Octaviaverse: Music Duel.

"A duel...with a DJ..." Hugin said.

Octavia didn't answer. She didn't even look. With all the care of the world, she turned one of the pegs of her violin, following it by playing a single note. She repeated the process. And then she repeated again. And again. And then once more, until a whole ten minutes had passed. After a particularly long note, Octavia moved on to the next peg. Hugin flew to the table.

"You've been doing that for more than an hour." Hugin flew to the table, landing right in front of her. "Afraid you'll snap a string and lose?"

Octavia shot him a glare, but continued her work. The sun was already setting on the horizon. It wouldn't be long before the night arrived, along with the duel.

"I'm still having a hard time believing all this. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I have to show that unicorn what real music is." Octavia placed the bow on the table. "And what a real musician is like."

" A real musician? Like you?" Hugin asked sarcastically.

"Nopony is better qualified at the moment."

Hugin rolled his eyes. Octavia placed the violin in its case. If she was going to duel, she was going to do it with her finest instrument.

"I think this is a bad idea Octavia. I can feel it on my feathers."

"Nopony asked for your opinion Hugin."

"Your funeral." and with that, Hugin flew out the window, leaving octavia alone in the tree house. Octavia breathed in relief. It was irritating enough to deal with this duel without Hugin snarking his way around. She looked outside. The last rays if the sun were disappearing. Some stars were already visible on the night sky. It was going to be a clear night.

A single knock on the door brought Octavia out of her sky gazing. Upon opening the door, she found herself face to face with Fleur. Normally octavia would have considered this a pleasant meeting, but Fleur's serious stare told her otherwise.

"You really are going through with this?" she asked.

"Indeed." Octavia answered. "She challenged me to a music duel and I accepted."

"Couldn't you have just walked away?"

"She's the one who blasted me with that dreadful noise!" Octavia replied.

"After you insulted her music." Fleur noted. Octavia didn't reply. Fleur took that as a sign to step in. "Look. You can still end this peacefully. There's no need for all this Octavia."

"There is when you play something as horrid as she does."

"She does what she loves. You do to. I wont say that I like her music, but she has her taste. Everypony is entitled to their own tastes and distastes."

"Not everything is a matter of taste Fleur. Somethings are fact." Octavia hoisted the violin on her bask "There is something called music, which is what I play, and there is something call a racket, which what that Vinyl plays. I am going to show her that."

Fleur sighed irritatedly. This was not going according to plan. She could only hope that the other side of said plan was working. It wasn't really a plan though. It was more of a desperate attempt to avoid a confrontation. Granted, it wasn't a physical confrontation, bit it was filled with venom and  fueled by a grudge. That was a bad mix.

Couldn't ponies just stop fighting altogether?

And to make matters more unstable, other side of the plan required to talk down Vinyl Scratch, the one who had issued the duel in the first place. And better pony for that work than the two most well intentioned pegasi in Equestria.

"Where do you think is the door to this thing?" Flitter flew around Vinyl's cart. Everything on the surface of the cart was sealed shut. The couple of windows that decorated the black exterior were closed and the scenario had been pulled in. There was no sound coming from inside either.

"I don't think she's even in there..." Flitter muttered knocking on one of the sides of the cart.

"Who?" Cloudchaser asked.

"What are you doing?"

The twins turned around in surprise. Standing behind them was none other than Vinyl Scratch, holding a corn soda with her magic and looking rather unamused.

"Well, we, ah, we were looking for you to, eh, talk and-" Flitter stammered.

"I remember you." Vinyl pointed a hoof towards them. "You were besides that unicorn who tried stopping the snob."

"Well, yeah, her is Fleur. Anyways, Octavia has a short temper, and we thought that maybe-"

"I liked your music." Cloudchaser blurted.

"Maybe you could tell that to your friend." Vinyl snarked.

"Anyways..." Flitter interrupted. "Octavia has a bit of a temper, and we thought that maybe you could, ah, pull back?"

Vinyl raised her glasses. Her red eyes went from merely unamused to slightly angry. Flitter and Cloudchaser even stepped a little. Vinyl took a sip from her drink before talking. A nice, long, cold sip.

"That snob climbed on my stage started insulting my music. The music that not only I like, but that I play for a living." she took another sip. "So no. I will not pull back. I'll wait for her on the stage, see who's the real musician here."

Flitter and Cloudchaser shared a concerned look before flying away, knowing that they had done all that they could. Before long, a familiar light pink spot appeared on their sights. Fleur walked aimlessly through the town. Perfect for them to just land in front of her.

