"Five minutes or so, you were about to say?" A blue stallion entered the room, jovially humming a small tune as he opened an eye, striking green irises seeming to pierce the maestro as they turned to him. However, it wasn't just his eyes that intimidated him, oh no; there was a certain weight to him. As though the air around him was heavier, the gravity in the room suddenly intensifying as he'd entered so nonchalantly...was this truly what it meant to hold such power?
Of course, all that could just as easily be explained by the fact that he'd been balancing what appeared to be a custom made, solid gold harp on his back; and without effort! How strong was this pony...? "I expected Frederic to already be here by now. He's usually earlier than you are, Octavia." His tone was about as lighthearted as his attitude, a smile on his face as he set the harp down gently onto the stage.
"I presume he has business to attend to...no matter." The cellist looked at the harpist, whose eyes were now affixed on the young maestro who was trying (keyword being trying) to introduce himself.
"H-Hello. I am-" The larger stallion's smile grew wider as he walked up to Step and tightly gripped him in a bear hug, the maestro's lungs near-immediately vacating themselves of air.
"Man, it's been a while since we've had another join our ranks!" The azure menace chuckled, noting Step's audible attempts for air before letting him go, the smaller stallion's body immediately dropping to the ground. "Name's Harpo. Harpo Parish Nadermane; String and Brass player for the Royal Orchestra."
Step took a while to breathe, coughing violently as he attempted to compose himself, sides hurting from just how tightly he'd squeezed his smaller body. "Celestia, you...you have quite a set of hooves." He straightened his posture a bit, taking a few deep breaths before introducing himself. "My name is S-"
At least, until a sky blue blur cut him off, Step feeling a mare's tail slap him across the face as she swiftly pivoted to give the harpist a lightning fast slap to the face...with a trumpet in her hoof to boot! The stallion seemed relatively unaffected, however; managing to shrug off the blow, he smiled as he gave the smaller mare a more gentle hug. "Good to see you too, Brass. Take a look at the colt behind you; apparently, he's joining us as a maestro!"
The mare exhaled, turning around and looking at the stallion with a small smile, purple eyes closing as she politely bowed. Reaching inside of her trumpet, she pulled out some parchment and a quill, beginning to write... You'll have to pardon my coltfriend's...rather boisterous behavior. My name is Beauty Brass; Brass and String player for the Royal Orchestra. Step reached out a hoof to grab the quill before pausing.
Wait a second, she could hear him...Harpo, right? Why am I trying to write back? Mentally slapping his forehead, he instead took a bow. "A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Brass...now, before I get cut off again, I'd like to formally introduce myself. My name is-" He found himself cut off by a sudden gust of wind rolling into the room, a stallion with a light brown coat entering from a door off to the side, his green irises quickly traveling to the maestro before zipping over to the rest of the group.
"...Apologies for the lateness; I had some business to settle. Shall we get to work?" The white maned stallion walked past the maestro toward the piano, who opened his mouth to speak...
Only to have another gust of wind cut him off, Princess Luna swooping in behind her whilst carrying Lyra on her back with a small smile. "I'm glad to see you made it in such short time, maestro." The rest of the group, save Octavia and Lyra, turned to Step.
"I beg your pardon, maestro?" The pianist was the first to interject, Step shrinking a little as the fellow musician stepped up to him. "Why a maestro, might I ask? We've not had one since our conception; why would we possibly need one now?"
"Ser Frederic." Luna gently pulled the flabbergasted pianist, Frederic, back magically as Step fell onto his flank and looked away, flushed with embarrassment. "You've yet to let me explain."
"I've seen your bonds grow weaker. Your dreams grow more troubled, your thoughts grow more uncertain. As a whole, I had thought what you all needed was time; what I think you need now is guidance. While I may not be here, I place my trust in someone else...someone whose job it is to guide you, will do so, whether it be interpersonal relations or in music." The Princess summarized, looking at Step with a smile that seemed to fade, a stoic look on her face. "But there lies an important question for you, Step Lock. One that can't simply be answered beforehand, no matter what your inclination to music is."
Her horn lit up, and very quickly, all became dark.
