Lullaby

by Nightroad

Rating: everyone
Tags: Fluttershy, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Octavia
Length: 11665

The cost of fame is higher than Octavia could've imagined.

Octavia lives her life, earning her keep as the cellist in a four pony musical ensemble. Not much deviation in her life, other than the strange dreams she's been having. And recently, the dream has changed. Now, Octavia must figure out the significance of the dream before she loses what she truly desires forever.

Fic inspired by the song Lullaby by the Aviators (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waMtt_8lNAw)

Cover picture will be uploaded...hopefully soon. I'm drawing it myself and since I'm such a perfectionist, I keep redrawing it...so...yea (Thanks to the ponies who submitted pictures for this story WAY back when)

Published 2012-12-13 12:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-13 12:50:01 UTC

Lullaby

Octavia awoke in a cold sweat, her sheets and blankets stuck to her body. She flailed for a moment, tossing the covers off of her and onto the floor. The musician sat up, panting heavily and glancing at her clock. It was three-forty; the same time she always woke up like this.

After her breathing lowered back to normal, Octavia rolled off her bed and headed over to the nearby door that lead to her balcony. She pushed open the doors and stood out on the balcony, taking in the night. The first thing she did was gaze up at the heavenly body that the Night Princess watched over and controlled.

In her dream, it had been a new moon while in reality, it was full. "Why is this dream plaguing me..." She wondered, taking a deep breath. "Perhaps I could somehow gain an audience with Princess Luna. After all...dreams are under her jurisdiction."

The grey musician's eyes lowered from the moon and gazed upon the illuminated Canterlot as lights dotted buildings as ponies resisted the call of night's sweet embrace. She chuckled to nopony but herself and said, "I'd have a better chance of becoming the next Element of Laughter."

A faint memory of the previous Grand Galloping Gala flashed in her head and she shuddered before turning back into her home and closing the doors behind her. "Maybe I should talk with Vinyl about this. She usually knows strange things like this."

With a final sigh, the cellist crawled back into her bed, dragged the blanket back over her and closed her eyes, hoping that the dream wouldn't bother her a second time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'You put the bow to the strings
Played every night...
Crowds would gather
But it would never seem right

Is this what it's like
Living with fame?
Now you have nothing
Just people screaming your name.'

Octavia glanced around, looking for the source of the sublime voice that was singing. The words rang in her head as she searched frantically for the pony singing. However, the darkened moon made it hard to see even a few feet in front of her.

Though, instead of the normal new moon that shrouded the land, the smallest sliver of light glanced off the side, signaling the start of a crescent moon. "Where are you?!" The grey musician cried out, searching for some kind of hint. However, before she made any kind of progress, the dream faded and Octavia returned to reality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Octavia's eyes shot open, but thankfully she wasn't as riled up as she was earlier. She groaned as Celestia's sun crept over the side of her bed and covered her in light. She nodded to the sun before once again rolling out of bed. The cellist stretched, frowning as she heard various joints crack and pop.

"Ugh...sounds like Vinyl." She mumbled with a light snicker. Next, she walked over to her vanity and took her brush up in her hooves and started to comb the mess her mane had become due to her tossing and turning. When finished with that task, Octavia turned back to her bed and with careful hooves, made her bed look like it had never been slept in before.

With a deep sigh, the grey pony left her room and headed for the kitchen to sate the hunger rumbling within the depths of her stomach. Her breakfast consisted of her usual bowl of cereal, glass of apple juice, and a piece of wheat toast. Once finished, the grey earth pony went into her living room and glanced at the black case next to the window.

Within lied the most precious thing in the world to her; her soul. The wooden instrument inside had been with her for as long as she could remember, always there to offer comfort. Even when she had despised the instrument as a young filly, it had always been there to listen to whatever problem she had to complain about. She walked over and unlocked the instrument from it's resting place and gazed upon it in silent admiration.

It's wooden body gleamed slightly as rays from the sunrise danced upon it, giving it an almost mythical quality. The strings each shone like moonlight as the bright celestial body passed over them one at a time. 'How could I have ever hated you?' The cellist thought as she carefully removed the instrument from its case.

She placed the instrument on the nearby couch to grab the bow and after making the necessary adjustments, she began to play. If anypony would've been able to hear, they would have stopped to admire the song that drifted from the strings of the beloved instrument. The song would've made many a pony reflect on all sorts of things in life; love, pain, loss, joy.

While the song was slow, the pony behind the cello gave it an upbeat feeling. However, if any expert in music could've heard it, they all would've agreed that the was a definite sense of loss behind the notes. It was as if the player had something important in their life, but lost it through some outside force.

Sadly, nopony other than the composer heard it as Octavia lived in a soundproofed apartment specifically designed for musicians. As the song came to a close, Octavia opened her eyes to see a small water droplet hit the D string. Then, another hit the body of the cello itself. Octavia put the bow down and felt her eyes. The droplets had been her tears.

"Why...why am I crying?" She quickly wiped away any other tears and replaced her cello with utmost care. The grey musician sighed and looked at the clock. It read seven-twenty two. "There's no way that Vinyl would be up this early. Guess I have some time to kill."

She headed for the door, but checked her appearance in the hallway mirror before she headed out to make sure nothing was out of place. To Octavia, that was the only downfall of living in Canterlot; you had to look absolutely perfect or nopony would take you seriously and for Octavia, that meant that she wouldn't get hired to preform at social gatherings.

The mare shook her head and headed out the door. Though Octavia had no set destination, she knew that eventually she would end up in the same spot she always did when she wandered Canterlot; Overlook Park. It was one of the few parks that was situated on the cliffs of the mountain that Canterlot was built on. This park however, was placed on the opposite side of the main Canterlot Gate.

While Canterlot may have looked small from the front, the city itself actually spanned around the side of the mountain and even into the mountain to an extent. So the capital was basically a quarter ring around the mountain with little wedges that poked inside the large stone.

As the grey mare walked, she saw many fillies and colts running towards different schools that offered different skills depending on what type of pony they were or what kind of cutie mark they had. A few waved at her and she waved back, giving them a polite smile as they went.

Some of the parents who walked their kids to school or stood out by the door as their children left waved as well, a few even voicing a hello or a good morning. She replied in kind and continued on her way. As Octavia cantered on her way, she saw many shops come to life as store owners and employees turned on lights and shuffled things around for the ponies who would come to peruse their wares.

This sight became common as she walked the almost empty streets of the capital city. She knew though that it would quickly become crowded as was the city's nature. 'Suppose I should pick up the pace a little lest I get surrounded and held up.' Octavia thought. So, she put a little more oomph into her step and was able to make it out as ponies started to come in.

As she made it into the park, she looked at the large clock that stood at attention in the middle of a fountain. "Wow...it's already ten-thirty? That walk took longer than I expected." The earth pony mumbled in surprise. She shrugged and walked across the soft grass, a welcome change from the hard stone streets. While Octavia walked to her favourite spot, she noticed something.

