Some Choices are Permanent
It was midday as Princess Celestia was walking about her room, only occasionally exiting to the castle’s balcony to overlook the vast lands of Equestria. Though it was a great distance, the quaint and much smaller town of Ponyville stood out to the alicorn. Not only for it’s wide spreading farm lands and apple orchards, or even the wild Everfree Forest that held hers and her sister’s previous castle. No, this town stood out to the Princess because it was the home of her darling and precious student, Twilight Sparkle. While the duties of being a Princess were long and often stressful, she always made sure to take time for her student.
Twilight was studying magic within the Ponyville Library, as usual, while her number one assistant, Spike the Dragon was finishing his morning duties. It was only when he finished putting the last of the cleaning supplies back into the closet that he felt his stomach rumbling. At first, he thought he didn’t eat enough gems for breakfast, but the loud rumbling echoed out from the dragon. He then belched forth a scroll wrapped in green flames. Twilight ears perked up from the sound, the chance that her teacher has sent her a message always excited her. Not taking a single moment longer, she grabs at it with her magic, pulling it towards her and unrolling it.
"My faithful student, Twilight. This lesson will be slightly different than the past ones. This will be a lesson of self-discipline, restraint and the consequences that affect future behavior. I have an assistant that will be able to guide you through the process. Good luck, my faithful student."
The scroll rolled back up, vanishing in a fiery, green flame. No sooner that the flames flicked away, a bright, white light appeared in the middle of the library, along with a piercing screech. Both Twilight and Spike had to cover their ears as a sickly, dark grey unicorn fell to the floor with a thud. He wore a pair of aviators, a black overcoat and black combat boots. Slowly, he got up with his eyes still shut, rubbing his forehead.
“I’ve had worse landings.” The stallion said to himself, shaking his head as he tried to steady his balance. Once he was a little steadier, he looked over to Twilight. “Well, at least she sent me to the right place.”
“Good afternoon.” Twilight greeted, more confused than curious as to who this pony was, but given the timing, he could only be sent by the Princess. “My name is Twi-”
“I know who you are.” He interrupted, reaching into one of his coat pockets, pulling out a scrolls bearing Celestia’s insignia. “The Princess asked me to help you with some lesson. And since the train would take too long, she teleported me.”
“Princess Celestia has already informed me that I was going to get a lesson in something very important.” Twilight nodded, recalling the message she received not that long ago. “But I’m getting ahead of myself, what’s your name?”
“The name’s Order Compulsive, but you can call me OC for short.” OC replied, reaching out his hoof to the mare. “Just tell me what you need help in, and I got it.”
“Well, OC it’s very nice to meet you.” Twilight responded, shaking his hoof. “I don’t think I need anything right away.” Looking around, she saw that there were numerous books that were still in need of organizing, but she not so secretly enjoyed doing it herself.
“Isn’t Octavia Melody trying to get a concert together?” Spike asked, rolling his eyes a little as Twilight forgot that sort of important event. “You know, the one you were supposed to help plan out? The one that’s taking place in a week?”
“Of course!” Twilight gasped in a degree of shock. “The concert! I almost forgot. OC, this is perfect for you. You can help us with the concert!”
“Sounds good.” OC nodded, gesturing to the door. “Lead the way.”
The walk to Sweet Apple Acres was a relatively short one. Twilight did her best to give OC a small bit of a tour of the town, while the stallion talked to her about what he did in Canterlot. He was a member of the Night Watch, a section of the Night Guard that focused more on the less public duties and handled more hidden and covert tasks. Observing being one of many of his duties, but he was quite secretive about the full details. But the questions were stopped as soon as they arrived at the farm.
OC’s eyes widened in amazement at the sight and size of the apple trees, marveling at the full range of them. Back in Canterlot, he did get to enjoy some of the treats that were sent in from Ponyville. He would even remember the taste of the apple delights that Applejack tried to sell at the last Grand Galloping Gala, but he shook his head of the memories. His goal and focus was to help out Twilight with whatever she needed to set up this upcoming concert.
“First thing on our list.” Twilight explained, floating a list of things in front of the two, revealing quite a long list, though a few specific things were both written in bold and underlined with circles. “Confectioneries, snacks, and beverages. All taken care of by Applejack and her apple supplies.”
“Well howdy Twilight!” Applejack called out as she saw her friend walking towards the farm, but just as she finished greeting the unicorn, she noticed OC. “Oh? Who’s this?”
“The name’s Order Compulsive, but please, call me OC.” OC replied, nodding his head as he looked at the farm mare. “Princess Celestia tasked me to help Twilight, and she needs help with setting up some concert.” After taking a moment to breathe from his short explanation, he continued. “So, what kind of help do you need?”
