My Little Investigations: The Silent Dirge

by Metool Bard

Encore: Standing Ovation

That night, after Silenus was carried off by the police and everything had settled down some, Slick Licks gathered everyone to the Bent Trumpet in order to make a special announcement.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," he said. "I understand that this year's Manehattan Music Festival has had its share of troubles, and that not everypony scheduled to perform got to share their sweet tunes with us. However, in light of this, I have decided to change the schedule around some. You'll still get to hear the performances these fine ponies have worked so hard to put together, so everyone still has their chance to shine in the spotlight!"

This was something of a relief, and everypony else seemed to agree. After a round of applause, Slick Licks held up his hoof to ask for silence.

"But that's not all, folks! Because we've got a special treat to close this year's festival on the fourteenth. And this finale is to celebrate the accomplishments of a sweet kitten named Octavia Melody! Come on up here!"

I, was not expecting that. Although hesitant at first, several ponies finally convinced me to join Slick Licks onstage. When the applause died down, Slick Licks continued.

"It's through this pony's courage in the face of doubt that we're all standing here today, as she has proven that music is an art that will endure throughout the ages," said he. "And to commemorate this, our last performance at this year's Manehattan Music Festival will be an improv jam session starring all of your favorite musicians! 'Cause while we all have our separate sounds that are powerful enough on their own, this festival is about how all of those sounds come together to make something magical."

The audience erupted into loud cheers and applause. Normally, I'd be against this idea. Some genres just don't mix. However, this is a special circumstance. This performance was created to make a statement that every musician has something special to offer. And that's a statement I can get behind.

"Speech, Octy! Speech!" Vinyl cheered.

Oh no. This situation is embarrassing enough as it is; I don't need Vinyl's help to make it worse! Ugh, sod it. It wouldn't be Vinyl if she didn't try to embarrass me.

"Um, I-I don't really know what to say here," I said. "I mean, all I did was stress myself out trying to protect something that's near and dear to me. Honestly, I wouldn't have gotten half as far as I did without the help of my friends."

"You're too modest, Tavia!" Fiddlesticks called out.

"No, Fiddle. It's true," I said with a sigh. "This was, very hard for me to do. I was scared the whole time."

"But you still puuulled through, even in the faaace of doubt," said Pan sagely. "I feel thaaat speaks to your chaaaracter, don't you?"

"Well, I suppose," I said sheepishly, my cheeks starting to feel warm. "But regardless, I shouldn't be the only one up here. It's thanks to everypony who supported me in this mad endeavor that I managed to make it through this ordeal. So, I thank you all with all my heart."

There was another round of applause, and with that, everypony sat down for an early dinner. As soon as I left the stage, I was immediately mobbed by all of my friends.

"Great speech, Octy," said Vinyl. "Although I'm with Fiddle on this one. You're way too modest."

I sighed. "Vinyl, you know as much as I do that I couldn't have pulled this off on my own."

"Yeah, but you still deserve most of the credit, Tavi-doll," said Sapphire Shores. "Even if you were scared like you said, what you did took a lot of guts."

"And all this time I thought it was my fear that kept me going," I said with a chuckle.

"The important thing is that the festival is saved, and it will probably be better than ever," said Frederick.

"You said it, Fred," said Vinyl. "Although there's one thing I don't get. Silenus said he was after the Music Code for years, right? Why did it take him this long to get a plan together?"

"Perhaaaps I caaan answer thaaat."

Pan approached us and made his way into the conversation.

"I thought you said you always trusted Silenus up until he was exposed today," I said.

"I did," said Pan. "However, I do believe he waaas looking for a waaay to maaake me take his side. Mr. Dexter's sound-based weapons were supposed to show me hooow powerful my Music Code could be aaas a weapon."

"Well, that must've backfired big time," said Fiddlesticks.

"Indeed it did," said Pan. "Thaaat is why I sent thaaat letter aaasking for help. I waaanted to prevent Silenus's vision from coming true."

"Except that you didn't know it was Silenus's vision," said Sapphire somberly. "You gonna be okay, Pan?"

"I'll maaanage," said Pan with a shrug. "Silenus might've been a lovable nuisance, buuut he waaas still a nuisance nonetheless."

"Um, Scratch?"

We all turned to see Symphony meekly approaching us with Concerto not far behind. She seemed quite apprehensive.

"What's up, Symphony?" asked Vinyl.

Symphony bit her lip and swallowed. "I-I just wanted to say that after hearing that ruffian donkey say all of those bad things about music, I-I finally understand what your song was trying to say. A-and I resp— I respe-e-e— I..."

"You respect that," said Vinyl, completing Symphony's thought.

"Yes, that," said Symphony, blushing profusely. "B-but don't think this changes anything! Your so-called 'music' is still nothing but noise!"

Vinyl shrugged. "Eh, better than nothing. Thanks, Symphony."

I had to giggle at that. It's very rare to see Symphony swallow her own words.

"Listen, if you just think for yourself and..."

"I am thinking for myself, Mr. Maker. And I'm fine with not being a star. So sorry, but my final answer is no."

My attention was drawn to a conversation happening at a nearby table. Lyra and Bon-Bon were sitting across from Star Maker, who was trying in vain to get Lyra to sign his contract.

"How can you say that, Ms. Heartstrings? Everypony in the world deserves to be a star!" insisted Star Maker.

"But it's not what I want," said Lyra, shaking her head. "Didn't you hear Octavia tell that dock-hole Silenus off today? Some of us just like to play music because we want to, not to become famous. And that's what I want to do with my life, Mr. Maker."

