Chapters Octavia was tired of books
Actually, thats an understatement. She was tired, sore, dusty and frankly sick of books. She despised them. She hated them, and now that the whole Warlock Stallion issue was over, she had personally made sure to get rid of each tome, scroll and magic that was in the library, if it could be called a library anymore.
"You do know that the princess is going to explode once she sees this..."
"Silence Hugin."
Every book shelve had been cleared and dusted, leaving most of the former library empty, save for a few clear pages that Octavia had saved for future composing, along with a couple of quills and a few bottles of ink. She had left spaces on the former book shelves empty and clear in order to place her instruments as they arrived, as any future item, prize or anything that was worth enough to put in display.
"Alright. All done." Octavia pushed the final box outside. It was heavy and filled with old land treaties. "That was the last of them."
"The whole library looks three times bigger now. You could fit all of Spike's hoard here." Hugin said.
"No place is big enough to hold all that." Octavia replied. Hugin flew to the table.
"What now?"
"Now..." Octavia walked to the door. "...I practice with my cello."
"I thought you snapped one of the strings." Hugin said. Octavia glared at him. "You've got to be more careful."
"First, I am always careful with my instruments. It was you who caught me by surprise. Second, I had the strings changed before we left Canterlot. Its been a few days already and they are fixed. The princess was going to send it here as soon as it was ready. It should be here already."
"We're going to check?"
"I will check. I need you to go check something for me." Octavia pointed a hoof towards the box. "Find out if there's somepony who would want all this books."
Hugin glared at her. Octavia rolled her eyes.
"Please." she said sarcastically. Hugin grumbled something before flying away. Octavia waited tied her bow tie around her neck, combed her air and promptly left the tree house. Ponyville was busy and lively. Mares and Stallions carried on with their daily business.
A few glances were directed towards her as she walked, since a few ponies were still surprised to see the protege of their ruler living in town, but they were becoming less and less frequent with each passing day. Octavia appreciated how welcoming the ponies had been after the first night here. Specially her friends, like-
"Hey Octavia, whats up?" Berry said as she approached her fellow earth pony. She was carrying a saddle bag, which was filled with a couple of bottles.
"I'm heading to the mail office. I want to see if a package arrived."
"Oh really? What kind of package? Is it a royal package? Like a super special stuff? You better be careful. The mail service can be a little sloppy sometimes, like when I ordered a book on eastern drinks and it got lost in the way. Non refundable they said! Can you believe it? Anyways, what is it?"
"Its just a package." Octavia said, a little tired of hearing Berry talk. "Don't you have a tavern to run?"
"The tavern is opens at three in the afternoon. Business is kinda slow in the morning, you know what I mean? Ponies don't get thirsty until after lunch. Specially the stallions. The sure must work hard because they are the main costumers. You should try coming one day. Your welcomed any day! We could even have a small get together with the others! What do you say Tavi? Up for it?"
"It sounds....wonderful." Octavia snarked. "But I am a little busy right now Berry, so if you will excuse me..."
"Oh, alright. I've got to finish delivering this drinks around anyway. Gotta get those extra bits now. We'll talk later then. See ya!" Berry exclaimed before continuing her way. Octavia sighed.
"That mare talks way too much. " she thought. The rest of her walk was pretty much uninterrupted. She cringed a little when she passed in front of the Town Hall. The entrance was still ruined from the magical blast, though work ponies were already fixing the damage.
"I haven't heard of the princess since that night. She must be catching on with her brother. " she thought, looking at the castle on the mountain. She shook her head as memories of the Warlock Stallion started floating in her mind. She had a package to pick up. The mailing office was, luckily, close to the town hall, which meant less time hauling the cello back to the tree house, which in turn, meant more time to play.
The mail office wasn't a very big place, which was expected, since Ponyville wasn't exactly a big town itself. The door had a sign on it. It was a muffin with wings and a delivery bag. Octavia raised an eyebrow.
"Welcome to the mail office." A mare pegasus said from the stand. " What can I do for you?"
"Hello. My name is Octavia and I came to pick a package that may have arrived for me." she answered. The mare blinked a couple of times before pulling out a large book, skimming through the pages.
"Uh, what is your full name?"
"Octavia Von Clef."
The pegasus skimmed all the way to almost the end of the account book, stopping just a few short pages before the end. She read a bit before smiling.
"Octavia Von Clef...here it is! A package arrived yesterday afternoon for you from Canterlot."
Octavia grinned. Finally!
"Excellent. May I have it please?"
"Of course. It will be ten bits." the pegasus said.
Octavia stood there, unsure of what do next or if she had heard correctly. The counter mare just sat on her chair, patiently awaiting the money that Octavia was supposed to pay.
"Oh...I didn't know I had to pay."
"Yeah, its new policy. Some ponies never pay their bills with the mailing service, so now we avoid that problem by charging immediately."
"Right..." Octavia backed off a little. "I will just...go look for the money."
She was stomping when she left the mailing service. She wanted her cello, and she wanted it now! But no, she had to go and pay this service mare first. Perfect. Just perfect. All she wanted was to play her cello. Was that too much too ask?
"Apparently yes..." she muttered.
"Apparently yes what Octavia?"
Fleur was standing right in front of her. Floating around her was a small, black book. She was smiling, just like when Octavia first met her. Just like then, the cheeriness was not reciprocated.
"They mail service decided to star charging for their services out front...and I don't have any money, which means that now I have to go to the bank to get some."
"Oh dear. Shall I go with you? If such is the case, then I need to fetch some coins for myself."
And so, both mares began their journey to the bank. Octavia wanted to finish this as soon as possible, and her pace showed it. Fleur had to nearly hop to keep up with her. The book followed suit, trailing behind her and jumping with each step of the unicorn.
"Whats the big hurry Octavia? Is there something wrong?" Fleur asked.
"What is wrong is that I haven't been able to touch my cello since I left Canterlot, and now that its here at my reach, the universe decides to add one more wall in my way." Octavia answered.
"Oh don't be like that Octavia. If the universe is putting so much effort in making sure that you don't play your music, then think just how good it will feel when you actually do play what you love."
