> Head Trauma > by RayDawn > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > CH 1: The Plan > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl's POV Ugh my head. What time is it? I woke with a headache. I turned on my phone and saw that it was 11:00. Oh It's just eleven O' cl- Oh crap! I need to get ready! I bolted up and raced to get prepared for today. Tavi's gonna be pissed. Last time I was late...I don't even want to think about that look she gave me. She even made a scene in public... I thought. Tavi had a bad side and it was ferocious. There. I'm ready now. I looked in the mirror. Now to meet Tavi and the others for our day at the mall. Tavi was helping the Rainbooms and I get our equipment cleaned because of a certain Pinkie Pie incident involving whipped cream, cupcakes, and confetti that managed to dirty all of their instruments. Also, I was pretty sure they just wanted to hang out with each other. Tavi offered to come because I was going, she had gotten really protective of me after I had that breakdown during Celestia's speech around three weeks ago. I walk through my door and Tavi was there, with her arms crossed and tapping her foot. "Vinyl!" Tavi snapped. "What do you have to say for yourself?! We're gonna be late!" Tavi had accusing eyes. I gave a sheepish grin and held a shrug with my palms facing the ceiling. Uh oh. I dreaded waiting for Tavi's response, but to my surprise her eyes softened and she sighed. "Let's just go, Vinyl." Tavi seemed sad for some reason. I grabbed her shoulder and looked at her in the eyes as if to ask if she was okay. Tavi got my meaning and responded. "Okay. I had a nightmare and I feel like something bad will happen." Tavi looked at me with worry in her eyes. I shrugged it off. Tavi saw this and shouted "Take this seriously Vinyl!" Then Mrs. Melody appeared from downstairs. "Is everything okay?" Mrs. Melody looked worried. "Are you girls fighting?" "No mom." Tavi said this as I shook my head no. Immediately Mrs. Melody looked relieved. "Let's go then." She ushered us to the car and Tavi looked at me, then shook her head no. Really? Relax, Tavi... I thought. ... Mrs. Melody drove us to the mall and dropped us off, where we were greeted by Fluttershy. "Hello Fluttershy!" Tavi said as I waved to her. The girl walked over to us. "Hi girls." She said in her soft almost whisper like voice. "How are you girls?" She looked at me specifically. "I have been great." Octavia said as I moved my palm in a see-saw motion to say I was okay, but Fluttershy may have taken it the wrong way. "I see. Have you been going to Dr. Discord?" Fluttershy asked. I nodded. Fluttershy was actually the one who suggested him. He was weird, but he did do his job good. Apparently, Fluttershy went to him when she was being bullied, by Sunset-but we don't talk about that anymore-and now they meet for tea periodically. Fluttershy then responded. "Good." Just then Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight (Sci-Twi is the only one who will appear in this story) in Rainbow Dash's car. By the looks of it, Rainbow had been speeding because Twilight was holding on for dear life and Pinkie Pie was laughing. They exited the car, though for Twilight it was more of a wobble, and came over. "Hello there girls. Now all we need is Sunset, Rarity, and Applejack." Tavi said with a hint of annoyance. Before anyone could say anything Sunset appeared behind me and Applejack and Rarity said, at the same time "We're already here." I jumped slightly at this. "Sorry Vinyl ." Sunset apologized. I turned my hand from my wrist up and down to show that there was no hard feelings. Rainbow spoke up. "Can we get this started. We need to by some things to help us clean our instruments without damaging them and I for one want to shred! Also, I want to buy some stuff. Kill two birds with one stone, right?" "That's horrible!" Fluttershy cried out. "It's an expression, sugarcube." "Oh." Fluttershy squeaked. "Silly Billy." Pinkie said. "Can we move on? I need to get something for a project I'm doing and I want to move on. So can we go, girls?" Twilight said. We all nodded with a "hmph." Then we walked in the mall. ...... The inmate of cell block D stood alone at the cafeteria. He was eating his "goop," as the inmates called it. He was greeted by a dark gray tone man with black hair, who was the top dog of Canterlot Maximum Level security, where almost everyone had a life sentence, but were usually murdered by their cell mates. The inmate from D block whispered. "Is the plan on, Sombra?" He looked towards The gray tone man. "Yes. I have some men for you who will help you escape, but in return..." The inmate squirmed. "You must do that favor for me. You know, the hit." Sombra whispered at the end. "Got that, Wildcat Shady?" The inmate nodded. "Call me Shady." Shady said. "Whatever." Sombra looked around. "Remember, the plan goes off tonight. This