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The Gentle Nights: Audience of One

by PaulAsaran

Chapter 12: Pahalā Ciṃgārī

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The Gentle Nights
Audience of One

Chapter XII
Pahalā Ciṃgārī
First Spark

The floorboards creaked beneath Octavia’s shifting hooves as she sat in the dimly lit hallway. She stared at the door before her, hoof raised in preparation. Yet that was as far as she could go; her leg moved forward a little, retreated, shook, moved forward again, stopped. Her stomach felt empty and acted like an anchor, refusing to let her do what she wanted.

The hideous image of the club kept swimming back into her vision; that mass of unnatural flesh and color and sin within a cocoon of noise and flashing lights. The memory made her whimper and tuck her tail between her legs.

Octavia paced before the door, struggling to find her courage. Her cello case rocked with each turn. She said she’d do this. This had been promised. It was important that promise be kept.

She paused before the door, but couldn’t raise her hoof. A second passed, then another. She started pacing again.

“You can do this, Octavia,” she whispered, her eyes on her hooves. “Just… just knock. It should be a simple thing. Just knock.”

Moving quickly, she made for the door and tapped on it; three light raps. The sound seemed so loud to her folded ears. Octavia shuffled from side to side, a circus act performing in her stomach. She held her breath and forced herself to be perfectly still.

The door didn’t open.

Maybe the knock hadn’t been loud enough? She started to raise her hoof, stopped and lowered it again.

“M-maybe she’s not home.”

She stepped to the door and raised an ear, bringing it close to the wood. There was no sound outside the quiet buzzing of the fluorescent light over her head. Octavia stepped back, swallowing to apply moisture to her throat. She glanced down the hall in both directions. What would ponies think if they saw her just standing here? She looked ridiculous.

Her cheeks hot, she raised her hoof again and hesitated.

“I tried,” she whispered, stepping away from the door. “Sh-she must not be home. Or… or too busy. I’ll come back later. Yes, later.” She turned and made for the stairs, moving just a little faster than she’d intended.

Octavia came to an abrupt stop at the top of the stairwell, the inertia of her cello making her lean forward; one floor down, Vinyl Scratch just turned the corner. She spotted Octavia and gaped.

The two stared at one another for a long time, one in surprise, the other in alarm. For a fraction of a second, Octavia actually considered bolting from embarrassment.

“Octy!” Vinyl trotted up the stairs with a grin, bags of groceries floating around the corner behind her.

“H-hello, Vinyl.” Octavia offered a sheepish smile. She went rigid as Vinyl hugged her, but it lasted only a second before she returned the motion. “I, um, thought I’d missed you.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” Vinyl pulled back. “Does this mean you wanna give my music a try?”

Octavia nodded with a weak smile.

“All right!” Vinyl pumped her foreleg and bounced for her door, the floors squeaking loudly as she moved. “Come on, let’s get started. This is gonna be so awesome!”

Pressing a hoof to her chest, Octavia breathed out slowly. Her trepidation fled like water pouring down a tall hill, and at last she began to relax. She turn to follow, glad the hardest part was over. Her old roommate’s legs danced as she fumbled with the keys in her magic. At last the door opened and the grocery bags floated inside. Vinyl stood aside and waved flamboyantly, using what had to be her most exaggerated fancy accent: “If it pu-leases thou, my armoire awaits.”

Octavia pressed her canon to her lips and snorted down a laugh, her cheeks puffing as she failed to fully control herself. She stepped up and patted Vinyl’s cheek. “I think you mean boudoir, unless you want me to perform inside your cupboard.”

Vinyl blushed with a lopsided grin and thrust her hoof through the doorway. “Just get in there.”

Octavia did as she was told, though she had to step carefully to get her cello to fit. One of the reason she’d chosen the apartments next door was because the building happened to have slightly wider doorways.

