Dissociation

As Fair Breeze and Lilac arrived at the Royal Canterlot Auditorium there wasn’t a whisper of life. The street was quiet, dimly lit by a lamp that gently swayed back and forth in the breeze. The auditorium itself was dark, no lights visible in any of the windows, and yet one of the doors was loose on its hinges as it rattled back and forth in the breeze. They approached slowly, carefully assessing the situation with every step.

“What do you think sir?” asked Lilac quietly.

“Seems odd for the door to be open at this time of night,” replied Fair Breeze, “We’re going in, stay silent and follow my lead.”

Lilac simply saluted as the pair approached the door. Fair Breeze motioned to it and Lilac slowly pushed it open, keeping low as she advanced into the dark foyer. Fair Breeze followed her, closing the door gently to avoid making any loud noises. The foyer itself was deserted and neither pony could spot a single item out of place. They remained still for a moment listening intently but even the light breeze outside failed to make a sound.

Fair Breeze motioned again and they set off into the building towards the rear of the foyer. It was as they made it about halfway across the room that an ear splitting scream of pain shattered the stillness. They both tensed, Fair Breeze spinning round several times on the spot casting frantic looks in all directions and Lilac taking to the air as she flicked her gaze back and forth.

There was a pause, one that seemed to last an eternity. Were they too late, had that been the final act? It was almost a joyous relief when another scream echoed through the lobby but as it did purpose steeled itself in both of them. Fair Breeze motioned quickly and together they crossed the foyer quickly and pushed open the doors to the main auditorium.

They stayed low as they entered but they both froze as they saw the scene on stage. Vinyl was still tied to the grand piano and Octavia stood by her side gently running her new bow across her fur. Even from their distance they could see the numerous red lines that covered Vinyl’s body and her pained whimpers filled the air. As Octavia ran her bow across her once more Vinyl again cried out in pain and Fair Breeze reacted. Giving a quick gesture that sent Lilac skulking off behind the seats he stepped forwards and spoke.

“Octavia Melody!” he cried loudly as he started to walk slowly down the aisle between the rows of chairs.

The grey mare on stage paused for a moment, her eyes remaining closed as her grin widened slightly.

“Lieutenant Fair Breeze, how nice of you to join our performance,” she replied slowly as she finally opened her eyes, “Have a seat won’t you?”

“By the power vested in me by her royal highness I’m placing you under arrest for the murder of multiple Canterlot citizens and members of the royal guard,” continued Fair Breeze, the earth pony not even reacting to Octavia’s words, “Get on the ground and put your hooves on your head!”

Octavia smirked, “I don’t think so, who’s going to make me? You?”

She leaned in closer to Vinyl, playing the bow across the unicorn’s neck. Vinyl whimpered and tried to pull her head away but her bonds kept her firmly in place.

“I don’t think you’d risk doing anything whilst I have dear sweet Vinyl right here,” she said slowly.

“D-Don’t worry about me!” stammered Vinyl through her pain.

“Aww, getting all tough are we now?”

Octavia slowly pressed the bow against Vinyl’s neck, the razor sharp edge drawing a thin line of blood that caused Vinyl to inhale sharply and go rigid. Fair Breeze was trying to think of what he could do next, he had to keep her busy until Lilac was in position; he had to keep her talking.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked firmly, holding his ground at the bottom of the stage.

“Why? Because I can, do I need a reason?” asked Octavia.

“You’ve murdered ponies in cold blood and you don’t even have a reason for it?”

“They were all just means to an end, ponies whose deaths would twist her mind even more in my direction! I will be set free, nopony can stop it now!”

What happened next all seemed to roll into one. Octavia slowly drew her bow back, her gaze focussing on Vinyl’s neck. Fair Breeze made a mad dash for the stage. Vinyl screwed her eyes shut in fear. What was unexpected though was the blur of coloured fur and feathers as Lilac dived from the rafters onto the unsuspecting Octavia.

