Hybridby LAVAHAWK28ChaptersChapter 1Of Musicians and MagicNames and Other ThingsUnderneath the BlacknessUnderneath the Blackness, Part 2Chapter 6Chapter 1Twilight stepped out of her crystal castle with a saddlebag on, hoping to get some fresh air and meet up with her friends after binge reading her favorite books from Princess Celestia. It also gave her a chance to stretch her legs and wings. "Spike! I'm going out for a little bit! I'll be back later!" she yelled out to her surrogate little dragon brother. "Okay, I'm gonna finish cleaning up here then!" he yelled back. She closed the door behind her and began trotting down the road to the Carousel Boutique to see what Rarity was up to, and maybe get some of her favorite tea. On her way she saw the local party pony, Pinkie Pie, bouncing her way with her smile permanently plastered on her face. "Hello Pinkie Pie, you're looking quite cheerful today." "Oh hey Twilight, I just found out that someone just moved into Ponyville! So I'm on my way to gather the supplies I need for his welcoming party! It's gonna be super-duper fuuuuun!" Pinkie Pie bounced around her purple friend. "You... did ask him if he wanted a party first, right? Remember last time you didn't inform anypony about their own party?" Twilight asked with concern. Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing and looked to Twilight, "Oh yeah. But it's too late to go back now. Last I saw him he was at Rarity's place, but he might not be there anymore." Twilight put a hoof to her chin, "Hmm, maybe I can tell him about the party. What does he look like?" Pinkie Pie seemed to cheer up a little and gave her friend an enormous hug, "Ooooooh, thank you Twilight. The last the way I saw he was wearing a black cloak with his hood up, so I didn't get a good look at his face or colors." "He must be talking to Rarity right now then. I was just headed that way myself, so it won't be any trouble." "Okie-doki-loki, I'll see ya later Twi." and with that the pink party pony bounced away, happy as ever. Twilight smiled happily at her random friend as she began trotting again. 'Should be a fun party. I wonder what this new pony looks like under his cloak.' About five minutes later Twilight was knocking on Rarity's door. The only thing that threw her off was that Rarity's little sister, Sweetie Belle, answered instead of her. "Well hello princess." she greeted with a bow, "What brings you to my sisters humble establishment?" such a polite little filly. "Hello Sweetie Belle. I'm here to see Rarity. Is she in?" "Oh yes." she opened the door a bit wider, "Please do come inside. I'll go and fetch my sister." "Thank you Sweetie. I appreciate your kindness." Sweetie Belle bowed once again, and went into one of the other rooms to find the white unicorn. It didn't take very long before said unicorn stepped into the room followed by a pony in a pitch black cloak that went down to hide his legs, and the hood over his head which blocked his eyes. "Twilight, darling. How are you? It's been some time." she said as she hugged her friend. "Hi Rarity. I'm doing just fine." she looked to the hooded pony, "Did you just finish with a client?" Rarity looked over her shoulder at the figure, who was moving past her to leave, "Now hold on just one moment, sir. But I told you that I need to take fresh measurements to make you that new cloak." The hooded pony turned and gave her what seemed to be a scowl, "And I told you that the ones I gave you are already new and correct. I also told you that I refuse to remove my cloak in front of you. Now then, I have more important things to do than argue with some stubborn mare." "Excuse me." Twilight had moved forward while he was speaking. "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle, and I'm here to deliver a message to you sir." The cloaked pony turned to her with what should have been a look of surprise. "Okay then. But please be quick about it. I'm in a bit of a hurry as you can tell." "Alright then. My good friend Pinkie Pie knows that you are new to town, and she wishes to know whether or not it is okay to throw you a welcoming party today." He seemed to think about this for a moment. Then he spoke, "As long as it isn't inside of my home, then I do not see any problems." She nodded, "Right then. I will pass along this information to my friend. Thank you for your time." Twilight then trotted back to Rarity who stood slack jawed. "Is something wrong Rarity?" "It's just that he has been nothing but rude and refusing to me, and then you walk up and he seems less so." Twilight turned and watched as the pony walked out the door of the boutique and disappeared from sight. Twilight simply shrugged at the elegant mare, "Well Rarity, as much I as don't want to cut this visit short, I have to go tell Pinkie the news about the party." "I understand darling. I have to start on that stallions cloak anyway. *sigh* I just hope the measurements he gave me really are correct." the pristine mare said hesitantly. "Alright then. Oh, but before I go, do you have any of my favorite tea bags?" Twilight asked, remembering why she came here to begin with. "Of course, darling. Let me go get you some for later." Rarity said and started walking to her kitchen. "Thank you." Twilight beamed gratefully. "Okay then. So, he's okay with me throwing him a party, but it can't be in his house." Pinkie Pie repeated the information back to Twilight as they stood in front of the town hall. "Yes, that is correct." confirmed the purple alicorn. "Oh, but my lockpicking skill is almost 100. Guess I'll have to go find another dungeon with a locked chest." Twilight was a bit confused with that statement, but just put it as Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. "Ooookay then. Well good luck with that." she turned to leave Pinkie to her work. "Whoooooooooaaaaaaa." Pinkie Pie shook violently, "Twilight! Twilight!! My Pinkie Sense it going off." "What's wrong? Any indication of what's going to happen?" "All I know is that it's, whoooooooaaaaa, happening later today, and it's gonna be one heck of a doozy. Hoohoohoohhooohhooo." "Well, I just hope it doesn't get in the way of the party. That wouldn't be a good way to greet our new guest." Pinkie Pie nodded, "Don't worry. I best be going now. I've got a party to set up, and it's gonna be awesome." with that she bounced away..... again. Twilight stretched her wings, but as she was about to take off she saw the new resident of Ponyville standing at the top perch of the town hall. 'What is he doing up there? Better question: How did he get up there?' His coat was caught by the wind and Twilight had to squint to see the smallest glimpse of.... something. 'What in the....' As she thought that, he leaned forward and fell. "OHMIGOSH NO!" Author's Note Whoever can guess the references first gets a cookie. Of Musicians and MagicVinyl Scratch woke up and had a very normal day. Got out of bed, kissed Octavia, downed some booze, passed out, woke up again with a hangover and Tavi fussing over her, had sex with Tavi, drank more booze, dropped some bass, went a second round with Tavi causing her to pass out, and just remembered it was her turn to buy groceries. Vinyl was just on her way home and she met up with Pinkie Pie to see if she had any parties planned that she could DJ at. Turns out there was a new stallion in town and Pinkie needed someone to play music. After that she made her way through town square, headphones blasting rock music in her ears. She saw the new princess staring up at the top of the town hall. 'What's she looking at?' thought the DJ. She moved one of the headphones from her ear so she could listen and hear the music at the same time, and moved forward to ask what was up. Until she screamed. "OHMIGOSH NO!" The DJ looked up and saw someone falling off the top spire. The act caused the mare's eyes to go wide and flashback to a time she wish she could forget. She was at a club in Manehattan, performing at a gig. She could feel the beat of the bass, smell the sweat of countless ponies dancing, and she loved every second of what she did. Spinning tracks and mixing at her turntable. That was one of the many times she felt truly alive. After her time spinning her records was up she received her payment and went to blow a little of it on a drink or two. Until, out of the corner of her eye she saw a lone stallion open the door that led to the roof and enter. She paid it no mind and figured the guy was meeting some friends up there to drink or do a few drugs. No big deal, this was a club after all. After just one drink, as she needed to get back to her hotel safe, she left the club and headed down the street. A few seconds later and something fell and crashed into a cart next to her, causing her to scream out of fright. After she regained some of her composure she stepped forwards and saw the stallion from before, dead from the fall and bleeding out, staring into his lifeless eyes. She screamed again, this time from the pure horror that struck her. She later learned that the poor colt was a new to the city and was scoffed at, criticized, and made fun of. So the royal guard called it off as suicide and left it at that. Vinyl came out of her memory, which only flashed by for a couple of seconds. She then shucked off her saddlebags of broke into a full on sprint. Her electric blue mane flowing behind her. 