Josh spluttered as sand hit him in the face from Vinyl’s sudden dash towards the lake. Opening his eyes, he saw the cream colored unicorn already in the water, wading out so her hooves no longer touched the bottom. The human stood and called out to her as he removed his shirt and belongings from his pockets.

“No fair!” he called out as she smiled back at him from her position in the water, “You surprised me!”

“Poor sport!” she yelled back, flipping over and doing a backstroke.

Josh spotted a small tire swing hanging from a nearby tree and headed for it as fast as he could. Upon reaching it, he placed one foot carefully in the small rubber wheel and spotted his unicorn friend wading nearby. Taking precise aim, he stepped back and swung as far as he could in her direction, yelling, “GERONIMO!” all the way. He landed right next to her and his vision was immediately obscured by bubbles in the murky blue water. With a surprising amount of speed, he shot to the surface and looked all around for Vinyl, thinking that maybe she’d submerged herself to avoid his huge splash.

“Vinyl!” he called out, spinning all around and searching for a cream colored hoof or hint of blue mane sticking out of the water.

However, as he continued to look all around, he saw no such sign that would indicate the presence of the mare. Sure she was playing some sort of trick on him, he began to laugh loudly and spin all around again.

“Come on, Vinyl.” he said, continuing to look all around for her, “If you think you’re gonna trick me, you can forget about it!”

Josh looked all around again, searching the water for his friend. Still no sign of Vinyl. Panic began to set in as he realized she was nowhere to be found. Diving under the small swells, Josh searched through his blurry vision all over for any sign of Vinyl. After several seconds, he was able to see a cream colored splotch drifting towards the bottom of the lake. Josh let out an inaudible yelp before surfacing.

“Vinyl!” he shouted before taking in a deep breath and going back under, intent on rescuing the mare.

Josh swam towards her form as fast as his muscles would allow, not once taking his eyes off the slowly descending unicorn. His lungs began to protest as he swam harder and faster towards her, but he ignored them. Nothing mattered but saving Vinyl now, and he’d die before he allowed her to drown. Slowly, steadily, he was getting closer and closer to her, to where he could almost reach out and grab her hoof.

However, as he stretched his arm to take hold of her limp foreleg and pull her close to himself, he felt himself being forced upwards at an alarmingly rapid pace. He tried to force himself back down towards Vinyl, but it was to no avail. The mare’s blurred form was quickly becoming obscured as Josh rose higher and higher till she finally was lost to the surrounding darkness. Josh screamed once more, now fighting harder than ever to escape the force that was making him rise more and more. Eventually, he felt himself break the surface of the water and was thrown hard back onto the shore of the deceivingly peaceful lake.

“NO! VINYL!” he shouted, getting back up and sprinting towards the water once more, praying he could still get to the mare in time.

As he ran, the ground in front of him gave way and he fell into a gigantic hole that was threatening to suck him into an unforgiving darkness. He tried with all his might to pull himself out, but it was a vain effort, as soon he lost his grip and was being forced down into the shadowy abyss, unable to see or feel anything around his body. He was simply descending into an empty blackness. After a few seconds, he was deposited onto a cold, hard surface, much like smooth concrete. Right as he landed, a light shone before him from the ceiling, illuminating a pale figure with its head hanging and looked as if it had recently gotten out of a body of water.

“Where am I?” asked Josh, finding he could finally stand once more and get a better look at his surroundings.

“Why did you leave?” asked the now identified female figure before his eyes.

This statement forced Josh’s attention back to creature. It was a pony, he knew that for sure, but he wasn’t entirely certain who it could be.

“What did you say?” he asked, not moving from his place.

“Why did you leave me, Josh?” she asked, raising her head and looking to the human who stumbled backwards in fear as he recognized the lifeless mare.

It was Vinyl, but not the Vinyl the Josh had seen mere moments ago. Her usually shaggy blue mane and tail hung loose and lifeless on her white body, and seemed to be drained of their two-toned color. Her eyes were no longer their beautiful crimson-magenta hue, but instead were dull and gray.

“You said you’d never leave me again, Josh.” she calmly said as Josh gasped upon seeing her morose visage, “You promised me...”

“I... I didn’t want to leave, Vinyl!” said Josh, rushing forward to console his mare, “You know I’d never willingly leave you!”

“But you’re gone...” she said, looking deep into his blue orbs, “I... I need you here.”

