Vinyl's Anguish

Vinyl's Anguish
November 8th 2012
9:41 AM
Conversion Bureau based story
Octavia's Overture
Forest Rain Remix War

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“I should have been there. I should have been by Octavia's side.” Vinyl's bloodshot eyes looked down upon the magenta bowtie that was the personal trademark accessory of a certain cellist.

Thunder boomed outside, the rain splattering with mud to create an ungodly mess that reduced the viable terrain to near that of zero. The smell of mud and mildew was thick in the air. Mosquitoes buzzed around, making an already dreary life even more miserable as they nipped at any piece of exposed flesh that they could stick their spear like probosces into.

And oh Faust, the humidity! Vinyl scowled as she tried to wipe off the sticky feeling that covered just about all of her fur. She sighed as she took a moment to look at her surroundings. To make a long story short, moments only after Vinyl had dismounted the armored transport with the rest of the refugees, her group was assigned a section that laid further out from the front lines, the so called "Market Plaza" of Santa Anna.

Humans and ponies alike bustled around the field compound, a mix mash of refugees and military personal in a rush to complete their objectives.

The defense was composed of a complex network of inner trenches, a solid defensive position that was constructed in a relatively impressive period of time, taking around a day of work. The area bristled with machine guns, flak cannons, and artillery, manned by both human soldiers and their Royal Guard comrades who have defected from the Celestial Imperial regime. Fox holes and bunkers were scattered in a seemingly chaotic but systematically organized manner, taking careful advantage of both the cover and concealment that the forest offered the defenders, such in a way that every gun position covered each other in a deadly interlocking field of fire.

In short, it was a classic WW1 trench warfare set piece. Except with advanced technology and ponies to add on to it, and a few tanks ready to move out the minute an Celestial scout pegasus was spotted. At any other point in time, Vinyl would have herself in awe at such an engineering marvel. But recent events had rendered her cationic to her immediate surroundings, buried beneath a sea of guilt and self loathing.

Refugees shuffled about the compound, some of them bumping into the unicorn, paying her no mind.

“If this day was going to be perfect, then why did everything go to complete Tartarus? Just why?” Vinyl muttered, reminiscing the events of the few last weeks past.

They, both Vinyl and Octavia were supposed to be together in an embrace. Only a few months before did Vinyl confessed her love for the human. It was a turbulent experience, but somehow they managed to get through it, despite the stigma surrounding both same sex relationships and inter-species romance. Though Octavia was surprised, she slowly did eventually warm up to Vinyl. The cellist was different than Vinyl's past “marefriends” in the sense that in where they didn't stick around for long when there were better opportunities to be had with somepony else as soon as the chance came up, Octavia was dedicated to almost a fault. Though Octavia appeared to resemble the snobbish, uptight and arrogant Canterlottiane elite, deep down she was compassionate, generous and devoted individual to her friends, that is once you get past the cold hardened exterior.

“We bucked the beliefs of those who didn't think that we could be together... There was no bucking humans or ponies out there to get in our way. And Octavia...” Vinyl felt tears starting to drip down her muzzle.

“She was an amazing mare- no girlfriend. She actually took me in. She gave me nourishment, love and kindness. More than I ever would have expected from anypony, much less a human one...” Vinyl sniffed. She looked down at Neo P1 Noika in her hooves, images of the day she got her first gift from her beloved pounded her head.
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“Oh. My. Bucking. CELESTIA!”

Octavia simply smiled at the flabbergasted look on her dear marefriend's face. Vinyl's jaw hanged slack low, her red ruby eyes buldged wide open. She chuckled as Vinyl took her first few hesitant steps at what stood before her, completely dazzled by the electronic device that was in the cellist's hands.

The object in question? It was one of those "MP3" players that Vinyl had heard so much about ever since she first set hoof on Earth. The ability to store up to thousands of songs on such a small device was practically unheard of in Equestria. All they had was either the portable radios that had piss poor sound quality but were easy to store, or they had to bring a large and bulky record player, though it gave a fantastic sound despite it's size, it was far too bulky to carry on one's person, due to being designed to fit in transports such as chariots, airships and trains.

True, there were some forms of electronics in Equestria, otherwise Vinyl wouldn't have been the rather reckless and carefree mare whose dubstep music could be multipurpose to annihilate a building on command, if she put in enough power. However, this was a relatively only a new development in Equestrian musical culture, coming into popularity within the past three to five years. Even Vinyl's equipment were relatively antiquated in infancy compared to their human counterparts. She did have her magic, sure. But a unicorn mare could only pump out so much mana before they slump over, dead with a hangover so bad that you would have been better boiled alive, a fact that Vinyl made perfectly clear when she was screaming in agony in the hospital once upon a time.

