Vinyl Scratch stood alone at the rear end of the train, on the little metal balcony that Lyra had told her about. She watched the trees blur past the fast-moving machine, the brown and green foliage blending together and creating an unholy mix of the two colors. In the distance, snowcapped mountains peeked out from under the bulk of cumulous clouds as pegasi struggled to move the gargantuan behemoths. The sun shone down on a stream, sending a myriad of colors in all directions.

Vinyl watched with enraptured fascination. Something stirred inside her, a familiar feeling that, as a filly, had accompanied her wherever she went.

Insignificance.

Scotch Records was a huge part of that mentality, she knew, but that didn’t offer her any consolation now. Here she was, one insignificant mare in a sea of ponies that all knew they were better than her. Nature, with her looming horizons and insurmountable mountains, was simply a metaphorical paramount to that.

The unicorn’s thoughts drifted to her father. With one hoof still gripping the pristine steel railing, Vinyl took the other and brushed the bruise that still marked the underside of her eye. She grimaced. Yep, still sore. The hoof traveled to her swollen lip. That, thankfully, had mostly healed; the puffiness that had marred it the day before was reduced to a simple bump. She should make sure to thank Nurse Blue Cross later.

The pain of the bruise was nothing but a reminder of how much Vinyl hated him. That much, the snow-white unicorn knew without a doubt. She knew that Scotch Records was a terrible father, and she should be glad enough to be rid of him. But… he was still her father, and she knew she should be feeling some sort of remorse… He was choked to unconsciousness and arrested, for Celestia’s sake!

But she felt nothing.

It was this, more than anything else, which disturbed her.

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, looking past the gorgeous landscape surrounding her. It could have been fifteen minutes or fifteen hours. Time had ceased to have meaning, everything just blurred into two camps: Before and After.

The mare exhaled deeply, annoyed at herself. She was in After. She should be focusing on the future, not dwelling on the past.

Somepony tapped her on the shoulder. Vinyl snapped out of her reverie, raising her head in a daze to see the newcomer.

“Hello.” A light gray mare stood upright beside her, stretching. “Nice night out, isn’t it?”

Night? Confused, Vinyl glanced at her surroundings. Sure enough, Luna’s moon shone radiantly in the sky, and the stars twinkled with the merry brightness that the Queen of the Night thought befit her realm. The forest of pine the train passed shimmered eerily in the light of the heavens. The mountain range that had been so beautiful in the day was nothing more than a looming behemoth on the horizon, the shadowy crags and crevices that she could just make out from afar filling the amethyst-eyed unicorn with a sense of foreboding. How long have I been here?

The howl of a Timberwolf cut through the air, frighteningly loud and frighteningly close. Vinyl jumped, the hair on the nape of her neck standing on end. The note hung in the air for a few moments, haunting the night with its unnatural beauty before slowly fading away into oblivion.

It took her a moment to collect her thoughts. “Yeah,” Vinyl finally murmured. “Nice.”

The mare laughed, and Vinyl gave a shaky smile in return. As the newcomer stood enraptured with the picture-perfect world around her, the snow-colored unicorn took the chance to look her over. She observed the elegant black mane, the slim build, the dark, smoky violet eyes, the practiced smile. And she recognized her.

Vinyl wanted to say: “Hey, you’re the pony that sang yesterday! You were amazing, and so was your friend! Are you in a band? You should be! Where are you guys headed?”

What came out was: “You play.”

Vinyl had to resist the urge to punch herself in the mouth.

But the mare giggled. “Yes, I do. And you were that mare in the back who was crying last night.” She grimaced. “Sorry about that.”

Vinyl relaxed, waving a hoof at her nonchalantly. “It’s fine. It wasn’t you, anyway. It was that song…” She smiled softly, her thoughts on the lyrical magic that had been woven earlier. “Those words… they just…” She shrugged. “It was just one of those songs, you know, that perfectly explain what’s happening, and…” She shrugged again, half-smiling at the pitiful attempt to relay the impossible.

The new mare nodded at her emphatically. “No, it’s okay. I know what you mean.” They both looked out at the night again. Vinyl tried watching the landscape for a while more, but quickly found her gaze wandering to the mysterious mare again. She looked as if she was debating with herself about something, her jaw grinding together and her brows furrowed in thought. A couple times she looked as if she might speak, only to shut her mouth again and resume staring at their stunning surroundings.

