Greetings. I am Vultarian01. If you have read a certain chapter lately, you may have noticed that a certain joke has been erased because I deemed it insensitive upon further reflection. I'm usually the kind of person that loves the first amendment, and I don't usually mind joking about controversial subjects. However, timing is important to comedy, and now is obviously not the time to be joking about that sort of thing. I really hate being PC, but there are some things that are just too soon to talk about, and I want to respect that. I want to be funny, but not at the cost of bringing up something that puts my story in bad taste. There's a difference. Besides, it wasn't really that funny anyway. Just a reference really. Fanfics are also meant to be an escape from reality, so that's also another reason why i made this decision.

Anyway, these posts are starting to appear more monthly now, aren't they? I hate having to take this long, but what can you do? All I can do is just try harder. On that note, it's very likely I won't be posting anything in December. Mostly because I'm working on other things for certain special people, and I want to spend some time with my family. But I'll try writing as much as I can during that time. Danke.

Disclaimer: I do not own MLP or any of it's respective characters. Also, one of these characters is an OC, so I guess I won that. Anyway, enjoy yourself.


Chapter 49

Sunday, October 25, 2:35pm

"Okay, you done filling out the papers?"

"Yep. Here you go."

Bon Bon handed the forms to the man behind the counter. He glanced them over before briefly typing on his keyboard. Recognizing she was being ignored, Bon Bon retreated to the dreaded waiting room. She knew she would gain ten years on her person before they called her. She was extremely annoyed she had to wait this long to enter Octavia's room.

Bon Bon understood the hospital's protocol: get a background check that took forever to get approved and wait for the consent from the patient and the patient's doctor. It did not matter how many times Bon Bon went through this; it was still an annoying, tedious, and time consuming procedure.

Sometime later, Bon Bon was called back to the front where the man addressed her again. "Alright, you're all set. You have full consent now. The room you're looking for is room 6C on the third floor."

Bon Bon thanked the man and made her way past the receptionist desk, walking into one of the hallways. The smell of anesthetics hit her nostrils as she continued further into Canterlot Central Hospital. Doctors and nurses sped-walked past her, speaking medical jargon that she couldn't hope to understand. People in scrubs were pushing around carts full of large enveloped documents, and one was even hauling around rolling racks with hung bags of morphine. And the intercom was constantly on call, verbally informing the staff of wherever they needed to be. It was pretty much your stereotypical hospital. Pretty loud too. Bon Bon had to cover her ears from the cries of people who had acquired horrible afflictions to the screaming of children wanting to escape the fate of having a needle inserted into their arm. Bon Bon gagged. She pushed the disturbing images out of her mind and began to walk faster, politely passing by everyone until she reached the elevator. She went in, hit the button 3F, and enjoyed her brief ride up in silence.

She heard a ding, and the elevator doors opened. Good thing the second floor was not as busy, and not as loud. There were not as many staff walking around on this floor, so she could walk freely and comfortably. But, it was nothing more than a few halls lined with rooms that kept its unlucky patients, so she wasn't going to expect any high-stakes drama out of nowhere. Then again, she had yet to meet with Octavia. Anything could happen.

"3C…4C…5C…"

Bon Bon read the plates beside each door until she came to room 6C. Bon Bon stood in front of the door and looked at her watch. It read 3:25pm. Great, she only had thirty-five minutes before visiting hours were over. Better late than never, though. Bon Bon reached for the handle, but a voice startled her.

"The Doc's in."

Bon Bon must have gotten use to the silent halls of the third floor quicker than she had expected because her heart skipped a beat. She turned around and saw that it was Vinyl Scratch who scared the daylights out of her. Vinyl was casually sitting in one of the waiting benches with her headphones resting around the base of her neck and a peculiar bag laying at her feet. Her eyes were hidden behind her reflective glasses, but the rest of her visible expression indicated that she was fraught in her mood. Bon Bon also noticed that her nose had a taken on bluish-black color with a bandage expertly taped over it. No wonder she sounded nasally.

"Octavia and her Uncle Connie are still speaking with the doctor. I think he's also running some more tests, but either way, we can't see her until he leaves." Vinyl Scratch scooted to one end of the bench, patting the seat next to her. Taking the hint, Bon Bon sat down.

