//------------------------------//
// HIBAA Special 3 
// Story: How I Became An Alicorn... 
// by ShadowBolt94 
//------------------------------//

(***AN: Here it is you eager little foals, my final present to you before this year ends. Spam the comments if you will, it helps me know there's actually people reading this.***)

HIBAA Special Chapter 3:
Moonlit Tango

Octavia was running, and she was running faster than she ever remembered running. She had long since abandoned the questions that had formed in her mind. Vinyl would never pull rank unless it was important. She burst into the ball room where a large crowd was still out on the balcony watching in mumbled panic as the moon began to rise. She shoved her way to the front where Fancy Pants was talking with a very worried looking Fleur and Grace. 
“Felix! We have a huge problem!” Octavia panted grabbing the attention of the older man who quickly rushed to her. 
“I can see that quite clearly my dear, did Vinyl send you? Where is she?” he asked instantly concerned about his nieces absence. 
“She sent me ahead while she sweeps the estate for the stragglers. She issued the order for the house to be put on full lock down, she even sent for a full squadron of royal guards to come here from the castle!” Octavia exclaimed still frantic. 
“WHY, Octavia, did she say WHY?!” Fancy Pants asked his eyes narrowed and now an icy shade of blue. 
“N-not directly. All she told me to tell you was that the Phoenix has burned out and that the Nightingale is rising.” Octavia replied relaying the message. On her shoulder she felt his left hand vibrate and they both looked to see the ring glowing. Behind him Fleur’s was doing the same thing. 
“D-dear… what’s happening?” His wife asked her eyes darting from the ring on her finger to her husband. Said man was staring at the ring on his finger in horror before he quickly started belting out orders. 
“EVERYONE INSIDE NOW!” He roared, and when Fancy Pants raised his voice, people listened. Every human being was inside the ball room within seconds with only minor pushes and shoves in the mix. When everyone was in he slammed the doors shut and around the room the windows were all blacked out by heavy metal  sheets until the room was pitch black and then was brightly lit up by the electric lighting in the house. Fancy and Fleur now stood on the top balcony that over looked the ballroom. Fancy addressed his guests with the same authoritative voice that Vinyl had before him. “Everyone, your attention please. I have troubling news that I must share if we are going to get through what is about to happen. First I must share with you an old story that many have thought to be a myth. Who here knows the tale of the maiden in the moon?” Everyone present, minus a very select few, raised their hands. “Okay, now who here remembers the full story and not the fairy tale that they read to you before bed time?” He continued. All the hands fell. “That’s what I feared. Alright, listen closely because I’m not repeating this.” 
He went on to tell them the true tale of the maiden, about the plague that had captured the mind of the people while they were subject to the eternal night. And lastly how only Princess Celestia had been able to free the people of the curse using the sacred relics. He then stated how he believed the correlation of events transpired, about the Nightmare’s return to earth being the source of the moon’s odd behavior. 
“Well if she’s back then the Princess can just blast her away again right?” Asked one of the guests from in the crowd. There were murmurs of agreement after his statement. 
“It’s not that simple. After she used them the relics vanished remember? And when they all returned our fair Luna would be freed from her prison. Which we all know happened fourteen years ago today.” He continued. “But, the problem with that was, that even when the Princess was returned no one has ever discovered the whereabouts of the Elements. They’re still missing, and worse yet there is an even graver turn of events that I wished I would never see…” he added looking once more at the ring on his finger. He held it up to see. “This ring was made by my ancestor and imbedded with the power and likeness of the sun itself, and it hold a special connection to our fair Princess Celestia just as my wife’s ring hold a special connection to Princess Luna and embodies the night’s beauty and grace. As such both have small connections with each. And… ten minutes ago when I stood on that balcony I felt something change, something missing. It pains me to say it more than you all will ever know but it is my assumption that this is because Princess Celestia of Equestria is no longer with us.”
There were loud gasps and panic began to spread like wild fire. Fancy Pants, try as he might couldn’t control the crowd now that they were in full frenzy mode. Lucky for him though they were all startled silent as the doors to the ball room slammed open and revealed Vinyl, or rather Victoria, standing with a crowd of people pouring in behind her looking just as hysteric as the crowd had formerly been. Victoria’s voice rang loud and clear over the hushed whispers of everyone present. 
“All of you shut your traps and LISTEN.” She ordered her voice quickly making jaws clamp shut, injuring a few tongues in the process. “What’s happening right now is bad, yes. But it’s going to get worse if we start panicking. The entire reason our ancestor’s got corrupted in the first place was because they let fear and panic take them over. And if I have anything to say about it history will NOT be repeating itself tonight. So all of you shut up and listen if you don’t want to be turned into the monster’s the people outside these doors are more than likely converting to as we speak.” Not a word was spoken, no one could break her intense gaze that had them all frozen. “Pantaleon’s have had a long standing tradition of silently watching and guarding this city. We know everything about it, it’s twist turns, it’s pros and cons, and every little dirty secret it has.” A few of the gathered looked nervous at this but she didn’t stop. “But we have our share of secrets too. One of the big one’s is that we have a never ending sense of paranoia over catastrophic events like this. As such we’ve made precautions in case of such emergencies, the plan against Nightmare’s return is what one would call a waiting game.”
“We’re going to sit here like ducks?!” Cried one of the more vocal members of the crowd called. 
Victoria sighed and held up her hand. “Let me amend that statement, that was the ORIGINAL plan. But my Grandfather amended it eighty years ago when he first took the head of the house.” She added earning a nod from her uncle behind her. “And from what I felt while I was out there I think we’re going to have to implement this plan really fast. So, if you’ll all follow us we’re going to bring you to the armory.” She stated as she reached behind a tapestry and pressed something that made the huge dance floor in the center of the beautiful room shift and turn into a large set of spiraling stairs with lights on each of the wide steps. 
“Tori, I hate to interrupt but did you just say armory?” Grace asked as she and everyone else nervously followed the Pantaleon’s to the new stairs. 
“Yup, Nightmare’s taint spreads like wild fire once fear takes over someone. My ancestor, Felix the third, was actually alive during the initial break out and wrote entire books on how it corrupted his friends and neighbors. His special talent also happened to be in weapon making, and his wife was a very advanced magical analyst. Together they honed in on Nightmare’s unique magical influence and designed a line of weapons that could dismiss her influence on the human body without physically injuring the corrupted person in question. They mass produced those weapons and added armor that would negate the effects for as long as you wore it.” Victoria explained as she lead the group down into a huge room piled high with what looked like simple leather armor and a multitude of staffs that were stacked in every available space. 
Fancy stood on top of one of the benches. “Everyone grab a set of leather and put it on. After you’re equipped line up and get a staff, a baton, or if you fancy archery we have bows and blunt tipped arrows too. The name of the game is to hit as many of the corrupted citizens as possible without losing your armor. If you lose your armor, do NOT let go of you weapon or it will be you we’re hitting next. When you cure someone we will be sending around cars with more armor and weapons in them. Suit them up and they’ll be fighting along side you.” He explained as the crowd began examining the armor. 
“Wait, this is happening too fast. You want us to soil ourselves by actually fighting our city’s populace while wearing these tacky suits and waving those poles around like cavemen?” asked one of the nobles. 
“Would you rather we throw you out there and the lock ourselves away while the entire city goes into chaos?” Victoria asked frowning at the man. He quickly clamped his mouth shut and shook his head. “Didn’t think so. Anyone else have any complaints or are you ready to stop sitting in here sucking on your thumbs waiting for the princess to come and save you? Are you ready to go out there and take this city back from the Nightmare and save yourselves from being corrupted?!” She asked to the crowd before her. There was a loud call of agreement and cheers began to echo through the huge room. “Good, now suit up and pick your weapons so you can practice with them. We march out of here in half an hour, no excuses.” There was a collective grunt of confirmation and she jumped back down on ground level grabbing a leather suit that was her size and slipping it on over her clothes.   
She heard a step behind her and turned to see Octavia standing there her eyes an unreadable haze of emotion, the only identifiable one portrayed by her face was confusion. “Tori I… I don’t know quite what’s going on. This is happening faster than I can take it in.” she explained a hand coming to her forehead as she tried to rub her aching brain. “You… you’re almost completely different every time I talk to you. Where did this diplomatic, calm and tactical side of you even come from?” she asked. Her blue haired friend sighed and then gave her a reassuring smile. 
“It comes with the noble package. Uncle taught me how to sway people’s minds with words even though I usually like moving their hearts with music. I’ve never had to use those skills before now but I’ve never been more grateful for them. And, it’s hard to put into words but, I think that even though I hate most of the society in this city I still have a natural instinct to protect it. Call it family pride but when the city your family built out of literally nothing but a mountain is put under threat it tends to get personal for us. And no matter how much I hate their snobby attitudes, the people that are out there right now being tainted are my neighbors and the people Felix always wanted to protect. If that means I have to whack them a few times with these sticks then I’m all up for it. Bring on the tough love.” She explained in the best way she could. Octavia’s eyes seemed to come back to focus and she smiled at her. 
“You know, even as Victoria you’re still my crazy roommate at heart, alright, give me two batons, I’m going to go… what’s the phrase Vinyl uses when she plays those games with Luna? ‘Open up a can of whoop ass’ on these people, if it means helping them of course. I’m nothing if not devoted to helping.” She declared with a knowing grin on her face. Behind the outer Victoria inner Vinyl was fist pumping. 
“Excellent, Jaxon get Miss Philharmonica suited and armed. I’m going to get my records ready.” Victoria ordered as she brought her goggles back up to her eyes signaling the transition back into Vinyl. 
“Of course Vinyl.” The butler responded stepping towards Octavia already dressed in his own armor and carrying a staff across his back. No longer did he look like a feeble old servant, his over coat removed it was quite obvious to see that the white haired man retained an impressive muscle build. Actually, he looked better built then most of the wrestling team. His stature and hardened face made him look like a hard faced solider. 