A beat.

Octavia spoke, her voice calm, resigned, and emotionless. “Look… I’m gonna be honest with you. Anypony can tell that you’re… well, let’s just say you’re not having the best day. I’m just going to take a shot in the dark and say it has something to do with the knife-toting stallion from yesterday.” Vinyl made to protest, but the Earth pony cut her off with a wave of her hoof. “So, here’s what I’m going suggest. There’s a bar on the train. There’s music, beverages, karaoke, whatever floats your boat. Your friend – that green mare, correct?- was there, too. But you need to do something. You can’t just sit here and mope, alright? You’re life isn’t out there in the woods somewhere. It’s here, going on, right now.” She leaned back against the rail, crossing her hooves as the wind whipped through her mane. “So, would you like to go?”

Vinyl thought about it. In all honesty, she was worried about herself. Here she was, on a first-class train to Canterlot, and she was standing all alone on a balcony looking out at the world. She winced, realizing how cliché she must look.

Vinyl sighed, looking out one last time to the beauty of the surrounding forest. “…Sure.”

The leaden-gray mare grinned at her. “Amazing.” She returned to again look out at the night, breathing in the cool air as the wind whipped around her.

Vinyl made to head for the door that lead inside the train when she remembered a crucial bit of information she lacked. “Wait a sec.”

The mare turned, raising a confused brow. “Yes?”

“You didn’t tell me your name,” Vinyl pointed out.

The mare blinked. "Oh, goodness, how silly of me!" She held out a hoof to shake. "I'm Octavia, cellist extraordinaire."

Vinyl returned the proffered hoof. "Nice to meet you, Octavia. I'm Vinyl Scratch. DJ... uh... rookie."

Octavia giggled. “Well, at least you're honest."

Vinyl laughed in return... before another tiny tidbit of information crossed her mind. "Uh... did you say my friend was in there?"

"Oh, yes," Octavia replied instantly. "And she seemed to be having a wonderful time, by the looks of it."

Oh, horseapples.

Octavia continued to speak, oblivious of the danger that the bar, all its inhabitants, and Equestria in general was in. “Celestia, you should have seen her. Downed them like a professional. Well, until she got tipsy. Then…”

Vinyl didn’t wait to hear the rest. She was already racing to the bar car, her hooves clattering on the mahogany floor, shoving passerby out of her way as she went (to the regal and dignified dismay of the regal and dignified passengers). Cries of “Oh, I say!” and “Preposterous, absolutely preposterous!” abounded throughout the train, but the galloping snow-white unicorn didn’t slow. The fate of Equestria could be hanging in the balance.

Vinyl had only seen Lyra tipsy once before, at a poorly-hosted house party as a freshmare in high school, and a drunk Lyra was something she wanted to keep as an once-in-a-lifetime event. She still found some of those pictures sometimes, and each was horrifying in their own right.

Anyway, Lyra had been struggling to live the humiliation down ever since. The fact the amber-eyed unicorn had even touched alcohol spoke volumes. Vinyl knew the mint-green mare either was a) drugged or b) in the presence of one knockout of a stallion. By the fact that her friend was in a bar, Vinyl assumed it was likely enough to be both.

She saw a door that read ‘BAR’, engraved on a gold plaque, less than 20 paces away. Galloping towards it, she flung the door open, eyes wild and searching for a telltale flash of mint green and fleeing civilians.

The sudden blast of music almost caused her to go running back the way she came. Vinyl winced. The DJ was going waaay to heavy on the instruments, to the point where it was almost unbearable. It sounds like… Vinyl tried to think of a good way to phrase the terrible mixtape. …like someone threw a few dozen of every instrument off a cliff and recorded how they sounded when they hit the ground. She nodded to herself affirmatively, then grimaced at a poorly-placed bass drop. Oh, Celestia, he's bad.

