The Departed
“Big sis?” said Record.
“Yes?” replied Vinyl.
“When is it going to stop raining? I want to go outside and play.”
“Not for awhile little sis.”
“But I am so bored,” replied Record
“How about you come over here and help me make a new song. I am stuck and could really use your help.”
“Really?” replied Record.
“Yes really now hop over here and help me think of a song I have to finish that new album soon,” said Vinyl.
“Ok,” replied Record. The two sisters stayed up all afternoon and night coming up with songs in Vinyl’s house.
Record lives with Vinyl since their parents can’t afford to keep Record in the crowded city and her parents could not stay with Vinyl because of some crazy law and there would be no way they could get a job where Vinyl lived, but Record gets to visit them once in awhile so she does not forget that they love her. Vinyl was a simple unicorn. She did not own a big house or tried to live like a princess even with her huge amount of money that she gets from making albums and owning a DJ club. The two sisters lived in a four story house. Nothing special, just two bed rooms on the second floor, a kitchen and living room on the first floor, basement, a mini music club on the third floor where Vinyl works on her new songs, and a family room where the two play games.
Equestria has been over populated for the past few years. A lot of ponies had to adjust to the feel of living in a packed city instead of a little town.
“I am so tired,” yawned Record.
“Go to your room and get some sleep. You stayed up all night you need your sleep, Mother and Father would yell if they found out how late you stayed up, so keep this a little secret,” replied Vinyl.
“Ok.” Record Scratch went up stairs lined with silk green carpet to her room and fell on her bed going to asleep in an instant. Vinyl shut her eyes once she heard the big thud from Record’s room. Vinyl was hoping to fall asleep right there in her leather chair. Sadly after few minutes of resting her eyes and Record fully asleep, the phone rang. Vinyl quickly ran to the kitchen to get the phone, Vinyl quickly picked it up hoping it did not wake Record up, but she was so tired not even a parade would wake her up.
“Hello?” said Vinyl in a sleepy voice.
“Vinyl, it’s me, Octavia. I want to book the club for next week Friday, is that ok?” asked Octavia.
“What? Oh ya, sure, no problem,” replied Vinyl.
“Great, thanks.”
“No problem,” replied Vinyl.
“What’s wrong? You sound like a pony that hasn't slept for a week.” asked Octavia.
“Its Record, I love her but she is becoming a little problem. I am having a hard time taking care of her and working.”
“Well how about you and your sis come over to my house? She can play with my sis while we talk about your problem,” asked Octavia.
“That would be great. Can we do it tomorrow? I had a long day yesterday and last night,” asked Vinyl.
“That’s fine,” replied Octavia.
“Great, see you tomorrow.”
“You too.” Replied Octavia. Vinyl hung up the phone and went straight to bed. It took Vinyl forever to get up since she was wobbling up the stairs from all her restless nights taking care of Record and working, but when she got to her room and fell on her bed she finally realized why pegasi love their clouds. Her bed felt as if a thousand clouds surrounded her in a blast of warmth from every angle. Record and Vinyl spent the whole day sleeping in their beds and only getting up to get a drink in the middle of the day or the in the middle of night.
The next morning, Vinyl woke up at five a.m. still sleepy and light headed from not eating anything for a day. So she got up, fixed her bed to look like new, and went down stairs to make breakfast for herself and Record. As she entered the kitchen, she looked around for things she could use, but the whole place was a mess from last time Vinyl tried to cook dinner. Vinyl was never skilled at cooking since she never really made a meal in her life. Usually Vinyl had to order out or hire a cook. There could be no time wasted on calling up a cook to make a meal for her and her sister, so she quickly used a spell her mother taught her when she was little. It was a simple spell, all it did was rearrange things back where they belonged at the last time she remembered how everything looked like.
Once every little spec of dust was removed she quickly got to work on making some simple toast with jelly, which was the best she could do without making a mess. Record woke up from her deep slumber due to the crisp smell of golden toasted bread and the sweet scent of jelly. She beamed up with joy knowing that her sister was up and ready to take on today’s daily challenges. Record jumped out of bed and went to her dresser to get her comb to brush her mane back to its right full place since she did not want to do down stairs and look like a slop with this bed head. Once her bed head had been dealt with, Record ran out of her room using her magic to open the door to her bedroom and ran downstairs to give her big sister a hug and eat breakfast. “Morning sis,” Record as she ran up and hugged Vinyl.
