I’ve got a bad habit. And it isn’t something I can control. I will put up a bold front, and verbally abuse people for no reason. My name is Vinyl Scratch. I know not when or why this developed, but this... This is my bad habit.
My name is Vinyl Scratch. I’ve got a bad habit. And it isn’t something I can control. I will put up a bold front, and verbally abuse people for no reason. I know not when or why this developed... Sometime after I left Canterlot three years ago, when I quit being a DJ, I think. I have adapted to common life since... This... This is my bad habit.
“What the hell was that!?” Vinyl recoiled at the stabbing remark towards her, after what she thought was a nice performance at the new venue in Canterlot.
“W-What?” she asked innocently.
“You went completely off the song track! Not to mention finishing off the show twenty damn minutes early and playing none of the songs anypony wanted to hear!”
“I-I didn’t know-“
“You think this is about what you want to do? Well you're in for a damned good surprise - IT ISN'T. We are looking to get money in this industry, you know? We aren’t going to get any if you don’t play the songs our sponsors want us to!” He was blatantly, explicity screaming at this point. The tears started to well up under Vinyl’s red contacts she used at performances. She averted her eyes to the ground, the tears rolling off her cheeks.
It's not as bad as most nights.
~
"Is that Vinyl Scratch? That one DJ that used to be extremely popular?"
"I think it is, I think it is!"
"She's so gorgeous! And she's staying here in the Advent hotel?"
The moving-truck company employee spoke up. "Looks like you're pretty well-known around here," he said with a smile.
Vinyl turned to face him, a forceful smirk on her face. "Why would I be happy to be the gossip center of some housewives?" She laughed. "You should just get back to your work,” she remarked with a snide smirk.
I’ve got a bad habit. And it isn’t something I can control. I will put up a bold front, and verbally abuse people for no reason. Why, insecurity? Who knows? My name is Vinyl Scratch. I know not when or why this developed... Sometime after I left Canterlot three years ago, when I quit being a DJ, I think. I have adapted to common life since... This... This is my bad habit.
The worker lowered his cap to cover his eyes, embarrassed by Vinyl. Her face turned solemn.
"Hey, it's Vinyl!" called a familiar voice. Vinyl’s head struck up, alerted by the sudden call. She spun her head to face the voice she thought she recognized.
"Octavia?"
The gray mare flipped her jet black mane to the right, glistening softly in the bright spring sun. "Vinyl!" She ran over and gave her a tight hug. "You made it here!"
"Long time no see,” she said as she hugged her back. Octavia smiled back and broke the hug, noticing the pile of cardboard boxes that had Vinyl's possessions.
“Loathing yourself for your groundless hostility again?” she asked, noticing Vinyl’s humorless expression before she spoke up. Truth be told, Octavia was right. Vinyl had been tearing herself up over mishaps like those. She didn’t want to do it, but… No one said it was easy to break a bad habit.
Vinyl scoffed, flicking away her thoughts. “What are you talking about?”
"That's all you brought?" Octavia asked, gesturing toward the seven boxes on a metal roller. Vinyl nodded in response. "Why don't we bring those to your room?" Vinyl noticed that Octavia could barely hold in her excitement. As they walked on the concrete path that led to the apartment complex, adorned and surrounded by fresh grass, butterflies, and other animals flitting around without a care in the world.
Vinyl recalled her old home in Canterlot; being a nationally-recognized DJ, it was only natural for her to live in a comfortable area. Her memories of playing with the other unicorns as a little filly quickly surfaced – memories she had before she became famous. While she typically kept to herself during her childhood, she managed to make a few good friends she believed would never leave her. What surprised her, though, is that in the end, she was the one who ended up abandoning her friends in some desperate search for fame through music. Yeah, some journey that was.
What did it all matter? She could live a comfortable living, with a comfortable house, a comfortable carriage, a comfortable life, but what did it all matter? What’s it all for? Loneliness? False happiness? Ultimately, nothing. The beauty of the landscape around this “elitist hotel” ironically disturbed her, as if her previous life lead her to hate everything with any semblance to wealth.
After a few minutes of musing and silence, they reached the foot of the building. Octavia swung open the door for her, as the atmosphere around them finally became serene and quiet, the scent of the hotel’s air wafting through their coat and manes.
“Don’t act all worried about me, okay?” Vinyl mentioned. “We were roommates in college. Nothing more.” She knew she was lying, and Octavia knew she was lying, but they both pretended to play along anyway, despite their long history as friends; maybe even more than that.
“But we’ve been through a lot as roommates,” Octavia recalled, a snide smile on her face. “We got in a fight before, but you sent me an apology letter afterwards. You were surprisingly honest.”
“I was not,” she countered, a little too quickly. “I was just practicing writing with my magic,” a hint of what she knew was false pride or confidence in her voice.
This was the Advent hotel. An apartment complex where only the most elite were meant to reside. Each resident received his or her own Secret Service agent, committed to protecting their assigned resident. That’s what the public is supposed to think.
Vinyl and Octavia walked into the elevator. "So, room four?" Octavia asked. Vinyl nodded, a quick, inaudible sigh escaping her lips.
I came here to be alone…
She didn't feel like talking, although she sure knew the pony beside her did. The design of the elevator matched that of the rest of the complex - it was very minimalistic and modern in a sense, comprised mostly of sleek, acrylic cased wood and metal highlights. The decorations and plants were reminiscent of Japanese design. The elevator stopped and its brushed metal doors slowly opened.
"I'm actually in room three, so feel free to stop by if you need any help," Octavia said, an edge of skepticism in her voice. She probably caught on to Vinyl's mood.
"Sure." Vinyl pulled the metal roller towards her room. The windows on each end of the hallway poured beautiful sunlight into the elegant designs of the hallway. Vinyl had broken out of her nocturnal state, after leaving Canterlot along with her responsibility for being Equestria’s number one nightclub DJ... She was okay with it - even though she loved the cool, chilly, mysterious night, she had grown to have affection for the day as well.
As she pulled her cart and boxes to the door, she noticed one of the boxes fall. She was about to flare up her magic, when her exhaustion hit her, and she lost her balance slightly. She went to crouch down, gripping the heavy box with her hooves. The box proved to be too heavy. She struggled to get it up. Once again, she tried her magic. No dice. Then, all of a sudden, the box was shrouded with a light blue haze, and levitated back to the cart.
Vinyl looked up, ever so slowly. There was a unicorn stallion, wearing an outfit much reminiscent of the Canterlot folk. A normal tuxedo, with his hooves gloved in black. He had a striking bluish-white mane, and an off-white coat, with what looked to be heterochromia in his eyes. The left was yellow, the right was green. He smiled kindly at Vinyl.
She snapped back to reality. "Hmph," she snorted, looking away with a cocky smile. "So am I supposed to thank you now?" There. She did it again. She mentally sighed, keeping her outside character in play. How pathetic.
"No," he said in a deep, but melodic and harmonious voice. Vinyl was taken aback by the odd response. Was he... He centered himself in front of Vinyl, and kneeled down. He looked up at her. Vinyl noticed a tear forming in the side of one of his eyes.
"A-are you crying!?" She yelled quietly, aghast at this odd stallion.
"I've been waiting forever to meet you," he said, eyes closed and watery with a huge smile on his face. "My name is Emerald. I am your new Secret Service agent," he continued, attempting to keep his tears in.
"W-what? But, I don't want a Secret Service agent. I want to be alone," she said regretfully, not wanting to hurt this fragile pony's feelings.
"Are... You saying that you do not need me, Miss Vinyl?" Miss Vinyl, she repeated in her head. That sounds ridiculous, honestly.
"T-That's exactly what I'm saying."
"Then..." he said, slowly pulling out what looked to be a sword and handing it to Vinyl. She looked over the intricate designs stitched onto the scabbard of the sword. She unsheathed it to admire the sibilant silver.
"I implore of you to dispose of me, Miss Vinyl."
"What!?" she yelled, throwing the sword off to the right. "D-Dispose of you? But w-why!?" She stuttered.
"If my raison d'être is to serve you, what purpose will my life fulfill if you do not require me?"
"J-Just go back to whatever the hell you were doing yesterday!" She frantically said, unable to find the words for a proper response.
"That life is dead to me now," he said. "My new life must be devoted to serving you, Miss Vinyl." Emerald took Vinyl's hoof in a romantic gesture.
"With your permission, I shall be your servant - no. Your dog."
”Oh, so now you’re crying?” he continued. “Who the hell are you now, a worthless waste of time? I don’t even know you anymore!” Vinyl let more tears descend from behind her brilliant red contacts, not daring to look up.
He continued on, much to her dismay. “Actually, that’s right. Cry and think about what you need to do to fix your act, because I’m not buying it. Try it again, and I won’t be very happy. Is that clear? Hell, I might even hire a new client.” The remark knifed Vinyl in her heart, eliciting more hiccupped whimpers. The once proud, arrogant, famous DJ was now broken down and helpless. “This is what I get for hiring such a young amateur, isn’t it?”
