Twilight wasted no time, heading to Princess Luna, who was still residing on the balcony of the castle’s highest tower. Magic could occasionally be seen flying out to strike a space beyond the barrier, or fusing with the magical wall to strengthen it.

The princess looked drained; mentally, physically and magically. Even for a pony of her strength, there were limits on how long she could defend a place like this.

“Luna! I’m glad to see you’re all right.” The past few years as partners in defending Equestria’s stability had given Twilight a sense of camaraderie with the other princesses, letting them all abandon honorifics when alone. “I never imagined Canterlot would be in a state like this.” She opens her mouth, but strained to find her next words. After a few seconds of floundering, she took a deep breath. “Is Celestia here?”

“If she were, I wouldn’t be stretched so thin. I haven’t even been able to raise the sun today…” Luna was blunt with her words, but it was a truth that Twilight hadn’t wanted to see. “She vanished after departing for Appleloosa. If she isn’t with you, then where is she?” Luna kept her eyes out over the city, not looking at Twilight as she spoke.

“She stayed behind to let me escape. I’m sure she’ll be fine. Celestia isn’t so easily beaten.” Moving to Luna’s side at the railing, Twilight lets out a spell of her own, powering the barrier further. “I’ll maintain the shield. You give yourself time to recharge, Luna. At some point I need to find a pony named Casius Blackhoof.” The other Alicorn shook her head, looking over finally.

“You are needed with the new arrivals, I imagine. You lead them here and saved their lives. Right now, you’re a beacon of hope for them. After they’re settled in, come back and then you can help with the defence. But right now, maintain order. Chaos and disharmony are still our greatest enemies, despite the obvious threat. Ponies who are defeated before the battle starts are no good to us.” She looked back over the city, eyes half closing.

“We had many injured when the attack began, but just as many survivors. The fallen, I can’t really account for. Everypony is in the lower chambers of the castle… It was a stroke of luck that I wasn’t within the dreamscape when all this happened.” Luna trailed off, smiling a sad smile. “I am ashamed I couldn’t save more than I did. Sister will be very angry with me when she returns, I’m sure. I would be wise of me to think of what to say now.” She sent out a blast of magic, collapsing a building to block a road, before turning to look over at Twilight again.

“Casius Blackhoof is Canterlot’s resident expert on black magic and evil spells, as well as Celestia’s advisor on the darker aspects of magic. He keeps his labs near the dungeons; a fitting atmosphere, if you ask me. Be careful around him, Twilight. He is a… worrisome sort.”

Twilight frowned at that. Luna may’ve been Nightmare Moon, but within her pounded the heart of a true leader. She cared deeply for her subjects and it was obvious this chaos was eating her up inside. “I can help you raise the sun, Luna. The ponies of Equestria need that symbol to keep hope.” Twilight felt that, for now, it would be best if she was given some time to think. She had information on the pony Celestia had wanted her to find and she had to go help the Ponyville ponies settle in and give them a place to go.

Vinyl let out a soft sigh as she wandered, her glasses tinting the Canterlot courtyard a deep purple. The soft click of the masonry under her hooves sounded strangely surreal. As she gazed out over the ruined city, Octavia filled her every thought.
Neon had stayed behind to help organize the town into the area the guards had offered to them, but she couldn’t sit still. Her friend was somewhere in this city, possibly even out there, beyond the barrier. She knew she had to be okay; she could feel it. Gritting her teeth, she approached the guard at the magical wall.

“Hey there… U-uh, sir.” Vinyl stammered out, keeping some distance. This whole situation made her skin crawl. “Did you guys get any survivors? Maybe one with a grey coat and a black mane…? Purple eyes? She’s a friend named Octavia.”

The guard tilted his head up, thinking a moment, before nodding. “I know Octavia Melody. I’ve been to a concert or two of hers. Yeah, I saw her among one of the crowds that the princess saved.” Vinyl felt relieved at that. At least there was some hope. Quickly, she asked the guard where they were and was given directions.

“Thanks. Good luck with the guarding and junk.” She offers a brief wave, before heading to her destination, excited. Tavi would be fine, she just knew she would. Octavia was resourceful, intelligent and strong willed. She was also as stubborn as a dragon and twice as diligent. She wouldn’t be so easily brought down. Vinyl tried really hard to convince herself of that.

Vinyl trotted along to the shelter where the survivors had been taken. According to the guard, it was split into two sections: the quarantined and the unexamined. After a brief examination, ponies deemed safe are free to go to the castle ballroom, where beds were set up.

The guard had told Vinyl to start looking here, because it’s only been a day or so since the attacks began. Many of the rescued ponies had yet to undergo the examinations. Vinyl started in the unchecked area, but she wasn’t actually permitted all the way inside without an escort. The room was lined with guards, standing between and around hundreds upon hundreds of ponies. Vinyl could even see some of the ponies from the train among the group, though none from Ponyville. It seemed Princess Luna took Twilight’s word that no one was bitten or sick.

