Heartstruck

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter four
Chaper Five
Chapter Six

Chapter One

"Have a nice evening, class!" Miss Cheerilie called out to all of us fillies and colts leaving the school.

"Thank you" I chimed as I passed by her, trotting anxiously away from the school.

My name is Rain Shade. I am a small unicorn filly, smaller than most.

I had been told by my mom I had to head home and drop off my school supplies and any homework I had before going to my best friend, Molto Tempest's house.

He was a charcoal black earth pony who had a steel gray mane. his eyes were a brilliant shade of copper.

He followed beside me, chatting about a project he was working on with his dad. Something about the metalworks that they ran, in which I understood almost none of.

After our walk, which lasted all of a hour, we arrived at my house. It was a small structure resembling more of a shack than an actual house, but it's all my mom could afford for us. The roof had small leaks in it and some of the hardened clay that made up the outside around the studs and baseboards had cracked. It was intact, but needed repair.

We quietly stepped in, checking to see if ShallowShine, my mom, was asleep. She was. She worked late nights and always came home early in the morning, but stayed up late enough to pack my school bags, comb my mane straight, and send me off to school with loving notions.

She was all anyone could want from a mom. She loved me to pieces and always looked after me, providing the best she could, and I loved her for it.

I crept into my room and emptied my schoolbags out onto the small table liked to call a desk. Then I carefully packed my drawing supplies into my bag and re-buttoned the flap. I also grabbed my guitar, careful to hang it off my torso in a way it wouldn't hit the ground.

My two favourite hobbies were drawing and guitar, even though I was horrid at the latter.

Using my magic I wrote my mom a note and taped it to the door stating where I was if she had forgotten, and that I loved her extensively.

We left the lot and began trotting our way out to Molto's.

It was well over an hour before we arrived, and we were slightly tired and immensely thirsty.

We stepped into his dad's house and he greeted us in the deep rumbling voice he always had.

"Hello again, Shade," he called to me, using the nickname he and my mom had given me. I spent most of my weekends at home, sitting in my room, or out here at Molto's.

"Hello mister Tough Gleam" I called back in my tinny voice.

"How was school Molto?" he asked, moving up and hugging his son.

"It was alright... Kinda boring though" he responded.

"I can't blame ya," he let Molto go from their hug. "Well, You two have fun, I have some important work to do for an important buyer," he told us with a stern glance at Molto before trotting out of the back door and to where they kept their "Smeltery". I didn't know why it was called that. At the time all I thought it did was burn metal out of rocks.

I helped Molto set up the spare blanket in his room on the floor. It wasn't comfortable, but It wasn't unbearable either.

After we sat aimlessly in his room for a few minutes, we went outside, where I layed down, and with the careful strokes of my horn and pencil, began to draw, for the 7th time (I had counted), The beautiful landscape spanning out behind their home, dipped down into a valley.

I felt Molto sonter up and lay beside me. He watched as I drew, focusing on my sketchpad, looking up every so often to survey the details of the land.

The sun was beginning to set and the sky was morphing into a near beautifully evil shade of crimson-orange.

"You are amazing at drawing... You know that?" He told me, admiring what I had finished by dusk.

"its... Its really nothing special... Just a hobby..." I tried to correct him, but stuttering at his comment. Nopony had ever complimented my drawing skills like that, other than my mom.

"But thanks anyway..." I smiled.

soon the stars began appearing in the moonlight. We sat and watched the beautiful spheres of Celestia's gleaming fire until it became cold.

Molto helped me up off the ground, and we slowly trotted inside to go to bed.

We made it up the stairs, and I brushed the dirt off of my deep violet coat, then crawled under the blanket on the floor. I could hear Molto snoring softly before I fell asleep myself.

The next morning we both awoke with a start to the banging of hammer-against-metal.

I stumbled downstairs in a sleepy daze with Molto and found my mom sitting at their kitchen table.

"Mom?" I asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry Shade, but we have to go. There's somepony who is mad at mommy and wants to hurt her. He has other ponies who will hurt other ponies for him, and we have to go," There was a severe tone of worry in her voice. "I used all our extra bits to hire a couple stallions to haul our belongings in some carriages to where we'll be living for a little while."

"B-but mom?" I stared up into her eyes. "Who would want to hurt you?"

"It's nopony you know or need to know about." she responded apologetically "Now come, Ive already talked to Molto's dad, we must go." she let me grab my sketchpad and my guitar before she shuttled me out and down the road.

8 years later.

Over the last years nothing much happened. I had progressively gotten worse in school, getting average marks, barely Bs. I hung out with Molto a lot more, and I learned to play my guitar with my self-taught expertise.

My mom was always out later than usual, and some days she didn't come home, so I had to start cooking fro myself too. Mostly cheese related dishes, like Mac and Cheese, grill cheeses, and cheese and crackers. When she did come home, she was tired and worn out, and always had long showers before going to bed, but she was still there for me whenever I needed it.

We moved around a lot, mostly because mom said there was better work in the next town we moved to. I always found my way to Molto's though.

I'd had a horrible day today, mostly from other ponies at school.

I am 14, and had already stopped growing, and my body was a size smaller than a normal mare's.

There were insults, teasing, punches, bucks, and so much more thrown towards me today.

Previously I had been a loner, sitting in the corner at lunch, not having many friends, always getting picked on.

But for the past few weeks, it was really bad. I had gotten a date, exactly 19 days ago, with a cute, golden haired pegasus mare named Lightning dust.

She was known to be cocky and commanding, always testing everypony's patience, and pushing herself athletically harder than any of us. And I had given her a chance.

It was late after track practise in the shower rooms, after I had rid myself of sweat and dried off. She was stuffing her headband and some other items into her locker when I approached her.

I had never had intimate feelings for a mare before, and this wasn't the start of them. I just thought she was exceptionally cute, and decided to be the one nice person in the whole school and give her a chance. I walked up and stuttered the words that gave me my first love, and my first heartbreak.

Earlier today, she approached me with a sorrowful look in her eyes.

"Hey Dusty, What's up" I asked her, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

She brushed it off and looked into my bright magenta eyes, staring back, her eyes with thier usual sun-like glow.

"R-rain Shade..." she bowed her head slightly "I'm... I'm breaking up with you"

My heart shattered, and then he ghost of Celestia came and stomped all over the pieces, then discord put it back together, and slowly sawed through it.

"W-What?.. Why?" I started to sob.

"It... It's not you... It's just... We're not going fast enough..." she explained.

she slowly walked off, leaving me at the wake. I found an empty classroom and layed down in the corner, sobbing, my face in my hooves.

I loved Lightning Dust, she was the first mare I had grown to love... and now she was gone...

Eventually the final bell rang loud and prominent, and I sontered my way home, leaving tears in the dirt behind me.

My mom was gone when I got home.Today she had days off, and must've gone into town go grab some groceries.

I plodded into my room and closed the door.

