Octaviaverse: Music Duel.

The morning sun climbed over the sky, bathing the land with its warmth. It would have been welcomed, had the events of last night not happen at all.

Octavia hadn't been wrong when she guessed that every single piece of glass in town had been destroyed. Even her her tree house had suffered the consequences of the duel.

A duel that could have been avoided, had she controlled her temper.

"We're lucky that it was summer." Hugin said as he ate his corn. "We would have probably frozen ourselves to death if it had been winter."

Octavia didn't answer, instead taking a sip from her cup of tea. Her mind kept returning to the duel and its outcome. After every pony calmed down, Vinyl had been taken to the local hospital. Two thin trails of blood were coming out of her ears.

Her anguished face still haunted Octavia.

Another sip. She ignored the small burst of pain that surged on her front legs. Her flanks were even worse, after been used in ways that they weren't built for.

"I should see how the others are doing…" she thought.

As she was about to leave, she noticed that she wasn't wearing her bow tie. For a brief second she considered wearing it, but decided against it. It was warm already, soon it would be hot.

Besides, she really wasn't in the mood.

Ponyville was a town of hard workers and it showed. Most of the glass had already been swept away by the cleaning crews. The remains of Vinyl's cart had been piled up near the town hall. It didn't take a genius to see that it was mostly ruined.

A brief flash of the wolf's fangs crossed Octavia's eyes. She picked up the pace.

Her first stop was the Sweeping Pony. There was a sign on the door that said CLOSED DUE TO REPAIRS. She unconsciously rubbed her cheek. Berry had done quite a number on her mouth. The doctor said she was lucky to not have lost a tooth.

"I'm lucky to be alive…" she thought bitterly. She knocked on the door.

"Can't see see the sign?" a young voice called from inside. Octavia didn't have to guess who it belonged too.  She knocked again. A loud groan, followed by hard hoof steps approached the door.

"We're…its you." Ruby Pinch said from the door.

"Yes. Is your sister home? I would like to speak with her."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but she's not. She went to to market to replace the glasses that your stupid duel broke." Ruby growled. "Now I have to waste my time cleaning up the mess."

"When is she coming back?" Octavia asked, doing her best to ignore the angry tone of the filly.

"Who knows." Ruby began closing the door. "An hour, maybe two."

And without another word, she slammed the door on Octavia's face. Not wanting to waste time, she moved away from the tavern. A few ponies gave her some glares, but nothing beyond that.

"Hey Octavia!"

Flitter and Cloudchaser descended in front of her. They were carrying a broom and a empty trash can respectively. Flitter had volunteered for helping in cleaning up the place. Cloudchaser simply followed her sister.

"Whats up?" Flitter asked.

"The sky?" Cloudchaser answered, though she was mostly ignored.

"I'm just seeing how every pony is doing."  Octavia answered. "You two seem to be in a very active mood."

"Cloudy and I have helping around. Don't want any cut foals now do we?"

"No…no we don.t" Octavia replied. "Anyways, if you are so busy helping, then I won't keep you. Is Minuette in her house?"

"Mmm I don't know. She said that she had a commission for some door pieces though…"

Octavia thanked her and continued on her way. She was glad that the two youngest bearers were taking the whole incident so well. She could only hope that Minuette and Fleur would be just as calm about it.

Probably not.

"Minuette, are you there?" she knocked on the door. Nopony answered. She was about to knock again when the door opened, revealing a tired Minuette.

"Yes, Octavia? What can I do for you?"

"I am trying to see how every pony is doing." Octavia answered. "Are you alright?"

"Every single glass in my house was shattered. I stayed up until very late fixing the chaos that was the house. I had to get up before sunrise to change the windows and now I have to skip lunch if I wan't to keep my work quota intact."

"Oh…do you, uh, do you wan't any help?"

"No thanks." Minuette began closing the door. "I would to handle this thing by myself. I have enough in my plate without keeping you from making things worse. Now if you excuse me, I have things to do."

As she walked away, Octavia's mind debated between feeling offended or unsurprised. Was Minuette being too careful about her way of doing things? Or was she referring to last night?

