//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: Beethoven’s Nightmare in F minor // Story: Beethoven's Tenth // by CrackedInkWell //------------------------------// “That went better than I thought, Your Highness,” one of the Lunar guards commented. The Princess of the Night nodded, “I wholeheartedly agree! That symphony was full of surprises and catchy tunes! At long last, there’s a classical piece that hasn’t driven me to sleep.” It was already past midnight and the members of the Canterlot Philharmonic were now on their way home to get some sleep. For the moon alicorn, the exciting music was still ringing in her head as her guards and their families rested in the dining hall. Her guard laughed, “I know, if more classical music was like that, then I would give more all the more reasons to buy their records. I thought it sounded like something out of a soundtrack of a movie.” “Oh! Yes, I can indeed visualize that being in an epic motion picture! Such that would capture the blood pumping thrill of the old warfare as I knew it. Whoever this Beethoven is, he certainly obtained the very impression of the heat of battle. Speaking of which, where is he anyway?” “I thought he already went back to Ponyville.” “Did- ah, that’s right,” Luna looked at the time, “It’s already two in the morning. I suppose that he might be asleep…” the princess then trailed off as an idea formed in her head. “Actually, I think I can meet him at this time.” She turned to her guard, “If you would excuse me, I think it’s about time I tend to my dream duties.” “As you wish Your Grace,” he bowed as the Princess exited the dining hall. Luna headed towards her room from one of the spires of the castle. Once she entered her secluded realm, she walked into her chambers towards a mirror that was about as tall as her. To a normal pony, that even if they went near it and touch the glass, it would be just another mirror. For Luna, however, it was a gateway that helps perform one of her duties. Her horn light up, she enveloped her whole body in the light of the full moon before she passed through the glass and into the dream world. Once she was in, Luna was truly in her element. In the dreamscape, she could go to any place in the world in an instant to visit anyone who was asleep. Behind the looking glass, she freely moves through walls and rooms like a spirit, traveling at the speed of shadows through the land over a realm of stars below her. Each light in a variety of colors was a creature that was dreaming. She flew over to a nocturnal Ponyville where she began her search for the composer. Of course, Luna had to step into Twilight’s dream for a moment to ask her for directions of where Ludwig was residing in. But once she had an idea where she was going, she glides over to where the studio was. Not to say that she had to stop temporarily as she took care of the passing green, deep violet, and scarlet night terrors along the way. Luckily for her, there were only a few hoofful on that street. She was able to make it over to the apartment within under an hour. “This seems to be the place,” Luna said as she approached the outline of the building. On the ground level, she saw four stage lights behind the walls. All of them were in bright pastoral colors of pink, light green, blue and yellow. Above, however, where the place that Beethoven was residing in, she noticed something that concerned her. Not only was Ludwig was asleep, but the light of his dream was not a pleasant one. It was in a dark ruby color that to the Moon Princess knew exactly what it meant. Beethoven the giant was having a nightmare. Flying up to the scarlet light, Luna wasted no time to investigate what was going on. With a spell to unlock Beethoven’s mind, she tore open a door for her to slip through. On the other side, she found that everything was completely dark. Almost like a void except for the one window not too far away. Curious, she cautiously approached the window to where she could hear voices coming from it as she drew near. Though the glass, she saw three solid shadows that look like how Ludwig was described to her. The outlines suggested clothing and wigs, all of them were sitting around at a piano, each clutching a dark green bottle that shines in the candlelight. “Ludwig,” a drunken voice said loudly that apparently came from a different room. “Aufwachen und spiel für uns etwas Schönes!” “Nein Papa.” A faint voice replied, although, to Luna’s ears, it almost sounded like a colt’s voice. “Es istzu früh.” “Ich sagte aufstehen jetzt du fauler Bastard!” the other voice roared. This was followed quickly by the sound of a slap and something falling on the floor. “Get up Junge! Oder wollen Sie mir, Sie auf dem Klavier zu ziehen?” “Aber ich bin müde,” the little voice sobbed. “Was ich Ihnen sagte, zu weinen?” This was followed by a shout as something was being dragged across the floor. Soon, Luna saw another shadow that came into view that was dragging a smaller human by the hair. This one was in a nightgown, and his arms clench the hand that was dragging him in pain. “Papa! Lass los!” the little human screamed as he was forcefully taken towards the keyboard. Even though the moon princess had no idea what they were saying, she could tell by the tone of their voices and the sounds she was hearing to understand that she was witnessing abuse first hoof. “Komm,” the silhouette that dragged the boy in said as he took a bottle with his free hand. “Nicht schüchtern Junge. Spielen Sie uns etwas nett und süß.” The boy tried to wipe the tears away with his white sleeve and even sniffed before his tiny fingers touched the keys. But when he tried to press them, however, Luna didn’t hear a single sound coming out from the instrument. And it seemed that the boy noticed this too as he looked down in bewilderment. He tried pressing some other keys but only got the same result. For a moment, he paused for a little too long. “Warum hast du aufgehört?” the one that drags him into the room said. “Ich denke, das Klavier gebrochen Papa ist.” “Es klingt wie ein Klavier zu mir!” “Aber ich kann nicht hören, was ich spiele,” the boy pleaded, “wirklich.” To this, he got a smack from the back of his head to the laughter of the other shadows. “Machen Sie nicht so dumme Ausreden Ludwig!” it yelled. “Wenn ich etwas Musik spielen hören wollen, spielen die verdammte Musik!” “Aber Papa-” “Jetzt!” Frighten, the boy placed his hands back onto the keyboard of the instrument. For a while, neither he nor Luna could hear a single note from it, as if there were no strings in it at all. Yet, somehow the other shadows sway to the silence of the mute piano as if they could hear what was going on. But