//------------------------------// // Chapter Five // Story: Love and Music // by slade8283 //------------------------------// Chapter Five Octavia remembered the next week as follows: play show, sleep, try on dress for the gala, repeat. After Octavia joined Vinyl on stage in Canterlot, Vinyl asked her to join her on stage for every show in the foreseeable future. Octavia agreed without hesitation. She loved the feeling of standing on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans, even if they weren't actually her fans. Ever since she was a filly she wanted to stand on a stage and play her cello in front of thousands of ponies, and she was finally living that dream. Octavia got little sleep over the week; she was running on mostly adrenaline and caffeine. Between waking up at seven each morning to look at dresses with Vinyl, and staying up until two a.m., Octavia was having trouble keeping her energy up. She had never been on such a rigorous schedule before. On top of her awkward sleeping schedule, she was sleeping on a couch inside a moving vehicle. To only add more stress to Octavia's life was the imminent arrival of the Musician's Gala. That meant she had to find a dress, plan what she would do with her hair, and find a way to make Vinyl see that she liked her. Luckily Vinyl's tour was going through Manehatten, which meant Octavia would be able shop on 5th Avenue, the greatest shopping strip in all of Equestria. Octavia was very excited, the only big city she had ever been in was Canterlot. Manehatten was a big step for her. Octavia's stress really didn't start until Friday rolled around. With less than twenty four hours until the gala, she was still without a dress, and all Vinyl could think about was sightseeing in Manehatten. Octavia didn't mind walking around Manehatten, but she had higher priorities, and Vinyl was slowing them down. After more than an two hours of going up and down street after street, Octavia and Vinyl finally arrived on Fifth Avenue. Octavia's eyes gleamed as she looked in the storefronts. Each minute it was something different, "Oh, look at the shoes","Oh Vinyl, this hat is amazing","Vinyl, have got to see this necklace". They reached the end of the street when Vinyl finally stopped, "Octavia, may I present to you the greatest dress store in all of Equestria: Carousel Boutique: Manehatten. The owner got her big break after Sapphire Shores wore one of her dresses on her world tour. She's now known across Equestria for her ability to make dress that fits the pony perfectly, both physically, and stylistically. And," she continued, "I am buying you one." Over their time together, Vinyl and Octavia had some great moments. The moment when Vinyl said she would buy Octavia a dress was one both of them considered to be one of their greatest. Octavia gave Vinyl a hug and entered the store. From the second Octavia walked in she knew that the experience was not going to be a pleasant one. Firstly, she knew how much Vinyl was paying for the dress, which made Octavia extremely uncomfortable through the entire process. Secondly, Octavia found the "greatest dress maker in Equestria" to be a bit of a snob. The unicorn was constantly fussing about the dirt on Octavia's mane (which Octavia failed to find), and how it was going to dirty her pure white coat. Thirdly, he dress maker's cat stared at Octavia from the moment she walked in. Octavia, who did not like cats, felt like she was being stalked the whole time. After an hour and a half, the crazy unicorn (Octavia eventually learned her name was Rarity) placed a mirror in front of Octavia. Throughout her life, Octavia had dressed up for many occasions: weddings, galas, symphonies. She had always worn the same elegant dress every time; a long, black, flowing dress with diamonds as trim. The dress that Octavia wore standing in a living hell in the middle of Manehatten made her usual dress look worthless. She considered her previous dress to be little more than cardboard compared to the masterpiece Rarity had created. It was of a perfect length: long but not too long; its color matched the color of Luna's night perfectly, a deep midnight blue. To top it off, almost the entire dress was trimmed in sapphires. Rarity placed a hoof on Octavia's shoulder, "I must say, you look marvelous in that dress, and I do not normally say that to ponies who come in here. That is truly a perfect dress. I hope you put it to good use at the gala." Octavia began sliding the dress off, "I will Rarity. Thank you so much for what you've given me. I know it will help