“Well, I need to get all these apple products to where the concert is going to be held.” Applejack explained, gesturing over to the wooden cart that her brother Big Macintosh was loading with a number of large wooden crates and barrels. “We already got plenty of cider, ingredients, and apples. We just need to get them shipped out to the concert grounds.”
“This concert should be a big event right?” OC asked, raising an eyebrow for a moment as he surveyed the farm. “Shouldn’t there be more carts?”
“Well, we do have a spare wagon in the barn.” Applejack explained, pointing a hoof to the large barn. “But I can’t pull it if we load it too much, only Big Mac is that strong.”
“Sounds like you need help pulling the other cart.” OC commented, looking between the mare, barn, and cart. “Show me where it is, I’ll pull it.”
“You think you can handle it?” Applejack asked, more concerned than curious if this stallion could pull it. But he seemed insistant. “If you think you can.” She then turned her head towards one of the apple trees. “Hey, Apple Bloom!” As she called, a small filly seems to run from behind the tree. The filly took one look at OC for a moment before marveling at his clothing. It was so strange to see a pony in like him in Ponyville. “Can you take OC here to the barn to get the other wagon?”
“Alright.” Apple Bloom replied, nodding her head before waving for OC to follow her. Following the filly to the barn, the two easily spotted the spare wagon. Hoisting it to him, the two started to pull it free. “So mister, I got a question. Why you dressed like that?” She then pointed to his sunglasses. “Like what do you need those for?”
“My job mostly have me work at night you see.” OC explained, sparing more than a few details. “And over time, my eyes got pretty sensitive to light. So even on a dim day like this, it’s too bright. So the sunglasses help.”
After pulling the wagon out, Big Mac, Applejack, Twilight, Apple Bloom, and OC all took turns loading up the wagon full of more barrels and crates. Before long, it too was filled with just as much as the first one. With that, the Apple siblings nodded in approval, setting up OC to pull the other wagon behind Big Mac. With the wagons set and the stallions ready, the five of them set off to the staging grounds. It was in a massive, flat area just on the outskirts of town, even managing to use the same stage that they had Countess Coloratura perform in.
“That should do it.” Applejack said, directing OC to park the wagon next to Big Mac. “We can handle the unloading and set up. Thanks for the help.”
“Alright, so now that we have the food covered, we still have plenty of other ponies who need help.” Twilight said in satisfaction checking off the list. “Ready to keep going OC?” OC could only nod in response as he could only imagine what was going to come next.
Twilight was at her wits end. The concert was only a few short hours away, and she was already in a major panic. While she was able to get everything ready for the concert, there were a lot of struggles along the way. The first issue was OC thought it would help boost sales for Applejack’s products, but slipping a strong narcotic into them, making them so addicting that a crowd nearly destroyed the wooden stand in a small riot. Thankfully, OC also had the cure to it and was able to get everything back to normal. The second issue was getting Pinkie Pie’s help. Because she had to help her family on the rock farm, there was no way she would be able to make it to help with the concert in time. OC’s solution to this involved the more difficult to move rocks, and some small explosives he had with him. This resulted in a major apology and a large sum of bits to be sent to the farm for damages and repairs. Which led to Twilight’s third and most critical problem, the library.
Because of the stallion’s choices, the library was getting to the point of bankruptcy. It was hard enough that she was very merciful regarding late fees and other costs. As well as only accepting the smallest of stipend pay from Celestia as it was needed in her studies of friendship. But what really was becoming the nails in the coffin was the opening of a much larger and more up to date library on the other side of town. It was closer to the school, had a much more expansive collection, as well as numerous copies of books so nopony had to wait too long to borrow one. This new payment to the rock farm was going to be what would destroy Twilight’s home, and she wasn’t sure what to do.
“Hey, Twilight?” OC called, knocking before entering the room. “Look, I know I made mistakes, a lot of mistakes... but I can make it better. I promise.”
“It’s fine…” Twilight said, lying but not wanting to cause an issue. “Just go to the concert, I’ll be there later.”
“Understood.” OC replied, not wanting to really push the mare, especially after what he did. “I’ll see you there.”
Within the privacy of her dressing room, Octavia was just finishing her cello solo of Johann Sebastian Buck’s cello suite number 5, which was her favorite to play when getting ready for a show. After the song was complete, she relaxed her arms, feeling more and more confident about the coming show. It was only when she heard the sounds of clapping from the door she turned to see OC. Normally, she was against seeing any fans before the show, but she considered him a friend more than a fan and gently smiled at him.
