Prologue - Leaving It All Behind
Octavia slowly and silently opened the door to her bedroom. The grey filly crept down the hall towards the stairs, praying to Celestia that the wooden floor wouldn’t groan under the combined weight of her and her Cello which she had tied to her back. It was a smaller version of the Cello since she was only a filly and couldn’t play the normal sized one, but it was still quite hefty and the floors had always been creaking for as long as she could remember. She glanced outside the window and sighed, not wanting to get her mane wet in the rain.
The small bag of bits tied to her leg made a soft jingling noise as the bits clunked together. From her parents’ bedroom door there was the sound of hoofsteps, and Octavia held herself in place, not daring to breathe so she could listen. She crept over and was finally at the top of the stairs. She looked down at them, counting fifteen. She glanced at her parents’ bedroom door and set one hoof down on the next step. Then she set another hoof down on the same step, glancing once more at the door. She breathed in deeply and noisily trotted down the stairs, rushing to the bottom and turning to face the front door of her house. She swung it open and rushed outside onto the dark street of Ponyville.
Octavia dashed down the street and into an alleyway, panting loudly. She peeked around the corner to look at her house to see that the lights were on and her parents were sleepily trotting out the front door, trying to find out where she went. Octavia slunk back into the alleyway, trying not to be seen, and thought about all the memories she was leaving behind. Only just yesterday she was laughing down by the Plaza with Vinyl, her best friend.
They were playing music together, Octavia on her Cello and Vinyl on her... whatever it was she played on. Octavia couldn’t remember what it was called and it wasn’t something that appealed to her ears, but she didn’t bring it up with Vinyl due to their friendship. She had a feeling Vinyl felt the same way about her Cello, though. They were trying to make something that sounded good together but it seemed the instruments didn’t go well together.
“Some day, I’m going to become the best musician in all of Ponyville.” Vinyl told her. Octavia laughed in reply and said, “Well I’m going to be the best in all of Equestria!” The two laughed and eventually gave up trying to make their instruments go together. Octavia let out a sigh and asked, “Do you think any other ponies here in Ponyville even like the Cello, besides that filly in our class, Rarity?” Vinyl shrugged and said, “Probably, but I think most of the people who like that kind of music are those big shots up in Canterlot.”
Octavia grinned, remembering the lengthy conversations they had together every day. Octavia thought about her yellowish white coat, and her cobalt mane. Octavia had always thought the cyan stripes had looked great on her, and she often told Vinyl so. She let out a sigh and peeked around the corner once more, her parents trotting down the street in the opposite direction. Octavia bounded out of the alleyway and rushed down the street, taking a right at the end of the road. She began to pant heavily, the weight of the Cello forcing her to sit and catch her breath.
Octavia peeked around the corner to make sure her parents hadn’t noticed her and she continued to sulk down the street, pausing as she arrived at Vinyl’s house. She trotted up to one of the windows and tapped her hoof on it, waiting for an answer. The window swung open a few moments later, her best friend yawning and asking, “How come you’re here so early? It’s three in the morning.” Octavia sighed and said, “I’m leaving and I wanted to say goodbye. I’ve known you my whole life and it would be wrong to leave without saying goodbye.” “Leaving?” Vinyl asked with a frown. “What do you mean leaving? Where are you going? Why? Can I come with you?” Octavia shook her head and said, “I’m going to Canterlot where people will listen to me play my cello. Nopony likes the cello here.”
Vinyl stared at her friend a moment, a frown printed onto her face. “But I like listening to your cello, Octavia.” Octavia smiled, trying to reassure her friend and said, “But you’re the only one. How am I ever going to play my cello for a living here?” Vinyl closed her eyes and faced away from Octavia, saying, “So you’re just going to leave your best friend behind so you can be famous?” Octavia frowned with the sinking feeling her friend turned away because she was crying, and Octavia had never seen Vinyl cry before. A sniff from Vinyl confirmed it, and Octavia moved closer to the window. “I’ll come back some day, Vinyl. I’ll come back to be with you.” Vinyl slammed the window shut with her magic and sulked over to the bed, closing the curtain in a similar fashion. With a sigh, Octavia went onward down the street.
Octavia finally reached the train station and trotted over, purchasing a ticket for the three thirty train to Canterlot. The ticket-seller questioned why a filly was buying a ticket and she simply stated, “I’m going to see family.” The grey filly waited patiently for sixteen minutes before the train came. She boarded the train, hoping she was going to be able to make it out in Canterlot, and eventually come back to be with her friend. She sighed and slid her cello onto the floor of her compartment before slowly climbing onto the bed and closing her eyes to sleep through the journey to Canterlot. She was leaving everything behind, her family, her best friend, and her old life. She was doing it to try and become famous.
