//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 - The End, and a New Beginning 
// Story: Major and Minor 
// by Lady Froey 
//------------------------------//

Derpy had finished her morning routines and was sitting at her desk up against the window in her room. She didn’t have any school work to do during this time, and decided to pull out a sketchpad and looked out her window. She smiled, seeing the younger fillies and colts of the adoption house outside playing in the morning snow.

She then focused her attention on the large tree in the back garden, beginning to sketch it in her book with a pencil. Soon after beginning however, the phone on her desk began going off.

Derpy sighed after being interrupted by the phone. She put her pen down and picked up the phone.

“Hello, Derpy Hooves speaking.” She said into the piece.

There was silence on the other side of the phone.

“Um, hello?”

“…Hey Derpy, it’s Vinyl,” she said. Her voice was not giving off much emotion.

“Hi Vinyl, how are you and Claret?”

“Derpy, you need to come over here, now.”

“What?” Derpy held her phone tight. “Is everything all right?”

“Just get over here. I’ll see you soon.” Vinyl then hung up the phone.

“Vinyl? Hello!” Hearing the phone disconnect, Derpy placed down the receiver.

From the sound of Vinyl’s voice something was wrong. She immediately closed her sketchpad and got out of her seat. She grabbed her side bag off the chair and checked inside to make sure she had everything she needed. Placing her bag along her side, she proceeded out of her room.

Walking down the hall, she went to the front desk and wrote her name on the checkout list.

“Is everything okay Ms. Hooves?” said a stallion behind the desk. “It’s quite early to be heading out on a weekend.”

“Something’s just come up, I’ll probably be out for most of the day,” she said, quickly signing her name and dropping the pen next to the form.

“Stay safe. Be sure to call us if it’s past evening.”

She only nodded, and walked out of the adoption home.





Derpy headed over to Vinyl and Claret’s home at a quick pace. She ignored everyone she passed and only focused on going straight to her destination.

She came near Vinyl’s house, seeing it in her view, and an ambulance out front.

Oh no.

She immediately ran up to the front stoop of the home, but then she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“Derpy!” Rarity yelled, running up behind her.

“Rarity?” Derpy said. “What are you doing here?”

“I could say the same,” Rarity caught her breath. “Vinyl called me, she said to come here immediately. What about you dear?”

“Same, do you know what’s happening?”

“I have no idea, but it doesn’t sound good.” Rarity said.

Suddenly, the front door was cracked open, with Vinyl peering through.

“Vinyl, hey,” Derpy said. “Is everything all right?”

Vinyl shook her head and opened the door, allowing Derpy and Rarity to come inside.

“Darling, is Claret okay?” Rarity asked. “Please, tell us anything.”

“Upstairs,” Vinyl said, walking up the stairs first, leading the two behind her.

Walking up to the upper hall, the door to Claret’s room was open. Vinyl stood underneath the door and poked her head in, not allowing Derpy and Rarity into the room.

“Can we have a few minutes, before you take her?” Vinyl said.

“Sure, we just finished up. Let us know when you all are ready.” A mare in the room said, she walked out, with a stallion following behind her. They went past Derpy and Rarity, and down into the living room.

Vinyl sighed.

“All right, come on in,” Vinyl said, walking into the bedroom.

Derpy and Rarity looked at each other, already knowing something wasn’t good. Rarity took a deep breath and walked in first. She gasped.

Derpy quickly followed in behind her and froze, her hoof held in front of her mouth.

In front of the bed was a laid out stretcher. A thick white sheet was laid over it, with a figure underneath.

“I-is that…?” Rarity asked.

“It is,” Vinyl said.

“Oh Goddesses, Claret…” Rarity said, beginning to cry. “Vinyl… I’m so sorry.”

“I found her this morning. She was in here, resting peacefully, but…” Vinyl stopped, beginning to tear up as well.

Derpy came up beside Vinyl, placing her hoof on her shoulder. “You don’t need to tell us, Vinyl,” she said, looking at the stretcher. “I think we know what happened.”

