Intermission pt. 2: Control your Deamons
The next day, Octavia went to the Orchestra as if nothing had happened. However, when Lyra tried to strike up a conversation with her, she always busied herself somehow or just looked away. Lyra noticed this of course, but didn’t immediately say anything. Only when practice concluded for the day and she had followed Octavia until they were out of earshot from the others, did she try again.
“Octavia, wait!” she called after her new friend.
The grey mare tensed up for a moment, but quickly gathered herself and kept on moving with a slightly quickened pace.
“Octavia, please! At least tell me what’s wrong!” Lyra called again.
Octavia hesitated again, however she would’ve kept going again, if Lyra hadn’t been fast enough to block her path this time. Octavia tried to get past her, but every time she moved, so did Lyra.
“Octavia, please tell me—“
“Don’t call me that anymore.” Octavia said in a firm, yet regretful sounding tone.
“What? Why?”
“Because… Because…” Octavia stuttered, slightly tearing up.
“Don’t you like it anymore? I-I can think of another one, if you want?” Lyra offered.
“No, it’s not that. I like it, I really do! My parents, however… they don’t.” Octavia said, rubbing her cheek with a hoof. “My father, in particular, was very thorough in telling me that.”
“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Lyra lunged forward, holding Octavia’s head in her forehooves and looking it over to see, if she were hurt.
“No- I mean yes, I’m fine, it’s just… My parents just don’t like it if I’m given weird names.” Octavia told her.
“Oh. Well, did you ask them what your actual name is, then?”
“Euh, yes… yes, I did…” Octavia trailed off. Lyra waited for a few seconds and when no further details came, she pushed for an answer.
“So, what is it?”
“I… I… I have none.”
“WHAT?! Why? Did they forget or something? Why didn’t they give you a name?!” Lyra exclaimed.
“Because they… they thought I didn’t deserve one, because I’m nothing more than a disgrace.” Octavia whined, only margins away from actually starting to cry. “They said that me, an earth pony, being born to a pair of unicorns is only an omen for bad luck. They say that I’m nothing more than a kharagh!”
Lyra gasped, as she heard that. “They WHAT?!”
“And-and I somehow get the feeling they are right, I mean-“
“Now that’s horsedung, Octavia!” Lyra interrupted her. “For the record: I think you are everything but a disgrace and I even dare say the exact opposite of a kharagh. If your parents can’t see this then it’s their fault, not yours!”
Octavia looked at Lyra with a slightly shocked expression. It was the first time for her to hear somepony else say something so nice to her.
“R-really, you think so?” She asked tentatively.
“Of course I do! Why else would I want to be Musicbuddies with you?” Lyra ensured.
A few tears finally fell free from Octavia’s eyes as she lunged forward and embraced her friend.
“Thank you so much, Lyra!” She cried into her friend’s shoulder.
“No problem. That’s what buddies are for! Now come on, we go to the guard and tell them what your parents do to you. They will help.”
“Th-The guard? No, please don’t tell them, I-I am scared.”
“Of what? Relax, you’re not in trouble if you haven’t done anything wrong.” Lyra reassured her.
“B-But my parents… my father will be mad at me and… and… Lyra, please don’t. I appreciate that you care, really, but please, no…” Octavia pleaded.
“Are you sure? Telling the guard might help a lot, you know?”
“I know, but… what if it doesn’t? Please, I’m thankful, but keep the guard out of this.” Octavia pleaded again.
Lyra gave her a strong look, until she finally sighed and hung her head. “Fine. But the next time something is up, please tell me. Even if you don’t want to involve the guard, I can still just be there for you, you know? Just what a real buddy would do.”
Octavia gave a teary, grateful smile, before embracing her again. “Thank you, Lyra, I really appreciate that.”
She loosened the hug after a short while and made a few steps back. “Sorry, but I really have to go now. I’ll see you tomorrow at the practice, okay?”
“Yep, see you tomorrow!”
Octavia and Lyra continued their friendship, spending their breaks together and helping each other when they had problems. Whenever there was another case of Octavia’s parents lashing out to her, Lyra was there to comfort her. She kept up her offer of going to the guard, however Octavia refused every time.
Though, while she still didn’t want to involve the guard, Octavia had changed through her interactions with her new friend. Lyra helped her think of herself no longer as an object, like her parents did, but as an actual living being. She kept being obedient to her parents though, simply because she still held parental respect towards them and maybe even feared them a little.
