Chapter 16: ...The Crash Pt. 2
Chapter 16: ...The Crash Pt. 2
Vinyl Scratch slept on the couch; that was simply what occurred. You see, the two ponies couldn't share a bed together anymore and Vinyl didn't want to make her guest sleep on her nasty old couch (despite how comfy it was.) So, there Vinyl lay... all night... tossing and turning... dozing off maybe once or twice only to be reawakened by some noisy cat fight outside. During her struggles, she never once glanced up at the ceiling. It's not that she was avoiding looking at the pizza stain that was (somehow) up there, it's that there was a pony sleeping above that ceiling. It was a pony she liked. A pony that kept her awake all night.
A pony that rejected her.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"No."
Vinyl stopped breathing. "Time stood still" may be a cliché, but to Vinyl, it felt like there was nothing happening anymore. There was no breathing because there was no more air. If there were blood vessels in her body that once moved, they stopped. The pumping that had kept them going was gone. There was no sound because sound couldn't exist anymore. The very atoms whose shaking kept the universe changing and evolving refused to budge. The concept of movement had become abstract; it was no longer possible.
Whatever intense power that radiated from Vinyl's eyes, that once poisoned any and everything that looked at them, was sunken. The overwhelming red was now a dull pink.
They were empty eyes.
"I can't, Vinyl," Octavia whimpered as she tried to wipe the tears from her own eyes. "I can't."
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Vinyl groaned as the chattering of birds outside her home signaled that Celestia had finally moved the sun and begun the morning. There wasn't a real reason to get out of bed for Vinyl; there wasn't anything good to come of it. Despite this, she rolled off the couch and planted herself upright. She stretched out her body, cracking joints awake and shaking off the morning aches. Her house was practically empty. Her stereo was gone, her record pile was tiny, there was no more trash and her keyboard took up little space as it leaned carefully up against the wall alongside her turntables. She stood alone beside the couch. It had never felt so lonely in there before.
Vinyl wandered into the kitchen. It was uncomfortably barren there as well. For the longest time, she had only used the place for discarding trash and decaying leftovers. Now, however, through the miracle of cleaners and elbow grease, it was spotless. Vinyl had Octavia to thank for that. The mare had made herself quite at home and fixed every dirty little problem in the house. She even stocked the kitchen with real food. (What an abstract concept.) But Vinyl hadn't come to the kitchen to admire the cleanliness or even grab herself a bite. On the counter sat a tiny pile of mail. The DJ pushed aside the envelopes to find one that seemed unimportant (just a water bill.) As she levitated it up, she unearthed a piece of parchment with letters dripping in vibrant red.
I SAW THEM. DO NOT RUN.
The strange warning had been stuck to her door by some intruder two nights before. Vinyl had been fairly apprehensive about the message upon first seeing it and had a foreboding feeling as to what it meant, but kept it around nonetheless. She did her best to hide her fear from Octavia, to keep the home comfortable for her friend. But at that moment, Vinyl wasn't concerned about the villain behind the message, she was focused on the last three words on the paper.
"I'm not the one running away," Vinyl muttered as she used her magic to crumple up the parchment.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"I can't," Octavia sniffed while tears and unsavory nose fluids dripped out of her.
"But- but we get along so well!" Vinyl desperately tried to explain as she shook Octavia's shoulders. Shock and disbelief ran through her, controlling her movements and words. "I thought- I thought you liked me! You've put so much effort into just being here with me! I thought we could- be something more together!"
"I like you, Vinyl," Octavia mumbled out miserably. "I really do, but I can't- I can't- have a relationship with you."
"Why not!?" Vinyl cried.
"You know why!" Octavia shouted, launching her tears off her face. "You're a-... a lesbian! But I'm not-! I'm not like you, Vinyl!"
"I DON'T CARE!!" Vinyl replied, shouting even louder. "I don't care about that! I will make you happier than any bucking stallion you'd ever meet! You've been so happy with me, Octavia! I can tell! You were sad and pathetic when I met you, but I've seen how I've lit up your eyes! You can't deny that!"
