Octavia's Reprise

by Venates

Chapter Two

Octavia woke to sunbeams beating against her eyelids. As her mind crawled back to reality, she recalled the events of the previous day, and her entire body began to ache. She moaned and pulled her pillow over her eyes before throwing it from her; the sensation that it had recently been dipped in a pool proved too uncomfortable to bear. She looked over to her dresser to see her alarm clock no longer resting on top of it. The device was instead lying broken on the floor; Octavia surmised that it must have rang itself straight off. She felt a twinge of annoyance at both not waking up at a decent hour and needing to purchase a new clock, but replaced these feelings with one of gratefulness for the chance to escape reality for just a few hours more.

The cellist rose from her bed and stepped into the bathroom at the end of the hall for a shower. Her coat was in need of a very attentive grooming, but most of her time was instead spent standing in front of the faucet, letting the water wash over her. She didn't leave until the water cooled to a temperature no longer tolerable. After drying herself off, Octavia descended the stairs into the kitchen, wanting nothing more than a cup of coffee. As she opened the cupboards, she found them slightly more bare than usual, as she quit drinking coffee a few weeks prior for fear of the caffeine affecting her perfectly refined performance muscles. Grumbling to herself, she conceded that she would need to leave the apartment despite not wanting to see a single pony that day.

As Octavia walked, other ponies were going about their daily business, albeit with much happier demeanors than normal. The previous day’s invasion appeared to have given them all a new appreciation for life. This only irritated Octavia further; her head lowered with each passing pedestrian, and her scowl grew.

Before long the target of her outdoor venture loomed in the distance. It was a small stand that displayed a number of periodicals for sale and offered coffee to patrons to have with their morning reading. It wasn’t up to Octavia’s standards by most accounts, but it was the nearest place she could buy a latte from her apartment, which she didn’t want to leave that morning in the first place. As she approached it, she passed by two mares happily chatting about the recent events covered in their newspapers.

“Oh, did you see the dress Princess Cadence wore for the wedding? So extravagant!”

Octavia grumbled to herself. Didn’t these ponies have anything better in their lives than celebrity gossip?

“I’m just glad they were able to stop the changeling invasion. I’ve never even heard of the things! Says here they feed on love, but they were also defeated by love! Oh, how romantic!”

“And ironic, if you really think about it.”

Changelings… So that’s what they were called. Octavia shuddered as hundreds of images gathered from only a few minutes of the previous day flashed before her eyes.

No. Not now. Not before she’s even had her coffee.

The vendor at the stand greeted her with a bright smile. “Howdy, miss! Can I get you something?”

Octavia rolled her eyes at the rustic greeting, but otherwise tried to keep her annoyance as non-visual as possible. “I need a latte. No cream, no sugar.”

“Sorry, miss, but you need to get up a little earlier than that for a coffee here.”

“What?! But it’s hardly even—” Octavia cut herself off as she realized just how late in the morning it was. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to consider it morning at all anymore. “…Fine. Well, what else can I get?”

“Just the papers, magazines, and tabloids you see here, ma’am.”

“I’m not much of a reader. Sorry for troubling you. I’ll be on my way.”

“No trouble at all, ma’am!” the cheery vendor called after her. By this point Octavia’s grumbling became much more audible, and her desire to ground the dirt in front of her into something drinkable greater. Having to walk past the gossiping mares a second time did nothing for her attitude.

“Ooh, lookie here! It says they hired a DJ out from Manehattan to play for the reception. Wouldn’t you think they would just get one of the many fine musicians around here to do the job?”

Definitely doing nothing for her attitude.

“Oh, I know! And just look at her! Looks pretty young, from what I can gather. Didn’t even think somepony like a princess could enjoy that kind of music… If you want to call it that. Oh, Celestia, how do you even pronounce that stage name of hers? I assume it’s a stage name; I can’t imagine somepony actually naming their foal that…”

“I’m not sure… DJ Pawn-ee? DJ Pony…?”

“I think you’re supposed to pronounce the three, dear.”

Octavia froze in her tracks. She turned to look at the two mares, both of them a portly and older sort. They couldn’t be anything other than sisters, looking at them. One was a light blue unicorn with great big curls in her blonde mane, and the pegasus sitting opposite of her was an exact reversal of colors.

