Chapter 10 - Awakening
”Get away from her!” Vinyl growled, her voice thrumming with power born of the immense amounts of arcane power, flowing through her body, arching around her body. She stepped forward resolutely. The ponies assaulting Octavia stopped at her words, some seeming to stop mid-punch. They turned towards her, slowly at first, then quicker as they noticed her. Where some seemed confused—the earth ponies and pegasi in particular—the unicorns’ stood with eyes wide and mouths agape, the first signs of comprehension. Then fear.
“Surge!” One of them called, taking a step back. “She’s Surging!”
The leader of the gang glared at her, a snarl forming on his lips. His head whipped towards the one who had spoken, a mare in her early twenties with a lime green coat and amethyst mane. “She’s just one mare, you cowards. What are you waiting for?!” He shot his hoof in Vinyl’s direction at his last words, eyes wide in anger and spittle flying from his muzzle. “Go get her! She’s a single fucking mare. GO!”
Boosted by the certainty of their leader the thugs started walking towards her, only to be stopped as Vinyl raised her head, her white-glowing eyes fixated upon them. She growled and raised her hoof, slamming it into the ground. A pulsating web of sapphire lines spread from her hoof, branching in every direction and soon covered the ground they stood on, earning confused expressions to spread amongst the other ponies.
With a tug of her mind, Vinyl sent the ponies up into the air, hovering a couple metres above the ground before they crashed back down, knocking the wind out of them, and cracking more than a few bones. The few unicorns that had been quick enough to counter Vinyl’s spell, twisting out its hold mere moments before she would have slammed them into the ground, fell down on unsteady legs, the impact from falling normally, alone, enough to rattle their bones. Only four were not groaning or unconscious on the ground, nursing broken ribs, or regaining their breath, among those being the leader of them, and the other unicorns.
“You’re good, I’ll give you that,” he growled, standing up straight. “But surge or not, you still can’t beat four of us.” He glanced to the side. “Bolster, go get her.” He grinned. “Show her what real magic is about.”
Bolster—the one who had thrown Vinyl earlier—stepped forward, grinning as he lit his horn. He attempted to pick Vinyl up as he had last time, only to find that he couldn’t. A sudden realisation crashed into him as he beheld the rage filled look on the mare in front of him. At this moment, she was many times stronger than him.
“What’s the matter?” Vinyl asked mockingly, stepping forward. “Weren’t you going to show me real magic?” Contrary to the mocking tone of hers, there was no such look on her face. Her lips were set in a snarl, ears flat against her skull, and eyes narrowed dangerously. Sparing him barely a glance more, she sent a wave of force his way, sending him crashing into the wall. Almost too slowly he slid down, landing in a heap on the ground. Unconscious.
A similar fate befell the other two, both of which attempted to fire a series of powerful stun spells. Vinyl stood her ground, facing the spells flying towards her until they… disappeared.
“S-She dispelled them!” One of them stammered, disbelieving.
Vinyl simply cocked her head. “Yes,” she said, and sent both of them crashing into the wall behind them, landing on either side of Bolster. She looked back to the leader, her expression becoming impassive. Uncaring. “And now there’s just you. The good-for-nothing son of a bitch that thought cornering us was a good idea.” She stepped closer, one step after the other all but shaking the ground.
The stallion, looking as angry as a cornered animal could, did what he could to stand his ground. He squared his jaw and stood defiantly as she approached, his lips pressed thin. “You’ll regret that, you bitch. You’re not the only one who can do that parlor trick.” With that, his horn went alight, eyes igniting with the same white light as Vinyl’s. He grinned at her, a vicious, vindictive grin. “You were exhausted before, but I am not. No matter how powerful you are now, it doesn’t matt—”
He was pushed against the wall, blue light surrounding his entire body, holding him aloft. Vinyl looked up at him, her previously blazing horn now simply shining a bright blue. The look on her face, the lack of emotion, taunted him. She cocked her head, a small, provocative, action. ”Surge on command, and yet so weak.”
