//------------------------------//
// Bagged Lunch 
// Story: The Composer 
// by Smug Anime Girl 
//------------------------------//

Not long after Schuberry had been adopted, Celestia and Luna both decided that the little pegasus should immediately begin schooling. It was already a month since school had started in Silver Shoals, and Luna, ever the worrywart, spent the night leading up to her first day pacing and listing all the things that could go wrong.

"Schuberry will be fine." Celestia had said. "There's no reason to be so worried."

"How do you know that?" Luna asked, fluttering her wings in agitation. "A thousand evils could turn Schuberry's first day into an utter disaster! How do you know the other foals will accept her? Maybe she'll hate school!"

Celestia didn't say anything after that and wrote her sister off as a lost cause. And so, the next day, Luna found herself perched up on a tree looking into Schuberry's classroom with a perception blocking spell cast on herself. The teacher was introducing Schuberry to the class.

"Now, children, do you know what mute means?" The white mare asked in a sing song tone.

A pink unicorn raised her hoof. "It means she doesn't know how to speak!"

"Not quite, Luster Dawn, but you're very close." The teacher explained. "She's unable to speak. I'm sure everypony will be nice to her, right class?"

"Yes, Missus Mentor!" The class chimed.

A donkey rasied his hoof. "Were did you come from, Schuberry?"

'Canterlot' Schuberry slowly wrote out on the green chalkboard. The students let out an amazed 'oooh' at her cutie mark when she turned around.

"Alright, Schuberry." Mentor pointed at a seat next to Luster. "You can sit there. Now, let's review our alphabet...A is for Apple, B is for..."

The rest of the morning was spent on math (where Luster Dawn proudly showed off her ability to do hundredths place addition) and gym. The donkey (who had introduced himself to Schuberry as Hayseed) ended up on the same dodgeball team as her, and despite being outnumbered three to one, they managed to pull a win.

Luna kept a close eye on the little group of foals cheering for the two. Schuberry's popularity pleased the alicorn to no end, and she rolled on her back and kicked her hooves in the air.

After lunch, the children were sent down to the music room in single file line and kazoos were handed out. Luna jumped up and down giddly, expecting Schuberry to perform some kind of melodical miracle, but she stubbornly played along with the other foals, refusing to stand out. Luna's initial excitement died away and she found herself twirling her hair.

There was a solo from one of the other students, and Luna groaned. The foal puffed his cheecks and grew red from the exertion, putting way too much effort into the little plastic instrument. It was painful to watch, and Luna wanted to drop her cloak right there and put Schuberry front and center. She let out a disdainful snort.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully, and soon, Luna dropped the spell and doubled back around the school. She waited on the field with the other parents there to collect their colts and fillies. Schuberry was jostled a little as she came out, happily listening to her friends talk about setting up a playdate at some point. Seeing Luna, the little pegasus waved.

Luster Dawn's eyes widened. "Your mom is LUNA?!"

Schuberry bashfully patted the unicorn, trying to stop drawing attention. Luna approached them and smiled. "Schuberry, do you wanna play with your friends?"

'i want play with at home' She wrote.

Luna tilted her head at this. "I'm not sure if our home is even that fun..."

"I live right near there anyways." Luster added on. "Pleeeeaaaaase..."

Luna looked at their expectant faces and sighed. "Alright, if you really want to. Are your parents alright with this?"

"Ah, I need to go home." Hayseed smiled sadly. "Maybe next time. See ya, Schuberry!"

"Bye, Hayseed. Miss Luna, Missus Mentor can let them know." Luster jumped up and down excitedly. "C'mon, c'mon! Schuberry, you've gotta show me your dolls..."





At home, Luster forgot all about toys when she saw the massive grand piano. It's fall board and lid were both closed, and the bench was neatly tucked below. "Schuberry, do you know how to play that?" Seeing her nod, Luster stepped up to it. "Can I?"

Schuberry raised a hoof, indicating it was ok. Luna helped open the lid, and the unicorn climbed onto the bench. She played a very slow, rickety cover of chopsticks, and looked back to the two ponies.

'nice。do you know other song'

"Heh....not really." Luster scratched her mane. "Can you play anything?"

Luna's ears perked up. 'It's showtime.'

Schuberry got up and Luster moved aside, watching the pegasus' hooves move back and forth, playing a very simple tune. It was slightly above Luster's level, but not particularly extravagant or complicated. Luna almost let out a sigh of exasperation; Schuberry seemed to be purposely hiding her true skill.

