Chapter 1: Apprehension
"ALL ABOARD !!!!!"
Octavia marveled at the conductor's projection- she, sitting in the next-to-last car, could still hear his voice over the chattering mass of ponies on the train. The conductor waited about 20 seconds to make sure that everyone was on the train before closing the train's doors. As he readied the train for departure, Octavia let her mind wander.
Here she was. Leaving to start her new life in Ponyville. She turned away from the city, looking instead to the interior of the car and leaning her head on the cold glass window behind her.
"Maybe this isn't the best ide........nope. This is definitely what I need to do." Octavia's resolution immediately squashed the creeping fear in the back of her mind. She couldn't afford to let it convince her to stay. Octavia physically shook her head to clear her doubt, and attempted to cast her thoughts to the opportunities that await her in Ponyville. A fresh start. Free from memories of her parents, her orchestra, and.....him. Octavia shuddered as an image of the charismatic Concerto flashed into her brain. The image moved in as if to kiss her, and she mentally withdrew from it so emphatically that her physical head actually moved....right into the window. Octavia blushed and rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. Luckily for her, everypony else was too engrossed in their business to notice.
Fresh. There's no sense in dwelling in the past when I've already decided to move on from it.
Fresh.
None of that needs to exist anymore.
Fresh.
*THONK THONK THONK*
Octavia jumped. Someone or something had just pounded on her window. She calmly turned around to see an old, light purple mare with red glasses waving at her as emphatically as her creaky bones would allow. Octavia smiled at her and nodded to let the mare know that she had been noticed, and leaned out into the aisle.
Octavia called out politely, "Excuse me, conductor? There is a mare outside who needs to board".
A couple of heads turned towards her and gave her quizzical glances, but her announcement otherwise did nothing to change the behavior of the ponies on the train.
She turned back to the old mare and gave her a sympathetic glance and an apathetic shrug. She mouthed "nothing I can do", and was in the process of turning back around when another THONK from behind her made her jump again.
Can't the old lady see that I'm not loud enough to do anything for her?
Octavia turned and smiled again at the purple mare.
What kind of mare am I to leave an old lady out there like that?
Octavia cast around for a way to alert the conductor to the mare's plight.
He looks nice.
She held up a hoof to the mare outside to let her know that she would be right back, and trotted over to another compartment.
"Umm, excuse me....."
The inhabitants of the compartment stopped their conversation and looked at her, curious to know why she had interrupted their conversation. Octavia directed her next statement to the large, dark stallion with a tuba cutie mark.
"Could you shout to the conductor that there is a mare outside that needs to board? My voice is too soft."
The stallion snorted and puffed up his chest.
"Of course, sweetcakes. Watch and learn."
Nice, but a pig.
He winked at her before taking a deep breath, leaning out of the compartment, and bellowing,
"CONDUCTOR MAN!!!!!! OPEN THE DOORS SO SOME LATE OLD FOGEY CAN GET ON!!!!!!"
Nope, not even nice.
He leaned back with a satisfied smirk as every head in the train turned toward him, including the conductor's. The doors opened, and the old mare got on, moving her way to Octavia's compartment. Octavia dug her hoof in her ear in an attempt to stop the ringing, murmured (at least to her) a quick "thank you" to the massive lunged beast next to her, and made her way back to her compartment.
The purple mare had just finished settling in when Octavia got back. The mare gave her a warm smile and welcomed her with "Thank you, young filly. I was afraid that I would miss the train and get home after my bedtime. That was a mighty sweet thing that you did."
Octavia was immediately ashamed that she had ever even considered giving up on getting the mare onto the train. She was immediately fond of the old gal, and comfortable sharing the space with her. She took a second to self-consciously adjust her bowtie, and replied, "I almost didn't get to him in time, but I'm glad that you're here now". The train started moving in reinforcement of her statement. The old mare smiled and turned to the window to watch the station retreat into the distance.
That's exactly the opposite of what I want to do.
Fresh. New start.
Octavia was once again brought out of her reflection by the old mare, this time by a gentle nudge.
"I never did get your name. I'm Chelsea. Chelsea Porcelain."
Octavia smiled at the old mare's sincerity and returned the nicety. "My name is Octavia Melody. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Chelsea shifted in her seat to more directly face Octavia, and said, "I hope that you'll humor an old lady and chat a while. We fogeys like to make the most of our encounters with younger ponies. It makes us feel both older and younger at the same time."
