled from the display while Bon Bon was entirely unfazed. The earth mare gave a respectful bow. “How are things, your highness?”
Blitz gave a warm smile towards Bon Bon. “Quite well, actually. My beekeepers are starting to see some good honey yields, plus Aegis and I have already compiled a solid list of candidates for royal rebirth.”
Bon Bon clapped her hooves excitedly. “That’s wonderful news. Do I know any of them?”
To that, Blitz put on a sly grin. “You do, actually.” Blitz had to make extra sure her inner thoughts didn’t leak into Lyra. “But we’ve decided on a ‘wait and see’ approach for now. It’ll give us time to better prepare for supporting princesses and what sort of modifications will be needed.” Pleasantries exchanged, Blitz returned her gaze to Velvet. “We’ll have to catch up later, Bon Bon, unless you still wish to speak to me. If you do, I must ask that you continue to do so through one of my children outside.”
Bon Bon stepped back and placed a calming hoof on Velvet’s withers. “I think I’m needed here more.”
The elder unicorn shuddered at the touch, but didn’t shy away from it. The act got a nod of thanks from Blitz. “Ms. Velvet, it’s almost an honor to meet the birth mother of my bloodline.” Blitz narrowed her gaze as she studied the fearful mare. “I can see why you stayed away for so long. You’re far from ready to face your family now, correct?”
Velvet imitated her daughter’s breathing exercise and calmed down enough to speak more or less with an even tone. Both queen and earth mare patiently waited for her to find her voice. “Y-yes, your highness. I thought it best if I just stayed out of everypony’s way. I - uh - I can’t say I was preparing myself all these years for a confrontation like this.”
“Obviously,” Blitz replied with more hostility than she wanted. Blitz took a moment to give a long sigh, both with Lyra and her real body. “The fact of the matter is, nopony can ever truly be ready for such things. If the novels and plays I’ve seen with such topics have a grain of truth to them, such reunions are always emotional trainwrecks. But ultimately… ultimately this needs to happen. My aunt bears a scar only you or a memory wiping rebirth can heal, and she’s not going to have that procedure for a very, very long time.”
“We can compromise,” Bon Bon offered. Blitz and Velvet gave her a quizzical look that silently waited for elaboration. “It can’t be too hard to find out what seats Night Light is sitting in right?”
Of course, I gave them the tickets, Blitz couldn’t keep that little snippet from leaking through to Lyra’s mind. The musician was flabbergasted at her queen. <Sorry. If things go bad tonight, I’ll make it up to you. Uh, somehow.> “Yes, I can find that out easy enough. I can already tell you he’s probably taken a balcony.”
“Perfect!” Bon Bon stepped away from Velvet to place one hoof on the wall with the other forehoof to the side and slightly below the first. “Say this top one is Night’s and this bottom one is Velvet’s seat. He’s bound to notice Velvet before the night is out. If we give Night Light a few hours or even a chance to sleep on it to get used to the idea of Velvet being in the area, then he won’t have all the usual shock and outrage if Velvet showed up unannounced.”
Acting as if she hadn’t thought of it herself, Blitz rubbed Lyra’s chin in contemplation. “Night Light’s well respected. He won’t cause a scene in such a public setting.” Especially with the girls with him. Lyra caught that part too. “I like it.”
<My queen, you are so meeeean! It’s bad enough I have to face a crowd of the super rich and influential without the risk of somepony exploding out there,> Lyra all but cried.
<I like to think of it as tough love,> Blitz shot back while blowing a mental raspberry backed by a stern presence. <Besides, you need the extra excitement to perform at your best, and a bit of punishment for being so caustic to Velvet, deserved or not.>
Back in the real world, Velvet had taken the two changelings’ silence as time to think. “I don’t really have a choice in this, do I?”
Bon Bon got off the wall to give her a reassuring nod. “You’ll do fine. Once you get the first meeting jitters out of the way, you can bully through the rest of it with the momentum.”
“I hope you’re right.” Velvet scuffed the ground. “I really do.”
