*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*...Octavia...*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*
I headed out of my father's study with the intent of leaving my parent's home soon. Not that I didn't mind staying longer, but more so that fact that my parent's had an apparent grudge against her. Well, my father mostly. My mother, I'd imagine, wouldn't care that much about Vinyl being around her after I had explained Vinyl's odd way of respecting others.
Well, there was another reason.
The things I had seen inside that stack of papers and their implications were quite disturbing to say the least.
I shook my head a little. Not wasn't the time for those thoughts, that was for after the trip back to my apartment; I feared that talking about it anywhere other than my own home might attract some unwanted attention from others. And after my father's revelations of how far he would go to collect even the smallest detail about Vinyl, I was especially paranoid. He'd probably hire a team just to find out her favorite color.
"I wonder if he'd be brighter about that than I..." I pondered, remembering the time I had asked Vinyl some questions about herself.
'...and still so many unanswered ones I have to ask. Maybe we could sit down some time and have another one of those sessions.' I thought.
I was surprised to see my parents huddled around the door to the dinning room on my way back. Everything below their neck was still in the hallway before the dinning room while their heads were peaking around the door frame. They looked like children.
I approached silently, a brow cocked up in what most likely looked judgmental. I had been told to have that problem.
"Mother, Fath-" My mother's hoof was quickly on my lips, shushing me.
This happened far too often to me, a grown mare.
She looked back at me and gestured forwards with her head in a come hither movement that I soon obliged.
What my father and mother where looking in on - that they were apparently enraptured about - was Vinyl and Wilfred sitting down inside the dining room. All the plates and bowls had since been moved off the table and all that was left were the glasses of water, piles of silverware and the table cloth itself.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a packet for small deck of cards sitting beside Wilfred, who's back was to us.
I guess this was what he was doing to keep Vinyl company. Wilfred loved cards, almost religiously from what Father had told me a few years ago. He used most of his spare time, what little that was, to practice everything from simple games of Solimare to harder things that required multiple players. My mother and father apparently were the other players, as well as some of the other staff.
They hated it, mainly because they never won apparently. Wilfred knew his cards most likely better than he knew himself.
On another note, Vinyl seemed oblivious to the crowd of three all stuffed inside of a single doorway despite having her body facing us. She also seemed to be aggravating Wilfred.
"Have any twos?" She asked.
"Ms. Scratch, for the third time, we aren't playing Go Fish." Wilfred sighed, taking Vinyl's cards and quick reshuffling the deck before passing her more cards.
She smiled.
"Heh, sorry."
"It's fine." Wilfred said honestly.
We watched on - well, my parents did - in judgement as the game went on as the two played a small game of what I could only guess was poker as I assumed by the pile of silverware that I guessed had to be the 'pot'. They both seemed oddly calm and collected, though Vinyl seemed a bit oblivious to the situation judging by the look on her face and how she kept squinting at the cards. Wilfred was simply sitting, nothing more.
We watched for about fifteen minutes before I began to get impatient. I had stopped looking at the game after I figured out what they were doing and simply stood in the hall behind my parents and admired the fine craftsmanship of the wood trim on the tables that were stuck around the halls.
I finally decided to say something.
"Mother, Father?" I whispered.
They looked back at me.
"I think I'll we'll be heading out now."
They both nodded at each other before moving out of the way and entering the room together, with my self shuffling behind them.
"Keeping our guest Wilfred?" My father asked with a smile.
Wilfred looked behind himself and at the sight of my father turned professional again and rose from his seat all in a single motion.
"Of course, sir."
"Please, drop the act. I don't think our guest here will mind." My mother added in, giggling as Wilfred's shoulders slack instantly and he let out a deep sigh.
"Thank you, madame." He sighed.
My father chuckled a bit before piping in.
"I believe Octavia was about to take her leave and head home, if you'd like to see her out."
His eyes went wide with what I could only see as excitement. I guess he still took a bit of joy out of interacting with me, maybe it was those years of me living here and growing on him showing off.
"It would be my pleasure, just let me clean these-" He turned only to see a packed deck of cards floating in front of him with a hazy blue aura floating around them.
Vinyl smiled, her sunglasses already back on.
"T-Thank you, miss." Wilfred stammered, the words sounding foreign coming out of his mouth. He almost forgot to add 'miss' to the end.
"Any time." Vinyl said happily, a warm smile on her face at Wilfred's reaction. She must have seen the significance in the action as well.
Wilfred stood there and looked at her for while before shaking his head and putting the cards down on the table, looking as if he had just awoken from a dream, before looking back to me.
"I-If you'd follow me please." He said cheerfully.
