How I became Vinyl Scratch

Chapters

Ch. 1 - David
Ch. 2 - A new world, a life anew as Vinyl
Ch. 3 - A family without a son and a brother
Ch. 4 - Meeting Princess Celestia
Ch. 5 - The place between realities
Ch. 6 - Back to Earth
Ch. 7 - The "One"
Ch. 8 - Slipping memories
Ch. 9 - The past
Ch. 10 - Time's running out
Ch. 11 - All In or Nothing
Epilouge

Ch. 1 - David

Life as David sucked, probably the worst life I had ever. Whoever is reading this would argue that that is the only life I would ever have. Being mediocre at everything wasn’t exactly my life plan or my life’s joy; I would never be the President by being “ok” at it or get the job by doing “ok” at the interview. It seems that quite often luck is against me, as almost everything in my mediocre life. Oh boy, if I only knew the irony of what I just said back then.

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“Hey David wake up! You’re gonna be late for work!”

I knew the voice belonged to my mom but my body resisted my brain’s command of “WAKE THE FUCK UP IT’S YOUR MOM”. Nonetheless, with a bit of struggle & groans I finally got myself up.

“Honey are you up?”

“Yeah I am” I replied.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to get all the eye-boogers out before brushing my teeth. Once I accomplished that task, I sulked over to the restroom & squeezed the toothpaste tube and watched the white paste cover the head of the tooth brush. I sighed as I looked at myself, noticing how tired & defeated I looked. I forced a smile and the reflection did too, both of us saying “It’s gonna be a good day.” I put some water on my toothbrush & brushed my teeth and rinsed my mouth once I was done. I switched off the restroom’s light and walked over to my grim-looking closet. I opened the closet and grabbed my work clothes, changing as fast as I could. Once I was done I left my room, grabbing only my watch, phone and headphones and headed downstairs. I was then greeted by my family, whom were all at the dining table.

“Good morning honey, how are you?” my mom asked.

“Hey David! Good morning!” my little sister Maise said smiling.

“Good morning guys-I mean women. Hey Maise! I’m doing good mom.” I replied.

“Sit down honey and get some breakfast before you head out.”

I did and I took a seat next to my little sis, who was eating her cereal but playing with one of her toys as well.

“Whatcha got there Maise?” I asked her.

“Rainbow Dash hehe.” She replied, smiling broadly at me.

The toy was true to its name; it had rainbow colors on it and a very small cloud image with a rainbow lighting bolt.

“So it’s a he or she?”

“It’s a girl, like me. Duh!”

She giggled & I softly chuckled, smiling at how adorable she can be sometimes. I started eating my breakfast & to everyone’s surprise, I finished way before either of them did.

“Slow down next time honey, you scare me when you eat like the Flash.”

“Eh it’s okay mommy, I’m still alive aren’t I?”

My mom gave me a wry smile and nodded her head.

“”I guess you’re right. Well you should get going to work. I love you darling.”

I got up and walked over to where she was sitting and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“I love you too mommy. Have a great day! You too Maise, love you too!”

I gave both of them a hug and waived bye at them. Maise stuck out her tongue at me and I did the same at her & we both laughed at the same time. I said goodbye one more time before I opened the front door & left for work. As I was walking to work, I couldn't help thinking about how much I love my family. To me, my family means everything & they’re the reason I wake up every morning to fight the world. They’re the reason why I still work at my sucky job at Bargain Stop. I know that I won’t have a future working at a store like that which led me to go to college, which is hard because when I’m not working, I’m studying & learning. I struggle with both work & college but no matter what I always do my best because I know one day I’ll get a good career & I will be able to give my sister and mom everything they could ever want! I felt tears almost coming to my face as I thought about how proud my mom would be & how she would never worry about money ever again. However, I was sucked back from my thoughts to reality as I stopped in front of the eccentric store.

“One small step at a time, right?” I said to myself.

I took a deep breath, relaxed my shoulders & entered the store, clocking in for work and going on my register. My coworkers greeted me as they usually do; with a monotone completely void of emotion. I sighed & got on my station ready for the first customer, whom came pretty fast.

“Hi how are you doing? Did you find everything you needed today?” I said, with an almost cheerful tone.

As usual, the customer said yes & I checked them out as quickly as I could. The rest of the day was like this, nothing out of the ordinary. That is until around 1:11 pm when a man came into the store looking rather suspicious. All my life I have always been somewhat aware of my surroundings, I guess that could be attributed to all the zombie films I've watched over the years. This man however was looking around the store frantically, almost like he was “scoping” the layout of the store. At first I thought he might be lost or something but what made me think otherwise was the sweat forming on his brow, the nervous twitches of his hands & his frantic habit of pacing back and forth in thought. I looked around to see if anyone noticed this man’s strange behaviors but it seemed I was the only one. I looked back at where the man was but he was gone.

“What the hell?” I thought, thinking about if I had imagine the man.

My thoughts were interrupted by a deep voice speaking to me.

“Hey mister, where’s the bathrooms?”

I looked to my right and there he was; all jittery and nervous.

“Just go down aisle 2 and take a-“

But before I could finish, the man reached inside his jacked & pulled out a pistol. My heart started pounding rapidly as I stared down at the metallic fiend.

“Open the register & give me the money. I ain’t gonna ask again.”

I was terrified inside but managed to keep a calm appearance. I slowly rose up my hands to open the register & I took out the money slowly, praying that someone noticed. I looked back to see if anyone did but the man pressed the pistol to the temple of my head, discouraging me to do so. Eventually I got all the money from the register & held the wad of cash tightly like a dead man’s hand. I stared at him and he stared back at me for what seemed like forever until he made the first move for the money. He reached for it and tried to wrestle it out of my hand but failed to do so.

“Boy if you don’t give me the money, I will shoot ya!” he hollered.

But before he could pull his trigger, a man behind him grabbed him in a head lock & flung the pistol out of his hand. I saw where the gun landed & I ran for it however was grabbed from behind causing me to fall. I looked behind and the robber managed to get out of the head lock and made a run for the gun. I tripped him and the both of us kept hitting each other, trying to stop the other. However my efforts were futile; not only was the robber much bigger than me but he was stronger, resulting in him reaching the pistol first. He got up and so did I but he kept his distance from me this time, grabbing a child and holding a gun to the kid’s head.

“Look, you don’t want to do that-“

“Like I fucking care!?” he protested angrily.

He looked at all the customers with a face completely immersed in anger.

“You know I served this country. And for what? No job, no family, no nothing! All my friends died in Afghanistan for fucking nothing!” he screamed.

The store was completely quiet except for the child’s labored breathing. The robber shuffled his feet, keeping his most hateful stare on the store’s customers and employees and a strong grip on the child.

“Mommy!” the little boy uttered.

The robber stiffened his grip on the child, preventing the little boy from speaking out loud again. Flashes of my life ran through my mind as I ran towards the robber, my brain telling me no but my heart yes.

“No, stop. Stop!” the robber yelled, unable to stop me verbally.

The robber brought the pistol up in my direction, firing at me. I managed to avoid 2 shots but the 3rd and 4th ones hit me. My leg and chest exploded with pain as I hollered but I didn't slow down at all, grabbing his shooting arm and wrestling the gun out of his hand. My vision started becoming blurry because I was losing a lot of blood but I managed to train the gun at his head in time & I fired, his head rocking back and his grip on the child gone. The little boy quickly ran over to his mom, hugging her tightly as he watched me. I felt the strength in my legs starting to give out, forcing me to land on my knees. My hearing was also dimming, the screams of shock and surprise becoming more and more distant. The gun slipped out of my hand, its thud echoing in my ears.

“….Someone call….911!...Hurry!...He’s…losing a lot…of blood!”

My head started to dangle like a limp doll and my back started to slouch as well. This was it; I was about to die. I thought about Maise and my mom once again and I used all the strength I had left to say “I love you both so much”. I thought about the time when my mom took me to get ice cream for the first time, when my sister was born and all the times we spent together every day in the living room as a family. However all that was quickly fading away as my fight for life was ending. My limbs lost life and my body came crashing down in the pool of my own blood. The corners of my vision were pitch black as I struggled to breathe my last breath. Pretty soon the world started to fade and the only thing I could hear was my last breath before everything became pitch black and eventually, soundless.

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BEEP!

.............huh?....

BEEP!

What was that?

BEEP!

Is...that a sound?

I couldn't believe it but I was hearing something. Was I alive? As to confirm my suspicions, I could feel my eyes again and my body, although something felt off about it. I was scared to open my eyes but I reluctantly did so, becoming overwhelmed with vibrant colors. I was in a room although there was something off about how everything looked as I looked around slowly, my eyes slowly gaining vision. I noticed when I moved my head I felt weight on it shift, as if I had hair which I didn't really have. I brought up my hands to rub my eyes which were closed & I was surprised when two hard objects bounced against my closed eyes.

“Ow..what the hell-“ said a female’s voice.

I looked up immediately to see who just spoke, the weight on my head shifting again. I didn't see anyone & just shrugged off the voice. I brought my hands to my sides so I could get up from the bed I was in but for some reason I couldn't feel my fingers stretching out. In fact, I couldn't feel my fingers or toes at all. I panicked slightly, desperately trying to wiggle my digits but failed to do so. By this time my vision came back fully & I looked down at my hands to see what were wrong with them.

“AHHHHH!!!” a female’s voice shrieked.

My hands weren't my hands anymore, they were...well...hoofs, like those a horse has. I started panicking even more, hyperventilating as I looked at how white my limbs looked and almost fainted when I saw the rest of my small body. I even had a tail, which ran between my legs and had a vibrant electric blue and cyan color. It wasn't until then when my brain finally realized whose voice I heard earlier; it was mine’s. Not the deep voice I had before but a tomboyish, somewhat obnoxious female voice.

“Oh my…I’m…I’m a…chick?” I said to myself, not believing that female’s voice was mine.

I managed to get up from the bed and sat on the ledge, staring at my hoofs and dangling tail for several minutes before setting my…two hoofs on the ground. I barely just noticed I was naked except for the fur on my body and I also noticed that I truly was a female; my male genitalia was completely gone, in its place was a vagina. I stared at it in utmost unbelief before fully putting all my weight on my two hoofs. There was a mirror in the odd-looking room and I truly saw how dramatically shorter I was; I was the size of a small horse or pony. But what also got my attention was the cartoonish face staring back at me, completely flabbergasted and shocked. I couldn't believe the girl pony looking back at me; her eyes were lovely, a warm deep purple. I saw her eyes looking around as I noticed what looked like a horn on my forehead. I touched it and was shocked at how sensitive it was. I also noticed what looked like her hair & it was beautiful; a luxurious electric blue and fluorescent cyan styled in a cute manner, almost like a rocker chick’s hairdo, the same colors as my tail. I brought up my hoof to the reflection and the reflection did the same thing too. I squinted at the girl pony and she squinted back at me. I then made a goofy face sticking my tongue out in a goofy fashion and to my constant surprise, she did as well.

“Woah…This is crazy….I must be dreaming…” She- I mean I said to myself, still in disbelief of my own new voice.

I looked away from the mirror, almost losing balance as I struggled to find my new center of gravity.

“Where am I?” I uttered to myself, my voice lacking its former masculinity but embracing its new femininity.

I saw how cartoonish I looked but never noticed the room I was in did as well; I looked like I was in a children’s cartoon show. I kept blinking my eyes as if I would wake up from a dream but I never did. I..walked to the other side of the room towards the doorway and I was about to walk out before a voice stopped me.

“Hey where are you going silly? You just woke up! We have to make sure you’re ok!” a voice called out.

I looked over to the direction of the voice and I saw..a…pony…”walking” over to where I was. The pony had a green body with white hair and a tail and what looked like a tattoo of a medical cross on her left thigh. Her eyes were orange and she was wearing what appeared to be a nurse’s hat.

“Come back inside the room dear so I can see if you’re good to go. Ok?”

She looked up to me because she was on all fours while I was not. I nodded and she gestured for me to go back in and take a seat on the bed again. I did and she proceeded to exam me, not finding anything bad about my health.

“Well it seems like you’re one healthy mare. You’re good to go, Mrs?-“

She stopped talking as she looked at me for an answer. I hesitantly looked around, at the floor, at my hoofs and my body, noticing I had a tattoo like the nurse but of a double music note. That’s when I thought of my dad and how much he loved music, especially vinyl records.

“Vinyl-“I started.

I struggled to come up with a last name, still shocked that the nurse spoke my language. Nonetheless, I thought of my uncle who was a DJ and when he taught me about “scratching.”

“-Scratch” I finished, pleased with the name I managed to stutter.

“Vinyl Scratch? Wonderful name Mrs. Scratch. May I ask what your occupation is? It seems when you were found in the fields of Ponyville and you did not have any identifying marks so you’re not actually in our records.”

I thought about what she just said about me being found in the fields of “Ponyville” but I answered her question.

“A DJ…” I lied, thinking about my uncle.

She nodded her head and wrote down what I just said on paper using her mouth to write.

“So..you said I was found?” I asked her in a curious tone.

“Yes Mrs. Scratch, I believe a pony named Rainbow Dash found you.”

“Rainbow Dash?” I said with conviction, as if it was a name I knew.

That’s when it hit me; I did know that name because it was a name for one of my sister’s little pony dolls. I then finally realized where I actually was; I never had really watched My Little Pony when I was human but I was familiar with the show, thanks to my little sister Maise. I looked down at myself again and realized I was transformed into one of those ponies from the show, although I definitely wasn't one of the main characters like Rainbow Dash. The nurse looked at me and could notice the look of confusion in my ponified girl face.

“Yes Rainbow Dash. Do you know her? She’s a pegasus, I’m sure if you go down to the center of town you can find her and give her your thanks.”

“Ok” I said wryly, nodding my head.

“You look like you just discovered where you are. You do know you’re in Equestria right?”

Equestria, that’s what this place was called. Makes sense considering everyone and myself are ponies. I nodded my head at the nurse in response to her question & smiled at her, noticing that even my smile was different than my old one. The nurse smiled back at me and wal-I mean trotted over to the door.

“Alrighty then Mrs. Scratch, make sure to check out once you‘re ready in the lobby.”

I nodded again & she smiled once more, leaving the room rather quickly. I was once again alone in the room and decided to use it as an advantage because I was still getting accustomed to my new body. It was so unbelievable; the room, the pony nurse, hell even me! I mean deep inside I was still David & I could even recall most of my memories, even the one where I died. But on the outside I wasn’t David; I was Vinyl Scratch, a female pony who’s a DJ and apparently a unicorn. I looked down at my hoofs & I just couldn’t help feeling so lost and disconnected from reality. Not only that but I felt so tiny and fragile in this small body; I was no Goliath when I was human but I certainly wasn’t this small. Emotions that I normally don’t feel started surging, raging behind my eyes and throat as I felt tears forming. I thought about Maise and mom and how I would probably never see them again, causing me to finally let the tears flow. I wept & wept, my girly sobs engulfing the hospital room.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit!” I cried out softly.

