“Ouch,” Octavia groaned, her eyes still closed as a sudden pain throbbing through her head disturbed her.

She heard noise around her: a loud and content beep to her left, soft snoring to her right. When she opened her eyes, she had expected to be in bed, with Vinyl at her side, but it wasn’t like that at all.

Instead she was greeted by blank walls and the beep of an electrocardiogram to her side. She was definitely in a hospital. Gently lifting her head, she saw the identity of the pony laying next to her. It was her mother sleeping at the side of her bed, not Vinyl as she hoped.

She sighed as parts of what happened came back. Lifting a hoof to her head, she noticed that it was heavily bandaged near her temple.

“What… what happened,” she mumbled, but it was still loud enough to wake Valeria.

“You’re awake? That’s good,” Valeria smiled before letting go of a small yawn. “We were so worried about you.”

“What happened? Where is Father? Where is Vi?”

Valeria chuckled before her expression turned serious. “One question at a time, my dear. For your father, he is also in the hospital, just in another room. Your marefriend is currently at the guard station in town.” Seeing that ‘that’ explanation wasn’t enough, Valeria sighed before continuing. “You stepped in Legretto’s way as he attacked Vinyl. The glass hit you near your temple, knocking you out. As soon as the glass hit you and you went down, Vinyl lost it and attacked him. She broke a few of his bones and cracked his horn.”

Octavia’s eyes went wide and she laid her head back down, groaning. “She broke her promise to me, but she also tried to defend me. And you said she is at the guard's station?”

“Yes, your neighbours called for the guards after a while,” Valeria nodded. “I think their names were Lyra and Bon Bon. Both were utterly concerned for both of you.”

“Didn’t the guards listen to you or Vinyl? That f- Legretto attacked her, hitting me?”

“They didn’t listen anymore as soon as Legretto told them who he was. They just cuffed Vinyl and took her with them,” Valeria said with a wince.

Octavia groaned and closed her eyes. It was nearly too much to comprehend, to process. Everything could be ruined thanks to that day. “How late is it?”

Valeria glanced over to the window. “If I had to guess, around late eve. You slept for several hours. Thank Celestia the glass missed your temple. The doctors said from the power of the impact you could’ve been dead.” The last words were barely sobbed as Valeria pressed her head onto the bed. “I’m sorry for everything that happened.”

“It’s not your fault,” Octavia sighed. “It was always father suppressing you.”

“That… that is not true.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was the reason we left Trottingham and you behind,” Valeria whimpered.

Octavia just blinked. “What?!”

“Do you remember it? Your father… he wanted to take you with us to Manehatten and then Fillydelphia. I knew what it would mean for you. You would leave the Orchestra and be under his hooves. He even wanted to take you into his own company,” Valeria stocked. “I just couldn’t bear it. So I talked to him. Telling him you would be forced to shine brighter, like a star, if we left you alone. That you would have to fight for your living and would make him proud with it.”

“He took it, I guess,” Octavia replied sourly.

“He did. As soon as he saw a bright future for you as his famous little daughter in leaving you behind, he quickly agreed and prepared everything. And, as you know, just a month later, we left,” Valeria ended, tears in her eyes again.

“I was just a filly!” Octavia roared up. “You left me with nothing but a few bits for the first few days and a house! If it wasn’t for Baritone, I would be dead!”

“I asked Baritone to look out for you and he gladly agreed,” Valeria cut in. “Anything was better than the fate that would’ve befell you under Legretto’s hooves.”

“And why now? Why did you decide now to stand against him? To stand for me and Vinyl?”

“Because your marefriend opened my eyes. She showed no fear,“ Valeria smiled a bit before sighing. “Something I learned to show every single day. But what amazed me the most was how quickly she stepped up for you. She would do anything for you. Everypony—even a blind one—could see how much she loves you.”

Octavia smiled at the thought of Vinyl before she lost it again. “And you asked Toe-Tapper to spy on me.”

“No. Your father asked him to write every few months to tell us how you managed. Then, when he reported you weren’t at home anymore a few weeks ago, Legretto really took it hard.”

Octavia spat. “Oh, did he feared his precious daughter wouldn’t be famous enough to bring him some money?”

Valeria didn’t say anything to it, but her expression told her daughter everything. Minutes passed in silence, before Octavia came back to her worry about Vinyl.

