Ponywalk Luau: A Quiet Beach

[Bramble Rose]

The soft, muted noise of music floats down the dark beach, barely heard over the slow rush of the waves over the sand, lit by the last rays of the setting sun, and the rising light of the moon. the white sand stretches off around the island, bordered by the dark foliage of the tropical jungle on one side, the flat, rolling expanse of the water on the other. While not technically part of the party, it is a nice place to step out and get away from the crowds for a little bit - while still drinking in the gorgeous scenery of the Gallopocus Islands.

[Neoniie]

Wrong Note had thought her recent lifestyle changes would have drowned out any influences of her old life. She was certainly wrong about that. The former signing sensation couldn't resist making the jounrey to the Gallopocus Islands to witness the very height of fashion. She had been to a few such events before, even if she was still in her late fillyhood, and knew all about the excitement and glamour. However, she couldn't risk being recognized by somepony at the Luau itself. So, the purple mare had made her way discreetly to the beach that was nearby the party. She could still hear the music, swaying back and forth in time with the rhythm.

The music and the reminder of her past life made the earth pony want to sing, just as she had done years ago upon the stages of Manehatten's finest institutions. With a quick glance around, she started to sing softly. The tone was scratchy and chaotic, but nopony was around to hear it and thus Wrong Note payed it no mind.

"There's an old mare who's in desperate need of self esteem.

All this constant pressure that's on her makes her feel...

Worthless and denied, she said she'd never felt quite alright.

She demanded something more out of life than to only fit right in.

This old mare is still waiting to be recognized.

Broken dreams are reflected in her weary eyes."

((Lyrics from The Road Past Success by Adjusted))

[RoyalDice]

A soft chuckle came from somewhere near the mare. A small smile forming along his face, as he trotted next to the mare. ''That's.. quite the song you got there, miss..'' the small green colt said, weakly turning his head to the mare, trying not to look awkward. He feared he might give out a stalker-ish vibe, and it wouldn't be the first time that happened. He did really bad on events such as this, and he was suprised that he hadn't gone with the winds as of yet.

Atleast the mare looked like good company whilst he tried to focus on the scenary, whilst reminding himself how much the song's lyrics also reflected on him.

[Neoniie]

As she heard the colt's words, the mare turned her head. As she did so, locks of her lime and teal mane blew into her face. Peaking through them, she studied the colt closely. It wasn't often that she encountered another pony whilst she sang, though when she did they rarely lingered to watch. He was a tad on the skinny side with pair of black rimmed spectacles resting upon his muzzle. She also noted that he was a unicorn, though that wasn't something that weighted heavily upon her examinations.

The normally purple strands of hair around her muzzle took on a darker red tinge as she realized that the colt had heard her frankly terrible singing. She turned back toward the softly lapping waves that sprayed a sprinkle of water toward the mar's fetlocks. Not wanted the silence to stretch between them, she reluctantly questioned him, her melodious and odd way of speaking causing her to keep her gaze forward, for fear of showing her embarassment too overtly.

"How strange to find another pony here,

Would you not rather be at the luau where others are near?

In addition, please excuse my poor pitch and tone,

I was not aware that there were ponies around to make groan."

[RoyalDice]

His eyebrow rose a bit, but a gentle smile continued to being spread across his face. His carefull approach was hopefully going to work, because running away from ponies can't be a real good thing. But still, not the worst thing he had done to ponies, due to his high nervousness or plain foolishness. He remembered all of them clear as day, and tried his best not to let this happen again. Not anytime soon, atleast.

The mare, beautifully brushed purple mane and purple pelted looked as if she had done modeling for years, and years. She had great looks, her voice was pretty delightfull to hear, and she could rhyme too! He couldn't rhyme for a sentence or two!

''Oh.. well.. i prefer more silent places.. and i d-don't.. really.. want to be with those ponies, anyhow..'' he sighed, and shook his head. They were all such high-praised, most likely rich and important ponies he was facing up with. He'd never win, or even get close to winning. Atleast it was a good thing he wasn't hoping on that either.