Later my mom came home, carrying some paper bags in her magical grasp, and setting them down on the table. I trotted up and threw my hooves around her neck. There was a strange scent coming from her, particularly her back and flanks.

"Mom... What's that smell?" I asked, breathing in the rank spunky odor again.

"I... uh..." she stuttered for a second. "Oh... there's no use hiding it anymore... Shade, I have to tell you something important. But can it wait until I get myself cleaned up?" she asked softly.

"Whatever you need mom" I let her go from the hug.

I went into my room and about the third time I re-tuned my guitar, my mom stepped in quietly and sat down on my bed.

"I... Shade I need to tell you some bad things mom has done in the past... and more recently..." she began to explain, "You know how I told you I work at the bar in town?"

I nodded.

"It's true... but not the whole truth... I could never find a decent job, and i wasn't good at anything relevant so... I was forced to become a prostitute..." she sniffed a bit, I gasped at the word "Prostitute"

"It's an incredibly shameful job... and really dangerous. Remember the night I had come home bleeding and said I just grazed myself on the cupboard door?" she asked me again.

"Y-yes..." I answered sheepishly.

"One of my clients got into trouble and a stallion with a knife chased us. I tripped, and my client was able to stab him before he could do any real damage..." she pushed back a wide strand of her long mane , revealing the scar on her shoulder.

"M-mom..." I was sad for her, not at all enraged. I hugged her tightly, only being able to imagine the struggle.

"It's okay sweetheart..." she held me close and pet my mane softly.

"So... how was your day..." my mom tried to make conversation.

"Horrible... Lightning Dust dumped me..." I confessed.

She let out a small gasp and continued to hold me, my tears beginning to stain her midnight blue coat. "I'm so sorry Rain Shade... I thought you two had something..."

One Year Later...

Chapter Two

It was one of my weekends over at Molto's again, and this time, I was busy drawing him working at the small forge his father had built him over the past spring.

My pencil worked with a magical level of detail (probably because I was using my horn) and increased the fidelity of the sketch with every stroke of the paper.

It was a sweltering summer evening, and the sun was painting the sky an evil red. Molto was pulling a hot bar of near-molten steel out of the pit of combusting coals and shaping it with rough hits from his hammer.

The sparks twinkled in the darkening atmosphere and there was a shadow that would soon overwhelm the scape that I was drawing, so I released the paper out from under the pencil, and stuffed both into my saddlebags.

I had a small stereo that I had bought with a years of my saved up allowance playing one of my many DJ Pon3 CDs. I swayed my head to the beat of the high tech music spewing out of the speakers.

A moment later Molto set down his hammer, and came over to lay in the grass beside me. "The sky is beautiful, isn't it?" He asked.

"It's amazing some of the shades the sun can give the sky..." I stared up at one of the blackened shadowy clouds.

I was in a daze, marveling at the beauty of landscape and skyscape in front of me. My day dreaming was not a sign of being ready for what happened next.

"Rain Shade..." Molto said sheepishly.

"Yeah?" I responded. We both looked at each other for a brief second, me staring into his coppery eyes, and him towards my violet retinas.

"W-will you..." he stuttered. My mind clicked into gear at the first two words of a question I hadn't expected from him. "Will you... Go out with me?" he asked quietly, blushing profusely.

"I- wait...," that registered in my mind for a second. I hadn't gone out with anypony for more than a year... since Lightning Dust... and this was... This was Molto, what in Celestia am I thinking, He's a colt!

"I can't..." I started. I glanced towards him and seen a shocked look on his face. "I'm really sorry Molto... I like mares... not colts."

How hadn't he known? He had been there fro me way before Lighting dust, and I talked about it every so often...

"That, and I love you already..." I came out with something I never thought I'd ever say. "I love you like a brother. You're the only friend I've ever had, and you've always been there for me... I just couldn't. You are the one pony I can say anything to and not be judged, and I love you for it... just not... intimately. I'm so sorry..." I explained, pulling him closer into a soft hug. I could feel his damp cheeks from tears, close but not to the point of crying.

"I-its okay...," he voiced. He sounded heartbroken.

"I'll always be here Molto..."

Three years later, Summer of 1242.

Today is my twentieth birthday! I'm so excited. I was almost hopping up and down the walls of the current abode my mom and I were living in.

I was so ecstatic because I was going to a concert! My first concert at that (and probably the only one...). Ever since I was a teenager I had fallen in love with DJ Pon3, better known as Vinyl Scratch. Mostly her music was what drew me in, but she was a very well built mare in my eyes.

She was young when she started her career as DJ, around sixteen, when I was fourteen. I listened to her music non stop, and sometimes I even tried to cover her music with my guitar. Her dubstep was my haven.

I was going to a DJ Pon3 concert tonight!

it started at around 6:30 PM at the Equestrian Center for Musical Arts concert stadium.

Sadly, I was going alone.

My mom, who recently got a new job as an alloy metallurgist for minor and major metals could only afford my ticket after all of our depts were paid off and we gave payment for our little two-bedroom apartment. She had money left over, but not enough for another ticket, so mom also purchased a backstage pass only available to like 20 ponies! *Squee*

It was a sunday, and I was enrolled in Manehatten University on a scholarship of arts. I passed school, but not with straight As... more like Bs and Cs. I wasn't great at school, but drawing and music were my mojo. I probably should've been studying this weekend, but I thought I deserved some time off of school for once. It wasn't going anywhere, and neither was I.

I decided I was gonna bring a few if my drawings of Vinyl along with me to get them signed.I had tons of said material to bring, but I chose my three favorite pieces. Vinyl, raving hard at her mixing table, spectacular lights flickering everywhere while everypony thrust one of their forehooves in the air to the beat, A self portrait of her, and then one of her and her marefriend Octavia, lounging on a blanket at night, watching the stars, as Molto and I did on occasion.

Soon came the time to leave. Just as I was about to step out of the door, my mom stopped me.

"I love you sweetheart." she said, kissing my forehead before she pulled me into a hug.

"Don't talk to strangers, and stay out of back alleys!" she called as I stepped through the door and swung it closed with my magic.

It was a twenty minute trot in normal Manehatten Sunday sidewalk traffic, and the closer I got to the stadium, the more dense the crowd of ponies became.

Finally, after an onslaught of weaving through the bodies of other pedestrians, I reached the ticket booth.

A guard pony took my saddlebags off of me and rummaged through, looking for any weapons or illegal substances, the usual for a concert, or any event really, and then set me on my way, clipping off a third of my ticket.

I only brought my drawings, and a large bottle of water with me in my saddlebags, but it was all I needed.

Soon i was ushered into the main concert hall by extravagant blue signs and red ropes blocking off zones of no entry.

I was seated near the front of the crowd. Did I mention that I love my mom? Because I really do. A lot. Like more than anything.

The hall was huge, and filled with very cushioned seats. Concerts in Equestria weren't to rowdy, but sometimes had their faults, so I could see why they let us use the normal fancy musical recital chairs instead of hard plastic ones, and I was grateful.

