"Change in all things is sweet."
-Aristotle
Vinyl was acting weird. Well weird for Vinyl, and that was saying something. As soon as Shining and Cadence had said their goodbyes, the eager unicorn had practically dragged him back to her apartment. Now he was forced to sit on the couch and wait for...well he wasn’t sure what for, actually. He was just told to wait.
“Okay, Twinkle-” Vinyl’s voice came from behind her slightly cracked bedroom door. “-I want you to give your honest opinion, Alright?” Celestia, couldn’t she just say what he was giving his opinion on first? It’s not like he could just say no and walk out, so he didn’t understand the reason for Vinyl being so...obtuse.
“What’s all this about...Scratch…” He trailed off as the door swung open, his words being practically swept aside. Vinyl stood in her doorway in a silky black dress that hugged her curves perfectly. It hung over her shoulders by thin straps, and the back was cut in a deep ‘V’, latticed by a series of strings.
Part of Shining wanted to let his jaw drop, but the majority of his mind reminded him that he needed to give an honest opinion. Only problem was, that could get him in trouble with the other mare in his life. Even though he was sure that Cadence wouldn’t be the slightest bit jealous, he needed to give a heavily neutered version of his honest opinion.
“I-I-It’s a nice dress...Vinyl. I..um...really like the...colors..?” Well that was terrible, he knew it and judging by the look on Vinyl’s face, so did she. The punk pony was probably prepared for praise, not a poorly postured position.
“Snap out of it, drooly! You have a special somepony, and I’m not trying to get you to commit an infidelity. I’m just looking for an honest opinion. Now pick your jaw up off of my sofa and speak your mind.” Aaaand just like that, the facade of even a remotely enticing mare was replaced with the Scratch that he had gotten strangely used to in the past few days. That made this at least a little easier.
“Well...it’s a little...risque, in my opinion.” A shrug came from the mare, as if saying ‘yeah, duh’. “Why are you asking me this, again?” He still hadn’t gotten that answer yet, and he needed it. This was venturing into some weird territory. “I’m not exactly a fashion expert.” He had to at least warn her of that fact. Like a bucket around a madpony with a drill, his opinion would not hold much water.
“Because I’m going to the concert with you and the Princess, duh. I’m making sure that you approve of my wardrobe choice.” It made sense a little, he did know what the proper attire was for this sort of thing. It was still a little weird, though. Vinyl was acting like a teenage filly going to prom, not a grown mare going to a high-class concert.
That wasn’t the weird part, though. That honor belonged to her word choice of calling Cadence ‘The Princess.’ Shining rarely thought of Cadence as a member of royalty anymore. The alicorn and himself had been in a relationship for a long while, and Cadence was even Twily’s foalsitter. At this point she was practically family...well until he decided to pop the question. Whenever that was going to be...
“Oh, well...then no. That dress kinda makes you look like a gold digger. Do you have something a little more...classy? Less black, maybe?” With a huff and a grumble at his words, Vinyl retreated back into her room. She wanted his honest opinion, so he did away withcaution and spoke his mind. Surely Vinyl couldn’t fault him for that? Now he could only hope that this wouldn’t take long, after all how many dresses could a mare like Vinyl own?
One hour later…
“How many dresses do you own, Scratch?” How many dresses had they gone through now? Fifteen? Twenty? Truthfully, the count was lost about five dresses ago. “I never really pictured you as the dress-type…” He was tired of this song and dance. Every dress she paraded out here in, while flattering to her figure, was just not appropriate in one way or another. It was like she was trying to look as skanky as possible.
“Why? Because I like to party? You know, ponies can like different things; Some jocks like to play chess, some Princesses like their guards, and I like to wear dresses. Is that okay, Twinkle?” That was a fair point, he guessed...but it wasn’t that the dichotomy was a strange one, it was more of the fact that she didn’t seem like dresses were her style. Judging by her room and overall demeanor, Vinyl did not seem like the dress-y type.
“I just pictured you as the ‘free spirit’ type, Scratch. Like, maybe you just hated wearing clothes period, I don’t know. I just didn’t take you for the type to own a closet full of dresses!” His tone was more playfully over-the-top than annoyed, though there was definitely some annoyance mixed in there.
