Music is Magic

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Oil and Water
Chapter 2 - Aint No Party Like a Pinkie Party
Chapter 3 - The Long and Winding Road
Prologue - The Frozen Prison

Chapter 1 - Oil and Water

Vinyl Scratch's life was awesome. She had a cool night (and sometimes day) job playing DJ in and around Ponyville, had a nice loft of an apartment, and best of all she had the most bitchin' shades ever that outshined all the rest with their bitchinness. Though she had only moved to the small town a month ago, she was already becoming insanely popular, and one of her biggest fans was a certain pink pony who worked at Sugarcube Corner, the storehouse of her favorite brand of muffins.

"Oh my gosh Vinyl that final song you played at my last party was the BOMB!" Pinkie Pie beamed from behind the store's counter, bouncing slightly at that.

Vinyl put on a prideful grin. She loved DJing at parties; taking requests, analyzing the mood to see just what song should be played at what time was, but what she loved most of all was composing and remixing. She'd sit in her work room for hours on end with her guitar and state-of-the-art magic-powered synthesizer making killer jams and beats. It was her hobby and passion, and the only thing that was sweeter than actually doing it was hearing positive feedback about it, silencing whatever self-doubts bugged her when she was in the zone.

"If you think that was good, Pinkie, you're gonna dig what I'm coming up with now!" Vinyl boasted.

"Oooh! That's perfect!" the Pink pony shouted, procuring Vinyl's order while she did so. "I'm having another super-awesome party at the community center tomorrow. Can you please please please please please DJ for me again?! I'll pay you whatever you want!"

Vinyl threw a dismissive hoof at that before grabbing her muffin. "Normal rate's fine Pinkie, you know I love what I do."

Pinkie Pie's smile grew was so wide it could kick sorrow itself in the nuts. It sort of creeped Vinyl out a bit, actually. She was good, but she wasn't that good. Then again, the pink mare could get pretty excitable about anything.

"That's totally, totally awesome!" She then went into the back room for a tick before returning with a party invitation with various pieces of information on it. "Party starts at nine when the moon hits the sky!"

"Great," Vinyl said, nodding. "Is it good if I come a half an hour earlier than last time to set up my stuff?"

"Okie dokie Vinyl lokie!" Pinkie beamed. "I'll actually be there like two hours early so come whenever you want."

"Excellent," Vinyl said with a slight smile. "I'll see you then, gotta keep workin' on my new jam. Should turn out pretty damned awesome at the rate I'm going."

"Uggggh," Vinyl groaned inwardly, again pressing the erase button to delete a track to her newest song. "This is going to suck at the rate I'm going... why can't I think of anything cool?"

She furrowed her brow and sighed before switching the guitar she held off. "How did I come up with such cool stuff before? Was I on drugs or something...?" She paused her thought, an embarrassed smile coming upon her face. "Ehehe, not going to try that crap again." It soon returned to its gloomy state. "Mmmm... the other time I wrote something cool I was totally pumped up after listening to that old AM/DM album. Maybe I should-" She then grinned, turning towards her record player and its built in amp. "I just need to pump myself up is all!"

With that, she flipped a few switches at the record player's console, charged its up with her horn's magic, and soon it was twirling a disk. A second later the speakers blared to life, blasting silently the beginning of one of the greatest guitar riffs to ever grace Equestria. However, Vinyl wasn't satisfied with just this.

"Louder!" She demanded, her eyes widening as a comedic, maniacal grin crossed her face. At that, she tugged one of the volume bars, the music doing as she commanded.

Vinyl still grunted at this, though.

"Louder!!!" she repeated, as if she were a mad scientist creating some sort of horrible musical monstrosity. She soon forced the poor speaker to comply, despite the fact the woobie of a device was about to reach its threshold. Luckily for it though, a satisfying look was growing on Vinyl's face as the various trinkets in her work room began to vibrate.

"YEEEEEEEEEEES!"

She then hopped back over to her guitar before charging it and its amp's built in mana batteries before cranking it up to full volume and playing along with one of her idols.

"THUNDER! Nananana-nanana-nana," she sang gleefully. "THUNDER! Nananana-nanana-nana."

In her own apartment across from Vinyl's, Octavia's concentration was utterly ruined when her walls began to vibrate while the sound of two wailing guitars filled her own work study. Her eye twitched as she lay down her cello's bow next to a music stand with half-written sheet music upon it, obviously of her own creation.

She tried to keep herself calm at this. After all, the DJ pony would have to realize her own hearing was at stake if she continued to blast music so loudly for long.

Her eyes then widened in realization. It was then she remembered who the DJ pony was, and that there was no escape from AM/DM for her. Lord Celestia, she wasn't going to get anything done at this rate!

"VINYL SCRATCH!"

"I was cauuuuught.... in the middle of a railroard track!" Vinyl sang, the sound of AM/DM's own singer far overtaking her. "I looked round..... and I knew there was no turning back!"

