Silence Is Bittersweet

by Truehearted


Chapter 3

Silence is Bittersweet, Part 3


        Walking down the street in a muggy grey fog, the only sound echoing off the buildings was the sound of her own hooves. The echo was abnormal, even so far as to say ominous. Seemingly out of nowhere, a pair of glowing eyes appeared. They shone a white light that appeared to flicker many colors. The eyes were a pony’s, but their owner was too obscured to be definable beyond that.

        Attempting to get the attention of the eyes, she felt that they already seemed to know of her presence. She tried to wave hello, in hopes that the eyes would bob or blink to acknowledge her presence. Yet they did nothing but stare unblinking through the fog. Taking a step forward, hoping to get closer, she saw that the eyes kept away from her.  Thinking of heading back, she turned and headed back to her home. She felt the eyes follow her. She looked back and was right; the eyes appeared to follow her.

        Turning to face the eyes once more, she wished she had a voice to tell off the eyes. At that point, a solitary violin was heard off in the distance.  Its haunting sound filled the street with the lowest notes it could manage. The eyes seemed to dim their glow, and either shrank or started to close.

        Now fully weirded out, she just wanted to go home. She turned to bolt back in to the fog, hoping that the direction she was running in was to her home. She could hear hoof beats behind her, signalling that the eyes must be running after her. Feeling the full grip of panic set in, she put all her energy into running through the muggy fog that obscured her senses.

        She soon saw her silhouette reflected upon the fog from the eerie glow emanating from the eyes. Her heart jumped at the thought of the pony catching up to her. She then felt a warm sensation upon her flank. It was quickly followed by a caress that sent what felt like lightning through her body. She tried to scream out as she bucked at the source. Meanwhile the low notes of the violin become panicked screeches.

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        Acoustiana awoke as she thrashed in her bed, finding herself falling onto her bedroom floor with a dainty thud. Upon untangling herself from her blankets, she did a frantic search of her flank and found nothing wrong. She realized she was breathing very hard, and had the beginnings of sweat starting to build up under her coat.

        Flopping back onto her bed, she calmed herself. It was only a dream—she was fine—everything was fine.

        Acoustiana looked out the window to find found that the sun had yet to rise, but the morning was not far off, judging by the corona of light off in the distance. She then felt the weariness of not having had enough sleep. Coupled with the poor quality of sleep she had just gotten, she knew that her day was going to be a rough one at best.

        Leaving her house, Acoustiana felt a chill wind blow past her. She pondered taking her scarf with her, but figured it was but an early morning breeze that would quickly be defeated as the day wore on. She looked to the horizon and saw something that made her reconsider her scarf. There was a large ominous bank of rather dark clouds headed towards Foalsdale. She decided to double-check her weather report, as she didn’t remember a storm scheduled.

        After reviewing the day’s weather, she was concerned at the contradiction. It was scheduled to be a bright and sunny day, not all cloudy and dark. She figured the pegasi were going to be busy keeping the sky clear.

        Grabbing her scarf for good measure, she headed to the theater with her double bass and violin tucked away in their cases. She had the bass snugly strapped over her back, while her violin was levitated by her magic.

        As she set off down the road, she was proud of her resolve to bring her scarf, but regretted not getting enough sleep. The wind blew an oddly cold chill over the road. Coupled with the weight of her instruments; she found it hard to keep her energy up, as well as just maintain her drive not to curl back up into her bed for warmth and rest.

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        Arriving at the theater, Acoustiana was exhausted. The cold air had sapped her strength, and made using her magic all the more taxing. She was relieved to find that the conductor had yet to arrive himself, so she knew she at least had some time to rest and perhaps grab a mug of hot cocoa.

        Acoustiana headed backstage, and placed her instruments in what she presumed to be her spot, as the seat had two stands in front of it over the others’ traditional one. She did note that even though the stage was set, they distinctly lacked the conductor’s equipment. No podium nor stand were present. Acoustiana perked her ears at the thought of having plenty of time to rest. as that would be a good few minutes of prep for the conductor once they had arrived.

        Wanting to have a conversation, she headed off at a quick trot. Acoustiana arrived at the refreshment table and helped herself to a large mug of steaming cocoa and a couple of delectable pastries. She saw a few of her fellow orchestral members there. They waved to her and went back to their hushed conversation. Acoustiana, not wanting to be a pest, merely smiled and headed to the side of the main seating area. She found a rather comfortable bench and curled up on it with her morning breakfast.

        As she enjoyed the warmth from the cocoa, she allowed her mind to wander. She thought of the night before and how she had enjoyed a wonderful dinner with new ponies that, unless she was mistaken, would be her new friends in this town where she found herself. Her mind then began to meander to her dream. The piercing gaze from that pony in the fog caused a shiver to run down her back.

        She then remembered the violin in her dream. The sound it made was peculiar, but every time she tried to pin down why it sounded familiar, it seemed to flutter away from her mind’s eye. As such, she just envisioned the notes, the octave, and the tempo used. She liked the song, even though it was a sad one.

