//------------------------------//
// Arc 2: Unbroken Vigil, chp 3 
// Story: The Mettle of Friendship 
// by Solace Sojourn 
//------------------------------//

	Violet and Sonorous stared at each other for several more moments, until Zen stepped in and put a gentle hoof on the mare’s shoulder. He was immediately met with that same glare that she had given his friend, but Zen kept his gaze soft and steady.
“Come with me,” he whispered. “Let’s get you settled in.” After gesturing to Sonorous for the keys, Zen exited the elevator and turned left. With one last sneer at the pegasus, Violet departed. The door Zen unlocked was marked with 3A. Violet could guess what the denomination meant and followed the stallion inside, not giving a second thought about the pegasus still crumpled in the elevator. She entered a large room with sparse furnishings and a hallway at the far side of the room. There were a couple couches, pillows, a table, several papers on said table, a fridge, a pantry, a calendar and a window that gave a subpar view of Manehatten. Most of the view was of the lush, green lands outside the city borders. Violet felt a slight pang when she approached and looked out the window. Her gaze wandered to the path leading out of the city and the dirt road that eventually branched off from it. Maybe… could she still go back?
“Whatcha lookin at?” Zen asked quietly, taking a spot beside the mare.
“Nothing,” she muttered almost at once. The desire and thought to return home flitted away as easily as it had come. She blinked a few times and gazed at Zen, hopeful that he didn’t notice her insistency at avoiding the question. All Zen did was give a gentle smile that made Violet’s stomach glow with warmth. She returned the smile. This time, genuinely.
“So, Violet,” Zen asked, looking out the window. “What brings you here? That is, if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Yes,” Sonorous called out as he entered the room and shut the door behind him. He drew the attention of the two ponies by the window and they both saw him massaging his jaw. “Do tell us what, by the Sisters, has brought you to Manehatten.” His glare hadn’t softened in the slightest. “Because if it isn’t breaking my muzzle, I don’t see what purpose you have.”
“Oh, shut up, would you?” Violet asked.
“No,” Sonorous spoke up. “Let me make clear the situation for you. You stumble into our midst unannounced and helpless and Zen here can’t live with the thought that there’s one, single pony out there that doesn’t have a home. It seems to me that you’re completely out of cards to play so I would advise you to check whose jaws you’re breaking before lifting a single hoof.” He shook his head and flicked his tail back and forth irritably. “You’re only here as a favor to Zen. A few days, Violet. That’s all. We already have an ev—”
Zen cut off the pegasus with a frantic wave of his hoof. “Soooo, Violet, what do you want for dinner?” Sonorous merely sighed and stalked off to the fridge. Violet was forced to quell the rising fury in her stomach. As a result, she didn’t have much of an appetite.
“I’m not hungry,” she answered, walking to and lying down on one of the couches. Zen shrugged and took a spot next to her, filing through the papers. The mare stared ahead of her, looking, but not really seeing anything. Listening, but not really hearing. Her mind was too preoccupied. She didn’t quite understand what Zen was saying; neither did she realize he had said anything at all until she heard him gasp. Her mind was yanked from thoughts of Quill, her parents, and her home and she watched as Zen fumbled with the stack of papers in his hooves.
“What?” she asked, feeling a tad dumbfounded.
“Nothing, nevermind,” Zen responded, tucking the papers underneath his right foreleg. Sonorous had taken his own spot on the other couch and couldn’t help but chuckle at his companion.
“Something on your mind there, Zen?” he asked with a smirk. “Care to… share… anything?”
Violet gave him a bemused look and returned her gaze to Zen, curling her tail so she could stroke it in an attempt to calm her nerves. “What’s he talking about?”
Zen sighed. “Fine…” He looked to Violet and took a deep breath. “I forgot to get a birthday present for a friend of mine in the MPS.”
“MPS?”
“Manehatten Postal Service. She’s been a good friend of mine for years and her birthday just passed a couple days ago. I forgot because… well…” Zen shrugged. “We’ve been busy at the construction site.”
Violet nodded; Sonorous, however, sighed, got up from his couch, and stretched. “I’m going to sleep. Violet, I’m sure even you can manage to find your way around our small apartment. Don’t be too loud and there won’t be any problems. Goodnight.”
The two of them watched the pegasus depart and turn left at the end of the far hallway. There was a small click as his door shut and silence then permeated the living room. Violet and Zen looked at each other but quickly averted their gazes, the mare ogling the walls as if there were a beautiful mosaic on it, and the stallion suddenly enraptured by his stack of papers. The two of them remained as such, stealing quick gazes from the corners of their eyes, until Zen spoke at last.
“Hey Violet,” he started. The conversation gave them an excuse to lock gazes once more. Once they did, Violet saw Zen having difficulty continuing and instead spoke herself. She was surprised as he was by what she said.
“A farm.”
Zen blinked several times and shook his head. “I… I don’t…”
“I grew up on a farm. I’m here because I needed a… change in scenery.”
“Oooooh…”
Violet blushed and looked away for a moment, not entirely sure from where her words had spawned. Her stomach lurched and she felt an intense rush the likes of which made her feel more alive than she ever remembered being.