“What about Vi? You said she’s at the guard’s station?”

Valeria winced. “Well, in prison would be a better word for it…”

“You have to be joking…”

“She’s not, but you don’t have to worry anymore,” a third voice mixed in, making Octavia and her mother perk up.

“Spitfire!” Octavia smiled as the yellow pegasus walked through the door. “What are you doing here?”

Spitfire snorted. “Trying to save Vi from years in prison.”

“You have interesting friends, Octavia,” Valeria noted, but said nothing more.

“Well, if not for your husband, I wouldn’t have to be here and leaving my mare alone at the academy along the other recruits,” Spitfire glared at her before turning back to Octavia. “I talked to the Captain of the guards, and he agreed to let Vinyl free after she answered a few more questions.”

“Thank Celestia,” Octavia mumbled before her ears perked up. “Wait, your Mare? So does that mean this Rainbow Dash and you are together?”

“I would call it more ‘friends with benefits’ at this point,” Spitfire’s cheeks were burning a bright crimson, something quite noticeable against her yellow coat. She quickly coughed, ”Vinyl should be out in a bit, just watch that she doesn’t do anything stupid again.”

“Are you going back again?” Octavia asked.

“I have to,” Spitfire chuckled before stepping close, reaching over the bed to hug Octavia. “I will visit both of you, that’s a promise.”

“We would love to have you and your marefriend with us.”

Spitfire blushed again, “I wouldn’t get too far ahead of yourself with that. I don’t even know if she likes me more than...” she paused, trying to find the right words. “More than just physically, you know?”

It was Octavia’s turn to sport a small blush, but she nodded. “I think I understand. I hope we will see you again soon, Spitfire.”

The yellow pegasus winked before leaving the room. Octavia noticed that she never really talked to Valeria, as if she was somehow at fault as well for what happened. The grey mare winced. To some degree, her mother was one of the reasons everything had happened, even if she only had good intentions in her mind.

“She loves you both dearly,” Valeria said.

“What?”

“As a friend, I mean. She is going out of her way for you. Just like your neighbors.”

Octavia paused to consider that. She thought about how much Spitfire had been there for them, even how much Lyra and Bon Bon had. A smile crossed her lips as she realized that her mom was right. But that alone wasn’t the true realization. That realization came from the fact that she now knew, in her heart, just how much her friends meant to her, and how much she meant to them.

“I really do have great friends,” she said with a smile.

“This turned out better than I had hoped,” Valeria sighed. “With everything your father tried to do over the years, I feared he would drop everything and force you to work for his company, just like he did with me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Octavia, my cutie mark is not a pen, not a phone and not a pot of coffee. My destiny is not to be his secretary, my destiny is to write music. To create music,” Valeria replied sadly.

“But then why did you… I mean… why?”

Valeria looked up at her daughter sadly. There was real pain there, real regret. But with it, the strangest thing: a small, infinitesimal spark of love, joy. It was so small that a pony could look at her muzzle for a thousand times a thousand years, and be forgiven for never seeing it. But now that Octavia had seen it, she couldn’t not see it. It was as obvious to her as the sun in the sky.

“You did it for me?”

Before Valeria could even nod, a voice called out from down the hall. “What do you mean she’s up?! How come you didn’t tell me?!”

Even with the sense of pain, loss, and melancholy in the room, Octavia couldn’t help but crack a smile upon hearing that voice. Valeria too. “Your marefriend, she is a rambunctious one.”

“You do not know the half of it,” Octavia said back with a smile.

“You chose well,” Valeria replied.

The sound of clopping hooves on the hospital floor told Octavia her next words would be her last before Vinyl stormed in. “That is where you are wrong, mom. I did not choose to fall in love with her, I just did; and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Octavia!” Vinyl shouted as she ran into the room and jumped up on the bed, paying no heed what-so-ever to any injuries that she might cause by doing do. Based on the tears in her eyes, it was a miracle she could even see at all.

Valeria watched as her daughter was reunited with the love of her life. She mumbled her next words, so low that not a single pony in the room heard it. “Trust me, daughter, I understand better than you could ever imagine.”

“Tavi,” Vinyl said, kissing her mare. “Tavi,” she mumbled again,” followed by more and more kisses until she paused. “How are you?”

“I would be better if you got off of my stomach,” Octavia replied, giggling.

