Twilight and Pinkie had left first. Pinkie was carrying a fairly drunk Twilight in tow, thanking us for the night and not worrying too much about the mess that Twilight had made when she knocked over one of the bottle of wines all over the counter. The rest left shortly after as it was almost 1 in the morning. All except Fluttershy and Rarity. Looks like after a bottle and a half each, neither was able to walk down the stairs and neither would definitely not able to drive. Dash picked up Fluttershy and put her in her room on the air mattress that she had while I laid a complaining Rarity down on the couch and placed a blanket over her. I decided to go to out onto the balcony to get some fresh air before going to bed.
I pulled out a pack of camels and lit up a cigarette. I chuckled at the irony. Went outside for some fresh air and started smoking, but it relieved the stress. Finals were almost upon us, and I had been crunching like a madman. Big reason Vinyl wanted to throw this party was to blow off some steam. My life had been really hectic this last few weeks and she knew that. Maybe for not as long as she should have but hey, I’m slowly working on fixing that issue.
Something about tonight made everything so awesome. Everyone seemed to now enjoy my company and i felt great about it. I took off my vest and long sleeve and decided to let my wings out for a second. I haven’t let them unfurl since the day I crashed into Rarity, and the snow on my feathers glistened in the pale moonlight. I still hadn’t apologized to her for my outburst in the shop, but I guess that could wait until morning. The cool wind and the cig calmed me and my stomach down. Something felt off about tonight as well. I really couldn’t put my finger on it, but it just did.
“I knew it.” A small voice chuckled behind me. I whipped around and jumped on the balcony railing, about to take flight when I saw Rarity sitting in one of the two lounge chairs, wrapped up in my blanket. How the hell had she been so quiet? She was graceful, sure, but I had always had a sense of sound that was above average because of years working looking for small imperfections in songs.
She must have been cold. How could she not be, she was wearing a royal blue short dress with a purple overcoat. She’d taken off her pair of tall white heels, that she now placed on the ground next to her. She patted the space on the chair next to her as she levitated a glass of wine.
“What do you mean you knew?”
“Oh it was obvious. Not wanting to remove your shirt, which by the way had wing holes. Besides,” she said sliding a pristine feather out of her coat pocket, “you left this on the floor. I’m surprised that you thought I wouldn’t find out. Now you are going to sit down and tell me what is going on with you.”
“You know, I don’t really feel comfortable talking about stuff like that.”
“If you say it’s complicated, you are not going to get anywhere. I assure you that talking about it will make you feel better.”
“Even if I talked about it, I doubt it would make me feel any better, some shit cuts pretty damn deep.”
“Everyone has issues, darling. It is not like you are the only one that has issues that dictate their lives. How about this, if you tell me, I promise I will not tell anyone.”
I hesitated to move off of my perch, hoping that the drink in Rarity’s system would make her forget but I doubt that it would happen. She smiled sweetly at me and motioned the Pinkie promise. As she did, I flitted over to the spot she patted again and sat down with my back to her. I extended my left wing out in front of the girl sitting down. Running her hands over the bones and feathers, Rarity muttered random things to herself. Every once in awhile, I could hear her talking about the knots from where the wing has been broken.
Now, there is one thing that I truly felt most vulnerable doing and that was letting someone touch my wings. Years of restraints, wing clipping and hobbling take their toll. I never would have done this if I was sober, so I quickly downed her drink. The warmth of the drinks helped me battle the cold wind that had started to pick up. As I had finished, I drew again from my cigarette. Exhaling the smoke, I was nudged in the side. I turn around to see her looking at me with a slightly stern look.
“It’s rude to keep secrets from a lady, but it is even ruder to not offer her something that you are partaking in yourself.” She said with an indignant tone, but then shot me a what seemed to me to be a teasing glance. It took me by surprise that Rarity wanted a cigarette. But I shrugged and handed her one and lit it for her. As she took a long drag from it, she exhaled with a satisfied sigh of relief. “Has been ages since I have had one of these. Fluttershy doesn’t really approve of smoke around her animals. Keeps them all around. Rabbits, cats, dogs. You name it we have it.”
“Is that right? That must get pretty filthy, what with all those animals. Smell must be horrible.”
