• Published 15th Apr 2012
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Filling the Gap - Ponysopher



A romance story between the female Gothic Octavia and the imprudent Vinyl Scratch

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Epiphany

Vinyl desperately searched for a way to save Octavia. Her best friend was bound and pinned on the ground, weeping pitifully. The pegasus arched over her made it clear he would not show the earth pony any mercy. McCullen’s smug face stared into Vinyl’s eyes through the screen of the offender’s PDA. The vile earth pony appeared so confident that he had won. After years of running from the loan shark across the whole country, it looked like Vinyl was going to give herself up.

Breaking from out of the silence, a door suddenly burst open from further down the hall. “Move! Move! Move!” somepony shouted. A horde of heavy, fleet-footed hoofsteps came rushing towards her.

Another voice called out, “Open door on the left: Move in!” The steps crashed in behind her, and a cacophony of shouts erupted.


“Drop the weapon!”

“Release her now!”

“Forehooves in the air or we will open fire!”

The pegasus didn’t even flinch. McCullen’s voice came over the shouting. “Hold your fire, colts. It’s going to take two seconds for your little spells to touch him, and he’ll end Octavia in one.”

There was a lull in the commotion. He’s not bluffing, and we all know it, Vinyl thought.

A voice in the hallway was already relaying information. “Command, suspect has been located on the second floor, west wing. Two friendlies are unconscious outside. He’s taken a VIP hostage and…”

“We’re locking this place down,” Another guard yelled to the pegasus. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“I don’ think so,” McCullen replied. “I think if Vinyl’s up to it, she’s going to step right out that window.”

“Sir,” another said, addressing his superior. “There are four armed hostiles on chariots just outside the perimeter.”

“Make sure the perimeter is secure, but do not engage unless fired upon first.”

“You colts bet ye won’t engage ’em, but you’ll let ’em right in if I tell ye to,” the moneylender said.

Vinyl felt a hoof on her shoulder. “Miss Vinyl, we need to get you out of here.”

Shadow’s head shifted ever so slightly upward again. Octavia suddenly let out a deafening shriek through her gag, provoking everypony to start shouting again. “She doesn’t go anywhere unless it’s with me!” Shadow finally shouted over the crowd. “Stand down or you’re going to get her killed.”

Vinyl hadn’t moved an inch the whole time. Her eyes were deadlocked in the gray mare’s terror-stricken eyes. A pang of nausea hit her, but she forced the feeling down. This needs to end fast, she thought. She turned her head around to look at the pony behind her. He was a tall, gray unicorn with hazel eyes. “Please, just let me take care of this,” she said, pleadingly.

“Miss Vinyl, there’s no way we can—”

“Just let me do this alone,” she said, raising her voice again. “She’s my friend, and you’re putting her in more danger than she already is.”

The stallion replied sternly. “Ma’am, I know what’s at stake here, but we can’t just let you alone. We get paid to make sure everypony here is safe, and it’s not proper procedure to—”

“Buck procedure!” she screamed at the guard. “This psychopath wants me to decide, and if you try and stop me, what do you think he’s going to do?”

He looked up to the scene, and then back at her. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” he replied with his face betraying worry. “We’re going to get you out of this.” The stallion walked back into the hallway with all the unicorns pointing their horns at the pegasus.

Get me out of this? Vinyl repeated in her head. No magic in this world will. She sighed and reluctantly looked back at her sobbing friend. She knew this was the crucial moment. McCullen had made his move, and it was a good one. There was no amount of negotiating or fast thinking that would get her out of this. So, she thought, I guess the question is, what am I going to do? Am I going to give myself up for my friend?

The voice inside her head came out of nowhere. I don’t even need to ask that question. I love her. It hit her like a kick to the head, and she blinked, disoriented. Yet as what she had just concluded registered, everything started to become clear. She stood there, in a mix of astonishment and confusion. Slowly, while the whole room was quiet, she pieced together what she was thinking.

A thousand times I’ve said that I’d do what was right: I’ll go to visit my mom rather than skip town again. I’ll use the money to pay that guy back rather than spend it on a faster hard drive. But when the pressure’s on, in the heat of the moment, I always do what feels good. So I know I didn’t figure this out just now. I told myself a while back I’d do anything for her, and I knew why. So now that it’s time, I can to do the right thing for her.

This epiphany was jarring, but there was also a liberating quality to it. There’s something I have to do then, she found. And I know what it is. She looked to the PDA screen with a determined visage. And I’m going to feel good about doing it.

“Octavia has too good of a life for me to mess it up, McCullen. Let her go and take me.”

The guard behind her called out. “Vinyl, what are you doing?”

McCullen answered for her. “She’s made her choice, lad.”

The stallion still said, “This is a one-way road you don’t want to go down. Just wait and we can avoid that.”

“I’ve made her wait long enough,” the white unicorn answered solemnly.

“Alright then.” McCullen said. “Now, since I don’t want ye kickin’ and all that on the way here, how about you be a good girl and restrain yerself for me first?”

Vinyl turned around slowly to the stallions behind her and asked, “Who’s got some zip ties?”

