Part 1: Scratched Records _
Chapter 1: A Pinch of Luck
Jumping out of her bed with as much enthusiasm as a filly on her first real Christmare day, Rainbow Dash looked around in excitement, only having about an hour of sleep. She didn’t care. Today was her day to really shine like the streak across the sky she is.
Two weeks ago, the Wonderbolts finally recognized her true ability of flight during a casual race against another pegasus. Dash managed to go so fast, the transition between regular speed and Sonic Rainboom speed was nearly indefinite. Dash and the team hung out for the rest of the day...And not like she “hung out” with them at the Grand Galloping Gala. After a few hours of discussion, she was admitted onto the team as an honorary Wonderbolt. Dash fainted…Although fainting would be an incredible understatement.
Today, she would be doing a show with the rest of her team in front of about 1,000 ponies, big and small, at the InterEquestrian Air Show. It was an annual tradition, and every year the Wonderbolts would start off the entire show with a magnificent performance…Proformance as Dash would say. She attended the show every year as well just to watch them. She finally had the chance to be in the sky side by side with them.
It was only 1:50 A.M. but Dash just couldn’t go back to sleep, no matter how hard she tried. The only thoughts that went through her head was, “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my goooosh!” One thought led to the next to the next, and before she knew it, an entire flight plan was floating in her head, waiting to be shown off in triumph. And she was leading.
Suit. Check. Confidence. Check. Attitude. Definitely check. Dash kept a mental note of everything she needed for the show today…Although there wasn’t much she didn’t already have. The crowds were…Well, not cheering, but talking loudly outside of the Bolts’ tent, and it felt like the world was waiting for them. She almost galloped out of the tent to greet the shouting voices before Soarin called her back in.
“Glad to have ya here, Rainbow Dash. Not much when we see a new member to our team.”
“The pleasure’s all mine, sir! I’ve been waiting my entire life to be here.” Dash was almost spilling out with excitement.
“Good to hear that. Now…This is your first real show, right Dash?”
“Unless you count that competition you saw me in, yes. Why?”
“Well…You’re going to be leading Misty and Spitfire here out onto the field. Do whatever you want and they will follow you to make the coolest look possible. That’s what we’re here for. Me, Igni, and Bust will be doing our own thing. Got that?”
By now, Dash was nearly hopping with joy, smiling as big as she ever has. “Yes sir!”
“Good!” Soarin patted her head gently, smiling. “Let’s make this a day you’ll never forget. We have 10 minutes until we go.”
Dash hopped back to her small sitting area, trying to hold in all her joy. Not only is she flying with the Wonderbolts…She’s leading them!
10 drearily long minutes later, Dash followed behind Soarin out onto the field. She felt a bit sleepy, but this doesn’t happen every day. Her smile was as big as ever, her gallop was ecstatic, the entire crowd roaring with excitement. This was better than she could’ve ever imagined. The feeling was fantastic. She couldn’t help but look at every single face in the fans, blooming with joy.
The Wonderbolts took a modest bow to everyone, Dash and her group looking one way, Soarin and the others looking the other. Turning his head to the side just enough, Soarin spoke to Dash. “You ready?”
“Ready? That’s not a strong enough word to describe what I’m feeling.”
“I could only guess. Let’s go.”
Simultaneously, the two crouched down just a bit and then jumped up at full speed, the other 4 following behind. Dash’s colorful rainbow stuck out from the others’ clouds of smoke and lightning, making the display quite original. Each group split off into their respective direction. Dash would’ve liked to see Soarin’s performance, but it was her time at the moment.
Flying at par with the other two, Dash looked to the rows of audience, seeing all their faces now and how they would change. One pony stuck out the most: A unicorn with a off-white coat and a long light and dark blue streaked mane and tail, something that looked like glasses propped up on her head. She had a small smile, but barely noticeable.
The three slowed down a bit as Dash began to do a loop. She proceeded to make a spiral, the other two following suit, making two duplicates inside of the larger one. She looked back at the same pony from the audience and her smile was noticeably bigger. That wasn’t good enough though.
Next, the performers went for the available clouds, one of them hitting the right side, the left side, and the middle. The result was each time they hit a cloud, it would split and two small tornado looking clouds would form. The crowd jolted with excitement, either from that stunt or Soarin’s, but Dash didn’t think they ever saw her stunt before.
For the final thing she had up her sleeve, she motioned Misty and Spitfire to go ahead, herself nearly going to a stop. The crowd slowly hushed as the distance between them grew and grew until nearly 2 minutes went by. The cloud trails were nice and solid left from the other two. Before she executed her plan, she looked to the pony one more time. Her smile was definitely considerable, waiting in anticipation for the next move. And for a moment, Dash’s eyes and the pony’s contacted, just enough to be noticed. Dash suddenly felt relaxed, feeling even more confident in her abilities. She gave an obvious nod to the pony before she started forward, quickly gaining speed.
The wind flowed through her rainbow mane smoothly, the environment starting to blur a bit behind her, her mind racing. But even in this crucial moment, she seemed distracted. Dash wasn’t sure by what, but that would have to wait until later. Her lack of sleep started finally catching up to her as she exerted herself, her muscles also relaxed other than her flapping wings. The speed continued to grow until a resistance could be felt, a visual line forming around her. This was it. Only her fourth time doing the Sonic Rainboom, and it was nearly a mere playground trick to her now.
The line narrowed to her form, everything a complete blur now other than the distinct trails beside her. Her weariness continued to try to drag her down, but she pulled through. The Sonic Rainboom was heard by everyone within miles and seen by everyone within the same distance. The trail she left was magnificent as she maneuvered around the trails by Misty and Spitfire gracefully, making a figure 8 pattern. The sight was spectacular.
However…She felt the sleepiness finally starting to overcome her. She was not used to lack of sleep, and the sudden exertion pushed her to her limits. Slowly falling towards the ground, she tried to slow her speed of approach, but it was a bit too much.
Before she crashed, the image of that off-white and blue pony, smiling wide, flashed into her mind. As long as she made others happy.
Rainbow Dash hit the ground from an aerial routine…going the speed of sound.
Chapter 2: The More You Know
Hoof steps echoed through the nearly empty streets of Ponyville. The only remaining residents being ponies that had more important things to do than to see the Air Show today, which was unlikely, or ponies that are running a bit late. Vinyl Scratch was one of them.
With a few records in her mouth and focusing her magic on signing a copyright paper, she had her hooves full with business and she really wished she didn’t. She knew quite well the IEAS was today, she had her ticket, and she was not planning to miss it. Managing to miss the show 2 years in a row since she got back here from San Manetonio, she wasn’t going to miss it again. Hearing so many things about these Wonderbolts and not seeing them once is a pain.
Dropping by her house, Vinyl quickly finished the paperwork with her neat but unique signature at the bottom of each page, setting the records down next to it. She didn’t have time to change into anything, and she barely had time to find and grab the ticket before the clock said it was going to start soon.
Already on her way down the trails to the show area, Vinyl heard a call from behind. “Yo, Scratch! Wait up! Forget about me?!” Tune was yelling at the top of his voice, running up to Vinyl. “Don’t tell me you forgot about little ole Tune Symphon, Scratch.”
Tune Symphon was a shorter colt with a sage green coat and a white mane and tail. It wouldn’t usually match, but he somehow managed to make it look respectable.
“Oh, sorry Tuner. Got caught up in some of my business, y’know how it goes.”
“Yeah, yeah. You always say that. Just like last year at the Air Show you didn’t even come.” Tuner pouted a bit, turning away.
“Come on, Tune. Y’know what happened then. That was beyond my control. I wouldn’t ditch out on ya if I wanted. We all good?” Vinyl stuck out her hoof, smiling weakly at him.
Grunting, Tune lifted up his hoof also and hit it against hers, smiling just enough. “Whatevah.”
“It’s about time we got here. I think just in time for the show to actually start, too. No thanks to the slow tempo over here.” Tune nudged Vinyl, chuckling under his breath.
“Like I said, Tuner. It wasn’t my fault.”
“Loosen up, will ya? You’re here for some fun, not to be all tense about how this small contract might work out. Just forget all about your troubles and relax. It’ll be a change for you in public.”
“Oh, hush you. I’m plenty loose. Just a bit tired, that’s all. Let’s just sit down and watch the show. Never seen these guys before. Heard they were good.”
“Good?! These Wonderbolts are amazing! They recently got a new member today, too. First pegasus to do a Sonic Rainboom. Rainbow Dash, is it?”
“No clue, myself. Hm…Rainbow Dash?”
“Yup, if I remember right. Why?”
“Oh, no reason. Let’s just watch. It’s starting.” In the back of Vinyl’s mind, something was scratching away. Rainbow Dash was a very familiar name and she swore she saw her before. Maybe not meet her, but at least see her.
“You serious, Scratch? You left your DJ glasses on you. They’re still on your head up on your horn.”
“Ah, shoot. Ah well. Not like they don’t make me look awesome.”
