Three weeks later, after hours of rehearsals; arguments with Svengallop; and trying to find the right theater to house the enormous choir, orchestra, audience, radio equipment and the machine for Ludwig’s hearing – they were now ready. The place to perform the Ninth Symphony wasn’t a theater at all. It was taken place in an enormous chamber that once was part of a mine inside Mt. Avalon. The location was carefully chosen because it provided the perfect acoustics for all the web of microphones to pick up.

The chamber was actually hollowed out further for this particular event to house the audience that came to hear the symphony in person. Ponies who could afford to come from all over Equestria to be crammed inside the well-lit cavern. Among those in the audience, as Beethoven saw from the conductor stand, were his neighbors, Braeburn Apple, the entirety of Twilight’s friends and their families and at the very front was the entire Royal Family. Four alicorns Princesses and two unicorn Princes sat there for the event.

Between him and the audience was the crew of a local radio station that ran wires and monitored strange machines. When the time came, a smartly dressed stallion stepped up to the microphone. Ludwig put a hand on his headphones when he started speaking, “Mares and gentlecolts, may I have your attention please?” The audience went quiet before the gray unicorn went on, “Thank you. Since it’s almost time, I want to give all of you some instructions before we go live. The first is that I ask everypony to please remain silent in between the movements so those at home can hear. If you feel that you must get out from your seat to leave, please do so as quietly as possible. We ask you to try to not to talk during the performance. Thank you.”

The stallion turned to the radio crew, “Are we ready?”

“In a minute,” somepony said. Ludwig turned around to face the orchestra, with a baton in hand; he waited for the red lightbulb to light up, a signal for him to begin.

“And we’re on if seven, six, five, four…”

The enter cavern went quiet for a moment until the stallion by the microphone spoke. “Hello and thank you for tuning in to Equestria National Radio 100.7 for our very special program. I’m Air Wave, and tonight we are bringing to you folks at home the premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for choir and orchestra. We are coming to you live inside of a cavern of Mt. Avalon with an equally live audience, among which is the entire Royal family, all here for this historic occasion.

“Before we hear this new symphony, those of you at home should know that this is perhaps the most ambitious radio broadcast to date because we have assembled a system for those of you at home can hear the Canterlot Philharmonic, the Canterlot Opera Company and the Crystal Clear Choir at the highest quality possible. You will be hearing the combined choir in the closing movement, along with a quartet of four singers: the Countess Coloratura as Soprano, Silver Note as Alto, Copper Bell as Tenor and Nota Lunga for baritone. The song at the end will be sung in the composer’s native language called German. I will provide the translation before the closing movement. The composer, Ludwig van Beethoven will be conducting the orchestra this evening.

“So without further ado, we are proud to announce the premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth, the Choral Symphony.”

Once the applause from the audience died down, there was a moment of silence before the signal for Ludwig to begin lit up. Hunching his back forward, he lifted the baton, the cue for the orchestra to play. At first, only the horns, violins and cellos murmured softly while the second violins gave pulses of sound. Clarinets, oboes, and flutes came in as if they were tuning up, but as it grew louder, the sound became increasingly tense until, with the timpani, the orchestra shook at the enormous crescendo.

It was as if a god had woken up from an eternal sleep. An ancient, yet, powerful being rose with fearful trumpets and the echo of thunder from the drums. Among the terrible sounds of its awakening, the universe stood still as the orchestra repeated the opening – as if the divine being was looking for something through the void. When it did find it at the crescendo, the god stretched forth to bring about a storm of lightning, thunder, and the descending whirlwind of the strings.

But after a moment of this violence, the winds brought about a different character. This one seemed to be a good deal kinder than the mighty deity that had stormed through. The melody of the winds floated in the air gracefully like a Pegasus ballerina, wings fearlessly cutting through the storm with no fear. Soon, the innocent melody went up to the raging god in the midst of its temper tantrum, asking gently what was wrong. But the god only barked incoherently, even when the Pegasus tried asking again, the deity’s voice repeated the same answer. Getting nowhere, the Pegasus of song followed the god to see where and what it might do like the two rhythms mixed together for a moment.

Over on the air, radio waves cascaded beyond Canterlot. Zipping through forests and slithered across deserts and seas, ponies that happened to be tuned in turned up the volume to hear the symphony. For some, it was background music for those who were trying to rebuild after Tirek. For others who had nothing better to do, or whose feelings were caught up in a cycle of helplessness, they were paying attention. As strings and winds rose and fell like the flapping of wings, so the music traveled beyond Equestria to those who have never heard such an immersive piece of art.

