There was a blurred line in Vinyl's sight, but she hadn't mistaken the grey block in front of her to be Octavia. Dressed in something white and pink, the grey mare spoke, "Well, here's now or never."

She heard nervous laughter-- nervous, soothing laughter-- that she grew fond of, and slowly, her vision came back. Vinyl blinked a few times, her eyes widening in the process. "Woah."

"I know right? I can't believe it either; I mean, this is my greatest wish come true. The dresses, the ponies, the marriage, you. It's a dream come true." Octavia slowly nudged towards Vinyl and reached for her hoof. Grabbing it, a faint red tinge spread across both mares' faces.

Vinyl eyes darted around. She caught the sight of banners, balloons, streamers, but most importantly, she spotted the recurring word 'marriage' splattered all over the room. A mirror stood elegantly on the other side of the room, and Vinyl took a good look at herself.

Dressed in purple, she had her formal suit and her golden tie on. Her hair was unusually combed backwards, and her shades lingered in her shirt pocket, with half of it sticking out of it. On the other hand, Octavia was dressed in a frilly pink and white dress that flowed all the way to her hooves. She had a beautiful white corset that Vinyl recognised. "No way."

"I know. I'm nervous too," squealed Octavia she cuddled up to Vinyl. A loud voice boomed out of tiny speakers that hung in every corner of the room. "Vinyl, Octavia, get ready. The ceremony is starting in one."

Vinyl beamed and cuddled Octavia back. She turned to face her, their heads just barely apart, and spoke. "Octavia, I'm so sorry for what I did before... it was... I didn't..."

"Hush now, my dear. Today's not the day for bringing up the past. What happened, happened, unfortunately. However, we can only hope to better ourselves for our future. For us."

"To us." Vinyl leaned in, and the two ponies shared a kiss.

The voice over the speakers spoke once more, and the two ponies locked hooves. Side by side, they walked as they pushed the doors open, revealing a crowd of ponies dressed in their finest dresses and suits, as well as a pink alicorn dressed in white. She stood in the center of an altar, and nodded towards the two ponies to come forward.

As they took a step, the organist began playing.

==========

"Mmm. Tell me, Vinyl. What's sexier than socks?" whispered a luscious Octavia in her white wedding gown. With her dark blue eyeliner and cherry red lipstick still on, she pushed Vinyl on top of their bed and grinned. "These socks."

From the corner of the bed, Octavia pulled out two pairs of red and white striped socks and dangled them in front of a reddened Vinyl. She inched closer until the smell of her perfume lingered over Vinyl, and laid her forehead on her newly-wedded partner.

"Ya, know," teased Vinyl as she pulled Octavia down for a quick kiss. "They would be sexier if you're wearing them."

Wrapping her hooves around her, she bucked her legs in the air and pulled her into the bed in one swift motion. With a flick of her horn, she attempted to remove the wedding dress around Octavia but the grey mare's hoof were quicker; with the straps off, Octavia slipped out of the dress and started working on Vinyl's suit.

"Woah, woah. Slow down, Octy."

"Oh no. You don't know how long I've waited for this day." Her eyes shone fiercely in the dark, and Vinyl's heart raced. "I want you so badly, Vinyl. You have no idea."

Vinyl's lips didn't open; simply smiling, she gently nodded her head. "I know, Octy, I know," Vinyl thought to herself.

Something sounded like it ripped, but neither pony seem to mind it. With one hoof, Octavia threw Vinyl's shirt off, and started working on her pants. She fiddled with her zippers and rubbed at her inner thighs ever so often, both of which caused Vinyl to squirm.

"Somebody's ticklish," giggled Octavia as she tugged down hard on the zipper and pulled at the pants. "Can't wait until I eat you up later."

Soon, their wedding outfits were all scattered around the floor. Only an article of clothing was left in Octavia's hooves, and she quietly put them on, her eyes never leaving Vinyl. "So, who wants to go first?"

No pony spoke, but a spark lit up in between the two ponies eyes. Vinyl nodded and Octavia smiled, and in a flash, Octavia was now pinned on top of the bed.

