“Okay, okay, once more,” the gray mare coached herself as she paced through her apartment. She had since lost count of how many laps she had trotted through the small space. Something told her it was in the triple digits.

“There’s no reason to fret, none at all,” she spoke to herself, nodding with her own words. Her eyes scanned the dark room, barely lit by the light that filtered through the closed blinds. The light bulb meant to illuminate the room had burnt out at some point; she couldn’t remember when.

“This is my room.” It was a slow start, but a start nonetheless. Again she looked over the dark room, noting the many pages and books stacked neatly upon her desk and dresser, then strewn about the floor or pasted to the walls. Enough charts and extended chords to keep an orchestra busy for week should they have attempted to recite them.

Her eyes continued to scan the familiar setting, passing over the closet that held her bowties and other concert apparel, a small stand filled with perfume, make-up, and other accessories a musician like herself had to pride in. Then lastly came her bed, half-made on one side and twisted on the other.

The gray mare’s gaze stopped on an instrument sitting in the corner of the room. It stood on a masterfully-crafted stand, holding the fragile wood with the utmost care. Cloth padded with cotton held the neck of the stringed instrument, the same material holding the heavy base of the hollow wood.

“My cello,” she whispered more than spoke. The instrument itself was possibly the most familiar thing in the room to the mare. Undecorated with superfluous décor, instead spending every precious bit into constructing and tuning the stringed instrument into a flawless tool of musical bliss. Currently, it was strung to a B Minor Chord, making performing the low rumble of Manezart’s Thirteen Fifth Overture quite a treat.

At least once a day she practiced, long ago memorizing the tuning of each string and the placement her hooves. With a strong bow, she could play nearly any piece known to pony kind, all with a mastered level of skill. Though it had taken much time and even more practice, she had turned her hooves into the perfect tool to control the deep tones and volume of the cello.

“My hooves.” The gray mare noted the ends of her legs, confirming that they were still attached to her legs. Her frazzled mind was having trouble of keeping track of what was where. Thankfully, her hooves were still there. Four flat fetlock-attached ends of her legs. Each one was well groomed and cared for, as all musicians had to be.

She adjusted her weight on each one, feeling the hard wood beneath them as they each bore more or less stress. The mare let herself sway on them for a moment, making absolutely sure that her hooves were unchanged. Her shoulders rolled as she finished, sure that her hooves were the same as her cello- the same as they used to be. The action made her long dark mane fall over her eyes. She flicked her head to adjust the extensive strands of hair.

“My mane.” The pony’s mane was another facet about her that remained unchanged after her hundredth examination of the room. It was still long enough to nearly drag upon the floor, but groomed with the utmost skill. In order for her to play in the grand theatres of Canterlot, she had to look and act like a proper mare. Proper mares, as she was taught, took care of their manes with the same level of scrutiny Universities judge their students.

Her hoof lifted to idly brush it, hoping to secure a few loose strands back into the fold. Loose bangs led to split ends, which was highly inappropriate for a first chair cellist to have. That was when her hoof touched on her forehead. Or, more specifically, the object resting on her forehead.

“My… my horn…” She spoke the word again, sounding it out like it was the first time she had ever used it. Truthfully, it was the first time she had used those words in that order.

Resting in the center of her head was a long, swirled horn, ending in a sharp point that her crossed eyes could just barely make out. It split through her mane and rested securely to the top of her skull.

At this point, the mare was certain it was real, or at least as real as the sudden appearance of new appendages could be. She had rammed it into a wall, hit it with her hooves, and attempted to pry it free with just about every object she could reach. A few bent pans and broken brooms were proof of her efforts. Despite her efforts, the appendage remained fixed upon her head just as strongly as before. It was real, and it wasn’t going anywhere. The gray mare started to breathe deeply again.

As she did, her sides flexed, forcing another addition to her body to jut outwards. Her head twisted to see them once more, still unable to conceive what she saw.

“And… m-my wings.” Her breath started to quicken again. In time with her hyperventilation, her wings began to lightly beat up and down, waving like she would her hoof to a passing friend. It didn’t make her feel anything but terror.

