As rain pounded the soft soil of Ponyville, all races alike stayed indoor. The pouring rain, pounding thunder, and the flashes of lightning that lit the scattered rain drops where too much for the ponies.
A wet, drenched unicorn swung the door open, hair sticking flat to her face as her magic radiated a gentle blue glow. Her moderate cobalt blue hair was flat, rather than spiky, and her brilliant cyan stripes seemed to be darker as the storm tinted the air.
She took off her glasses quickly, and her horn flickered with magic aura as it reached into the other room. She headed upstairs where she started to clean her glasses. Her horn magic faded as she aqquired what she needed. A towel.
She started to dry herself off, and as it did, her hair started to stick up, much to her annoyance.
She was dry and normal as she exited the upper floor of her house. She trotted over to the kitchen which's tiles had been replaced to a brilliant black. Her magic reached to her refridgerator's handle as she opened it, and reached inside to grab marshmellows and some hot chocolate powder.
The unicorn's yellowish-white coat seemed to be a gentle ivory in the room, and she opened the cupboards, and grabbed a cup.
She levitated the cup and ran it under hot water, before pouring chocolate power in, and dropping some marshmellows, which splashed upon hitting the hot chocolate.
She propped herself by her couch, a beige beauty which was very expensive. She sat down and started to reach for the remote to her flat screen when the door bell rang.
Slightly annoyed, the unicorn made a face before forcing herself onto her hooves, still levitating her hot chocolate, she took a sip and opened the door.
As the door creaked, she quickly placed her cup down and ushered a light blue unicorn into her living room.
She gave him her towel, and went off to make him coffee.
She came back with a steaming cup of coffee and placed it before him. He smiled and dipped his head in thanks. He blinked and asked, "Hey Vinyl, when do you think you'll make another music soundtrack?"
Vinyl, the yellow-white unicorn, paused, and after thinking about it, replied, "I actually don't know Neon, maybe tomorrow, next week, a month...I'm still deaf in my right ear..."
Neon rolled his eyes, "You know Vinyl, if you keep playing video games you'll become blind AND deaf"he joked half-heartedly.
Vinyl shook her head, her magenta-rimmed irises vanishing as she closed her eyes. "So you wanna stay here or not?"
Neon flinched, he did not expect his friend to react so coldly to his joke. He brushed his black hair, which was still stuck to his face, out of his eyes.
Vinyl blinked as she took notice to his behavior, and flattened her ears in guilt. "Sorry Neon,"she said lightly, placing a hoof on his shoulder, "I just had a bad day."
Neon looked up at his friend, and took a sip of his coffee. "It's okay Vinyl"he said, his words where as true as diamonds yet he avoided her gaze.
Vinyl rushed over to her dinning room area, "I'm gonna call up Octavia."
Neon blinked, and he took another sip of his coffee. His blue eyes where sharp and narrowed, yet it truely expressed longing to comfort the DJ.
"Yo Tavi! Yeah, it's me, Vinyl"
Neon brushed his hair out of his eyes and leaned foward, curious of the conversation going on between the disk jockey and the cellist.
"Yeah, so Neon is here with me, he didn't make it home in time. Cool! Okay, see ya Tavi!"
Neon took a gulp of his coffee. Vinyl was most likely sending him away. Yet, she did make the best music, and the best coffee.
Vinyl placed the phone down, and she returned to the couch, and plopped down next to light show designer. She levitated her remote and turned on the T.V. It was on Science Channel, and she quickly changed it to a Movie with mild-tempered characters that punch teenagers in the face.
Neon narrowed his eyes, he was concerned about the unicorn. "Hey Vinyl, can you go back to the Science Channel?"
Vinyl hesitated, and looked over her shoulder at him, "Please Neon, the Science Channel is for Twilight,"she rolled her eyes, and her tone was as fake as Princess Celestia's face with her overuse of make up.
The door bell rung, and, pressing her hoof against the soft couch, she leapt off the piece of furniture and opened the door.