Without wasting a second, Vinyl lunged at her neck and kissed it ever so delicately; with her two free hooves, she stroked Octavia's bare body. A moan was heard, and the bed rattled.

"T-that's... that's not fair," said a squirming Octavia, "You're gonna make it end real quick."

"Oh? Then, in that case," Vinyl gave her one last peck on the neck before sliding her tongue down her body. Octavia shuddered and her body shook, but a large smile was plastered across her face. It soon faded away as Vinyl's tongue slowly approached her groin, only to stop near it before she pulled it all the way back up her body.

"You tease!" said Octavia as she recoiled in shock.

"Says the one wearing those... You know how much I l-like... I like..." Vinyl stuttered, her face a deeper shade of red.

"Socks? Ooh la la!" sang Octavia in a singsong voice.

"Shut up." Vinyl helped her with that, her lips hurrying to Octavia's as she pressed down firmly on them. " I l-like you-- no wait. I love you, my sweet, sweet Octy."

As Vinyl pulled away from the kiss, she played with Octavia's hair and gave her a sly smile. "Be right back. I'll make sure this is a night you'll never forget."

She stroked Octavia in between her legs as she pushed herself off the bed, causing Octavia to gasp. "You!" Her eyes were alarmingly wide, but Octavia shocked face ended with a grin. "You're so dead when you're back."

Octavia watched as Vinyl sauntered out of their room and into their bathroom. A click by the door was heard among Vinyl's devilish voice. "Now which one should I pick?"

Octavia was flushed red, but she yelled from the bedroom, "The b-blue one."

Snickers were heard were in the bathroom.

"Hurry up, Vinyl!" You should know a mare does not like to be kept waiting."

"Well, I'm a mare too, so that doesn't count."

"T-that's not fair!"

"Don't care!"

"Meeeehhh!"

"Still not caring!"

"But... what about... oh fine! But please hurry!" With the lack of a proper rebuttal, Octavia pouted and threw her hooves over head. Her nerves danced like a filly's first time on stage, but she kept reassuring herself that it would be fine. It would be more than fine; it would be great. She was going to love it.

As she closed her eyes, she thought of the wonderful adventures Vinyl and her was going to have. She always wanted to go visit Ponyville; Vinyl had always talked about settling in a small town, and Octavia always wanted to meet Applejack, the mare behind the fantastic cider she loved. She thought about Vinyl's idea, but shuddered at the sound of living at a place far away from home.

There was always Appleloosa, a town even further away from Canterlot, but it boasted cider even better than Applejack's, as well as cheap land to build a house. Octavia always wanted a mansion to call their own, but Vinyl strongly opposed to the idea, citing 'rampant bulls' and 'the lack of proper music there' as 'factors why Appleloosa is inhabitable.'

"We could figure that one out another time," said Octavia to herself as she raised her head off the bed. She just noticed the lack of noise coming from the washroom, and raised her eyebrows. "What's taking her so long?"

She leapt off the bed promptly and walked towards the door. She could hear Vinyl's voice from inside. Mumbles were first heard, but as she neared it, those incoherent speeches turned into cries of pain.

"No, no. Please! I beg you! Don't end this right now!" Vinyl's cries rattled inside the washroom. "We're... we're just about to..."

"I can't let you do this. I can't let you control your dreams either. Your time is up. Any more and you won't be able to wake up!"

"But I don't want to wake up! I'm perfectly fine here!"

"Huh?" Octavia wondered out loud. "Vinyl, is everything okay in there?" She knocked on the door three times, but Vinyl didn't respond. Instead, she heard a different mare speak.

"You... you can't stay here any longer. If you don't wake up now, you'll never see her again!"

"That's a lie if I ever sensed one." Just as Vinyl finished her sentence, Octavia froze. The lines in her body became wavy, and the coat of grey she once had slowly faded into white. Her expression, once a happy mare, disappeared with a frown. Eventually, her entire face disappeared, along with her body.

The room around her started warping too. Colors turned grey-scale, and squares became circles. The line between foreground and background blurred, and eventually became a complete smudge of black and white.