“Excuse me, ladies,” Octavia said, “I couldn’t help but overhear. Who does that paper say was the disc jockey at the wedding?”

“One Dee Jay Pawn Three!” The pegasus sister squealed, sending both mares into a tizzy of giggles. “Oh goodness, just look at her hair!”

The paper was pushed closer to Octavia, who pulled it towards herself slowly, disbelief in her eyes. It wasn’t the front page picture, but it was in the Canterlot Times’ section covering the wedding regardless. There in one picture were two ponies behind a large, modern turn table. The caption below stated one vaguely familiar pony was named 'Pinkamena Pie', but Octavia didn’t need a caption to tell her who the other was. She really did have pretty unique hair.

After a few seconds of staring, Octavia tore her eyes away from the photo in order to scan other images for the same pony, the back of her neck heating up all the while. She stopped dead on another photograph, although this one did not have the DJ in frame.

“Rarity?!”

“Oh, you know the designer as well?”

Octavia looked up from the paper. “Designer?”

“Oh, surely you jest!” the middle-aged unicorn said with a flick of her hoof. “That filly made the wedding dress! Not to mention she has a line or two in Hoity Toity’s shops these days…”

“And she’s from Ponyville of all places!” her pegasus counterpart chimed. “How does decent culture even make it that far out?”

“Oh, I know!” The mares went into another giggle fit, but Octavia was hardly paying attention. A number of emotions gallivanted about in her mind, and each vied for the top spot of her attention. In a daze, she turned to leave, still clutching the paper.

“Hey! Young filly! That’s a Sunday edition! If you want one, go buy your own!”

Octavia turned and woke from her trance. “Oh, I’m… I’m so sorry. Here. Yes, I will go get my own.” She returned the paper to the now not-as-cheery sisters before turning back to the stand she had just hotly walked away from moments before.

“Well, hello again, ma’am!” the vendor said with a sunny disposition. “Change your mind?”

“Yes. Which of these periodicals cover the wedding yesterday?”

“Oh, I reckon all of ‘em do,” the stallion said with a wave to the stacks beneath his counter. “Though you may want to avoid the tabloids; just some tripe about Princess Cadence secretly being a shape-shifting monster in there.”

Octavia browsed a number of covers, occasionally pulling one down and flicking through it before draping it over her extended foreleg. The vendor watched her with some curiosity. “I know what they say about first impressions, but you really didn’t strike me as a current events kind of pony, ma’am. Kind of seemed stuck in your own little world.”

“Yes, well…” Octavia answered with hesitation, “I guess… I guess that’s changed a little bit.”

“Lady, after yesterday, I’m not sure what’s the same anymore.”

“Yeah…” Octavia sighed. “Neither am I.”

- * -

Octavia sat in her bedroom with newspapers and magazines spread across her floor. She combed each of them as finely as possible, but still only had that first paper the elderly mares showed her as one with a picture and mention of the DJ.

She stared at the picture, taking in every detail, wondering if there was any way she could be mistaken but also knowing there was no possible way for her to be. The white face in the photo grinned at her, and her thoughts looped over themselves over and over again until they were connected to one from the previous day. A thought that had only been there for a split second before an overwhelming fear that encompassed her entire being was replaced by a surge of adrenaline.

I like your mane.

- * - * - * -

“What?”

“Your mane. It’s pretty…”

“Oh… Thank you.”

Octavia was standing in her new bedroom with a unicorn her own age — her new roommate. The filly’s body was a slick white, her eyes a pleasant magenta, and her cutie mark a black double quarter note, but what really made her stand out was an electric blue mane that stuck out in every direction.

The silence was staggering.

“Um… I’m going to go for a walk… Get used to the campus,” Octavia said, reintroducing sound to the world.

“Oh… Can I come with you?”

“Um… No, that’s okay. You can stay here if you want.”

“Oh… Yeah, that’s okay.” The white filly pawed the ground with her hoof, eyes locked upon it.

