//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Agoraphobia // Story: Everything Ends... // by Harold_Genhi //------------------------------// The sounds of voices and hooves echo through the acoustic chamber of the royal concert hall. My heart beat furiously inside my chest, but such wasn’t new, as my composure remained straight and perfect. I performed a multitude of these shows though for an audience with both Princesses present, one couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. More so was the looming veil of a mind controlling alicorn that I’ve witnessed cause griffins to commit suicide. His presence encircles me, as I am helpless to call for help. I am trapped to serve Eyn Spyyr if I like it or not. I try to remain realistic, keeping in mind that the entire royal guard will be at the Princess’s disposal along with their own power. A smile stretches across my face. His plans were sure to fail. My smile faded as I questioned if I would be included on this coup. Would they arrest me? Would they kill me? I barely notice the bead of sweat running down my forehead before I blow upwards, moving my mane from my eyes. “Are you going to be alright?” Vinyl asks. I turn far too quickly to her and answer too stiffly. “Yes, I’m fine.” She peers over her glasses at me. “Uh huh… What’s up” Are you nervous?” “No, I just have a lot on my mind right now.” “Anything you need to get off your chest before the show starts?” She asks. “No, it is fine Vinyl. I am just having some pre-concert jitters, nothing new.” I throw a weak smirk at her. I barely have time to blink before the white unicorn had me embraced in tight warm hug. I barely noticed my own hooves rising up and sharing the hug with her. The soft friendly and romantic nature of a hug calmed every sense I had. Vinyl was the best friend a mare could ask for along with being a great mare friend. At times I wonder if this is the real Vinyl or if this is some show she puts on just for me. The ideas are quickly abandoned as the stage pony came up behind me. “You are on in two minutes.” He says. The lack of time causes my heart to beat as I let go of Vinyl and scan over my instrument, the wires, and my bow. Everything was in order; at least I hoped it was. The bustle of the two-minute preparation nearly wiped the memories of Eyn’s plan away, but sadly they returned. I question if I should try to get help again, but just as I was about to put down my bow to tell Vinyl, the curtain opened. The searing stage lights barreled down on my face as I slow walk forwards to my position on the stage. I place the cello at the correct angle and rise to its neck, placing my hooves on the strings. The crowd had already grown silent leaving an awkward void of faceless ponies. I scan the crowd slowly and amid the sea of facelessness, in a single row, sat all of my friends, smiling and waving at me. I couldn’t help, but smile as turn my attention down to my cello and let the bow sweep across the strings slowly and solemnly. Emotions from within slowly echoed outwards as not only my sadness but Eyn’s as well. Every muscle in my body tightened as the soft playing grows into a powerful crescendo of loss and grief. The backup ponies added in the soft undertones of piano and drums, barely audible of my crying cello, but nonetheless added a brilliant effect. The first song of many ends with a final flick of my wrist. The clopping and cheering of the crowd deafens the room. I peer up again to the crowd, but this time I turn to the side booth and see the two faces and flowing manes of the Princesses. I see their smiles and their hooves clapping, relief floods over me. Placing the bow back on the strings silences the crowd. Solemn led to happiness, my own jubilation of the successes in my life flow out of me. It rises and falls, but the tone remains the same cheerful tone. My hooves move lightly over the strings as I make them sing like songbirds. The consonance evolved to my hug with Vinyl before the show. I can’t help but smile as my memories play to my own soundtrack. I add my own additions and elaboration to the notes as I play, straying from my original written work. The notes were straight from head as the happiness continued to flow and descend straight into the next song without the approval of the audience. A lullaby breaks forth from me, keeping the cheery tone, but taking a dreamy air instead of an airy one. The scale drops heavily and only long-winded notes and sweeping chords acoustically aroused the