Diary of a DJ

| Chapter 1 Day Zero

What should I start this with? Like 'Dear diary!' or what? Not sure if this bullshit is something for me… but ok, Octy said it would help me decrease my 'anger' how she called it, so let's try this, at least for a few days. Do I have to introduce myself or Octy? I mean, hopefully I'm the only one who reads this, and I'm pretty sure I know my name. But I also like to see it written somewhere, so screw it.

Octavia Melody; my best friend, roommate and inspiration. She loves to play her cello, go to bed early and stand up like 5 am to start every day with some of her weird classy songs. We first met in a club I was performing in, but that's another story. She's an amazing cook, total opposite of me. There was this one day I wanted to make some Sorry-for-being-me-again-breakfast, but it didn't end so well. Did you know you can burn juice? Anyway, Octavia, or Octy like I call her (even though she hates this nickname) is totally awesome, she's nice, intelligent and tries to help you with everything. Enough of the talk about her, it's my diary, so shouldn't I be the one in the spotlight?

I'm Vinyl Scratch aka DJ P0n-3, Equestria's most awesome DJ ever. Ain't no party like a VS party cuz a VS party never stops! Meh, I already hate this stupid book. Whose idea was it to invent these things? Writing something on a sheet of paper, wow, great. Best idea ever. Ever heard about this new thing, called internet? Try it, it's free and you can read like everything that anyone had in mind ever! Jeez, where was I? Oh, yes.

So I'm Vinyl Scratch, and I have to write this stupid book so Octy can chill a bit, but actually-

Alright, now let's do this properly.

I'm a DJ, and I love my job. Of course, sometimes it's hard, being up all night in a hot, noisy club, sweaty bodies everywhere, but I love it. All of it. I love the hooting crowd, going crazy every time I spin some of my very own creations, I love being up until the sky is blue again, I love handing some autographs to my fans, I even love all the rude, drunken folks that almost crash the party at least three times a night. Why shouldn't I? Being a DJ is everything I ever wanted to be, against all whining of my parents and the raised forefinger of society. And I made it, now there isn't one single club that doesn't try to get DJ P0n-3 on their stage, but of course I don't rock every club, not even if I could. A high quality jockey like me just doesn't go to every tiny disco that knocks on my door. And of course I have some clubs I'll always prefer, just like Club Canterlot or Club Luna, those are the houses I have the most fun in, not least because they're much more luxury than the discos in the little villages, plus they won't ever dare to play some Sapphire Shores while I'm there, not even if I'm there as a guest (VIP, of course) which is a huge benefit for me. I just can't stand this amateur with her crap-records, they sound all the same to me, can't imagine why the crowd loves her. But anyway, he's no threat to me.

So what's more about being a DJ? Like I said, the loud nights aren't great for everybody, but I wouldn't change anything about them, not would I about my days. Getting up at the earliest 1 pm, go down to snack something, then walk straight to my spinning table and greet the morning with some wubs. Can't imagine a better start in the day, could I? After I'm finally really awake, I start mixing some songs for the performance in the evening or I continue creating a few songs by myself, like this one thing for Octy, some Wub-'n-Classic-crossover, sounds awesome so far. I'm sure she'll love it, as playing her cello means like everything to her and I eavesdropped her a few times when she listened to some of my wubs and clearly enjoyed it, so I guess you could say if I finally finish this song, she'll owe me something, and I know exactly what this will be… there was this one time when we had a little 'disagreement' and she forced me to put away my beloved dishwasher for her lame new one, but I know it will return soon. I can feel it! Actually, it's all her fault anyway. She said 'There's no way you can make a dishwasher that cleans dishes with wubs' and I was like 'Screw that, I'm Vinyl Scratch!', so that's how my little Dishy spotted the light of world. It was a good day…

