The rain pounded on Octavia's face, mixing in with her tears and blurring her vision. It seemed as though all of Equestria came together for this one funeral, though to Octavia, they didn't exist. Never again would she laugh as she had before. Never again would she wake up and see amethyst eyes looking back at her. Never again would she look out during a performance and find the always encouraging face smiling back at her. Never, never again.
The burial was quiet, so unlike the way that Vinyl lived. As they lowered Vinyl's casket into the ground, Octavia felt the sudden urge to jump into the pit with her and join her love once more. She stood and watched as four stallions filled Vinyl's final resting place. Images. Flashes of her life with Vinyl. All of it gone, lost forever. Her world seemed to be closing in around her. Vinyl couldn't have simply died, she had too much to live for. She had a future, with Octavia, together. Vinyl was too full of life, too happy to be gone. But even as Octavia desperately wanted it to be a big prank and for Vinyl to show up; loud and noisy and just as Octavia remembered her. Bet the stallions patted the earth down and Vinyl was left only in memories. It was only then that Octavia realized why Vinyl always wanted to be surrounded by others. She didn't want to be forgotten. Vinyl was always up front, always the center of attention. All for this, all in preparation for when nothing was left of her but memories. Octavia promised herself that she would never forget how she felt then, and how she feels now. She would never forget her love, and her sorrow.
In Octavia's peripherals, she saw others leaving, but she paid them no mind. The rain stopped, Octavia looked up and saw Celestia's sun hanging high in the sky. She remembered the hospital, she remembered how Vinyl hated the sterility of the whole place. Even as she coughed up her own blood, she was full of life. Her daring eyes never showed any fear, not even when the doctors told her that there was nothing that they could do. Octavia remembers how even in the face of death, Vinyl didn't change who she was, hard-headed and loud as usual. The patients next to her told Octavia how they enjoyed having Vinyl next to them, how it eased their pain, seeing someone with worse shrug it off without a thought. Alas, her mortality caught up to her. Vinyl wanted to leave the hospital. She wanted to do something other than lie down and do nothing. But Octavia wouldn't let her. When asked why, Octavia responded, "because i don't want you to leave any sooner than you have to, please, stay for me." Vinyl looked in her eyes and nodded. She stayed until they covered her lifeless body as Octavia wept.
Octavia looked around, there was nopony left. The sun was setting and they sky was a bright orange and yellow. It was time. She went to a nearby tree and pulled her cello out of her case. Thanks to one of Vinyl's old spells, Octavia's cello was never out of tune. However, Octavia didn't know if the spell dies along with her love, nor did she care.
Octavia stood upon the hill that proudly displayed Vinyl's tombstone. The tombstone itself bore a golden record, far better than any inscription. Octavia took her cello and her bow and she played. She poured her soul into the melody. As it turned out, Vinyl's magic didn't stay after her death for Octavia's cello was slightly flat. This slight detail brought tears to Octavia's already worn-out eyes. Not even Vinyl's magic is left. Octavia tried to focus on her music. She played her cello with every fiber of her being. More so than for any concert, more so than for any audience, even for Celestia herself Octavia wouldn't have put as much of her soul into this one song, this one homage for Vinyl. I can't even think of Vinyl as dead Octavia thought to herself. No longer would she wake up to Vinyl playing loud music, no longer would she have to clean up after Vinyl, no longer would they have arguments over musical taste. She loved every moment. Every Vinyl-induced headache, every hour of lost sleep, every time she saw those stunning eyes. She wanted it all back, she wanted her Vinyl back. She wanted to reach into the grave and pull Vinyl's body out and bring her back to life. But it's too late, she's gone forever and not all of the magic or all of the love in the world can bring back the one who made her life happy, and meaningful, and an adventure. Every day that she spent with Vinyl was an unpredictable, amazing day. Octavia promised herself that she would not let that die with Vinyl as well. She promised herself that she would live every day as Vinyl would have wanted her to.
The sky was losing its color. Octavia put her song into a crescendo to mirror that even in the waning days of her life, Vinyl shone as bright as the sun itself. But, as all things have to end, so did Octavia's song, as did Vinyl's life. She didn't end abruptly, but rather with a heartwarming low C that died down softly. Just as Vinyl did, with Octavia watching her draw her last breath. Tears rolling down her eyes, Octavia packed up her cello and trotted home, her hooves sinking into the mud with each step. The darkness of Luna's night closed in around her and she looked back at her love's tombstone. The golden record gleamed in the moonlight. She turned around and headed back home, not looking forward to her new life.
I would like to thank Shadow-rhapsody for allowing me to use his picture as a base for this story, he's a cool guy for doing that.
