Finale
Octavia somehow made her way to the backstage area before lowering her cello, then slumping in exhaustion.
She’d run through the whole city of Canterlot, and with no downtime whatsoever, played one of the most demanding cello compositions ever written. Before that, she’d been practicing for sixteen hours a day and sleeping roughly on a cold stone floor. Even excluding the emotional rollercoaster she’d been riding, she was about ready to curl up in a real bed for a few days.
“Octavia! Tavi!”
Octavia rolled over to see Lyra running towards her. “Lyra!” She – who usually took pride in her imperturbability -- found the strength to run forward and embrace her friend. “She loved it!” she cried. “Did you see? She was crying!”
“I saw!”
Octavia laughed, pulling Lyra close. “Luna was crying! I was able to produce music so beautiful that even an alicorn… she’s heard millions of songs, and…” She couldn’t continue. “It’s all I ever wanted,” she managed.
“It was amazing, Octavia,” said Lyra. “Fantastic.”
Octavia wavered a little on her hooves, her last burst of energy already fading. “I don’t even know what to do now. I hadn’t dared hope I would make it past this concert—“
Lyra began to guide Octavia back to her cello so they could pack it up. “I knew you’d pull it off.”
Octavia nodded. “You stayed by me. Lyra, if there is anything you ever need, if I can possibly provide it—“
“Don’t worry about it,” said Lyra.
The two of them got the cello and bow packed up. Lyra slung it onto her back. “Alright, let’s head out of here.”
Octavia nodded. “Where are we going?”
“To your home.” Lyra smiled. “You need to sleep. In a real bed, Tavi.”
Octavia didn’t bother correcting Lyra about her name. “Sleep? But I’m too happy to sleep!” She laughed, an unusually uncontrolled sound from her. “I feel like I could play for…”
“Tavi.” Lyra smiled. “Come on. Even forgetting that piece, and whatever adventure you had on the way here – which you’re telling me all about later, by the way – you’ve been practicing for sixteen hours a day for the past two weeks. You’ve been sleeping in a drafty tower. You need a real bed.” Her voice was gentle, yet firm. “I’m going to lead you home, and you’re going to get a good night’s sleep.” Her voice grew teasing. “You just impressed Luna Herself. Even you have to concede that you deserve a night off now.”
Octavia grinned. “I suppose so.”
The cellist let Lyra lead her outside. She is the best friend I could hope for.
“Seriously, though, you’ve got to teach me to play that,” said Lyra. “Did you see their faces? I think everypony there loved it!”
Greengrass sighed. “Well, Notary, looks like I lose this one.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
The nobles were whispering among themselves, most in complete astonishment. They had been preparing for a spectacular failure all week, and seemed to be having trouble processing what had happened.
“Oh, don’t be. If you don’t want to see the occasional reversal of fortune, the Game isn’t for you.” He shook his head. “Still, I have to admit that it’s grating to lose to Lulamoon. Her ally will likely go to work directly for Luna now. And I’m sure that Lulamoon will leak that the last pony who betrayed me got a huge boost, so I’ll need to worry about all my other servants.” He clapped his hooves briskly. “Well, no use whining about it. Come on, Notary. Let’s see if we can salvage anything from this.”
“Did you at least enjoy the music?”
“Of course, didn’t you? Remarkable. To be able to perform a song like that is a very rare thing.” Greengrass strode out into the hallway. “Honestly, if she wasn’t a traitor, I might have considered hiring her for my private residence.”
“Wouldn’t that require telling her where it was?”
“Yes… yes, good point.” He smiled wistfully. “But it would almost be worth it.”
They had reached a quiet hallway, with no ponies around. Greengrass assumed a businesslike look. “Alright. Octavia is certain to gain from this. That’s over and done with, and I can’t stop that.” He began to pace. “Normally, one would expect that I would benefit from my agent impressing the princess, but because of how diligently I’ve denied being involved with the concert, that can’t happen. I will look incompetent and weak before the Court for wasting this opportunity. Preventing that has to be my immediate concern.”
Notary watched as Greengrass thought for several moments. Eventually, the duke said, “I need to obtain some kind of benefit from this concert, but the Courtiers will never believe I was really involved, not after we went to such trouble to hide how I set it up.” He brightened. “Wait. Why focus on the Courtiers alone? Notary – are any representatives of Lime Stone Incorporated in town?” Lime Stone Incorporated was the company that had tried to move into his fiefdom and drive out his local businesses, the one that Greengrass had more or less toppled after setting up Octavia’s concert.