“Absolutely beautiful…oh, and the song was good too.” OC said, in his best attempt at being charming. Octavia had come to expect this kind of behavior from him, but it was nonetheless appreciated. “I’m amazed at how well you’re playing, and the concert hasn’t started yet.”
“I like to get in some practice before all my shows.” Octavia smiled, but just as she was finishing her thoughts, her ears perked up. “Oh, that’s right. I need to do some errands before the show. I’ll see you there I hope.”
“Of course. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” OC nodded in a reply, letting the mare trot past him as he thought to himself. ‘I have a few things that I need to do too.’
The other Ponyville library, it’s premiere location did allow it to have quicker access to the school fillies and colts, but at this time, it should be relatively empty. OC was slightly nervous, but determined in what he knew he had to do. He knocked at the front door, expecting some staff to come and open it, but it opened on its own. A possible oversight by the caretaker perhaps, but exactly what he needed. Poking in his head, he looked for a moment, only seeing a dark building with no visible signs of life. But OC was cautious regardless.
“Hello?” OC called out, with silence being the only reply. “The coast is clear.”
Walking over to the front desk, he ignited his horn to provide some light. Looking around, he was determined to find some means of furthering his plans. If he had more time, a few more hours, or even a day to prepare, OC would’ve had this library’s charted, mapped, and have an airtight plan. This was too spontaneous for his liking, but he was determined to help Twilight in any way possible, no matter the cost or risk. Though he did want to make it all look like it was a natural accident, something that can neither hurt anyone or be traced back to him.
“Now to find the fireplace...” OC said to himself aloud, looking around the large space. He was amazed by the vast amount of spacing. It was a shame that he had to burn this library down, but in his mind, there was no other choice. “Let’s see, based on the layout and the faint breeze coming from this direction…” He extended a hoof to feel about the air until he felt it. “Ahh, here we go.”
In the lower right corner, buried in the jagged cobblestone, he noticed a rather large opening where the fireplace lay. It was big, not big enough where it could burn down a building if someone was watching it. But just small enough where it could burn unnoticed. All OC needed was to stage it like an honest accident, and leave before anypony would notice. The still unlocked front door would be his only means to leave, and even the idea somepony could walk in by mistake was also a problem he wanted to avoid as much as he could. So he was quick to get to work.
Like most fireplaces, it needed a specific key. Since OC had dealt with many locks in his career, he’d picked up studying lock picking magic and went to work on this one. Focusing his magic within the lock, he listened into the mechanisms turning and clicking until they reached a familiar sound, the sound of being unlocked. Hissing started to emit from the fireplace. Grabbing some nearby scraps of old newspapers, he rolled some up while shredding others, ironically, the issues being about the opening of the new library, which brought a small chuckle up from his throat. Placing them gentle, he ignited one end of the roll and no sooner had he placed it within the gas filling space, he turned to gallop as fast as possible from the library. He was just out the door when the explosion ruptured out from the fireplace.
The first floor of the library was no more, what wasn’t destroyed or breaking, was severely burning. Volume after volume, shelf after shelf of books, scrolls, and other resources were on fires. OC watched for a moment, small, lingering thoughts of regret echoed within his mind, but he had to shake them away. He had to run as fast as possible. But he didn’t get far before he heard something else. A scream could be heard from the second floor of the library. OC started to panic, he thought the building was empty. He couldn’t live with himself if his choice killed someone, he had to save them, no matter what happened to him.
Running back into the building, a thin layer of magic kept his body safe from the flames, it was still hot and smoky inside. Listen past the crumbling and cracking of the flames, he followed the screams up the stairs, down the halls, and finally to a room that was nearly above the first floor fireplace. It was Octavia was in a corner, she shaking and terrified, as well as there being a small bit of rubble, most likely from the explosion, on her leg; preventing her escape to the nearby window. OC didn’t need to think, didn’t need any plan. He was acting on pure instinct. With a blast of magic, he shattered the rubble, grabbing at the mare, holding her close as he jumped both of them out of the window.
Thankfully, OC didn’t need to think any further, as both he and Octavia were caught by the Ponyville fire department, having acted quickly upon hearing the explosion, as well as hearing the screams. He was just so focused on saving her, he was lucky in jumping out the window and being caught. Octavia was still visibly shaking from the experience, and OC felt the biggest lump of regret within himself. He wanted to confess this severe act of arson, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not yet anyways.
“Are you alright?” OC asked Octavia, holding her close to him as she hugged him back. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. What were you doing in there?”
“I wanted to do some last minute browsing of the music section on the second floor. This was the only library that held a copy of what I was looking for.” Octavia explained, not even looked at OC as she held him in her embrace. “When I came over, I thought the library was closed, but when I saw the door was opened, I assumed somepony was still there.”
