The Brave and the Unfortunate (Closed: Trombone2015)

[GoldenDaze]

 

Manehattan; the busiest and most packed city in Equestria, most would say. Celebrities, famous restaurant owners, stylish artists, and more, come from everywhere in this world to take on this city and what it has in store for them. Many come for the sights, and many come for competitions. Like one competition being held in town square. A music one, which entails many different bands and communities to come in and preform to be judged and win a prize. Mainly publicity, but some extra cash too. Ponies and creatures of all sizes want to come and show their talents off to be victorious in their matches, which normally leads to some unprofessional jealousy and such.

 

One pony normally found this argumentation kind of funny, and entertaining, and she could watch these fights all day long while she paints her pictures on the walls of the backdrop. As long as they didn't touch her wet masterpiece, everything would be find and dandy. She was normally laid back anyway, and wouldn't fuss too much about it, but it would still make her mad. And her name was familiar on the tongue, as she was known all over from her family back in Las Pegasus. She wouldn't be here today without her famous family, as she wouldn't have been paid to come and paint her masterpieces on the backdrops for the competition. She normally couldn't be seen without somepony recognizing her, but not to toot her own horn, she loved the attention. 

 

 

"Street Art?" a random pony said from behind the purple unicorn, making the mare turn around. Rainbow paint was splashed all over her, but she was used to the sticky stuff on her coat. "That's me, baby." Her voice was as sweet as honey, which made the stranger melt from the soft tune.

 

"Can I get your autograph?" 

 

"Sure can do, honey." Her horn lit up, lifting a pen and a random piece of paper she found on a stool, not noticing it was a music sheet. Normally her own self got in the way of being observant to others. The mare then signed the sheet with pretty cursive writing, and gave it to the pony. "Have a nice day." 

 

Art turned back around, fiddling around with her paint brush as she dipped it in a soft yellow, finishing up her orange sun in the corner of the painting. She wanted this pony's background to be fun and indulging, yet sophisticated. She felt like the hint of blues and yellows worked perfectly. She felt like she needed to add more, though. Maybe some orange? That should do. The mare got back to work, keeping herself contained, but also listening to the conversations around her. This day seemed perfect already. 

 

 

[Trombone2015]

If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. For that the city of Manehatten was bustling with activity: taxi stagecoach ponies galloping down the streets to pick up riders for a fee, airships soaring high just beneath the clouds, the shrieking brakes from the subway below the ground, and the whistles from trains carrying ponies to their destinations from the train station. Unfortunately, one pony was in the hustle and bustle of this activity, carrying his saddlebags after disembarking the inbound express train. Flying down to the subway station below ground, he caught a downtown subway train just in time. Catching his breath, he carefully took a seat and placed his bags onto the seat next to him. Opening one of them, he began to check if all the sheet music was well organized for the concert. 

 

"Hey, you with the saddlebags. What's your problem?"

 

Slide Fortissimo looked up from his sheet music. A stallion wearing a blue fedora was sitting one seat next to him. "Excuse me?"

 

"Don't you know anything about subway etiquette?"

 

Slide closed up his saddlebags in and placed them on the floor beneath is seat. "Well excuse me, but I'm trying to get ready for a con-" The pony shushed him with a hoof. 

 

"Come on dude, I don't need to know why you're in a hurry." The pony removed his hoof from Slide's face. "This is Manehatten. Ponies are supposed to be in a hurry all the time. What's your name?" 

 

"Slide Fortissimo."

 

"Hmmm, haven't heard that name before. By the looks of you I can tell you're a famous pegasus pony."

 

Slide blushed. "Well, I have been playing the trombone for quite awhile now. Thanks for the compliment." 

 

"You're welcome. Name's Wonder Whisp. A pleasure to meet you Slide."

 

"Thank you Wonder, but my stop is the next one."

 

"Oh, okay Slide. It was nice talking to you."

 

Slide waved goodbye to Wonder and disembarked from the subway train at his stop. trotting to the town square as fast as he could. As the Principal Trombone of the Royal Canterlot Orchestra, he was needed for warm ups as soon as possible. The orchestra was going to perform at the town square soon and he didn't want to be late. 