“Three of their top managers have Canterlot offices.”
“Perfect. Find the weakest one and bribe him. He’s to find me and start screaming about how my agent, Octavia, ruined his business in my fiefdom, and he’ll have revenge and so forth. Make sure some servants are in the room when he does this. They’ll tell their friends. Eventually, they’ll all think that Octavia ruined him for me, and this concert was my gift to her. After that, any servant, clerk, or even guard with a dream will know that, if they work for me, I might be able to make it happen.” Greengrass nodded. “If any nobles fall for that story, great. If they don’t, they’ll think I’m lying, but they’ll see that I’m benefitting from that lie because I’ll be getting more agents and spies in the Court. I’ll still look strong, then. That’s a partial win.”
“Sir, Octavia’s been in Canterlot for the past two weeks. Ponies who know that will know she wasn’t in your fiefdom.”
“Yes. Holed up practicing, where nopony could see her, and in a perfectly soundproof room. She could have been anywhere.” Greengrass smiled. “In fact, I think it would be very foolish to announce that she could play that piece without learning it advance, don’t you? She probably learned it months ago. Then, after she agreed to do a job for me, I graciously set up the concert. I even kept my name out of it, so ponies wouldn’t be distracted by thoughts of politics.” He nodded. “That story will work for the servants and clerks.”
Notary hesitated. “This is going to cost a lot of money. Bribing the manager will be very expensive, and also any other pony who saw Octavia during the four days that you were out of town…”
“I know.” Greengrass shrugged. “Like I said, this plan failed. But I think I can still gain from this, even if it costs me some money. If ponies think that serving me will get them opportunities like the one Octavia had—“
“The one that was supposed to ruin her,” said Notary, dryly,
“Yes, but they don’t know that – then I might have more servants trying to help me. And not just the idiots who are dissatisfied with their masters, but creative and intelligent ones who just want a bit of help realizing their dreams.” Greengrass nodded. “I think it will be worth it in the end. Make it happen, and the sooner the better. We need to get this lie out there before the other nobles start spreading their own. Use any of my other allies that you need to, and as much money as you need.” He smiled. “Chin up, Notary. So we took a drubbing in the first round. The night’s not over yet. Let’s turn this around, and by morning, I want to be known as the pony to go to if you’ve got a crazy dream or wild ambition!”
“Yes, sir!”
The next morning
Fleur embraced Fancy Pants as soon as he returned home. “Good morning, dear.”
“Good morning.” He smiled broadly at seeing how happy his wife was. “Congratulations on last night’s events, by the way.”
Fleur laughed. “She did most of it herself. I couldn’t have played that piece.”
“Nonsense. You persuaded her to help Trixie. You helped her realize how she was hurting her friend Lyra. And, if my sources are correct, you robbed a bank for her.” He raised an eyebrow, though he clearly wasn’t actually angry.
“Hey, a mare’s gotta stay in practice,” said Fleur, grinning. “That cello was stolen anyway. I was just bringing it back.”
“Should I be concerned that you were still able to plan and execute a bank robbery in under an hour?”
“Of course not. I only use my talents for good now.” She smooched him. “Or did you mean, concerned that I’m slipping? I could have broken into that safe deposit box in half an hour a few years ago. Guess I’ll have to practice more.”
Fancy Pants laughed. “Just be careful, dear.”
“I always am. As Heavy’s minions found out.”
“Ah, yes. They did, didn’t they?” Heavy Hitter had managed to get away, but his three minions were currently in an interrogation cell. “I still think you should have called the guards.”
“Oh, like I’d need them just to fight one stallion. You taught me better than that. Besides, then whoever hired them could use their influence to get them right back out. The Shadowbolts are a little more… resistant to that sort of thing.” Fleur laughed, a bright and tinkling sound. “Any news on the political front?”
Fancy Pants poured two glasses of wine with his telekinesis. “Well, Octavia pulling that off was a big surprise to Greengrass. He’s trying to recover, though. Had some manager of a business he took over show up and start screaming at him, blaming Octavia for sabotaging them. He’s trying to get the castle servants to think that Octavia did that for him and he got her the concert as a reward.”
“Sounds desperate,” said Fleur.
“Yes, but it still might work. He’s liable to have some new minions soon. Any employee of the Court with a wild dream will want to see if he can make it happen.” Fancy Pants shook his head. “But still, not nearly as good for him as he expected, and Octavia will be likely now to tell Luna what she knows of his plans. That’s a blow to him.”
