//------------------------------// // Unhealthy Fanaticism // Story: The Composer // by Smug Anime Girl //------------------------------// Andante abhorred travelling. He made trips to conduct concerts occasionally, but never out of Equestria. Being so far from Canterlot scared him more than he liked to admit. He looked down over the side, taking in the lush green bamboo forest below through gaps in the clouds. His somach clenched. It was a lovely view, but Andante was more concerned about how long the fall would be if his hooves slipped. The skyship lurched slightly as she began her descent through the haze. There was some slight turbulence and her hull rattled, but it wasn't long before the mooring mast came into view. It took a few minutes to tie her down, and he was the first off the ship, wobbling down the gangplank. No doubt he would be the butt end of jokes for the ship's sailors for the next few weeks. The town was oriental in design. There was a certain bilateral symmetry to the layout, probably planned out years in advance. At the very center, there was tall, thin building with tiered grey roof tiles. A wall loosely hugged the town, guards slowly pacing up and down the raparts. Locals wearing strange, flat straw hats milled about in the fields. At such a distance, their features couldn’t be made out. He noticed that the fields were actually square shaped ponds. No known crop was grown in such a manner, and yet, the plant was clearly thriving in the other subdivisions of the swamp. Another strange sort of plant seemed to be very plentiful in the area, it’s main stem appearing to be tiered bars with small offshoots of long, thin leaves. It was hard and could almost pass off for an alien tree. He picked up his suitcase from a luggage handler and marched straight for the town. Two great guard lions stared him down as he passed the big circular gates. One had a great brass ball under his paw, while the other gently held a cub in place. He tried to greet them with a smile, and they responded by baring their fangs. Andante's eyes flicked back to the ground and quickened his pace. That wasn't such a good idea; he accidentally walked into one of the creatures. Andante got a good, up-close look of the citizens of this far flung town, and he realized that a large number of them were carnivorous in nature. Small doglike animals with nine enormous fluffy tails that were either orange, white, or black scurried across the stone slab streets. A strange, fat, black and white bear munched on the plant Andante saw outside of the town ferociously. A few of the townsfolk stared Andante with strange, curious expressions. As they drew close, he noticed kirin were among those observing him, although small in number. Seeing a familiar species comforted the unicorn. Andante began a search for lodging, trying to ignore the stares he was collecting. Along the way, the unicorn happened across a wide open marketplace. Different stands were all trying to sell food or clothing or jewlery, and wooden chairs and tables were loosely scattered around a water fountain. He decided now was a good time as any to stop for a quick lunch. Andante was acutely aware of the language barrier. He tried to order food from a kirin vendor, but after failing to figure out the price, he just carelessly tossed some bits over the counter and grabbed the strange steamed roll from one of the pots. An annoyed shout followed him to his table, probably about an inability to accept the currency. He set himself up at a table. Inside his suitcase, he pulled out a newspaper and began to do the word puzzles. After solving a questions in a crossword puzzle, he picked up the roll and slowly chewed it. A strange sweet paste had been cooked into the roll, and Andante spat it out. The cook scowled. The unicorn pretended to not notice and went back to his puzzles. He tried to grab the roll again with his magic, but only snached up a ball of air. Andante looked up from newspaper with angry, confused expression and found a mare sitting across from him, hind legs propped up on the table and swallowing his lunch. "Thanks for the roll, hun." Andante made a sound similar to a mouse that had been stepped on. "I wondered why all the birds had suddenly stopped singing." There was only one hotel in the entire city, and the mare had booked a small room nearly a moon ago. She was kind enough to allow Andante in, but didn't invite him to sit or offer refreshments. The shades were drawn and she laid on the futon on the ground, voicing displeasure when he tried to find a place to take a seat. He finally shuffled awkwardly near the doorway, swishing his tail in agitation. "So." Andante spoke. "Why are you here?" "Strictly for business." Andante coldly responded. "I imagine you're here for the same reason." "Indeed. The locals have taken an interest in my adventures." In the darkness, she dramatically sighed. "They're called kitsun, they're suprisingly friendly. Gorgeous creatures." Andante wasn't in agreement, but he let it slide. “So, business. Is that what you call mending a