Inevitable Fate

Just because they seemed to be seeing things eye to eye, didn't mean anything. On one hoof she could dispose of them and vanish. On the other hoof she could just ride this crazy train all the way to the station. Either way, the odds were still stacked in her favor. Everything would be fine in the end, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

The sun began to shine its rays over the horizon, beams of sunlight began to pouring in through the window. A square box of light settled on Octavia's face, slowly she scrunched her nose in distress. "Could somepony close the blinds," she whined into the air. Vinyl just groaned before pulling her pillow over her head.

Chrysalis, barely awake, gripped the blinds with her magic, and closed them. Octavia gave a soft thank you, followed by a muffled grunt from Vinyl. A soft groan was the only response the two sleeping mares heard, if they heard anything at all. The three ponies drifted back to sleep. The streets of Canterlot began to bustle with ponies.

A paperpony unicorn was trotting down the street, saddle bags full of papers. Levitating a paper, then tossing it onto the doorstep of the houses he past. Keeping a steady pace, he continued his route as he trotted along the side walk. Shops of every variation began to open up, ready for anypony to enter their establishment. Up in her tower, a snow white alicorn trotted out to enjoy the view of the castle grounds.

Celestia was one of the Princesses of Equestria. Her astral mane and tail was a stripped mixture of dark pink, dark blue, teal green, and turquoise. She wore a three pointed golden crown, the outer peaks were small while the middle peak was twice their length. In the center of the crown was a small diamond shaped amethyst.

Celestia wore a golden breast collar, the front portion had a slightly larger diamond shaped amethyst embedded in it. Adorning her hooves were a set of four golden hoof cuffs, a Fleur-De-Lis design sprouted up, hugging the front of her legs. Celestia's cutie mark was an eight pointed stylized sun. Her Alicorn horn was snow white and very long, signifying her long life.

Her wings were also white, large, and very elegant. Finally her eyes, which matched her jewels, were a deep amethyst. Looking toward a small table, her tea kettle was whistling, the water inside reaching its boiling point. Celestia turned on her hoof and strolled back into her study, where she often enjoyed morning tea

Laying the paper down that the guard had retrieved, she scanned the articles while she sipped her tea. This time was very precious to her, the only moments of peace she had before morning court. She knew that soon she'd be facing an onslaught of whinny, nobleponies who's interest stopped at their snobby muzzles.

Turning the pages with her magic, she quickly scanned the articles. She was about to turn the page when she noticed an article about a concert. The article revealed that it was being held in the Canterlot Party Flat Warehouse. Hosted by a stallion named Good Fortune and featured the talents of Octavia, Vinyl, and Sonorous.

A smile spread across her face, Celestia remembered when Octavia performed at The Grand Galloping Gala. After that, she had her hoofmaidens occasionally venture out to purchase Octavia's latest record. Celestia absolutely adored classical music and Octavia was a master of the art. Her mood greatly boosted, she folded the paper neatly, and finished her tea.

Trotting toward the throne room with a small hop in her step, despite the up coming squabblers. At the Canterlot Party Flat, Good Fortune had his hooves full with preparations. Good Fortune had employed several construction ponies as well as engineers to help in his endeavor. Looking around the building, he knew that a complete remodel was in order.

Back at the Gentle Hoof Inn, the three occupants finally began to stir awake. Chrysalis sat up and stretched her legs before getting out of bed. That was a very restful sleep, she thought yawning as she did so. Vinyl woke up next, rubbing her eyes, before putting her sunglasses on, then gave a small wave at Chrysalis.

Chrysalis, not knowing how to react, just got out of bed. Vinyl followed suit, trying to speak, instead raised a hoof to cover her yawn. Before anypony could speak, Octavia sat up in her bed."Good morning,"she quietly spoke before yawning. Octavia looked to Vinyl then glanced at Chrysalis. "What time is it," she asked standing next to her bed.

Chrysalis stood dumbfounded, these two mares just learnt that she was a changeling queen yesterday. Yet they just woke up and acted as if nothing was wrong. "Wow we really slept in, the clock says it's five in the afternoon," Vinyl replied with amusement in her voice. "It's not funny Vinyl, we nearly slept the entire day," Octavia scolded her.

Chrysalis still confused, trotted toward the two mares. "So that's it huh, I'm just another pony now?" Chrysalis inquired with a hint of anxiety. Vinyl and Octavia, both turned to stare at her. "Should we treat you any different?" Octavia remarked. "No, it's just weird not causing a panic when not in disguise," Chrysalis blurted out.

