//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Octavia's Lesson // by Detrail //------------------------------// A few days had passed since Octavia had moved in, and it was at this point she had begun to get into a rhythm. As the sun crept into the sky, Octavia awoke once again at exactly 7:00 am. She pulled off the sheets to check the damage she had caused, and unsurprisingly, she was wet. Getting off the bed, she went over to her cello, and pulled up a chair. She just sat there in her wet diaper, disregarding the world around her, and practiced on it. As long as she could hear the music coming off her cello, she was content.         Octavia noticed Vinyl had stopped wearing diapers around the house, much to the grey mare’s delight. However, it didn’t take Octavia long to realize Vinyl really did not plan on instructing her in any way. Every night she would go out to DJ at one of those clubs, and every day she would sleep until noon. No matter what Octavia tried, she couldn’t get any ‘instruction’ out of Vinyl. As a result, she decided to take matters into her own hooves. Every day she would stay in her room and keep playing until it became late, breaking only to eat. Recently Vinyl wasn’t making it easy for her to play on cello on most days, and this was one of those days. Like clockwork, at 7:10 am, the booming of a subwoofer began to shake the small cottage. This made it next to impossible for Octavia to keep her bow steady on the cello’s strings. Eventually she gave up, and went back to her bed. Knowing full well that the noise would continue for several hours. As she sat down on the bed, her diaper, gave off a squish. Octavia bent down to reach for her green bag, and noticed that it had now become much lighter than it was when she first used it eight days ago. Opening the bag, she noted that she was almost out of diapers and needed more. At the same time, she was getting very irritated by her inability to practice. Octavia stood up, went across the hall, and entered the bathroom. Her plan was simple: take her soggy night diaper off, take a shower, and then give Vinyl a piece of her mind. Octavia stood in the shower, and tore the tapes off the soggy diaper, causing it to land in the shower with a thud. Picking up the diaper she balled it up, and used the tapes to seal it shut, finally tossing it into the trash can. Octavia turned the water on, and stood in the hot stream of water pouring down from the shower head, warming her tense body. After a few minutes of letting the water cascade onto her, she got out of the shower and toweled herself off. Now dry, the grey mare sets off to regain her right to play her cello. Opening the door, she followed the vibrations down to the first floor, taking a left towards the laundry room. She stopped at the first door at the beginning of the hallway. Knowing that knocking would get her nowhere, she proceeded to open the door. Upon getting inside, she was left looking at a sight she had seen many times this week. Peering inside the room, it was filled with speakers, synthesizers, and a series of records lying haphazardly around the room. Looking closer inside was Vinyl standing at a turntable. She was alternating switches on the panel in front of her, and running records back and forth on the table. Unlike her usual appearance, this time Vinyl was wearing a pair of black rimmed purple glasses. Octavia made an intense expression of pure annoyance, the same face, she had grown accustomed to making these past few days. Vinyl was left too preoccupied to pay any attention to what was going on, beyond the table in front of her. Octavia walked into the room, and pulled out the plug connecting her turntable. Soon the booming noise stopped, and Vinyl was left confused over the loss of music. “Really Vinyl, I thought we had gone over this! If you are not going to teach me during my stay here, at least permit me to practice in peace.” Vinyl, finally noticing Octavia’s presence in the room, pulled off her shades. “Yo Octavia! Yeah, sorry about the noise, I guess I am disturbing you. My bad.” Octavia let out a sigh, “Yes Vinyl, so could you please hold off on the Disk Jockeying, until after I am finished practicing my cello?” Vinyl scratched the back of her head with her right hoof. “Um, about that. You see I have this client that needs me to come up with a new sound by tonight. So I kind of need to keep playing for the rest of the day. Sorry!” The rage returned to Octavia's eyes once again, but she managed to keep her cool with the infuriating mare, “Well, where does that leave me Vinyl?” “Oh yeah, don’t worry about I got it all settled, you’ll see.” Vinyl using her magic levitated a piece of folded paper over to Octavia. “Here, just take your cello, follow the directions on that note, and you will get a nice quiet place to practice.” Vinyl then proceeded to put her shades back on. “Oh! One last thing, when you get there you might not get a warm reception. Just play your cello well, and everything will work out.” Vinyl noticed Octavia was about to complain about her sudden request. Vinyl knew she had to act fast, lest she get another earful. “Well, would you look at the time!” She