“Well I see someone is full of energy,” replied Vinyl as she returned the hug.
“Ya I slept really well, how about you?”
“Same, now sit down and eat you breakfast I need to tell you what we are doing today.”
“Ok,” replied Record. As Record ate her toast and jelly, Vinyl told Record about the phone call she got yesterday. Record was overjoyed when she heard she was going to Octavia’s house to play with her sis in the afternoon.
After she finished breakfast, Vinyl told Record that she needed to do a few chores around the house. Every time she asked her to pick up her toys and dust a room, she would always complain that it is too hard or her hoof hurts. Since she could never win those battles, she would frustrate her by asking every hour "Is it time to go now?" until Vinyl finally got fed up enough she said "Lets go." Record jumped with joy all the way there like in one of Vinyl’s stories about how this girl always found laughter everywhere she went.
Octavia lived only a few blocks down from Vinyl’s house so they walked there. There were not many ponies out today since it was one of those slow Mondays where no pony had anything to do. Once they reached Octavia’s house, Record will always gaze up at the big house. Unlike Vinyl’s house, Octavia likes to live in style. Vinyl has always enjoyed complex simple things like her house, very simple but with many hidden features. Record ran up to the door that was made out of oak with stainless steel borders. Record tried to ring the door bell, but immediately Octavia’s sister Viola opened the door before Record could react and said “Come in Record I have to show you so much.” Before Record could say yes, Viola grabbed Record by the hoof and ran past her sister like a bolt of lightning straight to her room.
“Well she’s happy,” said Vinyl.
“Ya, she got a bit wilder lately, but I don’t mind. Come in, I told Viola they can do whatever they want as long as they stay out of the living room,” said Octavia.
“Great, I was hoping for some peace and quiet for once,” replied Vinyl.
As they both walked to the living room, Vinyl took the time to look around and see if anything new was added since Octavia always has to have the newest fashion. The walls were lined with a smooth cyan paint with photos of famous art and ponies, the floor was carpeted with a dark blue color that is smooth to the touch. On their way to the living room, Vinyl got to see Octavia’s cello room that has filled to the ceiling with cello’s. No space was left unfilled. As they continued further down the hall, Vinyl noticed that something new, a room. It was a room filled with violas. Vinyl was amazed how many there were. All of them with different textures and shaped differently. No viola was the same as the one next to it, even if it was only a string difference. After seeing all the new things they finally got to the living room. Vinyl took her regular seat in the corner facing the T.V. and Octavia took the couch next to her.
“I think I found a solution for your problem,” said Octavia.
“Really? I was hoping you would have one,” replied Vinyl.
“I asked a few ponies about the situation and they all said day care.”
“What’s day care?” asked Vinyl.
“It’s a school for fillies like Viola and Record. During the day ponies watch after our fillies while we are away at work. Also, at day care, they will watch your sister and teach her a few things like shapes and numbers, just the simple stuff,” replied Octavia.
“That’s really cool.”
“Ya I signed Viola up for it, and I thought Record should go so they could play more and see each other more often.”
“Alright, I will give it a try but I would like to see the day care before I sign up,” said Vinyl.
“You’re looking at it,” replied Octavia.
“I don’t understand.”
“I am building a day care center for a few of my friends where they can leave their brothers and sisters for the day. I am hiring a few ponies to watch them while we are gone.”
“That’s sounds like a great idea. Just let me know how much I owe you,” said Vinyl.
“All I want is a free pass to get into your DJ club. I have gotten tired of paying every time I come in,” replied Octavia.
“Done and done,” said Vinyl.
The two Record and Viola spent the whole day playing games while Octavia and Vinyl talk about what they have been doing for the past few weeks. They all played, talked, and Vinyl and Record even stayed for dinner at Octavia’s house till the sun was setting. “Well we better get going,” said Vinyl.
“All ready?” replied Octavia.
“I am afraid so. I have to pack up Record’s stuff since she is going to go visit Mother and Father on friday and I promised she will be ready by thursday,” replied Vinyl.
“Ok, you have a safe trip home and I hope to see you soon.”
“You too. Record go say good bye to Octavia and Viola, we have to get going before it gets too dark.”
“Ok, good bye Octavia and Viola,” said Record.
