//------------------------------// // Octavia's Day Part-2 // Story: A Change of Venue // by solsticebrony888 //------------------------------// The applause for the act before Octavia’s was loud and went on for almost a minute. Whoever went before her must have done good. With a plethora of other performers, the blue unicorn waited with Trixie until they told her to go up on stage. The sun was out and it was quite warm, but wasn’t too hot to where it would bother her performance. The crowd was clearly willing to clop their hooves if a performance was at least decent, judging by the previous performances. The worst thing that could happen, in Octavia’s mind, was a crowd that thought her act wasn’t good and didn’t applaud her performance. Octavia’s feelings were all over the place. One moment she was nervous, terrified and regretful, another moment she was confident in her abilities and ready. She tried to keep herself as calm as possible by repeating everything she would do in her head so she wouldn’t get stage fright and forget it. It was going to take a few minutes to take off the props on the stage, that the performer before had used, giving the blue unicorn a few more minutes to calm herself down. “Focus, Tavi. Trixie believes in you. Here let Trixie adjust your hat, you’re wearing it wrong,” The grey pony adjusted the hat, then continued, “You have all the spells memorized, right?” “Yes,” Was Octavia’s only response. “Do you have the order of the tricks memorized?” “Yes,” “Do you remember how to speak confidently in order to get the crowd involved?” “Yes, I’ll make sure I get them involved…do you think the ponies here are too posh to even be interested in a magic performance?” “Well, Trixie thinks that because they cheered for the pony that covered the Sapphire Shores song, you’ll have no problem getting the crowd involved, “But she was really good!” Octavia said, patting her hooves on the ground idly as she tried not to let her nervousness get to her. “Octavia…just remember this. Nopony in the crowd is a performer. They won’t know if you’re not that good if you can play it off. You’re actually pretty good considering the time we’ve had. Trixie admits she is a little impressed by your ability to learn magic…” Before Octavia could respond, she could hear the announcers address the crowd and notify them that she would be up next. Time wasn’t going slow anymore for Octavia. “Good luck Tavi!” Trixie said, with a half-hearted smile, though her mind was racing like crazy. In her hat and cape, Octavia climbed several steps and waited for the organizer to tell her when to walk through the curtains and onto the stage. There were several tall curtains, through which she would jump through and land on the stage, with fireworks blasting out from both sides. Then, she would walk onto the stage and her performance would begin. She stood on a platform behind the stage, waiting for the tough-looking stallion with a headset on to give her the cue to enter the stage. Octavia took a few deep breaths before her chance to perform. After all of the work they had done, after all of the challenges, she couldn’t let herself fail. “Alright, you’re up,” The stallion said, snapping her back into reality. She used her muzzle to push through the curtains until she jumped onto the stage, and faced a massive crowd. This time, however, she was alone on stage and had no more time to think about what she could do. It was time for her to execute. Instantly, the world flew around her as she jumped backwards. She bent her back and focused and she performed the spell she had memorized. It was intense and for a faction of a second, she felt her heart flutter at the idea of landing flat on her flank and starting her performance with an embarrassing fail. However, . Her eyes widened as she realized she had performed her first trick successfully. “Welcome everypony, to the Magnificent Trixie’s dazzling performance,” Octavia said loudly, and confidently, “Prepare to have your minds blown!” Her own confidence surprised herself, and she went with it. The crowd surrounded the stage, and all eyes were on her. She jumped off the table, landing with a thump on the wooden stage. “Hello everypony!” She repeated, “Are you ready to be amazed?!” She received a decent response of some cheers and the clopping of hooves. Octavia knew that she would have to earn the audience’s interest in her performance. Trixie had prepared her for that. “Alright! Can I have three tall stallions out there?” She said, the audience looked around to see which ponies would be willing to come up on the stage. “Just three, come on!” Octavia said with a chuckle, getting a little laughter from the crowd. Once the three stallions, all around the same height, climbed up the short steps and onto the stage, Octavia had them lay head to hoof on the ground. “Alright! So what are your names?” “Thunderhoof!” “Max,” “U-uh I’m Buckley,” “Everypony, you’re about to witness, with no magic used, me jump over three full-sized stallions!” Octavia exclaimed, receiving another decent applause from the crowd. Standing on the edge of the platform, which was about 5 feet off of the ground and about 20 feet from the stallions, the blue unicorn took a few deep breaths. She focused, she had practiced this trick with Trixie several times. She started running as fast as she could. With a forceful jump, she launched, and remained airborne for a few seconds. After that she landed easily beyond the third stallion, who had his eyes closed from fear. Octavia grinned as if it was easy for her to do and the crowd ate it up. She received louder applause from the crowd, and had somewhat gained their interest. When the scared stallion tried to get up, she motioned with her hoof for him to stay laying down. Octavia