Note: I wrote this story on Microsoft Word, and the format got messed up :oopies: Just... please bear with it.
A cool, starry night had blessed Ponyville. The habitants rested peacefully, undisturbed by the whispers of the wind. None had suspected anything would happen on this quiet night, yet they were wrong. So very wrong. For one moment in time, everything stopped. The leaves stopped ruffling, and the animals’ movements halted. All that could be heard was silence. And then, it was broken. A soft, wheezing noise filled the air, barely registering in the sleeping minds of any pony. Finally, the noise ceased, and time resumed.
***
“Vinyl, I think you’ve had enough for one night,” disapproved a grey pony with a darker grey mane, who watched with a frown as her friend downed yet another shot. The ghostly white mare grinned, and ordered another one.
“C’mon, ‘Tavi. The night’s young! Have a drink, on me!” She said, setting into her next drink. Octavia rolled her eyes, and sighed.
“Vinyl, you are aware that I am the one paying for your drinks, right?” The grey mare shot her friend a stern glare, resulting in a chuckle from Vinyl Scratch.
“Alright, ‘Tavi. Guess I’m done for the night. Though has anyone told you that you’re cute when you’re mad?” Teased the white mare, followed by yet another mad grin. Her friend was unconvinced, and proceeded to drag Vinyl off the stool and out bar, before returning and paying for the drinks. The two half limped and half walked towards their home, though Vinyl’s drunken state slowed the entire process greatly. The pair eventually stopped when Vinyl Scratch became violently sick, vomiting the majority of the alcohol and what little food she had over the past few hours.
“See, that’s exactly why you should have stopped at your 10th drink,” critiqued Octavia. The white mare was over her little episode, and slowly got up, though she quickly lost her balance and had to lean on Octavia.
“Sorry Octy, I guess I went a little overboard tonight,” apologized the white mare. Octavia, however, was less than forgiving, berating Vinyl again.
“It’s the same thing every night, Vinyl! I know you’re a DJ and whatnot, and you’re supposed to be some sort of wild party pony, but this… this is just… wrong! The drugs, the drinking… You’re killing yourself Vinyl!”
“Geez, Octavia, I’m just drunk, is all. Besides, a mare’s gotta have a little excitement in her life,” slurred Vinyl carelessly.
“Is that what this is to you? A game where you hurt yourself for fun? Dammit, Vinyl, you just don’t get it!” yelled Octavia, as she moved away from Vinyl, causing the latter to collapse on the ground. “Find your own way home, Vinyl. Maybe you should make a game out of that,” snapped the angered mare, as she walked away, leaving Vinyl lying on the ground, wincing.
“What did I get myself into…” muttered the fallen mare. She picked herself up again, and this time, though with weak, wobbly knees, she stayed up. Slowly, but surely, she moved, using everything from walls to garbage cans to help her stay standing. Unfortunately, in her hazed state, she misjudged her direction, and ended up near the Everfree Forest.
“Crap… This is the last place I wanted to be…” groaned Vinyl. “If only ‘Tavi was here… I’d be home in… uh… what was it that blue Pegasus said? 10 seconds flat? Something like that.” Vinyl grimaced. She thought back to how she had met Octavia, during one of her performances in some night club in Canterlot. Vinyl was somewhat famous for her appearances in clubs and parties, both business-wise and simply for her need of a drink. When she was sober, however, she was known as DJ Pon-3, a DJ of various nightclubs and parties. It was during one of these nightclubs that she had met Octavia, who had wandered into the club in curiosity. The distraught mare had just finished her own performance for the Canterlot nobles, and was walking to her hotel with her cello, when she overheard a strange type of music emitting from one the nightclubs she normally avoided. When she stepped in however, she became confused at what world she had entered. There were lights flashing everywhere, and everypony was hued red from the room’s lighting. The one thing that stood out, however, was a white mare wearing a pair of purple tinted sunglasses, operating a turntable. The regal mare had never heard anything like the music that erupted from the loud speakers, which was sourced to the white mare at the very back of the club. After her performance, they began conversing with one another, discussing of music and performances, and soon enough, even with their differences of music preferences and attitudes, they became fast friends.