Vinyl twirled about before leaping atop of the room’s solitary wooden chair and doing a pose, playing all the way. "My mind raced... and I thought what could I do!?" She then leapt off her chair while slinging the guitar around her with her magic, somehow still playing it with it at the same time. "And I knew... there was no help, no help from-"

"ACK!" Vinyl screeched as she landed on one hoof unsteadily on an empty doughnut box before slipping and crashing to the ground on her side, a slight pain shooting through her hip. Her concentration on keeping the guitar levitated was broken, it landing beside her on her base with a thud before toppling over and crashing down with a hideous TWANG of her strings.

"Uggggh..." she groaned, groggily rising back to her hooves. It was then she heard four loud, furious thuds on her front door, them actually being able to drown out the music.

"Uh oh."

With that, she went over to turn off her record player before checking to make sure her guitar was still working by playing a power chord. She smiled in satisfaction when it thundered out of her amp before she realized she still had to answer the door, a look of dread crossing her face.

She sat down her guitar before making her way to it, all the while preparing for a scolding from a certain classical cello player. "Damnit, why do I keep forgetting I have neighbors?"

Sure enough, there she was when she opened the door, her closest neighbor, and she did not look amused. Vinyl simpered at this.

"Vinyl, what in the world were you playing a second ago?" Octavia asked in an annoyed tone.

Vinyl sighed. "Sorry Octavia, I'll try to keep it down. I just keep getting so caught up in writing I well... you know."

Octavia's look of annoyance seemed to dissolve slightly at that, a slight smile coming across her face. "It's alright, but please... please try to do that. I'm trying to compose myself and cellos can’t really be amplified that easily, unfortunately."

Vinyl quirked her head with a slight smile. "You compose? That's so awesome! I thought you just played and stuff."

Octavia sighed at that, turning away from the DJ pony. "Well, I'm... giving my hoof at it... and I was doing pretty good but... well... I seem to be a bit stuck." She said the last bit with a hint of embarrassment.

"It's just writer's block!" Vinyl beamed. "It happens to me all the time, like right now actually. It's why I was listening to AM/DM a second ago. You know, for inspiration."

Octavia quirked an eyebrow. "AM.... what?"

"AM/DM! Some of the best old school metal there is."

"Oh, I see." She threw on a quick smirk. "I will say... it sounds pretty intense."

"Haha! Yeah. The song's called Thunderstruck and it is so the shit!" Vinyl's eyes then widened at an idea. If she had fingers, she'd be snapping them. "Yo! I've got it!"

"What's that?" Octavia said.

"Why don't me and you try writing together?! Maybe we can build off each other's energy and... I dunno, make something awesome!"

Octavia threw on a skeptical look. "I appreciate the offer, Vinyl... but I'm not sure if we can mix hard rock and classical together."

"It doesn't have to be hard rock and classical," Vinyl said.

Octavia gazed at her curiously. "Then what else could it be?"

"Dubstep and classical!" Vinyl announced triumphantly, grinning while holding up an epic hoof in the air.

Octavia merely stared at her blankly.

"I'm not sure that will work either... those genres are just too different."

Vinyl put on a disappointed frown. "Daw... welll... anyway, what are you doing tonight?"

"Oh, I was just going to keep trying to compose," she said. "Why?"

"Well uh.. Pinkie's holding a party at the community center." She then grinned slightly. "I'm gonna be DJing! Wanna stop by? Getting your mind off composing for a little while might help, and plus you might just get into the wicked awesomeness that is dubstep!"

Octavia chuckled slightly at that. "Maybe.... I guess I could stand to take a break for a bit... as long as I can resist the temptation to try Pinkie's 'special brew' this time."

Vinyl laughed at that. "Yeah, don't count on it. That stuff's the bomb!"

"Oh believe me, I'm the last person you need to tell that. I've never taken so much aspirin before. Still, that party was somewhat to my tastes. Very civil for having a bit of alcohol."

Both chuckled at that, though an awkward silence soon followed.

"So uh... see you there?"

Octavia continued to stand silently for a second before putting on a slight smile. "Sure, why not?” Octavia said, before turning back towards her apartment's door across the hall. “See you there!"

Vinyl grinned wickedly. A poor innocent soul just ready to be corrupted by dubstep now awaited her.

"Buahahahahaha.....

A few seconds passed before Vinyl turned back towards her apartment. Despite her 'true' evil intentions for inviting Octavia, though, the musical mare couldn't help but feel something rising inside her slightly at the thought of hanging out with the classical musician, something that hadn't risen in a long time. It was a fluttery warmth that flowed from her stomach all the way up to her chest.

Vinyl paused, thinking for a second, the memory of Octavia trotting away a second ago flashing in her mind. She moved so gracefully, with such precision and practice.... it was so intriguing to a mare who lived like a Free Bird. Despite this though, Vinyl still had places to see, and she wasn't a bird that could ever change.

She sighed. "Celestia knows I am to blame."

