//------------------------------// // Beginning Descent // Story: Freefall (A Vinyl Scratch Story) // by xSorrow //------------------------------// Her hooves flailed wildly as she spun head-over-hooves down to Equestria. The wind around her seemed to be carrying her, no, slamming her down toward the ground. Her iconic glasses fell from her face, leaving her wide red eyes exposed as she spun upside down in the free-fall. Her normally-messy mane fell into her face and obstructed her vision, making it all the more terrifying. Below was an empty field. At least she wouldn't land on anypony by accident, she thought crazily. In her panic, she didn't even think to scream. The unicorn was falling headfirst, hornfirst, into the ground, and in a moment her bones would snap as she hit the ground at Celestia-knows-what speed. She closed her eyes and then Vinyl Scratch woke up screaming in her bed. "Vinyl! Shut up!" came her roommate's tired voice. During the day, Octavia's reaction might have been something classy like "Do be quiet, Vinyl," but this was the middle of Princess Luna's night and Octavia was awfully sleepy due to a long concert performed the night before in Canterlot's Royal Symphony Hall. In fact, Octavia could hardly speak coherently when she arrived to the home occupied by her and Vinyl, ignoring Vinyl's jokes about classical music and instead trudging straight to her bed. Nevertheless, Vinyl heard Octavia's rapid hoofsteps in the hallway before the tired-looking cellist appeared in the doorway to Vinyl's room. "Wha's goin' on...?" Octavia mumbled sleepily, struggling to keep her eyes open. Vinyl noticed her mane was tangled and ragged-looking, but decided not to say anything, "Yokay?" "Y-yeah, I'm fine, Tavi," Vinyl answered, managing a grin. After the dream (nightmare) she had just had, Vinyl felt wide awake. Dear Celestia, that was better than any coffee-and-wubs mix in the morning, but Vinyl still hated it. "Mmmkay... you sure...?" Octavia asked again, blinking away the dark spots in her vision as she yawned. Tavi drew closer to Vinyl's bed where the unicorn lie, the latter hardly daring to move out of fear that she'd begin falling again. Octavia kneeled down by her friend's bed and rested her head on the bedsheets as she observed Vinyl's scared face through drowsy eyes, "You whisper 'n your sleep e'ry nigh..." Vinyl cursed silently. The dream hadn't been a one-night thing. It was a recurring dream, but she had never woken up screaming before. Actually, Vinyl had never gotten that close to the ground before in her dream. A cold shiver went down her back and melted in her hooves as she remembered how close she had come. She could still feel the taller blades of the grass scratching at her face as though reaching for her, welcoming her. Vinyl blinked out of her thoughts, only to see that Octavia had fallen asleep while resting her head on Vinyl's bed. Carefully, as not to wake the lightly-snoring Tavi, Vinyl took her pillow and gently placed it under Octavia's head as she quietly crept out from under the warm blankets. Then, taking care not to make a sound, Vinyl stalked out of the room down the hallway. The Canterlot house shared by both Vinyl and Octavia was a bit small, but seemed quite spacious in these late hours. The moon outside illuminated the living room with a dim white light. Somepony (Vinyl) had left the glass door out to the porch wide open, letting in a cool air, but Vinyl didn't shiver until she thought of how warm and inviting her blankets were. Even so, she trotted outside onto the back porch. The porch was actually a fancy patio, suspended on the edge of Canterlot. If somepony were to lean over the side of the railing, they would see down the side of the mountain to the sprawling Equestrian landscape below. There was Ponyville in the distance, and Cloudsdale in the sky. If it was a very clear day, Vinyl supposed she could see all the way to Manehatten. She had never actually seen Manehatten, but despite Octavia's constant nagging that it was impossible, Vinyl had never given up trying. All-in-all, it was a strange place to go for comfort after having a nightmare about falling to your death. Tonight, Vinyl stared up into the moon and the dark sky beyond it, which was dotted with little stars. It was a wonderful place to just be alone, in solitude, and think. Vinyl was thinking more about falling than anything else as she gripped the railing with both hooves, refusing to look down without realizing it. She thought of the windy sensation, and the feeling of being completely helpless as she spun through the air. There was literally no way to save herself in the nightmare. Vinyl looked down below, and a dizziness pounded in her head. Her hooves gripped the railing tighter. "Come on!" She shouted at the night, bringing her right hoof up and back down to hit the railing, making it quiver a little, "Why is this happening to me?! Why?!" Vinyl collapsed on the porch, letting her left hoof slide off the railing down to the crumpled and broken figure that was Equestria's most famous DJ (in her opinion). It was