interest of the audience. I don’t look at them. My eyes remain shut as I continue through the dream state, playing my time inside of Eyn’s memories. A hint of horror mark the second half of it. My playing intensifies as the mood shifts quickly to fear. The nightmares surround me as Eyn’s life crumbles before my eyes. The notes continue to rise and speed up. I watch as his world burns around him, his kingdom falling apart. The notes pound inside my head reaching a climax. The love of his life betrays him as her sister kills him. I practically throw the bow from my hands as I rip it off the strings and hold it out to the side. My breathing is heavy and sweat has formed on my brow, but I wasn’t finished. The small calm left the audience in silent amazement, no pony clapped, but everypony listened to the next part in my story. The playing is sad again, but with a rising anger. It is the anger of loss and betrayal. The anger in which betrayed lovers feel, the anger in which broken friendships create, the anger in which Eyn had lived most of his life. It breaks upon realization of truth. The tone changes into a more sinister tone. My playing evolves into a meticulous and planned style as each note led to another in perfect order. The back-ups had all but given up trying to add their own spice to my mixture. Luckily, the crowd doesn’t seem to care. Once the music resorts back to the planned rhythms and the back-ups had caught up to me, the introduced the smashing crashes at each explosion of notes. The final crash ends the song as I bow. The crowd roars with life with an applause that drove worry from my mind. I peer up to the Princesses’ box and see their nods of approval. At least an hour of playing passes, most of my songs gaining powerful inspiration from my time inside Eyn’s mind. Each song ends with a powerful applause. As my songs dwindle down to the final song, the apprehension returns. I finish the last solo song and place my cello on the ground carefully. I bow my head before trotting to the back of the stage and grabbing a cup of water. The glass shakes in my hoof forcing me to steady it with the other. “Time to rock this place.” Vinyl whispers to me as she walks past me and behind her wall of knobs, gears, and records. She places a few on the tracks and flips a few switches challenging the concert lights with her own impressive displays. Returning to my cello, I find the faceless crowd to have detail once more. They were no longer cast in darkness as the large screens behind me display larger images of Vinyl and myself. The audience shifts uncomfortably in the light, like they feared the world knowing that they had come to one of my concerts. The music begins to rumble around me as the sound of synthesizers crackled with their electronic tones. The opening of the song gave me enough time to arrive back at my cello and lift it. Two breaths and my bow began to glide over the strings once again in perfect harmony with the synthesizers. I pause at the break in the beat adding, having a battle with the synthesizer as it repeated everything I played. Vinyl’s own flare of lasers were kept at a minimum and the strobes were only minor. Our harmonics were pitch perfect as we played the North Kingdom Anthem. I manage to glance up at the Princesses’ box again to see their faces more in thought. Smoke begins to surround me as I play. I think it is a nice touch by Vinyl until I remember she had abandoned all of her smoke machines. The shock causes my hoof to slip and scrape the string wrong. The smoke circles quickly before it encased me. I am unable to see anything outside of the bubble. The fear coursing in my blood causes my hoof to let go of my cello, causing it to fall along with my bow. The dull sickening crack of the cello hitting something at an awkward angle and slipping off of the stage and breaking off the ground hurts. The smoke immediately begins to push itself into my nostrils and my mouth as I cough and try to escape the sinister embrace. My cutie mark begins to burn just as it had in the pool of strange white liquid. The smell of the smoke was exactly like that of the pool. I begin to panic as I feel the searing pain return to me. I cry out in pain as my body convulses at it. I still try to escape, but I feel the weight of the world fall onto my shoulders. “Octavia!” I only faintly hear Vinyl’s voice screaming through my own heavy breathing, smashing heart, and screams. A sickening crack of my ribs along with a multitude of pops from