Octavia and Vinyl rushed to the wall with the six Gear placements within it. The tower was coming apart at the seams, the blue sky starting to fade to gray. The reached the wall, panicking as they did.

"The Gears!" Vinyl exclaimed, "Get the Gears!"

Octavia yanked the Gears out of the saddlebag that Whooves had given her. She placed each of them into the wall as fast as she could. For a scary moment, nothing happened.

"Octavia!" Vinyl screamed, pointing at a pillar that was now toppling over. Unable to get out of the way fast enough and instead shielded herself, bracing for impact.

However, in a bright flash of light that came from the Gears, the pillar and the rest of the crumbling tower froze in time. The red cloud above them exploded into white, revealing the beautiful full moon and stars above them. A rainbow wave of light spread out from the Gears and through the broken Tower. The wave shot across the ocean, clearing away the grayness and heading straight for Equestria.

When the light had faded, the tower was no longer crumbling. The storm clouds were gone, never to strike the tower again. Everything was back to normal.

"Man," Vinyl sighed, "That was a close one."

Octavia glanced over at the out-cold Luna laying a few yards away from them, "Shouldn't we check on her? She may be hurt from that blast."

Vinyl nodded, "Yeah. Let's see."

They galloped over to the Alicorn. They slowed down when they were only a couple of feet away from her just in case. Carefully reaching out a hoof, Octavia nudged Luna's side, causing her to moan in pain. She lifted her graceful head, eyes dilating to the surroundings.

"What happened?" She asked, glancing up at the two mares.

"You turned into a crazy, evil sorceress." Vinyl said.

Octavia elbowed Vinyl in her side, "Luna, you turned into Nightmare Moon again. We saved you and the Tower of Midnight."

Luna stood shakily at first. She started to topple over, but Vinyl and Octavia quickly caught her.

"You okay, princess?" Vinyl asked in a concern tone.

Luna nodded, "I am fine... I just... I just need time to regain power." Her hoof shot to her head, "Ow... My head..."

Vinyl gave the Alicorn a seed while Octavia checked to make sure there were no wounds.

"Do you remember anything?" Octavia asked.

Luna looked down, "Not much. I... I can't remember what happened right before I turned. It's all a big blur. Are you both okay? I didn't harm you in anyway?"

"We're fine," Vinyl said, practically ignoring what had happened in the fight, "It's you we're worried about. Are you sure you're okay? We've got to get back to Ponyville."

Luna nodded, "I'm fine. I'm sure I can protect the tower now that I have control of my own body now. Th-... Thank you."

Vinyl smiled, "You're welcome."

They finished patching up a few of Luna's wounds before they were on their way. Luna was kind enough to teleport them down to the bottom floor, where they would only have to walk down to the Stoneship and summon Philomena to get back home.

As they walked down the floating stone walkway, Vinyl talked nonstop, "Can you believe it Octavia? We're heroes! Just wait until we get back to Ponyville! Oh, everypony's going to be so happy to see us! Oh man! Maybe we'll have a party and I can spin some records! And-!"

Octavia however, blocked the unicorn out. Her body felt tingly all over. Her limbs felt numb and it was becoming difficult to see. She thought that maybe she was getting sick, but then it hit her. Octavia remembered what Whooves and Sombra had said would happen once the mission was complete.

It was time.

"And we can have cake and dance all night and eat cake then dance some more and eat ca-" Vinyl stopped for a moment, seeing that Octavia wasn't by her side. She turned back to her buddy, who was standing there, head down while a pained look was plastered on her face. There was something coming from her body; yellow sparks, taking a piece of Octavia whenever they broke off and floated away.

"'tavia?" Vinyl asked, running back over to her friend, "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

Octavia looked up at the unicorn, tears in her eyes.

"Oh my Celestia! What's wrong?!" Vinyl demanded, grabbing her friend by the shoulders.

Octavia gently pushed her grabby friend away, "Vinyl, because we have saved the Tower of Midnight, the future has been changed; my future, the ruined future Equestria of which I was born in."