“What was it like?”
“What…?” Violet asked, returning her gaze to the stallion. His eyes were a vivid sky blue and she wondered why she hadn’t noticed it until just then.
“The farm. What was it like living on a farm?”
“Oh… it was hectic. I started young and developed strong muscles for my age.”
“From the way you slugged Sonorous?” he chuckled. “Yeah, I’m not surprised at all.”
Violet laughed as well. “The only thing is that I’m not… not a…”
“I get it.”
“My mother was a philosopher. My father was a police detective. I’m sure they had their own reasons for withdrawing so much from society but the fact is, they’re anything but unintelligent. I owe them so much… especially since…” Violet didn’t continue and had looked away before she finished the third sentence. Zen raised an eyebrow.
“Do you wanna tell me what happened?” he asked with as much gentleness as he could.
Violet looked at him and clenched her tail. Her heart pounded in her chest and she swallowed hard.
“You don’t have to,” he continued, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Only when you want to, and are ready to.”
She winced. Of all the things to do, she winced. She could have smiled, could have said yes, and could have finally given in and told somebody what was bothering her, what had been bothering her for the past ten years and maybe, at last, achieved some sort of relief from the living hell her life had become ever since she had watched the light fade from Quill’s eyes and lost all strands of trust in herself, much less anybody else like Zen…
But no. She winced. And the moment she did, the more she hated herself because she saw a flicker in Zen’s eyes that made her heart drop which, in and of itself, astonished her. Her heart had been lifted.
“Forget about it,” Zen said, brushing the subject aside with a hoof. “It wasn’t right of me to pry.” He got up from the couch, papers still tucked away, and stood uncertainly for a moment.
“Well… goodnight, Violet. Feel free to sleep on the couch.”
Violet reached out with a foreleg when Zen turned his back and walked to the far hallway, taking a right at the end of it. She mouthed the words, “Come back… please…” and clenched her eyes shut, failing to contain a few streams of tears.
What the hell is wrong with me?
She sat there in her quiet torment, unable to process the concept of sleep for some time. Part of her wanted to tell Zen. She wanted to just get it all out in the open and hope against hope that he would understand, but how could he? He hadn’t been there, hadn’t known Quill as well as she had, hadn’t…
He didn’t feel his hoof go limp… didn’t see the life leave his eyes… didn’t hear him say…
I want you to be loud, Vivi.
Violet couldn’t suppress the smallest of gasps as the whole scene slammed into her again, as if she were actually there and being dragged from Quill’s stretcher once more. She remembered flailing something wild and vigorous, to the point that she fainted quickly.
“Violet, are you alright?” one of the paramedics asked. She shook her head for a moment and just stared blankly. The question wasn’t familiar and it ripped her from her memory. She gazed through blurry eyes at a quite concerned Zen Freemason who had bags underneath his eyes and whose mane was a mess, but he was there. That only made her think of what she must look like and she withdrew her head, embarrassed.
“Violet…” he whispered, putting a hoof on her shoulder.
“Go back to sleep, Zen,” she managed to whisper. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I… Violet, you’re crying.” Zen reached with a hoof and gently wiped away a few tears. It was a kind action in nature, but that’s what so ignited Violet.
“I said go back to sleep!” she shouted and shoved the stallion away. Zen gasped at the outburst and stared at her with astonishment. The sheer surprise and pain she saw coating his eyes made her put a hoof to her muzzle and her pupils dilate. “Zen, I… I’m so sorry…”
By the time Zen had processed what had just transpired, he noticed several new streams of tears trailing down the mare’s face unchecked. This time, he made no move to wipe them away. All he did was get up from the couch, stare at Violet for a few more moments—on the verge of saying something the entire time—and sigh as he gave up the attempt and departed for his room once more.
Violet brought up a foreleg and almost slammed it into the table. The only thing that stopped her was the thought of Zen coming out once more and offering to help her once again. She couldn’t have that, because she saw it being all too easy for her to screw up any attempts he made at fixing what just… couldn’t be fixed.
I’m just not worth it…
She lay back in the couch and curled up, her tail blocking any view of her face.
“Did somebody say something…?” A quite groggy and half-asleep Sonorous asked. Violet lowered her tail and irritably raised an eyebrow at the pegasus.
“No,” she muttered. “Go back to sleep.”
“What’s got you so uptight?” he asked and didn’t even wait for an answer as he retreated back to his room. Violet sighed and let her gaze wander, finding sleep not coming anytime soon. There wasn’t much to note, however, and her gaze wandered aimlessly for a short while before ending on the calendar. At once, she became alert and narrowed her eyes, focusing. She identified the last day of the month in particular. It was nearing late June, but it wasn’t quite there yet. She remembered leaving her parents on the 20th so it couldn’t have been more than a day later. Maybe two—she wasn’t sure. So much had happened.
What she was sure of, however, was the fact that the very last day of the month was circled. There was writing on it and it read as such:

Reminder: help Zen pick out a birthday present for the mailmare.