The amethyst-eyed mare shook her head, clearing it of any thought save the task at hand. Right, Lyra. She tried to ignore the DJ's sorely obvious lack of skill and the pulsing of the strobe as it lit the room every color of the rainbow. The other inhabitants of the club (because this was clearly not a bar) didn’t seem to mind very much, judging by their incessant grinding as well as the giggles and moans wafting out of the nearby restrooms. Ponies fell over the stage in the rear of the room, where there sat a pony with oversized headphones nodding off-beat.

When Vinyl didn’t see Lyra, she worried she was going to have to go in and check the bathrooms to make sure Lyra hadn’t cornered some poor stallion, or worse, when she heard somepony clumsily sneaking behind over the crashing of the bass and the shouts of the partying ponies.

Vinyl, along with Lyra, had taken no less than six courses of self-defense classes when she was a filly, and though it had been years since she last practiced, she often could still perform the moves that had been easy for her as a foal. So it was second nature for her to leap into the air, spin, and send a flying roundhouse kick towards her assailant’s head with a wild "HIYAAAAAH!!".

Lyra just ducked, giggling, the drink in her hoof sloshing out of her cup as she swayed back and forth in drunken mirth. “Fooled ya!” The intoxicated unicorn trilled gleefully. Her eyes gleamed with an unusual sheen, her smile was stretched far too wide, and the fact that Lyra was acting stupid enough to try and sneak up on Vinyl all served to confirm what Vinyl already suspected.

Vinyl heaved a sigh of relief and exasperation. “Lyra! What the hay do you think you’re doing?”

Her best friend giggled, hiccupped, and then giggled again. “Getting drunk, dummy, what’s it look like?” Lyra threw her head back, swigging the rest of her drink. She hiccupped one more, grinning ear to ear. “Celestia, I’d forgotten how fun this was!”

Vinyl looked at the mint-green mare like she had three heads. "Um... Lyra, don't you remember the last time you were drunk? You completely lost it! Why the hay-"

Lyra nodded, distracted. “Uh-huh.” The two amber orbs that adorned her face slowly began to cross. After a few moments of awkward derping, she suddenly snapped to attention again. “Wait, what?”

Vinyl facehoofed, and was about to repeat herself when Lyra interrupted her. “Hey, have some beer! Not as good as whiskey, but still makes you tipsy!” The minty mare giggled. "Hey, that rhymed!"

She pushed her glass towards Vinyl, smiling cheerfully, before realizing it was empty. “Oh yeah.” Lyra raised her empty cup high in the air, taking a deep breath. “BERRY!”

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your nethers in a twist!" A grinning purple Earth pony appeared alongside Lyra, offering her hoof for Vinyl to shake. Vinyl obliged. "Hey, how ya doin'? I'm Berry Punch, owner of this here joint. Nice ta meet ya!" Berry leaned forward, looking over the amethyst-eyed unicorn closely, and a huge smile across her features. Vinyl shifted uncomfortably, aware of the oh-so-familiar smell of alcohol heavily lacing Berry's breath. "Heyyyyyy, you must be that Vinyl Scratch Lyra here was talkin' 'bout earlier!" She nudged Vinyl, who smiled at her, embarrassed. "Heard ya played some 'sick beats,' or something like that. Isn't that what you said, Lyra, baby?"

Lyra nodded, much more rapidly than her neck should have allowed. "Yep! I said..." Her brows furrowed. "Oh yeah! I said that you played 'the sickest beats in Equestria!'"

She smiled at Vinyl, who returned it, flattered. "Oh, uh, and that you would play some of your mixtapes."

Vinyl's jaw dropped, eyes widened, and heart stopped all at the same time. "You... you..." she sputtered. “WHAAAT?!”

Lyra waved a modest hoof as Berry cut in. "You can thank her later, bud. I'll get ya set up while Lyra nabs your tracks." She turned to Lyra. "Ya know where they are?"

Lyra bobbed her head in assent, reciting her knowledge in a monotone. "In her saddlebag, hidden under the bed, stored on a 64GB RMA card."

Vinyl looked at the amber-eyed mare accusingly. "How the hay did you know that?"

"I looked through your things. Plus, you always store your songs on a RMA." With that, Lyra called a quick "I need a refill" to Berry, and then had disappeared into the crowds by the next beat of the bass and pulse of the strobe.