At least it'll take my mind off of the city. I could do with some distance. Besides, she seems nice.
"No, I don't mind at all. Where are you headed, Mrs. Porcelain?"
"Please, just call me Chelsea. It's another old fogey thing. I'm on my way back to Ponyville to get something that I forgot. I'm going to go visit my son in Manehattan. His family always takes me in for a few months out of the year. Sweet lad."
"And where are you headed, little miss?"
"I am moving to Ponyville from Canterlot."
Chelsea moved in closer
"Oh, are ya? You look like a city pony to me. Why would you move to the countryside?”
You could only imagine.
"I'm ready for a change.”
"Well, what is your profession?"
"I was lead cellist in the Canterlot Symphony. I have put out several albums of recorded music with them."
Chelsea's eyes lit up
"Oh, that's wonderful dear. Why would you want to abandon that? Do you not enjoy playing music any more?"
Old people can be so nosy sometimes.
"No. I love my music. But I can't live in the city any more."
The terse nature of Octavia's reply warned the old mare that she was unwilling to elaborate any further. The two sat in a semi-awkward silence for a little bit. Chelsea ended it by launching into a story.
"Well, I'm sorry if I offended you- sometimes I am too curious for my own good. I promise it's only because I genuinely care about every young 'un I meet. You're our future. I think that I understand at least a little of what you're going through. When I was 17 years old, my family suddenly packed up and left Baltimare. I was never given an explanation by my parents. My father just came home one day, announced that we were moving, and five days later all of my belongings were packed up and on a train to Celestia-knows-where."
Octavia's ears perked up, and she nodded to indicate that Chelsea had her undivided attention.
"Well, we stopped in Dodge Junction of all places, and my father led us to our new house. My life had been turned upside-down and inside-out in a matter of six days. In six days, I went from being a young city mare with a bright metropolitan future to being an out-of-place teenager with no friends and no idea how to live in a rural town. I lost contact with my coltfriend of two years (who, by the way, I had long ago decided that I would marry). I never did find out why the move was necessary, but I dealt with it. I didn't have any other choice. Somewhat luckily, I only had about a year and a half left of high school, and my family had the means to send me to college. Those two years were extremely difficult, though. I never made any friends in Dodge Junction, and spent most of my time in my room reflecting on the direction of my life. My teacup cutie mark, born of my passion for spending time with my peers, seemed to be wrong. College gave me a chance to reset my life and attitude. I was no longer alone. I even hoped that I would meet my special somepony whilst there, but nobody that I courted worked out. Upon graduation, I became a traveling house-cleaner, moving from city to city as opportunity after opportunity exhausted themselves. Despite my hospitable nature, I never enjoyed working. I just did it to put food on my table. At the age of 25, I had completely given up on marriage, and had resigned myself to a life of discontent and roaming. I thought if there was one thing that I could learn from being uprooted, it was that my life was never meant to be stable."
Chelsea paused her monologue as the caffeine trolley passed by. "I'll take two lemongrass teas, please."
She turned to Octavia. "You don't mind tea, do you?"
Octavia reached for her wallet. "I'll drink whatever. I've never really been partial to anything except champagne."
Chelsea chuckled and gently pushed Octavia's hoof down. "It's really no problem. You do realize that my cutie mark is tea cups, right? I won't hear of you paying for any while you're in my presence."
Octavia put her wallet away, surprised and encouraged by Chelsea's easy generosity. After they had both gotten their tea, Chelsea reclined and resumed her story.
"Thank you for humoring me and listening to my story. Every time I tell it, I learn something more about myself. And I've told it MANY times, so that's saying something. Now where was I? Ah yes. Melancholy. One day, I was walking back to my apartment from the house that I was responsible for, and this gorgeous blue stallion just plows me over. He was obviously in a hurry, but he immediately turned around to help me. In my dazed state, he was the kindest and most considerate pony in the world, despite what he had just done to me. He told me that his name was Waddle, and apologized about twelve times in five seconds. As he helped me to my feet and off of the sidewalk, three businessponies came running toward us. It turns out that Mister Waddle was a business con artist of sorts, and had gotten more than he had bargained for. When they saw me, though, they glared at him, swore a few times, vowed revenge, and trotted away. Mr. Waddle and I were married within a year. We realized that our love could give us what we had only ever dreamed of: stability. I know that it sounds naive, but we were young, and it worked. He gave up his shady life to become an entrepreneur, and I was able to settle down and stop working for a while. We decided to live in Ponyville, and made our lives. I found contentment and happiness in hosting our neighbors and friends and supporting my husband. My presence made their lives better, so my cutie mark was once again utilized, and I was happy. Until one day, Waddle's pipe business crashed. I was forced to become a waitress for a few years, because our savings couldn't support four ponies for very long. I hated it. It was unnatural, and not where I belonged. Eventually, though, Waddle restarted his business, and we had stability for the rest of our lives."