“Good bye,” replied Octavia and Viola. Octavia showed Vinyl and Record to the door while Viola stayed behind so she could start cleaning up the mess Record and Viola made around the house. While walking home, Vinyl told Record about their idea of coming over to Octavia’s and Viola’s house a few times a week and spend the afternoon there. Record had no problem saying yes. It only took them about twenty minutes to reach their house with the half covered orange sun guiding them back home. When both of them reached the door step, Vinyl opened the door for Record, but she was smart enough to notice Vinyl was not coming in.
“Where are you going sis?” asked Record.
“I want you to start packing I am going to go check on the club. Will you be ok by yourself for about 30 minutes?” asked Vinyl.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Alright, remember, start packing up and please don’t make a mess.”
“I will be fine don’t you worry.” Record went into the house and went straight to her room to start packing after she heard the door close behind her. She wanted to do this as fast as she could so she could impress her sister and might be able to stay home by herself more often and also she could get that out of the way and move on to having fun.
Vinyl got a taxi and did not need to tell the stallion where she wanted to go since he always took her there almost on a daily basis, Vinyl wanted to go to the club to make sure everything was under control.
The taxi ride as merely ten minutes, Vinyl payed the stallion ten bits for the ride and another ten for being her personal driver on such short notice and told him to wait for her. The stallion took the extra money without hesitation since it was not rare for Vinyl not to tip those who worked for her and nodded to her request to wait for her. Vinyl exited the taxi and started to pass the long line of ponies trying to get in. Every day was a busy day no matter what. It was just the weekends are a lot more crowded. She exited the taxi and walked on the red carpet that lead the way into the club, Many ponies cheered, stared in aw, and even whistled at her. This only make Vinyl blush as she continued to walk the long silky red carpet on this beautiful sunset.
At the end of the red carpet, two strong buffed stallion earth pony bouncers protected the club from mean ponies and stop unwanted guests from entering. When they saw Vinyl approach, they immediately removed the long red rope blocking the entrance to the dance floor. “Thank you,” said Vinyl.
“No problem ma’am,” replied both bouncers at the same time.
As she entered, she saw all the amazing flashing colors crossing the dance floor as every pony danced to the heavy beat of the bass flowing smoothly into their ears on the dance floor in the center of the room. Everypony was having the best time of their life. Vinyl looked around seeing if there were any problems that needed to be taken care of before heading back stage to check on other things. The bars were stocked high with the best stuff and the dance floor crowded by unbelievable number of ponies. Even pegasi took the ceiling to dance and that was even crowded. Once she was satisfied with everything, she nudged a bouncer stallion standing next to her making sure no pony dares touch her. Vinyl pointed to the back door that lead to the backstage. He nodded and signaled two other bouncers to make a path for Vinyl to the door. Since everywhere you go was crowded, it took them five minutes to get to the door where two more bouncers stood guard and removed the dark red rope blocking Vinyl’s path. Vinyl gave a soft nod to all her guards since there was no way they could hear each other from the loud music playing and all the ponies talking at once. Backstage was made to be sound proof but since Vinyl loved her bass and always wanted it louder, these sound proof walls are now just walls. Ten unicorns made sure that every little piece of technology was working just fine. They took little notice of Vinyl along with the pegasi as they were too busy flying around on the scaffoldings working with the lights and the earth ponies were busy carrying items around for the unicorns or the pegasi. So Vinyl went straight for her office to make sure they have everything under control. There three bouncers stood guard but Vinyl had no problem getting past them since they knew who she was and knew if they did not move the could kiss their high paying job good bye.
As she entered her office, she looked around to make sure everything was the same as it was when she left since she never did like new things popping up in her office. In her office was a nicely stitched leather chair sitting in front of a wooden desk with four drawers on both sides and one long one going across, the floor was carpeted unlike the rest of the club, the walls are lined with light blue paint, the walls have been improved so they can block out all noises from the club making her office the quietist place in the whole building. Everything was the same as she left it and the only different thing was five ponies are arguing about something that Vinyl could not hear or understand what they were talking about since the door was open and music was playing through like a tidal wave. Vinyl looked back at the bouncer by the door and nodded her head to slam the door shut. The bouncer nodded back and slammed the door shut with all his force silencing everyone in the room. “Is this a bad time?” asked Vinyl.
Four of the five pony’s heads turned around to yell at the bouncer who closed the door but slammed their mouths when they saw Vinyl Scratch standing in front of him. One pony finally answered she had a black mane, gorgeous wings, and light blue fur color almost like the walls and said “We are busy how about you scram.” The four ponies just looked at her with terrified face. “What?” The light blue skin Pegasus asked. She slowly raised her head and her jaw dropped immediately. “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh I am so so so sorry,” the pegasus said.
