//------------------------------// // -(10)- Mistrust // Story: Midnight Melody // by Caffeine Junkie //------------------------------// Did you ever wonder why ponies tend to avoid some situations? I guess you could answer that in a simple manner; they are not very brave. However, bravery may come in different forms. Are you brave if you fight a fight you are bound to lose? Wouldn’t that just be pure stupidity? I was not sure. The weather was once again cold and dark when I woke up. Everything seemed so sad and grey. Raindrops fell loudly on the skylight above my bed and played the same melody I always used to hear when I was unhappy. It is the same repetitive sound in the morning that would mark this day as the beginning of another disaster. Then my rather dark train of thoughts was interrupted by a certain pony who thought she had to use a weapon of bass destruction for an alarm clock. Oh waking up in such a manner…it truly was a dark day. I mean how would you feel if you were not sure if your roommate had just declared war on all the beings of Equestria via noise? After realising I wasn’t still dreaming I tried to move my flank to the shower but as you might have suspected…I was too late. I already heard the flow of water and a somehow happy Vinyl Scratch singing some songs. Oh…just great…I hate mornings…I hate them so much… I went into the kitchen and looked into the fridge. There was a lot of strange red sauce-looking stuff in there. Vinyl seemed to have strange taste…well why would I care. I just tried to get myself something of my own food and combined it into a sandwich. It didn’t taste like much and I didn’t really care. The only thing that really mattered was the coffee. I really needed some hot, bitter darkness I could throw down my throat. You want to know how I drink my coffee? Well, I drink my coffee black. No milk, no sugar, just plain coffee. Caffeine the one thing that truly sustains me… When I finally managed to swallow my sandwich, drink my first cup of coffee and was done with the newspaper I sighed. Vinyl was still not done…oh sweet mother of Celestia…how much longer would it take her. I wanted to avoid losing any more time so I prepared breakfast for her as well. I made a sandwich with…well, whatever it was that she had put in the fridge. It probably became some kind of exotic peanut butter jelly sandwich for all I knew. The coffee I made for her was something I could never drink myself. Besides the huge amount of milk she wanted in her coffee, she also claimet that at least seven sugar cubes were needed in there for her to even consider it drinkable. I just learnt that yesterday when she asked me to make her some coffee. Funny…but I guess it fits her hyperactive personality? Don’t you think so too? After I did prepare breakfast for her and she still was not done. I went back into my room and closed my eyes for a moment. I finally regained my senses when Vinyl shouted that the bathroom could be entered again and she must have already been sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast. Oh...I really needed that shower. It washed away all these feelings of dizziness and morning grumpiness. It was one of the things beside my coffee that I really had to have in the morning just to keep functioning. After I was done, I brushed my teeth, kempt my mane and looked for flaws in my appearance on the mirror. I found none and decided to meet Vinyl in the kitchen. I was…amazed. I didn’t take her seriously when she said she will try to look a little more snobbish. She looked like a freaking diva, no kidding. Her mane might still have had that unnatural blue colours but…she looked more like…do you know those mares who sing at the opera? She looked more like that than like anything else I could think of... I felt a little shocked…she looked more noble than I did with her now curled blue hair her long eyelids and those beautiful magenta eyes. Come to think about it…she always wore her big purple shades. She seemed completely different now. Her behaviour however… “Hey Tavi, thanks for the breakfast. It tastes awesowmmm….*munch*” she said while still chewing around on that sandwich. “Oh it wasn’t much…” I said with a faint smile. “By the way…the coffee tasted like horse apples and I had to throw in four more sugar cubes…” she started to tease me. “Well…at least I know where you get your hyperactivity from…” “Meh…that isn’t trained…I was born with that. You on the other hoof do seem to live very unhealthy. Don’t you know that black coffee is bad for the heart?” she tried to say in a motherly way. “It helps me to keep up my appearance so what does it matter? Oh, and by the way…you look gorgeous Vinyl.” “I know that…seen myself in the mirror for my whole life. I probably already realised don’t you think…” “You know how I mean it…” “Nope…not…one…bit. Oh and I still need the other shades…” “Shades? You want to wear shades? Are you crazy?” She grinned impishly and vanished from the kitchen…giggling like the maniac she was. When