My walk back to Vinyl's house was uneventful. I passed dark house after dark house, no sign of life whatsoever. The rainbow that had guided me home had long since faded, its dark colors dissipated into the night.

Walking up to the Vinyl's front door, I wondered if she was awake. I was about to push the door open with my hoof, when a sound pierced the silence of the night, and reached my ears. Like a whisper trapped in infinity, I heard the faint sound of a bow scraping across a violin. The melody that it produced was quiet, yet now that I focused on it, it sounded like it was all around me, washing over me from every direction. I looked up. The music was slipping out of Vinyl Scratch's room through the closed shutters.

I quietly opened the door, closed it behind me, and walked across the living room, to the staircase. My hooves made a quiet pitter-patter noise against the cold, wooden floor. The violin playing had ceased. I trotted up the stairs, slowly, and stopped in front of Vinyl's room.

Knock, knock. I tapped my hoof twice against the doorframe, and then waited, listening. No noise came from Vinyl's room. I whispered, my voice seeping through the slightly open door. "Vinyl…can I come in?" Still nothing. I pushed the door slightly with my hoof, and it opened slowly, its hinges creaking, to reveal a dark room, illuminated only by strips of moonlight that pierced the closed shutters. I could see Vinyl's feet, lying on top of her bed. The rest of her was engulfed by the darkness that plagued this home.

I stepped into the room. Vinyl didn't move. I walked up to the foot of her bed. "Vinyl…" The words slipped out of my mouth. She still lay motionless. I hopped up, onto her bed. It groaned under my weight. I reached over to her nightstand, where a doused candle sat. No response from Vinyl.

Suddenly, there was a flash of magic, and the candle lit. The room was illuminated by yellow light that danced around, casting exaggerated shadows. The darkness that shrouded Vinyl dispersed, and I could finally see her. She lay against the back of her bed, her head resting against the wall. A set of purple tinted shades sat on her snout. But what shocked me were the streaks that trailed from under her glasses. Tears glistened in the candlelight, like crystal-clear rivers during a sunset. The corners of her mouth curled downward.

"Did-did you hear me?" She asked, her lips barely moving. The sound of her voice was like a scream amidst a sea of whispers, silencing them in its suddenness. I just looked at her. Right now, it felt like the whole world outside this room had vanished. It was just me, and Vinyl.

"Why do you hide, Vinyl? What have you done, or what do you have, that makes you skulk in darkness?" I asked her, my eyebrows bunched up in concern.

Vinyl said nothing. More tears streamed down her cheeks, but her eyes were still hidden behind her shades.

"What lies behind the shutters?" I finally asked. Vinyl still did not move. When I said shutters, I really had meant something else. The shutters of her home hid her from the rest of the world, but her shades hid her from something else. They hid her from the darkness, where those that feared the world wept, alone. I wanted to know why she hid from that which protects her.

I felt like I could feel her tearing up inside, while her body lay still. I felt the panic, the fear of stepping into the light. She began to shiver, ever so slightly. I seized the opportunity, and pushed the blanket on which we sat on over her. I covered her with the blanket, just like that night Pegasus had covered me with their rainbow. I needed to show her that she wasn't alone, and that others hid in the darkness.

Vinyl Scratch still just sat there, the candlelight throwing beautiful gradients over her purple shades. I scooted up closer, and slumped against the end of her bed, next to her. I felt her body tilt, and lean against my shoulder ever so slightly.

"Vinyl?"

Vinyl breathed heavily. The intensity of us sitting next to each other was electrifying. I could just about feel the emotions and thoughts running through Vinyl's head.

Suddenly, she turned away from me, and I thought she was going to leave, when she reached under her bed, and took out a violin. Sitting back down next to me, she held it like a small child would hold a stuffed animal.

Slowly, very slowly, she began to play. Pulling the wooden bow across the strings, her fingers danced slowly on the end of the violin, like a dancer without a partner. A slow, lonely dance.

The silence was torn aside, the depressing melody cauterizing the wounds slowly. Even though it was only one instrument, it sounded like an orchestra. Every minute detail of the piece resonated amidst the flow of sound. The rising and dropping of the bow accompanied each new wave of music that overflowed the chalice that contained it; the violin which rested in Vinyl Scratch's capable hands.

Then, the music stopped. I was stunned, not expecting the fantastic performance to end so abruptly. It was a composition left unfinished; a story without an ending. I turned to face Vinyl, as I had been staring into space, lost amidst the music. She held the violin and bow in one hand.

Her other hand held mine.

"Vinyl…" I began.

She was once again motionless, her head tilted down.

"Why do you hide that?" I asked softly. I thought about how similar this was to the rainbow which I had seen earlier this night. Both were truly awe-inspiring, but lay unseen in the cover of night.

"I didn't want anyone to see…" Vinyl whispered. "Why?" I asked.

Then, something inside Vinyl broke. She had been repressing a sea of emotions and memories, and the dam that held them had collapsed. Vinyl heaved towards me, burying her head in my chest. Her whole body shook as she bawled, her voice muffled. Tears poured freely from her eyes, and onto my chest, soaking me. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and pressed her head against me harder. I rubbed my hooves against her back, comforting her. Vinyl just cried, her back bobbing up and down.

I just lay there, letting her release all of her suppressed emotions. Vinyl needed this, I realized. I had no idea how long she had hidden, or why.

Time passed, and her cries became sobs, then whimpers. I just waited, slowly stroking her back to remind her I was there. The candle had long since gone out.

I listened to her quiet breathing, when I realized that she had fallen asleep. I smiled a little, laid my head against hers, and closed my eyes.

The chirping of birds greeted me as I rose from my slumber. I slowly opened my eyes, and was greeted by the darkness of Vinyl's room. Dust floated through the air, carried by breezes that forced their way through the shuttered window. A burned-out candle lay on the bed. A violin and bow sat on the nightstand, and I remembered the bittersweet melody that came from it in Vinyl's capable hands.

Something stirred under me. I moved slightly, and saw Vinyl Scratch curled up, her arms around my waist. She was smiling slightly.

"Vinyl…wake up," I spoke, and she squirmed and yawned. She turned her head to look up at me, and I could tell that her eyes were open. "Good morning, Chance." She said softly. I sat up, and rubbed her chin with my hoof. "You feeling better?" Vinyl smiled sweetly. "Thanks…for being there last night." "It's alright." I smiled back.

"Hey Vinyl, why did you stop playing yesterday? You were doing so good!" Vinyl sighed at this. "I'd…rather not talk about that right now. I just need some time to think is all." I hopped off of her bed. "Take all the time you need. Today's your day off, remember?" "Yeah, I will. Thank you, Chance. You're a godsend." I smiled at her again, and left her room. Entering mine, I walked up to the desk, where the chessboard sat. I looked at my queen, hanging from the ceiling by a thread. Shaking my head I thought, 'How could I have lost it? Why did I have to make that mistake?' I turned my attention to the photo that was delivered last night, which lay upside down on the desk.

I gripped its side, and flipped it over. It was an old photo, in black and white, showing several ponies standing. But, as I examined it further, I noticed a small winged filly hiding behind the legs of a taller pony. The photo was torn, so I couldn't see the head of the filly.

I folded the photo and put it down on the desk. I reached up, grabbed the hanging queen, and pulled it off of the string. Setting it down on top of the folded photo, I moved my pawn to capture the piece that took my queen.