The commander called again sternly, “Vinyl, you can’t go with this—”

“Somepony tie me up now!” Vinyl yelled. With Octavia’s whimpering the only audible noise, in a moment of tense consideration, a guard directly in front of her reached into his side pocket without using his horn. His mouth pulled out two white cords, and he cautiously approached the mare.

Vinyl sat down on her rear and lay flat on her stomach as he ran one cord around her left front and rear hooves. He pulled and tightened the ties. They sequentially clicked as they closed in, but Vinyl noticed he stopped before they were too snug. Without even testing her bonds, she knew she had a little wiggle room, perhaps even enough to escape later. She sighed inwardly though. The chances of that were slim.

Then so as to seal the deal, the villain asked, “And how about your horn? We can’t have none of those fancy spells like last time, can we?”

Knowing that she couldn’t debate this, Vinyl turned her head and reluctantly shouted, “Horn ring!”

After some hesitation a guard slowly and deliberately approached behind her. She felt the warm breath of the stallion and then the cold, magic-binding ring slide over her sensitive horn. Likewise, when it stopped coming down, she found that it was slightly loose. Then the guard said quietly, “Their majesties be with you, Vinyl,” and walked away.

A pang of grief hit her. The false hope these sabotaged restraints gave her was nothing short of tantalizing. She knew she could not escape once they had her, and until they had her, Octavia wasn’t safe. Yet there was still such a tiny chance that she could shake free after Octavia was out of harm’s way. It was a possibility only a fool could trust, but a part of her couldn’t let it go. The agony was sickening and unbearable.

“So just like that, lass? I’m through chasing ye?” the McCullen asked.

“Let Octavia go, and I’m yours,” the unicorn answered.

McCullen smiled and chuckled. On the PDA screen, Vinyl saw him lift a phone with his hoof. “Bravo team, move in and extract the fillies.”

Fillies? Vinyl thought. “McCullen!” she screamed. “I thought we had a deal.”

“Well, it’s like I said, Vinyl. There’s a demand on the market for fillies like her.”

A concentrated explosion of rage hit the bound unicorn. “You asshole!” Her tone was high and shrill. She started tugging and yanking at the cords with boundless anger. “You touch her, and I swear I will kill you!”

McCullen just stared at her and laughed. “Yer going to learn your lesson one way or another, and if it means yer little marefriend has to bite the bit too, I guess I’ll go there.”

Vinyl wildly yanked and writhed on the floor, screaming as loud and angrily as should could. To her overwhelming frustration, she found that she was tied tighter than she had thought. The ties were moving only millimeters down, and she was making little progress. If she was able to regain her mobility, it certainly would not be inconspicuous. I’m going to get free, she thought regardless. And when I do, I’m gonna beat your location out of this pegasus. Then you’re mine, you liar!

Behind her, she heard a few guards take a step. “Move another muscle, and Octavia is gone,” McCullen said. They stopped, and Vinyl jerked her head up to the screen. To her surprise, the villain’s face was no longer amused. In fact, he looked almost worried. He spoke into the phone again. “Bravo team, I said move in.”

There was another few seconds that passed by. McCullen yelled, “You colts answer me and take the—”

Suddenly the screen of the PDA went blank, and she was staring at a main menu of sorts. The call had dropped. What in Equestria? Vinyl thought.

A guard behind her called into his comm, “Team four, report in.” Silence ensued. “Team four, have you made contact?” Another pause came. “Sir, all I’m hearing from outside is stati—”

There was a huge barrage of blue, magic blasts assaulting the window, disabling the enchantments and breaking the glass in a show of light and electricity and shattering. The pegasus had no time to react before another flurry hit him in the back. The paralyzing spells immediately took effect and he went limp, dropping the knife to the side and slumping onto his captive.

“Suspect is down, move in!” The guards immediately stormed the room. Some pulled Octavia and the pegasus apart, putting him in plastic cuffs; one confiscated the knife; and more were using magic to tear apart Vinyl’s ties.

As soon as she was free to move again, a dark blue unicorn with a crescent moon cutie mark sailed through the open window from a chariot hovering outside. He landed on the floor, and there was a stray, red magical blast fired at him. He dodged it, jumping towards the door. Half of the room then erupted with shouts of “Friendly fire!” There were no following shots.

Then she immediately saw it. “Midnight!” she exclaimed in surprise.

Midnight ignored her and yelled to the crowd, “Will somepony please explain to me why I just had to take down a whole team of mercenaries out there? Somepony is Luna-dammned lucky that I just got back from the bloody Everfree. Who in Tartarus is responsible for perimeter security?”

One said, “That’s Safe Edge, sir.”

Midnight replied, “You can tell him then that his flank is fired. He’s lucky I just happened to have a comms jammer on hoof, not to mention no less than twenty ex-REA soldiers, or he’d be dead too. Somebody wait for my team to radio in after they’re done cleaning up out front. Then get this intruder down to level B3, and make sure the area is totally secure.” The guards scrambled to follow his orders.

Meanwhile, Vinyl had shot her glance back and found Octavia, who had just been untied. “Octavia!” she cried. The unicorn ran to her and threw her forelegs around the earth pony. “Octavia I’m so sorry!” she said loudly. “I’m never going to let this happen again. I’m going to make sure you stay safe.”

