From Scratch

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 8

Chapter 1

“It’s not fair...” the gray earth mare complained under her breath as she stared at the large run-down apartment building in front of her with a miserable expression plastered across her face.

The building towered over her with a menace that caused a shiver to run from her head to her hooves. She lightly shook her head and set her shoulders square against the entryway, trying not to take too much notice of how most of the lower windows had been long since boarded up.

“No, I have not fallen so far that I will start talking to myself like some crazy mare,” she asserted proudly as she adjusted the double bass across her back.

Once she was inside the lobby, her eyes shot between the features of the common area. She took a double take as she looked around the room once more. Her eyes eventually stopped on one of the tables next to a couch; the table sported a large stack of magazines. Her own face glared back at her from the top with a nasty headline emblazoned over it. Even months after the first articles like it had started appearing, they effect of seeing them remained the same. She narrowed her eyes and barely resisted the urge to grab the offending publication and toss it at the one remaining window on the front of the building.

“Miss Octavia?” asked a male voice from behind her, mixed with wonder and awe.

She took a long slow breath and struggled to keep her face blank before she turned around. She glanced over the light blue stallion in front of her and tried her best not to step back in surprise. His mane and tail were clearly well-groomed. Even though he had no shirt or other fine clothes, it was clear that he was a step above the normal tenants of this building. She allowed her gaze to shift into an annoyed glare as she made a point of adjusting the large instrument across her back.

“Yes?” she responded curtly, leaving the rest of the question to hang unspoken between them.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry if I am interrupting... It’s just the landlord had told me that you were moving in and I didn’t quite believe him. I knew that after the Gala... with all the fuss and horrible press about that song and the pink pony that things weren’t going so well for you. Still, I never would have expected to have a celebrity such as yourself...” He interrupted his sentence with a loud gulp as he stepped several steps backwards in response to the icy glare being shot in his direction.

“I-I only meant to introduce myself... I’m terribly sorry if I am messing this up, but I am the building supervisor. If you h-have any problems, just let me know... I live on the second floor; c-can’t miss it...” he retreated several more steps and gave a polite little bow before he turned to run away from the vision of anger in front of him.

“Wonderful...” she grumbled as she turned to see a few of the lounging ponies watching her in surprise.

“What?” she demanded to a light-green unicorn mare that wouldn’t stop staring at her from across the room. “You think that since all of Canterlot society has had a go at me that it’s your turn too? Too bad,” she growled and turned away from the rest of the onlookers.

Octavia began the trek across the large entryway towards the stairs in a huff. She didn’t even bother to check if the elevator was working. It never worked when she used to live here as a young musician, and it certainly wouldn't have been fixed in the few days since she had moved in her few belongings.

“Those ponies are going to burn for this. It was just a stupid song,” she growled as she gazed up the stairwell and contemplated having to climb up and down ten flights with her instrument every day. “A stupid, stupid, song...”

She had of course climbed these steps with her instrument when she had lived here previously and, if anything, she was in better shape than she had been back then. Of course her current instrument was magnitudes more expensive, one of the few things besides the bow-tie around her neck that spoke of her former status. So, she took extra care as she began her ascent.

Octavia took the steps with a measured pace, making sure to shoot a menacing glance at anypony who dared to even consider passing her and her instrument on the stairs. She tried to breathe through her mouth to prevent the awful stench of the stairwell from getting to her, but the foul odor seemed to fill her mouth with an awful taste, it took all of her effort to keep herself from gagging. She used the anger that was steadily rising from the state of the building that she was being forced to live in by necessity to drive herself forward. Every bead of sweat that poured down her flanks was a drop of fuel in the burning machine raging inside of her.

“Those damned ponies will be the ones living in squalor when I’m done...” she grumbled before she bit her lip in anger to stop the crazy ramblings.

She placed her instrument inside the doorway to her new ‘home’ and looked around the living room with a glare. This place was every bit as horrible as Octavia had remembered it. Somehow the scale of it had failed to hit her when she had been moving the rest of her stuff in. It didn’t seem quite as final without her instrument, her pride and joy. A small part of her had still expected to find a way out of actually living here, even while lugging her few belongings to the tiny apartment.

“Dear sweet Celestia, what is that smell?” she complained as she wrinkled her face before wandering around the apartment. The walls stank. She wasn’t even sure how it was possible for the walls themselves to stink, but somehow the griminess had permeated the very walls around her.

The blasted cell of a living space wasn’t even big enough to house all of the posters from her old flat. She glanced over at the large box sitting next to the couch and shrugged. If hanging them on the walls here meant that they would smell like this hellhole, then it was probably just as well. She would have to look into an airtight container for her more prized possessions once she finally managed to secure a decent job.

The floor creaked audibly as she stalked through the narrow apartment and glowered at everything in sight. The bed was atrocious; she still wasn’t ready for the idea of sleeping on that piece of crap. Frankly, the couch was more comfortable, even if only because of the long since collapsed springs in the cushions. Her previous attempt to sit on the couch had resulted in a comforting, yet oddly alarming, sense of floating. The feeling of never quite being sure if she was going to fall through the bottom of the couch was difficult to deal with; so, she had cut that experiment rather short.

She sighed as she walked towards the bed. She was going to sleep in the Celestia-forsaken bed. It was the only choice she had; she would not be reduced to sleeping on her own bucking couch. It mattered not how comfortable it was. She wouldn’t be lowered to the level of some homeless cur sleeping on the couch of anypony that might take her. Thankfully, carrying the double bass up the stairs had tired her out, even this piece of crap mattress would be comfortable enough for tonight.

Octavia grunted as she laid herself across it and tried to force away the bad images flashing through her head from the magazine's headline. She pounded on the mattress a few times in the vain attempt to force the lumps to shift away from where she wanted to lie.

She was on the verge of sleep when a disturbingly clear image flashed through her mind. She was sprawled out on the stage of the Gala, staring up in shock at that stupid pink pony after the finale of her song. Octavia shuddered and shook her head wildly. The image instead shifted to one of her closest friends standing next to several other socialites as they ridiculed her for the incident loudly in the midst of a party. The look of shock across the mare’s face when she had realized that Octavia had been standing behind her the entire time sent shivers down Octavia’s spine.

It took all Octavia’s willpower to fight back the tears forming in her eyes as she pounded her hooves into the mattress several more times. Eventually the images faded away, but she was left staring at the blank wall beside her bed, all sense of weariness now gone from her body.

“It’s not fair...” she mumbled weakly as the tears started to flow down her face and she curled up on the bed, waiting for sleep to take her.

Octavia marched up to the front of the worn-down theater, known in this area of Canterlot as ‘The State.’ How anypony was supposed to identify it as such was a mystery, it was just something you had to be from around the area to know. The sign over the entrance had been in shambles for as long as she could remember. There were now only two letters still desperately clinging to the framework, and even those were barely doing so. The two ‘t’s from ‘State’ sat crooked upon the woodwork and swayed in the breeze.

Most of the windows had long since been smashed, with only a few boarded up, and only one of the many lights flanking the stairs leading to the entrance remained lit. A large orange flyer hung on the doors, advertising some long gone audition, and nopony seemed to have cared enough to remove it. A closer look at the flyer as she approached showed that one corner had come unattached and flapped slightly in the wind.

“I thought I asked for a musician! That drivel isn't even music; get out of my sight!"

Octavia ignored the yell coming from inside the theater proper as she passed through the lobby and continued her way through to backstage. Such outbursts were not uncommon for an audition, and she knew how to deal with them. Whoever it was that was looking for the talent was just making a point of breaking down any pony that made a mistake. It made an example of them and made the other musicians nervous. If anypony fell victim to their nerves, then they clearly weren’t the pony for the job anyway. She wasn’t even entirely certain what this job entailed, just that the posting for the audition seemed to be put together more professionally than the others. They had actually let her put her name down, as well. Overall, it was a step above her other recent prospects.

She adjusted her bow-tie self-consciously and unpacked her double bass. She made sure to check her instrument thoroughly, even though she had spent quite a long time earlier making sure that it was in tune. The ritual nature of checking her instrument always made her feel better, though, and it helped to relax her before an important audition.

“Miss Octavia?” questioned a voice from her right some time later. She looked up to see a tan unicorn stallion with a clipboard clutched in his magic. “They’re ready for you on stage now.”

She nodded her head and pulled the double bass across her back with composure. Grasping the bow in her mouth, she strode onto the stage with her head held high and the large instrument balanced carefully across her back.

All of the stage lights were on, far more than necessary in fact. Even while a show was running, a good half of the lights would be off. She could barely see the silhouette of the seats, let alone of what appeared to be a single pony sitting in the audience. The idea was normal, but taken to an extreme that Octavia hadn’t experienced before. She didn’t worry about the pony watching her, despite the fact that she was clearly supposed to be intimidated by their presence. Octavia was confident that she could impress them, no matter who it was.

She slipped the instrument off her back and carefully set it to stand on the endpin. It took a careful moment of shifting her weight so that she could stand up on her hind legs while clutching the double bass. It was a delicate balance; Octavia and her instrument relied upon each other to stand. If she didn’t get the transition right, then they would both tumble to the floor and make her look like a complete fool in the process. Thankfully, she was well practiced in the tricky dance involved. Once she was comfortable with her hoofing, she delicately slipped the bow from her mouth to the crook of her leg, just above the hoof.

“When you’re done making love to your instrument, you can start playing anytime!” directed a harsh yell from the audience.

Octavia took in a deep breath and slowly drew her bow across the strings. The first deep timbre of her instrument immediately filled the theater. She let the first note draw on for a long moment, playing with it to make sure that she had her viewer’s full attention. The piece she began to play was supposed to be accompanied by a piano, but she had played it enough times to do without. She merely had to make slight adaptations to the timing.

She began slowly, letting each individual note fill the hall as she played with them, making the sounds tremble under her adept hooves. She danced the bow across the strings with such ease that it might as well have been an extension of her leg. Finally, she started to move her free hoof up and down the strings and, as she did, the dance with her instrument began in earnest.

Each time she had to lean down to place her hoof particularly low on the strings, she tilted herself and the double bass to make up for the shift in weight. Whenever she did this, she made a show of going to the very tips of her balance, only to gracefully straighten right back up on the next note. She quite literally danced in place with her instrument as she stroked her hooves across the front of her dance partner.

After making her point, she picked up the tempo of the song and had to start stepping her hooves back and forth to further compensate for the more rapid shifts in her balance. Her neatly prepared mane started to flip around her as the heat of the lights caused beads of sweat to trickle down her face. She kept intensifying the dance, continuing to ply the music from the instrument in front of her. Then, as suddenly as it came, the intensity melted away. Her movements calmed and she stepped closer to her partner. Octavia let the melody fall back to a calmer more serene pace.

She drew the music to a quieter tone, making sure that it was still loud enough to be audible through the hall as she created the illusion of her instrument letting out the quietest whisper. She smiled slightly as she worked her magic. It was her own particular brand of magic that didn’t require a horn; no, this magic was fueled by passion alone. Nopony else could work it like she could either. In Canterlot, the double bass was her playground, all the other ponies merely foals aspiring to be more like her.

Octavia still couldn’t see the pony in the audience, but that didn’t matter; she knew that they were entranced. She drew out the final note of her song, and leaned over her dance partner in a pseudo-bow before pulling the bow away with a flourish. She finally straightened herself and gasped for breath as she attempted to focus her gaze through the bright lights to the silhouetted pony.

“And just what was that?” the inscrutable voice questioned.

“Music.”

“What if I told you that it was crap?” the pony asked in a gruff tone.

“Then I’d say that you either read the gossip rags too much or that you were lying,” she stated calmly and remained standing upright.

“Hmph. You’ve got guts; either that, or you’re really stupid,” the mysterious pony retorted. Octavia could see the mysterious figure rise from their seat and slowly approach the stage.

“I believe the music should speak for itself.”

“So it does. Oliver! Cut those damned lights! And tell the rest of these hacks that they can go home!” the pony suddenly shouted over towards backstage.

The excess stage lights shut off one at a time with loud, echoing slams, finally bringing the assault on Octavia’s eyes to an end. She still could not see the approaching pony through the floating spots in her eyes, but her vision was slowly adjusting to the more normal lighting. The pony coming up the aisle appeared to be a unicorn, a mare if she was not mistaken, and Octavia kept catching flashes of light off the glasses perched on her face.

“So, the great Octavia graces us with her presence. I figured your name showing up on the list was somepony trying to play a prank on me. This project doesn’t exactly seem quite your style. So, tell me: what exactly are you doing here?”

“It’s an audition ma’am,” Octavia said simply. Her pride preventing her from saying more. Nevertheless, the implications hung awkwardly in the air between them for a long moment.

“So, I’ve heard. I take it all those nasty articles about you after the Gala have been taking their toll?” the other pony questioned.

“Something like that...”

“Must be rather desperate to come to my audition. I mostly get young musicians, wet behind the ears and minds full of sunshine and rainbows about their budding careers,” the pony stated in a leading tone as she hesitated just before the steps up to the stage.

Octavia remained silent, holding her instrument in one hoof and the bow in another as she continued standing proudly next to it. When it became clear that she was not even going to dignify that with a response, the other mare cleared her throat.

“Don’t think that I’m going to pamper you because you’re some kind of bucking celebrity,” the other pony snarled.

“Of course not.”

“Planning on using this gig as some kind of launching point to make your comeback and get revenge on all those Canterlot snobs?”

Octavia’s face twitched slightly before she regained her control. “That’s the general idea, yes.”

“I see... I’m not a very nice pony when I work with other musicians, or, at least that’s what I’m told. I wouldn’t know, seeing as everypony I’ve worked with was a complete and utter moron. You’re not a moron are you, Miss Octavia?” she questioned as she finally began to climb the stairs to the stage.

The first detail that Octavia made out as the pony came closer was her two toned neon blue mane. Her eyes wandered down, taking in the horn and confirming her suspicions. The unicorn had a bright white coat that reflected the light back at Octavia, seemingly without any need for stage makeup and deep purple sunglasses rested right up against her eyes. The mare stepped closer and circled Octavia as if she was inspecting the earth pony at auction.

“I guess we’ll find that out, won’t we?” Octavia replied in her best stoic tone as she remained unmoving.

“I guess we will... Let’s hope you’re not a moron, though. Oliver will give you the details on where we’re recording. He’s the unicorn you met backstage. I expect you to be on time; if you’re late, I’m cutting into your pay. I don’t like wasting my time, Miss Octavia. Do you understand me?”

“Perfectly.”

“Good start. I’m Vinyl Scratch, and we’ll see how long you last,” she said as a devilish grin spread across her face. She lifted her sunglasses with her magic and Octavia was for the first time taken by surprise. Glinting back at her mischievously were two astonishingly bright red eyes that made her take a small step backwards.

“So you aren’t a robot after all. I’ll see you tomorrow,” the unicorn called over her shoulder after turning around with a chuckle.

“Don’t be late!” Vinyl yelled up to the stage from the front of the theater before she slammed the door shut.

Chapter 2

Octavia stared up at the building in front of her. Unlike her apartment, this one was completely clean. Like her apartment, it towered over all the nearby buildings with ease. It wasn't quite as large of a building overall, but gave the same sort of presence upon first glance. The front bore a simple numbering next to the doors. The record shaped doorhandles were the only indication that she was even in the right place. She let her gaze wander across the clean white walls once more, then pushed the door open with her hoof.

She strode inside confidently and made sure her instrument remained steady on her back. The decor was just as she would expect from seeing the outside: plain white walls with a few placards bearing ornamental records on them behind the reception area. She walked right past the receptionist, ignoring the sign telling her to check in, and proceeded to the elevator.

It was either her confident demeanor, or the large instrument in its case across her back that stopped the receptionist halfway through a quiet protest. Octavia walked inside the lift and noted the usual plaque stating that this elevator was registered with some governmental body that nopony had ever heard of. She mashed her hoof onto the button labelled "Five" and the doors shut with a ding.

The lift seemed to labor its way up the floors, taking its sweet time to carry the pony and her instrument. She took solace in the fact that at least the speakers in the corners weren't playing any of the usual awful music. The doors finally parted with another ding, and Octavia was immediately greeted with the sound of shouting coming from a door in front of her. Though the hallway extended onwards to her left and right, the only other doorway in sight appeared to lead to a stairwell. A quick glance was all that was required to show that the unlabelled doorway was her only recourse.

Octavia opened the portal in front of her with a cautious air, and was immediately rewarded with an increased volume of yelling. She had made sure to be a few minutes early, and apparently nopony was expecting her yet. The waiting area was completely barren with no indication that she was in the right place except the familiar yelling from the rear of the studio. With nowhere else to go, she wandered back towards the source of the commotion. She found what appeared to be a practice area where Vinyl was looming over a pathetically cowering cream unicorn with a white mane.

"What the hell was that? Can't you even play the music in front of you? We've been here for how long? And we've garnered ten seconds of usable content! Yes, you heard me, ten seconds! This isn't a bucking charity! Why do I even bother to pay you if I'm going to get that kind of a return on my money?"

Vinyl glared down at the poor pony with her sunglasses resting on her horn, using the jarring red color to affect the musician as much as possible. It appeared to be working quite well; the unicorn quailed under the rough treatment and attempted to interpose her violin between herself and the yelling. Vinyl, on the other hoof, had a full head of steam, and wasn't letting her voice trail off in the slightest once she started.

"What, you don't know either? Well look here's a pony with talent, walking in early even! Maybe you should take notes! Get out of my sight! And take the extra time to develop some competency at your craft you useless sack of crap!" Vinyl nearly screamed as she concluded her one sided shouting match. The other unicorn erupted into tears as she galloped away.

"What are you doing back here anyway? Where's Oliver?" Vinyl asked, turning towards Octavia and losing the angry tone of her voice almost instantly. She casually dropped the sunglasses back over her eyes, and looked around curiously.

Octavia responded with a shrug, taking a similar glance at her surroundings. "Didn't see him on the way in. What was all that about?"

“Oh that? Nothing to worry your pretty little head over. Probably just going to have to wind up relying on you more than I initially planned. Hey great news for you huh? That means more bits for you if you wind up having to record her parts too!” Vinyl exclaimed with a grin, and slapped the other mare's shoulder like she had known her for years. Octavia merely responded with a quirk of her eyes.

“What? I was originally planning on having a violin to accompany you in the final product, but apparently my violinist can't get her act together!” Vinyl suddenly screamed over her shoulder.

“Did you get a chance to look over the music Oliver gave you the other night? I don’t need a repeat of that last session. Please tell me you’re actually prepared,” Vinyl pleaded through her hoof as she dragged it across her face slowly.

“Of course I did. It seemed rather simple to be honest...”

“Well yeah, your part is the base of the song. HAH, that’s a music joke kiddo,” she added with another laugh, and slapped Octavia’s side again. “Anyways, the real music will happen in the studio once I have everything recorded. Then, I’ll mix everything together with the main song. That’s when DJ PON-3 works her magic, and everything will come together. Knowing you prissy classical types, you’ve never even heard any of my songs, have you?”

Octavia shook her head as she decided to not indicate her lack of knowledge about this 'DJ PON-3' thing as well.

“Figured as much. Well I won’t bore you with the details. Still, I need some good samples to work with, and it seems those are getting harder and harder to get. That's where you come in, my little Octobabe. You will make me the musics, and I shall transform them into art! Come on, let’s get started. Have you ever played in a studio before?”

Octavia shook her head again, and barely managed to contain herself at being referred to as “Octobabe.” She could already tell working with this pony was going to be far more trying than she'd initially thought. It turned out however, it also paid extremely well. Provided she could stomach putting up with this awful unicorn, that is. The bits would buy her a considerable amount of time in looking for real opportunities, so she tried to mentally prepare herself for the worst.

“Well, it’s simple! Just imagine you’re playing in a concert hall, except nopony is listening to you except for me, and it’s a hell of a lot smaller! Here I’ll show you. The room is soundproof, but I can hear you in the other room. Also there’s these speakers for me to... give you feedback. It’s right through here, Octybaby.”

Octavia shut her eyes, and ground her teeth together as she tried to retain her composure. This was going to be a battle of the wills. She'd been forced to put up with unicorns just as bad as Vinyl in the past and was confident she could do so again. There was no question over who would win; she wouldn’t give this foul pony the upper hoof. Octavia was an upper-class pony at heart, and she could take anything this uncouth, foul, loudmouthed, poor excuse for a musician could dish out to her.

She was lead into the medium sized room through a side door, and Vinyl walked into the center of the room to adjust the microphone with her magic. Vinyl pulled the microphone down to nearly floor level, where it would be best suited to capture a double bass, and roughly kicked the chair in the center to one of the corners. Octavia, in the meantime looked around. The white walls were functionally plain with some strategically placed sound absorption panels. She could also see into the room from which Vinyl would be watching her from through a large pane of glass.

"Do you need a dancefloor? Maybe some mood lighting? Dinner and a movie for you and your instrument before we get started?" Vinyl jabbed at her with a mischievous grin.

"This will be fine thanks."

"Great! Just remember: you're giving me the base, so cut all the fancy crap. Just play the notes. If I want you to do something special, I'll tell you."

"Noted."

Octavia was one with the flow of the music, she could feel it resonating through her entire body. Her instrument was merely an extension of her hoof, and it felt marvelous. However, she knew that this was but a fleeting moment. She knew that soon, they'd be broken apart by-

"How many bucking times do I have to tell you to stop being fancy? This isn't one of your prissy, fancy-pants recitals! So stop varying the bucking tempo and just play the celestia-be-damned notes!"

Octavia took a slow breath then started to play again. She drew the bow across the strings and closed her eyes. She felt the song inside of her, but only got about half a page through the song before-

"Hello? Are you even listening? Are you ignorant as well as stupid? I just told you to not be fancy, and you immediately start playing in the wrong time! Try it again!"

The gray mare was overcome with the desire to send something hurtling through the glass at the unicorn shouting at her. She restrained herself with a another deep breath and tried to continue onwards. She picked up the song from where she had left off, and drew her bow across the strings carefully. She stared at the music on the stand in front of her intently, focusing her attention on the notes and not the feel of the song. This worked for about a page and a half until she found herself dancing with her instrument again, and she winced in anticipation of-

"Oh for the love of Luna! You even got my hopes up that time! Are you trying to piss me off? Or is that just your special talent? Should I be looking for someone to make you a new cutie mark? You're doing a pretty good job of it so far!"

Octavia bit down on her lower lip to contain her anger. She had managed to remain composed through this ordeal so far. Lowering herself to the level of this creature would do her no good at all. She would just have to keep her cool.

"Again from the top, and don't mess it up this time!"

"Yes Miss Scratch," Octavia said through her teeth. She took a deep breath before she drew her bow across the strings once again.

Trying to play the music the way Vinyl wanted it, was probably the most challenging thing Octavia had been asked to do in a long time. Vinyl wanted the music calm and even without any tempo changes, or for that matter, any artistry at all. It seemed like she just wanted Octavia to pretend she was back in elementary school playing the notes as simply as they were stated on the sheets. If this was the case, then she couldn't figure out why this horrible pony wanted someone of her caliber to do the playing.

Octavia tried her best to push all these thoughts from her mind and focus on the music. It was difficult though. If she lost herself in the music completely, she'd start throwing in her own artistic touches. Whenever that happened, it wouldn't be long before the screaming voice cut in over the speaker telling her to stop. It took all of her concentration to keep walking the fine line between focusing on the music, and keeping herself from actually playing it.

"There! Was that so bucking hard? Take five Octobutt."

Octavia took a deep breath and put her instrument to rest against the back wall. She fell heavily into the chair in the back corner. She'd been here for only a few hours, but it seemed like all day at this point. Normally she could do long playing sessions without issues, but having to put up with Vinyl throughout was draining her energy. She sat there pondering what it was about Vinyl's behavior that was so tiring, but was interrupted from these thoughts as she looked up to see the door opening. Oliver appeared with a steaming cup of tea grasped in his magic.

"Here. I figured you could probably use it. You're doing amazingly, by the way; she's barely yelling at all. Still, I've never seen someone go even this long on their first session before," the stallion said as he passed the hot drink to her with his magic.

"What?" she asked incredulously, forgetting to thank the pony in her confusion.

"You haven't figured it out? You seemed the smart type. Miss Vinyl always tries to completely break down a pony when she first works with them," Oliver said, with his face alight with surprise even as he looked upon Octavia with respect.

"She tries her hardest to get them to melt down so she can establish their limits, and then push them later on. It seems nasty, but I've seen her push people to do things they never thought possible when they first started working with her. You on the other hoof... You're not budging an inch. You're not giving her anything to work with. I've never seen anypony put up with her abuse for this long."

"What are you implying Oliver? Are you saying she's making up reasons to yell at me?"

"Well, yes and no. For the first recording she really does want just the simplest rendition possible. She's taking any excuse she can get to yell at you, yes, but you're not giving her many. So she's having to rely on trying to degrade you instead, but you're not reacting to that either."

Octavia sipped on the tea as she considered this assessment, slowly taking in the pleasant daisy flavor. It wasn't an unheard-of way of managing musical ponies, but she hadn't run into anypony who had tried it on her in quite some time. She couldn't help but crack a small smile, knowing that she was messing everything up for Vinyl. Oliver didn't know it, but this would make it easier for her to put up with Vinyl's crap.

"Anyways I'd be careful if I were you. She's likely to try something drastic at this rate," he said with a warning tone as he then took the empty cup in his magic and walked out of the room.

Octavia was left alone to mull over this ominous statement. As she looked around the room thoughtfully, her gaze automatically fell on her instrument resting against the back wall. She wondered what kind of actions Vinyl might take if Oliver's warning was correct. She didn't think that Vinyl would interfere with the music; so she probably didn't have to worry about her instrument, but it was still a consideration. She pondered the possibilities for a long moment before she was again distracted by the door opening.

"That's good enough for now. Oliver will have some more music for you to look over for next time. If we can take less time getting through it, then it would be great. Once we get through the boring parts, we can start having more fun with it, so cheer up Octobabe."

Vinyl opened the door for Octavia, and stood aside indicating that she was done for the day. The gray mare packed up her instrument and heaved it across her back before she started to stride out the door with her head held high. She only got halfway through before she was interrupted by a rough hoof slapping across her flank and striking her right under her tail.

"Great job today. Keep it up and I can see us working together again in the future." Vinyl said with a devilish grin spreading across her face. Her smile remained in place even as Octavia slowly turned around to give Vinyl an icy glare. Vinyl kept the grin plastered across her face with an expression that was just daring her to do something about it.

Octavia nearly broke. She was just barely able to prevent herself from yelling as her face flushed with heat. She was eventually able to calm herself back down when she remembered Oliver's words. She satisfied herself with an indignant "HMPH!" as she turned her back to Vinyl and walked out the doorway with as much dignity as she could muster. She strode right into the lobby, where she snatched the music from Oliver with her mouth and kept walking straight out the studio. She made sure that the door slammed nice and loud on the way out, and stashed the music in her case. One thing was for certain: she couldn't wait to get paid, just so she could be done with this vile unicorn.

Chapter 3

Octavia hesitated in front of the towering white building. She wasn't entirely sure which building was more intimidating at this point. Her apartment building, while a total trainwreck, at least offered her some respite from her day. She hesitated to call it home though. Any place that you couldn't stay in for extended periods of time without the desire for noseplugs was tough to feel welcome in. The clean white building towering in front of her should have been the preferable of the two locations, but it had easily become a place of dread for her. After her first foray inside, and the second trip shortly there afterwards, she was having a hard time finding the motivation to venture inside a third time.

Her second session hadn't deviated much from the first. She'd showed up early out of habit, heard Vinyl screaming at the poor violinist, and they started work on the next song shortly afterwards. From that point on, it was pretty much a repeat of her first experience. The only notable exceptions being that Oliver kept quiet, and Vinyl chose not to grope her again. She suppressed a full body shiver as she thought about that particular moment. She could handle the yelling, and the attempted degrading, but not, that. Just thinking about Vinyl's hoof striking across her flank nearly caused Octavia to burst with rage.

There was something foul about having a pony like Vinyl pull such an act on her. It was so much worse than any of the other times she had dealt with it. Other ponies trying such behavior on her before had been met with her trademark dignity and grace. That, and careful allusions of the incident to the right pony of power. She'd been quite good at the social game of Canterlot, and one thing you did not do to a lady was touch her inappropriately. This case was more difficult though. She had nopony to turn to, and was actually quite reliant on this job if she wanted to keep a roof above her head and food on her table.

Of course, Octavia had considered that the behavior might have been part of what Oliver had termed "something drastic," but she couldn't quite repress a shudder at the thought of Vinyl lusting after her. If that was really the case, then she wasn't entirely sure if she would be able to stomach this job after all. Bits or no bits, she still had her dignity, no matter what anypony said about her. If she allowed somepony to pay her basically for the rights to ogle her while she played, then she really couldn't claim any of that dignity. She might as well just stride right into the shadowy parts of Canterlot, never to return.

Octavia was startled from her reverie as she had the realization that she was zoned out in front of the building. Vinyl's behavior would not be an issue. If Vinyl really only wanted to gawk at her, then she would simply demand her pay and leave. A confident smile spread across her face as she made up her mind. She strode through the doorway and resolutely ignored the receptionist once again. The poor pony seemed to have finally accepted it, and didn't even try to stop her this time. The smile across her face widened at this new development as she pushed the button for the lift.

The painstakingly slow lift finally brought her up to her destination and and opened its doors. She was once again greeted with the usual dull shouting coming from the door in front of her as she exited. She hesitated for a moment, then thoughtfully glanced over at a clock on the wall. She made up her mind and took a few careful steps to the side, while making sure her instrument was still set solidly on her back. Sure enough, a few moments later the door burst open with a bang. She watched as the cream coated unicorn galloped straight out the door and towards the stairwell, sobbing loudly the entire way.

Octavia shook her head in disgust as she watched the distraught unicorn disappear down the hallway, then resolutely pulled the door open to make her way inside the studio. She automatically glanced around to see if Oliver was on hoof, but didn't see any sign of either of the unicorns. She was still a few minutes early, according to the clock outside, but without any hints on what to do she decided to just head back into the recording room.

She unpacked her double bass and sat down on the chair in the center of the room, balancing the instrument on the endpin and checked to make sure it was still in perfect tune. She almost fell out of her chair a few minutes later as the door slammed open with a loud bang. She placed a hoof over her chest in an attempt to calm her breathing down. She took a few breaths as she waited for her heart return to a normal pace. She eventually glanced up with a glare to see Vinyl standing there, seething with rage at nothing in particular. She didn't appear to have even noticed Octavia yet, but when she did, she chuckled quietly at the frightened look on gray mare's face.

"Oh. Hey, Octagon. Sorry didn't mean to startle you. That violinist is just really getting to me."

"Why do you treat her like that?" Octavia asked before she could suppress the urge.

"Because she's a moron!" Vinyl yelled abruptly, and her voice reverberated slightly in the small room despite the panels in place.

"You seemed pretty direct about only hiring the best. She's not actually a moron, is she?"

"No, she isn't. It's just frustrating okay?" Vinyl admitted with a sigh. "She has major talent, but she's completely squandering it. If she can't get her act together, then she's not going to make anything of her life."

"So you scream at her on a daily basis?" Octavia asked incredulously. She gave her instrument a few more experimental tweaks as she waited for a response.

"Hey don't knock it. My method works. Most of these ponies walk out these doors a better musician, even if they hate my guts by the time I'm done with them. Yesterday I got nearly double the usable material from her, and today almost triple. She's definitely improving."

"So, you've almost got a minute?" the gray mare asked with a smug grin on her face. She finished checking everything on her instrument, and stopped to look up to see Vinyl's voice failing her. Octavia broke into an amused smile at the reaction she had elicited.

"I- That's not the point!" Vinyl yelled, and glared at Octavia as she adjusted the microphone down with her magic.

"Maybe if you said something nice to her once in a while..."

"Nah, that's not really my style. Don't you worry my little Octavo; she's strong enough to handle it. I'm not wrong about these kind of things. Once she gathers the courage to stand up to me, she'll be fine. Anyways, we get to have a bit more fun today. Let's drop the boring crap for a day. As soon as you're ready, we can get back to the musics!"

"I'm scared to ask what you mean by fun..." Octavia finally ventured after a momentary silence.

"Oh, come on. Have I ever steered you wrong?" Vinyl asked innocently, and Octavia hung her mouth slightly open from shock.

"Geeze. Someponies..." Vinyl muttered quietly. "Whatever, just finish getting ready. I'm going to get set up myself."

Octavia was deeply entrenched in the battlefield of wills, and was narrowly avoiding being overrun. It was taking all of her effort to not grab the chair behind her and send it crashing through the window separating her and that vile pony. She couldn't help but imagine the unicorn's face as the glass would shatter into countless shards, and she'd have to duck away with a panicked look on her face to avoid the vicious projectiles.

All thoughts of her previous two days being horrible had been quickly reconisdered once they had gotten into what Vinyl had termed their "fun" for today. Octavia never thought that anypony would ever come up with a way to torture her with music, but by Celestia, Vinyl had figured out a way. She still wasn't sure if this was all part of the vile pony's plans, but if it was, then it was bucking working.

"What the hell was that? How was that supposed to be intense? Are we back in kindergarten? Okay maybe if I need to lull a foal to sleep I'll give you a call! Try it again Octopus!"

Octavia ground her teeth together as she bit back the scathing response that was bubbling in her mouth. She was finding Vinyl's harassment especially difficult to deal with today. After their brief conversation, she had allowed herself the glimmering hope that today might not be quite so bad. She had hoped that maybe, just maybe, Vinyl really was an altruistic pony who allowed herself to be the villain at her own expense. Any hopes that Vinyl was hiding a good pony underneath her rough exterior had been brutally crushed as soon as they'd started on the music though. The increased intensity of the shouting had made it difficult for her to stick to the theory for very long.

"Seriously, is that the best you have? Haven't you ever been pissed off at somepony? I know you prissy society types like to hide your emotions and shit, but just hit me with it already! I'm not asking for a lot here."

Octavia paused, and stopped herself as she was partway through taking a deep breath. She slowly became aware of the emotions that were bubbling inside her, and now forced herself to stop trying to clear away the annoyance and tinges of hatred. She drew the bow back in her hoof, and plied it across the strings without her usual gentle touch. In her emotional state, with thoughts of anger and hatred towards Vinyl bubbling around in her head, she could hear the notes trembling slightly.

Still, she reined in the desire to stop and start over. The more she drew the bow across the strings, the more the furious emotions stormed inside of her. As she got more into the playing, her normally neat mane started falling down across her face. She didn't bother to fix it as she fell deeper into the music, and soon her mane was flying around behind her as she raged onwards.

The intense emotions continued to carry her away, guiding her hooves as she found more mental images of things she'd like to do to Vinyl playing through her mind. A mischievous smile broke across her face as she pictured herself punching a hoof into Vinyl's snout as hard as she could. She imagined seeing that perfect white face falling backwards with the trademark sunglasses cracked and flying off to the side. She watched as the imaginary Vinyl fell back in slow motion, flecks of blood escaping her nostrils, and the pupils of those bright-red eyes dilated in shock. The disturbingly clear picture that formed in her mind gave her a frightening amount of pleasure. She recoiled reflexively in horror as the images flashed through her mind again.

The bow across the strings hesitated. She created some uneasy notes as she tried her best to expel the violent imagery from her mind, completely shocked by how quickly her mind had turned to such thoughts. She managed to pass this off as a break in the turbulent storm, and timed it perfectly with a lull in the intensity of the song. Octavia took a few deep breaths as she shuddered slightly, and continued to maintain the gentle pace for a few more moments in an effort to regain her composure after such an uncharacteristic outburst.

Finally after feeling that she had herself at least mostly under control, she let herself get thrown back into the turbulent streams of the music. This time she was more careful about it, not allowing her mind to wander to such topics. Instead, she imagined trashing her apartment, bucking her legs out and smashing the horrible bed that tortured her spine every night. She went back to her fretful dance, her mane flying all around her even as she toned down the storminess of the piece a bit.

As she drew the piece to a close though, she couldn't keep her mind from wandering back to Vinyl. She imagined herself giving Vinyl a good buck in the flank and sending her tumbling as she dramatically drew her bow across the strings one last time. She supported the double bass with the least amount of contact that she could, so the final note could reverberate for a long moment before being silenced.

"W-where the bucking hell did that come from?" Vinyl asked breathlessly through the speaker, and Octavia looked up to see Vinyl with her sunglasses off and her eyes wide open in shock. "T-take five I guess..."

Octavia couldn't stop herself, another grin spread across her face as she watched Vinyl disappear from sight. She appeared to be shaking lightly as she walked. Octavia sat down in the chair behind her, and reflected upon what had just happened. Even with the happiness of striking Vinyl completely speechless, she couldn't help but be terrified by her own mind and the images it had conjured up. She was definitely going to have to be more careful in her interactions with her. She couldn't let those kinds of emotions brew inside of her, lest she wind up doing something terrible that she'd no doubt regret.

"I'm not sure what you did, Tavi, but it seems like you're winning after that one." Oliver stated simply as he walked through the doorway, startling Octavia as she looked up and saw the door to the recording room open without remembering seeing it do so. She blinked dumbly a few times at the stallion before finally understood what he was getting at. She accepted the usual cup of tea that he offered her and started to drink it, each slow slip helping to ease her tension.

"Yeah. I guess..." she said softly into the cup. She sipped once again on the rose flavored tea savoring it for a long moment before swallowing. "Thanks Oliver, I really needed this today."

"What did you even do? She looked like you punched her."

"I-I'd rather not talk about it right now..." she muttered into the cup and took another long slow sip. She winced slightly at his choice of words, and she saw the imagines flashing through her head again. Octavia shook her head suddenly to expel the thoughts. She then reached up to try and straighten her rather wild mane in an attempt to calm herself down.

"Well, let me know if you need anything okay?" he added reassuringly, again taking the empty cup from her. He walked out the doorway, leaving her to sit there and drift back to pondering over everything that happened. She sat there in silence for what, to her felt like it could have been an hour, in that weird way time can seem to stretch onwards. Eventually it was Vinyl who reappeared through the open doorway, and quietly cleared her throat.

"Yo, Octavia... That was, um... perfect actually. Thanks a ton. We'll be back to some of the more normal stuff tomorrow. Oliver will have the music for you on the way out." Vinyl said, a little shakily, but she seemed to have regained most of her composure.

Octavia gave a small nod, and packed her stuff up before striding right out the door past Vinyl. She held her breath for a moment as she walked past Vinyl, but nothing made contact with her as she walked out of the room. Her curiosity got the best of her, she turned briefly to look back to see Vinyl sitting on the chair staring dully off into distance. Octavia couldn't help but be slightly worried by Vinyl's reaction. There was no way that Vinyl had picked up on what she was imagining. She knew that unicorn magic couldn't do that, but she was filled with no less doubt as she strode out the studio. She held the music from Oliver in her mouth as she continued her walk and once again tried to clear her mind.

Her hooves carried her out of the towering white building, and onto the path that would lead her home. She was glad to be free of that horrible place. She feared that Vinyl was started to rub off on her. For the first time since she moved, Octavia was glad to be on her way home.

Chapter 4

Octavia stared at the door to her apartment with hatred swelling inside of her. As much as she hated her awful, stench-filled apartment, leaving it was quickly becoming an exercise in dread. None of her efforts to remove the smell had resulted in anything noticeable. This of course, could've been due to her lack of available budget towards the effort. Still, the outcome was the same; she attempted to spend as little time within the walls of her apartment as possible. That however, wasn't without its own problems; unpleasant encounters, awkward conversations, and general annoyance abound. Today she sucked it up and stayed inside, wanting nothing to do with any of it.

She tried to avoid thinking about her upcoming day at the studio, but found it nearly impossible. Not after the disaster of a session the previous day, remembering that was another reason for her choice to stay inside on this one. She spent much of day battling with inner demons she previously didn't even know existed. She was still shocked by the intensity of the hatred that had overpowered her from seemingly nowhere. Sure she hated Vinyl to the core, but she'd never thought herself the type of pony that turned to violence.

Octavia glanced over at the clock in her living room, and let out a quiet sigh. She couldn't remain here brooding over the frightful doorway any longer. She walked right up to the portal and heaved her instrument across her back, making sure it was steadied against her body properly, before she kicked the door open. She put a bit more force into the effort than what was required, but it made her feel a little better. She hesitated at the top of the stairwell; carrying her instrument up ten flights each day was bad enough, having to struggle with it back down said stairs was simply treacherous. One missed step could easily become an awful tumble; a terrible fall that would do permanent damage to her, or worse yet, her instrument.

She took the first step with trepidation. Nervous energy was bubbling inside of her and caused her to take the stairs more carefully today. She soon fell into a slow, careful stride down the seemingly endless flights of stairs. Octavia made sure to direct a meaningful stare to anypony coming too close to to her for comfort. One step at a time she made her way down, and exhaled in relief as she planted her hooves on the safety of the ground floor. She made a point of ignoring the ponies in the lobby, and strode proudly out the door with her head held high.

Once outside, she turned herself down the streets that would lead her towards her destination. As she walked, the changes in the buildings were hard to miss. The quality of the construction didn't change, for this was still Canterlot. It was more that the buildings were obviously maintained better the further she walked. As she drew closer to her target, they grew distinctly cleaner as well, and soon she saw the terrible white building looming in the distance.

Octavia didn't have time for her usual brooding, so she tried to force everything from her mind as she approached. She fought hard to stop herself from hesitating at the doorway. After all the time she'd spent dwelling on this place earlier in the day, she knew it would be best just to go in and get this over with. With that in mind, she resolutely pushed the door open, and trudged towards the elevator. She took a few calming breaths as the lift climbed towards the fifth floor.

She was aware of the fact that she was, once again, not quite as early as the first day she came here. She stopped and couldn't hear any of the usual dull shouting. Something felt wrong to Octavia. She lingered in the hallway, and stepped aside for a long moment to see if the cream-colored unicorn was going to dash past her again. Octavia felt bad that she didn't even know the name of the violinist, but for now it was more important that she didn't get bowled over. After witnessing the unicorn's dramatic exits, she wasn't sure she'd be noticed in time to avoid being crashed into. She tapped one of her front hooves on the floor as she waited. She didn't think she was so late that the violinist would have left by now, but it was a possibility.

Octavia checked the clock again, with the nervous energy returning to the forefront suddenly. Her hooves tap on the tiled floor impatiently a few times before she realized she was doing it and stopped. Her breath seemed to be coming in shorter more agitated bursts and she closed her eyes for a long moment willing herself to calm down. She took a few long slow breaths and focused on calming thoughts, preparing herself for what was to come today in the studio. When she was done her eyes flicked back to the doorway nervously after checking the clock again.

She jumped back when the door slammed open violently. She saw the cream-colored unicorn rush past her as she'd done before, sobbing the entire way with her white mane whipping behind her as she ran full tilt towards the stairwell. That door slammed open as well, followed shortly there afterwards with a disturbing series of loud crashes. Octavia winced at each one, and found her hooves guiding her towards the stairwell. That was not a good sound, and she found her imagination running wild as she approached. She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to see what had just happened, but she knew she was likely the only one to hear it. She gulped anxiously, and pushed the doorway open with clear hesitation.

