Chapters Octavic could not believe what he just heard. He received a letter from Fancy Pants inviting him onto Fancy Pants' cruise to perform for a week-long trip. Octavic would be able to play his beloved acoustic guitar in front of a lot of high class ponies that he would have never met otherwise. More importantly, he would finally get a chance to meet Octavia, the pony who he had been wanting to meet for years.
Unlike other ponies, Octavic got his cutie mark even before he went to school. One day he was playing in the instrument shop owned by his father, and a special object caught his attention. It was a guitar; he liked it. The smooth shape, the shiny strings, the magical notes it played as he ran his hooves across them... Noticing his strange behavior, his dad decided to teach him how to play the guitar. As soon as Octavic picked the guitar up, there was a flash and he got his cutie mark! It was a bass clef and from that point on, Octavic had decided that he was going to become a musician when he grew up.
And he did. After years of practicing, Octavic was known as the best guitarist in all of Fillydelphia. His hoof had became strong and tender, with a thin layer of fur on the tip from all the practicing. He was extremely proud of this. If anypony was to take a look at his hoof, they would be able to see that he was a hard working guitarist, and would in turn show Octavic respect.
Then he met Octavia. Well... maybe met wasn't the right word. Octavia didn't know Octavic. He first saw her when she was on stage performing while Octavic was among the crowd. He was amazed by the magical notes that were coming from what seemed like a bigger-sized guitar. The notes were tender and smooth, unlike the high-pitched, fast notes played by a guitar. And what amazed Octavic even more was her display of emotions. Usually Octavic just plays a piece through like the way it's suppose to be played. He does change the volume and pace at certain parts, but he does so to make some notes "pop out;" not to show his own thoughts and emotions. Octavia took this whole thing a step further. She had become one with her cello and her music. You could feel her emotions through the way she played, through the notes she played, through the vibrato and crescendos.
After the performance was over, Octavic had pushed through the crowd to the back stage. He felt an unusual emotion erupting in his chest; he just HAD to see this filly. By now he realized that it had been love, but back then he was way too young and immature to link this feeling with love. It took him a while, but he finally made it to the back. However, she was already gone. He had turned to the pony next to him and asked,
"Hey, do you know where the... filly... who went before you- Do you know where she is?"
"How RUDE of you, not to introduce yourself first!"
"JUST TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!" Octavic yelled, drawing some attention to himself.
The pony seem annoyed."I do not know. Octavia probably already packed up and returned to her hotel."
"Her name is Octavia?"
"The one and only. She's the most famous cello player in all of Equestria."
"That thing was called a cello?"
Octavic heard laughter. He turned around and saw a few ponies pointing to his direction and laughing. He then realized that he had been making a fool out of himself. Embarrassed, he quickly pushed his way through the crowd and exited through the back door.
From that point on, Octavic felt something special towards Octavia. Maybe it was love towards the pony. Maybe it was love towards her music. He did not know. The only thing he knew is that he wanted to see this filly as soon as possible and have a nice, long chat.
And finally, after years of yearning, he finally got the chance to meet the filly of his dreams! How could Octavic not be excited?
Long story short, a few weeks later, Octavic was at the dock carrying all his bags on his back, ready to go. He raised his neck up high so his head could be slightly above the crowd to make it easier to spot Octavia if she was there. In the process, it also made him relatively look like a giraffe. However, he didn't see her anywhere. He boarded the cruise ship with slight disappointment, but knowing that they would perform on stage TOGETHER, Octavic's heart lit up a bit.
He was exactly right. As he was preparing to rehearse with the musical group for a jazz piece, he saw Octavia carefully balancing her cello on her back, walking in from the entrance. His heart jumped, his brain froze for a second, and soon he felt like he should do something to catch her attention.
He put down his guitar and walked towards Octavia. He held out a hoof and showed a gentle smile. "Need any help?"
He thought his action was very gentlecolt-like, since Octavia looked really tired carrying that big cello. However, to his surprise, Octavia replied with a cold, "No thanks" and walked straight past him to her place.
Being rejected in his first attempt, Octavic, of course, felt a little uneasy. But he soon recovered and caught up to Octavia.
"You are Octavia, right?"
"Yes. And you?"
"My name is Octavic. Funny huh, we have such close names."
Octavia stopped in her tracks, looked Octavic up and down, and replied with a slight, "Uh huh." Her eyes filled with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.