“Jaxon…? Did that magic do something weird to you too?” Octavia asked not believing that the butler could look so… well manly. 
“No, in my youth I was a recruit in the royal guard. When I was dismissed from service Master Felix’s father hired me as a servant under him, at the time the young master was little more than an infant. I have served dutifully under this family for many years and kept up my strict exercise routine. I even trained all the servants in this house as well.” He explained motioning behind him at a group of maids who were still in their uniforms that were equipped with staffs and were currently sparring with each other exchanging blows that were almost too fast to see. Beside them there was the cooks who all wielded frying pans and were knocking around training dummies with wind like blows that would have for sure knocked a human unconscious on the spot. Then there was the other butlers who were using bows and the blunt tipped arrows to snipe targets on the other end of the room, each one hit dead in its center. 
Octavia’s jaw went slack. “I-is everyone one in this house an elite fighting machine?!” 
Jaxon laughed as he started to equip a set of armor to her and tighten the thick and hard, yet somehow very moveable, leather suit on her torso and legs. Her arms she did herself. “Heavens no Octavia. Fighting is only half the battle, the other half is support. Which is why I trained the gardeners how to drive military issue Hum-V’s and Miss Vinyl taught the legal staff how to operate a command center.” He explained as two large garage doors opened from the side walls and huge armored trucks rolled out of them and men and women hopped out loading them with armor and weapons, while from the ceiling a cylindrical shaped room descended from the tall ceiling until it hung about fifteen feet from it reveling a small group of people working on a huge control board that took up almost all of the room behind a glass wall. No one but the guests and Octavia seemed to bat an eyelash at the scene unfolding before them. 
“Y-you’re all completely prepared for an all-out war aren’t you?!” Octavia exclaimed as Jaxon finished equipping her. 
“Why, yes. The late master was a military man himself, he wanted to be sure that we were prepared for any situation. Which is why both of his children and both Lady Victoria and Sir Victor as well were trained in the basics of hand-hand combat. And of course standard weapon training. Not that Lady Victoria needed it.” He laughed grinning a little as he handed Octavia two batons which she holstered at her sides . 
“Wait, why does Vinyl not need the training? She’s not violent I understand, but even my own mother had me enrolled in self-defense classes from a young age. How else would she defend herself?” She asked not understanding until something clicked in her mind. “Is it because she’s a unicorn?” 
Jaxon nodded. “Along those lines yes, but it’s more centered around her special talent. You see, while music is her primary art Vinyl has another talent which I’m sure you’ve already seen having lived with her.” He mused as his grey eyes caught sight of something behind Octavia. 
“I’m not quite sure what you- Oh dear sweet Celestia what is that monstrosity on her back?!” she asked as she turned around and saw Vinyl coming back this time well equipped with her own weapon of choice, which to Octavia just looked like two amplifiers angled on rods that came out of a jet pack that kept her airborne while there was an electric blue keytar in her hands. She lowered to the ground and touched down grinning her usual grin. 
“Hey Tav’s, like the gear? Woona and Pink’s helped me make it for our end of the year project! And I added my own touch for the fight! Look, now the sound waves merge with the spell that breaks the curse!” she explained before flipping a small switch on the side of her back-strapped amp and then letting loose a rather impressive belt of notes that instead of her normal light blue aura had a more purple tint mixed into the visible notes that emerged from the amp. 
“Th-that’s amazing Vinyl! How did you merge the spell and the technology?” Octavia asked not quite understanding how even her mechanical oriented friend could pull such a feat of magical engineering off. 
Vinyl laughed and smirked at Octavia a little. “Tavi, I brought about the creation of a sentient magical machine, compared to that mixing my music spell with Ol’ Felix the III’s anti-Nightmare spell was a synch.” She laughed before playing another short little rift to amplify her point. “Oh those snobby ass hole’s aren’t going to know what hit them.” She snickered as she switched off the amp on her back. The two spotlight shaped amp’s that protruded from the top retracted into it and Vinyl let the keytar rest at her side. She pointed at the baton’s on Octavia’s hips. “Going with a dual baton combo huh? You sure you can handle that?” she asked her dark haired friend. 
That seemed to snap Octavia out of her shock as she crossed her arms and huffed. “I can ‘handle them’ just fine thank you. Despite what you may believe I’m NOT some kind of pretty princess type Vinyl. I can take care of myself.” She declared sticking her nose a little higher in the air. 
“You say as you pretty much mimic those pretty princess types perfectly. Hey, that was a lot of P’s in one sentence right? Sounded kinda cool.” Vinyl mused getting distracted from the topic. Octavia rolled her eyes when she heard a siren go off and red warning lights bathed the room. Vinyl’s joking nature died there and her face turned into a hard frown as she shifted her shoulders and the jet pack started back up. Quickly she zoomed to the command center and hovered in front of it. “Situation report Quill?” she asked a white haired woman who had lighter brown streaks running through her air. She was currently viewing the monitors. 
“It’s not from us Tori! It’s coming in from another part of the city!” The woman responded as she tried to get a connection through. 
“That’s impossible, the only place in the city that would have contact with us is-“
“The palace! Vinyl they’re taking the palace!” Fancy shouted from where he and Fleur stood in the center of the control hub. Vinyl’s eyes widened and quickly she flew over the crowd who had just finished suiting up. 
“We need all of you in the trucks now! If you can fly take to the skies, if you can teleport meet us at the castle, or if you just want to run do it but stay close to the trucks! If Canterlot castle falls before we can get the guard’s stationed there the equipment they need to fight back, then we’ll be overwhelmed by their numbers! MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!!” She ordered and people listened quickly jumping into the assembled vehicles, when they were full they rolled out the two huge garage doors that lead out into the cool night air, many of the pegasus guests flew low to the ground as fast as they could in the direction of the palace. Octavia was about to jump in one of the trucks when she felt a hand hold her back. 
She turned back to see her mother, Fancy, Fleur, Harmony, Jaxon, her mother Grace, and Vinyl all standing behind her and in front of the Monster, which had been modified with a mattering ram grill on the front of it and what looked like a machine gun pit on the top. Her mother had a crazed smile on her face. 
“You ride with us sweetie.” 
“M-mom, what did you DO?!” Octavia asked her eyes never leaving the tanked out vehicle. 
“I just pressed a button dear, you KNOW I have an engineering degree and well, don’t tell your father but I made these installments a while back. Call me a bit of a fanatic but that zombie apocalypse thing that’s been going around has made me a little… concerned. So I made some minor adjustments to the Monster… and built a shelter in the basement. Again, don’t tell Dad.” 
Vinyl slowly leaned towards Octavia’s ear to whisper. “Can we trade mom’s…?” A prompt smack on the back of her head made her whine as her goggles went askew. “Owww, what the- Mom?!” Vinyl asked in shock as she looked at her mother for the first time. Her normally gorgeously styled white hair that flowed like milk down her back was tucked up tightly in a bun under a military issue cap and she wore a modified version of the armor that looked more like a spy suit with how black it was, across her back was a long metal staff, across her chest in an X shape were ammo belts for the gun on top of the Monster, and along her hips was an equipment belt that had a few grenades (flash of course, we’re not trying to kill people here), a set of nun chucks, and a holstered pistol. On her calf a boot knife stuck out of her black combat boot and her make up had all been washed away and replaced with two black streaks under her eyes. 
“Yes child, and close your mouth, you’ll let bugs in like that. Now get in the car loser’s we’re going ass kicking. And we have to pick up your father on the way, is that alright Grace?” she asked her companion as the adults all walked towards the vehicle. It should be noted that both Fancy and Fleur now wore similar outfits to Harmony’s. 
“Of course, it’s along the way anyways. Ohhh, this is just like ’82 all over again! I wish the others were here! Sunny’d be ecstatic to be out here with us!” Grace giggled. Fleur joined her nodding her agreement. The two teenagers however hung back Octavia waving a hand in front of her stunned friend’s eyes. 
“Vinyl…? Tori? Victoria…?” she asked poking her stunned friend in the shoulder to try and rouse her again. A call from the vehicle however did it for her. 
“VICTORIA HARMONIA SCRATCH-PANTALEON GET YOUR TAIL IN THIS CAR! THOSE CREEPS AREN’T GOING TO CURE THEMSELVES!” came the harpy like screech of Vinyl’s mother. Instantly the blue haired girl was bolting for the truck and Octavia was close on her heels not wanting to tempt fate herself. 
The drive to the castle wasn’t that long but the drive to Vinyl’s house was even shorter. The Monster came to a stop outside a house that had looked completely normal, until they drove past the line of hedges that hid the first level from view. Banging on the front door, climbing up the walls, and mobbing the entire perimeter were hundreds of people who looked like they were cloaked in black smoke snarling like animals and trying to claw at the house to gain entry. Fancy removed his monocle and breathed on it polishing it for a second before placing it back on his eye and blinking. 
“My they’re just as hideous as the journal’s described. Harmony, up there on the roof, is that Bar up there with a B-B gun?” he asked pointing at the roof where a large white figure could be seen firing off a B-B gun that looked to be outfitted to function like a machine gun. It was probably the only reason they hadn’t broken down the doors yet. 
“So it is.” Harmony mused as she crawled out the back window and on top of the truck where the gun station was and sat in the chair that was attached to it. Vinyl and Octavia curiously stuck their heads out the window to watch Grace and Fleur were sitting on their open windows resting their chins on the roof smiling bemusedly while the men inside made pleasant conversation while the woman above them unleashed a hailstorm of enchanted rubber bullets on the mob that was attacking her home and husband. “Eat my painful cure you vile wretched demons!!!” She shouted over the loud firing. Behind them a supply truck was rolling up in anticipation of the new additions to their cause. With the gun Harmony managed to mow down the entire mob in less than two minutes. When it was over the gun was still smoking and smelled faintly of burning rubber. Behind her a stray had broken away from the back and was trying to get in a sneak attack. Vinyl quickly tried to warn her mother but found it unnecessary when her mother reached behind her and flipped the would be assailant over the front of the gun and then whipped the staff off her back and extended it to smash right into the corrupted man’s chest sending him flying off the truck. 
