The String Of Life:
Chapter 29- Two Doorbells:
This was the next day, and Maestro managed to luckily put in enough hours at his workplace to take the day off for today, in addition with a possible promotion offer for him next week. He was currently upstairs adding some things to the baby’s room.
Octavia was in the living room downstairs, softly playing her Cello to her future daughter. She hummed tunes to her in-between songs on her instrument, and telling her stories. Humming tunes that her grandmother Octave sung to her almost every night when she was lying in bed. She loved her grandmother to death, and if only she could’ve lived just a few more years. She could’ve had a chance to share her moments with her great grandchild.
Octavia sighed and laid her head back against the couch, recapping memories of them together. “I still think of you every day grandma.” She said to herself, looking up into the ceiling.
“Oh this war…I just hope that-” She was then interrupted by the doorbell ringing.
She turned her head to the right of her, hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever was at the front door through the window closely and conveniently placed near the door entrance.
“Can’t really see from here, but okay then.” Taking it easy for getting up this time, having to watch that belly of hers. She gets up off of the couch trotting her way to the front door. She opens it to the sight of Harmony waving at her smiling.
“Good day to you Ms. Harmony.”
“Good day to you as well Ms. Octavia! How’s my future granddaughter doing?” she asked, Harmony lowering her head down to the level of the belly speaking to it.
“Hey there little one, it’s granny…yes it is, yes it is.” She spoke softly to the premature foal, leaving Octavia with an “Aww” expression on her face.
“You can’t wait to be a grandmother can’t you?” she asked.
“It would change my life, and that has already happened once sweetie.” Harmony giggled lightly.
Maestro hearing the doorbell, he finally comes down the stairs after a good twenty minutes later since his mother’s arrival.
“Oh hey mom, head anything about the latest on Canterlot’s status regarding the war?”
“Good heavens no, I don’t care about that negative stuff.”
“It’s important though, you need to keep track of it, just maybe twice a week or something would keep you posted on the latest.” He replied.
“I know dear, but it’d only been since yesterday that Princess Celestia made her address. Prince Shining Armor even explains-”
“I know mom, we were there, remember? You left us, and Vinyl lot sight of you because you kept going like a little kid.” He added.
“Ha ha ha, you’re right on that! Seems like I’m still young at heart if I want to be.” his mother laughed.
Working its way into the evening now, around five or so in the afternoon, hours after his mother showing up to visit, and her still being there, the doorbell rings once again.
“I’ll get it you two!” Harmony shouted, as Octavia was checking how the baby’s room was coming along so far with Maestro upstairs.
“Okay, we’ll be right there mom!” Hearing him hammer the final nails into a shelf mount.
Harmony opens the door, and she appeared a little confused, but then recalled what Shining Armor said to everypony yesterday if this ever happened. To her sight, a large stallion clad in golden armor stood there at the entrance with a serious but eased look on his face.
“Does somepony by the name of Maestro live here?”
Harmony merely nodded, then shouted out to Maestro to quickly come down.
“Maestro?! Please come down here right away, okay?!”
He didn’t delay, and him and Octavia make their way down the stairs, but them being stopped halfway up the stairs seeing a guard stand there looking back at them, then taking off his gold helmet.
“Are you Maestro by any chance sir?”
“Uh, yeah? I mean yes sir.” He corrected himself.
“Ah good, then the number I have been requested to meet with is number three, seven, eight, one, two, two, six…do these numbers match yours sir?” The guards asked him.
“Uh…I think my number is upstairs in my bedroom, I’ll be right back.” Maestro immediately turns around and heads straight into the room.
“Would you like to come in? I’m making sandwiches if you would like one?” Harmony asked the guard.
“Eh heh, no ma’am, but I appreciate the offer. I’m only here for him though miss…nopony else.” He said, putting his helmet back on.
Octavia slowly opens up the cracked door in their bedroom, faintly hearing him talk to himself.
“No, no this can’t be right?! Surely this is the wrong number?! I…I don’t want to go…I can’t.”
She then slowly trots in there, opening the door with a tiny squeak of its hinges.
“Maestro? Is everything okay?” the piece of paper containing the number lying on the floor with his back facing her, as he looked down at the portion of carpet placed before his vision.
“Are you okay? Please answer me, you know I don’t like it when you do this to me.” she insisted, kissing his cheek then looking at the expression on his face, which was with shock.
“I…I can’t…believe it…” he mumbled.
“Maestro?”
“I can’t go…I just…”
“What are you talking about sweetie, you’re starting to worry me a bit here.” She put on of her hoofs under her chin, wondering what he was talking about.
The guard called out to him from downstairs, still waiting on his response.
“Sir! Mr. Maestro sir, come down please! I think it’s been long enough don’t you think?” the guard calls out to him.
Maestro with barely any emotion on his face gets himself up off of the floor grabbing his number, and making his way downstairs for the third time today. Looks like when it came to something unfortunate, third time was the charm.
“Ah, may I see your number please?”