''No, miss.. you have a great voice.. compared to several other ponies i've met, you are quite good.'' he said, causing him to chuckle. ''U-uhm.. sorry.. i should introduce me first, s-should i not?'' he asked, extending a hoof towards the mare for a friendly hoofshake. ''The.. name.. is Survey, i'm aspiring to becoming a model.. but currently i'm employed as the assistant of Brazil Nut, a explorer..'' he sighed, and smiled weakly at her

[Neoniie]

Wrong Note was rather confused by the holding of the colt's smile, even after she had sung her words to him in such a dismal pitch. It was a rare thing, one she had only encountered from a zebra stallion when she had first arrived in her current residence of Hoofington. The curse which had transformed both her life and her voice had isolated her for most of its time in effect and thus finding a pony whom was not very bothered by it was a rare thing indeed.

His first reply to her initial stanza was an interesting one. He seemed to have an opposite mentality to that of the purple mare herself. Deep down, the earth pony yearned to be inside the party with the high society guests and not having to hide lest her true identity be revealed. She had accepted that the glamourous life she used to lead was a thing of tha past and that in the end she was better off knowing the value of kindness rather than wealth, but she still had an inkling of wish for her old life.

His second reply was, if possible, more shocking to the mare than the held smile. Somepony truely considered her cursed voice to be good. It seemed as though the mare had been transported to some alternate Equestria. It was true that even through the curse she suppose that some of her original gift remained, but based on the perameters of the wicked spell, she was surprised that some ponies' voices were considered worse than her own. As he introduced himself, he took his hoof. The practice of hoofshaking still felt a tad strange to the mare, having been raised in the high class, but she liked it much more than bowing to everypony she met. With a shake, she introduced herself.

"I am Wrong Note,

a seller of products for thos on a fishing boat.

It was not always so however,

but at the moment that is 'whatever'.

I find interest in your dream,

would you be willing to share that thought stream?"

[RoyalDice]

Shaking the delicate mare's hoof, the colt nodded at her. It seemed like a good thing today, considering he wasn't wearing a hat to cover up his mane. The mare, though he suspected her to be atleast a bit more confident that he felt of himself. Somehow, he wasn't getting that feeling of the mare. After complimenting her voice, hopefully providing a small boost of confidence so that he would get stuck in any awkwardly silent moments. As so far none have occurred, he felt a bit more secure. So, he cleared his troath, gently moving one of the flowers in his mane back into it's rightfull position.

He slowly assumed she was somewhat of a rich pony, just like others on the party near the Tiki Bar and the Dancefloor. But she seemed different. She didn't seem to care much for the fancy part of being a fancy pony, or so it seemed. She didn't shake her hoof like one, she didn't speak like one, the only thing that bugged her was her fancy look. Though, it was impressive how she looked, he rose his eyebrow at the dress. It looked marvelous.. and that was pretty much what was his only issue with the otherwise sweet mare. Still, being rich doesn't make anything any different!

''M-my.. my dream?'' he stammered, taking a small step backwards. His dream? His dream of becoming a model, alongside his desire for the adventures with his employer? How could he put that in a easy way... A slow sigh came from his troath as he spoke up. ''I only desire on becoming a model.. the whole competition doesn't matter to me.. it's a mere waste of time!'' he spoke, with a heartfull chuckle. ''But.. what about you, miss? Are you here for the competition?'' he asked, tilting his head slowly and keeping his smile up for the mare.

[Neoniie]

Wrong Note was deliberate in keeping her eyes picked upward as she listened to the green unicorn speak. She was once again staring out at the lapping waves of the ocean, taking in the tranquility of her surroundings with all of her senses. Another thing I would have never appreciated if not for the curse, she acknowledged. However, she did not want to give off the impression that she wasn't listening to his words, so she ensured that there was an obvious sight of her attentiveness. It had been years since she last stood by a beach and then it was only for painful reasons. Sharing the beach with her current company was certainly a much more fitting memory for the beauty of the sea.

