>You are awoken from your nap by the sounds of knocking at your front door. You stand up and quickly straighten your clothes. As you walk up the stairs, you wonder who would be knocking at your door. Or what time it was. Living underground had it’s disadvantages.
>You open the door, noticing it is almost sunset, and looked at your visitor.
‘Oh, hello there.’
>In front of you stood a very familiar grey p0ny with a black mane, on her back sat a large cello case that looked quite cumbersome. She gave you a small smile, which you returned.
>’I’m sorry for dropping by here unannounced.’
‘Oh god no Octavia… Would you like to come in? I can assume you are fairly tired from the trip.’
>’Thank you Mr. Anonymous.’
>You step out of her way to let her in, and she steps inside, her eyes never leaving you.
>’Do humans alvays live in such…cosy abodes?’
‘You can say it. The above ground is small.’
>’Above ground?’
>Octavia finally stops looking at you, and observes the set of stairs at her…hooves.
>’Oohhh…’
‘Please, won’t you join me?’
>You step past her and descend the stairs. You hear the soft hoof-steps follow you.
M: Dude, don’t want to bother you but there is a massive mess in your bedroom and the door is open.
>”Mark, if you close the door by yourself I will promise you a drinking night with you in control”, you think to him. He gives you a nod and runs for your room. You plead with all the gods of insanity; Loki, FSM, Tom Cruise, Please give Mark the strength to shut the door.
>You hear a door slam, and you jump. As you land, you slip on the stairs and fall down to the bottom.
 
>You open your eyes to see Octavia standing over you, looking very scary. Oh god, you are going to die.
>’ nyeuklyuzhie obez?yany (Clumsy Ape)’
‘Zaktnis’ (shut up)‘
>’You okay? There was a slam and you fell over.’
>You sit up slowly and rub your head.
‘Yeah, I think I left a window open in my bedroom. Please take a seat, rest your back and hooves.’
>She lets her cello slide onto the ground behind you, letting it fall to your head with an “oof”, and she takes a seat on the couch.
>You stand up and carry the cello to the corner.
‘You’re doing it again.’
>’Doing what?’
‘Letting your pride get in zee way again.’
>She scowls at you, and you chuckle.
‘Your words, not mine; you can hide behind that tough exterior all you want, I still remember the sweet p0ny in you.’
>Octavia’s face gains a hint of pink, and she looks away.
‘Would you like some lemon myrtle tea?’
>’Vhat is that?’
‘Hmm… what did Roseluck call it? P0nies call it sweet lemon, cos it tastes like lemon without the acid. Where I come from, you can brew it with tea leaves to make it taste better.’
>’Oh…I would enjoy some.’
>You smile at her, and see her blush grow.
‘Muffin?’ you ask, and her blush grows even grander ‘Would you care for a muffin?’
>’If it needed me, yes.’
>It took a few seconds to sink in as you walked back to the kitchen. You stopped and stuck your head out and looked at her. She had a smile on her face as well.
 
>As you sit across from Octavia sipping your tea, she stares at the table of books, only stealing glances of you when she thinks you aren’t paying attention.
‘So, I assume you had a reason to hunt me down. Still angry?’
>She looked you in the eyes finally, and you noticed how purple hers were.
>’NO! I mean… when I woke up and you had left me that statuette, I had to thank you. So when I started to feel a bit better, I got on a train here.’
‘So how are you not in a cast? It’s been like a week.’
A:Magic
M: Mother fucking Magic
>’Unicorn magic helped.’
‘Ooh…continue.’
>’So, Vhen I got here, I had to ask for zee monkey. I think I may have found your special somep0ny on the way…’
‘Uhh…What? Was she an orange earth p0ny?’
>’No, it vas grey Pegasus.’
>You start to giggle, and that grows into a laugh.
‘Octavia, that was Derpy Hooves. She is my best friend, and made the muffins you are eating.’
>’Oh…so Vhere is your special somep0ny?’
‘Out there somewhere. I just haven’t met her yet, or I have and we don’t know it yet. Right now I am alone’
>’oh…’
>Octavia started to look at her hooves, and you drank your tea.
‘But you still had a reason to come see me across these lands.’
>She opened her mouth to talk, but her stomach growled. Her face washed over with embarrassment.
‘So… I assume you are hungry?’ she doesn’t look up ‘Okay, how about we go have dinner? My treat.’
>She looks up and smiles.
>’Zat vould be nice.’
 
