//------------------------------// // -(13)- Attraction // Story: Midnight Melody // by Caffeine Junkie //------------------------------// They prey on the weak…they always do... If something happens it always does when you are alone, when you are at your weakest. Those sinister beings that would try to take advantage of a lonely looking mare sitting on a park bench… Those poor excuses for colts...really get on my nerves. Oh yes I exaggerated a little…there was just one colt…and well technically he didn’t even hit on me but why would he sit down exactly on my bench when there had to be dozen empty ones in this park? He looked completely bland to me. There was nothing special about him. He had a grey coat, a brown mane and just seemed out of breath. He opened his bag and started to eat next to me. Do you believe that? What was wrong with him? Can’t he eat somewhere else? Oh...the nerve... After he was done he jumped up and went away as if nothing was wrong at all. Wait…did that…did that colt just completely ignore me? It was probably thanks to Vinyl that I even cared about such a fact. Yes…I never had a colt friend…so what? I suspected that I would at least attract some attention from males. I was just about to leave the park but there were two reasons I stayed. First and foremost I had to wait until Vinyl came back. What could take her so long anyways… The other reason...well it just seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. If I had to describe him I would probably say he was the exact opposite of the colt I had seen before. He was in no form just a common pony. He looked like a model for crying out loud. If Fleur de Lis had been born a male she would have probably looked similar to him. His coat was white as snow…his mane ice blue. Even his body was a little bit longer than the one of the average ponies. The smile on his face seemed like a gift from Celestia herself. Oh and those eyes…those azure eyes. When I looked into them I felt like I was falling… My heart started to beat. Was that it? Was that the feeling ponies described as love at first sight? If it was...it felt very painful. I had such a strange feeling…was it guilt? Why? Why would I feel guilty? The unicorn opened his perfectly shaped muzzle and asked me if he could take a seat next to me. I couldn’t press a word through my throat and just nodded. He gave me another smile and sat down. Oh…this was bad…really, really bad. I did enjoy sitting near somepony like him but if Vinyl came back something horrible was bound to happen. Even though I could have sat there for hours just admiring that colt I felt the urge to go. I simply knew it wasn’t worth it. My gut feeling told me I had to move...and I had to do it now... When I was about to leave the gorgeous unicorn took my hoof and looked deep into my eyes. He looked rushed this time and there was something else in his eyes… Was it curiosity? Was it sadness? I couldn't tell... He started to speak and even though his voice was so clear, smooth and full of emotion…I had to shiver. The thing that puzzled me the most however was what he did next. “Please do not go…” he said pleadingly. Suddenly it felt it far harder to leave. I knew I could do it but it would take a lot of my willpower to just leave him all alone on this cold park bench… What the hay…was I thinking? Oh this was alerting... If that was how true love feels...it was a ridiculous emotion. I could do without it. The only thing it did was to cause conflict in my thoughts. That was if it wasn't something other than love... “So…you do not like me?” he asked in a soft tune. Oh he was just like a puppy…and I nearly gave in...but I decided to stay strong. “I…I am sorry but I have to go…” I finally managed to get through. The colt sighed gave me another smile and went on in a warm voice: “Well maybe it was not meant to be today…but I am sure we will meet anew and when that time comes you shan’t decline to spend some time with me…” Then he got up and moved gracefully into the opposite direction of where I was leaving to. That seemed off. He spoke in such a strange manner. I have seen that before. I think it was at a ceremony princess Luna held some time ago. It was the way they spoke back in the Canterlot of old. His way of talking also reminded me a little bit of Victor and…wait a minute…could it have been… When I turned around he was already gone…just the smell of roses was left. Why was it just now that I realised he smelled like roses? I loved that smell. Well that didn't matter... I had a lot of questions burning on my mind. Who was that? Was it a vampire? If yes why weren’t his eyes crimson? Was he wearing contacts? Even more puzzling was the next question: Why was I drawn to him that much? I didn't feel any kind of attraction to the vampire I met before. I tried to collect my mind. Thinking everything through that just happened I came to realise a few things. Now that he was gone I do not feel the strange attraction towards him anymore. I still knew how he looked. It was an exact recollection and not just a hazy memory. If I thought about him now I could say he was probably the most beautiful male colt that ever walked Equestria. However just that fact ididn’t make my heart beat at all. I was sure that wasn’t love. For all I know it probably wasn’t a vampire either…he didn't show any of the characteristics. He didn't have crimson eyes, he didn't try to change the flow of nature and he didn't try as hard as the vampire before to make me fall for him. He just hit on me...saw that he had no chance and said he'd try again...was he a normal pony after all? Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me? I may be stressed out. Or were there more unknown creatures that inhibit Equestria? Maybe an incubus? I did not know…I needed Victor and I needed him now... Wait a minute...all that thinking made me forgot my most urgent problem... Where the hay was Vinyl? Did she try to buy snacks in the Crystal Empire? Oh…Vinyl…hurry we are in trouble, we… Then something hit me. Maybe she WAS already in trouble and the colt was just a distraction. Maybe somepony casted a love spell on us...maybe... Okay…I was freaking out. Stupid thoughts over stupid thoughts popped up in my head. I took a deep breath and decided on what I had to do. I would gallop in the direction Vinyl went and maybe I would find the store she talked about…yes that seemed logical for once. Now that I finally had a goal that swept away all the unnecessary thoughts that were bugging me I was ready to go…but I already saw Vinyl at the end of the park. It only took her a few moments