//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: Beats of Life 
// by NightsongWrites 
//------------------------------//

No, no, no… Octavia galloped through the hallways and staircases of the apartment building, panting heavily with each flight of stairs and locked door she had to buck off its hinges. The pegasus had grabbed Vinyl so quickly that none of them had had much chance to get a description of it. But Octavia had had just enough of one to know just who it was. A dark thunderhead cutie mark. The pegasus rapist. And with her friends scrambled to alert the Guard, Octavia had darted into the apartment building the pegasus had dropped Vinyl on. 
A fierce scowl ripped across Octavia’s features, and she angrily bucked a door out of the way, galloping harder. They had come too far for this to happen! Vinyl was smiling again! Smiling! When she got a hold of this trash… Octavia had always thought of herself as a moral pony. A firm believer of Celestialism, she had always tried to follow the tenets of Harmony to the best of her ability. But these… animals, were well past even her deeply entrenched beliefs of ‘right to life.’ 
With a flick of her back left hoof, Octavia slammed open the door to the rooftop, eyes scanning about alertly. The roof was criss-crossed with air conditioning ducts- a clumsy Earth Pony invention- and had several large vents jutting up. Vinyl was tied tightly to one of these, her barrel covered in fresh bruises and spattered with blood. 
“Vinyl!” she yelped out, worry obliterating caution as she darted out to her injured friend. 
Vinyl’s head had been tied back to the vent, and someone had replaced her goggles over her eyes. As Octavia rushed to untie her with her teeth, a loud mewl rumbled out of Vinyl’s chest, and she reached out to rip off the gag and the rope around her head. 
“What is-” 
“HE’S BEHIND YOU!” 
Adrenaline kicked in as Octavia began to turn. The moonlight glinted off steel and bared teeth; the blade was a thin stiletto, attached to an iron horseshoe-gauntlet. Not military-issue, but civilian. Underworld. She wasn’t fast enough to block it, and didn’t have enough time to dodge it. Once she was dead, the pegasus would have easy access to Vinyl. She could only pray to the Sisters that her friends and the Guard would arrive in time. Agony arced through Octavia’s face, seconds before blissful darkness could take her. 
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The pegasus was fast. And very strong. The first hit dropped Octavia to the ground, and spattered Vinyl’s coat with her blood. Vinyl’s entire world dropped away as her Savior collapsed in a heap, blood gushing from the gash in her head, staining her ash-grey fur black. The pegasus dropped down above her, snarling and cursing hatefully as he stabbed down again and again. Vinyl wasn’t aware of his words, just his actions. Each blow drew more and more blood; one even pierced her right cutie mark, neatly bisecting the treble clef with a thin red line. 
Everything was collapsing in on itself. Her body was numb, mouth dropped open. He was going to kill her. The pegasus- the stallion that had helped ruin her life- was going to kill Octavia, and then probably kill Vinyl too. His foreleg was coated in blood, his light blue fur nearly black. The blade wasn’t gleaming anymore. Octavia…
“T-tavi… p-please…”
The pegasus paused, glancing back at Vinyl slowly; his eyes seemed dead to her, a dull green, little emotion in them but rage. His smile was flecked with blood and tired foam.
“Your friend put mine in jail,” he growled out, “She should’ve left well enough alone.” 
“J-just stop… please…” 
Vinyl was desperate. Whatever happened to her happened; Octavi didn’t deserve this. Nopony deserved this. Tears ran in rivers down her cheeks, eyes glued to Octavia’s prone body. 
“T-take me, just don’t… don’t hurt her anymore. D-don’t kill her…” 
“Kill her? Oh no, Vinyl.”
No.
The pegasus chuckled faintly, taking bandages out of his saddlebags and wrapping up Octavia’s worst wounds. 
“Killing her would be a waste,” he continued blithely, “I’m gonna take her with us.” 
No, no…
“Have some fun, maybe take a boat to Minotaur country… I hear brothels pay well for high-born ponies.”
Sisters, please…
“Or maybe I’ll just have some fun with her myself, and-” 
And Vinyl’s sight went white. 
*******************
Crimson Storm was many things. A rapist? Yes, he’d admit to that. A sadist? Of course. Sexist? What do you think drove him and Gold Coin? Vinyl Scratch had been an uppity, base fillyfooler, parading her gender-role bending lifestyle all over Canterlot and greater Equestria. It had been up to them to stop her! And the sex had just been an added bonus. So yes, he was sexist. But if there was one thing would not count himself as, it was a coward. Fleeing in Canterlot had been a strategic move! Coin would need somepony on the outside to follow their targets, and get a way to get Coin out. He was no coward.
Which was why Crimson could honestly say the feeling of pure terror when Vinyl Scratch’s cracked horn began to glow, was new to him. Her horn had a sizable chip missing at the top, and had a dull golden overglow down its length. The pain she had to be in, trying to cast anything, had to be enormous. 
“Leave… Octavia… alone!” Vinyl snarled desperately, voice choked in pain and thick tears. 
Just great, Crimson groused, turning back to Octavia. The Earth Pony was still sprawled limp, her barrel barely rising up and down. Perhaps he had struck too many times. No matter. Her presence made Vinyl too volatile, and he already had precious little time before the Guard no doubt arrived. A pity really. This Octavia mare was as prim and proper as expected, though the violent protection was definitely odd.
Too late to wonder, he thought with a smirk, raising his bladed forearm high and slamming it towards the throat of the downed earth pony. Or at least, that was the plan. With a wrenching pop, Crimson’s arm dislocated as he attempted to swig down, only to be held tightly aloft by a glowing, blue magical field. 
“BUCK! What the-” he asked blearily, glancing up slowly. 
The gaze was… horrific; crimson eyes, boring into Crimson with an intensity like a goddess herself. 
“You… will not… do the same to her,” she growled thickly, sounding far more primal that any pony Crimson had ever come in contact with, “You won’t ruin her too!” 
Crimson stared at her in horror, struggling frantically to escape the mad mare’s grip.
“Let go of me, you stupid whore!” he yelled back frantically, “I’ll let you and the bitch go, just let go of my damn hoof!” 
Crimson did not have long to dwell on his poor choice of words. Twin yells filled the night- one of pain, rage, and loss… and the other of agony. The bladed hoof was ripped from his forearm and spun, the thin, sharp blade hacking across his primaries and scoring both shanks. The bolt of force slammed into Crimson’s gut, and he flew, once last time, over the skies of Manehatten. Bloodied wings tried to catch a current, something to slow his fall, but to no avail. The last thing to pass through Crimson’s mind… was a parking meter. 
The blade flicked across Vinyl’s bindings, and she dropped heavily to the cold, blood-stained roof. Sobs tore out of the injured pony; her horn was a mass of nerves practically on fire, and she was soaked in the blood of her best friend. She weakly drew Octavia into her arms, nuzzling her muzzle into her mane. 
“P-please, Tavi… please…” 
The Guard arrived less than two minutes later, greeted by heart-rending sobs, and the first thunders of a rainstorm high above, obscuring the moon above.