Vinyl adjusted herself on the pillow she sat upon at one of the dining tables in the Advent hotel lounge. On her plate sat a bowl of ramen, along with some expensive French pastries on the side. She wasn't what she would pass as hungry, but Emerald insisted on getting her the food. She was still wary about the white stallion, having only known him for 2 hours - yet he was as loyal as a dog. She still preferred not to have him around, due to her bad habit of abusing others around her. Anything could go wrong at any moment, thanks to her stupidity, and there’s nothing changing that anytime soon.
"So you already hired your Secret Service agent?" Octavia asked, idly picking away at her food.
"No," Vinyl replied. "Someone else in my management must have set this up." She scoffed. “You think I would do this myself? Hell no.” Yet, they had to pick someone so hard to hurt, she thought, glancing over at Emerald who was sitting politely, smiling and wagging his tail, reminiscent of a dog.
"And anyway," Vinyl continued with a smirk on her face. "I don't need a Secret Service agent. I'll just terminate your contract right now," she remarked again.
Emerald went into that same “defeated” position as before, and placed the sword in her hooves. "Then..."
Vinyl quickly grabbed it and held it away from him. "Idiot!" She warily held his gaze for a couple seconds then laid the sword down.
"Hey, hey," Octavia interrupted. "So you got a cute bodyguard. What's the problem?" She chuckled.
"That isn't the point," Vinyl sneered, an edge of venom in her voice. Emerald looked on at her in anticipation.
"Please do not mind me, Miss Vinyl. I will only be of here when I am of use to you. When I am not, ignore me," Emerald said with a tone of hospitality. Vinyl glared at him suspiciously. How annoying.
"And that will make you happy and fulfill your 'raison d'être'?" She mocked the last two words of the French phrase.
"Of course," Emerald said. "I have known you for a long time now, and have always wanted to meet you." He smiled. Vinyl rolled her eyes, and set off to go to bed. Before she left, she turned back to look at the white unicorn.
"The contract is void. Do you understand?" Vinyl asked. Emerald stood still, staring at her, wagging his tail. "So... I guess I won't be seeing you anymore," she said. Five awkward seconds passed by as the stallion considered her words, unable to tell if she was serious or not. "Don't look at me like that!" She said, heat rising to her face.
Vinyl slowly walked backwards towards the elevator that brought her back to her room. The metal doors opened, and she walked in. She poked her head outside, and saw that Emerald was still there, chatting with Octavia. She brought her head back in, and the doors closed as the elevator began its ascent to Room Four. Vinyl wondered how life was, back in Canterlot.
The elevator doors opened, and she walked to the polished light wood door, adorned with a minimalistic "IV". She slid out her electronic room key from her saddlebag, and opened the door.
The room was nice. Modern wood and metal design, consistent with the rest of the complex. She still had a lot of new furniture and decorations to buy, but she would worry about that later. All she had brought along was the coffee machine, four boxes' worth of books, her saddlebag, and her favorite blanket. As she did a quick shake of the blanket to loosen up any dirt that might be there, she crawled into the large bed, wrapped herself up in her blanket, and closed her eyes in repose.
~*~
Hours later, Vinyl had woken up, gasping for breath, from the same terrible nightmare that had haunted her since the incident happened - the dreaded day of her final performance. Her mind finally cleared up, and her heart rate slowed down to a regulated pace. She leaned over the side of the bed to check the time. 10:30.
I've been losing my edge, Vinyl thought as she got out of bed and stretched her tired limbs. She quickly remembered the events of last night's dinner, brushing her ruffled mane.
"I guess even he won't be showing up today," she said to her own shadow. She slowly walked to the door, keeping a hint of elegance in her motions. She opened the sleek wooden door.
"Good morning, Miss Vinyl." Vinyl let go of the door and let it slowly shut itself, staring blankly at the white unicorn. "Did you sleep well?"
"I thought I told you, I don't need your 'Secret Services'," she said mockingly.
He continued on anyway. "Today's breakfast includes a pastry, soup of your choice, and fruit yogurt," he said with his head tilted and a soft smile on his face. Vinyl sighed. As nice as this stallion was, she still wanted to be alone. The whole reason she came here. Yet...
They took the elevator downstairs to the lounge, and got settled in at the same dinner table they had shared last night together with Octavia. Octavia was sitting with another of the residents - no, it was a Secret Service agent - at a different table. Emerald went off to the kitchen to get Vinyl her food. She sighed.
The Secret Service agent who was talking with Octavia noticed Vinyl at her table. She immediately perked up as Octavia said something unintelligibly.
Emerald came back promptly with exactly what he said he would bring. Soup, a pastry, and fruit yogurt. Vinyl looked up at him.
“We can take a little stroll inside the complex,” Emerald said. “I can give you a quick tour if you wish.”
“I keep telling you, I’m fine by myself!” Vinyl insisted, her voice reaching a higher volume. Emerald interrupted her by placing a bowl of soup on her table. “Oh thank you, that’s very polite,” she said in a kind manner. “Anyway, what I’m saying is…” Emerald put her drink right next to the bowl of soup, just like before. “Th-that’s very nice of you.”
“Won’t you allow me to be your guide today?” Emerald asked with a courteous smile.
“You’re good at sucking people into your pace," Vinyl noticed. “You’re crafty.” Emerald simply smiled.
“You are an honest and wonderful person, Miss Vinyl.” She raised an eyebrow.
Emerald took Vinyl to the second tier of the lounge, onto the catwalk that led to a room that Vinyl could not yet recognize. He opened the door, revealing a very big pool about the length of the building’s front side, backlit by various multi-colored lights that seemed to resemble a liquid rainbow in the pool. Her thoughts flowed back to that one athletic, outgoing pegasus pony back in Ponyville, the one she met at one of her shows. Rainbow Dash, was it? She believed so. More friends she had abandoned and left behind in Canterlot and Ponyville came back to her mind. The heart-warming nature and hospitality of those ponies was definitely something Vinyl had come to miss after a three-year absence. She brushed away the thoughts, as they just contributed to her loneliness and seclusion.
“This is the bath,” he said in a warm voice. “Each room, as you know, is fitted with its own bath. But, this might be nice for a change in pace every once in a while.”
Emerald took her up again one more level, bringing her to an outdoor garden on the rooftop. The sight of the flowering plants, hummingbirds, and endless beds of green once again reminded her of that one yellow, pink-maned pegasus who was famous for about a week or so before she quit being a model… Much like Vinyl had. She quickly wondered what made her quit. Perhaps management abuse?
“Directly above the bath, we have this,” he said, breaking her thought process. “This is the rooftop garden. With its spacious skies and relaxing scenery, I’m sure this place will be perfect if you ever need somewhere to think.”
“Isn’t its openness refreshing?” Emerald asked in a casual manner.
Openness... Vinyl thought. A word that has no meaning for me.
-
Vinyl awoke with her eyes bolted wide open, gasping for air. Another one. Nightmare after nightmare of her past, leaving Canterlot, her friends, her poise and her reputation. The guilt of the situation hit her very hard. She didn’t want to leave her friends, nor her loving management, but she couldn’t take it anymore.
She slowly walked out of bed, undergoing her normal morning routine. Once fully bathed and awake, she opened her door.
“Good morning, Miss Vinyl.”
“Good morning,” she sighed, not wanting to even try anymore. They made their way to the lounge downstairs quietly, the aftermath of her nightmares haunting her, fresh in her mind as the smell of the hotel itself.
As Vinyl sat down at one of the tables, Emerald gladly offered to prepare her a glass of herbal tea. As he came back, he placed a teacup on the table in front of Vinyl, and professionally poured the warm herbal tea into the cup. Vinyl picked up the cup with her magic, raising it to her mouth.
“Thank you,” she whispered. She took a sip of the herbal tea, and immediately felt refreshed and soothed, as her worries slowly melted away from the consciousness in her mind. She closed her eyes, embracing the relaxing feeling. She sighed happily.
“They say lavender has a natural calming effect,” Emerald stated. “The light in your room has been on quite late these past two nights...” he said with an edge of sorrow in his voice. Did he actually catch on to that? Vinyl was caught bewildered.
“You said you knew me...” Vinyl said, remembering the nightmares, catching Emerald by surprise. “Does that knowledge not repulse you?” She put emphasis on the last two words, looking up at him and then back down to the table.
“All I’ve done was hurt people. I hurt my friends. I hurt my management. No one even knows who, or where I am anymore. I hurt myself...” Vinyl whispered, barely audible. “And I can never be forgiven, for the lasting memories will be forever in my mind, in theirs, inerasable by even the test of time.” Vinyl let a single tear drop onto the table.