Many couples were dotted across the park ranging from the "normal" mare and stallion couple to the "less than normal" mare and mare or stallion and stallion couples. Personally, Octavia didn't care for gender. As long as the love was returned, all was well. Though the sight struck her odd, she continued on. 'Why don't I have somepony special?'

The thought caused the musician to stop dead in her tracks. The thought hadn't been in her own voice, but rather a sweet and gentle voice. One that lacked the gained sophistication of Canterlot, but rather held a natural grace. 'Who was that? Was it somepony I know or was it just from some random conversation I overheard?'

Octavia shook her head and kept moving, opting to ignore the nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Finally, she came upon her destination; a gazebo hidden behind two willow trees that forever stood at attention. It was rumoured that the two willow trees were actually lovers and through an old ritual, had attempted immortality.

The result was that they had become the trees, to forever love each other and to watch over those who loved. Of course, Octavia didn't believe it simply because she had no lover to call her own. She simply liked it because they hid the gazebo and she could practice without being seen. The musician liked to hear other pony's reactions as they heard her sweet music from seemingly nowhere.

Occasionally they would say something that would make her snicker and laugh. She walked up to the wooden structure and stepped up onto it. However, as her right forehoof touched the wood, a voice rang through her mind.

'It's beautiful here...but not as beautiful as you.' Octavia looked around for whomever had spoken.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" A rustling behind her made her spin and she saw her fellow musicians Beauty Brass, Concerto, and Frederic.

"I told you she heard us." Concerto said, nudging Beauty.

"Yes yes, you've proven your point." Octavia was confused as they spoke.

"Did you say anything prior to stepping out from behind the trees Beauty?"

"Huh? No, of course not. We wanted to get the drop on you but you caught us. Why?"

"No reason...just thought I heard something is all."

"You've been overworking yourself writing a piece for the upcoming solos haven't you?" Octavia chuckled and nodded as Concerto began to complain.

"I can't believe Symphony Minor dropped that on us. Create a masterpiece by the end of the week? Who does he think he is?"

"The pony with our money?" Octavia quipped, causing them all to chuckle.

"While that may be true, he can't just expect us to create something high class, as he'll want, in such a short time. We should seriously consider getting a new manager." The brown musician complained.

"And who is going to have the bits to manage a whole orchestra Concerto?" Frederic asked, giving the brown pony a stern look.

"Uh...One of the Princesses?" The other musicians just shook their heads with smiles on their faces as Concerto just chuckled sheepishly. While the musicians talked, Octavia's mind wandered.

'So...if it wasn't Beauty Brass that spoke...who did? It obviously wasn't Frederic or Concerto because it was a mare's voice...'

"Hey, Octavia?"

"Huh?" The cellist snapped out of her trance and looked at the others. "Did you...did you say something?"

"I asked if you were doing anything special in a few days." Frederic said.

"Oh...I uh...I don't think so. Why?"

Frederic cleared his throat for a moment then said, "I was wondering if you'd grace me by having dinner with me on Thursday." A light blush fell upon Octavia's face. She hadn't been asked out before and for it to come now while she was having these nightmares...

"Oh I...um..." As Octavia was thinking, a series of chimes rang throughout the park, signaling that it was one in the afternoon. "Oh! I'll have to get back to you on that. I have to go see a friend."

"A friend? Who is it? Someone we know?" Beauty Brass asked, moving closer to Octavia.

"Probably not. She's a musician, but she's not like us." This made the others confused.

"What do you mean?" Concerto asked, not even trying to hide his curiosity.

"Well...she's...a unicorn." The other classical musicians immediately frowned in disapproval.

"A...unicorn you say?" Frederic said, his anger showing in his voice.

"You never told us you associated with a unicorn musician." Concerto said, dropping his joking tone.

"We swore that we would NEVER talk with unicorn musicians. You know that they're all so...so..."

"Pretentious." Frederic finished. "They all think that you have to be a unicorn to play music. We all agreed that-"

"YOU all agreed. I was actually playing that day when we were rehearsing for the Gala." They all sighed and she just turned and walked away.

"I'll pick you up at eight on Thursday." She heard Frederic say, with just the smallest amount of disdain in his voice. Octavia frowned as she heard the others whisper something as she left. The cellist simply ignored their words and continued on.

Octavia really didn't have a problem with unicorn musicians; they had to make a living as well. She herself made enough money to get by so she could really care less.

When she got to the road, she skirted around the shopping district to avoid the large multitude of ponies that were shopping or browsing. "I just hope she's awake by now." Octavia said to nopony in particular. After a thirty minute trot, she arrived at a seemingly random door on the side of a wall. "Hey, open up."

She called, knocking on the door. She kept knocking until she heard a familiar voice cry, "Hold on!" Octavia smirked as she heard her friend bumping around and cursing.

"That's what happens when you leave your house in permanent darkness!" The grey musician said, checking her hooves for dirt as she waited. Finally, the door swung open and a white unicorn cried out as the sun assaulted her eyes.

"Get in here!" She hissed, pulling Octavia into the darkness. Octavia just chuckled as the pony rubbed her eyes.

"And how are you this fine afternoon Vinyl?"

"Lovely until you made me expose myself to Celestia's sun."

"It had to happen eventually." The DJ just mumbled and sat down on a nearby chair.

"So what can I do for you this fine day Octy?" The cellist grumbled at the nickname but otherwise ignored it.

"Well...can we talk about it elsewhere? I mean, no offense but your home isn't exactly the place I want to be to talk about this stuff?"

"What's wrong with my house?" Vinyl asked, a serious look in her eyes.

"I don't know...I just...want to be somewhere open when I talk about this. Well...what I mean is..."

"You wanna go to that nice cafe, don't'cha?" The unicorn said with a smirk. Octavia just nodded and Vinyl shook her head.

"Alright, let's go." Vinyl took a step towards the door, but stopped when she saw that Octavia hadn't moved. "We goin' or not?"

"Aren't you going to grab your..."shades?"

Vinyl smirked and said, "There's a cute mare that works there and I'm gonna work my magic on her." The white pony said with a wink. Octavia rolled her eyes in amusement and followed after Vinyl Scratch as they left the DJ's place of living.

As they walked, the two talked of music and once again Vinyl insisted they do a piece together. "I keep tellin' ya Octy, we could make a name for ourselves!"

"I'm fully aware of that, but I'm just not ready to do that."

"It's just because you don't like my music, isn't it?" Vinyl said with an accusing glare as the pair arrived at the cafe known as Moon's Light. "You'd think with a name like that, they'd only be open at night." Vinyl speculated.

"You say that every time we come here." Octavia said with a laugh as the mares took their seats.

"I hope Flash Fire is working today." The unicorn said with a hopeful sigh.

"Who?"

"The mare I told you about."

"You've told me maybe two things about her."

Vinyl chuckled sheepishly and said, "Well...she's a pegasus, her body is the colour of fire, she's smokin' hot...her eyes are like pure amber...she's drop dead gorgeous...Oh! Here she comes. How's my mane? Do I look okay?"

