Note: Every chapter in My First Duet has a music to accompany it, and is listed underneath the chapter. I recommend that you listen to it before, while, or after reading because it captures the mood of each chapter.

My First Duet: Chapter One
(Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor Op. 85)

Blood covered his face. I didn't realize what happened just a few minutes ago. We were fine, but he now lay bleeding to death on the floor. It happened so quickly, and it only took that split second to change my life forever. In my mind those seconds lasted for hours.
I pressed on the wound applying pressure, but the bleeding continued and blood seemed to spill out even faster. I could only watch, crying, as I heard the stallion's breath become weaker. Bright red blood trickled out from his mouth and snout. I held his head in my hooves praying to Celestia that this would all be just some horrible nightmare. I looked deep into his eyes and saw the sparkle of life quickly slipping away into darkness. "Please, don't die. You can't die just yet."

With the very little strength he had left, he lifted a blood-stained hoof to my face and touched my cheek. It seemed as if time froze when he spoke his final words:

"Can you hear the music, Octavia?"

Time started again, and he was gone. His cold, dead, eyes stared into the grey clouds and his mouth was curved into a smile.

I didn't know what to say, or to think. Why did they have to do this?

I held his lifeless body close to my chest, still praying that I would wake up any second now. The rain felt so real for a dream, it was freezing and kept pouring out of the sky all over me. The pain was so real because it froze my heart to the core. Everything was so real. I knew that this couldn't be a dream, but still, my heart was in denial. It couldn't be over. The world I knew seemed to shatter into fragments and scatter into oblivion.

I love him. He loves me. Our duet wasn't over just yet.

Memories from the day I first met him flashed through my mind.

Several Weeks Ago

I'm a simple mare, getting through life by playing my cello wherever I can find a job. I don't mind the low pay, really, because music has always been my true passion. I've traveled across the world: Canterlot, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and recently, Cloudsdale. It was difficult to find the pony who could help me get to the clouds, but it was well worth it. I wanted to see for myself if the legends were true, that the Cloudsdale Philharmonic has the most beautiful harps in all of Equestria. And it was true! It was more than just listening to the music, but a wholesome experience. I don't regret making that trip, even though I don't have two bits to rub together anymore. I'll just have to make some more money, and keep trying to find a gig.

I've always been a soloist at heart, rarely joining ensembles. I've never found anypony else who enjoys music like me probably because I see music as something much more than simply notes on paper. Music is much like ponies: it has a mood, emotions, a tone and feeling. I understand it, and grow to love every piece I've played. Anyways, I've hit the jackpot this weekend - I'll be playing a solo in one of the greatest events in all of Equestria.

I reached my destination, Trottingham. It was an interesting city, to say at least. From first impressions, I could tell that this city wasn't the richest: the sidewalks were all cracked and graffiti seemed to litter every facade. I steered clear of the strange hooded ponies huddled around the dark alleyways. They used their hooves to make crude gestures and shouted derogatory phrases in my direction. I ignored them. Most ponies would be angry, but I only felt pity. Not only pity, but sadness. I remembered, nostalgically, that I was once like them before I learned the magic of music.
Every so often one would stare at be from behind his hood and turn away back to his gang. I wasn't scared however; I've been to shadier places than this.

I walked up the main street which leads to the city's heart. Or, two hearts you could say. It struck me odd that Hoofington was split into two distinct sections. I saw that to my right was a towering skyscraper, about twenty stories high and painted red, and almost identical to my left stood a blue skyscraper. Other than these two, none of the other buildings I could see were as large or painted at all. The streets seemed deserted, void of any life or movement. Is this really the great Hoofington I've heard about?
I reached into my saddle and brought out the invitation to the Grand Ball. When I first read through this invitation, I was beyond thrilled. The Grand Ball was an Equestrian-wide party, only second to the Grand Galloping Gala, that's held in different places every year. It was an honor to play for everypony who would attend. I was also promised a thousand bits pay, per night! Better yet the sponsor, the extremely popular Sapphire Shores, hoofwrote this invitation herself.

"Miss Octavia!" somepony yelled behind me.

Well, what a coincidence. I looked around and saw Sapphire Shores herself, escorted by four ponies with matching uniforms. This was the first time that I've seen a celebrity of such caliber pony-to-pony. She was absolutely stunning in her cerulean blue dress, perfectly accessorized with a matching parasol. She gave off an unusual radiating charm, something that I couldn't put into words.

"Luggage, Hugo." She commanded one of the ponies. Then she turned to me, "I hope that you're as excited for the Ball as I am!"

One of the ponies trotted towards me and relieved me of my saddle and cello.

"I just can't wait to show everypony my new line of dresses!" Sapphire brandished several photographs of herself to my face, "It's my best work yet!"

She chatted nonstop while we walked to the blue tower. I pretended to listen, which wasn't very hard with an occasional nod, and instead began to notice the changes in scenery. The street was no longer cracked, but smoothly paved. The walls looked as if they were recently painted, uniformly in a shade of light blue. Ponies bustled through the streets and everything seemed perfectly normal. As we walked further, the buildings gradually became larger. Lawns full of wild flowers stretched for an acre, or sometimes two. After we passed the last set of mansions, a large fence surrounding the great tower stood in front of us.

"Jasper, gates!" Sapphire ordered.

Another pony marched in front of the gate and opened the locks using magic.

We stepped inside, and the world completely changed. I could have mistaken this wonderful place for the royal Canterlot castles. Marble fountains streamed crystal clean water. The basins of these fountains were adorned with every single type of gem I'd ever known, and some that I've never seen before. Tall trees grew in neat rows around the mall, and little critters lived in the branches. Birds sang their songs as they fluttered through the air. The scene was so incredibly beautiful.

