Light as a feather

--Chapter 25--

Octavia was surprised by the reception to Vinyl’s new sound, a far more subtle mix that included snippets of Octavia’s orchestral melodies. The gray mare was surprised at how well the two sounds accompanied one another. She cast a sidelong glance to the white unicorn, her friend furiously working the turntables. The white unicorns coat glistened in the neon lights, slick with sweat. She had been mobile all night, in between her sets dancing and mingling with the ponies in the crowd.

Octavia had settled for lingering on the sidelines during her downtime unused to such a crowded venue. She had been to concerts far more abundant than this one; however they had been in much larger venues, many of which were outside.

The mare was almost caught off guard by the sudden absence of sound, as Vinyl cut her set. The deep resonating thrum lingered for a moment as she pulled her bow across the strings, Vinyl ending the song with an unexpected warble of sound that made Octavia visibly flinch. The crowd burst in a frenzy of uproarious applause and shrill whistles. The mare flattened her ears against her head and smiled sheepishly at the ponies cheering as she walked off stage.

The pony behind the bar gave her an amused grin as she took a seat. She brushed a lock of her errant mane out of her eyes before returning the smile though hers was one less of amusement but of relief. "I'll have what he's having." She mused pointing to the stallion sitting a couple of seats away.

"Rough night?" The stallion replied as the bar pony poured her drink and moved away to attend to the throngs of others waiting to fill themselves with as much liquor as they could fit into the remaining few minutes. Octavia sipped at the drink finding it 's bitter tang nearly as intolerable as it's smell.

"I'll admit it's not what I'm used to," She replied shoving the drink away. "But a pony needs to step out of their comfort zone on occasion."

The stallion seemed amused by this, smiling as he drew another long gulp from his large glass. "Your friend has an ear for sound. Not many of these ponies would admit to liking classical music before tonight."

"I had my doubts as well." Octavia answered glancing at Vinyl. The unicorn was laughing with some of the stage hands as they disassembled her equipment. "She may not look like much but she's got talent."

--

Twilight Sparkle shivered at the sensation of water squelching beneath her hooves. The surface she stood upon was different than she remembered despite the similarities. The differences between the memory in which she now stood and the memory in her own head were night and day. The most striking was the color, an dull grey world in which she did not reside in her body but in an entirely different plane. She could see herself and her friends and every other pony doing what they had done but they could not see her, nor could they hear her, or experience any other sensation where her current form was concerned. To them she did not exist.

The purple mare smiled giddily as she waved a hoof in front of her own face her purple doppelganger continuing the conversation unhindered. Twilight was tempted to push her memory further, poking her other form to see if her hoof would pass through but she hesitated. She knew the dangers associated with tampered too deep into unfamiliar spells. The consequences and the urgency were too great for her to spend more than a few brief moments reveling in her curiosity.

With a bit of disappointment the mare turned her attention to the task at hand leaving her double behind she trudged through the clouds her eyes scanning for anything suspicious. Trotting through the ponies milling about she smirked as she found herself muttering 'pardon me' to ponies who couldn't hear her.

A shiver crept up the unicorn spine suddenly stopping her in her hooves. Her eyes grew wide as she realized she recognized the sensation. With a startled yelp she turned stumbling backwards over her hooves as a figure stood behind her. The pony, a stallion she realized after only a moment, stood among a shroud of writhing blackish blue magic. She bit her tongue swallowing it down with her fear.

Instead she chose to watch the stranger, who seemed to be far more interested in the ponies he observed than her. For a moment she felt relief. He did not seem to see her. Could it be that she was invisible to him as well?

Her momentary relief was shot down as a sly smile tore the stallion lips in two and he turned to face her. Her eyes shone a sadistically familiar sheen as he took steps toward her. She counted each one and backed away accordingly, so he did not actually gain any ground on her.

“Miss Sparkle…” The stallion spoke. “This is a surprise.”

Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat as her hoof touched the void at the very edge of the cloud. Could she fall in a memory? She often heard that if a pony died in a dream they would die in real life, but this was a memory, not a dream. Did the same rules apply?

“You show great talent for one so young Miss Sparkle. After all a spell of this caliber is not so easily accomplished.” The stallion said with sincere admiration as the writhing magic encompassing his body wrapped itself around her quivering form. “Perhaps I could find a place for you yet.”

“A place…?” Twilight managed to gasp her curiosity never ceasing despite the peril. A smirk replaced the leering smile as the stallion turned away, his eyes preoccupied with searching the dull memory.

“In my new regime,” The stallion replied casually releasing her. Twilight flinched as the stallion reared them slammed his hooves to the cloud surface. The writhing magic seeped into it’s surface, staining the clouds with streaks of darkness that moved between the hooves of ponies oblivious.

“Wait!” Twilight shouted.

“Have you forgotten Miss Sparkle,” The stallion said as the cloud began to crumble, ponies crying out in terror as they began to fall. “This is only a memory.”

The purple mare leapt forward intent on tackling the demented stallion. Instead she found herself falling as the truth of his words struck her. He was right. Those ponies, the one she watched plummeting to their deaths, they were gone and no means of magic or otherwise would bring them back.

Focus! Twilight shouted inwardly. The answer is here! Concentrate!

Above her the moon shone brightly, drawing her attention through the breaks in the cloud. A sliver of dark magic encased her form. There was a comfort with the aura of magic, a warmth that reminded her of her mother's embrace. Before darkness engulfed her scattered thoughts she glimpsed a place she had feared for most of her life and the answer was clear.

"Everfree..."

--

Celestia stood in the garden admiring the gentle glow of the late evening sun, stretching her wings and basking in it's comforting warmth, as she it began it's descent toward the horizon. The castle grounds were empty save for herself, something she would have found odd but for the fact that it wasn't odd at all. With a small smile the princess tucked her wings to her sides and began the lonely trek through the garden to the castle proper.

"Sweet dreams dear princess." Honey Glaze murmured as he peered into the sleeping alicorn's thoughts. "Equestria no longer has need of you."