“I’m here now, baby,” said Josh, cupping her chin and smiling wide at her, tears falling from his eyes, “I promise that I’ll never ever leave you again. I love you, Vinyl.”

Vinyl smiled at him slightly, a tear falling from her own gray eye. At first, Josh thought the droplet was just a little discolored, but he soon realized that it was blood. The human let her chin go and jumped back as the grotesque red fluid flowed from both of her eyes, making her face go from white to crimson in no time at all. Vinyl’s small smile disappeared almost instantly as she saw her coltfriend jump away in fear.

“W-what’s the matter, Joshie?” she asked, advancing towards him slowly as blood continued to pour from her gray orbs, “D-don’t you love me anymore?”

Josh didn’t answer as she stared at him, her eyes still pouring blood. It soon began to pool below her hooves and head, and even seemed to be covering her white body.

“You never really loved me at all, did you?!” she shrieked at him, her voice becoming distorted and dark as she advanced towards him even more, “You were just pretending to love me all this time!”

“V-Vinyl, no!” shouted Josh, still unable to believe what he was seeing, “Of course I loved you! I’ll always love you, and I promise I’m coming back for you!”

“It’s too late for that, Josh.” she said, the blood from her eyes now engulfing her body and making her coat shine a glossy red color, “You’ve failed, and I can never forgive you for this!”

Josh shouted in protest, but the sound of his cry was muffled by the cacophony behind him as a giant crimson wave approached. The human never even saw it as it barreled at himself and the enraged, blood covered mare before him. In an instant, it slammed into his form, crushing him under its oppressive weight.

Josh awoke with a start, shooting up in bed. His heart was racing at an unbelievable pace as he sat there. A cold sweat covered his form, causing him to shiver violently. The horrifying image of Vinyl covered in blood still lingered in his troubled mind along with her final haunting words.

“You’ve failed, and I can never forgive you for this!”

Josh felt tears well up in his blue eyes as the echo of his marefriend’s voice continued to ring in his mind, and he heaved violently. Laying back down on the bed, he curled up and began to sob once more. In his mind, he really had failed her, and now he was all alone, without anyone to love or to love him back. The world around him had come crashing down the day before, and he was overcome with grief once more as the image of Vinyl still plagued his troubled mind.

Octavia reluctantly awoke as the light from Celestia’s sun entered her bedroom, assaulting her eyelids and forcing her back to consciousness. The gray mare had barely managed more than three hours of sleep that night as her mind was plagued by nothing but worry for her best friend as well as Josh, who she could only imagine was as sad and lonely as the mare he loved most. Any time she was finally able to sleep, the human’s distraught voice and Vinyl’s heavy sobs over the loss of her coltfriend entered her dreams and forced her mind to race, thus inhibiting her ability to get any sort of rest.

The cellist’s thoughts were still on the separated couple at this moment, mostly on Vinyl and her current emotional state. The unicorn had always been emotional in the entire time Tavi had known her, more often losing stability when upset than overreacting when happy. When Josh was sent to jail for assaulting Filthy Rich, she had a horrible emotional breakdown and refused to talk or listen to anypony for a few days. She eventually recovered and went to visit him during his incarceration, but she still always told Octavia how much she missed her lover.

Now, however, the situation was completely different. Josh wasn’t just down the street, simply waiting for a visit from his marefriend or somepony else he was close to. He was in a completely different world, and more than likely could never return to Equestria. Tavi worried if Vinyl would ever recover from losing somepony she had built up such a powerful connection to. It’ll be hard, and not instantaneous thought the mare, feeling a lump form in her throat as her mind returned to dwell on the depressing situation at hoof.

Realizing she couldn’t just lay there all day, (much as she might want to) Octavia finally threw the covers off herself and rolled out of bed. She headed immediately for the bathroom, glancing at herself in the mirror and sighing deeply at her own visage.

“By Celestia, I look awful.” she noted, giving herself a quick once over.

Her normally tidy jet black mane was disheveled beyond all belief, random hairs sticking out all over and in every possible way. The gray fur on her face was matted from all the tears she had cried the day and night before, and her violet eyes were swollen and bloodshot. She prodded the bags underneath her orbs with a hoof, letting out yet another disgruntled sigh.

“I can only imagine how Vinyl is right now...” she murmured, grabbing a nearby hairbrush and running it through her tangled mane.