Sapphire must have seen me awestruck. "It's a bit different from the outside, isn't it?" She must have seen the confusion in my face. "Well, you can blame those ponies on the Red side. They bring down the great integrity of great Hoofington to shame. Humph!" She continued to babble on, openly yelling a few swears here and there about the Red ponies.

We walked down the golden brick road to the entrance of the tower, and I was still speechless from taking in the grandness of this place. But I did have one question that bobbled around in my head since my arrival.

"Miss Sapphire," I asked, "why is Hoofington like this?"

She was delighted at the question. "Oh, I thought you'd never ask!" She took a long breath, but stopped herself before saying anything. "Oh dear, not right now. We've arrived!"

We stood on the ground floor of the great blue tower. It was even more intimidating when I stood in front of it. Ponies in dark blue suits came in and out of the glass doors, chatting away about their business. We too went into the building and I was stuck with awe once again. The interior of the building was decorated to a greater extent than outside. Lavish is understatement to describe this place. Hundred foot pillars, made of steel and silver, supported the stain glass roof. Great murals covered every inch of the walls and the detail that went into them made me question if it was possible to be the work of one pony. The floor was an amalgam of black diamond and sapphires which glittered in the sunlight. A single gem on the floor or walls would surely be worth several million bits.

Sapphire snorted as she laughed at the dumbfounded expression sprawled on my face. "So, it's pretty isn't it?" she said sarcastically.

We walked into the elevator, which smoothly took us to the top floor. When the doors opened, we were in a large room with great portraits of Sapphire hanging from every wall.

"My floor," she said, "do you like it?"

I was amazed, but not surprised at the fact that her 'home' was not only well decorated, but also excessively large. You could fit at least three whole houses in this room alone. Additionally, I could see that she kept the finest gems for herself, from the three-foot tall diamond gem to the priceless paintings from Old Canterlot.

The elevator dinged and rolled back down to the ground floor. While distracted by the sights and sound, I didn't notice something pressing against my back. It was Sapphire, and it was clear by the position of her hooves that I was brought onto her private floor for a very specific reason. Her eyes stared at me with lust and her mouth was half open with a bit a drool forming on the bottom lip. Then it changed into devious grin.

"You know, Octavia, I've always wanted to get to know you..." she pressed her snout against my neck, "a bit better."

My throat went dry. I was surprised and confused at the same time. I was never interested in the trivialities of romances, and even less with mares. "Miss Sapphire," I stammered, "I don't think I'm that type of pony."

She continued to press against me, this time massaging my back and sides with her hooves while she stroke her tongue up to my ear. She whispered, "but maybe you'd like finding out."

I could feel her warm breath against my bear ears, and it sent a chill down my spine. "I'm sorry," I said again, this time more firmly, "I'm not that type of pony."

She sighed and backed away. "I won't force you, dear." She seemed disappointed, "But, if you ever decide to change your mind, I'm your mare to-go-to." She gave a quick wink.

My face burned red hot at the thoughts and images of her and myself in an intimate relationship. It's not like I wanted to imagine these things.

She stroked my hair in a friendly manner. "Aww, you look so adorable when you blush," she said.

I cowered away under the bangs of my mane. "I-I'm n-not adorable." It was too late to take back those words after I realized how terrible it sounded.

Sapphire responded with a high-pitched squeal. "Of course you're not," sarcastically. "Anyways, you can stay anywhere in this building as long as you'd like."

I could see that she didn't even try to hide her gestures hinting towards the grand blue bed. This mare is extremely desperate.

"A guest room, please." I just wanted to be alone right now.

She lead me to the other side of the room, where a short corridor lead to a single room. She turned the jeweled knob and lead me into the guest room. Like the rest of the building, the room was well decorated. A large bed rested in the middle of the room, and to the side was a single night stand. Opposite to the bed was a giant window, which loomed over the entire city. The silhouettes of every building and street against the bright blue sky could be seen from this height.

"It's beautiful in here, isn't it?" She continued to ramble discursively as she pointed out the individual decorations. I heard Sapphire shut the door. "Oh dear! Look at the time, I'm late! Call me if you need anything, dear." She quickly galloped away back into the main room.

I was standing alone in the quiet. I found that my cello had already been carried in here, so I checked to make sure that it was still tuned. I pulled it out from its case, making sure to not disturb its fragile frame. I mounted the bottom of the cello onto the floor, and faced the window as I prepared to play. I placed my bow on the lowest string and gently pulled down. The sound resonated well in the room, and the vibrations echoed long after the bow had stopped moving. For some reason music always calmed my soul. I would forget everything about the world around me when I played my old cello. The piece began with a melancholy mood, but halfway it turned into a joyful tune.

I faced the window, and I could see the city below me. It was grey. The buildings seemed like a lifeless sea of grey, boring like stone. The contrast between where I stood and the city below me was amazing. I stood alone in the colored room, and below I could see the many small specks of ponies scrambling in the dusty grey collage below. It was something that reminded me of the past and made me sad. The solo dipped back into sadness, but it still retained a bitter-sweetness to the end.

I played for what seemed like hours. I saw the sky gradually turn from blue to red, and then black. When the night lights were being lit, I played the last note. Once it was silent I placed my cello back into its case and rested my hooves against the bed. I haven't played that like in a long while. It was a good decision coming here; it rekindled the fire within me.

I turned off all the lights in the room and slid into the bed. That night was restless, I knew that something great lay ahead of me tomorrow.

Author's Note: Hello everypony! Sorry this took so long to get published. I've been a little busy recently, and I've had no free time to write. This is my first time writing a romance, but this first chapter is mostly to set the scene before I get into the actual romance itself. Visit my blog and drop a question or comment, and please leave feedback. I'll try to update as soon as possible.