Slowly, the white became black, and in the end, everything around them turned dark. Vinyl laid on the floor with a torn heart and bloodshot eyes as Princess Luna towered over him.

"Oh, no. This is not good," mumbled Luna. She turned her attention to Vinyl and spoke alarmingly, "Listen, Vinyl. End yourself, right now."

Vinyl's tears stopped shedding, and her distress turned into puzzlement. "What?"

"Do you know why you get jolted awake from a nightmare? Let's say you're falling to your death. Before you hit the ground, you wake up in your bed, your forehead full of sweat. Do you know why?"

"Because... I jolt awake from the dream?"

Luna paced around Vinyl. "No. When a pony actually dies in a dream, they go into limbo, a state between life or death. It is a fate far worse than death. As the Protector of the Dreamworld, I cannot allow any pony to die in a dream, or rather, my sister won't. It becomes my duty to protect everyone who's asleep." She sighed. "Everyone, including you."

"What happens if you're in limbo?"

"You never wake up. That's why some ponies... they... they don't wake up."

A cold shiver was sent down Vinyl's spine. "I... I see. Wait. Am I... in a dream?"

Luna paused in her tracks, nodding ever so slightly. Holding her head up high, she closed her eyes and heaved a huge breath in. "That is why I cast a spell at the start of their dream to wake that pony up if they would encounter a near-death experience. It is just to protect them from that terrible fate. And you Vinyl, will wake up soon. I cannot allow you in here any more. Once dead, my spell will bring you back. You will end you yourself, least face my wrath."

"But why? It was going so well! I wanna stay here! I wanna be with Octavia! Isn't this what you wanted to do? To allow me to be with Octavia? I'm finally happy with her, but you're taking that away from me! How could you do that to me?"

"Vinyl," insisted Luna. "My heart was once vulnerable. Don't test my patience."

"You're not the boss of me! I can do whatever I want in my own dreams, thank you very much," said Vinyl with a disgust. "In fact, I don't wish to end it. I'm perfectly happy. You can't tell me what to do!"

"Vinyl..."

"No, no. I'm sick of you interfering in my world. It's time for you to leave, Princess, if..." Vinyl mocked Luna in an English accent, "... thou shall still want to be called Princess. Get lost."

Luna's voice sharpened and her hooves stiffened. "Vinyl Scratch, this was never about you! Never a time was it about you! In fact, it was all about the other mare... the mare who loved you back deeply, but you didn't cherish her enough! "

"Pft. Yeah right. I loved Octavia! More than you'll ever know."

"You may have loved here. But she loved you even more. She wished for your return every single night, but one day, after learning about your... incident... her heart gave way. Palpitations. And she no longer could wish any more." Even with her solemn words, Luna stood tall, her stance of one where a lion stood proudly, facing its herd.

On the contrary, Vinyl's violent eyes and hunched shoulders slowly faded away. Her eyes now widened and her mouth now ajar as she looked into Luna's eyes. Her voice cracked, and her throat dried to the point it became difficult to talk. "A-are you saying Octavia's got a heart attack?"

"Because of you, Vinyl. Because of your selfish act. You did this to her." Her voice boomed in the darkness, and somehow echoed too. "And for that, you will suffer! You will wake up, and learn to accept a fate a thousand times worse than death!"

"No--" As Vinyl screamed, she was hit by a jolt of lightning that came from Luna's horn. Her hair frizzled and her eyes widened, and her scream got increasingly louder.

"Just remember, you don't deserve her. You never did." With an ominous goodbye from Luna, Vinyl's world turned into a sheet of white, which eventually faded into black once again.

==========

"Vinyl, wake up! Please. If you can hear me, wake up!" A voice boomed loudly in the room, startling the orderly taking notes.

"Shh! Keep it down! There are other patients in this hospital," the orderly whispered.

"Sorry, but there's no time! Vinyl, wake up!" Neon Lights shook her, rattling the bed in the process. Wires flew everywhere and a tray got knocked over, which angered the orderly. "You have to wake up! There's bad news!"

As if right on cue, Vinyl's eyelids shook, startling Neon Lights. "Did her eyes just..." He released her grip and backed off, turning to face the the now-joyous doctor.