Then Octavic realized the reason for her to act in such a way. His coat was light gray just like hers. His hair was dark-gray and jelled, just like hers. Even the bow tie he was wearing looked exactly like hers. It must be strange for Octavia to suddenly see an almost exact duplicate of herself, except male, standing in front of her. It's just that Octavic had taken her as a model in music, and it was only natural for him to try dressing up in the same way she did. And about the color of his fur coat and hair, well, that part was coincidence. Octavia probably thought that he was some kind of crazy fan boy, though, who changed his own name, coat and hair just to be like her.
Octavic felt a bit awkward so he simply said, "Excuse me" and returned to his position in the band, holding his guitar in place. He didn't notice that Octavia's vision followed him until he had picked up his guitar. She had a little smile on her face as she then started walking towards her position again.
The rehearsal went smoothly, and the following performance was great as well. The crowd applauded them with a typical high-class pony's quiet stomp, but Octavic was a bit too caught up in his own thoughts about the party that he didn't even care how the audience reacted. After the performance, he quickly packed up his things, put them into his room, and almost sprinted to the dining room. He looked around, luckily just in time, to see Octavia walking out of the room with a cup of vodka in her hooves. Octavic quickly grabbed the same drink and followed.
The door Octavia went through led to the deck. Octavic walked up the stairs and found Octavia sitting on the farthest end of the deck. Nearly at the edge of the ship, she was drinking by herself on a small chair. She was staring at the smooth ocean and the dark gray clouds around her, thinking about something.
Octavic cleared his throat quietly, adjusted his bow tie to make sure that it was in the right position, checked his hair to make sure it looked okay, and then slowly walked up with a smile on his face. He made little 'clop clop' noises as he walked on purpose. He didn't want to surprise Octavia by showing up on the empty deck like a pony ghost.
Octavia heard the hoofsteps and turned around. The light on the deck was kind of dim so it took Octavia a little while before she said, "Oh, it's you."
"Hi Octavia, mind if I sit here?"
Octavia hesitated and said, "Sure, why not?"
So he sat down and put his drink on the table. He then turned to the direction in which Octavia was looking, thinking about what the most appropriate thing to say in order to start a conversation would be.
"Come on Octavic, this is the chance of a LIFE TIME. She is RIGHT HERE!" Octavic thought to himself. But the pressure didn't help, so he decided to take a sip of his drink.
He had tried alcohol before, but it had been in drinks like low-proof fruit wine and beer. In fact, it was the first time in his life that he had tried anything with this amount of alcoholic concentration. The burn from the vodka was overwhelming, and Octavic immediately spit it out.
Luckily, he remembered that he was facing Octavia, so he turned to the side right before the vodka shot out of his lips. He coughed from the pain, looked up and saw Octavia. She had completely frozen in place, looking at him as if he was some kind of alien.
"Urg... wow...ahem." Octavic had completely lost it. He couldn't think of anything to say to make the situation less awkward, so he kind of just sat there looking down at the table.
"Wow, this is a disaster," he thought.
Then he heard Octavia's giggle. He looked up and saw that Octavia's giggle had turned into laughter. She tried to say something, but what came out of her lips was an incomplete sentence filled with a mixture of random sounds and giggling. She almost fell out of the chair laughing, and Octavic had no idea if he should laugh as well or not, so he just gave an awkward "hehehe". Then he face hoofed as he realized that his laughter probably sounded stupid.
When Octavia finally calmed down, she wiped the tears from her eyes with her hoof and said, "Wow, you are the biggest fool I have ever met. Why did you choose to drink vodka if you don't like it? It is such a waste."
"Well uh... I just..."
"Let me guess. You drank it because you saw me drinking it, correct?"
Octavic's brain was racing. Yes? That would be like admitting that he's a crazy fan boy who doesn't have his own ponyality. No? Then he'd just be an immature fool for pretending to be upper class and failing at it. Whichever answer he chose, he would feel like a moron and Octavia would probably never bother talking to him ever again.
"I guess that's a yes?" Octavia giggled, holding her drinking glass and then taking a little sip.
"Urg, no!"
"So you were pretending to have a classy taste?"
"Dammit," Octavic thought. Since things had come down to this, he may as well be honest.
"Yeah... I saw you drinking that and I thought it would be... good."
"Not everypony is into such a heavy taste." Octavia held up her glass and slowly swirled the liquid around. "And it's simply foolish to force yourself to like this kind of drink."
Octavic felt teased, but relieved. At least Octavia hadn't gotten upset.
"Well, I am flattered that somepony is such a big fan of mine. However, as a musician, you should know the importance of having your own style," she continued.
"Yes, I know. It's just that... you are really good and I want to be as good as you."
Octavia seem surprised. She stopped playing with the glass, sat a bit forward and asked, "How come?"
"What do you mean? You are really talented."
"But I play a cello and you play a..." she paused, "a GUITAR. There is nothing in common between these two instruments."