Suddenly, Vinyl snapped out from her trip through memory lane, and realized she was still facing the Everfree Forest.
“How much time did I just waste?” She asked to no one particularly. The, with her acute sense of hearing, she realized everything had stopped moving. No noise could be heard for as far as her hearing could go, except for her own shallow breathes. Then, a faint whisper of a sound, something so silent that Vinyl herself barely believed it was there, but the sound was there, and she could begin to make out what it was; a strange, soft wheezing noise. With no sudden warning, a gust of wind erupted from the forest and knocked Vinyl down, upon which she hit her head on the ground, causing the world to spin above her. Looking up, she saw a figure nearby, exiting a blur of blue, just barely noticing her.
“Who…” she started, but her vision faded, and she closed her eyes.
And then the world went dark…
***
Vinyl Scratch awoke on a jet black leather couch, with a terrible taste in her mouth. Her head was pounding, and her eyes hurt from the strong sunlight. Looking around, she realized she was in her home.
“Well… I made it back home. Love it when I do that,” stated Vinyl. She got up and looked at herself in a full sized mirror. Bits of grass and dirt stained her mane and hooves, but aside from that she looked fine. “Must’ve been a hell of a night…” she declared. “I feel like death… I need a shower.” 15 minutes later, and feeling much cleaner, the DJ pony fixed herself up breakfast. She wondered to herself what happened last night, as she could only remember bits and pieces of it. Her head still ached, though not as badly as before, so she knew she had a few drinks. Aside from that, she couldn’t seem to think of anything else that happened. Shrugging off her worries, she finished her breakfast and exited her house. Looking around bored, she spotted Octavia walking by.
“Hey, ‘Tavi!” she called out. The earth pony looked at Vinyl then grunted, and walked away. “Huh? Sheesh… What’s with her?” wondered the pale unicorn aloud. Then something caught her eye; a big, blue object with many strange signs on it. The mare sensed something familiar from it, though she could not seem to know why. Walking slowly towards it, took a closer look. It was slightly bigger than she was, though it was probably only big enough to fit one pony. As she reached out towards a knob, she duly noted that this might be somepony’s, and that she was breaking into it. When she turned the knob, the found the door was locked. Deciding that it was important if it was locked, she turned her back on it, only to smack into another pony.
“Ouch! As if the headache wasn’t enough…” muttered Vinyl. The fallen mare gazed at the pony who knocked her down, a brown colt, wearing a tweed jacket and a bright red bowtie, with an hourglass cutiemark. The colt got up, and gave his head a good shake.
“Blimey… now THAT hurt. Atleast I didn’t get the horn, whew. Oh! Sorry, there! Let me help you up,” apologized the newcomer, who stretched a hoof out. Vinyl grabbed the hoof and got up, rubbing her muzzle.
“I’m the Doctor, pleased to meet you, miss…?” introduced the colt.
“Vinyl Scratch. ‘The Doctor’, eh? Isn’t that more of a title than a name? Well, then again, who am I to judge!” grinned Vinyl. “Interesting way to meet new ponies. Can’t you just break out into song and introduce yourself instead?” Vinyl joked, noting a certain pink pony hopping around Ponyville.
“Maybe next time, Miss. Scratch,” replied the Doctor. “Now… if you’d excuse me, I have things to do. Things involving other things,” said the Doctor, as he approached the blue object, which opened up at the snap of his hoof.
“Wait! That thing’s yours? Hold on!” yelled Vinyl, who ran towards the blue box, entering it before the door closed. Vinyl’s eyes nearly popped out of her violet glasses at the sight before her; the inside of the seemingly small box was much bigger than she expected. Rather, it seemed bigger than her house.
“It’s… Bigger on the inside…” stammered Vinyl.
“Ha ha! There it is! I love it when they say that,” declared the Doctor.
“What is this…?” asked the confused mare.
The Doctor grinned widely, and approached Vinyl. “This, is my TARDIS. Bigger on the inside!” The Doctor looked at Vinyl, expecting a very shocked face. Instead, he found a mad grin forming over her face. “You’re supposed to be shocked.”