there, lying on the floor outside on the porch, that Vinyl did something that she hadn't done in a long time. Vinyl Scratch, the DJ-P0N3, cried. * * * "So Vinyl, did you remember to pick up the chips?" Vinyl was pulled back to reality by Octavia, who was enjoying a large glazed donut for breakfast. Vinyl thought back to the night before, skipping over the hour she had spent outside in the cold night sobbing like a little filly in her mind's DVD player. Had she remembered to pick up the chips? First she had met up with Neon Lights at his private recording studio, left and went to a store to pick up the new Gryffallica and Dragonhorse albums and a new pair of headphones to listen to them with. She prayed to Celestia that she remembered to pick up a bag of chips while she was there, but yesterday had been a bit of a blur. Maybe Neon had slipped something into her drink. Either that or it was the seven hayburgers she had eaten for breakfast and then followed up by drinking twelve Manticore Energy Drinks. Octavia noticed the desperate look on Vinyl's face and sighed, "Oh Vinyl. You couldn't have forgotten those chips. It was the only thing I asked you to get for the party tonight. It was our deal, I'd get the punch, arrange the invitations, tidy up the house, and prepare everything, and you had to get the chips-" "And not invite any of my 'rowdy' friends, Tavster," Vinyl interrupted with a grin. "But I know you did anyway. Remember, I sent out the invitations," Octavia shook her head, opening the pantry door. Vinyl closed her eyes and sighed, waiting for Octavia to tell her to run down to the closest market or shop to purchase a bag of chips, but to her surprise Octavia was smiling. "You did get the chips!" She exclaimed, "Vinyl Scratch, I'm sorry for ever doubting you." "I did...? I mean, of course I did, Octy! What, you thought I'd let ya down? Have a little faith!" “Well, if you can behave yourself tonight, maybe I will,” Octavia said through a mouthful of donut as she took the last few bites and followed it with a small glass of milk. Vinyl was filled with relief, but tried not to let it show on her face as she stared at her breakfast, a stack of fluffy golden-brown pancakes dripping with hoof-churned butter and mouth-wateringly sweet syrup. Later that evening, a large party (which Octavia insisted on referring to as a “social event” instead of party) was taking place in their house. The usual group of friends was invited, Lyra, Bon Bon, The Doctor, Derpy, as well as Minuette, Colgate, Berry Punch, Golden Harvest, Carrot Top, all the members of Octavia’s ensemble, and (naturally) some of Vinyl’s rowdy friends. A group of singers who had taken the name “The Dazzlings” was to perform. Octavia had initally wanted to hire the Ponytones (very popular in Ponyville the last time she had visited), but the Ponytones hadn’t answered their letters. Octavia straightened her pink bowtie before taking another donut from a large box sitting on the counter, this time a chocolate one adorned with colorful sprinkles, and glanced at Vinyl with a raised eyebrow. Uncharacteristically, Vinyl immediately felt self-conscious (Octy had that effect on ponies), and suddenly became very interested in eating her pancakes. “Where are your glasses?” Octavia finally asked, taking a bite from the donut and letting her eyes droop dreamily as the wonderful flavor registered in her mouth. “Um, they’re called 'shades', Tavi.” “I don’t care, but aren’t you going to wear them?” Octavia questioned, “You never take them off! Are you finally deciding to look respectable for the social event tonight?” “No, I’m definitely going to wear them,” Vinyl said, devouring the last of her pancakes in a second before getting up, leaving her syrup-covered plate on the table, and then she began to trot out of the house. “Get a haircut!” Octavia called after her. Vinyl grinned. Oh, Tavi. The streets of Canterlot were often bustling with activity, mostly classy ponies dressed in suits and (Vinyl snickered whenever she saw anypony wearing one) monocles. Certainly a place suited to somepony like Octavia at first glance, but there was a lively underground scene that was perfectly suited to somepony like (who else) DJ-P0N3. Members of this hidden scene often occupied night clubs (Vinyl's personal favorite), bars (Berry Punch was well-known for winning several drinking contests against several ponies... without stopping), music stores (Vinyl had worked in one at one point in her life), and shady restaurants (where you could get a burger and fries with a side of bloody knife and an apple cider). Sometimes they were seen on the streets, sometimes not. It was only the way things went. Today, Vinyl trotted down the street, slower than usual as she thought about her dream even more. She was embarrassed to think of the long hour she had spent lying on the porch, remorselessly letting tears stream from her red eyes and choking, crying sounds emerge from her throat as she lie in the frigid cold. Embarrassed, yet relieved. Vinyl arrived at a favorite nightclub of hers after a short, philosophical