Vinyl looked at Derpy as tears fell down her face. She wrapped herself tightly around Derpy, taking her by surprise.

“She just…” Vinyl cried into Derpy’s shoulder. “She just wouldn’t wake up!”

“Vinyl…” Rarity said, clearing her tears. “None of this was your fault. She lived her life to her fullest, and she had you here with her this entire time. You did more than enough to support her.”

“But, she was just fine yesterday, she was…” Vinyl sobbed loudly, keeping herself wrapped around Derpy. “I should've stopped her, from using her magic. She could still be here. She—”

“Vinyl, please.” Derpy said pushing Vinyl back. “We’re here for you. Whatever happened to Claret, none of us could predict when this would happen, but—” She tripped up on her words, beginning to tear up. “Like Rarity said, she didn’t have to die alone. You were here with her, and now… We are all here together, for one last time, before she goes.”

Rarity began tearing up again and wrapped herself around both Derpy and Vinyl.

“Let’s say goodbye to your mother, Vinyl,” Rarity said, looking over at the stretcher. “The three of us.”

“…Yeah.” Vinyl looked at her mother, who remained underneath the white sheet. Derpy did the same.

They were all wrapped around one another, saddened by the loss of Claret, giving her a moment of silence. They all thought about the good times they’d had with her throughout the past, up until these past few days.

After a few minutes, Vinyl broke herself from the two.

“All right, I think…” Vinyl paused. “I think it’s time for her to go.”

“Are you sure?” Derpy asked.

“Yeah.” Vinyl smiled. “She would want to be out of bed by this hour any way.” She laughed, joylessly.

Derpy and Rarity looked at each other, confused by Vinyl’s odd sense of humor, but smiled back.

The EMTs came back into the room and they guided the stretcher out of the bedroom and down the stairs. The three mares stood out the front of the home, seeing the stretcher one last time.

The stallion loaded Claret into the back of the ambulance, while the mare strapped herself to the front of the carriage.

“We’ll give you a call when she is processed. Sorry for your loss,” she said.

“Thanks,” Vinyl said.

The mare nodded and ran off with the carriage in tow. Vinyl could only watch as her mother left the home for the last time.





No more than a week had passed since Claret’s passing.

Today it was cloudy. Only a bit of the snow from the past storm still remained on the surface around Ponyville.

Today would also be the day Vinyl would say goodbye to her mother for the final time.

She wore the white button-up shirt and vest she got from Rarity. She walked along with her and Derpy, both wearing well decorated black dresses. Behind them were ponies from the local funeral home carrying a coffin that housed Claret, with a crowd of ponies that followed behind them. They walked through town, heading to the cemetery, which was housed atop a hill.

Taking the path, they all reached the cemetery. Tombstones for many ponies rested there. At the end of the cemetery, at the highest point was a tree sitting by itself. They all went to the tree, where a tombstone with Claret’s name was printed, and a dug hole was prepared as her final resting place.

Chairs were set in front of the tree; a majority of the ponies took their seats, while Vinyl, Derpy, Rarity sat at the front.

A majority attending the funeral were not family, but those that knew Claret through her music career: musicians that looked up to her, friends from in and outside of town, and a few town locals paying respects. Beside the three mares up front a stallion from the funeral home stood at a podium.

“If everyone will take their seats, please,” the stallion said. Everyone immediately sat down.

“We are gathered here today to say goodbye to a well known citizen here in Ponyville and across Equestria: mother and pianist, Claret Rondeau. We are joined here today by her daughter, Ms. Scratch, and two very close friends of hers, Ms. Hooves and Ms. Rarity. We will first begin with Ms. Scratch.”

Vinyl sighed, getting up from her chair and walked over to the podium. She adjusted the mic to bring it down to her level, and took a deep breath.

“Hello, everyone. Thank you for attending…” Vinyl paused looking at the entire crowd of individuals in front of her. She was nervous. She should've prepared a speech, but she hardly knew anyone here, nor did she care. She was against the idea of having such a large funeral in the first place, but it was too late now to show her distaste.