At the moment I could only think about how I was trapped and especially at how misplaced I felt, being in a world of not only cartoons from a children’s show but also being a pony and a female one at that. I don’t know if I would ever get used to that; being called Mrs. instead of Mr., ma’am instead of sir and finally girlfriend instead of boyfriend. My sobs eventually began to die as I wiped the tears from my eyes, thinking about how my sexual preference had never changed. That’s when I truly realized at how remarkably lucky I was; I was really still myself inside, nothing had changed about that and I was blessed that I could still have memories of my family with me. I frowned at the fact that my family would only be just memories and nothing more. I missed them greatly but I knew my family would always be close to my heart; there was nothing that could change that. I gulped and got off the bed, checking the mirror to check if my eyes were still red. Fortunately my purple eyes were not & I stared at my new reflection once again. All I saw was a young mare with white fur and with such beautiful twinkling purple eyes, her hair softly draping down the sides of her neck & framing her small pony face. This was me; I was that somewhat terrified looking young pony who didn't know where she was. I swallowed and decided to practice walking on all fours, surprised at how quickly my body learned to walk that way as if I had done it my whole life. It just felt so weird to walk with what I thought were my hands but were now hoofs. I decided it was for the best if I walked on all fours & I left the hospital room, my hoofs softly clacking against the hard floor. I looked above me, my hair bouncing around as I read the signs which led me to the lobby. I slowly stopped once I got to the lobby, looking around and seeing many ponies like the nurse and I. I looked to my left & I saw the receptionist, who was wearing a nurse hat just like the nurse. I approached the counter trying to make a smile, softly burping to myself. I looked around to see if anyone noticed that I had burped but it appeared no one or should I say no pony did. I took a deep breath and I spoke out loud to the receptionist.

“Hi ma’am, I’m ready to checkout.”

The receptionist looked up from her busy paperwork and smiled at me.

“And your name is?”

“Umm...Vinyl..Scratch..”

Oh yes Mrs. Scratch. Nurse Rossi told me about you. Yes Mrs. Scratch you’re all set to go.”

I gave her my thanks and trotted towards the doors, which automatically opened. I was blasted with the sun’s rays as I stepped outside, my eyes squinting in an attempt to see my surroundings. At first I thought my eyes were lying to me but I kept blinking, the image of a town with wooden houses & dirt ground unfaltering. I raised one of my hoofs to shield my eyes so I could see better and I saw several ponies trotting by, all friendly and smiling and greeting each other. I looked to my right and saw a wooden post nearby, stating that the town square was there. I remembered what the nurse told me & I decided I should go over there not only in order to thank the pony who found me but to find out if she knew how I ended up here, being that I had died on Earth not too long ago. I then started trotting towards the town square, unaware of all the looks I was getting. I could tell from the looks of bewilderment that every pony in this town clearly didn't know me and knew I was a newcomer. Eventually I saw a cream yellow pony looking at me shyly & who had wings, like a pegasus. Her hair or rather mane is what you would call it, was pink and framed her face nicely. I noticed that she started to head in my direction, looking at the ground as if she was carefully planning each step. When she finally approached me, she started talking, looking at the ground.

“Hi…you look lost…..” the cream yellow pegasus quietly said.

“Oh hey…yeah I kinda am” I replied, smiling at the shy pegasus and chuckling somewhat nervously.

I wasn’t much different than this pegasus; for a long time I struggled with socializing and not being shy, even though I naturally was shy. However, I started getting somewhat better at talking to others, thanks to having a job that required it. The only thing is I wasn’t working right now; I was speaking to a pegasus, whom from the looks of it took a lot of courage to talk to me.

“I can..I can…h-help you…” the cream colored pegasus continued, stuttering slightly, her now visible cyan eyes looking upon me.

I gulped and nodded my head while shuffling my hoofs & speaking back to her.

“Umm yeah that would be great!” I replied eagerly.

She smiled nervously at me, her eyes unfaltering from my purple eyes. I stood there for probably a minute before I realized she was waiting for me to ask for what I needed help with.

“Oh right sorry heh..still trying to get used to being a-er I mean heh acquainted with…um…Ponyville. Do you know someon-I mean somepony named Rainbow Dash?”

“R-Rainbow Dash? Yeah, she’s m-my friend. She’s really nice. She found a pony the other day and helped that p-pony to a hospital.”

She took a good look at me, invoking a feeling of flattery from me as I felt my cheeks blushing slightly.

“You must be the pony she found. I’m s-sorry I didn’t recognize you.”

“Nah its ok I mean I wasn’t conscious so it’s all good heh. I wouldn’t remember you so no harm done.” I replied, lifting a hoof in order to scratch my head.

“O-ok. I’m Flu-Fluttershy, what’s y-your name?”

I thought about my old name but seeing how that wouldn't suit me anymore, I decided to go with the one I used in the hospital.

“Vinyl. Vinyl Scratch.”

“Vinyl? O-ok. Nice to m-meet you, V-Vinyl.”

“Nice to meet you too Fluttershy.” I replied in a pleasant tone.

We both smiled at each other for a while until she spoke again.

“S-so Rainbow D-Dash is in the town square. I can t-take you there if you’d l-like.”

“That would be awesome! Thank you!”

I smiled again at her while she turned around and beckoned for me to follow her. I did follow her and I noticed that she had a tattoo on her hind leg much like mine. In fact, almost every pony we came across had them, which naturally made me ask about them.

“Hey Fluttershy, I wanted to..uh..ask about these..tat-I mean marks on our legs.”

Fluttershy looked back at me to see where I was pointing. She looked back up to me and answered.

“C-Cutie marks. D-Don’t you remember getting y-yours?”

So that’s what they were called…Cutie marks. That was what the nurse had too & almost every other pony. However her answer led me to think that the cutie mark must’ve been a sign of adulthood, coming of age if you will. I thought about lying but I didn’t know what to say; my…cutie mark had combined eighth notes, like the ones I used to read and play when I was in band in middle & high school. I searched my memories, looking for an instance where I fell in love making music & I realized when that happened; the first time I played an actual song on a trumpet back in the middle school. Oh how it didn’t seem forever ago when I was in Mr. Kitchen’s class, completely unaware how music would shape my life.

“Umm yeah I do, what pony wouldn’t right? Pfft” I lied, sounding extremely nervous.

Fluttershy nodded her head and smiled softly at me, waiting for me to tell her how I did.

“Well back when I was a-“I started, looking for the appropriate word for a young female horse. Filly. That was it. Thank goodness I read a lot of books as a kid. I continued with what I was saying.

“-a filly I umm..played in band. It was my first year playing a trumpet and I was in Mr. Kitchen’s class. I remember how it was barely our second week and he decided we knew enough notes from the previous week to piece them together & play a song. So we all did, myself included and every other student. You know Fluttershy, when I brought up that trumpet to my lips & took a breath and blew, I was completely blown away at how amazing it felt to make...well music! Never before in my life had I actually made actual music & the warm feeling in my stomach and heart delighted me to continue. For sure that’s when I got my cute mark; you’ll never forget an experience so remarkable.”

I wasn’t lying all the way; it was true I did love band when I was in grade school & even went to my uncle to learn how to DJ a little after high school. I thought about how enthusiastic Mr. Kitchens was & how he strived to make sure we knew that band was the right decision for us. If only he was here so I could personally thank him for giving me such a wonderful memory. Then again, he probably wouldn’t recognize me anymore and would be completely unaware that the mare he saw before him was his former student.

“N-Nice story, you must l-like music a lot.” Fluttershy said in a quiet tone, interrupting my thoughts.

She smiled at me and kept trotting towards the town square, my hooves right behind hers. I gave her my thanks & the two of us eventually reached the town square. I immediately heard several ponies call out Fluttershy’s name and pretty soon, several of them headed over to her and me.

“Hey Fluttershy!” a tan pony whom was wearing a straw hat shouted out loud.

“Hey Fluttershy how are you?” another white pony said out loud.

“Hello Fluttershy!” a purple pony said out loud as well with a pink pony behind her saying the same thing. Eventually all the ponies came up to greet Fluttershy and myself as well. But before I could actually meet them, a certain excited voice rung out loud, yelling in delight.

“FLUTTERSHY!!!”

I looked up & so did all the other ponies, all of us looking at the blob of blue hurtling towards us from a distance. I knew who it was without actually seeing for sure; it was rainbow Dash & from the sounds o fit she sounded very excited to see Fluttershy. I was right because as soon as Rainbow Dash got close enough from the sky she landed in front of Fluttershy & immediately hugged her.

“Hey Rainbow D-Dash, nice to see you too.” Fluttershy chuckled softly.

Pretty soon Rainbow Dash was done with her hugging of Fluttershy and noticed I was there. She gave me a look of curiosity, as if she was looking at me for the first time but her look changed to that of remembrance.

“Woah…those are some really purple eyes! I like your eyes!” Rainbow Dash said to me, causing me to blush a little.

The other ponies backed up a little as Rainbow Dash came up to me, looking at my face and my body in its entirety. She squinted at me and trotted over to my side & looked at my cute mark. She then returned in front of me where my face was & spoke again.

“Yeah you’re definitely the mare I found yesterday.”

A sigh of relief escaped my body and I was happy that I finally found the mare who could at least give me a clue on how I ended up the way I did.

“So what’s your name?” she asked me, smirking at me.

I saw how intensely she was looking at my eyes as if she was trying to see who I was inside. If only she knew…

“I’m…Vinyl Scratch.”

“Oh cool nice name! I’m Rainbow Dash and I guess you already met Fluttershy.”

She flipped her mane as she looked over to Fluttershy and the rest of the ponies.

“Well this is Twilight Sparkle” she said, pointing at a purple unicorn. Twilight sparkle trotted up to me and smiled at me.

“Hi Vinyl, I’m Twilight Sparkle, or you can call me Twi. I noticed something strange about you and I think I know what it is. You’re not actually from Equestria are you?”

My eyes widened as Twilight Sparkle saw who I truly was inside.

“Yeah..I’m not from Equestria..” I said, noticing the looks of surprise from the other ponies present.

“Humans when they enter our world become…well ponies in order to be able to exist in this reality. However it depends with each and every human what their final form is. I can tell from how you are behaving and how you move that you were the opposite gender then what you are now.”

My cheeks became very rosy red as I got embarrassed at how the way the other ponies were looking at me. I hoped that no pony would notice but it seemed that was way too late now.

“Yeah I was…I was a male when I was human..it’s really weird being a..girl.” I choked, looking at the ground.

Twilight Sparkle gave me a look of reassurance and trotted up to me, giving me a hug which made me have such conflicting emotions, those of embarrassment and of relief. Dammit why am I so emotional!?

“It’s ok Vinyl, no matter what a pony’s origins are we welcome any and all ponies to Equestria!”

Right away the rest of the ponies all circled around me, each and every one of them giving me a hug of reassurance. They all collectively told me that I was welcome and that it would be ok and how they would help me adjust to my new life in Equestria.

“Thanks…it’s just all so new to me and I really appreciate it. I’m so lost but it’s great knowing you all are here.” I sniffled, smiling at all of them.

Twilight and the rest of the ponies smiled back at me, with Twilight beckoning for me to follow them.

“Come Vinyl, let me show you where you can stay where we can help you.”

I nodded and followed all the ponies towards the houses in the town, the sun starting to set in the background, casting it’s most glorious golden rays over the town.

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"So here we are. Welcome to Apple Farm. Make yerselves comfortable!" Applejack said to all of us.

Apple Farm really did live up to its name; the entrance itself was an orchard decorated with the reddest apples I have ever seen. White picket fences characteristic of farm life were present, bordering the entire vicinity of the farm itself. Behind us I could still see Ponyville and the distant clamoring of pony folk but this farm suggested that a whole new way of life was still preserved here with the rolling fields of trees and grass everywhere. I saw to my left what appeared to be barns; to be honest they weren't much different than the ones on Earth, save the fact that they were cartoonish in appearance. To my right I saw a small, quaint house with a sloped roof and tan in color. I figured out that was where we were going to stay at least.

"So, any of y'all hungry?" Applejack asked us.

The other ponies shook their head no but I couldn't because of the loud rumbling of my stomach.

"Well looks like we got a customer hehe" Applejack chuckled at me.

She caused me to smile and in return she smiled back at me. I turned to the other ponies and they smiled back at me, however Twilight Sparkle stepped forward to say something.

"Well Vinyl you can stay here for the night. We'll come back around in the morning to take you to Celestia. I know she'll be able to help you or at least guide you" she said to me personally with a nice dainty smile.

"O-ok" I stuttered, smiling back at the rest of the lot.

Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the ponies then turned around, trotting back to Ponyville.

"Oh shoot I forgot to say bye to them. Bye!" Applejack yelled right next to me.

We both then chuckled, attempting to yell bye at the now distant ponies. I looked over to Applejack and just smiled, having probably the first good time I have had yet in Equestria.

"Well darlin' let's head inside. I bets Granny's got somethin' cookin'."

I nodded and trailed right behind Applejack. As I did, I couldn't help but noticing how beautiful the farm really was; there were just tons of rolling hills all around the fields, littered with trees full of apples.

"This is a nice farm. Kinda reminds me of the ones I used to visit when I was a kid on Earth."

"Is that so? Well I reckon you'll like this one even more" Applejack boasted with her chest, earning a good chuckle from me.

We came up to the door of the house and opened it, immediately greeted by who I presumed as Granny.

"Oh Applejack honey who's this? Never mind that, I bets she's hungry right now!"

"Vinyl darlin' this is my Gran-gran, Granny Smith. She's the kindest, honest pony I know"

Granny Smith smiled at me, her hoof shaking from age as she extended it towards me.

"Nice to meet you Granny Smith. I'm Vinyl Scratch" I politely said, shaking her hoof and trying to sound as respectful as I could.

"Oh honey no need for that fancy Manehattan talk. You can just call me Gran-gran sweetie boo."

I smiled back at her, amazed at how parallel Equestria's country talk was to Earth's country talk. I thought about how similar Granny Smith was to my own Grandma but I was interrupted in my thoughts by a deep voice speaking behind me.

"Howdy gang"

I shifted my hooves to look behind me and saw a new pony, a red one in fact. I searched for the word for a male version of a horse in my mind until it came to me; he was a stallion.

"Hey big brother!" Applejack cheered out, trotting up to the red stallion and hugging him.

Applejack then turned to face me, speaking to me with such delight.

"This is my big brother Big Macintosh!"

"Eyup!" was all he said in response.

I trotted up to him and smiled at him, noticing he was significantly bigger than me because I had to look up to him.

"Hi I'm Vinyl Scratch"

"Eyup. Nice to meet ya'."

I chuckled slightly, sensing that he wasn't much of the talking type. He then just trotted over to the dining table and sat down, awaiting his dinner.

"C'mon Vinyl, let's sit down and get us some dinner!" Applejack excitedly said to me.

I nodded my head to her and followed her, sitting down right next to her. I could really feel the "homey" feel of the country as Applejack, Granny Smith and Big Macintosh all talked amongst each other, not at all shy with their Southern accents. Well to them it wouldn't be Southern; it was just considered probably country here in Equestria. Pretty soon Granny Smith finished preparing all the plates for everypony and served it to us with such love. It was soup and I started sipping it with such care, making sure I was not at all loud. However, the rest of the ponies were not at all quiet; they were rather loud and sipping the soup quickly.

"Mmmhmm, I done made this soup correctly!" Granny Smith said, sipping her soup hungrily

"Eyup!" Big Macintosh replied.

I smiled at them, smirking at the thought at how similar they were to my family in the South, especially my Grandma.

"Hey Vinyl how are you liking the soup? It's goooood isn't it?" Applejack asked me.

I nodded at Applejack, finishing the soup as fast as I used to on Earth. I wiped my mouth with a nearby napkin and waited patiently for the rest of them to finish, which did not take long at all.

"Ok looks like it's time for y'all to head to bed. Now go on, go to sleep!" Granny Smith said while smiling.

Big Macintosh nodded his head and headed out the door. All of us called out to Big Macintosh a good night and all he responded with was a "Eyup!". I looked over to Applejack as to where I would go to sleep and Applejack showed me where I could go.

"The couch in the living room. We can both sleep there if you would like. Well I mean not together you know just nearby.." She said, nervously chuckling as she stopped speaking.

"I know what you meant silly. It's all good, it's all good" I said back to her, smiling.

Her cheeks slowly became red by my response as we stared at each other for a while. However that was cut short as Granny Smith came in between us.

