//------------------------------// // Another Medium // Story: The Composer // by Smug Anime Girl //------------------------------// “She’s not okay.” Hayseed muttered to Luster. They were in class, and Miss Mentor was writing several fraction addition problems on the chalkboard. The clicking masked the conversation. “Schuberry hasn’t said-I mean, written anything to us for three days.” “She’s not obligated to.” Luster looked like she smelled something foul. “She'll write when she wants to.” “That’s just the thing, I don’t think she will.” Hayseed said more urgently. “It’s up to us to cheer her up.” “I need to do work.” Luster tried to end the conversation. Despite her aloof, indifferent appearance, she desperately want to make Schuberry feel better. School was school, though. “Luster!” Hayseed hissed. “I heard from Miss Celestia. Listen. Miss Luna left.” “What do you mean, left?” Luster asked. “She moved out. Miss Celestia said that it was for the best. Schuberry’s got it in her mind that it’s somehow her fault.” Hayseed explained. “Well, what do we do, get a pair of retired princesses together and talk it out?” Luster shook her head. “And besides, we have work.” “Oh my-Didn’t Starlight Glimmer change their cutie marks? And I’m just trying to tell you, we just need to be there for Schuberry.” Hayseed looked back at the emotionless pegasus. “It might just be as easy as talking it out.” The last few words stuck in Luster’s mind, being played on loop. She was irritated and slammed her face into the table, but all it did was make her angrier. Talking it out, talking it out... Talk. That was it. Schuberry couldn’t talk. She would be a lot happier if she could, wouldn’t she? The poor filly was miserable, a little good news could do her wonders. A faint pink glow slowly wrapped around Schuberry as Luster began probing. The unicorn wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she quickly found the pegasus' innate magic. It was light and airey, though at the moment, filled with an unsettling guilt. Something else was there, too. It was richer, and definitely originated from a unicorn's spell. Luster Dawn suddenly pushed against her desk, scraping the chair against the floor. Everypony looked at her and she simply trotted out the door. Miss Mentor was completely shocked at the usually docile and obedient filly’s random act of defiance. She didn’t even try to stop her call after the unicorn. Luster entered the library and slowly collected all of the books on magic. Most of the volumes were for foals and contained basic utility spells, but two were more advanced books meant for adults. They had never been used, perhaps being on display only to make the school’s students appear more precocious than they really were. She selected a book that looked like it began around her level and became a little more advanced. The cover advertised an invisibility spell in the final chapter. After skimming through basic card tricks, levitation, and other utility spells, she found the final chapter forcibly ripped out. It looked like a rushed job, as if some madpony attacked the book. Luster couldn’t figure out why the librarian would withhold information about an invisibility spell to elementary school level unicorns, and with an annoyed snort, she moved onto the next book. Lunch came and went. Hayseed tapped his pencil impatiently, completely ignoring the geography lesson going on. As soon as the bell rang, he unceremoniously used his foreleg to sweep his belongings into his saddle bag and galloped over to Schuberry's desk, shifting his weight around. "Come on, let's find her." 'She could have just gone home.' Schuberry moved slowly, organising everything as she packed. Hayseed shoved her textbook into her bag. "Let's go." He led the way, scrambling across the halls, checking classrooms on both sides. Schuberry followed at a far more mature pace, watching the donkey scramble around. 'Hayseed, what were you talking about?' Schubery asked. "Oh, it was just-" He clamped his mouth. "Um..." He faltered under her stare. "Luster and I wanted to cheer you up a bit. I don't know where she is." 'Thank you for being honest.' Schuberry smiled. 'She'll either be in the library or the gym.' "Lets go!" Hayseed galloped off again. It didn't take long to reach the library, which was still bustling with activity. Luster was buried under a pile of books, silently mouthing the words on the page. She didn't notice her friends sit down next to her. "Boo!" Hayseed yelled, sending everything flying. Luster gave him a tired smile. "Lunch time?" "Dismissal." He grinned. "Schuberry saved you half her sandwich." 'Sorry, it's a little crushed.' The pegasus held out the bread triangle. "No, it's alright." Luster stacked her books. "Let's go." "Don't you need any of the books?" Hayseed pointed at the mess she was leaving. "Aren't you going to clean this up?" Luster shrugged. "I'm going to ask Miss Celestia." She ignored the second question. Schuberry, slightly annoyed, gathered up the books and tossed them into the return box. "Can you give me your notes?" "I never take notes." Hayseed laughed. "Maybe you should have waited in class." They stopped by the front door to put on scarves and fluffy coats, and bracing themselves, they pushed into the cold outdoors. Celestia was waiting patiently on the road, and a smile broke on her face when she saw the foals. "Can I come home with you today, Miss Celestia?" Luster asked. "There's a few questions about magic I want to ask." "Oh?" Celestia let Schuberry, then Luster climb onto her back. "I didn't know you had an interest in magic." "I didn't either." Luster adjusted herself. "See ya, Hayseed." "Bye." The Donkey waved and set off for the farm. "It's about Schuberry." Luster explained. "I want to give her a voice." "Oh? That's very advanced magic." Celestia commented. "What kind of help do you need?" "Uh, everything." Luster suddenly spoke very fast. "I checked her magic, it's something dad taught me to make sure I wasn't hurt, and it looked like she had something in her that wasn't supposed to be there, so I checked the school's magic books to see if there was anything in there, and I saw a thing called the Et Rondo Theorem, but I don't think I understand-" She droned on for several minutes, effectively relaying the day's events. "-I was hoping maybe you could help me, well, fix Schuberry." Celestia took a moment to digest what the filly said. "Let's talk first." She opened her front door and let down