Domino Effect

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Chapter 6

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Vinyl Scratch was freezing, but, that could be expected, as it was the middle of the night in early December. She stood on the balcony of the Ponyville public library, her goggles and a scarf wrapped up around her neck, looking up at the night sky. Full moon tonight, stars shining bright, and Vinyl Scratch could finally see them again. She heard the flutter of wings and let out a smile. “How’s it going Princess Luna?”

Luna landed softly on the balcony, giving the unicorn mare an odd look. “Aren’t you cold?” she asked.

“Freezing!” Vinyl said with a grin. “That’s okay though, cause what I’m looking at? It’s totally worth it.”

Princess Luna sat down beside her, raising an eyebrow in surprise at her. “Forgive me, I never took you to be the stargazing type.”

“That makes two of us!” Vinyl said with a grin. Her eyes shining brightly in the pale moon light, she turned her head back towards the sky, and gave it another smile. “You know? It’s such a simple thing, looking up at the night sky. Never really realise how much you miss it until you can’t look anymore. There are many things we take for granted... never knowing how much they mean to us until they’re long gone...”

“I didn’t have you pegged for the philosophical type either,” Princess Luna said with a smirk.

Vinyl Scratch grinned brightly at the princess of the night, taking a seat next to her. “I’m full of surprises, I regularly had discussions on life, the universe, and everything with my breakfast. Wasn’t exactly the brightest individual to speak with... but what can be expected from oatmeal?”

The two mares sat quietly for a time, watching the stars as they blinked and twinkled. Vinyl turned her head towards the younger princess and gave her a small smile. “So, what’s your reason for coming out here this evening?”

Princess Luna gave her a shrug. “Who said there had to be a reason?”

Vinyl Scratch deadpanned her.

“I wanted to make sure that you were okay... considering everything that happened at the Bridge over the St. Germain,” Luna admitted.

“You know about all that?” Vinyl said, raising an eyebrow in surprise. No one knew what Whirlwind had done there outside of her and Twilight’s friends. They had decided it would be best to keep it quiet for now, the last thing that they wanted was a panic, and under the right conditions, Ponyville was a powder keg for such.

“I have many informants,” Princess Luna said cryptically, making it clear that she would offer no further explanations.

“How long have you been having me followed?” Vinyl asked.

“I’m not having you followed, Vinyl. You’re my friend... for some reason,” Princess Luna said, rolling her eyes and adding a small smirk. “I don’t spy on my friends. I was having the bridge watched. The master archive is too important to not pay attention to it.”

“But... Legion destroyed it!” Vinyl said.

“Vinyl... please, you can’t destroy the master archive,” Princess Luna said simply. “It’s far too big, all Legion destroyed was an access point to it. There are others.”

“Where?” Vinyl asked.

“The only other one that I know of is located under the Cossack city of Fetlevostok,” Luna said. “There are others, but as to their locations, I haven’t the faintest idea.”

Vinyl nodded her head in understanding. She respected Princess Luna far more than any of her other siblings that she had met, probably for the simple reason that all five of them had tried to kill her and her friends in the past. Luna was different; she truly had her subject’s best interests at heart. Vinyl Scratch considered herself lucky to have her as a friend and ally.

“Hey, you’re never going to guess who is staying the night here!” Vinyl said enthusiastically.

“I’m not good at guessing games... why don’t you just tell me?” Luna said, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance.

“Pips Domino!” Vinyl said with a grin.

Princess Luna’s eyes snapped to attention, had her head turned any faster she might have suffered from whiplash. “You are joking, clearly, you are joking!”

“Well... while I do love a good joke, this time, I’m totally serious!” Vinyl said.

Princess Luna’s mouth dropped wide open; she too was a Pips Domino fan. Where she not concerned with waking the sleeping individuals of Ponyville, she would have let out a squeal in excitement. Instead she mimicked the quiet cheering that one would expect from Fluttershy.

“Would... would you introduce us!?” Princess Luna gasped in excitement.

“No! Back off! He’s mine!” Vinyl said, adopting a serious look about her face. She couldn’t contain herself and broke down giggling in ten seconds flat. “Of course I would! Pips would love to know that he’s still got fans!”

Luna cocked her head in confusion, prompting Vinyl to explain, she figured that Princess Luna probably didn’t pay as close attention to the pop music scene as she did world events.

“Pips is getting up there in years, so is the majority of his fan base,” Vinyl said with a shrug. “His popularity’s been slowly supplanted by younger talent like Sapphire Shores. It happens. The height of Pips Domino popularity was thirty years ago. In showbiz? The only road is downhill.”

Vinyl Scratch understood this significantly. Even now, her own fame and popularity in the music scene was dwindling, of course, the difference being, Vinyl Scratch couldn’t care less. Fame had ruined her as a person. Money had turned her into a monster. As far as she was concerned, she had enough money stashed away from shows, and selling off her excess property, and royalties from the few albums she had produced. She could live comfortably for the rest of her life. Music had been her special talent. Yes, but what happened when your special talent ruins you?

Princess Luna could tell that Vinyl Scratch had again lost herself in thought. The unicorn mare was far too hard on herself. She placed a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a polite smile.

“I’ll come back in the morning and you can introduce me to Pips Domino!” Luna said with a smile. “You, on the other hoof look like you could use a break from the cold and some sleep.”

Vinyl Scratch nodded, and rose from her seat on the balcony and trotted back towards the door.

“Vinyl Scratch?” Princess Luna asked.

“Yessssss?” Vinyl said, elongating the syllable and turning her head back around slowly, as if she were some noir drama character.

“What happened at the St. Germain wasn’t your fault, don’t beat yourself up over it,” Princess Luna said.

“I don’t, it could have happened to anypony right?” Vinyl said, giving the princess a small smile. “Goodnight Luna.”

Vinyl Scratch opened the door and quietly trotted back inside, trying not to wake Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.

Vinyl Scratch was a liar.

...

Twilight Sparkle rubbed her eyes sleepily as she ate her breakfast, consisting of a bowl of oatmeal and a mug of coffee. As one could probably expect of the lavender unicorn, she was caffeine dependant.

Vinyl Scratch poked her head inside the kitchen, grinning brightly at her housemate and trotted over to her. “Good morning Sunshine! Sleep well?” She asked as she made herself a bowl of oatmeal.

Twilight said nothing, and lifted another spoonful of it into her mouth.

“I for one, slept great, that sofa of yours? I don’t know where you got it, but it’s really comfortable!” Vinyl said.

“It was already here when I got here...” Twilight mumbled, lifting the cup of coffee to her muzzle and taking a sip.

Rainbow Dash trotted in to the kitchen next, yawning loudly and pouring herself a cup of coffee from the pot. “Vinyl Scratch? How is it even possible that you’re a morning pony?”

“A month on a ship to South Island, and a month back!” Vinyl said with a grin, being louder than she needed to be. “Does wonders for you! I love waking up early!”

“Vinyl Scratch?” Twilight said with annoyance in her voice. “Believe me when I say that I mean this lovingly. ‘Shut up and eat your oatmeal.’”

Vinyl only grinned at them. She was so glad to have her friends back. The more Vinyl thought about it, yeah, she had wished that Legion hadn’t been created, but with Twilight and Rainbow Dash at her side, she knew they had a fighting chance.

“You know, speaking of South Island, you’ll never guess who I ran into there?” Vinyl said, she had originally decided to keep quiet about her trip to South Island, since nothing that she would talk about would have had any meaning to Twilight and Rainbow without their old world memories, Now that they had them...

“Benjamin Willoughby! And he remembered me!” Vinyl said.

Twilight set her spoon back into the bowl. “How?”

“Well...” Vinyl said. “It all goes back to that artefact that was sent to you...”

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As Vinyl Scratch finished her summery of her trip to South Island, she looked up to noticed that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were sitting there, staring blankly with their mouths wide open. Vinyl offered them a grin.

“... And that’s how Equestria was made!” She added humorously.

“Vinyl, this is serious,” Twilight said. “Monty Ulan?”

“Last we heard? He hopped off the train near Arrernte Springs and hoofed it to Port Beagle,” Vinyl said. “Apparently, it wasn’t until then when the train crew realised that they had no breaks, and the train continued on its way to Warrane.”

“How did they stop in time?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“They didn’t...” Vinyl said with a shrug. “I don’t really know the details.”

