Maybe Now I Can Dream Forever
Tay Tay
By Schizoid Nightfall
Every day, as the sun reached its zenith, Canterlot’s streets were flooded with students from the Royal Music Academy. Young mares and stallions crowded each store and restaurant as they tried to escape the heat of late spring. It was during this space of time, on an average Friday, that a lone mare was to be found sitting alone in an old movie theater awaiting the film that would never come.
Octavia Philharmonica wasn’t the average student; she typically spent these afternoons off studying and practicing instead of wandering Canterlot. It was her opinion that learning was the true purpose of attending the Academy. Having come from a high-brow home, she had been raised with this outlook and spent nearly every waking moment of her life trying to earn her parents’ respect and love.
No matter what she did, however, it was never good enough. She had recently earned a straight-A grade report and the first question out of her mother’s mouth was why Octavia had never done this before if she was capable. It was common to find the grey cellist crying in her room from the depression caused by the standard her family held.
This excursion to downtown Canterlot was Octavia’s way of affirming that she could be in control for once. The mare wanted nothing more than to be herself for even one afternoon. It was with a heavy mind that she had slumped into a plush theater chair and began lulling herself to sleep. As always the same questions entered her mind.
What would her father think if this few hours of bliss caused her grades to slip? What if mother decided to visit today only to find her wasting valuable study time? What if they discovered…?
Octavia had become used to these thoughts running through her head; her parents were very traditional and dominating. There were things about her life she never wanted them to find out, and she was certain they already knew about a few of them. With this in her mind, the grey mare let her heavy eyelids obey gravity, forcing her to sleep.
The sun was low in the sky when Octavia Philharmonica awoke, yawning heavily. Her eyes felt even heavier than they had when she drifted into her dreams. Strangely she couldn’t remember having any dream, though that was normal during the week. Exiting the theater, the young mare found herself nearly alone on the once-crowded Canterlot avenue, the shops having already closed. Resigning herself to another lonely walk home, she started toward the castle and near it, her dorm hall.
The young mare arrived at her room to find it empty as usual; it wasn’t as if her roommates were any fun to be around, anyway. Octavia sat down at her small desk and pulled out a book, opening it to the chapter she desired with relative ease. By the time she had processed the first words on the page before her, the wood of the desk had processed her face slamming into it.
Octavia awoke with a start when one of her roommates, the violist, Lyra, arrived with her marefriend, Vinyl Scratch. Embraced in the heated passion of whatever moment they were having, the couple disappeared into Lyra’s room.
Oh great. And I lost my headphones last night.
With a heavy sigh, the cellist gathered her instrument and music folders, beginning the slow march outside to find some peace for her nightly practice. As she walked, many things passed through her mind.
She thought of the days spent in these halls and the joy they brought in the early evening when nothing moved.
She thought of her dear sister, ever the adventurous one. She had everything she could ever want, while Octavia was stuck with everything her parents wanted.
The walk was a slow one as usual, leading down narrow, quiet halls and a loud, echo-driven stairwell. As the noise began to annoy Octavia, she found herself suddenly in the courtyard, her favorite place on campus. She unpacked her cello, taking great care with how it was placed on the ground.
Turning to the saddlebag that had found its way down, the mare pulled out the first piece she could find. Looking at it, a small tear came to her eye. Gusthoof Mahler’s 9th: a symphony that never failed to make Octavia cry. The fourth movement was more than emotional for her. She placed the music gently on a music stand and opened to the same movement and began playing softly.
This was why she had taken up the cello.
Only a few minutes after she had begun, a noise interrupted Octavia’s focus. Turning to the entryway of the courtyard, she saw a silhouetted figure observing her. A small gasp escaped the young mare’s lips as it dawned on her who it was: Luna, Princess of the Night.
As the cellist began packing her things, the alicorn before her stepped forward, a concerned look on her face.
“Please, young one,” she said softly. “Please do not go. That was…beautiful.”
Octavia turned slowly.
“You think my music was…nice?” She hadn’t heard that in so long, not even from her family.
“I do,” the princess replied. “I heard it from above and came to investigate…uh, see what was making it.”
