Chapters It had been one heck of a day for Octavia. She had woken in the morning to find that time was frozen. This is not a metaphor for a hangover that made everything appear to slow down, or a metaphor for her being incredibly tired and unable to do anything.
No, time was actually frozen. This had, of course, made creating breakfast difficult, So, being a sensible mare, Octavia had thought that perhaps this was a one off thing, and ignored breakfast all together, in favour of heading in to her living room. Only to find her cello floating in the air.
Octavia had decided to attempt to get the cello down, as instruments were not - more often than not - designed to fly. This had resulted in Octavia being stuck a few feet above her floor, attempting not to fall down. Just when she felt that she might be used to this predicament, the lord of chaos had knocked on her door, and dragged her on an adventure to restore the flow of time. This had annoyed Octavia immensely, as these were not her normal plans for a weekend. And, to top it all off, when she had attempted to attack the monster - Chronus - who had frozen time, he took her a thousand years in to the past, and left her there.
Sometimes you know when it's going to be one of those days.
Octavia awoke to find herself in a strange bed, with no sign of Chronus. She sighed, remembering the events of a few hours prior. She knew she was somewhere else, and, judging by Chronus' powers, some other time entirely. A quick glance around the room told her very little, as while she had a fairly good grasp of Equestrian history, most of the specifics related to music. With a soft groan, she rolled out of bed and landed heavily on the floor, where she lay still for a good few minutes, not wanting to face this particular day. If it was going to be yesterday - or a few thousand tomorrows from now, she supposed - it was going to be an adventure that she was not willing to go on.
She sighed as she heard the door open, followed by some soft footsteps which came towards her.
"Care to explain why you suddenly appeared in the room of the Princess, which has every protection known to ponykind, and is impossible for anypony but her to access?" Whoever this was, he was short, and to the point. This was the kind of conversation that Octavia could appreciate. It didn't mean that she was willing to help though.
"No, I wouldn't," Octavia mumbled, the purple carpet muffling much of her speech.
"Oh? Then perhaps you'd care to explain that when I analysed this pink bow-tie of yours for dangerous magical enchantments, the time of creation came up as nearly a thousand years in to the future?" The pony dropped said bow-tie in front of Octavia, but she merely grunted.
"Error in your magic?" Octavia's position on the floor was beginning to become uncomfortable, but she was far too tired to care.
"There are no errors in my magic. The Princess herself verified that, and I feel that even somepony from an apparently different time such as yourself would not wish to argue with her, am I correct?" The stallion grabbed Octavia's right forehoof in his own and pulled her in to a standing position. She offered no resistance, her only movement being to bend down slightly and pick up her bow-tie, before starting to place it on her neck. Looking at this mysterious pony, she saw that he was a unicorn with blue fur and a black mane. His cutie mark was a five pointed star with four smaller stars surrounding it, alongside a burst of purple magic. The ponies eyes were a piercing shade of yellow, and Octavia couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was constantly analysing her, judging her.
Admittedly, that was what she was doing at that particular moment in time, but that was besides the point. Octavia sighed, and - after adjusting her bow-tie one last time - decided to explain the situation.
"Your spell was correct in it's identification of the time in which that piece of clothing was created. I come from a time that is around one thousand years in to the future, but I was sent back through some... unique circumstances. Long story short, time collapsed and I got thrown back in time by the villain that caused it," Octavia frowned, finding it difficult to believe that those events had taken place just a day ago.
"Interesting. That explains how you ended up in Celestia's bedchambers, I suppose," Octavia nodded, imagining how it must have seemed; a strange pony shows up in the most powerful pony in all of Equestria's room without warning, somehow bypassing all of the magical protection. She was surprised that she hadn't been killed on the spot.
"I can't imagine how that must have looked. Thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt, rather than simply murdering me," Octavia said, before finding herself unable to prevent the small grin that crept on to her face at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. The pony looked at her, confused, before smiling slightly himself.
"Yes, the guards were about to take you out before I arrived. I felt it would make sense to give you a fair trial, and as you lacked any wepaons with which to kill the Princess, the likelihood of you being an assassin were rather low. These bedchambers are in my wing of the castle, so you have them to thank me for as well," He said, before opening the door to the room and gesturing for her to follow with a hoof. They stepped in to the corridor, and Octavia pulled the large wooden door shut behind her. It was ornately designed, with golden hinges and a gilded doorknob. This was certainly Canterlot Castle, even if it was a while before Octavia knew it.
"You have my thanks for the accomodation, and the protection. Exactly what should I call you? It would be silly to continue thinking of you as 'pony', wouldn't it?" Octavia asked, walking beside the pony as he headed away from the main castle, as far as Octavia could tell.
"You can just call me Star. It does occur to you that I don't have your name either, correct? Perhaps we should rectify that, miss...?" He trailed off, looking at her expectantly.
"Octavia. A pleasure to meet you, Mister Star," Octavia stopped and held out her hoof to Star, but he just continued walking, apparently lost in his own little world. Octavia coughed quietly, a frown on her face, before continuing to follow him. "So, exactly what time period am I in, exactly? Has Nightmare Moon happened yet, or Discord?" She glanced at Star, who was still steadfastly ignoring her. She cleared her throat, which yielded no response. "Star!" She shouted, causing him to shake his head slightly and look at her.