trot, a huge place called "The Dragon's Claw". Not the snazziest name ever, but it worked. She stepped inside to a nearly vacant club, aside from unconscious stallions who had had too much to drink the night before and were now moaning as they awoke to pounding hangovers and annoyed employees, who were cleaning up the place and telling the drunk stallions to get out. The nightclub was like this every morning, but at night? At night the bar was crowded, the dance floor was full, and everypony enjoyed themselves. She would know, seeing as she was frequently hired to perform here. Maybe that was why it was called a "nightclub". Maybe. "Ah! DJ-P0N3! Good to see you! No shades today, I see." Vinyl turned to see the wild-maned nightclub owner, a stallion by the name of Diamond Rough, lumbering toward her with a wide grin on his face. On his trot over to Vinyl, he clumsily knocked over a small table but didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he seized Vinyl’s hoof with both of his and shook it vigorously. Vinyl always admired how a stallion of his age still had so much energy and enthusiasm. Finally, he released her hoof and cast her a stern look. “I hope you aren’t here to steal more of my business,” he said, unsuccessfully trying to keep a straight face. "It's just for one night!" Vinyl replied indignantly, "Keep that attitude up, and I won't invite you." "You wouldn't invite the stallion who gave you your first job as a DJ?!" Diamond gasped in mock surprise, clutching a hoof to his heart, "Dear Celestia, Vinyl!" "You didn't give me my first DJ gig, you've just given me most of them." "Oh, so I hire you to perform here ten nights a week..." Diamond grumbled, "I see how it is..." "Oh, quit it, Rough. You can come if you want," Vinyl sighed with a small grin on her face. "Sorry Vinyl, can't make it. I've got a poker game with Trenderhoof and Rightful Vice tonight," He revealed with a sly gleam in his eye, "Maybe I'll swing by if I've got time." Before Vinyl could respond, she felt a heavy hoof clop down on her shoulder. Surprised, she turned to see a big, sober-looking (but looks can be deceiving) stallion who was flashing her a wide grin, showing off his white teeth, the sleazy teeth of a sleazy chariot dealer or sleazy magician. In any case, this was definitely a sleazy pony. His name was (Vinyl shuddered at the mere mention of it, but only because she was thinking of those hypnotic teeth of his) Primary Alley. He was definitely a despicable pony. "Eyyy," He said in his seedy voice, "If it ain't Vinyl Scratch! You come lookin' for me? Finally ready to 'ave a drink?" "I don't drink all that much, thanks," Vinyl said, slowly inching away from Primary, who took it as his cue to advance on her. "Come on, hon," Primary said, refusing to be shot down... again, "We is in a bar, y'know. Come on. Let's have us a good time." "She said no, for Celestia's sake," Diamond said in an agitated tone as he went around Vinyl into Primary's face, "And if you don't get out of here in 10 seconds, I'm calling the Guards and banning you from The Dragon's Claw! 10...9...8..." "A'ight, A'ight, I'm goin'," Primary huffed, turning toward the door. Just before he stepped out, he turned over and glanced at Vinyl one last time and winked, "But if the mare here ever wants to have some fun..." "I said get out!" Diamond shouted, causing Vinyl to jump in surprise and finally convincing Primary to leave. Diamond turned to Vinyl with an exasperated expression, “Sorry about that, Vinyl. You came all the way here, and find that jerk harassing ya! Anything I can do to help?” “Nah, man,” Vinyl said, grinning widely, “I’m used to his type coming up to me at shows. It happens.” “But-” “Shh,” Vinyl said, holding up a hoof to her lips, “It happens. Now then, I came here to get some champagne or wine or whatever fancy drink you have in the back. I know Tavi won’t approve, but I know that the ponies I invited won’t be satisfied with a few bottles of Applejack Daniels!” Diamond thought for a moment, and then clapped his hooves together, “I may have something, but it’s very expensive.” “How expensive? I’ve got about… 9 bits. Maybe 10 at home.” “It costs 400,” Diamond answered with an apologetic smile. "Oh," Vinyl said tonelessly, "Well..." "Yeah," Diamond smiled, "Anything else I can do for you?" "Nah man, that's it," Vinyl said, backing toward the door, "I'm gonna go. No hard feelings about the party though, right?" "Of course not," Diamond waved the question off, "Now run along, I have to clean up for tonight... if anypony shows up." "Oh, it'll mostly be Octy's type at the party." "I'm sure it will," Diamond sniffed. * * * The party was in full swing before Vinyl could blink behind her shades, which was something she always admired about parties. It was such a bore waiting for everypony to show up. The party had so far gone quite well. The Dazzlings hadn't shown up, so Octavia was worried about what they were going to do for music. Vinyl had pointed out that they were both musicians and asked why Octavia thought they needed to hire music in the first