OC’s eyes widened, his choice, his actions nearly killed her. He could only hold her tightly, the fear of losing her only swelling in his chest as he could nearly scream. If she had died, if he had killed her, he could never live with himself. He would never be able to forgive himself. But he didn’t want to show his tears, or show his fears. He needed to remain strong, or as strong as possible. Slowly, he moved away from the mare, smiling warmly at her before placing a hoof on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry you went through that, and I’m glad I was able to get to you in time.” OC said, not wanting to give any hint he was the cause of all this. “But let’s get you to the concert, I’m sure your fans will want to see you.” Octavia only smiled, thankful to have been saved.
Octavia’s concert was a grand masterpiece of musical talent and raw, emotional passion. Her traumatic experience had only amplified her music, echoing out into the audience the feelings of thrills, fears, and relief. But it was also due to how he nearly lost her, OC didn’t want to take any chances. He wasn’t sitting in the audience, nor a back stage seat, he was up in the upper catwalks of the stage, making sure not a single thing could go wrong. Checking, double checking, and triple checking every little detail he could, the stallion was dead set to ensure nothing would befall Octavia, not matter what. Though he did take plenty of time to sit and enjoy her music, it was the only thing that was calming his nerves.
“So far, so good.” OC said to himself, looking between Octavia and the rest of the stage settings. “She’ll be starting her finale soon. I can’t believe I nearly killed her. Octavia Melody of all ponies! What was I thinking? How could I have been so reckless? There’s no way I can tell her, or Twilight, or anypony what I did.”
As OC rambled and panicked to himself of his past choices, Octavia began her finale. It was breathtaking in its beauty. A melody of fear and panic, only to have it be filled with a glow of heroism and hope. No doubt it was something she had only just created to commemorate her rescue from the fire. OC could not believe the sheer emotion coming from the notes, how it ignited his soul and seemed to banish away all his fears and worries. Octavia was like a muse to his life, calming him and giving him a chance to think with clarity. It was, however, with these thoughts that he noticed one particular stage light above the mare was shaking in the breeze.
“Oh no, no, no, no!” OC said to himself, rushing over to the light. “If it’s shaking, it must be loose. If it’s loose, it could fall. And if it falls…” His eyes narrowed as the thought brought a shiver down his spine. “No! I’m not going to let that happen!”
Grabbing at the light, OC tried to adjust and tighten the light. He wanted to keep it firmly in place, not allowing it a single chance to sway or move. But in his haste to do so, tightening the bolts and screws with magic, he overlooked how all the other lights behaved in the same manner. Carefully, but quickly, he turned and tightened, not stopping until he was absolutely certain the light would not move. And when he was content, he turned to continue sitting. But no sooner had his plot touched the catwalk, his ears heard a crack.
Turning his head, OC’s eyes widened in horror, the light’s fixture had cracked in his attempt to tighten and secure it. The weight of the light overtook the railing, and it fell. He tried to run, to catch it, his mind too much in a panic to use magic, nor could he scream to Octavia in time. His voice was drowned in her music, the last of her notes playing of her salvation and comfort within his arms, only to cut short as the heavy light came crashing down on her. She was dead within an instant, as it crashed into her head, crushing her skull and splattering some of her blood about the stage and soaking her snapped cello.
OC was never the same after that night. He didn’t stay after the concert, he couldn’t even bring himself to go to her funeral. He didn’t believe he deserved to be there. As far as he was concerned, he killed Octavia. His choices, his actions, killed the mare he cherished so much. He wasn’t sure what to do. Given the circumstances, Celestia gave him a little over a week to grieve, checking in on him periodically to see how he was. Though he appreciated that she cared, he didn’t want to confess anything. His guilt was still eating him up inside like a plague, but he didn’t want to show it. After nearly two weeks of the accident, OC managed to force himself to go to work, but he still showed and felt how empty and broken he was inside.
“I can’t go on like this.” OC said to himself, walking over to a nearby balcony, the same that held a scenic view of Ponyville. He could see the tiny spot of land that was the stage, his mind only remembering everything. “I could’ve saved her, I failed, I made a choice and it killed her.” As he was alone, OC couldn’t hold back the pain, tears bleeding out of him as he let out his sorrow and agony. “I can’t do this. I can’t live with this.” With what little courage and resolve was within him, the stallion climbed to the balcony railing, giving Ponyville one final look before closing his eyes. And as he let himself fall, his last thoughts were of Octavia, letting them be the final shimmer of light, before his mind would be covered in the dark embrace of death.