She could feel the air of her room, stuffy as it was with closed windows and locked doors, passing through her newly-adorned gray feathers. She could feel the sweat from her new muscles trickling down to her primaries. She couldn’t tell if she was shaking or shivering.

The mare took a deep breath in and then released it. She did it once more. Then again, and again, and again. The effect was always the same.

Nothing in the room changed. Her cello still stood on its stand, her hooves still attached to the end of her legs, her mane was still long and well poised, her coat was still gray and damp with sweat, her horn was still jutting and sharp, and her wings were still shaking and extended.

That mare desperately wished everything about this was reversed. Her cello could be lying on the ground, damaged along the spine. Her mane could be a mess, requiring hours of salon work to recover. Her coat could be a mess, ungroomed and overgrown. All of that could happen if only the horn on her head and wings on her back were gone.

She could think of no ways in which this could possibly be worse.

“Yo Octavia! I’m back!” A voice yelled outside clear as day despite the muffling of the door.

It took only that voice for the gray mare to freeze.

It was worse.

“V-Vinyl…” She attempted her best to speak her friend’s name with a chipper tone. It sputtered and slipped out of her mouth more like a confession. She hoped that her friend couldn’t tell through the door.

“Is something wrong Octy?” No such luck.

Octavia panicked. No, she was already panicking before. She was mortified now. Her head swiveled left and right, looking for something, anything, which could possibly help her. She couldn’t find anything the hundred times before. She didn’t find anything new now.

“Uh… y-yeah!” He words sounded as convincing as a guilty foal. “Just… Um, uh, g-getting over a small case of hay fever.” It wasn’t her best lie, one of few in fact, but she couldn’t think of anything to say so quickly.

“Oh, that sucks.” A low sigh of relief came from Octavia, thankful that one thing went her way so far. “Here, gimme a sec and I’ll help you out. Just gotta put some stuff away. Shopping reeks.”

Octavia panicked. Again.

“No!” She shouted. Her hoof slammed against her muzzle as soon as she spoke the word. “I-I’m terribly contagious, quarantine worthy! I’ll just, um, sleep it off!” Silence emanated from the door.

Silence was never good, not with Vinyl. Silence meant she was thinking and if she knew the mare like she did, then she knew those thoughts were swiftly venturing into inane ideas. Octavia turned away from the door, crawling onto her bed. It was soft, which was good, soft meant she could focus on something else.

Her hooves lifted the covers, attempting to pull them over herself. They caught on her extended wings, hanging off of them like decoration on a tree. Octavia scrunched her face in annoyance, biting back the urge to comment. Vinyl, despite her occupation, had excellent hearing.

The mare calmed herself, doing her utmost to calm the muscles along her back, parts of her body she didn’t have hours before. Slowly, it worked, and her new wings began to fall down against her sides. She felt a small amount of relief.

Octavia managed to pull the covers over her back now, letting the top sheet wrap around her head, leaving only her muzzle and large purple eyes peaking out from the cocoon she had created. A part of her hoped this was all some horribly well-constructed trick by Vinyl. The mare was known to pull a good prank, but this was far beyond what the mare had ever expected.

The silence continued to emanate from the door. It made Octavia wonder if Vinyl had headed her pleas, quieting her activities to let her sleep. Sleep, however, was something Octavia didn’t need. She needed answers and, quite unlike the dreams of a foal, she would find no reasoning for this change to her person in the recesses of her mind.

A discontented sigh left her lips, making her wings shiver and eyes droop. Octavia felt liquid stain the corners of her vision. She wasn’t sure if it was the sweat she had built up dripping down her mane or if she truly was moments away from crying. She didn’t have a moment to ponder the question.

Because a second later, the doors to her room burst open.

“Agh!” A startled cry rang from her throat at the sudden slamming of her door. Her newly acquired wings extended beneath the covers, pushing painfully against the sheet she clutched against her person. Her eyes stared at the entranceway to her room, wondering what in the name of Celestia had just happened.

She saw what she both feared and expected. One spunky, over-confident, head-strong, imagination crazy, alabaster unicorn- otherwise known as Vinyl Scratch.

