Play that Funky Music, Ms. Scratch

Somehow, I managed to win the grand prize in a raffle that took place in my dormitory on the campus of the University of Manehatten. I looked at the white envelope as everypony closed in, blocking my escape as they stare with curiosity at the mysterious grand prize in my hands. I knew that it would be impossible to celebrate my victory in private and that everypony would constantly bug me to tell them what I had won, so I ripped open the envelope there and pulled a piece of paper out.

I had been a student at the university for my first semester. Winter Break would be arriving in a week and, at that point, every student would be preparing themselves to study or write their papers, myself included. I was a simple earth pony who had done very well in my classes in high school in my hometown of Ponyville, but I couldn’t get the scholarships that I needed to get into college. My father didn’t want me to go, as he wanted me to be the inheritor of his grocery store, something that I had no desire for. I did not want to burden my parents with my college expenses, so my only option was to join the Royal Guards as the princesses were offering to give financial assistance in exchange for four years of duty. While my mother was supportive, my father only half-heartedly accepted it, saying that maybe it would make a stallion out of me by the time I got out.

After my four years were finish, I returned home and worked at my father’s store for about a year. While I was serious with my work around the place, which led him to believe that I had changed my mind, I was secretly applying for many colleges across Equestria. The University of Manehatten accepted me and I had to break the news to my parents. Once again, my mother was supportive, but my father was so furious that he did not even say good-bye to me when I left. I haven’t talked to him since.

My dad, he always had an odd way of showing how much he loved me. Whenever I see other fathers showing their love for their sons by hugging, kissing, and playing with them, I would get envious because my father’s way of showing his love was to have me work in his store whenever I was not in school. He would always treat me as if I was another one of his employees, even when we were not working in the store. But, even then, he would still treat different from the others in the store. Whenever they did a good job with the tasks they were given, he would thank them. I never got that from him, no matter how good of a job I did.

It was really frustrating for me because I know that he was capable of showing love just as much as anypony could. He does it with my mom, with his friends; he even showed his kind side to complete strangers, but never to me. For example, about six months after I joined the Palace Guards, a story about a young pregnant mare that was attacked at knife point in Los Pegasus was all over the news in Equestria. The mare managed to survive because a mysterious young stallion chased the would-be murderer away and carried the pregnant mare to the nearest hospital. The mysterious stallion was hailed by the newspaper as a hero, and my father sang praises along with them. It really made me angry that he would do that for some pony that he never met but ignore me, his own son, completely.

My mother did her best to assure me that he does, indeed, love and care for me, but that was not enough for me. I wanted him to show me that he care, but I doubt he would. He always told me that I was too much of a filly to be asking for any love from him.

My life in the dormitory had been quite an eye opening experience. During the school days, things would be relatively quiet. The ponies that I lived with on the floor were very considerate and nice and I could get some sleep with no problems. However, as soon as the last class on Friday was dismissed, like a switch in their brains, they went from “Student Mode” to “Crazy Ass Mode.”

I couldn’t help but believe that some higher form than Princess Celestia thought it would be hilarious if I live on the floor of the dormitory that had the notorious reputation for being the craziest dorm floor on campus. I only chose the place because it promised a great view of the ocean, which I didn’t get.

Like clockwork, every Friday at exactly 6:30 in the evening, I would hear girls outside of my door discussing what they were going to wear and guys talking about how hammered they were going to get. Some of the guys would talk about how hot some of the girls are and some girls would talk about how hot some of the guys are. And, on some occasions, I would even hear that one guy or girl who would tell his or her friends about how they are going to fuck some guy’s or girl’s brains out. Sometimes, it would cause me to wake up the middle of the night, hearing the sounds of moaning and groining either next door or the floor above me, their beds banging against from all sides. Not wanted to gain the reputation of an old man, I ignored them the best I can as I fail to fall asleep.

Thankfully, those were rare occurrences. These ponies were pretty considerate about other ponies’ sense of privacy. While they didn’t give me the room with the great ocean view, at least they respected my wish of having my own room. I believe my time in that dorm would have been almost unbearable if I bunked with one of those party animals.