Vinyl eyed Berry Punch warily. The bubbly purple mare was drunk, that much was clear, but she had an unusual amount of tolerance to alcohol. By her breath, Vinyl would have guessed she’d be passed out on the floor. Instead, she was cheerful, spunky, and bubbling with mirth.

Berry grabbed Vinyl by the forehoof. “Come on, let’s get ya to the equipment!” She practically yanked Vinyl off her hooves, dragging the snow-white unicorn behind her.

And hyper, Vinyl thought wryly.

Berry galloped into the masses of ponies, shoving moshers, tripping breakdancers, and slapping grinders on the flank as she tore giggling through the crowds with the stumbling and apologetic Vinyl in tow. Berry snorted at Vinyl, who was shouting apologies faster than the purple pony could think. It was "Sorry!" this, “My bad!" that, blah blah blah blah blah. She blew her mane out of her eyes. Newbie.

They arrived at the equipment, where the current DJ sat headbanging to his mixtapes, eyes closed and rocking a baseball cap. Berry shoved him roughly out of his seat, knocking him onto the floor, and placing Vinyl his chair. When the previous owner of said chair made to protest, Berry rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut your cakehole, ya sucked anyway." She faced Vinyl. "Okay, now we wait for-"

"I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!" Lyra came charging out of the crowd, running over previous DJ as she went. She looked back at the unfortunate stallion. "Oops, my bad! Anyways, I got it!" She held up a small electronic chip in the air, waving it back and forth triumphantly.

Vinyl quickly levitated her precious treasure out of Lyra's hooves before it could be completely annihilated. She checked the card to see if it was charged. Thankfully, it was. Residual Magical Audio cards took a while to charge with magic, and she doubted either Berry or Lyra had the patience for that. Not to mention the fact that by the time the current song was over, there would be more than a few ponies who were wondering why their DJ was laying prone on the floor.

Shaking her mane out of her deep amethyst eyes, Vinyl pressed a button on the device, tapping into the magic store of the RMA where the audio was saved. A magically produced holographic screen projected in front of the snow-white unicorn, a glimmering, ethereal blue. Vinyl glanced at her companions. “Okay, what do you want to hear?”

Both mares instantly pressed their cheeks against hers, crowding in to get a better look at the screen. Vinyl, sandwiched between the two, watched their eyes pore over the options. “Ooh, ooh, do Somepony That I Used to Know!” Lyra trilled.

Vinyl grimaced. “No thanks. I don’t even remember why I bothered making a remix to that song.” She looked over her tracks. “How about -”

Berry snorted. “This is a club, Vinyl. I don’t think lyrics are the important thing here. What’s something that really drops the bass?”

“Oh! Oh! I know! Sorry for Pony Rocking!” Lyra squealed. “I loooove that song!”

Vinyl looked at her askance. “No you don’t.”

“Oh yeah.” Lyra tapped her hooves on her chin in thought. “How about… no, not that one… Oh, I know! Wait, no, that’s not right…” Vinyl facehoofed and was about to turn to Berry when the mint-green unicorn jumped into the air excitedly. “I GOT IT! BEEKEEPER’S FILLY!”

Berry looked at Vinyl and shrugged. “Eh. Not really club music, but your call.”

Vinyl grinned. “Yeah. I don't have a mix for it, but if you guys want to hear it, I'll play it.” The All-Equestrian Rejects were a popular group that she actually liked; one of a few in a handful. She made to turn on the track when a mint-green hoof stopped her. The amethyst eyed unicorn sighed, spinning in her chair. “Yes, Lyra?”

Two amber orbs stared at her pleadingly. “Um, can you not have the band singing?” Lyra asked. “I mean, can you play it just with the instruments?”

Vinyl tilted her head to one side, confused at the question, but nonetheless nodded. “Yeah, I can. Why do you ask?”

“I want to sing!” The brightness of Lyra’s smile almost blinded the amethyst-eyed unicorn, who had to resist the urge to shield her eyes.

Vinyl was about to protest when Berry walked up behind her and bumped her on flank, winking at the snow-white mare whimsically. "Don't ya worry, hon. I got this silly-filly covered." The purple pony took Lyra gently by the hoof, leading her over to the microphones. Berry gestured at Vinyl to get ready while she fruitlessly attempted to sober the mint green unicorn up.