“Is...” Emerald sighed. “Is that how you feel? To think that you’ve been carrying this burden this whole time, alone.” Even Emerald started to tear up more than Vinyl had. His face was stained and flowing with genuine sadness and tears.
“Don’t cry!” Vinyl yelled, handing him a handkerchief. She was amused at the stallion. Why the hell is this stallion so damned empathetic? “Here,” she said softly.
Emerald whispered something inaudible with a worried tone.
-
It was the evening, and they were walking through the hotel’s courtyard together as the sun painted the sky in many different shades of warm colors, from every hue of red and orange spiking up to yellow.
“I think I got my bad habit sometime around then,” Vinyl said, finishing her tragic story to Emerald. The reflux of horrible memories and guilt lapped up in her mind again. Her final performance. Her friends' final words. Everything.
“I know I have to change,” Vinyl trailed off, walking towards a cherry blossom tree, with Emerald slowly trailing behind. “Until then, I have to be alone.”
“I don’t think...” His voice was dragged to a low whisper in the wind.
“If you stay with me, sooner or later, you’ll get hurt too.” Vinyl brought her voice to a quiet whisper.
He gazed into Vinyl’s magenta eyes, a gentle, heartwarming expression on his face. He smiled ever so softly. Her heart skipped.
"Scratch, are you okay?" the voice came far and distant. "Don't worry about it, he just gets in those moods every so often, you know?" Vinyl ignored the voice, whoever it came from. She couldn't recognize it. It didn't matter.
It seemed a lot of her management team had come to comfort her after he stormed off. Still, she did not avert her closed eyes from the ground. The world faded away, a blur of regret.
Evening light encompassed the world as they were walking through the hotel’s courtyard together, the sun painting the sky in vibrant shades of warm colors, from every hue of red and orange spiking up to yellow. A faint afterglow emanated from the horizon, caressing the two ponies' faces as they made their way towards the complex. Emerald appeared to walk with a unique stride.
“I think I got my bad habit sometime around then,” Vinyl remarked, finishing her tragic story to Emerald. The reflux of horrible memories and guilt lapped up in her mind again. Her final performance. Her final argument with her friends. Every damned thing.
“I know I have to change,” Vinyl sighed just above an audible whisper, walking towards a cherry blossom tree, with Emerald slowly trailing behind. “Until then, I have to be alone.” She didn't look back.
“I don’t think...”
“If you stay with me, sooner or later, you’ll get hurt too.” Vinyl brought her voice to a quiet whisper and glanced suggestively at him, a melancholic pang of guilt in her eyes.
He gazed into Vinyl’s magenta eyes, a gentle, heartwarming expression on his face. He smiled ever so softly. She turned back around and began walking again.
“Why don’t we try it then?” Vinyl stopped in her pace, freezing at the comment before turning back to lock her eyes with his. The wind reflecting the soft autumn breeze flowed through their manes, picking up its pace. Time stopped as well, her brilliant cerise eyes never once glancing away from him. She sensed something different in this stallion. It was as if... He understood her.
Minutes later, Emerald broke the silence as they walked through the courtyard. "... And you know, you are even cuter than I imagined." Vinyl looked up from the ground, surprised.
"What?"
Emerald shook off the comment. "Never mind," he added with a smile. He seemed to take note of the dripping red sunset, beginning to hide itself behind the horizon. "We should go back now, Miss Vinyl," he said, acknowledging the sunset and time. Vinyl nodded and followed Emerald's pace as he walked back to the elegantly designed building. A soft breeze of air chilled her as it swept through her face. The smell of the cherry blossoms wafted through the air.
It was a beautiful autumn evening, which sadly, would probably be haunted by another form of horror from her past. Vinyl started to contemplate the last two days with this strange Secret Security guard. He was different. She wasn't sure whether it would turn out good, or if he would end up being betrayed by her like most people were. She abruptly halted her pace. She paused and looked into the sky tinged with orange and blue, taking in the serenity of the moment. She sighed softly, almost inaudible under the brisk autumn breeze. Emerald took notice of the sudden halt of hoofsteps beside him.
"Is something wrong, Miss Vinyl?" Emerald asked, worried. Vinyl's heart skipped a beat at the random break of silence. She closed her eyes and nodded her head, continuing their pace towards the complex.
The doors that led to the lounge opened, and Vinyl noticed the same Secret Service agent she saw talking with Octavia yesterday. Her mane was a soft pink, contrasted by a white coat that could not be seen under the mare's Secret Service suit. Her half-lidded eyes matched her mane. She looked tired; either that or lazy. The agent noticed her and Emerald as well. She walked over, slowly.
"Good evening..." she talked in a slow, quiet and shy tone.
"Who are you?" the agent asked slowly, tilting her head to the left in confusion.
"Well, who are you?" Vinyl countered.
"My name is... Sable. I'm with the Secret Service... My client is in Room Two." Weren't Secret Service agents supposed to be... Intimidating?
"I'm Vinyl Scratch, Room Four."
"Nice to meet you...?" she asked shyly, curiously, cocking her head to the other side.
"Yeah, I guess it's always ni-" Vinyl was cut off by an unsuspecting hug from the mare. She released Vinyl and turned to walk into the elevator.
"...The hell was that?" Vinyl asked, more confused than she was this morning. She cleared her head with a shake. "Anyway, you can head on up to bed," she said, acknowledging Emerald. "I'm going to take a bath down here real quick."
Emerald nodded and smiled. "Have a nice night."
"Yeah." They split ways, as Emerald headed for the tower elevator and Vinyl went towards the catwalk that led to the scenic bath. Midway through the catwalk, she paused to admire the beauty and simplicity of the lounge. The orange and modern theme brought back what few good memories she had. It reminded her of her mother's home, elegant, modern and relaxing. She continued on towards the bath.
Opening the doors, she stepped in and noticed the room was illuminated only by the new moonlight which poured through the single large window that spanned the side of the building. She looked around for a light switch, temporarily lighting up the area around her. No use. She went further across the large room, trying to find a light switch. Suddenly, the door shut behind her, exhilirating her heartbeat. The adrenaline took its course, pumping, coursing through her.
A dark hoof reached out of the still darkness, wrapping its length around Vinyl's neck, dragging her to the floor. Her pulse beat erratically, as she looked around for any sign of a safe haven from whoever this predator was. The darkness shrouded her vision, clouding all but the faintest strand of moonlight in the room, as her eyes hadn't adapted to the dark yet. Suddenly, the darkness emitted a chuckle.
"This is the high-security elite apartment complex?" the voice mocked, as the foreleg tightened its grip around Vinyl's neck. She tried frantically to spark her magic in an attempt to escape, but the predator ensured she could not focus in on her spell. A low glow of blue illuminated next to the predator, revealing his face for a split second before vanishing back into the darkness. A small blade had formed from the magic, lowering in onto Vinyl.
"Now... You take me up to your room and give us everything you have." Vinyl panicked, again attempting to perform some sort of spell, anything, to escape. No use. Fear giving way to despair, she squirmed under the tight vicelike grip. He lowered the blade closer to her neck. "Well?"
Abruptly, a familiar gloved hoof knocked the blade out of the predator's magic reach. She felt a drop of warm liquid fall onto her chest.
"Sorry I'm late..." the deep, melodious voice whispered. He directed his voice to the intruder. "You dared point a blade at Miss Vinyl..." Now, the intruder seemed to share Vinyl's previous panic as he released her and retreated further back. Emerald's eyes began to glow, illuminating them in the dark. A visible haze of green silhouetted his horn, and a subsequent explosion of magic attacked the intruder. He retaliated, counterattacking with a spell of his own. Emerald was able to dodge it, giving the intruder more fear as he retreated further back. Another spell materialized in front of Emerald as he hurled it towards the intruder.
Forming more blades out of magic, the intruder launched two at Emerald, causing him to recoil and let out a low shriek. He recovered, tossing the blade away with his magic. He ran towards the darkness, but noticed hoofsteps running away just as fast out the door. He winced and activated a spell to light the room as he found his way back to Vinyl. She assessed the damage he could not see.
His right foreleg had been sliced twice by two blades, either side with a small incision dripping blood. He did not seem hurt at all, as he calmly walked towards Vinyl, the wounds not breaking his stride. His spell flickered away and the moonlight returned to be the only source of light in the large room. He leaned down closer to Vinyl.
"Are you alright?" he whispered, extending his right hoof to her to help her up. Vinyl eyed the dripping blood.
"You're the one that's hurt!"
"Oh, sorry, I wasn't thinking," he said, withdrawing his right and extending his left. "Take my left hoof then."
"That's not the point, idiot!"
"Please do not worry about me. I exist to protect only you, Miss Vinyl."
"That's stupid!" Vinyl whispered in the dim moonlight. "It's always 'Miss Vinyl' this, 'Miss Vinyl' that! You even got yourself hurt! Is this how much you want to be a dog? Do you want to put yourself on the line for this?" she yelled, the echo of the large room reverberating her words back at her.
