> Hold Me Like a Fermata > by Pizzema Forte > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Hold Me Like a Fermata > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Diary, Well, it’s Hearts and Hooves Day once more. As you’re well-aware, I have the same very special somepony I did last year. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to call somepony else my own…. My lover’s just far too special to me. I know I’ve told you about my love for her many times before, but I’d like to reiterate. I love being able to read about how I’ve kept the same emotions towards her since the day I laid eyes on her elegant body. That day I went over to that little music shop in Canterlot. I saw her in the window, and she stared at me like nopony had before. I knew that moment that she had to be mine. The emotions that ran through me that day were priceless, and absolutely irreplaceable. I’ve held those emotions throughout the years and never let go. I don’t think I ever will. I’ll always love her the same I did when I first met her, despite what others think. When I take her on dates, everypony stares at us. Just the other day, I took her out for coffee, and the waiter looked at me as if I were completely bonkers. How rude of him! I’ll never forget that awful look on his face! I don’t think my sweetheart cared too much, though… She always knows how to make me feel better after a rotten day. Nopony else I’ve ever met before has been able to make me feel so happy… She doesn’t even know how amazing she makes me feel. I can’t express it through candies, or roses, or anything… I even wrote her this brilliant little melody, yet I feel as though I still haven’t expressed my feelings towards her enough. She’s never said it to me, but I think she at times believes I’m crazy… She can be oh so silly at times… Now to think of it, even when I first told my parents they believed I was crazy… They still sometimes write me letters asking if I’ve found a “real” special somepony. They’re just so judgmental… Because my love isn’t “normal”, doesn’t mean in anyway it isn’t real! I can’t believe they didn’t even accept us… And my mother is usually so calm and open-minded about these sorts of things. Sometimes, I can’t even take a walk in the park with my lover… Ponies give us strange looks. Ponies snicker and stare, and even take photos. Why do they find it so strange…? They act as if they’ve never seen two souls genuinely connecting and in deep, sweet love with each other! Come to think of it… Nopony’s ever been that cool about the whole thing… Even when I told my dearest, most understanding friend in the world, she laughed and at first thought I was joking. When I told her how serious I was, she simply laughed harder. Even though she spent days upon days apologizing for her rude reaction, it still hurt… a lot. I wish somepony understood us… I guess that’s why I love her so much… She’s the only one who truly understands me. She listens to me when I’m upset, cares for me, eats lunch with me, waits all day just to see me, cleans with me, goes shopping with me, and will always, always be there to support me. She’s been with me through thick and thin. She truly knows how to make a mare happy… It’s not just what she does for me, though. It’s simply her in general. She’s honest, a musician, bold, brave, confident, very caring and considerate, and not to mention her fantastic taste in music. Even when I tell other ponies about why I love her so much, they still don’t understand our relationship… They still call me crazy, say it’s wrong, and speak harshly of my choice. If only they understood… Just because I’m not like them, doesn’t mean it’s wrong or insane, or stupid… Sometimes I just hate other ponies. I hate their shallow-mindedness and their judgmental attitudes. Why are some ponies just so harsh…? It honestly ticks me off… Anyway, as much as I enjoy venting to you about all this, I really must be going. My lovely little date has been expecting me for quite some time now. I hope she loves her present… I simply can’t wait to show her. So, with this, I bid you goodnight. Happy Hearts and Hooves Day. Love always, Octavia. With a long sigh, the mare spat out her pen and stared at her journal for a minute or so. She certainly had written a lot. Looking back on all her and her beautiful marefriend had gone through …it really got her thinking about how close they’d grown and how absolutely wonderful they were together. Octavia then smiled. Her lover wouldn’t care what others thought, and she shouldn’t have either. Even if her heart eternally ached from the thought of never being accepted, she still knew her love was worth it. Octavia opened the drawer of the desk she’d been writing on. She tossed the little, grey journal into the wooden compartment. It had been customized with her treble clef cutie mark on the cover. It was rather ironic that she’d gotten a treble clef as her cutie mark, considering she played cello. Octavia shut her drawer and opened a new one on the opposite side. This one didn’t have a journal, or any book, but two pieces of sheet music she’d personally composed for her lover. She’d titled it Under the Apple Tree in memory of their first date. She wrote in D major. Her lover really loved D major… With a heavily-pounding heart; the mare picked up her miniature masterpiece and trotted out of the little room. She opened the bedroom door and galloped out into the hallway. She’d been planning in the guest room, as always. She’d often venture there to clear her mind, or take a well-deserved rest if needed. The love of her life, however, was in the room across the hall. She quietly trot towards the room, and tapped on the door three times to notify her very special somepony she was coming in. After a brief moment, she cracked open the door and looked inside. Her lover was