"Flitter? Cloudchaser?" Fleur called once they landed in front of her. "How did it go on your end?"

"Didn't work. Vinyl is set on going on with the duel." Flitter answered.

"Did you convince Octavia?" Cloudchaser added., but was dismayed when Fleur nodded in a negative way.

"She's just as set as she was when she accepted the duel before." Fleur sighed tiredly. "I swear, that mare has the pride of a griffon."

Between all the fuzzing, running and talking, time went on unstopped, until finally, the sun was gone and the moon was now just beginning her climb on the sky. The stars twinkled and the light of the celestial body illuminated the land.

"Its almost as if the night goddess wanted to see our duel..." Octavia thought as she walked through the town. Few ponies were on the streets. Not surprising really. Most of the town would be at the town hall where Vinyl had parked her cart. Indeed, as she she got closer and closer, talks and discussions could be heard more and more. Before long, she had arrived at the stage.

"Ready for this?"

Vinyl was standing on the stage, grinning widely. Lights were set in varying colors, shifting from one to the next. The town was circling the cart. Octavia didn't say anything, instead choosing to climb on the stage. Whisper and murmurs were heard a soon Octavia planted herself in front of the DJ. One of those murmurs was of a rather sweet voice. A voice that was very concerned at the moment.

"Oh dear. This is not good." Fleur said. "Where are Berry and Minuette?"

"Berry said she was going to come once she was done working on the tavern." Flitter answered. "Minuette locked her house, so there's no way in knowing."

"And Cloudchaser?"

Flitter pointed a hoof up. Cloudchaser was flying higher than anypony, her gaze fixated on the stage and the ponies on it.

"I tried to call her attention, but she is completely focused on the duel."

Fleur would have tried calling her, but the electric sound of Vinyl's table drowned everything else. It was short sound, meant to caught the attention of the crowd. Vinyl herself had moved behind the table, ready to do her part. Octavia had taken out her violin and bow, and was ready to play whatever she wanted.

"Alrighty then. Lets set the rules." Vinyl placed her shades on. "Since I challenged you, you set the first rule."

"We will play three songs each. Not long songs mind you. We don't wan't to be here all night now do we?" Octavia smirked.

"You're the one who should be worrying about that, but alright." Vinyl's grin dropped a little. "We can't anypony we know act as a judge."

"Anything else?" Octavia's smirk dropped.

"Nope." Vinyl's horn glowed. "Want me to start?"

Octavia didn't answer, but placed her bow down. Vinyl's smirk turned into a grin. A rumbling sound began to emit from the loudspeakers. It was barely noticeable for the first few seconds, but ti soon began growing in volume, with sudden drops and ups.

Octavia cringed as the rhythm reached its apex, the very air around her quaking with every second. Vinyl however, seemed to be ecstatic, bobbing her head up and down, as if the duel was merely and excuse to play her music.

"How's that?" Vinyl asked as the music died down. "Weren't expecting that were you?"

"You are right. I was expecting quality." Octavia placed her bow on the violin. "Now its my turn."

The music flowed from her instrument in a slow and dignified manner. The single sound served almost as a contrast to the mixed bass of the dubstep. It was the same thing with the musicians, for while Vinyl played in a wild manner fit for a cheerful party, Octavia had closed her eyes, focusing only on her music.

Vinyl didn't say anything, but her gaze went from focused to bored to completely distracted in a span of minutes, not that Octavia noticed anyways.

"And that..." she said as the last note finished. "Is true music."

"I thought you said short songs."

"Twelve minutes is not a long song. Besides, its not my fault if you can keep your magic up for more than a couple of minutes." Octavia grinned. Vinyl frowned, though it was partially hidden by her glasses. One could still see that she was angry now. She activated her again, this time with more force.

"This is not going on well." Fleur said. "Magic shouldn't forced like that. Specially on machinery."

"Why?" Flitter asked.

"Have you ever filled a ballon with air?" Fleur answered. "What happens when you fill it with to much air in a sudden manner?"

"Ready for round two ya' little snob?" Vinyl growled as the music started picking once more. Something was different though. The first song was chaotic and unfocused, clearly made more for demonstration than actual art. This one was different. It was more rhythmical, more focused.

And Octavia could tell. If she had looked down, she would have seen one of her hooves shifting a little to the tune. The music wasn't to loud either, almost as if to deny her the complaining.

"Alright. Your move." Vinyl said, cutting the off the noise just as the song ended. The crowd was completely silent. Octavia placed the bow on the cello. A short yet sharp sound echoed from the brusque movement.