The cellist performed her morning routine slowly and in absolute silence, save for the sounds of the shower and sink when she utilized them. Instead of placing her usual pink bowtie around her neck, she opted to wrap herself in a plush salmon colored bathrobe. Upon finishing her usual procedure, she headed down the hall to check on Vinyl, praying that the unicorn would be at least somewhat receptive now.

“Vinyl, dear,” she said timidly, knocking gently on the mare’s bedroom door, “can I come in?”

Silence answered Octavia, a response the cellist was fully expecting.

“Please, Vinyl.” she said, pressing her head against the door before her, “Please let me in...”

Again, silence. Tavi was about to knock once more and continue her pleading when the door swung open by Vinyl’s magic. The gray cellist stepped into her friend’s room, looking to the cream colored unicorn laying on her bed with her back to Octavia.Tavi felt her heart drop a little as her gaze centered on the mare before her.

Cautiously, she walked over to the bed and sat next to her friend, watching the gentle rise and fall of her body as she breathed. Uncomfortable silence fell between them both as neither knew what to say, nor did they wish to speak at all. After some time of heavy silence, Octavia reached out a gray hoof and placed it on Vinyl’s side, causing the unicorn to curl up a little tighter. However, she made no effort to resist Tavi’s touch.

The gray mare gently stroked her friend’s side, praying that Vinyl was somehow being comforted by her actions. Octavia’s careful attention persisted for some time in silence till Vinyl at last rolled over and looked to her grey friend, her eyes swollen and red and the fur on her face heavily matted.

“T-Tavi...” she stammered, looking deep into Octavia’s purple eyes, “I d-don’t f-feel...”

Suddenly, Vinyl bolted upright and vomited all over the bed. Instinctively, Octavia jumped off and away from the pool of sick that now covered the sheets. She looked to Vinyl, who peered back at her friend with eyes full of tears.

“I-I’m s-sorry Tavi...” said the poor unicorn, sniffling as her voice began to violently shake, “I m-made a mess.”

Octavia instantaneously felt bad for her sudden reaction as her friend broke down in front of her, covering her eyes with her hooves.

“Oh dear,” she said, rushing over to the other side of the bed and reaching up to hug the distraught unicorn, “it’s alright, Vinyl. It’s not your fault.”

Vinyl’s only response was to slide off the bed and into Tavi’s open forelegs, sobbing heavily into the gray earth pony’s shoulder. Octavia gently rubbed her back as Vinyl continued to bawl, staining the cellist’s fur with her tears. After some time, she began to calm down a little and Tavi helped her to her hooves.

“Vinyl,” said the gray mare, wiping a few stray tears from her friend’s face with a hoof, “I’ll take care of this, okay? Just go into the bathroom in case you need to throw up again. I’ll be in there once I’m done here.”

Vinyl sniffled and nodded, unsteadily making her way down the hall and into the bathroom next to Tavi’s room. Once Octavia saw Vinyl make her way into the lavatory safely, she turned back to the vomit covered bedspread. Sighing, she began to slowly remove the coverlet and both sets of sheets, trying her best to not spill any of the sick on the wooden floor. Just as she’d removed the last corner and was preparing to take the whole ball of fabric off the mattress to be cleaned, a knock sounded at the front door.

“Who the bloody hell could that be?!” she frustratedly yelled, abandoning her initial task and storming down the stairs angrily.

The mare reached the ground floor and headed for the main entryway, ready to throw it open and give the solicitor a piece of her mind.

“What do you...” she paused upon opening the door and seeing who was standing there.

The “trespasser” was a gray pegasus mare with a long blonde mane and tail. She looked back to Octavia with both golden eyes askew and full of concern.

“Hello, Derpy.” said Octavia, her rage dying down as she recognized the gray mailmare.

“H-hey Tavi...” said Derpy, her voice apprehensive and her ears pinned back as she stood before the gray cellist.

“What can I do for you?” asked Octavia as politely as she could muster.

“I’ve got some mail for you.” replied the mailmare, reaching into her saddlebags and brandishing several envelopes in her teeth.

“Thank you.” said Octavia simply, taking the mail with her free hoof and sitting on her haunches to look at the envelopes.

Several moments of silence passed between both mares as Tavi examined her mail and Derpy merely stood there on the cellist’s front doorstep, unsure of herself.

