Vinyl walked into her new apartment. It was simple. A bed, night stand, bathroom, small fridge, and a table. She sat on her bed, holding those dreaded documents in front of her. The front reading “Prison Release.” It made her remembered that horrible day.
The day of regret.
Vinyl sat beside her marefriend, staring off into the lake. Her marefriend leaned against her shoulder. It was like some sort of movie, the sun was setting, creating that orange hue in the sky. Reflecting perfectly off the water.
Far off from the shore a colt stared at them, his eyes glued to Vinyl’s marefriend. He wanted her so badly. “Vinyl just had to steal her from you, she doesn’t even deserve her,” he thought. He turned away and started walking. He would kill somepony if that meant getting his marefriend.
Vinyl arrived at her destination. Ponyville’s bar. It looked old and broken down on the outside, but inside it was clean and undamaged. The place was empty, save for the bartender. She was too busy cleaning glasses to notice Vinyl.
Vinyl sat down on one of the stools. “Can I get some scotch,” she asked. This caught the attention of the bartender. She turned around and started staring at Vinyl. As if she was trying to remember something. Then she spoke,” Vinyl? Is that you?” Vinyl’s jaw dropped, surprised that anyone would remember her. Then she realized who the bartender was.
It was Berry Punch. She was one of Vinyl’s closest friends back when she was a young adult. She smiled at her lost friend,” Yeah... it’s me.”
Berry looked at Vinyl with worried expression on her face.
“You know as well as I do that there are some ponies out there that would do anything to get to your marefriend,” she spoke.
“Yeah I know, but I can’t just leave her. You know what they can be like.” Vinyl said back.
“Protecting her isn’t worth risking your own life,” Berry said.
“Then what do you expect me to do? Let those jerks have her way with her?” Vinyl said raising her voice.
“Look, I don’t know, but you have to figure something out before this gets out of hoof and somepony gets hurt.” Despite Vinyl’s rising frustration Berry managed to keep calm, hoping Vinyl would listen to reason.
Berry was right. She was always right. Vinyl had to do something or else she would be risking her life. She just didn’t know what.
An hour later, Berry and Vinyl were laughing. Half drunk, discussing old memories. “Oh, remember when we tried to chug down a bottle of hot sauce?” Vinyl asked.
“Hay yeah, I ended up jumping into the pool on my first gulp.” Berry said, trying her best to complete the sentence without an outburst of laughter.
After they had calmed down, an awkward silence fell before them. Then Berry started to speak,” So, Vinyl...” she began. “About what happened that day...”
Vinyl immediately knew what she was talking about. She knew that she would bring up the subject eventually.
“I just want you to know that I don’t think any differently of you than I ever did. You did what you had to do to. I just wish I could’ve done something to help.”
“Thanks Berry that means a lot.” She said as she stood up. “I should head home now, it was great seeing you again. We should meet up again sometime.”
“Alright Vinyl, have a safe trip home.” Berry said, waving before going back to cleaning glasses.
Vinyl went to bed happy knowing that at least one of her friends still accepted her.
Punches flying.
Screams and shouts piercing the air.
Blood flowing from cuts.
Falling to the ground.
Sound of a cannon.
Getting back up.
Knife slashes through the air
Another scream, except audible this time.
“NO, VINYL!”
Vinyl awoke panting, a cold sweat on her face. She got up and trotted to the bathroom. She proceeded to the sink and splashed some cold water onto her face. She went back to her bed, lying down but unable to sleep. All she could do was think and remember. Remember that day.
The day of regret.
Vinyl and her marefriend stopped at some apartments. “Alright then, I’ll see you tomorrow at my gig.”
She gave her a quick peck on the cheek and watched her enter the apartment. After she had closed the door, Vinyl continued down the street on her way home. Suddenly, somepony pulled her into an alleyway and held her against the wall, their hooves against her throat. Her eyes adjusted to the lack of light and managed to make out a face.
It was Buck. He was one of the high horses in town. Everypony knew him. Nopony liked him. He looked like somepony from the 60’s. He wore a leather jacket and a white shirt and his hair was slicked back.
He then started to speak, “Listen here. If you don’t what to get hurt, leave your marefriend. She’s mine, you got that?” Vinyl, gasping for air, slightly nodded.
Buck released his grip and Vinyl fell to the floor, taking in as much air as possible.
Vinyl woke up the next morning, unable to remember when she had fallen asleep. She got up, took a quick shower, and was out the door. She went to Sugarcube Corner for some breakfast. Luckily there were few ponies there, none of which she knew. She sat down and became lost in thought while choosing her meal.
She couldn’t stop thinking about that nightmare she had last night. Why was it so hard to forget that day? Would it haunt her the rest of her life? How many ponies know about it?