"If I ever get to play..." Octavia snarked. They eventually arrived at the bank. Like any business in the town, it was small house, not two stories high. The inside was just as small. Octavia figured it was because of the small number of ponies that entered daily, unlike Canterlot, where hundreds would be entering and leaving the banks.
"Hello. How may I help you?" the baker asked. Octavia was about to speak, but Fleur got ahead of her.
"Good Afternoon. My friend and I would like to retrieve a few bits."
"Of course. I would need both of your names."
"Fleur de Lys. Thats with a Y, not and I." she turned to Octavia. "A common mistake."
The banker left through a door, leaving the two mares alone in silence. It looked like if Fleur was waiting for Octavia to say something, but she didn't, staying quiet until the banker returned with a small bag. Fleur lifted it with magic, levitating it besides the book.
"And you miss?"
"Octavia Von Clef."
"You don't have to be so grouchy Octavia." Fleur said.
"You are right, I don't. What I need is my cello." She said. It wasn't long before the banker returned. But to Octavia's surprise, he didn't carry a bag. He wasn't carrying anything actually. Dread began building inside of her.
"I'm afraid your funds have already been retrieved miss." The banker opened a book. "Yesterday in fact."
"What? That can't be right. I've never even entered this bank before." Octavia replied.
"Well, you did. Yesterday morning, you entered here and asked for your entire monthly stipend. My assistant even recorded it here."
"But I've never even been in this bank! How could you let somepony else take my royal stipend!?" Octavia shouted.
"I-I'm sorry! I will double check with my assistant once he returns later today! Please come back then!" The banker cowered. Octavia was about to say something else, but stopped herself, instead choosing to stomp her way out of the bank. Fleur quickly apologized to the banker and followed her friend. Said friend hadn't gotten very far, which was weird, considering how everypony was clearing out of her way, already noticing the air of unbridled wrath that circled around her.
"That wasn't very nice Octavia. The banker probably made a mistake. No need to yell at him." she said Octavia shot a glare that could have broken stones, yet Fleur did not waver.
"That mistake just cost a month worth of bits. What am I supposed to do now?"
Fleur opened her bags of bits, counting the coins. She smiled.
"Why don't we go fetch your cello? That way you can play and relax yourself before you go back to the bank." she said. "I'll lend you some bits."
Octavia sighed. "Alright."
Fleur beamed before leading Octavia to the mail service. Just as they arrived, they counter mare exited house and was about to lock the door.
"Wait! What are you doing?" Fleur asked.
"Its lunch time. I'm closing the office for a couple of hours."
Octavia growled. It sounder more wolfish than pony like.
"Or maybe lunch can wait a few minutes. Lets go inside."
Fleur quickly made her business, asking the mare to have her book wrapped and sent, giving the address and name of the receiver, paying her five bits. Octavia walked to the counter and pretty much demanded her cello to the nervous pegasus.
"I'm afraid I don't about any cello. But there is a package for you. Hold on let me get it."
Octavia breathed deeply, getting rid of the pent up anger. It would do her any good to explode right there. The pegasus mare soon flew back to her place, holding a long box. Not exactly a cello case mind you, but a simple, wooden box.
"That...is mine?" Octavia asked.
"Yes it is. Would you like somepony to deliver it to your house?"
"Yes." She said, a bit stronger than she wanted. "Please."
Fifteen minutes later, Octavia was back in the tree house, this time with Fleur besides her. The pegasus mail mare had placed the box on the table, ready to be opened whenever Octavia wished. Only Octavia wasn't really sure if the wanted to. She had been expecting a cello case. That was as big as her. This box was barely half her size.
"Do you think the case is inside?" Fleur asked.
"It would have to be my violin then, not my cello. Wouldn't be first time the princess makes that mistake."
Octavia pushed the lid off the box and peered inside. And immediately wished she hadn't, for inside the box was not a cello or a cello casket, nor a violin or a violin casket. Oh no. Inside the box, laying very innocently at the bottom was something that Octavia had certainly not asked for.
"Is that...a shovel?" Fleur asked.
Octavia was an irritable pony. It was easy to get her riled up.
Most of the time, she would either just wait the irritation away or play her cello to relax herself, preferably the latter. She could always count on her instruments and her skills as a musician to have a lovely afternoon playing away, composing and practicing. It was refreshing. It was a balm. It was her destiny.
"A shovel..."
So when she had picked the package from the mail office, she was inwardly happy. After being completely unable to play for nearly a week, Octavia was impatiently waiting for the moment when she would cross the door of her house and open the case of her instrument. So when she received a weird box instead of a case, her mind was confused, but a few words from her dear friend Fleur eased her mind a little.
Thats when she opened the box.
"Did you uhh...ordered it?" Fleur asked, clearly worried for her friend. And how could she not? Specially when Octavia was visibly seething.
"No! I did not order it! I didn't ask for a shovel, I wanted my cello!" Octavia raged, nearly flipping the table. "Its been a week already. I need to practice or I will go rusty!"
"Calm down Octavia. This is probably just a mistake. Lets go to the mail office and correct this."
"Its closed."
"Well...then why don't we go have some lunch? There's a restaurant nearby that serves lovely food." Fleur suggested, putting her best smile. Octavia breathed deeply.
"Alright." she grumbled. Fleur beamed. The Four Clovers restaurant had been a recent addition to the town's infrastructure. The ponies had been rather hesitant to enter at first, but after a few couple days of no costumers, the first patrons began arriving and, soon enough, all of Ponyville was enchanted with the food. It was the perfect place to take a grumbling mare.
"You will love it Octavia. Their Daisy Stew is the best in the world." Fleur said, picking up a menu. Octavia followed her example. The selection wasn't very big. There were only five dishes. Octavia rolled her eyes.
"Might as well... " she thought to herself. The waiter approached them, lifting a notepad and a pen with his magic. Octavia placed her menu down, ready to order. She was a bit hungry actually. Maybe Fleur was right and a delicious stew would fix her mood.
"Miss Octavia. Back so soon?"
Or maybe not.
"Excuse me?" Octavia asked.