She found it interesting that a pony not born into the part would want to join the ranks of the modelling elite. Even Wrong Note herself had found the task rather dull as a filly. However, she supposed that everypony had their own wishes and talents and thus perhaps it was not so strange. His question caused the mare to give a small chuckle, realizing that her attire for the event had probably given him such an impression. When she had left Manehatten, the only clothing she could bring were the high society cocktail dresses and party gowns which she was used to wearing. She had slowly replaced her wardrobe over the years since, but one dress she had kept. It was a flowing midnight blue gown that had drawfed her when she had first seen it as a foal. It had been the dress in which she had performed her very last show, the final one before the curse took hold.

The mare couldnt merely abandon her past completely, so she kept the dress out of sentimentality rather than need. However, when she found herself drawn back toward the life she had left, if only for one night, the earth pony had supposed she may as well look the part. However, her reminiscing would not answer the Survey's question, so she began to sing her response once again.

"Not at all, my dear colt,

though I can see why that idea shone like a bolt.

I am a mere observer now,

though I used to be well-know of it in my hometown."

[RoyalDice]

The colt merely smiled back at her. She looked a bit distracted, but that's probably because he worried too much. He slowly cleared his throat and laughed a bit. She was rather beautiful, so it was fortunate that she didn't join in on the event. But, one thing was a bit hard for him to understand. Though, he was probably just not experienced enough to get it.

Well known. Even though he had never heard of her. Though that wasn't to his surprise either, as he hadn't joined in with the fashion business anytime before. She must've been a very good-looking model, if she still manages to look like this. He also noted that she didn't look so old, either. Wouldn't surprise him if she wasn't all that old either. Her clothing - dress to be exact - only matched her natural appearance, and really made him think she was just kidding and really was a model afterall.

''Well.. i'd like to know.. uhm.. what that home town was. the colt asks, scratching his head. Must've been a big city.. seeing as not alot of the cities that are spread out over Equestria are famed for their succesfull modelling business.. '' he noted, grinning at the mare.

[Neoniie]

The purple earth pony turned her head back toward the colt as he laughed a tiny bit. Her head tilted out of an odd quirk of the mare's which had always been described as puppy-like by those who dared to speak so familiarily to her as she had known them before. Of course, in these times, everypony treated her like they would anypony else. With the recent exception of this colt. He seemed a bit nervous, as though some wrong tread would result in something terrible happening. She also noticed his interested looks in her direction, as though he was trying to determine as much about her as possible.

The thought almost made Wrong Note laugh, as it implied some air of mystery about her in her opinion. She assumed that a mare who spoke in song would likely be quite mysterious to the regular passerby, but it was an odd thought to consider. She did notice that the colt had an interesting physique for an aspiring model. It was one not oft seen, but still quite an easy one to work with. The earth pony had been given several long talks about the subject by her former stylist, Satin Lace, on many an occassion. However, she didn't want to stare and thus moved her gaze toward Survey's face as he requested the name of her hometown.

"A big city indeed,

one with a high social creed.

Manehatten by name,

creating many earth ponies of some fame."

[RoyalDice]

The colt gasped, and took a step back. Manehatten? That was one of the more popular places for models, photographers and stylists! He had been there, once or twice, but mostly for his boss and research. Alot of clubs, bars, disco's and other entertaining buildings were located there. And yet, his most favoured place in the entire town there. Didn't spot alot of models there either, not to his suprise.

This made him think about what part of town she was from. The crowded part, or the suburbs. Wouldn't suprise him if it were the former. He was to timid to ask, so he just smiled at her a bit more. ''So, you.. came here on an invite?'' he asked, scratching his head. He was a bit at a loss of words. As, he really wasn't good at being a very social one. He tried, obviously, otherwise he had ran for the hills some time ago!