The concert was in intermission. The horseshoe shaped stage was masked by curtains, hiding the preparations for Lyra within. There was a general din among the audience filled with conversation and excitement. An excitement that had Azure Skies stuck between keeping up with her family’s activities and looking over the private balcony railing to see if the show was resuming. Pear Butter had snuck in a deck of cards so everyone could play Uno during times like this.
The quasi’s three remaining cards floated in front of her face, masking the evil grin behind them. One skip turn and two draw fours! I’ve got this one in the bag.
Yet before she could enact her dastardly plan on a hapless young alicorn, the lights went dim, and a hush fell over the audience. Stellar Drift, who had over ten cards, bolted off the floor, abandoning her miserable hand in an instant.
“Stellar!” Amber grumbled as she magically snatched all the cards off the floor and back into the deck box that Flurry Heart was helpfully holding up for her.
Willfully ignoring her sister, Stellar snuggled in between Night Light’s forelegs, basking in his warmth and love.
Night Light gave the scamp a ruffled mane, but decided against calling her out on it. “Thank you, Amber, Flurry. Now hurry up or you’ll miss the opening.”
The six and seven year olds scrambled to shove the cards in, bending a few in the process, much to Pear Butter’s horror. The young pair all but tossed the crammed box at the foalsitter before rushing into their seats.
Azure Skies doled out some freshly refilled popcorn for the little ones and sat down next to her stallion. Both little changelings had butter stains on their faces, but Flurry Heart had been careful to avoid such problems.
Azure’s return was timely, for the curtain lifted to reveal a small collection of stone arches made to look like ruins serving as the background. Hidden in darkness around the edges of the stage, a few drummers sat at the ready. Perched on a tall simplistic altar sat what looked like a violin. However, those possessing keen eyes or theater binoculars could see the instrument looked more like a stylized treble clef than a functioning acoustic instrument. Not to mention it had more strings than a hoof could possibly use correctly. The whole stage was well lit, with a light behind the ruins mimicking the sun on a cloudless day.
A single drum beat rang out, focusing the crowd as Lyra walked out of the ruins and straight to the violin with her lyre in hand. She paid the crowd no mind on her march to claim the instrument. In what some might call an act of showmanship, cockiness, or an offering to the audience, Lyra let her lyre float in her magic while she held the violin aloft in both hands. The drums kicked up in tempo as Lyra rested the violin on the crook of her neck and withdrew the bow from her back. Calling back on her training in the mirror world, Lyra started playing only with her hands.
The audience was immediately taken aback by the sheer number of beautiful notes, precise warbles, and Lyra’s light dancing with the music, as if her body was as much of an instrument as the violin. What would take two or three hoof-held violins all came from this single instrument.
Needing only muscle memory, Lyra closed her eyes and let the music take her. With her body swaying back and forth, she poured her love and experience into life. The first song brought to the common pony her interpretation of the song of the hive mind. The drums added the short bursts of intensity Lyra heard during military drills.
Almost mid-note, the violin flew a short distance away in her magic so Lyra could take her lyre in hand and played a short solo with it. During that time, a few unicorns conjured up a compact rainstorm over the stage. The musicians in the sunken area around the stage were shielded from the rain, but the rain started falling with enough intensity for bits of water to splash the closest patrons.
As soon as the storm was in full swing, Lyra switched back to her violin and played a different song, breaking tradition by not announcing the change. Yet the new song segued so smoothly only a few in the audience realized it. Back at home, Blitz started hive meditation, changing the music of the hive mind, making Lyra feel as if she was being shot with adrenaline. Her swaying to the music grew even more pronounced. Lyra started swaying wildly back and forth, completely driven by the song.
With a final strong draw of her bow, Lyra ended her song, signaling the magi to abruptly cut the storm off and allow the false sun to shine clear once more. As the steam cleared the stage, it revealed Lyra curtsying with her bow and violin swept out and her lyre floating above her head.
Stomping hooves of praise rang through the audience. Lyra ended her curtsy to bask in the overwhelming cheer. Most of the aristocracy were too posh for such displays, so many of them remained seated, but offered their version of high praise with gentle clapping. Lyra milked the audience for all they’re worth, and blew kisses at any stallion she saw.