place. Octavia had given her an incredulous look and then retorted that hiring music had been Vinyl's idea. That meant it was up to Vinyl to find a solution. She thought about it for a long fifteen seconds and then set up her DJ stand with a few huge speakers with the help of a few of her "rowdy" friends, who had invited some of their "wild" friends, who had brought along some of their "psychotic" friends, and even a few of Vinyl's "Octavia-ran-out-of-terms-for-rambunctious-ponies" friends showed up. Perhaps the party would've turned out the opposite of what Octavia had wanted, but fortunately she had invited her "classy" friends and "upper-class" friends, and even went so far as to invite her "Vinyl-these-ponies-are-the-complete-opposite-of-your-friends-please-don't-ruin-this-for-me" friends. The party turned into a strange mixture of formal and informal, restrained and unrestrained, classy and punk. Vinyl marvelled at how smoothly it was working out, a stallion in a tuxedo talking with an intrigued-looking mare with a stud in her nose and her mane dyed black. Vinyl knew her friend Pinkie Pie from Ponyville would've been proud to see a party like this, and then realized that she hadn't remembered to invite her. Vinyl felt guilty, but then remembered that Ponyville was a fair distance away. Maybe Pinkie wouldn't have came even if she had received an invitation. With the party like this, torn between classy and punk, and Vinyl as DJ, she was a bit confused as to what she was supposed to play for music. If she fulfilled her sacred duty and played wubs, she'd drive Octavia's ponies away. If she went against everything she'd ever done and played classical music, she'd offend her own kind. In the end, Vinyl decided on playing dubstep remixes of a few of Octavia's favorite symphonies. She had been working on the remixes for Octavia's birthday, but now seemed like a good time for an early birthday present. With just a few knob turns (and the playing of a record), the music began. At first, everypony looked around at each other confused as Ponythoven's Fifth Symphony, distorted with wubs, began playing. A few silent moments passed, everypony's faces like concrete. The complete opposite reaction of what Vinyl was used to, which was crowds screaming for joy as a song started. For a moment, she wondered if everypony hated it. Maybe she should've tried a symphonic version of a dubstep song... All at once, everypony began cheering on the unique blend of two musical genres that Vinyl had created. It had the trademark pounding of wubs mixed with the fragile melodies of an orchestrial piece. Octavia (whom Vinyl noticing staring in disbelief) would have described it as "quite an extraordinary bit of music". Vinyl grinned, and for a moment felt on top of the world. But then she fell. For a moment, Vinyl was falling again, spiraling through the skies as she plummeted toward the ground below. What she was seeing didn't register with her though; hadn't she just been playing music at the party? Vinyl blinked, and suddenly found herself back at the party. Flashes of the falling sensation came over her every few seconds, like the rush of the wind, the way her own mane slapped her in the wind as she desperately tried to grab onto something (dear Celestia don't let it end like this). She flashed back and forth from the party to the sky, back to the party, back to the abyss, back to reality, back to falling into madness on the slow descent to Tartarus. Vinyl put a hoof to her forehead, and stumbled down from her DJ stand. There were a few snickers, and Vinyl heard somepony whisper "Drunk?" to her friends. Vinyl ignored them. She left a few friends of hers to take control of the music while she found her way outside on the porch, whimpering as she stepped out the door. Her head felt like it was being split open. Was this what crazy felt like? Usually she wondered why she came out here for comfort, but for now she was just grateful that nopony else was out here. She could easily see a drunken stallion find his way out here to puke over the railing or a young mare and stallion couple seek some "alone time" (wink wink). It was Vinyl's solitude, and she had never been more thankful for it. Vinyl groaned as the once-nightmare now became a vivid hallucination, the likes of which no drug-induced daydream could compare. She felt as though the porch beneath her hooves would split open at any moment or tilt completely sideways, leaving her to fall down the side of the mountain. Maybe she'd get lucky and hit her head on the way down so she wouldn't have to witness her own death for the thousandth time since the fateful night she had gotten the first nightmare. What in Tartarus was happening to her? Just when it seemed that it couldn't get any worse, the door opened and a stallion stepped onto the porch. "Hey-yo, DJ-P0N3," Primary Alley greeted, grinning with those teeth of his once more, "Looks like we finally got ourselves some alone time." "Prime... get Octavia..." Vinyl pleaded, looking at Alley with tears in her eyes. She had kept the dreams secret from her roommate