"Come here darlin's. Come here. Alrighty now, good night the both of you. I better not hear none of you'se makin' noise or playin' around m'kay?"

"Okay Gran-gran" Both Applejack and I said in unison like we were young fillies again.

"M'kay now, good night!"

"Good night!"

Granny Smith smiled at us and headed over to her room. Applejack and I headed to the living room and took places across from one another.

"Hey Vinyl." Applejack whispered to me.

"Yeah?" I whispered back, noticing the glint of her emerald eyes in the dark living room.

"I'm not that much different than you Vinyl. I had to find myself too when I was a young filly and I found out that was me being on this here farm. I guess for you it was being who you are now. I guess you were always meant to be Vinyl Scratch, you know?"

I couldn't really make out her expression in the dark but I could tell she was smiling sincerely at me based on how her voice sounded.

"Yeah, I guess you are right AJ" I smiled back, earning a chuckle or two from her from using her nickname.

"Good night then Vinyl, sweet dreams"

"Good night AJ, sweet dreams to you too"

I closed my eyes, blackness shifting around my closed eyes until I finally fell asleep for good.

Ch. 2 - A new world, a life anew as Vinyl

There I was standing in a open field, nothing but the stands of a stadium nearby and the distant football fields on my right and left sides. I knew where I was and I was shocked I was here again; Sumerton High School's football stadium and football field. I walked, not at all suprised that I wasn't a pony but me, David, my human feet crunching on the fake grass beneath me. I noticed it was night and the only light source were the flood lights hanging above the stadium's stands.

I knew that it was a dream because I was a pony not too long ago however in my dream I was convinced I was human again. That's when I started hearing music, the all too familiar sound of my highschool band playing behind me. I turned around and saw them, the same kids I played with when I was in high school except there was something strange about them. They all seemed to be almost absent-minded, as if they were all occupied with something bothering their minds. I walked closer to them to ask them what was going on but their music abruptly stopped once I did. Then one of the sousaphone players stepped forward and pointed behind me, shaking his arm until I looked to where he was pointing. I did, my gasps being the only sound in the field.

The sousaphone player was pointing at my family and by the looks of it they looked very sad. I saw how horrible my mom looked; her hair was matted and her eyes filled with tears. Maise was grabbing onto my mom's makeshift outfit, looking at me and sobbing everytime she did. I didn't know why they were crying at my apperance and I walked towards them, almost crying as well. I saw how terrified Maise was, as if a monster was coming after her. That's when I decided to look down and was completly taken in horror; I was a walking cadaver, blood everywhere and two large holes in my leg and chest. I raised up my hands and saw how lifeless they were; they were mangled and blueish-black, completely void of a healthy glow. My mom in her sobbing managed to shuffle her feet foward, grabbing her shirt to wipe tears and choked out a sentence.

"David, I'm so sorry for what happened to you.."

She couldn't speak anymore due to her crying so much and with Maise wailing as well. I tried to talk to them, to reassure them that it was ok and everything would be alright but all that came out was a rasp of breath, not even a voice. Hell I couldn't even cry because my body lacked the fluids to do it. I tried to walk towards them again but Maise fled in terror, my mom looking at me once more and chasing after her. I kept trying to walk but everytime I took a step, it became harder and harder until the point where I couldn't even walk and ended up falling on the dead grass. That's what the grass and I shared; we were both dead and forgotten. I looked to my side with what movement I had left due to my stiffening limbs and saw the marching band leaving quietly, staying in formation as the lights of the stadium went off one by one, shrouding me in a darkness all too familiar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Gaaah!"

I woke up gasping for breath, knocking over pillows on a couch I was sleeping in. It was still somewhat dark outside being really early in the morning but I could still see fairly well in the dim room and I rose up my limbs to see hooves attached to them. I had only been in Equestria for a day but that was definitely one of the worst nightmares I've had in Equestria or my life overall; seeing my family run away from me in terror. I knew I wasn't human anymore but it felt almost real in the dream, even if I was a dead body walking around.

I looked around the room, remembering who I was and where I was; I was in a pony's house and the house belonged to Applejack, one of the ponies who met me yesterday. I touched my forehead and wasn't surprised to find a horn there and I also ran my hoof down my mane, amazed at how smooth it was. I sluggishly got myself up, sitting upright in the couch and rubbing my eyes carefully. I yawned and heard the already familiar voice that belonged to me and for a while I just stood there, silently practicing with it. I got up from the couch, making sure to not make a lot of noise as I headed over to the bathroom. Once I did get to the bathroom, I flicked on the switch and was met by a white unicorn staring back at me with a tired look from the reflection in the mirror. However I forgot to close the restroom door and was shocked when a head popped in and talked to me.

"Hey Vinyl, you alright?"

"What the-" I said, jumping up in shock, still getting accustomed to my name.

I looked in the reflection and saw the owner of the house speaking to me.

"Oh hey Applejack. Yeah I'm alright, just had a nightmare is all."

Applejack's face became that of a understanding one and grimaced at me.

"It's ok darlin', happens to the best of us ponies."

She stepped into the doorway and gave me a reassuring hug, one that I really needed. She was so comforting and warm and made me feel much better as I sobbed a little in her caring embrace. We then stopped hugging each other and looked at each other, her emerald eyes staring into my vibrant purple eyes and her smile matching mine.

"Well get some sleep then Vinyl. I'll see ya' in the mornin'."

I nodded my head and went over to the living room, Applejack deciding to sleep right next to me to make sure I was ok. I thought it was incredibly sweet of her and the both of us attempted to fit on the couch but could only do so if we were extremely close to the other. I tried to make it not as awkward as possible but I noticed that Applejack's cheeks were red at my extreme proximity to her, suggesting that I wasn't intruding in anyway, which made me feel much better.

Pretty soon my eyelids started getting heavy and my thoughts drifting more and more, Applejack scooting closer to me and wrapping her arm around me and resting her soft face on mine. I smiled because I never felt this kind of affection before and was flattered that Applejack was so comfortable being next to me. Before I knew it, I fell asleep, my thoughts that of what was to happen in the morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Gooood morning!" yelled a rather excited voice.

I moved around slowly, groaning at the noise piercing my ear drums. I felt something move next to me and was almost surprised to find Applejack still there, whom opened her eyes and smiled at me.

"Hey Vinyl, good mornin'" she purred softly, smiling broadly.

She got up and so did I, my mane shifting and resting once I sat upright. I looked around Applejack's living room and saw the pink pony from yesterday, who seemed so bubbly and excited to see us. I noticed the other ponies were there as well, all of them looking at Applejack and I. My cheeks reddened quickly because I knew what all the ponies were thinking; maybe it was due to my slight pervertness? Nonetheless none of them said anything about it so that made me feel better. At least not right away.

"What happened with you two last night? Hehe" Rainbow Dash giggled after a brief moment of silence.

Applejack and I looked at each other as if the other had done the most shameful act in hu-I mean pony history.

"Umm..uh noth-" I began stuttering, interrupted by Twilight Sparkle speaking.

"This is good that you're learning to associate with other ponies this way. This means my theories on how you ended up here are correct!" Twilight Sparkle excitedly said, completely oblivious to the fact that no pony knew what she meant due to her lack of explaining what she was talking about.

All of us looked at the purple unicorn with such confusion because she just mentioned something as if she had said it out loud.

"Oh that's right sorry. Sometimes I just get so caught up in my thoughts I forget to say them out loud. Well Vinyl, as I was saying, I know how you ended up here in Equestria. More importantly I know why. Or at least my theories say so."

How I ended up here? A good question considering I had died but somehow I am living again, just not in my body but in a body of another, or maybe it really was my body but transformed. I looked up to Twilight Sparkle as she continued speaking.

"For a long time ponies have known about the existence of humans. However never before had any pony found a way to traverse into the human world or vice versa; it is something that has never been done before. Well at least until now. That's how I knew you weren't an actual pony from birth but a human converted into one. Not only were you a new pony but the first human ever in Equestrian history to enter our reality. This supports my theory that any and all matter that traverses into this reality must be converted into our material to exist and when it does, it always dosen't come out into its former state, therefore explaining how you are..well..the opposite sex. I could tell from your mannerisms and the way you articulate your words that your previous gender when you were human was male. Plus when you became converted into this world, you became a unicorn, most likely due to your heightened abilities with music, meaning when you were human you were deeply involved with music or had talent in it."

I opened my eyes rather wide, amazed at how she was able to tell all that about me.

"As for why you came here my theory is that you deeply needed help so the universe decided Celestia was who you needed to meet or in order to save your life or maybe both. I believe that everything happens for a reason and you lived for a reason and I think that reason was to enlighten us in the ways of human culture and to help Equestria see a whole new side of life never perceived before. As bearers of friendship and harmony, we are incapable of the suffering that is evident in other worlds but with your help, we may be able to assist other worlds and universes and help ourselves not be so naive in case disaster ever strikes us. So with that, we want to help you become part of us if you want to, Vinyl Scratch."

She smiled sincerely at me like she had did the day before and I smiled back. Right then and there I began my journey into accepting this new world and my new position in it, not scared at all what Equestria had in store with me. After all, I had never been scared of anything as a human so why would I as a pony?

"I would love too" I said back, embracing my new self when I said it and smiling bigger than I had ever before when I was human.

"Great! I know for sure Celestia would be excited to meet you!"

I nodded, and all of us gathered around the door and exited, Twilight Sparkle leading us to Celestia.

Ch. 3 - A family without a son and a brother

"Bye bye honey, have a good day!"

Sandra smiled at her son David as he left the house, still chuckling at how her children made silly faces at each other. She looked over to her young daughter Maise and was met by such a pretty smile she could do nothing but smile back.

"Okay silly boo finish your breakfast!"

Sandra tickled Maise and Maise giggled with excitement, as the two played Maise's favoritie game, Mama Bear.

"Who's your Mama Bear? Rawr!"

"You mommy hehe!!!" Maise giggled.

Sandra picked up Maise and put her on her back and started walking on all fours like a bear. After a few minutes of playing, Sandra decided that it was time for Maise to go to school.

"Awh okay Mommy." Maise wined.

Sandra chuckled at Maise and told her to get her backpack.

"Okay Maise ready for school?"

"Yeah Mommy! I'm ready! Hehe!"

Sandra smiled and grabbed Maise's hand as the both of them walked to the car. Maise climbed into the backseat of the car and Sandra went in the driver's seat, starting the engine and going into drive. She looked up to the rear view mirror and saw Maise smiling back at her.

"Ready for your spelling quiz today?"

"Yes Mommy."

Sandra smirked and raised one eyebrow at her.

"Really now? Okay then, spell baseball."

Maise's eyes shifted around the car as she thought about the answer. Finally, her eyes went back to her mom and she cheerfully answered.

"B-a-s-e-b-a-l-l. Baseball!"

Sandra smiled at Maise and told her it was correct.

"Yayyyy! I'm gonna pass! Yayy!"

Sandra laughed and smiled at Maise again as she entered the parking lot of the school. She found a parking spot right in front of the school and parked, turning off the car and unbuckling her seat belt. She got off and went to the back, helping Maise out of the car and held her hand as the two of them walked towards Sumerton Elementary School. The school itself was old; built in the late 80s and despite lacking some of the more advanced building techniques, it was still a fairly well-constructed school, especially for its time. Sandra never realized it when she was young but the school itself was still beautiful; although the colors were a little faded, the school was covered in a assortment of colors, ranging from the colors of a rainbow to more. There were also decorations all over the side of the building made by artists of long ago; paintings of beautiful wild life and sculptures of famous writers or innovators littered around the entrance of the school. Sandra knew she made the right decision for her children when she had enrolled David at Sumerton Elementary and now Maise following the footsteps of her older brother.

"I'm so proud of my children. They're everything I could've ever wanted them to be" Sandra thought to herself, almost shedding a tear.

But Maise spoke aloud, interrupting Sandra's thoughts and reminding her that Maise had to go to school. Sandra nodded at Maise and hugged her, kissing her good bye on the forehead and telling Maise that she loved her deeply. Maise smiled and told her mom she loved her as well before she skipped off into the school, bouncing with joy. Sandra smiled at her child literally leaping into school with such joy and headed back to her car, her heels clacking on the hard cement floor of the parking lot. Once she got into the car, she turned on the radio, listening for traffic on her way to work as she left the school. Sandra knew that her brother would probably be on the radio in the morning and decicded to listen to her brother, DJ Remi.

"Goooood morning Sumerton! This is DJ Remi with your favorite music! But before we start, let's give a shout out to a couple of people. First, I wanted to congratulate my sis for getting that promotion! Way to go sis!" Her brother said on the radio with such enthusiasm.

Sandra smiled and blushed at the remark, honored that her brother would do that and surprised that he didn't let her know ahead of time. She continued listening to her brother's station and got onto the highway.

"Next I want to congratulate my nephew for finishing his second year at college. Way to go buddy! Pretty soon you'll have the job of your life and you're gonna love it as much as I do. Yeah boooy!!"

Sandra giggled at how silly her brother was being but continued listening regardless.

"Finally, I want to congratulate everyone in Sumerton for being the nicest folks alive. Y'all are some good people. Alright before we all get too touchy feely and stuff, let's listen to some tunes! Yeah!"

The radio then exploded with EDM music and Sandra lowered the volume of the radio at that point. She never really got into the kind of music her brother makes but occasionally did listen to it. After listening to her brother's music for several minutes, she finally got to work and somehow was able to find a parking spot quickly.

"Wow, what a day. This is a good day so far" Sandra said to herself.

She parked her car and got out, walking towards the office building and heading inside quickly. She looked at her watch to see the time and was surprised to see that she was early, something that rarely occurs.

"Good morning Mrs. Caballo, I presume you're ready to start on the orders as soon as possible?" her manager asked her as soon as she walked in.

Sandra nodded her head and headed over to her cubicle, ready to start her day. However, she was met by a bunch of people all clustered in front of her cubicle and party streamers.

"Congratulations on the promotion! Whhhhooooooo!" all of her co-workers cheered, making Sandra blush so hard.

Sandra smiled at her co-workers and told them thanks as her co-workers all addressed her with her new title, Assistant Manager. For a while the lot of them all ate Sandra's congratulatory cake and talked amongst each other but eventually they all went to their cubicles and started working.

"Can't believe they did that. Huh. That's sweet of them" Sandra thought to herself, smiling while doing so.

She started on her work, finishing a couple of orders and instructing the others on what to do. Eventually, midday came and Sandra's expected midday phone call came. However, she never expected this phone call at all.

"Hello, this is Sandra Caballo, how may I help you?" She greeted on the phone, smiling while typing an email to her manager and expecting the regional manager to speak.

"Hello Mrs. Caballo, this is Officer Layton from the Sumerton Police Department. We're calling you to inform you that your son, David, was fatally injured today." a female voice told Sandra.

Sandra was shocked and did not think what she heard is what she actually heard.

"Excuse me? Did you say my son was...fatally injured?"

"Yes ma'am, that is correct. Your son was involved with a robbery today at Bargain Stop and the perpetrator had shot him. However your son risked his life to save the life of a young child that the robber had taken in his possession at gun point and in the process, both your son and the robber were fatally wounded. We're sorry to have to inform you of this tragic incident but I would like you to know that your son's actions will not be forgotten. Because of his exceptional heroism and bravery, a young child is able to live his-"

"Yeah but what about my kid! What about my Davie!?" Sandra yelled into the phone.

The officer on the phone was silent, as well as the rest of the office.

"Just tell me and be truthful when you answer, is my Davie gonna live?"

The officer's apparent hesitiation could be heard on the phone and she was reluctant to answer but finally did.

"I'm sorry to tell you this but your son, David, was killed today at 1:15 pm. I'm so sorry about your loss ma'am and-"

"To hell you are pinche cabrona!" Sandra yelled.