"What are you talking about?" Vinyl asked, suddenly looking worried.

"Vinyl, I'm from the future," Octavia continued, the sparks on her body multiplying, "We changed the time period I was born in. Therefore, time must reset, and I must be reset with it."

Tears started to form in Vinyl's bright red eyes, "Wha... What are you saying?"

Octavia looked at her friend, her voice cracking with her crying, "I have to leave you Vinyl. I have to return to the future in order to keep time flowing correctly."

"You're... You're leaving me?" Vinyl asked, her voice also cracking, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't bring myself to tell you. I knew you wouldn't want to complete the mission if I did tell you... I... I'm sorr-"

But Vinyl didn't give her a chance to finish. She attacked her with a hug that surprisingly was quite gently. The unicorn cried info her friend's shoulder, refusing to let go.

"You can't leave me!" She cried, "You're my best friend! You're my only friend! How could I say goodbye to someone as amazing as you?!"

Octavia sniffed, "I know it's hard, but it has to be this way. If I stay, who knows what destruction-of-the-universe I'll cause. I don't have much of a choice."

Vinyl refused to stop hugging her friend, "Octavia... You... You taught me how to be a friend. Even if I didn't have friends before, I know I'll have some now... Thanks to you, I'm not as big as a fraidy-cat I used to be. I know how to defend myself and have even made more friends at the guild. I went on an amazing adventure that would have never been possible without you. You were always by my side, supporting me when I felt like giving in or running away. Octavia, you... You are my best friend. Scratch that, my greatest, most dependable and amazing friend I've ever had in my entire life. So I guess you're my... G.M.D.A.F.I.E.H.I.M.E.L."

"Let's just go with B.F.F." Octavia chuckled.

Vinyl backed away, tears still streaming down despite the smile on her face, "Yeah... I'm never going to forget you. Or Whooves. Or this amazing adventure. You're going to remember me, right?"

Octavia nodded, "I'll try my best."

Vinyl smiled, "Listen to some futuristic beats for me, okay?"

"You got it."

The sparks around Octavia's body were eating away at her. Her image crackled and fizzed like a broken television set. Eventually, the sparks swirled around her, enveloping her in a golden glowing ball that began to float to the sky. It disappeared with a pop, taking the mare with it.

Vinyl wiped the tears away, trying to act cool, "Goodbye..."

---

The trip back to Ponyville was a tear-filled one. Vinyl rode alone on Philomena's back, crossing over the ocean to get back to the guild. Luckily, the bird didn't dare ask about Whooves and Octavia because she could sense Vinyl's woe of their missing.

They landed at the beach just outside of Ponyville. Vinyl hopped off of Philomena, about to make her way to the guild.

"If you need anything else," The phoenix said, "Give me this call." She gave a bird call that would be easy for Vinyl to mimic before taking off over the ocean again.

With her head down, Vinyl trotted up the shoreline and up the path to the mint-green tent on the hill. She saw the Ponyvillains celebrating just down the road, thankful that the world had been saved. Still slumped over, Vinyl ascended the stairs and slid down the ladder, where she was immediately greeted with loud cheers from her fellow guild members.

"Welcome back!" Shouted Minuette.

"I made you some Saved-the-World Muffins!" Derpy exclaimed, holding up a tray of muffins.

"You're so awesome!" Squealed the three Cutie Mark Crusaders.

They all suddenly stopped celebrating, seeing that Vinyl was still slumped over with her eyes closed.

"Vinyl?" Asked a worried Bonbon, "Where's Whooves and Octavia?"

Vinyl looked up, her red eyes filled with tears. She suddenly sat down, her face in her hooves and began to weep mournfully. Derpy was the first to her side and the first to comfort her, despite her confusion.

---

Vinyl explained what had happened to both Whooves and Octavia. The guild was shocked to hear that both of them had returned to the future, and even more shocked to hear that neither of them would be returning. The guild did not celebrate, despite that their team had succeeded in saving the world. Instead, they spent their time comforting Vinyl and tending to her every need.

