XII - (Almost) In The Flesh
Chapter XII
(Almost) In The Flesh
“Y’know,” Flash said with a blushing grin, “if you’re not tired, I can always help with that.”
Vinyl rolled her eyes. “Nice try, Bolt Butt, but I think Luna’s got it covered.”
He opened his mouth, paused, glanced at the princess standing by Vinyl. At Luna’s raised eyebrow he sucked in a slow breath. “Oooooh, that was tempting. You’re going to get me sent to the moon yet.”
With a chuckle, Vinyl stepped close and nuzzled him. “Darn. You almost said it, didn’t ya?”
He returned the motion. “I knew it was setup. You’re a dangerous mare, Vanilla.”
Vinyl’s cheeks burned and she popped him gently on the side of the head. “Not in front of Luna, ya jerk! And for the last time, I do not taste like vanilla.”
Before she could react, he pecked her on the cheek. “Yeah, actually you do.”
“Go on!” She pushed him out the door, her face only growing hotter. “We can’t do this if you’re bugging me!”
“Aww, but it’s so much fun.” He nipped at her ear before she could get away.
She fought valiantly to keep from grinning. “I’ll be fun later, this is too important. Now git!” She closed the door in his face.
“You’re my witness, Luna,” he called through the wood. “She promised me some fun later!”
Vinyl thought her face would melt. She bucked the door and walked away from it, doing her best to maintain a calm, dignified pose. “A-alright, can we get started now?”
Luna had a small smile. “Has anypony ever mentioned that you two are a delight to watch?”
“Ugh…” Vinyl facehoofed. “I’m gonna kill that colt.”
“He’s only trying to cover his own anxiety,” the princess noted. “In a thousand years, stallions haven’t changed at all.”
“Wait.” Vinyl shot Luna an incredulous look. “You mean there are stallions asking you out?”
Luna chuckled and shook her head. “Not recently, no; I appear to be a bit unapproachable in the eyes of most modern stallions. But there was a time, most certainly.” She waved to the bed. “Do you want to discuss the hearts of hopeless colts, or do you want to begin?”
“Begin, definitely begin.” Vinyl all but jumped into her bed. As she settled into her preferred spot, she cast a glance at the door. “So, uh, why did you want Flash to come along?”
“You will be asleep,” Luna replied as she sat by the bed. “I will be in the dreamscape. If something were to go wrong, it would be appropriate for somepony to be nearby to wake you.”
“Ah.” Vinyl cocked her head. “What could go wrong?”
At that Luna regained her pleasant smile. “Do not fret, Miss Scratch. I am merely being cautious. The odds are exceedingly low, and even if something did happen I would be there to stop it. Trust the Princess of the Night.”
Vinyl returned the smile and rested her head to her pillow. “Alright, Luna, I trust ya.”
“Good. Are you ready?” Luna waited for her to nod. “Then I shall begin.” The princess lowered her horn to touch Vinyl’s forehead. A soft glow filled her eyes, and within seconds she began to feel lightheaded.
“Wow, this… this stuff works… quick…”
Vinyl blinked and stared up at the rafters. It took her a few seconds to register that they shouldn’t even be there. “What the…” She sat up with a jerk and looked around. She was alone in a small room full of musical toys; a little clarinet, a play piano, a xylophone. It all looked so curiously familiar.
Home. She was in her room at her uncle’s place. But why was she here?
“Luna?” She gazed at her hooves. “I’m dreaming now, right?” Another look around reminded her that she was alone.
Carefully, she climbed out of the bed. Strange; she was her normal self, but her room wasn’t any smaller. She examined the piano, which should have been sized for a filly of six or seven but instead reached up to her chest. She tapped the keys and heard the note, as crisp and clear as it had been in reality. She couldn’t help but marvel; she’d never had a dream be so lucid before.
Then it dawned on her: she knew she was dreaming.
That was an entirely new sensation.
“Oooookay.” Vinyl spun a quick circle. “Luna said she’d get here soon. So—”
“Here I am.” Luna’s head appeared through the open bedroom window. She offered a smile. “I apologize for the delay, I had to prepare. Are you ready?”
“You bet I am!” Vinyl grinned and looked around the room once more. “So is there something I gotta do?”
Luna chuckled at her eagerness. “Not at all. Just let me work my magic for a moment.”
With a nod, Vinyl sat and waited. Luna closed her eyes and her horn began to shine. The dark blue glow filled Vinyl’s vision, making her raise a hoof over her eyes and look away. Seconds passed in silence, and then the light began to fade. “What was that supposed to—”
She lowered her leg and saw a bright blue sky. A vast, hilly plain spread for miles in every direction, covered in little white flowers and tall grass that swayed in the wind.
“Oh.” She pawed at the grass and marveled at how surprisingly real it felt. “Is this your doing?”
“This is simply how lucid dreams are,” Luna’s disembodied voice responded. “However, your subconscious mind has picked up on my presence, and that makes it more ‘aware,’ if you will. A moment, please.”
Vinyl fidgeted, her eyes surveying the empty world. It was actually rather pretty, reminding her loosely of the cemetery her father was in.
Just as she was about to call out to Luna, a new light appeared a few feet away. She watched it with wide eyes as the light shifted and coalesced into a tall form. It gradually acquired a pair of legs, then arms like a minotaur. Whatever was forming, it was much smaller than one of those. Vinyl’s heart pounded in her chest and her mouth hung open as the light began to fade, leaving behind something the likes of which descriptions had not prepared her for.
The creature that stood before her was tall enough that Vinyl’s muzzle just reached to its waist. It bore long, slender limbs and its furless skin was a dark brown. It wore blue jeans around wide hips and a light yellow shirt with short, white sleeves. A long, black ponytail crowned its head. The creature’s face was wide and hard, with a short nose, thin mouth and high cheekbones. It blinked, revealing soft green eyes that gradually came to focus upon Vinyl.
For several seconds, the two only gaped at one another. Vinyl took a timid step forward and licked her lips before managing to utter a quiet, “Y-you’re… Adi?”
Slowly, Adi raised her hand to point with a lone finger. “Vinyl?”
Vinyl’s hind legs collapsed. “Oh Goddess, she did it. Luna actually merged our dreams.”
“You really are a… a pony.” A lopsided smile came to Adi’s face. “And a unicorn, just like you said.”
“And you’re…” Vinyl’s lips fumbled as she struggled for something to say. At last she managed to blurt out, “Tall.”
Adi huffed a feeble laugh and approached on stumbling legs. Vinyl stared up at her, trying to find some more words, but her mind was numb. This… this creature was what she had been talking to on the radio all this time? There were so many emotions floating around in her brain at that moment that it rendered her speechless.
Her legs failing, Adi dropped to her knees before Vinyl. Her eyes were wide as saucers and her hands trembled. Slowly, she reached up and touched Vinyl’s cheek. “You’re… You’re really you, right? You’re really here?”
Vinyl reached up to press the hand, to feel its warmth, to delight in its touch. “Y-yeah, I’m really here.”
Adi’s shaking lips twitched into a smile. Her eyes began to water. “Vinyl… oh, Vinyl!” She fell forward, engulfing Vinyl in a tight hug as her sobs shattered the still air. Vinyl smiled and wrapped her hooves around Adi’s shoulders, not bothering to say anything.
