What a Day

by harpyfood

Rating: everyone
Tags: Discord, Slice of Life, Lyra, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 1555

The labyrinth has a guest tonight

A lone mare strolls through Canterlot's labyrinth in the dark of night. She plays her lyre, sings her song, and fills the air with her music.

First publishing: woohoo! To be honest, this by no means is my best work and I did not have a beta reader. I truly rushed this story. But regardless, I hope to leave a somewhat presentable impression of my writing on those who read. I am very open to criticism of my work and look forward to hearing what others think of it! I only ask that you are honest in your feelings about this story. I'm not super proud of this piece, but I'm taking a leap to see how this will turn out. Nonetheless, I hope you can enjoy!

Some insight (Spoiler warning!): This story takes place in the midst of "The Return of Harmony Part 1," just before Discord's return is truly known. In addition, it's somewhat inspired by the myth of Orpheus, particularly how it's said that his lyre playing and singing inspired movement in beasts and inanimate objects (like stones and trees and such)!

Cover art by harpyfood

Published 2024-11-13 20:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-11-13 20:00:01 UTC

at the park

The air of the Canterlot garden felt different that day. The plucking of strings filled the hollow silence of the palace labyrinth as a mint-green mare strolled through its leafy corridors. Her proficiency and comfort with her lyre could be felt in those who heard. Nopony joined the mare in the maze then, though. She ventured in on her own. She did not know her way around, but she did not need to. She did not know where to go, but she was not lost.

The instrument’s elegant voice permeated all around her, giving the air a warm tint. A warm feeling; if anypony were around to hear it, that is. If somepony heard it, that pony had to listen. It did not demand attention. It did not need to. Its inviting coo was enough to draw anypony closer.

Ponies who eyed the maze from indoors felt they could see its surrounding stone statues swaying as if they needed to move—needed to dance. They all moved in different ways, yet it could be observed they all moved to the same thing, as all their sudden changes of swings or wobbles were occurred in sync. Disinterested passersby disregarded the movements as a product of strong winds despite none being present. They knew no better from inside the castle.

“What a day,” a voice sang, vocal chords fluttering. “at the park.”

Not a single sound traveled to interrupt the mare’s song aside from that of her own hoofsteps. That and the faraway whisper of crumbling rock. The one-mare show kept on as stone continued to fall apart and crash to the ground in the distance. One would soon join her—one who could not sit still while the music played on.

— + —

The mare in the maze played on as usual—as usual as playing lyre in a labyrinth—before she heard a quiet pop noise in the distance. While it did not deter her, she certainly noticed it. Not long after, she heard another similar pop much closer to her. Before she could investigate the sound, her eyes widened at the sight of a chimera making itself known, hovering down to her side. The mare’s music did not falter, but her peace did. The instrument’s tone reflected that change; its beauty retained, her lyre now infused worry into those who listened to its song. The walls of the labyrinth could be observed trembling, shaken by the unnerving tune. Once again, it was chalked up to the wind.

“Shh, don’t tell anypony,” it requested. “I just wish to hear your beautiful instrument up close. You grew further and further away from me, and I feared I would miss the conclusion to your performance.” He pleaded with his words and his eyes, adopting the head of a puppy and whining with a tilted head. Though skeptical, she nodded her head in acceptance, and her stride resumed to catch up with her chords. Relief exuding from her nerves and strings, a calming tune floated in the air.

As the music changed, the movement of the maze did as well. The green halls now swayed peacefully from side to side, mimicking the plucking of the player. The chimera did not follow closely with its dance, so as to not disturb the mare’s playing, but stayed close enough to not lose her in the lively walls.

“I saw your statue standing out front,” she opened. “You’re not as solid as I thought.” The chimera chuckled, keeling over in response.

“I suppose so. But how could I be expected to stay still to the singing of those strings? It’s simply enchanting.” it retorted, floating over the mare in a backwards arch and wiping a single tear from his eye. "Not to mention your singing."

“If I sealed a creature away in stone, I would expect it to stay in stone, not break out to dance, Discord.” The mare responded, a witty smile crossing her face. Discord rolled his eyes mockingly, breaking his arched stare.

“You could say I broke out to break down, hm?” He countered, spinning atop of his head while suspended in midair. “Besides, how can you rely on expectations with me?” he questioned, raising his eyebrow off his head in anticipation. Honestly, it was hard not to know the answer to such a question.