She started crying in disbelief as all of her memories of David came flooding into her mind, from when he was a baby in her arms to him now. She whimpered and could not believe that her David was dead and in retaliation she threw the phone across the office and left the building, her co-workers following her and attempting to calm her down.

"Oh Señor, please don't let him go. He is such a great kid and it's not his time yet. Por favor Señor, let him live!" She begged God, her tears following down her face as she went over to her car. She got in and immediately took off, almost crashing into a car as she left the parking lot of her work. She got onto the highway and sped as fast as she could, her crying becoming more powerful and powerful by every passing minute. Eventually she got to Maise's school and went inside to pick her up, quickly signing the sign-in sheet and picking her up and heading back to the car.

"What's wrong Mommy? Mommy?" Maise innocently asked her mother.

Sandra said nothing as the two of them went into the car and headed over to Bargain Stop as quickly as possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A 2008 Acura curved into the parking lot of Bargain Stop, completely ignoring all the traffic cones and police tape that blocked the entrance. The doors swung open and two people came out of it, a young girl and an older woman with tears in her eyes. Officer Layton looked over to the two that were in front of her and without asking knew who they were.

"Over here Mrs. Caballo!" Officer Layton called out to her.

An officer walked up to the two and attempted to stop them but Officer Layton waived the officer off, telling that officer that it was okay.

"But it's against-"

"I know and I don't give a damn. It's the least we can do Mick" Officer Layton replied.

Officer Mick nodded his head and let Mrs. Caballo and her child enter the store. Almost immediately Mrs. Caballo fell down to her knees and wept, along with her daughter whom was also shedding tears. Officer Layton felt completely powerless as she looked upon a family severely damaged from one robber's petty greed. Even though she had seen this way too many times, Officer Layton knew how sensitive these situations could be and decided it was best for both the family and her officers to give the family some room. So with that, Officer Layton ordered the other officers to back up only to a observational range and to stay out of the family's way as they grieved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sandra wept and wept, knowing that no matter how many tears she let out, it would not bring her son back.

"Oh mi niño, mi niño.....mi osoito...my little Davie...." Sandra sobbed, her throat choking up.

Her heart felt completely ripped in two as she kept sobbing, her pain and agony unbearable as she witnessed her first born's lifeless body.

"You're so brave mi amor, just like your father...he died protecting this country and you...saving the life of a young child. I know that Dios will take care of you mi amor....He always will" she cried.

Maise kept crying too and hugged her mommy while Sandra hugged her back and kissed her on her forehead. Sandra looked down at her watch and cried, remembering when David had given it to her last year for her birthday. Her tears started building up on the watch's face, making the time blurred and distorted. But, a flash of white and blue reflected off of the tears on the watch and Sandra was shocked. She looked around with her tear-stained eyes and did not see anything that could make that reflection happen and could only think of one thing.

"David?" she whispered.

Ch. 4 - Meeting Princess Celestia

A group of ponies could be seen all trotting together in a street, all of them heading towards Canterlot and to Princess's castle. Ordinary pony folk looked upon the visitors to Canterlot and immediately recognized the mane six however were surprised of the new comer that was with them. That new comer was Vinyl Scratch and never before in her life did she feel so isolated and new. Applejack noticed Vinyl's cheeks becoming red from shyness and decided to reassure her.

"Hey boo, don't think of them as strangers. Think of them as new ponies you'll meet later" Applejack told her with a smile.

Vinyl smiled back and nodded her head in acknowledgement and her cheeks lessened in their red hue. But deep inside Vinyl was still nervous about everything, especially about meeting Celestia. She was about to say something to Twilight but cried out in pain and grabbed her head immediately.

"Oww! sss ow!" she yelped, holding her head in pain.

Vinyl flinched and closed her eyes tightly before she stopped trotting and fell down in pain. She rolled around while holding her head for a couple of seconds before she finally ceased, becoming as still as a rock. The mane six stopped trotting right away and tried to help her but Vinyl had already passed out in pain, completely knocked out from whatever it was causing her such intense pain.

"Vinyl? Vinyl!?" Applejack said with such concern to the unconscious Vinyl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hmmmmm my head.....oh man my head.....

That's all I could think of as I started coming to, slowly opening my eyes and slightly flinching at the pain. I could tell right away there was someone on my right and whomever it was definitely cared about me because I could literally feel it radiating from who ever it was. Of course, my initial reaction was as general as anyone else's.

"Mommy?" I quietly called out to the person on my right.

I couldn't quite see whoever it was clearly but I could tell he or she was smiling back at me and softly laughing.

"If you would like to think of me as so." the person replied to me, continuing to smile at me.

That's when I finally realized that whoever that was was not a person but a pony, very pretty and had white fur just like me. I opened my eyes even more as I started realizing who it really was.

"Wait aren't you-"

"Celestia? Why yes I am Celestia, Princess of the Sun."

I gulped, surprised that I knew that she was important, almost like the President. I immediately felt rude for not introducing myself and using my manners.

"I'm sorry I forgot my manners. I'm -"

"I know who you are. A very special pony and we are honored to have you here in Equestria, Vinyl Scratch." Celestia interrupted, bowing her head at me after finishing and smiling.

I laughed nervously and smiled back and I could tell she knew my apparent hesitation.

"So umm how did you know that? I mean besides Twilight telling you."

"Well Vinyl, I know who you actually are. Before you became the pony you are now. See for a long time I have observed you ever since you were little and I knew from early on in your life you were the "one"" Celestia said, pausing after she said the last part.

"Wait umm what do you mean the "one"? I'm a little confused about that part." I nervously laughed, almost hiccuping and shaking from anxiety.

"Vinyl, you are perhaps the most noble and brave human being I have ever seen and I know for certain that Equestria could use a great being such as yourself."

I didn't know how to take that compliment so the best reaction I thought that was appropriate was looking down at the floor while my cheeks became rosy. However that was short-lived as she continued.

"I knew when you were going to die the day you did and I acted fast to save your spirit although I was unable to save your mortal body. I helped guide your spirit to Equestria where your spirit took physical form although due to crossing over the realities and compatibility issues, your spirit was converted to your present form, a mare."

I slowly raised my head up and my cheeks quickly lost their hue of red.

"I'm sorry, you said you knew I was going to die?" I said, my voice wavering.

Celestia stopped smiling and said nothing as she continued looking at me, slightly lowering her head in shame. My face started to transform into a face of anger as I let my anger consume me, an unhealthy trait from my human side. I could feel my head become hot as my anger boiled within me, causing me to shake in the bed I was lying in.

"So you watched me try to commit suicide all those years ago? I mean not just once but TWICE? And you did nothing? I freakin' yelled, screamed and hollered for help yet you just watched me struggle. The countless seconds, minutes, hours and days I spent in that dark time of my life thinking I was all alone shedding tears of rivers and oceans, yet you were there, just watching from the freakin' sidelines like a helpless cheerleader. I really thought I was alone Celestia and that no one loved me or would help me. I think you got some sick satisfaction from watching the rope snap on me twice didn't you? Do you know how helpless I felt, and how horrible I felt when the freakin' rope snapped on me twice!? I felt like nothing would ever work for me Celestia, even killing myself. But oh wait that's right you knew when I was going to die. You freakin' knew my attempted suicides weren't going to work yet you didn't at least try to dissuade me and make me feel better. No just let me suffer why don't you! JUST LET ME SUFFER WHY DON'T YOU!! But when I finally die, that's when you decide to step in. That's when you decide to "save" me! From what Celestia? From myself!?" I yelled angrily at Celestia, my voice shrilling and almost 4 octaves higher than what I was used to.

I huffed and puffed from all the air I used to scream, slowly lowering my hoofs that I had raised while screaming to my sides. I took a deep breath and swallowed, taking several minutes to calm down and then looked back at Celestia. Celestia returned her gaze back to me and all I could see was a single tear falling down her face, landing on my bed.

"Vinyl, you are such an important pony, don't ever think you are ever any less." was all she managed to say after my shout at her.

I felt bad about screaming at her and I almost cried, because when I get mad, I hurt not only those around me but myself as well. However Celestia got closer to the bed and she raised one hoof on my mane, slowly combing my mane with her hoof, almost just like how my mom used to run her hand through my hair when I was hurt. I started whimpering as I started remembering my family again, and tears flowed from my eyes as I quietly cried.

"What's wrong Vinyl?" Celestia sincerely asked me.

I looked over to her and sniffled, my lips quivering as I thought about what I was going to say.

"Even though I've never felt more happier in my life being in Equestria, I have also never felt more sad. When I was human I had a family and I still love them greatly. Now that I'm here, I don't think I'll ever see them again" I sobbed, frowning with sadness.

I went on telling Celestia about Mommy and Maise, about how much I loved them and how truly essential they were to my life and how I would do anything for them. Celestia absorbed all of this in and started to tell me that I could see them one more last time but it would require great courage from me in order to do so.

"Why?" I hesitantly asked, not actually wanting to know the answer.

"Because you could become lost forever traversing between the realities. Not only could you possibly forget everything including your past name and life, you could literally become lost forever in an alternate dimension, forever wandering aimlessly until the end of time" Celestia said grimly.

I swallowed and thought about the only choice I had in seeing my family again and I decided it was worth the risk.

"Okay, I'll do it. I accept the risk Celestia. Anything to see my family again."

Celestia nodded and gave me a hug, wishing me luck.

"I'll be there for you Vinyl when you get there. It's going to be alright, I know you can do it" she said, smiling at me.

She carefully lowered me back on my bed, softly putting my head on a pillow. She gave me one quick smile before her horn glowed yellow and my eyelids became heavy, her last words telling me that I was entering a state of sleep in order to enter between the realities.

Ch. 5 - The place between realities

Cold....cold...oh it’s so cold right now.

That’s all I could think about as I came to in whatever place I was in and got up, shuffling my hooves as I looked around at my surroundings. “Between the realities” Celestia had said even though I didn’t even know what that actually was. Wherever this place is, I couldn’t see very well because the area I was in lacked light. However I noticed my horn started lighting up with a purple glow by its own and I was able to see a little better where I was at.

“Woah cool, I didn’t know I could do that” I thought to myself, smiling at my new found ability.

But before I could explore the place I was in a little more, a voice boomed overhead with such authority it caused me to recognize right away who it was and pause.

“Vinyl, the trip should be instantaneous but everypony’s interpretation of this trip is different and your mind will perceive it how it wants to. Right now to you time is not running the way it should and because of that, I will not be able to hear your response. I have great faith in you Vinyl that you can make this trip“ Celestia boomed overhead invisibly.

I nodded my head in acknowledgement despite what Celestia had said. I continued with my exploring, noticing that this place was old and huge; about the size of an aircraft hangar. As I looked around, I hit something on the floor with my hoof and I looked down, only to find an old sign saying auditorium.

“So an auditorium huh? Why would my brain make this place an auditorium and an old one at that.” I whispered to myself, noticing water vapors steaming from my breath due to the sheer coldness of the ancient auditorium.

This place is so dead and quiet; everything inside the auditorium is frozen in time, from the chairs that used to occupy people with shreds of popcorn still on the seats to the decaying posters displaying forgotten plays.

“What happened here? Why is this place so empty?” I shivered, a little scared about what the answer could be.

ROAAAMMMMMM!

I looked up to the loud sound and noticed the ceiling of the auditorium was shaking, along with the dust floating down from it.

“What’s happening to the ceiling?” I asked no pony in particular but myself.

Whatever the noise was it was becoming loud and deafening, flooding my ears with sounds of concrete ripping and metal twisting. As I continued watching, I noticed that darkness seeped into the auditorium, although there was something off about this darkness. It wasn’t the darkness that is seen when the lights are off. No, this darkness was something completely else, and I knew it was not kind in nature. However after examining the darkness for a while I noticed it wasn’t a blob of darkness but rather a bunch of swarming dark creatures which drew chills to my spine.

“Vinyl…Vinyl!” I could hear Celestia boom above me.

I continued listening for Celestia, hoping she would speak again.

“Vinyl whatever threat your mind has perceived, you cannot allow it to touch you or harm you because if it does, you won’t only forget everything, you will be lost forever in that dimension. Remember Vinyl you must-“

But before Celestia could finish, the insect-like sounds of the vile dark creatures drowned her out, swarming in huge waves into the auditorium, and coming directly for me. I was incredibly outnumbered; the dark creatures easily outnumbered me 25,000 to 1. Despite the odds, I stood there, not knowing what to do and scared yet standing my ground, unwavering in the face of fear. I wasn’t going to give up just yet and I was going to fight back, for my family, for Equestria. I closed my eyes and lowered my head, bracing myself for combat with the dark creatures. However instead of getting hit as I expected, I heard a loud sound, almost like a musical note. I looked up and saw that whatever that musical note was, it blasted away some of the creatures.

“Wait…did I do that?” I pondered to myself.

The musical note was powerful but not powerful enough; the dark horde recovered in its advance and decided to try to strike me again. I closed my eyes, and held my head at a angle towards the horde and thought of the loudest note I could think off. Almost immediately my head ringed with the noise of the note and I could see my horn was simmering in a purple glow.

“Haha awesome!” I thought to myself.

I grinned at the horde, sliding one hoof on the ground as I got ready to gallop. My heart started pumping as I started galloping towards the horde, the feeling of courage in me stronger than ever. I thought about my family, about my life and about happiness and in response, the music I created with my horn blasted holes in the horde, blinding the horde in music of joy.

“YEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, bursts of purple notes shooting from my horn blasting the dark horde away.

As I continued galloping, I saw what looked like the auditorium doors opening and in the entrance, I saw a spectacular white light.

“Earth.” I thought to myself.

With great determination, I pushed myself and galloped harder and harder, speeding towards the open doors. I noticed my music was starting to take the form of fireworks, the wonderful fireworks exploding above me with beautiful display and shattering the dark horde into pieces. Eventually the way to the doors was clear and I headed straight into it, bathed immediately in beautiful, incandescent white light.

Ch. 6 - Back to Earth

"...Woah...oh man...woah.."

My eyes were still blinded by the brightness of the white light as I stumbled onto the floor of someplace. The floor was cold and wet, and felt very hard, like concrete. I couldn't know for sure because my eyes were still closed as I stumbled around, taking my breaths slowly and carefully. After a minute or two I started catching my breath and the flashes of green and blue running around in my eyes ceased, allowing me to finally open them and see clearly.

"I'm..I'm really back.." I whispered to myself in awe, and noticing that I was still a pony despite what Twilight Sparkle had said.

I just stood there, looking around the area I was in. It appeared to be the backside of an abandoned building and was accompanied by litter and trash bins scattered everywhere. I trotted around in the area, and saw a road that leaded out of the back lot. I then decided to look up and see what time it was and I saw that the sun was barely even up yet; it was still early dawn, the sun's rays starting to penetrate the wispy white clouds. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, smelling the fresh dew in the air and starting to feel the humidity in the air.

"Wow...this is soo unreal.." I spoke softly while smiling.

I felt the calm, cool winds of Earth blow through my mane, evoking a strange feeling I've never felt before in my life.

"Amazing...so beautiful and wonderful!" I whispered again.

I started trotting again and followed the road out of the back lot, my hooves splashing in a occasional puddle every now and then. As I felt the water splash up my limbs and sides, I started realizing where I truly was. Everything was so familiar, even the abandoned building nearby and I was surprised I did not notice it earlier.

"Sumerton...Never thought I would be here again.." I thought to myself.

To confirm my thoughts, I came across a dirty newspaper on the ground and noticed on the headline it read "SUMERTON MORN-I--G NEW---P-R, DEC --, 2014." December? Was I gone that long?? I stared at disbelief at the rain-stained newspaper, and attempted to scruff off the grime on the newspaper in hopes that I misread it but in the process I just ripped the newspaper even more.