She and Vinyl Scratch sat together for a few silent minutes. In that time, Bon Bon looked at Vinyl Scratch's nose again. Bon Bon looked down, a sad sigh escaping her lips. "Uh…"

Vinyl Scratch looked at her and groaned, trying her hardest to make and maintain a natural smile. "Yeah, my nose isn't doing so good. It ain't broke or anything, but it's pretty busted up. It'll be sore for a while, but I'll live."

Bon Bon nodded silently, not feeling too inclined to make an immediate response. Instead she touched the lower part of her lip. It was still tender to the touch, showing only the slightest appearance of swelling. However, it was in much worse condition last night. It was busted open and bleeding profusely. As unsanitary as it was, she had to use one of her shirts to block the bleeding while Lyra walked her home. Then, while getting a royal scolding from her parents, she put some ice on it and the swelling went down tremendously. But even after that, Bon Bon clenched her teeth when she would accidentally apply too much pressure. But if that was just her lip, she couldn't even imagine how much Vinyl Scratch's nose must have hurt yesterday. Bon Bon could already feel the intense guilt setting in.

"Hey, Vinyl Scratch?"

"Hm?"

"I'm really sorry for giving you a nosebleed."

"Naw, it's cool. I know you didn't mean to do that," said Vinyl Scratch, "You can't make it in this business if you don't get a decent injury now and then, right?"

Bon Bon looked at Vinyl Scratch. She was leaned back against the bench, but she was pretty stiff in her body language.

"Look, when I said I was sorry about all that crap we got into before, I meant it. I lost my cool, and I shouldn't have done that, even if my nose turned into a blood geyser. I'm sorry for calling you a bitch, and I'm sorry for slapping you." Vinyl Scratch extended her hand to Bon Bon. "Hopefully we won't have to repeat this."

Bon Bon looked at the invitation. It was the same handshake offered by Vinyl before they started their match yesterday. Two times she shook her hand, both with the single agreement that they would not get into it anymore. Consequently, it didn't turn out that way. This would be different though. With a weak smile, Bon Bon shook Vinyl's hand once more. "I hope so too. I'm sorry for starting a brawl. Slapping me like that was out of line, but I should have been more mature in the way I handled it."

Vinyl Scratch nodded solemnly. Vinyl looked at the door of room 6C. "Yeah, we both should've."

Bon Bon gazed at the door and felt an uncomfortable knot form in her gut, clenching tighter with each fast heartbeat passing through her weak body. They did this to her. They were responsible for putting Octavia in that room. If it had not been for them, Octavia would have been fine. Staring at the door made her feel ashamed. Vinyl Scratch didn't look very comfortable either. It didn't take smarts to know that breaking your best friend's ankle would make you feel like a horrible person.

"Where's Lyra?" Vinyl Scratch asked, taking out her phone and looking through her texts.

"She's grounded; can't leave her house for the Halloween party at the Apple Family's farm either," said Bon Bon, "I was also grounded from going, and the only reason I'm here is so I can apologize to Octavia. What did your parents do to you?"

"Well, my aunt was pretty ticked."

"Wait. Aunt?"

"Yeah, I live with my aunt. She was raising some serious hell back at my place. She went on saying 'If your friend files for court, you're butt's gonna be so sore that you're kids are going to inherit the hand prints!' Kept going on at me like I'm some ten year old kid…"

"… What about your mom and dad?" Bon Bon asked, giving Vinyl Scratch a puzzled look. Vinyl Scratch suddenly froze, which made Bon Bon nervous. "Unless you don't want to talk about it, which is totally fine!"

Vinyl Scratch waved it off. "I-It's fine. My dad's in the pen."

The pen? As in, Vinyl's dad's in prison? Called it.

"His name's Decimal Point. He was an accountant that used to work a cubicle job for a private company. He got charged for embezzling $75,000 from the company building he was working at, and pleaded guilty in court. He got sentenced twenty year's time, and that was about five years ago, soon to be six."

