Second Chances

Second Chances
By Hero541
Chapter 26: I’m Done Lying

Josh sat on the plane, staring at the seat in front of him with his head resting on his hand. Liam was in the back of the plane on the phone, calling everyone he could think of to tell them that Xploshun was back. As they flew, Josh’s mind constantly drifted back to Equestria, back to the ponies he’d met and the experience he’d had. How was he going to explain to Liam what had happened to him? He had no idea.

“Well,” said Liam, walking back and sitting down next to Josh, “I’ve put in all the calls I can. Not only will the whole world of dubstep soon know that its king is back, but I even got you a nice press conference tonight. I know it’s a bit early for that, but I wanna get you back out there as soon as I can.”

Josh simply grunted in acknowledgement and continued to stare at the seat. He didn’t really care about getting back on his feet right now. His heart was still hurting, and he kept seeing Vinyl’s beautiful face appear in his mind. He saw all the fun he’d had with Sweetie Belle and the others. He saw the night of the performance when everything seemed so perfect…

“Hey!” he heard Liam call, “Are you even fucking listening to me?”

“Oh. Sorry, Liam.” he apologized, “I’m not feeling all that well right now.”

“Well, you’d better start feeling better quick. We’ve gotta get your story straight as far as what happened to you. Everyone’s gonna want an explanation as to where your sorry ass went for two months.”

Josh again answered him with silence. He couldn’t tell Liam the truth. If he did, no doubt he’d be thrown in a nuthouse. He had to make something up, something convincing.

“What do you know about what happened to me before I disappeared?” he asked, raising up and looking at Liam.

“Well, all I know was that you went to the hospital the morning after the LA show. They just said you’d disappeared when they tried to revive you on the table.”

“Okay then.” said Josh, thinking hard, “Did they release why I was in the hospital?”

“Just said there’d been an accident.”

“We’ll say that I lost my memory after the accident and I just ran out. I’ll fill in the rest of the details from there if necessary.”

“Works for me. Just one question.”

“Sure.”

“What exactly did happen to you?”

Josh paused. Part of him wanted to just say it all, to tell Liam how he’d met the most wonderful mare and found a kind of family in the ponies of Equestria. He wanted to shout it to the whole world.

“I’ll tell you once we get there.”

*****

Josh had to give Liam props on this one. Not even four hours ago had he made his calls, and he had managed over one hundred reporters and columnists in for the conference. Every one of them was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Josh, all chatting about what could have possibly happened that he would disappear for so long. Meanwhile, Josh and Liam sat behind the small stage, awaiting their call to go out.

“I’ll get things started with opening statements,” Liam said, peering out at the gathered crowd, “then, you just answer their questions from there. Sound good?”

“Let’s just get this done. I’m jet-lagged as all hell right now.”

With that, both men walked out onto the stage, camera bulbs flashing all around as they took their seats. Reporters were already yelling questions at them, only to receive a small smile and brief response.

“Alright,” said Liam through the microphone on the table, “if everyone can take a seat, we’ll get this thing started.”

Everyone gathered took a seat, most visibly upset that they had to wait to ask their questions.

“Good. Now, let me start by saying how happy I am that Josh is finally back with us.” he turned to Josh, “You have no idea how much we all missed you, and we can’t wait to get things rolling again. Starting by continuing your last tour where it left off!”

Josh saw a few reporters begin writing on their notepads.

“So, without further ado,” said Liam, raising his arms out to his sides, “Let’s get this bitch started!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than every reporter began shouting once more. Josh pointed to one and the others quieted down.

“Josh, what happened to you the morning of the accident?”

“Well,” Josh began, looking to the reporter, “I lost my memory a little. From there, I made my way out of the hospital and across the country.”

“Do you have anyone that can confirm your statements?”

“Not here at this very moment.”

The reporter jotted down something in his notebook as Josh called on another one.

“When did you recover your memory enough to come back?”

“Just this morning.”

“That fast, huh?”

“I guess.” replied Josh lamely.

“You don’t seem very sure of yourself on this.” said the reporter, raising an eyebrow, “How do we know you’re telling us the truth?”

“Were you there for everything that happened to me?”

“No.”

“Then I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.”

The reporter huffed a little and slumped back down in his chair. Josh called on yet another reporter.

“I have a report here that states you were taken to the hospital for a heart condition.” she said, waving it around, “It says here that you had a massive amount of cocaine in your system. Have you been abusing drugs, Mr. Daniels?”

Liam turned white and peered at Josh. The producer felt his heart skip a beat at her words. Almost instantly, memories from his recovery period in Equestria flooded his mind. He had to hold back tears as he remembered the first night he had withdrawal dreams, how the Cutie Mark Crusaders had stayed with him all night, comforting him. From there, he remembered how, whenever he would become irritable and cranky, all he needed to do was see the sweet innocent face of Sweetie Belle and he was instantly better.