“Been there, done that! Now this… this is what I call awesome! What can this thing do?” questioned Vinyl eagerly. The Doctor took a look at her, somewhat bewildered by her reaction.
“TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It’s a time machine, and a spaceship. Any questions?”
The white mare’s ears twitched when she heard the Doctor’s response. What a day this was going to turn out to be. “Great! So, where we going Doc’?” said Vinyl, as she pushed past the Doctor towards the TARDIS control panel.
“I’m sorry, what?” questioned the Doctor.
“I said, ‘Where are we going?’. Because I sure as heck ain’t leavin’ this thing ‘till I’ve seen what it can do! So, since you’re going to be stuck with me anyways, why not make it a story to remember? ‘Vinyl and the Doctor’! Time travelers!” Another grin formed on Vinyl’s face.
The Doctor returned with a smile of his own. “Alright, then! Let’s go! Some place new, some place exciting!” The Doctor declared, as he ran to the console, flipping switches and hitting buttons. The entire TARDIS began to shake, and a loud wheezing noise could be heard. Vinyl recognized the noise; it was the very same one she heard last night, though her memories of that night were still foggy. Soon enough, the shaking ceased, and the though slipped Vinyl’s mind. She rushed out the TARDIS in excitement, only to be met with the trees of the Everfree Forest.
“This is your idea of exciting?” asked Vinyl with a hint of disappointment. The Doctor looked around, and ran back inside the TARDIS, staring at one of the monitors.
“Looks like we’ve jumped ahead a week into your future… Not so much what I was aiming for,” explained the Doctor, as he exited the blue box. As he walked towards Vinyl, he took a deep breath. Something was amiss in the air, a strange familiar odor. “I don’t think coming here was an accident, Miss Scratch. There’s a high level of artron energy here…” The Doctor said, as he took a stray strand of grass and tasted it, only to spit it out a split second later.
“Has anyone told you that you’re a bit weird?”
“They never really stop.” The Doctor reached into his pocket and produced a strange pen like device. The end of the device began glowing, and emitting an eerie humming noise. Letting go of a button, the Doctor whipped the device, extending its claws. “There is definitely a lot of artron energy around this area. So, what do you say Vinyl, shall we look around Ponyville? Seven days in the future?”
“Fine, might as well. Who knows, maybe I can get the winning numbers for last week lottery ticket,” suggested Vinyl.
The two ponies walked into Ponyville, looking around the town. Strangely enough, even though it was the middle of the day, barely any ponies were outside. Most of the ones that were walked quickly, as if they were running away from something. The only normal pony was the bright pink one Vinyl had pointed out earlier.
“Hi! I’m the Doctor. Where is everyon – pony?” The Doctor introduced. The pink pony studied him hard for a few seconds, and then let out a large, yet quiet gasp.
“You’re new in town aren’t you? Because I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville! And I haven’t seen you before, and if I haven’t seen you before that means you must be new, and you don’t know anypony yet! SOooooo! Hello! My name is Pinkie Pie! Now you know me, and we can be BFFs foreverrrr! Darn… if it weren’t for those super scary monsters, I would throw you a party!” Pinkie Pie rapidly said.
“Wait, what? What monsters?”
“What? You’ve heard of them? Well… I guess that makes sense since everypony is hiding inside. Anyyyywayyyyssssss, there’s these really scary monsters that appeared out of nowhere, and then they just started attacking Ponyville for no reason! Some of us tried to drive them away, but there were too many! They usually live in the Everfree Forest, and they attack near the evening. So, have you met monsters before? You scared of them?”
“No, they’re scared of me,” answered the Doctor. Pinkie Pie’s face instantly brightened, and she began talking excitedly.
“That’s great! That means you can get rid of those awful monsters, and I can throw a party for you! Yippee!” Pinkie Pie gleefully yelled, as she bounced towards Sugar Cube Corner.
“Okay, back to the Everfree! Come along, Vinyl! Vinyl? Vinyl Scratch?” The Doctor looked around, and saw the white unicorn exiting a small market with a note scrawled with numbers and a date.
“What’s that?” asked the Doctor.