quickly pushed Octavia out of her room, and locked the door. “Dinner is at eight, don’t be late!” Vinyl plugged in her turntable back in, and the music resumed booming. Octavia stood there, just taking in the noise booming through the cracks in the door. Sighing, she returned to her room to collect her cello, placing the cello in its case. Octavia swore out. “Darn that Vinyl! The master is going to get a report regarding her behavior.” As she loaded her cello on her back, she noticed her green bag sitting on the floor next to her bed. In an attempt to avoid a repeat of the first day, she added the bag to the load. I may as well stop by the drugstore, and refill this thing with ‘supplies’ while I am out. As she left the house, the booming of the speakers suddenly stopped. The sudden peace made Octavia realize the reason, the neighbors weren’t as annoyed by the noise. So at least she has the common decency to soundproof the house. I guess she isn’t as senseless as I assumed. Walking down the busy street, Octavia, who had been locked up in the cottage until now, finally saw the small village of Ponyville in an alive state. Taking in the sights, she began her journey guided by Vinyl’s mysterious note. *** Now having traveled a long distance, past the vibrant town center, she continued down a road that extended to the edge of Ponyville. Octavia finally arrived at a small cottage. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a yellow pegasus sitting at a table outside with several small animals drinking tea. Looking at the sheet once more, Octavia realized this was the place specified in the note. She continued towards the pegasus, whom she could now identify as a mare. Not wanting to impolite, Octavia decided to say hello to the pegasus, and introduce herself. Getting close she smiled at the mare, closing her eyes, and began. “Hello there miss. My name is Octavia Melody, and I am a student at the Canterlot Music Academy. I was sent here by my mentor Vinyl Scratch, whom had informed me I could practice my cello playing here. I just wish to verify if that is okay with you miss.” Looking around, Octavia realized the mare, as well as the animals, were all missing. Desperate to find the pegasus, she began to scan the area. Finally, after a few minutes of searching, she found her hiding behind a off in the distance, behind a chicken coop. Octavia, a bit concerned, called out again to the now distant mare. “Um, miss, is it okay if I practice my cello here?” From the distance she could hear a squeak, and saw the yellow mare move her head up and down. That mare is quite shy. The complete opposite of Vinyl, but something about her seems familiar. Taking a minute to absorb the pure silence, Octavia decided she might as well just get to practicing. She began by pulling off the green bag. She made a mental note to stop by the pharmacy on the way home to buy some more diapers, and set it down on the side. She then unloaded her cello case, and carefully removed her instrument and bow. Standing up, she adjusted the positioning of her hind legs, and placed her bow on her instrument. Her bow began to dance across the strings of her cello, and the soft dulcet tones began to ring out in the field. As she played, the animals began to approach the mare, enticed by the music. First the brave animals approached, and the more timid ones followed suit. Soon she was left with an audience of the once frightened animals, following them was the most frightened creature of them all the yellow mare flying overhead. “Um... excuse me,” the yellow mare choked out. Although Octavia was unable to hear the mare, the commotion caused by animals trying to get her attention, snapped her back to reality. Looking up, she saw the mare waving to her. In response she suddenly stopped playing to hear the pegasus out. The pegasus continued, “Um… hi... your music sure is beautiful. S-sorry for interrupting you.” Octavia was left excited to finally be able to speak to the timid mare. “That is not a problem miss, and thank you for your kind compliment.” Pausing for a second, Octavia continued, “Miss, may I get your name?” The pegasus was left embarrassed, she flew down to the ground before continuing. “I am so sorry, my name is Fluttershy. I really loved your music.” Fluttershy finally relaxed with her new pony guest, and gave a smile. Octavia was left dazed, “Wait, you loved me…” Her mind began to work in overdrive, a remnant of a memory long suppressed sparked in the darkness of her mind. That night… the animals… that crazy mare that brought them with her… She let go her cello, causing it to fall over into the grass, and the bow soon after fell from her hoof. Looking at the yellow pegasus Octavia exclaimed, “YOU WERE THE PEGASUS THAT RUINED THE GALA!!!” Upon her exclamation the animals scattered, and Fluttershy flew up into the trees in a panic. Octavia realized what she had done, and needed to calm down, to review the situation. Okay, okay, relax. This couldn’t be that mare, maybe it was just a coincidence. Soon Fluttershy descended, and crouched into a ball on the ground. She was using her hoofs to protect the back of her head. Octavia noticed the twigs and dirt in her