“Don’t worry Tavi!” Her friend yelled needlessly into room, her signature purple shades dropped over her eyes. “I’m here to help… you…” Her words died off as the unicorn took in what she saw.

What she expected was her friend tied up to a chair with a group of thug ponies threatening her, perhaps trying to coerce money or information from her friend. It made so much more sense than Octavia being sick. Octavia, the mare who cared for her body and health like Vinyl did her record collection.

It made seeing her friend wrapped up in her blankets, sweating profusely and shivering slightly, second guess her judgement. That was, until she saw something else in the room aside from what Octavia had described to her.

If her friend really was sick, she could expect Octavia to be lying in bed, wrapped up in blankets, sweating, perhaps a little dizzy even, most likely fast asleep. What she did not expect was the extra lump beneath the sheets besides her friend. Vinyl turned her lips into a confident grin.

“Oh Octy, silly silly Octy,” the alabaster unicorn spoke in what the gray mare could only imagine was supposed to be a sultry tone. Now she wasn’t sure if she was shivering from fear of her changed body or fear of her roommate. Both seemed equally terrifying right now.

“V-Vinyl?” Octavia whimpered her friends name, pulling the sheet closer to her body and hiding more and more of herself. Her wings expanded against her wishes. It made her unicorn friend grin a little broader, and that made Octavia’s stomach more than a little heavier.

“Look Octy,” the DJ spoke easily as she ventured closer to her friend, walking beside the bed and staring into the mare’s eyes. Octavia could only pray the pillow above her head hid her horn even partially. She was extremely grateful Vinyl was not one for subtle details. “You should know by now how well I notice things.” Octavia could not speak of the irony she had just heard.

“What do… what could you mean?” She did her absolute best to sound tired and annoyed at the antics of the unicorn. One required some acting, the latter required no effort at all.

“Curled up in bed,” Vinyl mentioned as her hoof waved over the covered mare’s body. “Wrapped up tightly beneath the sheets, under the sheets.” Her grin became sinister beneath her signature glasses as she pointed at the lump behind Octavia. The mare felt her heart sink beneath her already deep gut. “Hiding a stallion in the covers.”

What?

“What?” Octavia had to speak what she thought. There was simply nothing else she could parse so long as that question hung in her mind. Vinyl shook her head lightly, as if her friend was trying dismiss an obvious clause.

“I’m not pretending that I measure you with my eyes or anything Tavi, but I’m pretty sure I would have noticed you gaining an extra, oh, sixty pounds on you.” Octavia still wasn’t sure how to take her friends comments. She decided to curl the blankets tighter against her body.

“I honestly do… no, I do not know what you are speaking about.” The statement made a brow raise from behind the unicorn’s glasses. Octavia buried herself deeper into the bed and covers, forcing her unpracticed wings to raise at her muscles’ flexions. She bit back a groan, settling for a whimper.

“C’mon Tavi,” Vinyl spoke in an almost teasing tone. Almost, though it still sounded like a knowing parent. Neither seemed particularly desirable to the gray mare right now. “I’ve worked enough late nights in enough shady joints to know a one-night stand when I see one.”

For that one horrible pungent moment, Octavia forgot she had wings or a horn to hide.

“I beg your pardon?” Now she saw her friend’s brows waggle, her jaw opening to reveal and open lipped grin. Her tongue ran across the edges of her mouth as is to emphasize some alien point Octavia couldn’t even begin to fathom. There was little she could believe today, apparently.

“I was born at night Octy, and it wasn’t just last night.” The cheeky grin on the unicorn’s face only grew broader as she reached over her friend. Octavia’s eyes widened at realization at what Vinyl was going to do. “Come on out big fella. I wanna meet the stallion that rocked-”

“Stop!” Octavia shouted at her friend. Vinyl backed off immediately, smile turned neutral at her friend’s quick outburst. The mare was quick to shame. “I’m… I-I am sorry Vinyl, but… now is not the time.” Her breathing was becoming thick again. Just like when she was checking her wings and horn before. This wasn’t good. Then again, it hadn’t been good all day.

