> Tears of an Angel
>  by Jet Howitzer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter I:  Tears
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	You fling your empty coffee mug at the wall, all of your pent up anger and frustration finding an outlet in the act of mindless violence.  Immediately, though, you regret the decision.  With ease you bring you magic into play, picking up the debris, and depositing it in the garbage can.  Despite not accomplishing anything constructive, the outburst calmed you down some.  Without a thought, you crumpled up the letter that was sitting on the counter.  It was just full of bad news and grim predictions anyway.

Sighing, you exited the kitchen, and headed to the living room.  As you entered, though, you came to the realization that there was nothing for you to do there, and so you just stopped in the doorway.

Waiting had never been something enjoyable for you.  To be fair, few ponies enjoyed waiting, but you had an especially low tolerance for it.  Anything in excess of a couple of minutes began to wear on your nerves.  Past ten minutes and the threat of violence became all too real.  A quick glance at the clock in the living room you had only half entered revealed to you that it had been nearly eight hours since the doctors had forced you from the hospital.  Eight hours since you had been forced to say good bye to your sister for what may be the last time.

Several soft knocks on the door to your home focused your attention, and so you quickly made your way there.  You put a hoof on the door, expecting it to be somepony from the hospital, here to finally give you the news on what had been going on.  Instead, opening the door revealed an alabaster pony with a spiky blue mane and a pair of goggles hiding her eyes.  You’d known the mare in front of you for years, now, having helped her in the early years of her career.

The mare started leaning towards you as she looked at you, and before you could react, she toppled into you, giggling like a school filly.  “Sweet Celestia, I’m drunker than… Drunker than…  Hay, what am I drunker than?”

“Nice to see you too, Vinyl.”  The mare didn’t respond, though, as she had passed out in your hooves.  With a long, drawn out groan, you dragged the unconscious mare to the couch in your living room.  Propping her up on it, though, proved to be a far greater challenge than you cared for.  After struggling for several minutes you finally had her on the couch, and covered with a blanket.  You moved over to the armchair in the room, and then you took a seat in it, staring at the alabaster mare calling your couch a bed for the night.

Oddly enough, this was eerily similar to the first time you’d spent any measure of time with her.


---/\/\ Six Years Ago:  Junior Year of High School /\/\---


	You closed your locker with a slam, eager to get home and get ready for the party.  You’d never think to call yourself a party pony, but you were feeling excited for this one, since you knew Soothing Melody would be there.  You’d had a crush on her for the past few years, pretty much since you first laid eyes on her during the tour around the high school.  Now, though, you’d finally worked up the courage to ask her out.  And the liquid courage offered at the party would certainly help to make things go smoother.

Or, that was the plan.

As you began heading down the hallway towards the freedom of the outside world, you overheard a small group of ponies chatting about the party.  You slowed your pace as you passed, but you made sure it wasn’t obvious.

“… Spin the Bottle.  But Melody isn’t sure about it.”

“I’d love to get a kiss from her.  I can already imagine it.”

“Don’t you already have a marefriend, Iron?”

“Yeah, but if I can move up in the world I will.”

After that the conversation quickly devolved into who was a hotter mare, and who had the best flank.  After that it had been a quick walk home, and into the small lair you called your room.  It didn’t take you long to put together a small pile of prospective outfits that you could wear.  While normally clothes did little to enhance your appearance, this time you figured that adding a little something to your look couldn’t hurt.  Several hats came and went, but eventually you settled on a pair of sunglasses that fit you perfectly.

A quick glance at the clock revealed that you had several hours to go till the party, so you busied yourself in your room, working on the essay you had to do for English class, as well as the pre-calculus work that you had allowed to build up.  The alarm you had set for yourself finally went off as you finished the rough draft of your essay.

You quickly took a shower, making sure to clean yourself thoroughly, since nopony wanted to date a stinky stallion.  When all was said and done, you had styled your mane in its usual fashion, a few spikes in the front, with the rest left to simply lie how it would atop your head.  You mom was at the bottom of the stairs as you went down, and she looked at you sternly as she scrutinized your appearance.

“I’m going to trust your judgment tonight.  Be home at a reasonable hour, and don’t even think about drinking more than you can handle.”  You groan before responding.

“Yes, mother.  I’ll be sure not to do anything wrong.”

“Good.  And make sure you get enough sleep, since tomorrow we’re going to pay a visit to your grandfather at the hospital.”  Without a reply you ran from the house, already forgetting what she had said to you.  This was your chance at getting with Melody, and if that meant taking some risks, well, so be it.  It took about ten minutes for you to get to Melody’s place, and you could see that the party was already underway, the thumping sounds of music reaching your ears and sending the tiniest of shivers down your spine.

Sometimes you hated the gift you’d been given, but only rarely.  Still, you wouldn’t allow your overly developed sense of hearing stop you from going in and facing your fears.


---/\/\ The Present /\/\---


Several knocks sounded on the door to your home, and you quickly made your way over, fearing the worst, and hoping for the best.  You threw open the door with the tiniest ghost of a smile upon your lips.  Maybe they were here with good news.  As soon as you saw the pony who was at the door, though, you felt another part of your already wounded heart whither and die.

The mare at the door had been the one who had escorted you from the hospital originally, her consoling words had sounded empty to you then, and now they came back to your mind.  “Everything will be alright, huh?”  A single strangled sob forced itself out of your body, and the mare before you just looked at you, the pain in her eyes speaking volumes.  As you looked at her, you took a step back as you realized where you’d seen that kind of pain before.  It wasn’t physical pain, but emotional.  And you knew that your own eyes held the same look.

She didn’t say a word as she threw her hooves around you, pulling you close.  You broke down in the embrace, finally allowing your emotions to run free.  Anger: She wouldn’t be able to make good on the promise that she had made after you had graduated high school.  Sadness:  She wouldn’t be there for anything ever again, her wit and unique point of view often made light of serious situations, allowing a laugh when otherwise all you wanted to do was cry.  But above all of those was a form of relief.

Relief: You could finally move on, and try to begin living your life once again.  But that juts prompted the thought that you’d be moving on alone.  Your parents lived hundreds of miles away, and neither of them had been able to make the journey here to Ponyville for your sister.  It’d just been you handling the emotional burden, watching as each day had crawled by, and your sister’s condition had grown progressively worse.

The mare that held you slowly eased out of the embrace, doing it gently enough to let you recover and keep your balance.  You brought a hoof to your face slowly, rubbing at the tears flowing down your cheeks.  “If you need any help with your feelings, know that we’ve got some ponies down at the clinic that would be more than happy to help.”  She didn’t seem to be saying that, so much as reciting it out of necessity.  After she finished, though, her voice sounded much more natural as she continued.  “Note, I’m so sorry for your sister.  She and I had been friends for quite some time, and now that she’s gone…”

“I know.  I’d like some time alone, though.  Maybe we can reminisce tomorrow, or something, but for now I’d like to have some time.”

The nurse quickly bowed her head before she looked back at you.  “I know it’s not the same, but I lost a friend just as much as you lost a sister.  Before she died, she asked me to tell you something.  She said that you’d understand the reference, since I don’t get it.  She just said, ‘So long, and thanks for all the fish.’”

You let a sad smile dominate your features, and then you looked past the nurse towards the slowly rising sun.  Already the sky was turning a beautiful shade of pink, and you felt happier knowing that even at the end your sister was trying to make you laugh.  “Yeah, that’s Grace for you.  It was a running joke between her and me.  Maybe I’ll explain it to you someday, but for now I’m going to keep that to myself.”

The mare just nodded before she turned to go.  You watched as she began heading back towards the clinic, and you slowly closed the door before heading back to the chair you had been occupying earlier.  The alabaster pony continued her sleep, unconcerned with the affairs of the world for the time being, her dreams keeping her occupied until once again she had to bear the burdens of the world.

You tuned out everything except for your breathing, and that of the mare’s and then you sank back into your memories, allowing the experiences to wash over you as if they were occurring once again.


---/\/\ Six Years Ago:  Junior Year of High School /\/\---


	The thumping bass coming from the speakers did wonders for the music, but it made coherent conversation nigh on impossible.  You wormed your way through the throngs of dancing ponies towards the back of the house where the backyard was being used for more dancing ponies, as well as some that were mingling.  You noted, with a smile, as you exited the house, that the music seemed much quieter out here.  Quiet enough, in fact, for you to make out your own thoughts.

You spotted a group of ponies sitting in the middle of the backyard, a large fire pit dug in the middle of the group, the blaze tall enough to nearly lick the bottom branches of the tree that hung over it.  You approached slowly, and a couple of heads turned your way at your appearance.  You wormed your way into the group, and soon enough the conversation, which had slowed at your arrival, resumed.

The topics were ordinary for high school ponies, ranging from sports to mares to different sports.  You were never really into sports, finding it to be far too physically based.  Regardless, you chipped in whenever you had something to share, and the night quickly passed until eventually a voice cut through the din, silencing nearly every pony present.

Melody stood atop a table, her voice carrying out over the groups of ponies, and tantalizing many a stallion with the subtle undertones.  “For those interested, I’ll be hosting a game of Truth or Dare in the living room.  Anypony who’s interested is free to join.  Just know that there are no restrictions, and if you back out… Well, let’s just say that it’d be best if you didn’t back out.”  Her gaze passed across many of the ponies assembled in her back yard, lingering on a few.  “The winner gets a special reward from yours truly.”

Without waiting for the reply of the ponies present, she hopped off of the table, and she made her way inside, several of the ponies in the immediate area following close behind her.  You quickly stood, realizing that you had an opportunity before you, and that you’d be a fool to pass this up.  A few other stallions from the group joined you, and even a couple of mares.  The living room, when you finally arrived, was packed around the edges, but had a large open area in the middle, with nine chairs arranged in a circle.  Melody was already seated, and she had an expectant look on her face.