“Can you tell me what you are arguing about Linnet?” asked Vinyl with a dumb founded face.
“I am so sorry. We were discussing what to do this friday and weekend. These two wanted to ask a strange band they heard on the radio and we three say otherwise, but they won’t give up,” said Linnet.
“Friday, Octavia has the stage. No argument, and the weekend I would like a band that has played here before. I don’t care who, just have some pony. I have plans on the weekend so I don’t have time for this just choose. Now I need to get home to check on Record,” said Vinyl.
“Yes ma’am.” Replied Linnet.
“Good, now all of you, no arguing 'til next week understood?” asked Vinyl.
“Yes ma’am,” replied the five ponies. Vinyl trotted out of the room while the five other ponies tried to look for papers that told them who played here before.
Vinyl walked out of the club and entered the depths of the taxi waiting to take her home. She made good time coming home not wanting to waste time, she was already since it took her a lot longer than thirty minutes but luckily she hired a cook for the night to make dinner for the two of them.
When Vinyl approached the door she used her magic the open and close the door. When Vinyl entered the house Record noticed she looked worried for some reason. “What’s the rush?” asked Record.
“I am late and worried about you also have you packed, and did you make a mess?” asked Vinyl.
“Don’t worry, I packed up everything I need and cleaned a little bit,” said Record. Vinyl started to loosen up.
“Thank you, busy day, go watch some TV and I will go check if dinner is ready,” said Vinyl.
“Ok sis,” replied Record.
Record went into the living room to watch some T.V. Vinyl went into the kitchen and saw that the food was already made and the chef left a note. Vinyl picked it up and started to read it. “Don’t worry about paying me, this one is on the house.” Vinyl was relieved that everything was going to be ok, so she set up the place mats and put the food in the oven to warmed up. While that was being done, Vinyl went upstairs to make sure Record packed everything. She found Records pack on the floor in the middle of the hall way and unzipped it. She looked through it making sure everything is there but one thing was missing. “Record where is your tooth brush?” asked Vinyl.
“I uh forgot?” said Record
“Haha now get up here and pack your tooth brush,” said Vinyl.
“Ah come on big sis,” replied Record.
“Today Record,” said Vinyl.
“Ok,” said Record in a low sad voice.
Record quickly went upstairs and packed her tooth brush as fast as she could not want to miss her TV show. Vinyl went back to the kitchen to check on the food and when she was satisfied with it she took it out and added a few other item roses, those were Record’s favorite thing. “Ready Record,” said Vinyl.
“Ya I am so hungry,” replied Record. The two ponies sat down and ate their well made meal. As they ate dinner Record asked what happened at the club. Vinyl gladly answered her questions all the way to nine o’clock.
“Alright that’s it for today it’s time for bed,” said Vinyl.
“Already? I want to hear more,” replied Record.
“You need to get sleep so you can stay awake at Mother and Fathers house, they want to spend time with you too you know.”
“Ok but I want to hear the rest when I come back on Monday promise?”
“I promise. Now go to bed,” replied Vinyl. It took Record an hour to get to sleep since she had so many questions on her mind and did not enough answers to satisfy her.
Next morning Mother and Father had arrived to pick up Record. Mother was a slim unicorn with cyan fur and a friendly personality, while Father was medium built unicorn with a white color fur. “There you are,” said Mother.
“Have you been staying up all night again?” asked Father.
“No dad,” replied Record.
“If you say so. Now get down here we need to leave soon so finish breakfast fast,” said Father.
“Ok dad,” replied Record. While Record ate breakfast Mother and Father asked all kinds of questions about what she has been doing. She answered so many questions she almost forgot she had to eat her food.
“It’s almost go so go say good bye to your big sis and we will head out,” said Mother.
“Ok,” replied Record. Record got up and ran over to and gave Vinyl a big hug. “Bye big sis, I will miss you,” said Record as she was hugging Vinyl.
“I will miss you too,” replied Vinyl. Father stepped in and separated the two since they would not stop hugging.
“Tick tock tick tock,” said Father.
“Alright I am coming,” replied Record. The three piled into the taxi and waved good bye to Vinyl as they started to move.