She couldn't help herself as a deep shuddering gasp escaped her lips. Her pupils dilated at the sight of what she saw down the stairs on the landing. The unicorn was laying in a mess of limbs, and was splayed out with her neck at an awkward angle. Her violin cased had busted open and spewed its contents on and around the cream unicorn. Octavia could just barely make out the faint groans of pain as they echoed up the stairwell. The poor mare kept stirring trying to bring herself to her hooves, but shuddered, visibly in pain, with every attempt.

Octavia nearly dropped her instrument off her back out of shock, but caught the case with a hoof before it hit the ground. She let the strap slide off her back, and hastily put it to rest off to the side of the door. With that settled, she turned tail and dashed back down the hallway with a burning urgency as she raced to the studio door.

"Oliver! Where in the name of Celestia are you? Oliver!" she screamed frantically as she burst through the entryway in a clamor of hooves.

"Octave? What are you shou-" Vinyl started to ask with a perplexed look spreading across her face as she stared blankly at the earth pony.

"Get the buck away from me! Oliver! Come quick!" she yelled as she pushed past the other mare. She grabbed him with her hoof and dragged him out the door.

"What in th-"

"No time!" she exclaimed. Octavia shoved him ahead with her hooves once they were out in the hallway. She kept insistently urging him forward until he broke into a reluctant canter down the hall towards the stairs. She directed him to the doorway, and he burst through picking up on her sense of urgency. Octavia let out a frustrated grunt as he stopped at the top of the stairs to stare in shock. She rushed past him to sit next to the injured mare.

"Dear sweet Celestia what happened?"

"She was running out of the studio, sobbing like usual, and I heard her fall down the stairs. But that's not important right now. Go! Get her some help. I'll stay with her okay? Just go, now!" Octavia yelled at him, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible. She could have tried to help, or stood up more to Vinyl about it more. She could have done something.

She shot an ugly look at him and he finally nodded before speeding down the stairs. Halfway down the steps he simply leapt the rest of the way to the landing below. The sounds of his hooves echoed up the stairwell as they grew more distant. She heard him land with a loud thump a few more times before the sounds faded completely. She couldn't stop the tears as she looked down at the unicorn. One of her legs was clearly broken, and her neck was still at an awkward angle. Octavia was too scared to try and move her though; she knew that doing so could just make things worse. The only thing she could do was to run a hoof through the white mane comfortingly, offering her presence to the broken pony.

"Hush now. Help is on the way. Everything will be alright. I know it hurts... Just hold on a while longer, okay?" she whispered softly to the pony as she hung her head and mentally urged Oliver on.

"Seriously, Octapus what's going o-" started the last voice the gray mare wanted to hear right now.

Octavia turned and gave Vinyl her best death stare, causing her to stop dead partway through her sentence as she lifted up her sunglasses to get a better look down the stairs. Octavia saw Vinyl's eyes shoot wide open in horror as she locked her gaze on the two ponies below her. Vinyl shook her head stubbornly back and forth. She backed away and shook her head again, this time more violently, her mane whipping out in front of her face as she did. Vinyl's slow steps brought her up against the wall behind her, where she sank to the ground as she looked down at the floor, refusing to even look back at the two of them. Octavia pushed Vinyl and the surging anger from her mind in order to turn her attention back to the nameless unicorn still whimpering in pain next to her.

"I'm sorry. So sorry... Oliver will be back soon with help. Please, just hang on a bit longer," she whispered again softly, and kept up her soft stroking of the white mane.

After what seemed like ages to Octavia, she heard the sound of multiple sets of hooves echoing up the stairwell. She turned to look down the stairs hopefully, but they weren't in sight yet. Her attention went right back to the injured pony, and she shifted her position readying herself to get out of the way.

"They're coming now. Everything is going to be okay..."

She watched in pained silence as two unicorns in deep blue uniforms ran up the stairs. She noticed a red cross emblazoned on their right shoulders, and Oliver running behind them. A long canvas stretcher was levitated above them. She stepped out of the way after a moments appraisal, and wiped her tears away as she watched them lay the stretcher down next to the violinist carefully. With extreme care they the two ponies wrapped the broken pony in their magic to transfer her over.

Once they had safely transplanted the injured unicorn, they wrapped the stretcher in their magic and carefully raised it off the landing. With their precious burden in hoof, they began their careful descent. The two unicorns took practiced pains to keep the stretcher level to not disturb their passenger as they made their way down the stairs. Octavia watched the solemn procession for a long moment before moving to gather up the fallen instrument next to her.

"Get my bass will you?" she asked softly to the stallion beside her, and received a mute nod in response.

She finished gathering up the violin, the random music sheets, and the rest of the scattered contents. Once she had everything in order, she carefully shut the case and looked up to check on Oliver. He had the large case across his back, and was using his magic to steady it as he walked along uncertainly. She made a point to shoot yet another angry look at Vinyl, and turned to follow the other ponies down the stairs. When she glanced back again, she was shocked with to see that Vinyl was quietly following behind Oliver. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, to tell her that she wasn't welcome, but held back the urge. Octavia wasn't sure what Vinyl was playing at, but it wasn't like she couldn't have seen this coming.

Octavia was having a hard time keeping her rage under control. The fact that she was in a hospital room next to an occupied hospital bed was the only thing keeping her in check. She kept changing her mind on if she wanted to sit or not, and Oliver was periodically falling asleep and waking back up in the corner. The violinist, whose name had turned out to be Resonance, was asleep on the bed under the effects of some pretty heavy medication. One of her legs had been wrapped in a heavy cast, and was supported above her body to keep it elevated. A large brace was wrapped around the cream neck, though the doctors had yet to confirm any serious injuries to it.

She watched as the pony slept somewhat peacefully, and tried to stop mentally berating herself. It was difficult though; she couldn't help but feel that she should have reached out to the clearly distraught mare. It should have been obvious that this would happen, and so she felt that she might have been able to prevent this. It wasn't her own feelings of guilt that were driving the rage up to the surface again. It was the fact that Scratch even had the temerity to be here right now. She had started crying on the way to the hospital, and Octavia had barely believed it. Once they arrived, and the unicorn was finally put to bed, Vinyl refused to even step a hoof inside the poor mare's room.

Octavia had no idea what Scratch was playing at, but she knew she didn't like it. The looks of shock on Vinyl's face had definitely been sincere, but the fact that she wasn't in the room even pretending to apologize brought a sour taste to Octavia's mouth. It seemed to her that Vinyl was more upset that it had happened, and not about which pony it had happened to. This was the thought that was causing Octavia to bubble with anger. She glanced back out the doorway to see the foul unicorn still slumped against the opposite wall, wearing a miserable look. Octavia was having a hard time believing such behavior could be possible from anypony, even one as vile as Vinyl, but she could think of no other explanation.

Vinyl had refused to remove her glasses, though to be fair, that could've had something to do with the tears that could still be seen occasionally tracking their way down her cheeks. Other than that though, she hadn't said a single word to the poor mare through the entire ordeal. Oliver, though lost for words, had at least tried to say something to Resonance while she was stuck in bed. Even his stumbling, poorly-worded attempts at consolation were better than the stark silence from Scratch. However, she was soon started from her musings. A pony wearing a medical uniform strode into the room waited for to have their attention before he spoke up.

"Well, after full examinations and looking over our scans, it doesn't look like her neck took any serious damage. She'll need to keep the brace on for a while, but it'll be off by the time her leg heals. Still, it's going to be a bit rough, she'll be stuck in bed for a while. The best thing you can do for her is to let her get some rest, and come back to give her some company while she's alert. I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

Octavia nodded her head weakly in response. She was glad that Resonance was going to be okay. If her neck had been more seriously injured, it might've been that she'd never play again. At least now there was some hope that maybe the violinist could free herself from the grasp of Scratch. She looked across the room, and saw Oliver was once again asleep.

She quickly glanced out the doorway again, the doctor had spoken loudly enough for Vinyl to hear, and she saw her face awash with a fresh batch of tears. Vinyl's expression beside that was unreadable, though. Octavia heaved a long breath, strode out into the hallway purposefully, and gave the unicorn an unceremonious kick in the flank. When this elicited no response, she repeated it not quite as gently this time, "suggesting" that Vinyl really should get up now.

"Get up you big idiot," she grumbled barely audibly. Octavia kicked at Vinyl's flank a few more times until she gave up and straightened herself without a word.

They walked outside in complete silence, Octavia hung behind to make sure that Vinyl kept up her pace. She felt like a military pony leading a drill as she goaded the marching unicorn along. Every time Vinyl slowed down or hesitated she was met with another not-very-nice kick in the rear. Once they finally stepped outside, Octavia came to a halt, and Vinyl automatically turned around. She visibly prepared herself, setting herself into a steady position as she waited for what was coming.

"What the buck is your problem? That was the most disgusting display I've seen in a long time. You're not even going to pretend that you care about her? It seems like you're only upset that it happened in your building. Grow up, you miserable sack of shit," Octavia growled quietly. Even though she desperately wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, for some reason she held herself back. She let her voice come out as an angry whisper. Vinyl merely stood there quailing as if she was being chewed her out at the top of her lungs. A few more tears trailed down the white cheeks, her eyes still hidden by the trademark sunglasses.

"And take off those bucking sunglasses. If you really are torn up over this, then show it already, you awful excuse for a pony," she said through a growl. Her voice didn't increase in volume but instead in intensity, the change causing a visible flinch from Vinyl. Octavia punctuated this by snatching the offending shades off Vinyl's face.

"You are by far the worst pony I've ever met. You're worse than the newsponies and socialites who took pleasure in dragging my name through the mud. At least they had a purpose in mind; you were just enjoying breaking her down weren't you? This is all your bucking fault Vinyl, all your Celestia-be-damned fault. You screamed, and screamed, and screamed until she snapped. It was obvious it was going to happen too; I'd only seen her three bucking times and I could see that. How in Equestria did you think that she could handle it? Was it some weird bucking sense of pride?" Octavia continued, eliciting a wince from every swear she uttered.

"..."

"I don't know which is worse, the fact that you did it, or that I didn't stop you. I should have been more firm, but by Celestia's bucking crown, you're not ever going to do it again, you hear me?" she glowered and leaned in closer, staring fiercely into the eyes awash with far more red than usual.

"..."

"I asked if you bucking heard me, you horrible pony! Say something! Are you even sorry? Being upset that you might get sued doesn't count as being sorry either, Scratch!" she yelled, finally been pushed past her breaking point by the unicorn refusing to defend herself.

"I-I... I didn't mean for this to happen Tavi..." was all Vinyl managed to squeak out under the intense gaze. She directed her eyes down to the ground between them.

"That's still not a bucking apology, you useless sack of shit! You know what? I don't even want your bucking money any more. I would feel dirty getting paid by a monster like you. I'm better off living in squalor than relying on your tainted bits. Unless you can show some remorse, you're never seeing me again!" she growled with the volume of her voice shifting uncontrollably. Vinyl took several slow steps back, but Octavia didn't let her gain any distance. She strode forward each time, closing the gap whenever it opened up. She thrust her face straight back into Vinyl's and refused to let her escape.

"I know you're relying on me at this point, so you better come up with a good reason for me to ever trust anything that you say to me Scratch. I'm bucking serious. I didn't even think ponies as revolting as you even existed. After this display, you deserve to be thrown into a cell to rot. I should punch you in the face right now, you couldn't even deny that it would be merited it either. I won't lower myself to your level though. I'm going home. If you decide to try and make something worthwhile of your life and make up for this, let me know. I might decide to give you another chance," she said furiously, her voice dropping back to the angry growl. She kept her gaze so close to Vinyl that the unicorn quailed away, and held up a hoof protectively in front of her face.

"Now get your disgraceful self out of here. I'm going back for my instrument," she muttered, and followed it up by shoving Vinyl roughly with her front hooves. She tossed the sunglasses at Vinyl, who stumbled backwards several steps trying to recover herself. For a while she hesitated looking at Octavia, as if she was going to say something. This continued for a long moment with Octavia silently daring her to do it with a menacing look. Finally Vinyl hung her head in shame, and turned away to plod off into the distance.

Chapter 5

Octavia fought back the desire to let her face drop straight onto the table in front of her. Besides being unladylike, it would definitely make a spectacle of herself in the outdoor café. She wasn't entirely sure why she was here to begin with. The tea was far too expensive for everyday consumption, even more so now that she had to watch her spending. She had tried everything else within reason, though, and the expensive tea was her last resort. She was still extremely wound up from screaming at Scratch, and getting some cheap swill just wasn't going to cut it.

Coming here was still pushing her budget quite a bit, especially since she had screamed at Vinyl that she could keep her bits earlier. She heaved a long sigh, and stared at the tea balefully. She really should have been drinking it while it was hot, but every time she reached for it she found herself distracted by the events of her day. Disaster was the only word that seemed to fit. She should have demanded her pay, instead of walking out on the job completely. Without the bits from Vinyl, she might not be able to pay for the next month's rent, and that was before the tea.

Asking for the bits then leaving would have made too much sense, she admitted to herself with a sigh. She brooded on this for a moment longer, then finally picked up the tea cup in her hooves. Of course it was expecting far too much for her to make sense with anything she did these days. She finally tipped the cup back to her lips, and nearly retched as the tepid liquid rushed into her mouth. She fought back a cough, and put the cup back down with a clatter. She grumbled in disgust at the cold tea, and tossed the bits onto the table as she mentally berated herself for wasting so much time.

That was a decent chunk of bits gone, on top of the time wasted, and she didn't feel any better for it. If anything she felt worse. She was shaking slightly as if she had drank too much coffee, and was having a hard time standing still. She chalked it up to being consistent with the rest of the days events, and shouldered her double bass carefully. She sighed as she looked back at the wasted bits, then trudged her way back towards her apartment.

Octavia didn't really want to go back to her apartment, even if it was already later than when she normally headed home. The thought of walking into that horrible building was filling her with a keen sense of dread, especially when paired with the stark realization of being jobless. She was afraid that it was tantamount to walking into her own cell, and locking herself in. She didn't even know if she'd be able to find any decent work in time to save her. If she couldn't find even some small gig, she'd be forced into stooping to odd jobs just to pay rent. If that happened, it would be the end of her career.

The moment somepony saw her working any cleaning job, or any such menial labor, the Canterlot socialites would make sure she really never did get a job in music again. She sighed again, and trudged through the streets trying not to look at the buildings. She needed to start looking for auditions again, and that meant dealing with the sneers, and snarky comments. The insinuations to her character, asking if she was still playing foal's tunes. Worse than that, the ponies who flat out said no. The ponies who didn't even listen to a word she had to say, and rejected her on the spot were the hardest to deal with.

Octavia was made of tough stuff, she had to have thick skin in order to make it in the social scene of Canterlot. She could deal with ponies who said terrible things about her; she'd dealt with it in the past, and was still doing so now. It was just so difficult when they didn't even let you speak. If they insulted her, then at least they were talking. It was a hoof in the door, an opportunity to show them how professional she was, and maybe convince them to give her a chance.

She tried to push all these worries from her mind as she drew closer to her 'home.' For tonight, she really should just focus on getting some food, then a good rest. She was going to need it if she was going back on the job hunt again in the morning. There wasn't enough time to waste for her to take an entire day off, and she had already wasted most of a day after yelling at Scratch. She had been counting on the bits from Vinyl, if nothing else just to give her more time before she had to jump back into job hunting. She shook her head, and mentally berated herself for going back down that path again; she tried to keep her head clear as she resolutely began the slow climb to the tenth floor.

Octavia let out a loud groan, and rolled over as she tried to get rid of the dull pain in her back. This mattress was terrible, and caused her to have to shift positions every couple hours if she didn't wish to suffer such a fate. Her back wasn't hurting badly enough for that to be what caused her to wake up though. She wrinkled her face in confusion, and she tried to figure out the cause. Her eyes were stubbornly staying shut, but her ears perked up as she heard a series of loud, pounding, knocks on her door.

"Whoever the buck that is, they better have a damned good reason for waking me up at... four in the morning? Someone better be bucking dead," she swore darkly, and struggled to get her hooves out of bed and onto the floor.

She plodded along drowsily, with her eyes cracked just enough to see where she was going in the dark apartment. She pulled the door open suddenly without any warning, getting ready to give her best death stare to whoever it was. Her eyes slid slightly out of focus for a second, and her pupils dilated when she recognized which pony was standing in front of her. She had no issues contorting her face into an angry stare, and focused her eyes back onto the unicorn in front of her.

"What in the name of Celestia are you doing here, Scratch? Give me one reason to not slam this door in your face right now..." she warned under her breath with an intense tone of voice.

"Hey, I know now's not the best time, but I wanted to talk to you an-"

"IT'S FOUR IN THE MORNING SCRATCH, GO HOME!" she yelled, and threw the door shut with a loud slam that echoed down the hallway. She turned, but didn't get more than two steps before the wretched pounding resumed once again. This time, standing so close to the door, the loud noise reverberated through her entire body; and triggered a massive throbbing headache. She muttered dark swears about everything vile and unholy, then turned around to wrench the door open again.

"Damn it Scratch, go away! Didn't you get the idea that I don't want to talk to you?"

"Do you have any idea how long it took me to find this shit hole? Plus it's not like I could sleep. Either way, I'm not leaving until I've told you what I have to say. So can I come in or what?" Vinyl stated stubbornly.

"Fine, but I'm not getting you a coffee or anything, make it quick."

"Sure sure, it's not like you'd have good taste in coffee anyways Octobutt."

"You're on thin ice already Scratch..." she said through a grumble, and she finally stepped aside to let Vinyl through. She threw the door closed with a loud slam, then strode past the unicorn to throw herself on the couch.

"Dear sweet Celestia, you actually live here?" Vinyl asked with her mouth, and eyes wide open. She glanced around the room in shock, and then back at Octavia. Though the mood was tense she had to suppress a chuckle at the sight of Vinyl obviously fighting the urge to cover her nose with a hoof.

"Yeah, nothing like home sweet home..." she answered bitterly, and made a point of taking a long theatrical sniff. "If you don't mind can we get around to the point here? So maybe I can, you know, try and actually go back to sleep?"

"Err... Right, here," Vinyl stated simply, and produced what looked like a pouch full of bits. She floated it to the pony on the couch.

"What exactly do you think you're doing Scratch?" Octavia asked incredulously, and stared at the proffered pouch.

"I'm paying you, that should be quite obvious."

"For what? If this is some kind of hush money, then you can get out of my bucking apartment."

"What? No, I don't care what you said before, you worked hard. Harder than most of the ponies I employ, you earned your pay so just bucking take it," Vinyl insisted as she thrust the bag closer with her magic. Octavia eyed the pouch for a moment, but only had a moment of internal conflict before she snapped.

"I thought I already made it clear to you Scratch, I don't want your dirty money. I may be in dire need, but not so dire that I need your bucking charity. I quit already, the job wasn't done yet, and you told me you didn't like wasting time. So why the sudden change of heart? I don't buy it."

"It's not charity!" Vinyl said loudly, and thrust the pouch at the earth pony who swatted it away with a hoof, making it fly back at her.

"Listen to me! When I hire a musician, I generally plan on them getting frustrated with me and quitting before we can finish everything I plan out. I always make sure to have more content than what we're going to get through, do you understand what I'm saying here? It doesn't take a lot of music samples to remix into one song. I have enough from Resonance to make a song easily, maybe even a second one if I get creative. From you I could easily make an entire album," she explained as she turned and picked the pouch back up in her magic.

"You already did more than I expected, so just take the damned bits Tavi!"she added emphatically as she floated it back towards the gray mare.

"So now you're insisting that you underpay me? You don't make any bucking sense Scratch, are you even sorry for what happened? I haven't heard a single shred of remorse from you yet."

"Of course I am, Tavi" she yelled suddenly ripping her sunglasses off, and threw the bag of bits onto the couch with her magic. The action caused other mare to flinch slightly, and hold a hoof up in front of her face before she realized where the pouch went.

"Didn't seem like it earlier," Octavia said bitterly, as she reached over for the pouch of bits. She considered it for a moment.

"Hello? There's something called shock Tavi. I was still in disbelief that it even happened, I was struggling to process what even went down. I couldn't believe that she had been hurt so badly, and worse yet that it was my fault... Then you come out of left field screaming at me at the top of your lungs, yelling about how I'm a terrible pony. I didn't know what to say, okay? Either way, I don't care if you bucking believe me, just take the damned bits!" she exclaimed, and stamped a hoof on the wooden floor.

"Being sorry that she got hurt isn't the same thing as being sorry for causing it Scratch!" she exclaimed angrily, and threw the pouch at Vinyl full force. Vinyl barely managed to move her head to the side, and it flew past to burst open on the opposite wall. There was a loud thud as the half full pouch fell to the floor, followed by the clinking of several coins around it.

"Just listen to me damn it! I'm not bucking sorry for yelling at her okay? But I am sorry that I pushed her too far, I never meant to do that. Normally I can push ponies, but stop short of causing anything bad to happen. I am sorry that I caused it by pushing her too far, but I refuse to apologize for yelling. It was for her own damned good."

"Her own good?" Octavia demanded incredulously. "Yeah she's certainly WAY better off now Scratch. In the hospital. With her leg in a cast!"

"Will you stop being a stubborn ass and just listen? Yelling at her was for her own good because it's something she needed. I took it too far, and for that I'm sorry. The musicians I work with leave as better musicians, and they are better ponies to deal with Canterlot as well."

"Better ponies? Are you even listening to yourself Scratch? She's in the bucking hospital, and will probably have serious issues with trust once this is all said and done. Sure they learn how to work under stress, and maybe they are slightly better musicians but they are not better ponies. If anything they're worse ponies, they become cynics. You force them to take on a grim view of life, their craft, and this city.. I fail to see any of "for their own good" here."

"Maybe they should have a grim view of this awful city! You ever think of that?" Vinyl screamed suddenly, and a single tear slowly left its mark down her left cheek. Octavia reeled slightly at the sight, and examined the other pony closely. She had her face screwed up, and her eyes scrunched shut as she yelled back. She stamped her hooves a few times before she continued.

"Listen to me, not everypony is as lucky as you are Tavi. They're better off not thinking that this city is all hunky dory, and this is where dreams are made. Everypony seems to think just because the princesses live here, that everypony is nice, kind, and wonderful. News flash! They're not! This is a wretched excuse for a city. Its full of ponies that will squabble, fight, and do anything just to get a single smile, or even a nod from a princess." Vinyl kept her eyes shut as she ranted angrily. Another tear trailed down her cheek, followed by another one from the other side of her face. Vinyl shook her head and wiped away the tears with a hoof in an attempt to compose herself before she continued.

"This city is a battleground, nopony here cares about anything but themselves, and their own personal status. Anypony who doesn't isn't anypony at all. Those ponies out there will use you, abuse you, then toss you into the garbage pile. Anything to improve their own personal standing. This town doesn't give a single shit about anypony besides the royalty, and themselves. You should realize this after the way the media abused you," Vinyl added angrily as she stepped closer, and pointed a hoof at Octavia.

"Like it or not, I teach them all of this. When they leave my studio they know to only look out for number one. Maybe they shed a few tears in order to realize it, but in the end if they find out they're better off by themselves then so be it. Not everypony is so bucking talented that they can go straight to the top like you did Tavi. The rest of us have to plod through all the shit this town has to dole out in order to get there."

Octavia sat there for a long time, her eyes open wide in shock as she stared at the suddenly vulnerable unicorn in front of her. This wasn't the type of outburst she expected from Vinyl at all; it struck her speechless as she struggled to try and say something, anything.

"Vinyl..."

"Look, I don't want to talk about it okay?" Vinyl said firmly, holding a hoof out to stop the concerned look spreading across the earth pony's face. "Shit happened, I learned from it and moved on. I learned that nice ponies really do finish last in this town. So I stopped being nice, I look out for myself now, and in doing so I teach the new ponies a valuable lesson. I'm not sorry for yelling at her Tavi, I stand by my methods; but don't even try to say that I'm not sorry for causing it. I pushed her too far, and I regret it. I'm truly sorry that my actions caused her to get hurt like that, and I can't bear the thought that it could have ruined her career..." Vinyl concluded sadly, and wiped the tears from her face with a hoof.

"Are you sure you're okay Vinyl?" Octavia asked with concern dripping from her voice, even as she was conflicted on how to feel about this development.

"Sunshine, and bucking roses. Anyways, that's not the point. Your money is there." She gestured a hoof over to the mess of coins behind her. "You bucking earned it, so stop trying to give it back. No matter what you do with those bits, stop by the studio again okay? We can figure out another job for you. If you don't want to work for me, then I can probably find you something. A talented mare like you does not deserve to be lost in the slums like this..."

"Vinyl, what hap-"

"NO!" she yelled loudly and stomped her hoof again through tears. "You don't know me well enough to ask me about what happened okay!? I've said my piece. You claimed you wanted to sleep earlier, so I'll leave you to it Tavi," she answered angrily, then pulled the door open with her magic. Octavia winced slightly as Vinyl stormed out angrily, and slammed the door behind her.

Octavia sat there for a long moment, thoughts of wanting to go to sleep lost in the confusion over what just happened. Her eyes kept flashing to the bits scattered across the floor, and she contemplated everything that occurred. Over the top of every other emotion inside of her annoyance kept finding its way to the front. Vinyl wasn't supposed to be a regular pony like everyone else. She wasn't supposed to be vulnerable and have weaknesses. It made it harder for Octavia to dislike her, and that more than anything was the reason why she found herself grating her teeth silently.

It had been so easy before; Vinyl was a monster, she could channel all of her hatred into the mental image of Vinyl Scratch. Now though, Vinyl had forced her to rethink things. Her mental image of a gigantic evil white unicorn was starting to crumble around the edges, distinct cracks were making their way up her thoughts as well. Forcing Octavia to have to reconsider Vinyl was the most annoying thing that she could have done.

The longer she sat there and thought about the interaction though, the angrier she became. Vinyl had literally just strode in, thrown money at her, and then expected forgiveness just like that. She had a hard time believing that even a pony such as Vinyl would believe that she could be bought like that. Octavia wasn't even sure if those tears were genuine now that she thought about it, she'd known many a pony to fake crying when it was convenient. Now she was so pissed off at her that there was no way that she was returning to sleep. What kind of terrible pony did that kind of thing anyway? She strode around her apartment trying to vent the anger, but all that happened was she got more worked up and the mental images of the evil overlord Scratch solidified once more.

Octavia very nearly gave up and just made herself breakfast, but she hesitated with her hoof mere inches from the cabinet door. That would be giving in, that would be allowing Vinyl's mind games to get to her, she realized suddenly. She shook her head wildly and stormed off towards the bedroom. She wasn't entirely sure if she would be able to actually return to sleep, but she'd be damned if she wasn't going to try.

Chapter 6

Vinyl opened her mouth wide and yawned loudly as she paused her frantic pace around the apartment in her newest attempt to clear her mind. Random thoughts kept swarming around her head like a pack of parasprites, preventing her from calming down enough to even think about sleeping. Worries about Resonance, slight anger at Octavia, and memories that she really didn't want to deal with kept drifting in and out of her thoughts.

As she returned to pacing through the large apartment she had to step carefully through the different rooms to avoid the seemingly random stacks of papers and notes. To anyone else her apartment was a train-wreck. To Vinyl, though, there was an underlying system of organization hidden amongst the chaos. It made sense to her and she didn't care if anyone else knew what it meant, after all nobody else needed to know where things were.

The problem with the randomly placed stacks of paper was that they slowed down her pacing enough so that she wasn't able to keep up a frantic enough pace to actually clear her mind. After several more laps of her apartment she gave up and grabbed a more recent stack in her magic and threw herself on the couch. She found it difficult to sit still, though, her entire body was restless. The notes on the music only reminded her of the studio, and kept bringing forward mental images that she'd rather just push from her mind. Her restless limbs only seemed to fill her with a growing sense of annoyance which only made the desire to get up and move around worse.

Vinyl tried closing her eyes and covered them with her hooves as she took several deep slow breaths, but her chest tightened up and her breath started coming in short bursts as the feelings refused to subside. She couldn't understand why this was happening. She was supposed to feel better after visiting Octavia and paying her. Instead she felt even more agitated and apprehensive than she had been before she left. As if to punctuate that though the image of a brown stallion's face entered her mind causing her entire body to shudder reflexively.

She let out a foalish whine of frustration as she shook her head and tried to get that awful face out of her mind's eye. She pounded her hooves on the couch a few times in frustration when that failed but didn't really expect that to help a whole lot. Finally she tossed the stack of papers onto the floor in annoyance and curled up on the couch grumbling under her breath in frustration. All she really wanted at this point was some sleep. Everything else could wait if only she could get a little bit of sleep. At this point she wouldn't have long to rest before she would have to go to the studio anyway, but any amount would be better than nothing. She could feel exhaustion stealing over her body, but every time she tried to let it take over her body a new wave of annoyance filled her muscles with restlessness making her want to kick her legs out in frustration.

Vinyl let out a frustrated yell and stamped around the apartment whining like a little filly but she didn't care about how ridiculous she must look. Surprisingly it actually made her feel a little better, but she still doubted she would be able to actually sleep at this point. She stamped around the room a few more times before her legs nearly collapsed under her from exhaustion. Tears of frustration leaked out of her eyes as she weakly made her way to the bedroom and threw herself onto the covers. She clutched at the blankets and whimpered quietly under her breath as her entire body was screaming for sleep.

However her eyes were the last bastion of resistance. Try as she might she couldn't get her eyes to want to stay shut. They kept twitching back open every time she tried to relax. A few more tears of frustration rolled their way down her cheeks and she buried her face into the pillow as she clutched it with her hooves. She finally let herself break down into quiet sobbing as once again that awful brown face forced itself to the surface again. She shuddered slightly and curled up into the foetal position as she tried to will the face to go away, but all she managed to do was force her mind to think of other painful memories instead.

Memories that Vinyl thought she was done with kept surging forward as she heard echoes of herself yelling at Octavia that she didn't want to talk about it. Her tears of frustration slowly turned into genuine sobs as she clenched her eyes shut tighter and clutched the pillow around her head. Finally after crying herself to a state of even worse exhaustion she wiped her eyes and flipped the pillow around to the dry side. She came close to falling asleep once or twice only to have her eyes suddenly slam open as the face reappeared again. Right as she was about to give up and storm out of bed her eyes finally gave in and slowly closed, allowing her to slip away into an uneasy sleep filled with unpleasant images.

Vinyl winced as she removed her headphones. She was glad that she had told Oliver to take today off. He really didn't need to see her as she put her head down on the console miserably. Octavia was right: she was a monster. How could she have taken things this far? She turned her head sideways to stare at the headphones resting next to her on the studio panel. She could still hear her voice coming from it and she cringed slightly as she tried to ignore the sounds.

She usually didn't bother to stop recording while she yelled at musicians, it helped to have their reactions on record so she could gauge how they were doing. Apparently she hadn't really reviewed the recordings with Resonance, though. The farther she got into the recordings the less responses she heard from the violinist, and the worse her yelling got. It was clear that she should have been reviewing these recordings to try and get this back under control sooner. Vinyl winced as she heard another bout of yelling leak from the headphones next to her. She clearly had gotten carried away, lost track of her own shouting and didn't keep herself in check.

"Wow, what was that piece of shit?"

"Are you even a musician? What kind of lapse in judgement did I have when I hired someone as worthless as you?"

"And take the extra time to develop some competency at your craft you useless sack of crap!"

"You don't seem to ever improve at all do you? I figured that maybe you were just having nerve issues but if anything you're getting worse!"

"I don't understand how it's possible for me to make such a huge error in hiring somepony like you! Why don't you just give up and save everypony the wasted time?"

Vinyl cringed as the nastier snippets of her yelling rang through her head again, some caused by the headphones and others simply replaying in her mind. She walked out to the front of the studio to throw herself on one of the couches in the waiting area. She really should go apologize to Resonance, but she really wanted to see if Octavia was actually going to show up today. She highly doubted that the earth pony would, but it stood to reason that if she counted on it Tavi would show up and be angry at her for not being there.

Vinyl glanced over towards the clock, she still had several hours until Octavia's normally scheduled time. She could easily go to visit the hospital and be back in time. Maybe this time without everpony around she would be able to form the proper words in her head. Especially now that she realized how big of an ass she had made of herself. She wasn't even sure if Resonance would want to see her or not, though. If Octavia blamed her for the accident, then she could only imagine what the violinist must think of her now.

She dropped off the couch and fell onto her hooves as she left the studio to start walking towards the Hospital. With her mind made up to at least try and say something to the poor pony, she made her way out the building and hesitated at the welcome desk.

"Hey, I'm going to visit Resonance, if anypony comes for me tell them I'll be back in a few hours okay?" she asked to the receptionist in the air of someone not actually asking a question.

After last night, especially after having to deal with all those semi repressed memories surging forward she hoped that the pony didn't engender the same type of disgust towards her. Maybe it wasn't too late to stop it, she could try showing the pony some kindness. After all she had been improving at a pretty steady rate, Vinyl really didn't have to keep pushing her so hard. Maybe a change of pace would give her the encouragement to keep working harder.

More than that Vinyl didn't want to think that she was held in the same regard as the way she thought of that horrible stallion. Sure her former musicians hated her, but she didn't want to have the same nightmarish reactions associated with her face. She always told herself that they would be better off when she was done with them, but if Resonance visibly cringed at the sight of her then it going to be hard to keep telling herself that.

So apologizing wasn't that big of a deal right? She was just making sure Resonance didn't fear her and that she wouldn't be scarred by the incident. This was different from business as usual, so it was okay to apologize right? She kept trying to work herself up as she trudged through the streets of Canterlot and ignored everything around her. It didn't take long for her to find herself approaching the hospital and she felt a tightening sensation in her chest and her heartbeat quickened.

She made her way up the stairs and mulled over the words of what she could say as she came closer and closer to her destination. Everything around her was a blur except the path in front of her. She could see her destination drawing nearer as she walked down the clean hallway, but her eyes refused to focus on anything else. She felt her heart renewed its quickened pace and increased it by a step as she came to the door and found it closed. The soft sound of her heartbeat started to echo up her windpipe as she held her mouth open for a moment before she knocked and opened it. Vinyl barely looked into the room. She only looked long enough to see that this was in fact the proper room before she focused again on what she was going to say.

"Hi Resonance... I know you might not want to see me right now, but I wanted to apologize," Vinyl said weakly as she stepped up next to the bed and avoided looking directly at the pony.

"Well umm... I listened to some of our sessions earlier, I was going to look over the music to see what I could do with them. And well, I guess I didn't realize how far over the line I was until I listened to everything again. I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to be so harsh, I just got a little carried away I guess," Vinyl mumbled weakly. She looked down at the floor and scuffed a forehoof on the tiles as he hesitated and attempted to gather her thoughts.

"I guess I was just frustrated. I was trying to motivate you at first, you have a lot of talent and I wasn't seeing you use it fully. I didn't really realize how overly cruel I was getting because of that. I should have realized that when you stopped even talking to me I had taken it too far. I guess I just wanted to tell you that I don't think you're worthless." Vinyl sat down onto her haunches and looked up at the ceiling as she pondered how to continue.

"You've actually shown a lot of visible improvement while we were working together. I'm sorry for being so mean I honestly didn't mean to take it so far and I certainly didn't mean for you to get that upset."

Nothing? I guess she really does hate me..."

"I guess I really just don't want you to think of me as a horrible pony. You probably hate me and I can understand that. I really never intended for you to think of me as terrible, though. I don't want this incident and your time with me to scar you. You shouldn't have to deal with that kind of thing, you don't deserve to have nightmares over it. I guess I'm just asking you to forgive me? Even though I don't really deserve it that much..." Vinyl trailed off nervously and slowly turned her gaze up to see how the pony was reacting. Now that she had finished, she could finally bear to look and see what the response was.

"Very heart felt I'm sure," came a scathing voice from the back of the room before she could get a good look at the Resonance. Vinyl nearly fell over in surprise and held her chest with a hoof as her eyes shot over to a sleepy looking gray earth pony half curled up in a comfortable looking chair in the back corner of the room.

"But I'd suggest saving sentiments like that for when she's awake," Octavia said through a theatrical yawn. She stretched herself out and shifted into a more comfortable sitting position.

Vinyl stared at Octavia with her mouth open for several seconds while her heart pounded away in her chest before she turned to the bed. Sure enough the Resonance's eyes were shut and her breaths were coming soft and slow as she appeared to be slumbering peacefully.

"Celestia bucking damnit..." Vinyl grumbled under her breath and planted her face in a hoof as she sat back down on her haunches. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep, finally gave up and decided to come visit her while I thought things over. Of course I then fell asleep here only to be woken up by your little apology. Thanks for that by the way..." Octavia said through another loud yawn and Vinyl's eyes were drawn to the visible bags under the earth pony's eyes.

"Has she woken up yet?" Vinyl asked tentatively as she looked back with a look of genuine concern across her face.

"If she has I wasn't awake when it happened. Do you need me to fetch you some paper to write down another apology? I've helped many ponies practice speeches before. Maybe some speech exercises? Diction begins with the teeth and the tongue, diction begins with the teeth and the tongue. You should try and sound more shaky while you say it too, more convincing for the whole downtrodden apology if you sound uncertain," Octavia said while rolling her eyes.

"I could contribute a few more cliches as well. Personally I'd recommend hindsight is 20/20. OH, OH! You're only a pony, that's always a good one. If you knew what you know now you would have behaved differently? Or the best one yet... Mistakes were made," Octavia couldn't hold back the mischievous smile as she kept slathering the sarcasm on.

"I thought you said you didn't care how much they hated you when they left. Want to direct it a little bit more in my direction this time? Maybe get a good angle so your voice projects more clearly over in my direction and wakes me up. I can even pretend to be asleep again if you want, since you know she's asleep and everything. Did you really expect me to believe that was intended for her?"

"Y-you... I-I don't. YOU'RE IMPOSSIBLE!" Vinyl yelled in a huff and stormed out of the room. She slammed the door behind her and rested her back against the opposite wall as she sank down to the floor. She grumbled quietly to herself in annoyance as she took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself down.

"Well... she's awake now," she heard the sarcastic voice say from the other side of the door. "Hi there, I'm Octavia. Sorry about that."

Vinyl groaned inwardly and gave up. She got up and stormed down the hallway ignoring the scandalous looks from a passing nurse as she stomped her way out of the building. She could barely believe that pony. It was hard enough for her to even work herself up to say those things and all she got out of it was mockery. Vinyl put her face back into a hoof as she paused outside and tried to mentally force the headache that was forming to go away. She started to reconsider helping Octavia with finding another job as she stood there and pondered what to do next.

Chapter 7

Octavia winced as the door slammed in the wake of the retreating unicorn. She glanced over to the hospital bed as she suppressed a deep yawn. Sure enough, the unicorn resting in it was stirring slightly. She raised her hooves to rub at her eyelids before she looked around the room with a confused look on her face.

"Well... she's awake now," Octavia said loudly.

"Hi there, I'm Octavia. Sorry about that," she said in a soothing voice. She dropped from the chair to her hooves and walked over to the bed. Resonance's face seemed to be full of panic as she looked around rapidly, clearly not recognizing any of her surroundings. At the sound of Octavia's voice, though, she calmed down and slowly turned her face to look towards the earth pony. Octavia stopped her hoof halfway through the motion of reaching out to soothe the frantic pony. Instead, she put it to rest on the edge of the bed.

Resonance looked at her leg suspended above her and took a moment to stare at the cast. She then turned her head to look around curiously, taking in the room a little bit more slowly this time. A look of confusion spread across her face as she clearly attempted to figure out where she was. After looking all around the room and over at Octavia several times, her hooves reached up and touched at her neck with an air of curiosity as she poked at the soft padding wrapped around it. She tried to tilt her head down to look at it, but was limited in the action by the brace. After a moment she turned to look at Octavia again with a curious look on her face.

"Don't mess with that okay? Your neck isn't seriously hurt but the brace is there to keep you from hurting it worse," Octavia explained in a calm voice. "Just relax, everything is fine now. You're resting in the hospital." She reached out with her hoof to gently tug Resonance's hooves away from the brace then ran a hoof through the distraught pony's mane comfortingly.

"A-are you the one from the stairwell? I didn't get a good look at the mare, but you sound like her," Resonance asked hesitantly. Her eyes kept straying away from gazing directly into Octavia's eyes. "You're gentle like her too..."

"Yes that was me. I'm glad that you're okay," Octavia affirmed with a nod. "You scared me for a bit there."

"You didn't cry anymore, did you? I'm sorry to have troubled you, but you shouldn't have cried over someone as worthless as me..." Resonance said in a dejected tone. She attempted to roll away and curl her head inwards, but was largely unsuccessful due to the limitations of the hanging cast and brace. Instead, she satisfied herself with merely turning her head away from Octavia.

"What? Don't you dare say such things about yourself!" she nearly yelled at the poor unicorn before she calmed down. "You are not worthless. Don't you dare listen to a single word that monster of a unicorn says to you. She hired you because you're talented, remember that. She is not worth HALF of what you are," Octavia said fiercely as she glared at Resonance. She had both her hooves on the edge of the bed as she leaned forward her face glaring right into Resonance's and not allowing her to look away.

Resonance recoiled visibly and shut her eyes to block the fierce gaze. She took a few deep breaths and opened her eyes slowly. She hesitated then gave a weak nod of assent with a slight sniffle before she reached out to grasp Octavia's right forehoof. She tugged it gently and held it close to her chest with both of her hooves, then closed her eyes again for a moment, oblivious to the sudden change of expression on Octavia's face.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Just no more tears okay?" Resonance asked softly as she opened her eyes again to see Octavia slowly withdrawing her face. "They don't suit you.." she added quietly through a blush of increasing intensity. Resonance giggled at her own daring, and turned her face away as she could barely contain herself.

It took every ounce of Octavia's willpower to keep herself from yanking her hoof free and taking several large steps backwards. As it stood she was lucky Resonance's eyes were closed when she came to the stark realization of what was going on, it gave her a moment to compose herself. She restored her face to a passive look and closed her eyes as she gathered herself in an attempt to figure out how to escape. First step, she needed a way to get her hoof back.

"Okay, no more crying, I promise. Now I should go find a nurse and tell them that you're awake, okay?" Octavia had to try extremely hard to keep her tone friendly. She didn't want to sound like she was rejecting Resonance's attentions even as her entire mind was full of warning signals. Octavia yawned loudly again, as she attempted fight back the veil of sleep that was threatening to draw over her vision.

Resonance nodded and released the hoof after stroking it with hers one more time. Octavia tried her best to withdraw the appendage calmly and turned to walk out of the room. She tried to keep her steps even and calm as she was aware of the fact that the other mare's eyes were focused on her the entire way. As soon as she had her back turned, her face turned to one of panic as she swore inwardly at the turn of events. Sure she had acted rather tenderly, but she wasn't expecting that kind of a reaction.

She cleared her face of emotion once again, as she turned to shut the door gently. Sure enough, Resonance's head had turned so she could follow Octavia the entire way. As she stepped down the hallway miserably she went back to berating herself for her own behavior. Now that she thought back to the entire interaction between the two of them, both in the stairwell and in the hospital room, she couldn't really blame Resonance's reaction. She had been so focused on her hatred of Vinyl for doing such a horrible thing, that she hadn't thought to consider the implications of her own actions.