"Shake her more!" shouted the doctor, who realised his mistake a second too late.

With the doctor's permission now, he did more than just shake. He slapped her, tickled her and rattled her head back and forth.

The eyelids did open eventually, however, to the sight of a pony kissing her.

"Get... away... from... me..."

"Hurray! She's awake!" yelled Neon Lights, which prompted both Vinyl and the doctor to both hit him. "Ouch! Glad you have your sense of humor back too, but there's bad news."

His face turned solemn as he slowly backed away from Vinyl. "There's... really bad news. You... uh... woke up at the wrong time."

"H-huh? W-what's going on?" Vinyl's voice was weak and her face was pale, but her words were still audible.

"Octavia... uh... did the same thing you did."

"Huh? Oh," said Vinyl casually as she leaned back before realising what Neon meant. Her jaw dropped and her throat was dry, but she managed to cough out enough volume that caused Neon to stumble backwards after. "Wait, what?!"

He caught onto the handle of a chair, breaking his fall, and smiled back at Vinyl. "Now, I'm glad you're awake, don't get me wrong. Octavia, she... she's in an even worse state than you," said Neon as he walked towards Vinyl with his shoulders shrugged. "Man, why do all the good ponies try to take their own lives? It's as if they prefer dreaming."

Vinyl snapped. She furrowed her eyebrows at her and tried to sit up, but there was a restrain holding her back. "You don't deserve to live."

"Why, I've been visiting you everyday. Don't I deserve something later? Something I haven't gotten in a while?" said Neon in a seductive tone, which prompted Vinyl to tug at the restraint even more. "I need some of that candy. Been missing it lately."

Vinyl must have wiggled free and have eaten some superpony pills, because Neon soon faced the ground with a broken and bloody nose. His rear was being stomped on, and his voice, which was once confident, had turned into tiny, helpless whimpers.

"H-help, doctor!" Neon cried out, but the doctor just shook his head.

"Shh. Keep it down. There are other patients in this hospital," taunted the orderly as he gave a wink to Vinyl, which prompted her to kick him even more.

With one final blow to his stomach, she stomped towards the doctor with a frizzled mane and gritted teeth. Her words came out slow and displaced, but she spared no hesitation in getting to the point. "Her. Where."

Alarmed, he quickly flipped through his notes, only to be interrupted by a hoof where his neck was. "Where. Is. She." Vinyl asked once again.

With sweat on his brows, he scanned at a list of names on his keyboard, and eventually found Octavia's name. "R-room twenty. Don't hurt me!"

With a push, Vinyl threw the doctor towards the wall and turned towards the door. As she left, she gave Neon's face one last kick, and turned to face the doctor. "You saw nothing."

"Wait! You're not supposed to see her!"

"I can, and I will." Her words were as cold as steel, and her eyes matched those of the devil's. With a loud slam, the door was closed.

The moment she left the room, tears flew from the corner of her eyes and the rage she once had settled into melancholy. She could feel a sharp pain where her heart was. Bringing her hoof towards it did no good, and she knew it too, but she needed something to comfort her heart right now.

"I need... I need to see her." Bearing a broken spirit, she trudged down the hallway, looking up occasionally to find room twenty. She had been in room four. Room twenty was theoretically sixteen rooms away, but Vinyl soon realised the number of the room skipped every now and then.

Eventually, she did find room twenty at the end of the corridor. Like all rooms, only one pony had been laid inside, and anypony could view the patient through a glass window. However, what Vinyl saw wasn't Octavia, but a completely bandaged-up pony.

Vinyl reached for the handle, but stopped short of pulling it down and entering. She though about what she would see, and what that would mean for her. If Octavia was in this state, could Vinyl ever forgive herself? Could she ever learn to love her? And most importantly, did Octavia love her back?

Many questions flooded Vinyl's head, but she had no answers for them. But she knew that if she could wake up, Octavia had a chance. She knew that if she did wake up, she could have a chance with Octavia again. She could fix things with Octavia. Her dream would not end.