Octavia chuckled and said, "You look fine." Seconds later, an orange pegasus came up wearing a waitress uniform.

"Hey Vinyl, hello..." The flaming waitress smiled and awaited the earth pony to present her name.

"Octavia. A pleasure to meet you after hearing so much about you Flash Fire."

The waitress grinned and said, "Vinyl, you flatterer."

The unicorn just shrugged and said, "Listen, I'm gonna use the little filly's room, so I'll have a glass of water please." With that, Vinyl got up and headed inside the building since they had opted to sit outside. Octavia stared at the waitress for a moment before grinning.

"Hey sis." The pegasus sighed and pulled a chair over.

"How'd ya know it was me?" Octavia rose an eyebrow as if to ask if she was being serious.

"Spitfire, I'm pretty sure I can tell who my own sister is. What're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be flying around aimlessly at an event somewhere?"

Spitfire laughed and said, "I would, but it's the off-season for the Wonderbolts, so I'm doing this as a way to get a little money on the side, plus stave off boredom. Plus...Soarin's getting a little...pushy about us getting into a relationship."

"Are you actually going to go out with him? He's been asking and pushing for it for quite some time now hasn't he?"

"Yea, he has, and no, I'm not. Don't get me wrong, he's nice but..."

"He's not what you're looking for?"

Spitfire nodded and said, "You got it."

The two sat in silence for a few seconds before Octavia said, "What about Vinyl? She seems to be pretty interested in you."

The Wonderbolt nodded and said, "Yea...I could see that. I mean, we have been spending a lot of time together and she does seem like a fun gal."

"She's a good girl. Though I must say, if you hurt her in any way-"

"So! What'd I miss?" The DJ said, walking up to the table.

Spitfire smiled and said, "We were just hitting it off, weren't we Ms. Octavia?" The cellist just nodded and the incognito Wonderbolt strutted back into the cafe, swinging her hips as she went. Octavia knew she was just taunting the unicorn across from her (who was trying her best to "casually" watch as the pegasus walked away).

"What'd I tell ya! Drop. Dead. Gorgeous."

Octavia chuckled and said, "She is something else, that's for sure."

Vinyl sighed happily and said, "Alright, so what's this problem you've got Octy?" The grey mare sighed and thanked Luna that the cafe was nearly deserted apart from one other couple who were out of earshot.

"I've been having these...dreams lately. For the past few months, I've had this dream where I'm in some flat field that stretches on for miles and there's only one hill. There is absolutely no sound in the darkness that covers the plains since the moon is new and all I can do is wander. However...at some point..."

Octavia paused for a moment as the details of her dreams played in her mind. "A beautiful voice fills the air. It's crystal clear and it sounds so pure I want to find out where it's coming from but I can't! Though..." The cellist once again stopped, but this time it was because Spitfire was coming back, balancing two glasses of water sitting on a tray on top of her wings.

"Here ya go ladies. You two gonna get anything to eat while you're here?"

"I'll have my usual cutie." Octavia saw the light blush flash across her sister's face and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Noted. And you?"

"I'll have...a small salad with no ranch and cherries."

"Comin' right up." The pegasus turned and headed back into the cafe.

"So...what next?" Vinyl asked, taking a quick sip of the cool water given to her. Octavia also took a sip before continuing.

"However...last night the dream changed! Instead of a new moon, it was a crescent!"

Vinyl was silent for a moment before asking, "Did I...miss something? I mean...was that ALL that changed?" Octavia gave her fellow musician wide eyes.

"Vinyl! Don't you see what that means? Something has changed in my life, allowing me to see more of my surroundings in the dream!"

"Alright, alright, I get it. Okay, so what do you think has changed?" The cellist went silent.

"That's just it...I don't know. Maybe it's because I didn't really care at first but now I actually want to know who is serenading me in my dreams." Vinyl nodded and took another drink before looking Octavia over. Normally the grey musician took a causal appearance but still managed to look refined.

However, Vinyl could see slight declines in her looks. Some parts of her inky mane were standing up (something she usually wouldn't stand), there were dark bags under her eyes, her eyes themselves were beginning to turn bloodshot. Every sign that a pony was losing sleep and sense over something in their life.

"Octavia...are you okay?"

"What? Of course I'm-"

"No, that's not what I mean. I meant...how is your life?" Octavia wanted to say that she was fine, but stopped herself.

"I..." The grey mare reflected on her life up to this point. Her early life in Ponyville, learning to play the cello, leaving Ponyville to make a name for herself in Canterlot.

However, as she replayed these events in her mind, she noted that she felt particularly sad when she remembered her departure from the small town.

"I don't know. I remember being really sad after leaving Ponyville and after that...it's kind of fuzzy. I only remember working to make a name for myself."

"Hmm...maybe you miss that pretty mare from Ponyville you were so fond of."

"What?" Octavia nearly leapt out of her seat at this mention of a mare she might have had feelings for. "Do you remember her name?"

"Sadly no. I do remember that she was really beautiful but in a different way than Flashy." The grey musician sighed and took another drink, watching the clear liquid in her cup dance around as she replaced the glass on the table.

'Vinyl said I was fond of a mare from Ponyville...Who was it?' As Octavia continued to think, Spitfire came out with Octavia's salad and some strange mix of food for Vinyl.

"Heh, great food from a cute waitress. Can't ask for anything better."

"You keep that up, and I'll show you the true meaning of flattery." Vinyl was struck speechless as Spitfire simply laughed. The waitress turned and headed back for the cafe.

"I'll be right back." Octavia got up and followed behind Spitfire. When they were out of Vinyl's sight, the musician tapped Spitfire's shoulder.

"Hmm? What's up little sis?"

"Can we talk later tonight? At my apartment?"

"Of course we can." Spitfire hugged the younger of the two and said, "I'll see yea later. Love ya."

"Love you too. Thank you." Spitfire waved the thanks away and the musician headed back out to see Vinyl stealing small pieces of her lunch. "Hey! Just what do you think you're doing?" Octavia said, startling Vinyl.

"Oh! Er...nothing?" The cellist just smiled and sat down to eat. As she was finishing, Vinyl asked, "So...did you want to talk about anything else?"

"Nothing for the moment. I'll keep you updated though. Thanks Vinyl."

"It's my pleasure my dear Octy." Octavia rolled her eyes and left bits on the table for her half of the bill. "See ya later!" The unicorn called out. The cellist waved and headed back for home. She needed to practice more for her upcoming solo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'You left what you had
Moved to a new place
You found your big break
Everyone knew your face
But who are you now?
What have you done?
Who did you leave behind
When you left home to run'

Octavia looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pony with the silken voice. She glanced up and saw that the moon was now a quarter full. "So close to a half moon...Perhaps now I can see her." The cellist said to herself as she wandered the plains.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, Octavia finally noticed something new. There was a raise in the earth, creating a small hill. The grey earth pony walked over to it and rested on top of it. "So...what now?" It was the last thing she said before exiting the realm of dreams and back into the realm of reality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Light purple eyes shot open as knocks upon wood roused Octavia from her slumber. With half open eyes, the mare looked at the clock that hung on the wall across from her. It was six in the evening. "Who...oh! Spitfire!" Octavia set her cello aside and rushed to the door. She tossed it open and saw Spitfire turning to leave.

