Crystal Note - The Crystal Faire

by TalkingToMyself

The Concert

Chapter 6: The Concert

The crystal faire turned out to be a great success overall. From the early morning hours when the ponies were lured into the market plaza by the scents of breakfast and warm drinks, to the time the morning train arrived and brought dozens of new visitors, ponies filled every street and corner of the city. The lively bustle and chatter of many voices echoed from the crystal buildings that surrounded them.

Merchants from Canterlot, Trottingham and Manehatten praised their goods in loud voices and called for buyers, but it seemed the more quiet crystal ponies drew far more attention from everypony with their traditional wares and the many shiny trinkets and knickknacks made of crystal and precious stones. As those could not be found anywhere outside the Crystal Empire, the tourists from the south happily spent their bits on a souvenir or three.

By the time Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor reached the market, many of the stalls had already refilled their goods at least once. The eagerly greeted their Princess as well as the flock of ponies of all tribes that followed her. Princess Cadance, as usual, spent a lot of time talking to each vendor and visitor as she strolled aimlessly through the large plaza.

As the sun rose higher, more and more ponies gathered at the stadium were the joisting tournament was about to take place. The competitors warmed up as the seats filled and among the professionals from Canterlot and Cloudsdale, the small team of crystal ponies stood proud and confident. Most of them were members of the crystal guard and received training from non other than Prince Shining Armor, after all.

For the next few hours, excited calls and cheering echoed through the stadium, while things at the main plaza quieted down some. For those who weren’t that interested in jousting, like Octavia and Crystal Note, this was the chance for a quiet stroll through the stands and stalls and get a bite for lunch. Both friends chatted easily with each other, but Octavia noticed how most of the crystal ponies timidly looked away when she addressed them. Everypony was very friendly, but their clearly were some reservations towards the visitors from outside the Empire.

Just as Octavia was about to mention something to her friend, they ran into a group of foals. The young ponies pointed to the sky were a few pegasi put up an impromptu flight show, as it seemed. Crystal Note smiled brightly as she watched the fillies and colts, mixed of all four tribes, with aahs and oohs each time a pegasus performed another daring swirl or loop.

---

Behind the curtain of the main stage, preparations were in full swing. Sets stood ready, instruments were tuned and most of the ponies had put on their performance outfits. Rose Quartz was doing the finishing touches on Crystal Note’s mane. They somehow managed to tame the long curly mass of hair into an art piece of complex braids and buns. Traditionally, there would be gems woven into the strands of mane as well, but even without Crystal Note looked like a crystal princess, especially since she also wore a long dress, almost a gown, made by Rarity of course.

Everything seemed ready, but Octavia noticed right away that her ensemble was not. With the exception of Vinyl Scratch, herself and maybe Crystal Note, although she had that neutral stoic expression which made it hard to read her, all the ponies seemed extremely nervous. Most of them had peeked out through the curtains and saw the mass of ponies gathered for Princess Cadance’ speech and their concert right after. Each of them had returned either pale or with wide opened eyes. It was their biggest performance yet and now, minutes before curtain rise, stage fright spread out like a wildfire.

Lyra and Vinyl desperately tried to calm down Bon Bon who seemed ready to just turn around and run all the way back to Ponyville. Clear Skies sat silently in a corner, none of her loud cheeriness rubbing off on the others this time and Crystal Note, now fully dressed up, ran from pony to pony to share some encouraging words in her soft voice.

Octavia and Vinyl shared a look fraught with meaning. Vinyl glanced over the rim of her glasses and they nodded. Octavia stepped into the middle of the room, her voice raised over the nervous mumbles around her
“May I have your attention, please? Everypony gather up. Come on, this is important.”
She turned around to meet everypony’s eyes as the ensemble gathered around her in a loose circle. Once she was sure to have their attention, she took a step back to take her spot in the circle between Vinyl and Clear Skies like she had done before every performance. She always gave a last few encouraging words before they met their audience, but she always made sure everypony knew she was part of the team above anything else.