By the time night had fallen, Vinyl retired to her sleeping quarters. She needed rest. Hopefully, it would get her mind off of her missing friend who was probably out there in the future with a new family and new friends... A new best friend...

Vinyl eventually fell asleep, though it took forever to do so when she was worried sick about her only friend.

---

What hit Octavia first was where she had ended up. Beautiful, multi-colored galaxies surrounded her on all sides. Stars twinkled and sparkled as she calmly floated past them. She was floating in space, completely confused as to where she was going. Already, she missed Vinyl and everyone back at the guild. Already, she hated that she had to return to the future, possibly even have her memory erased again...

Something caught the corner of Octavia's eye. Out of one of the galaxies approached a familiar, dark blue Alicorn. Luna looked different, stronger and more powerful, possibly due to the fact that her mane was now a beautiful flowing cloud of stars.

"Princess Luna?" Octavia asked. Her voice echoed through the huge space.

The Alicorn nodded, "Indeed."

Octavia looked around quickly, "Where am I?"

"You are floating through a gap in the time-space continuum," Luna explained, "You are returning to your time."

"But I don't want to go back."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "You don't wish to return to your original life?"

Octavia shook her head, "No. I... I want my friends back at the guild. I want to be with Derpy, Carrot Top, Lyra, Bonbon, Minuette, Lucky, heck, I wouldn't mind seeing Trixie again!" She paused, "Most of all, I want to be at my best friend's side... Vinyl Scratch... I... I don't want to abandon her."

Luna smiled kindly, "You wish to be with the ones you know?"

"More than anything in the entire time-space continuum." Octavia answered, "Why do you ask?"

Luna looked the mare straight in the eyes, "I can return you to past Equestria."

Octavia's eyes lit up, "You can?!"

"But," The Alicorn interrupted, "It shall come with a price."

Octavia hesitated, "Okay. What do you want?"

"I want you to always assist the Guardians if another crisis ever arose," Luna began, "I want you to help protect Equestria, along with your fellow guild members. You and Vinyl Scratch unleashed the powers of harmony upon my evil counterpart and freed me from the bitterness in my heart. That is something I cannot easily ignore."

Octavia smiled, "That sounds fair." She put a hoof to her chest and held the other one out, "I promise to always help protect Equestria as best as I can. I will always stick by my friends' sides and always be loyal to them."

Luna nodded, "Good. Are you ready? I am going to send you back to past Equestria. The experience will be similar to that of being sucked down to the bottom of the ocean. It will not be enjoyable."

Octavia seemed a little worried, "Um... Thank you for the heads up, but I'm going to past Equestria even if it kills me."

Luna chuckled, "If that is truly what you want, then so be it!"

Immediately, everything became dark. Luna was right when she said that it would feel like being sucked down to the bottom of the ocean. Octavia couldn't breathe and could barely hear her thoughts over the rush of the wind. It was also pretty painful, like an elephant sitting on one's chest.

Vinyl, you better be happy to see me. Octavia thought to herself.

---

It was early morning in Ponyville. Ponies were just starting to wake up and open their businesses. Little Vinyl Scratch however, had been sitting on the beach for hours now, staring sadly at the crashing waves.

Vinyl wasn't sure what to think. Her thoughts were a confused mess of jumbled up chaos that she couldn't get anything out of. Without Octavia here, everything felt empty. Her best friend was gone forever, and she had to accept that if she wanted to continue living a normal life.

"Hey." A gentle voice said.

Vinyl looked to her left, seeing a familiar gray pegasus with her signature wall-eyed stare. She sat down next to Vinyl, also staring at the waves.

"Hey..." The white unicorn said weakly.

"You okay?" Derpy asked. She looked to be serious, but it was difficult to see that seriousness through her wall-eyed stare.

Vinyl refused to meet the pegasus' gaze, "No... I miss Octavia..."

