//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: When She Smiled, Angels Sang Up Above // Story: My Little DJ: Scootaloo's Melody // by iDash //------------------------------// My Little DJ: Scootaloo’s Melody Chapter 4: When She Smiled, Angels Sang Up Above By iDash “They say when you are missing someone that they are probably feeling the same, but I don't think it's possible for you to miss me as much as I'm missing you right now.” -Edna St. Vincent Millay Clip clop. Clip clop. Clip clop. Scootaloo’s hoofsteps echoed as they sounded on the cobblestone of a street she was walking along. She didn’t even know why she was out there. She had left Rainbow Dash’s cloud home earlier that day in order to empty her mind so she could think clearly. Though, it didn’t seem to be helping that much as her head buzzed and her thoughts still clouded. It was late afternoon and the ponies that weren’t at home having dinner were still roaming the streets and going about their business. Some who passed her waved or greeted her, but she paid no attention to any of them. She was just so confused. ‘Let the music carry on… let it carry on…’ she thought. How could she, though? Vinyl had been the only reason that she even had music… and now she was gone. The thought of making another song seemed hopeless. ‘Do it for her.’ The words echoed throughout her troubled mind. Of course Scootaloo would’ve done anything for Vinyl. Yet, she didn’t know if she could do this. Any attempt at calming her mind was being denied by these troubling and prevalent thoughts, and flashbacks of the recent nightmares she had been having didn’t do her much good either. Scootaloo vigorously shook her head in another attempt to try and clear it as she walked and let out a frustrated groan. “Hey, Scootaloo,” a familiar voice said to the mare. Scootaloo turned around to see Berry Punch standing a few feet away from her and smiling, her moderate cerise mane falling to one side as it clashed with the pale mulberry of her coat. Her cutie mark shown as a grouping of grapes lying next to a ripe strawberry. Berry strode over to Scootaloo and as she did, her smile began to fade. When she reached the orange mare, she flicked her head a little to the side, motioning for Scootaloo to walk with her. They walked side by side for a moment in silence until Berry spoke up. “So,” she said. “Are you okay?” Scootaloo paused then shook her head with a sigh. “Not really,” she replied. “I’m just… I’m trying to get my head clear, but there’s just a lot on my mind right now ‘cause… well, you know.” Berry nodded her head, an understanding look on her face. Scootaloo looked to the mare next to her. She remembered how they had gotten to know each other. Berry had clubbed with Vinyl on several occasions. If one of them was at a party, then chances were that the other was there as well. Scootaloo had gone to a few parties with the mulberry mare, eventually becoming good friends with her. The orange mare often found it odd how most ponies pegged Berry as a drunkard even though she was sober most of the time and only drunk on occasion. It’s just that when she was drunk… well, you could say she partied harder than Vinyl and Pinkie Pie combined. “So what’s on your mind?” Berry asked with a friendly concerned expression. Scootaloo shook her head and simultaneously lowered it towards the ground. “…I’ve just been trying to sort some things out.” She sighed. “I just… don’t know what to do anymore.” Berry nodded once more before turning and giving the orange mare a small smile. “I think I know something that can help,” she said. She turned and with a flick of her head, she motioned for Scootaloo to follow her. Although a little hesitant at first, Scootaloo was a little curious as to what the cerise maned earth pony had in mind, and decided to follow. The Equestrian Keg. That was the name of the bar that the two mares stood in front of. The familiar structure stared back at Scootaloo as she examined it. It was made almost entirely out of brick, only a few windows lining the building. A wooden sign with the bar’s name hung above the door. It really didn’t look like much, but both mares were fond of that place anyways. It had been Vinyl’s favorite drinkery as well. Scootaloo and Berry walked in after pushing open the wooden door as it creaked. A musty stench hit their noses as they went further in. Scootaloo observed that it wasn’t too busy, just a few ponies were sitting at tables around the small inside of the building, while one or two others sat at the bar. It was dimly lit and relatively quiet. Only a couple of ponies cast the two a cursory glance when they walked in before turning back to whatever they were doing. “Come on,” Berry said, still smiling to Scootaloo. The older mare led her over to the bar, their hooves clip-clopping on the wooden surface of the floor. As they sat down on the stools, Berry tapped her hoof on the bar table, signaling the bartender over, whom Scootaloo recognized immediately. He was a friend of Scootaloo’s that she had met through Vinyl and Berry. The old stallion’s name was