“We could discuss th-“
“Shush! They’re coming out!”
The two, not to mention the audience, watched as the six Wonderbolts trotted onto the field.
“Oh, there they are!” Vinyl shouted.
“Yes, we know, Scratch. We can see them.”
Feeling somewhat offended by his abrupt comment, Vinyl shut up and watched as the six lined up, each having a smile of their own. Her mouth formed a smile within a few seconds, a bit giddy but trying not to show it.
The Wonderbolts darted upwards towards the sky so quickly, Vinyl almost couldn’t catch up. Among the clouds of smoke, a bright sparkling rainbow was visible. That was probably Rainbow Dash. Trying to follow the rainbow, it quickly led her to 3 spirals, 2 made of smoke, the biggest made of, of course, rainbow. Her eye caught up to the speeding pegasi, dashing through countless clouds, splitting them into 2 spinning puffs of condensation.
“Man, these ponies are fast!” Vinyl thought to herself. She looked at Tune for a moment, noticing him staring in awe also. The rest of the crowd was cheering. “Wonder why no one ever thought of that cloud trick?”
Rainbow stopped as the other two flew ahead at full speed. “I wonder what she’s planning?…” Vinyl could see Dash turn her head towards her. Vinyl wasn’t sure if Dash knew, but their eyes met, and she could tell even from this distance. Dash nodded, and it looked like it was towards her. Maybe she was just imagining, but it really looked like it.
Before she knew everything that was going on, Dash was off and flying at her signature speeds. The distance grew but the Sonic Rainboom became more and more seeable, bending itself around Dash’s body as she began breaking the sound barrier. With what seemed like not even breaking a sweat, Rainbow Dash made the Sonic Rainboom, making everyone cover their ears and make sure nothing flew away. It was beautiful. The long rainbow trail circled around the smoke majestically, creating a flowing wave pattern...Until she saw the trail start heading towards the ground.
Vinyl turned to Tune. “Is that supposed to be happening?”
“You have as much idea as I do. I’m gonna guess no, though.”
Jumping from her seat, Vinyl headed towards the rails of the bleachers, leaning against them as she looked off towards the sinking rainbow…Until a huge dust cloud rose where the rainbow stopped. She felt like yelling out her name, but Dash was way too far. The medical ponies were already on their way to the crash site. It was going to be a while until Vinyl saw her, but she understood. She didn’t even know her, but she felt like she should…
“Vinyl, why do you even want to stay here? You don’t even know her!” Tune stamped his hoof at the ground, standing near the exit. Vinyl was sitting near a cot where Rainbow Dash laid, one wing held up and multiple burns and wounds and unconscious.. The cot wasn’t exactly a gory sight, but it wasn’t pretty. Other than small bits of the cot cover, which was red from some blood, and the ponies inside, the small tent infirmary was completely white and shook from anything from a weak hit on the ground to a loud noise.
“I know I don’t, Tuner, but I…There’s a feeling inside me, alright? You ever have one of those?” Vinyl looked at him with plead, putting her hooves to her chest. A few long moments drug by before Tune towards the exit, smirking.
“You know I’ve never been good with feelings. I’ll leave you alone. Just hurry up.”
“Thanks Tune…” Vinyl sat quietly next to Dash’s cot, putting her hooves next to her thighs. “I remember where I saw you now…It was at Rarity’s outfit debuting. To be honest, the dress was horrible…but you looked exquisite none-the-less. Nopony really thought me as the type to fancy a few girls, but it’s true…”
“Heh. That’s all I’m assumed to like,” Dash replies back, making Vinyl jump and fall out of her chair as she thought she was still unconscious. “It’s true though…You’re not a bad pony yourself.”
Chapter 3: Just A Feeling
Rainbow Dash turned her head towards Vinyl, smiling faintly. The crowd was still cheering in the background, already moving on from the huge crash. Crashes happened nearly every year, but no one realized how severe that one could’ve been. There about 3 burns on Dash from friction, many cuts and tears, and a minor concussion. In fact, how she lived was a miracle, and the fact that she came out with so little injuries is phenomenal.
“What are you doing here, kid?” Rainbow Dash questioned. She had a smirk on her face despite the pain, hiding it like she always did. Her mane and tail practically shone in the lighting in the white room. They were a bit dirty but altogether still radiant.
“To tell you the truth, I’m not entirely sure. A feeling?” Vinyl’s mane was a bit messed up from the sudden panic. Despite this, it still was in a near neat composure along with her tail, the calming blues agreeing with the blank white of the tent. She smiled back at Dash, closing her eyes a bit.
“Yeah, I heard that last conversation. I was nearly unconscious, not dead. I had a bit of a feeling too…Part of the reason I crashed. But, eh, to be honest, the crash wasn’t as bad as I would’ve thought. My Wonderbolts outfit is pretty jank, though. Speaking of which, where are they?” Vinyl sprung back to her senses, looking around a bit.
“Not entirely sure. I think they’re still out there, judging the fliers. Even when it’s not a competition, it is.” She rolled her eyes. “Never for fun, huh?”
“Oh, that’s not for the audience or anything. Just bragging rights.”
“That…That makes sense…” Vinyl looked down towards her hooves, sighing. The room grew quiet, the two looking away from each other a bit nervously. Not all the time where two ponies don’t know each other and suddenly feel an urge to meet them for apparently no reason. Dash broke the silence, turning to Vinyl.
“You had the feeling too?”
“Of course. That’s why I’m here. It was when our eyes met. It was an odd and I never felt before. You?”
“Same here. It was…odd, to say the least, but good feeling. I have no idea what it is…But I’m glad you came to me. I might’ve just blown off the feeling. I tend to do that to a lot of things, haha.”
Vinyl chuckled, looking up and smiling. “Good thing, then. No one blows off Vinyl Scratch.”
“Oh, so that’s your name? I’m glad introducing yourself was important. My name is-“
“Rainbow Dash, of course. I know you. You’re a Wonderbolt, how I couldn’t?”
“Ha. I guess you’re right, huh? Anyway, I better get back to the others, actually. I’ll talk to ya later.” Dash began stepping out of her cot, grunting.
“No wait! The doctors said you shoul-“ She face-planted into the ground as soon as she stepped down, grunting. Vinyl trotted over to help her back into the sheets, struggling. She was a bit heavier than expected of her stature, but she was a strong flier. Both of them panting a bit from the small bits of exercise, they both sighed.
“Heh…Never mind, I guess I’m staying here with you.”
“You better. I let my friend go ahead of me so I could stay here with you. Speaking of which, I will have to go soon. I have a lot of stuff to deal with. I will leave in a minute, but…I know this is odd to ask, but would you like to meet me at Sugar Cube Corner?” Vinyl smiled, blushing just a bit. “Y’know, you seem cool and all.”
“Haha, are you blushing? Are you asking me on a date?”
Vinyl’s blush turned 20% darker, jumping back a bit. “Huh?! No no! I was just-“
“I’m just messing with. Hahaha. I’ll meet ya there tomorrow morning. Don’t worry, either. I’ll be better by then. I’ll see ya there.” Dash gave a warm smile, sitting up right. “And don’t you forget it.”
Vinyl couldn’t help but smile back, shying away a bit at the same time. “Sounds good. I’ll be off then. I’ll see you tomorrow, Rainbow Dash.” She started walking away from the cot, sighing contently before Rainbow Dash called for her.
“Hey! You’re forgetting to give me a hug or something!” Laughing a bit, she opened her forelegs.
Vinyl turned around, trying to hold back her smile and acting like she is giving a sigh of disapproval. “Fine, I guess I have to, now that you ask me.” She trotted back over, lifting herself into a hug, hugging Dash tight for a few moments. Right before she started to back away, Dash gave a small kiss on her cheek, causing Vinyl to blush dark crimson. She stepped away from the hug, shying away as she turned around. “I-I’ll see you tomorrow, then…Bye.” Vinyl started to trot back out, thoughts rushing through her head. As the sun came into view in the sky and she stepped out of the tent, she could hear Dash yell, “C’ya Vinyl!”
Vinyl smiled up to the sun for a few seconds, soaking in the light before starting to gallop home.
The moon was high in the night sky, just luminescent enough to make most of the town seeable. Nopony was out, nearly all the lights were out, and everypony was asleep…Except for Vinyl. The living room light was on, her scratch table lit with all the various lights, the computer screen next to it shining onto her face. Everything had their volume down low, allowing everyone else to sleep. The two discs were spinning slowly, the styli right above the discs. Vinyl adjusted some of the settings on the computer before setting one of the styli down onto the right disc, allowing some of her favorite band, DeadMar3, to start playing. The tune was slow at first, a very peaceful melody. She swayed her head to the music, closing her eyes and soaking in the notes. She wished life was as peaceful as this song all the time. Her eyes watered up a bit, the rhythm flowing through her like a stream. Vinyl’s environment went inside of her head, turning a cold blue color, relaxing her every muscle.