"Yes? What is it?"
"I was just asking when I am. Have Nightmare Moon or Discord's reign happened yet?" Star paused, thinking deeply, before responding.
"... Nightmare Moon was just banished, not a few months ago," He said, before continuing on as if this was no big deal. Octavia had thought that this might be some sort of big deal to everypony, considering that it was one of the most influential events in Equestrian History, which changed the fate of most ponies forever. Perhaps this Star just didn't care. he certainly seemed pretty absent-minded. It certainly seemed that it would be a little while before she could learn everything there was to learn about this pony. She couldn't help but feel that he was incredibly familiar to her, but she just couldn't place it. Octavia was sure it would come to her in due time, when her mind was less occupied with other things. For now she was content to just head wherever Star was taking her, and she would work things out when she got there.
Or she would have a panic attack. One or the other.
Princess Celestia smiled as she sat in the Canterlot Laboratory. The smile was nothing more than a front for what she was actually feeling, but the mindless ponies that worked here would probably have a panic attack if they saw anything but pure bliss on her face. Why they expected her to be the epitome of happiness after being forced to banish her sister to the moon, Celestia didn't know. But she did know how to act like she was happy after years of ruling Equestira, and act happy she did, up until the last of the scientists trickled out for breakfast, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She had come here to watch some of the experiments that her team of scientists were performing on a new spell that would allow ponies to teleport, but she just couldn't bring herself to care. She could give them the spell in an instant if the need arose, but she felt it would be better to allow them to reach their own conclusion.
And then there was the matter of this mysterious new mare who she had been told was from the future. That was something Celestia hadn't expected to wake up to see, so she was quite surprised by the appearance of a grey earth pony in her supposedly impenetrable room. She looked forward to speaking with her about the circumstances of her arrival, but until that time, she had left the mare in the company of her protégé, in the hope that he would be able to extract some information about the situation.
Besides, Celestia thought to herself, Star Swirl needed some company more than most ponies.
"If you are to live in one of my rooms, then you should at least assist me in my work, regardless of whether or not you're from the future. I'm sure that you won't be able to understand half of what I'm doing, but you will be useful for fetching ingredients and books, I suppose," Star frowned slightly. "No one else will work with me, so you'll have to do,"
"Oh, I wonder why in Equestria nopony will work with you, Perhaps it could be that they don't take kindly to bering told that they're stupid and barely fit to help you gather items?" Octavia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She got the feeling that it wouldn't be easy to work with this pony, but she wasn't being given a choice in the matter. Either she helped him with whatever he was doing, or she got thrown out in a Canterlot from a thousand years before she was even concieved.
"No, that can't be it. That would be silly," Star replied, somehow completely unable to detect the sarcasm. Octavia was starting to find it difficult to believe that he was the Princess' student as he said he was, as he seemed to lack much of the intelligence that Twiilight Sparkle had. Although she hadn't seen him work, and if he was speaking the truth then that would be where he was in his element.
Octavia frowned as they turned a corner, leading to a hall at the end of which were two large iron doors, upon which was a large sign that read 'Canterlot Research and Development'. A small smile appeared on Star's lips, and a spark of interest in his eyes that had previously been absent appeared, finally making Octavia feel that he was actually there with her, as opposed to somewhere else entirely. She was unsure if she liked it or not. On the one hoof it was nice to feel that he was paying some attention to her; on the other she couldn't shake the feeling that all of his attention would now be directed at this experiment, and he would ignore her even more than before - if that were even possible.
Star's pace increased considerably, forcing Octavia to double her speed. He reached the doors and threw them open, a wide grin now on his face. "Alright Octavia, go to that shelf over there and find me a red book entitled 'Doctor Whooves' Guide to the Timestreams'. It's all complete rubbish, of course, but it's a nice starting point. Not everypony can know what they're talking about," Star shouted, moving towards the centre of the room where a large chalk circle was drawn on the polished marble floor. The room was full of shelves, some filled with row upon row of books, others filled with scientific equipment that meant nothing to Octavia.
"For Celestia's sake, hurry up and get the book Octavia!" She was snapped out of her analysis of the room by Star's snapping. Sighing, she ran over to the indicated bookshelf and grabbed 'Doctor Whooves' Guide to the Timestreams', before throwing it over to Star who deftly caught it in his magic. "Now go and get me the powdered crystal from that shelf over there, and try to hurry it up this time, will you?" Star shouted, leafing through the book. Octavia groaned and walked quickly to the shelf on the other side of the room. She had a very distinct feeling that it was going to be a long day, a suspicion that was confirmed when she returned with the powdered crystal and was immediately berated for her slowness, before being given an ever more ridiculous list of things to do and collect.
***
"Octavia, grab me that book detailing the properties of crystal powder!"
"But you're using the book on crystal powder!"
"No, that's powdered crystal. How can you be so stupid?"
***
"Go and get that ugly rat out from that beaker will you? It's distracting me,"
"That's my reflection !"