“Octy, I totally take what I said earlier back, keep your mom. Mine’s way cooler.” Vinyl sneered after she recovered from the shock. Harmony smiled back at her daughter. 
“Aww, that’s sweet of you Vicky. Now be a dear and go get daddy for me.” She ordered as she hopped down off the top of the truck. Vinyl stood up doing a little salute before grabbing her pack from the car and shouldering it back onto her back and taking off towards the roof. She came back shortly after holding her father by his hands and dropping him to land in front of his wife. Vinyl landed beside him panting. 
“Man Dad, lay off those protein shakes.” She complained her arms feeling like jelly. 
“Oh hardy har-har V. Hey honey, thanks for saving my can. I was running out of ammo up there.” He said kissing his wife’s forehead gently with gratitude. 
“Think nothing of it dear. Here, put on this. We’re going hunting.” Harmony replied. Barbell Scratch eyed the leather suit with a small frown. “It’s what’s keeping us from transforming into one of them. How you’re not corrupted yet I don’t know.” She explained forcing the chest piece over his head and lacing it up. 
“That’d be a thick skull and a will of survival hun. I heard those creeps banging down the door and when I looked out the window I remembered those old stories your dad used to tell us. So I went up and got Rift’s B-B gun because I recognized everyone. Look, there’s old man Jenkins’s!” he explained pointing out a balding old man that was squinting and trying to feel along the grass for his glasses that he was apparently missing. 
“Whoa, how the hell he make it out of his bed?” Vinyl asked lowering her goggles off her face and letting them rest around her neck. 
“Dunno, but the old bastard came down our chimney like Santa Clause without the presents and a lot uglier looking too.” Bar explained with an amused chuckle at his own joke which Vinyl mirrored while Harmony rolled her eyes. At least Octavia knew where Vinyl got her sense of humor and language. 
“Um, excuse me for interrupting but aren’t we supposed to be on our way to the castle to prevent Canterlot from falling into the Nightmare’s curse?” Octavia asked the family. Barbell looked down at her squinting a little. 
“V, who’s the Brit and why’s she look familiar?” 
“Huh? Oh that’s Tavi. Sorry, I mean Octavia Philharmonica. She’s the girl from band camp that I got in the accident with.” Vinyl explained. Both of her parents looked shocked at this. 
“Yes, yes, we can have a great big story sharing time later, but for now get in the car!” Grace called from her spot in the driver’s seat. 
“We’ll talk about this later, honey you ride on top and shoot any of those things you see along the way.” Harmony ordered slipping the belts of ammo around his arms since they were the same size as her torso. He gave her a thumbs up and climbed on the roof taking to the gun like a kid in a candy shop. 
“Your family’s insane.” Octavia commented as she and Vinyl got in the very back seat together. 
“Says the girl whose mom drives a war machine on a regular basis.” Vinyl countered. 
“You have an entire armory in your basement and all your servants and staff are trained like soldiers!” Octavia snapped back. 
Fleur laughed from the passenger seat. “She has a point Victoria dear, Ah!” She quickly whipped out a pistol and shot an oncoming pedestrian that was trying to charge the vehicle. “Ten points!” she shouted high-fiving her driving friend. 
Octavia and Vinyl both mirrored deadpanned stares. “Is it just me or are they having too much fun with this?” Vinyl asked aloud. In response all the adults in the car suck their bodies out the window, Grace just her arm, and fired off their pistols at a wave of corrupted that were trying to swarm them from the front while Bar mowed them down on the roof. When the coast was clear they hadn’t even slowed down once and were tallying results, Grace winning since she had taken out just as many as Harmony had and was driving during. 
“Yes, yes they are.” Octavia replied simply before a hand came smashing through the back window shattering it completely and it tried grabbing onto Vinyl only for Octavia to grab it instead and pull it into her waiting baton breaking the woman’s nose but the spell spreading across her body as it made contact. Her eyes slid over to meet Vinyl’s. “I thought you were more alert than that.” She commented a ghost of a smile crossing her face. Vinyl’s red eyes faded to a slight magenta as she smiled back at her friend. 
“Well, I am most of the time. But at least your uptight over-cautious attitude finally came in handy.” Vinyl snarked back a little grin on her face. Octavia huffed and flipped her hair back as she stuck her nose in the air a little. 
“I’ll have you know that I-“ 
“Ladies, if you would be so kind as to stop flirting and pay attention you’d notice that we’re about to get air bombed and now would be a perfectly wonderful time for your assistance.” Fancy hissed from the front seat as he pulled out a revolver from his hip and fired it out the window. Out the window the two girls could see the castle looming in the distance the large full moon hovering eerily behind it. Dark clouds lazily drifted across it blocking some of its light. But one of the clouds seemed to be moving very fast… and right towards them. 
“Oh great Faust above, EVERYONE GET DOWN!!!” Vinyl quickly ordered summoning a short range teleportation spell that put her outside the car. In an instant she had activated her pack as the angry horde of airborne corrupted honed in on the vehicle that was trying to speed away down the road. “Not on my watch you beasts. EAT MY SOUND WAVES YOU DARK PARASITES!!!!” She yelled in defiance as she cranked up the dial on her keytar and quickly let her fingers dance across they keys sending sonic waves of energy blasting at the black grouping. The corrupted pegisai were all halted as they were blasted by the sound and covered their ears hissing in pain as they scattered and their dark corruption began to fall away from their bodies like a snake shedding its skin. They dropped back down to the earth like flies once they were free of the curse. Fleur and Fancy acted in unison breaking each of their falls with their magic. 
For a moment it seemed that the group had been a fluke but a motion out of the corner of her eye made Vinyl veer a hard right in her flight pattern to narrowly avoid another group of corrupted fliers that had tried to take her out of their airspace. Vinyl shot another blast of sound at them but this group seemed to be much more organized than the previous one since they quickly avoided her attack and maneuvered to aim straight back at her much faster this time. She didn’t have time to think yet alone move. A large gale force wind however saved her in the nick of time, knocking all the wind dependent pegisai off their path and leaving the technology reliant DJ hovering where she was unharmed. Blue and yellow blurs shot past her and she whipped her head around to see them surrounding the corrupted and taking them out with speed that made her eyes hurt. But the show of dropping un-corrupted Canterlot citizens was proof that her saviors were curing them ant not just beating them senseless. A tap on her shoulder made her turn around. She was shocked to see a young woman with sunny yellow wings and fiery yellow and orange hair hovering behind her. She lifted a pair of flight goggles off her face and put her hand on her blue and yellow flight suit covered hip. 
“You’re Victoria right? FancyPants’ niece? Wicked job taking out that first group but as far as the skies are concerned from now on we’ll be taking over the show from here. The Wonderbolts are first and foremost a branch of the military after all.” The fiery haired woman announced with a slight grin. 
“Spitfire right?” Vinyl asked recognizing the captain with ease thanks to her prismatic haired friend’s obsession with the flight group… and having her mother as a coach. “I’m glad you could make it here to help us out. I thought you were supposed to be performing back in Ponyville for the festival.” Vinyl pointed out when she remembered Dash’s excitement over the scheduled appearance of her hero’s. 
“Well, when we were getting ready to go on we saw a pretty scary looking sight, there was a woman who called herself Nightmare Moon standing where the Princess was supposed to be. She started ranting about how the night will remain eternal and how we’d rue the day we passed her off as just an old legend. If I understood right she was the maiden in the moon that originally sealed away with Princess Luna, but I guess they were separated when she came back to earth and now she came back too and re-possessed her. Whatever the situation there was the Princess’s student, Twilight Sparkle, figured out some kind of plan to fix everything but she said we’d be needed here so she sent us to Canterlot and told me to give you this if I saw you.” She explained producing a letter from her flight suit’s pocket and handing it to the blue haired jet pack user. 
Vinyl blinked and lifted her goggles up as she ripped open the letter and read it, anything Twilight took the time to write out in a crisis like this had to have been important. 
‘Vinyl, I don’t have much time to write this so I’ll be short. I know your family has probably already acted on what I’m sure will be a very big crisis in the city. Celestia told me all about your grandfather’s paranoia and how if the city was left without her and the guard then it was you who I should turn to instead. Celestia is gone, I can’t sense her anywhere. Luna’s been possessed by the Nightmare and we know how to fix this. I found a book that warned me about this and told me how to destroy her for good. I’m taking the girls with me to help but the city and castle will fall long before we can fix this, so I need you to do something for me too-‘ 
Vinyl continued reading a smile growing on her face as she did so. She chuckled when it was finished and shoved the letter in her pocket. “Twilight you crazy mother fucker, I always knew she’d snap eventually. Alrighty then, time to tell FP the new plan. Spit’s, can I count on you and your team to keep my flight path clear?” Vinyl asked moving her eyes to lock with Spitfire’s fiery orbs. The pegasus was quick to go to attention and salute her. 
“Ma’am yes Ma’am!” 
“Good, now keep up, I built this thing to break more than just eardrums.” Vinyl laughed before she shot forward at a speed that impressed the young Wonderbolt’s captain. 
“Cute machine, she’ll need a lot more kick if she wants to start racing me though.” Spitfire commented before she whistled to her team and then sped off in the direction of the castle where Vinyl was heading with her team riding right behind her. 
***
Fancy looked up from the letter he had just read while chaos was erupting around them with dark tainted citizens coming at them from all directions only to be taken out by one of their allies before they could lay a single shadowy hand on them. “Victoria, we all know about Twilight Sparkle’s brilliance but this plan…” 
“I know, but trust me Uncle, she wouldn’t have asked us to do this if she didn’t think we could do it. Actually the hardest part in it is just getting into the castle. After that it’ll be a cinch.” 