This is what she nearly always did was listen to music. This song always stuck with her, allowing peace to move through her life when she most needed it. As the song began speeding up, she always realized that she couldn’t always stay back and relax all through life. The only thing you can really do is move forward after a fall and keep going. The beat dropped and she began bouncing her head to the tempo. Caught in the moment, she even forgot to put the stylus on the second disc. The song playing right next to her, she fell asleep at the table.
It was 10 in the morning and Dash was sitting at Sugar Cube Corner, waiting impatiently. Her hoof was taping the ground, looking all over the restaurant. She got here as soon as the place opened which was at 9. Her wing ached a bit, resting in a sling. There was a root beer with a straw in it sitting in front of her, but she was anxious. She barely got any sleep again, but this time because of all the feelings she got. Thoughts of that pony, Vinyl, kept speeding through in and out of her head. She didn’t even really know her, but in a way, she felt like she did.
The kiss…That brief cheek kiss phased. She didn’t even realize she did it until a few minutes after Vinyl left. She wasn’t even sure if it was her that did it, it seemed unreal. But, she did realize it was the past and as long as Vinyl didn’t bring it up, she didn’t have to explain herself. “Hey, can I get a sundae over here?” she called to the waitress.
As she waited for her sundae to arrive quickly, she heard the restaurant door open. Dash jumped a bit, looking over at the entrance. “Vinyl?”
“Who’s that? Nah, Dash, it’s not one of your lame friends. Miss me?” Dash watched as a tall gryphon walked up to the foot of her booth and sink one of her talons into the tabletop.
Chapter 4: Quick Disunion
“What are you doing here, Gilda?” Dash said to the towering gryphon crossly, getting out of her booth seat. “I thought you ditched these “lame ponies” here, including me.” Dash lifted herself onto her back legs, looking Gilda straight in the eyes.
“Yeah, you’re right, I did. But, something like what you did to me isn’t easily overlooked, tough one.” Gilda poked Dash hard in the chest, pushing her back onto all fours. “We were buds, Dash. Then like I was just something you could throw away, I was gone in your eyes. That’s not something forgiven.” The gryphon began taking slow steps towards Dash, causing her to step back. “Let’s just say I came back to settle the score with you.”
“Look, Gilda, I don’t want any kind of trouble with y-“
“Yeah, you got that right. I don’t think anypony would. You know I’m stronger than you; you don’t even have to question that. Bigger than you. And…” She placed one of her talons against Dash’s head, making a small incision. The pegasus yelped, not expecting the cut. “Sharper…than you…In two different ways.”
“Gilda, this whole thing was your fault. You treated my friends wrong. To think I would let that slip past me was a mistake because no one hurts my friends.”
“Oh ho ho, Dashie. But I was your friend. And you hurt me. Are you calling yourself a no one? Because if that’s true, I guess no one will miss you when you turn to pulp!” Gilda lifted her claw, bringing it down with full force. Everything started to move slowly. Dash knew even with her great speed, she wouldn’t escape this blow…Especially with her wing broken. She merely waited the blow to injure her or even kill her…
The moments when by as slow as it could ever go, making Dash feel every heartbeat, hear every movement. This was probably how it all ended…
That’s what she thought until she felt the vibrations of hooves on the floor, the sound of somepony running closer. The sound stopped for a moment until the same sound, but much louder, resonated from the table next to her. Dash lifter her head just in time to see Vinyl jump from the table, spinning towards Gilda before hitting her straight in her beak. The gryphon felt the entire blow, stopping mid swing and beginning to fall to her side. Vinyl landed between her and Dash, holding out her chest triumphantly as Gilda hit the floor, groaning in pain.
“Oh, you little-“
“You are SO lucky that I was here to stop you, or you would’ve been hurting a lot more later!”
“No one humiliates me!” Gilda swung her talons near the ground and Vinyl quickly reacted, jumping over them in a nearly cheerful hop. The other claw came down at her directly after, making Vinyl jump to the side. There was a smug grin on Vinyl’s face, as if this wasn’t anything but a daily duty. In one huge swing, Gilda brought down both of her claws down at the unicorn. She merely jumped back, dodging the blow completely, following up with another hop towards Gilda, reaching right up to her face. She spun and gave another kick, giving a nice, satisfying CRACK noise. The gryphon fell once more, this time unconscious.
Vinyl did this all with headphones on. She walked over and kicked Gilda gently, making sure she was unconscious. She then proceeded to take off her headphones and turn them up all the way, allowing the song she was listening to finish with a loud, “KO!”
“Seems like you’re no one, huh?...That song was way too convenient, wasn’t it?” She scratched her head, chuckling.
Dash sat there, dumbstruck from the speed of what just happened. “How did you-“
Vinyl quickly interrupted, walking towards the restaurant’s door. “We better get going. This isn’t exactly the best place to hang out at the moment.” Dash shook herself to her senses, lifting herself onto her feet and quickly following behind Vinyl, giving Gilda’s unconscious body a concerned look.
The sun was as bright as ever, the skies absent of any cloud, even without Rainbow Dash’s help. It was spring at the moment, 3 weeks after the Winter Wrap-up. The creatures were all out and about, minding their own business as the ponies did theirs. There was still a slight cool breeze in the air, but it was nothing like weeks ago.
The two ponies walked side by side of each other, the streets of Ponyville packed with bustling buyers and sellers, talkers and wanderers. The grass was as green as it could get for spring, flowers budding out from the blades. Everything was relatively quiet for such a lively and busy place.
Vinyl stopped at a bench, laying down and looking up at the goggle-tinted skies as Dash stood, still in shock. After about a minute, she set herself down next to the bench, looking up at Vinyl. Without looking back at her, Vinyl asked, “You have something to ask?”
Shaking herself out of her thoughts again, Dash lifted herself back up again. “How did you do that back there? That was incredible.”
“When I was a kid, I was one of the last ones to get my cutie mark. In attempt to get it faster, I tried a bunch of stuff that I enjoyed, one including martial arts classes. Not much other than that.” She said all this calmly as though she didn’t do anything. “Not to mention, I had the drop in on her. That made it a lot easier.”
“But that much easier? I mean, you took her out in 10 seconds flat. It was-“
“I get it. Can we not talk about it?” Vinyl replied with a slightly saddened tone. Dash hushed, looking down at her hooves regretfully.
“Thanks…For helping me.”
“Ah, it was no problem.” Vinyl spun herself on the bench and sat up right, slipping her glasses over her eyes and smiling. “Don’t mention it.” She pushed herself forward, landing on all fours in front of the bench before looking over her shoulder at Dash. “Let’s get somewhere else so we can talk. Maybe get a bite to eat on the way there.
“Oh, yeah! How about some cotton candy?” Forgetting instantly about the last event, Dash came trotting with a hop to her step beside Vinyl.
“This early in the morning? That is not good for you.”
“Yeah, that might be true. But you only live for so long! Enjoy everything you have and do everything today!”
Vinyl sighed and turned to look the pegasus. Responding slowly with an odd tone to her voice, she said, “I knew someone like you. What if by doing everything today, you have nothing left for tomorrow? What if something you did today prevents you from doing something tomorrow? I can see what you mean, but to do it with no regrets may prove difficult.”
Dash slowed down a bit, still following directly behind her. Vinyl didn’t seem like a pony to say something like that. She seemed like somepony like Dash. Fast-paced and exciting. Maybe that’s just what she was saying, but she sounded convincing. Maybe she just needs someone to help her.
Passing by a food booth, Dash tossed up two bits onto the counter and was quickly handed a stick of cotton candy. Beginning to eat it the best she can while still walking, Dash caught back up with Vinyl’s side, biting happily away at the fluffy snack.
Vinyl turned to Dash again. “Where would you like to-…Oh, heh. Looks like you already have something to eat. Never mind, then. Is it good?”
Cotton candy stuff in her mouth, Dash replies, “Ah corsh! Ish dehicious!”
Chuckling, the unicorn turns her head back in front of her. “Good. You better get me some later. It looks good.”
“Wan’ shome?”
“No…Heh. I’m good for now…Ah, okay, we’re almost there. Keep following. I have a sweet hang out spot.” Dash looked around, smiling warmly, noticing they were walking onto Sweet Apple Acres.
Chapter 5:
“What are we doing out here, Vinyl? This is AJ’s farm.” The apple trees, ripe and right for picking, were slowly becoming denser the farther they went into the farm.
“AJ? Never heard of her.” Some rotting apples were laying on the ground not from the trunk of the tree while the fresh ones have rolled down the hill, far away from its producer.
“AppleJack, silly. Y’know, the Apple Family. AppleJack, Big Mac, Apple Bloom, Granny Smith. Them.”
“Oh, right! The ones that own Sweet Apple Acres. Like I said, I have a hangout spot just for us. It’s nice, cozy, and far away from everything. Used to go there every day after…” Vinyl grew quiet, looking down at the ground and then closing her eyes. Nudging her gently, Dash smiled at her.