Octavic felt all of his emotions expanding inside of his chest. He felt like a balloon with too much air in it and his words came out before he even had time to think about it.
"BUT I JUST REALLY LOVE YOU!"
They both froze in place. The cool sea wind brushed against their manes and filled their noses with the salty smell of the sea.
"Oh..." Octavia said, with a look on her face as if she was in trouble.
Since he couldn't take back what he had said, Octavic decided to just spill the beans. He told her about that show where he saw her perform, how it changed his life, how much he admired her, and how happy he is when he listens to her music.
"I think I am in love with you, Octavia."
Octavic finished with these words and then he quieted down. He had opened his heart for her, but he was not sure if it was the right choice or not.
Octavia frowned. It looked as if she was making a huge decision. She picked up the glass, took a bigger sip, and then looked like she had made up her mind.
She put down the glass with some force and said, "I'm sorry."
Octavic was a bit too shocked to take in what Octavia meant, "Wha...?"
"I'm sorry. You are pretty sweet, but I can't. We are too different, just... too different." Octavia sighed.
"Besides, I don't have time. I am far too busy with my career. It's nice knowing that what I am doing is making a difference, but... just... I'm sorry."
Octavic was still too shocked to take in what Octavia had just said. He was just sitting there with his jaw dropped.
"I'm sorry. I have to go," Octavia said. She left as if she was escaping from something, leaving Octavic sitting there alone on the empty deck.
It took a while for Octavic to realize that he was just rejected. He sighed and looked out to the ocean. Picking up his glass, he took a sip before he realized it. However, somehow the bitterness of the liquid felt right.
Octavic thought it was kind of pointless for him to go talk to Octavia again the next day. In fact, he thought that maybe he should just hide from her forever. This whole thing turned out to be a waste of time; she didn't like him at all. He thought that if he showed her how much he loved her, then she would at least have given him a chance. But it turned out that he was nowhere near her level to begin with. He sighed as he took another sip from the glass he was holding.
The deck was quiet once more; most of the guests were still in bed or down at the dining hall for breakfast. Octavic on the other hoof, didn't feel like eating much. He simply grabbed a glass of vodka and sat by himself upstairs on the deck again, drinking sip by sip, alone. He was beginning to like the taste of the bitter alcohol as it fit perfectly with his mood.
He didn't have much work to do, since the performance of the day would be from the orchestra. He and his guitar didn't belong in it, so he was able to take the day off. However, he didn't really feel like doing anything. He kind of wanted to just go back to his room and take a nap. And that's exactly what he tried to do, except that he couldn't fall asleep. He just laid there looking at the ceiling, feeling the boat rise and fall with the tide. It made him extremely bored, so he got up and decided to practice some of the music pieces that he had recently been working on. The day passed by without much excitement and Octavic had a feeling that the rest of the trip would be just like this.
On the third day of the cruise, he got to perform in the jazz band again. He saw Octavia, but both of them were determined to keep the amount of eye contact they shared to a minimum. The conductor didn't notice the awkward atmosphere, since they sat on opposite ends of the band. The practice went smoothly, as before, but Octavic didn't feel excitement as he had on the first day. He thought that perhaps he never would.
Everything went as planned. The show was great, the food was good. Octavia ignored him during and after the performance and at night he rolled on his bed, unable to sleep. That's when he first felt there was something wrong. Usually, the boat slowly went up and down with the tide; It was quite comfortable, like a foal in his mother's arms. But tonight the tides were kind of rough. The ship was rocking from side to side with a much bigger angle, and he could hear hoof steps running around on the deck above him. Unable to sleep, he decided to get up and find out what all the fuss was about. He put on his bowtie and walked out of the room. He looked down the hallway and saw another curious pony who had also noticed the strange movement of the ship. They had both stuck their heads out of the door, looking for a staff member to give them an explanation about the condition of the ship. Octavic walked passed by the other pony, greeting him on his way. He reached the end of the corridor and climbed up the ladder leading to the dining hall. There, he saw the sailors of the ship running around with ropes and nails in their teeth, acting as if something had gone terribly wrong.
Octavic walked up to the nearest pony and stopped in front of him. "Excuse me, what is going on?"
"Sorry, in a hurry, can't talk!" The sailor pony quickly moved to the side to try and pass Octavic.
Octavic moved again and blocked the sailor's way. "The ship is moving strangely, is there anything wrong?"
"If you want to see, just go up to the deck! They actually need some help if you'd like to lend a hoof. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to the engine room." The sailor pony quickly disappeared down the hallway. Puzzled, Octavic decided to follow him. He felt that something HAD happened and, not being able to sleep, he wouldn't mind helping.
