Freefall (A Vinyl Scratch Story)

by xSorrow

Praying Hopelessly

7
Praying Hopelessly

Vinyl arrived home and opened the door. Immediately, she could smell the faint scent of something burning, but it was fading as though somepony had taken care of it already. Octavia sat at the kitchen table, eating a slice of pizza. The large white pizza box sat on the table next to Octavia, and Vinyl noticed that it was cheese pizza. When the two of them couldn't agree on toppings, they just ordered cheese.

"Oh, hello Vinyl," Octavia greeted, "I've taken the liberty of picking up a pizza for dinner. Did you get the job at Verdant?"

"Octavia," Vinyl took a deep breath as she closed the door behind her, "We need to talk..."

"About what?" Octavia inquired.

Vinyl made her way to the table, trotting as though she were in a trance, and then she stopped across the table from Octavia, who had set her slice of pizza down; clearly, Tavi could feel something was wrong. Vinyl opened her mouth, and then closed it. How in Equestria was she supposed to say this? Her mind raced to find the right words, but all she got was a jumble of letters in her head. When she finally formed a two-word coherent sentence, Octavia leaned forward with her hoof outstretched and shushed her.

"Vinyl, I know what you want to say," Octavia smiled, "And I'm not mad."

"Huh?"

"I'm not mad," Tavi repeated, "I know things have been a bit frosty between us lately, and if you want to talk about... about me refusing to listen to you that night, I'm more than willing. I thought you might not have been satisfied with how we resolved things that night-"

"N-no, no..." Vinyl waved her hoof in dismissal, "I'm over that, but it's just... I... ugh! Why is it so hard for me to talk to you?!"

"Vinyl- what's wrong?!" Octavia gasped, reaching forward and putting her hoof over Vinyl's on the table, "If you have something you need to get off your chest, I'm ready to listen!"

"Why? Because we're best friends?"

"Yes? What-"

"Then why didn't you tell me?!" Vinyl breathed heavily, staring at Octavia's hoof over her own, but not making eye contact with Octavia.

"Tell you... what? That we're best friends? Vinyl, I thought you knew-"

"I know, Octavia," Vinyl said tonelessly, "I know why you haven't been going to band practice. I know why you're afraid to play your cello now."

Octavia froze as Vinyl finally looked up, and their eyes met.

"I know they kicked you out of the band."

Octavia slowly withdrew her hoof from Vinyl's as she stared, clearly rattled, at her friend. Her purple eyes were wide, but her jaw was firmly clenched.

"How?" she inquired.

"Jet Set and Upper Crust," Vinyl answered, "They told me that you bailed on their party. They also said that they don't trust you anymore."

"I suppose that means no more party invitations..." Octavia leaned back in her chair, "No matter. They were phonies anyway. But how did they know that I...?"

"I went to Clef Clavichord's house after that," Vinyl continued, "And Senza opened the door. She's horrible, by the way. They told me what happened. They... they even had a replacement with them."

Octavia sat at the table for a moment longer. Vinyl looked away again, now staring at the floor. A few moments of silence went by as Octavia let this new information sink in, and then without a word, Octavia stood up and slowly started trotting toward her bedroom.

"Octavia? Where are you going?" Vinyl said uncertainly. Tavi stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Oh... you know..." Octavia said, her voice shaking, "Just... to my room."

And then Octavia fell to the floor and started to cry.

"Octavia!" Vinyl jumped up from her chair and hurried over to where Octavia was sitting. Tears spilled out of the cellist's eyes as she sobbed, and Vinyl put her hoof around her friend.

"Oh Celestia, Vinyl..." Octavia coughed out, squeezing her eyes shut as she finally lost control of her emotions, "I loved playing in an ensemble... I actually loved those ponies too, even Senza. I-I... After y-you, I thought t-they were my b-best friends..."

"Shh... it's okay, Tavi..." Vinyl said in a soothing voice as she hugged Octavia, who sniffled and wiped her eyes with her hoof.

"I-I... I think I-I'm done p-playing music, Vinyl..." Octavia said fearfully, "No other b-band in Canterlot would hire me now!"

"Hey, you're the best cellist in Equestria," Vinyl grinned, "If you can't get hired by a band, then Celestia help us all."

Octavia giggled a bit at that, and rubbed her eyes again, now taking a few deep breaths, "I'm feeling a lot better now... thanks, Vinyl."