"Same thing!"
***
"Thanks for helping so much, I don't know what I'd do without you!"
"Did you just thank me? Well, you're welcome, I suppose,"
"Huh? No, I was just congratulating this flask, it's done far more for me than you have, and much faster too!"
"Urgh..."
***
"For goodness sake, I asked for a vampony stake, not a vampony steak!"
"It's a little difficult for me to tell the difference in speech ! Perhaps you should have been more clear?"
"No, because that would imply that I'm wrong. I am not wrong, so therefore by extension it is your fault!"
Octavia groaned loudly, before stomping her right forehoof on the ground. "That is it ! I have had enough of this! I have done everything you asked, taken ridiculous insults and dealt with your petty little problems, but no more! It's only been a few hours, and already I am losing the will to live! Either you give me some request that allows me to get away from you for a few hours, or you thank me for the frankly brilliant job I've done of coping with you!" As she spoke, she stepped forward slowly, and by the end of her rant Octavia was eye to eye with Star, both of them steadfastly refusing to back down from their glares. They probably would have died from starvation had they not been interrupted by a mare who walked in to the room.
"Oh for Celestia's sake..." Star turned to face the newcomer, and Octavia followed his gaze a few seconds later. The mare was a cream unicorn with an orange and red mane that was neatly curled. Her cutie mark was a small broom enchanted by magic, and alongside the apron that she wore that was covered in dust, it didn't take Octavia's best deductive skills to figure out that she was a cleaner at the castle. "Star, you just can't work with anyone for more than an hour without them wanting to kill you, can you?" The mare spoke softly, but there was a hint of weariness clearly noticeable in her voice.
"Dust? Now of all times? Look, it wasn't my fault, it was hers -" Star tried to explained, before being interrupted.
"It always is their fault, isn't it? So who is this new mare that you've broken? And how is she stupid enough to have worked with you? No offense, sweetheart," Dust - Octavia presumed that was her name - smiled gently at Octavia , before walking over to them. Star frowned, his eyes narrowing.
"Her name's Octavia, and it really is her faul-" Star began before being silenced by a cream hoof being put to his lips.
"Octavia? That future girl? She comes all the way from the future and you just grab her and drag her to your stupid lab? For the love of Celestia, Star, you're a genius but you can be so damn dense sometimes! Come with me Octavia, we're getting out of this place." She began walking towards the door, motioning for Octavia to follow her. Octavia glared briefly at Star, who let out a small 'hmph' and turned away, then headed after Dust.
As soon as Octavia had gone through the doors and closed them behind her, Dust held out a hoof and smiled. "Sorry about that, he can be so dumb sometimes. So anyway, my names Dust Shine, and I'm Star's friend... probably his only friend." Octavia shook Dust Shine's hoof, before walking alongside her down the hall. "I already know who you are, future girl. I guess that explains how you didn't know about Star Swirl's legendary obnoxiousness when he works." Octavia nodded, before looking back at Dust in confusion.
"Wait, did you say Star Swirl?" Octavia asked, rather more loudly than she intended to. Dust nodded, her eyebrow raised. "Celestia, I'm stupid! Princess Celestia's student, a talented magician who's creating advanced spells and I didn't figure out it was him? That explains so much!" She put her hooves to her head, wondering how in Equestria she could have missed the signs.
"What, is he famous in your time or something?"
"Well, yes. He's the most famous unicorn in all of Equestria, to put it lightly. Although he's called Star Swirl the Bearded in my time, and they didn't portray him as being such a..." Octavia tried to find the best way to put it lightly.
"Obnoxious dense ignorant stuck-up jerk?" Dust added helpfully, a small smirk on her lips.
"Well, yes, I suppose you could put it like that." Octavia laughed, deciding that she quite liked this mare.
"He's always been that way, though it got worse when the Princess took him on. I'm basically the only one that can put up with him, though he acts pretty differently when it's just me." The two turned a corner in to a corridor filled with a tapestry depicting Celestia and Luna's victory over the great Timberwolf attack on Canterlot. A small smile crossed Octavia's mind as she thought of something.
"Are you and Star Swirl... you know?" Dust looked at Octavia blankly, before her eyes widened and she blushed furiously.
"Oh no, no no no no no! Definitely not! He's a good friend, but he's not interested in a relationship, and I... uh... I'm on team Luna, if you know what I mean. Not like 'Nightmare Night forever', but... you know..." Dust moved her hoof in a circle, but Octavia shook her head to indicate that she had no idea what she meant. "Uh... you don't know huh? I guess it's not common knowledge. Well... how do I put this? When it comes to relationships Celestia has always been a little more traditional, and in to colts. Luna, on the other hoof, was a bit more in to... you know..." She recieved a blank stare from Octavia, and she sighed. "Luna was a fillyfooler. and so am I!" Dust shouted, before looking around to see confused stares by the other occupants of the castle, causing her cheeks to redden further.
"Oh. Interesting. And Star Swirl... is he, you know?" Octavia asked, to which Dust shrugged.