"I don't think I want to know the answer…." she thought.

Her thoughts came to a halt as she reached her final destination for the moment.

Fleur's house. Now that she could pay more attention towards it, she realized that it was a rather expensive house. It wasn't big, but it was certainly lavish. Fine wood was used. Pale pink painted in just the right amount and tone. Not the kind of two stories high house that a young writer should be able to afford. The windows were gone though. Expected, but not welcomed.

Of course, all that meant rubbish, since inside was the mare that had been against the whole duel thing since the beginning, and that Octavia had brushed off like nothing.

And now she had to talk to her to make sure she was alright from yesterday.

"You can come in Octavia"

Octavia briefly wondered how was it that Fleur she was outside. Then she noticed the empty windows.

"She probably saw me before I even reached the door…" she mentally snarked. The inside of Fleur's house was just as decorated as the exterior. High quality tables, plenty of decorations. A small bronze sun hanged on one of the walls.

"Do you like it? My parents gave it to me when I graduated from high school."

The house consisted of a single, long hallway that was connected to many rooms, like the living room, the kitchen, the dinning room, etc. From one at the very end, Fleur stepped out.

"Good morning Octavia." she asked politely. "How can I help you?"

"I…"Octavia struggled a little to find her words. "I wanted to see how every pony was doing."

"Well, other than having all of my windows blown away to parts unknown, I would say that I'm dandy." Fleur answered.

"Really? I thought you would be a bit more angry about. Or something like that…" Octavia muttered the last part.

"Angry? Oh no, why in the world would I be angry?" Fleur replied. "It won't get my windows back will it? Nor it will change the fact that all this happened. Getting angry won't solve my problems Octavia."

Just like Minuette, Fleur was taking the subtle approach.  Of course, for a writer, she was being as subtle as a freight train.

"I know I lost my temper back then, and I'm sorry for that. I shouldn't have done all this. But she…"

"Octavia, stop and think a little." Fleur said sternly. "Its not just that you allowed your temper get the best of you. Its the fact you provoked and riled Vinyl all the way."

"She blasted me off the stage!" Octavia replied angrily.

"Yes, after you spent ten minutes insulting her music." Fleur answered. "Vinyl challenged you, but you provoked her into doing so. And then, not happy with that, you continued mocking her. Until she snapped."

Octavia was unable to look at Fleur as last nights events flowed through her mind once more.

"You said you wanted to see how everypony was doing, right?" Fleur said. "Then why aren't you at the hospital?"

Octavia didn't answer. Without another word, she started walking towards the door. She was about to leave when Fleur's voice stopped her once more.

"I'm not mad at you for being angry Octavia. Anypony would have gotten angry in that situation. But there are ways to deal with that anger." Fleur passed for a second. "And ways that should be avoided."

Her words echoed in Octavia's mind as she walked through the town. Her gaze directed itself towards a small hill right on the edge of town, where the Ponyville hospital stood.

"Maybe I should go there."

The sun was now nearing its peak. Some ponies around her, thankful for driving the fenrir wolf out, vocally claimed their gratitude. Others, less than pleased with the outcome of the unnecessary situation, decided to walk away from her, whispering and muttering as she passed.

"Guess my popularity will be low for a while…"

The distracting environment, coupled with Fleur's words still ringing in her mind, was enough for her to bump into something. Or somepony.

"Hey watch it pal, I don't wanna have to go and buy all this things again."

"Berry?"

"Oh!" Morning Octavia!" Berry replied cheerfully. She was carrying bags on either side of her body. Noise of glass against glass echoed each time she moved a little.

"Are you alright?" Berry asked. "You look kinda down."

"A wolf attacked town yesterday, a DJ lies on the hospital and half the town thinks its all my fault." Octavia replied. "Including Fleur."

"Well…its not all your fault." Berry smiled. "From what I hear, that Vinyl mare sure has a temper."

"I'm not sure that makes me feel better."

"Just think of it. You acted poorly, true, but Vinyl reacted just as bad, if not worst. You didn't use violence after all, did you?" Berry glanced at the hospital. "It takes two to tango, as they like to say."

"I guess that makes sense." Octavia said.