Chelsea paused and finished off her tea. Octavia, thinking that she was done, said, "Wow. I am glad that everything worked out for you, and I am so sorry that you had to go through what you did.”
Chelsea waved her off
"It's just the way life is, hun. By the looks of you, you know that plenty well. Let me give you one piece of advice: Never let your friendships falter. The most dangerous and oppressive part of my life was when I was in a new place and afraid to put myself out and make new friends. In the same vein, it was when I found and maintained close friendships that I was most happy with life, and those friendships maintained me through the hard times and the waitressing that came with them. No matter what happens to you, do not shut yourself off from other ponies".
Octavia was slightly taken aback by the intensity with which Chelsea made her last statement. She did her best to meet her stare, but was forced to look away blushing. There was too much in it. The two mares sat in silence for a little while, each lost in her individual thoughts. Octavia was encouraged by the old mare's story- fresh starts could happen. They had to.
My future is in my own hooves. I hope that when I'm her age, I have the ability to tell an even better story. Today is the first day of the most important chapter of my life.
Octavia and Chelsea were pulled out of their reveries by the slowing of the train as it came into the station. Octavia turned to Chelsea and said simply "Thank you for the tea and your story. I will keep your advice in mind."
Chelsea winked at her. "Thank you for humoring me and helping me learn a little bit more about myself. You are a delightful young filly, and you will lead a good life."
And with that, their ways parted.
Octavia left the train and stepped into the station. She took a deep breath.
Here I am. My new home. My future. Bring it on.
...and then she realized that she had no place to sleep.
Darnit Octavia. You plan ahead for EVERYTHING. Why did you not find a house before you left?
Because I packed up and left in 3 days?
Oh, right.
Author's Note
This is my first attempt at any kind of creative writing. I'm sure you can tell that I am not used to writing dialogue, and so it's a bit choppy. I hope to get better as I continue to write this series.
PLEASE give me ANY criticism and feedback that you have. I need it. Like I said, I'm brand new to this.
Edit: I changed the title, because "Apprehension" fits the theme of the chapter more than its original name- this chapter is really just about Chelsea helping Octavia through her mental uncertainty.
Chapter 2: The Town Greeter
Octavia sighed.
Well, there’s no use in berating myself- I should probably try to find a place to stay. A job would be nice, too.
Octavia put on her saddlebags and trotted over to the front desk of the railroad station. She got directions to town hall, and set off. She figured that there was enough time left in the day to at least glance at job and house postings.
Octavia walked down the main street of Ponyville, passing a motel and several restaurants. She made a note to herself of the motel’s location so she could return to it later that night.
She continued walking, enjoying the fresh air and sights that come with rural life.
It’s good to be someplace fresh.
Suddenly, a pink blur flashed across the street at her, hit her, and her world was upside-down.
“So sorry! I just saw you and was like “OMG NEW FRIEND!!!!!”, thought that you looked like you needed a hug, underestimated my velocity, and kinda...tackled you...Sorry!”
Still dazed, Octavia took the proffered, vibrantly pink hoof and stood up. Moderately peeved, she glared at the offending ball of chattering fluff in front of her. “And you are?”
The little pink pony smiled broadly. “My FULL name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, but you can just call me Pinkie! I’m friends with everypony in town. I’m sorry again for tackling you. Can you forgive me and be my friend?”
Octavia’s glare softened. It was somehow incredibly difficult to stay angry with this odd mare.
“Well, I guess I could forgive you this once...My name is…”
“Octavia. I know. And you’re moving here to Ponyville to escape something.”
“Uhm...Yes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to hurry. It was a pleasure meeting you, Pinkie.”
I don’t even want to know how she knew all of that.
“Okie dokie! If you ever need a friend, I’ll find you!”
Octavia shivered slightly and continued down the road more quickly than before.
