Crescendo
Crescendo
Despite my initial concern, Vinyl didn’t return to our prior conversation after the socialites had left. She didn’t bring it up on the way home, or when we grabbed a late dinner, or even the next morning. I spent the next two days on pins and needles around her, waiting for her to just mention the audition again.
A week after the concert I learned the reason for her silence: to lure me into a false sense of security.
It started with me returning late from a trip out to town. I could just barely make out voices from outside the dorm, so I knew Symphonia and at least one other pony were inside. When I walked inside to see not just my roommate, but Vinyl and Aunt Rosin all waiting for me, I knew I was in for a rough evening. They all turned to look at me at once. “That’s… not a good sign. I don’t suppose you’re here for dinner?”
“Nope,” Aunt Rosin said. She pushed Vinyl off the couch, then pat the newly-vacated spot. “Park it.”
I parked it on the edge of the offered cushion, guard raised. Symphonia, on my left, refused to make eye contact, meaning she’d probably called Aunt Rosin here. Vinyl sat across from me, sans glasses, with a worried expression. Aunt Rosin was to my right, looking directly at me. It only took me a few seconds before I snapped. “Why is everypony staring at me?”
“Vinyl and Symphonia told me what was going on,” Aunt Rosin answered. “Congratulations, first off. Second off, why are you trying to avoid this?”
“Did they not tell you?” I asked.
“No, they did, but I want to hear it from the horse’s mouth.”
Vinyl grimaced. “Really?”
Aunt Rosin shrugged. “Hey, gotta keep things light, y’know?” She turned back to me and stared, making sure I knew I couldn’t get out of answering the question.
It was tempting to try, but I knew that Aunt Rosin wouldn’t let me wriggle out of it, no matter how much I wanted to avoid repeating myself. The audition had been lurking in the back of my mind for weeks. Whether I wanted to actually do it or not, I couldn’t shake the persistent rattle of it in the back of my mind. “I don’t think I’m good enough to perform with Father’s orchestra, and I don’t want to waste their time.”
“We’ve been trying to convince her otherwise,” Symphonia said. She locked eyes with me, and shrugged.
“So you tattled to your mother?” I said to her, only slightly joking.
Vinyl snickered.
“I didn’t tattle, it just came up in conversation.” Symphonia pointed a hoof at Vinyl. “This was all her idea.”
“Whoops.” Vinyl ducked as I swung around to look at her. “Busted.”
“What was her idea?” I asked, biting back my growing sense of dread.
Vinyl bounced forward from her spot on the floor until she was right in front of me. A folder full of papers from the table floated between the two of us. “You’re afraid of performing, right?”
“No,” I answered instantly, and honestly. “I mean, I’ll admit to a certain amount of stage fright on show day, but it hasn’t prevented me from playing a show since I was young.”
“I remember that,” Aunt Rosin said. “I had to bribe you with candy to get you on stage. Wait, would that work now? That’s way easier than what Vinyl was wanting to do.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Symphonia snickered. “Is that why you gave me chocolate before my first show?”
Vinyl snorted in laughter again, ducking behind her folder to hide from my angry glare. She shoved the manila envelope at me as a distraction. “There’s no candy in here, just some paperwork we need to fill out together to get the ball rolling.”
“On what?” I pulled the folder from her grip and pushed past her to rest them on the table again. I flipped open the cover and stared in confusion at the dense legalese on the first paper. Night-Glo’s logo was displayed prominently on every page. “What is this?”
“The standard disclaimer, waiver, and planning sheets to reserve stage time at Night-Glo,” Vinyl answered. “It’s pretty standard stuff, Symphonia said it’s a lot like the stuff you signed before taking the stage at the University’s auditorium for the first time. The last couple of pages are for setting up lights and transitions and stuff for a show.”
That feeling of dread was growing harder to ignore. “Did you need help getting something together for your next set, or…?”
“It’s for you,” Aunt Rosin said. “The only way to get rid of performance anxiety is to do it.”
“I don’t have performance anxiety,” I said, then immediately jabbed my hoof at Vinyl. “Don’t say a word.”
“Call it anxiety, call it lack of faith in your own skills, call it whatever you want,” Aunt Rosin interjected. “I’ll call it what it is: you’re afraid.”
I shook my head, preparing a retort, but Aunt Rosin stopped me with a raised hoof. “You can’t even try to deny this one, Octavia. Whether you’re afraid of failing the audition and disappointing Legatus, or afraid of passing the audition when you didn’t deserve it is irrelevant. You’re afraid, and that’s okay, but what’s not okay is letting something like this pass you by because of it.”
“So I talked to Midnight Oil,” Vinyl continued. She placed a hoof on mine and forced me to look at her. “He agreed to open the stage to you, and to advertise a solo performance.”