"But…" Berry closed in on Octavia, giving her the most potent of angry glares. "If you ever run off like that without telling me your plan, a fist sandwich will the be the least of your problems, got it?" she growled. Octavia gulped and nodded.

"Perfect, now if you excuse me, I gotta get back to the tavern before Ruby throws a tantrum or something."

And with that final note, Berry left, leaving Octavia alone.  All of her friends had been visited, all of their thoughts had been heard and their opinions taken into account. All that remained was one thing.

Although hospital tended to have a bad reputation, the one in Ponyville had hight standards, probably from being so close to the capitol. Clean floors, trained doctors and nurses.

As soon as she entered, the secretary at the entrance seemed to guess why she was here, and pointed her hoof to the left. The desk had to way two doors on either side. The rest of the hospital was no different than any other. Staff coming and going, entering and leaving rooms.

It wasn't hard to find Vinyl's room, since it was on the first floor. Her name was placed on the door, and right under it, a picture of her cutie mark.

Now that she saw it, Octavia realized she had never actually seen Vinyl's cutie mark, being to busy insulting each other.

"A vinyl disc…of course…." she muttered. She raised a hoof to knock on the door, but lowered when she remembered why Vinyl was in there. After a few seconds of hesitation, she entered the room.

Vinyl sat on her table, reading a magazine. There was a bored look oner face. Her red eyes scanned each page in a dejected manner. Octavia approached the bed.

"You could have knocked."

Octavia blinked in surprise. She could hear her?!

"Don't look so shocked." Vinyl pointed to her ears. A a black plug was inside of it. "Its a magical hearing device."

She placed down the magazine on her lap.

"Its pretty lousy though. You would have had to knock pretty hard."

Octavia opened her mouth to speak, but Vinyl beat her to it.

"If you came here to gloat or pity me, then I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

Octavia frowned. She could feel temper start to rise. After everything that had happened, the last thing she needed was more confrontation. With a deep breath, she cooled herself down.

"I didn't came to do one thing or the other." She started. "I…I came to apologize."

"Come again?"

"I came to apologize." Octavia repeated. "I shouldn't have acted the way I did. You are a musician in your own way, as much as I don't want to accept it. I also shouldn't have kept teasing you like that."

"Well, I appreciate the apology. Not thats its any good though." Vinyl looked at her. "You admit to being wrong. Okay, so what? I'm still here and I'm still deaf."

"I said I was sorry. If you-"

"Well, sorry isn't gonna cut it!" Vinyl interrupted her. "What am I supposed to do? Go around saying 'hey, I can't hear my own tunes, but hire me anyway'?"

"You said your hearing devices work." Octavia replied.

"Yeah, barely. You're right besides me and it sounds like if a pillow was inside my ears." Vinyl laid on her bed and turned around. "So congrats. I won't be able to make more dubstep. Happy?"

"No, I am not. I'm sorry I things got out of control, but it wasn't my intention. You could have stopped too!"

"I already accepted your apology, so why don't you just leave me alone and go home already." Vinyl said. "Maybe you can play your stupid violin."

Tense silence followed. Not a word was muttered between the two mares for several seconds.

"I don't believe this. Look at me." Getting no response, Octavia grabbed Vinyl and forced her to face. "I said look at me."

Vinyl blinked a couple of times in anger and surprise, but didn't say anything. Octavia took that as her cue to continue.

"I caused all this. This whole thing began because I began mocking you. True enough, but you know what? I also lost things!" Octavia released Vinyl. "Half the towns holds me responsible for whole things. My friends think that I am some sort of neurotic wrath bomb and now I have to tell my teacher about what happened. I-"

She paused mid-sentece as her own words hit her like a train. The princess. She was going to have to tell the princess. She failed on the task that she was given and now she was going to have to tell her. Anger began eroding away as horror started to grow inside if her. It must have been pretty obvious, because Vinyl grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey. Hey!" Vinyl shook her a little. "Calm down, alright?! Geez, sorry I put like that I…I was wrong okay?!"

"No!" Octavia quickly shot her down. "No, you are not wrong."

"Uh….okay?"