He opened the door to the deck, and was greeted by a shower of heavy rain. It was as if someone had taken a million buckets of water and poured it onto the deck from above; Octavic was soaked within seconds. The sky was completely covered with dark clouds, and he could see lighting and hear thunder from one end of the sky. The sea had turned black, and the shaking of the ship had become worse as the sea roared with anger. The ship violently moved up and down with the huge waves of the ocean and Octavic almost slipped onto the deck. He caught a fence in time to stop his fall and then looked up.
"Don't just stand there, are you going to help us, or not?" a sailor yelled at him.
"Sure!"
The sailor tossed him a bundle of ropes and nails in a bow. Octavic caught it with his teeth and put it around his back.
Then he ran towards the sailor. "How can I help? What do I do? What's going on?"
The sailor was a relatively seasoned-looking pony. He looked strong due to his size and his cutie mark was an anchor. He looked up to the sky and said, "Are you bucking blind? There's a storm coming and we need to secure the rods so the ship doesn't get ripped apart!"
"What? How come you guys didn't see it coming?" Octavic questioned, having to raise his voice because the sound of the tides are extremely loud.
"These things come n' go, kid! You can't see them coming until they're right in front of ya! Now get to work, we need yer help over there!" The sailor pointed to the other end of the deck and Octavic quickly spotted where he should go. He ran in that direction and joined up with a group of colts trying to rope together two pieces of broken wood.
And then suddenly Octavic heard some pony yell, "GET READY!"
"Get ready? Ready for what?" Octavic thought, and then he felt like he was being lifted into the air. A huge wave had hit the ship, and as the ship broke the wave, it rose about ten feet into the air. Octavic could hear the screams and panicking of the passengers below the deck in the cabins, but he was too busy to care as he was holding onto a hoofle he was next to for dear life.
However, the worst was yet to come. The ship started to fall almost into a free fall. Octavic felt his back hooves leaving the deck as his body was now in mid air with the exception of his hooves holding on to the hoofle. He closed his eyes and bit his lips, thinking "Are we there yet? ARE WE THERE YET?"
And then they were. With a loud "BOOOOOOSSSSSHH!!!!", the ship landed back onto the surface of the ocean. The momentum of the ship made it travel dangerously deep into the ocean. Octavic felt his body slam against the deck and then felt freezing sea water surround him. For a moment, he thought that the ship was going to sink. Luckily, it slowly floated back up and the water on the deck washed off over the ship's edge. Octavic tried his best to stand up, but his feet slipped again.
"Come on Octavic, be a STALLION!" he said to himself, biting his lips. He tried to stand again and, being successful, he looked around. The burly sailor had already recovered from the fall and had started to run around again. The colts around him had also already gone back to work on fixing the broken board, so Octavic did as well.
"Thanks kid, we got this," a colt said to Octavic. It was too dark and rainy for Octavic to really see, but he was sure that the sailor had smiled at him.
"Now, I think the group over there needs a little help. Would you mind?"
"My pleasure." Octavic responded, rushing over to the other group that the sailor had pointed to. He immediately started working, but then he heard the voice of the captain.
"Every pony listen up! There's a leak at the left flank of the ship, but it's not too serious! We got this. Group A, B and D, go to the engine room NOW! WE ARE COUNTING ON YOU!"
Before the groups could answer, another voice yelled, "GET READY!! THIS IS A BIG ONE!"
"Oh dear, Celestia," thought Octavic as he quickly grabbed onto another hoofle. Suddenly, he felt the ship fly into the sky like a rocket. He was pushed down against the deck as it went up and he realized that the ship would probably fall apart from the fall, afterwards.
The ship reached the peak of the wave and started to fall over the backside. It was much bigger than the previous wave, and Octavic felt himself fly through the air with the ship into the abyss of the ocean. It was like riding a roller coaster, except that he was unsure if he would be safe.
After about 4 seconds in the air, the ship landed back in the sea. This time it was completely submerged underwater. Fortunately, Octavic was not a bad swimmer. He saw the waves coming and sucked in enough air without panicking. He opened his eyes and saw that the whole boat was underwater, like a submarine. He thought that the boat would sink to the bottom of the ocean just like that. However, the boat was owned by Fancy Pants, who had an abundance of bits. He had especially made sure that the ship was sturdy and, to Octavic's great surprise, the boat managed to keep enough air inside its cabin to begin floating back up to the water's surface.
It felt like ages, but eventually Octavic could breathe air again. He lifted his neck and breathed heavily. He heard the voice of the captain, "Bad news boys! Prepare to evacuate the passengers, we'll have to abandon the ship. The leak's too big to fix now!"