“After what, Vinyl?” Quickly becoming concerned, Dash pushed Vinyl’s head up with her wing. “You can tell me. I know we haven’t been friends for that long, but you can trust me.”
Letting out a long sigh, Vinyl lifted up her head and started walking faster. The pegasus kept up, wiping away the smile as they walked on. Vinyl lifted up her goggles for a moment and wiped at her eyes before putting them back on. “I’ll tell you what happened when we get to where we’re going…” She began to trot through the trees, taking a turn every few steps, almost looking like she was trying to shake Dash off. Dash pursued just as quickly though, only not staying by her side because of the few wounds she still had from the day before. The nurse unicorn did a great job overall, though.
The trees grew thicker and thicker, trying to reach out and trip the crippled pony, sticking out their roots in desperation. Dash kept running as fast as she could, jumping over the obstacles and dodging the hanging limbs. It seemed like the Everfree Forest all over again. She’s never gone this far into the orchard on foot. Actually, she’s never gone into the orchard on foot at all.
Light erupted in her face as she exited the thicket and into an slightly open clearing with one single apple tree in the middle, a tree house built on it. Vinyl was casually walking up the walkway into it, her goggles now up. The tree house had a bit of color though there were many things falling off and such. The door was off its hinges mostly and there was CMC written on the front of it. It seemed almost as old as Dash herself.
She quickly followed behind Vinyl, starting to walk up the walkway as the unicorn walked into the house itself. Something about this dinky little clubhouse seemed familiar. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she’s seen or heard of it before. Maybe she was just imagining it.
Stepping inside, she witnessed Vinyl kneeling herself down with her hooves together in front of a small portrait, although it was too dark to tell who it was. Her voice was hushed, barely even audible across the small room. The entire interior had no light other than one window, and there were curtains over that also. Vinyl’s goggles were now on the ground next to her, the first time Dash actually saw the goggles off of her body.
Dash began walking more into the house, treading carefully as to not disturb Vinyl. Even getting closer, her words weren’t recognizable at all. They were too quiet. Vinyl didn’t seem like someone to be talking to themselves…Dash then realized the connection between the portrait and her talking quietly. She was talking to her. It must’ve been a close pony that died. That would explain a lot.
Vinyl finished up her nearly inaudible talk session with, “Thank Celestia for letting me talk to you again. I will back soon.”
“You two were really close, weren’t you?” Vinyl jumped in fright, turning around quickly, her horn glowing. Just for a second, it lit up the portrait bright enough to show a pony with a grey coat and a long grey mane with a small pink bowtie on. She was smiling, looking away from the photographer as if she didn’t want to be taken a photo of, although it was obvious she did.
The unicorn in front of the portrait, calmed down, slipping on her goggles over her noticeably red eyes. “Don’t sneak up on me Octy…” She realized what she said and turned back around, blushing a bit and sniffling. “I mean Dash!”
“Vinyl…are you alright?” Dash walked closer to Vinyl, putting her hoof on her back. “It looks like we need to talk about something.”
The unicorn let out a long sigh, her horn glowing again to move her goggles up. “Yeah…I told you I ‘d tell you what happened…” She sat down, wiping her eyes again and looking up at the portrait she was kneeling in front of.
“That’s Octavia. An earth pony I met back when I was a tiny mare. Still in the schoolhouse and all. Had our cutie marks but that’s the only thing mature about us back then. Well, actually, me specifically. Octavia was the mature one that got me out of stuff. We were best friends, hung out all through school. Filly school, middle school, high school, even went to the same university. Yeah, we were both music people. She loved the cello, I loved mixing music. Quite opposite sides of the scale, I know, but we tolerated each other’s music and actually grew to love it.
“So…When it came for graduation, we obviously both graduated with modest positions in our class…Modest being I was near the bottom for having creativity and she was at the top because she knew how to work with restrictions. We continued to hang out for a while, but like most friends, saw each other less and less. That was expected. When she was…” Vinyl paused and sniffled a bit, choking on her words. “Sorry…When she was traveling to one of her shows…A harpy attacked her. She only had her cello with her, and it was a family heirloom. She couldn’t use it to defend herself. Instead, she got mauled and clawed close to death…That’s all the harpy wanted. Nothing else. Right after that, the harpy flew off and someone discovered Octavia, barely alive.
“When I learned she was hurt and at the hospital, I went as fast as I could to see her…I broke down when I did. She had cuts all over her body. Most of her bones broken…It was…horrible. She smiled when she saw me though. That was the first time I cried ever, and she saw it. She said she felt privileged because she knew that it was.” Vinyl sniffled again, tearing up. “I was right next to her when she died…She didn’t have any immediate family and I was the only real friend she knew…She said she gave everything to me on her will.” Tears began to roll down her face, causing her to look away a bit. “I didn’t want anything. I said the only thing I wanted was her to live…She responded with…” Vinyl coughed, trying to keep talking but it started to prove difficult. “She said…’That can’t happen now. I don’t want you to live with me as a burden…I want you to live as much as you can. I didn’t do it like you did, and I regret it now…” Vinyl was almost balling now, wiping her eyes over and over again. “I want you to regret nothing and protect everything you love…That…That is how you actually live, not just survive.”
Vinyl buried her face in her hooves, letting go of everything. Dash sat nearby, listening and watching, unsure what to do yet. “She…She died moments after those words. I cried the entire night, but the next day, I acted like nothing was wrong, and lived, like she said.” She lifted herself from her hooves, closing her eyes to hold back the tears. “But everyday since then, I came back here…Where me, her, and AppleJack used to hang out…When we were really small…And I talked to her…Until AppleJack’s little sister and friends moved in, and that’s when I moved to the thicket of the trees…Until, again, they grew older and stopped coming. Everyday I could. She will never leave my thoughts…” She began crying again, hanging her head, letting her tears soak into the wooden floor.
Dash scooted over and swung her foreleg over Vinyl’s shoulders, pulling her closer. The same feeling she had when flying, when she first saw Vinyl, overcame her again. “That’s not what she told you to do.” Vinyl turned her head, confused.
“W…What?”
“Octavia didn’t tell you to stop living because someone else did. You’re not living yet. You’re letting something in the past shackle you down. That’s not living. Living is what she said. Having no regrets. Right now, you’re regretting her death. You need to move forward and take a hold of what’s ahead of you. Looking at what’s behind you only makes you crash. Trust me, I know.”
Vinyl managed a small chuckle, wiping the tears from her eyes one last time. “I…I guess you’re right…Sorry…for dumping this all on you.”
“Don’t mention it. I accidentally dumped my crash onto you yesterday, I’ll take the same times 10.” Vinyl put her head on Dash’s shoulder, sighing and chuckling again.
“Heh…If that’s true…” She sniffled again. “Will…You help me not to look behind me?” Neither of them blushed, this wasn’t somepony asking another out, this was a question to salvation and happiness.
Dash smiled. “I couldn’t say no. You’ll always have my rainbow leading the way.”
-They returned to Ponyville an hour afterwards. Neither say what happened in that hour. By noon, they confirmed that they were dating. Gilda was seen leaving Ponyville a little bit after the fight between her and Vinyl. She didn’t speak to anyone but seemed to have a broken beak. Vinyl only returned to the treehouse one more time and it was to retrieve Octavia’s picture. She keeps it in her living room only as a reminder to keep moving forward.-
Part 1
FIN
Part 2 will be out as soon as possible, including another 5 chapters. The other Mane 6 characters shall be met, so expect some…well…unexpectations. I know that’s not a word.
Part 2
Chapter 6: First for Everything
It has been one week since Vinyl and Dash began seeing each other. They mainly hung out at Vinyl’s house, talking hours on end about everything in their life. Dash usually was the one talking though, and Vinyl would sit back and listening, smiling the entire time. Dash’s wing was still injured for the entire week, but instead of going away from the subject of flying to not sadden herself, she dived into more so than ever before. If Dash ever ran out of things to say, Vinyl would play one of her own songs to keep her going but instead made Dash give out uncountable amounts of praise. Vinyl has yet to publish any of her personal works but she is being encouraged to.
This morning, they were headed for Sugar Cube Corner to eat and talk like usual, but in public to hopefully run into one of Dash’s closest friends. They have just entered when a hot pink mare jumped in front of them, bouncing in joy.
“Oh my gosh! Dashie! I haven’t seen you in, like, an entire week! Hehehe! I haven’t spoken to you in longer! I did see you a week ago but you were leaving Sugar Cube Corner with the mare next to you and I saw the big old meanie Gilda on the ground and I was like, ‘Ooooooh, what did they do?’ and I heard later that the mare next to you beat her up and I’ve been meaning to say ‘Wow, awesome!’ but I haven’t seen you until so I have to say it now! I heard it was awesome!” Pinkie got right into Dash’s face, giving a huge smile and then letting out a laugh.
Unable to react, Dash and Vinyl looked at each other questionably. Practically like a guardian angel, Rarity stepped out from behind the restaurant counter, giving her most prissy pout look while putting her hoof against her forehead. “Ooooh, Pinkie dear. Would you please stop talking so much. You’re giving us all such the headache.”