'Not this time. NOT THIS TIME!' she thought as she jumped onto a merchants stand and lit her horn. She jumped from the stand and tackled the colt mid-air as he was falling. She poured a crazy amount of magic into her horn, and in an instant the two of them were gone. Flashed away by a teleportation spell. The two ponies landed in a hay cart that was left behind in an alleyway close by, causing it to roll slightly from the impact and burn a bit of the hay from the power of the spell. The unicorn landed on top of the one she saved had gotten a good look at him. He was an eggshell white Pegasus with a mane that looked of a dark silvery color with a streak of a lighter shade that gave it a somewhat metallic look. The one thing that caught her attention the most: were his paws. Yes, he had light brown fur that went from just above all four of his elbows down to his paws. The stallion groaned and his eyes began to flutter open. Then she saw them, his eyes that looked of a pure ice color that had a cat-like slit for the pupil. As they adjusted to the light around him they changed back to look normal, just the slightest bit narrower than a normal pony's pupils but still enough to fool anyone who didn't know or look close enough. "Ow," he spoke in a somber tone, "that's just great. Now I have a headache." he held his head in one of his paws. He looked up at the mare above him and quickly realized he wasn't under the guise of his cloak. She could see his entire body. Without warning he pushed Vinyl off of him and got up quickly, pulling his cloak back over himself. He tried to run away from the mare but was halted by the wall of a building in the way. Vinyl regained her footing and walked towards the stallion calmly, "Wait! Don't run!" he turned to her and made himself as small as possible and started muttering to himself. "Now their all gonna come after me. Just like last time. I don't wanna leave again. Why can't I just be accepted for who I am rather than be shunned for what I look like?" the stallion sniffed and was crying. Tears ran down his face like mini waterfalls of sadness. He trembled and shook until he felt a gentle hoof wrap around his back. He looked up. The mare was still there. "Hey, there's no reason to cry." The colt was confused, "Why are you still here? Aren't you gonna go tell everybody about the new freak in town?" he spoke with disgust. "Freak?" now was the DJ's turn to be confused, "All I see is someone who almost killed themselves. Why would you think I'd see you as a freak?" "You saw me. My paws, and probably my eyes to. I'm a freak." he was still hiding under his cloak. "That doesn't answer my question. Why would you think I'd see you as a freak?" she asked the question slower. "Because everypony else who's seen me does." he spoke sadly and sniffed, "I've been from town to town, city to city, looking for a place to make some friends, but every time I show myself to others they look at me like I'm some sort of contagious disease. Like I'm some sort of monster." Vinyl hugged the stallion, something he had not experienced in a long time. She removed his hood and looked at him in his ice colored eyes, "I don't see you like that. In fact I'm kinda jealous. I wish I looked as cool as you do." He began to cry again, this time from the amount of happiness he felt. "Thank you miss..... heh, I don't even know your name." She smiled at him, "Vinyl Scratch. How 'bout yourself?" "M-My name is....." Names and Other Things"Steel, Soft Steel." said the cloaked stallion with the steel colored mane. "Soft Steel huh?" repeated the DJ, "I guess it's fitting." "What do you mean?" "Well, you have steel colored hair, and you seem like a big softy." she smiled. He smiled back and she stood up and offered him her hoof. "Come on. I'll walk with you for a while." "You don't have to. I'll be fine." he said, taking her outreached appendage and letting her help him up. "Oh no. I'm not gonna let you go and fall off another building. You are not coming out of my sight until I feel like you don't need me to come save you again." she made herself firm and the colt knew she would stick by her word. "....Okay." he said, feeling happier than he did earlier. "Thank you." "No problem." Vinyl reached to her neck and.... "Wait... Wait a second. Where, where are they?" she felt all over her head and shoulders. Then she rushed over to the cart the two fell in. "What's wrong?" Soft Steel asked, not understanding the situation. Why was she freaking out? "My headphones! My headphones are gone! They were here around my neck and now their gone! Where? Where could they have gone?" she was really losing it. "Um, maybe if you enlighten me on the importance of the item..." "My best friend, Octavia, gave them to me as a birthday present. They mean a lot to me and... and..." she stopped when Soft Steel held her in his arms, keeping her still. He buried his muzzle in her mane and sniffed. The DJ shoved him off, "What the buck are you...?" she stopped again as he began smelling around. He flipped his hood back on. "Follow me. But expect some attention." Soft Steel then started trotting out of the alley. The two didn't get very far before they were swarmed by ponies who saw the spectacle earlier. Most of them questioned if the colt was okay and he responded with 'I'm fine', and others asked the DJ how she managed to rescue him so quickly. They didn't have time for that so most of the ponies around just got brushed off. Until, of course, the new princess stepped toward the two. "Hello again. I didn't think we'd meet again in this kind of predicament." The colt gave a slight bow out of respect. Not revealing any unwanted limbs. "Princess. Have you anything to say about what had happened? Or are you here for another reason?" "I did wish to know if you were unharmed, but by the looks of things you're fine. I would ask why you fell from the top of town hall, but I don't wish to pry into your personal reasoning. Just know that if you have any problems you may come to me. I've heard I make a decent psychologist. And it won't get in the way of anything, I promise." He raised an eyebrow under his hood, "You seem to be quite calm considering that was you who screamed." She faltered slightly, "I admit I was frightened by the act. But seeing how it was quickly solved, I no longer have a reason for fear at this moment in time." He nodded, "Quite. Now if you'll excuse me, my acquaintance and I are looking for something." "Alright then," she began to walk away, "I will see you at the welcoming party then. Good-bye for now." with that she trotted off. Soft Steel turned to see Vinyl Scratch approaching with a saddlebag, "Where...?" "I shucked it off earlier. I just went to go get it. Can't go home without the groceries." she smiled. It was one of those sad smiles that you have when you're worried about something. "Don't worry. I got your scent, so I can track down your headphones." he said as they started moving again. "You can do that? You can pinpoint lost items all from the scent of somepony?" He scratched his head, "Don't freak out, but I have an ancestor that's reptilian in nature." The DJ seemed to go wide-eyed under her tinted glasses, "Whoa. So, do you, like, do that thing with your tongue where you smell with that?" "Oh, no, I still smell with my nose, I can just pick up scents like a lizard. It's another thing ponies find weird about me." he looked down, saddened. Vinyl noticed his mood change and placed a foreleg around his lowered neck, "Hey, come on. Don't be that way. If ponies didn't give you a chance and get to know you, then they were just stuck up snobs who don't know how to accept people for who they are." The colt cheered up slightly, "Thanks Vinyl. You've no idea how much it means to hear you say that." "Hey, it's no problem. What are friends for?" The cloaked stallion stopped in his tracks. The mare noticed and turned to face him, "Something wrong Steel?" He looked around and saw that nopony was around, and rushed her, hugging her for all he was worth. The wind caused his hood to fall back and the embrace made his cloak hang to the sides. At first the DJ was surprised, but eased into the hug and wrapped her forelegs around him as well. They stayed that way for a few moments before Soft Steel reluctantly let go. He was crying again, but this time he was smiling. He cried out of happiness and joy. 'Friend... I have a friend.' he thought to himself, which made his smile even bigger. Vinyl smiled with him, pulling his hood back over his head, "Come on. Help me find my headphones." Being reminded of the task at hoof Soft nodded, "Right." He moved his cloak back over himself and started down the street again. The white coated mare took in account that her new friend was noticeably happier. Soft Steel sniffed at Vinyl's mane again, getting a stronger version of her scent. He then sniffed at the air, "We're close." he said and took a left down another street. Vinyl looked around, "Hey, I know this area." "Hang on Vinyl, we're close." the colt said walking toward one of the houses. He stopped short at the door, "Hmm, wonder if anyone's home." "Hold on Soft. Let me get the door." she told the confused stallion, floating out a key with her magic and unlocking the door. Soft Steel's mouth hung open slightly. "Come on in." Vinyl levitated her saddlebags over to a table, "Tavi I'm back with the groceries! And we have a guest so at least come say hello." "Alright Vinyl I'm on my way down." called the voice of an elegant sounding mare. A few moments later an earth pony mare with a grey coat and dark brown mane and tail with a pink treble clef cutie mark walked into the room with the DJ's missing headphones wrapped around her neck. The DJ rushed to the mare, "My headphones! Tavi where did you find them?" spoke the excited white mare, taking the item from around the earth pony's neck. "Well, actually, they just appeared right there from a flash of magic. I expected