• Published 29th Jul 2014
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My Overbearing Aunt: Alternate Perspectives - Sketchy Changeling



A parallel to the original My Overbearing Aunt, detailing untold events form the viewpoint of the female characters.

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4 - Octavia's Prologue: Left Behind

I sat quietly in my bedroom as I sipped my afternoon tea, letting out a content sigh as I relaxed in my rolling desk chair. I looked up at a picture that I had framed and placed on my work desk. It was a photograph of my ensemble mates and me from this year’s Grand Galloping Gala, an event that we’ve played at since our late high school days. They were classmates of mine from the Canterlot University for the Arts, and we were all music majors. I looked forward to seeing them once school started back up again.

Just then, my phone began to ring, and I smiled as I saw the name of the caller.

“Speak of the devil,” I chuckled to myself as I picked up the phone. “Hello?” I answered.

“Hello, Octavia!” an excited male voice said into the phone.

“Frederick Horseshoepin. To what do I owe this honor?” I joked.

“Very funny. Your summer has been enjoyable, I hope.”

“While I’m not doing anything special, I can’t complain. I’ve been staying with my parents all summer, but at the moment I have the house to myself.”

“Looking at our picture from the last Gala, I wager.”

“Am I really getting that predictable?”

Frederick laughed. “I’m afraid so. I don’t blame you, though. It’s best to hold onto those memories while you can, considering that was our last performance together.

I paused for a moment with my mind stuck on those last words of his before clearing my throat and replying. “Yes, so… how have you and Beauty Brass been doing since transferring to Applewood Arts?”

“We’re adjusting well, and Parish is having a good time in Manehattan. It’s just… hard to believe that we’re not an ensemble anymore.”

“I know. It’s also hard to believe that the four of us were just a bunch of high school foals that were lucky enough to be at the Gala. Now look at us; several years later, and we’ve played at every Gala since.”

“I know,” Frederick sighed, “and now Beauty and I have to think about our futures since we’re in our last year of college.”

“Well, don’t think of it as if it were the end. Think of it as if it were a new beginning,” I reassured him. “Do you two have any plans for after graduation?”

“Beauty does, but I don’t. I have no idea what I want to do.”

“You’re a smart stallion, Fred. I’m sure you’ll figure something out in due time.”

I heard him chuckle nervously. “Thanks, Octavia.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Sure. We’ll keep in touch.”

I nodded. “Of course. Bye,” I said as I hung up, only to hear several knocks on the front door. “Coming!” I called out as I rushed downstairs to the door and looked out the peephole. When I saw the spiky blue mane and the easily recognizable pair of sunglasses, a smile grew on my face and I opened the door.

“Vinyl!” I greeted the mare with glee. “How are you?”

“Y’know. The usual,” the unicorn shrugged as she removed her sunglasses.

It always brightened my day when Vinyl came to visit. We had been roommates since our freshman year at CUFTA, and we had been inseparable ever since. My ensemble mates may have left, but I still had her.

“Well, come in and have a seat. Would you like any refreshments?” I offered.

“A cherry cola would be nice,” Vinyl said as she made herself comfortable on the living room couch. “Where are the ‘rents at?”

“They’re out running errands,” I told her as I poured her drink. “I have the house to myself for the afternoon.”

“Every young mare’s dream,” the unicorn chuckled.

“So what brings you here?” I asked as I handed Vinyl her drink and sat beside her.

“Well, you know how our school has that study abroad program where they send students to one of its sister schools?”

“Uh-huh…” I asked, unsure of where she was going with this.

“Well, I signed up for it and I’m gonna be heading off to Saddle Arabia next week!” Vinyl’s hands shot up into the air in excitement as she said those words, but all I could do was blankly stare at her in disbelief. “Why aren’t you smiling?”

I blinked in surprise. “Oh, well it’s just… it’s just really short notice.”

“I know, but I had been thinking about it all summer and I finally decided to take a chance on it. Some Saddle Arabian influence could really help take my music to the next level, y’know?”

“Yes… Of course…” I sighed as I took a sip of my tea.