Vinyl’s apartment was larger than Octavia’s, but just barely. The peeling wallpaper was a dark green, the floorboards creaked even more loudly than they did in the hallway and the cabinets were ‘decorated’ with stains from meals long ago spilled. Essentially, it was just like Octavia’s, only with wood floors, darker colors and a bunch of posters featuring assorted bands the likes of which Octavia only knew by name. The lights were actually a dim blue, but that didn’t surprise Octavia in the least; she knew her old roommate’s quirks better than anypony.

There was one oddity, though. She tapped the floor and noted the distinct lack of trash. “I see you finally learned how to clean up after yourself.”

Vinyl chuckled as she walked into the room. Her mane glowed as if electrified under the blue lighting. “Not really, I just wanted the place ready for when you got here. I remember how my mess used to really annoy you.”

Octavia blinked and glanced back at Vinyl, who was busy putting away her groceries. “You cleaned up… for me? Vinyl, you never cleaned up when I lectured you back in school.” She reached for a bag.

“Na-ah!” Vinyl caught the bag in her magic and pulled it out of reach. “You just make yourself at home.”

“But I—”

“Nope!” Vinyl shook her head forcefully. “I finally got ya in here, I’m not about to make you do anything.”

Octavia raised an eyebrow. She leaned forward and turned her head to study her companion with a lone eye. “What’s going on here?”

With the last can of food put away and the bags thrown in the trash, Vinyl turned to find herself the target of a peering eye. She blushed and giggled, running a hoof through her shimmering mane. “I just wanted everything to be perfect, y’know? I remember how you were in school, Octi; you never practiced in our room because the mess was a distraction, and I want you playing at your best.”

Octavia sat and waved her hooves around the room. “How long have you been keeping it like this?”

“Uhh, let’s see…” Vinyl tilted her head back and mumbled, her eyes shifting back and forth as she ran the calculations under her breath. “Little over a month now.”

“A month?” Octavia felt her jaw drop. She stared at the blushing Vinyl, then looked around at the clean room. “Vinyl… you’ve been doing this for me?”

The pony nodded and fiddled with her hooves. “I really want your help with this, Octi.”

“Wow. I…” Octavia glanced around once more, trying to imagine just how much willpower her sloppy friend must have been exerting all this time. She sighed and offered a warm smile. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”

Vinyl gave a weak laugh, her head low. “Me too.” She shook her head, the glow of her mane creating shimmering patterns. “What the hay? I’m gonna turn into you at this rate! Come on, lemme show ya what I’m trying to do.”

Octavia followed Vinyl through a small hallway, through which she had to walk at an angle in order for her cello case to fit. With Vinyl’s assistance, they entered a small room that was just large enough for the both of them to stand comfortably. Next to a window in the corner was Vinyl’s synthesizer, the same old, black tool she’d been using all through college. It was covered in circular stains and stickers representing the many locations Vinyl had been to so far in her life.

Octavia let out a small sigh at the sight of the device. She reached over to touch the rough surface of it and ran her hoof along the keys, memories of college life running through her mind. “We had many an argument over this little monstrosity.” She glanced through the window, finally seeing what her apartment looked like from Vinyl’s side of the street.

Vinyl, her mane no longer glowing now that they were out of the blue lighting, sat on a stool before the synthesizer and gave her a warm smile. “I miss it, too.”

There was a mess of wires on one corner of the device. Something within shined blue, and a pair of thick headphones floated from under the small mountain of wires. Vinyl took a moment to brush off the wires from the headphones. “You set up your cello in the corner there while I get this prepared. This place was designed for living, not acoustics, so we’ll use the headphones to get the right sounds.”

“Okay then.” Getting the cello case off her back in the small room required some work, and Octavia had to stand into the hallway to open it. She slid the case into the hallway and finally managed to get her cello set just as Vinyl had finished untangling two headphones from the wiring.

“Okay.” Vinyl turned to Octavia, fidgeting in her seat. “Before we get started, let me explain some things. First, there are three songs I want you to listen to. I already made most of the instrumentation on the synthesizer, but classical instruments sound like breezie farts on this thing, so what you’re going to hear won’t be all that great. That’s why I need to record real instruments.”