She swore some more in a muted whisper as she stalked down the hallway and pondered what the buck she was supposed to do now. Originally the plan was to hang around and intercept Vinyl before she could make another half-assed apology. That clearly wasn't an option anymore, though. Resonance would take Octavia's refusal to leave the unicorn's side the wrong way far too easily.

"Why can't anything be simple?" she sighed as she walked up to the nurse's desk and fought back another yawn.

Octavia's eyes slipped back into focus as she became aware that the doctor was still droning on and on to Resonance. She really didn't want to be here, but after bringing the doctor back she hadn't found a reason to excuse herself politely yet. She stifled a deep yawn with her front hoof as she tried to focus in on what the pony was saying but failed.

"Miss! I said you should go get some rest."

It took her a moment to come to her senses enough to look over and see that the last statement was directed at her. She tried to clear the exhaustion away with a shake of the head and turned her attention towards the doctor.

"I'm serious, my staff tell me you were here all night and you look like you're about to fall asleep on your hooves. Go home, she'll be fine. We don't want to have to admit you too, okay?"

Octavia gave a bleary nod and felt an immediate wave of gratitude towards the doctor for giving her a way out. She let out a relieved sigh and felt her body release a large amount of tension. She took a long slow breath and turned towards Resonance as she nervously made to wave goodbye with a hoof. She received smile in response and the unicorn waved a hoof towards the doorway pointedly.

"Good ni- morning I guess," she said through yet another deep yawn and started to trudge out of the hospital slowly. Despite what the doctor had said she couldn't afford to go home yet. As much as she wanted to sleep, so much that she didn't even mind the mattress waiting for her at home, she really couldn't. She had to make sure that Vinyl wasn't going to show up while she was asleep and wreak havoc with Resonance's emotions.

So for that reason, Octavia found herself trudging down the streets of Canterlot towards the studio. It didn't even occur to her that Vinyl might not be there until she was standing in front of the clean white building and staring down the record shaped door-handles. The fact that it had slipped her mind wasn't surprising given the fact that she couldn't even remember the walk to the studio. Her hooves had just carried her down the streets and she suddenly felt bad hoping she hadn't rudely caused anyone to have to sidestep out of the way. A flash of panic filled her mind as she realized that she was standing in front of the studio and didn't have her double bass. She shook her head to clear away the stupid thought and pushed the door open as she berated herself for her own silliness.

She walked through the entryway and actually stopped to consider asking the receptionist but passed the idea off quickly. The loud ding of the elevator doors startled Octavia to her sense as she struggled to even remember getting into the lift in the first place. She rubbed her eyes with her hooves a few time as she stood out in the doorway preparing to venture inside with another yawn. She gave the sides of her head a couple light smacks with her hooves for extra measure then pulled the door open.

A cursory glance around the entryway was all that was required for Octavia to find her mark. Vinyl was sprawled out across one of couches in the waiting area, laying on her side and snoring quietly. Her sunglasses were on top of a pile of magazines on the nearby table, and her head was resting on her foreleg as she lay there. Octavia debated on how mean she should be in waking the pony for a few moments before she walked forward and prodded Vinyl's forehead with a hoof.

"Vinyl..."

"Viiinyl," she called out a little bit louder and nudged at Vinyl's head a few more times making it loll back and forth.

"Wake up, Scratch!" she yelled into the unicorn's ear loudly and stamped her legs on the floor. The response was immediate, Vinyl straightened out like somepony had sent a current of electricity through her body and fell to the floor in a jumble of limbs. After a few grumbled curses and quiet groans she finally straightened herself out and stood up slowly.

"What'd you do that for, Tavi?" she grumbled with the hint of a foalish whine mixed in. Vinyl rubbed her eyes with a forehoof slowly before she turned to Octavia looking a little sour.

"Well, you didn't respond to my nicer attempts. I'm not here to exchange pleasantries anyway, so you got the direct approach. I need to sleep, I'm dead on my hooves," she said through a stifled yawn before she shook her head and continued. "The problem is I can't risk you going to the hospital and upsetting Resonance with another half-assed apology gone wrong."

"W-what?" Vinyl asked with her eyes flying wide open. Her mouth hung open slightly as she stammered a few more times before finding her voice. "Are you still on about that? I meant everything that I said. Why can't you believe me just once?"

"It doesn't matter if you did, Scratch!" Octavia yelled back and let out an exhausted sigh.

"What? Don't you realize how hard it was for me to apologize like that?"

"It doesn't matter, Scratch... Just shut up and listen. I don't give two bits if you meant it or not, the problem was your apology wasn't a bucking apology. I still don't believe that you meant it, but that's not the issue here. If you had let me finish explaining before you stormed out like a little filly then you might already understand." Octavia sat down on her haunches in front of the couch and waited for Vinyl to acknowledge her before she continued. Finally after her mouth opened and shut a few times Vinyl sat back down on the couch and gave Octavia a curious look.

"Listen, if you really ARE sorry then you can't say what you did. If you aren't sorry then you need a better fake apology anyway because yours was shit. You can't just walk in and apologize for the fact that she got hurt and not be sorry for yelling at her. We've had this conversation already Scratch. How is it possible for somepony like you to be so stupid? Did you really think that she was going to like hearing what you said to her? Did you stop to think about how that kind of statement would make her feel?"

"I told yo-"

"I said shut up and listen! I'm not done talking yet," Octavia said fiercely as she cut across the quiet protest. "I don't care what you believe about Canterlot and this whole thing supposedly helping her. That is not how life works, Scratch! You can't just apologize for the consequences of your actions and not apologize for doing them in the first place. That is the most foalish thing I've heard in my entire life. Stop and think hard for a moment Scratch, you hinted that shit happened to you in Canterlot, was it a pony that did it to you?"

"Y-yeah... but I still don't want to talk about it," Vinyl said meekly as she shut her eyes and looked away from the fierce gaze being directed at her. She shivered visibly after a moment and shook her head wildly as Octavia fought back a body wrecking yawn and struggled to keep her eyes open. Octavia had to shake her own head to gather herself before she could continue.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, now imagine the worst thing that anypony ever did to you. I don't care if it's that pony or not. Now imagine if you ran into them in the street tomorrow. You'd be upset yes? Now imagine that they stopped you and apologized for the fact that they made you feel bad. That's it. No apology for their actions, just that they made you react so poorly. Are you getting where I'm going with this Scratch?" Octavia persisted even though she had to fight through a yawn to say the last part. The edges of her vision were starting to melt away and she kept hearing her own words echoing back inside her head. She had to speak more slowly and deliberately to make sure she said what she meant to.

"Are you okay, Tavi?" Vinyl asked. The sudden halt in her fierce tone as it gave way to a powerful yawn caught Vinyl off-guard.

"I'm f-fine... Do you get what I'm saying here, Scratch? You didn't answer me, how bucking mad would you be if they did that to you? What would you do?"

"I-I'd... probabaly kick the crap out of him again."

"Exactly! Do you get what the problem is now, Scratch? If you're going to apologize, you need to bucking apologize. You can't half-ass this; I'm not going to let you do that to her. I may not have been able to stop what happened by yelling at you sooner, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to stop you from making this worse," Octavia said fiercely as a wave of adrenaline surged through her and gave her the energy to persist. She leaned her face in close to Vinyl's as she glared to make her point.

"I guess you're right..."

"Of course I'm right! Now here's what we're going to do: you're not going to the hospital to visit her unless I'm with you. You can pretend to apologize if you wish, but only if you make a good show of it and apologize for yelling at her. Now promise me that you won't go off and do anything stupid on your own."

"Y-yeah I promise..." Vinyl said shakily as she turned her gaze away from Octavia's, directing her red eyes away as they started to shimmer slightly. Vinyl shut her eyes and covered them with her hooves as she shook her head softly a few times.

"G-good... Now if you'll excuse me I need some bucking sleep," Octavia said through an even louder yawn that seemed to suck all the energy out her muscles. Without the sudden surge of adrenaline she was left feeling even more exhausted than before. She slowly stumbled to her hooves and shakily turned towards the doorway.

A strange sense of curiosity filled her mind as she noticed the edges of her vision going black. She wasn't really worried by the sensation, but instead it forced her to look even more curiously at what was left in the center. She stumbled towards the doorway as she heard Vinyl's muffled voice behind her but couldn't make out any of the words. They didn't matter anyway, she was too focused on the sound of her hooves echoing on the floor in front of her and walking towards the door. She walked right up to it and pushed it open with a hoof as a light buzzing sound filled her ears.

She only made it a few steps into the hallway before her legs buckled under her and she was surprised to not feel any pain as she fell to the floor. Instead it felt oddly soft, strangely comfortable in fact. She yawned one more time in a desperate attempt to pull herself back up to her hooves, but her eyes fluttered shut and refused to open again shortly afterwards.

Octavia let out quiet groan as the first thing she became aware of was the screaming pain in her muscles. The next thing she noticed as she opened her eyes was the strange swirl of colors in front of her. She couldn't make out what she was staring at, but it was fascinating. All other thoughts left her mind as she focused on the object in front of her and tried to figure out what it was. As she focused her gaze intently upon it she could see the object slowly start to sharpen as her eyes slipped back into focus. The entire process seemed to take ages, and her eyes eventually focused on a large white shape in the center of the swirl of colors.

She couldn't tell if it was a pony, but she was intrigued. She was oddly aware of how surreal this entire experience was, it was like knowing that she was dreaming and it jarred her slightly. She couldn't help herself though, it was fascinating, especially since it seemed to be taking ages for her eyes to normalize. After what seemed like a solid ten minutes her eyes finally focused enough to figure out what it was that she was staring at. Her eyes flicked across the nonsensical pattern of colors once again just to be sure and tilted her head slightly to the side causing another eruption of soreness from her muscles.

She groaned and reached a hoof up to rub her neck. More pain was all that greeted her, and she cursed herself for the dumb idea. The question was why had she been staring at a wall seemingly plastered with concert posters. They were layered over each other in a manner such that the title of the band or show wasn't always visible. In the center of the wall though was one giant poster with a white unicorn on it. Her purple sunglasses and two-toned, neon blue hair made it immediately apparent who it was, but Octavia's eyes kept wandering across the entire creation slowly. She couldn't quite figure out what the purpose of having such a gigantic collage on a bedroom wall was.

Octavia's mind stopped and spun in place as her thoughts honed in on that word. Bedroom... She was suddenly shocked to her senses as she looked around fervently to confirm it. She was tucked into a bed she couldn't remember having seen before. A moment of horror filled her, but she was alone and the pillows next to her seemed undisturbed. She turned her head around to look around the room again curiously, this time taking in the finer details. There were a few random mechanical parts piled on top of the dresser. A few records both in and out of their protective sleeves were scattered around the room randomly, as well. She was clearly in Vinyl's room, but she couldn't figure out why.

As Octavia thought about it, she slowly became aware of the fact that she had collapsed in the hallway after trying to storm out of the studio. That didn't explain why there was no sign of Vinyl though. The answer to that question came shortly afterwards when she heard a soft snore from below her. She leaned over towards the edge of the bed ignoring the sore muscles protesting all over her body she looked down at the floor next to her.

The carpet looked soft and plush, and resting on top of it was the curled up form of the white unicorn she'd just finished yelling at. Vinyl once again was resting her head on her forelegs and was curled up in the closest approximation of a ball that her pony body would allow. Every few soft slow breaths, a quiet snore passed from the unicorn's lips, and her mouth lolled open as she slept.

Octavia stared at the pony in disbelief. Had she really been so exhausted that Vinyl was able to carry her off somewhere and tuck her into bed without being woken up? Then to top it off, Vinyl had fallen asleep next to the bed instead of going to sleep on the couch, like she already knew Vinyl was capable of. It didn't make any sense to Octavia, the thought that Vinyl was trying to score bonus points with her flashed through her mind. She tossed the idea around and that was all that made sense. Vinyl was clearly just trying to make her feel grateful for a minor act of kindness.

Even as she became more convinced of Vinyl's intentions, she couldn't stop the small smile that crept into the corners of her mouth. As she watched Vinyl roll over and reposition herself on the ground she couldn't help but notice the light shakes of the tail, her rear legs twitching slightly every now and then, and a hoof that reached up to scratch the side of her muzzle tiredly. The way the unicorn slept, and left her mouth lolling open as she snored quietly, reminded Octavia strongly of a young foal.

She was shocked that such a horrible pony could do something so intrinsically cute, and hung her mouth open in disbelief. Her body took this opportunity to force another loud yawn from her throat, and she groaned softly as she was forcibly reminded that she was still exhausted. After another short struggle, she gave in and decided to deal with all the questions later as she put her head back to rest on the soft pillows and allowed her body to carry her back off to sleep.

Chapter 9

Octavia welcomed the silence that fell between Vinyl and herself, as they trudged down the streets back towards the hospital. The stark silence between them meant that either Vinyl had given up, or she was marshalling a new tactic. Octavia was certain that it was the latter, as she knew Vinyl to be far too stubborn to give up so easily.

She wasn’t sure what Vinyl’s new angle would be, though. She would just have to keep her wits about herself to be sure that she caught it in time. She couldn’t stop herself from pondering the possibilities as two of them silently paced inside the hospital. Each thought seemed more unlikely than the last and she was soon forced to give up. The two of them drew some odd looks from the staff as they went, the way Octavia was sternly pacing behind Vinyl, seemingly marching her forward, was an apparent oddity. Octavia ignored them, though, and they were soon walking down the long hallway that lead to Resonance’s room.

Vinyl stopped at the threshold, and stared at the door in front of her. Octavia waited impatiently as the unicorn took a few long slow breaths. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking that this must be what she looked like each time she hesitated in front of Vinyl’s building. All that thought did was strengthen her belief that Vinyl didn’t want to be here doing this right now. Clearly, she was only doing this because Octavia was forcing her, and Vinyl would probably never visit again.

Once Resonance was better she could probably move on to better projects and not have to worry about it, so to Octavia it didn’t really matter if the apology was sincere or not. The only thing that was important was to get Vinyl’s strange urge to apologize out of the way without hurting Resonance in the process.

“Whenever you are ready, Scratch,” she finally said after a few more moments of hesitation from Vinyl.

“Yeah, yeah, give me a few more seconds, okay? I suck at apologies. I need to gather my thoughts.

“Yes, I noticed the first time. Don’t screw it up this time, alright?” Octavia urged with a quiet sigh. She leaned sideways against the wall and continued to wait for Vinyl.

“I’ll try, Tavi,” Vinyl said with uncertainty dripping from her voice. She took a few more deep breaths, and then reached out with a hoof to open the door slowly. She peeked inside the room tentatively, before she stepped inside quietly.

“Are you awake?” Vinyl called out in a half whisper, as she disappeared through the doorway.

Octavia straightened up and followed the unicorn inside, letting the door shut softly behind her. She heard Resonance give a quiet noise of assent, and made her way over to the chair in the corner to observe.

“Hey, Resonance, I know you probably don’t really want to see me right now. I’m actually here to apologize, though, so hear me out,” Vinyl started. She gulped visibly, and glanced over towards Octavia in the corner before she attempted to continue.

“I’m no good at apologies, okay? But I’m going to try and say everything I’m thinking, and hopefully you’ll get the idea.” Vinyl sat down on her haunches next to the bed, and seemed to be having a hard time keeping her gaze directed at Resonance. Her gaze kept flicking down towards her hooves, then back up to the bed.

“I’m sorry, for all of this. It’s completely my fault. I shouldn’t have yelled at you the way I did. I didn’t really stop to think about what I was doing until I was listening to the recordings of our sessions. Once I did, then I felt pretty bad about it. The things that I said were really harsh and way over the line. I shouldn’t have kept yelling at you when you clearly weren’t taking it well either,” Vinyl said weakly, and her gaze remained directed at the ground as she scuffed at the tiles with her hoof lightly.

“I guess I just got carried away. I know that’s not a very good excuse, but I was just frustrated. I wanted a way to motivate you, because you have a lot of talent. You showed it at your audition, but I wasn’t seeing you use it in the studio. Yelling at ponies has helped in the past, and so I figured I’d try it with you. I thought that if I could get you angry enough, then you’d stand up to me and show me how good you could really be. Which is alright, but I was being too thick-headed to realize I was getting the opposite reaction of what I wanted.”

Vinyl let out a quiet sigh, and risked a glance over towards the corner once more. Octavia shook her head, and shot a pointed glance back to indicate that she hadn’t said enough. Vinyl responded with another slow, deep breath and turned her body back towards Resonance. It appeared as if she was trying to look up towards the unicorn in the bed, but just couldn’t quite do it.

“I’m sorry, if I hadn’t been so stupid, or realized how cruel I was being, then you wouldn’t have been hurt. I guess I should tell you that I don’t think you’re worthless, either. I’m trying to fix my horrible attitude, and I don’t want you to think of me as a horrible pony. You probably hate me, and I can understand if you do. The point is you shouldn’t let it rankle inside you. Carrying hatred around for somepony like that can do really bad things to you. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience on that one,” Vinyl continued and kept drawing little patterns on the tile floor with her right forehoof.

Octavia quirked an eyebrow at Vinyl at the last statement, but she wasn’t paying Octavia enough attention to notice it. Vinyl was doing an impressive job of making this sound sincere. If she didn’t know better, she might have reconsidered what she thought of Vinyl. It would work better if she hadn’t just yelled at Vinyl to do a good job of it, of course, but she hoped Resonance was taking it well at least.

“You don’t deserve all the trouble that comes with carrying around hatred like that for a long time. So I guess, I’m asking you to forgive me, even though I don’t really deserve it that much. If you can find it in yourself to do that, then you’ll still have a job open in my studio if you want it. Focus on getting better, and if you want it just show up whenever. I promise I’ll work on the yelling while you’re recovering, and try to be a better boss for somepony like you. I should be nurturing your talent, not abusing it.”

Octavia’s jaw hung open slightly as she watched Vinyl continue her exposition. She had nearly cut out all of the clichés, and the refusal to make eye contact really helped with the tentative feeling. She watched as Vinyl finally attempted to make eye contact, looking up towards Resonance, only to see her looking almost as shocked as Octavia.

Octavia’s pleasant surprise quickly turned into annoyance and anger, as Vinyl let out a quiet sigh before she pushed herself up to her hooves. Octavia was beside herself, she wanted to hang her mouth wide open, and grind her teeth together in frustration at the same time. She watched as Vinyl turned around and stalked out of the room without saying another word, her head hanging the entire time.

She was surprised that steam wasn’t leaking from her ears, and after a quick glance over towards a still shocked Resonance, she stalked out into the hallway after Vinyl. Octavia saw her march down the hallway still walking slowly. Vinyl kept her head down as she approached the stairs, and Octavia took the few moments of walking down the hallway to gather her thoughts. She sped up to a canter as Vinyl walked out the front door, and sped up to a run to catch Vinyl before she could get away.

“What the hell was that Scratch?” Octavia demanded suddenly, thrusting her face into Vinyl’s roughly.

“What do you mean? It was an apology. A proper one. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”

“No, not that you great big idiot, why did you get up and just leave like that?” Octavia demanded, trying her best not to just storm off in frustration. “You were doing so well, it seemed like she was believing your crap, then you just suddenly get off and leave? Are you mental? Why did you have to ruin it by just leaving without saying anything?”

“What? What in the name of Celestia do you mean by “believing my crap?”” Vinyl demanded loudly, thrusting her face back into Octavia’s suddenly.

“You heard me, I don’t buy that you’re being sincere right now. The whole, walking out of the room with your head hung low, while she watches you go bit? Really? You went with that? I already yelled at you for hamming it up, and you chose to do that. Pathetic.”

“I got up and left because she was clearly confused. I didn’t want to pressure her by sitting there expectantly. So I got up and left so she could have some time to think on it. Did you even think of that?” Vinyl demanded leaning forward slightly.

“Oh, right, you were being altruistic. Next you’re going to tell me that you offered her a job from the kindness of your heart. Yeah, that’s not going to work, seeing as I had to pressure you into agreeing to do it in the first place. How stupid do you think I am Scratch?” Octavia shot back, furrowing her eyebrows as she held her ground.

“Oh for the love of Luna! You are hopeless! Utterly hopeless. I can’t belie-”

“Oh shut up with the dramatics, Scratch. It’s not going to work on me. It doesn’t matter anyway, you didn’t screw up the apology too badly this time, so she’ll be fine,” Octavia said sharply, cutting across the dramatics.

“No! You will listen to me for once! I’ve had it about up to here with your crap Octavia. All you’ve done since she got hurt is scream at me about everything I did wrong. You know what? You were right, so that’s the only reason I haven’t put my hoof down before now. Not anymore, though, you are going to listen to me now. I’m done putting up with your insinuations of my ill intentions,” Vinyl said fiercely.

Her tone dropped to a harsh whisper as she stepped closer to Octavia. She furrowed her eyebrows, and her red eyes glinted with ferocity that Octavia couldn’t recall having seen before. She couldn’t stop herself from slowly stepping backwards at each sentence, but Vinyl closed the gap each time. As Vinyl continued, Octavia realized that she had never actually seen Vinyl truly angry until now, and it terrified her as she quailed under the intense voice.

“I’ve done every single little thing that you’ve asked, no demanded of me, and you still refuse to budge an inch. You think I’m garbage? You don’t trust me? You think I’m the worst pony in this damned city? Fine! I'll act like it then, you're bucking fired!” Vinyl suddenly yelled, thrusting her face closer, her nose inches from Octavia’s.

“I don’t care anymore; you can rot in your hellhole. You can have a blast fuming about how much better you are than everypony around you. It seems to me that you enjoy your superiority complex, so I’ll do you a favor and let you keep living in a place where you’re clearly better than everypony around you. No, no need to thank me, it’s bucking charity work. Chalk it up to making my apology mean more,” Vinyl said with malice, and leaned further forward. Octavia backed right into one of the columns supporting the overhang outside the hospital, and slowly sank to her haunches.

Octavia quailed some more under the fierce gaze as Vinyl refused to back off. She leaned her head down as Octavia fell, and the way that she glared was something completely different from the yelling. The only word to describe it was terrible. Those bright red eyes, which previously only glinted mischievously at the worst, were shining with pure anger. It was just wrong, she couldn’t describe why, but seeing Vinyl’s entire face contorted in the strong emotion just made her not look like Vinyl anymore.

After a long staring match Octavia finally shied away and broke the intense gaze. She turned her eyes towards her hooves and blinked a few times, having a hard time holding back the tears from her eyes. She couldn’t really explain why. It must have been something to do with the thought of being stuck in that awful apartment building forever. It was enough to make her whole body shake lightly. Visions of having to work as a janitor in some rundown building kept flashing before Octavia’s eyes, and they shook her to the very core. She shook her head back and forth slowly as she tried to make the bad thoughts go away.

“That’s right, you get it now. Too bad it’s too late isn’t it? Did you know that I felt sorry for you? Here you were, the most talented mare I’d ever seen come into one of my auditions. You were clearly down on your luck. I knew what happened, everypony in Canterlot did. Silly me, though, I figured you just got the bad end of the publicity stick. I thought you just annoyed the wrong pony and that they’d gotten their revenge on you. It all seemed a little unfair for the scope of what had happened, but now I can see why. It’s your bucking attitude Octavia. I figure you can reap what you’ve already sowed,” Vinyl concluded. Octavia looked up to see Vinyl’s backside retreating into the distance, disappearing into the streets of Canterlot.

The sight of her literal last hope fading into the city was enough to do it. The sense of hopelessness that crashed over her was just too much for her to handle. Not even the bits she had earned from Vinyl so far would be enough to keep her going long enough to avoid the foregone conclusion. Octavia was doomed to a life of squalor. She would never have the comforts of her old home again. Worse yet, she would never have the joy of playing her instrument in front of other ponies for a living again. With that stark revelation she fell forward and rested her head onto her forehooves. She stopped fighting it and let the hopelessness crash over her.

The first tear that leaked down her face was like the crumbling of a dam. A wall of emotion that she had constructed long ago fell away suddenly. All of the tears and sorrow that she had been stubbornly holding back since the gala overwhelmed her, sending her into a deep sobbing fit. Her entire life was truly and finally crashing around her. There was no escape now, and every tear that fell down her face like a physical blow to her body as she realized that she was utterly screwed.

She no longer heard the myriad of sounds around her. Despite being outside of a noisy hospital, she was completely alone. She became slowly aware of the strange sense of spinning in place, but her eyes were too solidly shut for her to rectify the matter. It didn’t matter anyway. Let the spinning take her off someplace far away from here. Someplace where nothing would matter anymore, maybe she could just start over. She didn’t care, the tears kept flowing down her face and she realized that it didn’t matter anyway. Anywhere was better than this hell of a city.

Her self pity fell to a new low as she lay there sobbing and wishing that some magical force yet undiscovered would just carry her away. Everything seemed to enter a timeless moment, and she lost all track of how long she had been laying there. She felt a hoof nudge against her side, and suddenly the magic was gone. The hoof wasn’t very gentle, but it pushed against her shoulder in a way that implied it was intended to be. The effect was enough, she sniffed a few times and struggled to reach up with a hoof so she could wipe away the tears. It took her a few more attempts to finally clear the tears away enough so that she could open her eyes.

Octavia was immediately greeted with a blurry view of the world. She had to blink several times, and wipe her eyes a few more times before she could clear it enough to turn her attention to the other pony. There was another slightly gentler nudge at her shoulder, and she finally managed to turn upwards with a look of annoyance. She might as well figure out who it was who had come to pity her. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw, though. Her mouth fell wide open, and she blinked a few times shaking her head before she was ready to acknowledge who it was.

Standing above her, wearing a look of exasperation, was Vinyl Scratch. One of her hooves covered her face, and Octavia could see her shake her head softly a few times before she finally opened her mouth to say something. It took Vinyl a few tries, and Octavia watched the white muzzle open and shut before Vinyl found her voice.

“One more… You get one more chance. You were still right about the way I treated you and Resonance. So after the way you treated me, we’ll call it even. So you get one more chance. Don’t think that bursting into tears will work again, either. I’ll let you come back and work for me, but you have to acknowledge that I am allowing you this favor. You are continuing to work for me because I am being kind enough to allow it. Don’t forget that Tavi.”

Vinyl finally dropped her hoof, and stared pointedly at Octavia. The malice was gone from her eyes, and in its stead was, if anything, worse. She could make out the vaguest hints of pity shimmering behind those red orbs above her. She grudgingly managed a nod, as she fought to hold back the budding sense of hope.

“That means no more implying that I’m a heartless bastard. There are things about me that you don’t know, and you won’t know until you start acting nice enough for me to tell you. I’m not going to the effort of explaining things unless you show it’s worth my time. I don’t have anything to prove here so I’m not going to spill my life story just to make you feel better. If you can’t get past this, then we’re done and you can leave now. I don’t have to do this, and part of me doesn’t want to. So keep that in mind next time you start thinking of me as the worst pony around,” Vinyl concluded and turned around suddenly.

Octavia stared after her, a look of shock and confusion plastered across her face. She felt like she should say something, but her mouth was refusing to work. Vinyl took a few steps away in a huff, and then stopped for a second.

“I’ll see you the usual time tomorrow, Tavi.”

Chapter 10

The sound of her own hoofsteps echoing down the narrow hallway filled Octavia's ears. The sound was so loud that it forced the confused thoughts from her mind. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was walking back through the hospital. The only thing she knew for certain was that she did not wish to return home. The thought of returning to that hellhole so soon after her moment of weakness, actually caused her to halt her march and shiver from head to hoof. With that very clearly decided in her mind, she resumed her slow walk back to Resonance’s room.

The door was still open when she arrived, so she pulled it shut with a quiet click as she made her way inside. Resonance had in the meantime fallen back asleep, her head resting amongst the pile of pillows stacked up around her in bed. Octavia didn’t really feel like talking, so seeing Resonance asleep was a boon. The cushioned chair in the corner looked more welcoming than it had before, so she nestled herself into it and stared aimlessly out the window.

Perhaps it was true that she could have taken it easier on Scratch. It could also be said that she might have gone slightly overboard with the way she had treated the unicorn. Still, it was difficult for her to translate these statements into Vinyl’s loud and angry tirade. The more Octavia thought about it, the more the urge built up inside of her to lash out and kick something.

“She even said that I was right about the way she had behaved…” Octavia grumbled as she began to scowl. “If she had said that I was right, maybe I would have believed her when she said she was sorry. Is it really that much for me to ask for her to be mature and own up to her mistakes? I would have treated her better if she had just acted like a grown mare…” She let out a quiet sigh as she stared out the window for a few minutes.

“Who the buck does she think she is anyway?” Octavia snarled. “She went on and on about how I shouldn’t assume that she’s so terrible, then she turns around and says I hate everypony else?”

“Who are you talking to, Octavia?” Resonance quietly asked from her bed. Even though the question had been gentle and a little tentative, Octavia couldn’t stop herself from jumping slightly before she turned around.

It took a lot of willpower for Octavia to choke back a groan when she realized that Resonance was actually awake, and, more importantly, that she had actually been talking out loud. She pushed back the panic for a moment to gauge Resonance’s reaction. She was still giving Octavia a look of confusion, but thankfully it seemed that she hadn’t heard most of it.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Octavia snapped defensively. “I’m just a little annoyed. I’m sorry I woke you up; I didn’t realize I was thinking out loud. Go back to sleep,” Octavia managed to finish in a gentle tone, and then turned her glance towards Resonance.

“What did Vinyl do? That’s who you were talking about, right?” Resonance asked simply. She appeared to be blissfully unaware of how much her words seemed to cut straight to the bone.

“Erm, yes, I was referring to her. You needn’t worry over it, though,” Octavia said before she turned back to the window and stared out it for a long moment.

“What happened? She seemed so sincere when she was in here before. I could barely believe it... Why did you come back in here growling about the way she treated you?” Resonance asked with an insistent tone that reminded Octavia of a filly questioning her parents’ logic. To make things worse, she turned her head the small amount that she could in order to look at Octavia.

Octavia had never really understood why ponies sometimes refer to being able to cut the tension with a knife. She could never really envision a situation that bad; even the stark silence after the fiasco at The Gala hadn’t measured up to it. However, the silence that fell between them now, as she pondered how to answer the shockingly simple questions, made her rethink her views on the matter. She stared right back at Resonance, and found herself incapable of answering the many implications piled into the innocent questions.

“Are you saying that she didn’t mean it? I knew she wasn’t a very nice pony, but I didn’t think of her as the type to lie to my face like that…” Resonance said, with a hint of despair creeping into her voice and expression. “She sounded like she was sorry.”

It once again took all of Octavia’s self control not to panic and blurt out the first thing that came to mind. Resonance seemed to have noticed the flash of expressiveness that cut across Octavia’s face, though, and she raised an eyebrow as she awaited clarification. That, if anything, only made things worse for Octavia. She was already having a hard time neatly filing her thoughts away. Everything she had striven towards seemed to be crashing down around her. This entire episode with Vinyl and Resonance had centered on her desire to prevent the injured unicorn from feeling hurt by a botched apology. Yet, here she was, having to answer the very questions she had sought to prevent from even occurring to Resonance.

Octavia took a long moment to compose herself. On the one hoof, she could tell Resonance that Vinyl had indeed not meant the apology. Resonance would then most likely believe that Vinyl was sucking up to her; however, Octavia struggled to see any merit in such an action. On the other hoof, assuring Resonance that Vinyl hadn’t lied would most likely involve defending Vinyl’s actions, which was something that Octavia wasn’t sure she could do right now.

The internal debate over what to do would have been so much easier if Octavia didn’t have to deal with those innocent blue eyes twinkling at her. In Resonance’s expression, Octavia could see the expectation of answers that she was becoming increasingly sure that she could not give. Resonance wanted Octavia to solve this dilemma for her, or to at least make it easier for her. There wasn’t any hint of either guile or trickery behind that innocent look. As far as Octavia could tell, she was merely concerned and couldn’t come to her own conclusion on the matter. Everything would work out so well if Resonance believed the apology. Even the issue of Resonance going back to work for Vinyl could be fixed later, but for now she needed to at least answer the question.

“I-I’m honestly not sure; I don’t know her that well. I did had a hard time believing it myself… but after the way she just behaved towards me outside, though, I am forced to admit that it is possible she was indeed being sincere,” Octavia finally concluded. She opened her eyes wide, not so much surprised by the fact that she had said the words, but instead by the fact that she had actually meant them.

“I don’t know how to advise you on how to take her apology. I suppose time will tell you if she really meant it or not…” she added quietly. Resonance looked at Octavia for a long moment before she turned her face back to stare up at the ceiling.

“How did you get to be so smart, Octavia?” Resonance asked after a moment’s delay.

“What? I’d hardly say that I’ve been acting smart recently,” Octavia replied sourly and let herself lie down on the chair to rest her head on her hooves.

“Well, you helped me out when I was hurt. You also kept telling me that everything was going to be okay. It was hard to see how at first, but now I kind of see that you were right. You then yelled at me for talking so badly about myself…” Resonance said with the smallest hints of a smile creeping across her face as she continued to look straight up at the ceiling. “You even told me that I should have more confidence in myself. Then to top it all off, you gave me an answer that will take some thought, but is probably better than just telling me yes or no.”

“Seems pretty smart to me. Also, you told me not to say bad things about myself; so, that means you’re not allowed to either,” Resonance added with a quiet giggle. She turned her head back towards Octavia with a smile showing in her eyes, if not on her mouth.

Octavia simply stared at Resonance for a long moment. There was something about the simple way that Resonance phrased her statements that left almost no room for disagreement. There was also something else, an edge of emotion behind her words, which made Octavia not want to contemplate the implications. That was a problem to be dealt with another time, preferably when the unicorn wasn’t trapped in bed.

Do you really want to lead her on for that long? If you let her keep thinking that, then you really are a terrible pony…

Octavia fought back the urge to shiver as that thought echoed clearly through her mind. She was glad that Resonance had turned away again, as it allowed her a chance to compose herself. That was a problem that she would deal with later. There was nothing wrong with giving herself a few days; she needed to get her own thoughts straight before she tried to approach a tricky subject like that. Nopony could fault her for merely making sure that she said the right things.

As it turned out, Octavia was assisted in avoiding the subject by the entry of a nurse. She swooped over towards the bed to check Resonance’s vitals before she even noticed Octavia in the corner.

“Oh, I’m sorry miss. You really are going to have to leave; visiting hours are over. We allowed an exception the other night since she had not woken up yet, but we simply cannot do it again,” the nurse said apologetically.

Octavia saw Resonance look over towards the nurse, then turn back as if to say something, but Octavia did not give Resonance the chance.

“No. It’s alright. I suppose I should head home and sleep anyway; I have not done very well in that department recently.”

“Good night, Octavia,” Resonance said with a smile and a wave of the hoof.

“G-good night, Resonance. Get better soon. Okay?” Octavia said as she forced herself out of the chair. She once again had to fight back a wince at the way those words came out, sounding a bit more tender than she had intended.

Resonance responded with another smile and a playful salute of the forehoof. She eventually turned her attention back to the nurse and Octavia allowed herself to shake her head lightly as she walked out of the room. She still didn’t really want to go home after her breakdown earlier, but she hardly had any choice. Like she had just admitted to Resonance, she really did need to work on getting some more sleep.

Octavia was proud of herself as she strode right into the lobby of Vinyl’s building. She had finally managed to walk straight through the doors without stopping to brood about it first. It seemed like quite an achievement, to be able to be so confident in her stride, especially after the fiasco of the previous day. The fact that she had gotten past that particular roadblock caused a smile to play across her face as she adjusted her instrument on her back.

She was walking confidently towards the lift when she had to suddenly jump aside to avoid running straight into Oliver as he rushed out the still opening doors. She stumbled in place for a moment, having to catch her double bass with a hoof to keep it from sliding across her back and tipping her over. After an awkward moment, a few apologies from both parties, and a glance at her instrument to ensure that it was secure, she curiously turned towards Oliver.

“Hello, Oliver. What are you doing down here?”

“Hey, Tavi. It’s good that I caught you down here,” he said with a hesitant tone of voice that put Octavia on edge.

“Do I really want to know why?” Octavia questioned as she closed her eyes and tried not to think about it too much.

“Well, the thing is, Miss Scratch wanted me to instruct you that you are to no longer stride into the building without signing in with the receptionist,” he began nervously. “She also said that if you don’t sign in and out every day, then she will dock you pay; that you are not to be above any of the other ponies in her employ; and that you will have to follow the rules like everypony else… Sorry, Tavi.”

She stared at him for a long moment, making a point not to say a single word as he stood in place with an apologetic look on his face. She kept gauging his reaction before she let out a long sigh and turned around. Picking up the quill on the desk, she quickly scrawled her name on the sheet and tossed the quill back. She stalked right past Oliver and mashed her hoof on the button for the lift.

Part of Octavia knew that it wasn’t very fair to take it out on Oliver or the receptionist, but she had finally managed to work herself into a good frame of mind, only to have it ruined. All of that positive energy would have helped her immensely during the upcoming session and all it took was the simplest of gestures from Vinyl to ruin it. When the doors to the lift opened again, she turned around to see Oliver standing a good distance away.

“Aren’t you coming back upstairs, Oliver?”

“N-no, it’s fine. I’ll just catch the next one...”

Octavia barely had time to shoot him a questioning glance before the doors slid shut in front of her and the lift started to carry her up to the fifth floor. She shrugged it off after a moment, and tried to clear it from her mind. Whatever was wrong with him, she would just have to worry about it later. She had more important things to focus on, like her upcoming session with Vinyl.

The doorway to the studio proved to be more of a challenge than the front door, causing her to have to stare it down for a moment. Striding through the lobby door without pausing only seemed to have made this secondary challenge more fearsome. Perhaps, if her mood had not been shattered by Oliver, or that is to say Vinyl by proxy, she could have just confidently strode inside. As it stood, though, she had to grit her teeth as she reached out to pull the door open with her hoof.

Forcing herself to calm down, she walked inside and made her way back to the recording room. Vinyl was not in the other room, but that was most likely due to Octavia’s habit of arriving early. She checked her instrument thoroughly as she took some long slow breaths. She used the tedious moments of tuning her instrument to meditate and try to clear away all of the negative emotions.

Right when it seemed like it was working and Octavia could feel herself calming down, she was distracted by the door opening. She turned to see Vinyl standing there with a clipboard clutched in her magic. Octavia blinked in shock as it was floated over towards her and she was able to glance at the music written on the pages.

“Hey Octavia, sorry I didn’t get you the music sooner. Did you get the message from Oliver downstairs, by the way?” Vinyl asked in a normal tone, but something about it put Octavia on edge.

“Yes, I signed in with the receptionist, if that is what you are asking,” Octavia said as she turned her attention to Vinyl. She cocked an eyebrow, but chose not to directly question the strange behavior.

“Good, I am going to take care of some other tasks for a few minutes. Take the time to look over the music, since I was not able to get it to you earlier,” Vinyl replied. She turned and shut the door with a quiet click behind her.

It was rather difficult for Octavia to focus on the music while she tried to figure out Vinyl’s odd behavior. It wasn’t that she was behaving all that strangely, in fact she was acting quite normal. She pondered this phrasing for a moment before she realized that is exactly why it came off as strange to her. Logically, that kind of behavior should be what she expected Vinyl to act like, but actually seeing it from the unicorn seemed off. The sneer that was always just a few muscle twitches from Vinyl’s face had been nowhere in sight; instead, her face had been blank and passive. Stiff was the best word for the body language expressed by Vinyl today.

It reminded Octavia of the thought that had been going through her head while Vinyl was screaming at her outside of the hospital. Something about the way that Vinyl’s face had contorted in rage then had made her seem like a different pony altogether. In a strange way, seeing Vinyl without the usual mischievous glint in her expressions was making her seem equally unlike the Vinyl that she knew. It was difficult to say if this was necessarily a bad thing, but pondering about it made it very difficult for her to focus on the music she was supposed to be studying.

She shook her head and attempted to focus her attention back on the music as she sat down in the chair. The song she had been handed appeared to be one of the classical portions from the song she had seen in Vinyl’s apartment. Either Vinyl had reworked it slightly, or Octavia had not seen the entire piece, originally. The familiarity helped her take it in and analyze it faster, but it was still different enough that it took some effort to focus on it.

This should have been a very simple song for her, but there was interference in her mind that was making it difficult to process. She kept seeing the song as it normally was, not as it had been changed by Vinyl. Trying to analyze the song and figure out how Vinyl had changed it was proving more difficult than it should have, especially with all the random thoughts bouncing around in her head.

“Hey Octavia, are you ready to give it a try?” Vinyl’s voice asked from the speakers.

“I suppose, it doesn’t really seem that difficult...”

“Great, I am ready when you are.”

Octavia had to fight the urge to shiver at the way that Vinyl was addressing her so politely today. She stood up to drag a music stand over next to where she normally stood. Pulling the sheets off the clipboard, she set them down onto the stand and balanced herself with her instrument. She felt slightly awkward as she drew her bow across the strings. She wasn’t quite comfortable with the song yet, and was rather certain that she had already made at least one egregious mistake.

No interruption came, though, which surprised Octavia greatly. Her surprise was almost to the point where it made her stop playing, but she was able to recover before she did. As she soldiered on through the rest of the piece, she kept imagining that she was hearing a clicking noise from the speakers next to her. Finally, Octavia could not stand it any longer, and she glanced up towards the glass questioningly. She caught Vinyl pulling her hoof from the console right as another clicking sound emanated from the speakers.

“Well, I guess that was to be expected. You did not have much time to look over the music. Give me a few more minutes; I’m going to find Oliver. You study the music a bit more while I’m gone and we shall try again,” Vinyl said after clicking the speakers on and off at least one more time.

Once again, Octavia was not given the opportunity to respond as Vinyl simply put her headphones down and walked out of the room. Octavia wasted a good minute just staring at the glass before she snapped herself out of it. It only seemed to be a minute later when Vinyl reappeared behind the glass and Octavia realized that she had just been blankly staring at the music. She let out a quiet groan before Vinyl could put her headphones back on and prepared herself for another dreadful performance.

She attempted to do better this time, as she tried to clear her mind before she started playing again. This time she was able to start off without any horrible mistakes, but her playing quickly deteriorated as she was still having a hard time focusing. She considered stopping the song and starting over again, but the stark silence from Vinyl was throwing her for a loop. She could not make up her mind, and, if anything, she would prefer the unicorn to just yell something. She kept waiting for it, and the oddly polite statements kept catching her by surprise.

Finally coming to a decision, Octavia halted the song and flipped the music back to the start. She was just about to resume playing again, when she heard the click of the speakers and looked up at Vinyl. The unicorn appeared as if she was about to remove her hoof from the console again without saying anything, but was caught in the act by Octavia. So after an awkward glance between the two she finally spoke up.

“How much sleep did you get last night, Octavia? Are you still having problems with that?” Vinyl questioned in a tentative tone.

“Well, not as much as I would normally like...” Octavia admitted after an awkward silence.

“Tell you what Tavi. Why don’t you just take the rest of the day off and go look at the music. Get some rest tonight and we’ll try again tomorrow. You’ve had a rough few days so don’t worry about it. Okay?”

