The Kings of Clopton

Vinyl watched as Octavia and Ulfric passionately made out at the bar, feeling her blood boil. This wasn't the way things were supposed to happen, not by a long shot. There was a reason Vinyl had asked Octavia to come to these parties, there was a reason she asked her to hang out all the time, there was a reason for ALL of it. But no, Octavia hadn't realized this, and Vinyl was left at the situation at hand. Part of her wanted to go up, buck Ulfric in the face, and expose her true feelings for Octavia right then and there, while another part of her wanted to just leave. Leave and never been seen again, hide, like a turtle cowering in its shell.

Vinyl couldn't decide in time. Her eyes began to water, and the music seemed to become messy, and everypony noticed. They all looked displeased, almost furious that their good time had just been ruined, but that changed to a face of confusion when they looked up to see a close to sobbing DJ barely mixing the records at this point. Before anypony could ask her if she was OK, she began to sob as she ran out the front door of the confectionery, leaving many confused ponies in her wake. Even Octavia and Ulfric noticed, as it had been enough to push them out of that perfect kiss.

"Vinyl! Vinyl! Where are you going?" Octavia yelled as she chased after her best friend, still unaware that she had caused the disruption. Ulfric was simply left there dazed as he relished the experience that he had just shared with Octavia. Eventually his mind finally caught up with him.

"Oh! Yeah, Vinyl! What's wrong!?" He said much to late, and charged out after the two mares. Traz and Shock, who had been enjoying the party, noticed this and rushed off after their friend, they too confused at Vinyl's sudden outburst.

Eventually, Octavia found Vinyl crying under a park bench, curled in the fetal position. Octavia hurt inside seeing her friend like this, and would not rest until she got to the bottom of it. Dragging Vinyl ever so forcefully until she could fully embrace her. Eventually, Vinyl stopped crying, just enough to return her friend's gesture. Octavia knew she had to get to the bottom of this, and pulled away from her friend.

"Vinyl, what's wrong? In the middle of a party, you just seemingly burst into tears and run outside, did someone insult you? Did... someone hurt you! All I need is a name Vinyl, a name and I..." She was stopped by a hoof to her lips, shushing her entirely. Vinyl looked deeply into Octavia's eyes, and both felt a blush coming from under their coats. Octavia could tell it all from Vinyl's eyes, the look of hurt, the look of betrayal. Octavia had been looking, so far, so long, for the right pony just for her. It turned out that she was right in front of her eyes. Ever so slowly, the distance between their lips closed.

"Vinyl...."

"Octy...."

The two embraced each other, passionately kissing, not even noticing the pair of eyes that was watching them in despair. Ulfric knew this was too good to be true, and it was being shown here. All that mares wanted was a heart, so they could stomp it, crush it, until it was nothing but dust. Ulfric rarely cried, he didn't even shed as much as a tear at his mother's funeral. But this, this was the last straw. The emotion that Ulfric had pent up over the years, came spilling over. He thought of his many past "loves", he thought of his mother, his father, how they would be ashamed of him. The giant, who many had called emotionless at times, walked away from the two lovers, water streaming from his eyes.

"Ulfric! Where are ya buddy!" Traz called in vain, they had been searching for the past hour, and no one had seen hide nor tail of the giant. They were getting worried. Ulfric wasn't one to hide, and he certainly wasn't one to go missing. Especially since his latest score, recounted by Shock. He had seen the two kissing, and for once hadn't been enough of a douche to actually ruin the moment, simply leaving the two to their activities. Several minutes later, they came upon a site that explained everything. Near a park bench, Ulfric's latest "Score" was making out with another mare. Shock, felt his blood boil. He knew Ulfric's long history with mares, and suspected this had been the final push he needed. Even Traz, usually too timid to speak to some, rose to his full height, expelling his wings in an aggressive stance.

"You.... You little.... WHORE!" Screamed Traz, making his presence known. Almost immediately Octavia and Vinyl broke their kiss, looking over in the direction of the insult.

"Do you... have ANY, idea what our friend has been through!? Do you have ANY, idea how many mares he has seen break his heart? Does it feel GOOD, to hurt another pony? Huh?! Does it, you little slut!?" Shock's jaw dropped. Traz had never been so assertive in his life, even Shock couldn't help but feel slightly afraid. Traz's wings fully extended, his eyes burning a glare at the two mares, he looked as if he could take on the princesses.

"I.... I... I'm sorry.... I guess I was just confused... is all..." Octavia stuttered, barely able to talk considering the look she was receiving, Shock decided it was time to support his friend.

"OH! You were CONFUSED, that's it isn't it? It only took a broken heart to make you realize it, didn't it? You know what, buck you, buck your little marefriend, we're going to go comfort our friend, since he's now got a broken heart to deal with, courtesy of you." Shock and Traz left the scene, both still blaring hate for the two figures. Now, it was Octavia's turn to sob, realizing the pain she must've caused that pony. Vinyl comforted Octavia, stroking her mane, letting her know she was there.

Ulfric looked out into the distance, tears still running down his face. So many disappointments clouded his life, so many failures. Ulfric had never been one to sight-see, but right now anything to take his mind off her would do just fine. He heard movement in the distance, but was too tired, to weak, at this moment to care. He didn't realize who it really was until he saw them take a seat at both his sides. This cheered Ulfric up a bit. He realized something at that moment, no words were needed to help him there, that no matter how bad things turned out, he still had his friends. He still had his friends, that were there for him whenever he needed them. And right now, he needed them more than ever. After an hour, Ulfric finally felt confident to get up and walk away. He needed to look to the future, not the past. He would recover from this. It would just take a leap of faith.

"So uhh... not to be rude or anything, but where exactly are we sleeping tonight?" Shock spoke out suddenly. At this, the trio simultaneously face palmed. How could they have forgotten a place to stay? Instead of placing blame, they were all content to rent out a three bed room in the nearest hotel. Upon their arrival, they were met by a friendly old landlord, who gave them the room they needed for the night. After paying appropriately, they all went to their new room, and one by one, they fell asleep. Ulfric, being the last, stared out the window until the sun set.

"I'll get through this, I always have, and I always will." With a confident smile, Ulfric fell asleep, leaving his hurtful past behind him.