"Well you haven't gave any reason why we should treat you any different," Vinyl interjected. "Even if it was a little rocky at first, you did what you did to survive," Octavia continued. Chrysalis, gave a small nod of acknowledgement, the other two mares began to talk amongst themselves.

She mentally chuckled, of all her schemes to infiltrate Equestria. All she had to do was act nice, well not nice, perhaps it was more aloof. Follow that up by showing off a talent or two and just like that, infiltration complete. As an added bonus, Chrysalis had even found willing food sources. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Octavia called to her.

"What do you think?" Octavia posing a question to her. "What were you two talking about again," Chrysalis asked, not following their conversation. Octavia, motioned a hoof toward Vinyl as she spoke, "We were discussing what to do before tomorrows performance."

"We were thinking that a spa day would help break the anxiety of tomorrow," Vinyl chimed. Chrysalis surveyed the two ponies, then nodded in agreement. She didn't feel any anxiety however if they felt tension, it might affect them if not alleviated. Drawing power within herself and a blink of an eye, Sonorous once again came into exsistance.

Vinyl and Octavia trotted over to the door, followed by Sonorous. After locking up, the three ponies trotted down the street. Making their way through the afternoon rush of ponies, they searched for a good place to eat. Coming to a quaint little diner, they entered and sat down at an empty booth. Looked through their menus, they surmised that the food must be good considering it was packed.

The waitress was trotting briskly just to attend to everypony. After a few minutes she approached them, pulling a notepad and pen, ready to jot down their order. Octavia ordered a cup of black coffee, over-easy eggs, and some hay bacon. Vinyl's order was a couple of haycakes with syrup, a side of hash-browns, and a cup of coffee with cream and sugar.

Sonorous just had black coffee. The waitress took down the request and trotted off to relay them to the cook. Looking around, Octavia noticed that both of her companions still looked drowsy. In fact she didn't fell completely awake herself, hopefully the coffee would perk them up.

Several more minutes passed before the waitress returned, carrying a trey of two plates and three cups of coffee. For an earth pony, she had remarkable endurance to balance a full tray with just the strength of her jaws. Sliding the tray onto the table in front of Octavia, Vinyl, and Sonorous. Before she left, the waitress gave a slight nod.

Their late breakfast was uneventful except for an earth stallion that occasionally waved to them from a counter stool. Ignoring the wobbling stallion, they continued their meals in peace. The two ponies having just finished their plates, sighed with delight. Noticing them, the waitress took their receipt, and approached them. Laying down the receipt, she asked if they enjoyed the food.

The waitress trotted away as Octavia finished off her coffee. Upon seeing the mares get out of their booth, the woozy stallion got up and stumbled toward them. "Hello there ladies, nice day isn't it," the stallion slurred, as he unconvincingly tried to act refined. Octavia reeled back in disgust, Vinyl just gave a facehoof, Sonorous glared at the stallion.

The acts of revulsion were lost upon the stallion as he continued to hit on the them. Sonorous, sensing that he was to inebriated to get the hint. Contempt was very prominent in her eyes as he continued to slur on. Sonorous strolled toward the stallion, her demeanor becoming ever more vicious.

Octavia and Vinyl's jaw dropped, Sonorous ignored them as she stopped inches away from his muzzle. Turning her attention toward them, she cooed gently, "Perhaps it would be best if you two waited outside." Staring at the sinister smile on Sonorous' face, they quickly left, knowing that the impaired stallion was way over his head.

With them now gone, Sonorous turned her attention back to the stallion. In a sickly sweet voice she spoke to the stallion, "look at this mongrel trying to act suave." The stallion continued to stare blankly, a goofy grin still plastered on his face.

She continued, her tone turning venomous, "They say every dog has its day, unfortunately today isn't yours fleabag." His grin faded as he finally caught on to being insulted, anger flashed across his face. The inebriated stallion stumbled closer to Sonorous, muzzles nearly touching now.

The patrons of the restaurant were staring at the controversy now. He narrowed his blood shot eyes as he spoke a warning to Sonorous. "Perhaps you should let your breath deal the threats, considering it has more bravado then you,"she sneered back, waving a hoof under her nose.

Every pony held their breath, waiting for what would happen next. Sonorous darted her eyes around the room but stopped as she spotted Octavia and Vinyl looking through the window. The stallion traced her gaze and grinned at the two ponies through the window. Growling, she raised a hoof to rest on the stallions cheek, and forced his head back around to stare at her.

"They are not your concern, your safety should be," Sonorous snarled. The stallion brought his hoof up and slammed it squarely against Sonorous' cheek. A loud gasp could be heard from every pony in the diner. Silence filling the air, he placed his hoof back on the floor, and began to laugh.