As always, she put her hooves on the shoulders of the ponies next to her and the others followed her example as they huddled up. All eyes were on Octavia, waiting for a pep talk of some kind.
Instead, what they heard was Octavia starting to sing in her high-pitched soprano voice

Three months of winter coolness
And awesome holidays
We kept our hoofsies warm at home
Time out from work and play

Every trace of nervousness vanished and utter confusion took its place. Of course, they recognized the song, they were all living in Ponyville after all. But the sight of brim and proper Octavia of all ponies singing the silly song, completely out of season nonetheless, and just minutes before their performance was mind-boggling.
Lyra exploded into a snorting chuckle when Octavia sung “hoofsies”, a word the proper mare would never use and that made the whole situation even more absurd.
When her laughter slowed down, she continued with her raspy singing voice

But the food we’ve stored in running out
And we can’t grow in this cold

A few more ponies giggled and another voice took over

And even though I love the snow
This weather’s getting old

The entire ensemble was smiling at this point and they swayed together in tune with the song when Crystal Note started singing the first verse

The time has come to welcome spring
And all things warm and green
But it’s also time to say goodbye
It’s winter we must clean.

She started to chuckle just as loud and slowly the tension vanished from the ponies as they took turns singing the rest of the song. At the chorus, they all joined in together with bright smiles on each face

Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Let’s finish our holiday cheer!
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
‘Cause tomorrow spring is here!

A loud wave of laughter took over and when they ponies finally caught their breath again, Octavia called out
“That’s the spirit everypony. It doesn’t matter how many ponies are out there. And it won’t matter if we mess up or make a mistake. We’re having a blast out there and we’ll get everypony have a great time because of it! Are you ready for this?”
Everypony cheered and stomped their hooves.

When the group split up again, they were still very excited but no longer nervous. Octavia checked on each of the once more until they all shared her collected calmness. The last two ponies she addressed were Vinyl Scratch and Crystal Note who would perform the opening song. Two minutes before curtain, they already stood in position, Crystal Note with her traditional coiffure and her elegant dress, Vinyl wearing her usual shades.

Octavia knew that behind her shades, Vinyl had her focused expression as always when she performed, professional through and through. Crystal Note carried an almost serene smile on her face. She was clearly ‘in the zone’ as Lyra liked to call it.
Octavia exchanged a glance and a nod with them, Vinyl and Crystal Note bumped her hoofs together without even having to look
“Let’s do this.”
The curtain raised and the two walked onto the stage in a well-synchronized motion.

---

There was some polite cheering already, but most of the ponies didn’t really know what to expect from the ensemble of Ponyville. The crowd went silent and watched curiously.
Vinyl made took her place to her turntables and levitated her trademark headphones over her ears while Crystal Note kept going towards the centre of the stage where a single microphone was set up.

She heard whispers and mumbles as the crystal ponies took in her traditional attire. The only thing that stood out was her silvery-white unicorn horn, but Rose Quartz had managed to weave her mane around it in such a way that the horn looked like it was part of the coiffure. The whispers turned into gasps when her horn glowed in a soft turquoise light. Her violin floated up from next to the microphone and when Crystal Note sat next to it, the instrument descended safely into her hooves.

The crystal ponies stared surprised, as intend by the unlike duo. They only noticed moments later that Vinyl Scratch had already started a record. A low bass line, almost like a deep hum, filled the air through the speakers and the crowd watched Crystal Note as she sat with her instrument in position and her eyes already closed.
When she heard her cue, she let her bow travel softly over the strings and created a series of high notes, a stark contrast to the deep tune from the record.

Together, the DJ and the violinist picked up the pace of their song. Crystal Note’s bow danced and flew over the strings in a very wavy melody, long vibrant tones followed by lively passages in between. The melody was very old and formal, just like the crystal mare’s attire, and the crystal ponies recognized many themes of old, traditional songs from the Empire in it. Still, there was a modern touch to it, an almost chipper attitude that lacked in the old songs sometimes.
That modern touch was only increased by the heavy beats from the turntables. The crystal ponies heard that kind of music for the first time, but some of the visitors from outside recognized DJ PON-3’s distinctive dubstep style.

While it had been Octavia and Vinyl who had perfected the symbiosis of classic and electronic music, this song easily reached their level of skill and beauty.
Whenever the violin reached a slow part, a new beat was mixed in only for the violin to rise again and pick up the tune once more until the flowed together.
Old and new, tradition and stride, music and magic, all in perfect balance and creating something wonderful and amazing.

The effect on the crowd was tremendous. Any reluctance the crystal ponies had faded in the upbeat song and soon they were swaying along with the other ponies in crowd. Vinyl Scratch noticed this through her shades and waved encouragingly every time she saw a pony cheer. Crystal Note’s eyes remained closed, as always when she completely gave herself to the music, but her whole body started to glitter and sparkle in the sunlight, even her tail and mane. This time, the light of Crystal Note was strong enough for everypony to see clearly.