make the night perfe-" Suddenly Vinyl burst through the door, "We have to go now! It's a four hour ride to Canterlot and the gala starts in three!" She grabbed Octavia by her arm and dragged her out, "Sorry I can't pay now Rarity, bill me later!" Vinyl and Octavia rushed through the streets of Manehatten. Octavia's dress was still half on as they rushed down Fifth Avenue. She thought about how ridiculous they both looked; a world renowned rock star and regular old pony in a dress were running through the streets of Manehatten. She would've laughed if she didn't have to run another two miles to Vinyl's chariot. After running for less than ten minutes, Octavia and Vinyl finally burst through the door of the chariot yelling "Go, go, go!" They both collapsed on the floor of the chariot. Vinyl began speaking through gasps, "Okay...we....made it...Now...to...the gala!" She let her head fall to the floor and began laughing. Octavia joined her, finally getting the chance to laugh about it. "Wow Vinyl, you look amazing." Octavia grinned as Vinyl walked down from her suite on the top floor of the chariot. She was dressed in flank length dress that was the same color as Vinyl's electric blue highlights, and was covered in fancy patterns. "Yeah, I guess." She responded. Octavia could tell she was nervous, what with the possibility of being late to the biggest event of her life. Luckily the pegasi who pulled Vinyl's chariot understood how dire their situation was and worked twice as hard as normal. Octavia felt bad inconveniencing the ponies, but they insisted continuing their pace. The pegasi worked so hard that Octavia and Vinyl made it to Canterlot with a half hour until the start of the gala. Octavia made sure to give a very large tip to the ponies as she exited the chariot. Vinyl and Octavia stood in front of the castle, which was decorated for the occasion. Light string music sounded from bushes, one of Princess Celestia's spells. The castle was lit with a gentle yellow light that made the castle feel so welcoming that Octavia began to lean towards it. Vinyl nudged Octavia, "Have you ever been inside?" Octavia nodded, "Plenty of times. I used to play at ever Grand Galloping Gala, until an eccentric pink pony ruined my chances of ever playing there again." Vinyl had a quizzical look on her face. "Long story." "Uh huh..." Vinyl stood staring in wonder at the castle. "I've never been inside before." She took a deep breath and turned to face Octavia, "Well, you want to go in?" The two ponies ascended the stairs to the castle together, eyes gleaming. They were met at the top of the stairs by the pony both of them never thought they would see. "Hello Vinyl Scratch. Oh, and you must be Octavia. Welcome to the Musician's Gala." Princess Celestia said as she welcomed the them to the party. "Since this is your first year here I must give you the normal introduction to the gala. Due to how popular all the musicians are at this party, we require each guest to stay here overnight for their own safety." Vinyl's face lit up upon hearing the news, "I get to...to..." Octavia caught Vinyl as she began to fall backwards. Octavia laughed, "Sorry about that princess. She always does this when she gets great news." "It's quite alright Octavia," the princess said with a smile, "One of the castle guards will take you to your room." Octavia couldn't believe the room they were given. It was easily twice the size of Octavia's apartment, which she found surprising because the castle always looked so small on the outside. Octavia eventually concluded the castle was just bigger on the inside. Vinyl had a similar reaction to the elegant room she awoke in. With five minutes until the start of the gala, Vinyl and Octavia left their room. Vinyl has breathing heavily the whole way day, which she attributed to nervousness. Octavia knew Vinyl would be nervous about the event, but this surpassed her expectations. Vinyl was sweating, which she never did. She also had a nervous twitch in her hoof. Vinyl really isn't herself tonight, Octavia thought as she looked her friend, I wonder what's wrong. Octavia stopped before the door to the banquet hall and turned to Vinyl, "Vinyl, are you alright? You haven't been yourself tonight." Vinyl's eyes were distant. Octavia could tell she was deep in thought. "Um...yeah. I'm just kind of nervous about being around all of these musicians." Octavia hugged Vinyl, "You're going to do fine. I'm sure of it." Vinyl smiled at Octavia, "Thanks Octavia. You're a good friend." She collected herself and pushed open the door.