my muscles sends me helplessly to the ground. My own tears have blinded me from what is happening around me, but I notice the pool of blood coming out of my mouth, along with the shadow of a metal leg with all of its gears. The smoke slowly dissipates, and I see Vinyl was only a few hooves away from me, her eyes locked onto the new form standing before her. “I’m sorry that I am late…” The voice says coolly. “What is the meaning of this?” Celestia asks. “I wanted a public audience with you, of course.” Eyn bows. “There is much that we need to catch up on.” “Guards! Seize this intruder.” Celestia commands. My consciousness rises out of my body, letting me see the whole room as an invisible force just as I had experienced when Eyn had fought with Celestia the first time. Looking down, I find my body rising to a standing position. Magical armor and weapons appeared around it as she stood next to Eyn, my eyes completely white and devoid of whom I was. My consciousness had been physically removed from my body. I scream, but no pony turns to me. Nothing. The guards in room jump onto the stage just as the audience began running toward the exit. “Now, now. Leaving part way through a show is rude.” He smiles as the guards surround him. The crowd hits the doors only to find all of the locks were engaged and broken shut. All are trapped in this room. The first two guards walk toward Eyn without weapons. “Come with us quietly and peacefully.” One of them states. “If I did that then one thousand years of planning would just go down the drain. I’m here to say my part. Octavia?” He speaks. My body steps in front of them, holding the sword, blankly staring into a void. “Step aside, Octavia.” The guards command as they continue to advance. “How about you step aside?” Eyn asks. Their faces going blank and like obedient dogs, they step to the side. The rest of the guards dropped their weapons and stepped back, all blank expressions. My own body lowered the sword and bowed to Eyn. “You know, I thought you would have recognized your old and faithful friend.” His words are biting through the formality and grace. “A friend wouldn’t do this.” Celestia answers back. “Oh, quite right, but I am guessing that a friend is allowed to kill another. Is a friend allowed to ruin another friend’s life? Is a friend allowed to break his heart to the mare that he loved? I’m sure you remember what you did to me. Don’t you remember my name?” He asks. Her face becomes thoughtful once more until it suddenly breaks. She doesn’t even manage to say the name that was on the tip of her tongue as Luna spoke. “It can’t be you.” Her voice is shaky. Eyn shuts his eyes and genuinely smiles. “It is so nice to hear your voice again, my lovely Luna.” His tone changes, “Just as unpleasant it is to hear your sister’s voice.” Vinyl stares at my body and slowly makes her way next to it. “Octavia, what are you doing?” She whispers to me. I try to yell to her, warn her that that isn’t me, but to no avail. The gears inside her head turn and she quickly looks at Eyn. “Let her go.” She commands, tears falling from her face as malice dripped from her words. Eyn turned to her and smiled. “No…” My own body turns to Vinyl and brings a hoof across her face, sending her to the ground. He turns back to Luna and Celestia. “I came back for two things. I wanted you remember me, and I wanted you to understand.” “Octavia?” Vinyl whispers as she wipes the blood from her lip. “Why are you following this mad pony? Eyn has lost his mind. I don’t know what he showed you, but it’s a lie.” I watch as my body steps toward her and place the sword against her neck. “But you were dead. You died at the crater when I-“ Celestia broke away. “When you tried to murder me? Maybe next time you should check on your old friend before you just toss him into a crater. I don’t appreciate that you could just throw your good friend away without even grieving about me. Frankly, I find it insulting, but one thousand years is enough to forgive and forget right?” He asks. “Snap out of it, Octavia.” Vinyl strains to speak as the blade presses against her throat. Every ounce of my being, of my heart poured into my attempt to call out to her, to retake command of my body. The dull white eyes that had formed in my eyes vanished, coming back to black for a second, pulling the sword away from her just as the shock of regaining control broke. The staunch muscles returned as the sword was lifted quickly and brought down toward Vinyl. My eyes closed