Freefall (A Vinyl Scratch Story)

by xSorrow

Falling Headfirst

3

After Vinyl's "Welcome Home!" party thrown by her friends finished up, Lyra and Bon-Bon took what was left of the cake home. The Doctor disappeared at some point before night fell, leaving only Octavia, Vinyl, and Derpy, who had insisted on staying the night to ensure Vinyl was okay after the brief stint in the hospital (though Vinyl assumed it was because Derpy was frightened of the dark night outside after the discussion they had had in the hospital room). With Derpy hanging around, Vinyl found it difficult to find alone time with Octavia so she could finally confide in her about the nightmares.

Vinyl hadn't had a nightmare while she was recovering the hospital, and suspected that the hallucinations that had placed her at Primary's mercy was the end of it. Or at least, she hoped it was the end of it. Even so, Vinyl still wanted to tell Octavia.

Octavia had thrown a blanket onto the couch, and told Derpy that she'd be sleeping there because they had no guest room. Vinyl remembered that they DID have a guest room, but the two musicians had been storing boxes in there so it was no longer a place for guests. Even so, Derpy didn't seem to mind. Octavia went to her room while Vinyl and Derpy remained in the living room, talking. They discussed plenty, covering a lot of topics which included Derpy's hectic move from Ponyville to Canterlot, Vinyl's latest dubstep album, why Bronyrick had left the heavy metal band Maredeth, all kinds of topics while being sure to keep a respectable distance away from what had been said in the hospital room. Somehow, Vinyl knew that she and Derpy were okay.

"...And that's why I can never listen to Two Steps from Tartarus ever again," Vinyl finished her story with a gleam in her eye, "Crazy, huh?"

"Really? I... I just... I can't believe that..." Derpy responded, blinking in confusion, "Are you just messing with me?"

Vinyl put a hoof on her chest and stuck the other in the air in a promise gesture, "It happened! Swear to Celestia!"

Derpy giggled, and Vinyl felt a warm smile on her face, the first genuine one in quite some time. Vinyl wondered why she and Derpy had never really spent a lot of time together like this. Probably because Derpy was always with the Doctor doing... whatever it was they did. Vinyl wasn't sure, but she had a general theory that involved lots of... mature content.

Eventually, Vinyl remarked that it was getting late, and Derpy told her to get to bed. After all, she'd just gotten out of the hospital, and what kind of a friend would Derpy be if she let Vinyl stray from her well-needed rest? Ever the night pony, Vinyl was reluctant to go to bed so early ("It's not even midnight!" she exclaimed), but Derpy was firm, and threatened to carry Vinyl to her bed herself. Vinyl knew Derpy was right, but she wasn't happy about it. Derpy compared her to a schoolfilly who didn't want to go to bed, and even Vinyl had to admit that seemed pretty accurate.

Vinyl lie in her bed, and heard Derpy shifting her position on the couch. It was a pretty comfortable couch... compared to other places Vinyl had slept. She remembered sleeping on the floor in clubs and bars (and being nudged awake one time by Diamond Rough back at the Dragon's Claw after a particularly wacky New Year's party), falling asleep over her DJ stand and waking up with the imprints of buttons and switches on her face (Octavia hadn't been able to stop herself from laughing when Vinyl stepped into the kitchen the morning after), and even sleeping in the cold night air on the porch-

Vinyl fell asleep mid-thought.

For a moment, she only slept, her body's face curling in a content smile as the white unicorn curled up deeper into her pillow. Vinyl hadn't suffered another nightmare since the hallucinations had put her at Primary's mercy and landed her in the hospital for a day or two. The blanket over her felt like it was protecting her in its warmth, and Vinyl knew no harm could come to her while it was over her. Somewhere deep in her mind, deep inside her unknown subconscious, Vinyl was still awake and thinking deeply while the rest of her body shut down. This "thinking time" occurred on average once a month. Vinyl's self-explanation said that it was a lucid dream, but she wasn't entirely sure. Inside her thinking time, Vinyl was afraid. She feared another attack from a pony like Primary Alley. After all, her personal sanctuary (the porch) had betrayed her and nearly yielded her to Primary. What was to stop some random stallion (or mare, Vinyl realized) from breaking into the house and attacking her in her own bed?

Octavia and Derpy, Vinyl thought. Her friends were close by, and they would protect her. With this thought, her dream took on a considerably warmer feeling and Vinyl no longer felt afraid.

Until she realized that she was falling once more.

Even though these nightmares had been active for the past months, it never got any easier to deal with. Vinyl had painted a mental picture of herself, falling from Celestia-knows-what heights at Celestia-knows-what speeds with her arms crossed and a stoic expression on her face, not caring if she died. She hadn't gotten so far that she could react like that to the nightmares, especially with the "crash" that had put her in the hospital, instead screaming in a high-pitched voice as she struggled to flip herself in midair so she could at least see her oncoming doom. There was a distant crack, yet Vinyl didn't feel anything. Maybe it was a thunderstorm. Vinyl looked up at the clouds above and wondered if any Pegasus ponies were behind the puffy layer of clouds. The crack sounded again.

