//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Better Off This Way // Story: A World I Wasn't Meant For // by Abstract Spectrum //------------------------------// Octavia's vision faded in. The first thing she noticed was her hooves were wet, with blood. She stood in an old looking, dimly-lit hallway that looked half destroyed like it'd been bombed. She was somewhere different, and also appeared to be in a white, long-sleeve, button-up shirt with dusty brown pants and black boots over them. Though for some reason, she felt this was right, that where she was, was her life now, and always has been. Her ears perked up at a stomping noise behind her in the water. The hallway that she looked down was long enough to see that there was indeed something coming at her in the water, however she could only see the splashes it made in the water. Suddenly her heart began pounding, and her breath quickened as she began to rush through the water. There were a few cracks in the ceiling that shed light on a blockade made of wooden crates, broken dressers and shattered wardrobes. Octavia threw herself over the blockade, hoping it would stop the mysterious monster that followed her. From the continued stomping sounds behind her as she ran quicker through the long, flooded halls, she knew this wasn't the case. Her heart still pounded, nearly beating it's way out of her chest. But she ran on, and approached another blockade around the next corner she turned. Thinking quickly, she snatched up a box from the blockade and threw it at the shimmers in the water. All she heard was a very congested and scratchy hiss, and the stomping didn't stop. Neither did Octavia. Her breathing quickened, jumping back into the water with a large splash. She was slowly losing her sanity as the darkness began to creep around her as she rushed through the flooded hallways. Her head was pounding and her hooves were shaking as she ran, the water weighing her down, making the movements of her hooves slower. She felt her cheeks puff up as she could feel the cold chill of certain death behind her. She knew that if she stopped for even a slight second, she'd been torn apart, limb from limb by this terrifying creature that chased her through what seemed like and endless maze of corridors and hallways. She kept her quick pace, her motivation being the soft but deep and eerie moaning behind her that stabbed themselves into her mind. She felt a light scratch on her back; light but painful. She swore she heard the skin tear. She let out a loud groan that eased the pain, ever so slightly, but just enough for Octavia to push on. At this point she was barley conscious, her heavy breathing not making the pain in her chest hurt any less. Octavia slowly but surely inched her way to the end of the last hallway she met around a corner. The door to safety, just beyond her hoof's grasp. She could nearly taste the fresh air of hope beyond the horror she found herself in, if it wasn't for her numb tongue. Just before she could wrap her hoof around the knob to lead herself to freedom, she felt the sharpest, most quickest strike of pain in her back. And also through her chest. She turned around, wincing with her dying eyes as a black silhouette faded into view. She couldn't tell what it was, and the shaking it did with it's blade-equipped arm wasn't making it any easier. "TAAAAVIIIIIII..." it moaned, the blade on the front side of her body scraping against the door. "TAAAAVIIIIII...!" it moaned again. The next thing Octavia felt was water on her face. She thought she'd been dropped onto the flooded floor that lay just before the exit door. But it was really Vinyl holding her head under the sink, trying to wake her up. Octavia gasped for air and yanked her head out from under the sink, coughing, gagging, and holding her chest, her head close to the ground like she was about to vomit. "TAVI!" Vinyl yelled. "What in the name of Celestia is going on with you?". Vinyl, however, failed to get Octavia's attention, as she was still in her own little panic-attack on the bathroom floor. Vinyl sighed, and simply trotted over to Octavia, giving her a swift kick in the stomach. The result being that Octavia coughed up some water, but at least she could breath now. As the grey mare caught her breath, she slowly faded back into reality. She held her throat, looking at her side to Vinyl, who stood crouched a good distance away from her grey marefriend to give