//------------------------------// // Secret Orchestrator Revealed! The Adventurous Month Comes to a Close! // Story: The Adventures of Derpy, Lyra, and Octavia // by IsabellaAmoreSirenix //------------------------------// "When we last left The Adventures of Derpy, Lyra, and Octavia, they had just been torn apart by the evil lackies of Money, More Money, and Law Enforcement. This dark and twisted triumvirate has resurrected the once-forgotten horror of this life, Project Reality. In an effort to defeat this dastardly plan, the brilliant and attractive Lyra Heartstrings, alongside the halfway-decent psycho-maniac Oct--" "Oh, would you just stop it already?" asked Octavia, tears still coursing down her face. "Aww, but I thought it would cheer you up!" exclaimed Lyra. "Come on, it's funny, right? Just a little?" Octavia gave a feeble smile in return. "Just a little." "See what a little optimism can do? And we're not shouting at each other anymore, either. I'd say that's a marked improvement." "Marked," Octavia said, if not begrudgingly. Then she clung even tighter to Lyra. "It still really, really sucks, though." "Yeah," said Lyra, her eyes lost in staring at the ground. "It really, really, really sucks." "Three reallys," said Octavia. "Then things must really be bad." "Yup. You know what, let's throw another one in there, for the heck of it. It really, really, really, really sucks." Octavia slammed the back of her head against the bedpost. "Doesn't it just make you want to scream?" she asked. "Oh yeah," Lyra answered. "Then do it," whispered Octavia. "Scream." Lyra nodded, squeezed her eyes shut, and tilted her head back to face the ceiling fan. "I hate this!" she screamed. "I hate this, I hate this, I hate this! I worked a less than average amount to get into this school, and now that's all being taken away from me?! It's not fair, it's not fair! Gah, why does it have to be like this? Why? Why?! It's not fair! I hate this so much; just make it stop!" Lyra let her head drop and took in deep lungfuls of oxygen. "Hey, that felt pretty good," she remarked. "See what a little pessimism can do?" Octavia said. She smiled, then Lyra smiled, and then both of them were smiling together. Lyra curled herself into a little ball on the floor. "Things suck," she said, gazing listlessly at the whirring fan above her head. Octavia could only nod as tears overtook her again. "Oh, this is ridiculous," she said. "Tell me about it," said Lyra before she looked up and saw the musician zipping around her side of the room, knocking over books and overturning drawers before... "Here it is." Octavia breathed a sigh of relief as she stuck a tiny glass vial of pink dust behind her ear. "What are you doing, Octavia?" Lyra asked. Octavia stopped, her hoof hovering over the doorknob. "I'm going to do what you've been telling me all month. I'm going to get counseling." "Oh, Octavia, that really sucks." "So I keep hearing," the mare responded to a light pink hologram of a pony, hovering above her outstretched hoof holding the vial. She let out a long sigh. "I just... I don't know what to do, Clarity. If that goes on my record, I-I just..." "Well... maybe it'll be like the time ya were given detention in fourth grade, remember? When ya came home with the slip, you were crying so much. You were so scared that it would lower yer grades, and then what happened? Ya went, wrote lines for half an hour, went home, and that was the end of it." Octavia sniffled. "No, I don't think it's like that," she said, pressing closer to the corner of the hallway she was curled up in. "This is serious, far more serious. What if... oh, what if I never get to go back to Carneighie Hall?" "If that is the case, then there are plenty o' other fancy concert halls 'round Equestria. You'll find a way to shine in them." "I know, I know," Octavia whispered. "Just... you know, playing at Carneighie Hall is my dream, Clarity." Her hooves trembled, shaking the pages of music she was clutching to her chest. "I wrote this piece thinking, imagining, feeling that I was there. Standing there, on stage, with so many ponies applauding me. What is this music now, now that that's gone? What is my music now?" "Octavia..." Clarity's eyes briefly flickered shut. "Do ya remember when ya told me about that night in Canterlot two weeks ago? When ya played a duet with a homeless man in a park, and everypony stopped to listen? Why do you think they did that? I bet it wasn't 'cause the park was fancy. Darling, I don't even think it was because of your music. It's