Vinyl rapidly plugged in her RMA card into the equipment of the previous DJ, adjusting various knobs and switches as she went. Her horn lit up, several knobs turning down, silencing the layers of the song that held the voices of the All-Equestrian Rejects. Her amethyst orbs glanced over the wires that connected the two microphones to the audio equipment, making sure that they were attached.

Satisfied, Vinyl gave Lyra and Berry a triumphant wave, which both ponies feverishly returned. Vinyl watched as both mares swaggered up to the microphones, and she, much to her enjoyment, finally turned off the terrible mixtape.

As one, every single pony in the club turned to look at her with an expression of shock, disgust, curiosity, or some strange mix of the three. Vinyl grinned sheepishly in return, glancing over at her friend and the purple pony who seemed to be busy slapping the mint-green mare back to reality.

She coughed into the mic, desperate to distract everypony for the moment. “Er… hey, everypony! I’m Vinyl Scratch, and –“

“Hi, Vinyl,” said the crowd monotonously.

“Erm, thanks.” She laughed nervously. “Anyways, I’m gonna be your DJ for tonight!”

The cheers of the crowd were almost enough to knock her off her seat. Several ponies broke down into tears of joy, while others contented themselves with screaming “NO MORE KE$HA! NO MORE KE$HA!” Everypony remotely near to the bar raised their hooves for a celebratory drink, shouting “TOAST! TOAST! TOAST! TOAST!”

Vinyl waved at the crowd nonchalantly, grinning wider and wider as she gained confidence. Fixing the mane that had become windswept in the uproar, she shouted at the masses. “You guys ready to hear some REAL music?!”

“YEAH!” The roar of the drunken crowd was above deafening, cheers shaking the train.

“YOU WANT TO ROCK?!”

“YEAH!”

“YOU WANT TO HEAR THESE MARES SING TO THE ALL-EQUESTRIAN REJECTS?!”

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"

Everypony turned to look at the giant white stallion who stood flexing his gargantuan muscles in the center of the crowd, his tiny red eyes wide and bloodshot. His miniscule wings flapped furiously, beating the air around them with a possessed fervor as he stood panting from his outburst. A small blue pony next to the behemoth quietly inched away with an 'I-don't-know-him' look on his face.

“Uh…” Vinyl blinked. “Ahem. Okay! Ladies and gentlecolts, it is my pleasure to introduce – LYRA HEARTSTRINGS AND BERRY PUNCH!”

Berry let go of a staggering Lyra, who seemed now seemed slightly more sober than before. Both waved happily at the crowd, Berry blowing kisses to the roaring horde even as Lyra blew them raspberries. The pair staggered up to the microphones, tapping on them once to make sure they were on. Each mare beamed at the other before turning to give a confirmatory nod to Vinyl.

She returned it, grinning in anticipation as she prepared to start the music.

"Laaa, da-da da daaa!"

Now! Vinyl quickly turned on the music, her smile broadening as Lyra and Berry continued to sing. Lyra walked towards center stage, Berry hanging back and allowing the mint-green mare to move into the limelight.

I've been known a thousand ways-
Choked a hundred hearts in half as many days…
Oh no, I think so!
And I get so lost inside this city:
you ugly mares all look so pretty, it's true.
What am I supposed to do?

I still got you to wait…
Look out your window...
What do you see?
You don't see me!

The crowd's roars of approval escalated with every note, reaching a frenzy as the two mares hit the chorus together. Two stallions in the back promptly fainted as Lyra winked at them from across the room.

You're a pretty little flower,
but I'm a busy little bee;
Honey, that's all you need to see. (Laaa, da-da da daaa!)
I can take you for an hour,
but then I'm gonna leave;
Honey, I know you'll wait for me. (Laaa, da-da da daaa!)

Berry took a step forward, stealing center stage from Lyra and grinning cheekily at the crowd. The room began to shake with cheers as the club's management took up where Lyra had left off.

You're all alone but you understand
that we're too young to start making plans of green:
Monogamy's not a part of me. (Unh-uh!)

Berry broke flow for a second to giggle at Lyra, who had slid across the floor on her knees, whamming at an air guitar with her eyes tightly shut and a cocky smirk on her face. Grinning, the purple mare returned to the song before she could get her timing off.