“Victoria I don’t think you’re understanding what she’s asking of us! It can’t be done! There are reasons that we’ve never tried it before!” Harmony Step added as she unloaded one of her clips on an oncoming wave. “It’s suicide and you know it! I can’t sit by and let you-“ 
“Yes. You can, and you will. We don’t have another choice in the matter. Even with all of us fighting like this we’re getting over whelmed. And we’re not even at the castle yet! I know you can feel it mom, that entire place is crawling with them. Our numbers while growing more and more by the minute are untrained and they won’t last if we try and take it head on. We need something sneakier that will blow them all out of the water at once! And this plan does that!” she yelled back meeting her mother’s firm stare with one just as hardened. Her mother looked ready to open her mouth and protest again but she was interrupted by a large hand covering her mouth and she looked behind her to see her husband shaking his head. 
“Don’t hun. Vicky’s right. I taught that little Sparkle nerd, I know she’s more brilliant and cunning than any of us teachers ever were. Her magic’s nothing to laugh about either, if she says Vick can do it then she can do it.” Barbell assured his wife before he whipped around punching a corrupted that had been about to jump him with the enchanted gloves he wore. Harmony sighed and took another step closer to her daughter. 
“Alright… I still don’t like this. But I’ll go with it for now. But on one condition.” She added making Vinyl stare at her oddly. “You have to take Octavia with you.” 
“WHAT?!” Vinyl screeched. “Mom I can’t do that! Tavi would get slaughtered like a pig in there without any kind of magic to protect her! That’s WHY Twilight asked just ME to do this!” Vinyl countered. In response Harmony simply took her daughter’s head and turned it 180 degrees to view Octavia surrounded on all sides by corrupted, cowering behind her were a few small children that were shaking like leaves in the cold wind. The corrupted jumped at her and in the blink of an eye Vinyl saw THIS unfold before her. She slowly lowered her goggles off her face her stunned face the only thing she needed to show that she was impressed by what she saw. Medic’s came by and carried the children off to safety and Octavia calmly flipped her hair tossing the staff she had used to the side since she had broken it in half by accident. “Okay, she can come.” Vinyl finally said as the earthbound approached them. 
“Who can come where?” she asked. 
“You, with me. We’re going into the castle for this.” Vinyl explained handing Octavia the letter. Octavia scanned the letter her eyes slowly widening. 
“Vinyl, this is-“
“Crazy, I know. But Twilight said that it’ll work and if the magic student that regularly practices on par with the Princess herself says so then I’m going for it. But Mom’ll only let me go if I take you with me.” 
“Me? Why me?” the dark haired girl asked the snow haired mother. 
“Because you’re Grace’s daughter and a dear friend of my Victoria, I wouldn’t trust anyone else with her safety.” Harmony replied with a soft smile. 
“Okay, for starters Mom, you know I can take care of myself, Jax made sure of that. Second, despite that I totally think bringing you with me Tavi would be awesome. You totally kicked ASS back there! How many guys were there? Like 15?!” 
“19 Actually, but Vinyl you’re getting off point here. This… plan that Twilight’s laid out. It’s obvious that it’s meant for a unicorn. And as you can see,” she declared lifting up the well styled bangs that covered her forehead and part of her left eye. “I don’t possess a crest like you do.” 
“Tavi, chillax. Every race has their own magic, you know that. Ours is the most obvious and most easily manipulated but you still have magic. And I’ll be shielding and cloaking you with my own magic as best I can anyways. I’ll only need your help if we somehow get spotted.” 
“Welllllll… I don’t know. Let me ask my mother. Mooooooom~!” Octavia called into the night sky which had grown covered with deep dark clouds that rumbled with the fighting storm that was trapped within them. There was a small gleam from inside one of them before it erupted and burst forth a large literal ball of corrupted citizens falling from it like a meteor before crash landing on the ground and exploding outwards their hazy shadowy skin dissipating in the explosion of light. In the center of the crater stood Grace Philharmonica who calmly dusted some soot off her shoulder with her grey wing and then fluttered over to stand next to her daughter. 
“Yes dear?”
“Dude… what is your family MADE of?!” Vinyl whispered to her friend who elbowed her in the ribs before addressing her mother and telling her about the plan. 
“Sure, I’m okay with it. As long as you promise to stay safe. Both of you. If something happens and you need our help in there shoot a flare out a window. If there isn’t a window, make one.” Grace advised with a small wink. “Oh, and Vinyl?” she asked making the girl snap out of her trance. Grace grabbed her by her shirt and put the pistol she had in her hand right under her chin still smiling cheerfully. “If my baby girl comes back with anything more than a scratch you’re getting scratched, got that Scratch?”   
Vinyl nodded quickly before she realized that dug the barrel of the gun into her chin and swallowed before speaking. “Of course ma’am.” 
Grace giggled and then moved the gun to fire behind Vinyl knocking one of the enchanted plastic bullets into the chest of the corrupted magic user that had been using a cloaking spell to sneak up on them. Her face hardened at that. “The corruption is starting to make them smarter than mindless slaves. You two need to hurry. We’re really not going to last long if we’re out numbered and outmatched.” She stated simply as she let loose a hail storm of firing bullets. Both teenagers nodded and turned to see Fleur standing behind them holding different outfits which quickly became cloaked in her magic and the appeared on both girls their old armor and clothes now in her magic hold instead. She handed Octavia and Vinyl a pistol. 
“More appropriate armor for stealth, and pistols with an enchantment on them of unlimited ammo, and if you flip those switches on the sides it’ll send out a flare bullet instead. Good luck to you both.” She stated giving them both a small hug. Vinyl smiled at her aunt before her attention was caught by her uncle. 
“Vinyl! Catch!” he called before tossing something at her. Vinyl’s reflexes were nothing short of cat like and she caught the tiny satchel in her hand an inch away from her face. Upon touching the thing her eyes widened and she quickly opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Fleur. 
“No time my dear, Grace! We need a distraction, and make it loud!” She called over her shoulder. Grace smirked over her shoulder at her friend. 
“One bonified Big Bitch Boom coming up! Harmony, throw a couple of those flash grenades to hold them off for a moment!” she called as she spread her wings and took to the skies. The white haired woman tossed her tied hair over her shoulder as she grabbed two grenades off her belt and flipped the pins out before tossing the explosives into the oncoming mob. There was a bright light and then the roar of thunder followed it seconds later. Octavia and Vinyl looked up to see the clouds were all starting to darken and the sound grew louder and more intense by the second until the very ground itself was starting to vibrate with the pulses of sound. The clouds then began to swirl and form into a giant… volleyball? Grace hovered underneath it sweating bullets as she was concentrating all of her pegasus magic into the swirling ball of storm. She reached upward and then slammed her hand down like she was spiking a ball to the ground below. The ball went straight for the castle where all the corrupted were congregated. When it hit it exploded outwards and knowing what was coming Vinyl acted quickly shrouding herself and everyone around her in a sound proof bubble. 
They could see the wave ripple against the shield and many of the corrupted flew backwards being rendered instantly unconscious by the blast of pure thunder. When it passed over them Vinyl lowered her shield and turned to Octavia. “Tavi, don’t take this the wrong way, but your mom just got hotter than Celestia’s sun to me.” 
Octavia rolled her eyes and grabbed the magic user by her ear dragging her towards the castle. “Come on lover girl, they aren’t going to stay stunned for long. Put up that cloaking spell.” She ordered as she dragged Vinyl towards the castle at top speed. Their bodies shimmered for a second before Vinyl forced them to a halting stop and grabbed Octavia by her arm and dragged her in a different direction. “Vinyl where are you-?!” 
“Only the one’s on the outside are stunned. The castle is enchanted to block any form of attack so everyone inside it that’s been turned just got rattled around and now they’re probably pissed off. Running through the front door even with my cloaking spell would get us attacked instantly. Besides, Twilight thought of this already.” She explained holding up a small key that had been in the envelope. Its handle was shaped in the form of Celestia’s cutiemark and was made out of a beautiful golden bronzed metal. “Enchanted key, it’ll get us into any door in the palace. Celestia gave it to Twilight years ago apparently, and I’ve studied every detailed blueprint, map, and diagram of this palace so I know all the hidden entrances. There should be one right about… here.” Vinyl declared coming to a halt after they’d run along the side of the castle where the white marble was completely smooth gleaming in the dull glow of the full moon. 
“Vinyl… there’s nothing here. And it’s solid marble, not an illusion like at your Uncle’s.” Octavia explained running her hand along the stone proving it was all solid. When she did so though her hand sunk in a little revealing there to be a perfectly concealed hidden button that was again shaped like Celestia’s cutiemark. Part of the marble wall slid down revealing a passage way. 
“Nice going Octy, you found the switch before I did!” Vinyl beamed slapping Octavia on the shoulder and laughing before running down into the passage. “Come on! It closes after ten seconds!” she called back. Octavia quickly slid in just as it began to shut and let out a breath of relief. 
“You couldn’t have said something before?!” she yelled down as she was chasing after her friend. 
“Didn’t think I needed to.” Vinyl replied, though Octavia could no longer see her because the passage was pitch black. “Damn, really dark in here. Hang on, I think I remember the night-vision spell they taught me last year.” There was a small glow of blue magic before Octavia’s vision became back to her, albeit with a green tint to everything but she could see. But oh how she suddenly wished she couldn’t. Right in front of them coming down the hallway was a group of corrupted with the scariest looking half-rotted membrane covered bat wings coming from their backs. Glowing slitted eyes that were all the same teal color were piercing the night just like theirs were. Octavia almost screamed but a hand came across her mouth and pulled her into a small rounded cut out in the wall of the hall way a body pressing up against hers. She looked up to see Vinyl’s face close to her own with a finger to her lips making a ‘Shh’ motion. Octavia didn’t even breathe as the terrifying beings passed by them marching in filled lines like soldiers off to war. When they were gone and their footsteps could no longer be heard Vinyl separated herself from their embrace and spoke but in a barely audible whisper. 