I gave m parents a quick hug each, my father lingering a bit and whispering a 'be safe' into my ear before trotting over to where Wilfred was station at the door. Vinyl was standing beside him, looking intensely at his bow tie and then back at mine, as if comparing them.
He led us down the hall into the large room before the exit, opening the door and letting Vinyl walk out into the outside, giving her a friendly smile as she left and mouthing a 'thank you' he thought I couldn't see.
I walked up to him as well, giving him a big hug before backing up.
"That mare, she's yours correct?" The way he said it made it sound possessive, but it was true.
"Yes, did she scare you as well?" I asked, getting a bit critical.
Wilfred laughed at that.
"Scare? Heavens no, shes easily the nicest guest I've ever had the pleasure of serving in this house. Not that half-bad of a card player as well." He said with happiness.
I felt relief wash over me that at least Wilfred liked her.
"I imagine she didn't best you thought?" I said jokingly.
"You might want to ask her on that one; as I said, quite the card player." Now his tone was of admiration and it shocked me a little. Not his admiration, his implications that Vinyl beat him.
"She may play dumb, but she knows what shes doing. I think, I've no idea what goes on that mare's head. I imagine if I saw what was in there I'd only be left with more questions that answers." He said. It was amazing how Wilfred had read Vinyl almost instantly, I blamed it on his years of serving guests and how after awhile that would give him the ability to eyeball a personality.
"I'm glad to hear that, it seems like Father thinks otherwise. Mother I'm not to sure about." I said quietly.
"The madame and mister may think what they will, but that mare has a heart of gold if I've ever seen one." He said almost as if it was fact.
'My word, I can understand a good impression, but this may be a bit much. Just what did they talk about while I was talking with my parents to give Wilfred this impression on Vinyl?' I thought in response. Thought I wasn't upset with the impression, good was good, it was just my curiosity speaking at this point.
"Well, I won't hold you and your friend any longer. Take care Octavia." He said with a smile.
I returned the smile and trotted out of the door to a patient Vinyl.
*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*
The walk back to my apartment was much less talkative then I thought it was going to be, silence overwhelming me and Vinyl after a few questions. I wasn't quite sure what to talk about after my mind began to return to what I had seen in father's study, the stack of papers and their implications.
They were, well disturbing to say the least.
I also didn't feel like talking to Vinyl about them on the walk home for a few reasons. One of which was the paranoia that there was somepony watching us. It seemed a bit silly, but after realizing that there were people intent on gathering information on Vinyl - one of them being my father himself - I figured I would wait until my home to ask Vinyl herself anything direct. I knew she wouldn't lie, and that was dangerous sometimes.
The other reason - a much less significant one - was that it just seemed impractical to get into a deep discussion on the way down the sidewalk.
I did manage to think of one thing. Wilfred had mentioned asking Vinyl about the card game, so I figured that was my best bet for now.
"So, um, Vinyl?" I began awkwardly.
"Hm?"
"Wilfred said you were quite good at cards? He actually told me to ask me about your game with him." I brought up, hoping that she would continue the conversation.
It worked.
"Oh yeah! That was pretty fun. He's probably played for awhile hasn't he?" She asked.
"From what Father said, he has. Have you?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
"Kinda, I played it for awhile." She shrugged.
'Well, there goes that conversation.' I mumbled internally.
The silence came back and almost taunted me until we made it back to the apartments. It almost bothered me sometimes how quiet Vinyl and me could be around each other despite being what I think what we would both consider friends - she didn't seem to mind that though. I guess it was just me that it bothered, but if she was content with it then I had no reason to protest. It was almost weird how I based most of my own decisions on others, but I guess if it made the room more comfortable then it was alright.
I wonder if Vinyl operated the same way? Most likely not, shes expressed it more often than not that she comes first almost before anything.
Almost.
Before I knew it, I was shutting the door to my almost darkened apartment, the only source of light being that which came through the opened curtains that gave the room an almost ethereal glow to it. Vinyl especially seemed to thrive in the moonlight, her white coat shining bright enough to make her look ghostly.
She sighed as she took off her glasses and laid them down on the couch, stretching her neck back and forth before letting out a sigh on top of the bone crunching sounds of her stretching.
My curiosity had built over the course of the silence, and I couldn't help myself from wanting to ask her. My only problem was wording the question so that I didn't sound weird when I asked it.
"Vinyl..." I began with knowing it, the words just going straight from my head and right out of my mouth.
She turned attentively to me, a bit of an odd reaction. I guess it was how I sounded.
"Yeah?"