took years to orchestrate, so don't fuck it up." Sombra whispered. "The guard is coming. Act natural." Shady acted like he usually did, but in his mind he was formulating a plan. The first thing I do when I get out is get that girl that ruined my life. Then I'll do that hit and move away from this hellhole. Shady internally smiled. I'll finally get my revenge. > Ch 2: Therapy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl's POV The girls and I all stood outside the mall with numerous bags, mostly filled with clothes, but had electrical equipment cleaning supplies. "I told you that dress would be a marvelous fit!" Rarity shrieked. All the girls looked at me as I pouted. "I told you she doesn't like dresses." Octavia said. "Yes, but every girl needs at least one, or two...or twelve." Rarity said as I facepalmed. Not all girls. I thought as Mrs. Melody arrived in her car to pick up Tavi and I. Now to go to my weekly appointment. Dr. Discord was nice and his weird antics helped me open up to him...somehow. It was about six right now. "Let's go Vinyl. Bye girls." Tavi said and we exchanged goodbyes with the group. We got into the car and Mrs. Melody noticed our bags...and the dress. "That's a nice dress Vinyl." Mrs. Melody said. This caused me to facepalm, again. Tavi noticed me do this. "It is a nice dress, even if dresses aren't your thing." Tavi interjected. I sighed. Whatever. Finally we arrived at the building that housed Dr. Discord's office. Mrs. Melody let us out of the car and we walked up the stairs. Tavi spoke up. "It sucks not being able to drive anywhere." Tavi looked at me with an accusing face. It got my license suspended because of too much speeding and Tavi didn't have a license yet. I shrugged and we walked into Dr. Discord's room. "I've been expecting you." Dr. Discord said as he turned around on his chair, much like an evil businessman or super villain you see in movies. "Sit." He had a goofy grin on. "Hello Dr. Discord." Tavi said as we sat down. "Please. I've told you before Octavia, call me Discord." Discord saw me and waved. Discord never spoke to me because he wrote, in his book, that a patient is more comfortable around similar people to them. It actually makes me feel more comfortable and he has written to me that my progress has been amazing and that we can make these meetings less frequent soon. It makes me sad, but I do want to move on, eventually, and this is a sign of me moving on. "Okay. I'm just gonna be here because my mom said that Vinyl shouldn't be going alone every time." Tavi said to Discord. "I don't mind, but I do have...strange methods. You have been warned." Discord said with a grin. "I don't mind. I'm here for Vinyl, and no amount of weirdness will make me leave." Tavi looked determined to stay and Discord took thatas a challenge. "Okay then." Discord looked at me and took out a paper from his suitcase. The paper was blank and he wrote on it. How have you been feeling this past week? -D So far, so good. No anxiety like before, but the nightmares...They just don't stop and some nights I can't sleep. I want them to leave. Before they were a rare occurrence, but that night I broke down the nightmares came back with a larger frequency. I don't know what to do. -V Interesting. Can you tell me what happens in the dream? -V Yes. -V Good. Sometimes people can't remember their dreams well and I have to use the PASIV device on them. -D The what? -V It's nothing. Go on. Tell me about your dream. Okay. In the dream I walk down a sidewalk and I hear crying. I turn into a alley and see a hooded figure grabbing Tavi as a little girl. I try to scream for someone to do something, but I can't speak, like usual. I run up to him and Tavi runs away. He turns and punches me and I fall face forward and become stiff. I then move my head up and see my parents standing. My mother with a hole in her chest where her heart should be and my dad with hole instead of an eye. He then speaks up "How could you let this happen to us." Then a gun shoots and I'm back at school. I look around but there is only silence. I walk through an infinite hallway of silence, until I see Tavi, or Octavia as you know her as. She turns around and looks me in the eye. She screams my name and then I wake up. Tavi looks at Discord and says "What could this mean?" She looks worried. "This could mean many things." Discord stood up and did "the Thinker" pose. "But I have a guess." He paced the room. "First, the encounter with the hooded man is a flashback, your parents represent a guilty conscience, the silent, infinite hallway, represents Vinyl's life. She will be silent forever. Lastly, you," He points at Tavi. "Screaming is a mental belief that something will go wrong, so I can blame anxiety on that." He stopped at his Draconequus lamp. "How do you know that?" Tavi said, being skeptical. "i don't." Discord shrugged. "It's merely an educated