//------------------------------// // All Good Things... (Part 2) // Story: The Royal Ponyville Orchestra // by Distaff Pope //------------------------------//         The day of the performance began No, that’s not quite right, as that implies the day began properly. It implies there was a clear delineation between the day of performance and the day before, when there was no such line for me as I was unable to sleep after we had finished our final practice Thursday. Vinyl slept quite comfortably beside me, while I tossed and turned debating itself as I desperately tried to figure out what I wanted to do after the orchestra’s premiere tomorrow. One minute, I wanted to travel with the orchestra; the next moment, I wanted to stay in Ponyville with Vinyl. She would travel with me if I asked, but could I live with the guilt of knowing that I took her away from her friends for ten months? Doubtful. Another part of me that I didn’t listen to wondered if I should take a break from Vinyl. She was substantially older than I was, and had far more life experience than I. Would it be so terrible, it argued, if I took some time to see the world? Why should I rush so quickly to tie myself down with one mare? I didn’t consider that option for a single second, but it was one that refused to let me be..         That night lasted for an eternity.         Finally, around 5:00 AM, Vinyl stirred in bed next to me. After a few more minutes, she spoke. “You up?”         “What gave it away?” I asked, rolling to face her.         “Your breathing,” she said, stroking my mane. “Usually when you’re sleeping, your breathing is pretty slow and relaxed. This morning it was all normal. Also, I guess your… composure? I mean, normally when you sleep, your whole body is relaxed, and you just look so calm and tranquil. But this morning, you still looked super tense. What’s up?”         “Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “No, not nothing, it’s just... I don’t know what to do after tonight. My entire life, I’ve been dedicated to mastering the cello and becoming the premier cellist in Equestria. I’ve done the first and the second is in my grasp, but now, a large part of me wants to stay in Ponyville with you. It’s rather silly, I know, but I cannot seem to make up my mind.”         “Well, I mean, I’ll visit you all I can, and I would totally be okay with coming with you if you want,” she said, propping her head up off the pillow. “We’ve had this talk before, and what I said then still stands, I can DJ pretty much anywhere, there’s nothing really holding me to Ponyville.”         “I know,” I said. “But what if… what if I want to stay in Ponyville? For some unknown reason, I find myself thinking fondly of this town, and it’s not just because its where my friends live. I have a life in this town, and I don’t want to leave it.”         “Wouldn’t Lyra and Bon-Bon come with you anyways? She didn’t quit the orchestra did she?”         “Not yet,” I said, “but she and Bon-Bon are going to be so busy planning the wedding, I highly doubt they will go on the tour. Twilight almost certainly won’t, and the rest of my friends, such as Pinkie and Rarity, are not affiliated with the orchestra.”         “Whoa,” Vinyl said, smiling. “You think of Pinkie as a friend now? This town really has grown on you.”         “I know, I am as shocked as you are,” I said, sitting up on the edge of the bed. “As much as it pains me to say it, this town is my home, and I don’t want to leave it, but I also want the fame and recognition that comes from touring with the orchestra.”         Vinyl moved to sit in bed next to me. “So just to make sure I have this right, you don’t really want to travel with the orchestra, you just want fame and recognition.”         I nodded.         “Have you considered that maybe fame and recognition aren’t that important?”         I raised an eyebrow at her. “You are going to tell me that, even though you consider yourself to be… how do you describe it again? One of the top DJs in Equestria?”         “No,” she said, “I’m the number one DJ in Equestria. And I earned it too, I put in my time to get there and… Okay, I kind of see your point, but at the same time, I got the recognition because I did what I loved. If you don’t want to tour with the orchestra, then don’t. I’m sure another opportunity will present itself.”         “It’s just...” I sighed “My entire life feels like it has been building towards this, and touring with the orchestra is everything I ever wanted and more, but now that I am so close to it being a reality, I don’t want it.”         Vinyl nodded in thought. “Yeah, that does sound rough, and I wish I could help you, but I feel like this has to be your decision. I mean, if I tell you what to do and then you wind up regretting it, that’s… You know I’ll be with you no matter what though, right?”         “I know,” I said. “I suppose I still have a few hours to think things through before the performance tonight. Actually, we have the whole day off until 3:30, when we are going to do one last rehearsal before the premiere.”         “Cool,” Vinyl said. “I have a… thing at about noon, but we can totally hang out until then.” There was a brief lull in the conversation as she stopped to yawn. “Even if it is way too early for ponies to be up.”                  “Then why did you wake up?” I asked, looking out the window as the night sky became tinged with gray.         “I don’t know, maybe I woke up and saw you weren’t sleeping, or I guess I have some other stuff on my mind too.”         “Care to talk about it?” I asked.         “Well, I would, but I don’t want to put any more on your plate right now. I promise we’ll talk about it after the performance tonight.”         There were a few dozen theories about what our talk might consist of that chose to rush through my head at that moment, none of them pleasant. “Is it bad news?” I asked.         “Nope,” she smiled. “I promise that it won’t be bad news for you. Just something I’ve been thinking about the last few weeks. I’ve had a lot of time to think while you’ve been dealing with the orchestra.”         “See, when you say things like that, Vinyl, it makes me think you are still upset by the amount of time I’ve been spending on the. You know I would have spend more time with you if I could, but I couldn’t let the orchestra fall apart now. Not when so much was riding upon my actions.”         She sighed and ran a hoof through my mane, “I know, and I’m okay with it now. You are trying to make time for me and I know how important this all is. Would I like more time with you? Sure, but we can do that after your performance today.”         “Unless I have to spend several months touring Equestria,” I said, looking down at the floor and frowning.         Vinyl put her hoof under my chin and tilted my head up so I could face her. “Hey, even if you do decide to do that, we’ll still spend time with each other, I promise. Now what do you want to do this morning?”         “I would prefer to have a breakfast that wasn’t Trot-Tarts,” I said finally.         “Yeah, we can do that,” she said. “But I don’t think there is really anything in town open right now. I mean, the sun’s not even up yet.”         “I know,” I said, getting off the bed and heading to the shower. “But once I am done getting ready that won’t be an issue.”         She groaned and flopped back down on the bed. “What am I going to do while you get ready then?”         “Sleep would be my suggestion. As you said, the sun’s not even up yet,” I said as I walked towards the door.         In response, Vinyl picked up one of my bowties with her telekinetic field and threw it at me. To my credit, I managed to dodge it just in time.         