A Scratch in My Heart

by IAreBrony

A Last Goodbye

Vinyl was quite used to waking up in cold places, having accidently passed out on the sidewalk on many a night, but this time, she didn't have the familiar warmth of inebriation upon waking up. Instead, she found that she felt much colder than she normally did. This time she actually remembered why. I guess I should go inside and shoo out the unwanted company. . . Sliding out from under the mass of blankets, the DJ began to stretch as the door flew open and a blue colt came rushing out, tripping on her 'bed' and knocking them both onto the curb.

"Watch were you're goin', pal!" Vinyl shouted, rubbing her head where it had collided with the cement. When she saw who it was, her grimace of pain turned into a snarl of contempt. "Oh. It's you," she growled.

"Yes, it's me. Who the hay are you?" The colt asked gruffly, and it took every ounce of willpower Vinyl had not to clean his clock.

"Name's Vinyl Scratch, and that's my buckin' house you were in. You know, where you slept with my roommate?" Vinyl spit, jabbing the colt in the chest pointedly. At first, the colt's face fell, but then he grinned devilishly.

"Well, Scratchie, I should have known you and that mare were more than just friends. Damn filly wouldn't shut up about you at the bar; I swear you'd think she's in love or some shit," the colt said, his tone full of condescension.

"Watch what you say, bud. You're walking a very fine line here, and it leads right to the hospital," Vinyl threatened. For effect, she took her shades off that she hadn't even noticed having on before. The colt's grin twitched for a moment as he comprehended the fury in Vinyl's crimson eyes. Upon regaining his composure, the colt leaned in closer and narrowed his eyes.

"Your roommate makes love like a fillyfooler. Wonder w-" That was as far as the colt got before his cheek collided with the pavement. A few hooves away, a couple of teeth landed on the sidewalk.

"I dare you to try that one again," Vinyl growled, standing over the colt formidably. She had to admit, when he stood up, he earned a bit of respect.

"Buckin' fillyfoolers takin' over this city," the colt managed to get out before a hoof collided with the underside of his jaw. He could feel his teeth racking against each other as well as blood flowing from the new tears that surely formed. Instead of flying back as he expected, only his head jerked back. When the world stopped spinning, he looked forward to see himself levitated by unicorn magic. He didn't even have time to look scared before Vinyl punched him squarely in his private parts, which nearly caused him to vomit right there. Fortunately for him, the pain didn't last long, as he was tossed like a ragdoll into the outside wall of Octavia's condominium.

The impact sure would hurt later, but he didn't worry much about that, seeing as the hard impact of skull-on-brick managed to knock him out cold. Walking back toward the door, Vinyl spit on his bleeding face before sliding her glasses over her eyes. I'm gonna need them for this one. . . Vinyl thought to herself. Trotting inside and up the stairs, the white unicorn found herself face-to-face with Octavia's door. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside.

On the other side of the door, the bed sheets were crumpled terribly on one side, and bundled around a grey form on the other side. Wish my bed looked like this. . . Vinyl thought to herself. Err, not like that, of course. Like, without Octavia. That's what I meant. . . Right? Shaking the self-doubt off, she stepped forward. Not wanting to come in contact with whatever foulness befell the bed sheets last night, Vinyl walked around the mattress until she was standing right in front of Octavia. The mare looked so peaceful in her sleep that Vinyl hated that she had to wake the pony up.

Brushing a few strands of hair out of Octavia's face, Vinyl whispered, "Octavia, sweetie, I know you're probably worn out after last night, but you really should get up. I'll make you breakfast if you want." Slowly, Octavia's eyelids slid open gently. She smiled slightly as she blinked.