In countries where the name of the composer was only a rumor, their ears perked up at what they found from turning the dials on their radios. Out from the speakers, a curious story without words was being played out in bedrooms, living rooms, waiting rooms, train stations, and a hoofful of restaurants. Yes, curiosity was the word for those who tuned in, for they could tell it was classical music; only to them, it seemed to have come alive from the grand strings to the meditative winds.

Back in Canterlot, Ludwig hunched over at the quiet parts, trying to listen as intently as he could from the headphones. For the equine audience watching him conduct, to watch his arms move and fold about was as if the giant was impersonating a Pegasus in flight. It probably would make sense as those who were closely listening to this first movement heard new, ever-changing landscapes. From cloud forests to deserts of fire, to mountainous cities of strings to seas of brass, violins, and timpani, it was as if Beethoven was sculpting a fantasy world with nothing more than sound.

In this first movement alone, all known rules of musical gravity, logic, and physics were being twisted, bend, and made up as it went. Unstoppable like a coming storm, and its mood-changing at a moment’s notice, Beethoven was taking everypony inside the cavern and beyond into the world inside his head. Chaotic in its crescendos and beautiful in its melodies, they were all at the mercy of the old man to dictate musical reality as he sees fit.

Minutes later, near the end, the orchestra took on a kind of march where the horns pounded out a rhythm and the oboes danced to the march while the strings provided the wind to stir the orchestra up. Then together, like the hoofsteps of a giant, the entire philharmonic stomped out the remaining few bars to bring the movement to an end.

Ludwig noticed that as the red light next to him went out, his headphones picked up a rumbling sound. He glanced behind him to find that his audience applauding, stomping on the ground, clapping their hooves. To this, he smiled before facing the orchestra that was flipping their sheet music to the next movement.

When the light came on, the entire string section began the second movement with a battle cry. The Scherzo started with a rush as violins charging forward; clarinets, trombones, horns, oboes, and trumpets too sped into the imaginary battlefield. Violas and cellos added tension to the rapid heartbeat pacing, to which the whole Philharmonic army was now at full force. The sound both inside the cavern and on the radio grew increasingly louder until the orchestra attacked in full force.

Even when it was immediately followed by the winds to slow things down, the pizzicato of the strings still kept the movement ever forward. Then just as suddenly, the strings pulsed out sharp attacks while the winds tumbled up and hopped down the scales. This Philharmonic civil war frequently changed moods from tranquil one moment to horrifically violent the next before it flipped back again. And just when the audience thought that they knew what was going to happen next, it surprised them when suddenly the orchestra went silent before it repeated the beginning.

For one Princess, the music brought her back to what happened weeks ago –especially with Tirek and the awesome power that she was responsible for holding. What had occurred was still fresh in her mind. Twilight felt the cold fear of losing, the hot hatred of what the demon had done to her home. She felt the bruises as she was being thrown about, and the electric discharge of her horn that unleashed intense magic at the creature all being reflected as the music clashed against itself.

In fact, for Equestrians, this second movement hit home a little too closely, especially for those who were in Ponyville at the time. They too haven’t forgotten the scars that were left behind, both on their town and them as well. For those who were hearing the music, it brought them back to the paralyzing fear of what would happen to them.

For those who listened to the Scherzo on their radios, especially inside of Equestria, all they could remember is when they tried to flee from the demon that drained their magic until they were almost lifeless husks of themselves. This music was dark, but there was something about it that made them want to keep listening.

Then suddenly, from their speakers, the mood changed to something light and stable. Oboes sang a folk dance while the bassoons hopped from note to quick paced note. Even from the cellos, double basses and violins, they too had set aside their bloodlust to something lighthearted. Horns spoke of nostalgia for a bygone, golden age while the violins danced above them, the violas joining them. The winds did the same as if the orchestra was now under a truce. For a moment, they found unity in a dancing folk tune and peace from a simple nostalgia.

As sweet as it was, it didn’t last long before the civil war started back up again. Just as the beginning, the strings, and the winds engaged in bipolar warfare. For several minutes, it repeated the unpredictable fight that seemed to have no end. However, at the last minute, the dancing folksong returns for just a moment before the orchestra brought it and the movement to a speedy, climatic end.

After the applause had died out, Ludwig picked up from his headphones the voice of Air Wave. “For those who are just tuning in, you are now listening to the live premiere of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. What you’ve heard was the second movement and we are about to head right on into the third. After that, I will come back on to give this live audience and those at home a short introduction to the final movement. This is Air Wave on Equestria National Radio 100.7, and thank you for joining us.”