relationship?" The pegasus asked. "Well, you've gone through the trouble of coming here so I might as well entertain this." Andante leered. "Oh please. We all know I wouldn't come back just for you, witch." “At least I don't look constantly constipated." She giggled like a filly. "It's not that far of an exaggeration either." "I'm just glad you're getting some weight off those paws." Andante smiled. "Calling me Ceberus?" She asked. "That's a compliment." "Actually, I was calling you a dog, you dog." Andante corrected her. The mare's mirth was greatly diminished. "Sticks and stones, hun." "Your breakfast?" She rolled off the futon and got in his face. "Coming from a stallion who writes music for ponies who wash paper plates. You're as boring as watching bocce ball without the players or the ball." "And I, for one, regard you with indifference bordering on aversion." He turned his nose up. "You embarrased me in front of Songbird Serenade!" "You embarrased yourself." Andante suddenly put a metaphorical lid on the arugment. "And I'm only here because of your daughter." There was a physical change in her demeanor. "Schuberry isn't just business. Is she alright?" "I suppose. Celestia and Luna have her at the moment." Andante inspected his hooves, feigning a lack of concern. Considering there was barely any light in the room, he looked a bit like an idiot. "What did you do?!" She screeched. "I didn't do anything. Schuberry ran away one night and Celestia found her. The put the idea that they would take better care of her than." Andante began. "I'm here because I'm searching for an artifact." "Just ask for them to give her back." She groaned. "They cant say no to you or that'd be considered foalnapping." "You don't understand, I need this to be a psycological victory. Schuberry has to want to come back to me." Andante hissed. "Well if there's actual evidence of abuse, of course the foal is going to be taken from the parent." The mare tilted her head. "I'll ask you again, have you actually been taking proper care of her?" "I'm giving her everything she says she wants. And she only ever said she wanted a grand piano. Of course you know I got her one." Andante trotted around the mare and gently lowered him rump onto the futon. "I have a plan. I'm going to need something with the power of mind control." "Business, huh." Her energy deflated. Andante rolled onto his back and spread out his legs. "I want the best for her." "Yes, more than I ever could. I won't lie, it was good call to take her from me." She explained. After a pause, she changed the subject. "I've been doing other things lately as a career. Mostly because the Guardian of Tenochtitlan has a career hinged on me-" "Are you going to help me or not?" Andante didn't bother sitting up. The mare lightly stepped onto the futon and lay down next to him. "Why can't things to back to the way they used to be? All of this bickering and fighting, we can stop it." Andante looked her straight in the eyes. "I don't hate you. I'm past that. If I felt anything towards you now, it'd probably be disappointment or frustration." "I'll admit it, as I have before, I was young and stupid. Still am." She sighed. "Stupid? Yes. Young? No." Andante groaned. "Your entire career hinged on painting somecreature in a bad light and destroying their workplace. How did it feel when it turned out that they were working a 9-5 job like the rest of us? And your claims that it was for preservation of the past was a cover for your own personal gain." "That's hypocritical. I know your music isn't entirely yours." Andante took a moment to think of a response. "We both agreed that it would be safer for her creations would be pubished under my name and I would be able to nurture her growth." "I wouldn't know enough about music for that." She said. "You 'nobles' take your music way to seriously. All the fun of it's been drained out." "It pays the bills. Schuberry and I work to their tastes." Andante faced her. "I suppose fathering her implies I still have some room in my heart for you in some sort of a strange, twisted way." "Love can be broken down into a simple few chemical reactions, but we can give it a new meaning." She drew him into a soft kiss. "There is nothing chemical between Schuberry and I. I'm simply clearing up your mess." Andante pushed her away gently with his magic before their lips met. "You need to move on. I know that everything you've been doing has been to try to impress me, but it's not going to work. We were never meant for each other." "So that's how it is huh?" She shook her head and rolled off her side. "I've done so much for you." Andante breathed. "I gave your voice back only to find out you have no sense of gratefulness or compassion." "But not for Schuberry?" Slowly, she got off the futon. Andante watched with a sad gaze. "Does Schuberry still write music?" "She does." The mare shuffled to the door and grabbed a safari hat dangling from a coathangar. "You're choosing her fate for her. Not much of a fate, to be honest." With that, she left the room, ears down, tail dragging behind her.