>You sit across from Octavia in a small restaurant on the edge of P0nyville. It was quite funny seeing her worry that p0nies would mob her for being a star. A few p0nies came up to her, but instead of screaming like fillies, they just politely asked for an autograph and then left.
>’Vhy is everyp0ny so calm?’
‘You are famous, but P0nyville treat p0nies like regular p0nies. They probably know how stressed from all the crazed fans.’
>’Oh…’
‘You miss the crazy p0nies? Well, there is one p0ny but I don’t think she-
>’DARLING!’
M: Ahh shit…
>You spin to see Rarity walking towards you, a shit eating grin across her face.
‘Whatever happens here, I’m sorry.’
>R: ‘Oh Anon, I did not know you were out to dinner with a p0ny. Who do we have here?’
‘Rarity, you remember Octavia the cellist from the exhibition. Octavia, this is my boss and friend Rarity, and I am considering revoking both.’
>Octavia giggles, and you freeze.
A: Anon…I think your heart just exploded.
>O: ‘Hello Rarity. Anon vas just showing me around zee town.’
>R: ‘Oh… I didn’t know you and Anon were an item.’
‘RARITY!’ she looks at you like she was just caught stealing a piece of candy.
>O: ‘ona ochen? torchali , da?’
‘Da.’
>R:’ Well since you are having your own conversation, I shall leave.’
>As Rarity walks away, Octavia shoots you a worried look. You stand from your seat, and followed Rarity.
‘Rarity, wait. Can we talk outside?’
>She gives you a smile and nods.
 
>You sit on a seat outside the café, Rarity opposite you.
>’I am so happy you found somep0ny.’
‘Rarity. Serious stop this crap. Octavia barely knows me, not like others do. I only invited her out because she came all the way here.’
>You run your hands through your hair.
‘Rarity, I am scared shitless. I laugh at things to cut the tension, but with Octavia I don’t know. What if she likes me? What if she doesn’t? What if she realises I’m insane and doesn’t want to talk to me? What if I say something wro-‘
>Rarity smacked you with a marshmellow hoof.
>’I’m sorry I had to do that Anon, but it was called for. You are a wonderful gentlecolt, and if she likes you, she does. If she doesn’t, I owe Rainbow Dash 5 bits.’
‘YOU TOLD DASH ABOUT THIS?!’
>Rarity giggled.
>’No, but don’t you feel better?’
‘Rarity…I never had luck with females. My last special someone cheated on me. I…I just don’t have the confidence to do this.’
>’Then don’t go in there thinking it’s a date. Think of it as talking to a friend.’
‘Thank you Rarity. I hope it helps.’
>’I’m here if you need to talk.’
‘Gossip.’
>Rarity laughs before walking off. You walk back inside thinking over what Rarity had said. You spy Octavia fidgeting with her cutlery as she waits for you.
 
>You sit down across from Octavia, and she looks up with a smile, before blushing again.
‘So, how was your trip down here?’
>’It vas good. I needed zee vacation anyvay.’
‘That’s good.’
>The waiter comes over to take your order. Octavia ordered a rose petal salad, and you stick to a vegetable lasagne, though you do not enjoy the vegetarian diet.
>’Do you not like zee food here?’
‘No, it’s not that. I have been here for almost 2 months, and I really miss my old diet.’
>’Pardon?’
‘I used to eat meat.’
>As soon as the words escaped your mouth, you wish you didn’t say them. You realised how fucked you are.
>’Well, have you tried fish?’
‘Huh?’
>’Fish, you know, svimmy svimmy?’
‘You…don’t care that I eat meat?’
>’Not really. In P0niet Skarpi, ve see many creatures zat eat flesh.’
‘Well, that’s a load off my mind.’
>Octavia smiles at you, and this time you blush.
M:Pussy
>Alice whacks Mark in the face.
‘I just remembered, you owe me that story.’
>She takes a sip of her wine and smiles.
>’I knew you vouldn’t forget. Can it wait until after dinner, in your underground house?’
‘Of course. I can understand.’
>’So, vhat can vee talk about?’
‘Well how about I start with my life before here?’
>She smiles and nods at you.
 
‘So, I grew up with 2 baby sister’s and an older brother. Fairly large family, but somehow they prepared me for life here. Dakota became a baker, so she provided me with fresh bread and my big bro Alighieri was a boxing instructor. He taught me from a young age how to fight. But my baby sister, Bizzle, she was the youngest but shone the brightest. After I went to the hospital, she studied to become a doctor who treated those like me.’
>’A Psychologist?’
‘Yeah, so she visited me every week just to check up on me. I felt she was analysing me every time she saw me, so I did the stupid thing of yelling at her.
>You start to feel depressed again, but you shake it off.
‘She started to cry. She said she would never try to work on me, she was just worried about me. After hearing that, I broke down. I hated myself for yelling at her, especially how she wanted to be there for me. After hugging her and asking for forgiveness, she said “And how does this make you feel?”.’
>Octavia laughed again, and your heart skipped a beat. It was at this time your food arrived.
>’I can understand you missing zem.’
‘Yeah, but as I said, they did me good. I learnt about baking from Dakota, so I was able to become friends with Derpy faster. Dealing with small children helped me deal with a certain pink party p0ny.’
>’You know how to deal viz her?’
‘You met her?’
>’A few years ago at zee grand galloping gala. She asked for zee P0ny Pokey.’
>You chuckled, that Pinkie Pie.
 