“I just wanted to say that I love my mother. She raised me by herself throughout her life and she was a very influential mare in my life. I-I’m going to miss her.” Vinyl looked at the coffin to her side. She could've said more, but she couldn’t think of anything else. “That’s all, thank you all for attending.”

Vinyl stepped away from the podium. Rather than returning to her seat however, she walked through the center aisle and began to walk away from the funeral. Whispers were exchanged throughout those attending.

“Where is she going?” Derpy said to Rarity, looking behind her. “Is… is she leaving?”

“I don’t know,” Rarity sighed. “Go follow her, I think she needs a friend by her side.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll calm everyone down and take care of things here; I am used to fancy types like this.”

“Are you sure?”

“I have quite a speech planned really. Vinyl, I think, isn’t used to these kind of crowds.”

“Right, I’ll see if I can bring Vinyl back.” Derpy quietly left the funeral, not going through the center aisle like Vinyl and instead went through the side where not many of the attendees focused their attention.

Leaving the ceremony, Derpy kept up her pace, hoping to catch up with Vinyl. She soon saw the mare ahead and ran after her.

“Hey Vinyl!” Derpy yelled. “Wait up!”

Vinyl stopped and turned around. She stood there with a lit cigarette dangling from her mouth while she waited for Derpy to catch up.

“Decided to tag along?” Vinyl asked.

“W-where are you going?” Derpy panted, catching her breath.

“I just didn’t want to be there.”

“What? Why?”

“I wanted to be there just for my mother, I didn’t expect so many attendees.” Vinyl sighed. “Other than you and Rarity, I only knew about ten of them off the top of my head.”

“Vinyl, It’s your mother’s funeral.” She grabbed Vinyl’s hoof. “We should go back.”

Vinyl shook her head and pulled her hoof back from Derpy.

“I’ll visit her tomorrow, I’d rather spend my time with Mom alone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Vinyl tossed her cigarette off to the side. “Now, do you want to tag along with me or not?”

Derpy looked behind her and back at Vinyl. She hardly knew any of the attendees either, and maybe giving her best friend support would be a better idea.

“Sure.” She nodded. “Though, where are we going?”

“I wanted to go to Goldy’s. I could use some coffee, pancakes and a smoke or two.”

Derpy tilted her head. “Seriously? You are abandoning your mother’s funeral for pancakes?”

“I’d rather talk about my mother with you then a bunch of complete strangers.”

Derpy rubbed her chin. “Fair enough. Pancakes it is.”





After walking down the hill, they went past a few shops and ended up at the front of Goldy’s. When they walked inside it was past breakfast and before lunch; only a few patrons were sitting at the front of the diner, having a coffee and a late morning meal.
A small waitress approached the two.

“Mornin’ girls.” She eyed the two, seeing them both in their attire for a funeral. “Just the two of y’all?”

“Yup,” Vinyl said.

“Feel free to sit anywhere y’all like, we aren’t too busy during this hour. I’ll bring your menus.”

Vinyl nodded and sat at the corner of the diner in a booth; Derpy sat across from her.

The waitress came around with two menus.

Vinyl raised her hoof.

“We are just getting the endless pancakes. Some coffee would be great though.”

“Coffee and endless pancakes, coming right up!” she said, zipping off to the kitchen.

“It’s odd, being here.” Derpy looked at her black dress and back at Vinyl. “She could probably tell we just came back from a funeral.”

“You think if I told them we came from my mother’s funeral we could get a discount?” Vinyl grinned.

Derpy stared blankly at Vinyl.

“No.”

“You're probably right,” Vinyl shrugged.

“Not to be mean Vinyl, but you have an odd way of mourning.”

The waitress came back with a large pot of coffee and poured some mugs for the two mares. “Y’alls pancakes should be here soon,” she said, walking off again.

Vinyl nodded, picking up her mug with her magic and taking a sip.

“To be honest, I’ve been crying a lot throughout this week.” Vinyl looked out the window, taking another sip of her coffee. “I thought I would only be sad the day she died, but when I want to do anything around the house I am used to her being there.”

“I See… Sorry.” Derpy picked up her mug, taking a sip.