"Heck if I know. He hasn't had a single relationship with anypony, so it could be anything. He could be in to Timberwolves for all I know!" Dust laughed, before stopping at a large pair of iron doors. "Well, we're gonna head outside now. Trust me, a trip out on the town is just what you need after a few hours with Star. He can be great when you get to know him, but working with him is like trying to pull your brain out through your eyeballs." She laughed, before pushing open the doors and walking out in to the gardens. Octavia gathered her thoughs before following.
Two things bothered Octavia. Firstly, Luna was a fillyfooler? That was news to her, and if she ever got back in to her own time it would be interesting to see if anything had changed.
And secondly, how did Star Swirl, the arrogant genius, and Dust Shine, the everyday cleaner, become friends? And - now that Octavia thought about it - how did she know what it felt like to pull your brain out through your eyeballs?
"You really should go after her, you know?" A familiar voice echoed throughout the Canterlot Department of Research and Development, causing Star Swirl to sigh and turn to face the newcomer.
"Princess Celestia, how lovely to see you," Star Swirl bowed his head respectfully at the Princess, barely able to restrain his annoyance at being interrupted in his work. Celestia smiled softly.
"Oh, we both know that you don't want me here. You're my student Star Swirl, I know you," Princess Celestia said, laughing gently when Star Swirl frowned. "I don't intend to interrupt you for long, I just wished to speak with this mare from the future. Do you know where she is?" Celestia asked, looking around the room.
Star Swirl shook his head. "Dust took her somewhere. Apparently I'm difficult to work with, if you can believe that," Star snorted while grabbing a flask with his magic.
"Star Swirl, suicide rates tripled when you arrived at Canterlot Castle. As your mentor, I can safely say that you are difficult to work with," Celestia laughed. "I suppose I shall have to wait here until she returns,"
"Oh joy," Star Swirl replied, unable to keep the venom out of his voice.
"Believe me, when Octavia arrived I shall be out of your mane. Am I to assume that she is not a particularly large fan of you?" Celestia walked around the room slowly, watching Star Swirl mix a few potions together absent-mindedly.
"She got rather angry at me for apparently making ridiculous requests, so I can make the assumption that she does not regard me in the best light,"
"Perhaps you should try apologising to her for your behaviour? I really feel that you two could get along from what little I know of her," Celestia suggested, which was followed by a the sound of breaking glass when Star Swirl dropped the flask full of dark purple liquid, which splashed all over the floor, and on him.
"Apologise? But that would imply that I'm wrong, and I'm never wrong! She is clearly just a bad judge of character!" Star Swirl shouted while jumping backwards to avoid the small puddle that was probably quite dangerous.
"No offense, my faithful student, but you are one of the most stuck up, obnoxious and downright rude ponies I've ever met. You're a genius, no doubt, and you treat your one friend with a lot of respect, I can see that, but everypony else hates you. And, um, what exactly was that potion you were making?" Celestia frowned as the small amount of purple liquid bubbled and hissed.
"No offense taken, and that was a love potion. I was experimenting to see whether you could get a potion to work through collision with a ponies fur, and a basic potion such as that felt like the best option to test it on," Star Swirl said as he grabbed the remnants of the broken flask in his magic.
"And how exactly does this 'love potion' work, exactly?" Celestia asked tentatively.
"It simply targets the mare, or colt, depending on gender preferences, that is consuming your thoughts the most at the time of ingesting the potion and makes you infatuated with them after a few minutes," He replied, now mopping up the last of the purple liquid.
"Did your experimtnes with contact potions prove successful?"
"Yes, and that potion should work on anypony that comes in to contact with it. This could be a major breakthrough for military weapons. Think about the applications, like an incendiary potion that can be thrown, or an aging potion that covers a large area!" Star Swirl grinned smugly. Apparently the only pony he was infatuated with was himself.
"You do understand that the potion went all over you, right?"
"Yes, of course I do, what do you think I am, stupid?"
"And you do understand it has been a few minutes?"
"Yes, I do. And now I see what you're hinting at. If you'll excuse me for a second, Princess, I appear to be madly in love with Octavia," Star Swirl grinned sheepishly, and ran off while blushing furiously.
Celestia raised an eyebrow, before making the decision to head after him. She didn't intend to stop the upcoming commotion. No, she merely wanted a front row seat. This was guaranteed to be entertaining.
"You're gonna love the Canterlot Gardens. There's a huge statue of a thing called Discord, and they say that he used to be an evil creature who terrorised Equestria before Celestia and Luna stopped him with the Elements of Harmony. It's just a legend, of course, but the statue is amazing! It's so lifelike!" Dust said as she and Octavia walked out of Canterlot Castle, heading towards the garden. A wry smile crossed Octavia's lips as she recalled her time with the Lord of Chaos. It was hard to believe that the draconequus that had once terrorised everypony had helped to save time. She wondered how that quest was going without her. Probably not too well, if Rainbow Dash was one of the last hopes for ponykind.
"What's with the smug grin? You look like Star after he's discovered something important, which, though I hate to say it, is a lot of the time," Dust asked.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. I was just recalling something from the future,"
"And I guess you can't tell me about it?"
