Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two siblings who ruled together, using their unicorn powers to maintain harmony throughout the land.

The younger sibling used her logic, and empathy to educate the land, while the older sibling used his strength, and magic to make sure the lands were safe from any, and all enemies.

But with time, the brother grew resentful, and envious of his sister, and the adoration the governed had for their princess, as Equestria had no foes of real importance, and while ponies enjoyed the knowledge, and care that his sister brought them, they shunned, and reviled his preference for battling, and so, one day, he brought his powers down upon the land, bringing forth fear, destruction and death.

The sister begged, and pleaded with her brother, but it was too late, for his hatred and bitterness had turned him into a monster of violence, Warlock Stallion! He refused to listen, and swore to plunge Equestria into an era of total bloodshed!

Reluctantly, the sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to Ponydom, the Elements of Harmony! Battling with her brother, the sister sealed him away in the stars, and took over his responsibilities.

Since then, the sister reigned over the land, and harmony has flourished ever since.

Such was the legend of the royal siblings that gave birth to the nation of Equestria, a land famed for harmony, friendship, and goodwill. At least, if you cared for foalish stories such as that. Octavia closed the history book with a bored sight and threw it behind her, not caring that the book how the fall could damage the rather ancient book. She had better things to do than listen to myths, and bedtime stories.

Such as practicing her beautiful music. Now that was something worth her time! The mere thought made her mood rise like a bird.
She stood up from her bed, walking towards the wall closest to her ebd and retrieving the casket that contained her cello. The familiar weight made her smile. After setting up a music sheet stand, her grin grew as she pulled out a stack of sheets from her night table, neatly organizing them on the stand. She propped up her cello, carefully placing the bow on the strings with almost tender care.

As a musician, practice was everything to her.

Practice made a beginner turn into a master.

Practice turned a piece of wood into a delicate instrument.

Practice transformed dissonance into art.

Just as she played the first note, the door to her chambers blasted open, making her snap one of the strings on her cello. She rubbed the now tender spot on her skin where the string hit as she turned to see the intruder that disturbed her in such a critical moment. Her face frowned once she saw a crow standing between the doors. He seemed just as displeased as her, puffing out his chest and looking directly at her.

"Hugin." Octavia said coldly, her angry expression not changing one bit.

"Octavia," the crow answered. The two of them stared at each other with angry, frowny eyes in silence, waiting for the other to break the palpable tension lingering in the air. Octavia’s ears were tense and pointy, while Hugin kept his chest puffed out in defiance.

"You just cost me an afternoon of practice. What is it you want?" Octavia gently laid the cello down on the casket, making sure to not bump anything on the way, as short as it may be, wincing when her eyes focused on the broken string. It would take hours to fix.

"The princess has summoned you to the throne room." Hugin answered.

"Well you can tell the princess I'm busy right now." Octavia grumbled, as she opened a drawer. She pulled out a couple of pegs, a cleaning handkerchief, a small bottle of cleaner. A small black crystal ball came up too. Octavia inspected it for a few seconds before throwing behind her. Where did she put those strings?

"There's no escaping it this time—" Hugin flew to the table. "She insist that you show up immediately."

Octavia sighed. The princess had called for what was probably another assignment. An assignment that was going to have nothing to do with her talent. Studying demographics, researching politics, theology. Those were only some of them. Of course, they were all fascinating subjects for the pony who was interested in them.

But Octavia wasn’t one of them. She wasn’t a social scientist, or a nun or a politician. She was a musician, and she worried and studied about things that musicians cared about.

She could list and describe all the types of clefs, notes and dynamics that existed, among other symbols of musical relevance. Hours would fly when she talked about musical notation and how much she enjoyed it. Her words would just fall out of her mouth when describing what she thought and felt when she played her music, both before and after.

Most of this knowledge came from her own research. The princess had hardly sent her a musical assignment after she graduated from the musical academy.

When she was ten.

“Instead, I’m probably going to have to sit through an entire night learning how a hamster’s biology works…” she thought, already expecting the worst. She wanted to play her cello, not walk all the way to the throne room to receive a task she was going to hate. And now that her cello had a broken string, she had no choice. If she didn’t gp now, the the princess would just wait until dinner, if not outright come to get her herself.

"Well. What are you waiting for?" Hugin asked.

"Shut up."

The castle was immense, as Octavia knew by memory. That meant she knew exactly by how much she would get tired, in getting to the throne room. Why it was nearly at the top of the castle, was beyond her. Maybe the princess wasn't thinking about earth ponies when she had the thing built. Actually, now that she thought about it, most things in Canterlot were made by unicorns, for unicorns. So much for equality.

"Please tell me it is not another endless researching task." Octavia pleaded Hugin, who was perched on her back. Octavia flicked her tail in displeasure, but was ignored by the crow. much to her displeasure.

"She wouldn't say. All she said, is that it was important." He answered.