“Surely you had the same sort of experience?” Vinyl asked.

“What?” Derpy tilted her head.

“I never wanted to presume, but I am guessing you were put into adoption because both your parents passed, right?”

“Not really,” Derpy sighed, taking another sip from her coffee. “I don’t really like bringing it up, but I was abandoned when I was just a foal.”

“Oh.”

There was an awkward silence between the two. The waitress soon came around with two towering plates of pancakes, placing them on the table and walking off again.

“Though,” Derpy said, poking her pancakes with her fork. “Losing your parents is hard. I was abandoned since I was foal and could never remember my mom or dad’s faces. I still feel sad some days, knowing I will probably never see them again.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Vinyl said, taking a bite of her pancakes.

“Thanks.” She smiled. “When you do look at it, I guess you can say we both have the same sort of experience,” she said, taking a small bite of her pancakes.

The two sat in the diner enjoying their pancakes and coffee. Throughout that time Vinyl went over to the jukebox and inserted a few bits into the machine, wanting to listen to some good familiar tunes while she enjoyed her time with Derpy.

“I am going to miss Claret,” Derpy said, sipping her coffee.

Vinyl nodded, lighting a cigarette inside.

“I never got to see her play piano often, but she was talented.” Derpy paused. “And still is probably the closest pony I could ever call ‘Mom.’”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, I never really had a person I could look up to in life, you know?” Derpy said.

“It’s fine,” Vinyl said blowing smoke into the air. “My mom was the coolest mare in Equestria.” She grinned.

“Heh, yeah. You’re right about that.” Derpy raised her coffee mug towards Vinyl. “To Claret.”

“To Mom,” Vinyl said, lightly tapping her mug against Derpy’s.

The two took down their entire mugs of coffee, with Derpy finishing first, coughing a few times.

“Are you doing anything else today?” Vinyl said.

“No,” Derpy replied. “What about you?”

“I was supposed to see Mom’s lawyer after the funeral. He said I can come in at any time. I can just tell him you are a close family friend.”

Derpy nodded. “Sure, have you met him before?”

“Not often, only when he came over to our house really. He has an office in town, so Mom went there often.”

Looking throughout the diner, Vinyl could see more ponies coming in for the lunch hour.

“Let’s get out of here, before it gets crowded,” Vinyl said.





Leaving the diner, Vinyl and Derpy walked side-by-side.

“So your mother had a lawyer?” Derpy asked.

“Yeah, she originally hired him when she filed for a divorce. Soon after though she always stuck with him during her music career as well, and now he is handling her will,” Vinyl said.

“Do you think he went to the funeral?”

“In that crowd? I couldn’t tell. Were you planning to speak in front of them?”

“I was. I actually spent the past few days working on a speech.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Vinyl’s ears fell, feeling a bit of regret for not giving Derpy her voice. “I just don’t see how you can tolerate crowds like that.”

“Was it your first time speaking to a large audience?”

“Yeah.”

“You will get used to it. I’ve done a few before for youth events.”

Walking into a neighborhood, they passed a few houses and stopped at one with a small sign to the side titled ‘Mr. Legal, Ponyville Lawyer.’

“This is it,” Vinyl said.

“Not exactly the best location for a business,” Derpy said, looking around at the regular residential houses.

“I guess it’s cheaper to buy a house than rent or build a property.”

Stepping up to the door’s stoop, Vinyl pressed the doorbell.

They both could hear hoof steps on the other end, and a mare with a blonde mane opened the door.

“Hello? Do you two have an appointment?” she said.

“My name is Vinyl Scratch. I’m the daughter of Claret Rondeau. Mr. Legal called me earlier this week saying I could come in any time after her ceremony. My friend here was also close to her.”

“Oh! I’m sorry for your loss, then, Ms. Scratch.” She fully opened the door and stepped to the side, welcoming them in. “My name is Sandy, please come in, Mr. Legal has been awaiting your arrival.”

“Thanks,” Vinyl said, stepping in first, with Derpy behind her.

