In The Nightby OpalBerriesChaptersHeads upSpeechlessSome ThingsNight LifeAnswersReva-AnsweredHeads upTragedies always make great stories, but when we read something familiar to us like Romareo and Coltiet, it never does seem interesting, it never does seem all so sad. Of course, there will be those who argue, but they miss the point. Yes, it is a very tragic story, but it never really pulls on your emotions, does it? No, it doesn’t; to us, it all seems like another sad tragic story in our ‘harmonic’ world. As I mention this, some of you will go “oh, yeah I know that feeling, but why is that?” That’s a good question. I have no idea to why that is, but why not? Instead of asking ‘Why’ all the time, why not ask ‘why not?’ Do you really want to feel sad? Like everything in your life has no more meaning, than that of a leaf falling into the jaws of the ground? No, of course you don’t. Not everything is as it seems in this world, maybe the tragedy wasn’t meant to be a tragedy, or maybe it was supposed to teach you something through what we think is sadness and tragedy. What am I getting at, you ask? Good question. What I’m getting at is that you have to delve deeper into things, rather than just take it for what it is. If you want to rob a mare, you’re going to want to look into her wallet to make sure there is actual money in it. Least you find no money and become a wanted stallion/mare and get nothing out of it but some lipstick and for some reason Sugarcubes. What are you reading, you may ask? Another good question. What you’re reading is a first-person recording of what goes on in the night, as well as what I have on my mind that is worth writing down during any given moment. I’m not all that old, but I do have a lot to share; however, my age is of no importance. Age is relative, 50 yrs. could be 20 yrs. to somepony, and 20 yrs. could be 50 yrs. to somepony. But more importantly the actual story. The story will pertain to my nightly activities, as well as my daily thoughts and occurrences. This may seem like a good bed time story, because you’ll probably fall asleep after the first few lines, but that is beside the point. No pony really has time to actually survey the night, which is why I’ll take on that responsibility for them. Mostly because a lot of ponies want to see the night life and that is something usually meant for rest and rejuvenation. But what about those who actually see the night life? They sometimes come home drunk, or come home by a newly discovered hole in the wall. With that, you wonder what the heck they got into, and why you’re not coming through the wall with them. This is wondered by the many that have to deal with circumstances similar to the ones above. Of course, this seems very abstract and unpredictable, but that is what the night life is all about. You can’t see in the dark, therefore you don’t know what to expect. I, of the many, have always wanted to see the night life, and for once my wish came true. I, also, am considerate of the many who share the same feelings regarding the situation. With that, I’m going to record and publish my nightly findings for all to see and relish in, hopefully to a fraction of my enjoyment. My identity, however, will remain a secret until I deem it necessary to know. Of course, I will throw in some hints in here and there, and with that, hopefully you’ll be able to guess who I am. I am not obscure with my name because I’m a wanted criminal by some drugs lords or whatever, but just to add a little entertainment, and questionability to your reading. Why? Mainly to get you to think, from what I always here, ponies are stupid and there is a lack of thinking within them. Whether you fall into the category, I don’t know, but it is up to you to figure that out. There will be times of where you want to shot yourself in the head, but I assure you that feeling is only temporary and will probably go away within a few hours, again, time is relative. I’ll try and put in some other devices to keep you entertained whilst reading this, but I’m not assuring you they’ll work. So whether you find it fun is up to you, and whomever else that reads this story. So until we meet again, this has been the author of this story, and I’ll talk to me later. P.S. Not everything is as it seems, so be very, very, VERY careful when reading this. That is your one, and only warning. So who wrote this introductory, me, or me? SpeechlessNice to see you here again, it really is. Since you made it this far I might as well fill you in on some things that are probably on you mind. First, however, I’m going to fill you in on last night. Holy moly, where to start? I guess I’ll start from when the night actually began; it was a fun night, so don’t die just yet, if you’re not already bleeding out. It all began at 7:00 PM, Eastern Equestria, Manehattan. My friend, Cloudchaser, invited me to this all night “bash” as she called it. I haven’t been out in a while so I decided to tag along, couldn’t be that bad, but by the way she was dressed, heh, that gave me a different perspective. Her hair was the same, all windy and stylish looking so no surprise there. She smelled nice, too. I can still remember it, like a freshly made rainbow, mmmm. I felt like eating her up, good thing I’m sane… mostly. Her apparel made me a little antsy, though; felt like I was going to a strip club, yeah, a strip club. They don’t have too many of those, but wherever they do, it’s as packed as the lines for the Apples’ cider. Always so loud, crazy music, crazy ponies dancing like puppets, banging their heads to the beat of the drums and ‘bass’ I think, not too familiar with that kind of stuff. But back to the night, and as it turned out, it wasn’t a strip club. It was a rave, which is pretty much the same thing, except with more ponies. Not too much ‘crazy’ ponies, though. Strips usually have the worst of them. Anyways, back to what I was saying. The place was filled with 'awe'; lights were flashing and moving across the crowds, thousands of ponies jumping and clapping to the beats, their screeching voices for somepony named “Vinyl.” I saw posters of her the past week while walking the streets, she looks nice enough, but nothing is ever as it seems. I remember when she first came up to the stage, ho, they were going crazy. “Vinyl”, being screamed by all. They say she can tell, out of the thousands of us, who’s new there. I don’t believe that though. I’ve seen a lot of things in my time but that just seemed ludacris. She finally got to the podium, all was silent. She raised a hoof to take off her glasses, she looked amongst the crowds whom all had their eyes on her. Cloudchaser looked like she was about to die from anticipation, with a smile. Vinyl looked disappointed a little, and then she looked at me; Pointed a hoof to me, lights were on me, eyes were on me, I felt like collapsing in on myself, obliteration was all what was in my mind. Cloudchaser nudged me; there was a row in front of me leading to the stage. I had to walk up to Vinyl. I felt like I was walking right into the jaws of death, the eyes of all the taken upon me; the light, giving me my last vestiges of hope. I arrived to her; she had me face the crowd. She observed me, with great interest, like she was gazing upon the heavens. She looked into my eyes, I looked into hers; her eyes, gazing into my very being, looking upon all my memories. What felt like hours, was only a few minutes. I was in a daze, facing thousands of ponies, all of which seemed to only be focused on me. Vinyl turned back to the crowd and looked upon them, as if searching for an answer, her gaze placed in a familiar direction. Now, all the while looking she was looking at me, she walked over to her set, the crowd gave a sudden gasp, as if shocked. She got her glasses, purple shades with a glistening white frame, and put them upon her face. She then walked back to me, giving me a slightly different look. She was now back in front of me, she took off her glasses, looking at them as if looking into a deep pool of faces; faces who had once looked upon her glasses as an idol. She kissed them, short, but as if kissing away a fallen one to the next realm of life. She looked up at me, beaming once again into my eyes. She slowly, carefully, passionately, and… a little sorrowfully put her glasses upon my face. She looked at me as if I were her own, unique creation. She came up to me, whispered into my ear “Do you like them?” I didn’t nod, nor did I shake, yet it was like she still got her answer. She whispered “Thanks.” With that she took hold of my face, and kissed my lips. The crowd roared with excitement. Vinyl then hugged me as if she never hugged anyone in her life, kissing me as if I was somepony from her dreams. And as if I had answered her dreams with my lone appearance. What felt like all night had only lasted a couple seconds. Vinyl yanked herself away from me, looked at my face one last time and tossed me into the crowd, only to be caught by the spectators. They put me back with Cloudchaser, who looked like she was crying from sheer awe. The music began, the excitement had maximized, the voices had reached their loudest, and the party had begun. Vinyl, I remember, said something to me as she let me go into the crowd, but I couldn’t here over the screams. It seemed like she meant it, though. When she let me go I looked into her eyes… and I could swear, I saw a glisten. I don’t know what she saw in me, but I’m glad she saw it. I never felt so special in my life. We danced, laughed, and had fun until the early dawn. As Cloudchaser and I left, we were cheered at; we were praised sort of. Everypony came up to us as if we had been friends since the beginning of time; patting us on the back, caressing our manes with their hooves, dragging their hooves along out bodies. Like if they just touched us, they would instantly be enlightened, uplifted with the knowledge and as if their prayers would be answered. When we finally reached the outside, all who were inside and outside gave us one final cheer; making way for us as we walked by. I felt like I was a god. With every wave I gave, the ponies would cheer at me as if I had just slain an ancient of our world, as if I had just saved Equestria. As I turned and walked away with Cloudchaser we could still hear their screams, echoing throughout the streets, resonating throughout the early dawn. Those who used alarm clocks wouldn’t need them this early day; however, the screams sounded a little different now. When I finally got home, Cloudchaser bided me a goodbye. She gave me a hug and with a twinkle in her eye said “thanks for coming.” I shook my head no. I thanked her for inviting me; she only blushed and flew away. I opened my door, sat down on my couch, turned on the TV and watched the news. I knew there was something different with those howls in the early dawn. Just minutes ago on the streets of “Celestial Blvd.” and “Aquarian St.” the famous DJ, Vinyl Scratch, has been shot multiple times in the midst of her fans and instantly fell unconscious. The lone gun Colt was quickly tackled by the DJ’s fans, but his name is still unknown. Paramedics arrived within mere seconds of the incident. Her current status remains unknown, but the paramedics only said that it’s not looking well. Here is an Eye Witness of the incident that happened only minutes ago. “I-I can’t t-tel’ ya’ what it was like. I was Wa-walken ri’ beside my fren’ n’, n’ I heard sum shots, n’ tha crowd, tha crowd went hectic! People… crowden’ all aroun’ the gunner, n’ all aroun’ V-Vinyl. E-everyone was yellen’ n’ scremen’. Vinyl was yellen’ fur someponeh, too. She was yellen’ “Where is she? I need to tell her something! WHERE IS THAT MARE!? I NEED HER! PLEASE, SOMEPONY FIND HER! SHE’S IMPORTANT; IT’S IMPORTANT!” n’ we all started tellen’ her where that one mare went, but a-as soon as she turned her head, BANG! Sh- she got shot n’ she fell straight to the ground, n’ she was lo-losin’ a lot uh blood. Oh muh-my Celesta I-I hope she’s okay.” And from the looks of it, if Vinyl Scratch dies, it’s going to be a sad day indeed for all party goers and ravers. Updates are to come ahead, and until then, this is EQDN, Equestrian Daily News. I… I… I’m speechless. I can’t think of anything to say. Other than feel remorse, regrets, melancholy, and woe. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep; knowing somepony was looking for me, trying to tell me something. Why did I have to leave? I should have stayed and thanked her for her glasses. I just realized I haven’t taken them off. I don’t want to. I feel safe with them on. I tried to take a shower, but I couldn't. I just stood there, still, listening to the falling water against my coat; feeling as if every drop is a tear from her eyes. I got out and put her glasses back on. I tried to eat some food, but I didn’t feel like moving; I didn't feel hungry. I walked up to my room, I felt like I was carrying the whole world. I got into bed and lied there, thinking of the night. It was just supposed to be me and me. I just had to give it a chance. I hope she’s okay, I hope I can see her. I need to see her. I need to get up, but I can’t get up. They’re holding me down. The glasses are heavy. Is this why she gave them to me? Because she can’t take the burden anymore? Maybe she was supposed to be shot. Maybe this is fate. But what is my fate with theses glasses? Why am I thinking this? I shouldn't be thinking this. I’m not a cruel Pony. This isn't fate. This is just another night; a night out of the many others. But no, this night was special. This night what the night I actually went out and had fun; the night I had fun with Cloudchaser. The night I got to go to a rave, her rave; the famous Vinyl’s rave. The night I got her glasses; the glasses I’m still wearing. I’ll never forget that night; it was the best night of my life. This… this is what… happens In The Night. Some ThingsHey, I almost forgot to tell you about myself, I bet you’re all not wondering that, but I’ll tell you anyways. I’m going to keep this short n’ sweet. Why? Well I’m feeling kind of down right now, you may know why. But I’ll get straight to the beginning for you folks, I hate to keep the reader waiting, even if I’m only talking to myself; writing to myself. It all began when I was in Cutie High or Junior High for some ponies. Cutie High is for those who just acquired their Cutie Mark and are ready to take their learning to the next level, usually 2-3 months after acquiring your Cutie Mark. But rarely does it take that short of time. In reality, it takes around a year to even get your transcript looked at, and another 2 months for the results. Of course you already know this, but I was just recapping, just incase some silly filly forgot the excruciatingly agonizing perennial process those months of waiting can be. Anyways, back to the original topic, Me. My Cutie High years weren’t the best years; I was alone during those years. No one really knew me, yet I knew everyone. My first year in Cutie High was when it all began, my streak of lonerism. Never was I so alone than I was in those years; no friends, no acquaintances, no relations, only I and what I like to call The Wall, The Tree, and the Bench. What are those, you ask? Those were my “friends”; they were who I hung out with during lunch time. It was only The Wall and I; only The Tree and I; only The Bench and I. No pony else for three straight years, all I did was sit and watch the others; the others with their friends. Oh how I dreamed for a friend, every new pony I saw I always thought “oh maybe we’ll be the bestest of friends”, “maybe I’ll finally have somepony to talk to, to be with in friendship.” It happened once, but all too easily do you just have to remove the “r” from Friend to get Fiend. I’ll save that tragedy for a later story, but if you’re wondering what happened say no more, I’ll tell you. However, for now it’s just me, but I’ll give you a hint. Let’s just say this: nothing is ever as it seems. I never looked at friendship the same since then, never. It changed