Silent Theater
"Octavia?"
She looks up from her sheet music, then back down. "Twilight."
Twilight steps into the practice room and closes the door behind her. Amidst the mess of papers and instrument cases littering the floor, she hones in on a clear patch of floor and takes a seat.
Octavia spares another glance at her, clutching her cello a little tighter. Twilight catches her gaze, and Octavia quickly looks back to her music. She lifts her bow to the strings and begins to play, slowly.
The room's walls absorb every note. To her, she might as well be playing in an open field.
"Octavia, I—"
"I'm practicing right now, Twilight."
"..." Her wings ruffle nervously.
The notes come quicker. Her heart beats with it, but not from the music.
"Can we talk?"
"Can't."
"...fine."
Faster and faster, the notes slide off the strings, staying in tempo to the pounding in her chest.
"...I didn't know." Quieter, this time.
"..."
The bow slips off the string but recovers, a single loose note sneaking into the harmony. A drop hits the cello's surface. A lip quivers.
"I thought he just wanted to hear your performance again. Like I did. And... you did."
"..."
The music gets louder in her ears, the bow grinding harder against the strings. Maybe, if it gets loud enough, it'll drown out that memory of silence. That deafening silence filling the theater.
"That's what he told me too. That he saw you in the practice room with the crystal, just listening to your music. That he wanted to have one too."
"Well, we both know he wanted more than that now, don't we?" Octavia hisses, her bow falling to her side.
Twilight flinches.
Octavia sighs and raises her bow once more.
"...I'm sorry."
The bow screeches painfully against the string. Twilight's ears splay back.
"I know you are!" Octavia cries, barely resisting the urge to throw her bow. "But what will that do now?! All I wanted was to hear my notes played back to me so I could fix my mistakes easier! And maybe, once I perfected them, fall asleep to them under my pillow! My music and my marefriend's magic, together!"
"...I—"
"How do you think I felt when I showed up to my next recital, ready to play a better performance of my last piece, only to see all the seats empty?!"
"I would've—"
"I thought 'Oh! Maybe Sharp Note accidentally messed up the time or date of the recital! Mistakes happen!'. Then I went outside and saw dozens of ponies clutching crystals just like mine, all playing the same music from last recital, just like what your spell does!"
"But I—"
"Then I went to each of them, asking where they got it from, and they all pointed to my manager, who was selling them, each with a copy of my music, using your magic, right in front of my face!" Octavia lifts her bow and points it at Twilight. "Why couldn't you just give him a crystal too?!"
"I— I was going to! N— no, I did!" Twilight sputters. "But after that, he became so curious about how the spell works, trying to understand its intricacies and underlying spell matrix and—"
"And you got carried away and explained everything about it, didn't you! Especially how to cast it!"
"How could I not?!" Twilight rises to her hooves. "You never told me you wanted it kept between us! I may have created that spell for you, but I am proud of what I accomplish with my magic, and I don't believe knowledge should be kept locked away in secrecy. At least when harmless."
"Well, good. For. You." Octavia snorts. "So where does that put me, huh? My favorite recital piece is now getting mass-produced across Canterlot through your crystals. Did you know those ponies would rather synchronize a bunch of them with my music and spread them throughout a garden party than actually listen to me?"
"I'm sorry!" Twilight screams, a trace of alicorn magic seeping into her voice. "I... I didn't know. I didn't know he'd go behind your back like that. I didn't know you wanted it to be something special between us. I'm... sorry."
Octavia glares into Twilight's regretful eyes, tears of sadness barely visible through her own tears of rage.
A symphony of breaths and sniffles fills the air, hungrily absorbed into the walls.
She sighs tiredly.
"...no."
Twilight's eyes widen. "But I—"
"No, Twilight." Octavia raises a hoof to wipe at her eyes. "You... shouldn't be sorry. You're right, you couldn't have known. I'm the one that should be sorry."
