Inverno’s Opus in A Minor

by CrackedInkWell

20: Of Fire, Storm, and Air in B Minor

At Ponyville’s train station, a mare with her dragon assistant was waiting. A unicorn that impatiently looked up and down the tracks for some sign of a train. Every so often she would take a glance at the clock to check and recheck again.

“I’m sure Shining will be here on time.” The baby dragon told her. “You just have to wait one more minute.”

“I know that, but this is my brother that’s coming, and my nephew too on urgent business. What could it be? All I know is that it has something to do with Inverno tampering with forbidden magic and needs my help.”

“Twilight, I know perfectly well what that letter says.” He tells her in a calming voice. “Whatever it is, I’m sure that it’s not a world-ending crisis or anything like that.”

“Spike, I rather doubt that if my brother specifically wrote the words ‘urgent,’ or ‘misadventure,’ to describe what my nephew has gotten into, I’m pretty sure that he isn’t just coming over here just to say hello.”

Before the young drake could reply, a piercing whistle of a train echoed through the valley, and the two turned their heads to the crystalized engine pulling in. It slowed down enough to where the rows of cars came perfectly lined up with the wooden platform. Once the train came to a stop, the doors were opened, and out galloped the Prince.

“Twilie!”

“Shining!”

The two siblings embraced in a tight hug.

“I’ve missed you so much L.S.B.F.F. How are you doing?”

“It’s so good to see you again, B.B.B.F.F. But what’s going on?” The two of them broke the hug. “I got your letter from last night; only it wasn’t specific as to what was happening.”

“Oh…” Shining blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry, there was a lot that was going on last night that must have gone over my head. But to make a long story short, it has to do with Inverno.”

“Yes. Your letter mentioned that it was magic based. So what happened?”

“Come on board. It’s best that you see it for yourself.”

Exchanging curious looks between her assistant, Twilight followed her brother on board the train. She and Spike followed him through the private car towards the back.

“Mind explaining then what’s going on?”

“Right. Well, not too long ago, Cadence and I decided to send Inverno to a public school. Both to have him catch up with the times and make new friends. However… It uh… backfired.”

“Why? What did he do?”

“Don’t worry, he didn’t turn evil and burn down the school.” He chuckled as they crossed over into the dining car. “Turns out, he couldn’t really connect with anypony, he felt that no one shared any of his interests. So eventually he decided to use magic to fix his problem.”

Twilight froze. “What did he do?”

Shining stopped as well. “For starters, he took a page out of his father’s book. Literally. He found a spellbook that Sombra had compiled and decided that if he can’t find anyone to be friends with, he’ll just uh… make… them.”

By now his sister was in his face. “What did he do?” She asked in a chilly tone.

He gulped. “To make a complicated story short… he used a form of necromancy to bring back twelve famous composers to life while giving them a variation of his unique ability. And I don’t mean just seeing music, but they’re able to bring what Inverno sees into reality.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped in shock. So, Spike decided this was the time to project his voice. “Isn’t doing stuff like that… I don’t know, forbidden?”

“Why do you think I’m here? I’m helping him correct his mistake. Turns out there is a way to reverse it, but at the moment, we’re just trying to gather them up.” Shining turned around and proceeded down. “So far we’ve got four of the twelve he resurrected, and we think that there’re two more here in Ponyville.”

Snapping out of her shock, his sister trotted up to him as they passed on to the servant’s car. “Shining, why didn’t you tell me this earlier? I could have gotten the girls together to help.”

“Up until now, I thought that this would have been easy. However, trying to find these guys is proven to be a bigger challenge than we thought. Now I’m not asking you if you want to come with us for the rest of this trip, but considering how difficult and long this is taking, I would need all the help I could get.”

As they passed on next into the guard’s car, Twilight asked, “So, who exactly did Inverno resurrected?”

“As in all of them or who we got so far?”

“…. The latter I guess?”

“For one, all of them are composers. As to who they are…” He halted before the door to the caboose where piano music is heard, and through they can see a group of ponies gathered around a baby grand piano. “How about we go in and meet them?”

Shining opened the final door and they were greeted with a flourish of notes that tickled the air and enriched by lower tones of chords before it was rounded and finished. There was stomping of hooves that applauded when the three of them entered in.

“You see!” An excitable voice said. “It’s not so hard, isn’t it?”

“Although there was a couple of phrases that didn’t sound quite right.” Said a unicorn with glasses. “To my ears, there were some parts that sounded funny.”

“I rather like it.” Remarked a deer. “Not quite your style, Mr. Moztrot, but still delightful.”

The Professor looked over behind him, taking notice of the unicorn next to the Prince. “Ah, Ms. Sparkle, I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Just Twilight. So, what were you all doing?”