since she first started having them, but the time had finally come to tell Tavi, "I need... help..." "I can get ya all the help ya need," Primary said, his smile going wider as he stepped closer to Vinyl. He wrapped his hooves around her, squeezing her white coat against his dark purple one, and whispered in her ear, "Kiss me, Vinyl." What are you doing, you creep?! Vinyl tried to yell, but suddenly she was shaking too badly to let out the slightest whisper, let alone resist the stronger stallion. The hallucination was starting to affect her physically as well as mentally. "Shh..." He said, running a hoof through her mane. Vinyl felt like puking (preferably on him), but she went limp instead as she nearly fell unconscious. Reality was fading, and the dream was everything. She was no longer being held by the suspicious stallion, instead she was screaming as she fell through the sky. No! I've got to wake up... get away from Primary... Vinyl's face winced in pain in reality as she forced herself to snap out of the nightmare. She reached up a hoof, and grabbed at Primary's face, trying to shove him away from her. Primary didn't notice, instead taking off her shades and throwing them away from the two ponies. This porch, the place she had so long come to for comfort, for an escape to be herself, was now going to be the place that Primary Alley had taken her for himself. Her mouth was dry, and she could hardly breathe, yet Vinyl managed to scream. "Octavia!" She shouted, yearning to see the pony who had stood with her for so long, the pony Vinyl called her best friend, "Octavia! Somepony! Help me!" "Ssh, it's just us right now," Primary whispered, covering her mouth with his hoof. Vinyl wanted to bite him, but he wisely kept his hoof over her mouth instead of in it. He had seen Vinyl on the porch and knew it was the perfect opportunity. Everypony else was inside, listening to pounding music. In addition, it was beginning to rain heavily over Canterlot. They wouldn't be noticed out here. Vinyl felt her strength draining; had Primary drugged her? Impossible, she hadn't had anything to drink. Primary withdrew his hoof from her mouth, and licked it, dropping Vinyl gently onto her back, leaving her sprawled out on the cold porch floor. "N-no... please, Celestia, no..." Vinyl whimpered, closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at the stallion standing over her. "Just sit there, Vinyl," Primary told her, "I can do most of the work." "You son of a-!" Primary was suddenly gone as a dark blur slammed into him from the side. Vinyl managed to roll onto her side, and saw two forms thrashing together. She blinked, trying to clear her vision, and then saw a gray pegasus on top of Primary, throwing punches everywhere she could see while Primary feebly tried to defend himself. "Derpy...?" Vinyl's tiny voice was lost in the downpour of rain. Another stallion was suddenly there, his coat whipping around in the harsh winds outside, and he grabbed Vinyl's shoulders. "Vinyl? Vinyl, stay with me! You're going to be fine! Ditzy, stop it, Ditzy...!" "Doctor..." Vinyl said in relief. In one part of her mind, the darker half, she felt herself beginning to fall again. It felt as though she was in control of two bodies, one being shaken by the Doctor and the other helplessly falling through the sky, "Find Octavia..." "Ditzy, get off him! Of course, Vinyl, but we have to get you some help first. Are you hurt?" "You tried to hurt her! I know what you were trying to do to her!" Derpy was screaming as she whacked Primary with her hooves over and over again. Chaos. The mythical Lord of Chaos Discord (though Vinyl believed that Discord was real and had in fact been in Ponyville recently. Octavia, along with many other ponies, didn't agree) would have been overwhelmed with this scene. Vinyl was flashing back and forth between reality and nightmare while Ditzy Do "Derpy" Hooves continued to beat Primary's face with every ounce of strength she had. The Doctor was trying to keep everything in control, but his yells for calm were silenced by the heavy rain. The sound of water hitting the ground was deafening. Beyond it was the music from inside, and the muffled yells of many delighted ponies partying inside. Vinyl felt herself being picked up by the Doctor as he tried to get her onto her hooves. She steadied herself, putting one hoof on the Doctor's shoulder. Vinyl put her mouth to his ear, and whispered. "You'll find Octavia...?" She asked, feeling herself drawing closer to the grass as she fell. She fell even as she leaned on her friend, if that made any sense. The rain slapped her continuously. The Doctor nodded and Vinyl smiled, "Good..." Vinyl's hoof left the Doctor's shoulder. Her hooves left the floor below her as she began to fall down, adding to the feeling of vertigo she had in the nightmare. The Doctor gasped and tried to catch her, but his hoof just barely missed. Derpy was crying as she continued to hit Primary, who was now coughing as his nose bled and his eyes bruised. And then Vinyl hit the ground, both in reality and in her nightmare.