Melodies of Friendship

by TalkingToMyself

Chapter 3

The next day, Bon Bon welcomed a very nervous crystal pony into her shop. Crystal Note had her violin with her and fumbled nervously with her bandana that covered most of her mane as well as her horn. Sometimes, when the shop was closed and only Lyra and Bon Bon were around, she would take the bandana off, but at even the slightest risk of being seen, she refused to part with it.

Bon Bon gave her friend an encouraging smile
“You’re a little early, Lyra isn’t back yet. She finally managed to get up at a decent time for once.”
Her friend smiled softly, a victory in Bon Bon’s book since Crystal Note also stopped her fumbling
“You really don’t need to worry. All of Lyra’s friends are nice, they have to be to get along with Lyra after all.”
They shared a giggle at the good-natured banter and Crystal Note took her usual spot in the quiet corner of the shop while Bon Bon went on with taking care of things.

At first, it had felt strange to have the mare just sitting there by herself and Bon Bon had tried to make conversations but only got one-worded responses. By now, she knew that the crystal pony enjoyed her company in silence just as much. They’d both do their thing and when something meaningful came to their mind, they shared that thought with the other. If that started an actual talk, that was fine, if not, they at least knew the other was listening.
Sometimes, Crystal Note would comment on something Bon Bon had said hours before and Bon Bon could appreciate the effort the crystal mare put into finding the right words.

Lyra on the other hand took Crystal Note’s silence as a free pass to ramble on everything and anything that came to her mind. Crystal Note didn’t contest Lyra’s ideas, like Bon Bon usually would, and so forced Lyra to actually think about what she said. Sometimes, that was just enough to throw the energetic unicorn off her loop and whenever it happened, Crystal Note would just smile silently.
The only times Crystal Note would open on her own were when music was involved.

Bon Bon quickly noticed however, that there was a distinct difference between just silently enjoying her company and the silence Crystal Note locked herself in when she was worried. Lyra had started calling it the 'What if'-game after the crystal unicorn had once admitted that she sometimes couldn't stop thinking of everything that could go wrong. Just like her crystal pony magic, her thoughts had the tendency to spiral out of control.

It didn't take much to see that's exactly what Crystal Note was doing right now, so Bon Bon walked over to her friend. Crystal Note was so lost in her thoughts, she only noticed Bon Bon when she felt a poke on her muzzle
"Ow!"
She flinched away, the poke had startled her way more than it hurt, and her eyes focused on the earth pony in front of her and the outstretched hoof
"Stop it."
Crystal Note blinked and looked between the hoof and Bon Bon's eyes
"Stop what?"
“Imagining everything that could go wrong.”
At that the crystal pony blushed and looked away
"But, I didn't..."
Bon Bon didn't give her any chance to make up another excuse this time
"Look, I'm not blind, neither is Lyra. We know what's happening when you stare at nothing like that. Lyra calls it the 'What if'-game. Take it from me, it's a game you'll never win. I'm not going to force you share what's on your mind, but I won't watch you loose to your own fear over and over, okay?"

Crystal Note didn't dare looking up when she heard the hard sternness in Bon Bon's voice. The earth pony waited for a moment, then she just sighed and shook her head
"So, you wanna play the hard game, huh? Fine with me, Crissy. Let's see if you can handle the rules."
When Crystal Note finally looked up, she saw Bon Bon in a firm stance, fixing her with a frown. She could also see that the driving force behind the firmness and the frown though was concern for her friend most of all
"Rule number one: Whenever I see you worrying about something that's not worth it, I’ll poke you again."
Crystal Note blushed and crouched down under Bon Bon's frown, but another voice chimed right in
"Rule number two."
Lyra stood in the doorway. Clearly she'd seen what happened because she stepped next to Bon Bon and matched the earth pony's pose and voice perfectly
"Whenever you apologize for something that's not your fault, you get a poke."

