//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: The Lunar Event (A Canterlot Wedding Reception Pt. 2) // Story: Vinyl and Octavia: Ponyville Duet // by generalsnaz //------------------------------// Chapter 2: The Lunar Event (A Canterlot Wedding Reception Pt. 2) Octavia did not witness the wedding ceremony. After her encounter in the halls of the castle, she headed directly to the reception area. It was to be held in the Canterlot Castle Ballroom and the grounds outside it, so that is where Octavia found herself. It was significantly less crowded here. Most of the ponies present were attendants and caterers making last minute adjustments. The majority of the crowd had aimed for the wedding hall, but Octavia's collision with the charismatic unicorn, Vinyl Scratch, reinvigorated her original goal. She came to listen to the music at the reception. Her whole purpose in coming was to hear her competition and to vindicate that the Princess had made a mistake in replacing her ...right? 'No, that is not it,' Octavia shook the thoughts out. She never had pretentious thoughts. ‘I am just here to listen and appreciate. There is nothing wrong with that.’ The gray mare shuffled in place awkwardly. She was simply standing by herself waiting for the reception to begin. Looking around several times, she scanned for Vinyl. If Octavia's theory was correct, Vinyl should be the "DJ" and would perform some sort of music here. She hadn't the slightest clue what kind and didn't even see a stage for her to perform on. Since Vinyl had a case of records, Octavia figured she must just be playing those. However, the cellist didn't see a phonograph anywhere, and she couldn't imagine how that would even work properly with a large crowd. The only thing out of the ordinary that she saw was a strange contraption on the far side of the grounds. There were two tall metal rectangles on either side of a more horizontal shaped one in the middle. Both had pairs of concave circles on them and rivets holding the sides together. The center piece had a metal arm of some sort with a point. The whole invention looked ghastly and complicated. Octavia sighed and looked to the rising moon. It was full and shone brightly. It was common knowledge that the legendary Princess Luna had returned and had retaken her charge of the moon. Incidentally, she made it more beautiful than it had been in all the years that Princess Celestia had solemnly cared for it. Octavia had never seen the Princess of the Night in person. She had hoped to see her at last year's Grand Galloping Gala, but the illustrious Princess didn't make an appearance. Octavia was actually quite the fan of Luna. Her (supposed) poise, her (supposed) grandeur, the way she (supposedly) invoked awe wherever she went. And then there was her beauty... However, what Octavia was most interested in about Luna was what she inferred from a photo. The day Luna first arrived in Canterlot, she was flocked by newspaper photographers who captured a special something that Octavia recognized. The smile that Luna gave them wasn't… sincere. It was forced. There was a profound melancholy that showed in her expression. When The Princess of the Night returned to her pony subjects, she didn't believe she was worthy of the adoration. At least, that's what Octavia thought. If even a god could have such troubles, surely- A chorus of faint stomping hooves and cheers cut Octavia's ponderings short and signaled that Princess Cadence had been wed. Octavia spotted a sea of confetti falling over a balcony in the distance: the balcony where she assumed the bride and groom were. Moments later a sudden explosion gave her a jolt, and she witnessed a glorious crescent arc of rainbow colors spread through the sky behind the castle. It was truly a spectacular sight to behold. (Too bad you only get to read about it.) ‘Some sort of light show?’ Octavia pondered as the rainbow effect faded out of the sky. She trotted over to a corner of the courtyard in expectance of the crowd that didn't take long to arrive. Octavia was soon trapped behind throngs of ponies eager to witness the arrival of the bride, not to mention Princess Celestia. Neither kept them waiting long as a chorus of cheers heralded the arrival of the anticipated couple. Octavia couldn't quite see them through the crowd, but definitely saw the magnificent white wings of Princess Celestia tower over the heads of the bouncing ponies. The sophisticated cellist had seen the glorious Princess before at previous events and even briefly spoke to her once. However, Celestia was still awe-inspiring every time Octavia saw her. Princess Cadence and her groom, (the now) Prince Shining Armor, began their dance to a soothing piano piece. Octavia leered around for this abrupt unknown pianist that had apparently replaced Frederick, but saw nopony, or even a piano. To her finely tuned ears, the music sounded strangely unfulfilled, like it was being played from a record. Octavia tried to scan for Vinyl to see if this was the case (and to prove her theory), but stopped immediately after noticing Princess Luna. The Princess of the Night descended from above to land next to her sister, Celestia. Octavia was star struck. With her idol mere yards away in all her celestial grandeur, Octavia’s heart began to flutter and her breathing stifled. Despite this, she felt like giggling like a school filly on Hearts and Hooves Day. The garden was relatively quiet now, save for the music, so Octavia could almost make out what Luna said to her sister and a group of nondescript ponies next to her: "Hello everypony, did I miss anything?" Octavia felt giddier inside than she ever had; she was almost swooning. Luna's voice was so pure and clear, like a midnight sky. It was cool and sophisticated, yet warm and comforting. It was everything Octavia hoped it was, but also blew her expectations away. Surely this was the highlight of Octavia's evening (possibly her whole life) and was worth every second of discomfort or embarrassment she endured in getting here. She wanted that moment she first heard Luna's voice to last forever. But to Octavia's surprise, something even more important happened mere moments afterward. Something that would take a night of lying awake to digest, but even then she couldn't quite comprehend. An event that would send her on a journey that would change her life, and another's, forever. A jittery pink pony (with fantastic hair) dashed over to the strange mechanical machine without Octavia noticing and pulled a familiar white unicorn out from under it. With a high pitched squeal, the pink pony caught the attention of everypony in the yard: "LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!"