A Day To Remember

by Mr. Haze

Music, Drugs, Dendrophobia

Vinyl Scratch

The pounding bass and scattering lightshow blazed through the dancefloor. Mares and stallions alike dancing around without a care in the world as their favorite DJ-P0N3 kicked up the techno-like sounds making all the party ponies dancing faster all struggling to keep up with a single pink blur that kept up with the tempo perfectly without breaking a sweat. Vinyl smiled at the crowd below thumping her head forward to the sounds of the music coming from her complex machines.

The busy nightclub was a hot scene for controversial new stimulants derived from certain plants from the Everfree forest. A few common ones to sprout up were Sprack and Zipe. Two drugs coming in two different pill forms and very dangerous to combine. Sprack was found near Ursa caves and derived from the Sprackalackous plant. A thick and leathery like plant with bright ruby-like flowers that blossomed near the top. Combining the ground remains of the petals of the plant and mixing it with a dehydrated concentrate of its nectar turned this once harmless flower into one of the cash crops of new and powerful drug pushers. Though it wasn't illegal to manufacture or obtain the plant. The risk of just going deep enough for it made the drug highly increased the price.

Zipe short for Ziperious was another stimulant based drug. Found only growing from Hydra excrement it was the more powerful of the two drugs. Ziperious had a unique way of dispersing its stimulant like effects. It was an innocuous yellow flower growing from the feces of a Hydra and when dried out and reconstituted by acidity (stomach acid helps wonders) it turned into an adrenal gland magnifier. Bolstering a pony's andrenal glands from grapes, to peaches in minutes and sending surges of happiness though their body and an unbearable desire to move. And dancing was perfect for that.

Except for when somepony decided to be stupid and mix the two together or just as bad, forget to drink water. When the two stimulants were mixed like so many idiotic ponies attempted a unique side effect induced. Internal Hemorrhaging beyond what most medical professionals thought was possible. Bleeding from the mouth, eyes, ears, genitals, and anus were all common. It was a painful death Vinyl wished on no pony.

Vinyl opened her mouth knocking back a Sprack pill with a splash of black rum. It was her favorite combination of drunk and hyper that kept her fueled all night. That, along with a one gallon jug of ice cold water she kept nearby if she felt like she stopped sweating. That was the number one biggest concern in her line of work was dehydration. A jitter of energy washed through her body keeping the beats going for a straight eight hours now non-stop.

But like every party it had to end sometime. With the night turning into the day ponies had to call it a night all but one remained on the dancefloor now. A particular pink cotton-candy maned pony who still could not stop but try to keep up with the beat until Vinyl was forced to stop after nearly falling asleep on her DJ board. She grinned at the earth pony waving up at her as she waved back. She had no idea who she was but she was one hell of a party pony.

Vinyl packed her gear up for the day ready to call it quits and pass out in her bed not too far away. It wasn't that bad living in her own nightclub. BASS the name of her nightclub was taking off as popular new destination for the arising young DJ star. And she was ecstatic to be able to bring so many ponies together for a single cause. To party. The unicorn rested her purple lensed glasses upon her DJ mixing board and strolled downstairs below with heavy bags under her bright red rights.

"That was so cool! And awesome! Play some more! Play some more!" Piped the pink pony begging her favorite DJ to entertain her with her music.

"That's all for tonight, Pink one. I got to get some sleep and so should you. You look like you've been hittin' the Sprack too hard." Vinyl said in return.

Pinkie Pie cocked her head in confusion, "Sprack, what's that? Hey I just rhymed!" She said laughing to herself.

Vinyl rolled her eyes, "alright, Pinks, come on I'm tired. Come back when I'm open and we can party again."

"Okay!" Pinkie squealed in excitement bursting through the front door leaving Vinyl alone now and ready for some much needed rest.

She climbed back up the stairs heading to her own personal little space where she could sleep. She noticed her supply of Sprack was running now and made a mental note of it. Going to have ta' talk to Spark again. She thought to herself lying down in her bed and pulling the purple blanket up to her muzzle shifting around for the perfect position to pass out in.