because of you. You, because you're beautiful when ya pick up that fiddle and play. More beautiful than anypony else." "Oh, don't say that," Octavia said. "What about those times when you play at our family reunions and everypony praises you? If you were in my place, you'd have far more ponies come to hear you." Clarity shrugged her shoulders. "Well, if we're playing with 'what ifs' then," she said, "maybe I would, and maybe I wouldn't. But Octavia, darling, when I saw ya board that train to Canterlot, I didn't think to myself that I didn't deserve to come with ya. I didn't think that your cutie mark meant ya played a better fiddle than me. That's just not how life works. We all have our different paths, ya know. Like in that little wood to the west of us, remember that one? How the trees are so close together that walking behind somepony just means gettin' wacked right in the head with branches? Life's sorta like that, I figure." So that's just it then? Octavia wanted to yell. It's destiny or whatever that's taking Derpy and Lyra away? No, I refuse to believe such a thing. "But you didn't want to come with me, Clarity," she said, tears threatening to break down the walls behind Octavia's eyes again. "What if there was somepony who wanted to stay where she was, wanted to stay and do what she loved, but couldn't? What if she had to go far away and had to give up on her dream?" Much to Octavia's annoyance, Clarity started laughing, full and rich like a ringing bell. "Oh, Octavia, love," she said. "You think that something like leaving the academy is going to stop your friends?" "What do you mean?" asked Octavia, annoyed. "Of course it will! This changes everything!" Clarity shook her head. "Ponies are stronger," she said, "stronger than anything on this planet, I'd bet. If a pony has his or her head on straight, then there's nothing that can stop 'em. They'd sooner die than give up on what they love." When Octavia stayed quiet, she continued. "Let me put it like this, Octavia. That purple treble clef mark you have. What does it mean to you?" Octavia paused, choosing her words carefully. "Well... it means that my special talent is music." "Uh-huh. And why is it your special talent?" "Why does anypony have a special talent?" asked Octavia. "Because I have a skill that I do better than most other ponies." "And why is that?" asked Clarity patiently. "I... I don't understand." "Well, nopony said you had to pick up the fiddle. That was something you chose to do. Why? What about music is so special that you'd want to give your entire life to it?" The words came out without Octavia having to think. "Because music is the rhythm of life," she said. "It makes ponies stop and, just for a moment, really feel an emotion. And because I don't know what I'd do without it." "Ah," said Clarity with a knowing smile. "So why do you stop playing? What keeps you from locking yourself up in your room and playing away for the rest of your life?" "Because I..." Then reality dawned on her. Clarity's smile grew wider. "We need more than our dreams," she said. "We need other ponies, ponies who will stay with us, ponies who will let themselves trip as they stick with us, ponies who will run after us." Octavia swallowed with great effort. "Thank you, sister," she whispered before letting the pink smoke dissipate into the air. Then she was running, running down hallways and up stairs and past doors, just to burst one final time through the door to her room. There she found Lyra, sitting on her bed and staring at Derpy's painting of Dinky, laughing as she danced in gently falling snow. The determination burning in the unicorn's eyes was in such contrast with Dinky's smiling face that for a moment, Octavia's heart skipped a beat. Finally, Lyra glanced up at Octavia. "You were right," she said, her voice made of gravel and shaking leaves and muffled roaring. "You were right." Octavia's eyes softened. "Oh, Lyra, we both said things; now's not the time--" "Yes, yes it is the time," Lyra insisted, rising to her full and proud height. "Let me tell you what we're going to do," she said as her eyes bore themselves into Octavia's. "We're going to bring that kid home. But first, we're turning in my homework." "Run faster!" Octavia screamed, glancing at Lyra's whipping mane just out the corner of her eye. "Faster, faster!" she cheered. "Don't stop!" In Lyra's magical grip there were two envelopes. One was her official assignment, the one she had given to the pre-readers and had approved by the teacher and had edited