You have been invited to Vinyl Scratch and Neon Lights's wedding.
It is at three PM sharp, on Sunday at the Canterlot Castle.
We would enjoy if you came!
"Humph," Octavia grunted.
"I know me and Neon are cousins, but barely!" she whined.
"Why are you so worked up?!" asked one of Octavia's best friends, Carrot Top. Carrot wasn't that bad, she just didn't get the emotional side of things sometimes.
"Well, she can't just go and barge in there! They used to date!" Colgate, another one of Octavia's best friends, replied.
"Thank you, Colgy. I just feel...unsure."
"About what?" Amethyst Star, the last of Octavia's best friends, said.
"Well, just...I don't know if I ever got over her."
"Really!?" Carrot replied. "But you broke up, like, two years ago!"
"Shush, Carrot. Let the ponies who actually have feelings and aren't virgin handle this," Colgate snapped.
"Oh, be easy on her," Amethyst said. "It's hard to find straight colts in Ponyville."
"Actually I'm not virgin anymore," Carrot piped up. "You see, I was delivering some carrots to Gizmo Pointdexter..."
"You did it with Gizmo Pointdexter!?" Colgate screeched, horrified.
"Oh, you girls are no help at all." With that, Octavia downed the last of her wine and left the room, which was Colgate's bedroom.
She could hear Amethyst following her, along with the other two farther back, still bickering.
Amethyst appeared and leaned in close to Octavia.
"Go," was all she whispered before pushing Octy out the front door.
===
Octavia was clad in a lacy dark gray number that floated around her like ethereal smoke. She was trotting up the steps of the castle into the church where the wedding was to take place.
Amethyst and her other two friends had also joined her after Octavia's inquiry. She couldn't go without them.
Amethyst strode next to her, wearing a tight, light purple cocktail dress. Her body was laden with pounds of jewelry of her own making.
Carrot wore a simple light yellow dress. The simplicity was what made it nice and unique.
Colgate wore a light blue dress with several white stripes zig zagging across it. She also wore a simple gold necklace, made by Amethyst.
The quartet entered the church. Most of the guests were already there.
They sat down towards the back with Octavia's brother, Arpeggio.
Soon the service started. Princess Cadence was overseeing the affair, having traveled all the way from The Crystal Empire to head such a wonderful union.
Yeah, Wonderful. Sure. Octavia thought, snorting.
The two ponies to be married were dressed at the edge of dressed up. Neon Lights wore a leather tux, and Vinyl, oh sweet Vinyl, wore a tight white cocktail dress that hugged her curves perfectly. She even kept her trademark glasses on.
Octavia was lost in thought but was brought out from it when Cadence shouted "Any objections? Speak now, or forever hold your peace."
Octavia fidgeted with her hooves. No pony said or did anything, only kept perfectly still.
Cadence was about to continue when Octavia slowly rose to her hooves.
"What are you doing?!" Colgate, Carrot, and Arpeggio whispered harshly at the same time.
And Amethyst smiled triumphantly like she had just won an important battle or argument.
"I do!" Octavia shouted, her voice ringing through the giant room.
===
Weightless. That's how she felt. Her dress flapped around her as everypony in the vincity stared at her, digging into her, asking her why she had stood up, declaring a statement to a question that should never be answered.
The silence attempted to swallow her in its hollowness. It had to have been at least a minute, and her legs were starting to ache. No one had moved yet except her brother, who was preparing to scold her harshly. Carrot Top had fainted in shock, along with several others in attendance. Colgate was among the many that was absolutely silent, still processing the words that had come forth from her friend's mouth.
And Amethyst sat there, the cocky smile still tugging the sides of her mouth up.
The silence was broken by a solemn pink alicorn, who murmured, "What have you said?"
"I do," Octavia yelled, the sound echoing throughout the cathedral.
Arpeggio attempted to tug his sister down into her seat, but Amethyst knocked his hoof out of the way. She glared at him, and he backed off despite the uneasiness he still had towards the situation.
Princess Cadence looked around at the assembled group, who were starting to come around.
"That's not fair!" somepony yelped.
"Yeah! They love each other! They should be together!" another pony shouted.
Exactly. Me and her. Octavia thought.
Princess Cadence scanned the crowd thoughtfully.
"I'm sorry, but it is in accordance to the ancient rules of our land. She has objected, and so she has ten days to prove to both that their marriage is not supposed to be. NO magic allowed."
Collective groans from the crowd hinted at their disgust with the law. But they understood it.
Everypony began to file out, displeased that they would probably have to travel back out here in only ten days time.
Soon only Octavia, the to be married couple, and the medics, who were picking up the last of the fainted ponies, were left.