“H-how’s she doing?” the mailmare finally asked, causing Tavi to return her attention to the pegasus before her.

“Not well...” said Tavi, sighing as she turned to place her mail on the entryway table before returning to Derpy, “The poor dear’s so distraught, she actually made herself sick this morning.”

“I can’t even begin to know what it’s like for her right now.” said Derpy, looking down in contemplation, “To lose the love of your life...”

“Have you told Dinky about what happened?” asked Octavia, forcing Derpy’s wall eyed attention back to the cellist.

“Yeah, I did.” she replied simply, “She was pretty upset. She really liked him. All the foals seemed to like him.”

“I shudder to think what Sweetie Belle must be feeling now that he’s gone.” said Octavia, trying her best to not imagine the poor unicorn filly’s reaction to hearing her best friend was now gone.

“I didn’t even think of her till just now...” said Derpy, her ears falling once more, “If there was ever a filly he loved most it was her. The poor thing must be devastated.”

Once again, silence fell between the two ponies as their minds were flooded by thoughts of the human and all the lives he touched while in Equestria. Tavi thought back to when she’d first run across Josh, how she’d rushed into Rarity’s home and simply punched him in the face. An involuntary chuckle escaped her throat at the memory.

“You know, it’s funny.” she said, still envisioning her initial encounter with the human, “When he first came here, I thought he’d be nothing but a pain in my arse. But... he ended up being so sweet to Vinyl...”

Octavia felt a lump form in her throat and tears well up in her eyes.

“He loved her s-so much.” she said, her voice shaking as tears began to trail from her violet eyes, “He loved us all... Oh, Derpy... I just don’t know what went wrong...”

Tavi placed her hooves over her eyes as she cried, unbelievable sadness overtaking her mind once again as thoughts of Josh and Vinyl circulated. As she cried, the cellist felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked up to see Derpy looking back at her, her discombobulated eyes watery like Tavi’s own.

“If there’s one thing I know about Josh, it’s that he loves us all too much to stay away forever.” stated the mailmare, a small smile forming on her face as a tear streaked down her cheek, “He’ll find some way to come back. I’d bet my life on that.”

Tavi stared back at the gray pegasus’ good eye, seeing a genuine glimmer of hope that she hadn’t seen in what seemed like forever. She returned the mare’s smile, wiping a tear from her own face.

“I hope he does, Derpy.” she stated, standing back up as the mailmare removed her hoof from Octavia’s shoulder, “I sincerely hope he does.”

The pegasus nodded gently before looking back to her saddlebags full of mail.

“Well, I’ve gotta get going.” she said, turning and preparing to depart, “I need to finish up my rounds.”

“Derpy?” Tavi said, forcing Derpy to look back to her.

“Yeah, Tavi?”

“Thank you so much for supporting them through all this. It means more than words can ever say.”

Derpy smiled back at the cellist.

“Not a problem.”

With that, Octavia said farewell to Derpy before the gray pegasus departed, heading directly for central Ponyville. Turning around, Tavi closed the door and headed back up the stairs, intent on finishing her task of cleaning off Vinyl’s bed. As she reached the top floor and was about to head back to Vinyl’s room, the cellist heard a muffled sound from the far end of the hall and immediately headed for the bathroom to check on her friend. Upon opening the door, she saw the mare laying on her belly on the ground, crying heavily.

“Vinyl...” said Tavi gently, laying down next to her friend and placing her right foreleg on her back to console the unicorn.

“T-Tavi...” wailed Vinyl, glancing at the gray mare, tears streaming from her crimson magenta eyes, “I... I m-miss him s-so much! I w-want my Joshie back!”

As soon as those words left her mouth, Vinyl heaved violently and continued to sob. Octavia found herself unable to resist and soon, tears began to flow from her own eyes for the second time that morning. She reached out her other foreleg and pulled Vinyl in for a tight hug, both crying into one another’s fur.

“I miss him too, Vinyl.” she said, her own voice shaking heavily as she wept along with the cream colored mare, “But I know that wherever he is out there, he still loves us and that’s never ever ever going to change.”

Together, the two mares sat there, holding one another and openly weeping for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last few weeks. Josh’s absence had opened up a gaping hole in the hearts of both ponies, along with the rest of his close friends. All anypony could do was hope that all would be as it should be and that both human and pony could be together and happy once more.