There was a goldish gray Earth Pony at the door, her dark gray hair was light and her grayish mulberry irises shifted as she looked around the house.
She entered, and much to Neon surprise, had a raincoat and no mechanism to bring the stallion home.
Vinyl went back to the kitchen to make more coffee.
Neon blinked, Ah. That was why Vinyl was so good at making coffee. He took another sip of the warm liquid.
Octavia hung her rain coat, and glanced over at Neon, coldness and hostility in her eyes.
Neon flinched, and looked back at Vinyl, who was leaving the kitchen. Her horn was tinted with a glow of blue as she used her magic to give Octavia her coffee. Neon turned back to the cellist, and her anger was gone.
Vinyl sat on the couch, and propped her legs up on her table. She rested her head on her hoof as she searched through the channels, trying to find something interesting.
Octavia sat next to Vinyl respectively, about a foot away from Neon.
Vinyl's channel surfing ended on Discovery Channel, where they viewed a "zebra" in it's natural habitat.
Octavia layed her head on Vinyl's shoulder as she bored with the lion chasing their striped cousin.
Vinyl, however, had her eyes glued on the television. She was interested in the zebra, Africa, and all it's inhabitants.
Neon sat there, puzzling over his friend. She had been so cold and rude to learning, but now she is just absorbing information like a computer.
By the time the documentary was over, it got to the history of Classical music, starting off with some music compostions and sheet music of ponies such as Ludwig van Beethoove, Wolfgang Amaredeus Marezart, Johann Sebastallion Bach, and many more.
Octavia was happy for this, and watched with great interest.
Vinyl let out a small groan, and picked up her hot chocolate cup and started to drink it.
Vinyl got up and trotted into the kitchen, and returned with a bag of chips.
"Hey Vinyl,"Neon said, leaning over the couch to look at the mare, "Will you be attending Rainbow's wedding?"
Vinyl shook her head, "I don't really know...I didn't get a card..."
Neon rolled his eyes as he watched her return to her seat. "So, you don't know whether or not you're attending your friend's wedding?"
Vinyl blinked three times, "Well, actually, I will attending!" she debated.
Neon held out his hoof, "Cool! I'll see you there!"
Vinyl shook his hoof, "Then it's settled!"
Octavia yawned as she looked back at the two ponies. She curled up next to Vinyl and went to sleep.
Neon tilted his head. What is up with Octavia? He shook his head, and looked back at Vinyl, and took a sip of his coffee.
Vinyl ate a chip, and looked up at Neon, and offered him some.
The stallion nodded, reaching in, he grabbed some chips and ate it up in mere minutes. Vinyl looked at her friend, "In Luna's name...you ate it so quickly! Did you not eat enough?"
Neon shook his head and flashed a sheepish, rather dorky smile, "No...I just like these chips!"
Vinyl let out a muffled laugh, as she shook she head, "Your silly!"
Octavia got up abruptly and opened the curtians, and the rain roared in the three ponies ears.
Vinyl looked back at Neon then Octavia, then got to her hooves and went upstairs.
As Vinyl's tail disappeared in the shadows, Octavia closed the curtians, and turned to face Neon, her eyes filled with anger, rage, hostility, jealousy, envy, "You...you...YOU! You stay away from Vinyl!"she jabbed his chest with her hoof.
"We're just friends!" Neon protested.
Octavia's words where cold and dark, and it reflected the blank pools of purple they called her irises, "Are you really that oblivious? Did you see the way she looks at you? The way she completely trusts you without a doubt? The way she overlooks me for you!? Do you know, the pain you have caused me!!??"
Neon backed up, his hooves were just pressed against the edge but they were starting to slip off the couch. This is what was beneath Octavia's good manner?
Octavia's eyes were starting to cloud with sorrow, and grief as tears started to stream down her face. "You! You are the problem! Not Vinyl, not me, but you! You caused this! You and your fancy lights!"
Neon's front hooves had slipped off the arm rest and he fell back, shattering a table located next to the beige furniture, and hit the ground, bleeding as glass shards shred his skin.