"I think I love you, Vinyl. . ." Octavia whispered back, and Vinyl's heart momentarily stopped. "I mean, you know just how to treat a lady. Breakfast sounds awesome," the grey earth pony said, yawning. Upon hearing the word 'awesome' uttered from Octavia's mouth, Vinyl's heart resumed it's normal beating. She's still drunk. She loves you because you have food for her. . . Vinyl thought as she frowned and walked back downstairs. Once in the kitchen, Vinyl started on breakfast for her roommate. Unfortunately, it seemed there was only cereal to be had, but it would have to do. Making her hoofsteps as gentle as possible, the unicorn crept up to Octavia's room again.

Inside, the mare had fallen asleep again, and Vinyl decided to exact her revenge for Octavia nearly sending her to the hospital again. Without a second thought, Vinyl smacked her hoof right in the middle of Octavia's forehead. The impact sent the mare bolting upright. Within a second of recognizing her surroundings, Octavia pressed a hoof into her head and squeezed her eyes closed tightly.

"What on earth was that for, Vinyl? Have you no common sense?" Octavia said, wincing at the volume of her own voice. Vinyl levitated the bowl of cereal onto Octavia's lap and a glass of water in front of her nose.

"Drink," Vinyl ordered, and Octavia immediately obeyed. She knew from experience that you do not question Vinyl Scratch on how to recover from a hangover. Once the water was all gone, which took about three seconds, Octavia turned to the cereal and began eating slowly. Vinyl just sat and watched, leaning against the window with her forehooves crossed. Eventually, Octavia picked her head up and looked at Vinyl. The first thing Vinyl noticed was that her roommate's ears were pressed flat against her head, showing she was very saddened. The second thing Vinyl noticed was the look of apology in Octavia's lavender eyes.

"Vinyl, I'm very sorry for what happened here last night. . . As much as I'd rather not think about how foalish I'd been, I must apologize for the fact that you had to see me in such a state and with such a stallion. He was as rude as he was stupid, and he was no genius. And thank you for helping me recover from this, I know you didn't have to. I just hope we didn't keep you up," Octavia mumbled, her gaze peering deeply into the cereal bowl. A bright blush was adorning her face, and it actually made Vinyl sweat a little that she looked so cute.

"It's no problem, Tavi. We've all had our fair share of 'em. Me, I'm done with that game. Just lookin' for the right one, y'know? And no, you didn't keep me up at all. I just hope you didn't plan on meeting up with him anymore," Vinyl commented, scratching the back of her head uncomfortably.

For a moment, Octavia looked confused. "Why's that?" She asked, somewhat afraid of the answer.

"I'll just put it bluntly. He was talking shit about you outside when I met him and I decided to teach him a lesson everypony should know," Vinyl grumbled, remembering the cold words the colt had uttered.

"What lesson would that be, roomie?"

Vinyl cocked an eyebrow at the word 'roomie', but didn't say anything. "You don't buck with my friends. Ever. Only I can do that." Behind her glasses, her eye blazed with passion.

Looking slightly scared, Octavia inquired, "What did you do?"

"Exactly? Well, let's see. . . He's missing two teeth, I imagine his jaw is fractured, he may never have foals, and, last I checked, he was passed out and bleeding up against the bricks outside. By the way, I'll clean them later," Vinyl answered, her voice particularly cold and calculating, as though she had taken no joy in injuring the colt. In all honesty, she didn't enjoy it one bit. It had been Octavia's choice to sleep with him, he had probably been drunk out on the street, and he probably needed surgery to repair the damage Vinyl had done. In reality, he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time whenever it was that Octavia had decided to pour her heart out to somepony at the bar, and now he might never grace the world with his little idiotic foals.

Octavia, however, burst out in laughter not two seconds after Vinyl had finished speaking. "Serves him right! But what did he say that made you so volatile?" Octavia pried, asking just the question Vinyl had hoped to avoid.

Clearing her throat, Vinyl answered, "He, uh. . . He called us fillyfoolers and said you buck like one." The words hadn't hardly left her mouth before Vinyl regretted it. Her face lit up like Hearth's Warming Eve lights, as did Octavia's. They both stared uncomfortably at something around the room.