Emerald reached out and brought Vinyl's leg to him, causing her to lose her balance and fall back. He suddenly brought his lips to it. "What are you-"
"A kiss on the tip of the hoof is a sign of loyalty..." he whispered to her. "The reason I am here... is my loyalty to you. It is irrelevant that you are a famous icon with endless wealth or not. I told you when we first met, that I have known you for a long time. As you are the one that saved me, I owe you my undying respect. You and nopony else.
"You don't know how desperately I've been wanting to meet you. And now I have failed... I shall do everything in my power to make it up to you. So please, please... Will you let me stay by your side?"
She sighed, wary of the stallion. Again with this? Their eyes locked, a pleading gaze in his and a judgmental aura in hers. All this time - her sole purpose for coming here, nullified. Void. Meaningless. Like the stallion's words.
However...
"Do what you like..." Vinyl whispered back with a sigh. "You won't listen to what I say anyway."
"Are you certain? Even if I am like this?"
"Who cares what you are?" Vinyl said, breaking into her arrogant tone. "Just go where you want and live the way you want to." Emerald brought a heartwarming smile to his face.
"Miss Vinyl..." his voice trailed off. "Thank you... Even though I am not worthy, please bear with me." He bowed his head and closed his eyes.
"Let go of my leg..."
After this, I will remember it again and again. It was the beginning of a long, long time...
"Vinyl, are you okay?” a gentle voice came. “Wake up, you’ll need to be ready for fan meetings and autographs! Do you know how much money that can net us? I already called over a doctor, but don’t worry – you should be up and running to make some results in no time."
Bullshit.
"Hello, Vinyl," Octavia chimed in, her voice as bright as the sun that gleamed through the lounge's windows at breakfast. "Good morning!" She still managed to keep a hint of professionalism in her voice, despite the eased atmosphere in the room, it seemed.
"Hmm. Why are you so happy?" Vinyl said, a tinge of sarcasm in her voice. "Good morning," she continued with a mercurial mood change. Octavia cocked a brow and floated her bowl of soup to the table Vinyl was at, and set it down. She noticed the lone bowl of fruit on Vinyl's side of the table.
"That's your whole breakfast?" Octavia observed. "Not much, is it?"
"And you're having noodle soup," Vinyl summarized in a mocking tone. She snorted. "Not that I care." Vinyl tried to keep an edge of joking, light-mannerism when she talked with her "bad habit". Even though a lot of people saw it coming off as rude, the ones that were close to Vinyl knew about her habit and put it aside to take it for what it was. A bad, uncontrollable habit.
"Just don't spill any on me," Vinyl continued. Octavia looked really unfocused.
"Don't worry, don't worry," she assured. "I'm a pretty careful eater," she said with Rainbow Dash-esque pride.
Vinyl watched curiously as Octavia strangely picked up the spoon with her hooves. "Octavia, why are you-"
Splat.
-
"So, how are things going?" Octavia asked, as she and Vinyl walked along the upper tier of the lounge that led to the elevator.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You and your Secret Service agent," she explained. "I thought you would fire him immediately."
"He's supposed to be going shopping with me later today," she said with an emotionless aspect to her voice, as if it was a simple chore. "Do you want to come?" she asked Octavia. She nodded in response. Vinyl tried not to reveal too much about last night. It would be pretty embarrassing had anyone known. She was self-conscious of her image, in spite of the way she acted.
"You two are getting along better than I expected," she concluded. Vinyl yawned as they stepped into the elegant elevator. Octavia looked away, a fake tear of pride in her eye. "My Vinyl made her first friend~"
"It isn't like that!" Vinyl snapped, causing Octavia to burst out in a fit of laughter.
"Well if anything happens, you have your specialty," Octavia reminded. Vinyl tilted her head at her expectantly. "What you can't say, write down on paper." Octavia giggled. Vinyl rolled her eyes.
"You're surprisingly honest on paper," Octavia added. "That letter you sent me after we had a small fight hit me in the heart."
"I was just practicing writing with magic." She lied through her teeth, and Octavia knew; and Vinyl knew that Octavia knew.
~
Vinyl woke up in her room, having gone inside to take a quick nap after talking with Octavia. It was much too early for her. She couldn't understand how ponies like her could fathom being awake so early. Vinyl herself had gotten accustomed to waking up early from nightmares. She got up and slowly walked to the door. She opened it to be greeted by the "normal morning routine", as she had come to call it.
"Good morning," Emerald said in his typical gentle voice. Vinyl yawned.
"Morning."
“You look as beautiful as ever. Your clothes suit you very well. Your mane adds the perfect touch-"
"You can stop flattering me now..." her voice softened as she looked at his bandaged hoof. "How is your...?"
Emerald looked at it to examine it. "It'll be fine. Do not worry about me."
Emerald was still smiling, eyes closed in a welcoming expression. "I trust you are going to be breakfasting in the lounge today, as well?"
"I already ate." Vinyl watched as Emerald froze, the same expression - or rather, lack of expression - caressing her face. The atmosphere seemed to change to a dark setting. She saw Emerald as he started to quiver, then broke down and fell to the floor in a submissive stance.
"That means..." he said with a tear forming in his eye. "You carried your own food, brought it to the table, and poured your own water...?" Vinyl raised her eyebrows.
"Wha- Sure? How much do you want to help me with?”
“Everything… From the moment you wake up.” he said desperately. Seriously?
“You know-”
Emerald cut her off, sobbing. "Does this mean..." his voice trailed off as he continued."You have no use of me?" He pulled out the same sword, in the same manner, in the same position.
"Enough with this sword nonsense," she said, annoyed. "Your irritation level is increasing exponentially." Vinyl sighed, tossing away the sword with her magic. This had to be the sixth time in three days. She felt a breeze from the window run through her mane, carrying along petal leaves from a cherry blossom outside. They landed curtly on the ground in between them.
“What do you mean? All I wish is to take care of you… And you said you would allow it.” His face grew dark. Why did she make that damned promise?
“Can we just go?”
"Sure." He brought himself up, attaining his regular couth posture, as he gestured for Vinyl to lead them to the elevator. The elevator opened before they reached it, the metal doors opening to reveal a gray mare with an unmistakable jet black mane. A glint of suspicion was visible in her eyes.
"What do you need?"
"I realized I had some shopping around to do; may I come along with you two?" she asked, faltering a weak smile. “You’re driving, right?” she asked, gesturing towards Emerald. He nodded curtly.
“Yeah, let’s just get this over with.” Vinyl led them into the elevator as it descended to the lounge floor, picking up Octavia along the way.
…
Emerald graciously held the car door open for Vinyl. What exactly was it about this stallion that made him so… Addicted to her?
He said he knows me from the past…
“I told you that when we first met, that I have known you for a long time."
He says I saved him. But I don’t remember. I suppose it really isn’t much of a mystery… Still.
“The only reason I am here is my loyalty to you. It is irrelevant to me whether you were a world famous icon with endless wealth or not.”
He told me it was for me, and me alone; with no connection to my fame or fortune.
How long I’ve waited to hear those words.
I’d like to repay them. I may not be able to change right away, but surely I can at least do something in return.
“Is everything alright?” Emerald asked, breaking through her daydream. The car hadn’t even started. She put her outer character back in play.
“A-Are you all settled in your new life? Is there anything you require?”
“No, I’m fine. But thank you for expressing your concern.”
“Heh.” Vinyl snorted. “You thought I was expressing concern? I just want you in optimal condition if you are to work for me.”
~
“All that’s left is the cell phone,” Emerald acknowledged, as they walked out of the furniture shop. They spotted Octavia, waiting on a bench outside the store, reading a novel about what looked to be classical music.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Vinyl replied, searching their bags for anything that could be missing.
“You don’t have one?” Octavia asked, picking herself up from her book. “Oh… I guess you didn’t have any friends to call…”
“Miss Vinyl…”
“I don’t need your pity!” she broke out, turning away. “I’ll be living on my own, so having one will come in handy.”
“Well, yeah,” Octavia replied bluntly. “Have you decided on one yet?”
She chuckled cockily. “What a silly question. Everything I purchase undergoes multiple rounds of careful analysis.” She pulled out three technology magazines out from her pack. “I’ve done my research.”
“Exactly what I’d expect, Miss Vinyl,” Emerald brought up, with the tone of a parent that was proud of their child.
~
“Now that we’ve got everything out of the way…” Vinyl trailed off. “Oh! Octavia, what did you want to purchase?”
Octavia pulled out a box of what looked to be cake.
“Cake? You wanted to buy cake?”
“Cake and I are ‘tight’, as you would put it.”
“Ha. Don’t you mean ‘you and cup noodles’?”
Emerald broke in. “You two are such good friends.”