“Just a souvenir. Finally be able to get that new turntable…” Vinyl murmured under her breath. “Oh! I almost forgot, the mare at the market told me something about bloodthirsty monsters and the Everfree Forest. We’re not going to have a look, are we?”
“Let’s go and have a look,” the Doctor said, accompanied by a grin.
“And here I was thinking I was the mad one. Fine, but if I get killed, you’re telling Octavia,” shot back Vinyl, with another one of her signature grins.
“What’s so bad about that?”
“Have you met Octavia when she’s mad?” asked Vinyl. The Doctor stood silent, waiting for Vinyl to continue.
“You’re one of the lucky ones,” smiled Vinyl, though she couldn’t help but wonder why the thought of Octavia angered seemed so familiar to her. Then again, I am Vinyl, she thought to herself.
***
A sense of déjà vu hit Vinyl, as once again, they marched through the path leading to the Everfree. “Sheesh, Doc, if I knew we were going to be visiting the forest so much, I would’ve invited Fluttershy,” she complained.
“Oh, come on, forests are cool!” cried the Doctor, as he put his ear on the ground, listening for anything strange.
“This is coming from a colt who wears a bowtie,” replied Vinyl, with a chuckle.
“Yeah, it’s cool. Bow ties are cool.”
“Are you from another planet or something?” Vinyl asked, skeptical.
“Yeah,” replied the Doctor, nonchalantly. Vinyl laughed again, shaking her head.
“You know what? I actually believe you. Ha!” The duo walked into the forest, looking for any signs of danger. “Do you know what we’re looking for, Doctor?”
“Basically… Anything with fangs and an impulsive desire to slaughter anything at first sight,” replied the Doctor. Suddenly, a loud roar could be heard, echoing around the forest.
“You sure this is safe?”
“Absolutely! There’s never anything dangerous in a forest!” Almost immediately, loud thudding sounds could be heard, each getting closer to the two ponies. “There are sentences I should just keep away from.” A large black shape erupted from a nearby bush, and lunged at the two, as they barely managed to evade the creature’s sharp claws. The coal colored beast stared at Vinyl, teeth showing, accompanied by a deep growl.
“Doctor… I’ve got a big, deadly, pony-eating monster in front me of me!” yelled Vinyl.
“Ok, ok… Wait! I’ve got it!” the Doctor said, as he waved his arms and began shouting at the creature. “Look at me! I’m food!” The creature redirected its attention to the Doctor, and rushed at him, only to slam into a tree behind the Doctor.
“What now?” cried Vinyl.
“Basically… RUN!” instructed the Doctor. The pair ran as fast as they could, back through the path they came from, stopping nearby a small pond outside of forest.
“Right… So, what do we know? Big, scary monster, eats ponies and possibly time lords.”
“Doctor, do you see any nobles around here?” asked Vinyl, astonished.
“I meant me. I’m a Time lord, please try to keep up.”
“Well… you look like a pony.”
“I mean, you could’ve atleast guessed I was – wait what? A pony? Me?” the Doctor said, with an incredulous look on his face. He stared down at his body, of which was in fact that of a pony. “Guess that explains these…” the Doctor said, gesturing to his hooves.
“You don’t know what you look like?”
“Busy day…”
Their little conversation was cut short by another low growl, which was answered by a second roar. The two turned towards the forest to see two of the beasts emerging from the forest. The creature resembled a black panther, with larger limbs, and deadly looking claws. The creatures’ heads each had two twin horns, as well as razor sharp teeth.
“I used to think manticores were scary…” mumbled Vinyl.
“Hello… I’m the Doctor! And what are you lot?”
He was answered by a threatening roar by both creatures, who slowly began to approach them.
“Right… silent type, eh? What are you… minotaurs? No, that isn’t right… no maze here… Rippy fangy claw things? That’s a stupid name…”
“Doctor?” interrupted Vinyl. The Doctor paid no attention, instead rambling on about what the creatures looked like. Feeling an opening, one of the creatures jumped at the Doctor, and just narrowly slashed him, before Vinyl smashed its skull with a turntable.
“Where did that come from?” asked the Doctor, intrigued.
