//------------------------------// // Chapter Fourteen // Story: To Befriend the Night // by LucidTech //------------------------------// Octavia awoke to the sound of knocks at the door. She mumbled something incomprehensible and began to stir and, through sheer will, managed to lift herself off the bed and onto the ground. She stood still for a moment, almost falling asleep on her hooves, but the knocking shot through her mind again and she stumbled her way toward the noise. She was barely managing movement at this point and her hooves were a single misstep away from catching on the ground and making her tumble head over hooves. As she made her way to the incessant dull noise, she passed through the kitchen, finding Vinyl smiling to herself as she continued to 'read' the magazine in front of her, though it was clear the DJ was just too lazy to get up and answer the door. Octavia paused for a moment, letting the DJ levitate a coffee cup to the cellist lips. She drank a mouthful and closed her eyes. With a deep swallow, she opened her eyes fully and gave the mare a light peck on the cheek before she finished the rest of the trip to the door. Vinyl grinned and set the coffee cup across the table, then took a drink from a separate one sitting nearer to her. Octavia paused at the door and made sure she looked presentable before opening it. A curious feeling stirred within her when she saw the stallion looking back at her from beyond the entrance. He turned his head to face her more fully and Octavia spotted a small filly draped over his back. After a second, she recognized the filly as the one from the orphanage with whom Hendrick had been talking: Moon Light, if she remembered correctly. Afterwards, she looked to Hendrick for an explanation. “Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you had a bed for this little one? Just until she wakes up. I found her sleeping in an alley; I think she must have gotten lost.”  His face was immovable, a perfect look of apathy frozen upon it. In response, the earth pony smiled warmly and stepped to the side. “Come on in. You can set her down in the guest room.” Hendrick nodded to her and entered. As he passed, the faint smell of old newspaper filled the air, which confirmed the story to the cellist. She followed after him, watching as he and Vinyl shared a greeting, then the DJ stood from her chair at the table and lead the stallion toward the guest room. After the filly had been put on the bed to rest, the adults returned to the kitchen. A third chair was brought to the table and Hendrick rested himself upon it, thanking his hostesses as he did so. Vinyl retrieved a third cup of coffee with her magic and Octavia passed a plate of cookies toward him, which he respectfully declined. Octavia moved the plate back to the center of the table and took a cookie for herself, placing it on a napkin next to her coffee. “Quite the breakfast,” Hendrick said with a smile. “You have Vinyl to thank for that,” Octavia said, glancing towards the blind DJ out of the corner of her eye. “She’s been infecting my diet with sweets ever since I met her. I like to think I’ve done the same to her music, though.” Vinyl grinned in return, but didn’t say anything. Hendrick took a slow drink of coffee and relaxed, leaning against the chair and gazing up towards the ceiling. A slow sigh passed between his lips and he closed his eyes, enjoying the moment while it lasted. “I miss the days when words were light,” he said idly. “They’ve been so heavy, recently.” “I don’t mean to pry, Hendrick,” Octavia said, “but if you want to, you can talk to us about it.” “Yea.” Vinyl punched him in the shoulder. “We’re always here for ya, you crazy lug, no matter how many flaming buildings you run into.” A half-hearted smile crossed the stallions face, but quickly disappeared, carried away on another sigh. “I suppose it would be nice to talk about it, if you two are sure you don’t mind listening to my blatherings.” The mares nodded and Hendrick let his neck go loose, causing his head to look backwards behind the chair he sat on. “All right then, I guess it’s really just me being stupid.” He sat up immediately, and straightened his back. “I scared Moon Light, really badly. I didn’t mean to, but I think she’s afraid of me now.” A squeak hit the air and Hendrick looked to its source, the nearby hallway. He was about to stand up and go investigate when Octavia grabbed his front hoof. “Don’t worry about it; that hallway has always been really noisy.” Hendrick nodded and let his body settle back into the chair, though his eyes continued to look in the direction of the hallway every now and then. . Moon Light could hear her heart beating in her ears and it was a wonder Hendrick didn’t pick up on it. Her mind raced through her memories in its desperate search for something tangible to calm her. She had woken up as soon as Hendrick hefted her onto his back, but had been too scared to tell him at the time, so she played along. After he had put her on the bed, she had waited until they left, then went after them. I didn’t even know these ponies! Moon Light cursed herself silently. This wasn’t calming! The voice of Hendrick intruded upon her panic and brought a welcome, if unexpected, calmness to her. “I just wish I could make it up to her.” Oddly, her heart quieted to its normal volume and she focused on her sense of hearing, making sure she could hear him correctly. “No doubt I can’t just apologize to her, that’s hollow enough on its own, but I wouldn’t be half surprised if that’s what her father told her every morning after he beat her.” The memories of exactly that came to Moon Light’s mind, but she didn’t flinch. They seemed far away for some reason. She wasn’t hurt. Instead, she focused more intently on what was being said in the room just behind her. “I don’t mean to suppose anything, but she’s up for adoption, correct?” Silence filled the air as Hendrick answered the question with a nod of his head. “Then perhaps you could adopt her? No doubt that would bring a smile to her face?” Octavia hid her excitement for the idea well, her tone remaining even as she spoke and hiding a small smile as she drank her coffee. On the other side of the wall, Moon Light’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t expected that proposition. She wasn’t sure why, but the idea seemed extremely appealing to her. “I’m afraid I can’t,” he stated almost immediately. A chill filled the air and Moon Light shivered as she felt her hope drain from her. “I simply don’t have a home that would suit a child, and she deserves much better than I can give her.” Vinyl and Octavia were silent as the stallion