 

Passing by the main stage in the square, he thought he saw a glimmer of a rainbow from the corner of his eye. Curiously, he climbed up the stage stairs and headed over to the backstage area behind where the orchestra was beginning to put together their instruments. He glanced at the colorful backdrop and gasped. 

 

"Whoa! Who painted this?"

[GoldenDaze]

 

The purple mare dipped more yellow onto her paint brush, stroking out each individual line to make the painting more breathtaking. She normally wasn't one for acrylics, but her mom showed her the wide range of paint she could use in her paintings, besides spray paint. Of course Art was open minded to the idea of more ways to paint her masterpieces. As such, she felt acrylics were more sophisticated for something like this. 

 

That, and the ponies running the joint told her not to use spray cans because the smell could mess up the musicians practice. 

 

Of course.

 

So, good thing she kept in mind bringing extra paints and such, to fulfil the best needs for each competitor. The three legged pony felt as if these paints were easier anyway, as she had to paint over ten backgrounds for the show. She was almost done. The mare had been there since five in the morning, and she could really bust these things out like no other. As long as she had motivation and her brilliant artistic mind, she would be fine and dandy. 

 

And she splattered the last bit of her yellow, she dipped her brush in some orange, just to finish up the sky. She was really proud of herself for this one. As she finished, and stood up and looked over it, smiling at her little masterpiece.

 

 

She then heard a voice, making her turn around. A red stallion was standing behind her, staring at her painting. "This work is all mine, honey," the mare cooed, smiling sweetly at the gentlemen. Art was covered in paint, from head to toe. The colors popped off of her purple coat nicely, though, and her pink beanie really made her eyes pop with wild curiosity. "You performing today, darling?" She set her paintbrush down, still smiling and never breaking a sweat. 

[Trombone2015]

"Excuse me, but I'm rather impressed by this backdrop you've been painting. It looks almost like Manehatten during a beautiful sunset, if I say so myself."

 

Slide took off his saddlebags and placed them by his side. He felt eager to learn how this pony was able to paint a masterpiece like this, not knowing that he had to attend a rehearsal soon.

 

"My name's Slide, Slide Fortissimo. Principal Trombone of the Royal Canterlot Orchestra. It's a pleasure to meet you."

 

Upon initial observation, Slide noticed that the pony didn't have a fourth leg! Keeping his composure, he didn't want to be judgmental and ask the artist why she didn't have a fourth leg. Noticing that she was covered in paint, he knew that she had been working on that backdrop for a long time, an example of hard work indeed.  

 

"I do apologize, but I have to attend a rehearsal soon and then perform with the orchestra. We are headlining the music festival soon." 

 

He paused and adjusted his bow-tie. "What's your name?"

[GoldenDaze]

 

The purple mare smirked at the stallion, giving simple gestures of kindness just from the emotion in her eyes. She generally had a kind soul, which led most ponies to fall into her spell. She was messy, yet majestic, and she had a keen eye for talented artistic ponies. She could always get a sense of artsy and creative ponies. It was kind of her thing. 

 

"Thank you, hun. I simply took the amazing view of the Manehattan sunset into consideration when painting this piece." She gave a warm smile once again, her calming eyes taking effect of her stature. "And nice to meet you, Mr. Fortissimo. You have quite a stance here, yeah? Being a principal trombonist. How stunning." 

 

She turned around, lifting up a piece of paper with her pink magic, looking at what seemed like a list. "Seems this backdrop is for Cantorlot's Orchestra. How ironic." Art turned back around, her pearly whites showing. She then noticed him staring at her missing leg, which she didn't bat an eye about. It happened all the time, really. Ponies always stared growing up. Sure, it made walking and physical activity hard, but she could deal with it. 

 

"Sure you do! I wish you the best of luck, sir." She picked up her paint, floating the equipment back stage. "Oh! Street Art. I'm surprised you've never heard of me." She cocked her eyebrow, giving him a rather attractive look, which could give anypony goosebumps. 

[Trombone2015]

The red stallion did get a few goosebumps from Street Art's attractive look and blushed with embarrassment.

