Friendship is Obsession.

Vinyl tossed and turned in her bed, trying to shake the voices out of her head from her dream. She could never remember what her dreams have been about, but it always ended with her waking up in an extremely angry and fed up mood which usually causing chaos around the flat while Neon tried to make breakfast.

But instead of worrying, the white unicorn made her way out of bed, slowly. She yawned and gulped a large amount of air before blowing it back out and heading toward the kitchen. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go out to grab something, or attempt to make a meal with the leftovers she already had. Being the lazy pony she was, Vinyl grabbed a few bits and headed out the front door with her glasses floating close behind her.

Vinyl headed down the sidewalk and put her glasses on, shading her eyes from the bright morning sun. Celestia must've been wide awake by now, and she was doing a beautiful job today.

Pegasi soared through the air, clearing a few clouds and sending a light breeze that flew through Vinyl's mane, almost pulling the unicorn toward the main centre of town where a certain Sugar Cube Corner was waiting for her. But first things first, she needed to grab some supplies before she forgot.

Vinyl greeted the familiar faces with a smile and nod. A few ponies didn't seem so happy as they went about their business. Vinyl was curious as to what went wrong with them this beautiful morning, but decided to ignore it as her stomach rumbled. She guessed shopping could wait until she had a little breakfast.

Vinyl entered the cutesy bakery and deeply inhaled the fresh scent of baking goods coming from the kitchen. She knew somepony had just made a large batch of pancakes and she couldn't stop her mouth from salivating over the warm delicacy. The white mare trotted happily up to the counter to order her sugary breakfast.

“Hey Vinyl!” A familiar, high pitched voice was heard from the kitchen, “Did you want some pancakes like yesterday!?” The mare yelled.

“Heck yeah, they smell delicious! Yesterday's were amazing, Pinkie Pie!” Vinyl yelled back and chuckled.

“Well, these are fresh off the stove just for you! I knew you were stopping by and you know how happy I get when my friends stop by to visit, but then again I'm always happy because everypony stops by to grab a bite, and everypony is my friend so of course I would be!” The hyperactive pink earth pony jumped into the air with a plate of chocolate-chip pancakes stacked high, “That'll be no bits! This batch is on the house from your bestest friend Pinkie Pie! Enjoy! And if you want anything else, just ring!”

“Oh wow, really? That's so awesome of you!” Vinyl marvelled at the delicious-looking, steaming pancakes, “Thank you!”

“Aww, don't mention it! It's the least I could do for the most amazing DJ in all of Ponyville!” She giggled.

Vinyl stopped herself before stuffing her face to look at Pinkie with a raised eyebrow, “The most amazing DJ in all of Ponyville? Says you!” She giggled.

“Says the town! Apparently you got loads of great feedback from last night's show that Mayor Mare wants you to play at the grand opening of the new club in town! Didn't you hear? It's in the paper!”

The pink mare plopped a newspaper in front of Vinyl, and to the unicorn's surprise, she made front cover. The picture was of Vinyl holding out her hoof to the crowd of... over a hundred ponies!

“Wha...?” Vinyl didn't remember there being that many ponies there. “This was last night?”

“Yeah! You were there, right? I mean, you would've had to be there! There you are!” Pinkie slammed her hoof on the picture and made a squealing sound in her throat, “Oh this is so exciting!”

“'The most amazing DJ in all of Ponyville' .... heh... who would've thought?” Vinyl mumbled to herself.

“Well, Miss DJ, eat up! I would assume the Mayor would want to talk to you later!” Pinkie popped back into the kitchen, disappearing from sight.

Vinyl ate her pancakes slowly, staring at the picture and caption below it, reading it over and over again... she guessed sometimes being in her own world wasn't so great all the time. She didn't realize there were so many ponies there watching her play... she could've sworn there were only a small group of five or six.

Vinyl smiled nonetheless, enjoying the delicacy that were free Sugar Cube Corner pancakes and the fame that burned through her veins with every quick-paced heart beat.

“I told you I could do it, mom, dad...” Vinyl snickered at her thoughts, “I told you I would become a famous DJ some day.”

After Vinyl finished her overload of pancakes, she moved her stuffed body through the streets and toward the City Hall. Nothing was in place for her arrival, but she didn't expect anything anyway. She was still unsure she was even awake yet.

