Oh, Octavia! (Final Act)
Oh, Octavia! (Act VII)
The Song Your Heart Sings
By ScoopDaily
Well read as he was, Scoop was unprepared for Octavia’s “first date”. The vibrantly pink earth pony with aqua eyes, a sky-blue mane and tail, and a coy smile was positively stunning. Scoop found himself attracted to the pretty pony... until he realized it was a stallion.
“I... feel like I need to wash my eyes out with soap,” he said, and Octavia chuckled.
“Oh, Octavia!” the pink pony said, greeting her warmly with a hoofshake. “I was beginning to believe you wouldn’t show up! Shall we get started on our little soiree?”
The teenage Octavia pasted on a smile. “Yes indeed, Bubblegum! What should we do first? Cotton Candy? A couple rides? Ooooh, or how about an arcade game?”
Bubblegum seemed thoroughly convinced by Octavia’s display of fake excitement; Scoop and his companion, however, were not. “Wow, could you have been any more sarcastic?” Scoop teased.
Octavia blushed. “I must say, I thought he was rather cute... I’m sure you’ve guessed why.”
“Because he looks like a mare!” Scoop enthused, and he collapsed onto the ground in a raucous fit of laughter. Octavia jabbed his chest with a hoof, knocking the wind from him, and he quickly rose and wiped the tears from his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But that’s too funny.”
“I wasn’t aware I liked mares at this point, you dolt, and Bubblegum is one of the nicest ponies you’ll ever meet. He reminded me of my sister Pinkamena, whose enthusiasm and childish sweetness I had begun to miss terribly by this point. Too much time apart from my family perhaps swayed my decision to entertain Bubblegum’s affections, but I found him strangely attractive for a stallion.”
“Stallion may be a bit of an exaggeration. That colt looks like he may be a colt-chaser.”
“I will have you know,” Octavia began haughtily, becoming slightly fed-up with Scoop’s taunting. “That Bubblegum is one of the most straight-arrow ponies you will ever meet and is not a colt-cuddler! He lives in Ponyville and, from what I’ve heard, has been attempting to earn the attention of my sister.”
“...I thought Inkette lived in Bostmane.”
“Pinkie!”
This sent Scoop into another fit of laughter, though he managed to retain his footing this time. “I’m sure.” he chuckled. “And he undoubtedly spend the years previous to his infatuation with your sister in perfectly heterosexual relationships, am I right?”
Even Octavia laughed at this, though she responded in the negative. “I’m afraid not. Just watch the memory, okay Daily?” At this, Scoop nodded and turned to the teenage duo.
Bubblegum and the young Octavia proceeded towards the midway, and the young Octavia shuddered. She had already spent a goodly portion of her allotted bits on a single arcade game and she didn’t want to be suckered into playing another. She mentioned this to the bouncy and smiling Bubblegum, who smiled and laughed. “I won’t force you to play any games, Octavia, but I definitely want to play some.”
Octavia smiled and nodded, though internally she was aggravated. What kind of jerk pony would force her to watch while he played arcade games? Minutes later, and much to Octavia’s surprise, Bubblegum plunked down a bag full of bits at a water-gun game, turned to Octavia, and motioned to the gun with a hoof. “You want the first turn, Octavia?” the pink pony bubbled. Octavia’s smiled widened and authenticated.
“Why... I mean... sure! Thank you, Bubblegum!”
Bubblegum (squee from the elder Octavia, blurgh from Scoop) giggled. The bubbly, somehow thoroughly masculine sound seemed to brighten the young Octavia’s spirits as she stepped up to the stall and took hold of the yoke. “Ah’ll give you a moment to get used to the controls thar, miss,” said the acne-ridden carnie running the booth. Octavia swiveled the low-tech gun around, feeling the gears swivel about beneath the surface of the booth’s counter. She heard a soft click and grind as the rotation hit a rough spot. Have to watch out for that, she thought as the carnie nodded. “Gotch yerself all set up thar?” he drawled, and Octavia nodded confidently. “Awlrighty then. Here w’ go.”
Several lights around the stylized bullseye mounted in the center of the booth flickered on and the small reservoir mounted on top of the gun filled with water. A small LED display above the sign read “3” and began to count down. At “2”, Bubblegum hazarded a pat on Octavia’s back. “Good luck!” he said.
