• Published 11th Jun 2012
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Accidental Harmony - errant



A desperate cellist is in over her head when she takes a job at a nightclub.

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Chapter 18

“Well, this is a terrible wedding if I’ve ever seen one,” Octavia groused as she pressed her entire body’s weight against the straining door of their suite in Canterlot Castle. The high-pitched buzzing of insectoid wings reverberated through the thick wood of the door as it shuddered under the force of repeated blows, setting her ears on edge as she strained to hold the door shut. “Vinyl, I don’t suppose you have any bright ideas?”

“I assume a make-out session is out of the question, so not really,” Vinyl said from behind Octavia. She squarely faced the single window that illuminated the spacious room, its elegant glass reduced to shattered pieces on the floor. A dark blur of movement caught Vinyl’s attention as it forced its way through the unshielded opening; with an effort of will she cast a lance of pure force at the intruding monstrosity. The blue blaze of magic leapt from her horn to strike the changeling squarely in its chest, sending it tumbling away hurt but still alive. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m starting to get tired. I don’t know how many of those things are out there, but they aren’t giving up and going away like we hoped.”

“Damn. Maybe trying to hide in here was a bad idea,” Vinyl said.

“It was a better idea than staying outside,” Octavia replied with a shudder. “We saw what happened to those poor ponies who tried to run for it.”

“Yeah, at least in here we’ve got a bucking”—she directed another strike at a changeling crawling through the open window—“chance to protect ourselves,” Vinyl agreed.


“How freaking many are there?” Vinyl demanded as she desperately struck away another group of three changelings trying to get past her. Sweat matted her face and trickled down her neck as she panted, trying to catch her breath. From her vantage point near the window, she could see swarms of the black, insect-winged things covering the sky so completely as to obscure the sun. Their high-pitched buzzing felt like it was echoing in her very bones and through the immense stone structure of the castle itself. “Ya know what, forget I even asked. There’s about a million and a half too many.”

“Very accurate assessment, my dear Vinyl” Octavia replied as she pushed against the door, now starting to bow inwards under pressure from the other side. “Truly, you are a mathematical prodigy.”

“There’s a number in ‘DJ Pon-3’. Of course I’m good at math.”


Vinyl stared into a fanged mouth snapping furiously at her tender neck as she held it away with her braced forelegs. She could see the ravenous hunger that burned in its arctic blue eyes and hear it in the mad whirring of its malformed wings as it pushed ever more desperately towards her. It stretched out its neck to try and reach its prey as she struggled to hold it off of her. Her breath came short now, knocked out of her by the changeling’s surprise attack that had flung her to the ground and by the fear of death above her.

Her muscles began to buckle, her strength beginning to fail. A sadistic smile flashed across its serrated mouth as it surged forward, fangs and teeth ready to strike. Vinyl lashed out with her last weapon, smashing her face directly into the changeling’s own. With a howl of pain and surprise the changeling flitted back, leaving her time to lurch unsteadily to her hooves. Snarling, the changeling flew again at Vinyl with murder in its eyes; she stood her ground, lowering her head at the last instant. With a thunk the changeling impaled itself on Vinyl’s horn, cracking its black carapace and oozing green blood as it fell lifeless to the floor. For finality, Vinyl reared back and brought her front hooves crashing down on the insectoid monster’s skull, crushing it and leaving her splattered with green slime. Behind her, the sound of splintering wood could be heard as Octavia still struggled to hold the door closed. "We are so bucked," Vinyl said with a shake of her head. Movement caught her attention from the direction of the room’s window. “Uh, Octy, we got a problem over here,” Vinyl called out as she backed away from the dozen changelings swarming through it. She reached inside herself, into the source of her will that powered her magic, and found it empty. “Ah, ponyfeathers . . .”

“Yes, well, things aren’t looking too good on this front either,” Octavia answered as she tried to keep pressing the door shut while evading the grasping limbs that reached through the numerous holes in the wooden door. The pressure being exerted from the other side was beginning to become more than she could counteract; her hooves were slipping on the floor and the sweat pouring off her body made it hard to keep herself pressed solidly against the door. She screwed her eyes shut in determination, gritting her teeth as she willed herself to stay strong. Suddenly, a changeling limb managed to pierce through the beleaguered wood; Octavia failed to move in time and it twined around her neck, pulling her roughly up against the door itself and cutting off her oxygen. “Vinyl, help!” she gasped weakly.

“Hold on, Octy!” Vinyl shouted as she turned her back on the changelings advancing from the window to strike at the treacherous appendage suffocating Octavia with hoof and horn. Hissing in pain, the limb retracted and Octavia stumbled away from the door to lean on Vinyl for support.

Now undefended, the door burst open to allow a dozen or more changelings to crowd through into the room. Helpless, the two mares backed slowly away from the horde until their backs pressed up against the unyielding stone wall. Trapped between the changelings that surrounded them in a half-circle and the impassable masonry behind them, Vinyl turned to Octavia and gently reached out a hoof to bring her eyes to meet her own. “I love you so much,” she said quietly, in complete indifference to the crowd of salivating, hungry monsters closing in on them. She moved to stand between the changelings and Octavia, placing her back to the abominations that wanted to devour them. With simple finality she brought her lips to meet Octavia’s, melding one final time into her softness. Octavia returned her passionate kiss, whimpering deep in her throat as her eyes peered behind Vinyl. “Don’t look, sweetie,” Vinyl gently commanded. Obedient, Octavia closed her eyes.

Vinyl tensed as she felt the first brush against her coat as one of the changelings drew close to her. She fought the urge to flinch away as she imagined the monstrous things preparing to strike, fangs glinting cruelly in the light.

Thank you, Octy. For everything.

Vinyl closed her own eyes, content to let her last memory be of the one she loved. She once again leaned forward to join her lips and Octavia’s. As they met she became conscious of an electric tingle coursing through her body from the tips of her ears to the base of her tail.

What the—

She was suffused by warmth and joy and every happy emotion she had ever felt; her eyes stung with tears of ecstasy as all her love and devotion for the mare she embraced welled up within her. Blearily, she could see that Octavia was in the same state, clinging to her tightly with forehooves wrapped around her neck.

A surge of light swept past them, heedless of stone or anything else. Its purple hue surged through and around them, filling the whole room with intolerable brightness. They clung to each other in confusion, instinctively seeking a familiar touch. Above the subliminal roaring of the passing wave of light they could hear the frantic keening of the changelings calling out in their own pain and fear. They stood with ears flattened and eyes clenched shut, weathering the interminable passing of the magical force sweeping past them. Finally, it was over and they could open their eyes to take in the same room they had stood in before, now conspicuously devoid of changelings. “Whoa. Did we do that?” Vinyl asked in an awestruck voice.