 

"Y-yeah, I haven't heard about you at all. I would like to thank you for painting this. It's perfect for the orchestra's concert performance and I wish the best of luck on your future works of art."

 

He picked up his saddlebags and placed them onto his back, making sure that all of his belongings were in his saddlebags. 

 

"I do apologize, but I must attend a rehearsal now. Enjoy the concert!" 

 

He waved goodbye and made his way to the area where the orchestra musicians were gathering. After finding his dressing room and a very quick warm up, Slide flew over to where the rehearsal was about to begin. Taking his seat, the other trombonists in the orchestra where happy to see Slide again and then turned their attention to the conductor.

 

"Right everypony, we'll do warm ups and then practice a few parts from the music. We are pleased to have Slide Fortissimo as soloist for Blue Bells of Trotland."

 

Slide beamed with pride when the conductor addressed him. 

 

"I believe Slide has been practicing a long time for this and we hope that he'll be absolutely legendary. Now then, can we have a B flat please?"

 

The warm ups section of the rehearsal commenced, with Slide carefully making sure he was in tune. After the warm ups were concluded, the orchestra rehearsed the two pieces: Pictures at an Exhibition, with artworks created by the finest artists in Equestria, and Blue Bells of Trotland, featuring Slide Fortissimo respectively. 

 

Once the rehearsal was over, the conductor dismissed the orchestra, saying that they had to be back in an hour for their performance. Slide left his belongings in his dressing room and went over to the festival food court to have lunch. Carrying his tray of food with his wing, he noticed Street Art again and went over to her. 

 

"Ah, hello again. May I sit here with you?"

 

 

[GoldenDaze]

 

"Well, aren't you a positive ray of sunshine," the mare softy said, smiling at the stallion. "Thank you, for enjoying my work." She then turned around, using her magic to put in all her backdrops in order for each performance. All she really had to do now was flip the backgrounds every time a new competitor rose to the stage. Easy peasy. 

 

She then heard his voice again, saying his good-byes. "See you later, honey. Good luck at your rehearsal." Just then, a swarm of mares surrounded her, in shock. Art just played it cool, signing their papers and smiling the whole time.. flirting with one really cute mare and secretly hiding her mailbox address underneath her signature..

 

Yep, that was Street Art for you. 

 

She gave an attractive wink as the mares trotted along, making Art have the cutest smirk on her face. She shook her head, listening to the smooth music coming from the stage. She could see Slide from where she was sitting behind the stage, watching him and the rest of the orchestra as they played a few songs. A couple of them sound familiar to her, making her hum to herself. 

 

From a distance she could hear a pony panic, making her turn her head and watch the pony trot around in circles. He seemed to be missing a paper, as his eyes were scanning the ground violently and his brow from crunched in like a caterpillar. So, the purple mare got up, tilting her head. "You alright, sir?" He quickly shook his head, scanning the floor with ferocity. 

 

"No, I have lost my sheet of music. Have you seen a lost trumpet sectional?" 

 

Suddenly, Art remembered seeing a music sheet, when she autographed that first pony. Her selfishness got the best of her. "No, sir. I haven't," she lied, looking around to sell it. "You have other trumpet players in your orchestra, yeah? Shouldn't they have a copy?"

 

"I guess I'll borrow theirs. Thanks," he responded, disappearing. 

 

Art got out of that one. 

 

An hour later, Art found herself snacking on an apple during lunch hour, when a familiar voice pounded in her ears. "Hey, sweets. 'Course you can sit with me." She smiled, patting the sit next to her with her only front hoof. "How was rehearsal?"

 

A little farther ahead of the pair, a group of ponies wearing all black started walking towards them, making every pony go quiet. Of course Art didn't realize the sudden silence, as the only noise anypony could hear was the crunch of her apple. 

[Trombone2015]

"Thank you." Slide took his seat and noticed that Street Art was only snacking on an apple. He then glanced at his lunch, consisting of two flower sandwiches with a side of hayfries and a water bottle. Selecting one of the sandwiches and taking a bite out of it, he smiled at Street Art while eating his sandwich. Putting down his sandwich, wiping his face with a napkin, and taking a drink of water casually, he answered Street's question.