Her gushing calmed a bit when Blitz spoke to her. <Bravo as always, Lyra.>
Lyra gave a girlish giggle as her queen’s pride touched her every thought. The accolades the audience was showering her with was but a pale shadow compared to receiving even a modicum of praise from Blitz. Lyra couldn’t stop her wings from buzzing from the warm feeling. <You can thank the mirror world for the training.>
<Perhaps. Could you do me a favor and play that melody you’ve been working on?>
Lyra nearly missed the stage light signaling her to either leave the stage or quietly agree to an encore. <But it’s incomplete. I’m writing it to have lyrics but I haven’t found the right words yet.>
<But the instrument parts are complete. Can you still play, for me?>
Blitz’s love for Lyra flooded the musician, a feeling that burned away any and all desire to deny her queen. It was not just the love of mother to daughter, queen to drone, but also Blitz’s love of Lyra’s craft. <Anything for you, my Queen.>
Lyra looked to the stage director hidden in the dugout to the right of the stage and nodded her wish to do the encore. Yet it was left to Lyra’s brothers and sisters to relay the more detailed instructions to the staff.
As the magi were bringing the storm to life, Night Light was enraptured by the expert playing. Along with the rest of the audience, he too was pleasantly caught off guard by the sudden storm and lightning. The lightning flashes lit up the whole theater with just enough light to not cause pain. By the second flash, though, Night Light caught something in the corner of his eye.
He leaned forward, disturbing Stellar and Azure so they moved away from him to get better looks at the performance. That freed Night Light up to get a closer look at the balcony below and ahead of his own. No, it couldn’t be…
The delightful music was all but ignored as Night Light focused on the shadow-cloaked pony sitting with one other on the balcony. When the storm cracked with lightning again, the flash of it burned the image of Twilight Velvet into his retinas. All it took was that instant of recognition for an anger he thought had long since been repressed to surge through him. Memories of the lies Velvet told him to hide her work with the PCE, of being forced under house arrest so she could kidnap Twilight, and of so many other wrongs his ex-wife had committed.
“Daddy?”
Stellar’s fearful question snapped Night back to his family. The music caused Azure to miss the little filly’s question, but the two changelings and one quasi were looking at him with concern. It didn’t take Azure long to see everyone else was distracted. She looked to him as well and noticed the tension in his face. “Something wrong, dear?”
“Just a bad memory,” he offered apologetically. “I need to use the restroom anyway. You all enjoy yourselves; I’ll be back soon.”
Azure Skies may have been willing to buy the lie, but none of the changelings were. Even so, Pear Butter didn’t want to stick her muzzle where it didn’t belong. She quietly pulled the two princesses over in a hug and tried to distract them with the performance. Flurry Heart had been ignorant of the whole exchange and was still enraptured by the music.
Night Light slipped away without further incident. His first impulse was to head straight for the other balcony. Better head to the restroom anyway. That way, nopony can call me a liar even if somepony catches me checking to see if that mare is truly Velvet.
By the time Night Light got to the lower balcony, Lyra had moved on to the song requested by Blitz. It was a slow, somber tune that tugged on the heartstrings. To Night Light, it sounded eerily like an old lullaby Velvet used to sing to Twilight. The gentle calm and love it used to evoke in the old stallion was tainted by renewed malice and regret.
There was no one in the hallway, and upon reaching the three stairs leading into the balcony, he found two ponies present, but the one that riled him up was seated closer to him. “Twilight Velvet,” he announced without anger, just in case he was mistaken. The way the seat was positioned, he couldn’t see her cutie mark.
The mare stiffened in response, and slowly turned her head to look at him. Standing this close, there was no mistaking her face for anyone else. Night Light ground his teeth, wishing to yell at her. I can’t risk the girls sensing my anger, I shouldn’t have come down here.
With a silent, seething warning in his eyes, he stepped backwards, unwilling to turn his back on the pony who had betrayed him so completely. It didn’t matter that he could see her sobbing into her clasped hooves. Yet before he could move out of sight, a second mare got up from behind Velvet and all but raced to get close enough to speak quietly with him. “Sir Night Light?”