“Yeah? Well you were wrong, Twinkle.” Shining only offered a roll of his eyes in response. “I have one more dress to try on, alright?” He only groaned. What would they do if this dress wasn’t good either? Would they have to go shopping? Celestia, he hoped not. He could only imagine what shopping with Vinyl would be like, and it was not fun.
Shining allowed himself to reflect a little on the main issue at hoof; Glory’s foal. Inbetween dresses, Shining had enough time to fill out everything he had learned about the foal up to this point. It wasn’t much: an approximate birth date, gender, and a very general location where she was left. If he wanted a more definitive profile, he would either have to ask Vinyl or Glory...and either way was going to end in hurt feelings.
Going back to talk with the kindly pegasus would be an ordeal, that much was certain. If Shining could keep the physical confrontation to a zero, that would be ideal. Keeping Vinyl from hitting Glory would mean keeping her temper down, which would mean steering the conversation away from the foal...which would undermine the whole reason of going to speak with her.
Vinyl seemed to be one giant eggshell when it came to her own problems. Every way he thought to help her would most likely just push the mare away from him in the long run. If there was one thing he absolutely needed to get the job done, it was Vinyl’s eventual friendship and cooperation.
Then there was Cadence’s plan to hook-up Vinyl with somepony. He didn’t know who his love was going to get, but he didn’t doubt that it would work. If there was one thing that Cadence was good at, it was playing matchmaker. Shining had faith in Cadence, he just didn’t have faith that Vinyl would be up for it.
“Okay! Last one. It was my mom’s, and I’m actually really surprised it fits.” Shining dragged himself out of the quagmire of thoughts that surrounded his opinion of Vinyl. Like any decent equine, when somepony spoke, he listened.
Vinyl stepped out in a ruby number that flowed nicely along her body. It didn’t hug her curves like a majority of the other dresses, but it wasn’t too loose fitting either. It had no spaghetti-thin straps, and it actually had sleeves that covered her forelegs. All in all, it was probably the best dress she modeled all afternoon.
“I like it. You look good, Scratch.” Vinyl smiled. “Except the mane. That’s still a rat’s nest.” The smile went soon after he was done talking. Once again, his completely honest opinion. Shining was ninety percent certain that this was going to come back and bite him in the flank.
“Well I’m going to style it before we go. So don’t you worry about my mane, alright?” Shining only raised his front hooves in surrender. “Since this is the only dress you didn’t shoot down, I guess I’m wearing it.”
Seeing as he only needed to go to his home to pick up his suit, what little preparation he had to do for the date tommorow was done. Shining only hoped Cadence was having some luck finding a date for Vinyl. He would have to be something special to hold the rambunctious mares’ attention for a whole night...and maybe a bit longer.
----
The silence was the most deafening sound in the world. It allowed the mind to project into the void that which was not there. While he was assaulted with silence, his mind fought back with screams of agony and roars of a bloodthirsty beast. Where the darkness shrouded his vision, it provided a canvas for nightmares.
Weak hooves shook in terror, ears flinching at the imaginary sounds that tormented him still. It was less of an ordeal now, it was even expected...but still not welcome.
Every memory conjured a sensation that was not there; blood splattering across his face, teeth tearing into flesh and bone...pained screams of coworkers and friends. But at least it made the darkened house a little less lonely...at least the screams still kept him company.
“Help me!” The cry for assistance came from the darkness so suddenly that the pony nearly jumped out of his skin. Sweat rolled down his forehead,passing over his eyes and dripping off of his muzzle onto the hardwood floors below. Even the sound of a single droplet of sweat hitting the ground seemed to beat its way into his skull and bring back some terrible detail.
He couldn’t even speak anymore. There were no more words that could be said to the darkness, no more thoughts that hadn’t already been flung at this invisible adversary to keep it at bay. No defenses were left, now he was at the mercy of his guilt and sorrow.
Knock knock knock
He didn’t even jump. There was no way to distinguish a real sound from imagination anymore. Was somepony truly at his door, or was that the rapping of death at his proverbial chamber door? There was truly no way to tell.