There was no way to know how long the moment lasted. Adi wept and wept, but even when she could sob no more she continued to hold Vinyl. She didn’t mind; Vinyl couldn’t imagine what this moment was like for her. She wasn’t sure she wanted to.
At last, Adi managed to speak. “I… I’m sorry. I told myself I wouldn’t, but…” She sat back, but her hands clung to Vinyl’s shoulders. Though her face was streaked with tears, she had the biggest smile Vinyl had ever seen. “I c-can’t describe how beautiful you are. The most b-beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Vinyl returned the smile. “It’s good to finally meet ya, Adi.”
Adi chuckled. “N-nice to meet you, Vinyl.” She hesitated, but finally let go. “Sorry.”
“It’s alright,” Vinyl said. “I get it. I’m not gonna leave anytime soon.”
A long sigh drifted from Adi’s lips and her shoulders sagged. “Good. G-good.” She stared into Vinyl’s eyes for a moment, but then jerked them away. “So,” she hurriedly said, “is this what Equestria looks like?”
Vinyl took in their surroundings once more. “More or less. This is a ‘neutral ground’ Luna made for us. Said it was safer than just throwing one of us in the other’s dream.”
“Oh, the princess!” Adi stood and looked around. “Where is she? I’d like to thank her.”
“She said she’d be leaving us to ourselves this time,” Vinyl replied with a shrug. “I’m sure you can meet her next time.”
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t think she could do what she claimed.” Adi’s eyes abruptly grew wide, her gaze centering on Vinyl’s horn. “Wait, if she can do this…” She leaned close to eye the protrusion with wonder, her attention making Vinyl fidget. “You people really can do magic, can’t you?”
“You mean you still didn’t believe?” Vinyl rolled her eyes. “Yes, I can do—” She tensed with a small eep, eyes going wide as Adi ran a few fingers along her horn.
“This is amazing,” Adi whispered, blissfully unaware of the tingling that coursed through Vinyl’s body.
“Heyheyhey!” Vinyl pulled her head back, cheeks burning. “Those things are sensitive, y’know.”
“Oh!” Adi’s hand jerked back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. It didn’t hurt or anything, did it?”
Vinyl gave a weak smile. “It’s not that kind of sensitivity.”
“It’s not?” Adi’s brow furrowed, but then her eyebrows shot up. “Oh. I am so sorry!”
“No, it’s fine.” Vinyl waved a dismissive hoof as the fire in her cheeks finally died down. “You didn’t know.” She abruptly smirked as a certain image flashed in her mind. “My coltfriend might get jealous if he finds out, though.”
“Jealous about what?”
Vinyl gasped and jerked around to discover Flash standing behind her, a sickeningly cute look of confusion plastered on his face. “What the hay are you doing here?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea.” He grinned and nuzzled her. “But am I glad to see you!”
“Is that really—” Adi gasped and stepped up close to study him. “Wings! He really is a pegasus. Holy wow.”
“Hmm?” He glanced at her. “Oh, hey Adi.” He promptly resumed nuzzling Vinyl’s chest.
She understood almost immediately. Her cheeks reddened once more at his attention. “Great, I brought him here,” she grumbled.
Adi gave her a curious look. “What do you mean?”
Vinyl tried pushing Flash away, but he only pressed in closer with a pleasant hum. Goddess, her cheeks were hot! “Luna told me a little about dreamweaving. I thought of Flash, and here he is, but he’s not really Flash.” She shoved him aside with a snarl. “Would you get off?”
He hit the ground on his side and began to shine a bright blue. He looked up at her with a hurt expression, complete with those big puppy eyes she loved and hated so much. Within a couple seconds he was gone, leaving her with guilt.
Adi gaped at her own hands. “You mean if we just think about it, it’ll show?”
“Something like that,” Vinyl replied with a huff, smoothing her fur where Flash had been rubbing against her. She looked up and blinked; the field was gone. They were in a city now, surrounded by closely packed little houses that looked like they had seen better decades. Broken windows, dead shrubs, littered streets covered in cracks. It was a veritable slum. She peered at a strange object on wheels that reminded her vaguely of a turtle, only longer and made of metal. Several of them lined the street.
“Oh, God.”
Vinyl turned to find Adi staring at a lone house covered in chipped, stained red paint. Her hands were raised as if she wanted to reach for the screen door.
“Adi?” Vinyl stepped up beside her and saw fresh tears forming in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Adi stumbled forward, her hand resting against the wood. “I… I never thought I’d see it so clearly again. To touch it like this…” Her lips trembled as she smiled at Vinyl. “This is Chicago. Th-this is home. I grew up here.”
“Home? This place?” Vinyl bit her tongue. Hard. Yet even as she fought to restrain herself, she couldn’t help but turn a small circle and take in her surroundings. It was astounding how similar this place looked compared to an Equestrian city… at least in terms of the structures.
Adi chuckled. “I know, it’s not much to look at.” She reached for the handle of the screen door, but hesitated. After a few seconds she stepped back.
Vinyl tilted her head. “What’s wrong? Don’t you wanna go in?”
“No.” Adi turned away from the house and shook her head forcefully. “I can’t. This isn’t really home, right? I… I shouldn’t be dwelling on it.”
“But…” Vinyl gaped at the house, and then at Adi as she walked past. “I thought you’d… Why?”
“Please, Vinyl.” Adi hugged herself and shook. “Take me somewhere else. Anywhere, I don’t care. Just not here.”
She looked between Adi and the house. At last she nodded and began to concentrate on the first place to come to mind. In a blink, the buildings all warped and changed locations, the wood and dirty brick being instantly replaced with white stone and marble. Canterlot Castle arose in the distance like a waking giant and cobblestones seemed to burst out of the ground like water to replace the concrete street.
Adi gasped and turned a small circle, taking in the beauty of the city. “What is this place?”
“Canterlot,” Vinyl replied with a smile. “We’re in the Arts District.”
“It’s so… clean.” Adi’s lips turned up in a smile. “So this is what a pony city looks like.”
“Eh, this is the Upper Levels.” Vinyl rubbed the back of her head. “I live in the Lower Levels, which aren’t as well kept. I just thought you’d prefer to see the fancy side of town.”
“Canterlot.” Adi took a few steps, her head craning back so she could take in the castle far above them. “Canterlot. Camelot. Suddenly the name feels so much more appropriate.”
“Better get used to it,” Vinyl said, stepping beside her. “This may be where you’ll be living for a while.”
Adi’s expression darkened, but it cleared so quickly Vinyl might have just imagined it. “Maybe. It certainly is prettier than Chicago.”
“You said it, not me,” Vinyl chuckled. “When you get here in reality, I’ll be sure to show you around.”
This time she knew Adi’s frown wasn’t imagined. “I’d like that.” The smile came back in full spread. “I want to see more!”
“Now, hold on.” Vinyl sat and tapped a hoof to the back of her canon. “Quid pro quo, right? You gotta show me stuff, too.”
“Oh, right.” Adi blushed and considered her. “Hmm… I’m not sure what—oh, I know! Let’s see if I’ve got this right.” She held up her hands theatrically and closed her eyes, waving them as if to perform some sort of magic. Vinyl hid her smile behind her cannon at the ridiculousness of it.