I waited for another fifteen minutes or so as more and more ponies shuffled in, taking their seat and conversing between themselves and others. I was just sitting there, giddy and waiting.

Moments after they closed the doors, they dimmed the lights all except for one spotlight trained in a door leading backstage.

A loud voice screamed through the speakers.

"Ladies and Gentelcolts, are you ready for the DJ of Destruction?!" It shouted happily.

The whole audience, including me, screamed back in various versions of yes, or yeah, or some ponies who were just shouting back

"Are you ready for the loudest, baddest, most jaw dropping concert in all of Equestria?!"

"YEAH!!!"

"Then say hello to, DJ PON3!!!!!" it gave once last shout before the alabaster mare burst through the backstage door, and trotted up to the center of the stage, behind her mixing table.

"LETS DROP THIS SHIT" she yelled, flipping a few switches on the table, the records spinning to life, and the beginning of one of her tracks blared through the speakers.

To me, it was almost orgasmic. I jumped and shouted with the rest of the crowd, smiling bigger than I ever had before, feeling the bass vibrate through my body, from the tip of my horn, to the flats of my hooves.

///***\\

Once the concert was over, it was well past 10 o'clock and the crowd was weening out.

There was only about one of the probably 8 thousand people still in the hall when the last few trebbles of the final song died out.

"Thank you Manehatten, Love you all!" she said into the mic at the base of her mixing table.

"I'll be in the back for you special passholders to sign your... well anything" she trailed off.

"Keep the wubs rolling!" she left us with that and exited off stage.

the last of us shuffled out of the door, manes and brains rustled from the rapturing bass.

Okay, last one of these, I swear (no, I'm lying). This will be the last chapter that has any time skips and it should be going steady from here. There might be minor jumps forward, like a week or two, and maybe some flashbacks, but that has yet to come. Thanks for reading everypony! Feedback is appreciated!

-Sean

Chapter Three

The backstage room was down a corridor and around the corner from the main concert hall entrance.

On the way, I stopped to fill my water bottle, for it had run dry halfway through the concert. I took a long swig and my dry mouth was remedied.

When I arrived at the door to the room that currently housed Vinyl Scratch. There was a sign and a clock mounted on a small baseboard on the wall beside the door. The sign read One at a time for backstage passholders please. Client becomes unavailable at eleven o'clock.

I took a seat at the end of the line of twenty or thirty people and watched as a giddy filly ran out with a signed poster and a new copy of Vinyl Scratch's new album.

I had to play the waiting game.

///***\\

Each other pony in line took two to three minutes to enter, converse for a moment, and then get out of the room the last few of us were getting impatient to enter. I seriously didn't care, as long as I got to see Vinyl Scratch.

Then I noticed the clock on the wall. There was four minutes left for three ponies. I slumped down, but still hoped the bouncer who was a yard away from the door would let me through.

The last pony before me, a black and red mare, left into the room with only a minute left.

'I'm taking the time too literally...' I thought to myself. The clock ran out, and a moment later the mare exited, an ecstatic smile running over her muzzle

I sat up and trotted to the door. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was either about to see my idol, or get denied the opportunity of a lifetime.

"Whoa there filly," the large brown buck restrained, putting a forehoof in front of the door. I had pushed it slightly open, seeing a crack of light from the inside.

"Backstage hour is over," he stated.

"But...," A sad look draped over my face.

"Sorry, but I get paid to enforce the rules, Even if I don't like 'em myself," atleast he was being nice about it.

"It's alright..." I sighed and turned to leave.

"Hey, wait!" I heard a different voice call from behind me. I turned to see Vinyl Scratch in the open doorway to her make-shift room, "I have time for one more".

My face lit up brilliantly. I trotted back down what area of the hallway I was able to cover during my skulking and into the room.

"T-thank you so much" I told her shyly after she closed the door.

"No problem," she said nonchalantly. she callym sontered over to a low-sitting chair, cushioned profusely and sat down. Her purple trademark glasses glinted from the small lantern propped on a table beside the chair.

"So, what've you got for me to sign?" she asked as if it was the first time she had asked or heard the question tonight.

'I never expected this level of politeness..' I thought, levitating off my saddlebags and opening the button-latched flaps. I pulled out the stack of three pencil-stained papers and presented the three on the table before her.

"I drew some stuff I think would be amazing if you signed..." I blushed slightly. I had never shown off my work, but it felt good, and kinda cheap in a way.

with the scraping of a pen, she passed her signature over all three of the papers, seeming to pay little attention to the drawings. Once she was done, she held them each up one at a time with her magic, surveying my art.

"You drew these?" She asked, seemingly impressed.

"Yeah... it's just a hobby, but I draw lots of stuff like this," I explained, leaving out the fact that half of it was the same, same mare, same scenes, same obsession...

"These are... amazing!" She smiled at the second drawing, the self portrait. She picked up the third one, and her smile suddenly dissapeared.

behind her glasses, I could see her eys close for a short moment and re-open again. s tear rolled down her face. Something about the drawing of her and Octavia had quickly made her sullen.

"I-is everything alright?" I asked, concerned for the saddened DJ.

"I-if I tell you...," she let out a small sniffle, "will you keep it a secret?"

"Anything for you, Vinyl," I responded. I didn't have anyone to tell secrets to, so I considered that, on top of my great verbal resistance to be worthy of her secret.

"M-me and... *Sniffle* Me and Octavia... we broke up... three weeks ago..." she bowed her head, removed her glasses, and sobbed into her hoof rested on the cushioned arm of the chair.

I was struck with the pang of emotion I felt years ago, when Lightning Dust had broken up with me.

"I'm so sorry... stirring memories of her... I know exactly how you feel...," I tried to comfort her, filling the air with the exact truth as I sat down next to her.

"I-Its alright... I still love her... it was j-just *sniffle* circumstantial..." she lifted her head, revealing her beautiful sparkling garnet eyes. "W-would you m-mind if I ke- *sniffle* kept this?" she looked towards me.

"By all means, it's yours," I told her.

"Thank you so much..." she let out another sniffle and tried to regain her composure. "So... Are you in school?" she asked, trying to make small talk.

"Yeah... just for my art scholarship though," I replied.

"I'd love to see some of the other things you draw," she told me, wiping away the ceased tears from her cheeks.

"R-really?" the butterflies in my chest swarmed furiously.

"Yeah. When are you free?" she asked. "We can hang".

My mind exploded. Vinyl Scratch, the DJ Pon3, wanted to hang out with me! *super squee!*

"Uuhh...," I stammered, "weekends, and Wednesdays." I told her.

"Cool, where do you live?, i'll stop by sometime," the now smiling mare questioned.

"A half hours trott from here, on Endguard ST. My mom and I live in apartment 83 at the Timberwood Apt. building." i responded.

"Great." she levitated a piece of paper over from a pile on her desk and wrote down the credentials I had supplied. "See you Saturday then."

"I... Okay." i replied, my voice now a tinny squeak.