[Neoniie]

Wrong Note tilted her head once more at the colt's gasp. It was an odd reaction from her point of view. Manehatten had always been a part of her old life that she'd never looked back on with any new gaze. It was quite the area for high society and models, but she'd never been able to view it as the grand city that many saw it as. She wondered if she was going about it the wrong way. After all, she wasn't Celia any longer. She tried to put herself in Survey's hooves and view the city from his perspective. Of course, many of Equestria's most famous models had been there at one point of another and to an aspiring model it must have been quite the sight. She nodded to herself, understanding his reaction. When she was asked by Survey about being invited, she paused. Her curse made it a bit difficult to get her full meaning across. So, she tried her best to answer him with her lyrical explanation.

"An invite?

Not quite.

Nopony would recognize my name,

as it is not the one which garnered my fame.

I felt as though I should attend,

as a reminder of the past it did send."

[RoyalDice]

The colt stared at her, realizing she looked at him in a way like he was acting odd. No doubt in his mind that he wasn't acting odd though. Obviously, she couldn't read his mind - he hoped - so it would look really odd to a other pony. He froze for a few seconds, and after the mare replied, he slowly tried to - if you could even call it close - relax. He slowly adjusted his glasses, and fiddled with the rose in his mane. The breeze had stirred up slightly more at the ever so quiet beach, and it began to get slightly chilly.

''Oh? So.. you came here.. b-because you wanted to come here?'' the colt asked, raising his eyebrow in interest. ''If that were the case with me, i'd wouldn't even have set hoof near this place..'' The colt tapped his chin, and shook his head. ''Though.. that i am here now..'' which caused the colt to roll his eyes and sigh.

[Neoniie]

Wrong Note glared upwards at the tangle her mane was creating as the result of the wind picking up. Stray stands continuously blocked her vision which was bothersome to say the least. She threw back her head, realigning the curls as she did so. Also, she turned her head toward the shoulder covering that matched her dress and repositioned it, holding off the chill that had surrounded the beach. With that problem out of the way, she noticed that the colts seemed rather nervous. She wondered quietly what exactly was the cause of his behaviour, but she showed no outward consideration toward it.

His comment made the mare wonder about something. If the colt didn't truly want to be at the Ponywalk, why attend? Many ponies traveled from all over Equestria for the event and the part of Wrong Note that was still Celia scoffed at the idea that anypony could not want to attend. However, it was only a small part of her mind, a background thought that was silenced with her question.

"If you did not wish to attend,

why then do you yourself send?

I would think that one who does not wish to arrive,

must have a reason for their drive.

Would you care to share,

the thoughts behind what you declare?"

[RoyalDice]

The colt lowered his head a bit, looking a bit puzzled. She did ask a good question.. Why was he still here? He knew he didn't have the looks for competing, neither had he the personallity or the guts to do it. He should've just stayed home, at his appartment, with countless books to read quietly on his sofa. But look at him now, talking to a mare at a beach on a party for a beauty contest! And yet.. there he was. His urge of wanting to just take a flying carriage back to his own place still there, but his interest in the mare just pushing it into the corner of his mind. As, the mare was quite ..different.

She was different, not in a bad way though, just in the odd way. Her looks were that of a fancy mare, yet she didn't show that vibe. She sounded as if she was singing, yet it was quite off-key. Yet, the colt didn't mind it, as a little company was better than none at all, weird or not.

Soon after, a small apology ran through his head, for what he was thinking of the mare.

''W-well.. you see.. i don't even completely know why i am here..'' the colt muttered, and lowered his head a bit more, making him look up at the mare.

'' I s-suppose i just forced myself a bit into doing this..'' he said silently, and looked down at the sand of the beach.

[Neoniie]

Wrong Note listened as the colt's tone became more puzzled and somber. She could relate to his feelings somewhat, even if it wasn't the same situation that she had encountered. She thought back into her past, remembering a time shortly after her self-imposed banishment from Manehatten. As she was only barely an older filly, it was rather difficult for her to find any sort of means to earn her livelihood. So, she ended up taking several unfulfilling tasks to keep herself afloat in a world where nopony knew her name. It was a difficult time and she also wondered why she was forcing herself into such a position. It wasn't a perfect correlation by any stretch, but it did give her a sense of Survey's feelings about the matter. Trying to cheer the colt slightly, she gave him some words of encouragement.