as I heard the sword crash through wood. I opened to find Vinyl rolling out of the way and quickly running away from my body. It didn’t pursue. The room hung in a heavy silence. “I’m sorry.” Celestia spoke. “Yes, I bet you are sorry. You lost all of your friends and for one thousand years you wallowed in your kingdom. Killed your sister’s fiancé, turned your first friend, Discord, into stone, drove out Ahuizotl, paid no attention to Starswirl as he vanished, and you banished Luna to the moon. How could you live with yourself? That’s right, you looked for a pupil, one that could teach you where you went wrong with your friendships. Is that why you ask her for friendship letters? Are you truly sorry? I don’t think you are sorry enough.” His metal wings click together as he blankly stares in the general area of the Princesses. “I came to remind everypony of who I am. And as your true main act, your freak show entertainment, I hope to dazzle and amaze you all with magic never before seen in Equestria.” His words are mixed with comedy and scorn. A wall of magic explodes forth from his horn, growing in random directions, hitting the room in a large spread. It hit Vinyl and the rest of the crowd, but nothing changed in their countenance. As it hit the Princess’s, their eyes widened as they fell back. “Like a waking nightmare isn’t it?” Eyn asks. “I’ve lived that for one thousand years. I’ve lived one thousand years with a broken heart, Luna.” His voice wavers only slightly. “I never forgot you,” his voice evolves into a growl, “nor did I forget your sister.” “Eyn, I-“ Celestia cuts Luna off. “You were the one who caused the war. You caused my sister to become Nightmare Moon. You did all of that to yourself.” Celestia flies down onto the stage. “You forced my hoof back then as you are forcing it now.” Eyn smirks. “I’ve only returned your memories to you and I am forcing your hoof? Why don’t you tell every pony here what you are trying to hide? Why don’t you tell them all how you murdered me when I only helped this kingdom as you ripped mine out from under me?” He begins laughing as a vortex begins to form. “You won’t tell them until you’ve been beaten will you? You won’t admit your follies until you are on your knees begging for your life!” The area immediately around Eyn begins to churn and pulsate as the red sparks began cracking along his head. At first, I believed my vision was blurring, but after a few seconds to Eyn’s broke apart as my body moved to the side with the guards. Vinyl slides in front of the swirling vortex and grabs my body, pushing me off of the stage. I feel her strike it. “You have to listen to me, Octavia. Snap out of it. We have to get out of here.” My body served as a microphone for her voice. She smacks me across the face before turning back to the swirling vortex on the stage. Tightness grips around my neck, squeezing the air from me. I look down to see Vinyl dragging me through the aisles as I thrashed against her. The vortex amplified as Shadow Eyn stepped forward, a large black circle with a white center to it, the dark side of Ying Yang completely taking over as the lighter Eyn stood in the back, Eyn’s old focus concentric circles sketched on his flank. A white light surrounded him as he stepped back as the darker stepped forward. The strange distorted field connected the white and the dark, rotating in the air, the two forces recreating the Ying Yang in the air. The wind inside of the concert hall explodes with life as it roars and whistles, ripping apart the curtains and knocking over anything that isn’t tied down. The sparks arced from the dark Eyn to the light Eyn. Shadow Eyn slowly walks toward Celestia, the metal wings opening out around his body as the sparks concentrated around his head before a bright red crack of light broke forth from it tearing the boards and walls as it traveled up the wall apart. Celestia teleports just as it explodes through the ground of the once beautiful concert hall. “Celestia? Where are you?” Both Eyns ask. I saw her next to Luna, trying to make her sister move, but she seemed frozen in shock, staring at the two alicorns tearing the building apart. “Luna, you have to leave. He is after you. I will buy you some time, and I will join you shortly. We have to get outside, away from the other ponies.” Celestia’s voice fills my ears. “You never understood what he… and you tried to kill him for it.” Luna stutters in shock. “I thought that I wanted your kingdom when all I wanted was what