guess." He added. Tavi took that as an answer and kept quiet. After a half hour, our appointment ended and we went home. Third Person POV "Freedom!" Shady shouted. "At last. Now, let's hide in Canterlot for a while. I need to go and find some stuff out." Shady called to Sombra's men, but they stopped. "What's the matter?" "We ain't taking orders from you. We decided to ditch you when we got out. See ya, you're on your own." The two men disappeared into the shadows and let Shady on his own. "Well, that's just great." He stopped and looked at his belongings that he managed to swipe. He picked up his wallet and saw a card. "Maybe I have someone to turn to that can help me." He looked at the card and smiled. Surely Chrysalis can help me find the girl that ruined my life. Also, she could help me find a place to stay. She still owes me for the favors I did for her. She might also appreciate some info on her rival Kingpin Sombra. I always was a rat. Hopefully she still has the same number. Shady found a payphone after some searching and dialed up Chrysalis. "Who is this and how did you get this number?" She spoke calmly, but with strength. "It's Shady and I came to check in my favors." > CH 3: Shady Dealings > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Third person POV Shady stood in a hall outside of an office. He was no longer in his prison garb and sported blue jeans, gray shoes with white soles, and a gray and white striped shirt. He tapped his foot relentlessly and cursed under his breath. Calls to meet...bitch doesn't show...late as fuck... He muttered half sentences that weren't audible. Then as he was about to leave, Chrysalis appeared. "Ah. If it isn't my old friend Shady. Which inmate did you let ride you to help you escape." She grinned. "Oh haha. Very funny. For your information, no one 'rode' me in jail and I was working with Kingpin Sombra." Shady was surprised at Chrysalis's reaction. Chrysalis lunged forward and grabbed Shady by the neck. "You worked with that rat bastard, low-life mother-" "Yes. I did, but now I have info you can use." Shady squeaked. Chrysalis composed herself and let go of Shady. "Information that comes with a price. Why don't I just get it out of you instead." She threatened. "Because you owe me a favor...and you are a women of your word." Shady was sweating as they entered an office looking room. "Fine. What do you want in return?"Chrysalis inquired. She raised her eyebrow. "I want to find the one person who ruined my life." Shady had a maniacal look on his face. Chrysalis then paused. "Interesting..." Two days later "He did WHAT!?" Kingpin Sombra yelled. "He ratted us out to your greatest enemy, Chrysalis." Said one of the crooked guards at the prison. "When I catch that little fucker..." Sombra was furious. Shady's betrayal had been made apparent to Kingpin Sombra. Four days later: Vinyl's POV This past week has been BORING! No hang outs, no new songs, no gig, zilch, nada, nothing! I needed some excitement, so I thought about texting the girls, but I remembered they had plans today. All I have to look forward to is meeting with Discord. Vinyl stared at the roof. Even Tavi has plans...I need to get a life... Vinyl thought to herself. I'll text her to see how she's doing. Vinyl picked up her phone and texted Tavi. Octavia's POV My phone buzzed. I looked at Coloratura, or Rara. "Sorry, I have to take this." "It's okay. It's probably something important." Coloratura said. Octavia scanned the text and sighed. It read: Tavi! I'm bored! Tell me how things are going between you and Coloratura? "What is it?" Coloratura looked worried. "Nothing. It's just Vinyl being bored." I said. "She is a handful. How is she?" Coloratura looked at me. "I don't know, but I feel as if she is getting better." I was being as honest as I could be, but I wasn't completely sure. Coloratura noticed that on my face. "Don't worry. She is probably fine." Coloratura looked into my eyes and looked away quickly afterwards. I couldn't help worrying. Vinyl's POV I can't believe she blew me off! I thought.That's it! I'm going to sleep! I shut my eyes and dreamt. I woke at the sound of a creak coming from somewhere in the inky black abyss that is the darkness that invades my eyes the second I open them. I had nothing to suspect at that time so I calmly walked downstairs. I saw the door completely open and it freaked me out. What the fuck? I thought to myself. I closed the door and went back to my room. I saw the shadows escaping out my window. It was then that I calmed down. It's probably just me. I didn't give it another thought and went back to sleep. The Next Day, Vinyl's POV Today I have to meet Discord. I thought as I woke up. Today I had an early session, so Tavi wasn't even up yet. I got dressed and noticed that I had extra time, so I put on my headphones, blasted my music and decided that I would walk to my session. I look around