Stupid music game

>day [spoiler]metal[/spoiler] in Equestria
>you are bored in this pastel world of puppies and rainbows
>well, fucking candy horses and rainbows
>technically there are also puppies but you see where this is going
>there’s not much to do
>you do like your music, but nopony here seems to listen to anything harsher than the Care Bears theme song
>that doesn’t mean you wear all black, cut yourself, and punch kittens to feel kvlt
>fucking stereotypicals wrecking your shit
>at least you had a clean slate here, no stereotypes whatsoever
>feels good
>would be nice to have someone to hang out with that knew music though…
>maybe you just haven’t looked hard enough
>you try the music stores
>first one in town
>”Rumbling Ronald’s Rambunctious Records”
>this is promising
>you walk in, wave at the gleeful owner of the shop, and start flipping through labels
>”Jument Jane’s Joy Jams”
>”Happy Harry’s Greatest Hits”
>”Saccarine Sanguine’s Sweet Songs”
>this is going nowhere fast
>maybe they keep other musics out of the reach of little fillies and colts or something
>you decide to ask for assistance
“Excuse me, good sir,”
>the pony you assume to be Rumbling Ronald gallops to you
“What may I do for you today?”
>you glance around
“Well I was wondering if you could help me locate some music of a specific genre,”
“Of course, what are you looking for?”
“Do you have any metal?”
“Pray tell, good sir, but what is metal as a music genre?”
>your heart sinks in your chest
“It’s…  Uhhh…”
>you notice that this pony is fairly old
>you blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, desperately holding your spaghetti together
“All the colts and fillies listen to it these days; you know, their newfangled stuff,”
>Ronald seems to look disheartened
“I’m afraid I’ll never understand the new generation…  I can’t say we stock this “metal” you speak of, but maybe Vinyl’s has some.  She’s a fair bit more “hip”, as they say,”
>worth a shot
>you thank him and go to this Vinyl he spoke of
>it’s not hard to locate
>the whole shop looks like a big old vinyl record player, and is shaking the ground with niggabass
>you feel like you’re making some progress
>it’s hard to tell if it’s in the right direction though
>welp, you know where this subwoofer is going
>you put in some earplugs, and open the door
>it’s a bloody rave in here
>well, it’s mostly empty, but the atmosphere is positively rave-like
>lasers, smoke, everything is shaking with the dirtiest of beats
ZEBRA ZEBRA ZEBRA ZEBRA ZEBRA ZEBRA ZEBRA
WUB WUB WUB
I’M 100% ZEBRA
WUB WUB WUB
ZEBRA ZEBRA ZEBRA ZEBRA ZEBRA ZEBRA ZEBRA
WUB WUB WUB
I’M 200% ZEBRA
>at least you have earplugs in
>you walk around, looking through records
>the strobe lights made reading a little weird
>the music cuts off
“HI!  SORRY I DIDN’T HEAR YOU COME IN!”
>you’re overwhelmed with surprise
>a white coated, and electric blue maned unicorn
“Hi.  I was just wondering if-
“WHAT?”
>you point at her earphones
“OH RIGHT!”
>she shuts them off
“That’s better.  I’m Vinyl Scrath, what can I do ya for?”
“Well, first…  Isn’t music that loud a little dangerous?”
“Pffft, nah, how could it be?”
>she’s still talking pretty loudly
“You’re gonna go deaf in a couple years, for one,”
>She looks at you, a little confused
“I can just turn the volume up if I start to lose my hearing, my speakers go to eleven!”
>but that doesn’t even
>you sigh
“What if there’s an emergency or something, someone could die and you’d never know about it until it was too late.  Regardless, I was searching for some music genres.  Maybe it’s just…  Wishful Thinking, but do you have metal or something?”