The world shifted once more, the buildings turning green and sinking down into the ground like accordions. The ground rose beneath Vinyl’s hooves, carrying them both up several feet as the rest of the world seemed to sink. After only a couple seconds they were sitting in an empty field of swaying grass.
Adi opened her eyes and grinned. “This is even easier than I thought.”
“Yeah, pretty simple.” Vinyl looked around, but saw nothing of interest. “So… why’d you bring us back to the field?”
“I didn’t.” Adi pointed over Vinyl’s shoulder, and she turned around to see a strange, cylindrical object in the distance.
She peered at the orange and white… something. “What the hay is that supposed to be?” A rumbling sound filled her ears, and abruptly a plume of white smoke burst from beneath the object. She took a tentative step back as the cylinder steadily began to rise from the earth.
“That,” Adi said, kneeling beside her and resting a hand to her shoulder, “is how humans usually go to space: sit down on a huge rocket filled with tons and tons of volatile chemicals and hope it doesn’t blow up.”
Vinyl’s jaw dropped as her eyes followed the rocket higher and higher into the sky. “Holy horseshoes, isn’t that dangerous?”
“It can be.” Adi reached her hand out and snapped her fingers, and the rocket erupted in smoke and flame, making Vinyl gasp. “It’s happened a few times.”
Vinyl stared at the descending debris, then looked to Adi. “Is that how you got up there?”
“Not quite,” Adi replied with a smile. “My ship actually had a runway, though it did require rocket boosters to get out of the atmosphere.”
“That still sounds really dangerous.” Vinyl pointed at the sky and a large wooden vessel passed over them, its vast balloon covering the sun. “That’s the best we can do when it comes to flying without wings. To think, I used to believe airships were advanced.”
“Maybe it’s better that way,” Adi whispered, then tapped Vinyl’s head. “Your turn. Show me something cool.”
“Hey!” Vinyl pointed at the ship again. “You show me a rocket, I show you an airship. Your turn!”
“Is it?” Adi smiled and scratched behind Vinyl’s ear. The feel of her dexterous fingers had a surprisingly soothing effect, and Vinyl let out a small whimper. “I think you should go now.”
“W-what the hay?” Vinyl shifted and tried to pull away, a weak smile coming to her lips. “How are you…” She trembled and couldn’t resist leaning towards Adi. “N-no fair.”
Adi chuckled. “I didn’t actually think that would work.” She brought her other hand to bare, scratching behind both ears and making Vinyl whimper. “Wow, you really like that, don’t you?”
Vinyl trembled and ground her teeth together. At last she managed to make herself bound forward. “Alright, alright, you win, just stop it!” She settled down a safe distance away and shook herself as if to fling water from her coat. She glowered and tried to rub the pink from her cheeks. “That’s cheating!”
“Yeah, as if you don’t want me to do it.” Adi grinned and reached her hands forward, her fingers wiggling. “C’mon, show me something else.”
“I’m thinking, I’m thinking!” She rubbed behind her ears to try and get the lingering sensation to fade away. “Not sure what else to show ya. I don’t really travel a lot, not since Dad died.”
“Hmm…” Adi sat in the grass and crossed her legs. “Is there some place important to you?”
“Important?” Vinyl studied her hooves as she pondered. A stray thought came to mind, and with it she felt the world shifting once more. She winced, realizing almost immediately where she was taking them. She waited until she felt the magic fading before she looked up at the rows upon rows of stones. A familiar one sat between and to the left of them, and the sight of it made her smile.
“This will do,” she said, approaching the tombstone.
“Oh wow,” Adi whispered as she stood, “even your cemeteries are like ours.”
“I’m starting to expect that now,” Vinyl said with a roll of her eyes. “I know it’s crazy weird, but it’s also getting kinda stale.”
“Say what you like, it’s still fascinating.”
Vinyl sat before the familiar tombstone, smiling at the words inscribed. “I make it a point to come out here once a year, but I’ve been thinking about making my visits more frequent.”
Adi stood next to her, gazing at the grave. “‘Bright Weld.’ Your father, then?”
“Yeah.” Vinyl sighed and dropped to her barrel. “You suggested an ‘important place.’ I think this qualifies.”
Sitting down, Adi said nothing. The two stared at the grave in silence for a few seconds, but then Adi’s hand reached over and began rubbing along Vinyl’s back. She would have tensed if she didn’t find the touch so relaxing. Still, she couldn’t help blurting out, “Are you petting me?”
“S-sorry.” Adi pulled her hand back with a sheepish smile. “It’s kind of tempting.”
“It’s not that I mind,” Vinyl hurriedly added. “I’m just not used to it, is all.”
“I imagine not, since no one here has hands.” Adi stared at her palms as if seeing them for the first time. “These things are going to come in handy in this world… pun not intended.” She reached over and began stroking Vinyl’s back once more.
Vinyl promptly forgot her retort involving minotaurs. She gave a soft sigh and rested her chin in the grass. “Yeah, I could get used to that.”
They were quiet for a while. Vinyl marveled at Adi’s touch; those five digits of hers worked wonders on scratching in just the right places. At one point Adi rubbed under Vinyl’s ear again, which she found delightful in a way that was almost uncomfortable.
“This is a nice place,” Adi whispered after one such session. “I had forgotten what a peaceful day was like.”
“Wait ‘til you see the real thing,” Vinyl replied pleasantly. “When it’s my turn, I hope to be buried next to my old stallion. I can’t think of a better place.”
“Hmm…” Adi’s lips dropped to a small frown. Her chin touched her chest as she stared at the grass, which she began plucking haphazardly. “I… I wonder if I’ll be buried in a place like this.” She pressed both palms to the ground. Her chin trembled. “This might be the closest I’ll ever come to seeing grass again, of feeling it between my fingers. I always took grass for granted, but right now…”
She lowered herself to her stomach and rested her cheek in the grass. “It seems like such a precious thing.”
Vinyl stared at Adi, watching her eyes grow moist. Her thoughts turned to that dark time six months ago, when she’d come so close to abandoning her friend. Had she carried on with it, had she not spoken to Princess Cadance and realized her folly, Adi wouldn’t be there right now. The thought left pinpricks in her chest.
“Adi… you’ll make it.”
Adi’s eyes turned to her, but there was no pleasure in that gaze. “Will I, Vinyl? I might not. Maybe it’s better to just… just float around and let dreams do the job. At least then I’ll be alive.”
Something about the way she said that made Vinyl’s insides twist. She turned away and stared at her father’s tombstone, thinking about the past two years.
She felt the pleasant sensation of Adi’s hands on her back once more. “Thank you, Vinyl,” she whispered. “Thank you for letting me see this. It’s better than I could have hoped.”
Vinyl jerked away from her touch. She sat up and gave Adi a hard look. “Why?”
“Why?” Adi pushed herself back to a sitting position. “What do you mean?”
“Why is this—” Vinyl spread her arms wide at their surroundings “—better than you hoped? You mean you don’t expect to make it to Equestria?”