The door to the kitchen opened as the three mares were graced by the presence of their guest. Pips Domino smiled brightly at them, still wearing his suit and sunglasses, despite the fact that it was still somewhat dark outside.

“Good Morning Vinyl!” Pips said with a grin, he then glanced at Rainbow Dash and offered her the same. His eyes fell upon Twilight and smiled brightly. “And a big hello to you, beautiful!”

Twilight turned bright red, causing a sly grin to appear on Pips’ face. Rainbow Dash scowled at him, but he ignored her and took a seat at the table.

“Good morning Pips!” Vinyl said. “Hey guess what? You’ve got another fan that’s just dying to meet you!”

“Really?” Pips asked, somewhat surprised by the revelation. “She as crazy as you?”

“Nopony is as crazy as Vinyl Scratch,” Rainbow Dash said.

“It’s true!” Vinyl agreed with a small grin. “Hope you don’t mind, she’s going to be coming by later, I think you’ll like her.”

“You kidding? I have so few fans that to find one in this town was a miracle. Now there are TWO? I’m astounded,” Pips said.

There was a knock at the door, Vinyl turned her head towards the other room and leapt up from her seat. “I got it!” she called. Vinyl Scratch trotted into the main room, and upon noticing a vase filled with flowers, promptly bit on them, picking them up and opening the door.

Derpy Hooves was standing just outside the door, a scarf wrapped around her neck, draping down towards her left, her mailbag to the right, she raised an eyebrow at Vinyl Scratch, who was still holding the flowers in her teeth.

“Hi!” Vinyl said. “Miss you!”

Derpy rolled her eyes. “They’re very nice... now put them back where you got them.”

Vinyl sighed and used her magic to float them back over into the vase while Derpy dug through her mailbag looking for letters for Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

“So... uh, doing anything this afternoon?” Vinyl asked.

“Yes, I’m covering for a long distance route,” Derpy said simply. “I’m carrying a package to the Divide. So that means, you will be watching Dinky for a few days.”

“No problem!” Vinyl said with a grin. “I’m good with kids.”

Derpy couldn’t help but smirk. “Good luck, I told Dinky to come over here after school... you’ll see for yourself,” Derpy gave Vinyl several letters for Twilight, and then waved her goodbye and took flight towards her next stop.

Vinyl returned into the kitchen, where an incredibly bored Rainbow Dash sat as Pips Domino continued to flirt with Twilight, most of it going right over the lavender unicorn’s head. Vinyl placed the post on the table and informed them of the recent development.

A few hours later, another knock on the door came; Vinyl Scratch opened it to find Princess Luna standing outside.

“Good morning princess!” Vinyl said with a grin. “Come in!”

Princess Luna nodded and entered the Library, taking a glance around the room. “Is he here?”

“Yep!” Vinyl said. “Hey Pips!”

Pips stuck his head out of the kitchen and looked over at the newcomer. “Oh you’re kidding!”

Vinyl could only grin at him. “Nope! Pips Domino, meet Princess Luna. Princess Luna, meet Pips Domino.”

Pips trotted up to Princess Luna, grinning widely. “Well, let me say this Vinyl Scratch, you sure do run with quite the crowd. It’s an honour to meet you your highness.”

“L... likewise!” Princess Luna said nervously. Doing her best to conceal her excitement and failing horribly in the process.

Pips could only grin in response. “Jeeze, she’s almost as bad as you Vinyl!”

...

Fluttershy had taken to chopping firewood for most of the morning, scarf around her neck, earmuffs around her ears, and a small hatchet in her teeth, Fluttershy had gotten enough wood ready to last her the entire winter. Now she had little to do, all her animal friends were hibernating; even Angel Bunny had taken to the long winters rest.

Fluttershy disliked winter for this reason; taking care of animals was her job, and her special talent. So what did you do when they were all sleeping? You saved the various dull tasks for the last minute, stretching them out as long as you could. Fluttershy put away the hatchet and began carrying the firewood inside. It was rather cold inside, a day of relaxing beside the warm fire and reading a book sounded wonderful to Fluttershy, and she promptly started one.

Within a few minutes, the warm glow began to radiate out into the room, Fluttershy lied down on her sofa and pulled a book from its place on the shelf. Out of the corner of her eye, Fluttershy saw something, just for a moment out the window. Something odd, something out of place, but she couldn’t tell what it was.

Fluttershy debated about going and taking a look, it was probably nothing, she told herself, but she couldn’t get the nagging feeling out of her mind, finally, she decided to go and take a look, she draped her scarf around her neck and placed the earmuffs back on her head and stepped outside, walking closer to it. She could see it a little better now, whatever it was, it was yellow.

Fluttershy got closer to it, and that was when she began to notice more details of it, it was a mess of thread like fibres, and a lot of them...

Fluttershy was suspicious of it now, and then noticed that there was not only one... but two of them. She got right up on them, and that was when she realised it. These weren’t balls of thread or anything like that.

It was hair. Specifically, a mane and a tail.

Fluttershy felt around in the snow, and bumped up against their owner. The pony of which they belonged to rose its head out of the snow, the coat was a pure white that blended in with the background.

But the creature’s eyes were the most interesting, because they did not match anything else. They were blood red.

Fluttershy let out a gasp as their owner looked upon her.

“Help... me, please!” the pony pleaded hoarsely with her before passing out. Fluttershy leapt into action, and lifted the stranger up and placed her on her back, galloping back to her cottage to get her out of the cold. Fluttershy noticed that the stranger was a Pegasus too, but she was not one that she recognised from town, or even from Cloudsdale.

Fluttershy didn’t know this new Pegasus, but it didn’t matter, she needed her help, and Fluttershy would give it.

...

Fluttershy had wrapped up the Pegasus mare in a blanket and placed her as close to the fire as she safely could have. She was still unconscious, Fluttershy looked her over for any signs of injury, oddly enough, she seemed to be in perfect health apart from the fact that she had nearly frozen to death. That was when Fluttershy noticed that the Pegasus had tucked an item into her mane. It was a glass vial, Fluttershy recognised it. She had seen vials like this before. She knew that Zecora used vials in this shape for storing the potion that she called “Bitter Drink,” this vial was empty, Fluttershy could only guess that the Pegasus mare had downed the entire thing sometime before Fluttershy had found her.

Fluttershy made sure that she was comfortable, and hoped that she would wake up soon.

‘Be careful what you wish for’ was an old adage that Fluttershy had wished she had followed. Because no sooner than had Fluttershy adjusted the blanket on her, did she spring to her hooves, and began glancing around the room in a panic. Causing Fluttershy to squeak in surprise and stumble backwards.

“Where... where am I?!” the mysterious Pegasus called out, she turned and set her eyes on Fluttershy. “Who... who are you?”

“I’m... Fluttershy...” Fluttershy said quietly, squeaking softly and taking another step back. Her visitor’s sudden movements had startled her pretty badly, her heart was racing and she wanted to do nothing short of leap behind the sofa for cover, but then she realised that her visitor was likely just as scared as she, so she mustered up as much courage as she could and approached her.

“What’s your name?” Fluttershy asked.

“I... My name is Surprise,” she said, glancing around the room again. “And I... I...”

Surprise’s eyes grew heavy and she slumped back down onto Fluttershy’s floor, falling fast asleep. Fluttershy could only gasp at what had just happened.

“Oh... my,” she picked the Pegasus back up and carried her upstairs and placed her in her bed. Perhaps all she needed was a little rest.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Several hours had passed; Princess Luna had unfortunately needed to return to Canterlot, though Pips Domino was particularly interested in speaking with her again. There was a knock at the Library door, Twilight opened it to discover the blonde unicorn filly that was Dinky Doo standing out in the cold.

“My mummy told me to come here after school,” Dinky said. “Vinyl Scratch is supposed to be watching me.”

“Oh, okay!” Twilight said, smiling at the filly. Dinky Doo did not offer one in return; rather, she looked more irritated than anything else.

Vinyl Scratch came into the room from the kitchen and stopped dead in her tracks, watching in amazement as the angry looking filly stormed up to her.

“Hi Dinky...” Vinyl began, but was cut short when Dinky slapped her across the face.

“That was for making mummy cry!” Dinky called out in frustration, she followed up with a second slap. “That was for breaking your promise,” and then a third. “That one is because I HATE YOU!” Dinky let out a huff and trotted over to a corner at the far end of the room and began doing her homework.

Vinyl Scratch said nothing; she continued to stand perfectly still, more in shock than anything else. “I just got beat up by a filly!”

