Octavia had already rushed across the street towards the club, seeing the closed sign and letting out a small whimper. A short moment later, Applejack's voice called out to her from Bon Bon's shop "What in tarnation has gotten into ya Octavia?" Lyra and Bon Bon joined Applejack at the door and shared equally concerned faces, the gray mare dropping down on her haunches and crying
"O..oh I'm horrible!!! I couldn't...I didn't k..know! Oh Celestia forgive me!!!" Lyra galloped over to her and put a hoof on her shoulder, whispering
"Octavia what's wrong? What happened?!" The other two mares joined them as Octavia sniffed loudly
"I...I'm sorry! I didn't know about Vinyl's parents...I...I didn't mean to upset her and I-" Applejack gasped as Lyra's jaw dropped, Bon Bon whispering loudly
"The mare...that was you!?" Octavia broke out into heavy sobs, burying her face in her hooves and half-screaming
"I'm sorry!!! I'm so sorry! I didn't know I swear!!! I didn't knoooow!!!!" She buried her face in Lyra's coat and wailed, the teal-green mare holding her gently and stroking her mane, whispering
"Shhh...Octavia it's ok...you didn't know...it's alright..." Octavia shouted in Lyra's chest, her sobbing wails muffled
"How can it be ok!? Vinyl's an orphan and the way I just...shouted at her like that about her parents! Oh I'm just plain awful!!!" Bon Bon sighed and hugged Ocatvia from behind, Applejack coming up as well and joining in on the group hug. The three of them gently held the weeping mare until she quieted, a few loud sniffles coming from the guilt-ridden mare. Lyra whispered quietly to her
"Octavia, you couldn't have known...but you do need to find Vinyl and apologize to her...ok?" Octavia nodded, wiping her eyes with her hoof and sniffling
"I know...d...do you know where she might be? Like an apartment or a house she stays at?" At this Applejack spoke up
"Ah think ah do, Macintosh mentioned it once when he came home from guard duty, says had to escort her home cause some loony colt was hittin' on her too much. Ah could go and ask him right quick if ya like." Octavia nodded and smiled, leaving Applejack to tip her hat back and nod, galloping back in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.
~~~
"You're sure this is the place Big Macintosh?" Octavia whispered, her eyes going over the shambling apartment building that was situated in Ponyville's downtown area. Macintosh nodded and let out his signature
"Eeyup!" Looking up with a bored expression towards the third floor "Be careful with the land lord now...he's a mighty bit stubborn...sure ya'll will be alright?" Octavia nodded and gave him a small pat on his shoulder and said
"I think I'll be alright, thank you Macintosh" The red stallion turned, and with another
"Eeyup..." he walked away down the street.
Octavia took in a gulp of air and stared at the ruined building once again, a shingle falling off the roof and sailing down past the dirty, blackened windows of the building. She trotted forward towards the front door and pushed it open gently, nearly retching at the foul smell that reached her nose. The front lobby looked like somepony had started a bar fight and that there were casualties. The chairs that were situated in the lobby were all torn and chewed up, smelling like pets and piss. The T.V. in a high corner of the room was smashed in, and the magazines that littered one of the coffee tables looked like it might be Play-Colt Editions. Grimacing, Octavia carefully trotted up to the front counter and rang the small bell situated in the center. Almost immediately an old colt jumped up from behind the counter, a shotgun in his hooves and his eyes insane with anger. He shouted as Octavia screamed in fright
"WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" Octavia threw her hands up like she was being arrested and squealed
"I'm looking for a mare named Vinyl Scratch I don't want any trouble please don't shoot me oh my gosh oh my gosh OH MY GOSH!" The colt blinked for a second and cocked his head in confusion, muttering
"You're not robbing me?" Octavia shook her head so fast she could have sworn her neck had popped and the colt sighed
"Sorry...friggin' hooligans lately, thinking they can rough me up just cause ah'm old..." Octavia slowly lowered her hooves and put one hoof over her heart, her chest still beating rapidly from her adrenaline rush. The colt dropped the shotgun behind the counter and sighed, muttering "Who're ya'll lookin' for again?" Octavia took in a few deep breaths, calming herself down as she stuttered
"V...Vinyl Scratch...I heard she l..lives here" The colt blinked for a moment and suddenly grew furious, his eyes narrowing and his voice raising a few decibils as he shouted
"That no-good sumbitch! You know that sleazy punk!? She's up in room 3-D, and when you see her, tell her she better pay the buckin' rent she owes in three days or ah'm kickin' her stupid flank outta here!" Octavia was about to shout back in protest at how rude he was being but saw his hooves reaching again for the shotgun. She quickly let out a frightened yelp and galloped up the stairs nearby, rushing up to the second floor. Halfway up to the third floor she stopped and sat on one of the steps, taking in a deep breath and collecting her thoughts.