Adi’s expression fell. “The odds are so low, Vinyl. Why won’t Twilight tell me what her revised guess is? Because if it was a good estimate, she’d have said something. Even with the new trajectory and such, I won’t make it.”
Vinyl pursed her lips in a thin line, her gaze making Adi avert her eyes. She was reminded yet again of how she almost fell to despair, and here was her friend taking the same steps. The idea made her angry, both at Adi and herself. She jerked her head away, and her eyes fell upon her father’s tombstone. An idea came to mind almost instantly.
“Well,” Adi muttered, rubbing her hands together anxiously, “I guess it’s my turn to show you something.”
“No.” Vinyl crossed her arms. “I’ve got something else to show you.”
“But it’s my turn—”
“Shut up.” Vinyl stood and, ignoring Adi’s startled look, closed her eyes to concentrate. “This is important. You have to see it.”
Adi said nothing as Vinyl looked back on her memories. It wasn’t easy, considering the age of the memory, but she had stories to supplant what she’d lost with time. The world didn’t feel any different, but that didn’t surprise her.
“Vinyl?”
She opened her eyes to find them in a small, dark hallway. Adi slowly stood, the wood under her feet creaking with her every movement. It struck Vinyl as funny, how she remembered those squeaky floors so perfectly. Maybe because she’d been so close to the ground back then.
“Where are we?” Adi looked around with an uncertain frown.
“Somewhere important.” Vinyl turned in time for a light to abruptly come on in a doorway beside them. “You need to see this.”
They peered into the dim room, lit by a couple candles resting on a fragile-looking desk. There was a window just by it, and the rain pattering on its pane was startlingly clear. Also clear was the small, familiar radio sitting on the desk. A unicorn sat there, his cheek lying on the top and a kitchen knife cutting little grooves in the wood.
A high-pitched, male voice rose from the radio. “It’s not your fault, Weld.”
“It is my fault,” the stallion whispered into the microphone, which lay beside his head. His eyes stared at the knife dully as it cut into the wood again and again.
“Weld?” Adi glanced at Vinyl. “You mean that’s your—”
Vinyl shushed her, eyes locked on the stallion’s face. He looked so frail, a shadow of the pony she’d known most of her life. Such a terrible image. It made her feel small.
The voice on the radio spoke up once more. “There was nothing you could have done. You know that.”
“I could have stayed with her,” Bright Weld said, his voice as dull as his eyes. “She needed me, Bastion. She needed me to drag her out of the muck that was her life, and I…”
“She made her decisions, you made yours,” Bastion countered, his voice firm. “Yours was the right one.”
“But was it the right one for her?” Seconds passed in silence. “I failed as a husband.”
“Don’t believe that for a second. She’s the one who failed.”
Bright Weld closed his eyes and sighed. “She needed a guiding hoof. She needed help and I turned my back on her. What kind of husband does that?”
A snarl forced its way through the static. “Damn it, Weld, what is wrong with you? You worked your cutie mark off for that mare! You paid for counseling, you paid her meals, you’re paying her bucking debts! You picked her up more times than she deserved, and you think you are the one who failed?”
“It wasn’t enough.” Bright Weld’s voice cracked as he covered his face with a leg. “I wasn’t good enough.”
The sight of her father in such duress tore at Vinyl’s heart. Without thinking, she stepped into the room. When she spoke, her voice came out small and light. “Daddy?”
Bright Weld jerked up, his eyes going wide. He recovered with impressive swiftness as he turned to her, his expression soft. “Vinyl. What are you doing up, kiddo?”
“I was thirsty.” He suddenly seemed so big. She sat and kicked at the floor, head bowed but eyes on him. “Are you sad because of Mommy?”
“I…” He floundered, his lips working soundlessly.
Bastion’s voice rose from the speaker. “Weld? You there?”
Bright Weld winced and turned to grab the mic in his magic. “Give me a moment. Vinyl’s up.”
“Oh.” Bastion’s voice became much more pleasant. “Good evening, Vinyl. How are you?”
With a weak smile, Bright Weld lowered the microphone to Vinyl’s level. She scooted a little closer and pressed her lips directly to the device. Her voice came out shaky. “I’m okay.”
The microphone pulled back as Bright Weld patted her head. “You don’t have to be that close, honey.”
Vinyl looked up at him, then eyed the desk. She could just see the knife’s handle sticking out from the edge. “Daddy, why do you have a knife?”
A sharp breath was heard through the static. “Weld?”
“I… was just thinking about having some oat sausage,” he managed to reply. “Y’know, late night snack?”
Vinyl stared at him for several long seconds. She didn’t know why she felt so… sad. Having no idea what else to do, she moved in and pressed herself against his barrel. Weld stared down at her, but finally began stroking her mane. “Vinyl, are you okay?”
She nodded against his chest… but after a couple seconds she shook her head. The words slipped out as if her lips were being automated. “I had the dream again.”
Bright Weld sighed and held her close. “It’s okay, Vinyl. The dreams will pass. I promise.”
She looked into his orange eyes. There were so many things about him that she could recall, but nothing came to her quite as clearly as those amber orbs. They were so fantastically soft, granting a warmth within that she couldn’t fathom. This was her father, the father she remembered: his exasperated smile, his vast capacity for kindness, and those warm, loving eyes.
His soothing voice broke her reverie. “Would you like to sleep with me tonight?”
Though her heart twisted, she shook her head. “I’m okay. I just… wanted to say hello.”
Bright Weld’s lips dropped to a concerned frown. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I’ll be okay, Daddy. Will you?”
“I’ll be fine, kiddo.” He nuzzled her cheek.
Her ears folded as she pressed against him. “Promise?”
“I promise. Off you go, now. Back to bed.”
“Okay, Daddy.” She stepped back, but her eyes went back to the handle of the knife. Her ears folded and she chewed her lip, then looked up at her father once more. At last she turned away and trudged for the door. Adi, now a veritable giant, held a hand to her lips and watched with moist eyes. Vinyl stepped through the doorway and, as soon as she was out of the dim light of the doorway, pressed her back to the wall next to it. She heaved a shuddering breath.
“Vinyl? Are you okay?”
Vinyl stared at her hooves. They seemed so small. “Just listen.”
Bastion’s voice reached the hall. “That’s a good girl you’ve got there. Smarter than her father, apparently.”
“I hope so,” Weld muttered.
“Now,” Bastion said after a moment’s pause, “about this knife.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“‘Nothing to talk about?’ Are you kidding me? Why do you have a knife, Weld?” Silence. “You’re starting to scare me.”
Weld slammed a hoof to the table. “And you think I’m sunshine and rainbows right now? I let my wife down, Bastion, and now my kid’s having nightmares.”
Bastion growled, but kept his voice quiet. “Were you even listening to her? She’s just as scared for you as I am, probably more so. The poor filly doesn’t need to lose another parent.”
“Maybe she does,” Weld whispered. “I was a crummy husband. Who’s to say I won’t be just as bad a father? I think… I think she might need somepony better to watch over her.”
“You stupid pile of hydra droppings. Vinyl needs you!”
Vinyl winced and buried her head in her hooves.
