Pain. In the experiences of life, there are only two physical kinds. One was the sharp, stabbing pain and the other was the dull, nagging pain. The worst was when somepony felt both. And that’s exactly what I was going through.

The pain would always be there, right at my mouth, and I couldn’t do anything to get rid of it. And even if I tried, it switched to the stabbing pain and it hurt a lot.

The worst part of it all was the sheer boredom. I couldn’t move at all, in the risk of moving my jaw and the pain returning. And because this was Equestria, there wasn’t any TVs, computers, I didn’t have any iPods, or anything. All I could really do was read. And even the adventures of Daring Do couldn’t help with my annoying mouth distracting me from the story.

All I could do was stare at the wall in front of me. It was horrifying to listen to every tick of the clock that passed. Every hour the tick tocks seemed to grow louder. I even got tired of sleeping I was so bored.

There was only one bright moment in my day. And they came from two shining rubies.

“You okay Rave?” Vinyl asked worriedly. Because she spent working only during the night when she was DJing, she didn’t have much to do during the day. Every once in a while, she would make a new remix. But nothing for now, so she came by to visit.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied. I was able to talk now. It didn’t hurt too bad if I kept my voice down at a whisper.

“Aren’t you bored?”

I paused. As terrible as the situation was, I didn’t want to make Vinyl worry. I got the impression, that for some reason, she blamed herself for my injuries. I couldn’t see why, but it just seemed like she did.

“No, of course not… I have this awesome…. wallpaper to look at…” I replied. “If you look at it close enough, it looks like the wallpaper is moving.”

Vinyl gave a quick glance at the look and changed her gaze towards. She let out a small giggle. “Oh Night Rave, if you’re bored, you could just tell me.”

“But… I’m… not bored?”

“Really?” Vinyl asked, giving me a skeptical look. “What did you do so far today?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came. Actually, I pretty much did nothing the entire day. “Well, I… got some great sleep…”

“You didn’t do anything, did you?”

“Well I… buck it! I’M BORED OUT OF MY MIND!!!” I winced. Screaming was definitely a no-no.

“See, now was that so hard?” I nodded. “Anyways, I brought you this.”

Vinyl handed over a metallic disk. On top of it lay a pair of headphones. Next were a few CDs.

“I thought some good music would brighten your day. These are some of my favorite bands. You got Deadhor5, Skrillex, Iron Maredon, Metallapony, and some others. So what do you think?” Vinyl inquired.

“And you’re going to take it back after I leave the hospital?”

“Nah. I got another MP3 back at home. And I got plenty of songs to listen to.”

“Are you sure Vinyl? I mean, this setup must cost at least 100 bits. I can’t just take this from you,” I argued.

“It’s 180 bits actually, those are some pretty sweet headphones. But it’s the least I could do.”

“The least? What exactly do you think you did?” I asked.

“Umm… oh hay, look at the time. Sorry Rave, I better head off to the club. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Vinyl exclaimed, rushing out the door.

I turned my gaze back towards the gifts I had just received. I laid the MP3 aside and shifted through the disks. Well, if anything was certain, Vinyl definitely had a good taste in music. Still, I’m not sure if I could just take all of this.

There was no real reason for her to be doing this. So why was she? I sighed and let the thought pass. I had the next week to think about things like that. For the moment, nothing would be better than to end the boredom that went on for far too long. I placed the headphones over my ears and placed a disk into the music player. I laid back onto the bed as the beats pulsed into my head.

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The next few days carried on the same way. The nurses would bring me whatever food the hospital had to offer and check some of the monitors around me. Vinyl would come in for an hour and we would talk. Mainly about music, as it seemed to be her forte. I would sleep, listen to music, and engage in staring contests with the wall. I would win most of the time…

Of course, I had other things to think about as well. Like how in Equestria I was going to pay off the medical bill. I could write a letter to Princess Celestia for some help, but I wasn’t too keen on having her help me any further. And I doubted whether or not she would actually help me. As helpful as she was, I had the feeling she wanted me to be a bit more independent.

I couldn’t ask anypony else to lend me some bits. I didn’t have a family here and I pretty much had no friends. If I paid the hospital what I already had, I wouldn’t have any left to survive on my own. I was pretty much stuck I in a trap. There was one another way. It wouldn’t be easy or morally correct, but as far as I was concerned, anything was better than selling the small amount of things I had.

And then Vinyl. The more I thought about it, it just seemed like there was only one logical answer. That she, perhaps, was in love with me. Why else would she come here every day? Why else would she give me all these things and help me when nopony else would? Because, she liked me. And in all honesty, I liked her too. Her perfect white coat that seemed to shine like snow in the morning sun. Her ruby red eyes and shocking electric blue mane. And also, her amazing personality and love for music.

But as with everypony, I had my self-doubts. What is she’s just being nice? Why would she like me, if I broke Ditzy’s heart? How could a mare like her ever be interested in me? It’s just the way that most people think. There’s always just a little bit of uncertainty when it comes to this kind of stuff.