at the bustling city as I pass through. My music was probably a little less live than this city today, and that was saying something. I stop aboutthree or four blocks away from the office when my song ends and I hear a cough from an alley. I look at the figure that coughed. It was a smaller build man who was cloaked. Rarity did tell me generosity was fulfilling. I thought as I approached him. I put my hand in my wallet, yes I have a wallet instead of a purse, and pulled out twenty dollars. I handed it to him. He grabs the dollar and I notice his nice shoes. Weird. If he's homeless, why does he have nice shoes? I thought this, but was greeted by a face and voice of my nightmares as he uncloaked himself and spoke. "Thank you, Vinyl." He said with a maniacal smile. I gasped and turned to run, but was grabbed from behind and a rag found its place on my mouth. My eyelids became heavy with unconsciousness as I heard his voice pierce my ears, becoming distorted. "Well well well. I have plans for you." I reached for my phone, but his hand grabbed it from me. I heard a smash, probably my phone, and I faded into unconsciousness. > CH 4: Something's Not Right... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl's POV Woah...My head hurts... I thought to myself as I regained consciousness, though as I opened my eyes I saw nothing but black. Why can't I see? God, this headache is gonna kill m- What?! I noticed my hands were above me and secured to something. My legs also were secured below me. At this I started hyperventilating and panicking. Then, on queue, a familiar face appeared from the darkness as the light above me turned on. His gray eyes pierced mine and my fear spiked. No...It's him. The man who took my parents' lives and my voice. I thought he had a life sentence! How did he get here, or find me?! I started to squirm in my restraints and he chuckled. "Surprised to see me?" His eyes had malicious intent on them and even without the dim light above I could've seen them. He spoke again. "Missed me?" I didn't reply, but by the look on my face, he got an answer. "I have to say, you've been quite silent for someone who has been kidnapped." He stopped looking malicious for a second, but reverted back to his menacing face. "It doesn't matter. I'd like to introduce you to some of my toys." He pulled on a table that was stationed somewhere in the darkness. On the table were sharp objects and...medical supplies? I'm gonna die, aren't I? I thought as he picked up a knife, a surgical knife. He closed in on my thigh and cut my pants downward, exposing most of my leg. "Now, this isn't going to hurt that much! It's just going to make you scream in agony!" He shouted at me with eyes that meant death and slowly started cutting my leg. I screamed out in my guttural sounding scream. My screams were accompanied by his laughter. "This is payback for all the years of my life you took from me! My WIFE wouldn't even come to visit me, let alone see my children!" I smirked and gave him a look that said "maybe because you're a freak who liked to abduct children?" He got mad at this, obviously and slapped me hard across the face. Pain radiated through my face from the contact point. "That's it! I was thinking about ending your life here and now, but now I know I have to keep you alive for as long as possible to maximize your torment!" He grabbed some stitches from the table and did a purposefully painful job fixing and cleaning my wounds. "Can't have you dying, now can we?" My leg was seething from the pain and my tears flowed from my eyes due to the pain that was left when he was done. He turned and disappeared into the darkness. Is it finally over? I thought as I looked at my disfigured right leg. Sadly, it wasn't. The man then returned with gloves on his hands. "I thought than your pain was more valuable to me then your death. Also..." He pointed to a camera "You're going to be a star of your own show! Scream for the camera!" He pushed a button on the camera and put on the gloves. He turned to me and smiled. Nononono- He stopped my thoughts short as he kept unleashing punches to my abdomen and face. I screamed with each hit and he continued to hit me until he was tired. Octavia's POV "Where is that DJ?" It was soop like her to go to that dreaded club after her session with Dr. Discord. Might as well call Discord and ask if she told him where she was going. I picked up my phone and dialed Discord's cell. "Hello Discord." "Well, if it isn't Vinyl's sister, how are you? Do you happen to be around her right now?" "No. Why do you ask?" "Well, she skipped our session and I'd like to know if she is okay." "That's weird. She left to go to your session today, I know because she wasn't here when I awoke, and she isn't here now. I'll call the girls and see if they saw her." "Tell me what you find." He said and then hung up before I could reply. He's rude. I thought and