So yes, you could say being a DJ is more than a job to me, it's my entire lifestyle that impacts my job and my music, and the other way 'round. I'd never dare to change anything in my life, as this is the one I chose to live and I had some hard hurdles on my way up where I'm now. And even though Octy can be a bit strict sometimes, I couldn't ask for a better roommate. She inspires me when I'm working on something, and that's more important to an artist than most of the folks can imagine. Friendship really is magic, and she shows it to me every day. Like this one time, when she gave me the rest of her sandwich. I didn't know what friendship could mean until that day! But I get distracted here again, back to topic. Oh, her pancakes are super awesome! Jeez, enough! So, as I said, being a DJ is great. It sure isn't everyone's biz, but I wouldn't stop doing what I do, no matter the offer. It's just like the universe told me to do this, and I won't do anything else till the end

Well, it wasn't this lame to write my first entry. Maybe I get used to it? Actually it was almost… fun? But enough for today, I got records to spin 'n cake to eat.

Cya

Chapter 2 Just an ordinary Day?

Sup, weird bunch of papers?

Is this what I do now every day, tell the happenings of the day to some book using a pencil? Man, Octy has way too much influence on me.

Anyway, today was a day just like always, I stood up at about 2 pm, went down to the kitchen, took a sip of coffee and some toasts, which I had to make myself as Octy wasn't at home that time, so now we're almost out of toast… I just don't know what went wrong, it's like they're in this damn toaster for one minute and they come out like they have been there for an entire day, so I decided to eat them just without toasting them.

After this quick breakfast I went upstairs into my room again, where my wubmachine already waited for me. I swear, every time I'm not there I can hear it screaming, it's like 'C'mooon Vinyl, drop some bass! You know you want to!' and I'm always like 'Noo, I'm busy right now, you see, I'm doing… stuff… ah screw it.' That's the time the badass bass wakes up the entire village at around 3am. But they don't complain about it, I mean they can be happy to have such a famous artist here, they wouldn't dare to scare me away, would they? OK, maybe Twilight is sometimes a little upset about the volume, but it's not like it's my fault her house tree grows right next to my house, is it? Someday she'll get used to it and stop sending Spike over to set the cables on fire. At least I hope so, otherwise I have to buy her some ear protectors. Hm, actually that would be an awesome gift for Christmas, right? Great, now I can delete this from my To-Do-List. Still haven't anything for Octy, but it's still a month till Christmas, I'm pretty sure I'll think about something just in time, like always. Nothing to worry about.

Except… actually the day wasn't quite like any day else. This night, in the club, there was this one strange guy. I know, there are often some weird folks at the club, but this one was… special weird. He just stood there, not drinking anything, not dancing, not speaking to anypony. He just stood there and stared at me, with some wicked 'I'll rape the shit out of you'- look. Jeez, this was a bit frightening, I admit, but as a DJ I mustn't show this type of emotions or the crowd will panic right away, and that is not the best thing for the business, I'm sure about that (of course nothing like that ever happened to me, as I'm pretty awesome and stuff). If I see this guy more often I may get a bit distracted, but I have the security on my side to solve situations like this. Plus, he just saw me in Club Luna, I can't be sure if he knows exactly where I'm performing every evening, I mean not even I am aware of that, it wouldn't be the first time when I just look at my calendar in the evening, realizing that I have to be in some club in about 5 minutes. But what if he'd been following me for days and last night was just the first time I spotted him? Nah, mustn't get myself into thoughts like this, that's not good for my performances.

So ehm, what else happened the day? Octy came home with some awesome apple pie from AJ, I swear to Celestia, I'd kill to get more of this cake. It's like the mother of all apple pies, it was this (!) big, with this amazing frosting all over it, but unfortunately it's all gone now. Octy keeps blaming me for this, but I'm pretty sure that she ate the whole remaining pie. Mh, maybe not. But at least I didn't eat it all by myself, I left her two pieces, just for her! Without frosting, though, but she said she has to 'watch her waistline', so actually I made her a favor, right?

Alright, enough for today. See- ehm, write? You tomorrow.

Cya

| Chapter 3 Drunk nights

Duuude, diary! Man this whiskey just blows my head off, but it's just too delicious to quit drinking it, you know? It's like Celestia speaks to us through it, and I don't want to miss a single word of her. Probably it's not the best idea to write into you right now, but I need somebook to talk to, and I guess you'll do the job. Congratulations, you're hired!