At times like these, when her mane was dancing in the high-speed winds and covering her eyes, Vinyl considered a manecut. Scoffing at the idea even as her limp body fell to the ground, a sack of meat ready to burst open at the seams, Vinyl could feel the grass scratching her back below, could just imagine her glazed, lifeless eyes still staring up into the clouds long after the fatal crunch had sounded after she hit the ground. The crack sounded again, closer this time. Vinyl couldn't scream, only stare up at the clouds and admire how puffy they seemed. As she stared, the clouds began to part as though they were curtains preceding a play. That had never happened before... Vinyl watched incredulously as the clouds left her vision to reveal the night sky, the moon looming over her and glowing a bright white that was almost blinding to Vinyl without her shades on. There were no stars, Vinyl noticed-

CRACK!

Vinyl sat up in her bed with a gasp, shaking her hooves as though fighting off a dream demon. She looked around, now understanding that she was no longer falling. She was safe in her bed. Around her, her red eyes surveyed her very messy room. Record sleeves, band posters and various pairs of headphones littered the floor, along with candy bar wrappers, comic books and dirty clothes (which was strange, because Vinyl couldn't remember the last time she wore clothes. Heck, she wasn't even aware that she owned any). She was unsuccessful in her search for the source of whatever had woken her up.

There came the sound of running hooves in the hallway, and then Derpy threw her bedroom door open. Vinyl was about to question why her wall-eyed friend was making all kinds of noise so late at night (or early in the morning?), but stopped when she saw Derpy's wide eyes and panicked expression.

"Did you hear that?" Derpy said through her ragged breathing.

"Hear wha-" Vinyl began to say. She was interrupted by another loud cracking noise, this one powerful enough to shake the house. Vinyl tumbled out of her bed while Derpy was thrown to the floor with a shout. Bright greenish-blue lights were thrown in from the window and covered the wall. Vinyl struggled to regain her balance on her hooves as the house finally stopped shaking. She managed to stumble over to the window just as the lights vanished.

"Dear Celestia!" Derpy exclaimed as she shakily climbed to her hooves, "What in Equestria was that?!"

"I don't know..." Vinyl said, peering out the window, "I don't see anything out there anymore. It's pitch black out there."

Derpy moaned fearfully as Vinyl continued to glance out the window. She half-expected something to press its ugly face against the window like in a horror movie, but nothing happened. Vinyl stepped away from the window in confusion; what had been making that noise? Nothing had ever woken her up from her nightmares before. She had to find out what it was.

"Come on," Vinyl said, motioning Derpy to follow her into the darkened hallway, "Let's go check it out."

Derpy stared at Vinyl in shock, "W-what?! Are you crazy? I'm not going out there! Can I just wait in your room and hide under your blankets?"

"Sure," Vinyl smirked, stepping out of her room, "You can wait here... all alone... in the dark..."

Derpy was quick to change her mind and follow Vinyl after that.

Vinyl never noticed how big the house was, and wondered why that was the first thing she noticed under the circumstances. The house was dimly lit by the light of the moon outside, but the world was still just barely visible. Vinyl heard Derpy gasp behind her and whirled around, expecting a monster but instead finding that Derpy had tripped over a chair.

Vinyl quickly realized how peaceful the house seemed in the blinding darkness and earshattering silence. It seemed like a perfect substitute for the porch, but Vinyl preferred the fresh air outside anyway. Derpy was breathing heavily, her eyes darting around in every direction. Watching Derpy's eyes move would have made anypony dizzy. Vinyl led the way, and Derpy closely followed. At one point, the gray pegasus' hoof gripped Vinyl's tail, but Vinyl hardly noticed. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the living room, nor in the kitchen.

"It was nothing, Derpy," Vinyl told a relieved pegasus.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Derpy asked, playing on her last bit of doubt, "Those were some very loud noises..."

"I don't know if anything was here, but it's gone now," Vinyl replied, suddenly feeling tired, "Look, I'll walk with you back to the couch and-"

An earsplitting shriek rang out from the back of the house. Vinyl felt her hair stand on end while Derpy yelped and fell to the floor in a shaking heap. Shiver after shiver ran down Vinyl's back, even as the scream faded and finally ended, leaving hardly an echo in the hallway the bedrooms were in.

"But... we were just in my room..." Vinyl whispered, "How did... Octavia!"

Vinyl leaped over Derpy, who was still cowering on the floor, and galloped to her best friend's room.

"Vinyl, wait!" Derpy cried after her, "Don't leave me!"

Vinyl had gone deaf to the gray pony, and threw herself down the hallway, stumbling into Octavia's room where she froze in terror, eyes staring at the bed. Derpy hurried to catch up to Vinyl, and stopped in the doorway. Vinyl heard her clap a hoof over her mouth.

"Oh my Celestia..." Derpy trailed off.

Octavia was gone, leaving only an empty bed.

Vinyl stared at the vacant bed for a moment as though waiting for Octavia to suddenly reappear in it, and then she slammed the floor with her hoof, making Derpy jump. She grit her teeth, trying to fight back warm, wet tears. A knot tightened in her stomach, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Derpy hesitated, and then put her hoof on Vinyl's shoulder.

