The Strings Of Life

by MLPxMaestro

Chapter Eight- A Master's Funeral

The Strings Of Life:

Chapter 8- A Master’s Funeral:

Just a few days after Maestro’s lucky win over Octavia’s ex boyfriend, Silver Strings, he now had to attend his teacher’s funeral only a few days after it. He was not as bad as he felt the day he died, but he knew he needed to be strong like he should be, and move on from it. He slowly grew closer to his teacher, as he seemed to get more and more humble to his student the closer his death came.

Maestro had arrived at the funeral home, and not many ponies were at it, he wasn’t exactly a well known pony throughout Canterlot, he preferred to keep to himself on most matters, and was a very independent pony.

“Welcome Maestro, I never got to congratulate you on your win at the competition just a few nights ago, well done sir.” Said the greeter.

“Thank you.”

He then made his way in, not noticing any members of his family, as they all had passed away themselves years ago. His sister died of a sickness back over in Asia, as so did his little brother. As for the rest of his family, they all died when he was young, died in a tsunami that swept them all away decades ago.

The only ones, who were there at his funeral, were Maestro himself, and maybe just several other ponies that knew him. Two more of them were his students at one point in their lives too, but they were now retired recently.

“Good evening miss, right through here.”

Maestro heard those words and wondered who it was this time?

It was Octavia, dressed out in a beautiful black dress, a black flower in her mane, and some black fuzzy boot things that Maestro had no clue about what they could be, that was around her hooves.

“Octavia? What’re you doing here?”

“I heard the news…I’m sorry about what happened to you.” she spoke with sympathy.

“It’s fine, I’ll be just fine.”

Soon after meeting, the both of them decided they would go out to the back porch of the funeral home, in efforts to just carry on a mere conversation with each other.
“So…the competition…” Octavia started off awkwardly.

“Yeah, what about it?

“I never got to fully congratulate you.”

“You hugged me though?”

“Oh, well I um…oh goodness did I?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Right, right I did I suppose…hm. Well I still never got to let you know how you managed to beat somepony as skilled as my ex was. It was by the grace of Celestia that you managed to beat him.”

“Well if his strings didn’t break, I would have lost in fact. Then I would’ve felt bad about myself. Because I told myself that I would win for a reason.”

“Oh? And who were you winning it for might I ask?”

“My teacher…and my…father I never knew.”

“I see…but what now? Your father you never knew?”

“I’m adopted, I’ve never seen my real parents.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that as well, it must’ve been hard.”

“I was too young to remember anything about it, so chances are I’ll never find out what really happened when my mother brought me to the orphanage when I was just a baby.”

“Well it’s fine if you don’t want to talk about that, because I’ve obviously never known what it feels like to be without any parents.”

“You don’t say?.”

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s nothing…I just well, wish I could actually meet them for once.”

“Your home is here Maestro, you need to know that.”

“Is it Octavia, is it? Because you don’t realize how badly I miss them. I may have never even had a glimpse of what they look like, but I would just want to meet them for even just one measly minute, that would make my day.”

They continued on into their conversation, as time seemed to fly right by the two of them.

“Sir, madam, we shall now proceed into the sanctuary for any last words or final prayers before we send him off to the cemetery.” Said the priest.

“Thank you sir, we’ll be right there.” Octavia replied.

“Now ma’am, is he your husband?”

Octavia’s cheeks began to turn a bit red after hearing such a remark.

“No he’s not, he’s, well…a friend.” She replied, as she now felt kind of awkward at the moment standing in front of Maestro and all that. But he didn’t say a word, and merely looked at her, probably wondering why she appeared to be feeling the way she was.

“Oh, I do so apologize miss…”

“Octavia, it’s just Octavia.”

“Ah yes of course, Miss Octavia, and Mister...” The priest gesturing his hoof to recall Maestro’s name.

“It’s Maestro, nothing more.”

“Ah, well fitting name for you sir, you look ravishing this evening. Now please, let us proceed into the sanctuary now.”

“Okay, we’ll be right over.” He replied.

He then turned back to Octavia, now having a question for her.

“So why did it ever strike his mind that me and you were together?”

Octavia’s cheeks stayed red, and slowly became red as beets.

“Well I don’t know really?”

“Your cheeks are red, you feeling fine?”

“Well yes of course Maestro, I just…oh my is it getting hot out here, or is it me?” she began waving herself with a fan she had brought with her.

“I’m just a bit hot is all, no need to worry he-he.” She chuckled.