me, but not into how I am now, more of a precursor. One thing that I’ll never forget is my last year of Cutie High; it was the worst. Many can relate; many cannot, but those who can know what this is like. That was the year I came into first contact with that word; bullying. Never had I hated so much; never have I wanted to end it so badly; never have I looked at PonyKind the same. It leaves its special place in your memory; something that can never be forgotten fully. Again, perhaps a later story, one that I might be able to go in-depth with. You might be wondering why I’m not telling you these stories. Well, if you must know, I feel some stories deserve their own little chapter; their own little cradle to call theirs. College, heh, College, on the other hoof, was very different. College was where I met CloudChaser. How we met is its own story, but back to the point. She was the one who invited me to all the parties going on in College; she was one of those Mares that knew everything there was about partying, not a single party was left unheard by her ears. I never knew why she invited me to all the parties, but I never asked, in fear of never being invited to another one ever again. I would always accept the invitations,mostly because I was tired of being that lonely outcast that would always sit by themselves watching everypony that would pass by. CloudChaser always told me to just "go with the flow", to just "let the party take me." Reluctantly, I listened, and the next thing I know, we're best friends. She was my first actual friend, unlike somepony long ago, but even now CloudChaser and I are best friends. Yeah, College sure was fun, everypony always said that College is the most stressful years of your life. Well, I don't l know anything about that, but I don't regret anything from those years, except the drinking, I would learn that the hard way. So yeah, how about that AirPegasi food? No, i'm just kidding, it's aweful, but back to my mane point. That’s only the short story of things; of school. But home is where the heart is, which is why this hurts the most. Home… your own little vestige of sanctuary, of hope. Not for me it was. For me it was just another place to be hurt; another place where you can never sleep when you want to. I was revealed to what can only scar a pony, something easily noticeable by those who have been through the same tragedy. Something nopony, as young as I was, should ever be exposed to when little. However, you may be thinking I was abused or inappropriately touched. But this is far from it. In fact, it was something I lost; something that once lost, can never be attained again. I lost my innocence. My parents always wanted me to be innocent. I think that’s what all parents want in their children; for them to never lose what can never be found again. I lost it at home, my dome of solitude, my palace of hope. In what way, you may ask. They say curiosity killed the cat. Never has a phrase been so true. I lost it in a way one never forgets; you can never forget what precious things you lose. I lost it through something frowned upon, but also glorified as a savior among Ponies. What am I talking about, you may ask. I’ve been giving you some cliff hangers, so I’ll tell you this one. I lost it through Onanism. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I liked it. When I crested I was completely blown away; I thought I was about to die or something worse; I’ll get pregnant, which is bad at the age I was. I didn’t do it again until a couple of months after the initial shock had worn off. You may say it’s not a loss of innocence, but for somepony as young as I was, it was definitely scaring. Sadly, I still do it, it’s a hard thing to get rid of, you know? Thankfully, I don’t do it as often as I used to. Still, I do it, yet I admire those who don’t do it; they’re strong, and I know how hard it is not to do it, I'm sure others can relate. There was another event that changed my life, it was scary for those who have seen it, but not for the one who is going through it. What am I talking about? I’m talking about death. I was still just a blankflank when this occurred. I remember it as clear as day; those who also experience near death situations know what I’m talking about. I’ll tell you this, too. It was at night, around 8:00 PM, I was 5 years old, my parents were arguing over who would give it to me, I guess the excitement is what got me. What I’m talking about is an asthma attack. They were arguing over who would give me the respiration treatment, or breathing treatment as they called it. Next thing I know I was hyper-ventilating; I guess it was too late for the treatment. Right then my dad took me and rushed me over to the hospital, but as soon as we reached the hospital block was when everything went white, it felt like it was only 5 seconds. The next thing I remember is getting a needle stuck into my right foreleg, I remember saying “ow, ow that hurts.” I finally woke up to the doctor and my dad standing next to me; I've never seen my dad in such a panic. I only saw apart of him, but he looked worried, scared, anxious, shaken beyond belief. After that day I was always a little cautious, as were my parents, around things like amusement parks or Fairs. I was kind of sad, too, after that event. I was never able to run, least I have another attack; I liked running, it made me feel free, like I can go anywhere I wanted if I just kept going. Rarely are your dreams ever a reality. I learned that lesson earlier than I probably should of. Once I figured that out, I never dreamed big again, but one can dream can’t they? Yeah, one can dream. I used to be kind of a big deal in Filly school, too. I was the fastest runner, even if I could never run that much; how I admire the irony. But as soon as Cutie High came along, I figured that being the fastest runner meant nothing, not in Cutie High; trophies meant nothing. I learned that nopony really cares; all my dreams, hopes, desires ended right then and there. It was in Pony High, did I truly become who I am; did I truly become lost. When I was a FreshFoal I only prolonged it, but come my Sophomare year was when I became me. I don’t know what happened to me that made me who I am now, one day I wake different. It was strange, I saw everything differently, thought differently, became a sort of crazy. I started talking to myself, which I still do, mumbling gibberish, words like: Untestag, Liesay, Undefine, and any other strange words that I might say when talking to someone or myself. I have no idea what they mean, but they seem to make sense to me, strange isn't it? I started becoming depressed, never really wanted friends anymore, ate lunch by myself, did group projects by myself, usually the one explaining it all, too, yet the other members would also get credit; I hated that. I never really talked, but if somepony asked me a question or tried to start a simple conversation I would talk and keep it going. I’m not anti-social, I’m just… I don’t know; I don’t know who I am. I've asked this many times before, to myself that is, yet I can never figure myself out. Why am I like this? I lived an average life, did average things, I’m no pony special, yet I feel so distant and lost in this world; this world of harmony. It’s a world of harmony… so why can’t I attain? I've done my job as a pony in this world, I've given my contributions to society, yet does life, this world, still bombard me with confusion and depression. Why do people like me have to deal with this? Is it not the job of the strong to carry the burdens of the weak? So what am I; strong or weak? Nopony seems to be taking these burdens, so I’m guessing I’m strong. If this is what the strong have to deal with, then the weak should give us thanks. Yet, I don’t want to be thanked, never did I like that word, thank-you. Sure, I was thankful, but never did I want thanks, I just wanted whoever to be happy. I’m a generous pony, I’d give when it wasn't even needed; they said “thank-you”, ugh, I don’t want their thanks, I want some peace. They say to give is better to receive, so why can’t I feel better? What is a land of Harmony, when ponies like me are suffering from whatever it is I’m suffering from? Who can hear my pleas? Why do I continue to howl at the night, expecting things to change? Why do I continue to do it, when I know nothing will happen? What, am I insane? Possibly, but… maybe I am insane. No, no I’m not insane, insanity is for the weak, I am strong, my mommy and daddy raised me to be strong, and I will not let them down! DO YOU HEAR ME MOM? DO YOU HEAR ME DAD? I’M NOT WEAK, I’M NOT GIVING UP. WHY AM I SHOUTING? THEY CAN’T HERE ME! JUST SHUT-UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE TALKING HE- SHUT-UP! I KNOW THAT, I’M NOT INSANE, I’M NOT CRA- THEN WHAT IS THIS?! YOU THINK OTHER PONIES DO THIS?! YOUR NOT SPECIAL, YOUR NO- YES I KNOW THAT, SO WHY CONTI- I DON’T KNOW, ALRIGHT? I don’t know… maybe I’ll never know. Well, maybe now you know me, maybe you know what I’m like, how I am, what makes me, me; why I’m like this. Maybe… only those who care to understand will know; no one cares, though. No one ever cares. I need to visit her, she needs to know somepony cares, she needs comfort; she needs peace. I have to go; I’ll talk to you later. P.S. So this is me… I’ll talk to me later. Can you guess yet? Who I am? Can I guess who I am yet? No… some things… some things never change; some things are never meant to be found. I'm tired... I think I'll sleep a little before I leave. I rubbed my eyes... they're still on. Why can't I... Night LifeIf you’ve made it this far, you above all the rest, deserve to sit amongst the Greatest of ponies, you deserve to have a wish come true. Go ahead, make a wish, but don’t tell me, keep it secret. All you need to do is believe and that wish will come true. Come on, have a little faith. But back to the story, I’m sure you’re all wondering exactly the opposite of what I think you’re wondering. Think twice about that last line. I woke up to a loud bang from outside, and another, and another. I look outside, only to see fireworks in the deep blue sky, the sparkles from the fireworks blending in with the stars of the night. I looked at the time, 9:05 PM; I’ve slept a little too long. I’m not sure if visiting hours are still open, like they’d let me see Vinyl anyways, I’m no pony special, but one can hope. Yeah, one can hope. It seemed to be snowing outside, too. Every year in Manehattan during the first snowfall, the city hall sets off fireworks into the night. It’s a celebration that signals the beginning of winter, usually lasting only the night, and by the looks of it, it only just begun. I always liked fireworks, simply listening to their constant booming always seemed to sooth me. I used to fall asleep to them, now, for some reason, I can only wake to them… funny how things change. I should get going now, better late than never. I think I’ll put the glasses in my bag, I’ve worn them long enough. Strange how easily I can take them off now, yeah, funny how things change. I got my coat and scarf, I knew clear as the crystal kingdom I would need these bad boys, the Manehattan winters were always brutal, this year was no different. The moment I opened the door, I knew what to expect on this night, yeah, some things never change. It was a typical new years’ winter night in Manehattan, ponies walking each and every way, parties here and there, sky lights shooting up into the sky, music being blasted so loud, the elders can’t help but nag at the partyers, the streets crowded with shoppers and common oddities stands. The city was as lively as it ever could be. It’s actually a quite amazing site, almost like Las Pegasus at night, except there isn’t pegasi and drunkards everywhere, well, pegasi at least. All the skyscrapers with little animations going about on them, lights beaming and swirling into the sky as if they were trying to signal some sort of Pegasi air squad down, and this was all I saw, being in the suburbs has its kinks. I could hear all the commotion coming from the city center, all the voices, all the music and fireworks sounding away into the distant night. Over here the most it was, was a simple block party, over there it’s like the entire city showed up. The streets over there were always filled with ponies, I swear all this entire city knows is how to party and have a good time. However, the excitement here was foal’s play, compared to Canta Barbra. I went on a trip with CloudChaser to Canta Barbra once; she said it was the party capital of Coltifornia, and me, being the party addict I was back, I agreed to go. She wasn’t lying when she said it was the party capitol of all of Coltifornia. The streets there were unbelievable, couches, chairs, beds, drug addicts, drunkards, C.O.P.S. running rampant all over the city. We were only there for a week, visiting one of CloudChaser’s friends, but that was one heck of a week, all of which its own story. It’s crazy how much havoc goes on in this world, yet people have fun in it all. It kind of makes me wonder why everypony hated Discord; I guess his chaos wasn’t exactly the partying type. I wasn’t alive then, but they say every street was filled with irrational colors, and interdimensional worm holes. Now I’m not sure about all that nonsense, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the prettiest thing to see. As I walked to the main city I saw numerous fillies playing ding-dong Spinach, and sometimes setting off firecrackers at the doorsteps, making whoever jump in panic. For some reason most ponies hate spinach, how ironic is that. They’d usually set the bag of spinach on fire, meaning we’d have to stomp on it to put it out. That never really worked out for the victim; it was a lose-lose situation, unless the pony actually liked spinach. I had a bunch do that to me once, fortunately I managed to catch the little buggers and call their parents. How I adored the look on their sad, crying little faces when their parents came and told them their punishments. I’d always laugh in secret, though, least I get a scolding from a frustrated and irritated parent. Not all of the streets were full of chaos. Some were full of complete insanity, usually near the University of Mareymount. The C.O.P.S. had to break up the parties. The Colt Officer Pony Squad never actually took any parties down, though. As a matter of fact, most of them would simply join the party; gunshots were usually fired into the air. I remember some pony got shot once, sadly no pony noticed until the early afternoon, poor stallion died from bleeding out. All these parties remind me of my college and party days, before I got an actual job. I used to drink like I had sand dunes in my mouth; I was the one everyone bet on when doing the beer bong and drinking contests, I won them all of course. Never did have sex, though, yeah, imagine that. I was about to once, next thing I know his mom comes into the room. You should have seen his sorry flank stumble to floor as if it were made of butter. His spaghetti fell all over the place as his mom yelled at him, he was crying like a newborn foal. His mother simply eyed me, as if I were some whore, meant only to be a whore. I used to do a lot of crazy things when I was in college, but as soon as my job and school started getting serious, so did I. No doubt it was hard getting over the alcoholism, after the withdrawals had gone over I went to my doctor to get myself checked out, I managed to burn all most all of my liver, had to take some meds to repair what was able to be repaired. I managed to save it though, lucky me, I didn’t need a transplant like some others. As I was fantasizing about my early life I stumbled over some pony lying on the ground. He seemed to have passed out, poor stallion, he’s gunna have one heck of a morning when he wakes up. I remember once I was drunk and I kept hearing a doorbell ring, yeah, a doorbell. I felt like I was flying, too. Funny what alcohol does to a pony, you never really know either, kind