There was a still moment before Ludwig saw the red light that allowed him to continue on into the Adagio. Pressing a hand over one of the speakers, he tried to count time as the bassoons, clarinets, violas, and cellos began to paint a new landscape. He watched for the bows of the violins to join in to create the feeling of the aftermath from the previous movement. The strings, winds, and horns started up a dialogue of an unstable peace and an uncertain future. Both sides trying to come to terms of the emptiness that the battle had left behind, yet, at the same time in the slow-moving notes, they try to salvage whatever hope remained.

On the airwaves, the meditative adagio served as a kind of reflection. From the violins, a simple melody spread its wings like a single bird and took flight. For those villages and towns in Equestria, that soaring melody was like a young phoenix in their minds. They looked around at the destruction that Tirek had left behind, of the rubble to see that perhaps, with plenty of hard work and commitment, they could build again – because from those speakers, that melody which the entire orchestra now enriches and develops, it was the very symbol of hope.

The music didn’t sugarcoat the fact that moving on will be easy. Healing is played at a slow tempo, where there will be times where trying to overcome is difficult, it will be the most rewarding to those who persist. Even for those who listened, who were themselves were going through the darkest of times; the music they heard was a candle that illuminated their lives.

In Ludwig’s mind, as he was hunched over conducting, this music he had written not too long ago had now transformed into something other than he intended. What was meant as a scene depiction of summer in the Vienna Woods was now a symbol of hope. After all, he already had chosen the melodies, time changes and what spirit last movement of his tenth to be, what needed to be done was to refine it. He could finally go home and hopefully rescue his nephew from suicide. Perhaps, even make amends to those he offended when he left. As much as he appreciated being in this new world of fantasy, he missed Vienna with all its people, food, and friends. What a story he would tell too, even if, upon reflection, that his time in Equestria would be forever seen as ravings of a madman.

‘Should I tell them where I have been this whole time?’ he wondered. ‘If I never set eyes on this land, and someone else had told me about Equestria, I would call the authorities to commit him into a hospital. Who would ever believe that I had my music being played by an orchestra of ponies? No one! It all seems like a fairy tale in hindsight, but what a tale it is! If I had more time, I would probably write a grand fantasia of all the wonders that I have seen. If only death wasn’t as close as those doctors had told me months ago.’

Minutes later, the third movement came to an end. After kind applause from the live audience, the choir that has been sitting down this whole time finally stood up, flipping open their scores for what was about to come. The radio announcer now took this opportunity to take the microphone.

“This is Air Wave, and you are listening to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on Equestria National Radio 100.7. Now before we get to the final movement of this wonderful music, I would like to take a moment to inform those at home of what they are about to hear. For the first time in history, we will be hearing a choir being sung in a symphony. But this will be unusual because the language they will be singing it is in the composer’s native tongue of German. Fortunately for us, Beethoven has given out a translation of the lyrics in Equestrian, to give you all a good idea what they are singing about.

“The translation is, as follows,” he pulled out a sheet of paper in front of him. “‘Oh friends, not these tones! Rather, let us raise our voices in more pleasing and more joyful sounds. Joy! Joy, beautiful spark of the gods, daughter of Elysium, we enter, drunk with fire, into your sanctuary, heavenly daughter! Your magic reunites what custom strictly divided; all men become brothers, where your wings gently rest.

“‘Whoever has had the great fortune to be a friend’s friend, whoever has won a devoted wife, join in our jubilation! Indeed, whoever can call even one soul, his own on this earth! And whoever was never able to, must creep tearfully away from this band!

“‘Joy all creatures drink at the breasts of nature; all good, all bad follow her trail of roses. Kisses she gave us, and wine, a friend, proved in death; pleasure was given to the worm, and the cherub stands before God.

“‘Glad, as his suns fly through Heaven’s glorious design, run, brothers, your path, joyful as a hero to victory.

“‘Be embraced Millions! This kiss for the whole world! Brothers, above the starry canopy, must a loving Father dwell. Do you bow down, millions? Do you sense the Creator, world? Seek Him beyond the starry canopy! Beyond the stars must He dwell.’ I know that is quite a lot to take in, but trust me when I say, give yourself a moment to let the music explain for itself.

“And now, with the help of the Canterlot Opera Company, the Crystal Clear Choir, and our solo singers include: the Countess Coloratura as Soprano, Silver Note as Alto, Copper Bell as Tenor and Nota Lunga for baritone – the Equestria National Radio is proud to present the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. I’m Air Wave, and thank you for tuning in.”

On the air, the stereos became quiet, but then a moment later, their speakers shook from the combined brass, wind and timpani as the final movement opened. Cellos and double basses quickly followed with a serious tone. At first, for everyone listening, the first few seconds was probably the darkest music they’ve heard. That was, until in utter confusion, the theme from the first movement was repeated briefly as chords of winds and brass were suspended while the strings paused.

