Fiddling with Her Heart

by Kevinltk

Chapter 7: A Surprising Return

Octavia smiled as she looked out of the train’s windows. Once again, she had found herself on the train connecting Ponyville and Canterlot. Off in the distance, she could see Ponyville getting closer and closer. Closer to her new friends. Closer to the orange mare.

The past few days had been a flurry of activity, setting up her vacation in Ponyville. After the concert, she and Fancy Pants went through the list of properties Fancy Pants owned, and Octavia selected the perfect place for her needs. It would comfortably house her and was located close to the outskirts of town which was important because it was located close to the apple farm where, if all things go well, Octavia would be spending quite some at.

They also calculated how much it would cost to live in Ponyville as well as how much money Octavia had in her savings. Being a famous musician had its perks. Generous payments for her musical services, along with a none too extravagant lifestyle, meant she had accumulated enough money to live comfortably without worry for quite some time, giving her plenty of time to hopefully resolve her issues.

Lastly, they announced her hiatus. Much to Octavia’s annoyance, the news hardly caused a commotion. The residents of Canterlot barely cared she was disappearing and just simply started looking for the next big thing in music. Whether it was due to her possibly declining music, the callousness of the nobility, or a combination of both, Octavia would probably never figure it out. And it irked her greatly.

Octavia sighed happily as the train finally slowed down, coming to a stop at Ponyville’s train station. It had been less than two weeks, but Octavia had returned to the town she had grown quite fond of. She had already greatly missed the quaint environment and her friends during her time in Canterlot.

She had brought along saddlebags filled with supplies and various knick knacks that would tide her over until she checked Fancy Pants’s house and then send for the rest of her stuff still waiting for her back in Canterlot.

Octavia had also brought her cello with her. Even though this was supposed to be a vacation from concerts and musical events, Octavia hoped that if things went well, she would get to play and learn from the orange mare. The cello was also extremely precious to her, having been by her side for a very long time.

Putting on her saddlebags and slinging the cello onto her back, Octavia made her way off the train. Vaguely remembering her way around town from her previous visit, Octavia quickly trotted towards her new place, eager to move on to other activities. She thought that after she settled down, a visit to her friends would be her first priority.

Making her way through town and waving at a few ponies she passed, Octavia could not help but notice that there were not as many ponies going about compared to the last time she was here. It was quite odd since it was still rather early in the afternoon, and her last visit showed that the quaint town had a bustling population during the day. Perhaps there was some event or celebration going on. Shrugging, Octavia continued on until she found the street her house was located in.

Taking a quick moment to double-check with a piece of paper with her house’s address written on it, Octavia stopped in front of her new home. It was a simple two-story house with the same thatched roof as the surrounding residences. Fancy Pants mentioned the house was already lightly furnished, so that meant she would save some time and effort from searching for furniture. After awkwardly fishing out the key to the place due to all her baggage, Octavia unlocked the door and stepped inside.

“SURPRISE!”

The voices of dozens of ponies suddenly shouting at her almost knocked Octavia off her hooves. Her eyes were bulging with shock as she clutched her chest with a hoof, feeling her heart rapidly beat, as she took quick, deep breaths.

“Octy!” yelled Pinkie as she jumped out from behind a couch to glomp Octavia, sending them both crashing to the floor. “What are you doing over here? Oh, I know. You can help us surprise the pony who is moving into this house.”

Octavia replied with a groan of pain.

“Uh, Pinkie, judging by all the stuff she is carrying, I think she’s the one moving in here,” said a purple unicorn from behind the same couch Pinkie leapt from.

Pinkie gasped loudly. “Oh my gosh! You’re moving to Ponyville, Octy?! This is great! I told you that I was going to eventually throw you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville Party’! Now you also get a ‘Welcome to Your New House Party’ at the same time!”

Finally recovering from the shock and affectionate assault, Octavia took one last deep breath and replied, “Hello again, Pinkie. I see you are as hyper as ever. While I do appreciate the party, the greeting was a bit too enthusiastic.”

“No problem,” replied Pinkie.

“Pinkie.”

“Yep?”

“Please get off me.”

“Okay.” Pinkie happily chirped as she leapt off Octavia. “Now, let’s start this party!” she announced as she went to tend to other ponies to make sure they were having a good time.

“Sorry about that, but Pinkie really does love surprise parties,” remarked the purple unicorn as she walked towards Octavia and helped her up. On the unicorn’s flank was a six-pointed, magenta star surrounded by small bursts of light, representing her cutie mark. “Then again, she likes all parties in general. Anyway, I’m Twilight Sparkle. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Octavia.”

“The pleasure is mine. So, what do you mean you finally get to meet me?” Octavia asked.

“Pinkie and Rarity are two of my best friends, and they have been talking quite a bit about you. They really seemed to have had a great time with you. I’m glad you girls became such good friends in such a short time,” replied Twilight.

“Ah yes, they have been so understanding and supportive when I was last here in town. Did they happen to mention why I was in town?”

“Yes, they did say that although you were here to ask Rarity for a dress, you also were having some music related troubles.”

Octavia nodded. “That is correct, and that is also one of the reasons I decided to come stay in Ponyville for a while. I hope to spend my time here finding a solution.”

“Hey, Twilight,” a voice called from the side.

Octavia turned her head towards the new voice, and her eyes widened.

A small purple dragon with green spikes was waddling towards them, holding a batch of cupcakes in his claws. “You got to try some of Pinkie’s cupcakes with hot sauce,” he said as he threw one into his mouth.

“Uh, that’s alright,” Twilight nervously replied. “You can have some for me, Spike.” Twilight waved a hoof towards Octavia. “Anyway, Spike, this is Octavia. She’s the new pony moving into town.”