"Geez, thought you were never gonna open up."

"Sorry...guess I fell asleep as I was practicing." The Wonderbolt laughed and walked past the cellist and into the kitchen.

"Sheesh, and you didn't even make dinner. By Celestia I have to do everything just like back in the day." Octavia rolled her eyes and followed her sister.

"Like I said, I was practicing."

"And you fell asleep, which tells me that something is seriously bothering you. You'd never fall asleep playing your cello." Octavia nodded and began to grab things from her cabinets because she knew exactly what Spitfire was going to make.

As Spitfire began to cook, she spoke. "So what's got you so riled up dear sister?" Octavia didn't answer right away, instead opting to help cook. Spitfire knew to just wait instead of trying to prod. She had learned in their childhood that Octavia was quite the little scrapper if prodded for information.

"It's just..." Octavia quickly described her dreams to her elder sister, leaving out no detail. When she finished speaking, Spitfire was serving her a bowl of warm dandelion soup along with a piece of wheat toast with melted butter on top.

"Sounds like quite the conundrum."

"I know... Plus with what Vinyl told me earlier today about the mare I was attached to...I just don't know what to think anymore." Spitfire nodded and took a small sip of her own soup.

"Perhaps you should find this mare."

"How? I have no idea what she looks like...who she is..." Spitfire was silent as she ate her food. Octavia knew that her sister was searching within the depths of her mind to find an answer. While the two were nothing alike, they were still sisters and Spitfire always made sure to watch out for Octavia, even going so far as to put a pony in the hospital for the younger sister.

It wasn't until they had finished that the pegasus spoke again. "Then wait. You said that in your dreams, the moon was becoming full and adding more light. You also said that you could hear a beautiful mare's voice. So who knows, perhaps she will appear in your dreams." Octavia nodded and sniffled as she felt a tear leave her eye. "Hey now...no need for tears my little Tavi."

Spitfire said softly as she came around the table and pulled Octavia into a hug. Octavia couldn't help herself as she threw her arms around her sister and cried. The cellist hadn't realized it, but the thought of a pony coming into her life and loving her, actually loving her, brought joy to her.

There were many times were Vinyl or Spitfire would tell her that she looked unhappy or needed somepony in her life. Naturally Octavia would disregard them, telling them that she was perfectly happy. Many thoughts ran through Octavia's mind as she sat there in her sister's arms and sobbed.

When the tears ran out and dried up, Spitfire had simply smiled softly and kissed her sister's forehead. "Don't worry Tavi, it'll all work you. You'll see."

Octavia sniffled one last time and said, "Yea...Thanks a lot Spitfire. I didn't mean to take up so much of your time." The Wonderbolt sighed and ruffled Octavia's hair.

"It's alright Tavi. It's what I do. Besides, It's not like I have anything planned." Octavia gave a small smile as she knocked her sister's hoof away to fix her hair.

"Alright...If anything new comes up, I'll let you know."

"Atta girl. Well, I'm gonna head out. Unless you need anything?" Octavia shook her head and Spitfire nodded. "Alright then. Love ya sis."

"Love you too. See ya later." With that, the pegasus hovered to the door, opened it, and flew off, pulling the door shut with her tail. The musician sighed and went back into the kitchen to clean up the mess made from dinner. After that was finished, she went back into the living room and stared at where she had been before Spitfire woke her up.

On the table in front of her, there was sheet music scattered everywhere, some blank, some filled with notes that she had drawn upon them. There were even blank papers with random notes and thoughts on them. Octavia sighed and gathered up all the paper and organized them before looking through them.

When Octavia had finished sorting through all the paper, she was irritated to say the least. She had only kept about a fourth of it all, deeming it to be worth using. The rest had gone into the trash with an angry sigh. The cellist shook her head and went into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast.

"Working all night tends to bring hunger I suppose." She mumbled as her clock struck nine. As she was pouring her cereal, Octavia glanced up at her calender. "Today's Thursday...so I have two more days before the solos..." The mare sat down and began to eat when a thought struck her. 'Thursday...I think something important was going to happen today...but what?'

Octavia shrugged and quickly finished her breakfast before heading back to her cello to begin her work. However, she didn't have her bow for five seconds before a knock came at the door. The cellist's eyebrow twitched and she went to the door to see Beauty Brass standing there, smiling strangely. "Er...hello Beauty Brass. Is there something-"

"Do you want to come walk with me?" The suddenness of the question made Octavia take a step back.

"Umm...sure? Let me get my bowtie and we can go."

"Oh, come on. Be a rebel for once in your life." The horn player said, pulling Octavia from her home and onto the street.

"Are you okay Beauty?"

"Of course! It's just that I was in the neighborhood and I happened to remember that you lived here so I figured that I'd see if you wanted to walk with me." Octavia nodded, but couldn't help but notice the strange behaviour her fellow musician was expressing.

As the mares walked, Beauty was the one who talked while Octavia mostly listened (which was the norm among the musicians.) However, there was a tone that bothered Octavia. "So...what do you think of Frederic?" Beauty Brass asked, stopping to rest on a bench.

"Eh? Oh, he's alright I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...he's kinda bossy and acts like he knows how to play every instrument with his constant complains about how things apparently don't sound right. I've never seen him play anything other than the piano and he expects us to listen to his instructions?" Beauty was silent for a moment then laughed.

"Yea..." Octavia looked away, waving at a pony who had waved at her and she missed the harsh glare that was tossed her way by the fellow musician. It of course dissolved when Octavia turned back around.

"What about you? What do you think of him?" The cellist asked.

Beauty smiled and said, "Oh...he's a nice enough stallion." Octavia nodded and stood next to the bench while an awkward silence hung over the mares.

"Well...this was fun, but I should probably get back to my cello." She expected Beauty Brass to say something due to her strange behaviour, but instead the mare was quiet and let Octavia go on her way. When the cellist had returned to her home, she sat down and decided to try and figure out the source for Beauty Brass's odd behavior later. Right now, she had music to play.

As notes danced from the strings and floated through the air, Octavia smiled. She had her eyes closed and was enthralled within her own music. She imagined herself playing in the Canterlot Symphonic Theater; the whole building silent save the melody that melted from the cello.

She saw herself sitting in the middle of the stage with a single spotlight glaring down at her as she played for an invisible audience. However, as the musician played, she heard a noise that seemed off-key. So, she adjusted and kept playing. However, the sound persisted and even began to sound familiar.

After the sound droned on without stopping, she realized what it was. Knocking. Octavia opened her eyes and groaned as the lighting of her home assaulted her eyes. "J-just a moment!" She cried out, trying not to knock over the piles of papers that she had been scribbling on when she wasn't preforming.