The whole room was silent, aside from the faint sound of crying - usually foals trying to grasp what was happening - and the occasional, unnerving cough. The air around here was stagnant and miserable, and the sights were nothing at all like anything Vinyl had ever seen. It wasn’t like the days of chaos, where ponies were at one-another’s throats; it was just like everypony had… given up already.

Vinyl was about to turn down another row, in her search for her friend, when she stumbled into a little filly she’d seen on the train. Vinyl was almost completely thorough the room and was feeling herself get a little disheartened, when the filly caught her eye. She was crying against her mother and, from what Vinyl could hear, the filly’s father had been working in Canterlot, which was why the two of them were on the train here in the first place – coming to visit him. He wasn’t among the survivors. Vinyl felt her heart settle beside the little filly’s, as she’d felt the same about Octavia. She had hope, but the little one…

“Hey. Chin up.” Vinyl walked over to her, forcing a smile. She opened her saddlebag, pulling out a long piece of plastic, an invention of hers that ponies had really taken to at her concerts. Tapping her horn to it, the plastic burst into a bright green light, shimmering with neon glory. The glow stick drifted up, resting on the back of the child’s hoof, then wrapped around it, sticking together at the ends. “Just remember, all the time, no matter how bad things seem, there’s always a light further along.”

It wasn’t the best analogy and it certainly wouldn’t make this pain go away, but perhaps that glow stick would at least help make things a little less painful. Smiling at the fact that she’d at least stopped the filly’s tears, Vinyl moved on with her search, bolstered by the signs of something positive in this den of misery.

It was hours later that Vinyl finally gave up searching the area. If Octavia had been here, she’d already been examined. The castle was a big place and the number of examined ponies had grown quite a bit in the past few hours, so while it made her skin crawl, Vinyl would be better off looking through the smaller chamber, filled with the quarantined. Stopping outside the door to the sectioned off part of the castle, Vinyl took a deep, calming breath. She looked to the guard who stood in front of the door, waving a little.

“Hey. Can I go in? I wanna be sure my friend isn’t in there.” She kept her voice level, trying to not let her fear and worry seep through. She needed to be confident and strong-willed for this to work. The guard raised an eyebrow, and then shook his head.

“I’m sorry miss, but we’ve orders from Princess Luna to keep everypony out. It’s for your own safety.” The guard showed genuine remorse, having to say that to somepony, but that didn’t make Vinyl feel any better. Thinking on what to do, a smirk slowly crawled over her face.

“Well, I’m a good friend of Princess Sparkle. But, if you are sure you wanna turn me away, I’ll just go tell her what you said. She wanted me to be sure our friend was okay.” That gave the guard pause. Looking this way and that, he took a moment to think, then nodded.

“Fine, I’ll let you in. But I’m giving you an escort, okay? It’s very dangerous in there. And it’s a very sad sight, so be warned.” He walks over to the door, shifting through his keys. After finding the right one he unlocked and opened it.

Three guards on the inside turned to look at the two ponies outside. The guard from outside the door addressed a stallion in magnificent armor, clearly higher ranking than the rest. “This mare is a personal friend of Princess Twilight Sparkle, lieutenant. She was sent to look for a mutual friend of her and the princess.” An affirmative nod was given and Vinyl was motioned in by the lieutenant.

The guard introduced himself as Dusk Quartz, a second lieutenant in the Royal Guard and currently the highest ranking pony still alive in Canterlot, aside from royalty. “What does your friend look like? Do you know her name?” He gave a small pause. “I suppose I should know your name as well…”

Vinyl walked along with a purpose, eyes scanning what was once a large storage room. Makeshift walls had been placed up, making small segmented sections. In each were one or two ponies, guarded by no less than three guards each. Their coats had dulled and they coughed loudly, shivering and crying. Vinyl felt sick herself, looking at this. It turned her stomach.

“Her name is Octavia Melody. She’s a grey coated pony with a black mane. Her cutie mark is a purple treble clef. I’m Vinyl Scratch.” Quartz perked a bit, eyes going a little wide. Vinyl knew the look of a fan when she saw one. She smiled a bit, planning to use this to her advantage. “Yeah, I’m DJ Pon-3. You look like you heard of me.”

“Heard of you? I was there when you were in Las Pegasus! You and Neon were wonderful!” He went to speak again, but trailed off, looking around. It was hard to maintain a happy demeanor in a place like this. “… So, you’re friend is Octavia Melody, huh…?” He looked down a bit, then over to Vinyl. “Come with me.”

Vinyl felt her heart sink. That was not the reaction she’d wanted to see or hear. Her heart pounded in her chest as she followed Quartz, eyes darting about this way and that. She told herself that this mustn’t be directly related to Tavi. Maybe her mother or father? Vinyl didn’t wish that on Octavia, but for herself, she prayed in silence. It made her feel terrible, wishing misery onto her friend’s family, even for her own well-being.

The guard stopped, motioning into a room. Vinyl hesitated, her hooves simply not moving. The Quartz looked worried, sad, but he offered a hoof. Vinyl felt her breath come easier, but she was still trembling from head to hoof. She closed her eyes, took a breath and accepted the help, being guided into the small makeshift room. Keeping both of her eyes screwed shut, she tried to take in everything as slowly as possible. When sounds became involved, that became complicated.

