private Rhapsody in Blue

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note woke up the next morning feeling excited, in spite of her tiredness. She was going to make a friend after all! Once she got her morning coffee, she would be ready, even if it was dining hall sludge. "This is the last time I buy a meal plan." Something seemed off about her oatmeal. She was trying to determine what it was, when somepony joined her for breakfast.

 

"Hey Blue Note." Blue Note was surprised to see Pink Heart sitting next to her. She looked down at her oatmeal; Pink Heart hadn't been mean to her like some of the other ponies, but she certainly hadn't done anything to stop them either. 

 

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I won't bring Ruby around anymore." Blue Note was surprised that Pink Heart had the decency to apologize.

 

"Well—" The pony from early trotted by before Blue Note could finish. 

 

"Pink Heart? What are you doing talking to her? Come sit with us!" Blue Note looked back down at her oatmeal. So much for a nice start to her day.

 

"Can I just finish?" Pink Heart asked.  

 

"Finish what? Seriously, you what do you want with a loser like her?"

 

"I just wanted to talk to her about yesterday. You were kind of mean about it," Pink Heart said.

 

"Oh, so poor little Blue over here can't take the truth. Seriously, come sit with us and forget her." Ruby trotted away.

 

"Just go," Blue Note said. She didn't want to think about this anymore.

 

"But Blue Note," Pink Heart started to say.

 

"I have to go to class." Blue Note got up and left the dining hall. Talking to Sterling would take her mind off of things... Hopefully he would be there a little early. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling noticed that he was practicing his pieces deep into the night. It was already midnight before he knew it. He suddenly halted his piano playing upon realizing that fact with a loud yawn. He walked into bed, excited about the day ahead...

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Sterling's eyes opened. He was... in Canterlot? What was he doing there? Sterling opened with a gasp as he saw the bustling town filled with its glamour and glory. The sun shone brightly and confidently as Sterling could hear all the commotion that defined a successful city. He took a good look around the town for anything of interest, especially Princess Celestia. After all, this WAS the royal capital of Equestria.

 

However, things suddenly took a different turn. Sterling noticed a dark alleyway to his side. It was unlike anything else he had seen in Canterlot. It was small, narrow, and misty. It screamed uncertainty to him... He was scared of what was lying inside the alleyway, but his curiosity defeated him. He walked carefully inside. He could hear a small voice crying in the distance. It was that of a mare, but Sterling couldn't pick out who it was... As he continued to walk, the alleyway became mistier and mistier, harder to breathe for the red stallion. The path became darker and darker, practically to the point Sterling felt blindness entering him. 

 

The voice got louder and louder as Sterling walked, but he just couldn't tell who it was... It didn't help that he couldn't see anything in the darkness. All of a sudden, Sterling could hear a large growl just behind him. Sterling screamed loudly as he ran further and further in, but it was no use. Whatever the creature was, it pounced on him and trampled him...

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Sterling awoke to Manehattan's morning sky with a sudden gasp. He saw the clock on top of his wooden cabinet read "7:30 am". His breathing was so fast he could barely contain it. Sterling shook his head wondering what exactly the dream was about... Nonetheless, Sterling was excited about meeting Blue Note again, and Sterling shook the dream off his mind to prepare himself for the day ahead...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

((OOC: That is some lovely dream symbolism you've got there.))

 

Blue Note was alone in the classroom, except for the professor. Professor Adagio ignored her, which she had no problems with. She looked over her music theory notes once more, in preparation for the quiz that was scheduled for today. The material was familiar to her, so she closed her notes and took out the homework assignment for Monday. 

 

Her jazz tune from the previous night was mixed in with the rest of the assignment. She put it to the side and got a new sheet of staff paper out. She was about a quarter of the way through the assignment, which wasn't bad for having gotten distracted by a piano piece. She continued to work on the assignment, wondering when Sterling would arrive. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

(OOC: You wanna gander a guess as to what I was doing with the symbolism? Come on Gmail! )

 

@lincolnshirepony

 

Sterling was ready to go. He had combed his mane, took a good shower, and had a hearty fruit cereal for breakfast. Unlike previous days, Sterling trotted with his head high towards Manehattan University as he had finally made a new friend. He could hear ponies taunting him about his clumsiness and anti-social characteristics, but he didn't care. He just walked past and gave them a wave of politeness as he approached 125 G for music theory.