The road was a little bumpy from the highway being used a lot, on the road trip Record gazed out the window seeing the earth ponies at work collecting apples and harvesting carrots and many other fruits and vegetables. It took about five hours to get to the city. The city was over crowded with ponies trotting up and down the busy streets it was almost as if every pony had somewhere to be. It took the cab thirty minutes to get to the apartment since the weekend meant a lot more ponies out having fun. Mother and Father had a fairly big apartment, two rooms’ bed rooms, a kitchen, living room, laundry room, and two bathrooms. A lot of the apartment buildings are a lot smaller then that so they can fit as many ponies as possible into them. Mother and Father lived on the fifth floor with most of though middle class ponies. The higher you go the richer you are, so if you lived on the tenth floor you were the richest pony in the building.
They took the elevator to the fifth floor took a left and walked five apartment houses down. While entering Mother and Father’s apartment, Record looked around looking for any new changes that have happened in the past month. Once she had seen that everything was the same as it was last month she was here, she quickly dropped her stuff and went straight to the kitchen looking for some food since she was starving for some lunch. “Hold on Record first things first one you need to unpack in your room and then you need to sit down and tell us everything you remember that happened,” said Father.
“Fine,” pouted Record. “But I get to pick the game right?” she asked.
“Don’t you always?” said Mother.
“Ya I guess you’re right.” Record grabbed her bag and went to her room to unpack. Her room was the one the room on the left with a sign on it saying “Only cool ponies allowed in” of course that meant her parents could not come in but they do anyways when she is not here so they can clean up the mess she always makes.
Record’s room was not small, but not big. She had a bed on the left side of the room, a dresser on the right, a desk right in between the two with a chair, and a window in front of the desk facing another apartment building across the street. She laid her duffle bag down on her bed and unzipped the bag. She slowly took out everything that was in it and laid it all out on her bed so she could sort it out and put it where it belonged. Once everything was out she unzipped a secret compartment at the bottom that held a small photo of Vinyl. She studied it at every angle, once she started to get teary eyed she put it back and wiped away all evidence of this event and went back to putting everything away.
Record, Mother, and Father sat down in the living room listening to Record’s stories about Vinyl and her for about two hours. They talked so much that they had almost missed dinner. They ate dinner still listening to Record ramble about her time with Vinyl, Octavia, and Viola. They finished dinner rather quickly so they could get to playing board games and watching T.V. they played until ten o’clock way past Record’s bed time. “Well I am getting tired and it is way past your bed time, so I think it is best if we all go to bed right about now,” said Father.
“You're only saying that because Record is about to beat you at your favorite game,” replied Mother.
“That’s not true,” pouted Father. Record just sat there laughing at the two of them arguing since it was true Record had already won the game and Father was only trying to get out of it somehow. Eventually Father admitted defeat and told both of them to go to bed before he calls a rematch. Record had no problem playing another game since she could stay up even longer and have fun but before she had a saying Mother yanked Record away and tucked her into bed.
“Good night Record,” said Mother.
“Good night,” replied Record. Record was a little restless for some odd reason almost as if she felt something is not right making it take longer for her to go to sleep but after a few twist and turns she finally found the right spot and fell asleep.
The next morning Record was awoken from her deep slumber by her mother telling her that breakfast is ready. Record moaned at the thought of getting up but she knew if she did not that would be a bad way to start the day off. So she pulled up all her strength together and got out of bed and went to the kitchen to see what was for breakfast. Once in the kitchen Record, Mother, and Father sat down and ate their food without a word for some reason it might have been because they were too tired to even talk or the food was too good to stop and say a word. Half way through the meal they heard a loud thud from the house next to there’s but since it was so early they passed it as if someone dropped something heavy by accident.
As they were about to finish their meal they heard another thud but this time it came from their house and it wasn’t by accident some pony had knocked down their door. Mother and Father stood up immediately to see what had happened but they were blocked by three pony soldiers running towards them attempting to knock them down, but before they could, Mother used magic and put up a protective spell around them. Father was furious with this so he met their challenge after they got knocked down by the unexpected shield and charged at them with all his might. Record heard a giant crack form one of the soldier body and a loud scream almost blocking all sounds. Mother screamed over and told Record “Run.” Record did not know where to go so she quickly ran to her room not knowing anywhere else to go. She opened the door and locked it behind her and went to her duffle bag. Record unzipped it and went to the secret compartment and grabbed the photo of Vinyl and went straight under her bed.