She knew where Vinyl lived, so that was out of the way. The next part would be what exactly she was going to say to Vinyl once she found her. Knowing her, she probably wasn't going to be in the best of moods, and that Octavia was probably the last pony she wanted to see right now. She thought over a dozen scenarios in her mind, each a bit more tragic then the last. Her self-confidence diminished the more she thought about it until the point where she entertained the idea of just leaving. She shook her head though, deciding that running away from her problems wasn't going to help solve them anytime soon. Getting up, she trotted up the last set of stairs and onto the third floor. The walls were faded and the wallpaper peeling, giving off a sense of dread and foreboding as Octavia trotted down the hall towards the door labeled '3-D'. She took a deep breath and whispered to herself before knocking lightly
"Here we go..."
At first there was no sound from the other side of the door, and for a moment Octavia thought that perhaps Vinyl wasn't even home. It wasn't until the loud crashing sound on the other side of the door that Octavia quickly threw that idea out the window. About a minute later, the sounds of several deadbolts sliding and clicking open were heard, and when the door finally opened, Octavia nearly burst into tears. Vinyl Scratch looked like she had seen better days, her mane a ruffled mess and heavy bags under her eyes. Her eyes themselves were puffy and swollen, bloodshot even with multiple tear stains lining her face and cheeks. Her red eyes took only a short glimpse of Octavia before she started to shut the door. Octavia moved quickly however, shoving a hoof into the crack of the door and shouting "Wait! Please Vinyl, hear me out! I promise I'll go away once I've said what I needed to!"
Vinyl opened the door back up and scoffed, sniffing as she spoke with a hoarse, accusing voice
"What, here to spout some more bullshit about my parents? Turns out they weren't wondering where I was, you have to be ALIVE to do that...asshole." Octavia winced at the harsh statement and whispered
"Vinyl I...I didn't know...believe me when I say I would NEVER have said that if I knew...I didn't want to hurt you at all that night. I was upset...I had been drugged and I wasn't thinking very clearly...I didn't really give you a chance and I was only really thinking of myself and not others..." Vinyl blinked at this and held the door open a little more, listening to Octavia's words. Noticing this, confidence crept back into Octavia's mind and she held out a comforting hoof, placing it gently on Vinyl's shoulder and whispering "I just...I wanted to say I'm sorry.....I never wanted to hurt you like that...nopony deserves to hear what I said to you...and to be honest I'm awfully ashamed of myself because of it...it's actually a bit ironic because-" she was cut off by Vinyl's scoffing and her hoarse voice croaking out
"Really? You're just going to spout some horseshit and play the 'Oh I didn't know I'm innocent' card, expecting me to just accept your apology outright? The world doesn't work like that Octavia, you should know better. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just throw this door in your face right now!" Octavia bowed her head and sniffed, feeling tears in her eyes as she tried her best not to cry, her voice cracking as she spoke
"B...because I know how it feels..." Vinyl laughed at this, looking her up and down and shouting, tears forming in her eyes
"How the hay would you know how I feel...you don't know sh-" Octavia looked up, tears streaming down her face as she screamed
"I'm an orphan too, ok!? Does that make you feel better?! My parents died six years ago from a disease, does that make you happy, knowing you're not the only one who's suffered in the world?! I felt so awful after I said those words to you, even before I knew what happened to your parents! It was vile and wrong of me and I wish I could take it back but I can't! So here I am, crying on your stupid, dirty front porch, pouring my heart out to you in hopes you'll forgive me, ok!?" Vinyl blinked in utter surprise as she stared at Octavia, tears flowing from her amethyst colored eyes. She quietly stepped aside and opened the door, beckoning her in
