//------------------------------//
// Mundane Things 
// Story: The Composer 
// by Smug Anime Girl 
//------------------------------//

The sun had just fallen past the horizon, and the twinkling twilight gently fluttered against the distant billowing clouds. A small funnel of ponies seemed to be tugged towards the school's gymnasium. It was a large building not attached to the rest of the classrooms, and it was the only room large enough to host the play.

Taking care not to trample the others, Celestia followed the flow in through the doors, ducking her head to not catch her horn in the entrance. Inside, she found Mayor Mare and two other ponies waiting.

"We're Hayseed's parents." The stallion extended a hoof. "I'm Earseed and my beautiful wife here is Haystack. Thanks for taking care of him all this time."

"Of course." Celestia took the hoof and followed them up the bleachers. The father chose a row halfway up and shuffled in.

"So where's Schuberry?" The Mayor asked, looking towards the orchestra. Luster was sitting by the piano, reviewing some pieces of paper. "I thought she was going to be playing."

Celestia pursed her lips. "Well, her father returned from a business trip, so, you know."

"Ah, rotten timing." Mayor kept her gaze. "Luster's been down. I'm thinking of buying her a pet."

"Speaking of pets, coyotes keep eating my raccoons." Earseed lamented.

"Keep eating?" Celestia asked. "How many raccoons do you have?"

"Every time one gets eaten I get a new one from the shelter." He explained.

"It sounds like you're just feeding shelter raccoons to wild coyotes." Mayor commented.

Earseed didn't have much time to retort, as the lights dimmed. The orchestra readied, and the off-tune and slightly dilapidated music filled the large room. Luster waited, both forehooves in her lap. The actors slowly made their way onto the stage. When the main character, a flightless chick, finally introduced himself, played by an exuberant Hayseed, the piano joined in.

Celestia had plenty of practice of pretending to be paying attention over the years, even going so far as to cheer and groan and stomp at the right times without needing to think. She lost herself in a swirl of thoughts. Schuberry's composition, named 'Rose Play,' had been very specifically tailored to everypony playing the instruments and acting. Luster was the only pony that could take up the mantle and carry on the most central part of the music. The music teacher needed to conduct, after all.

The little unicorn did her best, trying to keep up with the notes and watching the cues. However, there was no comparison to Schuberry. Whereas the pegasus was skilled enough to not only play the notes correctly but also with flair, Luster struggled to hit the proper notes, and small errors were frequent and disturbing.

"Earseed, I might adopt my own raccoon..." She muttered.

"What's that?" He leaned in.

"Oh, nothing, sorry." Celestia waved him off. The stallion shrugged and sat back.

The little disturbance brought her back to the waking world. The play was in the thick of the drama.

"What are you even?" One of the ducklings asked Hayseed's character. He was wearing a costume that had a sharp yellow beak, the dark wing down of a mallard, and the white belly of the swans.

"My mom says your mom isn't even your real mom." Another duckling added. "You can't even swim! Look at those ugly feet!"

Celestia closed her eyes. Oh come on! The lines passed excruciatingly slow.

Schuberry's music picked up a quicker tempo while the ducks were preparing to fly south for winter. Some (played by pegasi) tried jumping to fly. The mallard ducklings appeared.

"Look, the ducks are trying to fly!" One of the younglings laughed. "Their wings are so small they can't even get off the ground!"

The mallards responded with a snark about the Mallard's fear of swimming, referencing an earlier part of the play. The actors began to pretend-fight, and it wasn't long before the parents were prying apart the younglings.

"This all began because your chicks just couldn't leave ours alone!" A mallard yelled.

"Our chicks?!" A duck retorted. "Your chicks started the fight!"

The argument wasn't allowed to progress any further, however.

"Look!" Somepony yelled. "A blizzard!"

And, with that line uttered, the curtains dropped, and the lights brightened slightly. The music teacher stepped forward. "Intermission will be for five minutes!"

Celestia joined a couple ponies heading down the stairs, but instead of heading for the bathrooms or food stand, she dropped by the orchestra. "You alright, Luster?"

"Oh, hi, Miss Celestia." She dropped a soaked paper towel off to the side. "I'm getting by."

"You're doing fine." Celestia smiled encouragingly. "We're cheering you on."

"Thanks." Luster took a long sip of her water. "I really wish her dad could have waited another week."

"So do I." The alicorn chuckled. "You're halfway through. Keep it up!"

Celestia returned to her seat before the crowd, and a minute later, the play resumed.

The scene opened with all of the actors running around, tripping over each other, getting tangled up all in an effort to save themselves. The music was a bit too cheerful in Celestia's opinion, but perhaps Schuberry found the scene funny in a slapstick sort of way.