Octavia smirked. “What, you mean you’re actually going for quality? Vinyl, I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Vinyl waved a dismissive hoof and rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I’m trying to fuse modern music with classical instrumentation. This album focuses more on rock, but in the future I’m gonna blend things like jazz or dubstep with things like opera.”

“Opera.” Octavia tilted her head and peered at her old roommate. “Vinyl, are you running a fever?”

Vinyl scowled. “I know, you never believed I had ‘real’ music in me. I’ve grown in the past few years, Octavia, and today I’m going to prove to you that I am almost as much of a musician as you are.”

Octavia raised her hooves. “Alright, I’m giving it a chance. Just understand that I’m skeptical.”

“You won’t be for long.” Vinyl floated one of the headphones over to Octavia and turned to dig through some papers in a stack by her stool. After a while she produced three sets of neatly stapled sheet music. Two of them came to rest on the synthesizer, whereas the third floated to the stand Octavia had set up in her corner.

“Three songs in the album feature the cello prominently,” Vinyl explained. “Some, like this one, will have multiple cellos. The music there is just one of the cello parts; the rest will run through the synthesizer for this play-through.”

Octavia picked up the sheet music and flipped through a few pages. It appeared above-average difficulty, but it was the one Vinyl had given her before, so she would have no trouble playing it. “Alright, let’s try this.”

“This one represents the kind of sound most of the album will feature. Think of it as a ‘title track.” Vinyl floated the headphones over to Octavia, who took them in her hooves. She glanced at Vinyl, then put them on.

“Here goes nothing.” She took up her bow and prepared to play, her eyes set on the sheet music.

Vinyl licked her lips and turned on her machine. She pressed some buttons before setting her own headphones on. Hers had a small microphone. “Give me a moment, I’m removing your part from the pre-recording.” A few more seconds of toying with buttons. “I’m gonna turn the pages for you, so you just focus on playing.”

“Got it.”

Vinyl finally finished. Her hoof shook as it hovered over a final button, but her voice was steady. “You ready?”

At Octavia’s nod, Vinyl pressed the button and promptly rolled her stool so she was by Octavia’s music stand.

Seconds passed in silence as a slight buzz of static filled Octavia’s ears. Then, with a sudden burst, the sound of drums filled her head. The impact made her jump, but she kept her attention on the sheet music. She could hear the accompanying cellos, three of them playing rapid notes in low volume. Vinyl was right about the sound quality, but at least Octavia could recognize the intent.

Her part came. Though her cello was muffled by the headphones, a lifetime of hearing it made it seem that much more powerful in comparison to the notes in her head.

Octavia’s head bobbed slightly as she carefully reproduced every note. The sound fascinated; there were no other instruments, just four cellos and the drums. Yet the addition of those drums and the fast, spiccato flurry of the accompanying cellos made for an entirely new music wholly alien to her ears. She could clearly identify the ‘modern’ aspects of the song such as its structure, and yet she also heard hints of classical elements, particularly in her own part, which she now understood was the frontrunner of the entire piece from its much higher chord and longer notes.

A melding of classical and modern. It was so… different.

The song wasn’t long, perhaps only three minutes. Curiously, the song ended not with her cello, but one of the others playing at gradually slower speeds – Vinyl had written ‘grazioso’ on the sheet music, which Octavia found appropriate.

“So?” Vinyl leaned towards her, eyes wide. “What do you think?”

Octavia stared at the sheet music, gathering her thoughts and thinking on what she’d just heard. She slowly pushed the headphones off one ear. “It’s… not what I expected.”

Vinyl swallowed and raised her sunglasses to rest on top of her horn. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

Octavia raised her bow and thought a little more. “Good. It’s a good thing. The drums work so much better than I would have imagined.”