Vinyl awoke midday scratching her head and getting out of bed lazily. She yawned holding a foreleg up to her mouth as she battered the sleepiness from her eyes. She walked slowly to her shower turning on the hot water and stepping inside for a much need cleansing. She could feel her coat becoming cleaner by the second as the steaming water poured over her body. She moved her head up closing her eyes as she held her head directly in front of the shower head basking in the hot liquid that coated her body from horn to hoof.

Thick sudsy foam covered the mare's body making her indistinguishable to a cumulus cloud. Only her eyes remained free from the white foamy shampoo that covered her all over. She scrubbed herself from horn to tail with her favorite yellow sponge lathering each area of her body generously as well as a certain part between her legs she took extra care with. She stood in the hot rainfall smiling to herself as the cleaning solution of sudsy overlords disappeared deep within the confines of her drain making a sucking noise as it whisked out of sight from the unicorn.

A bleach white towel enveloped her body assisted by her magic scrubbed the mare drying from her mane and tail to her hooves not allowing any residual water to mesh within the fibrous hairs of the mare. She banged her head back and forth arranging her hairstyle just the way she liked it. Not too messy, not to clean cut. She enjoyed this look. There was no need to look professional when all you do for a living is party.

Vinyl grabbed the Bits she needed for the Sprack and prepared for her journey to see Spark. The mare who made this wonderful drug possible. She climbed down the stairs gingerly enjoying each step she took until she opened her eyes. Staring through her purple lenses was the pink pony she saw from yesterday looking as happy as could be to see Vinyl awake and ready to party, but soon for her to find out Vinyl would have no interest right now in partying. She had drugs to buy.

Vinyl opened the door to her nightclub exiting and remembering this time to turn the sign to closed so ponies don't just line up for no reason at all while Vinyl was gone. The pink pony stood there looking cheerful and energetic hopping up and down giggling aloud to herself.

"Ready to PAR-TAY!" She exclaimed.

"Not now Pink pony, I've got some stuff to do first." She said calmly.

Pinkie Pie stopping hopping up and down, "can I come with you?" She asked looking intent on joining the DJ.

She wouldn't mind the company. And Sparks wouldn't care either. Not like much could deter that pony from her work, "sure, why not." She said nonchalantly.

Pinkie Pie snorted in laughter hopping up again in ecstasy, "hurray!"

As they walked through town casually Pinkie Pie continued her overly random behavior hopping up and down, appearing from shop stalls at simultaneous times which bewildered Vinyl as to how she could do it. And generally being as quirky and strange as she could be. Vinyl still questioned if the Pink pony was on either of the new drugs to come out. No pony could have this much energy. She thought to herself.

But rather than asking the Pink earth pony she just dismissed the question from her head as she approached her destination. A large tree with a hollowed out trunk and a door in the front. Windows dotted the large library allowing in beams of Celestia's radiant sunlight. Twilight knocked on the door three times with her foreleg and stepped back awaiting an answer. It took a minute before she heard anything but before she knew it she was inside the library being ushered in by a small green and purple dragon.

A purple alicorn ran back and forth grabbing books and ingredients alike not noticing she had company until the dragon stopped her in her hurried tracks.

"Twilight, Vinyl and Pinkie are here to see you." He said pointing to the two mares.

She stopped what she was doing and went over to properly address her company that had just come over. She smiled at both the ponies wondering to herself why Pinkie was here with Vinyl. She isn't using Sprack is she? Or Vipe? Is she. Twilight thought to herself truly hoping Pinkie of all ponies didn't need drugs to keep her hyperactivity up. But quickly dismissed such a silly thought. She probably just tagged along being as random as she could exploring the various day-to-day lives of ponies and what they do and apparently Vinyl didn't mind Pinkie following her around.

"Good to see you again, Vinyl, you too Pinkie Pie." Said the alicorn.

Vinyl looked over to the pink pony, "so you're Pinkie Pie, eh?" She questioned rhetorically.