However, just as it started, the serious lower strings repeated the grim theme before the winds repeated the music of the second movement. Yet, even this too died out, as if the string instruments themselves disagreed on playing it again. And just to make things even more confusing, the familiar truce theme from the third movement came back, only for those lower strings to call it off. Everypony at this point was thinking of the same thing, ‘What is Beethoven up to?’ This beginning was so odd that many wondered if this had any direction at all when the winds now take on a new, yet, simplistic theme. It was as if between the strings and the winds with the brass were arguing, trying to settle down on what to do next.

But then, there was a small moment of silence. From the double basses and cellos, it started softly, almost like a whisper. Throughout the world, many turned up the volume to see if anything was playing at all. As it turned out, there was. From those low notes, a very, very simple song emerged. It sounded like a tune that a foal would hum, and therefore, doesn’t seem that remarkable until the violas and bassoons came. When it did, this innocent little tune slowly became richer with every passing bar.

In Equestria, those who were listening heard the very song of solidarity. No. Not just that, it was as if whatever hopes that were crushed, dreams that were shattered, personal freedoms that were suppressed, confidence that was silenced, all of that was given a voice again like a longtime friend. When the violins came, those who were hurt by the demon weeks before now felt rejuvenated.

Inside the well-lit cavern, the entire orchestra was now in on the triumph of misery. That simple tune at the start has become unstoppable. Royals and comers alike could sense their pride in both their country and Equinity was resurrecting itself from despair. For those few minutes, it seemed like nothing, not below the earth or in the stars above that could change it.

The orchestra slowed down a little bit, but just before the audience could take a mental breath, the terrible theme from the beginning reared its ugly head. Just then, out of the chaos, a low voice declared, “O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!” When the strings returned, they appeared to be hesitant, “Sondern laßt uns angenehmere an stimmen,” the orchestra played a few chords as if asking if this was it, “und freudenvollere.”

Now made clear, the orchestra started playing the foal’s theme. “Freude!” the baritone said as the male part of the choir repeated the word. “Freude, schöner Götterfunken Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum! Deine Zauber binden wieder Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.”

Both choirs from the male side repeated the last few lines from the baritone with the orchestra now making them sound massive as if they had quadrupled in size. Yet among the grandeur of the instruments, a quartet of singers was heard, their voices precisely weaved in the tapestry of the symphony.

“Wem der große Wurf gelungen, Eines Freundes Freund zu sein; Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, Mische seinen Jubel ein! Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!”

This time the mares from both choirs repeated with vigor. It was as if the heavens themselves had yielded to give this fantastic melody a universe of beauty to have it echo off the walls of the cavern. The orchestra quickly adapted and developed the child’s theme.

Then the quartet of singers sang in operatic rigor: “Freude trinken alle Wesen An den Brüsten der Natur; Alle Guten, alle Bösen Folgen ihrer Rosenspur. Küsse gab sie uns und Reben, Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod; Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.”

From the choir, it echoed beautifully like an army of angels announcing to the universe the arrival of their creator with the earthly orchestra accompanying it. But then, there was a pause as if everything was holding their breath before the lowest notes of the horns and drums produced a pulse. It started slowly at first, but it soon became the beat of a march with the winds and brass playing together. This march was humble but triumphant.

Then came the voice of the creator, with a tenor voice that had the skill of a lark. “Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan, Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn, Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen. Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,” with a long-held note, the male choir came in to complete the repeated lyric with as much confidence and victorious spirit.

It was then for the orchestra’s turn while the whole choir rested, playing out a cadenza of complex melodies that nearly made its listeners dizzy from the passionate music. The horns made it sound like a festive dance that has gone out of control with its spinning violins. With the music become faster, wilder, and yet somehow all in control at the same time, nopony could guess where this movement was going.

But then, the tempo slowed down until all the instruments were reduced to the rhythm of a heartbeat. It was reduced further to a pair of horns, carrying out the pulse as if time stood still. A moment later, the whole orchestra returned along with the entire choir to applebuck open the doors to a universe of indescribable beauty. In that climactic crescendo, joy becomes tangible, the world they know doesn’t exist, time becomes timeless, the whole universe sang with one voice.

“Freude, schöner Götterfunken Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum! Deine Zauber binden wieder Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt. Deine Zauber binden wieder Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.”

