//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Shades of Grey // by Metaphor //------------------------------// “Are you sure you want to do this?” asked Rarity. “No,” replied Octavia, her vision cast in front of her as she spoke, “but I have to know…and so do they.” Rarity gave a nod and followed Octavia’s line of sight. They both stood at the end of a small path that led away from the roadside. The path led up a small bank through a garden filled with all manner of flowers, fruits and vegetables towards a thatched cottage that sat nestled under a large oak tree. A steady stream of white smoke drifted from the chimney indicating that the occupants were indeed home. Octavia took a deep breath. It had taken two weeks to find them, two weeks of uncertainty and questions. Was she doing the right thing? Was it really best to simply let it all go? No…this had to be done, not just for her sake but for theirs. She took a step forwards, pushing open the small white gate that blocked her path and beginning the short walk up the bank to the house. Rarity followed close behind her casting looks at the garden around her. It was easy to tell that earth ponies had made it. Everything was arranged perfectly for maximum production and yet the garden didn’t feel artificial or managed. Flowers bloomed from odd places and every so often the perfectly straight plantation lines would take a sudden turn or stop without warning. Rarity had often wondered about the magic of earth ponies and their connection to the world around them. Unlike her own magic, earth magic was subtle and silent; always surrounding them but never seen. She took a deep breath, her nose filling with the sweet smell of flowers and herbs. She still hated getting dirty but she could understand why Applejack loved her farm so much, being surrounded by such natural beauty was truly a gift. As the pair arrived at the door Octavia paused once more. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as she did and raising a hoof towards the door. She hesitated, the moment finally upon her, but it only lasted a second as her hoof came down and rapped several times on the door. At first there was nothing, silence, and then the gentle clop of hooves filled the air as a pony approached from the other side of the door. A bolt was slid back and the hinges gave a small creak as the door finally opened. A brown coloured earth pony stood before them. He wasn’t looking at them just yet, his attention diverted down the hallway behind him. “Just a minute darling, I’ll be right with you,” he called over his shoulder before turning his attention forwards, “Hello, can I help…?” He stopped mid-sentence, his face going slightly white as he came face to face with Octavia. She tried to remain calm, to keep an expression of neutrality on her face, but it was difficult. “Hello Concerto, may we come in?” she asked slowly. Concerto seemed to swallow at the question and for a moment he simply stood motionless in the doorway. Finally he gave a small sigh and nodded. “…of course,” he replied. He stepped back and opened the door allowing both of them to enter. The air was as still as a millpond and no pony spoke a word as Concerto led them down a small hallway and into the main room of the house. Rarity found herself looking around at the décor. Exposed beams ran the length of the room, each one decorated with various horseshoe ornaments and farm tack. A selection of old worn sofas lay scattered around the room in front of an open fire, currently unlit but cleaned and prepared for lighting that evening. The walls were adorned with pictures of various ponies and on one wall hung a pair of violins, their necks crossed like a coat of arms. In the centre of the room stood a yellow coloured mare with a purple mane and tail. Her back was turned to them and she was cooing a song quietly as she swayed back and forth gently. “Concerto, who was at the door?” she asked without looking round as the door opened. “Hello Symphony,” replied Octavia quietly, keeping her voice as calm as she could. “Oc…Octavia…” murmured Symphony as her body froze on the spot. She turned slowly to face them, both Rarity and Octavia gasping slightly as she did. In one of her front hooves was cradled a roll of blankets, the small form of a baby foal visible through an opening at the top. The foal was a light peach colour, the tip of her yellow mane flicking back and forth on the breeze caused by her gentle breathing. For a moment nopony spoke, each unsure on what exactly they should say. For a moment the resolve Octavia had flickered; should she really be here, was it really necessary? “M-May we sit down?” she asked hesitantly. Symphony cast a glance at Concerto, the stallion giving a single firm nod of his head. Symphony sighed and nodded in response. “Of course, please have a seat,” she said slowly and she continued to cradle the child in her hoof. Octavia and Rarity slowly slipped themselves into a seat and again a silence fell on the room. Octavia found herself staring at the sleeping