Octavia gave a hesitant nod and began to pack up her double bass. Once again, Vinyl disappeared before Octavia had been able to actually say a word, so she walked out of the studio with a quiet sigh. She didn't see Oliver on the way out either. She had started to hope that Vinyl would be less weird tomorrow, when she realized the irony of that statement.

"Am I really hoping that she'll be weird again tomorrow? Was her acting normal really that bad?" she questioned under her breath as she trudged home.

Chapter 11

Octavia hesitated after she entered the hallway leading to Vinyl’s studio. It wasn’t that the prospect of dealing with Vinyl gave her pause these days; in fact, she had walked straight in many times over the last week or so. It was more that the sight of Oliver leaning against the wall with a bored, somewhat exasperated look on his face was unusual enough to give her pause. On top of that, Octavia was also bothered by the heated shouting from inside.

Before the whole Resonance debacle, if she had entered this hallway and heard muffled yells emanating from the studio, no extra thought would have been given to it. That seemed like quite some time ago, though, and Vinyl had appeared to be actually trying to honor her promise to be a better boss. After their initial awkward session, they seemed to have figured out a more natural state of affairs. Vinyl was still herself, in that she would clearly get irritated, but she had learned how to keep silent more often. She still let a few things slip through, but she appeared to be trying and that was what was important. Octavia had even noticed several times that Vinyl had very nearly yelled before she stopped herself.

The last week had almost been what Octavia would consider fun. Almost… Vinyl was still clearly having too much fun trying to tease Octavia, but she had gotten comfortable enough around the unicorn to toss back a few quips. Over the last couple of days, Octavia would say that she was actually winning the sarcasm war; there were more instances in which she left Vinyl speechless than the other way around.

Octavia was mostly having a hard time coming to grips with the heated shouting from inside. Part of her really wanted to believe that Vinyl had meant what she said about trying to be a better boss. Yet, here Octavia was, listening to Vinyl shouting back and forth with some nameless pony. This was enough for her to cast a curious glance towards the nonchalant Oliver. When he gave no response, she quickly darted her attention back to the door and then to Oliver again with a confused expression.

Oliver, on the other hoof, appeared to be taking this as a completely normal occurrence and was behaving as if he was merely waiting for it to be over. Octavia opened and closed her mouth a few times as the words of several questions seemed to form and then rapidly dissolve before she could vocalize them. Just as she was becoming aware of how the shouting was stirring up shades of frustration and anger inside of her, Oliver interrupted by standing up straight and looking directly at her.

“Hey, Tavi. You probably want to stay out here for a bit. I’m not entirely sure what you did to make her so angry during that one session last week, but that’s nothing compared to what will happen if you go in right now,” he stated and then started to inspect one of his hooves closely.

“What do you mean she was angry last week? Sure, it started out a little weird, but since then we’ve been getting on quite fine…” Octavia questioned in a slow, deliberate tone as she ran through the sessions from their previous week and considered Vinyl’s behavior during their awkward session.

“What, you couldn’t tell? She was pissed,” he replied as he quirked an eyebrow and glanced back towards her.

“Exactly when are we talking about again?” Octavia asked with a stumped look on her face.

“It was the day after your huge argument, when you came back in to do a recording session. You couldn’t tell how angry she was?” Oliver asked with a shocked look on his face.

“No, she was actually being quite polite. I don’t believe I’ve seen her act so nicely before.”

“Yeah, and you didn’t find that strange? She spent a solid two hours stomping around the studio after you left, grumbling under her breath the entire time. My point is, you don’t want to go in there right now, trust me,” Oliver reiterated and then glanced over towards the clock with a bored look on his face.

“I will admit it was… unusual, but excuse me for a moment when I ask: what in the name of Celestia is going on right now?”

“Don’t worry about it, Tavi. This is what you’d call a-“ Oliver started to answer but was interrupted by the loud echoing slam of the door being kicked open by a brown unicorn stallion. He was still turned inwards and yelling at the top of his lungs.

“Oh Yeah? Try and stop me from coming back! You still owe me, and I’m not giving up until you pay me my due, one way or another!” he screamed, only to have Vinyl’s voice come yelling back immediately.

“I already paid you every bit that you’re ever going to see, you scum-sucking sleazebag! Now get out of my building!”

Octavia stared at the spectacle for a moment. She was forced to jump aside when the stallion kicked the door shut and stormed right past her. She stared after him for a moment before she returned her gaze to Oliver, only to see him still casually leaning against the wall. In fact, he lifted his other hoof and stared at it closely. Right as she set her jaw and made up her mind to march inside to find out what the hell was going on, she was cut off by Oliver interposing himself between her and the door.

“Seriously, Tavi, that’s a really bad idea. Give her some time to cool down,” he asserted and held up a hoof to interrupt her scathing reply. “I don’t know why you’re so determined to think the worst of Vinyl, but this isn’t really what it looks like.”

“Care to explain? Because, this just looks like Vinyl acting the same way she always did. Even after swearing up and down she was going to change and putting on a huge act about it, she’s still here screaming at ponies.”

“I’ve heard enough of Vinyl’s angry grumblings to figure out the story between you two. This little incident has nothing to do with the way she treats her employees, Tavi. The stallion you just saw used to work for her, but now he comes in regularly insisting that she didn’t pay him enough. Before you can start, she paid him exactly what he was promised. He was somewhat well known for a little while, but then fell out of popular regard when he drank away all of his bits and wound up in the tabloids,” Oliver explained while Octavia blankly stared at the doorway.

“After he apparently ran out of job prospects, he started randomly appearing here and claiming that Vinyl ripped him off. Vinyl has turned him away every time, and from what I’ve heard he’s done this to pretty much everypony that ever hired him. Most of them wound up calling the guards to get him to stop, but with Vinyl, they just get into screaming matches. I was worried at first, but he always storms out saying he’ll return and Vinyl always shouts back something along the lines of what you just heard. Every once in a while she threatens to call the guards but never does. The two constants are that whenever it happens she’s in a sour mood for a while, and that he’ll show up in a few weeks to try and get money again.”

“Why doesn’t she call the guards on him?” Octavia questioned after a long moment of staring at the doorway.

“No idea. All I know is that she gets super upset over everything afterwards, and she never mentions the fact that I ‘disappear’ for a little while to let her cool down. You should probably do the same. I wanted to catch you before you went inside, so don’t say I didn’t warn you when you inevitably ignore me,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone and then walked over to the elevator.

The ding of the elevator doors snapped Octavia back to full attention. She blinked several times and set her shoulders squarely towards the doorway. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Oliver; it was more that she couldn’t believe it was so cut and dry. There had to be more to the story. Vinyl would have surely done something about it by now. If this was such a recurring problem, there had to be a reason why she was just letting it slide. Octavia kept replaying the stallion’s last statement in her mind, focusing in on the not-very-thinly-veiled threat at the end of his tirade. The more she thought about it, the more it bothered her. Her expression slowly turned into a glare and she confidently stepped through the doorway.

“Oh Celestia damn it! I don’t need you yelling at me too, Tavi! Yes, I yelled at him, but he bucking deserved it, so don’t even start!” Vinyl yelled the instant she caught a glimpse of Octavia stepping through the doorway with a displeased look on her face.

Octavia winced when Vinyl stormed into the recording room and slammed the door shut behind her. Octavia blinked a few times, put her instrument down next to the couch, and made up her mind to follow. It didn’t take long to find that the doorway to the recording room was shut fast.

“Vinyl?” Octavia asked as she knocked on the door. “Vinyl, let me in!”

“I told you to go away!” came a muffled reply.

“Actually, no you didn’t… That’s not the point, though. Just let me in; I’m not going to yell at you,” Octavia stated calmly and tried the door again.

She waited a long moment, but it soon became clear that the silence wasn’t going to be broken from inside, nor was the door going to be opened for her. She looked down the hallway pensively and saw another doorway that she had never had reason to go through before. She walked up to the door and swung it open easily. She was rewarded with a view of the recording room and was able to see Vinyl through the glass. Vinyl was sitting hunched in a corner of the white room, and she had wedged a chair against the door. Octavia met Vinyl’s gaze and the unicorn’s eyes suddenly opened wide as she saw Octavia on the other side of the barrier. Octavia reached out for the pair of headphones on the console just in time to hear Vinyl yell at her.

“Hey! Don’t touch any of that! Just go away. There I said it. Are you happy? Now just leave me alone…”

“I told you that I’m not going to yell at you,” Octavia replied. However, the confused expression on Vinyl’s face reminded her that the unicorn always pressed something on the console while talking to her.

A quick glance across the console wasn’t enough to easily discern which button was the one she needed. The console had a myriad of buttons, dials, and sliders. Only some of them were clearly labeled, others had labels that were Griffin to her, while others had no markings at all. She leaned closer to study the console, ignoring the occasional childish yell from Vinyl and eventually narrowed her choices down to two buttons. She looked at the two and compared their locations on the board in an attempt to reason it out.

One was a bright red button, about half the size of her hoof, located near the volume panel. It was rather simple to reason that this was most likely the record button. The other was a larger blue button that was down near the bottom right and away from any of the dials and sliders. The choice was rather obvious now that she analyzed it, but the yelling from Vinyl was enough to remind her that she didn’t know what any of this actually does. She sucked in a deep breath and pressed her hoof against the blue button.

“Vinyl? Can you hear me? I told you that I am not going to yell at you. Why didn’t you let me in?” Octavia calmly questioned and then carefully studied Vinyl’s reaction.

“I don’t care! You’re going to try and lecture me, or something, about how I’m not being a good boss, and I don’t want to hear it!” Vinyl yelled back and turned away from Octavia. Vinyl shifted in place and appeared to be attempting to curl up in the corner so she could cover her ears.

“All I want to do is ask you a question, Vinyl…” Octavia replied, barely remembering to press her hoof against the button this time.

Octavia sighed and pulled a stool over from the corner so that she could sit down in front of the console. She gave Vinyl a little while longer to respond as it appeared that Vinyl was at least struggling with an inner debate about answering. Vinyl occasionally lifted her head up as if she was going to say something, but she would tuck it back down at the last moment.

“Listen, Oliver told me what that was all about. I’m not going to get angry at you for yelling at him. I just want to know why you don’t call the guards on him. You realize that he just threatened you, right?” Octavia questioned after a minute or two of watching Vinyl.

“It’s not worth bothering them over something silly like that… It’s just a work related conflict; they have better things to be dealing with…” Vinyl mumbled so quietly in response that Octavia could barely make it out.

“You hardly even sound like you believe that yourself, Vinyl. Tell me, how exactly is it work related when he doesn’t work for you and is barging into your workplace to threaten you after a long shouting match?”

Vinyl finally pulled her head up enough to turn around and stare at Octavia for a moment. The silence between them stretched into a gulf, but then Vinyl got up to her hooves and marched towards the doorway. In one clean motion she pulled the chair free and opened the door. She quickly strode outside the room and slammed the door shut behind her. Octavia winced at the loud noise coming through the headphones. She took them off only to hear Vinyl’s not-so-quiet hoofsteps pass directly by the doorway instead of coming inside.

A curious expression flashed across Octavia’s face as she got off the stool and carefully placed the headphones back on the panel. She poked her head out the doorway just in time to see Vinyl retreat into another doorway down the hall and slam it shut behind her. Octavia stared at the unfamiliar door for a moment. She had no idea where the door led to, but she strode up to it and pounded on it with a hoof.

“Vinyl, come out here! You can’t just run away from your problems and expect them to go away! So, why don’t you just tell me what's really going on already?” Octavia demanded through the doorway.

“Oh, that’s rich, Octavia. You of all ponies are telling me that I can’t just run away from my problems? Why don’t you take your own damned advice before you try giving it out?” Vinyl responded harshly.

“What in the name of Celestia is that supposed to mean, Scratch?” Octavia yelled back as she leaned on the door with her hooves so she could press her face right up against the wood.

Octavia stumbled backwards as the door was suddenly pushed open. She stepped back with a hopeful expression on her face. Vinyl thrust her face out through the crack in the door just long enough for Octavia to see the angry snarl and the hints of wiped tears on either side of the unicorn’s face. Octavia started to say something, but was interrupted as Vinyl yelled over her.

“You want me not to run away from my problems? You’re the one leading Resonance on and pretending that you don’t know what you’re doing! You want to give me life lectures? Okay, fix your own damned problems first! NOW GO AWAY, OCTAVIA!” Vinyl concluded as she thrust her face out even further towards Octavia. It then disappeared with the loudest slam Octavia had heard yet.

“Is that what you honestly bel-“ Octavia started to yell back with an angry scowl, but was cut off by loud blasting music from inside.

“This isn’t over yet, Scratch!” Octavia attempted to yell over the music before storming out of the studio.

Octavia sat on her couch clutching a cup of cheap tea in her hooves as she tried to force herself to forget about the incident with Vinyl earlier in the day. She was not having much success in that venture, as she kept inevitably replaying the events in her head. The curiosity of what the hell Vinyl was trying to hide kept mixing with the remnants of anger over the way she had behaved. The end result was causing Octavia to get stir crazy. This was already the third time she’d tried to just sit still and sip the tea in an attempt to relax. It was taking all of her concentration to avoid just getting back up and pacing around the crummy apartment to relieve her annoyance.

Octavia took in a long slow breath through her nose, smelling the cheap rose scent of the tea. She calmed down just enough to raise the cup to her lips and take a small sip, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door. She paused with the cup halfway back to the coffee-table and turned to look at the door. The knock repeated after a moment, and it struck Octavia as a rather odd knock. It was firm, but not the kind of pounding she would have expected from Vinyl. It didn’t even occur to her that it could be somepony else, as nopony would have a reason to come to her apartment this late.

Octavia glanced back to her rapidly cooling tea and took another sip before she set it back on the saucer and walked towards the door. She gathered her emotions and pulled the door open only to be greeted by the exact face she expected to see. Though, the apologetic look on Vinyl’s face wasn’t quite what she had expected. She stared at Vinyl for a long moment, who still had her hoof halfway through another knocking motion. They stared at each other awkwardly for a while before Vinyl decided to let her hoof fall back to the floor.

“So, are we planning on saying anything, Scratch? If you just wanted to play the staring game, then I’m sure it could have waited until tomorrow,” Octavia said with a slight smirk to break through the silence.

“W-well, I came to apologize for earlier, Tavi,” Vinyl finally managed to respond.

“You don’t need to apologize, Vinyl,” Octavia said with a roll of her eyes before turning away so she could retreat to the couch to finish her tea. She had to hold back a small chuckle when Vinyl, once again, cringed at the smell of the apartment.

“Yes I do, Tavi. I was over the line earlier, and I wanted to say sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things…”

“Are you going to tell me why you didn’t call the guards on him, Scratch? I’m not too concerned over what you said since you were obviously distraught. I still want to know why you would willingly let him keep harassing you, though,” Octavia prodded while she finished her tea.

“I already told you about that, Tavi. There are things that you don’t know about me. I’d rather not go over them right now, okay?”

“How long are you going to keep using that excuse, Vinyl? Are you ever going to talk about it, or are you going to just keep saying that there are things I don’t know about you?” Octavia questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll tell you soon, Tavi… Just not now, it’s not something I like to relive.”

“Fair enough, Vinyl,” Octavia replied with a shake of her head and a sigh. “How did you know about the thing with Resonance, anyway?”

“Oh, that? She never stops talking about you whenever I go to visit her. She bombards me with questions about you all the time too. It’s pretty obvious that she’s smitten with you. Even though I meant to talk to you about it, I shouldn’t have said it the way that I did. You really do need to do something about that, by the way, Tavi. I’m not sure if your daily visits are the best idea or not,” Vinyl said as she shifted awkwardly from hoof to hoof just inside the doorway, glancing around the room to avoid Octavia’s glance.

“You could sit down you know. There’s this nice couch here, I won’t bite, and I’m pretty sure the couch won’t swallow you either,” Octavia said with a smirk. “I was already aware, though. I just didn’t know that it was quite that bad.”

“Well, I guess it’s my turn to ask you why you haven’t done anything about it then, huh?” Vinyl responded with a slight grin as she stared at the couch for a moment, and then sat herself down next to Octavia with a shrug. Vinyl let out a squeak of surprise as she sank further into the collapsed cushion than she had expected, which elicited a small fit of giggles from Octavia.

“You alright there, Vinyl? Silly me, I thought you could handle sitting on a couch. Let me know if you need some help next time,” Octavia said with a grin. She managed to silence the giggles but shook lightly in place for a few moments.

“Har har, laugh it up Octobutt,” Vinyl replied with her own grin at the way Octavia’s face fell in response to the nickname.

“I thought we talked about that, Scratch…” Octavia said icily.

“Hey, can’t take what you dish out? Just a little bit of harmless teasing, Tavi,” Vinyl responded as her grin widened. “You didn’t answer the question, though. Why haven’t you done anything about Resonance yet? You really shouldn’t lead her on.”

“I just haven’t been able to figure out the best way to approach it, Vinyl. I’m afraid that suddenly ceasing to visit her will only make things worse as well,” Octavia admitted with a long sigh. “It’s not a situation I’m overly pleased with, but I’m afraid that if I just try to back off she’ll take it the wrong way. So, I’ve been continuing to visit, as I am concerned over her health, but have been trying to keep them rather short.”

“Well, let me know if you want any help with it, okay?” Vinyl said as she reached out and playfully punched Octavia’s shoulder. “So, are we cool?”

“Yes, Vinyl, we are ‘cool.’ I told you that you didn’t even need to apologize in the first place.”

“Nah, I wanted to. I guess I’ll see you at the studio tomorrow? Figure something out with Resonance, or else I might start pitching ideas at you,” Vinyl said with a mischievous grin that clearly stated Octavia wanted nothing to do with them.

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary, Vinyl,” Octavia said with the slightest of shivers as she shook her head yet again. Yet, she couldn’t stop the smile that slowly spread across her face afterwards.

“Say hi to Resonance for me!” Vinyl called out as she disappeared through the doorway and shut it with a laugh.

“Oh, just get out of here Scratch!” Octavia yelled back through the quiet laugh that escaped her lips.

Chapter 12

Octavia yawned as her eyes strayed around the hospital room. They lingered for a moment on a few of the rooms’ details that, by this point, she felt like she knew better than those of her own bedroom. It seemed that whenever she had visited recently, Resonance had been either already asleep or on the very edge of sleep. One way or the other, Octavia had always found herself glancing around the room with a bored expression. Today, her mind kept wandering back to Vinyl’s words from the previous week. The picture of Resonance that Vinyl had painted was completely at odds with the constantly tired and demure behavior that Octavia had always seen from the mare.

She sank a little further into her usual chair in the back corner of the room as she considered the contradiction some more. The Resonance that Vinyl had described had come off as cheerful and maybe even excitable, yet Octavia had rarely seen anything of the like. She had no reason to believe that Vinyl would lie about that sort of a thing, and Resonance did tend to be genuinely rather shy around her. The shy behavior also fit perfectly with what Vinyl had been implying, but Octavia still had to wonder why Resonance was always so sleepy whenever she visited.

Resonance wouldn’t... would she? She always seemed like the sweet and innocent type instead of the manipulative; yet, not much else makes sense…

Octavia blinked as the vague suspicion bounced around in her head, and her eyes narrowed slightly as it took a greater hold over her. She leaned forward in her chair so that she could get a closer look at the sleeping mare in order to confirm her suspicions. Resonance was, to all outward appearances, sound asleep; but the more Octavia looked at the mare, the more she wondered.

Is it normal for a sleeping pony to take such frequent breaths?

Octavia silently slipped from her chair with an expression of doubt spreading across her face and drew closer to the bed. Part of her mind wanted to write off the suspicions as simply being her imagination, but the more vocal part was shouting that it all made too much sense. She locked her eyes on the sleeping unicorn as she both approached and carefully watched for any signs of change in Resonance’s position. Either Resonance was a champion actor, or Octavia was simply grasping at straws. She checked to make sure that she wouldn’t cast a shadow over the mare as she leaned closer and narrowed her eyes even further.

A slight twitch. The cheek had seemed as if it had shifted for a moment, but Octavia was no longer confident to guarantee that she hadn’t imagined it. It had certainly appeared as if it had moved, but she’d also seen Vinyl reach up and scratch her face while sound asleep.

Octavia became painfully aware of how strange this would look to anypony who happened to gaze into the room the instant she heard the door slowly creak open. She bolted into an upright position and shot an accusatory glance towards the doorway, only for her to see a confused white face with bright red eyes and neon blue hair poking halfway into the room. A slight grin slowly spread its way across Vinyl’s face as she shook in place with suppressed laughter and made her question completely clear without actually having to open her mouth. Octavia grimaced as her imagination did the work for her and filled in the voice, complete with playful sarcasm.

”Hey, do you need me to give you two some time alone? I could come back in a few hours…”

Octavia managed to catch herself before she let out an all-suffering sigh that might awaken Resonance. The angry glare she sent towards the doorway seemed to, if anything, cause Vinyl’s silent laughter to deepen. It took quite a lot of willpower for Octavia to squash the urge to swear under her breath. Instead, she stalked towards the doorway, planted a hoof on Vinyl’s forehead and playfully pushed the unicorn out into the hallway.

“Very funny, Scratch,” Octavia said with her voice dripping with sarcasm after closing the door behind them. She kept her voice down, aware of the fact that they were still close enough to be in danger of waking up the sleeping mare. She held up a hoof to delay Vinyl’s response and then held it in front of her own mouth theatrically as she nudged her head towards the doorway.

“What? I didn’t say anything,” Vinyl quietly replied with her best innocent expression. The effect was marred slightly by her sniggering shortly afterwards.

“Let’s just say that I know you well enough to guess exactly what you were about to say. That wasn’t what it looked like, and you know it,” Octavia said as she struggled to maintain her quiet voice.

“Oh? So what were you doing then, if not trying to awake her from an enchanted slumber?” Vinyl questioned as she struggled to avoid bursting at the seams from stifled laughter.

“I was struck by an idea that I don’t like at all, Vinyl,” Octavia replied with a roll of the eyes. “In fact, it’s rather disturbing. I remembered how you had said that she always pesters you with questions whenever you visit her. So she’s always awake whenever you come around, right?”

“She’s usually just lying there, but when I quietly say hi to see if she’s awake, she turns to face me almost immediately.”

“I realized today that whenever I come around, she’s either already asleep or falls asleep soon afterwards. It struck me as odd, seeing as I’ve tried coming around at different times of the day and always get the same result. You, on the other hoof, get a more lively response,” Octavia finished explaining.

“Yeah... I guess that’s a little odd. What’s your point, Tavi?”

“Well, it didn’t make any sense. Then I remembered about how you had agreed with me on the way she might be... harboring certain feelings. What if she has been pretending to be asleep around me because she is shy? When you opened the door, I was trying to ascertain if she was actually asleep or not,” Octavia finished while trying to show Vinyl with her expression that now was not the time for joking around.

“So you think that she’s been awake whenever you come around to visit and just not saying anything? Wow, she must have it bad for you if she’s been doing that...” Vinyl replied thoughtfully before she suddenly snapped her full attention back towards Octavia. “Wait, you still haven’t talked to her yet, have you?”

“N-no?” Octavia ventured with a bashful smile as she took a step backwards under the suddenly intense stare from Vinyl.

“You are actually impossible, Octavia,” Vinyl said through a sigh as she dragged a hoof across her face. “How could you have put this off for so long?”

“I haven’t been able to figure out the right wa-”

“Oh shove it with that lame excuse already, you’ve been using it all week!” Vinyl replied angrily as she stepped closer. “You’re lying to yourself, and you know it. You’ve had a week to think about how to approach it plus all that time you antagonized over it by yourself. I think it’s my turn to force you to apologize to our friend here.”

“You can’t be serious, Scratch. If I say the wrong thing then it could seriously upset her.”

“I’m confident that you can fix any missteps rather quickly. I might even say that you have a way with words. You’ve said quite a lot to me since we’ve gotten to known each other, and you’ve always seemed to say exactly what you intended to. Now get going!” Vinyl added and gave Octavia a playful, yet forceful, shove towards the doorway.

“You are not- going to at least- let me- gather my- thoughts?” Octavia asked as she inflated herself with an air of haughtiness between the sharp shoves at her flank from Vinyl. Her ploy didn’t seem to have any effect on the unicorn, so she was forced to try and focus her chaotic thoughts as she was directed towards the doorway.

“Nope!” Vinyl answered cheerfully. She seemed to pick up on Octavia’s acceptance and strode ahead to hold the door open with a theatric bow and sardonic smile.

“If this goes wrong, we are going to have words, Scratch,” Octavia said icily before she drew herself up fully and strode past the unicorn.

“Let’s just say that I have confidence in you, Tavi.”

Octavia directed a final glare towards Vinyl before she walked over to the bedside and stared at Resonance for a moment. She looked carefully at the sleeping unicorn and ignored the presence that joined her next to the bed as she continued to ponder. Octavia narrowed her eyes and very carefully observed the rising and falling of Resonance’s chest as she lay there.

“Resonance...” Octavia finally said in a hushed voice.

“I know you’re awake,” Octavia quietly added after a pause. “We need to talk.”

Silence filled the room as Octavia directed her stare towards the cream-colored unicorn’s face and waited for some kind of a response. It appeared for a long while that she had actually been mistaken since Resonance simply continued to lie there with a passive expression. Octavia didn’t give up that easily, though; she called out the mare’s name very quietly once more. This time, there was the slightest twitch in Resonance’s cheek, almost exactly like the one from before.

“Resonance, if you don’t stop playing around, then I’ll have to take extreme measures...” Octavia started as she leaned closer and let her voice fall into a dread whisper that only Resonance and Vinyl could hope to make out. “I’ll tickle you mercilessly until you can’t breathe for lying to me.”

Resonance’s eyes shot wide open as she desperately tried to shuffle away from the deranged smile that Octavia was giving her. The restraints around her leg meant that she would have only made it a few inches, but she was immediately distracted by the sound of Vinyl’s sudden and hysterical laughter. Octavia couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh at the reaction, but she soon returned a pointed gaze towards Resonance.

“Why were you pretending to be asleep, Resonance? If you didn’t want to talk to me, then you could have just said something,” Octavia said with an attempted soothing voice.

“I was scared,” came the quiet, almost whispered, response.

“Scared? Whatever for? I didn’t do anything wrong did I?” Octavia questioned and turned towards Vinyl for a moment with a confused expression. A light shrug was the only response that Octavia received, so she turned back towards Resonance with a blank stare.

“I was scared... scared of what you were going to say to me,” Resonance finally managed to mumble. “I just wanted to pretend a little bit longer.”

“Wait, so you already knew what I was going to say to you?”

“Don’t think you’re wriggling out of it that easily, Octavia,” Vinyl warned with a glare.

“I-I mean, what was it that you thought I was going to say?” Octavia asked with a nervous chuckle and took a sideways step away from Vinyl.

“You were going to tell me that I shouldn’t get my hopes up... That I shouldn’t be letting my silly crush take any hold over me. You shrank away from me when I hugged your hoof my first night in the hospital. After that, you kept making distraught faces whenever you thought I wasn’t looking...” Resonance trailed off and closed her eyes, remaining silent for a long moment before she continued. “I knew that nothing was going to happen between us, but I just wanted to dream a little bit longer.”

The ticking of the clock seemed to echo all around the silent room, building to a deafening volume. It was as if the sound was amplified every time it reflected off of a wall, to the point that Octavia was having a hard time pinpointing which direction it was coming from. She knew that she should say something, she needed to offer some kind of comfort at least, but wasn’t that what got her into trouble in the first place?

“Don’t worry about it, T-Tavi. I know that there’s no way I could come between you and Vinyl. I just wanted to fantasize a little bit longer. I’m sorry for deceiving you like that...” Resonance finally said to break the silence, even as she kept her eyes shut.

“What?” Octavia demanded as she stepped closer. She was about to question the mare further when she was cut off by rambunctious laughter from beside her.

“H-how did you know?” Vinyl managed to ask between fits of hysterics. “I mean, I thought we hid it so well!”

“Wh-what are you going on about, Scratch?” Octavia nearly yelled as her eyes shot wide open and she rounded on the laughing pony. “This is not a joking matter! You can not be serious; tell me this is a joke that you two set up. This had better be some kind of sick prank, Scratch.”

“You don’t have to try and hide it any more, Octavia. I’ve seen the way your expression changes when you talk about her; the way you seem to calm down as you close your eyes and take slow deep breaths,” Resonance quietly insisted.

“That’s because I’m forcibly calming myself down to prevent any angry outbursts! If I don’t stop and take some deep breaths then I’ll get so frustrated that I’ll want to scream. THIS ISN’T FUNNY, SCRATCH!” Octavia yelled as she stamped her hooves on the floor and caused the other two ponies to start slightly. “Please tell me this is a joke, an elaborate ploy, nothing more...”

“Oh come on, it is pretty funn-” Vinyl started to say until Octavia sent her a look that caused her to physically shiver.

“So you two aren’t dating?” Resonance questioned after a quiet giggle at their behavior. “But even now, you two argue like an old married couple, and Vinyl can’t stop giggling when she talks about you as well...”

“What? Talking to her about you gives me such great ideas on how to tease you...” Vinyl responded with a laugh at the death-stare coming from Octavia.

“Oh, does that mean that I...” Resonance started to question softly as her face visibly started to tinge red.

“No,” Octavia stated firmly. “Listen, Resonance, I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression at first. I was worried that you had been more seriously hurt and didn’t stop to think about what my actions might be interpreted as. I had seen you dashing from the studio a few days in a row, and part of me felt responsible for not trying to put a stop to it. I wanted to say something to Vinyl, but I never managed to do so. When you fell, I couldn’t help but blame myself. I thought that it was my fault, and I realized that I had been, as a result, lavishing you with a bit too much... tenderness.”

“I was scared to say anything, because it seemed cruel to shatter the heart of a pony stuck in bed. I should have stopped it immediately, but the initial hesitation just made it easier to remain silent. I kept coming to visit because I was too afraid of what might happen if I suddenly stopped. This one...” Octavia punched Vinyl’s side hard enough to get the unicorn to stop giggling, “got on my case about telling you the truth, since she had picked up on your behavior as well. We are not dating, but I don’t think of you in that way. I’m sorry for giving you false impressions to begin with.”

“Oh...” Resonance offered quietly after a long moment of silence and turned her attention towards the ceiling.

“I really am sorry; it was never my intention to have to turn you down like this,” Octavia said softly as she forcibly resisted the desire to reach out with a hoof to comfort the mare.

“It’s fine, or at least it will be. Like I said, I didn’t think I had a chance anyway. So, it’s not like this is much worse, right?” Resonance asked with a half-hearted smile as she briefly turned towards Octavia.

Octavia opened her mouth to respond, but no words seemed to be capable of forming on her lips. She tried a few more times but was interrupted from her struggles by a nudge at her side from Vinyl. The unicorn had finally managed to cease her infernal giggling and was instead directing a more serious look at Octavia while gesturing with her head towards the doorway. Octavia hesitated for a moment, she stared at Resonance lying there in bed as she opened and closed her mouth one more time before she hung her head slightly.

“I’m sorry...” she mumbled and then turned to walk out of the room.

She kept silent as she walked down the hallway. Octavia was aware of Vinyl’s presence behind her but was grateful for the silence offered by the unicorn. Once they left the hospital and walked several blocks towards her apartment, she became aware of the quiet laughter now accompanying the steady hoofsteps behind her.

“Shouldn’t you be heading home, Scratch?” Octavia snapped as she came to a sudden stop and shot an annoyed glance at Vinyl.

“What? Why?” Vinyl asked with a confused expression even as she had to stifle another fit of giggles.

“It's not funny, Scratch!” Octavia yelled at the top of her lungs.

“Oh come on, she thought that we were dating,” Vinyl replied through an amused smile.

“I just had to break that poor mare’s heart! I don’t want to hear about it, just go home, Scratch. I don’t know why you’re still following me, but I’ve had enough of you for today.”

“What? So, you’re planning on skipping out on work today?” Vinyl replied with a more serious tone.

“I- What?”

“Well, I was on the way to the hospital for a quick visit before our session since I didn’t have time for anything else. I figured you were heading home now to get your double bass. Sure, I could go to the studio and wait, but everything is already set up and Oliver is going to be late today. If I went back there, then I’d just be sitting around bored while I wait for you anyway,” Vinyl explained simply. “Besides, it’s not as if I haven’t been in your apartment before.”

Octavia tried to hide her look of shock as she glanced towards a nearby clock and inwardly swore at herself for losing track of time. By the sounds of renewed sniggering, she gathered that she wasn’t very successful in the venture and sighed.

“Fine. Just cut out the obnoxious laughing, will you?”

Octavia and Vinyl both froze as they entered the studio. The teasing laughter after yet another joke from Vinyl ceased immediately when they both saw who was waiting for them inside. Standing in the waiting room with an angry look on his face was the same brown unicorn stallion that Octavia remembered from the incident a week ago. He started to confidently storm towards Vinyl as he opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped and hesitated visibly the instant his gaze flicked over towards Octavia. His mouth continued to hang open for a moment as he stared at her like he hadn’t actually seen her standing there until now. The three of them stared at each other through narrowed eyes as silence filled the room.

“What the hell do you want?” Vinyl finally demanded in a cold voice that broke the uncomfortable silence.

Octavia jumped slightly at the sound of Vinyl’s voice. She had once before mused over the fact that she’d only ever seen Vinyl actually angry once. Despite their numerous arguments and shouting matches, she had only ever heard Vinyl sound truly angry about it that one time outside of the hospital. Looking back now with a proper example to compare against, it occurred to Octavia that the anger she had seen then was a weak imitation of what she was seeing now. The way that Vinyl seemed to barely gasp out the words with ice dripping from her voice was enough to actually scare Octavia. She turned a concerned look towards Vinyl to offer some kind of silent support, only for the unicorn to flash her red eyes over at her in such an intense expression that Octavia visibly recoiled.

Vinyl seemed to become immediately aware of what she had done and softened her expression for a moment. She ventured a slight smile directed solely towards Octavia as her eyes twinkled for a moment, allowing an unspoken apology to pass between them. Suddenly, Vinyl was directing her gaze of pure hatred back towards the stallion, as if the brief interlude in the anger had never happened.

“I asked you a question: ‘what the hell do you want?’ I’ve made it clear that you’re not going to get anything from me, and I sure as hell don’t feel like chatting with you, so you can just get out,” Vinyl muttered darkly.

Octavia wasn’t entirely certain if she should say anything, but the ferocity of the glare passing between them was enough to silence her for now. She knew that she shouldn’t leave these two alone, especially after seeing the way he kept hesitating every time he shot a nervous glance in her direction. She had only heard stories of their previous interactions, but this time she had the sense that something dire was floating in the air between them. Octavia took a few steps to the side without breaking eye contact, slid the double bass from her back and set it down quite a ways away. She made up her mind to not budge an inch from where she stood next to Vinyl as she returned to her previous position and offered her silent support.

“I’ve come to settle things. You are going to pay me, Vinyl,” he finally responded after another worrisome look directed towards Octavia.

“And I told you that you can just get out, so what’s taking you?” Vinyl responded through her teeth.

He took a slow, menacing step forward and stared intensely at Vinyl. When his glance finally strayed away, it hesitantly flicked between the two mares a few times in rapid succession before finally focusing back on Vinyl.

“I told you that I was going to get my money, one way or another...” he replied menacingly and stepped forward again.

Octavia’s eyes widened at the repeat of the threat, and she took a step closer towards Vinyl in the same instant that Vinyl took a small step backwards. Octavia opened her mouth and was about to speak her mind to this foul stallion, but she was interrupted by a brown hoof that slammed heavily across her face and sent her reeling.

Octavia crashed heavily onto her side and struggled in vain to right the world again. Her hooves didn’t seem to be able to find any purchase on the carpet, and the sound of Vinyl yelling out her name through the loud ringing in her ears wasn’t helping either. She desperately tried to force her legs to cooperate in order to work her way back up into a standing position; however, she was only partially successful before her legs gave way and she fell heavily onto her side. Octavia struggled for a moment longer, even with the edges of her vision going fuzzy, but couldn’t prevent herself from blacking out.

Octavia fluttered her eyes open and started to shift onto her hooves, only to immediate regret it as every muscle along her side screamed in protest. A sense of urgency overrode her muscles and drove her back onto her unsteady hooves as she tried to shake the dizziness away. She could hear a slight rustling and a muffled whimpering nearby, but it took her a moment to remember why it had been so important to get onto her hooves again.

She immediately opened her eyes wide with fear as she flicked her glance around the blindingly bright room for any sign of the other mare. Octavia appeared to be still in the studio’s waiting room but saw no sign of Vinyl. Panic immediately gripped at her chest as she surveyed the room more carefully this time and spotted the brown stallion. He was hunched over the carpet a short distance away and appeared to be struggling with something under his hooves.

It took her a moment to realize what he was wrestling with, and when she noticed the flashes of blue tail and mane whipping around she was instantly wide awake. Her breath was suddenly coming in quick, heavy bursts as she took a step closer towards the scene unfolding before her. Vinyl was whimpering pathetically as her snout was getting mashed forcefully into the carpet by one brown forehoof as the other was trying to force her rear in the air. Vinyl was making it difficult for him, though. She kept lashing her rear legs out at him whenever she had an opportunity so that he wasn’t able to gain any significant purchase over her and had to stay shifted over towards her side. It only took a short moment of observation for Octavia to realize what position he was trying to force Vinyl into, and why he was attempting to safely work his way behind the thrashing hooves.

Rage. It was the only word that Octavia could possibly use to describe the feeling that suddenly overcame her. She never thought that such blinding anger could have surged through her in the way that it did. The fact that he would even attempt to do such a thing caused her vision to turn red as she stepped forward with malice and forethought. The stallion seemed to be completely oblivious of Octavia, being too preoccupied with trying to wrestle Vinyl into the proper position. It was a difficult endeavor for him to try and force her to stand on her rear legs without letting her lash them out at him.

Octavia became acutely aware of her advantage and aimed to use it to its fullest extent. She drew closer to make sure that he had not managed to succeed in his goal and felt a surge of strangely misplaced pride when she saw that Vinyl was still making it too difficult for him. Still, Vinyl was using up a lot of energy and Octavia was aware that she couldn’t count on Vinyl holding out indefinitely.

Octavia very slowly drew closer and then turned around as she became aware of what she was about to do. She wasn’t normally the type for violence, but for this vile stallion she would try her best to become a quick study. The images that had flashed through her head in her first few turbulent sessions with Vinyl returned to her: a hoof punching the now brown unicorn stallion’s face, a kick directed at his flank instead of her bed, and a chair lifted up in her hooves ready to smash down on his cowering form. Octavia fought back the evil grin that was forming and shook her head. She tested her stance and leaned forward to make sure she could support herself properly as she got ready to lift her rear legs and lash them out with all of her might.

She wasn’t entirely certain if it was simply the natural strength that came from being an earth pony or the anger that fueled the kick, but when her hooves made contact it seemed to her as if they were powered by more strength than she could have imagined. The result was exactly what she had hoped for deep down. He was rocketed off of Vinyl’s struggling form, leaving her to collapse sobbing onto the carpet, while he slammed heavily into the opposite wall with a sickening crash. Octavia walked past Vinyl, as that was a problem for later, for she had more important things to deal with now.

“Get... out...” she growled through her teeth as she stalked closer to the groaning stallion and narrowed her eyes. The anger welling up inside of her made it difficult for her to see if he was bleeding or if her sight had merely turned completely red.

“If I ever see you around here again, I will personally make sure that you will never have foals,” Octavia intoned quietly as she roughly kicked him with her forehoof and then yelled at the top of her lungs. “Now, get out of my sight!"

The stallion stared up at her in shock and attempted to shift away from the vision of pure rage in front of him without getting onto his hooves. He made some decent headway until he bumped heavily into one of the couches and yelped like a dog. As Octavia reared up to slam a hoof down on top of him, his eyes shot wide open and he bolted out of the way. The stallion was a blur as he shot through the doorway so fast that the door slammed into the wall outside with a splintering crash.

Octavia was fighting against the urge to run after him and make his life hell, when she heard another sob from Vinyl. The feeling of rage that had so completely taken her over seemed to disappear as instantly as it had come. The terrible beast that had risen up in her chest and seized her heart had slunk back into whatever hole it had crawled out of and left her feeling oddly empty. The sight of Vinyl curled up in the fetal position and sobbing uncontrollably was enough to force the last bits of anger from her system. She rushed over to the unicorn and dropped to the floor next to her.

Octavia ignored the screaming pain in her muscles that seemed to have returned with a vengeance at the exact moment that the rage had left her. She gathered Vinyl up into her hooves and then ran a hoof through the unicorn’s mane in her best attempt to soothe Vinyl. The response was near instant; Vinyl uncurled herself only to throw her forelegs around Octavia’s neck and to sob into the gray mare’s coat as she shivered uncontrollably.

“Shhh... he’s gone now,” Octavia finally managed to whisper in the closest approximation of a comforting voice that she could manage.

If anything, Vinyl started to sob even harder at those words; she quickly made a mess of Octavia’s coat as she continued to cling to the earth pony as if her life depended on it. Her choked crying was frequently broken by a gasp or a quiet hiccup, which was usually punctuated by a near strangling clutch at the earth pony. Octavia continued trying to comfort Vinyl with her presence, giving up on words and simply running her hoof slowly across the bright blue mane and over the top of the unicorn’s head.

“You knew he was going to do something like that, didn’t you? That’s why you were afraid of him...” Octavia said quietly as she came to the mortifying realization; it was a statement that was coupled with her eyes narrowing as she turned her gaze to the doorway.

Octavia didn’t need to wait for the timid nod against her chest through the sobbing to confirm it. She already knew the answer before she asked the question. Everything that had happened after her first encounter with the stallion suddenly made more sense. That was the reason behind Vinyl’s crying in the recording room, her refusal to talk about it, and then her eventual apology. Octavia had an idea of what she needed to do, but getting Vinyl to calm down was more important.

Octavia shifted into a sitting position and allowed Vinyl to continue to cling to her as the unicorn sobbed uncontrollably. It seemed as if there had been a subtle shift in the distraught outbursts, as if Vinyl might be calming down, but she was loathe to do anything more than offer quiet hushing sounds. She didn’t have the heart to actually tell Vinyl to stop crying; instead, she simply kept running her hoof over Vinyl’s form and let the unicorn cry herself out.

She wasn’t aware of how long it took for Vinyl to finally calm down; she honestly hadn’t been focusing her attention on the passing of time. Eventually, Vinyl did quiet down with a few soft gulps, and the strangling hug eased up slightly. Octavia offered another quiet hushing sound and assured Vinyl that she was safe, making no move to force Vinyl to relinquish her grip. Octavia eventually became aware of a shift in position from Vinyl; she wasn’t so much hugging her anymore as just leaning against her gray chest. Vinyl’s breaths slowed down into more even bursts, and she eventually fell into an exhausted sleep against Octavia. The gray mare let her rest there for a long while before she stood up and once again ignored her protesting muscles as she kneeled down and lifted Vinyl across her back.

Octavia walked very slowly with her precious cargo; the last thing she wanted to do was wake Vinyl from her well-earned rest. She eventually made it to the elevator and pressed the button to Vinyl’s floor, wincing at the seemingly deafening ding that it elicited. Luckily, she found the door to Vinyl’s apartments unlocked, and she was able to carry the unicorn all the way through to the bedroom while avoiding the stacks of papers. Octavia gently slid Vinyl off onto the bed and tucked her in as she glanced down at the sleeping pony.