The crew immediately went to work. They quickly grabbed daggers from their saddle bags, and started cutting the ropes that restricted the small lifeboats from moving. Octavic grabbed a saddle bag to help as well, but then he suddenly remembered something... or somepony, that is.
Octavia!
He quickly ran towards the dining hall. The room was filled with panicking ponies. There were screaming mares and crying fillies that could be heard everywhere. Some crew members had started to lead the crowd onto the deck, yelling something that was too far away and far too unimportant for Octavic to hear. His mind was set on one thing; finding Octavia and making sure that she was all right. He scanned around the room, but there were at least hundreds of ponies there. Octavic felt extremely worried, but suddenly he saw another member of the orchestra, noticing it was the other pony that played the cello. He quickly pushed his way over, knocking into other ponies on the way. Waves of "Hey!" and "Watch it!" rose behind him, but he was too focused to care at all.
He grabbed the pony that he knew played the cello and asked, "Have you seen Octavia?"
"Octavia? The other pony that plays the cello?"
"YES! Have you seen her?"
"No... I think she is still in her room."
Octavic immediately let go and sprinted towards the empty corridor leading to the passenger rooms. He slammed open a door, but nopony was there. He quickly turned and opened another one, but it was empty as well. Octavic's anxiety kept rising as he smashed open door after door, finding nothing but empty rooms. WHERE IS SHE? He had to know, he just had to.
Finally, he smashed open a door and heard a scream. Octavia was in there, looking at him as if he was a robber. Behind her there were music notes and sheets everywhere making it look like she was still packing up.
"Octavia! What are you doing? We have to go. NOW!"
"Just let me pack up!" Octavia turned around quickly and started picking up the sheet music.
"ARE YOU INSANE?" Octavic grabbed the Octavia's hoof and pulled her away, "THE ENTIRE SHIP IS SINKING! WE HAVE TO LEAVE, NOW!"
"I said, NO!" Octavia broke free. Octavic wanted to pull her away with force, but he stopped dead in his tracks, shocked by the look Octavia shot him. She was completely sane, and in her eyes she clearly said, "I am not going anywhere without my music. My music is more important than my own life."
"You stubborn..." Octavic sighed, giving up. He then walked over and started helping Octavia pack up.
"Thank you, sir," Octavia said.
"You better not get me killed as well," Octavic replied as he stuffed the sheet music into a box.
Octavia giggled, but quickly returned to her serious face and started packing her cello.
The captain's voice came in through the intercom,"Any passenger aboard, please come to the deck IMMEDIATELY for evacuation. Repeat..."
"Come on Octavia! WE ARE OUT OF TIME!" Octavic yelled at Octavia.
"Just a few more seconds!"
"WE DON'T HAVE A FEW MORE SECONDS!"
"Will you shush?" Octavia shot an annoyed look at Octavic.
Unfortunately, Octavic was right. The boat had become fragile from the turbulent movement of the ocean, and Octavia's room unfortunately happened to be loctaed on the flank of the ship. She had picked the room because there was a little window that allowed her to see outside, but now this room had become the first to fail.
Before they could react, the walls and the roof of the room crumbled inwards. The wooden boards above them had snapped, and the entire room fell apart.
Octavic didn't have any time to dodge out of the way before he was buried under a pile of broken wooden boards and a table that had fallen from the room right above them. Water started pouring into the room, filling it up.
"Octavia! Where are you?" Octavic yelled, but Octavia didn't answer.
Octavic pushed himself out of the pile of wooden scraps. The sharp edges of the wood had left a few bleeding scratches on his body, but he didn't have time to care about himself. He was determined to find Octavia and get her out of there safely, even if it meant risking his own life or even sacrificing it.
(Author's note: This will be where the little bloody part is. you have been warned.)
Octavic searched around the room like crazy. The water level continued to rise, slowly but deadly. At first Octavic was able to dig while standing up, but once the water level was high enough, he had to go up to take breaths and then dive to keep digging. Time was running out and Octavic didn't have any choice. He just had to keep digging, until he found Octavia.
And suddenly, he saw something grey underneath the pile of broken wooden frames. It was Octavia's hoof! He saw the light of hope and dug even faster. His hoof had started to bleed from all of the digging, but he didn't stop. He didn't even feel the pain since his mind was too busy worrying about Octavia.
After a few seconds, he finally managed to pull Octavia out of the wreckage. He pulled her out of the water and then sighed at the sight.
Octavia was unconscious, but she was still holding the cello box in her arms as if it was the most important thing ever.