Vinyl ran down the stairs, eyes wide in fear, "I heard a crash!"she stated, "Are you guys okay?"
Her magenta-rimmed eyes fell of Neon, and she ran over to the phone, levitating it and fumbling in the numbers 911.
Octavia stared at Neon, her hooves trembling. This is the monster I became. Octavia shed a final tear. My obsession over Vinyl...first...it was envy...
She closed her eyes and remembered her first time meeting Vinyl. The disk jokey had been a A-triple-plus student in all her grades. Ponies bullied her, hated her, hit her, cursed her name, they vowed the kill her.
One day, a strange pegasus stood before the filly, his eyes deep on Vinyl. He raised a hoof and hit her, sending all her possesions to the side and the unicorn to the ground.
He picked her bag up, and started to grind his rear hoof into the yellowish-white unicorn's chest.
The young filly struggled to breath, she was saddened by the colt's violent actions, and the colt threw her backpack into the trash.
He shot a sharp glance at the unicorn and called over Octavia. She narrowed her eyes, not because she hated her, but wanted to be as smart as her. She picked up Vinyl's binder and slammed it down onto the filly's head.
Vinyl cried more, trying to shield herself from the insults...the pain...the hatred against her...
Octavia loved it, seeing the ponies cry and wither up in pain. The goldish-brown mare had been a bully back then, hurting ponies for her entertainment.
The pegasus raised his hoof to his mouth and whistled, calling for more ponies. Large, middle schooled-ponies (which Vinyl was smarter than) surrounded the hurt filly, and started to pelt her with anything around them, pencils, pins, papers, rocks, their own hooves. They had no remorse.
Octavia loved this event, she crushed the unicorn's hind leg with her hoof, hearing it crack under the pressure. She licked her lips, it was a beautiful thing.
Her grayish-mulberry eyes were full of hatred, evil, no guilt remained, only negative elements where placed into Vinyl's beating. Her actions also hid her jealousy and envy, one of which she had no idea exsisted.
Then, large beams of light shone into the ponie's eyes, blinding them, they stumbled back as their hooves were raised to protect them from the light.
Octavia flinched, and looked up at the light, it was being controlled by a pale blue unicorn--Neon Lights. She started to run at him, when he tilted the light up, and her vision flashed white, and she stumbled back.
The middle schoolers started to run, and all eyes turned to the fleeing colts, and the rest quickly followed. Octavia bit her lip. Those cowards! Neon turned the light back onto her, and she fled.
Neon grabbed Vinyl's items out of the trash and gave it to her. He helped her up and helped her get to the nurse's office.
Vinyl immediatly fell in love with Neon, and his lights.
The next day, Vinyl came back as a different mare. She had large sunglasses, and carried headphones.
All ponies alike where amazed with the filly's attitude, she later became a rebel, and started to fade from her high spot as the Smartest Pony.
With Vinyl gone from being the smart nerd, other ponies became the smartest, which they where not really that smart.
At that point, Octavia though that the filly was cool, and started to repect her. Though, Vinyl rejected Octavia's friendship. Vinyl started getting closer to Neon, and they became best friends.
Vinyl then started to make music with "wubs", she soon became popular for this.
Neon thought about Vinyl playing at parties, but she declined, saying she should be performing at concerts.
Soon, Vinyl and Neon graduated from their school, and they became a duo, Vinyl made music with her wubs, while Neon displayed an unforgetable light show.
The more they played, the even more closer they got.
Octavia was in love with Vinyl, or "DJ-P0N3", and watched every thing the unicorn did, she later washed out her dyes and went natural.
The ash-colored mare with light gray hair was gone, now, there was the goldish-gray cellist with dark gray hair.
She abandoned her bully role in order to befriend Vinyl.
The two became friends, and there were three best friends, the disk jockey, the cellist, and the light show designer.
Octavia always saw Vinyl, but the unicorn always had doubts.
