Octavia x Rarity

Chapters

Chapter 1 The Grand Galloping Gala
Chapter 2 After the Grand Galloping Gala
Chapter 3 A Dress Fit for a Queen
Chapter 4 The Concert
Chapter 5 Some Drinks With a New Friend
Chapter 6 The Next Morning

Chapter 1 The Grand Galloping Gala

Rarity had never dreamed that she would go back to the Gala in all her life, not since the last time where all of her friends had almost destroyed the entire palace. To her surprise, Twilight had given her a ticket and none of the others, and Princess Celestia even checked to confirm that she would be attending. She caught up with some of her old friends from her last visit to Canterlot and even noted that Fancy Pants was wearing one of her designer suits that had just come off of her new line. A smile went across her face as she realized that she didn’t have to lie about who she was to be accepted by the upper class ponies that lived here or anywhere.

But Rarity’s main goal here had not changed; she still felt deep in her heart that she would find her prince who would take her away to a wonderful life, not to say she disliked the one she had. She walked around the castle and the gardens outside the palace. Roses were blooming; a brilliant shade of crimson lined them as water dripped off of their petals after a light rain that had just passed in a few minutes. She looked up and thought about how wonderful it would be to have a high society life like living in Canterlot, but at this point she had no reasons for moving there except for her own good, and that would betray her friends.

Music came from the ballroom, a slightly baritone pitch was ringing out; Rarity could tell that it was off metal strings and a wooden body that filled the air with music. She hadn’t heard such wondrous music as the last time she was here Pinky had taken control of those affairs and made it more of a party. She wished Pinky had not done so, because she was sure that if Pinky hadn’t changed the music, she would have heard the beautiful sound before. Rarity began to prance to hear it for all of its true glory and hoped she wouldn’t be too late to hear it in the ballroom.
As she neared the ballroom the music died away.

“Oh, Celestia, please don’t tell me I’m too late.”

She used her magic to open the doors and as she did, she saw a grey pony putting away a cello into a soft case along with the bow. She ran up to the pony and began to speak, completely forgetting her manners and not introducing herself at all.
“Oh please don’t tell me you’re done already, I just arrived here and really wanted to hear you play.”

“Unfortunately, my set is over and I have to clear the stage for the next act, some accordion playing unicorn-“
The grey pony cut off looking at Rarity’s horn and stopping herself before she truly showed her dislike for unicorns.
“Wait, you’re not a unicorn?” Rarity’s eyes grew wide, “You’re an Earth Pony and you can play this music?”

“And why shouldn’t I be able to?” the grey pony had a slight tone of anger in her voice at this point. “You think that only unicorns can do beautiful things like this, we’ll you’re wrong.” She closed her eyes and pointed her nose away from Rarity, continuing to clear off the stage for the next act.

“I didn’t mean to offend you, I’ve just never met an Earth Pony with such refined tastes and such a spectacular talent.” Rarity said, hoping that her apology would be accepted. The grey pony stopped and looked back at her for a second, but went back to straightening up the stage.

“If you wanted to hear me play, you should have come here sooner.” The grey pony said. Rarity started to bite back her sorrow that the pony no longer wanted to play for her and thought of what to say to her.

“Perhaps, if you are playing again sometime, I could come see you then? I’d be right on time, I promise.” Rarity said, putting on a huge smile but before the grey pony could answer; the according began to play and drowned out most the sound in the ballroom. The grey pony picked up the cello case, standing on her hind hooves and putting it on her back with the
strap, slowly walking out of the ballroom, Rarity just a few steps behind her. Before Rarity could stop the pony, she slammed the door in her face and stopped Rarity from following her. Rarity’s ears dropped in sorrow looking down at the ground and going over to the table to get something to drink.

Nothing at the party could possibly cheer Rarity up at that point. She always loved her drinks, but the only ones offered at the party were cheap box wines that were poured back into nicer wine bottles, along with some beers and cheaper strong drinks. Rarity would never even touch such a thing as cheap hard liquor, and left the castle. She walked around the streets of Canterlot, wrapping her scarf around her neck to keep her warm as night grew darker and darker. She neared a bar that she had become familiar with when she had spent time with Fancy Pants up in Canterlot and went in.

“Rarity, long time no see. I didn’t even think that I’d see you here again.” A younger colt said looking at her. His mane was combed back rather well, even though it was worn in a rather boring manner.

“Yes, yes, I know. Can you just give me some of the good stuff?” she asked him. He gave her a strange look, using his magic to take a bottle of vodka from the top shelf and pour it into a rather large glass.

“Night not going so well?” he asked, Rarity shaking her head no as she sat down at the bar. “How could you say that? I heard that Princess Celestia herself wanted you alone at the Gala this time, that’s quite an honor.” Rarity took the glass after he was done pouring and drank a rather large sip putting it back down in front of her.

“There was a filly at the Gala, and she played the most beautiful music. I offended her and she wouldn’t play for me, I forgot to even ask her name…” Rarity trailed off thinking about it. The barcolt looked at her then his face lit up with an idea.
“Wait, was this pony by chance an Earth Pony?” he looked at Rarity who looked up at him rather quickly.
“Yes, she was. Do you know her?” Rarity’s excitement had returned

“Yeah, her name is Octavia, she lives in Canterlot, here is her address.” The barcolt wrote it down for Rarity as she ran out with it in her mouth. The barcolt was calling out to Rarity as she had completely forgotten to pay him even for the drink. He shook his head as she ran out of the bar towards the train to Ponyville. Rarity knew that she could not possibly just show up at this filly’s house and ask her more questions, so she would make a peace offering. She decided that when she got back to Ponyville, she would make Octavia a beautiful dress for her next performance.

As the train neared, Rarity’s excitement grew exponentially. She hopped into the car that she was riding in and asked the conductor on the way if he could give another trip to her. He explained he’d have to ask Princess Celestia if it was okay, but Rarity had hope that it would be. And so she set out for Ponyville, yet again.