"Sorry, but no, I can't,"
"Oh, I understand. Star gave me the time travel lecture when you arrived here. Said he didn't want me destroying the timestreams, or something like that," Dust laughed, before stopping in front of a large hedge cut in to the shape of Princess Celestia. "I don't know how they make these things. I tried gardening once, but it just ended up with Star being covered in dirt and a half destroyed garden. It was worth it to see the look on his face though," Dust giggled.
"I'd imagine it would be quite the privilege to see him look humiliated," Octavia smiled, looking up at the topiary. This was still in the garden in her time, though she doubted it was the very same one.
"Heh, you know you speak a lot like Star, right? What's with that speech? You seem pretty down to Equus to me, and yet you speak like an upper class pony. I just don't get it," Dust shook her head, confused.
"I was born and raised in the higher echelons of Equestrian society, and so speaking like this became something of a necessity. I also play as the Canterlot Symphonic Orchestra's lead cellist, so I'm dragged along to stupid upper class events on a daily basis. Well, I was. Or would that be 'will be'? I hate time travel," Octavia sighed.
"I love you!"
"Um... what?" Octavia looked over at Dust, who's mouth was hanging open.
"That... wasn't me."
"Then who was it?" Octavia looked around, confused, before screaming when a blue blur jumped out of Celestia's bush - that sounded better in Octavia's head - pinning her to the floor. On closer inspection, her assailant was Star Swirl.
"I love you Octavia!" He shouted, while blushing furiously. Octavia's jaw flew open, leaving her completely speechless. Dust, meanwhile, helpfully decided to burst in to raucous laughter and roll around on the floor.
"I could do with some help over here, if it's convenient," Octavia glared at Dust.
"S...sorry...ha ha... you're on your own sweetheart!" Dust managed to say before returning to a mad fit of giggles. Octavia groaned and looked back up at Star Swirl who was grinning widely at her.
"May I ask why you have suddenly decided that I'm the greatest thing since the Elements of Harmony and are apparently in love with me despite the fact that we hate each other?"
"It's because I love you Tavi!"
"First of all, do not call me Tavi. Second of all, I understand you love me, but why?
"Because you are an amazing pony, a paragon of beauty and grace, the pinnacle of all that is right in Equestria! Your mane radiates the glow of the sun itself in such a way that Celestia would envy, and your eyes shine like the moon!" Star Swirl continued on for several minutes, after which Octavia heard Dust, now recovered from her hysterics, coughed quietly.
"You could make him stop at any time, you know," Dust said, and Octavia looked over at her with a small grin on her face.
"...I admire you above all else, sugar-nipples!" Star Swirl gushed.
"...And now you can stop. While I appreciate any and all complements directed at me, I would like to know why after your obnoxious and ridiculous hatred for me this morning, you suddenly adore me. Could I have a straight answer, without any complements please?"
Star Swirl's nose scrunched up, and he steadfastly remained silent. Octavia groaned loudly, and rolled out from under Star Swirl, standing next to Dust Shine.
"What in Equestria is it now ?" Octavia asked exasperatedly.
"If I am not permitted to comment on your perfection, then there is no point in speaking at all!" Star Swirl smiled, but his face fell at the bemused looks on Octavia's and Dust's faces.
Dust was about to burst in to a rant when something Celestia shaped jumped out of the Celestia-shaped bush. It was, of course, Princess Celestia, who smiled warmly at the trio.
"I apologise for Star Swirl's behaviour. He was experimenting with love potions, and, needless to say, this one got out of hoof rather quickly. I should be able to reverse the effects quite easily, if you wish," A sly grin appeared on Celestia's face. "Alternatively, of course, we could simply leave him like this and wait for the effects to wear off naturally,"
Octavia looked to Dust, who shrugged. "Your choice. I think it would be pretty funny, to say the least," She laughed, with Octavia following swiftly after.
"I believe it would be a good lesson in humility. But, if I may ask, is there a way to change the target of his infatuation?" Octavia asked. Celestia paused for a moment, thinking, before nodding.
"There is. Anypony you had in mind?"
The Doctor stepped out, breathing in the air of Canterlot. A quick look around told him that this was approximately three years before his intended time of arrival, but, he supposed, it couldn't hurt to look around. He walked around the streets of Canterlot, taking in all the sights and sounds, when he heard a strange commotion coming from down the road.
"I love you Doctor!" The Doctor looked down the street to see a deranged Star Swirl running towards him, grinning madly. It took the Doctor about two seconds to start running away, desperate to avoid whatever madness had taken the great Star Swirl.
"Don't run from me, you cannot escape true love!"
The Doctor ran back in to the TARDIS, and locked the doors as quickly as he could. He could still hear the complements and constant adoration coming from outside, and he had to cover his ears to avoid the lines that had been ripped straight from romance novels.
He would not be returning to Canterlot for a while, that was for sure.
The past few days had been quite good for Octavia, all things considered. Since the incident with the love potion, Star Swirl had found it quite difficult to meet Octavia's eyes, and so she had spent the afternoons in the Canterlot Gardens with Dust Shine. One of these days she would venture out in to the streets, but she was fine for now.