of makes you wonder how you even survived the night. I finally reached my checkpoint, The Bridge that connects the suburbs to the main city. As strange as it may seem, the bridge was the quietest place out of everywhere else. You were either in the city or in the suburbs; no pony really crossed the bridge unless they were going to work, which is never on during the first week of the celebration. The streets were usually too messy and messed up to even try and go through them, only made sense to just wait ‘til the cleaners came and fixed the place up. They did a good job too, it was like nothing even happened, they even manage to get the smell. Their motto suited them perfectly, too, “Here in a flash, and gone without a trace!” It makes a pony wonder what goes on during their cleaning. The bridge was nice and quiet, a nice breeze flowing through the support beams, the water reflecting the fireworks going off near the Statue of Harmony. There would usually be boats going through here like wildfire, but I guess everypony celebrated this occasion, of course there were Yats strewn about in the middle of the quarry, but they just sat there, having their own little piece of paradise. I reached the end of the bridge, now here comes the hard part: getting through the city in one piece. Of course, this is where most ponies get absolutely lost in the excitement, but I knew my way around this city from head to hoof. A Pegasus can easily fly over all this, but that would be near impossible unless you had blinders and reflective sunglasses. Without any of those, you’d probably crash into either the hordes of ponies, or collide into one of the buildings. Each would be pretty devastating, but the crowds would be better than having a piece of glass stuck in your head. As I started getting close to the “Streets of Ado” as some people called, I could already smell the “Stench of Wonder.” They call it that, because every time during things like this, there is always an aroma that disperses across the entire city. Whether it’s a mass mixture of all the perfume, cologne, deodorant, and whatever else, or the overwhelming assortment of thousands of Pony hormones, we’ll never know. Thankfully, the substance wasn’t toxic, at least to me, other it might be, but that it their problem. Now here I am, above all the commotion though a small passing created to go through all this mess for those who actually had things to do. The lights going everywhere, Pegasi News Crews recording the masses, the Billboard animations filled with the music waves, the crowds jumping up and down to the beat of the music, Yeah, this is the night life. Lights stretching a couple of miles down the city, fireworks being blasted through the middle of the crowds, ponies drinking, and dancing. The entire city was filled with this, every turn you take, it’s another whole lane filled with commotion beyond belief. The music and lights could practically blind and deafen a pony if they weren’t careful, usually near the epicenter of all this. It was kind of sad for that to happen, but hey, they knew what they were getting into. My hearing and sight has been a little distorted because of my actions during my younger life, sometimes I hear a little ringing noise, and I ended up having to wear glasses whenever I have to read something. At least it’s better than being blind or deaf; I’d take impaired hearing and sight over complete loss any day. Once again, as I was fantasizing about things, I came across a fallen drunkard. This fellow was bleeding from his ear, and guessing from that, I’d imagine he must’ve come from the mosh pit. As I continued my walk, I had a couple of idiots bounce up to me, usually just complimented my body and asked for a good time. I hated those losers, I’ve been locked in an ice cold freezer once, as well as being an actual loser, so I’d like to imagine I have a pretty good idea of who’s cool, and who’s nothing but a try hard wannabe. I even had a couple of mares lean on me and rub my flank and mane; I hated them, too. They always had an overpowering scent of perfume, or their breath smelled of cheap cider and cigs. From my experience, it was always easy to tell who knew what they were doing, and those who didn’t. Those who knew what they were doing always had a posse or group they’d ‘bang’ with, and those who had no clue were the ones I just mentioned, the sad, sad ponies trying to be cool. But, that was the night life, only those with experience knew how to handle themselves would end up have a good time, and those who didn’t ended up either on the floor, acquired some sort of disability, mugged, violated, or just plain lost in something they never should have come to. Of course, I was younger when I was doing things like, and things have changed. Now, I don’t really enjoy going to parties like this anymore. I’d only go if CloudChaser invited me to one, or I was feeling bored out of my mind. As a matter of fact, I’m more than sure CloudChaser is among all these ponies, but the chances of me finding her in this mess is 1 out of Luna knows how many. She always adored the night life and the excitement that came with it; it seemed to dissipate on me. I was actually hoping CloudChaser was kidding about that “All Night Jig,” I knew she wasn’t, but it helps to have a little denial sometimes. It just might save you in the end. I finally managed to get near the outskirts of this city to where the hospital is located. The music and shouting was still very much audible, but not as intense as it was. This was the part of the city Ponies would come to when they were about to pass out or have some fun time. Usually pass out, but you should expect anything when there is a massive party going on throughout the entire city. I came across a couple of passers, saw a fun time couple getting it on, they were just kissing, though, but they were certainly enjoying it, she was getting hoofed all the while, too. It was the alley ways you had to worry about, least you get dragged in and get mugged or worse. Muggers were always earth ponies, their big muscular stature always gave them the leg up. They’d always have a certain tactic when mugging each kind of Pony. For pegasi it would be a lasso, or they’d jump on top of the Pegasus and weight them down. Sometimes, if they were your hardcore muggers, they’d break the wings to make sure their victim was completely vulnerable and not give them a hard time. Unicorns were pretty much the same, break the horn, and get what you needed. Unicorns never came down places like these, though. Because once the horn was broke, it’s game over for them. You could repair the horn if you got the fragment and got them to the hospital in time, but most of the time, they’d have to get an aesthetic horn. You couldn’t tell the difference, but once they tried to cast magic, you’d know they broke it somehow. Earths, however, would just be game of who’s stronger. When I finally made it to the outskirts of the city where the Hospital was located, I saw something I never expected to see. The hospital was almost completely surrounded by ponies. I guess they were all here for the same reason I was. Tents were scattered all across the hospital, small lights signaling others. It was quiet over here, unlike the city center; I guess people don’t watch the news any more. I looked at my watch, 12:52 AM. Must’ve taken a little longer to get here than I thought. There were guards guarding all the possible routes into the hospital, guess they weren’t letting anyone in. As I walked toward the entrance, flowers and peddles were scattered all over the ground and entrance. Everypony was looking at me as if I was being sentenced to death. I could hear their whispers. “What does she think she’s doing?”, “Isn’t that...”, “Do you think…”, “How does she expect to get in?”, “does she think the guards will let her in?”, “Poor mare doesn’t know what she’s getting into.”, “She has a lot of guts walking up to the guards like that.”, “Why her?” I felt like quivering into the ground and just sneaking in through the dirt, if only some things were possible. I finally arrived to where the restricted tape was, the guard only halted me and said “You must be new here, sorry; the hospital isn’t letting any visitors in. A music Icon…” “Yes… I know.” I retorted before he could continue. “Then go on, go back home, things here are being taken care of.” He said in a soft tone, as if trying to assure me. But I’m not dumb; I know everything is not okay. I stood there for a few moments, until he said something else. “Come on, Filly; don’t make this harder than it should be.” I turned my head to look at the Ponies behind me. Their faces are only silhouettes, the illuminating city in the background projecting the light that fades them. I turned back to guard, looking at him with a sad stare. He quivered a little; he’s uneasy. “Filly…” I reach into my bag and pull out Vinyl’s glasses. The guard just stares at me, his expression sad, and pitiful. “I think you better go in.” All is quiet, only the sound of silence. I enter the Hospital, no nurses, no doctors; they had left. I looked at the patient rooms on a clipboard. Vinyl Scratch Room# 114 Patient# 225 10TH Floor, Urgent Care Status: Stable Sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the upper torso, and lower foreleg. Heart trauma and internal bleeding occurred. Patient now stabilized, awaiting remove of .32 caliber bullets. Insertion points: Chest Cavity, Left Ankle, Rib cage x2. Doctor: Dr. Hoofdini … I feel lonely. AnswersHospitals always gave ponies an eerie feeling of anxiety, the white walls surrounding you, feeling as if they might just close in and smash you in between their shinning walls. I remember the last time I was in one, ponies here and there, some rushing somewhere, others hysterical from whatever they had witnessed. Screams of agony, cries of despair echoing along the halls, vomit and feces littered along and pushed into the corners to prevent ponies from slipping. Some ponies would just sit there talking to themselves, arguing with themselves, insanity gripping over them ever so slowly. Family members sitting in the waiting area, praying, sobbing, sleeping soundly as if nothing is going on; like they don’t even care. The doctors and nurses would be scrambling around to stop the hemorrhaging or complete insanity of a pony, least of all being hit, cussed at, vomiting on, defecated on, urinated on, all the while just trying to do their job. Yet when they finally got one restrained it was off to another pony, somehow they were still able to keep cool, yelling orders, administering a shot of some sort of sedative to sooth the patient. Yeah, hospitals, and ponies wonder why nopony likes them with their tall and daunting stature. Of course, it isn’t always like that, sometimes it’s actually pretty calm and relaxing, something everypony that works there fears. Other times it was like it is now, silent and calm, the hospital must be airlifting ponies here, no way an ambulance can get through the wall of weepers surrounding this place, not without making their job all the more difficult. I arrived at the elevator, I never did like elevators, but they were faster than stairs, and when you want to see somepony in a hospital, stairs become as oblique as a shimmer of life in bottom of an ocean. I walk into the elevator and press the number 10, the doors close, and the elevator shifts. There is music in the elevator, familiar, but not recognized. It was soothing, not your casual piano or jazz, a little more elegant and flowing. The elevator stops, it shifts a little and opens its doors, I walk out and I hear the music from the elevator echoing though out the halls, its doors shut and silence befalls me. I look at each of the room numbers, I gaze into each room, only to see a pony lying contently on their bed, their monitor giving beats of stability. I see some nurses and doctors sitting behind the counter, looking at me with a blank stare. As I arrived at the counter no pony said anything, they just looked at each other, as if using some sort of telepathy. After a few seconds a nurse stood up and walked around the counter and faced me, she gave me a nudge to follow her, I followed, only a few steps behind. Our walking was the only sound in the halls, and when we finally stopped our hoofsteps echoed a little. She opened a door and led me into a room, the room was dim, but still had enough light so you can see. To the left was a window, from which a light shinned though. I looked through the window, only to see a pony lying face up with a red tube going into her left foreleg, a respiration mask over her snout, some other tubes going into her, one of them in her mouth, and other intricate objects. There were doctors surrounding her, a bright light beaming over them. They were removing the bullets from her body. Funny how calm a pony can be when their body is ripped open and their organs and bones are exposed. Ponies digging through them to find and extract what they needed. The doctors were levitating different kinds of objects, from what looked like tweezers to a needle with a string attached to it. “They’ve been operating on her for 8 hours now. Removing bullets is usually an easy task, but ironically she was shot exactly where it starts to make things hard. They got 3 of the bullets, now they’re trying to get the one that landed into her chest cavity. Apparently it landed right behind her left lung, almost puncturing it, thankfully it didn’t, or without a doubt she wouldn’t have even made it to the hospital. I’m not sure how much longer, but If you want you can stay here until they’re finished.” “When will I be able to talk to her?” I asked. “Your best bet will be when the operation is done and she wakes up, her room number is 225, on this floor. Do you know where that is?” “No.” “Come; let me show you, you can wait there.” I took one last look at the operation and left, strange how things can so easily cling to you. As the nurse showed me to Vinyl’s room she began talking about her life at the hospital and how bad it can be sometimes and how much sorrow there is. It makes you wonder why ponies like this line of work anyways, knowing somepony else’s life is in your hooves, or you see somepony die right in front of you. It makes you wonder where their emotions are. We arrived and she led me into Vinyl’s room. We both sat down and breathed in the air of silence. Strange how quiet ponies can be in a hospital, you’d think that they'd want to talk to get their minds off of things. Why is the nurse even here? “You can go if you want to; you don’t have to stay her with me.” I said. “I could, but from what I’ve seen, and the amount of time I’ve been here, I began to know when ponies could use company. I’m not intruding am I?” The nurse said a bit worried. “N-nuh- no, i-it-it’s just, you know, kind of awkward, yuh-you know, silence and all.” The nurse simply forced a smile and looked down. “So, are you and her, like, umm, lovers?” The nurse was clearly trying a little too hard to make conversation. “Uh, no, we’re not. I went to her performance over at the Grand Foalympia Hall, and, for some reason, she gave me her glasses. Next thing I know she's on the news, and somepony was saying how she was looking for me, and that she needed to tell me something. So I came here to see her, and find out why she was acting so frantic when I left her performance.” “Ah, yes, I heard about that, I was wondering why she was acting so strange when she was on her way to the hospital. As soon as we put her in the van she woke up, and was in what I think shock; all she was doing was looking around the van, ambiguous to everything that was going on. She even tried getting up, but she just kept falling down, and for some reason she kept trying. The medics just told her “I need you to lie down, hun,” or “I need you to stay still.” She just looked at them and complied.” “You were there?” I asked. “Yes, I was the observer, I was renewing my License at the time, and so I had to watch what they did in the Ambulance. She was trying to say something, too; I couldn't hear her, though. I always found it strange how some ponies do that; completely unaware to what happened. I remember she was trying to take off one the bandages out of discomfort. When she noticed that every time she tried to take it off it hurt, she looked at her wound and just touched it. She pulled her hoof back only to see blood on it, and just looked at it with curiosity." "Next thing I know we arrive at the hospital, and as the medics unloaded her, she looked at me and stretched her hoof toward me. I extended mine to hers, and when the medics pulled her out of reach a tear fell from her eye. It was like she knew what was going on, and was afraid to go into the hospital, yet she couldn't express anything." "She was just like a new born foal, scared, but can't express any form of emotion, but let out tears to show she doesn't know what's going on. She just looked at it all so-" I broke her off, “Innocently?” “Yeah… strange isn’t it?” She answered back. “Yeah, it kind of makes you wonder what goes on in their mind. What they’re thinking of and what they’re seeing. Makes you want to experience it for yourself, just to feel as they do, to feel like a new born entering this world.” I trialed off until the nurse said something. “Are you alright, filly?” The nurse looked at me with some sort of concern. I looked at her blankly for a couple of moments, thinking nothing I said “Yeah, why?” She looked out the window to the raving city, and to the crowds beneath us. “When you work in this line for as long as I have, you begin to learn when ponies are a little ‘off.’ I can’t tell you how, it’s just one of those things, you know?” I remembered how alone I was when I was little, how only those who experience loneliness can know its effects, yet can't explain what it does to them. Strange how these types of things happen to us, yet we cannot even give an answer to why. A few moments passed, only the sound of our breath and beating hearts could be heard. The nurse looked at me and asked “what’s your name?” Ever ask a question and not get an answer? Yeah, life is strange. I looked at her and said “… Reva-“Huuuaahhh… uuggghhh, these chairs make awful beds, I’m sleeping on the floor next time. Let’s just stretch a little bi- AHHHH! What the heck? Oh great, my legs are asleep, uhhhhh, defiantly not sleeping in a chair again. Guess I’ll just lay here until I get felling back… what time is it? Let’s see here… 2:26 PM. Hmmm, I wonder if they’re done operating…” As I started looking around I noticed a bed was near the window of the room, with a mare looking out the window. Oh crap, I think I woke her up. Well she’s not looking at me; maybe she didn’t hear me fall. “Ummm, hello?” She didn’t move a muscle. Maybe she’s still sleeping As a couple minutes pass by, I began to regain the feeling in my legs. “Static… why do they always feel like static? Time get back up, let’s see here… hmmmmuuuugh. There we go, nice and stable.” I looked over to the mare, she was still sleeping; her hair scattered and lying all about her face, and her breathing, so slow it was barely noticeable. For about an hour I just stared at her, watching her rest quietly, it was so peaceful and calm in her room; I liked it. It was a good place, away from all the commotion of the outside life; no noise, no yelling, no screaming, no stupid arrogant ponies walking around and bumping into you. No, a place where tranquility reigns, that is, until the doctor comes in. “Ahh, I see you’re awake now, Ms. Octavia. I’m Dr. Hoofdini, the one who operated on your friend here, and I must say it was quite the operation. Luckily, we were able to get all the bullets out without having to do too much damage to her.” “Well that’s good, but knowing hospitals, there is always bad news. Is there any bad news?” “Sadly, yes, there is bad news. Due to the amount of collateral damage done to her ankle, we’re not able to fully restore it, as well as the broken ligaments and joints. So I’m afraid from now on she will walk with a limp, as well as not being able to trot or run for very long. And because of the way and position of the bullet, we had to remove the cartilage from her joints, which will mostly likely cause severe aching after a while of walking. As a result, she will have to take some medicine which will, with time, help restore most of the lost cartilage. Other than that, everything else seems to be just fine. Thankfully, there weren’t too many lacerations, so her intestines and flesh were able to be sewed up quite nicely. She is quite the lucky one, not too many ponies who receive such trauma make it, least of all even make it to the hospital.” “Well that’s… relieving. I must ask, though, when will she wake up?” “I would say a couple more hours, but from the looks of it, she’s waking up right now.” I turned around and saw her eyes slowly opening; hair dangling in front of them. “Hey there, I’m Doctor Hoofdini, move your hoof if you understand me.” She twitched her right hoof. “Good. Blink your eyes once for yes, and twice for no. Do you remember what happened to you?” She blinked twice and the looked at me. Her eyes widened. “Do you remember your friend here?” She blinked once, and started trying to move her entire body, as if trying to escape from the bed. She started muttering words, but they only sounded like gibberish. “Whoa there, I need you to stay still; your injuries haven’t healed enough for you to be active, you might open a laceration.” The doctor tried to put her down back onto the bed, but she only struggled harder and eventually kicked him in the face in an attempt to shove him off. “GAH! You there, call the nurse, she needs to be sedated, if not, her wounds will open back up, and right now, that is something we really don’t want!” “Okay!” As I began to walk away to the door, Vinyl started screeching at me, as if trying to stop me from leaving almost, and once again kicked the doctor in the face, this time he fell on the floor. Vinyl then ripped the equipment off of her body and face, and, with her right hoof, dragged herself out of the bed, causing her to fall onto the floor and scream in pain as a result. “UUUUUUGGGGHHHhhuhhhuhhh… Oct- o- ocatavi- Octa- Wa- WAAAIIIIITTTTT! Ahhhhhhuhhhuhhh, hwai- k-kco- come buh- buhack- come bahhhaacck… “NURSE! WE NEED HELP, ANYPONY, NURSE! HELP US! As soon as I finished yelling, almost a dozen nurses and doctors started rushing toward the room; a nurse carrying a needle in her mouth. “HOLY CELESTIA, SOMEPONY, GET HER BACK ON THE BED! WHERE IS THE SEDATIVE?”, “SHE WON’T HOLD STILL! THE NEEDLE WILL BREAK!”, “CALL THE BOUNCERS! THEY NEED TO HOLD HER DOWN!”, “HER WOUNDS ARE GOING TO BURST! QUICKLY, DAMMIT!” As soon as they called for the bouncers, they arrived, two hefty looking ponies, about twice my size, came running in. The quickly held her down, and allowed the nurse to inject her with the sedative. “NOOOOOooooo! ST-TOP! NOOHOOHOOooo! OC- OCTAVIA!!! HELLLPPPPP!!! OCTAVIA!!! I’M SOOooorryyy…” Slowly, Vinyl started to calm down, tears running down her face; her eyes slowly opening, then closing again, desperately trying not to fall under the effects of the drug. Sadly, she inevitable fell under its influence and drifted away. “Gahh, dear Luna, somepony check her vital and make sure she didn’t lacerate anything important, if she did, put her back in the operating room so we can fix that up. And will somepony check my face for me? I think she kicked my nose out of place.” The doctor then looked at me. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to go into the waiting room. I don’t want this to happen again. I’ll tell you when you can see her, but if she goes haywire again, you’re going to have to tell us IMMEDIATELY, got it?” I nodded to the doctor, and one of the bouncers came up to me. “I need to leave, right?” “YYYEEEAAHHHH!” “Alright… cya around then.” “YYYEEEAAHHHH!” With that, the massive pony shut the door and I walked to the waiting room, meeting with a bunch of other sad and scared looking ponies; probably waiting to see a loved one, or hear of what’s happened to them. I conversed with them for hours, each one having a sad tale. One mare’s filly got hit by a firework and ended up getting a burn scar across his entire left side. Another’s Wife ended up falling out of a 7 story office party. A fillies mom, shot before his eyes because of some stupid brawl with ‘who gets the last beer.’ It was awful hearing the doctors tell ponies that one of their beloved has died. Mostly due to some sort of tragic accident that could have been avoided. Each one of their expressions was that of horror and disbelief; their cries could be heard by Everypony, only making the ones waiting for some pony all the more anxious and nervous; it was indeed frightening. Yeah, hospitals, the most feared place to everypony. The time is now 8:52 PM; the doctor finally said I could see Vinyl now. He was skeptical, though. In result, he had one of the bouncers stand outside the door in case Vinyl went haywire again. “Remember to tell us immediately if she starts acting up again. She got lucky this time, but I have a feeling her luck is running out. So try not to excite her, okay?” “I’ll do my best.” With that, he led me to the door. “You’re going to keep watch?” “YEEEAHHH!” “Okay, have fun.” Why is he yelling? As I entered her room, I found her staring out the window, looking upon the glowing city of Manehattan. “Ummm, hey.” She turned immediately and looked at me with beaming eyes. She mover her entire body, as if a reflex had just gone off, but she just stayed in her bed this time, probably knowing what will happen if she got a little ‘crazy.’ “Um, I’m here now and… I brought your glasses. I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to have them, and… I heard you were looking for me, too, so I came down here to visit you.” “Th- the- there yuh- your gll- glasses.” “What do you mean?” “Cutie high… member..?” Instantly I froze, adrenaline shooting into every last part of my body. “You- you mean… your that mare who… who-” “Yes... and.. I- I’m sorry…” I was shocked out of belief. “You kept them all this time? Why? I thought you hated me.” “Please, k- come closer.” I walked over to her, she was so cold, and her body, it was so fragile. “I- I didn’t hate you. I liked you… a lot, but I- I couldn’t express my feels without looking like a total idiot.” “But why did you say those things to me?” “I wanted to tell you, but, what I said, it was what popped into my head… I-I didn’t mean any of it. I wasn’t able to express myself, that’s why I was such an ass to you back then. I guess it was just my way of expressing how I felt. I was young back then, I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t know how to express it without being a complete jerk.” “Why didn’t you apologize then? Why didn’t you just tell me what you meant the next day?” “I was too discouraged; I thought you hated me after that; that you never wanted to see me again. After that day, I would always cry at night, knowing that I messed up more than I could even imagine. I took your glasses to always remember you, and I never forgot you, even to this day. I wore them because it would make me feel like you were there; like you were with me all the time.” “I- I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I completely forgot who you were, even at the concert. I didn’t even recognize you, you look so different.” “I thought you still didn’t want to see me again when you left. I thought you still hated me, and the next thing I know I get shot by some idiot loser.” “Believe me; I didn’t want anything like that to happen to you.” “But why didn’t you recognize me? I was right in front of you; I looked right into your eyes and you looked into mine. I thought you knew.” “After that day, I pushed everything about you into the back of my mind. I never wanted to remember you, and eventually, that’s exactly what happened.” “Oh I’m so sorry, Octavia. I never meant to hurt you.” Vinyl began to cry. “It’s okay, Vinyl. I understand. I just wish this never happened to you.” “I deserve it anyways; I was such a jerk to you. You didn’t deserve the crap you got. You were too precious. Your name is beautiful, you’re beautiful. Not matter how hard I tried, I could never get over you. You were everything to me then, and you still are to this very day.” “Is that what you wanted to tell me?” “No.” “What did you want to tell me then?” “Well, I meant to tell you that, too, but more importantly something else.” “What is that?” “I.. I think I love you.” “Wuh- what?!” “You heard me; I think I love you. After all these years, all this time, I haven’t been able to forget about you, not matter what I did. Drugs didn’t work. Alcohol didn’t work. Banging my head against every wall I came in contact with didn’t help. Nothing did, I couldn’t forget you. You’re special to me, and even if you don’t feel the same, I just wanted to tell you that; I just wanted to let you know. Numerous Days without sleep; the countless hours of staring at the ceiling. Gallons of tears almost every night; hoping that maybe one day I’d see you again.” “I.. I don’t know what to say.” “Do you forgive me?” “Yes, Vinyl, I forgive you.” “Thanks, it means a lot, to know that you do. But do you feel the same?” “After all these years, Vinyl, I’m sorry, but I never developed feelings for you, at least not how you feel for me.” She was silent for a bit; she just looked back out the window. “I guess that was to be expected.” “I’m so sorry, Vinyl.” “Could you do one thing for me?” “What?” “Could you hold me?” “Yeah…” She slowly scooted to the side, allowing me to room to join her bed. As I got in, she just put herself into my hooves; her head on my chest; her fur, so soft. We laid there for a couple of minutes until she said something that left a tear in my eye. “Octavia, you’re my very best friend.” I didn’t want to hurt her; I didn’t want her to be hurt any longer. She’s been through enough. “You’re mine, too, Vinyl.” “We’ll always be friends forever, won’t we?” “Yeah, forever.” And… and then her pulse stopped. The monitor went monotone. She died. It is never Love that kills… It’s the memories. Sadly, nothing is ever as it seems, and so I woke up. I… Vinyl. Answered“… My name is Octavia.” Am I? “Nice name; it’s… elegant, and … refined sort of.” “Thanks, quite a few people actually say that, except for one.” “Who would disagree, other than your common pessimist?” “It was back when I was in Cutie High; a mare told me it was a stupid name, and I had a stupid cutie mark and I’d never become anything.” “I hope you didn’t believe them, did you?” “I didn’t believe it, at least not that long.” “Do you remember her name, what she looks like maybe?” “No.” “We were best friends, too, but I guess she didn’t really like me. I don’t know why, but she was always kind of mean to me, even when we first met. I took it though, she was my only friend when I was in school; I really didn’t want to let her go. I guess one day she just couldn’t take me anymore and said that to me.” “What did you do?” “I went to the office, crying, and called my mom and asked her to pick me up. I told her some pony took my favorite glasses. No pony really took my glasses, but I left them with that mare; it was the first thing that popped into my head at the time, so I just went with it.” “Oh... my, that’s… quite a story… um.. did you ever get your glasses back?” “No, that other mare took them; I don’t know what she did with them, though.” “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I hope that mare got what was coming to her.” “Yeah, me too.” A couple moments of silence passed. “Well, I’m going to leave you be now, I have some things I need to take care of. I guess I’ll see you around. And I hope your friend in the operating room will be okay; shouldn’t be too long now.” “Thanks, I’ll be sure to give her your regards.” With that she left, leaving me to solitude. “I guess I should get some rest… hhhuuhh… I hope she’s okay.” I looked at my watch, 2:15 AM.