        Her thoughts then seemed to swirl about as her mind went to the time before waking. She remembered the feeling of terror. She remembered the feeling of panic. She remembered the gentle warm feeling of the caress upon her haunch as it went down to her flank.

        Acoustiana jumped from her seat. She felt her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to collect herself. She was able to catch her cocoa that had been resting on the arm of the seat before her sudden movements sent it teetering off the edge.

        Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Acoustiana shot a few glances around to see if anypony had noticed. She was relieved to see that there was nopony in the area, and those that could have, seemed far too busy with their own preparations to have bothered to pay her any mind. As one of the rare moments, she was thankful for her silence. She knew that if she in fact had a voice, there would have been a startled scream of some kind for sure.

        Acoustiana decided that her rest was going to have to wait. If her mind was going to betray her as it had, she would need to put it to work. After gathering what was left of her breakfast, she headed back up to the stage to see if she might meet any of the other musicians that had arrived.

        Acoustiana didn’t know many of the other musicians. She had only met some of them once, not long after arriving in Foalsdale. It was an awkward gathering, more for the director to actually air the issue of her being a mute to the conductor and the rest of the ensemble, rather than for them to get acquainted.

        The full ensemble had a wide assortment of talent. There was the string section where she played, the brass section, and the percussion section. As is the case for most ensembles, earth ponies were the predominant musicians. However, there where a couple of pegasi whom played flutes with astounding capability, along with the brass instruments they got stuck playing half the time. And other than herself, the only other unicorn played in the string section as well. Her choice of instrument was the double harp. Acoustiana had tried to play the harp once, but found the flow and position not to be her forte. That, and she truly enjoyed the closeness she got with her violin more so than she got with the harps she tried to play.

        Acoustiana looked for these unique individuals, and found that one of the pegasi had arrived, but the other had not. Noticing that the harpist had her instrument placed, but was otherwise missing, she decided to try to find the harpist. She wanted to get to know her better.

        Attempting to ask the pair of ponies talking near the breakfast table, she trotted over to them and waited for them to notice she was there. When one looked over to her with a questioning look, Acoustiana attempted to mime out a harpist playing and looked to them, tilting her head to the side.

        “I am sorry, but what is the matter? I do not quite get what you’re attempting to accomplish with that gesture.” The colt was rather annoyed by his conversation being interrupted for some game of charades.

        The mare he was addressing seemed to get a realization as her eyes opened wide from her previously annoyed expression. She then tugged at the ear of the colt and whispered something to him.

        “By Celestia, are you bucking me? Fine. Listen whoever you are, I don’t know your strange language, but I don't have time to play any silly guessing games, so just write what you want down so we can get back to what we where doing.”

        Although the scenario wasn't new to her, the colt’s words cut extra deep on this morning. Acoustiana did her best to maintain her composure as she used her magic to open the case to her double bass and levitate out her notepad and pencil.

        “Have you seen the Harpist?” Acoustiana wrote as she felt the tears threaten to fill up her eyes.

        “Yes, she stepped outside for some inane reason. Now if that is all, good day, miss,” the colt said as he waved a dismissive hoof at her and turned back to his breakfast companion.

        Acoustiana did not hesitate to take her leave and headed outside. She knew the type of colt that he was. Full of himself, feeling repressed being in a group such as this and not a big shot playing in Canterlot. And for whatever reason, that type always seemed to feel it wa their job to take out their frustrations on other ponies, which made Acoustiana the easiest of targets for their misguided rage.

        Upon opening the back door, Acoustiana heard a small demure voice singing a rather old tune. She then felt the blast of cold air as it hurried the voice along with it. The stinging air also seemed to break her control on her tears, seeing how they now started to stain her coat as they flowed.

        “Oh, hello. Sorry for my bad singing. I just like to wish and dream of being a soloist and all. Heh” The unicorn looked fully embarrassed and was fidgeting and taking small steps backwards. “Oh my! Are you okay? I know the cold air sometimes gets to me too, but I’ve never seen it cause that many tears.” The unicorn looked very concerned upon actually looking at Acoustiana’s face.

        Acoustiana attempted to put on a smile, but gave up quickly. She then lowered her head and shook her head. She got out of the doorway and sat down on the cold pavement and let her tears fall. She knew she was being overly emotional for such a simple issue, and she was probably making the other unicorn feel rather uncomfortable. She just didn’t have the energy to hold it all in this morning.

        “Now that speaks more than any words will. Tell me what’s got you down? I promise I wont tell a soul if it’s personal” the other unicorn pleaded as she trotted over and gave Acoustiana a warm hug.

        Returning the hug, Acoustiana felt better. She then levitated her notepad over.

        “I wish I could tell you my problems, but I hope you don’t mind reading them instead.”

        The unicorn simply smiled and patted Acoustiana on her head. “So you’re Acoustiana? I’ve heard lots about you. And no, I don’t mind reading your issues one bit! Anything I can do to help you would be my pleasure.”

        Acoustiana allowed a small honest smile to emerge on her snout, and wrote out her troubles.

