As the concert neared, Octavia continued to practice in the tower room, working out and refining the ending. It would be the most difficult movement she ever played. Innumerable voices, and they all had to be exactly right. Failure was, for every reason, not an option.
This is the most important performance of my whole career. Lyra’s fate, and mine, depend on this. I will not allow myself to fail.
The burglar hadn’t come back since she’d shouted some sense into Octavia, even though Octavia had put the little piece of parchment out the window indicating that she wanted to speak with her. But the cellist had a feeling that the burglar would be at the concert. I don’t know how, but she knows about music. I think she’ll be able to appreciate what I do.
Octavia frowned as one of her notes came out a trifle fast, went back, and played through the section again. I am playing for the princess. It must be perfect.
And she smiled. And it will be. I am one of the best cellists in the country, and I have my friends at my back. I will defeat you, Greengrass.
Lyra Heartstrings had planned on taking a tour of her favorite shops, parks, and restaurants from her Academy days, but she found herself too jittery to appreciate any of it. So, rather than waste her time and her bits on entertainment that she wouldn’t enjoy, she picked a park and began to play.
“Hey,” a guard called as her lyre appeared before her. “No busking without a license.”
“I’m not busking,” she said. “I’m not collecting money. Just staying in practice.”
Soon, she had an appreciable crowd around her. She smiled, playing a fast and excited piece she’d learned at the Academy. Soon, many of the audience members – especially the foals – were clapping their hooves in time to the music, which Lyra incorporated into her performance to get some syncopation effects.
I’m not worried, she thought. Well… maybe just a little. But Octavia can do it. I believe in her.
She sped up a little, and a few of the ponies around her – a couple of teenage ponies, clearly on some kind of date – began to dance in time with the music. She grinned and added a more obvious dance beat. Music, she thought, had a magical quality all of its own. Surely it could move even an ageless alicorn.
“Now,” said Blueblood, looking at the unicorns and earth ponies in front of him, “Here are your orders.”
The leader of the quartet, a wiry unicorn named Emoter, nodded brusquely. “Yes sir.”
Blueblood continued in a calm, steady voice. “Emoter. You will use your magic on Octavia to charm her. You will then lead her without harming her to the warehouse, where you will keep her thus charmed until after the beginning of the concert.” He looked at the other unicorn. “Mirage. If Octavia has bodyguards or other ponies with her, use your illusions to distract and separate them until Emoter has charmed Octavia and removed her from the scene. And you two,” he nodded at the earth ponies, “Keep the unicorns safe and make sure no other faction seizes Octavia. If any other noble tries to intervene by sending thugs, you can hurt them, and only them.”
Emoter inclined her head. “Yes, sir. We’ll get her.”
“Let me make one thing very clear.” Blueblood nodded sharply. “It must look like Octavia did not show up due to her own choice. Restraint marks, bruises, anything like that will ruin the illusion. And don’t think I’ll go to bat for you if that happens.”
“Sir, we’re professionals,” said Heavy. “We can capture her without leaving a mark. You can count on it.”
“Couldn’t we just steal her cello?” asked Mirage. “She can’t play without it, right?”
“I have reason to believe, from the information Greengrass gave me a few weeks ago, that her green friend can summon instruments magically,” said Blueblood. “So, no, that won’t work. Restrain her. Hide her. Don’t let her reach the concert hall.”
“Yes sir!” said the four ponies.
Blueblood smiled and dismissed them. He wished he could see the look on Greengrass’s face when he found out that his plans were ruined.
“Sir, I have news.”
Greengrass yawned as he awoke. It was mid-afternoon; a bit early for him, but then again, Notary would only awake him for important information that couldn’t wait. “What is it, Notary?”
“I just received word from Viscount Blueblood’s hoofmare. Blueblood is going to interfere with Philharmonica’s concert. He’s hired Heavy Hitter, Emoter, and a few other mercenaries to prevent her from reaching the concert hall in time.”
Greengrass paused – and then burst into laughter. “Why in Equestria would he do that?”
“He seems to think he will be thwarting a scheme of yours.”
“By causing exactly the outcome that I want?” Greengrass began to get out of bed. “Well, I suppose I can’t blame him for not knowing that. Still, bad move on his part. Now if this plan gets exposed, we can pin the blame on him.”
“Sir, if Philharmonica has a reason not to make the concert – namely, being abducted – she could get out of the performance without losing face.” Notary inclined her head at the door. “I can send Ox and Bear to head them off.”
“No, don’t. If I send my agents to help her, that implies that I’m backing her and helping her with the concert that Luna hates. It would be a great excuse for Luna to blacklist me and have me shut out of Court life.” He shook his head. “Besides, the whole point here is that I’m firing Octavia. It would defeat the point if I helped her now.”
Notary paused. “And if, say, Heavy Hitter has Octavia tied up in a warehouse somewhere, and she is discovered? Or if he makes a mistake and leaves proof of the abduction, such as by tying ropes around her legs and leaving marks? It could give her enough of an excuse to prevent Luna from shunning her.”
