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Prologue: Oh you better start explaining, Shining Armor.742 words
Chapter 1: Well, I'm Vinyl Scratch. I'm new to Canterlot High. And I just made friends.4,439 words
Chapter 2: Well, I'm in a mess. Prom is in a few months but I guess I'm going single.2,702 words
Chapter 3: Every pony, meet Sabertooth and Emera. They're awesome and I love them to bits.2,453 words
Chapter 4: I will banish any pony who says the L-word. Grr!5,346 words
Chapter 5: The face of my face is a face I'd face in a face.2,791 words
Chapter 6: Sometimes, it's not exactly the best idea to fall asleep in the backyard.2,593 words

Chapter 6: Sometimes, it's not exactly the best idea to fall asleep in the backyard.

Don’t be sad.

Ironically, Vinyl felt a little more downcast than he expected. A lot more downcast rather.

Thank you. For being a friend of mine.

Vinyl hadn’t thought it would end up this way. “At least nothing bad happened, right?” murmured Vinyl as he strolled along the grassy paths in Cadance’s backyard. Flowers of all colors and sizes lined his path. Huge trees of different kinds sheltered him from the sun. There was a mini-fountain surrounded by tulips on his far right that released sprays of mist; it cooled the air down which helped Vinyl’s thoughts.

“… Why did I kiss her? Why didn’t I just deny it? Now I don’t think she’ll want to find out who I am inside. She’ll know I’m lying all this time,” said Vinyl absent-mindedly as he kicked a couple of pebbles aside. “Good friends don’t lie to one another.”

He kicked yet just another pebble, and gazed at the sunset.

Vinyl smiled. It reminded him of the times the three of them would hang out at the park after school.

Hey, let’s watch the sunset together, shall we?

His memories played itself in his head. He saw that they were at the park. It was one year ago, and he still remembered the exact date.

It was Vinyl’s birthday. Or at least the date he had to make up; changelings’ births weren’t really recognised, and their presences were merely for the purpose of procreation. It was as if the changelings’ race whole purpose was to breed and populate the earth.

He glanced briefly to his side. He saw the image of Cadance and Shining Amor. They had a tiny little birthday cake with the words ‘Happy Birthday, Vinyl!’ written in pink frosting.

He smacked his lips and licked the air as if he had just tasted it. He could still remember the cake; it was dark chocolate infused with strawberry, topped off with cherries and chocolate waffles. Vinyl didn’t really like cherries, but he made sure to finish off the milky goodness and the cake.

”Happy birthday to you, dear Vinyl. Happy birthday to you!

“Wooo.” Vinyl exhaled deeply and sighed. Those were just memories, and he knew deeply how much he craved for more of that.

His smile slowly died off as he slumped to the ground and returned to reality. Everything’s gonna be ruined, and it’s all my fault.

Vinyl wasn’t crying, but he felt every urge to; something inside of him told him those tears would be wasted at a time like this.

I should be happy, he told himself. I shouldn’t be crying. She’s found who she loves.

One body part by one, he morphed back into his changeling self. And if I loved her, I’d let her go.

The evening breeze ran briefly against his mane. The birds chirped softly as the leaves swayed. Even the fountain seemed to stop splashing so much water against its concrete body.

It felt surreally peaceful to Vinyl as he closed his eyes. It had been a long day for Vinyl, and a long night to come. After all, prom was still on, and it didn’t care about any pony’s feelings. It just had to present itself.

Unknowingly, Vinyl, the changeling, had presented himself to the second last person he ever wanted to show.

- - - Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ - - -

Fack. He could feel some pony standing behind him, but he froze. Whoever was behind him had just found out about his deepest secret.

“Go away. Your species ain’t welcome here.” Its menacing tone clearly surprised him; most ponies would have ran away, but there was one foolish—or brave—enough to face it.

With one swift motion, Vinyl took off. And he would have gotten away too, if it weren’t for a beam of magic that restricted his wings.

“You are not running away. I’ll make sure you go back terrified.” There was a malicious tone behind it that Vinyl would have been proud of if he had been playing as the villain in a story.

Except that this wasn’t make-believe. It was as real as it would get. And right now, he was stuck in a situation where he wasn’t prepared for.

“Let me go!” Vinyl shrieked and turned to look at his captive, and his heart nearly gave way. Dressed in black robes was a white stallion who he recognised anywhere.

“Shining! It’s me! Vinyl!” Vinyl called out but Shining Armor just stood resolute, staring at what he had believed was a threat.

“Nice try, demon.” With its sinister undertone came another beam of magic. This time, it threw Vinyl off the grass and into the water fountain. “I knew I saw something lurking about. You aren’t fooling me, changeling. Whatever you’re planning, I’m stopping it right now.”

