The Strings Of Life:
Chapter 19- Track Trip:
It was now morning, and Maestro knew that Octavia was still going over there whether he liked it or not.
The buzzer on his new alarm clock, probably the third one this month, was going off.
“Uh…shut up!” he then threw the alarm clock across the bedroom, then went back to sleep.
“Ah…better.” He continued to lay in the bed in silence, until he realized something…
“Wait a minute…” today was the day him and Octavia were heading to Las Pegasus.
“Crap! I knew I should’ve packed last night! I was just…oh forget it, I need to get packing big time now!” He immediately forced himself up out of bed, and quickly got out a couple of suitcases his father had gotten him for his birthday last year, very nice ones in fact.
Once packed, he rushed into the bathroom to shower up and freshen up, pushing his father out of the way as he was about to head in there instead.
“I say Maestro, I know you’re heading out on a trip, but that was just uncalled for.”
“I’m heading to Las Pegasus father!”
“What! Surely you’re joking? You told me last night you were heading out on a trip for orchestral reasons?”
“Okay fine I lied, it’s Las Pegasus!”
“How could you Maestro? You have more important things to do than dilly-dally around in casinos and get drunk!” his father exclaimed again outside the closed bathroom door.
Maestro could be heard washing and cleaning himself as fast as he could, considering he forgot to set his alarm over thirty minutes back.
The showerhead minutes after could then be heard shutting off, but then the doorbell rang though.
“I’ll get it!” Diamond Ring yelled to them from downstairs.
She opened up the door, and to her surprise it was Octavia.
“Well goodness darling, good morning to you as well. Would you like to-”
“No, just tell Maestro I’ll be at the train station, it will be leaving out in fifteen minutes.” Octavia then rushed off with her luggage in the directions of the station. Galloping off in that direction.
“Maestro! This lovely Octavia girl said that some train would be leaving in fifteen minutes! Care to explain?” his mother yelled to him.
All she heard was a loud bang from upstairs.
“Is everything okay up there?”
She then heard heavy hoofsteps briefly make its way into the hall.
“Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!” his bedroom door then slammed.
The house then went silent for a moment until his father spoke up from upstairs to her.
“He’s awake honey, he just disturbed the very gates of Tartarus with this insane rushing he is doing!”
About five minutes had passed, and his bags were packed in a sloppy manner, and his mane still partially wet as he put on a slim tie and grabbed his luggage banging and bumping his way out of the house. Hitting side to side on his way downstairs, clumsy as a baby, he then tumbled down the stairs.
“Oh goodness, Maestro!” she rushed over to him.
“I’m fine mom.” He then quickly got himself up, grabbing his luggage once more, and not even bothering to kiss his mother goodbye…well maybe for only a moment.
“Well you forgot-”
Maestro then quickly kisses his mother on the cheek, and then gallops once again out the door.
“Oh…well…ugh…be careful son!” she yells out.
“I will!” his voice fades in reply.
“Look at him…going out there and getting drunk with that classy mare…this is ridiculous. To think of all that he even did for her too…just…just preposterous I say. They need to settle in Canterlot for once.” His father says to himself out loud.
After galloping through the streets and onwards toward the station, he heard a whistle sound off, and then faintly heard “All aboard! Track fifty-seven!”
“Oh no, that must be it!” Maestro then decided to really whip some grass at this time now; he could not miss that train whatever he did.
He made it, but with just one minute to get on board.
“One minute before depa-”
“Shut up dude! I’m trying okay?!” Maestro shouts back to him.
“You sir, are rude.”
“Well you sir, need to give me and her more time, add one more minute okay? Just one.”
“I can give you thirty more seconds, that’s it. Now hurry.” The conductor replied.
“Here’s the tickets, just go up there to that register and get us both stamped okay?” She then quickly pecked his cheek with a kiss of good luck, hoping they’d be able to make it.
However…their was a long line ahead of him.
“Oh no you don’t.”
Maestro then runs straight up to the front desk telling him fifty-seven was leaving, and that his tickets were for that departure.
