//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirty Two- Octave's Troubles // Story: Notes Of Time // by MLPxMaestro //------------------------------// Notes Of Time: Chapter 32- Octave’s Troubles: With the school bell letting off a final ring from itself, everypony throughout the entire school building was now in class. Octave and Stardust still continued sitting next to each other, as they have always done since they were little fillies in kindergarten. Their teacher now, surprisingly enough, happened to be their kindergarten teacher’s own daughter, which she looked awfully young to be a teacher. Though look at Cheerilee down in Ponyville? She practically radiated incredible complexion. She seemed to have learned even a lot from her own mother, as she happened to act like Octave and Stardust’s former teacher, Mrs. Jewel, years ago in some ways. “Okay my little ponies, get out your textbooks and turn to page eighty-five. Because today we are going to be-” the teacher’s voice then grew muffled, and unable to make out to Octave. She still continued looking at her textbook along with the rest of the class, but her mind was having trouble focusing, due to the fact she still had not seen her father, even since last night. Her mind then snapped back to reality once more; as she was called on to answer a question. “Octave?” “Hm?” she flipped her head back up after leaning it on one of her hooves. “Would you like to tell me and the class, one main export of Trottingham?” the teacher asked nicely. “Um…uh…” “I think that’s her answer.” A voice spoke up in the class, causing most of the room to snicker. “I will have none of that in my class, understood?” the teacher slapped a ruler on her desk, making everypony straighten up in an instant. She then asks Octave once more the same question. “All I need is one main export from Trottingham, we went over this in last week’s quiz, remember?” “Um…cheese?” “Yes, good job Octave! Now then…cheese is one of their main exports as you see in the chart on the next page.” The teacher’s voice then mutes out of her mind once again, as she started daydreaming off out the window she sat next to. “Dad…I hope you’re okay, wherever you are right now. You…you didn’t do anything bad did you?” Octave wonders to herself. Meanwhile as she daydreams, the class continues resuming their learning process in reality. “Stardust, can you tell me what other nation has its own successful export business?” “Saddle Arabia?” “Precisely…and do you know what some of their main exports are?” “Uh…high quality textiles and uh…gold?” “Excellent work Stardust! Hm…Octave? Your friend just gave me two main exports from Saddle Arabia. Would you like to add another from that country?” she waited for a few moments, but then received no response from her. “Octave?” she asked once more, and yet still the same thing, as she then approached the daydreaming pony. “Mom didn’t walk with me to school like she always did? So why would she-” “Octave?” the teacher managed to speak up standing right in front of her desk, snapping her back into reality once again. “Oh! Um…what?” “Is everything okay Octave? You seem to be distracted by something the past few days?” This caused Stardust to peek over at her best friend, making sure she was officially fine. “Uh…I suppose I am a little bit.” “Well would you like to talk to a counselor about it? Because we have a test this week.” The teacher then gets down closer to her face whispering, making sure that the others in the class didn’t hear her. “Plus, I don’t want one of my favorite students in the class getting a bad grade on a test I know she can ace this time, okay? So why don’t you make your way down to the counselor’s office, hm?” Octaves simply looked at her blinking a time or two, looking out the window, and then back at her teacher. “Well…I guess so.” She replied straight-faced. “Great, okay then, be sure and take the hall pass with you.” “Yes Ms. Soul.” Octave replied, as she grabbed the hall pass on her teacher’s desk, Emerald Soul, before making her way out into the hallway, and down towards the guidance office. Octave continued talking to the counselor for an awfully long time, part of the reason was to avoid as much class as she could, until she ran out of things entirely to say to her counselor about it. After about a good block and a half of class had been wasted, the bell for the ending of fourth block had arrived. Seemingly hundreds of ponies scurried off and out of the school exit. Octave was now trying to meet up with Stardust again, and luckily managed to catch her. “Hey Stardust, wait a second.” Stardust froze in place after hearing that. Worried something making her uncomfortable might follow…which it would eventually to her. “Uh…h-hey, where were you all last block? I didn’t even have a partner for some science project thingy we had to do.” “I was in the counselor’s office.” Octave replied. “You were in there too long, I know how you are Octave.” Octave gave off a little chuckle, and simply walked beside Stardust, as they both head down the street together. “Um, why are you following me home? You know I-” “Well why not? Why can’t I hang out with you at your place anymore? That’s not fair to me.” “Look…my mother’s not in good shape, and I don’t want you to get involved in it.” Said Stardust. Octave’s eyes then widened more, sparking her interest, but she knew it would be rude to ask “why” still. “Oh…okay…sorry. It’s just that…it doesn’t seem like the same friendship we’ve always had ever since we were little. What’s going on?” Octave wanted to know the answer to that question that had been burning in her mind for a while about her and Stardust. “I know, and I’m really sorry about this. I’ve just had to grow up a bit more than others I guess, since I have to help mom take care of herself. I have to help her with medication she’s taking for her…illness you could say. Plus, it’s just a whole lot of other stuff that’s been in my way too…but again I’m really sorry Octave. I promise it’ll stop soon, and she’ll be all better in not too long I’d say, okay?” Octave still wanting to hear more from her, but she still sighed, and gave off a nod of approval. “Yeah, well…okay I guess. I’ve got to get home too, so I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” Octave replied, as she then steadily walked her way around the street corner back to her house, not even bothering to look back at Stardust. “Yeah…see you.” Stardust sighed, saying to herself