“Giving the young stallion some direction in harmony and counterpoint.” A green Pegasus stallion informed. “And I must say, he’s thankfully a swift learner.”

“Twilight!” Inverno leaped off the piano bench and quickly went over to hug her. “I’ve been reading up that spellbook you’ve sent me.”

“So I’ve noticed.” The colt looked up to see a frown on her face. “I’ve also heard that you’re in big trouble too.”

His ears folded back against his head; guilt weighed heavily in his stomach. “I know… and I’m sorry.”

“I will have a talk with you later, it’s just that…” She lowered her head to his eye level. “It’s kind of disheartening that you were having trouble with friendship and you could have at least sent me a letter on the issue. But having to turn to forbidden magic isn’t exactly the way to deal with your troubles.”

“Excuse us,” Twilight looked up to the deer that was addressing her. “Who exactly are you?” After she introduced her name and relaying the fact that she’s Shining’s sister and Inverno’s aunt, the deer nodded. “I see. My name is Maneler, these three are Buch, Moztrot, and Schubit. The old stallion is-”

“Professor Key Signature,” Twilight interrupted. “We’ve met.” She turned to them. “So I’ve heard that you are in need of help finding a few ponies.”

---

There was so much of Paganeighni’s style that Vifilli could barely tolerate. It wasn’t so much that there wasn’t some small part of him that respected the virtuosity of the griffin’s technique to draw in a crowd that bothered him. If anything, there were a few tricks that even he was familiar with from playing really high notes over the soundboard of the violin, the rapid motion of the bow from one string to the next, even the double and sometimes triple stops that really made the thrown away instrument in the black griffin’s talons that made it sing.

What caused him to be on the other side of the market place was to get as far away as possible from his… “friend.” However, the way Paganeighni used his talent he found distasteful. Weird harmonies, string breaking pizzicato, melodies that have little rhyme or reason to the point where at times it made the violin sound like a dying animal than a thing of beauty. How exactly that any of this still was able to draw in ponies was beyond his comprehension.

So his attention was turned to the other ponies who were shopping in the market itself. While he had seen such a place as many times he could remember, this market still very alien to him. There was a lack of chaotic energy of the vendors, the street acts that competed for attention, and most importantly, the foods that tempted. Although in the past few days that he had indeed seen a few of these, it wasn’t the same familiarity of Venice. Still, that didn’t stop him from trying to find something amusing or interesting.

Fortunately, he did find just that. Over where the vegetables were, he spotted Fluttershy with a basket in her teeth. Such a sight filled him with joy, and when he noticed that a head of cabbage fell out, he swiftly went out to pick it up. “Excuse me, Ms. Fluttershy!” he called out. “You dropped this.”

The mare turned around, at first startled but took a calming breath. “Oh, thank you… Antonio, was it? I’m sorry if I forgot your name.”

“Oh no-no, that is my name, and here,” he held out the cabbage, “this fell out of your basket.”

Fluttershy thanked him as the vegetable was put black in its place. “I was running to restock on groceries. Running low on a few things, you see.”

“Ah,” he nodded, “I’m just waiting for my friend to finish.”

“Shopping?”

“Earning bits. You see that crowd over there was that Celestia-awful music?” he pointed a hoof. “He’s over there playing the violin as if he’s possessed by Discord himself.”

She tilted her head over, her ears perked up to listen to the whispers of the instrument. “I don’t think it’s that bad. A little wild, maybe. But I really don’t mind.”

Vifilly huffed. “Personally, I can’t stand it.”

“Why not?”

“Because where I come from, we Venetians always have an appreciation for beauty. Especially when it comes to music. The canals often ring of the singing gondoliers, trying to remember a tune they’ve heard from the opera. There wasn't a place where you could go anywhere and not hear something that would make your heart swoon from a theatrical keyboard to a crying violin. But even with the most tragic of tunes, they are still heartbreakingly beautiful. Not like this. Being a virtuoso is one thing, but to abuse it like this where it sounds like a poor creature’s final moments is disgraceful.”

“You sound very proud for a priest.”

The stallion blushed at this. “Oh… Was I? I didn’t realize what was pouring out of my mouth.”

“It’s okay.” She parted her long pink mane to the side. “Since you’re here, I want to give my thanks for helping me with my garden the other day. It still looks gorgeous, and my animal friends are amazed by it.”

“I am humbled.” He bowed his head. “Although, you should probably be thanking Celestia for the miracle.”

“Celestia?”

“Well, naturally.” He looked up to the sun. “Her light and warmth have given her blessing to let your garden grow into something truly magnificent.”

“But it was you that made it happen. And I would never be able to get it done sooner until you did… whatever it was you did.”

“Thank you, I suppose.” His ears folded back against his head. “But just to be clear, I didn’t come across being too forward, was I? Because that wasn’t my intention.”