“As you can see, we’ve only got eight other positions available.  Losers will give up their seats, and new ponies can take their places.  Each Dare performed awards three points.  Each Truth answered is one point.  When you quit, or fail to complete your assigned dare, you drink a shot for each point.  Ten points, therefore, is ten shots in ten minutes or less.”  You look around the crowd to get a measure of what the reaction was, and already you could see some ponies wanted to back out.  “Now, eight ponies, it doesn’t matter who, may take a seat.  No fighting, or you’re out right away.”

You quickly grabbed a seat in the chair before you, getting into it before the stallion beside you could get into the chair.  The other seven quickly filled as well.  A quick round of introductions made things clear, and then the game began.





You had thirteen points backing you up, putting you in second place, behind a stallion with almost thirty.  You’d been going with truth nearly every time, having revealed several embarrassing tidbits of your life, the worst of which involved your fairly imaginative sexual fantasies.  It was the round before this one that a new unicorn mare joined the ring, her alabaster coat and spiked blue mane catching your eye.  She looked supremely confident in her abilities.

When her turn came around, though, she chose dare, and that was a decision that would cost her the game, but would make her one of your closest friends for the next year and a half.

“Alright, Vinyl.  I dare you to down five shots in five minutes.  Or, you can choose to take five points, but you have to choose dare until you’re out, or you win.”

“Pfft, that’s all?  I’ll take the points.”  You, having heard some of the dares that had been presented, shook your head.  This wouldn’t end well for the poor mare.


---/\/\ The Present /\/\---


A gentle prodding on your side pulled you from the sleep you didn’t even realize you were getting.  As you cracked open your eyes you found yourself looking into a pair of bloodshot magenta eyes.  “Note, you really need to calm down some.  You were mumbling in your sleep.”  As the eyes moved away from you it became apparent that they were the eyes of Vinyl.  She had a small smile on her face, and with a glow her horn levitated over a small plate, on which sat an orange, and a piece of buttered toast.  “I figured since you let me crash here for the night I’d repay you by making some breakfast.”

You took the breakfast that was offered, but you knew that it wouldn’t be an enjoyable meal.  “Vinyl, I do hope that you don’t have plans of being here for very long.”

The mare cocked her head at you, a puzzled expression painting itself on her face.  “What’s wrong with me staying here for a couple of days?  Grace was always pretty cool about me spending some time here; as long as you and I didn’t do anything ‘mature’ with you.”  The reminder brought fresh tears to your eyes, and that immediately sparked Vinyl’s interest.  “Is everything okay?  I haven’t seen you cry since… Well, ever.”  Her voice has softened dramatically by this point, dropping the usual brashness that she had adopted since becoming famous.

“Grace died last night, Vinyl.”  You felt your anger swell up again, and so you let your anger color your voice.  “When you staggered in here, drunk out of your skull, I was worried sick about Grace.  Then, just an hour after you got here, nurse Redheart showed up at my door, telling me that my sister is dead.  So, to make it brief for you, no not everything is okay.”

“Wow.  Um.  That sucks.”  You glare at the mare for a moment, before you abruptly sit up, nearly spilling the plate of food that had been given to you.  “Um, hey, before you go, I was hoping we could talk.”

“About what, Vinyl?  The last time you came by to visit you had some stallion with more dick than brains hanging on your every word!  If you want to try and make amends with me, you’re too late by about four coltfriends!  Maybe if you had picked up on things back when we were in high school things might’ve worked out.  But, no.  No.  You put me in the Celestia damned friendzone.”  You turn to look at the mare for a moment, feeling your anger begin to boil over.  Again, you felt the urge to throw something.  But, with nothing available, you knew that you had to go, lest you do something you’d regret for the rest of your life.  Some things were never acceptable, and you knew that leaving was the only way to avoid that possibility.  “I’ll be back later.  Just…  Just… I don’t know.  Do whatever, it hardly matters at this point.”

The door slammed behind you as you stormed from your home, the sun hanging high overhead.  Not even your ears could pick up the soft sob that came from the alabaster unicorn.


> Chapter II:  Honesty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Another chapter.  For those wondering about my other stories, don't worry.  They'll still get some attention, I just didn't want to let the ideas for this chapter go to waste.)

Your anger abated slowly as you walked down the road, the clear air helping to soothe your tense body, and tense mind.  You tried to force your thoughts onto matter other than your sister and the alabaster mare in your home, but no matter where you sent your trail of thought, it always came back to one of those two topics.  Your sister’s presence in your life had kept you going for quite some time, and now that she was gone you began to wonder if you’d be able to continue.  She’d always known how to calm you down after a day at work, and before she’d accepted your invitation to live with you you’d often have trouble dealing with your emotions.

Still, some of the lessons she’d taught you had helped, and your outbursts had been growing less frequent.  Hay, throwing the coffee mug last night had been the first violent outburst in more than a month.  Still, you’d hoped that you had managed to overcome that trait of yours.  Clearly it would take still more time to deal with.  And the funeral that you would have to arrange wouldn’t make things easier.

As you rounded the last corner on your walk you spotted your home.  It was a modest affair, sporting two floors, but with the top floor having just a bedroom and a bathroom.  The downstairs had a second bedroom, a second bathroom, a living room, and the kitchen.  Still, it was home, and without the knowledge that Grace would be there it seemed like it was far larger than it needed to be.

And, with your home in view once more the memory of why you walked out crawled back to the forefront of your mind.  You stopped in the middle of the road as you felt your temper begin to rise once again.  You couldn’t let her keep you from your home, and so you’d have to deal with this problem head on.  Avoiding it would only make things worse, and you couldn’t deal with the stress that would be added to your life.  With a great sigh you began walking the final stretch to your home.


---/\/\ Six Years Ago:  Junior Year of High School /\/\---


	“Pfft, that’s all?  I’ll take the points.”  You, having heard some of the dares that had been presented, shook your head.  This wouldn’t end well for the poor mare.

“Alright, then.”  Melody’s head turned to the next pony, and then she resumed the pace of the game.  Most of the other players chose to go with truth, figuring that an embarrassing answer would be the safest route.  Your own question, since you chose to go with truth, was relatively tame compared to some of the other questions.  They just asked you if you would mount one of the teachers back at school.  You admitted that you would, but only because she had flanks that were to die for.  Still, even with your explanation, it wasn’t something that you wanted to be public knowledge.

Vinyl’s dare, when it came to be her turn, was incredibly provocative, asking her to do a lap dance for each stallion in the group, and each mare who wanted it, as well.  With a fair bit of grumbling she did as she was bid, giving each stallion a show that threatened to leave them with an awkward problem.  When it came to be your turn the mare glared at you before she started.  You enjoyed the view, but you felt bad for the alabaster unicorn.  When she finished you swore that you could see a half formed tear in her eye.

Still, once she finished with the last stallion she had danced for each pony in the group, including Melody.  The dares quickly started escalating in how provocative they were, and within two rounds there were just three ponies left in the circle.  You, with a meager twenty points, the stallion from earlier, with almost fifty points, and Vinyl, with twenty-nine points.  As the most sober pony present you began wondering if Melody would force any of the three of you to go through with the rules for losing, since nopony could take twenty, or more, shots.

“Alright you three.  From this point forward we are only doing dares.  And each dare is worth ten points.  Pure Note, you go first, since you’re in last place.”  You nod, and stare the slightly tipsy mare in the eyes.


---/\/\ The Present /\/\---


You stand before the door to your home, an imperceptible shiver running the length of your body as you rotate the knob for the door.  As the door opened you stepped into your home, the smell of food cooking being the first thing to assault your senses.  You raised an eyebrow as you began heading towards the kitchen, the anger you felt just moments ago having vanished at the thought of Vinyl cooking, and being replaced with pure curiosity.

“Vinyl, is that you cooking?”  A sharp gasp was clearly audible from the kitchen, and you also heard something hit the floor with an incredibly unappetizing splat.  You walked into the kitchen to see Vinyl adjusting the goggles that had practically become a part of her face as she looked at the mess on the floor.  At one point, you assume, it had been the makings of an omelet.  As it was now, it was a half cooked pile of eggs decorating the tile floor of your kitchen.

“I, um…  Sorry, Note.  Really, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to, you just startled me.”  You just shook your head and offered a small smile.  Despite your earlier anger this was at least a nice gesture, and you weren’t going to hold it against her.

“It’s okay, Vinyl.  I’ll just clean it up, and you can go back to cooking.  Just try not to feed the floor too much, okay.  I do that often enough.”  You were expecting at least a chuckle from the mare, but you didn’t get any response from her.  You raised an eyebrow at the mare, and she quickly turned back to cooking, several eggs adding themselves to the pan under the influence of Vinyl’s magic.

You quickly grabbed a rag from the sink and you started cleaning up the mess.  Luckily, tile was incredibly easy to clean, and so the mess took mere moments to clean.  As you wrung out the rag you glanced over at the white unicorn as she cooked.  Her focus was far beyond what you recalled seeing from her when she was doing anything that wasn’t musically inclined.  Maybe she was trying to do you a favor so that you’d let her spend a few days here.  You’d have let her stay anyway, but it was still a nice gesture.

“Are you upset about the eggs?  Because I’m really sorry.”

“Vinyl, I already said that it’s okay.  It’s not a big deal.”  While your answer was sincere, and nearly automatic, it still gave you pause.  In all the time you’d known the mare, she’d only apologized to you twice.  Once when she had gotten you in the hospital, and the second time came when she got you arrested for vandalizing some property.  And neither of those times had she been nearly as apologetic as this time.  “Vinyl, is everything okay?  You’ve never really acted like this before.  I mean, if this is just the new Vinyl, okay.  But I can’t really imagine you changing this much for no reason.”