She set the cello down and took a step forward, nearly sending herself tumbling to the ground. She cursed as she worked the numbness from her hindlegs and dashed to the door. She swung it open and was surprised to see Frederic Horseshopin. "Frederic? What're you doing here?" The stallion's answer was laced with irritation.

"I'm here to pick you up."

"Pick me up? Whatever for?"

"Our date." Octavia's eyes widened.

"D-date? I never-"

"I asked if you would grace me for dinner tonight. You accepted." The cellist was speechless.

"I...but...you didn't say it was a date." She said, stressing that last word. His expression never changed.

"I didn't think it necessary. You should consider yourself lucky that I've taken an interest in you, especially after learning about your...unicorn friend." Octavia frowned but let it slide. "Well...go get ready. I suppose being a few minutes late will be fine." Octavia stood there for a moment, wondering if she really wanted to go with him.

However, a small voice in the back of her head that sounded a lot like a certain DJ said, 'Go for it. Chances are he's paying.' Octavia mentally groaned as she turned to grab a bowtie.

'Influencing my thoughts now Vinyl? What is the world coming to?' With a midnight blue bowtie in place, she followed Frederic out and into the night streets. "So...where exactly are we going?"

"You shall see." The grey mare sighed and rolled her eyes at the stallion's words. So, they walked in total silence the whole way with Frederic occasionally nodded to somepony they passed. Finally, they arrived at their destination. A five-star restaurant that went by the name SunLight.

As the pair walked forward, Octavia looked around. However, she closed her eyes and held her head for a moment as a sudden pain ran through her head. When she opened her eyes again, she gasped. The whole area had gone deathly quiet and frighteningly empty within the literal blink of an eye. The cellist was about to say something when she saw a single pony.

The pony moved with a quiet grace that seemed natural for her as every step was soft and fluid with absolutely no error that took many Canterlot mares years to master.

'Wow...I didn't think we'd be coming somewhere so...nice.'

'I wanted to thank you for all that you've done.' Octavia nearly screamed when she saw the pony to whom the second voice belonged. There in front of her was Octavia herself. Though, she seemed almost spectral in appearance. The ghost Octavia walked towards the pony silhouette and took her hoof within her own. 'Come my dear.' With that, the spectral ponies walked into the building.

Another flash of pain made Octavia close her eyes again. Before she opened them, she could hear the hustle and bustle of the world around her. The mare opened her eyes and saw a rather cross Frederic staring at her. "Is something that matter?"

"I...um...I've just been really tired lately. I haven't been getting much sleep since I've been working on my solo. That's why I didn't answer the door right away when you knocked."

"Hmm." He nodded and turned back around and headed for the door with Octavia beside him. When they got inside, Octavia held back a gasp as she saw her spectral self walking beside the colourless mare.

'Why does she not have colour? Is it because I can't remember her?' Her eyes followed the spectres until they disappeared behind a corner.

"Horseshopin, party of two." The stallion said to the mare behind a podium. The mare nodded and moments later, a waiter came by and led them to a booth that was somewhat separated from the main dining area. When the two were seated, they both ordered a glass of water to start.

"So how is your solo going? I'm assuming that your nearly finished if not already done." Frederic asked as soon as the waiter was gone.

"It's...going." Was all Octavia could say. Before Frederic had come to her home, she guessed that she had at least half of it composed if not a little more.

"That doesn't sound very reassuring."

"It'll be done before Saturday night." The cellist said, trying to avoid the cold eyes that were staring at her.

"You've given me no reason to believe otherwise before, so I trust you." He said, though by his tone, Octavia could've swore that he was lying. As the two sat there, sipping their water and waiting for the waiter to come back, Octavia looked around.

The interior was beautifully crafted from some type of wood that she couldn't recognize. It had a nice sheen to it from the dimmed lights. She had no idea if it did that naturally or if it was enchanted but either way, it made the room glow in a faint orange that seemed to comfort ones eyes. Then, as if to add to the tranquil glow, tapestries lined the walls depicting various sunsets that were seen around various points in Canterlot.

As the cellist was glancing around, she closed her eyes for a moment and when she re-opened them, everypony was gone and the world was silent once again. It didn't take long before she heard voices.

'Wow...it's even more beautiful on the inside. Are you sure you don't mind paying for tonight?'

'Of course not.' There was a moment of silence before the other mare spoke again.

'But...I thought you didn't make a whole lot of bits just from doing various gigs.'

'While that's true, I've been saving up for this. Besides, it's not like we get to come to Canterlot all that much.' The spectral Octavia said.

'You mean when you aren't out preforming?' Octavia knew what the mare was talking about. When she used to live in Ponyville with her family, she would go out to Canterlot and try to find places to show off her skills. However, not many ponies would take her seriously due to her young age.

She did admit, an earth pony lugging around a cello did look a little silly. Plus, not a lot of ponies thought that ponies of the earth variety could play instruments like that very well, or any instrument for that matter.

'Yea...but never mind all that. Tonight is just for us.' Octavia rubbed her eyes to see if she could get a better look at the mare opposite from her spectral doppelganger, but when she reopened her eyes, Fredric was across from her, giving her the raised eyebrow look.

"Is something the matter Octavia?"

"I...I need to go. I'm sorry Frederic, but I really need sleep." The stallion's look went from from slightly concerned to furious.

"You can't just walk out on me like this!" The pianist's shouting had attracted the attention of all the ponies in the restaurant.

"I didn't even want to come on a date with you! I mean, why invite me to a date anyways? You and the others don't even like me anyways simply because I'm not from Canterlot anyways! You just want me around so you can qualify as an ensemble of musicians." Octavia had never seen Frederic so angry before, so before he could say anything else, she ran out of the restaurant and straight for home.

When she made it back, her stomach was grumbling, she was sweating, and her throat was dry. However, instead of doing anything about it, she went upstairs and collapsed on her bed. It didn't take her long to fall into the realm of dreams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing Octavia noticed was how much brighter it was. She looked up and saw that the moon was now in it's waxing state, just before the full moon. Octavia turned to the right and made a mad dash for the hill she had discovered the last time she had slept. When she arrived, she gasped. Sitting on the hill was a mare, with her back turned to Octavia and was singing.

'Waiting for a new beginning
Waiting for a second chance
Wondering if life might be more
Than what it seems at the first glance
In the wake of your mistakes
You found yourself lost
You found fame and fortune
But at too high a cost
I still believe
There's still hope for you and I
I'll be here waiting
Singing you a lullaby'

Halfway through the verse, wings flared out from the side of the mare, showing that it was a pegasus that Octavia had been infatuated with. When the verse itself was finished, the pony turned and Octavia was able to get a glimpse of her colours.