“What? Are you blind?” Vinyl returned sarcastically.
Octavia reached out her hoof to pet Vinyl’s electric mane. “Well, we have known each other for a long time." She wrapped her foreleg around Vinyl. "I’m kind of like a big sister.”
“We were just roommates. That’s all.”
“You know how she always makes enemies?” she said, reminiscing on their past. “Then her trusty big sis comes in and cleans up the mess.”
“Roommates.”
Octavia withdrew her hoof and pointed at herself. “Feel free to call me ‘big sister’,” she directed at Emerald.
“I shall be sure to.”
“No you won’t,” Vinyl said. “Well, let’s get going.”
“Wait. Why don’t we hang out more?” Vinyl turned around. “Specifically until… Six o’clock.”
“Why specifically until then?”’
“Eh… Is there anything else we need to buy? Like…” she thought of an excuse. “Emerald, don’t you need anything else?”
“I am here entirely in my capacity as Miss Vinyl’s Secret Service agent, so please don’t concern yourself over me.”
“Come on… Isn’t that a little boring?”
“Not at all.” He glanced over at Vinyl and smiled. “Just accompanying Miss Vinyl on her shopping trip… Is like a dream to me.”
“What did you do to him?” Octavia asked under her breath, leaning in to Vinyl.
“I have no idea.”
Like he did for me… Isn’t there something more I could discover to do for him?
An owl hoot echoed through the valley surrounding the hotel as Vinyl wrapped herself up in her blankets. The telltale hum of levitation magic surrounded her cell phone as she brought it closer to her to examine it. Flipping it open with a flick of magic, she was instantly greeted with a bright pink welcome screen sprinkled with aqua and magenta flowers, bordering and showcasing the phone company's logo.
She tapped the directional pad to the left twice, trying to navigate to her text messaging application. She mistapped and accidentally touched a number, bringing up the dialpad. With a grunt, she spammed the home key with her hoof, bringing her back to her main menu. With more frustration, she finally found her way to her messaging app. She clicked the contact 'Emerald' and began to type.
Vinyl paused, a sentence into her message. How would she go about saying this? She shrugged and continued. She typed more, fixing some occasional errors with the small keyboard.. There. She clicked the button on the top right that depicted an envelope, and with a swoosh, the message was off.
She clicked back and noticed a "1" displaying on her sent items folder, so she clicked it. She read the message over and blushed. Why did I just send that? Unlike a letter, you can reread the things you've sent! This is so embarassing...
~
Emerald clicked the multicolored orb in the bottom left corner of his computer screen, preparing it to shut down. Just then, his phone by his computer vibrated twice. Curiously, he picked it up with his hoof, scrolling over to his notifications bar. A text from Vinyl! He tapped it and began reading.
Thank you for coming out with me yesterday. I certainly have my flaws, but I certainly look forward to working with you in the future.
Emerald brought himself to smile, taking his reading glasses off and holding the phone close to him as if it was a love letter from a long lost lover. He allowed himself a chuckle as he locked the phone and put it back in its place, ready to go to sleep.
~
Vinyl trotted downstairs into the lounge, where she was to eat an early breakfast. She needed to go to the grocerie store directly after to pick up some food, should she get hungry in the middle of the night after one of her frequent nightmares.
She loved the bluish glow of the rising morning sun, punctuated by a good warm breakfast to start off a good day. Too many good memories were tied in to fresh morning skies, one of the few things Vinyl still found solace in.
Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she was met by Sable at the coffee machine. She wasn't wearing her regular Secret Service uniform, but rather a set of soft pink pajamas to match her ruffled, bed-ridden mane. Under her half lidded eyes, she noticed Vinyl causing her ears to lift themselves up. She again tilted her head towards Vinyl.
"Good morning..." she said meekly, staring blankly into Vinyl's eyes. Vinyl acknowledged her with a nod and brought her coffee and bread back to the table. She pulled out a chair, but not before being stopped by a familiar hoof.
"So this is where you were," Emerald noticed, kneeling down in front of Vinyl. "Good morning, Miss Vinyl!
"Good morning."
"I appreciate the text message you sent me last night," he said with a smile. Vinyl perked up, eyes now wide open. Damn.
Assuming her bold nature, she smirked. "Hmph, don't take it the wrong way. I was just practicing sending messages with my phone."
"I shall read it every night before I go to sleep," he remarked with a golden smile.
"What the hell?" She jumped up from her chair. "Give me that!" she yelled quietly, reaching for his phone. He held it away much like a parent would to a filly. "Give me that phone! I need to erase it!"
"Impossible," he teased, keeping the phone away in a dance.
"What do you mean, 'impossible'?" she mocked, desperately trying to get the phone.
"I already have it saved on my computer, backed up on an SD card; I also had it printed, laminated, and stored in a safe only I know the combo to."
Vinyl paused incredulously.
"Who the hell does that!?"
Interrupting the silly, yet heated exchange between Vinyl and her agent, Lyra perked up and peeked around her chair at the two fighting over the cell phone. "Oh!" she remembered, bringing the roughhousing to a stop. "Vinyl, did you buy a dress?"
"Dress?" she questioned, bemused.
"For the school's social get-together tomorrow."
"Ah, it's already taken care of. I brought one from home."
While Vinyl had just recently moved out of her old home, she was still young and looking for work. Since she had never properly experienced school due to her busyness in life as a DJ, she figured now would be a good time to start. The school catered to the upper echelon of society. Not only did the hotel hold welcome parties for new additions to the elite, but they also hold get-togethers shortly after.
"You're enrolled as the top student," Emerald remarked, "and you'll be giving a speech as your class' representative." It wasn't due to her grades that she was enrolled as the top student, but rather her fortune. It was no surprise that someone within the school had pulled some sort of string for her. Like it or not, it would have to be done, much to her dismay.
"Don't remind me."
"I'm so proud of you," Lyra crooned adoringly. "I'm going to need a picture of you in that dress!"
"You two sound like parents."
~
The mockingjays in the cherry blossoms sang louder as the morning sun rose above the horizon. The soft sweep of downy flake brushed across Vinyl as she walked home along the long hill from the convenient store to pick up some groceries for later. The sun began to peek through the gaps in the trees, illuminating the sidewalk.
It was such a beautiful day outside. Vinyl used to always live a somewhat nocturnal life in Canterlot as a DJ, sleeping throughout days like this and waking up at midnight to go to performances and parties. Though she missed the nightlife, her occasional nightmares about them reminded her not to. Living a regular life seemed to be such a nice change of pace from before.
Yawning, she walked up to the top of the hill where the complex rested upon. She noticed Octavia and another Secret Service agent peeking around the corner, past the gate towards the complex. "What are you two-"
"Shh," Octavia cut Vinyl off.
"It might prove difficult to get in at the moment - oh! - we haven't met, have we?" the agent bubbled. "I'm Lyra, Octavia's Secret Service agent! You're even cuter than I expected!" The mare was wearing the basic uniform, outlined with badges and pins she added on herself. Her mane was a striking pale green with a minty green coat to match. Her viridian green colors reminded Vinyl of chewing gum. She dismissed the thought.
"Shh!" Octavia stifled, pulling Vinyl close and pointing her towards the gate. Her heart froze.
"She's beautiful," Lyra whispered.
"Mhm," Octavia confirmed, shifting around to get a better view.
In front of the door, she spotted Emerald and another mare, close to each other while talking. Vinyl couldn't make out the mare's features aside from her styled purple hair and off-white coat, but her form was enviable. Almost mistakable for a model handpicked by Photo Finish. The carefully styled royal purple mane was enough to turn heads. She seemed to be blushing to Emerald, leaning into him with lust. Vinyl gasped, struck with conflicting feelings, not knowing how to react. Slowly, the mare leaned up, gently, tenderly, and caressed Emerald's lips with her own. Vinyl found herself in the center of the gate, completely visible if he so looked.
"Ooooh!" Lyra crooned, breaking the silence and fortuitously capturing Emerald's attention. He quickly broke the kiss at the sight of Vinyl standing in the middle of the walkway that led to the hotel. He pushed the mare away, staring into Vinyl's eyes, a silence ensuing that no one wished for.
~
"So, you're saying she's not your marefriend?" Octavia asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee. She quickly brought it out of the coffee maker, curtly pulling out a chair to sit on. She didn't want to miss a word of this conversation.
Emerald blinked and shook his head. "Correct," he announced with a remorseful tone. "She confessed her feelings for me some time ago, and I rejected her. She said she would give up on me if I kissed her."
"Oh, you ladies man," Lyra cooed.
"Is it normal to kiss someone for a reason like that?" Octavia interrupted.
"Of course! It comes with no burden or responsibility - completely normal," Lyra countered.
"Your view of normal is disturbing."
"I'm not saying I do it, it's just a healthy thing to do."