Night Light only averted his eyes away from Velvet for the barest of moments to take in the newcomer’s apparence. She was a cream colored earth mare he had seen on rare occasions around Lyra, but her name escaped him. “Yes, and who are you? This one’s parole officer, I hope.”
“My name’s Bon Bon.” The earth mare looked back towards Velvet, who was trembling but wasn’t turning away. “And I suppose you could think of me more as a… counseling officer.”
The job title gave him pause. He faced Bon Bon fully with a perplexed expression. “You’re… Lyra’s friend, right? The same Lyra on stage?”
Bon Bon nodded with what she hoped was a disarming smile. “The one and only, so far.” Bon Bon glanced down both sides of the hallway, grateful the coast was clear. “It was Queen Blitz’s idea that Velvet try to find some measure of closure with the family.”
“And she thought a damn concert is the best place for that?!” Night Light hissed angrily.
By now, Velvet had worked up the courage to walk up to the top of the balcony stairs and hide beside the wall that would shield her from sight of the rest of the family above. Before Bon Bon could say anything further, Velvet spoke up. “Please, Nighty, I just want to talk, nothing more.”
In his periphery, Night Light saw Bon Bon give Velvet a deeply concerned and questioning look. Uncaring what she had to say, Night Light put the earth pony off balance by throwing a dismissive hoof in Velvet’s direction. “I don’t give a flying rut about what you have to say. Just leave before I get Rainbow Dash to bully you completely out of Equestria this time!” Trusting a friend of a changeling to keep Velvet from doing anything stupid, Night Light stormed off. I need some fresh air.
Velvet hesitated at first, allowing the stallion to put some distance between them. She attempted to chase after her ex-husband until Bon Bon placed a restraining hoof across her chest.
“What was that about? The plan is to give him time to cool off first.” Bon Bon warred with herself trying to keep her exasperation at Velvet in check in favor of being diplomatic.
Velvet clenched her teeth in an attempt to calm herself down. It wasn’t working. “I - I can’t risk waiting. If I do, I don’t think I can work up the strength to confront him again.”
“You go out there right now, and both of you could say something you’ll regret.” Bon Bon used Velvet’s hesitation to walk in front of the older mare, and gave her a sympathetic small smile. “Velvet. We did what we came here for, more or less. He’s seen you, and now he can go cool down, and so can you. If you’re not up for staying around, we can go back to the hotel; Lyra will understand.”
“No, no, no!” Even before Bon Bon finished speaking, Velvet was violently shaking her head. “That’s not what Arvatus taught me.” Velvet’s labored breathing came in heavily. “‘A broken bone that didn’t set right must be rebroken to correct it.’ This whole ‘ease him into it’ thing was a bad idea. He needs to vent his anger on me or else it will just fester again.”
“And you will rebreak it, just not here, alright? Look, I don’t presume to be smarter than a doctor,” Bon Bon cried, almost too loud for her liking, “but all I know is that you’re in no state to face whatever toxicity he’ll unload on you. Please, we did what we came here to do-”
I’d trust that kind tom over some confectionist any day of the week. Knowing she couldn’t push past Bon Bon, Velvet grabbed the earth mare with her magic and all but tossed her aside. Velvet sucked in a long, hard breath to steel herself and ran off.
Bon Bon hit the other wall. She was more stunned by the act itself rather than any damage done to her. “Velvet, stop!” she shouted as loud as she dared. If Velvet heard her, she ignored Bon Bon and raced to the far end of the hallway where Night Light had run off.
Night Light had retreated to one of the many pegasus aerial exits on this floor. They weren’t hard to find, thanks to the convenient exit signs. It was on the south face of the building, overlooking some other concert halls nearby. The light from recently installed neon lights of changeling design gave the exterior some illumination beyond the dim streetlamps. The exit itself had a short, fenced balcony to keep drunken ground ponies from falling to their deaths.