resting on her side on the bed. She looked so damn sexy like that. “Sorry for the wait…” Octavia apologized with a heavy blush on her face. “You know how I am when it comes to preparing for such events… Even if it is just a little holiday…” She received no response from her very special somepony, but the look she was given reassured her she was forgiven. She always forgave her… The little, gray mare smiled awkwardly as she took a spot on the bed next to her sweetheart. She looked deeply at her and Octavia shyly spoke. “I… I wrote you a song for this special occasion…” she said with a smile “It’s called ‘Under the Apple Tree’… When I composed it I thought about our first date, and how I felt…” The little mare giggled and stared at her marefriend. She seemed rather pleased. Octavia knew she’d love it. “I’m so, so happy you like it… I never had my doubts…” With that, the happy musician set her sheet music down on the coffee table beside her and stared at her lover. She was so, so beautiful. Octavia put her hooves around her sweetheart and sighed. Her hooves traveled up the sleek, wooden body of her lover. Her purple eyes gazed into the perfectly carved F holes in her side to project sound. She smiled as she tilted her head upwards and landed a kiss on her marefriend’s scroll. Her hooves gently brushed her pegs, but didn’t dare twist one. Octavia didn’t want to make her lover out of tune on Hearts and Hooves Day. The mare smiled and brought her lover closer. Her four strings dug deeper into her soft flesh. The A string cooed softly as she brought her hoof down to pluck it. The loving instrument always enjoyed having its A string plucked gently. “I love you…” Octavia spoke in a soft piano, whispering into the pegs of her inanimate lover. Her marefriend didn’t reply. Octavia wrapped her hooves around the object tighter and tighter. “Hold me…” She begged softly. She always wished her cello could somehow grow arms and hug her the way she always wanted to. “Hold me…” She gently asked again as she hugged the cello tighter. “Like a fermata.” > Epilogue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Diary, Well, it’s our five year marriage anniversary today. We’ve been together so long, yet it feels like only a brief week has flown by. We’ve been through so, so much together… It’s truly unbelievable. Just last year, we made second chair cellist for the Canterlot Royal Symphony. We were beyond proud and quite shocked when we received the news. We’d practice for it restlessly some nights. Although the stress over the audition caused a few minor arguments, we still loved each other dearly in the end. We always will… Since the first day I met her, the feelings have remained. Ponies around us have grown far more accepting of our relationship throughout the years. Ponies have stopped staring, stopped laughing, and even my mom admitted it was a real relationship. My dad’s still a bit confused over the whole thing, though. Other than him, we can go to parks, stores, cafés, restaurants, and even museums together without being criticized. Even if it took all these long years, I knew it would be worth it when everypony stopped being so stubborn. Either that, or I’ve just been able to block it out better throughout the years… Even if ponies have started accepting us, we still have little things that bother us within our relationship. The biggest dilemma is we’ll never be able to have children because my lover’s a girl… I can’t help that, though. I’m hoping that we can soon adopt a foal of our own. We’d both like a little filly, ourselves. Since we’re both mares, it would be a bit easier to cope with one… All the paperwork and bits, though. The process seems very complicated... On a brighter note, for our anniversary, we did a lot. The first thing we did this morning was watch our wedding video. Watching the old tape brought back so many memories of that glorious day. I remember pulling back the veil on top of my sweetheart’s scroll and landing a soft kiss on the very tip of her head. Only a few ponies showed up, unfortunately. My mother, father, dear friend Vinyl Scratch, sister, private teacher from my foalhood, and a couple other personal friends and distant relatives. We didn’t have an extravagant wedding. The event took place in a small park near a pond on a Sunday afternoon. We had a simple, two-layer cake, string quartet (I knew the head violinist personally), a few trays of snack items, and my grandmother legally married us. We stood under a white arch when we took our vows, which we had written ourselves. Every time I see our sealing kiss, my heart skips a beat. It makes me feel lucky to be able to watch the greatest moment of my life as much as I’d like. The one thing very special I did for my wife today, was take her to a music store in Canterlot, and get her thoroughly cleaned, polished, and have a fresh set of strings put on her. She felt rather guilty because she couldn’t do anything for me in return. I told her she’d given me the most wonderful years of my life, and that she shouldn’t worry about it. Wow…we really have been through a lot…Even now she’s simply resting in her corner. She looks so beautiful with the moonlight reflecting off her freshly-polished, wooden surface. She’s still wearing that golden band around the peg to her D string, as well. She hasn’t taken it off once since she first put it on. She really is amazing… Well, seven is rolling around, and I think it’s time to practice that little solo I bought from the music store while I was there. My wife helped pick it out. It’s a lovely little piece in e minor. The accompanist’s part for piano is pretty nice, as well. I haven’t got around to playing it, yet, but it does seem rather fun. I’m sorry for my sudden departure, but you know how impatient my mare can get. Love always, your happy musician, Octavia