Vinyl bounced in her seat, grinning from ear to ear. “G-good, really? Great! Let’s do another, you’re really gonna like this one!” She hopped off her stool and hurried to the synthesizer, her hooves flying over the buttons with practiced precision.

Octavia took the opportunity to look over the sheet music. She was stunned by her own feelings. This could work. Luna help her, this could really work. All these years she’d been struggling to create her own music, and her old roommate and next door neighbor was pulling it off. Effectively!

Vinyl’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Okay! I’ve got it all set up. This one is by far the most cello-centric, much less instrumentation. It’s practically a solo.”

The sheet music was replaced in the stand. Octavia looked to see Vinyl’s hoof once again hovering over the starter button. The pony breathed as if she’d just run a marathon and her eyes shined as she looked to Octavia. “Ready?”

Octavia promptly reset her headphones, took up her position and nodded.

Almost as soon as Vinyl pressed the button, Octavia began playing. There was a much more ‘electronic’ feel to this song, a musical genre she had long ridiculed. Yet, as she finished the larghetto introduction and waited for the wind sounds to die, she realized she didn’t mind them here. Perhaps because they were so quiet?

She jumped into the main part of the song. It was a little repetitive compared to her part in the last one, yet it also had a flowing, leggiadro style that she enjoyed. At times she could hear a second cello playing in the background, but it felt like an echo of her own instrument. Maybe it was.

Octavia began to sway, smoothly shifting between the frequently altering legato and staccato styles within the chorus. The synthetic beats seemed to shift into a pleasant background noise as she focused on her part, delighting in the steady, comfortable rhythm. The finale came abruptly, her hoof playing across the strings with expert precision to keep up with the rapidly changing notes until finally finishing in a short but heavy tone.

Just like that, the song was over. She stared at the sheet music, surprised that it was indeed the last page.

She glanced with wide eyes at Vinyl, who was bobbing on her stool like a foal with a new Hearth’s Warming present. “You liked it, didn’t you? I saw the way you were getting into it!”

Octavia pushed off her headphones. She would have smiled if one weren’t already plastered to her lips. “I liked it. Vinyl, this is wonderful material you’ve created! I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“Yes!” Vinyl clapped her hooves. She bounced so much Octavia began to wonder if her stool wouldn’t break. “This is gonna be so awesome! With you frontlining those songs and a few musicians from around town, there’s no telling how far this will go. It’s a whole new genre, and we get to be at the helm!”

“You mean you had others in mind?” Octavia asked, curious to know if she knew any of the names Vinyl planned to ask.

“Nope, just you.” Vinyl spun in place, her stool swiveling as she kicked her hind legs playfully. “I gotta take out ads for the others, do auditions, but I just knew you would be perfect for the cello parts! Goddess, Octy, I can’t even describe how… how good this feels!”

“I’m just glad to be part of it.” Octavia tapped the sheet music with her bow. “So what are you waiting for? Let’s hear that third piece.”

Vinyl came to an abrupt pause, her ears lowering as she stared at Octavia. “Oh, right. The, um, third piece.” She rolled her stool to the synthesizer and began to work it, but much slower than she had before. “Listen, this last one… well, it’s kinda special. I’ve been working on it for a very long time, and it might not be any good.”

Octavia cocked her head. “If it’s anything like these others, I doubt you need to worry.”

Vinyl chewed her lip and wouldn’t look at Octavia. “Umm, it’s not. This is gonna be a bonus track or… or maybe a single.”

“Oh.” Octavia glanced at the sheet music, then back at Vinyl. “What’s so special about it, then?”

Vinyl was quiet for a few seconds, her attention seeming devoted to the synthesizer.

“I’ve been working on this one for five years.”

“What?” Octavia gaped at her old roommate. “We were still in college then. You never mentioned anything about some special piece.”

Vinyl’s entire body sagged, like a flower in need of water. “I thought you’d make fun of me if you knew.”

“Vinyl, I wouldn’t—”

The pony turned about to glare at Octavia, effectively ending her objections. Octavia hesitated, clutching her bow close to her chest as she took in the accusation in those red eyes. “Vinyl?”