There was more than enough room for him to bask in the cool evening air. After a few long moments, he realized he didn’t hear the door shut behind him. He whirled around to see Twilight Velvet meekly poking her head around the door. There were lines of tear stains under her eyes, and the aging mare looked like she had taken a few moments to collect herself. Nevertheless, her red-rimmed eyes told their own story. “You’ll get locked out here if you let the door shut.”
Night Light bristled and turned to face her fully, ignoring her advice. Did she do something to that officer? I can’t believe Bon Bon would let Velvet approach me again in good faith. “You shouldn’t be here,” he growled with panicky defiance. “Go back to Manehattan and rot in that library!”
Velvet’s ears wilted along with her depressed frown. Using a nearby door stopper, Velvet propped the door open before stepping fully onto the balcony. It wasn’t a large affair, barely big enough for three ponies to stand end to end.
“Night, I - I,” Velvet couldn’t bring herself to speak of Celestia and Blitz forcing her hoof into action. I should have done this years ago. Mustering up the courage to look her ex-husband in the eye, she found deep wounded anger, but his defensive stance and tensed muscles reminded her of a cornered animal.
Burning shame forced Velvet to avert her gaze towards the ground below. “Am I really that terrifying?”
Her demure stance did nothing to dampen the fear he had, but his anger flashed as he whisper-shouted to prevent drawing eyes up from the street. “How dare you ask that if you’re as sane as you claim to be.”
The retort felt like a slap to the face, making Velvet wince.
“From my great-great-grandfather, I’ve carried my family tradition of second chances,” Night Light seethed with almost clenched teeth. “But you threw it away by lying about continuing to consort with the PCE. I gave you a third because I loved you, then I find your letter to the archmage condemning your daughter! A fourth chance because you were my wife, then you proceed to drug me and place me in a cell so you had free rein to foalnap Twily.” He vigorously shook his head. “There will be no fifth. I don’t care what the princesses say; you’re a walking disaster as far as I’m concerned.”
Stinging tears dampened Velvet’s face, yet she made no excuses, taking his verbal lashing like a flagellant.
As Night Light’s anger overpowered his fear of Velvet, he vented all the pain and tortured thoughts and feelings he had been keeping locked away. “Why couldn’t you just move on?!” he raged, his voice getting a little louder. “Sure, Twilight came back to us as some kind of insect, it took some serious getting used to. I’m not so self-righteous not to admit that, but you never gave her a chance! You always rambled on and on about how she was going to become the next Chrysalis! Her children, our grandchildren, are the most loving ponies in the world! Maybe a bit too much at times, but still! But you couldn’t see any of it. First it was becoming Chrysalis, then it was taking over Equestria from within.” Night Light couldn’t stop his ranting even if he wanted to. The dam had burst and Velvet was damn well going to get swept up in the flood. “All the lies you told me. ‘I told the PCE I wasn’t interested.’ ‘Just because I agree with them doesn’t mean I support them,’” he spat acidly.
Every word, every barb, all the lies thrown back at Velvet were like hammer blows to her already frayed nerves. Night Light was nearly a minute into his tirade when Velvet’s own self-condemnation doubled the weight of his accusations. All of her resolve to weather his hatred had evaporated before the truth. Irrational panic started setting in, causing her to back away from his fury. Velvet didn’t get very far due to the railing pressing against her tail.
“I knew you drugged my wine that night,” Night Light growled with hatred in his eyes. Velvet looked at him with stunned surprise. “You think I was so blind back then that I wasn’t watching you carefully?” He clenched his teeth, wrestling with long pent up self-anger. “But I had hope. Some thin hope that after I died—or at least was knocked out by your poison—you’d come to your senses. That you would finally step back from the cliff.”
With an almost sarcastic huff, he flailed a hoof at their surroundings. “And look where that trust brought us.” He jabbed the same hoof in Velvet’s direction. “Were it not for Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor, I’d say nothing good ever came from our marriage.”
Velvet languished in the silence Night Light left as he turned his thoughts inward. Again, she looked at the pavement three stories down. “We were happy once…” She looked back up at Night Light, trying to remember his smiling face. The young stallion she had fallen in love with. But time and depression had robbed those memory of any clarity. All she could see now were the reopened scars she had created just by showing her face. “Weren’t we?”