"It's because you were my friend, Vinyl!" Octavia contradicted. "I've never had a friend like you before! I just want to stay friends! Why can't we just be-"
"BECAUSE IT HURTS ME TO BE AROUND YOU AND KNOW I CAN'T HAVE YOU!!!" Vinyl faced the dirt as she shouted. Her draping neon bangs blocked out the sweaty, struggling face of the brokenhearted pony underneath.
"I'm sorry, Vinyl! I'm sorry!" Octavia pushed Vinyl aside and bolted. She galloped away as fast as her four legs could take her.
"OCTAVIA, WAIT!!!" Vinyl cried out in desperation behind her, but Octavia kept running. It hurt her too much to stay.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
There was a faint creaking above Vinyl's head and she looked up instinctively. Octavia had awoken, apparently, and was wandering around Vinyl's bedroom.
Vinyl breathed in deep and exhaled slowly. Returning to the couch, she levitated her sunglasses off the place on the floor where she dropped them. She put them on quickly. The house looked different behind the shades; Vinyl normally kept them off inside her home. Octavia descended the stairs shortly afterward. The cellist had a pathetic smile on her face.
"...Good morning," Octavia said softly. A casual greeting had never before sounded so unsure.
"Hey," Vinyl replied plainly, just as unsure. The two stood far apart and both were as stiff as boards. After a moment's pause, Vinyl asked, "Sleep okay?" She looked away as she said it, trying to make the motion seem as nonchalant as possible.
"...I slept fine," Octavia answered. There was another pause between them. They didn't dare look at each other's faces. "Ah, shall I make us breakfast?" Octavia asked suddenly, ending the silence.
"Um, sure," Vinyl said with little certainty.
"Alright," Octavia acknowledged, as she headed towards the kitchen. "Is there anything... in particular you would like to eat?" she asked as she passed her friend.
"Um, no," Vinyl told her. "...Not pancakes, though..." she added quietly.
"...Right. ...Of course..." Octavia somberly replied.
Vinyl waited until she heard the faint noises of the cellist working the kitchen before she moved. She wandered over to her pile of albums. Plopping herself down, she pulled out a dull pencil and the envelope she had snatched from the kitchen. Using the back of the envelope, the DJ began to jot down some artist names as she shifted through her records.
"Shoulda done this yesterday," she muttered to nopony in particular.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Vinyl opened the door to her home slowly. It was late; the moon was already rising. She had spent many hours, the greater part of the day, running around trying to locate Octavia. Exhausted and emotionally drained, she hobbled inside. The mournful sound of a cello greeted her from the second floor. Vinyl gazed up as the soulful strings permeated the dark and empty house. Both relief and trepidation filled her as the sound flowed through her.
"Octavia," Vinyl whispered. She carefully climbed the stairs and entered the bedroom. The pony in question stood before the window drawing her bow. Vinyl watched for a moment as moonlight shone down on the master cellist. Soon after, the somber tune came to a close.
"You came back here?" Vinyl asked from across the room.
"...After some time, I did," Octavia responded. She still stared out the window at the perfect view of the moon rising just above the rooftops of Ponyville.
Neither pony had anything they could say to make their situation okay. Their emotions peaked earlier and had long since settled. They both experienced enough time to think things through, consider themselves, their friend. But to voice their feelings, it was tough. Vinyl spoke first.
"I'm so sorry, Octavia," she said, mustering all her strength just to speak the words. "I'm so sorry. I made a fool of myself... trying to force you like that... I hurt you didn't I? Your feelings?" Octavia was quiet and kept to the window. "...Do you hate me? Because I'd understand if you did." Vinyl wasn't expecting anything other than hate. After all, wasn't that how Berry responded?
"...I would never hate you, Vinyl. I like you. I do." Octavia's words sounded kind, but as she stared out at the moon, they felt distant.
"But... you'll never like me in the way I like you...?" Vinyl didn't notice as Octavia twitched slightly before she answered.
