You fling your empty coffee mug at the wall, all of your pent up anger and frustration finding an outlet in the act of mindless violence. Immediately, though, you regret the decision. With ease you bring you magic into play, picking up the debris, and depositing it in the garbage can. Despite not accomplishing anything constructive, the outburst calmed you down some. Without a thought, you crumpled up the letter that was sitting on the counter. It was just full of bad news and grim predictions anyway.
Sighing, you exited the kitchen, and headed to the living room. As you entered, though, you came to the realization that there was nothing for you to do there, and so you just stopped in the doorway.
Waiting had never been something enjoyable for you. To be fair, few ponies enjoyed waiting, but you had an especially low tolerance for it. Anything in excess of a couple of minutes began to wear on your nerves. Past ten minutes and the threat of violence became all too real. A quick glance at the clock in the living room you had only half entered revealed to you that it had been nearly eight hours since the doctors had forced you from the hospital. Eight hours since you had been forced to say good bye to your sister for what may be the last time.
Several soft knocks on the door to your home focused your attention, and so you quickly made your way there. You put a hoof on the door, expecting it to be somepony from the hospital, here to finally give you the news on what had been going on. Instead, opening the door revealed an alabaster pony with a spiky blue mane and a pair of goggles hiding her eyes. You’d known the mare in front of you for years, now, having helped her in the early years of her career.
The mare started leaning towards you as she looked at you, and before you could react, she toppled into you, giggling like a school filly. “Sweet Celestia, I’m drunker than… Drunker than… Hay, what am I drunker than?”
“Nice to see you too, Vinyl.” The mare didn’t respond, though, as she had passed out in your hooves. With a long, drawn out groan, you dragged the unconscious mare to the couch in your living room. Propping her up on it, though, proved to be a far greater challenge than you cared for. After struggling for several minutes you finally had her on the couch, and covered with a blanket. You moved over to the armchair in the room, and then you took a seat in it, staring at the alabaster mare calling your couch a bed for the night.
Oddly enough, this was eerily similar to the first time you’d spent any measure of time with her.
---/\/\ Six Years Ago: Junior Year of High School /\/\---
You closed your locker with a slam, eager to get home and get ready for the party. You’d never think to call yourself a party pony, but you were feeling excited for this one, since you knew Soothing Melody would be there. You’d had a crush on her for the past few years, pretty much since you first laid eyes on her during the tour around the high school. Now, though, you’d finally worked up the courage to ask her out. And the liquid courage offered at the party would certainly help to make things go smoother.
Or, that was the plan.
As you began heading down the hallway towards the freedom of the outside world, you overheard a small group of ponies chatting about the party. You slowed your pace as you passed, but you made sure it wasn’t obvious.
“… Spin the Bottle. But Melody isn’t sure about it.”
“I’d love to get a kiss from her. I can already imagine it.”
“Don’t you already have a marefriend, Iron?”
“Yeah, but if I can move up in the world I will.”
After that the conversation quickly devolved into who was a hotter mare, and who had the best flank. After that it had been a quick walk home, and into the small lair you called your room. It didn’t take you long to put together a small pile of prospective outfits that you could wear. While normally clothes did little to enhance your appearance, this time you figured that adding a little something to your look couldn’t hurt. Several hats came and went, but eventually you settled on a pair of sunglasses that fit you perfectly.
A quick glance at the clock revealed that you had several hours to go till the party, so you busied yourself in your room, working on the essay you had to do for English class, as well as the pre-calculus work that you had allowed to build up. The alarm you had set for yourself finally went off as you finished the rough draft of your essay.
You quickly took a shower, making sure to clean yourself thoroughly, since nopony wanted to date a stinky stallion. When all was said and done, you had styled your mane in its usual fashion, a few spikes in the front, with the rest left to simply lie how it would atop your head. You mom was at the bottom of the stairs as you went down, and she looked at you sternly as she scrutinized your appearance.
“I’m going to trust your judgment tonight. Be home at a reasonable hour, and don’t even think about drinking more than you can handle.” You groan before responding.
“Yes, mother. I’ll be sure not to do anything wrong.”
“Good. And make sure you get enough sleep, since tomorrow we’re going to pay a visit to your grandfather at the hospital.” Without a reply you ran from the house, already forgetting what she had said to you. This was your chance at getting with Melody, and if that meant taking some risks, well, so be it. It took about ten minutes for you to get to Melody’s place, and you could see that the party was already underway, the thumping sounds of music reaching your ears and sending the tiniest of shivers down your spine.