Octavia sobbed, pressing her face into Vinyl’s shoulder, and answered through tears, “Thank you, Vinyl. Thank you.”

Vinyl held onto her friend bawling into her shoulder, traumatized but safe.


[/hr]

Vinyl sat on a bench facing Octavia in the third underground floor. They were in a small walkway leading from the elevators to a set of double doors marked “Holding and Inquiry.” There was no clock down here, and she didn’t have her phone with her, so there was no telling what time it was. She did know, however, that she and her friend had been sitting there for a long while.

Neither she nor Octavia said anything. The unicorn was still too shocked for conversation even with her, and she guessed the same was probably true for her friend. It didn’t matter though. Octavia was safe and with her. Vinyl zoned in and out of thought as the time passed.

So I love Octavia, she thought. The statement came casually, almost like nothing had changed in the last two weeks. I almost lost her though. What’s it matter if she has to go through this? The question went on and on for untraceable minutes and hours. Half of the time she was just sitting there with the thousand-yard stare. Then she would come back to that question. Mentally and physically though, she was going nowhere.

At some point, however, the double doors opened and Midnight walked out. The blue unicorn stood there for a moment with bloodshot, tired eyes. When no one spoke, he finally said, “I think we’ve done all the work we can for now.”

The words entered Vinyl’s ears and settled in her head for a moment, a clump of meaningless sound. Then, when she realized she should be saying something, the words were deciphered, and she replied, “McCullen’s mercenaries talked?”

Midnight rubbed his eyes. “My team told me that the four outside teleported out before we could capture them. We captured the one that got in, but ... Well, I think you two had better just come inside for a minute. I’ll explain there.”

The white mare sat there for a moment, still dazed and wondering what she should do. Then she felt herself get up and say, “Okay.”

Midnight looked over at Octavia who still hadn’t moved or said anything. “Are you coming?”

“I’ll just stay here,” she said, staring at the floor. Her voice was barely audible

He sighed. “All right then. Come on, Vinyl.” He opened the door with his magical touch and went in, followed closely by Vinyl.

The inside was dark, lit up by a few dim lights overhead on the stone ceiling. There were a few guards inside, most of them sitting about on seats against the walls. All of them looked just as exhausted as Midnight. There was a table in the center with a desk lamp, covered with a mess of papers and parchment. At the back, there was a bolted door next to window above a mounted control panel. The window showed another featureless room with a single bright light, shining on a pegasus, the one that broke in.

He was seated in a steel chair with the light shining directly in his face. He had a collection of fresh bruises, a few cuts covering his face, and a black eye; however, he was smiling smugly. The sight of the pegasus caused Vinyl to suddenly come to her senses. A short, powerful rush of fury built up inside of her, and she wanted to dive through the glass to beat the tar out of him. She quickly caught herself, however, and asked Midnight, “So, did he talk?”

“Talk?” the stallion asked. “Oh, sure he did a lot of talking, but unfortunately for us, he’s good— really good.”

“What did we find out then?” the mare asked unfazed.

“Very little,” he answered, sighing again. “He told us that he was paid by McCullen, who was in a specific hotel in Las Pegasus, to break into the safe house and abduct you and Octavia. He got by a half-million bit security system, disabled a layering of world-class enchantments using a magic device from that Sapiens Nigri guy you glimpsed in Manehatten, froze the cameras on the second floor, knocked out two well-trained ex-REG guards, impersonated the voice of one of those guards to delay us, swept the entire third floor looking for Octavia, and eventually came back down to find her on the second and immobilize her before the whole house knew what was going on. He also said the boss is going to keep sending guys like him until he’s got you.”

Vinyl sucked her teeth. “Wow, that’s game-breaking intelligence.”

“I know,” he said exasperated. “The guy’s way too good at giving useless information. With almost no way to validate his claims, we don’t know what’s true and what’s false. Obviously McCullen isn’t in Las Pegasus. Considering the fine detail he gave us about the location, we know that’s just a red herring or a trap; but there’s not much else we can confirm or deny.”

“For Luna’s sake,” she groaned. “Forget McCullen. Do we at least know anything about this guy?”

“That’s just it. I said this guy was good. In fact, he’s too good for the amount of heat on him. There’s only a hoof-full of agents in Equestria with the skillset to do what this guy’s claiming to have done. We thought he had to have been in some special ops branch of the Lunar Guard. That’s the only place where he could have got this kind of training. We used advanced facial recognition software to try and find in him the system. All we had to do was look for a hidden file matching a gifted flier that suddenly just dropped off the face of the earth. Not a single operative even remotely matches him.

“Then we thought that he might at least have a criminal record. We cross-referenced him with the databases of the Canterlot Intelligence Agency and the Lunar Department of Correction, not to mention that we have a contact in the Night Court that hoof-searched through Princess Luna’s records of criminals both foreign and domestic: Absolutely nothing. This guy is a ghost."

Vinyl groaned again. “You’re telling me you just can’t beat it out of him?”

“He’s hard as nails. Yeah, we might be able to break him, but without leverage –which we don’t have— there’s no telling how long it’ll take.”