Inside, the living room had been converted into a waiting room for clients, about the same size as Vinyl’s home, complete with a fireplace. A single executive desk was beside the door, sitting next to the window.

“Do you two need anything? Coffee? Tea? Water?” Sandy asked.

“No, thank you,” Derpy said.

“Same. Thanks though,” Vinyl said, looking around the office a bit.

“No problem, let me just ring up Mr. Legal to see if he is ready.” Sandy walked over to her desk and pulled up the phone, pressing a single button. “Ms. Scratch and a close friend of her’s have arrived.” She paused. “Yes sir, I’ll bring them up immediately.” She then placed the receiver down and walked over to the steps.

“This way please,” Sandy said. “Mr. Legal is ready to see you.”

Vinyl and Derpy followed her up the staircase to the upper hall. Passing several doors, they were led to one at the end of the hallway. Sandy opened the door for them and stepped to the side, allowing the two to walk in first.

“Here they are Mr. Legal,” she said.

“Thank you, Ms. Dunkin’. You are excused.”

She nodded, walking away and closing the door behind her.

Vinyl looked around the office. Minus the single window behind the old stallion and a few certificates hung up on the walls, the room was packed with fully filled bookshelves. Vinyl then redirected her eyes to the old brown stallion with a greyed mane and tail, sitting at his desk.

He wore nothing but a fancy bowtie, and an old pair of glasses with large lenses and thin frames that looked like they hadn’t been changed in over a decade.

“Please, have a seat,” he said, waving his hoof at the two large chairs in front of his desk.

Vinyl and Derpy nodded, and sat down in the comfy chairs.

“To start off, I’m sorry to hear of your loss Ms. Scratch,” he said, withdrawing a manila envelope and opening it, taking out a small document. “Your mother has been one of my oldest clients throughout my career. She truly was a magnificent mare.”

“Thanks,” Vinyl said, rubbing the back of her head. “This past week I’ve been getting a lot of ponies across town saying how influential she was.”

“Mmm.” He nodded, adjusting his glasses and looking at the document he retrieved. “Now before I go over the will, your mother left you a farewell message she wrote several months back. Would it be okay for me to read it?”

“She left a message?” Vinyl asked.

“Yes, some clients wish to keep things strictly business, but for more personal manners I’ve had a few farewell messages like this. Regardless, would it be okay for me to proceed?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Very well.” He cleared his throat and began reading.

To Vinyl,

If you are reading this, then I am sorry to say that I must have passed away from my cancer. I can't know when or how this will happen, so I want these to be my last words to you. I am proud of how much you’ve grown. I remember when you were first born that I wasn’t sure what I had gotten myself into, or if I would be a responsible mother. However, I hope that I have been a good influence on you throughout your life, and that it carries on, even after my death.

By the time you are reading this, I hope you have passed your eighteenth birthday and I congratulate you on making it this far in your life. You’ve grown from when I first set my eyes on you and you still have a long road ahead. I hope you not only achieve your dreams as a musician, but also find a mare that you can call your partner. I know things didn’t go well in high school, but don’t worry; things will be better as an adult.

It feels very weird, leaving a message after my passing, and I hope that you never have to read this, but I just want you to know that I love you, and I am very proud of you, Vinyl. Take care of yourself and those around you.


Your mother, Claret Rondeau.


Vinyl had been crying throughout and now cleared her tears away. Derpy did a bit of the same beside her, hearing the final message of her mother.

“Are you going to be okay?” Mr. Legal said.

“Sorry,” Vinyl sniffled. “What’s left?”

“Just the will,” Legal said, turning the page.

“To Vinyl Scratch,

I, Claret Rondeau, hereby declare that, on the day of my passing, I transfer over all of my assets to my only daughter, Vinyl Scratch. This includes my home, possessions, wealth and investments. However, my daughter will also be required to follow these two requests.

1.) If my longtime friend Ms. Rarity is to ever have financial trouble with her business Carousel Boutique, my daughter will be required to help her in any way financially if possible.

2.) On the day of her eighteenth birthday, our friend, Ms. Derpy Hooves is to receive a deposit of exactly five thousand bits to help her throughout her start into adulthood.—”

“How much!?” Derpy yelled, standing up out of her chair.