mane, this resulted in Fluttershy once again mirroring her appearance during the gala. Nope, Octavia this is definitely that mare that led those animals in. She looks so frightened… I can’t be mad at her, not like this. She approached the tearful mare, “Fluttershy I am sorry, I overreacted, please forgive my actions.” Octavia was left sick to her stomach looking at the fearful mare. After a few seconds Fluttershy quit shaking and slowly got up. The glaring fear was still evident, in her trembling eyes. ‘I-I am sorry as well. Y-you are right… I don’t know what happened to me that night. For a while I was so alone. I tried everything I could to get the animals there to at least acknowledge me. When they didn’t I-I lost control of myself. I am really sorry for how I behave that night, Octavia.” Fluttershy was left unable to even look Octavia in the eyes. Octavia let out an exasperated sigh. Why are you all the same? No matter how mad you ponies make me, I just can’t stay mad. She walked forward and used her hoof to pick up the pegasus’s head, “It is okay Fluttershy, I am really to blame. Could you please forgive me? If you do, I would love to play my cello for you.” The pegasus perked up. “Y-you’re not mad?” Fluttershy asked amazed. Octavia let out a chuckle, “Not at all. So can you just forgive me, so I can continue playing?” In Octavia’s eyes the yellow mare was alright, regardless of what happened that night.         Fluttershy nodded her head in approval, and sat down on the grass. Octavia picked up her cello, looking it over of any damage it may have suffered from the fall. Unsurprisingly, not even a scratch was on it. With her fears set aside, she picked up her bow she continued to play. The same sky she pierced with her voice, she now mended with her soothing melody. She continued to play as the sun started to set on that warm day.         Upon finishing her piece she thanked Fluttershy, and began to put her instrument away. By the time she had finished securing it in its case, she noticed Fluttershy was holding a tea set. While Octavia was packing her cello, Fluttershy has decided to go and warm up some of the tea she had made earlier. “Excuse me Octavia, would you mind having some tea with me… If that’s, um... not too much trouble…” Seeing as how Fluttershy was the first pony that she could talk to in the past week without suffering a migraine, Octavia happily accepted.         Returning to the table where she had scared the mare earlier the two sat down, and enjoyed the company of each other while drinking tea. As the sun sunk further down into the sky and the myriad of questions flared, a certain subject sensitive topic was brought up once again. “So Fluttershy I know that you were left stressed at the gala because the animals wouldn’t befriend you, and you were left with no one. So why did you go alone?”         Fluttershy was left embarrassed by the question, “Well um… I did. I was there with all my friends, but none of us had a good time. I guess we all had certain expectations that didn’t come true… and we were all left disappointed.” Fluttershy placed her cup down and looked at Octavia. “But, you know something good came out of it. I did learn a whole lot, and I am grateful to everyone that stood by me after that… event…”         Octavia placed her cup down and contemplated what the pegasus said before talking. “Fluttershy, it is fine, you had a bad night, it happens to me too. Although, I am a bit jealous that you had ponies to be there for you.”         Fluttershy looked back at Octavia with a worried look, “You mean you were all alone through all the bad times in your life?”         Octavia saw the worry on the pegasus’s face, “Oh no, I have always had someone with me, whether it was my master, or my parents.” Octavia paused for a moment. “Actually… I used to be very close with my mother...” Looking at the sky, and the disappearing sun Octavia realized it was getting late. “Oh look at the time, Sorry Fluttershy, but I have to be on my way. Thank you very much for your hospitality, and for allowing me to practice here.”         Fluttershy, who was lost in thought over Octavia’s earlier comment, snapped back to reality. “Oh, anytime! I enjoyed listening to you play. Please come by again, if you want to.” In response Octavia smiled and nodded her head. Picking up her cello, she went off back to her home. Traveling back to the main road, Octavia was left happy, both over her encounter with the silent mare, and her being able to play her cello. As she walked down the intersection, a sudden feeling of dread took over. This left her was a feeling that she was being followed. Looking back, she was able to make out a yellow dot in the horizon. Realizing it was Fluttershy, Octavia decided to wait for the mare that was haphazardly flying towards her carrying something. As Fluttershy closed the distance between them, Octavia could make out a green item in her hooves. At this point Octavia was left worried, but she couldn’t put her hoof on why. At that moment the fear dawned on her, as she realized she had forgotten something very important, and incriminating. This realization caused Octavia to freeze in horror, over what was about to happen. After what felt like an eternity for Octavia, Fluttershy had managed to catch up with her, “I am so glad I caught up to you Octavia. You left your bag back at my house.” Fluttershy placed the bag in front of Octavia. She looked at her expecting to see her smiling face, but instead saw one of fear. “Um… Fluttershy, you didn’t happen to look in the bag, did you?” Octavia asked, her legs shaking.         