When the song ended, Luna leaned forward and whispered into the pegasus' ear. "Why don't you play something more...complicated?"

'mom wont like' Schuberry scribbled.

"Why not?" Luna asked. She noticed Schuberry calling Celestia 'Mom' and squinted her eyes.

'dad never like when i play too much when other here'

"Well, it's fine by me. You don't need to hold back at all." Seeing her apprehension, Luna gave Schuberry an encouraging pat. "Go on."

Luster dug through some of the piano sheet music and found an old booklet titled 'Hoofel's March For Piano.' After blowing off the dust, she handed it to Schuberry, who quickly read through it. "How abut this? Mom used to play this for me on the phonograph." Luster said as she got back on the bench next to Schuberry.

'ok' Schuberry put the sheet music on the music rack. She eyed the paper with distrustful eyes, as if it would run away if she didn't look hard enough. Her hooves hovered in the air as she hesitated, but she was interrupted by the front door opening.

Celestia strolled in, followed by Mayor Mare. Luna smiled. "Ah, sister! And Mayor Mare!"

"Pri-Luna, always a pleasure." She shook the dark blue alicorn's hoof. "Luster Dawn, we need to go now."

"Oh come on!" The little unicorn threw her hooves up in the air. "I wanna watch Schuberry play!"

Mayor Mare blinked. "You can listen some other time. We have some things to do."

"I wanna learn again." Luster insisted. "I wanna learn to play that!"

"Well, Frederic Horseshoepin said he isn't going to teach you anymore." The earth mare pointed out.

Schuberry, who saw Celestia, visibly relaxed and started playing the upbeat piece.

"I can ask Schuberry." Luster turned to the still-playing Schuberry. "You'll teach me, won't you?"

Schuberry nodded.

"Well, I hope you know what you're getting into." Mayor Mare sighed. She reached out to grab her daughter, but as she listened to Schuberry, she thought better of it and sat down. Celestia began chopping vegetables in the background, gently humming along.

"Mayor, would you like to stay for dinner?" Celestia called out.

"Oh, uh..." She answered distracted. "Uh, sure."

When Schuberry finished with her usual bravado, Luster looked up at her mom. "See? I want to do that."

"Dinner's almost ready~!" Celestia called.

"Oh my, we really must be going now." Mayor Mare stood up.

"But mom, you said we could stay!" Luster hugged a forehoof, jumping up and down.

Luna leaned in. "To be fair, you did."

A very confused Mayor Mare found herself lead over to the table, where Schuberry and Luster joined them and began to hold their own conversation. "Alright fine, we can stay. But we need to go right after."

"So you're retiring as well?" Celestia pushed some mac and cheese over to the other side.

"Ah, yes, well it's to take care of Luster Dawn and her grandmother better. I think I can afford to take a break." Mayor Mare laughed. "But you know all about that. Government is draining enough at a town level, I can't imagine what it would be like in a national level."

"Ah, well, it won't hold a candle to parenthood." Celestia laughed.

Luna paid more attention to the fillies' conversation. Schuberry acidentally pushed a note off the table, and Luna snuck a look at it. Things like  'Am I fitting in well?' and  'I want something like what mom and Luna have' were written on the paper.

Once the food had been placed in the ponies' tummies and the dishes had been moved near the sink, Mayor Mare and Luster Dawn left (the earth pony apologizing profusely for not helping with the dishes), leaving the family to tidy up the house. Schuberry put the sheet music on the top of the pile of booklets.

"Sister, I have something to tell you." Luna said, breaking through the silence.

"Yes?" Celestia looked up from the flooded sink. "Luna?"

"I'm thinking." Luna sighed. "You know how I was watching her today? She wouldn't show off in music class-"

"Was she supposed to?" Celestia hummed.

"No but-" Luna frowned. Celestia was right. Showing off like that only made her look arrogant. What did that say about herself? Her thoughts drifted to her great constellations she once formed above the skies of Equestria. Luna spent weeks, sometimes months planning out star patterns, and when she perceived them to be underappreciated, she ended up being unreasonably upset. Her self-evaluation turned up some things she found deeply troubling about herself, so she threw out a slightly valid excuse. "I noticed that she's been less willing to play when you're not around."

"That so?" Celestia dunked a dish into the murky waters of Wash Basin Ocean. "Do you think that's a problem?"