“I don’t know what to say…” I answered honestly. I hadn’t done a solo show since I was young, and it wasn’t something I really enjoyed doing. Joining my own instrument with that of others helped hide all the things I struggled with.
Symphonia moved to sit on the floor with Vinyl and I. She slid a pen over towards me. “Nothing. Start writing.”
Seeing my hesitation, Aunt Rosin put a hoof down on my shoulder. “Remember when you were young and didn’t like practicing? I came over with a viola and made you play something with me. You didn’t like it until you got going and I think that’s all the push you need here too. We all believe in you, kiddo, but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t believe in you.”
“I could still say no.” I was grasping at straws now. I couldn’t simply turn down Vinyl’s offer after she’d gone to such lengths to help me. At least, that’s what I told myself. Honestly, part of me was just sick of always having the same conversations - with other ponies and myself. If this show went poorly, it would only prove my point. And it did sound like fun, if a little terrifying. My hoof twitched towards Symphonia’s offered pen.
Vinyl leaned close to my ear. “Chicken,” she whispered.
Symphonia reached across me to smack Vinyl upside the head. “Seriously? We went through all this trouble, Mom is making all sorts of inspiring speeches, and that’s what you have to add?”
“You can do it, kiddo,” Aunt Rosin whispered behind me. “And we’ll be here for every step of the way.”
With my two friends squabbling on either side and Aunt Rosin behind me, I shakily picked up the pen and started to write.
<><><><><>
“I can’t say I ever expected my club to be used for something like this,” Midnight Oil remarked. He, Vinyl, and I all stood in the middle of what was normally a designated dance floor in Night-Glo. It was the first time I’d ever been here after - before? - hours. Seeing the room in normal lighting and not the normal neon glow was taking some getting used to. It wasn’t unlike trying to navigate familiar streets in the dark instead of sunlight.
“Thank you again,” I said for about the tenth time today. The show was only a short time away, less than an hour now. When Vinyl said she’d talked to Midnight Oil, she’d neglected to tell me they’d worked out every single detail beforehoof. All that was left was the formality paperwork I’d filled out the week prior. Thankfully Mother had plenty of cello solo pieces that were easy enough for me to learn, or I would have never been ready in time.
Midnight Oil stepped back quickly, avoiding a wildly-swinging chair. “It was my pleasure. I still owe Legatus from my time in the Conservatory, so it’s the least I could do.”
“Sorry, boss!” a unicorn stallion called before gently placing his chair down in line with the others. About a half-dozen of such ponies were busy filling the dance floor with a proper seating arrangement. All they had on hoof were folding chairs, but they would be sufficient.
“You met Father at the Conservatory?” I asked, surprised. It felt like every time we talked to Midnight Oil we learned something new and odd.
“He convinced me to leave, actually. I was always more interested in the business side of music, anyway.” He adjusted his tie and stepped back in line with us. “I’m under no impression that I was extended an invitation for my musical prowess. I was likely a recruitment of lineage, as my family has served in the castle for generations.”
A pony called to Midnight Oil from the hallway leading to the entrance. Night-Glo’s proprietor bowed and took his leave, leaving Vinyl and I alone in the middle of the room. Seeing the lines of chairs marching steadily back towards us, we decided to step off to the side, where refreshments were to be set tonight after the show.
“Nervous?” Vinyl asked me again.
“Terrified,” I replied. I tossed a glance towards the stage, empty save a stool and my cello. It looked so empty without the normal equipment up there. “I can’t believe I let you three talk me into this.”
“We didn’t talk you into anything, you just stopped being a big ol’ chicken.” Vinyl ducked the half-hearted swipe I took at her and laughed. “Seriously, though, give yourself some credit. What sort of musician is going to dodge the chance to perform and get her name out there?”
“The same one who has been avoiding the best chance a pony in her position can get,” I sighed, ignoring the sting of truth in my own words.
“Setup is done, boss!” somepony called from the stage area. “Audio is good, too!”
Midnight Oil’s deep voice boomed from the entrance hall. “Hurry up with the food then, so we can start letting people in!”
Vinyl and I were shooed away from the tables as food and drinks started arriving from the kitchen. We made our way up to the VIP lounge, which was still off-limits to non-VIPs. I draped myself over the balcony edge, watching the final preparations complete. The call went out for lighting, and a few seconds later the neon lights around the club clicked onto a soft white. Soft classical music started from the speaker system. The overhead lights dimmed to match, making the entire room almost look like a legitimate auditorium. Almost. Vinyl joined me right after, appearing with a glass of water.
“Almost time,” she said. The first few ponies were starting to filter in, led by Mother and Father. Aunt Rosin and Symphonia rounded out the ponies I actually knew were attending.
“Is it bad that I was hoping nopony would come to see a cellist in a nightclub?” I joked.