No burden or responsibility... This shit again. Lyra's words bounced around in her mind, triggering memories of her backstabbing staff that used her purely for money. Their acts of kindness were staged, simply to make their star happy. That's all I ever was to them...
That's all she ever would be. How pathetic of this stallion - who she had almost opened up to trust - to become just another person, using, manipulating others, whether for personal benefit or not. Absolutely digusting. He's just like the rest; none of them are different. None. Absolutely none of them.
Vinyl abruptly stood up, fast enough to knock over the chair she was sitting on. She stared hardly at the table for a few moments, letting her actions sink in their minds. "I'm going to my room," she mentioned with a dark voice, storming off towards the elevator.
"Miss Vinyl!" Emerald took off after her, kicking the toppled chair aside as he ran to her in the elevator room. Finally catching up, he was gasping for breath. "Miss Vinyl?" he asked, confused at her sudden behavior.
She started up. "You can be that nice to someone with no real feeling behind it?" she asked in a firm voice with an air of command. "It's completely empty... Do you not think you treated her dishonestly?"
Emerald sighed, a remorseful expression upon his face. "I truly am sorry..."
"Are you?"
Emerald bowed his head, and followed Vinyl through the opened elevator doors. He sighed. "If you tell me not to do that, I will never do it again."
"That's what I mean by being dishonest!" Vinyl snapped, turning her back on him. "I had no idea you were so filthy!"
Emerald gasped, his eyes opening wide before he closed them again to suppress his tears. He sighed, downtrodden.
"You are absolutely right," he agreed. "I am not someone that is in any position to serve you. It appears that ever since we met, I've become so happy that I've forgotten that fact. Perhaps... I cannot live up to your expectations." The elevator halted its ascent, stopping at level four.
Vinyl snorted. My one chance for escape. True, serene escape. "Hmm? Then this means our contract is void," she said, grinning with her back still turned to him. The elevator doors opened.
"If that is what you wish," Emerald concluded.
"Very well." Slowly, Vinyl turned around with her eyes not once leaving the ground. A cocky grin that wasn't visible to him formed on her face as she walked past him, outside of the elevator and into the room. "Then thank you for all of your help." The elevator doors closed behind her, leaving her to be by herself on the empty floor. She heard it begin its descent as it went down to the lounge once more.
Vinyl sat back, and slumped against the wall. Tears brimmed her eyes as the weight of her actions just dawned on her.
Tweeting of early mockingbirds floated up from the ground level, echoing through the area that surrounded the hotel. The Advent complex's garden roof was unusually calm today, save the breeze of the autumn wind and the sudden bursts of practice magic and their subsequent grunts coming from the blue-maned colt. He discharged another bolt of electric blue magic, directly at a can he threw up as a target, shattering in pieces and floating to the ground.
"Cobalt..." the suited stallion whispered teasingly. "If you push yourself too hard, you'll hurt yourself," he said in an antagonistic playful tone.
"Shut up," the blue colt grunted. "Once I see that man, I'm going to settle this once and for all. He's going to regret making a fool out of me." He flung a rock up into the air and expelled another blinding beam of magic to destroy it. "I know I'm not good right now, but I-"
"It's so nice out today," the stallion resumed in his un-charming carefree voice.
"Don't interrupt me!" he countered.
"It feels so good..."
"Hey! Are you even listening to me! Shut up! You always do this to me!" the colt continued, frustrated. However, he was only a whisper in the wind to the stallion.
"When the weather is this nice... It makes me want to go out... Do something."
Why did I say those things? Vinyl was laid down in her bedroom, curled up as she began to process the events of the afternoon. She sighed and slowly floated over her teacup through the moonlight and set it down next on her on the bed, reaching over to take a sip. Herbal lavender tea, the same calming effect that Emerald had introduced her to not long ago. Except, this time, it didn't calm her.
I had no idea you were so filthy!
...
Why would I say that, when it had nothing to do with me? Maybe it was because I saw myself in place of that mare. The me that everyone gave fake smiles to, with no real emotion. The most fleeting consolations for the sole purpose of trying to make their star happy... Gone.
...
"Sorry I'm late..." the deep, melodious voice whispered. He directed his voice to the intruder. "You dared point a blade at Miss Vinyl..." ... "A kiss on the tip of the hoof is a sign of loyalty..." he whispered to her. "The reason I am here... is my loyalty to you. It is irrelevant that you are a famous icon with endless wealth or not. I told you when we first met, that I have known you for a long time. As you are the one that saved me, I owe you my undying respect. You and no one else. ... “Is...” Emerald sighed. “Is that how you feel? To think that you’ve been carrying this burden this whole time, alone.” Even Emerald started to tear up more than Vinyl had. His face was stained and flowing with genuine sadness and tears. ... You and no one else... You don't know how desperately I've been wanting to meet you. And now I have failed... I shall do everything in my power to make it up to you. So please, please... Will you let me stay by your side?"
...
He sees the true me, and is kind to me from the bottom of his heart for me. For who I am. And yet... He could do something like that. With no emotion... and that scared me. All I could do was watch as I hit him with all of my distrust for others.
The melancholic song in her head came to a close as she exhaled a final sigh before her eyes fluttered close.
~
A knock at her door efficiently brought Vinyl up from her deep sleep. Without any thought, she slowly threw her blanket off of her as she walked half-lidded to open the door.
"Good morning, Vinyl." Her heart skipped a beat at the familiar greeting, but settled down after seeing the unfamiliar face. The mint green unicorn bubbled as she smiled greatly, though her excitement was quickly depleted after opening her eyes to see Vinyl.
Her mane was unkempt and frazzled practically everywhere. It had lost its usual electric flare of confidence. Her tail fared no better, limp blue strands hanging down to the floor. Her bloodshot eyes were still barely open, recoiling at even the smallest iota of a light source. She didn't have her red magical contacts on, revealing her magenta eyes that didn't blend in as much as they would have. Her white coat was seemed to be even more devoid of color than it already was . She sighed.
"What do you want..." Vinyl groaned. It wasn't a question.
"Oh my stars - what happened to you? The party is today!" Lyra yelled, echoing through the fourth floor.
"Don't worry about-"
"Come on! We have to get you fixed up!" she bursted, tugging her along through the elevator and to her room with her magic. She opened the door adorned with a minimalistic "II" and brought Vinyl in. It shared the same room design and layout as her own, except for a vanity set up where Vinyl's writing desk was placed. "Now, come on! Let's get you fixed up. Why don't I do your mane?"
"What are you talking about?" Vinyl asked, brushing Lyra's hoof off her shoulder. "I can do it myself."
Lyra recoiled, a display of genuine sadness on her face. Her eyes started to well up. "I was looking so forward to helping you..."
"Always eager to help, aren't you? Fine, if that's what you want."
"I'll be glad to!" she shouted, jumping up and darting over to Vinyl. That was fast.
Lyra showed her to the vanity, seating her as she opened a cupboard to grab some combs and some other grooming tools Vinyl couldn't identify. She looked in the mirror and examined herself, shaking away her sleep. Lyra enveloped a comb in a mint green sheath and floated it through Vinyl's mane, untangling the excess strands.
This is the first time she and I have been alone together. I hope I don't say anything rude to her. It would be a shame since she was kind enough to come down to me and help.
"Oh, stop being so tense," she told her in a comforting voice. "I just want to be friends!"
She's a nice person.
Suddenly, Lyra brought a hoof to Vinyl's left ear and played with it a little before she twitched it back, frowning. "Your ears are so cute... I love that..." she said, her voice drawing to a lust-filled whisper.
And she's a pervert.
She leaned in closer to Vinyl. "Are those bags under your eyes because of Emerald?" she asked, continuing to groom her mane to its usual state.
"Huh?" she scoffed. "He didn't mean anything to me." She was lying through her teeth. Lyra didn't seem to pick up.
"Oh! Would you want to contract with me, then?"
"I didn't plan on hiring an agent in the first place. Thanks for the offer, though." Vinyl turned around when Lyra stopped combing. She appeared to be dazed by thought.
"Still, you did enter into a contract with Emerald. I hope you two can make up soon."
"Aha!" Sable tweeted in her soft voice, loading her plate with various, expensive-looking foods from the table, decorated as if it were the crown piece of the party. The inauguration opening festival for the school was nothing short of amazing. All of the attendants were dressed in nothing but their most formal attire, adding to the gallant atmosphere in the room created by the only the finest, most exquisite decorations from gold-trimmed painting frames to royal red curtains, adorned by the school's logo in an intricately beautiful silver. One would easily mistake this not for a school's welcome party, but rather almost passing as a corporate business meeting of sorts. Upper echelon indeed.