Record closed her eyes and went as far as possible as she could laid there waiting for Mother and Father to come and get her. Her mind was racing with questions but they were all thrown to the back of her mind once she heard the scream of her Mother from the kitchen. Record kept hearing the roars from Fathers mouth as he thrashed his spells and his hooves at the soldiers. A few minutes later everything went quiet and only the hoof steps of two ponies stepping broken glass could be heard. The hoof steps became louder as they neared Records room but she dared not come out under her bed. The door to her room slowly opened and two ponies stood over the bed looking around Record took a quick peek at the hoofs and immediately knew that they were not Mother and Father. Record quickly closed her eyes and pictured the worst of what had happened to her mother and father as she whimpered. The two ponies heard this and looked under the bed to find a scared filly, one of them reached in seeking a grip on the filly but Record acted faster than they could and bit his hoof. “Oww,” screamed one of the ponies.
“What’s wrong?” asked the other pony.
“The little brat, she bit me.” from the voices their voices Record truly knew these people were not here to help here so she kept trying to edge even closer to the wall hopping that it would extend farther but to be only crushed by that thought when the two ponies pulled out the bed and grabbed Record by the neck.
“Let me go!” yelled Record as she flailed around in mid air while being held by the other pony.
“What’s you name?” asked the soldier standing in front of Record.
“Let me go!” repeated Record.
“I won’t ask nicely again, now what is your name?”
“Record.”
“Sir she is not on the list, what should we do with her.”
“Take her with us.”
“Yes sir,” replied the two soldiers. Record opened her eyes for one second to see who was there and only caught a glimpse of the stallion before the handle point of the spear connected with Record’s head blacking her out.
Little droplets of rain fell on Records bruised face. She was startled by the cold touch of the rain and woke her up from her unconscious state. She twitched from the frozen water falling on her as she laid there in the mud. Record lifted her head and looked at her surroundings. Thousands of ponies lay on the muddy floor as cold rain hits them over and over. All of them lay still, not wanting to attract so there was no way of telling if they were alive or dead. Electric fences incased us in, guard ponies patrol the outer fence checking all angles for any escape routes, and spotlights shine down on all the imprisoned ponies, almost blinding them all. The outdoor prison was shaped like a square with two exits, one on the East side and one on the West side. Both are heavily guarded by no less than 20 guards. Record looked at the West gate and saw a guard pony opening the gate into the prison. Record quickly shoved her head between her hooves and closed her eyes and pretended to be dead, since she did not want to attract attention to herself. Record peeked through her hooves to see what the guard pony was doing. The guard was walking around looking for something. Maybe a lost item or a certain pony, but Record was not interested in it since you could get into a lot of trouble if you looked at the wrong thing with the wrong face, it was always wise to keep your head down and look like a gloomy homeless pony. The guard looked in Record's direction, so she quickly shoved her head between her hooves again hopping he would not notice her, but it was too late, he saw her face and was now looking down on her.
“Get up,” ordered the muscular earth pony. Record found no use in arguing so she tried to stand up, but quickly fell back down from the lack of food and not having enough time to recover from her black out. The guard sighed in disappointment and picked up little Record. Record squirmed when she was being picked up thinking that she was going to be knocked out again, but stopped once she felt soft fur against her muddy coat.
The time it took for the guard to take Record to the place was immense, but Record couldn't find enough energy to care anymore. Record was trying to count time, but kept blacking out so it was hard to tell. Record still had not recovered from the blow she took to the head, so she kept rubbing the place where she was hit making sure it was not a dream and that this was reality. She could not stay awake for any longer than ten minutes.
The rain soon came down more frequent than just a couple of drops here and there. Cold frozen rain continued to hit them harder as they moved forward. The guard had no problem continuing onward since he was covered in leather armor with iron armor over that, but he could not stand the shivering filly on his back, so he looked around for a place to set her down. He settled with an oak tree across the paved road. The guard settled Record down by the old tree that looked like it was about to shrivel up and die. Once the guard made sure that Record was still in one piece, he looked away from her and went looking through his saddlebag that he was caring. He shuffled things around looking for something to cover the young filly. He pulled out an old looking cloak and decided this will have to do. He wrapped it around Record and whispered in her ear “Don’t tell any pony where you got this.” Record was surprised what she heard. All the other guards she saw were ruthless and did not care what other ponies thought of them, so she just assumed he was just another jerk who did not care what happened to her.
