"There we were, Now here we are."
-Oasis
“Coming~!” The musical voice came from behind the door and immediately made Vinyl lock up. It had been years since she had talked with Skyward Glory, and now here she was magically bound to a guard and waiting for the mare he dreaded seeing to open the door.
The worst part of all of this was that Twinkle could feel her lack of comfort with the situation, and the sly grin on his face told her that he was enjoying it. This stallion had something seriously wrong with him, and she was going to get him back for this.
The door opened and Vinyl’s heart nearly stopped. Skyward Glory, in her prime, was something to behold. The pegasus’ yellow coat used to be as vibrant as a daisy on the first day of spring, and her magenta mane used to be unnaturally perfect...but now? Now she looked so tired and so...old, even though she was hardly any older than Vinyl herself. Each year that had passed left a very visible impression on the mare..
“Vinyl! Oh it’s so good to see you again!” Skyward’s smile pierced the dark bags that hung below her eyes and seemed to light up the world around her. As she enveloped Vinyl in warm embrace, the DJ wasn’t sure what to do...so she just stood there.
It was weird, receiving a hug and not reciprocating it. The shock of Skyward actually showing her affection did not fill up her full emotional spectrum, which let her mind wander to aspects of the mare hugging her; Skyward’s ribs were poking Vinyl as the pegasus hugged her, she could feel little feathers falling from mottled wings, and it only felt as though a skeleton bound in fur were embracing her.
“And Shining Armor!” The pegasus relinquished her hold and went to hug the guard next to her, this one was returned with gusto. “To what do I owe the pleasure of two of my favorite ponies visiting me?”
Even the mere act of being called ‘one of her favorite ponies’ made Vinyl want to slink away and hide. It was a weird feeling, backed by nostalgic feelings of love and childlike innocence.
“Well I’m on bind duty with Vinyl here-”
“Oh dear, what did she do? I hope it wasn’t anything too serious.” Vinyl simply lowered her head, almost as if she was afraid of being judged. But why should she be? It’s not like she did anything half as bad as what Skyward Glory did.
“No no-” The chuckle that accompanied the statement was straight out of ‘Charismatic Guard Monthly.’ “She just had one too many infractions and the Princess thought it best to try and nip this problem in the bud before it got worse.” A nod came from the pegasus, along with a look to Vinyl...which the Unicorn did not meet. “She mentioned you were like a sister to her, so I was hoping I could talk to you and try to get to know Vinyl a little better.”
“Oh of course! Come on in, I hope you don’t mind the foals though. They can get a bit rambunctious around visitors.” She held the door open for her guests, letting the two of them enter first. Vinyl was reluctant to go in, but she sure as hell didn’t want to get teleported to her captor’s side again.
The orphanage itself was just a house, Skyward Glory’s own home to be precise. The wooden floors were scuffed by little hooves constantly moving around, and faint giggles were heard coming from upstairs.
Vinyl allowed a small smile slip through her anxious countenance. She absolutely adored foals, and she adored how good Skyward was with them, how she always seemed to be the...perfect...mom…
The smile faded as quickly as it appeared, and her mood was instantly soured. The words ‘Mom’ and ‘Skyward Glory’ did not go together, at least not in Vinyl’s mind. There was a reason she had turned her back on the kindly mare years ago, and no matter how hard Sky tried to atone for her mistake...Vinyl just couldn’t forgive her. It wasn’t an option.
Shining Armor plopped onto the sagging couch, the stallion immediately sank into the worn cushions. He actually looked comfortable for what it’s worth. Vinyl’s friends’ words rang true then; “A couch is a couch is a couch.”
Vinyl took a seat beside the guard, sinking into the couch as well. At least nopony seemed to be paying any attention to her...what an odd thought. She did a lot to make herself the most noticeable pony in any given room, but now faced with a pony she used to call her sister she just wanted to sink into the couch.
Skyward Glory took her spot in a rocking chair across from the couch and looked between Vinyl and Shining.
“So, what would you like to know?” Vinyl felt her soul die a little with every ounce of sincerity and kindness that the mare put into her words and actions. Vinyl wanted to hate her for what she had done, heck she needed to...but Sky just made it so hard to.
“Well tell me a little bit about yours and Vinyl’s relationship. I would like to know if she has a good friend to rely on if she ever needs it.” Twinkle was going to be the death of her, she decided. He seemed almost as sincere as Sky, except he wasn’t. He was just eager to pry into Vinyl’s personal life so he could know what made her tick...and it was not going to be fun for either of them.
“Well we were friends since we were little. You see, I ran away from home when I was young...and Vinyl, well she was there to help when I needed it most.”
----
Years ago, Canterlot
Skyward Glory was exhausted. Her wings hung limp at her sides, her hooves dragged across the paved streets, and the pouring rain was making her mane stick to her face. She had reached her limit, that much was obvious. Any filly flying from Cloudsdale to Canterlot in the midst of a brewing storm would be exhausted.
How she ended up in Canterlot was anypony’s guess. She was planning to go to Las Pegasus to her Aunt’s house, but being tossed around in the storm made sure her only instinct was ‘fly’.
One of her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the wet pavement below her, spilling the contents of her saddleback all over the soaked ground. Seeing her diary and the picture of her mom starting to get damp, she gathered them up with all of the energy she could muster. Even those little moments left her muscles crying out in pain and making her want to do the same.
Then she spotted it; a derelict tower just down the road. It wasn’t very tall, maybe only two stories, and it had some holes in its walls and looked to be ready to crumble...but it had a roof, and that was the important part.