“You think!” He all but roared, his horn blazing. An immense pressure pushed down on Vinyl, her horn especially. It was like the weight of an entire pony balanced entirely on the ivory protrusion from her head. “Nopony, not even you, can cast spells with so much pressure on your horn!” He spat through gritted teeth.
”Are you sure?” Was all the reply Vinyl gave before she retaliated. Her horn brightened once more, becoming a blazing beacon of power and light. The weight on her horn was lifted, becoming null, before it turned. With her own magic, she pushed back against his spell, slowly, but surely, encapsulating his own horn in the very spell he had attempted on her.
Pain, then abject horror, washed over his face—pupils shrinking to pinpricks as he started shivering. The light of his horn extinguished as pain from the pressure washed over him, flashing from the tip to the base of it, and still Vinyl continued. He was moaning in pain already, the light in his eyes vanishing, mouth hanging open.
”You wanted to rape us,” Vinyl said calmly, increasing the pressure. ”Then you tried to beat us.” The pressure continued to pile on, causing the stallion to writhe in pain, his moans becoming pleas. He begged her to stop, but found himself ignored. ”And then, you tried to KILL MY FRIEND!” She roared the last words into his face, her already thrumming voice almost physically pushing against him.
The stallion, now whimpering, tried to blink away tears, his eyes watering from the sheer pain of the pressure put upon his horn. “Please,” he begged. “Please stop. I-I didn’t mean to I… I’m sorry. Please!”
For all of a second Vinyl looked to be considering, her head tilted ever so slightly, lips pursed in thought. And then…
”No.”
She pushed again, increasing the pressure on the stallion’s horn. Her horn blazed, lighting the dark alley they were in as more and more magic was poured into the small. Accompanying the light were the screams of someone tortured. Relentless, Vinyl continued. She kept going until a crack sounded, and then his horn shattered. Bits and pieces of coloured bone sprayed everywhere, the scream almost deafening.
The light in Vinyl’s eyes receded, as did her magic. The stallion slumped to the ground, glassy eyed and unresponsive. But alive. Turning, Vinyl trudged over to Octavia who still lay prone on the ground. Her eyes were closed, blood still flowing from the knife wound in her side. It seemed to have slowed, at the very least. She’s alive… She closed her eyes, head hanging. Why was she so exhausted? She lay down, not caring for the blood on her coat. The thugs were taken care of, Octavia was alive… She needed to get her to the hospital.
She faintly registered the sound of wings, and hooves hitting the ground behind her. She didn’t look—she didn’t have the energy for it. “Hospital,” she croaked instead, closing her eyes, hoping whoever they were had heard her. “Help.”
“It’s alright,” a voice said. “We’ll help ya.”
A sense of relief washed over her. Help was here.
Then the darkness came.
Everything was silent, except the fluttering of the curtains as a breeze passed through the open window, rustling the leaves on a bouquet of flowers that stood on the table beside the sole bed in the room. In it lay a white coated unicorn, her two toned blue mane spreading like a halo across her pillow. Her eyes were closed, the continuous beeping of the machine besides her bed accompanied by her own steady breathing. A needle and tube connected one of her forelegs to the IV, which dripped a crystal clear liquid.
Rays of golden light peeked over the horizon, spilling warm, orange light into the room and dispelling the night’s darkness and bringing with it the dawn. The return of the light of day would bring a sense of security.
For the longest time, nothing moved in the room. No visitors came, nor did anyone even pass by. It was a place as tranquil as could be. That is, until the sole occupant of the room stirred, the light finally bringing her out of her slumber. Vinyl slowly opened her eyes, the light briefly blinding her and sending spots dancing all over her vision. She blearily looked around, carefully turning her head this way and that. The flowers—lilies—standing on the cupboard beside her bed drew her gaze, earning themselves a tired smile even as she turned her head to the other side of her bed where the IV stood.
At the sight of it, something seemed to click. Memories rushed to the front of her mind, ones of blood, and pain, and fear. Everything, from when they had been cornered, to the point where she felt that stallion’s horn fracture and shatter from the pressure she put on it. The implications of what she had done were shoved to the back of her mind as one memory in particular sprang forth. The image of Octavia lying in a pool of her own blood, breathing shallowly faded to her mind’s eye.