Silence was your only answer for quite some time, and with each passing minute you felt like the tension in the room grew.  She just kept cooking, but her motions grew a bit more erratic as she continued.  At long last, though, she finished the omelet that she had been cooking, and she took it out of the pan, placing it on the counter and then resting her head on the counter.  “My coltfriend dumped me last night.  He and I had a big fight, and then he kicked me out, telling me that I should find somewhere else to live, since I couldn’t stay there any more.”  She let out a small sob, and for just a moment you thought you saw her horn flicker.  “Since he and I were in Canterlot I figured that I’d just crash at one of my friend’s places.  Sadly she wasn’t home.  She went out on some tour a few days ago, and it slipped my mind.”

“How did you end up here?  Ponyville isn’t exactly within walking distance of Canterlot.”  The mare took a few deep breaths as you spoke, and when you finished she continued.

“Yeah, I know.  Anyway, after getting turned down at a few other places I wound up near the train station in Canterlot, and I figured that I’d get a ticket to someplace.  When I saw the last train to depart was coming here I remembered that you lived here.  So, one thing led to another, and I wound up on your doorstep.”  You raised an eyebrow at the mare, and she just continued looking at the floor, small tremors running along her frame.

“And how, exactly, did you wind up drunk?”

“Oh, yeah.  I may have had a bit too much to drink on the train while coming here.  I wanted to dull the pain some, so I just kept drinking.”  She paused for a moment, and then she looked at you.  “The emotional pain, of course.”

“Vinyl, I didn’t need that kind of clarification…”  Your speech trailed off, and then you looked the alabaster unicorn over once again, this time actually looking at her.  Nothing seemed too out of place, at least, not until you looked at one of her legs.  She didn’t seem to have the hoof entirely on the ground, and the way she shifted her weight seemed off to you.  “Vinyl, did he hurt you?”  You felt your temper, which had been all but forgotten rise once more.  You quickly approached the mare, and she took a small step back.  “Did that bastard hit you?”

“No, Note.”  Her horn glowed faintly, for a moment, and the pure white coat on her front leg shimmered for a moment, letting you see the bruise that marred the otherwise pristine coat.  “I fell while I was going through Canterlot, and so I had some to drink to dull the pain.  More to deal with the breakup, but at least some of it was in the hopes of easing the pain in my leg.”  You relaxed at her explanation.  It explained the flicker of magic you saw earlier, at least.

“Is that all that happened, Vinyl?  If you need to tell me anything, I’ll listen.  We may not be as close as we were at one point, but if you need to tell me anything I’m here.”  The mare just looked at you for a moment before she shook her head.  “Okay, but consider that a standing offer.  And, if you really don’t have a place to stay, I suppose you can stay here for a few days.  But you’re sleeping on the couch.”

The mare just nodded at you.  Then, as you started to turn to look at the food Vinyl had cooked, she stepped up to you and hugged you.  You didn’t reciprocate the hug, though.  She’d turned you down enough times that you saw her as a distant friend at best.  You wouldn’t turn her away, since you weren’t the type of pony to do that, but you knew that you didn’t have a chance with her.  Not anymore, at least.


---/\/\ Six Years Ago:  Junior Year of High School /\/\---


	You and Vinyl were the last two left.  She had a smirk on her face, and you just frowned at Melody.  Her dares were growing ever more dangerous, and you knew that you’d back down instead of doing something overly threatening.  And she could forget about you doing the shots.  You’d long since exceeded sixty points, and nopony could expect you to drink that much.  And you were beginning to dislike the mare that you saw before you.  She abused the ponies in her presence for her enjoyment, having made the stallion who had been leading the whole game lick each of her hooves clean.  And that hadn’t even been the worst.

Now, with your turn complete and the blush on your face refusing to fade, Melody turned to the unicorn across from you.  “Vinyl, I dare you to take one shot for each dare you’ve done so far.”  The mare’s mouth dropped at the dare, but then she quickly closed it, and adopted a façade of bravado.

“Sure, that’s no problem.  I’ll down them all, no problem.”

It was a problem, though.  By the time she had gotten to her seventh shot she was unsteady on her hooves, and her eyes were both tearing up quite a bit.  As she reached for her eighth shot her body failed, and she collapsed to the floor, shaking just a bit.  A bunch of ponies near the mare just laughed at her as they put some of the shots she still had to do on the floor in front of her.  Several stallions began shouting at the mare, telling her to keep drinking.

You looked from the mare on the floor to Melody, and back again.  You knew that the unicorn on the floor couldn’t hope to drink the rest of her shots, and so you approached the hostess, a frown on your lips.

“Melody, call it off.  It’s clear that she’s lost.  That means that I’m the winner, right?”  The mare’s eyes were slow to focus on you, and when they finally did focus she adopted a goofy grin.

“Yes, Note, you win.”  Her words were slurred, and you pushed her upright as she began to lean to the side.  “And as the winner you get to make one request of me, no matter what it is.”

“My request, then, is that you become less of a bitch.  You need to quit abusing other ponies for your own amusement.  And, for the record, you’re not as hot as you think.  Your flanks don’t hold a candle to Miss Quizzical’s.”  Without waiting for a response you went to the mare on the floor.  Every set of eyes in the room was on you, and you didn’t care.  Vinyl had consumed way too much alcohol, and if she didn’t get some help you didn’t know if she’d make it.


---/\/\ The Present /\/\---


You slowly put down your fork, having finished the omelet a few minutes ago.  You looked up from your empty plate to look at the white unicorn sitting at the table with you.  She, too, had finished her food.  Without a word you got up and cleared the table, both plates, and all the utensils, floating beside you as you approached the sink.  It didn’t take long to wash everything, and then you put it on the rack to dry.

“Um, hey, Note.”  You turned to look at the mare, and as she came into sight you saw that she was looking at you.  “Is there anything you need?  I was going to do some shopping, and I was wondering if there was anything I could get you.”  You thought about it for a minute before you shook your head.

“No, there’s nothing I can think of, really.  Maybe some eggs, if you happen to pass by some.  I’ll reimburse you if you do get some.”  The mare just nodded before she rose from the seat, and began making her way towards the door.  Now that you knew to look for it, the slight limp in her hoof was far more noticeable.  Still, it was plausible for her to have fallen at some point in her grief.  She probably couldn’t see straight well before she even arrived at the train station.  Vinyl wasn’t exactly a light drinker, even in the best of cases.

As you heard the door close, you let out a massive sigh.  There was more going on than Vinyl was telling you, and you needed to get to the bottom of it.  Even if she had refused all of your advances, she was still a friend of yours, and you weren’t going to just let this go.  You suspected that the friend she tried to visit first was Octavia, a pony that you had met independently of Vinyl.  How the two of them came to be friends was well beyond your ability to fathom, but, then again, you never claimed to be an expert in these things.

A quickly drafted letter laid out your questions quite adequately, and so you rolled up the scroll, and sealed it with a bit of wax.  You didn’t know how long it would take to get a response, but you knew that she would respond as soon as she was able.  You occasionally wrote some of the pieces that she, and her group, played, and so the two of you were fairly close.  Unlike with Vinyl, though, you knew full well that you didn’t have a shot with the cello playing earth pony.  She was taken, and you were often quite jealous of the stallion she was with.

You opened the door to the outside, and then you closed it behind you as you began the short trip down the road to the pegasus post office.  Even with the brevity of the trip you allowed your mind to wander.  Rather than focus on the trials of high school, though, you decided to think of more recent matters.  Specifically, those of your sister’s last wishes.  You’d told her that she didn’t have to do this, since she was going to be fine, but she insisted.  Turns out that she was right about this, and everything else, just like she had always told you.

The one thing that stood out amongst her requests was a wish for you to be the one to give the eulogy.  ’Note, I want you to be the one to ramble to the ponies about how great I wasn’t.  You knew me better than anypony, and so I know that you’ll show a true measure of honesty.  Hay, if you want to toss a few well thought out insults in there, be my guest.  Just don’t make me out to be some hero.  I’m not perfect, and I don’t want you to just praise all the things I did right in my life.  Just like you, I made my share of mistakes.  Some far bigger than others.’

You sighed as you paused at the door to the post office.  “You weren’t the only one to make mistakes, Grace.  I just wish that mine hadn’t cost me Vinyl.”

(Ooh.  So much potential for wild speculation.  None of you will be able to guess, though.  It's not nearly as obvious as you probably think it is.)
> Chapter III:  "Fun in Funeral"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Another exploration into the life and times of Pure Note the unicorn.  Enjoy.)

The post office visit took just a few minutes, and shortly after giving the letter to the mare behind the counter you were making your way to the markets, simply to kill some time before heading home.  Maybe, if you saw something that tickled your fancy, you’d buy something.  The usual hustle and bustle was present, allowing you to immerse yourself in the ebb and flow of ponies.  The act of shopping was dull enough to let your mind flow from topic to topic until it settled on a single part of your life.


---/\/\ Six Years Ago:  Junior Year of High School /\/\---


	The party continued around you as you slowly dragged the unconscious mare out of the house.  It took several long minutes and many of the stallions present said rather unflattering things to you regarding how you treated Melody.  You, in so many words, told them what they could do with what was between their legs and their own backsides.  As you neared the door to Melody’s home you heard your voice shouted out.  The voice that once brought you a small measure of joy to hear now only made you eager to leave.

Sadly, you found yourself unable to lift the mare onto your back fast enough to escape Melody’s home before she could arrive.  If looks could kill you’d be a pile of dust that was once a skeleton.  Luckily she couldn’t kill you by looking at you.

“Melody, I don’t have time for your bullshit.  I’ve got a mare here who needs some serious medical attention.  Like, right now.  She’s had way too much to drink, and so I don’t need your crap right now.”  The mare’s gaze just intensified as you bent down to place the alabaster unicorn on your back.