        “What? Who does that mule think he is? It’s not your fault you can’t talk like everypony else! Why I’ll show him...” The unicorn attempted to storm back inside to give the colt a piece of her mind but was stopped by a hoof to her chest.

        “I thank you for the gesture, but it would only cause more trouble than it’s worth. You have more than already made it better.”

        The unicorn still wore an upset look but ceased her storming. “You can’t just let them treat you like this. But, I do see your point on my not clobbering him with a well-placed chair,” she said as she sat next to Acoustiana. “So why did you want to find me in the first place? I am sure it wasn’t to talk about what happened, so what’s up?”

        “I just wanted to get to know some of the others in the ensemble, and figured you would be the easiest to talk to first. More things in common and all,” Acoustiana wrote as she finished drying her eyes and continued to wear a smile.

        “Point. Well my name is Hearth Song. As you already know, I play the double harp. I moved here recently from Trottingham. I wanted to get out into the world and be my own mare. It sure is hard to do though. How about yourself? I know you can’t talk, and that you can play a solo duet. Speaking of which, how the hay do you manage that? I’ve tried playing with my magic, but it always comes off jumbled and I always play more strings than I mean to. You must be like a master at using magic or something.”

        Acoustiana gave a silent chuckle, and knew one way to prove that her ability had little to do with magical mastery. She concentrated her magic and attempted to lift up Hearth Song. Acoustiana put all her effort into the spell. She quickly stopped as she started feeling the strain upon her horn.

        “Okay so master magician is definitely not the case. No offence, but is that all the power you have? I can say your magic has a nice feel to it, but your power is like a kitten. Er, sorry, that was mean.” The unicorn looked sheepish as she facehoofed.

        Acoustiana, though winded, patted the mare and channeled another spell.

        “Whoa! Okay now I get it.” Hearth Song was able to feel the effects distinctly. Acoustiana was braiding her mane and was able to manipulate every individual hair. “Now that is a nifty trick.”

        The back door opened and a portly older colt appeared. “If you ladies could please come inside and take your places, we shall be starting shortly.”

        Acoustiana felt much better than she did when she first came out back. And she made a mental note to give proper thanks to her fellow musician for her kind words.

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        Acoustiana took her place with her instruments and grabbed hold of her violin. She hoped not to have to use her bass for a while after all the magic she had just expended. She hoped that the composer would remember her request not to expect her to use her talent for more than short segments if at all.

        The pudgy unicorn stepped onto the conductor’s podium and levitated his baton. Clearing his throat, he recited some initial instructions.

        “Ahem, thank you all for being so timely. My late arrival was due in large part to an unfortunate change in the venue’s request of our performances. As such, they will be expecting a slightly less-than-customary musical performance for their upcoming shows. Now, as odd as some of these are going to be, I am asking that all of you do your best to maintain a professional attitude, that I know you are all capable of, and work through the...let us say eclectic choices we are required to perform.”

        The ensemble was a tad dumbstruck by the declaration. Some looked to each other and muttered quietly, attempting to figure out what all of the conductor’s words actually meant.

        The conductor rapped his baton against his stand and again cleared his throat. “Well then, time to get on with it. If any of you truly have an objection to the material, I will have an aside with you after this day’s practice. If you simply cannot handle it, then feel free to take your leave.” The conductor proceeded to levitate a large stack of papers out of his bag next to the podium and started placing specific papers onto the music stand of each attending musician.

        Finally able to see what all the commotion was about, Acoustiana looked over her parts that she was expected to play. She noted that they seemed to be a mix of jazz and orchestral styles. Alone, the music didn’t seem worthy of such disgruntled behaviour, so she took a closer look.

        On her second pass, she noticed that there were some jazz-style waltzes. She tried to imagine such a silly thing and realized that it must be the source of the controversy. The flow was completely off, the cue for the second trumpet made her feel they would grate against the melody, and the sheer timing would be a miracle to perform.

        She then started to hear the groans coming from the brass section as they realized that almost every single one of them would be expected to play for every piece, well, almost all of the brass section that was. Acoustiana noticed the two pegasi high hoof each other in a small celebration as one pointed happily to some of the parts they were given. At which the other pegasus hoof pumped and let out an audible “Yess!”

        The conductor once again rapped his baton against his stand. “Now that you all have had a chance to see this atrocity...We shall now conduct ourselves as professionals and perform to the best of our abilities.”  He tapped his baton twice on the stand and fussed with his papers. “Let us start with the one piece I know will need the most work. I want to start us off with this so as to gauge how much time I shall need to allot to its refinement. So if you will all go to the fourth dance scene, we shall get this show on the road.” After the noise of shuffling papers died down, he rapped his baton on his stand and then held it high in the air as he waited for all the musicians to still themselves for the first attempt.

        Acoustiana found herself wishing she had some earplugs. It was solid for the introduction, but then the tempo changed and the brass section seemed to double its volume, the percussionists lost their timing, and the strings lost their unity. The conductor rapped his baton against his stand so hard, Acoustiana was amazed it didn’t break in two.