“Relax Octy, I’m not judging.” The party pony responded. Her grin was light now, lacking any of the mirth she had moments before. “Seriously, do you how many times our neighbors complained about me when you’re at your recitals?” Octavia honestly didn’t want to imagine. “I just never thought you’d pick up a habit like... this from me.”

“I… I, um…” Octavia was stuck. On one hoof, she could continue to pester her friend to leave, something that would in all likelihood encourage the incorrigible unicorn to sit still and pester her. Or, she could swallow her pride, dive into shame, and play along with Vinyl’s game. “Now… Now really isn’t the time to... meet… him.” Octavia pushed her face into the mattress, digging it deeper beneath the pillow.

“Oh,” Vinyl nodded, leaning back as she spoke. “I get it. Don’t want any rumors flying around. I hear ya.” Octavia repressed the urge to call the unicorn for her mistake. Doing, so however, would only trade one horror for another.

“Thank you… Vinyl,” The mare spoke with what she hoped sounded like relief. Given the tightening she felt inside of herself, she doubted she did. “I appreciate your… discretion… in this manner” The unicorn waved her hoof as she leaned her head back. Though it was impossible to tell in the low light and through the shades, her eyes were likely closed.

“No problem Octy. We girls gotta look out for one another after all. Wouldn’t want any rumor mills spinning about your roll in the sack, huh?” Octavia found a new kind of heat rushing to her head. She dug herself deeper beneath her pillow, finally blocking her vision of the mare. To her growing horror, as she should have realized, Vinyl took it as an invitation to continue.

“But seriously, when you put everything back in order, I wanna hear about how it went.” Octavia could think of no words strong enough to express her desire for the unicorn to stop talking. “You room is way more messed up than it usually is, and seriously Octy, you’re gonna have to spill how you took your stallion friend there around the room.” The mare was rather sure hellfire was cooler than how she felt now.

“Heck, that’s not even to men..tion…” The unicorn’s words pitted and died off. Octavia, surprisingly enough to herself, didn’t like that. “Octavia, why is your pillow glowing?” The mare’s eyes opened beneath the cotton refuge of her bed and pillow.

Indeed, her pillow was glowing.

It was odd actually. It wasn’t glowing any majestic or rainbow-hued color like the mare was used to seeing around her. It was gray, like a dull ray of sun filtered through storm clouds. It wasn’t bright as day, but it definitely wasn’t anywhere close to black as night.

Plus it was ringing, a small harmonic sound that seemed to shake her inner eardrums. Octavia was still as a statue; shock could do that to anypony.

Unfortunately, when silence was all that greeted Vinyl Scratch, the mare decided to take action and beg for forgiveness later. The alabaster unicorn, reached her hooves forwards, grabbing the cotton pillow and dragging it backwards with one deft pull. It shattered the magic that was encompassing it, but what lay beneath was something that froze the mare still.

“O-Octy?” Vinyl stuttered, actually stuttered, speaking her friend’s name. Octavia was staring up at her friend as well, eyes wide and terrified. They were wet again, and this time the gray mare had now doubts it was from unshed tears.

“Vinyl I… I-I can explain.” She raised herself up as she spoke, adjusting herself until she was pressing on the bed with her hooves. That action alone allowed the sheet covering her to pull and fall off, revealing her expansive wings behind her. They were unfurrowed and extended to their largest, impressive length.

Vinyl was able to give only an ‘eep’ of shock before falling backwards to the floor. The thud that followed was enough to shake the unicorn from her stupor.

“Whoa!” Was the first word that came from her startled mind. More soon followed. “Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!” Vinyl’s glasses had fallen to the edge of her snout, leaving her wide eyes gazing at her suddenly completely-different friend.

Octavia wasn’t faring much better.

The reaction of her friend was enough to push over the edge. What little hope she still clung to that this was not reality was gone. The tears that had been hanging from the edge of her vision slowly began to drip downwards, mixing with the sweat of her coat. The reaction was enough to cause her throat to swell and lips to furrow. She let her head fall into her raised hooves.

Simply, she began to cry.

It was a meek and pitiful thing, that was what Octavia had always thought of crying. Letting one’s self be consumed by an emotion instead of acting to fix it. Now, however, she could think of no action nor even imaginative idea on how to correct what had happened.