Octavia considered this for a time. She was being complimented by Princess Luna: one of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria. She, lowly Octavia Philharmonica, had earned the admiration of royalty.
The young mare had to stifle a yawn.
“Thank you very much, your Highness. Now, if you will excuse me, it is late; I have class early in the morning.”
Luna appeared taken aback by the sudden farewell.
“Of…Of course. I did not mean to interfere, young one. I apologize…”
“My name is Octavia. Octavia Philharmonica.”
With that, Octavia re-entered the dorm hall and went up the stairs toward her 3rd-story room, leaving a lonely, slightly smiling alicorn. Princess Luna looked up at the sky as rain began to gently fall. In the drizzle, one word escaped her mouth as the night deepened.
“Octavia…”
The next morning, a grey lump fell out of bed, its mane frazzled from a restless night’s sleep. Octavia had dreamt of many things that night. Her in the principal cello’s chair at the Royal Concert Hall; meeting the greatest composers of all time: Marezart, Wagneigher, Mahler, Tchaiklopsky, and so many others. The only constant thing about all those dreams was her. Her and Princess Luna, in every single dream.
What was it about the princess that had Octavia so captivated that she had dreamt of her after only speaking for one or two minutes at the most? The cellist thought for quite some time before remembering that Luna was also the Princess of Dreams; of course she would appear from time to time. Sighing deeply in relief, Octavia stepped into the restroom to warm up a quick shower.
The morning passed slower than usual for the grey mare. Her classes ticked by second by second, the instructors’ words only sounding like a low rumble in the throat. Even the symphony rehearsal—Octavia’s favorite time of the day—was less enjoyable. The cellist found herself unable to stop thinking of the night before, and her unexpected audience.
Had the princess just been a dream? It made sense; after all, why would the Princess of the Night visit such a young musician so late? Octavia was nothing special. She was not part of an orchestra, not a soloist worthy of recognition.
She was just…just a scared filly. A scared filly running from the pressure of her family. Never enough time to have what she had always wanted: a simple life, maybe somepony to share it with.
Octavia had never quite figured out what she wanted in life. There was always a sort of emptiness in her whenever she saw Lyra and Vinyl together. Seeing how happy they seemed was both heart-warming and gut-wrenching at the same time. Why couldn’t she have that?
The grey mare had always wanted to have somepony to call her own, but never found the courage. Come to think of it, she wasn’t really aware of whether she liked mares or stallions more. Certainly she found both attractive—she had even fancied Vinyl for a time but backed off after she started dating Lyra—but never really pegged which side she felt more strongly associated with.
Her mother, of course, would have a fit if she ever found out that Octavia fancied mares. In that pony’s eyes, everything the cellist did was a reflection on her and her husband. Any deviation from the “normal state of things” was an abomination. Unfortunately neither of Octavia’s parents had admitted that bisexuality was not only normal in Equestria: it described the majority of the population.
Shaking her head, Octavia returned her attention to the real world, only to realize that she was back in her room, the radio playing a gentle melody she knew well. Humming along, the young mare pulled out her sheet music and began fingering through the piece. Every time she did this, she remembered why she loved playing; the thrill of bringing a piece of music to life was too amazing to give up.
Again, as happened every afternoon, Lyra burst into the common area from the hall, Vinyl trying to eat her face off. Out of habit, Octavia reached into her desk for her headphones—having found them that morning—and put them on and returned to her studying.
After the sun had set the grey mare gathered her things and once again ventured outside to practice She had just finished setting up her cello and music when a noise startled her and caused her to wheel around to face the arched entrance to the courtyard. Standing there, again, was Princess Luna.
“What are you doing here again?” Octavia asked innocently.
Luna shifted before responding. “I—I came back to hear you play again.”
The cellist inhaled sharply. This had to be another dream. There was no other explanation!
“I…” she began. “I don’t know what to say. You must be a dream, your Highness. Why else would you visit me here? I’m…I’m nothing special.”
Octavia turned back to her music before hearing the princess speak up.
“I think you are special, Octavia.”
The cellist’s eyes widened. What did the princess mean by that? Slowly Octavia realized that a shadow had spread over her music stand. Turning, she came face to face with the Princess of the Night herself. Staring into a pair of eyes blue as midnight, she found herself lost in the raw power of Luna’s caring stare.