Chapter 2 After the Grand Galloping Gala

Chapter 2 After the Grand Galloping Gala
Octavia walked around the streets of Canterlot, taking the back alleys just to walk off her stress and anger. She knew that getting as mad as she did wasn’t kind at all, but she truly didn’t like unicorns, always using their magic for the most wonderful things in the world, while Earth Ponies sat and had to do such meaningless tasks that were degrading. Octavia knew that she couldn’t possibly just blow off all of the steam so she went to her favorite bar. They had the finest Brandy in all of Equestria, and knew her face well.
She walked in looking at the bar as she placed her cello down in a corner that was dedicated to her beautiful instrument. She went and sat in her usual spot as she waited for the barcolt to stop cleaning the lower counters and coughed slightly to get his attention. She noticed a faint scent, one that was somewhat familiar but not completely, and one that was very familiar. She smelled fresh vodka, straight from Cloudsdale. Vodka was one of the few things that Pegasi made that was better than what Earth Ponies or Unicorns could make, and was a rather nice drink. A pony’s scent lingered near the glass of Vodka, but did not give off a scent strong enough for Octavia to actually determine who it was.
“Octavia, did you have a good show tonight?” the barcolt asked her. She nodded her head as he poured the usual Brandy from the back room.
“Yes, I had a lovely crowd tonight, they all were very polite, but there was one thing.” She trailed off as she picked up the dish of brandy and sipped it.
“You wanna talk about it?” The barcolt asked, looking at her sympathetically. She nodded slowly, taking another sip quickly before she began to speak.
“There was a unicorn in the crowd, but she arrived too late to see my performance.” She looked down, “She asked me if I would play for her, or even tell her when my next concert was but I just thought she was being a regular unicorn- oh- no offense.” She said, quickly apologizing to the barcolt in case she struck a nerve.
“No worries, Octavia, some Unicorns can be real snobs sometimes.” He nodded wiping down the counter with his horn and swiftly switching to his hoof, as to not offend her any further. She shook her head as she began to speak again.
“It was rather nice that she liked my music enough to run to the ballroom, but I guess I just messed it all up huh…?” She took another sip, hoping that the strong, smoky taste of alcohol would help her forget all about this terrible blunder that she had gotten herself into.
“Octavia, you are a loving soul, I’m sure if that Unicorn really loved your music that much she would come back to see you preform if she found out where you played, and if she really likes your music then she’ll find out, I’m sure of it.” The barcolt reassured her. Octavia ran her hoof around the brim of the glass making a slightly airy note that rang through her ears, a soothing and mellow note that didn’t seem to change anypony else’s mood in the bar.
“I suppose you are right.” Octavia said, “I really should get home and put my cello up though, thank you for the drink.” Her tone was still somewhat bleak and sorrowful. She went to get some bits from her cello case and the barcolt called out to her.
“Don’t worry, Octavia, this one’s on me.” She looked at him and gave a fake smile, even though she was very happy that he would be so kind. The amount that he had given her was probably the most expensive drink they had in the entire bar, perhaps even in all of Canterlot. She picked up her cello and exited the bar into the cold streets again. She fixed her pink bow tie, and then her gorgeous black mane that flowed in the light breeze that was now rolling through the town. She hurried along home, not more than a few blocks from where the bar was and opened the door.
When she arrived inside the smaller apartment, she began to look around. The pony that she had seen tonight, that Unicorn she was so rude to, she was the only interesting thing that had happened to Octavia in a few months aside from random drunkards trying to hit on her for her money and looks. She placed her cello down carefully in a spot on the carpet where it had indented into the floor from being placed there for years. She walked over yawning loudly, not needing to keep personal appearances up in her own apartment. She walked over and grabbed a glass of water in her mouth walking back over to her bed. She placed in on the nightstand and fell on her back, lying down on the fluffy comforter.
“I hope that I didn’t offend that Unicorn too much…” she sighed loudly and covered her face with a pillow talking into it. “I’ve never been so rude in my life, and at the Grand Galloping Gala, how could I?” she rolled over looking at the white pillow, picturing that unicorns beautiful and flawless smile, wishing she had been nicer. “I’m sure she’ll come around again eventually, I just wish I knew when so I could look my nicest for her.”
Octavia rolled around in her bed, not able to get comfortable and kept taking sips of water every now and again as she began to get very hot moving around under the blankets. Finally she found a nice soft spot next to the pillow, something she’d never done before, but found it surprisingly comforting, and finally fell asleep.
Octavia had gotten out of bed rather late that morning and hurried into the kitchen. She made a quick salad and didn’t bother cooking any of it, but ate it with as much dignity as she did when she ate in public. She then hurried off and took a shower, even though the last performance at the Gala wasn’t as strenuous as some of the other’s such as the time she performed in the stadium of Cloudsdale for seven hours straight without even a drink of water on a sunny day. She finished her shower and dried off, making sure her mane was in perfect order before she left the apartment. She never knew when she would see that beautiful unicorn again and wanted to look her best when they did meet, so she could give her a proper apology.
She wondered around a bit with her cello on her back yet again, wondering if anyone would pay a few bits to hear the famous Earth Pony, but the streets were rather empty. It wasn’t so strange after the Grand Galloping Gala for Canterlot to be empty seeing as most of the ponies would have stayed out until dawn or later. After walking for about an hour and reaching the center of town near a fountain, she couldn’t take just walking and thinking anymore. She put her cello on the ground and opened the case, taking out the cello and bow. She balanced the cello on its side, taking out the endpin enough so that it would maintain itself while she sat on the fountains wall.
Many ponies opened their doors and windows to hear what was going on outside and what they heard was beautiful beyond compare. Behooven’s 5th Symphony, mainly just the intro as it was written specifically for cello, and actually was written for a unicorn to play it, due to the difficult string crossing and bow movements it entailed. Octavia had always revered that someone would go as far as to say only unicorns could play something, and always strived to prove composers like that wrong by showing them any pony could play it. Ponies around her gasped at the grace and eloquence that she demonstrated while playing, as if she were part of the instrument.
However, this time she wasn’t playing for the crowed or even the money that was now being tossed in her cello case. Octavia found herself playing to express emotions that she didn’t quite understand, that she may never come to understand, and she loved the feeling. She tore at the strings, on every accent pushing the strings down, pulling them with the bow hairs and having the notes ring through the entire town. She increased the tempo, even though it wasn’t marked and played furiously with passion that she had never played with before. Hundreds of ponies from all through Canterlot were now listening in on the spectacle and many had even walked from nearly the palace just to see this. They would be surprised if they could not hear the sounds that Octavia was making all the way down in Ponyville and maybe even further.