you took away from me.” Her voice is weak and cast in disbelief as her eyes look aimlessly at the floor. “Luna don’t, please Luna, don’t listen to him.” “Why won’t you listen to him?” Luna asks loudly. “When did he ever wrong you?” “There you are…” Dark Eyn’s voice cracks as another blast attack rips upwards into the box. The attacks were highly erratic and blind. Inside of Eyn’s mane, the concert hall burned though outside it was still mostly intact. “There is a time to create and a time to destroy.” Another beam rips around the wall as pieces of the scenic ceiling falls apart. The wind intensifies as fog began to fill the room. Shadows of panicked ponies reflected and blurred in the chaos it created as the red sparks crackling along dark Eyn’s eyes filled the air amid the screams and cries from the other ponies. “Tavi, put the sword down and look at who you attacking. You are stronger than his mind tricks!” Vinyl screams. Trying to look through the fog to find her, to maybe save her from myself, I catch a glimpse of her slowly backing away from another shadow, holding the sword. My body lunges toward her just as a yellow white lightning bolt cracked from a unicorn’s horn from the corner sending it toppling through the air, but landing on her feet, just barely as she lifts herself back up with the sword. Lyra walks out from the corner, her eyes wide as she peers around the room. “Vinyl, are you okay?” “What did you do to her?” Vinyl shakes Lyra. “I-I don’t know. I’ve never… I remember things.” Her speech breaks off as my voice yells as I charge them with the sword again. Lyra’s eyes glow a soft yellow. The magic rips the sword out of my body’s mouth and trips her. Tears are pouring from my body’s eyes as she tries to stand again, her breathing heavy. “Just stay down, Tavi.” Lyra pleads. Instead, she grabs a broken, sharp piece of wood and charged again. “Now you are blind as me, Celestia. Face me like the leader that you are.” Eyn growls. Celestia appears quietly from behind one of the curtains that were still hanging. A bright light emits from her horn as a heated pulse of raw sun energy cracks from it, straight at Eyn’s direction. The blast broke the fog from around Eyn leaving a wall of debris, dust, and smoke from the explosion, blocking the view. Some that witnesses the attack cheered, but as the dust lifted, the metal wings, steaming from the energy whirred and clicked back closed onto his back. A low chuckle began to fill the room. The untouched form of Eyn rises from the fog. “One must always learn from one’s mistakes. My mistake was trusting you, and the other was letting you hit me with that attack. Luckily, I’ve learned, and adapted.” A series of sharp metal whizzed through the air, ripping the curtains apart as they buzzed through the air. Eyn’s metal feathers had jettisoned themselves off of his back and were flying around him. “Don’t drag the other ponies into this. If you want this to be between you and me then let us leave this concert hall.” Celestia speaks as she teleports to another location. “Everypony did this to me. Everypony should see their princess, their leader, for who she truly is, a liar and a cheat that ignored me when the griffin armies were ransacking my kingdom of old. I watched my ponies, women and children struck down in the streets leaving no survivors while I was dragged back into safety to see the rest of my people be shipped to the slaughterhouse that used to be my home. You lost your friends and thought that you could task one of your subjects to figure out what you did wrong? I can tell you what you did wrong.” He blasts a laser randomly into the concert hall. “You didn’t trust me.” He blasted another round. “You didn’t listen to me.” Another. “You let your self image outweigh your friends!” Another round, and light Eyn stumbles slightly. He coughs, a small stream of blood drips from his mouth as the dark Eyn continues his attacks. He breathes heavily. “And you think you can teach me a lesson by trying to kill me?” Celestia asks. “I learned my lesson all those years ago. I regretted everything that I did to you, what I did to Luna, and Discord. I let all of you grow distant to me. It was my fault, Eyn, but what you are doing now isn’t going to change anything.” “Your thinking has already changed? If that can change than a change of power shouldn’t be that much more difficult.” The floor of the stage erupts in a blinding white light as Celestia’s attack rips through the air and hits Eyn’s darker form