Vinyl Scratch sure was being laidback about something like this. Bon Bon would never claim to fully understand the burdens that someone else goes through, but she would have expected some sort of reluctance to speak freely about it. Vinyl wasn't even being coy about it; she just started sounding off her father's dirty laundry with little more than a slight tone of indifference. And it sounded like Vinyl Scratch had rehearsed this several times in her life, depressingly enough. Bon Bon didn't even ask what he was in for.

"He's eligible to get off early for good behavior, but I'm not going to hold my breath. He always had a bad habit of getting involved in things that are none of his goddamn business."

The amount of coldness Vinyl Scratch put into that last sentence felt like it could freeze fire solid. "Oh. I'm sorry about that. What about your mom?"

Sooner than those words left her lips, Vinyl Scratch whipped her head up so fast that Bon Bon was afraid that Vinyl was about to pull something. "I'd rather not talk about her."

There was the reluctance Bon Bon was expecting, but she knew better than to press further. Vinyl Scratch answered her question uncomfortably fast, so maybe there's something that she just shouldn't know. "Alright, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Vinyl Scratch looked like she loosened up, but proceeded to continue the conversation. "Hey, this might sound a bit unfair since I only gave you half an answer, but what about your parents?"

"Mine?" said Bon Bon, "Why are you so interested in my parents?"

"Well, you were pretty interested in asking about my parents." Vinyl Scratch said, her smugness working itself into a sarcastic tone.

"Uh… sure. My dad's name is Tight Budget, and my mom's name is Lemon Twist."

Vinyl Scratch's lip quivered before she started laughing. "Your dad's name is TIGHT?!"

A woman in a nurse's uniform suddenly approached the two of them, requesting that they lower their voices when inside the hospital. Bon Bon blushed, rather embarrassed that her dad's name drew unwanted attention to her and Vinyl. Vinyl didn't seem to care, though.

"Okay, keep going." Vinyl Scratch said at more appropriate volume.

Bon Bon was starting feeling the embarrassment giving her cheeks color. "Yes. His name is Tight. The first time I told Lyra that she was all like 'Wow you're dad sounds like he's a pretty *tight* guy'. You know, like cool and stuff?"

Vinyl nodded. She didn't laugh, but she definitely nodded politely. "Yeah, I get it."

Bon Bon sighed. "My parents have their own shop. You heard of Sweet & Elite, right?"

"Yeah, isn't that the place where you work wrapping homemade candies in sweet dough?"

Bon Bon smiled. "Yep, that's the one. We have a few employees, one of them being me, but my mom is in charge of our kitchen. She helps me make the candy while ordering everyone else around at the same time."

Vinyl Scratch smirked. "No wonder you're so bossy."

Bon Bon giggled. "Shut up. Anyway, my dad controls the finances and handles the expenditures of the shop. If my mom's the heart and organs of the business, then my dad's the brain and bones."

"My dad and your dad sound like they'd start a fascinating conversation about long division." Vinyl deadpanned humorously.

Bon Bon giggled again. "Yeah, my dad loves numbers!"

"That's an understatement! Whenever MY dad talked about college calculus, I swear to God he acted like he had a fetish for them!" Vinyl Scratch laughed.

Bon Bon's smile grew wider. "Speaking of which, my dad has a favorite number. And, coincidentally it was also my mom's favorite number."

Vinyl Scratch cocked her head. "Funny, my folks had a same favorite number too. You know what it is?"

"Oh, I know what it is."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"SIXTY-NINE!" They said in unison, pointing at each other. They both burst into hysterical laughter despite of how inappropriate it was in this setting. They were just spontaneously enjoying themselves too much to keep it in. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by the doctor they didn't see coming out of Octavia's room.

"Ahem!"

The two, amidst their laughter, turned to see the doctor crossing his arms and looking down at them with little amusement. Both of them immediately ceased their outburst, looking up at the man with sheepish grins.

"Sorry."

"Sorry Doc."

The man in white didn't acknowledge their apologies. He simply shook his head and addressed them. "Are you here to visit Octavia?"

Bon Bon answered first. "Yes, we are. A-And it's just the two of us. I'm Bon Bon."

"Vinyl Scratch. Sup."

The doctor took out his clip board. He flipped through a few pages of paper. "I see. Yes, you are on the list. Fine, you can go in. But I should remind you that visiting hours end in less than twenty minutes, so you should spend your time wisely. And, I hope I don't have to make it clear to you ladies that you should be on your best behavior."