The mare went to another bench and sat down. “Alright, how about this: This guy confessed that he’s working with McCullen who’s trying to foalnap me. Can’t we send like a recording or something of him to the crown and get them arrested?”

Midnight scoffed. “And have to explain how we illegally detained and tortured a civilian? The police’d come after us before they did him.”

Vinyl through up her hooves. “The guy illegally broke into the house and tried to foalnap Octavia! You’re telling me they’d make us the bad guys?”

“We have no proof of that. He didn’t show up on camera the entire time. He doesn’t even have a criminal record. It makes our case even worse when you think about all of our defenses. If he broke into my old house back in Manehatten that has just a simple lock on the front door, they’d book him, no questions asked. But because of the skillset that it takes to break into this house, there’s no way they’d believe us, because the Canterlot Intelligence Agency thinks it would have a file on him if he was that good. Besides, royal investigators are already sniffing around. All they need is just something like this to pin a hundred other criminal acts on us.” Then he added, “half of which we’re actually responsible for.”

Vinyl sighed. “So, you’re saying that we have this guy who just broke into your secure safe house, and we don’t know who he is, where he came from, what his boss is planning or where he is, or what we need to do now?”

Midnight took a long time to answer. His eyes were fixed on the ground as he was thinking. Every now and then, he looked up and sighed, only to stare at the ground again. Eventually, however, he spoke. “Vinyl, I know how we can deal with this, but there’s a huge problem.”

The unicorn’s ears perked. “What’s that?” she asked eagerly.

“How much do you care about Octavia?”

The question came as a surprise, especially when she knew the stark answer. She loved her, but maybe she wasn’t ready just yet to let the world know. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Vinyl,” the stallion said sternly. “I remember what you did for me, but I also know that you had to think twice about saving me before you did. Still, McCullen used Octavia as a bargaining chip to get to you, and from what the guards and our prisoner tell me, you were more than ready to give yourself up for her safety.”

The mare averted her eyes and suddenly became very interested with his hooves. “So what are you saying?”

“I know now that you love her, but as glad as I am that you have someone you care about other than yourself, you need to understand: With all due respect to her, she is a liability.”

Vinyl looked back up quickly and shot back. “She is not a liability,” she said in a challenging tone.

He pressed on. “You might be able to skip town yourself again and find a new life in Trottingham, but she has a life and a day job. Sure, we can wall her up in a façade for a while, but at some point, she’s going to have to go back. If this goes on for much longer, she’s going to lose her job. Then where would she be?”

“Well, what about you?” she asked defensively. “You’ve got contacts. You can give her a new job easy.”

“You know damn well I can, but where is that going to get her? Ponies all over Equestria are going to know her as the pony that always has to cancel shows on short notice and get escorted by troupes of armed bodyguards. Vinyl, I know her type. She wants to live a normal life, not one where she always has to be paranoid of psychopaths and mercenaries.”

“Then what the buck do you want me to do?” Vinyl yelled.

After,” He put a powerful emphasis on that word, raising his voice to match hers, “I bail you out of this mess and McCullen is behind bars, you are going to get it together. You aren’t the only one at risk anymore. You got her into this situation, and I’m going to bust you both out. But after that I’m not putting more lives at risk so you can drink and party without paying the price.”

He turned around and shouted to a guard, staring at them. “I’m done here now. Watch that guy and do not engage in conversation with him under any circumstances.” Then he immediately left, thrusting open the door and slamming it shut behind him.

Vinyl sat there for some time again, mulling over that, but then she walked out of the room and found Octavia still sitting in her seat unmoved. The bench the gray pony was laying on was wide enough for Vinyl to sit on her rear. The unicorn took a seat next to her, saying nothing. Once again, silence ensued, neither pony apparently able to say anything.

I did this, Vinyl thought, as though she had just realized the situation that they were in. Midnight’s right. At least Octavia had a chance for a future before I showed up. The thought made her stomach churn. I mean, she did have to put up with a pretty uptight manager but at least she had a chance.

She had known this for some time. She had even admitted it, asserted it. Yet then it was only words. She knew what it meant without experiencing it, really grasping it. Though now, after this, after that pegasus making such a huge threat evident, it was almost too late. I lived through all this, because I could take it. I went to trial, stared Celestia in the eyes and served time. I risked my neck and had fun anyway … but I can’t do that to Octavia.

There was another sober moment of silence both within and without her mind. Gracefully and working unnoticeably, the pieces of truth, the facts that had lain dormant in her mind that had failed to coerce her from a life of thrill and misery, mountaintops and valleys, were now coming together in light of this new state of events: Living and enduring without help or company was once difficult for her, but she had overcome and overlooked the hardship of that arduousness. After she had thrown aside all obligations, all the chains which her father had wanted to use for accomplishing his own vision, she grasped half the truth of her rugged individuality. She was free and liberated forever. She was the mistress of her fate, the captain of her soul.

Yet liberty did not come without responsibility. Individuality was really just another name for loneliness. In this silent and sober moment, sitting underground in the dark, artificial light, pondering the severity and the nature of the present time, the puzzle being built from those pieces was completed. As soon as the truth was made evident, Vinyl threw up walls around it so that she could not see it. For some time Vinyl stood outside the door in her psyche, knowing that she held the key but was afraid of what lay behind. She trembled, strongly reluctant to find what was within. So she stood outside, shaking like a filly outdoors in the dead of winter.