        “Very good then. I task you all to practice that one on your own time as it seems that everypony will need to get his or her own part before we even try playing together. Brass, you need to gain more confidence and be less timid on your entrance to compensate for the shift from three to four. Percussion, your back-beat started to drag during same said transition. Strings, I noticed some of you tried to keep with the percussion even though they lost their timing, while others kept to the timing of the song. I cannot fault either, however; you will need to practice nonetheless.”

        The ensemble started to grumble, which prompted more raps from the conductor. His expression did not change, so Acoustiana figured he fully expected the response he got.

        “Good sir, a waltz that uses a four beat, well I must say, is not a waltz at all.” The conductor appeared to not hear the criticism from the member of the ensemble.

        “Now that that is out of our way, we shall move onto the more traditional pieces. Sixth ballroom dance, if you please.”

        Acoustiana complied as did the rest of the ensemble. The section they were to practice next was a more traditional ballroom-style dance song. She also noted that her copy of the piece had added  written instructions. She let her forehead lean on her music stand and let out a silent sigh. Even without reading the note, she knew what it said. She was being requested to play both her instruments.

        “Miss Acoustiana, are you ready?” The conductor spoke in a slightly softer tone than he had been using.

        Acoustiana took a deep breath and straightened in her seat. She then used her magic to put her double bass into position and then nodded to the conductor.

        Acoustiana did her best to maintain her performance. She was able to noticed a few times she faulted a note on her bass, and when she corrected it, faltered on her violin. Her faults caused her to get frustrated, and ate away at what little energy she had left. She started feeling the strain of having to use her magic faster than expected, but did her best to push through it. At the end of the song, she was well fatigued and was breathing heavily, as though she had been whistling a long-winded solo.

        “That was an exemplary first attempt. Aside from a minor hiccup, that was marvelous. Those that did make a mistake, I know you know who you are, so just do your best to correct what went wrong and that will be perfect. Now, as per request, we shall come back to that after some time to give it another try. For now, let us move onto the next movement of the sixth ballroom dance scene.”

        Acoustiana begrudgingly turned her page, but was at least glad the conductor heeded her request not to push her. Not that he had a choice in this instance, as she would have had to  refuse playing again so soon, lest she faint from over-exhaustion. She looked over the next section and saw that it wasn’t as much of a reprieve as she was expecting. She wasn’t going to have to play both her instruments at the same time, but still both were called for. She was at least going to have a long stretch of measures before needing her bass though, and hoped to regain some energy before then.

        Rapping his baton upon his stand, the conductor motioned for the brass to start, then the percussion. The strings were last, and most subtle to start. The pace was slow, the tone low. Acoustiana figured the scene the piece was made for was to be a dark and foreboding one by the sound of how the minor chords played out. Knowing her limits, Acoustiana didn’t push to do her best, but played more relaxed. Her restraint allowed her to rest more, but still showed her participation. It soon was time for her to play the double bass. She had not realized the simplicity of the notes earlier. All she had to do was play the same long drawn out notes. The sound gave a deep backdrop to the higher-toned strings and the flutes playing what would easily be interpreted as tiphoofing ponies.

        As the flutes gently quieted, the percussion picked up in a fast, rumbling tympani roll to illustrate dramatic suspense. The full ensemble slowly picked back up as the drumroll faded away. Acoustiana had a nagging feeling she had heard some of the notes before. As she concentrated harder on the music around her, she began to realize where she had heard the music.

        The road was dark, the fog was oppressive.

        Acoustiana stopped playing to shake her head clear. It was just a dream, and the only way that melody could be there is if she had heard it somewhere else. That’s what she told herself.

        As she wished for a voice, a solitary violin played in the distance. Its notes were sad, and filled with loneliness.

        When Acoustiana broke out of her thoughts again, she realized the whole ensemble was looking at her, as the conductor was rapping his baton with much fury upon his stand.

        “I do not begin to assume to know what possessed you to deviate so heavily from the rest of the group, but if you could please refrain from doing it again, it would be  most appreciated.” The conductor straightened his mane and checked his bow tie to ensure it was still in place.

        “Indeed, I would say your failed attempt at bravado or whatever that was, is certainly not welcome.” The voice of a familiar, and rude, colt was slung out over the ensemble.

        “Hey! Did you even hear what she played? It was utterly beautiful! And if you were paying attention, she is having to use her magic. Quick note, sometimes our horns take over a bit and guide us to doing something we are meant to do,” Hearth Song shot back over the ensemble

        The conductor called them to order using his baton rather hard against his stand. “Enough! Ms. Hearth Song, I am aware of the phenomenon that you described, which is why I was leaving the issue to rest. And you Mr. Hot Air, that comment was out of order and such will not be tolerated here. Everypony makes mistakes, so unless you have something constructive to say, you shall keep your muzzle shut. Now to let everybody cool off, we shall take a ten-minute break. Please return focused and ready to act professionally. Ms. Acoustiana, I would like a brief word with you if you please.”