"Vinyl... come on..." she said gently, "Let's get out of here... I'm sure Octavia is alright..."

"Who did this...?" Vinyl wondered, fighting to keep her voice even, "Who would do this?"

Derpy started to reply, and then another crack shook the house. Vinyl, insane with rage, threw herself off the ground in a frantic gallop and pushed past Derpy, accidentally knocking her friend to the floor. Vinyl stormed down the hallway and rampaged into the living room, kicking the chair that Derpy had tripped over to the side.

"Where are you?!" Vinyl screamed, "Octavia! Where are you?!"

CRACK!

From outside, there came another rumble that nearly threw Vinyl off her hooves. In addition, a bright green-blue light flashed through the windows. Vinyl stumbled backwards, caught off balance. Either some insanely powerful unicorn was lifting the house up or there was one crazy laser lightshow outside. Derpy hurried into the living room and, upon seeing the unexplained lights, yelped and ducked behind the couch.

"Vinyl! Come on!" Derpy pleaded, "We've got to get out of here!"

"Not without Octavia!"

"Vinyl-!"

Looking out the windowed back door, Vinyl and Derpy witnessed a black-cloaked figure appeared to shoot down from the sky onto the porch from outside as the rumble sounded for the final time and quickly faded. The figure landed on all four hooves, paying no attention to the two ponies inside. Instead, he turned his back to them and gazed off the porch railing, the same gaze that Vinyl herself had once held.

"Oh no!" Derpy cried, "It's the Headless Muffin! Run for your life!"

Derpy leapt out from her hiding spot behind the couch and galloped from the living room before Vinyl had a chance to ask how a bakery product could be headless. After a moment, Vinyl heard the sound of the front door opening followed by the noise of Derpy's panicked hooves fleeing from the house. It seemed that in her panic, the ditzy pony had forgotten to close the door.

Vinyl remained where she was after Derpy had gone, and took a few cautious steps toward the door to the porch. Outside, she could see the figure still unmoving. Vinyl quietly pulled the door open, and flinched when it made a squeaking sound. Still, the figure didn't turn around. Vinyl stepped outside onto the porch, and as she reached to pull the door closed, she realized that her hooves were shaking. In her confusion, Vinyl had overlooked one crucial fact:

She was terrified.

"Quite... assssstonissshing, issssn't it?" the figure spoke in a voice like smoke. Vinyl's heart sank into icy waters as her mind raced for a response.

"Yes?" She finally came up with.

The figure chuckled, the sound like paper caught in a fan, "Thisssss moon... sssstill haunted by the ghosssst of what you poniesssss call Nightmare Moon."

Vinyl could hardly understand the figure when he lingered on his "S" sounds, but still managed to piece together what he said.

"Where's Octavia?" She asked before she could stop herself.

"Your friend was temporarily drawn from this plane of existence," The figure replied in a solid, deep voice. Vinyl was caught off-guard by the sudden change from unmoving snake to cold rock in the figure's voice.

"W-what does that mean?"

The figure turned around to reveal a dark face underneath the black hood. White eyes were visible in the darkness, and they seemed to pierce Vinyl like glass while warming her like sunlight.

"It is not a concern any longer. Your friend was not the one we seek. The issue has been rectified, and she will be returned."

The figure's eyes seemed to glow brighter as Vinyl stared. It suddenly felt very warm, and Vinyl began to sweat.

"She wasn't...?" Vinyl wiped her sweaty forehead off with a hoof, "Who are you seeking?"

"It was quite difficult to determine the one we seek with the mass population of Canterlot," The figure answered, his eyes lighting brighter and brighter, "Fortunately, we eventually determined the identity of the pony."

"W-who is it? Just tell me already!" Vinyl coughed, "Who is the one you seek?"

The figure's eyes burned even brighter, engulfing Vinyl in a blinding white. Vinyl couldn't scream, couldn't gasp, couldn't breathe in the intense heat. She could feel her mane burning, and her skin melting as the figure's gaze increased in power. Just before the heat became overwhelming, Vinyl heard his last words to her.

"You are."

And then the world vanished.

Vinyl blinked her eyes open as the morning sunlight streamed into the house from her open window. Outside, she could hear life in Canterlot continuing as normal. Vinyl sat up in her bed, and realized that her pillow was dripping with sweat. Vinyl looked around the room, thinking back to what had happened the previous night. What had happened to the figure? Derpy had fled, but what about-

"Octavia," Vinyl breathed, climbing out of her bed. Vinyl hurried out of her room and looked into Octavia's bedroom. Her heart sank and her eyes welled up when she saw the bed was empty.

Vinyl staggered into the living room, determined to sit on the porch until that figure came back, and froze when she saw Octavia in the kitchen, humming to herself as she brewed a cup of coffee to go with her donut. Octavia turned around to see Vinyl staring at her in complete bewilderment, and smiled.

"Good morning, Vinyl!" Octavia cheerfully greeted her friend, "I think Derpy must have left really early this morning. Must be because of her mail run... are you okay? You're so pale... Vinyl, you look like you've seen a ghost. Vinyl? Vinyl?"