Over an hour later, I had finally finished properly grooming myself, and was doing a final inspection in the mirror. I caught sight of the pink stripe in my mane and tail. It has been over a month since I added it in, but seeing it run through my mane still manages to bring a smile to my lips and make me feel better. Perhaps it reminds me of my marefriend, perhaps it serves as a reminder to be a better mare, or perhaps it just looks fantastic on me. Either way, I am counting it as an improvement.         I entered the room to find Vinyl passed out on the middle of the bed, her limbs dangling over the edge.         “Vinyl.”         No response.         “Vinyl!”         No response. I did a quick check to make sure she was still breathing.         “VINYL!”         She suddenly jerked up before tumbling off the bed and crashing onto the hardwood floor. “Geeze, what is it Tavi? You don’t have to yell to wake me up.”         “I think we both know that is a lie,” I said, walking over and offering a hoof to help her up. “Are you alright though?”         “Yeah,” she said as I pulled her up to her hooves. “A little sore, but that’s about it. Anyways, why’d you have to wake me up? I was finally getting some decent sleep.”         “If you’ll recall our earlier conversation, we agreed upon breakfast after the sun was up and I had finished getting ready. As you can see, both of those conditions have been fulfilled.”         “But it’s early,” she said. “I mean, I know I’ve been getting up before noon lately thanks to you, but this is like… seven in the morning early and I was having a really awesome dream. Can’t I get a little more sleep?”         “I suppose,” I said, making an exaggerated frown. “All I wanted was to have a leisurely breakfast with my marefriend before she had her secret noon meeting, but if you would rather sleep in bed by yourself, I won’t complain.”         “You are really good at guilt. Like, I can only hope to learn a fraction of what you know about convincing other ponies to do my bidding. Damned diplomancers.” As she spoke, she walked over to her nightstand and put her goggles around her neck before quickly running a comb through her mane.         “If you think I’m good, you should see Rarity in action. I swear she manages to construct situations where any option you can take benefits her, although I suppose it’s not manipulation if she presents situations where both parties benefit. Still, I wish I had her skills with persuasion,” I said as I walked out the bedroom door.         “You stop Moldy from creating some sort of Equestrian hive mind, and then you don’t call yourself persuasive? Crazy.”         “I’m not saying I’m not persuasive, I’m just saying that if Rarity were in that situation, she probably would have talked Moldy into becoming her indentured servant. I’m good, but Rarity is on a different level entirely,” I said.         “Well anyways,” she said after a pause. “Breakfast?”         I nodded and headed towards the door, Vinyl following after me. The air was cold as we walked towards the restaurant, and I found myself wishing I had remembered to put on my winter saddle. In the last few weeks, the pegasi had gone about steadily lowering the temperature in preparation for winter, as the rest of Equestria prepared itself for the long cold. Now, the pegasi were busy flying from cloud to cloud, making sure everything was perfect for the first snow of the season, which was scheduled to fall during our performance tonight, with the clouds quickly clearing out so that Luna’s moon wouldn’t be obscured for the rest of the celebration. The fact that the orchestra’s performance would herald in the changing of the seasons as well as celebrating the longest night of the year might have contributed to my obsessive perfectionism over the past few months as I worked to make sure both events were given the dignity and respect they deserved.         We finally reached the breakfast bistro and eschewed our usual patio seats in favor of something a touch warmer. Winter was coming, and sitting outside on a day like today was the height of foalishness.         “Is there any chance you feel like telling me just what your secret appointment is about this afternoon?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.         “There sure is,” she said, taking a sip of her orange juice. “As soon as your performance is finished today, and don’t worry, I’ll be in the front row cheering you on the whole time.”         “Actually, I have to insist that you don’t. Cheering throughout the performance would be… frowned upon. Making any noise before the end of the show is usually considered poor etiquette at these events, and considering that the cream of the Canterlot nobility have been invited to this show, I doubt this show will be an exception.”         “Really?” She asked. “Because, I mean, most of the shows I’ve been to have ponies cheering and-”         “You have been to an orchestra performance before right? I have to imagine that at some point during your four years in Canterlot that you learned just what is and isn’t expected during shows.”         “No, and I mean,” she rubbed the back of her head, “I know that you’re supposed to stay in your seats for most of the time, but I thought a little cheering would be okay.”         “It’s not,” I said. “At all. As I said earlier, we generally prefer it if the audience is completely silent.”         “But that sounds boring,” she said. “Can’t I cheer just a bit?”         “No,” I said as the waiter approached us. “Ponies are paying to listen to highly-trained professionals perform, other ponies talking would only be a distraction.”         Our conversation halted for a moment as the waiter came and asked our orders. Vinyl continued her tradition of requesting hay frites before I convinced her to order something different. At this point, I think it’s mostly habit for her because she knows it annoys me.         “How can anypony stand that?” She asked after the waiter had left. “I mean…” She shook her head, “Whatever, if you want, I won’t talk during the show. Besides, I can cheer you on when you practice at home.”         I leaned in and kissed her. “Thank you.”         “No problem, I mean, I don’t want to be responsible for your big performance being a giant train wreck. Not to say that other forces will make it a giant trainwreck. I’m sure it will be great.” And now, she had almost certainly guaranteed some terrible calamity was going to befall the premiere. You don’t just tempt fate like that in Ponyville, not if you value your sanity. Suddenly, felt as if my heart were gripped by an icy vice.         “You alright, Tavi? You kind of just froze up and dropped your silverware. It’s… at least this isn’t as common as it used to be.”         “Thank you,” I said, after a few more seconds pause. “If you will excuse me, I have to go prepare for whatever calamity you have unleashed on the orchestra. I’m sure I will be hearing about it presently.” I stood up and headed towards the door.         Vinyl groaned, “Come on Tavi, you’ve been working hard for the past two months, nothing bad is going to happen.”         I quickly trotted towards the exit. “No, I can’t- I need to stop whatever calamity you’ve unleashed. We’ll talk after the show, I promise.”         I heard Vinyl’s head thump against the wood as I walked away. “Unbelievable. Today of all days Tavi has to… And now my horn is stuck in the wood. How is that- These tables must be made of balsa wood.”         She continued to talk aloud while I walked out of the restaurant. I know it wasn’t polite, but my chest felt like it was about to collapse on itself and the only solution was to stop whatever doom was now heading towards the orchestra. I shivered as I walked through Ponyville’s streets. Doom was heading for me and the orchestra, and I had to stop it. But first, I had to find it.         