dialed up the girls and one by one they said back: "Nope, I haven't seen her." Fluttershy "Nah, I ain't seen 'er" Applejack "I haven't seen her, darling." Rarity "Nah. She was supposed to meet me and Sunset for a jam session, but didn't show." Rainbow Dash "No, Vinyl didn't show to our scheduled "jam session" as Dash calls them." Sunset "Nope. I would've remembered if I saw her, silly." Pinkie Pie One by one I heard their responses and freaked out more and more. I texted everyone to meet at my parent's house. Hopefully, we could find Vinyl before something bad happens, but a part of me tells me it's too late for that. I called my mom to my room. She bursted in afterwards. "Is everything okay?" Mom said. "No! Haven't you noticed Vinyl isn't here?!" I yelled. "Relax. She's probably out with one of her band mates." She looked calm. "I thought that too, but no one knows where she is, or even seen her today!" I panicked. My mom processed this and she started to panic too. "I - I'll call your father, you call the police." I ran to the home phone and dialed 911. I told them of our emergency and hung up. Soon, my friends came, along with Detective Shining Armor, Dr. Discord, and my dad. We would spend the next hour being drilled with questions by Detective Armor about Vinyl, or Ms. Scratch as they said. I wasn't ready for the memories this would bring up. > CH 5: The Search > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Octavia's POV The next day It is a strange feeling to wake up in the morning knowing someone so important to your life is missing. It was the same as a normal feeling for the morning except the day felt empty, I felt empty. There was something missing in the air, and it was something I soon identified as excitement. Vinyl being missing was just dreadful to me. I wanted to crawl up into a ball and wait for Vinyl, but life always moves on without us being able to control it. Life, sadly, tried to drag me with it and I was on the threshold of giving in to the idea that I might have to move on without Vinyl. I almost lost all hope, almost, and that little bit of hope kept me waiting for her. No matter what state I find Vinyl in, I will help her move on, with me. I won't leave, after all she didn't leave me all those years ago. Vinyl's POV This pain... It's too much. I want to die from this pain, but he won't let me. It's unbearable, but it could be worse. It could be sexual. He hasn't touched me in that way, but has left scars that are much deeper. I want to give up, but my body doesn't. I smiled to myself. Tavi always told me I was stubborn. Didn't know it would save my life, without my consent. As I thought this I heard the door creak open, but no one came forward from the darkness. No one broke the the silence either. Then as quickly as the door opened I heard it close. That could've been someone here to help me, or not, but if they were hostile they would likely kill me. I contemplated the situation and decided that help or death would be better than this hell, so I screamed out in my way. Seconds raced by and nothing happened. Well, that was a bust. He must be toying with me now. I started to silently cry. I wish would someone stop this suffering. I wished this and hoped someone would answer, but life isn't a farie tale. I sobbed alone in the darkness... Octavia's POV After school in the Rainboom's practice room "Heya, Octavia! Have they found Vinyl, yet" Pinkie Pie said in her usual spunk, while waving to me. "If they found her, she would've been here!" I said in angry tone. I regretted it immediately afterword. "Sorry." Pinkie shrugged it off. "It's okay, I know You're mad about Vinyl being gone." "I'm not mad about the 'disappearance,' I'm mad the cops think Vinyl ran away. I know her better than anyone, maybe even herself! She was taken, I know it." "Did you tell the cops that?" "Yes, but they said they didn't have enough evidence to say that!" "Relax. Breathe in, breathe out and bring your arm in and out with your breaths." I did as told. "Wow, that really works. Where did you learn that?" I asked my pink friend. "Dean Cadence. She taught them to Twilight as well. Now that your calm, I'm gonna read the newspaper." "You read the paper, Pinkie?" Twilight said as she walked up to us. "Well, duh. How else would I know stuff? " Pinkie explained. "Yeah, but after school?" Twilight raised her eyebrow. "I didn't have time in the morning, okay? Gummy needed attention." Pinkie said, rather defensively. Twilight shrugged and accepted it. No use fighting Pinkie's logic. I thought. I looked over at the newspaper and saw the headline. "ESCAPED CONVICT ON THE LOOSE!" I looked at Pinkie and said, "Can I see that for a second?" Pinkie nodded vigorously and handed it to me and started talking to Twilight. I saw the picture and my blood ran cold. Twilight and Pinkie's conversation faded away and I whispered shouts. "I...It...It's... him." In