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A Chance Meeting2,008 words
A Quick Breakfast2,024 words
A Chance to Move On2,114 words
An Explanation2,100 words
An Opportunity to Recover2,038 words
A Lie?2,030 words
An Investigation2,077 words
A Friend's Visit1,943 words
An Almost Mistake1,790 words
A Prelude to Darkness2,016 words
A Shelter From the Storm2,032 words
A Quick Nap1,974 words
A Flash of Fear2,053 words
Dance with a Princess1,997 words
A Plea for Help2,045 words
The Beginning of the End2,003 words
The Confrontation2,033 words
A Hint of Hope2,001 words
A Reunion2,001 words
The End of the End2,003 words
Epilogue517 words

The End of the End

Families spelled trouble. No matter what kind of family, drama always ensued. Octavia’s didn’t, mostly because she didn’t have a family anymore. But even the royals had familial drama and here she was in the midst of it despite not having any of her own. “This is your mother?” she asked, a bit of fatigue making its way into her voice.

Out here in the sun, she could easily see the truth of what the darkness hid away. Vinyl had blood on her, more than what you’d expect. It was everywhere, starting from a point in her foreleg and- Oh. She’d been shot. It took a second for Octavia to realize it, but she’d definitely been shot.

And suddenly, Octavia felt a plume of rage ignite in her chest. It hadn’t been enough to capture her love. It hadn’t been enough to hide her away and half torture her. It hadn’t been enough to even try and kill Octavia, they’d had to shoot Vinyl as well. And this beast, Vinyl’s mother, in front of her had been the one to set all of this up from the very beginning. Octavia surged forward, ready to strike her, ready to beat her into a pulp.

But Vinyl stopped her, stepping in front of the raging Octavia and keeping her in her place, if only because she didn’t want to hurt Vinyl.

“So look, Mom, we just got out. There’s a fuckload of royal guards coming. There’s a smart thing to do here, and that’s for you to get your shit and leave. Get out of Canterlot and don’t come back, because now? They’re going to be looking for you,” Vinyl started, seemingly trying to reason with the girl. “The best thing you can do right now is let us go and get out yourself. So let’s do it. You leave. We won’t say a thing, everypony wins.”

Octavia got it. Vinyl didn’t have a lot left in her. They needed to get to the hospital, they needed to get safe and clear. Fighting always had risk to it. They could lose, and even anger wouldn’t really get Octavia through it, especially with Vinyl still bleeding out.

Vinyl’s mother stood, and Octavia realized she’d never even learned the mare’s name. “Oh, Vinyl, sweetie. Why don’t you let mommy take care of you, hmm?” she asked, a dangerous smile on her face that Octavia did not like the look of one bit. “Come back to your home, come back to your ponies. Let us take care of you. We aren’t afraid of the Royal Guards, they can’t hurt us here.”

Smooze, that was the word that Octavia looked for. Vinyl’s mom acted like a smooze, and Octavia wouldn’t let this just happen. She shouldered forward, passing up Vinyl and taking the lead in front of her, even as she watched a small pool of blood start to gather underneath Vinyl’s leg. Just a small thing, but Octavia couldn’t ignore it.

“We need to leave. I’m afraid this isn’t something that can be debated. I am going to take Vinyl to the hospital, and you’re not going to stop us.” They really needed to get the bullet out, the longer it stayed in, the more dangerous it would be… Octavia may have watched a bunch of crime dramas.

The mare simpered. That’s the word that Octavia wanted, right? Simpered. She looked pathetic, like Octavia had just struck her. But it turned, went from that sad look to one that promised hurt. She stepped close, and Octavia couldn’t help but shy away just a touch from the sudden presence in front of her.

But most importantly, she kept Vinyl behind her. Her hurt love would be protected no matter what, and Octavia could fix this.

The fight that she waited for never came, the other mare harrumphing and sticking her nose up, turning away and deciding they very well weren’t worth the time. “Take her, then. See if I care. She’ll bleed out before you make it anyways.” Any bit of fake kindness had evaporated, disappeared with those words, replaced by a cool, indifferent hatred. That’s what Octavia had expected, and that’s what she now saw. “C’mon,” she mumbled, looking to lead Vinyl away.

It did occur to her that Vinyl had started to get more quiet, and when she looked back at her, she could see the paleness in her cheeks, the way her eyes drooped, and the way her entire front half had been covered with blood. Was that from the fight? Or her wound? Nevertheless, they had to go.

Out of the little garden they went and into the street, Octavia actually recognizing where they were. It was a nice part of town, the part of town that money got you. Nopony lived here unless you were incredibly wealthy, it was the section for ponies who had bits but no royalty, hence why Octavia’s family hadn’t lived there - they had royal ancestors.

Still, she’d been over here enough to know her way around, and she knew that a hospital waited just a half dozen blocks away. Canterlot Central, one of the best around too.

“We can make it,” she murmured, supporting Viny’s side as they cantered through the streets. It was slow going, and each step felt like it could be the last, even as Vinyl looked towards her with a slightly bloody smile, teeth stained pink.

“Hey Octavia,” Vinyl whispered out, the words quiet, so quiet that she nearly missed them. She didn’t stop, she couldn’t let either of them stop as they went on. “If I don’t make it, I want you to know that I love you. You’re the - nnng - most important pony in my life and I - ah! - love you so much.”