Vinyl and Octavia both held their hooves over their mouths. However fear soon replaced concern as they caught a glimpse of Sonorous' eyes as they reopened. For a second they both could have sworn a deep green flash, flickered within them before dissipating. Everypony in the diner noticed that Sonorous' horn was blazing with magic.

Slowly turning her head back to stare at the stallion, his drunken laughter quickly vanished. An inky darkness rose from her horn blotting out every source of light as it saturated the diner. Soon the stallion and everything else was surrounded by darkness. Yet to his relief, the darkness vanished as soon as it had appeared.

He once again trained his eyes on Sonorous and gasped as visual flames of emerald magic flowed from her eyes and horn. A bleak feeling began to engulfed him, like being submerged into a frozen river. His breathing felt ragged as if breathing stagnate air. His terror intensified as she smiled, revealing two sharp fangs.

Did she always have fangs, he frantically wondered, looking around he noticed everypony was staring blankly at him. Glanced to the window he noticed the two mares outside were gone. Clanking noises caused him to turn his head back around. His color faded as he noticed everypony, except Sonorous, grabbing any utensil or dishware within reach.

Their eyes were glazed over with a white milky color, their face were expressionless. A demonic roar boomed throughout the room, causing every pony to leaped at the stallion. A chaotic chorus of smashing, slashing, and dull thuds as the entranced ponies attacked the stallion. The stallion, unable to do anything, stood there as the mob tore him apart.

Blood splattered the floor below him yet the stallion realized his body regenerated every wound and bruise. How was this possible he thought, pain searing all through his body. Sonorous strolled up to the stallion, the crowd parting for her to approach him. He stared into Sonorous' eyes which were now pulsating huge burst of magical energy.

His brain was screaming at him to fight back or run yet his body wouldn't respond. She stopping when their muzzles touched, her voice echoing in his mind. "I hope you are enjoying my gift," Sonorous sickly declared."What have you done to me," he thought back. "This is the price you pay when you attack me," Sonorous replied before issuing a blood curdling chortling.

He began to panic as he saw that her teeth were now honed to long sharp points. Although his body repaired the damage from the mob, his mind was now writhing in pain. "Ah poor pony, don't you like your mental torment?" Sonorous' mocking voice echoed in his head. "Mental torment," the stallion replied, his body shook wildly from being assaulted.

"That's right, what better punishment then within your mind," she sneered. "There is no escape for you, no chance of reprieve, JUST. PURE. UNADULTERATED. SUFFERING!" Sonorous yelled with a Royal Canterlonian tone. The stallion was unable to reply, so Sonorous continued to reprimand him in a condescending tone.

As hard as he tried, he could feel his mind slowly began to break and crumble from the pain. "As much as I enjoy your squirming, its time to say adieu." "Don't fret though your punishment won't fade when I do!" Sonorous jested in a sing song fading voice.

Sonorous vanished from the stallion's view, replaced by the entranced ponies who continued their assault. Vinyl and Octavia, confusion on their face, noticed that Sonorous' dilated eyes had returned to normal. Blinking repeatedly, she looked down at the now unconscious stallion on the floor. Horn still aglow, Sonorous opened his saddle bags and withdrew enough bits for their bill.

A smile spread across her face as the stallion twitched, still suffering from his personal prison. Placing the bits on the table, she trotted out of the diner. Expressions from the silent crowd ranged from confusion to shocked. Someponies thought that Sonorous had stolen from the stallion, while others thought it was a pale compensation for him striking her.

A large majority of ponies just wanted the mare to leave. As soon as the door closed, several ponies rushed over to see if the stallion was ok. The waitress let out a huge sigh, her coat still crawling from seeing those blank, menacing eyes. Sonorous stopped outside as Octavia and Vinyl bombarded her with questions about what just happened.

"What did you do to him, did he just pass out?" Octavia asked. Sonorous knew they would be curious, especially as they watched through the window. "Well the spell I conjured was his price for his insolence," Sonorous replied. "What spell, all we saw was you staring at each other, did he die afterwards?" Vinyl asked, noticing that the second part of Octavia's question went unanswered.

Sonorous answered in a whisper, "he's still alive, I try to avoid needless deaths if possible." Octavia and Vinyl both gave each other a curious glance, what did she mean by needless deaths. "So what exactly did you do to him?" Octavia inquired. Sonorous narrowed her eyes, speaking in a definitive tone, "he deserved what happened but perhaps somethings should be left unsaid."