And so it was that she awoke one morning, quite contented. She yawned loudly, looked up to see her bed, and curled up to go back to sleep. It was at this point that a few questions ran through her mind, now that she was a little more awake.
Firstly, where did Octavia sleep? In her bed.
Where was Octavia's bed? On the floor.
Where was Octavia? On the ceiling.
One of these things did not make sense to Octavia, and she frowned as she wondered what it was. Oh yes, Octavia did not belong on the ceiling. She sighed loudly, and stood up to see that everything else in her room was fine, and she was the only thing that had decided to break the laws of physics. It didn't take too much brainpower to figure out who was probably responsible for it, and she was going to give him a piece of her mind.
When she could get out of her room, of course.
Luckily the ceiling wasn't too high, so it was a small jump to grab on to the top of the doorframe. Those years of playing the cello had paid off, it would seem. With no small effort, she pulled herself over the edge of the doorframe, and landed with a crash on the corridor ceiling. Octavie frowned and got to her hooves, before walking towards the Canterlot Research and Development department with a frown on her face. She perked up slightly when Dust Shine walked underneath her and waved.
"How's the weather up there?"
"Oh, it's fine. I just woke up this morning and felt that the floor wasn't worthy of my time, so I thought I'd just ignore physics. As you do," Octavia said nonchalantly, prompting a small grin from Dust.
"Heh, sorry about this. Star said he was working on some kind of fancy gravity spell, and I guess we can see where the effects went. Sometimes I wonder about him..." Dust opened the large iron doors that luckily reached all the way up ot the ceiling, allowing Octavia to easily walk in to Star Swirl's place of work.
Unfortunately, Star Swirl was stuck on the far wall. Dust coughed, beofre giggling slightly.
"I'm starting to get the...hehe... 'gravity', of the situation," She smirked. Octavia shook her head, and walked over to talk to Star Swirl while Dust wandered over to his desk in the hopes of finding a solution.
"Good morning Octavia. The floor not good enough for you today?"
"No, apparently it's not. Someone decided that I shouldn't have a normal day, and I'm going to take a wild guess and say that it was you," Octavia muttered angrily, and Star Swirl shrugged.
"You're blaming me? This wasn't my fault,"
"Then who's was it, exactly?" Octavia got as close to Star Swirl as she could, glaring at him angrily.
Star Swirl shook his head as he paced along the wall. He was tempted to kick the window down to get out of there, but considering that he was going to be stuck in that direction of gravity, he dreaded to think how far he would go before he stopped. "I'm not sure, but it clearly couldn't have been me. I don't make mistakes,"
"You cast the spell didn't you?" Octavia asked. Star Swirl nodded, before realising his mistake. "Then it's your fault! Get over it! Everypony makes mistakes, boo freaking hoo!" She shouted. Star Swirl attemped to walk away angrily, but was stopped by the floor. He contented himself with frowning at Octavia. Sighing, Octavia walked over to Dust's general area.
"He's impossible, isn't he? Sorry about his stupid behaviour. He always had a little trouble accepting his flaws. He tends to be a little better around me, but he doesn't really know how to deal with friendship or anything like that. Married to the job, I guess. Y'know, if you two weren't always at each other's throats, you'd make such a cute couple," Dust smirked, while Octavia nearly fell off the ceiling in shock. She blushed furiously.
"Where in Equestria did THAT come from?" Octavia shouted in confusion.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, it's not going to happen - at least not any time soon - but you two are similar in a lot of ways, apart from the obnoxiousness. Just something that popped in to my head," Dust said nonchalantly. Octavia sighed, but decided not to pursue the argument. It wasn't worth the time or effort.
"The papers aren't on that desk, you know. And even if you did find the spell, what makes you think you could cast it?" Star Swirl shouted from across the room, a bemused look on his face. "I should be able to fix it easily. Just give me a second..." His horn started to glow with a blue aura, and before Octavia could reach him to try and stop him, the room filled with a piercing white light, and Octavia found herself being flipped upside down. She crashed on to the floor, narrowly avoiding Star Swirl's desk.
She stood up, and glanced around the room to confirm that she was, in fact, on the floor again. Thankfully, it appeared that she was, and the room hadn't just flipped. Smiling, Octavia walked around, just happy to be able to feel the floor underneath her hooves. Star Swirl and Dust Shine, however, were not so happy.
"Well, that didn't work," Star Swirl's voice echoed throughout the room. Nothing was particularly odd about the voice itself, but the location it originated from was. Star Swirl was now on the ceiling, and an angry groan from Dust Shine confirmed that she had been moved on to the far wall.
"You don't say. Octavia, just go and get Celestia so we can fix this stupid mess!" Dust shouted, casting a small glare at Star Swirl, who merely huffed indignantly and looked away. Octavia was about to turn and head to the throne room to request Princess Celestia's assistance, when she saw a white blur flying down the corridor outside the door. She barely threw herself to the floor in time to dodge the mysterious intruder, who crashed on the far wall. This pony was, as it turned out, the Princess, who got up on to four hooves and cast a glance to the other side of the wall at Dust Shine, who pointed to Star Swirl with a knowing smile.