        Perking an ear up upon hearing her name, Acoustiana stopped cringing and trying to hide from the ensemble to peer out at the conductor. He was looking at her, but not with an angry face like she expected. She waited for the majority of the ensemble to disperse on their break before fully getting up and trotting over to the conductor to get her inevitable tongue-lashing.

        “Thank you for speaking with me. I know that last section was a strain on you, and I do pay attention to how my musicians are doing while up here. I did also note a slight flare in your magical energy when you started playing that haunting song on your violin. As such, I will not, neigh cannot, hold it against you for the disruption. What I will ask of you, however, is that you write down the melody that came over you. As Ms. Hearth Song noted, it was an amazing air, and I would love to hear more of it.” The conductor put on a genuine smile in an attempt to help Acoustiana feel better, as she was looking ready to cry her eyes out.

        “Now, I can see that you are fatigued already. And we haven’t gotten halfway through what I had planned for the day. So how about you take the rest of the day off? We will be back tomorrow morning, and you can practice the songs on your own time so as you’re not to fall behind the rest of the ensemble. Though I know your talent well enough to know you would probably be fine without the practice; such is always the best option now, isn’t it?” The conductor then added as he looked about the room for nearby listeners, “and don’t forget to jot down as much of that as you can tonight. I am serious when I say I would love to hear it. It really was that good.”

        Acoustiana stood rather surprised for a moment as she processed all that the conductor told her. She let her jaw drop at his offer to let her take the rest of the day off. However, her professional mind kicked back in and she corrected her posture so she could regain her composure. She then grabbed her notepad with her magic and wrote her response to the conductor.

        “I thank you for your words. They are very kind and well-received. I would like permission to stay until we break for lunch. And about the song in my head— I must apologize for playing in the middle of your practice, magically induced or not. It was unprofessional of me to allow such an offence. The movement will be written out and delivered to your hoof on the next morn.”

        “I understand. Please enjoy the remainder of your break, and after we adjourn for lunch, I shall look forward to seeing you again tomorrow with your wonderful composition.”

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        The rest of the practice session went without incident. Acoustiana was able to rest through most of the rehearsal. She felt that the conductor purposefully started choosing scenes light on strings, and instead had piano heavy movements. The lunch break came and Acoustiana took her leave. She made sure to thank Hearth Song before leaving, not only for their talk before practice, but also for standing up for her against Hot Air’s insult.

        Acoustiana packed her instruments and headed out to meet with her friends. Remembering to stop by the fruit stand first, she headed towards the garden square. As she cantered in the direction she knew Cantaloupe would be, she couldn’t help but notice that the sky was extremely cloudy. It was far darker out than it should be, and the other ponies out on their business were heard complaining about the lack of the scheduled sunlight.

        Remembering Ray’s job, Acoustiana became decidedly worried. If the weather pegasi were having trouble clearing the skies, then Ray might not be able to take his lunch with them, and that would also mean that she and Cantaloupe would be unable to locate Pastel’s home so they could meet up for lunch.

        Acoustiana picked up her gait to a slow gallop so she could get with Cantaloupe to see what they would do because of the weather. At this speed, it wasn’t long before she arrived at her friend’s fruit stand. However, she was finding it hard to spot her friend behind all of the ponies that crowded the stand. Many had bits at the ready and were shouting their orders of fruit over one another.

        In a small state of shock, Acoustiana attempted to figure out how to locate her friend. She finally settled on heading through the garden to come up behind the stall. At least then she might be able to see her friend.

        Acoustiana galloped around the block to where one of the other entrances to the garden was. She ran through the garden, avoiding the many obstacles on the paths, generally meant for slow peaceful strolls, not speeding ponies.

        As she rounded a rather bulky tree, she was able to get a closer look at the large, and loud, group of ponies surrounding Cantaloupe's stand. She slowed her gait to a trot and approached the wrought iron gate that separated the street from the garden.

        “Hold on—what did you want again? Sorry, all out of oranges...no that’s...an orange? Oh sorry seemed to have missed it. Here you go—thanks for buying!” Cantaloupe was being run ragged by the herd of ponies clambering to buy her fruit. Acoustiana took note that Cantaloupe’s mane was starting to fray and generally look far more messy than her normal style.

        Knowing that getting Cantaloupe’s attention with all the ponies ordering fruit was going to take a small feat of magic, Acoustiana set down her instruments. She concentrated and lightly tugged at Cantaloupe’s tail to gain her attention. All she accomplished was to make Cantaloupe swat at the imaginary pest. Attempting the same method again, but with a little more force, Acoustiana was greeted with the same result.

        Not wanting to be too forceful, but still wanting her friend’s attention, Acoustiana formulated a new strategy. She wrote out her message before enacting her plan, so that she could apologize quickly.

        Taking out her violin, and standing on her hind legs so as to allow for the sound to reach the crowd’s ears easily, Acoustiana silently whispered her apology to her violin for the evil she was about to commit. With a long drawn-out sweep of her bow, Acoustiana sent out a dreadfully high-pitched screech from her violin. The crowd quickly went silent as the ponies cringed and covered their ears.