The door to Royal’s rented house was locked, and several minutes of knocking yielded no result. Unlike Vinyl, he was generally a light sleeper, and he tended to wake up at a reasonable hour. While I waited, my mind ran through the list of possible dooms. Royal Riff could have suffered a massive coronary, although that wouldn’t ruin tonight’s orchestra performance, his removal wouldn’t have a significant impact on tonight’s performance although the long-term repercussions would of course be massive. The sun could go supernova, but as possible dooms, that one wouldn’t lead to any lasting embarrassment, and more importantly, I think Celestia would prevent that from happening.         I considered other more probable disasters like the town falling into a pocket dimension or getting stuck in some sort of perpetual time loop where I was forced to relive the same day over and over again until everything was perfect, but that would be less a disaster and more an opportunity. If I could have infinite repeats until I made everything perfect, I wouldn’t have to worry that something might go wrong because I would be able to fix it. Actually, now that I think about it, being able to repeat each day until everything was perfect seems more a blessing than a curse.         Assuming he wasn’t dead, his absence either meant that he was spending more time with Fiddlesticks or that something terrible was afoot and he was desperately searching for me. Normally, it would be the former, but today it was most likely the latter. Doom was coming, nebulous and undefined, and I had to stop it. If I couldn’t find Royal, then I would find everypony in the orchestra, round them up to one location and make sure nothing terrible happened.         As I walked towards Lyra’s house to ask her to report to the town hall for shelter, I noticed a note on the door. Octavia. Meet me at the hospital as soon as you get this note. Royal Riff         I laughed as soon as I finished reading the note. “I knew something terrible was going to happen tonight. I’m not crazy!” I stopped as I realized my outburst might have been counterproductive and that my lack of sleep might be impairing my ability to think rationally. “I mean, oh no, something terrible has happened, I should go assist immediately.” (I’m not proud of some of my actions yesterday, but in my defense, stress and sleep deprivation had greatly reduced my ability to act rationally.)         The trip to the hospital was mercifully short, as it was one of the few places in town I knew the location of by heart, and for once I wasn’t the one being rushed there after a life-threatening emergency. If it wasn’t for the fact that the performance was in jeopardy, I might have enjoyed the experience more than I did.         “Hello,” I said as I sprinted into the waiting room, “I’m looking for Royal Riff. He told me to meet him here?”         The receptionist looked down at her notes. “Are you Octavia Melody?”         I nodded.         “Head on in, Doctor Flatline has a few questions for you,” she said, buzzing the door open.         The doctor and Royal Riff were in the next room, surrounded by several members from the orchestra. “Can somepony tell me what’s going on?” I asked as I entered the main section of the emergency room.         “Well I was hoping you could shed some light on that for me, Miss Melody,” Doctor Flatline said, turning to face me. “A majority of your orchestra is suffering from magical exhaustion. It’s a very rare illness that only afflicts unicorns who are pushed to the edge of their magical range, which is why it’s so strange to see so many ponies in an orchestra suddenly develop the illness.”         I groaned, at least I had found the doom heading for the orchestra. I didn’t know how to stop it, but I definitely knew what it was. “Could they play tonight? It’s our first performance.”         He laughed, “Absolutely not. Anypony showing signs of magic exhaustion needs to take several weeks off to replenish their magic supply. If not, they run the risk of developing horn rot. I am ordering every unicorn in the orchestra to come to the hospital for testing. So far, I have five cases of late stage magic exhaustion, all of them originally complaining of chronic debilitating headaches. Has anypony else in the orchestra mentioned a headache lately?”         Almost everypony. I had just assumed they wanted some time off and were finding things to complain about. I didn’t know magic exhaustion was a thing, if I did I probably wouldn’t have worked them so hard. I certainly didn’t want the orchestra to fail.         “Octavia?” Royal said. “Are you alright? You’ve been staring at an empty stretch of wall for nearly a minute.”         “Oh, I’m fine,” I said, coming back to my senses and laughing nervously. “Now that you mention it, I do recall a majority of the orchestra members complaining of headaches and asking for time off. I assured them that they could rest after the show.”         “You did what?” the doctor said, raising his voice, “You-” He pinched the brow of his nose, “You do realize that if a unicorn starts complaining of chronic headaches that it’s a giant red flag for magic exhaustion? How much were you forcing them to rely upon their magic?”         “Well, we were practicing for seventy-two hours a week and most of them were using their magic the entir- Wait! If magic exhaustion is such an issue, then why didn’t any of them talk to me about it? I’m not a unicorn, I didn’t even know what magic exhaustion was until today.”         “Because it’s a rare condition. Most unicorns don’t overdraw from their magical supply, and those that do only do so for a short amount of time. It’s not a daily reality for ponies because most of them have the good sense not to overexert themselves.”         “Doctor Flatline,” Royal Riff said, entering into the conversation, “I understand your annoyance, but neither of us were aware of the risks involved with magical exhaustion. If we were, I assure you that none of this would have ever happened.”         “Very well,” he said, turning back to his clipboard. “I will still need every unicorn in the orchestra to come by the hospital for testing, and any who are diagnosed positive will be put on strict bedrest until they’ve made a full recovery.”         “Is that really necessary?” I asked twisting my lips up to smile at the doctor. “We’ve all been pushing ourselves to the limit for this performance, and if you take away any unicorn showing signs of exhaustion, I don’t know how we will be able to make a proper performance tonight.”         He turned to regard me again, the expression on his face shifting from annoyance to concern. “You’re right, I shouldn’t focus on just the unicorns. How much have you been working the past few weeks?”         “Roughly a hundred and four hours,” I said. “If I’m not sleeping or spending time with Vinyl, I’m working on the orchestra.”         “I see,” he said. “And how have you been sleeping?” As he spoke, another chart had floated up to him and he made several notes.         “Not well, actually, I’ve had a lot on my mind and-” I paused, an eye twitching as I finally realized what he was attempting to do. “I’m fine. Absolutely fine. I know I need sleep, but I will get it after tonight. I can’t rest now. I can’t afford to. The orchestra needs me. I need to save it.”         “So I suppose if I told you to get some rest, you would ignore that order?”         I nodded, and he and Royal exchanged looks.         “Octavia, I know the orchestra is important to you,” Royal said, seeming to choose his words carefully,  “it’s important to me too, but I’m sure if we explain the situation to Luna she will be more than-”         “Pinkie Pie!” I shouted, causing the two stallions to look at me in confusion. “We all know Pinkie Pie can play an unusually high number of instruments, she is passingly familiar with the routine, and she is well rested. Although we will not be able to field a full orchestra tonight, but we might be able to complete the show. The show for thousands of Equestria’s harshest critics. Show them our pathetic excuse for an orchestra. I ruined us-” I continued in that fashion for some time, and while I did, Royal and Flatline apparently exchanged words, as Royal had vanished once I ended my ravings and my attention turned again to the outside world         “I’m fine,” I said forcing a smile. “Just a little stressed as all.” I ran a hoof through my mane, “Once the show is over, I will be right as rain. Right as rain, I promise.”         “Of course,” he said, though the look on his face made me doubt his sincerity. “I notice you’ve been keeping most of your weight off your right foreleg since you came in here, any particular reason?”         “It’s fine. Fine, it’s just been a little sore the last few weeks.” As I spoke, he went to a filing cabinet and levitated one of the manilla folders out of it. “Nothing to worry about though.”         “I see,” he said, regarding the folder. “It says here you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. Could you raise up your right hoof for me?”         I sighed and followed his instructions. As soon as my weight was off it, it reflexively bent itself to the shape it took while holding the bow. “Can you straighten your hoof out so I can inspect it, please?”         For several minutes, I tried to follow his command but proved unable to do so. He stopped me around the same time I started slamming my hoof against the floor to straighten it.         “Thank you very much, Miss Melody, I’m afraid I will have to stop you though.”         “What, from straightening my forehoof?” I said. “That’s fine. It’s better this way, makes it easier for me to grab my bow, which means I can spend more time practicing. I can work on straightening it out to normal after the show.”         “No, I’m afraid I can’t let you perform tonight. I have to insist that you stay here until we can make sure you are feeling better.”         “What?! You can’t do that!” I shrieked, turning to face the door and sprinting towards it as fast as I could. Unfortunately, no matter how fast I am, unicorn magic will always be faster, and the door clicked closed before I could take more than a couple of steps. I whirled around to face the doctor, who had taken a small step towards me. “I need to be out there, I need to make this perfect. Luna will- She put so much faith in me, I can’t disappoint her. No, I have to make things perfect. Everything has to be perfect. Everything has to be perfect”         I repeated that mantra to myself as the doctor continued taking cautious steps towards me. “Octavia, calm down. Royal Riff will be back soon and you can discuss what to do then. However, I’m afraid I can’t release you as you are in good conscience. I hope you understand.”         “Yes,” I said, struggling to control my breathing, “I apologize for my earlier outburst, I’m just a little overworked at the moment. Thank you for calming me down.” A fake smile was plastered on my face as I desperately tried to convince him that everything was okay now. For some reason, he didn’t take the bait.         “That’s wonderful,” he said, “So I’m sure you will be amenable to staying here for the day while we treat you for exhaustion.”         Without a second thought, I hurled myself towards the door as hard as I could, hoping to break through it and make my escape.  Unfortunately, locked hospital doors are substantially stronger than I am, and I quickly found myself curled up in a ball next to the door with every bone in my body howling in pain. It was not my best-thought-out plan.         The doctor used that time to levitate me to one of the hospital beds and properly restrain me. Within a few minutes, I was completely incapable of moving any of my limbs, and forced to stare at the ceiling while I felt something jab into my left foreleg. “What is that?” I asked, already feeling my foreleg numbing.         “It’s a painkiller/sedative combo delivered intravenously. It should help numb the pain you’re feeling after running headfirst into a door, while also calming you down and helping you sleep. Don’t worry Octavia, Vinyl and Royal should be returning soon.”         “Nnno,” I said, feeling my words slur and run into each other. “Sshe hash a sheecret meeting at noon. I ddon’t know where she is.”         “Don’t worry, we will find her, for now let’s just focus on getting you better.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him inject something into the IV line, and a few seconds later the world dissolved around me.         When I finally came back to my senses, the evening sun was streaming through my hospital window, and I found myself wondering why my whole body seemed to ache before remembering the events that led to me waking up in the hospital. “Did I really ram myself headfirst into a door?” I asked to nopony in particular.         “Yeah,” a familiar voice from the other side of the room said. “I mean, I heard you did, and you’re certainly bruised enough.” I turned my head towards the voice to see Vinyl sitting next to me.         “Hey,” she said, her voice oddly raspy, her cheeks still stained from crying. “How are you feeling?”         “I suppose I’ve been better,” I said, trying to smile. “Truthfully, I can’t believe I acted like such a foal.” I paused, repeating what I had just said back to myself. “How much medication am I on?”         “Like… A ton,” Vinyl said. “Most of it’s painkillers and sedatives so you don’t try to make any more really dumb breakout attempts. What were you thinking?!”         “I didn’t want the orchestra’s premiere to be ruined, so I suppose I just tried to escape. I don’t think I will try charging any doors headfirst for the forseeable future.”         “Not that,” she said. “Why did you make yourself so crazy obsessing over the orchestra? You almos- Do you know how I felt when I heard what happened?”         “Terrible?”         “That’s one way to describe it,” she said. “I felt like an idiot for letting you focus on your orchestra stuff so obsessively. I mean, I knew you were putting in a lot of work, but I didn’t know things were getting that bad. Like, I thought this was just your usual Tavi perfectionism, which I suppose should have been my first red flag.”         “I’m sorry,” I said. “You shouldn’t blame yourself though, I didn’t even know anything was wrong.”         “But you never know when things are going wrong, I do,” she said. “I really shouldn’t have let you- I knew you were stressed, but I was so focused on my own plans that I kind of just assumed you were going to hold up until the premiere. But then you had to go and work the whole orchestra to the point that they got magic fatigue and freak out. Well, not the whole orchestra, I mean, there are about five unicorns that aren’t currently affected, Lyra is one of them, and as soon as Pinkie heard the situation, she agreed to help out immediately, even if it cut into her planning of the… after party.”         “When can I get out of here?” I asked, my voice still groggy from having just woken up..         “The doctor says he wants to keep you for observation for at least a couple of days. Don’t worry, we have enough ponies to create a small band. It won’t be as big as we planned, but I think Luna will understand, given the circumstances. Don’t worry though, I’ll be right next to you doing everything I can to help.”         