At the end of every semester, each dormitory held a raffle in their building. Every name were placed into a hat, giving everypony the chance to win some prizes whether you wanted to or not. Every year, each dorm had their own separate grand prize which was kept secret until some pony won it at the very end. From what I’d heard, these prizes could be pretty expensive, depending on what they could afford at the time. Game systems and big screen television had been given out in the past. Once, they even sent some pony on a cruise. This semester, however, my dormitory had been pretty low on their budget, but they seemed certain that the grand prize, presented as a little white envelope, would please anypony.

Before they could get to the grand prize, they had to give away all of the other prizes, which they had spread out on the front tables. They had pens, sweaters, gift cards, DVDs, games, journals, mini refrigerators, vacuums, a couple of free spa passes, and other nice things. They were all good gifts and it was enough to get me out of the room to join in on the excitement. I figured that I might win one of the lesser prizes, which I wouldn’t mind at all. I may not talk all that much, but I will feel comfortable with the right crowd.

As the night went on and the prizes dwindled, my name continued to not be call. I must admit that my heart was racing as each prize was won by somepony else, moving closer to the grand prize. My name was still in that hat somewhere, hidden along with the hundreds of other potential winners. I wished that they would call out my name so that I would be relieved of this anxiety and get the hell out of there. The atmosphere was rather quiet as I was sure that every pony was thinking the same thing. Soon, we were just a few prizes away from the grand prize; the whole room went dead silent. As they drew out a name, I could hear somepony seizing air through their teeth and letting a flood of it out once the name was called. I wasn’t sure if it was because they were glad that they are still in the game, or if they were angry that they have to live with the torture for just a little bit longer.

Finally, mercy was upon us as they announced the grand prize. As they juggled the strands of paper in the hat, no pony dared to even whisper. As they placed their hand into the nest of names, my heart raced tenfold and I was sure every pony around me could hear it. As they looked at the winner’s name on that thin slip of paper, then they gave their announcement.

“Red Badge!”

All of the ponies let out groins of disappointment but they quickly felt relieved as they were freed from their anxiety. They turned to me to applaud and congratulate. I, on the other hoof, was still in a state of apprehension. It took my mind a few seconds to realize that the name they had called out was my own. I thought that I was imagining it until I saw the envelope floating in front of my face by a unicorn’s magic. I could feel many pairs of eyes on my body as I had become the center of attention. I grabbed the envelope and examined it, but there was nothing written on it. I saw that I wouldn’t be able to escape and enjoy my prize in secret, and considering these ponies were just as curious as I was, I ripped open the envelope and turned it on its side.

A dark blue piece of paper fell into my hand and I heard many ponies around me whispering, and giving me looks that told me that they recognized what the prize was. The mood of the other ponies in the room ranged from excitement to a sense of envy. I turned the paper over and read out loud the elaborate font.

“One Free Pass to the most happening place in Manehatten, the Moonlight Wilderness!”

Immediately, the whole place erupted as the ponies exchanged amazement, envy, and excitement. A couple of them started to bargain with money or whatever for my free pass to this place that I never heard of. However, they were quickly hushed by the rest, all telling me that I should definitely go there myself. They praised the music that was played there, as well as the food and the drinks. They also said that there was a lot of dancing, and some of the hottest mares that anypony could ever meet. Some of them even spoke of a DJ, who happened to be a mare, who dished out some the “sickest” music ever. They said that she was able to set whatever mood she wanted, for any kind of night. They had no adjectives to describe this mystery mare, except for that “she’s hot,” something that was repeated a lot. However, when I asked for her name, they couldn’t tell me which made me feel a little suspicious about their knowledge of the place.

At first, I was apprehensive about going to a place that I hadn’t even know existed until a few minutes ago. What does one do in a night club? Dancing? I rather not. I was beginning to consider trading the ticket for some other prize that would fit better with my personality, but as I was about to make my offer to the crowd, I stared down at the ticket a little bit more. This ticket proclaimed that it would let me into the “happening” place in the city, and I got a little curious as to how they defined “happening.” I did win this and it would be a shame not to use it. Fate had just forced its hand and placed this ticket into my hands. An opportunity like this should not be rejected. Fear normally ruled over me, but my excitement was breaking through its defenses.

I planned tomorrow night for me to visit this Moonlight Wilderness.