//------------------------------// // Episode 5 [Octavia]: Jon goes to a concert // Story: The Daily Show presents: Equestrian Interviews // by Daily Show Ponies //------------------------------// After closing his eyes and waiting a few seconds Jon could feel a change in atmosphere as he was slingshotted from his world to another. He still had his eyes closed but he could still sense that he was in a new location. The first thing that grabbed Jon's attention about his new settings was the difference in what he could hear. The silent ambiance of his deserted office was not replaced with the sound of muffled voices coming from somewhere nearby. Jon opened his eyes to find himself inside an empty room with lockers on one side and mirrors on the other. On the floor was the occasional article of clothing or suitcase designed to hold whatever given item one might have. Jon had been a comedian for many years now and knew exactly what all this meant. He was in a dressing room. Across from him he saw a door where the muffled voices could be heard. He was about to make his way there when he heard another sound, this time from behind him. He spun around only to realize that he actually wasn't alone. Behind him in a chair was a blue stallion, with light blue hair, who was about half way dressed in a tuxedo. His cutie mark seemed to be music notes and his ever present horn was activated as he was trying to put away his violin. Jon couldn't help but notice the the ponies face which had an expression surprise and fear, but more importunately he noticed that pony was in fact male and bore no pink bow tie. "Oh uh...sorry," Jon said making his way to the door. He was about to exit when he turned back for a second. "Oh and by the way...your fly is open." With that Jon was out of the room and into a crowded hallway leaving the terrified unicorn alone once again. Jon now found himself in a new location, a narrow hallway crowded with all matter of ponies. Some looking like musicians and others looking like what appeared to be stagehands. Almost all at once the ponies stopped and gawked at Jon's towering presence; some dumbfounded by this strange species' sudden appearance and some even star stuck. "Hey how you doing?" Jon said, waving his hand at the many eyes now fixated on him. With the sea of ponies coming to a standstill Jon could hear something in the distance. It was the sound of music. "Excuse me." He said as he made his way down the hallway, following the music and capturing the attention of more ponies as he did. As he progressed through room after room the music started to get louder and louder to the point where Jon could clearly identify that it was classical music. Usually someone would have stopped Jon from going any further as he was heading towards the main stage but in this case everyone present was too shocked to do anything about it. Eventually he found his way to the source of the music. Jon was now just outside of what appeared to be the main stage of a music hall. In front of him were dozens of ponies, each wielding a different type of instrument and facing an audience of hundreds. Unknown to Jon at the time Celestia had teleported him to the famed Canterlot Concert Hall located right under her castle. Even though it was a music hall it was located outside as opposed to inside a building. Columns supported the structure and the walls looked to be made of ivory and gold with the floor constructed of pure redwood (The entire hall itself was located at the edge of a forest. The same forest which was used to make said floors). In addition the stage itself was massive with the orchestra only filling up a small fraction of it, which to Jon meant it served multiple functions besides music concerts. At the time of his visit Canterlot was having a concert in celebration of the annual Summer solstice. Anyone could attend, and its strategic location meant that anyone in the castle could hear its music. "Wow. I guess she really was in the middle of something important." Jon thought as he buttoned up his jacket and straightened out his tie. As Jon glanced over the ponies producing the lovely music he had a difficult time finding Octavia. It was dark outside but the expert lighting made it so you could see everyone on stage (Though the people in the audience were almost completely invisible to those on stage). What made it hard for Jon to locate her was the many unicorn horns that were alight with magic, each being used to control whatever given instrument was playing. But one pony eventually stood out to Jon and for two main reason. For one she was located at the front of the orchestra almost to the point where it looked as if she was the main attraction. But what Jon found most interesting was, as far he could tell, she was the only Earthpony present as displayed by her playing a cello with her hooves. As Jon continued to look onward at the gray Earthpony, with an even darker gray mane, he saw that this she also had around her neck a loose collar complete with a pink bow tie. "Hey," Jon said, turning to an aging white unicorn who even Jon's presence couldn't tear his eyes from the performance. "That Gray pony upfront...is that Octavia?" The unicorn turned to Jon to give him a quizzical look then swiftly went back to watching the show. "Yes, yes, yes," He said waving his hoof at Jon. "Now be quiet! The show, she is almost complete!" Jon followed his orders and watched as the symphony neared it's completion. He had to admit going to Equestria on business had its perks. This being one of them. The music he was listening to was probably the most hauntingly beautiful thing he's ever heard. Jon had a soft spots for the arts and had even watched the New York philharmonic Orchestra once or twice in his life but this...was something else. A few minutes had passed and the final note was struck. Every pony in attendance stood up in applause as the musicians on stage took a