Her train of thought was then interrupted by somepony asking her what she wanted. Vinyl looked up and saw that it was Mrs. Cake. She responded, “I’ll have an apple pie.” Mrs. Cake jotted down her order and trotted back to the kitchen. Minutes later she came back with a steaming hot apple pie. Vinyl began eating the baked good, remembering how amazing Sugarcube Corner’s food tasted.
Vinyl walked up to the turntables, and shouted, “YOU READY FOR SOME REAL MUSIC? The crowd shouted back, “YEAH.” Vinyl then began the track she had been working on the past month. It started off simple, just a beat at first. Then more and more was added to that beat until it was a full blown song.
The crowd danced furiously. Among them Vinyl spotted her marefriend, dancing enthusiastically while staring at her. This sight alone made Vinyl’s smile grow.
“I can’t just leave her,” she thought. “So what if Buck wants her he can’t stop us from being together.”
Vinyl swung open her apartment door. She dragged in a set of turntables. “I can’t believe these were only 80 bits,” she thought to herself. It had taken her two hours to find a set of turntables that she could afford and another thirty minutes to drag them all the way to her apartment. “Totally worth it,” she said aloud to herself.
She began to fiddle with it, regaining her feel for it. It had been a long time since she had played music, let alone hear it. After another hour, Vinyl had a fourth of what she thought was a song. “Hehe, still got it.”
Vinyl and her marefriend walked along the park’s path. They were simply enjoying each others company and the scenery. They were soon interrupted by a colt. A colt Vinyl knew she would have to deal with eventually.
Buck.
He walked up to Vinyl and said to her “I told you to lay off of ‘er, know you’re gonna pay.”
He threw a punch at Vinyl, connecting to her face, sending her to the ground.
Vinyl was on a train ride to Canterlot. She couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened that horrible day, so long ago, and was hoping that doing this would bring her some closure. She couldn’t live with this thought invading her mind every time she tried to do something. She didn’t want to relive those moments every time she went to sleep.
She had tried so hard to forget. To forgive herself for what happened, but nothing she could do would allow her forget that day.
The day of regret.
Vinyl lay on the ground hearing the screams of her marefriend. Already, a crowd had started to form. “Thanks for the help jerks,” she thought to herself. She got back up, prepared for a fight. Buck threw another punch her way. She easily dodged it, grabbed his hoof, and flung him to the ground. A smirk formed on Vinyl’s face at the success of the move.
Vinyl stepped off the train and stared at Canterlot, her mouth agape. She had forgotten how large the city was. She didn’t have the slightest as to where she was going.
She looked at the ponies walking by. Their heads were high and they wore fancy clothing. Vinyl knew that if she tried to talk to them they would pay no heed. She sighed.
“This is going to be a long day...”
Buck got up from the floor, furious that Vinyl was putting up a fight. He yelled in anger and charged Vinyl. He tackled her to the floor and began sending punch after punch down on her face. Vinyl brought up her hind legs and kicked him off of her.
Buck, once again, got up and charged, this time in an attempt to punch her. Vinyl dodged it. Buck lost his balance and tried to stay on his hoofs. Vinyl bucked him with all her might and he ended up falling into the park fountain. The crowd continued to watch, amazed that Vinyl was even able to fight back.
“What is this a movie? STOP STARING AND HELP ME,” she thought.
Vinyl was becoming extremely frustrated. Not only had she been ignored by the citizens of Canterlot she was also insulted by them for seemingly no reason. One of them even gave her false directions. “If I ever see him again I’m gonna buck him so hard his own mother won’t recognize him...”
She already knew that she would be ignored and insulted considering her mane and tail color. It didn’t help that the only thing she wore were her purple shades. Vinyl looked at her surroundings. “I swear I was here five minutes ago.”
Thirty minutes later Vinyl was back at the train station. “WHAT ARE YOU KIDDING ME!” She placed her hooves under the table next to her and flipped it, sending napkins and salt flying into the air. Vinyl looked around. Everypony was staring at her. She then realised what she had done and proceeded to put the table back to its original position. As soon as she had finished putting the table back, she hastily trotted away from the scene.
Buck pulled himself out of the water and out of the fountain. His face was red from anger. “ENOUGH GAMES,” he shouted. He pulled out something shiny. At first Vinyl couldn’t tell what it was, that is, until he came after her with it. It was a pocket knife. Vinyl repeatedly jumped back as she evaded Buck’s slashes with the knife. Vinyl soon backed herself into a tree. Buck raised his hoof and brought it down.
Vinyl stopped to catch her breath. “I really need to think these things through,” she thought to herself, still regaining her breath.
“Excuse me, are you in need of assistance?” Vinyl turned to see somepony staring at her. “Why do you care,” she said bitterly.
“Well, I just thought from your outburst in the train station that you needed some help.”
Vinyl was surprised. This guy wasn’t like all the snobs in this town. He genuinely wanted to help her. “Y-Yeah, I need some help finding somepony,” she replied. She gave him a description of who she was looking for.
