The Strings Of Life:
Chapter 44: Her Name:
Maestro, Harmony, both of his foster parents, along with a doctor is standing near Octavia for comfort. It was that one defining moment in any parent’s life…a baby’s life was about to be unveiled unto the world for the first time of it’s fragile little life.
“Okay Octavia, remember how my mother told you to breath okay? Remember to-”
“For the last time Maestro I’m feeling like I’m dying here, so shut up!”
Maestro then turned back around and whispered into his foster father’s ear.
“Hormones eh?”
“Indeed.” He chuckled along with him.
“Okay now, I will need anypony who is weak stomached to leave the room, as I am about to call in the nurses to help me deliver this baby, understood?”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
“Dear, stay for your honey’s baby for Celestia’s sake?” Harmony said.
“Mother, I’d faint chances are when it happens.” He replied.
“Oh come now Maestro, I delivered you the same way.”
“Okay, that was then…this is now…so I’m stepping out here where I don’t faint or throw up.” He replied again, before him and Revenue stepped out of the room.
They both took a seat across from each other, waiting patiently for the moment to finally arrive. Hearing nothing but yelling and major pain, Octavia did in fact sound like she was dying, figuratively speaking of course.
“This is why Diamond Ring never wanted a child of her own. She was afraid the pain would be too much when it came to having a baby…or foal whichever you wish to call the little soul.”
“I see what you mean father, but I’m sure you and her would still like to have one of your own correct?”
“Oh but of course my dear boy. It’s just that she’s too concerned about herself when the ‘real’ day arrives.” Revenue replied.
“He-he-he, I bet.” Maestro laughed a bit.
Before they continued on their topic and discussions of the day, they both heard what sounded like hooves galloping down the tiled floor.
“Who or what on earth could that noise be?” Revenue raised an eyebrow.
“I have no idea, let’s see here.” Maestro and him extend their necks out a bit, just enough to see what or who was doing that. Maestro instantly knew who it was.
“I don’t believe it…she’s here!”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Nothing father, just a good friend of mine.” Maestro replied, quickly getting out of the chair and making his way over to her in the hallway.
“Starlight! You’re here!”
“Maestro! Thank Celestia you’re okay!” Starlight’s wings then opened up, flapping a good second or two out of shear excitement as she stood in place hugging him.
“I’ve missed you so much!”
“I’ve missed you too Starlight, it hasn’t been the same without you.”
She then separated the hug; quite curious as to know why he was at the hospital.
“So what are you doing here anyways? Is everything okay? You’re not hurt are you?”
“No I’m fine, just sitting out here for a little delivery coming into the world.” He looked off blushing.
“What? No way! You…a father?!”
“Um…yes?” he replied playfully, acting like he wasn’t sure whether he was or not.
“Oh cut it out, congratulations by the way! Where is it hap-”
Loud yelling from a room up ahead then cut off Starlight.
“Oh…well looks like I know where it’s coming from now.” Her ears perked up a bit more, causing one of them to twitch a bit.
“Come with me, I might as well introduce you to my father.”
“But I thought you told me one time that your father died when you were-”
“Yeah this is obviously not my real father, just come with me.” Maestro added, as he led Starlight around the corner with a few chairs all facing each other, along with a table with a few magazines too look at resting on its surface.
“Father, this is my good friend Starlight.” Maestro gestured towards him, then back to Starlight.
“Ah, I fine name for a Pegasus…and a lovely one to look at might I add.” Said Revenue charmingly.
“Thank you sir, it is very nice to meet you.” Starlight replied, her cheeks lightly blushing.
Octavia yelled out once more out of sheer pain and anguish of having to deal with it.
“I suppose I’ll check in on her.” Maestro faintly pointing his hoof back to the room. He shortly thereafter was already on his way over to it, leaving Starlight and Revenue to get to know each other.
“Well don’t just stand there milady, have a seat of course.”
“Oh right, of course.” she said looking off to another direction, taking a seat shortly after he insisted.
“Now tell me a little bit about yourself, my son has told me quite a bit about you.” Revenue then brought out a pitch pipe, now making his way out onto a porch balcony overlooking a few parts of the city. Starlight followed him out of course; she couldn’t leave him hanging there with a question that seemed to be unanswered just then.
“Maestro please help me!” Octavia shouted.
Maestro said nothing and remained to stand strong beside her.
“Grab my hoof if you- sweet Celestia! Aaaahhhh!!!!!” he ended up shouting nearly at the top of his lungs. Just as Octavia gripped his hoof, he felt like it was being crushed by a hundred Manticores. He tried to hold back tears by just how much she was hurting him. It was like the pain she felt was being sent straight to him from his hoof, then coursing throughout his body.