>she looks at you for a second, and you can just see her eyes narrow from behind her sunglasses
>she seems to think hard
>her reply comes slowly, as if it’s very complicated to put the words together
“That's so silly, don't forget that there is no pain for the dead, as opposed to a non-fatal accident where you just scream your heart out until you get too tired and just wait in silence,”
>wut
>what the hell is this mare on
>there’s a ringing in your head
>like you’re missing something
>wait
>you play the words back in your head
>those words
>she’s…
>SHE KNOWS
>your eyes narrow, and you reply, your smile getting wider with each word
“I can't just have an abandoned fate; I'd rather commit a salvation suicide. Sure, it might be the course of nature that leads me to a gentle change, but it would leave me hollow if I didn't try to awake from darkness. You'd just give up in that situation?  It's not like there's the voice commanding you to jump out of the window to nowhere.  In the end, you'll just end up in the temple of shadows, I guess,”
>you see her flinch
>she coughs, shaking it off
>Vinyl’s sly, tentative expression becomes a grin to match yours
>but this wasn’t over
>you notice a few other customers stopping, and staring at you both
>she throws forward a hoof, saying
“I don't think there's a temple of shadows.  Even if there is, I'm sure when you die, you get your senses tied and it feels like you're watching everything through smudged lenses.  I think then you might end up in some kind of terminus; a place where death is most alive.  Eventually, after hours spent in exile, your final resistance gives out you're left with one thought: I want to get out of nothing,”
>you are sent reeling back, but you catch yourself after a short stumble rearward
>she’s good
>the fight is not over yet, you haven’t even scratched the surface
>there are now a few other ponies, whispering quietly to each other, looking at Vinyl and you
“Vinyl’s taking on that Anon human?” one of them whispers
“Do you think he’ll last more than thirty seconds?” the other replies
>you smirk
>just you watch, ponies
>it doesn’t take you long to come up with a reply
“I was kidding when I said there was a place like Hades, you know. You did defeat my argument, even if I wasn't doubtful of it all in the first place. We can't control human fates, but your last comment makes me feel like you have a hollow heart. It's not like we're heading to the gallows; even if time takes us all, we aren't just withering away.  Don't kill the idealist, they're heroes to us. One thing's for sure; as long as we watch out for the bird of ill omen, we'll be able to enjoy the black waltz with terminal intensity,”
>her head snaps back, and she barely manages to keep her glasses on
>she slumps forward, shaky, but composes herself after a moment
>Vinyl’s eyes lock with yours as she spits out her next riposte
“Come on, you can't just trust the idealists, they're basically swimming in a sea of lies.  They're in for rude awakenings when reality pulls them from their fool's paradise.  They will realize their views were all smoke and mirrors, petty fantasy.  That's when they become dehumanized and colder than the most rational realists.   Some of the more radical ones will even start wanting to set the world on fire.  When all is lost, that is the true face of idealism: wicked, wicked folly,”
>you fall to a knee
>damn, she isn’t playing around
>time to bring out the big guns, you have to end this soon
>more ponies seem to gather, coming from outside
>there’s a loose circle around you two
“He’s taking her on, the human is going against Vinyl,”
“Go get Lyra, and Octavia, it’s going down,”
>the hubbub continues
>you rise, words pouring forth from your lips, and the spectators all go quiet
“If you think I'd let the glory of the empire be decided by the architect of fortune, you're sane no more. It's a sin to think that prophecy is anything but the haunted dreams spoken by the mouth of madness; trusting those idealists would be imperial destruction. I was just saying that in the game of life, we can't just let the arrival of love go without a last goodbye. A darkened mind like yours may not even realize that you're being used, but are you ready for the ultimate sacrifice when the one comes out of the abyss?  One thing that I know is that I am alive, and I give zero fucks about your 1rst chapter. Why? When you have to watch it burn after reading it, you can't just keep forging on with old ideas. You have to reach within and make the best decisions after looking back from childhood's hour,”
>she stumbles back, knocking over a table, scattering the chairs behind her
>the forming crowd gasps
“He knocked Vinyl off her feet!”
“Oh he’s gonna get it now, five bits on Vinyl ending him in the next two replies,”
>yeah, murmur it up, douchebags
>Vinyl isn’t even back on her feet when she answers
“I think it's pretty pretentious to base one's decisions solely from those hollow years that is our childhood.  Even if they were the best of times, with your only your own judgment, you can't know if you're about to crash.  In order to do the right things, learning to live is important, and for that one must take the time and listen to voices of others.  Those experienced folks who've been caught in a web, surrounded by problems, and scarred, you should learn from them.  Let their views flow in a large stream of consciousness.  Although it is true that there are situations when the answer lies within,”
>you fly rearward, smashing into the shelves behind you
>that one hurt
>oh you’re gonna be sore tomorrow
“Get him Vinyl!”
“Ten bits on the human,”
“Twenty on Vinyl!”
>things were definitely warming up
>there was now a big ring of ponies in the shop, betting, and calling for or against you
>you couldn’t let your new fans down
>you crawl forward out of the rubble, dusting yourself, and standing up
>you roar out
“What about those of us with a social disability? We're not omnipresent; we don't have an aura of friendliness. There's no one to guide us to the elevation path. When you see how this coexistence is really an injustice revealed, you won't be so quick to judge. After all, you're like me. Just another one of the deported,”
>Vinyl smashes into the ground, cratering the wood floor from the impact
>the crowd goes silent
>was it over?
>did you win?
>you see a blue glow shine from the crater
>uh oh
>she floats out of the hole, magical tendrils flowing around her
>she’s scratched up, but this is a battle you won’t be winning so easily
“You think I'm a loner huh?  Well, all this time you've been a victim of deceit.  I'm not actually living in an isolation shell as you might've believed.  I have someone in my life.  We take long walks under somber skies, where we speak not a word, just go with the flow.   She's a rich pony and little does she know about my ulterior motives.  When the time is right I'll put my hands on her parent's diamonds of mankind, as they're called.  At that point I won't need her anymore so I'll probably just pull the gun on her.  I can already imagine her cries "I thought you were an affection seeker but you're just as bad as the fiend.  Please I beg you, return to innocence.  Charming,”
>you brace for impact
BOOOM
>you cough blood
>you’re crammed up against the corner of the wall and ceiling, upside down
>you didn’t know your back could bend that way
>you slump to the floor
>the crowd is silent, save for one angry-sounding voice
“Vinyl, what the hell?  You’re after my parent’s diamonds?”
