Narrated by Vinyl Scratch
Many ponies think I have the best job ever. They always see me, going like “Wow, there’s Vinyl! She is so awesome!” But the truth is: I was hardly anything in my early days. It took me a long time to amount to the fame I have right now.
When I was only a filly, I had already lost my parents. My dad died of an illness he caught and it very quickly got the best of him. My mother was part of the Forward Operating Base, and she was killed in one of Discord’s attacks.
I didn’t even have any adoptive parents. I usually sat alone on the street. I didn’t know that my parents were dead until much later in my life. All I knew was my name, my age, and where I lived: in a dark alley between two buildings that nopony but me would want to go to. I knew nothing else.
For a long time I struggled to survive. I had to look hard for every loose bit I could find and I had to spend each of those bits wisely. Many times I thought I was going to die. I had almost no hope. I had to teach myself a lot of the things that I know today. But then I met Octavia Melody. She had lost both her parents, just like me. I was walking down the street one day, tired, cold, and hungry as usual, when I ran into her. She introduced herself to me, and we almost instantly became friends. She was like a sister to me, because she was the only one I could make friends with in my days. I was very sad, and I usually spent most of my time in my so-called “home.” But Octavia was incredibly bold, and she knew about a ton of cool things that I never knew about.
As we got older we were able to survive more easily, provided we had each other. We meant more to each other than any time else during those times because these were the years that we went through things like depression. Whenever one of us was down, the other would cheer them up.
We were going through life pretty well until Discord made another strike. We were relaxing in the secret meadow Octavia and I had lived in when all of a sudden I went blind for almost no reason. Because I had no parents and no education, I was only able to perform levitation spells-you know, the spells where you can use magic to pick up stuff. I think while I was blinded I accidentally picked up Octavia and slammed her down on the ground because I was in such a panic. But then once the blindness cleared I was able to assess the situation I was in. Discord was standing in the middle of Ponyville, wreaking havoc. I could see Celestia trying to fight him off, but she was failing. All of a sudden Discord ran a dark beam across the meadow, burning a ton of grass and going straight through Octavia. She was then very seriously injured. I thought all hope was lost for the rest of Equestria, too, when suddenly I saw six stone spheres circling around Discord. They were the elements of Harmony. As soon as Discord was defeated, I ran with Octavia to the Ponyville Medical Center. I burst through the doors and ran for the closest doctor I could see. I remember it well-tears were streaming down my face and I kept asking, “Can you help? Can you help?”
Finally we got Octavia into the Intensive Care Unit. I was next to her bed, praying that she would live. My eyes were glued to the EKG like it was a television. Suddenly one of the doctors walked in and I jumped up to him and yelled “Is she gonna make it?!” The doctor said, “I don’t think so. We tried everything, and none of it seemed to work. She’s pretty badly damaged from that dark ray. I think the only thing left to do is let her spend her last few hours.” With that he left the room. The instant the door closed I burst into tears. Someone who had been so close to me almost since the beginning of my life was going to die. I knelt by the bed, waiting for it to happen. But the EKG kept on beeping. Days went by and Octavia had not even come close to flatlining. By the fifth day since the doctor had given me the statistics, I was pretty sure that I did not need to worry as much. By that point I had had a ton of different special fluids on the side table, a pacemaker held in my levitation spell, and two defibrillating pads in my hooves. I put all the equipment away, and just as I was getting rid of the pacemaker the same doctor walked in and said “Great news! We ran the same tests again, and this time the results show that she is going to live! She managed to pull through and she is scheduled to be awakened three days from now.” The doctor left the room and I began jumping for joy. Even though Octavia was asleep and she could not hear me, I was yelling “You’re gonna live! You’re gonna live!” to her over and over again.
I was present at the day Octavia was awakened. I had come five hours early for it, also. I watched as Octavia was injected with a fluid that would get her to wake up. The doctors left the room after she had enough of it in her body. She slowly opened her eyes and I was staring right into them. When she was fully awake I told her everything that happened. I felt so relieved that Octavia was able to live.
