And it Hits You Like a Train
“Ungh… what time is it?”
Vinyl Scratch raised her head off of the mixing table she fell asleep on. She took off her glasses and squinted to see her cracked clock.
“It’s… already nine o’ clock! Crapcrapcrap…!”
She looked around the trashed room, the lights smashed, punch splattered everywhere.
“Uhh… I have to clean this later! Gotta go gotta go!”
She bolted off her comfy chair over to her bathroom, sprayed on deodorant, and shook her mane a little. She looked at herself in the mirror, deemed her look fine, and galloped out her front door. The dusty white snow flittered gently down on the path towards the local club, making the white DJ’s mane and iconic glasses the only thing standing out. Vinyl shuddered and shook off some of the accumulating snow on her back, making her look like a wild dog. She was wild, of course, but not a dog.
The breeze picked up, reminding the DJ that she forgot a jacket. Vinyl smiled, knowing she was one of the only ponies who could forget a jacket in winter, especially in a town like Canterlot. It’s high up, after all.
She entered her club, new mixes already playing in her head and the keys jangling in her magic grasp.
*beep* beep* beep* beep*bee-click*
*yawn*
“What a beautiful morning!”
Octavia looked outside at the break of a wintery dawn, the pink clouds reminding her of taffy. She rolled out of bed with graceful speed, and a quick look at her bedside clock.
6:30
“Mhm. On time as usual Octavia!”
The mare ate a small breakfast in the silence of early morning, only the sound of a fork scraping across a ceramic filling up the quaint house. Octavia took a nice, hot, relaxing shower and brushed her teeth. She prepared for the rest of the day in other ways as well, such as polishing her cello. She hung her specially made saddlebag around her shoulders, the heavy instrument making her grunt with effort. The cellist walked out her door, the snow falling immediately catching her off guard. She blinked, sighed, and went inside to retrieve a coat. Canterlot was known for its bitter winters, but only minutes later, Octavia made her way down to her orchestra’s practice hall. A classic piece played in her head.
“Thanksh again fer… servin’ at the bar… *hiccup*”
Vinyl Scratch stumbled out of the club, the darkness of the deep night not helping her already warped orientation. The temporary bartender gave the white pony a look, but nonetheless trotted away. Vinyl walked around, not really sure of her location. She ended up falling into a fountain, the cool water somewhat sobering her up. In the moment of clarity the DJ faltered.
Is this really… my life now? Stumbling drunk, waking up to a trashed room everyday… is this really what I want? I never have anytime to myself… Sometimes I just…
Vinyl saw a light streak out in the distant sky.
… wish it were different.
Octavia slowly walked out of the big auditorium. She stopped for a moment to rub her eyes, sleepiness almost taking over. The weight on her back made her want to collapse. She looked at the numerous ponies walking out in front of her, hardly any interaction between them. They only played together, nothing more. Only a few ponies really knew each other outside of the daily practices. The musician sighed as she walked onward, towards her home, knowing she was just one in many.
It was a normal winter night, she noticed. The town plaza was deserted at the time of night…
Hm?
Octavia halted in her tracks. She saw a pony passed out, or what looked like passed out, on the rim of the central fountain. She didn’t know Canterlot that well. She had just moved there after Trottingham became too rogue for her. The cellist walked up to the figure, not expecting it to be the most famous DJ in Equestria laying there. Octavia hesitated, not sure what to expect.
“Are you alright?”
The DJ jumped up into a random, sloppy, fighting stance.
“I’ll lesh you know thasch I’m a trained ninja!”
Octavia raised an eyebrow.
“You should get home. It’s late.”
The white mare dropped the stance, landing with a thump.
“Oh.. okay…”
The tan mare was already walking off. The gas lights around the city gave a depressing atmosphere, the shadows like broken dreams being strewn everywhere, all fading into darkness at some point. Octavia thought about her life.
Is this really… my life now? The same ol’ routine, no real change… is this really what I want? I don’t ever really have obligations… sometimes I just…
Octavia saw a distant white pony fall over.
… wish it were different.
A lonely poster drifts on the breeze. It advertises the big event coming three months in the future:
“The Grand Galloping Gala”
Ironically, another poster also floats by; however it advertises another event, set the same day.
“The Grand Rave Event ft. DJ-PON3”
The sands of time flow…
The moon is high in the sky. A slight summer’s breeze rustles the giant tree, somewhat moving it and its inhabitants.
“Hmm… these test results are inconclusive… however, they provide data so I can test again with more yielding results!”
Twilight Sparkle began safely putting up her testing materials, the testing less than successful that time around. She was nearly closed up for the night, but not quite. The purple mare blew out all the candles, making the library almost completely dark.
Twilight slowly crept upon a small basket containing her personal assistant and adopted little brother, Spike. She had one more test to perform. It was supposed to put one in another’s dreams. Twilight bit her lip as she concentrated on the spell.
Suddenly, Owlicious flew in, startling Twilight and causing her to lose focus and the spell to go haywire.
“No-!”
A beam shot out Twilight’s horn, bouncing off the walls a few times before flying out the window, off into the distance until it couldn’t be seen.
Twilight paused, and then looked to Owlicious.
“Why did you do that?!”
“Who?”
The owl cooed, seeming to wear a smile.
*beep* beep* beep* beep* bee-SMASH*
“Ugh… how the hay did I even remember to turn on the alarm clock…?”
The mare rolled off the nicely made up bed, feeling extremely drowsy. The early dawn light poured in from a small window, causing her to blink.
“Wait… it’s dawn?!”
She looked to the alarm clock.
6:30.
“What the…?!”
She ran through the unfamiliar house, frantically bumping into walls and furniture until she found the bathroom. What she saw in the mirror made her gasp. “Dear sweet Celestia!”
“Ugh… I have an awful headache…”
The mare lifted her throbbing head off a drool-stained table. She cracked open her eyes to room around her; messy, dirty, and generally unclean.
“…huh?”
The pony looked around the room finding it not to be her own. Her eyes widened and, shaking, she looked down at her white hooves. The sight was mortifying.
“Mother…”
“I’M SOMEPONY ELSE!”