V and A's business Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Darkness Rises
>You are Anon.
>And Vinyl just saved your life!
>Her last song was a club favorite from back home.
>You liked it cause it made people come and buy drinks just so they could raise them for the song.
>But here, these ponies didn’t know how to hold their liquor quite as well…
>They were sloshing their drinks around, spilling most of them.
>You were about to grab the mop when you felt yourself slip.
>You tried to steer yourself into the bar, but ended up colliding into the booze cabinet.
>You went down hard and had the wind knocked out of you.
>Then you noticed the cabinet coming down.
>You curled up to try to avoid undo damage, and waited for the pain.
>But it never came… you looked up to see the cabinet lifted up and thrown aside by a familiar blue glow of magic.
>Vinyl saved you!
>You get up to your feet and start to thank Vinyl for the quick save…
>And she collapses to the ground.
>You ran over to her, oblivious to the surrounding crowd.
“GET A DOCTOR!!”
>You scream to one of the dumbstruck bouncers.
>Her jerks into motion and runs out the door to get help.
>You kneel down next to Vinyl’s motionless body and put a hand to her mouth.
>You can feel hot, quick, breathing against your palm.
>She was breathing!
>Octavia was there, moments later from backstage,
>”What happened?”
>There was no time for this though, she needed help now!”
“I will tell you later, we need to get her outside and ready for the doctor I sent for!”
>Without a word, Octavia knelt down and offered her back.
>You carefully picked up Vinyl and transferred her to Octy’s back.
>The two of you slowly made your way outside, the crowd parting like the Red Sea before you.
>By the time you got outside the medics had arrived.
>What followed next was nothing but questions upon questions.
>You tried to answer every one of them as best you could.
>At the same time, they had loaded her into a specially made medical cart.
>You opted to walk to the hospital with Octavia, seeing as you would be hard pressed to fit in the cart.
>You ran off to the hospital, with Octy trailing behind you, struggling to keep up.
>The two of you arrived at the hospital winded, but you didn’t care.
>You burst through the doors and the same receptionist was sitting there.
>She saw you looking the way you did and immediately said, “Anon! She was put back in room 220! Hurry, it’s bad!”
>You nod to her and dash down the familiar path you had gotten so used to taking.
>Octy was right behind you now, obviously as worried as you were.
>You finally arrived at her room to a Deja-vu inducing scene.
>A small crowd of doctors and other hospital staff outside her door.
“MEND!”
>Doctor Mend looked around and saw you barreling down the hallway and smiled weakly.
>The two of you had gotten to know each other over the past month and a half.
>He was a good guy… err… pony.
>”What part of “No strenuous magic” did she not understand?”
“No time for jokes Doc, how is she?”
>His face got real pale, real quick, and his voice got grave, “Not good Anon.”
>You think you just pissed your pants a little.
“How bad?”
>”She is in a coma right now. Her mind was placed under way too much stress and it cracked. To protect her, it placed her in a coma until it is repaired.”
>You collapsed to your knees, and Octavia came forward and nuzzled your arm.
>”How long until she wakes back up?” She asked.
>If the doctor was worried before, he was now, “She might never…”
>He couldn’t finish the sentence, and you didn’t want him too.
>It hurt too much to imagine that outcome.
>You clamber to your feet, using Octy as a source of leverage.
>You brush past the doctors and enter her room.
>It was dark, but you could make out your mare on the bed.
>She was breathing slowly, and, for all intents and purposes, she looked like she was sleeping peacefully.
>But you knew better than to hope for that, she was in a coma… and might never come out.
>NO! You couldn’t think like that, she saved your life… the least you could do was have faith she would recover.
>It would just be a matter of time, and you had lots of that!
>”Anon, I am so sorry for what happened… is there anything I can do?”
>Octy was a true friend, even now, she was trying to make things easier for you.
“Just stay with me and be there for Vinyl… that’s all I can ask.”
>She nods her head and you sit down in the same chair you always used.
>She hops into your lap and gives you a hug, “She’ll wake up! I know it.”
>You certainly hoped so… otherwise your life was going to be very depressing.
>You are Octavia.
>And you have no idea what to do…
>You saw what happened to Vinyl and what almost happened to Anon.
>You felt bad about both of those things.
>If you had been at the bar, like you had planned, you could have saved Anon.
>You don’t usually drink all that much, so you would have been sober enough to pull it off.
>But, you were backstage, polishing your cello, too afraid to approach Anon.
>You had never expected to ever try, much less enjoy, being in a threesome.
>And yet, you had never had as much fun as you did that night.
>It scared you how much you changed just because of one mare.
>Now she was in the hospital in a coma, and her future was uncertain.
>It was worst case scenario for you.
>You were in Anon’s lap, trying to comfort him as best as you could.
>Admittedly, you were never an outgoing kind of pony.
>So your hugs were awkward and you were quiet.
>But, it seemed to be enough for him… he just needed somepony to be there for him during his time of need… just as he was there for Vinyl.
>You snuggle closer into Anon’s chest and sigh sadly, this would be nice if your friend wasn’t in the hospital bed next to you.
>Slowly, surely, you fell asleep.
>A fitful, restless, sleep that left you tired and drained upon waking up.