“Luna’s night guards, they’re made up entirely of Vespertialian’s.” Octavia gave her an odd stare and Vinyl sighed. “Luna’s blessed, the bat-people. They have supersonic hearing and can see in the night like we see in broad daylight. They were probably some of the first to turn since they’re all heavily influenced by the night, which means their magic has been amplified beyond just that. If I hadn’t hidden us they would have seen through the illusion and they definitely would have heard you over the silencing spell. We need to be very cautious if there’s any more of them around.” Vinyl explained in a hushed whisper. For once Octavia didn’t question her friend’s intimate knowledge, she instead was very grateful for it in their situation. 
“Alright, I’ll keep my senses up for them.” Octavia whispered giving a slight nod as she ran her hand over the baton that was strapped to her right hip. “Where do we go next?” 
“There’s a secret chamber underneath the throne room, we need to get there. If I’m not still high off that adrenaline rush and therefore out of my mind, we should go down this hall here. There’s a bookcase at the end of it that’ll take us right to it.” Vinyl explained pointing at a hall way that branched off for the one they were currently walking in. 
“A secret passage within a secret passage? Who in Faust’s name built this place?!” Octavia hissed under her breath. 
“Felix, now stop complaining and keep your ears sharp, we don’t want any more close calls.” Vinyl replied back never looking back at her companion. They got near the end of the hall and they could see the bookcase now but very suddenly the hairs on the back of Octavia’s neck stood on end as she felt very minute vibrations coming from behind it. Vinyl was already reaching out to hit the hidden switch when she felt a whip surround her hand and then yank it. She was pulled towards Octavia who held the other end of the whip and quickly pulled Vinyl into one of the many empty rooms that lined the hallway. Vinyl for her part didn’t fight it or even make a sound when the bookcase swung open and the large still armored forms of a night patrol that had been possessed rushed into the hall electrically charged spears and swords drawn their glowing teal eyes darting every which way and their pointed ears seeming to flicker a little as they listened closely. 
With Vinyl’s spell in effect it kept the only sound they were making, their rapidly beating heartbeats, from being heard by the shadowy bat winged figures. They sheathed their weapons and walked back into the bookcase one staying behind to guard it. Vinyl grit her teeth when she saw this but thought of a back-up plan quickly. She shrugged off the large device she still had strapped to her back and handed it to Octavia who silently took it but gave her friend a questioning stare. Vinyl didn’t respond verbally but instead drew a small pen like object from her pocket and showed Octavia it. She pointed at the device that was on her back before and then at the pen making a shrinking motion with her hands. She then pointed at her ear and then at the guard out there and Octavia got the message loud and clear. The device was a miniature version of her sonic amplifier and it probably had the same spell in it too, with the bat guard’s sensitive hearing she could activate it from this distance and it would work like she was standing right next to him even if she lowered it to a decibel that they couldn’t hear. 
Vinyl’s hand reached outside the doorway and a few seconds later Octavia heard a solid ‘THUNK’ from outside signaling that the guard was now unconscious and released from his corruption. Vinyl moved quickly levitating the man’s body into the room with them and throwing some kind of necklace around his neck. When it came to rest on his skin his eyes shot open revealing glowing green eyes that were not in fact slitted. His pure white bat like wings extended in panic and his light blonde hair came out from under his helmet as it fell off his head. Vinyl quickly covered his mouth before he could yell putting her hand to her lips. His eyes seemed to focus on the girl that kneeled over him and recognition lit in them. 
“You’re that Pantaleon kid! What are you doing down here?! What am I doing down here?!” he whispered in a harsh hiss as he stood up quickly revealing that he was one of the tallest guards they had ever seen. His oddly light wing and hair color, coupled with the fact that his eyes were not slitted and his ears didn’t have the elongated point that the other night guards seemed to have took both girls back. 
“I’m down here, solider, because Canterlot is under siege and both the princesses are out for the count right now. The entire city population has been possessed by dark forces caused by the one who took out the princesses and right now I’m trying to get to the underground throne room so I can fix that but apparently the entire Night guard is down here with us tainted by the same power with their already super senses amplified by its power. You were like that just now until I fixed you and that necklace around your neck will keep you from turning again as long as you’re wearing it.” Vinyl explained quickly keeping her voice low still in case the other guards came back. 
The odd looking night guard nodded as he absorbed the situation with surprising tact. “Alright, and you need another night guard like me to get past the others. I’ve got it, I’ll escort as best I can but I have to warn you that my senses aren’t as sharp. You see I’m only half Vespertialian, hence the weird colors and the only half working eyes. My hearing’s still really sensitive but I have to concentrate down here because the walls are really thick and don’t carry vibrations well.” He explained. Octavia groaned and rubbed her forehead. 
“Great, the entire night guard down here and we grab the one who’s probably the only half bat-human in Equestria!” 
“Actually, there is one other, my twin sister. Unlike me her senses are just as powerful as a full-breed if not more. But she disappeared an hour before sunrise so I have no idea where-“  just then there was the sound of footsteps in the hallways and quickly everyone hid in the shadows of the room holding their breaths as the steps got closer. 
A figure came into the door frame and slowly stepped in looking around a little. It was tackled to the ground by the guard but was quickly over powered and pinned down and held with his hands behind his back and a knife put to his throat. A voice that was distinctly female and yet deeper and with the slightest under-toned rasp in it spoke into his ear in a quiet hiss. 
“Listen closely you corrupted arse, you’re going to calmly tell me the quickest way to the guards quarter’s from here or you’re going to end up drinking through the gaping hole in your neck when this Faust forsaken castle goes back to being just plagued with those snobby noble types instead of whatever the hell it is that’s tainted it.” She hissed pressing the dagger a little closer to his neck. 
“Shadow?” he asked looking back a little to see glowing yellow slitted eyes looking back at him. 
“Saber?! Oh thank Luna you’re alright!” the woman whispered quickly dropping the dagger to the floor and releasing him from his pinned position so she could embrace him. The two teenagers exchanged a confused look finally able to move after being paralyzed by the sudden threat. “I thought you’d been corrupted like the rest of the guard! I stepped out from the archives to watch the sunrise and then everything went crazy and-“ the guard, Saber apparently, shut her up with a hand to cover her mouth. 
“Shhhh, keep it down. I’m only not in the same state as the others because those two needed my help and cured me with this necklace thingy. How are you still normal by the way?” he asked. 
“I don’t actually know, I just saw everyone else turning into those… things, and all I could think about was how I had to make sure you were alright. I guess it was just being hard headed or something.” Shadow reasoned with a small shrug. 
“Well if you don’t mind we’d like to make sure you stay this way.” Octavia announced slipping an identical necklace around her neck. Only up close, even with her night vision, Octavia finally noticed a pair of jet black feathery wings on the woman’s back that were wrapped around Saber protectively despite him dwarfing her by comparison. 
“Thank you, for saving my brother I mean, and me too now I guess. Wait, Saber, did you say they needed your help? Who are they?” she asked giving her brother a look of curiosity. 
“That’s Victoria Pantaleon and…” he trailed off not having heard Octavia’s name. 
“Octavia Philharmonica, I’m just here to make sure SHE doesn’t get in over her head.” The dark haired earthbound replied. 
“Right, they’re here to fix whatever’s turned Canterlot into a demon horde. But this place is crawling with turned guards and other citizens so they’re having trouble getting where they need to.” He explained. 
“They need help navigating this place to get to fix it? Count me in. Where are you two trying to go?” Shadow asked the pair. 
“Whoa, whoa, wait. Hold up, you two still haven’t told us who the hell you are. I get that he’s a guard but who the hell are you?” Vinyl asked knowing she shouldn’t place her trust in just anyone. 
“Ah, pardon my rush, my name’s Shadowed Wyrd, this is my brother Saber Strike. I’m a student of the Lunar Scholarly and a writer by profession. Where you’re standing right now is part of the under castle, and the first level of my school. So I know this place like the back of my hand.” She explained with an unusually casual smile. 
Vinyl looked her up and down. She looked no older than 19, wore baggy black cargo pants that had a spikey silver belt on them, an open leather jacket with a deep grey tank top under it and dog tags along with some kind of dolphin necklace hanging from her neck, black military combat boots, and she had two studded piercings in both her pointed ears and one golden ring in her right cartilage. She had short cut messy brown hair that had golden yellow streaks running through it that was tussled around and flipped only at the very ends. Coupled with the dagger that she was retrieving and slipping back into the hidden sheath in her boot she looked more like a thug then a writer. The only thing that seemed remotely normal about her was the thin timed pair of glasses that were slightly tilted on her face. 
“YOU’RE a writer…? You look more like a punk who beat up a writer and stole their glasses.” Vinyl pointed out. Shadow’s brow twitched in irritation and she pulled up her jacket sleeve to show a cutiemark on her inner left wrist. It was of a glowing full moon that had archaic text scribed into it and a black feather that seemed to be under the manipulation of a small visible gale that surrounded it. 
“Proof enough for you Miss Pantaleon? You’re not exactly one to talk for someone who goes in between being Lady Victoria Pantaleon heir to the high noble house to the raving sensation DJ-PON3 on a near daily basis.” She quipped back earning a shocked look from both of the other girls. 
“She’s DJ-PON3?! No way! I downloaded like all of her songs!” Saber exclaimed in shock and awe. 
“Okay, ignoring his outburst, how in the name of Celestia did you know she’s a DJ?” Octavia asked the woman who actually possessed an accent very similar to her own, bringing a few more questions on her back story into question but they were trumped by this mystery. 
“Oh come on, two-toned electric blue hair, same body figure, same face, same cutiemark, same completely original modified flight goggles? After you called her Victoria I made the connection instantly. Although I guess the internet wars about your eyes being the same magenta as your goggles were wrong.” She commented looking into the ruby orbs of the now shocked DJ. 