Chapter 3 A Dress Fit for a Queen

Chapter 3 A Dress Fit for a Queen
Rarity had been up all morning since before daybreak working on Octavia’s surprise dress, wanting to finish it as soon as possible, and making sure that she would love it. Different newspapers and magazines from all over Equestria were strewn about as Rarity looked at the styles that Octavia wore on the most special occasions, and surprisingly she rarely wore more than her bow tie except when it was necessary, so making a dress was a risky move as she may hate Rarity even more for using magic. She realized this and was now hoofstitching the dress so that she could relate to Octavia and hopefully apologize to her. It was tiresome work trying to use just hooves to stich something, Rarity had grown so accustom to using magic to get things from the other side of the room, but now realized how Octavia must feel without magic, and how much envy she must feel when unicorns take their horns for granted.
After a little while of working, Rarity heard the sound of a cello yet again, but she thought it must just be in her mind, encouraging her to work harder on the dress for the beautiful and eloquent Earth Pony. She had to complement her mane and body’s colors, as well as that beautiful pink cutie mark that adorned her flank. As of right now, she had not actually started on the base of the dress, and only selected a mannequin and the pink fabric that matched Octavia’s cutie mark. Rarity hated when this happened, Sweaty Bell had just organized her room yet again while she was gone to Canterlot and most of her inspiration had been lost, but she had to persevere through such trivial things. Rarity felt differently about this filly, of all her friends, she had only viewed them as just that, only friends and nothing more. The cello music concluded in her mind and she looked around a bit more seeing a purplish fabric that matched the darker portions of Octavia’s eyes.
She went over and grabbed it, looking at it in comparison with the pink. Why wasn’t every pony so perfectly matching like this Earth Pony, it seemed some were mismatched and didn’t even look good with parts of their own body, but Octavia was different. Her symmetrical colors that complimented on another but didn’t over power any. Rarity didn’t think it was a good idea to drag too much attention to the eyes and cutie mark and wondered what other colors she could work with. She chose a white and went and picked up the fabric in her mouth, however, she slowly put it down.
“Would she think I was being a conceded snob of a unicorn using the same color that my body is?” she questioned herself on the decision. On one hand, it was a color that would easily match her and complement her colors, rather than using the colors she already had. On the other, being a white pony may make it seem that she thought too highly of herself.
“No, I can’t even think that it could possibly have anything to do with me, this is a dress for Octavia, not a way of saying that I’m better in anyway.” Rarity reassured herself and continued working. “Now, what would complement her dress more?” She thought aloud she picked up a black fabric while walking back to the mannequin. She tossed the white fabric over covering the entire pony figure and making it look somewhat like a deformed ghost who wasn’t sure how it should look. She then set the black fabric down on the ground and went over to get her scissors from the table she kept all her supplies at.
It wasn’t the first time Rarity would have to use scissors without magic, back before she could fully use her magic, she remembered having troubles using them with her mouth and hooves. After gaining the power of her magic, things started to go much quicker, but she would make do with what she had. She picked them up in her mouth, carefully putting the two handles so that she could open and close them with her mouth. Walking over, she slowly began to cut off the cloth covering the head.
“There, that wasn’t so hard.” She told herself, not looking at the clock that had gone twenty minutes from when she had picked up the scissors. “I’m sure this will be fine.” She began to clean up the cuts as they were not exactly perfect and bits of cloth protruded here and there. After the cloth was perfect she began to look at what was already done, taking a step back to get more inspiration. “I wonder if I made sleeves, would it make it harder for her to play with it on?” she questioned herself briefly and decided that if the dress connected to cover her back legs, it would leave her other hooves free to continue playing.
Next she cut out the two front legs, an even more tiresome process without the use of magic, but she started to get the hang of it again. After fixing it up so it also looked perfect, she went and got some thread and a small needle.
“I was dreading this moment from the start.” She said, the needle precariously placed in between her teeth already attached to the thread. She began to sew a circle around each of the front legs making sure that the stitching looked very good to anyone who would look for it, but made sure that it wouldn’t be very visible to any of the ponies just looking at the dress itself. After getting the two leg wholes, she put in band of elastic and sewed them up inside so that they would be easy to get on, but wouldn’t fall off. Rarity had used this technique for dresses lately, finding many ponies preferred to slide their clothing on and off rather than having another pony tie knots to keep different parts of the garment in place.
