A/N: alright, just a heads up, this chapter switches perspectives a couple times, so don't be to alarmed if it goes from saying "he" to "she" and back again. anyway, enjoy!

Meanwhile, in the next room, Vinyl was watching Octavia pace back and forth through the room, talking. She wasn’t sure what she was saying, or if she was talking to her, because her mind was far away. ‘Why didn’t she tell me she had a brother? More importantly, why does she seem so uptight, while he seems so laid back?’ she thought to herself. He train of thought was soon interrupted.

“Vinyl! Have you been listening to a word I’ve said?” asked Octavia, whom Vinyl had just noticed was glaring at her.

“Huh? Oh, um, uh…… No, not even gonna lie, I haven’t. I was thinking about some stuff.” she said, not really feeling like coming up with an excuse, or being left out of the loop.

“Oh really? You? Thinking? That’s a first.” said Octavia jokingly. “And what, pray tell, were you thinking, hm?”

“Well, if you have to know, I was trying to figure out why you never told me about Crimson. I mean, I’m your best friend, and your roommate, you should tell me this kind of stuff!” she said, slightly frustrated about the situation. Octavia simply sighed, and shook her head.

“You never asked? Really, in a way, I did tell you, but I guess you never bothered to ask.” she said, sitting back down. Vinyl wasn’t buying it.

“Oh really? And when was that, huh? I don’t exactly remember you saying anything to the effect of ‘hey Vinyl, I have an adopted brother named Crimson.’! what. Did you tell me while I was sleeping?” she said, not knowing what Octavia was talking about.

“Well, do you remember just last month when I was writing a letter? And you asked who it was to?” she said, hoping Vinyl would catch on.

“Yeah but you said it was……. Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh, it was to him….. And here I thought you had a coltfriend! Ha! As if! you’re to serious to get the stallions.” she jabbed playfully, but Octavia was not unprepared for such a comment.

“And you’re not serious enough to keep one.” she said smugly, causing Vinyl to take on a pained expression, though Octavia couldn‘t tell, due to her goggles. She was right, and Vinyl knew it. All through her life, she had never been able to maintain a lasting relationship.

“Yeah…. I guess so.” she said, getting up and walking towards the door.

“Where are you going, Vinyl?”

“For a walk. I hear it’s nice around here this time of year.” she said, walking out the door. As she walked down the hallways, she wondered just what Crimson was like. He had seemed like a nice enough stallion, if a bit narrow minded, thinking only of his family and his “music”. But then again, she hadn’t said five words to him, so she didn’t really know. As she continued to ponder just what Octavia’s brother was like, he was in his room, packing up his violin. His sisters words still rang in his ears, and they hurt him greatly.

“How could she see this that way? I’ve never sought to outdo her, I only sought to make others happy….. She doesn’t understand what music really is… it isn’t something that can be taught, or perfected… it’s something you have to feel.” he said to himself, pacing back and forth in his room, thinking. One thought, however, continued to plague his mind. Octavia’s friend, Vinyl. She seemed brash, uncultured, and arrogant…. But there was something about her that brought her back to his mind, time and time again, that he couldn’t quite put his hoof on. He decided that he needed some air, and went out on the balcony. He had to admit, there were times when having wings was convenient. Like when he didn’t feel like wasting time with the stairs. He smiled a little as he spread his wings, and took to the sky, looking for a place he could simply relax. As he flew, he saw many things. He saw ponies haggling at stalls, ponies stumbling drunkenly in the street, a mare getting mugged… “Wait, what was that?” he asked himself as he did a double take. At first, he wasn’t quite sure that he had seen that right, but another pass proved it to be true. He wondered what he should do. He wasn’t exactly the strongest stallion in Equestria, but he watched as many others simply walked past, ignoring the mares plight. He decided he only had one choice, and landed not far from the offending group. He took a deep breath as he approached, and took action. “Oi! Suzy!” he yelled at one of the other stallions, causing him to turn around. As he did, Crimson reared up, and kicked him square in the jaw, knocking several of his teeth out, and bringing him to the ground. His victory, however, was short lived, as one of the others brought a hoof straight to his eye, knocking him on his flank. He quickly got back up, and launched another kick, hitting his assailant in the nose, bringing forth an oddly satisfying crunching sound, and a trail of blood. He was then hit from the side, feeling many of his ribs crack and break. He fell to the ground, groaning in pain, yet laughing at the same time. One of the stallions trotted over to him, and stood looking down at him. It was the same stallion from the other day.

“You just have a bad habit of getting’ intah other ponies business, don’t ya mate?” he asked, giving Crimson a hard kick. Crimsons demeanor did not change, as he continued laughing. “Oi! What the buck are you laughin’ at, lad?” he asked, kicking again.

“I… happen to be laughing at the fact…. That you … kick like a filly.” Crimson said defiantly, blood trickling out of his mouth, his words slightly slurred. He knew it was a bad idea, but it was, in his opinion, worth seeing the angry look on the stallions face. He felt a leg connect with his rib cage again, and stopped laughing.

“Kick like a filly, do I? well then, how bout we see how my boys can kick, shall we?” he asked, signaling for the other stallions to move in. Crimson felt multiple legs bashing his ribs in, over and over and over again, until their leader told them to stop, and they all walked away, after looting all of his money. For a while, he simply laid there, groaning in pain. Then, he attempted to pick himself up off the ground, with little success.

“H-Hey…. D-Do you need help?” asked a slightly familiar female voice. He couldn’t quite place where he had heard it before, but he was not one to turn down help when it was offered, especially when he needed it.

“Yes… help would be greatly appreciated.” he said, grunting with pain as he continued to try and stand. He felt himself being pulled up, and set back down on his hooves. “Thank you miss…..” he said, trailing off as he turned to see Vinyl standing there, her goggles above her eyes, looking slightly roughed up and worried.

“Scratch… but you can just call me Vinyl… I, uh, guess I should thank you.” she said, blushing slightly.

“For what?” he said. He knew he had met her somewhere before, but his memory was not at it’s finest at that very moment.

“Well, for helping take care of those guys and…. Hey! I know you!” said Vinyl, finally realizing just who she was talking to.

“You do?”

“Yeah! You’re Octy’s brother! We met earlier today and… Oh sweet Celestia, we should get you to a doctor.” she said as Crimson began to sway dangerously. That was when he finally remembered her.

“Oh yeah! You’re Octavia’s friend.. Well, it was a pleasure seeing you again, now if you don’t mind….” he said, falling back onto the ground, unconscious.