"B-but that's not possible! I couldn't have been gone 2 months! I've only been gone...." I started, pausing as I realized what really happened.

Celestia had mentioned that time might be different or viewed differently but she never said that time on Earth and time on Equestria could be dramatically different. I just stood there attempting to comprehend that I just literally time-traveled, because two months went by in 2 days for me. But I decided that I needed to move on and find my family. I then continued my way on the road and came across the main street that ran through the entire neighborhood.. I looked up at the stop sign that I was nearby and saw that the street sign read "Lucky St.", the street where my mom lived on.

"Huh..I guess that street is lucky after all" I quietly said to myself while smirking.

However I heard footsteps running in the distance and I grew slightly scared, because I was still a pony and not a human and that someone might see me and freak out. I looked around for the footsteps and found them; they belonged to a jogger who was across the street, who appeared to be completely focused on jogging and nothing else as he jogged with his dog who was right behind him. I just watched them in silence from across the street, amazed at how oblivious they were to my presence. I shrugged it off and continued trotting down Lucky Street and within a couple of minutes I came across my old home. I just paused for what seemed like the longest time as I stared at the house, noticing how beautiful it looked now with the numerous Christmas decorations and lights. I just stood there as I hesitated about knocking on the door but after talking to myself for a good five minutes and trotting around in circles, I finally made the decision to go up to the door and knock. I took a deep breath and walked up the steps, heading towards the door and knocking on it with my hoof as quietly as I could. There was no answer and I was afraid that I might have gone to the wrong house but I saw movement in the corner of my eye and I looked over to it, only to meet the eyes of a young child peeking behind the blinds. Almost right away the blinds closed and the little eyes disappeared behind the blinds. I thought about leaving but my mind was quickly changed as I heard the familiar sounds of the door unlocking and the slow creak of the door opening.

"M-maise?" I softly cried out, tears almost rolling out of my eyes as I looked at my little sister standing in the doorway.

However Maise just rushed up to me and hugged me tightly, calling me "Pony" and "Pony" over and over again. This is when I realized that Maise didn't recognize me and the truth hit me hard. Why would she? I was a female pony now, and not her former brother David on the outside anymore.

"Haha pony! Poonnnyy!!" Maise giggled with such excitement.

Maise was so happy to see me, even if I wasn't me on the outside and I smiled, glad that she was able to still be happy. I then asked her if her mom was awake and Maise shook her head no. As much as I wanted to reveal who I truly was, I decided against it because of her happy appearance. I then decided to just be who I have been in Equestria; Vinyl Scratch and I went with that name when she asked me my name.

"Can I come in?" I asked Maise, who excitedly let me into the house.

The cold air outside was replaced by the warm inside of my mom's house and I smiled, smelling the familiar lavender candles my mom loves so much. I looked to my right by the coat hangars and I almost choked up as I saw pictures of my former self virtually untouched, as well as my shoes by the door. I held it in as I continued trotting into the house and went into the living room, seeing that the Christmas tree was already put up with such beauty and precision. Underneath the tree was a present with my old name on it, causing me to sit down and just stare at the present and tree for a while. I didn't realize it right away but Maise was staring at me, her mouth open in awe as she started realizing who I really was.

"Vinyl...are you..really David?" She innocently asked me.

I turned around and was shocked that she asked me and was about to answer before I heard footsteps coming down the steps.

"Maise honey, is that you? Are you awake already?" a soft voice called out.

My heart thundered as my breathing rapidly increased because in no way was I ready to confront my mom again. I was unprepared and scared that my own mother would not recognize me and would see me as an "alien". Her steps slowly got louder and louder as she descended down the stairs until I heard her feet landing on the floor and shuffling over to the living room. I held my breath as my mom entered the living room, and I expected her to freak out and yell at me. But instead of freaking out my mom just stood there, just as quiet as me and not saying a word. She broke the silence by walking over to me, dropping to her knees and hugging me tightly, sobbing into my mane.

"It's me mom, it's Davie" I softly cried, tears starting to form at my eyes.

"I know it's you..oh my Davie.." my mom sobbed into my mane, softly running her hand over my mane.

"B-but how do you know it's really me?" I asked, a tear flowing down my face.

"Your eyes my darling child. Your eyes are still the same; they still have the same twinkle in them from the day you were born. A mother never forgets her child, no matter how different the child might look." my mom cried, holding my head with such grace and softly running her hands over the side of my cheeks.

My lips quivered as we look upon each other, tears in our eyes. That's when she asked me the question I was expecting.

"But how were you able to come back Davie?" My mom asked me, curiosity in her eyes.

I took a deep breath because I knew it was going to be a long story. I told them everything, from what happened in the robbery to my death and rebirth and all the ponies I met, including Celestia. Both my mother and sister looked at me with such interest as I recalled everything I experienced and how I've coped with it so far, including me coming back to Earth. I took another deep breath after I had finished, the both of them just completely taken away by the story I told them. However my mom was the first one to speak out of the two of them.

"Celestia? She's real? But I-" my mom began.

I looked at her with surprise that she knew that name or recognized it and I waited for her to continue as she took a breath.

"-was so young...oh Davie...I thought Celestia was my imaginary friend...you see when I was a kid, other kids made fun of me for believing in such a silly imaginary friend and in believing that a world full of talking magical ponies existed." she continued, taking a slight pause.

Maise and I sat next to one another, both of us paying attention to our mother's recounting.

"Yes...Celestia...she was probably one of the only friends I had growing up. She was always there and would talk with me, both in sadness and in joy. She really helped me make important decisions but before I was a teen, she disappeared. At first I felt so lost without her but my parents told me she wasn't real and dismissed her as just only being "imaginary". I was then forced to grow up in my pre-teens due to my parents both losing their job as times got hard and to make matters worse, my father, your grandfather, died when I was young. I never forgot Celestia though and how positive she was to me in my life. When I was still young, I made a drawing of her before I started forgetting what she looked like and I have kept it all these years, in hopes that I would see her again."

My mom then got up and went up the stairs, coming back down with a piece of paper in her hand.

"Is this what Celestia looks like?" my mom asked me, smiling at me.

Lo behold, it was Celestia and I was amazed my mom was able to draw her with such accuracy and precision.

"Woah Mommy how did you draw that? I mean not that you're a bad drawer but wow!" I said, sniffing my nose.

I then told my mom how that pony she drew is the one who had saved my spirit and made the trip back to Earth possible. My mom came up to me and combed her hand through my soft mane again, comforting the both of us.

"Heh..I guess I kinda know a little more about girls now..especially the emotional part from being one." I slightly joked, earning a chuckle from Maise and Mom.

My mom placed her hands under my jaw and slowly raised them up, cupping my face gently like she did earlier.

"David...I will always love you as my child. Even if you're my daughter now and a pony instead of a human. I will always love you my little Davie."

We both slightly teared up, our eyes becoming slightly red once again.

"Oh Davie, I can't call you David anymore. It doesn't suit you...have you made a new name for yourself?"

"Vinyl Scratch. Dad liked vinyl's and Uncle Remi is a DJ. That's how I got the name." I replied, smiling.

My mom smiled back at me and called me by my new name, Vinyl Scratch as she hugged me one more time while Maise snuggled in between us.

"I'm so glad that you're here and that you still remember everything. Will you be able to stay?" my mom asked me.

I didn't know what to say and I told her I was unsure if I could or not. My mom nodded her head and accepted the fact that this could be the last time I see them again. She then told Maise and I she wanted to initiate Christmas early, just for me. So then we all went to the kitchen to eat breakfast, and my mom took pictures of my sister and I as we were. Of course the nature of the pictures were silly, as Maise and I did our trademark sticking-out-our-tongues at one another. Eventually I gave Maise a piggy-back ride and she squealed with delight as I trotted around the living room with such glee. After playing for a while, we all got down and opened the presents underneath the Christmas tree and I realized I didn't have a gift for either of them, save the makeshift one I started working on before I had died.

"You being here is a present in itself. I couldn't ask for more hija." My mom said, smiling at me.

I smiled back and hugged both her and Maise but soon stopped as I received a message from Celestia.

"What is it Vinyl?" my mom asked me.

"Celestia. She's calling me back. I have to go." I replied, looking down at the floor in disappointment.

Maise begged for me not to go and my mom as well but I reassured them that I would be back soon. I didn't know how at the time but I had a feeling that I would be back, and not by myself next time. I then kissed them both on the cheek and embraced them, telling them I loved them very much and started sitting down on the floor and closing my eyes as I saw golden light start to emanate from me and pretty soon, nothing but blackness.

Ch. 7 - The "One"

It didn't seem like long that my eyes were closed because seemingly right after I felt myself leaving Earth, I heard the sound of trotting ponies nearby and I knew I was already back in Equestria. But why? I had thought that I had to go in the place between realities in order to travel but this time I didn't. I opened my eyes and I found myself back in Celestia's castle, in what appeared to be the grand hall of sorts. I looked around, as I didn't have the luxury to see it earlier before I had passed out and was amazed by the beauty of it all; the walls were splendid and the guards as royal as can be. I slowly got up from my sitting position to a standing one and trotted around, looking for either Celestia or another pony I recognized. Almost right away I came across Celestia, who was busy instructing a guard to put away something.

"Hey Vinyl, how was your journey?" Celestia told me.

"Hey Celestia..so why did you call me out from my family? What's so important that you had to interrupt probably my only time meeting them again."

Celestia blatantly looked at me and responded as best as she could.

"Because dear, it is very important why I called you back. Vinyl I'm sure when you crossed between the realities you came across dark creatures of some sort correct?"

I nodded, raising my eyebrow as I continued wondering what was so important that had interrupted my time with my family.

"Those creatures are very evil and threaten the very existence of Equestria and of Earth as well however I wanted to tell you that you had almost destroyed them all but a few had survived, including their leader. These creatures will come back and they will seek the destruction of Equestria and will do anything to get rid of whatever is in the way and I'm afraid dear, you are the one who is stopping them right now."

"Wait so is that why I'm-"

"Precisely Vinyl, that is why you are the "One". Not only do you posses the ability to fight them, you can also travel in the realm they exist in freely, therefore you are able to stop them from plaguing not only Equestria but of Earth as well and any other dimension they choose to attack. You probably noticed this but the trip you made back here felt almost instantaneous right? That's because the creatures you had destroyed slowed their ability to reproduce and therefore you had weaken them, not giving you a reason to enter the place between realities."

I stood there, nodding my head in acknowledgement.

"Remember Vinyl you are free to travel between the realities if you wish but remember, the dark creatures will be back. That's why I think it is best that you get more accustomed to Equestria. Twilight has a theory that the power of the "one" stems not only from of the dimension of Earth but of Equestria as well and this can only be achieved by creating strong relationships in both realities, especially Equestria since you are still new here. So get out there Vinyl and meet more ponies!" Celestia said to me, smiling when she finished.

I nodded my head and chuckled, smiling at Celestia. She then led me out of the door of the castle and casted a spell of some sort on me once we were outside of the castle. Almost immediately I found myself back near Ponyville, and noticed what appeared to be a cafe of some sort in front of me.

"But wasn't I just-? Eh nevermind" I said to myself.

I trotted towards the cafe because I knew if I was going to meet new ponies at all, it was going to be at a social place such as the cafe. I trotted up to the door, opening it and was met by the friendly atmosphere that inhabited the cafe. I saw a stage at the far end of the cafe and noticed that all the ponies were all gathered around it, all of them listening to what seemed like poetry being recited onstage by a green pegasus. I found an empty stage somewhat close to the stage and decided to sit down, looking around at all the ponies who were there. However my eyes stopped at the line of ponies who were waiting to go on stage because I saw a grey mare in the line who looked shy and unsure of herself. For some reason there was something appealing about that grey mare; she knew how to keep herself looking sharp, from her combined mane to her perfectly tied bowtie. My eyes then drifted over to her cutie mark and I noticed it was a purple treble clef. I then started looking past the cutie mark and to her tail and slowly kept looking down from the tail....

"Wait...what am I doing? Oh no. Ohh nooo. I'm becoming attracted to female ponies, aren't I? I mean I know I'm a pony and my sexuality hasn't changed but this isn't possible...right?" I thought to myself.

I kept staring at the grey mare's flank and I felt my..region..starting to get very hot and moist.

"Umm...uhh..am I..am I getting..." I asked myself in my thoughts, knowing the answer to my own question.

However I dismissed these thoughts as I decided to go up to the line, surprised at how bold I'm being. I had never done something this bold before when I was human and I was excited for the first time in my life I had the courage to do it finally. I keep looking at the grey mare and saw that she was about 3 ponies away from me. Despite our distance, I attempted to call the grey mare but to no avail, she could not hear me. I had two decisions then; I could skip ponies or I could just wait. I decided that I should wait and talk to her after she went on stage and I as well. Pretty soon she went up on stage, and produced a cello I did not see earlier when she was in line. She then started playing it with such precision and obvious training and I admired her for it because it reminded me of when I was a young kid being trained to play properly in my band. She continued playing the instrument, not missing a cue and never too loud or too soft. I was amazed that she didn't not mess up at all, and that none of her notes were either flat or sharp.

"Ha awwh yeah" I thought to myself, bobbing my head in enjoyment and respect to the mare's music.

Pretty soon she wrapped up her song she had played and performed a small bow towards the cafe. The cafe responded with a customary applause which slightly infuriated me.

"Oh come on guys! She's pretty good! She deserves more than that!"

Immediately all the ponies in the cafe looked over to me and my cheeks slightly reddened from embarrassment. The grey mare did as well but I noticed that her cheeks were red as well from my comment. She then trotted off stage and into the crowd but not without looking over to me occasionally and shying away each and every time she did. I got so distracted at her being cute I didn't even realize I didn't have a plan and I desperately looked around, trying to find something I could do. Pretty soon the line in front of me starting dwindling down, from 2, to 1 to eventually 0 because I was next. I then noticed the pony that was currently on the stage was using a turntable and I decided what ever that pony used as a track, I would use it but mix it up with a little touch, a little "flair" if you will. I then decided to quickly look out to the crowd to see where the grey mare went and I found her right away; it was pretty easy too because she was the only one in the crowd staring at me. As soon as I had looked at her, she looked away shyly and I did the same. The stage director then called for the next pony and I went up there confidently, almost stumbling as I trotted up the stage's steps. Nonetheless, I made it up on stage in one piece and head over to the turntable, placing it in front of the microphone on the stage. I could feel the lights of the stage starting to heat my mane up as I stared out at the crowd, speaking into the mic.

"This one's called..umm...Spinin' Circles....yeahhhh...alright here we go."

However just as I finished saying that into the mic, I heard a faint chuckle coming from the crowd and I noticed it was the grey mare, who looked away from me as soon as I looked at her.

"She's cute..heh" I thought to myself.

I then started the impromtu song, mixing up the sound track the previous pony had to my fancy. Pretty soon I started gaining the whole attention of the cafe and at first I didn't know it it was good attention but I realized they were cheering me on and not booing me, causing me to smile in joy and continue the impromptu beat.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM"

"Pew da ra-pew da ra-pew da ra-pew da ra- pew da ra"

"Dunduna dundunadunadunadun dua adanda duna duananaduana dun duana dunadana"

"Bling bling bling beh-be-bling bling bling bling beh-be-bling bling bling bling beh-be-bling bling bling bling."

I raised up my hoofs, amazed that the impromptu song was slowly becoming one of the best beats I have ever made in my life.

"Awwwwh YEEAAAAAH!!" I almost yelled into the mic, starting to head bang, something I never did much and loving how awesome my voice sounded.

The cafe loved it and in response kept cheering me on as I continued the sick beat. Eventually I decided enough was enough and I wrapped up the awesome beat with lots of drums to conclude it. I bowed respectfully at the crowd and in return they yelled in glee, all of them screaming "YEAAAH!" I headed down the stage with a huge grin on my face, feeling amazing and super confident, causing me to trot over to the grey mare. I noticed she saw me heading towards her and in response she moved, as if she wanted to sit next to me.