"Thanks again for the drawing...," she told me.

"No problem." I thought of something she had said earlier."If you and Octavia still love each other, but you broke up because of dire circumstances, why don't you just become friends instead of separating completely?" i suggested.

Vinyl's eyes lit up. "Thanks for the advice. I've been such a scatterbrain since this tour started and I was just stuck in sorrow. I should've thought of that," she jumped up and hugged me briefly before retreating back to her own personal space, blushing slightly.

After we bade out farewells I slipped out of the door. The bouncer was there. He smiled at me and I was on my way.

The crowd wasn't as bad as it had been earlier in the night, but I still had to weave my way through the first block of bodies in the street.

///***\\

I arrived home sometime before midnight. I slipped my saddlebags off, re-filled them with my school supplies in for the morning, and crawled into bed. I could hear the near-silent snoring of my mom sleeping down the hall.

///***\\

I awoke the next five days, ate breakfast, trotted off to the university, attended my classes, and came back home again. I finished all my homework with ease (art assignments aren't hard if you're a good enough drawer) and set off to my sketchbook. It was filled with sketches and renderings of various scenes I had either imagined or re-drawn from pictures.

There was an exceptional amount of Vinyl, and Molto and I watching the sunset.

I still tried to be out at his house as much as I could, but instead of enrolling in college, he stayed home and worked his forge with his dad.

The closer it got to Saturday, the more excited I i got. I was ready with some beautiful pictures I added to my arsenal (admittedly, some of Vinyl), and I had been practicing my favorite guitar cover of one of her more hardcore tracks.

I was just excited to be spending a day with her!

Chapter four

I awoke Saturday morning, feeling my best. My mom had left already for work at the metallurgists lab and I was home alone.

I sat up with groggy eyes and checked the time, 10:37 AM. Letting out a small groan, I hoisted myself out of bed and into the kitchen.

My mom had left me a succulent-looking daffodil sandwich for breakfast or lunch or whenever I was expected to wake up. I bit into it and let out a satisfied moan as the rich petals filled my mouth.

Then in mid-chew I remembered there was something happening later today. I perused my brain for anything that may hint towards what it was. Then suddenly I gasped and almost choked on my sandwich. I almost shouted through the wet lump of bread and flower in my mouth "Vinyl!"

My eyes widened and I started to think... What to do to make the house look respectable... Crap! I need to shower!

I set down the half of the sandwich that I hadn't let myself eat and ran into the bathroom. I quickly turned on the valve and started tidying the living room while waiting for hot water.

As soon as I seen steam billowing out of the bathroom, I trotted in and stepped into the shower. It was a quick, but effective process. I stepped out and attempted to dry myself of with a towel, but only doing a half-assed job.

I brushed my teeth until they were no-longer tainted yellow and added a little spritz of some of my moms perfumes to my mane. It smelled strong, but delightful, as soon as I left the general area of which i sprayed, the smell toned down to the smooth, soft aroma of lilacs.

I finished the sandwich and washed the dish, levitating it back up to the cupboard.

Then I hurried off to clean anything else I thought needed to be brought slightly closer to perfection.

Once I was done, I hurried back into my room and sat down at my desk, staring at the half-filled piece of paper in my sketchbook.

What I had done was the outline of a massive mountain-scape that only existed in my head, rich with jungle trees and wildlife. I floated my pencil to the unfinished part of my page as a wonderful idea appeared in my mind, bringing a pleased grin to my lips.

When I had finished the rest of the picture, it was backing a radiant citrus sunset with a large, dormant dragon flying off behind the mountain. It was, in my eyes, a masterpiece.

I ripped the page out on the perforations in my book and stacked it neatly with about seven other pieces I had drawn in the few nights before.

Satisfied, I allowed a moment of relaxation. I brought out my guitar and settled on one of the low-seated chairs in the kitchen.

I opened the case, revealing a beautifully carved birch wood instrument with five woven iron strings. It was in crisp tune and sung like a bird.

I opened my book of songs to a random page and found myself on a song I had not played for many months.

I strummed once with my hoof and let my magic do the rest with the frets.

I let the sullen tune carry out until the first verse and begun to sing in tune with the rhythm of my guitar.

"Tired and lonely, Still we stand,

On a road to nowhere...

Trapped in a world of endless days, My engine's stalling,

(Road to nowhere)

Body and mind are breaking down,

On a road to nowhere...

Destiny silent, hear no sound,

As I wait forever...

Farewell, I'll miss you,

I'm sick of these goodbyes,

'Cause it tore us apart, right from the start,

I miss you..."

Then there was a quiet knocking at the door and I sprang up, accidentally hitting a few stings of my guitar. I muted them, put my thing of beauty back in it's case, and trotted to the door.

I opened it to see Vinyl staring back at me, looking slightly sorrowful, and then smiled.

"Hi, come on in," I welcomed her.

"Thanks," she replied.

She sontered in, taking in the new surroundings.

"I... I like you're apartment," she finally said.

"Thanks... my mom and I will be moving into a new house when she can afford it, so we don't have to live in this cramped space," I explained.

"I heard you play...," the white mare pawed at the ground, "I'm sorry I interrupted... I didn't want to stop you..." she sighed.

"I..." taken back by the compliment, I regained my focus away from the millions of strands of happiness in my brain going "Vinyl likes my guitar!!!" and back to the fact that she seemed to have something troubling her. "Thank you... Vinyl... you seem sad. Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Y-yeah..." she stuttered,"just, your song... it was kinda sad and... Never mind. I came to hang and have a good time, not cry like a filly." she perked up.

"Okay," i responded, acknowledging that the didn't want to talk about it. "So... This is the first time I've had anypony over at my house for more than a year... What do we do?" I questioned, lacking in the field of experience this kind of pony interaction required.

"Do you have any games?" she asked.

"No sorry, I've never needed them because I've never had anypony else to play them with".

"Then..." she scratched her chin, her mood had already changed dramatically and she was now appearing as joyous as ever. "How about you show me some of your art?" she suggested.

"Gladly," I chimed and motioned for her to follow me. We walked into my room, my bed wasn't made and my scrap papers were everywhere. How had I forgotten to clean my room but not the rest of the house! I mentally kicked myself and apologized for the mess.

"I put together a pile of things I thought were some of my best pieces. Browse through them as you will," I let her gaze at my desk. Instead of picking up the stack of my new drawings, she picked up my sketchbook and started flipping through it.

"Those ones... aren't as good, but you can see them if you want"

"My mom once told me, look for someones art in a piece they never intended to show, and then you get a full perspective of their passion," she explained, flipping through. "Wow... there's a lot of me in here...," she commented.

"I... don't have much else to draw. either my favorite scene at my best friends cottage out near whitetail woods, or you." I noted. And she was just so gorgeous! my mind told itself, but I cough myself from saying that aloud.

"These are amazing" she continued to flip through my work.

"Thanks... they're just doodles".

"Hey," a grin came upon her muzzle, "Have you ever had a model before?"