Her friend of many years, her living partner, had seen her new self. Her hideously over-sized wings, her absurdly sharp horn, her miserable lies, and lastly, her unkempt coat. It was all simply too much for the poor mare.

Thankfully, despite all of the unicorn’s flaws, Vinyl was never a pony to leave a friend alone.

“Hey, c-c’mon Octy,” the unicorn spoke from outside the newly changed mare’s vision. “I’m sure this… I mean, this could be worse, right? Probably?” A forced chuckle followed the words. Octavia’s tears did little to lessen.

A sigh reached her folded ears now, followed quickly by hooves grabbing at her own. Octavia weakly tried to fight them off, but was too drained from her miserably-constructed day. Her frayed mind and fatigued body could do little but struggle against the hooves that pushed at her.

“Octavia,” Vinyl’s voice spoke to her, sternly at that. “Look at me.” That, the mare wouldn’t do. “Seriously, no joke, look at me.” Even though Octavia had no such desires, she felt her friend’s hooves reaching to her head, lifting her up until her gaze was forced to look forwards. Her only blessing was that the tears she was shedding were limiting her vision.

“Do you know how this happened?” Ah, questions. Better yet, questions said mare had been thinking about all day. She weakly shook her head in response. “Okay, alright. I…. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess you just woke up like this, right?” Octavia nodded her head up and down now, down with more force. She really didn’t want to look at anything but her hooves.

She heard nothing for a time besides her owned barely-constrained sobs, coming out closer to chokes with her head raised and throat tight. Slowly she felt the hooves leave her head, and Octavia didn’t know what to think.

“Alright, I think I know what we have to do.” Yet again, Octavia wasn’t sure what to think.

She shut her lips, desperately trying to silence her slowly-building sobs. Her throat constricted further at the force. Deep breaths of air were sucked in through her nose, blinking to clear her bleary eyes. When her vision had returned, at least partially, she focused her gaze on her unicorn friend.

Vinyl had an uncharacteristically serious expression, lips pulled together and her head giving short nods. Her glasses had since slipped back over her eyes, but Octavia knew her friend well enough to imagine the furrowed brows and short gaze of the unicorn.

“You’re basically an alicorn now, for whatever reason.” At least her bluntness hadn’t changed. “So, the natural thing to do is to go ask another alicorn what’s happening.”

Before, when Octavia had just discovered her wings and horn, she was torn between shock and confusion. Now, with Vinyl’s suggestion, she was right in the middle of terror and disbelief.

Her wings, either acting on her impulse or their own, shook as they slowly retracted against her body. Her back hunched inwards, hiding what little of herself from the unicorn that she could. If only her horn was as flexible as the rest of her body.

“I’m serious Octy,” Vinyl spoke forcefully. Her hoof hit the ground to emphasize herself. “We need to ask an alicorn. Just about everything weird that ever happens is connected to them in some way. You remember Discord? Or the Crystal Empire? Heck, what about Tirek just a few weeks ago? They’ve had or found answers for just about all of that.” The unicorn did have a point. Octavia still didn’t have the courage to look at her.

“Look, if it means anything else, I’m sure they are the absolute last ponies who’ll be anything other than, well… a little shocked. I mean, Princess Twilight just went through this, right? She must know something.” Octavia didn’t know when Vinyl had transitioned from serious to pleading, but she couldn’t deny the small tinge of desperation in her friend’s voice. She despised it.

But as much as the mare thought against going out - or doing much else but hiding in her room - she could not deny Vinyl’s hard facts. There was certainly no doctor that could help her with this new… affliction may be an inappropriate word, but the princesses? Even if no answers were found, they would best know how to handle her situation.

“Here, I know, we’ll just… um…” Vinyl fumbled around in front of her, looking for something in her messy and disarrayed room. “We just have to disguise you ‘till we see the princesses. That shouldn’t be too hard, right? I mean, I’ve seen plenty of those high-browed ponies wearing coats longer than they are, a-and we just need a good hat for the horn!” Just as her voice had gone from stern to worried, now the unicorn moved seamlessly from unsure to excited. Octavia both envied and loathed the mare.

