Dissociation

The crowd stomped for more as a white unicorn finally stepped down from the record decks. She was panting heavily, sweat pouring down her face and coat causing the numerous glow sticks that adorned her body to stick awkwardly to her. At the bottom of the stairs a greyish coloured stallion was waiting to greet her.

“Sick tunes as always Scratch but once I’m done with the crowd you won’t have a hoof to stand on,” he smirked as he adjusted the large glasses perched on his nose.

“Oh yeah Neon? You best just hope your tracks keep them as pumped up as I’ve made them or that DJ-off we’re gonna have later is gonna be so one sided!”

She smirked, removing her own glasses and batting her cerise eyes at him. Neon seemed to blush slightly but quickly brushed it off and stepped past her.

“As if!” he scoffed as he started his ascent of the stairs up to the mixing decks.

Vinyl gave a small smile, teasing Neon Light was always good fun even if it was just a performance for the crowds. In truth the pair hung out a lot and often shared ideas about music and songs. At that moment though Vinyl wasn’t interested in either, she needed some air. She headed for the backstage area, the bouncer pony at the door nodding at her as she passed through the door. She was almost immediately confronted with a green earth pony, one who seemed to have had way more than his fair share of alcohol.

“Hey! Vinyl baby! What up?!” he slurred with a grin.

“The sky as always Spin, what’s cooking?” replied Vinyl with a half-hearted attempt at a smile.

“Was just listening to your set, totally awesome! Say you wanna try something that Woody mixed up the other day, brilliant stuff!”

“Oh uh…sure!”

The pony before her gave a pleased grin and tossed a bottle in her direction. Vinyl caught it in her magic and looked at it. The stopper was loosely corked and there was no label obscuring the view of the pale green liquid inside. Spin was watching her closely as she uncorked the bottle and took a small swig. It tasted like the inside of a can of rancid tomatoes but unfortunately the taste didn’t hit her until after she had swallowed it.

“Not bad,” croaked Vinyl as she tried to hide the growing wave of nausea she felt with a smile.

“Have a good night!” added Spin as he smiled and made his way off down the corridor.

Vinyl waited for him to round a corner and then quickly looked left and right, there was nothing to empty her mouth into and she didn’t enjoy the idea of wrapping her lips around the bottle for a second time. Feeling the nausea return she took off down the corridor towards the back exit of the club. Thankfully she didn’t meet anypony else and a moment later she was stepping out into the back alleys behind the building.

Almost immediately she turned to the side and wretched hard. What followed was a series of hacks and coughs as she tried to rid her mouth of the taste before she upended the bottle and let the contents empty itself across the floor. Finally she set the empty bottle down next to the door and let herself flop back against the wall.

“Guess you didn’t like it either,” chuckled a voice from her right.

Vinyl looked over, slowly removing her glasses so she could get a better look at her new companion. He was a short stallion, a unicorn like her too, with a blazing red coat. He smiled at her and levitated a bottle of water towards her.

“If you ask me that stuff was probably drugged too, he was bragging about finally getting a piece of your tail earlier tonight.”

Vinyl accepted the water bottle and after a small sniff she took a swig and sighed.

“Somethings never change, how you been Streamer?” asked Vinyl before taking another swig of water.

“Oh I’ve been managing, thought I’d drop by tonight to see how things are going. You on the other hoof look like a shipwreck! When was the last time you got a good night sleep?”

“Night? Sleep? Streamer you should know I’ve become pretty much nocturnal these days…although that said it’s been a while since I got a good rest.”

“I can tell, those bags under your eyes are nasty…guess that’s one good thing about wearing those shades eh?”

“Guess so…”

Streamer paused for a moment. Vinyl did indeed look tired but there was more to it than that. Her body seemed to slump as it relaxed as if it couldn’t even be bothered to support itself properly. Her eyes seemed distant as if her mind and body existed in totally different universes. He had known the DJ for some time now, ever since attending one of her gigs a few years ago. He had broken up a fight before anyone had got hurt but reaped the reward when he had been struck from behind; Vinyl had been the pony who had saved him and helped him to hospital. Since then they always kept tabs on each other but everytime he saw her he couldn’t help but see the downward spiral she was in.

“…there’s more than just being tired isn’t there?” he asked solemnly.

Vinyl gave a sigh and nodded slowly, it was pointless hiding things from Streamer, “I’m just sick of putting on the act. All I’ve ever wanted to do was make ponies happy with music. Give them something that despite the day they’ve been having they can’t help but get up and dance to. Seeing them having fun just…it gives me this wicked vibe that I just can’t get any other way.”