"I do." Luna grabbed the dish and dried it off. After putting it down, she looked back at Schuberry, who was lounging on a couch. She regretted starting the conversation, and she regretted lying even more. And yet, she was always so terrified of talking about her problems that she wore a fake smile and acted as if nothing was wrong.

Part of it was Celestia's fault for not noticing it-Luna caught herself trying to shift the blame and attention away from the problem once again. How was anypony supposed to notice if Luna never cried for help?

Her thoughts invariably drifted to the Mare on the Moon. It began because she was jealous of Celestia's popularity. Perhaps Luna would have been better received had she gone to the effort of being social instead of wallowing in self-doubt. She suddenly realized she was doing the same at that moment.

Celestia poked Luna with the plate. "Hey, are you ok?"

"Of course I am." Luna turned back around and kept on drying, avoiding eye contact. "Just worried for Schuberry."

"Still?" Celestia shook her head in disbelief. "I saw the notes she was writing to Luster Dawn. If you're concerned that she likes me more than you, it's not true. As a matter of fact, she'll probably learn a great deal more from you than from me."

Luna didn't say anything back, silently cleaning the dishes.





"This is a matter of principle, sir." Andante paced. "Ah, the sort of thing you used to tell me what politics was about."

"What..sort of principle?" Prince Blueblood asked from behind his desk. The two were in an office, presumably the Prince's with an assistant off to the side.

"You're taking money away from the arts and putting it in frivolous things such as Bocce ball." Andante sat down as he spoke. "Bocce ball is strictly commercial. Why would you need to subsidize Bocce ball if it runs out of money?"

"Why not?"

"Why not?" Andante's tone went up a pitch.

"Yes, why not." Blueblood made clear his question. "Why is there no difference between subsidizing art and Bocce ball other than the obviously greater popularity of the latter?"

"Art is our cultural heritage, it must be preserved at all costs!" Andante argued.

"For whom? For ponies like you! The educated middle to upper middle class! Why should the rest of the country foot the bill of such a niche group of ponies' pleasures?" Blueblood brought his hooves together. "Orchestra, theater, opera, ballet?" Each word grew more condescending. "You're just ripping everypony else off."

"Prince!" Andante protested. "How could you say such a thing? This is about education, perserving the great moments of our civilization! Have you not noticed?"

"Don't patronize me, Andante. I belive in education too." Blueblood groaned. "May I remind you that I'm a graduate of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?"

"Well I'm glad to hear that even the CSGU isn't totally opposed to education." Andante said sarcastically.

"Sport is education too!" The Prince seemed completely exasperated at this point.

"We have classes on the birds and the bees, shall we subsidize that too?" Andante grinned. He seemed rather proud of his point.

"Oh could we?" The assistant asked. The two stallions looked at her with amazed expressions.

"We ought to subsidize based on popular demand. It caters to the needs of the many." Blueblood pointed out.

"What would happen to the Royal Opera House on that basis then, hmm? The great forum of our culture!" Andante sputtered.

A predatory smile ran across Blueblood's smile. "Thank you for bringing that up. Now tell me, as not only a composer but a violinist and a conductor, what do they do in the Royal Opera House? Dragon operas and hippogriff comedies and changeling tragedies. Certainly not our culture-why should we subsidize the cultures of nations who have invaded us in the past?"

Andante bit his lower lip. "Our partners in friendship, Prince."

"The Royal Opera House generates enough revenue every year to keep a small town like Ponyville afloat for three years financially. The audience is always big business owners; booked full by shipping companies and sellouts and ponies like you."

"Prince, this is very appalling. It's savagery and barbarism. A servant of the crown saying these things..." He shook his head in disbelief. "It-it-it's the end of ponykind! Art needs subsidy to survive!"

Blueblood couldn't help but laugh at this. "Did Hoofel receive subsidy? What about movies? Movies are fun and educational. The only reason we don't subsidize movies is because ponies like you prefer opera. We should be encouraging the growth of what the average pony sees, causing growth of what is happening now."

"It's commercial." Andante slapped the table. He looked at his watch. "If you'll excuse me, I have an appointment."

"Where are you going? You have another half hour booked." Blueblood looked at the other stallion funny.

"Oh, nowhere in particular."

"We must talk this through." Blueblood insisted.

"I can't, I must get dres-I-" Andante realized his mistake.

"Dressed?" Blueblood pounced. "Where are you going?"

Andante wasn't amused. "If you must know, I'm headed to the Royal Opera House."

Blueblood's smug smile followed him out of the room.