 

"The rehearsal is going very well. We're going over two pieces of music that I believe the audience will enjoy very much. They are Pictures at an Exhibition and Blue Bells of Trotland. I'm very impressed that artists like you will be showcasing their art while the orchestra performs the first piece. I've heard that one pony who is from Trotland painted a portrait of The Forth Bridge, one of the most famous railway bridges in Equestria." 

 

Just then, a group of ponies dressed in black had entered the town square. The crowd suddenly fell silent. Slide was just about to eat a few hayfries when one of the ponies grabbed his tuxedo collar and turned him round fiercely.

 

"You're coming with me trombonist." Slide tried not to panic, knowing he was in a dangerous situation. In an instant, he came up with a naughty idea.

 

"Uh, hehe, why me? If you're looking for another musician, there is...uh...look! It's Countess Coloratura!" The gang ponies glanced at the direction where he was pointing and to their amazement, it was Countess Coloratura, shocked at being spotted in the crowd. Right when the gang ponies looked away, Slide quickly got up from his seat, took one glance at Art to make sure she was okay, and then dashed away from the square as fast as he could. The trick had worked! 

 

"Hey! Get back here!" 

 

"Don't let him get away!"

 

"Hold up, guys! We'll head 'im off at the pass!"

 

Slide was barely able to hear the last gang pony's shout, but knew very well that they were definitely not from Manehatten; they were Appleloosan!

 

Nearly flying into a store awning, he flew down the streets of Manehatten, dodging past ponies left and right, apologizing as he flew dangerously over a large crowd of ponies waiting to hail taxi cabs. 

 

Rounding a corner, he noticed the entrance to a subway station. Looking back to make sure the ponies were nowhere to be seen, Slide swooped down towards the sidewalk, dashed his way down the stairs, and entered the concourse, galloping with all his might.

 

"Out of my way! Clear the station! There are gang ponies on the loose. I'll take care of them myself!"

 

The commuters waiting for the train screamed and fled from the platform in haste. With no time to lose, Slide quickly paid his fare. He was just about to board the train when a green gang pony caught up with him, got out a lasso, and roped his legs together, pulling him away from the door and causing him to fall to the ground in a heap. The sound of Slide hitting the platform echoed like a tuning note of a timpani. The train swiftly departed from the station as the gang pony surrounded him.

 

"Well well well, what do we have here? The most professional trombonist in Equestria. Are you really that professional?"

 

The gang pony spat at his face. Slide was unable to wipe it off his face as it dribbled down his face and onto the floor.

 

"Sir, how dare you spit in my handsome face! And why were you guys after me? If you don't mind, I have a concert to attend to. I must finish having lunch with a frien-"

 

In a flash, the gang pony slapped Slide's face with a hoof.

 

"Shut it red pone, or you'll be speaking with the boss faster than you can tune a piano. Understand?" 

 

Slide felt the sharp pain of a hoof on his face and began to cry a bit, with a hint of rage in his eyes.  

 

"Pardon me, but I don't even play the piano! What are your demands!" 

 

The gang pony bent down close to Slide's face. 

 

"You see that tunnel over there? Our boss requests for your presence. He would want to hear your...music...before his plan goes through this afternoon. Understand?"

 

The gang pony gave a sinister laugh and untied Slide.

 

"You ain't going anywhere until you play, now move it red pone!"

 

The green gang pony motioned for Slide to enter the subway tunnel. He nervously began to make his way along the subway tracks, the third rail inches from them. Keeping his composure, they soon reached the end of the station. A staircase was roped off, only for employees. 

 

"Oh well, I guess he won't be available. Goodbye!"

 

The gang pony shoved him towards the staircase. 

 

"What kind of a trombonist are you? Climb those stairs now!"

 

"Alright, but you sir are asking for trouble."

 

The gang pony chuckled. "Oh, there will be trouble."

 

As Slide was climbing the stairs, he looked down and noticed there were rocks below to his right. 

 

"Hmm, those rocks could come in handy...."