Bon Bon nodded very quickly. "Yes sir, we will!"

Vinyl Scratch threw up an "OK" hand gesture. "Crystal."

"Good, but before I do, I have to ask… what happened to your nose?" He was talking to Vinyl Scratch.

The blue haired girl touched her nose. "This? Yeah, I was listening to my tunes and I ran into a metal post. It sucked, but I guess that teaches me to look where I'm steppin', huh? No biggie." She was casual in the delivery of her lie, acting as if the question was a rudimentary one. Bon Bon was impressed. She didn't know many people that could do that without showing some kind of visible tell. Bon Bon couldn't do that, especially sense she started to tense up. Course, as soon as the doctor left them Vinyl Scratch let out a long sigh of relief. That made Bon Bon feel a little bit better about herself.

Now that Bon Bon and Vinyl Scratch were no longer conversing with the doctor, there wasn't anything else stopping them from entering Octavia's room. Bon Bon felt queasy staring down the well polished door. The last time she saw Octavia, she was crying on ring mats of the CCPW building. That was after she and Vinyl Scratch had stopped their fighting to look over the edge of the ring where she squirmed. Even after Octavia's uncle came and took her here, she couldn't stop crying. But now Octavia was behind the door, waiting for them to enter no doubt. Bon Bon reached for the door handle, but Vinyl Scratch beat her too it.

The room was rectangular, and everything was colored in pale white and soft baby blue, making it soothing to the eye. It was also plain, there only being a few monitors, a bathroom, a bed, a window, and a long counter. That was okay, though. Plain was good. That meant nothing to serious had happened.

"So, you're here. You're late."

Bon Bon looked across the room, knowing who that voice belonged to. Octavia was in the hospital bed wearing a blue and white-spotted hospital gown. The bed looked like it was remote controlled to acutely angle Octavia's upper body just enough to see her less than excited expression. Looking down at the end of the bed, Bon Bon saw what she came here expecting to see. Octavia's right foot was put in a light blue cast lengthened from the middle of her calf down until it cut off at her toes. The cast, as well as her entire right leg, was held up by a sling which was also supported by a pulley system. This was what you would see in one of those live action comedies with the straight man in the hospital and the lead shrugging comedically. Only now it was real and there was no one outside the set ready to yell cut.

There was also a man sitting next to Octavia's bed in one of the waiting chairs. She had seen him briefly at the CCPW building, but she didn't get to take a good look at him until now. He was Octavia's uncle, no doubt. The one that Octavia went on about as an ex-pro wrestler. Vinyl Scratch referred to him as Uncle Connie, but if she remembered, his name was actually Conchairto. He was wearing a black, double-breasted long winter wool jacket, brown trousers, and darn brown slip-ons. He looked rather classy in his attire choices. Looking at him again, he seemed to somewhat resemble Octavia with his short and wavy dark grey hair and his mulberry eyes. However, the rest of him was a different beast entirely. And Bon Bon meant beast because that's what he kinda looked like. He looked buff, even underneath his coat with his chest noticeably larger and more masculine looking than most men she had ever met in person. He definitely fit the physical description of a professional wrestler. He looked pretty cut, too. He had a perfectly shaved, very thin beard across his jawline and his chiseled chin, and his eyebrows looked pretty narrow when they were furrowed. His lips were kinda full as well, but that was as far as he got with youth. She could notice a few wrinkles on his face and, looking at it again, a few of his dark grey hairs are lighter than others. She didn't want to assume, but he looked like he could at least be in his early forties. It was hard to tell with the cold gaze he was giving the two of them. It was like the ashamed face of every disapproving grandparent or something.

Bon Bon and Vinyl Scratch walked awkwardly up to Octavia, who was giving them a look similar to that of her uncle's. Vinyl Scratch, her best smile plastered on her face, talked first.

"Heeeeey, Tavi. How's it goin'?"

Octavia just stared at her.

"You… look great! … Hey, I got you something!" Vinyl Scratch dug into a bag that she had brought with her, and she pulled out a small box. It was wrapped with red, reflective paper and was tied with a golden bow. She handed the box to Octavia, who just stared at it with a stoic expression. But, she eventually took it and opened it up.