“Oh, don’t be like that Rarity! I haven’t seen Dashie in fooooorevvvvvver! Oh! And who’s your marefriend?”
Dash flared up like a fireball, blushing dark crimson. “What? N-No! It’s not l-“
Vinyl interrupted by laughing, starting to walk past Pinkie to get to her booth. “It is like that, and my name is Vinyl Scratch. I’m, yes, the rainbow ball’s marefriend. Pleased to meet you.” She sat down in booth, propping her legs on the table and leaning back as much as she could. Dash continued to blush but happily instead of embarrassingly. She quickly followed behind, sitting right next to the unicorn, pushing her playfully.
Seeing the goggled unicorn, Rarity ran up to the table, smiling. “Oooh, a marefriend? Well, I have to say, although they’re not exactly my style, those goggles actually quite compliment your mane. I love those cool colors.”
Pinkie bumped into Rarity, getting into her face also. “Oh, silly! Goggles can’t compliment a mane! They can’t talk!”
In response, Rarity merely placed her hoof against her face, sighing. “Oh my, dear, you have so much to learn.”
Vinyl swung her legs back under the table, sitting up right. “Glad to meet you two. How about we talk with some treats? I’m hungry. Do you have s-“
“Coming right up!” Pinkie zoomed into the kitchen and came back with a platter of cupcakes in less than two seconds. “Wupwakes! On ve vouse!” she yelled with a the platter still in her mouth. She set it down in the middle of the table, Rarity and Pinkie sitting down across from the couple. Everyone except Dash grabbed a cupcake, quickly starting to munch on it.
Nudging Dash, Vinyl pushed the cupcake towards her. “Why aren’t you gonna have the cupcake?”
“Oh…Not really in the mood for it right now.” She pushed the cupcake back again, sinking into her seat.
“How come, hun?”
“Well, just something I read a few days ago…” Dash winced a bit. “I’d rather not get into it.”
“Oh, come on, Dash. What could ever be bad about a cupcake? Pinkie Pie probably made these cupcakes just from us.”
Dash winced again, sinking lower. “Yeah…or from us.”
“What do you m-“
Rarity interrupted loudly, pointing at Dash’s wing. “Oh goodness! What happened to your wing, dear? Was it from that air event? Some ruffian push you into the ground?”
“Weelllll…” Dash’s voice went extremely quiet, barely louder than Fluttershy’s voice. “I fell asleep while flying…”
“What Dashie? We can’t hear you! You need to speak louder, like me!”
“I fell asleep while flying…”
“Y’know, dear, it would help if you spoke at your normal speaking voice,” Rarity said.
Vinyl blurted out, grinning mischievously. “She fell asleep while flying because she was thinking of beautiful old me.”
Dash’s cheeks turned to the darkest crimson possible, popping herself into an upright position. “I did not!”
“Ooooh, Dash! I think that’s the darkest blush I’ve seen you ever turn. You’re adorable blushing! You’re even blushing more than when I found out you use tongue!” Dash couldn’t speak now, simply sinking into her seat, pouting.
Rarity blushed a bit also, chuckling before saying. “Now, girls. Don’t give us too much information, alri-“
“OOOOOOOH MY GOODNESS! Tell us ever detail!” Pinkie was now hopping with so much excitement, she couldn’t contain herself (although she didn’t exactly try).
Vinyl couldn’t help but start uncontrollably laughing, Rarity trying to contain her laughter the best she could while Dash continued to pout. Vinyl hit the table, trying to let out all of the humor. Pinkie Pie looked at the three of them, chuckling innocently. “What’s so funny?”
“Oh…Oh, nothing, pink one,” Vinyl said. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Pinkamina Diane Pie! Pinkie Pie, for short!”
“And why do you always yell?”
Pinkie gasped loudly, getting a surprised look. “I’ve been yelling?! Goodness, I’m sorry! I’m gonna try to stop yelling, but it’s so hard for me because I love to have fun and yelling is part of a party and-“
“Pinkie?” Rarity interrupted.
“Yes Rarity?”
“You can be quiet now, deary.”
“Oh! Okay!” She pulled a zipper out of nowhere and pretended to zip her mouth close…Well, she actually did. Somehow.
Snorting a bit from laughing, Vinyl took another bite of her cupcake, wiping away a tear from her eyes. “Oh, you guys are great. And don’t worry, me and Dash here haven’t even kissed. She isn’t exactly the smoothest pony around.” She chuckled, taking the last bite of cupcake she had.
Now it was Dash’s turn. She sat up right again, grinning as mischievously as ever when she wrapped her forelegs around Vinyl, pulling her into a deep passionate kiss in front of Dash’s two friends. She intended for the kiss only to last a second…but they both were caught in the moment, their forelegs wrapping around each other tightly. And Vinyl was right. Dash didn’t mean to, but she started using tongue. They kissed for what seemed like an hour, but really was only about 20 seconds before they pulled away from each other, blushing and smiling.
Rarity couldn’t help but watch and blush, putting her hooves to her mouth before saying, “Oh my…”
Pinkie stared wide-eyed, unzipping her mouth before practically shouting, “Holy guacamole!”
The two lovers realized they weren’t alone again, smiling at the other two innocently. “Well…Now we have, apparently,” Vinyl said. The table grew quiet, everyone just looking at each other, waiting for an ice breaker before Vinyl made the break. “And I was totally right about the tongue! Haha!”
Rarity giggled, turning her head away. “Oh, you two are a good couple. Your colors so do not match, but who am I to judge something like that?” She began pushing Pinkie out of the booth, scooting our herself. “Well, if you do excuse me, I have to get back to my work. Duty calls!” She trotted off, probably off to spread the gossip. Before she left, she peeked through the entrance and called over. “Oh, and dearest Rainbow? Go over to Twilight, she might be able to help you with your wing.”
“Oh good idea, Rarity! Thanks!” Slipping out of the booth quickly, she slid a few bits on the table. “Thanks Pinkie Pie for the cupcakes and all. I’ll see you around.” Vinyl slid out of the booth as well, placing a few more bits next to Dash’s.
“Thanks Pinkie. And don’t worry about those bits. I want you to have them.” She took Dash’s cupcake off of the table, biting off a bit before levitating it with her horn. “See ya around.” Vinyl and Dash trotted out of the store side by side.
Pinkie waved goodbye before yelling, “Bye Dashie! Bye Dashie’s marefriend! Oh, I meant Vinyl. Bye Vinyl!”
Chapter 7: Time Heals all Wounds…And So Does Magic
The two were walking together again towards Twilight’s house, practically touching each other’s sides. Like usual, the streets were moderately busy. Ponies leaving and entering various shops, visiting friends, colts trying to pick up the mares. Everyday life.
“So…Dashie,” Vinyl said inquiringly.
“Oh, geez, not you too. Pick that name up when Pinkie said it?”
Vinyl giggled innocently, pushing Dash with her hip. “Oh, it’s not that bad. But, yeah, what was with that kiss? I’m not implying you’re not one to make quick decisions, but that was unexpected.”
“Oh, that? It was nothing. Just thought I’d play a small joke on ya,” Dash replied triumphantly.
“Joke, huh? I think it was more than that. You’re tough on the outside, Dash, but you’re all flowers and rainbows in the inside. You’re not fooling me.”
“Pfft. You can think whatever you want, but I know what was up. It didn’t mean as much as you want it to.”
Vinyl giggled again, walking slowly away from Dash with a grin. “Oh, phooey. I guess I won’t make sweet, sweet love to you like I was going to tonight.” She could hardly contain her laughter, but she kept it in to see Dash’s reaction.
Her color nearly drained completely out of her face, stepping away just as much as Vinyl did. She didn’t know exactly what to think. “W-Wha? I meant…I mean, I didn’t- There was no way-“
“Oh, stop, you smooth pony. You’re making me blush.” Vinyl gave out a hearty laugh, bumping Dash again. “Dash, you’re waaaaay to easy to mess with, you know that? You’re like a big bowl of jello.”
“And you’re nothing but a tease! If I was so easy to mess with and I were you, I would totally, right here, right now, do-“
“VIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINYYYYYYLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!” Dash was interrupted, looking the direction the yell came from, only seeing three small clouds of dust running towards them. The clouds got close and ran into Dash, one in front of the other. As the dust cleared, near her hooves were Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, in order.
“Oh, hey Crusaders. How do you know Vinyl’s name?”
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo covered their ears and Applebloom inhaled loudly before speaking. “We heard about ‘er earlier today from some other pony and we heard she was a DJ and that was cool but then we learned later that our DJ fer our school dance got sick and won’t be able ta come and Vinyl is cool and she DJs so we were thinking that she could DJ for us and we need ‘er NOW!” She panted a bit, looking down at the ground trying to get her breath back.
“I think that was a record, Applebloom. Maybe you’re Cutie Mark is yammering.”