"Joy." Octavia muttered.

The royal guards at the throne door were coldly staring at the distance, not even blinking once Octavia came into their field of vision. Their wings remained at their sides, ready to block the entrance. They wouldn't let anypony in, unless they had a prior engagement with the ruler. And that was a golden rule, even if some small time noble was offering them to own a nice plot of land in the south, like Baron Silver Tongue was currently trying to do, while a line of commoners waited in line behind him.

“My matter is of small importance gentlecolts, please, let me through!” he insisted, but the guards remained stoic as ever, not even directing their eyes towards him. Within a few minutes, Octavia walked into the massive hallway that led to the throne room, walking a firm step, stopping right besides the Baron.

“I’m here to see the princess.” was all Octavia had to say. The guards forced the Baron to move aside while they opened the doors. Octavia shot him a smug smirk and a sideways glance, inwardly enjoying the glare of anger that he shot her.

The throne room was a lavishly decorated room. With marble white walls along golden columns. The floor itself was a circle-like arranged set of blue and green tiles, with the throne itself made almost entirely of purple sapphire. A light, magical light was glowing from within.

Hugin flew off her back, and perched himself atop the throne, where the princess sat reading a scroll. A very large scroll. So large that it was wrapped around the throne seven times!

"Is this all there is to it?" Princess Twilight asked.

"That is correct your highness. Spike checked the checklist thirteen times, as you requested." Another crow replied, from besides Hugin.

"Thanks Mugin. Please tell Spike, that he can start gathering the materials." She instructed. The crow nodded, before flying out the window. A flash from her horn, made the checklist disappear with a puff of smoke. A cough caught her attention. Standing right in front of the throne was Octavia. Her frown was all that the princess needed to know the mood of her student.

"Octavia! I'm so happy to see you!" Twilight exclaimed, as she teleported in front of her student. Octavia couldn’t help but to feel a bit irked by the act. The princess was the princess of magic and empathy. She understood that. It didn’t mean that she had to teleport the, apparently, massive distance of ten meters, which was the total distance between the throne and the doors.

"Hello Princess." She mumbled, emotionless.

"Is something bothering you?" Twilight asked, with a warm smile.

"Hugin made me snap a string." Octavia complained. The casual observer would see the princess smiling, but those who were a little more close to her would be able to notice the slight strain on her lips and eyebrows, indicating the worried frown that was hiding beneath. Octavia, and Hugin had never managed to get along. Octavia's cold disposition usually caused problems with the rest of the castle, such as frequent arguments, endless complaints from the staff, all denouncing her haughty attitude, but with Hugin, she was particularly severe.

Hugin would make a sarcastic comment about Octavia’s behaviour. Octavia would respond with increased aggressiveness, to which Hugin would just respond with heavier sarcasm.

That they had managed to enter the room together had caught her by surprise. A good sign for the couple that once managed to shatter a five meter tall stained glass depiction of her.

"You asked for me?" Octavia inquired.

"Yes. I have a task for you. A very important task actually." Twilight said, as she made a map of Equestria appear in front of her. Circled on it, was a small group of houses with a name scribbled on them.

"Ponyville?" Octavia asked.

"Yes. I need you to do something for me. Something of great importance." Twilight instructed, as she folded the map. Octavia gulped. This was it. For perhaps the first time in years, the princess would send her on something important! She prepared herself for the task. She would not fail at it, whatever it was.

"I need you to go there, and learn about the magic of friendship!" Twilight said with cheer. Octavia felt her stomach sank. She could hear Hugin snickering from the throne.

"And Hugin will go with you!" Twilight added, just as cheerfully. Hugin coughed, and spluttered, as he was surprised at his princess’ new command, his laughter abruptly cut off. He stammered for a few seconds, before flying out of the window. Octavia, on the other hand, simply stared at her mentor, as if she had said a joke at a funeral.

"Excuse me?" Octavia replied. This was not happening. This could not be happening. She was not doing this to her.

"The train tickets are in your chambers by now. Be careful, and remember to write to me!" Twilight replied, ignoring the tone of voice that her student was taking.

Octavia frowned. "So thats it? You're sending me to a backwater town to learn friendship!?" She growled. Twilight slightly winced, at her haughty tone, completely filled with pride.

"I thought you would enjoy it, since I see you everyday, playing that cello of yours. It's pretty much the only thing you do."

"But study friendship!? How could I possibly want to study friendship!?" Octavia growled. The princess had given her pointless assignments before, but this took the cake. This wasn't a simple misdirection from the princess. This was just plain insulting her!

"You've sent me to read tomes of history, study entire nights of science, and write pages upon pages of reports, even when they have almost nothing to do with my talent, but now you’re sending me to study some useless elementary philosophy like friendship!?" Octavia shouted.

