//------------------------------// // 03. Loyalty // Story: Taken in Stride // by Recon //------------------------------// Loyalty 03 "Scratch, are you okay?" the voice came far and distant. "Don't worry about it, he just gets in those moods every so often, you know?" Vinyl ignored the voice, whoever it came from. She couldn't recognize it. It didn't matter. It seemed a lot of her management team had come to comfort her after he stormed off. Still, she did not avert her closed eyes from the ground. The world faded away, a blur of regret. Evening light encompassed the world as they were walking through the hotel’s courtyard together, the sun painting the sky in vibrant shades of warm colors, from every hue of red and orange spiking up to yellow. A faint afterglow emanated from the horizon, caressing the two ponies' faces as they made their way towards the complex. Emerald appeared to walk with a unique stride.   “I think I got my bad habit sometime around then,” Vinyl remarked, finishing her tragic story to Emerald. The reflux of horrible memories and guilt lapped up in her mind again. Her final performance. Her final argument with her friends. Every damned thing.   “I know I have to change,” Vinyl sighed just above an audible whisper, walking towards a cherry blossom tree, with Emerald slowly trailing behind. “Until then, I have to be alone.” She didn't look back.   “I don’t think...”   “If you stay with me, sooner or later, you’ll get hurt too.” Vinyl brought her voice to a quiet whisper and glanced suggestively at him, a melancholic pang of guilt in her eyes.   He gazed into Vinyl’s magenta eyes, a gentle, heartwarming expression on his face. He smiled ever so softly. She turned back around and began walking again.   “Why don’t we try it then?” Vinyl stopped in her pace, freezing at the comment before turning back to lock her eyes with his. The wind reflecting the soft autumn breeze flowed through their manes, picking up its pace. Time stopped as well, her brilliant cerise eyes never once glancing away from him. She sensed something different in this stallion. It was as if... He understood her. Minutes later, Emerald broke the silence as they walked through the courtyard. "... And you know, you are even cuter than I imagined." Vinyl looked up from the ground, surprised. "What?" Emerald shook off the comment. "Never mind," he added with a smile. He seemed to take note of the dripping red sunset, beginning to hide itself behind the horizon. "We should go back now, Miss Vinyl," he said, acknowledging the sunset and time. Vinyl nodded and followed Emerald's pace as he walked back to the elegantly designed building. A soft breeze of air chilled her as it swept through her face. The smell of the cherry blossoms wafted through the air. It was a beautiful autumn evening, which sadly, would probably be haunted by another form of horror from her past. Vinyl started to contemplate the last two days with this strange Secret Security guard. He was different. She wasn't sure whether it would turn out good, or if he would end up being betrayed by her like most people were. She abruptly halted her pace. She paused and looked into the sky tinged with orange and blue, taking in the serenity of the moment. She sighed softly, almost inaudible under the brisk autumn breeze. Emerald took notice of the sudden halt of hoofsteps beside him. "Is something wrong, Miss Vinyl?" Emerald asked, worried. Vinyl's heart skipped a beat at the random break of silence. She closed her eyes and nodded her head, continuing their pace towards the complex. The doors that led to the lounge opened, and Vinyl noticed the same Secret Service agent she saw talking with Octavia yesterday. Her mane was a soft pink, contrasted by a white coat that could not be seen under the mare's Secret Service suit. Her half-lidded eyes matched her mane. She looked tired; either that or lazy. The agent noticed her and Emerald as well. She walked over, slowly. "Good evening..." she talked in a slow, quiet and shy tone. "Good evening," Vinyl replied back. Emerald waited patiently. "Who are you?" the agent asked slowly, tilting her head to the left in confusion. "Well, who are you?" Vinyl countered. "My name is... Sable. I'm with the Secret Service... My client is in Room Two." Weren't Secret Service agents supposed to be... Intimidating?  "I'm Vinyl Scratch, Room Four." "Nice to meet you...?" she asked shyly, curiously, cocking her head to the other side. "Yeah, I guess it's always ni-" Vinyl was cut off by an unsuspecting hug from the mare. She released Vinyl and turned to walk into the elevator. "...The hell was that?" Vinyl asked, more confused than she was this morning. She cleared her head with a shake. "Anyway, you can head on up to bed," she said, acknowledging Emerald. "I'm going to take a bath down here real quick." Emerald nodded and smiled. "Have a nice night." "Yeah." They split ways, as Emerald headed for the tower elevator and Vinyl went towards the catwalk that led to the scenic bath. Midway through the catwalk, she paused to admire the beauty and simplicity of the lounge. The orange and modern theme brought back what few good memories she had. It reminded her of her mother's home, elegant, modern and relaxing. She continued on towards the bath. Opening