Octavia was far from her comfort zone. Manehattan was a very long train ride from her home in Ponyville, but if her still fresh cutie mark was any indication, this was where she needed to be. Ponyville had a school, but it was a small, single room school with only one teacher. It really couldn’t offer much along the lines of a proper musical education. It did help her find her special talent at least; she spent what felt like years trying everything from acting to debate to martial arts before a fateful music class made a purple treble clef appear on her flank.

The budding musician had mixed feelings about leaving. On the one hoof, she finally knew what she was meant to do in life, and wanted nothing more than to go out and pursue it. On the other, she didn’t want to leave her parents, especially her mom; no one was better at lifting the spirits of a young filly fearful of not knowing what to do with her life than her own mother. But those days were over, and the school teacher Miss Jubilee insisted that studying abroad in Manehattan was the best thing for the filly. Reluctant though they were to so soon have an empty nest, Octavia’s parents agreed that it was best if their daughter was ever to be truly happy.

Octavia was having a pretty hard time being happy at the moment though. As she walked the grounds, taking in all the new sights, sounds, and smells, all she really wanted to do was run home and snuggle up to her mother. It didn’t help that she was being forced to share a room with somepony she didn’t even know.

The grey filly became vaguely aware that some other kids were talking rather loudly a few yards away, and looked over to them out of curiosity. Her stomach dropped when she saw her new roommate crouching with fear in the center of a circle of other foals, tears making their descent down her white face.

Octavia stepped with trepidation closer to the scene, and snippets of what was being said grew louder and clearer.

“Well, we all know your parents didn’t get you in here.”

“C’mon. You know the school just feels sorry for you.”

“What’s with your hair, anyway? Can you not even afford a comb?”

“Stop…” the filly on the ground sobbed. “Please, just leave me alone…”

“Or what? Is your mom going to make us?”

“She said leave her alone!” The circle of foals turned to face the voice Octavia didn’t even know she had.

“What, and you’re going to make us? Where is that accent even from?”

“I bet it’s one of those hick farm towns, like Hollow Shades, or Ponyville…”

Octavia could feel her cheeks reddening, but suppressed it. Before retorting, she stood herself up tall, stretched her vocal chords slightly, and made some mental notes to avoid pronouncing the letter ‘R’. “Actually, I usually talk like this,” she said, in her best (and rather convincing) Canterlonian accent. “I just figured I would need to dumb my tone down to talk to you simpletons.”

The circle of foals looked at one another before one spoke up. “So, what, you’re from Canterlot or something?”

Octavia smiled. Her ruse was working. “Indeed. And I don’t think I have to explain how that makes me better than you. So when I say you have to leave her alone… you have to.” Her mind wasn’t coming up with the best Canterlonian idioms, but she hoped her adversaries would be too dumb to question it.

“Why would somepony from Canterlot be here?” one inquired.

Darn.

“Are you suggesting that the school your parents sent you to isn’t very good?” Octavia asked.

“What? No, I didn’t—”

“Hey! This is a really good school! My dad says only the upperest of the upper class get to come here!”

“I didn’t—!”

The circle of antagonists turned on one of its own, and with the distraction Octavia helped her new roommate to her hooves.

“Thank you… If you hadn’t… They…”

“It’s okay,” Octavia assured the pony in her forelegs. She let her go so they could both walk together.

“My name is Vinyl, by the way.”

“What?”

“Vinyl. Vinyl Scratch. I never…” The unicorn filly drew a deep breath. “I didn’t say my name when we met…”

“Oh… Well, if it makes you feel better, mine is Octavia Melody.”

“That’s a pretty name. It’s like… It’s musical. And you like music too…” Vinyl made a motion towards Octavia’s treble clef-shaped cutie mark.

“Oh… Yeah, well, that’s why we’re here, isn’t it?” Octavia said with a small smile. Vinyl smiled in return, but there were still traces of sadness there.

The white filly continued. “Yeah, it’s much better than my name… It reminds me of rocks scraping together or something. Barely musical at all…”

“Hey, no, I think your name is cool too!” Octavia was about to back her statement up, but she admittedly found her arguments lacking. Vinyl smiled a little bigger regardless, and in doing so told Octavia that the thought was good enough.