He looked at the sea from the broken wooden frame. The storm had calmed down a little, and he was able to see tiny dots out in the ocean. Those must have been the lifeboats, and they were not too far away. If he could carry Octavia over there, they would be fine.
Although it would be much easier if he left the cello behind, Octavic put both Octavia and her cello on his back. If Octavia thought that the cello was more important than her life, then he would save it too, no matter how ridiculous that idea sounded.
He half walked, half swam through the corridors, and then climbed up the stairs. The dining hall was now completely empty, and Octavic could see that the water level was rising rapidly. The boat would completely sink in no more than five minutes, but that was enough for Octavic to get out of that living hell. He started to walk towards the door leading to the deck, but then suddenly there was another loud breaking sound, followed by a series of cracking sounds. The ceiling of the dining hall had begun to collapse as well, and the huge crystal light in the middle of the room fell down on Octavic. The last thing he remembered doing was lifting his back to make Octavia fall off, and pushing her away from him as far as he could. Then he heard a loud "bang", and the crystal chandelier landed on him. A rather large piece hit his head and his mind went fuzzy. Everything was spinning around him, his hearing becoming blurry, and he felt like throwing up. He could not think straight and suddenly his world went black. He laid there and passed out.
Suddenly, he felt that there was something freezing touching his legs. He fought with the severe headache and opened his eyes. Everything still appeared kind of blurry and unsteady, but at least he was able to see. He looked around him and saw the fallen chandelier right next to him. The freezing feeling was from the water, which had risen enough to cover his ankle. He quickly remembered everything: Octavia, her rejection, the deck, the rising and falling of the ocean, the storm. Breaking out of his daze, he turned his neck and saw Octavia on the far side of the room, away from the chandelier. She was still unconscious, but seemed uninjured, otherwise. Octavic looked at the water. They still had a few minutes before the boat completely sank... They still had a chance.
Octavic shook his head to make his thoughts clear. He couldn't carry both Octavia and her cello, so he needed to find some sort of wooden board to support the weight Luckily enough, they were surrounded by a lot of wreckage. He decided to get up and get to work. He put his back legs onto the tilted floor and put his right hoof on the ground as well, but then he realized that he couldn't move his left hoof. He tried again. It didn't move and he felt pain. He looked to the direction to where his left hoof was, and he couldn't believe what he saw.
The chandlier had luckily missed and had not killed him, but his left hoof was stuck under the pile of broken glass. Looking closer, he saw that his hoof was underneath a huge piece of metal, stuck between two bent metal bars.
He couldn't move.
Octavic quickly grabbed a metal bar and tried to bend it. It didn't work, and it also added to the pain. The skin on his hoof had been scraped off, and blood had started to run down his front arm.
"Help! Anypony here? HELP!" Octavic yelled in despair, hoping somepony would hear him and come to help. But inside his heart, he knew that it was hopeless. Nopony would risk their own life to come into a sinking boat to save another pony.
Well, nopony besides himself.
Octavic's mind raced. He thought of a millions plans, only rejecting them all in a few seconds. The water was rising fast, and it was almost at his chest now. He had to think of something quick.
Then he remembered that he still had his saddlebag. He opened it up with his mouth and poured everything inside of it onto the ground; his heart immediately went cold. There were only ropes, nails, and a dagger.
A sharp dagger.
A crazy idea crossed Octavic's mind. He shuddered at his own thoughts, murmuring, "There must be a better way, there MUST!"
But he still couldn't think of any. He looked again at the dagger; it was reflecting light from the lightning striking down nearby.
There was no choice. The water was already at his neck, and soon it would cover up both him and Octavia. Octavia was still unconscious, and she would drown soon.
He had no choice.
He picked up the dagger with his teeth. He aimed it at his wrist and did a little test. Then he bit down hard on the hoofle, and shut his eyes as tightly as possible.
Every nerve on his body was telling him to stop. His arms were shaking, his legs were shaking, and he knew there was no turning back. He would gain nothing from this, but he was determined. He had to do it, or he wouldn't be able to save Octavia or himself from their impending deaths.
He shoved the dagger into his wrist. The pain was beyond unbearable, even though he was expecting it, but he couldn't stop. He then turned his neck, and sliced the dagger across, breaking his wrist joint.
Streams of blood rushed down his arm. The pain was so enormous that his brain had gone numb. But he couldn't stop now. He held the dagger even tighter, and then with another slash, the blade cut through the flesh and skin. Octavic didn't give himself a break. He didn't have time for a break. Another swing, and he cut his hoof right off.