The strange, friendly guard went back looking through his saddle. Record thought 'after seeing him give me something so nice what would he pull out next?' This made Record curious of what he was doing and tried to get a better view of what he was going to pull out. After watching him, she wondered if the next thing he was going to pull out was going to another gift or a whip that the other guards use on ponies that “miss behaved”. The guard poked out his head to make sure that the young filly did not try to run off, even though they both knew that she was in no shape to run and hide, so he went back to digging in his saddlebag for another three minutes. After a lot of shuffling in his saddlebag, he pulled out two apples and threw one at Record. She saw it coming and knew it was food, so she quickly got up from where she was laying on the ground and caught the apple in her mouth and started to eat it as fast as she could. This was the first non half-eaten and non rotten or infected food she has eaten there. Since back where she was being hold up, they only threw left over scraps at them, and only the strongest ones got to eat. That meant Record never really ate much, but she got a few scraps with the innocent face, but this was the first time she actually got to eat a full apple.
The guard pony came up to Record and sat next to her. Record was a little shy and scared at first, thinking he was going to hit her for doing something wrong, but then quickly noticed that he was friendly when he gave her a small but noticeable smile. They both sat there eating their apples and looking at the ground since neither one of them wanted to look at the suffering ponies that were only across the road. Just hearing the cries for help and the screams were enough to give you nightmares for a whole week. Record finished her apple long before the guard, and looked at the guard hoping he will look back at her seeing her hungry face and feel the need to give her another apple, but he never looked at her so she was stuck watching him eat his apple still hungry. The guard quickly lifted up his head with remembrance and went to his saddlebag. He dug though it for about a minute and pulled out a rag and gave it to Record. “We found this when you came here. I held on to it thinking it was important.” Record grabbed the rag and unfolded it.
It was Vinyl’s face. For the first time in a week, she felt a hint of happiness. Record had thought she had lost it in the holding cell she was put in the first time she came here, but seeing it now lifted Records heart and spirits to the highest all this week. Records eyes started to flow with tears as she hugged the photo trying to feel Vinyl’s warm coat against her muddy fur. That happy thought disappeared when she felt the hoof of the guard on her shoulder signaling this is not the place or the time to show weakness. She wiped away her tears and put the picture back into the rag, and put it in a pocket on the cloak. Record stood up next to the guard and looked into his eyes. They stared at each other for about three minutes until the guard laid down offering his back to her. Record refused it and started to walk on the road. After 50 feet Record collapsed on the hard street with every little drop of rain hitting her on the head. The guard pony stood in front of her amazed that she made it that far, and again offered his back to her again, seeing she would not get far without the help of some pony. Record took the offer mad at herself that she could not walk on her own, and she got on his back.
His back was rough and cold from the iron armor that covered his whole body. Record fidgeted on his back to find a nice warm comfortable spot. There was no spot that was warm or comfortable so she just lay down still mad at herself since she could not walk the long distance that they would have to cross to get to where they were going. The guard stood up with the young filly on his back and walked back to where he left his saddlebag. He closed all the pouches on both sides of the saddlebag, and picked it up with his teeth. He threw it onto Records back thinking that there was no other place to put it. Record squirmed at the unexpected item being added, but quickly relaxed once she felt the cool leather strap on top of her back knowing that it could not hurt her. The guard stepped back onto the road immediately getting drenched by the pouring rain again. The guard pony stopped in the middle of the street. Taking in a deep breath and letting out a long sigh, he started to walk on the hard street to the unknown destination.
Half way through there long trip Record wondered where they were going and why. After pondering her and coming up with nothing she asked the guard where they were going. “Where are we going and why are we going there?” The guard pony only grunted at the question, so Record retreated back to her thoughts not wanting to be forced to walk or get whipped. The guard pony continued to walk through the rain while the young filly on his back tried to stay warm and dry. The rain was never ending, it never paused to take a break or slowed down. It kept an even hard pace on the two ponies. Record was shivering on the guard once again so she tried to pull the cloak as tight as possible around her trying to trap all the warmth she could get. After shivering for an hour, she felt a hood on the cloak. Record was surprised that she did not see this before or feel it, but she was not interested in that. She pulled it over her head and muttered under breath “I’m an idiot.”