Twilight too was just as shocked, she had never seen such behaviour from an otherwise well behaved filly. She trotted up to Vinyl and began to whisper to her. “I think you should really talk to Derpy about that...”

“I... think I did, I told her I was good with kids when she told me I’d be watching her. She smirked and wished me luck,” Vinyl said with a shrug.

“Still... I know Derpy’s mad at you, but that doesn’t give her the right to encourage such behaviour!” Twilight said.

“Truth be told Twilight, I kind of deserve it,” Vinyl said with a shrug. “I deserve a good slapping from a lot of people actually. Thanks for taking my side though. It means a lot. You’re a good friend!”

Twilight smiled at her, but before she could say anything, the group was interrupted by Pips Domino who trotted down the stairs.

“So!” Pips announced. “Which one of you lovely ladies is going to show me around town?”

“I would be glad to!” Twilight said.

“Excellent!” Pips said with a grin.

“Twilight! What are you doing?!” Vinyl whispered to her.

“You have to watch Dinky Doo!” Twilight said, a sly grin forming on her face. “Not to worry, I’ll make sure Mr. Domino is well looked after.”

“I take it back! You’re a horrible friend!” Vinyl snarled at her.

Twilight gave her a wink as she threw her scarf around her neck and opened the front door. She trotted out the door, Pips Domino following shortly behind.

“Bye Vinyl! Bye Dinky Doo! Have fun!” Twilight said.

“Oh we will,” Dinky said. Vinyl turned her head to discover the filly was right behind her. “We will.”

The last words that Twilight heard from Vinyl as she shut the door were: “Oh Celestia!”

“Should we leave them alone? That filly had fire in her eyes,” Pips commented as they walked away.

“Oh they’ll be fine!” Twilight said. “Dinky Doo weighs like... five kilograms. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Pips Domino looked back at the door as they trotted away, he could have sworn he heard the sound of glass breaking... but he figured it was probably his old mind playing tricks on him.

...

“... that’s Sugarcube Corner!” Twilight said. “Local sweet shop, hangout, and...”

At that moment, all of the windows of Sugarcube corner smashed and flames burst from them.

“Well... it’s clearly the hot place in town, huh?” Pips said.

“Pinkie Pie!” Twilight called out and burst through the door, smoke billowed from the kitchen, Twilight watched as Pinkie Pie stood in the opening, spraying a fire extinguisher towards the kitchen.

“Huh... looks like I used a little too much magnesium!” Pinkie Pie said as she dropped the fire extinguisher onto the ground and looked back to discover Twilight and the new comer. “Hey Twilight! What’s up?”

“Pinkie Pie! What are you doing!?” Twilight gasped in horror, her friend could have just died, and here she was as chipper as usual.

“Makinggggggg cupcakessssss!” Pinkie Pie sang enthusiastically. “All you have to do is take a cup of flour, Add it to the mix!”

Pinkie Pie was about to dash back into the kitchen to continue her ‘baking’ when she took full notice of Pips Domino, she let out a gasp and vaulted over the counter, landing in front of him and grinning brightly at him. Pips didn’t even so much as flinch, as if he was expecting it.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before!” Pinkie Pie said.

Twilight cleared her throat, trying to get Pinkie Pie’s attention. “Pinkie Pie, meet Pips Domino...”

Pinkie Pie let out a loud gasp. “I know you! Mr. Cake has a bunch of your records. Ohmygosh! Twilight I just had the best idea! Can you guess what it is?”

“You want to throw Mr. Domino a party?” Twilight said unenthusiastically.

“You know me so well Twilight!” Pinkie Pie said, she glanced around the room, realising that it was a mess from the explosion that had just occurred. “Ohmygosh! This place is a huge mess! I need to clean! Out out out!” Pinkie Pie called as she pushed Twilight and Pips out the front door. “Come back at eight!” she cried before slamming the door shut behind them.

Pips Domino turned towards Twilight and gave her a bright grin. “I like her, she’s funny!”

...

Fluttershy sat on the edge of her bed, watching Surprise as she slept. She hoped that her Pegasus mare visitor would not object. Fluttershy merely wanted to make sure that she would be okay.

“No...” Surprise mumbled in her sleep. Fluttershy frowned; she’d been talking for the last few hours, just mumbling random words that didn’t seem to make any sense to Fluttershy. Fluttershy placed her foreleg gently against Surprise’s head. She didn’t seem to have a fever. Though most of her body was still cold from being outside, who knows how long she could have been out there before Fluttershy noticed her.

Fluttershy was certified for first aid, and she began to feel certain important areas around Surprises body, checking for signs of any injuries. She couldn’t seem to find any, which was good... right?

Touching Surprise had inadvertently lead to Surprise’s wings spreading as she slept. Fluttershy’s face turned a bright pink with embarrassment. The phenomenon was a completely normal Pegasus body response to feelings of arousal. She hadn’t meant to... it just happened.

All thought, when Fluttershy thought about it, Surprise was kind of cute. That was when she noticed that her own wings were beginning to spread, and immediately stifled that line of thought. Fluttershy felt incredibly hot, and she started to become flustered. Surprise was in her care, she couldn’t think like that while she could possibly be hurt or sick!

All though... Fluttershy did notice that Surprise’s reactions had changed, she had stopped mumbling “no” over and over, and was now smiling in her sleep, and she was... moaning.

Fluttershy didn’t know how it was possible, but now she had turned even brighter pink with embarrassment. Surprise’s eyes popped open and she lifted her head up to look at her. Surprise noticed Fluttershy’s wings immediately.

“I’m sorry...” Fluttershy squeaked softly.

Surprise’s face turned bright red. “I... um... have never had anypony look at me like that.”

Fluttershy squeaked again, now she felt bad for looking at her guest funny. “I’m sorry!”

“N... no, it’s okay,” Surprise said quietly.

Fluttershy cleared her throat and focused on the matter at hoof. “Are you... okay? What happened to you?”

“I... don’t...” Surprise said, she froze up and began to shiver. Surprise dropped back onto the bed and curled herself into a ball. “No! No! No! No! No! No!”

Fluttershy began to panic, she had no idea what to do, but she had to do... SOMETHING! She hopped back up on the bed and sat herself down next to Surprise. She began to stroke her mane gently.

“Shh...” Fluttershy whispered. “It’s okay... It’s okay! Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to go to bed.” Fluttershy continued to sing the lullaby; eventually Surprise began to stop shaking. She shut her eyes tightly and drifted back off to sleep.

Fluttershy knew now that whatever had happened to the poor thing had disturbed her deeply. Unfortunately, Fluttershy had no idea where to even go next with this. She knew basic first aid. That was the extent of her medical knowledge.

Twilight would know more about psychology. Maybe I can ask her for help! Fluttershy thought. It was starting to get late, and Fluttershy didn’t want to go to Twilight now, plus she figured that it would be a bad idea to leave Surprise alone, even for a few minutes. What if she woke up?

Fluttershy would wait until tomorrow morning. Then she’d head into town and enlist Twilight’s help.

Fluttershy was proud of herself. It was a great plan! What could possibly go wrong?

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Twilight Sparkle and Pips Domino returned to the Library to the sounds of books falling off their shelves. Twilight opened the door to discover Vinyl Scratch lying on her back, her hooves up in the air holding Dinky Doo at hooves length. Dinky Doo was swinging her legs wildly in anger. Rainbow Dash and Spike had constructed fortifications out of the overturned Sofa, and were wearing kangaroo Brodie helmets. Spike’s helmet being comically too big for him, books had been tossed haphazardly about the Library.

Twilight stood with her mouth hanging open, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” She cried out.

Vinyl tilted her head back, and Dinky stopped moving. Both of them looked towards the door. Likewise, Rainbow Dash and Spike poked their heads above cover to look.

Pips Domino turned to Twilight and gave her a grin. “Well there you go Murphy.”

“Thank Celestia! My saviour has returned!” Vinyl cried out sarcastically. She tilted her head back and looked up at Dinky. “You are in big trouble missy!”

Twilight looked as if she was about to explode with anger. “As far as I’m concerned... you BOTH are responsible for this mess, and you will be cleaning it up!”

“Yes Twilight,” Vinyl and Dinky said simultaneously, Vinyl set Dinky down and the two of them started picking books back up and placing them back where they belong, though Dinky gave Vinyl another kick in the shins while Twilight wasn’t looking, causing the unicorn mare to hop up and down slightly in pain.