And I know my line and it’s just a sin
when I swear to you I'm gonna do it again;
I'm not making any friends...

I just wanted you to wait...
There out your window...
What do you see?
You don't see me!

‘Cause you're a pretty little flower,
but I'm a busy little bee…
Honey, that's all you need to see. (Laaa, da-da da daaa!)
I can take you for an hour,
Baby then I'm gonna leave…
Honey I know you'll wait for me! (Laaa, da-da da daaa!)

Both mares leaned on each other, back to back, heads pointed skyward and the microphones held close to their muzzles as they shouted their drunkenness to the ceiling.

Laaa da-da da daaa
La-da-daaa, da-da-da-da daaa!

Pulled out your picture the other day…
(Oh, isn't that sweet?)
You didn't have that much to say...
(You wouldn't even breathe!)
Cause I know, that you said
I'm better off on my own and I'm better off dead…

I just want you there to wait…
Stare out your window!
What do you see?
YA DON'T SEE ME!

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH- GO!" The two intoxicated mares gestured wildly for the inhabitants of the club to join in as the music began to slam on the guitar. With a roar of approval, everypony in the room put their hooves on another's shoulders, strangers and friends alike, grinning ear to ear.

Vinyl watched ecstatically from behind her equipment. Her amethyst eyes blazed in the heat of the moment, a primal grin dancing across her features. She watched Lyra and Berry put their hooves around each other, practically shouting into the microphones as a horde of drunken ponies joined in.

Dirty little flower,
I'm a busy little bee!
Honey, that's all you need to see! (LAAA, DA-DA DA DAAA!)
I can take you for an hour,
Maybe two or maybe three!
Honey, I know you'll wait for me! (LAAA, DA-DA DA DAAA!)

LAAA, DA-DA DA DAAA,
LA-DA-DAAA, DA-DA-DA-DA DAAA!

The crowd quieted. Vinyl, confused at the silence, looked up from her equipment, where she had been prepared to start up a new song.

Lyra and Berry were draped across one another, muzzles locked together in a fervent kiss. The two mares were embracing warmly, their hooves traveling up and down the other pony, each caressing the other's body with a gentle passion.

Vinyl's jaw dropped.

The two mares pulled apart, looking into each other's eyes. Together, they sang the last line so softly that even Vinyl had to crane her neck just to catch it.

"Honey, that's all you had to saaaaaaaaaaay…"

For the umpteenth time that night, it was a wonder that the train wasn't knocked of the tracks by the applause.

Author's Note

ALRIGHTY! Got the new chapter out, and here's a link to the song.

.
All rights go to All-American Rejects, etc. etc. etc. Music video makes no sense in my opinion, but... meh.

OH MY GOSHNESS, HAVE YOU SEEN THE SITE NOW? I looooove the new cover art. SO. AWESOME. But the site has a flipping spaz attack whenever I try to write an apostrophe on a story description. Don't know why.

Spent a lot of time on this chapter, so hope you like it! And a side note- I'm gonna be making chapters 1 and 2 a little less... well, dark. I really don't see this as a dark-tagged story, and someone had suggested tagging it as one. I never really saw this as dark; it just came out that way, so I’m just gonna fix that. Try and make it a little more cheery :D . Still evil Scotch, though, don't worry. Just… more of an asshole, less of a homicidally-insane motherbucker. Or should I? I dunno. Tell me in the comments!

Another point: Vinyl doesn’t have her shades yet. I'd received a couple messages from people asking that question, and the answer is Nope. I’m hoping to get to that part soon.

Final point: I was a little confused on how to phrase the duet, so... well, you saw the result. If you have any constructive criticism, please, no holds barred!

Final final point: Spread the word! I would, honestly, be beside myself if this were to get featured, because I truly believe that it has the potential. Like it up! Only if you think it’s worth it, though. I’m not gonna beg for likes from everyone who reads my story. Ugh. That’s just annoying.

“LOLZ PLZ EVRYBDY LIK MY STRY I WRKED RLY HRD ON THIS CHPTR CUM ON PPL!”

Uhh, no.

Anyways, bless your faces. It’s time for me to get my sexy sleep. *YAAAAAAAWN* Nighty night.