"So…?" Vinyl's smile weakened, making her look pretty stupid.

"It's a chocolate ball." Octavia said plainly, holding up the brown treat from its container.

"Yeah, it's a candy ball with red velvet cake inside. You liked it the last time you ate it."

Octavia turned the ball in her hand and examined it. A small smile grew. "I see… this looks absolutely delectable."

Vinyl Scratch smirked, crossing her arms and looking proud. "It took me a while to find the kind you want, but it was totally worth it. Anything for the best Cellist in the world."

Octavia tilted her head to the side and took a bite out of it. One swallow later, her small smile grew winder and more serene. "This is as delicious as I thought it would be… except for one thing… there's something inside it…"

Vinyl Scratch raised an eyebrow. "Really? What is it?"

Vinyl Scratch leaned forward to see what Octavia was talking about. Little did she know that a short second later Octavia would shove the chocolate cake ball right in her face; her nose to be precise. Even though the inside was made of soft cake, the chocolate surrounding it looked solid. And it was being pressed into Vinyl's face, which had to hurt. Vinyl Scratch didn't see it coming. When it happened, she immediately fell backward and held her face, cursing through muffled hands.

"W-What the heck?!" Bon Bon shouted.

Octavia changed from serene to furious in a fraction of a second. "You two childish, idiotic, cock-ups broke my ankle!"

Bon Bon hung her head. "Oh…"

Vinyl Scratch got to her feet, holding her nose with a scrunched up face. "I'm fine… I deserved that…"

Octavia crossed her arms and looked down at her ankle, still ticked. "Sorry."

"Both of you deserve a hard one up the nose, you do. But, I don't want to get any of your boys in blue on me." Conchairto finally spoke up. He spoke with the same accent as Octavia, but he sounded a lot more sarcastic in his tone. Like Vinyl's, but with a hint of animosity. He kind of sounded like one of those guys that you thought was an asshole at first, but then you get to know him a little better and he sounded charming only to find out he really was an asshole at the end of the day. And odd way to put it, Bon Bon knew, but it was the closest she could get to a fitting example. He wasn't being an asshole so far, though. He was just angry, and rightfully so.

He noticed Bon Bon staring at him curiously, and he introduced himself. "You must be that candy making girl with the ironic fear of eating sugar. Bon Bon, was it? My name is Conchairto. I would say it's a pleasure meeting you, but that would make me a lying bastard. Any lazy sod with a university degree in advanced daft could tell that I'm a bit upset by the way things are progressing."

Bon Bon nervously nodded in response. He was not going to pull any punches. She turned to Octavia. "Octavia, I came here to tell you that I'm super sorry! I'm ubers sory! I didn't mean to-

"Break my ankle because you and Vinyl wouldn't get your heads out of your asses long enough to try and catch me? Yes, I bet you are sorry." Octavia interrupted sharply.

Bon Bon shook her head. "You're absolutely right, Octavia. I should have just stopped myself before things got more out of hand."

Vinyl Scratch held her hands up to her face, probably checking for blood. "Ohoww… yeah… but I started it, and I should have listened to you when you were telling us to chill out."

"We both should have." Bon Bon added in quickly.

"Well, I'm glad you two have built up the character to admit you were wrong after you broke my ankle." Octavia deadpanned. "'Should have's' don't make me heal any faster."

"How is your ankle, anyway?" Bon Bon asked worriedly.

"Broken." Octavia deadpanned.

Conchairto spoke for Octavia. "The doctor and I were just having a… discussion about that. He re-ran the x-rays and it does reveal that Octavia's ankle is… indeed broken. Oh, and he's pretty sure it hurts too." Now he was being kind of an asshole.

"We know it's broken, Uncle Connie, but how broken is it?" Vinyl Scratch persisted.