 

He got in early for class and saw that Blue Note was sitting as her lonesome. Now he remembered! She was the mare he sat beside on the first day of classes! He sat beside her happily and spoke with a smile as he pulled out his music theory homework from Monday, "Morning Blue! Ready for that music theory quiz today?"

[lincolnshirepony 527]

@Sterling Crimson

 

"Blue Note," she corrected. "Anyway, I feel prepared. I studied fairly well for it. It's also review; I've learned most of this before." Professor Adagio was working on something at his desk. It happened so quickly, Blue Note thought she may have imagined it, but he glared at her. Her mind was probably tricking her. "At least that's what I'll tell myself."

 

"I'm really excited about lunch." Perhaps changing the subject would be a wise idea. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

Sterling closed his mouth suddenly. Right! She wanted to be called Blue Note! It made him sink a little inside, but he recovered. He replied to her excitement, "Me too! I can't wait to show you my skills! I haven't had anypony excited about my abilities... ever."

[lincolnshirepony 527]

@Sterling Crimson

 

Blue Note was slightly surprised. Had no pony really ever been excited to hear him play? While she had never enjoyed a lot support, she couldn't say that no pony had ever been enthusiastic about her playing. Her old clarinet teacher always told her she would become a great musician someday. She didn't know how to respond to that. Thankfully, or maybe not, Professor Adagio took control of the class. 

 

"All right, quiet. You can gossip later. I hope at least some of you read the syllabus. I don't want my TA to run out of red ink." He gave a little smile and started passing quizzes out. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

Professor Adagio was passing out the quizzes. Sterling had already done a lot of theory work last night. That, combined with his previous knowledge, allowed him to zoom right through the quiz. He checked his work thrice to make sure everything was perfectly in place and that nothing was carelessly written. He then handed his quiz back to Professor Adagio with a smile. Professor Adagio gave him an evil smirk nonetheless, but Sterling didn't seem to notice as he started to fiddle around with his pencils and look around the classroom to see the other students' progress. He was particularly interested in Blue Note's progress, looking intently at her as she wrote her quiz...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note looked carefully at all of the questions. There was nothing that she didn't understand, though she noticed that Professor Adagio had a fondness for writing questions in the most convoluted way possible. She took her time, thinking carefully through the right answers. Once she finished, she went back through all her answers. This class was not one to mess up in, so she needed to be extra careful. After checking her answers several times through, she walked up Professor Adagio's desk to turn in her quiz. 

 

Blue Note had been one of the last ponies to finish. Professor Adagio took her quiz and glared at her again. This time it wasn't in her imagination. "Geez, what did I do?" she thought as she returned to her seat. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling was slightly angered at Professor Adagio's glare at Blue Note. Why did she have to be treated with such contempt? She didn't do anything wrong in his eyes! Needless to say, Sterling kept his mouth such, for he wasn't one to suddenly speak out against a professor just because of his facial expressions. After the quizzes were handed in, Professor Adagio continued at his exceedingly fast pace through the music theory material. Even with his strong foundations in music theory, Sterling found it hard to keep up with his pace. 

 

By the time music theory class ended, all the students rushed out. Sterling couldn't hear as much taunting about his gaffes among them now that he thought about it. Maybe... just maybe... word about the incident was kept within the medical school... Well, hopefully that was the case, but Sterling was still doubtful as he headed off to the taunts and jeers of his peers in Cell Biology Class...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note's hope for enjoying music theory was plummeting. She couldn't believe how much material was being covered in a single class. How did anypony keep up with him? Somehow, she managed to get most of the notes down. "I'm going to need a new notebook by the end of the semester..." Mercifully, class ended. 

 

Blue Note was feeling a sense of dread as she walked to biology. She took a seat in the back of the large lecture hall. Two ponies near her were giggling and whispering. They kept glancing over at her in intervals, bursting into a fresh burst of giggles. Were they going to do this all class period? Blue Note was more annoyed than anything. She needed concentrate in this class because the material was so foreign to her. 