The Pegasus tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“Well… My friend had joked that I was apparently was trying to woo you, but I swear that I wasn't trying to. What happened on that day was purely out of kindness.”

“Oh.” She smiled. “I still appreciate it.”

“A likely story.” The two of them instantly looked up to see where that voice was coming from. The black griffin hovering over with an amused look on his face. Holding up his beat-up violin in one claw and a hat full of bits in the other. “I mean really if you’re gonna play dumb Antonio, the least you could do is make it a little more convincing.”

Vifilli frowned. “I thought you would be playing for another hour.”

“No need. Have you see this?” He drops the hat between him and Fluttershy, coins overflowed out of it. “I got all of this half the time, so I decided to call it a day.” He glides down between the two. “Ya know, maybe you should give the fiddle a try. I mean, you did say that you used to play the violin, right?”

“Well, yes-”

“Then why not give it a go?” He held the instrument and the bow up to him. “If you’re good, I’d bet it’ll be more than enough to woo your marefriend into courting with you.”

“She’s not my-” He interjected but stopped himself as Fluttershy’s cheeks were turning an embarrassing shade of pink. “Seriously, what is with you and your nymphomaniac mind of yours?”

He shrugged. “Is it unnatural for anyone to gain the attention, if not the company of the fair creatures? Of course, my looks don’t do justice for me, I grant that. I know am not handsome, but when mares hear me play, they come crawling. So here, take it. Let’s see what you can come up with.”

“I refuse to play on something that something so demonic had come out of.”

Paganeighni frowned. “You know, I’m starting to get really sick of your holier-than-thou attitude. Maybe if you would get down from thy holy pedestal of self-righteousness because thou were from a cult and instead enjoy the pleasures of life, then thou mightiest get the stick out of thy plot.”

The red Pegasus’s eye twitched. “How dare you mock me.”

“Um,” Fluttershy tried to speak up and failed.

“After giving me nothing but chastisement, yes! Yes, I am. I am mocking you because you deserved to get your impossibly high standard down to earth.”

“I’m a priest! I’m supposed to have high standards!”

“Not when it comes to bringing flowers to a mare that you clearly turning a deeper shade of red? Even a foal with his brain removed could see that!”

“Now now, let’s not fight.” Fluttershy once again tries to calm both of them down. But they weren’t paying attention to her.

“You are just taking things out of context. Unlike your music. It sounds like the very screams of Tartarus.”

The grip became tighter around the violin’s neck in Paganeighni’s claw. “Oh? Is that what you think of my genius? Nothing but the sounds of that lake of fire?” He suddenly held up the instrument up to underneath his chin and raising the bow in his right claw. “I will show you fire!”

Several things happened at once when Paganeighni drew his bow across the strings, unleashing a series of cascading scale of notes growing increasingly higher. The daylight all around them was becoming dimmer like an eclipse. At the same time, the air itself felt like it was growing warmer. Nopony around them knew what was happening or what was going on. And at first, none of the ponies moved as no one could guess what was going on.

And then, Paganeighni played what could be called rage in musical form.

Notes came in sharp and fast like bolts of arrows that came flying out of the violin itself! In an instant, food stands, the ground, buildings, and trees were catching fire. Panic quickly set the ponies running for cover from this volcanic violinist that showed no mercy from the lightning notes that jumped from his bow. Screams of “FIRE” echoed out like the instrument.

Fluttershy screamed when her basket was hit by one of these fiery arrows, sending her off running. Vifilli, both in awe of the horrific act of this sudden burst of magic and enraged by it, shouted at him. “What the blazing pits of Tartarus are you doing!?”

“Giving you what you want!” Paganeighni screamed back, his voice sounded distorted out of his rage but continued playing. “You see me as a demon, do you?! Well, I’m going to give you all the fire, the passion, and the sadistic might of one!” Lines of arrows were aimed at Antonio but thinking quickly, the Pegasus took flight before he could be hit by them. “There’s no way of pleasing you, isn’t there?! You’re all the same, you self-righteous hypocrites! You have no right condemning me for being different! I can bring up storms! Let my melody be a serine’s voice to seduce all that hear it! But all you see in me is nothing but darkness when you know nothing about me!”

“Says the brat that’s throwing a temper tantrum!”

“At least I have passion!” Another cloud of arrows was shot and missed the Pegasus. “What do you got?”

Something within Vifilli snapped. That last bit of patience of his civility up until now had gone up in smoke with the fires that had started all around. In his blinding anger, he felt something solid in his hooves. Looking down he saw that he was holding bolts of lightning that sparked and flickered – yet they remained their constant shape of a violin and a bow. His glare back at the black griffin, he put the violin underneath his chin.