"You even sound much healthier than before. It would seem that our breakfast special did its job!"
"Wha...What are you talking about?" Octavia asked. "No wait. Let me guess. I was here for breakfast, right?"
"Thats right. A full on, complete apple set breakfast. You seemed to enjoy a lot as well, since you had seconds."
Octavia looked at Fleur, who had confusion edged on her face. Whatever was happening, it was starting to get her as well. But more importantly, it was starting to wear Octavia off. She was going to stop it. And she was going to do it now.
"I...Fleur, lets go, we will be leaving now." Octavia stood up, prompting Fleur to do the same.
"You are not going to order?" The waiter asked, but Octavia was already walking away, soon followed by a very confused Fleur, who stammered some quick apologies and followed her friend. Octavia walked along the town. Lunch was completely forgotten by now.
"Octavia, what are you doing?! We can't just leave like that! That waiter must feel so insulted!" Fleur chastised.
"I think I know whats happening Fleur, and I don't have the time to be polite when I confirm my suspicion." Octavia said firmly, not slowing down. Fleur sighed and plated herself in front of her friend. Octavia tried walking past her, but Fleur would get in her way again. Octavia stopped.
"Fleur, this isn't the time to-"
"Stop it Octavia." Fleur said. Octavia noticed the tone of her friend and shut her mouth. "You have been acting angry and irritated all morning. I know that you are frustrated and all. I would be if the same thing happened to me, but you can't just walk around acting like a jerk to anypony who gets in your way."
"But I-"
"Look. You're saying you know whats going on. Thats good and I want to help you figure this out, but not if you let your temper get the better of you. Are you going to calm down?"
Octavia nodded after a few seconds. Fleur smiled kindly. The earth pony took a deep breath, calming herself.
"Somepony emptied my bank account right yesterday, right?" Fleur nodded. "And now, today, that somepony is using that money to eat apples, even though I hate apples."
"I don't see where you're getting at..."
"When I took the package from the mailing service, there was a fee to pay. That somepony emptied my bank account so it could take the package and walk away with it."
"But to have your bank account emptied by somepony else is not allowed." Fleur said. Octavia smirked.
"Exactly. Whoever is doing this has to be disguised as me. Its the only explanation." Octavia said.
"You do realize thats a very flimsy theory right?"
Right next to Octavia, in all her purple glory, stood Berry Punch, now without her bag. The mare was smiling widely, probably from having delivered all of her drinks. Why would a tavern need to deliver alcoholic drinks was beyond Octavia, but she didn't care right now. Berry had questioned her theory. And that was bad.
"Flimsy. Why do you say that?" Fleur asked.
"Well..." Berry answered. "Whoever is disguised as Octavia here would have to be a clone or something. I mean, look at us! We don't wear clothes that can be copied, except miss cello here, and even then, its just a bow tie! How would anypony be able to copy how you look to the point where he or she could enter the bank and just steal your money?"
"I...I mean...wait, you knew?" Octavia stammered.
"I was listening earlier."
"She does have a point Octavia. Your theory is a bit too unreal to be true. There has to be another explanation. Maybe it was all just a big misunderstanding? Maybe the waiter was confused before?" Fleur said.
"Along with the bank and the mailing service?" Octavia replied. "I don't think so."
A loud grumble was heard. The three mares froze in their place, each of them blushing a little.
"Maybe a little lunch will help us think..." Berry said. "Lets go to my tavern and I'll cook something up."
"You can cook?" Octavia asked.
The bar was predictably empty. It was the the opening hour by the time they arrived and just as Berry had predicted, no patron was on sight. The town itself had gone very quiet, with increasingly few ponies on the streets, a fact that did not escape Octavia. Upon asked, Berry gave a short yet satisfactory answer.
"Its napping time."
Fleur and Octavia sat at the bar while Berry disappeared behind the counter. She pulled different ingredients, bread, sauce, daisies and some yellow grass, all of them in excellent condition. Berry began building the sandwiches, applying each ingredient with expert skill and timing. A loaf of bread was flipped in the air, giving a couple of turns before falling neatly atop one of the sandwiches.
"Wow. That was..." Fleur said as a plate with one sandwich pushed in front of her. "...oddly stimulating."
"You keep your ingredients under the bar?" Octavia asked.
"Yeah. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to run back and forth to the kitchen to get the food." Berry answered between bites. "There was one time when I tripped! I ended up throwing everything in the face of some stallion, and boy was he angry! He dropped his food and stormed out, only to slip on the ice outside. It was winter back then. Anyway, I decided to cut the middle stage and brought everything here! I save space and time and have more room for relaxing when working. Neat uh?"
"Eh..right." Octavia took a bite out of her sandwich. "So. Any ideas?"
"We have to check at the bank before we come to any conclusions. I still think this is all one big mistake."
"Then what?" Berry asked.
"Well, they will probably tell us it was a mistake and proceed to undo it. Simple as that."
Octavia rolled her eyes, but said nothing further. The rest of the meal went on in silence, mostly due to the fact that she was in a hurry and was eating as fast as she could. Fleur and berry looked at the mare, concerned at her eating speed.
"You should chew your food." Berry said. Octavia answered with one final gulp, leaving her dish empty.
"I'm ready. Lets go."
The sun was halfway through the afternoon sky by the time they arrived at the bank. Octavia entered at a brisk pace, followed by Berry and Fleur. The employe at box was reading a magazine, visibly bored with the lack of action. Octavia cleared her throat. The employee gave her a quick glance before returning his magazine. A second later, he realized who had just entered and hid the magazine away, all the while giving a sheepish smile.
"We-welcome to the bank! What can I do for you?" he asked nervously.
"I came here earlier, but my account was already empty. I was told to come later. Here I am." Octavia frowned. "Now, what happened?"
"Eh...one second." the stallion disappeared behind the counter, rummaging and shuffling for nearly a complete minute before popping back up, lifting the account book that Octavia had seen earlier.
"Miss Octavia, right? We searched for any mistakes, just like you asked. We even search for the official withdrawal papers." he explained.
"And?"
"And...it is all in order. No problem whatsoever."