Fear and panic rose up within her. She sat up, looking around frantically as the words formed on her lips. “Octavi-AAGH!” A massive lance of pain elicited a scream from her, forehooves rushing to her head. The simple act of sitting up as quickly as she had irritated her sensitive horn enough to cause such a reaction?
As if summoned by her scream—and they most likely were—two ponies stepped into the room, the indigo mare wearing an expression of concern while the maroon stallion was a mask of professionalism. They both looked Vinyl up and down, then walked closer.
“Please lie down,” the mare said, using her magic to put gentle pressure onto Vinyl’s chest, urging her gently down onto the bed. She proceeded to fluff up the pillows, and check on the IV, humming quietly all the while.
Meanwhile the stallion walked to the front of the bed, giving Vinyl a look somewhere between sympathy and admonishment. He looked down at the notes he’d brought with him, turning a few pages to find the proper entry. When he finally looked back up at her he was back to a look of pure professionalism.
“First, Miss, I’d like to tell you that you—”
“Where’s Octavia?” Vinyl interrupted. “The earth pony I was with. Where is she?”
A flash of annoyance washed across the stallion’s face, but was gone as quickly as it had come. He glanced at the mare, receiving a subtle nod in return. He sighed and, looking back at Vinyl, said, “Your friend is alive, and in no immediate danger. I cannot as of now give you the details, but you can ask her if you want to visit her at some point later. And if she’s awake, of course.” He gave the notes another brief glance before he spoke again. “For now, however, you are our primary concern. I would like to stress that your injury is one I have never seen before - outside of a battlefield.”
Vinyl’s ears perked up, her pupils shrinking slightly at the news. “You have a severe case of Magic Exhaustion, which resulted in loss of consciousness. I would like to stress just how severe it is, Miss. Normally, a unicorn will experience a burnout at approximately ten percent power, their body responding with pain in an effort to warn you that your reserves are low. You, however—” he looked down at his notes, glancing up at Vinyl with as serious a look as he could “—burned yourself out to zero point five percent of your total power. At this point, you have virtually no magic left.”
The news was not quite a surprise to Vinyl. She knew she had pushed herself to the absolute limit, and even beyond it, but to such a degree that she looked more like someone who had been in a war? That was something that surprised her. Even then, a new worry crept upon her. She drew her lips in a thin line and, steeled herself. “Will I ever be able to use magic again?” She asked, meeting the doctor’s eyes.
She was met with a mildly quizzical look, as if he could not quite figure out why she had asked exactly that question. He did, however, answer after having collected his thoughts a moment later. “You will. None of the nerves connecting your horn to your brain have been severed, although some are slightly damaged, which is the cause of your pain. But no, as soon as your magic recovers you’ll be able to use it as you did before. But given the size of your wellspring that may take a while.”
The silence after he had stopped speaking was broken as the door opened, letting in the mare from before. As they had talked she had left, and now brought back something that looked like wasabi, though blue in colour. At the perplexed look Vinyl directed at it, the mare smiled dipping her brush into it. “It’s a sort of healing paste for unicorn horns,” she said, walking closer to Vinyl’s horn and gingerly layered it with the paste. “It’s partly an anesthetic to reduce the pain, and also to help heal the nerves within your horn. Once you’re discharged you’ll be given some yourself, to be used over a couple weeks.”
She covered the last bit of Vinyl’s horn with the paste and stepped back, trying to spot any places she had missed. Satisfied that there were none she put the brush back in the bowl with the paste. “You’ll get the details for how and how much to use when you’re discharged. For now, that should reduce the pain to more manageable levels. Even then, don’t use any magic for the next three days, not even telekinesis. Understood?”
Vinyl nodded meekly, her lips pulling in a thin line. She wasn’t exactly satisfied and would have liked if she could be able to use magic before then, as not being able to do so was usually one heck of a hassle for most unicorns. It usually involved a lot of messy eating, and generally being a slob at everything they did. And even if she would have liked to pretend otherwise, Vinyl was no better as, like any other unicorn before her, she had become far too accustomed to simply set light to her horn and then magic whatever it was she wanted to magic.