With a slight grunt, she then shrugged.

Meh, the feeling was probably just indigestion anyway

Chapter 2 - Aint No Party Like a Pinkie Party

If there was one constant in Ponyville, it was definitely Pinkie's parties. She had been having one nearly every day since as far back as anyone can remember, or at least from what Vinyl was told, and she was showing no signs of stopping. She'd celebrate literally anything, any excuse was fine. Baby took its first steps? Pinkie party time! Got a new carriage? Hell yeah that deserves a party! Won a twenty bit lottery? Let's get drunk! Honestly, the musical mare didn't even know what tonight's party was about.

Nobody really minded though, because the thing about Pinkie parties were that they were fun as all get out. No matter how crappy your day, they were bound to cheer you up. They never got stale either, for the pink party pony was always finding new ways to mix it up. Sometimes she'd pull hilarious pranks on the guests, other times she'd bring in live entertainment, and of course, the location always varied. It made Ponyville fun, it made Pinkie happy making others happy, and best of all: it gave Vinyl a source of income. A win-win-win.

Tonight's party was in the ballroom of the new Ponyville community center, and it was perfect. There was plenty of space for everyone, a kitchen right next to it, a bar counter, a freaking massive mana battery that could be charged and take care of the entire magical energy cost of the night without ever needing to be recharged, and as Vinyl soon found out; it had bitchin' acoustics. After playing a bit of one of her newest remixes, Vinyl was sure she'd never want to listen to it any other place.

Vinyl checked the time, the clock reading nine. It wasn't usual for Pinkie to hold a party this late, but Vinyl guessed she wanted it to be a little more... mature then her usual get outs again, her having done a few before and apparently really liking them. It was adult only, and though Pinkie's normal balloon and streamer get up could be seen about the room, she had also fully stocked the bar with a crazy amount of alcohol. Dear Lord Celestia, there was going to be a puke flood of biblical proportions if Ponyville was as full of lightweights as she suspected. Sure, Pinkie had alcoholic beverages at her parties before, but they were never really based around it. This was probably going to be a lot wilder than any she had thrown before, even the adult themed ones.

Vinyl had no problems with this.

A few minutes later came the guests. She saw Doctor Hooves, or just 'the Doctor' as he was sometimes called enter with Derpy Hooves (last name coincidental... for now), the two looking a bit close. Definitely a couple, though an odd one, the Doctor being a quirky, eccentric genius and Derpy being well.... a bit of a goof. Heh, maybe odd just attracted odd. The one thing that they had in common though was that they were both very kind, and Vinyl could look past any quirk for that personality quality.

Then came the town's five most famous residents (not including Pinkie), the rest of the Elements of Harmony. Vinyl admitted she had a bit of envy for them at first, but it soon laxed when she realized just how humble they were about it. Plus, Pinkie was just plain cool, and as cliche as it sounded, any friends of that crazy party pony were friends of her's. The five of them already seemed to be a bit buzzed, probably having pre-gamed beforehand. Vinyl stifled a laugh at that. Oh if only Celestia could see her golden student now.

Next came her two favorite ponies, Lyra and Bon Bon, also standing trotting close together she might add. Nopony payed them heed at their apparent couple status, and Vinyl was certainly fine with that. She loved how liberal Ponyville was, such the polar opposite from her home city of Canterlot. However, their openness about being filly foolers wasn't all what Vinyl liked about them. Bon Bon made awesome candy and just had this motherly air about her, and Lyra well.. Lyra was freaking crazy. She'd often rant hours on end about creatures called humans (Vinyl never heard of em'), and for a full day one time Vinyl had watched her attempting to walk around on just her two hind legs. Needless to say, it was god damned hilarious. Oh, and she was also sick nasty at the lyre.

After that came.... wait, what the hell was he doing here? She always thought Spike was supposed to be a baby dragon. Then again, he was fairly mature. Maybe he could handle himself around an adult crowd and stay out of the liquor. Then it hit her; that's what he was probably here for. The poor little guy must have been the caretaker of Twilight and her four friends. Meh, well at least they were being watched out for.

More guests began to shuffle in, and soon the community center was packed. Vinyl had been playing some light music as for now. It wasn't good to just throw everyone into something nuts right away. You had to allow them to adjust, mingle for a bit, and then you smacked them in the face with something awesome. It was even better that alcohol was in the mix. Vinyl grinned. This was going to be a freaking awesome night. However, something seemed to be missing from the picture...

It then hit her.

Octavia!

"Awww man, I hope she's still coming," Vinyl thought. "I did tell her the time, right?"

She then thought a second, nearly facehoofing afterwards. "Crap, no I didn't!" She sighed. Why did she have to be so dumb sometimes? No matter though, Octavia could probably just ask someone or look at the fliers around town. No harm, no foul.

Soon after, Vinyl saw Pinkie walking over towards her DJ station. She grinned at that. The pink mare was probably getting ready to really start the party. As Vinyl eagerly waited in anticipation, Pinky grabbed the microphone sitting atop the music mare's station, throwing a wink towards her as she did so. She then turned towards the crowd.