"Star Swirl, my loyal student. Would you like to explain why as I was walking down to check on your research, my gravity was distorted, and I found myself being dragged towards this wall? It's a nice wall; no doubt about it. I'd just prefer to spend my time on the floor specifically designed for the purpose of being walked on," Princess Celestia said, causing Dust to laugh quietly.
"My apologies, Celestia. Octavia..." Everypony in the room glared at him, and he sighed quietly. "...I messed up the spell. I thought I was ready, but I suppose I wasn't," He looked at up at Octavia. "There, are you happy?"
An thick silence filled the room as Celestia and Dust looked around in confusion, wondering just what in Equestria was going on. Octavia smiled at Star, who sullenly looked down at the ceiling, before a small grin crossed his face. He much preferred this Octavia to the one that he had so far been acquainted with. It was a shame that he had to act like he wasn't a brilliant genius to get that Octavia.
"W...what just happened? Where did Star Swirl go?" Dust stammered. She searched her brain for a time that Star Swirl had admitted that something was his fault, and was completely unable to come up with one. Celestia was just as stunned. Star looked around the room in confusion, before turning to Octavia.
"Do you have any idea what they're so stunned about?"
"No, I'm afraid I don't. Perhaps it could be something to do with the fact that you just admitted a mistake of yours, something that so far hasn't happened?" Octavia suggested, looking to Dust Shine, who gave a small nod. She was still incapable of forming any coherent speech, so she settled with a small 'uh'.
Celestia, having recovered from her shock somewhat, lit up her horn and in a burst of white light all four ponies found themselves back on the floor. Star Swirl walked up to Celestia and bowed his head in respect, while Octavia walked up to Dust. Her legs were wobbling slightly, and her mouth hung wide open.
"Are you alright?" Octavia asked.
"She'll be fine, she's just a litle confused. Leave her alone for a few minutes and she should sort herself out," Celestia replied, walking alongside Star Swirl to the entrance.
"Again, I apologise for the mess, Celestia," Star Swirl muttered, walking down the corridor. Princess Celestia stopped and looked back in to the room.
"Actually, I'd make that ten to twenty minutes now. Don't let Star Swirl apologise again, or who knows how long it could last," Celestia finished, before walking after Star Swirl.
Star Swirl let out a small sigh as he looked out on the night sky form his balcony. He could see almost every star in the Canterlot skyline from here, and it was often a place he came to calm down after a day of experimenting with magic - a task that used no small amount of energy. Hoofsteps sounded beside him, and he turned to see Dust Shine smirking.
"You've been given an order from the Princess," She said, pulling out a note.
My Faithful Student,
You have been working yourself very hard as of late, and I feel that you must take a day off. Don't complain or try to work elsewhere, as I will know. I have only one stipulation for the day, and that is that you must make friends with Octavia. If you require assistance, ask Dust, as I'm sure she will be willing to help. Make sure to, above else, enjoy yourself, and come back to Canterlot Castle refreshed.
Princess Celestia
Dust Shine grinned smugly as Star Swirl's expression darkened. She laughed quietly, and then turned to walk back to her room.
"You heard the Princess, if you need anything, just ask me!" She said, stopping at the doorway.
"Hmph. I can handle this myself, thank you very much. I have invented over half of the combat spells used by the Royal Guard, I think I can handle this 'friendship'."
Dust giggled, before going through the door and closing it behind her. Star Swirl walked back in to his room, and lay down on the bed. He would need a long night's rest if he was going to complete this arduous task. Just before he fell asleep, a shout from behind the door made him jump out of the bed and crash on to the floor.
"Have fun on your date!"
Reminiscence - Don't Mess With Dust Shine
Star Swirl was not a normal pony. This was quite evident throughout most of the day, whether shown through his extreme arrogance towards everypony - including the princess - or shown through the fact that his teacher was the leader of Equestria, and for all intensive purposes he was royalty, yet his best friend was a cleaner. She didn't complain though, as being best friends with one of the most famous ponies in Canterlot tended to get her quite a lot of attention from other mares.
But the time when this was most evident was in the mornings. Most ponies - especially those in the innermost wings of Canterlot Castle - would often spend three hours or more preparing for the day, after waking at something close to the afternoon. Star Swirl, however, would wake up before Celestia had even raised the sun, shave - he thought that he would look stupid with a beard - and wash quickly, before leaving for a day of magical development.
This morning, however, had to be different. He had been forced to experience the 'magic of friendship', and he was going to do it right if it killed him. He woke up early, as always, but spent a good hour preparing himself. He groomed his mane, shaved properly, and bothered to have a bath. Most of the time he felt that his time was too valuable, and so he had invented a quick-cleaning spell. It was effective, but apparently a bath did a better job, or so his research team told him - at least before they all quit for one reason or another.
After putting in a large amount of bubbles - using magic, of course - he got in the bath and attempted to relax. Unfortunately, relaxation was not a skill Star Swirl had mastered, and so he spent a few minutes racking his brains for something to deter his thoughts from magic. His mind went through a lot of different ideas, until he eventually settled on one memory, a small smirk on his face.