Vinyl glanced away, her anger fading quickly. She began to fidget once again, and she was back to taking long, slow breaths. Licking her lips, she reached her trembling hoof for the button. “Are you ready?”

Octavia hurriedly resumed her playing position. “I don’t have my sheet music.”

“Oh, right.” The music was replaced by a much thicker stack than the other two.

“Alright,” Octavia said, “now I’m ready.”

“Good.” Vinyl hesitated, her cheeks brighter than a flame. She held her breath for several seconds. At last she pressed the button and moved to Octavia’s side.

“I wrote this one for you.”

Octavia gawked at her, but Vinyl merely chewed her lip and stared at the sheet music with determined intent.

The music began with violins making a steady, tenerezza tone, prompting Octavia to focus on the page before her. The introduction was long, but pleasant and graceful. Then a cello filled her ears with a steady, repeating series of notes that, while allegretto, seemed very calm.

Her part came, a steady but powerful series of legato notes. She swayed, enjoying a complete absence of heavy sounds or unusual instrumentation.

Then the violins came back.

More cellos arose.

Percussion. Not the drums from the previous song; percussion was something stronger, calmer.

Then all the instruments hit at once: violins, cellos, bass, cymbals, drums, flutes, horns, oboe. Octavia’s breath was taken away as she found herself playing along not to a ‘band;’ this was the familiar, lovingly crafted work of an orchestra. She caught the faintest hints of Beecloven within the melody, a series of notes that she’d played over and over again in her youth simply because they’d been her favorite at the time.

Vinyl had written a symphony. An actual symphony.

And it was beautiful.

Octavia couldn’t comprehend the emotion that was coming over her. She swayed to an incredible sound that she’d never imagined could have come from her friend’s mind. She loved every note, each carefully placed line, all the intricate melodies and motions. There was repetition, and she could see the modern styling within the music, but it worked so delightfully with every delicate tone, every perfectly placed instrument…

It was a much longer piece than the others, yet still the ending seemed to come far too quickly. When she played the last slow, gentle note, she felt out of breath and her eyes stung. She could only stand there and gaze at the music, her bow frozen to the strings as she struggled to withhold the emotions running rampant within her.

Gradually, she turned. Vinyl’s back was to her, the unicorn’s body slumped and trembling.

“V-Vinyl… you wrote this for me?”

Vinyl sniffed. “It’s… it’s bad, isn’t it? I worked so hard on it for so long, trying to make it perfect. I tried so hard…”

Octavia set a hoof to her friend’s shoulder, and Vinyl stiffened at her touch.

“Vinyl,” she whispered, “that was incredible.”

Another sniff. “It… it was?”

Grabbing her with both hooves, Octavia forced her to turn around. Vinyl’s cheeks were moist and her eyes were like saucers. Octavia wrapped her in a tight hug.

“I have been trying for years to make even a simple song. I was envious that you’d written so many, but I always thought you were writing substandard work. I… I want to hear more. I had no idea you were so talented.”

Vinyl shifted with a weak chuckle, not returning the embrace. “Bull. You… you think my music’s trash, don’t you?”

“I’m sorry.” Octavia only held on more tightly. “I am so sorry. This was an incredible gift and I will never be able to match it. It was perfect, Vinyl.”

At last, Vinyl’s legs rose. They shook as they wrapped about Octavia, but she finally returned the hug with all the force of Octavia’s. “Th-thanks, Octy. You really have n-no idea what it means to me to hear you say th-that.”

“But why, Vinyl?” Octavia leaned back to look into Vinyl’s eyes. The poor unicorn was all but sobbing. “Why did you need my approval? Why spend five years writing a song just for me?”

“It was… it was supposed to only take a year,” Vinyl admitted, bowing her head into Octavia’s shoulder. “I didn’t want to admit to it when we were roommates, ’cause I was a stubborn foal back then, but… but I always looked up to you. Your work on your cello was always so good, and it’s not even your special talent. What was I doing? Scratching out crap on a keyboard because I was too lazy to learn a real instrument or focus in class.”