“Cheeky nipper!” Vinyl spat at her under her breath, causing Dinky to stick her tongue out at her.

Twilight sighed and then looked towards Rainbow Dash and Spike. “Where did you get those?”

“They were in the scout car that’s parked out back,” Spike said simply, referring to the kangaroo scout car that Vinyl Scratch had ‘borrowed’ on her return trip from South Island. “They came in really handy when the books started flying!”

Twilight sighed loudly. “Dinky?” Twilight asked.

Dinky Doo looked up at Twilight from her cleaning and stared directly at her.

“Come here please,” Twilight said simply.

Dinky obeyed, crossing the room and looking at Twilight intensely.

“Dinky... I understand that you’re upset with Vinyl, but this? This is not okay,” Twilight said. “You could have seriously hurt her or yourself...”

“Hey! Thanks for showing concern for us!” Rainbow Dash called out.

Twilight shot Rainbow Dash a dirty look, causing her to recoil and hide behind the overturned sofa. “Sorry!” Rainbow Dash quipped, causing Spike to grin at her.

“Dude, you’re whipped!” Spike said with a chuckle, causing Rainbow Dash to shove the heavy steel helmet over his eyes.

“I’m not saying that you have to forgive Vinyl, but please, at least be civil, for the rest of our sakes?” Twilight pleaded.

Dinky looked down towards the ground guiltily. “Okay... I’m sorry Twilight.”

Twilight offered Dinky a small smile before turning to Vinyl Scratch. “As for you! You’re an adult! Act like it!”

Vinyl frowned, glancing towards the ground and looking incredibly guilty, at least, as far as Twilight could tell with those goggles of hers that were blocking her eyes.

A somewhat quiet, slow, clapping noise came from behind them, everypony turned around to discover that they had forgotten about Pips Domino, who was applauding Twilight’s management of the situation.

“Very nice! Well handled!” Pips said with a grin.

“I’m sorry you had to see that... it’s not like this around here all the time, I promise!” Twilight said.

“That’s a shame, because I’m rather enjoying myself. If you’ll excuse me though, I must ready myself for Pinkie Pie’s party,” Pips bid them a farewell as he trotted up the stairs. Rainbow Dash and Spike turned back over the sofa and pushed it back into place.

“Glad to see somepony is enjoying himself!” Rainbow Dash said with mild annoyance. “I don’t know about him...”

“Oh come on Rainbow Dash!” Vinyl called back as she used her magic to levitate some of the books back to their places. “I probably would have made the same comment.”

“Yeah well I actually know you!” Rainbow Dash said. “I don’t know him.”

They all pitched in to help clean up the Library. Leaving the bottom shelves for Dinky and Spike, Twilight and Vinyl used magic to sort books on the middle shelves, while Rainbow Dash picked up and placed as many as she could on the top shelves.

Dinky had just placed the last book when Pips Domino trotted back down the stairs wearing a new suit identical to his old one, except this one looked as if it had just been neatly primed and pressed.

“Wow, I’m impressed!” Pips said with a grin. “Shall we?”

And with that, the group walked out of the Library down towards Sugarcube corner.

...

They didn’t know how it was possible, but somehow, in the four hours since Twilight and Pips had visited Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie had not only replaced all of the broken windows and swept up all the glass, but when Twilight glanced into the kitchen upon walking in to the front door, it looked as if nothing had happened at all today.

“How does she do it...?” Twilight mumbled to herself.

Just as suddenly, Pinkie Pie appeared from nowhere, springing up on the group as they walked through the door.

“Hi! Glad you could make it! Now that the guest of honour is here, it’s a party!” Pinkie Pie said grinning widely. “Nice hat Dashie!”

Rainbow Dash glanced upwards noticing that she was still wearing her brodie helmet she shrugged; deciding to keep it on, it was kind of cool anyway.

Pips Domino smiled brightly at Pinkie Pie, and put out his hoof to shake hers. Pinkie Pie took it and shook enthusiastically.

“Mr. Domino! We’d be honoured if you’d sing a song for us!” Pinkie Pie said grinning widely.

“Well... sure! Why not!” Pips said with a grin and trotted over to the impromptu stage that Pinkie Pie had set up and tapped on the microphone. “Hello Ponyville! My name is Pips Domino! That’s okay if you haven’t heard that one before, I’m old,” Pips said with a shrug. “But that don’t mean I can’t still swing! And I got a song that I’d like to sing for you all!”

Pips stepped away from the microphone for a moment, and looked over to the band that Pinkie Pie had obtained, how she had gotten all the instruments needed in such short notice. This Pinkie Pie character was clearly resourceful. Pips consulted with the band for a few moments before returning to the microphone.

“They calllll you ladyyyyyy luck! But there is roooooom, for doubt! At times you have, a very unladylike wayyyyyyy of running out! You’re on this date with me, the pickins have been lush, and yet before this evening is over... you might give me brushhhh. You might forget your manners, you might refuse to stayyyyyyy... and so the best that I can do... is prayyyyyy.”

The band kicked into full swing, trumpets blaring loudly as everypony began tapping along to rhythm.

“Luck be a lady, tonight! Luck be a lady, tonight! Luck if you’ve ever been a lady to begin with, Luck be a lady, tonight!”

Vinyl Scratch bobbed her head along with the beat, soon enough, everypony around her caught on.

“Luck let a gentleman see. Just how nice a dame you can be. I know the way you’ve treated other guys you’ve been with Luck be a lady with me.”

Even Twilight and Rainbow Dash were enjoying themselves, they could see why Vinyl idolised Pips Domino, and he wasn’t just good. He was spectacular.

“A lady never leaves her escort; it isn't fair; it isn't nice. A lady doesn't wander all over the room, and blow on some other guys dice.”

Vinyl Scratch glanced over to Twilight and offered her a grin. She had told her that she wasn’t going to regret it. More ponies from outside who weren’t at the party had started to come in.

“Let’s keep this party polite! Never get out of my sight! Stick with me baby, I’m the guy that you came in with Luck be a lady! Toniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!”

The song ended and the entirety of Sugarcube corner burst into applause.

...

If there was anything about Pips Domino that could be said, he was good with a crowd, he was performing for them, sure, but the colt loved to sing, and he was happy to sing for them, the party and ended up being more of an impromptu concert than anything else. Nopony complained though, and Pips graced them with his renditions of Blue Moon, Summer Wind, Come Fly With Me, and That's life.

Ponyville had its first taste of Ol’ Blue eyes, The Chairman of the Board, Pips Domino himself. Now they could never go back.

Pips Domino could only smile, he had them right where he wanted them.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Vinyl Scratch!” Fluttershy squeaked as the unicorn mare pressed the gun to Surprise’s head. She took a step forward, but found her path being blocked by Twilight Sparkle, who had raised her leg to block the door. Anger burned in Twilight’s eyes for what Surprise had done to her.

Surprise, however seemed completely unfazed by what was going on around her, rather, she continued to stare blankly at Vinyl Scratch.

“The hell is wrong with you?!” Vinyl Scratch asked, staring intensely at Surprise. “You got a death wish? Huh? You want to die?!”

Surprise said nothing at first, and then glanced down at the bed. “Yes,” she said simply.

“I... huh?” Vinyl said completely caught off guard by the pegasi’s response.

“Go ahead, do it,” Surprise said simply. “We all know I deserve it... doesn’t matter. Pull the trigger, death won’t stick.”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow, this couldn’t possibly be the same Surprise that had tried to strangle her, and this couldn’t possibly be the same Surprise that had raped Twilight. This couldn’t possibly be the same Surprise that terrorised Scootaloo... could it?

This Surprise was calm... collected... Vinyl backed off, she pulled the revolver away from Surprise’s head. “What the hell happened to you?”

“He did,” Surprise said. “Master, he said that he remembered me... and that he didn’t need me, he tried to break me.”

“I found her lying face down in the snow with a bottle of one of Zecora’s potions!” Fluttershy said.

“Looks like we need to pay Zecora a visit,” Twilight said. “Vinyl? Get her walking.”

Vinyl nodded and motioned the gun towards the door slightly. “Up.”

Surprise obeyed, and rose to her hooves. Vinyl pressed the revolver against the back of her head, they marched her out in front as they exited Fluttershy’s cottage. Fluttershy tried to give Surprise a smile, a look that assured that everything would be okay... but Surprise wasn’t fazed by it.

“Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked as they walked out of Fluttershy’s cottage, closing the door behind them. “Who is that?”

Twilight looked blankly at her and let out a small sigh. “Believe me when I say this, Rainbow Dash, you don’t want to know.”

The group walked for over an hour towards the southern border of the Everfree forest. They made a brisk pace, hoping not to be seen by anypony as they passed Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy became vocal about Twilight and Vinyl pushing Surprise too hard, but the complaints fell on deaf ears. They reached the southern entrance to the Everfree forest and make their way to Zecora’s hut.

“You can put that away Vinyl,” Twilight said thinking, correctly, that Zecora would probably not appreciate Vinyl waving a gun around her home. She knocked on the door, and the door opened, revealing the sagely Zebra who looked at all of them before her.

Her eyes fell to Vinyl as she recognised her immediately. “You!” Zecora called out, and promptly smacked Vinyl across her cheek.

“Why does everybody keep hitting me!?” Vinyl called out.

“How dare you bring this one to my home!?” Zecora called out. “These woods, she is not fit to roam!”

Twilight looked at Vinyl oddly. “You... know Zecora, Vinyl?”

“Zecora being the angry looking zebra who speaks only in verse?” Vinyl said looking back at her. “Crap, yeah, I know her... and not only did I deserve that... she probably owes me another...”

Zecora responded by promptly striking Vinyl in again.

“I said probably damn it!

...

Pinkie Pie was thrown awake by the sensation of having her head dunked into water. Her eyes shot open and she instinctively gasped for air, filling her lungs with water. Just as quickly as she had been trust in, she was pulled out and tossed onto her back on the bank.

Pinkie Pie coughed loudly spitting water up trying to clear her lungs. Pinkie’s breathing was erratic, and she tried her hardest to get it under control. Pinkie Pie looked around and discovered that she was lying on the banks of a lake. She looked at a nearby sign and discovered that they were at the “Lake of Origin.”

The words held no meaning to Pinkie Pie and she looked around, trying to get some idea of where she was. She looked behind her and gasped loudly as when she saw Pips Domino standing behind her.

Before Pinkie Pie could do anything else, her head was back underwater, she struggled to get back to the surface, but to no avail, Pips was holding her under the water. Pinkie Pie kicked as hard as she could, she had to get free, she had to get above water or she was going to drown.

Pips pulled her back above water, looking her right in the eyes. “Understand who’s in charge now?”

“I... what?” Pinkie Pie said with confusion. Pips responded by dunking her back under water.

“How about now?” Pips asked after pulling her up again.

“I... yeah! I got it... you’re in charge,” Pinkie Pie said weakly. Pips responded by dunking her head under the water again.

“Don’t you forget it,” Pips said, as he brought her back up. He threw her down hard onto the embankment and took a step back. “Look and tell me what you see.”

Pinkie Pie gasped for air and offered another coughing fit before she could open her eyes and look into the lake. She found a straight maned, muted pink pony looking back at her.

“Oh look!” the reflection said mockingly. “She hath return! What do you want?”

Pinkie Pie blinked, she was incredibly confused. She was looking at the lake, and the lake was looking back at her.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You don’t remember and you’re confused! I got it. I don’t fucking care! What does he want!?” the reflection asked.

“I... I don’t know,” Pinkie Pie said, unsure of what to think of the situation.

The reflection sighed at her, she breathed annoyance. “Then ask! Stop wasting my fucking time!”

Pinkie Pie nodded and turned to look back at Pips Domino. “It... it wants to know what you want.”

Pips frowned. “It’s a lake... I know it shows things, but do you honestly expect me to believe it asked me a question?”

“I know I’m a lake!” the reflection said with a scowl. Though Pips wasn’t able to hear it speak, Pinkie Pie turned back to look at it, her big blue eyes looking intently at it.

“Okay, I’m going to be frank,” the reflection stated casually. “I don’t give a fuck what he wants! I just want you to leave me alone, I’m tired of you lot looking at me, think you’re going to get some fucking wisdom in the process.”

Pinkie Pie cringed at the repeated swears of the reflection. “You’re... not very nice...”

The reflection raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh, you want nice? I’ll show you nice. How about I reach my hoof through the water and ring your fucking neck! How nice would that be?”

Pinkie Pie gasped at the thought and snapped her hooves over her mouth.

“Oh? You going to cry now?” the reflection asked. “’Oh woe is me! I’m Pinkamena Pie! My friends don’t know the real me! Oh woe is me! I’m so fucking pathetic! I’m going to sit here and cry about it for hours and hours!’ Sounding any fucking familiar to you?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head in the negative; she had no idea to what this incredibly vulgar facsimile of herself was referring.

The reflection sighed again. “You want to remember? Fine, here’s what you need to do, take him...” the reflection said, pointing to where Pips Domino was supposed to be. “Take him to the Divide. You’ll find what you need.”

“The... Divide?” Pinkie Pie asked in confusion.

“The Divide,” the reflection repeated. “The big fucking canyon on Equestria’s southern border, that fucking Divide! Now go! Get your ugly mug out away from my banks! And don’t you ever come back here!”

Pinkie Pie nodded and backed away from the Lake of Origin, she certainly never wanted to look upon it again.

“Well...?” Pips Domino asked, peering intently at the pink party pony. “What did it say?”

Pinkie Pie gulped loudly, she didn’t know how exactly Pips was going to respond to the answer that she was going to give.

“Um... it said...” Pinkie Pie said, she swallowed loudly, and then cleared her throat. “It said... that what you’re looking for is in the Divide.”

Pips raised an eyebrow. “The Divide?” he asked.

Pinkie Pie nodded intensely in affirmation.

“Well... fuck!”

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash found themselves sitting alone in the corner while Twilight, Vinyl, and Zecora discussed what they were going to do about Surprise. After the destruction of the Bridge over the St. Germain, Twilight and Rainbow Dash had informed Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie about the old world and what had happened in it.

Casually leaving out, of course, the part where Fluttershy had turned into a violent murder and had stabbed Rainbow Dash to death, and Twilight’s subsequent strangulation of the canary yellow Pegasus.

Rainbow Dash would never admit it, but she found it incredibly difficult to be around Fluttershy at all. Something had happened to turn sweet, gentle, Fluttershy into a homicidal psychopath; it could very easily happen again if just the right amount of stimulation was used. Rainbow Dash frequently had nightmares about her old world death, and would often wake in the middle of the night in tears, clutching to Twilight for support.

Rainbow Dash did not, however, know who Surprise was. She had figured that Surprise had showed up in the old world after her death had taken place. Vinyl and Twilight had not told her about her, and Rainbow Dash figured that it was likely because that was one bit of the old world that they desperately wanted to forget.

Fluttershy had asked Rainbow Dash if she knew Surprise. Rainbow Dash had responded in the negative. Not wishing to lie about it to one of her best friends. Fluttershy had begun to question why she did not, causing Rainbow Dash to kick herself; she could not tell Fluttershy the truth, not this time. No matter how much she wanted to, the truth would shatter Fluttershy’s fragile mind... or worse. Bring the psychopath back out.

Fluttershy had begun to press the issue, causing Rainbow Dash to snap at her, that she didn’t want to talk about it. It shut her up. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel guilty, but she told herself that it was necessary, she’d apologise later, and Fluttershy would forgive her, and they’d go on and probably not even remember that the altercation had taken place.

Something was bothering Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash noticed that she wanted to ask her something, but she was too afraid to speak up.

“Everything okay Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Fluttershy nodded her head in the affirmative, though, she was not very convincing.

“Look, Fluttershy, I’m sorry I yelled,” Rainbow Dash said. “You and me? I’ve lost count of how many years we’ve known each other. If something is up, go ahead and tell me!”

Fluttershy squeaked softly in response. Rainbow Dash had raised her voice just a little too much, and Rainbow kicked herself again for it. “... Please?” Rainbow Dash added, with a small smile.

“Um... well, it’s probably nothing... but, have you by chance seen Pinkie Pie at all today?” Fluttershy asked.

“Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow. “No, why?”

“It’s just that... I stopped by Sugarcube Corner this morning, and it looked like Pinkie Pie had one of her parties... the place was a big mess!” Fluttershy said.

“What? Pinkie Pie always cleans up after a party... she wouldn’t leave a mess to the next morning...” Rainbow Dash said. Then she remembered. “That BASTARD!”