relentlessly. The other was secret, saved for the nights of insomnia and the moments of loneliness, the one she never thought she'd publish because it was too out there, filled with stories of flufflepuffs and positivity and hum-- "Now's the time!" Octavia shouted. Zoom! Faster than a sonic rainboom went the envelope whizzing on top of the pile stacked outside Mrs. Flyleaf's door. "Which story did you give her?" asked Octavia, still running. Lyra smiled. "I've only ever had one story," she said. Then both mares froze when they turned the corner and saw Mrs. Heartstrings standing in front of them. "Come with me, Lyra," she ordered. For a moment there was silence. Then Lyra whispered, "Move." "What did you say to me?" "I said move," answered Lyra, her voice growing steadily louder. The woman's head looked so red that it might have exploded given five more minutes. "How dare you," she hissed. "Such insolence from my own daughter." "I don't think so," remarked Lyra pleasantly. "You see, telling somepony to move is common if they're in your way. And you, Mum, I don't want you to be in my way anymore." Then before Mrs. Heartstrings could reply, Octavia and Lyra, with Lyra in the lead, squeezed past her and started running again. However, they were not running away from somepony, but rather towards. Towards a little figure at the end of the hall, a figure who was coming closer, a figure who was calling out to them. "I don't want to go!" sobbed Derpy, tears blinding her as she tried to fly in a straight line. "I don't want to go, I don't want to go!" Then Octavia started crying, and Lyra started crying, until crash! and the three mares were one big heap of wailing and inexplicable laughing. "Mrs. Bubbles!" shouted Derpy as Octavia pulled the cat out of her saddlebag. "Oh, come here, kid!" cried Lyra before piling on top of Derpy and hugging her. "You're ridiculous, Derpy," cried Octavia, wrapping her forelegs around both of them. "You thought you'd have the chance to get rid of us. You're ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous." "And speaking of ridiculous," said a voice above him. Like puppets with their strings suddenly yanked, the three mares looked up to see none other than the spirit of ridiculousness himself, sitting in the rafters and waving down at them. "Discord?" said Octavia as they stood up to face the draconequus. "What are you doing here?" The draconequus wrapped his snake-like torso around a stone pillar. "Oh, how you wound me!" he exclaimed, slithering down to the floor. "Is that any way to greet a friend? Especially after all I've done for you!" "What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Lyra. "Forgive me, my little ponies," said another voice. "I fear that Discord and I have much explaining to do." Lyra, Octavia, and Derpy fell to their knees as the Princess of the Night gracefully walked towards them. Shadows from the rafters fell upon her face, yet they did not shroud her beauty, only make her steady, serene eyes glow brighter. "Princess Luna," breathed Lyra and Octavia in awe. Derpy stared transfixed at the alicorn's flowing mane. "Ooh, sparkly!" "Forgive me," she repeated as she bade the mares to rise with a dismissive wave of her hoof. "Forgive me for the stress that this past month has undoubtedly brought you." "I don't understand, Your Highness," said Octavia. "Do you mean the confusion with the dorm rooms? How would such a thing be your fault? And why would you apologize to the three of us?" "It is because I am the reason behind that confusion," the princess said. "Or, more accurately, I sanctioned the reason behind that confusion." "Well, thank you, princess!" exclaimed Discord, idly making origami birds that dissolved into lemonade. "I must say, it's about time you gave me credit for the things happening around this city!" "Still don't get it," said Lyra blankly. "You three know who Discord is, correct?" Luna asked. "You are aware that he has been reformed by the Elements of Harmony and is currently studying the magic of friendship?" "Yeah, of course we do!" exclaimed Derpy. "I used to live in Ponyville; I saw it happen!" "But isn't Discord supposed to be studying friendship with the Element Bearers?" Lyra asked. "Shouldn't he be in Ponyville?" "Yes, but the issue arises with--" the princess began. "Oh, those ponies are so boring!" complained Discord, now hovering atop a hammock. "With all of their little tea parties and slumber parties; they get along so well! Of course, there's things to be learned from that, but at the end