Vinyl had to conceal her personality, her likes, her dislikes, her whole entire true self. Though she trusted Neon and Octavia, she never revealed her self to them.
After some time, she trusted Octavia to come to her house, and the goldish-gray mare visited daily.
Vinyl rarely saw Neon after this, as he became MC-W1SH, and went on tour, showing his lights and selling them.
Neon vowed he would return, but by the time he did, Octavia was convinced Neon wouldn't come back.
Octavia opened her eyes again, and the ambulance where flooding Vinyl's house, surrounding Neon.
Octavia bit her lip, she was a bully, a fake, and now a monster.
Vinyl shot a look at Octavia, she eyes were expressing great fear for her friend, "Did you know how this happened?"
The goldish-gray mare shook her head, "He was happy about them showing some of his favorite music and as he celebrated, he lost his balance and fell off the couch."the lie burned on Octavia's throat, and the thought of her lieing to be closer to her friend cut holes in the cellist's dignity.
Vinyl looked at the floor boards, and followed the ambulance as the started to leave with Neon.
Octavia lowered her friend. She didn't deserve Vinyl's friendship. Neon didn't deserve to be hurt for Octavia to gain this.
The ambulance let out a loud wail as the pounding rain created side notes upon hitting the metal.
Octavia trotted upstairs, glancing at the pictures. One of them featured a drawing of Octavia's younger self being blinded by Neon's bright lights.
The goldish-gray mare blinked, and observed the picture closer.
Vinyl opened the door and walked in, darkening the mood with sorrow writen all over her face.
Octavia opened her mouth but no words came out. She shook her head and padded over to her friend, who kept walking, with no emotion in her eyes.
Vinyl blinked, as if snapping herself out of her deadpan trance, and looked back at Octavia, "Hey Tavi, I didn't know you were there."
"Well, Vinyl...I have something to tell you..."
The yellowish-white unicorn blinked once more, "What is it Tavi?"
Octavia trotted back to the hoof-drawn picture and took it to show Vinyl. "You know this picture?"
Vinyl's expression darkened as the vivid memories came back to her. "Yeah, what about it?"
Octavia sighed, and pointed at herself in the picture. "...that's me."
Vinyl's eyes widened and she inched back, and somehow seemed to manage to shrink herself, "But...how!? You...you beat me!" she reared up, eyes narrowing, and stepping forward to what she thought had been her friend for years. "You lied to me!"
Octavia cringed upon being brought back up as 'the pony that hurt others' and Vinyl realizing the truth. "I know...what I did was wrong, but..."
Vinyl's eyes were blazing with rage as the atmosphere grew thick, "You lied! You hurt ponies for your own amusment! And now you expected me to become your friend!" she slammed her hooves on the ground as her horn started to glow blue, and her eyes started to glow an eerie white.
Octavia looked up at her friend, eyes wide in fear.
"You lied, and took on a form so you could be my friend! You nearly killed me, and then you're expecting me to still be your friend!?"the blue started to engulf the lighting as a large beam of magic was fired from Vinyl's horn, knocking away Octavia to the ground.
Vinyl wobbled as her eyes returned to normal, and she fell to the ground.
Regaining herself, Octavia opened her eyes and ponies surrounded her, asking what happened.
Octavia rubbed her head and looked over to Vinyl, who still lay unconsious. She placed her hoof on her friend.
Vinyl slowly opened her eyes, and leapt back, then narrowed her eyes.
Octavia flinched, and looked at the disk jockey, she lowered her head. Her friend hated her now.
She then thought about the times about the other things that happened to Vinyl. She closed her eyes and thought about the past.
She also hurt Vinyl on the first day. Vinyl was standing there, admiring her school, when Octavia nudged the unicorn. She took a liking to it and grabbed the violin off the filly's back.
The yellowish-white pony turned to Octavia, and tryed to grab her violin back. Octavia kept it out of her reach, and taunted. "Oh look, young filly is a unicorn and can't grab her violin from a Earth Pony...how pathetic..."
Vinyl's eyes got big, "Give me back my violin!"