Full Pint. Well, he wasn’t too old, but at least a decade older than Vinyl or Berry. He was medium gray with a dark black mane, a scruffy mustache having made its home on his muzzle and covering most of his mouth and chin. Scootaloo remembered how he had owned the bar and acted as the bartender for quite a few years. He sauntered over to their side of the bar, the look his brown eyes resting on Berry. “Hey, Full Pint,” she said with a smile. He nodded and smiled at her… at least from what Scootaloo could tell, that is. He then turned his gaze to the orange mare and his expression visibly fell slightly. The stallion cleared his throat as he addressed her. “Hello, Scootaloo. How’ve ya been?” he said in a gravelly voice. He wore the same worried expression that Berry had had previously. Scootaloo managed to give a small, thankful smile and slowly shook her head. “Not too good, Pint.” Full Pint nodded and gave her a knowing look. Berry piped in, “Scootaloo’s… well, she’s got a lot of things on her mind, and she’s been trying to clear her head. Think you could help out?” Full Pint looked at Berry, then to Scootaloo and then smiled again. “Ah think Ah might have somethin’” The old stallion walked away for a moment and grabbed a glass, some ice and a few other things to start mixing a drink. While he was doing that, Berry turned and spoke with Scootaloo. “So, why are you trying to clear your mind, Scootaloo?” Scootaloo sighed and looked down to the bar table before explaining her recent troubles. She told her about what Luna said and how it kept making her more and more uncertain. She told her about what Octavia had said as well, and the music festival in Canterlot, about how she wasn’t sure if she could do it. Scootaloo gave a relieved sigh after explaining herself; it felt good to let it all out. Berry nodded in understanding. The mulberry mare was about to say something when Full Pint appeared in front of Scootaloo with a drink. “Here ya go, Filly,” He said as he pushed the drink in front of her at the table. He had always called her by that name, even though she didn’t know why, so she was used to it. Scootaloo looked up at the stallion with a raised brow. “Um… sorry, but I don’t have the bits for this-” Full Pint interrupted her by raising his hoof in front of her as he shook his head. “Don’t ya worry ‘bout it, Scootaloo. It’s on the house.” Scootaloo paused for a moment before giving a grateful smile. “Thanks,” she said in a quieter voice. She looked down at the drink. Full Pint had made her favorite. It was in a simple glass cup, a swirled plastic straw as well as a small decorative umbrella had been put into the drink. The drink itself was colored an icy, pale blue. The small, crushed ice of the chilled drink made it resemble a shake. Its enticing scent wafted to Scootaloo’s nose, a mixture of various sweet fruits. She leaned in to take her first sip from the straw. The drink was delicious, all of the flavorful fruits masking the taste of the alcohol that resided in the beverage. As she drank, she smiled inwardly to herself. ‘This takes me back.’ ~ _ * _ * _ ~ “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Everypony shouted in celebration. They were all gathered inside the normally musty bar, the Equestrian Keg. However, someponies had taken it upon themselves to clean it up for this special occasion. The bar was brighter than usual as well. Banners, streamers and balloons lined the walls, courtesy of a certain pink party mare. Vinyl Scratch had asked the owner of the drinkery, and her close friend, Full Pint, if he would reserve the bar for that day, which he gladly did. Everypony stood in a group surrounding the birthday mare as she laughed in celebration with all of her friends. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were definitely there. Her other friends, like Twist and Pip, were off enjoying the party with the other ponies. Rainbow Dash had made sure she was there, and so had Scootaloo’s mom, Vinyl. A few of Vinyl’s friends were there as well, including Octavia, Lyra, Bon Bon and a few others. “Thanks, guys!” Scootaloo exclaimed with a wide grin on her face. She was sitting on a stool at the bar table, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom sitting on either side of her. “Hey, Scoot! We got a surprise for ya!” Scootaloo looked over and found the source of the voice to be a certain cyan pegasus that she knew. Rainbow Dash was making her way towards her. Beside the polychromatic mare was Scootaloo’s mother. Rainbow and Vinyl stopped in front of Scootaloo and Rainbow spoke. “Vinyl and I were just thinking, and we thought that since you’re 18 and you’re finally of age, it’s time for you to have your first real drink.” She stood up on her hind legs and gestured with both of her hooves to the rest of the room. “Hence, why we brought you to a bar,” she said with a smirk. Scootaloo tilted her head with a confused look on her face. “Like… you mean alcohol?” Vinyl chuckled as she stood up on her hind legs and slung a hoof around Scootaloo’s shoulder. “Well, duh!” she exclaimed with a