bow. After awhile of cheering and applauding the orchestra split down the middle and began exiting the stage either to their left or right. Jon saw this and decided to head back in the hallway and wait for Octavia as to not cause a scene. This proved to be only somewhat effective as one by one each pony stopped in their tracks at the eventual sight of Jon. This caused something of a traffic jam in that narrow hallway as no one dared to move any further. Like the hallway was a circulatory system and Jon had just caused an artery block to the heart. Before anyone could say anything the crowd began to move aside as a lone figure began to walk through. It was Octavia who did not say a word, she just kept on walking. Eventually she made her way to the front of the crowd where Jon was. She briefly looked up at him and for a split second almost stopped in her tracks but then continued onward. "Hi there," Jon said extending his hand. "I was wondering if I could have a moment of--" Before Jon could finish his sentence Octavia walked passed him without even saying a single word, much to the surprise of her fellow musicians who at this point were already whispering rumors. Jon did not see that coming at all and for a brief moment just stood there hand outstretched. Down but not out he turned around and did his best to follow her through the crowded hallway. "Excuse me!" Jon shouted out, trying to get the attention of Octavia. She was a few feet ahead and could easily hear him but chose not to respond. Her stride never broke as she effortlessly walked in and out of the incoming wave of ponies, occasionally receiving a fleeting compliment. "Could I please have a moment of your time!?" Jon shouted once more, slowly closing the gap between them. Eventually Octavia made it to a room designated "Dressing Room." She opened the door and was about to enter when Jon finally caught up, making it that much more difficult to ignore him. "Hey wait a second!" Jon said as he tried to catch his breath. "Hi...sorry but I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second? You may not know me but my name is--" "Jon Stewart." Octavia said, her hoof still on the half opened door and her eyes looking forward. Jon wasn't sure if her knowing of who he is was a good or bad thing. "Yes, I am well fully aware of who you are. I hear you have a fondness of popping up in random places." She continued. "You've made quite an impact here in Equestria" "Oh, well I suppose I have." He said, with an awkward smile. "If you've heard of me then I'm assuming you know about...what I do?" "If you are referring to your television show then yes I am aware of your profession." Octavia said, continuing to avoid eye contact. "Well then in that case I was wondering," Jon said with a pause. "Would you like to be interviewed on my show tomorrow?" Octavia opened the door to the dressing room and walked halfway in placing her cello on the ground. She turned to face Jon and for the first time looked him in the eye. "No." She said, closing the door in his face. Jon was at a loss for words. "O-o-oh well I..." He said, raising his voice so she could hear him. "Well what about at a later time when you're not--" The audible sound of Octavia locking the door cut Jon off mid sentence leaving him standing there alone. "You sure do know how to pick em, Selina." Jon said to himself with a sigh. Later that night: Jon was now back home in his study calculating his next move. He could either call Celestia to try and get someone else on the show or use a back up filler in the mean time. Jon was determined however to get an Equestrian citizen to come on so he spent the better part of his night looking over the list of names again. "Maybe this was a blessing in disguise." Jon thought to himself, feeling as though he dodged a bullet. "I mean she sure didn't seem like the life of the party. I can only imagine what she'd be like on national television." Jon was no stranger to people refusing to come on his show so this wasn't that big a blow to his ego. In the past he's had both high and low profile figures reject his invitations, usually because of scheduling or a lack of interest. Though he had to admit getting reject in person didn't feel very good. As Jon looked over the list again he picked up his phone, ready to call Celestia when something unexpected and frightening happened. Jon leaped from his chair with a look of shock on his face at the sight of green fire bursting in front of him. He held himself as the green flame vanished into thin air as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind only a single 8x11 note. "Spike?" Jon thought to himself as he slowly approached his desk reaching out where the note now laid. Jon would have been more hesitant about this a few weeks ago but his time in Equestria almost made occurrences like this second nature to him. The note was addressed to him but didn't say who it was from, thought the way it was delivered and the hand writing suggested that Spike had sent it. Jon opened the letter and began to read it: Dear Mr. Stewart: I have changed my mind. I'll be there tomorrow morning. -Octavia "You got to be kidding me." Jon thought to himself. At first Jon thought about rejecting her reconsideration and call Celestia to get someone else. The more he thought about it the more it seemed like a good idea, after all Jon was certain that someone like her wouldn't be a very likeable guest to have. He was about half way through dialing Celestia when he remembered what she had told him before...about how Octavia can seem off putting but was actually kindhearted. Jon decided to let cooler head prevail as he put down the phone and made a mental note to call Selina and confirm the intended arrival of his new guest. As Jon made his way to his room to go to sleep a thought popped in his head. What made Octavia change her mind? It was something that Jon was determined to ask her himself tomorrow.