“It’s true.” he said, making Liam turn even whiter, “In the past I have abused cocaine. I’m not gonna deny it. However, I’m clean now, and have no intention of going back to that stuff.”

“Do you honestly expect us to believe that?”

“Believe whatever you want. I’m not gonna deny the things I’ve done wrong in my life. But, I know that there’s good things in there mixed with all the shit.”

“And what would that be?”

Josh could take no more. He wanted to walk off that stage, to go and sulk in his studio. Images and memories were racing through his mind, all of them containing the smiling faces of the ponies he loved so much and missed now more than ever. He pulled out his iPod, remembering his first lessons with Vinyl. Hitting the home button on the front, he almost broke down right there.

Looking back up at him from the device was a picture of himself and Vinyl in Ponyville. Their lips were pressed together in a kiss, both wearing a huge smile as they embraced each other lovingly. What have I done?

“Mr. Daniels? You were just about to tell us all the great things you’ve done in spite of your mistakes”

Josh broke from his reverie. He could hold back no more. It was all too much.

“You’ve all asked what happened to me? You wanna know the truth, the whole, unbiased, complete truth? Well, allow me to be the first to say that I’m not gonna lie about this anymore.”

Liam looked at Josh again.

“What’re you doing?”

“The truth is, I was admitted to the hospital for a drug overdose.” he continued, standing up and ignoring Liam, “I’d been partying all night and had used cocaine. I don’t remember much after my heart started to fail. I do remember what happened to me once I woke up though.”

He began to walk around the stage, the reporters eyes all zeroing in on him as he moved, “I met a group of ponies. They said I was in a land called Equestria. I tried to find my way home, just so I could return to what I thought was my perfect little life. However, every attempt I made was quickly thwarted and I thought I’d be trapped there forever. All I wanted was to get out of there so badly.”

Every reporter as well as Liam sat dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what Josh was saying right now. Josh continued without noticing them.

“But, I met one pony in particular. A DJ named Vinyl Scratch. At first, we didn’t really get along, but as time went on and I helped her live out her passion for music, we grew to love each other. I was happier than I’ve ever been in my whole life. Finally, I had someone I could love who loved me back just as much.”

“I thought I’d just stay in Equestria forever,” Josh felt himself begin to cry once more, “but I was tricked, fooled into thinking that we’d be better off without each other. I… I left Vinyl and all the others, thinking I was doing the right thing by going away. After all, what place does a lying, cheating, philandering human like me have in a world as wonderful as Equestria?”

Tears began to stream down his cheeks as he heard Otis’s words from that morning in his head.

“Then those ghosts don’t matter. Your guilt don’t matter. If you didn’t deserve to be with her, then why’d she fall in love with you?”

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. I’ve used and stepped on many people, lied and cheated and stolen from those who considered themselves close to me. However, those all pale in comparison to what I did just this morning.”

He paused, unable to regain his composure and collapsing on the stage, heaving as he cried.

“I-I left them! I l-left them all! The p-ponies who l-loved me, c-cared for me, and took me in with no questions asked. I abandoned them, all because I was worried how they’d think of me once they discovered the truth of what I’ve done in my life. I threw away the opportunity to remain happy for the rest of my existence. But worst of all, I… I left her.”

Not a word was spoken by anyone as Josh lay on the ground sobbing. Some reporters even had a few tears in their own eyes as they were moved by the emotional scene before them.

“I’m sorry, Vinyl!” he said quietly, his body heaving, “I’m so sorry. I’ve m-made the worst mistake of all time! I let my own fear get the better of me. I want to b-be with you just one m-more time. I wanna hold you and t-tell you how m-much I love you.”

As those words left Josh's lips, a bright light filled the room and the producer jumped up from the ground. The light swirled all around, making a loud whooshing noise. Everyone looked away till a loud pop sounded and the light dissipated. The room shared a collective gasp at the sight before them.

A regal white alicorn wearing a gold tiara on her head and a gold cuirass on her chest stood before them. Her violet eyes scanned the room, searching for someone. Once they settled on Josh, she smiled. She walked towards him and stood before the surprised human, glancing deep into his eyes. After some time of standing there, silently greeting her human friend, she wrapped her large white wings around him, embracing him.

“P-Princess Celestia?” he stammered as she stepped back from the human.

“I’m glad to see you again, Josh. It’s been far too long. I have somepony else here with me as well.”

Princess Celestia stepped back, revealing the presence of another pony. She was a cream colored unicorn with beautiful crimson-magenta eyes and a shaggy yet soft blue mane and tail. On her flank was a picture of two connected eighth notes. Josh fell to his knees, a look of disbelief on his face as the pony ran towards him, tears streaming from her own eyes.

“Vinyl…”