grin. She turned to the side to face another pony as she shouted, “Hey Full Pint! Bring ‘er over!” A gray stallion on the other end of the bar smiled. His black mane was slicked back. His cutie mark portrayed a foaming mug. “You got it!” he said. He grabbed a drink that he had already prepared and slid it across the long table as he walked. He slid it over in front of Scootaloo. “And here’s fer the birthday mare.” Scootaloo looked down at the pale blue and chilled beverage. She had to admit, it smelled good, like all of her favorite fruits put together into a tangy mixture along with the trace scent of alcohol. “It’s called the Lunar Solstice. Personal special of mine,” Full Pint said. She looked to Vinyl and Rainbow with a slightly unsure expression. Rainbow held an excited grin as she vigorously nodded and motioned for Scootaloo to drink it. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom buzzed with enthusiasm beside her. “C’mon, Scoot! You can do it,” Applebloom said. “Come on, time to pony up! Just skip the straw and down it,” she said in her excitement. Scootaloo nodded and looked back to the drink, taking in a deep breath in anticipation. She took out the straw and readied herself, determined to have her first ‘real’ drink. ‘Okay, ready,’ she thought to herself. ‘1…’ ‘2…’ ‘3!’ Scootaloo grasped the drink with both hooves and quickly brought it to her mouth. She took her first big gulp of the beverage and a shiver ran through her spine. She was surprised by both the taste of it and how smoothly it went down. “Woohoo! That’s my girl!” Vinyl exclaimed as she threw her hooves up. Several other ponies cheered with fervor behind Scootaloo, clopping their hooves on the ground in congratulations for the orange mare. Rainbow came up behind her and patted her on the back. “Yeah! Way to go, Scoot.” “Congrats, Scootaloo.” Berry Punch spoke from her position a couple stools away. She smiled at the birthday mare before turning to the bartender with a playful pouting face. “Hey, Full Pint! How come I don’t get a drink?” Full Pint smirked at the mulberry mare. “Because I know you when you get drunk, Berry, and I don’t really want my bar to burn down.” Berry wore an expression of feigned offense. “That was only once! I paid for the damages and said I was sorry like a thousand times.” All of the ponies laughed as they listened to Berry try to argue with Full Pint. Berry joined in the laughing as well despite her recent restriction from anything alcoholic. They laughed like that through the entire night, simply enjoying themselves as if nothing was wrong or ever would be. It was one of the best days of the young orange mare’s life. Later that night, a friend of Rainbow’s took a picture of Rainbow, Scootaloo, and her mom, capturing the joy of that night forever. ~ _ * _ * _ ~ Scootaloo gave a small smile as she stopped drinking and lifted her head, half of the drink still remaining. “Takes you back, doesn’t it?” Berry Punch said. Scootaloo looked at her with a slightly bewildered look as if the mare had read her mind. She quickly dismissed the silly thought, though, as she nodded and gave her friend a smile. “Yeah, it does.” Berry looked over the orange mare as if examining her for something. It was a moment before she spoke again, and what she said intrigued Scootaloo. “I think I know how to solve your problem, Scootaloo.” Scootaloo gave an interested look. “You do? How?” Berry gave a wider smile this time as she spoke. “You just have to smile.” Scootaloo cocked her head and furrowed her brow as she heard this. “What do you mean, ‘smile’? It’s not exactly easy for me to just smile right now.” Berry nodded as she turned her gaze down towards the table as if she were deep in thought. She hesitated a moment before she said anything again. “You know, Scootaloo, the other day after the funeral, I cried. I just went home, laid down, and cried my eyes out.” Berry took a deep breath before turning to Scootaloo and continuing. “But then the next day, I was going through my house and I saw this old picture that somepony took of me and Vinyl at a party. It was the first time I’d gotten drunk. I remembered how much fun she and I had had that night and I… I laughed. “It still stung to remember her, and of course it still does, but I still somehow managed to smile. After that, I sat down a brought out a few more pictures. I started to remember all of the fun Vinyl and I used to have, all of the good times we had… and the more I remembered, the more I was able to smile.” Scootaloo responded with a nod or the occasional ‘mmhm’ as she listened to every word of Berry’s story. “It still hurt, but I was able to smile and laugh. Despite the sadness, I still felt a little happy, like Vinyl was still there with me.” She paused for a moment and looked down. She quickly looked back up and into Scootaloo’s eyes and talked again. “What I’m trying to say is… even though she’s… dead, she could still make me smile as if nothing happened. So, it was like she was never gone.” Scootaloo nodded in understanding. “So, I just remember all of the good times we laughed