she came back she wore magenta teashades. That…looked actually pretty good with her new style. “Now, what do you think…is the one and only Vinyl Scratch perfect or what?” “No…she is just a very beautiful big mouthed idiot…” “Well…pretty is the thing that counts…isn’t it?” She looked way better than me…more snobbish, more beautiful…more everything…it made me feel a little bit ashamed of myself. “Hey Tavi…now what do you think…am I suited to help you fillysit that brat?” “Not with that foul mouth…but except that…yes I think you are more than suited…” “Sweet! Now let us talk about my reward…” “Not…gonna…happen! You decided to tag along…so no rewards for you…none!” “Horse apples…” We still had some time until we had to meet up with my parents so we just sat there in the kitchen and discussed some things that buzzed around my mind. Minor things…or so I thought. “Vinyl…what exactly did you stuff in the fridge?” “Mostly hot chili sauces of different kinds…why do you ask…? I know I put a lot of them in there but…” “What the hay did you do that for? I thought you had at least some common sense. After those incidents everything that just looks a little bit like blood freaks me out. That stuff however does not only look a little bit like blood...but a lot…” “Yeah Tavi…that is right…I am a vampire…” she said and rolled her eyes. “That isn’t funny Vinyl…” “How was I supposed to know about your vampire problem before you told me?” she said a little offended. “Why so much sauces? Why don’t you put some solid food in there as well?” I asked now a little harsher. “You that dense? I supposed that you had stuff like bread at home. I don’t know what you like on your bread but I like these sauces so...suck it up, Tavi.” she said rather annoyed. Did I just hit a nerve? With a stupid topic like sauce? Looking at how worked up Vinyl got because of it I supposed...yes. Somehow a strange train of thought strucked me. What if she was part of them as well? Could I have been tricked? Was all just set up by them? I did not know but I had to find out. “Well I suppose you are right Vinyl.” I said and smiled. It was a fake smile...not very obvious but to a person who knew me better it should be obvious enough. Vinyl glared at me in a strange manner...even for her. I simply didn't care about it...wandered to the drawer and took out a spoon. I then moved to the fridge and opened one of her sauce-glasses. She looked at me with big eyes when I pulled the now crimson looking spoon out of the glass. That was strange why was she suddenly the serious one and I'm the one who fools around? Maybe I was right and she was a vampire? Did she really stack blood in the fridge? “So you don’t mind if I try that?” I said with the spoon full of “sauce” in my hoof. “Don’t do that Tavi…I warn you…” she said with a serious expression. “Well…it is just sauce so…why should it bother me…” I said and took a big sip. Then…I realised how stupid my actions really were. That sauce was hot…no not just hot…it was as hot as the freaking sun. My throat started to get tighter and I must have lacked some air. I needed water! I fetched myself a cup and drank two cups just to realise that it didn’t help. “Didn’t I say…I warn you?” she said and started to laugh. “You see I’m not much of a vampire after all. Hell that is what you deserve for suspecting me.” she said with a happy yet serious tone. Well, I guess it really served me right. I suspected her to be a vampire and got a burning throat for that. The concept of equal change… “Drink some milk…you hot, hot mare…it will ease the pain.” she told me teasingly. She now seemed to be back in her normal state of happiness and stupidity. I took her advice even though I did not know if it was still part of her revenge. However I decided to trust her and nearly emptied two milk bottles. It really did help. “Oh…kay….I…think…I learnt my lesson…” I told her completely exhausted. “Glad you understand now. Maybe next time you simply trust me and you can avoid something like that.” she said once again in a serious tune. “But how…how can you eat something like that…” I asked seriously interested. “Duh…because I like it? All of those sauces are either far too sweet or far too spicy for another pony. Who would be able to put up with my weird taste anyway…tell me….honestly…” None. That was the simple answer. Vinyl Scratch was in every way unique…who said her sense of taste wouldn’t be as well. This was a complete loss for me and I already banned the thought from my mind that Vinyl could have been a vampire. However my certainty was already shattered when I catched her stare... “Wh…what…the hay…” I started to stumble in disbelief. “What?” she asked once again pretty annoyed. “What are you…” I pressed through my teeth. “What the hay do you mean? I can’t read thoughts can I?” she answered already getting all agitated once again. “Your left eye…the iris…it is crimson…” I said with a sore throat and I already started to move away...slightly crouching. “Oh…buck…” Vinyl shouted