“Okay, I guess?” Maestro knew that she had acted a bit funny then, but not sure why?
After what seemed like forever after everypony was saying their last words to their former teacher, humble and true, the casket then was officially closed.

Maestro surprisingly had nothing to say, at the same time not feeling like saying anything. Octavia merely remained by his side some of the time.

“Will you be okay Maestro?” Octavia asked him softly.

“Yes, I’ve already said that I’ll be fine.”

“I was just checking is all.”

“Why are you so concerned about me all of a sudden? You like me or something?”

Octavia then looked away.

“W-what gave you that idea? Of course not, no I don’t like you, what a preposterous remark.”

“Okay then, look at me when you say that.”

Octavia had then put herself into a situation that she was not prepared or in the least.

“Well, I am unable to turn my head at the moment.”

“Why not?”

“Well…just because, that’s why.”

“Octavia, for one, I’m not as dumb as you think. Two, I may not be good around mares, but I know certain signs of certain things.”

“Oh…you do?”

“Yes…but I don’t really know what you’re current status is at the moment.”

“Well that’s good then, because I don’t want you to know how I feel quite at the moment.”

“Okay fine…you don’t have to tell me then.”

“Well now, there are some manners.”

Maestro just decided to bury the hatchet on the subject, and move on from something he now knew he wouldn’t probably go anywhere with now.

Two hours after they had finally lowered his casket into the ground, Maestro made his way out almost immediately after they were all able to go. Octavia then noticed him walking his way out of there from the corner of her eye, for she needed to ask him something.

“Should I ask him? I’m afraid he’ll find out following the question.” She thought.

After thinking about it for a few more moments, she decided to catch up with him, and talk to him again.

“M-Maestro?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you…think by any chance…” she paused, afraid to go any further with it. Hopefully he’d pitch in, in making it less of a hassle it seemed for her to just simply ask one question.

“Do I think what?”

“Oh, well…do you think I’m…well…pretty by any chance perhaps?” she then turned her head away, pretending like something else caught her attention.

“Well…if you want my honest opinion, then yes, I think you are actually quite an attractive mare.”

After she heard that, she wasn’t sure if he meant that in a way of just answering the question like he would, or whether or not their were feelings behind it. So in order to get more out of him, she figured she would continue on the question, and ask another one branched off of it.

“So well, how attractive do you think I am?”

“Well as for another honest opinion, to me I would conclude that you are one of the most beautiful mares in Canterlot. Your most fetching feature is your eyes; you have lovely purple eyes to look at. Plus your complexion is amazing.”

Octavia smiled and blushed, then turned back to him.

“Thanks for the answer, that was…sweet of you to say that.”

“Uh, you’re welcome I suppose. But why are you asking me such a question as that?” Maestro wondered.

“Oh nothing to worry about, it was just a question I felt like asking is all.” She then walked a little bit closer to him after hearing such a flattering remark about her beauty.

They both then made it back within the city, and Maestro was now going the opposite direction back home as she was, tired, and ready to just get back into his warm bed if he could convince his parents he would do so.

“Wait, Maestro…there’s something else I was willing to ask if it’s not too cumbersome for you.”

“What’s with the questions?”

“I’m just a girl who does these sort of things I suppose.” She chuckled a little.

“Well what did you need to ask me now?”

“I was going to ask if maybe you’re free sometime, we could have tea together one day over at the teashop?”

Maestro didn’t know what to think, he had never ever been invited to something such as this. With a mare as pretty as her though, he felt charmed by the way she acted towards him.
“I suppose so, where did you plan on it?”

“How about tomorrow evening, at the Crystal Daffodil?”

“Not sure where that’s at?” Maestro wondered.

“Oh it’s not that hard to find, surely not? You have good eyesight then you should be able to find it. Just keep right at the fork when you arrive at it into town. I’ll be there at five o’ clock sharp.”

“Okay then, I suppose. Guess I’ll see you there then.”

Octavia was glad to know that she had, well…planned something out it seemed for the two of them, but she wasn’t going to obviously give it away to him just yet. She rather decided to run her own little experiments on him, nothing to ridiculous, just things she would perform and ask him concerning things. But overall, it was secretly a date.

Octavia just had that special aura that made her more than what she was, and her class was one big factor about her that he enjoyed being around. Not implying he had feelings for her, no, rather he considered her a friend at most. Or would it progress to something even more than that? Nothing yet, but there’s something going on between the two of them, and will Maestro ever find out before she’s ready for him to know? Or is Octavia merely in a playful mood so to speak, or is she in fact forming something within herself?