"First of all, I thought I told you to stop calling me Uncle Connie. The mere mention of an imaginary reality where we're blood relatives shortens my lifespan considerably. Secondly, if you really wish to know her condition, she has a fractured fibula along with some ligament strain. Lucky for Octavia, and my wallet, the fracture was stable, so no surgeries will be needed. But, she'll need to be put in a cast for about six weeks to let it heal naturally. Maybe even longer," Conchairto stood up, showing his full height. He wasn't as tall as Bon Bon expected him to be. He was around Applejack's height, but even Shining Armor had at least two or three inches on him. "And I expect you two to pay."

Bon Bon understood what he was getting at. "My family owns a business, so I'm sure we can pay you some kind of compensation-"

Conchairto stopped her. "You can just stop there. I don't want any of your money. I have plenty."

Apparently she didn't understand. "Huh? But we-"

"Don't misinterpret it. I'm not being so generous because I'm some nancy with a heart of gold. Because you're both going to pay…" Conchairto lowered himself until him and Bon Bon were at eye level. "You can bet your sweet candy ass on that." Conchairto wasn't the giant she was expecting him to be, but underneath his fit physique and his intimidating glower of the eyes, she felt incredibly small. He didn't let his locked gaze with Bon Bon last long, thank God. He turned his attention to Vinyl Scratch. "And you… I honestly expected more from you than this. Especially since you call Octavia your best friend."

Vinyl Scratch's mouth twitched, but she said nothing. Soon after, Conchairto took out his phone.

"I take it you're leaving, uncle?" askedOctavia.

Bon Bon looked up and watched Conchairto grab some kind of briefcase and walk to the side of Octavia's hospital bed. His intimidating presence changed into a more compassionate one. "I am, but I'll stop by tomorrow to check in on you, alright luv?"

Octavia nodded, prompting a kiss on her cheek from Conchairto. Octavia blushed, likely embarrassed by her uncle's seemingly spontaneous show of affection. Conchairto then went to briefly put the chair he was sitting in back in its place. And dust it. And wipe it down. Bon Bon wasn't sure how long he would take, but he did eventually leave without so much as a passing glance. It became awkwardly quiet in the room, other than the sound of blood pumping in Bon Bon's ear. He was intimidating. She would hate to be at the wrong end of a fight with that guy.

Vinyl Scratch removed her shades and put them in her bag. She grabbed one of the chairs and sat next to Octavia's bed. Bon Bon didn't grab a chair, but instead decided just to stand next to the two. Bon Bon figured she would ease the tension with a little small talk.

"Wow, Octavia. You're uncle is very… charismatic." Bon Bon tried. He was about as charismatic as sandpaper rubbing your skin off.

Octavia gave Bon Bon somewhat of a salty half-smile. "He's usually quite easy around me, but he came come off a bit harsh to everyone else once in a while. It's not like he has anything to be happy about right now, anyway. Guess why?"

"… Your broken ankle-"

"My broken ankle!" Octavia scowled.

"I said I'm sorry!" yelped Bon Bon. She tore away from Octavia's accusing eyes and examined her cast. It must have been a horrifying experience for Octavia. Having to be forced out of a ring and fall at just the wrong angle, enough to feel your bones shake before instantly cracking disgustingly. Screaming at the top of your lungs as your foot feels like it's getting torn off from your leg. It may be her exaggerating that, but it was still a sickening thought. And Octavia's injury was probably even worse because of the wrestling boots she was wearing when she fell. Wearing those gave her an even greater chance of ankle injury, and whether or not the boots played a part in it, Bon Bon could never deny that this was also her fault. Then a thought crossed her mind.

"Hey, Octavia?"

Octavia raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Remember when you were being taken to the hospital?"

"Every excruciating detail. Thank you for reminding me." Octavia remarked.

"No, I meant… you didn't change before you left, did you?" asked Bon Bon, "So when you got here, how did you explain why you were in the outfit?" In all the chaos that happened with Octavia's injury, it didn't occur to them that she left in her wrestling attire. It was more important to get Octavia medical attention, she knew that. But, when you're checked in a hospital with a broken bone, the doctor is obviously going to ask you how it happened. Octavia must have come up with a pretty convincing story. Otherwise, the CCPW building would probably have shut down by police by this point. Along with all of their faces appearing in the local paper.

A sneaky smile plastered itself on Octavia, putting Bon Bon's worries at ease. "Easy. I told the doctor I was at my uncle's house trying on a wrestling outfit for my Halloween costume. I then told him that I had accidentally fallen down the basement stars, getting all bumped up."

