A One-mare Symphony of Madness
"Ingrates!" Octavia shouted, into the wide halls of her unlit home. She was furious, so much so that she was shaking. So angry she wanted to break the nearest throwable object. The weight on her back stopped her dead in her tracks. Her instrument case. It was the nearest thing, and she was certainly capable of throwing it. Her instrument was more precious to her than life itself though; so instead she took it off her back and carefully leaned it against the wall. The time it took to perform the act of loving care was enough for her to calm herself.
Still shaking, though decidedly more mellow, Octavia ate a small dinner and had a quick shower before immediately going to bed. She couldn't get their faces out of her head. Those looks of complete disinterest while she played her heart out. She'd been asked to play for a private get together hosted by some other nobles, but half way through the time she'd agreed to play the host had told her she could leave. He'd said she would be compensated in full for her time.
"As though I wanted his money." She muttered as her anger flared yet again. She was calm now, though, and she wanted to remain calm. It was a new experience to throw a fit, as she'd always been well behaved as a filly. It was strangely cathartic since she was alone. How mortified she would've been had she made a scene in public was not lost on her, and so she didn't want to start making a habit of it. She took one deep breath and held it for as long as possible; then released it with a relaxed sounding sigh.
Octavia didn't dare to look in a mirror, she already knew what she would see. A petulant looking full grown mare throwing a fit. Sure she had reason to be upset, she felt insulted. Sitting up in bed and staring sulkily at the wall wasn't going to solve anything however.
"I put as much passion into my performance as I could, and the couldn't be bothered to hear a single note." She muttered into the darkness of her room. Ruminating on it was the worst thing she could do and some small part of her knew that. The memory of how she felt wouldn't leave though, and as long as it was they remained they would keep her awake.
They owed her, as much as she was loathe to think that way. They did. Not money or even applause, but their attention at the least.
Any sort of acknowledgment that her single greatest passion in life wasn't a waste.
Surely she reasoned she wasn't such a petty mare that she needed the adoration of others to validate her life. That thought brought a wry grin to her face. No, that wasn't it. Why then, did their disrespect weigh so heavily on her mind. She'd certainly come to expect it from the nobles; and if she were being honest with herself, there were things she couldn't be bothered with from time to time. When she happened to catch wind of a street performer showcasing his talents with any amount of passion she would stop to witness it. Most of the things she couldn't be bothered with had to do with interacting with the nobles.
This train of thought was getting her nowhere though. All Octavia wanted was to feel appreciated, to be heard. Not on a stage with the rest of the Canterlot Symphony, but on her own where ponies would have to pay attention to her and her music alone. Certainly a selfish desire, but if the world would just indulge her once she would be satisfied.
As Octavia finally settled fully in her bed, she found sleep came much easier than she'd anticipated. Even if she fell asleep with a scowl on her face.
~~~~~~~~
How do you think we feel? Day in and day out we produce such beautiful tones, but they shut us out. We have never found the right crowd. We should go out and find an audience that will truly hear us. And listen...
Octavia was standing in her hall trying to remember where she had to be. All the lights were out and as she stood there watching the hall clock tick backwards she tried to piece the world around her together, bit by bit.
She was dreaming. She could tell she was dreaming, because of the control she had over her actions; regardless of how sluggish the felt at times. Rarely did she get the chance to lucid dream, and now that she was she hadn't a clue what to do.
Her first order of business after a bit of pondering was to flip the clock so that the second-hand was at least moving clockwise, that the numbers were now not only backwards but somehow also in a language she didn't understand didn't particularly matter.
Unless she took a great deal of time to take in her surroundings she found nothing particularly out of the ordinary with her large apartment.
Take us out and play. The night is still young, they will come and listen...
Octavia heard a voice calling out to her in melodic tones, tones that were so very familiar. She followed them as the continued.
Go out into the night. Take us with you. Our desire to be heard is as great as yours. Please. Help us find those who will truly listen..."
The voices continued to grow in volume until the reached a level that should be considered shouting. Yet still the words came calmly. They rose until Octavia turned the corner into her entrance hall, then the voices were silenced completely and immediately. Her eyes fell upon her instrument case. The sudden, dead calm was not unnerving as Octavia wanted it to be; she felt exactly as calm as the world around her had suddenly become.