“Good. Now, unless there are any questions?” She asked patiently, the maroon stallion going to unplug her from the IV.
“I was wondering,” Vinyl started, glancing down at herself. She had expected bandages almost all over her, but there were none. “What about other injuries? I remember being thrown against a wall pretty hard.”
“You have some bruises, but nothing serious. You’ll probably be sore for a few days, but it’s nothing to worry about. No concussion either.”
Vinyl managed a small smile, looking more tired than relieved at the news. “Thank you… Do you think I could go visit Octavia? Is she even awake?” She asked, briefly giving a nod to the stallion as he left the room.
The nurse shook her head. “I don’t know if she’s awake, but you should be good to visit her. Octavia Philharmonica, right?” Vinyl nodded. “Her room is on the floor above us. Room number 16. There’s an elevator just a short way down the hall here. I suggest you use that.” Having said that, the nurse stepped out of the room, only quickly informing Vinyl that she could pull the string above her bed if she needed anything.
Taking that as her cue, Vinyl shuffled out of the bed, groaning in pain as she landed on the floor. Sure, the nurse had said that it wasn’t anything serious, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt. She took a few seconds to let the pain abate then walked out of the room. She came out into a long hallway stretching far to either side of her. On the left side, however, the opposite side of where she was standing, the wall curved out into a half spherical shape with several chairs and tables, as well as two coffee and tea dispensers each. A few bowls of fruit stood beside them as well.
On her right were only rooms, save for a set of stairs leading up and down, and the promised elevator just on the other side of said stairs. The hallway as a whole was tranquil, with few nurses, doctors, or patients walking to and fro. It was also sterile, and smelled like it. It was never a pleasant smell, though neither truly an unpleasant one. At most Vinyl would say it was annoying, at least to those who associated the smell with hospitals and injury.
Not one of those yet, Vinyl thought as she pressed the button. She patiently waited for the elevator to come down to her, at which point she stepped in and pushed the button for the floor above hers. Once again she had to remind herself not to use magic to press it, instead using her hoof. Old habits die hard, especially those that made everything so much easier. She could only pride herself on the fact that her mother had drilled self discipline into her head from as long ago as she could remember. Everything from keeping the proper posture despite aching hooves, to steadily work on her projects during the time she had, as opposed to rushing it three days before the deadline.
A quiet ’Ding’ signalled that the desired floor was reached. The door opened and Vinyl stepped out, looking up and down a hallway nearly identical to the one below, except that the half-moon seating area was to her right and not her left this time.
“Number 16, number 16…” She slowly made her way away from the seating area, counting the numbers on the doors. Counting down from 30 at the elevator, she found room number 16 halfway down the hall. She put her hoof against the door as if to push it open, but froze before she could put any weight behind it. What if Octavia blamed her for what had happened? She was the one who had suggested they take the shortcut. Worse yet, what if she didn’t even want anything more to do with her after that had happened?
She shook her head angrily. Stop that, Vinyl. You know it wasn’t your fault, and Octavia’s not the kind of pony to blame others for something that’s not their fault. She drew in a deep breath, held it for a short while, and let it out. Having mentally prepared herself, she pushed against the door and slowly made her way inside, biting her tongue as the pain in her side flared up from walking on three legs instead of four.
Inside the room was much the same as Vinyl’s own, except for two more apparatuses. The window in this room was closed, although the curtains were open. The were also a bouquet of flowers on Octavia’s bedside table; lilies, like Vinyl’s own, but purple instead of white.
That left only Octavia herself, and Vinyl would be lying if she said the sight didn’t terrify her. Not only was she still connected to the IV, but a suction tube also connected to her chest from one of the two machines besides her bed. She could only guess what that was for. Finally, there was a thin tube with two extensions in her nostrils, running around her head and towards the final machine in the room, which sounded like a bellow being pumped very slowly—To help her breathe, Vinyl realised.
But despite all of that—even despite the mass of patches and bandages covering Octavia’s torso and one leg—there was one thing that seemed to banish everything else. Every negative thought, every fear, and every bit of doubt. When she looked at Octavia, she was met by a pair of brilliantly amethyst eyes, and a small, barely visible smile, but a smile nonetheless.