For humans who utilize this technology for the past three decades, it was something that was considered almost child's play, what with even some of the most primitive tribes in both Africa and South America coming to hold possession of them, even ones that appear to be remotely isolated from civilization.

To anypony, gryphon, zebra and what have you, no matter the species, it holds true that if you introduce them to the wonders of modern technology, they will almost certainly rendered mute in stunned silence. (Or in Vinyl's case, drool over it.) For supposedly a flawed and violent species, nobody could deny both the genius and practicality of many of the human innovations. Even some of Equestria's brightest minds could only produce technology that paled in comparison to their human counterparts, (Assuming IF they had something to compare it with.) such as aircraft, The World Wide Web, well established cities, the never ceasing advance and development of human science in general, and most frightening to some of the more xenophobic and arrogant ponies, their devastatingly horrific weaponry.

All of this flew right over the DJ's head as she levitated the small electronic device in front of her eyes. She inspected every inch of it, from the screen itself, to the buttons that were plastered over it, ready and waiting for their owner's command and input. What more, it was colored with a lighting streak of her mane and fur, a white, bluish body that beared her own cutie mark.

Slowly, Vinyl looked back to Octavia, trembling with giddy anticipation.

“Oh my Celestia, Is this-?” Vinyl started, only for the cellist to lift a finger up to her muzzle to silence the unicorn.

“Yes Vinyl, this is my gift to you. Consider it a- OOOMMMF!”

“THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!”
Vinyl fired off in rapid succession, crushing Octavia in a bear hug, who all the while could only barely breathe to bring oxygen to her lungs. Vinyl being ever oblivious, wore a grin that rivaled that of a child in a candy store, except the candy store was giving out free lollipops double sized, with a free music album of their choice.

“Oh colt Tavi, you don't how much this mean to mean, because this is like the awesomeist thing that anypony has ever given to me! I mean, I can't even start on how I could repay your generosity and-”

“First off, awesomeist isn't a word. Secondly, while I do appreciate the compliment *Cough*- Vinyl, it would be nice if you could stop crushing me." Octavia wheezed.

“Oh! Uh, sorry Tavi!” Vinyl said, quickly relinquishing her bear hug. She suddenly found herself staring at her hooves in interest, all the while her cheeks flushed with embarrassment in a darkened magenta. Octavia could only chuckle as the mare she loved continued to shuffle. She rested her left hand on Vinyl's right shoulder, tipping her gaze back on Octavia's own.

“No need to apologize darling. But aren't you going to explore your first new steps into the world of electronics?” Octavia said with the MP3 player in hand, which the unicorn shortly seized with her magic.

“Ehehehe, yeah. Thanks Octy... Now. Let see what kinda cool radicalness this doohicky has to give me.”

Pressing the power button with her magic, the screen blazed to life, chiming a greeting as the system started to boot up its launch system, then shortly after going to the menu interface. Vinyl could only stare in bedazzlement as the machine absorbed all the albino's attention from anything else.

She couldn't wretch her eyes away as she tentatively tapped one of the icons that looked like a CD-disc, only to stop as she read something out of the left corner of her eye.

“Phone...” Vinyl muttered in puzzlement. She looked to Octavia. “Wait, so you are telling me that this thing is also a phone?”

The musician only rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh.

“Sometimes I wonder how you can be so dense one moment, then display complete competence the next Vinyl. If you haven't noticed Scratch, almost everyone either has a device similar to this to their ear, or they have their headphone plugged into it's audio jacket. Honestly Vinyl, it shouldn't be that hard to put two and two together.” Octavia patronized. How she managed to get herself hooked up with the purple goggled DJ was beyond the cellist. One thing had to another, just to simply lead to another.

The DJ-PON3 blinked, then in a gasp of realization, her mouth opened up in an “Oooooh, I knew that.” expression. The unicorn let out a flashed chuckle halfheartedly, rubbing the back of her head with her left forehoof in awkward tension. She suddenly saw a toothless, hillbilly version of herself starring dumbly at a set of turn tables, then bucking them to turn them on.

“Yeah... So... Could you uh, help me get this thing working?” Vinyl asked, trying to shift the subject.

Octavia's smile returned. Though Vinyl wasn't of the same species, and could be a little thick in the head at times, she could admire the unicorn's jubliant charisma, plus her rather tame and care free demeanor, with a spirited personality to boot to compensate. She was even had a unique charm to her affections.