“Are you Ms. Hooves?” Legal said, placing his eyes on her.

“Y-yes!” she stammered.

“As previously stated, on the day of her eighteenth birthday, our friend, Ms. Derpy Hooves is to receive a deposit of exactly five thousand bits—”

“Five? T-thousand?” Derpy placed her hoof over her chest.

“Yes,” Legal said.

“W-wow.” She fainted, falling onto the floor.

“Oh, shit.” Vinyl quickly got out of her chair and went to Derpy’s side.

Legal grabbed the phone on his desk and pressed a button. “Yes, Ms. Dunkin’, we have a code blue in my office.” He hung up the phone and looked down at the two.

“This happens often?” Vinyl asked.

“Once every few months.”

There was a sound of rushing hooves downstairs, and no more than a few seconds after Legal called Sandy, she came bursting through the office door.

“Here! What’s the situation?” Sandy said, holding a clean towel and bottle of water in her hoof.

“Just the grey mare here. She just got a bit overwhelmed. Her friend will be taking care of her.”

Derpy sat up, placing her hoof over her head.

“You all right?” Vinyl asked, grabbing the water bottle from Sandy and passing it to Derpy.

“Yeah, just…” She took a sip from the bottle. “That came out of nowhere.”

Vinyl helped Derpy back into her chair.

“If you are feeling better, can we proceed?” Legal asked.

“Sorry, I hope we aren’t wasting too much of your time, Mr. Legal” Derpy said.

“No trouble. I’ve had worse this past week.” He grabbed a pen and slid the document to the end of the desk. “I just need Ms. Scratch’s signature to proceed, and we can finalize this will.”

“Right.” Vinyl picked up the pen with her magic and signed her name slowly, trying her best to make a fancy signature.

“Well, that sums it up.” He got up out of his chair, taking the documents. “Let me just have my secretary make a copy of this, and you two can get on your way.”





Walking out of the office, Vinyl lit another cigarette and looked over at Derpy.

“You feeling all right?” Vinyl asked.

“Yeah.” Derpy took another sip from the water bottle. “Just, that’s a lot of bits to be giving away.”

“Mom was always smart with her wealth.” Vinyl shrugged. “We already own the house, and she has a good amount of shares with the record company she previously worked for. Or, I guess I own now.”

Vinyl pulled in on her cigarette.

“It’s an odd feeling, getting all of this stuff handed to me.”

“Your mother trusts you, and me as well. When I am an adult, of course.” Derpy said.

“To be honest, I think she only wants you to wait until your 18th birthday so the adoption house doesn’t take any of it.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised.” Derpy sighed. “They would do something like that.”

The two began walking out of the neighborhood.

“You think Rarity is back at her place?” Vinyl said. “I wanted to thank her for staying at Mom’s funeral, seeing how we sort of ditched her there.”

“It’s been a few hours now,” Derpy said, checking her watch.

“Let’s give her a visit.”

Walking past a few businesses and the library, they soon made it to Rarity’s Boutique. On the front of the door was a sign saying ‘Closed for the week, will reopen starting next weekend.’

“I guess she needed some time off with what’s been happening,” Derpy said.

“Didn’t she make that dress you are wearing?” Vinyl said.

“She did actually; it’s the first time I had something so formal. Just wish it was for a happier event.”

Vinyl nodded, and then knocked on the door.

“We’re closed for the week, read the sign!” Rarity yelled from inside.

“I can read, thank you very much, and it’s me Vinyl, Derpy is here too.”

“Oh, sorry, Vinyl. Come in. Door’s unlocked.”

Vinyl opened the door and walked inside. Derpy closed the door behind her and they found the store front was completely empty.

“Rarity? Where are you?” Derpy said.

“In here,” Rarity said from the kitchen.

The two walked into the kitchen and found Rarity sitting at the kitchen table, eating a tub of ice cream while crying. Her mascara was ruined, running down her face.

“Uh, hey.” Vinyl waved.