With the mist splashing about, Vinyl saw a figure advancing towards him. And it wasn’t that he hadn’t recognised Shining. Instead, he hadn’t known what to do in situations like these. He had never really fathomed that they would find out; he made sure of that, carefully watching his surroundings before he decided to drop his disguise.

Except for this time.

“Shining!” Vinyl cowered and he backed up against the fountain. “You got to trust me! It’s me, Vinyl! Here, let me change back!”

Vinyl promptly shifted his eyes over to his horn. With all intent, he focused on his pony body, concentrating on the only thing he could ever do in his life.

It could have been settled, but when Vinyl opened his eyes again, he stared into the reflection of the water beside him. He was shocked; his red eyes remained, his wings sprouted generously and his frown had found itself on his face. Nothing had changed for the better, and everything had turned for the worse.

He was smacked by the hooves of Shining Armor as he attempted to flee. He had never felt so betrayed in his life before, but it wasn’t Shining Armor’s fault. He’s just confused, right? With every bashing came a painful reminder of his old life.

”Nobody likes you, Vinyl. Nobody’s gonna save you.”

“I’ll make sure you don’t ever come back to school again.”

“You’re a worthless excuse of a changeling soul.”

Since coming to Canterlot, his life had flipped. He wasn’t bullied. Ponies tried their best to understand and tolerate him. Some even accepted him, like Shining Armor and Cadance.

However, parts of his old life had resurfaced. One thing for sure, he was still a victim of circumstance.

Why… can’t… I… change… back?

With resolution, Shining Armor kicked him in his face, causing a gash to appear.

Why… can’t… he… see… me?

Tears flowed down his bruised face as Shining Armor backed off, much to his surprise.

“I’ll give you one last chance. Tell me why you’re here, and I’ll hand you over to the authorities instead of beating you to a pulp, and then handing you over.” Shining Armor flicked his horn and took a stance against Vinyl, who at this point had bruises all over. Blood seeped through a few cuts here and there, and a painful pulse lingered in his head.

There was a chance. Vinyl saw it. He could have explained who he really was. Why he was here in the first place. He could suffer less inside and pour his biggest worries to someone he trusted. There was this chance he might have believed him too. Things might change, but it wouldn’t change much anyways. They’d still be friends.

Instead, he had chosen to sing.

“This is the start. The start of a brand new life,” sang Vinyl, choking over a few syllables here and there. He stared at Shining Armor, who clearly had recognised this song; his jaw hung loose and his eyes widened.

There are many ways to explain, but here’s the best, Shining.

“We come from different walks of life to show what we are made of.” Vinyl continued singing. “Together we will stand, together—”

“Hand in hand.”

Vinyl was astonished. Never had he thought Shining Armor would have remembered this song. Neither had he thought he would sing it.

With his mind racing and heart pounding, Vinyl dared to sing even more confidently than before. “A million tries won’t break us down, we’ll make it as…”

“Friends.” The duo voiced in unison. At the last note, Shining Armor dived towards Vinyl.

- - - Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ-Ɵ - - -

Vinyl braced for impact as Shining Armor charged. Maybe he doesn’t believe me. Maybe that’s why he’s choking me really, really hard. Maybe his tears mean that—Wait a minute, tears?

He glanced over at Shining Armor who had his hooves over him. He was crying over his shoulders and was mumbling.

“Hmm?" whispered Vinyl as he placed his hooves around him. “Don’t be sad. I knew this day would come.”

“I’m so sorry, Vinyl,” said Shining Armor as he glanced down at Vinyl’s eyes. “I should have believed you the moment you said it.”

“It’s okay.” That was all Vinyl had said before he pulled him closer. “I don’t blame you.”

The two of them lay still in the backyard as the sunset graced them. The birds had stopped chirping and the crickets had begun singing. The leaves rustled and the grass whistled in the cool evening breeze.

Eventually, Shining Armor broke the silence. “Hey Vinyl, I don’t deserve you—”

“Nonsense! I owe you a lot. You, and Cadance, had changed my life. Before I came over to Canterlot, life was miserable for me.” And Vinyl began narrating his life story. He told him about how and what changelings were. He told him who his parents were, and how they were the only one who had genuinely tried to stick by him. He told him about when he was first diagnosed with Bi-eraflucta, and how the other foals would constantly tease him to the point he felt bullied. He told him everything, except the moment he had with Cadance a while ago. He figured he could leave that part out.

“And that’s all to me, I guess,” said Vinyl as he sat upright against a tree and rubbed against his temple. “Urgh, this headache.”