The buzzer trilled and Octavia rammed both hooves down on the small pads attached to the gun’s controls. Water immediately sprayed forward and directly into the small hole in the center of the bullseye. The carnie running the booth looked astounded, jaw agape; he quickly recollected himself and flicked a small control out of sight beneath the countertop. The bullseye began to move in a slow circular motion. This didn’t throw the smart music-mare off, however, and Octavia kept the water directly beaded in the center of the target. A small balloon mounted on the LED monitor indicating her closeness to victory had already filled halfway with water.
Scoop, impressed with the young Octavia’s skill, turned to the elder. “Wow. How did you keep the gun sighted in like that? I’m amazing, and I couldn’t have done that!”
“It was all mathematical, scientific, and mechanical. I’m a sauvant. Figure it out,” Octavia said, only half joking. Scoop shook his head with a smile and turned to watch the memory once again. The bullseye had began to rotate rapidly and stop erratically, but Octavia kept the stream of water focused at the direct center. Bubblegum bounced by the side of the booth, cheering wildly.
“Go Octavia, woohoo! You’ve got this! It’s all you!”
Octavia smiled and looked at the bouncy pink pony. He reminded her so much of Pinkie Pie, and yet... her heart felt funny. “Is this what it’s like to be in love?” she thought. Her momentary lapse in focus cost her the grand prize; the balloon quickly lost its volume and the buzzer sounded again.
“Whoo-wee! You almowst cost me this li’l beauty right here!” the carnie shouted, motioning to a giant stuffed teddy bear outfitted in a purple bow tie. “Pick a prize from the ‘Large’ Rack, missie, and great job!”
Octavia reveled in the carnie’s momentary praise and selected a polka-dotted cheetah from a rack of similar prizes hanging to one side of the booth. With that, Bubblegum gathered his remaining bits and the two walked into the crowd.
“Where’d you learn to shoot like that, Octavia? That was amazing! I’ve never seen anypony keep a bead on the middle of the target like that! If I had tried, I would’ve sprayed that water across the booth and hit somepony in the face!”
Octavia giggled. “I guess it just comes naturally,” she said, batting her eyes at the pink pony. Scoop noticed that Bubblegum averted his eyes and pointed to the food stalls set up next to the midway. “Why don’t we get something to eat? Are you hungry?” The lack of response to her flirtation seemed lost on the young Octavia, and she nodded enthusiastically.
“Starved!”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Octavia and Scoop continued to follow the pink and gray ponies through the fair, watching as the younger Octavia made advances towards Bubblegum; Bubblegum seemed to purposefully avoid these attempts at flirtation.
“Is he purposefully avoiding you?” Scoop asked the elder Octavia. She shrugged.
“Watch the memory, Mister Daily. All will be explained in the end.”
At the present moment, the young Octavia and Bubblegum stood in line for the bumper cars amidst a gaggle of colts, fillies, and teenagers. Octavia looked uncomfortable at being the oldest pony in the line, but Bubblegum’s bouncy and flighty nature seemed to reassure her to some degree. “Oh buddy, Bumper Cars!” he said, bouncing in circles around Octavia, who was rapidly growing dizzy. “Jostling, bumping, bouncing off walls! Is there anything better?”
Octavia snatched up her change. “I could think of a few things,” she said, immediately clapping a hoof over her muzzle. Bubblegum ignored her, but Scoop turned to her older counterpart.
“Wow.”
Octavia raised an eyebrow.
“He didn’t even rise to that,” Scoop said, smirking.
“I had begun to suspect that he was a colt-cuddler by this point,” the elder Octavia said darkly. “He just seemed so bouncy and fun, but he’s completely uninterested in me. Not in a friendly sense, of course; he was overly jovial and kind, but this engagement just didn’t seem to be a date.”
Octavia and Bubblegum walked onto the slippery floor and found their respective cars. At the sound of the buzzer, all of the colorful modes of conveyance started to move in random directions. Within moments, the small arena was filled with the squeals and shouts of ponies, the crashes of the cars impacting against one another, and the soft bonging noises made when one of the carts bounced off the side of the ring.