“…I don’t think that will be a concern.” Greengrass rose and approached the door. “First of all, Heavy and Emoter are reasonably competent. Screwing up like that might happen, but it’s unlikely. Second, that would only come out later. At the concert itself, Octavia would fail to appear, and she’d be condemned by Luna and the Court. She could only get out from under that if somepony proclaimed far and wide what happened, and why that meant it wasn’t her fault.” He smiled thinly. “She has no political allies to make that argument for her, and we know that she would never make it herself. She won’t excuse any failure of hers; this one will be no different.”
Notary nodded.
“But I do hope she manages to give them the slip, though. Either way, her career is over – and Lulamoon gets the message – but, all else being equal,” and he smiled like a foal at Hearth’s Warming Eve, “I would love to hear that Symphony performed by such a master. They say it’s one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, and it’s not been performed in seventy years. Oh, were the Elements to be delivered to me on a silver platter – but could only be signed for just as Octavia began that piece – I would be hard pressed to choose.” He got up and began trotting towards the door. “I trust you have something to wear?”
“Yes, sir. Although it does seem a waste to get dressed up for a show that might not happen.”
“Ah ah, Notary, that’s not quite right. The music might not happen, but either way, Luna is going to have a very interesting reaction. I think we’ll be in for a show regardless.”
Night fell, and the concert approached.
Octavia checked her watch. It was 8. The concert began at 10. It took about twenty minutes to walk from her current location – the castle drawbridge – to the concert hall,. Factoring in time for tuning, warming-up, possible emergencies, and her own desire to arrive at any venue substantially before she needed to… she had to leave within two minutes.
She smiled. She knew that she should be worried, but she felt a deep joy instead. Whatever happened afterwards, she was playing a beautiful work – and for the audience that she’d always wanted to play for, the princess of Equestria herself. And she had her friends at her back. That mattered.
She began to trot towards the concert hall, cello in its case and safely strapped to her back. It was a beautiful night and she wanted to listen to the city before she reached the venue. As much as she loved sunrise, there was also something lovely about the first few hours of the night in Canterlot. The day businesses were closed, but those that served the Court and its Courtiers were just opening up. There was a bustling sound to everything.
As she walked down a wide street, passing by the familiar shops and restaurants, she felt a slight twinge from the back of her head. Great. A headache is just what I need. She smiled. Then again, that’s why I practice even when I’m sick. I’ve given concerts with colds or aches before. This isn’t—
Doom.
Octavia blinked. Where had that word come from? She hadn’t heard it. Some stray thought, she supposed, from when she had been worried about Lyra leaving and—
You’re doomed.
Was somepony sending those thoughts to her? “Stop that,” she snapped, looking around. Was it just her, or did it seem… darker, somehow? Like the streetlamps, and even the stars, had dimmed.
But it’s okay. You deserve to fail. This is just.
“Stop it!” She tried to go faster, but her legs felt oddly frozen. She couldn’t do more than stumble a few steps. “I will call the guards. I will—“
Whatever else she would do would never be known, because that bizarre numbness reached her mouth. She sagged, struggling just to remain upright.
You’re a hopeless failure. You deserve nothing but destitution and disgrace. How could a depraved pony like you hope to look Luna in the eye? And she was seeing images that weren’t really there, memories from when she’d agreed to work for Greengrass, from when she’d agreed to bring Lyra back to Canterlot. From when she’d thrown Lyra out of her practice room.
“Get… get away…” she hissed, struggling to take another step. Why was it so dark? “I’m over this…”
A friendless traitor like you? No. You’ve still got just enough honesty to know the depths of your degraded character. The voice was booming in her mind, seeming to absorb all her other thoughts. She couldn’t form a plan, couldn’t even think to call for help. It was like whoever was doing this was hijacking all her mental energy to castigate her.
“Get out of… of my head…” she managed.
I don’t think so, Tavi. You can’t get rid of me. Maybe you can ignore me for a while, but I’ll always be there. Even if you scam your way to some reward or renown, I’ll make sure you know you don’t deserve it. The last words echoed in Octavia’s head, drowning out her increasingly feeble protest.
She raised a hoof, but then lowered it back down. She couldn’t seem to go forward. Her entire mind was shouting at her not to bother, that it didn’t matter, that she didn’t deserve to take even one more step.
So she only stood there, staring at nightmares.
“Nice work,” said Heavy Hitter. “Took a while, though.”
“She’s beyond stubborn,” hissed Emoter. Her horn was glowing, a bright fiery red. “Mare’s got a hard head to crack.”
“Is she ours, now?”
“Well, you – urgh – you won’t be able to get her to assassinate anypony or jump off a bridge, but yeah, she’ll follow you into a locked closet somewhere. Not enough left in her head to care that it’s a bad idea.”
Heavy Hitter approached Octavia. “Hey, sis?” He waved a hoof in front of her. “Sis?”
A guard was walking by. “Is she okay?”
“Sorry. My sister gets like this sometimes. Ever since Corona’s return… well, we’re getting her treatment” Heavy Hitter shook his head. “Come on, sis. Let me walk you home.” He began leading her away, off the main road. She followed docilely.
“Hey, Tower. Get her cello, would you?” said Heavy, as the guard moved away.
