Beats of Life

by NightsongWrites

Chapter 2

Waking up hurt. Octavia groaned faintly as she came to, slipping out of her dreams of sneering stallions and face-kicking. It was night-time, though the sleep completely threw off her internal clock. It’d take days to get back that back in working order. But any grousing the cellist might have done was quickly banished when she looked down at the little white unicorn. Vinyl was holding tightly to one of Octavia’s hooves; her face was peaceful in sleep, but it was easily to see the tear tracks coursing down her slim muzzle. Honestly, Octavia was surprised Vinyl got any sleep at all, considering the wreck she was early. It had taken several minutes of cuddling- and a shot of sedatives- to settle her down at all. It was… nerve-wracking, to say the least.

A soft hum and vibration from her cello case made the cellist start in surprise before hurrying to fumble for it with her free hoof. The little screen at the front stopped her cold. Thirty-eight missed texts, and dozens of calls. What in all of Equestria…

Octavia, where are you? Fleur’s party?- Frederic.
Octy, this is bad- Beauty Brass

We saw the news, are you okay?- Frederic

Oh. Oh dear. Octavia gave a faint sigh as she set the phone aside, reaching back up to wearily rub her eyes. Oh course the news caught wind. Knowing the paparazzi, they probably saw and caught the entire thing on film. In the end, however, that was immaterial, as long as they left Vinyl alone. The poor thing certainly did not need to be hounded by the newsponies after such a trying time.

“O-octavia? Still h-here?”

The cellist chuckled softly at the sleepy voice, smiling at the little mare. Vinyl’s crimson orbs were locked on Octavia, wide with a mix of awe and utter relief.

“Of course I am, Vinyl. You asked for me to stay, so I’ll stay. I believe they’ll let you go home today!”

The DJ, however, did not look exactly… thrilled. Terrified would be a better word for the sight. Her grip on Octavia’s hoof tightened, and she scooted closer.

“The other one’s… s-still out there, t-though,” she whispered faintly, “What if… he knows where I live?”

Octavia blinked slowly, and frowned. That.. is a legitimate concern, actually. Her mind flicked back to her Criminology class. More often than not, criminals tended to disappear after something like this. But rapists could be… different. Crafty. And as a pegasus, he could quite easily spirit Vinyl away if he got his hooves on her again.

“I suppose the solution is quite simple, Miss Scratch,” Octavia replied, smiling soothingly at her, “You will stay with me.”
********************

Since their inception, the Canterlot Symphony had rented out a series of suites in the Maritrot Resort of Upper Quarter Canterlot, in case they needed to stay together for several days during arduous practice sessions. It was also Octavia’s ‘home,’ as it were. Most of her paychecks went into cello adjustments or repairs, and she maintained a sizable savings account with what she did not spend. One day, that would be enough for Octavia’s dream home. For now, however, some of those savings could be spent on her new friend.

The rapists had smashed her saddlebags to bits, which included her beloved headphones and music player. While Octavia could not replace the hundreds of songs the magical machine had saved on it, she could replace the machine and its accessory itself. This had earned her a rather tearful hug in the middle of the marketplace. And, to Vinyl’s relief, she had gotten a new set of glasses and a hoodie to help cover herself.

“One of my great, great, greeeeat ancestors was from Trotsylvania,” she had explained to Octavia, when asked why she wanted to hide her unusual eyes, “I got the eye color from him. Heh, the story actually makes it worse. A buncha ponies always asked if I was a vampire when they saw them so… decided to keep that from happening, I guess.”

At the suites, Octavia was met by her best friends in the ensemble- Frederic and Beauty Brass practically tackled her onto the ground, while Harp just chuckled and waved in relief.

“We were so worried!” Beauty gushed, wiping her violet eyes with a fetlock, “When we saw the news, they were carting that pony off…”

“And the Guard would not answer our questions,” Frederic answered with a little more calm, though his eyes betrayed his frustration, “All they told us was that you were in the hospital, and could not see visitors. We believed you were hurt!”

Octavia quickly picked herself off the ground, chuckling softly and waving them away.

“Easy now, everypony. I’m alright.” She turned towards the doorway, “Vinyl? It’s alright. These are my friends.”

Vinyl’s entrance was slow, her body tensed and ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. Octavia stepped to her side, giving her a gentle nuzzle along her ear.

“I’ve known all of them since I was a teenager,” she explained softly, “They won’t hurt you, I promise. This is Frederic, Beauty Brass, and Harpo.”

“A pleasure.”

“Hi there!”

“Hello, Miss Scratch.”

Vinyl’s throat bobbed from a large gulp before she gave a small smile, waving a hoof, “H-hi!”