A cough rang out from in front of her. The voice was weak, raspy and the pony in question was very ill. “Vinyl…? Is it really you?” Vinyl hadn’t even opened her eyes, but she started crying regardless. She knew Octavia’s voice all too well.

“Y-Yeah Tavi… It’s me.” She opened her eyes, not even hesitating, looking at her friend through the blur of her tears. She wiped them away, getting a better look at her best friend.

Octavia’s grey coat was paled to a whitish-grey, her eyes bloodshot and her mane a mess. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days, even though it’d only been a day since things went downhill. She was laying on a bed, over the sheets, resting on her hooves, rather than her back. Her bowtie was still on, smeared with some blood. Her right shoulder had a large, bloody bandage over it, a sight that made Vinyl nauseous.

“I’m glad you came.” Octavia’s voice was meek, as if she was far away. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Tavi…” Vinyl started to walk in, but the Quartz grabbed her tail, making sure he didn’t pull hard; just enough to let her know that she couldn’t go in. She went to shout at him, but when she saw his sorrowful look, she knew it was for her own safety.

With a remorseful sigh, she stepped back a bit, standing in the doorway. “I thought about you every day. And when we saw what was happening to Canterlot, I…” She trailed off, looking down. “Neon’s here too. And we met this sweet pony on the train here named Lyra. She has lived in Ponyville this whole time and we never even knew about her. She’s a huge fan of yours. You’ll need to meet her sometime. She plays the lyre and wants to be just like you.” Vinyl tried to keep smiling. It was the hardest thing she’d ever done.

“Hehe. Y-yes, I’ll need to meet her, someday. That would be lovely.” Octavia shifted on the bed, smiling weakly. “I’m sorry, Vinyl… I tried to get away. I didn’t want this to happen. I wanted to see you and Neon again. I’m glad at least part of that has come true.” She coughed, looking weakly at the bed. “I should have been more careful. I should have-“ She starts coughing again. This time, the cough turned into a fit, making her cover her muzzle. Vinyl stepped forward, but was stopped by Quartz, who was staring at Octavia intently.

“You need to go.” He tried to move in Vinyl’s way, but the white mare could see her friend clearly. She was coughing into her hoof, blood dying her grey coat a deep crimson. Vinyl felt her heart shatter, tears filling her eyes.

“Tavi! Tavi, you’ve always been my best friend! Hang on, Tavi! Tavi!” It was only about a minute before Octavia stopped coughing, her eyes closed. She looked like she was asleep, her body barely moving. She was hardly breathing at all now.

Quartz pushed Vinyl away, motioning her down the hall a little, away from Octavia’s room. He turned to another guard on duty, the one watching over Octavia, shaking his head sadly. Vinyl toned out the conversation, not wanting to hear what came next. Octavia was drawing closer to the end and Vinyl knew what would happen then. She knew she couldn’t hide from this. Not now. Reluctantly, she moved closer to listen.

“… -had been holding on to see her friends. She’s slipping now. Will we need to… you know…” The guard sighed as Quartz nodded, looking down. “I hate doing this, but it’s what needs to be done. We can’t just let her suffer as one of those things… Remove the head or damage the brain, right? Easier said than done. How long has it been since ponies have needed to resort to something like this?”

Vinyl looked over to the two, then back to her friend’s space, thinking. She took a deep breath and let it out as words. “I’ll do it.” The guards snapped to look at Vinyl, who didn’t return the look. Her eyes didn’t leave Octavia, who seemed to be having trouble breathing. “She’s been my friend since we were little fillies. I won’t let her suffer anymore. Give me your sword.”

The guards hesitated. Dusk Quartz moved towards her, but the other guard stopped him.

Vinyl looked over to them, her horn shimmering. “Fine. I’ll do it myself!” The sword flung from Quartz’s sheath with a burst of magic, hovering beside Vinyl. She looked back to Octavia, ignoring the protests of the guard behind Quartz. The lieutenant himself watched in stoic silence, not moving out of his fellow guard’s way.

She acted swiftly, before they could recover the weapon. She felt her body tense, but she felt no restraint. She closed her eyes, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Goodbye Tavi.”

After a second of silence that felt like an eternity, the sword swung down. The world went red.

Author's Note

Bring in the Feelios!

Fun Fact:

As I've said before, I wrote this series over two years ago now. In all that time, it has sat, unnoticed on a drive in my room. When I stumbled on it several months ago, I remembered everything about it.

And whenever I read this chapter, I have to fight to not break down and cry.

I have some first-hand experience with comforting a friend while they face the final sleep. it wasn't quite like Vinyl's plight, in that I didn't need to kill my friend, but I was there beside them, as the end came. It was terrifying, heartbreaking and changed me forever. I remember, when I wrote this scene, I was crying. I poured out everything I felt then, as best as I could at the time.

Misery and memory go hand in hand. Our easist to recall memories are scientifically proven to be ones of intense emotion. And, however great joy and happiness is, if Inside Out taught me anything, it's that sadness and loss pack a much bigger punch.

-Inkheart