This metaphorical embodiment of the machinations of her mind came to a standstill. Vinyl was paralyzed, knowing it was impossible for things to go back to the way they were but unwilling to accept the matter at hoof. Though, the second this paralysis became clear, the second she saw that she was afraid of change — the very core of the life that she willingly embraced — this fear turned to rebelliousness, and this rebelliousness became strength. She would not allow herself to be called afraid, and therefore, she had the power to stare the truth down. And the truth would set her free.

Thus she understood it: I love Octavia, so I guess I have to cool it.

She laughed lightly inwardly. I guess it’ll be worth it if she loves me back. This epiphany, no matter how paradigm-shaking, seemed natural for Vinyl and peaceful. It was crazy to look at it this way, maybe. She didn’t know if Octavia loved her back. Maybe she wasn’t even into mares. And then there was the problem with McCullen. But, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, she resolved. As crazy as it was, it seemed very simple to the unicorn at this time. If Octavia being safe and happy meant her not drawing unwanted attention, she could do that.

She looked over at her friend, who hadn’t moved during her entire escapade. “Octavia,” she said. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

The gray pony looked like she was lost in thought but she finally turned her gaze to Vinyl. Her eyes were red, her mane was a mess, and her gaze didn’t seem to focus on anything in particular. Her voice came so quietly it was hard to hear, “I’m very sorry Vinyl, but I don’t really feel like talking.” The cellist got up and walked over to the elevator.

What had just happened barely registered in the DJ’s mind. “’Tavi?” Vinyl called after her, hoping that she would reconsider. The elevator doors opened. The earth pony stepped inside, and the doors closed.

♦ ♦ ♦

Octavia fell into the bed facedown, fresh tears streaming down her face. Oh dear Celestia, she thought. What am I going to do? She sobbed. I’m so sorry, Vinyl. I know I hurt you back there. I want more than anything just to be with you now, but I can’t. I need to be alone, because I can’t face you anymore like this.

“Oh Celestia, what am I going to do?” she cried aloud this time for emphasis. The events of the past hours would not leave her head as much as she wanted them to. There was almost no way to make sense of them, but they remained burned into place. Again and again the memory played back without stopping. McCullen had not just sent a foalnapper after her and come so close to taking her life. He had and still was threatening her very life’s meaning. Vinyl had saved her life, but she was far from secure. What Vinyl did not know, what had transpired sent shivers up her spine. As she lay there, despite her best efforts to think about anything else, the awful scene that had just unfolded once more presented itself like a terrible horror movie with no stop button.

She had been sleeping peacefully just a few hours ago without even dreaming, in the comfort of her bed. Then suddenly, a blinding light hit her dead in the eyes, and she had felt the huge weight of another body fall on top of her. The mare woke immediately, but the assailant left her no time to defend herself. The covers wrapped tightly around her front, and she couldn’t budge. Her eyes shot open, and she saw her attacker was a pegasus. Her mouth opened to scream, but the icy, pointed edge of what must have been a knife slid horribly over her throat, and she caught herself. The jagged blade’s points pressed into her, causing her to hold her breath.

“Move, anh I hill end you,” he said firmly.

Even with his voice garbled through the knife, she knew immediately what he meant. “What do you want?” she immediately asked without thinking. The barbs threatened to break the skin with each movement of her lips.

“Hone’s hor you.” Octavia felt him shift slightly and suddenly, another voice came, “Octavia, always lovely to meet one of Vinyl’s friends. How are ye, lass?” She gasped sharply. There was only one pony who this could be, and she was now at his mercy.

She was stunned for a moment in pure terror. He and her attacker were talking, but their words weren’t registering. She could only shiver and hope this was a dream, but the knife again brought her back to reality. This was real, and she was scared senseless.

McCullen spoke again. She heard this time. “Octavia, be a good girl and look at Shadow’s phone, will ye.” The weapon’s pressure alleviated slightly, and the pegasus’ foreleg twisted to show her a PDA mounted above his hoof. On the screen there was a video feed. There was a light blue earth pony with a brown mane and tail sitting upright on a couch at the rear of a dark room.

One of his hooves was resting on something large that was standing on the floor, propped again the couch. Then to her further horror, she immediately recognized what it was. Again, she gasped, and said under her breath, “My cello.”

The stallion smiled and took a single take at the instrument. “That’s right Octavia. Ye left something in yer room at Manehatten, and I took it upon meself to make sure nopony else got ahold of it. The problem though is tha’ it might be a little hard for me to make sure it stays nice an’ safe if you go screaming and hollerin’ for help.” He chuckled and ran his hoof over the strings. “So what do ye say? Can Shadow take that mean ol’ knife off your pretty littl’ neck?”

Immediately, she answered, “Yes, sir.”

“Shadow,” he said, “Proceed as planned.”

The pain on her neck stopped and the pegasus jumped with a flap of his wings off the bed. Quickly, he ripped the covers off of her bed. He grabbed a part of one of the sheet with his teeth and another part with his hooves. The silk tore when he pulled swiftly in opposite directions. He repeated this several more times until there were three strips of silk, one noticeably larger than the others. The pegasus spoke sternly to her. “Get on the floor, and place your forehooves as far as you can behind your back.”