“Hello girls.” She sniffled, taking one last bite before closing the tub of ice cream.

“Still mourning?” Vinyl asked.

“Just a little bit.” She grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes and messy mascara. “I think having guests over, especially you two, will make me feel better.”

Rarity got out of her seat, placed the tub of ice cream in her freezer and went over to her stove top.

“You two have a seat. Do either of you want tea?”

“Please,” Derpy said, sitting down at the table.

“Sure.” Vinyl looked around the kitchen. “Rarity, do you have a stereo in here?”

“Oh? Yes, it’s over there.” She pointed her hoof over to a dusty wood cabinet with a bunch of knick knacks placed on top of it. “It hasn’t been played in a while.”

Vinyl went over to the cabinet and found a small notch in the top panel. She lifted it to find an old record player that had been collecting dust and an external cassette player. She pulled a cassette tape out of her vest pocket and placed it in the player. Turning on both the stereo and cassette player, she pressed play and could hear her mother again.

‘Are we recording?’

Rarity and Derpy’s ears twitched, hearing the familiar voice from the stereo.

‘Yeah, why do you think I was waving my hoof?’

‘Sorry, Vinyl.’ Claret chuckled. ‘Hopefully whoever is listening to this doesn’t mind our bickering.’

‘Well, we’re rolling,’ Vinyl grumbled.

‘Oh! Right.’

Then, the sound of her mother playing piano could be heard throughout the kitchen. Vinyl sat down next to Derpy, listening to the recording.

“When was this recorded?” Rarity asked.

“The day before she died. She hadn’t played for so long and she went all throughout the afternoon to the evening.”

“How did she play? Wasn’t she supposed to not use her magic?”

Vinyl shook her head. “She just wanted to play. How could I say no to that?”

“I see,” Rarity said, getting ready to prepare the tea.

“It sounds beautiful.” Derpy smiled. “I haven’t heard her play often, but it seems she hadn’t lost any of her skill after her long hiatus.”

“Thanks.” Vinyl returned a smile as well. “I think she was really enjoying it.”

Rarity picked up three cups of tea with her magic and placed them on the kitchen table.

“I remember when I first met you and your mother Vinyl: You were still in elementary school and I was just starting my business.” Rarity took a sip of her tea. “My sales were abysmal, but then you and your mother came in and ordered a dress from me. She was impressed by my work after looking over my designs and said she would come back if she ever needed anything else.”

“I think we still have everything you made in her closet; she never wanted to get rid of them.” Vinyl said.

“She would only buy one dress each year, but her friends asked where she got her dresses, and all of a sudden I had orders across Equestria coming in.” Rarity smiled. “I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for her.”

“She was great like that,” Vinyl said.

They all sat around one another, continuing to drink their tea. Throughout the afternoon they talked about Claret, all the while listening to her final performance. Vinyl and Derpy were there until the sun went down.





Once evening came, Vinyl and Derpy were back at Vinyl’s doorstep, ready to wrap up for the evening.

“Thanks for taking me along with you today Vinyl,” Derpy said. “I think today was better than what I expected.”

“No prob.” Vinyl smiled. “Thanks for tagging along with me.”

Vinyl looked at the moon that lit up the town for the evening and back down at Derpy.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you sometime. ‘Night Derpy.” Vinyl was about to open the door before Derpy interjected.

“Vinyl?”

“Yeah?”

“…Are you going to be okay?”

Vinyl closed her eyes, and sighed.

“For the most part, I think so. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay. Have a good evening then, Vinyl.” Derpy turned around, and began walking away.

“Derpy.”

“Yes?” She said, turning around.

“Thanks. Thanks for sticking with us, throughout all of this.”

Derpy smiled.

“You’ve been a good friend to me Vinyl, both you and your mother. I couldn’t leave either of you behind.” She waved, and began walking back to her place.

Vinyl then opened the door to her home—only hers now—and went inside. She almost said ‘I’m home,’ but remembered she was the only one there.

She wandered around the house, looking at all the things her mother left behind for her. She never gave much thought to the items throughout the house, but without her mother here, it was her responsibility to look after all of this now.