“Pockets! Your TARDIS isn’t the only thing that’s bigger on the inside,” Vinyl stated with a grin, as she smacked the creature again in the face. “Now, let’s get outta – HEY!” shouted Vinyl, as the second beast smacked the turntable away from Vinyl, and proceeded to smash it. “You, owe me a new turntable! How can DJ Pon-3 perform without her beats?!”
“Vinyl, we have to go, now!” warned the Doctor.
“But… but… my turntable!” The Doctor grabbed Vinyl and ran towards the TARDIS, only to be blocked by an angry bruised beast.
“OTHER WAY!” yelled the Doctor, as they ran backwards, towards Ponyville. Vinyl took charge then, and lead the Doctor into a house far from the center of Ponyville. Inside, the Doctor took out the pen-thing again and used it on the door, ensuring it was locked.
“Sonic screwdriver, very good with doors,” he explained. “That should hold them for a few seconds.” The Doctor turned around to inspect the house. Both ponies jumped when they heard a clanging sound, and looked towards the stairs. A pair of hooves descended from them, slowly at first, though the darkness of the house clouded the new pony’s face. A cello bow dropped from the pony’s hoof, and as she ran down the stairs, Vinyl instantly recognized her; it was Octavia.
“’Tavi! This is your house? I didn’t realize… ‘Tavi? What’s wrong? It’s me… Vinyl?” questioned Vinyl, as Octavia was staring at her, incredulous. Then, a look of pain shot across her face.
“Who are you,” she said coldly.
“What do you mean? Don’t you recognize me? It’s me! Vinyl Scratch! You know! Borderline insane, white mare, smoking hot, best buddy?” Vinyl joked. Octavia walked towards to Vinyl, a strange look in her eye. Vinyl smiled encouragingly, but was met with a slap from Octavia.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“You… you’re not Vinyl. Vinyl Scratch is dead.”
***
“What..? What do mean, dead? I’m fine! Sure, I mean I was probably gone a week, considering Doc’ here screwed up, but I’m not dead!” defend Vinyl.
Octavia said nothing, instead thrusting a note into her friend’s hoof. Vinyl quickly read the note, and was appalled to realize it was notice on her death. Vinyl’s own death, a week ago; the day she couldn’t remember. Glancing at Octavia, she was surprised to find her in tears.
“Octy… what’s wrong? Aside from the… obvious I mean…” she said, with a uncharacteristic concerned tone. Suddenly, the grim mare broke down, crying.
“Vinyl… You can’t be here. You are dead. I saw them bury you. So if you’re a ghost… here to make me regret that night, then you’ve wasted your time. I already do. The one time when you truly needed me, the onetime your life was on the line, and I left. I left you for dead... to those… those… things. For what it’s worth Vinyl… I am so… so… sorry.”
The white mare couldn’t find the words to respond to Octavia. She had never seen her like this, never known that she cared so much. Then, Vinyl remembered. The whole night, the night she died… except she didn’t. She remembered the blue blur, and the figure. The TARDIS and the Doctor. Confusion showed on her face, as she glanced towards the Doctor, who was keeping quiet for the first time since she had met him, looking out the window. Her ears twitched, and she realized they had lured the creatures’ right towards Octavia.
“Doctor…” warned Vinyl.
“I know. I’m sorry Vinyl, I’m very sorry, but we have to go now, before they get here,” the Doctor apologized.
“How do we know they won’t hurt Octavia?” Vinyl asked, concerned for her friend’s safety.
“They’re time creatures; they feed off traces of artron energy, and we’re all bursting with it, and not raw, lovely and coat, processed food, hmmm fish fingers. Anyone who’s traveled through the time vortex would have absorbed artron energy as background radiation. They’re after us, Vinyl. More specifically, me, though they wouldn’t mind having you as a light snack," the Doctor added. He went towards the front door again, and soniced it, unlocking the door. “Bit of advice, lock up afterwards, eh?”
Octavia barely nodded at the stranger, instead having most of her focus on Vinyl. The mare smiled at Octavia.
“You’re forgiven, ‘Tavi. You’ve aIways been forgiven. It wasn’t your fault. Stop worrying and beating yourself up over this, because the Doctor, he’ll fix this. All of this,” she said softly. The grey mare approached Vinyl, and hugged her tightly.