A dreadful silence invaded the bank. Fleur and Berry shared a concerned glance as they could almost see irritation bubble up inside Octavia.
"What...what do you mean it is all in order." she growled. "My money was stolen!"
"But everything is in order. Look!" the banker placed a document on the desk. "You even signed it!"
Octavia looked down. Just as the stallion said, a withdrawal formula laid on the desk, dated with the day before. At the bottom, in clear red ink, was Octavia's signature, in form of her name, written in a curved, beautiful way. Fleur and Berry stood at both sides of her sides, peering down with equal shock.
"Well...there goes the mistake theory..." Berry said.
"Uh...miss?"
Octavia looked back up, her eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and anger. The banker gulped loudly before treading on.
"You might not remember doing it. I mean, you didn't look so good. You must have been sick or something..."
"What do you mean?" Fleur asked.
"Well...she didn't wear her bow tie, and her mane was a bit messy, like if she had been dragging herself on the floor or whatever. She also sounded much different...a lot rougher. You must have been shouting a lot."
The three mares shared a look. Octavia looked back at the paper. An idea slowly formed in her head.
"Can I take this?" she asked.
"You can take a copy. Same information. It just needs to be signed." He answered as he placed another paper on the desk. He quickly filled it with all the information required before passing the quill to Octavia, who signed perfectly in purple. She was about to pull away, when the document, both original and copy, levitated in front of Fleur.
"Octavia, Berry, look." she pointed a hoof at the papers. Berry looked from one document to the next.
"The signatures are different." Berry said.
"What do you mean?" Octavia walked to Fleur's side. The signatures were exactly the same, save for the color. But on closer inspection, the truth was revealed. Octavia's purple signature was smooth, elegant and soft looking, while the other one was written in the same way, yet it was visibly rougher and blocky, with the line trembling at many points. What was nearly invisible became glaringly obvious upon comparison.
"Well what do you know..." Berry commented. "There is somepony pretending to be you."
"You see?" Octavia said. "I was right! And whoever did this probably used the bits to order the shovel!"
"But why go through all the trouble for a shovel?" Fleru asked.
"I don't know. But I am going to find out." Octavia walked out of the bank. "And whoever did this will answer for this."
"Octavia!"
Octavia stopped on her tracks, allowing Fleur and berry to catch up. That voice. It sounded like...
"Octavia, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Hugin landed in front of her. "Minuette had been cooped up in her house all this time and didn't see you and the twins were away visiting family, so I flew up and-"
"Hugin, if this is about the books, you can forget about them."
"Its not that you idiot! Nopony in town wanted all of the books in one go, so I spent the whole morning going from door to door, offering them." he explained. "I barely finished twenty minutes ago. And when I get back to the house, well...go look for yourself."
Octavia trotted away, with Hugin jumping to her back. Fleur and Berry followed her, just as curious by the crow's words. By now the entire town was covered in the orange hue of the sunset, which had started a few minutes ago. The mares didn't take long in arriving to the tree house. Octavia's eyes widened as she saw what Hugin had meant.
And she didn't like it, for laying in front of her home was a cart, filled with a few bags of seeds, a couple of farming tools and a few boxes, all ready to be moved away. The only thing missing was a pony to pull it.
"Wow...your stipend must be something if it can afford all this...." Fleur said. But Octavia didn't listen. She was too busy inspecting the cart, visibly shying away from the bag with an apple symbol on it.
What is all this stuff?!" she asked angrily.
"They seem to be farming tools." Berry said.
"I can see that Berry..." she grumbled. "What is it doing here is what I mean."
"Your copycat must have have it brought here, probably in hopes of picking it up later tonight." Fleur said before giving a short chuckle. "This whole thing is starting to sound like a detective novel."
Octavia had to take a deep, forced breath to avoid responding to that. Hugin flew to one of the boxes.
"So all this here is somepony else's stuff? Then what do we do about it?" he asked. Octavia looked at him, then at her friends and finally, at the bag of apple seeds.
"We put and end to this." She motioned to the tree house. "Everypony come in. I have an idea."
The moon shone brightly across the land, which, coupled with the street lights, allowed for a perfect view in the dark. Although who would be out on the street at this hour was a mystery. It was late, it was dark and tomorrow was a day of work. Ponyville was a town of few night owls, and of those, even fewer would leave their houses. There was just no reason to. Everything was closed. Everything was quiet. Everypony was asleep.
Well, almost everypony.
In the shadows, a dark figure moved as quietly and as fast it could. From bush to bush, from corner to corner, it waisted no time in moving. She would make a lot of noise soon, and for that reason, she had to act quickly, lest they discover her send all her work crashing down. She couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't fail.
She couldn't fail.
"Come one...where is that thing..." she whispered. Her hooves were muffled by the grass, as she avoided the street as much as she could. She couldn't risk having the noise give her away. She stopped, listening around for any sign of activity, sighing once she didn't hear anything.
She kept her silent walk for nearly half an hour, crossing in front of iconic places like the town hall, the bank and the mail office. Her work in those places had already been completed. Now, the only place that was left to visit was the tree house, which also happened to be the most critical part of the whole plan.
She smiled to herself as she reached the tree house. All lights were off and there was no sign of anypony being awake. The cart was parked right besides the door. All she needed was to hook herself to it and she could be on her way. She nearly squeed in relief. This might just actually work!
"Gotta make sure everything is here.." she circled around the cart, looking for somewhere to place a bag she was carrying, but everything was covered with a thick blanket. Probably to protect everything from the cold and the morning dew. The ponies of the trading service sure thought of everything. She placed the guiding seat on her. All that was needed now was to make sure it was well tight and she could be on her way. She gave one final look to the tree house. Her smile vanished.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered.
"You can be sure you will." A voice said. "Now!"
The blanket was brutally pushed away by Fleur's magic. Berry and Octavia jumped out of the cart, ready to grab the copycat. Said copycat was stunned for a seconds, but pulled herself together. She bolted forward, only to be pulled back by the surprising weight of the cart. She fumbled with the straps, desperately trying to pulled them apart.