She shook her head to clear it and held up her hand. “Look, huge paparazzi gold secrets aside we still need help and Canterlot is only going to get worse is we don’t do something soon so can we stop with the game of 20 questions and get to the underground throne room?!” 
The brother and sister shared a look before nodding and then walking over to an empty shelf that was built into the stone wall itself. Shadow reached out and felt along the inner edge of it until something clicked and the shelf sunk in and then slid to the side to show another hidden passage. 
“There’s guards positioned all around all the entrances to the room. Whatever you need in there they apparently already know about. We can avoid all of the guards outside but I’m picking up a lot of movement from inside the room too. That means that we can expect a fight once we get there.” She explained as she went ahead of them descending into the dark stairs. Vinyl followed but with no small amount of confusion. 
“This wasn’t in any of the blueprints.” She commented. 
“It wouldn’t be, not the one’s you’d have access to anyways, when Luna returned she converted this place into her sanctuary and her own private school, as such she makes new additions to it all the time. This is one of the most recent ones, an escape route that leads directly to the designated safety room, the Lunar Throne.” She explained as they continued walking. Very suddenly she extended her jet black wing to block the path for them and Saber’s eyes narrowed as he drew his sword from his sheath. His sister however shook her head and instead the feathers on her wing vibrated in place before there was a blur and like a needle being shot out of a gun one of her primary feathers detached and shot forward and around the corner where there was then a loud thud seconds later. She motioned her head forward and the group quickly ran through the passage leaping over the fallen form of the passing corrupted. Vinyl quickly threw a charm around his neck before continuing with the rest of the group. They didn’t run into anyone else on the way but Octavia, being raised by a pegasus and having three of them in her house, was very intrigued by the use of the writer’s feathers. It took a very special kind of air manipulation to have control over something as small as a feather and to pin point a single point on a human’s body that would knock it out without seeing them once said a lot about her skill set. Believing that she was ‘just a writer’ was becoming harder and harder. 
They stopped again when they came to what appeared to be a dead end after many twists, turns, passage taking, and even a short flight over a crumbling floor. Vinyl looked around for any sign of a switch, when she found none she looked at their two escorts. Saber was the one to step forward this time drawing the sword he kept as a member as the guard from his side before running its blade tip from the top of where the low ceiling began all the way to the very bottom. There was a second’s pause before the straight line he had made with his blade glowed and the dead end parted like a door way and revealed a set of stairs that lead upwards. He held out his long membrane covered wing to stop them from advancing however. 
“Those steps are pressure switches. When you step on them the door into the throne room will be opened alerting everyone in there of our presence. Don’t go forward unless you’re ready for a fight.” He warned the pair. Vinyl looked back at Octavia who gave her a smile and drew the nightsticks from her side and twirled them in her hands. Vinyl returned the smile and her hands crackled with blue sparks of her magic as she lowered her goggles back onto her face after having to keep them removed while in the dark passages. 
“Let’s do this shit.” She declared before stepping past Saber and onto the first step which sank a little under her weight and she heard something above them shift as white moonlight started to trickle in and she heard a loud hiss start to fill her ears. The group didn’t hesitate either. Saber and Shadow were at their sides while Octavia and Vinyl ran along the ground and leaped out of the passage into the fray of surrounding corrupted, guard and citizen alike. Vinyl wasn’t holding back now. Her hands charged with a combination of the healing spell and an electrical surge fired rapidly at the mob that rushed at her. She’d use her jet pack for small bursts to evade attacks from behind and then jab the attackers with her enchanted hands to knock them into the rapidly growing pile of unconscious humans that was being formed in the center of the room which was painted to fit Luna’s beautiful night sky. 
Octavia was doing likewise but with her batons instead, knocking out her assailants into the pile as they came at her, she wasn’t as violent as Vinyl was in her approach, rather deciding to knock the wind out of them or quickly hit them over the back of the head and kick them out of the way while the spell took effect on them. Saber and Shadow had been pushed back to back while the corrupted formed a circle around them hoping to overpower the pair with sheer numbers. 
“How many do you count on your side?” Shadow asked to her brother. 
“Fifty of so, how about you?” 
“Same, rock paper scissors?” 
“Sure.” He shrugged turning to face her as the two shook their fists in the motion before Shadow came out with a rock and he chose paper. 
“Awww, damn. Fine, air or ground?” she asked to him not even caring as the circle was beginning to shrink as more and more corrupted gathered around them. 
“Ground duh.” He chuckled with a grin and a spark in his green eyes. 
“Good, I like air better.” She mused in return before she disappeared in a shadowy blur and just as quickly Saber did a full 360 degree sweep of his sword around him sending the first of many corrupted flying into the air, which were then quickly slammed into the cold ground by an almost invisible force. Shadow grinned laughing her head off as she swung her wings at the bodies her brother made airborne sending a heavy wave of air that knocked them unconscious when they hit the ground once more. The few winged souls that dared enter her airspace of their own free will soon found themselves with pin sharp feathers in their necks that sent them limp and crash landing back to the ground. From where they fought on the ground Vinyl and Octavia observed this with impressed looks on their faces. 
“I still think your mom is hotter.” Vinyl commented with a snide smirk which Octavia responded to by kicking one of her attackers right into Vinyl's body making her slam into the groaning pile of pained now cured people in the center of the room. 
“I’m sorry, did that one hit you by accident? My mistake!” Octavia sang over her shoulder at the blue haired girl who was now roughly shoving the rather obese man off her. 
“Alright, I’m sick of playing second fiddle here…” Vinyl grumbled as she shrugged her shoulders and activated the jet pack to hover above the chaotic throne room turned battle arena. “Wubba-Dub-Dub motherfukers!!!” She yelled into the fray as the speakers emerged from her pack and she slid the keytar around and into her hands. Octavia quickly abandoned her fight and ran to the two half-bat-people waving her hands to get their attention as Vinyl cranked up a dial on her keytar. 
“COVER YOUR EARS!!!” She shouted at the pair of siblings who heard her and followed her advice just as Vinyl’s fingers met the keys of her instrument. 
***
Outside the castle in the streets of Canterlot the adults were all gaining some ground on the corrupted population of the city as their own numbers grew with every fallen corrupted. Fleur and Grace were standing side by side taking a short pause in their war for a snappy water break. Grace wore a concerned look on her face as her eyes kept darting to the castle concern for her daughter’s safety growing. 
“They’ve been in there almost a full hour, how can we be sure it’s going alright?” she asked her long time friend. The super model opened her mouth to respond when she was cut off by the loud sound of a keytar solo filling the night air and a giant wave of blue energy shooting out of every hidden underground vent around the castle and then unconscious bodies following the outburst and raining down into the ground to form craters as the shadowy skin faded away from them shortly after they landed. 
After another second’s pause Fleur got a bemused smile on her face. “I think it’s going pretty well..” 
***
Vinyl landed back on the ground after her sonically amplified rift faded away and the room had literally been blown clear of corrupted. The only three besides herself that remained were her companions, well, the two siblings were screaming and rolling on the ground their ears bleeding a little from the blast but Octavia just stood there sighing and shaking her head. 
“Honestly Vinyl, couldn’t you show just a little bit of reservation for our now hearing impaired companions?” she huffed crossing her arms. Vinyl rolled her eyes. 
“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad.” 
“MY EARS! I CAN’T HEAR MYSELF THINK!!!”
“BLOOD! MY EARS ARE BLEEDING!!!”
“Okay… so I might have over done it a bit.” She conceded biting her lip a little before her hand crackled with energy and the magic shrouded the two pained siblings. There was a small audible pop and the two stopped screaming and stood on their own two feet while they held their heads now a little dizzy from the blood loss. “There, I repaired the damage I did. They’ll be fine. Now help me seal the doors.” Vinyl commanded as she ran over to a heavy looking desk and started shoving it towards the two large wooden oak doors. Octavia sighed and helped her push. When the desk blocked the entrance they started stacking more on top of it while Shadow and Saber went about sealing all the other points of entry save one which they’d be guarding carefully to use as an escape route if they needed it.   
Octavia looked up after she was done shoving a heavy statue in front of the last door. She looked at her friend who was standing in the middle of the room staring at the mosaic that was engraved into the floor they stood on. “What now?” Octavia asked walking over to her. 
“Well… there’s supposed to be some kind of switch around here that I’m supposed to activate… And I think I know just how to find it.” The blue haired DJ mused as she out an MP3 player from her pocket and moved the pair of headphones she had around her neck off and tossed both aside. She motioned for Octavia to come over with her finger as she shrugged off her amplifier and set it outside of where the mosaic was with the rest of her stuff. “Throw all your electronics over there.” she commanded pointing at her pile. Octavia hesitated for a second questioning the motives of the eccentric girl but complied removing the phone she carried in her pocket as well as the emergency communication device her mother had given her. 
“And why, pray tell. Am I throwing away our only means of communication with the outside should something go terribly wrong?” she asked giving Vinyl a questioning look. 
“Because it’ll interfere with what’s about to happen. You two, keep back. Only me and Tavi can be on the ground, you two would do best in the air and probably hugging a wall too.” Vinyl warned. Octavia was growing more and more convinced this was going to be bad news by the second until Vinyl took her by the hand guiding her back to the very center of the room right in front of the throne. She lowered her goggles to hang around her neck revealing magenta eyes that looked into her own light pink irises. “Octavia, do you remember back in camp where they taught us how to formally dance?” 
Octavia shivered at the memory. “Yes, and I got paired with that lunk of a boy Leo and he almost broke my foot… three times.” 
“Good, now, dance with me.” Vinyl said as she pulled Octavia flat against her body.
“Wh-what?!” stuttered the dark haired girl flabbergasted by her friend’s behavior. 
