//------------------------------// // Dune // Story: Death and Dying // by Regidar //------------------------------// A nice, cool glass of water, beads of condensation dripping down the sides, ice cubes floating in the calm liquid, slowly melting... Vinyl Scratch taking a hose, slowly pouring the water over her body... Vinyl Scratch slowly and provocatively eating an ice cream cone... Vinyl Scratch spraying water everywhere... Vinyl Scratch getting real close, and slowly putting the hose up to- Octavia awoke suddenly, lying on the hot sand. She was parched, and the inside of her mouth felt like warm cotton. Her cello lay immersed in the sand next to her. She was lying at the bottom of a large dune. Slowly, she got to her feet and trudged up the dune. Upon reaching the top, Octavia could see only endless desert all around her. Slowly getting her cello, she did what she always did when she felt bad or lonely. She played. It was a simple, sweet, yet elegant melody. Small sand scorpions which had been scuttling at her feet stopped, and listened. Captivated by the tune, they listened to the greyish-brown mare play the cello. After a while, the heat made her dizzy and Octavia sat down again. The sand scorpions quickly scuttled off once again as she finished her melody. The sun was beginning to slowly set over the horizon, and the temperature was dropping fast. Octavia longed for a warm bed, a warm fire, but mostly for Vinyl's warm touch... She shook her head violently to rid herself of the thought of Vinyl. She immediately wished she hadn't as her headache got three times as painful. Too exhausted and thirsty to go on, Octavia collapsed in the sand, prepared to die once again. *** "Now, Octavia, behave yourself." The small, dingy classroom was filled with foals, but Octavia ignored them. She sat down in the front row with her cello, as the teacher walked in. "I am Mr. Offkey. Today we will..." The other ponies faded until all that was left was Mr. Offkey droning on. Octavia's head slipped, then she looked up at her teacher again. He was making out with Vinyl. Octavia sprung to her feet, but the desks had suddenly began growing larger, no, she had suddenly become smaller. Mr. Offkey turned to stare down at the teeny Octavia, his face bare of flesh, and only a skull now. Octavia screamed, as Vinyl looked down as well, her face also having suffered the same fate. The floor underneath Octavia suddenly turned into snakes, and sinking into the writhing mass, she drowned. *** Awaking to the sun on her face, Octavia felt so weak she couldn't move. Her cello lay next to her, slowly baking in the sun. One solitary cactus stood not a foot away from Octavia, providing a little bit of shade. Octavia's cello bow lay next to her hoof, slowly gathering sand. A scorpion lay on it, basking in the sun. Then Octavia had an idea. Forcing her arm to move, she grabbed the bow, shook the scorpion off, and forcefully plunged it into the cactus. She greedily drank the water that poured from the cactus, feeling it's cool wetness fill her up. After drinking her fill of water, Octavia wandered off through the sea of dunes once more. A few hours of wandering later, Octavia had only encountered two other cacti, and was feeling the dry sensation of thirst once again. It was mid-afternoon, and the blistering sun beat down upon her head, causing her to sweat profusely. Then she felt the ground rumble and shake. Looking behind her, she saw the dunes she had just traversed shift and shake, and slowly collapse as a giant creature emerged from the sandy abyss. The Dune worm rose about 30 feet in the air, yet, most of its body was imbedded in the sand. It screeched its an ear shattering cry , and lunged hungrily at Octavia. Octavia barely dodged the first lunge, rolling out of the way just in the nick of time. She grabbed her cello and began sprinting up the next dune, but tripped and fell flat on her face. Turning around, she braced herself with the prospect of sweet death yet again. But her body would not accept the fate her brain had intended for her. Instead, her arm took the cello, and her other arm took the bow, and she began to play. The Dune worm stopped. It sniffed the air apprehensively, and gazed down at Octavia. Octavia continued to play. It wasn't a particularly complex melody, in fact, it was simple, one of the first she had learned. But the Dune worm was completely enticed by the sweet melodies of her cello. Slowly, the monster swayed, and fell back into the sand with a thundering crash. The force from the impact nearly knocked Octavia off her hooves. Steadying herself, Octavia stared at the fallen beast, amazed at the reaction her melodies had caused. Maybe she had even more prowess than she already thought she had. Slowly walking away from the fallen beast,Octavia trekked onward. *** Octavia had long left the desert, and had been wandering about a plain willed with long, spiky grass. Wandering about, she noticed something odd. There was a huge ravine in the ground. Running over to it, she saw a chaotic sprawl of buildings and streets that fit the loosest definition of a city. She heard a sickening cracking noise. The ground beneath her crumbled, and she fell head over hooves into the city.