Maestro hands him his paper containing his draft number.
The guard looked back on a pad that some numbers were written down on, and began checking for his match.
“Mother…” he turned his head slightly, Octavia standing on his right side, feeling worried a pinch.
“Yes dear?” his mother wondered.
“I love you.”
Harmony didn’t like the sound of it, nor the expression of his face, as emotions of fear began to appear, and a mother knows fear when she sees it. Though Maestro was hiding his fear pretty well, she could tell plain a day from him, for a mother has her secret ways of knowing.
“Sweetie…what’s going on?” Harmony asked him worried., which hearing her voice sound like this got Octavia’s emotion stirred up with her.
Octavia’s eyes got large, forcing her mind to deny what was happening before her…he was going off to war.
“Okay, everything check up a-okay sir, now please follow me back to the castle.” The guard making his way off of the front porch, but Maestro still standing there, looking like a scared puppy from his mother.
For the first time since he was a kid, the kid was brought back out of him from being afraid of going off to this war.
“I…I can’t go…I don’t want to go to war yet!” he exclaimed, now trying to hold back tears in his eyes.
“Maestro you can’t go! Please whatever you do, just don’t leave me alone again! I don’t know what I would do without you here with me!” Octavia cried into his shoulder.
Harmony just standing there giving them there moment together, with the strong mother she was trying to be, holding back tears certainly wasn’t her forte.
The guard standing there at the bottom of the steps, looking back at them decided to cut him some slack for a minute or two.
“I understand this isn’t easy for loved ones, I’ll give you three minutes, then we must be off, understand?” stated the guard with boldness in his voice.
Maestro merely nodded back to him implying a “thank you”.
“Don’t thank me, I’m just here doing my job, but anyways you have three minutes.” The guard then trotted his way towards the intersection of where two streets meet, expecting Maestro to meet him there to get a little bit of a heads start, since the guard was on the clock for this.
Maestro immediately wiping his tears away as they blended in with Octavia’s coming down on the same shoulder.
“Shh, I-I’ll be fine, alright?” he said, choking back tears of his own.
“That’s no excuse mister! You know what war does to family’s?!” Octavia cried to him.
Seeing her face so torn up like that broke his heart, he could hardly take such a sight of such a sad pony she’d be, with him having to leave her for a second time, for this time was with a chance of not coming back. Tears rolling down the sides of her face, those gorgeous purple eyes of slowly becoming bloodshot from her eyes, straining out tears from the pain she felt. Harmony then trotted over to Octavia giving her a light hug.
“He said he would be fine, okay? He would never lie to you, and you know it.” his mother said, now trying to be the strong one in this bunch. Maestro having a slight smile form on his face wiped away the couple of tears that snuck their way down his cheeks.
Octavia hearing that hugged Maestro even tighter.
“I’ll never let go of you, ever. I’ll be with you wherever you go out there.” Octavia’s voice stated to him a bit muffled, her face still in the side of his shoulder crying.
Maestro then looked back to the guard.
“Will she be able to see me one last time before I go?” he yelled out to the guard at the intersection.
“No sir, the train taking you will not wait for family, and is strictly there to pick up soldiers, and head out as fast as possible to the Griffon Highlands!” The guard replied.
“You have one minute sir!” he added, with Maestro nodding back out of receiving the memo.
“Okay, well…I think I have to go. To be honest with you Tavi…I’m terrified of leaving too. I don’t want to do this either.” he chuckles, trying to brighten it up more, but Octavia still looking at him with those undeniable eyes she had. Those eyes that any stallion would fall in love with.
“Dear? Sweetie?” Harmony intervened.
“Yes mom?”
“You just…you just come back safe okay? You have a family to look forward to when you get back.”
“I…I know.” He replied, looking up at the sky that was slowly becoming gray, as rain was predicted for today sometime this afternoon.
Octavia then turned his head one last time towards her as she kissed him hard on the lips.
“You…know what you need to do. Just come back for her…okay?”
Maestro then looked down at his future daughter. Never done it before, he kissed her belly, smiling at the premature foal inside.
“I’m coming back for you…okay?” he poked his hoof at Octavia’s belly.
“You’ve never done that before to her.”
“I know…and it will not be the last…I promise.”
“oh!” Octavia jerked slightly.
“You okay?” he wondered.
“That was her…I think she heard you Maestro. She wants her daddy to come back home too okay?
“That’s my girl.” He speaks softly back down to Octavia’s expectancy, kissing it one last time.
“I love you Maestro!” she raised her voice a bit as he left from the bottom of the stairs on the front porch.
“I love you too Octavia!” he replied back.
“Alrighty then, time’s up! Now follow me sir.” The royal guard now escorting him to the royal castle for some reason, but for what reason could that be?
As Maestro was leaving with the guard, he could see Octavia watch him the entire way down the street until he was out of sight entirely.
“He’ll be okay, don’t you fret…my little angel.” Octavia touched her belly once more.
Just moments after, another kick came out of the little bundle of life…almost like a reply.