Vinyl chuckled lightly and continued smiling at her. “The floor. Look at the floor.” She said pointing down where they stood. Octavia hadn’t noticed before but the mosaic portrayed a man and a woman embraced and close together right where they stood, around them were the same man and woman portrayed dancing in different steps all along the giant circle. “It’s a dance floor, complete with directions. All we have to do is perform the steps exactly like it says and the room should reveal what we came for.” Octavia stared in amazement at the ingenious of it all. That’s why the twins couldn’t be on the floor while they were working, they might mess up the process. Octavia nodded her consent after studying the moves for a second longer. It was very simple in the pictures but she was sure the dance itself was much harder than it looked, after all if it was easy anyone could have accessed the room at any time. 
“This is going to be tricky. It looks like we’re going to have to mirror one another without ever breaking eye contact… meaning we can’t look back once we’ve begun.” She pointed out. 
“I know, but who better for the job than us? The two most promising musical geniuses of our respective genres!”
“Vinyl, you’d better be careful, if your head inflates anymore it might burst.” Octavia commented with a small giggle. 
“Oi! You were included in that!” she protested blowing a strand of her brightly colored hair out of her face. 
“Are you two dance or are you waiting for divine intervention?!” Shouted Shadow from up above. 
Vinyl winced but blew a razzberry in the direction of the black winged woman. “Alright, let’s start. Remember, keep your eyes on mine.” She reminded her partner. Octavia nodded locking eyes with her before they both took a breath in sync and started by moving into the first position they had seen. They felt the feet sink in a little as the tiles they touched at the same time gave way making some kind of mechanism below the floor start turning gears. “Don’t stop, keep going.” Vinyl urged moving onto the next step with Octavia moving right along beside her. Above them the two siblings watched as they danced and the many rings of the mosaic circle began to turn like orbiting rings around Saturn. As the pair’s moves began to speed up gaining momentum and familiarity with their steps the twins also noticed that the sunk in tiles the dancing pair stepped on had a glowing symbol that lit up light blue after they moved on. The result from above was a forming archaic mage circle. Shadow, being the more studios of the two and the one who had mostly unicorn friends, quickly recognized what was happening and pushed her brother back so that they were no longer hovering over the circle.  
“What’s got your shorts in a twist?” he asked his green eyes locking with her yellow slits. 
“Oh come on, all that fancy guard training and you don’t even recognize a rune circle when you see one?” she asked crossing her arms. The much taller man looked back down at the ground as it began releasing the magical energy and the rings began spinning faster with the glowing runes merging together to form solid glowing rings that started rising up like barriers. 
Down below Octavia was not blind to what their dance was doing, but she was much too into her own movements and was getting rather captivated by the endless sea of magenta that stared into her eyes without ever breaking contact. This dance was supposed to be made for lovers, made obvious by the close nature it had as well as some of the more intimate moves it required through it. It reminded Octavia of a tango but it didn’t have flare and passion, as much as it did grace and spirit, which made it flow more like cool water than boiling lava. The energy that pulsed around them seemed to fill their minds with the music that had once been missing from the dance, or perhaps she was just going slightly mad from the pitch black magic that was now oozing in through the cracks under the door… Wait, what? 
Octavia almost broke her eye contact with Vinyl but a quick dip from her partner stopped her as well as her hand gliding smoothly across her face. “Eyes here, the twins can handle them.” She whispered her breath close enough to be felt by Octavia’s now coloring cheeks. In another snappy movement Vinyl pulled Octavia back up and spun her out and reeled her back in like a yo-yo. 
“Um… vague question but um, who exactly came up with this dance as a means of activating the city’s defense against the Nightmare?” Octavia asked wanting to who was crazy enough to do just that… although she had a pretty good guess. 
“Felix, when the city was built and the guard was first formed to protect the crown and the city he didn’t put much faith in them so he made a failsafe in case something happened that the guard couldn’t defend the city. But it got lost in all the old texts so pretty much everyone but the Princesses themselves forgot about it. Leave it to Sparkle to dig up an old relic like this huh?” Vinyl laughed trying to lighten the mood despite the darkness that was beginning to fill the room. Saber and Shadow fought it tooth and nail but it looked like all the shadows that had separated from the cured citizens had just gathered back into one super form, that was still growing. 
Octavia felt the pit in her stomach growing at the sight of it but a smile at the corner of her mouth. “And leave it to you to try and crack a joke at a time like this. You really do have a terrible sense of timing.” 
Vinyl shrugged. “It’s one of my endless numbers of charms.” She quipped before she felt themselves moving back to the center of the room yet again their footsteps raising more pillars of light behind them. The two spun around each other like the sun and the moon until they came to a final halt back where they started but with Octavia bent low and Vinyl cradling her close so as not to let her fall. Their faces were only centimeters away from each other and they seemed frozen in each other’s stare. Outside what had become their own little world they heard two screams and looked to see the forms of Saber and Shadow struggling as they became absorbed into the giant gaseous mass that now filled the entire room save for the protective glowing circle that surrounded them. 
Octavia rushed forward to try and save them but the final glowing barrier came up and knocked her back into Vinyl who caught her but fell over with her in the process. “What is this?! I thought it was supposed to keep them OUT! Not us IN!” She protested as she stood back up and put her hand against the barrier which felt cool to the touch like a glass cylinder. Vinyl heaved herself back onto her feet and put her hand to the glass as well. 
“I don’t get it… it was supposed to expand out to the city after the final section… did we do something wrong?” she asked out loud looking at all the moves around the circle that were all glowing perfectly. “No… then… is it broken?” she asked next before she scoffed. “Yeah, something Felix built himself breaking, and next I’ll become an Alicorn… what is it then?” she pondered. 
“Vinyl, I do so hate to interrupt your little spat but we have BIGGER issues to deal with right now!” Octavia pointed out indicating the black mass that was pounding against the barrier that now had cracks forming on it. 
“Ffffffffuck. Okay. Thinkthinkthinkthink…!” Vinyl paced quickly around in a circle trying to generate ideas in her brain. ‘I’m in an anti-magical barrier that was supposed to be the last means of defense against the single biggest threat to Equestria since Discord’s reign, and it’s breaking. My only two hopes of outside help were just swallowed by it and everything I could use to get more help is outside the barrier. So I have no magic, no help, and the failsafe is failing.’ She heard a scream as the barrier was shattered and the other inner ones began to dissolve as well. ‘Correction, they have failed.’ She reached out her hand in desperation to grab her friend’s hand as she was being pulled in by the nightmare. “Don’t let go!” Vinyl cried out as she tried pulling Octavia back onto the ground. 
“It’ll suck us both in Vinyl! Just let me go!” Octavia yelled back over the roar of the beast as it’s size began growing and making the underground room crumble around them letting in the harsh winds from outside. 
“Are you NUTS?! I’m not letting you go Octavia!” the blue haired girl roared back in response to her friend’s request. 
“Twilight said you could do this Vinyl! YOU, alone. You don’t need me! I’m just holding you back now! You need to find out how to fix this by yourself!” Octavia called back over the howling winds as Vinyl was losing ground on her hold. 
“Twilight ALSO said that the barriers would work but she was WRONG Octavia! And she’s wrong about me! I’m just some crazy DJ with a weird back story! I’m not a heroine, and I’m not what everyone keeps making me out to be! I’m just ME!” She shouted back. Octavia smiled at her, and through the mayhem and darkness that swirled around them Vinyl swore it all slowed to a halt and the girl in front of her was glowing through the darkness. 
“And that’s exactly why I KNOW you can do it, by yourself. You’re Victoria Vinyl Harmonia Pantaleon-Scratch, the one and ONLY. The craziest, weirdest, most inventive, and eccentric Heiress meets DJ in the world. And I have faith in you… but you can’t keep being tied down by me, and if you won’t be the one to let go, then I will.” Octavia released the hold she had kept on her friend’s hands and without the extra grip she slipped through Vinyl’s sweating palms like butter and was absorbed into the ever growing black void. 
Magenta eyes turned into a dark red at the sight and slowly what had just happened hit Vinyl. She lowered her head her fists shaking and her body trembling as hot fresh tears rolled down her face. “Damn it… Damn it… DAMN IT!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs her body no longer being drawn in by the nightmare’s pull for some reason. ‘After so long… I waited so long just to see her again. I put up with those Canterlot snobs for years thinking I’d find her in them someday, jumped into every renowned musical academy in the country to see if she was in them… I worked my ASS off for night after sleepless night trying to get my memory in order just so I could find out more about HER! And for what?! For her to be ripped right out of my hands the very night I finally find her again?!’ She didn’t feel it, her emotions were too overwhelming now for her to have any connection to her physical body now, but from her pocket the small sack her Uncle had given her floated in front of her and from it emerged two rings, the very same two rings that had been passed down in her family for generations. And for the first time since their original master had passed they slipped onto two hands that were attached to the same body, Vinyl’s body. 
“No… not again… never again… I don’t want to be alone anymore.” Vinyl’s voice wasn’t just her own anymore, it had different echoes to it now, the echoes of her ancestor’s voices talking with her as her body was becoming enveloped with white energy and the nightmare mass was backing away cringing now. “I WON’T LET YOU TAKE HER!!!!” 
White energy enveloped everything, it poured out of the destroyed room and outside into the dark unnatural night enveloping the humans and burning every nightmarical essence right out of existence leaving behind just the humans they had possessed to fall into a crumpled heap on the ground. While blinded by the light it left everyone who saw it to hear the small faint music the accompanied it, the single essence that was weaved into its origin put into the form of a heart’s song and projected outwards like her enveloping white magic. 
Fancy smiled as he closed his eyes from the whiteness and heard the song created by the familiar pulse of magic. ‘I knew she could do it.’
Inside the black void her vision had become enveloped in after she let herself get taken in to save Vinyl, Octavia could hear it. The faint sound of a piano filling her ears with its light tune that she had heard before when she was trying to find her friend in the garden. But this time it was… different. No longer was it a simple piano piece, but merged perfectly with that annoying electronic bass that her friend’s DJ side had accepted into her very soul it seemed. The two mixing together… it didn’t sound as bad as she thought it would have. Piano Dubstep… leave it to her wacky roommate to have the oddest mix ever composed for a soul song. She calmly closed her eyes and smiled as she felt he warmth of white light burning away the blackness around her. 
