//------------------------------// // Forgotten // Story: Identity Theft // by FauxShores //------------------------------// Author's note: Holy god its been a long time since I've updated. I'll be honest. I wasn't sure that this was going to get finished. I had kinda dropped this project for a while, but my friends have suckered me into working on it again, and I will admit, I missed it HOPEFULLY this will start coming back at a decent pace. No promises, but I do think you can consider "Act II" of this story to come along smoothly. Here's to another batch of great chapters! I present, after a long break, chapter 5. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl watched the rain fall down her cyan mane. Her flank was covered in filth and her coat was knotted. Her eyes were glazed. She had been staring at the ground in front of her hooves for the past thirty minutes. An insect was trapped in the puddle at which she stared-flailing, grasping for the land which would be its salvation. A grim smile escaped from Vinyl’s waterlogged muzzle as she squelched the bug with a hoof. Sorry bro. Life happens. Vinyl resumed her previous escapade. Nothing mattered to her but that puddle on the ground. It was like an ember lost in the tide of a raging forest fire. She was looking for something in that crater of rain, but she didn’t know what it was. She had a way of zoning things out. The trees whispered to her in the storm, but she was deaf to their songs. Lightning flashed in the lands in the distance, but her sight remained monotonous. She had dug this hole herself, and no force of nature could illuminate its depths. The occasional raindrop blurred her vision, creating ripples in the only vision of her world. She saw in that distorted reflection more than she thought she could. It was dark and it was broken, but moreover, it was victimized. And I deserve it. * * * Vinyl stirred in her sleep. She opened an eye and curiously checked her clock for the time. Two thirty. She groaned and turned over, pulling her sheets to her face. She closed her eyes, but sleep would not be kind enough to take her. Thoughts raced through her mind. She wanted no part of it, but it wasn’t her choice. She closed her eyes as much as she could bear and curled up as tight as she could. Thought after thought tormented her mind until finally a single tear escaped. I’m such a pussy. Eyes watery, she turned to face her nightstand. She pulled open the drawer with her magic and lifted the source of her pain to her bed. She stared at the necklace for a good five minutes before she finally brought it to her chest. Why won’t you leave me alone? The stone on the piece was ice cold, but to her it felt so warm. Why can’t you leave like you did before? Vinyl was shaken. She always hated remembering the past, and when her dreams reflected it she always woke a bit shaken. Her face was visibly wet, she was no longer tired and her pillow smelled like sadness. Vinyl looped the piece around her neck and took a trip to the kitchen sink to wash her face. The water was warm, and the towlet that she found smelled nice. She wiped her face down and turned off the flow. I can’t sleep like this. Vinyl tossed the rag on the counter and grabbed herself a mug from the cupboard. She searched the fridge for something she always felt lightened her mood. I haven’t had this since I was a kid. She poured herself a glass of cider and stuck it in the microwave. She set the timer and watched it count down. She had never been patient in her life, but something about the wait was soothing. She stopped the machine before the beeps went off – She didn’t want to wake Tavi. Tavi. She grabbed her mug and sat down on the couch. With her magic she floated a nearby blanket over her shoulders and sipped away at her drink. She coughed at the first taste, surprised. I forgot this was alcoholic. She smiled a bit and continued with her spirits. Cider had always been one of her favorite drinks, alcohol could only improve it. Vinyl sighed in remembrance of her previous adventures with alcohol. She remembered back to the night that she had a huge fight with her best friend. She laughed at how stupid the conflict was but cringed at how poorly it had been handled. She had been playing Halo with her best friend. She was showing him a map that she had made and she received less than positive criticism. She hadn’t handled the situation very well. There had always been a bit of