Octavia's Song - Four Seasons

"Nothing is right with the world anymore."

>You tell yourself this as you crawl out of bed at 7am on a Sunday morning

>All because you wouldn't say no

>At least the roaches still have the decency to scatter when you flip the switch as you stumble into the bathroom

>The silverfish, however, remain steadfast in the defense of their bathtub kingdom

>You're in no mood for their shit, so you just turn the water on let it run - it takes a long time to heat up to a decent temperature anyways

 

>Several minutes and the water is still ice cold

>Damn pilot light must be out... again

>Your apartment building is practically ancient, and maintenance stopped caring long ago

>At least the silverfish have retreated for the moment

>Small victories

 

>One ice cold shower later, and you're ready to face down the day before the sun has even risen

>You flip on the tv to the early morning news as you pull up the city map on your phone

>There's a Starbucks close to her place if she hasn't already picked a place out

>You dread having to wade through a sea of hipsters, but she'd probably feel more comfortable there than at a greasy corner diner

>The next order of business is to get her a stylus before she destroys that poor phone

>Maybe by then, you can jump ship before the situation gets any more complicated

 

>You wonder if ditching that baby shower was really worth it in the long run

>Sure, it would've sucked, but it would've been over in a few hours

>And your friends may be a bunch of nerve-grating assholes, but at least you can relate to them

>Now you're already knee deep into another relationship with someone you have literally nothing in common with, not even species

 

>But still, she said most of her friends were over on the other side

>She's practically all alone in a new world

>If you were in the same boat, you'd like to think at least someone would look out for you

>Stupid golden rule

>Maybe you should at least give her a chance

>She was pleasant enough to talk to yesterday, after all

 

"It's too early for this shit..." you mutter, drowning your conscience with a swig of bad coffee

>After a trip to pick up the morning paper that took much longer than it should have and spending half an hour looking for you keys, you can't put it off any longer

>You hold off continuing your argument with yourself on the train ride over

>It'll play out however it plays out

 

>As you approach Octavia's building, you notice she's already waiting for you by the steps, wearing a midnight blue dress that looks absolutely perfect on her

"You look nice."

>Octavia looks around for you. She was entranced by the traffic again.

"Oh, thank you." she says happily when she finally notices you. "I understand it's customary to wear clothes all the time here, but... am I doing something wrong? Everyone keeps looking at me."

>She's either baiting you, or her self-awareness is pitiful. Still, you're not touching this land mine.

"Maybe they're just not used to seeing ponies still. It's been a while, but I don't think the shock's quite worn off yet for either side."

"Hmmm." she nods to herself as she walks down the steps to you

 

>Crisis averted?

"So, is there anywhere in particular you wanted to go?"

"Actually... I was hoping you might know somewhere. I spent most of last evening going over the scores."

"There's a coffee shop not too far from here, if that's alright with you."

>She's already at your side

"That sounds perfect. But, could we walk if it isn't too far? I'm still not quite comfortable with those 'car' things."

 

>After a quick detour to pick up that desperately need stylus, and the two of you arrive to a relatively empty Starbucks

"Oh thank the princesses!" Octavia says, darting for the nearest empty booth. She climbs into the side and sits on her haunches

"I don't see how you can sit in those hard little chairs. Just the thought of it makes my back hurt."

>You share a laugh and go about eating breakfast

 

"So, how was your first night here?"

>That doesn't sound creepy at all.

"It was a bit disconcerting." she says, looking up at you from her food. "There were no stars out, and I couldn't see the moon anywhere. But the all the lights in the city at night... rarely have I seen something so beautiful."

"They were out, but those lights were why couldn't see them. Only way you'll see the stars in a city this big is if there's a blackout. Or if you go way out into the countryside."

"That's disappointing. The nights back home were always breathtaking."

 

>You go about eating before she perks up with another question

"Why does the sun rise at different times?

"That's not exactly easy to answer. The short and simple version is that the day length varies with which season it is. Is it not the same where you're from?"

"Not exactly. The royal sisters raise and set the sun and moon at the same time every day. The seasons are on a strict schedule as well. Equestrian society is very orderly."

>The thought of magic horses controlling the heavens makes your head hurt.

"But seems as if chaos is the rule here, rather than the exception."

 

"Ah, you're only seeing the surface of it, though. Just give it some time and you'll see there's an order to stuff here, too. It's not like we just go burn down the city whenever we feel like it."

>You've both finished eating by now, but neither of you make a move to leave

"There's a lot that we have no control over, though, and most of us have accepted it. As long as you deal with what you can control, the rest usually plays out alright, too."

>You heard that on Dr. Phil, but Octavia doesn't need to know that.

"I'll keep that in mind." she says, finally climbing out of the booth

 

>As you exit back onto the street, Octavia turns to you

"You know, I still don't know anything about you, other than your name."

"There's not really much to know."

>Wait a minute

>If you tell her about yourself, she'll see you're blue collar working class scum and therefore not worthy of her refined presence

>Then you'll never have to deal with her again and everything will back to normal

>Your logic is infallible

 

"You don't honestly expect me to drop the issue that easily, do you?"

"I plan to convince you to on the way. C'mon, I'll show you Central Park while we're out this way."

>She continues trying to pry out details about you on the way

>Once you arrive, however, she does drop the issue

"This reminds me of the royal gardens back in Canterlot. I could spend all day here!"

>She does seem more at ease here than out on the streets

 

"Now, are you going to tell me about yourself, or am I going to have to keep pestering you about it?"

"Fine, fine, you win." you say in mock exasperation. "I live over across the river in Brooklyn. Lived there all my life. As for a job, it's nothing fancy like yours, but I work at the harbor."

>Octavia looks quite pleased with herself for being able to coax even that tiny bit of information from you

"What is it like? I imagine it's quite difficult work without magic. Most shipping in Equestria is handled through skyships, but I've not seen anything like them here."

"It's not the easiest thing to do, but most of it's handled by cranes and other machinery. We have a few unicorns on staff and they're a huge help, but from what I understand, it's difficult for them to use magic here."

 

>The consequences of having constantly open portals to a place where magic was very much real were still being debated

>"Magical bleed-through" had replaced global warming as the hot-button issue of the day and there was seemingly no end to the theories it spawned

>Scientists and researchers on both sides had been fascinated by the issue as well, and the integration of science and magic had become their new holy grail

 

>Octavia continues her little back-and-forth with you for some time as you both wander aimlessly around the park

>What was meant to be a short trip ended up dragging on well into afternoon before either of you had realized it

"I had no idea it was this late already. I hate to do this, but I really have to get back. I wanted to go over the music a bit more before practice tomorrow."

"Do you remember how to get back from here?"

"I should be able to, yes. I've really enjoyed today, too. I... I'll talk to you again soon."

 

>After bidding her goodbye, you grab something to eat at one of the nicer cafes before heading back home yourself

>The train ride home is quiet, if nothing else.

>As you enter your apartment, you notice another message on your phone

>It's a much more legible text from Octavia letting you know she managed to make it back to her apartment without incident

 

>So that's the end of that. Right?

>Everything's back to the way it was before. Right?

>The world may not be the same anymore, but you're going to hold on to your little piece of normalcy

>You drop down into your favorite chair and flip on the tv, already starting to feel sleep tugging at your eyes from getting up so early this morning

"Top of the third and the Mets are down by seven!"

>At least some things never change