"Hope you enjoy this."

Just like Vinyl had played a more cohesive and organized song, Octavia moved for a more aggressive approach, playing her music loud enough to make a small echo across town. Her hoof held the instrument with masterful precision and grace. Eith minutes of harmonious string music passed.

"There. I finished." Octavia grinned. "I didn't need magic, nor machines or anything to make beautiful music. Unlike others."

"So what? You think you're better than me cuz you can do all that?!" Vinyl shouted.

"No." Octavia walked closer to Vinyl. "I know it."

Murmurs and whispers started raising across the crowd. Octavia smirked. Vinyl, on the other hoof, was visibly angry. Not even her glasses could hide the fury behind them. As with anypony who had just been insulted, she reacted in an predictable manner.

By lashing out.

"Oh yeah?! Oh yeah?!" Vinyl pushed Octavia out of the stage with a powerful flick of her magic. Octavia landed hard on the ground, right in front of the stage. Her violin went flying on the air, where to she could not see. Fleur and Flitter immediately went to help their friend, but Octavia didn't look at them. Her attention was completely focused on the stage, and the completely furious mare on it.

"You think you're better than me, cuz you play some old thing that my grandad hears?! Is that it?!" Vinyl shouted, putting her loudspeaker in motion. The sound was increasingly louder with each second that passed.

"You're nothing you hear me?! Just some pedantic earth pony who thinks she all high and mighty cuz she can play with her hooves!" Vinyl pointed a hoof towards Octavia. The music kept increasing. "But you know what?! I'm the better musician here, cuz I stay witht he times! I play what ponies hear today!"

Octavia cringed as the volume kept increasing. Her ears as the very air around them quaked with music. She felt some pressure on her back. Fleur had tripped fallen on top of her, completely disoriented by the blasting music. Octavia carefully placed he friend on the ground, then turned back to the stage.

She had to stop this.

"Vinyl!" shouted, trying to out speak the music. "Its too loud! You have to stop it!"

But her words didn't even reach her own ears. Vinyl shake her head to the music, now so loud that be recognized as such. The lights were now going at their most mighty strength, sending multicolored beams in every direction. A strong, dense smell started to fill the air.

"Octavia!" Fleur shouted from the floor."You've got to get away from there!"

BOOM!!

The last thing Octavia's maind manage to record was the ground heading towards her at a rather dangerous speed.

The everything went black.

Seconds, minutes, hours. Time seemed to morph into something completely alien as her mind drifted back and forth from unconsciousness. Brief flashes of light passed through her eyes. Sounds were just blurred whispers that quickly faded on the darkness.

"...tavia..."

Wait, that one was more coherent. The darkness started fading, as the flashes of light started increasing in frequency.

"Oct...wake up!"

Octavia opened her eyes a little. The darkness was gone, now replaced with the night sky. Standing around her were Fleur and the twins, the three of them visibly worried.

"Wha...what happened?" Octavia mumbled, sitting up.

"The stage exploded." Cloudchaser said. "I got your violin!"

Octavia looked around. The crowd had scattered. Of the cart, only the floor and the wheels remained. Everything else had been blown away from the explosion. And apparently, it wasn't the only thing that had been blown away. The entire ground of town was sparkling.

"Looks like every single glass in town exploded too..." Octavia thought. As her eyes focused on the cart, another concern sprung to her head.

"Vinyl. Where is Vinyl!?" she asked frantically. The twins looked at each other. Fleur didn't say anything. "Where is she?!"

"Here."

Berry and Minuette walked towards them. On Berry's back lied the unmoving form of Vinyl. She had some burns and bruises, along with some scratches, but really serious though.

"Is.. is she alright?" Flitter asked.

"She's unconscious." Berry laid the unicorn on the ground.. "Other than that, I don't know."

"What are you doing out here?" Cloudchaser asked.

"I was just about to close the tavern, when suddenly every single glass I have explodes, along with many bottles that were still half filled." Berry answered "I want an explanation. And some compensation too."

"I came out to see what the ruckus was all about. I never expected this though." Minuette added.

Suddenly, a roar filled the air. A deep, loud feral roar that echoed in the air for several seconds. Even after it ended, the entire town had gone deathly silent.

"That can't be good..." Berry commented.

Slow, powerful stomps could be heard, each stronger than last. The ground beneath them trembled as the stomps started closer and closer.The girls looked to the forest. Trees shook and fell as the monster that passed through them increased its pace.