her some air. Eventually, Octavia could breath. She fell on her back, and looked up at the bathroom lights in a blank gaze, her mouth hanging open. "What time is it?" She muttered in an almost robotic tone. "Three. Fourteen. In the morning." Vinyl replied, putting emphasis on each word. "You're lucky we haven't missed the train yet. This big Canterlot performance could be the life or death of your career." "I know, Vinyl." Octavia shivered. "C'mon, we need to get going, Ms. scream loud and pant heavily when Vinyl is trying to sleep. We have a train to catch. I already packed what we need and put it by the door, so hurry up!" Vinyl demanded, helping Octavia off of the floor and shoving her out the bathroom door. The two mares bounced down the stairs with eachother and headed towards the front door. "You're going to be in the front row, right?" "Yeah yeah, don't worry Tavi. I'll be there." Vinyl said, her sentence trailing off as she leaned her head down to pick up her bag. The two mares grabbed their things and hauled them outside, Vinyl closing the door behind her with her hind leg. Taking a giant whiff of the crisp morning air, Octavia and Vinyl trotted off to the train station. LATER, ON THE TRAIN... "Phew... barely made it." Octavia sighed, taking a seat near the window. Vinyl sat across from her, rather than next to her like she usually did. She took a gander out to see the mountains fly by, and the town of Ponyville get smaller and smaller. With each minute that went by, Vinyl became more and more excited. She couldn't wait to see her favorite mare play far beyond the extent of her potential. After a few minutes of complete silence, minus the sound of the train bouncing across the tracks and other conversations in other parts of the train, the white mare turned her eye to see Octavia's face. "So whatchya thinkin' about?" She asked. "The symphony, of course." "I swear that's gonna stress you out." "What else am I supposed to think of?" "Uh... playing... the... cello?" "That still makes me think of the symphony." Octavia said, becoming unsettled in her seat. Vinyl paused for a few moments, returning her attention to the window. "I've uh... just been thinkin' Tavi..." "Hm?" "What if... you uh... DON'T make the cut with this performance?" "Please Vinyl... don't... don't say that..." The section of the train grew silent again, but this time only for a few moments before Octavia spoke up again. "What made you think of that?" She asked, studying the white mare's expression. "I'm just afraid that... all we've been through in the past few days will just be..." "Just be what?" "Well um... worthless. Like, they won't mean anything if something bad happens." Octavia pondered the mare's words for a moment. Just the thought of losing her job made her cheeks puff like she was about to cry. Vinyl was right. The moments they've shared in the past few days would be worth nothing if it all led up to that. "J-just... be quiet... p-please." She stuttered. Octavia shivered slightly, noticing Vinyl peering over to her from the corner of her eye. "It's going to be okay..." Octavia whispered to herself, her ear perking up at the train coming to a screeching stop. "Well, looks like we've stopped." Vinyl said, grabbing her bag that she placed beside her. "Could you grab my bag? I need to carry this." Octavia asked, picking up her cello and hopping up from her seat. "Alrighty, whatever you say." "Right. This way." The grey mare directed, making her way towards the train's open doors. LATER, AT CANTERLOT SYMPHONY HALL... Octavia grabbed the doorknob and pushed forward, leading to the backstage area. "Wow, it's small in here." Vinyl gasped, surprised. "Yes well, the stage and area for the audience makes up for it." The grey mare said with a somewhat annoyed tone. "Alright, thank you, Vinyl." Octavia smiled, thinking positive. "I want to see you in the front row, got it?" Octavia teased. "Pfft, alright." Octavia peered over to the white mare with an annoyed gaze. "Well, anyway, good luck!" Vinyl waved, making her way outside to go around to the front entrance. Octavia took a deep breath and looked herself in the mirror when the door closed. "Alright, Octavia. It's make or break time. Show 'em all you've got!" She cheered. The grey mare took her cello out of it's case and set it up on stage. A few minutes passed, and it was showtime. She took her place next to her cello and her other symphony members as the