Sometimes you hated the gift you’d been given, but only rarely. Still, you wouldn’t allow your overly developed sense of hearing stop you from going in and facing your fears.
---/\/\ The Present /\/\---
Several knocks sounded on the door to your home, and you quickly made your way over, fearing the worst, and hoping for the best. You threw open the door with the tiniest ghost of a smile upon your lips. Maybe they were here with good news. As soon as you saw the pony who was at the door, though, you felt another part of your already wounded heart whither and die.
The mare at the door had been the one who had escorted you from the hospital originally, her consoling words had sounded empty to you then, and now they came back to your mind. “Everything will be alright, huh?” A single strangled sob forced itself out of your body, and the mare before you just looked at you, the pain in her eyes speaking volumes. As you looked at her, you took a step back as you realized where you’d seen that kind of pain before. It wasn’t physical pain, but emotional. And you knew that your own eyes held the same look.
She didn’t say a word as she threw her hooves around you, pulling you close. You broke down in the embrace, finally allowing your emotions to run free. Anger: She wouldn’t be able to make good on the promise that she had made after you had graduated high school. Sadness: She wouldn’t be there for anything ever again, her wit and unique point of view often made light of serious situations, allowing a laugh when otherwise all you wanted to do was cry. But above all of those was a form of relief.
Relief: You could finally move on, and try to begin living your life once again. But that juts prompted the thought that you’d be moving on alone. Your parents lived hundreds of miles away, and neither of them had been able to make the journey here to Ponyville for your sister. It’d just been you handling the emotional burden, watching as each day had crawled by, and your sister’s condition had grown progressively worse.
The mare that held you slowly eased out of the embrace, doing it gently enough to let you recover and keep your balance. You brought a hoof to your face slowly, rubbing at the tears flowing down your cheeks. “If you need any help with your feelings, know that we’ve got some ponies down at the clinic that would be more than happy to help.” She didn’t seem to be saying that, so much as reciting it out of necessity. After she finished, though, her voice sounded much more natural as she continued. “Note, I’m so sorry for your sister. She and I had been friends for quite some time, and now that she’s gone…”
“I know. I’d like some time alone, though. Maybe we can reminisce tomorrow, or something, but for now I’d like to have some time.”
The nurse quickly bowed her head before she looked back at you. “I know it’s not the same, but I lost a friend just as much as you lost a sister. Before she died, she asked me to tell you something. She said that you’d understand the reference, since I don’t get it. She just said, ‘So long, and thanks for all the fish.’”
You let a sad smile dominate your features, and then you looked past the nurse towards the slowly rising sun. Already the sky was turning a beautiful shade of pink, and you felt happier knowing that even at the end your sister was trying to make you laugh. “Yeah, that’s Grace for you. It was a running joke between her and me. Maybe I’ll explain it to you someday, but for now I’m going to keep that to myself.”
The mare just nodded before she turned to go. You watched as she began heading back towards the clinic, and you slowly closed the door before heading back to the chair you had been occupying earlier. The alabaster pony continued her sleep, unconcerned with the affairs of the world for the time being, her dreams keeping her occupied until once again she had to bear the burdens of the world.
You tuned out everything except for your breathing, and that of the mare’s and then you sank back into your memories, allowing the experiences to wash over you as if they were occurring once again.
---/\/\ Six Years Ago: Junior Year of High School /\/\---
The thumping bass coming from the speakers did wonders for the music, but it made coherent conversation nigh on impossible. You wormed your way through the throngs of dancing ponies towards the back of the house where the backyard was being used for more dancing ponies, as well as some that were mingling. You noted, with a smile, as you exited the house, that the music seemed much quieter out here. Quiet enough, in fact, for you to make out your own thoughts.
You spotted a group of ponies sitting in the middle of the backyard, a large fire pit dug in the middle of the group, the blaze tall enough to nearly lick the bottom branches of the tree that hung over it. You approached slowly, and a couple of heads turned your way at your appearance. You wormed your way into the group, and soon enough the conversation, which had slowed at your arrival, resumed.
The topics were ordinary for high school ponies, ranging from sports to mares to different sports. You were never really into sports, finding it to be far too physically based. Regardless, you chipped in whenever you had something to share, and the night quickly passed until eventually a voice cut through the din, silencing nearly every pony present.
Melody stood atop a table, her voice carrying out over the groups of ponies, and tantalizing many a stallion with the subtle undertones. “For those interested, I’ll be hosting a game of Truth or Dare in the living room. Anypony who’s interested is free to join. Just know that there are no restrictions, and if you back out… Well, let’s just say that it’d be best if you didn’t back out.” Her gaze passed across many of the ponies assembled in her back yard, lingering on a few. “The winner gets a special reward from yours truly.”