The day before I was supposed to be released by the hospital, (Sweet Celestia, I need some money) Vinyl came back to visit one more time. By this time, I was finally able to talk freely without pain. Whatever medicine the doctors gave me worked to perfection. Other than a few dull aches that could easily be remedied with some aspirin, my mouth was back to normal. Thank Equestria for magic. And who would’ve thought an entire week of doing nothing could be so boring…

“Hey, Rave!” greeted Vinyl, taking the chair beside the hospital bed. She appeared with her usual dazzling smile and trademark glasses, which she laid down onto the dresser.

“How’s it going Vinyl?”

“The same as usual,” Vinyl responded. “Happy that you’re finally going to leave this place?”

Other than the money, I could finally get on with my life. “Of course.”

“I thought so. So, what do you plan to do once you’re out of here?”

I had made a plan for receiving the money to pay the bill, but I hadn’t bothered to plan for anything else. There wasn’t much to do except stay at home like I had done the days before my injury.

“Umm… I don’t have anything planned honestly,” I replied.

“Oh,” Vinyl muttered. A little bit of color appeared on her cheeks and she asked, “Well, do you want to stop over by my house sometime, and maybe help me make a few songs?”

Check I thought. That was the thing I needed to start my question. I needed to ask her now. The question had been burning in my mind, but there never seemed to be a good time to pop the question. “Sure, Vinyl, sounds fun. But I have a question.”

“What is it?” Vinyl asked curiously.

“Are you going to answer with the complete truth?” I asked sternly.

Vinyl paused for a moment before nodding. Those kinds of question could be easy traps. And my question was just that, a trap.

“I was wondering, Vinyl, why have you been so nice to me?” Checkmate! There was the question. If my assumptions were correct, she would finally say how she felt about me.

Vinyl opened her mouth to respond, but ended with a sigh. The shimmer in her bright eyes appeared to be gone. She got up and sat next to me on the bed. The blush reappeared on her cheeks. “Well, Rave, to tell you the truth…”

Here it is! In the next second, Vinyl will say she loves me. I’ve imagined this for hours as I laid on this very bed. I felt my heart begin to race as she started her response. Everything was going to be explained in her next answer. The moment I’ve been waiting for. She would say she loves me, I will squee in delight, and we’ll finally spend some quality time together.

“To tell you the truth…” I held my breath as I waited for the answer. I stared right at her, my anxiety nearly bursting out.

“I feel really guilty.”

“YE…. wait…” No, that’s not right. That was not what I was expecting at all. My breath slipped out and the smile on my face faded. Guilty? “What do you mean?” I asked.

“Remember that night? Well, of course you do. You know how Rose offered a drink to you?”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“Well… I was the one who told her to do it. She was complaining about being lonely for quite some time, and I remembered that you were the new pony in town. I recommended you to her and asked her to give it a shot. She eventually agreed to do it, so then I saw Rose come over and talk to you and…”

No words could describe how I was feeling at that moment. It was like having to relive every horrible moment I had in my Equestrian life. If I wasn’t so flabbergasted, I would’ve slapped myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

“And I was so happy for you two. But…” small tears formed in Vinyl’s eyes. “but I didn’t know you and Ditzy were together. So when I heard what had happened to you… I tried my best to make it up. That’s why for the past few days, I’ve been doing my best to keep you happy. Rave, please don’t be mad at me…” Vinyl ended.

I just sat there with an emotionless expression. As flat as I looked on the outside, emotions and thoughts were flying around on the inside.

So when it comes right down to it, it’s all Vinyl’s fault? VINYL’S? She’s the entire reason that I’m sitting here on this bed, hated by pretty much everypony in town, and about to lose all the money I currently have?! If she hadn’t been there, everything would be fine?!

But the thing that really put it over the top, was realizing that she had absolutely no feelings for me. She never really liked me. She just felt bad, that’s why she acted so friendly towards me. After she felt better, I would be nothing more to her than a scrap of paper. It was like taking a knife through the heart.

Vinyl gathered her things and headed towards the door. She stopped in the doorway. “Listen, Night Rave. I understand if you never want to see me again. I would feel the same way. I just want to let you know, I really am sorry…” And with that, she disappeared.

I couldn’t tell how I felt at that moment. It could have been anger. It could have been misery. It could have been outright fury. But as I looked over to the dark spots on the bed, created by Vinyl’s tears, a new thought occurred to me.

Vinyl didn’t mean for this to happen. As angry as I can be at Ditzy and Twilight, it’s not the same with her. Ditzy and Twilight both chose to hate me after what I had done, even though it’s perfectly reasonable. Vinyl, even though she started this whole hullabaloo, she had no intentions of doing it. She even spent her time to try and fix everything. I could’ve hugged her for all eternity, let alone never want to see her again.

Just then, a nurse entered the room. “Mister Rave, you are clear to leave the hospital. The nurses and I will gather your things as you prepare to leave. Would you like to pay the bill now or after you return from your home?” she asked.

“When I return from home, please,” I replied. My focus changed gears. As important as talking to Vinyl was, I had a bill to pay. And since I didn’t have long to gather the money, I only had so much time to get it. So, the plan has already been made. Once night rolls around, off to Rarity’s place.

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Author’s Note: In the event that this would probably never happen, let’s just say that the bill has a pretty high interest rate. An interest rate high enough that Rave would not be able to pay off at only 100 bits a month. And 100 bits a month is a pretty small amount. And if he were to wait for the first mission, the debt may have increased pretty high.

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