//------------------------------// // Saving Things // Story: The Things Tavi Says // by shortskirtsandexplosions //------------------------------// I spend all evening cleaning my half of the foyer. It's a very sluggish process... slow and glacial... like molasses. And yet it's right as I finish sweeping away the last shredded bits of Cyan Sings that I hear it... The sweet octaves of undulating purple. There is much violet and indigo in there... erratic... unpredictable. That's how I know that Tavi is drunk off her flank. Oh goddess... I swivel towards the front door in time to see her clumsy entrance. Her bow tie is crooked... and her eyes are even crookeder. She hiccups—a staccato red flash in the midst of a purple tide. "Vine! Love! Excelsior all around, mare-ship! Hic!" She giggles... wriggles... flounders her way towards her favorite cushion. She collapses about two steps before the sofa altogether. "Oh bollocks! Heehee... blessed Celestia... Lyra and Bon Bon are absolutely smashing company, are they not?" I clench my jaw, hobbling over towards her as I give her a gentle tug with my telekinesis. "Mrmmff... no. Please, Vinyl. You do too much for me as it is. I can help myself." She fusses with her bow tie and mane hair... only making it all worse. "How do I look?" A slight smirk crosses my muzzle. There are times when I'm glad I can't respond. Very few times indeed... "Ohhhh I must look absolutely horrid," she says in an indigo surge, sniffling. "I... I just couldn't help myself. We three started talking about musical pursuits, and then we got into a drinking game of 'I never.' Only in the context of musical venues, Vine, I assure you. It was a great deal more challenging than I thought, and—HIC!—I really had to stretch my memory at moments. But... I swear... as Luna is my witness... Lyra took—HIC!—far more shots than I did! Hah!" At last, with my help, she flops onto the couch. "Smashing good fun!" I lean back from her with a sigh. Facing the kitchen, I get up, preparing to fetch some coffee— "No. No." She waves a hoof at me. "Please. I... I-I did this to myself." A tiny giggle. "Hehehe—HIC! I deserve to... f-feel the long tug as I limp my way back to sobriety." She inhaled heavily. "Mrmmmfff... good thing there's no rehearsing at the Castle tomorrow. Could you imagine the look on Twilight's face if I showed up all pissed?" I wryly stare at her, squinting through my shades. "I know I know... I should give up on wine. But... but could you—HIC!—imagine giving up on Dr. Pony?" I shake my head. "At least your muse leaves you in full possession of your faculties. Eheheheh... though there is something... urp... slightly liberating about a modicum of inebriation." She hiccups, then rolls her eyes at herself. "A 'modicum' she says..." By now, I've squatted down on all fours, sitting beside my roommate on the couch. "It's... it's healthy. I... I assure you..." She smiles. "Simply drinking in the company of friends... in celebration. Because... b-b-because, Vinyl, let me tell you..." She attempts to wave, instead slapping my shoulder lightly several times. "...I am so... sooooo lucky right now." She gulps. "I mean it! Pure fffffortune. You as well! We both are! The we of us! I mean the us of both! I mean... HIC!" I fight a magenta chuckle. It ends as soon as it begins, for I see the beginning of a scowl across my friend's muzzle. "I... didn't always drink to celebrate." She gulps hard. "Before you, I mean. Believe it or not, I wasn't always a... cheerful mare, Vinyl..." I nod. I know, Tavi. I know... "Mrmmfff... used to be that I did it just to get back at father," she murmurs. "Among other things. I mean... why not? He always had his eye on me... judging me. And when he wasn't judging, he was... was..." She clenches her jaw shut. "... ... ...those words. Mrmmmfff... I swear. It all began as an attempt to drown them out of my ears. Absolute—HIC—anti-music. And the way he would speak of mother..." I stare at her silently. She's looking at me... through me. Those purple mirrors turn glossy. Like rain trickling down the north windows of our apartment. "He won't be proud of me. Even now." She gulps. "With the bloody minstrel position and everything. It just isn't enough. And I know it shouldn't bother me. But... but..." She shakes... writhes... Here it comes... She curls up against her favorite cushion, hiding her fuzzy muzzle behind her forelimbs. "Mmmm..." A trilling sound, and then the squeaks burst with tears. "...I'm such a lucky... lucky mare. Why isn't it enough, Vine? I wish the music could carry me away like it used to. But each time I so m-much as scratch a string... I think of him. Of the cold lessons and the c-colder stare. You c-can never rip the monster from the muse, I swear." My ears fold as I exhale. I reach a hoof out, caressing her mane. That helps... or maybe it doesn't. She's sobbing at this point, and it's all anypony could hear. "How I wish... how I-I wish everypony was more like you, Vine," she murmurs. "Including myself..." I clench my eyes shut. I love it when Tavi finds strength... ...but I hate it when she says that. "So strong... so understanding..." She whimpers, her voice growing more and more breathy, submerging into the warm pools of unconsciousness. "...and so v-very forgiving." I bite my lip, glancing behind me at the freshly-swept foyer. "Forgive... forgiving..." Her lips move slower and slower as she cuddles up against my forelimb. "Please... f-forgive me, Father..." A gulp. "Vinyl..." And then, she's drifting away, one dried tear at a time. I've stripped my shades off by now. I curl up on the floor against the couch, staring into my forelimbs. Tavi... Oh Tavi... I wish I was a stronger... braver pony... ...that I could save you too.