“Oh, you do not know the half of it. Probably better than what Dash was living in before you and Vinyl helped her clean it up. Thank you for that, by the way. I have not been over to this apartment in weeks, and when Pinkie called saying that Vinyl and Dash were throwing a party here, I was very skeptical. Almost did not come because of that fact alone, but Sweetie Belle came into town and wanted to see Spike, so I couldn’t say no to her.”
“Sweet of you. I would pretty much do anything for my sister, but I haven’t seen my sister in 3 years. She should be somewhere on the coast, performing in that show or something? Been through some pretty deep shit with her.”
“Why don’t you tell me about her?”
“Uhhh, well, she was probably the only one that seemed to care once I became a part of the family. My adoptive mother and father were not good to me. I don’t really feel comfortable talking about this. It was a pretty rough time for me.”
“We have all had hardships that we have gone through.”
“I doubt someone like you would understand what I went through.”
“It may not be the same, but I do indeed know the trials of having a broken family.”
“Oh, and please tell me princess, how would you know anything like what I have been through.”
“Well if you must know, my father is Magnum Filligree. Used to play professional football as a wide receiver, but he was injured badly in his second season, before he could really make it big. That was when I was about 4, right around the time Sweetie Belle was born. She is, the best thing that happened to my family. But at the same time, she brought problems that became harder and harder to live with. 7 years later, on my 12th birthday, that my parents were broke. They had nothing left in the savings and were running on fumes. One thing I overheard that almost broke my heart was that they were going to consider giving us up. I ran into sweetie’s room and held her close in my arms, telling her that everything was going to be alright. That we were not going to have to live like this anymore. I spent weeks looking for some kind of work, actually spent a week working on a rock farm outside of town. It’s how I met Pinkie, but when her father found out exactly how old I was, he brought me home and told my father what I was doing. Eventually, I convinced my father to allow me to work, under the ruse of needing some responsibility. He kept refusing until I started at the jewelry story.”
Rarity had turned her head to the side and down as her eyes started to fill with tears. I moved on instinct and put my arm around her and she placed her head on my chest. I started feeling warmer, but that was probably the half bottle of vodka I have consumed since Rarity came outside. Rarity, in turn, had curled her body up next to mine. It was strange to me though, not really sure, but I thought this girl was super pissed off at me.
“Well thats what I told my family. My magic pulled me out of my house late one night shortly before “taking the job”. Was dragged all over the place until it stopped in front of a large rock. A rock. Just a rock. I was so frustrated that i attacked it with all of my might and magic, pushing it over the edge of a small cliff. When i looked at the wreckage, I noticed shimmering and when I got closer noticed gems in the rubble. I grabbed as many as I could and ran back home. I knew this was how I was going to keep my family afloat, this was how I was going to stay home, this was how I was going to keep Sweetie Belle. Thats how I got this.” She turned around with a soft sad smile and gestured to her right shoulder blade.
On her back was 3 diamonds. Cut and pristine, they seem to reflect her personality perfectly. A hardened precious stone, that hard work and sweat and toil brought out into the world. She had fought her way to save her family and yet all those hard years of work, she had done an amazing job to keep herself in a pristine nature. She seemed to exemplified the phrase “A Diamond in the rough” in my mind.
She grabbed me in her arms and started to softly cry into my shoulders. As she did, I wrapped my arms and wings softly around her. I don’t know if it’s the booze doing this, but I’m not usually this touchy feely.
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t told anyone the truth about my family’s problems. The only one that really knows is Pinkie Pie.”
“Um then why tell me about it.”
“Well,” she said as she levitated the bottle of vodka over to her and took a swig and passed over the bottle to me. “It seemed like you were holding back a lot of pain as well. otherwise you would never hide such magnificent wings.”
“They really aren’t much. Just always a cause of trouble.” I said taking a large swig from the bottle feeling even less lucid than I had before. Getting up, I walked back over to the balcony and grabbed a cigarette. Pulling on the lit stick, I continued, “I was adopted when I was young. The neighborhood i had been “saved” from was terrible. But I would take it back over what shit I went through. I had my wings bandaged down so that I couldn’t fly, broken I think seven times. My adopted mother despised Pegs, no idea why but it was bad. See this scar?” I gestured to a large gash across my left shoulder, “When I was 10, I dropped a plate. My father took me out back and whipped me for what seemed hours.”