“Kind of, but I know the feeling. I remember hoping nopony would show up to see a nobody DJ like me before my first show here.” She laughed and swept her gaze across the steadily-filling room. “I wonder if that’s a normal thing…”
Noticing her trail off, I followed her gaze towards the club’s entrance. Something was happening by the entrance. It looked like a single pony was trying to enter the building, but the staff were stopping him. The altercation was starting to draw attention other than ours as well, several heads from the crowd were turning to look back. This was starting to look uncomfortably familiar…
“You’ve got to be joking,” Vinyl growled from beside me. “Isn’t he banned?”
I took a closer look, then mirrored Vinyl’s sigh. On further inspection, the stallion couldn’t be anypony other than Hazelblossom. I didn’t know the answer to Vinyl’s question, but since the bouncers were trying to keep him out, I had to imagine the answer was yes. “Quite possibly.”
“Stay up here, Tavi,” Vinyl said. She pulled back from the balcony, her face set. “I think it’s time I finally have it out with this joker, and I’ll be damned if it’s going to ruin this for you.”
I barely managed to jump in front of her. “We’ll go together.”
To stop her from arguing, I went down the stairs first. By the time we made it downstairs, the bouncers had pulled Hazelblossom aside so as to not prevent any more admissions, but it was obvious they couldn’t do anything without Midnight Oil’s say-so. One of them was already heading in the direction of his office. Another employee had been conscripted to direct traffic away from the conflict. Vinyl went in swinging, metaphorically speaking, but she was able to push past the bouncers.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“I came to watch the show, same as everypony else!” Hazelblososm whipped an entrance ticket from somewhere and shoved it in Vinyl’s face. “Why else would I be here?”
“You don’t even like classical music,” Vinyl retorted. She snatched the voucher from his grip, crumpled it into a ball, and chucked it towards the bar. “Cut the crap.”
“Alright, fine.” He took a step forward. “I’m here for you, to apologize.”
Vinyl matched his step forward with her own back. “What?”
“I want to apologize to you for the last time we talked, and for how I acted when we lived together.” He stepped forward again, likely noticed as I did that Vinyl was a little put off. “I just want to talk.”
“And I don’t care.” Vinyl smacked away his attempt to touch her. “I thought I made it pretty clear last time that I want nothing to do with you.”
“You’re going to do this here, when your friend is supposed to play something?” He turned to look at me now, unable to hide a slight smirk. “Don’t you need to go get ready for that? I’d hate for something unpleasant to interrupt your night.”
“Don’t even think about it. I have nothing to say to you, and I don’t want to see your ugly mug ever again. Just leave. Please.”
Hazelblossom sneered and stepped forward once again, leaving only a scant few inches between him and the much smaller Vinyl. The nearby employee looked about to intervene, but I was closer and faster. Unfortunately for him, Hazelblossom looked like a great target for all the stress I’d been under the last few weeks. I pushed forward, physically placing myself between the two of them. I wasn’t much bigger than Vinyl was, but the action still caught both of them off guard.
“Enough,” I snarled at Hazelblossom. “Have you lost hearing listening to that drivel you make and call music? Vinyl asked you to leave her alone, and you’ve been told not to come here anymore. Leave.”
“Nopony was talking to you, get out of here.” It looked like he was about to reach out and move me himself, but the bouncer took a few more steps towards us. They couldn’t remove him without the boss’ permission, but they wouldn’t let things escalate either. “This isn’t even about you, it’s between me and Vinyl.”
“If Vinyl is involved, I am too,” I stated, standing my ground. “We’re together now, actually together unlike you two were, and that means her problems are my problems, insignificant as you may be.”
Vinyl stepped up beside me before Hazelblossom could reply. She waved a hoof over her shoulder, where Midnight Oil and another bouncer were approaching. “You heard the lady. There’s nothing for you here. There never was.”
“I’ve got a show to prepare for,” I said, then wrapped a hoof around Vinyl. “Come dear, would you help me prepare?”
The two of us walked away, passing Midnight Oil on the way. Vinyl stopped long enough to whisper something in his ear and receive a nod in return before we headed into the depths of Night-Glo for my final preparations.
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Yeah, fuck off, Hazelblossom!
10368198
You waited almost a whole week to comment that, didn't you?
10368280
I was screaming it in my head every time he was on screen.
Get owned hazzlebuttom. Nerd gets put in his place by Octavia. I would've cheered for her if it wasn't 1:11 am.
Loving the chapter title (all of them tbh), the name for the part of the song where the build-up is reaching its peak and is about to finish.
And honestly stellar writing in general. It's gotta be said that having Octavia perform in the club is a great story element because of the way it just flat adds more story (and not to mention we got to whoop blossom) but it is a more real-life approach/solution to an already relatable issue/problem. The tough love from Octavia's family warmed my heart, and I can't wait for Octavia to nail this.
Hazelblossom should get a kick in her hazelbottom.