Chapter 2
The train came to a halt at the Ponyville station. Treble raised his head from the small pop-out desk in front of his chair. After three hours of traveling and studying his paper, he fell asleep on his tray table. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and look out the window to see dark clouds forming in the sky. The intercom made a sharp beeping noise four times. An old mare's voice came over the speakers, sounding eager to finish the trip.
"Attention passengers. Our current stop is Ponyville, home of the Sunstand Festival this year. We will continue our trip to Canterlot in thirty minutes." said the voice. The speakers clicked off and the passengers stirred, ready to move on.
Treble, along with about ten other ponies, stood up and began to walk out. Treble didn't recognize any of the faces, although there was one white unicorn with a flowing purple mane who he recalled seeing in Canterlot a few months ago. Treble look at her, then looked down to see a smaller white unicorn following her, but this one had a brighter, but poofier purple mane. She looked up at Treble and gave him a cheery smile. He responded likewise with a tired, but happy smile. The older pony shifted the bag she was carrying and continued to walk towards the exit of the train.
As Treble began to walk down the steps and onto the sidewalk, he tripped on a well-sized rock and tripped, dropping his bag and his music sheet. He grunted and began to pick up his bag and paper, when the small unicorn from before looked at the sheet of music and picked it up with magic. Treble glanced up at the little pony to see her humming the tune to the solo. He was almost surprised by how accurate and spot-on she was on the notes. She lowered the paper to see Treble looking down at her with a surprised look on his face.
"Oh! This is your's isn't it?" the little unicorn asked. She used her magic to place the paper in the opened pocket of Treble's saddlebag. "Sorry, I was just looking at it, I promise." She gave an assuring smile to the earthpony.
Treble smiled down at the unicorn. "It's ok, I know you wouldn't do that." He looked back at the paper in his left saddlebag, then back to the unicorn. "You hummed that song perfectly, and you just now saw it." Treble gave her a suspicious look. "How?"
The little pony giggled at him. "I didn't think it was perfect. I've heard that song a few times, and I just remembered how it went." She shrugged and began to quietly hum the tune again.
After she finished the first few measures, Treble had a dumbstruck look on his face. "That's exactly how it goes! You have a talent for singing, you know."
The small unicorn looked up at Treble again after glancing back behind her to see the taller white unicorn beginning to walk towards them. "That's what all my friends say, but I don't really like to sing all that much. I guess it's-"
"Sweetie Belle! I've told you not to talk to strangers." the grown unicorn said. She looked at Treble with an apologetic look in her eyes. "I'm very sorry, sir. My little sister is rather bothersome at times."
Treble chuckled at her. "Oh no, I dropped a few things and she helped me pick them up. I enjoyed talking with her." Treble looked at the small unicorn, Sweetie Belle that is. She was behind the dark purple haired unicorn. She grinned at Treble and walked in front of the older unicorn.
"Rarity, it's ok. He's a nice guy!" Sweetie Belle explained. "In fact, he's a musician like mom was."
Rarity looked down at Sweetie Belle and raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" She looked back up at Treble and gave him a small smile. "What do you play? My mother played a violin when she was a young filly."
Treble nodded at her with interest. "I play the piano, but I can also play the trombone and a little bit of violin as well." he remembered seeing her at Canterlot a few months ago. "Were you at Canterlot a few months ago? I know that is an odd question, but I think I saw you walking through the streets once."
Rarity nodded. "I was. I got to stay at the one of the castle's suites. Have you ever been to one of them? They're so divine!"
He shook his head. "No, I'm not in first class. I barely managed to get a seat in the trains, for goodness sake!" The three ponies shared a laugh at his response.
Rarity looked down at Sweetie Belle and then to the clock on the top of the train station's roof. "Oh dear. I'm sorry, but we need to be on our way. I hope to see you again!" The two unicorns began to walk west.
"Goodbye!" called Treble. He watched them walk towards the town and turned around to see the train had left while they were talking. Treble began to think of what he needed to do before the festival.
So...I'm here in Ponyville, that's a good start, he thought. Now I need to stop bye the hotels and rent a room. Let's see... He pulled out his Ponyville brochure and looked through the small map on the back of it. He saw a square south of the train station that was labeled "Hotels." He looked towards the road heading south and began to walk down it.
Treble dropped his saddlebags in the corner of his hotel. The room was small, which reminded him of his apartment back in Manehattan. He began to unpack his belongings, when he remembered an important detail: he doesn't have a piano to use. He began to worry about this problem.
I can't afford to buy a piano right now, let alone one that's good enough to use for the Sunstand Festival! Treble began to think of ways to get a piano. I could check to see if they'd let me borrow one for the festival. Now that I think of it, they'd probably have one for me to use. But I need to be one hundred percent sure. He looked at the letter he got from Canterlot again, which didn't state whether the festival would cover this important detail. I'll go check to see if there's a store nearby. I'm pretty sure they'd at least allow me to rent one for one night for a very low price.
Treble walked out of his hotel room and out of the building to see ponies of all kinds around. He saw earthponies, unicorns, and pegasi everywhere. Manehattan didn't have many pegasi, since the citizens of Cloudsdale normally traveled to Manehattan to clear the skies every week. He began to walk around the town square in search for stores or shops that could help him.
After about twenty minutes of searching, he began to give up hope when he saw a poster on a light post. The poster had a picture of a piano, which instantly caught Treble's attention.
1950s Ebony Piano for sale. One hundred and sixty bits. Visit Sweet Apple Acres Farm for more details.
"Perfect!" exclaimed Treble. He looked around to make sure nobody was staring at him. Nobody seemed to notice his obvious shout of joy. He chuckled and looked at his map to see where the farm was. After finding it as one of the highlights of the town, he circled it with his quill and began to trot down to Sweet Apple Acres.