Dissociation

“What’s her condition?” asked Fair Breeze curiously.

“Physically stable…for now at least,” replied Doctor Horse as he made a few notes on a clipboard, “Mentally it’s a different story.”

“I was right to suspect there was something going on underneath then?”

The doctor nodded, “It was incredibly subtle, minor changes in her personality, slight variances in her ECG, but yes there was. Truthfully I’m surprised at myself for not noticing it sooner.”

“If it was as subtle as you say it could have easily been missed over a long period of time.”

“Perhaps but that’s no excuse, if we had spotted it earlier then…at least it is over now.”

Fair Breeze paused and looked into the room through the small window in the door. Octavia sat in the middle of the padded room, no furniture of any kind was present and only a small barred window in the upper corner provided light to the room. It was more like a cell than a room and only the bright décor could be used to distinguish it from the ones in the royal jail in Canterlot.

“So what happened exactly?” asked Fair Breeze looking back at the doctor, “Whilst I’m not uneducated the realms of medicine aren’t one of my fortes.”

“In basic terms she developed a true split personality. We’re still determining the cause but it seemed this second personality lived in her subconscious feeding on her fears and guilt. When her body entered an unconscious state the alternative personality was able to wrench control of her mind for a short time. I would suppose that what it did during those periods aimed to make her even more fearful and scared ultimately leading to a point when her true personality would collapse in on itself and the second one could take control completely.”

Fair Breeze nodded, “That makes sense, during our last confrontation with this second personality it made mention of twisting her mind and being set free.”

“If I could request a copy of your report when it’s submitted I would be grateful, we may be able to use some of it to help treat her.”

“How is treatment progressing now?”

The doctor sighed and shook his head, “Not well. The second personality hasn’t shown itself since she was transferred here three days ago but her true personality hasn’t taken her actions well. She isn’t sleeping, hasn’t eaten and has only just started drinking last night. Most of the time she just sits there and cries, we can’t even get near her without her screaming at us. We’ve got her on sedatives but it just doesn’t seem to make much difference. She’s a broken mare.”

Fair Breeze shook his head. He had to admit that he didn’t know Octavia apart from the few times he had met her but she didn’t deserve this despite what had happened. He looked back into the room, Octavia still sat on the floor, curled into a ball and rocking back and forth. She was facing away from them but he knew she was probably crying.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have patients to attend to,” said the doctor at length.

Fair Breeze looked back at him and nodded, “Of course, thank you for your time.”

The doctor nodded and turned away, heading off down the corridor. Fair Breeze watched him leave for a moment and then turned himself, heading back towards the entrance. He was still limping slightly but the rest of his injuries had been minor. Lilac meanwhile had suffered a little worse; even ignoring her sprained wing that would keep her grounded for a few weeks she had also suffered a mild concussion, a chipped tooth and a vast assortment of bruises. That being said she was still her usual cheerful self and despite the fact that she had been removed from active duty for a while she had still reported for duty and sat organising files and evidence for the case. Fair Breeze smiled, he was glad she was alright; he just wished they had been able to solve the case sooner.

As he arrived in the lobby he found the gentle quiet of the hospital rudely interrupted by a rather energetic argument going on between two ponies at the front desk. One pony was a nurse, her yellow coat doing little to hide the flustered redness that was plastered across her face. The other was a white unicorn; the numerous bandages that covered her body making her look more like a patient than a visitor. Fair Breeze couldn’t help but smile as he approached.

“As I’ve already told you three times miss we cannot let you see a patient without proof of family connections…and even if we could visiting time is not for another three hours,” insisted the nurse, her voice failing to hide her annoyance.

“And as I’ve told you I’m not leaving until you let me see her! I know she was transferred here from the Canterlot hospital so don’t even try to tell me she isn’t here!” replied the unicorn, her voice also failing to hide her annoyance.

“Having a problem here are we?” announced Fair Breeze as he stopped behind them.

The unicorn went rigid on the spot, the nurse giving a sigh of relief.

“Lieutenant Fair Breeze,” she exclaimed, “Goodness I’m so pleased to see you. This individual is…”

“I know exactly what she is doing,” interrupted Fair Breeze quickly as he turned to the unicorn, “Miss Scratch, how are you doing?”

“Uh well…ah…good…I guess,” replied the unicorn as she snapped herself from her trance, “Didn’t really expect to see you here.”

“Likewise Miss Scratch but we have to keep tabs on our…unfortunate victim,” Fair Breeze shook his head.

“Have…you seen her?” asked Vinyl slowly.