"Uhm." I stuttered, I hadn't exactly come up with a way to ask it yet. But I guess it was too late for that, so decided to just go out and ask it anyways. I'd imagine Vinyl had gotten used to my particular type of awkwardness.
"Have you ever..."
She raised a brow and an ear at my quickly softening voice.
"...killed anyone?"
What I had found in my father's little 'collection' wasn't anything directly sinister at all, mainly just highlighted quotes as well as a few articles from other newspapers all around Canterlot all jumbled up together. Similar to that of a puzzle. What was sinister was the implications of the papers.
It reminded me of scenes in movies where a detective linked everything together with string, going from one article to the other and highlighting similarities between all of them. My father had done a sort of miniature version of this in a list like fashion on the second page of the stack. I had looked through the rest quickly, as they were mostly just pictures or articles I had no interest in reading.
They all highlighted things in the area where the bar was located and in surrounding areas as well, mostly things along the lines of disappearances and signs of scuffles. The things that disturbed me were the articles with killings in them; one of them was even an obituary with ponies circled. My father had highlighted things that witnesses had reported about the culprit and things taken as evidence; most of them were skewed and extremely vague descriptions of Vinyl herself.
One of them even got her glasses spot on.
Vinyl was hesitant for a moment, though it looked more like a hesitance of recollection rather than one of reluctance. Her eyes were squinted in what looked like strain. This was one of the few times Vinyl had ever hesitated like this when I had asked her a question, though it was a rather serious and dark question. Something was going through her head right now; something interesting.
I almost seemed to lean in in anticipation of her answer.
"Yeah... I think I can remember a few." She said. Her voice was oddly normal for discussing something so serious.
"R-Really?" I stammered in shock.
I had trouble believing this. This claim to be someone responsible for ending the life of another. If I had known anything about Vinyl is that she is considerate of others if anything, and the thought that she had come to the conclusion of taking away someone's privilege of seeing another day just didn't add up to me. The idea that someone had done something so sinister and evil was a thought that I thought impossible.
Well, there was the whole castle thing that truly revealed the extent of what she would go to.
She must have spotted my thoughts somehow, because she spoke up.
"I try not to, I really do!" She sounded like she was hard pressed to convince me she wasn't a killer. At least that showed she was considerate of what I thought.
"But...well, you can only teleport a pony away so many times before something has to give. I guess I gave a few of those times, and it was horrible each time." She sounded sad herself, accompanying it with a pitiful chuckle.
"Vinyl..." Was all I could muster.
Silence enveloped us and I felt the need to leave. I didn't want to, staring at her crumpling form as she sunk down to the floor with a sad expression on her face gave me an almost primal instinct to comfort her. But right now I didn't know.
"I...I think-"
"You can go. I understand." She said, not bothering to look up at me.
I gulped and felt the guilt begin to bear its weight down on me, giving me the choice of either leaving now while I could or letting the weight fully press down on me.
I chose the former.
I turned slowly and trotted back into my room, taking a single and lengthy look back at a depressed mare that I had a new spin on; a new light shining down on the innocent and childish mare I had lived with for awhile now.
I imagine I looked like I was in a trance I slipped into my bed, the odd feeling of loneliness at my side continuing to tug at my mind while I lied there. It was almost like shock, denial; things along the lines of that. It was hard to cope with such a sinister fact, a fact that I wanted to disprove; but when the accused admits something it's hard to disprove them.
One thing emerged in the depth of my head, one thing that I knew was fact.
I wouldn't be sleeping tonight.
*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*...Shakes...*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*
My eyes slowly closed and opened again, the bright light of the sun almost burning my eyes as I almost didn't bother to look away from. I guess all my attention was in my head and my body was taking the most punishment.
Well, my head was still hurting from the decision I still hadn't made, but I had almost gotten used to it.
Though once my brain began registering the sun, I felt like a student waking up on the day a project was due after not working on it for a few solid weeks. I felt panicky now for some reason, more panicky than I had a few hours ago when the choice I had to make really was haunting me, yet right now I didn't even feel like bothering with it.
A knock at the door barely registered to me.
"Shakes? You up?" My sister chimed. Well, at least she slept well.
Silence was my answer.
"Well, I'll take that as a yes. You better get ready, bar opens up in about an hour and I know how you like to take inventory of the booze in before opening." She continued before the sound of her trotting of registered to me.
I sat up, my upper body feeling like it was filled with lead. I teetered a bit when I sat up full and my vision went dark a little as colors filled struck out in the darkness like lightning before my eyes refocused.
Getting up was no easier of a task and neither was staggering to my bedroom door like a drunk.