then, out of the stillness, came a thunderous, discorded cords that screeched like iron nails on a chalkboard. At the sudden sound, the boy jumped in his seat, and the shadows stopped swaying. “Was war das?” the shadow nearest to him demanded. “Warte ab! Papa, tut mir leid! Da war ein Fehler!” From the shadow, it produced something whip like in its inky hand and raised it over its head. “Nein!” the boy cried out, covering his head. Luna, however, had seen enough. She immediately summoned a spell in which not only broken the window but forcefully pushed the shadow that threatens to hurt the boy out of the way. The silhouette flew clear across the room, banging against the wall. The other shadows recoiled as Luna entered through the room, spreading her midnight wings open, her horn glowing brightly as her moon. The drunken beings took hold of their bottles and chucked them at her, only for those bottles to be stopped short in a blue aura, being thrown back at them. With the glass crashing over them, not only did the shadows shatter, but even the very room was breaking as well like cracks in a mirror. The one that held a shadowy whip charged forward at her, Luna reached after the creature in her magic, to her surprise found it more solid then she’d expected. “You will not harm this child,” she hissed as she took the whip in her own magic. Only finding that it wasn’t a whip at all, it was a belt. “Begone!” with a crack at the black fabric against the silhouette, the world around her, the piano and the cowering boy had shattered all around them. Luna lit her horn once more to fill in the void with something pleasant. She picked out a place from Ludwig's mind that was the most peaceful. From there, the dreary room faded away to a lakeside by a forest in the brightly lit moon. The princess’s attention now turned towards the boy who was still shaken from what transpired. Lying on her stomach in the grass, Luna said, “I do apologize for meeting you in such circumstances. But I can assure you, nopony can harm you now… Ludwig, isn’t it?” The boy looked up from underneath the piano. “How did you know my name?” The blue anicorn’s expression brightens, “Then I assume that you are Ludwig van Beethoven; the composer that wrote that marvelous symphony at the palace with all its battles, marches and dances?” He crawled out from underneath the piano, “Symphony? Wait…” the boy went into deep thought. “I think I remember something like that… There was an orchestra that played my third to a… sun princess.” “Ah! That must be my elder sister you’re talking about,” she smiled. “My name is Princess Luna Everfree, co-ruler of Equestria, raiser of the moon and stars, protector of dreams- and I am humbled in thy presence.” She bowed her neck over to him. “Again, please pardon the intrusion, but I think I have saved you from an awful nightmare just a moment ago.” “Nightmare?” he blinked before looking around. “You mean… I’m dreaming?” “Indeed,” Luna nodded. “Though I am rather curious about the nature of the night terror I’ve saved you from. Do you happen to know what was happening back there?” Little Ludwig looked over at the piano. “I was home… the home of my youth. Father must have come back with his friends from the tavern when he woke me up.” He then looked at her, “How much did you hear?” “I confess that the language both you and your father were speaking was one that I’m not aware of. What was going on?” “He wanted me to play again,” he said. “Father wanted me to play something nice and sweet to listen to. But when I started to play, I couldn’t hear the piano at all!” The boy then pressed some of the wooden keys, in which, to his relief, did make a sound. “Even when I told Papa- I’m sorry, father that I couldn’t hear it, he wouldn’t listen and told me to play anyway. But I think I’ve hit the wrong notes because he was angry again and was about to hit me with his belt.” Ludwig looked around his surroundings once more, “I... I think I know this place. These woods and this lake, is this Heiligenstadt?” “I wouldn't know,” the princess told him. “I looked into your mind for a place that was calming, more tranquil than that home you were in. To reset your dream to be set at a place where you were at peace.” she glances upward, “But I do see why you would have chosen this place. Especially on such an untamed sky like this, it is very pretty.” As Ludwig too looked up, beholding the countless points of light hanging over them like millions of candles with one large moon above them, Luna inquired, “I was told that you were a giant.” She said, “But looking at you in this dream, you appear to be much smaller than I expected.” “Small?” Ludwig asked as he looked down at himself. His eyes went wide as he lifted his hands close to his face, “Wait… I know these hands… I didn’t think of it before, but these were my hands when I was a child!” He quickly felt his face, “My God! I’m a child again… a-and I can hear again!” “Ah, that explains it then,” Luna put a hoof underneath her chin. “Often times in dreams, we visualize ourselves in ways that are impossible to be made real.” Ludwig turned his attention towards the piano, put his hands on the keyboard to play a musical scales before covering his mouth. Luna got up to see that the young Beethoven was forming tears in his eyes. “What’s wrong?” she asked. Shaking his head, Ludwig answered, “Nothing. It’s just… I can’t tell you how happy that, even in a dream, I can hear again.” “Since I have your ears,” the princess said, “I want to tell you that; again, I have heard your third symphony at the palace in which I found it glorious. The music I and my guards have heard was something that reminded me of the exciting tunes of my youth. I came into your dream Mr. Beethoven to thank you for writing such a thing that brought some happy memories.” Ludwig smiled, “Thank you. That’s very kind for you to say that,” he said before looking up at the moon. “Since you’ve saved me from my father, can I interest you playing you a little something – as a way of saying thank you?” “It would be an honor, Mr. Beethoven,” she said as she sat down next to him. “Besides, I still got plenty of time on my hooves. You may begin when ready.” Beethoven placed his young hands on the keys, “You know, that moon up there,” he said. “It reminds me of someone that I once knew long ago. Someone who was very kind to me. Someone… beautiful.” As he looked up at the moon, he paused for a moment before his hands gently pressed the keys. Luna listened as a simple; fantasy like melody developed that was so lovely, that even the stars overhead seemed to pause to listen. Luna couldn’t blame them, it was rather charming if she say so herself.