“Right.” Fleur trotted over to the sofa. “We’ll get him yet.”
“Yes. We won’t let him get away with all the harm he’s caused.”
Fleur nodded. “So, anyway, I’m friends with a Court Musician now. I wonder what else I can help her with?”
“Haven’t you helped her enough already?” But Fancy Pants was smiling.
“Out of Greengrass’s clutches, yes, but look at her. She needs to live a little! Spending all day cooped up with that cello, she’s missing out on so much the world has to offer.” Fleur brightened. “Do you think I could get her to go on some early-morning runs with me?”
“Aren’t those your runs over the city’s rooftops?”
Fleur nodded, smiling brightly.
“…might I suggest starting small, perhaps inviting her out to coffee first?”
“Oh, dear, where’s the fun in that?”
Greengrass smiled a little as he reentered the castle. He’d been stressed after that concert, but gardening always calmed him. It was just so incredibly reassuring to see the kind of beauty he could create, the kind of vision he could enact.
Nopony likes to lose, but you can’t play the Game if you can’t handle setbacks now and then. Lulamoon got me this time; a brilliant play on her part, I admit it. She’s a lot better than I gave her credit for. Greengrass shrugged. It was his own fault for underestimating her –
Wait. That was Blueblood. Good, he needed to take care of this.
Blueblood looked quite distressed. “Duke Greengrass! A moment!”
“Certainly, Prince.” Greengrass smiled and let Blueblood take him into a small side room. “Is something wrong?”
“Uh – uh, yes. Look, if it’s not too much trouble, if you could help me with an alibi. It’s a silly little thing, but—“
“But you don’t want to go to jail for hiring mercenaries to abduct Octavia, of course.” Greengrass smiled winningly. “Fear not, Viscount. I will protect you.”
“What?!” Blueblood looked stunned. “How did you know?!”
“A few sources in the guards,” lied the duke. It was a fairly safe bet that Octavia had had help escaping the thugs – she wouldn’t be able to get through those four on her own – and the most likely sources of help would be the guards or police. It was probable from there that at least one of the mercenaries had confessed that Blueblood had hired them so that they would appear cooperative. It was thus quite plausible that Greengrass had learned of Blueblood’s actions through a leak in one of those groups, as opposed to Greengrass’s true source, one of Blueblood’s servants. “Anyway, unless you paid them already—“
“Of course not!”
“Well, then it’s the word of a viscount – one from a noble family line too – against a few hired criminals. As long as you have a solid alibi, you’re safe, and I’d be happy to provide one. In exchange for just a few concessions, of course.” He smiled. “A few votes, perhaps some discrete funding of this or that. I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”
Blueblood looked visibly relieved. “Of course. Thank you—“
“Oh, one more thing. When our little coalition gets the Elements, we’ll need to pick a leader – somepony to actually give them their orders and such. You’ll support my taking on that role.”
Blueblood frowned. “But I already told Fisher I’d…” He trailed off as Greengrass shook his head.
“I’m afraid,” said the duke, “That this is non-negotiable, Blueblood.”
“…fine.” Blueblood frowned. “Just make sure that alibi holds.”
Greengrass left the antechamber, easily resuming his previous train of thought. Yes, he’d lost to Lulamoon this time, but that didn’t mean he’d make the same mistake twice. He’d crush her at the gala. And he’d have a splendid time doing it. He’d been somewhat tepid towards his gala plans, not because he’d thought they wouldn’t work, but because he’d thought it would be boring (and a bit silly) to go to such effort to crush a moron like Trixie Lulamoon. But if she was skilled, if she’d somehow inspired Octavia’s brilliant performance… well, then going up against her could be quite entertaining.
I’ll battle her and win. Ahh, won’t that be something? He grinned. She might have masterminded this one, but she won’t beat me twice.
He walked on, whistling merrily.
Trixie sighed in contentment. While she didn’t like waking up early, ‘dawn in the spa’ day was turning out to be a decent idea.
She sipped her carrot juice and waved a hoof at Carrot Top. “So how’s business?”
“Pretty good. The union’s getting in some new digging equipment. Ought to make getting boulders out of the ground a lot easier, so I might be able to expand a little bit.”
“Awesome.”
“How’s your work going? Any big political moves?”