"If you told me that I would've fallen in love with a unicorn disc jokey two months before, I would have dismissed told them that they were insane."

“Of course you silly pony. I don't know how you would be able to manage anything else otherwise.”

“Oh har, har, har. Thinking this disc jokey can't handle a little thing like this? Pff, I can handle this no prob.” Vinyl grinned.

Octavia only rolled her eyes in response.

“I wouldn't be so sure Vinyl. For a lady whose involved in electronics, you seem to have a slow time picking things up.”

“Oh shut up just up Octy. Let's just get started so I can hear witness to my kickass wubs!”

“Well, I suppose I could be charmed into listening to the racket that you happen to call 'music'. Oh well, let us sally forth. At least TRY not to break it, will you?"

"I got it covered. I mean, how hard could it possibly be to use this thing?" Vinyl asked with a smirk, casually flipping it around with her magic.

Octavia facepalmed.

"If you continue treating your phone like that, then you will find out much sooner than you think. Now, the let's get started with the instruction manual, first, to start the phone-"

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And with that, Octavia took Vinyl step by step on managing the smartphone to her advantage, using what knowledge that she had to teach Vinyl to utilize the small electronic device to it's fullest ability, including it's other accessories, battery life, system updates, surfing and protecting against fraud. By the time they were done, it was nearly midnight. Two days later, and Vinyl had already crammed around near a hundred songs on it's memory card.

"And I dance to the beat, cause I am all the heat, so Celestia's sun is always such a treat!" Vinyl sang, jubilant as she took to the dirt road that led into the local park. In one of her saddlebags,held a luminous orb that that held a few special qualities to it.

"Hehe. Wait till Octy sees what this baby can do. Always handy to have a mare like Twi on hoof to enchant stuff. This'll make avoiding those PER ponies like a peace of cake."

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“C'mon Ms. Octavia, being a pony isn't that bad! Even the newfoals agree with us! Haven't you seen how happy they are under Celestia's Sun and Luna's Moon? No more greed. No more corruption. No more evil. And the newfoals say that they are MUCH happier being ponies. Look at Maple Leaf here!” The pegasus stallion said, patting a light orange earth pony. Maple Leaf smiled on, as if the mare has just won the lottery.

Something about the way she smiled made Octavia wary though, staring back with a frown. The mare that was once a human women seemed too jubilant for only just talking with the human before her. It just didn't seem natural. At all. At best, the situation was very apprehensive. At worst...

“It's simply wonderful Star Sign! Never have I felt such happiness in my life! And Celestia's leadership hasn't steered me wrong so far. I mean, EVERYTHING feels fresher. Equestria is simply a paradise. I simply cannot imagine going back to life as a human. Ms. Octavia, you MUST join us! You will feel much better after you cast off the chains of humanity for the wisdom and kindness under our goddesses."

"Perhaps another time, but I must be off. I have business to attend to right now." Octavia said, hoping that the ponies would move out of the way. When she tried to move forward though, they only shook their heads in the negative.

"But surely you won't know for sure until you try? If you don't like it, you can always revert back to being a human. Though I honestly don't see the reason as why one would do that. All you have to do is drink the Potion, and all your worries will fade away as you cast off what hold away your happiness.” Maple Leaf stated with excited fervor. The ponies surrounding them shouted various words of agreement. The cellist had different thoughts on the matter otherwise.

“Join us! You'll be happier this way!”

"Cast off the chain that bind you!"

“The Princesses are wonderful rulers!”

“You spirit will become pure after becoming one with the herd, I promise that in Luna's name!”

Octavia grimaced. Though the musician had seen her fair share of odd individuals, Vinyl included, the way that this group of recently ponified individuals were preaching about how much their lives had improved was enough that even cultists were weary of them.

Quite frankly, it unnerved the cellist to no end, what with them all droning on, even seemingly acting the same lines of some abstract protocol. They acted politely enough, more than tolerable even. But that was the problem. Octavia, as far as she could recall, didn't find an individual that she had spite for, the ponified giving them nothing but smiles. But it all seemed so... Robotic, programmed, illegitimate. And just about every newfoal she has ever confronted face to face always were at least suggestive on her joining the so called "Mass Utopia". The way their numbers were escalating didn't help the matter at all. And as of late, they were becoming more adamant in their attempts to sway her.