"Holy molly, Octavia! There are two of you!" Berry said. And indeed, Octavia herself was partially frozen with the uncanny revelation, for tied to the cart was Octavia, who was now desperately trying to free herself. The straps creaked and began to snap.
"Fleur! Throw the blanket around her!" Octavia ordered. Fleur did as told as quick as possible, but it was too late. With one final creak, the binds around the clone snapped, leaving her free to run away.
"Stop!" Octavia shouted, but Octavia quickly began to flee, leaving Octavia to pursue her.
"Fleur, get of the cart! We gotta follow them!" Berry said. Fleur jumped after her, with the blanket flying behind her. The clone Octavia was fast, and it showed, for she was slowly but surely leaving them behind. Octavia did her best to keep up with her, but it was no use. Berry and Fleur were no better, quickly falling behind as well. However, there was one critical difference between them and the clone.
They knew the town. At least, Berry and Fleur did.
"She's heading for the alleys! We can catch up there!" Berry said.
And indeed, they soon found themselves surrounded by houses and small buildings, forcing them to cut close corners and slow down in order to avoid painting their faces on the wall. Octavia, Fleur and Berry, thanks to their lower speed, had little problem in accomplishing this, and where quickly gaining territory, while clone Octavia wasn't so luck. She had already tripped a couple of times and had nearly kissed a wall had it not been for a timely stop.
"Come back here!" Octavia shouted, not caring if she woke anypony up. The clone only tried to run faster, but it was no use. The three mares were closing in on her, a fact that did not escape Octavia, who started speeding up. Inch by inch, she was almost able to bite the tail of her copy.
"Octavia wait, we have to-" Fleur started, but both Octavia and her clone vanished behind a corner. Before Berry and Fleur could follow, a crash, followed by sounds of struggle echoed through the alleys. The light of the moon shone once more as they left the entire complex, finding themselves at the edge of the town.
"...stay together." Fleur finished. In front of them was Octavia, who was currently struggling with Octavia. The darkness around made it difficult to see who was stoping who.
"Fleur! Throw the blanket to her! Now!" Octavia shouted.
"No! Wrap her up! I'm the real Octavia!" Octavia shouted, trying to outdo Octavia.
"No, I'm the real one!"
"No, I am!"
Fleur looked from one Octavia to the other with increasing worry. The blanket floated behind her, just waiting to be used. Berry was just as worried, though confusion was more prominent in her case.
"I haven't drinked anything all day and I'm seeing double...I guess I'm gonna have to cut the cider." Berry said with a nervous smile.
"Berry, this no time for jokes. Get her!" Octavia pointed a hoof towards Octavia.
"We're friends! She's the one who's been copying me!" Octavia.
"Berry, what do we do?" Fleur asked. But Berry didn't answer. She was intently staring at the Octavias. She frowned. This was going nowhere.
"Berry, Fleur, we defeated the Warlock Stallion remember? We saved Equestria together!" One Octavia said. The other one gritted her teeth at the fact that she had been upstaged.
"Yeah but..."
"Fleur, you know me, you know this one is a fake. Get her!" The other Octavia said, but Fleur didn't move. "I can't believe you are actually falling for this! Are you blind or deaf or something?!"
"See! I wouldn't treat my friends like that! I wouldn't shout to them or insult them!" Octavia shouted. Berry and Fleur looked at her before glaring at the other Octavia, who gave a step back.
"Berry, stop! Fleur! Its me! She's the fake one!" she yelled back, but Berry and Fleur did't listen, instead walking towards the other Octavia, who was sweating heavily, but was still grinning. "You can't do this to me! I'm your friend!"
"We can and we will. And you know why?" Berry said. Fleur readied the blanket. The Octavia that was away from them didn't move. She was frozen with shock, betrayal edged on her face.
"Because you are our friend."
The next few seconds happened to fast for Octavia. One, she was about to the attacked by her friends, next, her clone was lying on the floor, struggling against the blanket, which was tightly wrapped around her. Fleur and Berry high hoofed, content with their work.
"I..what?" she said. "But...you..."
"Were confused. Even with the previous knowledge of the impostor, she did a really good job at copying you." Fleur answered.
"But you two looked so sure!" Octavia said. "You even with sided with her!"
"We need to get her confident before we could catch her. No use in having her run away right?"
The clone struggled as hard as she could, but it was no use. The blanket was firmly wrapped around her and no amount of effort would free herself from the trap. Fleur's magic had done a good job in trapping her and it showed. She could barely move her legs!
"But how did'cha know Ah' was a fake!?" the clone asked, not bothering to hide the accent anymore.
"You called us friends." Berry explained tapping her head. "Octavia wouldn't call us friend right out the bat. She would need to be pressured to the very end to say that. Besides, you were being a overly kind with us."
Octavia sniffed, chuckled and wiped her eye before walking towards her friends. "I guess you didn't fall for it..."
"No we did not Octavia." Fleur nuzzled her. "You are our friend, and just because somepony that looks like acts nicer, it doesn't mean we would prefer that over you. Though you could tone down the jerkiness."
"I can do that." Octavia smiled, before turning to their captive, who now seemed very afraid. "Now. What should we do with you?"
It some effort, but between Berry and Octavia, the managed to carry the bundled up clone all the way back to the tree house. Octavia was a lot less careful with her load than Berry, almost letting her fall a couple of times, only being stopped by Fleur placing the prisoner back in place. Once inside, she unceremoniously dropped on her on the floor. Hugin landed on Octavia's back.
"So, this is the reason why everything happened?" he asked.
"That's right." Octavia answered. "Now, lets see who's under the mask." She bit the cloth, brusquely tugging away, soon aided by Berry and Fleur's magic.
"No, wait! Ah' can explain!"
But it was too late. With one might flip, the three friends pulled the blanket from her, sending her flipping away. The blanket landed on top of them, obscuring the vision, but Fleur quickly removed it.
"And behind blanket number one is..." Berry looked at Octavia and Fleur. "...paint?"