Being in the club all night isn't new to me, but usually I stay sober during my performance, don't want to fuck up all this awesome music, y'know? But today, there was like no option to stay sober. This one weird stallion just won the lottery and he was so damn hammered, whooo! I don't know how much he spent for me, but it was a looot, y'can believe me. Every time he was like 'Man, Vinyl, you're just my favorite DJ, ok? I just love you! Is this weird? I mean, I just met you, and I say I love you… but I do! And to prove this, I'll buy you a drink, you pick!' and I was all like 'Dude, you already bought like half the bar for me, you don't have to buy one more, plus I have to get on stage again, and by now I can't see all the buttons on my table, this is not the way to be a DJ, y'know?' and then he was like 'C'mon, P0n3, just one more drink! Let me enjoy this night with my favorite mare, I'll buy you anything you want!' and I said every time 'Alright then, but just one more! Gimme that Equestrian Comfort, with ice!' That happened like 15 times, so yeah, I'm a little wasted right now.

Yeah, that's pretty everything that happened that night. Now excuse me, I'll just go make me some pancakes and go to bed.

Whoa, last night was sick. I see I already reported some of it, and there isn't much more that I can remember. But somehow I get the feeling that this guy was the same guy like the night before, remember? The one that kept staring at me? Man, this guy is creepy. I doubt he really won the lottery, I'm sure he actually just wanted to get near me to accomplish his 'I'll rape the fuck out of you'-mission, but I don't feel like something like this happened last night. And I still can't remember how exactly he looked. Brown coat? Black coat? Gray? In this dimmed clubs they all look the same, especially if you're wearing some sunglasses. Pretty awesome sunglasses, though, but they're not so helpful if you want to really see what happens around you. I guess I'll have to keep an eye on this guy, I bet he'll appear again. But maybe I'm just overreacting, maybe he's just a huge fan and wanted to spent a little time with me?

So, what happened after my entry you may ask? I tried to make me some pancakes, and actually I made it, but they were a bit… hard. No idea what I did to make them as solid as granite, but I'm sure it's a new recipe. I'll name them Paincakes. Drunk Paincakes. By Vinyl. Almost lost a tooth when I tried to chew them. But if you lick them, they're totally awesome, like some sort if hot pancake-flavored ice-cream. Hey, that was the first time I actually made food by myself without ruining the entire kitchen, I'm pretty proud right know… Gimme a second, Octy's calling

Cancel that last sentence, seems like I actually did ruin the entire kitchen. I guess I should have looked there before starting to write, and surely before Octy came home, but now it's too late. Anyway, the kitchen itself is fine, just the pan is in a bad condition, so is the stove, and we're out of eggs. And toast, again. Aaaand we need to buy some more milk. I didn't know that my magic is this destructive. It looks like a battlefield down there! And I really wanted to clean this mess up, but Octy wouldn't let me, like always. Just because I set the couch on fire when I cleaned something for the last time. That wasn't even my fault, I mean I was cleaning the bathroom!

Better get down there and look if I can lend Octy a hoof, for whatever she's doing there.

Cya

| Chapter 4 Stallion of the Past

Dear diapery,

It seems that my 'stalker' (guess I can call him like that, right?) actually is a nice guy. Last night we met again in the club, right after my performance. He apologized for getting me so hammered last time, and we started to hang out a bit. First I was a bit suspicious, but the better I knew him, the more I liked him. Should I tell you about him? Guess I have no choice, have I? Oh, actually I have, in fact you're my book and I decide what I write into you, haha!