Then, another big event took place. A bipedal being, identifying itself as a human, came to Equestria and, after some rather strange rumours had sprung up about it beating up the captain of the guard and such things, it joined the guard as an officer.
As such, he was also properly sworn in, which was followed by a dance night, as per tradition. By that time, Octavia had already shown herself to be quite talented, even among the other musicians in the royal orchestra, so she was one of the first to be picked to perform at the event.
It all went rather swimmingly. She didn’t make any mistakes during her performance and there was nothing of note inside of the ball room. Outside, however, it appears that there has been a duel between Prince Blueblood and the new officer.
After the duel, the new officer re-entered the ballroom and talked to a few ponies here and there… including Octavia. Their conversation was only trivial, really. He complimented her performance, she thanked him accordingly and then they went on a little tangent about different kinds of instruments that go well with certain occasions.
However, there was actually a problem with that conversation she held, as her parents, as nobles, were also present at the party and they did not like that Octavia had dared talk to anypony at the party, which she got to feel the moment the door to their home shut.
A hoof flew over her face just like all those countless times before.
“OW! What was that for, father?!” She demanded. She wasn’t a small filly anymore, hitting her didn’t resolve any arguments. If anything, it sparked them in the first place.
“How often do I have to tell you that you are NOT to talk to anypony who isn’t of noble birth?!” Her father fumed.
“Excuse me?! Am I not allowed to choose my own conversations or what are you trying to tell me?!”
“You are not supposed to be talking at all. Be grateful that I even let you speak to that friend of yours. You truly are nothing but a kharagh. Now, go to your room and Celestia beware if you dare come out before your next practice!” He ordered.
“You cannot simply resolve any argument by sending me to my room, father!”
He inhaled and looked at her darkly. “I am not arguing with you, my daughter. You do not have the right to argue with me. I am saying it one last time: Go. To. Your. Room. Or else, you will see that friend of yours never again.”
Octavia worked her mouth, but didn’t say anything anymore. She knew that saying anything would just harm her and her alone, so in the end, she just turned around and went to her room.
The next day at practice, Octavia’s performance was horrible to say the least. She missed her cue at least a dozen times and sometimes played completely wrong notes. Lyra took note of this and was concerned, as this could only mean that she had had an argument with her parents yet again.
“Octavia? What’s wrong? Did something happen again?” She asked her friend.
“Oh, hi Lyra. No, it’s—actually, yes, something happened.” Octavia answered hesitantly. “I had an argument with my father again. This time because I talked to that human at the ball last night.”
“Let me guess: he said something along the lines of ‘you don’t have any right to talk to strangers and yadda yadda’, am I right?” Lyra said.
“Yes, just as you would expect. That isn’t what’s conflicting me though. It’s that this time… I stood my ground.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, I talked back to him. I don’t know what came over me. Maybe I was just tired, maybe it’s your influence or maybe I’m just growing up? It could very well be all three at once all things considered.” Octavia told her.
“But that’s wonderful! You finally stood your ground and finally stand up for your rights!” Lyra exclaimed.
“Is it really that wonderful though? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do want them to treat me like a normal pony. I want to live a good life and I want to do more than just be a puppet to their noble schemes and such, but at the same time… I don’t know, it’s just… they’re still my parents, you know?”
Their conversation fell silent for a moment, before Lyra had an Idea how to brighten her friend’s mood.
“You know what? After practice today, I’m going to hit the clubs. Why don’t you join me? It would definitely be a good distraction for you.”
“The clubs? Oh, I don’t know. My parents would likely be really mad about that.” Octavia said hesitantly.
“Oh come on, just tell them that practice took longer today or something! What could possibly go wrong?”
Lyra led Octavia into a district filled with flashing lights and bright neon signs. The loud booms of house and techno music emanated from several establishments, but they seemed to walk past all of them. Instead they walked into a side alley and to the back door of one of the clubs, which was guarded by a very tall stallion, who wore a black suit.
Octavia was intimidated by him at first, but Lyra just walked to him, shot him a smile and he let them in.
“Uhhh… are you a VIP here?” Octavia asked dumbfounded, as the door closed behind them.
“VIP? Pfff, nah, I can go places even VIPs don’t get to see!” She boasted. “You know, I’m friends with the DJ here and we meet down here every now and then.”
