Octavia slowly brought her bow across her cello, playing a somber melody for the small gathering. She may have been the Court Musician, but she still enjoyed these impromptu performances she gave every so often at small cafes and otherwise holes in the wall that dotted Canterlot’s streets.
As she finished her piece, there was a small round of applause. The cellist bowed, thanking them for their time and their ears as she went back to her table to enjoy some coffee, which was the reason she came to this cafe in the first place.
As she drunk deeply from the cup, she noticed that one of the ponies who had been listening had approached her table. She was a pegasus mare, her fur was a bright shiny white, with a long mane of pink. She wore a simple red dress, which covered her cutie mark, and a single saddlebag which sat upon her back.
“Um....you are Octavia Philharmonica, correct?” the mare spoke, a regal air about her voice, which did little to hide the nervousness in her voice.
The court musician was no stranger to fans coming to talk to her. “I am. To what do I owe the pleasure?” A luminescent red blush immediately came to mare cheeks. The mare reached into her bag, pulling out something Octavia recognized immediately.
It was a record, stating a simple title. “The Symphony of Sun and Moon” as performed by the Court Musician of Canterlot, Octavia Philharmonica. The mare also pulled out a quill and some ink.
“C...could you sign this please?” She said, still attempting to maintain her regal air, the blush in her cheeks deepening.
Octavia nodded, and prepared to sign the record, but then asked. “To whom should I make this out to?”
The mare gulped, stuttering out a very quick “S-Sunny Days Miss Philharmonica.”
Octavia felt a moment of sympathy for her fan, to have such an unfortunate name, especially considering more recent events. After signing it, the mare muttered a short thank you, and began to walk off. But stopped when Octavia spoke.
“Would you care to join me for a drink? I’d be interested in hearing what you thought of the song.”
The mare’s eyes darted around nervously before wordlessly taking a seat in the cushion across from Octavia. She swallowed deeply, her nerves obviously failing her, as she spoke slowly. “It...is a very beautiful song. It....reminds me of a happier time of my life...And when I first heard it, I knew I wanted to meet the musician who put together such a masterpiece...and as I listened to your performance here, I knew that you were as great as I thought you would be...” As she spoke, her blush continued to invade her cheeks, becoming ever deeper whenever the mare’s eyes happened to meet those of the court musician. “...I especially loved the last part...if one listened to it, you would think my sister seemed sad for what she did.....”
Two sets of eyes suddenly grew wide. One mare was surprised at what came from her mouth, and the other surprised at what she had heard. Both of them stared for a second.
Than Octavia, very slowly, very deliberately, taking care to not make any sudden movements, stood up, walked around the table, and whispered very quietly into her supposed fan’s ear. “...are you....” Octavia wanted to say more. Wanted ask many things. Wanted to not sound like a scared little filly as she spoke. But despite her show of confidence in her body language, she could not shake her fear.
The pegasus mare turned to Octavia, a smirk coming to her face as she became aware of the fear she was inspiring.. “I shall be taking my leave soon. If you value the safety of the other ponies in this club and in the surrounding block, you will follow.” the regal yet timid voice that had come from the mare before was now replaced with a voice that was no less regal, but now had a power to it that shook Octavia to her core. “Just do as I say and you have my word as Celestia, Queen of Equestria, that I will not bring harm to anypony.”
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Octavia had followed Corona as she left. She had followed as Corona lead her through the streets of Canterlot, eventually leaving the city to be amongst the wilderness that surrounded the city, eventually coming to a small forest which, in her current state, Octavia could not recall the name of. It was in the center of that forest that her captor came to a stop.
“It is so nice of you to join me.” Corona spoke, shedding the form of the pegasus mare she had worn the entire time. Her form grew to nearly triple it’s size, her hair turned a mixture of red and orange which looked like the fires of Tartarus itself, and a grand horn grew from her forehead. Octavia visibly shook and began to instinctually back away. “I did not give you permission to back away.” Corona stated, causing Octavia to stop.
Octavia found the courage to speak. “wh...what do you want with me?”
Corona considered this for a moment. “I wish for you to play the symphony. I did not lie. I truly did enjoy it. And I wish to hear it performed by the greatest musician in Canterlot.”
Octavia shakily brought forth her cello, in a way thankful to finally have its burden off of her back, brought her bow to the cello’s strings, and thought to herself. “....it’s just like any other performance. All you need to do is play....and pray to Luna that you don’t die.....”
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Octavia, sweating, fatigued, and still more frightened than she had ever been in her life before, played the final note of the symphony. Octavia had kept her eyes closed the entire time, too afraid to see if there was a chance that Corona was....displeased with her performance.
It was after a few seconds that Octavia began to wonder why it was silent. “...why isn’t she saying anything? Why isn’t she moving?....what is she going to do to me....?”
Octavia’s keen hearing suddenly became aware of Corona’s hoofsteps slowly approaching her. Octavia froze, her mind running through all manner of horrible things that could happen to her.
It was only when she felt a powerful kiss upon her lips that she dared to open her eyes, only to meet the eyes of the Tyrant Sun, which had an unusual look to them. Unlike the eyes she had seen when her true form was first revealed, her eyes had in them a look of....love.
Corona broke the kiss. “...I did not lie. When I heard you perform, I knew you were a great musician....no, a wonderful mare....” Corona’s lips met Octavia’s once again.
...wh...what is this..... Octavia thought to herself as the kiss went on, unsure of how she should react, or even feel, about the whole incredulous situation she found herself in.
Once again the kiss was broken. “...I can give you whatever you want. If you come with me, you will never again have to want or need for anything ever again. You will be free to perform to your heart’s desire. What sayeth thou?”
Several different answers came to Octavia’s head. She opened her mouth to answer, but found herself cut off by a loud noise, sounding much like thunder, coming from the direction of Canterlot. And Octavia noticed that Corona seemed to responding to the noise as well, her eyes growing wide with alarm.
Corona gave Octavia one last kiss. “It appears our time has been cut short. I shall return some other time to hear your answer. Fare thee well.” And with that, a powerful yellow glow, as bright as sun, came from Corona’s horn, eventually enveloping Corona’s whole body. And Corona disappeared without a trace, leaving the very tired and very confused musician in the center of the forest. A few seconds later, with a final crash of thunder, Princess Luna landed in the clearing, looking ready to fight.
Luna looked around the clearing, clearly expecting to see trouble. Eventually, Luna, sighed, half relieved, half disappointed. Luna approached Octavia. “....are you ok?”
And Octavia chose that moment to finally do what her sanity had wanted her to do and faint.
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Octavia woke up in her room in the palace of Canterlot shortly before sunset. Octavia was thankful that she was safe. As Octavia took in her surroundings, she noted a small note left upon her end table.
Dear Octavia,
I am sorry that we were unable to rescue you sooner. I can only express relief that you are unhurt, a fact which the doctors who examined you after you fainted reassured me of. I insist that you take the next few nights off. I hope that, when you are ready, we may discuss what happened today, though I will not force you. My only wish is that you are able to recover from what nopony should have to endure.
Luna
Octavia read the note, relieved that she truly was safe from that monster. But at the same time, as she watched the setting sun, she could not get the experience out of her head, playing through it over and over again. That someone as horrible as Corona could be so....moved by music.
Octavia continued to stare at the setting sun, and when it finally went below the horizon, and the moon began its ascent, Octavia felt something deep down in her soul. A sense of...longing. And as much as Octavia didn’t want to think about it, she wondered when Corona would return to hear Octavia’s answer.
And how she would answer.
Author's Note
I REGRET NOTHING!
Also, thanks to GrassandClouds2 for helping.