Just kidding. So, as I said he's a nice guy. His name is Ruben Dars, he has beige fur, bright green eyes and a light-brown mane. So far, so good, now there's his cutie mark, I never saw anything like this before. It somehow looks like a round, yellow button, with a black dot on the middle and three black pieces around it, one on the bottom, and one each at the top left and top right corner. I wanted to ask him where he got it, but I don't think we know each other good enough to go into detail like this. One day I'll ask him for sure, but it is not this day. Patience, Vinyl… jeez I'm anything but a patient pony. But with this one I will wait, I kinda… like him. Ruben isn't one of these overly attached fans who just want to hang out with DJ P0N-3, he actually wants to hang out with Vinyl Scratch, and that's totally new to me. I really like him, and I don't want to ruin our starting friendship with my normal rushing. Keep it slow, nice and easy. Last time I had a male friend it didn't turn out good, so I just have to remind myself again and again to stay calmer than usually. And don't do any stupid things, like discover any top secret documents and almost get him killed. Just say'n.

Wanna hear about that last time? Alright then.

It was about two or three years ago, summer in Ponyville. There was this new guy, Nick, who just moved in right next to my house, and we had a really good start. We hung out a lot, and he totally loved my music which made it even better. Plus, he was a DJ, too, though he wasn't a professional, he just mixed every now and then, but he had potential. It all went its way and came as it had to come, some evening we both were totally wasted from a party, coming home and somehow started to make out. Nothing bad here, I had a little crush on him since the first sight, and I guess he felt the same. So he was my coltfriend now, and it was one of the most awesome times in my life.

But you know how life works: 'Vinyl: 'I'm totally happy right now!' Life: 'What? That's not good. Let's just fuck everything up.''. So of course there had to be some trouble. Some day, in the middle of the night, somepony knocked our door and Nick went down to kick the living shit out of whoever dared waking my up at this time. I was a bit worried, so I followed him to intervene any fights that could begin, but I just saw Nick talking to some weird guy, covered in a black coat. He gave him some documents and left. I could see how Nick's body tensed up, and then he did something he don't usually do: He went on the balcony and smoked. I went to him, asked what happened, but he just wanted to be alone and sent me back to bed. That was the night my doubts in his white west were planted.

The next days nothing special happened, and one day he was out on work for a long time, and I hadn't had any gigs that night, so I had all the day for myself. Remembering that one night, I went to his home-office and looked around. Locked away in a hidden safe I finally found what I was locking for: The documents I spotted a few days before. It was weird and I felt bad, searching his stuff, but I had to get answers. The documents had a big red headline: Top Secret. First I thought that was some kind of joke, I mean who would print a huge sign on top secret documents that tells everybody they really are top secret? And how would that stop anypony from reading them? For me, this was one more reason to take a look.

I opened the first page and spotted the emblem of the Griffin Empire. Nothing special, it's no secret that ponies and griffins have some trading ongoing, and I'm sure there's more than Celestia and Luna would ever admit. But the next pages just killed my mind. What I was reading there was just too crazy to be actually true. I won't write it down now, I mean there's still the danger of anypony finding this and I don't want to get anypony into some serious trouble, but let's say it was very, very confusing. And frightening! After Nick came home, I confronted him with what I found, and he just left without a word. It was just like he never existed, from one moment to the next he just disappeared, nopony knew where he came from, nor where he went. I never heard again from him… and actually I'm glad. I don't want to get involved into these things he was working on, and it was the right decision to try to forget him. Even if my heart still hurts sometimes…

| Chapter 5 Magical Night

Hey, you. After I thought yesterday it was such a good idea to write about Nick to you I couldn't sleep well that night. All the memoirs came back up and I almost had to cry myself into sleep, but suddenly Octy showed up. It's weird, she seems to have a sense for my emotions, every time I'm depressed or sad or whatever, she's suddenly there to comfort me, hold me. Of course she asked what's wrong, but… even though she's my best friend, like a sister sometimes, I couldn't tell her about Nick. Maybe it's because she's so special to me. I don't want her to get in danger because of something I tell her. Not that she'd run around and tell everypony about my secrets, but still it's dangerous. Someday I'll tell her everything. But it's too early by now.

So, ehm, how was my day? I managed to get a performance early in the evening so I had some time to spend with Ruben, and it was totally worth it. First we hung out in the club a bit, but after a while we went outside and just walked around, strolling in the glaze of Luna's beautiful moon. Though it was nothing special, it felt like pure magic to me. We somehow landed in the park and sat down on a bench, looking at the full moon without saying a word. This moment I just felt happiness, seems my life finally goes the right way. Since that thing with Nick, I didn't want to get anypony emotional near me, except Octy so far. And it feels good to have Ruben by my side, even though we're just friends. Yet.