“I… I don’t know, Bastion,” Weld said. “I mean, w-what if she follows in her mother’s hoofsteps? What if I can’t—”
“You shut your trap and listen to me,” Bastion snarled. “That knife does that filly no favors. You know what she needs right now? She needs her father to pony up and be a stallion. She needs hope in her life, and the only pony who is gonna give it to her is you. You use that knife the way you’re thinking, and you are throwing your daughter away like the trash her mother was.”
Loud clattering met Vinyl’s ears as Weld stood and stomped. “Bastion, I won’t let you—”
“Do you want Vinyl to die like she did?!”
Vinyl cringed, her breath coming in slow gasps. Silence pervaded the air. Eventually, there was a loud thump, like a body collapsing.
Somehow, Weld managed to keep his weeping hushed. “Sh-she can’t. I d-don’t want to see that h-happen. She’s my precious little f-filly and…. and…”
Bastion’s voice was as hard as granite. “Using that knife is as good as giving up. You wanna fail? That’s your ticket.” But then his tone softened. “I know it’s hard… well, scratch that, I don’t know. I don’t have any idea what you’re going through. What I do know is that you need to keep hope.”
“Hope?” Weld somehow managed to chuckle between his sobs. “My little filly’s f-future is on the line, and y-you’re talking about hope.”
“Yes, I am. Don’t discredit hope, Weld. Sometimes it’s all we’ve got.”
Weld had nothing to say to this.
Bastion sighed. “You’re a good stallion, Bright Weld. You need to be a good stallion now more than ever. Your wife is gone, but your foal still needs you. Are you going to abandon her?”
Silence.
“Weld?”
“You’re right,” Weld whispered. “You’re absolutely right. I can’t give up now, not when Vinyl needs me.”
A smile slipped onto Vinyl’s lips. She began to feel light.
“Good!” Bastion released a long breath of air. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”
“Yeah…” Weld’s voice became steadily more firm with every word. “Vinyl needs me. Just because I couldn’t help her mother, that doesn’t mean I can’t be a good father, right?”
“Exactly!” Bastion laughed, the sound of somepony letting go of a lot of pent-up worry.
“I…” Weld’s tone wavered. “I still don’t know if I’m right for this, but… but I have to try. For my little filly.”
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.”
“I know, I’m being a drama queen.” Weld sighed. “Bastion, I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You can, Weld. I have faith in you.”
There was a long pause before Weld asked, “Do you really?”
“Yeah,” Bastion answered with equal solemnity. “I really do.”
Another round of silence.
“Thanks, Bastion.”
The light of the room began to fade, until there was nothing but darkness. Adi leaned back from the doorway, her face drawn in a deep frown. She turned to Vinyl. “Why’d it stop? They were still talking.”
“That’s all I remember,” Vinyl replied, looking up at her with a smile. “I fell asleep right about then. I was only five, after all.”
Adi leaned over her, a giant of a creature. “And why are you… a child?”
“Oh?” Vinyl looked herself over and realized that, indeed, she had been reduced to a foal. “I dunno. Maybe because that’s how I remember what—hey!”
She rose off the floor, Adi’s hands cupped beneath her shoulders. Adi grinned. “You are adorable. Just look at that tiny little horn.”
Vinyl glowered. “Don’t change the subject.”
“I can’t help it.” Adi pulled her forward to bump her nose with Vinyl’s muzzle. “You’re just so cute!”
“Put me down!” Vinyl closed her eyes and concentrated, and an instant Adi’s hands felt a lot smaller. Before she had a chance to prepare, Vinyl fell on top of her, knocking Adi onto her back. Fully grown once more, Vinyl glared at the startled human. “I’m trying to tell you something important!”
“I’m sorry!” Adi raised her hands as if to ward off blows, her eyes wide. Vinyl snorted in her face before stepping back to let her up. Once back in a sitting position, Adi turned her eyes to the darkened room. “I’m sorry, Vinyl, really. Here you are trying to show me an important moment of your life, and I’m acting a fool.”
Vinyl sighed and rubbed the back of her head. “Adi… why do think I showed that to you?”
“I…” Adi chewed her lip and averted her gaze. “I don’t know.”
Nodding, Vinyl turned to the door. Her heart was heavy as she spoke. “From that day on, my father worked his tail off for me. He lived in constant fear that he wouldn’t be able to raise me properly, but he kept on going. Twelve grueling years juggling three or four jobs at a time, and I know he was miserable at lots of them.
“He finally paid off all the debts,” she whispered, hugging herself. “For the first time since I was born, he was free and could do whatever he wanted, and what he wanted was to spend every minute with me. Three months later, he died.”
“Oh…” Adi’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Vinyl, I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry?” Vinyl chuckled and shook her head. “Why? Don’t you know what that is, Adi?”
Adi tilted her head with a perplexed frown. “Tragic?”
“It’s a success story.” Vinyl turned to her, boasting a warm smile and tears in her eyes. “Don’t you see? He did it. Even though he knew the worst was possible, he held out hope. In the end, he did everything he wanted to. He died happy. Who can ask for more than that?”
“But…” Adi crossed her arms, her brow wrinkling with thought. “What are you trying to say?”
Vinyl moved close and reared back so her hooves could rest on Adi’s shoulders. She looked her friend in the eyes. “Hope, Adi. My father had hope. It didn’t matter that he spent the last twelve years of his life slaving away to pay off debts. He died, yes, but he was happy. What I’m saying is that the odds don’t matter. Heck, the end result doesn’t matter.”
“But it does matter!” Adi shook her head, her hands gripping Vinyl’s forelegs. “If I die, what good was my entire journey? The two years of course corrections and modifications, the four years of waiting? I don’t want to die.”
“Of course you don’t,” Vinyl replied. “Nopony does.”
“But I am going to die,” Adi whispered. “If I try re-entry next week when my ship arrives, I will die. If I stay in orbit waiting for a solution that won’t come, it amounts to the same thing.”
“You’ll make it, Adi!”
“No, I won’t!” Adi shook her head again. “I’m not going to make it, Vinyl!”
Vinyl wrapped her in a tight hug, her chin resting on Adi’s shoulder. “No matter what happens, your story is not a tragedy, do you hear me?”
Adi said nothing at first, but then she reached up and pulled Vinyl close. She gave a weak sniff. “Thank you, Vinyl. I think I understand what you mean. It’s just so… so hard, and I’m so scared.”
“I know. Believe me, I’m scared too.” Vinyl leaned back to smile at her friend. “I’ll be here, Adi. Whether you choose to stay up there or take the plunge, I’m here.”
The silence seemed to stretch into forever. Adi stared into Vinyl’s eyes, and Vinyl stared right back. She didn’t dare let go, and Adi made no attempt to back away. What thoughts were running through those green eyes? Vinyl could only hope and pray that they were the right ones.
At last, Adi smiled. She pulled Vinyl in for a tight hug. “Thank you, Vinyl. Thank you so much. I will try, I promise. It may take a little longer, but I’ll try.”
“That’s all I ask.” Vinyl nuzzled her neck with a smile. “Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
“Everything will be okay,” Adi whispered. She repeated the phrase like a mantra: “Everything will be okay. Everything will be okay.”
Vinyl listened.
She waited.
She held on. She’d delivered her message, and she would keep her promise. The rest was up to Adi.