“There, that should do, now I just need to work on the back legs and flank.” Rarity said.
A few days had gone by and Rarity was very tiered. She had never worked on one dress for such a long amount of time, even ones that were five times bigger and more complex. It gave her an even deeper understanding to how hard Octavia must work to accomplish what she had, and what she would. She had been so caught up in her work that she didn’t hear her doorbell ring 3 times before that until somepony bang their hoof against the door and a voice rang in.
“Rarity! Open up in there!” Rarity slightly jumped, dropping the needle she was working with out of her mouth.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I’ll be right down!” She shouted at the door, running down her stairs and almost tripping over Opal. When she reached the door she pushed it open and almost fell out on Twilight Sparkle, who had been standing there for about five minutes.
“Rarity?! What happened here? It looks like you haven’t brushed your mane in weeks!” Twilight commented on Rarity’s unkempt mane. Rarity stood up and brushed herself off looking at Twilight. “You haven’t been out of your house in days;someponies are getting worried about you. Is everything all right?” She asked sympathy in her eyes.
“Oh no dear, nothing’s wrong here, as wonderful as ever I assure you!” Rarity said in a hurry, hoping that would resolve the conversation and allow her to get back to work, as the deadline was nearing for Octavia’s next concert. “Now, if you don’t mind I’m very busy and need to work.” Rarity said, starting to close the door on Twilight. Before the door was completely closed Twilight walked in, stopping her from closing it.
“What could be so important that you wouldn’t even brush your mane? And why in Equestria are you using your hooves for everything? It’s not like you.” Twilight said looking around. “Is whatever you’re working on upstairs?” Twilight asked.
“Oh please don’t Twilight, it’s not finished, and I want her to be the first pony that sees it when it is.” Rarity pleaded to her friend as Twilight began climbing the stairs.
“Who are you talking about?” Twilight asked, stopping halfway up a step.
“Octavia!” Rarity said wondering why Twilight didn’t know of the dress she was making for her, as she was becoming somewhat delusional from all the constant hard work.
“Did Octavia ask you for the dress?” Twilight asked “Because she normally doesn’t wear anything as large as a dress, in fact, I don’t think I’ve seen her with much more than her bow tie on.” Twilight explained. Rarity jumped up from where she was and hurried up the stairs past Twilight.
“Of course the bow tie, how in the name of Celestia could I have forgotten her bow tie!?” Rarity ran into the room taking the scissors in her mouth and cutting out a perfect space for her bow tie. “There, all better now.” Rarity said backing away.
“I guess I’ll just come back later then, goodbye Rarity!” Twilight shouted up, hoping that her friend had heard her. Her words drifted through Rarity but didn’t pierce her subconscious. No, Rarity had become too obsessed with finishing this dress for Octavia before it was too late. She had also gotten approve by Princess Celestia to get another train ride to Canterlot once again so that she could go to the next concert Octavia was playing at. She had already purchased her tickets, and had quite a hassle making sure she was in the front row.
“There, it’s finally finished.” Rarity stated as she finished sewing the trim along the back. It was very elegant, a white dress that was sleeveless in the front but long and flowing in the back. The dress had a delicate black trim all along it, front and back and was very complementary to the dress. Small music notes in pink cloth dotted mainly the back of the dress but on the underside there was a bass cleft that had an upside down treble cleft which formed a heart where Octavia’s heart would be. “Oh, I do hope she likes this.” Rarity said as she went to take a quick shower.
“I’m glad I finally finished that.” She said, “There was only today left for me to get that finished and I almost didn’t have time to get my own dress picked out.” She looked around and picked a rather pinkish dress without a hat. She looked at herself with it in her mouth, forgetting that she could use magic to hold it up to the mirror to see what it would look like on.
“I guess all this work has really gotten to me; I suppose I should get some rest for tomorrow.” She thought aloud yet again. She crawled into bed, almost unable from the exhaustion her body now faced, curling up next to Opal and trying to fall asleep. The darkness of her room was soothing as she slowly drifted into sleep. At first, no dreams came to the unicorn’s mind, just a black space where her body was able to rest. Then, the dreams began to flow into her mind.
She was at the concert, and went backstage to give Octavia her dress, or at least ask if she would consider wearing it. Then, something unthinkable happened; Octavia took her glass of wine, which Rarity presumed she drank, and poured it not only on the dress Rarity had made her, but also on Rarity and the dress she had brought for herself.