"Its coming right here." Minuette backed away a little. Ponies ran and hid as a large shadow stepped out of woods. A deep growling could be heard.

The shadow left the woods, finally reaching the town. The light of the moon shone on its back, and it was not a pretty sight, for standing right at the entrance of the town was a giant silver wolf. Its back was as high as the tallest house. Its red shot eyes were contorted with fury, as saliva dripped from its bared fangs. One of its gigantic paws stepped forward, making the entire ground quake.

"I you told it was real." Berry nudged Minuette.

The fenrir wolf howled to the moon before charging forwards, destroying any abandoned food stand, any sign any anything that stood in its way. Octavia however, noticed something else. Something that chilled her blood.

It was making a beeline for them.

"Move!" Minuette shouted. The six bearers barely managed to jump out of the way, or fly in the case of the twins, before the fenrir wolf ran through, crushing the land beneath them. And kept going, until he reached the leftovers of Vinyl's cart. Without wasting a second, it started slashing and bitting the pieces, ripping it apart with eldritch ferocity.

"What is that thing doing here?!" Octavia asked as the more earth bound ponies hid behind a corner. Minutte and Fleur placed Vinyl against the wall.

"Its must have woken up with the explosion or something. It does look rather angry." Berry answered. As if to agree with her, a large chunk of the stage landed in front of them.

"If that thing hears us, we're dead meat. We have to get out of here." Minuette said. Flitter and Cloudchaser fluttered on the sky, quietly trying to follow their friends without alerting the beast.

"What about her?" Fleur said. Vinyl shifted a little, but didn't wake up.

"Lets take her with us."

The fenrir wolf chewed and snarled as it decimated the cart. Meanwhile, four ponies, plus a fifth, unmoving one, quietly made their way behind it, doing their bests to not step hard on the ground, let alone make any noise. They dared not run or trot.

They barely dared breathing.

Octavia silently followed Minuette. Her body was focused on the task at hand, but her mind was somewhere else. Mainly on how Vinyl had snapped and caused all this, pushed and edged on by her. Her ego had driven her to this. She could have just walked away. She could have done anything except do all this.

"Fleur was right..." she whispered.

"Look out!"

Octavia looked up. The world seemed to slow down as her violin fell through the air, closing in on the ground at crashing speed. Without thinking, she stretched her hooves forward, saving her instrument from certain doom. With the extra momentum, she gave a step forward, stepping on a large piece of glass.

Crack.

The fenrir wolf stopped butchering the cart. His ears twitched as the sound reached them. His gaze turned towards the ponies. Specifically, the one that produced the sound.

"Everypony run!" Minuette shouted.

The houses trembled as the fenrir wolf roared with all its might, charging with unrestrained fury. Four ponies, one of them unconscious being carried, ran away from the beast, but a fifth one didn't.

"Octavia, get away!" Fleur yelled.

But Octavia couldn't. Between holding her violin and hearing the savage roar of the beast, she was completely paralyzed. Her entire body trembled both from terror and the ground trembling with each step closer from the beast. The wolf seemed to notice, as he changed his uncontrolled dash to a slow, yet menacing walk, being only a couple of houses away from his potential victim.

"Run!"

"Get out of there!"

But she didn't. All Octavia could see where the glistening fangs of the beast, now mere meters away from here and closing in. Even from there Octavia could smell the rotten smell of the monster's breath. As the fenrir wolf raised a paw a tile fell on its head, breaking in half.

"Leave her alone!" Cloudchaser shouted. The fenrir wolf roared at her but quickly returned his attention towards his earlier pray. Or he would have, if it was still there. Flitter grunted as she carried Octavia, barely above the ground, placing her near the rest of the group.

"Don't freeze up like that Octavia, you'll get killed!" Berry said. Free from her stupor, Octavia opened her mouth to reply, but Minuette beat her to it.

"Lets go while its distracted!"

Having given the violin to Flitter, Octavia began running after her friends. Their advantage was short lived however, as the wolf shifted his attention to the clopping noise of their hooves. Not wasting a second, he chased after them, baring fangs and claws.

"He's gonna catch up at that rate!" Berry shouted. Cloudchaser threw pebbles, rocks and a couple of tiles, but nothing deviated the beast from its prey. Octavia could feel her body hurting after all of the nights events. She gave a quick glance to her friends. They were just as tired and scared as her. Her arrogance and temper and gotten all of them in this situation.

"If my pride in my skill led to this..." she skidded to a sudden stop. "Then it will led us out of here."