And indeed, the tree of them were covered in paint stains. It barely noticeable in Octavia, but Fleur's and Berry's fur was noticeably dirty. The patches of paint were a very dark gray, probably coming from the blanket after it feel on them. Even Hugin's feathers were slightly stained with the dark material. The three confused mares looked at each other in surprise before a whimper caught their attention.
Laying away from them, the copy cat slowly stood up. Her mane and coat were no longer the same color as Octavia's, instead now being covered with splotches of blue and yellow respectively. What was most surprising though, was her flank, specifically her cutie mark, for the purple clef was no longer purple, but blue, and yet it was still the very same clef that adorned Octavia's leg.
"She...she has your same cutie mark." Fleur said.
"You can't copy cutie marks. Thats impossible!" berry added.
"Who are you?" Octavia asked.
"Ah' am..." the clone sighed, knowing she was defeated. "Ma'h name is Fiddlesticks."
"You are the one has been impersonating me." Octavia said. Fiddlesticks nodded. "You took my money and used it all up in farming tools. Why?"
"Ah'...Ah' had to... Ah' had no choice.""
She didn't say anything else. An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
"You impersonated another pony, committed fraud and perform illegal transactions in the name of the protege of the princess." she said firmly. "I should have the guards arrest you."
"No! Please don't! Ah'...Ah' can't let them take me!" Fiddlesticks cried.
"Then talk." Octavia threatened. Fiddlesticks hesitaed, looking around the library for an escape route, a sign of support, anything to avoid having to look at Octavia. But there was none.
"Ah'...Ah' am a farmer. An apple farmer. Mah' family has a small piece of land a day's walk from here." she explained. "We've never had a lot of stuff, but we were happy. Farming every day, playing music and all that... until a band of griffins showed up and started harassing us...they took our crops and said they'de be back for more..."
"What does this have to do with stealing my things?" Octavia asked.
"We don't have things. Our last crop was poor, and now we don't have enough to plant another one. Time is running and the griffins will come back and and and...and Ah' just didn't know what to do..." Fiddlesticks ended, trying to hold back her tears. She still had pride. What was left of it anyways.
"So you came here to get farming tools." Fleur said. Fiddlesticks nodded. "But why didn't you go to the guards?"
"I tried, but the nearest guard place was too far away. By the time they got to the farm, the griffins were long gone. They called us liars and refused to come again."
Berry and Fleur were torn. This mare had stolen their's friend only current support and used all of it. She had impersonated her and performed fraud, a crime that Equestrian law punished heavily. On the other hoof, she had a rather good reason to have done so, and if the guards didn't help, then who could blame her for taking matters in her own hooves. Providing her story was true.
"I don't know what you expect me to do." Octavia said. "You stole and lied, all the while pretending to be me, and then you come up with some sob story, hoping that I would forget all about it? I stopped being a filly a long time ago."
"But, but its true! Ah' didn't wanna do it! Ah had no choice! Look, I'll even return the stuff!"
"Sorry or not sorry, You still committed a crime. You have to be punished for it." Octavia said sternly.
"Octavia, wait." Fleur replied. "Fiddlesticks, do you have any proof about this story? Maybe we can sort this out."
"Ah...don't." was the quiet answer.
"So much for a third way..." Hugin snarked from Octavia's back.
The argument continued on. Fiddlesticks was nearly begging Octavia to forgive her and let her go, while Fleur racked her brain, looking for a way to convice Octavia to calm down a little. Hugin ony made things worse with his comments, though one could see he was more on Octavia's side. And who could blame them? Fiddlesticks had stolen their food source. The only to really help her would be to-
"I believe her."
The argument stopped dead cold. Four sets of eyes turned towards Berry Punch who was, curiously enough, smiling. It wasn't a big smile, nor a defiant smile. It was a friendly smile.
"Wha...what?" Fiddlesticks asked dumbly.
"I said: I believe you." Berry repeated. "You have a rather sucky story. I believe you. I'm willing to help you even."
"Berry, this mare could be lying to save herself from a well deserved place in jail!" Octavia said. "There is no reason to believe she is telling the truth!"
"Yeah, you're right, there isn't any. But there wasn't any reason to believe you back at at the forest, remember?"
Octavia was about to say something else, but closed her mouth.
"Look, you have a right to be angry with her. I would be too. She did something bad, and thats enough reason to be angry. But that doesn't make her automatically a bad mare. She could be lying, yeah. But I prefer to think she isn't. And I'm not saying to let her go scot free..." Fiddlesticks gulped loudly. "I'm talking about being fair."
"But how would that be fair?" Hugin asked.
"She committed a crime, but lets remember what drove her to it. We can't just let a farm rot now can we?" Berry walked in front of Octavia. "Just give her a chance."
Fleur didn't say anything, not wanting to risk ruining Berry's speech. Octavia, still reeling from Berry's words, looked at her friends, then at Fiddlesticks. Her mind was divided between her anger and her trust. It would be a nearly a full minute of silence before she would speak again.
"Alright." She grumbled. "Alright, alright. I won't turn her in. Yet. She will stay with you for the night. Tomorrow, I will have the princess send some guards to her farm to investigate properly."
Fiddlesticks couldn't contain the tears anymore. She was about to hug Octavia when she stopped her with a hoof.
"Not so fast farm girl." Her voice took a darker tone. "If you lied to me and my friends, you will regret ever coming here, understood?"
Fiddlesticks nodded, but kept smiling and crying. Fleur smiled too, infected by the happiness that radiated from her.
"Now what Octavia?" she asked. Octavia took a deep breath.
"Now...I go to bed."
Morning came as quickly as it was expected. Octavia barely waited for the first rays of light before fetching Fleur, Berry and Fiddlesticks. While the good night's rest had cleared up her head and calmed her mood, she was still very eager to get this whole mess over with. Hugin stood on her back, having decided to see the outcome for himself.
"Don't you think its a bit early Octavia?" he asked. "Berry might not even be awake yet."
"I need to see this through Berry. I have to see if Fiddlesticks is lying or not."
"Why? So you can lock her away? Or to prove Berry wrong?"