After a while, Adi leaned back. She had tears running down her cheeks, but she was smiling. “I th-think it’s my turn to show you something.”
“You don’t have to…” Vinyl chuckled and pulled back, but she kept her hooves to Adi’s shoulders.
“I think you’ll like this.” Adi rubbed her cheeks as her smile spread. “It’s something I guarantee very few Equestrians have seen.”
“Well,” Vinyl said, finally backing away, “if you’re sure you’re up to it.”
“Oh, I am. It’s about the easiest place for me to go.” Adi closed her eyes and focused, and soon the walls began to shift once more. Vinyl watched with uncertainty as the wallpaper, floor and ceiling shifted to bare metal. The ceiling rose up, the walls closed in. Panels, tubes, switches and lights all took form, from air to liquid to object. When Adi opened her eyes, they were in a thin, long room.
Vinyl looked around uncertainly, then felt her jaw drop. “Adi… is this the Journey?”
“Yep.” Adi stood, and now she was wearing a white, thick bodysuit covered in pockets. Her hair was longer, too. “This has been my home for the past four years.”
“Huh.” Vinyl turned a circle to take the small space in. “It’s so… uh… gray.”
“I know, right?” Adi chuckled and turned for a nearby doorway. “Come on, there’s something you’ve got to see.”
Vinyl followed, the clopping of her hoofsteps inordinately loud in the quiet ship. She didn’t know how to feel; shouldn’t this be the last place Adi would want to visit? Her eyes kept centering on the panels and words and switches that filled the space. The next room was much larger and had six white chairs arranged before a variety of control panels. Adi stood beside one in particular, which faced the wall. Behind her was what appeared to be a blocked window.
“This is the pilot’s seat,” Adi said, gesturing to the chair. “Come on, hop in.”
Vinyl gave a weak smile as she studied the seat, which was far too high for her. “You sure you want me piloting this thing? I might slam us right into the moon.”
“I think we’ll be safe,” Adi said with a smirk. She helped Vinyl climb into the chair, which was large enough that she could sit normally. “I just wanted you to have the best view in the house.”
Vinyl cocked her head. “Best view of what?”
With a grin, Adi pressed a button on the armrest. Almost immediately, a loud grinding sound filled the air and the shutters before the great window began to slide down.
Vinyl’s eyes became saucers as an eternal blackness full of stars was presented to her. It was like no starscape she’d ever witnessed, a velvety universe of pristine silence. What best caught her eye, however, was the small orb, barely the size of a marble, that shimmered in the center of it all. It was a splash of blues and greens, half-obscured by a lingering shadow like a child peeking from behind a curtain.
“Is… is that my world?”
“That’s it.” Adi stepped towards the window, head held high and a faint smile on her lips. “After four years of seeing nothing but stars, I swear it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”
Vinyl stood, setting her hooves to the control panel so she could lean forward. “It’s so… small.”
Adi nodded. “When you’re down there, everything seems so big. Up here, you come to really appreciate how phenomenally tiny we are.”
She was right. At that precise moment, Vinyl felt so preposterously tiny. She thought on her entire life, just a single speck of existence on that orb. Flash’s life, her father’s life, her mother’s death; it all seemed so trivial compared to the eternity splayed out before her. Even the might of the princesses seemed but a blink in the eyes of heaven.
Yet even now, faced with a world so incredibly small, Vinyl found herself marveling at how big everything was. How many creatures were on that world, staring up at the stars, listening for news that the first known alien had landed? How many lives were there? Schoolteachers, businessponies, farmers, soldiers, kings and queens, all going about their daily lives, lives which every other individual cared nothing about.
“But they’re important.”
Adi turned to her. “What was that?”
“Nothing. I just…” Vinyl sat back and grinned. “Thank you for showing me this. It’s given me an entirely new perspective.”
“It has a tendency to do that,” Adi said with a chuckle.
“I’m going to show it to you, Adi,” Vinyl whispered. “Someday, for real. It looks so small, but I’ve never felt more important.”
Adi blinked and gave her a curious look. “Well, I think that’s a new one.”
“I matter.” Vinyl turned back to the window to study the bright blue marble. “Flash matters. Celestia, Luna, Twilight and Cadance. Velvet. My father and mother. You. We all matter.”
Smirking, Adi walked over to pat Vinyl on the head. “By God, I think she’s having a philosophical awakening.” She scratched behind her ears, making Vinyl moan.
“H-hey, you’re ruining my big moment of reflection!” Her eyes rolled back and a broad grin formed on her lips. “Not sure I m-mind, though.”
Adi’s smile grew warm as she turned back to the window. “Imagine it, Vinyl. Someday, I might be on that planet myself.”
Vinyl shook her head and sighed, then turned her eyes back to the starscape. “There is no ‘might.’ Soon, you and I really will meet.”
Silence lingered between them, neither willing to break the moment of peace they shared.
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Fun fact: The thing Vinyl just went under is actually very well-documented. It's called the overview effect.
5680342
Unless you count alicorns. Twilight teleported to Appaloosa, and Celestia teleported between Canterlot and Ponyville.
Only one more chapter? We aren't going to get a few chapters with Adi on Equestria... Oh noes, she is going to die.... cue south park reference... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3A9AiLt9nw
Meanwhile, in his little pocket realm, Discord taps his talons impatiently, "I do wonder when they're going to remember that I exist and am pretty much the closest thing to a god in this show! One little snap and POOF, the ship's safe and sound... and composed of lemon wafers! Or perhaps koalas! They'll NEVER expect that!" He cackles delightedly.
5694716
*Throws a blanket over Alondro* Nothing to see here, go on, go about your business! No blatantly obvious solutions to be had, nope!
5694746 or, y'know, she could land on the moon and be teleported in.
Some days, when I look up at the night sky and feel so very small, I remind myself of one thing: That I am exerting a small, infinitesimal, but non-zero gravitational pull on the farthest star in the universe- and that it's doing the same to me.
Everything's connected.
Wow, that was all over the place emotionally. You know, in a good way.
Also a refreshing change for Luna to dismiss the thought of something going horribly wrong and then actually have nothing go horribly wrong.
The aside that Twilight was only the latest stop on Flash's journey of heartbreak was an intriguing one, so this side story is good news.
Wow, this story is pretty intense. This last chapter made me cry, and I like to think that's a difficult feat. I think the most stand-out thing in the story, however, is the Vinyl/Flash romance. Every possible combination has been done to death on this site, what makes this one different is the care and sincerity. Flash is going far out of his way to support Vinyl, say what she needs to hear and help her when she needs help. They both apparently find each other attractive, but that takes second place to their concern for each other's welfare. This is the best way to make a strong relationship, the kind where they still love each other long after their teeth have fallen out from old age. I think it's sweet and very rare.
Vinyl's tragic past fits well with her current personality. All of her decisions and conflicts flow naturally from her starting point. She might not be the wisest pony, but neither is she an idiot. She's an average person that has been shaped by her past, but still aspires to be better. (Or maybe, aspires to be better again)
I'm calling it: After her ship lands, the doors open, and necromorphs pour out.
But for serious, great story. I powered thru it at work today, couldn't stop reading it. Great job! Kept tearing up during phone calls.
5694296
The more you know...