I smiled at that. She would. In spite of how absent I had been the last few months, in spite of the general insanity that had filled my life since coming to this town, I was somehow fortunate enough to find a mare who cared for me and was willing to go through Tartarus to help me, and I realized that I was willing to do the same with her. Suddenly, the decision that had been weighing on my mind the last few weeks was greatly simplified.         “Vinyl,” I said, basking in the glow that only came from true love and a copious amount of painkillers, two things I had in ready supply, “I don’t care about the orchestra. Not really, not when I have to choose between you and it. I think that is why I was so focused on making sure this last show was perfect, so I could go out on a high note. I did a wonderful job of that though, didn’t I?”         “You know you never had to choose, right? I mean, I could have waited for your tour to end or gone with you or whatever,” she said. “I know that being in an orchestra is important to you, and I know it requires work, just… hopefully not a hundred hours of work per week.”         “But it isn’t,” I said, shaking my head. “I mean, it was, but these past few weeks, it just felt like something I had to do. Yes, I love playing the cello, but I don’t need to be in an orchestra to do that, I’d much rather play it with my marefriend in a town I loved than with an orchestra.”         She leaned in and kissed my forehead. “If staying here in Ponyville is what you want to do, that’s great, just as long as you’re happy. How do you think Luna will react to the news?”         “I don’t know,” I said. “We are friendly, but I don’t think I was her first choice for head of the orchestra, so I think she will be fine with my unexpected resignation, especially  considering I caused most of the orchestra to develop magic fatigue.”         “Yeah,” Vinyl laughed. “That- I’m sure in a few years we will all be able to laugh about how you went totally crazy freaking out over the orchestra’s first performance and made everypony-”         I glared at her. “But, I mean, not for a few years of course,” she said, rubbing the back of her head.         “So, what is the plan for the rest of the evening?” I asked. “Will you be going to the performance to let me know how it goes?”         “Actually, I’m in the performance now, since pretty much the rest of the proper orchestra is on bed rest. I should probably head out soon, because I don’t think it would be good if the orchestra was missing 10% of its performers, although if you want me to, I will stay right next to you..”         “You should go,” I said, smiling wanly. “I wish I could play in an orchestra one last time before I changed careers, but I suppose I made my own bed in that regard.”         Vinyl chewed on her lip in thought, staring down at the ground. “One last show? After all the stuff you’ve been through and put yourself through these last few months, I think the universe kind of owes you at least that.” She looked up at me and smiled. “What do you say we break out of here?”         “Are you sure?” I asked. “I’m… I’m okay with staying here. I understand why the doctor wants me to..”         “Yeah, well, having you sit this one out just doesn’t seem right to me, not if it’s your last show. Anyways, you ever teleported before?”         I shook my head.         “Okay, here are the basics then: try not to move, don’t close your eyes, it just makes the feeling of nausea worse, and I only have about one jump in me without running low on magical energy, which as we learned today is apparently super bad.” With that, she wrapped her forelegs around me while her horn flashed with magic. The next thing I knew Vinyl, myself, and the hospital bed were on the streets of Ponyville while I felt as if- Well, if it weren’t for the lovely painkillers being pumped into me intravenously, I might have been violently ill. Instead, I just felt nauseous as the world turned into a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns before reforming around me.         “Now then, let’s get your cello and get you to the show, the sun will be going down soon and we should probably get there before it starts.”         “Won’t hospital orderlies be looking for me?” I asked as she pushed my bed through the streets.         “Oh, almost certainly. Hopefully we can get there and get set up before they find you, although I am guessing that as soon as they find out you are gone, they will head straight for the town hall.”         “So our plan is… what? To just hope that they don’t find me until the performance finishes up?”         “Yeah, pretty much,” she said as we raced through the streets of Ponyville. “Kind of wishing I had thought this through more.”         I closed my eyes, letting the cocktail of medications I was on wash away the slowly mounting stress. “Alright, this isn’t too terrible. You go to the show, they will find you, you tell them you broke me out, but then after that say we had a huge fight that ended with me saying I should go back to Canterlot and that after that you haven’t seen me since. I will be getting my cello while all this is going on, and I should be able to grab it before the guards show up.”         “Huh, that’s actually a pretty good plan. Did you just come up with that on the spot or do you have a whole bunch of alibis floating in the back of your head at all time?”         “Let’s keep it a mystery,” I said, doing my best attempt at an enigmatic smile. Judging by the way Vinyl burst out laughing, the effect wasn’t what I intended.         “Yeah, okay,” she said after regaining her composure, “let’s go with that. Anyways, you ready to sneak back to our house and get your cello?”         I nodded as she went to work undoing my restraints. “What about the IV bag?” I asked.         “At this point, it’s just pumping in saline solution. All the good drugs are already in your system.”         “In that case, we’re fine,” I said as I got out of the bed. “My flesh is about 80% bruises right now, and I am not going to be in a happy place when the medicine wears off. Hopefully it will last until after the show.”         Vinyl smiled. “Even if it doesn’t, I’m sure you will power through.”         “Of course,” I said as Vinyl removed the IV. “Would you expect anything less?”         “Like a sense of self-preservation? Not really.”         I kissed her. Her lips were as soft as ever and the act still made an electric current run through my body. “I will see you at the show,” I said.         She smiled. “Good luck, I’ll try to distract the guards. Also, we are going back to the hospital after this, right?”         I nodded. “I love you, Vinyl.”         “I love you too,” she said, laughing. “But don’t make a big thing of this, we’ll see each other in less than an hour.”         There was one last kiss that might have lasted longer than was needed before I sprinted off towards our house. I felt my muscles ache in protest, but thanks to the medical cocktail currently flowing through my veins the pain was, at worst, academic. I looked at the clock as I trotted into the living room. There were still thirty minutes left before the show started, leaving me with plenty of time to get my cello and reach the town hall, I thought. The house was completely quiet as Woodhoof and Moldy were probably already at the festivities, at the very least, they weren’t home right now, making my job substantially easier. The cello was in my room, right where I had left it, and I quickly strapped it on to my back. But just as I was preparing to leave the room and head to the show, I happened to glance out the bedroom window and see two large figures walking towards my house, one of them having a straightjacket for a cutie mark. Apparently, the hospital had the good sense to check my place of residence when searching for me.         