Octavia didn't answer, instead choosing to walk faster. A few ponies already on the streets, some of them already wondering why did the musician from Canterlot had a complete set of farming toys on her doorstep. She was going to have to clear up her name at this rate, lest somepony gets the wrong idea about her. Her musings stopped once they arrived to the tavern.
Octavia knocked. Nopony answered. In fact, there wasn't any sign of anything that indicated that Berry was awake. Octavia knocked once more, this time a lot stronger. A muffled voice was heard coming from inside, followed by hooves walking some stairs. Very light hooves in fact, give the little noise they made.
"Berry, I need-" Octavia stopped once the door fully opened. "Who are you?"
"My name is Ruby Pinch." a little filly answered. "If you're looking for my sister, she's up in her room. She's still sleeping."
"Why didn't she come herself?" Hugin asked. Ruby Pinch shrugged before walking back inside, leaving the door open. Octavia and Hugin shared a look, before following the little filly. The tavern was cold, though it was probably only the first floor. Octavia followed Ruby up the stairs that were behind the bar.Her stomach flipped when she saw the stairs that led to the basement.
The second floor of the tavern was pretty simple. A main room, a bathroom and two rooms, one for each inhabitant. Flowing water could be heard coming from the bathroom. Ruby walked to one of the doors and knocked, hard. The only response was a grunt. Ruby bucked the door open.
"Berry, your friend is here!" she hollered. A bundle wrapped in red sheets twitched on the small bed that occupied most of the room. Berry''s head popped between the folds, visibly sleepy. Hugin snickered at the sight.
"Oct...Octavia?"
"Where is Fiddlesticks?" Octavia asked. At that moment, the door from the bathroom opened, allowing a now completely clean Fiddlesticks to walk out. Octavia could only blink a couple of times in shock. Even without the disguise, Fiddlesticks and Octavia were pretty much identical. The only thing different between them was the color of their manes and fur. And the clothing too, since she was now wearing an old green shirt.
"Eh...good morning?" Fiddlesticks asked nervously.
"Good morning." Octavia replied coldly.
"Hey Octavia..." Berry mumbled as she dragged herself out of bed. "Why are you here so early?"
"I want to put an end to this as soon as possible. Get ready."
Berry mumbled something unintelligible before walking to the bathroom.
"Not a morning pony apparently..." Hugin said. Octavia motioned Fiddlesticks to follow her while Berry washed herself up. Outside, the sun was now fully visible in the sky, showing Equestria a beautiful morning. Not that it grabbed Octavia's attention ver much.
"Hugin, go get Fleur and tell her to meet us at our place."
Hugin nodded and set off, quickly becoming a small stain of black in the otherwise completely blue sky. Meanwhile, a tense silence fell between the two mares. Octavia patiently stood near the door, waiting for her friend, while poor Fiddlesticks fidgeted in place, not knowing if to stay quiet or try to apologize again now that they were alone.
"Uhmm...Octavia, Ah'-"
"Don't say anything." Octavia said sternly. "Don't talk to me until this is over."
Fiddlesticks, closed her mouth, glumly looking at the ground. She still didn't believe her. Her temper may have calmed down, but apparently, not her grudge. Even though she could hardly blame her, Fiddlesticks couldn't help but to feel a bit of frustration build inside of her. What was it going to take for this mare to believe her?
"You could have sent Hugin to get me instead..." Berry snarked as she walked out of the house.
"Something tells me you would have just thrown a pillow at him." Octavia replied. "Lets go."
Fleur was already at the door of the tree house by the time they arrived. Hugin was perched on a branch, and both were talking. Fleur smiled as she saw her friends approach.
"Octavia, Berry! What a lovely morning are we having." she gazed at Fiddlesticks. "Good morning Fiddlesticks."
Fiddlesticks nodded in response.
"Okay Octavia, now what? We call the guards?" Berry asked.
"No need...for I already sent for them."
Everypony but Hugin gasped at the news.
"You what?!"
"Without us?!"
"But you don't where the farm is!"
Octavia waited until everypony calmed down before answering. For all the hollering and complaining, she remained unfazed by the response she was getting.
"I figured we could save time, no need to waste all morning after all. As for where the farm is...lets just say that being the protege of the princess can have its perks."
"You could have waited for us Octavia." Fleur said. "That wasn't very nice."
Octavia didn't answer the accusation. Sensing the slight dampener on the mood, Berry decided to act.
"Okay, so the guards are done. Now what?" she asked.
"Now we wait. If Fiddlesticks is telling the truth, they should be back in a couple of hours."
"Doing what?" Fleur asked.
"What I have been trying to do since yesterday."
Once again, Octavia headed to the mail office, this time followed by Fleur, Berry and Fiddlesticks, with Hugin perched on her back. After yesterday's event, he distance to the office seemed much more shorter than it really was, something that Octavia was grateful for. She had just about enough of running around the town like a maniac. All she had to do was sent a reminder to the princess to send her cello and she would have it by the end of day, if not before.
"But..you still need money, right=" Berry asked. Fiddlesticks tried to make herself smaller.
"I need money to retrieve packages, not to send letters." Octavia smirked. "This will be a piece of cake."
The mail mare smiled nervously when she saw Octavia enter her place. She had talked to the banker. Words of a furious mare that was shouting at the stores still ringed in her head.
"Go-good morning!"
"Good morning. I would like to send a letter please." Octavia asked. The mare nodded quickly, bringing out a paper and a quill. Octavia grabbed the quill with her hoof, writing slowly and elegantly, just as she was taught.
"You use your hoof to write? Its must be hard." Fleur comented. Octavia inwardly grinned. Her skills with the cello came very in handy for situations like this. Once the letter was ready, the mail mare quickly excused herself with it, leaving the four mares alone.
"The princess will send my cello to me and I will be able to play." Octavia said.
"Been a while hasn't it?" Hugin chuckled.
"Shut it feathers."
Time went by at snails pace, as none of the ponies had any interesting idea concerning what to do in the mean time. Berry suggested they had a drink, but was quickly shut down. The only really productive thing they did was walk towards the tree house, were the guards were supposed to stop to inform Octavia. After nearly an hour of doing nothing, the time to break the ice had arrived, and it was Berry's self imposed job to fix it.
