Lament of the Musician

The cellist picked up her instrument once again. With tears lining her reddened eyes, she softly said to Angel, "This… this was the hardest part to compose… no music can ever replace the hole in my heart that sh-she left… no matter how beautiful it is…" She drew the bow across the cello slowly, playing long, sad notes. The music told of an inevitable separation of two great friends through a horrible tragedy. However, it also told a story of heroism that could never be topped. The musician needed to remember this moment, no matter how much she hated to or how much it hurt.

The two mares ran through the flaming building, dodging holes in the floor and fallen supports along the way. Fortunately, for them, the stairwell they were running down had only just started to burn up. Their luck was running out, though, for the flames were racing downwards faster than they could run. Vinyl turned to Tavi and shouted, "We're not going to make it! Not at this pace!" Tavi nodded and tried to gallop faster.

Suddenly, as Vinyl pulled ahead, a beam fell in between the two musicians, destroying the floor between them and leaving a large gap. Tavi skidded to a stop and shouted, "Vinyl!" The DJ looked back and yelled back, "Tavi! No!" The unicorn ran up to the edge of the pit as Tavi's eyes started to line with tears. "N-no… I don't wanna die… th-this can't be happening! It's not!" she cried to her friend. Vinyl reached across the gap and put her front hooves on the edges of Tavi's shoulders. She pointed behind the cellist and yelled, "You are NOT going to die! Look, just take that door over there, find another way down!"

"B-but…" started Tavi, but the DJ pulled her and brought her into a warm embrace, causing her front hooves to balance precariously on the edge of the pit. She gave a little smile as she whispered, "Thank you…" Looking down at her own form, a thought struck her…

"N-no… must remember…" started the cellist, stopping the music with a TWANG! and clutching her forehead with her hoof. Angel looked to her idol and asked, "What's wrong, miss?" The mare couldn't hear her question, though. She was stuck in her own mind, saying, "I can't… t-too foggy… I must… remember her…" Tears fell from her eyes, one by one, struggling to think of what happened next…

Tavi brought Vinyl out of her hug, sniffling from her earlier breakdown. The flames were getting dangerously close as she said something to her friend. The two then parted ways, destined to only see each other only once more…

  The mare couldn't take it. She lifted her head to the heavens above and screamed, "HELP ME! PLEASE, I WANT TO REMEMBER YOU! WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER!" She broke down in front of Angel, unable to hold anything back anymore. The cellist wailed for a lost friend as Angel sat down next to her. The filly said to her idol with a slight smile, "She'll help you… she wants to, I can tell… just think hard enough…"

The grief went on for a while, just constant sobbing and reassuring. Eventually, the mare got up with a few sniffles and said, "I… I remember something… j-just a bit…"

The two mares were at the doorway. One of them held the door open for the other and yelled, "Don't worry, I'm right behind you!" One of the mares ran right through the doorway as the sound of metal crunching came from above. For the mare outside, time seemed to almost stop for her as the steel balcony gave way and fell down the side of the building, only to hit the ground in front of the doorway. She pounded on the obstacle, sobbing and yelling, "N-NO! NOPONY W-WAS GOING TO DIE! WE WERE GOING T-TO LIVE!"

Inside the building, the musician slid down the wall and said calmly to her companion, "I s-saved you… I held the door open… if I hadn't d-done that, we would both die…" She gave a little sniffle as she softly said, "…please r-remember me…" The mare on the outside shouted, "NO! WE'RE GONNA FIND A WAY!" Two firecolts came up to the musician as one of them said, "Ma'am, you need to step back! The building's going to collapse!" She turned around and snapped, "I AM NOT LEAVING MY FRIEN- HEY! LEMME GO!" The firecolts had grabbed her front hooves and dragged her away as quickly as possible to a safe distance, along with the other residents of the apartment.

Time slowed as the tears streamed down her face, witnessing the cruel event unfold in front of her. The brick at the top started to fall down, and the ceiling caved in. A loud shriek was heard from inside as the apartment collapsed in on itself. Then, silence. The fire within the building died out from both a lack of oxygen and the streams of water being poured on it by the firecolts. The musician couldn't comprehend what was happening. The only thing she responded to was a slight flapping noise. She looked down just in time to see the bow tie she had been wearing flutter to the ground. The mare slowly knelt down and cried, the other ponies trying to console her on the loss of her greatest friend…

"Is that the same one you wore that night?" asked Angel, pointing to the pink bow tie the cellist was wearing. She knelt down to the filly and whispered, "…that night and beyond… I have barely ever taken it off since…" The mare then picked up her instrument once more and played a lone tune, singing along with its sad story…

"Clouds of grey surrounded me…

It felt like a twisted fantasy…

Our home is gone, the fight is done…

But your spirit will go on…

The walls above us burned…

Your prison fell just as I turned…

Unfortunately, your end was nigh…

I didn't want to say goodbye…"

"Wow, you sing as well as they say you do…" whispered Angel, amazed by the song her idol sung. The mare gave a slight nod as she looked up and said, "Every song has a part in it that feels… uplifting… Angel, do you know what ponies say about life sometimes?" The filly shook her head as the cellist continued, "They say that it has to get worse before it gets better… and my story is no exception. Even after her death, trying to remember each bit about it… I remember how it had gotten better for me… each time I remembered…" The mare took a quick glance at the base of the cello and gave a weak smile.

"…it always got better for me…"

(A/N: The song the cellist sung were actually adapted lyrics from the song Arrivederci by Lavender Harmony. Thought the tune would fit well. Try imagining it at a slower pace.)