Fluttershy looked back at Octavia baffled, “N-no.. I would never. I just wanted to give you back your bag.” Fluttershy looked at the ground. Octavia realized that she had to give other ponies more credit.         Left regretful for her sudden accusation, Octavia proceeded to apologise. “Sorry again, Fluttershy, and thank you very much for bringing me my bag back. It is just that… Recently I have been living with a housemate that is a bit too touchy for my taste. I know it isn’t her fault, but she always ends up leaving me feeling embarrassed. You live alone, so I guess you wouldn’t understand.”         “Oh, but I do!” For a moment Octavia saw a brief fire light in Fluttershy’s eyes. “My friends tend to always enter my personal space, and at times they leave me feeling embarrassed. But, I know that they do it because they care about me.” At that moment, talking about her friends, and remembering the many adventures she had with them. Fluttershy looked the happiest she had been all day.         Octavia seeing the look on her face was left at a loss for words. Is this really the same timid pegasus? Octavia’s awe, over the sudden change in the pegasus, subsided. This caused her to begin to review her own situation. “Maybe you are right Fluttershy. I may have been a bit overbearing.” Octavia slowly came to the conclusion that what happened on that first day was not Vinyl’s fault, and that she should try to get along with her. “Thank you again Fluttershy, for everything.” Octavia then pick up her bag, remembering that she needed to stop by the pharmacy to get more diapers. “And Fluttershy, I will be sure to visit you soon, if you don’t mind still having me.”         Fluttershy smiled, “Not at all.” Fluttershy began to walk away, but stopped herself. “I hope things go well between you and for friend.” Fluttershy flew into the air and began to fly back to her cottage at her slow pace.         Octavia took a few seconds to realize what Fluttershy said, and called out, “She is not my friend!” At this point Fluttershy was beyond earshot. Octavia realizing this sighed, and whispered to herself, “...she is just a noisy pony.” Turning around, she changed her direction slightly to stop by the pharmacy on the way back home. After walking a distance she realized she was close, she could see a sign indicating she was within reach. She was about to enter until she spied a peculiar figure, from corner of her eye. Soon the stress that she had managed to get over, returned. Her mind became frantic trying to understand what it was. The erratic movements, the humming noise, and the glaring bright pink. She had seen that thing once before, right before her life was thrown into disarray. She took a step backwards, but it didn’t change a thing. That pink pony noticed her, it was closing in. Octavia’s breathing became labored and her mind began to scream. No, no, go away! Don’t come any closer! The pink mare stopped right in front of her, their eyes locked.         The pink mare had a huge smile on her face, “Ooh! Ooh! You look new in town, and I haven’t seen a new pony in 3 weeks, 2 days, 6 hours, 20 minutes, and 14 seconds. OH MY GOSH! I am going to have to go throw a party. Do you like parties? I like parties! This will be so much fun! I can’t wait. So new pony friend, What is your name?”         Octavia mind was drifting, “go away…” she muttered under her breath.         The pink pony looked at her confused, “Sorry, didn’t catch that. What did you say?”         At the moment Octavia snapped, “GO AWAY!!!” The pink pony stumbled back at Octavia’s outburst. “Get away from me! You ruined my life! You are the reason I will never be able to do the thing I love!”         Pinkie was left confused and upset by what she was hearing, ‘W-what do you mean?”         Octavia’s mind was lit like a time bomb, at that very moment, on those precise words she blew. In her blinding rage, Octavia slammed her head into the pink mare, launching her onto the ground. She then galloped and galloped, as fast as she ever has in her life. Thoughts of that night filled her head. The complaints she received as a result of her playing that night, her spiral into depression, her need for diapers every night, her current place of residence, and even her current fears. All the pink pony’s fault, there was only one place she could see clearly in her mind… her home.         As Octavia continued to run, for a brief moment in the back of her mind, she could hear something she had long forgotten. The joyous laughter of a classroom filled with fillies and colts applauding. In that instant, for a moment placed on an interval between 0.0 - 0.5 seconds, for reasons she could never comprehend on her single solitary point, in the vast plane of space time, she was happy.