With Sable completely content with her food, she took off towards a lone table in the corner, gleefully flitting along and humming a sing-song melody she had remembered from her days as a filly. Still at the table with the banquet laid out, Lyra observed the scene for herself, taking note of each of the students' interactions amongst each other; the students from Vinyl's class were strikingly familiar. Octavia was attending as well, but she was nowhere to be found. Perhaps, she figured, she decided to skip the event altogether and decide to sleep in how she usually did. Suddenly, she was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Miss Lyra."
"Oh, I wasn't expecting you here," Lyra responded curiously, cocking her head to the side ever so slightly.
"I figured I should keep watch over Miss Vinyl until her next agent arrives," Emerald continued. "Where is she?"
"She seems restless," Lyra sighed. "She keeps wandering around... Ah, there she is!" Lyra pointed her hoof across the room, spotting an uneasy Vinyl hobbling around. She stopped at the beverage table, pouring herself an unidentified drink out of one of the brushed metal flasks at the table. Lyra could only hope she wasn't drinking alcohol or anything of the sort. After pouring the drink, she pondered for a bit, seemingly staring off into nothing as her eyes shifted from the ceiling, to the floor, and back to the ceiling again, restlessly. It was hard to believe - from anyone's standpoint - that this renowned star can be anything but her past on-stage appearance; then again, it was that very appearance that was the effect of the things that haunted her and plagued her since her resignation from the scene.
A sharp-dressed stallion with a silk suit that's almost unmistakably Canterlot and a striking black tie complemented with sophisticated reading glasses made his way through the crowd to meet Vinyl. "Ah, Ms. Vinyl Scratch," the stallion prodded, waving his hoof with a gentlemanly smile. Celestia, that sounds ridiculous, Vinyl mused to herself. She turned around, not a hint of any interest or expression in her face. "I trust you've thought about your speech as a representative?" he inquired.
She smirked in her usual fashion. "Of course I have," she remarked in a tone not short of condescending. Closing her eyes with a snide grin, she continued. "I wrote it on the day you mentioned it. Anything else?" she finished with a cocky smile.
Embarrassed, the stallion slowly backed off with an innocent manner. "I-I see... Well..." the stallion paused, searching for something to say. "G-Good luck, then." His previous, gentlemanly composure was broken down, reduced to a nervous, embarrassed and innocent man only wishing her luck. She slumped down into a chair, eyes averted to the ground, regretful and sorrowful. It's true. I just can't be around anyone. Flashes of memories shared between her and Emerald made their way into her mind, even beginning with their first meeting when she moved in to the hotel. How could I hurt someone I appreciated so much... when I never even thanked him properly? Ending where they started, her final memory between them was walking out of the elevator, literally shutting the door on him and almost any chance of them being anything more than acquaintances.
An abrupt voice snapped her out of her melancholic reminiscence. "Hey, look at that," an unfamiliar voice said behind her. Vinyl picked out another voice.
"Think she's nervous?"
"Merely being loaded in money isn't enough it seems," he said with a chuckle.
"She just isn't cut out for this," the second voice agreed.
"You can see her true nature," the first mused. It's the truth.
"Her big mouth is all an act, isn't it?" Yes.
"How sad," the voice chimed with almost a mew. "She's at this glamorous party, but she's all alone." Yeah.
"Naturally," the other voice said with injected toxin. "She's a total bitch." Vinyl froze.
"The only people hanging around her are after her fame and money." Her body tensed, anger penting up from her past, from her memories, from her regrets, from her sorrow. Frustrated yet sad, angry yet regretful, furious yet sorrowful, and with the powder keg of emotion, guilt and regret ignited inside of her, Vinyl stood up from the chair, not facing the two voices. Just ready to confront them, a loud splash of water in the general direction of the voices made her freeze once more. She turned around slowly, surprised at the culprit.
A familiar gloved hoof, almost touching the wet dripping champagne glass which was levitated by a soft green aura was all Vinyl saw, yet it was all she needed to see. The two voices' heads were soaked, through and through, with confused looks on their faces. The Secret Service agent stood proud, yet apologetically, with the outstretched glass still suspended in the air.
"Wh-What was that for?" the voice in the silver suit asked, bewildered at the situation.
"Pardon me," the agent apologized. "It's just that," he paused, looking up to look the voices in the eye. "You've angered me."
Extremely and utterly confused, the voice in the blue suit stepped forward in a confrontational matter. "Huh?!" he yelled at the agent, anger in his eyes. "What the hell are you talking about? You think you can do something like that and get away with it?!"
In his typical servant-like nature, while still remaining condescending, the agent gently placed the champagne glass back on the neat table, restoring some sort of order in the situation. "I'll kneel down and beg for your forgiveness if you like." Releasing his magical grip from the glass, he continued in a melancholic tone. "But I request that you take back what you said." He continued on, not once looking up from the table with a wistful smile gracing his face. "Miss Vinyl may not always be the most socially adept of people. But she is honest, conscientious, and loyal." He looked up, turning to the voices. "She is also very, very delicate." Vinyl almost gasped at this, refusing to believe the words she just heard.
"What do you even know about her?" the agent continued, the wistful smile gone to be replaced with a questioning expression. The voice in the blue suit spoke up once more.
"Fine!" he declared, swiping a hoof through the air as if to cut something down. "I take it back!" he yelled, almost with an aura of triumph. "But I want you on your knees!" He was still soaking wet, his hair dripping water on the floor. "Right now! On your knees!" Just as the agent began to kneel down submissively, another voice cut in.
"That won't be necessary," Vinyl interrupted with her trademark smile. She lifted another glass filled with water off of the table, slowly walking towards the scene. The two voices parted as if to make way for her entry. "He is my Secret Service agent. So I take full responsibility."
"Miss Vinyl..." Emerald gasped under his voice, bewildered and stunned.
Slowly but surely, she brought the glass of water above her head, gracefully tipping the glass to its side before all of the water was dumped into her electric mane, as well as ruining the top half of the intricate gown with a single, fluid motion. With her typical smile not once leaving her face, she opened her eyes to look at the voices again. "I hope we're even now."
Just then, as the voices decided to back away from the scene, the unforgettable bell chime played through the PA system before a voice boomed though the regal ballroom. "We will now have a speech from the representative of our students," the voice announced through the whole school. "If she would kindly make her way to the stage at this time."
"Miss..." Emerald began to call out, but to no avail as she was already passing through two sets of doors, apparently unfazed by the scene which unfolded upon her just now.
I wanted emotion. I have grown up in exclusive surroundings. I know that what I ask for is a luxury. But still...
"Please wait!" Emerald called out, trailing shortly behind her through the gilded halls. He chased after again, stumbling on his way, but she continued on as if no one was there beside her. As if she were alone.
~
"Do you not understand your purpose in this god-damned industry, Vinyl? In this world?!" the voice yelled again, hazy.
~
Yes, I do. There has never been anyone who'd say something like that for me. I am the infamous, arrogant DJ, renowned across Equestria, and that is all I have ever been to those around me. I expected to live my life not understood by anyone, not noticed by anyone, all alone.
"Please wait!" he repeated, halting her merely inches away from the stage. "Do you really intend to go on stage like that?"
"I do." She didn't look back, but rather onward towards the stage. "I have no time to change and nothing to change into."
"This is all my fault," he sighed, a sincere tone of regret and guilt in his voice. He fell to the ground. "How can I ever make it up to you?"
"I understand," she said, still without looking back. "You are someone who does not, by nature, put on appearances." She looked back, as he looked up at her. "Emerald..." she whispered, happiness and gratefulness evident as could be.
"Thank you."
There is someone, even for me. Someone who wants to understand me. There is someone...
The speech had finally ended, and the two found themselves back in the gilded ballroom,alone together in a private section. "They're going to find something for you to change into," he assured.
"Sorry for that..." she whispered. "About that... And about yesterday." She barely let her voice above a whisper. "I-I'm sorry..."
Emerald gasped, quickly bringing a small cup of tea above his head and letting it fall upon him in a wave of shame.
"Wh-What are you doing?" she asked incredulously. "What will that accomplish?" she almost pleaded.
"True, it accomplishes nothing," Emerald conceded. "However... I simply had to do it."
"You really are... a total idiot." Vinyl smiled.
"This time, I am going to ask you," she continued. She held up her hoof to him, locking their eyes together. "Would you be my Secret Service agent?"
Emerald gasped. "Are you certain I am worthy?"
"Yeah," she said, looking away with feelings from guilt, to regret, to embarrassment, to joy.
"This time, you really won't be able to break your word," he pleaded.
"...Yeah."
Emerald removed the black glove from his hoof, slowly and gently, and offered it hers in a sign of bonding, a sign of friendship, and most of all, a sign of loyalty. "This time, we really won't be separated."
"Yeah," she concluded, a rare smile of friendship and trust on her face.
"Cross your heart, and hope to die?" he asked.
"Stick a needle in my eye."
Their hooves wrapped together, time seeming to come to a stop.
"I'll take the needle," he said with a hint of a laugh.