tension between the two ever since they fought over dating the same girl. Tyler ended up dating her through high school, and while Vinyl hated to admit it, she had resented him for it. It wasn’t until years later that the two had finally made amends, but the time between was…difficult. Vinyl had been over defensive of her creation. She argued with him for a good time before the night ended in screams at her friend. Vinyl shuddered. Her dad had come downstairs after the event. The amount of profane language and screaming made him worried. She proceeded to tell him what happened. She didn’t exactly tell the truth however. Her recollection of the event, blinded by her selfish anger caused her to paint a nasty image of her formerly best friend. Her father had listened to her reasoning and took her side. Her friend wasn’t allowed at her house anymore, and she knew at that moment that she had made a mistake. She went to her bedroom as she was ordered. She thought back about everything that just happened and realized that she had gotten demonic over a stupid game. That she had just trashed her friendship between her and the only guy she had ever been bro’s with. All ruined because of her jealousy for a girl. The girl, moreover. Vinyl stared at the ceramic tied around her neck. You won’t ever leave me alone will you? Vinyl thought back to her solution to her pain. She remembered sneaking down to the pantry of her parent’s house. She remembered falling down in the middle of the floor crying. She hated herself. She was the biggest bitch that she knew. She had thrown away her friendship in the most selfish way she could imagine. She wanted her mind to just shut up. She wanted to stop hating herself. She wanted to disappear. She laid against her pantry door and opened the nearby cabinet. She reached inside and grabbed a bottle that she had yet to experiment with. Her mother had always kept a bottle of Vodka with the rest of her family’s drinks. Her mom had been known to host Christmas gatherings and the like, so she stowed away her base drinks until the seasonal drinking came to her home. Christmas is coming early. She drank from the bottle, coughing most of it up onto the floor. She was sixteen, and had never had more than a glass of wine at a time. A final tear dripping from her eye she tried again. Her throat burned at the sensation. It hurt, and it was hard to swallow the poison, but she pressed on. She easily finished half of the bottle before she finally recapped it and literally climbed up the stairs to her bed. She crashed, plagued with the thoughts of her now ruined friendship. She dreamed of being killed in a car accident. She woke up with a smile. Vinyl sipped away at her cider. A slight smile across her face I still can’t believe he forgave me. Vinyl’s eyes were half glassed as she stared at nothing in particular. Her drink reminded her of how she used to handle things in her life. It reminded her that alcohol did nothing but numb the pain. It wouldn’t fix any problems, but it could make them wait. She was nearly finished with her drink when she heard a voice. “Are you okay Vinyl?” Vinyl smiled. Tavi. “I’m fine.” She responded. Octavia looked at the drink with doubt. “I don’t believe you.” She said. Vinyl smiled. “I don’t either Tavi.” Octavia sighed. She hated seeing people like this. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked. Vinyl shrugged. Octavia motioned towards her room. “Something is bugging you” she said. “I may not have known you for very long but you aren’t exactly hard to read.” Vinyl laughed to herself. I’m easy I guess. Vinyl let out a deep breath before she pulled the blanket off of herself. “I’m just having a bit of a rough night.” She said standing up. Octavia took this as a good sign. “Will you come lie down with me then?” she asked. Vinyl smiled weakly. She knew she wouldn’t be sleeping for a while, but lying down sounded good. “Sure.” She said. Vinyl followed her roommate into the dark. She noted that Octavia’s room smelled different than her own. That, and it was clean. Vinyl had never been tidy, so the room came as a pleasant surprise. Octavia motioned towards the right side of the bed as she climbed in. Vinyl gladly obliged her. “So what’s up Vinyl?” Tavi asked. “You always seemed so…carefree to me.” Vinyl smiled. She was a pretty carefree pony. She didn’t think about it much, but she could see how she would appear so happy to others. “Something is