But still I keep having the feeling that something's strange about him. Sometimes he seems to be a bit confused and his movements start to be a bit… robotic. It's just for a moment, almost too short to be sure it really happened, but still I'm a bit worried. I won't talk to him about that, maybe it's just some kind of illness he has, like a form of epilepsy or whatever, and I don't want him to think I laugh about it behind his back or something like that. But what if it's some serious disease and he doesn't notice it, but he has to go to the hospital?

What should I do? Jeez, pony psych is some serious business I'll never understand. All the Do's and Don't's, social conformity, not knowing what to do if your friend starts to act like a machine, stuff like that. Well, I guess I'll keep an eye on this and decide what to do in the future, maybe he's just stressed from me, I know I can be a bit challenging sometimes, and even more annoying when I start to like somepony. We'll see.

That leads to the next happening of today. Being annoying, I mean. Today, Octy had a few friends of her music group here for practicing, and I know they need silence to do that, so I usually just put on my headphones when I'm at home that time. But headphones just can't bring you those wubs that go right through your bones, and that's what I love most about my music. So I exceptionally didn't use them this one single time, and maybe I turned the volume a little too loud. Wouldn't had been a problem if Octy just comes up and asks me to lower it a bit, but I wanted to start writing here, so I locked my door. Privacy, you know? I don't want her to know where this book is hidden or what's written inside, it's a bit… embarrassing. She knows that I do use it, but she doesn't know anything more. So as I said, I locked my door and actually wanted to start writing, but somehow my turntable looked much more exciting, so I started to mix a bit. Too loud.

Octy came up to ask me if I could lower the volume (She's way too polite. Always friendly, always trying not to offend anypony. I know her long enough so that she could be a bit rude to me at least, but she'd never do that. One more thing I love about her.) but my door was still locked, so she knocked. Of course, I didn't hear that, so she kept knocking my door like around 10 minutes till the song I was playing ended. I opened the door and I could see that she was almost totally enraged, but as usual she just kept calm and friendly and asked 'Vinyl, could you, I mean if it's not too much to ask for, could you lower your volume just a little bit? We're down there and want to start practicing for that prom this weekend, and it's hard to do that when your music, which is beautiful, by the way, is as loud as it's right now. OK?'

If I was her, I just had kicked in the darn door and ripped off all the cables from the turntable, but she'd never do such a thing. Must be this Canterlot influence.

Well, that's it about today.

Cya tomorrow.

| Chapter 6 My very own Night

Dear emotional insecure me who keeps all her emotions bottled up until she puts them in her diary because I'm too scared to tell anypony what I think because I'm an immature little being;

I have no idea what's going on right now. Today I was around Ruben (of course) and he had one of his 'attacks' again, but as always I pretended I didn't notice it. This time, it was more than usual, longer and stronger. I really start to worry about him, but what could I do? If it was dangerous I'm sure he'd go to the doctor, so actually it can't be that bad, can it? Man, I don't get it, what's wrong with him?

And today it wasn't just the normal confusing and robotic movement, he seemed to be totally down for a second or two and suddenly came back to live, like a lamp you keep switching off and on again. I know I have to find out what's going on there, but… I don't want to make that mistake again, it's too familiar to what happened with Nick. Don't get this wrong, after all I'm glad he left, but still he was a part of my life, and will it be somehow for the rest of it. I'm just scared that I'll lose Ruben like I lost Nick after I putted my muzzle in his business. I don't want to be alone again… though I'm never alone. I know, whatever happens, Octy will be there for me. Should I tell her about my worries? Maybe. Probably. But not now, I have to find out what's going on first. Maybe I'm just overreacting, running into these thoughts and there actually isn't anything strange about Ruben.