"Oh, I see. Well, thanks. . ." Octavia mumbled. Vinyl waved the thanks aside without even looking back at her friend. Without another word, Vinyl started for the door.

"Finish your cereal and take a nap, or come downstairs, or whatever. I don't care, I'm not your keeper," Vinyl said coldly, perhaps more coldly than any response Octavia had ever gotten from her. It actually shocked Octavia a bit to hear the unicorn use that tone with her. Octavia stared at Vinyl as she left the room and practically slammed the door behind her.

What the buck is wrong with you, Vinyl! That's not how you should be thinking about Octavia! She's your best friend now, and you better not buck that up! Vinyl said to herself as she facehoofed. Back in the living room, the DJ sat down on the couch and stared out the front window. Out in the street, there were at least two couples walking around, one of which appeared to be two mares, one a pegasus with a wing draped over the other. The sight made Vinyl smile on the outside, but it tore her up on the inside.

You can't be this close to Tavi without it being the death of you. Vinyl thought to herself. You gotta get outta this place if you're ever going to stop having these feelings for her. . . She hardly took notice as Octavia emerged from her bedroom and rushed down the stairs carrying her cello case. As Octavia grabbed the doorknob, she turned back.

"Don't wait up for me, I have practice and a late concert that I nearly forgot about. There's food in the-"

"No there isn't. I checked," Vinyl interrupted coldly. Octavia's rambling was cut short by the interruption and she was tempted to set her cello down and sit next down next to Vinyl Scratch.

"Vinyl, is everything alright? You seem kind of. . . Ang-"

"If you say angry, I'm gonna blow. I'm fine, just got to work," the DJ growled. Her tone was practically hostile toward the cellist, so Octavia slid out the door and closed it behind her. Not two seconds after her roommate was out of view, Vinyl furiously slammed her hoof down on the table without looking. Unfortunately for her, her leftover cup of coffee from the night before sat right where her hoof landed. The cup shattered into dozens of tiny pieces, and several lodged themselves in Vinyl's skin. A slow trickle of blood leaked down the mare's forehoof, and she swore. She was about to begin picking the bits out of her hoof when a slam at the door caught her attention.

Hopping off the couch and limping over to the door, she tossed it open angrily only to find one of her only friends in the whole world on the sidewalk. "Hiya, Scratch!" The mare said, smiling adorably.

As usual, Vinyl couldn't tell if the pegasus was looking around or looking at her, but she just laughed. "Hay, Derpy. What brings you to the neighborhood?" Vinyl asked the mailmare, who got a look of intense concentration on her face.

"Oh, what was it I needed to tell you. . . Something about your cousin, I think. . . Hmm. . ." Derpy answered, poking herself in the chin in deep thought.

Vinyl took her shades off and raised her eyebrow. "A message from Pinkie? Well let's hear it!" Vinyl was quite surprised at the sudden mention of her somewhat-distant cousin. The pink pony had always been a bit of an oddity, but Vinyl had always liked her 'take everything in stride' attitude.

"Oh, alright! Well, my honey, the Doctor, you know the Doctor, right?" Derpy inquired, her memory clearly slipping for a moment.

Chuckling, Vinyl replied, "Yes, Derpy, I know the Doctor quite well, actually."

"Oh! Good! Well, he was on a trip to visit a mare who's been stirring up some magicky trouble out in Ponyville, Twilight something was her name. . ."

"Twilight Sparkle?" The DJ suggested and Derpy's face lit up. Vinyl had heard much about the famous Twilight Sparkle in older messages from Pinkie. While the two of them weren't particularly close, Pinkie was kind enough to keep her informed on major things like meeting Twilight Sparkle and becoming the bearer of the Element of Laughter.

"Yeah! That one! Well, Honey was visiting Ponyville and Pinkie Pie stopped in for a second with a message! She said. . . What was it she said. . . Oh, right! She said that she knew you were hitting it big with the whole music-y thingy, but if you ever wanted to take a break from the big city, she heard of a nice, small house in Ponyville up for somepony to live in," Derpy finished, feeling accomplished for reciting such a lengthy and important message from memory. Vinyl, on the other hoof, was dumbstruck.

