Midnight Melody

by Caffeine Junkie


-(1)- Melody in the Wind

It was one of those dark cold autumn days. No pony dared to walk through the streets that night, well no pony except one very naive mare.

I was on the way to the stage, not that it was an important performance it was just another boring party at some nobles place. Still, my sense of duty made me rush down those dark cold streets.

Now that I look back it might have been destiny that lured me there. Destiny! Oh what a funny way to say that you have no control over your own life. Still, that may have been the case back then. I was frail at that time, I doubted myself, I even experienced loneliness but I still enjoyed my life. I thought those careless days would last forever… I was wrong. Who would have thought that my greatest love would be my downfall, yes I am talking about music.

At that particular moment you might think: Oh you silly mare, music never killed anypony.
You really think that? BUCK YOU! You know nothing!

If you think Equestria only consists of happiness then guess again!
So there is darkness in Equestria you say.
Well what about it you say.
We still have the elements of harmony you say.

I have to stop you right there. The solution to all of your problems won’t come in the form of the elements or the royal sisters. Yeah sure they saved all of Equestria from the draconequus, the changelings and other things but on that fateful night no one was there to help me.

So where was I…oh right I was on the way to my performance. The cold wind brushed through my mane and it was if I heard a lullaby in the wind. Little did I know what this song really was back then, I just enjoyed it while galloping to my job. It was like the perfect background music for everything a pony could do I guess. Well there was one thing where it wouldn’t fit…if you know what I mean *giggle*.

So when I finally arrived at the party…it just ended up as boring as I expected. Everyone talked about how rich, good looking or important they were and they completely ignored our work. Well, we knew that game already so we kept quiet and played along.

My three co-workers always enjoyed to hear the newest gossip from Canterlot’s nobility. It made them feel like they belong to them even though all of us knew that we would probably never become part of that flashy world anyway. When I think about it now maybe even I was somehow drawn in by all this “fabulousity” as they'd say nowadays.

While thinking about my life I unconsciously started to be influenced by the song I heard before. I played it and it sounded nice and solid but neither high class nor as extravagant as I recalled it. My partners stopped and it was only me playing the whole thing for 5 minutes before I finally regained my sense for the mood. Everyone was laughing at me, even my colleagues.

Oh it was so embarrassing I wish I had died that day. However, the worst thing was I became THE topic of the party…for all the time that was left of the party. My co-workers told everyone that I lacked some sleep and that this could have happened to everypony. However I knew they silently enjoyed it, they enjoyed that it actually happened to me. Now we had at least some gossip going on about us and only my reputation was stained. Any press is good press as they say...

From that moment forth my colleagues started to call me “miss head in the clouds”. Not that they needed a reason to call me names. Before my little "fauxpas" they referred to me as “little miss perfect”. It hurt…but not that much. To be honest our whole little group was nothing more than an alliance of convenience.

After the party ended and I brought enough shame to myself to entertain everypony for the next two years I decided to go home. I left my cello where it was, knowing that the next performance would be in three days at the same time and place.

Of course it had started to rain exactly when I left the party, just great. I tried to avoid the main streets and wandered through the tightly knitted alleys of canterlot where the raindrops wouldn’t reach. After wandering around for some time I started to hear the lullaby again. This time I tried to find the source of this enchanting music.

Have you ever heard ponies say: Curiosity killed the cat?
Well I have and I always answered: Cats have nine lives you know? What could possibly happen?
Now I know that ponies just have one.

So what happened when I looked for the source of the lullaby? Well, I walked deeper and deeper into the heart of Canterlot. Finally I found myself on a big street. A Street I have never seen before. A Street I should have known…because I know Canterlot inside out. All houses along the street looked like they belonged to a different century. There was even a sweet fragrance in the air, it was so sweet it would probably drive weaker minds insane.

I walked down the road looking around in wonder when I finally reached the end of the street. There was a big black house. It seemed, unlike the rest of the buildings, not abandoned. It looked like a mansion built two centuries ago. The atmosphere around the mansion was heavy as if a dark veil was clad around it. I looked at the building in awe. My gaze wandered up and down and I began to wonder…could this have been the home of a famous musician?

I tried to peek through the dark windows and through the shadows beyond but…suddenly I recognised there were lights glimmering inside. How could that be? I was looking at the mansion for several minutes and there wasn’t even a trace of light. Was the light avoiding my glare, just until it couldn’t anymore? The faint sound of the lullaby also evaded my ears when I watched this place. It seems whatever this place was it tried to be not seen. Now that I think about it: Didn’t the whole road try to be not seen?

I mustered all of my courage and knocked on the dark wooden door. Nothing happened.
I should have left like that. No one wanted to open. It should have been clear. It was not. Oh no, not for me…
My curiosity was not satisfied, so I stood there for approximately thirty minutes, in front of a door that would probably never open and an uneay feeling I still can't describe.

Suddenly the lights went off and I waited in anticipation for something to happen. There wasn't anything to see but my wet and soaked self, standing there and gazing upon the mansion. I let my eyes wander. It was full moon and I watched its beauty. Maybe nothing would have happened but then I began to hum the lullaby while my thoughts kept wandering.

Suddenly I heard the door crack and it opened a bit. A male voice, sweeter than anything I have heard before said:” You shouldn’t be here my dear. You should run… This song wasn’t meant to be heard by the likes of you…”
The door fell back and closed with a loud noise and I...

I stood there the same way anypony would stand there if somepony shut the door right before their faces and told them you are not worth their work. I was seriously agitated! I would try again and I would bring my cello with me. I would show him who wasn’t worth whose work…

Oh Octavia…arrogance will be your undoing…