“Of course it’s not, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “What would a Cutie Mark for yammering be?”
“Considering Applebloom, a pony in pain.” She let out a small laugh.
“’Ey! At least I’d get my Cutie Mark!”
“Hold up, now, little ones,” Vinyl interrupted. “Okay, so you want me to go DJ at your school dance?”
The three nodded, each of them responding with their approval.
“…Who has a dance at school in the morning?”
“Who cares? Let’s go!” The Crusaders grabbed Vinyl by the hooves and began dragging her back to their school as Vinyl turned back and called out.
“Hey, Dash, I’ll meet up with ya later! I’ll see you at Twilight’s!” Upon finishing the sentence, she was dragged around a corner and out of sight.
Dash merely sighed, turning back around to head for Twilight’s house.
Knock knock knock.
Dash was in front of Twilight’s library, it looking a lot bigger from her lack of flight. The unicorn quickly opened the door with a book levitating beside her and a smile on her face. “Hey there Rainbow. Surprised to see you use the front door. You usually come on through a window at your leisure.”
“Thanks, Twi, but I’m not in for jokes at the moment. I have a favor to ask.”
Twilight set down her book, looking at the shelves of the countless others. “Oh? What is it?”
Dash sighed and sat down, looking at her wing. “If you didn’t notice or hear already, I broke my wing during the air show. I was hoping you could do all your fancy magic stuff and fix it.” She shuffled her wing a bit, wincing in pain.
“I heard. How’d it happen?” She pulled a book of the shelf, dusting it off.
The pegasus kicked at the ground shamefully, looking away. “Rather not talk about it, Twi. Just can you fix it or something?”
“I’m afraid it won’t be that easy. I’m not a medical unicorn, you know that. I know some things about it, so I’ll try. Is that okay?”
Dash just responded with a swiping hoof motion, saying, “Sure, whatever, let’s get on with it. Anything I need to do?”
“No no no. Just stand still. I don’t want to hit the wrong bone and oversize that one, causing the problem to get worse.”
Dash quickly jumped away a bit. “What was that?”
“Oh, nothing! Nothing at all. Now just stand still. It’ll all be okay.” Twilight walked to Dash’s side, levitating a book next to her. “Now, let’s see here…Bomb wounds, no…Brony attacks, too far. There we go, broken bones. Now let’s see…Oh, okay, simple enough…Oh my.”
“What is it, Twi?”
Twilight slammed the book closed and set it down on a far away table, forcing herself to smile. “Nothing! Simple task, no possible negative consequences that may end up with you never flying again, nope!”
“WHAT?!”
The unicorn’s horn started glowing already, quickly making Dash forcibly fall over onto her side. “Just stay calm. Alright Dash?” Dash continued to struggle a bit, the thought of losing her flight forever more frightening than anything else she’s ever thought of. She couldn’t move under Twilight’s spell though, so she quickly stopped struggling, realizing the futility.
The violet unicorn’s horn began flowing more vibrantly, closing her eyes to focus on Dash’s wing. A small purple aura appeared beneath Dash’s wing skin, making the pegasus flinch. The aura grew brighter and larger until nearly the entire wing was enveloped. Dash closed her eyes tight, afraid of what was going to come.
All of a sudden, her entire wing erupted in pain. It felt as if 1000 needles penetrated the skin and was probing at the bones. She tensed up, grimacing and grinding her teeth together to stop from screaming in agony. This was worse than breaking the wing. She knew never to break her wing again from this experience alone. The pain increased, feeling as if it was set on fire.
And as quickly as the pain came, it passed by. Dash quickly opened her eyes and looked at her wing, the aura subsiding. She looked up at Twilight with a look of desperation. The unicorn shrugged, unsure of what to think. “I’m not sure if I was able to do it. I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
Dash nodded, lifting herself onto her feet shakily, still shocked from the pain. She managed to wiggle off the cast with a small amount of effort, although the stiffness in her now self-supported wing managed to make her wince a small bit. Backing up a bit to get a clean take off, she inhaled and held her breath, unsure of what to expect. Either she’s going to fly or she’ll never fly again. That’s not exactly the ideal conditions.
The pegasus began to trot forward, her heart beginning to beat faster. Her hooves sped up, the distinct clop clop on the hard wood floor. This was either a make it or break it moment, almost literally. Dash closed her eyes tight as she jumped off the floor, managing to open her wings…
And fly. She felt the weightlessness she so adored for her entire life. The air blowing on her face, the breeze under her wings. It all came back to her as quickly as it left. She immediately did a loop in joy, laughing with happiness. “Twi, look! You did it! You fixed my wing! I can fly again! Hahaha!” She continued to do spins and twirls in the air, welcoming back her ability of flight. In her excitement, she swooped down and playfully tackled Twilight, hugging her tight. “Thank you, Twilight! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
The flying pegasus flew out of the library at full speed, hollering to her heart’s desire. Twilight got back up to her feet and said to herself, “Eh, now get out of here, rascal.”
Chapter 8: Cutie Crusaded
Vinyl was finally dragged to the small school gym, decorated with streamers, lights, speakers, and numerous other kid friendly decorations. No glowsticks, unfortunately, as the lights were still on. Balloons were already being deflated and kicked around by the kids, all of them eagerly awaiting some music to accompany their dance.
The Crusaders quickly pushed the unicorn behind the turntable, the plates both lacking of any disc. There was a small box of vinyl under the table, but a quick glance proved it was all classical or boring stuff. She didn’t learn much about magic, but the one thing Vinyl did learn is how to be prepared. Her horn began to glow and her private flight case appeared beside her, stuffed full of 8-tracks, CDs, and other things of the sort.
Bringing her mouth close to the mic as the Crusaders got on the dance floor, Vinyl yelled, “YOU READY TO GET DOWN?!” It was much louder than expected in the small gym with the plethora of speakers, but this is what Vinyl was used to. The crowd of easily less than 50 ponies, excluding the teachers, shouted back with excitement. “Let’s get it started then!” The shout reverberated through the gym again, causing Vinyl’s table to shake.
She quickly turned to her box of music, shifting through the cases. “Baby Got Flank”? No, not filly friendly. “Pony Swag”? Definitely a no. “Equestrian Idiot”? Again, nada. “Ah, here we go”, she said to herself. “Flutterwonder.” She slapped the vinyl onto the platter, spinning it for a second to test if it worked. It spun with some resistance, probably because of the date on this ancient craft. Flipping a switch and bringing the stylus down as the record began to spin. “We’ll start off a little slower, everypony, to get those muscles worked up.” The music began playing and some of the fillies started dancing slowly to the music.
The unicorn began shuffling through the music again as that music played as a distraction. “Ah! Here we go!” She slipped a copy of Pinkie’s Lie out from its case and scratched Flutterwonder, making a nice stereotypical DJ screech. “Nah, I’m just kidding, fillies. This is a party.” She put Pinkie’s Lie onto the other platter, turning on another switch and bringing down the stylus on it also. The crossfader glided to the right over to the new track, bringing the nice bass into the noise.
All of a sudden, it was like a light bulb appeared above Vinyl’s head. She stuck the crossfader in between the two tracks, causing both to play simultaneously. At first, the beat sounded horrible, but Vinyl tuned the pitch control and the beats began to match, the sound of Fluttershy’s voice contrasting with the Pinkie’s Lie strong bass and kick. The result was phenomenal and everypony was up and dancing with moments.
“And that’s how, little ones, you get your Cutie Mark!” Bobbing her head in her own signature style and finally slipping her goggles over her eyes, she spotted the three Crusaders congregating in the corner. Speaking to herself, Vinyl said, “Hmm…Maybe I shouldn’t have said what I did.” Everytime Pinkie’s Lie was about to get to the vocals, she spun the record back to the beginning where the bass began.
A concerned teacher quickly began walking her way through the crowd up to the turntable, talking away. The music was much too loud for Vinyl to hear what she was saying, so she motioned to speak louder by raising her hoof up. Barely audible over the music, the teacher said, “I WOULD LIKE TO TALK WITH YOU OUTSIDE!” Vinyl nodded, switching the crossfader to just Pinkie’s Lie until she got back as she started to walk away.
Now in the light of the day, it was apparent the teacher wasn’t only concerned but worried. She closed the door to the gym mostly, but it was open enough for Vinyl to see inside to her turntable. The music was much quieter out here, also, loud enough for you to hear the bass but quiet enough to have trouble hearing the words.
“Hello, my name is Ms. Cheerilee. I heard your name was Ms. Scratch. I’m pleased to meet you.”
Vinyl began sticking out her hoof for a shake and said, “Pleased to meet you t-“ before realizing that the teacher didn’t want a hoofshake at the moment.
“Yes. Well, as you heard, our last DJ got sick and Applebloom and her friends said they knew someone. However, even if you did come at such short notice and such innocent little girls know you…Someone said you may possibly have some…well, substances.”
The DJ’s ears perked up. “Substances? Like what?”