Both friends stood unwavering when Crystal Note finally glanced up, pleading with her gem-shaped eyes. When she realized there was no way they would change their minds, she whispered shyly
"Rule number three… when I’m really uncomfortable talking about something, I may say so?”
Lyra’s and Bon Bon’s eyes met in a sideway glance and after a few moments of non-verbal communication, they focused back on the crystal mare, far less stern
“Alright.”
“Sounds fair.”

Crystal Note sighed in relief and smiled a little when she saw Lyra grin
“But don’t expect us to go easy on you!”
The unicorn gently poked Bon Bon, who was struggling to keep her stern gaze
“This one is a sour loser.”
“I am what?”
With that, Bon Bon turned away from Crystal Note to fix Lyra with a glare now
“At least I’m not the one who cheats each time we meet with Lily and Daisy for playing cards.”
"Hah! You have no proof for that!”
Both friends stared at each other for a moment longer, but Crystal Note couldn’t take any more. The crystal pony just burst into laughter.

Bon Bon and Lyra watched Crystal Note laugh so hard she nearly fell over and Lyra grinned when she saw the usual sparkle return to the silvery-white coat
“Ready for lunch?”
Crystal Note needed a few more minutes to compose herself, but when she did she smiled along with her friends. They said their goodbyes to Bon Bon and headed into town.

---

Lunch with Lyra’s friend was a great success. They had met in one of Ponyville’s many outdoor cafés and even before they had a chance to order lunch, Lyra had been praising Crystal Note’s talent up to the clouds. The crystal mare was clearly flustered by all this but couldn’t stop Lyra’s rambling. The third pony equally divided her attention between Lyra’s words and Crystal Note’s blushed face while she wondered how long it might take for the crystal pony to hide under the table or just run away.

Octavia Melody was no stranger to eccentric musicians. Sometimes she had the impression that incredible talents were bound to make ponies socially awkward. Crystal Note’s quiet attitude changed a little when the food finally arrived.
As usual, Lyra almost swallowed her meal as a whole so she could go back to talking. Crystal Note, true to her shy demeanour, filled the gaps in her silence with dainty nibbles on her sandwich. Octavia on the other hand dissected her salad with precise and well-measured motions, always prim and proper as a mare of her standing was expected to be.

They both waited for Lyra to run out of words before they started talking. Crystal Note was probably lacking a proper backbone while Octavia simple was too polite to interrupt her friend.
The earth pony fixed Crystal Note with a taxing stare under which the crystal pony cowered down in her seat
“Well then, Miss Crystal Note. Lyra told me you are indeed interested in joining an orchestra as a violinist.”
Crystal Note blushed and finally stuttered out a few words
“Um, interested yes, but I don’t know if I’m good enough to join.”
Octavia raised a brow and indicated a smirk
“Is that so? Lyra here seems to believe you are talented enough.”
“Talented… well, maybe. But being a professional is more than just talent. It’s a lot of hard work you put into your music for years, right?”

The smirk grew and Octavia nodded, visibly pleased and the distinct accent she used lost a lot of its sharpness
“Indeed so, Love. I have many hours of my day dedicated to practice and rehearsals. On top of that, there’s the challenge to perform with others as well if you are aiming towards a spot in an orchestra. Canterlot’s music scene holds up a very high standard.”

Lyra rolled her eyes and grinned
“High standard of getting boring really fast if you ask me. Anyways, we already played together, Crissy here could easily keep up. We synced up in no time at all.”
Octavia once again fixed Crystal Note with an inquisitive stare
“I’ll take your word for it, Lyra. Crystal Note, I think the easiest way to find out what you are truly capable of is a short demonstration. Would you mind?”
Crystal Note immediately blushed again and looked around
“Right here and now?”
“Why not, Darling? I’m sure nopony would mind some entertainment to go with their lunches.”
Turquoise eyes darted to Lyra in search for help, but all Crystal Note got was a grin and a nod to encourage her.