looked out into the crowd. There were a mixture of Canterlot socialites and Ponyville ruffians So, she motioned a Ponyville mare that had an orange coat to come up on stage. “Me?” The orange pony said, all the crowd’s eyes on her. “Yeah, you!” The blue unicorn responded concisely. The orange mare quickly hopped onto to the stage, and blushed in embarrassment from looking at the large crowd before her. “And what is your name?” Octavia asked, still facing the crowd. “C-Carrot top!” She replied with a sheepish smile. While directing where Carrot Top should go, Octavia spoke to the crowd, “So you think that last jump was impressive? Just watch as I add a fourth pony!” Once again, Octavia walked about 20 feet away from the row of ponies she was to jump over. She took a few deep breaths. So far, so good…don’t mess this up. Running faster than she did the first time, her hooves clopping loudly on wooden stage as she ran, she leapt into the air. The seconds seemed extended as she was in midair, and with a loud thump, she landed again, barely missing the last pony. The crowd gasped, then cheered a little louder once she landed safely. Oddly enough, the stallion at the end had been crying in fear. Octavia wasn’t one to judge, but she found it quite funny. Oh my Celestia, I haven’t failed yet! She quickly scanned the crowd for any signs of Trixie. The blue unicorn hadn’t expected Trixie to watch, just because this performance will have a major impact on her career, and she thought that Trixie would be scared. However, while preparing for her next trick, she spotted a certain lavender colored unicorn in the crowd. Twilight Sparkle quickly averted her sight to avoid eye contact and slowly exited the crowd. Octavia was surprised, and felt a pang of sadness for how she had treated her. She didn’t have time to focus on that, however, so she addressed the crowd once more. “Are you having a good time, Canterlot?” She exclaimed, replying once their cheering and clopping of hooves died down, “It’s only going to get better from here! Too bad I don’t have time to do more tricks today,” Octavia lied, she couldn’t be happier that she had already performed several tricks successfully. A box was brought upon the stag by a burly stallion that stood by to assist the performers when they needed it. The box was big enough for her fit in. Though Trixie wasn’t sure whether Octavia could perform this trick or not, the blue unicorn was determined to do it, even in front a massive crowd. “Can I have a volunteer that can perform a simple fire spell?” Octavia asked, once she realized the volunteers from earlier had returned to their spots in the audience. Octavia gazed across the crowd, her heart beat fastening. She could feel it thumping in her chest as she contemplated whether or not she should do the trick she was about to do next. “I can do it!” Octavia hears somepony yell. The blue unicorn turned her head to see Derpy Hooves in the back of the crowd waving her hooves at her, “No Derpy, you’re not unicorn remember?” Octavia knew Derpy, but Trixie didn’t, so the wall-eyed Pegasus was confused that the blue unicorn even knew her name, but realizing she wasn’t a unicorn she decided to sit back down. Soon, a white-coated unicorn with a light-blue mane made her way on the stage. “So, what’s your name?” “It’s Skye,” The mare said with a soft voice. “Are you able to do a simple fire spell on this box?” Octavia asked. “Sure,” Octavia turned her head and spoke to the crowd, “How about with ME in it?” The crowd gasped collectively, Skye looking around a little nervously, “I-I guess, I don’t know, I wouldn’t want to hurt you…” “Oh don’t worry!” Octavia said, though with a nervous quiver in her voice. Octavia had the mare turn around so she could tell her the details of the spell and how Skye would have to perform it without completely endangering Octavia. The blue unicorn could only tell her once, so the crowd wouldn’t have to wait long. After Skye gave her a nod to show that she had understood the instructions clearly, Octavia once again faced the crowd, “Watch in AWE as the Great and Powerful Oct- I mean- Trixie disappears right before your very own eyes!” Horsefeathers! I said my real name! Octavia climbed into the box and closed it to where she was completely inside and it was almost pitch black. She prepared the spell in her mind and needed to focus on it for it to work when she needed it to. She waited for the white coated mare to count down from five to signify when she was going to set the box on fire. Every second seemed like an eternity. This would be her final trick if they didn’t work a little faster. The ‘what if’s’ started sinking in. What if I don’t do this correctly? What if I injure Trixie’s body? What if… “Five…Four…Three…Two…One!” Instantly she could feel the warmth near her flank as a tiny fire started slowly spreading over the box. The crowd mumbled mixtures of worry and excitement as they waited to see Octavia somehow survive this trick. Focus! She mustered up all of her resolve, a glow from her horn lighting up the heated box. Every second she waited felt like an eternity, her horn growing brighter and brighter. With one forceful push, she finally was able to use the trick and teleported out of the box into the middle of the crowd. On her side. Her mane singed from the force of the spell and her hat fell off. Only a few ponies around her noticed and were shocked to see her there. She couldn’t have felt more relieved that her trick went successfully. Her awkward appearance didn’t stop the crowd from cheering around her as she got up. She wiped her light blue mane with her hoof and put on her hat. She quickly trotted back onto the stage, right as the box fell apart from the fire in front of the whole gathering of