"Nice. Explains the ankle and bruises pretty well," Bon Bon smiled back, glad she won't be in the Canterlot Newsletter.

"We sure caught a lucky break, too. I don't know how well that story would fly on Christmas or Valentine's Day." Vinyl Scratch put in, trying to lighten the mood. But, Octavia was insistent on continuing.

"He's right, you know?" said Octavia.

"Huh?" said Bon Bon.

"In any other circumstance, I'm sure he would have gladly sued you blind. However, he cannot do that this time." Octavia stated, looking like she was expecting Bon Bon to get what she meant.

"Come on, Bon Bon, use your head a little," remarked Vinyl Scratch, "If he wanted to file for a lawsuit he would have to explain the circumstances for the reasoning behind it. In detail."

Embarrassingly, it took Bon Bon a minute to put it together, but she got it. "If he wanted to sue, he would have to expose Canterlot Carnage Pro Wrestling…"

"And every single one of you will be exposed, "Octavia finished, "And Lord knows what will happen after that."

"Still, we kind of deserve it." insisted Bon Bon.

"Didn't you hear what my uncle said?" said Octavia, "He's not doing this out of the kindness of his heart. Not for the rest of you, at least."

The rest of us? "So, he's doing it just for you?"

Octavia sighed and closed her eyes. "Long story short, yes. Despite what you see him as now, I can attest to him being a very honest man with good intentions. I wouldn't expect you to know what I mean, Bon Bon, but I know you would… Vinyl."

Vinyl Scratch took of her glasses and lowered her head. "I know... and I'm sorry that I did this to you. I know how much pro wrestling means to you, and now you probably won't be able to compete for a while. He was right. I should have been more careful. I hope you know that I never meant to hurt you like this."

Vinyl Scratch did not shed any tears, but Bon Bon could hear the guilt of her actions flow through her voice. She felt the same way. Octavia didn't look up at Vinyl Scratch, nor did she even uncross her arms. But her angry look did soften.

"Vinyl…" Octavia's sbegan, but didn't continue.

"I know I said this already, but I'm so sorry for putting you through that. I feel so awful about myself. My best friend deserves better. And whatever your Uncle Connie wants me to do, I'll do it."

"…"

Bon Bon stepped forward. "Me too. I feel disgusted with myself, and I'll try my hardest to pay you back." Bon Bon's apology felt weak compared to Vinyl's, but hopefully Octavia would believe she was being genuinely sorry.

"… Well, would you look at the time." said Octavia.

Bon Bon took out her watch and opened up the screen. 3:54pm. Visiting hours were almost over.

"You two should get going. I'm feeling quite tired after all of the tests, and I would rather go to sleep now. Goodbye." Octavia grabbed the covers and folded them over most of her body. Octavia then reached out to grab a remote and used it to lower the mattress until it was completely horizontal. Octavia then closed her eyes. Bon Bon waited for Octavia to say something else, but she just laid there.

Vinyl Scratch got up from her seat. "Alright. I'll see you later, Tavi."

Vinyl Scratch put her shades back over her eyes before leaving for the door. Bon Bon felt the need to make sure Octavia was alright, but time wasn't on her side. Reluctantly, Bon Bon slowly turned and followed Vinyl Scratch out.


Vinyl Scratch and Bon Bon finally made it back out to the freezing cold hospital parking lot. Bon Bon called for a ride back home, but her parents were not answering. Vinyl Scratch then told Bon Bon that her aunt was coming to pick her up, so she offered her a ride. Bon Bon walked to the hospital which took about thirty minutes to do. She didn't feel like making the long trip back, so she wisely accepted Vinyl Scratch's offer. Now they were sitting on one of the benches next to the hospital entrance, talking as they waited for Vinyl's aunt to pull up.

"Octavia sure wanted us to leave quickly, even with it about to turn four o' clock." said Bon Bon.

"She probably did want us to leave. She's pretty pissed. She gave me this treatment plenty of times." Vinyl Scratch said, not fully listening to Bon Bon. She was looking through her texts again.