There was no doubt anymore that pulling the handle was the only right option. As she slammed it down hard, with tears in her eyes, she barged in and threw herself over the bandaged pony.

"Octavia..." Vinyl cried as she hugged her. "I'm so, so sorry. I made you do this. I'm so sorry."

A stream of tears flowed out of her eyes and down her cheek, and then onto the unsoiled bandages. "Please... wake up, Octy. Wake up. I'm sorry."

"Ahem. No visitors," said a stern voice, but Vinyl ignored him, refusing to let Octavia out of her arms.

"I'm not letting you go, Octy. Not ever again."

"Leave, or I'm calling security!"

"Make me!" shouted Vinyl, which prompted the doctor to leave the room posthaste. "Leave us alone!"

Perhaps it was Vinyl's presence or her loud, booming yell a moment ago, but the pony on the bed emitted a tiny cough. Once, and the room went silent.

"Oc... Octavia?" Vinyl choked as she turned around. Still, Octavia laid. "Octy, can y-you hear me?"

With shaky hooves, she reached for Octavia's. "I know you're still there. If you can hear me, I want to let you know I'm... I'm..."

Vinyl's eyes watered; her tears flowed down the side of her face and onto the sheets. Once, twice. A drizzle. Nine, ten. There was rain. And the blanket was eventually soaked. They laid still there; with both pony eyes still shut, with both ponies still desperately trying to cling on to the only thing they have, one of them emitted a cough. The other emitted a soft hum.

"D-doc..." whimpered Vinyl. "D-doct..."

With every ounce of strength, she yelled, "Doctor!". She could feel something gently nudging her hooves-- a once familiar touch she yearned for.

"Vinyl..." The words escaped from Octavia's barely parted lips; her eyes squinted in the light, and she tried to get up.

"No, Octy, stay." There was a smile slowly growing on both ponies' faces. "I'll... I'll get the doctor for you. Just wait. He'll be here in no time. I promise."

"It's okay, Vinyl." She tried to reach for Vinyl's hooves, but her fatigue only allowed her so much movement. Vinyl grabbed hers instead.

"I'm sorry, Octy. I never meant to hurt you. I... I didn't know what I was doing. Literally. Everything's fuzzy, but... I didn't do it. There..." Vinyl's eyes were sore but dried up; even as she was unable to produce tears, she sniveled and rubbed her eyes.

Octavia caressed Vinyl's hooves in her own and smiled at her. "I... I knew, Vinyl. Kandi. She was Neon's ex. She knew. She told me everything. I also knew you were behind us that day. I couldn't bear to... Kandi was so nice... but I couldn't. I still loved you, Vinyl. Even when I threw you out. I was miserable for a long, long time. Kandi just made me realise how much you were so different from everyone else I've met. Why I'm even with you, Vinyl. I've... I've missed you." Her voice was weak and her face was paler than before. She croaked as she spoke, and every now and then, coughed to catch her breath.

Vinyl took a step forward and kissed her on her forehead. "I've missed you too." They stared at each other, both smiling like little foals on the playground. Reality slowed down for these two lovers, but Octavia brought them both back with a harsh, dried cough.

"Vinyl, I don't feel too well."

"You need rest, my dear. And where's that damned doctor who was here a minute ago? Where the hell is he!"

"Vinyl... Please. Stop." Octavia pleaded as she tugged at Vinyl's hooves, her voice much worse than before. Her breathing was unsteady and the loud, beeping sound on the cardiac monitor quickened frantically. "I have to tell you one last thing, before I...."

Vinyl's heart sank. No.

"I... I love you."

Slowly, Vinyl felt Octavia's hooves go numb and weak. There was a small pinch, but eventually, the grip on Octavia's hooves disappeared. All Vinyl could hear was a long, constant beep coming out of the monitor, and the quickened one-two thump of her own heartbeat.

"No." A whisper escaped from Vinyl's lips. She frantically searched Octavia's face for answers. For reasons. But nothing came up. Time had came to a standstill for her as her unwilling brain struggled to absorb the scene placed before her.