The minutes passed by, and the worst had ended, and Octavia was now exhausted.
“Oh my heavens! She’s beautiful!” Harmony then began to cry tears of joy, as she had now become a proud grandmother.
“Miss Octavia?” the doctor asked her, but no answer.
“Um…Octavia ma’am? Hello?”
“Erm…yes?” she panted a little bit; tired from all the pushing and straining she had to do.
“It’s a girl ma’am.” the doctor then brought out the baby for her to see.
“Hey, didn’t I already imply she was?” Harmony added.
“I swear you nearly crushed my hoof with the way you grabbed my hoof, buck that hurt!” said Maestro, grabbing hid hoof, but still looking back at her and the baby with a faint smile.
“Heh…that’s…what you get.” Octavia winked at him.
“What did I do?”
“Well…consider that…a taste of what I was feeling.” She replied still trying to regain herself.
The tiny foal was placed into Octavia’s embrace, the foal’s little eyes barely looking back up at her lovely mother.
“A name by any chance? She’s…well…I honestly don’t know what to think right now.” Maestro looked over at the baby in front of him.
“It’s fine Maestro…and I already know what I shall name her.”
“Oh? What might that be?” he raised an eyebrow.
“Please say Harmony, please say Harmony.” Harmony crossed her hooves.
“My grandmother’s name…Octave…her name will be Octave.” She lightly kissed the foal on the forehead.
“That’s…well that’s certainly better than what I had.”
“Maestro.”
“What?! I’m serious!”
“Then what was your idea for an excellent name for her then?”
“Uh…I forgot he-he.” Maestro scratched his head chuckling.
“No, but really though, I couldn’t agree with you more. Your grandmother, the one you loved so much, the one that raised you when you were just little…I think you made the perfect choice for a name.” He then came closer to Octavia and their little Octave, and gave her a big hug as she still remained in her bed.
“I need to rest I think, I’m absolutely exhausted.”
“To think you’re an Earth Pony too.” He replied jokingly.
“Shut your mouth.” She giggled a bit.
“Eh-heh…I’ll just sit over here in this chair here okay?”
“Sure…feel free *yawn*…to do so.” Octavia then gives the newborn foal back to the doctor, and steadily begins to take a rest to recover.
“She didn’t say Harmony…” Maestro’s mother spoke up a bit.
“Nope, she certainly didn’t.” he smiled back.
“But Octave I still think…that’s an excellent name for her. I may have never met her grandmother obviously, but I’m sure she is looking down at this moment with true delight and utter happiness.” Harmony stated.
A few more minutes passed, and Octavia was appearing to be sound asleep. As she remained there resting up, she began to hear a very faint voice speak to her.
“She’s beautiful…just like your mother was…” the voice then faded out.
Octavia then shifted herself as she lay there in bed still, as a soft smile of content just then began forming onto her face.
“Grand-…mother…” Octavia spoke underneath her breath; her eyes still remaining shut, her face along with her breath at ease. Her body relaxed, and not the slightest sign of tension in her body. Her heartbeat as soft and content as ever.
Maestro kept lying there on the chair, transitioning over to the couch thought adjacent to the chair since he wanted more room to move around with. He began to feel relaxed himself within the room, as his mother had left the room and was out in the waiting lobby with the others. His relaxation eventually caused him to drift off to sleep too.
“Take care of her…” a voice seemed to whisper into his mind.
“Ah!” he immediately sprung up and out of the chair from the faint voice speaking to him. The voice yet did not seem harmful in the slightest, but yet…almost like a presence of pure love and warmth. His sudden spring off the couch caused Octavia to wake up too.
“Wha…what’s wrong, hm?” she spoke up from the sleepy tone in her voice. Her lovely accent caused her sleepy voice sound nothing but sexy in such a natural way as it was spoken to him.
“Um, uh…did you hear that?”
“Hm? Hear what Maestro?”
“I kid you not, I literally just heard a voice speak to me like five seconds ago.” He replied. His eyes were wide-awake, and his head looked around the room in numerous directions.
“You heard a voice in your head? Really? I…I heard the same thing?”
“Really?! You did?!” Maestro’s face then lit up with curiosity, as he took a few steps towards Octavia.
“Yes actually…I heard something like ‘she’s beautiful, just like your mother’…something like that. But…I don’t know whether or not it’s a dream or something else? I’ve had it happen to me on other occasions though…almost like I’m being watched over.”
“I hear you…but I don’t know about having dead loved ones follow me around or whatever it is.” Maestro replied continuing to look around some more.