 

One of the ponies glanced at her again. Blue Note made eye contact. "What?" she asked. The pony quickly looked away, and the giggling ceased. She sighed. Some of these ponies were so cowardly. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

At Cell Biology class, Sterling wasn't having much fun either. The other students continued to snicker at Sterling, most likely about the near fire he caused and his inability to light a Bunsen Burner with ease. Dr. Van Hey however told the class to quiet down quickly, also whispering to Sterling that he too had difficulty with Bunsen burners when he was younger and that he needn't worry about the other students. The words comforted Sterling a bit, knowing that he wasn't the only pony with clumsiness in their hey-days. Still, he couldn't escape the snickering, and that hurt.

 

Cell biology was interesting material to say the least. Plus, Dr. Van Hey was very competent with the material while also going through it with detail and clarity. It left Sterling very happy as he wrote his notes down excitedly about the microscopic world that lay underneath him. Time just flew so quickly for him as he continued to write notes. Thankfully, nopony was doing anything behind his back, like throwing spit balls and the like as he eagerly took his notes, so the class felt much better as it continued.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note was glad when biology finally ended. She was excited to get to the cafeteria and meet up with Sterling. She trotted to the dining hall. Sterling was not there yet, so she decided to go ahead and get her lunch and a table. It was nice to have a friend she could meet up with. She was also kind of excited to just casually play her instruments with somepony. Sometimes it was nice to take a break from the stress of auditions and stress. 

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

Now that cell biology class was finished, Sterling ran off to the cafeteria. Normally, he'd practice on the piano because of his free time, but it was approaching lunch now at this point and Sterling had to meet up with Blue Note. He rushed over to the cafeteria, tripping over some books and bags as a result. Some ponies chuckled at his clumsiness again, while others scoffed at his ignorance of his surroundings. Sterling couldn't hear any of that though he finally reached the cafeteria.

 

He opened the doors cautiously, noticing Blue Note sitting alone at the cafeteria table. This notice gave a renewed sense of urgency for Sterling to walk over to Blue Note with an encouraging smile. He did so, but not without... some hilarity. When Sterling trotted over to her with confidence, he waved to her and spoke, "Hey Blue--" 

 

Before he finished, he slipped on a banana peel and collided head on to the table! He could hear other ponies stop and snicker at Sterling's latest blunder, further compounding his weakness in the spatial department. Needless to say, it left Sterling in great physical pain as he placed his hooves on his head in an attempt to alleviate the pain.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note was happy to see Sterling coming into greet her. Unfortunately, a ill-placed banana peel seemed to get in his way. "Are you okay?" Blue Note asked, getting up from her seat. Sterling had a pained expression on his face. "Do want me to get you some ice?" 

She extended her hoof as an offer to help him up. "Who leaves a banana peel on the floor anyway? There are trash cans everywhere in here." 

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

Sterling looked up towards Blue Note. He could still feel the pain on his face after that whack. Still, the emotional pain from the giggling was what hurt more. He responded with a sad "sure", figuring that he just made a complete fool of himself in front of his first friend. At least she was nice enough to offer ice packs in his mind. He then sat down wearily as he continued to feel the pain from his face.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Blue Note dashed to get Sterling some ice. She quickly returned with it. "Here, this should help," she said. "I seriously have to question how some of these ponies got in here. They must have some family connections if they can get into university without the knowledge of how to use a garbage bin." She felt bad for Sterling, that looked like quite the fall. 

 

"Anyway, how has your day been?"

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

Sterling thanked Blue Note for the ice and proceeded to place it on his head. As he did so, the bruise coloured itself more clearly, but the pain was subsiding. He couldn't really understand what Blue Note was saying while he placed on his ice pack however. Nonetheless, he heard the question from her well enough for him to respond. He did so with a weak smile, 

 

"Other than the fall, it's been pretty good. I hope the quiz went well Blue Note? I know it did for me. I just zoomed right through it. Still handed it in first even after three read overs." 