together?” “That’s right,” Berry smiled. She put a hoof to her chin as she thought to herself. “Ah, I know,” She declared. “How about that time where Celestia asked you and Vinyl to play at the Grand Galloping Gala?” The corners of Scootaloo’s mouth curved into a small smile as she stirred the drink in front of her in thoughtfulness. “Yeah, I remember that. We managed to scare all of the fancy pants ponies away.” Scootaloo chuckled a little. “I think Celestia was actually happy that we did that.” Full Pint, who had been listening to their conversation, snickered a little from the other side of the table and joined in. “How ‘bout that time you and Vinyl tried testin’ out the bass cannon and it ended up takin’ out part of Octavia’s house?” Scootaloo chuckled as she gave a sheepish smile. “Heh, that was the first time I ever heard Vinyl’s full name used.” She recalled hearing Octavia furiously yell, ‘Vinyl Symphonia Scratch!’ after seeing the destruction done to her house. “Vinyl and I literally ran for our lives until we promised that we’d fix her place.” Berry giggled beside her. “I bet that was scary, huh?” Scootaloo nodded as she leaned in to take another drink. “Oh, and that time that you and Rainbow pranked her by putting her bed on top of a cloud.” Scootaloo actually laughed at this one. “Hahaha. The look on her face was amazing.” Laughing… It felt good to laugh. It had been quite a while since the last time she did. She felt the all too familiar bitter sadness, but she was still able to smile through the sadness. It was odd to her when she first felt it, but in the midst of the pain and the sorrow, there was happiness, and that happiness meant so much more than anything else. “Ya know what?” Full Pint said in his gravelly voice. “Ah don’t think Ah have one bad memory of Vinyl.” Berry grinned, “You mean except the one where she broke all of the windows with her bass when you let her play here?” Scootaloo giggled at this along with Berry, as Full Pint let out his gruff chortle. They laughed like that together for a few more moments. “So,” Berry spoke up. “Did that help you any, Scootaloo?” Scootaloo thought for a minute to herself. It had actually helped her, feeling as if a little weight had been removed from her shoulders. Her mind was much clearer now, letting her think things through in a better way. She nodded and smiled to the mulberry mare. “Yeah, it did.” She stood confidently from the barstool she was previously positioned on and turned to face her two friends. “Thanks so much for this, Berry, and you too, Pint. I… I think I know what I’m going to do now.” “Any time, Filly,” Full Pint said, chuckling under his mustache. Berry beamed at her with a soft, warm expression. “That’s the Scootaloo I know.” Berry stood up as well so that she was beside the orange mare, then wrapped a hoof around her shoulders and drew her in for a friendly and warm hug. As she drew back, she looked into Scootaloo’s eyes with the same friendly expression. “You do what you have to do; we’ll always be here.” It felt as if another weight had been relieved when Berry said that. “Thank you,” Scootaloo said, nodding to both of them one more time before turning and leaving the musty bar and entering the fresh air outside. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The mare unfurled her wings, flexing them for a minute then spreading them to their full length and letting the breeze flow through them. She thrust them down as she took off into the air, flapping them as she headed for her destination. She knew now what she was going to do, but there something else that she had to do as well, someone she had to visit again. FWUMP! The familiar muffled sound came to Scootaloo’s ears as she landed on the small front porch consisting of clouds. This time, however, she did not immediately enter the home, choosing to wait outside and gather her thoughts instead. Through these hard times, she’d felt so alone. She’d felt like nothing could help her, like everything was lost and there was hope of ever getting it back. But she wasn’t alone. She’d had so many friends to help her, so that she’d never be alone. She’d had ponies help her, reassure her, encourage her. Everypony had been there for her. But right then, inside that cloud house, there was a certain cyan mare that no one was there for. Of course, the mare had her closest friends, the other elements of harmony, but for the past couple of days, and Scootaloo knew this, she had locked herself away, almost never opening up to anypony. It was because none of them understood what she was going through, what she was feeling. And so, she was alone. That was going to change right then, however. Scootaloo lifted her head and pushed the white cloud door open, revealing the inside. Walking in and closing the door shut, she began down the hallway. As she walked with quiet hoofsteps, she looked for the mare in the rooms adjacent to the hallway. Her ears stood up as she listened intently for any sound. And then she heard it, the soft, steady breathing of a pony that lay peacefully asleep. Scootaloo took