of the day it's far too tepid. So one day I thought to myself--" "That you'd take over my narration," Luna grumbled. "--that why have just one group of friends to study? Why not have more test subjects?" "Finally! Somepony gets it!" Lyra said. "Yes, that was his general hypothesis," Luna said. "So he came to me and Celestia, asking to see if friendship could arise out of chaos." "And you agreed with him?" Octavia asked. "There comes a point," Luna said in a low voice, "when one will do anything to get that creature out of their mane for a month." "So we let him come to my academy," she continued, "and observe my students' behaviors for a month." "Creepy," said Lyra in a sing-song voice. "Says the ponies who let the head of the government watch their dreams," Discord rebutted. "At any rate, Discord chose to observe you three," said Luna. "He only interfered in small events--" "But honestly, it was easy to catch on if you thought about it," said Discord. "Who loses a dog that's bigger than them? Who leaves a door open to one of the most famous buildings in the capital?" "And my dream?" asked Derpy. "Were you in that weird dream I had?" "Right-o, kid! Boy, it was fun, ruffling through the pages of your mind. I can see why Moonbutt gets a kick out of it." Luna's eyes narrowed at Discord. "Ahem," coughed the princess tersely. "The results Discord conveyed to us were admittedly surprising, yet there is one more thing missing to either prove or disprove Discord's theory." "What's that?" asked Derpy. Luna smiled. "Are the three of you truly friends?" A day ago, the answer would have been obvious. "But... we're about to leave," said Octavia. "Derpy's moving to Los Pegasus--" "Not anymore!" Derpy exclaimed cheerfully. "That's why I was running back, to tell you! I just got a message from my mom, and there's nothing to worry about. It was amazing, really. Just as her coltfriend was about to get some props left behind from his last show, some crazy mare comes up to him and gives him a thousand floats! Can you believe that? With that money, they'll be able to move to Canterlot, and I'll be able to stay!" Octavia spluttered. "But Lyra! Your mom's pulling you out of the academy!" Lyra waved her hoof dismissively. "Pft, she says things like that all the time, but she never does. Believe me, she's going to come rushing back an hour in tears, we'll talk it out, and everything'll work out." "Then why the hell were you having a breakdown like I was?!" "Because after everything works out, she's going to kill me!" Lyra shouted. "I'm going to put back on a budget, Octavia! An actual budget! What am I supposed to do with my life on a budget, huh?" Octavia facedhoofed. "I'm going to kill you," she said. "Aww, love you too, friend," Lyra answered. "Friends!" Derpy shouted, pulling them into a hug. A quiet, maternal smile graced Luna's face. "There's your answer, Discord," she said. "And as for your dilemma, Miss Melody, in reward for your cooperation in further reforming the spirit of chaos to better serve Harmony in Equestria..." The princess of Equestria levitated three silver tickets into Octavia's hooves. "Front row seats to the famous "Midnight Symphony," performing tonight at Carneighie Hall." Octavia gasped. "That's the one inspired by myths of humans, isn't it? Oh, the legends of how their fingers manipulated musical instruments..." "Awesome!" shouted Lyra. "I left a muffin behind when we broke in; now I'll be able to get it back!" "Cello rhymes with jello!" Derpy declared proudly. "So does this mean we're all back together?" Lyra's smile faltered. "Well remember, kid, that we're only scheduled to be in that dorm room for a month. Afterwards, we're staying in separate rooms. Unless we all wanted to stay..." Lyra glanced in Octavia's direction. "Oh no," she said, backing away. "This month's been all sorts of crazy; there's no way I'm doing that all year. However..." Her lips formed a sly smile. "...if Her Majesty allows it, with everypony sorting out the dorm rooms being so frazzled, perhaps we could swap out the names of... oh, perhaps rooms 304, 305, and 306?" Luna slowly nodded her head. "Yes!" Octavia cheered. "Come on, Derpy!" she shouted. "And you too, sentimental idiot! We have a show to watch!" "You know," said Lyra to Derpy as she watch Octavia practically skip down the steps, "a month ago, I'd never think in a million years that I'd see her so happy." Her eyes widened. "Or see me so sappy! Ugh!" Derpy laughed and draped a wing over Lyra's back. "I guess that's the magic of friendship."