Many colts laughed, and started to surround Vinyl, saying how pathetic she was, how she couldn't control her magic, how small she was, and how weak she was.
Vinyl cried, and curled up in a ball in hopes to get away from the hate. Octavia dropped Vinyl's violin and crushed it under her hoof.
Vinyl yelled, "No!"she ran over and started to collect the pieces as tears touched it's sleek oak wood. "...this was my father's..."
They all laughed, "You father's? Ha! What kind of stallion owns a pretty, princess violin?"they pointed at Vinyl and laughed, teasing her and her father.
Of course, no one knew at that time that her father died when he was performing in a beautiful quartz castle--Canterlot. He and his team mates where performing when a soft spot in the roof had gaven away, crushing her father under a tons-worth of quartz.
His body was lifeless by the time they found him, but they found his violin he was playing, and gave it to Vinyl. The young unicorn believed that her having his violin would keep his soul at peace. And now it was gone.
A unicorn colt threw fire onto the violin shreds, and it burst into flames. The young filly stumbled back, eyes wide in horror, crying as the remains of what she had of her father was now burning in an inferno.
Octavia laughed, she thought this was funny, and she watched it blaze, the flames climbing high into the air.
Octavia shook her head, there was the other time she hurt Vinyl.
Vinyl's eyes were wide in fear. She knew both of those moments well. And she felts vivid pictures go across her brain.
Her brother was walking her to school, when a gang of highschoolers, just about older than her brother started to gang up on them. They threatened to take Vinyl's money, but her brother, 33⅓-LP, or LP as Vinyl called him, didn't want to give them her money.
They shoved past him and said if they didn't give them her money, they will kill LP. Vinyl wanted to save her brother, but he protested that she shouldn't give them her money. She was torn between giving her money and saving her brother, or keeping what was rightfully hers, but her brother dies.
Vinyl gave them her money, but they still killed her brother. His greenish-white coat became stained with a crimson. His moderate tangello hair trailed behind him as she hit the ground, blood streaming out of a knife-wound located beneath his neck.
The high schoolers kicked Vinyl away from her brother, and sent her onto the street, where they had qued a taxi to hit her.
Vinyl was hurt both physically and mentally. Though her willpower is what kept her through the pain. She climbed up the curb, despite her hind hooves limp and useless, and pulled herself to her brother, where she rested her head on his lifeless body.
"Brother...wake up...please..."
The high schoolers bit their lip, and looked back at the pony who had planned this. Octavia. And their eyes pleaded guilty, but the Earth Ponie's amused gaze stayed firm.
Vinyl felt something grasp her, and she turned around to see the high schoolers dragging her away from her brother. Her eyes widened. "No!"
She wriggled and squirmed, but their grip was tight.
She was useless, and allowed her badly wounded body to go limp as they carried her further away from her brother.
When Octavia was out of sight, the high schoolers placed Vinyl on the ground, and apoligized, saying that Octavia would give them enough money to help their family if they did this. Vinyl forgave them, saying apoligizing was good.
At that time, Octavia's name was "Octavia", it was simply Via.
Later, ambulance came to the crime scene, but didn't understand how it was possible for a small filly to kill a high schooler, and "Via" left Not Guilty.
Vinyl stayed at her brother's side her whole life. He was dead now. She longed for her father, but he was dead, and her mother was divorced, and lived far away.
Vinyl later was placed in a orphanage. And was adopted by many people, but they died. Vinyl always had a wave of sorrows behind the next milestone.
Everypony believed she was cursed, and no one adopted her. She went to school, where she was abused, and she never had friends.
Untill Neon Lights came.
Vinyl opened her eyes. A dream. She was having a dream. She looked around, and saw two ponies, Octavia and Neon. Vinyl blinked, her mouth slightly opening as she glanced at the two ponies. What is up with this?
Octavia reared up and started to pelt Neon. Vinyl cried out in pain, "NO! NEON! OCTAVIA! DON'T HURT HIM!" her hooves churned through the dark emptyness, but long, spine-like vines had their evil essence wrapped around Vinyl, holding her back.
