While Octavia had never really been outside since joining the Symphony, this fact was not always so. Back in her teen years, she spent a lot of her time taking hikes with friends up mountains or down the sides of streams. There, no matter where, they would talk nonsense about stallions and music until they were absolutely positive their parents would be worried sick, and then proceed to stay for the night under the stars until they woke up with the sun in their face and bugs in their hair.
Camping used to be a wonderful thing to Octavia. Just the idea of being able to spend quality time with the ponies she loved while still being able to have fun was an easy cash grab for her. Eating hay bacon by the river, or swatting flies on the hill, or even the impossibly stupid idea of fishing in the puddle by the radioactive dump site always came through in entertaining her and making her feel happy inside. Octavia never wanted that to change. Octavia wanted to be able to do whatever she wanted in life, such as camping and hiking and having fun.
Nowadays, she did all but two of those things. Sure, the Symphony was boring and quite honestly stressful at times, but Octavia had fun doing it. Music was a passion, an escape, a way to find solace from the otherwise cruel and hard world. To be honest, she was mostly making up excuses. Equestria was a wonderful place itself and held barely any negativity whatsoever. So maybe she was just making up excuses in a sort of revenge against her losing a love of hers from her childhood.
Camping and hiking were now replaced with the Symphony and concert-goings.
Ugh.
Octavia wished she could be eating hay bacon right now. It would have been a Gods Send from what disgusting atrocities she was currently chowing down on. Looking down at the yellow box by her side, she chewed subconsciously as she read the label. She wasn't sure what a Half Brown was exactly, and the brand name of Host wasn't too familiar with her. As she coughed, she silently hoped that they would go out of business.
Looking back over to her left, she bent her head over and bit down on a collection of sticks. Bringing them over to the area in front of her, she let them go and watched as they gave more fuel to her growing fire. A quick curse later, Octavia scooted back an inch or so and rubbed her eyes with an obscenity directed to herself. Finished, she sighed into the flames as the small cave glowed orange around her. With the shadows dancing beautifully along the walls, Octavia hummed and dropped her head onto the floor.
She was surprised to find herself still eating the Half Brown. Probably because she couldn't work up enough strength or reason to get up and get something else. Those cookies looked good. She groaned. In all honesty, one thing Octavia had forgotten when she left her house was to eat that day. She hadn't a single bite to eat, and now here she was, stuffing her face with candies she didn't even know existed.
And all for good reasons.
Her ears perked up in tandem with her brow. Eyes glancing about suddenly, she turned her head with them and listened intently for what she had heard. Giving a light frown as nothing answered her, she tilted her left cheek downward and raised her right ear up higher in order to get a better positioning on what was currently occurring. A hum escaped her lips, and an instant later it came to her. She had heard it enough times while sitting in the back of the thieves' wagon.
Quickly scrambling up, she grabbed her three burlap sacks, slung them over her back, and sprinted out of the cave and toward the unmistakable sounds of clattering wheels. Maneuvering through the thick vegetation, she stumbled onto the dirt road and practically fell to the floor as the weight of her bags caught up to her. Shaking her head, she straightened herself and looked to the left to find a double pony-drawn wagon trotting up to her.
Giving a soft smile, she raised a hoof up, stopped herself from tittering to the right, and waved at them to stop. The ponies seemed to notice her, and they began to slow their pace and finally halted in front of her with a screech of their cart's wheels and two pairs of grit teeth. One coughed into a tan hoof as the one closest to her looked at her with a grin. "H'lo there ma'am. What're you doin' out in the Everfree at night? It's dangerous, y'know."
Octavia suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "Oh, I know. I..." she stopped mid-sentence, remembering how she got into this position. Thinking quickly, she resumed, "I uh, I was just out for a hike you see. Brought a day's rations with me," she shook her bags, "just in case I was out here a little while longer."
The navy blue stallion reached for the brown Stetson atop his head. Adjusting it, he raised a brow at her and asked, "You in need of assistance, ma'am? Surely ya didn't wave us off like that just to say 'hi'."
"Actually," Octavia looked at the stallion farthest from her. He held a hoof to his chin as he asked, "have you seen a couple o' thieves out here?" Octavia's purple irises narrowed as she realized what they were after. Instead of a physical hoof, a mental one went to her mental forehead in absolute annoyance. "We've been on their tails for the last hour or so. If you've seen 'em, it'd be wonderful to know where they went off to."
A group of birds suddenly flew up into the night sky above her. Their shaking of the tree they prior sat upon allowed new light to shine in from the moon, and two golden items glimmered at Octavia from the stallions' chests. Looking at them, she realized that they were badges. The closest one, a Unicorn, grinned at her, "Quite a hike if you ask me. Where you headed? The Gala?"