Letting herself go, the young Octavia sped around the ring in her purple car, bouncing off other colts and fillies left and right. She sighted in on Bubblegum, who was chasing down a blue car on the other side of the ring. Octavia mashed the small pedal within the cockpit to the floor and the small car sped across the ring. Bubblegum didn’t see it coming it until it was too late and Octavia’s car smashed into his full force. The impact was strong enough to send his car spinning across the ring and it ricocheted off the bumper at the edge.
Bubblegum threw his head back and, once again, the air was filled with the sound of his bubbly laugh. Octavia couldn’t help but giggle as well, and as the buzzer sounded and the passengers began to disembark, Octavia cantered to where he had just exited his car.
“That was fun! I’ve enjoyed our date immensely, Bubblegum! What say we... end on a high note?” she queried, pointing a hoof at the Ferris Wheel towering above the rest of the carnival attractions. Bubblegum’s smile dimmed for a moment, then returned.
“Okey dokey, artichokey!” he said, his voice filled with laughter. “I’ll race you there!”
The two ponies galloped off through the crowd, narrowly avoiding collisions with the tightly-packed fairgoers. They arrived quickly at the base of the massive wheel and joined the line.
Scoop and Octavia had a hard time following the revelers through the crowd, and it took Octavia’s insistence that they were, indeed, headed for the Farris Wheel to keep Scoop pointed in the right direction. They arrived at the base just as the duo stepped into one of the gondolas. The elder duo raced literally through some of the ponies surrounding the ride and into the capsule just as the door slammed shut behind them.
Thought out of breath, Scoop knew that now was the time to ask some of the most important questions surrounding this date. “Octavia, you’re obviously in love with Vinyl now. You have abandoned any precept of a heterosexual relationship and have fallen madly in love with a mare. I must ask, however, what was going through your mind as you and Bubblegum began your ride upward?”
Octavia took a seat next to her younger self as Scoop sat down across from her. She clutched her hooves over her heart, though Scoop could tell she wasn’t being at all dramatic. “My heart was fluttering. I remember being nervous, excited, and... well... on cloud nine all at once! My first date had gone so well, and yet, Bubblegum didn’t seem to even like me in that way! For the first time in my life, I was seriously considering the affections of another pony; affections that he himself didn’t seem to harbor for me! I can’t say that I was in love with the pink pony, but he had definitely won some measure of my attention and adoration.”
Scoop nodded. “What are we about to witness transpire?”
“Bubblegum and I reach the top of the Farris Wheel and, just like in all the romance novels I had ever read previous to this date, the gondola stops right at the very top, just as the sun is setting. My heart was racing, I looked deep into his eyes...”
Scoop watched the events unfold in real time as Bubblegum and Octavia gaze at one another. Octavia is obviously curious and somewhat infatuated, while Bubblegum seemed nervous and out of place. “Bubblegum,” the young Octavia began. “Why did you ask me out today?”
“Well... I, uh... it was... I wanted to be friends with you,” Bubblegum stuttered. Octavia looked slightly confused and crestfallen, but plunged ahead nonetheless.
“Just friends?”
“Well... um... hoo, boy...” Bubblegum mumbled as Octavia leaned ever closer. He attempted to back away but was stopped as his rump pressed up against the cage prohibiting exit from the capsule. The ride had yet to start moving again, and Scoop watched as Bubblegum’s concern turned to momentary panic.
“Bubblegum...” the young Octavia muttered huskily as her face came within inches of his. His eyes darted wildly about, seeking an escape of any kind, though none was to be found. They were within a cage dangling 260 odd feet off the ground; any hope of escape would surely lead to his death.
“Wait!” he shouted desperately. Octavia’s half-lidded eyes fluttered fully open and she halted, her lips still pursed. “Octavia, I... I don’t want to be your coltfriend!”
Octavia’s confused look returned, followed in succession by hurt, anger, and then outrage. “Then... why did you ask me out?”
“Wait... I didn’t... I mean... oh no, this looks bad.”
“You’re damn right it looks bad! How dare you lead a lady on like this!”
With a resounding crack, Octavia’s hoof collided with Bubblegum’s face, knocking the poor pink pony asunder. The elder Octavia gasped as Bubblegum sprawled out across the seat, his head and shoulders phasing through Scoop’s astral form.