foal. “What her name?” the question was quiet, barely a whisper dare she disturb the sleeping infant. “Melody,” replied Symphony with a small smile as she cast a glance down at her daughter. “M-Melody?” questioned Octavia thinking she must have heard wrong, “As in…” “As in you, yes,” interrupted Symphony with another sigh. Slowly she moved over to a chair herself and hoisted herself onto it. She sat back, bringing her second front hoof round to cradle the infant properly before resuming her earlier motion of gently rocking her back and forth. For a moment she just sat and smiled at the child. “We’ve been expecting you to drop by at some point, haven’t we Concerto?” she stated. The other pony just nodded and grunted affirmatively as he sat down next to her. Slowly he raised a hoof and lightly brushed it against the foal’s cheek. She made a small gurgle in her sleep and stretched slightly but otherwise remained asleep. “I expect you’re here to find out why we did it?” asked Symphony as she looked back at Octavia, “We heard about everything that happened in Canterlot recently, we’re both glad things are looking up for you.” She cast a glance at Rarity, her smile broadening slightly, “Would you be Rarity?” “That I am darling,” replied the unicorn. “Words can’t describe how happy we are for what you’ve done for Octavia and her friends. We’re so grateful.” “Very grateful,” added Concerto with a slight bow of his head. “But why?” cut in Octavia sharply, her eyes narrowing slightly, “Why?” A look of shame and regret slowly crept across Symphony’s face. Octavia immediately felt bad for being so sharp but her desire for answers remained strong as she waited for Symphony to speak. “I guess I should start from the beginning,” she said finally as she looked over at Concerto for a moment, “It all began when Concerto and I met during a visit to the concert hall in Canterlot. We were both aspiring musicians at the time and had come to check out the local talent.” “I don’t think either of us expected to find such talented musicians did we dear?” added Concerto. “No we didn’t,” she replied with a small smile, “But neither of us wanted to give in. We met during the intermission and started talking. By the end of the night we had decided to help each other, form a duo and try to make our own mark on the musical world. It seemed like a perfect plan…but there were problems.” “Canterlot already had a thriving cultural centre and finding a space within it was difficult,” continued Concerto, “We tried many venues but a lot of the time we were turned down due to venue schedules being booked up months in advance. We did make some money, enough to live on, but it was a frugal existence.” “The more we worked together though the more we were determined to make it work but something else occurred that we didn’t account for…we both fell in love.” Symphony and Concerto looked at each other, the pair lost in each other’s eyes for a moment before Symphony finally broke the look and glanced back at Octavia. “It took some time for us both to admit it to ourselves and then to each other but when we did we found the feeling was mutual. I can say it was one of the happiest moments of my life apart from the day Melody was born. She was conceived that day but we didn’t know it at the time. When we did find out we began to panic a little, we barely had enough money to support ourselves and babies are not cheap.” “It was about this time that we found out your ensemble was looking for short notice replacements for the Garden Party,” Concerto said as he picked up the story from Symphony, “Of course we were thrilled when we got the opportunity. It would help both our finances and it gave us an idea. We could use the limelight from that event to promote ourselves and hopefully get some recognition and more venue opportunities.” “It worked…in part,” sighed Symphony with a shake of her head, “I think if we could have calmed down everything would have worked out but instead everything fell apart around us. After that we started getting even less shows and the panic finally overwhelmed us.” “We aren’t proud of what we did,” added Concerto with his own sigh, “We may have been driven by fear at the time but that doesn’t excuse the pain and suffering we caused. All we wanted to do was knock your ensemble down a couple of pegs, create some more openings for ourselves so we could earn a little money. We never thought…it would get so out of control. When everything came out about what happened during the Royal Wedding we couldn’t stop it. We tried, Celestia knows we tried, but the rumours took on a life of their own and everypony started spreading them.” “We were so shocked by what happened that we just couldn’t bear to stay in Canterlot,” sniffed Symphony, “You can say that we ran and you’d be correct. When I saw the full extent of what our fear and panic had done I nearly…thank Celestia Concerto was there to stop me.” The mare leaned over, pressing herself against Concerto’s side as he gently wrapped a hoof round her shoulders. Octavia