Tweeting of early mockingbirds floated up from the ground level, echoing through the area that surrounded the hotel. The Advent complex's garden roof was unusually calm today, save the breeze of the autumn wind and the sudden bursts of practice magic and their subsequent grunts coming from the blonde-maned colt. He discharged another bolt of electric blue magic, directly at a can he threw up as a target, shattering in pieces and floating to the ground.
"Cobalt..." the suited stallion whispered teasingly. "If you push yourself too hard, you'll hurt yourself," he said in an antagonistic playful tone.
"Shut up," the green colt grunted. "Once I see that man, I'm going to settle this once and for all. He's going to regret making a fool out of me." He flung a rock up into the air and expelled another blinding beam of magic to destroy it. "I know I'm not good right now, but I-"
"It's so nice out today," the stallion resumed in his un-charming carefree voice.
"Don't interrupt me!" he countered.
"It feels so good..."
"Hey! Are you even listening to me! Shut up! You always do this to me!" the colt continued, frustrated. However, he was only a whisper in the wind to the stallion.
"When the weather is this nice... It makes me want to go out and do something."
"Good morning, Miss Vinyl."
"Good morning, Emerald." The two exchanged their typical morning greetings, unchanged since even the first day of their service in each others' company. Even their voices, their rhythm in the simple sentence managed to stay identical, the act being as routine as waking up in the morning. Yet, Vinyl could never manage to look Emerald in the eye; it even proved difficult even to say his name directly to him. Their meeting quickly revived memories at the ballroom last night.
~
"This time, I am going to ask you," she continued. She held up her hoof to him, locking their eyes together. "Would you be my Secret Service agent?"
~
How embarassing, she thought, visibly blushing and cringing at the memories of that moment.
"It made me so happy yesterday," Emerald said, snapping her out of her trance, "when you asked me to enter into this contract with you." Vinyl stammered, unsure of what to say, so she let him continue. "Now I can serve you again," he remarked with a reassuring smile.
She gave a quick chuckle before responding, punctuating her persona. "I just thought it would be handy to have a bodyguard around in case something happens." Emerald appeared unfazed by the obvious lie, leading Vinyl to believe he's become accustomed to this habit.
"Yes," he agreed, acknowledging her false point. "But still, it made me very happy. However," he continued," I never imagined that taking you to school would bring much sorrow," he conceded with a wistful expression, almost on the verge of tears. "It's like a divine punishment," he crooned melodramatically. Vinyl sighed.
"It isn't just school," she told him, raising an eyebrow. "Seeing me go anywhere makes you sad."
"You're right. But I feel it makes me sadder than before." He paused, picking up her bags and holding her hoof in majestic fashion. "May I at least escort you on the way there?"
"Yeah," Vinyl said in a tight, restricted, embarrassed voice, her cheeks dyed a scarlet hue. Emerald closed his eyes and smiled, visibly overcome with joy.
"Thank you." Leading the way towards the elevator and gesturing her to come over, Emerald found himself almost nuzzling her as they were walking, and the effect it had on Vinyl was telltale.
What is this? As they were inside the elevator, she bowed her head and raised a hoof to her heart, feeling her heart beat with a deep blush, absolutely confused at the strange, unfamiliar pattern and fluttering she'd never felt before.
~
The school day passed, Vinyl managing to get through the day without any pointless groundless hostility, as, being the second day of school, it was quite lax and not laborious in the slightest. Despite this, she had decided to treat herself to a bath in the extremely well-refined bathroom - which was resemblant to an indoor pool - the complex had provided for all of its residents, as beautiful as the exterior would suggest.
The bath was unoccupied by anyone other than her at the moment, so Vinyl decided to spend a little over half an hour in the room. She faced the glass wall that also doubled as a window, staring out into the tranquil scenery of the complex's courtyard in the shroud of night. There were dim lights scattered along the cobblestone path that lead to the hotel, the light just barely reaching the surrounding abundancy of trees and the wildlife that inhabited them. Wind had blown leaves from time to time, evoking an eerie yet refreshing atmosphere in and out of the complex.
No other feeling in the world could measure up to the comfort of this. She took the time to readjust her unkempt mane and reconsider the morning's events that plagued her throughout the day. With her head thrown back in enigmatic abandon, she pondered the busy morning.
My heart rate's been weird since this morning...
Finishing her bath, she stood up and obtained a set of towels from the racks not too far from the pool-like bath. She draped a small cloth one around her head and mane, effectively drying them off before resting it around her neck, while she wore the other standard, generic pale blue robe. She sighed, stretching her limbs before lying down on a couch.
I can't seem to settle down.
As soon as she laid down, her cell phone began to vibrate, but only for a fleeting moment as she received an incoming text message. She flipped open her phone, greeted by the text "Message from: Emerald". He replied? She navigated to the message app, reading the text.
"I did nothing to deserve your thanks. Rather, I must thank you for sending me such kind e-mails. I am very grateful for your kind of treatment."
Again, she found her heart beating incredibly rapidly, figuring it would almost be audible to those around her, as well as herself. It raced and raced, showing no sign of stopping. There it goes again... Could this be what they call...
An irregular heartbeat?
Her tension eased up. With the move, it's been so hectic... I need to take care of my health.
Just then, the sound of an aluminum soda can clashing against metal brought her out of her thoughts. She looked in the direction, noticing a colt with a jade green fur coat, complemented with a blonde, frazzled mane. He turned around, noticing her as well, revealing brilliant blue eyes.
I wonder if he lives here. I've never seen him before.
"Hey, you," he called, pointing at Vinyl. "What are you looking at?" the colt asked aggressively as he walked over.
"You were looking at me first," she confessed.
"Stop staring at me. Look somewhere else."
"You first."
The colt paused, inspecting her more closely, recognizing her ever so slightly. Wait...
"You're that white-maned agent's partner, aren't you?" he asked accusingly. "Your attitude sucks."
"Huh?"
"I'm Cobalt, room one, and I'm a delinquent!" he yelled in a confident voice, raising a triumphant hoof. Vinyl laughed and smirked.
"Hah. You say that like you're proud of it," she remarked. "How kind of you to warn me." He visibly recoiled.
"I'm Vinyl Scratch," she continued, offering her hoof in a sarcastic hoofshake. "Room four."
Another person who won't take me seriously? Cobalt thought, his anger rising. "Just because I don't look as tough as an agent, doesn't mean I can't hurt you! I'm a delinquent! I'm fully capable of- ah!"
He was cut off by an arm dragging him backwards by the throat, revealing what Vinyl believed was his Secret Security agent. "Don't talk to ladies like that," he scolded playfully in a high pitched voice. The pony was dressed in the typical agent attire, exactly identical to that of Emerald's, except he had a distinguishing feature. Above his beige coat and brilliant red mane was a bandage strapped around his head, covering his right eye.
"Hellooo~," he crooned. "Nice to meet you~ Oh, who am I? I'm Joker! I'm Cobalt's Secret Service agent~" he said in a painful singsong voice.
"You're... his agent?" she asked in disbelief. [i\These agents aren't seeming very intimidating anymore; first, a shy girl who seems hungry all the time, and now a playful one acting like a clown?
The stallion, while appearing like a run-of-the-mill magician of some sort, possessed an air not unlike a sinister... well, joker. His bright red hair punctuated his brilliant smile, though she found the bandage covering his right eye very unappealing. He was by no means handsome by any standard, but rather cute in a mysterious, even sinister way. His verbal approach stayed true to none of it, however.
"I was born twenty-three years ago, with a weight of 3020 grams~ I quickly grew into a quirky boy. Virgo, blood type B. However, I see things I don't wish to see~" he admitted, ambiguous as ambiguous could be. "This is my sad story~"
"When looking to combat my distrust of humans," he continued, "I look to the east, to the west-"
Vinyl cut him off. "Wait, are you-"
He returned the favor. "Oh~! You wish to know more about me? Sorry, but I think a little mystery can be quite an enticement. How-ev-er~," Joker said, ending his playful tone and beginning a matter-of-fact one, yet still keeping an edge of playfulness around.
"I know everything about you, Vinyl Scratch. I also know what's causing your irregular heartbeat," he said, pointing towards her chest. She raised an eyebrow. "I know your past and your future~ All than can be seen and all that cannot be..." He nudged the bandage that covered his right eye.
"You're..." Vinyl began, only to be interrupted again.
His playful, joking tone resumed. "You may ask me anything about anything, so long as you win the match tomorrow~"
"Match?"
"I've come to challenge your agent to a death match," Cobalt admitted, yet still strangled under Joker's firm grip. She couldn't tell if he was serious or not, but given their demeanors, it was highly unlikely they were and he was simply overexaggerating, as he did earlier.
"That's right~!" the agent yelled, picking Cobalt up and hoisting him on his back like a baby.
Joker waved back at Vinyl as they left, an eager smile on his face. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