Octavia looked at him and then to the PDA screen. “Please, don’t make me—” she started desperately.

“Do what he says, and you and yer cello will be fine,” McCullen said.

Reluctantly, the mare stepped off the bed onto the middle of the hard floor and laid herself down. She pulled her forehooves behind her, but they didn’t go too far. Quickly, the pegasus grabbed them and pulled them uncomfortably far back, causing her to inhale sharply. She felt him bind her hooves together with a strip of cloth. Then he clamped her rear legs together and tied them. He did this very fast, and soon, she was again immobilized.

He walked around to her front again and sat. He put the screen close to her face, and she again was staring at her worst nightmare. The villain spoke once more. “All right, Octavia, I’d love to chat and see how you an’ Vinyl are doin’, but it looks like I have to be brief. Let’s get down to business. Judging by how surprised ye are to see this cello again, I’m sure you badly want it back. What I jus’ figured out though, is how bad. Ye see, I had some associates of mine do a littl’ snooping, and they found out something that I think is very interestin’.” He stood up and walked around her instrument. Then he called to somepony offscreen. “Punisher, how about you come and tell Octavia what you found.”

A very tall unicorn with a long horn suddenly walked into view and took McCullen’s seat. He placed a large book onto the table the camera sat on. His coat was black, but he had a mane that was white like snow. His speech came lucidly. “After you left Manehatten, Octavia, an inventory check of your room was done. Very little of value was found except for this cello."

He spoke staring with unblinking, pale eyes, which seemed to bore into her own. “Originally, I thought it was nothing special, but with the insistence of my employer, I studied the cello and its case further. It was not too much longer until I found something very peculiar. On the underside there appears to be a small but very distinct marking. Now being a world-renowned mage, in my professional opinion, I believed it to be a magic seal of some sort, though it was clearly not modern. Its origin was faintly familiar to me, but I could not place it. In any case, the instrument itself appeared new, so I decided to pursue the matter.

“With the extensive resources that my employer provided, a number of books that were once available to me but were confiscated and residing in the forbidden library of Princess Celestia came back into my reach. And it just so happens that this book,” he gestured to the one sitting on the table, “contains the information necessary to identify the marking engraved into the cello.” His horn lit up with a crimson aura. He opened up the book and started flipping through the pages magically. “Before I disclose that, however, a little history.”

Shadow cut in. “We’ve got five minutes.”

Punisher continued. “I’ll take that into account, but I believe this is important. According to ancient sources, which will forever remain anonymous, just before the Nightmare Moon incident one-thousand and four years ago, Princess Luna was the most powerful magic-wielder on this planet. Her abilities were so great that most legendary accounts of her prowess are likely mythical. This book, however, is one of the few books written by her that remain of the hundreds that were destroyed in the Great War. It contains seventy-two spells which can perform inconceivable feats that seem to defy the laws and limitations of magic themselves. They include controlling and altering space and time, as well as ponies’ perceptions, beliefs and senses.

“These spells now contain casting instructions that the most gifted mages in the world have tried to imitate for centuries, but they have been unable to understand or perform them. The key to deciphering each of these spells lies in the magical circles, or seals which accompany them, and it just so happens that one of these seals is engraved on your cello.” He stopped flipping pages at this point and looked down. He levitated the book, and showed her the seal. She recognized its strange but so familiar design immediately. It was certainly the one marked on her cello.

No, she thought. Please don’t tell me they found out. Tears sprang to her eyes.

Punisher disregarded her display of grief. “The language in this book is very archaic, but the dialect and wordstock is surprisingly modern with respect to most documents of the time. That is how we know it was written by Princess Luna no more than a few months before the Nightmare Moon incident. There isn’t a lot written like this, so forgive me if I translate a bit slow."

Despite his excuse, he read rather quickly. “The seventy-first spell hath the spirit of Dantalion. He is a great and mighty prince, appearing in the likeness of a pony with a brilliant countenance; and he holdeth a wand at his right side. His office is to teach the art of sound unto the bloodline; and to capture the heart of any one so that they might weep or act; for he knoweth the hearts of all stallions and mares. This is his seal, which bear thou.”

He looked up, “Now – with limited time to spare — I did further research into some of the things in this text, and I found that ‘Dantalion,’ happens to be another name for Filius Primus Celestiae, the great musician of old. Moreover, this part about ‘the bloodline’ implies that this spell pertains to blood magic. Thus the spell can only be performed with this Dantalion’s blood, which can obviously be found in any descendants.”

“Three minutes until we have to move, people,” Shadow said surprisingly calmly.

Punisher ignored him. “That said, the seal being on this instrument does not necessarily mean that the spell this book promises is present. Therefore, I had to examine the instrument further. For a while, I did not find anything unusual but after performing numerous tests, most of which only an archmage can perform, I found a very faint trace of an enchantment. At first, it was almost unnoticeable, and the magical signature was very unfamiliar and strange indeed. Yet after further prodding, I finally found that this instrument was and is indeed enchanted.