        She quickly lifted her notepad up with her magic and floated it over to Cantaloupe before the crowd shouted their displeasure. Said earth pony had dove under her stand and had her hooves clamped onto her ears when she felt the prodding of the notepad on her nose.

        “Who in the hay? Oh! Tiana!” Cantaloupe banged her head on her stand as she tried to jump up before exiting the undercarriage. Rubbing her head, she read what Acoustiana had written as the crowd started to murmur louder and louder.

        “I am terribly sorry for the disruption, but I must talk with you.”

        The crowd started shouting at Acoustiana for their ringing ears. In return, she looked to Cantaloupe for help, and hoped that her friend understood why she did what she did.

        “QUIET DOWN! SHE IS MY FRIEND AND SHE CAN’T TALK, SO QUIET!!!” Cantaloupe screamed as loud as she could back at the crowd, who in turn became very quiet.

        “Thank you all. This will but take a moment, and then I shall get back to your orders. And for your kind understanding some of the produce will go on sale.” The many faces that once held angry or confused looks now held smug smiles and contented smirks. The crowd started to quietly talk amongst themselves as Cantaloupe turned to her friend.

        “Don’t worry—that was one good way to get my attention. So I take it you’re off for lunch? Well I haven’t seen Ray at all today. I’m not...” Cantaloupe found herself cut off by Acoustiana pointing skyward. “Oh...yeah I can see why now. Uh, this is a bit of a problem. I cant just leave my customers right now. I’m selling out, and that is just gonna be the best thing ever. Hrm, what to do, what to do...” Cantaloupe seemed to be talking to herself.

        Writing more down on her notepad, Acoustiana tried to help the process of coming up with a plan. “Why don’t I go find him and, gather Pastel, and then we come back here? That way you can keep selling your fruit and we can still get together for lunch.”

        “HA! That’s a great idea. I don’t know why I suddenly have all these ponies wanting to buy my fruit, but by Celestia, today has just been busy, busy, busy. So yes, that idea is just perfect. I should be selling out in like ten minutes flat. So by the time you get back I should have this heap packed up and emptied. Ohh, my family is gonna be so proud! I can’t wait to show them today’s profits.” Cantaloupe’s eyes glistened with unabated joy.

        Acoustiana nodded to her friend and placed her notepad back into her case. Getting her instruments loaded up again, she waved and headed back out of the garden. She heard the crowd start to get louder as she trotted off and listened to hear what Cantaloupe had to say.

        “Okay, for the ‘being kind and patient’ sale, all melons will be ten percent off. What? Oh I’m almost out? Oh fine! The kiwis are also on sale then.” The crowd seemed to agree, and the clinking of bits continued.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Acoustiana wasn’t sure where to start her search, but figured if she just kept an eye on the sky, she would eventually find the weather ponies hard at work. With such extensive cloud coverage that wasn’t supposed to be here, she figured the best spot would be the one that was cleared of clouds.

        She looked to the west: clouds to the forest, no clearing.

        She looked to the east: clouds to the mountains, no clearing.

        She looked north: clouds as far as she could see, rolling down the valley.

        She looked south: the clouds where thickest, and seemed to be growing darker.

        Acoustiana was at a loss. The clouds were everywhere, and not a single clear patch of sky was evident. The only option left would be to ask the townsponies. So she took out her notepad and wrote her question down, resolved to the difficult task of asking ponies.

        As she went about politely trying to gain the attention of the townsponies, so as to show them her question. She quickly found that her query was not unique. All of those she asked wanted to know the same thing. She also found that all of them where quite willing to converse with her on the matter, even though she was unable to talk and they would have to read her replies instead of just speaking normally.

        Acoustiana eventually pieced together, from the many ponies she talked to, a general idea of what was happening. The mail mare said that a lot of the cities and towns to the north where in need of heavy rainfall for their orchards and fields. As Cloudsdale was to the southeast, the weather ponies of Foalsdale couldn’t just poof the clouds like they would normally, but instead had to move them. Then she found out from various restaurant goers, that the very few pegasi that were spotted gathering food for the weather team looked ragged and more than a little upset. They figured whatever was happening was unpleasant and, obviously, not working. They also noted that the pegasi always headed south with their saddle bags loaded with supplies.

        Acoustiana chose to head in that direction. Where the clouds were at their thickest, and darkest. However, as she set off down the road, she heard a distinctly familiar loud crashing sound. Looking around the next corner, she confirmed her suspicion. Pastel was at a full gallop heading straight for her, or at least the southern exit road.

        As Pastel got close, Acoustiana saw the look on her face. Pastel was terrified, with a look that one would expect on a pony being chased by an Ursa Major, or a dragon. Yet nothing was chasing her. Acoustiana became very worried, and she tried to gain the racing artist’s attention.

        Pastel only briefly looked at the waving Acoustiana before tearing off down the southern road. She knew she was too late to keep her promise, and didn’t have time to stop and greet her new friend. She did hope that Acoustiana would follow though, as she knew Ray would be more than she could probably handle at this point.

