Passio Patefecit Est

by Senorita-De-La-Nieve

Chapter 10

Sleep was not a luxury Noteworthy could afford himself. He kept on thinking about Daisy, her face invading his mind, the nurse's words playing on replay like an old record stuck in place.

The rain had come too soon, washing away all trace of the Pegasi's snowstorm, and then the rain and wind had spirited away all remaining traces of winter snow. The clouds still remained, smothering the landscape in an indecisive pattern of gray interspersed with blue and yellow. Whenever a cloud would disperse to the wind, a sombre ray of sunlight would act as a funeral pyre, but then be drowned by another monotonous gray cloud sliding into position to cover the gap the cloud created.

Daisy had left the room after a while, his gentle breathing had almost soothed her back into the realms of sleep, so his eyes were now open, registering nothing but the reverent ticking of the clock beside the bed, next to a group of flowers. He turned his head to look at them. Daisies.

He sighed and grabbed the pillow, pulling it over his head as he groaned slightly. He heard to door opening and bolted upright, the pillow falling from his face almost too slowly. Standing there was Daisy, steaming bowl of soup in hand, looking like she was trying to hold in giggles as she motioned towards him.

"I see you're awake" she said, and he glanced up, seeing his sky blue mane in a dishevelled manner befitting a hobo on the streets, granted that is what he was for three months, but still, he tried to regain some sense of propriety.

He smoothed down his hair and glared at her half heartedly with an offhanded smile as she walked towards him and held out a cup of coffee and a bowl of soup. He accepted it graciously and sipped it gently as she took a seat on her perch that had been her home for the past two days.

They sat in silence, she just watching him, and he just sipping his soup silently.

"Thank you for last night" she said and he stopped suddenly, blinking once before he swallowed the soup and smiled at her.

"You're welcome, you looked a little cold" he explained and she smiled again.

"Weren't you cold though?" she asked and he just shook his head.

"Nah, I'm used to cold, lived on the streets for three months" he said, then stopped, mentally chastising himself for revealing a little too much about his past. She felt the shift in his emotions from all the way across the room.

"Why did you live on the streets?" she asked, silently scooting her chair closer to his bed.

She watched as he shrugged and took another sip of the soup. "An unfortunate incident with my ex mare-friend and a house settlement" he said, and Daisy cast him a confused look before moving closer to his bed and gently laying a hoof atop his. He looked down, surprised at the touch and the comfort he felt from such a simple caress.

"You can tell me you know, we are friends" she stated, her eyes holding depth and sincerity he had never come across in Canterlot, not even from the Princesses. He sighed, closing his eyes, resigning to the fact that this may be the one time, the one chance he had, to get some things off of his chest. He began to recount his tale..

It was Hearths Warming Eve, just over a year ago, I was in a relationship with one of the most beautiful mares in Canterlot, she was a bit pushy, but I didn't mind, I was blinded by love, or what I thought was Love.

When she broke up with me, I was devastated, I wanted to do anything to get back at her, that's where Octavia's rage comes into play. She was a musician, like me, she played in the same orchestra, extremely talented, beautiful, and her personality could have rivalled that of Celestia.

But, for the whole of our relationship I thought I felt something for her, but then I reminded myself as to why she was really there. Every-time I saw the one who had broke my heart, I would know, or rather, think I knew that she was the one I wanted. And every-time she saw me, she would linger on me and I could see pain in her eyes when she saw me with Octavia. On that fateful day of Hearth's Warming Eve, she came to me with a proposal. She said that she had been a fool and wanted me back, all I had to do was move in with her, dump Octavia and that would be the end of it.

So, I broke up with her. On the day designed for friendship and love. She was crushed, she ran away to here, and I thought nothing of it. I was with the one I wanted, and that was all that registered in my selfish brain. Over time I felt remorse, guilt, and I was so swept over with those emotions that I failed to see that me and the mare I gave Octavia up for was using me for my money. I used to play in the Canterlot Royal Orchestra, Violin, I was chosen for private shows by the elite, it was no question of my talents, and I was well paid for it, but, my family, my friends, all of them refused to spend any time with me, a traitor, one who used mares to get back at other mares.

I was an outcast in my social circle, and one day, when my mother came around for her weekly check up, the mare who was with me made a great show of how she was happy with me, and, I tried to do the same. I wanted my mother to shut up. Maybe that's why it was so easy for the authorities to believe her when she told them I had tried to poison her. Anti-freeze in the Earl grey, enough to cripple a senior, but not enough to make anymore than a days sickness of someone of my age or my mare-friend's. When the authorities came to investigate the found the bottle with my hoof-prints on it, and my mare-friend, who had become my wife earlier that year, wanted a divorce.