“While I do appreciate the offer, I need my hands to play the cello. Plus I am perfectly content with the life that I have now, so if you will kindly pardon, I need to get going.” Octavia said, beginning to walk away, only for one of the newfoals intercept her path, eyes glowing with a cheery smile that looked like it was pasted to his muzzle.

“Now let's now be so hasty. Surely after you gave a pony life a try, you could potentially find it being happier after you become a pony. If you don't like it, then you can always go back to being human. Not that anypony has wanted to yet anyhow.”

"Ever thought about as to the reason why they haven't?"

Octavia was starting to become more weary of their repetitious persistence as the PER ponies closed in on her, shouting phrases of “Praise Celestia!, Join the herd!, Become engulfed in friendship and love!” etc.

Suddenly, a white blur barreled through the crowd, knocking down ponies in it's path with reckless abandon. Standing in front of Octavia was an albino white mare with the hair of a blazing blue hue, who stood protectively in front of the cellist.

"Vinyl!"

“HEY! Back off from my girlfriend you assholes! She's with me!" Vinyl growled, stomping her right hoof. The newfoals didn't even so much as flinch.

"If she doesn't want to become a pony, then that's fine. You don't need to be jerks and push on her that being a pony is the awesomest thing in existence. Besides, she's a cellist, who oh, I don't know, NEEDS HER FUCKING HANDS TO PLAY HER INSTRUMENT!?" She fired off, glaring at the crowd before them. Slowly, they parted to let in Maple Leaf, who was smirking with amusement as a chuckle passed from her lips.

"You will learn to accept our teachings. Once that happens, you'll be none the wiser. Then you can truly live out your life to the fullest as an Equestrian." The earth pony said, coming closer with each step until she was in hoof's distance of the albino unicorn.

"Besides, who needs hands when we have magic? Very clean, efficient and harmonious. Much better than the crude contraptions that humans use. And if you mean to imply there are no earth pony musicians, you are wrong. You should know that, being an Equestrian native yourself." Maple Leaf stated with a righteous smirk.

If looks could kill, then the mare before Vinyl would have been turned to ashes. Then the ashes would have been reduced to the atomic, microscopic level. Then they would have been exploded in a pressure cooker. Then placed in a spaceship, which is then rammed into the moon, which in turn was rammed into the sun.

Needless to say, Maple Leaf was hanging on a very thin thread that was at the snapping point.

"Let me make one thing very clear here. If you so much as even lay a hoof on her, I will make suffer so much pain that even Tartarus would be better than what I have in store for you. And let me tell you something. You are very close to getting bucked into the ground. Hard."

She jabbed a hoof into Maple's chest, shoving her back.

"So if you don't mind, fuck off."

The crowd backed off as one, though their smiles did not dissipate. The way they were just so optimistic and all seemingly hive minded made her shiver.

"Egh... Just the way they just keep smiling. Are they even ponies? Even zombies have more emotion present in their face than these... Are they even real?"

“One day, you will learn the error of your ways. When that happens, all the bad in the world will go away. Just you wait.” Slowly, the crowd dispersed. Not even thirty seconds later, there was barely a trace of evidence to point out to their presence. A few moments after she lost sight of the mass crowd, Vinyl released a frustrated scream, smashing her hooves into a dumpster that happened to be unfortunate enough to be placed next to her. The ding was so loud that it echoed across five blocks at least, with the area where the unicorn smashed left with a huge dent in the side.

"Arrrgh! What is their major malfunction? I mean, you simply don't just go walking up to a random stranger and shove your mumbo jumbo down their throat. Those mules acted like jackasses. Sorry that they had to pester you of all people Tavi. If they even try to bother you again..."

The cellist lifted a palm to her head, closing her eyes then sighing.

"Really Vinyl, it was no trouble at all. I'll just take a detour to avoid them in the future. And I sincerely doubt that violence will do anything other than land you in a jail cell."

Vinyl stared back at Octavia with concern in her eyes, doubt shining through as the unicorn frowned.

"Octavia, I know that you were the one to tell me that something wasn't right with them, but did you even see how forceful they were? I don't think there will even be a next time if they have you cornered.

"Vinyl, can we at least discuss this at home? I am rather exhausted. We''ll talk about this once we get back to the apartment." Octavia sighed, the palm of her hand pressing into her frontal lobe.

"Just remember you promised this. Now, lets ditch this place before more of those goons show up." With that, they continued on their route home, wearily keeping a 360 degree watch out for any other ponies that wished to preach to them about how great it was being a pony. Out of the corner of an alleyway however, an earth pony Royal Guard Captain and his entourage of soldiers looked intently at the the musicians with a scrutinizing eye, many with scowls on their muzzle.