Heads upTragedies always make great stories, but when we read something familiar to us like Romareo and Coltiet, it never does seem interesting, it never does seem all so sad. Of course, there will be those who argue, but they miss the point. Yes, it is a very tragic story, but it never really pulls on your emotions, does it? No, it doesn’t; to us, it all seems like another sad tragic story in our ‘harmonic’ world. As I mention this, some of you will go “oh, yeah I know that feeling, but why is that?” That’s a good question. I have no idea to why that is, but why not? Instead of asking ‘Why’ all the time, why not ask ‘why not?’ Do you really want to feel sad? Like everything in your life has no more meaning, than that of a leaf falling into the jaws of the ground? No, of course you don’t. Not everything is as it seems in this world, maybe the tragedy wasn’t meant to be a tragedy, or maybe it was supposed to teach you something through what we think is sadness and tragedy. What am I getting at, you ask? Good question. What I’m getting at is that you have to delve deeper into things, rather than just take it for what it is. If you want to rob a mare, you’re going to want to look into her wallet to make sure there is actual money in it. Least you find no money and become a wanted stallion/mare and get nothing out of it but some lipstick and for some reason Sugarcubes. What are you reading, you may ask? Another good question. What you’re reading is a first-person recording of what goes on in the night, as well as what I have on my mind that is worth writing down during any given moment. I’m not all that old, but I do have a lot to share; however, my age is of no importance. Age is relative, 50 yrs. could be 20 yrs. to somepony, and 20 yrs. could be 50 yrs. to somepony. But more importantly the actual story. The story will pertain to my nightly activities, as well as my daily thoughts and occurrences. This may seem like a good bed time story, because you’ll probably fall asleep after the first few lines, but that is beside the point. No pony really has time to actually survey the night, which is why I’ll take on that responsibility for them. Mostly because a lot of ponies want to see the night life and that is something usually meant for rest and rejuvenation. But what about those who actually see the night life? They sometimes come home drunk, or come home by a newly discovered hole in the wall. With that, you wonder what the heck they got into, and why you’re not coming through the wall with them. This is wondered by the many that have to deal with circumstances similar to the ones above. Of course, this seems very abstract and unpredictable, but that is what the night life is all about. You can’t see in the dark, therefore you don’t know what to expect. I, of the many, have always wanted to see the night life, and for once my wish came true. I, also, am considerate of the many who share the same feelings regarding the situation. With that, I’m going to record and publish my nightly findings for all to see and relish in, hopefully to a fraction of my enjoyment. My identity, however, will remain a secret until I deem it necessary to know. Of course, I will throw in some hints in here and there, and with that, hopefully you’ll be able to guess who I am. I am not obscure with my name because I’m a wanted criminal by some drugs lords or whatever, but just to add a little entertainment, and questionability to your reading. Why? Mainly to get you to think, from what I always here, ponies are stupid and there is a lack of thinking within them. Whether you fall into the category, I don’t know, but it is up to you to figure that out. There will be times of where you want to shot yourself in the head, but I assure you that feeling is only temporary and will probably go away within a few hours, again, time is relative. I’ll try and put in some other devices to keep you entertained whilst reading this, but I’m not assuring you they’ll work. So whether you find it fun is up to you, and whomever else that reads this story. So until we meet again, this has been the author of this story, and I’ll talk to me later. P.S. Not everything is as it seems, so be very, very, VERY careful when reading this. That is your one, and only warning. So who wrote this introductory, me, or me?
SpeechlessNice to see you here again, it really is. Since you made it this far I might as well fill you in on some things that are probably on you mind. First, however, I’m going to fill you in on last night. Holy moly, where to start? I guess I’ll start from when the night actually began; it was a fun night, so don’t die just yet, if you’re not already bleeding out. It all began at 7:00 PM, Eastern Equestria, Manehattan. My friend, Cloudchaser, invited me to this all night “bash” as she called it. I haven’t been out in a while so I decided to tag along, couldn’t be that bad, but by the way she was dressed, heh, that gave me a different perspective. Her hair was the same, all windy and stylish looking so no surprise there. She smelled nice, too. I can still remember it, like a freshly made rainbow, mmmm. I felt like eating her up, good thing I’m sane… mostly. Her apparel made me a little antsy, though; felt like I was going to a strip club, yeah, a strip club. They don’t have too many of those, but wherever they do, it’s as packed as the lines for the Apples’ cider. Always so loud, crazy music, crazy ponies dancing like puppets, banging their heads to the beat of the drums and ‘bass’ I think, not too familiar with that kind of stuff. But back to the night, and as it turned out, it wasn’t a strip club. It was a rave, which is pretty much the same thing, except with more ponies. Not too much ‘crazy’ ponies, though. Strips usually have the worst of them. Anyways, back to what I was saying. The place was filled with 'awe'; lights were flashing and moving across the crowds, thousands of ponies jumping and clapping to the beats, their screeching voices for somepony named “Vinyl.” I saw posters of her the past week while walking the streets, she looks nice enough, but nothing is ever as it seems. I remember when she first came up to the stage, ho, they were going crazy. “Vinyl”, being screamed by all. They say she can tell, out of the thousands of us, who’s new there. I don’t believe that though. I’ve seen a lot of things in my time but that just seemed ludacris. She finally got to the podium, all was silent. She raised a hoof to take off her glasses, she looked amongst the crowds whom all had their eyes on her. Cloudchaser looked like she was about to die from anticipation, with a smile. Vinyl looked disappointed a little, and then she looked at me; Pointed a hoof to me, lights were on me, eyes were on me, I felt like collapsing in on myself, obliteration was all what was in my mind. Cloudchaser nudged me; there was a row in front of me leading to the stage. I had to walk up to Vinyl. I felt like I was walking right into the jaws of death, the eyes of all the taken upon me; the light, giving me my last vestiges of hope. I arrived to her; she had me face the crowd. She observed me, with great interest, like she was gazing upon the heavens. She looked into my eyes, I looked into hers; her eyes, gazing into my very being, looking upon all my memories. What felt like hours, was only a few minutes. I was in a daze, facing thousands of ponies, all of which seemed to only be focused on me. Vinyl turned back to the crowd and looked upon them, as if searching for an answer, her gaze placed in a familiar direction. Now, all the while looking she was looking at me, she walked over to her set, the crowd gave a sudden gasp, as if shocked. She got her glasses, purple shades with a glistening white frame, and put them upon her face. She then walked back to me, giving me a slightly different look. She was now back in front of me, she took off her glasses, looking at them as if looking into a deep pool of faces; faces who had once looked upon her glasses as an idol. She kissed them, short, but as if kissing away a fallen one to the next realm of life. She looked up at me, beaming once again into my eyes. She slowly, carefully, passionately, and… a little sorrowfully put her glasses upon my face. She looked at me as if I were her own, unique creation. She came up to me, whispered into my ear “Do you like them?” I didn’t nod, nor did I shake, yet it was like she still got her answer. She whispered “Thanks.” With that she took hold of my face, and kissed my lips. The crowd roared with excitement. Vinyl then hugged me as if she never hugged anyone in her life, kissing me as if I was somepony from her dreams. And as if I had answered her dreams with my lone appearance. What felt like all night had only lasted a couple seconds. Vinyl yanked herself away from me, looked at my face one last time and tossed me into the crowd, only to be caught by the spectators. They put me back with Cloudchaser, who looked like she was crying from sheer awe. The music began, the excitement had maximized, the voices had reached their loudest, and the party had begun. Vinyl, I remember, said something to me as she let me go into the crowd, but I couldn’t here over the screams. It seemed like she meant it, though. When she let me go I looked into her eyes… and I could swear, I saw a glisten. I don’t know what she saw in me, but I’m glad she saw it. I never felt so special in my life. We danced, laughed, and had fun until the early dawn. As Cloudchaser and I left, we were cheered at; we were praised sort of. Everypony came up to us as if we had been friends since the beginning of time; patting us on the back, caressing our manes with their hooves, dragging their hooves along out bodies. Like if they just touched us, they would instantly be enlightened, uplifted with the knowledge and as if their prayers would be answered. When we finally reached the outside, all who were inside and outside gave us one final cheer; making way for us as we walked by. I felt like I was a god. With every wave I gave, the ponies would cheer at me as if I had just slain an ancient of our world, as if I had just saved Equestria. As I turned and walked away with Cloudchaser we could still hear their screams, echoing throughout the streets, resonating throughout the early dawn. Those who used alarm clocks wouldn’t need them this early day; however, the screams sounded a little different now. When I finally got home, Cloudchaser bided me a goodbye. She gave me a hug and with a twinkle in her eye said “thanks for coming.” I shook my head no. I thanked her for inviting me; she only blushed and flew away. I opened my door, sat down on my couch, turned on the TV and watched the news. I knew there was something different with those howls in the early dawn. Just minutes ago on the streets of “Celestial Blvd.” and “Aquarian St.” the famous DJ, Vinyl Scratch, has been shot multiple times in the midst of her fans and instantly fell unconscious. The lone gun Colt was quickly tackled by the DJ’s fans, but his name is still unknown. Paramedics arrived within mere seconds of the incident. Her current status remains unknown, but the paramedics only said that it’s not looking well. Here is an Eye Witness of the incident that happened only minutes ago. “I-I can’t t-tel’ ya’ what it was like. I was Wa-walken ri’ beside my fren’ n’, n’ I heard sum shots, n’ tha crowd, tha crowd went hectic! People… crowden’ all aroun’ the gunner, n’ all aroun’ V-Vinyl. E-everyone was yellen’ n’ scremen’. Vinyl was yellen’ fur someponeh, too. She was yellen’ “Where is she? I need to tell her something! WHERE IS THAT MARE!? I NEED HER! PLEASE, SOMEPONY FIND HER! SHE’S IMPORTANT; IT’S IMPORTANT!” n’ we all started tellen’ her where that one mare went, but a-as soon as she turned her head, BANG! Sh- she got shot n’ she fell straight to the ground, n’ she was lo-losin’ a lot uh blood. Oh muh-my Celesta I-I hope she’s okay.” And from the looks of it, if Vinyl Scratch dies, it’s going to be a sad day indeed for all party goers and ravers. Updates are to come ahead, and until then, this is EQDN, Equestrian Daily News. I… I… I’m speechless. I can’t think of anything to say. Other than feel remorse, regrets, melancholy, and woe. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep; knowing somepony was looking for me, trying to tell me something. Why did I have to leave? I should have stayed and thanked her for her glasses. I just realized I haven’t taken them off. I don’t want to. I feel safe with them on. I tried to take a shower, but I couldn't. I just stood there, still, listening to the falling water against my coat; feeling as if every drop is a tear from her eyes. I got out and put her glasses back on. I tried to eat some food, but I didn’t feel like moving; I didn't feel hungry. I walked up to my room, I felt like I was carrying the whole world. I got into bed and lied there, thinking of the night. It was just supposed to be me and me. I just had to give it a chance. I hope she’s okay, I hope I can see her. I need to see her. I need to get up, but I can’t get up. They’re holding me down. The glasses are heavy. Is this why she gave them to me? Because she can’t take the burden anymore? Maybe she was supposed to be shot. Maybe this is fate. But what is my fate with theses glasses? Why am I thinking this? I shouldn't be thinking this. I’m not a cruel Pony. This isn't fate. This is just another night; a night out of the many others. But no, this night was special. This night what the night I actually went out and had fun; the night I had fun with Cloudchaser. The night I got to go to a rave, her rave; the famous Vinyl’s rave. The night I got her glasses; the glasses I’m still wearing. I’ll never forget that night; it was the best night of my life. This… this is what… happens In The Night.