"Haha alrighty" I thought to myself.

I trotted up to her and asked if I could sit there and she agreed that I could. I did and I smiled at her, which she did right back at me. She then spoke, and I quickly adored her accent.

"So what is your name, DJ." she asked me not only with a slight English accent but with a smirk as well.

"Vinyl. Vinyl Scratch" I said back at her, winking.

That wink was probably the boldest flirty thing I have ever done in my life yet it must've worked, because she told me her name.

"I'm Octavia Melody, a fellow musician such as yourself. I noticed you must have a taste for classical music besides this...electrical music you played from us based on your earlier remark. Do you think I did good though? I felt my entry was too strong and my notes were flat."

"No you were awesome Octavia! I mean you were spot on and didn't miss a single entry or cue. Your notes were also excellent; not once did I hear a flat or sharp note."

She smiled at the positive remark I gave her and in return she offered me lunch, which my stomach answered for me.

"I suppose you do need grub" she chuckled, looking towards my stomach as it growled.

I nodded and thanked her for offering me the lunch, which then came pretty fast. We sat and ate for what seemed like forever, talking about both of our short performances and how similar we were in likes, such as in music and what our interests were. Eventually I found myself spending nearly the entire day with her, and at one point she even offered for me to come over to her house. I couldn't refuse and I ended up spending the night with her. She then hinted at me that we could sleep in the same bed and even winked at me, suggesting something else. I started blushing extremely hard as I chuckled back at her, smiling and agreeing to do so. Before I knew it we were both in her room and I knew it was going to get pretty exciting pretty soon as both my heart started thundering and my region got extremely hot. But of course, I can't describe everything that happened because it happened all so fast and so romantically. Oh yes, oh so romantically. Before I knew it, both Octavia and I were panting from the rigorous lovemaking we did and we looked at each other, both our cheeks red from exhaustion.

"That was awesome...oh..soo awesome!"

"I agree Vinyl! Well good night then."

"Good night!"

I smiled at her and she did back at me, causing me to feel all warm inside. We both then fell asleep in each other's arms, cuddling each other with carefulness and what I started to believe was the beginning of a loving relationship.

Ch. 8 - Slipping memories

Greetings David...or should I say Vinyl Scratch...

Where am I? Who's that?

Oh you know who I am DAVID...david...David...DAVIDDD!

................................................................

DaVID! Where ARE YOU dAVID!?

YOU can't RUN AWAY AHAHAAA!!

I KNOW WHO YOU ARE...FAKE...FAKKKEE! FAKEY FAKEY FAKEY FAKEY!

Silence.

...little DAviE...where are you LITTLE DAVIE!?

No matter...I can draw you out AHAHAAAAAAAHAAH!

The Saseen are hungry Davie.....soooo hungrryyy....they need..something to conquerr...to feast upon...perhaps Equestria...and every delicious pony there, including you...DAviE...

no..no you won't..you can't...

DaVIE? DAVVIIIE!? is THat YOU? Oh goooooood DAVIE, I thought we wouldn't....meet..

..meet?

why yes davie, I am Safair, ruler of the Saseen...you have proven to be..quite difficult. No matter...your struggles are futile davie....I will destroy Octavia and every other pony as well as your fakey human family.....

Your fear will power me and I will continue to plague you with nightmares until I get into your head...oh WAIT..I have ALREADY!!

no..no No you won't. Not if I destroy the realm between realities.

How daVIE? How can YOU?

By forgetting ABOUT IT AND YOU!

WHAT? DAVIE! YOU CAN'T DO THAT DAVIE!! DAVVVIEEE!

I love you Mommy and Maise! UGGGGHHHHHH!

DAVIE!? dAVIE? THINK ABOUT IT DAVIE! NO! NOOOOO!!!

Silence

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"AHHHHHH! Oh, oh..oh man...woah...jeezz..my head hurts.."

I stirred in my bed, my eyes fluttering open as I looked over my shoulder.

"Vinyl?" I called out with concern in my voice.

My hoof was rested upon her flank and I moved my hoof up her back slowly in order to calm her because of her hyperventilating from whatever that had caused her so much panic.

"It's okay Vinyl, you're ok. I'm here for you." I purred to her, scooting over to her and hugging her gently.

She looked over her shoulder to me and rested her head upon my pillow, causing her body to turn around as a result to face me. Her beautiful eyes looked into mine and our faces drew closer to one another. Her eyelids lowered a little as she peered upon me with such lust, provoking me to come closer to her. She giggled and closed her eyes, anticipating my kiss on her mouth.

"Octavia...woah..heh.." she slightly moaned at me, exciting both of us to continue with one another.

I don't know what it is but there is something about Vinyl that draws me to be so attracted to her. I truly feel like she is the one I am looking for, because no other mare in Equestria makes me feel this way. I have always felt strange for being attracted to the same sex and I have lived in fear of rejection because of it. But there is something that Vinyl does and it causes me to be myself, Octavia Melody. It makes me forget the norm for a brief moment and makes me feel alive and righteously so. I have hidden underneath the uptight appearance that remains consistent with everypony but with Vinyl, I can be myself wholeheartedly and with no limit. I can really be the Octavia inside and it makes me so joyful that she is able to affect me this way. Maybe it is naive of me to think of her in this way. I know it to be foolish but I don't care; it seems the both of us know we were meant for each other.

"Let's kiss hehe" I giggled, placing my lips softly on hers.

She responded with a giggle of happiness and we lied in bed with one another for what seemed like an hour. However after our little make-out session, we decided to get breakfast in order to decide what we were going to do with the day. And so, we made our way to my living room to eat some grub, which consisted of waffles and syrup my favorite. I couldn't help giggling at Vinyl's erratic eating because no matter how hard she tried to eat formally in front of me, she just gobbled down her food.

"Mmmm...this is good" she said in a muffled voice due to the chewed up waffles in her mouth.

"Vinyl! That's so rude!" I chuckled, my nose crinkling up at her.

She chuckled back at me, finished chewing what was in her mouth and gulped.

"Sorry. Heh."

"Oh Vinyl it's ok. No harm done."

We smiled at one another and just kind of awkardly stared at each other. It was I who finally broke the silence between us two.

"So Vinyl, is there anything you have to do today?"

"Umm well...I guess not. I don't really have anything to do. I mean normally when I was-er I mean heh heh..hehhh....well...I can spend it with you." she nervously replied, looking to her left and back at me.

I raised an eyebrow and I could tell there was something the cute DJ wasn't telling me but I suppose it wasn't enough to warrant a full investigation from me.

"Hey umm Octavia do you have a nickname or something?"

I knew where this would lead to but I pretended that I didn't have a clue.

"No. Not that I'm aware of."

Vinyl looked at the ground in thought and then her eyes floated upwards back to me.

"How about Tavi? Short and simple and pretty cool!"

I thought about the nickname that Vinyl conceived of and did not find anything particularly vulgar or unacceptable about it.

"Tavi sounds great Vinyl! You may call me this if you wish Vinyl" I replied, smiling at the new nickname.

"Haha awesome. Tavi suits you sooo much better anyways!"

Vinyl nodded her head as if to agree with herself which caused me to chuckle at her silliness and at the same time notice her changing behavior. The night before I had, from what I gathered, known Vinyl to be slightly shy in nature and not so bold yet this morning, she was different. Even the spark in her eyes had changed from the warm, soft glow I saw last night to a more fiery, even darker light in her eyes. Nonetheless, I dismissed these thoughts as foolish observations and continued to speak with Vinyl.

"You know, you did an excellent job at the cafe. That performance was well planned and-"

"It was impromtu! That's the best part Tavi! Hah, I know I freakin' killed it!" She laughed, with a slightly condescending tone.

I replied to her but not without thought to how dramatically different she was behaving.

"Yes Vinyl you definitely "killed it". Well Vinyl I know you're a musician as well as I so I wanted to inquire you if you are able to help me at a social gathering in Ponyville. I could use the extra help most definitely" I said to her, poking her softly and looking away from her to eat my last waffle.

Heh, help with your wardrobe...

I immediately looked back to Vinyl and just found her smiling back at me. Perhaps a little too much.

"Umm..heh..yes I suppose the wardrobe could use some help as well..anyways, the gathering is pretty soon, a little after noon to be approximate. In the meantime we can just talk with one another if you would like and gather our instruments in preparation."

Then as if a snap had occurred, Vinyl's eyes regained their familiar warmth and she ceased to stop over-smiling, seemingly looking like she just barely realized where she was at.

"Vinyl?" I called out to her.

"Yeah Octavia? What's wrong? You're acting like you saw a ghost heh" she replied, smiling back at me in that familiar shy manner.

"Oh nothing. Nothing at all Vinyl. I just had..to make sure you knew what instruments you were going to get is all."

"Oh yeah right. Well I need a turntable but I'm sure there will be one there. I can take your cello if you would like."

"That would be fantastic Vinyl. You're such a dear" I repiled, smiling at the DJ.

I was now convinced there was something afflicting the DJ but the nature of what was the affliction I did not know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

vinyll...davieee...

I strained to maintain my eyes on Octavia who continued to smile back at me while I kept ignoring the distant whispers of Safair.

you can't ignore me foreverrr...you can't forget meee...

I will destroy everything you love...your memories...your body...everything davie...I'll start with your mind first ahahhhahaha....

BEEERRRRYEEEEPEEEEPEEP!

BEEEEEEERRYRRRRYRYRYRREEREREERP!

BEEEEERRRERRRYEEEE-

"Vinyl. Vinyl!"

My eyes rolled around as I struggled to find the voice that ended the harsh beeping in my ears.

"Vinyl? Are you okay? Viny!?"

"Mhhnndsfmasdjlk fahs" I mumbled incoherently.

"Vinyl, I'm going to get help okay? Vinyl I'-"

Help? What help daviie? You really think they can help you? Oh nooo davieee...they can't help you...hahaaa..

I opened my eyes, finding myself on the floor of Octavia's living room and spazzing out all over the floor. I yelped and cried for help, yet no words came out.

Try all you want daviee...no matter how hard you try..they can't save or help you...

"mmmm! MMMmmmHMM!" I attempted to yell, finding my mouth as shut as a nailed door.

I looked at Octavia and pleaded with my eyes for help but as soon as I did, my vision was blurred into a assortion of swirling colors as I continued to spazz out on the floor.

bahahahahahahaHAHA...you're just my toy now daviee..I CONTROL YOU..

Not if I destroy you forever!

What do you mean davie? There's nothing you can doo....ahahahhahaaa...

With all my might I fought to keep my head still enough to Octavia in order to speak.

"Get...Celestiaaa" I gritted through my teeth, my body convulsing under control momentarily.

I couldn't hold it for long but it was long enough; Octavia ran off to get Celestia as my body starting revolting on the floor, jumping up and spazzing with no control from me what-so-ever.

dAVIE? DAVIE? who do you THINK YOU ARE DAVIE!? ddaVVIIEEIEE!

I'm Vinyl Scratch bitch, and it's time for you to go!

huh? no no no No NO!! NO!! NONONONONONO!!!!

I couldn't see Celestia but I knew she already casted the spell on me based on Safair's reaction, immediately taking me to the place between realities. I shook my head, regaining control of my own body in the realm of Safair and headed towards the gateways to both Equestria and Earth. My horn lit up and I blasted away at the old wooden doors of the theater, destroying one of the gateways in a spectacular array of blue.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I smirked, heading to the other gateway which belonged to Earth.

don't you dare! DON'T YOU DARE!

Shut up bitch.

I lit up my horn once again, firing a huge blast at the old ceiling above me. The ceiling started to crack, pieces falling down to the ground as the entire building itself shook with it.

AAAAAHHHAHAHAHRAAWWGGAAAHH!

I ran towards the auditorium entrance doors, dodging the huge pieces of the ceiling falling down upon me.

VVVVVIIIINNNYLLLL!!!!!!! AAAHHAHAHRAAGAHAGHAHHGHARRAHAHHAH!

I galloped and galloped, jumping into the bath of light as I heard the dying screams of Safair and his realm behind me, disappearing forever.

Ch. 9 - The past

June 17, 2007

Korengal Valley, Afghanistan

Somewhere close to OP Restrepo

Gunnery Sergeant Caballo

Looks like I'm close to gettin' out of here. It's been tough here but doesn't seem that long ago when I first got here. I still think about life before when I first joined and I'm constantly reminded of my beautiful family through the beautiful mountains nearby. I miss the kids and Sandra. I would do anything to see them ag-

"Sergeant! Sergeant!"

Private Lockett appeared in the doorway of the living quarters, causing Gunnery Sergeant Caballo to be very confused at his sudden appearance.

"Yes?" Gunnery Sergeant Caballo asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"I spotted somethin' near Restrepo..looked like a missile or something."

"Missile?"

"Yes sir a missile. It looked like an RPG but there was something off about it. For starters it was blue. Also it seemingly came out of nowhere. I asked around to see if anyone spotted Taliban nearby but all of them reported negative."

"No prior enemy activity before this RPG shot?"

"Affirmative Gunny. It's been quiet all day except for this random RPG shot."

"And what were you doing when you sighted this soldier?"

"Out for observation and patrol sir. Save for the RPG, everything's been really quiet around Restrepo. I have a feeling this isn't the Taliban sir."

"Is that so? What do you think it is soldier?"

Private Lockett took a breath and spoke.

"Permission to speak freely?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I think it's not from this Earth" he finally said, gulping after doing so.

Gunnery Sergeant Caballo nodded his head, turned back to his letter and folded the paper up.

"Private, do you realize the assumption you are making?"

"Yes sir and I think we should take a look."

"Are you certain it is not Taliban? We can't afford any losses right now."

"Yes sir I'm certain it is not Taliban activity. I think we genuinely have an alien encounter."

Gunnery Sergeant Caballo grimmaced, looked down at his combat boots and back up to the Private.

"Okay Private, we can take a look in 5 minutes. Suit up and grab Corporal Michaels. I know he's gonna want to come for sure."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You said about 100 meters from here? Over that hill over there?" Gunnery Sergeant asked Private Lockett, pointing to a low hill.

Private Lockett nodded his head, continuing to point to the direction of where he saw the "missile".

"Hey Lockett, what did it look like?" Corporal Michaels asked him.

"It was blue. Whatever it was, it exploded like an RPG shot when it landed. Kinda looked like a firework."

"Heh cool. Wish I was there to see it when it did land. Dosen't matter now, we're about to see it!" Corporal Michaels excitedly said.

"Hey Michaels I need you to stay focused! I need you to be able to tell me whatever this missile could be. You're our specialist in this field and if anyone could tell us what the hell this thing is, it's you Corporal."

Corporal Michaels nodded his head at Gunnery Sergeant and raised his weapon.

"Sir yes sir!"

"Alright I need you to be focused too Private. Make sure you're ready for whatever happens."

"You got it Gunny!"

Private Lockett raised his assault rifle as well, protecting the Gunnery Sergeant's left flank while Corporal Michaels covered his right flank.

"50 meters out Gunny" Private Lockett reported.

Gunnery Sergeant Caballo brought up his own rifle, making sure the safety was off and that it was reloaded. As he slowly walked towards the site, he kept glancing at the mountains in case there were Taliban waiting to ambush them.

"35 meters!"

Sweat started forming on the Gunnery Sergeant's forehead as the suspension started eating away at the Gunnery Sergeant.

"I know you're hiding out there you bastards" the Gunnery Sergeant thought to himself.

"20 meters!"

Gunnery Sergeant Caballo looked over to the Corporal and signaled for him to look out to the mountains as well.

"15 meters!"