5695094
I considered letting Vinyl go on with her moment of clarity, but since such revelations aren't necessarily tied to the point of the story I figured I'd shift by it to avoid unwanted interpretations.
5694544
Or I'm planning to end the story from the moment she lands, leaving her future undecided but bright.
Tsk-tsk, so pessimistic.
5695224
Well, it's a bit late in the game for something particularly bad to happen in a dream. Adi and Vinyl already have enough on their plate. Besides, I figure Luna's pretty competent about this kind of thing.
5695605
I've had some complaints about the Flash/Vinyl romance feeling rushed for something so unique, but that's mostly because of the huge time jumps. The dirty little secret is that I never intended for their romance to take center stage; I didn't want it to detract from the real challenge of the story, but I did want Flash to provide an emotional anchor for Vinyl. If ever I get to that side story I've been thinking about, you can bet their relationship will be significantly expanded upon.
5695847
You know you're doing a decent job if your story's interfering with your reader's job performance.
5696524
Thanks!
5696698
More humorous than pessimistic. There were more than enough clues there to show it. At any rate, I think your readership would prefer a few chapters at least with Adi on equestria if she manages to land than just for it to cut off at that point.
5696890
*enters haughty elitist mode*
Bah! The puny 'readers' know not what is good for them! A good story is not about fickle 'wants' but the nuanced devotion to the 'theme' and 'purpose.'
...
Seriously though, I've never based my writing on the perceived desires of the public but on what I feel is most appropriate for the story itself. Adi exploring Equestria and making new friends doesn't further the intended purpose of the story. Worse, it falls into the realm of a more typical HiE, and I want to avoid that at all costs. The things that are beloved by the masses often annoy me more than interest me, and if an idea is common I tend to avoid it more often than not.
Simply put, I didn't write this story to be a prelude to another chronicle of a human wandering Equestria. I wrote it because I wanted to bring attention to the importance of hope.
And this is my subtle way of saying that, regardless of the outcome, there will probably be no sequel.
5696925
Actually in that case, there is no reason for showing whether she lands safely or not.
I came to that conclusion in one of my one-shots. That one shot was stronger without knowing because the choice was the thing.
I hope this doesn't go Romeo and Juliet on us
5696973
In that case, you can argue either way. Is it more valuable to at least give the readers some kind of closure, or to leave them guessing? Which gives the stronger message? There is certainly value in the open-ended story – I've tried it, myself – but I feel it's better when there's an active choice to be made. Whether Adi makes landfall or not isn't an active decision by the reader insomuch as it is a choice of what the reader wishes could have happened, which I think we know will be practically universal. If the reader's decision is practically a foregone conclusion, does an open-ended story serve the same purpose? In this case, I don't think so.
very powerful chapter. this is what a lot of the story's been leading up to, and it was handled beautifully.
5696925
that part's for the fans to write! ship Adi with everypony!!
but seriously, I get why you did it this way. Vinyl and Adi must inevitably meet face to face, and here we get that scene! Then the last chapter can end on... something else. We'll see.
I think it's to the story's credit that there's still this small doubt that Adi might not make it. It's not impossible, if the eeevil author simply wants to make everyone cry. It would be such a cheap shot though.
I almost broke down at this line.
These few words, I feel, are some of the most important words in the entire story. They don't tell the reader anything, but they encapsulate everything I feel about this story. No matter what happens, it will have been worth it for this story to exist. For the lives within to have existed.
THAT SAID, while this story is effective at drawing me in, and the primary interactions between Vinyl and Adi are absolutely amazing, the fact that Twilight and co are (presumably, though there's a chance that Twilight just hasn't told anyone what her solution is, or it's ambiguous for the audience) holding idiot balls and not taking obvious solutions really takes me out of the story. They're SMART, they shouldn't be IDIOTS.
5696989 I think that if you don't show us what actually happens, we still do get closure. It's just emotional closure, rather than the normal type - the story ends with us knowing that they won't give up hope, knowing that despite the odds, they're making sure that Adi will have a chance to get down to Equestria and live happily, and they won't give up that hope for anything.
To give us a true ending, in a sense, outright tells us whether that hope is worth it or not. If Adi makes it, we feel as though 'All of that hope we felt during the story was worth it, it's time to party!!!' and we feel all self-congratulatory. If she doesn't, we feel like shit. To make it open-ended, however, lets us leave the story actually feeling hopeful. The same could be done if Adi made it and was asked what she'd do next, but in that case we're no longer left feeling like we're risking something by hoping.
5697056
A cheap shot? I don't think so. It depends upon the message delivered and what's Adi's survival (or otherwise) means in relation to it.
If someone writes a fanfiction for my fanfiction, that would be one of the highest forms of flattery.
5697141
You assume there are obvious, easy solutions. In the case of Discord (who I've been quietly ignoring), that might even be true. Yet canon changes from story to story and author to author. Just because you believe something is possible doesn't mean it is viable in this story. Take teleportation; I've specifically negated that option by having Luna point out that such a spell isn't possible without the use of the elements in this universe, and the elements are unavailable. Luna will later make a point about how simply grabbing the Journey telekinetically is also not a preferable solution. Although I've been keeping quiet about the solutions offered by my commenters, I've been taking note and trying to find ways to negate them if necessary.
Simply put, I've been doing what I can to make magic not a viable solution to this problem. I'm sure I missed a few things, but I'm working hard to make sure there are no 'idiot balls' being dropped; each option has been reviewed and thrown away.
But, as I said, the one thing I neglected was Discord. I could probably still make a solid argument against his magic, but that would require me writing an entire extra chapter just to broach the subject, and I'm not going to do that. So yeah, that's a failure for me.
Not so. If Adi lives, okay, great, everyone's happy. But Adi's death would not immediately invalidate the message. On the contrary, it could reinforce the message, depending on how it's written. There's the good ending and the bad ending, but let's not ignore the bittersweet ending.
5696698
It's not overshadowing the main plot, it just stands out to me because it's done well. If you do end up making a side story out of it, you should give Vinyl a chance to be the giver, because she has mostly been on the receiving end so far. (mostly)
5697160 Yeah...that would be a cheap shot. Making people cry with dialogue is hard, but killing off the helpless costar is much too easy.
5697187
The author doth protest too much, methinks.
Adi's doomed.
5697187 There are a whole slew of plausible explanations as to why simple magic solutions wouldn't work - I'm just noting that as a reader who doesn't have your knowledge, it certainly feels like everypony's holding an idiot ball, and that's important.
Well, actually I said outright in my comment that Twilight was probably holding the idiot ball, so maybe I'm just editing my memories to make myself feel smarter. Either way, my point stands.
As to the ending thing, showing the result... I'd like to say invalidates the message, but that's not true in so many ways. I don't imagine it's as effective to make the reader happy to have hoped or mournful as it is to let them leave the story actually feeling hopeful.
The way I see it, there are three possible endings: Open-ended, happy, and bittersweet (Downer would be an antithesis to the story you're trying to tell. There's no actual way to make it a downer ending without making Adi come down and find out that she's incapable of living on Equestria and dying horribly or something of the sort, and that'd just overshadow everything that's happened)
(btw, I use 'we', but I might be imagining your audience completely wrongly)
If you end with the happy ending, where Adi makes it alive, we're happy. We know she's made it. We leave the story happy for every character, and perhaps a bit hopeful for Adi's future. That might work, but the fact that we know that Adi's alive and will be happy, even if we don't know how, kinda diminishes it.