Looking at the piano, she wanted to play for her mother, but she wasn’t here now; she would only be playing for herself. She then came up with an idea.

Going upstairs, she grabbed the cassette recorder and a cassette from her room and went back downstairs. She placed the recorder and microphone along the piano and, after plugging it in, she began recording and started playing the piano.

Her skills were far from her mother, only tapping the keys slowly, dragging out her notes. She played for a few minutes, forming her own piece. Once she was done, she pressed stop on the recorder and rewound the tape.

Unplugging the recorder from the wall, she popped the back off and saw there were still fresh batteries inside. She then grabbed her jacket from the kitchen and placed the recorder inside her bag that she kept next to the door. Vinyl then walked out the front door.




It was freezing. Vinyl walked through the darkness alone, with the full moon lighting her path. She kept herself bundled in her jacket, keeping her hood over her head to stay warm while smoking another cigarette.

She was close to the cemetery, taking the path up the hill now. The path was well lit and she soon made it to the cemetery. She walked past all the tombstones of passed residents and walked up to the highest point of the cemetery, standing beneath the tree where her mother now rested.

Vinyl looked at the grave; the dirt was freshly placed back in, and attendees of the funeral had left roses over her burial place. Looking at the tombstone, she read the inscription.


Claret Rondeau

Loving Mother

Talented Musician

Born 954 CE · Died 993 CE · Age 39


Sitting down, she placed her hoof over the tombstone.

“Hey, Mom. Sorry I left earlier.” She sat there silent. “I thought the ceremony was a bit much, but I said I would come here as soon as I could.”

She pulled the cassette recorder out of her bag, and powered it on. She pressed play and the speaker on the recorder began playing the piano piece she played earlier that evening.

“I recorded this earlier today. Since you are not at the house anymore, I decided to bring it here.” She paused, listening to her recording as well. “I hope you like it. It was sort of impromptu.”

She kept to herself, sticking near her mother’s grave. Just wanting to give her some company.

“You know… It’s going to be hard, not having you here.”

Vinyl began to cry.

“I’m gonna miss seeing you play, seeing you listen to my music, hanging out with friends or going on our tour trips every summer.”

She placed her hooves over the tombstone, crying harder now, not caring how much of a mess she looked.

“I-I’m going to miss you, Mom.”

She placed her hooves over her eyes, crying endlessly by herself. She remained there throughout the evening, not wanting to leave her mother’s side.

“Vinyl.”

Vinyl looked behind her and saw Derpy standing there, wearing a thick jacket.

“What are you doing here?” Vinyl said.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I snuck out and decided to come here.” She bit her lip. “I didn’t think you would be out here as well.”

Vinyl nodded and looked back at the tombstone.

“Why did she have to die? Out of all the ponies in Equestria, why her?”

Derpy kneeled behind Vinyl and pulled her into a hug. Vinyl flinched instinctively, but soon found herself sinking into her friend’s warm embrace.

“Some things just happen, Vinyl. We can’t stop them from happening. When Claret was diagnosed, she knew there was a possibility she was going to die, and you knew as well things weren’t as they were when she first went to the hospital.”

“When we were at Rarity’s place that night, I was so scared of what was going to happen,” Vinyl said, tears streaming down her face.
She remembered the moment when her mother first had her seizure. A few minutes earlier she was fine, the next she was on the ground, twitching, unable to control herself.

“Yet you still stuck with her all throughout it to the end. We all did. Rather than letting the cancer take it’s toll on her, we all stuck to one another and gave her the best support we could.”

“I’ve always relied on her to take care of me though. I don’t know if I am ready for this.”

“We'll take it one day at a time, Vinyl. You've looked out for me this whole time, so I'll be right here with you.”

Vinyl nodded, clearing the tears out of her eyes.

“Let’s go back to your house. I don’t want you to freeze out here.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

It began to snow again. The mares remained close to one another to keep warm as they walked back to Vinyl’s house. Looking back at the grave, Vinyl promised herself this wouldn’t be the end, but the start of a new beginning.


fin