Vinyl twisted and turned in bed, trying desperately to get comfortable. The rocking and the noises of the train didn’t help. All she wanted was to fall asleep and wake up in Canterlot. After an eternity of attempting to force herself to rest, she gave up and got out of bed. The eerie creaking of floorboards greeted her every step. She walked into the train car where her friends slept. The sound of their relaxed breathing eased her mind. No matter what Silere said, Vinyl knew she had friends she could rely on.
A tear welled up in her eye. It was times like this where she wished she could speak, she longed only for a heartfelt conversation. If only she could thank her friends for all they've done for, treating their silent friend no different than their others. Friendship Is Magic, but it was not enough to break this curse. Vinyl looked at each of her friends, one by one.
Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s faithful student. When Pinkie introduced Vinyl to Twilight, Twilight took immediate interest in Vinyl’s curse. She asked many questions, which Vinyl of course couldn't answer. She spent days reading trying to figure out the problem, trying every kind of magic she could think of, obviously to no avail. The two of them bonded well over this problem, Vinyl knew that Twilight honestly cared for her and this comforted her.
Vinyl lay there in the car, a bittersweet tear in her eye, if only she could thank Twilight for all she did for her. Vinyl looked over to Pinkie.
Pinkamena Diane Pie, the one that would make her smile, no matter what. Due to her silence, Vinyl often suffered from bouts of depression. She’d spend days at a time sitting in front of her piano, not touching any food. She’d just sit there, playing a few sad measures over and over, tears streaming down her face and falling to the ivory keys. She would get to the point when she believed that nothing could possibly cheer her up, but then the party pony with the cotton candy mane would always show up, bringing with her an aura of happiness and hope. Pinkie would pull all kind of stunts, putting all of her energy into trying to bring a smile to Vinyl’s face. Vinyl would always try to resist Pinkie’s cheer, but it always seemed to always seep in one way or another. Her happiness was infectious. Before she knew it, Vinyl would be hopping up and down with her friend, some super-happy techno music playing as they partied. They’d spend a couple hours just having a genuinely good time, the noise even attracted a few party-hungry ponies to investigate and join the fun. The fun would often continue far into the night, but eventually everypony would leave and the excitement would die down. Vinyl would wander her house to find Pinkie Pie had fallen asleep on some couch somewhere in her home. Vinyl would grab a blanket and lay it on top of her friend. Seeing such an energetic pony laying so still and so peaceful made her chuckle. Pinkie could make her smile no matter what.
A melancholy smile crossed Vinyl’s face, Pinkie was a great friend, Vinyl merely wished she was able to return the favor. Finally, Vinyl’s eyes fell on Rainbow.
Rainbow Dash, Vinyl’s closest friend. Vinyl knew she could count on Dash no matter what. Dash would be there. They’d met a while before Vinyl moved to Ponyville, at a party that followed a Wonderbolts air show. Rainbow flew up to the DJ booth where Vinyl was doing her thing. “This is such a sweet mix.” Rainbow grinned “Name’s Rainbow Dash, what’s yours?” Vinyl simply pointed to a nameplate on the turntable. “Well nice to meet you Miss Awesome DJ. Do you do parties like this often?” Vinyl replied with a simple nod. “So have you been a DJ for long.” Vinyl just nodded.
“Hey, I’m just trying to make conversation here, I mean seriously, can you not even talk or something?” Vinyl winced. Rainbow’s voice took on a different tone. “Hold on, you can’t talk?” Vinyl slowly shook her head. “Oh, wow. I’m really sorry.” Vinyl merely turned to Rainbow with a wide smile. She returned a sheepish smile as Vinyl handed her a glowstick. The two of them spent the rest of the night together, Rainbow would ask simple questions that Vinyl could nod or shake her head to. They became friends very quickly, seeing that both of them were quite fun loving ponies.
At the end of the night, Dash stayed with Vinyl and helped her pack up the equipment. “Are you from around here?” Vinyl shook her head. “Well do you have a place to stay?” Vinyl gestured to a fold-up cot leaning against a wall. “Really, such an awesome gig and they don’t even get you a hotel room, that’s weak.” Vinyl just shrugged. “Hey, you should come with me, the room I got has two beds.” Rainbow grinned and Vinyl accepted.
From that point on, Rainbow and Vinyl were best friends. When Vinyl finally moved to Ponyville, Dash was ecstatic. Vinyl was happy to know that she had a friend she could count on, no matter what.
Dash understood Vinyl more than anypony ever had. Whenever Vinyl was down, Rainbow was there for her. She understood that sometimes you just need to be sad, and she didn't try to cheer Vinyl up, she’d just sit there with her, holding her. Together, they made it through almost everything.
Vinyl began crying, much harder than before. All of her friends did so much for her and she couldn't thank them, she couldn't express what they meant to her. They deserved a better friend. At this point Vinyl was sobbing.
Then she felt somepony next to her. “It’s okay, you’ll be alright,” Rainbow whispered, as to not wake up the others. Vinyl let all of her tears out as she laid there in Dash’s embrace. Vinyl eventually cried herself to sleep. Dash held onto her friend, “You will be fine.” She shut her eyes and drifted off.