Chapter 4 The Concert

Chapter 4: The Concert
Octavia was nervous, more nervous than she remembered being since, well forever. She never got this way, not once in her life, especially not when she was about to go up on stage and perform a solo in the West Side Theatre, named such as it was on the west side of Canterlot. She shook as she opened her cello case, slowly taking it out in the backroom behind the stage. As she started to reach and grab her bow she jumped at a sound.
“Octavia, you are on in 10.” The director colt called out. She replied and thanked him for the warning. “Also, you apparently have a visitor, not sure when they’ll be here though.” He said which confused Octavia. She had never had visitors, and grew up orphaned on the streets so she knew no kin. Who in Equestria could possibly come to visit? She pondered the thought in her mind wondering more and more but finding no answers. As she began to tune the cello string by string, then note by note, making sure that everything functioned as it should so there would be no mishaps at the concert, she heard her door open.
“Miss Octavia, do you mind if I come in for just a moment?” An elegant voice rang through into the room. Octavia’s jaw slightly dropped, still facing away from the door as that voice drifted back into her ears. She remembered the voice, even though she had heard so many since then she remembered the ring to it, the airy almost ghost like charm in it. She quickly closed her mouth, took a deep breath to contain herself and accidently said with a somewhat authoritative voice.
“I don’t see how that could hurt.” She quickly realized what she had done, but was not sure how to fix it. It sounded as if she were still mad at Rarity for the last concert, even though she knew full well she wasn’t. She heard the white unicorn take a step back.
“No, please don’t go, I… I didn’t mean to come off as harsh, I was just-…. Just…..” she trailed off.
“Nervous?” Rarity asked, hoping that she wasn’t wrong and offended her again. “I know the feeling quite well.” She admitted looking down at the ground in front of her hooves. “It took a lot for me to come here tonight, I didn’t know if seeing you was a good idea, I though you may still dislike me for the last time we met.”
Octavia’s ears pricked up at this and she wondered if Rarity had been worried about this as long as she had and turned around to see the white unicorn in a lovely pink dress that reminded Octavia of her own eyes.
“Now that I think of it, I don’t recall ever getting your name.” Octavia commented thinking it was rather strange that Rarity had learned her name but never given her own.
“Oh Celestia, how could I have been so rude? My name is Rarity, Miss Octavia.” She bowed her head in a formal greeting that showed her respect and some grace. “I came to give you a gift before your performance.” Octavia looked at Rarity, wondering what gift she could have possibly brought.
“Well, now’s a better time than any, I don’t have very long before I have to perform.” Octavia explained to her.
“Oh of course, I made it especially so it wouldn’t hinder you in physical ability or the amount of time you have to work with.” She said, Octavia’s eyes growing bright at the thought of somepony making her something. “Here it is.” Rarity pulled out the dress carefully with her mouth and let it flow down to the floor softly, making sure there was nothing that would stain it. Octavia’s jaw dropped slightly once more, Rarity now able to see this smiled. “You do like it don’t you? I wasn’t sure seeing as you hardly ever wear that much for your concerts, no doubt so your playing is not hindered in any way…” Rarity trailed off while Octavia only looked at the dress in awe.
“It is beautiful, and you say you made it so it won’t interfere with my playing at all?” she asked, Rarity shaking her head happily knowing that this pleased her. “But I couldn’t have you tie this in such a short amount of time before the show.” She said in disarray. Rarity explained how she had managed to fix that problem as well, showing her the elastic bands that would stretch and fit to a ponies body without the need of knots and strings.
Rarity went over to Octavia to help her put it on, however the grey pony slightly backed away from her.
“Um, wouldn’t it be easier to use your magic for this?” she asked Rarity. Rarity looked puzzled, almost forgetting the fact that she could use magic and realized how close she had gotten to Octavia in the short time she was trying to get the dress on. She lifted up the dress with her magic, slightly off at first for she hadn’t used magic for the past few days at all.
“I must apologize for that, Octavia, I hadn’t used my magic while I was making this dress, and I suppose I had just forgotten that magic even existed in those few days.” Rarity smiled at the silly statement. As Rarity smiled, Octavia began to smile back at her, happy in the understanding of what Rarity had done just for her. They began staring at one another now.
“Octavia you have 5 until places!” the director pony said, snapping both of them out of their trance.
“I’ll be sitting in the front row.” Rarity smiled as she looked at how well the dress complimented Octavia.
“After the show, would you possibly want to go get a drink with me? I know the best bar in all of Canterlot.” Octavia smiled as Rarity smiled back once more.
“That would be absolutely lovely.” Rarity’s smiles were now seemingly plastered on her face. “Break a hoof out there.” She winked as she left the room to allow Octavia to prepare the rest of her things before she went out on stage. Rarity found her seat very easily as it was marked with the royal seal, left there for her by Princess Celestia. She sat and waited for the show to start and thought of how happy Octavia looked when she had the dress on.
Octavia hurried and cleaned her cello, making sure there was no rosin dust that had fallen on while she had practiced the last few days. Joy ran through her heart and soul that Rarity did not hate her, and even in fact had forgiven her over the petty squabble. She looked at herself in the dressing room mirror and could help but notice how wonderful the dress looked on her, even finding Rarity had left a place specifically for her bow tie. She smiled at herself in the mirror, but more so through the mirror, through the dress, at Rarity. She picked up her cello with confidence now, not in the least bit uncertain about her abilities to perform as she knew she could. She walked onto the stage, taking her place in the middle behind closed curtains. She readied her cello and bow for the moment the red silk was drawn to the sides of the stage and the lights went up.
After they cued the lights, Octavia hit a heavy low note, having it ring out in the entire theatre sending chills up every pony’s spine. Her eyes closed as she down at her cello playing. Ponies in the audience questioned at the lovely dress, and Rarity could hear the envy of many ponies ‘Where could I get such a lovely dress?’ or ‘She must pay her tailor a fortune now.’ Although some were more joking than others. Octavia seemed to not mind the murmurs in the crowed at all, and continued to play. The tempo of the music had picked up substantially and the grey pony was now moving so quickly some wondered how she even knew what she was doing. Rarity admired the pure talent that Octavia had, as well as all of the hard work that must have been put into practicing for such a large event. But the truth was, Octavia had never played this piece, nor had she ever seen it written down on paper. She was playing purely from her heart and soul, sending it through the medium which was her cello.
The concert consisted of more classical pieces that Octavia gave slight bits of flare to as she played. Rarity heard in the audience critics who were discussing out loud.
“I’ve never heard Octavia improvise like this before.”
“Especially not at a concert.” They began to say “Although, it’s quite a nice thing hearing something that we all know, but having newer melodies to it here and there.” The critic smiled as he wrote down a witty statement that he had just come up with.
“I agree entirely, I wonder what set her off to do something so amazing though.”
“Don’t we all, but she won’t talk to the press, we’ll just have to make something up I suppose.” The critic smiled and nudged the other one with a wink.”
Rarity enjoyed the performance, from the beginning to the end, sitting on the very edge of her seat all the way through. The passion and emotions that rolled through the theatre reached as far back as the 3rd level box seats that were 150 seats behind Rarity. She didn’t notice all of the other ponies showing the same emotions that she felt so far back as her eyes remained fixated on the one thing that she had come to see, Octavia performing. It had been some time since Rarity had been to a concert, and she had forgotten how long they were, normally. But along with every other pony in the audience, when the curtains closed, they begged for more, not wanting the emotional rollercoaster to end just yet.
No matter how much each pony in the crowed fussed and whined, the fact was that the curtains had already been drawn, and the last song preformed. Many ponies found that it was more than enough to satisfy them, but still craved more, others had thought that it was more than they had ever paid for a concert that Octavia was playing. Rarity, didn't really notice a difference because it was the first time she had ever heard the amazing Earth Pony's performance. Needless to say, Rarity was the first in the crowed to stand and applaud the performance when it had concluded.
Rarity walked back to the back room, one of the bouncers nodding to her as he let her pass. She went in to the hallway with the door to Octavia's room. She was nervous, and so many things were flying around her head, if Octavia liked performing in the dress, if she had done a good enough job to appease herself, and even what they would be drinking. What mattered now of course was that she congratulate Octavia on her stunning performance, and get ready to go have a drink or two with, what she believe was a new friend. As she approached the door, hooves could be heard passing back and forth in the room.