“Vinyl, I’m not sure if you really are real, or if I am simply going insane, but please, be careful. To know that you died a second time… it would destroy me Vinyl. So please, if not for yourself, then for my sake; stay alive,” she pleaded. Vinyl acknowledged it, and began leaving.
“One more thing; You… what was your name… Doctor? If you let anything happen to Vinyl… I am going to be extremely cross, and you are going to be extremely dead.”
“Don’t worry. She’ll be safe,” promised the Doctor. With that, the pair ran off, towards the middle of Ponyville, and away from Octavia, as she shut the door and locked it. Reaching the middle, the Doctor stopped, looking for the creatures.
“Doctor, I really, really hope you have a plan, because I wouldn’t break a promise to Octavia, not when it’s about me.”
“I’ve got a plan!”
“What is it?”
“You and me, we’re going to find the rip in time, which is…” the Doctor pointed his hoof in the air and turned towards the north. “A few miles, straight ahead, and from there we’re going to stabilize the rip, reverse its polarity and be back in time for biscuits and tea.”
“How?” questioned Vinyl, ever so skeptical that it could be so easy.
“I’ll do a thing.”
“What thing?”
“I don’t know, it’s a thing in progress, respect the thing! Moving out!” the Doctor cried, as ran towards the direction he indicated earlier, followed by Vinyl.
“Have you thought of what might happen if one of ‘em caught up to us before you did your ‘thing’?”
“Yes, I’ve thought of that,” returned the Doctor.
“And?”
“We both become a tasty snack for ‘em. See? I’ve thought about it!” Vinyl remained silent after that, though she still held her trademark grin, in spite of the danger rapidly approaching them.
“Wait, one second!” cried Vinyl. They had passed a place with peculiar interest to Vinyl, who wanted to confirm her suspicions.
The Doctor stopped in his tracks, looking at Vinyl. She entered a cemetery nearby, and soon enough, she returned, with a grim face.
“What? What’s happened…?” asked the Doctor. The unusually grim companion looked up, and spoke with a grave tone.
“I’m… dead. She was right, Doctor. I found my own grave there, but how? How can I be here, how can I still be alive if I am dead?” she asked, concerned about her predicament.
“Maybe your death… hasn’t happened to you, because it was changed,” offered the Doctor. “Time can be rewritten.”
She glared at the Doctor, and nodded.
“Come on… we should hurry on and get rid of the creatures,” Vinyl decided. The two marched again, with Vinyl lost in thought. Her concentration was broken by the sound of a devastating roar. Turning around, she saw windows being closed, heard doors being locked, as a vain attempt to slow the creatures. One of them burst out the bushes, in a clawing frenzy. The other was nowhere to be seen. The beast spotted the time travelers, and began moving its powerful legs, gaining much speed.
“Something tells me their very, very hungry…” said the Doctor.
“How do you know that?” replied Vinyl.
The creature’s mouth was open, displaying its many deadly teeth, and saliva dripping from its hungry mouth.
“Call it a hunch,”
The two had begun to pick up speed, becoming dangerously close to the increasingly aggressive predator. Inches away, Vinyl could feel the creature’s rancid breath on her back. Then, something short of a miracle happened; a grand piano came smashing down, stopping the creature in its tracks.
“Oops! Sorry! I just don’t know what went wrong…” cried a voice from somewhere in the sky.
“Well now… Always love a good accident,” the Doctor said, sounding surprised. “Now, we’ve got to keep going!” The pair ran as fast as they could, and soon ended up near the opening of the forest. A lone creature stalked the TARDIS, every now and then attempting to break into the TARDIS.
“Right… good news, that one is distracted by the TARDIS! Bad news… that one is distracted by the TARDIS.”
Vinyl marched up to the Doctor, looking at their situation.
“We’ll have to sneak around it… Come on, Doctor, I’ve been here plenty enough times to know where to go.”
Vinyl led the Doctor around the menacing beast, whose focus was on the big blue lunch box in front of it. Having gotten away from the creature’s proximity, the two began a full out sprint, running towards the north.