"Well, I need you to oversee the preparations for the Mind-over-Matter festival, too. It's going to be held there this year." The princess said nonchalantly, ignoring the anger of her student.

"So, apart from once again giving me a task that has nothing to do with my cutie mark, you sent me to oversee a stupid party. A party that's not even real, because the story that is supposed to be held in honor of is not real!"

"It's not a stupid party Octavia, it's an important celebration that I hold very seriously. Do not be disrespectful!" Twilight scolded, adding a bit of sternness in her voice.

"But what do I know about organizing and setting up an event! I'm a musician! Why can't you understand that?!"

"Your talent doesn't define you, Octavia! You will do just fine, I know it!"

"How can I do fine if I don’t do what I was born to do!?" Octavia shouted. "If my cutie mark says that I'm a musician, shouldn't I be doing that!? Practicing, playing in theaters, and such like!? Instead, my teacher, my supposed teacher, sends me to study science, and history, and do stuff that I have no idea how to do!"

"Octavia. Your cutie mark doesn't define who you are, or what you have to do. It only displays what type of talent you have. How you evolve, or how you live your life is something that can be changed!"

"Then why don't you change it in a direction that makes sense!? Why can't you see that I don't like doing this!? Why can't you just find another pony to be your lab rat, and let live my life as I please?! " Octavia yelled.

The entire room was quiet. The princess recoiled a little from the harsh words, visibly leaning her head back a bit, as if trying to put some distance between them.. A tranquil Octavia would have immediately started apologizing, and begging for forgiveness. But now, Octavia wasn't tranquil at all.

Her ears were straight and her eye was twitching a bit. She was furious.

Nopony said anything for a while. Both student, and teacher stared at each other intensely, as though engaged in a silent battle of wills, the silence reigning absolute, aside from their breathing. After a few seconds of tension, Octavia turned to leave.

"I shall prepare my bags—" She muttered, as she passed through the doors. "Maybe the magic of friendship will help me play music." She said full of resentment.

"Octavia wait—!"

But she was gone. Twilight sighed. Once again, she, and Octavia had argued. And once again, Octavia's words stung. Hard. Mostly because, even if the phrasing was overdone in a unnecesary brutal way, Octavia had made a point.

Was she taking things too far? Was she really pushing Octavia around, instead of actually helping her with her talent? Twilight had tried to build a relationship with Octavia. When the earth pony was younger, it was easy. Anything the princess did, big or small, was amazing in the eyes of the filly, and so it was easy to grab her attention. But now, with Octavia older, and more mature, her taste for music had gone from simple enjoyment, to pretty much defining her. And not in a good way.

How can I keep her as a student, when even herself is not interested— She thought, before teleporting to her chambers. Unlike most of her castle, it was particularly decorated. Just covered from wall to wall with books. On her vanity, besides her large bed, was a picture of her, and Octavia. She was was standing proudly with one of her wings around the earth pony, who was just a filly back then and was holding her violin and bow, a huge smile plastered on her face, with the Canterlot Royal Academy standing proudly behind them.

It was the day she took Octavia as her apprentice. Twilight tenderly lifted the picture with her hooves.

I can't give up now. This trip will do her good— She thought, as she looked at the sky from the terrace. The faint image of the moon could be seen the sky, almost invisible.

"It has too," she whispered.

Meanwhile, back in her room, Octavia glumly prepared her bags. She hadn't really meant to say those things to the princess. She wasn't happy with the news of the trip though, she had been honest about that. Just as she had been honest regarding her opinions regarding her talent. Why would the princess send her to do something she had no knowledge, experience or practice on how to make it function? If only the princess could actually listen to her for once, maybe they wouldn't argue so much.

Wouldn't be the first time either— She thought, grimly.

Another problem was that the princess honestly expected her to have a good time. She really did things, thinking of her, making her feel even guiltier. If only she thought about what she liked, instead of what she thought she needed, they wouldn't argue so much. If only she told Octavia to do what she was destined to do—

"That was harsh Octavia, even for you."

"Go away Hugin. I'm not in the mood," Octavia groused.

"You think I am? I have to spend this entire assignment accompanying you, however long it may be. I think I have more of a right to be mad, than you." Hugin retorted. Octavia placed her cello, still with the broken string, back in its case. She would have no choice, but to fix it there. Besides the case was the train ticket, innocently lying there. The argument came back to her mind, making her frown a little.

"I guess a few days away from the castle don't sound so bad." Octavia mused, as she placed the ticket and a few writing items in a bag. At least the princess remembered she hated flying.

Author's Note

Yes. Octavia is my favorite pony. So yes, she is the protagonist. But relax, I'll try not make her overbearing. And yes, just like Twilight, she will be flawed in her own way.
By the way: Hugin is voiced by Crispin Freeman. Cuz he's one awesome son of a bitch.
Princess Twilight has the alicorn physique, so she's as big as Celestia.

Now revised by AuthorGenesis!