"What happens once they get there?" Berry asked.
"We find out if Miss Copycat here was telling the truth or not."
"Uhm, could you...stop calling me that?" Fiddlesticks said. Octavia rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Why should I? I am not exactly lying, unlike some ponies." she pointed a hoof at the farmer. "You lied and stole, and we are doing this only because Berry has faith, Clestia knows why, because if it were by me, I would have you arrested, even after that story you told us, a story that is probably fake!"
"My story is true." Fiddlesticks said firmly. "Ah understand that you don't believe me. You can call it a lie and all that, but Ah' have a name. If you're gonna keep holding a grudge against me, then at least call me by name."
"Well I am sorry, but apparently, you took mine, remember?"
Fiddlesticks looked she was about to respond, but chose to said nothing, instead preferring to distance herself from Octavia, doing her best to hide the tears in her eyes. Berry walked to her, giving Octavia a short glare in the process.
"Why is she looking at me like that? I am not the bad guy, Fiddlesticks. Why does she even believe her?!" Octavia asked Fleur. Fleur looked at Berry, who was trying to console Fiddlesticks. She sighed and returned her attention to Octavia.
"Do you remember when I told you that you had to calm down?"
"I do."
"Well, it not only means that you have to literally calm down. It also means that you have to keep a clear head and not let your anger cloud your judgement." she pointed a hoof to Fiddlesticks. "Look at her. I think she does look pretty upset about what she did. She's trying to apologize, but your not letting her."
"But what if she's lying now? What if all this is just some desperate attempt to avoid prison? Berry is trusting her right off the bat like if she was some sort of angel. Why?"
"Because its the right thing." Berry called. Fleur staid quiet. Octavia was about to respond when the flapping of mighty wings reached their ears. Three royal pegasus guards dressed in gray armor arrived, landing in front of the group.
"Octavia Clef?" One of them asked. Fiddlesticks hid behind Berry.
"Yes. Thats is me." Octavia answered.
"We have done as the princess instructed and searched the field grounds."
"And?"
"We found griffin feathers inside the barn of the farm, along with some knives and swords. They have been confiscated and we are currently searching for possible griffins."
Octavia's mouth was agape. She looked at the guards, then at Fiddlesticks, then at the guards again and finally, at Berry, who was smiling like an idiot. It was the truth. She was telling the truth. Fiddlesticks the copycat had been telling the truth.
"Miss?" One of the guards asked, snapping Octavia out of her stupor.
"I...thank you." she murmured. The guards took that as their cue to leave and promptly cleared the area. Silence for a few minutes until Berry cleared her throat.
"Well?" she said, motioning towards Fiddlesticks. Octavia was hesitant, but a small nudge from Fleur was enough to get her going.
"I am...sorry for not believing you..." she grumbled. Fiddlesticks was confused for a second, but accepted the apology with a smile.
"And Ah'm sorry for taking your bits and lying in your name. That was wrong." she extended a hoof. "Peace?"
Octavia eyed the hoof carefully before extending hers, bumping Fiddlesticks leg.
"Peace."
The four ponies went inside the tree house, no longer worried about the tension in the air. However, now that all the questioning and doubting had gone away, another important issue remained. Octavia was still out of bits, and something had to be done about the cart with all the farming tools and seeds.
"What do we do with them?" Hugin asked. Octavia looked at Fiddlesticks. She sighed.
"You can keep them Fiddlesticks...its not like I need or anything."
Fiddlesticks face was radiant with joy, only darkened with one thing. "But what about you?"
"I'll just ask the princess to send me some bits for the month. Shouldn't be too hard. All I need is-UGH!"
Fiddlesticks had rushed to hug her, laughing all the way, and was spinning her around easily. Octavia could swear she could hear her ribs creaking a little. She awkwardly pulled herself free, not used to such display of emotion. A few minutes later, Fiddlesticks was ready to leave, being hooked to the cart and everything.
"Ah'll never forget this Octavia, Fleur, Berry." she wiped a tear from her eye. "With this Ah' can save ma'h farm! Thank you so much!"
"Well, I guess thats all wrapped up." Fleur smiled as she watched the smoke behind the cart fade.
"You said it." Berry added.
"Why?" Octavia asked.
"Why what?"
"Why did you trust her so easily?" Octavia asked Berry. "She had stolen and lied, and you had no proof whatsoever that she was telling the truth. How did you know?"
Berry chuckled for a bit before answering.
"I didn't. I had no proof, and no real way of knowing anything. All I had was her word, and I believed it. I prefer to take ponies for their word, even if I don't any real reason why. Thats why its called trust." she smirked. "Besides, your the pot calling the kettle black. Back at the forest, you were in the exact same situation, well not exactly the same, but close enough to be the same situation. All we had was your word, and who trusted you, uh? Who did?"
"You did..." Octavia groaned.
"Thats right, I did!" she patted her on the back. "Now, Octavia, Fleur, Hugin...I say we go get ourselves something to drink? Something not alcoholic?" she added as she noticed the glares. Fleur nodded, as did Hugin, but Octavia staid still, her gaze turning towards the tree house.
"You three...go on ahead. There is something I have to do..."
Her friends looked at each other before shrugging and moving on. Octavia entered her home, immediately going for the table, where a quill, ink and paper were placed, ready for use.
"I can't believe I'm doing this..." she muttered as she began tow write.
Princess Twilight...
You asked me to write friendship reports during my stay here in Ponyville. At the beginning, I felt both confusion and irritation at the task that you gave, as I so vocally expressed. By the time I met the ponies that would become my friends, I had forgotten all about it. However, recent events, of which I shall explain the details later, have reminded me of this duty, as today, I have learned my first lesson.
True trust is something that has to be earned. However, to deny somepony else of completely trust is not only foolish, its dangerous. I nearly made a very deep mistake, one that could have cost a mare everything, had not Berry stopped me. Giving the benefit of the doubt is risky, but as I learned today, its a risk worth taking.
Your student.
Octavia Clef.
PS: I am afraid I am out of money. Could I ask for a small loan so me and Hugin can buy food for the month?