“C’mon, Octy,” Vinyl called her name lightly again. Octavia felt a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m not gonna say anything stupid… or at least I’ll try not to.” It was a little too late in the gray mare’s mind. “But this is seriously like the best idea we’ve had.” Technically it was the only idea Vinyl had had, and Octavia hadn’t conjured one, too absorbed with the new attachments to her body. But it was for that reason Octavia was silent.

Her body curled upon her bed, mind being pulled in three different directions, she had little to no idea on what to do. Her mind moved in subjects rapidly, asking herself how this had happened, then curiously wondering how it would affect her cello skills, only to end up on best to explain this to her parents. There was no order in her mind.

That was what scared her the most.

As a mare who had planned her entire life out, from her cello skills in her tender foalhood to her current climbing in the orchestra chairs, she had plotted out with her parents every step in her life. From here, she was supposed to move onto submitting her pieces for rhapsodies, perhaps allotting a maestro in an up-and-coming orchestra to tote her pieces.

That would lead her to develop a musical adoration beyond her skills in playing, but also in writing. From there, she would easily be able to assemble her own orchestra, dabbling into contemporary and more modern pieces, adapting new styles with old works. She would entertain a suitor or two, maybe have a foal that would carry on her legacy, but ending her days with a cumulative amount of fame that would give her name meaning in discussion.

Waking up with wings, a horn, and severely split mind fit no where into that plan.

A sharp gasp left her lips. Something light but thick, had been drawn over her. Meekly, she lifted her head, adjusting her long dark mane to see what was covering her. She wiped away a few stray tears with the effort.

Along her back, hanging over her wings, was a dark trench coat. It extended well past her tail and rear-end, most of it laying lazily on the bed she was still curled on. Her mouth opened to question Vinyl where it had come from, but that was before dark hat flopped over her head. A normally uncommon ‘eep’ came from her mouth as her sight was clouded not by tears, but by the brim of the tall hat.

Octavia’s hoof shook as she lifted it to the hat, lightly pushing against the brim to raise it. Her eyes met Vinyl’s who was smiling brightly in front of her, reassuring. Octavia was certain that her eyes were brimming proudly behind those dang glasses of hers. If it weren’t for the light-shows the unicorn constantly attended, she would have asked her friend to remove them permanently.

“See?” The alabaster mare questioned, no cover of her jubilation. “Can’t see a thing. Now you look just like a high-class mare with too much pride in herself. It’s like nothing’s changed.” Octavia felt her muzzle scrunch before she retorted.

“Hilarious, Vinyl,” she dryly returned. “Perhaps I… I should just wear a mask while I am adding accessories.” The unicorn’s grin didn’t go anywhere.

“Hey,” Vinyl spoke in a quitter tone, leaning in closer to the mare. Octavia found herself backing up at the sudden intrusion to her personal space. “Got you to respond to me, didn’t it?”

Indeed it did. It took the mare a whole moment to realize it.

Vinyl had, through her own quick and near-thoughtless actions, made her momentarily forget her stress. For that one blissful moment, she was her normal usual self, arguing with a unicorn that saw the world as a playground and rules as knee-high fences. Her friend had made the pain of the moment vanish.

That made Octavia grin.

“There’s the smile I was looking for.” Vinyl lightly tapped her hoof on the mare’s chin, pointing towards the shy smile on her friend’s face. “Does this mean, you’re at least willin’ to try?”

Octavia closed her eyes for a moment slightly longer than a blink. She looked over herself quickly, surveying the large coat on her back and tall hat on her head. Both were black as the night and trimmed with superfluous but nevertheless impressive accessories, the kind of clothing the cellist often saw her frequent patrons wearing.

Even splayed out over the bed, she could see how it would easily hide her newly acquired horn and wings. All she had to do was stay focused, keep calm, and pray to the princesses she was going to visit that nothing would go wrong.

Octavia took back that wish as soon as she made it. She knew how the fates liked to play.