Twilight, Vinyl, Zecora, heck, even Surprise had looked up and over to where they were sitting.

“Pips Domino has done something with Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash said jumping to the conclusion.

“What?” Vinyl said, raising an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash. “Do you have any idea how ridiculous that is? Pips wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

“Oh yeah? Sure about that? Fluttershy just told me that Sugarcube Corner is trashed. Pinkie Pie always cleans up after a party! Except this time, Pips Domino asks to speak to her privately. Then BAM! Something happens, Pinkie Pie’s gone!” Rainbow Dash proclaimed.

Twilight let out a sigh at Rainbow Dash’s conclusion. “Rainbow Dash... that’s circumstantial at best.”

“Oh yeah? Well I’m going to go check out Sugarcube Corner, if it’s still a mess...” Rainbow Dash said.

“We’ll all go,” Twilight said and turned back to Zecora. “Zecora could you do me a big favour and watch... her?” Twilight added, pointing to Surprise.

Zecora nodded in affirmation, and Twilight, Vinyl, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy departed back for town.

...

Rainbow Dash gently pushed open the door to Sugarcube Corner and discovered Mr. And Mrs. Cake cleaning up the huge mess from the party last night, both of them looked incredibly irritated.

“Let’s see if we let Pinkie Pie have another party here after this mess...” Mrs. Cake grumbled. She looked up to see the four ponies entering the shop. “We’re closed! Come back tomorrow, if you’re looking for Pinkie Pie, she’s not here... and might never be again if I get my hooves on her...”

“Hun...” Mr. Cake said.

“Don’t you ‘hun’ me, Carrot!” Mrs. Cake snapped at him, and the two began to bicker loudly.

Rainbow Dash and Co. took the hint and backed out quietly. Rainbow Dash looked smugly at Vinyl and Twilight.

“Still circumstantial, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight reminded her.

“Exactly!” Vinyl said. “Pips is probably still asleep at the Library!”

With that, the group made their way to the Library, pushing open the door to the smell of pancakes and the sound of footsteps from the kitchen. Spike poked his head around the corner from the kitchen and gave the four an odd look.

“There you are!” Spike called out. “I wake up this morning and find that you’re all gone... Is Pips Domino with you? I went to his room and asked him if he wanted breakfast, and he wasn’t there either. So sorry, I just made enough for me and Dinky.”

Rainbow Dash glanced at Vinyl, who was beginning to get somewhat nervous.

“Still circumstantial...” Vinyl said uneasily, she didn’t like where this was going any more than Rainbow Dash did, but she simply could not believe that her childhood idol had some nefarious agenda for Pinkie Pie. “I got an idea of where Pinkie Pie might be, follow me!”

With that, the four ponies dashed off without another word.

“Hey! Hello!” Spike called out after them. “Humph. Ponies,” he “said in annoyance. He glanced over at Dinky who was sitting at the kitchen table, munching on a pancake. “No offense,” he added.

“Huh? Wha?” Dinky asked, muffled by a mouthful of pancake.

Spike let out a sigh, and added a small ‘never mind,’ and promptly returned to his breakfast.

...

“It’s got to be around here somewhere...” Vinyl Scratch said as the group trotted through the western edge of the Everfree forest.

“What has got to be around here?” Rainbow Dash asked impatiently.

Vinyl Scratch turned back around and offered her a small grin. “Yo momma!” she said, getting only a confused look from Fluttershy, and a look of contempt from both Rainbow Dash and Twilight.

“I regret nothing!” Vinyl said as she stepped around a tree and into a clearing. “Found it!”

Vinyl grinned widely as she looked at the sign before her. ‘Lake of Origin,’ the place where Vinyl Scratch had first met Pinkie Pie in the old world, unfortunately, Pinkie Pie was not here, where Vinyl had seriously hoping that she had been.

Curiously, Vinyl noted that despite being early December and cold as the dickens. The lake was not frozen over at all. She trotted up to its bank and looked in.

Just as she had the first time she’d looked into the Lake of Origin, there was a ruby eyed filly looking back at her.

“Well what the fuck do you want?” the filly said simply.

Vinyl took a step back in surprise; she had certainly not been expecting that. The image was of a younger her, and she had not exactly been expecting it to ask a question. Let alone with profanity. It was appearing as a filly, after all.

“Yeah yeah, talking lake with a mouth like a sailor,” the filly said. “Big fucking deal, what do you want?”

Vinyl looked back at the lake and gave it a grin. “Let me guess, angry personality with old world memory? Possibly hiding access to the Master Archive?”

“Vinyl? Who are you talking to?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Shut up! I got this!” Vinyl said, not taking her eyes off the water.

“Well aren’t you so fucking clever!” the filly said. “How ‘bout you pour yourself a glass of scotch to celebrate? You fucking degenerate.”

That last comment had enraged Vinyl to the point of no return, she was doing her best to maintain rational thought, and she would not allow herself to be bested by a puddle! Vinyl took a deep breath and got on with what she had come here for.

“I don’t suppose Pinkie Pie was here at all?” Vinyl asked, struggling to keep from exploding.

“‘Was Pinkie Pie here?’ She asks. Oh was she ever! Pathetic as always... not quite as pathetic as you, but that’s hard to top, what with you living in a bottle and all!” the filly said. “She was here, not by choice, that older pony wanted her for something. Like I care! I sent him on a snipe hunt to the Divide.”

“Older pony?” Vinyl Scratch asked, fearing the worst.

“Yeah, earth pony, brown coat, touch of grey, black mane, obnoxious sunglasses. Stuck Pinkie Pie’s ugly mug in me a couple times. Tell you what, that wasn’t fun, and... hey!”

Vinyl Scratch had backed away from the lake, without a reflection to display, it became silent.

“Vinyl?” Rainbow Dash asked, taking a step towards her.

“FUCK!” Vinyl cried out in frustration. As it turned out, Pips Domino, her idol, was clearly not the pony she thought he was.

Epilogue

Epilogue

“I knew this was a good idea!” Vinyl cried out as she tossed a duffle bag into the back of the kangaroo scout car.

“I’m not so sure Vinyl...” Twilight said as she looked the scout car over.

Pips Domino and Pinkie Pie were headed for the divide, and they had almost a day’s head start, the sun was going down, there was simply no way that Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Vinyl Scratch to catch up to them on hoof. Pips likely had Pinkie on a forced march, and being the naturally abundant ball of energy that she was, Pinkie Pie could probably go several days walking without rest. They had no idea how much of a head start they actually had. The scout car was simply the only way for them to catch up in time.

“We’ll be fine! There’s two extra jerrycans of petrol so fuel shouldn’t be a problem,” Vinyl.

Twilight deadpanned her. “No, I mean, I’m not so sure about you driving. I talked to Princess Luna about it...”

“Oh please! There was absolutely no danger of going off that cliff, she lies!” Vinyl said.

Vinyl looked back over to Fluttershy who was standing next to the door to the Library with Dinky Doo and Spike, and offered the Pegasus mare a smile. “Thanks for watching Dinky for me while I’m gone, Derpy might not like it... but...”

“It’s no trouble at all! I’m very good with children!” Fluttershy said, giving Vinyl a toothy smile and making an adorable squeaking noise in the process.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash had just finished loading up the scout car when they heard a new comer clear their throat. They looked over to see Zecora and Surprise standing not but a few metres from where the scout car had been parked.

“This one wishes to make a request. Even though I told her you may detest,” Zecora said.

Surprise slowly approached the group of ponies, trembling slightly. She stopped a few paces from where Vinyl was standing. She closed her eyes tightly, and took a deep breath. “I... want to go with you,” she said quietly.

“What was that?” Vinyl said.

“I... want to go with you!” Surprise said, louder this time.

“So what? You can slit our throats while we’re asleep!?” Vinyl asked. “Or better yet, molest one of us? Again?”

Surprise glanced down at the ground. “I deserve that...” she said quietly. “But... I know something you don’t,” Surprise said making herself more audible.

“Oh? What would that be?”

“Pips Domino was one of the master’s unwilling servants,” Surprise said. “And the Divide? Its home to three others. I know who they are and how to deal with them, you don’t.”

“And what? We’re supposed to trust you?” Vinyl said, getting up in Surprise’s face, causing her to recoil.

“No... I don’t deserve trust... but I want to help... if you’ll let me,” Surprise said.

Vinyl looked to Twilight, and then to Rainbow Dash. None of them liked it, but they did see the benefit of the information that Surprise had.