Her rear hoof smashed into Octavia’s hoof that was holding her bow sending it skittering to the floor as one of her front hooves came round and struck Octavia firmly in the jaw. Octavia tumbled backwards, landing in a heap next to her open cello case. As Lilac advanced on her she grabbed the instrument from its case and flung it hard towards the Pegasus. Lilac managed to evade by diving to the side but it put her just where Octavia had wanted. Before Lilac could recover to her hooves there was a clang from above as Octavia brought the entire backstage curtain down on her head.

“Lilac!” cried Fair Breeze as he watched helplessly as the curtain smashed into his fellow soldier burying her in yards and yards of fabric.

He charged, throwing his full weight into a shoulder charge that sent Octavia barrel rolling across the stage. As she got to her feet he charged again, this time Octavia managing to dodge to the side and avoid his rush. She took off across the stage, Fair Breeze realising what she was after instantly, her cello bow. He turned and ran after her as well, catching her quickly and jumped towards her. Octavia either seemed to anticipate this or simply had good timing as she came to a halt abruptly and dived to the side sending Fair Breeze crashing to the floor and into the remains of the broken cello that Octavia had thrown earlier.

As he rubbed his head and attempted to get up he found it was already too late. There was a glint of light and a slight whoosh of air as a cello bow cut through the air and came to rest against his neck. Looking up he found Octavia standing above him, her eyes bloodshot and crazed.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill all of you! And then when she wakes up she won’t be able to comprehend what she’s done! I’ll kill…”

For the second time in the space of a few moments a flash of coloured fur shot through Fair Breeze’s vision. It struck Octavia, sending the cello bow sailing off across the stage once more and Octavia herself tumbling off the edge of the stage into the pit below. The blur followed her and a moment later the sound of numerous punches filled the air.

“You! Do! Not! Hurt! My! Commander!” came Lilac’s words, punctuated as they were by the sound of a hoof hitting flesh.

The air finally fell silent but for a series of heavy pants that rose up from the pit below the stage. Fair Breeze slowly picked himself up off the floor, panting himself as he watched Lilac’s head finally appear over the edge of the stage. She looked a sight, her mane torn to ribbons, a thin line of blood leaking from her lower lip and her face sporting the largest black eye he had seen in a while. Slowly he crossed to the edge of the stage, limping slightly on his right leg that had become twisted during his fall, and looked over the edge. Octavia lay unconscious at the bottom of the stage and looked very much like Lilac did only perhaps a little worse.

“You didn’t use the full routine on her did you?” he asked with a slight chuckle.

“Twice sir! What do you take me for? A slacker?” replied Lilac with a small chuckle of her own.

Fair Breeze simply smiled to himself as he looked back at Vinyl. The unicorn looked like she was caught between fear and concern but her body shook like a leaf either way. Slowly he crossed over to her and, using his teeth, snapped the ropes holding her to the piano. She fell forwards almost immediately, her legs buckling under her weight as she collapsed to the ground.

“Easy there Miss Scratch, don’t try to move,” he said quickly.

Vinyl just gave a small pained nod as she looked at the edge of the stage. Fair Breeze followed her line of sight, the earth pony giving a small sigh.

“She’ll be alright, she’s not permanently harmed. Now just lay still and rest.”

Vinyl didn’t reply this time, instead choosing to simply curl up on the spot and shiver.

“Lilac, you alright to fly?” asked Fair Breeze.

“I think so sir,” replied the pegasus as she slightly spread her wings only to wince slightly.

“Just walk if you have to but we need a medical team and a guard squad here immediately.”

“On it sir, I’ll be back before you can say ‘case closed’.”

Lilac gave a feeble smile and began trotting towards the entrance. Fair Breeze meanwhile let out a long sigh and slumped to the ground next to Vinyl. Looking over he found that she had fallen asleep. He smiled slightly and put a hoof around her to try and keep her warm. This was going to take a lot of typing up.