"Hey everypony!" She said, her amplified voice quickly ringing threw the room. The mingling of the party guests ceased as this as each turned to give her their undivided attention, them likely already knowing just what was about to be announced, and that was the start to a great-

"Whoever brought the purple carriage, you left your lantern on."

In the crowd, Vinyl could barely make out Derpy Hooves eeping before making her way outside. The DJ pony couldn't tell if the young mare was buzzed or if she naturally walked so awkwardly. She could also practically sense the entire crowd giving a collective, dissapointed 'awwwwwww.'

A beat.

Pinkie then grinned. "And also, is everypony ready to KICK THIS PARTY INTO HIGH GEAR?"

And the crowd roared in approval.

"Let me hear a HELL YEAH!"

"HELL YEAH!"

"I can't HEAR YOU!" Pinkie Pie screamed, her grin widening.

"HELL YEAH!" The crowd replied, somehow amplifying their volume even louder.

"That's what I'm talking about, everypony!" Pinkie beamed. "Now, who here wants Vinyl to drop one of her sick tracks!?"

The crowd cheered yet again. God, Vinyl loved this so damned much.

"Play that cool one you played last week that was all cool and stuff!" she heard Bon Bon yell.

"Yeah, play it!" Lyra chimed in.

Vinyl glanced towards the microphone at that before smiling Pinkie's way. The party pony got the message, handing it to the DJ.

"Hmmm... not sure what you guys are talking about...." she said, before flipping a switch to start just the track they wanted. "You mean, THIS ONE?!"

It wasn't one of Vinyl's particularly favorite tracks, RnB was just... meh to her, though Colt Jon sure could get a crowd riled up. If she had to give him anything, she could give him that. Immediately, the vibe of the room had gone from controlled talking and light drinking to a frenzy.

"Wooooooo yeah!"

"Come on everypony, let's dance!"

"Wait, let's take a shot together first, Twilight!"

"I wouldn't mind joining... if it's alright with you guys..."

Vinyl had just kicked the bee hive, and now everypony's adrenaline was pumping, them all ready to start being active as all get out. The musical mare then smiled. She loved this part of any party the most. A second later, the dance floor was in full swing, everypony doing their own thing, even if they couldn't dance worth a crap. That was another thing she loved about Ponyville, everypony who was everypony just let everypony else be their pony selves, even if they were making asses of themselves like Doctor Hooves currently was.

"Come on Derpy, to the dance floor! Allonz-y!"

"Doctor! What are you doing?! You know you can't dance!" Derpy cried, just getting back inside.

Doctor Hooves rolled his eyes. "Oh just come here and dance with me, you beautiful cock-eyed bubble-flanked adorable little-"

Yeah, the Doctor was definitely drunk. She then turned and saw Lyra wasn't far behind him in the shot department.

"Check it out, Bon Bon! I'm dancing on two hooves! TWO HOOVES! Just like humans used to do kind of!"

"Hahaha! You're so crazy Lyra."

The teal pony grinned. "You know you love it!"

"Did I forget to add that in?" Bon Bon said with a smile before actually trying out the two-hoofed dance herself.

Lord, she must have been pretty drunk too. Normally, Bon Bon was a bit uptight about Lyra's antics. She then turned over towards the shot table where Rainbow Dash was currently holding both Fluttershy and Twilight in her arms.

"Do you guys know..." she slurred, before hiccuping slightly. "Woah... hehe, lost my train of thought. Anyway, do you guys know you're my very best friends?! I mean seriously...." She then hiccuped again. "We've been through so much crazy crap together... we are like... we're like freaking...." She let go of them both before bringing two hooves together. "We are like this. We're like two... really close hooves... all close and stuff." She then simpered. "I'm getting all sappy aren't I?"

"Oh you bet your biscuit you are," Applejack said with a chuckle, walking over towards her. "But that's alright, a little alcohol can do that to anyone, even you."

"Saaaaaaaay," Rainbow Dash said suspiciously, pointing a hoof at Applejack. "How come you're not all...." She hiccuped again. "Bucked up?"

Applejack quirked an eyebrow with a smirk. "I grew up on a farm, remember? Let's just say we don't... buy our liquor."

"Hah! I kneeeeew you guys drank moonshine!" Rainbow Dash teased.

"Oh, hush up. You know you'd give anything for our special cider."

The rainbow haired mare's jaw dropped to the floor. "Y-You mean to tell me there's a-alcoholic Apple Family Farms cider?" Vinyl could have sworn she had seen tears forming in the corners of her widened eyes.

Heh. The musical mare sort of wanted a little of whatever that was for herself. The Apples did have the best cider in all of Equestria. Good honest (hehe) hard work really did them good, especially when faced against sleazebags like the Flim Flam Brothers who had rolled in a few months ago. They had one good thing about them, and that was the really catchy song they got everyone singing. Vinyl always had a soft spot for old school big band music. She swore, sometimes it was as if Ponyville rehearsed the songs they sang beforehand and failed to invite her to the practices.