the doors, she stepped in and noticed the room was illuminated only by the new moonlight which poured through the single large window that spanned the side of the building. She looked around for a light switch, temporarily lighting up the area around her. No use. She went further across the large room, trying to find a light switch. Suddenly, the door shut behind her, exhilirating her heartbeat. The adrenaline took its course, pumping, coursing through her. A dark hoof reached out of the still darkness, wrapping its length around Vinyl's neck, dragging her to the floor. Her pulse beat erratically, as she looked around for any sign of a safe haven from whoever this predator was. The darkness shrouded her vision, clouding all but the faintest strand of moonlight in the room, as her eyes hadn't adapted to the dark yet. Suddenly, the darkness emitted a chuckle. "This is the high-security elite apartment complex?" the voice mocked, as the foreleg tightened its grip around Vinyl's neck. She tried frantically to spark her magic in an attempt to escape, but the predator ensured she could not focus in on her spell. A low glow of blue illuminated next to the predator, revealing his face for a split second before vanishing back into the darkness. A small blade had formed from the magic, lowering in onto Vinyl. "Now... You take me up to your room and give us everything you have." Vinyl panicked, again attempting to perform some sort of spell, anything, to escape. No use. Fear giving way to despair, she squirmed under the tight vicelike grip. He lowered the blade closer to her neck. "Well?" Abruptly, a familiar gloved hoof knocked the blade out of the predator's magic reach. She felt a drop of warm liquid fall onto her chest.  "Sorry I'm late..." the deep, melodious voice whispered. He directed his voice to the intruder. "You dared point a blade at Miss Vinyl..." Now, the intruder seemed to share Vinyl's previous panic as he released her and retreated further back. Emerald's eyes began to glow, illuminating them in the dark. A visible haze of green silhouetted his horn, and a subsequent explosion of magic attacked the intruder. He retaliated, counterattacking with a spell of his own. Emerald was able to dodge it, giving the intruder more fear as he retreated further back. Another spell materialized in front of Emerald as he hurled it towards the intruder. Forming more blades out of magic, the intruder launched two at Emerald, causing him to recoil and let out a low shriek. He recovered, tossing the blade away with his magic. He ran towards the darkness, but noticed hoofsteps running away just as fast out the door. He winced and activated a spell to light the room as he found his way back to Vinyl. She assessed the damage he could not see. His right foreleg had been sliced twice by two blades, either side with a small incision dripping blood. He did not seem hurt at all, as he calmly walked towards Vinyl, the wounds not breaking his stride. His spell flickered away and the moonlight returned to be the only source of light in the large room. He leaned down closer to Vinyl. "Are you alright?" he whispered, extending his right hoof to her to help her up. Vinyl eyed the dripping blood. "You're the one that's hurt!" "Oh, sorry, I wasn't thinking," he said, withdrawing his right and extending his left. "Take my left hoof then." "That's not the point, idiot!" "Please do not worry about me. I exist to protect only you, Miss Vinyl." "That's stupid!" Vinyl whispered in the dim moonlight. "It's always 'Miss Vinyl' this, 'Miss Vinyl' that! You even got yourself hurt! Is this how much you want to be a dog? Do you want to put yourself on the line for this?" she yelled, the echo of the large room reverberating her words back at her. Emerald reached out and brought Vinyl's leg to him, causing her to lose her balance and fall back. He suddenly brought his lips to it. "What are you-" "A kiss on the tip of the hoof is a sign of loyalty..." he whispered to her. "The reason I am here... is my loyalty to you. It is irrelevant that you are a famous icon with endless wealth or not. I told you when we first met, that I have known you for a long time. As you are the one that saved me, I owe you my undying respect. You and nopony else. "You don't know how desperately I've been wanting to meet you. And now I have failed... I shall do everything in my power to make it up to you. So please, please... Will you let me stay by your side?" She sighed, wary of the stallion. Again with this? Their eyes locked, a pleading gaze in his and a judgmental aura in hers. All this time - her sole purpose for coming here, nullified. Void. Meaningless. Like the stallion's words. However... "Do what you like..." Vinyl whispered back with a sigh. "You won't listen to what I say anyway." "Are you certain? Even if I am like this?" "Who cares what you are?" Vinyl said, breaking into her arrogant tone. "Just go where you want and live the way you want to." Emerald brought a heartwarming smile to his face. "Miss Vinyl..." his voice trailed off. "Thank you... Even though I am not worthy, please bear with me." He bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Let go of my leg..." After this, I will remember it again and again. It was the beginning of a long, long time...