The first thing she did when she regained some of her senses was to yell. "No. No! Doctor!". She refused to let go of Octavia's hooves, and the intensity of her voice increased. "Doctor! Doctor! Somebody, anybody! Please! You've got to help her!"

She turned to face Octavia, silently hoping her cries of plea woke her up. "Hang in there! I know you can! Don't leave me now! We just got back together! Please, Octavia, wake up!" She shook Octavia slightly with her hooves still locked in hers, refusing to let go. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please! Octavia! Don't... don't... don't leave me. Don't leave me... again."

Her voice had drop to a whimper as she laid her head on the bed frame and closed her eyes. Time crawled by as hope faded away for Vinyl. And even with the factual, single sound of death, Vinyl still hung on.

Seconds had passed. Minutes. It wasn't until half an hour later that Vinyl let go off her grip, allowing her hooves to collide against the floor. Her limbs felt as numb as the pony on the bed, and her mind blanked away. She laid still by her bed, allowing herself nothing but the sound and sight of silence, and felt a gentle, soothing breeze flow right through her mane.

Time stood still for Vinyl to recollect the memories she shared with Octavia. Their first encounter. Their first date. Their last date, and the proposal. The gig. Her kicking Vinyl out. More painful memories surfaced. Sulking on the streets. Neon taking her in. Kandi. Kandi kissing Octavia. Back on the streets. Losing her job. Losing all motivation. Losing the will to live. The bridge.

"I'm... I'm so sorry."

With all her will, Vinyl allowed herself to take one last look at Octavia; she comforted herself with the thought of saying goodbye one last time, as well as the knowledge that Octavia had forgiven her. She told herself she could at least face her one final time, for old times sake.

"Octavia..." Her eyes slowly opened, not to the sight of white sheets and pastel colored walls, but to the familiar sight of rusty metal and salty water. A strong gust of wind blew by. Lights flickered from a lamppost nearby. All was quiet but the sound of waves crashing against the riverside.

Vinyl recoiled backwards, bumping into a metal piece of the bridge in the process. Her breathing quickened and her hooves felt even colder. Her head spun and she struggled to keep her balance, using only the metal beams around her as support. "What the hell!" Vinyl screamed at the sky, emphasising each word clearly. "Bring me back! Now!"

Her horn illuminated, but only for a short while. A cackle and a sizzle was all it takes for Vinyl to realise her magic wasn't working. "Why! Why!" She continued screaming at the sky, but there were no responses.

Glaring at the full moon, she cursed. Swore. Pent-up emotions exploded from Vinyl's tiny little bottle. More swearing happened, and more anger happened. She started punching the bars, kicking them. When she finally had enough, she gave one last knock on the grey bars and leaned her head against it. Tears struggled to flow no matter how much Vinyl tried. Her heart slowed down even much more than before, and her whole body grew numb.

She glanced right towards the waterbed, the moon and the vast emptiness that laid before her. Then she let out a tiny whimper as she closed her eyes. She felt like a black hole had sucked everything she once loved, once cared about, in. Everything seemed so lost, so futile. And yet, she gave in to that one feeling that started everything.

Dread.

She came to terms, that what she had had no longer been what she had before. She had lost everything again. Everything seemed so pointless. "What is life..." She nudged to the right, hooves as steady as before. "...Without death."

Fearless, she was as she inched closer and closer. Fearless, yet perhaps out of fear or out of familiarity, she closed her eyes. "And what is death..." Her grip slowly, reluctantly, but eventually, loosened on the iron bars. "... If it's merely eternal sleep."

Her mind went blank and she voluntarily let loose all emotions and feelings inside of her. "And what is life..." Her hooves slipped off the metal bars, and all she felt was the cool air rushing towards her face. She smiled; after all, she knew what awaited her. "... Without her."

Her hooves didn't tremble and her heartbeat steadied. She steadied her breath and extended her hooves towards the sides as if she was about to hug the air in front of her. "And what is life, or death..." Vinyl looked at the moon one last time, smiling like she had just been victorious. She had, of course, always been victorious, refusing to play life's game over and over again.

"... If I'll always be in limbo."