“V-Vinyl, that’s not—”

“Shut up and let me get it out!” Vinyl pulled back and rubbed her eyes, though she couldn’t stop crying. “Mom’s a concert pianist. My dad could play four different instruments in his prime! I was such a disappointment to them, and there you were, no musical background, no formal music education, and you’re like a bucking pro. I w-was mad… and inspired. I hated you even as I was crushing like crazy.”

Octavia sputtered, her cheeks heating up. “C-crushing?”

“I remember thinking I would prove to you that I could be just as good at your kind of music, no, better! Then I…” Vinyl sniffed and took the sheet music in her hooves. She stared at the paper, shoulders shaking. “I realized that I really wanted you to like it. I w-wanted your nod of approval. If that happened – if even the perfect, incredible Octavia Melody could like something I wrote – then maybe I could finally make my parents proud. It had to be just right, but it never was. It’s still not.”

Octavia stared at her old friend, jaw hanging loose as she struggled to take all of this in. “Vinyl, I had no idea you thought so… so highly of me.”

“That’s because I didn’t want you to.” Vinyl held the sheet music close, the paper crinkling in her grip. She wouldn’t look Octavia in the eye. “I had so many crazy emotions all bundled up in an ugly knot. Hate, respect, approval, annoyance. Sometimes I wanted you to acknowledge me, others I wished I’d never seen your face. I think I might have even been in love for a while, crazy as it sounds.”

With the slightest of whimpers, Octavia bowed her head and tried not to acknowledge her steaming cheeks.

Vinyl held the sheet music at leg’s length. “This is the only time I will ever really explore your kind of music. After five years, I know it’s just not where my skills lie. I had to do so much research, and I spent lots of sleepless nights going crazy over just a few small notes in the whole thing. I attended more of your shows than you would think looking for inspiration. But y’know? That work makes this the single most important piece of my entire life. This is the proof, see? It means I can almost be as amazing as you are if I try hard enough. Almost.”

Octavia felt a tear running down her cheek, and there was a sinking feeling in her chest. “But Vinyl… you’ve done so much more than I have. You’ve proven yourself better than me. I haven’t written a single musical piece, and you made something so… so…”

“But you will,” Vinyl said with a warm smile. “I know it, Octavia. Someday you’ll get out of your rut, and when you do you’re going to write dozens of songs that will make this look like the piece of amateur toilet paper it is.”

“Don’t say that!” She shook Vinyl by the shoulders. “It’s a wonderful song, Vinyl. If it were a painting, it would belong in a museum! I’ll never be able to do what you’ve done. I’d be ashamed if I wasn’t so flattered that it’s for me.”

Vinyl looked at the sheet music, then at her. “You… you really think it’s that good?”

“I do.” Octavia nodded emphatically. “Oh, Vinyl, it’s incredible! I want to be part of this and help you make this album. I promise, I will never, ever doubt you again.”

A weak smile formed on Vinyl’s lips. “G-good. That’s good. As long as you’re with me on this. It means so much to me, Octy. If you’d said no, I… I probably would have abandoned the project altogether.”

Octavia chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. “You don’t need to put me on a pedestal. I’ll be happy to help; it’s so much more than I could ever achieve on my own. But, um…” She shifted from hoof to hoof and blushed. “Well, about this whole ‘crush’ thing…”

Vinyl laughed – a real laugh, filled with relief and the breaking of what had to have been years of built-up tension. “Don’t worry about that! It only lasted a few months, then I came to my senses.”

Octavia hesitated. “Really?”

“Really.” Vinyl nodded with a grin. “I mean seriously, can you imagine us as a couple? It’s got to be the craziest idea ever. We’d never know peace!”

With a hoof to her chest, Octavia released a long breath of air. “Thank Luna! I thought things were about to get really awkward.”