Octavia could almost see the nervous jitters that filled up the crystal pony by now. Perhaps this was a tad harsh, but it would show her if the mare could deal with some pressure. She watched closely as Crystal Note closed her eyes for a deep, cleansing breath. When she looked back at Octavia, her initial worry quickly faded.
With calm and well-practiced motions, Crystal Note opened her instrument case and revealed an antique violin in surprisingly good shape. As the mare got ready to play, Lyra and Octavia exchanged a quick glance. Both of them had noticed several of the other patrons already watched expectantly, even if Crystal Note seemed oblivious to it.

Like always, her eyes closed down before she had the bow travel softly across the strings of her instrument.

Lyra seemed to recognize the song and smirked. Octavia focused and listened as the violinist picked up the tempo of her bow and weaved notes into a flowing melody. While it was not the most complex of songs, the way Crystal Note played clearly contributed heavily to the wonderful music that quickly captivated her small audience in the café as well as some of the ponies passing by.

Blissfully oblivious, Crystal Note kept playing the melody with a serene smile on her face, her body swaying gently in tune. Octavia could easily pick up that Crystal Note was adding flourishes and alterations to the simple melody so even when she repeated passages of the song, they sounded new even if familiar. As she played on, a happy cheerfulness grew more and more prominent in the music and was sent out to everypony with each new note of the melody.

For anypony who still could not tell that Crystal Note greatly enjoyed playing her song, the mare also started to glitter and shine in the sunlight. Octavia had heard of this phenomenon but involuntarily gasped when she saw the magic of the crystal ponies with her own eyes for the very first time.

Crystal Note kept playing for a few minutes. When she ended her song, her eyes snapped open from the sudden applause she received. Just as Octavia had expected, the ponies appreciated the short performance very much. Both fellow musicians couldn’t hold back a giggle as Crystal Note’s face turned beet red from a blush, but the crystal mare threw a timid smile to everypony.

Once the applause had faded and ponies were focusing on their meals again, Octavia addressed the violinist
“Marvellous, Love. I can say that Lyra, for once, did not exaggerate. You play your violin as well as any professional from Canterlot, at least. Even if your song doesn’t fully match the classical Canterlot repertoire. Is this perhaps one of your own creations?”
Crystal Note’s blush refused to fade even as she smiled
“No, not entirely. It’s an old piece from the Crystal Empire. I just tweaked it a little here and there.”
Octavia smiled and inclined her head to a nod
“This song is special to you, is it not?”
“Very special. It’s the first song I learned to play. And it’s the song I played when I got my cutie mark.”
“Ah.”

Octavia nodded again, now it all made sense to her. Crystal Note had not simply chosen a song she knew by heart, but a song she had put in her heart. Instead of going for something complicated to show off, she chose this simple but beautiful song to express herself. It really showed Octavia more of the mare’s personality than all the talking before had.

She noticed the pair of exotic, gem-shaped eyes focused on her, in a face that looked somewhat hopeful but also a tad nervous. Octavia had seen this kind of expression many times before and admittedly, she had worn it herself as well, with each new audition she faced. However, this was the first time that expression was directed towards her as Crystal Note silent asked for her judgment.

Octavia kept her face in a neutral smile as she fixed the crystal pony with the same taxing stare. Crystal Note grew more nervous when the proper mare didn’t say anything for a few moments
“Crystal Note, it would be my pleasure to ask around in your name. Perhaps, in time, we’ll find a spot for you in a Canterlot orchestra.”
Through Lyra’s snickering, Octavia watched the crystal pony brighten up, just like her smile
“You really mean it?”
“Absolutely, Love. However, I have one favour to ask.”
The crystal pony stared at her expectantly and Octavia matched her bright smile
“Next time Lyra and you come together to play, tell me ahead of time. I’d love to join in.”
“Done! Let’s see if you can keep up with us!”
Lyra exclaimed excited and all three of them shared a happy giggle.