After three hours of sitting on the guard's back while he walked, they finally reached their destination. The guard lay down once again and gave Record the sign that this was the end of the road. Record jumped off and landed on the hard street almost tipping over from the lack of food. Record looked at her surroundings, but she could not see anything past ten feet with this endless pouring cold rain. She stood looking around for anything familiar, but after two minutes of not seeing anything, she faced the guard once again looking straight into his eyes. As Record looked in his eyes, she saw something she had not seen in weeks. Hope. This gave a single strand of hope that everything is going to go back to normal and everything here was only a nightmare, but deep down she knew that only the worst can get better or terrible. The guard pony leaned forward and grabbed his saddlebag off of Record's back. Record closed her eyes at the strange movement but once she felt some weight lift off of her she realized that he was getting his saddlebag. Record had completely forgotten she had it on her and blushed a little at her stupidity. As he was pulling the bag off he ran his mouth over Records ear and whispered “She’s looking for you.”
Record looked at him with a confused face and wondered what he meant be that, but there was no time to ask the guard started to talk again in a normal voice this time. “This where we part, I have other things to do so take this note to next guard you see and he or she will take you to where you need to go.” The guard handed a rag with a note in it to Record, she quickly pocketed it so it would not get wet and went to ask the guard a question but before she could the guard continued to talk. “Walk west from here and they will be a group of guards. One of them will walk or carry you to where you need to go.” He again ran his mouth over her ear and whispered. “Stay safe.” Before Record could ask him what that even meant, he was already deep in the pouring rain out of ear shot.
Record stood there what seemed like ages looking in the rain trying to figure out what to make of what has happened all day. Everything that has happened is just a big blur to her now, nothing seems to be in order. After a few more minutes of being drenched in the rain, she returned to the real world and started to walk west just like the guard pony to her to do. As she walked down the road, she tried to picture what the street would look like if there was not any rain and rubble lying around. It was an impossible task because after seeing everything broken, buildings, roads, and ponies, the only thing you can imagine is the worst. So she focused on the road ahead. She walked for ten minutes straight. Her hooves started to wobble and lose balance so she looked around for a place to rest. Looking around, Record saw a dim light in the distance and she immediately knew that was a guard camp. She searched her pocket to make sure that the note she received from the guard pony was still there and intact and she looked for the photo of Vinyl. She found the note from the guard in her right pocket and the picture of Vinyl was in her left pocket. She pocketed both of them again and ran towards the dim light.
Record ran one mile nonstop, her hooves were wobbling all over the place and she lost her balance so many times she stopped counting. The light grew bigger and bigger as she closed in on it, here energy was dwindling away as she continued to run through the muddy road. The light almost seemed to be in hooves reach when Record heard a voice coming from where the light is. At first she thought she was losing her mind so she continued to run towards it until she heard it again. This time Record knew it was a pony’s voice but she did not know who was saying it and why. Also without knowing what he or she said Record decided to walk the rest of the distance not wanting to endanger herself, by running any further. As the light grew bigger the voice became clearer but still she did not know what he or she was saying from the pouring rain and the lightning it was hard to even hear your own footsteps.
Record finally reached the outpost that the guard pony was talking about. Five earth guard ponies guarded the road from escapees and wonders. The voice again called out to her and this time she heard it clearly. “DON’T MOVE.” Record stopped in her tracks and stood there listening for the voice again. She stood there for a minute until she heard footsteps, Record took out the note that the guard pony gave to her and held it in her hooves. Record laid down where she was and held the note in her hooves just in case she passed out and they could not find the note that told them what to do with her.
The footsteps started to get louder and louder as they came into ear shot. Two minutes later three guard ponies were looking down on her with sharp objects pointing at her. The middle guard talked first. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” Record tried to open her mouth but couldn’t since she was so weak so she just lay there out of energy and ready to fall asleep for a year or two. Again the middle pony asked the question, this time Record raised both of her hooves trying her hardest to hold the note between the two of them. The pony on the right ripped it out of her hooves and unfolded the rag to find a note. He started to read it until the middle pony ripped it out of his hands and started to read it under the umbrella that the left pony provided. The middle pony studied the note carefully, by the time Record was about to fall asleep for the longest time she heard the middle pony talk again but this time not at her. "Take this filly back to our compound." Record looked up with joy knowing that there would be beds and food. The two ponies on her side looked at each other dumb founded. The middle pony yet again told them what to do but this time she yelled at them. That set the straight to work. They both lifted Record off the ground and onto their backs. Record groaned at her acing bones being forcing to move. They laid Record on both of their backs giving Record more room to move around. Record did not know how long the trip took since she fell asleep on their backs, but she did not care since she woke up the next morning to the smell of warm food.