"I would not be completely confused,

as new experiences should not leave you in the blues.

Perhaps you will find that this is something that you enjoy,

though it may not seem like a method you would employ.

After all, I myself found a new interest,

even if at first my choice seemed bleakest."

[RoyalDice]

The colt just shook his head again, his negative thoughts and positive thoughts piling up against eachother and his mind just overflown with things. The mare was right, but on the other hand she was wrong. All past experiences he had lived through were horrible, yet exciting. The exciting part was mostly because he had done it with his employer, as he rarely did anything close to normal with him on expeditions. Obviously, this fashion show was nothing like a expedition.

Though it was very similiar.

''You are right.. probably. I think i should just see where this idiotic idea of mine will lead me to. I must be mad.. but that is something i've been saying to myself for years now.. so, i suppose i might aswell continue this idea of mine.. thanks.. '' he mutters, faintly smiling at the mare as he rose his head a little bit.

[Neoniie]

Wrong Note returned his smile, glad that Survey had decided to follow through on his plan to model in the Ponywalk. It reminded the mare of her own ambitions as a filly, but also reminded her of her fall from fame. It was a mixed feeling, one of both acceptance and loss. However, the past was the past. The former singing sensation could no longer live in a time that she could no longer affect.

Her past was not particularly happy, but she had to move on from that one turning point in her life. The future is what really mattered now, just as it would for this colt. Though the past shaped a pony and one shouldn't forget it, the future is a chance to apply what you learned in the past and shape yourself for the time to come. The purple pony breathed in the ocean's satly scent and felt as though this chance meeting had revealed something to her. It felt odd for the mare to give advice, but she felt as though she should give him some of the realization that he had helped her discover.

"I am glad that you have made you choice,

and that i could help you with finding this voice.

You have helped me as well,

to discover that I need no dwell.

Thank you, young colt,

for giving me this mental jolt.

Don't let anypony sway you,

and let your true thoughts shine through."

[RoyalDice]

''I a-am happy to have also helped you, Miss Note..'' the colt says, with a pretty honest smile. It was not his first honest smile he had pulled off today. All the smiles he could remember were during the conversation with the mare. The mare somehow managed to boost up his confidence, his cheers, his mood and ..well, his head! With his head heaved high and his smile across his face, the colt chuckled a bit. He soon lowered his head, as he realized it might look stupid for anypony to do that, even if he and the mare were the only ponies anywhere close to the beach. ''O-oh yes, w-well.. i s-shall go and meet my other competitors!'' he says. ''T-though i will admit.. i-if they are far more experienced..'' he starts to note, but quickly just shakes his head.

''I can't thank you enough! After this.. we really should get together sometime!'' he says, with a small chuckle. ''I owe you one.. no, two!'' he laughs, and slowly starts trotting back to the party, ready to model!

[Neoniie]

The purple mare also felt rather elated at their mutual revelations. It was quite a wonderful feeling, successfully help to boost the spirits of a fellow pony. Though she hadn't expected anything like this to occur, this chance meeting had been somewhat of a catalyst for the former singer. She had to put the past behind her and accept that she would never regain that life. If she dwelt in the past, happiness in the future could not be attained. Though it was admittedly a tad cliche, there is truth even in tried-and-true lessons. Wrong Note grinned at the colt, glad to see his chin up and that confidence she had so often seen in herself as a younger pony. Perhaps it was time for her to regain that unfaltering self-confidence. As he began to trot back toward the main events of the party, Wrong Note put on her least discordant signing voice to bid him farewell.

"Indeed my young colt,

I am glad to see we have both been struck with a bolt.

I do hope to see you once more,

Perhaps in a year, perhaps in four.

Either way, it was a pleasure to meet you,

and I certainly owe you, too."

Gathering up her shawl and taking once last look at the hauntingly beautiful beach and the alluring party. With her last note sung, she trotted back toward the ferrypony, headed back to her home once more.