you finally learned the teleportation spell and zapped them here because you weren't using them at the time." "Haha, well thanks for holding onto them while I was out." Vinyl said placing her headphones back around her own neck. "Oh come now Vinyl, don't be rude." Octavia chastised, "Introduce me to your new friend." "Oh, right. Octavia, this is Soft Steel. Soft Steel, meet Octavia Philharmonica. My roommate, best friend, and marefriend." Octavia blushed lightly, "Charmed." she held out a hoof which Soft Steel flinched away from. Octavia cocked her head to the side, "What's wrong? I don't bite, I promise." Vinyl then stepped up to her new friend, "It's okay, she can be trusted." "Are you sure?" asked a worried Soft Steel. "Positive! C'mon, I promise it'll be alright." "Okay, I'm trusting you on this." he stepped forward again and flipped his hood from his head, eyes closed. He reached out his right hand. Underneath the BlacknessSoft Steel opened his ice colored, reptilian eyes for the young mare to see. This time he didn't adjust them to look normal, but let the two mares see them in the sun's bright light. The black slits seemed menacing, but the facial expression he wore was soft and saddened, like he was expecting something negative. Octavia gasped and put a hoof to cover her lips, trying to hide her shocked expression. By this point Soft Steel lowered his arm back to the ground. Octavia then turned to Vinyl, who stood firm by her new friends side, then back to Soft Steel, "Oh my... that's... wow." she was at a loss for words. "I... don't know what to say. You're... different." The stallion lifted his hood back up quickly with one of his paws, but it was just as quickly pulled back down by Vinyl. "Octy, be polite, he's been through a lot of ridicule already," she then trotted over to whisper, "plus he fell off a building earlier, so cut him some slack." "Oh but I meant no offence. I'm just a little taken back by his... unique features." the grey mare said aloud. "It's okay. I've had other ponies say much worse." he wiped a tear that had formed in his eye, remembering all the things those other ponies had said about and to him. "Oh you poor dear." Octavia moved up to him and gave him a tender hug. "It's alright now," she backed away slightly, "you're in Ponyville now. This is a town of friendship, and everyone is accepted here. So you don't have to wear that cloak anymore." she smiled brightly. He just turned away, "Your words are kind, but until I've found proof of this I'll keep it on." he said grabbing his cloak, he then added, "Plus, if I stop wearing it, I feel... naked." The two mares looked at each other and Vinyl smirked, "Dude, barely anypony wears anything. We're always naked." "I mean it makes me feel like something is missing. That kind of naked." he blushed in embarrassment. "So, this is your home?" he quickly changed the subject. Vinyl's ears perked, "Oh yeah, you want me to show you around?" "Oh let's do it together Vinyl." Octavia chimed in, "It'll be fun." The two mares invited Soft Steel into their home and showed him around. They went through all the rooms except one, Vinyl said they were saving the best for last. When they got to the final room Vinyl asked, "Hey Soft? You got any taste in music?" Soft Steel's eyes went wide as the door opened, revealing a sizable music studio. A recently polished cello was propped on a stand, and a DJ's turn table was sitting at the other end of the space with a door connecting to a recording studio that looked to have hardly ever been used. Soft Steel looked on in awe at all the musical equipment in the room. Then laid his eyes upon a brand new acoustic guitar. He walked over and picked it up, strumming a few cords. He then looked around the room again. "It's beautiful." he said stupefied. He looked back to the guitar and then to Vinyl, "Do you mind. I gotta get something off my chest." "Go ahead, just don't break it. That was expensive." she smiled, happy that her friend seemed to like the small surprise. Soft Steel walked into the recording studio and sat on a stool in front of one of the microphones. He placed his opposable appendage against the neck of the instrument and his four other fingers on the strings. He looked to the door and noticed Octavia trotted in with him, her cello on her back and bow in her mouth. She carefully brought the string instrument to the ground and propped herself up as he began to play. Bow in hoof Octavia listened to the strum of the guitar as he began. I walk a lonely road The only one that I have ever known I don't know where it goes, but it's only me And I walk alone She brought the bow across the strings to play with him as Vinyl used the sound table to bring forth the sounds of more instruments. I walk this empty street On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams Where the city sleeps, and I'm the only one And I walk alone I walk alone I walk alone I walk alone I walk a- My shadow's the only one that walks beside me My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me 'Till then I walk alone Ah-ah Ah-ah ah-ah aaaaah-ah Ah-ah ah-ah ah-ah I'm walkin' down the line That divides me somewhere in my mind On the borderline of the edge and where I walk alone Read between the lines of what's bucked up And everything's alright Check my vital signs, to know I'm still alive And I walk alone I walk alone I walk aloooooooooooone I walk alone I walk a- My shadow's the only one that walks beside me My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me 'Till then I waaaaalk alooone I walk alone I walk a- Octavia joined him as he sang. I walk this empty street On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams Where the city sleeps and I'm the only one And I walk a- My shadow's the only one that walks beside me My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me 'Till then I waaalk aloooooooooooone The city of the dead The city of the daaaaaaaamned The silent are screaming to know wheeeeeeeeen I walk a- I walk a- I walk a- I walk a- I walk a- I walk a-looooooooooone After the final cord he stopped. Tears were streaming down his face in flowing rivers. Old memories preferred to be forgotten bubbled up to the surface. The ridicule, the name-calling, the constant beat downs, and the laughing. So much laughing. So many tears. So much pain inside. And out. Underneath the Blackness, Part 2Vinyl had come into the recording studio in a rush, dashing over to Soft Steel before he collapsed and held him in her forelegs. He was crying again for the third time that day that she knew of. He wept in her embrace as Octavia trotted over and placed a hoof on his back. Soft calmed down quite a bit with the two of them there and Vinyl floated over a box of tissues from another room. Soft took one and blew his nose. "You okay now?" asked the worried white mare. "Yeah. I think I'm okay now." he sniffed. "Thanks Vinyl, Octavia." "No need." spoke the grey Earth Pony, "You needed an outlet for your emotions. All we did was provide it." "Yeah. Besides, what are friends for if not helping each other." Vinyl agreed. "Still, thank you. Both of you." he took another tissue and wiped his tears from his face. "You must have so much sadness bottled up inside. Tell us why." Octavia questioned the mix-breed. "Well, when your mother dies during childbirth and your father never talks to and abandons you after your 14th birthday, you become subject to torment from others because they need an outlet for their anger and frustration." Octavia gasped and Vinyl clenched her teeth, "Those ponies had more fun with it than they thought they were having, and no matter how hard I fought they always put me down, again and again. In high school, I took to listening to music rather than everyone around me, but I still graduated, and instead of going through the ceremony I just stayed in my lousy apartment that I was barely scraping by in anyway and picked up my diploma the next day. Just to avoid the ponies waiting to say something hurtful." he sniffed again, "Sometimes keeping it in is the only thing you can do." "That's awful!" Octavia declared, "Tell us you had at least somepony who stuck by you." Steel thought for a moment, "Well... there was, one pony..." he trailed off and blush slightly. "Oh, please tell us!" He stayed silent and turned away, "...I'd rather not talk about it." he said softly, frowning. Vinyl noticed tears welling up again in his eyes, "Okay, well, let's put the sadness away. Soft?" he looked at her wiping his eyes with another tissue, "Do you have anything else to do today? I can help you out." "Not right now. But I should be getting home." he said getting up. Though he didn't want to, he had to part with his new friends for now. "I'll walk with you." Vinyl said instantaneously. "Thanks Vinyl, but I'll be fine on my own." he smiled sadly. Vinyl looked worried, "Are you sure? I don't want anything to happen to you, and I certainly don't want you to do something like earlier." "I promise I won't. I don't have to now that I know someone actually cares." The trio walked out of the recording studio and back to the entryway. Soft opened the door and looked back to his new friends. A question then popped into his mind. "Are you two going to be at the party later?" Both mares looked at each other and then back to Soft Steel with confirming nods. "Great! I'll see you both there." He grabbed at his hood and pulled it over his metallic mane, slipped his paws behind the black fabric and closed the door behind him. He felt... better, after what had happened today, and started his way home. Twilight returned to her castle and trotted into the kitchen to start a pot for the tea she acquired earlier. As she waited for the pot to boil she reflected on what had happened earlier with the new resident of Ponyville. 