“Ehh, oops. Sorry about that.” Shining Armor proceeded to sit down beside him. “I shouldn’t have jumped into conclusions. I’ve read somewhere that changelings are evil and they just want to suck our love out.”

“Half of that’s kinda true, actually.” Vinyl grimaced. “It’s kinda how we retain our powers to change. Without it, we’re stuck like this forever.”

“Hmm, what if you have too much of it? Do you guys like, explode out of love?” Shining Armor grinned.

“There can never be too much love,” said Vinyl as he playfully shoved Shining Armor. And for the first time in a while, they smiled. They even let lose a few chuckles.

“So wait, normally, changelings can turn into any pony they want? But you’ve got Bi-whatever that is, so you can’t… That sucks,” remarked Shining Armor as he watched Vinyl turned into his pony form.

"Yeah, I know.” Vinyl sighed as he stared into the sunset. “Anyways, why are you dressed in robes?”

Vinyl hadn’t noticed, but Shining Armor’s eyes beamed widely at Vinyl. “That’s it! Help me out—”

“Vinyl… Vinyl!” The two ponies easily recognised that voice.

Shining Armor gasped and grabbed Vinyl by the shoulders. “I got to go! Do me favour. Bring Cadance to prom.”

‘”Wait, what?!” Vinyl was stunned. Am I hearing it correctly?

With his heart pounding wildly, Shining Armor took off. “Take my place!” yelled Shining Armor from across the garden. “I got a secret too! I can’t dance!”

“Hey, Shining! Who are you talking to?” said Cadance as she lightly pecked his cheeks. “And have you seen Vinyl?”

“Oh, umm… just give me a minute.” Vinyl quickly dashed towards the fountain and stared at his reflection. There was no single doubt that Vinyl had lavishly smooth blue hair that he had always wanted. His eyes were equally blue, and his body muscles were toned.

Vinyl gasped. “I… I’m actually Shining!” screamed Vinyl happily before he restrained himself from exploding from joy even further. Okay, okay, I get it. I’m now Shining Armor, coltfriend of Cadance. I have to bring her to prom. Okay. That’s what I have to do now. No pressure. I just gotta be who he is, and it’ll be all good.

He took a deep breath and strutted calmly towards Cadance. “Hey, dear. Shall we go? You look beautiful tonight.” He wrapped his hooves around Cadance and nudged against her redden cheeks.

“O… okay—Wait, where’s Vinyl?” asked Cadance.

“She’s uh… gone home. Said she wasn’t feeling well.”

“Oh no, that’s… probably my fault.” Cadance sighed as she stared at her bedroom. “Something happened back there. She… kissed me. Then afterwards, I told her I wanted some time to think but she went for a walk.”

“Oh.” That was all Vinyl could mutter as he recollected his memories, and giggled. Well, this is slightly awkward, but so much fun! Man, I wonder if I can now change to other ponies too!

“Huh? Why are you laughing?”

“Oh, nothing. I just think it’s kinda cute.” Vinyl chuckled as he walked Cadance towards the garden exit. “We should probably go, we don’t want to be late.”

Cadance rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right. This is our night, anyways.” She nuzzled his cheek and walked hoof in hoof beside him.

“I just wish she hadn’t had those feelings for me,” said Cadance as she frowned. “It complicates things.”

“C’mon, don’t be sad,” said Vinyl as he swung the main gate open and gestured for Cadance to go first.

“Huh, that’s funny,” said Cadance as she stared at him. “Vinyl said that to me too.”

Vinyl’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh? He did?” Vinyl chuckled nervously as he scratched his head and looked away.

“Yeah… you’re catching onto her lingo. Someone’s been spending way too much time with her,” teased Cadance as she stepped out of the gate. “I’m just kidding. I’m not jealous. Why should I be jealous? The three of us are best friends, right? Right? Right?!”

Vinyl sighed in relief. Phew. “Uhh… yes?

She eyed him suspiciously as he walked out of the gate and latched it. “Good. Now let’s go to prom.”

There was something in Cadance’s words that seemed a little too ominous for Vinyl. Reminder: If this is what Shining goes through, never, NEVER date Cadance for real.

“Hey, you coming?” Her tone had returned back to its sweet, demure voice, which threw Vinyl off.

Okay, I’m doing it for Shining. I’m doing it for him. This night won’t be that bad, right?

“Yeah, I’m coming,” shouted Vinyl as he chased after Cadance.

I should be fine. After all, I’m gonna dance with Cadance.

Right?

Author's Note:

Now this is where it starts getting mildly confusing. Vinyl is Shining Armor. Vinyl is also Vinyl. Vinylception, any pony? :3

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