"Yep that's me! And you're Vinyl Scratch also known as DJ P0N-3!" She said excitedly making a particularly accurate sound of Vinyl's Bass with her mouth before being shushed by Vinyl in a giggle she couldn't hold back. This pony is crazy. She thought to herself looking back at Twilight.

"So, Sparks, how much do I owe you for this batch?" Vinyl said bluntly levitating out a heavy bag of Bits.

Twilight's memory snapped back into motion realizing she didn't have enough Sprack for Vinyl, "I ran into some complications in the process so you only owe me fifty bits." She said back levitating outwardly a bag of small red pills each embedded with the cutie mark of Twilight Sparkle as a signature of who designed this pill. She was one of the few ponies that could do it being an alicorn and having a vast knowledge of combat-based magic.

"Wow- that's like, a fourth of what we agreed upon. Come on Sparks, I need to sell these things too. Ponies need to party and this is what they count on." Vinyl said disappointingly.

"I know, I know," Twilight said, "but I've been really busy as of late with my research into-" she was cut off short.

"I understand Sparks, don't worry about it. I'll find somepony else to buy from." Vinyl said trying to catch Twilight's attention.

"Hold on Vinyl, there's still a way I can get you the Sprack. And if you do it, I'll give you a hefty discount... say fifty perfect." Twilight said touching her foreleg to her chin in show of her thinking heavily about this. She smiled devilishly hoping Vinyl would take her bait.

Vinyl stopped in her tracks as she was preparing to leave the library. She turned her head around looking with great anticipation towards the alicorn, "I'm listening." She said

"You have to go get the Sprackalackous flowers yourself." Said Twilight, "I simply don't have the time and couriers cost to much to find these plants, but you look like you're capable of doing this." She said cooingly.

"I don't know Sparks, I don't like going into the Everfree forest. Especially not alone." Vinyl said in return.

Pinkie's face lit up like the sun, "CAN I GO! Please! Please! Please!" She begged Vinyl.

Vinyl rolled her eyes, but before she could speak Twilight spoke for her, "of course Pinkie, you'd be perfect company for Vinyl. Plus with two ponies you might just have twice the luck finding these flowers."

"What do they look like anyway?" Pinkie asked to no pony in general.

Twilight pulled out a large green book opening its pages to a picture of a bright ruby red flower attached to a segment of a large vine. A side picture showed a reference picture to an Ursa cave and how the Sprackalackous flower covered it on all angles. Pinkie's eyes widened as she stared at the beautiful flower ignoring Twilight's dissertation of knowledge she must have already known about this plant in the first place.

She closed to book zapping Pinkie's attention from the plant, "alright, so, gather me at least ten Sprackalackous flowers and you'll get your fifty percent discount." Twilight said to Vinyl, "oh and don't get killed."

Vinyl winked at Twilight through her purple lens sunglasses and exited the library with Pinkie Pie ready to start their adventure to deep within the Everfree forest. Vinyl didn't like going into the forest period, she may have omitted that small detail before, but when she was getting a discount this high she decided she could drive past her fears to collect some simple flowers.

It wasn't that she was afraid of going into the forest and what creatures she might find. She didn't really care about Timber Tolves, Ursa Majors, or even a Hydra. No, what truly terrified her was the trees. The ominous, foreboding trees that seemed to suck in whatever enters the forest and almost never let it escape. That was her true fear. She always felt an overwhelming sense of paranoia when she went into a forest. Even a small park. It felt as if somepony was always watching her and she could never spot just who it was.

Usually though, this fear of trees never made itself present to anypony around her. She could all keep it in her mind, but today was a day like no other for her and her companion Pinkie. She felt even more on edge as the two ponies trekked deeper into the forest. She could feel the sweat on her forehead and mane begin to accumulate. A pointed twig poked her flank from behind sending her careening skywards into the air and falling back down on her rump looking around with her horn lit and ready for whatever caused her to jump to also burn.