Trixie chuckled. “Nope. None whatsoever. Nice to have a break, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I’m tired of sending mobsters and con-ponies and politicians packing.” Carrot Top sighed as she slipped further into the whirlpool. “Wish they’d get the message.”
“Well, you won’t need to worry for long. The Great and Powerful Trixie is just biding her time until she can send a strong message that the Elements of Harmony are not another jewel for their crowns. They’ll all know not to mess with us.”
“And you’re sending this message… when?”
Trixie paused, not realizing that Carrot Top would take her literally. “Oh, a week or two. It’ll take time to, uh, draft.” She’ll forget by then. I hope.
Carrot Top smiled knowingly, but didn’t say anything.
Octavia yawned as she awoke. She was in her bed, tucked securely under the blankets, and resting on a big, fluffy down pillow. She smiled and rolled over a bit, allowing the warm sunlight to play over her face, and –
Sunlight?
Octavia’s eyes blinked open. It was past dawn, and she was still in bed – she’d overslept!
“Octavia!” called out a voice, just as Octavia began struggling out of the sheets.
Octavia looked over to see Lyra trotting in. “Lyra! What are you doing here?”
“Making sure you don’t do anything silly. You’re taking today off.”
“What? I never take days off—“
Lyra put out a hoof to push Octavia back down, and Octavia found, to her surprise, that she was having trouble resisting the unicorn’s force. “I guess today’s the first. Come on, Tavi. You taught me not to overexert myself. You were very clear on the importance of that, in fact. So today you will rest and recover.”
Octavia paused. “I… alright.” She’d learned a few lessons, she supposed, about listening to her friends. “I suppose I can give myself one day.”
“I should hope so.” Lyra grinned. “Now, I’m going to go get some things for breakfast. You’re still going to be in this bed when I come back, right?”
Octavia smiled. “You know I seriously I take my promises, Lyra. I’ll be here.”
Lyra grinned and trotted off.
Gathering food at the markets took about half an hour. Lyra smiled when she returned to Octavia’s home. Last night’s performance was still sounding in her head. She had never heard anything so glorious, and…
Were those voices coming from Octavia’s house?
Wondering what was going on, Lyra quickly hurried inside and went up the stairs. Yes, Octavia was definitely talking to somepony.
“…I could try to teach you how to play it, if you want,” Octavia was saying.
“I cannot.” It was a familiar voice, and very sad. “I am no longer strong enough. But… hearing it once, hearing it as I should have played it, was enough. Thank you, Octavia. You created something beautiful last night.”
Lyra poked her head in to see the aged, pink pony she’d met last night talking with Octavia. “Uh, hi.”
Octavia – still in bed – looked over. “Lyra, may I present to you Piano Amour. Piano, this is Lyra Heartstrings, Element of Loyalty and one of the finest up-and-coming musicians in the country.”
Lyra blinked. “Wait. You were the last pony to try the piece, weren’t you?”
Piano nodded. “I did it to save my family, and my family was saved, even though my performance was inadequate. Since then, the one thing I really wanted was…” and she hesitated. “I wanted to hear it played correctly. If only to know that it could be done.” She smiled. “I have never heard anything so wonderful.”
Octavia blushed.
Piano rose. “Thank you, Octavia.” She smiled before leaving.
“Wow.” Lyra blinked. “She was really good, wasn’t she?”
“I have some old recordings of hers.” Octavia nodded. “Sublime ability.”
Lyra sat on Octavia’s bed. “So! What exactly happened on your way to the theatre last night?”
Octavia shrugged. “I was waylaid by some hired mercenaries, I think. But I was able to escape – thanks to you, actually. I knew you would help me if you were there, and that was enough.”
“Waylaid?” Lyra blinked.
“It isn’t important. But I could hear you, as if you were standing by me. Though my mind was clouded, they couldn’t make me forget that you believed in me, and thus that I should believe in myself. I heard what you would have me do and the music you would play, and I just… followed your instructions. With that, and help from another friend, I was able to make it here.”
“But I wasn’t actually there.”
“It didn’t matter. I could hear you anyway.”
Lyra grinned. “…I dunno, Tavi, there’s good hearing, and then there’s hallucinations. I’m not sure it’s good to mix them.”
Octavia laughed, and then they were both laughing. The concert was over. Luna hadn’t shunned them. They were safe.
“But if you made a hallucination of me, then I’m totally making a hallucination of you.” Lyra smirked. “And she’ll be even cooler than the real Octavia.”