And so it went for the next 6 months.
Anon almost lived at the hospital with Octavia keeping him company.
He would only leave to work at night, use the restroom, and eat.
Octavia worked at the club full time to take over for Vinyl.
Finally, after 6 months of waiting, they decided to try and move on, until she woke up on her own terms.
Anon and Octavia grew much closer than they were before, sharing a love for each other and for the silent white mare that laid prone on the hospital bed they used to visit so much.
The club patrons who caused Anon to fall over offered payment for Vinyl’s treatments until she either awoken, or passed away quietly in the night.
The club had reached unbelievable heights of success, partly because of Octavia and Anon’s business savvy mind, but mostly because Vinyl’s last performance blew everyone away.
3 more months passed…
Octavia and Anon were still holding out for Vinyl, but it was a waning hope.
The doctors were not very optimistic about her ever reviving at this point.
They visited her at least 3 times a week minimum.
2 more months passed.
Hope was being held onto by a thread.
When finally, a sign from Celestia appeared before them
When a doctor was changing an IV… Vinyl moved.

>You are nurse Stitch.
>And your patient who has been in a deep coma for the last 11 months just moved on her own.
>At first you thought you had simply imagined it, or that, she had simply moved because you had switched her IV.
>But when you jabbed her stomach, she moved her hoof to swat yours away.
>She had left her coma and was now asleep.
>You ran to the attending doctor, he was going to want to hear about this!

>You are Anon.
>And you were busy trying to get keep the club’s finances in order.
>Ever since the accountant messed up your money last time, you decided it would be best if you did them yourself.
>Admittedly, you were not the best at this, but Octavia checked your work so you were covered.
>Speak of the devil, the door to your office opened to reveal Octavia.
>”How’s things going?”
>She was always doing this… ever since Vinyl went into her coma, Octavia was always checking in on you… making sure you weren’t crying alone.
>It was all you could do for the first few months when you had some alone time.
>You would try not to cry, lay down, and cry a lot.
>And Octavia would always find you, cuddle up next to you and let you cry into her mane… which would always need washing afterward.
>Yet, she never complained, never blamed you, and never begrudged you at all.
>She was just as tore up as you were… she was just much better at hiding it.
>The two of you had gotten much closer than you were before.
>You had been there for each other when no one else could be… that counted for a lot.
“Just taking care of some miscellaneous paper work Octy.”
>She smiled at your pet name, and said, “How about we go visit Vinyl? We haven’t gone this week yet!”
>It was true, it was Wednesday and the two of you had yet to go… maybe you should.
>You didn’t have much hope for her recovery anymore… but you would always pray she would.
>You had even asked Celestia for help, but she said, “There is nothing I can do, but I will hope for the best… have faith she will return to you and she will.”
>Having the Princess of the land wish for the recovery of your lover made you feel better for a while after that… now they were just words.
>It took you less time now that Octavia was helping, and soon all of your paperwork was filed nice and neatly.
>The two of you head out into the city and grab some lunch.
>It was a quiet affair, just how you two liked it.
>You remembered when you ate with Vinyl… the two of you always like to listen to music and eat at the same time.
>Now you were more reserved, eating in an enjoyable silence with Octy.
>Lunch was quick and soon, you were back to walking towards the hospital.
>You passed a few of your favorite haunts, Berry Punches’ store, the gelato shop, and your primary competitor’s club.
>Despite being the only other club offering dubstep music in addition to your regular fair, he wasn’t doing so well.
>Admittedly, you were hogging all of the customers and you felt bad… you frequently went inside and bought a few rounds, just to help out a little bit.
>When you finally arrived at the hospital, you had started a mild conversation with Octy.
>You never knew what you would talk to her about… the topics were random and disjointed, but neither of you minded.
>You walked into the lobby you had come to know like the back of your hand, and the receptionist, a nice mare named Chatty (no relation), squealed with joy.
>”Anon! Come quick, it’s Vinyl!”
>Upon hearing this, you ran to her room at top speed.
>Octavia was taken aback by the sudden burst in speed, but quickly caught up.
>Moments later you were outside her door with Octavia.
>You slowly opened the door and saw Vinyl lying on the bed with her eyes open, eating a plate of salad.
>You and Octavia were frozen solid.
>She was awake…
>Vinyl looked up from her meal when she heard the door open.
>For a few minutes, the three of you just looked at each other, just taking in the moment.
>You had truly stopped thinking that she would ever awaken… and here she was.
>You couldn’t, and didn’t care to, stop the tears from falling as you gazed at Vinyl like she was a piece of art.
>Vinyl herself was shedding a few tears of her own.
>”Well don’t just stand there slack jawed you two… come here and give me some love!
>Without further ado, you and Octy ran and hugged Vinyl with the intent to snuggle.
>It could have been mistaken as trying to strangle her, the two of you were so passionate.
>She was laughing and crying at the same time, and so were you and Octy.
>”We missed you so much!”
>Octavia’s voice was breaking up she was so overcome by feelings, you couldn’t even form words yet.
>It happened, the three of you were back together...
>You felt something in your heart.
>A love so profound… every heartache you ever felt… just washed away.
>It was a perfect moment that you would never forget.
>It was perfection at its finest.
>And you would give everything in the world to let it go on forever.