"I... no," I stammered

"Would you like to try?"

"I'd be...flattered"

She stood up and trotted over to my bed. She fixed the blankets and layed over them, facing my desk.

I levitated it up from the wall and around so it was facing the bed and sat down. I floated my pen to the paper and begun to capture the perfection stationed in front of me.

///***\\

When I was finished, two hours had passed and there were eraser shavings cloaking the surface of my desk.

The sun was still high in the air when I held the paper up, letting Vinyl examine the work. She let out a small squee as her eyes fell upon it.

During the process, we talked. Mostly about small things, like our favorite colors and other things et cetera, but we did have a long, deep conversion about love. It always came to love. The one conversation I wanted to avoid for the sake of Vinyl's happiness.

Her and Octavia had been mercilessly in love since shortly after they met, but because of their varied genres, were forced to separate their dwellings and move on to different cities. Vinyl mostly played in Las Pegasus, while Octavia played here in Manehatten. She had booked this show hoping to find some time to see her lusted cellist, but before she got a chance to come out, Octavia ended the frail bonds holding them together. It was weeks of pain for Vinyl, and even once she cancelled a show and gave some merchandise for compensation, so she could be alone in her sorrow.

With this came no tears, only a sad tone in her voice.

After what Vinyl told me, I no longer felt sad for being broken by Lightning Dust, I almost felt pity for taking so much time fro myself when things could have most definitely been worse.

She eventually settled down after I took a moment to trot up and give her an empathetic hug.

Then she resumed her pretty smile and let me finish my newly titled 'masterpiece'.

I pinned the drawing to a spot I sectioned off on my wall with all my posters and anything else worthy enough to show off.

"How... How do you draw such beautiful things?" Vinyl sounded astounded.

"I guess... the same way you create masterpieces of music," I responded, finding a point where the two arts mixed.

"That was deep," she snickered.

"Am I not shallow enough for you?" I responded, playing with her humor.

"No, of course not. You have the perfect amount of deepne-" she caught herself mid-way through the sentence and then began to giggle along with me.

"Now that was clever," she grinned at me, clearly amused.

"I got lots more where that came from. My best friend, Molto Tempest is full of nasty humor like that, and I think I've caught on to a fair bit of it," I smiled at her.

We calmed down and sat together on the bed. My mind was still just seeming to get around the fact that I was hanging with the Vinyl Scratch and start functioning properly.

"So," I tried to make conversation, "Tell me about your life. What makes up that sexy white ma-" I clasped a hoof to my mouth and stopped talking.

Vinyl was blushing slightly, but took my hoof-mute as a sign not to bring it up.

"What makes up... you," I expelled the words from my mouth, still embarrassed about my tongue slip.

"Well... Where do I begin... I got my cutie mark when I was relatively young, playing with my dad's old record player. I wasn't great at school so I dropped out and somehow pulled off a music scholarship at Manehatten University. That's where I met Octavia. After that, life was kind of a blur as my music was recognized and all of a sudden I was playing huge gigs with thousands of ponies attending, and I felt like a music goddess." she mused

"That's awesome," I responded.

"How about you?" She re-asked the question.

"There's nothing to me really..."

"No, there has to be something. Tell me about your life," she pleaded.

"Fine...," I huffed "I got my cutie mark drawing crude renditions of my and my mom in kindergarten, and shortly after that, I met my best friend Molto, and we hung out together a ton. I moved around a lot due to my mom past... occupation... and I was pushed around a lot in school. Eventually I graduated with low Bs and moved to college, where I got somewhat of a discount because of my art trades. Soon my mom and I moved to Manehatten and mom got a new job to help me with college tuition. And here I am."

She seemed to take it all in once I was finished. "What was your mom's occupation?"

Dammit. I knew she'd ask that question.

"She was a... prostitute.... I mumbled under my breath.

"A what?"

"A prostitute...." I said getting a little louder.

"Still cant hear ya"

"She was a prostitute...," it was my turn to cry. I layed down with my face in my hooves, "All because she needed to support me..." I sniffled.

"O-oh..." pity welled up in her eyes. She moved over swiftly and put a hoof around me. "What about your dad?.." she asked, looking for a way to make me feel better I assumed.

"I never knew the bastard... Left mom and I when I was only a few weeks old..."

now she was pushed up beside me, holding me firmly in her comfort. I heard a sniffle from her and tried to pull myself together. I hadn't cried in years.

"I'm so, so sorry..."

Chaper Five

I slumped down on my bed, weeping about my, altogether, seemingly meaningless problems. All my life I was born and raised by an honest, loving mother, and here I was bawling my eyes out because of her former occupations. So many other ponies had worse problems. There was murder, injury, death, and zebra narcotics beginning to leak over into Equestria.

I was just me, who had a semi-normal life, acting like a foal.

The alabaster mare beside me was running her hoof through my mane in a soothing notion, calming me down a touch. I still couldn’t grasp how such a well known celebrity was being so nice to a commoner. All the accounts I had ever heard of anyone with more than a couple hundred thousand bits in the vaults was a complete snob, and thought of themselves higher than everypony else. Nevertheless, my mind swam in despair and self-pity.

I tried to pull myself together and managed to get down to a level where I only seemed to sniffle a bit.

“W-why are you b-being *sniffle* s-so nice to me V-Vinyl?” I asked, trying to resolve the wandering mystery in my mind. Why did she want to hang out with me?

“Because… You’re a really cool mare,” she said, “like, super cool. You’re an amazing drawer, and really good at guitar… and you seem utterly normal, but incredibly unique despite your past troubles. You aren’t like all the fake celebrity personalities I meet all the time. They put on a lifelong facade, and they aren’t themselves… but with an amazingly normal mare like you… I can be myself,” she poured out what seemed to be all the contents of her soul into that explanation, “Wow… I think that’s the deepest I’ve ever went”.

“T-thank you…” I had stopped sniffling. My heart exploded from the raw emotion that was expressed. I had never had anypony else say anything like that to me… not even Lightning Dust. But she was a thing of the past, and Vinyl was a thing of the present, and I had to think of something to say that won’t be ‘squeak’ out of my moment of self-accomplishment.. “Nopony has ever been this nice to me… Thank you so much,” I mustered. she lay her hoof around my body and gave me a soft side-hug, then pulled apart in a mutual awkwardness. Friends didn’t say stuff like that to each other… I had that much knowledge. That was too touching to be from a friend. But then again, I did have a few talks like these with Molto… Small things.. But still heartfelt.

I tried to dismiss it as just an intrusion of personal space, and hugged her back. We sat and chatted for a few more minutes before we both realized we were hungry.

“I have enough bits to go out… and I don’t feel like cooking tonight,” I suggested.

“That sounds great,” she replied.

We stepped out into the evening air and strolled Manehatten for somewhere to feed. Vinyl suggested we make a stop at Bon Bon’s confectionery on our way back. It was only a few minutes out of the way from where we seemed to be headed, though we never really knew where we were going. Some ponies stopped and stared at the famed DJ while others tossed their heads in the other direction out of disgust.