Vinyl stormed down the steps of the altar, rushing towards Octavia.
She swung her hoof, barely missing as Octavia ducked under the pew.
"Ya-you!" Vinyl whimpered.
She sat on her rump, tears running down her face.
"Why?" she murmured. "WHY?!"
"Because I love you."
"Then if you really did, then why did you stand up? Why not be happy for me?"
"Because I can't live without you. Look at the wreck I've become without you. Out of the orchestra, not even on the top five hundred most influential musicians of the year since you've been gone! When we were together, I used to place on top. Every. Single. Time!"
Both quieted, breathing rapidly.
Octavia looked up at Vinyl, who had scrunched herself up into a ball.
"I need you Vinyl. You're my inspiration, my lifebloo-"
But she was cut off when Neon Lights swooped down from above, picking Vinyl up and kissing her gently, forcing a few weak giggles from the alabaster unicorn.
The DJ was put down softly on a pew a few rows in front of Octavia, who had become distracted by Vinyl's swooping curves.
"Hey, you," Neon chuckled, his cheeks flushed. He was obviously very annoyed with the gray earth pony before him.
"You don't get to talk to her. You just had your chance. Scram, earthie."
"Ah, you don't need to even make the effort, Neo! There's no chance she'll convince me!"
"I know Vins, but better safe than sorry, ya know?"
"I know."
The two lovers shared a moment of passionate kissing while Octavia recoiled slightly.
"I was so ready for a post wedding night tonight..." Neon whispered lustfully in Vinyl's ear.
"Sto-op! She's still here!" Vinyl giggled as her stallion tackled her, nuzzling her gently.
How am I ever going to compete with that? Octavia thought. Her hope plummeted into a dark, swirling abyss of depression as she slunk away as the couple continued their heated makeout session.
===
The shattering effect that overcame Octavia's entire being made her quiver, made her tremble and want to die.
And she realized she could very easily end it. With a knife, a noose, jumping off of her apartment...
But before those things became options she had to at least try once more to get Vinyl back to her.
"Oh, Vinyl...."
But it was hopeless. She had tried to pick herself up constantly for the past two days. She had barely been able to wobble back to apartment before she had become to cracked, to shattered.
Octavia, on the third day of uncontrollable shaking, finally coaxed herself out of bed for just something to eat. She ate a decent meal, a few pieces of wheat toast with butter. At least it was better than the few small morsels she had been scavenging from around her room for the past few days.
She put on a crisp bow tie, looking outside. Twilight was approaching. The perfect time for a serenade.
She picked up her cello, its case as black as the steadily darkening night. She knew it was either run or stay, for her heart pounded to fast and hard for her to idly make her way to the abode of "Vins", quote of "Neo."
Ugh. The nicknames.
Octavia did a quick sweep through with her comb, but taming her wild bedhead was impossible without a proper wetting, Without the time or drive to go in the shower(she probably stank as well), Octavia proceeded down the steps of her apartment and out into the cobblestone streets, where she fled into a full out gallop.
After a few minutes of twisting through the streets, she found the home of her former fillyfriend and her current significant other. They lived rather close due to the fact that they both wanted to live in the rather compact Canterlot Music District, for all three were musicians through and through,
She saw the balcony, where Vinyl sat, distracted as she spun a record on her hoof absentmindedly. Neon Lights seemed to be gone for the moment, and Octavia took this opportunity.
She pulled out her cello, its glossy wood a bit dusty from its lack of use in the previous days.
Her bow struck the strings, and Vinyl's head instinctively turned towards the melody that wafted to her ears on the light breeze.
Octavia, a single tear rolling down her face, began to sing, to sing a song that came from the bottom of her heart. It poured out of her, totally unexpected.
"We could've had it alllllll, ah alllllllllll, rollin' in the deeeeeeeeeeeee-e-ep."
Vinyl, her mouth wide open. watched as Octavia began to break down in front of her, tears rolling down her face.
"You had my heart insiiiiiiiiiiiide of your ho-o-oof, but you played it, but you played it, to the beat."
Vinyl was obviously experiencing mixed emotions from the performance. She looked as though she wanted to cry, scream, and forgive all at the same time.
Octavia struck the bow wildly, her voice breaking as her bow frayed, a few of the strings snapping. Soon Octavia was a puddle of sadness seeping into the ground, the wreckage of a once elegant cello splayed around her.
Vinyl had a single tear running down her cheek. Both of their souls had cracked, cracked in half. They had broken each others, and no matter how much they wanted, there wasn't a plausible solution of how to fix the damage.
Vinyl whispered one word, one single word.
"Love."
Octavia looked up, her countenance one of pure grief.
"You."