Night Light saw no danger in the broken mare doing a poor job trying to control her sobbing. He would have left her there had she not been so close to the door that he’d have to touch her to get by. “We were,” he admitted coldly after a long moment. “We had loving kids too. But only one of us still does,” he added spitefully. As much as he’d loathe himself later for it, he took some sick satisfaction in seeing Velvet’s thin mask of control shatter completely.
Velvet collapsed against the side of the balcony, her sobs muffled by her foreleg. Her body shook with every wracking cry, and she was finding it hard to breathe. Yet she controlled herself enough to stutter out a question. A question to which she had tried to think of an answer for six years and had come up with nothing. “What…” some small spark of her drive—the same drive that had pushed her to do everything in her power that she thought would save her daughter—gave her the strength to face Night Light again, “What can I do to make it right?”
Night Light snorted dismissively, and fixed her with a wrathful eye. “You have the gall to ask that?” He shook his head. “Twily was always better at forgiveness, or at least figuring out some worthy penance. So I won’t speak for her. But as for me, I’d be perfectly fine never seeing your face again.”
The street below lingered in Velvet’s tear-blurred gaze. A few passersby started to notice her. The thought of jumping and letting Elysium or Tartarus take her in final judgement bore down on her. It felt like hours passed as her self-preservation rebelled against her wish to end it all. I can’t face her. Not Twily. Not after what I tried to do to her.
In a surge of movement, Velvet was magically thrown away from the edge and pressed hard against the wall.
Night Light closed in on her face with indignation burning in his eyes. “Don’t you dare!” Velvet’s sobbing was cut short by the sheer audacity of his act. “I don’t know who or what possessed you to come here and try to speak to me after all these years, and frankly, I don’t care.
“What I do care about is letting Twilight have her say about any form of penance before you decide that for yourself.” Night Light cut his magic off, allowing Velvet to slide down to the cold, cement floor. “And when I said I don’t want to see your face again, that included seeing your splatter on tomorrow’s paper.”
Not willing to babysit her, Night Light unceremoniously shoved Velvet aside so he could get through the door. The grey and purple mare offered no rebuttal or resistance to the act.
In the tight squeeze to get through the door, Night Light accidentally kicked the door stop and only realized it after the door had closed behind him. He looked around, but no one was present in the hallway. Just as I thought. Either Velvet did something to that counselling officer, or Bon Bon used this whole thing as a therapy session.
He thought about just leaving Velvet to her fate, or Bon Bon, whichever happened first, but that damned nagging lesson his father gave him stayed his hooves. “A watershed moment can change a pony for good or ill, Nighty. Oftentimes, however, others are not willing to believe or trust such repentant ponies. Be the one that does.
Night Light ground his teeth. “This is the reason you always told me not to pry.” It gets too personal. Even with his father’s words in his mind, Night Light was not willing to give a sixth chance. But he could almost feel his father’s disapproval weighing down on him from the grave.
In a burst of action, and before he could regret it, Night Light cracked the door back open and shoved the doorstop in place. He didn’t bother sticking around to hear any gratitude and marched off to find some other place to cool down before returning to his family.
After he left, Bon Bon crept out of a nearby unoccupied balcony and made for the exit door. Blitz is not going to be happy about this.
It's been waaay too long since I've been able to pump a chapter out. Hope you enjoyed it!!
Don’t forget, comments are author food. And after 2 months I’m starving. 
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Blitz, setting this confrontation up at a frickin concert was the wrong move, albeit a wholly in-character mistake for you to make. Now, the concert had been ruined for Night Light, Velvet, & Bon Bon, & further reconciliation attempts will be all the harder for this bungle. In other words, kudos to the author for some very believable intensifying of the central conflict of the story via suitably in-character actions
If comments are author food could you describe the many flavors of comments?
Thank you for writing
8756450 As a fellow author this is how I classify them:
Spicy - Comments that get the author feeling a bit worked up about how much a person is gushing over their story.