'He just... fell! Like he didn't have anything more to live for. Thank goodness Vinyl was there to save him.' she sighed. 'I wonder what went through that stallions head while he was up there? How did he get up there? It's almost impossible to get to those spires unless you fly! I supposed he could have climbed up there, but he would have drawn attention at least. How did nopony notice him until he fell. Heck, I didn't see him until I looked up. "Twilight!" her train of thought was quickly interrupted by Spike calling her name. "Mail's here!" he said as he stepped into the room with her. "Nothing for me, but Princess Cadence sent you a letter. Why she didn't send it through me, I don't know." he handed her the letter and she opened it gently as to reuse the envelope later, and read the letter aloud. Dear Twilight, I am sending you this letter to inform you of something you will find very exciting. I am officially transferring royal guard, Flash Sentry, to your castle! I know all about the little crush you have on him, so I decided as the Princess of Love to send him to you. I'm sure as you're reading this you are growing more excited by the minute, but know that a guard transfer takes a few days to finalize, and it will take another few days for him to pack up all of his belongings in order to move into Ponyville. So this may take a week or so. Aunty Celestia has already made arrangements for Flash's home. He won't be far, but he will not be too close to your castle. I hope you have a good time while he is stationed at your home. And please don't freak out when he arrives for his shift during the day. He should arrive at 11 o' clock and he will leave around 9PM every day. So you should have plenty of time to spend and talk with him. Hope to hear from you soon. -Cadence P.S. Shining Armor says hello. Twilight's mouth was spread into a wide, beaming smile. She started to giggle and laugh. She was so excited her thoughts from earlier were dashed away and she was bouncing on her hooves. "Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!!!" she shouted as she bounded in a circle. She picked up Spike and hugged the life out him, "OH MY GOSH!!!" "Geez Twilight... you sure seem... happy!" the purple scaled dragon managed to wheeze out in the death-grip his surrogate sister had put him in. "I HAVE THE BEST SISTER EVER!!!" she shouted into the dragon's ear-fin, almost causing him to go deaf. She heard her teapot begin to scream and gently placed down the baby dragon, and calmly turned off her stove to pick up the pot with her magic. The rest of the day was uneventful. Pinkie Pie set up the party and ponies started to show up in the town square around 8:30. Her shivering had been sporadic and unpredictable throughout the day, but it didn't hinder her preparations. Soft Steel was sitting in his home going through a box he had yet to unpack in his bedroom. He stared at a doll that his mother made for him before he was born. His dad always told him it looked just like his mother before she passed, as if wanting her last child to have an idea of what she looked like. Soft held it close to his chest and could feel a faint warmth within the doll. It always did that for some reason, one time he thought his mother put a piece of her soul into it, but figured that was just wishful thinking. Soft placed the doll on his pillow which resided on a sleeping bag he used as a makeshift bed. He looked back to the box and moved a few things around. "Huh, what's this?" he said as he found a small piece of metal attached to a thin, but sturdy piece of black rope. The design was that of a blue shield with a small heart-shaped grass-emerald embedded in the center with twin broadswords in an 'X' on the back. The small blades seemed removable, but Soft didn't wish to find out and somehow break it. "Mother's cutie mark necklace." he said with a somber tone. He held the small piece of metal in his paws for a short while, then he turned it around and placed around his neck. "Even though I never knew you, I'll always keep you close, mom." the emerald seemed to gleam slightly as he said that. Soft then looked at a clock on the wall above the door, "The party will be starting soon. I should get going." He dawned his cloak once more that day, but made sure the necklace was noticeable by dangling it outside the clasp that kept the cloak closed. A few minutes later and he arrived at the party that was being thrown for his moving into Ponyville. He smiled as he saw Vinyl and Octavia. Author's Note Decided to stop here. If you want, leave a comment! But know that if you have something inappropriate or harmful to say then keep it to yourself, otherwise I WILL delete your comment on sight. Chapter 6The night had came and went like the flashing spark of a flame ignited by a flint struck by metal. Soft Steel had returned home, unnoticed by anyone, and had passed out on his makeshift bed. As he drifted off to sleep he held close the doll of his mother. The warm feeling that emitted from said doll had put a soft smile on his muzzle. He had no dreams that night, but no nightmares either. Just an empty sleep that left him with energy for the next day. Soft Steel had awoken and gotten off the sleeping bag he had lain on and fixed the fabric to make it look presentable. He then walked into his kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal. The colt didn't bother trying to pour in any milk for he didn't have any, nor did he have a refrigerator or cooler to store it in. So Soft took his dry bowl of munchies and wandered around his house; eventually, he found the box he had been looking for yesterday. He placed the plastic bowl in his mouth and carefully cut open the box with a claw and revealed its contents. Removing handfuls upon handfuls of packing peanuts and letting them fall to the floor to be cleaned later, Soft Steel pulled out a preassembled folding table. He stood on his hind legs and unfolded the table, listening for the wooden bar to latch into place with the metal clip. He took the bowl out of his mouth, placed it down on the new surface, and began to casually snack on the dry cereal like popcorn in a movie theater. The tired expression he wore was well acceptable, as he only woke up 10 minutes ago. Or what felt like 10 minutes ago as he didn't know exactly what time it was. He paused his snacking at the midway point in his bowl to walk around his new living space. A large main room which conjoined the kitchen in the north end, the one master bedroom in the east wing where he would put his real bed once it arrived later that day, and a smaller study or guest room in the west part of the house. He rummaged through one of his many unpacked boxes and found his lucky bronze pocket watch. The exact current time was 11:22. He sighed tiredly and went to open his pitch black curtains. Behind them were folded over blinds that only let in a bit of light, but obscured any prying eyes from looking in. Soft let his eyes adjust to the new level of light and went back to his breakfast. Another 20 minutes went by and Soft Steel had dawned his black cloak and stepped outside into his backyard, the wooden fence being a good eight feet tall. A pile of seed bags lay next to the door and he got to organizing them. It took him a good 15 minutes to get all of them in the order he felt was good. "Okay, so here's my vegetable aisle, my fruit trees will grow over there, and I'll plant the flowers along the side of the house. I've got about another hour until my oven and other appliances arrive-" *ding dong* went the doorbell to his house, "or it could get here now." Soft Steel re-entered his home and made his way to the front door. He pulled over his hood and opened the passageway, but didn't expect Vinyl of all ponies be standing there with her purple tinted glasses on. "Hey Steel! Me and Octy missed you last night. Why'd you leave?" "Oh, hey Vinyl. Um, well, large groups of ponies don't really do good for me. Makes me really uncomfortable." he stated. "Oh! Right. Not many great experiences, I remember." Vinyl said with melancholy. "So, what brings you to my house? How did you find out where I live anyway?" Soft Steel was curious. He motioned for her to come inside. "I asked around town. 'Hey, do you know where the new pony is staying?' I got results pretty fast considering Ponyville doesn't get many new residents these days." she stated as she looked around Soft's new home. "Nice spacing you got in here." "Thank you." Soft smiled, accepting the compliment on his home. Vinyl looked around some more and was slightly disgruntled. She then seemed to remember something important, "Shit! What time is it?" she was quick in her words. "Umm," Soft took out his pocket watch, "It is exactly noon. Why, what's wrong?" "Sorry to cut my visit short but I gotta go now!" she bolted out the door, "I'll come back later see you!!" she yelled over her shoulder as she sprinted full gallop down the road. She almost hit a wooden coach in her mad dash. Soft Steel was slightly shocked at how fast she was out of sight. "Okay, see you later." he said almost faintly, sad that his new friend left in such a hurry. A couple hours had passed and he was getting ready to leave. His cloak was latched shut, hood up once more, and his eyes were hidden. Soft picked up a small bouquet of various flowers and tucked them in a small strap along the inside of his coat. He left the house and locked the door behind him, and made his way to the Northeast part of town. After a short 15 minute trek he was starting to get close to the hospital.