Octavia looked confused over this. “Uhm… Excuse me if this sounds stupid, but… what’s a Dee-Jay?”
Within merely a few seconds, one could see Lyra’s face morph from a ‘are you serious?’-look to an ’Oh’, as she remembered Octavia’s situation. “Oh, uhh, a DJ is a musician… mostly… I think. They stand in front of the crowd and play the music for everypony else.” She explained.
“Oh, so there are multiple DJs in this club then?”
“Uh no, it’s just one.”
“Really? Huh, I mean every single instrument sounds beautiful without question, but entertaining a whole club for a whole night with just one instrument sounds rather… dull.” Octavia pointed out.
“Oh no, there isn’t just one instrument. Actually, there is none, at least not in the traditional sense. You see: normally, DJs play pre-recorded tracks while they stand behind this wall of buttons and adjust things like volume, the amount of bass and treble and such.” Lyra corrected.
“So more like a conductor then…”
“Eh, close enough.” Lyra conceded with a shrug “Now that I think about it: If you didn’t know about DJs, how come you know about VIPs?”
Octavia gave her a playful annoyed look. “Well, excuse me for applying the first general term that came to mind.”
They both snickered after that, before they continued down the hallway. After only a few steps, they could already hear electronic music playing, although dampened by the walls. Octavia was fascinated. Never had she heard such tunes and never before had it happened to her that she couldn’t place the instruments that were used, nevermind comprehend that such tunes could even be played by any instrument.
They came to a door, which Lyra stopped in front of and turned to Octavia. “Okay, now brace yourself, this is going to get very loud very quickly.” She told her.
“Really? It sounds pretty moderate right now, I doubt that—“
Just as Octavia said that, Lyra opened the door to the main room just a few inches. Immediately, Octavia’s ears were assaulted by loud, banging music that almost made her eardrums burst.
“WOW, THAT IS LOUD! WHY IN EQUESTRIA WOULD ANYPONY DO THIS TO THEMSELVES?!” She tried to shout over the music, but barely managed to reach conversation-level of audibility.
“I KNOW, RIGHT?! IT’S BECAUSE THIS DOOR LEADS DIRECTLY BEHIND THE STAGE! IT’LL GET BETTER WHEN WE MOVE AWAY FROM THE SPEAKERS!” Lyra shouted back, leading Octavia inside. They took a turn to the right, immediately after they passed the door and made their way to a small sitting area, where one pony was already sitting.
The mare had a green coat and a blue and purple mane and looked like she was expecting somepony. That was when she laid eyes on Lyra and greeted her.
“Hey Lyra! You’re later than ususal, did something—Oh, you brought somepony?”
“Yep, this is my Musicbuddy. Her name is Octavia.” Lyra answered.
“Uh, hello.” Octavia greeted shyly.
“Hello, Octavia. My name is Bon Bon, nice to meet you.” Bon Bon said, standing up to give Octavia a hoofshake.
“Oh, the pleasure is mine, really. It’s the first time that anypony has brought me somewhere that isn’t my home, school or my workplace, so it really is refreshing, even if a bit loud.” Octavia said. “Although, now that I think about it, this little area seems awfully quiet compared to what we just went through.”
“Yeah, this area is magically sound-proofed. You just heard the volume of these speakers and I bet your ears hurt from just a few seconds of that. Now imagine you are the DJ and you have to stand beside them for most of the evening. I bet you’d beg for at least a little peace and quiet and that’s what this little sitting area is for.” Lyra clarified.
“Yep, ‘cause being deaf is definitely not cool… or so I heard.” A fourth voice agreed from behind them.”
“Hi Vinyl.” Bon Bon greeted.
“’Sup, Bon Bon, hey Lyra. Uh, who’s the third?” Vinyl asked when she noticed Octavia.
“That’s Octavia. She had nothing to do today, so I brought her over. I hope that’s okay for you?”
“Your friend is my friend. Hey there, Octavia. I’m DJ Pon-3, or as my friends know me: Vinyl Scratch.” Vinyl greeted, stretching her hoof out.
Octavia took the hoof and shook it. “Hello, Vinyl Scratch, I am the Daughter of House Melody, or as Lyra has called me since: Octavia.”
“Heh, you know, Octavia: I have a feeling, this is gonna become an awesome friendship.” Vinyl joked.
And indeed it would. Octavia told her parents that, from time to time, they would now conduct ‘additional lessons’. In these occasions, she would then go to the club together with Lyra and ‘hang out’, as it was apparently called.
