//------------------------------//
// The Rise 
// Story: For Sonnets and Harmony 
// by The Wizard of Words 
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Octavia knew what she was going to do.

She knew what she was going to do when Luna asked her the question in the garden, amidst the healing rain. She knew when night began to call and the sisters had to leave. She knew when she and Vinyl departed the castle and left for their home. And, she definitely knew now; lying in her bed and staring at the ceiling above.

The answer came easy to her, now that the stresses and fears that were weighing her down were gone, lost to the rain her music had brought. When all of that was gone, the fear of everything that could go wrong and the stress of everything pushing down on her, the answer was as clear as the moon amongst the stars. It needed only a glance to see it. 

The answer made her smile, making her wings flutter ever so lightly the longer it sat in her mind. I was growing ever larger, the more she thought of it. The idea wasn’t something grand or surprising, certainly nothing that no pony could see coming. Rather, it was just the opposite. 

It was the inevitable, what was bound to happen eventually. It was what she and her close friends had put off for so long, waiting until she was ready. And now, she was. Octavia knew she was ready to speak of what she was. 

Octavia was ready to announce that she was an alicorn. Her idea, the one she now loved so much, was how to do it. 

Her friends had taught her more than she had expected, likely more than they were aware. Perhaps they were aware now though, with rain from before making the world around them clearer. Octavia knew well that her thoughts now were because of the rain’s gentle fall. It made her lessons easy to name. 

Octavia knew much more was gained from the observation of the few than the audience of the many. The eyes of nameless ponies often meaning much less than the concerned gaze of ponies she could name. She cared much more for her friends, her family, than she did an audience she could name. Fiddle taught her that.

Octavia knew that the best criticism came from the best of friends. She could no more trust the baseless opinions of some random mare off the street than she could her fortune from some tabloid. A friend, however, based their decisions of a friend off of the history they shared. They did not decide off of a single event, but off of the numerous once of the past. Vinyl had taught her that.

Octavia knew that the greatest effects came from actions outside of boundaries. She knew that she couldn’t hope to have the best result come from what was most expected. Ponies thought in a certain way when they were forced into a collective. Collectives took actions outside of their thought process as wrong. The best way to avoid that thinking was to avoid the thoughts of the many. Discord had taught her that.

Octavia knew that her strength was not one to make a show of. Strengths came in many forms, in different sizes and shapes. While hers was doubtlessly one that was grand in magnitude and scope, other had fortes in areas that would never be spoken of more than an off hoof comment. But those were the ones that ponies depended on the most. And, to be depended upon without the eyes of thousands, was something that Octavia knew she preferred. It took both Princess Twilight Sparkle and Ditzy Do to teach her that.

But more than anything else, Octavia learned the importance of perception. It was easy for a pony to perceive what others saw, especially when there was only one perception to be had. It was easy to see a spirit as evil when ponies only spoke ill of it. On the other hoof, it was just was easy to see a princess as dark and cold when no pony spoke simply to her. Yet Octavia had seen the good in a spirit of chaos and the inviting smile of the princess of the night.

Together, they allowed Octavia to stand the presence of the former, but coming to love interactions with the latter. Every small gesture that would have been unheard of in her court was savored. Every word of advice that she had spoken was cherished. And all because she spoke to Octavia not as another mare in a crowd, but as a friend that was closer than any simple stranger could be. 

Luna… she had taught her in so many ways the importance of friendship. Without her, Octavia was remiss to say she’d have any more than the single friend she already called a roommate.

All of these simple things, all of these choice lessons, they helped Octavia with her idea. Specifically, with a mind clear of regret and doubt, given fresh soil to be nurtured in, Octavia knew how she wanted to announce herself.

It would not be to a crowd of ponies, high up and separated from them. It would be in a small room, a ballroom at the largest. It would not be to a thousand faces she could never hope to place. It would be only a few dozen at most, ponies she knew well or close to it, whose names she could place to faces. It would not most certainly not be to a grand festival or cheer. It would be a quiet announcement, spoken with soft ceremony, perhaps at best with her showing what she was now capable of. 

And the more she thought of it in the fertile soil, the more it continued to grow. Every action was clear, everything simple and true. But most importantly, she knew this was the best way to announce herself.

Octavia knew it was right because she felt it; felt it like she felt the perfect chord rumble through her cello. 

But in all of her thoughts and machinations, there was still one question her idea did not answer, one possibility that had no wrong answer, but still needed a right one to be complete. Staring up at her ceiling, the night’s blanket lying atop of her, she whispered it aloud, hoping her clear mind would conjure a new one for her.

“Who will help me announce myself?”