Broken Record

by Wheller

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“Canterlot, huh?” Vinyl Scratch said. “Going to be gone long?”

“A few days, tops. I figured that a letter wouldn’t cut it... not like Spike is around to send it anyway,” Twilight said, she was packing her saddlebag with a few days previsions.

“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask, where is the little guy anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You remember that dragon a few months back? The one that practically destroyed the town, He was a member of the Green Dragonflight; they’re not the most friendly. Spike is playing ambassador... officially anyway, there’s a more capable pony that’s actually doing the negotiating,” Twilight said.

“You know, I’m kind of surprised it didn’t come up sooner.” Rainbow said with a shrug.

“We have been kind of busy keeping the world from exploding every five seconds,” Twilight reasoned as she slipped her saddlebags on her haunches. She had conceded to Blackthorn’s request and was off to visit with Princess Celestia, a task that she was not looking forward to in the slightest.

“No funny business while I’m gone!” Twilight said, pointing at Rainbow Dash. “If I fall victim to any pranks when I come back, you’re butt is sleeping outside until the end of summer.”

Rainbow Dash was taken aback by Twilight’s statement. Twilight merely grinned at her, and walked out. It took Rainbow Dash a full minute to realise that Twilight had been making a joke.

“They grow up so fast!” Vinyl said with mock sniffles, sounding as if she was a proud parent sending their child off to university.

“Shut up Vinyl.”

...

Crash was the bane of existence for the Manehattan Police Service, as it was for Vinyl Scratch, for very different reasons. The police were very aware of her time as a drugs dealer for Trigger when she was younger, and had every reason to suspect that she might be dealing in crash. Looking back on it, she couldn’t blame the MPS for this line of thought; she’d been the most infamous zap dealer in Manehattan when she was a filly. Though, as time went on, more ponies came to her for her singing than what she was dealing. Regardless, that wasn’t enough to keep MPS from leaving her alone.

Vinyl was regularly visited by Uniformed Police Constables and warned not to loiter, and on occasion, a Detective from CID would try to buy from her. Vinyl could always tell who was a police officer and who wasn’t, she’d never been caught. Of course, being caught didn’t matter, Every Detective Constable and up at CID knew who she was and what she did. They could just never prove it.

Those times were in the past. Vinyl hadn’t dealt in years, she was using now instead, she had never touched zap in her time as a dealer, she wasn’t stupid, trying the stuff would have been stealing from Trigger. Stealing from Trigger would mean a ruthless beating that would put anything her mother had given her to shame.

Zap wasn’t popular anymore though, now it was crash.

Vinyl liked to go on walks in the evenings before heading to a club; every so often she’d catch a DC following her.

“You’re wasting your time; I know you’re a copper!” She’d call out. Most of the time, she’d take a turn and the DC would keep on walking trying to stay cool, rarely, they’d turn around and walk the other way in defeat. Particularly brave ones would continue to follow, usually taking steps to lag behind.

Regardless, they were wasting their time; Vinyl was exceptionally good at hiding things.

Vinyl had been off zap for several months by the time she’d gotten hooked on crash. Octavia had begged her to get off zap; the usually collected earth pony had broken down in tears upon asking her to give it up. She’d promised Octavia she’d kick the habit, and did get rehabilitated for it.

Unfortunately, it did not last; Vinyl Scratch had never been able to keep her promises to Octavia. She had become addicted to crash pretty much day one that it appeared on the streets. Knowing that Octavia would not be pleased with her, she hid her use of the drug from her, and managed to keep it from her for several weeks. She had always been good at hiding things.

...

“Pinkie Pie? Are you here?”

Vinyl Scratch had wandered into the banks of the lake of origin, looking around for the pink pony. She saw nothing but herself in the lake.

Wait. If she saw herself only as she was now, that meant...

Vinyl Scratch turned to her left, Pinkie Pie was sitting only a few metres away, looking down into the lake. She was crying.

“I’ve decided I no longer want to be called Pinkie Pie, It’s too... fun,” the pink pony said. “I don’t feel like fun right now.”

Vinyl Scratch trotted over to where the pink pony was sitting, and plopped herself down next to her. “Fair enough, what would you like me to call you?”

“What do you care?” the pink pony asked.

“That’s an interesting choice for a name, ‘what do you care’ it is then,” Vinyl said with a grin.

Pinkie Pie gave Vinyl a look that felt like a hundred knives were being driven into the unicorn’s belly. “Call me Pinkamena. It’s my birth name.”