"N— no, but, if I hadn't taught him the spell, then—"
"How could you not?" Octavia chuckles softly. "You love magic. You're so passionate about it, about exploring the old and creating where there was once nothing. Like me with music. It's how I fell in love with you in the first place. I... shouldn't blame you for being what makes you you." She laugh dryly. "Besides... I was the one who told him how I got my crystal. And I was so proud of... you, that I told him anyway."
She puts down her cello and walks over to Twilight, wrapping a hoof around her. Twilight practically dives on her.
They embrace silently, eyes closed, time becoming a distant thought.
"Are..." Twilight begins hesitantly. "Are we good?"
Octavia sighs with a smile. "Yes, Twi."
"I'll... I'll track him down and... order him to halt production. Then I'll track down all the crystals. It's my magic, I can sense them wherever." Twilight's wings flare wide.
Octavia giggles. "I thought you hate pulling princess."
"Would you stop me?"
"...no."
I stand alone.
Cello and bow.
Lights blinding.
Empty theater.
I close my eyes.
Feel the music.
In my heart.
Breath in.
Bow raised.
A bang.
A flash.
My eyes open.
Twilight smiles.
I smile back.
The theater in my heart, filled.
I lift my bow to the strings.
And I play.
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two fics in two days? This man is out of control!
That ending was poetic. Great work as always 🙌🏽
Aww…this was really cute. I love your ending poem, very sweet. I didn’t catch on at first what it was about, but it makes so much sense. I’d love to have seen that magic also used for good, though. Like reaching ponies all across equestria who otherwise couldn’t see it played. Or inspiring a foal.
Cute! :3
Yet another fantastic fic, utterly love it
I had a little trouble deciphering who was speaking in some sections, but that might have just been me. Good story! Octavia and Twilight is a cute ship
This is one of my top 20 favorite ships involving Twilight.
Hope to see more of these stories in the future.
Oooh, my goodness! Goodness me. Six tea is written more!. And good stuff too!
Another banger.
Love the ending!
Octavia x Twilight is quite an intriguing ship, I must say. Personally I feel the ScratchTavia ship is a little overrated and overused in my opinion, but ships like these have potential as it's nice to see Octavia be with different ponies for once.
11949076
You might like Private Gig.
It's an old classic from the early days when we were just learning (and deciding) the personalities of certain ponies, exploring new ships, and seeing what works.
Remains unfinished, but is no less an entertaining and engaging read.
11949186
I've read that one, actually. It is quite neat.
Did twilight just invent the Sony Walkman ?
Too bad the first song released was pirated
Aside, I love seeing Octavia
I love rarepairs! Rarepairs are my life!
That was beautiful.
A nice little piece- after having little fights like this myself before... Boy do I understand the well-meaning mistake, and passions driven to a point of making a major mistake.
Drama, fluff, and compact dialogue all in one. And that poetic little section at the end ices the 1k so well. Nicely done.
Very cute and unique pairing between Octavia and Twilight! Very nice fic, and honestly it'd be neat to see more of the couple in the future, if you desire exploring it more!
Really love it 😍🥰
I love this story. It encapsulates everything I want from fiction; meaningful, character-driven conflict between characters who are easy to sympathize with, wholesome tones, a positive ending, and the slightest hint of an underlying message. It's a great example, imo, of a written story emulating the stylings of classical stage plays, a fitting character drama.
This story really benefits from the 1K limit. It has just the right pacing, and the body language does plenty to convey the missing words while adding a silent feeling to the opening especially.
There is nothing like reading a well-written story with a fresh idea!
Nicely done
.
aww love this
augh love a good ponies’ ears splaying back
oof, the unintended consequences of technological advancement!
and augh, of course to us this is a musician’s dream but it would indeed seem different to the musicians whose world shifted underneath their hooves with this change
ehehe the perks of dating a princess, at least in reversing the problems she herself had caused!
and aww, love it! love the rarepairing and the look at the unintended consequences of Twilight-led magitech advancements. thanks for writing!
This one of my favourite!