Snorting and giggling from behind her lowered her guard just enough for the musically inclined unicorn to turn around. Vinyl truly looked panicked as if she just saw a ghost before her eyes, but Pinkie just kept laughing hysterically, "you!" She said between a snort, "should have seen yourself!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Wha-" Vinyl said is confusion as Pinkie rose back to her hooves wiping the tears of happiness from her eyes.

"Wow, you're really easy to scare Vinyl." She said chipperly.

"I-it was you that touched me with that stick?" Vinyl said back in disbelief.

"Maybe." Pinkie said mischievously

"Pinkie. Don't ever fucking do that again." Vinyl scolded Pinkie.

Pinkie's ears went back and her lip began to quiver and she began to cry.

Vinyl rolled her eyes, "Pinkie I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell at you, just try not to scare me like that, alright?" She asked rhetorically. I swear it's like she's bipolar. One second she's laughing the next she's crying. Vinyl thought to herself.

"Okay!" Said the pink pony cheerfully.

They reached the first cave picking off four flowers easily before heading out for the next area to prowl for the rare specimens. The air was cold around them strangely different from Ponyville which was usually warm and inviting. The damp forest floor was littered with fungi and moss growing rapidly. Lichens grew on rocks near a small stream as they hopped over the hoof wide gap of a stream.

One side effect of the Sprackalackous drug synthesized that had yet to categorized or observed was the fits of overwhelming paranoia and sometimes short episodes of psychosis as Vinyl would soon find out. It was caused when the pony ingesting these stimulant supplements became too dependent on the drug however it never showed through physical debilitation only through a mental craving and subsequent side effects if another dose is not taken. These side effects were random in nature and had no duration as to how long they would last.

Vinyl whispered a voice into her ear. Vinyl looked around seeing nothing and quickly dismissed the noise. The voice called again Vinyl come it said. She looked behind her spotting nothing and kept on track with the Pink Pony. She bit her lip looking around her as it seemed like the trees were getting taller by the second blocking out every bit of light and leaving her in darkness. She imagined roots popping from the ground grabbing her body and lifting her from the ground. She screamed out to Pinkie seeing the pony no where around. It was like a nightmare had just come true. She began to cry as the roots whipped her back and forth.

She could hear her name being called, "Vinyl!" It said, "Vinyl wake up!" It shouted again. A splash of cold water awoke her as she found herself lying on the forest floor with a concerned looking pony staring over her. She sat up wiping the sweat from he forehead and looking around in paranoia. Eyes wide and heart thumping.

"P-pinkie, what happened?" Vinyl asked.

"I don't know Vinyl." She said worried, "you just stopped walking and you looked like you were just asleep but your eyes were still open."

Vinyl shook her head not wanting to believe she was going insane. She took a step forward retracting her hoof at first feeling the ground first to make sure no roots were going to pop out from the ground and attack her like they just did. Or at least, she imagined.

"C-come on Pinkie," Vinyl said, "we got a few more flowers to collect."

"Okie-dokie-lokie!" She said saluting Vinyl as they continued their journey.

It wasn't long before they got to another cave just two flowers bloomed on the vine that supported the Sprackalackous flowers. Vinyl plucked them away from the vine. Just a few more she thought to herself turning around to face Pinkie Pie who was now no where in sight.

"P-pinkie?" She said taking a step forward before being dragged away by the vine that she had just plucked the flowers from. It wrapped around her hind legs as she struggled to claw at the ground trying to gain some friction against the assaulting plant. She screamed at the top of her lungs before being drug into the perpetual darkness of the cave behind her. Waves of light flashed before her as she found herself free falling through the inky blackness around her. She landed on the forest floor once again looking around her with nothing but trees. Ominous, evil trees. Lurking and prowling to end the pony.

"Vinyl?" Ask a voice from the winds around her she turned around looking petrified in fear. This is all an illusion. She said to herself. This isn't real. I'm going to wake up any second now. She could feel her heart pounding faster and faster. Or maybe it's real! She thought running forward through the trees trying to find an escape from the hellish surroundings. "Vinyl don't scare me like this wake up!" Shouted the voice. Shut up! She thought to herself. Get out of my head!