“I can tell, your shows are really something to behold.”

“But offstage all these ponies seem to think I do is drink, snort and get laid! By Celestia, I know that the rave scene has that kind of image but I just wish somepony would understand me as I am like…like…”

“You’re thinking about her aren’t you?”

Vinyl gave a sigh and nodded. It had all started that day, the day she had taken up the DJ mantle. She had alienated everypony she knew but it would all have been worth it if she had understood. Instead she had dismissed her like a piece of trash; since then she hadn’t heard a word from her. Sometimes she found herself wishing she could go back and change things but would she be ultimately happy knowing that she could never do the one thing she loved?

Just then a scream split the air like a knife. It was one of shock, cut short abruptly as the owner of the voice was silenced. Vinyl pushed herself off the wall quickly and stared down the back alley with a look of horror on her face.

“What in Equestria was that?!” commented Streamer.

“Some pony screaming you dolt!” replied Vinyl, “Come on!”

“Come on? What do you mean come on?”

With that Vinyl took off down the alley towards the scream. Streamer watched her for a moment and then took off after her, shaking his head in disbelief as he did. Vinyl meanwhile didn’t give her actions a second thought as she galloped down the alley not caring one bit about the noise she was making. As she rounded a corner she prepared to run again but stopped dead at the sight before her.

A pony lay on the ground unmoving, another stood over her like a spectre. She couldn’t see the other ponies face due to a large cloak that obscured them from view but the large knife that glinted in their hoof was clear to see. Vinyl’s magic reacted before her brain had even formulated the idea, snagging a nearby stone from the ground.

“Get away from them!” she screamed as the rock shot off down the alley propelled by her magic.

For a moment the pony looked towards her but this action only made the stone’s impact worse. It struck them hard in the face, the pony reeling backwards in shock as the knife they held clattered to the ground. Vinyl didn’t wait for a response, charging forwards as her magic lifted another rock into the air but the cloaked pony had other plans as they turned quickly and galloped off down the alleyway.

“Hey get back here!” cried Vinyl as she watched the figure vanish around a corner ahead of her.

As much as she wanted to give chase though there was a more pressing matter at hoof. She came to a stop next to the pony on the ground, quickly looking her over to see if she was wounded. Despite the knife that lay on the ground not a few hoofs away there was no blood. Vinyl reached out a hoof and shook her gently.

“Hey! Hey are you alright?!” she asked quickly but got no response.

“What in Celestia is going on?!” asked Streamer quickly as he finally arrived at Vinyl’s side.

“Streamer! I need you to run back to the club or um…anywhere! Find one of the guards and tell them there’s been an attempted murder! We need a doctor too!” replied Vinyl as she looked back at the pony on the ground.

“M-Murder?! You don’t mean…Luna save us, I’ll be back!”

With that Streamer took off down the alley back the way he had come. Vinyl watched him leave for a moment and then turned back to the pony in front of her. She was an earth pony and had a light blue coat and neatly kept brown mane, the musical clef that adorned her flank showing she had a talent for music. What was she doing out here so late at night? More to the point who had the cloaked pony been and had they really been trying to kill her?

“Hey come on, wake up!” insisted Vinyl as she shook the pony once more.

This time she was greeted by a faint moan that made her sigh happily. The pony stirred, her eyes wavering slightly as her consciousness came back to her. Vinyl gave her a little space, backing off so as not to crowd her. Slowly the pony raised a hoof to her head, groaning with every move she made.

“Uh…ooooh, my head…” she murmured quietly as she opened her eyes.

“Oh man, am I glad you’re alright!” announced Vinyl happily.

The pony jumped slightly in shock and opened her eyes fully. She looked at Vinyl with a nervous expression.

“Who are you?” she asked quietly.

“Don’t be scared, I’m not gonna hurt you,” replied Vinyl, “I’m Vinyl Scratch. I heard your scream and…what happened?”

“What happened? I-I’m not sure. I…I was on my way home, it was getting late so I decided to take a shortcut. I heard something behind me so I turned to look and all I saw was this big black shadow…I screamed but…then I woke up here.”

“There was a pony here in some long cloak. If I hadn’t arrived when I did you might have been dead.”

Vinyl motioned to the knife lying on the ground the pony following her hoof as she did. At the sight of the knife the earth pony stiffened, her eyes going wide in fear. Vinyl noticed and quickly placed a hoof on the ponies shoulder.

“Hey it’s alright, you’re safe now,” she reassured, “What’s your name?”

“My-my name, Beauty Brass,” replied the pony.