took a deep drink of his coffee. “However...” He let the word hang in the air, looking from one mare to the other. “You two seem to be in a good position financially; perhaps you could adopt her?” Overcome with anticipation for what was to come next, Moon Light dared a glance around the corner. “I—” Octavia cut herself off and took a moment to compose her words. “I suppose we could, but I think she would be much better in your company, don’t you?” “After the stupid act I pulled yesterday? I highly doubt it,” Hendrick replied, his expression not changing. “She deserves more than the emotions of a broken stallion. She deserves two very caring ponies, like you and Vinyl.” “All right then,” Vinyl said before Octavia could get another word in. “Me and ‘Tavi have been thinking about adopting, anyway. This is just the push we needed, isn’t that right, ‘Tavi?” The cellist shook herself from a reverie and nodded to the unicorn. “So it’s decided, then. We’ll adopt Moon Light. She’ll be spinning records and playing the cello before the month’s out,” Vinyl concluded with a smile. “Thank you,” Hendrick replied softly. Then, he stood from his chair and finished the rest of the coffee. “Thank you for the coffee as well, but if you’ll excuse me, I really need to get going.” “No problem; see you later,” Vinyl responded with a grin. With the conversation done, Moon Light quickly made her way back to the guest room. She had a lot to think about.         Celestia was pacing across the street from the house when Hendrick stepped out the door, her steps worried and her mind elsewhere as she trotted back and forth. When Hendrick spotted her, a look of confusion crossed his face, then he closed the door behind him and made his way towards her. “We need to talk elsewhere. Do you have time to spare?” she asked as soon as he was within speaking distance.         His eyes flicked away from the princess for a moment to check the time, then he nodded to her. She curtly nodded in return, then cast a teleportation spell. The two of them were both dragged through space before they ended up at the castle in a secluded room. Celestia remained looking regal, despite the disorienting experience, while Hendrick did not. He was laying on the ground, his eyes clenched shut. His face had taken on a tinge of green and he looked extremely nauseous.  As she was unable to think of a spell to help him off the top of her head, she patiently waited until Hendrick didn’t look nearly as close to vomiting.         “I need you to stop seeing my sister,” Celestia said as Hendrick picked himself up off the ground.         Hendrick eyed her up for a few moments before making a move to speak, but a wave of nausea interrupted him and he was forced to close his mouth for a moment with a hoof to his lips. After a few short coughs, he turned to face Celestia again. “I’m going to assume you aren’t going to tell me why?” he asked blandly. Celestia nodded. Not missing a beat, Hendrick continued on. “And what does Luna think of this idea?”         “I haven’t asked her opinion on it.” She could sense the conversation was changing toward whatever the stallion was curious about, a trick that Hendrick seemed to perform whenever he spoke.         “Well then, I don’t see how talking to me is going to stop the situation. If Luna asks for my presence, am I to decline? And when she comes to see me, what then?”         Celestia sighed in response. After several minutes of thought, she spoke up again. “It seems I didn’t act soon enough. I didn’t anticipate the two of you to be so close, already. Only today did I hear from an eyewitness that you kissed her. I acted as soon as I could, but it appears I’m too late.” The white alicorn began to walk back and forth in the empty room. “I’d ask how it escalated so quickly, but that’s irrelevant right now.”         Hendrick kept a mask of absolute calm on his face. “May I ask what you are worried about?” Celestia stopped and glanced to the odd stallion. She seemed to be sizing him up with her eyes. Then, she approached him. “Luna’s last relationship didn’t end well,” she said. “And it ended with... complications. She was damaged, emotionally, and I don’t think she’ll ever recover." A sadness bled through the words, the kind of sadness that only truth can hold. "I had hoped to keep her from loving another, to prevent it from ever occurring again, but it appears she’s grown attached to you. Something I did not expect to happen.” “Ah, I see. May I ask why you decided to share that with me?” Hendrick asked. “Don’t mistake me; I understand you wish me to know precisely what I’m getting into, but you could have said that in so many other ways. And it’s not like I would be able to force an answer from you.” “I told you because you’ve proven you’re quite adept at keeping secrets. I ask that this be added to your list of things you will not discuss. I do not want you to talk about this to Front Page or anyone else, am I clear?” Celestia asked with a threatening tone. “As crystal.” From the princess’s view, a fire began to grow in Hendrick’s eye, but when she blinked, it was gone. His expression, however, had changed to one of pain and hopelessness. A memory had obviously changed his demeanor, but Celestia opted not to press on the subject. There was a pause, then Hendrick continued. “I assume you won’t be telling me more on this subject.” “I am unable to.” Celestia eyed the gem in her necklace for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the stallion. She eyed him for a moment longer; it was an impossibly long moment. Her eyes met Hendrick’s. Pathways to the soul, they had been called. Despite herself, a soft smile crossed her face. She couldn’t think of anything else to say, so she decided to close the conversation. “Thank you for understanding, Hendrick.” The words were filled with an indescribable mix of joy and sorrow. “I doubted you would be able to sympathize with my sister’s plight, but that look in your eye right now says I was wrong.” “It’s a pleasure to serve, Your Highness,” he responded solemnly. Her head bobbed in response and she cast a quick spell, sending Hendrick back to the street outside Vinyl and Octavia’s house. Celestia, on the other hand, teleported to her throne room. For the first time, Celestia thought she saw what had enraptured her sister about Hendrick. And she found herself dwelling on the enigma that he was. He was solitary, but sympathetic. Secretive, but open. She pondered briefly on what could cause that change in someone, but decided against pursuing it. She didn’t have the time, but more importantly, she was scared to find out where that line of questioning led.