Interlude: That Confession
Octavia knocked on the door and stepped back while she waited to see if the pony inside answered. She heard somepony inside descending the stairs and walk up to the door. The door opened and Vinyl Scratch came into view. "What'd you do, lock yourself ou- oh."
"Uh, hi." Octavia said awkwardly.
Vinyl wasn't sure what to say herself. "Hi." she managed to reply.
Both ponies stood awkwardly in silence; Vinyl looking at the floor while Octavia looked to one side. Finally, Vinyl mustered up the will to speak. "Um, you want to come in?" she asked her former roommate.
Octavia nodded and walked inside after picking up a small bag she had stashed by the door. She looked around the place she used to call home and noticed that despite being gone for such a significant amount of time nothing seemed to have been moved around or changed. In fact, she noticed that Vinyl had gone out and bought some of the exact same things that Octavia had repossessed and placed them in the exact same places. Most of the things that Octavia had taken back were her possessions that Vinyl had never liked, but for some reason Vinyl had gone out and bought the very things she disliked.
"Didn't change much here, did you?" Octavia commented. Vinyl could only nod, unable to bring herself to confess that she wanted things to go back to how they were, that she hated the sudden change in her life after that night all those years ago.
Octavia didn't bother looking around the rest of the house in nostalgia and instead took a seat on the couch. "I suppose you're wondering what I'm doing back here." she said, getting right to the point. "I may have overreacted that night and shouldn't have told you that our friendship was done over the phone. You and I have known each other for a long time, and you deserved better than that."
Vinyl Scratch couldn't believe what she was hearing and her heart soared with hope. "Really? We can still be friends? Are you going to be moving back in?" the unicorn asked optimistically.
Octavia held up her hooves. "Hold on, I never said any of that." she said. "I meant that I should have spoken to you face to face, not just over the phone."
Vinyl's elated mood came crashing down around her and she almost started crying right then and there. "B-but, Tavi, come on... it's been almost five years. Can't you forgive me and let me show you that I'm sorry?" she pleaded.
Octavia shook her head. "No, not yet."
Vinyl broke down crying, unable to contain her feelings. "Please, Octavia! There has to be something I can do to prove to you that I've changed! I'll come to all your concerts, I'll travel to every city you play in! I'll... I'll give up being a DJ and attend every show you play for the rest of my life! I swear!" she begged hysterically.
Octavia truly did feel horrible for the pain she had put Vinyl through back then and felt even worse for what she was doing to the unicorn now. She wished she could take up Vinyl's plea and go back to the way things used to be; she dearly missed Vinyl's companionship also. But she was still hurt by countless broken promises and forgotten plans that Vinyl had made with her. Octavia couldn't handle being betrayed like that again time and time again, and if she accepted Vinyl's apology now there would always be distrust and doubt clouding Octavia's mind. "I'm sorry, I can't." she said solemnly.
Vinyl cried harder, and all Octavia could do was sit and wait for her to calm down. It took a while, but Vinyl finally managed to get her emotions slightly more balanced before Octavia continued. "You deserved to hear me explain why I can't come back here for now face to face, not over the phone. Also, it was extremely inconsiderate and horrible of me to just leave you so suddenly when you still have your mortgage, so here." Octavia said, taking out a large bag of bits and pushing it towards Vinyl. "That should be the full amount of rent that I've missed out on from the day I left to now."
Vinyl shook her head. "I don't want your bits, Tavi. I just want you back in my life. Please, there must be something I can do to prove that I'll change for you."
Octavia shook her head and got up, slightly regretting that she came back to Ponyville as she seemed to have made things worse for her former friend. "I'm sorry, Vinyl. I just can't trust you." she said, starting to walk to the door.
Vinyl began to panic. Octavia was walking to the door, out of her house and possibly out of her life forever. Her mind began to race as she tried to think of something... anything... to say to get her to stop, but only one thing came to mind. She tried desperately to think of something else, but only that first idea had even a chance of working. It hurt just to think about that topic, but it was now or never...
"I tried to kill myself."
Octavia froze, feeling like a sword had just been stabbed straight into her heart. 'N-no way... she couldn't be serious.' Octavia thought in horror. She slowly turned around and saw that Vinyl had stopped crying and was standing in the middle of the room with a far-off look. "What... did you just say?" Octavia asked her, hoping that she had misheard her.
Vinyl remained put as she spoke eerily calm. "I... tried to kill myself. It was the night after you moved your stuff out. I couldn't accept the fact that you were gone. I thought you were going to spend a few days somewhere to calm down, but when those ponies showed up and moved all your items out... I couldn't take it."
It was Octavia's turn to begin tearing up. "Vinyl..." she said softly.
Tears returned to Vinyl's eyes, but she was also smiling. "After those ponies left, all I did was cry the rest of that day. It was so empty here. I thought about what you had said, and you were right. All I did was break promise after promise. I was a terrible friend, and I realized just how much of a horrible pony I was. So I... I tried killing myself. I put a trash bag over my head to suffocate myself and got to the point where I passed out. I woke up in the hospital sometime the next day. Neon Lights stopped by and found me and saved me just in time, but I was so mad at him for saving me that I stopped speaking to him for a while. I stopped speaking to every pony and shut myself away and thought about trying to kill myself again, but I soon realized that if I did... if I did, that would just prove that all I am is a selfish mare. I spent almost six months alone, trying to find myself and managed to get my life back together. I thought that maybe... maybe, if I managed to get my life back together and change myself, I would have a second chance with..."
Vinyl wasn't able to continue speaking, but Octavia knew exactly how Vinyl was going to end that last sentence. Octavia was absolutely heartbroken that Vinyl had almost taken her own life, not expecting that she would take that kind of action. "Vinyl..." she said, starting to walk back to the broken pony.
The unicorn wiped away a tear that had started to fall down her face. "Don't." she said. "I'm not telling you this for your sympathy or forgiveness. I figured... I figured that you of all ponies deserve to know. I needed to tell you. But most importantly, I need to tell you I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. Every concert I have missed, every plan I have skipped out on, every promise that I've broken. I'm sorry. I really am. I just hope that, maybe one day, you can not hate me anymore."
Octavia slowly approached Vinyl and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Vinyl, I never hated you. I definitely didn't think that you would do something like that..." she said gently.
Vinyl nodded. "Neither did I. Look, you don't have to give me your bits. I finished paying off the house a few years ago. Just... think about if you want to try being friends again. You don't have to answer now! I... just think about it. Please...!" Vinyl said.
"I will." Octavia promised her. She quickly glanced at the clock and noted the time. "I'm sorry, I have to go." she said, getting up and walking to the door.
Vinyl watched the gray earth pony walk way and open the door and spoke up before Octavia left. "Hey, uh... I know you're playing all the way out in Los Pegasus next, but, um... you wouldn't have any objection if I came to your concert, would you?" she asked her.
Octavia paused at the door and looked back at her. "I'll have a seat saved for you." she said before leaving.
Vinyl watched as Octavia walked away and the door shut. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She dashed over to her phone and called up her partner immediately. "Hey Neon, it's Vinyl. Listen, that gig we're set to play next week in Fillydelphia, cancel it... Yes, you heard me correctly, cancel it. Something came up and I can't play it... I know how many bits we're gonna lose, but I have to do this... I dunno, tell them an emergency came up or something... Alright, I'll make it up to you later. Thanks, Neon."
She hung up the phone and went up to her room, picking up possibly her most treasured item; a photo of her and Octavia with their hooves around each other's shoulders, smiling. One last tear fell down her face as she was filled with hope for her future. "I won't betray you again, I promise."