"B-but I..."

"She said no," said Bon-Bon, narrowing her eyes.

Star Maker sighed. "Fine. But if you find yourself desiring stardom, you know where to find me."

He gave Lyra his card and walked off. Lyra looked a Bon-Bon for a moment, tore up the card, and threw it away.

"Well, good to see that Lyra finally got that monkey off her back," said Vinyl.

"Indeed," I concurred. "She might not be the most popular musician, but she is happy with what she has."

"Yeah," said Vinyl. "Hey, speaking of which, I've got some great news, Octy."

"What's that?"

"Point Dexter said I could keep the blueprints for the Bass Cannon."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why did he do that? I thought that was a keepsake from his days in the military."

"Well, it's not like he's gonna use 'em," said Vinyl with a shrug. "Besides, he doesn't want his inventions to be used for anything bad ever again."

"So to avoid this, he left the blueprints in your hooves," I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "He must not know you very well."

"Hey, I plan on using this baby in the name of awesomeness, not evil," said Vinyl.

As if that would make it better. Oh well, no point in arguing it, I suppose.

"Hey, Octy," said Beauty Brass, looking around a bit. "I feel like somepony's missing out on all this."

"I find myself in agreement," mused Frederick. "Where's that costumed friend of yours, Octavia? We haven't seen her since that stunt you pulled this morning."

That, actually was a good point. Somehow, and I don't know how, Mare-Do-Well had managed to slip away while we were all distracted. You'd think she'd want to stick around to at least take a bow. After all, she did most of the work protecting us.

"Well, maybe she's just shy," I said with a shrug. "I notice that she has a habit of disappearing when nopony's looking."

"Eh, wherever she is, I'm sure she's doing okay," said Vinyl. "Now, how about we get some grub before your band plays, Tavi?"

I gave Vinyl a dirty look. "It's an ensemble," I corrected.

"Same diff," said Vinyl.

We all got a bit of a laugh out of that, even me. Yeah, I know I said that calling my ensemble a "band" is a pet peeve of mine, but I don't care about that right now. I'm just happy to be having dinner with my friends, and that we're all safe and sound.

I left dinner early along with the rest of my ensemble to prepare for our big performance tonight. As I got to work setting up my cello, I heard the sound of somepony clapping their hooves behind me. I turned around, and there was the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well.

"I must offer my congratulations, Ms. Melody," she said. "You far exceeded my expectations."

"Yes, well. I hope I never have to do anything like that ever again," I said, turning back to my work. "By the by, why did you disappear on us? You deserve some congratulations yourself."

Mare-Do-Well chuckled. "I was never a pony for medals and recognition, Ms. Melody," said she. "I prefer to let my actions speak for themselves."

I would say that she's being far too modest for somepony who did so much for us, but that would be calling the kettle black.

"So, is that all you wanted to say?" I asked.

"No, there's also this," said Mare-Do-Well. "I wanted to thank you again for making me humble. You showed me that true strength can come from anypony."

I turned to her and tilted my head. "You, didn't know that before?"

"Like I said, I wasn't sure if you could handle the pressure," said Mare-Do-Well, obscuring her eyes with her hat. "But, it seems like you did. Also, you allowed your friend Ms. Brass to help, even though she didn't appear to have much to contribute."

"Well, I trust Beauty Brass," I said. "She might be a bit scatterbrained as well as unable to keep a secret, but I thought it best to hear her out. If it wasn't for her and all of my other friends, I wouldn't have had the nerve to do this at all."

Mare-Do-Well sighed. "Maybe there is strength in numbers, but those are still uncharted waters for me," she said. "Actually, you're not the first pony to tell me that trusting others is helpful."

"I'm not?" I inquired.

"It's a long story," said Mare-Do-Well. "But, from my experience with you and with Ms. Spitfire, I feel like I've learned a lot."

I blinked. "Wait, you know Ms. Spitfire?"

"Again, long story," said Mare-Do-Well. "Should we ever cross paths again, maybe I'll tell you about it."

"OCTY~!"

A telltale boom from Beauty Brass distracted me as the rest of my ensemble made their way onstage.

"Ponies are starting to file in, Octavia," said Parish. "Glad to see you've got a jump on things."

"Right," I said. "I think I'm ready to start enjoying this festival properly."

"I do believe we all are, Octavia," said Frederick. "By the way, were you talking to somepony just now?"

"Yes, actually," I said. "I was talking to..."

I turned around and gestured with my hoof, but Mare-Do-Well had once again disappeared. Maybe she is shy. I can't imagine that she'd just disappear when my back is turned simply to be annoying.

"Talking to whom, Octy?" asked Beauty Brass.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter," I said. "Come, let's get ready. We have a big performance to put on."

With a collective shrug, my ensemble and I got right to work preparing for our contribution to the Manehattan Music Festival. Truth be told, it's very exciting. Not just because this is a prestigious event, but because I feel like I earned this opportunity by defending what I love. It's been quite a journey, and I am glad it's over.

And with that, I draw my story to a close. Thank you for listening, and like I said before, I'd prefer it if most of what I have told you is kept off the record. I don't need any tabloids hounding me about what happened here. Now, if you'll excuse me, Slick Licks is about to introduce my ensemble. I'll leave you with this to consider: If you have something worth fighting for, no amount of fear or worry can petrify you. I suppose that's a little something I took away from this mess. Mmm, better than nothing, I guess.

"Melody, you're on in five!"

And that's my cue. As we say on K-COLT Radio, farewell, and we'll see you next time.