Okay, I thought to myself, quickly moving away from the window to prevent them from seeing me and thanking Celestia I hadn’t turned my bedroom light on, how can I get out of this? I could try talking to them and explain what was happening in the hopes they would be reasonable, but that didn’t strike me as likely. On the other hoof, I really didn’t think I could take them in a fight in my current state, and even if I could, I would prefer not to harm ponies who were just doing their job. I looked at the window again and a new idea began to form.         No.         This was a really bad idea.         I opened the window after I heard the front door open.         There was no way this could end well.         Moving as quickly as I could, I crawled out the window and dangled precariously from the open window, checking my surroundings for a quick way down. We had a small garden where a couple of bushes grew directly below my window capable of breaking my fall. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was better than landing on cobblestone streets. Alright Octavia, I thought to myself, just aim for the bushes.         I missed the bushes. How could I have missed the bushes? They were maybe seven feet below me. Instead, I fell onto the cobblestone streets and my back left leg howled in protest. Thankfully, I managed not to alert the orderlies who were now searching our kitchen and presumably commenting on the absurd number of Trot-Tarts in our house. A part of me wanted to go in and politely explain that they weren’t actually mine, but a much larger and smarter part of me just wanted to get to the town hall.         Unfortunately, now that I knew ponies were looking for me, taking the main road didn’t seem that advisable. Instead, I ducked into a nearby alley and started making my way to the show, careful not to put too much weight on either my back left or front right leg. It was a slow journey to the town hall, and not just because I was trying to move undetected. Finally, I managed to sneak into the back entrance of the orchestra, mercifully unguarded, without being seen by the large crowd of ponies near the main entrance who were staring at the growing twilight expectantly.         “Octavia!” Twilight said, turning to face me. “Vinyl told me you were coming, are you alright? You look terrible.”         “I’m fine,” I said, moving a foreleg to brush my coat off, and wincing for putting so much weight on my two bad hooves. “Although a little help with the grooming would be greatly appreciated.”         Twilight nodded and her horn flashed lavender. I felt my magic wash over my coat and mane, and when it was over, I felt much cleaner.         “Thank you,” I said. “How much time until the debut?”         “Moonrise is in three minutes; as soon as it is up, the ticket holders are coming into the auditorium and we’re starting the show. If you are going to do this, you need to get on stage now.”         I nodded my head, and moved to join the greatly reduced orchestra. There were ten ponies where there should have been fifty. Pinkie was our workhorse, of course, while Royal, Lyra, Fiddlesticks and myself composed the entirety of the string section. Vinyl was our sole solo percussionist, and was currently going through one last minute practice with her bass drum, while the few unicorns who weren’t suffering from magic exhaustion comprised our woodwind section. (Apparently they used less magic than the other musicians, as they could play almost entirely without the aid of magic.)         “Vinyl explained everything to us,” Royal said, smiling at me. “I’m glad you are here, it would have felt wrong performing without you.”         “Thank you,” I said, getting into position with my cello, “Does everypony know their parts?”         He nodded. “They’ve been practicing for months, and even our new additions have several weeks of intensive practice in their recent memories. I think we are as ready as we can be, given the circumstances.”         “Better prepared than we would have been without your help,” I said as the first ponies entered the auditorium and I drew my bow. “Vinyl probably told you I will be leaving the orchestra after this, and I just wanted you to know that I will be recommending Luna give you full control of the orchestra. You can’t do any worse with it than I did.”         “Don’t say that,” he whispered as Twilight headed towards her spot in front of the orchestra. “Nopony but Twilight knew about magic exhaustion, and she didn’t think about it because levitating a baton barely tapped into her magical reserves. Yes, things went bad, but if you hadn’t pushed everypony to their limits, I would have instead. At least this way, we have an orchestra that can play AND our arrangements for the foreseeable future have been taken care of. Without you, only one of those could have happened.” He smiled as ponies took their seats. “Now let’s make this a show for the ages.”         “Hey,” Vinyl whispered from her station, “I told the orderlies who came by that you are taking the 7:45 to Canterlot. They might head back here once it leaves.” I nodded. The show was scheduled to end at 8:00, so that only left a fifteen-minute window where they could disrupt the show. Hopefully we would be fine.         I wanted to say something else, but there was no more time. Ponies were in the seats, and Twilight was signalling for us to start. I gave Vinyl one last smile and turned my focus towards the cello It was There seemed to be The music         This is infuriating. That performance was the moment my life had been building up to since I came to Ponyville, and now that it is time to detail it, my inability to describe it is hamstringing me. Obviously, I played well. I played flawlessly despite being so exhausted and high on painkillers that I started thinking the world around me had turned to gold during the performance. I basked in the radiance of the world around me, listening to the sweet melodies enveloping me as I added my own humble contributions. For two hours, I stood on that stage, feelings of rapture filling me, fueled by a heady mix of painkillers, exhaustion, and the fact that I was doing what I loved.         I became my microcosm of creation, existing only to fill the world with beautiful music and reveling in the sensation of doing so. I loved my cello. I loved music. I loved Vinyl. I loved Ponyville. That was all I needed to know, if I could remember that, everything else would be simple. Finally, we came to the last note and I suddenly became aware of the polite applause of ponies. I scanned my surroundings to see the world around me. Woodhoof and Moldy were in the front row, stomping their hooves. Moldy was wearing a long coat and sunglasses to hide his lack of cutie mark or normal eyes, though his lack of hair was still readily apparent, while there was a look of pride in Woodhoof’s eyes. Most ponies in the audience applauded politely. The nobles applauded with the precise movements that only come after years of practicing, and I felt the urge to throttle them rising in my chest. They didn’t actually care about our performance, to them this was just a social occasion. Then they noticed Princess Luna applauding wildly from her box seat and quickly matched their applause with hers. An instant later, the doors flew open and several orderlies entered, one of them levitating a strange device I didn’t recognize next to him.The crowd grew silent, and I turned and nodded at them. “There is no need to make a scene, I am ready to retur-” That was as far as I got before something embedded itself in my neck and I suddenly found my limbs quite unresponsive. I teetered perilously for a few seconds before collapsing on top of my cello as ponies gasped around me. Then I fell into unconsciousness. Moonlight filtered through the windows of my darkened hospital room