Chapter 1Twilight stepped out of her crystal castle with a saddlebag on, hoping to get some fresh air and meet up with her friends after binge reading her favorite books from Princess Celestia. It also gave her a chance to stretch her legs and wings. "Spike! I'm going out for a little bit! I'll be back later!" she yelled out to her surrogate little dragon brother. "Okay, I'm gonna finish cleaning up here then!" he yelled back. She closed the door behind her and began trotting down the road to the Carousel Boutique to see what Rarity was up to, and maybe get some of her favorite tea. On her way she saw the local party pony, Pinkie Pie, bouncing her way with her smile permanently plastered on her face. "Hello Pinkie Pie, you're looking quite cheerful today." "Oh hey Twilight, I just found out that someone just moved into Ponyville! So I'm on my way to gather the supplies I need for his welcoming party! It's gonna be super-duper fuuuuun!" Pinkie Pie bounced around her purple friend. "You... did ask him if he wanted a party first, right? Remember last time you didn't inform anypony about their own party?" Twilight asked with concern. Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing and looked to Twilight, "Oh yeah. But it's too late to go back now. Last I saw him he was at Rarity's place, but he might not be there anymore." Twilight put a hoof to her chin, "Hmm, maybe I can tell him about the party. What does he look like?" Pinkie Pie seemed to cheer up a little and gave her friend an enormous hug, "Ooooooh, thank you Twilight. The last the way I saw he was wearing a black cloak with his hood up, so I didn't get a good look at his face or colors." "He must be talking to Rarity right now then. I was just headed that way myself, so it won't be any trouble." "Okie-doki-loki, I'll see ya later Twi." and with that the pink party pony bounced away, happy as ever. Twilight smiled happily at her random friend as she began trotting again. 'Should be a fun party. I wonder what this new pony looks like under his cloak.' About five minutes later Twilight was knocking on Rarity's door. The only thing that threw her off was that Rarity's little sister, Sweetie Belle, answered instead of her. "Well hello princess." she greeted with a bow, "What brings you to my sisters humble establishment?" such a polite little filly. "Hello Sweetie Belle. I'm here to see Rarity. Is she in?" "Oh yes." she opened the door a bit wider, "Please do come inside. I'll go and fetch my sister." "Thank you Sweetie. I appreciate your kindness." Sweetie Belle bowed once again, and went into one of the other rooms to find the white unicorn. It didn't take very long before said unicorn stepped into the room followed by a pony in a pitch black cloak that went down to hide his legs, and the hood over his head which blocked his eyes. "Twilight, darling. How are you? It's been some time." she said as she hugged her friend. "Hi Rarity. I'm doing just fine." she looked to the hooded pony, "Did you just finish with a client?" Rarity looked over her shoulder at the figure, who was moving past her to leave, "Now hold on just one moment, sir. But I told you that I need to take fresh measurements to make you that new cloak." The hooded pony turned and gave her what seemed to be a scowl, "And I told you that the ones I gave you are already new and correct. I also told you that I refuse to remove my cloak in front of you. Now then, I have more important things to do than argue with some stubborn mare." "Excuse me." Twilight had moved forward while he was speaking. "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle, and I'm here to deliver a message to you sir." The cloaked pony turned to her with what should have been a look of surprise. "Okay then. But please be quick about it. I'm in a bit of a hurry as you can tell." "Alright then. My good friend Pinkie Pie knows that you are new to town, and she wishes to know whether or not it is okay to throw you a welcoming party today." He seemed to think about this for a moment. Then he spoke, "As long as it isn't inside of my home, then I do not see any problems." She nodded, "Right then. I will pass along this information to my friend. Thank you for your time." Twilight then trotted back to Rarity who stood slack jawed. "Is something wrong Rarity?" "It's just that he has been nothing but rude and refusing to me, and then you walk up and he seems less so." Twilight turned and watched as the pony walked out the door of the boutique and disappeared from sight. Twilight simply shrugged at the elegant mare, "Well Rarity, as much I as don't want to cut this visit short, I have to go tell Pinkie the news about the party." "I understand darling. I have to start on that stallions cloak anyway. *sigh* I just hope the measurements he gave me really are correct." the pristine mare said hesitantly. "Alright then. Oh, but before I go, do you have any of my favorite tea bags?" Twilight asked, remembering why she came here to begin with. "Of course, darling. Let me go get you some for later." Rarity said and started walking to her kitchen. "Thank you." Twilight beamed gratefully. "Okay then. So, he's okay with me throwing him a party, but it can't be in his house." Pinkie Pie repeated the information back to Twilight as they stood in front of the town hall. "Yes, that is correct." confirmed the purple alicorn. "Oh, but my lockpicking skill is almost 100. Guess I'll have to go find another dungeon with a locked chest." Twilight was a bit confused with that statement, but just put it as Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. "Ooookay then. Well good luck with that." she turned to leave Pinkie to her work. "Whoooooooooaaaaaaa." Pinkie Pie shook violently, "Twilight! Twilight!! My Pinkie Sense it going off." "What's wrong? Any indication of what's going to happen?" "All I know is that it's, whoooooooaaaaa, happening later today, and it's gonna be one heck of a doozy. Hoohoohoohhooohhooo." "Well, I just hope it doesn't get in the way of the party. That wouldn't be a good way to greet our new guest." Pinkie Pie nodded, "Don't worry. I best be going now. I've got a party to set up, and it's gonna be awesome." with that she bounced away..... again. Twilight stretched her wings, but as she was about to take off she saw the new resident of Ponyville standing at the top perch of the town hall. 'What is he doing up there? Better question: How did he get up there?' His coat was caught by the wind and Twilight had to squint to see the smallest glimpse of.... something. 'What in the....' As she thought that, he leaned forward and fell. "OHMIGOSH NO!" Author's Note Whoever can guess the references first gets a cookie.
Of Musicians and MagicVinyl Scratch woke up and had a very normal day. Got out of bed, kissed Octavia, downed some booze, passed out, woke up again with a hangover and Tavi fussing over her, had sex with Tavi, drank more booze, dropped some bass, went a second round with Tavi causing her to pass out, and just remembered it was her turn to buy groceries. Vinyl was just on her way home and she met up with Pinkie Pie to see if she had any parties planned that she could DJ at. Turns out there was a new stallion in town and Pinkie needed someone to play music. After that she made her way through town square, headphones blasting rock music in her ears. She saw the new princess staring up at the top of the town hall. 'What's she looking at?' thought the DJ. She moved one of the headphones from her ear so she could listen and hear the music at the same time, and moved forward to ask what was up. Until she screamed. "OHMIGOSH NO!" The DJ looked up and saw someone falling off the top spire. The act caused the mare's eyes to go wide and flashback to a time she wish she could forget. She was at a club in Manehattan, performing at a gig. She could feel the beat of the bass, smell the sweat of countless ponies dancing, and she loved every second of what she did. Spinning tracks and mixing at her turntable. That was one of the many times she felt truly alive. After her time spinning her records was up she received her payment and went to blow a little of it on a drink or two. Until, out of the corner of her eye she saw a lone stallion open the door that led to the roof and enter. She paid it no mind and figured the guy was meeting some friends up there to drink or do a few drugs. No big deal, this was a club after all. After just one drink, as she needed to get back to her hotel safe, she left the club and headed down the street. A few seconds later and something fell and crashed into a cart next to her, causing her to scream out of fright. After she regained some of her composure she stepped forwards and saw the stallion from before, dead from the fall and bleeding out, staring into his lifeless eyes. She screamed again, this time from the pure horror that struck her. She later learned that the poor colt was a new to the city and was scoffed at, criticized, and made fun of. So the royal guard called it off as suicide and left it at that. Vinyl came out of her memory, which only flashed by for a couple of seconds. She then shucked off her saddlebags of broke into a full on sprint. Her electric blue mane flowing behind her. 