The performance ended with one last long note from the violin. Crystal Note opened her eyes and smiled into the roaring cheers of the ponies and Vinyl Scratch stepped out from behind her turntables. They stood next to each other and while Vinyl waved her hoof and grinned, Crystal Note took a deep bow instead.

Octavia took her place behind the microphone and welcomed the ponies in the name of the Ponyville Music Ensemble. Crystal Note barely heard anything she said as she made her way back behind the stage, still buzzing from the intensity of the song and the happy cheers from the audience.
The next group of performers stood ready and waited for their cue. Crystal Note smiled encouragingly to them and joined their laughs when Vinyl grinned and exclaimed
“Got them riled up for you guys, now go finish them off!”

Octavia finished her speech and the curtains rose for a second time.

---

Riding on the wave of the opening act, the concert went on swimmingly. Octavia and her ensemble made sure to offer the crystal ponies a variety of different styles of music, from a classic Canterlot string quartet with herself and Crystal Note, to a modern rock anthem with Lyra on guitar and Neon Light on drums.

The crowd went along most of the time and Octavia heard the excited mumbles in between acts and saw the smiling faces whenever she was on stage. She noticed something else as well, however.
The crystal ponies were the most enthusiastic early on, when the music was inspired by their old songs and melodies, and some stayed in their happy moods to the last song. A good part of them seemed to withdraw as the night went on and more music from outside the Empire found its way on stage. She couldn’t really tell the reason, but they seemed intimidated by the way the ponies from Canterlot and elsewhere cherished the songs they knew and even sung along whenever possible.

Crystal Note noticed this as well. She wouldn’t be on stage anymore except for the finishing act and watched the crowd from the side of the stage. She knew the crystal ponies well enough to notice the subtle changes, how they gathered among themselves rather than mingle with the other ponies in the crowd.
During Bon Bon’s song, the unicorns in the crowd had lit up their horns as they swayed and hummed along. In the dim evening light, the colours of their magic blended beautifully into the last sunbeams that hit the crystal buildings all around and from stage, the entire festival plaza turned into a glittering rainbow of light and sparkles.

The crystal ponies, most of them sadly, failed to notice the beautiful display around them and Crystal Note’s smile faded when she saw fear glittering behind their eyes as they backed away from the unicorns. She couldn’t blame them, really. She had seen what magic could be used for at its worst, just like they had.
Unlike them, she had also seen all the beautiful things magic could do. Like Princess Celestia raising the sun each day or Princess Luna painting the sky with stars each night. Rarity surrounded by twirls of silk and yarn when she created a new dress. Lyra Heartstrings and the songs she could play when she combined her hooves and her magic.

She had hoped that the other crystal ponies would see as well, but even now as they were in the middle of a magic display of happiness and joy, their fear won over anyways. In the end, that fear was so strong that not even the light and love inside them could break through at times. Even though she knew how strong it was, after all they had been able to drive away King Sombra for good.
Crystal Note sighed in deep concern. Right now, she feared, the light wouldn’t even be strong enough to empower the crystal heart.

Crystal Note, better than anypony else, could relate to the struggle the other crystal ponies found themselves in. They had all been gone for a thousand years while the world kept changing around them. Even before, they kept for themselves, but right now, there were so many new things and ponies around them and they struggled.
Add that to the fact that they had been suffering through times of war only be the hit by a dark curse. No wonder they retreated into their own little world in the north.

But today, ponies from all over Equestria came to visit and meet them. Those ponies were interested in their world and Crystal Note knew that the crystal ponies would find compassionate hearts with them, if they only had the courage to open up for just a few hours.
During the faire, Crystal Note had seen sparks of it. During the concert, she’d almost seen this final breakthrough, but at the last moment fear won out instead.
She knew that all they needed was another nudge and they could and would see as well. Her head went circles, desperate to find a way.

In the distance, she saw the crystal heart at its usual spot, glowing softly as the night fell upon the city. As she watched it, she heard something familiar and her ears perked up. For a moment, she stared silently, then she knew.

She turned around and rushed behind the stage. She quickly gathered her friends and while Princess Cadance flew up on the stage for her final speech, the musicians from Ponyville went to work.