==========

There was a distant splash; audible, but not too loud. The air grew much colder, but no ponies were out tonight. All that laid in the light was a flower. A white flower, whose beauty stood out amongst the dead litter around it. Slowly, though the flower stood tall, it eventually succumbed to it surroundings, wilting petal by petal. A gust of wind blew by, picking up some of the fallen petals off the ground and blowing them towards the water bed. More gusts came, and each time, it swept more and more away until there was only one petal remaining. And then the air grew calm, a single-petaled-flower remaining in the midst of emptiness.

In the distance, a gravestone stood under a willow tree. There were writings carved on both the tree and the tombstone. "To us," the one on the tree read, and the grave had been marked with 'Octavia'. Once wrapped with a purple aura, the magic on the tombstone eventually faded away. The pony behind that spell stood in front of the two graves, her eyes and face plastered with sorrowful tears.

"My dear friend. I've watched you since you were a little foal. Watched you grow up. Fall in love. Get heartbroken. I, too, am heartbroken, and will forever be. This world has lost a great cellist, and I've lost a wonderful... friend. You were almost like... family... to me, and I thank you for that. I can only watch now, praying and listening to all the woes I've put myself through."

"But for what cause?" said Princess Celestia who walked out of the shadows of the willow tree. "Why do you even bother?"

"I wish for her happiness, nothing more. To be able to fulfill her deepest desires is the least I can do! Yet you meddle in my affairs!" she yelled.

"I had to. I had to stop you from spiraling down into what had turned you once bitter. You can't change the facts that has already happened. You can't rewind time and fix this mess. Move on, dear sister. Please."

"You're too late, sister; it's been done. Albeit, I regretfully gave Vinyl a chance to fix it all. Had a weak moment, but not any more. She doesn't deserve this and now, she'll be stuck forever in her past. Oh, it feels so great." Luna emitted a unscrupulous laughter and smiled at her sister.

"Luna, you gotta stop this nonsense. This will consume you from the inside out! I shall not desire to lose my sister again!"

"Do you not understand how I feel? Look me in the eye and say you do not wish to do the same." She stared intently at her sister, whose stoic expression was one of determination rather than fear.

"I do not wish to do the same. And neither should you. You can't change what has already happened!"

"But I can make her feel pain. I do not want her afterlife to be all dreams. I want them to be nightmares. Forever." Her voice was malicious as she growled at the engraving on the tree. "I hope you feel the same pain she has felt for years! I hope you really do."

Thunder flashed in the clear skies above them and struck the tree, setting it ablaze.

"Then why don't you feel my pain then!" Celestia cried out as she stomped her feet on the ground. "Do you know how it is like living without the one pony I care so much for? Of course you don't! When I banished you, I hoped you turned good. I hoped you learned your lesson, that you can't change the way things are by force! Nature doesn't work that way!"

"Tia." Luna swiveled her head towards her sister. Her fangs exposed themselves. Her pupils were enlarged. "When you left me alone on the moon, haven't you forgotten that I too... was alone? You're always so self-centered. Always has been! You, good for nothing sister! I wish you left me longer on the moon!"

"Nana, please." Her voice was soft-spoken like she was with every pony else.

"Don't call me that." Yet Luna's was still as vicious as ever. A purple hue emitted out of her body, and her eyes started glowing. "In fact, don't call me ever again. I'm taking my leave. Forever." There was once a spark on Luna's horn which quickly grew to envelope everything around her. With a surge of lightning, everything around Celestia vanished, including the tombstone, the bridge and the burning tree. All that was left, was the once familiar sight of a single-petaled white flower.

==========

The sound of waves crashed behind her as she gently opened her eyes. She blinked once. Twice. She saw nothing but the grains of sand under her. They were the same grains sprinkled around her body, and she made no attempt to brush them off. She felt weak; on the beach she lay, still. Her coat was drenched with the seawater and it smelled almost horrendous, but she refused to move. She felt like her body had submitted itself to the coasts, and all she could do was accept it. After all, all she could accept was that she was still alive.

Author's Note

I've changed the ending once. Also, added a dialogue part in where I forgot to explain one last thing.