After Octavia was freed to go, we went to the meadow and we happily continued talking about just about everything. When we were reaching adulthood we found the courage to venture back to the outlandish realm known as Ponyville. It was our first day setting foot there when a stranger asked us “Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody?”
Both of us replied, “Yes.”
The colt said, “I’m from Forward Operating Base Equestria and I have reports on both your parents. What do you know about them?”
I answered, “Almost nothing. I remember knowing them for only about two days and suddenly both of them were gone.”
Octavia said “I was having a great life with my parents when one day they went missing.”
The colt then said, “Well, I know how both of your parents disappeared. It’s on the medical and operational record.” He then pulled some papers out of an envelope and read them off to us.
“Octavia, both of your parents were sent on a mission to recover a dimensional rift Discord had planted in Ponyville. The rift was destroyed, but when the extraction vehicle was sent to pick them up, they were nowhere to be found. Chatter suggested that the after-effects of the rift killed them.” Octavia took that on pretty well. She was a bit saddened, but other than that she did not have much of a reaction.
The colt then said to me “Vinyl, your father died from Rift Plague. Discord had hidden a dimensional rift in his office and he caught the disease. By the time the staff had found the rift, it was too late. Your mother died from a comet strike. Discord sent it down on the main base. Most of the workers were able to evacuate, but your mother and a few others were not so lucky. Her body was found in the wreckage when it was being cleared.”
I burst into tears when I heard this. Octavia put a hoof on my shoulder to comfort me. Why did Discord have to do this to my life? He killed both Octavia’s parents and mine. To this day I still think about it.
By the time we were full grown adults we came to realize that we could not live in a meadow forever. We needed jobs. That was when Octavia was introduced to the cello. We had heard a lot of music in our lives, and Octavia had always wanted to play the cello. She loved the low sounds the strings made as the bow ran across them. She learned how to play, and after a while of practice she had reached mastery of the instrument. To this day, she plays for the Ponyville Symphony Orchestra.
She was sent off on her own way, but I was unable to go with her. For the second time, I was all alone. I did not leave the meadow from then. All I could think about was Octavia, and how happy I would be if I got her back. But she left me with a valuable and important tip before she was flown over to Canterlot for a performance. She said, “Maybe you can try something in music, and we will get to see each other again.” The problem with that was that I wasn’t as interested in the musical instruments as Octavia was.
A few weeks after Octavia left I received a letter from her asking me how I was doing. She said her career was going incredibly well and she would have enough money to buy a house soon. When she would have enough, she would fly back to Ponyville and see me again.
I rejoiced when I read this great news. The first thing I did was run for the airport. I had figured out a few more spells by then, so I used a detection spell on every plane that came into landing. When I detected Octavia inside the plane, I ran for the runways.
I was by the runway Octavia’s plane was on to hear this horrible metal screeching. I looked to see sparks trailing behind the plane. The landing gear must have failed. As soon as the plane came to a stop I ran to the end of the runway and tried to get one of the exit doors open. As soon as the evacuation slides inflated I climbed up one of them and ran inside the plane looking for Octavia. I finally found her, and she was shaken, but thankfully not hurt. I threw my arms around her, not concerned about the fact that she was back, but the fact that she was safe from the crash. She had fought death once more. I was grateful that she was so lucky.
We moved into a house in Ponyville, and I was Octavia’s roommate. I still did not have a job…until I was introduced to electronic music.
I remember the first track that was released. It had a nice rhythm, tons of percussion, and it made sounds that neither Octavia nor me had ever heard before. Instantly I tried for a job in electronic. I tried the synths for a while, but when I was found to be failing at it I gave up on a career in electronic music.