The words brought tears to Octavia’s eyes, not because of the profession but because of the implication. “No,” she nearly spat out, words full of steel. “Don’t say that. You wait and say that when you’re all better, you hear me?” she asked. This had to work, she couldn’t lose her. Not again.

And then Vinyl collapsed. A second ago, they’d just been walking, a second ago, the two of them had been trotting along, moving closer ever second, and then a second later, Vinyl was on the ground, struggling, fighting to get back up. But she couldn’t. “H-help,” Octavia barely heard the whisper leave Vinyl’s muzzle, but it’s all she’d needed to hear.

Something possessed her. Octavia would look back on this one day and swear that it hadn’t been her, but the weak, soft girl who’s only exercise was playing an instrument managed to get Vinyl up and across her back. Not only that, but she managed to start stepping forward too. It was a glacial pace, one where she had to strain and fight for every extra step, but she started moving.

One hoof in front of the other, one after another, take her. Blood spilled all over her back too, turning her gray fur a dark, ugly red, but she kept walking. Only a block more to go, she could do this, only a half black more to go, just keep going. She could see the sign of the hospital, could practically taste how close they were.

Or maybe that was her own body starting to give out on her. It didn’t matter, nothing else mattered except getting her favorite person, her love, her everything to safety.

Somehow, she managed it. Somehow, she managed to push through the front doors of the place, somehow she managed to get through. This time, it was her turn to say the word: “Help,” she mumbled out, and then louder. “Help!” she yelled.

That brought attention to her indeed.

A flurry of nurses and doctors both descended on her, and for a second, Octavia lost consciousness entirely. Maybe it had been from getting her ear shot and losing her own blood, maybe the stress overcame her, maybe it was all those things combined, regardless, Octavia passed out.

The next time she awoke, she found herself in her own hospital bed, her ear bandage tight and everything feeling relatively… fine? It even took her a second for her brain to catch up with the situation at hand, slowly churning it’s gears to figure out where she lay.

The hospital. Right. She’d made it, she’d saved herself and Vinyl-

Vinyl wasn’t in here. It was just her in a private room. Octavia stirred, moving under the covers, trying to get them off and feeling the tug of an IV in her arm. It made her wince, the sudden, sharp jerk of pain enough to stall her advance for a second, but only for a second.

Fortunately, a second was all that was needed before a nurse came in with a worried, panicked look in her face. “Miss Philharmonic, please stay down!” she urged. “You’re hurt and exhausted, and you need your rest!”

She didn’t look like a mafia member. In fact, with her white fur and pink mane, she looked quite sweet, gentle. Just a nurse.

Just a nurse.

Octavia settled herself back down, though the distrust in her eyes remained. “Where’s Vinyl?” she asked, the words croaking out. She needed water, she needed food, though she supposed the IV would do most of that work for her.

The nurse didn’t instantly answer, face twisting up in confusion but only just barely. “Vinyl? Who is… Oh! Miss Scratch! She’s in surgery right now, but I really can’t give you any more information than that until we make sure you’re safe. You lost a lot of blood and you’re exhausted, Miss Philharmonic. You need to rest. Please, trust me, the doctors are doing all they can to save her, and they’re the best in Canterlot.”

Why didn’t relief come? Normally, she would have trusted doctors, respected them, but right now, it felt like she couldn’t trust anyone. The mare had to force herself to stay into the spot and breath, anything to calm her down. “Can I do anything?” she asked, voice small and vulnerable. Why did she feel like a child, dammit!?

The nurse shook her head, the nurse that Octavia now realized was named Redheart due to the tag on her uniform. “You can lay down and rest. Please, relax. I’ll come back as soon as I hear any news, okay? Is that acceptable?” she asked.

And, with nothing else to do but wait, Octavia nodded.

And wait. The only sounds were the beating of the machines beside her and the occasional clop of hooves outside her door. She couldn’t get up, her body hurt too badly, and she couldn’t have done anything to help if she wanted to. So all she could do was wait and be nervous, be scared.

If she’d gone through all of this only to lose Vinyl anyways, Octavia might just not be able to deal with it. It’d be too much, overwhelming what little fragile bit she still had left in her. It felt like hours, and maybe it was, especially since Octavia felt herself fall asleep at least once.

Her patience would be rewarded. Another mare came in, this one in a lab coat, and with a name tag that said Doctor. Doctor… Stitches? Really, wasn’t that a little on the nose? “News?” she blurted out, sitting up in the bed.

The doctor smiled and Octavia thought her heart might explode. “She’s going to be okay.” Only now did the world really come into focus, only now did she see how tired the doctor looked, that the lab coat had blood on it, that everything in the hospital seemed so busy. She’d focused so hard on Vinyl that everything else had just.. Gone away.

But it was okay. It was alright. “Thank you,” she whispered out, the words coming out nearly silent. “Thank you for saving her.”

Now, Octavia could finally sleep. Without another thought, the girl went out like a light.

Author's Note:

I've been scared to post this. It's been done for a few days now but I've been worried about how it's going to go. But here it is! There will be an epilogue too, but whew

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