Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
"Can somepony please turn off that insufferable beeping?!" Octavia remained laying with her eyes closed. She felt a knot in her back where she had been sleeping. The cellist couldn't help but feel just a little spoiled at that point. She had gotten so used to her feather and cloud bed that she felt like she was sleeping on a rock.
"Tavi? You’re up!" Octavia opened her eyes as she slowly started to snap back to reality.
“Yea why ar- Why am i in the hospital!?!?" The cellist scanned the room she was in. It was a private room with white washed walls. She was lying on a thin spring mattress covered in white sheets and laying on a Carmel colored wooden mattress holder. There was a small nightstand beside the bed that held a lamp with a red cap on the top of it.
"Do you really not remember? Tavi... you got shanked."
"Oh, ok then. I do believe i am going to have a mental breakdown."
"Really? That doesn't sound good. Need any help?"
"I think some sedation would be much obliged."
"Alright, I gotcha. I’ll go grab a nurse."
"Sounds wonderful, i shall have that breakdown now." At that Octavia began to scream at the top of her lungs as she studied the large bandage placed around her body. Pausing to take a breath she lifted up the bandage slightly to see the area of shaved fur around a large, stitched up gash on her side. She began screaming again as a nurse dressed in rather provocative white scrubs with a pink bow tied around her midsection just above her plot ran back into her room. One very dazed DJ trailed her into Octavia's room. The nurse ran over to the blood bag connected to the IV cord attached to Octavia’s foreleg. She replaced the bag with one filled with a clear liquid and hung it in place of the blood bag. The blood in the IV cord was immediately replaced with the clear liquid. Octavia then turned her attention to Vinyl who was sitting by her bedside, teardrop lines making themselves evident in her fur. Vinyl Stared at Octavia for a second before wrapping her forelegs around Octavia’s neck.
"I'm so sorry Tavi, this is all my fault. I should have never let you go alone. You should never have come to my house in the first place." Vinyl chocked through her own tears as she finished her sentence. She immediately started sobbing into Octavia's neck.
"Octavia, i swear to you i will make this right."
"Thank you Vinyl, thank you for everything. And I regret absolutely nothing. I had the most fun I had in a while at your house. But can i ask just one thing of you?" Octavia began sobbing alongside Vinyl. At that point Vinyl placed her head on top of Octavia’s allowing her neck to become a temporary tear tissue.
"Anything Tavi."
"I want you to be strong for me; I am scared, and hurt. I just..." Octavia began sobbing harder. "I need the shoulder of a good friend to cry on right now."
"Shh Tavi, I’m here, and I’ll be here when you wake up. Just chill and breathe." Vinyl continued to whisper reassuring sayings into Octavia’s ear as she cried into the DJ's neck. Vinyl began rubbing her hoof through the Cellists mane and down her back. Octavia's breathing became steady as she fell asleep holding the DJ. Vinyl set down Octavia and turned her attention the nurse.
"How long will she be out?" Vinyl began walking towards the door.
"She will probably wake up in 10 or so hours. Would you like me to fetch you a cot to sleep on? It’s getting pretty late." The nurse began to head out the room behind Vinyl.
"No, i need to go do something. Will you leave the window unlocked please? I need a way back in later." The nurse stared at the DJ with a confused look on her face. Vinyl handed the nurse a few bits and the nurse shook her head.
"Will do sweetie, now if you will excuse me i have a beautiful mare waiting for me at home." The nurse turned her head in shock realizing what she had just said.
“Get home to her then! Don’t stare at me like I’m gonna kill you.” Vinyl gave the nurse a warm smile and then trotted down the hall to the stairs. 'Don't worry Tavi I'll be back soon.'
<('.')>
Vinyl stood on the street of Mane Row. It was late at night and all the trouble makers were out. She was not out to deal with them. She was out for Tavi. She was to make things right. And she was going to do it the only way she knew how. She was out to paint.
Vinyl stood in front of a large abandoned factory. The wall was littered with spray-paint. She started off by covering most of the previous works of art with a sheet of white, consuming nearly most of the wall. She then lifted a can of dark grey paint. She painted the face of the pony that was plaguing her memory. A grey stallion with a cut placed just under his eye. It was a scar, most likely from a bar fight and a hoof to the face. The then covered the stallion’s eyes in pure Carmel. She didn't paint the whites of his eyes or his dark black pupil. Instead she just painted the Carmel color of his eyes. She switched her paint from dark grey to black and painted the hood that covered the stallion’s mane. She painted his horn sticking out. Next to him she painted the handle of a dagger to the right of the stallions face. She switched back to her dark grey color and painted an outline around the stallion’s horn, as if it is surrounded in an aura. She then switched to a midnight blue and painted a blade on the end of the dagger. Switching back to the dark grey she painted the same dark grey aura around the dagger. Finishing up her creation she took out a vibrant red paint and coated the dagger with it. The blood dripping of the dagger stood out. It was the brightest and only warm color on the creation. Vinyl took out a medium grey and began writing above the stallion. The text was written in graffiti text but was rather easy to read. She began scribbling down text below the stallion's face next. She took a step back to study her new creation. It was a dark looking piece of art, her turmoil put into one of the mediums she was most comfortable with. A grey stallion in a hood, with a dagger held in his aura, fresh blood dripping off of it. Above him read 'He hurt someone close to me' and below him it was written 'Find him; let him know what he has done'.