ponies. Quickly, the firefighting ponies put the flame out and Octavia prepared for her next trick. Her last trick. As the crowd cheered in amazement and surprise, Octavia found herself trying to remember what the last trick was. She searched the inner depths of her mind, and as she stood on a stage in front of a large group of ponies, but she couldn’t remember. She tried to keep calm, though she was shaky from her previous feat. “U-uh…” She started, though beads of sweat dripping down her forehead had obstructed her vision, so she rubbed her eye with her hoof, “T-That’s all of today!” The blue unicorn exclaimed suddenly, nervously adjusting her massive hat, “Trixie will be performing many other performances across Equestria, and they’ll surely be better than this one!” Oddly enough, she still received a large applause though it would be obvious to even the dumbest pony that she had forgotten her last trick. She trotted off the stage as if nothing happened and was met with the confused facial expression of Trixie waiting for her. The immediate relief of her ordeal being over was very worth whatever chastisement she would receive from Trixie for such a mediocre performance. Hours and hours of practice, spells that seemed impossible to learn, being in front of a whole crowd with her cello, and it was finally over. “Wow, Octavia, you did better than I expected!” Were the first words from the grey earth pony’s mouth, “I can’t believe you got the crowd to cheer for you!” Octavia was met with the embrace of her longtime friend, which felt even more relieving to her. She held on to the hug as much as she could, because they didn’t have much time to wait. “I-I-I can’t believe I was able to do that!” Octavia said, “I-I’m sorry about forgetting the last trick…” “That’s okay!” Trixie responded quickly, “The crowd cheered! Trixie can’t believe you did this! You saved Trixie!” “You saved me too!” Octavia mused, finally letting go the embrace. As the next pony went up on stage and the crowd prepared for the next act, Octavia and Trixie knew what to do. It was time for them to go to the castle and have their spell reversed. “Let’s go. Let’s get this done and over with. Trixie has a lot to do once she’s back in her own body,” Trixie said, with a grimace. “Octavia agrees,” Octavia said with a smile. Exiting the center of town they galloped quickly, eager to return to being themselves, eager to get their old lives back. They passed ponies quickly, with little regard to stopping to do anything else. Trixie had performed with Equestria’s most prestigious orchestra and had somehow performed each song successfully, with a minimal amount of mistakes. Trixie had never considered herself a musician, she didn’t even have a good singing voice, yet she somehow did what anypony else would consider impossible. Octavia performed a magic show in front of hundreds of Canterlot socialites and many ponies from all across Equestria. Despite a few mistakes, she was able to end the show with the crowd cheering, a cheer she’d never forget. As they approached the large, breath-taking castle, there was a bittersweet moment between the two. “You know what, Trixie?” Octavia said as they trotted through the row of ivory pillars that led to the entrance of the castle. “Yeah?” “W-when this is over and we’re back to normal…I’m not going to have my magical skills, yet you’re going to keep your ability to play the cello…” Trixie felt saddened at this realization, knowing how much her friend had worked on her magical abilities, “Well, Tavi, I guess that’s just how things are going to have to go…” “Yeah…” The blue unicorn replied, lifting her hat off of her head with magic as if to enjoy the remaining time she had left. “Maybe you could be my assistant when I perform in Canterlot?” The grey pony brought up with a smile, “You could help me address the crowd and help me perform harder tricks,” “I’d like that,” Octavia said with a smile. Once they approached the two guards standing in from the entrance, they stood still and waited for the two stallions to address them. They just stood there, seemingly ignoring the two mares, so Trixie addressed them first, “Hi..um, I am Trixie and we were requested by the Princesses to reverse a spell that Princess Luna had cast upon us,” Without a word, the stallions moved to their sides to let the two walk in. It revealed a marvelous inside of the castle, where in the distance they could spot Princess Celestia and Princess Luna walking towards them from a stained-glass windowed hallway. Both of their eyes widened in amazement. Even for Octavia who had met the Princess several times before. To be in their presence was special for the two. “Hello!” Princess Celestia greeted the two bowing mares before her, “You two must be Octavia and Trixie,” “We are sorry we hath performed such a spell on thee,” Luna added, “I had only good intentions,” “It’s... okay,” The blue Unicorn said, finding it odd that she just told a Princess that her actions were okay, as if Luna needed her approval of them, “We’re just ready to return to our normal lives…” Before they could say anything else, a bright glow from Luna’s horn burst and then ended in a matter of seconds, “By dawn you two shall have returned to thy original bodies,” And that was it. Their troubles were going to be over once they could get to their homes and wait for the day to end to fall asleep. After all of the stress and tests of their own perseverance, they had somehow survived being each other and were ready to return to being themselves. Octavia and Trixie would have to attend an award ceremony the next day where they would receive some sort of prize for their performances over the past few days. However, they just wanted to go to sleep and let their lives finally return to normal.