directly in the side. His body is thrown to the ground as the fog begins to clear as the charred body hits the ground limply. “I didn’t want to, Eyn, but I had-“ Her talking stops as the charred body rises, laughing as it did so. I turn back to the light Eyn and see him smiling, almost on the verge of laughing as he too rises to his feet after coughing. “You think- you could- kill me?” Eyn asks pausing to breathe at each word, shaking with pain. “How many times is this now? You can’t kill me, Celestia. You can’t kill your past. You can’t kill a nightmare.” Eyn’s burnt side slowly begins to disappear as fresh skin is revealed. “Pain is much like death, I’ve discovered. It just takes a little mind and magic over matter.” He laughs as another super-heated ray of magic blasts from his broken horn. That was when I notice the small flash of light between the two Eyns. I watch him more closely as another shot is fired and I notice it isn’t dark Eyn that is shooting the laser, but light Eyn. The fog also moved through the other Eyn like he wasn’t truly there. Maybe it is just the effects of the magic fog? “Eyn?” Luna’s voice echoes from behind the light Eyn, catching him by surprise as he turns around. “Luna?” He asks. She emerges from the fog directly in front of the light version of his body. Her eyes are locked onto his as she stares at him. “I thought you died at that crater.” Her voice is weak. “I couldn’t remember you, but I always had that feeling, that pain that I couldn’t remember the reason for. I truly thought you died at that terrible place.” “I did…”His voice remains cool and collected though the words came off awkwardly. “Old Eyn met his end one thousand years ago in that crater. I knew I couldn’t be him again. I needed to evolve to survive. One thousand years in the Everfree where every living thing wants to eat you alive changes you. Being lost in the Everfree, unable to see anything. Lost in darkness surrounded in fear, left for dead. I can only imagine the loneliness of the moon.” He speaks as the other Eyn continues to hard press Celestia. Luna keeps her eyes locked on him as she jumps forward, pressing her head against the side of his face. She stepped forward and sighed as she held him in an embrace. The Princess of the Moon breaks from the embrace and stares him in his eyes as her horn lights up. “You look terrible…” She gives him a weak smile. Eyn laughs just as an explosion rips across behind him as the pops of Celestia teleporting quickly, making sure the attacks remain pointed away from the cowering ponies at the doors. “I wish I could say how you look, but sadly that escapes me. One thousand years is quite the time to mature into the proper princess. Your beauty must be unmatched.” A constricting force rises through my body as I turn sharply to see a yellow field surrounding my body and holding it to the ground. Vinyl gallops over to me and stares me in the eyes before slapping me across the face. I feel the sharp pain of her slap hit my face as she slaps me again with the same effect. “You have to still be in there, Tavi.” The stage explodes as a shadow flies through the air and slides across the ground of what was left of the wooden platform. The gold crown rolls off the side as the fog clears inside of the room. Celestia, covered in cuts, dirt, and soot tries to rise to her hooves as Eyn she had been fighting steps up next to her. A large cut along the side of his face seals itself returning him to a perfect condition. “It is difficult to fight a nightmare, Celestia.” Shadow Eyn grows before he fades into the dissipating fog, leaving only Luna, one Eyn, and Celestia on the stage. “If you can excuse me, I have something that I need to deal with.” Eyn speaks to Luna before turning from her and limping toward the fallen Celestia. She tries to stand, but he grabs her with his magic, lifts her into the air and brings her hard against the ground, breaking the stage, toppling Celestia into a hole. He drags Celestia’s body out of the dirty hole in the ground. He lifts her head up just as she was gaining consciousness, helping her up to her hooves, but just as quickly as she regained herself, Eyn brought his good hoof across her face sending her back onto the ground. “I’ve dreamed of doing that for over a thousand years.” Eyn laughs as he the roaring wind tunnel that had encircled him dies quickly leaving only a few pieces of broken wood floating strangely through the air. “Eyn, quit. You’ve made your point. Leave her be.” Luna