We decided for a small cafe branded Pony Joe’s and trotted in, breathing in a whiff of fresh coffee and pastries. Shortly after we got ourselves seated a young mare came to take our order.

“Hello and welcome to Pony Joe’s, can I take your order?”

I ordered a strawberry danish and a peppermint tea. Vinyl requested a small hot chocolate, but nothing more.

We were seated, and sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes, before she brought us our order.

I took a small bite of the dry chunk of the danish.

“So…” I tried to make small talk. “Where do you live?”

“In Las Pegasus,” she responded.

“oh.. so you have to go back soon?”

“yeah. I guess we can’t hang after next Saturday, I go back Sunday for a Monday show.”

“You still want to hang out? Even after I cried like a little filly?

“Its alright babe, you were still pretty cool before that” she informed.

Did she just call me Babe? My mind faltered at whether or not to dwell on the subject or let it pass. She had said something else, but I wasn’t focused on anything but my thoughts for that moment. I laid the thought to, and decided it would be better to ask later, but also in my mind i was imagining what kissing her would be like… It was a thought I felt dirty for thinking it, but it was an ever desired fantasy.

I smiled politely and tried to continue conversation. We sat quietly for a few minutes, giving each other glances, her eyes slightly exposed, just enough to see the cerise shimmer from her irises. The silence was broken by the waitress when she brought us our meals, and sat them down, telling us to enjoy ourselves. We thanked her before wolfing down our food, our stomachs aching from the anticipating wait of satiation.

Eventually we imbursed ourselves in a conversation involving out music. She told me about all of the different modifiers that can be used whilst DJing and how well she had made some rhythms flow, and how shaky others were. She had to get the tone and flow just right to be able to compose anything. What she said made my talent of guitar look like rubbing a stick on a rock.

I listened with interest before I almost gasped as I noticed the sun had fallen deep beyond the horizon.

“Crap! My mom hates it Im out late. Especially alone.. but i am with you... Honestly I don’t care but she gets mad because of the ‘risks of late night Manehatten’ might catch up to me”.

“Its fine, you can crash with me, My place isn’t far anyway. Im staying in some fancy hotel a few blocks over. I can walk you home and maybe hang for a while tomorrow. I think we should try and get together as much as we can before I leave, build our friendship or something. Octavia taught me this kind of way to getting to know somepony while she went on tour. Know so much about them…. It leaves you without questions or something. I think it’d just be cool to chill for a while”

“Thanks, I appreciate the offer,” I replied with another short, friendly smile.

“Well, lets go, its gonna be cold out there, and we don’t need to get jumped by an alleyway stallion,” muttered Vinyl. And so the two mares paid for their dinners, and left the small Diner. Vinyl’s was in the opposite direction from Bon Bon’s Confectionery so they decided that they would go in the morning, as it would be closing about now anyway.

They were trotting together down the street, and they could see the massive hotel Vinyl was staying in from a block down.

Vinyl’s tail seemed to have a mind of it’s own as it brushed against my flanks frequently as her hips swayed while she walked. There seemed to be no intention of this movement, so I just resumed at my pace.

We reached the Hotel as the stars started to sparkle in the midnight blue sky, making a beautiful mosaic I knew oh so well.

The lobby of the stone carved building was dressed in astonishing colors and decorated with wondrous intricacy. The stallion working the lobby desk took one look at Vinyl and allowed us to continue to the elevators.

we rode the mechanism that was the elevator to the top of the tower that was Vinyl’s temporary home. She had gotten the suite at the top of the building, which was fully fitted with a swimming pool, a hot tub balcony, and a hundred other luxuries I could name with ease. It was the most expensive room I had ever been in.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Vinyl said, “There is more than enough room”

I sat down in awe, marveling at the product that was the work of architectural minds.

“How do they expect anypony to have enough bits to pay for this…” I gawked, still not able to fully comprehend the room i was now standing in.

“My record company took care of the cost. ‘Anything for our prized DJ’ they said”

I wanted to run and jump into the pool and swim and splash around, but It was late and I was getting tired, so I motioned for her to follow me over to the hot tub, and I submerged myself in the serenade of bubbles and steaming water.

“Ahhh~” I moaned quietly. She retreated to the fridge and grabbed a drink, before following suit and sliding into the hot tub with me.

I swished my hooves round the tub and breathed in the steam, letting it flow through my nostrils. I was in my most relaxed state ever. I was in a hot tub with the one mare I never thought I’d meet. It was a haven.

Vinyl’s coat was almost blotted out by the steam, but her cobalt mane stuck out indefinitely until she moved closer to my side of the tub. She offered me a sip of the drink, and I proceeded to take a small swig. It was a tangy, sugary tasting grape soda. It was nice and sweet, but the taste of the title ingredient was still eminent.

I gave the bottle back to her and resumed my low, near submerged position in the tub.

“That used to be Octavia’s spot. I mean when I came to Manehattan...,” Vinyl said reminiscently, “She and I used to sit there and cuddle”.

I felt like I was intruding. “I’m sorry, I can move” I told her apologetically.

“No, no, it’s fine,” she said, “sorry, I was just thinking aloud”.

I felt I had to somehow provide at least a little solace for her. I imagined that not even a refound DJ like herself could hide her pain of her loss behind a facade. She was probably crying deep down, and wanted comfort. At least that's what my mind thought.

I rested a hoof upon hers and looked at her twinkling eyes with an empathetic smile.

She looked back, thankful for the support.

After about twenty minutes of conjoined relaxation, we both stepped out of the tub and dried off with fluffy towels before entering the bedroom. The bed wasn’t as big as I had expected, but just as soft. I layed down and rested my head upon my pillow, melting into the fabric of the bed.

Vinyl climbed in and curled up beside me. Our tails were resting against each other, but there was more than enough room for the both of us. Eventually, I could hear a cute, quiet snore coming from a few feet behind me. I smiled. I was literally living my dream.

I soon fell asleep myself.

///***\\

Late in the night, I heard something that creeped me out at first, but then made me incredibly sad. It was Vinyl, and she was crying. She was still sleeping, but there were streams of tears falling from her eyes.

“No Octavia, p-please don’t l-leave me” she pleaded in her slumber. “I need you”.

She rolled over so her face was towards me. Her pained expression was heartbreaking. I tried to think of something to do or say, but there only seemed to be one option.

“I won’t leave you Vinyl, I Love you with all of my heart” I whispered in my best Octavia impression.

“R-really?” her groggy mouth asked me, and Dream Octavia.

“I promise” I whispered.

I was surprised when one poorly guided hoof stretched around me and hugged me. I didn’t want to wake her, but felt incredibly awkward about the situation. I pushed past it and fell back asleep anyway.

///***\\

I stirred at an unknown time, the sun was shining brightly in my eyes. I was tired, but only from just re-emerging from my deep sleep.