My sister was sitting on the couch when I stumble in, looking down at the floor with a look of thought on her face before looking up at me and smiling hopefully.
"Well, at least you're moving this time. Care to speak?" She was gentle for once this morning. A rarity.
"Yeah." I said simply, my voice rugged for some reason.
"Well, that's all I can ask." She said with a widening smile.
A looked over to the door and felt my stomach churn. That was my next stop, though I myself still had a long way to go before I was done.
Flint was coming tonight, that was unavoidable. She was going to get an answer, that too was unavoidable.
What was avoidable was my sister's involvement. I didn't want her getting involved with this, it wasn't worth the hell it would raise for both me and her. Hopefully she would understand me wanting her to stay home.
She would have to.
I began to move for the door and she started getting up, but that's when I stopped moving and gave her a sad and tired look.
"You stay here today." I didn't bother making an excuse for it.
"But-"
The look in my eyes must have shown her not to argue with me on this one. Whether it was the probable sadness or the assured dismay was up to anyone to choose. I imagine I looked horrible, Sweeps says that I get this look on my face when I don't sleep in company with the common bags and shaggy mane. I guess all that put together would give me a heck of a look.
"O-Okay." She stammered, sitting back down again.
I went back to going towards the door.
"It's about Vinyl, ain't it?" She asked just as my hoof reached the knob.
I paused.
"Yeah."
There was a hesitation in the air before I began to turn the know.
"Be smart." Those, I could tell, were her final attempts to stall. They carried the weight of her as a sister; I was amazed I was still standing after that one.
"Yeah."
I opened the door and began my walk to the bar.
*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*
When opened the door, I made sure to dig around the bottom of the nearest booth for the "Sorry, We're Closed!" sign and hung back up on the outside of the door. It wouldn't stop Flint from walking in, but it would give me some more peace and quiet. After that, I made my way to the bar booth and pulled out two bottles from off the shelf - the brand didn't matter to me at this point - and a single glass. The ice was underneath the bar counter in a small freezer we kept down there for convenience, so I got few cubes.
After that it was a straight shot to the drinking.
I wasn't the type to drink in order to take away hard times, but I made an exception.
I found that the more I poured the more memories of Vinyl came back to me.
A smile graced my lips, recalling my first day on the job here at the bar and I found myself chuckling by my lonesome. I was more than a nervous wreck, trembling at the hoof quite literally, and I was practically sweating standing outside the door. I was lucky my sister was in close with the manager. After that, logically, came the memories that this old place had brought to me. I had no idea if the bar was actually that old or not, but it sure did feel like it.
I took a sip.
And of course there was the new things that came around after I joined it. Bigs came along, then Octavia of course, and then all that stuff back at the castle happened. Those were great times now that I looked back on them.
"Man, Octavia would hate me for capturing Vinyl." I mumbled to myself.
"Not to mention Bigs too, if he found out somehow. Wonder how he's managing that castle out there? Might have to got take a visit some time sooner."
I took another sip.
Not to mention Vinyl of all ponies. I had a hunch that I'd never forget her even if I moved countries and got amnesia. Hell, she'd probably track me down if I moved.
I felt a blush running across my face as I took another sip.
"Damn unicorns. Seems like all of 'em know about teleportation these days. Not to mention all the other things they can do. Oh well, jokes on them." I laughed, not really knowing what the 'joke' was that was on unicorns.
Time passed in what seemed like seconds for me, maybe I feel asleep at some point and forgot about it, but before I knew it the memories had ate away at my day and the inside of the bar began to darken from the lack of sunlight coming in from the outside. It came to me that I needed to choose quickly as Flint had a tendency to be impatient when their was action to be had. Well, that's the most I could remember at least.
Another drink, marking my fifth one so far. Odd, I thought I had drank more.
My ear flickered as the sound of the door opening registered and the sound of hooves entering followed it. I didn't bother to look and see who it was, it was pretty obvious.
"Good to you see that you're getting nice and drunk. Didn't realize it was this big of decision to you." Flint snickered, the sound of her hooves hitting the floor stopping just short of what I would guess to be six or seven feet behind me.
I turned to her with a wide smile. It might've been a drunken one or a genuine one, I had no idea. I just felt like smiling at Flint.
"I expect my answer." She was still smiling, but I could tell she was hard pressed for the information she had come here for.
I smiled wider.
I guess the joke was on her, because I had my answer in mind and it was clear as day to me now.
I opened my mouth and took a shaky breath, exhaling an even shakier one and admiring the chilling sensation air had on my teeth. A little pressure was all it took to get my voice to cooperate with me and for my answer to come out of my mouth.
*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*