“Oh, sorry!” Vinyl quickly stepped to the side, but stayed on the bed, cuddling up to the cellist. “Can you forgive me? I just freaked out after he hit you.”

“You promised me you would not do anything stupid,” Octavia said in a pout, before smiling and kissing Vinyl gently. “But you defended me when I got hurt, so I guess I can let it slide. For now.”

Vinyl smiled sheepishly. “I’ll make it up to you.”

They both stared into each other's eyes, every motion and gaze radiating pure love. They gently closed distance again, that is, until a loud cough disturbed them.

“Could you please do that later?” Valeria asked, her cheeks reddened.

“Oh,” both mares quickly blinked, pulled back from their thoughts.

“Well, what now?” Octavia asked. “After this, I doubt Legretto will leave us in peace.”

“Please, he comes near you again and I’ll—”

“You won’t do anything at all. Spitfire said you should cause no more trouble. And yes, ‘no trouble’ means no trouble, not even a little,” Octavia glared.

“Not even a little—”

“No.”

“Just a small—”

“NO!” Octavia shouted, then blushed at the sudden outcry.

“Alright, alright. But what then?”

Valeria sighed. “Well, Octavia is legally an adult so Legretto can’t force her to come home with us. That being said, he can use his influence against you.”

“What do you mean?” Vinyl asked.

“What she means, is that Legretto bought the whole concert hall just moments ago and fired the entire orchestra, including all building’s staff.”

All three mares turned to the door to see Baritone stand in it, obviously furious.

“He closed the hall! Said he would simply tear it down and build something new for his company!” Baritone spat.

“He can’t do that!” Vinyl shouted.

“He can,” Valeria said. “He can and it seems he has.”

“But, it’s, I’ll…”

“Vinyl, please,” Octavia placed a hoof on her coat. “It’ll be okay.”

“What do you mean okay! You can’t play at the—”

Octavia silenced Vinyl with a kiss before saying, “Because as long as I have you, it was worth it.”

Vinyl smiled at that before being interrupted by Baritone. “That’s great for you, but what about the rest of us! We all got fired because of your lover’s spat with your dad!”

“I am sorry, Baritone,” Octavia said as she looked down at the sheets on the bed. “I did not expect this to happen.”

“When it rains it pours huh?” Vinyl asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when we went to talk to Sassaflash it ended in a fight too, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised history repeated itself.”

“That is… surprising to hear from you,” Octavia said.

Vinyl chuckled. “What can I say? As much as I’m rubbing off on you, the same could be said the other way around.”

“Are you saying I actually managed to teach you some manners?”

“Don’t stake your hopes too high, Tavi.”

Octavia pouted, before her expression clenched. “My head hurts.”

“The doctors said you should rest. Vinyl, Baritone, you can come back later,” Valeria shushed them out of the door, but couldn’t stop Vinyl from kissing her daughter one last time with a promise to be back later.

“What are we going to do now?” Baritone asked as they made their way out of the hospital.

“I’m going to kick his flank!” Vinyl growled.

“You know what she said, there has to be another way.”

“Yeah, it involved my hoof pressed up against—”

“You promised. You really going to break your word to Octavia?”

Vinyl paused. “That’s not fighting fair,” she said after a minute.

Baritone smiled at that. “I think the saying is that everything is fair in love and war. Now, if you would excuse me, I have to find a new place for my orchestra.”

There was a pregnant pause before Vinyl suddenly asked, “What if I do it?”

“Do what?”

“Find you guys a new place to play at.”

“How would you even do that? I doubt that anyone… no offense, please, would allow us to play with you being our… advertisement to them. And even if you did manage to find one, the places that could house us? Well, they’re on the rather expensive side of several million bits,” Baritone smiled slightly.

Vinyl glared at him, “I can do it!”

Sighing, the stallion stopped. “Alright. I’ll give you one week to manage something. If you do succeed, I will take everything negative back that I ever said about you. If you fail… don’t come to rehearsals or concerts again. Ever.”

“You know I like seeing Tavi play.”

“That’s the price,” Baritone said. “If I wait one week for you to maybe succeed, I could lose any chances I may have and the orchestra might fall apart. If I were you, I would go to the City Hall and start searching.”

“Alright, I’ll do it. But you’ll see that I can make it happen. For Tavi, I can do anything.”