She arrived at the town hall and pushed her way through the doors. Once inside, she cast around for something that would have job and house postings. Octavia walked slowly over to the big corkboard just beside the front desk. As she reached it, a stunningly beautiful white unicorn with a purple mane trotted out of a side office, chatting excitedly with an official looking tan mare.
“Thank you again ever so much for hiring me to design your outfit for the parade, Mayor. I do so enjoy working with you in your delightful office. I will come back next week with the completed product for you to try on”.
“I look forward to it” was the simple reply.
Octavia smiled to herself at the juxtaposition of the white unicorn’s flowery language with the Mayor’s matter-of-factness. As she turned back to the board, the white pony hurried over to her.
“Hello dear! I don’t believe that I’ve seen you in town before. My name is Rarity, and I am the town’s resident fashionista. I must say that your bowtie is absolutely adorable! Wait…..I think I recognize you. Do you perhaps play a stringed instrument?”
Octavia, who immediately sensed the sincerity of the mare, smiled and said
“I do indeed. I was been lead cellist in the Canterlot Symphony for the last four years. I have worn a bowtie like this for as long as I can remember.”
“Well that’s simply lovely darling. It looks like you’re interested in staying in Ponyville a while. I would be ever so honored if you would come back to my boutique to have tea with me once you are done looking at corkboard.”
Octavia nodded her assent, and Rarity walked quickly over to the front desk, presumably to arrange her followup meeting with the Mayor. Octavia turned back to the corkboard and glanced over the available jobs. One in particular caught her eye. It read:
Position: Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
Purpose: Helps patients by supporting personal hygiene and daily living needs; providing comfort, transportation, and vital sign monitoring.
Duties:
Provides patients' personal hygiene by giving bedpans, urinals, baths, backrubs, shampoos, and shaves; assisting with travel to the bathroom; helping with showers and baths. Provides adjunct care by administering enemas, douches, nonsterile dressings, surgical preps, ice packs, heat treatments, sitz and therapeutic baths; applying restraints. Maintains patient stability by checking vital signs and weight; testing urine; recording intake and output information.Skills and Qualifications: Multi-tasking, Medical Teamwork, Bedside Manner, Infection Control, Nursing Skills, Health Promotion and Maintenance, Creating a Safe, Effective Environment, Informing Others, Judgment, Pain Management, Acute/Critical Care
Pay: 300 bits/month
If interested, please contact Nurse Redheart at (549-271-9724)
Octavia recorded Redheart’s number in her phone. She’d contact her tomorrow.
Please let there be houses available….
She saw a few that were obviously out of her price range, and her eyes settled on one.
200 bits/month
One Story
2 beds/ 1 bath
3585 sq ft/ 0.23 acre
Built in 2012
If interested, contact Filthy Rich at (549-271-9725)
It’s nothing extravagant, but it’s a place to live, and I can afford it if I work for a month in the hospital.
Assuming I get the job…
Octavia quickly recorded the contact information for the landlord.
I wonder if he and Redheart are married? Their numbers are so similar….
After she had finished, she walked over to Rarity, who was just finishing up at the front desk. Rarity turned to her.
“Ready to go, dear? Splendid.”
With that, they departed the town hall. As they trotted down main street, Octavia inquired about Ponyville’s music scene.
“Well, rather unfortunately, the most popular kind of music here is that obnoxious electronic kind. A young filly by the name of Vinyl Scratch runs a “club” downtown where ponies go every night to kill their eardrums and drink disgusting “energy drinks”. I don’t suspect you ever want to visit that place. A much more fitting musical feature is our resident acapella quintet, known as the Ponytones. I am the soprano singer for the group, and we hold monthly concerts and perform at various charity events. You simply must come to our next one! Finally, there is the Ponyville Philharmonic Orchestra, which is...different. It is, shall we say, faithful to the dictionary definition of ‘philharmonic’. The Orchestra is most definitely not what you are used to, dear, but if you are interested, you should contact Noteworthy.”
Octavia made a ‘note’ to find ‘Note’worthy, as it was obvious that Rarity was done talking about the orchestra. The two mares arrived at the “Carousel Boutique”, which serves both as Rarity’s place of work and as her residence. They made their way through the main lobby and into a sort of living room, where Rarity indicated that Octavia make herself comfortable on one of the numerous sofas. She then left to put a kettle on for tea.