“You come to my house, drink my booze, ruin my game, and call me a bitch.  There’s…  There’s no way I’m letting you get out of here in one piece.”  The mare’s slightly glazed eyes roamed over the groups of ponies surrounding you until they settled on two of the bigger stallions standing near the door.  “You two.  Make sure that Note here doesn’t…  Doesn’t…  Leave!  Yeah, make sure he doesn’t leave.”  The two burly stallions glance at each other, and then they open the door for you, the bigger of the two making a small gesture, prompting you to leave.

With the added weight of the mare on your back you find that you are slow to get going, and it takes you a moment to get to the door, and then out onto the street.  Melody’s infuriated, drunken, screams echo after you, promising you that she’ll have her revenge.  You just continue your pace, weaving down the deserted roads towards the clinic that was on the other side of town.  As you passed through the town square, marking your halfway point, you felt a gentle stirring of the mare on your back.

“So cold…”  Her words were barely audible, despite the relative silence of the town.  A few tremors passed through her body, and then she became still on your back once more, her previous shivering fading until she was limply sprawled on your back.  You did your best to go faster, but your already tired limbs protested the increased activity.  You looked down the length of the street, and off in the distance you could just make out the lights of the clinic.

You grunted with exertion as you forced yourself to increase your speed once again.  As you reached the clinic you felt the pain in your legs finally begin to process.  The door yielded to your uncontrolled pulse of magic, and then you stumbled into the clinic, a sharp gasp greeting your entry.


---/\/\ The Present /\/\---


“Note, you okay?”  The words shatter your daydreams, bringing you back to the real world with a jarring mental jerk.  You quickly search your surroundings as you look for the source of the words.  Your search ends once you spot the familiar mare standing before you, a quizzical look plastered on her face.  Behind the mild confusion, though, you could see a deeper level of concern.  “You had that look on your face again.”

“Sorry, BonBon, just…  Memories, ya’know?”  The mare nodded slowly before she gave you a quick hug.  At first you recoiled from her, the compassion seeming out of place given your relationship.  You had dated her a few months ago, until a mutual breakup had taken place.  You were still friends, but the two of you had grown just a bit more distant.  After you overcame your initial discomfort, though, you returned the hug, glad for the comfort.  She’d known your sister for nearly her whole life, much like the rest of Ponyville.

“I heard this morning.  If you want to talk about it, I’m always available.  We may have broken up, but you’re still a friend of mine.”  She slowly broke the hug, and you let up on your own embrace, taking a step back from the mare.  A slight bit of moisture had formed in her eyes, and as it began trickling down her cheek you brought up a hoof, and gently wiped it away.

“Thank you, BonBon, but I’ve already got an offer from Redheart.  Maybe I’ll see both of you, maybe neither of you, but for now I need to get my thoughts in order before I share with anypony.”  The mare nodded before she gave you another, much quicker, hug.

“I understand.  Just don’t bottle up your emotions.  You need an outlet, or the issues will start to resurface.”

“I know.  I’m trying, but this whole thing with Grace…  Just give me until after the funeral, and then I’ll talk.  I don’t know who I’ll talk to yet, but I’ll talk after the funeral.”

“Alright.  I’ve got to get going, but I’ll see you around, Note.  Don’t dwell on the past too much.  After all, like your Grandma told Ace when he first got here, ‘A new beginning awaits us all, you just need to find, and open, the door to your new future.’”  The mare quickly trotted off, leaving you with the words of the grandmother you rarely saw.  Still, the words were true.  Without your sister you knew that you’d have to grow up fast, since she wouldn’t be there to help you out anymore.  Her vast reserves of experience could no longer be drawn upon to aid you, and you’d have to make your own experiences.

The hubbub of the market behind you slowly faded as you walked down the street, heading home with a new outlook on life.  The funeral for your sister would be in just a few days, but you didn’t want to spend it mourning.  You had a life to live, and Grace would’ve demanded that you don’t spend it crying your eyes out over her.  Grandma was right about so many things in her life, her advice always being vague enough to give a direction, but never specific enough to dictate a course of action.  She had a gift for motivation, and you knew that if she was here she’d have something useful to tell you.

As your home came into view you spotted Vinyl entering, several bags of purchased goods were floating just behind her.  You pushed open the door to your home as you reached it, the sounds of some activity coming from the kitchen.  You decided to let the mare be as she unpacked, since you’d probably only get in the way.  While it was your house, the alabaster unicorn would likely be here for a while, and so you wanted to let her get to know the kitchen some, since if her appetite was anything like you remember, she’d be spending quite a bit of time in there.


---/\/\ Six Years Ago:  Junior Year of High School /\/\---


	The nurse behind the counter rushed over to you, her eyes wide.  She quickly checked over the unconscious mare on the floor.  In a matter of seconds, though, she discovered what was amiss, and so she looked at you, a stern look in her eyes.  “Note, we don’t have much time, if it’s not too late already.  Take her to the ER, down the hall to the left.  I’ll get the doctor, and hopefully we’ll be able to get a stomach pump.”  Nurse Redheart’s quick instructions sank in slowly, your fatigued body struggling to obey the commands you relayed to it.

Your horn pulsed weakly a few times as you attempted to lift the mare with your magic.  Sadly, much like with nearly every other magic intensive task, your abilities failed you.  You gritted your teeth as you tried again, finally meeting with success.  While she was just barely off the ground, it was enough for you to begin moving her to the ER.  After struggling with her for a moment, you lifted her onto the table just as Nurse Redheart, and a doctor you hadn’t seen before, rushed into the room.

They forced you out of the room, and you looked on in fear as they began inserting needles into her body, several bags of fluid already set up and ready to begin dripping into her blood.  Despite yourself, you couldn’t look away for the entire process, nearly an hour passing before the doctor came out of the room, a small smile on his face.  The nurse came out a moment later, the alabaster unicorn resting in a wheelchair, still unconscious.

“Well, we managed to save her.  Although she’ll be incredibly weak for the next few days as her body recovers.  If you’d like to stay till she wakes, that’d be fine.  But if you want to get home, that’s okay too.  If you like we can send somepony to let you know when she wakes.”

“I think I’ll stay, but only for a little while.  After that, I’m going to head home.  My mom’s probably worried sick.”  The doctor gave a small nod, and his smile widened just a bit.

“Alright.  That mare’s quite lucky to have a coltfriend like you.  But I have to say, you really shouldn’t let her drink that much.  If you had been just a bit slower, she might not have made it.”  You nodded, before slowly following the distant nurse.  You could’ve corrected the doctor, but a small part of you did like the prospect of being that mare’s coltfriend.  She certainly was quite nice to look at if nothing else.

Still, you’d have to get to know her before you’d try to see if she was interested.


---/\/\ The Present /\/\---


A gentle knocking came from the front door, shattering your introspection.  A second knock came moments later, prompting you to get up from the chair you were in.  As you opened the door you were a bit surprised to see Ponyville’s premier pink party pony at your door.  Her usual bright smile was gone, a small frown having taken its place.  Seeing this normally ecstatic pony looking so sad immediately squashed any traces of happiness that you had built up.

“Hey, Pinkie.  What’s up?”  Your attempt at casualness was quite unsuccessful, the small crack in your voice telling the mare quite a bit.  She gave you a quick hug, and then she stepped back, producing a small letter from, seemingly, nowhere.

“I know that Grace wanted you to give the eulogy, so I took the liberty of writing down a few of Grace’s better jokes.  I figured that she wouldn’t want everypony crying for her.”  You nodded, and then looked back to the letter.  It was sealed with a small drop of wax, pink, unsurprisingly, and formed in the shape of Pinkie’s cutie mark.  You quickly placed the letter on the small table beside the entrance, and then you looked back to the pink mare.

“Thanks, Pinkie.  And you’re right.  She didn’t want everypony to spend her funeral crying.  In fact, she wanted me to put the fun back in funeral by telling it how it was.  Even if that meant talking about all the stupid things she did in her life.”  The pink mare just nodded as you continued.  “I mean, sure, she was a great mare, often going out of her way to help, but she also acted like a foal sometimes, often whining at me when I took the last of the ice cream without telling her.  I’ll miss her more than anything, but now I can start making my own experiences, rather than relying on what she’s already done.”

The mare gave you a quick hug as you felt some tears threaten to well up in your eyes.  “Don’t worry, Note.  I’m sure that you’ll do just fine with the funeral, and with the rest of your life.  While she can’t help you anymore, she’s already turned you into a fine stallion.  And that’s something we both know you’ll never change.  I’d love to stay for a bit longer, but I do have to get back to the Cakes.  They get nervous sometimes when they don’t see me for a while.”  As the pink mare walked away you slowly closed the door, the letter on the small table catching your eye.

You reached a hoof out for it, before stopping.  Rather than read them now, you’d wait until the funeral, that way they’re just as fresh to you as to every other pony present.  You made your way to the kitchen slowly as the thoughts of the funeral proliferated in your mind.  When you got to the kitchen you saw the DJ pony sitting at the table in the kitchen, a sheet of paper before her.  Every few moments she’d scribble something down on the paper, only to cross it out a moment later.

As you approached you noticed her ear twitch before she turned to face you, her horn flashing briefly as the paper flipped over, hiding whatever it was that she had written.  “Oh, hey, Note.  How was Pinkie?”

