Sweet Music
Wordlessly, the filly made her way past mannequins, past clothing of different styles from different trends, past the multicolored walls of what she called her home. Or, rather, it wasn't necessarily her home -- it was her sister's home, her workplace, her pride and joy, that she was just visiting while her parents were away on "personal business", as they so called it.
The filly's coat felt matted. Her hooves were caked with mud and dirt, leaving a path as she walked. Her pale harlequin-green eyes had bags under them that made her look quite the opposite of her more prim-and-proper sister.
Plodding up the stairs, a soft exhale escaped her lips as she passed framed photos of her, her family, and her friends. Most of the photos were full of smiling faces, good cheer, and good times had across her lifetime. Unfortunately, she couldn't sympathize with the photos' subjects right now.
Her horn, ever swirling like ice cream in a cone, lit up with sap-green magic. The doorknob turned and the door opened, greeting her with a rather familiar, and very welcoming, sight -- her bedroom. As she made her way inside, her horn continued to stay lit as her magic caught two towels that hung on a coat rack. Freshly washed, she noted, noting that both of them smelled like springtime.
Opting to leave her door open for the time being, the filly made her way to her next stop, traversing the hallway and only stopping to watch as as a fluffy white cat with a purple bow and a purple collar studded with opals rushed by her in the opposite direction.
Her magic was used once again to open the door with a small creaking noise. What greeted her was a rather spacious bathroom, certainly much too big for only two ponies -- but that didn't surprise her very much, taking her sister into consideration.
Another sigh left her body, this one carrying quite a bit of a crushing feeling with it. Making her way towards the shower, her magic caught the handle as she turned it clockwise, wincing when it made a loud squeaking sound. She hoped her sister hadn't heard that. The last thing she needed right now was to be doted on and then lectured about getting too dirty.
After a minute or two passed by, the water became warm, and the filly stepped inside. She closed her eyes and relished the feeling of the water hitting her matted coat and her dirt-filled hooves. Relished the sound of the water hitting the bottom of the bathtub. Relished the scent of the steam that began to form. She felt at ease, and entered her own mental world where nopony could bother her.
A vocalization escaped her throat.
The sound filled the shower, reverberating with force. It was a sound of emotion. It was a sound of...
Perhaps not happiness. Perhaps...
Struggle and pain.
The vocalization was radiant. It came not from the throat, but from the heart. All the while, the filly retreated into her mind, imagining herself standing inside a gazebo, ponies facing her with ears open as they listened to her song of exhaustion and turmoil. Exactly what turmoil occurred or was occurring, who was to say. Nopony knew the answer to that.
The gears in her mind turned as a movie began to play. It was of the day's events thus far -- a day full of helping other ponies realize their true talents and what makes them an outlier in a sea of sameness. Together with her two friends, they helped many clients, some living in the quiet town they called home, others visiting the town from other cities both nearby and far away. It had been a rather successful day, although there was one client in particular whom had been rather oppositional when it came to being offered assistance in finding out his special talent. That, perhaps, was the source of her negative emotions, the source of the exhaustion and the pain that she was experiencing and wanted so badly to be released from.
As the water continued to rush down, the pitch of the filly's song fluctuated accordingly, going from note to note flawlessly in spite of being made up on the spot. She imagined her audience wearing smiles on their maws as they listened to her tune, and that, combined with the warm water, made her body feel lighter than it had been before. Slowly, ever so slowly, her vocalization of misery and aching turned into a vocalization of happiness and freedom. She certainly hadn't expected any kind of turnaround in the song she was singing, but one thing she had learned was that songs, whether singing them or listening to them, can guide you through emotions, sometimes in a way you never thought was possible.
In that moment, she reflected on why she loved to sing so much. As a younger filly, she would often listen to her sister's sweet and silky voice as she sung her lullabies, little ditties, and other melodies whenever she was feeling upset or tired. Whenever the fashionista would have free time on her hooves, she would often help with writing duets that the pair would then perform together. It was the best form of sister bonding a talented musician could ask for, and it was always what the filly came back to whenever she got into a sibling spat and wanted to think back on good times.
Her cutie mark began to glow. A shield streaked with red, pink and purple, holding a purple star with a pink eighth note, it represented her love and passion for singing, as well as the tight bond she shared with her two best friends. As it shimmered, she could feel energy coursing through her body, which served as a catalyst for her voice to grow louder in volume. She imagined her audience cheering for her in spite of the song not being over yet, stomping their hooves and giving whoops and hollers of support as she made the gazebo her stage and her stage alone.
The rhythmic beat of her heart guided her throughout the tune as it neared its conclusion. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, which she let cascade down her face. The water continued to pelt her fur, although it was clear that after such a long time spent being turned on, the shower was losing its heat, threatening to interrupt the song in its occupant's heart.
Although she had wanted to avoid seeing her sister, it didn't matter now. The song was carrying her across the seasons, across the world, across many different ponies and many different places, allowing her to tune out everything around her as she continued to sing until her lungs said "no more". She felt like she was flying high in the sky, letting the wind take her as she zoomed through clouds much like an adventurous pegasus would. Many different movies were playing in her head at the exact same time, but while that would confuse most any other pony, it was nothing out of the ordinary for her.
Eventually, after what seemed like moons and moons, the song ended. Her performance was met with even louder cheers and even louder stomps from her audience. Her sister hugged her tightly, thanked her for this wonderful time, and told her how much she loved her. And her ascent into the sky ended with her gaze meeting the lustrous and endless view of space.
Her eyes opened slowly, her gaze meeting the other end of the shower. She felt like her usual self once again, all stress and exhaustion gone from her body and soul. Her horn lit up once again as her magic caught the handle of the shower, turning it off with a squeaking noise. As she grabbed her two towels, she noticed that her shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles were all open, and came to the realization that not only had the song guided her through her emotions, but it had guided her through getting clean, too.
The steam filled the bathroom, hanging in the air like a thick fog. As she wrapped one towel around her head and another around her waist, she looked at her hooves, which were completely clean and free of dirt and mud. A smile formed on her maw before she spotted the muddy hoofprints leading up to the shower, at which point she realized that she would probably have to clean those up before her sister saw them...
No matter. Cleaning was just another chance at another performance.
Making sure not to step in any of the hoofprints, she opened the door to the bathroom and made her way through the hall once more, back the way she came. Her eyes darted towards her sister's bedroom, finding the door leading to it ajar. She tilted her head, wondering if her sister was out and that's why her song went uninterrupted...but that didn't matter. Right now, she quite liked this alone time.
Heading into her own bedroom, another sigh escaped her lips. This time, however, it was a pleasant sigh, one that carried no weight, no burdens, no pain or shame or negativity of any kind. She jumped up onto her bed, feeling the light breeze from the open adjacent window ruffle her fur. Sometimes, it was good to air-dry instead of using a mane dryer, especially if there was a breeze going. She never did like using mane dryers anyway -- they ruffled her mane and tail far too much.
The second performance was about to begin. The breeze coming in from the window was another invitation to sing on stage, an invitation that she was going to accept with open hooves.
She arrived at the gazebo once more, a crowd of ponies fixating their gazes on her as they eagerly awaited to hear her newest piece. Her sister was clearing her throat and performing vocal exercises to warm her vocal cords up. An unknown force was ready to propel her through the cosmos at her command.
She closed her eyes, opened up her mouth, and sang.