Present Day
The filly stared at Vinyl’s now pure white eyes. The look she had resembled the look of a small foal trying to figure out what a large word meant. “Who are you?” She rasped.
“I have no name or form,” The voice boomed from Vinyl. “I have no existence. I simply show truth.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Raincloud said. “But why are you inside of Vinyl?”
“Octavia was chosen years ago,” The voice said. “She has a connection with Vinyl, allowing me to jump to her.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Raincloud said flatly.
“Something is wrong in this place, I am simply fixing it,” The voice explained. The aura around Vinyl’s body grew brighter. “Kali, leave that body immediately.”
“Now why would I do that?” The filly asked. “It seems to me that you’re just making empty threats.”
The voice coming from Vinyl let out a strange chuckle. “You and I both know that isn’t true. I’ve neither made threats nor would any such threats be empty. Think about it, I know your name. No one in this universe knows that information. I recommend you leave before things get nasty.”
The filly started backing away and her eyes grew wider. “Who are you?” She shouted. “Tell me who you are!”
Vinyl’s head shook. “I’ve already told you,” The voice said. “Now, leave.”
The filly let out a short scream. “I promise you that this land and all its inhabitants will burn at my hand.”
“That promise has already been made, and it won’t be kept if I have a say in the matter,” The voice from Vinyl said. The filly closed her eyes and raised her head to the sky. There was flash as the aura around her disappeared and she collapsed. Vinyl’s body turned to Raincloud. “Any questions?” The voice asked.
Raincloud stared for a moment. “What the hell just happened?” She finally settled on.
Vinyl’s head bowed. “That was Kali, an alicorn from Limbo. She possessed that filly over there and tried to kill you all. I stopped her,” The voice explained.
“Where is Limbo?” Raincloud asked.
“Don’t you read at all? It’s exactly as it’s described in books; a place in between,” The voice said matter-of-factly.
“In between what, exactly?” Raincloud asked.
“Everything. Worlds, dimensions, times, life and death, and everything else. If two things are separated then Limbo is between them. It doesn’t have any sort of form which is why anypony that is born in Limbo and escapes is capable of possessing ponies with form,” the voice said.
Raincloud sat down on the ground and ran a hoof through her mane. This is a lot to take in,” She said softly.
“I have to go, now,” The voice said. “Back into the depths of Octavia’s mind. I’m sorry, by the way.”
“Sorry for what?” Raincloud asked. “You saved us.”
“I’m sorry because you’re involved with me now. There isn’t any escape from that,” The voice said solemnly. “I’ll be back, eventually. Enjoy the time you’ve got while you’ve got it.”
Vinyl collapsed suddenly and the aura left her. Raincloud stayed where she was, sitting in the rain as a strange peace settled over her.
* * *
One Week Later
Vinyl walked into the foyer of what used to be Erik Equineson’s house. She joined Luna, Celestia, Raincloud, and Octavia at a table that had been set up. “Where do we start?”
“I think we start by decided the fate of the filly that killed thousands of innocent ponies,” Celestia said flatly.
“I’ve already told you that it wasn’t her,” Raincloud stared right into the princess’ eyes.
“Do you honestly expect me to believe that she was possessed by an alicorn from an alternate dimension when even you admit that whatever told you doesn’t exist?” Celestia stared back.
“I was just quoting whatever it was. It clearly spoke to me and it was clearly there so I don’t know what it meant. Look, is it really outside the realm of possibility that my story is true?”
“No, it isn’t,” Luna answered for her sister. “I know I was in and out of consciousness after Octavia fell into me but something strange happened in that tower, sister.”
“We did tests on the filly—“ Celestia started speaking but was interrupted by Raincloud.
“Her name is Elian, that much I’m pretty sure of.”
“Well I’m glad you’re ‘pretty sure’,” Celestia retorted. “We did test’s on Elian and she showed signs of Antisocial Personality Disorder. She’s a danger to our society.”
“I think a recent possession by something from another dimension could probably skew the test results a bit,” Vinyl cut in. “If you’re so adamant against her joining society why don’t we just take a vote?”
Celestia shrugged. “Why not? Those in favor of keeping her at a mental hospital in Canterlot and continuing study on her, raise your hoof. Celestia was the only one to do so.
“Those in favor of letting the poor filly rejoin society,” Octavia was already smiling slightly. Celestia relented before the votes were even cast.
“What do we do with her, then? Put her in a foster home?” Luna asked.
Vinyl shuddered. “I don’t think so. I’ve seen enough crime shows to be adamantly against that idea.”
“Well what do we do then, Vinyl?” Raincloud asked, reaching to take a drink of water from her glass.
Vinyl thought a moment and then smiled. “Octy and I could take her!” She said excitedly and turned to Octavia. “We could, right? We have plenty of room at our house.”
“I don’t see a problem with that,” Octavia said.
“I do,” Celestia said. “Which one of you two would take custody of her?”
“What do you mean?” Vinyl asked.