Derpy looked down, "Y'know, Octavia was an amazing pony. I know she had to be an amazing friend by the way you cried like that for her."

"Derpy, she changed my life in more ways than one," Vinyl replied, sniffing as she did, "She was more than just a friend... She... She was like sister to me."

Derpy smiled, "I've had a couple friends like that before; Carrot Top being one of them."

"That's just it," Vinyl insisted, "You only have one, maybe two friends like that in your entire lifetime. It's going to be hard to find a friend like Octavia. Even if I did, any adventures we had would never replace what me and Octavia did. We saved the world! That's not something you get to do everyday."

Derpy interrupted Vinyl's rambling, "Uh... Vinyl...?"

The unicorn glanced at her. Derpy was staring at something behind her, "What's up?"

Derpy pointed nervously the thing behind them. Vinyl turned, discovering what Derpy was pointing at. It was a glowing golden ball that was growing bigger by the second.

"It's a UFO!" Derpy screamed, "Aliens have come to probe our brains and eat our intestines!"

"No Derpy, that's..." Vinyl began, her eyes widening in surprise.

The golden light faded as a pony dropped from the ball, landing on the sand and laying there. Apparently, they had been knocked out. Vinyl and Derpy ran over to the pony to see if they were all right. Vinyl immediately knew who it was, for a huge smile grew on her face.

"It's Octavia!" The white mare screamed, "Octavia! She's back! She's really back!"

Octavia moaned, her violet eyes fluttering open. She glanced up, seeing Vinyl and Derpy staring at her. Vinyl wasted no time hugging the mare with one of her signature pythonic hugs.

"Octavia, what are you doing here? I thought you had to go back to the future!" Exclaimed Derpy.

"Yeah! How did you get back?" Vinyl added, "I thought you didn't have a choice!"

Octavia shrugged, "You have Princess Luna to thank for that. She let me return to the past as a gift for freeing her from Nightmare Moon." She smiled, "I'm not going anywhere for a very long time."

"Oh my gosh!" Vinyl screamed again, attacking the mare with another hug, "You're back! You're here to stay! Oh my gosh! Octavia's back and she'll always be here!"

After a few more minutes of rejoicing, they headed up the beach and back to the guild to announce what had happened. When they got there, all of the guild was overjoyed to see Octavia again. Lyra declared a welcome back/saved-the-world party in honor of the two mares. Vinyl even gained enough confidence to DJ for the party, even though Octavia had to assist her with her cello.

That night, they all retired to their quarters. Octavia and Vinyl were exhausted, having little to no rest since the battle with Nightmare Moon. However, before Octavia fell to asleep, Vinyl gave one small comment.

"Hey 'tavia." She whispered.

"Yes?" The cellist replied.

"Thank you."

Octavia was confused, "For what?"

Vinyl chuckled a little, "For taking me on the adventure of a lifetime."

After hearing the simple comment, Octavia fell asleep with a smile on her face.

---

In the Land of the Night, Princess Luna stood in the Hall of Legends. She stared at a new picture that had just recently appeared on a blank piece of the wall. It looked to be a jumbled up mess of pictures, but upon closer inspection, it was clearly not so.

It showed the story of two mares, one who was an earth pony, one who was a unicorn. It showed the unicorn discovering the earth pony on the beach, all the way up until they were reunited on that same beach. Luna smiled at this picture.

"Heroes," She said to herself, "They are heroes to all of us."

---

Nope! It's not over yet! I'll also be doing the post game storyline like I said in the last chapter. Also, I'm going camping and won't be back until late Sunday afternoon eastern time. Any PMs or reviews I won't be able to answer back until I get home that day. So if you think I'm ignoring you... Well, I'm not.

Also, I apologize if this chapter seems badly written. I wrote it in less than a day after having a burst of motivation (which is quite rare for me). Often chapters written in this "burst" tend to be horrible. Leave an opinion of what you think in case it is really bad.