The party went on for an hour and was showing no signs of stopping, it becoming increasingly chaotic and drunken, though not to the point where anything was getting damaged. Vinyl still had nightmares of the time some drunken idiot had almost spilled beer all over her new amp. Speaking of which, the thought of beer was getting to her head at this point. With that, she decided to leave her DJ station for a tic to grab an ice cold glass of it.

She sighed as she looked out at the crowd. Octavia still hadn't shown up. Was she just not interested.... or had she finally found inspiration and was currently writing some godly piece of classical music?

Her eyebrows then narrowed in confusion. Wait, why was she so concerned that Octavia wasn't coming anyway? She was barely friends with her... she had no real interest in the classical pony... right?

She grunted, trying to shrug it off.

She didn't even like classical music that much. It was too intricate for her, and though some of it was very beautiful, it just didn't bring about the feeling that Vinyl always desired, that intense primal feeling that only more modern music could, especially dubstep and to her, hard rock. Though musical preferences didn't really matter in a relationship that much, they could tell a bit about a pony. Octavia was classical music. She was a calculated, eloquent, dignified, and a bit uptight, everything that the impulsive Free Bird Vinyl Scratch was not.

"Opposites do attract though..."

She shook her head incredulously, rolling her eyes. She then grunted inwardly and finally put the thought aside.

Along the way to the bar, she caught sight of Doctor Hooves standing in front of somewhat jealous looking Derpy and a group of mares, slurring out a somewhat riveting tale, though honestly Vinyl really had no idea what he was talking about. Apparently the Doctor was some sort of time travelling... time lord pony thing, though whatever he used to travel was currently in disrepair for the moment.

"So there I was, the Pandorica in my grasp, my hearts thumping like no tomorrow!" the Doctor said dramatically. "And above me were a thousand ships, spaceships(!), filled with all sorts of nasty creatures just ready to take it away from me; Daleks, Cybermen, you name it!"

"Woaaaah!"

"Spaceships!? That's so awesome!"

One of the mares looked a bit confused. "Wait, what's a Dalek?"

The Doctor thought for a moment. "A Dalek is...." he paused, thinking a bit more. "It's a really nasty creature of pure hate that lives inside of a..." He put on a comical grin. "A giant pepper shaker."

The mares laughed at that, all except Derpy.

"Doctor, how do you make up such crazy stuff?" Rainbow Dash asked.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Trust me, I'm not joking! And they're scarier than they sound!"

Rainbow Dash smirked. "Giant pepper shakers? What could they do, make you sneeze to death?"

The group chuckled.

Derpy shook her head. "The Doctor's right, though, I've seen one myself! They're really weird looking, talk like robots and have these crazy death-ray laser things!"

A few gasps of horror could be heard.

The Doctor smiled at that. "Anyway, so I knew I had to do something to distract them while I figured out a way to open the Pandorica, so do you wanna know what I did?!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Keep going, Doctor!"

"What'd you do?! What'd you do?! Tell me, tell me, tell me!!!!" Pinkie beamed, bouncing.

"I whipped out my sonic screwdriver," the Doctor said, actually doing so in the present and turning on the device, it emitting a strange whir, everpony gazing at it with fascination. "Put it on microphone mode, stood atop a slab of rock and called into the heavens, 'Helllllooooooo Stone Henge. My lord, I've drawn quite a crowd, and I know why! Whoever takes the Pandorica takes the universe, but bad news everyone, because guess who's here!'" The Doctor giggled drunkenly with a smile. "It was me. I was there. Anyway, so then I said, 'So, if any of you have any plans on taking the Pandorica, TONIGHT(!!!), just remember who's standing in your way! Remember every black day I've ever beaten you, and then... AND THEN!'" the Doctor cried, slamming a drunken hoof on the ground. "'Do the smart thing, and let somebody else try first!'"

The mares let out a series of cheers at that.

The Doctor then comically puffed out his chest. "Yes, I'm such a badass."

The group giggled at this display.

"So what happened?"

The Doctor laughed at that. "You're not going to believe this, but they actually turned tail and went to go argue about who was going to try to take the piss out of me! Bloody idiots!"

"Seriously!?"

"Awww man, that's so awesome!" Rainbow Dash beamed.

The group broke out into laughter before breaking out into chatter among themselves.

Derpy then put on a slight smirk, and Vinyl could barely make out her whispering the the Doctor, "aren't you going to tell the part about how they tricked you with those... those watcha call em... Centurion look alikes-"

"Shhhhhh," the Doctor whispered, straightening his bow tie. "Don't make me ruin my street cred."

Derpy rolled her eyes in two different directions.

"God damn that's cool," Vinyl thought, gazing at them, as if the Doctor's tale of beating back space aliens meant nothing.