During their time together, Vinyl and Octavia grew closer and closer. It was strange, really. They had nothing alike, had completely different interests – in music just as in almost every other aspect of life. Yet, somehow these differences were set up so perfectly, that they complemented each other like Yin and Yang.
Even when the war broke out would they stick together, though the club was closed due to rationing of resources, so they hung out at Vinyl’s home instead.
This all went well until the day of the invasion of Canterlot, although it wasn’t really an invasion. Octavia woke up just as usual, but quickly noticed something was wrong, when yet again nopony was to be found, at least until she went into the basement.
White-frocked ponies were standing in a circle, similar to her sixth birthday, only that this time, nopony was standing in the middle. Unfortunately for her, the door and especially the door hinges were very old and produced a very loud squeaking noise when she opened them. Everypony in the room was suddenly looking at her, while she stood in shock.
Her most basic instincts kicked in and she turned around and ran as fast as she could, up the stairs, out of the house and into town. Her first thought was to go to the nearest guard station and report the incident. However, as she arrived there, she had to see how more ponies in similar frocks were besieging the building.
Turning back around, she instead headed for the next best spot she could hope was safe: Vinyl’s house. When she arrived, she almost burst through the door, had it not been locked.
“OH YOU STILL DON’T HAVE ENOUGH?! BUCK OFF ALREADY YOU STUPID--!!”
“Vinyl it’s me, Octavia! Please let me in, I need your help!” Octavia pleaded, resulting in momentary silence, before she heard the keys being turned from the other side and the door swung open.
Octavia immediately jumped inside and into Vinyl’s forehooves, sobbing her gratitude into her fur, while clutching her tight.
“Woah there, ‘Tavi, it’s alright, I’m here.” Vinyl tried to soothe her while she closed and locked the door again.
“Vinyl, my parents are gone and there are these weird ponies and I-I…”
“Shhhh, everything’s alright. You can stay here ‘till all this blows over.” Vinyl offered.
“Th-Thank you, Vinyl. Thank you so much.”
On the morning of the next day, Octavia awoke next to Vinyl in her bed. She was a bit hesitant to take the offer at first, but Vinyl didn’t possess a couch and, even though she offered to sleep on the floor, Octavia didn’t want that either. Thus, sharing the bed was their best option.
Octavia got up early as usual, and immediately wondered where she was. The room looked so strange, so spacious and comfortable. Almost like she had fallen asleep in one of the servant rooms. That was when she remembered what had happened and where she was… and suddenly, she felt very unsafe.
She looked behind her, where Vinyl was still asleep. Not that Octavia had expected anything else. After all, she always got up very early, even compared to the servants, so getting up earlier than a DJ, who usually worked until late at night was no wonder.
Suddenly the door burst open and a group ponies with weird equipment and multi-colored uniforms barged in. All three of them wore masks that obscured their faces and made them all-the more terrifying at the same time.
“Clear!” One of them shouted.
“Clear!” the second echoed.
“Two civvies, no hostiles!” the one who was currently right in front of her shouted back.
“Alright, secure the door, I’ll talk to them.” The apparent leader of the group came into the bedroom, switching posts with the other.
“Don’t worry, we’re with the guard, 4th Forward Recon.” He said, taking down his Mask. “We’re here to recapture Canterlot. Have you seen any Cultists or maybe even their hideouts?”
“C-Cultists? What do you mean?” Octavia asked, still in shock.
“Well, you know, cultists, like… white frocks, weird rituals, foalnap ponies, have infiltrated Canterlot and stuff.” The soldier described.
“I… uh, I think there were some in my house.”
“Really? This isn’t your house then? ‘cause there are none in here.”
“N-No, this is the house of my friend, umm, my house is the Melody residence.” Octavia said.
“Ah, the Melody residence. Of course. Well, the larger Estates of upper Canterlot are being cleared by a different team, but I will make sure to relay your information. Anyways, there is a rescue-area set up at the train station. The way there is clear, so you can easily make it there on your own and if not, there are a few teams already out collecting civilians, so you just need to wait a little.”
The soldier donned his mask again and walked to the door. “Oh and next time, you don’t need to lie just to tell me what you saw, okay? I don’t care what you were doing at the Melody Estate, I just want to know where these Cultists are hiding.”