“Well, I’m not sure, but I’m guessing you might have drugs.”
“Drugs?! Miss, I have never…” Peeking inside for just a moment, Vinyl could see Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all heading over to the turntable, looking through the case of albums. “Oh no…”
“Oh, why’d you say oh no? Realize that you do have drugs?” The teacher cocked her head suspiciously.
“No, miss, I have to-“ Vinyl tried to walk past the teacher to get inside, but she quickly blocked her path.
“Oooooh no. You’re not getting away from this one that easy. Where are they?” Looking over Ms. Cheerilee’s shoulder, Vinyl could see Applebloom taking off Flutterwonder and Scootaloo managed to switch the crossfader to that side. Sweetie Belle picked one disc at random and put it under the stylus, the song instantly starting to play. “Uh…word…adjective…pronoun…adverb.”
Before the next part of the song, Vinyl managed to whimper out, “Oh, sweet mother of Celestia…”
“You let them put on WHAT?!” Ms. Cheerilee screamed. Hours after the dance, the school was still getting tons of calls from angry parents after hearing about one song the “DJ” played.
Vinyl sighed in response, burying her face in her hooves, her goggles still on to hide her angered expression. “I didn’t let them put it on. Apparently, the three that put it on told some other pony to tell you that I had “substances”, although they meant a drink or something because having drinks in there is against the rules. I don’t think the fillies even know what drugs are.”
“That doesn’t excuse from the fact that you left the table where they could’ve got a hold of a song like that!”
“I understand your anger, miss, but you brought me aside to ask me about the “drugs”. They heard me mention Cutie Marks and that’s when they got this idea. They tried to DJ to get their Cutie Marks.” Vinyl continued to bury her face, getting slowly pushed over the edge from this one-sided teacher.
“Why did you even have that song?!”
Vinyl sighed again, picking her up to look at the teacher. “I’m sorry. I’m a DJ and sometimes, I get called to places that like music on the more wild side. Wild meaning dirty. I have no control over that, and if I knew I was going to a school, I would’ve taken it out.”
“Then why did you sign up for being a DJ for a school?!”
Vinyl’s last straw broke. She seemed like a nice lady, but way out of shape when it came to real situations. “Look! I didn’t sign up to be your school’s DJ! I was nice enough to take off time from my day to come to a school that help and help them!” Vinyl got up, taking off her goggles to show her fiery ruby red eyes. “The fact is I tried to help and be a nice pony, and yes, I understand that was a sad mishap back there. But it wasn’t my fault! Kids tried to get me out of the booth to see what they could do, and they used you as a middlemare! If you’re going to let that simple fact fly over your head so you can put the blame on someone else, so be it! But at least you’re getting paid!”
With that, Vinyl snapped her goggles back on and trotted out the door, slamming the door hard and making sure it was as loud as possible before galloping away. She went over to the gym and closed her flight case after sticking her albums back in. Her horn began to glow as did the case before it vanished in midair. “Maybe she’d like it if I stuck some speakers in her bedroom and I played that song when she slept…”
Chapter 9: Rearrangements
The sky was absent of any clouds, unlike earlier, the sun shining on every inch of Ponyville. A few pegasi were flying around, but one rainbow streak was destroying every trace of cumulus that appeared.
She soared full of passion, the wind gently gliding around her as her wings helped the pegasus defy physics. Doing spins and rolls and flips all around the sky, her lungs yelled out with joy and excitement. Even after a small week of no flying, Dash missed it more than anything else in the world right now.
Well, almost anything else. If it for more than a week, flying might be at the top, but not seeing a certain mare for only a small bit made Dash long for her. Flying up above the entire town, she looked below at the ant-sized ponies. Like every other time, ponies were walking around, entering and leaving shops, etc. Everyday Ponyville. But even from the height she was at, Dash could see two streaks of dark and light blue moving about below.
Dash reared back in the air, spreading her wings wide before diving towards the blue-maned pony, quickly gaining speed. Definitely the fastest she’s gone all day, the pegasus attempted to go faster, Everything around her began to blur as her eyes began to water from the velocity. The blue-maned pony managed to look up, unmistakable DJ goggles on her forehead. Vinyl watched as Dash continued to approach her at high speed, the unicorn straddling the ground as if bracing for impact.
Dash playfully tackled Vinyl into the grass and dirt, causing them to tumble a bit before rolling together to a stop. The two were giggling up a frenzy, their coats and mane littered with blades of vegetation and chunks of dirt, but they held each other close anyway. For Vinyl, this was a reawakening in her life, and Dash had a new thing to work for. They brought happiness to each other in the most unexpected way, but life has its way to even the field.
“You’re what now?!” Vinyl yelled as her belongings were thrown out the doorway of what used to be her house. Tune, the actual owner of the house, was proceeding to throw out all of her possessions into the yard without any regards to who might be in front of him.
“I’m kicking you out. I’m pretty sure that was pretty clear.” Vinyl was staying side-to-side with him, attempting to stop Tuner from just chucking her equipment. “I know you’re a smart unicorn, Vinyl, figure it out.”
He hung on to some integrity as he just set the large coffin of DJ equipment onto the ground, beginning to walk back inside the house. Quickly blocking him from the house was a cyan pegasus, her head dipped low and wings spread out. “Tell us why you’re kicking her out, or I’m going to have to punch you out!”
Tuner, unperturbed by her aggressiveness, stomped the dirt in front of her, causing dust to rise between the two. “You better not talk to me like that, you little runt! I’ve known Vinyl my entire life, and I’ve only heard about you. Don’t think I won’t tramp you into the ground.”
Verbally butting heads with Tuner now, Dash got as close to his face as she could without touching him. “Did you just call me a tramp, chump?! If you don’t tell us why RIGHT NOW, then I’m going to have to shove my hoof SO FAR-“
“DASH!” Vinyl yelled as loud as she could, exasperation in her voice. “What is this solving?”
The pegasus stepped away from the short earth pony, bringing her head down. “Sorry, Vinyl.”
“I get where you’re coming from…Although, Tuner. I don’t know what to think about you at the moment.” The unicorn lifted her goggles off her eyes, looking at Tune with a hint of hurt. “I don’t get why you’re doing this. If you’re making me go, at least tell me why.”
Tuner sighed, getting noticeably more tense under the stress. “Because of that mare right there.” He pointed to Dash accusingly. “Ever since I knew you, Vinyl, I liked you. You know that. We became friends, that is obvious. But as we got closer, I asked you out on a date or two, and you always said that you didn’t want any kind of relationship. You never explained why. You just said you never wanted to date anyone.” Putting his hoof back onto the ground, Tuner scowled at Vinyl, digging his hooves into the dirt.
“And then here comes Rainbow Dash, she’s so cool! One day. ONE DAY! You start dating her like you’ve never had a problem with it. To others, it seemed like a good sign. But to me, it seemed like you’ve been avoiding me for the longest time. I tried to cope with that, but it’s hard to see you everyday and think that you may not even believe I’m a friend. So, Vinyl…I should be asking you why.”
Vinyl stood motionless, a concentration in her eyes, not responding. The earth pony continued to dig his hoof farther into the dirt. Dash stood on the sidelines, looking between the two glaring ponies. The absence of sound hung in the air for what seemed like an hour. Tuner began to pant with frustration, expecting an answer. Rearing up on his hind legs before slamming his hooves into the ground, he yelled, “WHY?!”
Again, the silence washed over the three, causing Tuner to tense up even more. Vinyl sighed, looking down at her hooves. “I shouldn’t have lied to you. I see that. I never thought of you as anything more than a friend. You supported me and I supported you. Nothing much other than that. I’m not the right one for you. I guess it’s my fault.” The unicorn shrugged. “I’m sorry, Tune. Not much of an apology, but I can’t say anything else.”
Tune didn’t waste any time on the situation. He side-stepped Dash to get back inside the house, grabbed the last piece of her belongings in his mouth, walked it back outside, and set it in front of Vinyl. “Even after hearing all of that…I don’t care. I was hurt and that’s that. Maybe we can be friends again someday, but for now…get off my property.”
An hour passed of moving luggage and numerous discussions before Vinyl set her last bag into Fluttershy’s hut, sighing contently. Dash and all of her friends, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, and even Rarity, helped moving in. Everypony except for the three unicorns were panting, smiling as they saw the last bag.
Vinyl put it down next to the wall, her new temporary home welcome but definitely not something she is accustomed to. The hut had a tall ceiling and bright colors throughout it, along with multiple locations for small animals to sleep and eat. It almost seemed like Fluttershy took part of the forest and put walls around it.
Stepping up onto a nearby side table, Vinyl stood now a head taller than any other pony in the room. “Thanks everypony for helping me move in! And sorry for the short notice. Didn’t exactly plan any of this.”
Pushing a small box aside, Applejack walked up, grinning. “No problem, sugarcube. Any friend of Rainbow’s is a friend of ours.” Like a small filly in a classroom, Twilight whispered into Applejack’s ear. “What’s that?... Hm… Well, so? Oh, we’re not here ta judge, Twi! Now stop whispering!” Twilight jumped back, getting a loud earful.