“I just came from there, things aren’t going well and the doctor says it may be quite some time before she recovers…if indeed she does at all.”

Vinyl shut her eyes tight, forcing the tears from them as she did, “This is all my fault…if I hadn’t left her back in music college then…”

“Miss Scratch you can’t blame yourself for causing all this…”

“Yes I can! Back in the theatre…before you showed up, that…thing…told me that Tavi still loved me…that she felt guilty for causing me to leave. I…I don’t know if it’s foolish to think there might still be a chance, or if I’m just being selfish but…I have to see her!”

Vinyl fell silent and Fair Breeze gave a sigh. He didn’t know if letting her see Octavia would be a good idea or not but he couldn’t ignore such heartfelt emotions. He turned to the nurse at the desk.

“I want you to arrange a visit for her to see Octavia Melody.”

The nurse looked momentarily stunned but finally relented, sighing slightly before replying, “I’ll have to clear it with the doctor first.”

“Fine, just make it happen.”

It was about an hour later that Vinyl found herself standing outside Octavia’s room. Vinyl herself remembered little of the intervening time although most of it had been filled with arguments and forms. She didn’t know what to expect when the door opened; the doctor’s had warned her but it still couldn’t prepare her. All these years of wondering and uncertainty, all the time she had spent avoiding her and watching from the shadows…if she had simply gone and talked to her would it have made a difference?

“Remember now we are going to have to limit your visit at first,” reminded the nurse pony stood beside her, “We don’t know how she will react to your presence and if she becomes violent we will have to ask you to leave at once.”

Vinyl nodded slowly, “Yeah I remember.”

“Very well.”

Taking a key the nurse unlocked the door and stepped back. Vinyl raised her hoof to push the door open but paused for a moment, her heart and mind fighting against each other in a struggle that had only intensified over the past few days. Finally she pushed open the door and stepped inside, the nurse moving to block the doorway as she did.

Vinyl almost broke down in tears at the sight. Octavia had always been proud. She had always held her head high and expected respect for her skills and talents. To her music was the world and all she had ever wanted to do was fill the world with her notes. The only time she had ever seen emotion in Octavia had been when she was playing, the earth pony pouring her very soul into the songs she played and stirring each and every pony with her harmonies.

Now? If she had been smaller you could have mistaken her for a terrified foal. She sat quietly, hooves tucked into her body as she lay on her side and rocked back and forth. Her eyes were open but they were a million miles away, trapped in some other reality that her brain was frantically trying to resurrect.

“T-Tavi?” murmured Vinyl quietly as one of her hooves shakily started to reach out to her before withdrawing.

There was a sharp intake of breath and Octavia stopped moving. The pause lasted longer than Luna’s banishment or at least it seemed to for Vinyl. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and for a moment she just wanted to run and hide.

“…Vinyl…?” came a small whimper from the earth pony as she continued to lay motionless.

“Tavi! Yes it’s me Vinyl Scratch, I…”

Vinyl stopped as a cold wave swept over her. Tears had begun to slowly leak from Octavia’s eyes, the earth pony not even blinking as they pooled and then began to trickle down her face. Vinyl could feel her outstretched hoof begin to shake as Octavia started to talk once more.

“…I…I tried to kill you…”

“No Tavi! That wasn’t you, it was…”

“It was me…I…I killed them all,” continued Octavia, the earth pony remaining motionless as she starred into the distance, “Gleaming…Fleur…I was going to kill Brass too…I…I remember it all…”

Vinyl didn’t know what to say, what could you say?! She stood silently herself, her mind and heart once again battling against one another before she sprung forwards and collapsed onto the floor next to Octavia. Wrapping her hooves around the earth pony she brought her into a tight embrace as she felt her own tears begin to flow.

“I’m sorry Tavi! I’m so so sorry! If I hadn’t left you alone in music college then maybe…”

Octavia didn’t respond, she was like a ragdoll in her hooves. Vinyl pulled her closer.

“Don’t worry Tavi! This time I’m not going to leave you! I don’t know for sure if you still love me or not but it doesn’t matter. I’m going to help you, and I don’t care what I have to give up to do so.”

Vinyl jumped slightly as she felt Octavia push her head into her shoulder. It was subtle, barely noticeable but it was there. As Octavia began to cry once more Vinyl simply sat and held her. It didn’t matter how many years it took or what she had to go through, she was going to make sure that Octavia got better.

Behind them the nurse sighed and gave a small smile. She retreated back into the hallway, closing the door quietly as she did, the road to recovery was going to be long but it had finally started.