“Joint custody isn’t allowed in an adoption under Equestrian law, as you two aren’t married,” Luna explained.
Octavia and Vinyl looked at each other a moment. “That’s just a coincidence, right?” Octavia asked.
“You know as well as I do that neither of us believes in coincidence,”
Vinyl responded. She turned back to Luna. “We were gonna wait to tell anypony, but I proposed yesterday.”
Raincloud did a spit-take. “What the hell? Isn’t that moving a bit fast, Vinyl?”
“We’ve been dating since high school,” Octavia said.
“No offense, Octavia, but you were under the influence of a group of psychopaths for all of that but the last six months,” Raincloud responded.
“And I’ve loved her every moment, whether she’s been crazy or not,” Vinyl put a hoof around Octavia.
“Alright, as soon as you get all of the paper work in order we’ll sign Elian over to you,” Luna said, stopping Raincloud from speaking her mind any further. “If there’s anything we need to go over with you three we’ll contact you.”
Vinyl and Octavia gave looks of appreciation to the princess and took their leave. Raincloud followed soon after. The two princesses stayed to talk for many more hours.
* * *
There were very few who weren’t happy about the wedding of Octavia and Vinyl Scratch. There was no media present, but word traveled that it was beautiful in its simplicity. The few who were against the marriage of the two mares were drowned out by the overwhelming joy for Octavia, whose life had appeared so tragic not even a year before.
There was more joy when the public learned of their adoption of a young pegasus. A few questioned if an earth pony and a unicorn could provide for a pegasus, but they never would truly know. The family remained private in their home north of Ponyville. Octavia continued to perform at solo concerts and Vinyl at clubs. There were very few who didn’t know who they were.
There was gossip, talk of secret affairs and divorce, neither of which could ever happen, but for all the ponies of Equestria thought they knew, they had almost no knowledge of Octavia or Vinyl Scratch. They never knew what pain they had suffered or the sacrifices they had made. It was best that way.
* * *
Octavia and Vinyl’s Home
The Night after Their Wedding
Octavia walked slowly in the moonlight toward the room of the pegasus she could new call her daughter. As she drew nearer she heard crying. After a moment of hesitation she rushed forward and opened the door into the room. “Elian, are you alright?” Octavia asked.
The filly was lying in her bed with a hoof over her eyes. She moved the hoof away slowly. “That isn’t my name,” she said softly.
Octavia walked over to the edge of the bed. “What do you mean, darling?” She wiped a tear from her daughter’s cheek.
“It doesn’t feel right,” she replied. The filly took in a deep breath. “I can remember, from long ago. I’m not even sure if its real, but I can feel it. I remember hearing a story when I was younger, I can recall it word for word, but I couldn’t until just now.”
“What was the story?” Octavia climbed into the bed and sat with her daughter in the moonlight.
“There was once a village on the plains, far south of Canterlot," the filly began. Her voice was distant, and it almost didn't even seem to be hers. "There were very few who lived there, and only one foal. No matter what the villagers tried, the foal was never happy. As she grew, she became more conscious of her undying sadness but never shed a tear. One day a storm came along, and the village burned from lightning. Everypony died except for the filly, who lived in the last remaining house, upon a hillside. What remained of the village was washed away by torrents of rain, into the seas.
“There she lived, for days, in sadness. Weeks later, an old man came to visit her. He told her the fate of the parents who had left her at the village. They too, had been washed away into the seas as they came to reclaim her as their own. Sadness consumed her and she prepared to die of her own volition, but the skies had another idea. The storms came again, and the fires took her and her home as they had her village. She joined the skies and took upon herself the sadness of everypony that would ever live, so that they could be happy, and when it rained, the skies wept for her, the filly Skylla.”
The two waited in silence for words to come. “I don’t know if it’s important,” the filly said. “I just remembered it all of a sudden and it made me emotional.”
“Of course it’s important,” Octavia responded. “Everything is important. Some even say that we’re entirely the sum of our memories and our experiences. What do you think it means?”
“What if I am that filly? You said that when I got angry, before you stopped me, it was raining and there was thunder and lightning.”
“If you are the filly from the story then know that you don’t have to be sad any longer,” Octavia reached forward and hugged her daughter. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
After a moment Octavia stood and closed the curtains. She left the room, closing the door behind her to allow her daughter to rest. The filly waited until the footsteps faded away and then walked to the window. She looked out on the landscape below her. “Maybe sadness is just my fate,” she mused. She returned to her bed and closed her eyes to sleep.
There was once a filly who took on the sadness of millions of ponies who had lived, so that they could rest in peace and the sadness of the billions yet to live, so that they could live in happiness and prosperity. The sky and the filly became forever intertwined in their fates, forever feeling the pain of all.
Then one day, fate was cheated. The filly looked for revenge, but was stopped short by the only thing in all the universes that could save her: love. So with the love of her family she lived on, ready to once again return to her role in history, when the time was right.