"Remember do not engage unless fired upon. Repeat, do not engage unless fired upon."

Both Private Lockett and Corporal Michaels both nodded their heads in aknowledgement.

"10 meters and closing!"

"This is it; get ready!"

The three of them approached the hill, surmounting it with ease. What they saw once they did made them stop and lower their weapons in surprise.

"Corporal? What is it?" Gunnery Sergeant Caballo asked, dropping to one knee.

"Holy crap Gunny you're not gonna believe this. That's a pony."

Both Private Lockett and Gunnery Sergeant Caballo looked over to the Corporal in surprise.

"A pony?" the both of them asked at the same time.

"Yes, a pony. Like from a cartoon or something. But why is it here?"

The three of them continued looking at the pony on the ground, amazed at how it came to Earth.

"Corporal, check to see if it's alive. Be careful."

Corporal Michaels nodded his head and headed down towards the pony, approaching it with extreme caution. He was amazed at how small the pony was; it was no bigger than a large dog. He also noticed that the pony's mane was colored; it had streaks of dark blue and cyan running throughout it's mane and tail. For some reason Michaels felt someone in their makeshift squad knew this pony because there would be no other reason why this pony would be here. Despite his thoughts, Michaels continued approaching the pony and pretty soon came into arms-length away from it. He carefully walked up to the unconscious pony and checked to see if it was still alive. He quickly drew his hand back away as he was startled at how soft the pony's white fur was.

"It's alive Gunny. It's alive! Woah amazing!"

The pony started moving as soon as Michaels said that, causing both a feeling of shock and excitement from him at the same time.

"Woah woah there. It's okay, it's okay. You're safe" Michaels attempted to reassure the pony while holstering his weapon.

The pony continued squirming around, continuing to keep its eyes closed. But pretty soon, the pony's eyes opened. Michaels was the first to see this and was captivated by the pony's luscious purple eyes.

"You're a she aren't you? Woah.." Michaels stammered.

But the pony did not reply. Instead, the pony looked around as she woke up, startled at her new surroundings.

"Woah woah there girl, it's okay, it's okay. You just had a crash but you're perfectly fine" Michaels told the pony.

But the pony continued trotting around, seemingly afraid of where it was. She looked around and saw both the Corporal and Gunnery Sergeant looking at her in amazement. But when she looked at the Gunnery Sergeant she stopped, as if she knew him. She continued staring at the Gunnery Sergeant and for a while it seemed there was recognition reflecting in those purple eyes. But she stopped staring at the Gunnery Sergeant and any signs of remembrance were gone. Michaels turned around and looked up to Gunnery Sergeant Caballo and raised his hands in question as he asked him what to do now.

"Hey where am I?" a female's voice asked.

The three of them raised their rifles as they were all startled by the presence of a new voice.

"Hey I'm talking to you guys! Down here!"

Michaels turned around as did the other two in the direction of the voice and saw the pony looking at them.

"You-you can talk?" Michaels asked.

"Yeah duh. Why, can ponies not talk here?"

Michaels nodded his head at the pony.

"Oh. Well where am I?" she asked him.

"Earth. Well specifically the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan."

"Earth? Oh you mean the place that Lyra always kept talking about. Haha yeah I know that place. Humans live there right?"

The three of them kept looking at the pony, surprised at all she was saying.

"Yeahhh...Rad place though I won't lie. Hey umm are you guys like human warriors or something? You look like soldiers, kinda like the Royal Guard back home."

Michaels turned around to Gunnery Sergeant Caballo for an answer. The Gunnery Sergeant beckoned at him to answer immediately.

"Yeah I guess you can say that. So umm, what is your name?"

"My name? You don't recognize me? Awh man you humans are sooo boring! I'm Vinyl Scratch A.K.A DJ PON-3! AWWWH YEAHH!"

Vinyl Scratch looked at the three of them again, only to stop once she looked at the Gunnery Sergeant again.

"Hey you!" Vinyl almost yelled, raising her hoof at the Gunnery Sergeant.

"Me?" The Gunnery Sergeant said while he pointed at himself.

"Yeah you! Come down here!"

The Gunnery Sergeant came down the hill and stopped right next to Corporal Michaels, holstering his weapon as well.

"Have we met before? You look REALLY familiar. Like a really important friend or something from my past long ago or something. I dunno." Vinyl asked him.

She kept looking at him in wonder and she pursed her lips as she tried searching through her memories. That's when Gunnery Sergeant noticed something about Vinyl Scratch that he did not notice at first.

"Her eyes...they have that same warmth my son has..huh." he thought to himself.

He continued observing her eyes, noticing how similar her eyes were to his son's. He also noticed that she almost exactly copied his son's behavior when thinking about something, as evidenced by her pursing her lips in thought. But he didn't get that much time to think about it as the radio's on all of them went off, warning of an ambush by the Taliban.

"Woah what's happening?" Vinyl asked.

Michaels looked over to the Gunnery Sergeant as they tried to find an answer. But they failed to come up with an answer as they came under gunfire.

"Michaels get Lockett back to Restrepo! I'll get Vinyl to safety!"

Michaels nodded his head and headed back towards Restrepo. Gunnery Sergeant Caballo told Vinyl that they had to go and they would die if they didn't.

"But why? From what?" She asked innocently.

Gunnery Sergeant grimaced as he grabbed her, picking her up and running back to Restrepo. He looked over his shoulder and wished that he hadn't.

"RPG!!!" Gunnery Sergeant Caballo yelled at the top of his lungs.

The RPG was flying straight towards Restrepo and Gunnery Sergeant knew there was no way the makeshift outpost could take a hit like that. He looked around for anything that could stop it and could only find an old car door lying on the ground. He put Vinyl down, whom was shaking slightly in fear. He didn't know why he did but he stroked her mane, just like he would do to his kids every night before bedtime. This calmed her down enough and caused her to say something.

"Dad?" she asked.

Gunnery Sergeant nodded his head, as he realized who she really was. But he turned around and picked up the car door, running towards the RPG.

"Dad! Don't! Nooo! NOOOO!" Vinyl yelled in agony, as she realized who she really was inside.

But it was too late. Her dad was already directly in front of the RPG just in time and it exploded, throwing him back to the ground like a rag doll. He layed lifeless on the ground, his face covered in debris from the explosion.

"Nooo! NOOOO! NOOOO!" Vinyl cried, her tears overflowing from her eyes.

Her memories started coming back, of who she really was inside. That's when she heard a loud explosion behind her and turned around, afraid of another RPG. But alas, it was a portal, and Twilight Sparkle was looking at her from the other side.

"Vinyl come, we don't have much time!"

Vinyl, with her tears still fresh and her face distraught, galloped towards the portal, in order to escape the harsh reality she just witnessed.

Ch. 10 - Time's running out

"...oh..oh..oh man......oh man oh man oh man...Twilight? Twilight!?"

Vinyl remained on the floor, breathing intensely and quickly as she hesitantly called out for me. I came up to her and tried to calm her down, helping her back on her hooves and making sure she wasn't injured.

"Oh Twilight, wha- what's going on?"

As much as I wanted to tell her I knew I didn't have the time or resources to explain it fully to her.

"It's very important Vinyl and to make a long story short, I was wrong on my theory. Horribly wrong. All I can say is I'm sorry Vinyl. " I managed to say and forcing myself to smile in sincere apology.

Vinyl looked at me with her pupils dilated in fear and I knew right then and there I would probably face the pit of Tartarus for my mistake. I felt so helpless, so useless because there was not much I could do about Vinyl's predicament. All I knew is that there wasn't much time left and I needed to act quickly if I even had a remote chance of saving her and not just her physical form but what really made Vinyl Vinyl.

"Twilight..oh man..oh God...I just saw my dad die...oh man..this can't be happening...this can't be happening..it's just a dream right? Just a theory right? Right??" Vinyl cried out to me softly, her tears streaming down her face as she collapsed on the floor in despair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How could I let Vinyl watch her own father die? How could I? I thought maybe witnessing her father's death would save her spirit, her memory, but I was wrong. It wasn't a question of ethics, of morals but rather a question of what if? So what does that make me? A pony searching for answers in the name of science or a pony who doesn't know anything? My own curiosity might be the one single factor that will lead to the demise of Vinyl Scratch but there is always that slight chance it could quite be the opposite. I was hoping the latter was correct. Never before in my life have I pinned all of my thoughts and opinions on pure hope such as this moment. I wish every solution could be answered by the method of scientific evaluation. But that is not always the case. Sometimes hope is the only answer we ponies have.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Right. But I have a solution. The only problem is we must act now or we may never have the chance again. From the short time I've known you I've learned that you are an exceptional resilient pony, perhaps the toughest I have seen in a while. Because of this reason I know confidently you can do this. I believe in you Vinyl Scratch and I will continue to do so for as long as I live." I managed to say with the most tranquil voice I could muster.

Vinyl, with her eyes soaking in tears, nodded her head as she slowly got up.

"You're right Twilight. You're right. Let's go." She confidently said, wiping her tears away and clearing her throat while sniffling her nose.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I gave her a quick nod and told her to follow me as quickly as she could. I asked her if she was able to gallop and as a response she started galloping, so in return I did as well. The ponies we passed looked upon us with curiosity and I pondered about what they could have possibly thought what was happening but I knew I had no time to think of such things. I kept looking behind me to make sure Vinyl was alright and every time I did, I was constantly shocked at how quickly the time I had was vanishing. As I suspected, Vinyl was slowly losing herself little by little because with each passing glance I did, she started appearing slightly different than before. Not only was her appearance changing but so was her way of speaking and even her memories. At one point during the galloping she even asked me what Earth was and what humans are, as if she was a young filly asking these questions and completely unaware of her prior experience with Earth. At this moment I could only think of what I've done. Could I really save her? Could I really save David inside?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay looks like we're here. Come Vinyl, we must hurry!"

I trotted up the stairs of Celestia's palace as quickly as I could with Vinyl right next to me. Pretty soon we made it to the front doors, only to be stopped by the guards. However the guards realized how desperate the situation was and they let us through with no hesitation. Once inside, we both looked for Celestia and did not waste much time doing so.

"Celestia! Celestia! I need your help! We need your help!" I called out to the Royal Princess, whom appeared in front of us both suddenly.

"Oh dear, I was afraid of this." Princess Celestia said upon seeing Vinyl's deteriorating state.

Vinyl, with her state of mind now slipping away, looked at the Princess and I with such a dumbfound expression on her face that I could have mistaken her as one without intelligence, except for the fact that she proved to be rather intelligent before this affliction was wrought upon her.

"I think I know what to do." I told Celestia desperately, hoping that the Princess would concur and guide me to the solution as she has done time and time again

But my hope was not there, for Celestia did nothing but stare at Vinyl Scratch with such a coldness I did not know the Princess was capable of. For a brief moment it felt as if all of Equestria had gone into a chillness indescribable save the words that the Sun had temporarily become the Moon. I watched Vinyl stand next to me and eventually fall down next to me as her mane became a mane of tri-colors; no longer the perfect duo of blue and cyan but of white as well. She squirmed on the ground, shaking rather violently as I watched on in a horrified state because not only did her mane change colors but so did her entire being, such as her horn and her tail. But even as I watched helplessly, my mind found a possible answer. In this moment, it was all Vinyl Scratch had.

"ventos Equestria, me hic locus hominibus, terrae nisi hic amor et consanguineus necem eius non coepit", I chanted softly in the ancient human language, Latin.

I hoped that the words I had chanted would take immediate effect, certain that this was all I could do. Yet nothing happened and I was at a lost, because I had failed. It was foolish of me to think that old words could save her. I continued to watch Vinyl Scratch writhe on the floor and hung my head low, knowing there was nothing I could do.

Octavia.

The word floated into my mind and I was uncertain of its origin.

Twilight, get Octavia. Maybe she'll know what to do. You just have to remind her. You remember what happened to Octavia, don't you?

Tears started to form at my eyes, my memories of what had happened in the past still fresh and as a result, painful.

Yeah you do remember. You remember everything, don't you? Everything.

"No, it's not possible" I whispered to myself, shaking my head in ignorance.

Is that so? Then why is Celestia ignoring you? You want me to remind you?

My tears became fat rivers, streaming down my face and causing a emotional buildup in both my chest and nose to occur.

Yeah, I guess you do. Remember how nice Octavia was? I guess she still kinda is but not in the way she used to be. I'm talking about when she or rather he was- you guessed it- human, a walking, breathing kind of human. Oh the irony Twilight, of how Octavia became a pony in the same exact way Vinyl did. Theory? Pfft the only reason how you came up with that "theory" you told Vinyl is because of what had happened before, which consequently was the same thing.. I could laugh at this. I would laugh at this but I'm just a figment of your imagination. Who would've known that these two poor bastards would've fallen in love? Two ponies, out of all the possible outcomes anypony could have predicted and under the same circumstances, happen to meet each other, the both of them secretly being former humans who had died and were "saved" by Celestia? I mean seriously think about it Twi, several years ago as part of your training Celestia gave you the task of saving poor Octavia. Octavia used to be a somewhat witty kid who took risks; a deadly trait combined with what you were about to do. But despite all of your fancy education and book smarts and your "hope", you failed big time. And so poor Octy lost herself or rather should I call her Jack? You remember that name don't you? Jack, Jack Beringer. What was he, English or something? From England or some country like that on Earth. Doesn't matter, except the persona that destroyed him, Octavia, kept that element, that strange accent he used to fondly speak in. Unfortunately in this case that is all you managed to save, and it wasn't even on your behalf.

"That's not gonna happen again, I guarantee it..I won't let it happen..."

BULLSHIT! You know that's a damn lie! In fact, that's the same freaking lie you told Jack years ago. Look at him now! He thinks he's an "artist", a "musician". Why don't you visit him or rather her anymore? It's because you're ashamed. Don't you remember how terrified he was, how scared he was that he was going to die but not by how nature intended? I mean, what fate is worse than that? To die not by blade but to die by mind. That is perhaps one of the greatest tragedies in life Twi, because how does one mourn the loss of one who is not even existent anymore to begin with? Surely what that pony used to be is gone but the pony itself, well physically anyway, is not. You brought this horrible question upon the family of Jack Beringer and you hoped that suppressing your memories would lessen the atrocious misdeed you have done.

But in fact it has done nothing but create guilt that could've otherwise been avoided. You had an opportunity to save Jack and you missed it. But if you must be so insistent on your stupid little belief of "hope", you have one more chance, and I'm not talking about chanting a few ancient mumbo jumbo words. I am talking about a legit plan, one that could either work or become a disaster. At this point, you don't have much going for you anyways. Don't get me wrong Twi, we're not friends. I just don't want to see you screw up again. So this is what you're going to do. You're going to get Octavia, trigger her memory (what little she has of it left) and do what you should've done for her. Then get those glasses you made. Yes, those stylish magenta glasses that you had originally made for Octavia. You see Twi, you weren't wrong about the whole memory thing and perhaps the notion of doing aforementioned would save the victim. It is just how you approach the reminder that could have good consequences and bad. What you did managed to keep Vinyl, or rather David, alive but barely; as if he were given an adrenaline shot.

Right now we must prep the surgery room, figuratively of course, and gather what instruments we need; one of those being Octavia and yourself along with the glasses. Once this has been fulfilled, teleport to Earth with the other two, gather what memories of David's past life you can and come back to Equestria. Once you have done that, infuse the memories recorded on the glasses into the glasses themselves and place them upon Vinyl. Then, and maybe then can you save Vinyl by chanting the proper spell. I mean of course you tried that with Jack and all he ended up with was a bowtie on his neck. But don't get discouraged, I know I'm right and if you do this correctly, Vinyl Scratch will continue to be who she really is, and not a former shell of herself like what happened to Jack. So, what do you say? Sounds like a plan? Ah Celestia, you're still crying like a baby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The voice in my head was right about everything, from the beginning to the end. But I had reasons not to do to Jack what I am about to do to Vinyl. One of those was perhaps the biggest one; completely losing Jack all together and consequently ending the entire timeline of not just Earth but of affected timelines, such as Equestria. I tried the hardest I could do but I know I failed back then. But for Jack's sake and for David's, I will not repeat the errors of my past. I will save David, even if it costs my life and ultimately the universe. Oh, it's amazing at the time how I desperately wanted to believe that.