“I’m guessing you’re a fan of hers?” he said.
“I guess you could say that.”
“Well I think you will be happy to know that she will be performing at the Canterlot Theater in about thirty minutes.” He continued to explain the directions to the theater.
“Really?” Vinyl exclaimed.
“Yes, if you go now you should be able to make it,” he replied.
“Thanks man, you don’t know what I’ve been through today.”
She flashed him a smile and made her way to the theater.
Vinyl caught Buck’s arm and slammed it against the tree causing him to drop the knife. She wrestled him to the ground. Both ponies were trying to get the upper hoof. Vinyl heard screams and shouts both from the crowd and her marefriend. Buck eventually managed to pin down Vinyl. He began to punch her again. This time Vinyl couldn’t escape. She felt herself blacking out, knowing she had lost.
Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie popped out of a bush with her party cannon in hoof. She aimed for Buck and fired. Buck flew off of Vinyl. He tumbled to the ground, becoming entangled in streamers.
Vinyl smiled at her friend and said her thanks. “No problem Vinyl, I haven’t been able to use my party cannon for a while now, so I’m happy that when I did, it was to help one of my friends.” Pinkie grinned and then disappeared into the bush.
Vinyl found the theater. She stared at it for a second hoping this trip wasn’t for nothing. Then she proceeded inside.
Any word you could use to describe the theater would be an understatement. Massive chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The walls engraved with some sort of design. The chairs were red and black. The stage was made entirely of apple tree wood. The vast decor was breathtaking. It was as if Rarity had done them herself. The theater itself seemed big enough to hold half of Canterlot’s population.
Vinyl sat through the performance. The music was stupendous. Vinyl couldn’t think of a word to describe it. She couldn’t believe the mare she was looking for was a part of this musical symphony. That was when she realized she had missed out on all the performances she had made before. It made her feel worse for what she had done that day.
The day of regret.
Vinyl turned back to Buck. He was getting back up for the third time.
She had to stop this now.
Vinyl lunged for the pocket knife and grabbed it. She walked over to Buck. “Buck leave us alone,” she began. “Or I’m gonna have to use this,” she said as she showed him the knife.
She was hoping to the Goddesses that he would listen. Instead, Buck laughed. “You don’t have the courage to even try to touch me with that thing.” He continued to get back up to his hooves. “It’s a good thing I carry two,” he said giving her a big grin.
Her charged her once again, knife in hoof.
During the whole show, Vinyl had her eyes glued on one specific mare. The mare she had gone through all this trouble to see.
At the end of the performance each member of the ensemble took their bows. Vinyl cheered extremely loud for the mare. Earning her some glares from others in the audience.
Then, everypony began to file out of the theater. Everypony except Vinyl. She began to head to the stage. To the mare, she so desperately wanted to see. The mare was too busy returning her instrument to its case to notice Vinyl. Vinyl suddenly became extremely nervous. What does she think of me now? Does she even remember me? Will she hate me?
All these questions raced through her mind as she made her way up the stage. She was broken out of her trance when she heard her ask, “Do you need something?”
“OH CELESTIA, WHAT DO I DO,” Vinyl asked herself as she backed away from Buck.
“Just make this easy and stand still,” Buck said angrily. “We all know how this is going to end!” He said as he continued his unending barrage of slashes and jabs.
Vinyl grabbed Buck’s arm as he tried to cut her throat. Everything seemed to stop for a second. The crowd watched and hollered. Vinyl’s marefriend, the cause of all this, screaming and pleading for the fight to stop.
Vinyl pulled Buck towards her. Prepared to do what needed to be done. She pushed her hoof forward, the knife connecting to Bucks stomach. A horrid squishing sound came from Buck’s stomach as the knife continued deeper and deeper. Everything became silent. The crowd stopped shouting. Everypony just stared in horror at the events that had unfolded.
The silence was broken by a scream from Vinyl’s marefriend,” NO, VINYL!”
Buck fell to the ground, his hooves clutching the knife in his stomach. A pool of blood already started to form. Vinyl slowly backed away. She became horrified upon the realization of what she had done and stared at her blood covered hoof. She muttered to herself, “w-w-what h-ha-have I-I d-done.” Tears came to her eyes as she tried to convince herself that it wasn’t her fault.
It was at that moment that a few royal guards flew in. They took Vinyl back to Canterlot for trial. Luckily, Princess Celestia understood that she had killed Buck in necessity and was nice about it, but she still had to sentence Vinyl to five years in the dungeon.
In the dungeon all Vinyl could think about was that day.
The day of regret.
“H-hi Octy, i-its me Vinyl...” At this statement Octavia’s eyes widened in surprise and realization.
Octavia just couldn’t believe who she was looking at. All these years she thought she would never see Vinyl again. She tried to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth. All she could do was embrace Vinyl in a hug as she remembered that day.
The day of regret.