‘I told you so…’ she thought as she felt her physical body drop like a rock after the light had disintegrated the nightmare. She felt herself caught in a pair of arms and cracked her eyes open to see the familiar blue hair and magenta eyes of her oldest friend. Hot tears were running down her face and they splashed onto Octavia’s own after they fell off. The dark haired girl managed a weak chuckle. “I thought you said you don’t cry…” she laughed hoarsely through her fading consciousness.  
“We all do crazy things to save the ones we love.” Vinyl responded barely managing a smile in return. 
“Heh… you must love everything then… you nut job.” Octavia giggled before her energy left her and she went limp in Vinyl’s arms as she joined the countless dreaming citizens of Canterlot that had all just been freed of the nightmare’s taint. Vinyl looked outside through the now completely open roof and saw the morning sun starting to paint the sky. As the magic left her and the rings on her fingers stopped glowing with intense white energy Vinyl laughed as she realized what a mess everything was in. 
“I hope the Princess is in a good mood when she get’s here… Because coming home after being trapped in the sun to find your castle trashed and 90% of your unconscious citizens in your front yard sounds like the start to a really bad morning… or the end of a really awesome party… whichever.” She yawned as her feet touched back down on the ground and she slumped over the unconscious girl in her arms. “Heh… you’d smack me for that if you were awake to hear it… I’ll just say it again when we’re both awake again… good morning Tavi, it’s been a long time in coming.” Vinyl laughed as she set the girl down on the ground and finally lost consciousness.
***
“6,834,921 gold bits in property damage to the castle, almost twice that to citizen’s homes, and about four million extra in lawsuits from businesses across the city and you’re comparing this to one of your parties Miss Pantaleon?” asked the royal treasurer who stood beside the throne that Celestia was sitting in but her eyes were elsewhere, staring idly out the new sunroof (aka a giant freaking hole that had been punched through her throne room’s ceiling) and then the shattered remains of what had once been her priceless stain glass window collection. 
“First off Miss Pantaleon is my mom, second I’m paying for the repairs out of pocket,”
“Which I’m still rejecting.” Added in Celestia.
“You’ll take it and like it Princess, and third, I’m telling you. Look up the footage of Ponyville High’s Spring Break Bash and look for something involving the name Pinkie Pie, trust me, that little tantrum that nightmare demon had in here is nothing compared to the medical bills, reconstruction bills, therapy bills, and the hair appointments she had to pay for after hosting that thing. I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff in clubs but that girl makes it all seem like it was just your average day by comparison.” Vinyl explained as she stood with her arms crossed and she was frowning and glaring at the stout man. Not that he could see because she was wearing her goggles at the moment but she was still doing her best to glare him down. 
Beside her Octavia was nursing an Icepack on her head as she rolled her eyes. “I can vouch for her on that, Pinkie Pie just breaks every rule of normal without even trying. Honestly I’d like to believe her to have some relation with Discord with how many things just don’t make sense about her.” The charcoal haired musician added with a small shudder. 
“See! Tavi never lies! There’s your hardcore proof right there!” Vinyl declared satisfied with her proof.  
“I assure you madam, I severely doubt that any of the elements, even the one chosen as laughter, could be so… bizarre.” The treasurer responded.
“And what’s all this crap about my crazy classmates being connected to those element thingy’s? I thought they were like stones or something. Do they all have like rocks inside them now?” Vinyl asked turning to the princess. 
“No… they do have rather nice looking necklaces now though… except my student, being chosen as the element of magic her element is in the shape of a tiara.” Celestia explained.
“Ooooh, fancy.” Vinyl snickered as she was handed a small slip of paper from a servant that had walked into the room. “Annnnnnnd there. One bonified approved check straight out of my fat rich banker’s hands. With magic proof paper, so you can’t incinerate it like you do the birthday checks we send you.” Vinyl said making sure to hand the check to the treasurer instead of the solar princess who gave her an irritated glance. 
“I tell your Uncle every year that I don’t need-“
“Anymore stinking money, yeah, neither do we. That’s why we try and get rid of the stuff at every opportunity… and we have our cooks make you that cake.” She added with a knowing gleam in her eyes. Pink tinted the eternal woman’s face as she coughed into her hand.
“Yes, well. You’re free to go you two. I’m expecting some company s-“
“VINNY~!!!” came a high pitched squeal of delight as a pink blur charged into the room and tackle hugged Vinyl from behind. “OMAIGOSHYOUWON’TBELIEVETHECRAZYNIGHTMEANDTHEGIRLSHAVEHAD!!!” 
Vinyl laughed and smiled up at her hugging assailant. “Believe me you Pinks, me and you can swap crazy stories later. Actually when you’re done with the Princess how’s ‘bout you all come with me and Tavi back to my house?” She asked both the girl on top of her and the other five who had walked in the room after her. Twilight looked up at her mentor for an answer. 
“The ceremony won’t take more than a few hours anyways, you’ll be free to do as you wish after that.” The Princess responded with a warm smile. 
“That’s Celly talk for ‘go for it’.” Pinkie giggled. 
“Ceremony? Rarity, PLEASE tell me this is the good ceremony and not the kind where Pinkie gets you kicked out of Canterlot for good.” Octavia inquired to her fashionista friend. 
“Oh of course darling, the Princess here wanted to thank us for the whole ordeal we went through in the nightmare of a forest… well, we’ll tell you all about it later, but the end result is that she wants us knighted.” 
Octavia blinked in surprise. “Well I suppose that explains the crowd outside.” She pointed out. 
“Crowd…? There’s a crowd?!” Fluttershy asked quickly starting to shiver at the thought of such a thing. 
“Yeah, I’d say about five or six thousand people standing out in the courtyard below the balcony. Had to fight them to get up here… how’d you guys get up here without seeing them?” Vinyl asked as Pinkie let her up and Applejack helped her back onto her feet. 
“We flew in on a carriage that landed on the back side of the palace, and the windows were shut and blinded.” Rainbow explained as she casually hovered by on her back like she was lounging on a lawn chair in her front yard.  
“Lucky… Hey, why didn’t we get hat treatment your highness?” Vinyl asked cocking an eyebrow at the ruler. 
“You live here Ms. Scratch, I assume you know how to get yourself around. Five out of these six girls have never seen Canterlot in their lives. And you and your companion managed to take out half of my castle guards and evade all the rest without ever being detected. I think you could handle it.” The ruler calmly replied while she kept her ever present gentle smile. Vinyl blushed a bit and adjusted her goggles while one of her fingers scratched her cheek slightly. 
“Oh yeah… right. So uh, see you girls after… whatever this is. We’ll wait for you down in the main hall.” Vinyl said as she turned towards the door with Octavia already three strides ahead of her. 
“Okay Tori~! Catch ya later!!” Pinkie called bouncing and waving at them happily. 
The doors were already shutting behind them when Vinyl realized the name Pinkie had been used was one she’d never heard. “How does she-“
“Vinyl please, my head already hurts, I do not need you to ask ridiculous questions like that while I’m in this state.” Octavia interrupted her hand covering Vinyl’s mouth in an instant. Octavia sighed and rubbed her temples as they walked along the corridor in sweet blissful silence…
This was quickly shattered when the sound of a roaring crowd filled the air as soon as they opened the next set of doors.  Vinyl quickly grinned when the groan of her friend reached her ears even over the crowd. “Now THIS looks like fun, here Tavi, stop groaning and put these in, I’m staying for this one.” She said handing a pair of ear plugs to the dark haired girl who quickly took them shoving them in her ears in an attempt to drown out the sound. 
“Remind me to get you back for this Scratch…” Octavia said frowning and crossing her arms as she was dragged through the crowd to get a good view.
***
“So you harnessed all that power by yourself? Vinyl I said to use the rings to power up the shield, not to go suicidal!!” Twilight scolded as she sat on one of the throw pillows that had been scattered on Vinyl’s floor in her own home. Various drinks, hot and cold alike lay open around the group and the remains of snacks long devoured lay around Dash and Pinkie in particular. 
“Yeah well that nightmare wasn’t leaving me very logical, it was going to EAT Tavi, what was I supposed to do?” Vinyl retorted before drinking down the last of her energy drink and then crushing and tossing it over her shoulder in a growing pile of similar green cans. 
“If it helps at all Twilight I already lectured her ears off as soon as she woke up. I’m completely supportive if you want to try your hand at it though.” Octavia prompted as she was calmly sitting with her legs folded on her pillow across from Rarity and Fluttershy who were both drinking tea just like her. 
“Ugh… Not much use in it if she’s still bragging about it after that.” Twilight replied rubbing her temples as Spike was refilling the tea for the three girls who were drinking it. 
“So what do ya reckon that thing did?” Applejack asked from where she sat casually timing Pinkie and Rainbow as they were having a pie eating contest now. 
“Oh yes!” Twilight perked up at her friend’s question. “I’ve been wondering that too! Your spell didn’t just go through Canterlot, it blasted all over Equestria. There’s no show of anything serious coming out of it but the answer might come from you! A blast that big is bound to do something big so what were you thinking about when you cast that spell?” Twilight asked curiously the subject of magic instantly making her eager to forgo personal space and get right in Vinyl’s face. 
Vinyl blinked in surprise, not that it could really be seen by anyone other than Twilight who was right eye to eye with her. She gently pushed the dark haired mage back with a palm to her forehead. “Don’t really remember too well actually. Magical over load you know?” Vinyl replied with a sheepish grin. It was a half lie at least, it was blurry sure, but she remembered in vivid detail what was going through her mind when she cast that spell. A hand unconsciously went to her heart where she could still hear the music in the back of her mind the duet of her and Tavi seemed to forever be on repeat in her head now. Not that she minded, music was her life after all. “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the future.” Vinyl replied a small smile on her face as she said it her hidden meaning not caught by anyone.