"Look, I just…"Octavia paused, wondering on how to continue. "I was wrong. I really, really shouldn't have treated you like that. I was foolish and did a foolish thing. I'm sorry you are deaf. I really am. But almost everypony is blaming me. Even some of my friends. I just…"

"Hey." Vinyl bopped her head. "Stop that. After seeing you all high and mighty on stage, it feels wrong to see you like this. Look, its both your fault and mine, got it? You shouldn't have acted like a plot head, and I shouldn't have snapped like that. Deal?"

She extended her hoof. Octavia eyed it warily before extending her own. The hoof bump echoed in the small room. Octavia gave a mental sigh of relief as she removed her leg. Some of the tension had vanished.

"Can your ears be healed?" Octavia asked, regaining most of her stern composure. She did made an effort to tone it done though, lest she started the whole thing all over again.

"They said an operation can be done." Vinyl grimaced. "But not here. I would have to go to Canterlot. And even then, its expensive."

"Maybe I could help you pay for it." Octavia said. "I can go get some money to get you going."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I can get the money by myself."

"Then at least let me get the money for train ticket or something." Octavia insisted. "Let me do my part."

"Alright." Vinyl agreed. A little too fast, but Octavia didn't notice. "You go fetch your money. I'll be waiting right here."

Without wasting a minute, Octavia left the hospital. She ignored the fact that it was lunch time. She had a mission now. She could truly fix things, at least partially. She nearly bumped into somepony, but she managed to stop at the last second.

"Whats the hurry?" Fleur asked. Octavia quickly explained the story, eager to continue her way. She wasn't running mind you. The pain in her legs wouldn't let her. But she could trot. And that was enough for now.

"I'm glad you are trying to fix things like this. That is one way to deal with things." Fleur said. "But why are you going to your house? The bank is closer."

"I don't want to do all the paperwork." Octavia answered.

"Mind if I tag along then? I want to meet this Vinyl. The right way."

Octavia nodded. A few minutes later, they made their way to the tree house. Hugin was happily munching a corn. There was a plate with a couple more, already devoured by the hungry crow.

"You are going to get fat feathers." Octavia said.

"Teleportation magic has to be maintained. Besides, its not like you eat of it."

Octavia didn't answer, going up to her room instead. On her night desk was a small bag. Perfect.

"This should do…" she thought as she bit the bag, placing in on a small bag. Fleur was patiently waiting downstairs, talking with Hugin.

"All set?" she asked once she noticed Octavia walk down the stairs.

"Yes. Lets go."

Octavia couldn't say that she was in a good mood, but she was slowly getting there. Maybe this could end in a happy note.

The hospital soon came into view. The uphill trail forced Octavia to slow down a little, but it was fine. Now that she was here, she could relax a little. The hospital was just as pristine as before when they entered. Even better.

Octavia didn't say anything to the secretary, instead choosing to go directly to Vinyl's room. She could some shuffling from behind her, but she didn't care.

"Alright Vinyl, here is the…" she stopped as soon as she entered the room. The completely empty room. There was no Vinyl on the bed. No purple shades on the night desk. There was nothing save a white bed.

"I tried to warn you, but you went in too fast." The secretary said behind her. "She left almost as soon as you were out of sight."

Octavia entered the room, as if she was expecting something of Vinyl to pop out of somewhere. Fleur wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind.

"So she just left. Without even waiting to tell me anything." Octavia grunted. "Without even letting me help her."

"Octavia…" Fleur said.

"I know." Octavia replied.

"She left you this though." The secretary, a unicorn, levitated a letter towards Octavia. She placed it on her bag. "She said it was for you and you alone."

Fleur followed Octavia silently as they left the hospital. Once outside, Octavia let out a long, tired sigh.

"So much things happening in so little time." she said. Fleur didn't say anything, even when Octavia turned around to face her.

"I'm going to head home and read this, so I will see you later." Octavia started leaving. "I guess that will teach not to get angry."

Octavia didn't wait for Fleur to reply. She just wanted to go home. She was hungry. She was surprisingly tired and she just wanted to get the whole thing over with.