when I finally woke up and an involuntary groan escaped my lips. I tried to recall just what had led me to the hospital this time. I remembered the performance, I remembered the guards, I remembered something stinging my neck, and then things went hazy before going completely black. “Somepony shot me,” I said aloud. “Yep.” Vinyl said, sitting next to me, wearing saddlebags emblazoned with her cutie mark. (How did I never see her when I first woke up? It seemed statistically impossible at this point.) “The orderlies were instructed to subdue you as quickly as possible because you might be a danger to yourself or others. Also, when an orchestra’s performance is interrupted by a bunch of guards who knock out one of the performers, there’s just a huge uproar. Especially when two princesses are witnesses and also friendly with the mare who got knocked out.” I tried to follow Vinyl, my mind slowed by the heavy sedatives still in my system. “How did the hospital react?” “They still say that they acted appropriately, but they also decided to go against hospital policy and let Pinkie throw her after party in the main lounge. They also allowed me to push your bed there once you wake up.” “Lovely,” I said after a few seconds to think. “I suppose we should be going soon then?” “Not yet,” she said, smiling nervously. “I wanted to talk to you about something. Maybe it’s a bad time now, and I was kind of thinking today would go a lot smoother than it did, so all my planning is kind of just… wrecked, but…” She sighed. “Tavi, the last few months have been amazing. I mean, even when things were going completely crazy, I always had you around to-” Vinyl shook her head. “Tavi, I love you. These past few months, all the things that have been thrown our way, they only made our love stronger, and now whenever I try to imagine my future, there is always a spot in it for you, and it’s right next to me. Maybe this is too soon, but I think after Nightmare Night and that meeting with your parents, and just everything else, we can move a bit fast, so I suppose what I am asking is...” She levitated a black box out of her saddlebags and brought it over to her forehooves. “Tavi, will you marry me?” She opened the box to reveal an intricately carved hoofband with several precious gems set into it at various points. “You know,” I said, after a brief pause, “it’s customary to use the mare’s full name when proposing.” “Yeah, well I don’t think I’ve ever called you by your full first name, and I figured why start now? Now what’s the answer going to be?” I leaned out of bed and kissed her, “The answer was yes when we talked about it two months ago and it hasn’t changed since then. If anything, the last few months have just added to the already overwhelming reasons why I should say yes, so… yes. Yes, Vinyl Scratch, I will marry you. Are Bon-Bon and Lyra okay with you proposing now? I don’t want to be seen as stealing their moment.” “Oh no,” Vinyl said, putting the band on my left forehoof, “I talked with them about it and they agreed that after the show would be just the perfect time for us to propose. We definitely have their blessing. Lyra even brought up the idea of the two of us sharing a bachelorette party.” “Wait, I’m sorry, I didn’t quite get that, did she talk about you and I sharing a bachelorette party or you and her sharing a bachelorette party, because your wording was very ambiguous.” Vinyl chuckled. “She and I, it would be kind of weird if you and I shared a bachelorette party, right?” “We are both bachelorettes though,” I said, shrugging. “You’ll forgive me for not having all of the logistics to our wedding planned yet.” “I’m sure you’ll take care of that before the week is out,” Vinyl said before moving to kiss my cheek. “One of the many reasons why I decided to marry you was because I figured you could do most of that boring planny stuff for me.” “You do know how to make a mare feel appreciated,” I said, trying not to smile at her words. “Now, should we join the party?” “I suppose we should; it’s almost midnight and all your friends have been waiting for you to make an appearance,” she said as she started pushing my bed out the door. “It is customary for ponies to stay up all night during the Winter Moon Celebration, so I don’t feel too bothered about this.” Vinyl raised her eyebrow. “Really? You aren’t upset that ponies have been waiting for you for several hours?” “If they were actually waiting for me to show up before they started the party, then yes. If they were still enjoying a perfectly fine party during that time, then not particularly. Is Luna- Is Princess Luna there?” “Yeah.” “Ah, then it’s a good thing we are already heading towards the festivities. I’d hate to keep the Princess waiting,” I said as Vinyl navigated my bed around one of the hospital’s corners. “So, just so I have this straight, you are okay with keeping everypony else waiting, but keeping the Princess waiting is unforgivable?” “Essentially, yes.” As second later, the door had opened to the party where my friends were busy enjoying themselves. A large banner hung across the room reading Congratulations Royal Ponyville Orchestra, and I could see there was something else attached, but that banner was still furled. Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Twilight sat in one corner talking enthusiastically with each other about something (considering they comprised the rest of the anthropology club, I might be able to field a guess though), Rarity and Luna spoke with each other  in the center of the room, towards the back Royal and Fiddlesticks worked on polishing off a bottle of wine, and Pinkie stood next a piece of rope hanging from the ceiling, while other ponies who were associated with the orchestra mingled with each other. As soon as the door opened, they all looked over and cheered loudly. While most of the room looked at the mare in a hospital bed, Pinkie’s attention was firmly focused on Vinyl. I saw my marefriend fiance nod her head, and the pink mare pulled the rope, causing the rest of the banner to unfurl, reading And Congratulations Octavia and Vinyl. There was a short applause, and soon my friends were heading towards us to offer their congratulations. “Oh darling, you simply must tell me how the proposal went, was it suitably romantic? I want all the juicy details,” Rarity said, smiling magnanimously. “Were you surprised when I came back in the story? I know I said my role in it was done, but then when Vinyl asked me to throw your engagement party, I just couldn’t resist. How awesome is it that I get to be in the finale? Huh huh huh?” As she spoke, Pinkie bounced excitedly around my bed. “I’m real happy for you cuz, ain’t nopony I know that practices more than you, and Vinyl here seems like she makes you happy.” Fiddlesticks turned to face Vinyl, “And you best make ‘er happy, we Apples look after our own.” “You performed magnificently Octavia. We could not have imagined a better inaugural performance for our orchestra,” Princess Luna said. “Really?” I asked, looking at the Princess. “Because I feel it would have gone substantially better if I hadn’t made almost the entire orchestra sick.” “Those things happen,” Luna said, shrugging. “What’s important is that you managed to save the situation and still put on an impressive show. There probably would have been calls for an encore if the show hadn’t been so rudely interrupted.” She glared at one of the orderlies, who had the good sense to look ashamed. “Thank you,” I said. “I want to talk to you about my role in the future of the orchestra when you get a chance.” Luna nodded her head, a slight frown forming on her lips. “Once the party winds down, we will discuss that matter. For now, let us enjoy ourselves. I think, there is an old friend who wants to see