eating at you.” Tavi sounded genuinely concerned. “Talking about it can help.” She said. “You taught me that. You made me feel like me again.” She smiled at her roommate. “I want to be there for you too.” Vinyl smiled at her friend. She had only known her for a few days, but she could tell that she was a keeper. “I just overthink things sometimes.” She said, looking at her necklace. “I feel like I’ve moved on, but sometimes I can’t help but think about the past.” Octavia looked at her friend. She noticed that she was absently stroking her necklace. The beads on it had a sort of tribal feel. It was amateur by all means, but it still looked very pretty. “Where did you get the necklace?” She asked. Vinyl smiled. “An old friend made it for me.” She replied. “She said it was something that would keep me strong when I was away.” Vinyl’s speech was a bit stuttered. “She told me that if we both kept it that everything would be okay.” Vinyl was shaking. Octavia wasn’t quite sure what Vinyl had been through, but she knew that that necklace meant something big to her. She wanted to pry for answers, but she didn’t want to rush her friend. Vinyl seemed to be in a lot of pain, she didn’t want to spark a fire. She moved a bit closer to her quivering roommate. She could feel her movements through the mattress. “It’s very pretty. Who made it for you?” Vinyl rested her head on the pillow. She closed her eyes and let the tears flow down her face. She brought the blankets up over her head to hide but Octavia stopped her. “It’s okay Vinyl. It’s okay to cry.” She wrapped a hoof over her friend’s shoulder. She looked at her friend’s face. She could see her eyes straining, trying as hard as they could to block the world out of sight. Her tears fell steadily as an early spring creek. With every twitch of Vinyl’s ears, with every muffled sob Tavi felt the need to help. “Tell me what happened.” She said. She rubbed her hoof down her friend’s back. She was cold and shaky, but it seemed to calm her. Vinyl didn’t move an inch. Her cries softened a bit as she tried to regain her posture. “I-Im sorry Tavi” She whispered. Octavia brushed Vinyl’s mane out of her face. “Don’t be.” She said. “Now tell me what happened.” Vinyl rubbed her eyes with her hooves. She closed her eyes for a moment to regain her strength before she continued. Using her magic she lifted her necklace back over her head and set it on the bed between her and her roommate. “My Ex made this for me.” Vinyl spoke. “For our first anniversary.” She still feels for her. Tavi smiled. “It’s quite nice.” She said. “What happened between you?” Vinyl tried her best to smile. “We had our time.” She said. Tavi knew damn well what that meant. “I’m sorry.” She said. “I can’t imagine it’s easy.” Vinyl closed her eyes. “It’s not.” She said. She curled up a bit into the blankets as Tavi adjusted herself. “How did it happen?” Tavi asked. “Was it mutual?” Vinyl laughed a bit to herself. “Not exactly.” Tavi frowned. She had hoped that their breakup had at least been dignified. “What happened exactly?” she asked. “If you don’t mind telling that is.” Vinyl sighed. “It’s a bit of a story.” “I love stories.” Tavi responded. “Suit yourself.” Vinyl said. “I had gone off to college. I was planning on going to medical school because my dad was a doctor and I didn’t want to disappoint him. The state school was about four hours from my home. It wasn’t too far, but it was long enough to make frequent trips difficult.” Vinyl adjusted her pillow a bit as she rested her head. “Before I left we spent the last few nights together. I told her that I didn’t want to leave her behind, but school was important to me. She understood. She was always good at understanding.” Vinyl sighed. “She always listened to me. No matter what I had to say. I didn’t want to leave her, but I had to. I told her that while I was gone I wanted her to stay happy. I didn’t want her to dwell on the fact that I was gone." Vinyl’s eyes closed. “I told her that she could…you know, fool around a bit if she wanted to.” Tavi sighed. She knew instantly what went wrong, and she felt horrible for her. “I told her that I didn’t want her to feel alone. That I loved her so much that I didn’t care if she felt the need to fool around while I was gone. I didn’t want to act like I owned her. I wanted us to be stronger than sex.” Vinyl said. She was silent for a few moments before she finished. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but I gave her permission to leave me.” Vinyl looked at Octavia with teary eyes. “When I came home for Christmas, she introduced me to her friend.” Vinyl whimpered. “I was happy to meet him. I knew it was likely that they had had a few experiences, but I didn’t care. I trusted her.” Vinyl teared up again. “When she introduced me, he seemed so happy to see me. I went to shake his hand and…” Vinyl broke down. She couldn’t hold it in anymore. “He…he….he had a necklace.” She cried. “With the same stone mine had.” Octavia hugged Vinyl tight. What a bitch. “I’m so sorry Vinyl…I don’t know what to say.” Vinyl was in all out tears. “She said she loved me. She said that if I kept my necklace that she would never forget me. That she would never forget the shit I went through fighting for her. That she would never forget the times when I tried so hard to make her happy. That she would never forget the first time I said I loved her.” Vinyl was nearly shouting through her tears, holding onto Tavi as much as she could. She looked her in the eyes as she sobbed. “She told me she would never forget the night I asked her to marry me when I was done with college.” Vinyl bit her lip. The mattress was getting soaked. “But she did. She forgot everything I ever did for her. I was just another guy she was trying out. She forgot how much I fought with MY best friend to get to her. She forgot how I threw him away to love her.” Vinyl was nearly out of tears. “She forgot that she was leaving me broken.” Octavia held her friend close. She was crying for her now. She had no idea that her friend had been so crushed. She was amazed she could hold it in so well. Vinyl’s whimpers came to a close. “She forgot that I loved her.” She coughed a bit to clear her throat. She held her necklace up to Tavi. “She forgot what this meant. That this necklace meant that everything would be okay.” Octavia looked into Vinyl’s eyes. They were so deep. She could see the layers of her soul within them. She grabbed her friend’s necklace and held it up. “Stick your head out Vinyl.” She said. “Why?” Vinyl asked, still a bit choked up from her rant. “Just trust me.” She said. Vinyl considered the action for a moment before deciding nothing bad could happen. She leaned in towards Octavia. Octavia lifted the necklace back around Vinyl’s head. “She may have forgotten Vinyl, but that doesn’t mean you should.” She said. “She may have left you broken, but that doesn’t mean you can’t rebuild. She told you everything was going to be okay. Live to that promise. You will find love again.” Octavia encouraged. Vinyl smiled weakly. “Maybe.” Octavia smiled. “You are beautiful Vinyl. She doesn’t know what she is missing out on.” Vinyl blushed a bit. “I don’t know about that, but I appreciate the gesture.” She said, breaking eye contact as she looked down Octavia lifted a hoof to Vinyl’s head. “Hey” she said. “I’m not kidding. You really are beautiful Vinyl.” Vinyl couldn’t help but stare. Tavi was just so welcoming. “You really think I could find love again here?” she asked. Tavi smiled. “If you are open to it, then I promise you will, but you have to decide for yourself when you are ready to move on." Vinyl closed her eyes and smiled. Her eyes were damp from crying, but she looked happy. “I’m ready.” She whispered. She curled up again under the blanket with only her head breaking the surface. She felt warm, and she felt cared for. She knew she would never recover her past love, but for the first time in years she felt truly optimistic. She was surprised that she felt happy, but what was even more surprising caught her completely off guard. She felt a pair of foreign lips upon her own. Vinyl opened her eyes slowly to see Octavia had moved as close to her as she could. Tavi opened her eyes and smiled gently at Vinyl. “How do you feel about clichéd shipping?” she asked with a giggle. Vinyl smiled. “I never thought it was clichéd” she replied, returning the original kiss. Vinyl wrapped her hoof under Tavi’s neck and pulled her as close as she could. “I’ve been needing this.” Vinyl whispered. Octavia smiled. “You aren’t alone in that.” She replied. After a brief exchange Tavi nestled her way into Vinyl’s coat. She wrapped her hooves around Vinyl’s body and rested her head on the pillow. Vinyl embraced her as best she could as she closed her eyes. She pulled the blanket over them both as she drifted back to sleep. I think the nightmares are over.