Violet’s stomach churned but she didn’t quite know why. Something that had been said earlier scraped on the edges of her consciousness, fervently trying to get inside.
Something about a… friend of Zen’s… he mentioned getting a birthday present…
And when it hit her, she froze, unable to move for some time. No… he mentioned having forgotten to get the birthday present! Violet’s mind raced as she tried to remember what Zen did and, maybe more importantly, didn’t do after he’d said that. The more she thought about it, the more her stomach dropped.
Something on your mind there, Zen? Sonorous had asked. Care to… share… anything?
Violet shook her head and got up from the couch, pacing. There’s also the fact that Zen had interrupted Sonorous about… something… and that stack of papers! He’d gasped at one point, and then… lied…
She sighed, her heart the lowest it had been in the past day. I have to figure out what those papers are. She crossed the living room with as little noise as she could manage. At the door to Zen’s room, she pushed her way in as gently as she could, taking care not to cause any sudden noises. The door creaked like a clap of thunder at one point, but if Zen had noticed, he made no indication. Violet eased the door open all the way after what seemed like an hour and tried to make sense of the rather dark room.
The stack of papers was on the far side of the room, on a nightstand next to Zen’s bed. Violet swore in her head and began to traverse the room, staying low the ground and taking very deliberate steps while keeping an eye on the ground, lest she step on anything. Her muscles began to burn not halfway into the trek because of the tension in her body coupled with the sheer amount of muscles she was using, but she pressed onward. By the time she got to the nightstand, still in silence, she wanted to pass out and give in to the signals her body was sending, telling her to rest. It seemed like such a good idea to just lie down and sleep.
In fact, she almost fainted as she reached for the stack of papers, but even then, she fought the urges and carefully eased the stack of papers off the nightstand. Zen, thankfully, was facing the other direction but as soon as she was about to have full control of the papers, Zen turned in his bed and faced her square in the face. Violet froze, not moving, not breathing, not even thinking. Silence permeated the room for several moments until Violet sighed in relief, sure that he was fast asleep. At the noise, however, Zen mumbled and Violet gasped and almost gasped again at her disclosure. She clamped her muzzle shut and darted out of the room, not even caring to shut the door; instead, she plopped down onto the couch, hiding the papers behind it, and fought to maintain a steady, rhythmic breathing. Zen came out of his room for a short while, examining a quiet living room and still Violet for a couple moments before shrugging and returning to his bed and slumber.
Sighing quietly, Violet brought the stack of papers out onto the couch and took a deep breath. The top paper was some sort of advertisement, and the next several sheets proved to be the same. One was an invitation of sorts, maybe for a birthday party—she realized it was from Zen’s friend—and the next to last one, nearly on the bottom, caught her attention at once. 

Eviction Notice for 3A

Violet tilted her head and tried to read further but her eyelids were getting heavy. Too heavy. She decided to make sense of what she read later and gathered the papers once more, restacking them so that they were in the order in which she had found them. It was difficult, but she made her way back to Zen’s room, thankful that he hadn’t shut his door. And this time, she was more lax with her movements, sparing her muscles even more ache than they were already giving her. Violet returned the stack of papers to Zen’s nightstand and had turned to depart when she froze at the sound of his voice.
“Can I help you?” he asked quietly. Violet spun and faced the stallion, her mind racing. She had to make her presence in the room seem credible. She knew that much.
“Oh, well…” she began, stalling and looking to the side. “I was just thinking, and…” Totally not snooping. Nope. Not at all…
“Do you wanna sleep with me for tonight?” Zen asked from scenic nowhere. The question made the mare’s thought process shatter and she felt her cheeks begin to burn. She returned her gaze to Zen and stared at him for a long time, pondering the thought. It wasn’t unpleasant, and she had to admit… With him around, I don’t want to be alone.
Violet took a quick breath and nodded. “I would like that.” Zen smiled and scooted to the far side of the bed, leaving room enough for the mare. She eased into the bed, taking all the time she needed. Her natural position was to face away from Zen, certain that if she could stare into his eyes, she would all night and sleep be damned. The stallion made no verbal complaint and, instead, rested a foreleg on her hip. The contact brought butterflies to Violet’s stomach and she was ever gladder that she wasn’t facing him, else he catch her blushing madly.
“Goodnight, Violet,” he whispered.
“Call me Vivi,” she said automatically, using the nickname Quill had given her. The significance would be lost to him, but she could explain that later. She found she wanted to. But, for now, all she did was shudder as Zen said, “G’night, Vivi. Sleep well.”
“You, too.”
She had all but forgotten what she had read on that single piece of paper; even if she did remember, she wouldn’t have been able to make sense of it.