Her coat itself was a light yellow, almost like a canary yellow while her hair was a silken pink. It was long a flowing and curled into a single point. Octavia tried to get a look at her eyes, but saw only darkness. "Can I still not remember you?" The pegasine mare said nothing, but turned back around and resung the verse. "Please, tell me your name!" Octavia ran forward towards the mare and right before she could reach out and touch her, the dream ended.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Octavia cried out, thrusting her hoof up into the air as she awoke during the action of reaching out. "No!" She brought it back down and struck her bed harshly. "I was so close!" The cellist groaned angrily and threw herself out of bed and walked over to the balcony and after resisting the urge to throw the glass doors open, stood in the cool night air to allow her temper to lower.

When she had calmed down, Octavia went back into her room and headed straight for the bathroom. As she drew herself a bath, the grey pony replayed every verse she had heard in her dreams so far. "It's like...a song about me and how I made her sad..." Octavia sighed and turned off the water, her eyes closed as she thought. "Luna forgive me...I'm so sorry..."

With her apology said to nopony as she crawled into her bathtub. She hissed as the warm water enveloped her cold body. She bathed quickly due to the loud protesting noises her belly was making, crying out for sustenance. She washed her body and cleaned her hair as quickly as she could before rinsing herself off and draining the water.

She dried her hair and took the brush downstairs with her so she could brush as she ate. When her stomach was happy and her hair brushed, she went into her living room and got to work on the last part of her solo.

When the cellist had finished she sighed happily and looked at her clock. It was three-thirty. The grey pony got off the couch and stretched. She still needed to tell both her sister and her friend about recent development in her dreams. So, she headed out and headed to the Moon's Light cafe.

When she arrived, she saw both mares she was looking for, gazing into each other's eyes. Octavia smiled and crept up on them and cleared her throat. Both the pegasus and the unicorn cried out in alarm and nearly fell to the ground. Octavia chuckled into her hoof while the two tried to figure out what had happened.

The pair turned to the earth pony and shot her glares. "What was that for?" They said in unison. The cellist shrugged and pulled a chair up to the table.

"You're in a good mood." Spitfire said, quickly noticing that the smile on her sister's face hadn't faded.

"Well...I finished my solo for the upcoming performance and I finally chewed out Frederic."

"Yea! You show that uppity pony!" Vinyl said, thrusting a hoof in the air.

Spitfire laughed and asked, "Isn't he the brown pony that plays the piano in your group and has a sour look on his face ALL the time?"

Octavia nodded and said, "Yes. But more importantly, I had another dream about the mare. Turns out that she's a pegasus." The others nodded and allowed her to continue. "I also think she's from Ponyville, but I have no idea if she's still there or not." It was here that Vinyl spoke up.

"Well why don't we head down there and find her? Wait, there's probably a TON of pegasi in Ponyville...Isn't there any other clue you got?"

"I was able to get a small glimpse of what colour she was. She has a light yellow coat with the most beautiful pink mane."

"Well that certainly narrows the list, doesn't it? Hmm...actually...the pony sounds kind of familiar..." Vinyl said, putting her hoof to her chin in thought.

"Well, I'm glad you're figuring things out, but I gotta get back to work so I'll catch you both later." The Wonderbolt in disguise got out of her chair and nuzzled Vinyl before heading into the building. The grin that the DJ wore was the biggest Octavia had ever seen.

"So you two an item?"

"Oh yea. It was so awesome. I was throwin' down some serious beats last night and as I was finishing up, she leapt out of the crowd and tackled me to the ground, saying that she wanted to hook up. I didn't even know she was there until I was on the floor and her mouth was on mine."

"Congrats to the both of you."

The unicorn chuckled and said, "Thanks Octy. So tell me, when're we gonna go hunting for this mystery mare of yours?"

"I...I'm not sure. It should be soon though."

Vinyl nodded and said, "Why not go now?"

Octavia shook her head and said, "I can't. Not with the solos so close. Do you realize what could happen if I do well? I could be set for life! I could get hired by the Princesses, or some other high-class pony to be a personal musician. I could become one of the great pony musicians of our age!"

Vinyl smiled and said, "You really want to leave a lasting impression don't'cha?"

Octavia blushed lightly and said, "Well...when you put it like that..."

The unicorn laughed and said, "Don't worry. It's all good to have a goal. Unlike me, you actually have a plan. I just play and enjoy doing it. That's all I need."

Octavia sighed and said, "That's not a bad plan. Simple, easy...pays for itself. I wish I could play like that."

"Hey, who knows? Maybe when you impress everypony at the solos, you can." The cellist smiled and looked for her sister.

"Huh...wonder where Flash Fire went." Octavia wondered aloud, using the alias in case Spitfire had yet to reveal her true name.

"Dunno. I thought she just went back inside."

Octavia shrugged and said, "Guess we'll just get our order from a different pony." So as the afternoon went by, the two musicians talked of many things and eventually, the topic of mixing their music came up again. "

C'mon! Just one song!" Octavia rubbed her temples.

"Fine, tell you what; whenever I find this mare and everything settles down, we'll do a duet."

"Yes! Wait...How long is that gonna take?"

"I have no idea." The DJ groaned loudly as the clock tower chimed six.

"Well...it's getting late. I'll talk to ya later, alright Octy?"

"Please stop calling me that."

Vinyl snickered and said, "Not a chance!" Before dashing off, leaving Octavia alone. The grey cellist rolled her eyes and left bits on the table to pay for their meal before heading home herself. When she got back, she went up to her room and sat out on her balcony, gazing at the stars until she felt the thralls of sleep call out to her.

So, the cellist took one last look at the moon and saw that it was nearly a full moon. With one last sigh, Octavia rested her head on her pillow and wondered what she would see tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as Octavia opened her eyes, she made her way over to the hill to find the mare. As she went, she noticed that the moon was now full. "Perhaps I'll finally see her tonight." She said to herself. When she arrived, a new verse was being sung and Octavia just listened.

'Octavia
Can't you see the truth?
Can't you hear
The angels singing to you
They're crying for
The open door
You've shut between you and I
I still care for you
Look back to what you once knew
Listen to this lullaby'

The pegasus turned and though Octavia couldn't remember the colour of her eyes, she saw bright tears streaming down her face. The cellist reached out and said, "I'm so sorry...Please, tell me your name."

The pegasus sniffled and said, "How can I tell you that if you can't remember it?" Octavia lowered her gaze to the grass. "

Why can't I remember you? Why can't I remember a mare whole would love me?" The pegasus was silent. "Please...give me some kind of clue."

"I will wait for you for one more night. After that...it will have been too long, even for me to wait for you." Octavia wanted to say something but the mare disappeared, the landscape became complete darkness and Octavia screamed as she felt herself falling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once again, Octavia awoke in a cold sweat, her breathing irregular and her body shivering. The cellist threw the blanket off of her and rolled off the bed. It was nine-fifteen in the morning. "Ugh...why can't I remember? What could've happened that would've made me forget her?"

She asked herself as she left her room to bathe. As she laid in the warm water, a million thoughts ran through her head. The upcoming concert, the mare in her dreams, what she would do with her life after she was recognized in the solos...Octavia sighed and lowered her head under the water. 'Hmm...I should go swimming when it's warmer...'