Pinkie wants me to move out there? In that tiny little town? How would I ever find work! Plus, nopony I know lives there! No Bookie, no Derpy, no Doc, no Tavi. . . No Tavi. NO TAVI! This is the break I need! I can finally get out of here and clear my head of all these weird feelings! By the end of her thoughts, Vinyl was nearly jumping for joy.

"Derpy, I need you to run an express message. As soon as possible, I need you to fly to Ponyville and tell Pinkie something. Ready?" Vinyl asked, preparing her message mentally. When Derpy nodded vigorously and bit her tongue in concentration, Vinyl started. "Tell Pinkie Pie that things aren't too great with the DJ thing, but I would really like to move out there. Tell her I'm packed and on my way already, and if there's nothing I can do, I can always come back to Manehattan. Got all that?" When Derpy nodded vigorously again, Vinyl smiled brightly.

Derpy launched herself into the air and nearly slammed into the side of Octavia's condominium as she started her flight for Ponyville. Vinyl just chuckled and closed the door. Inside, she gathered her things. A jacket she was technically stealing from Octavia, her computer, her headphones, her music player, and hairbrush that had been used maybe once. It took her all of five minutes to do, and she quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pen with her magic. Forming her thoughts gently, she decided to let it all out.

Dear Tavi,

I know you really saved me out there in these past few days. You're a fantastic friend, and that's why I can't do this anymore. You see, I've always kind of liked mares, but I never liked one enough for it to bother me. Until I met you. What I'm saying is. . . I like you, Tavi. A lot. And it tears me up to know that you don't feel the same way. When you came home with that colt, my dreams were shattered. I never make friends because I always end up getting hurt, and this is just another one of those cases. I thought that maybe we had something, but I was sorely mistaken. I'm not mad at you, more mad at myself. I fell for you, and it was foalish of me. Now of the hard part. I know I will never see your smiling face again, or hear your hypnotic music again, or feel the soothing look of your lavender eyes again, but I have to do this. I'm moving far away from Manehattan for good. I found a place in a small town out by the country, and if that doesn't work out, I'll keep looking. I just can't risk having these thoughts that there might still be a chance for me, a chance for us. I'm going to miss you, and it's going to sting, but I'm glad I didn't have to do this face to face. You would have just tried to talk me out of it, and I wouldn't have been able to say no. Please just know you're the best friend I've ever had and the most beautiful pony I've ever met.

-Love, Vinyl

By the end of her letter, the paper was dotted with tears of both joy and sorrow. It felt great knowing that Octavia would finally know how Vinyl felt, but it was something of a last hurrah. After this note, there would be nothing. Vinyl's heart was breaking at the thought of leaving Octavia forever, but she knew it had to be done, for her own good. Setting the pen down, she went back into the living room and set the note down on the table where shatter pieces of coffee cup still remained. Sliding her backpack on, Vinyl Scratch opened the front door to Octavia's condo. Then, taking one last look around the room with a faint smile, she closed it for the last time.

Comments

[PhysicalSound]

damn... my eyes teared up at the end...

great work.

[IAreBrony]

1005237 Is it bad I cheered a bit to hear that? I just get really happy when my chapter can conjure emotion that well.

[PhysicalSound]

1005266nah, take it and flaunt it by hanging it on a stick and waving it around while driving a pickup truck, playing a brony song while you're at it.

[IAreBrony]

1005272 Haha, I could actually do that if I really wanted to. . .

[PhysicalSound]

1005285

I can just imagine Pinkie Pie and RD yelling at you to do it

[IAreBrony]

1005297 Oh man, if they did that, I'd have no choice but to do it! One does not simply say 'No' to a pony!

[yellow donut]

bilbo baggins

[Cthulhu Likes Ponies]

That brung a tear to my eye, well done.