The Hollow Kingdom of Octavia

Exhibit B

Yes, Octavia has spent hours amounting to days in the presence of Canterlot's upper class and Equestria's royalty. There was a time when catching a glimpse of either Princess left her breathless, but the effect wore off after the first ten or twenty times. Now being surrounded by bureaucrats, millionaires, heiresses, and even Princesses didn't phase her. She may as well been performing live at the Stone Enthusiasts' Ball as far as fresh sights were concerned, but the fact that she is not performing there but is instead performing here in Canterlot Castle's terrace garden is still important to her.

No, Octavia is not part of that upper crust she performs for so often. Musicians, no matter how well known, didn't make the kind of money that could elevate them to that kind of status unless they already held that status. Octavia could venture to throw some of her money into the market and hope for the best if she really wanted to live in a mansion with three or four hoof servants, but she had other, practical things to spend her money on.

At the end of the day, Octavia is no different from the waiters ferrying hors d'oeuvres around on silver platters or the busboys pacing from table to table in order to eradicate any visible mess. She is just around to make the high life what it is supposed to be: better.

She's fine with this.

It might suffice to say that Octavia enjoys playing, so being able to play is enough. Beyond that, there is acknowledgement that her playing is worthwhile to others, valuable even. It is validation for working so hard at a creative skill, a pursuit that ends abruptly for most ponies.

Octavia doesn't even watch the party from her vantage point up on the stage, but she doesn't watch her hooves dance over her instrument either. She opts to close her eyes and just relax. Even if she fell asleep, she could probably still continue playing. She knows the pieces that well. She's done this song and dance routine, so to speak, enough to know it by heart. She can afford to drift off and be alone with her thoughts.

Unfortunately, Octavia doesn't have much to think about. Her life, all in all, is pretty uneventful. Most of her excitement comes from dealing with Vinyl, who appears to lead a life of constant excitement. Vinyl has her nightclub to manage, her music to work on, and her drugs to keep a secret. She's always getting mixed up with shady characters, probably because she allows, perhaps even encourages, illicit activities to take place in and around back of her establishment. Octavia never imagined doing something so exciting.

As a result, she spends a lot of time wondering what it is like to be Vinyl Scratch. Despite how close the two are, this is the hardest task Octavia could decide to partake in. There is a long, long, looooong list of differences between the two friends. The main trait of either mare is that they love music, and this is the adhesive that keeps them attached at the hip. Octavia is sure that if they did not have that, they would have little reason to be friends.

To start off small, Vinyl Scratch likes to party and get drunk while Octavia does not. A little wine is okay for the quiet mare, but even thinking about the sheer amount of alcohol Vinyl puts away could give her headache. Aside from the alcohol, there are also the drugs. Octavia isn't up to date on what's circulating the streets as of late, but she is sure a little of everything is circulating through Vinyl Scratch. Octavia has seen her friend during euphoric highs and nightmarish hallucinations alike, and while she pretends not to see the appeal Octavia can't help but wonder what it's like on the inside. Speaking of things on the inside, Octavia is flat out frightened by the thought of having as much sex as Vinyl Scratch. Octavia is that breed of virgin who is still waiting for "the one" as if she were some ancient prophecy and her parents were magi. Vinyl Scratch may also be trying to find "the one", but she is practicing process of elimination.

The novelty of knowing Vinyl and Octavia as they are today is so one can be familiar with that pair of friends who seem to have nothing in common yet would name their first born after the other even if the gender was off. Octavia knows this; she thinks about it often when she isn't required to think about anything else. She does not think badly of her friendship, but that's because she understands the underlying machinations that make it work so well. She is tired of rolling her eyes at every:

"But you two are so different."

"Like night and day, you two."

"How do you even get a long?"

"Must cause a lot of friction."

It doesn't cause friction. Friction occurs when two bodies move in opposite directions, but Octavia and Vinyl are moving very much in sync. For love to work, both parties must strive towards the same hill in the distance. If Octavia is to be completely honest, she isn't sure what that hill is, but she is sure it has a lot to do with sharing lovely music with lots of ponies. They could do it alone, but everything is better with good company. Through every stage, they have competed with each other, supported one another, and just simply stuck around to prevent loneliness in the other party. That's why they love each other so much.

The quartet's piece comes to an end. There is a smattering of applause.

Octavia opens her eyes briefly. She can see Celestia, Luna, and Cadence seated at the far end of the room clapping their hooves for her. She also notices an empty seat at their table.

She just closes her eyes again and begins the next piece. The affairs of royalty don't have much bearing on her. Should every royal ear suddenly fall deaf, then it would have great bearing on her, but other politics hardly don't bother her. No, being so close to it all made her skeptical of every scandal and controversial policy. At the end of the day, high class ponies are just ponies. All ponies like music, and that's why Octavia is here. She's here because she likes music. That sums it up.