“Oh curse Celestia and her early mornings to Oblivion,” I mumbled.

Vinyl was gone from the bed, and I could smell something delicious, like syrup or another sweet scent, coming from somewhere in the suite. I heard a cart rattle and the door close as I got to my hooves and walked out of the room.

There was a gargantuan breakfast lain out on the counter. Trays full of pancakes, fruit, whipped cream, berry pies, and about anything else delicious one might consider breakfast food.

I stopped and my jaw dropped. Vinyl was standing behind the counter with two plates full of food. She noticed me and smiled, levitating a fork of Pineapple topped waffles over and into my mouth. The taste snapped me out of my initial shock, and I closed my jaw, chewing the food.

It was one of the most amazing things I’d ever tasted. The waffle was fluffy, but not an overpowering. Tangy pineapple and syrup filled my mouth and fondled my taste buds. I closed my eyes in bliss and opened them to a smiling Vinyl holding our plates of food in front of her with her magic.

“G’morning!” she chimed happily.

“G’mogig” I tried to say through a muffled mouth of delicious edibles.

I took mine into my telekinetic grasp and we trotted together over to a table situated on the balcony.

We ate our amazing breakfast in silence, as we couldn’t wait to get another bite into our mouths.

When Vinyl had finished I asked why she was smiling so much.

“I actually had a great sleep. Since me and Tavi separated I’ve had nightmares and woken up crying, but last night I slept all the way through the night and woke up feeling great,” she explained. I felt myself blush warmly, but didn’t mention anything.

Soon, we had made the bed again, and set out our dirty dishes neatly to be picked up and were heading back to my house. The confectionery was closed, due to it being Sunday, so we just headed back to my small apartment.

We walked up the stairs and walked in the door. My mother was home, and smiled, looking up from her research notes.She brought them home frequently, bringing work back to demonstrate her dedication to her boss, which had gotten her higher up than she expected.

“Hi mom!” I cooed and walked towards her.

She was about to say something before frowning, showing pain. She tried to stand up, but fell over limp on the floor.

“M-mom?” my voice trembled. She was twitching slightly and hadn’t said anything. “MOM?” I yelled.

I ran over and lifted her face up to look at me.

“I l-love you…” she whispered to me, and then closed her eyes. I was weeping.

“Mom, no…” I cried. “We need to get her to a hospital!” I hoisted her onto my back, as my magic wasn’t strong enough to carry her. My legs felt weak and they wobbled as I trudged down the stairs.

The nearest Hospital was four blocks away, but I ran. I ran as fast as the dying pony on my back would let me without falling. She moaned a few times and drooled on my back.

Vinyl was following, a pained expression on her face as she trotted beside me muttering things like ‘It’ll be okay’ or ‘She’s gonna live’ to me as I pressed on, my face flowing with tears.

A few ongoers stopped and looked at me, and a few backed away leaving a clear path for me in their wake.

I was out of luck though as there was nopony stronger than me that had the courage to help me carry my mom to the hospital.

By the time we were at the hospital door, a nurse outside ran in and grabbed a gourney, a worried look on her face.

I had fallen over, my endurance had run out. Vinyl sat down and ran her hoof through my mane, trying to soothe my crying as they came and took my mom away. Her tears soon mixed with mine on the ground in a small puddle. I felt as weak and hurt as I ever had.

Vinyl helped me move, and we lay down outside of the hospital, my face wet and my eyes sore and puffy.

After a few hours a nervous buck walked out of the hospital and faced us.

“We… we did all we could. Your mother has had a heart attack, and a pretty severe one at that. I’m incredibly sorry I have to tell you this, but you mother isn’t with us anymore.

Chapter Six

“C-can I see h-her?” I asked the medical stallion.

“Yes,” he replied, “you can be with her as long as you want, and you can let us know at the desk if you want us to store the body for a burial or cremate her and send you her ashes.

Every time even the thought of my mom dead stung like dry ice being dropped in my lungs. As I walked in, I couldn’t say anything.

My late mom was laying on a soft hospital bed, her eyes closed. Her chest had stitches across her breast and her coat was stained with blood. I rested a hoof on the edge of the bed, and then rested my head atop it. My face was wet with tears, but I had stopped crying. I needed to be strong for my mom, even though she wasn’t here anymore.

“I-im so sorry mom. I should’ve been there last night. I didn’t even get to say goodbye, but now… I guess this is goodbye forever. I hope you’re in a better place,” I whispered the last bit, whimpering a bit before closing my eyes and giving her a soft hug. “Thank you for always being there.”

I felt Vinyl’s hoof run down my back, rubbing it gently. I sat back up and rested my head down on her shoulder. I stared at my mom for another few seconds before a different stallion came in the room.

“Miss Rain Shade?” He asked.

“Y-yes?” I responded. My voice was shaky and ragged from crying.

“We have the blood test results ready. This may sound weird, but has your mother had any extensive sexual activity over a long period of time? Maybe with your father perhaps?” He set a clipboard down and skimmed over something on the paper as he spoke.

“I never knew my dad, but my mom… she used to be a prostitute,” as discriminating as the fact was, I had to reveal it.

He seemed to brush it off as if it was a normal thing in his everyday life. “That makes sense. The diagnosis is, she had Syphilis, a very deadly disease that can stay latent for years before quickly eating away at her internal organs, which caused a heart attack. Sadly, her death was inevitable, as the disease is fast and strong, and Equestria medical labs still haven't found a cure yet. It is resistant to stronger antibiotics, which means the cure would have to be ordered from the labs. There was truly nothing we could do, I’m so sorry,” he explained.

I tried not to cry with every word he said. My mom had died while protecting, while supporting me. She went to extreme lengths to supply her innocent little filly with food and a place to stay. I felt unworthy of my life now. She had a happy life, a ‘wonderful little filly’ as she would say, and now it was gone… because of me.

I hugged Vinyl tightly, sobbing into her breast. Soon we left. I asked for them to amputate her hooves to cremate them, but to leave the rest of the body for burial. We left in the warm summer breeze. It was almost comforting… almost. We made it to my house again and went in. I wanted to search my mom’s room, but even in her absence, it felt wrong to invade her private belongings. I guess my heart was having a hard time coping.

I layed on my bed and gathered my stuff. I grabbed my guitar, and my drawing equipment and stuffed them in a large velvet bag. I grabbed all my mementos from my foal hood. I had a small grey plush doll that I used to cuddle in bed. My mom dubbed him Mister Fluffy, because his hair was scraggly and his coat was really soft. I had a signed copy of my favorite DJ Pon3 album. Then, there was a small anklet she had bought me… it was a surprise late birthday present. It was plated with fine silver, bearing carefully engraved abstract and floral designs that on either side of a radiant emerald that wove together and spelt my name.

‘Be strong’ I kept telling myself. ‘Be strong’.

Silently, I grabbed a few other things of less importance and then Vinyl and I left. She figured that I shouldn’t have to live alone during a time of such shock and despondency, so she offered to house me for a while. The days later the apartment branch would notify me how long I had to remove any property from the premises before exemption.