“You unbelieveable horse!” the teenage Octavia screamed, and her anger seemed to trigger the Ferris Wheel’s movement as it started its descent. “I... I’ve never been so ashamed and embarrassed in my life!”
Bubblegum made an uncharacteristically wise decision and chose just to lay prostrate on the seat, his frightened eyes locked onto the seething filly across from him. As their basket touched down, Octavia kicked at the door; the attendant hurried to unlock it before her furious pounding could do any damage.
“Easy dere, miss... don’t want to hurt da ride now, do ya?”
Octavia stared daggers at the carnie as she stormed past, and he backed off a few hoofsteps to avoid being within striking distance of the seething music mare. Scoop and Octavia quickly followed after her.
“What were you doing?” Scoop asked, and Octavia shrugged again, looking ashamed.
“I didn’t know... I thought he was leading me on.”
“Well, you’ve got to tell me now! The date is most surely over!” Scoop exclaimed.
Octavia shook her head. “No. He chases me down, and I think you’ll want to hear what he has to say.”
Scoop and Octavia both watched as the now sobbing teenaged Octavia gallops out of the fair’s gates and into the busy street beyond. She continued down the streets of Manehattan, nearly making it to Broadmare street, before Bubblegum finally caught up to her.
“Octavia, please, wait! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to lead you on!”
Octavia whirled on the remorseful Bubblegum. “Then what was this, Bubblegum? Huh? What were you thinking? We did things friends don’t do! We rode the Ferris Wheel together! You paid for my arcade game! How did you not mean to lead me on?”
Bubblegum looked ashamed. “I... I just wanted to be friends with you because...” Bubblegum seemed to think better of telling her his reasons, and continued. “Just rest assured that I didn’t mean to hurt you in any way. I’m sorry for being a jerk, I really am... but I’m in love with another pony. I have been forever. I was just... I thought that, if I got close to you, I could...”
Understanding seemed to dawn on the young Octavia. The Cotton Candy mane and tail, the vibrant pink coat, the bubbly, sweet nature... “You know my sister?”
Ashamed, Bubblegum nodded. “I’m sorry. I knew this was a bad idea, but I figured, if I became good friends with you and got to know you... just maybe... I wouldn’t be so shy around her. Ever since she came to Ponyville, I’ve been... I just... I love her.”
Octavia nodded sympathetically, wiping the tears from her eyes as her fury dissipated. “I’m not going to tell you what a big mistake it is to get closer to a girl by dating her sister,” she said jokingly, and she and Bubblegum laughed as the tension dissipated as well.
“Pinkie is a friendly, kind-hearted pony. You may not know her, but she most definitely knows you. She knows everypony she’s ever met, remembers their names, and she’s the easiest pony in all of Equestria to get close to. Just talk to her.”
Bubblegum seemed ready to make an excuse, but just nodded. “Okay.”
“And... either way, Bubblegum, thanks for the date. I had fun.”
“Can I walk you back to the Music Academy?” he asked.
“That would be most lovely,” said the teenage Octavia, re-adopting her sophisticated demeanor. With that, she and Bubblegum proceeded down the street and the memory ground to a halt.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Well, you know what happens from here,” Octavia said after she and Scoop had resurfaced from their memory diving. “I graduate the following year from the music academy and go on to become the mare I am today.”
“But how did you meet and fall in love with Vinyl Scratch?” Scoop asked, clearly confused.
Octavia looked at him strangely. “Read the Vinyl Scratch Tapes, Daily. From what I can remember, they were published to an extent in your own magazine!”
Scoop blushed furiously. “Oh, right.” Scoop had failed to remember that, while nopony had ever gained an interview with Octavia before him, several ponies had managed to get interviews with the much more social Vinyl Scratch.
Tucking his notepad into a saddlebag, having filled it with the final details for his article, Scoop nodded towards Octavia and her marefriend, who was standing nearby.
“Thanks for the interview, Octavia... and for allowing me to stay here while I wrote it!”
Octavia nodded graciously. “I know you were only doing your duty, Scoop, but I must say; if the princess ever asks you to steal a memory in the future, I hope you’ll be able to determine whether or not it's for a good cause or if it’s even necessary.”
Scoop waved goodbye as the brick door slid closed behind him, locking in place before Octavia’s secret home. He proceeded down the alley, the report in his saddlebag, his mind already filled with future interview prospects.