“Ah! There's our DJ pony. How are you this morning, Miss Vinyl Scratch?” Mayor Mare smiled widely at the unicorn.

“I'm really fine, thanks!” Vinyl smiled back.

“I'm not sure if you were escorted here by the carriage I sent, were you?”

“Oh... no I wasn't,” Vinyl bit her lip, “I went out early for breakfast... I wasn't expecting anything like this at all.”

“Oh, but why wouldn't you? You're a success, my dear,” Mayor Mare nodded, leaning her hoof in front of her toward a door to the right of the room, “Right this way please, we must get things in order for the big event happening!”

“So I've heard...” Vinyl said softly, entering the larger hall and admiring the scenery of the round glass room, “So.... what exactly does this mean then. Like, what's going to happen to me?” She chuckled nervously.

“Well, my dear, as you may or may not have heard, the town of Ponyville is having a grand opening of our very new club: The Cortland Babylon. It's in honour of our guests from the Crystal Empire who've been so very generous as to donate their time and money into this big event. Princess Cadence and Shining Armour will be visiting shortly after, possibly in a couple of days, which means we will have another job in time for you. Sign this here, please.” Mayor Mare introduced a piece of parchment paper that Vinyl signed using her magic and a quill, “And right here... perfect. If you need anything, anything at all, you know who you can c-”

“Mayor!” A minty blue Pegasus glided into the hall, “Extremely sorry to interrupt, but Zecora is in the main hall and she has urgent news to report coming from around the Everfree Forest.”

Mayor Mare glanced at Vinyl with round blue eyes, “Please excuse me, Miss Scratch, this won't take long.”

Vinyl nodded and watched the Mayor leave the room in a hurry. Vinyl stayed behind and re-read her agreement, making sure she was certain as to what she was signing. She still couldn't believe it. The quill shook with excitement as she tried to scribble her unofficial initials on the dotted line. Maybe she would even get to speak with the Princess of the Crystal Empire! How exciting would that be?

In the other room Zecora looked nervous and terrified at the same time. Her mane was slightly flattened and her striped coat matted down with sweat. She unravelled her cape to let out some heat and when she saw the Mayor barge into the room, quickly swung it back on in courtesy.

“Zecora? What's wrong?” The Mayor asked, leading the zebra into a private room where nopony else would be able to overhear.

Once the herbalist was fully calmed down, she looked at the Mayor with her ravishing cyan eyes in slits.
“Evil has come and land to kill; you ponies are not safe in Ponyville.” She said in a quiet voice with her usual rhyming scheme.

“What do you mean? What's going on?” The Mayor asked, leaning in closer.

“I've been hearing loud screams outside the Everfree; take all you love and leave immediately.” She warned, “It's not so safe anymore I fear, bellows of pain is all I ever hear! The heavy clouds of smoke float through the forest mesh, that smell strong of burning pony flesh. You must come and see, only then will you truly understand me.”

Octavia woke up, startled by her nightmare once again. It was no different from yesterday's, so the grey mare didn't bother to look into it more. She got out of bed and neatly remade it, and then walked into the bathroom and took a long, steaming hot shower.

As the water indulged her, she closed her eyes and started to think of what has become of her. She never tortured and killed ponies before, only Fine Letters, but she had a validly good reason to. The old couple she talked about before with Fluttershy really just retired and moved to Canterlot, she didn't actually kill them, but she knew she needed to scare the yellow mare into keeping quiet.

To be completely honest, Octavia was nervous. She knew her life would come to an immediate end as soon as somepony found out about this secret, but did she really care? Was there anything to live for anyway? It's not like she has a purpose, only to be used to play the same cello pieces at the Gala like she's been doing for eleven years straight.

Octavia shut the water off and took a calming breath. She couldn't back down now. She couldn't free the timid Pegasus even if she wanted to. Octavia wanted to feel warm blood on her hooves again and hear the aching screams of defeat bellowing beneath her. She had promised herself she wouldn't do it again. She promised herself this after each and every pony she slaughtered. She hasn't stopped though, and as much as her heart and body willed her to take control and halt, her mind told her to move forward and just get it over with.