Idiots annoyed Star Swirl quite a lot. Unfortunately, college seemed to be filled with far too many of them for his liking. He frowned as he sat in a corner of the field, attempting to read a book on the principles of magic. Sadly, the lesser ponies seemed intent on stopping him from completing this task. A group of four ponies, all of whom were a few years older than Star, approached him, smug grins plastered on their faces.
"Hey egghead, watcha readin'?" The apparent leader of this group, a large pony with a brown coat, black mane, and a large red cut on his eye asked. His cutie mark was covered by a grey coat of some sort, but Star Swirl assumed it was something meaningless, like a sun. He grabbed Star Swirl's book in his dark brown magic and tossed it aside, laughing as he did so.
"Apparently something far above your reading level. How about you return to reading fairytales, and leave those of us with more than half a brain cell to learn the important things?" Star Swirl stood up, and attempted to move towards his discarded book, only to be stopped by two of the other ponies. He sighed, and moved back to the corner.
"You think your stupid smart words can get to us? Let's see what you say when you're cryin' on the floor, punk!" The thug shouted, before running at Star Swirl. Star breathed deeply, before looking around quickly for anything he could use to defend himself in the few seconds he had before he was attacked. He saw a loose part of the copper pipe that ran down the wall, and quickly ripped it off the wall and held it with his magic.
He flipped the pipe around with his telekenesis, before swinging it round to hit the thug straight in the face. "Not today, peasant," he said, before dodging an incoming punch from one the other thugs. He quickly got out of the corner, and turned to face the group of attackers. Three of them were running at him, while the ringleader - now with a black eye on top of his scar - was just getting to his hooves.
"After him! Show that stupid brat who's boss!" He shouted, before pulling a small knife out of his coat. Star Swirl decided to hold his ground, confident that he could win. This bravado disappeared, however, the moment his weapon was crushed by a burst of magic from one of the thugs. So, being somewhat intelligent, he ran away. Unfortunately, he ran straight in to a cream mare, who jumped back in surprise.
"Whoah there! You got somewhere to be?" She shouted, before taking a quick look at the group of ponies running after him. "Oh, those morons. Hold on a 'sec, sweetheart," Dust said, before walking over to the thugs, a frown on her face. "You really are the lowest of the low, you know that? Exactly what did that pony do to you?"
The thugs looked around at each other, confused, before their leader stepped forward. His good eye glared at Dust, and he snarled at her. "He... uh... attacked me! With a pipe!!"
"Yeah, but from the looks of it you got there first! That attack was not unprovoked, and if you try and tell me otherwise I'll kick you so hard that your grandfoals will feel it!" She growled. The leader of Star Swirl's attackers winced slightly, as did his entourage. After a few seconds of trying to think of a good response, he tossed out knives to his friends, and ran towards Dust.
"Get 'er!" He roared, before throwing the knife with his magic. Dust rolled out of the way, a smirk on her face. She ran around the thugs, and jumped at one of the more stupid ones from behind, kicking him in to his friend. The third pony ran to her and swung with his knife, but she jumped backwards - hitting the leader as she did so - and bounced up, landing behind him. She ripped the knife from his grasp, and hit him with the hilt, before throwing him in to the other three injured ponies, who went rolling across the floor, screaming. Dust walked up to the thugs, grinning smugly.
"Now, if you know what's good for you, you'll run right out of Canterlot, and you'll stay a good few miles away from that pony. If you don't, I'll play golf with your hooves as the golf clubs! I make myself clear?" Dust whispered, a large amount of venom in her voice. The leader groaned in assent, and Dust walked away, satisfied. Star Swirl was still in the place that Dust had left him, a small smile on his face. "Celestia, I hate those idiots. You alright, love?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for the assistance. I must say, I haven't seen magic like that in quite a while. You've got a large amount of strength there, it's impressive. Do you have any special techniques?" Star asked, walking alongside the mare back towards the college.
"Uh, no. That's just a thing that I'm good at, I guess. You're not so bad yourself though. You really hit that moron right in the eye, didn't you? He won't be seeing right for a while, that's for sure!" Dust laughed, and Star soon found himself joining in. "Hey, if those bullies ever try and get to you again, just get me. They won't be able to hit you when I'm done with them, that's for sure,"
Star Swirl smiled. He had a feeling that although this mare wasn't as intelligent as him - as if such a things was possible - she had some good qualities. Perhaps she was better than the rest of the idiots that attended that college. He at least had an inkling that she'd always be there to help him in a pinch.
And when you were as arrogant as Star Swirl, those pinches tend to occur quite often.
Dust Shine had always been there for Star Swirl throughout the years that he had known her. He smiled, and got out of the bath, prepared for the day of 'fun' and 'relaxation' that he was being forced to endure. If somepony like Dust could become his friend, Star Swirl had every faith that Octavia had a chance.
Of course, he knew somepony that would be able to help him with his day out, and so he dried himself and walked out in to Canterlot Castle, heading for the symphony hall. After a short walk, he arrived at a gilded iron door, from behind which came the sound of string instruments. He pushed it open gently, and steeled himself for a talk with it's occupant.
Conversations with Beethoofen tended to be quite taxing for him.