“Fine,” Vinyl said. “But let’s get one thing straight here, you so much as even MOVE in a way I don’t like? You can consider yourself tied up and buried under two metres of dirt. Got it?”

Surprise nodded in affirmation.

“All right, all aboard!” Vinyl called out with a grin. They all climbed inside, Vinyl taking her place at the wheel, Surprise sitting to her left in the passenger seat, Twilight took the back and Rainbow Dash at the pintle mounted Sen Gun.

Vinyl Scratch started the scout car up and stamped down on the accelerator, the Scout Car zoomed off towards the southern end of Ponyville.

At exactly the worst possible time, the bubblegum pink earth pony with a blonde mane, Lily, walked around the corner and noticed the metal monstrosity that had previously almost run her over, and began screaming her head off. “The Horror! The Horror!”

“Get out of the road!” Vinyl Scratch screamed as she swerved around her.

Lily ran away from the scene, traumatised completely by what she had seen.

And just like that, they were off.

Chapter 1

Chronology notes:
Stop! You are reading the fifth story in the Bonds of Eternity Series.

The first story in the series is Family found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1307/

The second story in the series is Nihil Novi Sub Sole found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1444/

The third story in the series is Friends in High Places found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1716/

The fourth story in the series is Trust found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1973/

Domino Effect
Chapter 1

The sunlight shone brightly off the pair of dark sunglasses as their owner stepped into Ponyville proper. The well dressed earth pony smiled brightly at everyone he passed, he was an older sort of stallion. A true gentleman to boot, He passed a very lovely looking earth pony mare, bright pink with a blonde mane, who had been wearing a lily blossom in her mane, she had dropped in and being the gentleman that he was picked it up and gave it back to her.

Never mind the fact that the poor filly started screaming and ran away afterwards. He took the event in stride and continued to roll onwards.

The earth pony’s brown coat was starting to grey at the ends; his jet black mane however was still as sharp as ever. His flank bore a cutie mark of a microphone. He turned his head as he noticed a door to a building marked as the Ponyville Public Library swung open, and a particularly beautiful unicorn mare walked out, her off white coat glistening in the sunlight, contrasting with her electric blue mane. She too had her eyes covered by a pair of violet lensed goggles.

“You...” she said. “You’re Pips Domino!”

Pips grinned widely at her. “The King of Cool in the flesh!”

Vinyl Scratch’s mouth dropped wide open, she then her mouth turned into a smile as she let out a high pitch squeal of excitement. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it! You’re Pips Domino, and you’re right here! In front of me!”

Vinyl squealed loudly and practically tackled the stallion before her, grabbing his hoof and shaking it enthusiastically. “I’m Vinyl Scratch! I’m a huge fan!”

“I can tell!” Pips said with a grin.

“I have all your LPs and you know what? You’re how I got into music! When I was a filly I used to sing Blue Moon, Volare, and Fly me to the Moon on street corners and ponies would come all around to listen! And I’m making an arse of myself, aren’t I?” Vinyl asked.

“Just a little bit,” Pips said with a grin. “But you know what? That’s okay! Nice to know ponies this day and age still know who Pips Domino is. Can I make a request though?”

Vinyl Scratch gasped loudly and nodded her head in excitement.

“Can I have my hoof back?” Pips asked with a huge grin on his face.

Vinyl looked down and realised that she was still shaking the stallion’s hoof enthusiastically, her face turned bright red and she released it.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you Vinyl Scratch!” Pips Domino said. “You’ll have to excuse me, I’m old and I’ve been walking a while, I need to find a good place to settle in at.”

“Oh... uh,” Vinyl said. “About that, Ponyville is a small town that doesn’t get many visitors, especially none of your calibre. As such, there isn’t really any place to rent a room at. Most ponies stay with family when they come to visit...”

“Oh,” Pips said with disappointment ringing in his voice. He glanced around casually at the rest of the town. “That’s too bad, little town had quite the charm! I guess I’ll just be moving on then... shame, really.”

Pips Domino started trotting again, Vinyl took off after him.

“Wait! You could... stay with me!” Vinyl said grinning brightly at him. “That sounded weird... didn’t it, I mean. I’ve already come across as a celebrity stalker; I know what those are like... I’ve had them! But uh...”

Pips raised a hoof to shush her, smiling brightly at the young mare, his eyes twinkling at her from behind his sunglasses. “That’s very kind of you; I wouldn’t want to impose... though.”

“You wouldn’t be!” Vinyl cried out in a single breath. “I would be honoured if you would stay!”

“You’re not the type that takes no for an answer, are you Vinyl?” Pips asked with a grin.

“He he he... ah, no sir.” Vinyl said grinning cheekily. “Not really.”

“Ah, well then what’s the harm?” Pips Domino said with a grin. “Least I still got a fan!”

...

Twilight facehoofed hard when Vinyl told her what she had done. “Vinyl...” she groaned loudly in disapproval.

“I’m sorry!” Vinyl said quietly. “It’s not every day when your childhood idol walks into town and you open the door and find him standing RIGHT there! Don’t tell me you didn’t act the same way when you first met Princess Celestia!”

Vinyl Scratch had brought Pips Domino back to the Library and introduced him to Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Both of whom had dragged Vinyl Scratch into the kitchen upon hearing what she had done.

“And you would have done the same if it were Spitfire or Soarin’, Rainbow Dash, so don’t you start,” Vinyl said, pointing a hoof at the rainbow maned Pegasus.

“Well, she does have a point there...” Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle.

“Don’t encourage her,” Twilight snapped.

“Come on Twilight! What’s the harm? You and Rainbow Dash have your bed, there’s the other one upstairs, and I’ll sleep on the sofa! I’ve gotten rather attached to it. Please! Twilight! Childhood idol!”

Twilight let out a heavy sigh. “Fine.”

Vinyl practically tackled the lavender unicorn upon hearing her agree; she threw her forelegs around Twilight’s neck and began to hug the life out of her. “Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you! You won’t regret this! I promise!”

“You’re welcome... just... let me breath!” Twilight called out, gasping for air.

Vinyl grinned uneasily, releasing the unicorn mare and apologising for the excitement. She recomposed herself, stifling her desire to burst back into the main room and bombard her idol with love and admiration, she walked as casually as she could without trying too hard back out into the main room, where Pips Domino was sitting quietly on the Sofa, looking through a box of vinyl records.

“Uh...” Vinyl said, not sure where to go with her current line of thought. “Would you... uh... like some tea?”

“That sounds lovely,” Pips said with a grin.

Vinyl did the best that she could to keep herself from breaking down with excitement. She ducked her head back into the kitchen and practically ordered Twilight to put on a kettle, Twilight gave her a death stare as a result, prompting Vinyl to smile brightly and add a quick “please?” To which Twilight eventually obliged.

“You have... quite the collection of music here Vinyl Scratch. Everything from good ol’ me, to that modern techno-stuff,” Pips said.

“I’ve been told I’ve got... broad, yet refined tastes... just not if you ask my friend Octavia... she thinks I should be composing classical music,” Vinyl said. She added a nervous chuckle. “I’m not really a singer, I’m a DJ, most of those techno LPs are stuff I’ve done.”

Pips Domino didn’t respond, but instead gave her a bright grin.

“You... uh... You think I’m crazy, don’t you?” Vinyl asked nervously, and preparing herself for her idol’s opinion of her.

“Oh yeah,” Pips said with a grin. “But that’s okay; I am too, because you know what? The public wouldn’t like us if we sane.”

“Yeah!” Vinyl said, agreeing blindly, she becoming flustered in the presence of her idol. Pips Domino clearly was amused by it.

“Vinyl, Vinyl! You really need to relax! I’m just like any other pony you’ve met in your life! Really. You’re going to have a heart attack if you keep this up,” Pips said with a grin. “Relax!”

“I... sorry, I... I just... have wanted to meet you my entire life!” Vinyl said. “Now you’re here! I... I really need to back off the creepy stalker thing, don’t I?”

“It’s probably a good idea,” Pips said with a grin. “Just as long as I don’t wake up to you watching me while I sleep. That’s freakin’ creepy.”

“Yeah... I know, I’ve... uh, had one of my fans do that to me,” Vinyl said with a chuckle.

Pips Domino merely gave her a grin. “Well, I thank you for your hospitality, if you don’t mind, this old stallion is going to turn in. I had a long walk to get here, well I’m tired. Good night Vinyl Scratch.”