you.” Luna gestured towards one of the ponies near the back of the room, and I felt like an utter foal for not immediately recognizing my old employer Mister Pianissimo. In my defense though, he had been facing away from me when I first entered the room. “Hello Octavia,” he said, walking towards me. “Your performance was wonderful tonight.” “Really?” I stated, all cheer draining from my voice. “Yes, quite, you exceeded all of my expectation, and it’s clear you’ve developed more than a few friends.” He smiled, and I resisted the urge to punch him. “You exiled me from Canterlot. You sent me to Ponyville because I was making the rest of your unicorns look bad, and now that I’ve managed to succeed despite the odds, you try to be friendly with me?” He wrinkled his brow. “Is that what you think happened? If so, I apologize for any confusion. Yes, I was perhaps a bit secretive, but perhaps after hearing the full story you will judge me less harshly. When I met with Princess Celestia for one of our meetings, we discussed members of the orchestra who had been problematic. You had been on that list for some time, as you tended to alienate yourself from your coworkers and forsake socializing in favor of cello practice. While it didn’t negatively impact your work performance, Princess Celestia cares greatly for the well-being of all her ponies, and once I mentioned that issue she started work on a solution. I suppose you can deduce the rest from that?” “Luna,” I asked, “Is this true?” “Indeed it is,” the princess said. “When we mentioned our desire to reform the orchestra to Celestia, I believe she saw the opportunity to deal with two issues at once. As to why she chose Ponyville, I believe it is because she had good results with the town previously.” “She did the same thing with me,” Twilight said. “Although I always thought she took a special interest in my well-being because I was her personal student and the fate of Equestria depended on me making friends.” Luna nodded. “That is true, but Celestia wants all her little ponies to live in harmony and friendship. When she hears of one suffering, she tries to correct that. At any given time, there are at least six ponies she is trying to manipulate into accepting the power of friendship. It is something of a hobby of hers.” “Wow,” Vinyl said. “That’s… kind of crazy.” “Vinyl, everything that’s happened since I arrived in this town has been kind of crazy. At this point, I don’t think I can be surprised by anything. Although,” I smiled at Mister Pianissimo, “I’m glad to hear you aren’t a terrible racist. I quite admired you before this incident with the orchestra started.” “And I have always been exceptionally fond of you, Miss Melody. You are hard-working, intelligent, and it broke my heart to see you isolate yourself in your apartment. Celestia advised me not to be in contact with you for a while, but I believe the time for that has passed, and I would be delighted to take up a correspondence with you. Unless of course, you intend to move back to Canterlot.” “If you had asked even a few weeks ago, I would have said yes in a heartbeat,” I laughed, “But… Ponyville’s my home now, as strange as it sounds, and I am loathe to abandon it. I hope you will come and visit some time though.” “Of course, although I hope you return the favor. In fact, my youngest daughter should be getting her cutie mark anyday now, and I would be delighted if you joined us for her mark mitzvah. Unless I’ve terribly missed my guess she will get a mark for her saxophone playing, and I think it would help her if she had another earth-pony musician to mentor her.” “Wait,” I said. “Your daughter is an earth pony? But-” “My wife is an earth pony, as are most of my children. I’ve tried to help them as best I can, but… it would be nice if they could receive a formal academy education like I received, but I’m afraid that’s simply not in the cards for them. That’s why I try to find mentors such as yourself to help them in their development.” “I would be delighted to,” I said, smiling at him as a doctor came in to inject more painkillers into my IV bag. “It’s funny actually, during the performance tonight, in that brief moment after we finished playing but before a tranquilizer dart lodged itself into my neck, I looked at that crowd of ponies clapping, and I thought it was so funny because most of those ponies didn’t actually care about what we played. We could have played the most beautiful sonata in Equestria or trotstep, and as long as it was in vogue, they would have applauded just the same. I don’t want to play for ponies like that anymore. I want to play for ponies who would actually appreciate my craft and perhaps instruct the next generation of musicians, although that will be difficult without a school that teaches earth ponies and-.” I paused, a new idea entering my head. “Princess Luna, have you given any thought to opening up a royal academy of your own?” “I have,” she said, “but we- I have not decided what it’s focus should be.” “Well, with Celestia’s academy focusing mostly on magic and serving only unicorns, it might be nice if there was an academy that would teach anypony. I had to learn the cello on my own, and back when I was first starting, I would have traded a limb for a proper academy education, and I know there are plenty of other ponies in a situation similar to mine. Obviously, such a thing is your decision entirely, I merely wished to illustrate that there was need for it.” The princess tapped her chin in thought. “Princess Luna’s Academy of Arts and Sciences,” she mused. “It does have a nice ring to it... and providing a higher education to all ponies in need is a worthy goal. We will start plans at once, and all we- I mean, I would ask of you is for your support in this project. My academy will need the finest teachers available, and I can think of nopony better to lead the music department. What say you?” “I would love to,” I said. “But I don’t think I will be leaving Ponyville for the next few years.” “We would expect nothing less,” Luna said. “As it was this town that proved pivotal to our redemption, and our orchestra is already based here, we shall make our throne in Ponyville. Assuming that the current Princess of Ponyville would not mind sharing her city with us, that is,” she added, shooting a sly grin at Twilight. “I am hardly the Princess of Ponyville,” Twilight laughed, “In fact, I’m not even really sure what I am princess of, yet. Just let me keep the library as my demesne and I will be happy.” “It is decided then,” Luna said. “Plans shall begin tomorrow morning, but for now we decree that everypony enjoy themselves tonight for it is truly worthy of celebration. Anypony caught frowning shall be in violation of that decree, and shall summarily be punished by severe tickling.” The other ponies laughed at that, but I had no plans on seeing if Luna intended to enforce that ordinance. After that, the night seemed to stretch on forever as my friends and I celebrated the recent good news. At some point during the night, somepony found a karaoke machine, and in a room filled with musicians, it turns out the only pony capable of singing in the proper key was Rarity. Royal and Fiddlesticks got into a cider drinking contest, and were sloppily kissing each other by the end of the night, while the rest of us simply enjoyed the pleasure of each other’s company. Shortly after dawn, as the party finally broke up and several irritated orderlies went to work cleaning up the mess we had left behind, Vinyl pushed me back to my room where she curled up next to me in bed and quickly fell asleep. As I lay there, listening to my fiance breathing contentedly next to me, I could not think of a better way to end the day nor to end my time with the Royal Ponyville Orchestra.