        Acoustiana noticed the glance she got, and the brief look of happiness. This impression was all she needed to surmise: whatever Pastel was running from, or to, was of utmost importance. Having found one of the two ponies she was out to locate, she resolved herself to follow as best she could. Pastel was a very fast pony, and Acoustiana was far too tired to maintain the breakneck speed. However, the purple and burgundy pony would be easily spotted in the crowd, so Acoustiana was not worried about losing her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Pastel galloped as fast as her hooves allowed. She used her magic gently moving aside anypony that was in her path. She knew that the townsfolk would understand. They had dealt with her shenanigans for such a long time that she knew they wouldn’t fuss much about a gentle nudge so as not to be trampled.

        Reaching the place she knew Ray would be, she started scanning the skies. By the looks of the mess, she knew all she would have to do was listen, and she would find her target. She started searching the area with her ears, and soon heard the faint sound of the voice she sought.

        It took time to follow the sound, as she had to navigate terrain not suited for walking on, but eventually she was able to find where the weather ponies were working, and the one in charge. Her relief was short-lived as Ray began shouting.

        “How bloody incompetent can you all be? This isn’t some difficult math question! Move the clouds east! No! You’re just bunching them up! Stop that! No! You imbeciles! What are you all, fresh from flight camp? Use your bloody wings to bloody move that mass east! It isn’t hard! By Celestia, this winter wrap up will be just simply horrific if none of you can even move a bloody cloud mass!”

        Pastel knew her task. She had a promise to keep, and Ray may not like it now, but he made her swear to it. Gathering her magic, she prepared her spell, but wanted to try diplomacy first.

        “Ray Cloudburst! This is your one and only warning to calm down and talk to me. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

        Ray looked down from his cloud perch with bloodshot eyes. “Stay out of this, Pastel. If you haven’t noticed, we are in the middle of a bloody crisis. If you want to help, conjure some competence pills for these featherbrains I have to deal with rather than threaten ME!”

        Pastel’s eyes began to water as she shot out her spell. The cloud supporting Ray quickly wrapped around him, locking all his limbs and wings down so as to render him unable to move. She then wrapped his muzzle in cloud preventing any more yelling and obscenities.

        “Stop fighting, Ray! You made me promise. Remember that promise?”

        Acoustiana arrived to find her two friends glaring at each other. Ray was up on a cloud, a cloud wrapped in a blue magical aura.  Pastel was concentrating on her spell, as her horn flared greatly with her use of magic.

        Hearing somepony arrive, Pastel dared a glance to see who it was, and was very relieved to find it was indeed the one she wished would follow her. She then got a sickening feeling in her tummy as she knew there would be questions needing answering, and those answers were not hers to give. Setting aside those feelings, she had a more important and immediate problem.

        “Acoustiana, please for the sake of Ray, I need you to use your magic to pull him down to the ground, but not too far so as to damage the cloud. I know this is strange, and you’re confused, but please, we need you to help.” Pastel pleaded with not just her words, but also with her eyes. Allowing the tears she was holding back and the fears she subverted to surface ever so slightly, her eyes glistened an widened.

        Acoustiana looked to her friends. Ray had eyes filled with rage, his nostrils flared and all his muscles were flexed in an attempt to break free. Pastel was concentrating on her binding spell, and had fear in her eyes. She then noticed the other pegasi starting to pay attention to the goings-on. They all looked worn out, and more than a few looked at Ray’s situation and put on a smug smile. She knew that whatever was happening, it would be best to get Ray out of the situation so that they could hopefully all talk about it.

        Acoustiana channeled her magic and gently lowered the cloud to shoulder height, leaving it just enough clearance off the ground so as not to be bothered by grasses. She then looked to Pastel for further instructions.

        “The rest of you had best get back to work.” Pastel shot a warning glare to the other pegasi now gathering to watch Ray get carted off. “This is for HIS sake, not yours. You all have a job to do, and I suggest you get back to it, NOW!” The pegasi all quickly darted off into the clouds and away from the dagger-sharp stare Pastel had just flung at them.

        “Thank you, Acoustiana. You have no idea how much your help means to the both of us. Ray may not agree right now, but don’t worry, he will.” Ray gave a loud snort and what sounded like a guttural growl. “Hush, you, I tried talking you down, but no! You just won’t listen to reason in this state. I am sorry for being late to prevent this,” Pastel appeared sad and tried to brush a bit of Ray’s mane that had gotten into his face. As her hoof almost reached him however, she had to stop to redouble her efforts to maintain the spell as Ray violently tried to break free.