“L-Lie? But—“
“Alright, fillies, come on, we’ve got more houses to clear!” He ignored her, instead rallying his group and moving on to the next building.
“Huh, well that was rude.” Octavia noted, turning around and heading back to the bed… where Vinyl had slept through the whole event.
After a few minutes of waiting, Octavia and Vinyl were picked up by the rescue group and brought to the train station. There, they reunited with Lyra and Bon Bon, who had apparently barely made it to the station when the Cultists originally attacked.
Apart from an explosion that suddenly shook all of Canterlot, their stay in the ‘refugee camp’ was rather uneventful. What had apparently started as a major threat to Equestria as a whole quickly dissolved itself into utter chaos, once their leader was killed. By the end of the day, the remaining cultists were rooted out and the civilians thus returned home.
The group took their walk home together, first taking Bon Bon home and then Vinyl. Then was Octavia’s turn, with Lyra still by her side.
They met her parents at the entrance to the estate, seemingly completely disinterested in the recent events.
“Ah, you have survived. Very good. It would have been quite bothersome if you’d have gotten yourself killed in this mess.”
“Well, ‘bothersome’ is certainly one way to put it.” Lyra said mockingly.
“I cannot recall having asked your opinion, Miss Heartstrings. Only because your family is considered nobility doesn’t mean that you get to speak up to those, who actually bear a title. Now, scurry off, will you? There is nothing to see here for you.” The father said insultingly.
Lyra took it in stride, ignoring him and instead turning to Octavia.
“Well, I guess you’re home now. See you at the Orchestra tomorrow.”
“Yes, I will see you at the Orchestra.” Octavia replied.
After the war had ended, everything went back to normal rather quickly. Some of the orchestra’s members had been injured during the attack, but mostly nothing that a few days in the hospital couldn’t fix. After their orchestra lessons, they would then, as usual, go to the club or to Vinyl’s house and spend the evening together, until Octavia went home.
Half a year passed by without any major events. The only thing of note was that a new prince had been crowned, but other than that, everything went as it always did.
That is, until one day, Octavia came home to find her father waiting for her in the Livingroom.
“Daughter, what in the goddess’s name were you thinking?!” He immediately accused, when she entered the room.
“W-What? What did I do wrong?”
“What you did wrong you ask?! Well, how about that you lied to me about your additional practices?!” He fumed.
Octavia felt how a cold current surged through her whole body. She had been found out.
“And as if that wasn’t enough, I find you fooling around with this lowly filth! You truly are a kharagh!”
“And who gives you the right to tell me how I spend my time?!”
Octavia was equally as shocked as her father when these words left her lips. Yet, it also felt… exhilarating. As if simply speaking these words has increased her own freedom by a thousand times.
“Excuse me?!”
“Yes, you’ve heard right!” Octavia went on. “I have enough of your stupid obsession! So what if I’m an Earthpony? Every pony race is worth equally as much as the others. You may have wanted a unicorn, but that hasn’t happened! Get over it, it’s called ‘growing up’!”
“YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME LIKE THIS?!” The father shouted in anger. “You have no right to even exist, are we clear?! You are my property and property doesn’t talk back to its owner!”
He went into his ‘rage-mode’ again, giving Octavia a full speech about how she was just worthless junk in his clean bloodline, but this time, Octavia didn’t shrink under his ministrations. She held on. So much so, that she could feel her teeth grind together and her blood start to boil. The tentacles appeared again, this time wrapping themselves around her right forehoof, before Octavia shouted:
“ENOUGH!” And flung a right hook directly at her father.
Her hoof connected with the force of twenty elephants, sending her father flying to the other end of the room and smashing into the wall. He survived, but was only barely conscious after the attack.
Octavia was shocked by her own action. She looked back and forth between her own hoof and father. Then, she heard somepony walk in one of the adjacent rooms and when she saw the handle of one of the doors turn, she turned as well and ran out and down the street.
She found herself at Vinyl’s house again, this time bashing clear through the door and stumbling into the entryway.
“Woah, ‘Tavi, what was that about?” a startled Vinyl asked.
“I-I need a place to stay. I-I messed up. Badly. Oh no, they’re going to kill me…” Octavia mumbled to herself.
“Easy there, ‘Tavi. Come on, I’ll get you something to drink and then you tell me what happened, okay?” Vinyl offered.