Baritone could only shake his head as the white mare gallopped away, leaving him in her dust.

“What do you mean there’s nopony searching for an orchestra, or anypony to make music at all for their place?” Vinyl asked.

“That there is nopony searching at the moment, miss,” the stallion behind the counter replied, already bored with conversation.

Vinyl growled. “Damn it. Are there any places being sold that could house an orchestra? Or even just a hall?”

“One moment please,” the stallion muttered before taking up a folder, looking through it. “We only have two places that would fit for your, rather lacking, description. The first is the old Trottingham Theatre, but it is rather old and falling apart. The next would be the old orchestra hall in the eastern city, but it is still in use and rather expensive.”

“How much?”

The stallion looked at her before sighing. “While I doubt you can afford any of it, fine. The old orchestra hall is on auction for a minimum entry of one million bits. The Trottingham Theatre is on sale by its old owner, currently for two hundred and eighty-eight thousand bits.” He stopped, suppressing an amused snicker. “But even if you could afford the theatre, it’d probably cost a few hundred thousand bits to get it renovated and safe again.”

Vinyl chewed on her lower lips, before her eyes went wide. “Damn, that’s a whole lot of bits.”

“Right. If you don’t want to buy any of those objects, please excuse me now,” the stallion grumbled before closing the counter’s blinds .

“You need what?!” Neon asked.

“I need four hundred thousand bits from you,” Vinyl replied bluntly.

Neon tried to calm down from his almost heart attack. “Sure, let me go to my ‘Celestia’s fund for dumb ideas’ and pull out those bits. Four hundred thousand you say? Heck, that’s nothing, I’ll write you a check for twice that amount. Yeah, I got that lying around. Hang on I’ll pull it out of my flank.”

Vinyl just gave him an ‘are you done’ look.

Neon’s false smile went away when he finally accepted that this wasn’t a joke, Vinyl was really asking him for that amount. But just to be sure, he asked, “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Vinyl replied. Her tone was no-nonsense. Which in and of itself was unusual for her.

He sighed. “Let’s say I got the bits. Why should I give them to you?”

“Because I need them for Tavi. I screwed up. And because you won’t have to pay me anything for the next two years if you do it,” Vinyl replied.

“Two years?” Neon asked. “That would save me… giving or take some bits, a hundred thousand more than you’re asking me for. Why would you do that?”

“Because it’s for Tavi.”

He chuckled at that. “Damn, I knew you liked her, but… this much?”

“She’s… she’s my everything, Neon.”

“This is for real, right? Not a fling, not something you’ll get bored of and move on?”

“Neon. Do you remember the check you gave me for the last big party? The one hundred thousand bits?” Vinyl asked.

“It was nothing. You nearly made me rich that day,” Neon chuckled.

“That money is gone.”

“What?!”

“It’s gone. I bought her a pendant with a dragon ruby,” Vinyl smiled sheepishly.

“A dragon ruby? Are you out of your mind?!” Neon screeched.

“No, quite the contrary,” Vinyl chuckled. “I love her, Neon. If she agrees, I would even marry her someday.”

“That you know a word like ‘contrary’ is enough proof for me,” Neon laughed before getting serious again. “Alright. Two years no payment. Oh, and you got only two days left to find me the new pony for the wiring!”

“Dang, with the guards and hospital, I nearly forgot,” Vinyl sighed before grinning. “Alright, I can do it.”

“What do you need the bits for, by the way? If you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’m going to buy and renovate the old Trottingham Theatre so Octavia and her orchestra can play there since her father fired them,” Vinyl said with a smile.

“What?!” Neon asked, for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “Alright, noted, don’t ask anymore questions,” he quickly added, taking up his check-book. “Four hundred thousand bits. Take care of it and please don’t just sink it into a pool of bottomless love.”

Vinyl looked at the check. So many bits, just for one mare. Was Tavi worth it? Was she worth every trouble she could have with that? She had no idea what running such a building would mean. Was it all worth it?”

Yes, Vinyl answered herself, smiling. Tavi is worth every single bit in this world. She is worth everything.

Author's Notes:

Alright my little fillies, this is the last chapter for two weeks.
I'm on vacation now.
Oh, and BUCK 2016 is calling for me.
Maybe I see ya in Manchester, ta ta!