Captain Air Cutter spat at the filthy concrete in disgust, eyes brimming with hatred as he glared down the departing duo.

"Bah! I don't know why these damned humans won't just convert on the spot and be done with it. Surely they can't be THAT blind when they see what life we can give them. Pfft, typical of these primates. Always arrogant, selfish and greedy. Nothing but a lousy lot of liars. And that human female has even turned one of our own against us, the bitch." He scowled, grounding his hoof into the ground. One of his privates, a pegasus by the name of Spring Coil stepped up.

"Captain, pardon me for asking, but what did the humans ever did to you? I-" Spring stopped abruptly as his CO's glare was directed at him. The private suddenly found himself regretting opening his big fat muzzle as he shrank underneath the piercing gaze that was digging into his soul.

"Go on. Please, enlighten us with your infinite wisdom Private Coil. We would all like to know what you have to say."

Spring gulped. If he didn't know what his superior thought of him before, the poor stallion now had a picture to foreshadow the events of near future.

"Well private? I'm waiting."

"Si-sir, with all do respect, they aren't all bad, at least they don't actively show others disrespect. The humans I have met seems to be just exactly like us, save for you know, having no magic and walking on two legs instead of four. I mean, they have minds just like our own, showing both good and e-evil. And considering what we're doing, I am not so-"

"SMACK!"

With a sudden stab of pain, Coil found himself being held in a vice grip against a wall. He could only whimper as he felt his throat being constricted by his superior.

"Don't. Ever. Let. Me. Catch. You. Spewing. This. Shit. You understand me? Besides, you'll soon come to realize why they must bend. More than a few have disrespected our Goddesses, they whom are the ultimate wise and supreme rulers of Equestria. Humans on the other hoof are nothing but filth out of the sewer. Their words are laced with only false promises and deceit. If I catch you doing anything of the sort like this again, not even Nightmare Moon will protect you from my wrath."

With a snort, he threw the pegasus to the ground.

"Get back to camp you foal. I'll deal with you personally later. Or do you wish to know why geo golems shatter when I buck them?"

Wide eyed at the possibility of having his bones being reduced to dust, Spring Coil scrambled up and flared his wings, beating a hasty retreat back to his barracks.

"Pfft. Spineless pegasus mule. How in the Tartarus did he make it into the Guard?"

Huffing in irritation, Air Cutter called his troops to formation. Glancing over the array of guard ponies, his eyes picked out the perfect candidate.

"You, Cloudcast!, Get your sorry flank here!" Air Cutter barked. A pegasus, one of a red coat and pale yellow mane marched up and saluted. His cutie mark, a diamond heart that was punctured with a chisel, gleaned in the sunlight.

"You have need of me sir?"

"Yes. Get back to camp and ready for deployment. I'll meet you by the supply depot."

"Sir?"

Air Cutter flash a grin, chuckling softly.

"You have a new objective. I believe a certain cellist in need of some "persuasion". Speak of this to nopony, understood?"

"As you wish Captain. But what about the unicorn mare? Unless...." He trailed off, unsure if he should continue, only for his answer to come shortly after.

"She will be dealt with in time. I will handle her personally." He laughed.

"This day is going to be perfect."
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Meanwhile, Spring Coil had stopped at the barrack entrance, panting heavily as he gulped in desperately for a lungful of air.

"Gah. Yup. Definitely going to request for a transfer. Maybe Dolphin Wing's group would be better to work with. Or maybe even Monochrome's group... Celestia knows she is a lot nicer." He mumbled, nudging the door open and trotting inside. As he was about to store his armor in his compartment, he noticed that there was a fiery maned, yellow coated pegasus sitting on his bunk.

"Well it's about time you got here Spring Coil. Still a little on the slow side I see."

His armor clanged to the ground forgotten as Spring Coil struggled to recompose himself.

"S-Spitfire!?"

"Not just her boy."

Spring Coil jumped as he heard crack from behind him. Turning to see who had made the noise, he realized that the door had actually been bucked closed by an orange hued earth pony with a stenson on her head. She glared at him as she steadily made her way closer to him. A quick glance to his rear sealed any hope of escape as Spitfire blocked the only way of escape.

He was trapped in a classic pincer movement.

"What's going on!? What are you even doing here?" Spring asked, panic evident in his voice as he desperately tried to remain standing. The earth pony came up to him, staring Spring directly in the eye. Spring felt as if her apple green eyes were pressing a lance into his throat. He backed up

"Do you even know why even the Royal Guard are even here sugarcube?"