        “Fine, you want hair in your face, let it stay. Acoustiana, I think it best if you help further. I cannot say you will be given answers to all of this, but I can tell you that after a few minutes in a room at my house, Ray will be back to himself. After that, we can see what happens. I am sorry to have to have involved you, but I am glad you are here. Thank you again.” Pastel leaned up to Acoustiana to give a legless hug. “Now if you would help escort us to my place we can get this situation resolved. We shall avoid the town as much as possible—no need to parade poor Ray more than we would have to.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Arriving at a multicolored and well-crafted house, Acoustiana and Pastel guided Ray and his cloud inside. It was mostly just a large room from what Acoustiana was able to tell. The front room was enormous, and very cluttered. The walls covered in paintings, the floor covered with a canvas that showed multiple splotches of paint of various colors and types. The scent of the room was a rather pleasant one though: jasmine and something subtle that Acoustiana wasn’t able to place.

        “I need to give Ray some medicine. Its an aerosol, and as I do not know how it will affect you, it would be best if you stayed in this room, deary. In a few minutes Ray should be back to himself.” Pastel gently nudged the cloud into a back room. She shut the door and a there was silence.

        After a few minutes, Acoustiana heard a dull thump from the room. Shortly after, the door opened and Pastel came out. Her normally braided hair was all unraveled and frizzy. She looked as though she were just shocked by lightning and her hair got stuck in the position.

        “Ahem...yes this is what it does to me. Magical medicine and all, strange things happen. Hehe...any who, Ray, I think our friend would like to know you are in fact okay. Please reassure her.” Pastel called into the room and spoke as gently as she could. Acoustiana also took note that Pastel looked very worn out. Most likely the expenditure of magic she had to use in order to keep Ray on that cloud.

        Heavy hoofsteps were heard from the room. Acoustiana watched as Ray exited. Every ounce of anger that he had previously was gone. In its place was a tired and remorseful pegasus. Ray never took his eyes off the floor, his wings drooping at his sides, dragging on the floor.

        “I...I’m...Please forgive anything and everything you have seen me say and or do Miss Acoustiana. I...it...that wasn’t the real me.” Ray slumped to the ground and covered his face with his leg.

        “Oh there, there, Ray,” Pastel quickly ruffled Ray’s mane. “Nopony is perfect. I got there in time before it happened again. You just got loud to the other pegasi...and said a few things, but nothing more. And I had you wrapped up before she got there, so you didn’t say anything to her.”

        Acoustiana was now completely baffled. She watched as Pastel went into the room and came out with a bucket of water and doused herself with it. She then went about brushing her mane and tail, and re-braided them both.

        Letting out a long sigh, Ray got up from the floor and straightened himself out. He preened his wings and fixed his own mane. He then looked to Acoustiana and seemed to realize she was still there.

        “Bugger...” He looked to Pastel, “Did you tell her anything?”

        “Are you implying I broke my promise?” Pastel gave Ray a sharp look along with her tone of warning.

        “I would never imply such a thing. I am merely ensuring that the explanation I feel she is deserving wouldn’t be needless recitation.” Ray was looking down at the floor and scraped at it with his hoof.

        “Dear, if you want her to know, then tell her. If you can’t, then give me permission to. Don’t act like a shy foal on dance night.”

        “I...yes. Please Pastel, if you would be so kind as to inform our new friend of our...arrangement...that would be satisfactory.”

        Rolling her eyes, Pastel set down her brush and hair ties and took a seat on a couch she pulled from off to the side, and offered the other half to Acoustiana.

        “So, to make a long story short, Ray and myself have met in a very odd circumstance. You have now seen both of our...issues...so to say. I get clumsy, some would say willfully destructive, when I get to some of my deadlines. I keep my word, and that includes having a painting or work of art turned in on the time I said it would. Well, when I just got started...that wasn’t what the town saw...they saw me cause hundreds of bits of property damage. As such, I often found myself in a holding cell by the guards. And that is where we met.

        “Ray, as you saw, has an issue when things with the weather don’t go to plan. It doesn’t seem to crop up when he is just a worker, but when he is in charge. As the best strategist on keeping the skies clear and sunny, he has had to run into this issue. The specifics are meaningless, but suffice it to say, his anger gets out of control. He did some regrettable things his first time in charge, and ended up in the holding cell along with me.

        “We got to talking. Both of us were good ponies. We just had...issues...and that wasn’t completely a bad thing. After our trials, we got sent to some counseling. We just so happened to have gotten the same counselor. So we met frequently and while we learned more about ourselves, we shared with each other. The counselor was actually pleased to hear about that. They said that keeping it inside caused a pony to build up negative emotions that would eventually burst out into greater problems. They said that sharing with each other made us more willing to explore ways to deal with our issues.

        “That was when me and Ray figured out a solution. We knew each other’s ‘triggers’ and trusted each other enough to know the other would do their best to keep our issue to a minimum of...well...an issue. We both promised to keep it between each other, unless it was required to tell someone, like the counselor. We aren't proud of our issues, but they are a part of who we are.”

        Acoustiana looked between the two. Pastel held a warm smile, while Ray looked miserable. She wanted to feel pity for him, but found that it wasn’t pity she felt when she looked upon him. He was a smart, strong pegasus. On the inside, he was kind and caring. He knew he had a demon inside him, and that seemed to shatter him. The pony she saw, looking miserable, was a pony that wanted to be better, but couldn’t. Yet this pony tried nonetheless, just like her.