"Awh, c'mon, Tavi. That's what I'm here for," Vinyl said, "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Maybe after a good night's sleep... I can think more clearly about what I'm going to do," Octavia decided, "You should get some rest too. You're looking a bit tired."

"Yeah... okay..." Vinyl nodded sullenly as Octavia trotted toward her bedroom, "A good night's sleep. Of course..."

~~~~~~

The situation was all-too-familiar. Vinyl would put off sleep as long as she could, but she now felt exhausted. Vinyl would meekly slide under the blankets, fall asleep with a fearful anticipation in her stomach, and then find herself falling and not waking up. It happened too often that it was now routine for the unicorn.

But not tonight.

When Vinyl fell asleep, she opened her eyes to find herself in the dream world, not falling but instead on an ethereal purple platform, standing before Princess Luna herself. Quickly, Vinyl bowed, and Luna made a noise in response. Was that... a chuckle?

"We are most pleased to see you once again, Vinyl Scratch," Luna greeted in her usual loud, royal voice, "Regrettably, our research into this unpleasant subject has yielded no results."

"Awh..." Vinyl pouted, "Then you might as well wake me up then. I like the night... and it's not just because I'm talking to the Princess of the Night."

Luna shook her head, "We have something else in mind for tonight. Also, we have observed a few of thous activities in Canterlot during our nights, and believe that keeping such a wild unicorn asleep would be a mercy."

"Gee, thanks," Vinyl said sarcastically, "So what else did you have planned?"

"We intend to explore this dream," Luna revealed with a wicked grin, "Venture forth through it in search of a creature of nightmares. Already we have cast a spell that shall protect your physical form from harm, though I must warn you that your spiritual form may be in danger."

"I could die?"

"That is correct."

"I could die in a dream," Vinyl repeated, "Doesn't that mean I just wake up?"

"In a way, thou art correct," Luna explained, "But in truth, the physical form of a pony always pulls the spiritual form from the dream before they can fully perish. Because of our magic, thou art more in touch with thy spiritual form than thy physical, so the danger is very much real."

"Great," Vinyl sighed, "Because what would this little adventure be without real danger?"

"Fear not, for we can wake you before any serious harm may come," Luna informed her, "What say you, Vinyl Scratch?"

"Let's go? I guess?" Vinyl reluctantly decided.

"Huzzah!" Luna cheered, and then the platform below them vanished. Vinyl opened her mouth to scream as she and Luna hurtled down through the sky, toward the ground. They seemed to be falling at a much quicker rate than usual, and Vinyl wondered if Luna had used her magic to speed up their fall.

"LUUUUNNNAAAAAA!!" Vinyl shrieked, "We're gonna die!"

"FEAR NOT, VINYL SCRATCH!" Luna shouted back, unfurling her wings. Vinyl felt herself seized by the alicorn's magic, and then Luna descended and gently lowered Vinyl to the ground before letting her go. Vinyl landed with all four hooves on the ground, safe and sound. A moment later, the princess folded her wings and landed beside her.

"Huh," Vinyl poked at the grass with her hoof and looked around, "Never thought I'd actually be standing here in one piece."

"We must search for a landmark," Luna said, looking around, "Something to guide our journey into the realm of dreams."

For the first time, Vinyl noticed that all around this large stretch of empty, grassy field that she would have landed in was surrounded by a distant white fog, sealing the field in its own form of isolation. Nothing could be seen whatsoever; certainly no landmarks.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Vinyl asked, puzzled.

"Observe this area more clearly, Vinyl Scratch," Luna gestured around, "Does this not seem familiar to you at all?"

"It does, but I'm not sure why-" Vinyl's eyes widened as she finally saw it, "Wait, I get it! This is the field I see every time I look down from my house! When I'm on the porch! This is the field around Canterlot Mountain."

Luna nodded, "And which way would the mountain be?"

Vinyl pointed, "That way."

"Then that is the way we shall venture. Come, Vinyl Scratch," Luna began walking in that direction, and Vinyl nervously followed. As the two ponies trotted closer to the fog, Vinyl could see that it was like a wall. A huge, looming cloud of fog, held back as though by glass. Luna's alicorn horn lit up, and she shot a blast of bright blue magic into the fog. There was a loud rumbling, and then it appeared to dissipate.

Beyond the cloud, the dream world took a more frightening turn. The sky was black, but this was no night. The only thing lighting their way was the glow from their horns. The ground was purplish and squishy, disgustingly so. Glowing orange fungai poked out of the landscape, and the world became far different from a simple field. Even Luna looked a little unsettled by this.

"My..." she trailed off, thinking aloud, "How... horrifying. Perhaps THIS is the realm the dark magic is trying to drag your physical form into. Your physical self in the world of dreams..."

"You mean I've had this... this THING attached to my nightmares?! For how long?!" Vinyl panicked.

"Perhaps you will discover the answers you seek over there," Luna nodded in a direction, and Vinyl followed her gaze to see that the strange world curved upwards to form a large hill, and atop the hill was... a mansion. There were lights in a few of the windows, indicting that they weren't alone in this dream.

Vinyl gulped, "O-kay... let's go then..."

She stepped forward, only to grimace when her hoof sank an inch into the moist ground. She looked down, disgusted, and continued trotting. Luna, on the other hand, used her wings to fly a few feet above the ground behind Vinyl. Vinyl looked back at the princess with a resentful glance. Though Luna was careful to maintain an elegant, high-class appearance, Vinyl could've sworn that the princess cast her a smug look.