Spike waved at Octavia. “Hey.”

Octavia waved back as she continued to stare at Spike in silence.

“Well, I’m going to get more cupcakes. See you, girls,” Spike said as he walked off.

“Was that a dragon?” Octavia asked when she recovered her senses.

Twilight giggled. “Yes, that’s Spike. He’s my assistant, and we knew each other since we were little. We live and work together in the library.”

Twilight clapped her hooves. “Oh, I know what you can do! You should drop by the library sometime. I bet we can find a book that will help with your troubles. And if that doesn’t work, I’m sure with the help of me and my friends, we can figure something out to solve your problems.”

Octavia smiled. “That sounds like an idea. I am glad that I am back for an extended stay and am looking forward to spending more time with you and your friends. Speaking of, is Rarity around?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Not quite, but she should be here any minute now. She always has to be fashionably late to a party.”

As though she was responding to Twilight’s statement, Rarity appeared at the door, wearing a dazzling dress that might have had a few too many sequins. “I’m here!” she announced.

“Hello again, Rarity,” Octavia replied.

“Octavia!” Rarity quickly trotted over and embraced Octavia in a hug. “It’s so good to see you again. Don’t tell me you are the one moving here.”

Octavia nodded. “I am. I decided to go ahead and take a vacation away from all the concerts and guest appearances.”

“That sounds wonderful. You were so flustered the last time I saw you. That reminds me, how was the finale concert?” Rarity asked.

Octavia lightly coughed as she averted her eyes from Rarity. “It was… not one of my best concerts.”

Rarity looked away. “Oh… I see…”

An awkward silence hung in the air between the three ponies.

Twilight’s eyes shifted from Octavia to Rarity. “So…” Twilight said, breaking the silence. “how about we go and enjoy the party?”

Grateful for the change of subject, Octavia replied, “Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea.” Octavia smiled at the two unicorns. “I would be happy to spend some time with my friends.”

“Yay!” Pinkie cheered as she suddenly appeared by Octavia’s side, causing the gray mare to leap away in fright. “Octy wants to spend time with us!”

“Hey, girls,” a voice from behind greeted.

Octavia turned around to see a cerulean-colored pegasus with a rainbow mane coming in through the door. Her cutie mark was a chromatic lightning bolt shooting out of a cloud. She was followed by another pegasus with a yellow coat, a pink mane, and three pink butterflies in a triangle shape as her cutie mark.

“Sorry we’re late, but Fluttershy here was taking a long time feeding all her animals,” said the colorful pegasus.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash, but you know how Angel can be a bit picky and likes his salad prepared a certain way,” said Fluttershy, her soft voice barely audible amidst the din of the party.

“It’s cool,” Rainbow replied along with a dismissal wave of her hoof. She turned to look at Octavia. “So, I guess you’re the new pony in town. I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria.” Rainbow pulled Fluttershy next to her. “And this is Fluttershy. She likes taking care of animals.”

“Um… hi,” was all Fluttershy said, most of her face hiding behind her mane.

“Pleased to meet you both. I’m Octavia.”

“Cool,” replied Rainbow as she turned to Pinkie. “Hey, Pinkie, did Applejack bring any cider?”

“Nope, sorry. Applejack could not come because she’s busy applebucking,” Pinkie answered.

“Still? I know it’s applebucking season, but couldn’t she at least take a break to come to a party?” Rainbow complained.

“Come now, Rainbow,” said Rarity, “you know this time of the year is really busy for her.”

“Yea, yea. I know” Rainbow conceded, folding her hooves across her chest as she pouted.

“Who is this Applejack?” Octavia asked.

“Oh, she’s another good friend of ours who works at Sweet Apple Acres. It’s a huge apple farm located on the outskirts of Ponyville,” Twilight answered.

Octavia raised an eyebrow. A mare that works at an apple farm… Could it be?

“Does she manage the whole farm all by herself?” Octavia asked, trying to discreetly see if Applejack was the same pony she saw that night.

“She works with her brother, Big Macintosh. Occasionally, her little sister, Apple Bloom, and her grandmother, Granny Smith, helps with some of the chores. It’s pretty much just them most of the time,” stated Twilight.

“What does she look like? Maybe I’ll bump into her sometime,” said Octavia.

“Well, she has an orange coat and a yellow mane. She always has her mane and tail tied up, and she likes to wear a stetson.”

“That’s good to know. I hope to sometime visit the mare that is also such good friends with all of you.”

“That sounds like a splendid idea,” said Rarity.

“Hey!” Pinkie suddenly yelled. “Why are we just standing around talking? We should be partying!”

The other mares chuckled as they nodded in agreement.

Octavia smiled. For now, she will enjoy the party. Tonight, she will finally confront the mare dominating her thoughts, Applejack.

Comments

[AppleFire-Fan99]

cant wait for the meeting between AppleJack and Octavia

[Indeliblink]

Each new chapter of this story is a treat.
...
moarnowplz

[Satto Kez]

Thank you for, the lovely update.
As always I'm loving this story!
Keep up the amazing work!

[punzil504]

Tonight, she will finally confront the mare dominating her thoughts, Applejack.

derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/2/7/545760__safe_solo_applejack_animated_screencap_smile_bedroom+eyes_apple_sweat_simple+ways.gif

[Kevinltk]

4127937
Octavia does not see Applejack that way... yet.

[Nox Knock Jokes]

4130415

So she sees her as competition? Or something like that? I'm kinda confused on how she feels about AJ.

[HeartfireFirebrand]

4130415
Yet huh neat