speaks staring at her sister and Eyn. “I know your pain, but I too felt the same pain when I came back, but she’s changed, Eyn. She knows the wrong that she has done.” “I want her to apologize to me and mean it. I want to hear her to beg.” Eyn growls. “Eyn…” Celestia starts. “I’m sorry, but you have to see what I saw. I lost my friends. I lost everything that I held dear in my heart. I lost Luna and you on the same day. No pony is perfect, Eyn. I made too many mistakes in my life to count.” Celestia breathes as she rises to her hooves shakily, looking Eyn in his pale white eyes. “If I remembered you existed, that you were still alive, I would have come to save you.” Eyn stared at her thoughtfully, his eyes devoid of emotion from her speech. “That would have been a lovely funeral speech. Too bad I can’t say the same at yours. You took my life away from me. You led my people to slaughter. You kept your life and power. You don’t live in agonizing pain every day. I protected Equestria from ultimate evil. I tried to protect our northern lands, my kingdom. My reward was everything I held dear, ripped from my hooves and my life. My magic is erratic. I can’t fly. I can’t run. I can’t see. I couldn’t be with the one I loved. Why do you deserve life?” Celestia shook her head slowly. “Nothing compares to your life. I’ve kept this kingdom together and gave happiness to my subjects. I sacrificed all of my friends for that. I can never take those choices back.” She breathes deeply as she raises her head, the scuff from the punch still on her cheek. Eyn steps to the side, dragging his metal prosthetic on the wood and leaning on it heavily. “Every day my own magic is killing me. Tearing me apart from the inside as light and dark clash. I know you’re better than this, Celestia. You can fight much harder than that.” Eyn growls at her. Celestia shakes her head. “I can’t fight a friend anymore.” Eyn laughs heavily. “Did you just call me your friend?” He laughs harder. “You seriously think that all of what you did and amid all my plans that I am still your friend.” He shakes his head. “Sometimes your friends are your greatest enemies. You betrayed me, Celestia, and for that you dissolved our friendship. I tried to forgive you, and I tried to warn you. For what I am about to do, I apologize for the grief it will bring.” The red sparks snap across his eyes again as his horn lights up with energy. The stage cracks with energy as the Ying Yang symbol emerges back on Eyn’s flank. “Goodbye, Celestia.” He speaks, lowering his broken horn to where Celestia stood. A dark shadow eclipses the light from Eyn’s form. The light lowers quickly to reveal Eyn staring down at Celestia before turning to put his cheek against Luna’s neck. She pulls her head back from his chest and presses her cheek against his, the blood from her horn dripping from her head and against his cheek. Eyn stumbles to the side to reveal the hole in his chest. Blood poured from it as he smiled and fell onto the ground, the blood pooling around him. He pushes himself back to his hooves, his side covered in blood as he stares at Luna. Blood pours from Eyn’s stab wound in his chest as he collapses onto his knees once more. He lunges and grasps onto the shoulders of Luna, pulling himself partially up as his back legs fell over. He pressed his head against hers and smiled peacefully. “T-thank you, Luna.” He struggles to breathe. “You know that I- always…” He drifts off before coughing and trying to focus on her again. “Eyn, I never stopped loving you.” Luna sighs into his ear. “And I-“ “Never will.” Eyn finishes her sentence. “You remember.” Luna’s voice shakes as her eyes mist quickly. “Goodbye, Eyn. I’m sorry that I-“ Eyn presses his hoof up to her mouth. “You did what you had to.” He takes a deep breath. “You did what I had hoped you would.” He tries to chuckle, but ends up coughing. “You never have to say goodbye to me. I’ll always be with you.” He raises his hoof to her head. “In here and,” He lowers his shaky hoof down to her chest. “And here.” He slips from her hold and collapses onto the ground. He manages a few more breaths before his eyes shut and his chest stops rising. Like a vortex, I am sucked back into my body. I travel through the pinhole feeling for the last time, as I cough and wake up in Vinyl’s arms, back in my body. The doors magically open as if they were never broken and the ponies flood out. Vinyl motions toward the exit, but I turn back to the destroyed stage and walk slowly to it. Amid