“Um… were you still walking around campus?” Vinyl asked. She broke eye contact. “I mean, if you want to be alone I wouldn’t want to—”

“No! Um, I mean, yeah,” Octavia said. “I’m still kind of figuring out where everything is, but you can join me if you want.”

At this, Vinyl started jumping in each step. “Ohhh this will be so much fun! I’ve never had a friend before!”

“Really?” Octavia felt both confused and sad for some reason. “Why? Are you mean?”

“What? No! At least, I don’t think so…” Vinyl lost the spring in her step. “I grew up with a bunch of other fillies, but none of them were ever really my friends…”

“Sisters?” Octavia asked. She never heard of a bunch of fillies all living together. How many foals can one family have?

“No, I…” Vinyl swallowed. “I don’t have any sisters. I don’t have any family…”

“What?” Octavia was just getting more confused, and more sad. “How can you not have family? What about your mom and dad?”

Vinyl looked like she was going to start crying again. “I don’t have a mom and dad. I don’t know where they are. The ponies in the house say that someday I’ll have a new mom and dad, but…” Now she did start crying. Tears in her eyes, Vinyl turned to Octavia and said, “I just want to know where my old ones are.”

Octavia was now on the verge of tears herself. She never heard of such a thing before; how could somepony not have a mom and dad? What would she do if she never had her mom? With that thought, she started crying alongside her friend. “Listen… I have a really nice mom, and a really nice dad. I can share them, if you want… You know, until your new ones—” Octavia was cut off by a mound of blue hair in her face; Vinyl had pulled her into a close hug and showed no signs of letting go.

“You’re so nice, Octavia,” the unicorn filly said. “No one has ever been this nice to me. I just want to keep saying ‘Thank you’ until I die.”

Octavia couldn’t help but giggle a little bit. “You don’t need to do that, really.” She pulled Vinyl back so she could see her genuine smile. The grey filly's smile turned into a frown as a look of concern crossed her face. “I don’t know if my parents’ll be able to pay for school for you though… I mean, Daddy already said that they would have to buy less food to be able to pay for me…”

“Oh, that’s not a problem,” Vinyl said, rubbing her eyes and voice coming back to her. “When my cutie mark showed up, some ponies came by and said they were going to let me learn here and that nopony would have to pay for it. I didn’t know what it all meant, but Sister Sunshine said—”

“I thought you just said you didn’t have any sisters!”

“No, ‘Sister’ is her name! I think. Anyway, she said it was a really good idea for me to come here. ‘Once in a lifetime,’ she said, and I’ve heard that enough to know it means something really good.”

“Well, isn’t that obvious?” Octavia asked.

Vinyl shook her head. “How? So far all that’s happened is that I’ve been picked on…”

“Yeah, but you also met me!” The grey filly stood on her hind legs and puffed out her chest. “And I’m going to be the greatest music player in all of Equestria!”

Vinyl laughed and playfully pushed the grey filly off balance. “No, I am!”

“We both are!” The two fillies giggled with glee in the grass, rolling around in the blades of green for no reason other than it somehow made them laugh even harder.

“C’mon,” Octavia finally said, catching her breath. “I think I saw the cafeteria this way, and I’m getting kind of hungry.”

“Me too!” said Vinyl, getting to her hooves. “Thank you!”

“What? But I didn’t—”

“Thank you!”

“What?”

“Thank you!”

“Vinyl, stop—!”

“Thank you!”

“VINYL!” Octavia pushed her hoof up to the white filly’s mouth, silencing her but not even coming close to hiding her wide grin. In fact, her smile only got wider, and her eyes adopted a certain gleam. Octavia pulled her hoof back in an instant.

“Ew! You licked my hoof!”

“Thank you!”

“Vinyl, you can’t keep saying ‘Thank you’ until you die! I want you to say other things too!”

The girls adopted a new set of giggles as they continued towards the cafeteria. On that day, they both met their very first and very best true friend. And neither could have been happier.

Author's Note:

Author's Note can be found here.

Comments

[Shadow_Wolf]

I really like where this is moving. Keep up the great work.

[FashionablyHospitable]

And a little backstory, nice.