A few miles ahead, the Doctor stopped, picking up a stick.
“The rip should be right there. I can smell it from here.”
“What’s spacey-wacey energy even smell like?”
“Have you ever heard of petrichor?” asked the Doctor.
“No,” Vinyl replied.
“Good, because that would’ve been a rubbish comparison.”
The Doctor tossed the stick in the air, which revealed ripples in the space in front of him. The branch was spat out by the rift, having been slightly singed.
“We need a massive energy source to redirect the flow of the portal… any suggestions, Miss Scratch?”
“Um… Doctor? Unicorn?” she proclaimed, as her horn began to glow.
“I had a dream like this once, you know?” she said, straining to keep the magic charging in her horn.
“And?” asked the Doctor.
“Long story short, I may have blown up the world. Good news was, there was a second one waiting there! Though I was momentarily blind…”
The two were suddenly alert to the sound of bushes ruffling. This time, five of those creatures emerged, looking very hungry, and one in particular, with a large bruise over its eye, was looking very, very mad.
“Okay, you lot… Sure you can all just eat us, but then what? This time rift only goes one way, so you can never find any more food after that. You’ll starve to death. I can help you!” reasoned the Doctor. The creatures turned at one another, uncertain. Then, the bruised one, the Alpha, barked, stepping up with its limbs tensed.
“Should’ve known that wouldn’t work… Vinyl? How we doing there?”
The unicorn was blasting the rift with a large amount of magic, though there was no effect.
“Not good! I’m getting nothing! I need a shock or something!”
The Doctor grunted, and then muttered to himself, “River is going to kill me…” as he suddenly kissed Vinyl. Her eyes widened, and a large blast of magic erupted from her horn, smashing through the rift, and creating a large whirlwind effect.
***
In the Stormcage Containment Facility…
River Song looked up, and felt a strange jab in her chest.
“I don’t know why… but the next time I see him I’m going to slap him.”
***
“HANG ON!” instructed the Doctor, as he grabbed onto a tree. Strong winds were sucking in the alien creatures, who attempted a vain escape from the suction of the rift.
“I AM HANGING ON! TELL THAT TO THE TREE!” Vinyl shouted back.
The roots of the tree began ripping out, causing Vinyl to begin to lose her grip. Three of the five creatures had been sucked into the vortex, and a fourth one was on its way. With a whimper, the fourth was sucked into the vortex, disappearing into whatever lied behind it.
Vinyl’s left hoof lost its grip, causing her to fling backwards slightly, sending her violet glasses into the rift.
“My shades! Must I lose everything dear to me!?” she complained, while just barely holding onto the tree.
“DOCTORRR! WHOAAA!” screamed Vinyl, as she was pulled into the rift… only to be caught by the Doctor. With his teeth.
“My hoof! You bit me! No, you’re still biting me!”
“Yeeyaa und yrrr arive!” the Doctor mumbled, with the white mare’s hoof still in his mouth.
“Ohhhh that’s gonna leave a mark! Ouch! Your teeth! Have you got space teeth?”
“Sooppp Ivee bren troyld!”
The Doctor, with much agony, reached into his coat pocket, and whipped out his sonic screwdriver. He extended the claws and turned it on, pointing it at the rift. After a few seconds, the screwdriver slipped out of his hoof, falling into the rift.
“Mry scerrwrriver!” he mumbled, before the rift imploded on itself, creating a burst of sparks to appear, and sending a gust of wind blowing from it, causing Vinyl to smash into the ground, hard, dazing her.
“Doctor… is it over?” she barely managed.
“Yeah…” the Doctor replied, as he got up, rubbing his head.
“Good…” grinned Vinyl, before she fell down, exhausted from the overuse of her magic.
The Doctor picked her up, and carried her through the now silence forest, to the now unguarded TARDIS. With a snap of his fingers, he entered the TARDIS, letting Vinyl lie on the ground. The last thing she heard, before she completely went dark, was the sound of the TARDIS wheezing, and a voice that strangely sounded like hers…
“Who…” it said.
***
Vinyl Scratch opened her eyes. At first, she thought something had happened to the color. Then she realized she was not wearing her glasses.