Rarity took another swig and offered me one as well, and I took it gladly. Reliving these old days were terrible. She pulled me down and had me lay next to her and she draped the blanket over me. She cuddled up next to me. She felt warm to me. I haven’t been this close to a girl since Vinyl caught me cuddling up next to someone at her party. So almost 7 months since I had been this close.
“When I was about 14, my uncle took me in for a bit, he was not rich or anything, but he was good to me. My 16th birthday, he was killed in a drunk driving accident. Over the next year, I went into a deep depression, trying to keep a job here and there. A couple months before I graduated high school, I stole some liquor from my parents’ liquor cabinet. Drinking my way through the bottle, I drudged throughout the town, eventually stumbling into the community center. Somehow sloshed my way into the music hall, and sat down at a piano. I looked at it for what seemed like a very long time. Then from out of nowhere, a man sat down next to me. He looked at me with weird eyes. He called himself Dr. Kaos, but he said if I felt comfortable to call him Disc.” I stood up at this point and pulled Rarity up with me.
“What are you doing?” she slurred and shivered in the cold november air.
“I need to show you something. Something important.”
I took her hand and led her into the apartment, grabbing the blanket and the bottle. She grabbed another bottle of vodka and wine in her magic and pulled it along behind us to the room. When we got into the room, I placed Rarity on the bed. She swayed unsteadily but was able to stay upright as I pulled the keyboard over to the bed and sat next to her.
“When he told me his name, I laughed and told him my name was Crisp. He just smiled and asked me what I was doing there.”
“So why the piano?”
“What?”
“Why did you choose the piano?”
“I don’t really know what you mean, I just sat down because there was a bench. Not my fault there was a stupid hunk of wood in front of me.”
“Oh I wouldn’t call it that. Some people think that this is something that can save their souls. What do you think about that?
“It’s fucking stupid.”
“What an interesting assumption you have made, but tell me, why do you think that you have such a shallow mind about something like this?”
“I, uh, I don’t really know. I guess I never knew anything like it to save a soul. Just what brings people down.” I stared at the piano with a bit of disdain. I hit the piano with my fist and a dissonant sound clanged out of the piano. I jumped at the sound.
“Now see, if treated poorly anything can make a sour sound. But if you nurture it with a little fun and or love, you can make something beautiful.” He started to play a small simple set of chords, the melody just jumped off the piano and danced in the air. It was chaotic at parts but flowed around the room, brightening up the space.
I stared down the piano and the stranger with his odd eyes and strange gray hair. Then looked at the keys and pulled up a hand up to press down a single key. It was a small sound, but it woke something inside of me. I brought up my other hand and my hands danced across the keys. It had been glorious, I played alongside Disc for what seemed for like hours. Light had started to stream through the windows of the hall. I had played through the night with this strange man. He looked down and me and smiled.
“Two years at the community school and then Procient would be the perfect place for you.”
He gestured to a box in the corner that he conjured with a snap. I hadn’t seen a uni this powerful in years, but I wasn’t worried about that. I walked over to the box and opened up a keyboard. It was beautiful. Sleek, shimmering in the dawn light. I grabbed it and ran from the building, all the while thanking the strange man. He waved to me and yelled at me to remember our deal.
After telling her about the night that turned me around, I placed my hands on the keyboard and started to play the song. A soft soothing melody. Completely in my element, my hands danced across the ivory and ebony keys with fervor, my eyes intense. From my lips a soft hum escaped. I knew this song and the lyrics well, I just don’t know where I remember learning it.
“This song gave me a purpose, gave me a goal, gave me my mark.”
I turned to look at the girl lying on the bed, tearing up at the song. She pulled me down close to her and looked deep into my eyes with her sparkling sapphire eyes.
“Do you know that you have beautiful eyes? So alive and so clear. And a lovely shade of lavender.” she pulled me down and pressed her lips to mine.
To say shock was not the only thing running through my system. Panic, passion, excitement and a full array of other emotions. I didn’t know what to do, but before I could do anything, she pulled away from me and looked into my eyes again. She looked longingly.
“And here I thought you hated me for constantly knocking you down.”
“Well, it was rude, but for some reason, I feel drawn to you. And who knows, you may be able to make it up to me yet.” Rarity slyly giggled.
I thought about it for only a second as I ran my hand through her purple hair and put my hand behind her head and drew a breath and leaned over and reciprocated.