Some ThingsHey, I almost forgot to tell you about myself, I bet you’re all not wondering that, but I’ll tell you anyways. I’m going to keep this short n’ sweet. Why? Well I’m feeling kind of down right now, you may know why. But I’ll get straight to the beginning for you folks, I hate to keep the reader waiting, even if I’m only talking to myself; writing to myself. It all began when I was in Cutie High or Junior High for some ponies. Cutie High is for those who just acquired their Cutie Mark and are ready to take their learning to the next level, usually 2-3 months after acquiring your Cutie Mark. But rarely does it take that short of time. In reality, it takes around a year to even get your transcript looked at, and another 2 months for the results. Of course you already know this, but I was just recapping, just incase some silly filly forgot the excruciatingly agonizing perennial process those months of waiting can be. Anyways, back to the original topic, Me. My Cutie High years weren’t the best years; I was alone during those years. No one really knew me, yet I knew everyone. My first year in Cutie High was when it all began, my streak of lonerism. Never was I so alone than I was in those years; no friends, no acquaintances, no relations, only I and what I like to call The Wall, The Tree, and the Bench. What are those, you ask? Those were my “friends”; they were who I hung out with during lunch time. It was only The Wall and I; only The Tree and I; only The Bench and I. No pony else for three straight years, all I did was sit and watch the others; the others with their friends. Oh how I dreamed for a friend, every new pony I saw I always thought “oh maybe we’ll be the bestest of friends”, “maybe I’ll finally have somepony to talk to, to be with in friendship.” It happened once, but all too easily do you just have to remove the “r” from Friend to get Fiend. I’ll save that tragedy for a later story, but if you’re wondering what happened say no more, I’ll tell you. However, for now it’s just me, but I’ll give you a hint. Let’s just say this: nothing is ever as it seems. I never looked at friendship the same since then, never. It changed me, but not into how I am now, more of a precursor. One thing that I’ll never forget is my last year of Cutie High; it was the worst. Many can relate; many cannot, but those who can know what this is like. That was the year I came into first contact with that word; bullying. Never had I hated so much; never have I wanted to end it so badly; never have I looked at PonyKind the same. It leaves its special place in your memory; something that can never be forgotten fully. Again, perhaps a later story, one that I might be able to go in-depth with. You might be wondering why I’m not telling you these stories. Well, if you must know, I feel some stories deserve their own little chapter; their own little cradle to call theirs. College, heh, College, on the other hoof, was very different. College was where I met CloudChaser. How we met is its own story, but back to the point. She was the one who invited me to all the parties going on in College; she was one of those Mares that knew everything there was about partying, not a single party was left unheard by her ears. I never knew why she invited me to all the parties, but I never asked, in fear of never being invited to another one ever again. I would always accept the invitations,mostly because I was tired of being that lonely outcast that would always sit by themselves watching everypony that would pass by. CloudChaser always told me to just "go with the flow", to just "let the party take me." Reluctantly, I listened, and the next thing I know, we're best friends. She was my first actual friend, unlike somepony long ago, but even now CloudChaser and I are best friends. Yeah, College sure was fun, everypony always said that College is the most stressful years of your life. Well, I don't l know anything about that, but I don't regret anything from those years, except the drinking, I would learn that the hard way. So yeah, how about that AirPegasi food? No, i'm just kidding, it's aweful, but back to my mane point. That’s only the short story of things; of school. But home is where the heart is, which is why this hurts the most. Home… your own little vestige of sanctuary, of hope. Not for me it was. For me it was just another place to be hurt; another place where you can never sleep when you want to. I was revealed to what can only scar a pony, something easily noticeable by those who have been through the same tragedy. Something nopony, as young as I was, should ever be exposed to when little. However, you may be thinking I was abused or inappropriately touched. But this is far from it. In fact, it was something I lost; something that once lost, can never be attained again. I lost my innocence. My parents always wanted me to be innocent. I think that’s what all parents want in their children; for them to never lose what can never be found again. I lost it at home, my dome of solitude, my palace of hope. In what way, you may ask. They say curiosity killed the cat. Never has a phrase been so true. I lost it in a way one never forgets; you can never forget what precious things you lose. I lost it through something frowned upon, but also glorified as a savior among Ponies. What am I talking about, you may ask. I’ve been giving you some cliff hangers, so I’ll tell you this one. I lost it through Onanism. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I liked it. When I crested I was completely blown away; I thought I was about to die or something worse; I’ll get pregnant, which is bad at the age I was. I didn’t do it again until a couple of months after the initial shock had worn off. You may say it’s not a loss of innocence, but for somepony as young as I was, it was definitely scaring. Sadly, I still do it, it’s a hard thing to get rid of, you know? Thankfully, I don’t do it as often as I used to. Still, I do it, yet I admire those who don’t do it; they’re strong, and I know how hard it is not to do it, I'm sure others can relate. There was another event that changed my life, it was scary for those who have seen it, but not for the one who is going through it. What am I talking about? I’m talking about death. I was still just a blankflank when this occurred. I remember it as clear as day; those who also experience near death situations know what I’m talking about. I’ll tell you this, too. It was at night, around 8:00 PM, I was 5 years old, my parents were arguing over who would give it to me, I guess the excitement is what got me. What I’m talking about is an asthma attack. They were arguing over who would give me the respiration treatment, or breathing treatment as they called it. Next thing I know I was hyper-ventilating; I guess it was too late for the treatment. Right then my dad took me and rushed me over to the hospital, but as soon as we reached the hospital block was when everything went white, it felt like it was only 5 seconds. The next thing I remember is getting a needle stuck into my right foreleg, I remember saying “ow, ow that hurts.” I finally woke up to the doctor and my dad standing next to me; I've never seen my dad in such a panic. I only saw apart of him, but he looked worried, scared, anxious, shaken beyond belief. After that day I was always a little cautious, as were my parents, around things like amusement parks or Fairs. I was kind of sad, too, after that event. I was never able to run, least I have another attack; I liked running, it made me feel free, like I can go anywhere I wanted if I just kept going. Rarely are your dreams ever a reality. I learned that lesson earlier than I probably should of. Once I figured that out, I never dreamed big again, but one can dream can’t they? Yeah, one can dream. I used to be kind of a big deal in Filly school, too. I was the fastest runner, even if I could never run that much; how I admire the irony. But as soon as Cutie High came along, I figured that being the fastest runner meant nothing, not in Cutie High; trophies meant nothing. I learned that nopony really cares; all my dreams, hopes, desires ended right then and there. It was in Pony High, did I truly become who I am; did I truly become lost. When I was a FreshFoal I only prolonged it, but come my Sophomare year was when I became me. I don’t know what happened to me that made me who I am now, one day I wake different. It was strange, I saw everything differently, thought differently, became a sort of crazy. I started talking to myself, which I still do, mumbling gibberish, words like: Untestag, Liesay, Undefine, and any other strange words that I might say when talking to someone or myself. I have no idea what they mean, but they seem to make sense to me, strange isn't it? I started becoming depressed, never really wanted friends anymore, ate lunch by myself, did group projects by myself, usually the one explaining it all, too, yet the other members would also get credit; I hated that. I never really talked, but if somepony asked me a question or tried to start a simple conversation I would talk and keep it going. I’m not anti-social, I’m just… I don’t know; I don’t know who I am. I've asked this many times before, to myself that is, yet I can never figure myself out. Why am I like this? I lived an average life, did average things, I’m no pony special, yet I feel so distant and lost in this world; this world of harmony. It’s a world of harmony… so why can’t I attain? I've done my job as a pony in this world, I've given my contributions to society, yet does life, this world, still bombard me with confusion and depression. Why do people like me have to deal with this? Is it not the job of the strong to carry the burdens of the weak? So what am I; strong or weak? Nopony seems to be taking these burdens, so I’m guessing I’m strong. If this is what the strong have to deal with, then the weak should give us thanks. Yet, I don’t want to be thanked, never did I like that word, thank-you. Sure, I was thankful, but never did I want thanks, I just wanted whoever to be happy. I’m a generous pony, I’d give when it wasn't even needed; they said “thank-you”, ugh, I don’t want their thanks, I want some peace. They say to give is better to receive, so why can’t I feel better? What is a land of Harmony, when ponies like me are suffering from whatever it is I’m suffering from? Who can hear my pleas? Why do I continue to howl at the night, expecting things to change? Why do I continue to do it, when I know nothing will happen? What, am I insane? Possibly, but… maybe I am insane. No, no I’m not insane, insanity is for the weak, I am strong, my mommy and daddy raised me to be strong, and I will not let them down! DO YOU HEAR ME MOM? DO YOU HEAR ME DAD? I’M NOT WEAK, I’M NOT GIVING UP. WHY AM I SHOUTING? THEY CAN’T HERE ME! JUST SHUT-UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE TALKING HE- SHUT-UP! I KNOW THAT, I’M NOT INSANE, I’M NOT CRA- THEN WHAT IS THIS?! YOU THINK OTHER PONIES DO THIS?! YOUR NOT SPECIAL, YOUR NO- YES I KNOW THAT, SO WHY CONTI- I DON’T KNOW, ALRIGHT? I don’t know… maybe I’ll never know. Well, maybe now you know me, maybe you know what I’m like, how I am, what makes me, me; why I’m like this. Maybe… only those who care to understand will know; no one cares, though. No one ever cares. I need to visit her, she needs to know somepony cares, she needs comfort; she needs peace. I have to go; I’ll talk to you later. P.S. So this is me… I’ll talk to me later. Can you guess yet? Who I am? Can I guess who I am yet? No… some things… some things never change; some things are never meant to be found. I'm tired... I think I'll sleep a little before I leave. I rubbed my eyes... they're still on. Why can't I...
Night LifeIf you’ve made it this far, you above all the rest, deserve to sit amongst the Greatest of ponies, you deserve to have a wish come true. Go ahead, make a wish, but don’t tell me, keep it secret. All you need to do is believe and that wish will come true. Come on, have a little faith. But back to the story, I’m sure you’re all wondering exactly the opposite of what I think you’re wondering. Think twice about that last line. I woke up to a loud bang from outside, and another, and another. I look outside, only to see fireworks in the deep blue sky, the sparkles from the fireworks blending in with the stars of the night. I looked at the time, 9:05 PM; I’ve slept a little too long. I’m not sure if visiting hours are still open, like they’d let me see Vinyl anyways, I’m no pony special, but one can hope. Yeah, one can hope. It seemed to be snowing outside, too. Every year in Manehattan during the first snowfall, the city hall sets off fireworks into the night. It’s a celebration that signals the beginning of winter, usually lasting only the night, and by the looks of it, it only just begun. I always liked fireworks, simply listening to their constant booming always seemed to sooth me. I used to fall asleep to them, now, for some reason, I can only wake to them… funny how things change. I should get going now, better late than never. I think I’ll put the glasses in my bag, I’ve worn them long enough. Strange how easily I can take them off now, yeah, funny how things change. I got my coat and scarf, I knew clear as the crystal kingdom I would need these bad boys, the Manehattan winters were always brutal, this year was no different. The moment I opened the door, I knew what to expect on this night, yeah, some things never change. It was a typical new years’ winter night in Manehattan, ponies walking each and every way, parties here and there, sky lights shooting up into the sky, music being blasted so loud, the elders can’t help but nag at the partyers, the streets crowded with shoppers and common oddities stands. The city was as lively as it ever could be. It’s actually a quite amazing site, almost like Las Pegasus at night, except there isn’t pegasi and drunkards everywhere, well, pegasi at least. All the skyscrapers with little animations going about on them, lights beaming and swirling into the sky as if they were trying to signal some sort of Pegasi air squad down, and this was all I saw, being in the suburbs has its kinks. I could hear all the commotion coming from the city center, all the voices, all the music and fireworks sounding away into the distant night. Over here the most it was, was a simple block party, over there it’s like the entire city showed up. The streets over there were always filled with ponies, I swear all this entire city knows is how to party and have a good time. However, the excitement here was foal’s play, compared to Canta Barbra. I went on a trip with CloudChaser to Canta Barbra once; she said it was the party capital of Coltifornia, and me, being the party addict I was back, I agreed to go. She wasn’t lying when she said it was the party capitol of all of Coltifornia. The streets there were unbelievable, couches, chairs, beds, drug addicts, drunkards, C.O.P.S. running rampant all over the city. We were only there for a week, visiting one of CloudChaser’s friends, but that was one heck of a week, all of which its own story. It’s crazy how much havoc goes on in this world, yet people have fun in it all. It kind of makes me wonder why everypony hated Discord; I guess his chaos wasn’t exactly the partying type. I wasn’t alive then, but they say every street was filled with irrational colors, and interdimensional worm holes. Now I’m not sure about all that nonsense, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the prettiest thing to see. As I walked to the main city I saw numerous fillies playing ding-dong Spinach, and sometimes setting off firecrackers at the doorsteps, making whoever jump in panic. For some reason most ponies hate spinach, how ironic is that. They’d usually set the bag of spinach on fire, meaning we’d have to stomp on it to put it out. That never really worked out for the victim; it was a lose-lose situation, unless the pony actually liked spinach. I had a bunch do that to me once, fortunately I managed to catch the little buggers and call their parents. How I adored the look on their sad, crying little faces when their parents came and told them their punishments. I’d always laugh in secret, though, least I get a scolding from a frustrated and irritated parent. Not all of the streets were full of chaos. Some were full of complete insanity, usually near the University of Mareymount. The C.O.P.S. had to break up the parties. The Colt Officer Pony Squad never actually took any parties down, though. As a matter of fact, most of them would simply join the party; gunshots were usually fired into the air. I remember some pony got shot once, sadly no pony noticed until the early afternoon, poor stallion died from