Very convenient that the divorce entitled her to half my money, the house, and all expenses paid by me. I was sentenced to six months in jail for attempted murder. During my confinement I had a lot of time to think. It was retribution for the wrong I paid others. I knew what I had done wrong, and was so extremely sorry. I prayed, for the first time in my life, I prayed to Celestia for forgiveness, but I knew the only pony who could forgive me was Octavia.

I was let out after four months for good behavior, and was put on a one month parole, but, four months was enough for my ex-mare-friend to abscond with the remainder of my money, the deed to my house, and all of my life's possessions. Further penance, for my sins. I was on the streets, while the authorities were not in any hurry to find the one who had done what was widely considered to be justice to a criminal. I lived on the streets for three months before I got up enough nerve to come here in a grand epiphany, I was dying, slowly, my soul being eaten away by guilt, and my body being eaten away by hunger and the cold. So I hid in a train compartment and came here, where I found you, and you brought me here.

Daisy listened to his story, all the time a comforting hoof was on his, even without the tears that trailed down his cheeks by the time the story was over, she could feel his emotions as clearly as her owen. Whilst her primary talent was flower arranging, her secondary and tertiary talent were being a good listener, and an empath. It was an ability she had inherited from her grandmother, on her father's side, only the mares had the gene. She had felt his heartbreak before and had barely managed to choke back tears, but now she felt it all over again, and she did not hold back the tears. He noticed them and misconstrued them as tears of disgust. He pulled his hoof away and rolled over again, ignoring the emptiness inside him that emanated from where their hooves had been.

"So now you know, I'm a horrible pony" he said dejectedly, and she wiped away her tears, getting out of her seat and walking around to where he was now looking and took his hooves again. He did not meet her gaze.

"You're not a horrible pony, you know you did wrong, and now you seek forgiveness, something she has denied you. What you did was wrong, yes, but you've paid your dues, done your time, literally, and now you want to start again" she said, trying to fight the bout of jealousy inside her at the theory that he might want to get back together with Octavia. He shook his head.

"No, I just want her to know how sorry I am, and besides, who would ever want me after all I did to Octavia?" He asked, and Daisy smiled gently before thinking two simple words; I would.

However, the silence prevailed and he sighed, wiping his coat clean of any residual tears before he once again locked eyes with the golden eyes of the pink and green mare who was now the one source of comfort in his life.

"I understand how you feel Notes, may I call you Notes?" she asked and he smiled and nodded again. She gently rubbed his hoof, causing a comforting friction between them that soothed his sadness, but also sent his heart racing for reasons yet unknown to him.

"I understand" she repeated. "I do, and I know you are genuinely sorry, and if Octavia can't see that, well, then you just have to try harder" she said with a coy grin, one that he did not return.

"No offense Daisy, but how could you possibly know how I feel?" he asked, and she smiled. She had had this question before, and was prepared with the standard response.

"I'm an empath. I can literally feel people's emotions. It's actually how I've become such a good flower arranger, I know the precise arrangements that can bring out happiness, sadness, fond memories, or even just polite and curt admiration of the flowers. I know how you feel because I've felt it" she explained, and his eyes grew wide. He had heard rumours of Empaths, but never met one.

"How..."

"I don't know how it works, whenever someone changes their emotions I can just feel it, and, well, your emotions were strongest when you're sad, because there was so much heartbreak" she explained, and he nodded, understanding it slightly.

"You're confused, so am I. I just use it for my work, I've rarely assessed one of my friend's emotions unless they were hiding something, and with you, well, I couldn't help it" she said bashfully, and he smiled. A light blush was kissing her cheeks, and he couldn't help but think how cute she looked when she was bashfully blushing.

"Well, that was... enlightening" a voice said from the doorway, and they turned, seeing an alabaster unicorn with blue opaque shades standing there watching them, forehooves crossed as she leant on the doorway. They quickly separated and made contact with the floor, and, quick as a flash, Daisy and Noteworthy separated too and Daisy took her seat at her chair.

"I'm sorry miss, do I know you?" Noteworthy asked, and the unicorn shook her head.

"No, but I know you. And I believe we both know my mare-friend Octavia" she said, and Daisy's eyes widened.

"You're Vinyl Scratch? How long have you been standing there?" she asked, and Vinyl smiled knoqingly at the pair.

"Long enough...

Comments

[Vinyl Scratch™]

I just wanted to keep reading, but it stoped
I hope that there is more to come tho, and keep up the good work.

[Kapuchu]

Vinyl appearing in the door? The smile she gives at the end?

This is going to be good! (Not in the 'Notes gonna get it' but 'Something good is about to happen' way)