Salty - Tears of bitter fans whining about how plot point x or y messes up their waifu and makes the story Ruined Forever!
Sour - Comments that offer nothing but vile insults as to the quality of your work without actually making the criticism valid by pointing out examples.
Sweet - "awesome" "Great story" "Instant fave" Comments that are nice but offer little substance. They indicate that people are at least enjoying what you write, but they aren't as satisfying as a comment that gives you an opportunity to engage with the reader outside of the chapters.
Bitter - Criticism that is both deserved and detailed enough to point out a number of small flaws in such a way that fixes are easy to see and implement, leaving you wondering how the hell you were dumb enough to make the mistake in the first place.
Buttery - Comments that compliment the story in multiple ways, showing that readers are engaged enough to leave something more than a pithy one or two words. This can be something as simple as people making a guess about a plot point or even engaging the author in a small debate over a detail in the story.
Favorite food - Full-on multi-paragraph essays of comments that not only show that a reader is engaged, but that they CARE about the characters in the story. Short comments that do the same thing in fewer words. Anything that truly shows that the writer is properly conveying the emotions behind situations and has not only engaged the readers via piquing their interest, but by managing to tug at the strings of their hearts and play a resonating melody that truly moves the reader. These tend to be generated more by heavily emotional scenes, but a good writer knows better than to abuse their readers by making bad things happen too often. Nobody wants Darkness Induced Audience Apathy.
I will extend this that sometimes a simple bookshelf placement can be a fine wine or delightful snack if the person placing it has given a unique bookshelf name. I have a bookshelf with only two stories in it that is called 'made me laugh so hard I had an asthma attack' and I have seen one of my stories put on someone's bookshelf entitled 'Praise this story, Praise it!'
well that happened, I feel like Night might regret some of his word choices just because he was angry, but overall I think he will feel a bit better after getting all that out, as for the meeting with Twilight... well lets just hope Phoenix has some good insurance, I think they will need it.
We have had a lot of story arks over the years with the Hives series, but this one here might have me more excited then any before it.
I do not know what to say.it's sad.I feel sorry for velvet
This was gona be a train wreck no matter how it was approached. Actually doing it infront of the children, as cowardly as that may have been, would probably have been the 'safest' in the short term anyways...
8756762
No, this is exactly what needed to happen. Night had to say the things he's always felt like saying and was denied, and she needed to hear from others truly just how badly she fucked up, instead of just telling herself she did.
After being knocked down this far, if she tries to climb back up, everyone involved will know it's genuine and not some delusion of hers. Even she will know this for sure.
8756439
Yeah Blitz's Rainbow Dash is showing.
Ooooh the drama has started!
Poor velvet. only willing to mend broken bridges after the last one burned down...
Yay, new chapter! Party time! :D
And question: what exatly geas means? Translator don't know this word... is it some kind of curse? Obligation? Promise? Yes, I'm kinda throwing random words, as I fear that in Polish we don't have similiar word... :(
Mmm best outcome for this situation. It prepares all parties involved to the confrontation.
8757502
A geas is a curse that forces the bearer to follow its instructions. Most of the time the bearer can't even think to not obay.
8757502
Roughly, yes. A geas is a compulsion, to either be forced to do something, or to be unable to do something no matter how much the subject might otherwise want to. To act against a geas is either impossible or leads to death, depending on how the author wants to use it; in this series, it is impossible to act against the geas.
Well that was a thick band-Aid that needed to be ripped off. Good to see it done.
Boy have I been both looking forward to and dreading these chapters. Velvet trying to make amends has been a long time coming, but Night Light's reaction? I never suspected the anger he held over it. A whole new level to his character was revealed that I never saw coming.
Fantastic. Beautifully written. Well done.
i1.wp.com/digiday.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/tumblr_lj0wls8poh1qb9bjho1_400.gif?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1
WhooHoo! I'm so excited to see another chapter come out!