I was listening to one of my tapes one day when Octavia clipped an article out of a newspaper. It was for a new medium that was generated for music. The vinyl record. I looked at it and thought, “Well, why not give it a shot?” We went to a music store and bought a record and a small turntable. When I took the record out of its case for the first time, and I observed the glossy black surface and the almost microscopic grooves that ran perfectly through it. That was when I got tangled in the tape I was listening to.
After Octavia managed to get the tape off me, I put the vinyl record on the turntable and placed the needle down. I listened to the vinyl’s ability to make sound, even with no amplifiers or sensors. Turntables were in their development phase back then, so ours just had a cone to make the music louder.
I thought the vinyl was a pretty good thing to listen to, but I didn’t really see how I would be able to start a career off it. However, one day I was helping Octavia fix her computer when she noticed what fast hooves I had. She then suggested that maybe I use that on the vinyl record to make some new music. That point was when I started to succeed. It was almost as if my name predicted my future.
I bought a few electronic records and set them down on the turntable. I listened to the music and reflected on it for a bit. After about an hour or so of this, I came to think that the rhythm was a bit too consistent. I put my hoof on the record and spun it back and forth rapidly to create this cool effect that neither of us could describe, but later became known as the modern-day “Wub.” Octavia suggested I use that strategy to compose a song, and that was when I introduced Dubstep to Equestria.
I composed my first Dubstep track and it instantly went viral. Everypony loved it and they all requested I make more tracks. I composed some more and each time they would all listen to it.
Modern turntables and recording devices came out of development and I did not hesitate to get the new machines. With the new turntable I was able to mix with two records instead of just one, and I was also able to play my music louder. I was able to record more tracks and I kept releasing them. As time passed Dubstep got bigger and bigger in Equestria.
The Ponyville Nightclub staff discovered this new genre and requested that I become the DJ for the nightclub. This was a huge honor to me. Every time there was a dance held at the nightclub ponies from all over Equestria came, and the dance floor was usually packed. The nightclub building had to expand 10 times to be able to provide adequate room for the ponies to dance. I accepted the job, and Octavia said to me that it was a great choice. She explained that she and the rest of the Ponyville Symphony Orchestra would perform there every so often, and it was a really nice place, able to function as a concert hall as well.
Many ponies had come to see me perform at the nightclub. I played my most popular songs, but then after the performance I reported in to Octavia about almost having a nervous breakdown. She then said, “Well, no DJ is complete without a cool pair of sunglasses…” We went to the store and looked at a ton of them. Many were too flashy for my taste, but then I saw the perfect pair. The frames were in no unusual shape of any sort, and the lenses were this cool pink color. I got those, and I still wear them to this day.
I tried doing another live performance, but with the sunglasses on this time. I was far more confident and from then I wanted to perform more often. I didn’t really get that opportunity, though, until I received the letter for my first tour.
I wasn’t the one who particularly enjoyed leaving the house, so I was not expecting this letter. However, when I received the request, Octavia told me to accept. She said that even though it is tough to travel all of Equestria, I would get used to it. I took her advice, knowing that she had the knowledge from touring many times in the past.
This was the first time I had flown on a plane as well. There were a lot of things that I did not know, like the fact that spare needles counted as unauthorized. I managed to get around them, though. My first destination was Canterlot Castle, right after Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence got married. After Twilight Sparkle requested to do her own song, I got some of my Dubstep loops onto the table and played my best music. Even though I was away from Octavia it suddenly felt great to go out. I was able to meet new ponies and show them all of my music. That tour was also when I coined the name DJ PON-3.
My flight back was more exciting than ever. Even though I was away from Octavia and incredibly focused on my music I still thought about her. We reunited, and while I was gone she had went on a short tour as well. Both of us had told our audiences about each other, which showed that we were still like sisters to each other.
To this day I still continue my performances. Even though Octavia and I are able to communicate less and less as we get more popular, we are still able to meet up every once in a while. My life may have had hard beginnings and tragic events, but I was able to pull through and become what I am today. I was able to become DJ PON-3.