“I’m sorry sir, but you’re just going to have to-”
“I will not deal with another complication in my day understand?! Now stamp this piece of crap!”
“O-okay s-sir…r-right away…” the pony whispered feeling intimidated by him, as she then quickly stamped both tickets and gave them back in just a few seconds.
“Thank you miss…you have a nice day.” Maestro waved back at her with a sarcastic smile.
“How did you…”
“Don’t ask…let’s just say I was very assertive though.”
“Oh, assertive huh? I like that.” Octavia giggled.
“Well…time’s up…let’s run!” Maestro stated, as they both heard the whistle once more.
The conductor then notices both of them run up to him at the entrance.
“The both of you are late.” He said.
“Aw come on, we got our tickets stamped and everything!” Maestro exclaimed.
The conductor rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with him, so he then felt pressured and decided to bend the rules for him a bit.
“Fine, fine! Climb aboard.” He stepped out of the way, letting Maestro and Octavia pass right up.
“Thank Celestia...and it’s all because of you.” said Octavia, poking Maestro in his side.
The second they got onto and inside one of the cars, they could feel the train pulling away from the station, as other ponies’ family members waved back at loved ones through the windows.
They made it back to a part of one car that seemed to be a little dimmed in one of the parts of it, considering the bulbs needed to be changed, but for anypony who would sit back there, they’d get a little privacy in that respect. Luckily the bulbs weren’t flickering or doing anything bad of the sort, but rather merely giving off a dim light over a few seats on the right side of the car.
“There, why don’t we sit over there?” Octavia points.
“Why there, it’s awfully dimmed.”
“I know it is, but let’s just sit there anyways.” She replied, as she made her way over there already.
“Well then, looks like we got ourselves quite the trip there. It’s not going to be a short trip.” Said Maestro.
After they were about several minutes onto the tracks, it was now all smooth chugging from here.
Octavia and Maestro had left their instruments at their homes, knowing that even just hopefully encountering Vinyl down there would be more important than playing with their instruments. Maestro had nothing else, but a pencil and some paper to draw with, and ponder on some other things. For Octavia, she simply enjoyed taking it easy and resting her mind for most of the trip. Thinking and planning things is what she was comfortable with…sometimes anyways.
As the hours passed on and on, it had reached almost eight at night. They were still about three or four hours away from Las Pegasus now. Maestro looked back over at Octavia to check in on how she was holding up, and she was already asleep again.
“Goodness, she must either be at great peace in her life now, or she’s got a medical condition…oh what the hay, I might as well mark the medical condition thing off, no way in Tartarus she’s got something like that.”
After he finished saying that, he then felt her body lay up against him, as she was then getting awfully close to him.
“Um…oh my…what’s she doing?” he thought.
She then spoke up in a small soft voice.
“I’m a little cold.”
“Really? Well then…I think I might have a cover I packed I believe.”
He checked his luggage, and luckily he had one. He brought it over her, but then she put it over him, and then got her head closer to his, as she then laid her head beside his.
“Can I ask why you-”
“Just want to take it easy…” her soft voice fades.
“Oh, okay.” he replied in a whisper.
From then on out, they ended up sharing the cover together, and with Maestro thinking he probably should’ve taken it easy the whole way like she did.
“I suppose doing this wouldn’t hurt.” he then began to yawn.
Him and Octavia just minutes afterward soon then fell asleep to the warmth of each other. For Octavia, her heart once again had now felt like it had never left him, almost like her very soul had felt rejuvenated from being with him. There had always been something about him to her, something…special. Perhaps since they had both lost dear loved ones, maybe that was the reason? But it couldn’t be. Something even through those horrible times she had experienced had been calling out to here from somewhere about him, but why, who, and where was this tug on her heart about him coming from?
One thing’s for certain, as these questions, thoughts, and feelings were going through her sleepy head and now-mellow heart, a shooting star once again then darted across the sky over the both of them as these things happened to her on the train. Something is bound to happening…and soon.