Blood sprang out from his forearm like a fountain. Octavic dropped the dagger, panting and sweating. He took the rope from the saddlebag and tied it tightly around his forearm to help stop the blood loss. Then he stood up on three legs, and slowly hobbled towards Octavia. With the severe loss of blood, he was unable to carry Octavia on his back any more, so he simply grabbed Octavia's tail with his teeth and dragged her towards the deck.
Octavic felt like fainting every second. His exposed wound was extremely painful, and he was becoming progressively more light headed from the blood loss. But he didn't stop. He kept moving forward, dragging himself and Octavia towards the sea. The storm had turned into a light rain, and the sea had calmed down a bit. Octavic walked towards an opening in the hoofle's on the deck's edge, and then he jumped off with Octavia.
The second his body touched the sea water, the pain in Octavic's forearm and exploded. The salt from the sea water had entered his forearm and other wounds, and it felt like his whole body was falling apart. He let go of Octavia's tail, and grabbed her by the bow tie to keep her muzzle above the water. He started swimming with his hooves, and each movement brought him more pain. He kept moving, barely conscious. The only thought in his brain was to get Octavia to safety; to make the other ponies notice him and Octavia. After a while, he couldn't even open his eyes, so he closed them and just kept on slowly swimming forward.
He could feel his life slowly drain away. He could feel his senses disappear. He didn't feel the pain or the cold. He couldn't feel his body. He heard a lot of voices, but he couldn't understand them. He just kept going forward, forward, forward. Everything around him was dark, but he was still going forward. He was determined to not stop, until they were saved.
Or until he died.
(Editor's Note: I read the word "dagger" and was really sad when my fears were confirmed as to what was going to happen.)
Octavic didn't even remember when he had lost consciousness. He had a dream. It was a dream where he performed on a fancy cruise with the filly of his dreams, but then suddenly everything went dark, there was water everywhere, and he did something incredibly stupid.
"Wait a second. It wasn't a dream. Those were MEMORIES!" though Octavic.
Everything flashed by in Octavic's brain. The boat, the guitar, the band, the cello, Octavia, rain, storm, lightning, Octavia, digging, blood, blood...
He jerked awake from the nightmare. He would have sat up, but he didn't have the strength to do so. He simply shook his body and opened his eyes wide open, but he had to narrow them because of the strong light.
There were voices around him. At first they were all muffled and unclear, but slowly they began to become clear.
"Oh my, he woke up! HE WOKE UP!" A male voice said.
"Shush, he needs REST! Be quiet, please" a soft female voice quickly followed.
"Oh, I apologize," the male voice said.
Octavic looked to the side, and he saw two ponies. One of them was Fancy Pants, and the other one looked like a nurse.
Opening his lips, "How is Octavia?" Octavic tried to say, but to his surprise, what came out sounded like a strangled duck.
"Don't talk, you are still extremely weak. But don't worry, you'll get better in no time." The nurse left, returning shortly with a writing board and a pencil.
"If you need anything, just write it down on here."
Octavic lifted his left hoof, trying to grab the pencil. Then he suddenly saw the bandage on his left forearm and stopped.
"Oh right, I cut my left hoof off," he thought to himself. So he took the pencil in his mouth instead and wrote on the board,
"How is Octavia?"
He desperately wanted to know if Octavia was all right. The question about where he was or how bad he was injured seemed like dust to him compared to his worry for Octavia.
"She is fine. Much better than you are. Anything else?"
Octavic wrote under his first question, "How badly am I injured?"
The nurse and Fancy Pants looked at each other.
Then the nurse sighed, and said, "Sir, we regret to inform you of this. We have done our best, but your hoof... " she paused.
"I am really sorry."
Octavic let out a long sigh. He was prepared for this, so the nurse's words weren't much of a surprise, but he felt sorrowful. He felt as if he was empty inside. He had lost more than just his hoof. His music had been a part of him, and he had lost that, too. He wanted to cry, but instead he just laid there with a straight face, feigning calm.
Fancy pants walked over. "Sir, I am really sorry about this incident. Luckily, your insurance covered most of your medical bills, and I would personally donate a portion of my bits for you, as you have done such a brave act. You are a true hero."
Octavic gave a weak smile.
The nurse lead Fancy Pants out of the room and gave Octavic a chance to get some rest. The following days were very plain and boring, and Octavic felt the urge to leave before he would have a chance to run into Octavia.
And he did. He checked out of the hospital as soon as he regained the strength to walk. The doctors tried to convince him to stay for further treatment, but he simply took the medicine he would need and left. He rejected all the invitations and interviews from reporters. He just wanted to be alone, away from Octavia. He wanted to give Octavia the freedom that she wanted, and not block her path towards her own dream.