Her thoughts began to wander as she lay submerged in her tub. When she brought her head back up, she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "Guess I should go practice before tonight." With that, the cellist exited the tub, drained the water, and dried herself off.

However, when she put her towel back onto the rack, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her eyes were mildly bloodshot, her mane was sticking up in places and it was easy to see that she was carrying a lot of stress within her. Octavia took another deep breath and headed downstairs to practice (after she ate of course).

It was time. Octavia had brushed her mane, tail, and coat to a silken sheen that seemed to capture the light and hold it, giving her an almost ethereal glow. She had also chosen her best bowtie for this performance; her trademarked lavender bow with the white tie. The cellist took a few moments of silence and deep breathing before grabbing her cello and headed to the theatre.

The trek was a silent one as she walked the lone cobblestone road and collected her thoughts. As she got closer to her destination, sound blossomed from behind the various buildings that blocked her view of the theatre.

Instead of heading directly towards it, Octavia drifted around towards the backstage entrance where her fellow musicians were waiting, none of which looked entirely happy to see her. Frederic regarded her like he may regard a piece of rubbish, Beauty looked at her with eyes of rage, and Concerto really had no readable emotion on his face as he smoked a cigarette.

"Well, if it isn't the cellist. Late as usual." Beauty sneered.

'What did I do to her to upset her?' Octavia wondered as she kept herself at a distance. Then, it became quite clear to her. Beauty Brass stepped a bit closer to the pianist and nuzzled his neck. 'Ahh. She's jealous that he likes me over her.' The cellist let herself smile at the small "victory".

It wasn't long after Concerto snuffed out his cigarette that a dark green stallion poked his head out and with a gruff voice said, "Alright you four. Get inside and get ready." They all followed in after him and got their instruments set up (with the exception of the piano). While the group was waiting to begin, Octavia closed her eyes.

She could hear the muffled sounds of the hundreds of ponies on the other side of the large red curtains as they awaited the beginning of the performance. While the other three chatted and awaited the signal to get ready, Octavia blocked out all sound and tuned her cello. When she had finished, they were given the signal to get ready.

So, Octavia just kept her eyes closed and waited. She heard the squeak of the curtains as they were pulled aside to reveal the musicians to the large crowd as they all hushed themselves to "hear" the music. The grey earth pony knew that not a lot of the ponies here actually listened to their music, but came to keep a good social appearance.

When the squeaking stopped, the performance began. Octavia didn't really care much for the group performances and as such, tended to zone out while she played and allowed her mind to wander. She knew she wouldn't miss a note simply because she had practiced so much.

Following the six songs they played as a group, an intermission allowed them to take a break. So, they all headed outside to stand around to cool off after being under the large spotlights. Concerto immediately had a cigarette in his mouth while Beauty Brass and Frederic mumbled to each other.

Octavia sighed heavily and looked up to the sky and saw the moon. However, she saw a blur move across the moon and moments later, Spitfire was diving towards them. "Octavia! I found out who she is! We gotta go now!"

"She can't go. Our solos are coming up next."

"Stuff it Horeshoepin, this is important." Spitfire snapped.

"I...If I miss the solo...I may never get another chance like this again..." Octavia said, looking down at the ground.

"You can't be serious! Yea you may become famous, but at what cost! You're about to reconnect with your long lost love and all you can think about is fame!" Octavia bit her bottom lip and looked back and forth between her sister and the musicians as her mind was made up.

Frederic, Beauty, and Concerto all waited behind a separate curtain as they awaited the rising of the curtain. For some reason, Symphony Minor wanted the other musicians to stand near while the fourth musician played.

"Now introducing...the cellist Octavia!" The curtains rose and everypony gasped. Instead of a mare standing with her cello in the middle of the stage, there was emptiness.

"Drop me off at home real quick!" Octavia said, holding on tightly as her sister flew through the air.

"Why?"

"Do you really want to carry me AND my cello all the way to Ponyville."

There was silence, then "Good point." So the Wonderbolt banked and headed towards Octavia's home. Many ponies would've been frightened to death at being carried at high speeds through the air, but Spitfire frequently took Octavia flying to both spend time with her younger sister, and to train.

When they arrived, Octavia dropped the last six feet. "You got three minutes!" Spitfire called out as her musically inclined sister ran inside. Octavia rushed upstairs and dashed into her room, sending papers from her desk flying all over the place. The cellist growled in irritation and after propping the cello case against the wall, quickly moved to gather up the papers.

However, her body froze when she came across a particular parchment.

'Dear...
I'm sorry to have left so suddenly but nopony but you and Spitfire would take me seriously. I'm also sorry that it's taken a few months to write to you...it's been really hectic here in Canterlot for me. Plus I've only just now been able to afford a few parchements to actually send you a letter...it's been hard being so far away from home and doing nothing but focusing...I feel like I've been...blacking out. Like I've been going small periods of time without remembering...I don't know...perhaps becoming famous isn't what I thought it would be. But it's too late now, I must-'

The letter ended there. Things started to become clear now. She had left Ponyville because nopony would take her seriously or pay her for performing, so she had ran away from home with all the bits she had saved and come to Canterlot to try and make a name for herself to show all the ponies that had laughed at her that she could become a great musician despite not having access to magic.

That was all that she had on her mind; becoming famous. And after so long, everything else just faded. She lost track of time and even her life in her quest for fame. Everything just became irrelevant and obviously even her initial goal was lost on her. It was all about becoming famous.
Octavia felt tears in her eyes, but wiped them away before they could fall. She replaced the letter and wondered why it hadn't been addressed to anypony. It was obvious who it was for, but there was no name. Before she could ponder it any longer, a rapping on her balcony door startled her.

"Hey! C'mon!" Octavia nodded tossed open the doors and grabbed onto Spitfire's front hooves and the pegasus only needed three flaps of her powerful wings before they were airborne and headed down to Ponyville.

As the hovered on the outskirts of town, Octavia could tell Spitfire was exhausted. "Go lower."

"But we need the altitude to find her."

"It's night time Spitfire. Go lower." The pegasus sighed and got lower to the ground. When she was low enough, Octavia let go and dropped the last eight feet. She hit the ground and rolled, ignoring the pain lancing through her legs as she took off running towards the hill.

As she ran, she remembered where she had seen the hill; it was where she first met the pegasus mare when she was practicing one night.

"Where are you going?" Spitfire had landed now and was trying to keep up, but Octavia knew that her older sister was tired.

"To find my love! I'll meet you back home!" The cellist shouted over her shoulder. She focused only on running as quickly as she could for fear that her dream would come true and the mare would disappear after this night. She frantically looked around as she went.

Finally, it was the sweet sound of the mare's voice that made her stop. Octavia looked to the right and saw her off in the distance. "HEY!" She ran as fast as she could towards the mare. As she ran, she racked her brain for the mare's name. "Wait! Hey!"

