Spending the holidays with your girlfriend's parents is never easy.

Especially when they think you’re a magical gangster hell-bent on corrupting their daughter.

A Valentine's Day fic... sorta.

Pre-read by Themaskedferret. Thanks to FloydienSlip for help with the title.
Cover art by little-tweenframes.

Four years ago Vinyl and Octavia broke up. It was messy, painful and left scars on both of them. Four years on, now one of the most successful DJs in Equestria’s history, Vinyl receives news that Octavia has been in a terrible accident. The doctors say she may never recover from her coma, but Vinyl refuses to believe them. There are all sorts of stories about coma patients who are brought back by the voice of someone they care about, right? No matter what anypony else says, offers or threatens, and no matter what it costs her personally or professionally, she is determined to stay by Octavia’s side and do all she can to wake her.

But four years is a long time, and no matter how many fairytales end with the princess waking up, real life owes no-one a happy ending.

Featured on EQD - 3rd August 2013

Now with a fabulous dramatic reading by the even more fabulous Goombasa!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPJutr2gUiE&list=UU4c-khcV1wmr1l_ZRfdp9uQ]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibcPvvXSn8c&list=UU4c-khcV1wmr1l_ZRfdp9uQ]

Two passengers on a train ride toward an uncertain future. One is a pony. The other only pretends to be.

Sex is tame and non-explicit. Don't be afraid to read.

Written expressly for Equestria Daily's Outside Insight Summer Fanfiction Contest.

Now with a dramatic reading by Illya Leonov!

Russian translation courtesy of Arsus.
Chinese translation courtesy of viczhn.
French translation courtesy of BroNie.

Inspired by the artwork of RubleGun and Raddjuret. Musical accompaniment by Patrick Poe.

Featured at Equestria Daily and the Royal Canterlot Library.

Reader Testimonials

"Vinyl + Octavia is one of the fandom's most cliché and mismatched pairs, and yet this is a real romance with genuine depth and emotion." - horizon
"Holy shit this is impressive. Like... Holy shit, man." - Skeeter The Lurker
"You have crafted something wonderful here, a true gem. You should be proud." - Illya Leonov
"Note that I hate this ship when I say this is far and away the best ScratchTavia I've ever read." - PresentPerfect
"Fuuuuck it's so good!" - Luminary

While in her hotel room, Rainbow Dash writes a letter to a friend she left in Ponyville: a friend she hasn't seen in a long time.

<>

This is a short story I wrote in a few hours to help me get over the fact that I no longer have a laptop. Please read and enjoy!

Spitfire has only met Rainbow Dash a few times, but something about this lightning-fast pegasus has stayed on Spitfire's mind. Was it the fact that Rainbow Dash saved her life? Was it her steadfast determination to realize her dream of being in the Wonderbolts? Either way, Spitfire's going to find out, and all it takes is the Wonderbolts' next off weekend...

Octavia Philharmonica is a desperate mare. Her involvement in the ill-fated "pony pokey" at the prestigious Grand Galloping Gala has left her blacklisted among the elite of Canterlot who form her clientele. Faced with the possibility of being evicted from her apartment for inability to pay rent she decides to take a temporary job at a local nightclub. Of course, she's never set hoof in a club before and has no idea what she's getting involved in . . .

Vinyl Scratch, also known as DJ-P0n3, is one of the most famous DJs in Canterlot. But lately, she's been feeling like something's missing in her life. And then a gray Earth pony mare shows up at her club one night...

Author's Note: I wanted to do something different with the Octavia/Vinyl Scratch pairing. In all the stories I've read, Tavi was the reserved, more quiet one while Vinyl was the party girl. But what if it were the other way around? What if Vinyl was the more reserved one and Tavi the wild girl? This is my attempt to expand on that idea.

Family is a word Octavia has long linked to emotional pain. And it is that pain that drives her music to the heights it has. For music is both easing balm to soothe, but burning salt that irritates as well, for Octavia has never allowed herself to heal.
Now, a letter from her Mother threatens to reopen barely scabbed wounds... but will her friend Vinyl Scratch be the key to finally bring closure? Or will new wounds open before the old one can mend?
(Cover art thanks to the incredible mod of Ask Lovelace on tumblr)

"My life has run its course; I've planted my hooves firmly on the ground and ridden the ups and downs to my greatest potential. I've loved, I've hated, I've cried, I've laughed... but most importantly, I've overcome."

A simple life, floating on the wind.

Brace down and buckle up as you are taken along on the wicked rollercoaster ride that is Vinyl's life. Stand beside her as she first learns of her talents as a musician. Hold her hoof as she braves whatever life throws at her while buskering on the streets of Manehatten. Cry with her as she faces old fears and overcomes new ones. Cheer and revel in her marriage and success. Laugh wholeheartedly at her comedic small mistakes and happenstances.

Most importantly however, understand the rocky and twisted road that shaped the DJ we have all come to know and love.

Vinyl Scratch walks into a bar. There is no punchline.

- - - - -

Featured on Equestria Daily (6 Nov 2012)
Inducted to the Pony Fiction Vault (10 May 2013)
Dramatic Reading courtesy of Farnsey's Fanfiction Theatre 3000
Live-Reading courtesy of the Living Library Player Society

- - - - -

Hey, everyone. OtterMatt here. Just for the record, I’m not coming back to FimFic. Not ever. I’m sorry to say it, but my life has moved on, as it were, and writing just isn’t a part of it anymore. That being said, I love these stories of mine very much. There’s a lot of myself that I put into them, and at least a couple people have told me that these stories meant a lot to them as well. So, for those people, and for anyone else who enjoys my work in the future, I’m charging my friend Spabble here with curating my completed stories. Thank you all for the love, the faves, and the support as I grew and learned. Keep doing what you love, and the best of luck to you all.