“When I tried to find the purpose of the spell, I exposed my psyche to it. To explain it as simply as possible, I found a spell that resembles that of a computer program. The coding of this program is so foreign and unimaginably complex, I stopped trying to understand it immediately. However, I was able to see that unlike a computer program, which executes commands that alter the computer, this spell executes commands that could alter reality itself.

“Finally, at the request of Mr. McCullen, I did some research into the family tree of Filius, and found that, interestingly enough, about six hundred years into his genealogy, there appears a pony named von Weber whose name lasts through several generations. This name, I believe, must have something to do with you, Octavia, because this is your surname.”

As the gaunt, white-maned pony read and spoke, her tear-leaking developed into whimpering and then finally into full-blown sobbing as much as she could without wailing loudly. Having finished, the pony got off the couch and walked away. McCullen then reclaimed his seat and spoke just as casually as before. “So my filly, being an earth pony and all, I’m not entirely sure I believe all this ancient magic business or ye being related to some old composer, but I can tell from how yer crying like a foal that you do at least. So, if I were to take a guess from what my people tell me, you need this cello very much so you can make a name for yerself, and this magic’ll help you do that someday.”

The truth hit her hard like a train. This vile pony was right, and they both knew it. That cello was going to make her a legend someday. All she had to do was play at the gala under her own patronage. That was the fine print of the spellcraft. She was just so close to making that happen. She was breathing hard and was close to losing it at this point. This was all happening too fast.

“Time to wrap this up,” Shadow said more urgently.

“The point is, lass, I think we can help each other out. You want this cello back, and I want Vinyl. So, I’m giving ye a choice. Do ye want to keep this cello and become a musical legend, or do ye want to stay with Vinyl, who’s goin’ to come to me at some point anyway, and have this piece of wood get thrown off a skyscraper?” He held up his hooves like the arms of a balancing scale. “You can have yer life or your fillyfriend. Don’t decide now though. I’ll be in touch. Shadow, let’s get this done.”

The pegasus grabbed her mouth and wedged it painfully wide open with a hoof. She saw him take his other hoof and place something small and metallic on her upper, right rear molar. He started speaking very quickly. “This is a bug and a tracking device that is now glued to your molar. We will hear everything you say, every second of every day, and we will know where you are to the centimeter 24/7. If you say anything about this meeting that informs any one of this choice you’ve been given, the cello will be busted. We have spies that have infiltrated this house, and if you try to inform others about this meeting, the cello will be splintered. You will be able to hear McCullen at any time through this device. If he tells you to do something and you do not obey, he will destroy your cello.”

Through the open door, Octavia heard the sound of a single pony’s hoofsteps pounding down the hall. The pegasus grabbed the third piece of cloth and stuffed it in her mouth, preventing her from talking. He recovered the knife he had dropped and slid it into its wooden sheath on his rear leg. Standing over her, he whispered into her ear. “This is where I’d normally tell you that this would be about to be over, but I guess in your case the agony has just begun.”

She heard the terrible sound of sharpened metal grinding against wood and then felt the knife against her throat again just as Vinyl threw open the door.

Comments ( 25 )

I shall read when I have the time -Adds to favorites- :pinkiehappy:

... Well. Buck. Poor Tavi. Just when she thought she was saved, it turns out she wasn't... ouch. This is going to be hard and difficult.

It's great thus far!
Oh and yay updates!:twilightsmile:

... Really. Seriously! The author chose to have this debate?! :twilightangry2:

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no- A THOUSAND TIMES NO!!! GRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

MAY YOU NEVER KNOW HAPPINESS AND FEEL NOTHING BUT MISERY!

3108411
The latest chapter...

3104375
Just for clarification, it was clear enough that the last scene of the most recent chapter was a flashback to that same incident from Octavia's point of view rather than Shadow's or Vinyl's, right?

Damn. Didn't see that coming.

~Skeeter The Lurker

Hate to rain on your parade with the whole bug thing but...paper and pen. There is nothing stopping Octavia from communicating directly with Midnight or Vinyl via paper. Or, after it has been established that she is bugged, Midnight could even pull out that fancy radio jammer of his. Other than that, great story so far.

3115025
Swear to Jesus, she better think of something like that

3115025
Hence why Shadow emphasized that they already had more spies there. If Octavia tries to go with paper or anything else for that matter, the spies/spy (namely Siri who was mentioned in the previous chapter) will know about it. The bug is just a little extra insurance.

3117081

Now, this next part would take some actual thought on Octavia's part but hear me out. She tells Vinyl via paper that she is bugged and needs to speak with Midnight (Two ponies that can definitely be trusted) but under these conditions:

1. Midnight must call for her under the pretense of some necessary but mundane need.

2. They meet in someplace that has been swept for bugs and can be completely sealed visually and has no security cameras, (You would be surprised how many places would easily fit that description, even in a secure castle.)

3. And when they meet, The carry on a normal conversation while they exchange written dialogue.

Bam, communication that is uncompromised and un-suspicious.

3117420
Let me pause right here. We could go on like this for a while. There are many elaborate plans that Octavia could use to escape this situation that she's in, and any one of them could be engineered and implemented. Who's to say that they will or won't be in any case? Rest assured that there will be a logical explanation for every action made where such reasoning may not be immediately evident; however, be reminded that a proper story must be brought to climax, not have everything resolved immediately without decisive conflict.