8757502
A better translation would be Klątwa Ślubow. Basically like 8757911 it's a compulsion to do or not do something. A better one you can plug into your translators would be found:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Geas
and
https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Geas#content
I'm almost upset that Velvet didn't get her face smashed in by vengeful concrete. But, at the same time, I want Queen Sparkle Butt to be the one to throw mommy dearest off the port side of the Deception.
Also, I was rereading this for fifth time, and one thing comes to my mind...
Your inteligent changeling, with their Hive mind, are very similiar to Khala of Protoss... I'm the only one?
8758290
Band-aid or a strip of duct tape?
8760085
a duct tape sized, very thick band-aid.
Planning new queens, eh? Would they happen to be Lyra and Bon Bon?
Woohoo, more drama. The idea of the catharsis TV woupd get from ending it all. It can be very seductive when you think you have nothing left. I love that Night called her out on it. In the end Suiside is a selfish act that only grants release to the dead. The living are burdened with the dead anf never get the closure they deserve.
Yay new chapter!
Yay Terrible things happening to Twilight's Mom!
Great chapter! That last bit on the balcony was very well done.
I find Night Light's anger at once both justified and childish. The last bit about his father's lessons, however, was a nice touch, showing that even he thought himself to be immature and close-minded. Because it makes sense: Very, very few people believe someone when they are repentant, because it is so contrary to everything they have done until that point, that them actually changing does not even register as a possibility.
Oh please tell me the next chapter will be out soon. I crave more! So good!
8761384
He called her out on it because he new that's what he was driving her towards.
He knows she is mentally broken, and he knows what happens when you push someone who is that broken.
Nightlights anger is justified of course, but this is not the way to deal with it.
8811982
TV is doing more damage to herself than Night has ever done. He isnt pushing her towards anything, hes standing up for his family. Hes protecting them from a toxic individual who has deeply hurt them in the past. Velvet has come far, but its going to take solid effort to show she has improved. Its not something that is quickly forgiven.
8813475
Pushing someone towards suicide, and then warning them not to take the easy way out is NOT standing up for his family. It is torture pure and simple. It is him trying to get his pound of flesh because he personally feels she has not suffered enough because he has not witnessed her suffering. It is cruel, pointless, and solves nothing.
8814439
Nightlight had nothing to do with the situation, he tried to leave and TV insisted on pursuing him. She needed to "Break the Bone so it could heal" what did she think was going to happen? That her husband whom she refused to listen to after years of plotting against their own daughter, would suddenly forgive her and accept her back like nothing happend? Im sorry but thats not how things work. Night has dealt with the pain for years and has only now begun to stich his life back together, and now Velvet is poised to rip it all apart again? Can you blame the guy for flipping out? If she wants any hope of reconciliation she needs to let him come to terms
8814699
No one said anything about forgiveness, so kindly stop putting words into my mouth.
As I have said before his anger is more than justified however that does not give him an excuse to verbally attack his ex to the point where she wants to kill herself. Heck he even notices how far he has pushed her, and proceeds to make sure that she won't take the easy way out.
Yes he has dealt with pain for years...BOTH of them have. He however had people around him to help him forget the pain while she has had no one...
What Nightlight is doing here is not justice it is his own petty form of revenge...he wants to see Velvet in pain.
As far as letting him deal with it on his own...he has...for years...how has that worked out?
You cannot fix a problem you have with someone by yourself.
the musical part reminds me of a fan-comic called "Hearstrings" on Deviantart. there's a scene where Lyra plays an electric guitar:
https://tritebristle.deviantart.com/art/Heartstrings-ch4-p18-They-see-me-rockin-390956112
8874001
Looks like the chapter was unpublished almost as fast as it was published. Alas, looks like the rest of us have to wait longer.
Well ... that happened ...
Category 1:
'Amber's anf Flurry Heart's face'
either 'that memory' or 'those memories'
Now, to go back to the flashbacks ...
Well that went almost exactly as expected. Did Blitz plan for this eventuality?
This story had earned the medal for the most strange yet amazing line on this site
-gives you food, and a bunny rabbit-
Well, that went about as well as I thought it would.
Slightly better, actually.
One hell of a story... Mutch has yet to be healed...
Blitz MVP frfr