'Not this time. NOT THIS TIME!' she thought as she jumped onto a merchants stand and lit her horn. She jumped from the stand and tackled the colt mid-air as he was falling. She poured a crazy amount of magic into her horn, and in an instant the two of them were gone. Flashed away by a teleportation spell. The two ponies landed in a hay cart that was left behind in an alleyway close by, causing it to roll slightly from the impact and burn a bit of the hay from the power of the spell. The unicorn landed on top of the one she saved had gotten a good look at him. He was an eggshell white Pegasus with a mane that looked of a dark silvery color with a streak of a lighter shade that gave it a somewhat metallic look. The one thing that caught her attention the most: were his paws. Yes, he had light brown fur that went from just above all four of his elbows down to his paws. The stallion groaned and his eyes began to flutter open. Then she saw them, his eyes that looked of a pure ice color that had a cat-like slit for the pupil. As they adjusted to the light around him they changed back to look normal, just the slightest bit narrower than a normal pony's pupils but still enough to fool anyone who didn't know or look close enough. "Ow," he spoke in a somber tone, "that's just great. Now I have a headache." he held his head in one of his paws. He looked up at the mare above him and quickly realized he wasn't under the guise of his cloak. She could see his entire body. Without warning he pushed Vinyl off of him and got up quickly, pulling his cloak back over himself. He tried to run away from the mare but was halted by the wall of a building in the way. Vinyl regained her footing and walked towards the stallion calmly, "Wait! Don't run!" he turned to her and made himself as small as possible and started muttering to himself. "Now their all gonna come after me. Just like last time. I don't wanna leave again. Why can't I just be accepted for who I am rather than be shunned for what I look like?" the stallion sniffed and was crying. Tears ran down his face like mini waterfalls of sadness. He trembled and shook until he felt a gentle hoof wrap around his back. He looked up. The mare was still there. "Hey, there's no reason to cry." The colt was confused, "Why are you still here? Aren't you gonna go tell everybody about the new freak in town?" he spoke with disgust. "Freak?" now was the DJ's turn to be confused, "All I see is someone who almost killed themselves. Why would you think I'd see you as a freak?" "You saw me. My paws, and probably my eyes to. I'm a freak." he was still hiding under his cloak. "That doesn't answer my question. Why would you think I'd see you as a freak?" she asked the question slower. "Because everypony else who's seen me does." he spoke sadly and sniffed, "I've been from town to town, city to city, looking for a place to make some friends, but every time I show myself to others they look at me like I'm some sort of contagious disease. Like I'm some sort of monster." Vinyl hugged the stallion, something he had not experienced in a long time. She removed his hood and looked at him in his ice colored eyes, "I don't see you like that. In fact I'm kinda jealous. I wish I looked as cool as you do." He began to cry again, this time from the amount of happiness he felt. "Thank you miss..... heh, I don't even know your name." She smiled at him, "Vinyl Scratch. How 'bout yourself?" "M-My name is....."
Names and Other Things"Steel, Soft Steel." said the cloaked stallion with the steel colored mane. "Soft Steel huh?" repeated the DJ, "I guess it's fitting." "What do you mean?" "Well, you have steel colored hair, and you seem like a big softy." she smiled. He smiled back and she stood up and offered him her hoof. "Come on. I'll walk with you for a while." "You don't have to. I'll be fine." he said, taking her outreached appendage and letting her help him up. "Oh no. I'm not gonna let you go and fall off another building. You are not coming out of my sight until I feel like you don't need me to come save you again." she made herself firm and the colt knew she would stick by her word. "....Okay." he said, feeling happier than he did earlier. "Thank you." "No problem." Vinyl reached to her neck and.... "Wait... Wait a second. Where, where are they?" she felt all over her head and shoulders. Then she rushed over to the cart the two fell in. "What's wrong?" Soft Steel asked, not understanding the situation. Why was she freaking out? "My headphones! My headphones are gone! They were here around my neck and now their gone! Where? Where could they have gone?" she was really losing it. "Um, maybe if you enlighten me on the importance of the item..." "My best friend, Octavia, gave them to me as a birthday present. They mean a lot to me and... and..." she stopped when Soft Steel held her in his arms, keeping her still. He buried his muzzle in her mane and sniffed. The DJ shoved him off, "What the buck are you...?" she stopped again as he began smelling around. He flipped his hood back on. "Follow me. But expect some attention." Soft Steel then started trotting out of the alley. The two didn't get very far before they were swarmed by ponies who saw the spectacle earlier. Most of them questioned if the colt was okay and he responded with 'I'm fine', and others asked the DJ how she managed to rescue him so quickly. They didn't have time for that so most of the ponies around just got brushed off. Until, of course, the new princess stepped toward the two. "Hello again. I didn't think we'd meet again in this kind of predicament." The colt gave a slight bow out of respect. Not revealing any unwanted limbs. "Princess. Have you anything to say about what had happened? Or are you here for another reason?" "I did wish to know if you were unharmed, but by the looks of things you're fine. I would ask why you fell from the top of town hall, but I don't wish to pry into your personal reasoning. Just know that if you have any problems you may come to me. I've heard I make a decent psychologist. And it won't get in the way of anything, I promise." He raised an eyebrow under his hood, "You seem to be quite calm considering that was you who screamed." She faltered slightly, "I admit I was frightened by the act. But seeing how it was quickly solved, I no longer have a reason for fear at this moment in time." He nodded, "Quite. Now if you'll excuse me, my acquaintance and I are looking for something." "Alright then," she began to walk away, "I will see you at the welcoming party then. Good-bye for now." with that she trotted off. Soft Steel turned to see Vinyl Scratch approaching with a saddlebag, "Where...?" "I shucked it off earlier. I just went to go get it. Can't go home without the groceries." she smiled. It was one of those sad smiles that you have when you're worried about something. "Don't worry. I got your scent, so I can track down your headphones." he said as they started moving again. "You can do that? You can pinpoint lost items all from the scent of somepony?" He scratched his head, "Don't freak out, but I have an ancestor that's reptilian in nature." The DJ seemed to go wide-eyed under her tinted glasses, "Whoa. So, do you, like, do that thing with your tongue where you smell with that?" "Oh, no, I still smell with my nose, I can just pick up scents like a lizard. It's another thing ponies find weird about me." he looked down, saddened. Vinyl noticed his mood change and placed a foreleg around his lowered neck, "Hey, come on. Don't be that way. If ponies didn't give you a chance and get to know you, then they were just stuck up snobs who don't know how to accept people for who they are." The colt cheered up slightly, "Thanks Vinyl. You've no idea how much it means to hear you say that." "Hey, it's no problem. What are friends for?" The cloaked stallion stopped in his tracks. The mare noticed and turned to face him, "Something wrong Steel?" He looked around and saw that nopony was around, and rushed her, hugging her for all he was worth. The wind caused his hood to fall back and the embrace made his cloak hang to the sides. At first the DJ was surprised, but eased into the hug and wrapped her forelegs around him as well. They stayed that way for a few moments before Soft Steel reluctantly let go. He was crying again, but this time he was smiling. He cried out of happiness and joy. 'Friend... I have a friend.' he thought to himself, which made his smile even bigger. Vinyl smiled with him, pulling his hood back over his head, "Come on. Help me find my headphones." Being reminded of the task at hoof Soft nodded, "Right." He moved his cloak back over himself and started down the street again. The white coated mare took in account that her new friend was noticeably happier. Soft Steel sniffed at Vinyl's mane again, getting a stronger version of her scent. He then sniffed at the air, "We're close." he said and took a left down another street. Vinyl looked around, "Hey, I know this area." "Hang on Vinyl, we're close." the colt said walking toward one of the houses. He stopped short at the door, "Hmm, wonder if anyone's home." "Hold on Soft. Let me get the door." she told the confused stallion, floating out a key with her magic and unlocking the door. Soft Steel's mouth hung open slightly. "Come on in." Vinyl levitated her saddlebags over to a table, "Tavi I'm back with the groceries! And we have a guest so at least come say hello." "Alright Vinyl I'm on my way down." called the voice of an elegant sounding mare. A few moments later an earth pony mare with a grey coat and dark brown mane and tail with a pink treble clef cutie mark walked into the room with the DJ's missing headphones wrapped around her neck. The DJ rushed to the mare, "My headphones! Tavi where did you find them?" spoke the excited white mare, taking the item from around the earth pony's neck. "Well, actually, they just appeared right there from a flash of magic. I expected you finally learned the teleportation spell and zapped them here because you weren't using them at the time." "Haha, well thanks for holding onto them while I was out." Vinyl said placing her headphones back around her own neck. "Oh come now Vinyl, don't be rude." Octavia chastised, "Introduce me to your new friend." "Oh, right. Octavia, this is Soft Steel. Soft Steel, meet Octavia Philharmonica. My roommate, best friend, and marefriend." Octavia blushed lightly, "Charmed." she held out a hoof which Soft Steel flinched away from. Octavia cocked her head to the side, "What's wrong? I don't bite, I promise." Vinyl then stepped up to her new friend, "It's okay, she can be trusted." "Are you sure?" asked a worried Soft Steel. "Positive! C'mon, I promise it'll be alright." "Okay, I'm trusting you on this." he stepped forward again and flipped his hood from his head, eyes closed. He reached out his right hand.