“I can already tell you what she’ll say.” Octavia leaned in close to Lyra’s ear. “Practice. Practice. Practice…”
“Hey, no fair, your hallucination gave you advice for escaping from thugs! Why’s mine so… ”
“Practical?”
Lyra giggled. “Sure, let’s go with that.”
Octavia sighed as she settled deeper into her bed. How long had it been since she’d had a day off? Years, probably. “Do you have any upcoming concerts?”
“Yeah, I’m auditioning for a Trottingham Orchestra solo in a few days.” Lyra blinked. It had utterly slipped her mind for days. “…and I should probably start practicing for that.”
“Lyra!” But Octavia’s tone wasn’t angry – rather gently chastening, the words of a mentor watching a student taking a goofy or silly action.
“Hey, I was busy!” said Lyra. “But don’t worry. I’ll ace it.” She paused. “…although, honestly, if you wanted to lend a hoof—“
“Of course. At this point, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Well, in that case, if you want to help me get ready for my Trottingham audition, I’d be thrilled.”
Octavia beamed. “Of course, Lyra.”
The doorbell rang.
The two looked at each before Lyra rose. “I’ll get it. You stay here.”
Getting the mail took just a few minutes, even though it was a staggeringly large number of letters. Lyra smiled as she put them on Octavia’s bed. “Viceroy such and such wants to be your patron. Archduchess… vicereine… blah blah blah…”
Octavia smiled. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Lyra paused., then smiled slyly “Oh, hey, this one’s from Princess Luna’s office. Something about being a Court Musician—“
Octavia sprang up. “What? Let me see that!”
Lyra grinned and floated it over to her. Octavia grabbed it and quickly read it. “Court Musician… Lyra, do you realize what this means? I could play for Luna every night. I could play at all Her events. The greatest audiences in the world…”
Lyra smiled. “Congratulations, Octavia. You deserve it.”
Octavia shut her eyes for a long moment – but her smile, Lyra observed, could have lit up a moonless night. When she opened her eyes, they were full of joy and determination. “I owe you more, Lyra, than I can ever pay.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just promise me you won’t be so hard on yourself anymore. Honesty’s important, but it’s just as bad to be too critical as to be too soft on yourself.”
“I know that now.” Octavia nodded. “Don’t worry, Lyra. I’ll maintain better… perspective, I suppose.”
She folded up the letter and put it to one side. “Now, I believe you have an audition in a few days? Why don’t you let me hear what you have ready so far?”
Lyra grinned, and soon the house was full of soft, sweet lyre music.
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That's all, folks! Hope you enjoyed the ride.
I liked writing the ending for Octavia. She's been through a very rough few weeks, so I'm happy that she's getting a nice reward at the end. And hey, now that she's Luna's personal musician, I have a feeling she'll be playing for her preferred audience more often.
And Greengrass managed to scrape out a partial victory, although he clearly didn't get what he really wanted (Octy ruined, and Trixie thinking that he'll do the same to all her agents). But now he seems to respect Trixie more… and is more devoted to crushing her. I bet the gala's going to be very interesting. :-)
For those who are interested, a couple things got cut from this chapter:
1. Originally, Octy actually went to talk to Luna to receive her appointment. But that was mostly just Luna being mysterious and praising Octy, and didn't add much. After the concert, I wanted to get back to Lyra as soon as possible (her being a main character and all), so I cut that bit.
2. Early on, I had the idea of Luna giving Octy and Lyra that time-travel spell from 'It's About Time' after the concert, except the spell was amped up enough to let them go back and hear the original performance, Maestro's. But since we'd already heard the 'correct' rendition in the preceding chapter, that wasn't adding much. I toyed with having a comical bit where they tried to fight through the crowds to get to Maestro so they could get the original score for the fifth movement, but since the whole point was Octy recreating the fifth movement, it seemed to undercut the point to have them caring so much about obtaining the original.
Anywho, dunno what I'm doing next, Lunaverse wise. I might write up that baku story part (I'm signed up for the Ditzy chapter), or one of the one-shots I mentioned earlier. But probably something a lot lighter than my past works. Maybe a wacky Raindrops&Pinkie comedy, or that story with a bunch of foals going into the Night Court and turning everything topsy-turvy. Stay tuned!
"I believed in the you that believed in me!"