Octavia warmed last night's dinner over the stovetop and then sliced the chunk of charred pink and brown meat into thin layers. She placed them between two bread slices and then placed a leaf and a handfull of apple skins on top. She squished the sandwich together and then sat down at the table and stared at the murder plate in front of her, her tongue swiftly moistening her lips in delight.

After Octavia was finished the meal, she walked over to unlock the heavy door to the basement, where she knew there would be a whimpering pony tied up and defeated. She stepped onto the first step and closed the door behind her slowly. She pulled the drawstring down, revealing twenty-so platforms that led into the dark. Octavia slowly stepped down the stairs to her basement, each hoof loudly clacking against the old, wooden steps. A musky scent was looming through the air, but the grey mare hadn't noticed, she was far too nervous to care about something as little as a smell.

A harsh groan was heard in the dark. Octavia pulled the second light on that stalled and flickered before lighting up the basement. Fluttershy was just waking up, probably from all the noise Octavia had made coming down the stairs. When the yellow mare opened her bright blue eyes, they quickly darkened and moistened in hatred and fear. Octavia was finding herself merely turned on by the sight.

“Good morning, Flutters,” Octavia greeted her guest and received nothing more than a fearful squeal under the cloths pushed in the Pegasus's muzzle, “It's pretty sunny today so I'll probably go pick up some groceries after I'm done with you,” The cellist mumbled mostly to herself, but loud enough for Fluttershy to hear, “Your beloved pet made a delicious dinner last night, might I add. I had the rest of him this morning in a sandwich. You raise your animals well, might I compliment. Angel, was it?” Octavia looked deviously at the strapped up mare with big purple eyes. Fluttershy stopped squirming and remained silent, her eyes wider than they originally were, if that was even possible.

The yellow Pegasus began to cry. Octavia just watched her, unsmiling and unmoving. This mare was absolutely stunning... she kind of wished she got to know her better before this whole situation occurred. Octavia finally looked away and moved to her drawer, grabbing out a few tools. She admired the sharp knife and glimmering hammer she often used to kill her victims with. She looked back at the pink-haired mare and saw her head was now hung, no longer looking at anything in particular.

“Flutters...” Octavia said softly, walking toward the mare, “Please don't be sad.”

That just made the mare cry even harder, hiding her entire face with her long willowy hair. Octavia wondered how that mane smelt... probably like fresh flowers.

Octavia walked up close to Fluttershy and handled a few strands delicately with her hooves, seeing caked in blood from ripping so much out of the mare's neck last night. She really wished she hadn't, the dark blots were ruining her fantasy. But, nonetheless, Octavia pushed her muzzled into the hair, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply through her snout, filling her nostrils with the smell of sweat and... yup, fresh flowers. And what was this? Mint shampoo? Delectable...

Octavia did something unexpected then... she opened her mouth and let a few strands of thick hair fall onto her tongue. She tasted the hair and found it tasted somewhat bittersweet. Whatever it was, she loved the taste, and it was truly delicious. Fluttershy made a small questioning noise, but Octavia ignored it and continued to taste the hair, biting down on it a little and attempting to break the strands.

Suddenly something made the young cellist stop what she was doing and release the pink hair from her mouth. Octavia pulled away from Fluttershy and blinked, seeing as the mare in front of her was silent and had her eyes completely closed, breathing smoothly without fear. It wasn't a sight Octavia was used to. Octavia pulled the cloths out of the Pegasus's muzzle then, uncertain of what was going on. Fluttershy began to breathe heavily and a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. The grey earth pony watched the droplet rolled down the yellow coat, slowly, and then it finally hung to the edge of a yellow jaw. Octavia's eyes grew wide with anticipation, waiting for the bead to fall. And when it finally let go of the mare's coat, it disappeared into darkness.

A loud bell tone echoed through the grey mare's mind just then. She panicked and looked around wildly at her murder objects. She had to do something before-
“...You're all warm and you're breathing heavily, there must have been something else you were doing,” He circled his hoof slowly across Octavia's flank, “You can tell me, I promise I won't judge you. I'm your manager.”

Another tone rang and Octavia's entire body shuddered with exhilaration. She had to kill Fluttershy before feelings of resent filled her. She picked up the hammer with her teeth and closed her eyes tightly. Her world went black as she used all of her muscles to swing the hammer, full-fledged, toward the young tied up mare.

Fluttershy let out one final squeak.