“That’s true, I suppose.” the mare surrendered as she transformed her stroll to a slow, playful skip. While only slightly faster, it was fast enough for Discord to grow further and further from her peripheral vision. A familiar pop could be heard from behind her before she heard a small voice speak into her ear.

“What are you playing there, Miss…?” The voice trailed off, waiting for the latter half of the mare’s name. She shot a look of bemusement upward, meeting the draconequus’s shrunken form.

“Heartstrings—Lyra Heartstrings—and I’m just improvising, you know?”

“Ahh, improvisation: chaos’s musical relative.” Heartstrings simply nodded in response, causing Discord to clutch at her mane for safety. She chuckled, surprised by the tiny chimera’s shockingly strong grip.

“Personally, improvising a piece allows me to express way more emotion than performing something already inscribed. It all comes right from the,”

“Soul?”

“Huh…?”

“See? I can finish sentences too.” The draconequus mockingly asserted, soaring up above the mare with a high-pitched buzz—his shrunken, hearty laugh.

— + —

Lyra strolled leisurely amongst the green halls of the maze as she took a look at her unlikely companion. Discord hummed along to the music, appearing to be skipping as she had earlier… in slow motion. The mare guessed it best to not question chaos, so she let the chimera continue on his nonsensical prance. At that moment, a question dawned on her that she was shocked to not have thought of before then. It was like she had painted the walls of her house, but forgot to build the roof beforehand.

“Hey, Discord,” she opened, using the time before Discord responded to put together her question.

“Hm? What may it be, Lyra?”

“I was just wondering how you’re, you know… Here.” Discord had not expected the impromptu interrogation; frankly, neither had Lyra.

"What do you mean by 'here?'"

“I mean, how did you break free from the statue?” As if it only began to make sense right then, a bright exclamation point sprouted from the top of the draconequus’s head.

“Oh, of course!” He exclaimed, reaching a talon up to grab the exclamation point. “Let’s just say some discourse cracked open, just enough to loosen the stone’s hold on me.” He grabbed the punctuation mark’s point and tossed it into the air. As the point reached the apex of its rise, he took hold of the hovering mark and clutched it in his claw and paw. “That on its own probably wouldn’t have been enough for me to get out, I still couldn’t move.” Once the point began to fall, Discord, waiting for the right moment to swing, struck the point. The point flew over the walls of the maze, into the night sky. “But, somepony helped me with that.”

Discord’s implication planted itself in Lyra’s mind, her eyes growing wide like the moon above. She could feel them grow drier as she stared into the chimera’s mismatched eyes. She blinked to wet her own before they disintegrated to dust, seeing the soaring ball-point vanish into a star’s sparkle. Unexpectedly, though, she eased her troubled expression and worked up a response.

“So, what you’re saying is… My music is so good you had to escape imprisonment to dance to it?” she quickly retorted. Something climbed up her throat as Discord’s devious expression was washed off his face, which soon adopted Lyra’s previous shock. The roar of laughter shot out of her muzzle and into Discord’s face as she rolled onto her back in a chuckling fit.

“Wow, You just continue to amuse me.”

— + —

“May I ask a favor of you, Miss Heartstrings?” Discord asked, floating beside her with a monocle to his eye.

“What’ll it be, Discord?”

“Perhaps you wouldn’t mind bringing your music to my other stoney friends?” Lyra shot a look at Discord, whose monocle hovered in front of her now. She raised an eyebrow, carrying suspicion with her response.

“And why should I do that?”

“Oh, don’t be so hard, they’re not like me. They’re just statues!”

“That’s what everyone said about you, as well.” Discord raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“Touché. Nonetheless, I can assure you they won’t come alive as I have. I simply wish for them to dance again.”

...

“So, anything in particular you want me to play for them?”

“Just resume as you wish.” Discord responded, turning to face the statues in front of the pair. “Anything from your hooves will surely encourage movement in anypony.” Lyra obliged, improvising her coming piece—a piece that would only be captured in the memory of those present.

The mare wished to inspire dance, but nothing untamed. She pushed a calm, inviting atmosphere through her hooves, inscribing a beautiful sound into the open skies.

Author's Note

Upon finishing the short fiction, the reader made sure to take a look at the story's description, unsure if they had beforehand. They believed that it may hold some valuable information pertaining to the reading.