“You want a storm!?” He shouted, raising the bow up in the air. “I’LL GIVE YOU A STORM!”

As soon as the bow touched those electrical strings, a rapid-fire of notes came out in a barrage so sudden, that even Paganeighni was forced to stop. Before he could register what was going on, he was slapped right out of the air by a strong gust of wind and smacked face-first into a wall. Icy rain immediately followed to put out the fires, not to stop the destruction, but to spread its raging chaos. For Vifilli, the wind, rain, and lightning were at his command by the notes he speedily plays. The storm twisted around him like a tornado that sucked up anything that was loose and flung it around like an angry toddler with their toys.

While this was going on, new figures entered into the market place. Shining, Key Signature, Twilight, the other composers, and the Crystal Guard had arrived to brave the sudden storm.

“What the hey is going on!?” Shining shouted above the wind and the livid violin music.

“That’s Vifilli!” The Professor pointed at the Pegasus in the air. “He’s playing his storm!”

Schubit was holding onto a tree. “He’s going to destroy the town! What do we do?!”

“Either we have to let him play out,” Key answered as a house flew over their heads, “or perhaps one of you could put a stop to it.”

“How!?” Twilight asked, casting a spell to put up a magical shield.

Hanging onto that same tree, Moztrot thought of something, “Hey you!” He called out to Schubit, “Remember what happened last night when you interrupted me? What if one of us does that?”

Buch, upon hearing this, got an idea. Spreading his wide wings, he sprung forward with a determined look towards the center of the cyclone. His memories reached back to the time with his family when his many foals had bickered or argued when he got home. Taking care not to get hit, he felt that strange sensation that was swelling up inside him as a tune came to his mind. Like a father, he approached the raging Vifilli and with a commanding voice shouted.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!”

Out of him, a burst of light interrupted the storm, freezing the fury in one single, ethereal note. The storm that threatens to tear down was stopped by the very sound of peace itself. The whirlwind had paused, the rain stopped, and the lightning was put to rest. Even the instrument of rage that was in Vifilli’s hooves had disappeared, much to the red pony’s confusion.

“What?”

“Is this any way to behave?” Buch questioned. “Look around you, this place is a mess! There are scorch marks everywhere, trees are missing, houses been thrown about, and look there! There are ponies that are frightened because of your tantrum.”

“B-But, he…” The combination of the green pegasus’s look and magic gave the effect like he was a colt being disciplined by his father. “He started it!” He pointed at the dazed griffin that slumped down at a wall.

“So? Instead of being the better stallion, you let your passions and emotions control you. Instead of walking away, or not reacting the way that he did, you become a tyrannical bully. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” The red stallion bowed his head in shame. But feeling compassion, he placed a hoof on his shoulder. “So, I will tell you how to atone for yourself. First, you make amends with that… griffin fellow over there. Next, you apologize to these good ponies of this town. And then you and the griffin are going to have to clean up the mess the both of you had caused. And I don’t want a word of protest either!”

Vifilli looked up, “Or, you could let your magic do it anyway?”

“Huh?” Buch looked around, and his music was indeed restoring the market place from the fire and the storm. Blackened arrows and scotch marks crumbled away and reversed the burns that they touched. Trees and homes were softly picked up to be placed back to their original state, even the booths that were tossed around were reorganized. Not only that, but the ponies that took cover were coming out to the tranquility that was all around them. “Ah… well, there is still the matter of making amends that must be attended to. Now come on! Go down there and tell that griffin you’re sorry.”

“But-”

“Ah-Ah! No but’s. Apologizes first, excuses later.”

Begrudgingly, the pegasi landed in front of the griffin in which Buch made Vifilli apologize to Paganeighni and he to him. Next, after getting the black griffin to stand up, he then made the both of them face the residences of Ponyville to offer up their apology.

“We’re sorry for getting angry and almost destroying the town.” They both said.

“And…” Buch insisted further.

They sighed. “And we promise not to do it ever again.”

“That’s greatly appreciated,” Twilight said, her brother, the professor, composers, and the Crystal Guard in tow. “But it looks like that you’re gonna have to come with us.”

“Hold on…” The Professor stepped forward to the griffin. “Excuse me, sir, may I ask for what your name is?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Niccolò. It’s Niccalò Paganeighni.”

“Well in that case,” Shining told him, “You’re coming with us too.”

“Me? But what did I do?”

Vifilli gave him a deadpan stare. “How about almost setting the town on fire? Is that a good enough reason to be taken into custody?”

“That being the case, and what my sister’s friend has told us,” Shining lit up his horn and a pair of hoofcuffs were placed on both of them. “Mr. Paganeighni and Mr. Vifilli, as Prince, I’m placing both of you under arrest for attempted arson and destruction of property on behalf of the crown of Equestria.”