“Goodnight Mister Domino!” Vinyl said in a single breath.

“Call me Pips!” he said as he rose and trotted up the stairs.

“Goodnight... Pips!” Vinyl said smiling widely at him.

Vinyl listened as Pips Domino began to sing as he trotted upstairs. “Blue Moon! Now I’m no longer alone! Without a dream in my heart! Without a love of my own!”

He still had it.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The party tapered off around one in the morning, the town’s folk piling out one by one until it was just Twilight, Vinyl, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Pips Domino. Spike and Dinky had gone back to the Library several hours ago; they were both still young and needed their rest.

“Great party Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing a hoof through Pinkie’s mane. “Just like always.”

“Aww I can’t take credit Dashie! It was a hit thanks to Pips!” Pinkie called out, offering a smile at the guest of honour.

“What can I say? I haven’t had an audience in years. I didn’t think anypony still wanted to hear that old stuff,” Pips said with a grin.

“Come on!” Pinkie Pie said. “Everypony knows that just because something’s old doesn’t mean you throw it away!”

Pips Domino gave her a polite grin.

“Do you want us to help clean up, Pinkie?” Twilight asked.

“No! That’s okay! I got it!” Pinkie Pie said with a bright smile.

The group turned to leave. When Pips stopped and turned back. “You go on ahead, I’ll catch up, I want to talk to Pinkie Pie about possibly have more shows here!” He said with a grin.

The group departed, leaving Pips Domino and Pinkie Pie alone.

“You like her, don’t you?” Pips asked. “Twilight Sparkle?”

“I...!” Pinkie Pie called out, being caught off guard by the question. “”What... no! I mean... well... is it that obvious?” She said, her ears beginning to droop. “Yeah... but... she’s with Rainbow Dash now, I mean... I’m happy for them and all! I really am! I just...”

“Don’t worry, it’s not too obvious,” Pips said with a grin. “I’m just good with stuff like that. I’ve got a small confession to make. I don’t want to talk to you about doing more shows.”

“Oh?” Pinkie Pie said; she gave him a quizzical look. “What did you want to talk about then?”

Pips smiled and removed his sunglasses. Pinkie Pie gasped. His eyes... they weren’t blue.

“Self preservation,” Pips Domino said. His eyes... they were blood red. Pips reared up and kicked Pinkie Pie hard in the face, sending her flying backwards into the wall.

“See? Here’s the thing, a long time ago... you could almost call it, another life... I used to get these strange dreams! Dreams promising me of great reward should I accept the offer presented to me, promising endless pain should I refuse, naturally I accepted the offer that I was given. I became a slave to him.” Pips said, standing over Pinkie Pie and looking down upon her. His red eyes glowing brightly in the darkness.

“Wha... what?” Pinkie Pie said she was horribly confused; a trickle of blood was rolling down her forehead.

“And then something happened... something changed. But then again, just recently I started having the dreams again. I began to remember things that didn’t happen. And that was when he visited. He looked different, he talked different, but it was him. He told me, ‘do one thing for us, and you shall be free.’ Naturally, he’s not the kind of boss that you say ‘no’ to.” Pips said.

“Wha... what did he want you to do?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Oh don’t you worry your pretty little head about that,” Pips said with a sneer. “It doesn’t concern you; doesn’t concern anypony in this town! Well... except the dumb clod they got to carry it! Let’s just say that it’ll all go out with a bang!”

“What... do you want with me!?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Because I’m not stupid! The boss man? He’s not just going to let me go! I get to continue on with my life? I doubt it, I’ve outlived my usefulness to him, and so he’ll get rid of me. All I’m interested in is saving my own skin... and that’s where you come in! See, you’re the key baby!” Pips said with a grin. “Remember that other life I told you about? Everypony and their grandmamma with a major stake in it were fighting over you! Or... more specifically, the knowledge that’s locked up in your brainpan. The knowledge that you’ve forgotten.”

Pinkie Pie began to shiver with fear. Pips Domino clearly had a plan for her, and she was scared beyond belief.

Pips looked at her and gave her an insincere smile. “Time to cash out.”

He raised his hooves and brought them down again on Pinkie Pie.

She knew no more.

...

Fluttershy awoke to sunlight shining through her windows. Something felt... off. She raised her head, and discovered that she had fallen asleep next to her visitor... and more importantly, that Surprise had latched onto her and was snuggling her in her sleep.

Fluttershy turned bright red, her wings extended. She needed out of this and she needed out right now. Fluttershy squirmed and wriggled as gently and easily as she could, the last thing she wanted to do was jerk around too sharply and wake Surprise up.

She was almost out when Surprise began to stir, and she adjusted her hold on her. She began to snuggle her tighter.

Fluttershy was stuck, there was no way out of this without waking Surprise up... and she simply didn’t want to go that route.

That’s okay... I can just lay here for a while... Fluttershy thought to herself. She noted that Surprise was... rather soft. Ideas began to run through the timid pegasi’s mind, but she just as quickly shoved them into the back corner of her mind. No no no Fluttershy! You can’t think like that! It isn’t proper!

Surprise began to stir again, her eyes opened and she raised her head off the pillow. She turned bright red and released Fluttershy promptly, looking completely mortified at what had happened.

Fluttershy turned and offered her a smile, causing Surprise to recoil away.

“Are... are you okay?” Fluttershy asked.

Surprise shook her head in the negative.

“Do you... need anything?” Fluttershy asked.

Surprise said nothing.

“Are you hungry?” Fluttershy asked.

Surprise said nothing.

“Thirsty?” Fluttershy asked.

Surprise said nothing.

Fluttershy was stumped; she was way out of her league here. She was going to need Twilight’s help for this, and she knew it.

“I... have to go into town for a bit, are you going to be okay here?” Fluttershy asked.

Surprise didn’t say anything, but then slowly nodded her head in affirmation. Fluttershy rose from the bed and trotted out of the room.

Surprise promptly buried herself back under the covers.

Fluttershy trotted into town, her stomach rumbled, and she realised that she was quite hungry, she had just passed Sugarcube corner and decided to stop in for a nice bran muffin. She pushed open the door to discover that the entire place was a huge mess. Pinkie Pie had clearly had a party... but it was odd, because Pinkie Pie always cleaned up right away after she threw a party.

“Um... hello? Is anypony here?” Fluttershy called out.

No answer.

Fluttershy thought of going up and making sure that Pinkie Pie was all right... but she decided against it. It was Saturday, Sugarcube corner opened late on Saturdays, which is why the cakes weren’t here. Pinkie Pie was probably just tired. Fluttershy didn’t want to wake her up for no reason.

Fluttershy backed out of Sugarcube corner and continued on about her way. Fluttershy walked down to the Library and knocked on the door.

The door opened to a reveal very sleepy looking Vinyl Scratch. Fluttershy almost gasped upon seeing her, she had never seen Vinyl without her goggles on.

“Hey!” Vinyl said sleepily, rubbing her eyes. “What’s up Fluttershy?”

“Oh! I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“Naw...” Vinyl said, adding a yawn. “Sorry! Pinkie Pie threw a party last night that lasted pretty late. Come in! Come in!”

Vinyl stepped aside and allowed Fluttershy entry. “So what’s up!?”

“Oh... I was hoping that Twilight could help me with something... I’ve kind of exhausted everything I know...” Fluttershy said. “I know it’s still kind of early but...”

Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle trotted down the stairs, yawning loudly as they reached the bottom.

“Oh! Hey Fluttershy! What’s going on? Is everything all right?” Twilight asked.

“No, well... I mean, yes... I mean...!” Fluttershy said. “Um... maybe it would be best if you took a look for yourself.”

Twilight nodded and the group donned their winter clothes and headed out into the cold. Vinyl had donned her goggles and saddlebags and they went off towards Fluttershy’s cottage.

Fluttershy pushed open the door and lead them upstairs.

“Do be gentile,” Fluttershy said as they stopped outside her room. “She’s very shy.”

“She?” Rainbow Dash asked as Fluttershy pushed open the door.

Surprise’s head shot up in shock as the group entered the room. Twilight and Vinyl’s mouths dropped wide open. Vinyl pushed them all out of the way and stormed up towards the bed, her saddlebags whipped open and before Surprise could even blink, Vinyl’s revolver was pressed against her temple.

Vinyl glared at the Pegasus before her, anger seething through her mind, “What... is this... thing... doing here?”