She couldn’t help but smile herself as she approached, tears welling in her eyes. “Hey,” she said quietly, reaching Octavia’s bedside. “How’re you feeling?”
To her credit, Octavia smiled a little wider. “Like the princesses took turns bucking me between the Changeling Hive and Canterlot like a pin ball.”
“That bad?” Vinyl asked, chuckling. She fell silent then, her gaze falling. Slowly, she put one hoof on the bedside, hesitantly following with the other. For a while she said nothing, not even daring to meet Octavia’s gaze. Despite their attempts at lighting the mood, it hadn’t helped rid Vinyl of her feelings of uncertainty. Even in spite of her earlier reassurances, she had to know. She had to ask. Slowly, as if the words themselves might betray her, she asked, “You… You don’t blame me, do you?” She kept her gaze firmly on her hooves afraid of what she might see were she to raise her gaze.
For a while Octavia said nothing. Didn’t even move. At some point during her silence Vinyl almost thought she had fallen asleep, but that idea was dispelled when she finally spoke up.
“Vinyl, look at me.” The words were spoken softly, but there was something in them that made them impossible to ignore. She slowly raised her head, finding her gaze locked firmly with Octavia’s. Yet, it wasn’t unkind. Octavia smiled as wide as she could in her exhausted state. “I would never blame you,” she said, lifting her hoof to rest it on top of Vinyl’s own. “I don’t remember much, but I remember a little. I remember what you said to them, and what you sounded like. Plus,” she grinned a little, enough to show the whites of her teeth, “I could never blame you when you have such beautiful eyes.”
Relief flooded through Vinyl, making her entire body sag. It was such a weight taken off her shoulders that she didn’t realise the comment until several moments later. She blinked, raising a hoof to her face, only now realising that she didn’t have her shades on. Another smile found its way to her lips and she dared lean a little closer. “I’m glad you like them,” she said genuinely. “What colour are they? Just to be certain,” she added.
“A beautiful red.”
Here t'is!
This was a fun one to write. I've always enjoyed writing combat, even if it's as one sided as this one, but what really excited me was the later stuff. Can't tell you why, but it was fun 
I hope you enjoy!
Please do comment, as I'll read every one of them even if I don't respond.
And on a little side note!
My editor, Taranasaurus, makes music, too! Mainly dubstep or electronic (I dunno... he'll correct me if I'm wrong), so if that's your cup of tea, go check it out!
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Wow Vinyl is a real badflank, and that last scene in Octy's room is just so full of d'aww
little short but love every part of it
the end is cryptic tho how can a person not be sure in there eye color
6864851 Given that she uses magic to make her eyes blue when she preforms she was likely looking for clarification that they were their natural red and she hadn't just reveled her big secret.
6865476
You're awfully confident
6865476 how did you deduce?
6865700 Well you did a good job with the toying around to keep it maybe/maybe-not right up to the last concert. She was complaining after the performance about her horn being over taxed from using high level magic the entire performance when she only used basic levitation to play a second violin for part of one song. It is classical music, there is no light show for her to be powering and Vinyl was 'suspiciously quiet' during the performance... almost as though she was an illusion. At the end of the concert Octavia wonders where Vinyl went and it's waved off as 'the bathroom' which is where Melodia went to 'change'.
Though, you are right that I am being a little presumptuous in saying 'magic' when it could have been colored contacts. But until then you did a very good job of it, and given the chapter's title I believe the sudden clarity was intentional. The events in this chapter also link back into the underlined bit in the first quoted section.
6865922 That would be through the sections and reasoning listed above in spoilers. Though some particulars are left rather vague to avoid being too spoilery.
Great chapter
6867848
Thanks
6867591
You're very much welcome
when the next chapter coming out?
You're doing it again.
Also Vates Despero got it.
8699009
Who knows
I assume this is supposed to be "one." Editors were on top of this one.
Love me a well written fight scene. Especially one in a more realistic, non-fantasy setting. (Albeit one with magical ponies.)
Bonus points because it included someone using empty-hand martial arts, something I'm quite partial to, as a practitioner, myself. X3