The princess before Octavia spoke no words, offered no platitudes. All she did was close her eyes and slowly inch her face toward the earth pony. As their lips met, Octavia Philharmonica’s heart skipped a beat for the first time in her life.
After only a few seconds, yet somehow a lifetime, they parted. Luna’s eyes softened in a smile older than time itself as she departed, saying only one thing before disappearing into the night.
“Is there anything special you are called?”
Octavia, still frozen in that one moment of time, shook herself back to reality.
“Uh…my mother used to call me Tay Tay.” The princess smiled, finally disappearing.
Octavia stared into the darkness, allowing a rare smile to form on her lips. Soon she found herself in bed, crying tears of joy.
Time sped by so much for the young cellist. It seemed only the next morning she was graduating from the Music Academy, her mother telling her how proud she was for the first time in Octavia’s memory. The next day, the grey pony was renting an apartment near the castle. It was simple enough, with a room off to the side for practice.
It always seemed too long between Luna’s visits. Oh sure, those nights came at least once every week, but they were perfect. Octavia could talk to the princess without fear. They could sit in silence for hours, mere looks expressing everything they needed to say. Over the months, and eventually years, they slowly realized they were in love.
Still, their life together marched on too fast for either of them to keep up. Their first public date one day, Octavia’s nerve-ridden proposal in front of all four princesses the next. Four years of trying to keep their relationship relatively hidden from the world undone with a single news article bringing to light the nature of their friendship. It seemed only a week after they first kissed that they were in the Grand Hall of the castle uniting in marriage. The years sped by them without bothering to think of their feelings about it.
Soon, too soon, Octavia was looking out at Canterlot from her and Luna’s suite in the castle. She had grown old over the years and was the premiere soloist for the Royal Philharmonic. Her parents had finally grown to show that they loved her and accepted Luna as family. Both mares had lived la long and happy life together, but now Octavia could feel the end nearing.
She lay on a bed, surrounded by friends and, most important, her love. Staring into Luna’s eyes, Octavia spoke no words, offered no platitudes. Simple looks and tender touches were enough for both of them. As she felt her eyes close for the last time, she said one final thing to her dear wife.
“Maybe now I can dream forever, sweetheart.”
Luna perked her ears. “Tay Tay? Please, dear. Stay with me. I…I don’t want to live without you!”
Octavia only smiled, vaguely aware of her love’s cries as she fell deaf to the world.
Octavia bolted upright in her desk chair, finding herself back in her dorm room with a textbook open in front of her. Had that all been a dream? Her entire life, spent with somepony she had fallen in love with…all a dream? For the first time in her life, the cellist felt true heartbreak and cried in anguish, falling into despair. What could she do now?
She ran into the bathroom to be alone in her state, unsure of how to proceed. Looking into the mirror, the creature staring back at her jarred her very being. Could one dream do that? Could one simple dream unnerve her so much that she no loner recognized herself? Sinking into depression, the cellist allowed herself a time of weakness.
The young Octavia managed to find her way to sleep nearly two hours later, closing her eyes as one final waking thought crossed her mind.
Maybe now I can dream forever…
Far away, Princess Luna gazed out of her window, a small smile on her face. As she turned her attention toward the Royal Music Academy, she heard hoofsteps behind her as her sister entered the room.
“Luna?” Celestia asked. “What are you doing out of bed? The sun is rising, sister.”
Luna smiled. “I know. I was just giving somepony a pleasant night’s rest.”
“I see,” Celestia cooed. “Well, good morning, Luna.”
“Good morning.” Luna stared outside until she heard Celestia leave to rule Equestria for the day. She smiled wider than she had in centuries.
“Sweet dreams, Tay Tay.”
Author's Note
I know this is relatively short and extremely fast-paced, but it had to be. This is my submission for Random Romance's LuTavia (Luna x Octavia) contest, and the submission deadline is 27 June. I hope you guys like it, even though I wasn't able to spend as much time on it as I'd like to have (I would have preferred a few months at least for this).
^_^ I'm back!!!!
