And the Music Died

by GjallarFox

Truth...

"Truth is, I lied to her," Vinyl murmured. She knew no one but Lyra could hear her, but it was still a private and painful conversation. "I told her I stopped caring when in truth I never stopped. I still care about her so much and it feels like I'm missing three legs."

It was give-or-take midnight and the streets of Canterlot were empty, save for the cats and wild mice. The crickets were chirping and the moon was out, shining down on the pair of ponies with its usual silvery glow. As the two approached a park, they turned their route into it, straying away from the open windows and unintentional eavesdroppers.

"But why? You two were near inseparable. What happened that made you do that?" Lyra asked.

"I couldn't give her the attention and love she needed. I couldn't get my head out of my ass and kept slipping up with words. You know how much I suck at words," Vinyl said. Her voice was restrained, suffocating on her throat tightening up in response to the feeling of almost crying. She looked away towards a lamp on the path, holding the words Octavia said to her like arrows in her chest. "I couldn't convince her that I was still in love with her. That I still am in love with her. She asked why I wasn't crying if I was scared of breaking up."

Lyra could only listen in silence. Now was not her time to speak. Her words were meant for later, after Vinyl had spilled her guts about the wounds in her heart and mind. All she could do in that moment was wait for Vinyl to continue.

"I was too paralyzed in panic that I couldn't cry. It was basically shock. I—" She paused, wiping away the first signs of a tear. "—couldn't find the words to explain it at the time... Clear as night now... Luna I'm so fucking pathetic... Why do I even try anymore, Lyra? Why do I insist on finding my fairytale romance when I know it'll end with me hurting someone and getting hurt in the process? Why do I have to have feelings?"

"Feelings are rough, my mare. But it's not really my place to say whether or not they're worth having. I think of them as neutral, making ponies do things they normally wouldn't to resolve or seek a particular feeling. Ponies sometimes fight each other to resolve anger. You sometimes go seeking love. Feelings are just motivating forces," Lyra responded. "And I probably should have started with this, but you're not pathetic. And you never said it but I know you're thinking it, but you're not a horrible pony either. You're a good pony, Vinyl, and I'll keep saying that until it's not true or I die."

"How the fuck do I move forward from this?" Vinyl murmured, more to herself than her friend, but still aloud nonetheless.

"One hoofstep at a time, like everything else," Lyra said, stopping just in front of Vinyl and giving her a hug.

"I told her that I stopped loving her a while ago, back when we'd first had sex. She was so insistent that that was the time, I just... went with it. I knew I couldn't convince her and I was too emotionally exhausted to fight anymore... I just... lied... And it came out so easily..." Vinyl broke the hug and sat down on the cobbles, her head held down by the hand of sadness trying to drown her. "I wonder if that was actually the truth..."

"It can't have been. The way you loved her was so blatantly obvious to the outside observer it made me feel like puking from how sweet it was," Lyra said. "Those thoughts are wrong, no matter how much they may seem true now. You're hurt, and you're not thinking right. But you'll be okay with time, and your three Cs."

"Speaking of which, I think there's still a Sunbucks open... Mind if we stop for a coffee?"

"If it'll help you feel better, it's my treat."