Octavia's eyes cast a glance downward. A grey hoof gingerly touched her pink bowtie. She didn't even realize she was still wearing it. Clearing her throat, she thought for a second on the bitter retort that she was about to deal. Her new realization coming to mind, she had a shocking revelation that insulting a law-ponies hat wasn't a very smart idea. Her mentioning of Calamity Mane was stowed for later usage. Instead, she had a better idea. "If you're looking for your thieves, I can assure you they passed through here. I need to get into town, however."
The blue law-pony raised a hoof and shook it, "Ah, say no more ma'am. We'll get ya back into town. We're a little hot on those thieves' trail though, so I hope ya don't mind waiting until we're done with them first."
Octavia hesitated for a second.
She really had to turn her oven off.
And practice her music.
She nodded after a couple seconds of consideration. Turning to her right, she moved her head around like a scanning parrot and raised a hoof up. The dirt road formed a trident head twenty or so yards down, but the thieves had not taken the other paths and instead gone straight. Hearing a chuckle from her left, she realized that the law-ponies were thinking the same thing. Looking back at them, she watched as they waved a hoof over to the wagon.
"Set your stuff in the back. I'll have Deputy Beagle help you if you need some–"
"I'm fine," Octavia interrupted, walking to the side of the wagon. Almost passing the Unicorn, she stopped as a hoof stuck out to her. Looking at the owner, she wrinkled her nose as he gave her a smirk.
"Sheriff Water at your service."
Octavia blinked. She cleared her throat, then returned the gesture half-heartedly. A thought went to her head, and she stuttered, "...uh, Chell."
"Like a cello? Guess that bowtie makes sense, then. Climb aboard Chell."
Octavia narrowed her eyes and proceeded to roll them as she walked toward the bed of the wagon. Feeling a hoof along the gate, she stopped as as an ear went up once more. Groaning, she got off the cart and turned around to look down the road behind them. Hearing hums from her rear, she realized that the law-ponies were doing the same as her for the second time that night. All three listened intently for the noise they had all heard not a second earlier.
The wind whistled, blowing Octavia's mane. She fussed with it for a heartbeat or two before hearing another disturbance reach her. Eyes wide, she took a cautious step back as the snapping of twigs, branches, and trees grew closer to her position. Turning her body, she touched a hoof onto the open gate of the wagon. Her head snapped to the back of the road, and it was at that moment that a few new sights were available for her eyes to take in.
A dozen or so masked ponies slowly stalked toward them. In the Unicorns' magic and under the Pegasus' wings were loaded crossbows, their shiny exteriors showing off upkeep that would make many greedy slobs in Canterlot green with envy. Octavia swallowed a lump down her throat as her breath caught simultaneously. Not a single sound came to her, the heart in her chest stopping any kind of noise that could possible have a chance of reaching her.
A voice broke her out of her fright.
"Chell, get in!"
Octavia didn't need to be told twice. Thankfully, neither did the outlaws. As Octavia tossed her bags into the wagon, she heard hooves clopping along the road behind her and quickened her pace. Hooves scrambling onto the wooden tailgate, she rolled over and slammed a hoof into the cab now situated at her rear. Her shout had instant effect. "Go!"
The law-ponies trotted off at a breakneck speed as the arrows flew. Octavia yelped in fright and shut her eyes, a hoof rising to protect her eyes from harm. Feeling life still playing for her, she cracked an eye open and snapped the other wide as well. A green shield hovered in front of her, its transparency showing off the multiple objects that would have killed her without its presence. Octavia wasn't really okay with seeing this, if her heavy breathing and quickening heart rate were any sign.
Trying her best to steady her breathing, Octavia got to all four hooves and walked to the corner of the cab. Poking her head out, she found Sheriff Water winking at her, his horn glowing a corbeau color. Octavia felt the sensation to roll her eyes, but stopped herself. A smile formed on her lips, and she mouthed a quick word of thanks to him. He gave a short nod before turning back to the road ahead and continuing to sprint.
Octavia raised a hoof to her head and attempted to dispel the ringing from plaguing her for eternities. Succeeding ever so slightly, she sank to the floor and let her head rest on the hard wooden exterior of the Sheriff's wagon. Curiosity swarming her, she raised her head, frowned at the ground, and sniffed. Huh. Maple. Gods, she found it odd how happy she was to be in a fancy cart for a change. Shutting her eyes tiredly, she gave a sigh and opened them back up.
Grumbling, she sat like this for awhile.
Purple darted to yellow.
They remained there for two heartbeats.
Octavia reached into the gunny sack, opened up the box, and began to eat once again.
It was time to Chow Down On A Half Brown, and Octavia hated every second of it.