“Doctor?” she cried out. Then she looked around. No longer was she on the TARDIS, or even her own home. She was in a better place, a safer one.
“Finally awake there, sleepyhead?” teased a mare’s voice. Vinyl looked up to see Octavia, her Octavia, smiling.
“’Tavi!” she cried in joy, surprising her friend with a strong hug.
“Vinyl… can’t… breath!” Octavia stammered, her supply of oxygen cut off by Vinyl’s hug. She blushed, apologized, and let go of her friend. “Jeez, Vinyl, what was that for? If it’s for last night, I’m still slightly mad at you. You really shouldn’t have overdone it with those drinks! If it weren’t for that strange colt, who knows where you would’ve ended up!”
Vinyl blinked twice. “Strange colt? Did he have an hourglass cutiemark, with a bowtie?” she asked.
“I think so. Why? Do you know him?” asked Octavia.
“No… no… I just… sorta remember him I guess,” she lied. Vinyl got up and stretched, noting her hoof still hurt.
“So, let me guess; we’re going to attend another one of your ‘parties’, watch you get drunk, and then watch me get mad again?” asked Octavia.
“Actually… how ‘bout we do something you liked?” suggested Vinyl.
“Of course, you’ll probably shake off my anger again, and then I’ll just – wait what? Did you just… suggest that we do something I like? Vinyl, are you okay?” Octavia asked, flabbergasted. She checked her friend, and deeming she was still fine and not suffering any sort of rare tropical sickness, accepted her offer. “I know this may not make sense, Vinyl, but I really appreciate it.”
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to explain yourself. Now, I better get going first, gotta clean up and all for our ‘date’,” Vinyl winked. Octavia snorted in response, though a small smile played at the edge of her lips. Vinyl exited Octavia’s house, and made a full out sprint into her own.
Inside, as she rummaged around for a decent breakfast, she came upon a large wooden blue box, with a bright red ribbon tied onto it. Looking around, she opened it curiously, and was delighted to find a new turntable, the one she had her heart set on. There was even a new pair of violet sunglasses waiting for her. She put the pair on, and inspected the turntable. Her ears twitched, and her face instantly lit up with a smile when she heard the low wheezing noise. She exited her house, and saw the Doctor leaning on his TARDIS.
“Do you like them?” he asked, with a smug smile.
“A lot. Thanks Doc’,” she thanked, with her trademark mad-grin. She gave him a hug, but when she stepped back, she was frowning. The Doctor instantly understood.
“You’re not coming with me… are you?”
She nodded slowly.
“I’m sorry Doc’, I really wanted to. Then… all this happened… and Octavia… I think I’ve had enough excitement for one lifetime.”
The Doctor smiled, and hugged her again.
“Well, then… Vinyl Scratch. I guess this is it. But you’re wrong, your excitement hasn’t ended yet. There’s a bigger, scarier adventure waiting for you… right here.”
“Thanks Doctor, but I have a feeling that this isn’t the last time we see each other,” she hinted mysteriously.
“What do you mean?”
“I... don’t know. It’s like… all this… is a… a story. An awfully written story, but a story nonetheless. And there’s bound to be a sequel. So, until then Doctor. Until the next story,” Vinyl laughed, and watched as he approached the TARDIS. He turned around briefly, and then entered the TARDIS. The familiar wheeze filled the air once more, the TARDIS disappeared. Octavia stepped out from her house and saw Vinyl, standing around, alone.
“Hey Vinyl,” she greeted casually. “What happened?”
Vinyl Scratch stared at the space the TARDIS was for a few moments, before she looked at Octavia, with a goofy grin on her.
“Nothing, ‘Tavi. Nothing. So, what do you have in mind?”
“Oh… I don’t know… maybe an opera?”
“….crap.” Vinyl groaned.
Octavia laughed, and patted her on the back.
“Relax, I was kidding!”
The two friends laughed, and walked away, with not a single troubling thought in mind.
***
Okay… how does this work… Oh. Right. Uhm…
Dear Princess Celestia….
***
Dear Vinyl Scratch,
Who are you, and how did you get this address?!”
~Celestia
End