2.bp.blogspot.com/-bDQYytenC78/T0GD0SNyZuI/AAAAAAAAfvY/00cXbMIZhmo/s320/134867+-+artist+krazy_chibi+Gurren_Lagann+Kamina+tengen_toppa_gurren_lagann+ttgl.jpg
My only problem - while from a narration standpoint, getting back to Lyra and Octavia makes sense, from a strictly political standpoint I'm pretty sure it'd be kind of insulting for Luna to simply send the Court musician thing by mail. At the very least, it'd be proper for her to show up in person, or even talk to Octavia directly after the show.
Ah, the final close. No great surprises or revelation, just a gentle finish to a hectic ride. This story has been true wondrous, and while there are aspects that got left behind from the brainstorming which I personally might have wanted to see, that in no way detracts from what you wrote here.
Also, I absolutely love that bit with Piano Amour. Having her appear unnamed at the concert was good, but to see her actually come to thank Octavia in person... One thing though, Octavia is still in bed when Lyra got back, even though presumably she would have needed to get up to let Piano in. I know Octavia takes her promises VERY seriously, but that seems a little extreme. I'd have probably expect to see them enjoying tea in the living room or something. EDIT: Also, I think Lyra should have needed to fumble through her memories a bit, even if only briefly, to make the connection that this is the same Piano Amour that made the last attempt.
Anyway, I can finally and without hesitance click that thumbs up icon at the top. Sorry to have taken so long on that, but after getting burned pretty bad by my premature approval of Carrot Top Season, I was scared to commit. I'm glad you proved my fears misplaced.
1028755: I like to think that she tried, but Octy and Lyra left right away, and Luna thought it might be awkward for the princess of Equestria to show up at Octy's house unannounced. Plus, I would think that Luna usually has a staff to handle hiring new employees and such.
I imagine that the letter would include a 'if you're interested in this job, come meet me at this time to discuss the exact terms of your employment' bit.
1028776: Fair point. I might change that last scene to being in the living room later.
I thought of having Lyra have to think about it for a while too, but I figured that, since she's been studying the piece very intensely for the past two weeks, she'd know the prior performers (particularly the more recent ones) by heart.
Glad you liked it!
I have to say that the end was super predictable
BUT
it was still not what I imagined. I imagined something along the lines of
"The music was good blah blah blah and then they all fucked the end."
but instead, you created the story and music inside my head, made me all emotional goddangit. You, sir, should be a published author if you aren't already.
1027131: Well, she does have a new job now and doesn't need to worry about having an agent or whatnot. But, as for personal friendships, I would say that she's learned that making one mistake doesn't mean you deserve to be thrown overboard. As Lyra forgave her, she'll forgive those who got scared and flaked on her.
1028874: I'd like to be published someday. :-) Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
1028872
Agreed she'd know their names by heart, but I still think there should be some momentary pause (just a second or two) while the gears click into place and she realizes that this aged mare in front of her is the same Piano Amour that she's been reading about. Or at least some level of amazement that she actually is paying Octavia a visit. The current version just seems too matter of factly casual for greeting such a famous/infamous figure of musical history.
Very nice ending. Wraps everything up nicely and shows us the consequences of Octavia succeeding. And we get to see Greengrass in defeat...Which is little different then normal Greengrass.
Speaking of Greengrass, As intelligent as he comes across, he's a massive idiot.
Watching Greengrass scramble is like watching Li'l Russell on Survivor. He might think that he's planting Greengrass seeds in other pony's minds but he's about to get his hat handed to him by one of the Elements.....the one that doesn't care for the Game at all.....
Great story overall but the ending felt like it was missing something. Really did want to see Luna's interaction with them in the end...Or just something else other then Lyra and Octavia sharing their own happiness. Just felt like it could've used more for the ending. Perhaps a party? Or the courts reaction later? Maybe Miss Burglar comes over and congratulates her too out of disguise? I don't know but just more then what we had. The triumph of the last chapter seems like it needed more congratulatory stuff then we got in this one. Not to say this chapter didn't work it did, just really could use maybe one more Epilogue chapter with at least Luna's reaction and discussion with her in private like we had in each of the interlude chapters.
Overall though this was a magical story regardless of the kind of a disappointment I felt was the epilogue. Was a great piece of work and I'm going to add you to my watch list. Thanks very much for sharing was a very nice ride.
This is my favourite Lunaverse story so far. Such a wonderful and beautiful piece.
1029295: By Ditzy? I dunno, I'm not sure she's all that savvy of a politician. And Greengrass isn't dumb enough to threaten Dinky. (That would be a good way to get bucked off Canterlot castle.