the fillies. "Oh, Luster, let's work in the living room." Schuberry threw her bag against the wall and hopped onto her piano. "Don't we need her to do this?" Luster asked. "She'll be fine there." Celestia put down a notepad and a pair of quills. "Genius is nothing without practice." Luster shrugged and grabbed the pad. "So, about magic..." "I'm quite surprised you noticed it. The first time I checked Schuberry, I didn't." Celstia mused. "You could call it a tumor or an anomaly. But I don't think we should remove it." "Why?" Luster watched Celestia write something down on the pad. "Life is all about balance. You can hear, but you can also speak. You can feel, but you also have your own texture. You can see, but you also give off your own light." Celestia showed off a diagram that looked reminiscent of a color wheel. "This is a very basic diagram, but I think it gets the point across. Now." Celestia lifted the pad up and balanced it on her hoof. "Without an equal balance, the magic becomes unstable." She shifted her hoof's position and the pad fell over. "So is the...anomaly a counterweight?" Luster suggested. "That's a good way of putting it, and it's how we'll approach it for now." Celestia leaned back. "When a pony is born missing magic, there are three ways to save them. The first is a magic donor. A relative gives their portion to the newborn, but that still leaves a pony missing. The second is what I think happened here, the doctors might have pumped raw 'junk magic' in to fill the hole. And the third option is to also remove the opposite magic." "She could have been mute AND deaf?!" Luster yelled too loudly. Schuberry stopped playing and scribbled something down. 'I know I cant speak but I can hear just fine so dont yell' "Don't forget your periods and apostrophes." Celestia reminded her. "Now, Luster, are you willing to give up your voice for Schuberry?" "I...I don't know..." The unicorn rubbed her elbow, ears tucked back. "Luster, please don't feel bad. That wasn't a moral question. I would never ask you to do something like that." Celestia put a wing around Luster. "And, if it's any consolation, doctors used a much more advanced version of the Et Rondo Theorem to perform magic related surgeries." "Hey, wait." Luster perked up. "What if it was removed?" "What?" Celestia blinked. "You said that one of the options to deal with unbalanced magic was a donor. Well, I know about Andante, and I wouldn't put it past him to sell his daughter's voice to gain a cheap bit!" Luster energetically jumped off the couch. Celestia buried her face in both her hooves. "Schuberry, what have you been telling Luster?" The grey pegasus looked over, then sneezed. Celestia folded her forearms and began scolding the filly. Luster's horn glowed. The possibility of snagging Schuberry's voice floating around somewhere in Equestria was too good of a chance to pass up. She felt into the distance, looking for any trace. There were so many emotions, feelings, Luster felt rather overwhelmed. But, very faintly, a piece gently called out. Luster was guided towards it, and when she was near enough, she snatched it with delight. Schuberry suddenly giggled. Celestia blinked. "Luster, what are you doing?" "Giving her a voice." Luster simply said. A bright white light blinded the room's occupants. Schuberry had been knocked to the ground. Luster galloped over, sliding next to Celestia. The large mare had her ear pressed against the pegasus' chest. "Miss Celestia?" Luster looked closer. The sun pony was asleep. "Miss Celestia!" "Huh?" The alicorn shot up. "Oh, uh. She's fine." "Say something, Schuberry." Luster suggested. Schuberry let out a pained cough and opened and closed her mouth a few times. Celestia brought Luster away. "Maybe I wasn't clear enough. Luster, professional ponies who have studied for years have trouble with this kind of operation. The fact that you didn't just kill her is a miracle." "I just took the magic and put it in. It felt like a puzzle piece." Luster explained. Schuberry coughed, then suddenly sang a perfect B flat. "Hey, she should sing in an opera." "Luster, you just took somepony's voice!" Celestia frowned a little. "You have to contact them, and they have to agree to return Schuberry's magic." "But it's stealing backsies. It belongs to Schuberry." Luster explained. Celestia nodded. "Yes, but you have to find them so when you take it, you don't hurt them." "Oh...I didn't think of that." Luster turned to Schuberry. "Do you think she'll talk?" "She hasn't had the chance to learn to control her vocal cords. Give her some time." Celestia sat back down on the couch to think. The Royal Guards would probably be notified of the situation, but she could chalk it up to some freak magical accident. There was no need to fear for Luster yet. Schuberry patted her chest a few times. "I'm treated like a god. Nopony pays attention to me until they want something." "It worked!" Luster cheered. "I got it, I got it!" "Luster, look back." Celestia smiled. She did, and on her flank sat a beautiful cutie mark. "I've got to show everypony!" Luster jumped higher. It was like reliving Twilight's entrance exam. Here was a young unicorn who had performed a complex spell and earned her cutie mark dancing around happily. Celestia bit her lip. "Luster, would you like me to recommend you to the School for Gifted Unicorns?" "You think I can get in?" Luster's jaw dropped. "Well, you're a unicorn, you're gifted." Celestia pointed out. "I think you could do a lot of good." "I could be cool, like the Wonderbolts!" Luster remembered. "I'll do it!" Mayor Mare picked up Luster several minutes later. Finally alone with Schuberry, Celestia looked over her filly. She had cared for foals before, like Sunset and Twilight. Schuberry was a strange exception. Celestia cared for her students, as a teacher should, and she made great personal sacrifices on behalf of them. She had never been called upon to hurt other ponies for her foals, though. A morbid question popped into her mind. Am I willing to sacrifice others for Schuberry? As she stared into the filly's eyes, which were a shade of lavender so much like Celestia's own, she realized the answer was, yes. Celestia was too selfish to return Schuberry's magic. "Mom, I need practice." Schuberry choked out. Her voice was raspy and dry, but sweet nonetheless. "Oh, sorry." Celestia stepped back. The music started up again, and Celestia retreated to the kitchen to mull over her disturbing revelation.