The blizzard hit as the music calmed down. Wind was provided by some unicorns fanning the stage, and shredded paper snow swirled across the stage. The orchestra dropped back and the piano played alone.

"I see no reason for the ducks to work together with the swans!" One of the characters declared. "You've spent last summer stealing our food in the pond!"

"Oh, look who's talking!" A mallard stepped forward. "Don't forget who drove us into the creek in early spring because your chicks didn't need to be dirtied by 'those dirty mallards!' That's twelve chicks swept away by the current!"

Hayseed stepped forward. "If we don't stop fighting now, all of the chicks will be swept away by the wind!"

"The ducks and mallards are too small to protect our babies!" The Swans declared.

"The swans and others will let our babies be blown away!" The others responded.

"Listen to me!" Hayseed put his hoof foot down. "We can, and have to protect each other! But we need to hurry!"

It took a little more convincing, but seeing the dire situation, each of the parents lamented. Hayseed's character quickly arranged the others in a formation, keeping the chicks safe. He went back and forth, 'checking' their position as a cover to hook their costumes to cables attached to the roof. One after another, they slowly lifted off.

"Won't you join us?" They called.

"I can't fly!" He yelled. As the others slowly rose away, he was left in the paper snow alone. But after a moment, one by one, they returned. "What are you doing?"

"We'll keep you safe." One of the swans said.

"Yeah! We'll find you food!" A mallard added on. "We won't let you freeze out here alone!"

They huddled around him, protecting him. Celestia looked down at her hooves. No, I was right to let her go. She tried to reason, but Schuberry's last look back through the windows still haunted her. It just didn't sit right with her.

The play ended with polite hoof stomping, as each of the actors took a bow at the front of the stage. Celestia watched Luster slide off the piano's bench looking absolutely drained.

"It's a bit late, Hayseed's bedtime is soon." Earseed nodded a farewell, and the two donkeys disappeared into the dispersing crowd to pick up their foal.

Celestia followed Mayor down to the piano to find a wheezing Luster. "Schuberry's trying to kill me!"

"Hey, it's all alright now." Mayor smiled. "How does some hot chocolate sound?"

"Mom, I want something cold to drink." The unicorn slowly pushed herself up. "I've never moved like that in my life..."

"Would you like to join us?" Mayor offered Celestia.

"Why not?" Celestia responded. "Shall we let Luster pick where to?"

"Of course." The earth mare let her daughter climb onto her back, the unicorn giving directions.

Celestia followed close behind, weaving through the crowd. "Mayor, I want to ask...about foals."

"What about them?" Mayor slowed down so Celestia could walk alongside.

"Well, you see, I've never had any." Celestia paused. Usually, she was the one dispensing wisdom. "I'm sorry if it's a bit personal, but it seems like you had Luster really late. Relatively of course."

"Oh, that's fine." Mayor waved it off. "Children are the most wonderful thing in our world, I think. They don't quibble about silly politics, they don't care if you're a dragon or a griffon. They just see other wonderful creatures. That's why I treasure Luster with all my heart."

"I see." Celestia nodded. "I haven't been honest with you about Schuberry. I've never had official custody. She ran away from home and ended up here somehow, and I've been taking care of her since."

"Now it's my turn to apologize for prying." Mayor sighed. "Away from Andante?"

"Yes." The alicorn paused again. "I want to raise her but...she's been staying with Andante for musical education, and I can't provide that for her."

"Well, if she ran from home, she must have had something terrible happen." Mayor shrugged. "The right thing to do, I suppose, would be to adopt her."

Celestia brought up another point. "But if she wants to stay with him? What then?"

"Then, Miss Celestia, you have a thing called a pickle." Mayor Mare stated. They rounded the corner and Celestia found herself facing the main street. It was a pretty scene. The lamps glowed softly, and a few blocks down, and a couple shared a soft kiss. Celestia pointed towards the bakery. "We're going there?"

"Are we, Luster?" Mayor checked. The unicorn nodded.

"Schuberry used to play there..." Celestia put a hoof over her elbow. "I...I apologize, I must go." She turned around and galloped off, and she didn't stop galloping until she was facing her front door, slightly out of breath. Fumbling with the key, Celestia pushed open the door and stepped inside, stomped the snow off her hooves, and collapsed into the couch, not even taking off her jacket. A hoof caught the coffee table, and a few pieces of paper slipped onto the floor.

Celestia picked one up in her magic and looked it over, an uncomfortable expression forming slowly across her face. There were a few scribbles on the paper.



'why do you and autie fight'



"Because we're close. When you love someone, you care for them. Sometimes, that causes friction. But every now and again is fine. She's my sister, but she can be my friend too." Celestia echoed her words. Luna then brought some strange fruit from the moon and...purposely...

"I've got to get her back."