sat silently, her desire for answer fading just as fast as her anger and resentment. She wanted to get up and go to them, she wanted to say she was sorry…but she remained seated and silent, frozen by the truth that sat before her. “We managed to find this place and had just enough bits to buy it,” continued Symphony after a moment, “We started growing fruit and vegetables and sold them at nearby markets, I suppose it’s lucky that we are both earth ponies. Melody was born a few months ago so since then I’ve not had much time to tend the crops so Concerto has been doing it alone. It’s been hard but I suppose it’s been nothing compared to what you’ve been through.” “I know it doesn’t really mean anything now,” cut in Concerto, “But believe me when I say we are both sorry…and I just hope you can find it in you to forgive us.” For a moment Octavia didn’t say anything as everything she had just heard circled round and round her head. She had always suspected that they had been driven by jealousy, that much was certain…but not in this way. Perhaps her time in Canterlot had desensitised her to the plight of other ponies? Perhaps she had been so used to having everything that she hadn’t noticed the ponies under her and the struggles they went though. She knew now what that was like; to have everypony looking down on you, struggling against a never ending tide of pain. She looked at the two ponies sat before her, both of them looking back with eyes filled swimming in sorrow and hope. How could she not forgive them? How could she not? And yet one thing was yet left unanswered, not about what had happened before but about what had happened since. “What about your music?” she asked. Concerto and Symphony just blinked, not expecting the question in the slightest. They looked at each other for a moment seemingly unsure on how to answer. “We…we haven’t really played since we moved here,” replied Symphony after a moment, “All our effort has been put into our garden and then into Melody.” “I don’t think either of us has felt very musical in the last year either…” added Concerto. Octavia huffed and immediately got up from her seat. Everypony in the room was watching her, hope slowly draining from the faces of Concerto and Symphony. After taking a few steps Octavia stopped and turned around. “I’ll forgive you…on one condition…” she said as she turned away again and headed towards the back wall. There on the wall hung two violins, Octavia slowly lifting one of them from the wall and walking back towards the assembled ponies. She held out the violin towards them, determination and resolution dancing in her eyes. “One condition,” she repeated firmly, “don’t give up on your music.” The two ponies looked at her with confusion forcing a sigh from Octavia’s mouth. “Before two weeks ago all I ever had in my life was music,” she said slowly as she seated herself one more, “Music kept me going during the worst time I could imagine. It gave me strength, determination and a purpose. It let me reach out and touch other without them even realising or wanting. No matter the hardship, no matter the pain and suffering, you cannot let such a precious gift go unused. Please, if not for yourself then for Melody. That very word has meaning and you can’t allow her to grow up not knowing the full power of the word by which she is named. So, I will forgive you and everything you’ve done if you promise me that you will not give up on your talent and show your child the wonders that music can bring.” By the time Octavia stopped talking Symphony was on the verge of tears. Had she not been cradling Melody in her hooves Octavia was sure those same hooves would be wrapped around her neck. Concerto appeared to have better control over his emotions but even so Octavia could see the waves of happiness lapping against the backs of his eyes. “Thank you,” he said slowly, “Thank you.” ------------------------------- “Thank you for not saying anything,” smiled Octavia as she and Rarity walked calmly along the forest track. “I told you I wouldn’t my dear and I’m not one to break my promises,” replied the unicorn, “Did you find all the answers you needed?” “All of them and more than them, I feel like my heart is finally free.” “I’m glad my dear.” Rarity slowly leaned over and planted a small kiss on Octavia’s cheek. The earth pony blushed slightly and gave a small sigh. She couldn’t describe how she felt, a mix of so many emotions that it would have been easier to describe how she didn’t feel. She stopped for a moment, looking back down the track at the small house nestled under the trees. “They’ll be alright, I’m sure of it,” reassured Rarity as she followed the earth pony’s gaze. “I hope so, I know what those two have been through…but unlike me they never found somepony like you to help them.” “Oh I wouldn’t be too sure of that my dear.” Rarity shot a glance at Octavia and giggled quietly before turning away and continuing along the track. Octavia remained still for a moment before she too turned away, a small smile present on her face.