Vinyl walked across the street to the next building. She began painting yet again, the same mural, over and over, building to building, until the sun came up.
Several hours and countless cans of spray-paint later she finished her task and was on her way back to her friend, who needed her more than anything right now.
<('.')>
The sun infiltrated Octavia’s vision as she began to open her eyes. After a few minutes her vision returned to normal and the gunk was wiped away from her eyes. A quick check of the room confirmed Octavia’s worst fear. Vinyl was not there. Vinyl had left her when she needed the DJ the most.
Octavia rested her head on her pillow and turned it so she was staring at the sun. 'It is such a beautiful morning. The sunrise is something a pony can look at forever without it ever getting old. I wish nearly every day that i could put the feeling given to me by the beautiful transition of the sun and moon into a song but alas that seems to be nearly impossible for anypony but Fredrick...' Octavia blinked a few times before staring at the mixture of pink and orange that covered the sky once more. 'I wish that i could go up there in get lost in the colors. I wish that i could- Is that Vinyl?'
Octavia spotted Vinyl's head pop up in the window of her room before the window shot open. Vinyl hopped from the fire escape back into Octavia's room before shutting the window.
"Hey Tavi sorry, i had to take care of something"
"Vinyl... just hug me you idiot!" Tavi wrapped her arms around Vinyl and dug her face deep into the crook of the DJ's neck. "I thought that you left. That you didn't want to have to deal with me."
"Tavi that’s ridiculous! You know I’m here for you. I-
"Vinyl why do you smell like paint?"
"Tavi why did you have to ruin the moment?" Octavia pulled back keeping her hoofs on the DJ's shoulder. She looked Vinyl directly in her eyes glasses.
"Tell me please, why do you smell like paint?"
"Um it’s because I have paint scented shampoo and"
"Vinyl."
"I slept with a stallion who was a painter and"
"Vinyl!"
"Also I went for a run and i ate something paint scented and sweat it off and"
"VINYL! The truth."
"Fine! I was out spray painting...." Octavia looked hurt. She didn't look disappointed or disgusted, just purely hurt. Vinyl continued her reasoning in a much more frantic tone. "It isn't what you think Tavi the only reason i did it was to help us find the stallion so we can turn him in for what he did to you because i have dealt with waaaaayyyy to much death in my life to lose you because i don't think i could go on anymore if i lost another person i care about... especially you. I don't know why but you’re the first person i allowed in after the accident." Tears began leaking from behind the DJ's glasses. She paused as her breath became uneasy.
“It’s ok Vinyl I’m here for you. I’m not going anywhere.” The cellist continued to coo into the DJ’s ear. “You don’t have to tell me anything, just wait until you feel comfortable enough to reminisce with me.”
“No, i should tell you now. First i need to tell you something. Please don’t get the wrong idea or anything from what I’m about to say.” She received a nod from Octavia and took a deep breath. “Octavia, I’m a fillyfooler.”
Silence. The only sound that remained was the beep of one of the miscellaneous medical machines. Tension. Nearly enough to choke a grown Stallion.
“I do not really care. Love is love, no matter who you love right?” Vinyl stared at Octavia with her mouth agape. The cellist gave a weak smile before being pulled into a bear hug so tight it could have killed, well, a bear.
“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” Vinyl stopped only to take a breath. “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthanky-” She received a hoof in the mouth.
“Vinyl i have done nothing!”
“You didn’t hate me. And that is more than i can say for most ponies.” Vinyl looked away and took yet another deep breath. “Octavia, i am going to tell you about me. Why i am who I am. You have to make me one more promise ok?”
“Anything Vinyl.” Octavia began to nuzzle the DJ to give her a bit of reassurance.
“Ok. No matter what i tell you, you have to look at me the same. Your opinion of me will change but i still want to be your best streetwise fun-loving DJ friend ok?”
Octavia smiled, it wasn’t a reassuring one but rather one of the biggest, most genuine smiles a pony could muster. “Always”
Vinyl sighed and pulled away from the Cellist. She sat down beside the bed and opened her mouth. “I was a sophomore in my second year at Manehatten College. It was where i met her.”