"...No."
"...Can we still be friends?" Vinyl asked, hopefully.
Octavia took a cold pause before responding, "...I do not know..."
"But- you said you wanted to stay friends? Octavia, you said that!"
"I like you... but I do not know if I can be around you anymore, Vinyl... I'm sorry."
Her words turned the dark gloom that hung menacingly above Vinyl's head even darker. The empty sadness spread to her hooves as if there was now an abyss of despair that she stood teetering on the edge of. Octavia was on the verge of leaving forever. And Vinyl knew, it was all her fault.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
One pony sat at one end of the couch and the other, of course, sat at the other end. It was a small couch, but on that day, the distance between each end felt like miles. (Or kilometers. I'm not picky.)
Vinyl usually ate food with great ferocity and hunger, as manners were not a concern of hers. But on this day, she munched her bland bran muffins quietly, for reasons other than the sake of being polite. Her soft crunching was accompanied by Octavia's, as the two uncomfortably ate their breakfast together.
"Your plate?" Octavia asked after both had finished their meals. She extended her hoof to Vinyl.
"Thanks." Vinyl's voice cracked a little as she handed the crumb-covered plate over. Octavia nodded slightly as she took the tableware to the kitchen. Vinyl could hear the soft sound of running water as her guest did the cleaning up.
The white unicorn sighed and walked up to the small closet on the other side of the room. Rummaging through it for a moment, she uncovered her packs. After checking that they still had the meager pile of bits she put in them the day before, Vinyl saddled them on and headed towards the door.
"Are you... going somewhere?" Octavia asked carefully as she peeked around the corner, watching her friend leave.
"Harmonic's. Got a gig in Manehatten tonight. Need some stuff."
"Oh," Octavia acknowledged, plainly. Vinyl magically opened the front door and the bright lights of the morning came flooding in. She stood still at the entrance for an unbearably long time.
"...Did you... want to come?" Vinyl finally asked as she glanced back at her friend, who was still peaking around the corner. It was the first time all morning Vinyl had dared look at Octavia's face. But she was in shadow. Octavia hid from the light in the semi-darkness of the kitchen.
"No... Not there. Not today... I think," Octavia answered with melancholy.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"Octavia, look at me," Vinyl spoke sternly. Octavia finally moved her unrelenting gaze from the moon's light to comply. Her tears had been wiped and dried, but it was easy to see they still haunted the pony.
The chest beside the bedroom staircase was open. Dirty magazines of various sorts floated beside Vinyl in her magical grip. Her sunglasses were off and she looked to Octavia with determination. The red eyes didn't terrorize Octavia as they once did, but she still desperately wanted to avert her gaze from them. They hurt her in new ways.
"You know what these are?" Vinyl asked with her cheeks pinking up at the uncomfortable topic.
"Yes," Octavia replied, a little disgusted at the sight of the explicit materials. She too, turned a little red. "I found out about you through them."
"That makes this simpler then," Vinyl sighed. With a grunt, her horn surged with energy as she magically tore the handful of periodicals in two. Octavia stared in disbelief as Vinyl continued to shred the papers asunder until there was nothing recognizable left. The pieces floated to the floor, broken, a remnant of their former glory. (R.I.P.)
"I'll give it up," Vinyl declared defiantly as she dropped the final shreds before her. "Not just these, I'll give it all up. I won't look at mares ever again. At least, not the way I used to." She took solemn, but determined, steps towards Octavia. "I won't think of you as anything other than my friend, if you'll at least be that much. If you'll just stay my friend."
"Vinyl..." Octavia said softly as the strange declaration ended. "Why? Why would you go so far for me?"
"Because... You're my best friend. If my being gay hurts you, then... I'll throw it away. I'll give it up. I'll just forget. I don't want to make you hurt again... ...I won't ever make you hurt again."
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"You have something you can do by yourself?" Vinyl asked awkwardly.
"...Perhaps. I can visit Twilight..." Octavia said from the back of the room, still hiding from more than just the morning light.