"Come on in..." Octavia sniffed and nodded, walking inside, Vinyl shutting the door behind her. Octavia couldn't help but grimace, not out of disgust but out of sympathy. Vinyl's apartment looked like someone had dropped a nuke inside of it. Clothes and plates were strewn about everywhere, the sink overloaded with dishes and electrical wires and cords strung up everywhere. At least four different computers were powered on and had what looked like some kind of audio-mixing software running and downloading music. "If you tell me my apartment looks nice, I'll kick you in the throat" Vinyl mumbled, stopping Octavia as she took in a breath to say 'Well this is...nice'. Vinyl lit up her horn with magic and cleared off her couch, dumping the massive pile of clothes and dishes into the kitchen with a loud crash. Octavia took the hint and carefully stepped around all the wires, sitting on the couch and watching Vinyl. The DJ moved over towards one of the computers, muttering to Octavia as she did "Disease huh...? What kind?" Octavia stared towards the ground as she whispered, a pained tone in her voice
"H...Horn Rot and Mare...Marekemia..." Vinyl Scratch stopped, turning her head towards Octavia and whispering
"I'm so sorry..." Octavia bowed her head and sniffed, mouthing the words 'Thank you'. Vinyl moved towards her computer and lit up her horn again, the keys on the keyboard pressing down rapidly. After a moment Vinyl turned and headed over towards the couch, sitting down on it and sighing. She put a hoof to her head and looked over towards Octavia, muttering "Well shit...sorry about your parents...guess we're in the same boat huh...?" Octavia nodded and sniffed, a fresh set of tears sparkling in her eyes as Vinyl went on "This is really not something I can just forgive you for...it's going to take a bit more then that..." Octavia looked over with a questioning look on her face. Vinyl let out a small yawn and said
"I want you to come to the club later on today. You think the music's garbage? I'll show you it isn't." Octavia shifted uncomfortably on the couch as she muttered
"That sort of music doesn't...it doesn't really appeal to me Vinyl" At this, the DJ sighed and softly face-hoofed, saying with a partially impatient voice
"Let me finish. The club's not gonna open for another few days, and we've got our own recording studio in the back. You play cello right?" Octavia nodded, and was about to ask how she knew that, but was cut off yet again by the DJ "Well bring your cello...I'm going to show you the music I run and play isn't as bad as you think it is, alright?" Octavia frowned and gave a tiny whine, whimpering
"I...I don't know Vinyl..." Vinyl put a hoof on Octavia's shoulder and gave her a small smile, whispering
"Relax...it's just music. Open your mind and forget about the music you heard a few nights ago. That's just the common tracks we run, you didn't even get to hear the GOOD stuff yet! Come on Octavia..." Octavia thought about it for a moment, but still looked a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. Vinyl gently tilted her head up via her chin and whispered "Come on...I already heard from Shake that you're only here for a week, so why not at least try something new while you're out and about? Just...take a Leap of Faith for me, ok? I promise...you won't be dissapointed." She didn't know what it was, but Octavia felt her body tingle with excitement as Vinyl stared into her Amethyst eyes with her Ruby ones. She felt like she could trust Vinyl, even though she barely knew the mare. Vinyl smiled as Octavia did, letting out a soft
"Ok..." The DJ pulled the gray mare into her hooves, giving her a friendly hug and whispering
"Alright then...I forgive you. Now come on, let's get to the club."