“How many visitors are currently requesting me?” The clear, regal voice of a dark alicorn spoke. Her attention was upon a guard under her service, with wings of a bat and dark mane to boot. His eyes, golden like the stars, scanned a clipboard in his hooves. A stern expression was set over his features as he read. The alicorn’s own expression had almost mirrored the image of his. Hers, however, held far greater stature.

“Four, your highness,” he spoke with no lack of certainty. “Two have requested a time near the end of your court, but two others have appeared only moments ago saying only that they wish for your council as quickly as is convenient.” The alicorn nodded at her guard.

Her eyes shut slowly as she pondered the information. It was likely the ponies requesting a specific time were doing so to catch her at most exhausted state. It was far easier to convince a tired pony of investments or charities than it was a fully alert and prepared one. A thousand years of absence and she found no difference in the games of nobles.

The two sudden arrivals, however, were an interesting story. They clearly were not in need of physical aid, as such would be handled by the guards themselves. No, her council likely was sought for wisdom or sway in a decision. It was not a position she particularly enjoyed, but it was far preferred to the dark alicorn than deciding in which direction the bank was meant to roll.

“Very well,” she spoke again. “Please send in the first pony who came to me this day.”

“With respect Princess Luna, but the two ponies have arrived together. They seek you at the same time.” Ah, then it was likely a decision that was needed. Two ponies rarely coexisted at the same point all the time, and when the inevitable event of friction occurred, who better to solve the argument than a living embodiment of ‘divine intervention’? It took many years before the princess stopped giggling at the phrase. It was much more appropriate to simply call it a game of chance.

“So be it,” she commanded, her expression betraying nothing of her inner thoughts. “Send them in with haste.” The guard gave a low bow before trotting quickly to the door.

The princess was alone momentarily, thinking on the ponies that were coming to her. It was unlikely that they were making a crucial decision at this time, not in the wean hours of her night. No, it was far more likely they had a question about the workings of her sky, or perhaps the land in general, and they needed her guidance to solve it. They were menial matters, but a proper princess loyal to her ponies never betrayed their trust.

Her musings were silenced as the doors opened again and her guard returned. In tow with him were indeed two ponies, but the princess could only make out one of the two. The one that was visible had a coat as white as her sister’s and a mane more blue than the ocean. A rather striking pair of purple glasses sat on the bridge of her nose as well.

Rather than looking forwards towards Princess Luna, however, the white mare was glancing at her companion next to her. It was not common for ponies in arguments to offer such sympathetic glances. It made the dark alicorn recant her early guess of their needs.

The other pony she could not see, for the he or she was completely covered in clothing. A dark coat was drawn over the body with a top hat needlessly tall standing atop the head. Either mare or stallion, the princess could only assume now that something had occurred to the pony, short of physical harm, and they needed her help to deduce what. Luna only hoped she could.

“Presenting one Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody,” the guard introduced formally. The covered pony bowed deeply to her liege, clearly cultured and knowledgeable of tradition. The unicorn besides her, however, just waved. Waved, like it was a showboat. Luna wasn’t sure how to take it. She supposed it was better than stones or chants.

“Welcome to my court,” Princess Luna welcomed the two with an authoritative tone. “For what reason have you sought my presence today?” That was when she saw the covered pony shift.

She was nervous.

“Well, you see your majesty, it’s… not something we can exactly explain.” The white mare, assuming Vinyl Scratch by the brashness of her name, spoke. “We can explain it, but it would really just be a lot easier to show you.”

“Very well,” Princess Luna spoke back with no hesitation. “Then show me what you need.” Neither mare moved. A nervous chuckle came from Ms. Scratch once more.

“Yeah, ya see, when I said show you I meant, well…” Her hoof scratched her head, clearly uncomfortable with the request she was about to make. Luna knew she would not. “Alone.” No, definitely not.

“I’m afraid such a request is not permitted.” She answered truthfully. “With the frequent attempts upon my sister and I, the presence of our guards is a now required piece of entering our presence. Only if you have a reason deserving of discussion while possessing my trust can I possibly dismiss my loyal ponies.” Luna did not miss the puffing of her guards’ chests. She also did not miss the clear shaking of the covered pony.