With that, the DJ pony grabbed a bottle of Blue Luna beer before cracking it open with a nearby bottle opener and taking a swig. She cringed slightly at the taste. This was a new beer to her, but she was sure like most other beer she could get used to it in time. She wondered if the princess minded having a brand named after her. Then again, she had seen her rocking out at the royal wedding. She probably was the more... wild of the two pony princesses. She was to Celestia as Vinyl was to...

She groaned inwardly. There she went again, thinking about the classical pony. Why couldn't she get her off her mind?

And right then, as if to heed her mind's call, she spotted Octavia out of the corner of her eyes standing at the doorway....

...In a somewhat formal attire, looking at the drunken crowd in a disturbed manner, Bon Bon currently taking a shot off Lyra while the Doctor and Derpy began making out on the dance floor as Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Applejack sang along with the profane music currently playing...

....Eloquent, civil, refined Octavia, who to her knowledge had never been to this kind of Pinkie party before...

...And of course, right then Colt Jon blasted the lyrics, "They need an excuse, to suck our cocks!" Drunken Twilight and company were actually still singing along, too.

Octavia's eyes widened in horror, and so did Vinyl's.

"Awwww crap. Why did I have to put that song on again?!"

Chapter 3 - The Long and Winding Road

Atop a lonely balcony stood the Princess of the Night, known simply as Luna. She looked out beyond Canterlot and towards northern jagged mountains that obscured the dawn's horizon. The thought to tear herself away came for the thousandth time, but again she failed to heed its command. Instead, she simply gave forth a lament filled sigh. At that, she heard the creek of her bedroom door, and familiar hoofsteps approaching her.

"Luna? What are you doing out here all alone?" asked Celestia, her tone laced with sisterly concern.

"Listening." Luna replied softly.

"Listening to what?" Celestia asked.

Luna lowered her eyebrows, turning towards her sister. "Don't act as if you can't hear them."

Celestia paused for a second, glancing away from her sister slightly. "I... can hear them."

The night pony then tuned back towards her balcony rail, facing away from her sister. "Then you know they're coming."

Luna heard Celestia creeping forward, her placing a cold hoof on her back. "Their song is still beautiful, you know. It's just... sadder now."

"That's not helping sister but..." A hint of a warm smile flashed across her face. "Thanks for trying, I guess."

"What happened wasn't your fault!"

Luna grunted in annoyance. "Wasn't it?" she said, not bothering to face her sister.

"No, it wasn't."

Luna let loose another sigh. "You're right, it wasn't my fault... at least not completely."

"So your blaming yourself for being flesh and blood?" Celestia asked, her voice a bit more stern. "We all have emotions Luna, even alicorns, even you. Though it would be nice sometimes, we can't simply turn them off. If I were in your place, it's very possible the same thing could have happened to me."

Luna remained silent.

"You're right though, what happened to them is regretful, but though it pains me I simply do not have the power to fix them." Her voice then softened somewhat. "For that I'm truly... truly sorry."

A few small tears formed in the eyes of the night princess as she turned back to face her sister. "How did you ever bring yourself to forgive me?"

A hint of a sympathetic, yet saddened smile etched across her sister's face. "I still wonder how you haven't forgiven yourself."

"I wish I could..."

Celestia gave her a look of stern resolve. "Then perhaps this is your chance to. You know them better than anypony, sister, how do we stop them?"

Luna shook her head. "There is no stopping them... at least not in their current state of...." her eyes widened. "Wait a minute." With that, Luna turned to the side, pacing a few feet before halting and bringing a hoof up to her chin in thought. After a second, something struck her. With a slight grin hiding her inner sorrows, she turned back towards her sister. "Do you remember how good I used to be able to sing?"

Celestia blinked in confusion.

Octavia continued to stand awkwardly at the doorway to the community center. After a second, she began to back away... slowly, right before...

"Hey everypony! Octavia's here!"

"What's up, Octi?!"

"Heyo! Never thought I'd see you out of that apartment of yours."

"Come take a shot with us, Octavia!"

Octavia glanced about nervously, obviously out of her element. "Uh... hi everpony. Listen, I think I might have left..." she paused for a second. "Er, my oven! Yes, I think I've left my oven on. I need to go and... turn it off. Don't want to cause a fire now, do I?" She grinned sheepishly.

"Woah! Go take care of it then." A drunken voice said.

"Yeah, good catch. Come right back afterwards!"

Vinyl nearly facehoofed. Was she seriously the only sober pony left? She glanced around the crowd, half of them looking like zombies who fed off alcohol instead of brains. The only sober person was Spike, and considering he was a dragon... yep, she was the only pony left somewhat sober. As the crowd distracted Octavia, she quickly made her way over to her DJ console to switch to something a bit less... vulgar, her inwardly groaning as she did so. Sure, she had known the party was going to be somewhat wild when she invited Octavia but why did she have to put that song on the tracklist? Still, it wasn't entirely her fault. Apparently carefree ponies and a lot of alcohol was a larger combination for shenanigans then she expected.