“N-No, please. I just—I just want to stay with you for a bit. I don’t want to pull you anymore into this than I already am.” Octavia declined.
“O… kay then? Well, I mean we can watch some Neighflix, if you want.”
Octavia smiled gratefully at Vinyl. “Sure, Neighflix sounds good.”
However, their time together was very limited, for soon after Octavia’s unexpected entry, somepony else knocked on the door.
“Good evening, Sgt. Safe Streets of the Royal Guard. I have orders to retrieve a certain ‘Octavia’ from this house. Please do not resist and this will be over without anypony getting hurt.”
“No, please, you can`t get her back there! Her parents, she—they will definitely hurt her, they—“
“Vinyl, please.” Octavia calmed her friend. “I don’t want you to get into trouble for this. I’ll just… I’ll just go and—“
“No! No, you won’t! ‘Tavi, I… I know about your parents, okay? Lyra has told me a while ago and it’s fine if you don’t want to go to the guard, but I’m not just going to give you up!” Vinyl declared.
“And I’m thankful for that. Really, I am. It’s just that I don’t want you to get into any more trouble.”
“But ‘tavi—“
“Vinyl. Please.” Octavia pleaded, looking her friend into the eyes.
Vinyl sighed and made room for Octavia to pass through the door.
“Thank you, Vinyl. For everything you did. Please don’t worry too much about me.” Octavia said as the guardsponies led her away.
“Damn, ‘Tavi… haven’t all these series taught you that it’s this exact sentence that makes ponies worry?”
A few days pass by without any sign of her. She didn’t even show up to the orchestra practices anymore.
Vinyl decided that this was enough and, on the third day after Octavia’s disappearance, she went to the guard to file a report.
“I want to file a report of domestic violence and probably foalnapping.” She said to the pony at the reception.
“Okay, against whom?”
“Against the patron of house Melody.”
The receptionist’s face fell a little at that. “I’m sorry miss, but the Melodies are part of the high council and therefore enjoy full diplomatic immunity. Unless you can prove your claim, you won’t be making any progress.”
“B-But my friend is in danger!” Vinyl tried again, unbelieving of what she just heard.
“As I said, miss, we can only do something if you bring proof. Besides, how did you manage to befriend anypony in that house? The pair of house melody is known for their isolation, even amongst other nobles.” The receptionist asked.
“I’m friends with their daughter.” Vinyl answered.
The receptionist’s face morphed into one of disappointment and anger. “Listen here, miss: the guard is not a place to bring your personal grudges. If you want to damage house melody, fine, you’re not the first one, but you’ll have to think of something better than that!”
“W-Wha—“
“After all, everypony knows that house Melody is currently completely without heir.” The receptionist finished. “Now, I suggest you leave, before I arrest you for defamation.”
Dejected and disappointed, Vinyl left the station, trying to think of another way to help her friend.
How long has it been since Octavia had been locked in her room? Was it four days? Five? Maybe even longer. She didn’t know, as the window had been boarded shut from both sides, leaving no room for sunlight to come in. Her rations also came very irregular, making it difficult for her to guess the time in any way, although the fact that she was getting rations at least meant that her parents weren’t going to kill her… yet.
Thinking of the Devil, her Parents entered the room, completely emotionless and unsympathetic to her current situation.
“Now, you little kharagh, what do you say to your father after you attacked him like that?” Her mother said in a commanding tone, while looking down on her – both, symbolically as well as physically.
“That I wish I took a second swing.” Her mouth worked on its own, but Octavia didn’t care. Pretending that she wanted to say something else would’ve been hypocrisy after all.
“Why you!” Her father stomped down on her head, but the tentacles were protecting her again, nullifying the pain completely.
“You can hit me as much as you want, I will remain resolute.” Octavia said in defiance.
“Oh is that so? In that case, we will have to resort to…alternate means.” Her mother implied.
“What do you mean with this?” Octavia asked.
“Oh, stupid little kharagh, didn’t you know? We are holding your little friends in the basement, as a little encouragement for you… but if you don’t behave, we will have to start torturing them.” The father said, casually.
“No…” Octavia mumbled in disbelief.
“Oh yes. And since you didn’t behave properly, we might just go for the first round right now.” The mother said.
“No.”
“Ah yes, that is truly a great idea.” The father agreed.
“NOOOO!!!!!” Octavia shouted with fury. She shot up, glaring at her parents, who were just about to leave the room. The tentacles formed again, this time in a row before her, with their tips aimed for her parents.