Bon Bon looked around at the parking lot, looking for a white van. Vinyl's aunt must have gotten caught in traffic or something. It shouldn't take her this long to get to the hospital. Though, that was the Bon Bon calling the kettle black. Regardless, she was still freezing. So, she decided to chat up with Vinyl some more to help ignore the wind blowing in her face.

"Hey, Vinyl?"

Vinyl Scratch looked up from her phone. "What?"

"I just noticed that you were waiting outside Octavia's room before me. How long were you waiting there?" Bon Bon asked.

"Hmm… I think it was around twelve." answered Vinyl Scratch.

Twelve?! Visiting hours didn't start till nine in the morning. She must have been waiting a long time. It made Bon Bon feel bad about not coming sooner, even if she had the excuse of Sundays being cleaning days at Sweet & Elite.

"I didn't know when I was going to see her, so I decided to come as early as possible. And I even had to get up extra early just to try and find the place that makes those cake balls. She usually liked them, but I guess she wanted to share it with me this time." Vinyl Scratch said, wincing at the newly formed pain in her nose.

Bon Bon felt her own lip. Because it was cold outside it numbed a little. She refused to test it though.

"Hey…"

Bon Bon turned back to Vinyl Scratch. "Yeah?"

"Didn't Sunset give you that lip?" Vinyl Scratch asked.

Bon Bon thought back. "Yeah, I guess she did. I hadn't really thought about it because I was so worried about Octavia."

Vinyl Scratch put her phone back in her pocket and rubbed her hands together. "Yeah, me too. She was also trying to stop us, wasn't she?"

Bon Bon let the question hang in the air before responding. "Yeah… I guess she did."

Vinyl Scratch suddenly looked frustrated. "I can't believe it. Even Sunset was doing the smart thing. Now I really feel like shit."

Bon Bon agreed. She hated her, but Sunset definitely knew what the best course of action was. Too bad Bon Bon was so crazy that she tried to clock Sunset's face. Consequently, she got a bloody lip for that. In hindsight, Bon Bon was asking for it. Bon Bon was being a bitch. Being... a bitch…"

"Hey… you hate Sunset too, right?" Bon Bon asked out of nowhere. She didn't mean to ask, but she was really thinking out loud.

Vinyl Scratch looked confused. "Well of course I do."

Bon Bon watched her breath dissipate into the air. "We… weren't any better than her, were we?"

Vinyl Scratch paused, letting the wind blow her radical hair across her beloved shades. Bon Bon didn't get to listen to Vinyl's end because headlights abruptly blinded their vision. It was a pale white van parked in front of them. Bon Bon couldn't see the driver, but she could painfully hear the horn honking for the two girls to get in. Bon Bon looked to Vinyl Scratch, but she was already up and walking for the van. Bon Bon sat on the bench in contemplation, but the honking wouldn't cease. Bon Bon groaned and entered the white van, letting the heater warm her body. Bon Bon told Vinyl's aunt the directions to her house, and they went on their way.

Bon Bon looked out one of the windows, watching Canterlot Central Hospital get smaller and smaller before it vanished. She looked beside her and saw Vinyl Scratch listening to her headphones. Vinyl looked content, but Bon Bon could guess that she wasn't interested in any further discussion. The DJ did not even turn her head. Bon Bon decided against bringing the question back up again. But why did Bon Bon bring it up to begin with? That was supposed to be an inside thought. Now that she thought about it, it wouldn't stop bothering her. It wouldn't go away.

"I guess we both have something else to think about now…"

As Bon Bon watched the moving grey sky, she kept her hands folded on her lap. She didn't realize till now, but her lip was starting to hurt again.


Well, that was something, wasn't it? I hope you liked it. Sorry it took this long. Also, for any of my British neighbors, please forgive me for brutally slaughtering your slang if I have done so. I am but a lowly, silly American who has a pet eagle in his attic, owns ten unnecessarily overcompensatingly large guns, and a gee-tar. JK

#vulturesovereagles

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I know you want to see some action, but be patient. So, until chapter 50. Arevoir.

*I will actually be posting chapter 50 tomorrow. I know I said before, but... when have I ever kept my word without circumstances getting in the way? :I Thank you for your patience. Danke.*