With slow careful steps she approached her case, leaning against the wall where she'd left it. Beautiful polished oak with her cutie mark emblazoned on the front. Now though, another mark accompanied hers. A full moon cradled in a blanket of stars, that her own mark appeared to be superimposed on.
"Where should I go?" Octavia asked unsure of exactly what her dream appeared to be pushing her towards. Even if she was in control right now, she could feel she was on a set path. Only, she couldn't see where the next step was.
Take us with you into the night. The voice urged again, barely a whisper in Octavia's ear. Find us those who will listen...
That did sound nice to Octavia. Even if only in her dreams seeking the perfect audience would at least put a smile on her face.
As though her cello had understood her unspoken aquiescence, it lifted itself up; floating on an ethereal wind danced through the air and landing softly on her back.
Octavia could feel it touching her, but now it's acceptional weight seemed as nothing as her front door opened before her. Out into the hall, down the stairs and out into the night.
Find us those, who will hear us, listen... And obey.
~~~~~~~~
The night felt alive to Octavia, even though the street she was on was empty save for her. A full moon hung in the sky of her dreamscape, and as she moved through the empty streets she could swear it was watching her. She paid it little mind as she went deeper into the heart of Canterlot. It was minutes before midnight on the weekend. The nightlife would be coming out, she just had to find where they were going.
The dream shifted strangely around her. Abbarent wavers in the air, phantom sounds here and there. Storefront windows failed to show her reflection on occaison. When she did catch sight of herself, she could swear a much taller pony was walking next to her, the taller pony's face had a strange smile on it. Whenever she would focus on the details of the other pony, they vanished.
The palace was also strangely absent from her dream. It allowed an unobstructed view of the full moon and night sky. It was a wonderful night. The streetlamps appeared to be extinuished, and so the moon was the only light she had against the darkness of the night.
Before long Octavia spotted ponies, sometimes in groups, moving between streets, crossing from alley to alley. Any time she saw them they seemed to be going in a particular direction. She started moving with them, every once in while being greeted or given small nods. She only ever nodded in return and moved on with a great determination, the source of which she could not fathom. As she went on the crowds grew thicker, signalling she was nearing the end of her journey. The exact numbers eluded her, but a realization dawned on her as a large gathering of ponies came into view down an alley way. These were her audience. They would listen to her, her dream had led her to this place. The closer she got to the gathering the less detail the environment retained.
The alleyway led into a large open air courtyard. Now the only thing that existed for Octavia were the faces of the courtyard that she recognized as belonging to the less savory part of town. Now though, that didn't matter, what mattered is that every window facing into the courtyard was open. Some had ponies in them other had light's directed at the ground below. She filed in and ponies behind her packed her in slightly tighter. The area was filling up quickly, and the murmur of somewhat private conversations increased in volume.
There was a makeshift stage set up made out of wood planks balanced on crates. Octavia at first thought for sure it was her stage until a burnt-orange coated stallion walked up on stage. He wore a burgandy vest and performer's top hat. He regarded the crowd with a warm smile, and moderately interested gaze. Whose dream was this, if it wasn't for her? Her anger from before she'd laid down flared for a moment. As soon as the wave of emotion had passed, the stallion shook his head and scanned the crowd more excitedly.
"She's here!" The stallions voice boomed over the crowd.
Octavia shrank back when a red spotlight focused on her. Ponies around her turned to look at her, silence spread through the crowd. In the next instant a pathway opened up from Octavia to the stage, ponies moved out of the way for her without a word. Some with excited smiles, while others were looking past her at the instrument case. Octavia started down the path made for her with a grateful nod. No matter how many ponies she passed or how many waved to her, she saw no faces; she attributed it to just another "thing" in her dream. She did notice some details about them. Quite a number of the ponies wore glowing accessories that she attributed to the wilder partying scene in Canterlot, but they were not wild here. They certainly weren't partying now. They were waiting on her.
As she approached the stage the stallion stepped off to the side and indicated a crude set of stairs she could use. Another grateful nod and an utterance of thank you and she slowly moved up onto the stage.
"Thank you for coming mistress. I just knew you would tonight!" The stallion whispered excitedly, his previous volume gone completely.
"I- what is this?" Octavia asked as she carefully shrugged her cello from her back. Completely ignoring the fact that the stranger had addressed her so familiarly.
"This is your stage. They've come to hear you, and to listen." He explained.
Octavia nodded in understanding. It wasn't that she was all that bothered by the situation, she just wanted to hear it. She could indulge her selfishness in her own dreams.