She squinted annoyance. There she went again. Why in the name of Celestia was she so concerned about the classical pony?

It then hit her like a two-ton slab of metal. She really did have feelings for her, didn't she? B-But how? How was that possible? They were just so different. As if she were trying to fling the thoughts out of her brain, Vinyl shook her head. No matter the reason, she still wanted the brown mare here with her. She wasn't about to let her get away that easily. However, when she glanced over towards where Octavia stood she noticed the mare was now gone. Vinyl's eyes narrowed in determination. She couldn't have gotten that far.

"Hey Pinkie, do you still remember that crash lesson I gave you on how to use this thing?" she asked, glancing over towards the pink mare who was currently doing a slobbery shotgun with the help of Rainbow Dash. Vinyl groaned inwardly at that. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to have the drunk party pony near her equipment... No matter though, it'd only be a second.

"Wesh I dwo!" Pinkie beamed as she drank, spraying alcohol all over the rainbow haired mare.

"ACK! Pinkie!" she shrieked, wiping the saliva-beer combination off her. "More chugging less talking!"

"Swowwy!"

The spraying had been doubled!

"PINKIE!"

Vinyl raised her eyebrows as the party pony finished up her drink. "Uh... actually, this song should take a bit to finish so don't worry about it."

"Okie dokie lokie!"

With that, Vinyl left her station to make her way towards the door. She cringed as she stepped over several passed out ponies; Lyra, Bon Bon, and Twilight, the newest addition to the slumber party on the floor.

"Uggggh..." Spike groaned, gazing at Vinyl while prodding the downed mare with a single digit. "Looks like I'm going to need to take a trip to the coffee store in the morning..." He then paused, rolling his eyes slightly. "For a pony so concerned with keeping her mind straight, you sure know how to kill brain cells, Twilight."

Vinyl chuckled slightly at that before she entered the outside world, a determined look on her face. She saw Octavia scooting off in the distance down the long and winding road that led from the community center to central Ponyville, it actually being located a slight distance from town.

"Octavia, wait up!" Vinyl called.

Octavia glanced over her shoulder towards the musical mare, her expression a mock look of worry. "Sorry Vinyl, but uhhh... oven fire!"

Vinyl rolled her eyes. "Ugh, we both know that you're just making an excuse."

With that, Octavia halted in her tracks, throwing Vinyl a sheepish grin and allowing her to catch up with her.

"Listen, I'm sorry that was kind of... awkward for you. I honestly didn't expect the party to get this wild."

The classical pony threw the dubstep pony a sympathetic glance. "It's alright, Vinyl.. it's just not my kind of social gathering."

"Why don't you stay for a bit, though? I mean... maybe you'll get used to it?" Vinyl said with a grin.

Octavia shook her head with a 'no means no' expression mixed with slight confusion. "Thanks Vinyl, really, but I should probably be sleeping anyway. I need to get up early for a few things."

Octavia then began heading down the path to her apartment again.

"Come on Vinyl, she's getting away!"

With that, the floodgates holding back Vinyl's frustration broke. In an annoyed, exasperated tone she said, "ugh! If only you were a little less uptight!"

Octavia snapped towards Vinyl, her face contorted with confusion and anger. "Excuse me? Why does it matter to you so much anyway?"

Vinyl gulped at that, simmering down and putting on her best apologetic look. "S-Sorry... it's just...." she paused, courage building up in her chest. "It's just I really wanted to spend time with you tonight!" she finally spat out.

Octavia's look of confusion continued for but the briefest second before she began to succumb to realization. She then sighed. "Vinyl..."

"Yeah, I know. It's a stupid thought..."

Octavia shook her head with a slight smile. "It's not stupid. Well, maybe it is. Maybe we're just both stupid."

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean that... well... I kind of... feel the same way," Octavia said, a slight smile etching across her face. "I knew the party was going to be pretty wild, but I came anyway tonight because I wanted to well... get to know you a little better. I wanted you to be more then just the mysterious mare of music who lived across the hall. Then when I got to the party and realized just how out of my element I was... well I began to have doubts anything could come of my feelings. We're just so different and yet..."

"Yet you still think that somehow something could... work?" Vinyl said, her voice laced with hope.

Octavia raised a hoof. "With a bit of effort."

"I can do effort," Vinyl said, a smile forming on her face.

"And a lot of patience."

"I can do patience." The smile grew wider.

"And a lot of music."

"I can do music too!" The edges of the smile seemed as if they were going to fall off her face. Her eyes then widened, a slight grin coming across her face. "Wait, does that mean you want to try to jam together sometime?"

Octavia smirked. "How's tomorrow sound?"