Vinyl gave me a concerned look. “What’s wrong, Tavi?” she asked. “You’re not that upset that I’m leaving, are you? I mean, it’s only for a year, and I’ll be back for the holidays and stuff.”

I sighed again as I placed my teacup on the coffee table and stroked my hair. “It’s not just you leaving that bothers me,” I explained.

The unicorn’s eyes widened when she realized what I meant. “Oh yeah… I forgot that your bandmates transferred to other schools.”

“Out of all my friends, I thought that you would be the one to stay, but now you’re going all the way to Saddle Arabia…” I lamented.

“Well, I can always withdraw my application if you don’t want me to go.”

I shook my head. “No, don’t do that.”

“So you do want me to go then?”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t, but this isn’t about what I want. It wouldn’t be fair for me to tell you what not to do just because I’m uncomfortable with it. If this is something that you want to pursue, then by all means, go for it… but it’s unfortunate that all my closest friends are leaving.”

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Vinyl looking at me with drooped ears and a sad look on her face. “I’m really sorry, Octi. I didn’t know you felt this way.”

I took another sip of my tea in an effort to soothe myself. “It’s okay, Vinyl,” I told her. “I’ll be fine.”

Despite what I had said, I still wasn’t sure that I’d be able to cope with not having my friends close to me. I mean, as a college student, I should have been prepared for something like this, but the idea of it happening never really hit me until now.

It’s funny… you think that you’d be able to handle something, but when it actually happens, you have no idea what to do about it.

“Well, we’ll make the most out of the next week we have together before I have to leave, okay?”

Despite my lingering sadness at the fact that my best friend was about to leave me, I gave her a smile. “Yes, I’d like that.”

Vinyl smiled back, and then she closed her eyes. “Shit, you’re gonna make me cry now.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. Vinyl almost hated crying in front of others. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that,” I joked.

“So it’s settled, then. We’ll make the best of the time we have left together.”

I nodded with a smile as I tried to keep my head up, figuratively speaking, of course. Unfortunately, the harsh reality that my dear friend was going to eventually pack up and leave was still at the back of my head.


I wanted this past week to last forever, but instead it felt like mere seconds. It was almost as if Father Time was plotting against me. Before I knew it, seven days passed me by in the blink of an eye, and now I was at the train station platform with Vinyl as she waited for her train to Manehattan, where she would take a boat to Saddle Arabia. I looked back towards the exit, where my mother was waiting. I had asked her to give me some time alone with Vinyl before she left, but now I had no idea what to say to her.

“This past week was fun, eh ‘Tavi?”

I blinked and looked at the unicorn, who was looking back at me with a smile.

“Uh, yes. It was nice,” I replied absentmindedly.

Vinyl took notice of my unenthused tone and sighed. “Look, Octi. I know this sucks, but we had a good week, didn’t we? We went to the movies, visited an amusement park, we even went to that music museum you’ve been wanting to go to.”

“I know, I know,” I told her. “It’s just that I’m really not looking forward to being by myself.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. You’ll have a new roommate this year, and that should help you make some new friends. Don’t be such a downer.”

As much as I appreciated her words of encouragement. It didn’t do much to cheer me up.

Vinyl sighed again and put on her sunglasses. “We’ll still be in touch. I’ll Skype you from time to time.”

A small smile worked its way onto my face as I was reminded of the benefits of the integration with humans. “You promise?” I asked.

“Of course,” the unicorn smiled. Just then, an announcement was played on the train station’s PA system.

“Attention passengers, the train to… MANEHATTAN …is about to arrive. Please stand clear of the platform edges.”

Vinyl looked down the tracks as she saw the train come into view. “Well, there’s my ride,” she said, and then she turned back to me. “I’ll call you when I get to Manehattan, okay?”

I nodded my head silently, trying not to cry, but then I felt Vinyl’s arms wrap around me, pulling me into a tight hug.

“I’ll miss you, Octi,” she told me softly as she hugged me. I wasn’t sure if her voice was breaking or if my ears were just playing tricks on me.