a few steps further until the source was in sight. Rainbow Dash laid on the couch, curled into a little ball. Her mane was a mess since she hadn’t bothered to care for it the past few days, more so than usual at least. The area around her eyes was a irritated red and the fur on her face was slightly damp and matted with dried tears. Scootaloo thought as she looked to the sleeping mare. Rainbow had just lost one of her best friends. She must have been hurting so much, but, despite all of that, she had chosen to hold her tears back, chosen to stay strong, all for the sake of Scootaloo. The thought saddened the orange mare. Silently, Scootaloo approached the couch where the other mare now reposed. She noticed one of her ears flick as she came closer. As Scootaloo reached her destination, she sat down next to Rainbow on the plush cushions. Rainbow felt the couch shift and her eyes shot open. She quickly lifted her head and looked around the room, her eyes darting back and forth until there sight rested on Scootaloo. She stuttered in her astonishment, “Huh? Oh- um, Scootaloo it-” She stopped suddenly. The cyan mare had been interrupted by Scootaloo, who had leaned in and put her arms around Rainbow, unexpectedly pulling her in close to a hug. Rainbow was stunned by the sudden embrace and struggled for words, “Wha-? Uh…- Scootaloo, I-” She was cut off once again as made a soft ‘hushing’ noise, as if she were quieting a distraught child, then she spoke in a gentle voice. “Thank you, Rainbow, thank you so much for being there for me. If it weren’t for you… I don’t know what I’d do. You stayed strong so that I wouldn’t have to, so that I could let everything out. I know you’ve been holding it in, and I know how much it must hurt. So now it’s your turn, Rainbow. This time, I’ll be here for you, so that you can let everything go.” Rainbow was silent. Her vision had begun to blur as her eyes filled with tears that she attempted to struggle against. “Scootaloo…” her voice cracked as she said this. Scootaloo tightened the embrace, her chin resting on the mare’s head as she hugged her. “It’s going to be alright, Rainbow Dash.” That was all that was needed to break the dam that held back Rainbow’s tears. She blinked through tear after tear until she gradually broke down into a sob. She buried herself into her friend’s embrace, her body heaving as she cried. Wailing into the mare holding her, Rainbow held back none of her sorrow and instead allowed it to finally flow freely. Scootaloo continued to hold her friend close, running a hoof softly through her disheveled mane as she did her best to comfort her. Rainbow Dash continued to cry, every tear she shed relieving a bit of the pain that she had kept locked away. The two mares stayed as such for what seemed like hours, even though it probably wasn’t nearly that long. Eventually, Rainbow cries subsided until all that was left were a few stray tears that found their way out as she sniffled and wiped her eyes. Without moving to lift her head up or release herself from the hug, she muttered into her friend’s now tear stained coat. “Thank you… for being here for me this time, Scootaloo,” she said quietly. Scootaloo smiled, even though she knew it wasn’t visible to the other mare. “I’m your friend and I’ll always be here with you, Rainbow, so you know you’re not alone.” The door swung open with a gentle creaking noise as Scootaloo pushed it open and stepped inside. The carpet underneath her hooves wasn’t as soft as a cloud, but it was much of an improvement over the hard ground that she had walked on most of that day. Scootaloo sighed as she stepped into her house. She pulled the door closed and the mechanism clicked as it shut. She began walking through the house and past the living room, her feet dragging on the floor due to her exhaustion. Needless to say, it had been a long day for her. She reached the stairs and was about to start on her way up when a sudden realization came to her mind. Her room was still trashed and she’d probably have to clean up if she wanted to sleep in it tonight. “Bah,” she muttered to herself as she turned back around. She would’ve slept in the guest bedroom, but sadly, that used to be the guest bedroom. It didn’t really matter, though, seeing as she was just too tired to care. Scootaloo decided that she would just settle for the couch tonight. She made her way to a closet in the downstairs hallway. The mare opened it then pulled out a spare blanket that resided inside of it and sauntered over to the couch, not bothering to close the closet door. With her teeth, Scootaloo grabbed one of the couch pillows that lied on the floor beside the enticing sofa and flung the pillow on top of it. She then unceremoniously flung herself onto the couch and in one swift motion, unfurled the folded blanket so that it lay on top of her. She squirmed around and shifted her wings, trying to find a comfortable position. Once she finally did, Scootaloo let out a pleasant sigh of relief. It didn’t take too long for the tendrils of sleep to wrap around her once more. She gladly welcomed