Prologue - The Frozen Prison

Chapter 1 - The Frozen Prison

Beyond the northern Crystal Mountains of Equestria and out of her territory entirely lie what some called the Frozen North, and it definitely didn't receive its name for any deceptive purposes. It was a vast continent of surreal, but oddly beautiful tundra lying under a sky filled with boreal lights. Despite this, few ponies lived in it to see its sights except for the hearty Tundra Ponies, though they were scattered few and far between. That didn't mean there weren't any more sentient species that resided there, however.

There were the Changelings, who mainly lived in icy arctic caves, the White Wolves, noble hunter-scavengers, and a variety of animals. Still though, despite the fact life still thrived here it mainly kept hidden. Most of the landscape was completely unpopulated and barren. If one ever wanted to hide anything, the top of the world was the place for it.

Distraught and alone walked a solitary wolf, his paws ever-tenacious against the cold snow battering against them. He had been separated from his pack a while ago, and was now on a trek to find them. Though he had caught a whiff of their scent miles back, he had lost it again soon after. However, he wasn't about to give up just yet.

Onward he went, the sun of a distant pony princess gazing at him from the sky. It was really his only company, and that wasn't enough for him. Wolves were creatures of the pack, and separating them from it was the worst fate any could receive. However, after an hour more of travel he began to feel an odd sensation, an icy cold trickle spinning down his spine that had nothing to do with arctic winds. It was as if he wasn't alone any longer, though this company wasn’t anything he felt he wanted.

At that, he began to walk across a vast sheet of ice covered by a good four inches of snow. Despite it being frozen water, it was pretty much land to him, solid ground. He never expected it to suddenly crack, but that's just what it did. A thousand fissures erupted from a small point some twenty feet from him, quickly spreading in all directions with a roaring crackle. His eyes widened at this. He had never seen such a thing before in all of his life. Ice was never something to be just cracked, it being too thick for any such thing.

He began to run back from where he had come, panting as wind whipped against his fur. When he made back to the safety of solid ground, he sighed in relief before turning back to around to view what was transpiring. What in the world of Trinity could be causing such a thing? Was there some sort of beast under the ice trying to breach it? His eyes widened at that. Had it sensed him? Heeding to caution, he began to back away further from the lake.

The sound of cracking ice began to grow louder, and soon after a jet of black mist suddenly jutted out from where the cracks had originated, sending chunks of ice flying in all directions and melting a ton near it to form a large, ten foot in diameter hole. He gasped when he saw one of the chunks was about to strike him and quickly jetted out of the way, it crashing down right where he was a second ago. He took a deep of breath at that, thankful his eye had caught the projectile, though despite the present danger he refused to turn and run. Instead, he continued to stare at the lake before him.

He couldn't see the bottom of the hole in the ice, him not being at the right angle, though it seemed to be more than five feet deep. He wasn't in any hurry to grow closer to it, though. The jet of black mist had dissipated at this point, and the ice had stopped cracking, giving rise to an eerie calm save for the ghostly winds of the north. However, a second later this calm was squelched.

His ears perked as he heard something that had never befallen them before, a song, it being sung in a strange language by a multitude of voices. His kind were not one for the arts, so singing was something rarely if ever heard by them. Despite the fact he couldn't judge, he could still sense a certain... beauty about it. He felt others would feel the same. However, that wasn't the only thing he sensed.

"I don't know why... but it makes me sad..." he thought.

A second later, he saw wisps of black smoke jutting out of the hole before curving towards the edge of it, them soon forming coherent shapes. Their forms looked somewhat like ponies, creatures he had seen to the south. However, from this distance he couldn't make out any details. These smoke creatures soon formed a circular ring around the hole they had come out of, there being nearly fifty of them... a hundred... two hundred...

Naturally, being a somewhat intelligent wolf he wasn't about to sit around to see what they wanted. At that, he quickly turned and ran. He'd have to spend quite some time navigating a large arc around that lake now, him not wanting to draw attention to himself from these strange beings, but it would be north not being in danger. Their song followed him, however, and he soon found himself feeling quite drowsy. His legs were with his mind, and he found them growing heavier.

At that, he felt something behind him, and turned to see one of the smoke creatures closing in on him. Now he could see the details of it, or the lack of them actually. It had the shape of a pony but that was about it. It had no mouth, no nose, no features whatsoever save for a series of black tendrils that jutted out of it at every possible point and whipped about as if they were being blown by a furious wind. His eyes widened as he tried to pick up his pace, but the creature was still closing in on him fast.

Suddenly, it was as if he had lost all muscle control in his legs. At the same time, he felt a terrible chill in his flank. His legs collapsed beneath him, the rest of his body soon following them as it plummeted into the snow. He wanted to growl instinctively, despite the fact that that wouldn’t do much, but he couldn't. His mouth simply wouldn't follow his mind's command. He tried to get up, but that was a futile effort as well. The only thing he could do was move his eyes.

His ears still worked however, and he heard the song of these shadow creatures grow ever louder. More were likely drawing near. One soon trotted before him, its beautiful music pouring out of it. He felt himself growing calmer, and soon after his eyelids shut as he drifted into a deep, dark sleep.