Chapter 5 Some Drinks With a New Friend

Chapter 5: Some Drinks With a New Friend

Rarity opened the door with a hoof and slightly poked her head into the doorway walking in.

"Octavia, are you o-!" Rarity cut off as she was pounced on by Octavia who gave her a very strong hug. Rarity was shocked to see Octavia do anything out of the ordinary, and had only expected her to be putting her cello away at this point.

"Rarity, thank you so much for the dress!" Octavia said delightedly, "It's the most amazing dress in all of Equestria, even Celestia herself will envy it!" she smiled as she hugged tighter. Rarity was happy that Octavia had liked her dress and even happier at the comment she had given her. Rarity blushed softly at Octavia’s sweet words and thanked her for the compliment.

“Listen, Octavia,” Rarity said slowly, “If you’re not too busy tonight, maybe we could go have a drink?” Octavia’s ears pricked up as she started to put her cello away. Rarity worried for a moment, fearing that she had overstepped her bounds and started moving her hoof on the floor side to side as she watched it, “That is, if you want to at least.” She said more softly. When Rarity looked up, Octavia had moved much closer to her than where she was when she was putting her cello away.

“Why would you think I wouldn’t want to have a drink with you Rarity?” she asked, completely forgetting the first time they had met. After the concert and getting a beautiful dress, who could remember anything as trivial as a little bit of unintentional anger? “Of course I’d love to have a drink with you, and I’m not too busy tonight, did you have any place in mind?” Octavia asked her. Rarity stood shocked at Octavia’s response, she could do nothing for a long while other than stare into Octavia’s beautiful eyes. She shook her head swiftly, trying to regain control of her vocal cords so that she could speak to her again.

“Well, the first time I came to Canterlot for a designer contest, I found a quaint little bar down near the Palace District’s entrance.” Rarity said. It brought back the memories of that first night Octavia had met Rarity, and she remembered the glass that was sitting on the table when she had arrived.
“I’m actually quite familiar with that bar.” Octavia said smiling at Rarity. “I guess you have a rather refined taste, don’t you Miss Rarity.” She commented winking at her. “I’ll just need a few moments to pack my things up and clean the room, I’ll be out in front of the theatre to meet you shortly.” She said, bowing her head humbly to Rarity, in an apology for making her wait.

Rarity stood outside the theatre as ponies slowly started to filter out. She was amazed at all of the beautiful ponies who had come in to watch the concert. She noted nice dress designs that she had never used before, and looked easy enough to incorporate, but she wondered if she could even remember them with all her thoughts spiraling around. She looked around, seeing that everypony had exited the theatre at this point, and cleaning ponies took their places cleaning up the messes that some ponies left behind. Not too long after those ponies showed up, Octavia emerged from the theatre behind Rarity tapping her right flank with her tail as she came up on her left side, playfully bumping flanks with her.

“Calm down Rarity.” She smiled a beautiful white smile. “No need to be worried, it’s just a few drinks between friends.” She winked at her. Rarity blushed slightly, hiding behind her lush purple mane. Octavia couldn’t help but giggle at Rarity when she did this, and began to lead Rarity out the doors. “I hope you don’t mind, I need to drop off my cello back home, but it’s on the way.” Octavia said. Rarity was actually delighted that she would see where such an eloquent pony lived, but couldn’t find the words to tell Octavia how excited it made her. She decided it was probably better that way; she obviously didn’t want to freak her new friend out.

They neared a rather large house that seemed very regal. It had golden trim along the walls and the door also had gold trim and was made of red mahogany, a wood only found deep in the Everfree forest, dangerous for any pony to find, and expensive too. Octavia took out some keys from one of the other pockets in the cello case and put it into the door. She twisted it, pulling back on the door so that the bolt could click out of the wall. When she had turned the key all the way, there was no sound.

“Oh, silly me, I must have forgotten to lock the house again.” Octavia grumbled to herself for not remembering. From how she spoke, Rarity could tell that she had done this quite a few times and always promised herself not to let it happen again. She sighed at her forgetfulness and pushed open the door. “Feel free to come in, Rarity, it’ll take a little bit to hang up this dress and put my cello up, but I’ll be right down.” Octavia took up the red stairs to her room, and allowed Rarity to walk in.

Rarity stood in awe at this house. Her dress shop was one of the most luxurious places in all of Ponyville, but compared to this place, it seemed like a rundown shack in the ghetto. She tried to take it all in, the chandeliers, carpet, everything.

“Do I look okay?” Octavia asked in her usual voice as she came back down the stairs, her hair slightly styled like Twilight's, except on both sides of her neck. Her black mane hung beautifully down to the tops of her legs. Rarity could not speak as she stood with her mouth slightly opened at the beautiful pony that stood before her. She nodded, trying to close her mouth as she didn't want to seem rude. Octavia giggled at Rarity and walked up next to her, "You won't be able to drink anything if you keep your mouth open." she said smiling at Rarity as she helped turn her around towards the door. "Are you ready to go?" She asked.

"Y-yes!" Rarity said excitedly after her brain started to function again as she followed Octavia out the door. Octavia giggled again as she closed the door behind her and began to walk towards the bar. "Um, Octavia?" Rarity said questioningly, Octavia turned around to see what was wrong. "Don't you think you should lock the door behind us?" Rarity asked her. Octavia cocked her head to the side, thinking she had already locked the door behind them, and as she started to remember what had happened only seconds before, she slammed her hoof to her forehead.

"Thank you Rarity." She said smiling as she locked her door. As she passed Rarity to lead her to the bar, she bumped flanks with her. "What would I do without you?" she smiled at her. Rarity was extremely happy and somewhat surprised at the behavior that she was witnessing. Was this really the same mare she had met at the Gala? She started to question if this were just an elaborate prank, knowing Rainbow Dash, that guess may not be very far off. But after seeing the performance, Rarity knew that this Octavia was no imposter. She shook the thoughts away and followed the grey mare to a small bar.