that moment the puzzle pieces connected. "This can't be a coincidence." Pinkie and Twilight turned to me and said. "Huh?" "I know who took Vinyl." "Wow, who new The Plot Convenience (that's the name of the newspaper and yes I just did that) helped people think!" Pinkie said. I decided to ignore her. Sombra's Desk 3rd Person "Do we have a location for shady yet?" Sombra asked. He was in the Visiting Room. There were three goons with him, one fat and short, one tall and muscular, and the last one was a skinny, slightly below average height dude. The fat one, who's nickname was Meatball said in a deep voice. "Yeah we do. Turns out Chrysalis gave him a place to go." The skinny one, nicknamed Awkward Silence, nodded. "What!? Chrysalis, that two-timing who-" Sombra uttered these words before he was cut off by the tall goon, Who was nicknamed The Brick Skyscraper. "She put him in a warehouse outside Canterlot City. Here's the address." He had a voice that showed he liked the company of men, but no one ever pointed it out. (I wonder why?) "Good, but don't ever interrupt me again. Got it?" Sombra was near shouting and Skyscraper nodded nervously. Sombra was pleased with the information The Mole provided him. No one ever got past Sombra and he started forming a devious plan to help the Police capture the escaped convict. "This is gonna be good." Sombra smiled maliciously to himself and whispered to his goons what he wanted them to do. Octavia's POV 1 Hour later at Canterlot PD "What do you mean you can't put these two events together?!" I asked Shinning Armor. "We don't have enough evidence to do that." Shinning Armor shrugged. "I think it's possible, but my superiors wont think highly of me if I treat this case like a kidnapping without enough evidence to do so. Sorry." I got mad and stomped my way out. I reached the front desk when I heard these men talking. "So, the escaped convict is at 3159 Equine Dr. That's the address address on the paper, right?" A short man said to his friend, who paused, looked at a paper, then nodded. This got my interest and I wrote the address on the Notes App on my phone. I walked out and met with the girls. For some reason Discord was there too. "What are you doing here?" I pointed at Discord. "The well being of my patients is my top interest." Discord replied. I shrugged and silently thanked the world for more help. "Did you find anything out?" "Well..." I explained the business with the convict and told him the address. "...and that's all I know." "I know that place. It's in the Warehouse District. It's funny because the 'Warehouse District' only has three Warehouses." Discord chuckled to himself. "I can take us there. Although..." Discord raised his finger. "We wont all fit in my car." "We can take mah truck, too" Applejack said. "Then It's settled, we go back for AJ's truck and then head to Vinyl!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I don't know. Can't we let the cops deal with it?" Fluttershy meekly whispered. "I would like to, but we need to help our friend, Darling." Rarity explained. This made Fluttershy agree and they went off." 3rd Person Back at Sombra's cell 30 minutes prior "Now with those two gone I need to make a call." Sombra was lead to the phone by one of his crooked guards and dialed a number. "Hello there my good friend. Yes, I need your services. Usual price? Okay then. Make it look like shady did it to himself. Thank you, bye. Now the plan is in play." He gave a signal to his guard and he was walked back to his cell. He kicked back and said. "All shall bow to the king. If they don't, then they'll get what's coming to them..." > CH 6: Found > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl's Perspective Six Shady's circled around me, all with belts in their hands. All of them shouting obscenities at me. The more they circled around the more shark-like they seemed. All they did was circle and circle and circle around me shouting. I was terrified, to say the least. Then, as if on cue they all stopped. Silence. No movement. Suddenly, my world was covered in black. A hood had put on my head and I couldn't see them anymore. Minutes ticked by like hours and when I almost had enough of it, one of the Shady's spoke. "Prepared for a beating?" I shook my head no. "Well, too bad!" Then I felt a stinging pain in my back and I fell to the ground. Next, I was facing barrage after barrage of the belt whips. I felt power return to my mouth as I screamed out. "NOOOOO!" As I screamed the beating ended and I could hear only my weeping. The hood was taken off of me and a Shady looked me in the eye. "Now the bitch decides to talk? Well guess what? You ain't getting away with that! Hold her down!" The Shady's then grabbed all of my limbs and my head with superhuman strength. The Shady that talked to me got closer to my head and said. "C'mon you stupid cunt, you know you can't escape from me!" He paused and put his head at a breath's distance from me displaying his ugly unwashed teeth. He had a nasty smell. "Not even in your dreams! Or should I say nightmares?" The minions transformed into demonic versions of Shady as they laughed. The 'normal' Shady looked over me. "Your pretty ain't cha?" He smiled and leaned in for a kiss. I struggled and tried to screamed out, but my voice was robbed from me again. He closed the space and furiously kissed me. He put his hand on my waist and pulled away as I gagged. He grinned an evil smile. His hand slowly lowered and as I realized what was happening I squirmed to no avail. I heard his voice as if it was far away. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake..." "Up!" Shady screamed out. I slowly raised my head towards him. "Finally! For a second I thought you died." He turned around and went to his tools. Death would've been preferable to this. I thought. Right now my body was a ravaged mess. Cuts all over with crudely placed bandage wraps around them, with blood seeping from them. I had almost no clothes on and this warehouse was cold. All I had was my underwear and bra on. He grabbed his gloves and put them on. "Scream for me." He punched me again and again, but all I did was wince at all of them and he started to get mad. "Fucking SCREAM BITCH! SCREAM!" I held myself strong. Maybe I can get him so mad, he'll kill me in his rage. I thought. He was practically foaming in rage. "SCREAM!" He threw of the gloves and grabbed one of his tools and pointed the sharp object at my face. He smiled and stabbed the knife into my thigh. I held back a scream by biting my lip and this got him to got ballistic. He tossed his tools over and flipped his tray with it. "MOTHERFUCKING BITCH!" He started beating the walls and his surrounding objects. Then he stopped abruptly. What happened? I thought in fear. I trembled as he got closer. "I know one way to make a woman scream." He smiled with malicious intent. He got close to me and put a hand on my waist. I raised my knee and connected with his stomach. "Ugh!" He fell over clutching his knee. "That hurt." He got up with fire in his eyes. "You asked for it." He got close and started undressing his lower body. He grabbed my knees and kicked my shin. I cried out in pain. "That's what I want to hear!" He started unzipping, but then the door broke open. Shady jumped and quickly put his clothes on. Loud footsteps followed as Shady went to his tray, picked up a knife and trembled. The footsteps continued and a man appeared before me. He had red skin, black and white hair, a white beard, and was dress in a tuxedo. His yellow eyes glowed. He raised his eyebrow. "Where is Shady?" His voice boomed. Then Shady raised his knife and ran to the man. "Ahhhhhh-" Shady ran until the man grabbed Shady's hand with his gloved one. "There you are." The man grabbed the knife and looked at me. He walked to me with a subdued Shady up to me. "You." He pointed the knife at me. Then he cut the ropes that held me. "Keep your mouth shut about this." I fell to the floor and nodded vigorously. "Hey! You can't ju-" Shady got the knife's handle smashed against his nose and then he shouted in pain. The man looked at him. "Pussy." He looked at me on the floor and then to Shady. "Hmmm." He pointed the knife's handle at me. "No point getting my hands dirty with this scum." I grabbed the knife and the man made Shady kneel. "It seems like someone here is more... appropriate for the job." I looked at the knife and then to Shady. Should I kill him for the pain he put me through? Or let him live? He doesn't deserve that. He wanted to violate me. I can't let him live. I dragged myself to him and raised the knife. I looked him in the eye and he started to sob. "Please don't kill me! I have a wife, a family, I have two daughters. Please." He sobbed this out and went silent. I then tried something I hadn't tried in years. I whispered out a croak. "You... should've... thought... of... them..." I spoke the words in short sentence-like bursts. "Years ago." His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to talk, but he was too late. I lowered the knife and he stopped talking. Permanently. Octavia's POV We raced towards the warehouse. "C'mon hurry up!" I said to Discord. "Well excuse me. I'm already speeding and if I go faster we will probably die." Discord took a hand off the wheel and gestured around while talking. "Please don't make us die, Discord." Fluttershy squeaked as she held the seat in front of her in a bear hug. "Thanks, Fluttershy. At least someone understands me." He looked at me, an accusing look in his eye. I shrugged sheepishly. Applejack's truck followed us. In it was Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie, while the rest of us huddled in Discord's minivan. Why he had a minivan, I'll never know, but it was Discord, so I didn't question it. We continued