When she got closer, the mare turned and Octavia saw the most beautiful teal eyes looking back at her and it was then that the pegasi's name rang clear in her mind. "Fluttershy! Wait!" Wings flared out behind Fluttershy as she flew towards Octavia and when they met, Octavia ended up on her back as she hugged Fluttershy tightly as tears flowed freely from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Fluttershy...I'm so sorry." Fluttershy cried as well, but comforted the stressed cellist.
"Shh...It's okay Octavia...it's all going to be okay." Octavia just kept apologizing as she cried and Fluttershy just kept whispering sweet words as tears flowed from her eyes. The two laid their under the light of the full moon for hours before they finally got up and headed to Fluttershy's home.

When they arrived, they sat upon the couch in complete silence. Octavia could tell Fluttershy wanted an explanation but was too shy to actually ask bluntly. The earth pony wasn't even sure she could explain properly. She was still trying to organize things herself.

"Fluttershy...I can't even begin to explain how sorry I am. I thought it wouldn't take me so long and I meant to write...but I guess I just lost track of everything in my stupid pursuit. If I could, I would go back and smack some sense into myself for leaving you..." Fluttershy was silent as the cellist pleaded her case.

"I never meant to make you wait this long...I mean...how could I have left the mare I love..."

Fluttershy gasped and asked, "So...you do love me?" Octavia nodded.

"I wish I would've told you before I left. I honestly wanted to and was building up to it...but the ridicule and belittlement got to me...I should've just listened to you and Spitfire and-" Octavia was silenced by a hoof tenderly pressing on her mouth.

"It's okay...I mean, all my friends told me to give up on you, that you were lost to the sophistication of Canterlot, but I never lost faith. I even learned that you were at the Grand Galloping Gala...if I wouldn't have been so fixated on the animals, I would've came and seen you."

Octavia sighed and nuzzled the pegasus and smiled when she felt a wing wrap around her. "Tell me about what you've been doing this past year." Fluttershy requested, softly stroking the cellist's mane. So, Octavia began to retell her life in Canterlot from when she arrived to the current point.

When she had finished, Celestia's sun was peaking out over the horizon and both mares were yawning. "C'mon..." Fluttershy slid off the couch and Octavia just followed, her eyes barely able to stay open as she followed the yellow mare upstairs and into a bed.

"Hey Fluttershy?" Octavia asked after the were both comfortably resting in each others arms under the blanket.

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." The two leaned forward and shared a soft and tender kiss. A thought passed through Octavia's mind as sleep crept closer and closer.

'Our first kiss...' Then, she passed out.

A Week Later

When Octavia had woken up that night she found Fluttershy, she panicked when the mare wasn't with her. Though the earth pony's fears were unfounded when she found the pegasus helping an animal. The two had spent the day together, but eventually Octavia told her she needed to go back to Canterlot to inform her sister and friend about what had happened and naturally, Fluttershy offered to go with her.

So, the two took the first train they could catch back to the capital. When they arrived at Octavia's home, Spitfire all but tackled her younger sister to the ground and demanded to know what happened with Vinyl right beside her. Octavia had brushed them off and led them all into their home where Spitfire had gotten reacquainted with Fluttershy and Vinyl had got to meet her.

When the day had ended, Fluttershy spent the night in Octavia's home. When the cellist asked about Fluttershy's animals, the pegasus smiled and explained that a lot of animals didn't really come to her home anymore so she could afford a few days away. So, over the course of the week, the two mares had gotten reacquainted and made up for all the time they had lost by walking around Canterlot and going on dates.

Finally, it had taken an angry letter from Frederic and Symphony Minor to break Octavia's happiness. "I've...I've been kicked from the group...There's no way I can afford to live here now since my income is going to dry out..." Octavia could feel panic begin to bubble up in her chest.

"Don't worry love. I'm sure we'll figure something out." Octavia sighed happily as she felt her lover's hoof wrap around her shoulder. The musician turned and took Fluttershy's lips in hers. The two had discovered that one of the best things about being together again was the contact.

While the two had yet to...become physically intimate with each other, they two reveled in the close contact they were sharing; hugging, cuddling, and the occasional kiss. While they wanted to continue the kiss, they were broken apart by a knock on Octavia's door.

The pegasus put a quick kiss on Octavia's cheek and went to open the door. "Hello Spitfire."

"Heya Shy. Is my sis up?"

"Of course. Chances are I woke up before you did dear sister. Now, how can I help you?"

The Wonderbolt faked a look of hurt and said, "You wound me Tavi. Not even going to offer me tea or some kind of beverage? I did walk all the way here." Fluttershy giggled at the elder mare's antics while Octavia just rolled her eyes with a smile. "I kid. In all fair seriousness though, I did want to tell you something."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

Spitfire grinned and said, "How would you...like to play for the Princesses?" Octavia's eyes widened and she resisted the urge to squee (a habit she had picked up from her timid lover).

"More than anything! Wait...how'd you manage an audience with the Princesses?"

Spitfire laughed and said, "Umm...captain of the Wonderbolts; the personal flight team for both Princess Celestia AND Princess Luna?" Octavia stood there, resisting the urge to let her jaw drop.

"And you just NOW think to bring that up?!" Fluttershy held the angry cellist back as she swung at her older sister.

"Hey now, I can forget things to. I mean, you forgot some pretty important things if I remember right."

Octavia sighed and said, "Fair enough...when I can preform for them." A new voice spoke, surprising them all.

"Right now, if that's alright." The three mares looked out the door and saw Celestia and Luna standing outside Octavia's home.

"P-Princesses!" Octavia and Fluttershy bowed while Spitfire nodded her head.

"Heya ladies." Luna chuckled and said, "And a glorious day to you as well Spitfire. Might we come in?"

"Of course! Please, make yourselves comfortable!" The alicorns walked in and sat on the couches while Octavia was having a small panic attack in the hallway.

"Love, it's okay. You played for tons of prestigious ponies."

"But these are the Princesses Fluttershy! What if I mess up? What if I-" A kiss stopped Octavia's panic-rant and it allowed her to relax.

Fluttershy pulled away and said, "You'll do fine. Have a little faith in your talents. I know I do." Octavia smiled and nodded. Fluttershy headed in and took a seat next to the Princess of the Night and awaited Octavia.

"Okay...let's do this." Octavia pulled her cello out of it's case and set it up and quickly tuned it. She took a deep breath and began to play.

Author's Note

Finally! Ahem, anyways...Sorry I've been not...doing anything on here? I've been working on this and my Scootaloo X Fluttershy (which I found a new person to make a cover picture so maybe that'll be on here soon ^^)

But um...as I said in the description, this song was inspired by the Aviator's song Lullaby. If you haven't heard it before now, go listen to it. It's...amazing. Like...I dunno, it's just very emotional and stuff...(How nifty would it be if the guy who sang for the Aviators actually READ this? O.o That'd be amazing...If he is...Love your work)

Anyways! Hope you all enjoy it and I apologize for any errors. Lemme know about 'em and I'll get around to fixing them...eventually :3

Also...um...sorry about making it so long for a one chapter story, but I wanted to do it at least....once so...yea...

With that, I'm out. Catch you ponies later!