The previously open path closed as she retrieved her cello from its case. The veritable sea of ponies closed in tighter now that the one they'd came to see occupied it. Their were excited whispers as she tuned her instrument to perfection, carefully plucked a couple strings until she was satisfied, and adjusted the grip on her bow. The whispers died the instant she reared up into a practiced balancing stance against her instrument. Her bow came up and after a moments pause she began to play.
She had nothing in mind as she began to play, nonetheless when bow touched chord the notes that followed fit perfectly together. Slow and somber at first and picking up in intensity as she basked in the silent awe of the crowd. No movement, no talking about subjects that her audience deemed more important than the passion she was conveying, not even a breath single breath from any of the ponies present. Octavia took all this in and her playing intensified. Almost to the point of being aggressive towards her instrument she played on.
What felt like a glorious eternity passed, while she filled the courtyard with the magic of her music. Gradually at first, it got colder. The temperature continued to go down unnoticed by anyone present. The more she played the colder it got, to the point that ponies' breath started condensing.
Her playing reached a fever pitch as Octavia felt the climax to this mysterious song upon her. With a suddenness it ended, on a high note. When she her eyes what greeted her confused her greatly. The moon most prominently dominated the sky above the courtyard; it looked as though a pegasus could fly up and touch it right now. That was not the most troubling thing.
The taller pony who'd seemed to walk next to Octavia, and who apparently actually existed stood at the very back of the crowd; towering over all the other ponies. Unusually tall, a exceptionally long horn and wings as Octavia observed. An alicorn, and this dream? Princess Luna had come to visit her. Perhaps to hear music that would never actually make it onto paper. She was both honored and a little embarrassed. The audience remained silent, any of them still had yet to react to the sudden cold.
The mare in the back of the audience took flight and was next to Octavia on stage in an instant.
Octavia shrank back slightly. It was not the Princess Luna she'd seen in recent articles about the royal family. Though there was some resemblance to her beloved ruler of the night, this mare was clearly the evil that had possessed her. Nightmare Moon.
"Take a bow, you've earned it."
Octavia did as directed. She received no applause, but somehow intuited their vast appreciation for what she'd done.
She turned back to a kind faced Nightmare Moon, and asked "What is this? Why are you in my dreams."
"In your dreams? No no, you misunderstand me. I've made your dreams come true." She explained very coyly.
"What do you mean? I'm still asleep aren't I?" Please let this be a dream. Octavia pleaded internally.
"What do you think?" The Nightmare replied in a whisper. "Isn't this exactly what you wanted. They listen to you so well, now. Even those who would not hear you before; they were drawn to your performance."
Octavia took another look around, and sure enough the crowd had grown since she started. Filling out all the windows and lining the rooftops were maybe another hundred new ponies. Some of which she recognized from the evening party she'd played at. Now she could make out distinct faces, perhaps the more directly focused moonlight had something to do with her ability to make them out now.
Icy dread gripped her as she now desperately wanted to wake up from this dream, or was it a nightmare now?
They want to hear more. Her cello urged. Nightmare Moon nodded in agreement.
They wanted more. She'd only done one piece after all. Besides which focusing on anything except her cello or the gathered ponies, made her whole being feel heavy. Nightmare Moon stood by and smiled as she started to play again. The level intensity of her playing started out high, but maintained an even pace throughout. Now though her playing was softly accompanied by the Nightmare addressing the crowd. She played on even as she tried to understand what was being said. Again she felt as though she were losing herself when her attention drifted away from her current task.
Then without warning or her own will Octavia began to speak.
"I give you the night. Go out and claim all of it, and do so in my name. Your Princesses are weak, and once they are removed I will rule in their stead. You will love what I give you."
Octavia was beside herself now, figuratively and actually literally. Now she flanked her own right side watching herself playing her heart out. On the left side of herself still playing stood Nightmare Moon continuing to address the crowd.
"What is this?" Octavia cried suddenly.
The Nightmare finished her speech to the crowd, and then spoke to Octavia.
"This," Nightmare Moon said, indicating the crowd, "is your dream."
Then, with a wicked, razor tooth filled grin, "And Equestria's Nightmare."