She did her best to wipe away the last couple of tears with her hoof before she tried to position Vinyl comfortably on the pillows. There was a lot that she needed to ask Vinyl, but that could wait. She grabbed one of the extra pillows and set it down on the plush carpet. She couldn’t help but smile at the reversal of roles as she glanced up to make sure Vinyl was comfortable. She then attempted to force away the throbbing in her head with a few slow breaths so that she could get some rest as well.

Chapter 13

Octavia grumbled something unintelligible in response to the hoof that pressed against her side and roused her from her light slumber. She grumbled again and rolled away to stop the gentle nudging. When that failed, she curled up into a gray ball and covered her face with her long black tail.

“Tavi...” came a quiet voice.

"Go 'way..." she mumbled into her legs as she flattened her ears to the side of her head.

“Tavi, wake up,” the voice asserted in an annoyingly insistent way.

It was the kind of voice that made its intention perfectly clear, even through the tired haze that was looming over Octavia’s mind. She could tell by the repeated nudges and the inflection of the voice that it wouldn't stop bothering her until she acknowledged it. She grumbled some more under her breath about unholy demons before she begrudgingly uncurled from her position on the plush carpet and slowly sat upright. She rubbed a hoof across the side of her face and immediately winced as it passed under her left eye. The sharp lance of pain seemed to only make her suddenly aware of how much her headache had worsened since she had fallen asleep.

She shifted her gaze upwards with an accusatory glance, as if to say that she blamed this pony for all of the discomfort she was experiencing right now. She blinked and then rubbed her eyes more carefully this time to confirm that it was in fact Oliver standing over her with an expression that was a mix of shock, confusion, and frustration.

“What?” she asked with the air of an impatient foal when he refused to speak up. She turned her groggy gaze over towards the bed to see if Vinyl was still asleep.

Once she had confirmed that Vinyl was still gently snoring on the bed, she lifted a hoof to her mouth and then motioned with it for Oliver to back out of the bedroom. His expression shifted to that of mostly confusion, but he eventually complied after a menacing look from Octavia that was followed by a mimed shoving motion with her hooves.

“What the hell is going on, Octavia?” Oliver demanded in a not-very-hushed tone once the door was shut. “Why is your stuff downstairs, why are you two up here instead of recording and, most importantly, why in the name of Celestia’s royal flank is there a bloodied dent in the wall downstairs?”

“Will you be quiet?” Octavia growled under her breath as she stepped closer with such menace that he backed away several steps. “If you wake her up, after everything that she has been through today, I will physically harm you...”

“Okay, fine. Care to explain what the hell happened today? It looks like you two violently beat somepony downstairs. There’s even a dent in the wall outside of the studio from the door...” Oliver insisted through an exasperated expression that made it clear he was afraid he was going to have to fix everything.

“That’s because I did,” Octavia replied nonchalantly as she rubbed the right side of her face with a gray forehoof in a futile attempt to will the headache away.

“What?” Oliver demanded at the top of his voice before he stepped back several more paces and shot an apologetic look at the mare seething with anger in front of him. He started to talk again and raised his hoof defensively, but stopped before he managed to say anything intelligible. He hung his mouth open as he stared at her for a good minute, unable to form words properly. “S-sorry, being quiet... but what the hell happened to your face?”

“Is it really that bad? I got punched out,” she replied simply through a yawn and then chuckled at his shocked reaction. “You should really see what happened to the other pony...”

“You’re sporting quite a black eye there, Tavi. I already have a few ideas on what happened, though. I mentioned it already. Large dent in the wall with flecks of blood all over it? Might be relevant to the situation?” he added sarcastically before he covered his face with a hoof. “Are we going to get in trouble for this, Octavia?”

“Celestia, no. That stupid stallion started it. He made his way up to the studio and was waiting for us- well, Vinyl. He threatened Vinyl, punched me out when I realized he intended her harm, and then, when I came to, he was...” Octavia shivered from head to hoof as she struggled to put the vile act into words. “He was attempting to assault her, and no, I don’t mean that he was trying to punch or kick her...”

Oliver stared at her for a long moment with his mouth hanging slightly open. Octavia imagined that she could hear the faint whirring as the gears turned inside his head, and then he finally blinked several times in rapid succession before managing to find his voice. “W-wait, which stallion was this?”

“You know, that idiot who used to get into shouting matches with Vinyl. Brown unicorn—you tried to tell me to leave her alone after he stormed out—didn’t think to look at his cutie mark,” Octavia added as an afterthought. “I was a bit preoccupied trying to make his life hell.”

“Wait, it was Sharp Note? He tried to... you know? So you beat the ever-living crap out of him?”

“Is that his name? Yeah, I kicked the ever-living crap out of him to be precise. I might have slightly underestimated my strength and sent him flying into the wall at breakneck speed,” Octavia said with a slight smirk spreading across her face at the memory. “Bastard ran before I could kick him much more... Good to hear he left some blood behind; I was worried that I didn’t kick him hard enough.”

“Wait, back up a step. Used to? What do you mean by he used to get into shouting matches with Vinyl?” Oliver questioned with a confused expression as he tried to process all of the new information.

“I damn well hope that he’s done bothering her after the beating I gave him! He looked pretty scared as he ran away... That’s probably what caused the damage to the wall, by the way.”

“What the hell has gotten into you, Octavia?” Oliver demanded at the top of his voice as he stared at her in shock. “You’re casually talking about committing violence on another pony like it was a good thing!”

“That’s because it was; he bucking deserved it!” she yelled back without hesitation. “He tried to do unspeakable things to my frien- to Vinyl! You were so convinced that this ‘Sharp Note’ character was harmless that you never actually listened to what he was yelling at her, did you?”

Oliver started to reply but was hushed by a glare from Octavia as she continued while slowly advancing on him.

“He actually threatened her in front of the both of us while you were so preoccupied with inspecting your hooves in the hallway, and then he repeated the same threat again today before trying to force himself on her. I had precisely two options: I could ask him nicely to leave and hope that he left it at that, or I could force him to stop,” she stated bluntly as she turned her head to more clearly exhibit her bruised face. “He had already shown absolutely no compunction with using violence to get what he wanted, as you can see by my face, and he was preoccupied by trying to get his way with her through force. So, I made my decision and applied liberal amounts of force to get him to stop.”

“Are you certain that you did the right thing, Tavi?”

“Are you stupid or just acting it? He was trying to rape her!” Octavia shivered as she was finally forced to say the word. “I didn’t have time to try and consider any alternative course of action. He’s lucky that I didn’t do worse; I had half the mind to make sure that he could never try such an act again."

Octavia stared at him for a moment, but he didn't seem to have any more forthcoming arguments. She let out a breath that she hadn't quite realized that she was holding and shook her head softly. "If you would be so kind as to get my instrument from downstairs, I would really appreciate it. After that, you can kindly go to wherever it is that you slink off to when Vinyl is upset. This definitely qualifies as an instance where your presence isn’t needed.”

“I-I’m sorry, Tavi, you’re right. I was just a little shocked, okay? I’ll go get your stuff,” he replied but then halted halfway through turning around to leave. “Are you sure that you’re alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine, really. Your presence is not needed right now, so please just go,” Octavia insisted before she turned away to sneak back into the bedroom. She quietly pushed the door shut behind her and then turned to check on Vinyl, only to see the unicorn’s gaze locked on a point behind her. Vinyl was still tucked under the covers, but she had rolled to face the doorway. She had one eyebrow raised in a similar manner as when teasing Octavia; however, her face lacked the bright smile that accompanied such jests. Upon closer inspection, Octavia noted that Vinyl’s expression looked slightly distant. The unicorn’s eyes didn’t follow her when she stepped through the doorway; instead, they kept staring off towards the hallway.

“Oh hey, Vinyl. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Octavia ventured quietly as she took a step towards the bed.

“I-it’s fine... Did you mean that out there, Tavi?” Vinyl questioned in a worried tone, her eyes finally shifting away and focusing on the earth pony. Octavia hesitated before responding, having a hard time associating the tone of voice with the unicorn that she thought she had been getting to know rather well.

“Mean what? Are you feeling okay?”

“Y-you called me your friend...” Vinyl replied simply after shifting her eyes away from Octavia and keeping them firmly locked on the bed sheets.

“Did you really mean that? After, well, everything that we’ve said to each other?” Vinyl asked to break the silence that had fallen between them.

“Vinyl... I can realistically say that you are my only real friend in Canterlot at the moment,” Octavia replied as she moved closer and sat down on the edge of the mattress. “We’ve had our disagreements, but you are the only pony who has shown that you actually care about me... not just what I can do for you.”

“What about Oliver? I thought that you two had been getting along rather well?” Vinyl asked meekly and risked a glance over towards Octavia. The red eyes that met Octavia’s for the briefest of moments were shimmering with uncharacteristic weakness that made Octavia want to gather the mare up into her hooves and hug her tightly until everything was better. The image of the normally confident and brash mare reduced to such timid and scared behavior was enough to make the anger against Sharp Note, which was already present from her conversation with Oliver, build up to a furious rage.

“That pony is going to burn for what he has done to you, Vinyl...” Octavia grumbled under her breath and ignored the shocked expression that spread across Vinyl’s face.

“As for Oliver, I don’t really know. He has been friendly, sure, but I’m not entirely certain what to think after the conversation that you apparently overheard. He made it sound like he was more upset that I had caused him trouble than anything else. That plus his blasé treatment of the incidents between you and Sharp Note make me really wonder about him,” Octavia replied with a quiet sigh and shook her head to herself.

“I’m sorry that I got you involved in this...” Vinyl mumbled and then reached a hoof out towards the heavily bruised area under Octavia’s left eye. “Does it hurt?”

“Vinyl, don’t you dare apologize for what that foul pony did!” she yelled in a harsher tone than she had intended. Yet, she did not back down and kept going with it as she suddenly stood up and used the position to glare down at the unicorn below her. “You did absolutely nothing wrong, and it was by no means your fault... I cringe to think of what he nearly did to you simply because I was not taking his threats seriously enough.”

“You can’t keep blaming yourself for everything, Tavi...” Vinyl said with a slight frown. “You tried to blame the accident with Resonance on yourself too, remember? You were right, this wouldn’t have happened and, more importantly, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt if I had just done something about it instead of simply hoping the problem went away. I was just too scared; I still am too scared...”

“Vinyl, blaming yourself isn’t going to help at all... Please just get some more rest, okay? Once you’re feeling up to it, we’re going to walk down to the guard station to make sure that they lock away that foul pony for a long time, alright?” Octavia said in a soothing tone as she stopped resisting the urge to comfort Vinyl and sat back down on the edge of the mattress. Her hoof found the outstretched white forehoof and grasped it gently to offer her support.

Octavia was utterly shocked when she turned her attention back towards Vinyl’s face and saw the unicorn’s eyes wide open in an expression of pure terror. Octavia immediately released the hoof and whirled off the mattress with a growl, setting herself into an aggressive posture that faced the doorway while looking for any sign of the brown stallion anywhere nearby. When her eyes failed to find him anywhere in the small room, she let herself turn back around with a confused expression.

“Please do not scare me like that, Vinyl. I was certain he had returned because of your reaction. What is the matter?” Octavia questioned and then sat back down on the edge of the bed.

“N-no... not there...” was all that Vinyl managed to squeak out as her lips trembled and she shook her head violently. The unicorn’s bright blue mane was quickly thrown into a state of disarray from the distressed flailing, and the expression of terror refused to abate. Octavia watched in horror as tiny tears flew out from the edges of Vinyl’s eyes, and then the unicorn curled up tightly.

“Vinyl! Not where?” Octavia asked desperately as she reached out and attempted to cease Vinyl’s fevered shivering long enough to grasp at the white forehooves soothingly, but she was unable to get Vinyl to relax at all.

“N-not the guards... I-I can’t...” Vinyl pleaded in a desperate tone. She finally ceased her shaking and turned her face towards Octavia with a distraught expression as tears streaked freely down the sides of her face.

“Vinyl...” Octavia started in a soothing tone but was interrupted by her own heavy sigh. “What are we going to do if you don’t want to go to the guards?”

“I-I don’t know; I just... can’t.”

“We cannot possibly leave this alone, Vinyl. If we let this slide he will come back,” Octavia insisted as she reached out with a hoof to push some of Vinyl’s disheveled mane out of her eyes.

“I know...” Vinyl whispered in a barely audible tone as she curled up even tighter. “I just can’t go back there... Please don’t make me.”

“Get some sleep, Vinyl,” Octavia barely managed to croak in response as she fought back her own tears at the sight. She finished gently straightening out Vinyl’s mane and ran her hoof gently across Vinyl’s forehead. “We’ll talk about it once you’ve rested up a bit, okay?”

Vinyl nodded weakly in response and began to let her body relax, but she suddenly tensed up again and shot a hoof out towards Octavia when the gray mare began to leave. Vinyl barely managed to catch the end of Octavia's black tail and grasped at it fervently before Octavia could finish climbing off the mattress. “Don’t leave me... Please don’t leave me alone.”

“I won’t, I promise, just let me get a magazine or something, okay?” Octavia answered as she climbed back onto the bed and waited for the hoof to release her tail before she ventured off for some reading material in the apartment. When Octavia returned, she went to lie down on the carpet against the dresser but was interrupted by an audible squeak of protest from Vinyl.

“C-could you, umm...” Vinyl started to ask in a frightened voice and glanced down at the bed next to her, but she was interrupted by Octavia standing up with a sigh before she could continue. Octavia climbed up onto the bed next to her and gently placed the magazine she had found onto one of the pillows.

“Shove over,” Octavia commanded through a slightly exasperated smile and settled into place next to Vinyl. After some hesitation, she stood up and pulled the covers away before lying herself down again and letting them fall back over her. “Is that better?”

Vinyl gave the slightest hint of a smile before nodding in response. Eventually the smile deepened and the unicorn sprawled out on her side facing away from Octavia while letting her back rest gently against Octavia’s side.

“Thank you... for everything. I don’t think I’ve ever said that to you, but I should have...” Vinyl muttered as she lifted her head up and then let it rest back against Octavia’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it, Vinyl... That is what friends are for... right?” Octavia responded as she shook her head lightly. She didn’t insist on making Vinyl give her space again despite the awkwardness of laying there with the unicorn pressed against her while she tried to read. Instead, she just let Vinyl take solace in her presence, figuring that Vinyl’s need was greater than her own awkward discomfort. “Sleep well, Vinyl.”

“Thanks, Tavi...” Vinyl responded under her breath and eventually slipped into a light slumber. Octavia turned her head over to glance at the sleeping unicorn with a slight smile. She remembered the only previous time she had witnessed Vinyl sleeping, and having the unicorn this close to her and pressed up against her side seemed to only make the sight even cuter.

It had to be some unwritten law of the universe that stated any ponies you knew were required to walk into the room at the most compromising moment possible. So, it stood to reason that she should have expected Oliver to return with her instrument as soon as the two of them were tucked under the sheets and she was smiling over at Vinyl’s sleeping form. She fought the desire to slam her forehoof into her face because of both the risk of further injuring it and of waking Vinyl. Instead, she settled with shooting him a glare that challenged him to say a word at the risk of bodily harm.

“You know, if you wanted some alone time you could have just asked,” he whispered with a grin as he set her double bass down just next to one of the dressers. He chuckled and turned tail to run away just in time to narrowly escape the thrown magazine.

“Wha-?” Vinyl mumbled quietly at the sudden movement but seemed to quickly fall back to sleep after no response from Octavia.

Octavia sighed and glanced forlornly at the magazine. It hadn’t been terribly interesting, but at least it hadn’t included any nasty articles about her. Most importantly, it had been distracting her from the awkwardness of her current situation. She couldn’t very well get up and fetch it, as that would most definitely wake Vinyl, and she certainly couldn’t ask Oliver to fetch it after throwing it at him. The sounds of his hoofsteps clacking against the wood near the front door of the apartment and of the door shutting shortly afterwards cemented the fact that Oliver was not an option.

She sighed quietly and gave up; she let her head rest on her forehooves and decided she might as well take a nap. It was better than just lying there and trying to ignore the sleeping pony nuzzled up against her side.

Unfortunately for Octavia, she hadn’t considered the possibility of waking up with Vinyl wrapped tightly in her hooves to be a serious one. So as she stirred from her slumber and became aware that she was exactly in such a position, she barely managed to prevent herself from recoiling in surprise. The only thing that could have possibly made this whole situation any more awkward would have been if Vinyl woke up while she still had her hooves tightly wrapped around the unicorn’s chest, a position normally reserved for lovers. Octavia, for the life of her, couldn’t figure out a way to extricate herself from the situation without waking up the sleeping mare.

“Hey, Tavi, I didn’t know you cared,” came a playful voice from below her chin, followed by a quiet giggle.

Octavia groaned inwardly. Of course Vinyl was already awake, why wouldn’t she be? She let out a sigh and gave Vinyl a playful shove out of the tender embrace.

“I am glad to hear that you are feeling better, Vinyl,” she responded icily while she shook her head.

“Oh come on, you think I can wake up with you cuddling me like that and not say something?” Vinyl asked as she rolled over to face Octavia with a devious grin. She then fluttered her half-lidded eyes several times before bursting into a fit of the giggles.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. It was not my intention for us to wind up in such a compromising position when I decided to take a nap.” Octavia responded as her face flushed with heat. “I don’t suppose an apology and the request for you to drop it would work?”

“I gathered that much by your reaction, Octobutt, and you really should know me better than that by now. It’s fine really, if you felt this way about me all along you really should have just said so,” Vinyl responded as she tried to stifle her giggles and twist her face back into the alluring expression. “It would have explained so much about our little... spats.”

“While I’m glad to hear you acting like yourself again, Scratch, I really would prefer if you dropped it,” Octavia replied with an annoyed tone that caused Vinyl to immediately cease her laughing. “I put up with your insistence on lying so close to me as you slept, despite the discomfort it was causing me. I figured at the time that, with how hurt and vulnerable you sounded, you needed the comfort more than I did. Please do not make a mockery of my good intentions...”

Vinyl reached out and grasped Octavia’s tail with her hoof to stop the other mare from retreating off the bed. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit. I appreciate you staying with me; I don’t think I could have slept comfortably alone after... what had happened. I could tell by how tense you were that you weren’t really comfortable with it, and I appreciate that you stayed with me anyway... Since it was you that drove him away... it made me feel safe to have you right there next to me.”

“I was just trying to distract myself from the fact that I’m going to have to tell you a rather painful story,” Vinyl added weakly as her hoof relaxed its grip on the black tail. She used the hoof to wave away the beginnings of a question forming on Octavia’s lips and shook her head lightly. “I woke up quite a while ago, but you were out like a light, so I let you keep sleeping, despite how late it was. It gave me some time to think... If I’m going to try and insist that we don’t go to the g-guards, then I guess I should at least have the decency to explain why...”

Vinyl once again raised her hoof to shush the gray mare before she continued. “It’s not a story I like to tell; I don’t even think Oliver knows the whole thing. The bits he knows are mostly pieced together from things that I’ve accidentally let drop over the years. So, please recognize that this is difficult for me, okay?”

“Of course...”

Vinyl flashed Octavia a forced smile and pulled the gray mare into a gentle hug before she wriggled off the bed, leaving a slightly confused Octavia to stare after her. “Before we get into that, let’s grab some food, alright?”

“That sounds like an excellent idea, Vinyl.”

“I’ll just go and make us some ‘breakfast' now, okay?” Vinyl asked as she walked around the bed and stopped in the doorway. “I’ll be just in the other room. We can have a good cuddle afterwards if you really miss me that much.”

Octavia fought back a giggle despite herself, and Vinyl stopped in the doorway to wink back towards her. "I heard you laugh..." Vinyl called teasingly before disappearing with a mischievous laugh.

Octavia looked curiously around the room. After hearing Vinyl refer to how late it was, she realized that she had no idea of the actual time. The heavy curtains on the windows were drawn rather tight, but they didn’t seem to be leaking any light into the room. Her roving eyes eventually fell upon the red display of an electronic clock. Despite having slept for what must have been only a few hours, she felt much more rested than she would have expected. She let out a quiet groan when she realized that getting to sleep tonight was going to be problematic.

“Hey, Octypus! You coming or what?” came a bright voice from the opposite end of the apartment a few minutes later.

“I’m coming, Vinyl dearest!” she called back loudly, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she crawled off the bed and made her way towards the kitchen. Vinyl certainly was a hoof-full, but she was glad that the unicorn was feeling at least a little better.

Chapter 14

"So, is this a typical breakfast for you, Vinyl?" Octavia questioned with a smirk as she looked over the table. "It's... not quite what I pictured when you offered that we eat first."

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you expecting a finely cooked meal? How could I ever think to serve the great Octavia such common food! I should start all over and make you something wonderful from scratch. Would you like some eggs benedict, perhaps a fine omelette?" Vinyl shot back with a grin before she started to tear into her formerly frozen waffles.

"No, I'm actually rather impressed, Vinyl. I was expecting something more like... cold cereal. I didn't know you had such refined culinary skills. This waffle is almost warm," she said with surprise as she poked it with a hoof. "I doubt I could have done a better job taking it from the freezer and putting it into the toaster myself, let alone pressing down the lever and then apparently getting impatient while waiting for it to finish."

"Oh you know, only the best for you, Octybaby," Vinyl managed to say with a wave of a hoof before stuffing her face with the rest of her waffle.

"Vinyl..." Octavia started to say with trepidation. "Are you... okay?"

"Wha-?" Vinyl choked through a mouth full of food and had to take a moment to clear her throat. "What do you mean, Tavi?"

"I'm pretty certain that was a relatively easy question to understand, Vinyl," Octavia replied with a smirk. "Are you doing alright? You had a... rough day, and I'm concerned for you. You seem a little off since we woke up."

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? You're the one that took a hoof to the face," Vinyl asked with a slight grin, but it quickly faltered at the sight of Octavia's unwavering expression. Vinyl opened her mouth a few times before she managed to string together enough words to form a reply. "N-no, I guess I'm not... Even though you drove him away, and then stayed with me all night, I'm not okay... I just didn't want to make you worry."

"Vinyl, nopony would expect you to be fully recovered so soon. What that worthless stallion tried to do to you is beyond description; I'm here for you, but you don't need to pretend that you're fine when you're not. If you feel the need to cry some more, then you don't have to hold it in; though, I'd prefer it if you let me take a shower before you make even more of a mess of my coat."

"No, I'm cried out... for now that is. I can't guarantee that it won't start again, but I appreciate your help more than you can imagine. I just feel broken, and I can't really explain why. It all relates back to the story, and I can't really tell just parts of it. So, just finish your food and we can find somewhere more comfortable for me to break my heart open and pour it all over you."

"You don't need to tell me the story now, Vinyl. If it's really going to be that tough, I understand," Octavia replied as she raised an eyebrow and tried to wear an understanding expression.

"No, if the choice is between going to the guards and telling you a painful story, then I'm telling you the story. Hopefully you will understand why when I'm done, but at the very least I want the extra time it buys me before you drag me down there anyway," Vinyl replied with a knowing smirk.

"I can't promise anything, but that is a likely result, Vinyl," Octavia said with a smile spreading across her face.

"That isn't finishing your food, Tavi..." Vinyl remarked as her smirk slowly changed into a grin.

"I'm working on it..."

"If you really do want to cuddle some more later... I'm sure it could be arranged," Vinyl said with a mischievous giggle.

"Alright, alright, I'll eat my food already. You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Of course not, who do you think I am?

"So, Vinyl... what kind of timeframe are we talking here?" Octavia questioned with a careful tone as she stared at the unicorn over the long-since-empty plates.

"Give me a minute; I'm trying to work myself up to it."

"I understand, Vinyl. You've made it clear that it's not something you like to talk about, but let's go somewhere other than the kitchen? Where would you feel the most comfortable?"

"Vinyl?" Octavia questioned after a few minutes of the unicorn staring at a spot on the wall and not saying anything.

"Equestria to Vinyl... Anypony home?" she questioned with a smile as she walked around and nudged the unicorn's side with her hoof.

"S-sorry, I just realized that it would probably be down in the studio. B-but that's where..." Vinyl trailed off and stared down at her empty plate.

"If you want to go down there, then I'll be with you every step of the way," Octavia replied in her best soothing tone.

"I-I like it in the studio... It reminds me that I own this entire building, and of how far I've come in this city, especially after..." Vinyl started to elaborate but cut herself off with a visible shiver.

"I guess that makes sense, but it still doesn't seem like the best of ideas. Is there anywhere else maybe?"

"I'm going to have to go back down there anyway, right? So, I guess now is as good as a time as ever..." Vinyl replied and directed a blank glance towards the front of the apartment.

"I would feel much better about this if you sounded more convinced, Vinyl."

"It's fine, really. If it's too much, then we can come back up here..."

"Don't push yourself too hard, Vinyl," Octavia said with a resigned sigh.

"Oh come on, would I do that?"

"Yes."

"O-okay, granted, but would I do that after everything that's happened over the last day?" Vinyl replied with a smirk.

"Yes," Octavia answered instantly with her own smile.

"Fine... I'll try; let's go do this thing."

Vinyl lead the way out of the apartment, leaving the dishes on the table for later and ignoring the clear hesitation from Octavia at the thought. Once out in the hallway, she turned and headed for the stairwell, electing to tread down the stairs in silence. As the two of them walked down the flights of stairs, the sounds of their echoing hoofsteps filled their ears and replaced the awkward gap between them. Even though Vinyl appeared to be steadily slowing down the closer they came to the fifth floor, Octavia, for one, wasn't going to break the silence when Vinyl was clearly just trying to buy more time.

Octavia drew up beside Vinyl on the landing and just stood there silently while Vinyl apparently gathered the willpower to set hoof in the hallway. It took a few minutes, but Vinyl was able to grasp the door in her magic and stride out into the hallway without any intervention. Her pace was painstakingly slow as they neared the studio, though, and when they got nearer they were faced with the door partially hanging off a hinge.

Octavia had heard the door splinter when that idiotic pony had fled, but she hadn't realized the extent of the damage with how preoccupied she had been over Vinyl. As she looked closer, she saw where the door had broken the doorstop on the wall and punched a hole in the drywall. That wasn't the full extent of the damage: the top hinge had ripped the screws out of the wooden frame and, as a result, the door was hanging noticeably crooked in front of them. It was likely that the wood would have to be replaced in order to fix the hinge.

A wicked smile spread across Octavia's face as she realized just how much she had scared the buffoon if he caused this much damage on his way out. She started to chuckle quietly to herself until she realized that Vinyl was staring at her with disbelief.

"S-sorry..." she muttered as she struggled to regain control.

Vinyl raised an eyebrow at Octavia after taking a moment to intently examine the door. She eventually pulled the door open and slowly stepped inside. Vinyl barely made it far enough into the waiting room for Octavia to follow behind before the unicorn was immediately distracted by the portion of the wall where Octavia had kicked Sharp Note into it. She walked closer, her stride becoming slightly more confident as she went and peered intently at the large damaged section of drywall.

There was a rather large partially-broken section of the wall about the size of a stallion's head and a huge hole further along where his flank must have hit. Upon looking closer, Vinyl swore under her breath as she noticed flecks of blood along the edges of the hole. She stared at it for quite a long time before she actually started to giggle softly and shake her head.

"I've come to realize that you were angry, Tavi, but wow... You did this by kicking him off me?" Vinyl finally whispered in awe when she heard the other mare step up next to her.

"I may have been slightly upset," Octavia replied with a grim smile.

"He must have nearly pissed himself with fright to do that much damage to the door on the way out."

"He reminded me a bit of a dog with his tail between his legs to be honest. I may have also threatened to castrate him if he didn't get out of my sight," Octavia replied nonchalantly.

"Remind me to never make you that angry," Vinyl said after letting out another quiet swear under her breath.

"In retrospect, I don't think you're capable of making me that mad, Vinyl," Octavia answered with an earnest smile as she turned her attention back to Vinyl.

"I doubt this is where you want to sit and talk, unless my handiwork fascinates you that much," Octavia teasingly ventured after a minute or so of silence.

"N-no, of course not... Let's go into the recording room, we can push everything out of the way and lie down in there," Vinyl responded as she started to walk away but then stopped and glanced at the wall once more. She stared for a second and then swore under her breath before continuing on her way out of the waiting room. "Holy mother of Celestia..."

"So, is that the earth pony strength thing, or are you freakishly strong from standing on your hindlegs to play your instrument all the time?" Vinyl questioned with a quiet giggle as she pushed the microphone, music stand, and chair out of the way.

"I think more of the former than the latter, but I would not discount it completely," Octavia replied with a smile as she laid herself down on the floor with her legs folded up under her. It wasn't quite as comfortable as the bedroom carpet upstairs, but by the nervous shifting Vinyl was exhibiting, she figured that Vinyl was waiting for her.

"Is this fine?" Vinyl questioned with an air of worry as she laid down next to Octavia about half a pony's width apart. Octavia replied with a simple nod and turned her head to glance at Vinyl. The angle was awkward from this close, and she couldn't quite manage to look Vinyl directly in the eyes; however, upon that realization, she figured that was probably the point.

"Just give me a minute... I don't know where to start."

"I guess as clichéd as it sounds, it all began when I was young and setting out to make a name for myself..." Vinyl started about a minute later as she stretched out her forelegs in front of her and then let her head rest on top of them. She stubbornly focused her eyes forward and locked them on the white wall in front of her, refusing to even attempt to meet Octavia's gaze at all.

"I came to Canterlot because I realized that it is the best place for a musician to gain fame. The presence of the princess drives everything forward. On top of that, the Canterlot Symphony, and the rich history of classical music built up around it, means that even ponies that specialize in more... modern music, like myself, can get quite a lot of exposure here."

"There is more of an audience than you would think, even within the city itself. Ponies who were raised on classical genres and 'high-class' music gave birth to new generations of ponies who want to enjoy the newer forms of musical expression. So, despite Canterlot being known as the home of the sweet and the elite, there's quite a booming club district developing within the heart of the city," Vinyl intoned while keeping her eyes locked on the wall.

"The problem with all of this is that musicians in the more modern genres rely much more heavily upon their recording label to help publicize them. Getting popular in the club scene doesn't just mean getting to play a few small gigs; you need a good label behind you to get the really good shows. Sure, there are smaller 'independent' labels around, but, for the most part, they can't pull the same weight to secure big shows for their clients. If you're going to be a small-time DJ with an underground following, you'd be much better off in Manehattan where there's far more clubs than in Canterlot. This is the city for making it big, and there's no room for those who don't; here, under the hooves of our princess, where it seems at first glance that the city she crafted had turned to gold, ponies only tolerate the very best," Vinyl nearly grumbled the last part out before she took a deep breath and continued.

"Because of this, most ponies who come here for modern music need to make it into the employ of one of the major music studios around. While I was aware of this when I was young, I didn't realize how the whole political landscape had affected the executives of the labels that I needed to get in with. I was a bright, young filly with eyes full of stars and a head packed with talent. I knew that I was just waiting to share it with the world, so Canterlot was the best place for me. It shouldn't surprise you at all that I wanted to be famous. I wanted crowds of ponies cheering my name as I controlled the music that set their blood on fire with the beat," Vinyl said with a quiet sigh.

"What does this have to do with-" Octavia started to ask but stopped when Vinyl actually turned to look at her for the first time since she had started.

"I'm getting there, Tav. Musicians in my world don't travel in the normal social circles of Canterlot. We don't go to high-society events, we don't get paid to play at them, we don't mingle with the nobles, and we don't really put on airs about ourselves having high status; at least, not in the same way as the nobility around here. The problem is, the executives do. When trance and electronica were first starting to catch on in Canterlot, the smarter members of the classical scene started to buy up the first few clubs that had appeared. All of the most popular clubs in Canterlot these days are owned by ponies that have zero desire to step a single hoof inside of them. In fact, there are a few of them who weren't considered to be much of anypony, but they managed to raise their status by buying up the right clubs and raking in tons of bits."

"I don't get it, so the executives walk around in the high social circles, how did that cause you problems?" Octavia questioned with a frown.

"You've been around the high class enough to realize that money and power are something that they can never get enough of. So these days, if a new club starts up and does well for itself, it's immediately bought up or forced out of business if they refuse to sell. Over time, all of the clubs have come to be owned by members of high-society and, therefore, the best way to get a gig in a club or music house is to have your employer mingle with the owner at some fancy dinner party. As things moved forward, this constant presence of record executives at the events caused them to be regarded as members of high-society and, with that, the older longstanding labels stopped having issues with employing DJs and rock groups as well."

"When I came here, I was by no means an innocent young filly. I knew that the world wasn't always the nicest place, that sometimes ponies did nasty things to get ahead; to top it all off, I'd gotten into a fair amount of trouble growing up. I didn't think that I'd be able to stride into Canterlot only to be handed fame on a platter. Though, I didn't expect the treatment I got from the label that signed me." Vinyl shivered and drew her legs up under her body.

"My boss was a righteous jerk who didn't care anything for me or my talent," Vinyl said with bitterness dripping from her voice. "I hadn't really expected him to be nice, but he only cared that I continued to produce enough music on a set schedule so that they could ship records out on time. Booking gigs took time and effort; they seemed to be done only to promote a new album so that the label could make more money. Nothing was about my fame or promoting me, just about getting the label more bits."

"My boss, though, he was something else. I was talented enough that I got placed under one of the more experienced ponies in the company. He wasn't an executive, but he essentially had the same amount of power. He had pretty much the final say over who got signed and who didn't; therefore, he had a huge amount of power over the musicians themselves. Getting on his bad side could lead to getting tossed out on your ass and having him talk bad about you to the other label owners at the next society event," Vinyl continued as her tone darkened to the point that she was soon grumbling to the pony next to her.

"The worst part is that he knew the power he had over the ponies under him; at times, he would be... demanding," Vinyl whispered the word with a shiver. "I was naive and thought that if I could become popular enough, then I would be able to just ignore his behavior and the company wouldn't be able to afford tossing me out."

"He was a pig in every sense of the word, and that's probably being unfair to pigs. He was well beyond his 'prime' and would often hire some young mare based on her looks alone, without even really trying to hide the fact that he just wanted to have his way with her. He used his power over each of those mares to work his way into bed with them, and then most of them were kicked back out onto the street. I highly doubt any of them actually wanted to sleep with him, but I've seen enough ponies willingly work their way to the top in that way to realize it's possible that they were aware of what was going on. A few of them even managed to make it big, despite a clear lack of talent..."

"On the other hoof, he knew that I had talent and some promise beyond my body, so he stuck to merely being a slave driver around me. That is, until I started to plateau; I couldn't operate under the constant pressure to create more songs. I never had time to calm down and breathe after releasing a batch of songs before he was on my ass about more. The pressure to keep endlessly creating new content was squashing my creativity. I didn't have time to find proper inspiration, so I started to just throw together songs and then suffered for it..." Vinyl lay her head down and took a few deep breaths before she continued.

"The popularity that I had started to build, the tenuous platform that I had raised myself upon, was crumbling. With the number of ponies trying to make it big in this town, there is no room for somepony who can't keep up. A new pony will come around and take all your fans away if you falter for even a moment. So, he appeared to give up on working me for my talent and, instead, wanted to get a few final songs out of me before I became unprofitable. With that shift came the change in his behavior towards me. He started to focus on my body, just like I'd seen him do with the others. He made backhoofed remarks about my talent and gave me those looks... I tried to ignore them, but the more that my popularity wavered, the more direct he became. I thought that if I ignored him, then maybe I could produce a few good songs and shut him up. I hoped that if the next EP was good enough, he would just back off and leave me alone, but I was deluding myself."

"Vinyl... Are you okay? You don't have to-" Octavia started to ask after a long silence fell between them and after she thought she could see tears starting to form in the unicorn's eyes.

"No! I'm not... but if this is what I have to do in order to avoid the guards, then I'll keep going. Just give me a minute..." Vinyl sniffled and rubbed her eyes with a hoof before she turned to lie down on her side, looking past Octavia towards the doorway.

"I couldn't tell you how long I struggled to get him to stop, but one day he did stop. He cornered me in my 'office' in the studio, in the little closet with a desk shoved inside that I was supposed to somehow be creative in when I wasn't recording. He made it perfectly clear, either I let him have his way with me or I was out on the street. He didn't even want to pretend any sort of romance... he wanted the sense of power and demanded that I mount my desk right there." Vinyl closed her eyes and shook her head a few times.

"You can probably guess how that went over with me. I nearly punched him... I wish that I had, actually," Vinyl muttered darkly after hearing Octavia's harsh intake of breath. "I told him flat out that he'd never get that out of me and that he could screw off because the studio needed me. I knew that wasn't the case, but I figured that maybe challenging his power was the best way to deal with it. I couldn't have been more wrong..." Vinyl shivered and curled up into a white ball as she struggled to continue talking.

"H-he didn't react as I'd hoped..." she added with a dark laugh. "I didn't realize that he put a lot of thought and planning into his behavior. Despite being the lowest scum around, he was very intelligent and covered his tracks well. Nopony else who worked in that area of the building was there that day. So, when I refused and started making a ruckus about it, nopony was around to come check in on us."

"I'd thought that if I made a loud enough fuss he'd be too scared to force anything, but he caught me by surprise and just went for it. L-luckily, he was a bit of an idiot," Vinyl added through a pained laugh, even as tears started to run down her face.

"He didn't seem to realize that it was possible for a mare to say no, even when he had my face pressed against the desk and was trying to mount me. He went straight for the prize, and something inside of me snapped when I realized he wasn't even considering that I would even think of fighting back. I wasn't going to let him do it! I didn't care if it meant never playing again," Vinyl growled as she rolled over and thumped the floor. "He was having a hard time of it because I wasn't exactly just holding still for him, so I lashed my hooves out and caught him square on one of his hindlegs. There was a satisfying crack, but I didn't stop to look at him. I ran out of the "office" without even grabbing any of my belongings. It took me two days to go to the guards and tell them what happened..."

"B-but, I never w-would have thought that the worst of it hadn’t happened yet..." Vinyl choked out as she laid facing away from Octavia and sobbed under her breath.

"Vinyl..." Octavia whispered, unable to think of anything else to actually say, and shifted over towards the unicorn. She ran a hoof through the blue mane once before the sobbing unicorn turned and hid her face between the gray hooves.

"Th-they didn't b-believe me, Tavi!" Vinyl nearly yelled as she cried and clutched at the gray mare. "They accused me of lying! They said that he'd already come in and filed charges of assault, and that I needed to come t-talk to them about what happened. They took me into their interrogation room and yelled at me!"

Octavia wasn't able to stop the tears that slowly started to trickle down her face, not from the story, but from how much the unicorn in front of her failed to resemble the Vinyl that she had come to know. She pulled Vinyl closer and just hugged her for a long moment, neither of them saying anything for several minutes before Octavia broke the silence.

"Why didn't they believe you, Vinyl?"

"I told you about how this city is rotten, right?" Vinyl replied a good while later after her sniffling had calmed down a bit. "This was my first real experience with exactly how bad it is. He had apparently come in with some pony that I'd never worked with before to spin some bullshit tale of how I'd hauled off and attacked him after a dispute over wages. They read out letters from other ponies in the company about how I had a terrible temper and how they were scared of me..."

"It was then that I realized that I couldn't fight this. He was too powerful; too many ponies were too scared of him and would lie for him in order to make their positions secure. I thought that I was going to be thrown in jail... but that bastard was too angry over me wounding his pride. So, he specifically asked the guards to enact a certain punishment. It fit in so well with the spirit of Princess Celestia's feelings about how ponies should be given a second chance that they accepted it..."

"H-he... asked the guards only that I apologize to his face and pay for breaking his leg..." Vinyl barely managed to whisper as her voice broke.

Octavia’s grip on Vinyl tightened at the words and she took in a quiet hiss of a breath.

"The stupid idiot of an attorney given to me by the guards agreed without even asking me first!" Vinyl nearly yelled as she buried her face deeper into the gray coat and sobbed. “He said it was for my own good, and that I should count myself lucky that I wasn’t being locked up.”

"I would have rather been locked away than have to apologize to that sack of shit! Th-they made me apologize for breaking his leg..." Vinyl cried out between heavy sobs and clutched Octavia so tight that she was having trouble breathing. "They made me tell him that I was sorry for making him stop..."

"And he knew exactly what he was doing too!" Vinyl exclaimed suddenly as she turned towards Octavia, her face streaked with tears and the whites of her eyes red from the crying. "He was smiling! He had a twisted little smile on his evil face while the guards made me apologize for not letting him violate me!"

Vinyl pounded her hooves on the floor between them at the words and then buried her face into her forelegs. "They wouldn't even pretend to listen to me as I protested..." she mumbled quietly into the white legs. "They didn't care what I had to say because my assigned attorney had already agreed to it. They didn't even care when I said that I didn't agree to it. They threatened me with worse punishments if I broke the agreement, and I was scared..."

"I was young, and what they said they would do frightened me..." Vinyl sobbed quietly.

"So, I apologized... while his evil little face twisted even further into that grin. Ever since, I can't even look at a guard the same way; I can't put my trust in them after they betrayed it so heavily. I was scared and hurt, and when I needed them the most, they turned their backs on me," Vinyl concluded with a disturbingly calm tone of voice. The tears that had been previously flowing freely down her face had stopped so quickly that Octavia would not have been surprised if somepony had simply switched them off. Even worse was the way that Vinyl's gaze returned to focusing on a point just beyond Octavia in an empty, emotionless expression.

"Vinyl... Nothing I can say can fix what they did to you," Octavia ventured as she shifted closer to Vinyl and tried to nudge the unicorn out of the disturbingly silent gaze.

"Vinyl, talk to me... You're scaring me," Octavia started as she ran a hoof through the blue mane in front of her. "You made it on your own, right?"

"Y-yes... His actions lit a fire under me. What he intended was to break me; instead, it caused me to burn with anger. I was never going to forgive him or the ponies that went along with it. Giving up on music would have been letting him win, so I produced a proper album inspired by the raging emotions that he had stirred up inside of me. I put it out on an independent label and, with how quickly I managed to publish it, I was able to ride some of my previous popularity."

"The ponies at that studio sucked at promotion, though, so I pushed it myself and stopped being nice about it. I managed to get some good gigs by being forceful and acting so rude that the club owners assumed I was a bigger deal than I was. I left the label behind and dumped all the money I had into self-publishing. I managed to make it somehow, and now I have all of this..." Vinyl finished and laid her head down against Octavia's chest, closing her eyes as the grey hoof kept lightly running through her blue mane.

"You're going to make me go to the guards anyway, aren't you?" Vinyl asked in a subdued voice several minutes later.

"Yes."

"I can't stop you, can I?" Vinyl asked with a sigh.

"I wouldn't be able to say that I'm your friend if I let you leave something this big alone, Vinyl. I know that it's not going to be easy, but we can't just ignore it... I'll be there with you; you won't be alone this time," Octavia asserted firmly.

"You know, I'd have thought that anypony trying to make me go to the guards would piss me the hell off..." Vinyl started to reply quietly as she lifted her head up and away from the gentle hoof. "But, after everything you've done for me today, saying that you'll do it with me actually helps a lot. I didn't think that I'd actually have friends again; I'd convinced myself that everypony in Canterlot was after the same thing and that you were no different. I'm sorry... I should have realized otherwise when you took so much interest in Resonance's well-being."