as she turned back into the direction of where her house was. Octave had finally arrived home, and didn’t seem too thrilled to see her mom after a day of school like normally she was. “Well look at who’s back home.” Octavia spoke up to her, greeting her at the front door as it closed behind her daughter. “Dad’s still not home is he…?” she trailed off, and started making her way up to her bedroom. “No…he’s unfortunately not, but…but I am sure he will be home…” Octavia then looked back out from the living room window just next to the front door. “Soon.” She would hope he would seek help immediately somehow, otherwise she told him upfront that she would not raise her child in front of a depressed drunk that could not get through his grieving yet, surprisingly enough to her. It seemed like that to her, but it was more to that for Maestro. For him, it was a broken heart, a literal broken heart. His soul had lost one of its most important fragments, which was a mother’s undying love for her son. He for some odd reason did not feel that love from his mother anymore. This wasn’t implying he was a momma’s boy, no; rather he was anything but that. He just had lost as good of a mother as you could ask for to be a mother in Equestria it seemed. He was more hurt about the situation than Octavia portrayed it out to be from herself. She was a strong mare when she needed to be about this stuff, since she had dealt with a lot of great loss throughout her own lifetime, starting with her very own mother. It was then her grandfather, then father, and then her grandmother years before she met Maestro taking his first Canterlot waltz through town. “Perhaps I may have been a bit too straightforward by putting him on the spot like that. That was rather rude of me I suppose?” Octavia thought to herself. “But I know that he is a strong stallion himself as well, though. Surely he didn’t take it too seriously…did he?” She continued thinking over, before noticing that Octave was already in her bedroom, and didn’t seem too thrilled. Octavia then made her way upstairs to her daughter’s bedroom, knocking on it in a gentle fashion, cautious as to disturbing her if she was studying by chance. “What…?” a voice could be heard from within the room. “Are you busy?” Octavia asks. “No.” Octavia then opened up the door and found Octave lying on the bed curled up in front of her pillow. “I’m sorry you don’t seem to feel so well.” “How did you even know that?” Octave wondered, still not fully bothering to acknowledge her mother lying next to her now on the bed. “I could see it written all over your face, you are like your father sometimes on things like that.” Octavia replied with a slight giggle. Whatever she said to her, Octave didn’t care very much, she just wanted to be with her dad. “I miss dad, where is he? Can’t you tell me where he is?” “I…I don’t really-” Octavia then stopped herself just then. Surely she wasn’t about to lie to her own daughter? This isn’t what she would ever want to do to her. “Octave.” “What…” “He is back in his music store…I checked if he was there in his office, and he was.” “Then why doesn’t he come back home?! What’s wrong with him?! Doesn’t he know that he has a family to be with, and take care of?!” Octave exclaimed, before hopping off of her bed, with her mother still laying on the bed looking down at her. Octavia had been caught off guard at that very moment. She had never seen Octave state such a mature thing for her age? “You are so bright for your age Octave, I love you so much.” Octavia said bringing her in for a hug after getting off of the bed herself as well. “I shall trust you enough for you to go down to his music store, and pay him a visit. Do not under any circumstances enter his office though…do I make myself clear young lady?” “Yes mom, I promise I won’t enter his office.” “Good…well then…off you go, before he perhaps- oh!” Octave then met her mother once again with a forceful hug. “Thanks mom…I love you.” “I love you too dear…now hurry off over there okay?” “Yeah!” Octave gave a nod, and was out of her room, and out of the house faster than a pony in an oil slick. A good while later, before Octave had reached her father’s store, she had to go back into the house, only to get the key to the place from her mother. Otherwise, she would have wasted her time getting down there. So she simply went back into the house, got the key from mom, and was back and now standing in front of his music shop. She turns the door after unlocking the front entrance, even though the sign said, “closed” on the front of it. She didn’t care, and continued heading on in. “Nothing’s gonna stop me from seeing dad.” She thought to herself with determination. She stopped and looked up at the door that led to his office, and thought back to what her mother said. “She said to not go into his office under any circumstances…hmm…okay then.” She eventually wound up in front of her father’s office door, and gave it a knock. “Dad?” she knocked speaking up a little more. “Uh…it’s me…can I come in?” She then heard some hoofsteps approaching the door, making her instinctively back up a few steps to be a little cautious about whoever was going to reveal themselves to her from behind that door. She then saw the office door crack open a bit, and could see a blue eye look out from it, and look down at her with interest. “Uh…dad? Is…is that you?” she asked with some of the niceness she could muster up in her voice at the unknown sight. “M-my…my girl…my precious little girl.” The door swung open, as she immediately then knew who it was then hugging her. “Daddy!” she replied happily with a hug back to him. “I’m so sorry for those terrible things I did a while back. I have been a terrible father for quite some time now!” Maestro having one of his eyes begin to water. “Why did you act so sad for such a long time? Why didn’t you get over it? The doctor said you could have died from that heart being broken he said if it kept going.” Said Octave. “I know sweetie, I know, and I am so so sorry.” Maestro then broke the hug and began looking directly into her eyes, making her sparkle a bit after wiping his watering eye. “Why did you change so fast? I thought you were uh…really sad still?” “Your mother talked uh…some sense into me I suppose you could say. I am just glad to see you finally have some positivity of yourself.” “Whenever my daddy’s feeling better, I feel better too.” Octave smiles big, as she then pecked him on the tip of his nose.