Ch. 11 - All In or Nothing

"Is she okay? What's wrong with her? I do hope she'll be alright."

"It's complicated Octavia but long story short, I need you to come with me. As soon as you can. Then we might be able to help her."

Octavia grimaced at the sulking Vinyl, who was using me as a crutch and throwing up right next to me rather violently. I then went over all the details of what we had to do, from getting the magic sunglasses to going back to Earth. Of course, in doing that, I faced a paradox that could end all time as we know it. But I left that bit of information out of my recap, knowing it would only hinder my attempts of redemption.

"Well I say well thought plan but I must inquire, where are the sunglasses?"

"At my study. Come on!"

Octavia nodded and we started heading over to my study as quick as we could, carrying Vinyl upon our backs as we trotted over there. As we made our way over to the study, Vinyl started mumbling incoherently, and I looked over to Octavia when she did so. Octavia grimaced at me, understanding how really dire the situation was. I could not believe the irony of Octavia feeling that way but I shrugged it off my guilt, focusing on the situation at hoof.

"Look Octavia, right over there on the right-hoof side! By the fountain and statue of Celestia"

"Oh I see it! Okay!" Octavia replied.

We grunted with effort as we continued to trot, ignoring all of the ponies whom looked upon us as we took a right and made our way by the fountain. There was one filly who trotted along with us and attempted to help.

"Hey! I can help!" pleaded the small purple colored filly.

"It's okay, we grown-ups have it but thanks" I told the little filly, whom then nodded and trotted away in disappointment.

Octavia and I eventually reached the study and I used my magic to open the door. We entered as fast as we could, careful not to bump Vinyl into the doorway. Once inside, I instructed Octavia to help me place Vinyl on the couch. We set her down on the couch & Octavia covered her with a blanket she found. It wasn't necessarily the action that caught my attention but the affection she had behind the action. However I could not dwell on what I had seen and I trotted around the study, searching for the glasses.

"Where are they? Where are they?" I kept thinking to myself as I frantically looked around.

"Are you looking for these Twilight?" Octavia asked, holding the sunglasses in her hoof.

"Yes! We can start now!" I exclaimed to her.

She smiled at me with slight reassurance and gave me the sunglasses. I used my magic and levitated the glasses over to Vinyl, making sure they were covering her eyes.

"Okay, here goes everything" I thought to myself.

I looked over to Octavia and back to Vinyl, exhaling to let out the stress building up inside me. I started reciting a spell of teleportation and I instructed Octavia to hold my hoof. We held hooves and I told her to hold Vinyl's hoof as well. As I continued reciting the spell, my horn glowed and cast its light purple hew over the three of us. I felt Octavia's grip get tighter as we felt the instantaneous teleportation going underway, bringing us to Earth in almost an instant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 3rd, 1995

"Dammit Jesus! God dammit Jesus! They took everything...everything!" a woman shouted out loud at first but soon started sobbing afterwards.

There was a man standing by her and he approached her, hugging her with comfort.

"It's okay Sandra, it's okay. We're gonna be just fine, I know it."

Sandra looked up to Jesus with her eyes stained red and make-up running down her face.

"How do you know that for sure Jesus? How are you so sure?"

Jesus smiled at Sandra and placed his hands softly under her jaw, cupping her face with his hands lovingly.

"Sometimes belief is all we got. We have to believe things will be alright Sandra, for little David."

Sandra nodded and rested her head on his wide chest and he comforted her, shielding her with his strong arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Huh!? Wha? Where-Where am I?" Vinyl asked groggily, seeing two forms materialize by her side.

She noticed right away at how feeble she was and tried to get up from wherever she was at but failed to do so, eventually passing out again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

March 24th, 2000

"David you know how much I love you right?"

"With all of your heart Mommy?"

"Yes David, with all of my heart and then some. I love you sweetie. Te amo mucho!"

Sandra smiled at her son and passed her hand over his hair. He smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek.

"I love you too momma bear!"

Sandra's throat tightened a little but she managed to suppress her immensely proud emotions. She kissed him back on the cheek and ran her hand over his head again.

"Have a good day honey! Be Mommy's strong little man!"

David slightly blushed and nodded and exited the car, giving his mommy one more goodbye but with a wave this time. Sandra wanted to cry in happiness and joy but she kept it in, waving goodbye back to him. David smiled again, tipped-toed a little as he normally does when he is happy and turned around, walking to the school with a wide smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ssh! Get down. They'll see us Octavia" echoed a voice in Vinyl's mind.

Vinyl could tell she was conscious but could not tell exactly how conscious she was. All she could see through her roaming eyes were two silhouettes and voices echoing in her head before she slipped away back into the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June 11th, 2003

"Look honey, they're beautiful aren't they?" A young woman asked the little boy right next to her.

The two of them were looking up to the night sky, watching the distant twinkling stars.

"Yeah Mommy...they're cool...I wonder what's out there though."

The young mother looked over to her son and pursed her lips.

"That's a good question honey. I wonder what's out there too."

"Do you think there's people in the stars like us Mommy?"

"Hmm..I don't know honey. Your daddy would know. He's into that kind of stuff."

"I know Mommy. Daddy's silly. He says the people in the stars are not really people but they're ponies who eat the ground and that they sit upside down. He also says that the ponies in the stars have space mommies that talk too much."

"Oh he did, did he? Well maybe he ought to speak to one of these "space mommies" and see what they'll say about it."

David started giggling and looked over to his mom in delight, who returned the same expression towards him. The two of them giggled for some time but eventually ceased the giggling as they caught their breaths.

"Mommy..?" David began.

"Yes darling?" Sandra replied.

David looked over to his mommy and took a breath before speaking.

"When will Daddy come home?" he asked, taking Sandra off guard.

Sandra searched for an answer and found one, holding David's hands while doing so.

"Soon darling. He's making sure we're safe. Your daddy is a hero and everyday he fights bad guys because he is a good guy. Heroes never stop doing the right thing, right?"

"Right." David nodded, half-smiling at his mom but feeling a little sad.

"Well come on honey, let's get back into the car. It's getting pretty late. I bet you can't beat me to the car" Sandra said, hoping David's spirits would be lifted.

"Yes I can! Hehe!" David excitedly said with his spirits now lifted.

David squealed with delight as him and Sandra raced to the family car. However David slowed down and let his mommy win, much to her surprise.

"Honey, what happened? I thought you actually had me there." Sandra asked, chuckling slightly.

"Nothing Mommy. Ladies are first, always."

Sandra smiled widely at David and rested a hand on his shoulder while kneeling down.

"Awh, you're such a gentleman. You're just like your daddy honey. A true gentleman, my little gentleman."

David blushed, looking at the ground shyly and back to his mommy and smiled at her again.

"Come on kiddo, let's go home. We can eat your favorite, mangoes!"

"Okay Mommish!" David exclaimed happily.

David and his mommy headed into the car, fashioning on their seat-belts as the car exited the park onto the road back home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

December 24th, 2005

A man and a child stood by a Christmas tree in the living room of a house and the both of them observed at how beautiful it looked. The Christmas tree itself was decorated with numerous lights and ornaments complete with candy canes on its branches. The child stepped forward and grabbed one ornament from the tree, and showed it to the man right next to him.

"That's a music note David." the man said, smiling at the child.

The small boy smiled and put the music note shaped ornament back onto the tree.

"It's cool looking Tio" the boy told the man.

The man smiled and beckoned for the boy to follow him.

"Come on David, let me show you somethin' really cool."

The boy nodded and the two of them left the Christmas tree and headed into an adjacent room. Once there, the man showed the boy what was in the room right away.

"This," the man said proudly, pointing at the object in the center of the room, "is a turn-table."

David looked at the turn-table with curiosity and noticed that it was only a head shorter than himself. The turn-table had a dark color to it; almost as black as night, and was trimmed with moonlight silver. He walked closer to the turn-table and touched the smooth surface, grazing his finger just slightly above the switches of the turn-table.

Remember who you are. Remember where you come from.

David looked up to his uncle in sudden realization and with a look of sheer confidence.

"These are my memories because..I'm..David Caballo!" he articulated and at the same time remembering.

David's uncle smiled, walked to the other side of the room and picked up a vinyl record.

"Remember who you are. Remember where you come from" his uncle said, echoing the words in David's mind with his voice.

He then set the record down on the turn-table and connected it to the nearby wall. Next, he grabbed a par of headphones that were nearby on a shelf and plugged them into the device. Finally, he looked back to David and stretched out his arms, holding the headphones carefully in his hands. David gulped and for some reason knew this is what he had to do, to save himself. He walked over to his uncle and grabbed the headphones, putting it on his head. Almost immediately he felt a surge of power rushing through his body as his hands and feet became hooves and his face extended outwards, becoming the face of a female pony. David's naturally black hair turned into blue and cyan while growing out wildly, exceeding past the headphones on her head. She closed her eyes in euphoria as not only she aged to her true age but her horn now started to emerge, protruding out of her forehead, making her a true unicorn. She opened her eyes again, revealing her now sparkling purple eyes.

"Time for you to go back home, sobrina" her uncle now said, smiling at her.

"But, I don't want to forget you guys. Ever." she said sadly, frowning at her uncle.

Her uncle smiled at her and put his hands in his pockets.

"You won't sobrina. We'll always be in your heart. Always"

Vinyl Scratch smiled at her uncle and nodded her head. As soon as she did, the rest of her family came by the doorway and smiled at her, encouraging her to spin the record. Vinyl gulped but knew what she had to do. She placed one hoof on the record and the other on the start button.

"Adios mi familia" Vinyl softly said to her family.

She then hit the button and started scratching the record, noticing that the music was coming from the turn-table and not just her headphone. As the song picked up volume and tempo, she saw parts of the room start to disappear, flaking off and falling to the ground.

"I am David! I am Vinyl!" She yelled out loud, continuing to scratch.

Tears started building up at her eyes, starting to obscure her vision but she pressed on. As she continued scratching, the wall itself continued flaking off as well, dissolving into nothing only to reveal a divine brightness where it once stood. Her family remained by the door way and slowly started to disappear but not in a flaking manner. Instead, one by one, her family slowly faded into the divine brightness until it was only her parents and baby sister.

"We'll always love you Vinyl. Always." her parents lovingly said, tears in both of their eyes.

Slowly but surely the divine brightness engulfed their outlines, soaking and bathing them in a light so bright it blinded Vinyl, causing her to shield her eyes. But when she looked back, only a fight silhouette of where they once were remained. Several tears rolled down Vinyl's cheeks but she did not whimper. She kept her emotions in and continued to scratch while increasing the tempo of the song. Then, with all of her might, she put two hooves on the record and scratched it as fast and as strong as she could, causing the divine brightness that surrounded her to crack with every jerk of the record.

RIK RAK RICKTY RAK

CRAACK!

"I AM VINYL SCRATCCCHHH!!!" Vinyl hollered at the top of her lungs with all of her might, causing her body to shake from the intensity of it.

Vinyl's horn lit up and she casted a powerful burst from it, blasting at the divine brightness.

CRAAAACCCCKKKKK!

"AHHH! AHHHHH!"

BLOOM! BLOOOMMM!

CRRRAAACCCKKKKKK!

Vinyl's hooves were going so fast she spinned the record off of the turn-table and broke it in two, causing a wave to emanate from it and pulse towards the divine brightness.

BLONG!

The wave proved to be the final push the divine brightness needed as it collided into the brightness and as a result caused the divine brightness to shatter to pieces, revealing Ponyville underneath it. Vinyl also saw the residents of Ponyville standing in front of her but there was a certain grey-colored pony that stuck out and caught her eye immediately.

"Octavia?" Vinyl asked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Her mane...It's going back to normal! That's good right Twilight?"

I nodded but didn't respond verbally. We just stood there for what seemed like forever and we looked at each other in anxiousness, awaiting for Vinyl to gain consciousness. Suddenly Vinyl's body started moving with slight spasms, and her head jerked a little as well. Then her mouth opened and she started mumbling, speaking of random names and events from what I could gather. Her body continued to spasm slightly until Octavia spoke again.

"Vinyl? Are you alright?" Octavia asked the unconscious Vinyl.

Vinyl's body stopped spazzing abruptly, and she gasped, waking up all of the sudden.

"Octavia?" Vinyl called out as she started to get up slowly.

Octavia smiled and got closer to Vinyl, and even held her hoof in a careful manner. Octavia looked down to Vinyl and Vinyl looked back to her and I could not help but to notice that Octavia's eyes were filled with love, not compassion but unfiltered love for Vinyl. She cared for Vinyl and she loved her, more then any other pony in that moment. Was it cursed love? Or was it love meant to be? The two of them both braved their tragedies, both braved their lost realities and both were broken hearts. But yet they found each other at last, despite Octavia being lost for several years. Like pieces of a puzzle, the two of them found one another and fit into one another, becoming one whole, something I would normally not be able to comprehend for the next couple of years after what had caused Vinyl's rescue but I understood it right away once I kept watching the two interact. It was their love for one another and their friendship that was able to fix my wrong. As an element of harmony I should've known that friendship really is magic, and quite often magic can solve problems that might be unsolvable. Love itself is an amazing property that any sentient being is able to posses and I was able to witness first hoof the power it really does have. And so as the two of them embraced one another, I realized that I had accomplished my goal; I had saved David.

"Hey Twi! Get in here! You need a hug!" Vinyl joked to me while smiling.

I laughed and I hugged Vinyl and Octavia and we stayed hugging for a while. The joy I felt in that moment was indescribable, the euphoria that I felt not only for myself but for them. We all then took seats on the couch and comforted Vinyl, chatting with one another well into the evening....

Epilouge

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER…

“Vinyl, you know you got a gig today right?”

I saw Octavia trotting into our house, smiling at me as she normally does.

“Pfft yeah of course Tavi, why wouldn’t I?”

Octavia giggled at me the same way she normally does, crinkling up her snout a little in a cute manner. I never knew that I would be capable of loving a pony ever in my life but Octavia surely proved me wrong; no wonder I could never find a girlfriend on Earth because I wasn’t meant too. Earth. That’s a word I haven’t said in a long, very long time. I thought about how much had changed about me; how I accepted my new gender and my new life, with the DJ career I’ve actively been engaged in and my relationship with Octavia. I smiled at the thought at how happy I was which something I’ve never felt before in the past. It almost felt like a fantasy but it wasn’t; it was my life, and that was being Vinyl Scratch. I gathered the equipment I needed for the gig and trotted over to Octavia, kissing her and leaving the house. I used my magic and put on my sunglasses, grinning wickedly once I arrived to the gig, head banging to a song that I was actively writing in my head.

“Oh yeah, time to drop it!”

I went inside, making sure I had everything I needed and set up my stage. Once I was ready to go, I just stood there on the stage, amazed at the sight of all the ponies who were cheering me on but for a second it was like I could hear nothing. I grinned again and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and stretching out my hoofs. This was it; I was about to play the best wubs ever in history! I looked back at the crowd again through my magenta sunglasses and I smirked broadly, jumping up in the air and slamming my hoofs down, playing the loudest note I possibly could on my speakers. I yelled wickedly, head banging to my music as I literally blew away the crowd, whom were all hollering in delight. This is who I am; Vinyl Scratch, the best DJ in Ponyville SON!

The End.