“Hello? Intrepid? It’s Princess Cadence, are you in there?” That was no voice of a specter come to haunt him, nor was it death’s growl. It was the voice of a friend, a beacon in the sea of confusion.
“Y-Yes, Princess. I-I’ll be right there, p-please just give me one moment.” Intrepid steadied himself and took a deep breath. The presence of another pony, even if she was on the other side of the door, pushed back the darkness and the fog and allowed him to think clearly.
The stallion stood up, albeit with great difficulty, and strode across the room. The power and confidence that his stride had once held was noticeably gone, he could feel it in every step. That which had been taken from him could never truly be replaced.
One last deep breath and a forced smile later, and he finally opened the door. He was greeted by Princess Cadence, one of the few ponies that he saw anymore. Her smile was far more genuine than his, and even made his become a little more faithful.
“How are you doing today, Intrepid?” That was a loaded question and they both knew it. There was no simple way to answer it, nor any decent way. Intrepid would never allow himself to speak of his thoughts around a lady, let alone a Princess.
“I have good days and bad days.” That was his standard response now. It was telling the truth without going into any detail. Luckily for him, Cadence never did press him for the full truth.
“Been up to anything interesting?” The alicorn may have been looking him in his eyes, but he could feel her peripherals focused on his right foreleg and wing...or lack thereof. That’s all ponies saw when they looked at him anymore; missing appendages. Who could blame them, though? That’s all he saw anymore.
“No, can’t really say I have...just living day to day.” That in and of itself was a tall order anymore. Even after half a year, he was still just living day to day. It showed. His meager apartment was had books and litter strewn about it, marking him as a pony with enough apathy to not care about appearances.
“Well how about we change that? I have a little outing planned tomorrow and I would be delighted if you would join me.” Intrepid held back a sigh, that would be impolite. It seemed ever since he had been released from the hospital Princess Cadence had turned him into her own personal project. She would visit him whenever her schedule permitted and often tried to get him to come out of his shell or cheer him up.
“I would love to Princess, but-” Cadence put a hoof up to silence him.
“I won’t hear of any excuses, Intrepid.” The alicorn reminded Intrepid more of a stern mother more often than not. He was a mopey child, and she was determined to snap him out of it. “We’re attending the Orchestra. I know how much you love music.” Well that was true. The dillapidated record player that had played more songs than days in a year was a testament to that. Music was his last bastion of joy and purpose in the world.
“Tomorrow, you said…?” It perked up his spirits just enough for Cadence to flash a bright, full smile. “I suppose I have time…”
“Good. I also need you to put on your best suit and be your handsome self, alright? Shining Armor is bringing a friend of his as well and I’m certain you two will get along.” There was the catch. She was trying to set him up. It was enough that Shining Armor was going to be there. Intrepid and the guard had never seen eye-to-eye, they only saw each other as an annoyance. Now Cadence was trying to get him to go on a blind date.
“Princess, I really don’t think this is a good idea. I really think that a blind date is the last thing I need.” He could only imagine the poor mare that he was being set up with. Celestia, as soon as she saw he was a cripple she would most likely turn tail and run. Intrepid wouldn’t blame her for bolting either, he wasn’t exactly in his prime anymore.
“Or maybe it’s exactly what you need!” Cadence’s upbeat attitude was almost enough to convince him. Almost. “I promise that you two will hit it off. She has a few quirks, but she has a good heart.” Intrepid wanted to object, but the only card he held was ‘what if she was disgusted?’. “You at least have to give it a chance, right? I didn’t think you were one to let opportunity pass you by.”
Well he didn’t used to be. That changed though. The fiery passion for exploration and derring do that had once lit his cobalt eyes were but embers now. New things only lead to pain and heartache he had earned. Perhaps, just perhaps, embers were enough to rekindle his life.
“I-very well...” With a weary sigh, he let the Princess have her way. “What’s her name?” If she was one of Shining Armor’s friends, he supposed that maybe it wouldn’t be bad if she turned tail and bolted. It was a risk he was surpisingly willing to take.
“Vinyl Scratch, is her name.” What a name. He could tell it was going to be an interesting affair already.