[GoldenDaze]

 

Arty took another bite of her apple, slurping up the sweet juices that slowly drooled down the fruit. It was a really tasty apple, probably home grown somewhere with a large farm. The city didn't have much farm land, so it probably was from Ponyville, she guessed. It was nice and warm, and it really melted in her mouth. 

 

As she chomped down on her apple, she swallowed quickly as she went to talk again. "Those pieces sound very sophisticated. Your orchestra seems very in tune with the competition. Hopefully you all will be splendid, sweetheart." The mare's voice was calm and sweet, like sugar. She watched as he dug into his food, which made her space off and look around the court. Everypony seemed to be enjoying their food too. How quaint. 

 

Soon, Arty found her ear twitching, which made her turn rapidly to look at Slide. Her eyes kind of went big when she saw a group of big ponies surround him. The purple mare couldn't help but drop her apple, as her normally shallow heart started racing. She blinked, and saw herself completely alone, with ponies frantically running about. The mare looked up, seeing a flash of red flying away, followed by one of the members. 

 

Arty immediately got up, running after them. It was hard for her to run, as she only had three legs. She was inching farther and farther away from the group, as she found herself in the middle of a large crowd. Arty pushed her way through the large heap of ponies, following the chase to try and save the new pony she met. This normally wasn't like her at all. She'd normally leave the guy be. Arty could be cruel, but the thought in the back of her head made her keep going. She was selfish, but not that selfish. 

 

As they neared a cave, the mare sprinted out the last of her energy, noticing what she was standing on was a train station platform. The purple mare looked around, searching for the ponies. Suddenly, she looked up, seeing Slide make his way up some stairs. She quickly ran underneath them, hoping to not get spotted by the musically inclined gang pony. Thinking fast, she grabbed the nearest rock with her magic and threw it, making a 'clink' sound. The member of the gang heard it, making him quickly look around. He flew off the platform, landing in the rocks. 

 

With the quick distraction, Arty trotted up the stairs carefully. "We have to be quiet. I got him distracted for a few seconds." Hopefully she didn't scare him with her random appearance. "The only way out of here is deeper down the cavern, baby. Be quick." The mare trotted down the stairs, taking off running down the long stretch of darkness. With Slide hopefully following her, she looked back. When she looked back, her one front leg tripped on a rock and she landed face first, creating a huge noise. The pony then looked up, spotting the duo. "I got you now!" 

[Trombone2015]

As Slide was getting closer to where the gang ponies meet the boss, there was a brisk sound of a rock hitting a step on the stairs a few feet below them. The gang pony looked around and held back Slide with the rope. 

 

"Hold it red pone, I think I heard something. You better not move until I get back, or you'll be in a sorry state." The gang pony looked around again. Looking down, he saw the same pile of rocks that Slide had seen earlier. Checking to make sure Slide was still on the stairs, he flew down to the rocks and began to inspect them. 

 

"Right, who could have thrown that rock?" The gang pony said as he peeked under a large rock. A family of spiders creepily crawled away from under the rock. "Disgusting..." He muttered under his breath as he began to inspect each rock, possibly hiding an intruder underneath the rock. 

 

Meanwhile, Slide quietly stood on the stairs, watching the gang pony search the rocks like a complete idiot. Why would a pony be hiding under a rock? 

 

Just then, he noticed Arty climbing up the stairs. He gasped and could still see the gang pony searching the rocks in the corner of his eye. 

 

"What are-" He was shushed instantly, but was glad to see Arty again. Slide listened to what Arty said and nodded his head in agreement. Untying himself swiftly, he began to follow her down the stairs, trying not to be noticed.

 

Suddenly, he saw Arty trip on the same rock she thrown at the stairs, causing her to fall face first onto a stair. Slide came to Arty's aid, but the gang pony had heard her. Shouting at them in rage, Slide quickly whispered to Arty.

 

"Let's get out of here!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GoldenDaze]

 

She tried untying him as quickly as possible, with both her mouth and her magic. She felt rushed, but generally tried to keep her cool. The purple unicorn didn't know how to act. She had to be fast though, incredibly fast. Arty couldn't get caught right now, both of the ponies needed to be at the rehearsal to finish their jobs. Hopefully they could get out soon..