Octavia's eyes were dull and lifeless as she hit Neon with all she had, hooves, rocks, anything that can inflict serious damage on the stallion.
Vinyl started crying, right there. She stabbed her hooves at the vines, in hopes to escape. The vine stayed still, not moving, not changing. Vinyl's tears became more rapid as she narrowed her eyes. "IF YOU WON'T HELP, I'LL HAVE TO DO IT MYSELF!"
Her eyes started glowing white and her hair started to float into the air as her horn's aura started to grow brighter and larger, engulfing Vinyl, suddenly, there was a sudden blast and Vinyl was freed of the vines.
She galloped over to Octavia and Neon. Her eyes glew brighter as a mighty lazer was fired from her horn, sending Octavia flying and hitting into a wall.
Neon was bleeding slowly to his death while Octavia's legs were crippled from the blast, her spine was shattered.
A light appeared. It was a brilliant navy blue with wavy, astral power. An alicorn she was. It was Luna. Luna the Moon Princess. Her eyes were narrowed. "Vinyl. I am giving you a choice. Save Octavia,"she turned to the Earth Pony, who was shivering in pain, "Or Neon Lights,"she turned to the Unicorn, who was barely breathing, blood trickling out of his mouth.
Vinyl blinked, "Neon. Save Neon. Octavia lied to me, and she hurt me and my past. I choose Neon."
Luna sighed, "That was a test Vinyl. This is only a dream. What I am supposed to do is help you overcome your fears. Yes, Octavia harmed you. She IS truely bipolar. But she is a friend of yours, yes?"
Vinyl grumbled, "USED to."
Luna raised a eyebrow, "Yes, I know that. But she did help you in your times of need, yes? Am I right?"
Vinyl paused to recall her memories, Octavia giving her a cold shoulder, yet smiling with glee when it wasn't crucial. "No. No she didn't. She was only happy when I gave attention to her. That is all I remember."
Luna sighed, "That might be true. But...she was always at your side, silently cheering you on. That IS helping you, Vinyl. I believe she had changed her ways, for you Vinyl. A bully changed her ways for the Disk Jockey."
Vinyl gave a little gasp, "What...what do you mean?"
Luna spread out her wings, seeming regal and beautiful. "Because of you, the once abusing filly had blossomed into a kinder, more happier mare. Because of you, because she wanted to befriend you."
Vinyl glanced back at Octavia, who was willing her body to stand, despite her hind legs being utterly useless and her spine had gave away.
"Vinyl. Allow Octavia to speak."
Vinyl blinked, "Y-y-yes princess..."she turned around to Octavia, and trotted over to her, "...Octavia...?"
Octavia looked up at Vinyl, "Vinyl...forgive me...please...."
Vinyl stepped back, and as she did, the darkness started to engulf her. "Luna! What is the meaning of this!?"
Luna sighed, "You must overcome your fears."
Vinyl stepped forward, "What fears!? What am I so AFRAID of that you need to visit me in this...this....NIGHTMARE!?"
Luna blinked at Vinyl's responce, "Your fear? It's to lose Neon...to lose him without saying goodbye, for you feel like he might never return. You also fear that Octavia is like Octavia as a filly, mean and abusive. You fear she'll kill Neon and ones closest to you. That, Vinyl, is all of you fears. Nothing more, nothing less."
Vinyl sighed, "...Yes...Luna...."
Luna folded her wings, "Vinyl, I will wake you now. Remember what I taught you," her head swayed and her horn started to radiate with a gentle glow, she dipped her head down and touched her horn to Vinyl's, and both of them started to glow.
Vinyl forced open her eyes. She glanced around her darkened room, she grabbed an alarm clock. 5:23 AM.
Vinyl shrugged her shoulders, and felt the sweat pouring from her forehead, she blinked. What kind of dream was that...? She glanced over at the sky, she saw Luna's shadow against the bright, full moon.
"...thank you...Luna..."