to drive until we saw a person dragging themselves through the floor. "Stop!" Discord slammed the brake making almost smash into the dashboard. "Why?" He asked. I got out of the car and looked back. I saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack arguing and Pinkie laughing. The person saw me and reached out to me before fainting face first. I saw the person had almost no clothes on and they were bleeding through bandages that were poorly done. I gasped at what I saw when I flipped her over. It was Vinyl. "Call an ambulance!" I shouted to Discord. He took out his phone and dialed. "It's okay, I got you now." I held her head in my lap as I teared up. "It's okay..." > CH 7: After Everything > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl's POV The Next Day Beep... beep... beep. I woke to this sound. I slowly opened my eyes to see Octavia and Mr. and Mrs. Melody. I jumped to a start, but I was stopped by a network of tubes, and A LOT of soreness. This, got their attention. "Vinyl!" Octavia said in excitement. She hugged me, but it was a light hug. If it had been Pinkie, I would've been crushed. "Oh my goodness, are you okay?" Seriously? I thought. I showed her a look to send my message. "Right. Dumb question." Octavia said sheepishly. "Other than that, I want to say it's great to have you back." I opened my mouth and spoke. "It's... great... to... be back." My voice sounded as quiet and strained as before. "Yes, I'm so hap- wait what!?" Octavia was taken aback. I smirked. "You... heard... me." I said while smirking. Mr. and Mrs. Melody were in complete shock with their jaws touching the floor. I expected a reaction, but this is better than I hoped. I thought. ... "So how long have you been able to talk?" Tavi asked, her face clearly annoyed. "Couple... years." I wheezed. "And why now?" "Be... cause... it... hurts... a lot." I shrugged. "Any other reasons?" Tavi tapped her foot. It was just us two. "It's... a... lot... like... playing... dice. It... could... work... or... not. Didn't... want... to... give... you... false hope. Sorry." I looked at my hands in my lap. "You didn't have to do that." Tavi reached out and touched my shoulder. I looked at her eyes and she looked at mine. Her eyes showed pain and relief. "Can... I... be... alone?" Tavi nodded and she walked out. I took off my blanket and I moved my hospital gown to reveal my legs. Hideous. I thought as I saw my legs. Once they were white, now they had red gashes, purple bruises and random black spots. I moved the gown more to reveal my stomach. It had the same story, except the gashes. I put the gown back to how it was and put on the blanket again. I leaned over and started to sob. I buried my face in my hands. I'm hideous. Just hideous. Well. At least I'll heal. If the hitman hadn't come at that moment, I wouldn't have been able to. ... Octavia's POV One hour earlier "Glad you girls could make it." I said to the Rainbooms. "We would never leave you hanging like that!" Rainbow Dash said. "Yeah. I'm going to throw a get well party once she wakes up." Pinkie said. Her eyes were bloodshot as were Fluttershy's. "Where's Discord?" I asked. "He said his part was done and that he would help her psychologically when she needed." Fluttershy said. "At least he'll still help." I sighed. "How is she?" Sunset asked. "The doctor says she should wake up soon." I said. I motioned to the chairs. "You girls want to take a seat?" The girls all nodded and sat. The silence was defeaning. ... 1 hour later I went to my chair and sat shakily. "Well, wut happened?" Applejack asked. "She talked." I whispered. The girls gasped, except Pinkie an Rainbow Dash. "Who?" Pinkie and Dash asked in almost unison. I grinned like a doofus and looked up at them. "She talked! I can't believe it!" I shouted in glee. I must've seemed mad to them. Then, the two finally caugh up with us. "Holy crap!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Woah!" Pinkie was surprised, to say the least. I smiled more and almost, almost started dancing. ... 3rd Person POV At School's Music Room, 2 months later. "Hey girls." Vinyl said. "Hey Vinyl. Where's Tavi?" Rainbow Dash asked. Vinyl shrugged. "Oh. She and Rarity were supposed to be here already." "Relax, Dash. They'll be here." Vinyl still had to pause in between talking, but she had been getting better at talking. "Ugh! I just hate waiting." "Just wait. Naw calm down Rainbow." Applejack chastised. Rainbow pouted and crossed her arms. Vinyl laughed quietly. Just then, Octavia and Rarity bursted through the door. "Sorry we're late!" Rarity shouted. They ran here and it was apparent. "It's okay. We haven't started practicing yet." Vinyl said. Quickly, the girls set up and they started to play. They played, but one of them played with a guilty heart. After all, Vinyl did kill a person, no matter how much of a terrible person he was, he was still a person. The End