But slowly I start to grow some serious paranoia. I still haven't forget what Nick's documents were about, and Ruben… I'm scared he plays some role in all this. Though I don't know much about these agreements with the Griffins, I know enough to start counting one and one together. But how likely is it that I'm right? There has to be another explanation. I won't believe this before I have some solid evidences. And I hope I'll never find them.

But there are also some good news today. This evening, I have the most awesome performance ever! Club Luna gave me a call and they want to make some sort of special event-night, and it'll be all about me! I knew I'm awesome, but I never knew I'm this awesome! Man, this is so exciting! But that's not everything: They pay so much for this single evening, I finally can make a break and take some time off, for at least a week. Enough time to get closer to Ruben, and maybe find out about his mysterious tick. I just hope I'll stay sober enough tonight to remember most of the night, so I can report you tomorrow. I'll try, but don't take this as a promise, after all it's my very own event! At Club Luna! This is going to be the best! Night! Ever!

Alright, calm down Vinyl. Enough time to flip out later, now I have to prepare my songs for tonight. I'll try to create some kind of golden thread running through the night, one song preparing the atmosphere for the next, y'know. If I can make this, it will be even more awesome! Dude, that's like everything I ever wanted! There'll be so many VIPs, like The Great and Powerful Trixie, Photo Finish, Princess Twilight and even Princess Luna herself! Who knew she likes Dubstep? I always imagined her like all the Canterlot snobs, just chilling there with some tea and listening to some stuff Octy would love to play. But nooo, the Princess of the night wants to listen to DJ P0n-3! Isn't that totally awesome?

Too sad Ruben can't accompany me, he's got to work all night. But I still have Octy, though she doesn't admit being a fan of my music, I know she likes some wubs every now and then. Plus, there'll be so many Canterlot ponies she can talk to, she'd have to be a total retard if she can't get any connections to these high-class ponies, so I'm sure it's a good chance for her to finally make the next step on her career ladder and reach into the really rewarding area.

Now I really have to prepare myself, so that's it for the day.

Cya

| Chapter 7 Forging a Plan

Best! Night! Ever! Dude, this night couldn't have been better! I was on stage the entire evening, spinning like crazy and the crowd went totally insane! Even Princess Luna screamed like a little fan girl, man I can't describe this feeling. Too bad that I still haven't finished the song for Octy yet, playing that one would've have super awesome. But still, the night was pure epicness.

When I arrived there was some huge red carpet, walking down it felt like I was a film star or something. Fans and photographs everywhere around me, and when I entered the club, the first thing I saw was that huge light floating above the stage, shaped like my cutie mark. Next, princesses Luna and Twilight came up to congratulate me for this event, then I saw Octy. She was totally excited, a little shy at first, but she started to feel comfortable around the Princess, and I'm sure she finally got herself into those ponies minds when thinking about a music group.

Then I went on stage and started to play. It's great, every time I'm working on my turntable, it's like I forget everything around me, there's just me and my music. And it's good the way it is, I mean I never felt pressure or something when playing for a big audience. And this was some special audience. Whoa, it was soo awesome! Guess I have to calm down a bit before I continue this. See you later!

I'm back! With some… strange news. I went to Ruben to tell him about this awesome night, but he seemed to be not excited at all about it. Not even a bit surprised, it felt almost like he knew about what happened last night. Maybe he's just not a fan of awesome news, or he didn't want to show his true feelings in front of me, I don't know. Ha, maybe he just flipped out after I left.

Oh, and we talked about our cutie marks. Remember, his was this strange thing I never saw before? Well, I told him that I got mine very early, right after dropping my first bass. But he can't remember getting his one. He said it has been there since I can think. Isn't that weird? I mean getting your cutie mark isn't something you just forget someday. Maybe… no. No, I won't even think about it one more minute. That's totally absurd.

Guess I have to finally talk about my fears, right? Well, it's not easy, but I'll try.