Regardless, I hugged the unicorn back just as tightly. “I’ll miss you too, Vinyl,” I said as the tears became harder and harder to fight.

When we let go, the train pulled to a stop and the conductor stepped out. “Next stop, Neighagra Falls! Final stop, Manehattan! All aboard that’s goin’ aboard!”

“Like I said, I’ll call you when I get to Manehattan! Bye!” she said loudly over the crowd of ponies and people entering and exiting the train. Despite the smile she had on her face, I saw a tear run down her cheek as she looked at me one last time before boarding the train. I stood there and watched silently as the train pulled off and left the station, eventually leaving nothing but the smoke from the smokestack behind.

“Bye…” I said as the train disappeared from the horizon, my voice no louder than a whisper.

My head drooped as I walked towards the train station exit, where my mother was waiting for my with a sympathetic look on her face.

“Want me to drive home, love?” she asked.

It took me a moment to answer her. “Yeah…”

I sat silently in the car as my mother drove us home, and I looked out the window as we passed by the different buildings, ponies, and people. Mother noticed my downtrodden demeanor and tried to make conversation.

“You okay there, Octavia?” she asked.

“I’m fine, mother,” I lied.

“Come now, sweetheart. It wouldn’t hurt to tell me how you feel.”

I thought about it for a moment, and then I sighed. “I suppose not,” I said as I sat upright in my seat. “I’m just thinking about how all my closest friends have left and gone on to other things. My former bandmates have transferred out of CUFTA, and my roommate is off to Saddle Arabia while I’m stuck here by myself.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, love,” my mother said empathetically, “but you can’t expect everything to stay the same forever. This kind of thing happens quite often for college students. In fact, you’re rather lucky that you and your high school friends were able to attend the same college. Changes like these are… just a part of life.”

That was the problem. I was never one for change. While I never showed it, I was the one most torn about my ensemble breaking up. I had hoped that we’d all be together forever, and I would always chase away the possibility of that ending.

“I hate change…” I muttered, more to myself than to my mother, and she glanced at me with a sad look on her face for a quick moment.

“Sweetheart, don’t think of it as if it were the end. Think of it as if it were a new beginning.”

My eyes widened as I heard that, as those were the exact same words that I had said to Frederick not a week ago.

“I guess I should learn to practice what I preach,” I said under my breath.

“What was that, love?”

“Nothing, mother.”

She gave me a concerned look as we approached our house, and she parked the car in front of the garage. “Well, as I was saying, you could use this opportunity to expand your horizons and make more friends. All your friends are music majors, but have you ever considered making friends that study other arts?”

“Not really,” I admitted as I got out of the car.

“Then this is your chance to make those connections. You can start with your new roommate. I got an e-mail this morning from the school, and they attached a profile of your new roommate. Rarity, I think her name was. You could try and get to know her before school starts.”

“I don’t know…”

“Octavia, it wouldn’t hurt you to be a little more adventurous,” my mother sighed.

I looked at her with a blank face. “Adventurous?” I repeated.

“Come on, dear. Your father made some delicious egg salad for lunch.”

“Coming, mother,” I said as she walked into the house, and I marinated on my mother’s words, specifically that last one.

Adventurous…

Did she really think that I could be that kind of mare? I had always been the type of mare that would be content with things staying the same, but I had to admit it: that attitude wasn’t doing me wasn’t doing me any favors at the moment… so maybe it was time for a change of pace.

I took in a long, deep breath and looked up to the sky. “Well… I guess it wouldn’t hurt to be more adventurous.”

Author's Note:

So I think it goes without saying that this chapter was a little on the sad side, but things started to look up towards the end, at least a little. Nevertheless, we've got a little more background on Octavia now, so that's always a good thing.

And no, I didn't come up with the names of Octavia's ensemble mates myself. They're all official characters (as far as the Trading Card Game and official Gameloft app go, at least).

If you want an idea of how Octavia's mother looks, I was inspired by this picture:

Next will be Rarity's prologue (obviously), and I made a blog post asking what you guys want to see, so go and check that out. LINK. Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter in the comments, and I'll catch you guys later.

I'm gone!