 

Finally setting Slide free, she quickly ran down the stairs, while also trying to be quiet. That was a rather hard feat, having three hooves. Having a disadvantage wasn't the most perfect thing in Equestria right now. The unicorn had to deal with it though, as this situation was too dire to be ignored. Of course though, the flirty mare tripped on a rock and fell face first into the ground. Slide was immediately at her aid, but she ended up whispering, "I'm okay, sweets. Just go down the cavern, I'll meet you there." She motioned towards deeper in the cave. 

 

Waiting for him to run off, she got up in one swift motion, hearing the gang ponies run right at her. She turned around, seeing them hauling themselves. Thinking fast, she levitated the pile of rocks and started chucking them at the group with her magic, hopefully slowing them down as she started running deeper into the dark cave. Normally the unicorn wouldn't know what to do in situations like this, but a certain bat pony she met one night a long time ago made her think quicker. They yelled in annoyance as each one got knocked down from the rocks, making Street Art slow down. She was beginning to lose her sight, as the cave got darker and darker. 

 

Hopefully Slide was around here.

 

She lit up her horn for some brightness, a magenta aura shining across the rocky walls and ceiling. She quickly spotted a red stallion which made her breathing slow. "I'm surely glad to see your handsome face," she whispered. "I lost them for a dash of a second. We best keep moving our hooves though. They might find us in less time than we ponder." She began to walk father down the cave.. hopefully nothing would set hoof in their lane..

[Trombone2015]

Slide nodded in agreement and ran off in the direction that Arty had motioned, going deeper into the cave. Running and flying to get away from those gang ponies had caused him to break an awful sweat. Thankfully, there was just enough light for him to see into the cave. Slide found a large rock and ducked behind it, just out of view from the entrance of the cave. Checking if the coast was clear, he examined his wings to make sure they were okay. 

 

"Curses. I knew I should have stretched my wings this morning," he muttered, preening his wings with some difficulty. All pegasus ponies have wings that must be examined after a certain time of flying. Slide knew this, but was certain that after preening of his wings, everything would be okay. 

 

He was halfway done when he heard a commotion from outside the cave. Looking around, he peered from his hiding place to see what was going on. Listening carefully, Slide could just make out what the gang ponies were saying. "Ow! Ow! You'll be sorry you stupid art pone!" It sounded faint, but Slide knew that Arty must've done something awesome to hold back the gang ponies. Once Slide had finished preening his wings, he curled up behind the rock to get some rest, hoping that Arty would be able to find him. 

 

Suddenly, a glimmer of light shown around the cave walls. Waking up from his slumber, he looked up from the behind the rock and gasped when he saw Arty. "Arty! I'm over here," he whispered, getting out from behind the rock. 

 

After hearing about the status of the gang ponies, Slide was very impressed. "Well done Arty, but we must keep going. We have to get away from those gang ponies before they find us." 

 

As they were walking deeper into the cave, Slide began to walk alongside Arty. "Arty, I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you fight off those gang ponies, but I would like to thank you for saving me. How can I ever repay you?" 

 

[GoldenDaze]

 

 

Street Art heard Slide shout out her name, making her quickly trot right to him. She was a little out of breath, not being the most.. athletic. But, she felt incredibly relieved when she saw the bright red stallion. She cleared her throat in quite an elegant way, sitting down for a brief second. She balanced her body to wipe the sweat off her forehead. 

 

Slide spoke suddenly, making Arty nod her head. "Yes yes, we should vanish from this predicament." The purple mare slowly got up, as the ponies who were chasing them could be heard in the distance. She suddenly felt rushed, trying to start running off.

 

She didn't run though, she stayed at a solid trot, closely behind the pegasus. "It wasn't that big of an obstacle. They're not the brightest group of stallions, now." She kept her horn aglow, as the deeper they got, the darker it became. Soon enough though, Arty began to hear running water. Not until something large rumbled behind them. A large rock rolled down the walled of the cave, almost crushing the unicorn.