//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Remix // by Ghost Cobbraaa //------------------------------// Vinyl stared down into the casket. She knew the purple pony too well. For some reason, she shed no tears. She just stared somberly at the pony that was now peacefully at rest. The funeral was filled with only friends of the dead; however, just outside the gates of the graveyard literally thousands of fans were mourning the loss of the pop culture icon. The funeral was being sponsored, conducted, and accompanied by the Apple Family. About fifty mobsters were there for the event. All the biggest names were there: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Big Macintosh, and Braeburn, to name a few of the biggest names. Even so, most looked disinterested in the procession and acted as if they were ordered to be there, which they probably were. This came as no surprise to Vinyl, because the now dead stallion had not only been signed onto the Sweet Apple record label, but was also in many very tight and shady deals with the Family, all the way up to Granny Smith herself. Granny Smith herself was nowhere to be seen. Deadpon3y was a character. Vinyl knew the stallion by his real name, Live Mouse. Vinyl felt so grateful at that moment to have known him, not just as the music artist, but as a pony. She had known him since long before he was the legend of dubstep that he was today, back when he was doing shows at the local nightclub. Live Mouse had taught Vinyl Scratch everything she knew about music, and it was no secret. Many of the tabloid magazines would often create false rumors about a relationship between the two. She silenced these by becoming open about her sexuality. Later on, the two had done quite a bit of collaborative work together. Sometimes the CD's would read "Deadpon3y, featuring Vinyl Scratch", or they would reverse the names, but most of the time they went under the name of "D2". Luck had hit Live Mouse. He simply was always at the right place at the right time, so he became a big name long before Vinyl did. In fact, it wasn't until the “D2” albums were released that Vinyl Scratch became a household name. But the thing that Vinyl loved most was all the long talks and the simple hanging out they did. She had learned early on that Deadpon3y was just a character played by Live Mouse. The memories stung her. She opened her eyes, only to see the pony that she had so many distant and joyful memories, dead. As the tears welled up, she smiled. She smiled because she had no regrets. She was glad for all she had gone through with Live Mouse, and she would go back and do it all again. She was glad that the purple pony in front of her died knowing that he had friends that loved him. And she was honored to be one of those friends. No regrets. Her eyes closed and her face cringed as she began to cry. They weren't tears of sorrow, however. They were tears of gratitude. Grateful for all she had been through with Live Mouse. The white pony felt a hoof on her back. She opened her eyes and turned around only to find that she was staring deep into Octavia's vibrant purple eyes. A look of understanding, as well as an encouraging and genial grin, greeted Vinyl. "It's okay. He was a good pony, and he is now at peace." Octavia's genial voice almost sang with the flow of the wind. "Ya know," Vinyl began with a sigh, "he was a damn good pony. I loved him. As a friend, I mean. And.... Shouldn't we be having a party?" Vinyl grinned softly. Octavia seemed appalled by the suggestion. She recoiled after hearing Vinyl's words. "W-what? That just disgusting! Of all the morbid and dark jokes I have ever heard in-" "No. I don't mean it like that. What I mean is..." another sigh. "Well, every year you have a birthday party to celebrate the past year of your life. Well, a funeral is much bigger then a birthday party cuz it's a party to celebrate your whole life. When I die, I don't want people mourning my loss; I want them celebrating the legacy I left behind. This whole 'mourning' thing seems wrong to me. We should give thanks to the dead for the life that they left behind and reminisce on how they touched our lives, not obsess about letting go or saying goodbye or nothen' like that. It should be about the life they had, not the departure. So don't you think that a celebration is better?" A brief uncomfortable silence passed. Vinyl looked at Octavia with an unsure face, while the gray mare looked around at the ground. Vinyl finally broke the silence with: "I dunno, it makes no sense but-" "No. No, it makes perfect sense. I know what you're trying to articulate and I... I never thought about that. And, well, when I die, I think I would much rather have the ones I love celebrate my life too, instead of mourning my loss." Vinyl smiled. She just stared into the piercing purple eyes of the mare in front of her, admiring every bit of her as she stared back with fondness in her eye. Just then, something caught Vinyl's eye. What the fuck? On a top of a hill stood one of the Apple Family members, a green earth pony with a pair of sunglasses on. Just behind the stallion, there was some sort of shadow. What was that? It was..... Mare-Do-Well? A pony dressed as Mare-Do-Well? Vinyl strained her eyes to see, only to recoil at the sudden observation. The pony dressed in the Mare-Do-Well costume was in possession of an Equestrian made AK-47 assault rifle. Oh shit. This ain't gonna end well. Vinyl looked in shock and horror, ignoring Octavia's questions as to what she was looking at. She froze. The Mare-do-Well pony brought the rifle up so that it was inches from the green stallions head. A single crack filled the air. Vinyl had always imagined that a pony getting their head shot would be something like a small hole and a splat of blood. Instead, as soon as the crack rang through the air, a thick cloud of crimson engulfed the green stallion's head, as if the blood were a gas instead of a liquid, before the pony hit the ground. Mare-Do-Well quickly ran to cover behind a tree. Other mobsters pulled out pistols and began to shoot at the assassin. Within seconds of the green stallion's death, the air was filled with a mixture of the cracks and pops of guns and the screaming of ponies who were in the crowd of the thousands of fans outside of the cemetery gate. Vinyl looked back at Octavia, who was in a state of frozen shock. She grabbed Octavia by the hoof and yanked hard. "Come on, we gotta get the fuck outa' here!" she screamed in urgency. Vinyl practically had to drag her out of that state of shock and bring her to cover behind a carriage. She looked at Octavia's eyes and saw nothing but fear in the purple irises. She looked to her right and saw that their cover was being shared with an orange 'Family member'. The orange mare tipped her hat and winked at Vinyl before loading a few more rounds into her revolver, peeking over the side of the cart, and discharging a few bullets in the direction of the Mare-Do-Well. Three more ponies, all armed with assault rifles, came to lend assistance to Mare-Do-Well. One had a bandana over his mouth with a pair of sunglasses concealing his eyes, while the other two were dressed in long leather duster jackets. The air filled with the sounds of the battle. Vinyl just stared at Octavia the whole time. She returned her gaze with one of desperation, like a helpless filly. A bullet hit a rock next to Vinyl and a piece of shrapnel flew through the air and hit Applejack in her shoulder.