Octavia set her saddlebags down beside a sofa, sat down, and glanced around. In front of her was a small oak table. There were at least four other sofas in the room, as well as several recliners.
Somepony likes her luxury. I suppose it only makes sense, with a name like Rarity.
The room was tastefully decorated, and it was obvious that Rarity had spent a considerable amount of time designing her living room. Octavia felt welcome and safe, surrounded by warm colors and what seemed like hundreds of pillows.
About five minutes later, Rarity came into the room, levitating a mostly full teapot and two saucers and cups of tea. She set them down on the table and sat down on a chair, positioning herself to face Octavia. Octavia took the opportunity to ask about her host.
“So, Rarity, how long have you been in Ponyville?”
“I was born and raised here with my sister Sweetie Belle. I set up my boutique and moved out of my parents’ house almost as soon as I turned 18. It was always obvious to me what I was to do with my life. In case you can’t tell, I enjoy the finer things of life, so I make it a point to travel a lot for my work. I recognized you from the Canterlot Symphony because I make it a point to attend as many of their concerts as I can.”
She paused, and then ventured
“What do you like to do for fun, dear? What do you enjoy?”
Octavia smiled and picked up her cup of tea, sipping at it thoughtfully. It was nice to have a friendly pony to chitchat with.
“I greatly enjoy music. I have been playing Cello since I was 5 years old, and find it relaxing to practice or listen to beautiful music. If the weather is nice, I enjoy going on long walks. Nature is calming, and the physical activity is good for me.”
An image of the park that she and Concerto had walked around hundreds of times before flashed into Octavia’s brain, but she quickly pushed it out.
Rarity set down her empty teacup.
“Well that’s wonderful, dear. You will find that Ponyville offers many opportunities for relaxing walks. Now tell me, dear, were there any jobs or houses that caught your attention?”
Octavia nodded.
“There is a CNA position open at the hospital. My parents forced me to go through a 6 week CNA course in the summer of my freshman year of college. They weren’t sure that I’d make it as a musician and wanted me to have a backup plan…” Her voice trailed off as she was assaulted by memories of her parents. She swallowed, took a sip of her tea, and continued.
“There’s also a little cottage just outside of town that looks perfect for me. I have some money saved up from my musical career, so I think I’ll check it out tomorrow. I don’t quite have enough for the first month’s rent, but the nursing job and the residual income from the Orchestra’s albums should give me enough within the month.”
Rarity noticed Octavia’s discomfort when she mentioned her parents and walked over, touching her hoof with her own.
“That’s wonderful, dear. Where are you planning on staying until you have enough?”
Octavia tensed up when Rarity touched her, unsure of how to receive her physical affection.
“In the motel down the street. It’s not the classiest place, but it will have to do.”
Rarity blanched.
“Oh no, darling, that simply will not do! We can’t have such a stunningly beautiful mare such as yourself staying in that old place! I have a guest room downstairs. Why don’t you stay with me?”
Octavia was startled by Rarity’s generosity, and immediately insisted that she would be perfectly fine in the motel. Rarity would have none of it, though, and she grudgingly let the affectionate white unicorn lead her downstairs. As she thanked her host, she could not help but ask
“Are you like this with every new pony? You sure jumped on me quickly back there at the town hall.”
“Why yes, dear, I am. I am the official-unofficial town greeter. It is my job to make sure that everyone feels welcome in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie has tried many times to replace me, but she is a little….overzealous and easily distracted. By the look you just gave me, I imagine that you experienced that firsthand.” Rarity giggled. “I suppose that once I started helping ponies, I couldn’t stop. I simply love meeting new ponies, and making their transition to Ponyville as smooth as possible makes me happy. Anyway, dear, just let me know if you need anything. I’ll be upstairs working on the Mayor’s dress for another couple of hours.” As she walked away, she thought to herself
I COULD have just lent or given her the money, but that would have been no fun. I get to talk with her more this way. I’m a bad pony……..
After Rarity had departed, Octavia took her cello out of her case and began playing. She let all of the feelings and events of the day flow through her hooves and into her instrument, creating a pleasantly hopeful melody.
Everything is going to be fine.
Author's Note
I know that there isn't much character development in this one, but I had to move the plot along. I promise that you'll get more development later!
As always, feedback is welcome and desired.
I want to use super/subscript in this, but it didn't transfer over in the formatting and I can't figure out how to do it. If someone could PM me with instructions, it would be much appreciated :)