‘It’s a matter of speaking softly and knowing what they want most of all. I’m just lucky. Did you ever hear of the minotaur attack on P0nyville?’
>’Not really. Vhat happened?’
‘Oh this bully came in and started being mean to everyp0ny. Eventually somep0ny stopped him, but it was a hell of a fight.’
>’Did you see who did it?’
‘Yeah, but he ran off before anyp0ny could talk to him.’
>’Vell, he sounds brave.’
‘He was, but he said he didn’t feel brave.’
>The night continued on, with you casually chatting with Octavia over music and Canterlot culture.
>After the meal, you walked with Octavia back to your house, staring to the sky as you do. You liked the night sky here, it was calming and peaceful.
‘I miss nights like this. Enough time to think about the wonders of the cosmos.’
>’It is nice, yes.’
>You get to your small house after some time. Octavia waits for you to hold the door open for her. As you do as she wishes, you get an evil idea. She starts down the steps as you stay at the top.
‘You know Octavia, you can stop the prideful act. Some p0ny might cut the rug from out under you.’
>You pull the lever, and the slide activates. Octavia shoots down, unable to catch a grip, and you slide down after her laughing.
>She looks at you laughing, and scowls, but it doesn’t stop your laughing. Her scowl fades slowly, and she begins to laugh too.
>You stand up, and help her up as well.
‘I’m sorry. That was rude of me, but you did deserve it.’
>’Zaktnis’, and go make us some tea.’
>You walk into the kitchen to make some tea, a smile never leaving your face.
 
>You and Octavia sit on the couch, enjoying the warmth of the tea flow through you, but you notice Octavia starts to look sad again.
‘If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.’
>’No, I made a promise.’
>She drinks deeply from her cup, and looks at you.
>’In P0niet Skarpi, my family vas poor. Zere vas war every vhere you look. P0nies vere hurt and vee had to vatch zem die. My Fazer, he beat my mum and me. He blamed us for being poor. One day, he hit her too hard. She didn’t get up, and he tried to blame me for it.’
>She started to breathe heavier, and you could tell she was trying to hold back tears. You took a hoof in your hands and looked in into her eyes.
‘Don’t worry. It’s okay, I’m here for you.’
>She smiled and continued.
>’So I ran. I ran as fast as I could. I hid in a boat and found my vay in Manehatten.’
‘Well…I’m sorry I asked you to relive your bad memories.’
>’No Anon. It was nice to tell somep0ny else, somep0ny who cares vhat I have to say.’
>Octavia yawned, and you realise how late it is.
‘Hold on, I’ll be back in a minute.’
>You walk into your room, sweeping up all the mess you made during the day, and straightened the bed out.
 
>As you walked back out, Octavia finished off the last of her tea.
>’I should be going. I do not vish to impose on you anymore zhan I have.’
‘There are no hotels in P0nyville.’
>’I shall sleep at zee train station.’
‘Please don’t. You can sleep in my bed and I’ll sleep on the couch.’
>’No, I shall not take your bed.’
‘We can fight all night about this, but I don’t sleep so I already win.’
>’Vee shall see’
>Octavia walks over to her cello case.
M: Watch out man, she has a massive machine gun in there.
>She pulls out her cello, and begins to play.
>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlL7MQFZIS0
>As she plays, you slowly sway to the soft sounds. You close your eyes and imagine two people dancing on the surface of a lake, their soft footsteps creating ripples in its surface. Slowly dancing, only lit by the full moon. There was no one there to judge them, no one to disturb them, just each other to enjoy each other’s company. A smile crept from your lips as you open your eyes.
>Octavia finishes her song, and you give her a soft clap. She smiles and takes a bow.
‘Ready to concede yet, cos I still don’t sleep.’
>’Fine, but only under protest do I accept.’
>You walk her into your room, and turn on the light. She scans the room to make sure everything is okay, and her eyes fall onto the Minotaur horn. She turns to look at you.
>’You…?’
‘It wasn’t bravery, my friend was in trouble. Now sleep. You need your rest.’
>She climbs into your bed, and looks at you.
>’Goodnight Anon.’
‘Goodnight Octavia.’
 
>You park yourself on the couch, and pick up another book. You started to feel cold, so you hit another switch on the wall, and the fire lit itself.
A: No sleep huh?
‘I didn’t need her to worry about my health. She’s famous, I’m just a human.’
M: Well, she does seem nicer than most p0nies. And you are a stinky human.
>You shoot Mark a look and he flinches, waiting for the pain to begin. He opened his eyes to see you reading the book again.
‘No, I don’t think so.’
M: you’re no fun.
‘Alright. Alice, punch him in the balls.’
>Alice smiles at you and looks at Mark with hunger in her eyes.
>As they chase each other around the room, you continue reading until you eventually fall asleep.
>for the first time in 3 years, you have a dream that doesn’t consist of blood. You are dancing on the surface of a lake with Octavia, both of you smiling.