“Nice to meet you Pinkamena, I’m Vinyl Scratch,” Vinyl said, offering a hoof to shake. Pinkie Pie did not accept it; she merely stared at it for a few moments before looking back across the lake.

After a few minutes, Vinyl spoke again. “I’m not putting it down until you shake,” she said grinning at her. Reluctantly, Pinkie took the hoof for a quick shake, lasting merely a second before she turned back to look at the lake again.

“Do you like looking at the lake?” Vinyl asked.

“No. It only shows bad things,” Pinkie Pie said. “I look at it because that’s what I deserve.”

Vinyl put her hoof around Pinkie Pie’s shoulder, pulling her close to her. “That’s not true! Not true at all! Nopony deserves bad things unless they’ve done bad things to others.”

“I have done bad things to others. I beat up my friends,” Pinkie Pie said quietly.

“Maybe, but I’m sure that if you asked for their forgiveness, that they’d give it to you! Twilight and Rainbow care about you Pinkamena!” Vinyl said reassuringly.

Pinkie Pie turned her head and looked into Vinyl’s eyes. “No they don’t. They care about Pinkie Pie, and Pinkie Pie isn’t real. Never was,” she said sadly.

“You might be surprised that they’ll like you as you really are!” Vinyl said trying to reassure her.

Pinkie Pie was not having it, her eyes became very small, and her frown turned to a look of anger. “Why would anypony like this!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, pushing Vinyl off her. “Nopony wants a friend like me! Don’t ever come back here or I’ll kill you!”

Pinkie Pie ran off into the tree line, sobbing loudly as she ran, Vinyl frowned, and while nopony could see it behind her goggles, she was crying to. She rose to her hooves, and walked back towards town. Being a friend was the first thing on the list of things in life she’d failed at.

...

“You know, I really shouldn’t be surprised, but here I am, surprised anyway,” Octavia had said sadly.

“You worry too much O. I got this!” Vinyl had said. She realised now that she had been trying to convince herself just as much as she had Octavia.

“No you don’t, Vinyl. You’re an addict.”

“I am NOT an addict! I... I can quit anytime I want,” Cheesy. Vinyl Scratch was supposed to be the witty one.

That had been the night Vinyl Scratch and Octavia’s friendship had ended. Vinyl had broken Octavia’s jaw late one night in a Manehattan club washroom. Octavia had been trying to help; she’d been trying to dump Vinyl Scratch’s stash of crash down a sink to keep the unicorn from killing herself with it.

Vinyl repaid the kindness the only way she’d known how, by hurting Octavia, this time physically.

September 22nd, Year 1001 of Celestia’s reign, was the end of a friendship. She’d been taken to the Royal hospital in Canterlot’s drug rehabilitation centre, the best of its kind in all Equestria, treated for her addiction, and for the first time in a long time, Vinyl Scratch’s head was clear, free of the influence of zap, crash, and alcohol. She realised just how awful she’d been.

And that needed fixing.

That was when that earth pony doctor, black coat and mane, eyes of amber came to her and suggested that she travelled. The Hoofson bay was nice, he’d said. Travelling would do her a world of good, it’d get her head clear, and in the place she’d belong.

It had, Vinyl Scratch had met Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash on that trip. It had been the most important event of her life.

She barely remembered the earth pony doctor; she probably wouldn’t even recognise him without his medical coat on if she saw him tomorrow. She owed him her thanks.

Comments

The "record" ain't the only thing that's broken here; somepony is awfully down on herself for a questionable reason. I myself tend to suspect that what Pinkamena really fears is that Vinyl is right; were she to end up being loved and respected for who she really is, having to pretend to be upbeat and childlike all those years is going seem like as big a waste of time as someone else's spending years with a monkey on her back.

3477

AJ's inability to tell kangaroos apart is yet another symptom of her living in an isolationist society; were things so constructed as to allow for entangling alliances and a free and open exchange of ideas and people, she might do better at transracial facial recognition.

[Wheller]

3680

It's merely because the ponies of Equestria are unfamiliar with kangaroos, so they all look the same, they suffer from a slight case of xenophobia, as evident of their attitude towards Zecora.

Kangaroos however, are not unfamiliar with ponies for other other reason.

[Starcat5]

FINALLY we find out where Spike vanished to. ...oddly, I don't remember a dragon attacking Ponyville. Did I skim over a chapter by mistake?

[NimbleBolt]

17451 it was in "the kindness of strangers" it killed monty (the first time he died) and that's how overdrive was freed.