Two thick tentacles flew forward, impaling both of her parents back to front and piercing through the other side. Both of them wore a look of utter shock after that, coughing and sputtering as their lungs filled with their own blood.
They flailed, trying to free themselves, but whatever they tried, nothing of what they did was directed against the tentacles and therefore helped little with their predicament.
Slowly, their coats lost their colour, drained of blood and oxygen. Her mother gave a last, agonizing screech, before both of them went slack. The tentacles disappeared and the bodies of her parents fell to the ground.
Octavia still stood behind them, panting from her rage, but slowly cooling down. Then, suddenly, she remembered, why she was so enraged in the first place.
“NO!” She shouted, running down into the basement to save her friends… but they weren’t there. She searched every room, but there was no trace of them.
‘Maybe… Maybe they lied?’ She thought to herself, running out and the same route again that she had run for the third time now. She ran to the house, knocked on the door and waited.
The waiting was pure agony for her, seemingly stretching itself for multiple hours, when it was actually just a few seconds.
The door opened and on the other side stood none other than…
“VINYL!” Octavia cheered, jumping at her friend and tackling her to the ground. “Oh I’m so glad that you’re okay! I thought—“ She suddenly stopped and her eyes went wide as she saw a tentacle creep up behind Vinyl and hold its tip in the direction of her throat. “Oh no…”
“You’re glad that I’m okay? Sweet Celestia, ‘tavi, I thought they were really going to—OW!” Vinyl winced, as the tentacle stung her once.
“N-No, please, please don`t…” Octavia mumbled.
“’Tavi? What’s wrong? What was that just n-OW!” Another sting, this time with more force. More tendrils formed up around Vinyl, all of them seemingly ready to kill her at a moment’s notice.
“N-No, please… I’ll do everything, but please!” She pleaded. More tendrils showed up, this time wrapping around her forehoof and leading it to point outdoors.
Vinyl followed the point and asked. “What’cha pointing at, ‘Tavi? And what the buck were those stings just now?”
“I-I gotta go.”
“What? But ‘Tavi, I-“
“I really really gotta go now, sorry!” Octavia said, before rushing out the door.
“’Tavi, WAIT!” Vinyl shouted, running after her.
They reached the Melody Estate and Octavia ran inside, followed closely by Vinyl. Octavia ran into a room, the door of which stood slightly open, shortly before a soft tune started to play from within.
“’Tavi?” Vinyl called, as she reached the door and went through it. What she saw on the other side made her gasp and recoil. Directly behind the door lay two bodies, which were faced towards the door and had gaping holes in their chests. Directly behind them was Octavia, playing on her cello with a warm smile directed at Vinyl.
Octavia was in a panic. As soon as she had entered the room, the tentacles had completely enclosed her and were now forcing her to play cello, even though that was the last thing she would want to do at a time like this.
“’T-Tavi? Are you Okay?” Vinyl asked bravely, ignoring the two corpses that lay before her and walking towards her friend.
‘Vinyl! No, I need help! Please help me!’ Octavia wanted to say, but couldn’t. The tentacles had taken complete control over her and there was nothing she could do.
“’Tavi, please, say something!” Vinyl pleaded, but still didn’t get an answer.
“What is wrong? Please, ‘Tavi, answer me!” Again, no answer.
“Is it- is it because of this?” She asked, pointing at the two corpses behind her. “Don’t worry, ‘Tavi, I won’t tell anypony, just please, say something!” She pleaded again and again, there was no answer.
“Please… ‘Tavi... When you were taken away, I was completely distraught. It felt like everything I had was suddenly just… gone. And now, you’re back and everything could be fine, but then you run away and when I follow you I get to see this.” She points at the corpses again. “And you know what? I don’t care! I don’t care that you’ve killed your parents, ‘Tavi and you know why that is? Because I love you ‘Tavi, I LOVE YOU!!” She shouted at the top of her lungs.
Octavia’s eyes went wide for a moment and her playing stopped.
“’T-Tavi?”
Only to start again, with only a few tears being an indication that anything happened at all.
“Please, ‘Tavi, Please! Why don’t you say something! Please answer!” Vinyl cried.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” A low voice suddenly came from the door, just before a tall, red and black alicorn stepped through.
“Prince Mortis, you’ve got to help her!” Vinyl immediately cried. “Please! You’ve promised that you would!”