Just as it starts, the vision ends, horns and the lower strings moved on with the male choir sing in one voice: “Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!” While it wasn’t pretty at first, the rest of the choir and orchestra turned it into something deeper as they repeated the lyric. It switched back to the male choir with their horns and cellos as they sang: “Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen.” From it, especially for one Night Princess, the music painted out a clear, starry night when the sun had just set. Voices and instruments in total harmony and counterpoint that moved slowly like the moon that Luna moves every evening.

But out of it, a great fugue emerged. Mare’s voices shot down from the heavens like falling stars. With the other voices combined, the melody rained down brilliant, golden light into the imaginations of its listeners. Yet, even in this master of counterpoint, the ever-present feeling of joy was still recognizable.

Then unexpectedly, the choir, along with the strings, bassoons, and oboes tap out the same tune in a slower tempo. “Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen? Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt? Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!” The voices swelled up, gaining in volume until it became smooth, “Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen. Über Sternen muß er wohnen.”

An ecstasy of violins and violas hopped and leaped like the opening of a dance when the quartet of singers began. “Freude, schöner Götterfunken Tochter aus Elysium,” though his headphones, Ludwig can pick up the Countess’s voice as she sang with the others. “Deine Zauber binden wieder,” if anything, the old man was rather impressed that she can manage to find the perfect balance of her vibrato and allowing the others to shine as well. “Was die Mode streng geteilt,” Even when the emerging of the choir, their voices are still powerful enough to project through the building crescendo. “Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.”

The choir repeated the same, upbeat rhythm that was dripping with joy, “Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen,” but just then, the choir died down as the soloists took over.

“Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.” From this quartet, a vision of heaven was illustrated with nothing more than their harmonized voices. Like the foal’s song, it was simple in its cords, but divine in its simplicity as their voices rise and fall with the perfect balance from one another.

Just as Ludwig was about to conduct the last few bars, he could have sworn that there was a strong scent of peppermint before the strings lead the final dance of the night. This time, the entire orchestra was giving everything it’s got to display its firework like finale, and the choir now sang with a passion! “Seid umschlungen, Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt! Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen. Seid umschlungen, Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt! Freude, schöner Götterfunken!”

‘And to think,’ thought Ludwig, ‘that the whole world is hearing this.’

“Tochter aus Elysium. Welt! Freude, schöner Götterfunken!” from the Philharmonic orchestra, everypony was now racing through the final bars. Bows went flying along strings, brasses were trying to keep up the rhythm, winds were being pushed to their limits, and the percussionist was drumming out louder than ever before. Of course, they were all exhausted, but now they were so close that they consecrated every last amount of energy they had into the music. Nevertheless, the great symphony had ended with a bang.

Almost immediately, Beethoven picked up on his headphones the roar of the audience, and he could imagine that the entire world was doing the same. He turned around to see that everypony stood up, some were stomping on their hooves while others were waving hats, forelegs, and their playbills. Even the radio crew was doing the same as they clapped their hooves. The Royal family too applauded, even Blueblood (reluctantly).

As Ludwig bowed low, roses came into his sight; he looked back up to find that the audience was tossing the red flowers at his feet. But as he glanced back at his audience, he noticed a strange shadow in the very back. This shadow wasn’t the one that kidnapped him, but this one he saw was rather odd. It was very tall, lanky, had a claw on one hand and a paw in the other. The head was like the shape of a goat, only the two horns it had, one was that of a stag and the other, that of a dragon. Before he saw it leave, this shadow produced a bouquet and placed it behind the very back row of the audience.

By the time the crowd had calmed down, the radio host noticed that Celestia was walking towards the microphone, “And now,” said Air Wave, “we shall have the privilege to have Princess Celestia say a few words,” before he stepped aside from the microphone.

“Thank you Air Wave,” she nodded as she stepped up. “Fellow subjects of Equestria and those from afar, I used to think that Mr. Beethoven’s Third Symphony was the best piece of music ever written. Tonight, however, I may have to recant that statement to say that this is the greatest work of art that I have ever heard. I want to take this moment to thank Ludwig van Beethoven for sharing something that has helped us heal as a nation.” Her horn lit up, and underneath her wing, a golden medallion with a scarlet silk ribbon floated over to the giant. “Mr. Beethoven, although you are not an official Equestrian citizen, I would like to award you our highest honor on behalf of the Royal family and the ponies of Equestria. For going above and beyond in the arts, and helping us recover from a national disaster, I award you the Mustang Heart.” She placed the medal over his head, “Thank you, Mr. Beethoven.”

Clenching the medal around his neck, the composer bowed once more.

While this was indeed a huge honor, Ludwig still has one last thing to do in Equestria before he returns home. One in which he has been looking forward since December. And since all four princesses were here, he might as well let them know when to have his Hearths Warming gift is given to him.