to cross the distance. “Sorry to keep you waiting for so long Tavi…I just…” she said with a grin. Even though I was happy and relieved to see that she was fine and dandy I irrationally started to cry. “S-stupid…DJ…” I started while sobbing. Vinyl looked completely irritated. I would have been as well if I had been her I guess, However all of that didn’t matter at the moment. I was just happy she was okay. “What happened Tavi? Did someone hurt you? Or do you think I would let you here alone?” She asked me overly concerned…how uncommon. I tried to answer her so that she had not to worry about the situation anymore. “There was this… strange colt… and you…gone for so long and…I…I thought…” I managed to get out. “Slow down Tavi. Here take a can of coke and a chocolate bar and tell me everything that happened. Try to be as precise as possible… “ she said trying to calm me down. Vinyls face had a stern expression when I told her about what happened when she was gone. When I told her about the colt and my attraction towards him in special she flinched a little. After I ended the story for a long time she simply said nothing. I took some sips from the coke and already finished my chocolate bar and she still just sat there...silently ...staring at the space. When the uncomfortable feeling of silence became too much for me and I tried to say something however she was faster than me. “Well Tavi…I guess that really was love at first sight. Even if you feel guilty about it…it probably was love…” she said all of that without any visibly expressions on her face. Oh…my gut started hurting again. However this time it felt like a hot needle piercing through my abdomen. I tried to control myself…not letting anything like that come in the way now. “Good looking colt huh…seems I already lost there…” Vinyl said in a flat voice . “I tell you I don’t think it was love…it must have been magic or…” I said but stopped midway when I saw her face. Oh it nearly made me cry again…just seeing her like that. “Yeah…magic of love…for sure…” she said with a dead voice. “He did not look normal…he did not talk normal…he probably was a vampire…” I said hasty. I tried it that way even though he probably wasn't a vampire it may be enought to convince Vinyl. Maybe she would conveniently embrace this lie... “If he was a vampire you shouldn’t be able to tell how he looked right?” she said grim. Yes who was I trying to fool…she wasn’t really the type to fall for easy excuses. My train of thought was suddenly interrupted...once again by pain. The pain in my stomach…it got stronger. I began to sweat. I never reacted that bad when I felt guilty until now. I had to wrap that up quickly… “I just ask this out of curiosity. How exactly did he look? How great does he have to look if you’d take him over me just in the first heartbeat you saw him? Tell me!” she demanded looking like a mad mare. I pittied her so much when I looked at her. She looked kind of crazy, like a broken toy...it was as if her mind itself had been shattered. She probably hated the entire world around her at that time but the thing she probably hated the most was herself. I could and couldn’t comprehend her situation at the same time. I would be pretty devastated too when I just managed to get a sloppy second place in somepony’s heart. Well I didn’t know anything about love so I tried to compare her devastation to all of the times in my life were I managed to fail something I really wanted. The feeling must be enough to make her wish she rather gouged her eyeballs out. On the other hoof I couldn’t understand her. We were talking about me. I was nothing special. I was just a stupid mare with no perspectives whose only special trait seemed to be to get in more and more trouble. I shouldn’t be worth all her efforts. I mean…couldn’t she get someone better in the blink of an eye. Even though I didn’t want to hurt her I gave in and answered what she wanted to hear. “Well he was a unicorn, had a coat white as snow…an iceblue mane and those strange azure eyes they seemed as deep as an ocean …” I told her trying to keep my tone neither scared nor concerned. I messed up. The emotions were clearly conveyed..of that I was sure. I expected a reaction from her, yes...but not that one... Vinyl froze. She froze the very minute I said that. All her anger was washed away in a second. There was nothing... She seemed like she wanted to recollect something in her mind…but it didn’t seem to fit. “Impossible” she said under her breath. “What?” I asked curiously and my eyes grew larger. Why wasn’t the pain stopping…my stomach felt on fire. Something was off. “The cute colt you mentioned…he was there...with me…at the store.” Vinyl said in wonder. “So? ”I asked with a confused expression. I didn’t get what was so strange about that. Vinyl probably chatted the time away at the store while the guy was already on his way to the park probably in a fast pace…sheesh… “I left before him Tavi. There was no way he could be faster in the park than me..." Furthermore even if he had run...why didn't I see him pass me?” Vinyl said with a shocked face. Now that…really made no sense… She went on and explained that it normally takes around twenty minutes to the store and back. However she took a little longer because she talked with the shopkeeper a little and had to stop on her way back when she encountered an old friend of hers. That should have taken her around fifteen minutes more she said...oh and she also exchanged a few words with the strange colt in the shop. “What did you talk about with that colt?” I asked. Now a strange feeling mixed with the increasing pain I tried to endure. Why did she talk to a colt like him...didn't she say she liked me? Didn't she also say cute colt before? Now that I think about it she did...and it doesn't sit right with me. Could that be..jealousy? Was I jealous? No way...that couldn't be right... I probably was just worried...yes...it had to be... “Nothing much he just complimented me on my hairstyle and handed me the coke from a high shelf.” “The coke…” I said with a shocked voice and let the can fall. Where the liquid touched the ground it instantly turned into vapor. Vinyl’s eyes widened in shock. She shook me, asked me things, started to cry. She did all that while the pain increased and I heard less and less, saw less and less and even felt less and less… Just before I finally collapsed and lost my consciousness I tried to tell her something but was cut off short. What a pitty...the only words I managed to press through my teeth were: "Vinyl I…" Then I plunged in the seemingly endless darkness...