Being the last one of the group, her stop went unnoticed by the unicorns and the earth pony, but not by the pegasi.  Flitter nearly dropped the violin as she brusquely turned around. Just as she was about to shout, Octavia's words reached her.

"Flitter, throw me the violin!" Octavai extended her hooves to the sky. "Now!"

"But-"

"Do it now Flitter! You Cloudchaser, throw me the bow!"

The twins gave each other an unsure look before complying. Octavia stumbled a bit as she stood up, the sudden weight of the instrument pulling her down a bit. Without wasting a second, she took her playing position, placing the violin bow on the strings.

The wolf increased its pace, eager to chow down the morsel that so willingly stood still in its place. Octavia gritted her teeth, tightening her grip on the bow. She took a single, deep breath.

"Here it goes..." she whispered and began playing, making sure to strike every note as masterfully as she could.

The wolf's dash continued on, but something was different. The savage  breathing was slowly decreasing, as was the roughness of the paws hitting the ground. Soon enough, the music reached the rest of the running gang. Berry turned her head, and came to halt in shock, nearly tripping the Fleur and Minuette. They would have complained and shouted, had their attention not been grabbed by the show before them.

Octavia stood still, playing her violin like there was no tomorrow. In front of her, swaying a little and droopy of eyes, stood the fenrir wolf. Whatever rage he had been channeling before seemed to have completely vanished. Octavia gave a quick glance to the beast. Careful not to stumble a bit or trip, she gave step backwards. Like a little puppy, the wolf gave a small step forwards.

"I'm sober and I don't believe it..." Berry muttered, ignoring the slight groan that came from the unicorn on her back.

Octavia's hooves burned more and more with each step. Ponies were not supposed to walk on two hooves, and now she knew why. But she didn't stop. She couldn't. The gigantic wolf followed her, hiptonized by the music. Who knew what would happen if she stopped playing while in the middle of town?

"Just a little more..." she thought as she saw the trees of the forest become clear on her sights. Ignoring the surge of fear that crossed her spine, Octavia stopped at the entrance of the Everfree forest. holding her breath, she stopped playing and made a beeline fore a large tree, hiding behind the thick trunk.

The wolf remained dazed for a few more seconds, but eventually snapped back into reality. To Octavia's surprise, the fen rir wolf didn't roar or snap or anything of the like. Instead, it sniffed the air a couple of times. Its's ears flicked a couple of times before falling limply on his head. With a final huff, it entered the woods, leaving for parts unknown.

Octavia remained still for nearly five minutes, not wanting to risk being heard or seen by the monster. If she was quiet enough, she could-

"Octavia! You did it!" Cloudchaser shouted. Octavia tackled her to the ground, jabbing a hoof on her mouth.

"Quiet." she growled. Cloudchaser blinked a couple of times before nodding. Octavia sighed at removed the hoof. The adrenalin was leaving her body, replaced with overwhelming tiredness.

"Boy, you should have the look on the faces of everypony! They were almost drooling, can you believe it!" Cloudchaser laughed, leaping on the air. Octavia chuckled before her friend's words truly registered on her mind.

"Others...Where are the others?!" she asked frantically.

"Right where you left them."

Faster than a speeding spell, Octavia ran through the town, almost bumping against the ponies that dared coming out of their houses. Before long, she reached her freinds, which were huddled around Octavia.

"Octavia!" Berry called. Octavia opened her mouth to say something, but fine placed punch from Berry shut her up, sending her to the ground. Fleur immediately rushed to her aid.

"Don't you ever do something like that again, you hear me?!" Berry shouted. Octavia rubbed her mouth, feeling some blood in it. She would have answered, but a groan coming from the ground grabbed her attention.

Vinyl stirred. She couldn't hear anything. She slowly opened her eyes. Her vision blurred for a few seconds before regaining focus. She was surrounded by Octavia and three other ponies. Wait a minute. She recognized the pink unicorn. And the pegasi that were floating above them too.

And Octavia. She was sweating and had a bruised lip.

She was saying something.

But she couldn't hear it.

The two other ponies around her, a purple earth pony and a blue unicorn were talking to each other.

She couldn't hear them.

She turned her head. She could see ponies walking around, point at the broken widows. Talking. Stepping on the glass. Opening and closing doors. But she couldn't hear them.

"No..." she whispered.

She couldn't hear the glass cracking.

"No." she said.

She couldn't hear the voices of the town, or of the ponies that surrounded her.

"NOOO!" she screamed.

But she couldn't hear herself.