them, knowing that starting the next day she would have a lot of work to do to ready for the Equestria Music Festival. ~ _ * _ * _ ~ Scootaloo groaned as she found herself in the haunting stadium once more, not at all eager to experience one of her subconscious’s twisted attempts at torturing her again. She checked behind her to make sure that no phantom-friends would appear just to desert her. Even though it was a dream, it hurt too much for her to want to go through it again. She looked back to the crowd that never stopped dancing in the everlasting silence. Scootaloo didn’t even bother to touch the turntables or the set as she knew they wouldn’t do anything. Lights that Scootaloo hadn’t noticed before flickered throughout the space, letting the ponies dance with the varying colors and strobe lights. She closed her eyes and felt the steady beat of the bass, pumping like her heartbeat as it shook everything in the stadium. She let out an angered sigh, huffing as she stomped her hoof on the ground. Scootaloo opened her eyes to the crowd, and then her heart skipped a beat at what she saw. She stood there, her back facing Scootaloo just like all the other ponies. The mare had the same color, the same hair, the same cutie mark. Everything about her was exactly the same. ‘Mom…’ Scootaloo thought. She stared at the alabaster mare taking in every feature in disbelief. And then ‘Vinyl’ took a step forward and Scootaloo’s heart dropped. It was just like the last dream. ‘Vinyl continued until she was merging into the raving crowd of ponies. ‘No!’ Scootaloo thought. Without hesitation, she jumped over the set and off of the stadium. ‘I’m not going to lose you. Not again.’ Scootaloo ran as fast as she could. She was approaching the crowd as she saw Vinyl be completely swallowed up by it, prompting her to move faster. She finally reached the crowd and, without thinking, plunged straight in. It was difficult having to push past all of the ponies that kept bumping against her, but she continued forward. The mare turned her head to get a better look at one of them, but jumped back and gasped in fright soon after. The… thing, whatever it was, had a blank face, or rather, it had no face. She looked around and realized that they were all like that. She shook her head, though, determined to reach her goal still. She cast her glance around until she finally spied a flash of electric blue that only could’ve been her mother’s tail. Scootaloo started forward again, forcing her way past the ‘ponies’ and following the alabaster mare in front of her. She continued to move, faster and faster, but it seemed no matter how much she struggled, it was all in vain. She was never able to gain so much as an inch in progress and she just continued to chase the wisp of blue further into the crowd. That’s when she saw it. Her mother was… ‘Vinyl’ was… fading. It seemed like just a trick of the eye at first, but it quickly became undeniable. ‘Vinyl’ was barely transparent now, and seemed to be disappearing even faster. ‘She’s… fading,’ Scootaloo thought. ‘No… no… NO!’ “Mom!” she shouted, but ‘Vinyl’ gave no response. The pale mare continued to dissolve as if the strobe lights that fell upon them were causing her to break away bit by bit. “No, stop!” Scootaloo’s voice became more and more urgent, cracking when she shouted out. She watched as ‘Vinyl’ began to glow as she was covered by something. ‘Gold?’ Scootaloo wondered. The gold substance continued to cover her body. No… it wasn’t covering it. She was becoming the strange substance. Part of it broke away and was blown off by some non-existent wind until it disappeared. Scootaloo watched in horror as the rest of ‘Vinyl’s’ body did so as well. First it was her tail then her hind legs. “No, no, no!” Scootaloo continued to fight against the seemingly rougher crowd. The wind gradually began to blow away the rest, causing her cutie mark to disappear, then her center and her barrel. It continued until it reached her front hooves and her neck. “No! Please, don’t go!” Scootaloo shouted again in desperation. The wisp of wind didn’t stop and moved onto her mane and, finally, her head. “Stop!” The wind, merciless and unforgiving, blew away the last of the gold-like dust and it floated away until it vanished. In that single, devastating instant, ‘Vinyl’ was no more. “NO!” Scootaloo screamed reaching a hoof out the catch the gold dust that effortlessly flowed away from her. She collapsed to the ground, holding her head in her hooves as the crowd of ‘ponies’ oddly created a small clearing for her and no longer bumped into her. She shook her head in denial. No matter how hard she had tried, she couldn’t catch her… she still couldn’t save her. Tears of anguish began to form in her eyes as she crumpled into a small ball on the floor, still holding her head in her hooves. “No…” she muttered. “…Not again.” --- A/N: Not going to lie, this chapter gave me a little trouble. Tried to add some variety with a few happy memories, but… I uh, don’t think I did an exceptional job. Anyways a little feedback or maybe some advice might help out.