“She’s good.  She gave me a letter with some jokes Grace was known for, so that I’d be able to tell them at the funeral.  But I’m not going to look until the funeral, so that they’re as fresh for me as for everypony.”  You glanced at the paper once again, letting your gaze linger long enough so that Vinyl knew what you were looking at.  “And what are you up to?  The only time I ever see you this secretive was when you wrote that awful poem for English class senior year, and when you’re working on a song.  And since we’re not in English class anymore…”

“Yeah, it’s a song.  But…”  The mare looked at the paper for a moment before she looked back at you.  “I’ve already got the actual music done.  Now I’m trying to see if any lyrics can be worked in.”  A moment of hesitation followed before she continued.  “I won’t be singing them, of course, but I’ll still need to test it out.”  You raised an eyebrow at the mare for a moment, having never heard her sing.  You knew that she sometimes worked in some lyrics into what she did, but they were often just single words.  And she’d never sung any of them, often getting some famous singer to do them for her.  And, frankly, given her voice, that was a good idea.

“Well, if you need any help with matching any notes, let me know.”  You gestured at your cutie mark, and then your ear.  “Perfect pitch, and all that.”

“Yeah, the music is one of your older pieces.  I worked some of my magic with it, but the core of what you wrote is still there, so you don’t need to worry about that.”  You nod before smiling.

“Well, then it has to be good if it’s something I wrote.”

The mare chuckled nervously before averting her gaze.  “Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be great.”  A sigh escaped you as you turned away from the mare and headed to the fridge.

“Look, I’m sorry about what happened between you and your latest ‘toy’, but you’ll have to get over it.  There’s plenty of other stallions out there who will be more than happy to put up with your eccentricities for the fame.  And, to be fair, your looks.  But I already told you all about that.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t mind if you told me again.”  You felt a hollow laugh escape you as you paused while opening the refrigerator.  You closed the door with a bit more force than was necessary, and then you looked back at the mare.  You were about to say something quite hastily when you saw her, but when you saw the goggles were on her head, as opposed to over her eyes you stopped.  Those damned magenta irises…

“Vinyl, we both know that you ruined any chance you had with me, so what do you hope to gain by having me tell you, again, what I think of your looks.  This has happened with each coltfriend you get.  You date them for a few months, realize they’re a total mule, and then you break up with them, coming to me, either in the flesh or through letters, to get me to boost you up again.”  You let out a massive sigh before you continue, quietly enough for the mare to be unable to hear you.  “And, like always, it works.”

You trot over to the mare before you stop a few steps away.  As you start to speak, you realize, with a grim sense of humor, that this is the same thing you’ve told her every time she’s asked for you to tell her what you thought.  From the first break up, all the way to now.

With each compliment you saw her smile briefly, and her cheeks turned a slight shade of red, her alabaster coat failing to hide her slight embarrassment.  While she was getting her usual ego boost from the speech, you just felt like it was all rote recital.  You didn’t try to use colorful description for her, since it would’ve been wasted.  You’d shower heartfelt praise upon a mare who had a chance with your heart, not some mare who used you for a pick-me-up when she got dumped.


(Well, don't you feel used and exploited.  I'll just go ahead and say, right now, that I do have the song picked out.  And the lyrics are quite nice.  Yes, you will get to hear it.  No, I won't spoil it ahead of time.)
> Chapter IV:  Pardon the Pun
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Moar Vinyl Fun!  Enjoy.)

You sank slowly into the warm embrace of your bed, reflecting grimly on the way today had gone.  In the past twenty four hours your sister had died, Vinyl had forcibly inserted herself into your life, again, and you now had a funeral to plan.  Fun.

Still, you would manage to get it done, like you had always managed.  You slowly let your eyelids settle over your eyes, and then you let your mind flow.  No topic ever held your mind for long, and soon you were lost in the depths of your own mind.  There were some more prevalent topics, though.  The mare in your home was one of those topics, but more importantly, your history with her.


---/\/\ Six Years Ago:  Junior Year of High School /\/\---


	The mare finally began to stir on the bed the nurses had put her on.  Your head jerked up at the sound, and soon the mare’s eyes opened.  She quickly began looking around the room, her gaze settling on you, and her eyes quickly narrowed.  She opened her mouth to speak, but then she quickly closed it, and her head tilted slightly as she continued to look at you.

“You…”  Her voice came out quite roughly, and she quickly fell into a bout of coughing.  The doctors had told you this might happen, and so you offered her the glass of water they had left for her.  She downed it quickly, finishing the entire glass in a matter of seconds.  You chuckled softly at her display, and when she finished the glass she simply dropped it into her lap.  When she spoke her voice was much smoother, but it still had an edge of roughness to it.  “You were at the party.”

“That I was.  And I was there to watch you nearly drink yourself to death.”  The mare’s head drooped, and she began fiddling with the glass sitting in her lap.  This continued for several minutes before you cleared your throat, trying to get her attention.  “This is the point where most ponies would thank the pony that saved their life.”

“I know.  It’s just…  I’m not used to being so weak.”  She pauses for a moment, and you open your mouth to speak before she continues.  “I don’t mean physically weak, I expect that after what I did, I mean mentally weak.  I’ve never had to rely on anypony to get what I needed, and now I’m finding that I owe you my life.”  She looks over at you, and you see tears in her eyes.  “I want to thank you, but I don’t know what I can say that would do you the justice you deserve.”

You offer her a small smile, and she slowly returns it.  “Don’t worry, Vinyl.  I’m sure you’ll think of some way to thank me for what I did.”  The mare’s eyes drop again, and you raise an eyebrow.  “Why do you keep looking away from me?  Am I that offending to look at?”

“No.”  Her response is quite quick, and you swear that you see a blush on her cheeks as she quickly tries to recover.  “I mean, no.  You’re not ugly, or anything.  It’s just hard to look you in the eyes when you’ve got those sunglasses on.”  You bring a hoof to your face, and you realize that you were still wearing the sunglasses.  You’d grown used to the reduced lighting, thinking that it was set lower since it was night time.  Still, they weren’t the best sunglasses around, being more for looks than practicality.

You take them off, finally able to see the white mare in her true colors.  You already knew that she had a white coat, but now you could see it with your eyes unclouded by the lenses of your sunglasses.  As you met her gaze once again you noticed a slight reddening of her cheeks.  You had enough tact not to mention it to her, but you couldn’t just ignore it.  “Now that those are out of the way, shall we continue?”  A simple nod was your response, and with that you allowed yourself a smile.  “As for what you can do to thank me?  I still think that you’ll come up with something adequate.  I don’t like putting ponies on the spot, so I’ll let you come up with something on your own.”

“Th…  Thank you.”  She brought a hoof up to her eyes, and she wiped away the tears that had started running down her cheeks.  “Um, if it’s not too much trouble could you not mention the way I’m acting right now?  Among my fairly small circle of friends I’ve got a bit of a reputation to uphold.  A reputation that I’d much rather keep intact.”  You let out a chuckle before you reply.

“I understand.  Trust me, I won’t tell anypony about this.  I doubt that it’d look very favorable for either of us.”  You lean back in the chair, the smile on your face widening as you look at the mare who was now fiddling with her hooves in her lap.  “Anypony ever tell you that you look kind of cute when you don’t know what to do?”  You fell on your back as you realized what you had said, and when you hit the ground the only sound you could hear was your own breathing.

You scrambled to your hooves as quick as you could and when you looked at the mare you could see she had an intense blush on her cheeks.  A blush that you knew you caused.  “No.”  She looked up from her hooves and at you.  “Nopony has ever told me that.  Or that I ever look cute.”

“Oh.  You’re… single?”

“Yep.  Always have been, too.”  The mare shifted uncomfortably for a moment, before she continued.  “It’s not for lack of trying, though.  A ton of stallions have asked me out, but all of them were just interested in my flank.  Once they actually got to know me, they all bolted.  More often than not finding some other mare with a big flank.”

“Right.  Well, I’m single too.”  The mare tilted her head at you for a moment, and then she blushed once again, a smile coming to her face.

“Are you trying to ask me out, or something?”  You recoiled slightly at this accusation, but then you paused.  Am I asking her out?

“Well, I suppose that I am.”


---/\/\ The Present /\/\---


The morning sun had a nasty habit of hitting your eyes dead on each morning.  It was a problem that you’d really have to fix one of these days.  You’d either move your bed, or board up the window.  Either option would work, but you opted for moving the bed.  Less hammering involved that way.  You let that train of thought die before you sat up in bed, your mind already spinning up to full speed.

You trudged from the bedroom to the bathroom, your morning ritual already underway.  After just fifteen minutes you emerged from the bathroom, your coat clean, and your mane left tussled just right.  You quickly went to the kitchen, taking care not to be too loud, should Vinyl still be asleep.  She, unsurprisingly, was still asleep, curled up into a ball beneath the blankets that you’d given her.  As you passed by the living room door you paused for a moment, looking at the slumbering mare.

You walked over to her, still making sure that you were silent, lest she wake.  Only her head was free of the blanket’s embrace, and that was facing away from you.  You couldn’t stop the smile from forming on your face as you looked down at her.  “I tried, Vinyl.  But you wouldn’t have it.  If you were a pegasus instead of a unicorn then you’d really be an angel.”  Before you could continue, you turned and went to the kitchen, a half tear forming in your eye.

She made her choice.  Every time you thought about that choice, though, you couldn’t help but think that maybe you could’ve spoken up a bit sooner.  Been a bit blunter in what you had said.  Sure, that first time in the hospital was straightforward, but even then she had just brushed you off.  The mares inevitably go for the jocks in their youth, favoring the ‘bad colts’ over the good colts.  Your rebellious phase had been incredibly short lived, since you quickly decided that you were happy with who you were, and you didn’t need to pretend to be somepony else to fit in.  Or to stand out.

The meal in front of you seemed to have materialized from nowhere, and you looked at it dumbly before you realized that you had whipped this up while lost in thought.  And, apparently, you had already started a list of preparations for the quickly approaching funeral.  A guest list was foremost among the items you had to take care of.