Hugin was about to say something, but one look of Octavia's grumpy face was enough to keep him quiet. A low growl resonated in the library. Octavia's grumpy face was now mixed with a bit of embarrassment.

"There are some hay sandwiches left." Hugin noted. Octavia silently thanked him before placing the bag back in its place. Before long, she had a small plate of sandwiches placed on the table in from of her. She took a seat, opening the letter and placing right besides the plate.

"Whats that?" Hugin asked.

"A letter from the DJ."

Without another word, Octavia began reading, taking a bite from one of the sandwiches.

Octavia.

If you are reading this, then I'm long gone by now.

I know you said you wanted to help, and I appreciate the thought, I really do. But lets face it, you may be the reason why this whole thing started, but I could and should have ended it. You're responsible for the duel and the fight. I'm responsible for my deafness and the wolf thing.

Long story short, I can't let you pay for this. Not with money at least. You said you wanted to do your part. I will not forget that.

I will need your help one day. Remember that.

Vinyl.

PS: Sorry for the short letter. I was in a bit of hurry to leave.

"Yet she had time to write a post script…." Octavia snarked. After a few more minutes, she finished her lunch. She then placed the plate and the letter away.

"From the look on your face, I'd say you've had one heck of a rough day." Hugin said. Octavia sent him a glare, but didn't say anything.

"What now?" Hugin asked from the table. Octavia looked at him, then at the remains of Vinyl's cart. She could see them from her window. A few ponies were standing besides it, dismantling and taking away the pieces. It wouldn't be long before the whole thing was gone.

"Bring me a letter and a quill. And some ink."

"You're gonna write a letter to the DJ?"

"Not to her."

Before long, the three items were on her working desk, ready for use. Octavia brought her chair and prepared herself for writing.

Dear princess Twilight.

For many years, I have been told I have a bit of a temper. Most of the time I would simply brush these accusations off, not caring who said them. Even when you were the one to warn me, I would storm off, calling you a fool.

I have been proved wrong. In the worst possible way.

Yesterday, a DJ came into town, blasting her music at ridiculous levels of noise. I decided to stand up to her. Not happy with that, I began belittling her and her music. When she began taunting back, I started to provoke her until she challenged me to a duel.

Nobody won that night.

Although the duel started with normality it soon took a turn for the worse. I didn't stop provoking her until she snapped. I won't bore you with the details of what happened afterwards, but I think it would be wise to stay away from the Everfree forest for a few days. Or weeks.

After everything calmed down, Vinyl, the DJ, was taken to the hospital, screaming and crying. I was later told that she was left completely deaf after her cart exploded from excessive magical input.

The next day, after some words with my friends and making sure they were alright, I went to visit her. It was tense. We managed to reach some sort of agreement, so don't worry about having an angry DJ after me.

She left before I could do my part though. She didn't even warn me about it. I really wanted to make things right and she just left.

So now I am here, writing to you about this, unable to do anything else. My temper and my arrogance lead to a situation that could have been avoided, with a musician turned deaf and with half the town holding me responsible for the whole fiasco.

I learned a valuable lesson today. Getting angry is normal. But acting on such anger, letting it cloud one's judgement, is when problems will start surfacing. Coupled with excessive pride and stubbornness is a recipe for disaster.

Like I said before, I learned a valuable lesson today.

I just wished I learned it another way.

Your student

Octavia Clef.

Octavia closed the letter and handed it to Hugin, who quickly made it vanish between his black wings.

"Okay, its done. What next?" Hugin asked. "Composing? Practicing?"

Octavia eyed her instruments. The idea did sound really tempting, but not right now. There had been enough noise for now.

"No." Octavia said. Looking around, she saw the book of the elements of harmony on one of the shelves. Without thinking it, she pulled it out, along with a bag to carry it.

"I think I'm going to find myself a nice shade and read." Octavia placed bag, with the book inside, on her side. "Do you wish to join me?"

Hugin eyed her suspiciously for a few seconds before flying towards her and landing on her back. Octavia gave the library one last glance before she closed the door behind her. The sun beamed above her. It wasn't as hot as yesterday, but it was still pretty warm.

She could feel her mood improving already.