"Don't worry about it, Vinyl. I was being a bit of a bitch..." she ventured with a quiet chuckle.

"A bit?" Vinyl answered with a grin and then winced as a hoof smacked across her head.

"Hey! I'm emotionally vulnerable right now; you shouldn't be hitting me!"

"You were supposed to disagree with that, Scratch..." Octavia grumbled while the corners of her mouth twitched.

Vinyl chuckled and rubbed the top of her head with a hoof before grinning up at Octavia. “And here I thought you were getting to know me...”

“I’m glad you can joke around after telling a story like that, but you don’t need to always try to hide how hurt you are, Vinyl.”

"So this is the part where you drag me to the guards, right? I don't suppose I could convince you to wait a bit longer first?" Vinyl asked as she put her head back down against Octavia's chest.

"It is rather late to be going now; we can go in the morning I suppose... What do you say we head back upstairs where the floor isn't quite so hard?" Octavia asked as a genuine smile started spread across her face.

"Sounds good to me, Octypus."

"I really wish you wouldn't call me that, Scratch..." Octavia grumbled and shoved the unicorn away, but she only received a giggle in response.

Chapter 15

Octavia’s jaw cracked in the middle of a huge yawn as she attempted to sit up on the luxurious mattress. She felt a momentary pang of guilt for allowing Vinyl to talk her into sleeping in the comfortable bed again. It would certainly be difficult to return to sleeping on her own, lumpy, miserable excuse for a mattress once this whole mess with Vinyl was cleared up. A sigh escaped her lips as she frowned and attempted to focus on more important things, like the splitting headache that shot stabbing pain through her eyes every time she tried to open them against the morning sun. Closing her eyes didn’t seem to help reduce the pain much; instead, it only turned into a dull throbbing across her temples.

She raised a hoof and rubbed her eyes as she struggled to sit up against a strange resistance. She yawned wide again and fought against the headache to open her eyes so that she could identify what was weighing her down. When she finally managed to keep her eyes open long enough for the blurriness to fade away, they fell upon Vinyl being utterly adorable.

Vinyl’s forehooves were wrapped around Octavia’s chest and her white face was buried in the fur just below Octavia’s forelegs. When Octavia attempted to shift away towards the side of the bed with a frown, it resulted in the immediate tightening of Vinyl’s grasp.

“V-Vinyl… What are you doing?” Octavia asked in a forced voice, taking quite a bit of effort to not grind her teeth as she tried to pry herself free of the white hooves.

“Five more minutes…” Vinyl quietly mumbled in response before nuzzling her face deeper into the gray chest.

“Vinyl, I r-really do need you to let me go…” Octavia stammered as she quickly glanced around the room with a few panicked breaths. She instinctively scanned for an escape route and found that the open doorway to the hallway was the only thing within sight. She drew in a deep breath and then let out a long exhale before continuing in an insistent whisper. “I-I need to use the washroom, Vinyl…”

“You’ll come back?” Vinyl whispered while still clutching Octavia.

“I promise,” Octavia gave in with an exasperated sigh. “Now, will you please let me go?”

Vinyl responded by clutching even tighter for the briefest of moments, the very hints of a blush showing on her white face when Octavia had to deliberately extricate her legs from the unicorn’s before even attempting to slide away. Vinyl finally let go with a childish pout spreading across her face and then curled up into a ball in the warm spot vacated by the earth pony. It took all of Octavia’s might not to grumble under her breath as she stomped out of the bedroom.

When Octavia finally made her way back into the bedroom, she found Vinyl lying across the bed, staring at the doorway. Vinyl perked up noticeably upon her reappearance and shifted over to the side to make room as Octavia shuffled over. Octavia didn’t even bother with pretending not to know what Vinyl wanted, but that didn’t mean she had to play along either. Octavia used a hoof to gently push Vinyl away when the unicorn immediately tried to nuzzle back up against her side as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Vinyl, what the hell is going on?” Octavia asked as she lightly rubbed her forehead in an attempt to massage the pain away while she avoided looking out the window into the sunlight.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Vinyl responded in a curious tone while her face contorted into a slight frown as she was continually kept away by Octavia’s hoof.

“Last night you teased me mercilessly over an unintended hug in my sleep… Now you are, well, doing that…” she stated as Vinyl kept trying to sidle closer and Octavia had to nudge her away again.

Vinyl’s silence said a lot to Octavia while the two of them continued to stare at each other from opposite ends of the bed, and Octavia’s face eventually fell into a disappointed frown. Vinyl apparently seemed to be aware of how utterly adorable she was capable of making herself appear. She proceeded to give Octavia the slightest of pouts while she raised her eyebrows and attempted to accentuate her pleading expression by allowing her lower lip to tremble slightly.

“Vinyl, trying to act cute so that you can attempt to cuddle your way out of having to go to the guards isn’t going to work…”

“Can’t blame a mare for trying, can you?” Vinyl asked with a slight grin.

“Yes, I can, Scratch! We’ve been through this already. I don’t want to push the issue this much, but you’re making me. I can’t just let you ignore this and hope it goes away. When you take the physical comfort that I have been offering to a hurt and utterly broken mare and then try to use it to worm your way out of responsibility, yes, I can and will get upset with you. That’s called being manipulative, Scratch,” Octavia snapped as her frown deepened.

Vinyl sighed and tucked her head in against her chest as she curled up into an even tighter ball beside Octavia. “You’re right… I just don’t want to go.”

“I picked up on that, Vinyl,” Octavia teased with a slight grin and then reached out with a hoof to try and get the unicorn to uncurl herself. “Come on, get your lazy butt out of bed. It’ll help you feel better.”

Vinyl tried to shuffle closer to Octavia but was met with a hoof to the forehead and yet another nudge back to her side of the bed. “Five more minutes?” she asked foalishly.

“Fine,” Octavia agreed with a dramatic sigh before she shoved herself off the bed and started to walk away. “I’ll be in the kitchen. If you’re not out in ten minutes, then I’m dragging you out of bed myself.”

“You. Awake. Now,” Octavia commanded as she stomped into the bedroom, completely ignoring the quiet protests from Vinyl. She walked around the bed and tugged at the unicorn, shaking off Vinyl’s sleepy attempts to pull her into a hug.

“No more wriggling out of it, no more excuses, no more delays. We are going now, Scratch,” Octavia asserted with a mighty tug that made Vinyl tumble onto the floor next to her with an indignant yelp.

“Hey, not so rough, Octypus,” Vinyl complained as she rubbed at her side.

“Could you please not call me that?” Octavia pleaded as she rubbed her face once again in a futile attempt to ease the resurfacing pain.

“S-sorry, Tavi…” Vinyl mumbled in a quiet, dejected tone.

“No, I’m sorry… I don’t mean to snap at you so much, but you understand why we need to do this, right?” Octavia asked in a much softer tone.

“Yes…” came the quiet, almost whispered response.

“Great, now get your behind into that bathroom and do whatever it is you do to make your mane so purposefully messy!” Octavia commanded as she helped Vinyl onto her hooves and marched her down the hallway.

“Mess-” Vinyl started to question but was cut off by the bathroom door slamming shut between them.

“Chop, chop!” Octavia yelled through the closed door and then leaned against the wall so that she could rub her forehead with a hoof. She shut her eyes tight and tried to grit her teeth through the throbbing headache.

“You are enjoying ordering me around far too much, Tavi,” came a muffled complaint from inside the bathroom.

“Yeah, yeah, just hurry up, will you?” Octavia answered with a bit more annoyance than she intended.

“Are you okay, Tavi?” Vinyl asked several moments later in a concerned voice that made it clear that the unicorn had snuck out of the bathroom and had been watching her for at least a few seconds. Octavia jumped slightly and lowered her hoof while trying to hide the pained look that had been plastered across her face.

“Yeah, fine. Come on, if you’re ready, then let’s go,” Octavia responded quickly and then turned around to leave. She hadn’t made it more than a few steps when she felt a tug on her tail and then Vinyl’s worried face suddenly appeared in front of her after a flurry of hooves.

“Seriously, Octavia, you’ve been doing that since last night. Are you sure that you’re okay?” Vinyl asked as she raised a hoof to gently press it against Octavia’s face, only to frown when Octavia winced and stepped backwards at the light touch.

“Not important, we need to get this business taken care of with the guards firs-” Octavia hurriedly started to explain while she turned her face away from Vinyl.

“Shut up, Octavia,” Vinyl commanded firmly, closed the gap between them, and then lifted Octavia’s chin back towards her with a hoof. “Let me see your eye,” she asserted as she stared intently at the right side of Octavia’s face.

“Wha-”

“Your eye is looking pretty bad. We’re not leaving until you put some ice on your face to help the swelling, and if you keep having those headaches, I’m dragging your butt over to a doctor,” Vinyl continued, completely ignoring the beginnings of another protest from Octavia. “Come on, I’ll get you an ice pack,” Vinyl stated and then started walking towards the kitchen without any hesitation.

“I’ll be fine, really. I’m more concerne-” Octavia froze at the stare she received when Vinyl turned around in the doorway to the kitchen. Octavia had gotten used to the red coloration of Vinyl’s eyes, but the way that they gleamed dangerously when strong emotions passed over the unicorn’s face still caught her by surprise. The furrowed eyebrows also added the perfect effect to the expression, and the whole thing caused Octavia to respond with a simple nod before murmuring a quiet, “Okay…”

“Good,” was all that Vinyl said as she started rooting around in her freezer. After some choice swears, and a few intermittent apologies for making Octavia have to dodge a couple frozen projectiles, Vinyl pulled a dark blue bag out of the back of the freezer and passed it over to the other mare. The sheer cold of it nearly caused Octavia to drop it straight onto the floor, but she only just managed to snap her head forward and catch it in her mouth as it was slipping from her hoof. She repositioned it in her hoof while trying to ignore the quiet chuckling at her antics from Vinyl. Octavia winced as she placed it against the right side of her face, nearly dropping it again from the shocking cold.

“Sorry,” Vinyl giggled and let a faint smile spread across her face. She turned towards the sink, pulled a drawer open, took back the ice pack, wrapped it in a dish towel, and then hoofed it back with her magic. “That should help.”

“Thanks,” Octavia mumbled as she stared at the carefully wrapped ice pack and then started to chuckle. “I didn’t expect you to be the type for flower-patterned towels, though,” Octavia ventured with a smile as she pressed it back against her face and held it there with her right forehoof.

“What? Are you saying that I’m not allowed to like flowers since I’m the bigshot DJ?” Vinyl asked with a hurt expression. Octavia merely responded with a dubious grin that turned into a giggle when Vinyl’s façade broke down, and they both quickly started to laugh.

“Nah, they were a gift from my mom before she- Not important!” Vinyl exclaimed with a strangely chipper smile and a clatter of hooves as she quickly put the dishes from last night over to where she could take care of them later.

“Vinyl…” Octavia ventured quietly.

“Not important!” Vinyl insisted in a sing-song voice and then started to walk towards the front door. “You think you can walk and hold that at the same time? We can go slowly.”

“S-sure,” Octavia replied with a raised eyebrow at the sudden change of topic. Octavia’s gaze followed Vinyl’s movements around the apartment. After a moment she started to open her mouth, but closed it again with a shake of her head before changing tactics. “I take it you are ready to go then, Vinyl?” Octavia asked in a careful tone.

“Yep!” Vinyl responded with an overly-cheerful smile as she held the door open for Octavia.

Octavia carefully walked past Vinyl with a concerned expression on her face. She took careful steps so that she wouldn’t upset her balance as she shifted her weight in order to walk on three hooves. Vinyl made a point of completely ignoring the silent questions being directed at her and, instead, shut the door before leading the way to the elevator.

After a silent ride down the elevator, Vinyl finally spoke up after turning to face the receptionist. “Hey, we’re going to be gone for a while today. Tell Oliver he can have the day off when he comes in and don’t let anyone else inside, okay?”

“You know, I could just hold that ice pack for you,” Vinyl offered as she started to grasp it in her magic.

“I am doing fine, Vinyl,” Octavia asserted with a shake of her head as she slowly made her way down the street, passing by Vinyl. She tried to ignore how Vinyl immediately trotted around to her right side in a concerned manner. Every time she took an awkward step and started to feel her balance shift, Vinyl froze next to her and made as if she was getting ready to catch her. “I appreciate your concern, but I am quite alright. I haven’t had the need to walk on three hooves in quite a while, but I assure you that I can make it at this slow pace without pitching over sideways,” Octavia snapped as she kept trudging forward.

Vinyl’s silence failed to fill Octavia with a case of the warm tinglies as they continued onwards, but at least she had picked up her pace so that Octavia no longer felt as if she was some invalid, old pony. Thankfully, the walk wasn’t overly long, and they soon found themselves drawing within sight of the guard station. Vinyl, however, seemed to be losing speed, her gaze becoming steadily focused on their destination as the building drew nearer.

Sitting on the street corner about two blocks away, the square guard station seemed out of place amongst the other finely constructed buildings around it. The white marble façade bore the crest of the Royal Guard, but none of the fine architecture of the palace was visible in the simple, utilitarian building. Something about the way that it sat less than half the height of the surrounding structures and the lack of fancy trimmings, besides a few small gold highlights on the doors, made it seem intimidating, even to Octavia.

“You can do this, Vinyl…” Octavia assured as the two of them came to a stop about half a block away from the entrance. She shifted over and glanced at the unicorn who nodded in response before taking a deep breath and continuing onwards. Vinyl stepped up to the doorway and grasped the golden bar running vertically along the frosted glass door with a trembling hoof and then pulled it open. She took another long breath and stood aside with a gesture of the head for Octavia to go in first.

Octavia wasn’t entirely certain what to expect on the inside of a guard station, but a glaring guardpony standing at attention just inside the doorway wasn’t quite what she had been envisioning. Her eyes swept the room, taking in the posters filled with random bits of safety information, the scattered chairs and occasional couch along the edges of the room, and the small desk with a rather plain, blue earth pony sitting behind it, looking bored as he read a magazine.

Octavia’s face fell as she saw Canterlot Enquirer emblazoned across the top of the publication that was blocking the stallion’s face. Her eyes immediately checked to see if it was that issue in particular, but thankfully it didn’t appear to be any of the outright horrible ones. She let out an audible gulp as even Vinyl stopped to give her a questioning glance at her sudden lack of forward momentum.

“I’m fine. I just wasn’t prepared for him to be reading that thing,” Octavia mumbled to Vinyl as she resumed moving forward.

Octavia arched an eyebrow when Vinyl beat her to clearing her throat loudly to catch the attention of the stallion, causing him to nearly drop the magazine with stammered apologies. He quickly shuffled it under a stack of papers and visibly relaxed once he got a clearer look at who was standing in front of him.

“Sorry for the wait, what’s the purpose of your visit?” he asked after a quiet sigh.

“We need to file a report,” Octavia answered firmly as she shifted the ice pack on her face and turned to see how Vinyl was faring.

“Assault?” he ventured after a glance at the ice pack and then started to rifle through the folders in one of the desk drawers.

“Yes,” Octavia responded as she shuffled over and leaned against Vinyl for a second to break her out of her mile-long stare directed at one of the posters about self-defense behind the desk.

“Domestic?” the stallion questioned as he pulled out an entirely different folder and started to look through the pages.

“No,” Octavia answered curtly.

“Alright, one moment, let me see if there’s a guard available who can talk to you two. Take a seat. If there isn’t, then they’ll send somepony out when they can,” he stated in a dry tone and trotted off through a doorway in the back of the room guarded by another pony.

“Th-that could have been worse…” Vinyl ventured with a nervous little laugh as she automatically headed to one of the couches and sank into it with a heavy sigh, letting her eyes gaze blankly at the wall.

“Yes, I suppose,” Octavia agreed as she sat down on the other end of the couch and took to shuffling through the stack of magazines on the table in front of them. She made it about halfway through the stack before she saw the first one with her name in one of the article titles at the bottom of the cover. A quiet growl escaped her lips as she removed the offending publication and shoved it to the bottom of the stack. She blindly reached for the magazine at the top and pulled it open to distract herself, setting the ice pack on the table so that she could hold the magazine open.

“Hoofball’s Digest?” Vinyl questioned with a smirk but shifted back to the other side of the couch after the glare she received in response to the question.

“Right, better than the Enquirer, I suppose,” Vinyl ventured but quickly turned her gaze over to reading one of the posters about administering basic first aid when Octavia leaned forward to grasp the ice pack and then threatened to throw it at her.

“M-miss Octavia?” the receptionist called out in an uncertain tone.

It took all of Octavia’s will to keep her face from twitching violently at the tentative way that her name was called out. Instead, she slowly raised her eyes and saw the receptionist walk back behind the desk as a white unicorn in golden armor strode into the room.

“I’m Regal Armor. If you’ll come with me back to my desk, we can get a report started for you two ladies,” the guard explained. “You two are here together, right?”

“Yes,” Octavia replied as she got to her hooves and dropped the ice pack on top of Vinyl’s head before slowly making her way towards the doorway. She struggled to keep a straight face and to ignore the way that the receptionist was completely failing to hide his curious gaze as it followed her retreating form. The guard led them down a sparsely decorated hallway before turning into a room packed with desks in varying states of disarray.

The guard took two folding chairs from a stack near the entrance and set them up in front of one of the desks before taking a seat and getting out a quill and ink. “Now, first of all, when did the assault occur?” he asked with his glance firmly locked on Octavia.

“Actually, we’re here to report an attempted assault on her,” Octavia asserted as Vinyl made a foalish face at her and thrust the ice pack in her direction. She let out a quiet sigh and wiped her face with a hoof before returning the ice pack to her eye. “And it wasn’t as much of an assault as… attempted rape,” Octavia mumbled through her gritted teeth and then reached over to Vinyl to run her other hoof across the unicorn’s side.

“Okay then, is the injury to your face related?” the guard asked as he quickly started to scratch away at the form with the quill grasped in his magic. “Same question as before: when did the assault occur?”

“Yesterday afternoon, and yes, he punched me across the face, and when I came to, he was…” Octavia rubbed her forehead with her other hoof and grimaced at the pain before continuing, “attempting to assault her.”

“Wait, wait, when you ‘came to?’ Did you lose consciousness?” the guard asked as he immediately redirected his attention to Octavia.

“Yes I did, but we’re here to-”

“No, that can wait. Have you seen a doctor yet?” he insisted before he levitated a second quill up to Octavia’s face and started to move it back and forth in front of her eyes. When she shook her head, he frowned and gave her a stern look. “Focus your eyes on the quill.”

After a few more movements, he put the quill down, pulled out a flashlight from one of his drawers, and then shined it directly into Octavia’s eyes. When she winced at the bright light and quickly turned away, he clucked his tongue and then returned the flashlight to the drawer before shifting the report off to the side of his desk.

“Okay, you’re coming with me,” he ordered as he stood up, took the ice pack from her, and then put it on the corner of his desk. After walking around the desk, he offered her a steadying hoof and started to march her off.

“What about Vinyl? We’re here to-“

“Not as important as your health. Come on, we have a doctor on staff and she’s going to take a look at you. If you have a serious head injury, what do you think is more important? Making sure you get the proper treatment or some paperwork that we can always do later? Your name was Vinyl?” he questioned with a glance over towards the silent unicorn. “You can come with or wait here, but if you wait, I’ll need you to sit with a guard by the entrance.”

Vinyl immediately jumped out of her chair and stood on the other side of Octavia, drawing up so close to her side that the guard had to guide Octavia a step over before she was able to continue forward.

“Alright then, you can talk, right? We’re going to need to hear from you before we’re done. I know it’s not going to be easy, but we can’t actually file anything if she speaks for you the entire time,” the guard ventured in a kind tone and then chuckled when he only got a nod in response. “Good enough for now.”

“Hey, listen,” Regal Armor said under his breath as he motioned for both of them to stop outside the doorway to the doctor’s office. “I know this isn’t easy, but does the doctor need to take a look at Vinyl while we’re here too? Did he…?”

“No,” Octavia stated firmly and took a deep breath before she composed herself. “We were able to stop things before they got that far.”

Regal Armor nodded grimly in response and then pulled the door open with his magic as he motioned for the two of them to go ahead of him. “Hey Windy, got someone for you to look at,” he called out as he made his way behind them into the large examination room. The room was mostly what was to be expected, except with quite a lot of extra space for a mint-green unicorn to be seated at a desk in front of a couple filing cabinets. “Head injury. Bring her back to my desk once you get her sorted out, alright Windy?”

“Sit,” the doctor commanded as she got up from behind her desk and pointed imperiously at the exam table with her hoof. “You can take a seat over there,” she directed in a more friendly tone towards Vinyl while she pointed out a plush recliner near the doorway.

Octavia climbed up onto the table and resisted the urge to rub her forehead as she looked around the oddly decorated room. Cartoon depictions of various fish adorned the wallpaper, and a flowery border ran along the walls just below the ceiling.

“Yes, I know,” the doctor said with a quiet sigh as she pulled some instruments out of one of the drawers. “The wallpaper was apparently on the cheap, and we were apparently on a budget when they redecorated my office. That’ll teach me to complain about the drab atmosphere, won’t it? I assume somepony had finished building some pediatric offices somewhere and had leftovers. My name is Second Wind, by the way. Now, when did the injury occur?” the doctor asked as she raised a penlight to Octavia’s face and shined it directly into her eyes, one at a time.

“Yesterday afternoon,” Octavia responded as she struggled to keep her eyes open against the bright onslaught.

“Follow the light. Did you ice it at all?” Second Wind asked as she examined the bruised and swollen area with her hoof.

“On the way over. I was a bit preoccupied with other things,” Octavia replied with a wince and a sharp intake of breath at the stabbing pain caused by the doctor’s prodding.

“Any headaches? Feelings of pressure, confusion, nausea, dizziness, blurry vision, or loss of consciousness?”

“I lost consciousness right after he punched me, and I’ve had a steady headache since,” Octavia replied. She ventured a glance over towards Vinyl but quickly snapped her attention back to the doctor when she was greeted with a gloating smile that made Vinyl’s message clear without needing any words.

“Has the headache worsened at all?”

“No.”

“Anything else? Ringing in the ears, sensitivity to light, balance problems?”

“Sensitivity to light, I guess…” Octavia said as she remembered her reactions to the morning sun and the various lights that had been shined in her eyes.

“Well, you might have a concussion. I will need to run some additional tests to see if we have to send you over to Canterlot General or not. I’m going to test your memory, strength, balance, reflexes and coordination,” Second Wind rattled off as she put away the instruments and started to fish around the drawers for even more.

“You should be alright to go home, Miss Octavia. You’re lucky, it appears to be a minor concussion, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to take care of yourself. Take it easy, don’t do anything strenuous for several days and try to avoid smacking your head for a few weeks,” Second Wind finally stated as she put the last of the instruments off to the side while she finished filling out a long sheet of paper. “If she develops any additional symptoms or shows signs of confusion, then you need to take her to the hospital immediately, okay?” she asked Vinyl as she handed the sheet of paper to Octavia. “Give them that if it comes up. Now let’s take you back to Reg.”

“Your mare here has a concussion, Reg, but she should be fine to go home as long as she has someone to look after her,” Second Wind stated as she deposited the two of them back in front of the guard’s desk.

“Alright, thanks Windy,” Regal Armor replied with a grin at the slight glare that the nickname elicited from the doctor. “Okay, well, we’re on to the fun stuff now. I need both of your full names, current addresses, contact information and any information you have on the assailant,” he rattled off as he picked up his quill and went back to filling out the paperwork. “You want your ice pack back, by the way?”

“Yes please,” Octavia answered and gladly put it back to her face while it was still somewhat cold to help numb the throbbing pain.

“Okay, I’m going to need a statement from you as well, Vinyl,” He stated tentatively once he finally finished recording the basic information that the two of them had rattled off for him. “Take a minute to gather yourself; I know it won’t be easy. I’m going to see if we have a file on this Sharp Note character. Do either of you two have records on file? You wouldn’t have had to commit any crimes, just having come to us to report something in the past would mean you would. It will be easier if we grab those now.”

“Y-yes, I do…” Vinyl quietly replied after a pointed glance from Octavia.

“Alright, I’ll be back in a minute. Take your time.”

“Well… Your file isn’t going to do you any favors, Miss Scratch,” Regal Armor said with a frown as he sat down and plonked two folders onto the desk in front of him. “Are you ready to give a statement now?”

“As ready as I’m going to get,” Vinyl admitted just loud enough for Octavia to pick up on it.

“Vinyl…” Octavia started to say in a soothing tone but was interrupted by a firm shake of the unicorn’s head.

“It’s fine,” Vinyl said in a louder voice. “We were walking back to my studio after visiting… a friend in the hospital. When we got inside, Sharp Note was waiting for me and seemed rather surprised that Octavia was with me. We had a short disagreement about how he thinks that I owe him more bits, and then when Octavia stepped forward to tell him to buzz off, he punched her out and took me by surprise.”

Vinyl took a deep breath and shook a little bit before she focused her eyes on the desk in front of the guard and continued. “He tried to wrestle me to the floor and force me into position so that he could… do that. I was trying to kick him off but he was keeping himself to the side so that I couldn’t quite angle my kicks right. The good news is that he was apparently so preoccupied with trying to wrestle me that he didn’t notice Octavia come to her senses. She snuck up on him, kicked him off me, and then screamed at him until he ran off,” Vinyl finished and then huddled forward as if she was trying to curl up into a ball right there on the folding chair.

“So he just randomly came to your workplace to demand money?” Regal Armor questioned with a raised eyebrow, and his quill paused halfway through writing on the paper in front of him.

“N-no, he’s been coming by every few weeks for several months now, demanding that I didn’t pay him enough when he worked for me. We’ve been getting into arguments that often devolve into shouting fits, but he would always storm off without doing anything more than saying something ominious,” Vinyl answered as she leaned sideways against Octavia and kept refusing to meet Regal’s eyes with her own.

“I heard him say that she was going to ‘pay him his due, one way or another’ multiple times: once before the incident, and then again right before he punched me,” Octavia supplied as she ran a hoof down Vinyl’s back.

“Is there anyone who can corroborate this?” Regal Armor questioned but kept his focus on the paper he was writing on, scratching the quill furiously across the surface with his magic.

“M-my assistant heard almost all of the arguments, and I suppose my receptionist probably saw him stomping in and out of the building angrily,” Vinyl offered quietly.

“So what exactly happened after you kicked him, Octavia?”

“I yelled at him to get out of my sight,” Octavia growled under her breath before she could catch herself.

“Exactly how hard did you kick him, Octavia?”

“Well, I kicked him off of Vinyl, and he hit the wall,” Octavia hesitated for a moment before adding as an afterthought, “from across the room. There’s a large dent in the drywall, and he might have made two holes in it from the impact, as well. There were a couple of flecks of blood along the base of the wall, but I didn’t get to see if he was seriously injured or not. He was limping quite noticeably when he ran away like a scared puppy after I yelled at him, at least,” Octavia recited slowly as she ran through the details in her head.

Regal armor let out a low whistle and raised an eyebrow at Octavia as he momentarily ceased his writing again. “Was that strictly necessary?”

“I ceased his actions. I may have been able to try a less forceful method, but that would have risked being unsuccessful. So, I took actions that guaranteed he would cease his vile activities. I may have also been slightly upset,” Octavia admitted in a neutral voice while she kept her face impassive. Vinyl let out a quiet giggle at the phrasing and allowed herself to uncurl slightly from her hunched posture, her whole body shaking from the laughs for several seconds until she managed to get herself under control. “Okay, I was pissed right the hell off. Better? So that’s why I screamed at him to get out of my sight. If I was going to do anything ‘unnecessary,’ then I could have easily kicked him several more times while he was down.”

“I’ll be honest with you two,” Regal Armor said with a sigh after putting the quill down onto his desk and leaned forward. “Normally this case would be very bad for you two. Your record isn’t doing you any favors in regards to situations like this, Vinyl. Then we have the fact that all of the ponies who can corroborate your story work directly under you. The only reason that I’m actually believing you right now is because of how bad this Sharp Note’s record is,” Regal Armor said seriously while he tapped the top folder of the two with his hoof for emphasis.

“So, are yo-“ Octavia began to question, but Regal raised a hoof to stop her.

“Given how bad his record is and his history of threatening former employers, I’m going to recommend that we bring him in. He has several orders of protection filed against him, as well as some minor assault cases. So, all of this seems to agree with your side of the story, but I’m going to assign a guard to you two until we can find him,” Regal Armor told them and then once again raised his hoof to stop any interruptions.

“Let me be perfectly clear: this is not purely for your benefit. Given the nature of your sources, we need to make sure that you cannot influence them if we cannot contact them immediately. So, the guard will be there not only to protect you in case he decides to go after you again, but also to keep an eye on you. If I find out that any of what you have told me is falsified or that you have already attempted to influence what your employees will tell us, then things will end badly for both of you. Do I make myself clear?”

Vinyl straightened up next to Octavia for the first time in quite a while and then opened her mouth while her eyebrows started to furrow. She stammered quietly a few times but seemed unable to form anything coherent. Vinyl started to shake silently next to Octavia as she closed her eyes tight, the hints of tears forming at the edges of her eyes, and tensed up her entire body.

“Thank you,” Octavia said in a firm voice that silenced Vinyl’s building emotions. “Thank you for listening to us and at least giving us a chance, despite how it must seem at first glance.”

“I’d be a pretty awful guard if I didn’t even hear you out, wouldn’t I?” Regal Armor asked with a chuckle at his own comment, seemingly unaware of how it completely deflated Vinyl’s tense posture. “Either way, I’m going to see who we can get assigned to watch over you two. If you come with me, I’ll show you back to the waiting room and then bring someone out.”

“I- What? Did that just happen?” Vinyl questioned with a mile long stare directed towards the doorway that Regal Armor had retreated through after he deposited them back on the couch.

“Yes it did, and I suppose it’s my turn to say I told you so,” Octavia responded with a smirk. “I saw that look you were giving me in the doctor’s office.”

“Yeah, but h-he didn’t even really question me at all. He didn’t yell or get upset, he just listened even though he knew what happened before… I thought he was going to lay into me!” Vinyl nearly yelled with panic leaking from her voice as the beginnings of tears shimmered in her eyes. “And then he didn’t…” Vinyl seemed to take a few minutes to stop staring at the doorway in disbelief before she wiped her eyes with a hoof and turned back to Octavia.

“Are you really complaining?” Octavia asked with a quirk of her eyebrow before she dropped the lukewarm ice pack on top of Vinyl’s head. “Here, you can have this back. Thanks again.”

“Not really. I guess we just have to hope the guards that he has follow us around aren’t big brutes,” Vinyl mumbled under her breath, not making a return comment as she idly removed the ice pack from her head with a hoof and smoothed out her mane.

“Given how nice he’s been so far? I don’t think you need to worry about that bit too much. Are you ready to admit that maybe not all guards are horrible examples of ponies and that some of them might actually try their best at their jobs?” Octavia asked in the leading tone that normally only belonged to teachers and mothers disciplining a child.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here,” Vinyl answered with a quiet chuckle.

“I’m glad you can still joke around, Vinyl,” Octavia replied with a genuine smile spreading across her face, but she was prevented from adding anything further by the reappearance of Regal Armor coming through the doorway with a white pegasus mare who lacked the usual armor, walking by his side.

“Hey you two, this is Aegis. Aegis, this is Vinyl and Octavia. I’ve filled her in on everything she needs to know. She’s going to be sticking with you two until we can get this whole situation sorted out. Any questions?” Regal Armor asked. “I’ll take the awkward silence as a ‘No, Regal Armor, thank you very much.’ So I’ll just say: don’t worry about it, and make sure that you don’t disappoint me.”

“Shall we get going?” Aegis asked in a tentative tone as she flicked her eyes between the two mares staring at her.

“What? Is my mane messed up?” Aegis insisted as she reached up with a hoof to try and flatten out the long blue hair and then nervously peeked back towards her tail. She turned in place to get a better look at it, giving the two of them a brief glance at the round shield emblazoned on her flank. “What’s with the shocked looks?” she finally questioned with a confused glance.

“S-sorry, I suppose we were just surprised,” Octavia began and then sharply nudged Vinyl’s side with a hoof. “I always figured that the guard armor had some kind of spell to make you all look alike…”

“Oh, is that all?” Aegis asked with a loud giggle. “Yeah, it does, but a few of us actually look like this, you know? So are we good to go now? I assume you don’t want to hang out in the lobby all day long. Besides, our captain would probably get rather upset.”

Octavia responded by glancing over towards Vinyl and giving her another sharp nudge in the side. “Oh! Y-yeah, sure…” Vinyl replied suddenly and shifted the ice pack back into the grip of her magic as she got up and started to walk out of the lobby with a bit of a glassy look.

“Vinyl? Are you sure that you are alright?” Octavia asked as she trotted to catch up with the unicorn outside of the building.

“F-fine,” Vinyl mumbled in reply as she kept trudging forward.

“So, where do you two live?” Aegis questioned slowly from behind them with an awkward smile on her face.

“Well, she lives in the same building as where her recording label is housed. I live in an apartment,” Octavia hesitated for a moment before clarifying, “a ways away.”

“What, you two don’t live together?” Aegis asked earnestly.

Octavia stopped suddenly on the sidewalk and started to round on the pegasus before she took a deep breath and tried to force herself to calm down. She focused on trying not to get upset as she remembered what the doctor had told her. “W-why does everyone think that we are a couple?” she questioned with an air of irritation as she stomped off down the sidewalk and tried to ignore the quiet giggling from Vinyl.

“What, really?” Aegis questioned with her left eyebrow raised in disbelief. “I mean, from what they told me, you were being really protective of her the entire time, and you even kicked a stallion through a wall for trying to hurt her.”

“Would you stop laughing, Vinyl?” Octavia snapped as she picked up her pace, leaving the other two behind for a moment.

“Come on, Tavi, you have to admit that it’s kinda funny. First Resonance and then the guards?” Vinyl prompted before resuming her giggle fit.

“Wait a minute,” Aegis interrupted as she took to the air and dropped down in front of the two of them. “If you two aren’t together and you’re not shacking up together, is your place big enough to fit the three of us for a while?”

“Should be…” Vinyl replied after stopping in place to think about it for a moment.

“The three of us?” Octavia asked as she stopped and shot the guard a dubious look while trying her hardest not to snap at the phrase ‘shacking up.’

“Yeah, I’m supposed to guard both of you, remember? It’s not like you can both go off your separate ways to your different apartments, right?”

Octavia blinked several times as she tried to process the information to no avail. “N-no, that won’t work. Can’t you just guard Vinyl for a while?” she asked with a desperate tinge in her voice.

“You can’t be serious,” Aegis deadpanned and waited for a long moment for some sort of contradiction. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” Aegis sighed heavily and shifted back and forth on her hooves for a moment while her wings flapped a few times. “Okay, look at it this way: I’m here to protect you and to make sure you can’t mess with any possible witnesses, right?”

Aegis waited for some form of acknowledgement, but continued when she was met with blank stares. “Ignoring the second bit for now, let’s consider the first problem. Who is this Sharp Note character more likely to go after? The executive unicorn who used to be his boss and who he got into several arguments with, or the earth pony that came out of nowhere and not only foiled his twisted little plan, but also severely injured his pride, as well as probably his body, in the process? If I was to guard just one of you from him it would be you, Octavia,” she finished while giving Octavia a serious look.

“Wait, so you’re telling me that you have to watch Vinyl so that she can’t mess with any of the witnesses, but you’re also watching me in case he tries something stupid? And since the guards apparently assumed that we’re in a relationship, they didn’t think that it was a problem? So, that’s why we have one pony assigned to both of us?” Octavia recited slowly and clearly as she struggled to keep everything straight.

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Can we go back and get another guard?” Octavia pleaded with a glance over her shoulder.

“Probably not gonna happen, but you can try if you really want, I guess. Reg is a nice guy, but our Captain is pretty no-nonsense, if you catch my drift. He’d probably just say, ‘You two ladies are friends, right? I don’t see what the problem is,’ and send you off on your way,” Aegis intoned with a serious look as she stood up straight and stiffened her entire posture after making a point of snapping her wings tight to her side. “What is the problem? It shouldn’t take that long,” she questioned as she relaxed her stance.

“Yeah, Tavi, what’s wrong with ‘shacking up’ with me for a few days?” Vinyl asked with a devious grin that seemed to be the only thing preventing the unicorn from bursting into another fit of the giggles.

“Don’t get me wrong, Vinyl is my friend…” Octavia managed to say with only a minimal hesitation on the word this time. “It’s just, we tend to have a habit of pushing all of each other’s buttons to try and tease, and to annoy the other. Like Vinyl’s habit of laughing her ass off whenever somepony thinks we’re in a relationship, for example…”

“Cuz it’s hilarious,” Vinyl said through a snigger and then jumped behind Aegis, letting just the top of her head peek out from behind the pegasus as she let out a loud fit of giggles at the glare she received.

“That’s fine enough as it is,” Octavia continued with a quiet huff. “Her teasing, as strange as it is, is how she shows that she cares, but I’m supposed to take it easy for a few days and not get overly upset. Now you’re telling me that I can’t even have my time away from her to cool down every day?”

“You two do act a lot like an old married couple. Especially when you describe it like that…” Aegis admitted with a slight smirk. She jumped back and stood next to Vinyl in response to the outraged expression that flashed across Octavia’s face.

“And now you two are getting along perfectly, brilliant,” Octavia mumbled to herself. “Deep breaths… Take it easy for a few days, the doctor said,” Octavia intoned carefully as she tried to calm herself down before glancing back at the two giggling ponies.

The two of them had taken to clutching at each other playfully with mutual expressions of overplayed fear on their faces. When the two of them stood next to each other, their similarly colored manes and bright white coats made them look like they could easily be sisters. Octavia’s eyes widened for a moment, and she couldn’t stop a shiver that ran all the way down her spine, spurred by the idea of having to deal with two Vinyls without any respite.

Octavia sighed heavily and started walking back towards Vinyl’s apartment with her head hanging slightly. “I’m doomed...”

Chapter 16

“So, do you two usually have such action-packed days?” Aegis asked with an exaggerated yawn and then flopped dramatically into a corner of Vinyl’s living room with a bored expression on her face.

“Well, we’d usually have a recording session later in the afternoon, but Octavia has to take it easy for a while. You haven’t been around for any of our sessions, so I’ll forgive you for not knowing that “taking it easy” doesn’t describe them in any way,” Vinyl answered with a smirk from her seated position in the middle of the floor. The unicorn was surrounded by stacks of papers and was slowly shuffling through them with her magic, occasionally tossing a magazine or a sheet of paper into the bin behind her. Vinyl directed her gaze up towards Octavia and watched as she lounged on the couch with a pained expression on her face. Vinyl observed Octavia for a moment to make sure that she was okay, before returning to sorting through her papers.

Octavia had already taken a depressingly short trip back to her apartment with Vinyl and Aegis to fetch some essentials for an extended stay at Vinyl’s place. Normally, she would have been happy to be in-and-out of the apartment as fast as possible, but today, she almost wished that the trip had taken longer. The act of rooting through the few boxes of her belongings to make sure she didn’t miss anything only served to remind her of how little she actually possessed these days. Even worse was the sheer lack of volume when it came to how much she actually cared about. A small pile of personal hygiene tools, consisting mostly of brushes, was all that made the trip to Vinyl’s apartment, and Aegis had easily scooped up everything without asking. Even if Octavia had been concerned about leaving her cherished effects packed in her boxes and had asked the pegasus to gather up everything that she cared about, they probably still could have made it in one trip without even needing Vinyl’s help. The quiet “Is this it?” that Vinyl had asked in a careful tone on the way out didn’t help Octavia’s mood at all. She had fallen into an emotional silence ever since their return, trying her best to ignore the other two ponies.

“How’s your headache doing, anyway?” Vinyl asked, interrupting Octavia’s brooding. The unicorn shifted the current stack she was working on to the side and then started to rifle through the next one.

Octavia let out a barely audible complaint and grumpily flopped a foreleg over her eyes before rolling over to face the back of the couch with a series of soft grumbling noises.

“That good, huh? Let me know if you need anything, Tavs,” Vinyl offered.

“You two really don’t have anything planned for today?” Aegis complained as she wriggled around on the floor impatiently.

“It’s only been a few hours since we got back from Octavia’s place, Aegis. How can you be that bored?” Vinyl said as she rolled her eyes and then returned to the sorting.

“Come on, what else do you two do? You’re friends, right? You must go out and do something every now and then,” Aegis whined from the corner before stretching herself out on the carpet.

“Well yeah, but having friends is still kind of a new thing for me. I shut myself off against that kind of thing for a long time, and Octavia’s friends…” Vinyl hesitated for a long moment and then glanced over at the earth pony who currently looked like she just wanted everything in the world to go away. “Well, you’ve seen the articles. You should know what her friends did to her,” Vinyl nearly spat in disgust before burying her face in the papers again.

“So, you two just sit around and do nothing?” Aegis asked and then rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling while she let her legs wave idly in the air. Her wings stretched out against the carpet on either side of her and lazily flapped a few times as she looked around the room. Her expression quickly turned to that of a young filly who had been told that she had to sit in timeout for a whole ten minutes.

“We don’t even hang out. We see each other almost every day at the studio, and sometimes see each other around…” Vinyl said hesitantly as she paused to scribble on a few pages and then tossed them aside.

“So, if you two barely ever do anything together, how did you wind up in a situation like this? Didn’t the report say you two were walking back to the studio together from somewhere?” Aegis asked while she scrunched her face up in confusion.

“Yeah, we ran into each other at the hospital while visiting Resonance. We had a recording session coming up, so we walked back together,” Vinyl said absentmindedly as she kept shuffling the stacks around her.

“Ugh… You two need to get out more. I’m going to die of boredom,” Aegis whined loudly as she rolled over onto her side.

“Don’t tell me, you’re bad at standing still, and never get assigned to traditional guard posts,” Vinyl teased with a quiet chuckle. “We could go visit Resonance in the hospital, I guess.”

“Yeah, I suck at standing in place and guarding things,” Aegis admitted. “When can we go to the hospital?”

“We can go whenever,” Vinyl said as she put the papers back down and glanced over towards Aegis.

“What about Octavia?” the pegasus asked with a concerned glance and then crept over towards the couch to check on her.

“She’s taking a nap; she’ll be fine.”

“Would be, if some ponies would stop being so loud…”

“Sorry,” Vinyl said in a quieter tone and then shot a questioning glance at Aegis.

“Vinyl, that pony attacked you two in this building. We’re not leaving her alone when I’m supposed to be watching both of you,” Aegis said with an exasperated sigh.

“We’ll go when she’s done with her nap, then. If you’re that bored, I can find you a book or something…” Vinyl said in a hushed tone as she glanced around the room quickly. “I pretty much only have stuff related to music, though.”

Aegis seemed to consider it for a moment but flopped onto her stomach instead. “I’ll be fine.”