Rarity remembered this bar from the night she had first talked to Octavia, it was a small little place near the edge of the Palace District and didn't really stick out amongst the other buildings. If a pony didn't know better, they may even think it was just another house among the shops that dotted the circle around the fountain. This had been the fountain that Octavia had played at encouraging Rarity to continue on the beautiful dress. Rarity's eyes glimmered at the water that was being shot out of the fountain and into the night sky. She ran over to it, which drew Octavia's attention.

"Octavia, look how beautiful the stars are tonight." she said as Octavia came over to stand beside her. "I've never seen such a beautiful night sky." Her eyes were bursting with excitement and awe at the sky, Octavia smiled at her and leaned against her softly.

"It sure is a beautiful night." Octavia replied. "It makes me sad that Princess Luna doesn't get as much credit as her sister, but I suppose being gone for a thousand years makes some ponies question what your role is anymore." Octavia said, noticing she had changed their conversation to a political matter, which was not befitting of sharing drinks. She quickly changed the subject. "We should probably head inside, it is rather cold tonight after all. And we wouldn't want you catching a cold now would we?" She smiled as she turned and drug her tail against Rarity's side. Rarity smiled at her and followed.
When they entered the bar the barcolt welcomed them one at a time very strangely.

"Octavia, it's nice to see you, how did the performance go?" he asked a hypothetical question as he looked over at Rarity and began to greet her, making sure he got the name right as he waited to see if Octavia would answer. "And Rari- Rarity?! What are you doing here with Octavia?" He asked confused and shocked at the coincidence. Rarity looked confused at first, do we really look like we're coming here together that much? She asked herself, happy that it seemed that way. Octavia answered for her.

"I was rude one night to Rarity at the Gala, and she made me a dress thinking that I was still mad." She smiled as she indirectly told Rarity that she had forgiven her even before the dress was done. "She came to tonight's concert and I asked her if she would like to get a few drinks." Octavia smiled at the barcolt.

"Well, no arguing there I suppose, what'll the two of you have?" Octavia looked at Rarity as she slightly blushed.
"I think we'll each have a shot of that." Octavia pointed to the top shelf Vodka. Rarity gasped at the fact Octavia drank hard liquor, and was even more amazed at her taste in drinks. Octavia smiled as she realized she had impressed Rarity and let the barcolt get some shots poured.

"The first rounds on the house seeing as you must have done such a great performance again." The barcolt smiled at both of them. Both Rarity and Octavia smiled back, thanking him for the kind gesture and then looking at one another, smiling competitively but in a way only friends could. They both gulped down the strong vodka and slammed their shot glasses down for another at the same moment. They both knew they would be here quite a while before one of them one. After they had almost too much to drink, the barcolt told them they'd have to leave and come back tomorrow night if they wanted more. So the two mares walked through the night swaying back and forth catching each other.

Chapter 6 The Next Morning

The next morning, Octavia awoke as she had every morning before. The sun peeked through her window as it blurred her vision. She felt the warmth of her blankets that smelled faintly of rose petals and felt something else. Another warmth emanating from her bed next to her, a heat from a single source. She turned around, expecting to see her cello in the bed under the covers, which had also been a common occurrence. What she found was none other than Rarity, laying there with the covers wrapped around her holding them up to her eyes sound asleep. Octavia bit back the thought to scream at what she saw, as she knew that would only make things worse. She got up and went to the bathroom and looked in her mirror.

What happened last night? She thought as the worst case scenarios played out in her head time and again. She couldn't remember much after the first few shots and after about four, she was done for the night. Come to think of it.... Rarity seemed pretty far gone after only a few shots, she couldn't have taken advantage of me at that rate. She thought, assuring herself that nothing terrible had happened last night. It was still unnerving to not know what had been happening last night, but she felt a bit better knowing that not too much could have gone on, and if it did, neither of them would have remembered it. She washed her face and looked at her somewhat tangled mane with disappointment.

"It's going to take me all morning to fix my mane now...” she thought sadly to herself.

"Where am I!?!?!?!" A scream came from the other room, making Octavia jump as she was trying to pull a tangle out. She slipped on the wet floor where a tiny puddle of water was. After she heard the scream, a groaning sound came from the same direction. She peaked through the door and looked at Rarity as she massaged her head, still half under the covers.
"This is the worst headache I've ever had." she groaned to herself with her eyes closed. "I will never drink again. Please, Celestia, just relieve my pain! Put me out of my misery!" she said dramatically as she fell to the pillow still holding her head with her hooves. Octavia thought it was rather cute how she was overreacting to a little hangover. Octavia had already been aware of the pulsing headache she had from her own hangover. She went back into the bathroom and brushed her mane quickly so she could go explain what she thought happened, to Rarity. It wasn't as perfect as she liked it, but it worked for now. She walked into the bedroom and uncovered Rarity's flank.

"Look who decided to wake up." She said happily and excitedly. "Have a nice night's sleep?" she asked Rarity. Rarity took her hooves from her face and opened her eyes to see Octavia. At first she looked at her confused, a few seconds passed as her brain processed the information, and then her eyes shot open as she gasped. Octavia smiled at Rarity's fear/excitement and giggled at her.

"What happened last night?! I hope I didn't offend you in any way. If I did I really didn't mean to offe-" Octavia's giggling had grown so loud that Rarity stopped speaking. "What is it? Is there something wrong with my mane?" she asked Octavia. She noticed that Rarity's mane was flat and hanging down to the bed.

"No, Rarity, and don't worry, I had a wonderful time last night." She winked, "At least what I remember of last night."
Rarity started to understand what happened as she tried to recall the night before. It only took about three shots before she lost her memories, and everything in her mind went black. She looked at Octavia's bed.