"Sounds good," Vinyl said with a bleak, uncomfortable smile from the doorway. "I'll see you after I get back then, I guess."
"You will... be gone all day?" Octavia asked.
"Um, yeah," Vinyl said as she closed the door. "...Bye."
"...Bye..."
Vinyl Scratch walked away from her home alone; that was simply what occurred. You see, the two ponies weren't fighting anymore, but they couldn't do much of anything else either. So there Vinyl walked, with these kinds of thoughts troubling her mind so much that she hardly noticed the two light blue stallions wearing suits and fedoras on the corner, watching her every move.
(Writing this as I begin the chapter): Come on, short chapter! Come on, come on! Come out short, pleeeeease! No more 4,000 word monsters! (As I finish:) YES!
Oh hey, look at that: we switched from Octavia's perspective to Vinyl's. Why? Why did you do that?
Because reasons, I guess. /#:shrug:
Noooooo! Bloom & Gloom dashed my hopes for Season 5! Noooooo! Curse you season 5 teaser for tricking me!! TRICKING ME!!!
...Ah well... Hopefully the Batman v Superman teaser will pay off... What am I saying? Hollywood rarely delivers. Guuuuuuugggggh...
Good news though: Mom's first chemo session went well, so I probably won't be all depressed and thus, I'll be able to write.
OMG I'm soooo excited for the next 3 chapters! It's gonna be.... SOOO AWESOME! 
But um, bad news: I'm working on a side project, a one-shot short shtory. It's gonna be big, but it won't have the feelings and descriptions I try to put into Ponyville Duet, so it'll be written faster. It's action! But there's reasons why I want to write it right now, but I promise I'll come back to this as soon as I can.
Stats
Page generated in 0.021 seconds
Total duration
862 users online
1,255,978 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
wow, love really does make you stupid. so octavia's the one being a coward, and yet vinyl's the one acting like it was her fault. yeah, there's some logic for ya. i'm hoping vinyl has an epiphany that shows her that it's not her fault, that octavia's the one who's in the wrong, and that if she can't accept her for who she is, then she's not really a friend.
There's still episode 100 in the future, I felt equally duped.
Jeesz whats with all th feels today, first Tanks for the memories, now this
5905596
SSSSSHHHHH!!!! Don't tell me, I haven't seen it yet!
honestly i hate to say it but vinyl needs to lose it, there is obviously a good deal of anger bottled up from what happened and she seems to be avoiding venting it.
MOAR!
Id honestly stick with the measurement types you know better. Having the parenthesis explanation kinda lost me a bit.
Glad your mothers doing well so far.
I love this story
Do you mean bran muffins or grain muffins?
who was still peeking around the corner.
you have just made me so sad
Did nobody else see it coming? Octavia's refusal, I mean. She's self-conflicted and image-conscious, not to mention absolutely naïve. Hell, Vinyl's a bit naïve when it comes to love. If anything, they need to step back and assess everything.
That said, going about their day numb isn't helping anything.
In my opinion, Octavia is the self proclaimed prejudicing 'bitch' 'pardon ma language' in this story.
Just because of her fears to be looked down upon by society, she doesn't let something happen that she herself was leaning into anyway, that would made her happy.
In this course of action, she severely hurts one of her best friends, who just admitted to want to being her lover and sacrifice a great end of other interests for her, if she would give the two of them a chance at least.
But the whole noble shit poison crap etiquette made her to suppressed and hesitant to give this a chance, drilled into her as it is.
THIS RELATIONSHIP BETTER GET HEALED OR I WILL PERSONALLY MAKE SURE YOU NEVER WRITE AGAIN
WHY?! WHY MUST YOU CONTINUE TO HURT ME WITH THIS FANFIC?! We had a deal! You write a great shipping story with Vinyl & Octavia. Octavia CLEARLY wants a piece of Vinyl...then you give us MORE Heartache?! WHY?? WHy do you make me want to cry? T_T