Without waiting for the reply of the ponies present, she hopped off of the table, and she made her way inside, several of the ponies in the immediate area following close behind her. You quickly stood, realizing that you had an opportunity before you, and that you’d be a fool to pass this up. A few other stallions from the group joined you, and even a couple of mares. The living room, when you finally arrived, was packed around the edges, but had a large open area in the middle, with nine chairs arranged in a circle. Melody was already seated, and she had an expectant look on her face.
“As you can see, we’ve only got eight other positions available. Losers will give up their seats, and new ponies can take their places. Each Dare performed awards three points. Each Truth answered is one point. When you quit, or fail to complete your assigned dare, you drink a shot for each point. Ten points, therefore, is ten shots in ten minutes or less.” You look around the crowd to get a measure of what the reaction was, and already you could see some ponies wanted to back out. “Now, eight ponies, it doesn’t matter who, may take a seat. No fighting, or you’re out right away.”
You quickly grabbed a seat in the chair before you, getting into it before the stallion beside you could get into the chair. The other seven quickly filled as well. A quick round of introductions made things clear, and then the game began.
You had thirteen points backing you up, putting you in second place, behind a stallion with almost thirty. You’d been going with truth nearly every time, having revealed several embarrassing tidbits of your life, the worst of which involved your fairly imaginative sexual fantasies. It was the round before this one that a new unicorn mare joined the ring, her alabaster coat and spiked blue mane catching your eye. She looked supremely confident in her abilities.
When her turn came around, though, she chose dare, and that was a decision that would cost her the game, but would make her one of your closest friends for the next year and a half.
“Alright, Vinyl. I dare you to down five shots in five minutes. Or, you can choose to take five points, but you have to choose dare until you’re out, or you win.”
“Pfft, that’s all? I’ll take the points.” You, having heard some of the dares that had been presented, shook your head. This wouldn’t end well for the poor mare.
---/\/\ The Present /\/\---
A gentle prodding on your side pulled you from the sleep you didn’t even realize you were getting. As you cracked open your eyes you found yourself looking into a pair of bloodshot magenta eyes. “Note, you really need to calm down some. You were mumbling in your sleep.” As the eyes moved away from you it became apparent that they were the eyes of Vinyl. She had a small smile on her face, and with a glow her horn levitated over a small plate, on which sat an orange, and a piece of buttered toast. “I figured since you let me crash here for the night I’d repay you by making some breakfast.”
You took the breakfast that was offered, but you knew that it wouldn’t be an enjoyable meal. “Vinyl, I do hope that you don’t have plans of being here for very long.”
The mare cocked her head at you, a puzzled expression painting itself on her face. “What’s wrong with me staying here for a couple of days? Grace was always pretty cool about me spending some time here; as long as you and I didn’t do anything ‘mature’ with you.” The reminder brought fresh tears to your eyes, and that immediately sparked Vinyl’s interest. “Is everything okay? I haven’t seen you cry since… Well, ever.” Her voice has softened dramatically by this point, dropping the usual brashness that she had adopted since becoming famous.
“Grace died last night, Vinyl.” You felt your anger swell up again, and so you let your anger color your voice. “When you staggered in here, drunk out of your skull, I was worried sick about Grace. Then, just an hour after you got here, nurse Redheart showed up at my door, telling me that my sister is dead. So, to make it brief for you, no not everything is okay.”
“Wow. Um. That sucks.” You glare at the mare for a moment, before you abruptly sit up, nearly spilling the plate of food that had been given to you. “Um, hey, before you go, I was hoping we could talk.”
“About what, Vinyl? The last time you came by to visit you had some stallion with more dick than brains hanging on your every word! If you want to try and make amends with me, you’re too late by about four coltfriends! Maybe if you had picked up on things back when we were in high school things might’ve worked out. But, no. No. You put me in the Celestia damned friendzone.” You turn to look at the mare for a moment, feeling your anger begin to boil over. Again, you felt the urge to throw something. But, with nothing available, you knew that you had to go, lest you do something you’d regret for the rest of your life. Some things were never acceptable, and you knew that leaving was the only way to avoid that possibility. “I’ll be back later. Just… Just… I don’t know. Do whatever, it hardly matters at this point.”
The door slammed behind you as you stormed from your home, the sun hanging high overhead. Not even your ears could pick up the soft sob that came from the alabaster unicorn.