She felt a smack across her cheek and everything around her seemed to fade as a bright piercing light came into view. She opened her eyes feeling Pinkie's mouth over hers. At first it was kind of nice but then she realized where she was and jumped out from under the mare. With her back pressed against the tree she sucked in the air around her as fast as her lungs would allow.

"P-pinkie!" She yelled, "why the hell were you kissing me?"

Pinkie cocked her head in confusion to the words she just heard, "'kissing you?' Oh no I was giving you CPR because you just collapsed and you started screaming for something to 'get out of your head' and that it was 'all an illusion'. You really had me worried there Scratchy."

"Did you want me to kiss you?" Pinkie asked taking a step forward.

"Wha-no, no Pinkie, that's quite alright." Vinyl said in return.

Vinyl had calmed down by now and shook her head in a futile attempt to shake the insanity from her head. Gotta make this quick I'm losin' it out here. She thought to herself. A short walk later they found themselves their last cave. Picking off the remaining flowers she needed they looked to each other with Vinyl speaking first, "okay Pinkie, let's head back." She said.

"Okie-Dokie!" She piped back.

Vinyl took point walking South back towards Ponyville. The sun was coming down so it was just perfect timing. She'd be back in time to get her Sprack pills and head back to BASS for another long light of partying. But that was only if she could escape this forest before her Dendrophobia got the best of her.

"So Pinkie, have you ever wanted to try Sprack?" She said aloud trying to make conversation with the pony. But to no avail there was no response. In fact, her walking completely stopped. Vinyl grew worried at this and turned her head around slowly. Pinkie Pie was still standing there, but she looked different. She had no face. Just her body was there as it began to turn a sickly green to a dark brown with the texture of wood. She sunk into the ground via her legs now roots staring blankly with no expression at Vinyl.

Her heart sunk, her mind went haywire and in that moment of time Vinyl for a split second snapped. She began to laugh manically. She looked all around herself with malicious intent on her face. You don't look so good Vinyl you okay? Said a voice inside her head. She shook it off, "never better." She said aloud.

Her horn lit up in a radiant glow of light. A piercing sound cracked the wind. Vinyl what are you doing? The voice asked inside her head. "The only thing left to do you fucking forest! Burn you to the fucking ground!"

"Oh shit!" Screamed Pinkie Pie staring at Vinyl Scratch who was acting violent and strange. She collapse the oxygen around her and blasted it in all direction scorching the forest other than the epicenter where Vinyl stood. Pinkie was knocked back and started running for Ponyville. Got to get Twilight! She thought to herself turning her head back for only a moment to see Vinyl's trademark glasses now gone up in smoke and revealing blood red eyes filled with insanity as she torched the earth around her in all direction.

Vinyl woke up inside the Ponyville hospital. Her head ached and her stomach grumbled. She looked over to the clock seeing the time. It was already past midnight. She scrambled out of the gurney realizing how late she was. Oh shit! She thought to herself. Everypony is gonna be pissed! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

"Glad you're awake." Said a familiar voice.

Vinyl turned around seeing the alicorn she visited earlier today, "Sparks? What are you doing here?"

"Well, saving your life for one. And Pinkie's too. When I said don't get killed I meant don't wake up an Ursa not burn the whole damn forest down." Twilight said scolding the mare.

"Yeah, sorry Sparks." She said back, "what happened anyway."

Twilight took a deep breath, "from what Pinkie told me you had an episode of extreme violent psychosis. And after this, I can tell you I won't be making anymore Sprack or Zipe. It's been outlawed by Princess Celestia. Probably for the best now that this has happened. You could have killed yourself." She said worriedly, "you collapsed oxygen to a singularity and used it's own pressure to ignite itself. Impressive, but beyond reckless and dangerous."

"Yeah, probably is for the best." Vinyl agreed, "this is one hell of a day I will remember."

Author's Note:

I'm just as surprised as you! Me! Make a story not horrifying and sad? Well, don't get too comfortable with that idea. Next up, Maud!