Quickly changing the subject she added, "so where were we going afterwards?" "Well before all that, we were heading toward the spa," Octavia replied with a hint of curiosity still in her voice. Sonorous gave a slight smile, which seemed to deter additional questions.

"Well lets get going then," Vinyl blurted out impatiently. Octavia gave a half grin as she trotted down the street. Vinyl and Sonorous soon followed her, the group was glad to put some distance between them and what just happened. Back at the diner, the waitress noticed the strong smell of cider from the unconscious stallion. Bringing her head back upright she called out to the cook.

We have a drunkard here, somepony fetch the guards to escort him out. Despite this incident, the whole of Canterlot would remain oblivious of what transpired. The moods of Octavia, Vinyl, and Sonorous seem to improve as they trotted through the bustling city of color and liveliness. After a couple hours of sightseeing, the group finally arrived at the spa.

Octavia, reaching the door first, opened it, and held it for Vinyl and Sonorous. The two mares filed through the door, followed by Octavia. The receptionist, not looking up from her desk spoke, "welcome to The Regale Revive, where we'll rejuvenate your youth." "Hello, do you have an opening for three?" Octavia called out as the group approached the desk.

"Just sign your name here and..." the receptionist cut off as she looked up to see Octavia then to Vinyl. Sonorous rolled her eyes as the receptionist degenerated into a drooling fanpony. Knowing what would soon follow, she trotted over to a chair and sat down. Octavia signed their names and after a short while, wrote down a type of spa treatment.

Placing the clipboard back on the desk, Octavia hurrying away from the ruckus the receptionist was now making. She took a chair next to Sonorous, soon they groaning in annoyance. The receptionist rushed out from behind her desk to stand uncomfortably close to Vinyl. She was stuttering like a confessing filly on Hearts and Hooves Day.

Vinyl tried not to be rude but her patience was running thin for the swooning mare. "Look I know your excited to meet me but back off,"she scolded. The receptionist drooped her head, a hurt expression appeared on her face. Vinyl gave a sigh as she looked at the whimpering mare. "Ugh, look I didn't mean to scold you but I prefer my personal space," Vinyl stated.

The receptionist gave a weak smile as she apologized. Giving a warm smile, Vinyl waved a dismissive hoof. Afterwards she trotted toward the chairs, likewise the receptionist returned behind her desk. Sorting her papers, the receptionist soon pushed a button and spoke into a microphone. Her voice echoed from the intercom, requesting masseuses for a session of three.

The three ponies waited in their chairs while the receptionist resumed her duties. After a few minutes, a pony stuck her head out the door and spoke to the receptionist. "Octavia, Sonorous, and Vinyl, please follow me to the back," the pony with her head poking out called.

The three mares got up and followed through the open door. "So what did you sign us up for," Sonorous asked Octavia. "I signed us up for the works which included a hot jacuzzi, face mask, massage, then a hooficure," Octavia replied.

Sonorous had only vague guesses of the activities that was mentioned. Having no prior experience of a spa however if a jacuzzi was anything like a hot springs, this might not be so bad she thought. The pony stopped and turned to face them, holding a door open. "The jacuzzi is here, while you relax, the rest of your treatment will be prepared" she said before trotting off.

They trotted into the small room, lockers lined both sides of the wall. In the center of the room was an in-ground jacuzzi, that was big enough to fit about six ponies. Several rows of small cubby holed shelving, circled a few inches from the tub. The tiles of the room was a sea-green sorta color, it was a nice match to the blue lockers.

Sonorous locking the door, not wanting to be disturbed. Octavia took off her collar, placing it on the top shelf and took a towel from the bottom shelf. The other two followed suit, placing their belongings within their selected lockers and withdrawing a towel. Vinyl joined Octavia at the edge of the tub. Several button presses later, the tub roared to life, the water slowly swirled.

Massive amounts of bubbles rose from its jets, a low hum reverberated around the room. Octavia and Vinyl placed their towels in the small shelves. Slowly backing into the jacuzzi, careful to step on the protruding circular step within the tub. After their hooves touched the bottom, they turned and used the step as a bench.

"This is so wonderful," Vinyl yelled, her voice echoing off the walls. "Is yelling really necessary," Octavia playfully scolded, "Although you're right, this is quite marvelous." Sonorous joined them in the tub, putting her forearms atop the edge of the tub. Applying pressure through her forelegs, Sonorous began to float slightly due to the pressure of the jets.

Vinyl, her magenta eyes now exposed, looked to Octavia, who had a blissful smile and her eyes closed. "Hey Octavia, will the rest of our visit be this good?" Vinyl asked. Not opening her eyes, she shrugged her shoulders and stated that she'd never been to a spa.