curtain opened. Here we go... curtains are opening! She excitedly thought to herself. Only listening to the sound of the curtains presenting the symphony, her eyes were closed and her bow was lifted. Suddenly, complete silence. Octavia popped an eye open, then dropped her bow and jaw along with the rest of the members as the only pony standing in the audience was their supervisor. "Well gang, I guess this is it. We're done for." "No, no NO! Say it ain't so!" A white haired mare preached from behind Octavia. "It's so, it's so!" A brown stallion cried next to her. "Now now, no need to get all dramatic on me and start a panic!" The supervisor said, pausing afterwords. "No, wait... yeah, panic. You're all out of jobs." He nervously chuckled. Not... not even Vinyl showed up... Octavia sniffled. As everypony began to leave the building, groaning all the while and discussing new jobs with each other, Octavia's supervisor noticed her crying on the stage. "Aww, c'mon Octavia! No need to cry!" "ARE YOU JOKING? THERE'S PLENTY NEED TO CRY! THIS IS ALL I HAVE!" Octavia shouted, her last word bouncing off the walls. "Well... I'm sorry to hear that, but... it's just how it all turned out." Her supervisor said, his voice getting lighter as he stepped up onto the stage to comfort the sad grey mare. "I really am genuinely sorry, Octavia. It's been a pleasure working with you." He finished, patting her on the back as he left her to sit in her own puddle of tears. The slam from the supervisor leaving out the back door silenced the room, only hearing the sound of Tavi's weeping. She looked up when she heard a door from the front shoot open, and rubbed her eyes as the sound of hooves clopping lightly onto the stage approached her. "Tavi... I'm... sorry I-" "I can't believe this, Vinyl." "Look Tavi, it's not the end of the world." Vinyl said again, glancing down as to try and get a look at the grey mare's face. Octavia threw her head up at Vinyl, nearly hitting her. "IT'S THE END OF MY WORLD!" She screamed, slamming her hoof down on the wooden planks of the stage, cracking it slightly. "Tavi, I'm sorry about all of this-" "No. No no no, don't put this on yourself. You had nothing to do with this." Octavia sobbed. "I just want to go home, now." "Well uh... okay. C'mon." Vinyl said softly, helping Octavia off of the floor. As the two mares walked outside, Vinyl placed a hoof around Octavia's shoulder at an attempt to comfort her. This made Octavia suddenly look up, and suddenly think of a brilliant idea. "Hey, Vinyl?" "Hm?" "Would it be okay if... I could learn to make the kind of music you do? "Well uh... why?" "I don't know, I just find it to be more... fun." "You didn't think the cello was fun?" "I like the sound of it, yes, but it's a very difficult instrument to play." "I don't know about this, Tavi. Are you sure?" "Vinyl, please. While you were gone with Lyra and Bon Bon, I actually um... made a little tune on your synth keyboard." Octavia admitted. "Woah, you made that? Hot damn, you're well on your way!" Vinyl smiled, becoming excited. "Wait, how did you know of the tune I made?" "I always have my synth's record feature on, just in-case I get an idea." "Wow. Smart." Octavia smiled. LATER, BACK AT HOME... Vinyl walked out of the bathroom and began trotting up the stairs to bed. Entering her bedroom, she saw Octavia already under the covers. She wasn't asleep though, maybe Vinyl woke her up with the sound of her opening the door, but Vinyl digressed. Climbing under the sheets, she turned on her side to face Octavia. "So what are you gonna to for a job?" She whispered. "Actually, I was hoping that I could um... accompany you in your performances?" "Wow, really?" "I think maybe we'd make a perfect team! You and me!" "I guess so. I'm really glad you've decided this, Tavi." Octavia smiled, and kissed Vinyl lightly. The two mares turned over, each facing their wall. Vinyl went to sleep almost immediately. However Octavia was so excited to start a new career, with her favorite mare nonetheless, she could barley close her eyes. Eventually, all the excitement from the thoughts of so many possibilities put her to a gentle rest. She was a little saddened, though. That she'd just abandon what she'd grown up with after so long and suddenly switching to something completely different. But somehow, she felt this was the right choice, for now at least. Someday, she'll make her comeback. But until then, it was party time.