Octavia slowly sat up on the couch, only to immediately regret the foolish action. Her half-awake mind didn’t register the light blanket that had been perched upon her sleeping form and, as such, failed to realize that sitting up would cause it to slip to the ground. Although the sudden rush of cold air that assaulted her body was a suitable punishment for her rash action, she still wanted to lie back down and curl up tight so that she could cling to any residual heat on the cushions. She grumbled quietly for a few moments about how bad of an idea it was to sleep on the couch while she struggled with the urge to go back to sleep before finally stretching her limbs and overcoming the desire.

Octavia nearly fell off the couch when she noticed the changes to the room around her. She finished reaching over the edge to retrieve the blanket before taking a moment to glance around. It was most definitely still Vinyl’s living room, there were stacks of papers and magazines around, but there had been a concerted effort to tidy it up. A trashcan by the front door was overflowing with an assortment of papers and magazines, and the surviving stacks had been shifted over into the corner that Aegis had been previously lounging in. The center of the room now actually had quite a bit of space to move around without having to carefully place hooves between stacks of paper.

Octavia found herself unable to suppress the urge to slip off the couch and curiously peek down the hallway towards Vinyl’s other rooms. Once again, she found that the piles normally littering the hallway had been reduced and stacked neatly against the walls. Octavia just stood in place and stared at the sight for a long moment before she became aware of sounds coming from the kitchen. As she walked back into the living room, the quiet bickering from the kitchen became more discernable.

“Why won’t you let me help? I’m so bored!” Aegis whined in a dramatic tone, only to be answered immediately by a clearly annoyed Vinyl.

“You managed to burn pop-tarts. I didn’t even know that was possible,” Vinyl said in a tone that made Octavia suppress a giggle as she could clearly imagine Vinyl’s exact expression. “There’s no way I’m letting you near an actual stove, so go sit somewhere.”

“I wanted to see if they’d cook faster if I turned the toaster up, is that a crime?” Aegis shot back in a foalish tone.

“I have no idea how you got to be a guard when you’re so impatient. Isn’t patience one of the basic requirements for the job?” Vinyl said in a louder tone.

“What can I say? I have good eyes, and I’m good at spotting things while on patrol. I was the only mare around when you two came in, and Reg thought that giving you two a stallion was probably a bad idea. The captain said that 'it would be a good learning experience for me,' so here I am.”

Octavia chuckled from her spot in the hallway before walking into the kitchen with a shake of her head. “I see the honeymoon is over, and you two started off so well.”

“She’s finally awake!” Aegis said happily as she jumped out of her chair with an excited flap of her wings.

“Chill, lunch is almost done. We’re not leaving until we eat, anyway,” Vinyl said with a wave of her hoof as she kept stirring a large pot on top of the stove.

“Oh wow, you’re actually cooking? I didn’t know that you knew how to make things that didn’t go into the toaster, Vinyl,” Octavia said with a grin, ignoring Aegis as she flopped back into her chair with a disappointed look on her face.

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up, I might just serve you the pop-tarts that Aegis burned if you don’t behave, missy,” Vinyl said with a devious smile and then lifted a plate in her magic to show off the two charred objects. She let out a chuckle at the way that Octavia’s face wrinkled up at the sight and then went back to the pot. She gave it a few more stirs and then lifted it up and over to the other side of the stove.

“She also thinks that I broke the toaster...” Aegis mumbled as Vinyl rummaged loudly through the cupboards for a few bowls and then began to set the table.

Octavia’s right eyebrow arched slightly as she turned to look at the pegasus next to her. “How did you manage to burn pop-tarts? I thought their main appeal was that even a foal could make them.”

“I just wanted to see if it would work, okay?” Aegis cried out and threw her hooves into the air.

“You’re not allowed in the kitchen at the guard station, are you?” Octavia asked with a giggle.

“Nope,” Aegis admitted and then placed her head on the table with a quiet thump.

“Watch your head,” Vinyl advised the pegasus as she poured some soup into the bowls with a ladle grasped in her magic.

“Please tell me that you’re more interesting than Vinyl,” Aegis pleaded after sitting back up and turning her gaze towards Octavia. “Vinyl doesn’t do anything fun. And listening to music doesn’t count as fun when you’re doing it for your job, Vinyl!” Aegis preempted when Vinyl started to turn around from putting the pot back in order to answer the accusation.

“Maybe I like my job,” Vinyl said with a quiet huff as she sat down at the table to start eating her soup.

“Even people who like their jobs take time off to do other things now and then, Vinyl!”

“She did kind of build this whole record company on the back of a whole bunch of hard work and determination…” Octavia said reproachfully.

“Of course you’d agree with her,” Aegis said with a roll of her eyes and then went silent as she started to eat her own soup.

Octavia very carefully replaced the spoon in her bowl before turning and fixing a fierce expression on the pegasus. “And just what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“You two are so far stuck in your 'we are totally not in a relationship' relationship, that I’m not surprised you’d defend her,” Aegis mumbled between mouthfuls of soup.

“Listen, if we go to visit Resonance after lunch, will you stop being a queen bitch already?” Vinyl asked in a sharp tone that cut across Octavia’s initial attempts to respond.

“Sorry… I’m just not used to being cooped up,” Aegis said quietly and hunched forward over her bowl. “Usually get to go out and patrol instead of being stuck in the same place all day.”

“It’s not like Vinyl and I have never snapped at each other,” Octavia remarked with a quiet laugh after finishing her own lunch. She stood up to carry the bowl over to the sink and then rinsed it out.

“Yeah, we totally got along like peas in a pod when we first met,” Vinyl said with a loud snicker before turning to devour her own lunch.

“What, really? I have a hard time imagining you two actually angry with each other from what I’ve seen so far,” Aegis said and then raised her eyebrows at the giggles that her statement elicited from both of the other ponies. “What?”

“After my first couple of interactions with Vinyl, I was convinced that she was the worst pony I’d ever met. I hated her with all of my might, and was disgusted that I was forced to rely on her,” Octavia answered in a serious tone as she sat back down. “Weren’t you the one so impatient to get going? You should finish your lunch if you’re in such a hurry,” she added after Aegis just sat there with her mouth hanging open.

“B-but you two— How did you go from that to kicking a pony through a wall in her defense?” Aegis finally managed to ask.

Octavia shrugged and then glanced over towards Vinyl, only to see a curious look with a raised eybrow on the unicorn’s face. “Things happened,” Octavia said with another shrug. “The pony that we’re going to visit caused most of it when she got hurt. It’s a long story, maybe another time. Now stop staring at me with that dumbfounded look and finish your food. Do I need to take the spoon and make train noises for you?” she asked as a devious grin started to spread across her face.

Vinyl burst out into laughter at the expression of disbelief on Aegis’ face. She took several deep breaths in an attempt to compose herself but was unable to stop the resurgence of laughter. The completely unamused look on Aegis’ face wasn’t helping matters at all. Vinyl resorted to putting her head onto the table in a final attempt to suppress the laughter, but was failing miserably as she shook from head to hoof with silent giggles. “Hey, you teased her first. You started it,” Vinyl finally managed to choke out before falling back into laughter.

“Okay okay, I’m finishing my lunch,” Aegis grumbled under her breath, which only caused the other two ponies to giggle in unison.

“So, about this pony that we’re going to visit…” Aegis started to ask in a leading tone as she hovered over the other two ponies while they walked down the street. “I can’t help but notice that you two have carefully avoided the use of the word “friend,” but by the sound of it, you two have been visiting her pretty regularly. What’s up with that?”

“Well, it’s complicated—“ Vinyl started, only to be cut off by Aegis.

“You say that like anything with you two isn’t complicated,” Aegis said with a roll of her eyes as she dropped down to walk next to the other two.

Instead of responding, Vinyl held the door to the hospital open for the two other ponies. It wasn’t until they were trudging up the stairs together that she spoke up again. “It’s not like I dislike her or anything. With everything that’s happened, I wish that I could call her a friend, but that’s not really up to me. This whole situation is pretty much my fault… So, I guess it’s really her opinion on the matter that’s important. I wasn’t exactly the nicest pony to her.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement, Vinyl” Octavia said with a quiet chuckle but hesitated when she saw the glare that Aegis was shooting her way. “But from what I’ve heard, I don’t think you need to worry about that too much,” she added in an attempt to be a bit more comforting.

“What do you mean by that?” Vinyl asked in a quieter tone as they entered the familiar hallway that led to Resonance’s room.

“You said that she was always bright and cheerful when you came to visit her,” Octavia said after failing to find a better way to sum it up. “If she disliked you, then she would have been a bit more resentful, right?”

“I always figured that was because her family lives so far away that they haven’t been able to see her, so we’re pretty much the only ponies that come to visit her— Hey Resonance!” Vinyl called out in a much more cheerful voice as she led the way through the open door.

“Wait, wait,” Aegis said with a foreleg raised in the air as she glanced between the three ponies in front of her from the doorway. “Is this the pony that thought you two were in a relationship?”

Octavia let out an annoyed little sigh, strode straight over to Resonance, and then playfully tussled the unicorn’s mane before continuing over to her usual chair. She had absolutely no desire to go over this again, and instead, turned towards the window as she attempted to tune out the pegasus.

“Yeah, that’s her. Anyways, Resonance, this is Aegis. She’s a guard that will be watching us for a bit until they can find the stallion, that, um, attacked me…” Vinyl started to explain but steadily trailed off as she progressed further along.

“What?” Resonance demanded with a shocked expression on her face, seemingly unaware of how she was letting her mouth hang open. She shifted her disbelieving stare between Vinyl and Octavia several times before looking back over at the pegasus standing by her bed, pleading for information with her wide-eyed expression. “Assaulted? And what happened to Octavia? She looks like she got punched in the face…”

“Well, that’s because she did,” Aegis said with a quiet giggle at the reaction this elicited. “She also has a slight concussion. Anyway, it’s been a rough couple of days for them, so don’t push them on it, okay?” Aegis asked in a kind tone, flapping her wings idly as she chewed on her lower lip before continuing. “Don’t worry about them. I’m sure you’ll hear about it soon. I’m looking after them until the other guards can find the pony responsible and make sure that he can’t hurt anyone else.” Aegis leaned closer to the unicorn on the bed and then theatrically shifted her eyes back and forth. She motioned for Resonance to lean closer so that she could whisper in a conspiratorial tone that did nothing to reduce how audible it was. “Besides, I totally thought they were dating too,” she said with a grin and then nudged the cream unicorn.

Resonance suddenly burst into a fit of laughter and then laid her head back against the pillow as she shook from head to hoof with mad giggles. She covered her face with both of her hooves in an effort to stifle the sound, but she seemed to be having a difficult time of it.

Octavia rolled her eyes and turned to stare moodily out the window instead of responding to the giggling behind her. She tried to just watch the ponies walking through a nearby courtyard while she waited for the two ponies behind her to wander towards another topic.

“I know, right?” Resonance responded after a few short moments of giggling as she struggled to keep a straight face.

Octavia let out a quiet groan as she couldn’t help but see Resonance’s reflection glance in her direction before leaning over to whisper something in Aegis’ ear that made the pegasus burst out in her own fit of giggles. She tried to let her eyes wander further down the landscape to watch the walking ponies as they passed through the streets as well as the occasional carriage trotting its way towards the richer areas of Canterlot. Octavia didn’t even acknowledge Vinyl as she sat down in another chair after pulling it up to the other side of the window.

“How come that annoys you so much, Octavia?” Vinyl asked a few minutes later. The lack of any nickname jolted Octavia out of her thoughts and caused her to quickly turn to look at her friend. Vinyl’s gaze was fixed on Octavia, lacking any of the mirth that she had gotten used to from the unicorn. “I can tease you about pretty much anything and you take it in stride, but somepony cracks a joke about us and you’re suddenly upset. Why? Is the idea really that repulsive to you?”

Octavia let out a dramatic sigh and put her head down onto the windowsill to avoid having to look at the earnest expression on Vinyl’s face. “It’s not like that,” she muttered with a slight roll of the eyes. She turned to glance over at Vinyl for a moment. The excited giggling from behind them was making it harder for her to properly string the words together, but after a few minutes she made a stab at it. “You told me that long story about yourself to explain why you didn’t want to go to the guards… Remember how you casually mentioned that some of the ponies you worked with tried to sleep their way to the top?”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything? You didn’t—“ Vinyl asked with a wide-eyed expression but was cut off by a vehement denial by Octavia.

“No! My point is that in your side of the music world, that sort of thing might be somewhat, what's the word, acceptable? Okay, probably not the best choice, but you know what I mean. It happens, probably not a whole lot, but it happens nonetheless. Some ponies might not like it very much, and the ponies that aren’t bashful about it probably get some rather nasty things whispered about them, right?” Octavia started off in a leading tone, only stopping long enough to let Vinyl nod her head in agreement. “It’s not like that with society circles in Canterlot.”

“What are you trying to get at here, Tavs?”

Octavia heaved another sigh and held out a hoof to silence Vinyl. “Just listen to me. I’ve been desperately trying to claw my way back up to some form of notoriety, to reclaim some semblance of my dignity. More importantly, I want my life back, but if ponies think that we’re in a relationship, none of that will matter. Do you get that? Like it or not, I’m dependent on you, Vinyl. Even if everything works out in the end and I get back to the point where I’m off on my own, none of it will have done me any good if ponies think that I started a relationship with the pony that helped me get there.”

“Do you really think that ponies will try to write you off because they think that we’re dating?” Vinyl asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, I know they will. Listen to me, Vinyl. Trying to keep your reputation in the Canterlot classical music scene is more than just playing in shows. That’s why I keep talking about the way that high society is and the way that the ponies within behave. Staying relevant is about getting invited to the smaller side-events that constantly occur around town: the garden parties, the soirées, the ‘casual get-togethers’ between a small number of ponies that just happen to hold a large amount of power. You get the types of events that I mean, even if you don’t generally like to attend them. They like to have music played in the background, for the ambiance, and only the ‘good sort’ are ever invited to play for their enjoyment,” Octavia nearly grumbled under her breath.

“Yeah, I always felt stifled in those sorts of places,” Vinyl admitted quietly.

“So you understand what I’m talking about. When a pony’s reputation starts to slip, or nasty rumors about them start becoming commonplace, they’ll say things like ‘Is that really the sort of pony that we want to have playing at our party? It would absolutely ruin the atmosphere.’ I’ve heard them gossip about other ponies, and I even heard them starting to do it about me, Vinyl. I’m certain that there are ponies in Canterlot society that have tried to sleep their way to the top, but they keep a tight lid on it. That sort of thing is considered scandalous, and while a socialite might be able to get away with having things whispered about them, a musician can’t afford to be scandalous. Having that sort of thing following you around means you don’t get to play at the events, and not showing up at any events means that you’re not relevant anymore. Do you get why all of those articles were so harmful now? If ponies think that we’re in a relationship, then it’s only a matter of time before somepony starts rumors that I initiated it to use you for your record company. If that happens, well then, that’s where I become scandalous.”

Vinyl’s face scrunched up and her eyebrows furrowed as she was clearly attempting to prepare some form of counter-statement, but Octavia shook her head and silenced Vinyl with a gentle hoof to the unicorn’s snout and an alarmingly calm smile.

“I know. It’s stupid and petty, but that’s just how they act sometimes. Don’t even try to deny it,” Octavia asserted and then continued onwards when Vinyl gave her a weak nod. “I know you and Aegis are just joking around, but even if you’re merely cracking playful jokes and somepony takes it seriously, then it could be harmful to me. So, please I would really appreciate it if you wouldn’t joke around about that sort of thing from now on…”

The whole room fell silent after Vinyl’s murmured agreement, and Vinyl let her gaze follow Octavia’s as they silently stared out the window. The sound of the clock on the wall opposite Resonance’s bed seemed to have multiplied sevenfold as the loud ticking noise cut through the awkward stillness that had suddenly overtaken all of the ponies present.

Aegis finally cut through the silence as she leaned over towards Resonance with a curious expression. “Hey, Nance, who are the flowers from?” Aegis asked quietly as she glanced over the unicorn at the mixed arrangement of flowers that had only been nibbled on slightly.

“N-nance?” Resonance questioned with a quiet giggle.

“Oh, sorry, may I call you that?” Aegis said with her own nervous giggle. The two of them quickly fell into a whispered conversation by unspoken agreement. Their hushed whispers were occasionally broken by sudden outbursts of giggling that made it difficult for Octavia to restrain a smile that was stubbornly working its way across her face despite the seriousness of what she was discussing with Vinyl.

After a few minutes, Octavia finally spoke up to break the silence at the window. “I’m sorry, Vinyl,” she finally muttered under her breath as she turned her head slightly to the side so that she could glance at the unicorn. Vinyl’s face still had a serious expression on it as she was looking at Octavia through her reflection on the window.

“What are you sorry for now, Tav?” Vinyl asked as a teasing smile spread across her face.

“For always yelling at you and expecting it to magically fix things. I should have explained why it bothered me so much instead of repeatedly screaming and sulking in the hopes that it would make you stop.” Octavia turned her head to look back out the window as she adjusted her position and rested her chin on a forehoof instead of directly on the windowsill.

“No, it’s fine. I should have realized that your reactions meant it was something that you didn’t like to be teased about,” Vinyl insisted as she laid her own head on the windowsill next to Octavia’s and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence.

“Awww,” both Aegis and Resonance squealed in unison from behind them.

Octavia bristled and shut her eyes tightly at the noise. She was unable to say anything in response as Vinyl beat her to the punch. “I know that you two were listening by your reaction, so why are you still trying to push her buttons?” Vinyl demanded in an annoyed tone as she sat straight up and rounded on the two of them.

“I know, I know, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that, but you two are so adorable together, I couldn’t help it!” Aegis nearly squealed again as she struggled to contain her giggling. “Right, Nance?”

Resonance clapped both of her hooves over her mouth in a pathetic attempt to hide her expression as she giggled madly. She nodded her head weakly in response to the nudges coming from Aegis and shook with suppressed laughter.

“See? Clearly if you two can’t date because of your work relationship, then you just need to help Octavia get out on her own faster, right?” Aegis teased as she gave the giggling unicorn another nudge.

“Oh stop teasing them, Aegis,” Resonance said after finally calming down from her giggle fit. “Give them a break.” She reached out to playfully swat a hoof at Aegis’ nearby shoulder.

“If you insist,” Aegis answered with a laugh and then settled down next to the bed. She sat on the floor and rested her head on the edge of the bed next to Resonance’s pillow so that the unicorn could turn her head and be face to face with the pegasus. As they fell back into their hushed conversation, their quiet whispering continued to get interrupted by fresh bouts of giggling and raucous laughter.

“They certainly seem to have taken to each other,” Octavia commented with a torn expression. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance at the continued teasing, but the sounds of Resonance and the other pony laughing happily together kept making the corners of her mouth curl up despite her best efforts to suppress it.

“Yeah,” Vinyl agreed weakly.

“Are you okay?” Octavia asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, Aegis just got me wondering,” Vinyl said after a moment and then blanched at the look of shock on Octavia’s face. “No, nothing like that!” she said sharply and then let out a laugh afterwards. “Her teasing just reminded me that I already offered to set you up with a concert once. Why did you say no to that, anyway? You never really gave a reason.”

Octavia stared at Vinyl with her right eyebrow raised for a long moment, just to get the point across that she didn’t find any explanation necessary. “Honestly? I thought that you were just trying to get rid of me so that you wouldn’t have to do the right thing about Resonance. It’s no secret that I was convinced that you were the scum of Canterlot at that point, Vinyl.”

“I actually was trying to get rid of you, just, not for that reason. You were kind of a pain to deal with, Tavs,” Vinyl said with a smirk and then stuck her tongue out at Octavia. “I know I’ve mentioned before that you had a valid point, but you were just so obnoxious about how you made it that I didn’t want to have to deal with you anymore. So, I figured that if I just sent you off to do your own things, then maybe I could help you out without having to deal with the constant harassment and yelling.”

“You know, I really underestimated you, Vinyl,” Octavia said in a soft tone as the two of them sat and stared out at their limited view from the second story window. “Even when you hated me, you still wanted to try and help me. I thought the remarks that you made about how I didn’t deserve any of that negative press were all just to rub salt in the wounds. You actually meant all of that, didn’t you?”

“Knowing everything that you do about me now, does it really surprise you that much? I didn’t like you very much, but you were still a talented mare that wasn’t getting anything out of that talent. You know how I feel about this city; is it really so strange that I wanted to help out another pony that I felt got wronged? It seemed to be a pretty straightforward deal: we’d both use each other for our own purposes and wind up thinking that we got the better deal out of it at the end.”

The two of them fell silent again, the excited whispering and laughing from behind them kept rising and falling in volume, but it was easier to tune out at this point. Octavia kept glancing over at Vinyl and trying to give her curious looks in the vague hope that she might continue. It was really hard to tell if Vinyl was trying to ask what she suspected or not, and Vinyl certainly wasn’t giving her any useful hints about it either. With their history, though, it wasn’t like Octavia felt comfortable just piping up and asking her about it. So, they sat in silence, their eyes occasionally flicking towards the other’s before quickly returning to looking somewhere safe. Octavia finally gave up and sat up straight as she started to ask exactly what Vinyl was trying to get at, only to find herself talking at the same time as the unicorn.

“Are you—“

“So, Tav—“

The two of them immediately stopped talking when they heard the other start, and there was another short bout of awkward silence before Octavia spoke up again. “What is it, Vinyl?”

“Oh, I was just going to ask if that meant that you would finally let me set that concert up for you? It’s not like we’re going to be recording while you’re recovering, so we’d have some time to start planning things out. Also, since I actually want to help you out a bit more earnestly, and not just to get you out of my mane, I could actually help you through everything and give you a better chance of getting something meaningful out of it.”

Octavia hesitated for a moment. That kind of an offer was actually perfect, but the few forays she’d actually made into society were making her hesitant to accept the offer with too much enthusiasm. She stammered quietly for a moment before finally deciding on a way to respond. “You’ve already done a lot for me, Vinyl. I don’t want you to think that you owe it to me or anything…”

“Octavia, you don’t need to do that “fake declining the offer in the hopes that I’ll insist” bullshit. I’m not a society pony. Do you want me set you up with a concert or not?” Vinyl said with a roll of her eyes.

“That’d be wonderful, Vinyl. I’m not sure how I could thank you enough.”

“Think of it as a way of me saying thanks; also, I want to do it. I’ve said that I think your situation is unfair multiple times, right?” Vinyl said before adding with a teasing grin. “I could go back to calling you Octobutt if it makes you feel better about it.”

“I’ll pass. Trust me, I’m totally fine without that,” Octavia said immediately with such strength that Vinyl burst out in laughter.

“Alright, then I guess it’s time to break up the lovebirds and head back to the studio. We have a concert to plan,” Vinyl said a bit louder with a clap of her forehooves. She stood suddenly up from her chair and then turned to face the two ponies whose excited conversation had abruptly come to a halt after the remark.

“Hey,” Aegis called back in a playful tone as the unicorn beside her blushed furiously. “You don’t need to project your own issues onto us, thanks!”

For once, one of Aegis’ usual jokes about their relationship caused even Octavia to burst into a fit of giggles with the rest of the ponies. Vinyl got up and walked over to the bed where she ruffled a hoof playfully through Resonance’s mane with a grin before walking over and nudging Aegis to stand up. “We’ll see you tomorrow, alright? I’ll make sure to bring your marefriend back, and maybe we can stop somewhere so she can pick up some flowers for you,” Vinyl teased with a chuckle at the blush that spread across Resonance’s face from the remark.

“Can we?” Aegis shot back with an earnest grin that turned into a laugh as Vinyl’s face lightened up in embarrassed surprise next to Resonance’s matching expression. “What? I’m not too tough to admit that she’s cute, and flowers are always nice when you’re stuck in the hospital,” she said with a playful wink directed at the cream unicorn.

“Alright, alright you two, let’s get the both of you out of here before you make Resonance’s face melt,” Octavia said with a chuckle as she started to playfully shove the two ponies towards the door and away from the now bright-red pony on the hospital bed. “See you, Resonance.”

“Bye…” Resonance managed to somewhat whimper as the three of them walked out into the hallway.

“See you soon, cutie!” Aegis called back into the room as her head reappeared in the doorway with another playful wink. She soon fell into step behind Octavia, trotting behind the earth pony with a bright smile on her face.

“You shouldn’t tease her like that, Aegis,” Octavia said as a frown crossed her face. “She’s rather sensitive to that kind of thing. I accidentally led her on, and had to have a rather painful heart-to-heart to explain that I wasn’t interested in her like that…”

“Who said I was teasing? Sure, I was hamming it up a bit, but I wasn’t teasing her,” Aegis stated earnestly, making the other two stop dead in their tracks and swivel around to stare at her. “What?” Aegis asked with a laugh. “I meant it when I said she’s cute. It’s easy to make her laugh, she’s even cuter while giggling, and her laughter makes me smile,” the pegasus rattled off as she trotted merrily past the two stationary ponies. “Her face brightens up in a way that makes me unable to resist smiling myself. You know what I mean? If she takes a liking to me, then I’ll just have to ask her out on a date when she’s all healed up. Why not?” Aegis explained nonchalantly and stopped at the entrance to the stairwell to stare back at the two of them. “You two coming or what?”

“Don’t worry about Octavia, Aegis. She’s still convinced that Resonance’s injury is her fault when I’m the one that made her so upset that she ran down a flight of stairs at actual break-neck speeds. She’s been acting like a protective older sister ever since,” Vinyl explained and then stuck her tongue out at Octavia with a teasing grin. “Tavi, I wouldn’t have listened to you even if you had said something,” Vinyl said as she turned to continue walking with a swish of her tail that barely missed Octavia’s face. “I understand that you feel bad for not trying, but it’s not your fault. Drop it,” she said suddenly to preempt the annoyed response that was clearly coming. “Anyways, Aegis, don’t let my surprised reaction fool you; I’m glad you two get along so well. She could use a friend, even if things don’t go in that particular way for you two.”

Octavia bristled in annoyance as she now stood alone in the middle of the hallway while the other two ponies waited just outside the stairwell for her. She opened and shut her mouth a few times as she kept changing her mind on what she was going to say before she finally let out an annoyed puff of air. “Fine, you’re right. Just don’t toy with her feelings, alright?”

“Octavia… We haven’t known each other for that long, so I’m going to choose not to be insulted by that, but you should realize by now that I’m being serious. I genuinely had fun. Yes, I was playing it up a bit near the end to tease her and you two at the same time, but I meant everything I said, even if I exaggerated a bit.” Aegis took to the air and swooped down the stairwell from landing to landing before waiting for them at the bottom. “Can we actually stop at a flower shop?” she called up the stairs without showing any sign of embarrassment at the suggestion.

“Yeah, no problem, there’s a nice one not too far out of the way,” Vinyl said with a light shrug in response to the look of disbelief that Octavia was directing at her. “You felt bad for hurting her feelings, Tavs. Aegis might wind up making her happy, just go with it,” she added quietly to the earth pony before trotting down the stairs.

“Yeah, plus she’s young enough that you two probably haven’t infected her with a terminal case of the boring!” Aegis called up the stairs again with a giggle. “She’d do good to have someone active in her life to make her get out of the house instead of being stuffy and staying inside all day like you two,” Aegis added before trotting off towards the hospital entrance with a cackling laugh.

Octavia walked along behind the other two ponies as if in a trance. The shock of Aegis’ blunt admission about her feelings for Resonance seemed unreal. These types of things just didn’t happen in real life, but the more that she reflected upon it, the more she realized that the two of them had been carrying on an almost constant stream of conversation with each other. She let out a quiet sigh and picked up her pace to keep up with Vinyl as they entered a small flower shop.

“I guess after everything that she’s been through, Resonance deserves to be swept off of her hooves as much as anypony,” Octavia admitted under her breath as she watched Aegis flutter around the shop and excitedly look at all of the different arrangements on display. Vinyl turned away from watching the pegasus zip around and caught Octavia’s attention after a few moments of staring at her. When Octavia finally turned to see what Vinyl wanted, she was met with a light shrug, seemingly in response to her muttered statement, before Vinyl returned to watching the pegasus with a smile on her face.

It wasn’t that much longer before Aegis was standing at the counter talking to the blue mare working in the shop. A nice arrangement of lavender roses was being carefully packed into a vase for delivery, and with Vinyl’s help, Aegis was able to instruct her on where it was to be delivered. Octavia hovered near the entrance to the shop, nibbling on her lower lip as she tried to make up her mind on if she should vocalize to Aegis what that kind of bouquet meant.

When the other two ponies started to walk towards her, Octavia made up her mind and caught Aegis’ attention by stepping closer and clearing her voice politely. “Aegis, are you aware of the meaning of that particular shade of roses? It’s just I had a friend back when I was younger that simply adored flowers. She wanted to start her own flower shop, so I happen to know that a bouquet like that has a slightly more intimate meaning,” she asked in a cautious tone.

“They mean something beyond a normal bouquet of roses? I figured sending her roses was straightforward enough and they’d go with her eyes nicely. If she was worried that I might have just been teasing her like you two were, then that bouquet should give her the idea that I wasn’t, right?” Aegis said in a casual tone as she impatiently motioned with her head towards the door, gesturing for Vinyl to take the lead on the way back to the studio.

“Traditionally, purple roses signify deep admiration, with lighter shades like that lavender meant to convey stronger attractions. They are sometimes used to signify love at first sight…” Octavia explained in her best attempt at a patient tone.

“Oh…” Aegis said thoughtfully as she flapped her wings a few times but didn’t take to the air. An expression of deep consideration passed across her face before she spoke up. “Well, that’ll get the meaning across, I guess. Do you think she’ll take it like that?” Aegis finally asked with an air of curiosity rather than concern.

Vinyl laughed at the frank response while Octavia just shook her head with a slight smirk. “Who knows, but we can probably tell by how furiously she blushes when we come to visit tomorrow, right?” Vinyl said with another laugh and a nudge at Octavia.

Aegis giggled at the statement and nodded her head lightly. The slightest hints of a blush spread across her face for the first time since the topic had come up. “Hey, we’re going to the studio, right? Can you show me where you kicked that stallion through the wall?” Aegis questioned suddenly. “That story totally made you sound like a complete badass, Octavia.”

“So this is the spot, huh?” Aegis asked as she looked around the waiting room of the studio before returning her gaze to the damaged wall. The pegasus had already paused for a brief moment to stare at the disjointed door, but upon entering the studio she had stopped dead and just stared at the wall. She ignored Vinyl as the unicorn swept past and began rummaging loudly from within her office.

“Yeah,” was all that Octavia was able to respond with as her eyes focused on the huge impression in the wall. It was honestly a bit shocking; it felt as if it had been another mare that had taken over her body and kicked the stallion off of Vinyl. It was hard to believe that she had acted like that, especially as she thought back to the awful things that she had yelled at that piece of trash. Just seeing the damage left behind made her shiver a little from head to hoof.

“Wow…” Aegis muttered under her breath as she wandered closer to take a look at the damaged plaster.

“Found it!” Vinyl yelled from further back in the studio and then reappeared with a manila folder grasped in her magic.

“Found what?" Octavia asked cautiously as she stared at the surprisingly large stack of papers held within.

“Well, after everything that happened to me with my prior employment, I make a point of keeping track of every pony that owes me a favor. We’re going to knock on some doors tomorrow,” Vinyl explained with a worrying grin spreading across her face. “Don’t worry, you won’t owe me for this. Come on, let’s go upstairs. I need to figure out who we’re going to bother.”

“Octavia?” Aegis asked in a quiet voice as the three of them filed out into the hallway.

“Yeah?”

Aegis turned and then peeked her head back through the doorway for a quick moment to stare at the damaged wall once more before she reappeared in the hallway. “Remind me to never make you actually angry.”

Chapter 17

Octavia rolled sleepily off the couch before grumbling to herself about the awful cushions. Somehow, Vinyl’s nice plush couch was less comfortable to lie on for extended periods of time than the cheap collapsed one in her own apartment. She stretched out her back while hoping that the guards would find Sharp Note soon. Not so long ago, it would have been impossible to convince her that she would miss her stiff mattress, but at least that thing was intended to be slept on. The springs of Vinyl’s couch had a tendency to uncomfortably poke at her side, causing her to wake up and roll over every few hours.

Octavia froze in place and raised her eyebrows when she realized that she had been worrying more about the sleeping arrangements than, what she previously would have found more shocking, being stuck with Vinyl for several days. Upon second thought, it made sense given how much the two of them had grown closer. Vinyl even seemed to be honestly trying her best not to push her buttons too much while she was still recovering and supposed to be taking it easy. Vinyl had even got on Aegis’ case a bit last night for teasing Octavia too much. While she had no hope that this sort of behavior would be permanent, it was still a nice break from having to deal with Vinyl constantly harping about something.

Octavia trudged down the hallway towards the bathroom to clean herself up, still trying to stretch the kinks out of her back. At the very least, her mane needed some attention after her night on the couch. A quick glance out of the window showed that it was late morning, but there were no sounds coming from anywhere else in the apartment. Hopefully she would have enough time to soak up the hot water from a shower and let her joints loosen up.

It had been tempting for Octavia to spend a whole lot more time in Vinyl’s shower, especially since it gave her the rare luxury of having enough space to turn around without constantly bumping her head against the wall. Still, it had been nice, and she definitely felt a lot more refreshed as she hobbled down the hallway on three hooves while the fourth ran a brush through her mane.

The complete lack of Vinyl or Aegis was strange, now that she thought about it. She would have assumed that making noise in the bathroom would have triggered some semblance of life in the apartment. Even though she’d only really seen Vinyl in the mornings after rather dramatic events, Octavia had still figured that Vinyl’s morning laziness wasn’t typical given how much responsibility she must have to deal with.

Octavia was distracted from staring in the direction of Vinyl’s bedroom by the sudden opening of the apartment’s front door. She turned with a sharp gasp, only to see Oliver striding inside with a set jaw and furrowed eyebrows.

“Hey, Tavi, don’t mind me. Just need to roust Vinyl,” he said in a casual tone as he carefully squeezed past her, conscious of the brush that she was running through her wet mane. “Vinyl! Wake up already, Vinyl!” he yelled at Vinyl’s bedroom door, ignoring the not-so-quiet grumblings that came in response, and pounded on it several times with his hoof. “It’s ten o’clock, Vinyl. Get up!”

“Hey!” Aegis yelled as she burst out of a room further down the hallway. She flew straight up to Oliver and placed her face inches from his. “Who the hell are you?” she asked in an authoritative tone that made even Octavia take a step backwards.

Oliver took another step back to get some space, but Aegis interrupted him with another fierce yell before he could speak up. “Did I say you could talk? Just who do you think you are, barging in here like that?”

“Aegis—” Octavia said through her teeth as she repressed the urge to facehoof while holding the brush.

“You a friend of Sharp Note?” Aegis continued, ignoring her quiet protest. “You here to shut Vinyl up? Want me to take you down to the station and ask you some questions?” Aegis demanded as she kept taking a firm step forward on every other word so that Oliver eventually backed up against a wall.

“What the hell is this?” Oliver finally snapped back. “I already talked to the guards about everything. Why the hell am I getting harassed again, in Vinyl’s apartment of all places?”

“Aegis!” Octavia said in a louder voice to interrupt what appeared to be an angry response.

“You know this stallion, Octavia?” Aegis asked while keeping her gaze fiercely locked upon the tan unicorn in front of her.

“That’s Oliver; he’s Vinyl’s assistant,” Octavia said before wandering into the bathroom to replace her brush.

“Oh… Sorry about that, buddy,” Aegis said with a quiet laugh as the serious face seemed to immediately give way to a grin. She gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder before turning to find Octavia.

“Is anyone going to tell me what in the name of Celestia’s royal flank is going on here?” Oliver said while he stood stock-still and his left eyebrow twitched dangerously.

“Sorry, Oliver, this is Aegis,” Octavia explained as she returned to the hallway. “She’s a guard that was assigned to protect us until the other guards find Sharp Note. I wasn’t expecting you to storm into the apartment and start banging on Vinyl’s door, so I didn’t really warn her.”

“This is a pretty normal occurrence. Well, that is until you started hanging around recently. If I don’t wake Vinyl up when nothing is planned, then sometimes she won’t wander down into the studio until noon,” Oliver explained with a roll of his eyes before storming back down the hallway to pound on the door a few more times.

“Urf… While arranging a shouting match outside of my bedroom was definitely effective, I’d prefer if you stuck to just banging on the door in the future, Oliver,” Vinyl said as she wandered past the ponies gathered in the hallway and shut herself in the bathroom.

“You’re welcome!” Oliver yelled at the door before casually turning to face Octavia. “I’ll be downstairs. Let me know what’s going on later, Octavia.” He eyed Aegis rather carefully as he walked past her on the way out of the apartment.

“So, were you just waiting in a closet to ambush somepony or what?” Octavia asked with a slight grin. “I’m glad to see you taking your job so seriously, but I’m not sure that you need to take it to such extremes.”

“What? I was just in the guest bedroom,” Aegis said before motioning behind her with her head. “I was just sort of lying in bed. Nobody really sounded like they were awake until a short while ago, and I didn’t know how long until you two wouldn’t be annoyed by me walking around.”

“Guest bedroom?” Octavia asked in a dangerous tone as her eyes narrowed. She stomped over to the bathroom door before even giving Aegis a chance to answer. “Guest bedroom? You have a guest bedroom, Scratch? Why the hell did I sleep on the couch, then?” she asked loudly through the door.

Vinyl appeared a moment later, rolling her eyes as she ran a brush through her mane with her magic. “Yeah, maybe if you’d let me talk instead of, once again, refusing to listen to me, then maybe I would have had an opportunity to tell you about it,” she said before shutting the door with a loud snap.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean, Scratch?”

“Listen to me, Octavia. I consider you a friend at this point. Let that sink in for a moment before I say this next bit,” Vinyl answered as she shoved her way past Octavia and out into the hallway. “You really need to stop assuming the worst of me and actually let me talk sometimes.”

Octavia opened her mouth and took in a deep breath as she got ready to shoot back a scathing response, but she was nudged by Aegis as the pegasus stepped by light-hoofedly to escape the ensuing argument. The gentle nudge, though, was enough to make her pause and reconsider her response. She took a moment and then turned her attention back to Vinyl with her eyebrow raised, inviting her to continue.

“Last night. You were so busy insisting that you wouldn’t sleep with me again. What was your wording again? Oh right. ‘I need to stop using you as a crutch. You won’t be here every night. So, I need to stop giving you the puppy eyes so that you would “cuddle with me for comfort”.’ And while yes, you are correct, having you nearby at night makes me comfortable, it’s more about how it makes me feel safe…” Vinyl said in a softer tone of voice. She glanced down at her hooves after the admission, refusing to meet Octavia’s gaze as she continued. “I’m not so reliant on it that I was going to argue about it, though. If you had just let me respond, instead of stubbornly insisting that you would sleep on the couch, I would have told you that you could use the guest bed. Since you didn’t, though, I let Aegis use it.” Vinyl finished with a quiet huff and then strode off towards the kitchen.

Octavia stood there for a moment before she sighed and followed after Vinyl. She strode into the kitchen shortly afterwards and found Vinyl bustling around, apparently getting ready to make herself some coffee. Vinyl didn’t even say a word as she passed by Octavia and yanked a cupboard open.

“I’m sorry, Vinyl,” Octavia said with another quiet sigh and sat down at the table.

“Huh?” was the only noise that Vinyl made to acknowledge the statement. She sat down at the table opposite Octavia to sip at her mug while stolidly ignoring her.

“I said I was sorry, Scratch,” Octavia repeated.

“Are you really? You always apologize. You say that you’re sorry, but when it comes down to it, you just do the same things over again. You never let me talk when you’re in that mood, Octavia. You just take complete control of the conversation, and nothing will make you relinquish it. Sure, I can yell and get your attention, but sometimes that’s too much effort. It’s almost like there are times when we talk that you refuse to even consider that you might be wrong.” Vinyl paused to take a long sip of her coffee. “I’m left here to wonder if you really are that sorry. Aegis said she was fine sleeping on the couch, by the way, so you can use the guest bed tonight. I’m going to go down to the studio; if you decide that you can talk to me like an equal, you can come join me.”

Vinyl stood up suddenly enough to make the chair screech loudly across the tile floor before she swept past Octavia and caught Aegis’ expression out in the living room. She made a frustrated noise and then turned around. “Fine! I’ll be sitting on the couch waiting since we’re not allowed to split up. Make yourself some tea or something, but please be quick about it.

“Will you please just listen to me?” Octavia pleaded as she walked behind Vinyl down the stairwell. Vinyl seemed to make a point of stomping on the stairs in response, appearing to take an almost foalish amount of pleasure in creating the loud echoes, which forced Octavia to raise her voice to even be audible over the noise. Every time she started to annoy Vinyl, the unicorn would speed up and leave her behind for a few steps. It got to the point that the simple act of trying to make herself heard seemed to be enough to annoy Vinyl. When Octavia tried to pick up her pace to cut in front of Vinyl on a landing, she was simply pushed aside as Vinyl ran down the entire next set of stairs.

Octavia turned her gaze to Aegis for a moment as she flapped behind the growing spectacle like a silent observer. “Hey, don’t look at me. I’m staying well out of this,” Aegis said and then stuck her tongue out at Octavia.

“Vinyl, I’m trying, alright?” Octavia finally yelled out of frustration when Vinyl tugged the door open to the fifth floor with her magic.

Vinyl seemed to freeze in place at the statement. She stood there halfway through the doorway before she slowly turned in place to glance back at Octavia. The upset frown that had dominated her expression slowly faded as Vinyl raised an eyebrow and let Octavia continue.

“You were right. I haven’t been fair to you, and I’m really sorry,” Octavia said in a weak tone as she approached Vinyl. “I’m not perfect, but I’m trying to get better. Please keep telling me when I mess up. I want to keep improving myself, but you need to talk to me and then let me talk afterwards. It’s not fair to just give me the cold shoulder. You’re my only real friend in Canterlot; you can’t just ignore me like that… You have to let me try to show you that I’m sorry and make it up to you.”

Vinyl cracked a smile and then strode out into the hallway, holding the door for Octavia with a hoof. They made their way into the studio in silence before Vinyl spoke up again. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I just wanted you to know what it’s like. It’s frustrating, you know? And I get that you’re trying, but every time you backslide, it makes me want to grind my teeth in frustration. I know you’re a better pony than that, Octavia.”

“I’ll keep trying, Vinyl. It seems so funny to say this after the way that we started out, but you’re a good influence on me,” Octavia admitted with the tiniest of smiles as Vinyl hesitated on the way to her office.

“Hey, Oliver!” Vinyl called out from the hallway and then waited for the tan unicorn to appear. “I’m going to get some things in order and plan out my schedule for the next few days. If Octavia wants to play, since it’s been a couple of days, then could you fetch her bass from my apartment and get her set up?” Vinyl said as much to Octavia as she did to Oliver. “And don’t give me that look, Aegis. The studio only has one entrance, if you’re concerned about watching both of us, then you can sit out in the waiting room. You could even sit and listen to Octavia play through the headphones if you wanted. As long as the door is open, you can see my office from there.”

“Sure thing, Vinyl,” Oliver said after Octavia gave him a slight nod.

Several minutes later, Vinyl was successfully ensconced in her office as the sounds of electronic music leaked into the hallway, and Octavia was starting to toy around on her double bass. Aegis had positioned herself on the little stool in the recording room, having pulled it a bit closer to the doorway, with the headphones over her ears.