As your small meal vanished before you, and the list of things that needed to be addressed grew, you lost track of time, not even noticing when the alabaster mare came and went from the kitchen.  A gentle nudge of your shoulder, though, shook you from your stupor.  Vinyl had a concerned look on her face, and when you looked at her it faded slightly.  “There’s somepony here to see you, Note.  I took the liberty of letting him in, but I told him to wait in the living room.  I think he’s here for your sister’s will.”

“She had a will?”

“That’s what the pony said.”

“She was too young to have a will.”  Nevertheless, you stood and made your way to the living room, a strange sense of formality settling in your mind.   You knew she was dead, but this was just another nail in the coffin, pardon the pun.  As you entered the room the stallion perked up, a sad smile coming to his face at your entrance.

“Ah, Pure Note.  I have your sister’s will, here, and she asked that I read it in your presence before anypony else’s.”  You glanced at Vinyl, and she looked at you for a moment before she frowned.

“Vinyl can stay.”
“Well, alright.  I suppose that’s your choice.”  The stallion cleared his throat before he began reading.

Pure Note: brother, annoyance, sibling, pest.  All of these, and more, I’ve used to describe you.  Through thick and thin you were there, offering support when I needed it, and a kick in the ass when I deserved it.  If you’re hearing this, than I’m gone, and some stuffy lawyer pony is reading this to you.  Since I’ve never been a fan of stuffy lists, I decided to keep mine as short and sweet as possible.  This is a will, after all, so I need to dish out my loot.

First, and foremost, I leave all of my worldly possessions, save for the following items in the notes still to come, to Pure Note, my only sibling.  I know that it’s not really all that much, but this does include all of my finances, which should help you to make it through until you find a job, or something to that effect.  I trust you, bro.  Make me proud.

Second.  To my friends, I leave the contents of the enclosed letters.  Each one is written by me, for them.  It’s not much, but I wanted to be able to say goodbye my own way.

Third, I leave to my parents my collection of awards, and trophies.  I never really was the daughter they wanted, but I still want to share what I accomplished with them.

Fourth, and last.  To DJ Pon3, AKA, Vinyl Scratch.  I wrote you a very specific letter.  One that you must take very seriously, and must promise, to yourself, that you will follow through with what it asks of you.  It’s not much, really, but I thought that I’d give you something, since I always did enjoy having you around.  Even if your taste in music was awful.
There is, of course, a bit of paperwork to go along with all of this, and so I already took care of most of it.  You, Note, now just have to take the time to finalize everything, and take care of my ashes, since I have been cremated by now.  I know that it’s not what mom and dad wanted, but I figure that I have a bit more of a say in this than they do.  It’s my corpse, after all.

“That’s it.  After that is all the official paperwork, and the letters written to the ponies mentioned.  I’ll take care of all the deliveries, Note, so that you can stay focused on what you have to take care of.”  The stallion quickly pulled out a stack of papers, and then he put them on the coffee table.  “That’s everything that you need in order to make this all official.  In addition to that is a letter from her to you, and the letter from her to you, Miss Scratch.  I’d stay and chat some, but I don’t think that’s entirely appropriate, and I do have other things to take care of.  Good day, Note.  And I’m sorry for your loss.”

Vinyl showed him out, leaving you to look at the stack of papers.  Sitting atop that stack was the letter for you.  You dearly wanted to know what she had written to you, but you wanted to wait until after the funeral to read it.  Just a few pages down, you saw as you looked through the stack, was the letter written to Vinyl.  It was a good bit heftier than the one to you, and that made you pause for a moment.  What all could she have to say to Vinyl?

Before you could ponder on that any longer, the mare returned, a small smile on her face.  “Well, that was short.  Grace was never fond of long speeches, was she?”

“No.  She either fell asleep during them, or she’d make a point to make fun of the way they worded whatever they were saying.  I’m pretty sure that, knowing her, she’d have gotten a laugh out of her own will reading.”

“When’s the funeral going to be?”  Your head quickly shifted from the pile of paperwork to the mare, your eyes narrowing.  “I don’t want it any more than you do, but it’s something that you’ll have to do.”

“I know.  It’s just…  It’s still hard to accept that she’s gone.  My whole life she was there, every step of the way.  Offering enough help to prevent the worst of life, but not doing so much that I felt like she was living my life for me.  Equestria lost something great when she died, that much I know.”

“Now that she’s…  Now that she’s dead, what are you going to do with all of her stuff?  Now that it’s yours you can do what you want with it.”

“Probably going to go through it, and keep what’s sentimental, and sell or toss the rest.  I want to keep it for when she gets back, but I know that she’s not coming back, and that makes this so much harder to do.”

You just kept looking at the pile of papers when you felt a gentle nuzzling on your neck.  “I’m here if you need me, Note.”  You looked at the mare for a moment, a plethora of things coming to mind that you wanted to say.  So many of them were unpleasant, and mocking, throwing back at her all the support that you offered, only to be pushed away once the moment had passed.  But you couldn’t.  Despite this perfect chance for revenge, you couldn’t bring yourself to push away the only pony truly offering to help you though all of this.  Instead of all of those things, you settled for just one word.

“Thanks.”  The mare took a seat next to you, and then you leaned into her, and she into you.  As you looked at the pile of papers, you used your magic to lift the first sheet, along with a quill.  It’d take quite a bit of time to get through the whole thing, and getting started now would make things go better for you in the end.





Four hours later, and you finally finished reading over the last sheet, and signing your name for at least the thousandth time.  Vinyl had taken her letter hours ago, leaving you to your dull work.  You couldn’t really blame her, though.  You wanted to leave and do something else too.

With a groan, you let the quill drop to the table, the pile of paperwork stacking itself neatly under the influence of your magic.  With this monumental task out of the way, all that was left was the official funeral ceremony, and the final reading of the will in the company of all those ponies mentioned.  Hopefully that could be taken care of quickly, since taking care of your sisters final wishes for her ashes would be a long walk.

A series of knocks on your front door shook you from your momentary reverie, and you then walked to the door, not sure who it was that you should be expecting.  The mail wasn’t due for at least another hour, and nopony had mentioned anything about coming by today.  The options were limited, but, despite your list of possible visitors, the three ponies outside the door surprised you quite a bit.

Lyra’s mint green coat caught your attention, and the sad smile on her face left you confused, until you recognized the two ponies beside her.  The two of them were both unicorns, their coats and manes the same as the last time you had seen them, if just a bit duller than before.

“Mother.  Father.”

“Son.”

“To what do I owe the… honor of your presence?”

“We came for the funeral.”

“But you couldn’t come for when she was still alive? You couldn’t come when she needed the two of you the most?  You couldn’t come when I was here, alone, trying to keep my life together while I dealt with my sister, your daughter, dying?  You just decide to show up, now, after she’s dead and gone?”

“Note, we’re your parents, and you won’t speak to us this way.  We had to take time out of our busy-”

“No, you listen!  After dad got that promotion I expected the two of you to be a bit busier, but to go this long without visiting?  And then to show up unannounced just after she dies?”

“Note, we were busy with work.”  Your mother tried to speak, but you didn’t give her a chance to continue.

“Oh, right, because I had just so much free time?  Because I wanted to spend all of my time at the hospital, watching Grace die?”  At this point, Vinyl showed up, and your father’s eyes widened.

“And you’re here with this whorse?!”

Well, this is off to a great start.  Thanks, dad.


(Family issues.  This gun be good.)
> Chapter V:  As if it Was Another Pony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(More to read, and still more to write.  Enjoy.)

You felt your eyelid twitch as you looked at your parents, they looked at Vinyl, and Vinyl looked between all three of you.  Lyra was, for her part, doing everything in her power to leave without being noticed.  Not exactly an easy feat when things are this tense, but she was still trying.

“Father, I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just call Vinyl a whorse.”  Your father looked from Vinyl to you, and he let out a snort.

“Why are you defending this whor… mare of less than reputable standing?  Surely you haven’t forgotten all those things you said about her when she turned you down all those times.”

“No, dad, I haven’t.  But that was a long time ago.  Now, are you just here to insult my company, or is there some other reason, aside from the funeral, that has caused your timely arrival?”  Before your father could respond, your mother jumped in.

“Note, you may be independent now, but I won’t tolerate you talking to your father and I like this.  You, and your sister, said that it would be okay for us to move so that your father could accept that promotion.  You knew what it would entail, and you were okay with it.”  Her reasoning was sound, and you knew it.  Both you, and Grace, had agreed to their moving.  It had been for the betterment of the family, but that didn’t make it any easier now.

“I…”  You found that all your ire had left you, and in its place it had left nothing but sadness.  “I know that it’s not your fault.”  You shifted your gaze from them to the ground, a hoof running in small circles.  “Its nopony’s fault, but that doesn’t make it easier to accept.”  You felt a hoof on your shoulder, and you looked up to see your father’s face close to your own.

“We’re here, now, Note.  We’re going to stay for the funeral, and after that we’re going to be heading home.  You’re more than welcome to come, if you’d like.  I know that it’ll probably be hard for you to be here by yourself, so I wouldn’t have a problem if you wanted to move back in with us.”

“No.  I appreciate what you’re doing, dad, but I can’t just run to you when things get hard.  I need to stay here, so that I can live my life.”  The hoof came off your shoulder, and then your dad gave you a small smile.  “I just need some time to accept all of this, and then I’ll be back to living my life again.”

“I understand, Note.”  Then, without a pause, he looked at Vinyl.  “And what, may I ask, are you doing here?  Last I heard you were flitting from stallion to stallion, running those damn clubs up in Canterlot.”  Vinyl took a half step back from your father due to his sudden shift in demeanor and tone.  “Hmm?  Using my son to ‘recover’ from another failed relationship?  Taking advantage of his kindness once again?”  Your mother attempted to step in at this point, but your father wouldn’t stop now.  This had been a problem for him his whole life.  He could shift moods at a moments notice, and once he got going he wouldn’t stop until he was done.  Or, at least, he wouldn’t stop short of something drastic happening.