Suddenly the crowd went from quiet awe to a wild mob. The pegasai took off into the night shrieking and laughing, bumping into each other in their hurry to escape. The looks on their faces now was not one of panic of fear, but of excitement and joy. Seconds after the first of the ponies made it out of Octavia's view she heard the sound of glass shattering, hollering and revelry. Moments later a slightly muffled but audible thump and the sound of more glass being broken echoed through the night. A second thump and the glass windows looking into the courtyard also shattered. Glass was now raining down on the ponies who had yet to file out. They cheered as though they'd witnessed some great accomplishment, and the line to leave moved just a little more quickly.
Octavia watched this all in abject horror, looking between the quickly diminishing crowd and the Nightmare who smiled wickedly at the destruction.
Her physical body continued to play as the crowd dispersed, and only once they were gone did it stop.
"You wouldn't mind sharing this for a while would you?" The Nightmare said. Octavia jumped forward, startled by the sudden presence of the Nightmare behind her. She stumbled towards her now completely still body. Her body was still in a playing stance, leaning against her cello, but now she had a fairly vacant look in her eyes. Her only expression was an half-smile looking at the space where her audience was.
"Sh-share?" Octavia said unsurely, "You don't mean-"
Octavia felt herself wrapped in magic suddenly and Nightmare Moon chuckled from behind. Her vision went dark, but she regained her sense of touch she hadn't even realized she was missing. Her cello rested against her once again, her mane shifted along her back as she moved her head, but her sight was gone. Perhaps the moon that had seemed almost directly overhead, had suddenly vanished. It would explain the sudden dark.
Now, let us see what they thought of your performance. The voice of the Nightmare thundered through her mind, eliminating all other thoughts.
Her sight returned to her just in time to take off into the air. She tried to scream from the sudden elevation but couldn't. She could not look around either. She could still feel, and realized that she didn't have wings. Before she could ponder how she'd attained flight, she spotted her cello abandoned seconds ago and slowly tipping over to fall on the ground. Her body lurched to a stop and a foreleg extended towards it.
What? the Nightmare hissed in her head. Already she could feel her control of her body slipping, but through sheer force of will and something else she couldn't explain, she stopped her precious instrument from hitting the ground. Its case flipped open and she placed it and the accompanying bow into their places. The lid flipped shut just before all control was wrested from her once again, and her gaze was forced to turn to the rest of Canterlot. Two blocks from where Octavia hovered in the air, a building had been set ablaze. The street the courtyard let out into had busted out store front for a couple blocks in either direction.
Now the shouts of revelry came from all directions. Pegasai from all walks of life flitted in and out of broken, upper-story windows. Panicked families ran out of ransacked buildings huddled together for safety, objects of varying sizes were hurled through windows forcing the grounded rioters to scatter whenever one came towards them. Beyond dodging direct hazards the crazed ponies seemed to have little thought to their own safety, earth ponies who lacked magic or chuckable objects simply through themselves through any unbroken window they came across.
Octavia's body against her will, surveyed the ongoing damage from above. With control taken away from her she had time to take in the fact that her lips were pulled back into a smile. It wasn't her smile, but that didn't make her feel any better. She could also feel the beat of her heart, so steady and calm in opposition the the terror that gripped her. Never before had she wished so badly that her heart would beat faster and harder in her chest to reflect how she felt.
Please stop. Octavia pleaded in her mind. Just let me wake up.
So you think this is a dream? The Nightmare hissed in return. You got what you wanted. I made your dream come true. Why can't I have what I want now?
Yes. Why couldn't she? Small bursts of panic shot through what was left of Octavia's consciousness as she, but the panic was soon hidden behind an all consuming darkness. She didn't need to be here anymore, she could go.
"Go now little mare, to oblivion." Her own voice said, though tinged with malice.
"Stop at once! An unfamiliar voice boomed out across the city.
Octavia was rattled back to her senses by this new voice, though she still had no control of her body.
"We were wondering when you'd hear our call."
A large, dark figure was speeding towards Octavia with its wings flared and horn glowing with a strange dark light. Perhaps this one was Princess Luna, Octavia hoped desperately.
"So little Luna, how does this night find you?" The Nightmare addressed the princess in Octavia's voice. Octavia cared little however, a princess was here to help her.
"How dare you intrude upon my domain like this." Luna bit back angrily. Before the Nightmare could come back with something, Luna let out a loud inequine screech. A swarm of Luna's bat-winged night guard took to the skies from the palace and descended upon the rioting ponies below.