bleeding out. All these parties remind me of my college and party days, before I got an actual job. I used to drink like I had sand dunes in my mouth; I was the one everyone bet on when doing the beer bong and drinking contests, I won them all of course. Never did have sex, though, yeah, imagine that. I was about to once, next thing I know his mom comes into the room. You should have seen his sorry flank stumble to floor as if it were made of butter. His spaghetti fell all over the place as his mom yelled at him, he was crying like a newborn foal. His mother simply eyed me, as if I were some whore, meant only to be a whore. I used to do a lot of crazy things when I was in college, but as soon as my job and school started getting serious, so did I. No doubt it was hard getting over the alcoholism, after the withdrawals had gone over I went to my doctor to get myself checked out, I managed to burn all most all of my liver, had to take some meds to repair what was able to be repaired. I managed to save it though, lucky me, I didn’t need a transplant like some others. As I was fantasizing about my early life I stumbled over some pony lying on the ground. He seemed to have passed out, poor stallion, he’s gunna have one heck of a morning when he wakes up. I remember once I was drunk and I kept hearing a doorbell ring, yeah, a doorbell. I felt like I was flying, too. Funny what alcohol does to a pony, you never really know either, kind of makes you wonder how you even survived the night. I finally reached my checkpoint, The Bridge that connects the suburbs to the main city. As strange as it may seem, the bridge was the quietest place out of everywhere else. You were either in the city or in the suburbs; no pony really crossed the bridge unless they were going to work, which is never on during the first week of the celebration. The streets were usually too messy and messed up to even try and go through them, only made sense to just wait ‘til the cleaners came and fixed the place up. They did a good job too, it was like nothing even happened, they even manage to get the smell. Their motto suited them perfectly, too, “Here in a flash, and gone without a trace!” It makes a pony wonder what goes on during their cleaning. The bridge was nice and quiet, a nice breeze flowing through the support beams, the water reflecting the fireworks going off near the Statue of Harmony. There would usually be boats going through here like wildfire, but I guess everypony celebrated this occasion, of course there were Yats strewn about in the middle of the quarry, but they just sat there, having their own little piece of paradise. I reached the end of the bridge, now here comes the hard part: getting through the city in one piece. Of course, this is where most ponies get absolutely lost in the excitement, but I knew my way around this city from head to hoof. A Pegasus can easily fly over all this, but that would be near impossible unless you had blinders and reflective sunglasses. Without any of those, you’d probably crash into either the hordes of ponies, or collide into one of the buildings. Each would be pretty devastating, but the crowds would be better than having a piece of glass stuck in your head. As I started getting close to the “Streets of Ado” as some people called, I could already smell the “Stench of Wonder.” They call it that, because every time during things like this, there is always an aroma that disperses across the entire city. Whether it’s a mass mixture of all the perfume, cologne, deodorant, and whatever else, or the overwhelming assortment of thousands of Pony hormones, we’ll never know. Thankfully, the substance wasn’t toxic, at least to me, other it might be, but that it their problem. Now here I am, above all the commotion though a small passing created to go through all this mess for those who actually had things to do. The lights going everywhere, Pegasi News Crews recording the masses, the Billboard animations filled with the music waves, the crowds jumping up and down to the beat of the music, Yeah, this is the night life. Lights stretching a couple of miles down the city, fireworks being blasted through the middle of the crowds, ponies drinking, and dancing. The entire city was filled with this, every turn you take, it’s another whole lane filled with commotion beyond belief. The music and lights could practically blind and deafen a pony if they weren’t careful, usually near the epicenter of all this. It was kind of sad for that to happen, but hey, they knew what they were getting into. My hearing and sight has been a little distorted because of my actions during my younger life, sometimes I hear a little ringing noise, and I ended up having to wear glasses whenever I have to read something. At least it’s better than being blind or deaf; I’d take impaired hearing and sight over complete loss any day. Once again, as I was fantasizing about things, I came across a fallen drunkard. This fellow was bleeding from his ear, and guessing from that, I’d imagine he must’ve come from the mosh pit. As I continued my walk, I had a couple of idiots bounce up to me, usually just complimented my body and asked for a good time. I hated those losers, I’ve been locked in an ice cold freezer once, as well as being an actual loser, so I’d like to imagine I have a pretty good idea of who’s cool, and who’s nothing but a try hard wannabe. I even had a couple of mares lean on me and rub my flank and mane; I hated them, too. They always had an overpowering scent of perfume, or their breath smelled of cheap cider and cigs. From my experience, it was always easy to tell who knew what they were doing, and those who didn’t. Those who knew what they were doing always had a posse or group they’d ‘bang’ with, and those who had no clue were the ones I just mentioned, the sad, sad ponies trying to be cool. But, that was the night life, only those with experience knew how to handle themselves would end up have a good time, and those who didn’t ended up either on the floor, acquired some sort of disability, mugged, violated, or just plain lost in something they never should have come to. Of course, I was younger when I was doing things like, and things have changed. Now, I don’t really enjoy going to parties like this anymore. I’d only go if CloudChaser invited me to one, or I was feeling bored out of my mind. As a matter of fact, I’m more than sure CloudChaser is among all these ponies, but the chances of me finding her in this mess is 1 out of Luna knows how many. She always adored the night life and the excitement that came with it; it seemed to dissipate on me. I was actually hoping CloudChaser was kidding about that “All Night Jig,” I knew she wasn’t, but it helps to have a little denial sometimes. It just might save you in the end. I finally managed to get near the outskirts of this city to where the hospital is located. The music and shouting was still very much audible, but not as intense as it was. This was the part of the city Ponies would come to when they were about to pass out or have some fun time. Usually pass out, but you should expect anything when there is a massive party going on throughout the entire city. I came across a couple of passers, saw a fun time couple getting it on, they were just kissing, though, but they were certainly enjoying it, she was getting hoofed all the while, too. It was the alley ways you had to worry about, least you get dragged in and get mugged or worse. Muggers were always earth ponies, their big muscular stature always gave them the leg up. They’d always have a certain tactic when mugging each kind of Pony. For pegasi it would be a lasso, or they’d jump on top of the Pegasus and weight them down. Sometimes, if they were your hardcore muggers, they’d break the wings to make sure their victim was completely vulnerable and not give them a hard time. Unicorns were pretty much the same, break the horn, and get what you needed. Unicorns never came down places like these, though. Because once the horn was broke, it’s game over for them. You could repair the horn if you got the fragment and got them to the hospital in time, but most of the time, they’d have to get an aesthetic horn. You couldn’t tell the difference, but once they tried to cast magic, you’d know they broke it somehow. Earths, however, would just be game of who’s stronger. When I finally made it to the outskirts of the city where the Hospital was located, I saw something I never expected to see. The hospital was almost completely surrounded by ponies. I guess they were all here for the same reason I was. Tents were scattered all across the hospital, small lights signaling others. It was quiet over here, unlike the city center; I guess people don’t watch the news any more. I looked at my watch, 12:52 AM. Must’ve taken a little longer to get here than I thought. There were guards guarding all the possible routes into the hospital, guess they weren’t letting anyone in. As I walked toward the entrance, flowers and peddles were scattered all over the ground and entrance. Everypony was looking at me as if I was being sentenced to death. I could hear their whispers. “What does she think she’s doing?”, “Isn’t that...”, “Do you think…”, “How does she expect to get in?”, “does she think the guards will let her in?”, “Poor mare doesn’t know what she’s getting into.”, “She has a lot of guts walking up to the guards like that.”, “Why her?” I felt like quivering into the ground and just sneaking in through the dirt, if only some things were possible. I finally arrived to where the restricted tape was, the guard only halted me and said “You must be new here, sorry; the hospital isn’t letting any visitors in. A music Icon…” “Yes… I know.” I retorted before he could continue. “Then go on, go back home, things here are being taken care of.” He said in a soft tone, as if trying to assure me. But I’m not dumb; I know everything is not okay. I stood there for a few moments, until he said something else. “Come on, Filly; don’t make this harder than it should be.” I turned my head to look at the Ponies behind me. Their faces are only silhouettes, the illuminating city in the background projecting the light that fades them. I turned back to guard, looking at him with a sad stare. He quivered a little; he’s uneasy. “Filly…” I reach into my bag and pull out Vinyl’s glasses. The guard just stares at me, his expression sad, and pitiful. “I think you better go in.” All is quiet, only the sound of silence. I enter the Hospital, no nurses, no doctors; they had left. I looked at the patient rooms on a clipboard. Vinyl Scratch Room# 114 Patient# 225 10TH Floor, Urgent Care Status: Stable Sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the upper torso, and lower foreleg. Heart trauma and internal bleeding occurred. Patient now stabilized, awaiting remove of .32 caliber bullets. Insertion points: Chest Cavity, Left Ankle, Rib cage x2. Doctor: Dr. Hoofdini … I feel lonely.
AnswersHospitals always gave ponies an eerie feeling of anxiety, the white walls surrounding you, feeling as if they might just close in and smash you in between their shinning walls. I remember the last time I was in one, ponies here and there, some rushing somewhere, others hysterical from whatever they had witnessed. Screams of agony, cries of despair echoing along the halls, vomit and feces littered along and pushed into the corners to prevent ponies from slipping. Some ponies would just sit there talking to themselves, arguing with themselves, insanity gripping over them ever so slowly. Family members sitting in the waiting area, praying, sobbing, sleeping soundly as if nothing is going on; like they don’t even care. The doctors and nurses would be scrambling around to stop the hemorrhaging or complete insanity of a pony, least of all being hit, cussed at, vomiting on, defecated on, urinated on, all the while just trying to do their job. Yet when they finally got one restrained it was off to another pony, somehow they were still able to keep cool, yelling orders, administering a shot of some sort of sedative to sooth the patient. Yeah, hospitals, and ponies wonder why nopony likes them with their tall and daunting stature. Of course, it isn’t always like that, sometimes it’s actually pretty calm and relaxing, something everypony that works there fears. Other times it was like it is now, silent and calm, the hospital must be airlifting ponies here, no way an ambulance can get through the wall of weepers surrounding this place, not without making their job all the more difficult. I arrived at the elevator, I never did like elevators, but they were faster than stairs, and when you want to see somepony in a hospital, stairs become as oblique as a shimmer of life in bottom of an ocean. I walk into the elevator and press the number 10, the doors close, and the elevator shifts. There is music in the elevator, familiar, but not recognized. It was soothing, not your casual piano or jazz, a little more elegant and flowing. The elevator stops, it shifts a little and opens its doors, I walk out and I hear the music from the elevator echoing though out the halls, its doors shut and silence befalls me. I look at each of the room numbers, I gaze into each room, only to see a pony lying contently on their bed, their monitor giving beats of stability. I see some nurses and doctors sitting behind the counter, looking at me with a blank stare. As I arrived at the counter no pony said anything, they just looked at each other, as if using some sort of telepathy. After a few seconds a nurse stood up and walked around the counter and faced me, she gave me a nudge to follow her, I followed, only a few steps behind. Our walking was the only sound in the halls, and when we finally stopped our hoofsteps echoed a little. She opened a door and led me into a room, the room was dim, but still had enough light so you can see. To the left was a window, from which a light shinned though. I looked through the window, only to see a pony lying face up with a red tube going into her left foreleg, a respiration mask over her snout, some other tubes going into her, one of them in her mouth, and other intricate objects. There were doctors surrounding her, a bright light beaming over them. They were removing the bullets from her body. Funny how calm a pony can be when their body is ripped open and their organs and bones are exposed. Ponies digging through them to find and extract what they needed. The doctors were levitating different kinds of objects, from what looked like tweezers to a needle with a string attached to it. “They’ve been operating on her for 8 hours now. Removing bullets is usually an easy task, but ironically she was shot exactly where it starts to make things hard. They got 3 of the bullets, now they’re trying to get the one that landed into her chest cavity. Apparently it landed right behind her left lung, almost puncturing it, thankfully it didn’t, or without a doubt she wouldn’t have even made it to the hospital. I’m not sure how much longer, but If you want you can stay here until they’re finished.” “When will I be able to talk to her?” I asked. “Your best bet will be when the operation is done and she wakes up, her room number is 225, on this floor. Do you know where that is?” “No.” “Come; let me show you, you can wait there.” I took one last look at the operation and left, strange how things can so easily cling to you. As the nurse showed me to Vinyl’s room she began talking about her life at the hospital and how bad it can be sometimes and how much sorrow there is. It makes you wonder why ponies like this line of work anyways, knowing somepony else’s life is in your hooves, or you see somepony die right in front of you. It makes you wonder where their emotions are. We arrived and she led me into Vinyl’s room. We both sat down and breathed in the air of silence. Strange how quiet ponies can be in a hospital, you’d think that they'd want to talk to get their minds off of things. Why is the nurse even here? “You can go if you want to; you don’t have to stay her with me.” I said. “I could, but from what I’ve seen, and the amount of time I’ve been here, I began to know when ponies could use company. I’m not intruding am I?” The nurse said a bit worried. “N-nuh- no, i-it-it’s just, you know, kind of awkward, yuh-you know, silence and all.” The nurse simply forced a smile and looked down. “So, are you and her, like, umm, lovers?” The nurse was clearly trying a little too hard to make conversation. “Uh, no, we’re not. I went to her performance over at the Grand Foalympia Hall, and, for some reason, she gave me her glasses. Next thing I know she's on the news, and somepony was saying how she was looking for me, and that she needed to tell me something. So I came here to see her, and find out why she was acting so frantic when I left her performance.” “Ah, yes, I heard about that, I was wondering why she was acting so strange when she was on her way to the hospital. As soon as we put her in the van she woke up, and was in what I think shock; all she was doing was looking around the van, ambiguous to everything that was going on. She even tried getting up, but she just kept falling down, and for some reason she kept trying. The medics just told her “I need you to lie down, hun,” or “I need you to stay still.” She just looked at them and complied.” “You were there?” I asked. “Yes, I was the observer, I was renewing my License at the time, and so I had to watch what they did in the Ambulance. She was trying to say something, too; I couldn't hear her, though. I always found it strange how some ponies do that; completely unaware to what happened. I remember she was trying to take off one the bandages out of discomfort. When she noticed that every time she tried to take it off it hurt, she looked at her wound and just touched it. She pulled her hoof back only to see blood on it, and just looked at it with curiosity." "Next thing I know we arrive at the hospital, and as the medics unloaded her, she looked at me and stretched her hoof toward me. I extended mine to hers, and when the medics pulled her out of reach a tear fell from her eye. It was like she knew what was going on, and was afraid to go into the hospital, yet she couldn't express anything." "She was just like a new born foal, scared, but can't express any form of emotion, but let out tears to show she doesn't know what's going on. She just looked at it all so-" I broke her off, “Innocently?” “Yeah… strange isn’t it?” She answered back. “Yeah, it kind of makes you wonder what goes on in their mind. What they’re thinking of and what they’re seeing. Makes you want to experience it for yourself, just to feel as they do, to feel like a new born entering this world.” I trialed off until the nurse said something. “Are you alright, filly?” The nurse looked at me with some sort of concern. I looked at her blankly for a couple of moments, thinking nothing I said “Yeah, why?” She looked out the window to the raving city, and to the crowds beneath us. “When you work in this line for as long as I have, you begin to learn when ponies are a little ‘off.’ I can’t tell you how, it’s just one of those things, you know?” I remembered how alone I was when I was little, how only those who experience loneliness can know its effects, yet can't explain what it does to them. Strange how these types of things happen to us, yet we cannot even give an answer to why. A few moments passed, only the sound of our breath and beating hearts could be heard. The nurse looked at me and asked “what’s your name?” Ever ask a question and not get an answer? Yeah, life is strange. I looked at her and said “…
Reva-“Huuuaahhh… uuggghhh, these chairs make awful beds, I’m sleeping on the floor next time. Let’s just stretch a little bi- AHHHH! What the heck? Oh great, my legs are asleep, uhhhhh, defiantly not sleeping in a chair again. Guess I’ll just lay here until I get felling back… what time is it? Let’s see here… 2:26 PM. Hmmm, I wonder if they’re done operating…” As I started looking around I noticed a bed was near the window of the room, with a mare looking out the window. Oh crap, I think I woke her up. Well she’s not looking at me; maybe she didn’t hear me fall. “Ummm, hello?” She didn’t move a muscle. Maybe she’s still sleeping As a couple minutes pass by, I began to regain the feeling in my legs. “Static… why do they always feel like static? Time get back up, let’s see here… hmmmmuuuugh. There we go, nice and stable.” I looked over to the mare, she was still sleeping; her hair scattered and lying all about her face, and her breathing, so slow it was barely noticeable. For about an hour I just stared at her, watching her rest quietly, it was so peaceful and calm in her room; I liked it. It was a good place, away from all the commotion of the outside life; no noise, no yelling, no screaming, no stupid arrogant ponies walking around and bumping into you. No, a place where tranquility reigns, that is, until the doctor comes in. “Ahh, I see you’re awake now, Ms. Octavia. I’m Dr. Hoofdini, the one who operated on your friend here, and I must say it was quite the operation. Luckily, we were able to get all the bullets out without having to do too much damage to her.” “Well that’s good, but knowing hospitals, there is always bad news. Is there any bad news?” “Sadly, yes, there is bad news. Due to the amount of collateral damage done to her ankle, we’re not able to fully restore it, as well as the broken ligaments and joints. So I’m afraid from now on she will walk with a limp, as well as not being able to trot or run for very long. And because of the way and position of the bullet, we had to remove the cartilage from her joints, which will mostly likely cause severe aching after a while of walking. As a result, she will have to take some medicine which will, with time, help restore most of the lost cartilage. Other than that, everything else seems to be just fine. Thankfully, there weren’t too many lacerations, so her intestines and flesh were able to be sewed up quite nicely. She is quite the lucky one, not too many ponies who receive such trauma make it, least of all even make it to the hospital.” “Well that’s… relieving. I must ask, though, when will she wake up?” “I would say a couple more hours, but from the looks of it, she’s waking up right now.” I turned around and saw her eyes slowly opening; hair dangling in front of them. “Hey there, I’m Doctor Hoofdini, move your hoof if you understand me.” She twitched her right hoof. “Good. Blink your eyes once for yes, and twice for no. Do you remember what happened to you?” She blinked twice and the looked at me. Her eyes widened. “Do you remember your friend here?” She blinked once, and started trying to move her entire body, as if trying to escape from the bed. She started muttering words, but they only sounded like gibberish. “Whoa there, I need you to stay still; your injuries haven’t healed enough for you to be active, you might open a laceration.” The doctor tried to put her down back onto the bed, but she only struggled harder and eventually kicked him in the face in an attempt to shove him off. “GAH! You there, call the nurse, she needs to be sedated, if not, her wounds will open back up, and right now, that is something we really don’t want!” “Okay!” As I began to walk away to the door, Vinyl started screeching at me, as if trying to stop me from leaving almost, and once again kicked the doctor in the face, this time he fell on the floor. Vinyl then ripped the equipment off of her body and face, and, with her right hoof, dragged herself out of the bed, causing her to fall onto the floor and scream in pain as a result. “UUUUUUGGGGHHHhhuhhhuhhh… Oct- o- ocatavi- Octa- Wa- WAAAIIIIITTTTT! Ahhhhhhuhhhuhhh, hwai- k-kco- come buh- buhack- come bahhhaacck… “NURSE! WE NEED HELP, ANYPONY, NURSE! HELP US! As soon as I finished yelling, almost a dozen nurses and doctors started rushing toward the room; a nurse carrying a needle in her mouth. “HOLY CELESTIA, SOMEPONY, GET HER BACK ON THE BED! WHERE IS THE SEDATIVE?”, “SHE WON’T HOLD STILL! THE NEEDLE WILL BREAK!”, “CALL THE BOUNCERS! THEY NEED TO HOLD HER DOWN!”, “HER WOUNDS ARE GOING TO BURST! QUICKLY, DAMMIT!” As soon as they called for the bouncers, they arrived, two hefty looking ponies, about twice my size, came running in. The quickly held her down, and allowed the nurse to inject her with the sedative. “NOOOOOooooo! ST-TOP! NOOHOOHOOooo! OC- OCTAVIA!!! HELLLPPPPP!!! OCTAVIA!!! I’M SOOooorryyy…” Slowly, Vinyl started to calm down, tears running down her face; her eyes slowly opening, then closing again, desperately trying not to fall under the effects of the drug. Sadly, she inevitable fell under its influence and drifted away. “Gahh, dear Luna, somepony check her vital and make sure she didn’t lacerate anything important, if she did, put her back in the operating room so we can fix that up. And will somepony check my face for me? I think she kicked my nose out of place.” The doctor then looked at me. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to go into the waiting room. I don’t want this to happen again. I’ll tell you when you can see her, but if she goes haywire again, you’re going to have to tell us IMMEDIATELY, got it?” I nodded to the doctor, and one of the bouncers came up to me. “I need to leave, right?” “YYYEEEAAHHHH!” “Alright… cya around then.” “YYYEEEAAHHHH!” With that, the massive pony shut the door and I walked to the waiting room, meeting with a bunch of other sad and scared looking ponies; probably waiting to see a loved one, or hear of what’s happened to them. I conversed with them for hours, each one having a sad tale. One mare’s filly got hit by a firework and ended up getting a burn scar across his entire left side. Another’s Wife ended up falling out of a 7 story office party. A fillies mom, shot before his eyes because of some stupid brawl with ‘who gets the last beer.’ It was awful hearing the doctors tell ponies that one of their beloved has died. Mostly due to some sort of tragic accident that could have been avoided. Each one of their expressions was that of horror and disbelief; their cries could be heard by Everypony, only making the ones waiting for some pony all the more anxious and nervous; it was indeed frightening. Yeah, hospitals, the most feared place to everypony. The time is now 8:52 PM; the doctor finally said I could see Vinyl now. He was skeptical, though. In result, he had one of the bouncers stand outside the door in case Vinyl went haywire again. “Remember to tell us immediately if she starts acting up again. She got lucky this time, but I have a feeling her luck is running out. So try not to excite her, okay?” “I’ll do my best.” With that, he led me to the door. “You’re going to keep watch?” “YEEEAHHH!” “Okay, have fun.” Why is he yelling? As I entered her room, I found her staring out the window, looking upon the glowing city of Manehattan. “Ummm, hey.” She turned immediately and looked at me with beaming eyes. She mover her entire body, as if a reflex had just gone off, but she just stayed in her bed this time, probably knowing what will happen if she got a little ‘crazy.’ “Um, I’m here now and… I brought your glasses. I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to have them, and… I heard you were looking for me, too, so I came down here to visit you.” “Th- the- there yuh- your gll- glasses.” “What do you mean?” “Cutie high… member..?” Instantly I froze, adrenaline shooting into every last part of my body. “You- you mean… your that mare who… who-” “Yes... and.. I- I’m sorry…” I was shocked out of belief. “You kept them all this time? Why? I thought you hated me.” “Please, k- come closer.” I walked over to her, she was so cold, and her body, it was so fragile. “I- I didn’t hate you. I liked you… a lot, but I- I couldn’t express my feels without looking like a total idiot.” “But why did you say those things to me?” “I wanted to tell you, but, what I said, it was what popped into my head… I-I didn’t mean any of it. I wasn’t able to express myself, that’s why I was such an ass to you back then. I guess it was just my way of expressing how I felt. I was young back then, I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t know how to express it without being a complete jerk.” “Why didn’t you apologize then? Why didn’t you just tell me what you meant the next day?” “I was too discouraged; I thought you hated me after that; that you never wanted to see me again. After that day, I would always cry at night, knowing that I messed up more than I could even imagine. I took your glasses to always remember you, and I never forgot you, even to this day. I wore them because it would make me feel like you were there; like you were with me all the time.” “I- I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I completely forgot who you were, even at the concert. I didn’t even recognize you, you look so different.” “I thought you still didn’t want to see me again when you left. I thought you still hated me, and the next thing I know I get shot by some idiot loser.” “Believe me; I didn’t want anything like that to happen to you.” “But why didn’t you recognize me? I was right in front of you; I looked right into your eyes and you looked into mine. I thought you knew.” “After that day, I pushed everything about you into the back of my mind. I never wanted to remember you, and eventually, that’s exactly what happened.” “Oh I’m so sorry, Octavia. I never meant to hurt you.” Vinyl began to cry. “It’s okay, Vinyl. I understand. I just wish this never happened to you.” “I deserve it anyways; I was such a jerk to you. You didn’t deserve the crap you got. You were too precious. Your name is beautiful, you’re beautiful. Not matter how hard I tried, I could never get over you. You were everything to me then, and you still are to this very day.” “Is that what you wanted to tell me?” “No.” “What did you want to tell me then?” “Well, I meant to tell you that, too, but more importantly something else.” “What is that?” “I.. I think I love you.” “Wuh- what?!” “You heard me; I think I love you. After all these years, all this time, I haven’t been able to forget about you, not matter what I did. Drugs didn’t work. Alcohol didn’t work. Banging my head against every wall I came in contact with didn’t help. Nothing did, I couldn’t forget you. You’re special to me, and even if you don’t feel the same, I just wanted to tell you that; I just wanted to let you know. Numerous Days without sleep; the countless hours of staring at the ceiling. Gallons of tears almost every night; hoping that maybe one day I’d see you again.” “I.. I don’t know what to say.” “Do you forgive me?” “Yes, Vinyl, I forgive you.” “Thanks, it means a lot, to know that you do. But do you feel the same?” “After all these years, Vinyl, I’m sorry, but I never developed feelings for you, at least not how you feel for me.” She was silent for a bit; she just looked back out the window. “I guess that was to be expected.” “I’m so sorry, Vinyl.” “Could you do one thing for me?” “What?” “Could you hold me?” “Yeah…” She slowly scooted to the side, allowing me to room to join her bed. As I got in, she just put herself into my hooves; her head on my chest; her fur, so soft. We laid there for a couple of minutes until she said something that left a tear in my eye. “Octavia, you’re my very best friend.” I didn’t want to hurt her; I didn’t want her to be hurt any longer. She’s been through enough. “You’re mine, too, Vinyl.” “We’ll always be friends forever, won’t we?” “Yeah, forever.” And… and then her pulse stopped. The monitor went monotone. She died. It is never Love that kills… It’s the memories. Sadly, nothing is ever as it seems, and so I woke up. I… Vinyl.
Answered“… My name is Octavia.” Am I? “Nice name; it’s… elegant, and … refined sort of.” “Thanks, quite a few people actually say that, except for one.” “Who would disagree, other than your common pessimist?” “It was back when I was in Cutie High; a mare told me it was a stupid name, and I had a stupid cutie mark and I’d never become anything.” “I hope you didn’t believe them, did you?” “I didn’t believe it, at least not that long.” “Do you remember her name, what she looks like maybe?” “No.” “We were best friends, too, but I guess she didn’t really like me. I don’t know why, but she was always kind of mean to me, even when we first met. I took it though, she was my only friend when I was in school; I really didn’t want to let her go. I guess one day she just couldn’t take me anymore and said that to me.” “What did you do?” “I went to the office, crying, and called my mom and asked her to pick me up. I told her some pony took my favorite glasses. No pony really took my glasses, but I left them with that mare; it was the first thing that popped into my head at the time, so I just went with it.” “Oh... my, that’s… quite a story… um.. did you ever get your glasses back?” “No, that other mare took them; I don’t know what she did with them, though.” “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I hope that mare got what was coming to her.” “Yeah, me too.” A couple moments of silence passed. “Well, I’m going to leave you be now, I have some things I need to take care of. I guess I’ll see you around. And I hope your friend in the operating room will be okay; shouldn’t be too long now.” “Thanks, I’ll be sure to give her your regards.” With that she left, leaving me to solitude. “I guess I should get some rest… hhhuuhh… I hope she’s okay.” I looked at my watch, 2:15 AM.