"To protect the newfoals from human insurrectionists, per orders from Celestia herself." He instantly replied without missing a beat, eyes arched in confusion. Then he scowled.

"Just what in the hay does this have to do with anything Spits? I should have you two arrested for assaulting a guard of Her Magiesty's Army!"

Spring Coil had a feeling that this was only the beginning of his troubles as the mare began filling him on the details.

A moment later, his eyes shot open in horror.

"He means to do WHAT!?"
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Vinyl could barely keep her jaw straight, clenching her teeth so hard that an observant mouse feared that she might blow up into an unstoppable rage.

"Who gave those ponies the right to pester them and other humans? If they already have a good life ahead of them, they should just leave them alone!"

“Pfft. No wonder why Octavia says that even some cultists are tame in comparison. And why are they so happy? Nopony is EVER like that. Well, save for Pinkie Pie. But even she has her limits. But they... Only the newfoals..."

Vinyl sighed as she hopped off the bed, taking a few short steps outside the balcony that they were on.

"Well... At least as long as they don't try to bother us anymore, I think we'll be fine."

"I wouldn't be so sure Miss Scratch."

Vinyl felt her heart skip a beat as she nearly rocketed off the balcony. Turning around to see who the voice belong to, her lip curled into a snarl.

"YOU! What the hell are you doing here featherhead? Haven't got the message last time?"

Cloudcast chuckled as he swooped in for a landing, making a graceful stop just a few feet from where Vinyl stood.

"Oh no, quite the contrary. You have only moved me to be even more tenacious in my persuasion."

"Like hell asshole. The moment you even lay a hoof on Octavia, I will rip your fucking spine out with your wings and choke you with it! You and me, let's go!"

Vinyl blood curled as a heard a loud scream, along with some shouting from the bedroom. Dread encased her body as she saw Cloudcast give her a smirk.

"Oh no. I think your friend will find that in disagreement."

"No."

Vinyl didn't even know she was moving till she saw the shattered door in pieces on the ground.

"No!"

She ran to the bedroom, hoping against the fear was all a malicious lie. Her heart stopped when she saw that Octavia was nowhere to be seen. Only four Guard Ponies at the foot front of the bed had suddenly backed off from a mare as she stumbled to her hooves. A grey mare with a familiar eye and hair color.

Vinyl felt all the feelings of despair and anguish from the past suddenly forced itself to her shoulders as she felt herself collapse.

"OCTAVIA!"
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Vinyl started to openly sob as foul memories tainted her thoughts, the events of what happened yesterday still clear in her mind.

“It's not fair! So what if humans had done some horrible things in the past? That doesn't mean they are all fucking evil! Why couldn't they get it past through their thick skulls that humans have actually done more than some good in the world? WHY DON'T THEY TAKE THEIR OWN FAUSTING ADVICE AND SHOVE IT UP THEIR FLANKHOLE!?” Vinyl shouted, slamming her hooves on the floor as she rested against the bed, looking down at the gray hooves that stood in front of her....

“Wait... Grey hooves? … Oh please Faust NO!” Vinyl looked up, only to gasp in horror as she found an earth pony mare staring back at her with a smile, along with several guard ponies and newfoals.

“Oh no..." Vinyl mumbled in horror. "This can't be happening! No!"

"Yes. And it is most glorious Vinyl! They actually told the truth! And now, we can truly be together my dear."

It was Octavia's voice. But the pony in front of her hardly resembled the girl she declared her girlfriend. Not just in body, but her personality, even at a glance, she could tell had been warped.

"T-Tavi, please, snap out of it! You're stronger than this!" Vinyl pleaded, only to pale as she saw her mare frown.

"Oh Vinyl. I was hoping you would see things differently. I suppose you are in line with those uncouth, ugly apes. Why would you abandon me?"

Faster than Vinyl could even process, she had slammed the mare that claimed to be 'Octavia' to the ground, glaring at her with a searing hatred in her heart.

"... You are NOT my Tavi! You are just some... Drone! Don't worry Octavia, I'll- AUGH!"

Vinyl screamed as she suddenly felt Octavia's hoof gouge her throat. She looked on in horror as she saw her mare give her an icy smile.

"Good bye Vinyl. It was a pity you have not seen the light. But that will change in time."

Vinyl only saw a glint from one of Octavia's hooves as it withdrew from her neck. A stiletto coated in blood glinted in the light.

Her blood.

She didn't even have time to think as her world turned to darkness.

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