Luna turned back to the Nightmare, who had waited silently and patiently. "Release Our subject and return from whence you came." Luna commanded.
Octavia's head shook back and forth slowly, "Or what, Luna?"
"We will sever your connection to your home and trap you in a mortal existence."
"You talk as if you could face me on your own. You were too weak to return to Equestria by yourself. You took the power I offered you without hesitation because you knew you couldn't. You are simply less than I, Luna; so tell me what has changed that you think you can defeat me." The Nightmare barked out confidently. Octavia wasn't entirely sure it was her voice any longer which brought her some small amount of comfort.
Octavia suddenly felt her muscles tensing, her legs all being shifted just slightly. Then she lunged towards Luna. Octavia tried to shout out a warning, in spite of still remembering that she could not speak on her own. It was no surprise when her warning shout was not vocalized, but it did spark an internal reaction from the Nightmare.
You're still here? You're a strangely willful mare for one who was so easy to influence. Perhaps I should keep you after all.
Luna reacted to the incoming collision by simply folding her wings and dropping twenty feet down. Octavia pursued the falling princess, and when Luna saw this reopened her wings turned in mid air and flew for an alleyway.
Octavia still trapped inside her body felt the strange tingle of magic envelope her body, building up and diminishing several times, before giving chase.
She flew forward only a few feet before reality lurched around and she was suddenly barreling down directly at Princess Luna. This time Luna did not react fast enough. The blow landed directly in the middle of her back, sending Luna towards the ground with a force a ponies body could not generate on its own. The telltale tingle of magic at the end of the striking hoof, told her that however it had happened, her hooves and likely her body had been magically enhanced.
Speaking of magic, Octavia took note of the fact that whatever magic Luna had been using or about to use had never died down. Her horn glowed with the same light as before, and just before Luna hit the ground it intensified. Octavia had the brief sensation of floating in the opposite direction her body had been headed, before reality shifted again. Now she was a ways outside of Canterlot, and could clearly see that the moon was just a little ways above the highest spire of the palace.
"I said release her now." Luna shouted angrily. The Nightmare, and by extension Octavia, had been oriented away from where Luna's voice came from. By the time Octavia had spun around to face Luna, the Princess of the Night was already upon her.
Luna caught Octavia in the gut with a powerful strike. She felt the pain as it blosomed from the point of impact, but felt no need to react to it. She could hear the Nightmare laughing in her mind. Something about its presence was different now.
Octavia gripped the princess's horn tightly with one leg and began to twist and bend. With her other hoof she ensured Luna was otherwise incapable of moving her head.
Luna whimpered pathetically, clearly having trouble dealing with the excessive tension on her horn.
"You are weak Luna." Octavia spoke softly, right into her captive's ear. "Even this fragile vessel is enough to bring you down."
"She is not your vessel, she is our subject. We are sworn to protect-" Luna began in a pleading voice, she was silenced by a vicious jerk of her horn.
"That is your weakness. You were not born to serve mortals. You were born to rule." Octavia was both horrified and fascinated as dark energy began to flow down her leg into Luna's horn. As soon as the magic started channeling into it, cracks began to form along its surface.
"If this is all it takes it will be a short conflict." The Nightmare hissed.
"Stop." Octavia pleaded. She was infinitely amazed when her lips moved in accordance with her words.
The grip on Luna's horn slacked considerably, whether from the Nightmare's shock at her sudden loss of control or Octavia regaining that lost control, neither knew. The Nightmare's thoughts were a frenzy inside Octavia's head, trying to drown her consciousness again. Luna wrenched herself from Octavia's grasp completely, and teleported a fair distance away.
"You will stop using our subject as a shield." Luna said, with a strong resolve in her voice. She started gathering magic in her horn and aimed at Octavia.
At Luna's declaration, all the mental sound Octavia suffered vanished. She heard the Nightmare speak singly again, You have impressed me. For one who likes to act a victim, you are strong willed. I have decided to keep you.
In her minds eye the Nightmare appeared before her; a gentle smile on her face despite the rage and spite Octavia could feel hidden behind it. She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss upon the paralyzed mare's forehead.
As the image of the Nightmare faded she spoke to Octavia one last time. We shall never be far apart. No matter
What.
They.
Say.
Octavia found relief in the form of the Nightmare's omnipresence lifted from her body entirely. Just in time for Luna to complete her spell.
Everything went white.