Underneath the BlacknessSoft Steel opened his ice colored, reptilian eyes for the young mare to see. This time he didn't adjust them to look normal, but let the two mares see them in the sun's bright light. The black slits seemed menacing, but the facial expression he wore was soft and saddened, like he was expecting something negative. Octavia gasped and put a hoof to cover her lips, trying to hide her shocked expression. By this point Soft Steel lowered his arm back to the ground. Octavia then turned to Vinyl, who stood firm by her new friends side, then back to Soft Steel, "Oh my... that's... wow." she was at a loss for words. "I... don't know what to say. You're... different." The stallion lifted his hood back up quickly with one of his paws, but it was just as quickly pulled back down by Vinyl. "Octy, be polite, he's been through a lot of ridicule already," she then trotted over to whisper, "plus he fell off a building earlier, so cut him some slack." "Oh but I meant no offence. I'm just a little taken back by his... unique features." the grey mare said aloud. "It's okay. I've had other ponies say much worse." he wiped a tear that had formed in his eye, remembering all the things those other ponies had said about and to him. "Oh you poor dear." Octavia moved up to him and gave him a tender hug. "It's alright now," she backed away slightly, "you're in Ponyville now. This is a town of friendship, and everyone is accepted here. So you don't have to wear that cloak anymore." she smiled brightly. He just turned away, "Your words are kind, but until I've found proof of this I'll keep it on." he said grabbing his cloak, he then added, "Plus, if I stop wearing it, I feel... naked." The two mares looked at each other and Vinyl smirked, "Dude, barely anypony wears anything. We're always naked." "I mean it makes me feel like something is missing. That kind of naked." he blushed in embarrassment. "So, this is your home?" he quickly changed the subject. Vinyl's ears perked, "Oh yeah, you want me to show you around?" "Oh let's do it together Vinyl." Octavia chimed in, "It'll be fun." The two mares invited Soft Steel into their home and showed him around. They went through all the rooms except one, Vinyl said they were saving the best for last. When they got to the final room Vinyl asked, "Hey Soft? You got any taste in music?" Soft Steel's eyes went wide as the door opened, revealing a sizable music studio. A recently polished cello was propped on a stand, and a DJ's turn table was sitting at the other end of the space with a door connecting to a recording studio that looked to have hardly ever been used. Soft Steel looked on in awe at all the musical equipment in the room. Then laid his eyes upon a brand new acoustic guitar. He walked over and picked it up, strumming a few cords. He then looked around the room again. "It's beautiful." he said stupefied. He looked back to the guitar and then to Vinyl, "Do you mind. I gotta get something off my chest." "Go ahead, just don't break it. That was expensive." she smiled, happy that her friend seemed to like the small surprise. Soft Steel walked into the recording studio and sat on a stool in front of one of the microphones. He placed his opposable appendage against the neck of the instrument and his four other fingers on the strings. He looked to the door and noticed Octavia trotted in with him, her cello on her back and bow in her mouth. She carefully brought the string instrument to the ground and propped herself up as he began to play. Bow in hoof Octavia listened to the strum of the guitar as he began. I walk a lonely road The only one that I have ever known I don't know where it goes, but it's only me And I walk alone She brought the bow across the strings to play with him as Vinyl used the sound table to bring forth the sounds of more instruments. I walk this empty street On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams Where the city sleeps, and I'm the only one And I walk alone I walk alone I walk alone I walk alone I walk a- My shadow's the only one that walks beside me My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me 'Till then I walk alone Ah-ah Ah-ah ah-ah aaaaah-ah Ah-ah ah-ah ah-ah I'm walkin' down the line That divides me somewhere in my mind On the borderline of the edge and where I walk alone Read between the lines of what's bucked up And everything's alright Check my vital signs, to know I'm still alive And I walk alone I walk alone I walk aloooooooooooone I walk alone I walk a- My shadow's the only one that walks beside me My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me 'Till then I waaaaalk alooone I walk alone I walk a- Octavia joined him as he sang. I walk this empty street On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams Where the city sleeps and I'm the only one And I walk a- My shadow's the only one that walks beside me My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me 'Till then I waaalk aloooooooooooone The city of the dead The city of the daaaaaaaamned The silent are screaming to know wheeeeeeeeen I walk a- I walk a- I walk a- I walk a- I walk a- I walk a-looooooooooone After the final cord he stopped. Tears were streaming down his face in flowing rivers. Old memories preferred to be forgotten bubbled up to the surface. The ridicule, the name-calling, the constant beat downs, and the laughing. So much laughing. So many tears. So much pain inside. And out.
Underneath the Blackness, Part 2Vinyl had come into the recording studio in a rush, dashing over to Soft Steel before he collapsed and held him in her forelegs. He was crying again for the third time that day that she knew of. He wept in her embrace as Octavia trotted over and placed a hoof on his back. Soft calmed down quite a bit with the two of them there and Vinyl floated over a box of tissues from another room. Soft took one and blew his nose. "You okay now?" asked the worried white mare. "Yeah. I think I'm okay now." he sniffed. "Thanks Vinyl, Octavia." "No need." spoke the grey Earth Pony, "You needed an outlet for your emotions. All we did was provide it." "Yeah. Besides, what are friends for if not helping each other." Vinyl agreed. "Still, thank you. Both of you." he took another tissue and wiped his tears from his face. "You must have so much sadness bottled up inside. Tell us why." Octavia questioned the mix-breed. "Well, when your mother dies during childbirth and your father never talks to and abandons you after your 14th birthday, you become subject to torment from others because they need an outlet for their anger and frustration." Octavia gasped and Vinyl clenched her teeth, "Those ponies had more fun with it than they thought they were having, and no matter how hard I fought they always put me down, again and again. In high school, I took to listening to music rather than everyone around me, but I still graduated, and instead of going through the ceremony I just stayed in my lousy apartment that I was barely scraping by in anyway and picked up my diploma the next day. Just to avoid the ponies waiting to say something hurtful." he sniffed again, "Sometimes keeping it in is the only thing you can do." "That's awful!" Octavia declared, "Tell us you had at least somepony who stuck by you." Steel thought for a moment, "Well... there was, one pony..." he trailed off and blush slightly. "Oh, please tell us!" He stayed silent and turned away, "...I'd rather not talk about it." he said softly, frowning. Vinyl noticed tears welling up again in his eyes, "Okay, well, let's put the sadness away. Soft?" he looked at her wiping his eyes with another tissue, "Do you have anything else to do today? I can help you out." "Not right now. But I should be getting home." he said getting up. Though he didn't want to, he had to part with his new friends for now. "I'll walk with you." Vinyl said instantaneously. "Thanks Vinyl, but I'll be fine on my own." he smiled sadly. Vinyl looked worried, "Are you sure? I don't want anything to happen to you, and I certainly don't want you to do something like earlier." "I promise I won't. I don't have to now that I know someone actually cares." The trio walked out of the recording studio and back to the entryway. Soft opened the door and looked back to his new friends. A question then popped into his mind. "Are you two going to be at the party later?" Both mares looked at each other and then back to Soft Steel with confirming nods. "Great! I'll see you both there." He grabbed at his hood and pulled it over his metallic mane, slipped his paws behind the black fabric and closed the door behind him. He felt... better, after what had happened today, and started his way home. Twilight returned to her castle and trotted into the kitchen to start a pot for the tea she acquired earlier. As she waited for the pot to boil she reflected on what had happened earlier with the new resident of Ponyville. 