"I think after we had a few too many shots, we walked out of the bar and must have ended up here. It looks like you took a shower, and then we went to bed." Octavia explained. Rarity put a hoof to check her mane and realized that it was down as she gathered it up in her hooves. She obviously never wore it down around other ponies, which surprised Octavia, as it was a rather cute style for the white unicorn. It was easy to see her blush with her white coat and blue eyes, and could see Rarity knew this as she grew even redder with embarrassment. Neither of them said anything for some time as they just looked at each. Rarity pulled the covers over her head and hid under them from Octavia.

"Oh, Rarity, you don't need to hide from me." Octavia smiled as she put a hoof on the bed.

"Yes I do!" She screamed into the pillow, "I'm so ugly!" Octavia could see Rarity rolling around under the covers with the pillow pressed against her face. Rarity seemed to get even cuter by the minute now.

"Rarity, you look fine, in fact, I really like your mane down. It's not quite as beautiful as your normal mane style, but it really does work for you." Octavia could see that her words had reached Rarity as she lay on her back letting the pillow lay softly on her head without force.

"You really mean it?" Rarity asked, now hugging the pillow still hiding under the covers.

"Yes, I really do mean it." Octavia smiled as she pulled the covers down so she could see Rarity's face again. What happened next shocked both of them. Rarity jolted up, kissing Octavia with her eyes closed. Their kiss lasted what seemed like hours to Rarity, and after the initial shock, Octavia embraced the kiss and closed her eyes as well. Some time had passed since Rarity had started, but after she began to think clearly her eyes opened. Slowly at first, and then when she started to comprehend what she had done, they shot open as she pulled away and scrambled out of the bed. Octavia fell over as her weight was no longer being supported by Rarity.

"I'm so sorry, I- I- I. I'm sorry!" Rarity ran out the door.

"No wait Rarity! I don't mind if you want to stay-...." Octavia was left alone on her bed. She determined that Rarity would probably return to Ponyville yet again. She didn't quite understand her own feelings on what had just happened. She felt somewhat relieved, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her flank, but now she had strange feelings. They were feelings she had never had for any colt or mare before, and feelings she thought she would never feel. She decided that there was no use in sitting up looking at the door hoping that Rarity would come back at this point, so she gathered up the pillow Rarity had been yelling into and held it against her chest as she lay on her back. She kept staring at the white ceiling, unable to think of anything but the white unicorns body.

Octavia let out a big sigh as she pulled the pillow over her face to block the sunlight and hope that she would stop thinking about it for now. This attempt ended in failure and only seemed to make things worse as all she could smell was Rarity's scent and see the whiteness of the pillow. She groaned, knowing that no matter what she tried she would keep thinking about it. She didn't quite know what she should do, as she had never experienced something like this. She contemplated running after Rarity, but that may just scare her away even more. It was a tricky business, trying to get back with Rarity, but she knew if she put her mind to it, she could pull it off.

"That's what I'll do!" Octavia exclaimed as she sat up quickly in the bed, letting the pillow fall from her face. She jumped out of bed and ran over to a stack of staff paper that was laying on a desk in the corner with lots of pencils lying around. To unicorns and pegasi, the capability of and Earth pony to pick up a pencil was nothing short of a miracle, but to Octavia it was as natural as playing the cello. She got out her cello after thinking up something to write on the top of the page, and began to pick out notes. She played a few scales, questioning which one would get a point across like this, and found the key signature. G flat Major, one of the more difficult keys to play in on the cello, but it was the one for the job.

She wrote the key signature down on the paper and decided on a 3/4 time signature, a Waltz. Octavia had always loved dancing, especially ballroom dancing that she had played for at the royal palace, but lacked the physical ability to even two step. She knew more about the idea of Waltzing that those that were actually in the ballroom. How each step went on each beat of each measure, how the spin took place on exactly the second and a half beat of each measure, unless the tempo exceeded one hundred and twenty notes a minute, in which case the quarter turn would take place on the first and a half beat. She shook her head to clear her mind. She had gotten so wrapped up in thinking of ponies dancing that she had forgotten what she was supposed to be doing.

As was written by many professors of music before her, the first note was inevitably a G flat, as would be the last note of the piece. She looked at the paper, and chose the lowest G flat she could, on the C string. It embodied the tone of the heavens, and she could picture that the note was the same note that played when Princess Celestia lifted the sun into the world for everypony to see. She smiled as she played the note, closing her eyes and remembering the kiss she had shared with Rarity. Music began to flow out of her cello, quickly, as if the song had written itself, been memorized, and was ready to perform for an entire ballroom. When she concluded the song, she took her pencil and put it against the paper.

She stared at it for a second, hoping that the pencil would move much like her bow and just show her what notes she had played. Sadly, the pencil refused her offer and sat there unmoving. She began to think back at what she had just played, or at least what it had sounded like so she could reconstruct it. Octavia sighed at the outcome. She had forgotten everything she had just played, except what she had planned out before hoof. She slammed her head against the desk as she thought of how stupid she was to think that she would memorize and write down a song if she had just played it. She looked back at her cello.

"What do we do now then?" she asked it, as she thought of the answer. "Yes, I suppose that is the only real way to do this, after all, starting again wouldn't be quite the same as what I just played." She looked at the cello happily. "You always have the best advice." At this point, other than Rarity, Octavia had never made friends, even when she was just a little filly, and the only companion she had ever known was her cello, until now.

"I'll just have to rewrite the song again, until I get it right I'll stay here and keep working on it." she promised herself. "So next time I see Rarity, I can explain to her how I feel." Speaking for musicians was a tricky business, especially for string players. It was hard to get words out to show emotions, to prove a point. It was easy for them to make a song and play it to show how they felt, what they felt, and could even be directed at one pony in particular. Octavia smiled as she remembered the first two measures, playing them and writing them down.

"That's a start." she said, smiling as she looked at the two measures.