They reached the mansion to see that it appeared to just be an ordinary mansion, like something Vinyl would see walking through the aristocratic neighborhoods in Canterlot. The ground turned to stone surrounding the mansion, and Vinyl was grateful to climb out of the muck to get to some solid ground. Luna landed beside her and led the way toward the mansion. In front of the enormous building was a statue of a stallion who appeared to resemble King Sombra (who was extremely obscure in literature, but was on the cover of one of Ponyowar's albums, which was how Vinyl knew him), but looked a bit different. This stallion, for example, had a beard. Luna had apparently noticed the resemblance as well, and she grit her teeth as they passed it.

They climbed a short set of stairs to the mansion's front porch. As they reached the top and Vinyl wondered if they were supposed to knock or ring the doorbell or what, the two front doors slowly creaked open, revealing a dimly-lit foyer.

"Ooookay, this is something out of my nightmares," Vinyl said, a chill running down her back, "Oh wait. Scratch that, this IS my nightmare."

"Perhaps we should continue by ourselves," Luna suggested, glancing at Vinyl, who was trying to figure out what the heck she just said. We? Ourselves? How did that make sense? Then Vinyl remembered that Luna substituted "I" and "myself" for "we" and "ourselves".

"You want to go on without me?" Vinyl gasped, shocked.

"The road before us is littered with perils and dangers, Vinyl Scratch. In order to keep you safe, we believe locking you out of the dream world is the best decision right now," Luna explained, "Our magic is powerful enough to sustain the dream for thirty minutes once you have gone. You will not be awake until that time is up, but you will be safe."

"No! I couldn't do that," Vinyl quickly shook her head, "This is MY dream, MY nightmare, so I'm going to see it through."

At that moment, a loud howling sound wailed out from somewhere deeper in the mansion.

"You know, on second thought, I think I'll just, uh, stay out of your way," Vinyl said, closing her eyes, "Wake me up."

Luna's horn lit up again, and Vinyl was engulfed by a bright blue aura, but then the princess's magic fizzled and then went out. A quizzical look swept over the princess's face, and she tried again. Again, her magic fizzled out.

"Um... we may have encountered an issue," Luna's eyes widened.

"You mean... I can't wake up?!" Vinyl began to panic, "Am I going to be stuck here forever?!"

"It is not likely, though it is not on the list of impossibilities," Luna struggled to find an explanation, "Our magic must be interfered with by something within this mansion!"

"Princess Luna, I can DIE here!" Vinyl's cheeks began to burn red.

"And that is why we must venture forth, Vinyl Scratch!" Luna scolded, "Until we find the source of the dark magic, you will be in constant peril!"

With that, Luna turned and started trotting into the house, "You may follow us or wait on the porch, but all this will end tonight."

Vinyl trembled with fear, but took a deep breath and trotted after Luna. The mansion appeared to be even bigger on the inside, and each hallway seemed to lead down an endless path, with an infinite amount of doors. However, Luna's magic didn't appear to be limited within the dream, and she easily navigated the hallways. She opened the right doors that led to staircases, and soon she and Vinyl found themselves on the third floor. The tricks of the mansion ended here, and this story seemed to be normal. There was a long hallway, but Vinyl could clearly see the end of this one. In the middle, the hallway built into a bigger room with a large staircase in the middle.

"Those stairs led up to the roof," Luna informed Vinyl, "On top of this mansion, I know not what we'll find, but I DO know that whatever it is, it is the source of the dark magic."

"Whatever it is, it'll give me some answers," Vinyl grit her teeth, following Luna up the stairs.

The roof of the mansion seemed a lot higher than it had seemed from the bottom. The roof had sloped edges, but the center of it was a smooth platform. On top of this smooth platform was a pony, the same one from that night Octavia went missing. His black cloak billowed in the strong wind, and it seemed that a storm was contained right on top of the mansion. Thunder cracked and lightning flashed, and Luna and Vinyl stood facing this mysterious stallion. He stood behind a podium with a spellbook on top of it, but this podium was surrounded by creatures resembling large dogs, but they were made of dark purple ooze, almost like liquid shadow. Their glowing eyes surveyed the two ponies hungrily, ready to devour the ponies that wandered into their midst so thoughtlessly.

"Attention, creature of nightmares!" Luna shouted at the cloaked figure, "Thy Princess of the Night stands before thou, and demands that you leave this dream at ONCE!"

"Oh, Princesssssss Luna... who'd have thought that you would ever return?" the figure chuckled in its raspy, smoky voice, "I cccccertainly didn't."

"I COMMAND you to vacate this dream!" Luna ordered.

"I do not follow your orders anymore, Princess Luna," the cloaked figure replied, his voice now changed, and the dogs began to growl and snap their teeth excitedly, "Once, you were the honored Princess of the Night. Then, you were the noble Nightmare Moon. Now, you are only a joke."

The cloaked figure turned to his hounds, and pointed at Luna and Vinyl with a hoof.

"Consume their souls," he commanded. The dogs charged forward, and Vinyl screamed as Luna jumped back, but Vinyl wasn't quick enough. One hound leapt into the air and lunged for her. Instinctively, Vinyl held up her hoof to stop him, but the beast dug its fangs into Vinyl's foreleg. Vinyl howled with pain-

-and then, somehow, woke up in her bed.

Vinyl looked around, bewildered at what she had just experienced. She sat up in her bed as the sunlight trickled in through the window, and reached her hoof up to scratch behind her head. However, in doing so, she yelped when she felt it: a piercing pain in her foreleg. Vinyl looked at where it hurt the most, only to see bite marks.

Bite marks... from the nightmare hound.