She pushed herself to her hooves, grinding her teeth against the pain and trying to keep from collapsing for the next few hundred feet. One hoof in front of the other she went down the road, each step a little harder and slower than the rest. The only thing keeping her going at this point was pure determination to keep moving in the opposite direction of her father.
Her father...how would he react when he woke up in the morning and found out she was gone? Would he be angry? Would he be sad? Would he go to find her? Would he even care? Skyward doubted that last one: when was the last time he actually cared about her? Before her mom died, that was for certain...but ever since she passed on, her father hadn’t cared about anything. Now he only cared about drinking and trying to keep away from his filly so he wouldn’t be reminded of lost love...and that’s why Skyward left.
She hated being ignored because she looked like her mother. She hated having to take care of herself day in and day out because her father was too far gone to. She hated being nothing… so she left.
Now she may have been soaking wet and exhausted, but at least she didn’t feel like she didn’t matter anymore. She might not have been with family, but now she had the opportunity to start anew, to be important.
The rain stopped pounding her as she slipped through one of the cracks in the desolate tower. It was quiet, only the sound of the rain outside perforated the stillness of the building, and for that she was grateful
As she went to the center of the room, she collapsed. Move no more would she, not tonight anyways. She let out a pitiful groan, this was the first time in hours that she had been able to rest and feel the full extent of her exhaustion. Everything ached, not just her wings and legs. Her head was pounding, just like her heart, her lungs felt as if they were on fire and her back felt ready to crack. It would be both heaven and hell to rest for a bit…
“Hello? Is somepony there?” A small feminine voice rang from the second level. The fallen pegasus wanted to call out or run away, she wasn’t sure which one...but she couldn’t force herself to do either. She could only allow her eyes to track a small pony coming down the crumbling stone stairs.
A bolt of lightning illuminated the room perfectly. In that flash Skyward could see that it was a filly, it was a unicorn, and her mane and tail were in curls. That was all of the information that her addled mind could absorb before the light died down.
“Are you okay…?” The filly stepped closer, no hesitation whatsoever. it was obvious she wasn’t afraid of strangers, or perhaps she was just that kind as to help a stranger in need.
“N-no…” The only word she could force.
“You look really bad…” There was a split second of thought. “I’m going to go get my dad, he’ll know what to do!”
Before the pegasus could object, the unicorn filly was gone.
----
Present Day
Vinyl still remembered that day, the events fresh in her mind after all of these years. Her mom and dad had rushed out to get her and help, then after hearing her story had welcomed the forlorn filly into their home.
Vinyl had always been taught to help out when you can, to make sure that ponies are okay no matter what. It stuck, obviously.
“Vinyl…” Sky chuckled warmly at a memory. “When I asked her what she was doing in the tower, told me that she was told to never go in there...so she did!” A full blown laugh echoed throughout the small room. “Always disobeying, even when she was still her parent’s little girl…”
Vinyl wanted to cry. For the first time in years, she was on the brink of breaking down and crying. She didn’t know why...perhaps it was the sentiment, perhaps it was just longing for a time long gone, perhaps it was at the memory of her parents.
“Vinyl may be a trouble-maker, Shining but she has a good heart, okay?” The guard nodded, but gestured for the mare to continue. “She was always there to help me when I needed it most, and she knows that if she ever needs me I will be there for her. One hundred percent.”
Vinyl glanced up, but immediately lowered her head when her gaze met the other pair of magenta eyes in the room. She couldn’t look her in the eyes, not even to this day.
“Just one question Glory-and if you don’t feel like answering it, I totally and completely understand-but what happened? Vinyl hasn’t said a word to you since we came here, and even back when she mentioned you she was so carefree about it.” Sky let loose a sigh that was just drove the stake of sadness deeper into Vinyl’s soul. This was going to be painful, and she couldn’t even find the words to stop it.
“I said Vinyl was always there for me, and that couldn’t be any more true.” Vinyl saw Shining anticipating the ‘but’ that was coming up. “About seven years ago, I got pregnant and the father left me when he found out...just left his job, left the city, and left me.” Sky’s wing lightly brushed across her stomach. “Left us…”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Sky nodded at the guard’s kind words.
“I carried her to term, and gave birth to a beautiful filly...then..I-I…” Words failed her, tears were forming in the corners of the pegasus’ bright eyes and she was choking up.
“It’s alright, take your time.” Shining was invested now, he needed to know the ending...and Vinyl was going to give it to him.
“You gave her up, Sky. You just...gave her up.” Vinyl’s voice was more accusatory than anything else. This was something that Vinyl would not let go, that she would not let Sky forget. “You didn’t even have the decency to leave her at an orphanage, you just left her on a door step in the middle of nowhere!” Vinyl was off of the couch now, she legs were shaking slightly from the rage that had consumed the sadness and guilt. “Then you went and started an orphanage as some sort of ironic atonement! Do you know how hard it is to face you after everything we’ve been through together? I want to hug you and knock you flat right now, and I don’t know which is the right one!” Vinyl was pacing now, her horn glowing slightly.
“What else was I supposed to do, Vinyl?” Sky rose to meet her former friend, tears now streaming down her cheeks.
“Put her up for legitimate adoption, maybe? Or heck, you could’ve given her to me! I would’ve been glad to raise her!” The image of the foal left on a strange doorstep still haunted Vinyl. If only Sky had talked to her about it, they could have figured something out. “But no, instead you squandered the life you created! I was there for you throughout your entire pregnancy, even after mom and dad died! I didn’t even grieve because you needed me to be strong!” Vinyl’s anger was getting the better of her and she could feel her top about to blow.
“Vinyl, I-” Sky went into embrace her friend, but all she received was a hoof across the cheek, and that’s when Vinyl’s world went dark.