He had already booked a ticket back to Fillydelphia, his hometown, where he would be able to find a job. He didn't know what kind of job it would be. He just needed SOMETHING to take his mind off what had happened. The train would be leaving the next day, so he decided to pay a visit to his own apartment.
He had lost his key to the door a while ago, but living in this same apartment in Canterlot for months, he had learned the trick. He held out a thin card, and then slid it between the door and the door frame. He moved the card next to the door knob, lifted his hoof and gave the door a kick on the lower right corner. The old wooden door opened with a loud crack, and Octavic walked inside.
The room was dusty, but familiar. For some reason, though, Octavic felt like he was in a stranger's house. Feeling uneasy and nervous, he sat down on the couch and looked at the white walls of the room. The table was still messy and unbalanced, the couch was still uncomfortable, and the big poster of Octavia was still hanging on the wall of his living room.
It wasn't even that long ago. Just a month ago, he was living there. He had had his guitar, his music, and his dreams. But now, he had lost them all.
Octavic looked to the side. He saw his old guitar lying against the wall. The usual smooth, wooden body, the usual steady and hard fret board. The strings were dusty, but still tightly attached. Octavic walked over and picked his guitar up with his right hoof. He didn't know why he did it. He just wanted to hold his old friend that he had been with since his dad gave it to him, and just play one more time and say goodbye.
He sat in playing position. He put the guitar on his left leg, and adjusted the position so the guitar fit nicely underneath his arms. He then held out his right hoof and flicked the first string. An open E. A bit flat, but still acceptable. He played through all the open strings, tuning them by turning the little nob on the top of the guitar with his teeth. Wanting to play more than the open strings, he moved his left arm onto the fret board and pressed down.
It didn't work. Without his hoof, he couldn't press down single strings. He could not even form a proper cord let alone a single note as his forearm was too thick for it. He tried again a few times, but the pain from his wrist told him that there was no use. He realized that he could never, ever play the guitar again.
Octavic lowered his head. What was he expecting? From the moment he dug that dagger into his wrist, he knew that he had thrown his life away. But he still thought that if he put more effort into it... if he tried harder than any pony else, then he would still be able to be a musician. But now, he lost hope. He gave up.
He buried his face in his arms and cried. First a few drops, then tears flew down his light grey face in streams. He cried like he never cried before, letting all of his emotions out of his chest. Sadness, hopelessness, emptiness... Everything.
He didn't know how long had he had been sitting there, letting the tears flow. The only thing he knew is that, suddenly, he felt a pair of gentle hooves on his cheeks.
Confused, he looked up. Tears had blurred his eyes, so he rubbed them with his good hoof. When he was able to see the pony in front of him, his jaw dropped.
Octavia was standing in front of him, holding out her hooves. She had a gentle, worried smile on her face like she was apologizing, or as if she was trying to cheer him up.
"What... what are you doing here?"
Octavia ignored him. She moved over and sat down to his left, still holding her hooves on his face. Then, using her hooves, she turned Octavic to face towards her. She moved closer, stretching her neck and turning her body. Moving her hooves lower, Octavia pulled him closer and gave him a comforting, gentle hug. They were so close together that they could feel the warmth and hear the heartbeat of one another.
Octavic felt her muzzle against his own. He smelled a mixture of high class shampoo and the naturally pleasant scent of Octavia, and his brain went blank.
It was as if the roomful of air had turned into still water. For a long while, they didn't move. They didn't talk. They just sat on the couch, sharing the peaceful and special moment, together.
Then, Octavia finally moved her muzzle away. They looked into each other's eyes, and Octavic asked, "But where do we go from here?"
Octavia didn't reply. She moved her hoof onto the fret board of Octavic's guitar and pressed down. Octavic was shocked, "You...?"
"Go on, try to play Ebon Coast." She said with an encouraging smile.
So Octavic did. He started moving his right hoof over the strings to make notes. Not quite sure what Octavia wanted to do, Octavic played at a much slower tempo than the song was supposed to be played at.To his surprise, Octavia's left hoof followed with great precision. The notes were in tune and indescribably beautiful. He looked at her, and after giving him a smile, she said, "Play at the normal speed." He sped up, and Octavia's hoof followed. For that moment, he felt like Octavia had become an extension of himself. The song kept going smoothly, and each note was on beat and, quite simply, perfect. Octavia had obviously spent a lot of time practicing this difficult piece; and what's more, she understood Octavic.
Octavic felt another stream of tears flowing down his cheeks. He may be incomplete, but on the other hoof, he knew that there was somepony who would make up for it and that everything would be all right.
-The End-
(Editor's note: I just d'awwwwed. =) I also have an expanded appreciation for my dad's guitar playing.)