“I’m not using your son.”  The mare’s voice was oddly subdued, and your father only seemed to get angrier because of it.

“Not using him?  How can you claim that you aren’t using him?  You’re here, living in his home, taking advantage of his kindness so that you don’t have to support yourself when anypony who is at least the slightest bit educated knows that you’re fabulously wealthy!  You own seven different night clubs in Canterlot alone!  And yet, here you are, mooching off of my son.”  Vinyl attempted to answer again, but she couldn’t get a word in before your father continued.  “You’re like so many other mares that I met before I finally found Note’s mother.  You find a stallion that is nice, and you suck them dry.  You use them for all their kindness, comfort, and passion, leaving behind the scum of Equestria.  It’s mares like you that turn good stallions into awful ones.  You even twist them into thinking that they’re doing the right thing by simply helping you without getting anything in return.”

You had wanted to say something to your father throughout his speech, but that last bit stuck in your mind.  You refused to believe that Vinyl would do something like that, but, at the same time, it did sound possible.  Vinyl took off the sunglasses that she’d been wearing, revealing her bloodshot eyes, and allowing the tears to flow freely down her face.

“I’m not here to use your son, I’m here to… to…”  You looked at her while she struggled with her words, but after a few moments she simply looked between you and your father, her expression growing a bit more frantic.  Without a sound, save for a choked sob, the mare bolted past you, and onto the streets.  You wanted to follow her, but something stayed your hooves.  If she hadn’t been using you, why couldn’t she have said why she was here?

“Note, I really think that you should come home with us.  Get away from all these bad memories, and start again.  After the funeral, we’ll pack you up, and then we’ll head home, okay?”  You nodded slowly, barely feeling the brief hug that your mother gave you before they said something about heading back to the place where they had rented a room for the funeral.  After they left, you closed the door, and headed to your room, barely aware of the tears running down your cheeks.

When you did enter your room, you just stood there, unmoving as you looked down at the ground.  She couldn’t have been just using me.  She…  She… She always came by after some breakup, or something going wrong with her love life.  I was just there to help her cope.  You walked over to the mirror that hung on the wall in your room, and you looked at it, treating it as if it was another pony.

“She used me.”  You said to your reflection.

“You never gave her a chance,” it responded.

“This was just like all the other times, though!  She screwed up her relationship, and it falls to me to fix it!”

“Fuck that!  Look, something’s different about this time.  She’d never, even at her drunkest, fallen down and hurt herself.  And now you’re just passing this up because you don’t want to risk falling for her again.  Be a stallion and go find her.”

“But mom and dad were right!”

“You need to look past them, and towards the one pony who helped you!  Who was there for you every step of the way?  Who helped you deal with your anger issues?  Who was there when Vinyl shut you down that first time?”

“Grace.”

“And who gave you one last pearl of wisdom before she died?”  Without responding to your reflection, you bolted downstairs, and to the letter that you’d left in the living room.  You grabbed it without hesitation, but when you wanted to open it, you felt yourself stop.  You needed to read this, and see what could be done.  And yet…

You were afraid.  She’d always been there to help you, and get you through it all.  But now you’d be on your own, save for whatever was written on these pages.  With a bit of concentration, you opened the letter, revealing several pages, bound together in seemingly random groups.  There were a few loose sheets, though, and so you grabbed those first.  A small number at the top of each page revealed that there was an order, so you quickly found page one.

	Pure Note,

It seems like only yesterday that I was holding your tiny form in my arms, watching you with equal measures of disgust and love.  You were always a messy foal, and it only got worse as you grew up.  I’m writing this in the hospital, hoping that you won’t have to read it, but suspecting that you will.  And now, you are reading it, which means that I’m gone.  I want to call out to you as I write this, so I can say it in person, but I know that if I write it, you’ll have it forever.  Yeah, you only just left.  But, I want you to go and live your life, so I let you leave.

I was never one for speeches, but there is a time and a place for everything.  In this letter, and all the added letters, I have included a ton of advice for you, and your friends, for as many things as I could think of.  But, as life goes, I don’t know how much of it will be useful as the times change.  I mean, since we were born Princess Luna has returned, Discord returned, and there was that whole fiasco with Storm Runner, so I only hope that what I have to say is still relevant when you read it.

Don’t read this whole thing all the way through, is my first piece of advice.  Read it when you feel like you would ask me for help.  For your convenience, I’ll put in a little blurb right here for when you know I’d just give you some little glib remark.  Figure it out yourself.  I did, and you can too.

There, see?  I’m not always…  I wasn’t always as good at life as you thought.  I had my moments where I fucked up royally.  Hay, I had moments where I thought I wasn’t going to make it through.  But, then, you’d come and ask me something, or just come and hang out with me, and I’d remember what was important in life.  And this brings me to the first thing that I want to make clear to you.

Love.

Love is a picky emotion.  I had my share of stallions, and even a mare or two when I was experimenting.  Yes, I did it with mares.  No, I won’t tell you who.  That’s just sick, bro.  Anyway, my first bit of advice is probably one that you already know, but won’t act on unless someone tells you in plain writing.  So, I suggest you head to page four to get my advice for your love life.  You can keep reading this letter later, but now go to that page, and do what you need to.  This letter will be here when you get back.

You put the first three pages down slowly, letting her words sink in.  You knew that you’d helped her out a few times in her life, but you never really knew how bad she had had it at times.  You sort through the pages until you find page four, and you slowly unfold it, your brow creasing as you see that it is mostly blank.  When you do see the writing, it is a surprisingly small amount.

	Ah, love.

Now, I suspect that there are two major possibilities for this page.  The first one it the one that I think it is, and that I, honestly, hope it is.  The second one is less likely, but still a possibility.

For the first possibility, all I have to say is that you can’t let go of her.  She’s a great mare, and you need to understand that she didn’t have the best foalhood.  And it carried over to her love life quite a bit.  Find her, and help her.  Vinyl is a great mare, and you just need to help her to see that you’re the stallion for her.  She and I have spoken about you in the past, and I will be writing a letter for her as well as this one for you.  Trust me when I say that you have a much better chance than you think.  Now go!  Unless this isn’t the option that is relevant, in which case read number two.

You read over that paragraph many times, each time trying to guess how she could know that this is so relevant to what you were facing right now.  After the fifth reading, you let the letter drop onto the small pile.  You moved over to the door of your home, and without a backward glance you stepped out into the twilight.  The sun was setting, and you were about to try and fix not only a mare, but yourself as well.  As you closed the door behind yourself, you felt a tiny stab of uncertainty.  This moment of uncertainty manifested itself as a facehoof.  You had no clue where Vinyl could have gone.

Still, you’d try to find her.  With a snort, you stepped onto the street, and began your search of the town.  You went by all the places that you could think of to look for her, but she was nowhere to be found.  After checking all of the major places in town, you found yourself in the park, sitting on a bench, your head in your hooves.  The only places that you could think of, that were really meaningful to either of you, were places that you’d checked.

The sound of hooves on the path made you raise your head to see who was coming, and you were disappointed to see that it wasn’t Vinyl.  It was, instead, Taupe.  He smiled at you when he saw you, but when you failed to return the smile his vanished.  He sat down on the bench next to you, and he just looked towards the sunset, just like you were now doing.

“I don’t think you’re here to enjoy the sights.”

“Nope.”

“Nor, do I think, are you here to wait for somepony.”

“Two for two.”

“So, I’m going to take a guess, and say that you’re looking for somepony.”

“Three for three, Taupe.  But I’ve already looked everywhere that I could think of to find her.”

“Well, I don’t know who this mystery mare of yours is, but I suspect that you’re probably looking at this the wrong way.  And yes, I knew it was a mare.  You just had that look about you.”

“So, if I’m looking at it wrong, how would you go about it?”

“Instead of thinking of things that are important to you, think of things that are important to her.  If it’s something you did, she’d go somewhere that doesn’t remind her of you.  If it’s something that you aren’t responsible for, she would go somewhere that has always given her comfort.  And if you’re the problem, well, then I’d suggest you try harder to find her, since she wouldn’t go anywhere you’d think of.  Now, rather than sit here and mope, I’d suggest you get going.”

As he finished, he simply got up, and continued his walk, acting like he’d never even stopped.  You watched him for a moment, before you got up as well, wracking your mind to see if you could think of anyplace within Ponyville that Vinyl could’ve run to.  Nothing came to mind at first, but then you dug deeper into your memories, scouring for anyplace she’d mentioned going to seek comfort.

When it finally hit you, you allowed yourself a small smile.  Of course she’d go there…

Your hooves quickly carried you to the cemetery, and then between the tombstones and past the small mausoleums that dotted the graveyard.  She’d only taken you here once, and that was just because you had been insistent on asking about what had happened to her mother.  You had regretted the decision shortly after asking, but she had been slightly happy to finally share with somepony the one place she could go that reminded her of her mother, and only her mother.

You spotted her only a few minutes after entering the cemetery, and you knew immediately what she was doing.  She had a single plain tombstone in front of her, and she was just staring at it with an intense frown upon her face.  You could just make out that her jaw was moving, and you figured that she was talking to it.  Her words were too soft for you to make out, and as you grew closer, her words grew no clearer.

When you were just a few steps away, you finally stopped.  The mare stopped talking as well, but she didn’t look at you.  “I wasn’t using you, Note.”  She looked at you briefly before her gaze fell back to the ground.  She tried to speak once again, but words seemed to fail her, and so she just remained silent.

You moved beside her, and still she said nothing.  “Vinyl, make me understand.  Why couldn’t you tell me why you were here when my father asked?”