~~~~~~

"Vinyl, a letter for you arrived this morning," Octavia informed her roommate, taking a sip of her morning coffee. Octavia always got the mail; it was part of her morning routine.

"Really? Was it from the Unending Paradise Nightclub?" Vinyl asked eagerly, "They owe me a gig."

"It's on the table," Octavia said, wandering into the kitchen. Vinyl hurried over to the table to see that a flawless white envelope with 'VINYL SCRATCH' written across it lie on the table. Vinyl opened the envelope and pulled out a small note.

"BEHIND THE DRAGON'S CLAW AT NOON" the note read.

Princess Luna! Vinyl gasped. She must have gotten out of the nightmare unscathed, and now had information to give her. The Dragon's Claw nightclub was an odd place to meet, but it was close and Vinyl knew it was secluded and private back there, so there would be nopony to interrupt them.

Vinyl glanced at the clock. Noon was only two hours away.

~~~~~~

Derpy peeled off the Band-Aid over her foreleg, and examined her wound. Her house was silent, except for her tense breathing. The wound had flakes of dried blood around the deep cut, but seemed to be healing properly so far, though she was only a day into the healing process.

But Derpy felt a knot in her stomach every time she looked at that wound. Now, the knot was squeezing her middle, and somehow she only knew one way to release the pain she felt.

In her hoof, Derpy clutched a kitchen knife. It was a typical knife, with a sharp, jagged side for carving. She stared down at the knife with her strange eyes, the eyes that had gotten her teased so much by so many different ponies...

Without even thinking about it, she brought the knife down over her foreleg. Derpy cried out in pain, but this pain quickly subsided even as the blood began to spurt from the long, thin cut. Derpy dropped the knife, letting it clatter to the floor as she clutched her self-inflicted cut.

Derpy licked the blood from her foreleg, calmly put the knife away, and then trotted out of the room without looking back.