“That’s not what I mean Maestro…it’s happened to me before. The most intense experience I have ever had was when my mother died, I was right there with her when she passed on. Just a little while after that, I remember feeling weird, and then I blacked out. I then remember my father yelling closely to me if I was okay…then I told him I spoke to my mother…that’s all I can seem to remember really.”
Maestro was speechless; he had never heard her say anything about her own mother like that.
“Whoa…sounded awfully intense.”
“It was I’m sure, but that’s all I can seem to remember though. But yet I’ve always had the feeling that what I said just then wasn’t all that happened. I’ve always had the feeling that more than that had occurred during that specific experience when I was little. I will say though that I’ve had about half a dozen of these kinds of experiences throughout my lifetime so far, but yet I’m not scared or spooked like most would feel I’m sure. The feelings are very close to me, warm, they feel like they are nothing but pure love and compassion.”
“This is some pretty deep stuff you’re telling me here…care to tell me more once we get back to the house?” Maestro insisted, as he then got up and walked towards Octavia’s bedside.
“Of course…forgive me.”
“No-no, it’s fine…it’s very interesting in fact, best topic I’ve heard in a long time! I just figured it’d be better to tell me more when we get back home, hm?”
“I’d have to agree with you on that, nothing could possibly beat the true comfort of home.”
It had been now over an hour after those ‘voices’ had happened to the to of them, as they were now on their way down to the main waiting lobby…and with little Octave nonetheless.
Revenue and Diamond Ring had already left though, and were back at their home dealing with the last of their packing that had been put on hold due to the war.
They all walked out, the sky filled with stars of glimmering inspiration and hope. Luna’s lovely moon was out full tonight too, and seemed a bit larger than normal as well.
“It’s about time you give me a grandchild Maestro.”
“Moooom…”
“Oh come now dear, ha-ha-ha! I was only teasing you sweetie!” Harmony smiled, kissing his cheek thereafter. He then rubbed his cheek after noticing Starlight looked over at him, trying to keep herself from laughing.
“So you ready to change diapers and all that jazz?”
“Don’t even start it Star…but I still dare you to.” Maestro looked over at her with a provoking expression
“I know…and I will.” She replied with a smug face.
“Ready to have more!? Ha-ha-ha!” Starlight then took off into the bright night sky, letting him know by default that she needed to head back home now.
“Darn it Star, you get back down here!”
“Nope…this mare’s gotta get some sleep, but I’ll be sure and stop by to visit someday or another. Heck, maybe I could be your foalsitter?”
“We’ll see…”
“Oh yeah! I can see it now, making big bucks on foalsitting in Canterlot.”
“Just get to where you needed to go Star…and good night.”
“He-he, yeah, see you later Maestro! Good to meet you too Harmony and Octavia!”
“It was a pleasure to meet you too!” Harmony raised her voice back to Starlight in the air.
“Shh! She’s asleep.” Octavia added in with slight frustration.
They remaining three of them continue strolling through town and back to the house. Harmony however takes the split and head back to her own home in the city.
“Goodnight you two…and tell that little bundle of fur granny loves her.” Harmony smiled back to them with delight.
“Oh she’ll be spoiled, believe me.” Octavia giggled.
Before they knew it, they were both back home, and Octave was still sound asleep from the looks of it.
“She’s a quiet one.” Octavia smiled, as she placed Octave in her little crib within the bedroom that had already been made for her.
“Heh…wait till morning arrives.” Maestro chuckled slightly.
“I’m sure about that.” She smiled back to him.
As the two of them wind down for the night, Octavia begins to settle herself in bed. However she recapped a memory she had never forgotten before her mother had passed.
“Mommy! I wanna be pwetty just wike you!”
“Oh but you already are my little angel, you’re even prettier than mommy already.” Melody replied with as sweet of a smile as you could get from a loving mother it seemed.
“Weally?!” Octavia’s eyes lit up with a big smile.
“Mommy would never lie to you sweetie, you know that.”
“I wuv you mommy” little Octavia then hugged her mother’s neck.
“Oh I love you too little angel, so much more than you know.” Her mother hugged her tightly in return.
“I know mother…I know…I can’t wait to see you one day.” Octavia said to herself once again under her breath.
“My angel…” a voice spoke to her very faintly once more in her mind.
Octavia quickly opened up her eyes and scanned the bedroom, but nothing was there. She then realized her family was doing more than watching over her…it was like they had never left her at that moment. As for Maestro…he was out cold before any of this even happened.
Soon then, sympathetic feelings then seemed to rush throughout her body, making her feel like her mother was right at her bedside, wishing her a goodnight’s rest.
“I love you mother…” her voice trailed off in a whisper, before mere minutes later, she was off in an incredibly deep and seemingly natural state of peaceful sleep. A feeling that she hadn’t felt since she was just a filly.