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.