>Vinyl turns to the voice
“Octavia?  Nah, honestly, that was just the…  I can’t just let him win,”
“Oh, right, sorry…”
>she was using real elements for this?
>it’s why it was so effective
>you’ll just have to get on her level
>you stand up on one leg
>the other one is numb and seems to be sitting at an odd angle
“He’s not done yet?”
“Scratch, look out!”
“So you live a lie? Soon, it'll be like a bunch of bad dreams. You'll want to break the chains, it'll seem like she'll be with you forevermore and it'll make you fear the night. It sounds like a profitable plan, but even if you're a mean machine, even if your heart is made of metal, you don't know what it's like to bang your head against a wall because she keeps calling your name.  You'll be falling by the 7th day, looking for any chance to vanish into the unknown,”
>her defenses fail, and she rockets through her shelves, plowing through them in a thudding succession of earth-shaking impacts
>she comes to a pounding halt against the far wall, and falls forward in a limp thud
“Vinyl!”
“They’re toe to toe, I can’t believe it,”
“Nobody’s ever held their own against Scratch like that,”
>your opponent moves
>she hasn’t given up yet
>you see her cough out some teeth as she uses a messed up stack of old boxes to steady herself back on her hooves
>oh shi-
“That sounds dreadful.  You really think she'll turn into a silent goddess, smiting me for eternity?  Forever?  I guess karma's a bitch.  But I think I can triumph over this pain, I will not be abandoned by hope.  In the silence of the darkness, I'll find a new power within me, strong enough to create the great pandemonium.   As evil takes over me, I will gain insatiable desire to cleanse the human stain.  From my necropolis I shall raise armies, and under the horrifying melodies of a ghost opera, I will rise up through the ashes, surrounded by a black halo.  Flying atop my wings of despair, I will remind every soul out there that nothing ever dies by starting my quest to rule the world,”
>well, it’s been fun
>you are hit by what feels like a high speed train, and everything blurs as you ram through the walls, into the next house
>your shirt is on fire
>you don’t feel any pain
>this is the end
>your left arm has bones sticking out of it
>you’re bleeding from…
>everywhere
>yet you still draw breath
>you can still move your right arm
>legs?
>you don’t bother looking down, you probably don’t have them anymore
>you slowly drag yourself with your right arm, towards the hole you made
>you have just enough strength to lift your head up to the bottom of the hole in the wall, and cough
“He’s still moving?”
“I don’t believe it,”
>everypony pours out of the broken record player building
>Vinyl is limping slowly towards you
>you cough again
>you take a deep breath, and hoarsely, you wheeze your final words
“So you'll be like the phoenix? When I feel the wind of change and see your united flag, it'll awaken my spirit of steel. These emotions are going to force me to raise a rebel flag against the domination. In a far-off distance, you'll see me, an angel of salvation. Even if it will burn my heart to be hunting for your dream, I'll bash out!  You'll only be able to blame yourself. You'll face the real me and fall in the dark. Such is your fate of sadness. I'll lament your loss, probably be lonely as a stranger, and be full of scars. When I have no more tears, I'll try to save you, lifting a flag of reincarnation. Even if I have to go past the point of no return, I'll search through infinity and shiver in the silent revelation when the wind blows.  Even if my quiet wish is never granted as I reach for the sky... The road goes on, because...  The future never dies,”
>everything goes white
>despite how numb and cold you feel, and how you can’t hear anything anymore, you sense an impact
>you fall flat on your back, and debris showers you
>you wake up a week later in a small bed with a hospital gown that really doesn’t fit
>Vinyl is in the bed next to you
>you are both in full body casts
>she notices you stirring
“Anon!  The doctors thought you might die, but I guess you’re tougher than that,”
“Vinyl…  What happened?”
“I lost.  You got me, Anon.  For the first time in Equestria, I lost,”
>what was even going on back then?
>you went in to buy music, and met Vinyl
>things just get blurry from that point
“Are you okay?”
>she giggles, and then yelps in pain
“Mostly.  I woke up yesterday.  We were both out for a week, apparently.  We made the papers, Equestria’s best songtitle fight in a thousand years,”
“We…  I…  It’s coming back to me.  You were amazing, Vinyl,”
“Anon, you were unreal, how did you learn to fight like that?”
“Back on my world, I used to do that sort of thing with a friend of mine,”
“Well, if you want, could I be your friend in Equestria?”
“Yeah, but let’s not have a rematch for a while, I don’t think I can take much more right now,”
“You said it, pal.  By the way, you get a prize for winning a match,”
“I do?”
“50% off all my records,”
“Score!”
>you ask Octavia to go buy Angra, Dark Tranquility, Kalmah, Symphony X, Circus Maximus, Dream Theater, Beyond Creation, Twilightning, Dream Evil, Kamelot, and Galnerius
>you both all listen to music while recovering
>today was a bretty gud day

[spoiler]This story was inspired by a conversation I had with a friend.  Good portions of this story are actually copied over, pretty much word for word.[/spoiler]