“Because I’m too damn stupid to see what’s right in front of me.  Because I can’t stand to admit when I’m wrong.  Because of a million other things that don’t really matter.  Note, no matter how successful I am, no matter how many bits I have, I’m never happy.  I went from stallion to stallion hoping that they could offer me some distraction from the sadness that I felt, but none of them ever did it.  They just passed me up for some mare who was willing to give them what I wouldn’t.”  The mare finally looked at you, and she held your gaze.  A faint glow of her horn was all the warning you had before her coat seemed to shimmer before your eyes.

Several long gashes appeared along her body, and a large number of discolored spots appeared on her head and neck.  “But the last one wouldn’t take no for an answer, and so he tried to take it by force.  I came here, hoping to escape from Canterlot and spend some time with you, since you were always there.  But then I found out that you lost Grace…  Note, I’m so sorry.”

> Chapter VI:  "Nine Times Out of Ten"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(I will probably redo this chapter, since it seems off to me.  Still, I wanted to get something up for progress.)

You simply looked at the mare, watching in disbelief as the full extent of her injuries became apparent.  Words failed you as you watched the mare fall apart even more, all composure that she had gathered failing her.  Without a thought you moved towards her, wrapping a hoof around her, and pulling her close.  She pressed her head into your chest as great sobs wracked her frame, each one moving your body due to the force.  Her sobs slowly weakened as the minutes passed until she finally stopped, and there was just the gentle sound of her breathing.

“Note, I didn’t want to tell you, since it just proved you right.  I was so damn stubborn.  I’ve always been stubborn, but that last stallion… Celestia, Octavia warned me!  She told me that he was wrong, but I didn’t listen.”

“We all make mistakes, Vinyl.  You’re no exception.”  With a gentle push you moved the mare away from your chest a bit, and she looked up at you when she was the right distance away.  “You didn’t see what was there waiting for you the whole time, and I didn’t chase what I wanted.”  You brought a hoof up to the mare’s cheek and you gently wiped away a tear, smiling at the alabaster unicorn.  “There’s no road map to life, Vinyl.  Sometimes we have to take a wrong turn or two in order to find the right way home.”

The mare fought to keep the smile off her face for a moment, but she quickly relented, allowing the small smile to brighten her face.  “Don’t quote your sister, Note.  It’s too soon.”

“I’ll quote whoever I like, Vinyl.”  As you spoke, you pulled the mare into a hug, and she let you.  “Now, how about we head home, and get you cleaned up.  Then we can figure out what we’ll do.”  A gentle nod was all you got in response from the mare, and soon enough the two of you were heading out of the cemetery, and back towards Ponyville.  Thankfully nopony noticed the extent of Vinyl’s injuries, so you were able to enter your home without any fuss.

You put Vinyl onto the couch in the living room while you went up to the bathroom to get the first aid kit that you had.  When you entered the bathroom you noticed your reflection staring back at you, and it gave you pause for a moment.  The stallion looking back at you seemed so familiar, and yet, at the same time, something had changed.  What it was that had changed you couldn’t say, but the look on that stallion’s face was different.  Just a short while ago you had been talking to yourself in the mirror, trying to figure out what you’d do, and now you knew.  Amazing what a difference a few hours could make.





The first aid kit made a satisfying clicking noise as you snapped it shut.  Most of Vinyl’s injuries had been far less damaging than they had looked, but that didn’t make it any easier to see her wince in pain when you had applied the rubbing alcohol.  Now, though, she had bandages covering a fair portion of her sides, and the bruises on her face had gone down some due to the ice that you had applied.  With your task finished you put the first aid kit away before going back to the living room.

The mare was sitting in the same position as when you had left to put the kit away, and so you simply stood and stared at her, and she at you.  A faint smile tugged at your lips as you recalled the last time something like this happened.  Now, though, there were some fairly important differences.  Differences that you knew would make this conversation go much better than it had last time.

You sat yourself down in the chair that was opposite her, and then you leaned back, looking at the mare.  She was looking back at you, and so you made a small gesture with your hoof, as if asking her to continue.  She just tilted her head, and you let out a small groan.  “Do I need to spell it out for you?”  The mare looked just as confused now as she did a moment ago, so you shook your head.  “Fine.  Just, try and play along.”

“What?”

“Ya know, this is the point where most ponies would thank the pony that helped them.”  The mare continued to look confused for a moment before realization dawned on her face.  A blush came to her cheeks as she quickly averted her gaze away from your own.

“I… I know, it’s just that, well, I’m not used to being quite so weak.  Over the past few years I’ve never really had to rely on anypony.  I’ve always been able to take care of myself, and I’ve never been in a situation that I couldn’t fix myself.  But now?  Now I’m finding that I don’t have quite as much control over my life as I’d like.”  The mare looked back at you for a moment, and you saw her smile.  “I want to thank you, but I don’t know quite what I can say that would really tell you how I feel.”

“Don’t worry, Vinyl.  I’m sure you’ll think of some way to show me how you feel.”  The mare just nodded slightly before she adjusted the way she was sitting on the couch.  “Comfy?”

The mare blushed even more than she was a moment ago as she shook her head.  “Not really.  I’d much rather have you a bit closer.”  With a slight spring to your step you got out of the seat you were in, and you moved closer to the mare, but you didn’t get on the couch.

“Better?”  The mare just smiled before she patted a hoof on the couch next to her.  “Oh, you want me to sit next to you?”  The mare nodded and you happily obliged her.

“Note, do we really have to play this out the whole way?  We both know what you’re going to say, and we both know what my answer will be.”  The mare leaned into you as she spoke, and you soon had your hooves wrapped around her.

“Yes, we do.  It didn’t go the way it should have six years ago, so we’ll do it right this time.”  You pulled the mare a bit closer as she leaned into you, and a small sigh escaped her.  After a moment of enjoying the closeness, you saw, and felt, the mare move her hooves up to yours, gently rubbing your hooves with hers.  As you began to speak you felt yourself stumble just a bit over your words.  You knew what you wanted to say, but this would be the first time you’d ever say it to Vinyl.  “Has…  Has anypony ever told you that you’re the most beautiful mare they’ve ever seen?”

Silence reigned supreme in the room for several minutes as you listened to the sound of your breathing, Vinyl’s breathing, and the gentle ticking of the clock in the room.  A tiny drop of water landed on your hoof and you knew that Vinyl was crying.  “No.”  The mare pulled your hooves a bit closer to her chest as she continued.  “Nopony has ever told me that.”

“Oh.”  You gently nuzzled the mare’s neck for a moment before you continued.  “Well then I take it you’re single, since no stallion with a brain would be able to think otherwise.”

The mare let out a small sigh at your compliment before she resumed the little dialogue.  “I am single, actually.  Although it’s not for lack of trying.  A ton of stallions have asked me out, but all of them were just interested in my flank.  Once they realized that they wouldn’t be getting any from me, they bolted.”

“Well, I’m interested in the pony more than I am the flank.  And, it just so happens that I’m single too.”

“Are you asking me out, Pure Note?”

“Yes, Vinyl.  Yes I am.”  Without any pause at all, the mare broke free from your grasp, and she launched herself at you, planting a kiss on your lips.  It was brief, but that was all it took, really.

“I’d love to.  More than anything else in the world.”  You raised an eyebrow and the mare blushed even more than she was already.  “Okay, second most.  I really would like a new turntable.”  The mare just smiled a moment before she kissed you again.  “Out of the two, though, I’d still pick you nine times out of ten.”





The small café wasn’t really that busy, and so you and Vinyl quickly got seats.  Vinyl’s bandaged nature drew a few looks, but it was nothing that the mare wasn’t already used to.  Being famous had as many perks as it did drawbacks, and one of those drawbacks was being noticed everywhere she went.  You got a few glances as well, simply by being close to the mare, but you didn’t really mind.  You were with Vinyl, and the rest of the world could just go and buck itself.

Being the gentlestallion you are, you pulled out the chair for Vinyl when you got to the table, and she blushed at the small gesture.  It made you feel good to make her happy like this, and shortly after you were looking at a menu, puzzling out what you’d be getting to eat.  You weren’t really feeling all that hungry, so you just put down your menu for a moment before looking at the mare.

“Say, Vinyl, I’m not really all that hungry, so how about we just get something to share?”  The mare lowered her own menu before she smiled and nodded.

Nothing overly complicated was ordered, just some hay fries, and from there you spoke about all manner of topics with the mare.  She regaled you with all sorts of stories of things that she’d seen and done in Canterlot while you listened attentively.  There was never a really dull moment since you almost always had some new topic emerge from whatever you were talking about prior.

Each time you thought you knew something about the mare she surprised you with some new facet to her personality.  She certainly surprised you when she began mentioning some more classical pieces as being some of her favorites.  She even mentioned a few pieces that you’d helped in making.  When the topic finally migrated to what you’d been up to, you found yourself unusually uncomfortable.  Quite a bit of your time over the past few years had been spent dealing with the anger issues that had emerged after school.

“You know, Note, I have a song that I’ve been writing, that I’d like you to hear.”  You nod slowly before you answer.

“Yeah, didn’t I see you working on it in the kitchen?”

“Yes, you did.  I still haven’t finished it, but I think that I want to improvise the lyrics, rather than try to think up something deep and poetic.  I know the tune well enough, so I think that I can work the words in.”

“If you’re sure, Vinyl, than we can head back to my place and listen to it.”  The mare just blushed a bit before she smiled at you.

“I’d like that.”





Vinyl slowly put her finishing touches on the piece before she started actually playing the music.





(In case you missed it, the lyrics in this are sung by Vinyl.)


As the final notes echoed away into silence, you approached the mare who was looking down at the floor.  At your approach, she looked up at you, and you smiled at her.  You gave her a quick kiss before you spoke.

“Thank you.”