Soon, we stepped out of the elevator into Vinyl’s room. I didn't know what to do, so I layed down on one of the chairs on the balcony and looked out at the barely-visible stars. I was resting on my back, my forehooves placed gently on my chest. I closed my eyes, trying to think and take in everything that just happened. I felt a hoof and a body lean against me. I opened my left eye to see Vinyl leaned against me, a hoof wrapped around my stomach. She had a sullen expression on her face, but she seemed determined to be comforting.

“Thanks,” I said appreciating the hug. Even my voice sounded dead.

Then something cruel clicked in my head. One mare for another… My mom, for Vinyl. My mind immediately cursed at Celestia before I thought further. Vinyl had stuck to her promise of dropping by my house, even when she is a fairly huge Celebrity, and probably could’ve found something better to do. She took me to dinner, she let me stay at her home, and she put up with my mindless blubbering. I questioned how rational she was being as a friend, but then another possibility crossed my mind. What if.. What if Vinyl liked me? What if she had feelings for me beyond friendship? Did I? Would I be able to return the feelings of lust? I pondered this.

Vinyl had been there, even if it was only over the course of two days, but she was there. She complimented me on my guitar, she loved my drawings, and she had been there to comfort me in my loss. I could definitely return the feelings.

I realized something in my heart. something that was never there, a kind of crack, if you will. There were two cracks in my heart, and my mom filled one, being the best mom anypony could ask for, and nopony filled the other. Until now. My heart realized, I loved Vinyl. I had loved her music and thought she was a beautiful mare before, and I may have had fantasies… but I knew none of them would ever come true. I was living inside one of my fantasies, one where I loved Vinyl, for truly, who she was, not just a raving show-mare. She was no longer DJ Pon3 in my mind, she was Vinyl Scratch, and I could never think of her differently again.

“V-vinyl…” I stuttered. “I…” I didn’t think I could finish the sentence. “Vinyl I like you…” I blushed and immediately wanted to explode out of embarrassment.

“I like you too Shade…” she cooed. Her saying my name was like the most wondrous song I had ever never heard, and now I had.

“I mean… I t-think I… Vinyl, I love you,” I whispered. I blushed harder than I ever had before. I wanted to jump out the window to escape embarrassment as she looked me directly in the eyes. I think hours passed, but I couldn’t tell.

I waited for the already belated response as I mentally curled up and died. Oh dear Celestia had I just said that to Vinyl Scratch?

My ears flopped down on my head as seen her staring at me, straight faced. I closed my eyes and willed for everything to disappear, but the only feelings I got were despair and a slight pressure on my lips, as if something were against them. My mind lagged as i processed the feeling, realizing i should see what the origin of the push was.

I threw my eyes open to see the closed irises of Vinyl, her muzzle pressed against mine. Oh my Celestia! she was kissing me?!

My mind panicked. I didn’t know what to do. It had been so long since I had kissed Lightning Dust, and I was going into panic mode. I let her explore my lips with hers, the soft flesh of the DJ radiating heat. I had butterflies in my stomach. She pulled her head back and I gawked at her garnet eyes. I suddenly realized my face was red hot, probably from blushing.

“I…” I stammered. I had no words, and was in an incredible trance of shock.

“I love you too…,” she answered.

I threw my hooves around her, giving her a tight hug. I was now in a relationship with Vinyl freaking Scratch! Was that what it was? I didn’t know. All I knew was I was happier than I had been for a really long time.

I didn’t want to let go of her, the sweet smell of her coat filling my nostrils, but it might be awkward if I didn’t. I reluctantly let her go from the embrace.

The night was approaching and my mom would be home soon. Vinyl and I noticed this, and tried to get another ten minutes of cuddling on the large comfortable resting chair. before I realized that soon she would have to go back to Las Pegasus to finish her tour, and I couldn’t go with her. My heart was scared of that.

I was so joyous and fearful at the same time I had almost forgot about my mom. She still felt heavy in my heart, but I held on to something that could fill me with enough happiness to not fall under a drab blanket of depression. I now had something new to hold on to, something I would do anything for… something I loved, and I was hugging her right this moment. I loosened my grip on her and blushed madly. her hooves wrapped around my body to pull me close so we could cuddle.

She kissed me lightly again before we stared into each other's majestic irises, smiling warmly. Life melted away as the stars watched over us with Luna’s grace, protecting us from danger. My vision went to tunnel as everything but the mare I wanted to be with was all I could see, and I loved it.

We lay there, our hooves together, our tails entwined, my head resting on her chest. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the heat radiating off of her coat. I felt her hoof running back and forth up and down my body, smoothing, then ruffling my coat. It was soothing and comforting, and I didn’t ever want her to stop. My tears had dried and crusted on my cheeks, but I didn't care. I was happy. Truly happy. It seemed dark that this could take away all of the pain of my loss, but I could feel true love, and it was warding off my negative feelings.

Wrapped in a bliss, my eyelids became heavy, the weight of a full force emotional hurricane weathering my ability to stay conscious. Slowly, I fell asleep in Vinyl’s hooves, my cute snore filling the air.

///***\\

I awoke in the soft bed located in Vinyl’s room, still able to feel her sleeping physique leaning against me. I could still hear her heavy breathing, indicating slumber. I shifted in bed so I could look at her. She was beautiful. Her slightly messy mane, her cute little sleep-smile. I curled up and nuzzled her chest, blushing even though I knew she couldn’t tell I was there. She was so warm…

I lay there, snuggled up to her until about an hour afterwards when she woke up. She seen me and immediately a grin burst upon her face. She pulled me in for a long kiss, holding my body close. I had little to no experience in kissing, so I tried my best to imitate what Vinyl was doing. Her lips curled around mine as we swapped saliva.

Soon we parted and she rested her face back down on the pillow. Almost her whole face had turned a deep shade of red from her blushing. I brushed a strand of stray cerulean blue mane out of her lovely face.

“You have no idea how adorable you look right now,” I told her.

“I can’t even find words for how cute you are,” she countered. I smiled and blushed. We stayed in bed, cooing and cuddling with each other until we both knew it was clear though noon. I told her that reluctantly, I needed to get started on the planning of my moms funeral. It was a sad remorseful occupation to have to leave a jovial one for.

I trotted into the living room and sat down on the couch. Vinyl telekinetically floated up a few pieces of paper and a pen and smiled. She wanted to help, I could tell, but she knew it would be hard to recover if it brought us both down, so she tried to stay out of my train of thought.

It was difficult to think of any people to invite to the Funeral, but Molto and his father were definitely on the list. I would need to confirm if I was going to be loud to bury her on their property, as I wanted to let her final resting place be the spot she never got to experience during her lifetime, but wanted it so very much. I would bury her in the valley, and let her ashes be blown in the wind. She deserved to remain a part of the artwork of hills and trees that coated the land of her dreams.