Octavia wasn’t entirely certain what she wanted to play, just that it felt nice to get back into the swing of things after a few days off. Just the act of practicing her craft was enough to calm her down after the fitful start to the day. Her mind wandered a bit as she idly shifted between pieces, her hooves gliding across the strings by their own accord as she eventually turned to a more introspective mood. She considered everything that had happened since she started working for Vinyl as the music flowed freely from her hooves. It really was remarkable how much their relationship had changed now that she thought back on the events that had happened since she had met Vinyl.

As her mind wandered, only a small part of her noticed that the tone of her music was shifting back and forth with her mood. Anypony that knew her well could probably have picked up on the confusion and uncertainty that was starting to fill her mind as she thought. However, that didn’t seem too likely with the ponies that were around, so she continued to let the music express the emotions that she was having a hard time of putting into words.

Her hoof started to play across the neck with more energy as the bow danced across the strings when her thoughts turned more upbeat. Things were, for the most part, looking up for her. The thought of what would happen when everything with Vinyl and the concert was over and done with gave her pause, though. The song drifted off to a slower, more sedate melody and eventually trailed off at the thought that she might even miss Vinyl when they inevitably parted ways.

”There’s no way that I could actually stay and work for Vinyl once I’m back into the full swing of things, could I? It’s not like I couldn’t make the time, but I would be terribly busy…” she found herself thinking as she held the bass close and considered the strange thought.

”No, that’s not true. I would definitely make time for Vinyl, but would I want it to be in a professional sense? Vinyl might not want to keep us involved professionally.”

“Is Aegis’ teasing that far off the mark with Vinyl? She has been rather touchy recently, sure, but that’s just because she’s still hurt and needs the comfort, right?”

Octavia’s hooves ran slowly across the bass as she kept pondering. She hadn’t even seriously considered that Vinyl might actually want to start a relationship with her until now. It wasn’t really the time to entertain the idea. Vinyl was still too hurt to take any proposition too seriously, but it was enough to make her wonder.

”Would that really be so bad?”

Octavia opened her eyes a bit wider as the treacherous thought echoed in her mind. She suddenly resumed playing and picked up the pace, driving the song to a stormy tone as she tried to distract herself but was ultimately unsuccessful. The song slowly returned to a more upbeat tune, seemingly without her realizing it. She stopped playing, looked down at her hooves as if they had just betrayed her, and then let out a sigh. Sure, it wouldn’t be the most traditional relationship, but it was impossible to deny that they had been good influences on each other. At the very least, she’d have to make time to remain friends and visit. That was good enough, right? Her previous mentality of being done with Vinyl the moment she no longer needed the unicorn seemed completely out of the question now.

Interestingly enough, that didn’t seem to really bother her. In fact, the idea that Vinyl would remain a friend, that they would continue to see each other on a regular basis, brought a smile to her face as she started to play again. At least with Vinyl she knew where she stood. There wasn’t any silly posturing or extra layers of drama lined into every sentence. She wasn’t left wondering, even hours after the fact, if the other pony actually meant what they had said. Things were so much simpler with Vinyl, even when their regular butting of heads came into the equation. They still argued but, these days, there weren’t really any hard feelings afterwards. Perhaps Resonance had a point when she had said that they acted like an old married couple.

Octavia shook her head to clear the treasonous thought, only to realize that she had, once again, completely stopped playing. She heaved a dramatic sigh before starting to pack her instrument away. No matter what happened next, things were improving for her. She was certain that Vinyl was willing to be her fallback if things went sour, but she really didn’t want to make Vinyl have to do that. The idea that Vinyl would be there for her, even if things didn’t work out for the concert, was comforting at least. It gave her the peace of mind that she wouldn’t have to fall back to that level of complete despair that had overcome her outside of the hospital. Thinking back, it seemed like that had been months ago, even though it had only been a few weeks previous.

A smile graced Octavia’s face as she set her instrument down in the waiting room and pondered that thought. She walked back to Vinyl’s office and knocked loudly on the open door to make herself audible over the music. It surprised Octavia to see Vinyl sitting there with her purple sunglasses on for once. She was looking rather busy behind the disaster area of a desk. Octavia hadn’t seen the DJ’s trademark sunglasses much since they had both dropped their acts around each other. It seemed that once Vinyl didn’t need to use the tough persona of the boss around her, she had simply left them behind. Octavia idly wondered for a moment how much truth there had been to her accusation that Vinyl was using them as a mask to hide behind, before Vinyl finally spoke up.

“Hey, Tavs. I thought you’d want to play for longer,” she said after turning the music down to a dull roar. “Give me a few more minutes here and I’ll be ready to go out. I can get Oliver to carry your bass up to the apartment before we go.”

“I kept getting distracted,” Octavia explained with a light shrug and then sat down in a chair that she had dragged over to the wall from in front of the desk. “My mind kept wandering to the future and where I’m heading.”

There was a quiet click as Vinyl switched the music off completely in response to the statement and then lifted her sunglasses off to set them on the desk. She gave Octavia an earnest look before finally speaking up. “Don’t worry about that, okay? There’s no way we’re not getting a gig set up for you. I’ve got a solid plan, but even if that doesn’t work out for you in the end, I’ll still be here. If worst comes to worst, I’ll have a bed and somewhere for you to stay until you can get on your hooves again.”

“I know, Vinyl, and I really appreciate it. I really do. I’ll get out of your mane and let you finish up here. I’ll be out in the waiting room,” Octavia said with a smile and a casual wave of her hoof. It took several minutes of sitting on the couch, trying very hard not to spend the entire time staring at the damaged wall, before she heard the music start up again.

“So what is your grand plan, anyway, Vinyl?” Octavia asked after several minutes of walking down the street with no real announced destination. Aegis swooped by with an audible giggle as she took the opportunity to stretch her wings and have a bit more fun than was strictly necessary.

“Nothing complicated,” Vinyl said nonchalantly and then added a wave of her hoof. “I’m going to go pressure an old business acquaintance of mine to let me set up a show. I’ve done this before, but just not usually in one of his more traditional music venues. It might take a little bit of convincing, but my gigs with him have always done well. It shouldn’t be too hard to swing something beneficial.”

“You are going to talk to him?” Octavia couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah, you’re going to sit in the waiting room while we chat. He doesn’t need to know it’s for you immediately.”

“What, do you think that it’ll be problem if he knows the show is for me?” Octavia asked, unable to prevent her eyebrow from arching dangerously.

“No, actually that’s a point in our favor,” Vinyl said as she put her sunglasses on with a flourish to hide the mischievous glint in her eyes. “You’ll see.”

“Remind me to never enter into a business venture that you might consider competition, Vinyl,” Octavia replied with a quiet laugh.

“Better not,” Vinyl said with a raucous laugh. “I’ll run you into the ground so hard that you’ll have to come crawling to me for somewhere to sleep.”

Octavia remained silent as Vinyl continued to lead them deeper into the well-to-do area of Canterlot. They picked their way through a forest of office buildings as Vinyl walked ahead and took the lead with authority.

“Buck up, Tavi; we’re almost there. You know I don’t mean anything against you, but business is a different deal,” Vinyl said as she let her grin shift to a kinder expression. “We just have to make sure that it never comes up.”

Vinyl held the door open for Octavia and then shot a stern look at Aegis over the top of her sunglasses until the pegasus landed and then trotted along a bit more sedately behind Octavia. Vinyl gave a slight nod and then strode confidently past the receptionist at the front and led the group to a wall of elevators down a short hallway.

“Okay, I’m going to talk to him alone,” Vinyl said as she exited the elevator and waited for the others in the hallway. “I’m not going to tell him that you’re involved unless he specifically asks. I’m pretty sure that I can convince him, but if he wants to talk to you, follow my lead, alright?” Vinyl didn’t even wait for the weak nod that Octavia gave in response before leading them down the hallway to a particular set of cushy offices. She walked right up to the desk as if she owned this building too and stood in place, tapping her hoof on the wood until she was acknowledged by the receptionist.

“Do you have an appointment, Ma’am?” the rose unicorn asked, trying her best to keep a professional tone.

“Nope, tell Blank Label that DJ PON-3 is here with a business opportunity for him,” Vinyl said as she wiggled the sunglasses around on her face a bit with her magic and flashed the receptionist a grin.

“He’s a bit occupied at the mom—”

“Trust me; he’ll want to know that I’m here. He owes me a big favor, and, being such the wonderful pony that I am, I decided to give him an opportunity to make some money out of it.”

“He might just ask you to come back another day…” the receptionist said, her eyes darting around to every place they could except the confident smile plastered across Vinyl’s face. She finally got up and disappeared into the office.

“What did I tell you? Easy,” Vinyl said, turning her grin back towards Octavia.

“He says to tell ‘Miss Scratch’ that he will see her in five minutes…” the receptionist said in an astonished tone when she reappeared a few minutes later.

“Just what I expected, he doesn’t want to seem too eager, but I’ve got his attention,” Vinyl said as she practically cantered over towards the few chairs in the corner to sit next to Octavia. “Now that he’s curious, he’s ours,” she added to Octavia and leaned her chair against the wall behind her.

“If you say so, Vinyl,” Octavia said, holding back a smirk at the foalish way of sitting in the chair. “This kind of thing is your ballpark, not mine.”

Vinyl nearly fell out of her chair, barely catching her balance and setting all four legs back on the ground when she saw a light blue unicorn stallion stride confidently out into the waiting room to greet them.

“Vinyl! What a pleasure, it’s been ages…” he started to say in a booming voice, but trailed off when his eyes fell upon Octavia sitting there and barely moving. “So, is she the business opportunity that you meant? That’s a hard sell, Scratch.”

“Listen, Blanky,” Vinyl said in a confident tone, ignoring the way that the stallion’s eye twitched at the nickname. She chuckled quietly and took the opportunity to get up and stand next to him. With the extension of her left hoof, she directed his gaze back to Octavia and then motioned vaguely towards the horizon. “Think about it, Blanky. You’re privy to what’s been going on. There’s been this huge fuss over Octavia here, but it’s been dying down recently. It’s the perfect timing. Everything is still fresh on everypony’s minds, but there hasn’t been a negative opinion piece about her in a while. Everything is set just right for her to reappear on the big stage; there’s just the right amount of curiosity for this thing to work. We’re going to set her up with a show, either way, so I came here to be nice and offer you the first shot at the venue.”

“That’s pushing it, Vinyl,” he remarked as he raised an eyebrow but refused to let his glance stray from Octavia.

“Nonsense! Think about all of the buzz that this will cause. The return of Octavia to the big stage! Organized and promoted by a DJ, no less. Completely unheard of. The media will be completely split on if it’s a good idea or not, and the controversy will just draw more attention to the show. Popular ponies will speak out on both sides of the hot new debate, but all of the scrutiny will fall on myself and Octavia. I’ll be the one with my name attached to the event doing all of the promotion. Meanwhile, you get a sold out house from the deal because the media buzz won’t lead to any other possibility,” Vinyl explained as she kept waving her hoof around in broad motions.

“There’s something to your pitch here, Vinyl… I’m just not sure on it,” he said in a conflicted tone. “If there really is as much of a buzz over this as you say, then it might even carry over to a few of the other shows scheduled around it.”

“Exactly! And don’t even think of putting us in one of your crappy venues, we’re talking the big stage here. How many other shows can you guarantee a full house for?”

“You’re not going to stop bothering me until I say yes, are you, Vinyl?” he asked with a defeated sigh.

“Nope!”

“What do you want out of this, Miss?” he asked, ignoring Vinyl for a moment as he returned his focused gaze on Octavia.

“Why is that even impo—” Vinyl started but was cut off as a blue hoof appeared in front of her face.

“I want to hear from her, Vinyl,” he insisted.

“I just want my life back,” Octavia said after a moment of thought.

“You’re not after revenge of some kind? A vengeful musician can do a lot of damage…” he said with narrowed eyes.

“The only revenge I want is to see the looks on the faces of those ponies after I work my way back up to the top. I want to see their faces the moment they realize what’s happened, to see their jaws hit the ground so hard that they won’t be able to speak for a week when they realize that I proved them all wrong,” Octavia said in a casual tone, but with narrowed eyes that remained locked on the stallion.

Blank Label stood silent for a solid minute before he said anything more. He turned towards Vinyl when he finally did. “Fine, you’ve got a show, but if this goes south, you owe me one this time. The next up and coming musician you pick up gets sent my way,” he said as he kept his stern gaze locked on her.

“Of course, of course. I’ll be in touch to talk dates. Remember, the big stage,” she emphasized as she walked over to Octavia and Aegis before gesturing towards the door with a tilt of her head.

“Wouldn’t dream of doing otherwise, Vinyl,” he said in a defeated tone as he turned around and shuffled back into his office while shaking his head.

The moment the three of them were in the elevator and the door closed, Vinyl burst out into raucous laughter. “I told you that it was going to be easy,” she said between laughs that shook her entire body. “That’ll show you to doubt me, eh?”

“He didn’t seem very happy about it, Vinyl,” Octavia said with a slight frown.

“Oh don’t even worry about that, Tavia,” Vinyl said with a dismissive wave of her hoof as she nearly danced in place. “That was way easier than I thought it would be, even with him coming out and seeing you immediately. He’s just posturing, playing business, basically. He’ll be smiling really wide when he’s got a big stack of bits on his desk out of the deal.”

“If you say so…”

“Can we go to the hospital yet?” Aegis whined loudly in order to be heard over the music that was pouring out into the hallway. She had taken position outside of Vinyl’s office and was currently splayed out on the carpet while she occasionally complained of boredom.

Octavia glanced over the top of her magazine to the doorway from where she was sitting off to the side of Vinyl’s desk. She couldn’t quite stop the laugh that escaped her lips at the ridiculous position that Aegis had put herself into. “Vinyl told you when we’d be going to visit Resonance. You’re just going to have to wait a bit longer.”

“Ugh, and I thought Vinyl’s personal life was boring,” Aegis complained even louder and then rolled onto her back so that she could cover her face with her hooves.

“Really? Because you can never seem to shut up about it,” Vinyl called back without looking up from the clipboard that she was busily scribbling on. “Are you sure that you’re a guard? I think they might have given us a little filly instead. I know that you seem to think that we should be dating, but acting like you’re our foal isn’t really the proper way to go about it.”

Octavia laughed at the remark before tossing the magazine that she had been reading at Aegis. “Read something. Hopefully that can stifle the complaints for five minutes,” she said before reaching over to Vinyl’s desk to pick up something else to read.

“Ugh, a gossip rag? How can you even read these?” Aegis asked as she wrinkled her face, seemingly at the very sight of the magazine in front of her. When Octavia ignored the question, she eventually started to flip through the pages and settled down to read something.

Aegis’ complaints fell to more of a dull roar over the next hour as she seemed to keep herself mostly occupied with the magazine. Vinyl’s music had long since faded into the background for Octavia, so the audible click that came with it suddenly being shut off snapped her out of her reverie. The sudden cessation of the noise made her realize that she had been just staring at the magazine in front of her for quite some time now. It took a moment for her to even recall what the article she had been supposedly reading was even about.

“Alright, that’s enough for today. I’m certain that Aegis is about ready to start climbing the walls, right?” Vinyl said with a smirk, ignoring the fact that Aegis was still silently occupying herself out in the hallway with something in the magazine. When the joke failed to even trigger a response from Aegis, Vinyl trotted over and loomed over her for a moment to see if it would snap her out of whatever she was focused on. When that failed, a small smirk spread across Vinyl’s face as she leaned down and positioned herself as if she was about to whisper something into Aegis’ ear.

“Hey!” Vinyl said loudly out of nowhere, stifling a giggle at how it made Aegis nearly jump backwards into the wall. “You up for visiting your marefriend or what?”

Aegis took a moment to catch her breath before the question seemed to fully register in her mind. Once it did, though, a smile spread across her face and she stood up next to Vinyl.

“She’s not my marefriend yet, though.”

“Details; you sent her a bouquet of roses after you met her for the first time. Close enough,” Vinyl said with a quiet laugh.

“Yeah, but I haven’t asked her out yet.”

“Teasing you about Resonance isn’t going to get me anywhere, is it?” Vinyl asked with a slight frown.

“Why would I get embarrassed about it? We talked about this in the hospital.”

“You’re no fun,” Vinyl said with a quiet huff. “Come on, let’s get going before it gets too late.”

Octavia took the lead down the streets of Canterlot. Her stride took on a faster pace than usual as she kept pondering over the thoughts that were bouncing around her mind. Vinyl and Aegis automatically fell into step behind her and, surprisingly, didn’t really seem to be in the mood to talk much as they walked.

The combination of being occupied with her thoughts and the quick pace ensured that the hospital came into view rather quickly. Octavia couldn’t stop her gaze from wandering over in Vinyl’s direction every now and then as she kept wondering about whatever it was Vinyl had planned. Octavia found herself slowing her pace as she entered the hospital so that she was soon walking by Vinyl’s side while she kept shooting questioning glances at Vinyl. The words to the question that was bouncing around in her head were finally starting to come together, but right as she was about to speak up, they found themselves coming to Resonance’s room.

Resonance was lying in her bed, taking the opportunity to crane her neck over towards the bedside table to sniff at the newly placed bouquet of lavender roses. The assortment of mixed flowers, which Octavia had assumed were from her family, had been pushed to the far side of the table to allow for the roses to take the place of prominence instead. The sudden lack of a neck brace on Resonance was brought into sharp relief by the odd angle that she was craning her neck to get a good sniff of the lavender blooms. The bright smile on her face suddenly turned to a blush as she heard Aegis bound into the room past Octavia and Vinyl with a giggle.

“Hey, cutie!” Aegis called out with a bright smile as she walked up and gave Resonance a friendly hug. Her smile intensified when she peered over to the table and saw what Resonance had been occupied with. “Enjoying the flowers, huh?”

Octavia shook her head and smiled as she walked around to the far side of the bed and threatened to tickle Resonance with the tip of her hoof. Aegis laughed when Resonance tried to shuffle away from the threat and only wound up nuzzling deep into the fur of Aegis’ chest. A quiet squeak was the only sound that came from Resonance as she blushed furiously and rapidly shot her eyes back and forth between Octavia and Aegis.

“Hey, Resonance, we brought your marefriend for a visit,” Vinyl said with a smirk as she passed by the foot of the bed. “I see you’ve already noticed, though. Sorry for taking so long to get her here today,” Vinyl added with a playful wink.

All of the ponies except for Resonance laughed when she responded to the teasing by burying her face into Aegis’ chest. She mumbled something into the white fur, but it wasn’t loud enough for anypony besides maybe Aegis to make out. “What was that?” Vinyl asked as she pulled one of the chairs up to the window and sat down with a grin.

“I said everyone’s picking on me…” she mumbled again, a bit louder. Octavia and Vinyl giggled at the complaint before Octavia finally relented her teasing and went to sit in her usual chair.

“So, you like the flowers, huh?” Aegis asked with a quiet giggle as she looked down at the face still buried in her white coat. She reached down and playfully flicked her hoof across Resonance’s ears a few times before speaking up again. “Did you, uh, know that that color of roses has a… special meaning? I wasn’t really aware of it when I sent them.”

Resonance slowly withdrew and stared up at Aegis for a long moment before nodding her head and letting out a quiet noise of assent. Octavia couldn’t stop the frown that passed over her face as she watched Resonance’s reaction. Her eyes furrowed slightly, followed by a barely noticeable trembling of her lower lip. Aegis seemed to pick up on it pretty quickly, though, and tugged Resonance back into a hug before Octavia was able to speak up.

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just curious if you knew what they meant and if, uh, you took them for that meaning when I sent them? I didn’t know that they had such an… intimate meaning, but I had a chance to stop the delivery when Octavia told me,” Aegis paused for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip as she playfully flicked at Resonance’s ears a few more times. “So, even though it wasn’t exactly my original intention, I wasn’t averse to the idea.”

Resonance stared wide-eyed up at Aegis for a long moment, trembling noticeably from her spot on the bed. “What are you trying to say, Aegis?” she finally managed to vocalize.

“Well, I guess I just, uh, wanted to know if you wanted to go out to dinner sometime? Obviously once you’re out of the hospital that is,” Aegis said with a grin that only intensified when Resonance let out another quiet squeak and buried her face in the white fur again. “Is that a yes?” Aegis asked with a quiet laugh that took all of Octavia’s might to avoid interrupting the scene with her own giggle.

Resonance gave an enthusiastic nod and then stopped to giggle at the displeased frown that Aegis gave her at having her fur suddenly ruffled. “I’ll be out of the hospital pretty soon too…”

“That’s great; how long?” Vinyl asked so suddenly from beside Octavia that the other two ponies jumped in place and turned their heads to look over towards the two chairs. Both of them stammered quietly and looked at each other for a moment before Resonance very carefully withdrew from Aegis and lied back on the bed in a more normal position.

“Uhm, the doctor said maybe a week? Apparently my body wasn’t being very receptive to the healing magic at first, but it’s starting to work better now,” Resonance said quietly. Her eyes darted between Aegis and the two other ponies sitting by the window several times before Aegis spoke up again to break the awkward moment.

“That’s great news. So will you be able to walk around freely once you’re out?” Aegis used the question to draw Resonance’s attention back as she sat down and let her head rest on the edge of the bed. Resonance glanced over at Octavia and Vinyl for a moment before turning to face Aegis and automatically falling back into a hushed conversation.

Octavia turned and glanced out the window for a moment before she looked over at Vinyl again. The question from before kept resurfacing to the point where it was making it difficult for her to sit still. She waited for Vinyl to glance over in her direction before she finally spoke up. “Vinyl, was that really it? I thought you had much grander plans than going out to bother one stallion…”

“Oh, we’re not done yet, Octybaby,” Vinyl said with a grin that fell away at the reaction to the old nickname. “Sorry, I mean we’ve got a few more people to bother still, Tavs. That’ll be easier than what we did today, though. They’re mostly just some ponies that I need to bother so that they’ll help us promote it. We only really need to get the promotion to the point where the news media picks it up. That’s when the circus will start.”

“So the whole plan really is to start a controversy around the concert? Are you sure that’s the best idea?” Octavia asked as she returned her gaze to the city that was laid out in front of her. She let out a quiet sigh and then put her face down on the windowsill. “I’m not sure if I can handle having everypony ganging up on me like that again, Vinyl…”

“Don’t worry about it; it won’t be the same this time. Plus, I’ll be here for you the entire time. Once the arguing in the media starts to settle down, we’ll hold a party before the event. We’ll treat it like I’m introducing a completely new pony to the scene.”

“A party? Wait, you never mentioned anything about a party, Scratch,” Octavia said suddenly as she opened her eyes wide and directed her stare at Vinyl.

“Relax, it’ll be fine, Tavsters.”

“Don’t just tell me to relax! You have no idea how awful they were at the parties before… I’m not sure if I want to be forced into a situation where I have to interact with them before the concert.”

“It’s needed, though, Octavia. The entire point of all of this is to get you work in the industry, right? If we don’t go through all of the motions, then we won’t get the results out of it that we want. This isn’t just to create a huge fuss but to make sure that you get put back into everypony’s minds. If we only go halfway with this, then we’ll probably just be right back where we started.”

Octavia kept her fierce gaze locked on Vinyl for a long moment, furrowing her eyebrows as she refused to look away. Finally, she let out a quiet sigh and curled up a little bit in her chair. “You’ll be there the entire time, right?” she asked as she buried her face into her legs and huddled herself into a ball. “I can’t handle being alone in an event like that right now, Vinyl. It would be like getting tossed into a shark tank.”

“I won’t leave your side, no matter what. Just trust me, alright? I promise that everything will be fine,” Vinyl said with a kind smile as she leaned closer and hovered a hoof over Octavia’s curled up form before she apparently thought better of it and sat back into her chair.

“Do you have anything else that you need to do today, Vinyl?” Octavia asked and uncurled a little bit to direct a nervous glance at the other two ponies as they continued to whisper and giggle excitedly together. Their faces were still turned towards each other as they carried on their conversation, seemingly lost in their own little world.

“Not really. We can let them keep going for a while.”

“Hm, alright,” Octavia said, her gaze lingering on Aegis and Resonance for a moment. She couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face upon seeing Resonance so obviously happy. After a moment, though, she curled herself back up and draped her tail over herself.

“Are you sure you’re okay with the idea? I don’t want to make it sound like I’m forcing you, but I think that it’s the best idea for moving forward,” Vinyl said as she watched Octavia.

“It’s fine… I just need some time to get used to the idea. You’ll have to give me plenty of warning after you come up with the date for the party. I’ll need some time to mentally prepare…”

“Make sure that you bring up any concerns you have about anything, Octavia. I’d be happy to go over the details with you to make sure you’re comfortable with everything.” Vinyl said with a smile before turning to look out the window.

“I will.”

Octavia rolled over on the guest bed and brought a hoof up to rub her eyes. She wasn’t entirely certain what had caused her to suddenly wake up, but it was clearly still pretty early. There was absolutely no light coming in through the window on the far wall, and the clock on the bedside table showed a time that was far too early to ever be allowed to exist. The bed wasn’t quite as comfortable as Vinyl’s, but it was still a major step up from the couch, or even her own bed. Her musings were interrupted by a soft knock on the door that seemed to repeat every couple of seconds.

“What is it?” she asked with another rub of her hoof to her face, trying her best to avoid the still-slightly-tender area under her left eye.

“Octavia?” Vinyl asked in a hushed tone as she peeked her head through the doorway to confirm that Octavia was awake.

“What is it, Scratch?”

“Um, I’m sorry for waking you…” Vinyl muttered as she shuffled her way into the room and kept her head tilted down to stare at her hooves and the carpet. “I had a dream about him and I was hoping you’d let me sleep here? Every time I close my eyes, I see his face… I can’t handle it, Tavi.”

“Vinyl, you need to—” Octavia started to answer in an annoyed tone but stopped short when she saw the expression on Vinyl’s face. She was standing there just inside the doorway, trembling noticeably from head to hoof as she completely refused to look at Octavia. The sight was so pathetic, and Vinyl seemed to be so close to tears that Octavia reconsidered. “Get over here, Vinyl,” she said in a slightly defeated tone before she shuffled over to the very edge of the small bed. It would be a bit of a squeeze, but, given Vinyl’s habits, it was probably not going to be too much of an issue.

“Thanks… I know that you want me to not rely on you so much, but I just can’t tonight,” Vinyl mumbled as she climbed into the bed next to Octavia. “I can’t…” she added as a shiver ran down her entire body. Vinyl sniffled a few times and stubbornly ran a hoof across her eyes in a desperate attempt to stop the tears that had started to run down her face.

“Hush, Vinyl; it’s completely fine,” Octavia said with a slight frown. She only hesitated for the briefest of moments before she pulled Vinyl into a tight hug. “You can stay here as long as you need to.”

“Why am I so weak when it comes to him?” Vinyl asked between heavy sobs. “Even the memory of his face is enough to turn me into a complete wreck. I thought I was stronger than that, Tavi…”

“You are not weak, Vinyl. He did something awful to you, and it’s completely understandable for you to not feel safe until he’s caught,” Octavia said as she ran a hoof through Vinyl’s mane.

“I’m sorry…” Vinyl whispered as the tears slowly started to trail off. “I really am. I just feel so safe like this; it helps me deal with the fear. I lied to you the first time this happened too… You thought I was asleep and I nudged my way into your grasp so that you’d be holding me after you finally fell asleep. It was stupid, and I should have asked, but I was too scared and I couldn’t sleep. Then I even made fun of you for it…”

“You wha— I mean, it’s fine Vinyl. I can’t say it’s really a surprise to hear that after the way you behaved the next night. I completely understand, though. You’ll feel better when the guards catch him. I shouldn’t have tried to make you deal with it on your own. Just get some sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning, and I’ll still be right here.”

Octavia stared down at Vinyl and couldn’t help but let out a quiet chuckle when Vinyl gave her the smallest of hugs before nuzzling her face into the gray fur and making herself comfortable. Eventually, even the trembling stopped as Vinyl lied still with a slight smile on her face.

Octavia hugged Vinyl again and then let her head lie down on the pillow. Thankfully, Vinyl’s face was still tucked neatly into her neck, so she didn’t have to deal with the awkwardness of them lying nose to nose. There was something nice about having another pony this close to her and sharing their warmth, even if that pony still annoyed the daylights out of her from time to time.

“Goodnight, Vinyl,” Octavia whispered, only to receive the tiniest mumble in response.

Chapter 8

Octavia groaned and rolled over in the soft bed. She lamented the fact that mattresses were allowed to be this soft and plush, especially when she was forced to live with her terrible lumpy atrocity masquerading as a bed. She let out a quiet sigh and scratched it up as another reason to hate Vinyl. She rolled over and nuzzled back into the soft covers as she attempted to return to sleep.

Wait, Vinyl?

Octavia’s sleepy mind struggled with that last thought for a long moment. She slowly assembled the fragmented thoughts in her mind, and she became aware that she should be concerned about something. She stretched her muscles out with a yawn, and then leaned over the large bed to survey the carpet.

She was greeted with a pony-shaped impression on the plush carpet, but no sign of the unicorn that had made it. Octavia turned to look at the other side of the bed with a fresh surge of panic, but saw that it was clearly undisturbed. She desperately wanted to return to sleep; her entire body was still aching with fatigue. The bed seemed to be attempting to pull her back within its unnatural gravitational force. She attempted to fight it, but shortly felt herself lying back down on the soft mattress.

Something inside her mind was distinctly awake, though. After a long moment of lying there with her eyes closed, nothing happened. She let out a quiet sigh as she ignored her protesting muscles and finally slid herself out of the luxurious bed. She glanced around the room once more, but nothing seemed changed compared to her hazy memories from the night before. She glanced out the window and curiously took note of the sun midway through its descent to the horizon.

“Okay, maybe the morning before then…” she amended under her breath. “How long was I asleep?”

Octavia glanced across the heavily postered wall again, and her eyes were immediately drawn to Vinyl’s image prominently displayed in the center of the collage. She shook her head at the thought of a pony thinking so much about herself, then wandered towards the doorway. Octavia hesitated at the doorway for a moment, unsure if she really wanted to see the rest of Vinyl’s house or not. Her curiosity, as well as a small rumble in her stomach, eventually got the best of her and she pulled the door open with a hoof.

Looking around after she opened the door, Octavia was greeted with what seemed like random stacks of mess piled about the narrow hallway. She had to carefully manage her steps to avoid overturning any of them and spilling the pages covered in an untidy scrawl. As she carefully made her way down the hallway, she noticed that mixed in with the papers were magazines, newspapers, and other various publications. She emerged shortly afterwards into a living room, where she saw Vinyl stretched out on the couch, staring at a clipboard grasped in her magic with her sunglasses resting on the coffee table. Vinyl proceeded to lift a quill in her magic and chew on it absent mindedly as she pondered over whatever it was she was working on. After a few more moments Vinyl turned and saw that she was being observed, to which she brightened up considerably.

“Octybaby! Glad to see you’re up, I was going to call a doctor if you didn’t wake up soon. I was getting a little worried, but I hoped you just needed some good rest,” Vinyl added excitedly as she tossed the clipboard aside.

“Please don’t call me that, Scratch…” Octavia said through a sigh, planting a hoof on her face. “Just because I’m grateful for your hospitality doesn’t mean that I must suffer such ridiculous nicknames.”

“Alright, I’ll just stick with Tavi, then. You could call me Vinyl, too, you know…” she added with a pointed glance. She held that expression for a moment before she dropped it in favor of returning to the brighter expression. “So, are you feeling alright? How much sleep have you had recently?”

“Well…”

“Yeah, thought so. You hungry?” Vinyl asked in a friendly tone.

“Excuse my rudeness, but where am I?” Octavia asked as she looked around the room again.

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re in my awesome abode! No need to thank me, all I did was carry your flank up the stairs to my apartment. Yes, yes, I know I’m awesome. I’ll be signing autographs later.”

“That doesn’t tell me where I am, Scratch. Where am I?” Octavia asked again as she quirked an eyebrow. “Also, why are you being so nice? I just chewed you out and called you several not-nice things. Shouldn’t you be angry at me?”

“You’re in the same building as the recording studio. I own the building, so I have some apartments on the upper floors. Plus, I’m not the type to hold a grudge over something like that. You were barely managing to stay on your hooves; I’m not going to hold anything you said while in that state against you.” Vinyl waved a forehoof dismissively and trotted over towards the kitchen. “So, you hungry or what? You slept nearly all day you know.”

“VINYL! I may have been exhausted, but that does not lessen the impact of anything I said to you. You still need to properly apologize!” Octavia exclaimed fiercely, flaring her nostrils and stomping closer to the offending unicorn. She upset several stacks of papers along the way, but didn’t seem to care.

“Whoa there, Tavi, watch where you’re stomping,” Vinyl said as she backed up against a nearby counter. She held out a forehoof defensively and tried to ward off the oncoming offensive. “I’ve had some time to think about it, and you’re completely right. I acted like a complete ass, if you’ll excuse my mule. I was planning on making a full apology later, but you made me promise to wait for you. So, instead I was hanging around planning out some music.”

Octavia glared at Vinyl for a long moment, doing her best to say that she didn’t trust the unicorn nonverbally. She didn’t know what Vinyl was up to with this new act, but she didn’t like it. Finally she let out a breath with a huff and turned away to stalk back towards the living room.

“Uh… so are we cool?” Vinyl asked with her head poking through the doorway to the living room while using her magic to straighten up the disturbed stacks. “You never told me if you were hungry, either.”

“Yes… I guess we are ‘cool,’ Scratch,” Octavia said through a heavy sigh, and retreated to the couch.

“I’ll just, umm, throw something together to eat then. We can visit Resonance when you’re done eating, okay?” Vinyl offered tentatively.

“Fine…”

“Okay then!” Vinyl exclaimed with false cheeriness and disappeared back into the kitchen.

“Geez, who shoved a bow up her-“ came Vinyl’s grumbling voice from the other room, before it was cut off by the loud noises of Vinyl checking through cabinets.

Octavia shook her head and looked around the room once more, taking in the spectacle of it. The place was such a mess; she could hardly find where she was supposed to step without knocking something over. Yet, Vinyl seemed perfectly at home, even seemingly trotting amongst the stacks with no effort.

“Hey, Tavi! You fine with a sandwich?” Vinyl asked brightly as her head poked through the doorway again.

“Sure, whatever,” Octavia said dismissively. Her eyes fixated on the clipboard that Vinyl had tossed aside earlier. She really wanted to pick it up and find out what Vinyl was so absorbed in earlier, but this was causing a raging internal debate.

If it was some secret plan then she wouldn’t have tossed it aside so carelessly.

But what if that’s what she wants you to think?

Is she really that devious that she would act carelessly towards something super important just to throw me off? Besides, it shouldn’t matter anyway; I’d hate her if she rooted through my personal belongings.

You hate her anyway, don’t you owe it to Resonance to make sure she’s not planning anything?

She did say she was writing a song… I could just pretend to be interested in the music.

Octavia started to reach towards the clipboard, but was interrupted by Vinyl bursting through the doorway. She trotted happily back towards the couch grasping a plate in her magic. She levitated it over towards Octavia so she could see a hastily made daisy sandwich perched on top, and then took her seat on the couch as well.

“There you go, breakfast fit for a princess. Well, lunch… dinner, whatever. You get the idea.”

“Thank you Vinyl,” Octavia said stiffly, struggling to sound like she at least appreciated it. It wasn’t like she ate any better on her current budget, but there was something off about the way Vinyl was acting. The bright and cheery attitude did not fit what she knew of Vinyl at all. The only other explanation that she could think of was more terrible than the idea that it was some grand scheme.

She tried to review the evidence as she stared down her meal. Vinyl had out of the… something of her heart taken her back to her apartment to recover from collapsing in exhaustion. Ever since, Vinyl started acting even stranger than usual, including being happy and over the top friendly. She reasoned after a moment of thought that either Vinyl was plotting some scheme, or even worse, Vinyl wanted to be friends.

Octavia shuddered slightly at the thought and tried to focus back on her meal. The idea of such a thing was actually terrifying to Octavia. She gulped quietly and glanced around the room quickly with a shocked look on her face, as she realized that Vinyl did not even appear to have a dining room. Shaking her head softly she simply made do with what was available to her and laid the plate on the cushion between them. She lifted the sandwich between her hooves, and took a tentative bite.

If Vinyl really did want to be friends, then it clearly meant she was being sincere about her intentions to apologize. If that were the case, then her actions could be explained away as the offering of the proverbial olive branch. Octavia knew that couldn’t possibly be it, though. She had yelled at Vinyl several times now to no avail. If there was one thing she knew about the unicorn, it was that she was stubborn as a mule. So if she wasn’t sorry, then only one explanation was left for the strange behavior.

She tried to find another way around it, but the conclusion that Vinyl was merely trying to get rid of her kept coming to the surface. She couldn’t think of any other reason for the insistence of going to the hospital to apologize right away. Octavia reasoned that Vinyl probably just wanted to figure something out on her own time. Vinyl would like that too; not having to worry about having somepony watching over what she was doing, or worrying over Resonance.

That had to be it she concluded, Vinyl clearly didn’t have a plan yet. Instead, she was trying to get rid of her by making a show of remorse. Well, she wouldn’t let that happen. Octavia merely needed a way to make herself useful. Her eyes glanced over towards the clipboard once again curiously. Knowing what Vinyl was planning would certainly make this whole thing easier, but she would have to get rid of Vinyl to take a peek.

“Hey, Vinyl? Can you be a dear and get me something to drink?” Octavia asked innocently.

Vinyl’s mouth dropped open slightly as she stared at Octavia for a long moment and leaned backwards slightly. The unicorn very slowly nodded and walked towards the kitchen without the previous bounce in her step. Octavia didn’t go for the clipboard immediately, she knew better than that. Sure enough, a few moments later Vinyl reappeared through the doorway.

“What do you want? I have apple juice, lemonade, carrot juice, maybe plain old water?” Vinyl asked slowly while still giving Octavia a funny look.

“Lemonade would be great, thank you, Vinyl,” Octavia said through a forced smile. She ignored the repeated look of shock and the slow reluctant withdrawal to the kitchen.

Finally, after Vinyl disappeared Octavia knew this was her chance and she wouldn’t have long. She put the sandwich back down hastily and lunged over to pick up the clipboard. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary on the first page, just a few random musical notes, but that was to be expected. If Vinyl was plotting something, then she wasn’t very likely to put it on the first page where anypony could see it. No, Vinyl was clearly smarter than that, she merely had to flip through the pages and find-

“Sheet music? What the buck?” she muttered under her breath.

Octavia flipped frantically through the pages only to find random fragments of sheet music scattered across the pages. Most of the music was hoofwritten by the appearance and Octavia’s mouth hung open as she continued to flip through the pages. She slowed down and lost all sense of the fact that she was supposed to be acting stealthy as she looked closer at the music in front of her.

She started flipping back and forth between the pages as she started focusing in on the song itself. It had seemed rather random at first, but now, under closer inspection, she could see the beginnings of a musical tapestry being woven together. There were shared elements between all the apparently randomly selected bits of music, and the repetition could easily fit together into an overall harmony. Octavia recognized some of the bits of music here and there, but never had seen them put to such use before.

“Oh, hey, you like the song? That’s what I was working on while you were asleep.” Vinyl shifted the glass to her hoof so she could move the coffee table closer with her magic. That being done, she placed the drink on the table within hoof’s reach of Octavia. “You could have asked if you wanted to see it, though.”

“Y-yeah… I’ve never seen anything like it,” Octavia said honestly. Mixed amongst the bars of music were strange bits of gibberish that she couldn’t decipher. She recognized some musical terms sprinkled throughout, and there were notations on scratching and mixing speeds, but what those actually meant was griffon to her.

“If you look near the back, there’s some music for you that I was working on. That is, if you decide to stick around, I was going to have you work on recording that bit. If you decide not, then I think I have a favor I can call in to get you a concert.”

Octavia’s jaw felt like it must have hit the couch. That settled it, something was clearly wrong. Vinyl offering to help her play in her own show was clearly too much. She now had no doubt in her mind that the unicorn was just trying to get rid of her. The concert was clearly supposed to be the more attractive options so that Vinyl could use it to get rid of her.

No doubt if she agreed to calling in this “favor,” it would wind up getting cancelled at the last moment, or some other conflict out of her control would arise. No, she wouldn’t fall for that. If Vinyl wanted Octavia out of her mane then she would definitely have to stick around and make things difficult for the unicorn. She barely remembered to at least take a cursory glance over the music Vinyl had drawn up for her in the back. It appeared to be a contemporary arrangement of a few Beethoofen pieces.

“Err… I guess I could record a few more numbers. That is, if you want me to stick around then we play by my rules Scratch,” she said forcefully.

“Your rules? And what would those be?”

“No more crazy nicknames, my name is Octavia, not Octobutt,” she said through a dire look that threatened bodily harm. To her dismay, Vinyl merely laughed hysterically.

“Oh man, I forgot about that one… Octobu- I mean, yeah I guess that’s no problem, Tavi,” she said carefully. She reached a hoof up to clear a tear away from her eye and fought back some visible chuckles.

“Humph, I guess Tavi is fine, but don’t wear it out. Second, no yelling, if you really are sorry, then we need to break you of the habit. If you start degrading me again at any point, then I’m leaving early for the day and not taking a cut in pay.”

Vinyl opened her mouth and raised a hoof to protest, but apparently thought better after a moment. She let her hoof rest back down next to her. “Fine…” she said bitterly. Octavia, on the other hoof, glared at her for a long moment, her gaze rife with suspicion over how easily Vinyl was acquiescing to her demands.

“And you’ll make sure that Resonance still has a job if she wants it. You will also make it clear that you will follow these rules for her too. No more yelling and no more degrading for her either.”

“What? You think I wasn’t going to? I mean, that is if she can still play…” Vinyl began to protest but gulped and leaned backwards at the fierce gaze being thrown at her. “Fine, fine, if she can’t I’ll find her something else to do! Chill.”

“Just let me finish up real quick,” Octavia replied quietly. She stared at Vinyl wide-eyed for a long moment before a look from Vinyl reminded her that she was supposed to be eating. She absolutely knew that Vinyl was up to something, but after her agreement to the demands, nothing made sense. Octavia would clearly just have to keep a close eye on the unicorn. She hurried ate the rest of her sandwich and gulped the lemonade down unceremoniously before she slid off the couch and nodded.

Vinyl bustled around the room checking to see if there was anything that she needed before they left. She didn’t seem to want to bring anything with her, though. She stopped halfway to the doorway and grasped her sunglasses in her magic preparing to slip them on when Octavia reached out and yanked them out of the air.

“No. No hiding behind your glasses. You are going to look her in the eyes and make a good show of being sincere. We both know that you’re not going to be, but you’re going to make sure she damned well thinks you are. Got it?” Octavia asked fiercely as she tossed the sunglasses back on the couch.

“I suppose that trying to convince you that I actually am being sincere is a lost cause at this point?” Vinyl asked through a heavy sigh.

“I think you’re smarter than that, Scratch. Now let’s get going okay?”

“Fine, but you’re going to have to realize that I actually am sorry, eventually. You know that, right?”

“No, Scratch, I don’t think I will.”