Fancy Pants: Should we do something about that?
Fleur: I am doing something.
Fancy Pants: I meant, besides taking photographs.)
A wonderful end to a wonderful fic.
And I agree that the whole time-travel thing really wouldn't have fit.
I might suggest a second 'bonus' epilogue that covers Octavia meeting with Luna over the position of court musician. If you have an idea for it of course.
1030108: I like the idea, but I don't really know what I'd write for it. Luna would give Octy the job, compliment her, and...? I don't know what else there would be.
Excellent.
I thought that Greengrass would have already had a contingency plan in case 'Tavi played the piece right. He does play a mean game of Xanatos speed chess
1030881
And that's where the 'if you have an idea for it' clause comes into play.
I had a thought in my head where Luna was aware of Octavia's talents beyond music, such as identifying ponies by sound alone, and was going to outline additional duties. But I'm not sure how well that would work in this fic. Might be something better left for a later date, if at all.
I liked this chapter and thought it was a great finish to the story. That bit with Piano was a very nice touch and you manage to touch base with all the relivant characters. Though I can't help but wonder, did Lyra actually tell anyone, aside from Bon bon where she was going?
It's interesting seeing how Greengrass handles a loss (yes I know he is going to find a way to gain something from this but it was still a loss). Though I'm starting to get a bit of President Snow (the hunger games trilogy) vibe. He is so focused on Trixie being his opponent that I'm almost now expecting one of the other elements (or someone else) to come up and blindside him. Be interesting to see what happens.
While Blueblood did get off easy it did show that while he is capable of scheming he actually completly out of his depth.
As much as Luna giving the invitation in person would have been in character for her, I think that the letter works better because it keeps the focus on Octavia and Lyra, which had always been the point. Also I think her suddenly making an appearance and interacting with the characters would have clashed with the rest of the story because argubly, like Anton Ego is in Pixar's Ratatouile, she has been more of a plot device than a character. Her role in this was to be the obstical that had to be overcome, the metaphorical dragon that had to be slain, and not a character that was to be interacted with. Yes there was depth to her but the point of this was to show Octavia, with the help of Lyra and Fleur, overcoming the obsticals and triumphing over the dragon. This isn't a criticsm, I loved the Ratatouile, I thought Anton Ego was brilliant and I really liked this story. Also I feel that in the Mane universe Princess Celestia spends most of her time being a plot device as well so it makes sense for Princesss Luna to fill out the same role in the Lunaverse.
I'll just finish by saying yet again, that I really enjoyed this story and look forward to seeing what you do next.
1028686 Definitely enjoyed this beautiful story.
Thank you for working so hard on this.
And thus, Octy has obtained her Dream and is set for life.
Nice.
1031047: This is one thing he didn't expect, since no one's ever played the piece right before in 900 years. Even he can't predict things like that.
1031085: Hmm. I think Octavia would prefer to focus on her true love, music, for the time being. But she is loyal to Luna, and if Luna did ask her, she'd utilize her talents in that way. Same with Fleur. (Hmm, perhaps Octy could be the 'lookout' for Fleur's escapades...)
1032188: I think it'd be funny if she just up and vanished for two weeks, but Bonbon probably did tell some story to the others so they wouldn't worry
.1032488>>1032700: Thanks! I'm really glad you enjoyed it!
One thing I have to ask is was the orignial 5th movement (if it ever existed, maybe it was written before the final battle between Luna and Corona) the same (in general terms) as Octavia played or did she come up with something better than the original? Also who wrote the original, Luna herself, a close friend of Luna, someone more random?
I get the feeling that the Fifth Movement never existed beyond just the name and subject matter. If such were the case, one might say the original purpose of the symphony was to gauge the character of the musicians that played it. Only those who truly understood the who, the what, and the why behind the Princess of the Night would be worthy of being let into her inner circle. That's my theory, anyway.
that was epic... it had a very captivating story...you just made my day
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How in the name of Celestia does this have less than 50 thumbs up? This is feature box material, without a doubt. You might want to consider giving it to EQD. I'm sure they'd go for it.
Wow.
)
I read it straight through, (or as much as comcast would let me
Greengrass is the perfect villain. I keep wishing someone would drop him off, tied up of course, at Bon Bons house with a note saying he's the reason Lyra was a naked bear.
Thanks for writing such an amazing story. And proving again why the Lunaverse is the better one.