'He just... fell! Like he didn't have anything more to live for. Thank goodness Vinyl was there to save him.' she sighed. 'I wonder what went through that stallions head while he was up there? How did he get up there? It's almost impossible to get to those spires unless you fly! I supposed he could have climbed up there, but he would have drawn attention at least. How did nopony notice him until he fell. Heck, I didn't see him until I looked up. "Twilight!" her train of thought was quickly interrupted by Spike calling her name. "Mail's here!" he said as he stepped into the room with her. "Nothing for me, but Princess Cadence sent you a letter. Why she didn't send it through me, I don't know." he handed her the letter and she opened it gently as to reuse the envelope later, and read the letter aloud. Dear Twilight, I am sending you this letter to inform you of something you will find very exciting. I am officially transferring royal guard, Flash Sentry, to your castle! I know all about the little crush you have on him, so I decided as the Princess of Love to send him to you. I'm sure as you're reading this you are growing more excited by the minute, but know that a guard transfer takes a few days to finalize, and it will take another few days for him to pack up all of his belongings in order to move into Ponyville. So this may take a week or so. Aunty Celestia has already made arrangements for Flash's home. He won't be far, but he will not be too close to your castle. I hope you have a good time while he is stationed at your home. And please don't freak out when he arrives for his shift during the day. He should arrive at 11 o' clock and he will leave around 9PM every day. So you should have plenty of time to spend and talk with him. Hope to hear from you soon. -Cadence P.S. Shining Armor says hello. Twilight's mouth was spread into a wide, beaming smile. She started to giggle and laugh. She was so excited her thoughts from earlier were dashed away and she was bouncing on her hooves. "Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!!!" she shouted as she bounded in a circle. She picked up Spike and hugged the life out him, "OH MY GOSH!!!" "Geez Twilight... you sure seem... happy!" the purple scaled dragon managed to wheeze out in the death-grip his surrogate sister had put him in. "I HAVE THE BEST SISTER EVER!!!" she shouted into the dragon's ear-fin, almost causing him to go deaf. She heard her teapot begin to scream and gently placed down the baby dragon, and calmly turned off her stove to pick up the pot with her magic. The rest of the day was uneventful. Pinkie Pie set up the party and ponies started to show up in the town square around 8:30. Her shivering had been sporadic and unpredictable throughout the day, but it didn't hinder her preparations. Soft Steel was sitting in his home going through a box he had yet to unpack in his bedroom. He stared at a doll that his mother made for him before he was born. His dad always told him it looked just like his mother before she passed, as if wanting her last child to have an idea of what she looked like. Soft held it close to his chest and could feel a faint warmth within the doll. It always did that for some reason, one time he thought his mother put a piece of her soul into it, but figured that was just wishful thinking. Soft placed the doll on his pillow which resided on a sleeping bag he used as a makeshift bed. He looked back to the box and moved a few things around. "Huh, what's this?" he said as he found a small piece of metal attached to a thin, but sturdy piece of black rope. The design was that of a blue shield with a small heart-shaped grass-emerald embedded in the center with twin broadswords in an 'X' on the back. The small blades seemed removable, but Soft didn't wish to find out and somehow break it. "Mother's cutie mark necklace." he said with a somber tone. He held the small piece of metal in his paws for a short while, then he turned it around and placed around his neck. "Even though I never knew you, I'll always keep you close, mom." the emerald seemed to gleam slightly as he said that. Soft then looked at a clock on the wall above the door, "The party will be starting soon. I should get going." He dawned his cloak once more that day, but made sure the necklace was noticeable by dangling it outside the clasp that kept the cloak closed. A few minutes later and he arrived at the party that was being thrown for his moving into Ponyville. He smiled as he saw Vinyl and Octavia. Author's Note Decided to stop here. If you want, leave a comment! But know that if you have something inappropriate or harmful to say then keep it to yourself, otherwise I WILL delete your comment on sight.
Chapter 6The night had came and went like the flashing spark of a flame ignited by a flint struck by metal. Soft Steel had returned home, unnoticed by anyone, and had passed out on his makeshift bed. As he drifted off to sleep he held close the doll of his mother. The warm feeling that emitted from said doll had put a soft smile on his muzzle. He had no dreams that night, but no nightmares either. Just an empty sleep that left him with energy for the next day. Soft Steel had awoken and gotten off the sleeping bag he had lain on and fixed the fabric to make it look presentable. He then walked into his kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal. The colt didn't bother trying to pour in any milk for he didn't have any, nor did he have a refrigerator or cooler to store it in. So Soft took his dry bowl of munchies and wandered around his house; eventually, he found the box he had been looking for yesterday. He placed the plastic bowl in his mouth and carefully cut open the box with a claw and revealed its contents. Removing handfuls upon handfuls of packing peanuts and letting them fall to the floor to be cleaned later, Soft Steel pulled out a preassembled folding table. He stood on his hind legs and unfolded the table, listening for the wooden bar to latch into place with the metal clip. He took the bowl out of his mouth, placed it down on the new surface, and began to casually snack on the dry cereal like popcorn in a movie theater. The tired expression he wore was well acceptable, as he only woke up 10 minutes ago. Or what felt like 10 minutes ago as he didn't know exactly what time it was. He paused his snacking at the midway point in his bowl to walk around his new living space. A large main room which conjoined the kitchen in the north end, the one master bedroom in the east wing where he would put his real bed once it arrived later that day, and a smaller study or guest room in the west part of the house. He rummaged through one of his many unpacked boxes and found his lucky bronze pocket watch. The exact current time was 11:22. He sighed tiredly and went to open his pitch black curtains. Behind them were folded over blinds that only let in a bit of light, but obscured any prying eyes from looking in. Soft let his eyes adjust to the new level of light and went back to his breakfast. Another 20 minutes went by and Soft Steel had dawned his black cloak and stepped outside into his backyard, the wooden fence being a good eight feet tall. A pile of seed bags lay next to the door and he got to organizing them. It took him a good 15 minutes to get all of them in the order he felt was good. "Okay, so here's my vegetable aisle, my fruit trees will grow over there, and I'll plant the flowers along the side of the house. I've got about another hour until my oven and other appliances arrive-" *ding dong* went the doorbell to his house, "or it could get here now." Soft Steel re-entered his home and made his way to the front door. He pulled over his hood and opened the passageway, but didn't expect Vinyl of all ponies be standing there with her purple tinted glasses on. "Hey Steel! Me and Octy missed you last night. Why'd you leave?" "Oh, hey Vinyl. Um, well, large groups of ponies don't really do good for me. Makes me really uncomfortable." he stated. "Oh! Right. Not many great experiences, I remember." Vinyl said with melancholy. "So, what brings you to my house? How did you find out where I live anyway?" Soft Steel was curious. He motioned for her to come inside. "I asked around town. 'Hey, do you know where the new pony is staying?' I got results pretty fast considering Ponyville doesn't get many new residents these days." she stated as she looked around Soft's new home. "Nice spacing you got in here." "Thank you." Soft smiled, accepting the compliment on his home. Vinyl looked around some more and was slightly disgruntled. She then seemed to remember something important, "Shit! What time is it?" she was quick in her words. "Umm," Soft took out his pocket watch, "It is exactly noon. Why, what's wrong?" "Sorry to cut my visit short but I gotta go now!" she bolted out the door, "I'll come back later see you!!" she yelled over her shoulder as she sprinted full gallop down the road. She almost hit a wooden coach in her mad dash. Soft Steel was slightly shocked at how fast she was out of sight. "Okay, see you later." he said almost faintly, sad that his new friend left in such a hurry. A couple hours had passed and he was getting ready to leave. His cloak was latched shut, hood up once more, and his eyes were hidden. Soft picked up a small bouquet of various flowers and tucked them in a small strap along the inside of his coat. He left the house and locked the door behind him, and made his way to the Northeast part of town. After a short 15 minute trek he was starting to get close to the hospital.