the wreckage, I spot the neck of my first cello. I grasp it and pull slowly only to pull out the neck from the rubble. I drop it quietly and look about the room. The weeping of a despairing mare fills the room. I knew who it was. I didn’t want to look at her, but I turn anyway. Luna knelt beside Eyn’s body and pushed her nose against his face as the tears fell from her eyes. All the pain Eyn had been in, I had thought he wanted revenge. Maybe he wanted it partially, and his dark side almost had it, but now I see what Eyn had wanted. Celestia would never forget this moment as Eyn held her life in his hoof. She would always remember him as he had intended. He had been looking for freedom from his pain, both physical and emotional. With Luna with him, he had learned she still loved him, but such didn’t help him. One thousand years had changed him and he knew it. He saw himself as a monster and being blind, he slowly built an image that he was hideous and deformed. Now his lifeless body rested completely at peace. Even though he was dead, it didn’t feel like he was gone. Maybe that was also part of his plan. Maybe he released his consciousness and is floating among us right now, glad to see that he was finally missed. I trace back to what he had said. “I did…” I repeat slowly to myself. I understood before Eyn’s body began to flake into ashes leaving behind no bones or sign of his existence. My memories flash back to the crater, at the wall that Eyn was standing beside and the bones half buried in the sand. Was a memory powerful enough to rise from the dust and retake his form. Was love strong enough for it to weather one thousand years in the Everfree? Was his second death at the horn of Luna symbolic of their love finally fading and for the time of healing to begin? I remember how he had shown me a false memory of being afraid and running from Celestia and being killed. I felt the strongest amount of pity for him at that moment. Pity enough to never question his motives and to let myself into that pool so that he could use my cells to create a half living force to create physical attacks with. The memories of him killing the guard to get into Canterlot cleared up, revealing him simply controlling the guard off to the side with a teleport just as the lightning struck so that I would fear him enough to not want to cross him. Everything he did served its purpose and everyone followed his plans. He had beaten Celestia. He had shown himself to the Canterlot Elite including the most prestigious journalists and press owners in Equestria. The Anthem of the North and the mere mention of the kingdom would assuredly cause research to be done in both the Canterlot Libraries and excavations to be sent to the griffin kingdom. I question what they will find. Celestia rises from the dirt around her, her head bent down as her eyes stared straight down. “Why?” She asks, as she turns to her sister, tears falling from her face. “Why did you ask for this?” Ashes fall from above and I look up to see red letters carved into the ceiling. “Goodbye.” I say to myself as I smile. Vinyl’s hoof makes its way over my shoulder and turns me away from the scene. “Come on, let them deal with it.” We make our way back toward the exit. “I’m glad to see you are back to yourself, and that psycho is dead.” She tries a half chuckle. “Do you think we’ll still be paid?” I hum to myself as I turn to her. “I only want a good night’s sleep.” I follow her into the night air. “You didn’t have to hit me that hard.” I try to chuckle, but it hurts, and I stop quickly. As I left the doors, the cool breeze causes shivers to run down my back. The last few days felt too much like a dream for me to focus. Everything is half-focused and broken, but Eyn, the young smiling Eyn, is looking back at me. He nods and vanishes inside of my memories, disappearing into the void of forgetfulness, yet he never disappears. He stands on the edge, just barely in view. I barely notice the paramedics galloping to my side or the pain where my ribs had broken and where I was still bleeding being pressed with gauze. “Everything is going to okay.” They confirm to me as they wheel me away from the wreckage of the concert hall. Vinyl trots next to me with a smile on her face, her glasses missing, but the pendant in her hair remains. I place my hoof on my bow where the other pendant rested. I smile. “Yeah, I guess everything is…” I turn back to the destroyed concert hall and the crying within, “I guess everything is…”