3121897

Oh, most certainly. My comment, which I admit is not clearly stated as, was a jab at your character McCullen, not at the writing itself. My follow up to your comment was more of a "Challenge accepted" kind of response. Certainly the plan I devised takes forethought and a calm state of mind, something that Octavia is not prepared to be at the moment, and may never be depending on what you decide. I just thought the idea of a foolproof plan (which I am sure it is not in your mind either), (kinda like that one ship...what was it called? the Titanic? Yeah that's the one.) and McCullen's foolishness in thinking so funny. Also, this was kind of in reaction to a few of the commenters, which described the situation as hopeless, that there is always a way.

Sorry again for my pour choice of wording and I hope you don't hate me too much :twilightblush:

My fucking luna why does he do this to us we need u to stop with the dragging and make tiva and vine fuck and fall in love and start to kick them all in the ass:flutterrage::flutterrage::flutterrage::twilightangry2:

oh lookie here, a new Octiscratch for me to read

3256035
Well, I must say it's lovely to see a fresh comment after so long. Not since my old consultant Tenderheart constructively criticized this chapter have I heard anything specific about this chapter despite the generous views that I've been seeing since its publishing. Thank you for that dearly. Your praise is an inspiration.

As for the seemingly out of place reaction of Octavia, that may be the case for some people, but since in the future, I will be using this effect in a different story as a main plot point, I think I should explain this: Octavia has been living in bondage for her whole life, and she has been kept from an sense of danger (excitement) since her birth. It is as if she were born in a cage. The problem with this is that as the years pass, Octavia grows and the cage seems to become smaller and smaller until the bars grind into her sensitive skin. The meaning of this parable is that the social pressures put on her, the expectations which she is required to live up to, and the restrictions upon what she can and cannot achieve have become so incredibly unbearable ... that she begins to lose hope. And while a pony can go forty days without food, she cannot go a single second without hope. Where is the meaning in her hard work if it returns nothing? What is the purpose of going on if only more agonies await? She begins to believe that she will be unable to complete even the smallest tasks. Yet there is a hope for her, and it is found in Sun Tzu. Paraphrasing, he says, throw her into a situation where the only choice is between acting and dying, and she will prefer action to death. She will fight even beyond the limits of her capacity. There is nothing that she will be unable to accomplish (Art of War, Book 11).

Let me convey one last metaphor here, before I conclude: Imagine that someone told you to build a pyramid, but they didn't give you any tools, and you could only use stone blocks that weighed a ton. Until you finish the pyramid, you cannot do anything else. You complain that you are unable, but no one will listen, and you are left to sit in the heat of the day. As your hunger and weariness increases, you begin to grow more desperate, and you beg for help, but no one will help you. Eventually, someone at least has the kindness to tell you that there is a sledgehammer nearby. You think that you could use it to break up the heavy stones, but everyone assures you that the stones are too strong. Desperate, you try anyway, but you little more than dent them. Days pass like this and it really seems that you will die here slowly. Yet unexpectedly, there is suddenly a cry from the south that a great storm is coming in a week, and it will certainly destroy anything and everything it passes over except for a large stone building. In this moment, when death looms over you, you realize that you must build this pyramid to save yourself. You have no other option. In a blind rush of madness, you lunge for the sledgehammer from before and grip it with an iron grip. Then with all your might, you slam the stone blocks with strength that you didn't know you had before. until they break. With only three days left, you construct the pyramid out of the pieces and find shelter inside just as the storm comes.

The meaning of this parable is that when Octavia is faced with death, in a single moment, all of the social pressure, all of the people telling her she could not succeed, and all of the limitations on what she could do, are suddenly destroyed-- Because while she is so afraid of disappointing others, or failing because others won't let her succeed, in her heart of hearts, she realizes that she values her life and her happiness more than she values the opinions of others. It is in this moment that she sees true hope, and she understands that because she is allowed to do anything, she can do everything. As with the metaphor, she still has a terrible and near-paralyzing fear of what will happen, but that is overshadowed by the monumental effect of this realization. She is the master of her fate. She is the captain of her soul. And no powers great or strong can stop her if she does not allow them.

All of that said, there is a crash from this high. I hope you enjoy what is to come, and thank you for reading my story.

I can't wait for the next chapter of this. It's well written, keeps your attention, and has a touch of action to make you sit on the edge of your seat. I don't know what Octavia is going to do, but I might have an idea or two.

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By the gods, man.
That was well said indeed.
~OvO

So far, an interesting read. A bit of Deus Ex Machina every other chapter, but it's also really detailed.
I hope Octavia makes the right choice. It's also...interesting to see her ulterior motives.
I wonder if Vinyl's going to remember the...oddities in her room and realize their importance.

I know it's dead due to the time since update but incase you still read these I do pray it continues someday
One more chapter could tie a bow on this nicely. Some sort of witness protection program for the two and living a quite life in ponyville til the big bad dies 5 years later then poof twilight's grand galloping gala happens and all is right with the world

11167361
Don't worry, I'll cyber bully him to keep writing.

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