Tower, the other earth pony in the group, carefully unstrapped it from Octavia’s back. The mare gave no more than a feeble protest, which quieted as Emoter redoubled her spell. Mirage approached as well. “Where do you want it?”
Heavy Hitter thought. “Away from her, where she can’t get it even if she somehow escapes, but where it won’t be damaged. You know what? Just put it in Canterlot Bank.”
“…the bank?”
“Yeah, get a safe deposit box and store it there. We’ll leave the key with her once we clear out.”
“Right, boss.” Tower hefted the cello. “Wow. This thing’s heavy.”
“Just move it,” said Heavy. “Then meet us at the warehouse. We’ll stay there until just after 10, then clear out. Let’s go.”
Heavy led Octavia down into a side street. The unicorns followed.
Uh oh. Octavia's been marenapped, and her cello's been taken to a bank (so that, even if she escapes she still cannot play). If only she had, say, a really good burglar to help her get it back! But even upside-down Fleur can't be in two places at once; if Fleur's to get that cello, Octy will need to basically rescue herself. And to do that, she'll need to break out of the despairing thoughts Emoter is sending her. Hopefully Lyra and Fleur have helped her get past these mental roadblocks enough to overcome this last problem!
I like to think that Hitter read the Evil Overlord List, which is why he's hiding the cello in a bank and not in some old temple full of death traps.
Blueblood is smart enough to know that a violent abduction on the street would not only be very risky, but would be likely to injure Octy and give her a reason not to show up. He's also not enough of a sociopath to send thugs out to hit her. Psychology stuff, though, he thinks is fair game. (I don't think Fleur and Fancy will be happy with him when they find out...)
Looks like Greengrass is feeling a bit constrained by having distanced himself from the performance; now he can't interfere with Blueblood. But he seems to think it'll work out for him. (I loved writing his giddy 'I wanna hear the music!' bit. I bet every classical aficionado in the city feels the same way).
The way Emoter's talent is supposed to work is that she basically has telepathy+heightened empathy, so she can sense what's disturbing a pony and communicate with them mentally. Used the 'right' way, she'd make a wonderful therapist. But used this way, she makes a good mental hitter.
Scary stuff here and a great anticipation builder. Really liked the bit with Greengrass, though the part with Lyra just felt extraneous. Not bad, it's all exactly what I'd expect her to be doing, it's just not anything that really feels like it adds to the story either (especially the single line where a guard assumes she's busking).
Oh, my. It looks as if Fancy Pants will have to reveal himself to an Element despite it not being in his interests to do so.
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Depending on how good the security at the bank he chose is, he may have effectively done that anyway.
Anyway, ooh, ouch, this could suck for all parties involved. It's a good think that Tavi does have a friend like Fleur, although it seems fairly likely that she might not even be aware of what was going on due to getting ready for the concert herself alongside Fancy Pants.
Nah, if he's any good at his job he won't have to.
1009841: She's not aware right now, which is why this was able to happen at all, but I imagine she'll figure it out once the performance nears and Octy doesn't show up. Octy is always very early to her concerts (so she can tune, check hall acoustics, things like that), and Fleur would know this by now.
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Y'know, You should really cut down on telling us what is going to happen in the story. Kinda kills any tension. Otherwise, A good chapter.
You know, I don't think that particular mental voice tactic would have worked on me. I think it's because I suffer from clinical depression.
For one, I'm not in the habit of referring to myself as a separate person, even in my own head. There are no definitive 'sides' to my internal dialogues. So that's red flag #1.
For another, despite the fact that my thoughts take some pretty depressing terms, I'm really dang good at willfully ignoring them when I have to. Being suddenly unable to do so would be a really big red flag #2. That's practically advertising that the voice doesn't belong in my head.
And finally, It's been a long time since depressing thoughts have genuinely immobilized me out of the blue like what happened with Octavia, if such a thing ever happened at all. My general response to thoughts of being doomed is 'yup, let's go get it over with'. So, red flag #3 right there.
It's kind of like trying to drown a fish in water. I already live in the state they're trying to induce, so there's really no impediment to me.
Huh. Sometimes I forget that Blueblood actually has a few brain cells to rub together. He actually thought this out......
Just keep thinking about something for this story so I just thought I'd post it here...If you could some way have Celestia hear or see this performance, perhaps in disguise or with a scrying spell or something and give her reaction to it when Octavia performs it think it might add something nice to the piece.
Anyway lovely work please keep it up!
This scheme was well thought out and well executed. I'm not sure whether I like for Blueblood to be competent or incompetent. That said, as much fun as an incompetent Blueblood is, there is only some much incompetence you can place in a character before you lose the suspention of disbelief of how they would be allowed anywhere near a position of power.
Also, with all the ways it appears that a unicorn can mess with you, both in body and in mind, you'd think that there would be start to be some form of anti-unicorn setiment.
Though darn you Greengrass, you're so evil and yet so enjoyable to read.
A rather good scheme and fairly competent employees. I like that!
This is my prediction:
¡CatMare and BatMane to the rescue!
th04.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2013/183/3/e/3ee3438fe25524940cf327ad1bbe572d-d6bq7wd.jpg
I'm sorry. I couldn't resist.