“That’s the problem we’re having your royalness.” Vinyl spoke again. Luna kindly dismissed the incorrect word. “Octavia isn’t covered up because she’s cold. She’s… well… something really weird happened to her, and the last thing we need are ponies spreading rumors about her.”

“I can assure you no guards in this hall will speak of what occurs within it, not without my command.” Luna was not entertained by the idea of gossip. Evidently, neither was this Vinyl.

“Look, if you want loyalty, how about the fact that we’ve both been raised in Canterlot since we were born?” The princess’s eyes narrowed at Vinyl’s degrading decorum. By the sudden movement of Octavia’s hat, she assumed her friend felt the same. “Heck, I even played at your niece’s wedding!” Luna’s eyes lifted in recognition.

“Ah,” she spoke easily. “I thought I recognized you from somewhere. Your glasses are an unusual accessory.” The unicorn beamed and nodded cheekily at the statement. It reminded the princess of one of the Harmony Bearers, Rainbow Dash. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Her presences at a royal wedding, however, did merit some trust. If she truly had any plans to do harm, then would have been the time, especially in the wake of the invasion of changelings. A lot could happen, in a year, but the dark alicorn very much doubted the rude pony was able to change opinion, plot, and they go through with an attempt so weak as walking up to her in open court.

“Very well,” Luna spoke. She stood from her throne, unfurling her wings as she did so. It made her already-tall appearance seem dwarfing to the ponies. She needed to be. “Guards, leave us for a moment. I will send for you when this is done. Please wait by the doors.” There were no words of protest, only quick nods of acceptance, and then the clopping of hooves out of the room.

There was silence up until and past when the door shut in the hall, leaving the three alone. Luna let the absence of sound persist, letting the tension build. Tension made a nervous pony more honest, she found.

“Will you now show me what ails you?” Her voice was no warmer or colder than before, but clearly there was concern in her tone. It was a lesson the young Fluttershy had taught her. She remembered it well.

There was more fidgeting from the heavily clothed pony, but the Vinyl was seeing to it. The mare leant beneath the hat, doubtlessly speaking some encouraging words to lift her up. The top hat on the pony, now assumingly a mare by the name Octavia, bounced up and down lightly. She was agreeing with the words Vinyl was speaking.

Then the hat fell too far forwards, slipping off the mare’s head and falling to the floor. It hit with a dull hollow thud, rolling a short distance before stopping. Luna watched it briefly before looking at the mare.

A unicorn then, but the long horn adorned on her head it was easy to see. It was rather long for a normal mare of her size, but that was hardly something needing dire attention. The princess could not help but to also notice the flowing dark mane she had, reaching close the floor. By ratios, it was closer to the length of Luna’s own mane, though the dark alicorn’s flowed in a wind unfelt by other ponies.

“The concern is your horn then?” The princess questioned. “It is of significant length, but I hardly see any reason for concern.”

“Ye-NO!” Octavia quickly turned her meek acceptance into a loud denial. It made Luna blink. She was caught somewhere between curiosity and offense. “No, um, no your highness, your majesty. There’s… oh goddesses, there is more.” She didn’t sound too excited by her words.

“Then please, show me what ails you in full.” Luna raised her head as she spoke, preparing for what she assumed would be a magical show of destruction. That would be worthy of immediate concern, and it might properly justify the increased length in the mare’s horn. It was more common for ancient villains to awaken then for such an event to occur, but given the frequency of the former, the latter was bound to happen.

Octavia took in a deep breath, holding for a moment. Luna assumed she was focusing on a spell. She was half right. The gray mare was focusing, but not on a spell.

The coat along Octavia’s back flew upwards.

Her long elegantly crafted wings were exposed, fully extended.

Luna’s own wings drooped the floor in shock.

Silence ruled her hall instead of her, deafening all present with its thick strands. Luna’s vision would look no where else then upon the mare… no… the young alicorn before her. Her mangled coat of gray, her sharp horn of impressive length, her expansive wings of great shape, and her nervous, near-worried gaze.

Vinyl chortled besides her.

“Told ya we needed to keep this secret.”

Author's Notes:

Please Note:
Overture = the first part of a long piece of classical music such as an opera or a symphony.
Overture =/= the piece entire.