If you end with a bittersweet ending, where Adi dies but everypony's happy to have experienced it, we'll leave the story happy to have read Adi's tale. We'll be mournful, but perhaps we'll decide that this tale of hope was inspiring nonetheless. This is, of course, dependent on the reader, and others will leave feeling depressed as all hell. We are, perhaps, left hopeful for Flash/Vinyl's future, as they live in the aftermath of Adi's death and decide that the fact that her story was told at all was worth it (Huh, this might actually work) but that wasn't the focus (at least, I didn't put much stock in that relationship), so the hope we (or at least I) have in that is lesser than the hope we feel for the primary tale of Adi's decision.
If you end with an open-ended ending, we leave the story unsure. We don't know what will happen, we are scared for Adi, we kind of want to know what happens next, but more importantly we are hopeful. We leave the story wishing Adi the best, knowing full well that she might not live to see another day.
I am, of course, biased. I don't know for sure if the open ended ending is as good as I imagine it might be - perhaps there are reasons to not make it open ended; perhaps a happy or bittersweet ending might leave us more satisfied (though I'm currently having trouble imagining it so.) Still, it looks to me like open-ended is the way to go.
There cannot be hope without ambiguity, for if nothing is ambiguous then there's no reason to hope - we already know if it would pay off or not. Letting us hope for Adi's life on Equestria or the lives of other ponies - it's nice, and it might be effective. But I have trouble seeing how it'd be more effective than letting us hope for Adi's survival.
Unless you're having it lead up to having us hope for something else. Making it a sort of transition - we've been hoping for Adi's survival the entire second half of this novel, and at the end of it it's time to hope for something new. It'd fit with the theme...
... Alright, I don't know what to think anymore. I wrote this to convince you that an ambiguous ending in relation to Adi's survival would be better, but now I'm not sure myself. GAH.
5697206
Easy? Only if you're detached from the characters you've created, and I am anything but detached. After spending a few hundred hours watching Adi and Vinyl grow and change through my fingers, I've shed a few tears myself.
What's easy is letting a character live. It's so easy almost everyone does it, regularly and regardless of the long odds. People come up with long, wild, convoluted theories and schemes just to make sure their beloved characters are in just the right place and time for survival, and it's not even that hard because it comes so naturally.
But to kill that character that I've devoted so much time on, a person I've grown to consider a friend? There's nothing easy about that.
5697266 Well, it seems you've decided to kill her. Before you do, though, Vinyl needs to make a little more emotional progress. In the state you have her in now, she is likely to react to a bad outcome by pushing away all her friends and becoming a drunk. I don't think that's the message you're going for.
You've made some decent points overall, and I admit this story hasn't taken the time to specifically investigate all the possibilities of a solution that may or may not exist – I'm tempted to think the story would be pretty boring if it did. I'll grant that there are plenty of people who cannot accept that, if we've made it this far without a guaranteed magical solution, one probably doesn't exist. Heck, I'd probably be one of them if I weren't the author. I've merely been providing hints throughout the story to suggest this, and I get it; for some it might not be enough.
As to the nature of the ending, again, you make decent arguments. Even so, the idea of an open ending doesn't jive for me in this instance — and even if it did, I'm sort of past that point as this chapter would have been the perfect opportunity for it. Without a validation, positive or negative, the reader is left to wander and make his or her own conclusions, conclusions that may not fit with the message I want to deliver. I've written open-ended stories, but I did so when I was attempting to pose a question and let the reader form an answer on their own. That's not my intention here: I want to direct the reader to a specific conclusion, and an open-ended story doesn't achieve that.
Yes, I wanted to raise the question of hope, but I also want to give an answer. You can chalk that down to just being author's preference.
5697275
I have made a decision – I made it weeks ago. Yet regardless of which one I've chosen, I think you underestimate Vinyl. She's already come quite a long way and now has a strong emotional foundation through her new relationships. I don't think she could have given Adi the emotional boost she needed in this chapter if she weren't far more stable than she had been at the beginning of the story. In fact, this entire story has been designed around improving Vinyl's emotional foundations.
5697291 As far as whether a solution exists, I tend to agree with James T. Kirk: There is no such thing as a no-win scenario. But the existence of a way to win doesn't guarantee that anyone will find it.
5697160
apologies, I was being facetious but worded it a little badly. I just meant it'd be cheap if the whole plan all along was merely to get an emotional reaction. but here, not at all, the story's already passed the emotional climax (I assume). I can clearly see how this could be written to end either way, which is why this is so effective. I'll respect whatever outcome happens, because this story made it work.
I don't want to second guess it too much. Just for fun, I'll bet 100 FimFiction Points™ that she survives. I'm not too confident on this, so we'll see if my intuition turns out to be right.
* on Flash's sidestory: I like your interpretation of the character, we could use more of it in the fandom. the story idea's not just a prequel though, is it?
* on Discord being the deus ex machina to solve every story's problem: discord sucks. he should've stayed a villain.
Of course there is the third choice where the ship makes it down but in such a horrible shape that there isn't much left of Adi.
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A prequel suggests that events leading to the current story will be explained. While that may happen in a certain sense, the Flash story would be entirely focused on his personal development. It would ultimately lead to the details of his relationship with Vinyl and, by extension, Adi, but that's more a necessary consequence than an intentional, focused link. Granted, the contents of the story are entirely speculation right now.
Discord's not bad, I've used him on an occasion or two. The only issue I have with Discord is that his very existence leaves a blatant opening in pretty much any story concept, because anyone can just say "Why didn't Discord snap his fingers and solve the problem?" It puts an ugly, rusted monkey wrench into every MLP story that's ever existed, including the canon ones. You can fix it so that the canon of the story prevents him being able to help, but the fact that you have to (and the task is usually forgotten) is intensely frustrating.
Also, I can't write him to save my life.
Now this chapter actually brought a tear to my eye.
Yep, this chapter got my eyes misty.
You'll make (or, I guess, have already made) your decision, and I respect it either way, though I of course hope Adi makes it, somehow, in some form. I guess you got your point across.
Hope. I'm certainly hanging on to it here. I'll keep my fingers crossed, anxiously awaiting the next chapter.
Please don't kill Adi....
All I can say now is SHE BETTER MAKE IT!
You, my friend, are hitting so close to home it's terrifying.
The night my mother died, I put a barrel in my mouth and pulled the trigger. I've had a million and one reasons to be thankful that gun misfired for the first time in its career, and a million and one reasons to curse that same happenstance. Sometimes, I wish I'd had my own Bastion to keep me from making thay near-fatal error. Others, I'm glad I didn't.
But still, I cannot deny that Bright Weld, and indeed Vinyl, emulate my life closely enough that I'm beginning to wonder if I know you or not.
One chapter left.
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Yep, too close to home. My mother took her own life, when I was six. My father had just thrown her out of the house again, for her drinking problem. He blamed himself for years. Took a good friend to remind him of how bad it would have been, had I grown up with her still in the house.