So much more depth to the stories, and the characters.
Even Trixie would be impressed.
1098749: I seem to recall Corona trying something similar. It didn't work out. :-)
My understanding is that she wants to be a ruler but not a dictator. The ponies have a right to have a say in their own affairs, hence the importance of the Court.
I'd just like to mention that this story has completely changed the way I listen to music. And the story line was easily on par with my favorite professional novels. (Robin Hobb, if you're wondering. If you like fantasy, she does some very good work) Good intrigue. Deep, believable setting. Likable characters. Once again, fantastic story.
1107481: Really glad you liked it! Thanks for the comment!
I was supposed to be playing Civilization 5. I read this instead, and now my entire empire is on fire. I don't care. Superb.
1143437: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Beautiful. Predictable, but done right.
I was kind of miffed at Luna for continuing to leave open a challenge that got careers wrecked without even saying why, but at the same time it's kind of a beloved Lunaverse tradition that nopony is above dick moves, self-sabotage, and generally just being too darn damaged to see the rational way out all the time -- least of all the ones we're supposed to look up to the most. As much as we love the canon setting for its gleeful and reckless optimism, we love the Lunaverse for being a dysfunctional clusterclop that still manages to pick up enough pieces to make things okay, even if it does cost Trixie a window more often than not.
So now Octavia is directly under Luna's protection and can come clean to the highest authority around with a whole lot of things that need to be blown into the open.
Oh, and the spa scene was brilliant. Poor Greengrass is going to be so pissed.
Twice. Once when he's gone to so much trouble losing repeatedly to a pony that he's only just now come to respect as a worthy adversary, and figures out that she wasn't even involved with half of the most clever gambits (read: lucky breaks) he's attributing to her. And then again when they confront each other and he realizes that she really is a frighteningly clever pony when she stops being an ass and puts her mind to it.
1355180 Actually, we only see 5-6 out of 50 who attempt it. I cannot believe that all of them are sycophants or scum. hell, with one or two exceptions, the ones who tried it were decent folk who only wanted to honor Luna.
So sorry, but no. Her actions are still wrong here.
Wow. Finally got around to finishing reading this, and I very much wish I had done so earlier. Your ability to write music so well really showed, and gave the Symphony chapter so much emotion. Adding those few failed attempts was also a nice touch. And I loved that song borrowed from Chess.
All that hard work and practice effort really paid off for Tavi. Being the first in a thousand years to get the symphony correct is clearly a spectacular achievement. And the the lessons she finally learned about friendship seem pretty damn important too.
Absolutely amazing job on this story!
Finally got around to reading this, and now I'm wondering what took me so long.
I loved Piano Amore's bit, I loved Octavia's development, I loved the song when she was running late, I loved the symphony itself (You do a brilliant job of describing music) I loved...
I just plain loved this story; It's a definite grand finale to the Octavia arc, and it's on my top-five-favorites list for the Lunaverse.
I really really want to hear this symphony with my own ears. It'd probably sound insanely spectacular.
1578884: I wish I could hear it too. Regrettably, I'm not much of a composer, but I think it'd be awesome.
1391396: Glad you enjoyed it!
1579310
1595566: Yeah, that turned out not to be a terribly good idea. :-)
That was excellent. I thought I needed to get the Octavia stories read before starting in on RDD's gala story, but I didn't realize I was going to enjoy this one quite so much.
1596165: I'm glad you like it. Thank you for the comments!
Brava, brava!! I'm so glad to see Octavia (and Lyra) make it out to the other side intact! You've easily cemented yourself as a pillar of Lunaverse. The characters, the pacing, the story...all of it was amazing.
1710184: Glad you liked it, thanks!
1710249
A question: Greengrass kept saying that Lulamoon outmanuevered him. With that last chapter I'm not quite sure....did Trixie have ANY idea whatsoever of what was going on in Canterlot? Was she involved--at all? Or is Greengrass just attributing his loss to something other than Lyra and Octavia's friendship and skills?
1712604: No, Trixie had no idea. Greengrass doesn't know about Fleur, so he's trying to find the most likely reason for Octy's recovery, and is guessing that Trixie (whom he sees as Lyra's 'commander' in Elemental stuff) has something to do with it.
1712913
Okay. One last question. Is Greengrass' middle name "snake in the" ?
1713804: Heh. No, but we talked about his real first name being Horatio. :-)
1841765: Glad you liked it! :-)