“And I will, do not fret. Unfortunately, there is very little I can do in this case.”
The prince walked up to the still-playing Octavia and looked her in the eyes. “Listen Octavia: These tendrils that you see are nought but your subconscious given form, you hear? You have to clear your thoughts and regain control of yourself to make them disappear.”
‘But I don’t know how!!’ Octavia internally begged and as if he could hear her, the prince answered.
“I can assist you. I can lend you a bit of my power. However, in the end it is you who will have to overcome this threat.”
The prince held his horn against Octavia’s forehead, making it glow black. Octavia felt how a slight trickle of power went into her, putting her at ease and calming her down.
‘It’s working!’ She thought, directing everything she had into doing the same that the prince was doing.
Slowly, the tentacles that had encased her dissolved and loosened their grasp. First, she was only able to slightly control her facial features, but soon, her leg muscles would listen to her commands again and the rest of the body followed shortly thereafter.
“’TAVI!!” Vinyl cheered, jumping into her and clutching her tight.
“Vinyl… I’m so sorry.”
“For what? You have nothing to be sorry for.” Vinyl assured.
“But I have! I brought you into this all, made you see this all and… and…” Octavia loosened the hug and scooted a bit away from Vinyl. “You have to think that I’m some kind of freak now, don’t you?”
“A freak? No! Why would I--?” Vinyl stopped and looked down guiltily. “Y’know… you’re not the only freak here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I-I mean…” Vinyl looked away, unable to finish the sentence.
“Our dear Vinyl here is a Vampire.” The prince said casually.
“What?! Really?” Octavia asked in disbelief.
“Heh, yeah, I… I am a Vampire.” Vinyl confirmed.
“But that’s nothing to be ashamed of, Vinyl! I don’t mind that you’re a Vampire at all!” Octavia assured.
“But you do know that Vampires are technically still hunted in Equestria, right?”
“Just as much as tentacle-daemons.” Octavia added.
“Heh… yeah.”
A moment of awkward silence ensued, before Vinyl spoke up again. “So, Octavia, about just now, I…”
Octavia shushed her with her hoof. “No need to say anything, Vinyl.” Before leaning forward and giving her a passionate kiss. It lasted several seconds, before they parted again and Octavia looked Vinyl in the eyes.
“Well? Was that enough of an answer?”
“Hmmm, I’m not sure… I might need a bit more.” Vinyl answered, before leaning in again.
“You can gladly do all that once we’re finished here.” The prince interjected.
“Uh-Uh, yes, of course!” Both, Vinyl and Octavia said, before quickly standing up again.
“Now, formalities first: Octavia, since your parents have… ‘Mysteriously deceased’, without leaving an official heir, that leaves you as the only pony with direct ties to them. Therefore, in my power as prince of Equestria, I hereby acknowledge you as the rightful heir to the House of Melody. Henceforth, you shall bear the Title: Countess Octavia of House Melody, as well as inherit your parent’s position in the High Council.”
“Wait, you are a COUNTESS?!”
“Uh, I don’t know… maybe?” Octavia answered uncertainly.
“Holy Celestia, that’s… very surprising actually, even if it explains a few things.”
“Ahem, moving on.” The prince continued. “As you have now shown to be possessed by a ‘tamed’ daemon, but need training in controlling it, I hereby draft you into the shadow guard, Special Service Group Alpha. There you will learn to control your abilities.”
“Wait, I’m drafted into the guard?! But I don’t want to—“
“Relax, ‘Tavi, that’s just some formal stuff to protect us. If we’re under the personal wing of the prince, then nopony can actually legally hurt us or whatever, something like that.” Vinyl explained.
“Yes, while not an exact quote, it is indeed ‘something like that’. Now, if you will excuse me, I still have a few things to do and I believe you have a family to run. Am I right? Vinyl Melody?” The prince teased, before levitating the two corpses up and exiting the room, leaving the two newfound lovers alone…
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I guess princey boy was thankful Octavia killed some cultists for him.
Guess Prince Mortis’s trial of her parents souls was a quick and fast one-way trip to the most fiery pits of Tartarus
thank you! I hope the next chapter releases quickly! please, put octavia parents in the depts of helpony. They deserve it (SMBE)
Vinyl being a vampony?
I can dig that
I’m resisting the urge to face palm
awesome ending
Awesome chapters, kinda hoping we see the parents get judged