[lincolnshirepony 527]

@Sterling Crimson

 

"I felt pretty good about it. I was one of the last ponies to finish though. I've always been a bit of a slow test taker, and I took forever to check that quiz over. I really want to succeed in that class, so I can't take any chances." She was wondering Professor Adagio was developing a distaste for her. It seemed like he had a distaste for everypony though, so she probably didn't have much to worry about. "Professor Adagio doesn't seem to in favor of his students succeeding, though. I'm starting to wonder if he dislikes me."

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

Sterling stared at her with slight surprise at Blue Note's assertions that Professor Adagio didn't like her. He responded carefully, "Well... I did notice him looking at you weirdly throughout the quiz, but that... doesn't really mean he hates you. Maybe if he's been trying to construe your grades like a madman, then we could say that. He could have just given that stare to anypony. Plus, I don't see why any professor would dislike you. You're very promising after all." Sterling ended that sentence with a quick series of blinks from his eyes and a tender smile. All this he spoke as he took out his lunch of cabbage sandwich with an orange juice carton.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

@Sterling Crimson

 

"Thanks, Sterling," Blue Note said. "He has a nice smile..."

 

"I thought the classes here were going to be... better." She hoped that this was just a freshman fluke, because she could only say that she liked about two of her classes. "Music Theory has been a huge disappointment so far. I was so excited for it too; I love theory." She looked down. She could only hope next semester would be better. "Oh well, maybe university won't be so bad. Things can get better." She smiled back at Sterling.

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

At this point, Sterling's bruise stopped throbbing in pain. He left the ice cubes to the sides and then turned his full attention to Blue Note again. He nodded in agreement about music theory though. It wasn't the greatest of classes to take with Professor Adagio in the way.

 

"That's true. I love music theory too! It's the staple of all music! Well, except 12-tone music. That never makes sense to me!" Sterling chuckled after making that statement. "Nonetheless, things will get better... hopefully. After all, things already are getting better with you around!" As Sterling finished his sandwich, he then asked Blue Note with an assuring smile as he got up slowly and extended his hoof, albeit with some nervousness, 

 

"Well Blue Note. Would you like to go over to the music rooms so we can show each other some beautiful music?"

Edited July 23, 2013 by Sterling Crimson

[lincolnshirepony 527]

@Sterling Crimson

 

"Definitely!" Blue Note said. "I brought my clarinet." She used her magic to pick the case off the floor. "It's so nice to have somepony to share music with. Back in Canterlot, I didn't have many friends that were into music like we are." It was nice walking to the music building. It was a beautiful day, and it seemed like the whispering was down to a minimum. Everything was going great!

 

That's when Blue Note saw a certain yellow pegasus she would rather avoid up ahead. He was too far away to have spotted her, but she really was not in the mood to have an encounter with him, so she decided to think fast. 

 

"Hey Sterling! Want to take the other way to get to music building? The scenery is great." The words fell from her nervous mouth. She cringed at how ridiculous it sounded, considering the only scenery was the back of a few buildings. Still Cheesy was coming closer... 

[Inactive01 5,299]

@lincolnshirepony

 

Sterling could see the look of urgency in Blue Note's eyes. He looked at her oddly at her excuse for taking the other route. Scenery? There wasn't much there at all! Nonetheless, in an effort to calm Blue Note down, he replied in agreement, "Umm... not sure what to see back there, but if that's what you want, that's fine. More time for me to spend with you." Sterling gave her an assured smile before he started to walk in the other direction to the music halls. Nonetheless, Sterling wasn't sure what was making Blue so nervous...

[lincolnshirepony 527]

@Sterling Crimson

 

Blue Note felt tense until she was sure Cheesy was out of sight. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry about that," she said. Her behavior must have seemed incredibly odd. She wondered if she should tell him about Cheesy. It was an embarrassing incident that she wasn't eager to recount, but surely Sterling would understand. After all, it wasn't anything half the first years didn't know already. If she didn't tell him, somepony else would probably give him Cheesy's side of the story. 

 

"To tell you the truth, I was just trying to avoid somepony. I don't know if you saw the yellow pegasus ahead, but his name is Cheesy and he absolutely detests me. He was the pony I was arguing with before the pool incident. I just can't deal with seeing him." She hoped that didn't sound too stupid or cowardly.