At that moment, a resounding boom shook the earth, followed by a rainbow comet tail streaking across the sky. Scoop looked up to admire Dash’s handiwork and was nearly bowled over as a second explosion rocked the earth and the sky lit up like a flashbang.
“What on...” he began, only to stop speaking and gape as a rainbow rift tore through the fabric of space itself, leaving a glowing trail that extended on into the sky and disappeared into space. Scoop shook his head and heaved a sigh.
“Next stop, Ponyville.”
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A/N: Well, there it is, ponies! This fic is over! What a ride!
Lol, just kidding. While Oh, Octavia! itself is finished, that ending couldn’t possibly handle all the awesome in my mind! This story will be continued in my next big work, entitled Sanctuary. If it doesn’t release on EQD (they usually reject human-in-Equestria stories), look for it on FimFiction. I’m going to try to snag the “Bubblegum” tag, but if its taken, I will continue to release under the name “ScoopDaily”. Also, keep your eyes peeled for another book I’m writing called “My Little Love Story”. It’s been a blast to write both books so far, and I’m having a lot of fun doing it!
Thanks again for reading, and I hope you’ll give my other fics a chance!
Love,
Bubblegum (a.k.a. Scoop Daily)
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Glad to see this on fimfiction, will read!
potentially mane6/oc shipping makes me potentially annoyed :(
aw well, great story none the less. Thanks for the ride, its been great
Who's shipped with who in this fic? Just a pre-read question (secretly hoping for Octavia/Vinyl).
413612 Octavia x Vinyl and sorta OC x Luna. Don't really know where I went with that...
414250
Now going to read immediately.
This fic was sorta, WTB for me. The writing is excellent, as is the grammar, and you never once said hand (thank goodness). I can't help but feel that I needed to read a different fic to get more context for this one, but in the end I understood everything just fine. I also laughed when Vinyl tackled Octavia, and for that you get a thumbs up and a moustache
Hmmm, I liked the fic alot though there are still some blank spaces that need to be filled in 'though its probobly just my curiousity', definitely "Thumbs Up" worthy.
Very good over all, & sequel? Hmmm... *Adds Bubblegum to Watch list*
This was an awesome story, and i loved the reference to the VST!
WHOOOOOHOOOOO
I love this story! Thanks for uploading it here!
636340 Read My Little Love Story and, when it eventually gets accepted by EQD, read Elyon's Fable. All will be revealed...
I had fun reading this fic, I'd say one of the best fics I've ever read
I was surprised that it ended though. But still, I hope you get to write more 
Will read My Little Love Story soon dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Scootaloo_lolface.png
Had high hopes for this story but immediately became disinterested after it became another tired old VinylxOctavia esspecially when in the beginning it look to be a OctaviaxScoop at first glance. Might be a bit picky on my part since I prefer hetero couples but the Vin and Oct thing is old and all over the place plus never once enjoy the pair to begin with.
Despite my feelings on the shipping it is not the only thing which tore me away from the story though. It was also the confusing story twists and odd event which followed afterward that seem to derailed the story from how it began which just made me gave up on it all together. Basically, (to me anyways) this was a fanfic that had a good start then fell apart soon after.
Also yes I know the twist and odd event has something to do with your other story but can't say I have any interest in it and from the looks of how it was put in here seem quite shoe horned in, as it sticks out like a sore thumb.
652551
I actually agree with you on your second point; I diverged quite a bit from my original intent on this story, and it IS getting a re-write eventually. This was my very first fanfic, after all, and I had so many other great ideas for fanfics WHILE I was writing this one that they started to seep in from all directions. My humblest apologies. The primary reason for this was that Scoop Daily was MY OC, and I began to realize that I didn't just want to write a fic shipping myself with Madame Octavia.
Nevertheless, I'm afraid you'll just have to deal with the shipping pair. I think Vinyl and Octavia are ADORABLE together, even though I am not good at writing lesbian relationships. Perhaps I will write a second story, more closely depicting my original intent for this story, but that will not be for some time. If you want to see me at my best, wait a couple of days: the story "Under the Moon: All Fired Up" is some of my best yet.
Thank you for your criticism and have an excellent evening.
Love and Candy Kisses,
Bubblegum