Chapter 10
"Night of the Recital"
On the night of Octavia's recital, a majority of the Canterlot elite had descended on the Canterlot opera house to witness the pony with the cello perform some of her biggest hits. Little did they know that Octavia was going to be out of character, thanks to her friend Rarity and her biggest music fan, Twilight Sparkle. All of the ponies were in their freshly repaired gala dresses and sitting in a balcony on the right side of the theater.
"I sure hope Octavia doesn't have any last minute jitters," said Rarity, checking to make sure her opera glasses were working. "We certainly wouldn't want anypony wondering where the main attraction is."
"Well, I certainly hope so, too," added Fluttershy. "I know how hard it is to face a crowd of ponies."
"That's because you have never performed in front of ponies before, silly," laughed Pinkie Pie, making Fluttershy nervous. This remark caused Pinkie to get a glare from Rarity and cause Pinkie to back away to her seat.
"Wonder where Twilight is, y'all," said Applejack. "The shows almost gonna start."
Just then, Twilight came up and joined her friends on the balcony, while trying to ward off some ponies who were still hounding her down for autographs and such.
"Looking for me?" panted Twilight, holding the door to keep anypony else from entering. "These ponies are crazy if they think I am just an awkward dancer to them."
"It will be all over soon, Twi," replied Applejack, placing a hoof around her friend's neck. "It will die down soon enough. Just try to enjoy the evening, sugarcube."
"I hope so, Applejack," remarked Twilight, getting herself comfortable in her seat. "I do hope so."
Meanwhile, Octavia was backstage and tuning up her cello, making sure that it was in perfect working order. Despite all that was happening, Octavia was still determined to be herself. She knew that her parents would be happy with whatever she chose to follow, but would the rest of Canterlot let her do such a thing. That was the question that was going through her mind.
"Mares and Gentlecolts," called a voice, meaning it was time for Octavia to start. "It is with great pleasure and great pride that we present to you, the premiere cellist in all of Equestria, Miss Octavia Melody."
The sounds of applause were heard and Octavia took an enormous gulp and stepped onto the stage with the spotlight bearing down on her. Looking down, Octavia could see her parents, in their own formal attire, looking up and smiling at their daughter.
"All right," Octavia whispered to herself, getting into her position to play. "Remember Octavia, just be yourself."
At that moment, Octavia began to play a soft compostion as her music filled the opera house, with the Canterlot ponies being entranced by her music. To Twilight and Rarity however, this was a cause for concern. They were seeing Octavia starting to become uncomfortable and unable to focus on the task at hand.
"She's starting to become uncomfortable again, Twilight," whispered Rarity, looking at Octavia through her opera glasses. "We've got to do something."
"I know," replied Twilight. "There must be something we can do. Where is Vinyl Scratch when you need her?"
Just then, a tap was felt on Rarity and Twilight's shoulders and the two unicorns turned to see Spike, in his tuxedo, motioning for them to go outside their space. Following Spike, Rarity and Twilight spotted Vinyl Scratch walking into the theater.
"Vinyl Scratch," said Twilight, relieved that the dj playing pony had arrived. "Thank goodness you're here."
"Why? And let my new roommate not feel abandoned?" chuckled Vinyl Scratch. "Time to rock this joint, dude."
"Octavia needs all the help she can get," cried Rarity, as Vinyl walked onto the stage. "Do something!"
Vinyl then walked backstage and activated a disc jockey system that had been unused for quite some time. Meanwhile, Octavia continued to feel nervous as the Canterlot elite glared at her.
Something is wrong, she thought to herself. Why aren't they reacting to my music? Somepony please help me!
Suddenly, the disc jockey music of Vinyl Scratch was heard coming from backstage, resulting in the Canterlot ponies reacting with shocked gasps and cries. One pony was so insulted, she fainted at the sight of Vinyl Scratch coming onto the stage. However, Octavia was starting to feel comfortable once again as her new roommate had come to the rescue at just the right time.
"Rock out, dudette!" called Vinyl, as Octavia began to develop into her new dances, rocking around the stage, showing off her awkward dance moves.
"That's our daughter!" cried Octavia's parents as they began to dance along with the music. "Come on, everypony! Support my daughter! Come up and dance!"
Octavia's father then got up onto the stage and began to dance to his daughter's music. Seeing the dancing that her husband and daughter were doing, Octavia's mother as joined in and soon, some of the Canterlot ponies also joined in, starting to get a vibe for what was happening around them.
"This is awesome!" cried Rainbow Dash, flying down to take part in the dancing. "I love it! I love it!"
Soon, Pinkie, Applejack and Fluttershy also followed and after a few moments, Rarity and Twilight also joined in as the whole opera house was engulfed in the lively music that came from the cello played by Octavia and the disc jockey system by Vinyl Scratch. Seeing Twilight doing her awkward dancing was starting to enlighten many of the ponies who were at the Canterlot garden party. Many of them started to cheer wildly as Twilight did her awkward dancing.
After a few moments, the song came to an end and a thunderous applause came out from ponies both on the stage and in the audience.
"They love you, dudette!" remarked Vinyl Scratch, hugging Octavia tightly. "You rock out, sister!"
In the spur of the moment, Vinyl Scratch kissed Octavia on the cheek and caused Octavia to blush slightly.
The night in Canterlot was a success and Octavia had conquered her greatest fear. But, the next stage of her life was about to begin…