“I think things were plenty awkward,” Vinyl countered with a chuckle. She took a moment to rub her cheeks free of moisture. “Goddess, I haven’t opened up like that in ever. It feels so good to get it off my chest.”

“After five years? I can’t imagine,” Octavia replied with a grin of her own. “So, when do we get started?”

“Right away, if you’re willing.” Vinyl bounced across the room and began digging through the wires. “This is going to be the most awesome album ever, just you wait! I’ve got the microphones, we can start recording right now.”

Octavia chuckled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “I don’t think so. You want to record in here? It’s not suitable at all.”

Vinyl huffed and turned to waggle a microphone at her. “I sure as hay can’t afford a proper recording studio, so unless you’ve got a location in mind this is as good as we’re gonna get.”

“Hmm…” Octavia rubbed her chin in thought, then smiled.

“Actually, I do know of one place.”


The intense white glare faded to soothing darkness. A cool wind buffeted Luna as she fell through the sky. She made no attempt to control her fall; she relaxed and let the clouds come up to greet her. The condensed moisture chilled her like a splash of ice water, and her sore muscles tensed at the sensation. Though she shivered, still she kept her body relaxed, her wings and tail whipping above her.

At last she twisted so her legs were aimed at the ground far below. Her great wings opened wide, catching air and slowing her descent with a sudden, painful jerk. Luna didn’t mind, for it felt akin to stretching after a long exercise.

In a way, that was exactly what she was doing.

The city of Canterlot spread out beneath her, glistening like a jewel even at night. Luna landed atop a particularly large building and stretched her aching wings before folding them at her sides. She shifted her shoulders and took a few light hops, her back and legs popping as she did. Each little crack sent a wave of pleasure through her, but it wasn’t near enough to fully relax her body.

Or her mind.

Luna cast her gaze upon the city, her horn emitting a dim glow as she reset her dreamweaving magic. The countless pillars of light rose into the sky in a wide assortment of colors; blues, greens, purples and the occasional pink she preferred to avoid. Every here and there she saw a red column rising up to pierce the moon, but the intensities were weak.

That was a relief. How many night terrors had she put down this night? She’d stopped counting at twenty. It seemed she’d dealt with the last one, thank the Goddess.

Her old enemy was angry. It had been ever since Octavia’s last delightful visit. Part of Luna was pleased with this, for if her foe was upset then things were clearly going well. Yet she had to also consider the grave danger to the ponies unaware of the creature’s presence, for none of them knew that the dark being within their dreams was not an illusion but a true fiend.

Luna kicked at the stone roof with a scowl; after over a year, she was no closer to catching it.

She felt that uncomfortably familiar tug on her horn; a new night terror was taking place. Sighing, Luna launched into the air and made a wide turn in the direction her horn guided her. She sucked down a sharp gasp at the sight of Canterlot Castle. The blood-red line vibrated with a feverish intensity from the roof of the castle’s central tower.

The night terror belonged to Celestia.

It didn’t take long for Luna to locate and land on the great balcony outside of her sister’s chambers. How many times did this make? She peered through the curtains and watched as, once again, Celestia tossed and turned in her bed. Equestria’s great leader of a thousand years was sweating, the sheets tangling in her legs. Her lips moved frantically, but silently, and tears were running down her cheeks.

Luna sighed. It would be such a simple thing to slip inside her sister’s mind. The night terror wouldn’t be so easy to disrupt, though, not after an entire night of doing exactly that. Besides, there was still that horrible, nagging worry in the back of Luna’s mind, the question she yearned to answer but was too scared to acknowledge. To see her sister in such anguish tore at Luna’s heart. The inability to help was almost infuriating, but she was determined to keep her promise. If only Celestia would open up to her and grant permission, this problem could be over and done with in short order.

Luna pressed a hoof to the glass as she watched Celestia’s trembling form. “Why won’t you speak to me, dear sister?”