while covering up her eye with one hoof and moving another around the floor. “How do you try to talk yourself out of that one?” I asked once again in an unusual sharp interrogating tone. “Don’t try to act funny or stupid and help me find my contact lens you dimwit…” Vinyl said in a completley furious tone. I didn’t move a muscle. I just looked at her. Was she thinking I was a fool? Does she think I would really believe her with all the evidence right before my hooves? “Oh don’t tell me…just after you said you would trust me…” she said really angry now. She just stood there and waited a little. I guess she wanted to shake her anger off. Then she walked slowly towards me. Her face looked completly motionless. As she came closer and closer I still couldn’t move. Would that be it ? Would she suck all of my blood dry now that I knew her secret? The answer was no. She just hit me really hard on top of my head. “Are you completely dense? I AM NO VAMPIRE! SEE! No fangs…” she shouted and showed me her teeth from different angles. Well…there were no fangs so I guess she was right about that but maybe they could hide them... “But...the…the eyes…” I began to stutter. “Yeah that is my true eye colour. I have some stupid condition with my eyes so what? I know they look creepy and that is why I use contacts if I am not wearing my normal shades. I would have explained it if you didn’t act like the intolerant snob that you are.” Vinyl began to sweat as she threw everything she had against me. Every one of those words she threw at me and all hit very hard. She even seemed to enjoy making me down and putting me back in my place. “I…I don’t…” I couldn't form clear sentences anymore. I also couldn't find any ways to force her into quitting her talk. “Yeah it is always scream first and act stupid and don’t even bother about asking the other pony why later. You most certainly are a full-fledged noble who judges on his first impression.” she went on in her rage, cutting me deeper and deeper. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…I…” I started...already on the verge of crying. “Yeah…blah, blah, blah…you know what if you don’t trust me in the slightest I just move out…okay? It will be easier for both of us…seriously...” she said. This time it was more of a cold calculated tone different to the one she used in her outburst. “Please don’t go…” I said sobbingly. Tears were already flowing down my cheeks. “Why shouldn’t I…after you didn’t even trust me a second time…I don’t know why I should…” she answered less cold but you still felt some bitterness and rage in her voice. “I can’t give you a reason either…but I just don’t want you to go…” I said…and it took me a lot of willpower so that I didn’t start crying on a far larger scale. “You even don’t have to pay the rent…please just don’t go…” i went on. What the hay was I saying…why was I saying that…that would hurt me a lot in the long run. She just looked at me. She must have thought that I was such a pitiful and unreliable creature without spine. She must have despised me, she must have wanted to sever all connections with me. I expected her to leave any minute but instead she just hit me another time on the head... “You are such an idiot! I really should have just gone through that door…” she said with a sigh. “…but I understand your circumstances. All those craziness around you was bound to take a toll on you. However you have to put yourself into my horseshoes… Would you like it if I mistrusted you...called you a monster?” “No…I’m…so…so sorry Vinyl…” I told her while carriyng on sobbing. “Just forget it. I won’t hold it against you anymore, just don’t you ever mistrust me again.” “I…” and I couldn’t bring out any words afterwards. I just hugged her and afterwards buried my face into her lap. It seemed so long when we just sat there. My face hidden in her lap, trying to cool off, waiting that all traces of my more unsightly expressions would just go away while she tried to comfort me at the same time. She told me that she was sorry that she had overreacted, that she only said those things because she was mad. Well…it doesn’t matter how sweet those lies sound…I knew that I was the one in the wrong. Now that I finally encountered true friendship I also had to learn that it was something very fragile…easily broken and hard to be fixed. “Tavi…you know you should better try to get yourself together and prepare yourself. We still have to get over to your parent's place right?” Oh…she was right there. I most probably looked really bad. I went back to the bathroom and fixed my appearance while she had to look for her missing lens. When I came back I apologised properly for my behaviour to Vinyl. She was already back in her “sunshine-mode” and said I shouldn’t worry that much and I should just focus on the task ahead. Vinyl and me then left for my parents mansion…the place where I had to face another problem. Well...no matter how it would turn out it couldn’t get worse than my quarrel with Vinyl right? Right?