Octavia beamed. Progress? At least somewhat. Though Octavia believed that it would be best to keep Frederic and Harpo a safe distance away from the traumatized mare. During their market walk, the poor thing had physically flinched away from any male that remained close to her, and she could see her horn spark several times from defensive magic. She would really need to see about a nullifier ring, and soon. She knew the pain magic caused to Vinyl had to be excruciating. With another gentle nuzzle, she guided Vinyl into the suites, and to her private room.

It… was not exactly modest, to Octavia’s chagrin. It was certainly comfortable, with such a large bed, made of the softest Saddle Arabian fabrics, and sported a large radio set off to one side. The bathroom was one of Octavia’s favorite things; a large shower, a Whirlpool tub…

“Would you like to use the bathroom, Vinyl?” she asked softly, nodding to the opulent, glorious porcelain room.

The cellist was mildly unprepared for the loathing look Vinyl gave herself, or the vigorous nod, and subsequent bullrush into the bathroom, but she could understand it. She was wholly unprepared, however, for Vinyl when she returned, great patches of fur scrubbed clear off, her pink skin bright red in irritation, and tears trailing down her face.
“I-I’m sorry,” she murmured at Octavia’s stunned look, dropping to her stomach and shaking, “I-I could feel t-them and… I-I’m sorry…”
The two slept together in the bed that night, Octavia’s forelegs wrapped tightly around her friend, her own tears mingling with those of her friend till Vinyl thankfully passed out. She sniffled, her muzzle gently nuzzling into her mane. Professional help might be best… though she would definitely need to speak with Vinyl first. ...and her ensemble.
The cellist winced as upcoming dates and parties rose up in her mind. Leaving Vinyl alone would… not end very well, she was sure of that. The poor thing did not have her music, a home of her own that was safe, or other friends. At least not in… this town… A slow smile spread across Octavia’s muzzle as a new idea sprang up, focusing in on two upcoming performances. One in the hamlet of Ponyville, and the other in the great metropolis of Manehatten. Getting Vinyl away from Canterlot may just be the best… possible… thing. And with a plan of action in mind, Octavia snuggled her charge close, and drifted off to the smell of Vinyl and cotton.

Comments

[Shotgunmerc]

A few comments:
-you are handling a very delicate issue very well, and for that, you get a like and a fav
-grammar and spelling seem good, which should seem obvious, but far too many good story ideas are ruined by atrocious grammar
-if you turn this into a ship fic, which it seems to be, the ship seems to be very...sudden. very fast. Although maybe that's just my perspective. I can't see Octavia being this open this quick in terms of a phsyical friendship. I'd be nice, probably even take vinyl in, but the ship seems to be moving a little fast.

Those are all just me though, by all means you are definitely doing a good job with this so I look forward to what happens next!

[Misty Horse]

4275823
I agree on everything you said. The physical aspect makes sense because generally rape victims need something to turn to, though they also have a good chance of pushing everybody away. In this story, vinyl needs some sort of comfort, (which the need was made clear in the hospital through her fears of being hunted), and she, understandably, can only feel comfortable with another mare. Even if it's just barely, octavia has made the connection, primarily because she's the one who saved her.

[Chapter 13]

Slow down!!!! This is moving way to fast. I mean, this is 0-60 in 2.5 seconds fast. Well...okay, not that fast...Wait! I'm getting off topic!

Anyway, as I was saying, I think this chapter is way to rushed. You included what needed to happen, I guess, but you skipped over some very important moments. Here are some of the things that I believe you should've touched on: Vinyl going out of the hospital, Vinyl reacting to simply walking around ponies, Vinyl, inner conflict with Octavia, Vinyl reacting to Octavia saying she could stay with her. The list goes on!!!! This is the calm after the story; the returning home after the hurricane! I just can't stress enough how many perfect opportunities you missed by skipping so much.

Speaking of fast, she was brutally raped, and she is already walking around? I mean, unless I missed something, she was in the hospital for what, a day? I think that she would've been in the hospital for at least too, and on some heavy medications, or any, at all. Did the doctors do nothing about her horn? What are the damages that happened? Will there be any lasting effects??? See! You missed so much!

Also, what about the whole guard situation? Did Vinyl file a police report? Heck, you haven't even mentioned if the guard did anything other then cart the one guy off. The guard would've had Vinyl speak to them and tell them what happened. She is the victim, and even though Octavia was there for most of it, only vinyl can give the official statement. I hope you broach on this topic later in the story.

Urg, I want to say more, but all I can say it that it was too rushed.

I have to mention that I agree with Shotgunmerc, you are handling the situation really well. I think that what you have written is pretty damn good, it's what you missed that I think is most important.

I shall read on and see if I pre-maturely ranted...

~ Michael A.

[ElJorro]

Cell phones in Equestria huh?

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

5050789 yeah, that is very odd. Should be changed to scrolls

[JennaShinx]

So wait, did Vinyl scrub her fur off because she thought she felt the rapists? Or was it something else?

[Flametiger 12]

Ponyville: mane 6?