Just then, the red line that rose from Celestia’s forehead trembled and shook. The colors began to shift and fade. Recognizing the signs, Luna hurriedly stepped from the window and out of sight. A second later, Celestia awoke with a cry that made Luna flinch.

After a long, unpleasant pause, Celestia began to sob. Cringing, Luna turned away and dropped off the edge of the balcony, waiting until she’d fallen far enough to not be heard before spreading her wings for flight. She would not risk being caught eavesdropping.

The night had grown old; in another hour it would be time for the sun to rise. With her mind in a state of calm turmoil, Luna landed on the balcony outside her own chambers and went inside. There would be no more nightmare patrol tonight.

She noticed the presence almost immediately. Though the darkness was Luna’s domain, she’d encountered this stallion enough times to know that he’d wanted to be found.

“You presume to hide from your princess?”

His toothy grin appeared in the dark of a corner. “From the Mistress of All Night? Of course not, although it does make for good practice.”

She scowled at him. “I’d prefer you not do such things around me. You are meant to be hiding from Equestria’s enemies, not its rulers.”

He stepped forward, his face entering the dim light of the moon from the window. He was a tall unicorn, with a coat of mottled brown and a black mane. His grin faded as he bowed his head. “My apologies, Princess. It is a useful habit, and a hard one to break.”

Luna sniffed, looking down her muzzle at him. “I suppose I should expect no better from Equestria’s highest ranking spy. Did you get what I commanded?”

“Indeed.” The stallion’s horn shined red, and a manila folder floated into the light. “The mare you seek has a significant record, so we have a lot of information on her.”

“A record?” Luna took the folder in her magic. “She is an enemy of the state?”

“Of the Nildian state, not Equestria.” The stallion shrugged. “Simply put, she’s a crime boss. Her family doesn’t know; they think she’s merely a banker.”

“I see.” The idea left a pang in Luna’s heart. “And what is the official position of your organization in regards to her?”

The spy waved a dismissive hoof. “Her actions don’t negatively impact Equestria, and so she’s outside our jurisdiction. Otherwise, she falls into that rare category of ‘good villain.’ She’s the kind of criminal we like to keep in power, lest her downfall bring about some real monsters. Unlike most criminal leaders, she has a tendency to better the lives of those around her... provided they don't get in her way, of course.”

“Thank you.” Luna set the folder on her bed. “I will be sure to read the file in detail. That will be all.”

The stallion bowed his head. “Always a pleasure, Princess. I look forward to our next talk.”

He stepped into the shadows. There was the slightest indication of magic, and his presence was gone. A teleportation spell no doubt. As soon as she was alone, Luna grabbed the file and stepped into the greeting room. Though dim, the room had enough lighting to let her take a close look at the manila folder.

To her despair, the name on the folder was indeed what she’d feared:

Benjamina Melody

Author's Notes:

I'm a little ashamed to admit that I have performed the 'door dance' more than once in my life. There's just something about the act of initiating contact that makes me lock up with anxiety. Once that one barrier is broken, everything else goes smoothly... but getting in that first knock on the door is torture.

I wasn't going to reveal any OCs from my other stories, but I saw an appropriate opportunity to provide a cameo and ran away with it. Those who are avid readers of mine will know who the stallion is Luna spoke to. Benjamina, on the other hand, was planned to appear from the very beginning.

I used three real songs to help me describe the kind of music Vinyl wrote. This will probably be the only time I do such a thing for this story, although there is one more song that needs to be described. As a general rule, I didn't plan on using real songs for this purpose, but that applies only to music 'belonging' to Octavia. These songs belong to Vinyl, so I'm not worried about sharing. The first two can be heard here and here.

The last one is easily my favorite kind of music, and struck me as perfect for Vinyl's 'gift' to Octavia:

I have in mind a side story for AoO, which details the five years Vinyl spent writing her orchestra and the emotional rollar coaster ride it put her through. If I write it, this chapter may well be the climax.

Next Chapter: Dūsrā Ciṃgārī Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 24 Minutes
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