We Are Octav3

This Is The End, Vinyl Scratch

The phone call, the running, the screaming, the crying ... she remembered it all.  Every last detail right down to the jerk face who wouldn't let her in to see her friend.  Sure, if she wanted to she could hunt him down and slam his face into the ground -repeatedly- but what good would that do?  It wouldn't change anything and she surmised it wouldn't even help her mood.  So she sat there in her chair holding a bottle in one hoof and a phone in the other.  She was far past the point at which the alcohol negates her innate magical abilities, so it was back to the barnyard so to speak.  Between drinking away every last bit of conscious -what little she had left- and staring at that damn phone she felt she was at her wits end.

Finally she couldn't take it anymore, shouting as loud as she possibly could, "Damn you Vinyl Scratch!  Why are you so bucking stupid!"  She tossed the bottle across the room which then shattered upon impacting a bookshelf.  She drew back to toss the phone but stopped herself before proceeding.  What if she called -she wondered- and I couldn't answer because I broke my bucking phone?  So she reluctantly decided against destroying her closest means of communication and instead decided to retire for the night.

As she staggered across the room and down the hall she began to wonder how this all came to be.  She stopped upon passing a table where a picture, of the most magnificent grey coated mare she'd ever seen, had caught her eye.  A nostalgic smile grew upon her face as she took the photo with her hoof holding it closer for a better look.  As she stared down at the image she was startled by a sound like water dropping on a window.  She found the source of the sound -much to her dismay- as she saw the tear drop sliding down the glass of the frame which held the photograph.  She quickly returned the picture to its place upon the table and continued her drunken journey down memory lane.

Every flower pot, every candlestick, everything reminded her of the once joyous times that had been shared there in her home.   It seemed she couldn't turn a corner, much less bat an eye without thinking of her.  Her ... Octavia.  She could feel the tears well in her eyes from the mere mention of her name.  Octavia was my friend, my lover, my everything ... and now she is nothing.  Vinyl angrily slammed a hoof against the closest wall, "No! I am nothing!" Thinking how foolish she would look if anyone were to be watching, she sighed and once more started her journey through the halls and up the stairs.

She had somehow managed to cling on to her cellphone until now.  It dropped landing by the steps.  Too tired to bother with it she shrugged it off, "I'll get it tomorrow."  She again started to move down the hall but stopped to look down at the foyer.  Visions of Octavia and herself running and giggling through the rooms appeared in her head.  She watched them frolic and play.  The blushes, the kisses, the ear nibbling.  All the things she swore she'd never do until she met Octavia.  The final hallucination depicted them running up the stairs, past Vinyl, and to the bedroom just down the hall.  She followed them there where the disappeared as quickly as they came.  I must be going crazy.

She fiddled with the doorknob, not used to using them without magic.  Finally succeeding in opening the door -though teeth were required for this particular type of doorknob- she staggered over to the bed in which she hastily flopped down on.  Closing her eyes she began to feel that ever-sweet relief of sleep.  Sleep, where she wouldn't need to think about life and all its miseries.  She could mix tracks on her turntables with Luna on the moon as much as she wanted to in her dreams, rather only in her dreams.  Without realizing it she indeed drifted off into a relaxing slumber ... or so she thought.

"Octavia, you're on in five," a stage pony shouted as she peered around the corner.

Octavia, who was using the mirror to brush her mane turned and gave a nod of approval.  She turned back quickly and shouted into the mirror in a horrifying voice, "You never loved me, Vinyl Scratch!"

Vinyl nearly jumped out of bed awaking from the dream.  That wasn't a dream that was a nightmare!  She peered over at the clock which only served to tell her that it was either three AM or thirty AM, the latter didn't seem likely so she went with three.  She sighed having finally came down from the rush of adrenaline that had been forcefully circulated throughout her system, thoroughly.  She sat herself up in the bed, "If only I were an adrenaline junky then that wouldn't have been such a horrible experience."

She thought about returning to bed and trying to sleep again but her mouth was so dry she decided a nice glass of water would be great.  "She hopped out of bed and began trotting to her doorway.  "It's a shame I didn't have them put in that auxiliary kitchen on the second floor like I wanted them too," she pondered calling the construction ponies who built her house for her.  She turned the corner thinking about remodeling as she came to the stairs.  She started to make her way down as she felt an object under her right hoof.  It was solid, rectangular, and it cast a dim light beneath her hoof.  As she realized it was her cellphone she also realized she was still moving -albeit seemingly slow- down the staircase in the most peculiar way.

The phone had been ringing for only a few seconds before Octavia picked it up, "Hello?"  She was fiddling around with her cello, making sure everything was as it should be.

Somepony on the other end answered but Octavia didn't know her, "Hello, is this Octavia Melody?"  The sound of papers ruffling could be heard in the background along with beeps and clicks.  The mare on the other end sounded professional like one might hear from an officer, a lawyer, or a-

"Yes, this is she.  May I ask who it is that's calling?"  Probably another scammer.  I told them I don't want their micro-silks or their uPears or whatever the tartarus it is they are trying to sell.

"Hi Miss Melody, this is Nurse Redheart from the Manehattan Hospital."  Oh great, calling to tell me I need another check up.  I just had a physical a few weeks ago.  They're not getting any more of my money.  "I'm calling in regards to Miss Scratch."

Right, of course.  First you say you're calling in regards to ... wait, Scratch?  "Scratch?  You don't mean Vinyl Scratch do you?" Octavia's heart suddenly sank to the bottom of her hooves.

"Yes, that's right.  Miss Scratch has been admitted for several injuries.  Looks like she has a concussion, a few fractured ribs, and her front foreleg is broken in several places."  Again Octavia could hear papers being ruffled in the background.  Nurse Redheart must have been looking at a file.

"Oh Celestia, what happened?!" Octavia felt her heart sinking further and further down. She paid no attention to the cello which now fell to the floor.  Her focus had shifted from sorting out her cello to sorting out what the buck was going on.

"It seems like Miss Scratch fell down a flight of stairs at her home after tripping on a cellphone.  She was a little inebriated at the time which thinned out her blood.  Don't worry though, she only lost about a pint before we got there though."

"A pint?  A pint of blood?  Vinyl lost a pint of blood?!"  Octavia began breathing heavily, her heart was racing.  She couldn't bear to picture Vinyl lying beat and bruised in a pile of blood.  Tears streamed down her face at just the thought.  Somehow she managed to stay composed, even with the singing liquid flowing out of her eyes.

"She's stable right now.  I'm calling you because you're the only person listed as her next of kin.  Is it possible for you to come to the hospital to talk with her doctor?  Someone needs to be here to discuss Miss Scratch's treatment.  Seeing as you're the only one listed here that gives you power of attorney and we can't do anything without approval."

"Oh, of course.  I'll be there within the hour.  Thank you," Octavia hung up the phone in utter disbelief.  Vinyl, her Vinyl was in the hospital with all those injuries.  That day flashed in her head and she wished she could take it all back.  She wished she could be with Vinyl again being held by her, holding her.  There are some things in this life you just can't take back, but you can damn well try to make up for them!

The stage pony behind Octavia shouted loud enough for her to hear, "Octavia, you're on in five minutes!"