“Heh. Sorry. Habit on the subject.” Looking back to Vinyl shamefully, she mustered up a (obviously) fake grin. “Anyway, it was nothing, Vinyl. I don’t think anypony would’ve expected to be kicked out by their best friend.”
Raising an eyebrow and stepping down off of the table, the DJ turned to Twilight. “Yeah, thanks. Feeling better already.” She rolled her eyes, walking towards the front door. “But thanks again. Would’ve taken forever without you ponies.”
The various ponies began to filter out of the hut, saying their farewells (Rainbow’s being a little more physical) as they left Vinyl and Fluttershy to themselves. Vinyl sighed in relief. That could’ve gone a lot worse than expected, she thought to herself.
Fluttershy, with an ecstatic smile on her face of being able to talk with a new friend, asked, “So…Um, Vinyl. I heard you were a DJ? What kind of music do you listen to?”
Vinyl replied by turning towards her with an evil smirk as she pulled out her iPod, iPod station, and began scrolling to the loudest, most vulgar song on her playlist…
Chapter 10: ForestShy
“Hey, Fluttershy!” Vinyl was at her turntable, two discs spinning against the rubber platters as music erupted from the nearby speakers, uninhibited by the fact that there are no longer houses anywhere near them. Chain Algorithm’s “Little Girl on a Scooter” was playing loud as the unicorn practiced using her hooves, scratching the disc of “Avast Your Ass”, catching the beats against the two like a butterfly net.
The buttery pegasus peeked out from behind her bedroom door, her head low. Just barely audible over the music, she replied, “Y-Yes, Vinyl?”
The off-white pony quickly put her hooves against the two discs, making a loud screeching noise before turning off the table. She turned to Fluttershy with concern, putting her goggles on her forehead. “Why are you back there like you’re scared of something?”
Looking down at the ground timidly, Fluttershy sunk back into her bedroom a few inches. “Well… I don’t really like loud music… Or that kind… Eep.”
Walking a few steps forward, pushing some of her records out of the way with her hooves, Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with electronic?”
Only the tip of the pegasus’s nose was visible now, replying in a tiny voice, “N-Nothing…”
Vinyl couldn’t help but chuckle at the pony’s shyness, walking up to the door and swinging it open fully, revealing the cowering Fluttershy. She quickly put her hooves over her head in protection. “Fluttershy, no need to worry. Not like I’m gonna hurt you or something. Everyone has their own opinion.” Vinyl placed her hoof on Fluttershy’s head gently, sighing contently. “By the way, just for future reference, I’m probably the least violent pony you will ever know.”
Upon saying that, images of many past situations at her gigs rose out of their deathly graves and began haunting her memory again. Even with somepony that’s against violence, when you put her into a gig that has a bunch of drinks and a lot of annoying ponies, it tends to get messy. Messy as in Vinyl’s drunken stupor of hitting her attackers with a bottle of Colt’s Light until it broke, then resulting in her fleeing the scene.
The pegasus managed to shake those thoughts quickly away, returning to current reality. By this time, Fluttershy had pushed Vinyl’s hoof softly away and gotten back onto her feet. “You mean that, Vinyl?”
The off-white pony nodded, smiling at Fluttershy. “Of course. I wouldn’t kid about something like that. Besides, you’re a really gentle pony, I would never mean to hurt you.”
The pegasus smiled back, saying, “That’s… Nice of you. If you would be so kind, could you help me today find some stuff for the sweet little animals I have here? I mean, if it isn’t interrupting anything you’re doing…?”
Vinyl looked over at her turntable, and then back at the grinning, goofy pegasus, letting out a long, exasperated sigh before looking at her optimistically. “Sure, why not? I would love to help out a bit.”
“Great! Let me just go get my forest equipment!” Fluttershy quickly trotted off before Vinyl could respond.
With a blank look on her face, Vinyl stood motionless, questioning, “…Forest equipment?”
“Eh, what are we supposed to be doing out here?” Vinyl and Fluttershy were standing in a loose thicket of trees, the sun at high noon and the light managing to light the forest floor easy enough to read. Various plants lined the trunks of the thick trees, although most were typical green plants that were difficult to distinguish between each other. A few flowers bloomed from the bases of the forest, usually residing on one side of the path made by ponies or the other.
Although it took much persuading, Vinyl managed to be convinced to leave her goggles at the hut, her eyes now at full mercy of the relentless UV rays.
“Well, it’s not complicated,” Fluttershy responded. “We’re just out here to gather some food for the precious animals. Now, there are a few things you need to remember… Well, if you can… When you’re collecting the plants.” The pegasus breathed in, proceeding with the next statement rapidly. “Just keep in mind that there are plants you must avoid, such as the tree nettle and poison ivy. I would prefer you to grab the plants for the bunnies that are lower in cellulose than the rest, because otherwise it’s hard to digest. Get some grit for the sparrows while you’re at it, and don’t get any fungi. Maroon hates those, and I mix the ingredients to get the birds’ food. The rodents are fine, I have enough nutritions for them at the establishment. And if you find any small dead prey, would you be kind enough to fetch it for my ferrets?” The yellow pony then shivered, her pace of speaking returning to normal. “… Although I hate that last part. Got all of that?”
Once again, Vinyl stood there for a moment, expressionless, trying to process all of the rapid data. Satisfied with contentment, Fluttershy grinned and began to turn around, already heading off to a different direction. “Good! I’m glad you could help. I’ll see you at the hut later.” With a small hop to her trot and Angel to her side, the pegasus proceeded into her family of trees.
Alone in a foreign nightmare, Vinyl’s mind quickly got the better of her as the lack of anything modern consumed her. She has lived her entire life in a city or large town, and hasn’t even set foot into a forest. Every single story she heard when she was a filly with a monster in it was placed in a forest. Heck, she even heard that some of her classmates were taken by some of the monsters. Her lack of goggles to cover her fear in her eyes further drove her off the edge.
The DJ swallowed her fear, though, beginning to trump forward into a path next to the one Fluttershy entered, determined to do her best. “Ha! Forest… Pfftch. Doesn’t scare me anymore. All those stories are just foal stories. Like I would be scared of those!” Small leaves of a flower brushed against her back leg, causing her to jump and produce a loud, high-pitched scream for a split-second. Quickly realizing her “attacker”, she flushed red with self-embarrassment. “Heh, yeah. Nothing scares me now.”
~{One Terrifying Hour Later}~
“Vinyl, what happened?!” Rainbow Dash came trotting into the hospital room at full speed, skidding to a stop next to the unicorn’s bed. Vinyl has been at the hospital for about 5 minutes now, and Rainbow was informed immediately. Windows may have been broken on Rainbow’s journey there. A few machines were hooked up to the off-white pony as well as a few scratches and marks were present on her body.
“Oh, Dash… It was horrible. There were… Plants… And bugs… EVERYWHERE!” Vinyl flailed about a bit as if she was in a foal’s tantrum. Panting and turning away from Dash, the unicorn curled up into a ball.
Nurse Redheart walked up to Dash calmly, tapping her shoulder before stating, “Don’t worry. She’s completely fine. She actually ran in here a few minutes ago, wanting immediate medical attention. She said, ‘I now have 10 different forest diseases and a parasprite in my stomach. I need your help.’ Or something along those lines at least, and much more frantically. We checked everything on her.” She paused, looking at her clipboard to double-check. “And she’s all good. Vinyl just is apparently deathly scared of nature.”
Sighing with relief, Rainbow smiled at the nurse, chuckling a bit. “Thanks, Redheart. She had me worried.” The nurse nodded, turning around and beginning to search through her papers on her board again.
“Sorry Rainbow.” The pegasus looked back over her shoulder at Vinyl, seeing the unicorn still curled up.
“W… What?”
“I’m sorry. I know I probably made you worry about me, and I didn’t mean to. Just, y’know… Fears and all.”
The pegasus quickly walked right up to the bed, bringing her head down and nuzzling Vinyl’s neck, laying it in her hair. “I’m just glad you’re alright. You’ve got nothing to worry about, I’m not mad or anything.”
“You… You sure, Dashie?” Vinyl blushed a bit, sighing contently and closing her eyes gently.
“Of course I’m s-… Did you really just call me Dashie?”
(OKAY! This is NOT what I expected Part 2 to be like at all. Gonna be honest, I’ve been lacking in my writing. Not to mention, I’ve been slow as hell. For anyone waiting for part 2, I’m REALLY sorry for the long wait. School is a killer. Anyway, yeah. I agree, the beginning is the best part and it slowly degrades. But oh well. So, yeah. I’m HOPEFULLY going to continue and get better and more enriching stuff next time. If I stop writing it all together, gonna be honest, don’t be surprised. I’m getting more and more busy by the day. But, anyway…THANKS FOR ALL THE FAVORITES AND WATCHES!)