That day I discovered Nick's documents changed everything. It weren't just some trading agreements, it was something scientific. Biomechanics, clones. Cultured ponies and griffins for the military and secret service. I remember that they had some 'bugs', like confusion, short blackouts when downloading some new data and some problems with their motion sometimes. I know, that's everything I noticed on Ruben so far, but… I don't believe this! There has to be another explanation! Why should they send one of their clones to me? I'm just a DJ, no threat to them! OK, I discovered their dirty little secret, but only Nick knew about that. Did he tell them? And if so, what are they going to do? Kill me? Or just observe me and get sure I keep my mouth shut? I never had in mind to tell anypony, so what do they want from me? And how can they do this to me, send a clone and let me fall in love with him?

But maybe it's nothing like that. Maybe Ruben has just some disease and Nick forgot about me and no secret service will ever show up here. But if… what should I do with Octy? Tell her? Move out to get sure she's not in danger? Or just keep doing what I did the past years and act like there's nothing wrong with anything? All these questions in my head… maybe I should visit a psychologist, I'm going crazy here.

No, I have to decide what to do. I can't just ask Ruben if he's a clone, that's for sure. But how am I supposed to find out? Well, I could just sneak into his house and look around a bit, but… last time I did something like that didn't end well. On the other hoof, I have to find out what's going on here.

So that's saddled, I'll take a 'visit' the next time he's at work. Luckily I've the week off.

I'll report tomorrow.

Cya

| Chapter 8 Bad News

Sup?

It seems like my fears have come true. Last night, I managed to sneak into Ruben's house, and what I found wasn't… encouraging, let me say. Using my magic, I found some documents, similar to those I found in Nick's safe. I didn't understand much of it, but it was enough to get sure that Ruben is in fact a clone. I don't know what to say, written down in this damn book it looks like I'm totally resigned, but… my heart is broken, crushed beneath the hooves of the only two stallions I ever cared. Ruben was send by Nick to observe me, getting sure that I don't talk to anypony about what I found out. Of course Nick is involved into this, I mean he's the one who knows how to get me to love somepony, isn't he? He just used my emotional weakness for his own purposes. I hurts… and I feel like a silly little filly. How could I miss all the signs? They say 'The eyes of love are blind', guess that's true. I didn't want to see the signs, or at least I didn't want to believe what they told me.

But what do I do now? If I just break contact to Ruben, they'll know that I found out about their plans. Again. But how could I possibly stay with him after that? He's just a robot, controlled by some ponies who are only interested in their own profit. I can't live my life with him, knowing who, knowing what he is. Maybe I should finally talk to Octy, maybe she knows what to do… but I still have a few hours until she comes home, maybe I'll find out without bothering her with this.

It's funny, somehow. Remember, a week ago? Back then I hadn't had worries like this. The only thing I had to think about was how to get over writing this diary. And now? What happened?

Hold on a second, there's somepony on the door.

.

.

.

Chapter 9 Ruben's 'Dad'

Ouch, my head. Where am I? What's going on here?

I woke up slowly. I was in a dark round room, bound to a metal table. Forced to look to the ceiling I could see a round yellow sign above me, with a black dot in the middle and three black pieces around it. Ruben's cutie mark. If you can call it a like that.

"Vinyl, you're awake!"

I tried to turn my head, vainly. But I knew that voice…

"Nick. What is going on her? What have you done to me?"

"You ask what I have done to you? One question: Who's the one who just couldn't resist rummaging in other ponies stuff? I know that you've found X04's- I mean, Ruben's orders. Why couldn't you just act like anypony else and stop sniffing around? What's wrong with you, Vinyl Scratch?"

"What's wrong with me? You dare asking that? You have put a clone on me to spy on me! And you ask me what's wrong with me?"

"Well, yes. Of course I had to keep an eye on you, I had to get sure you keep your mouth shut about our plans."

"So why do you ponynap me now? I didn't say a word to anypony, and I wasn't going to! I just had to know what's about Ruben, that's why I searched his stuff. It's the same reason I searched your stuff back then. Not because I didn't trust you, but because I worried about you. Because I loved you! And you just threw away everything we had, and now you used your knowledge about me to get your robot near me!"

"Don't call him like that, Vinyl. He's more than a robot, more than a clone. I'd call him my son. I created him with my own DNA! And I couldn't be more proud of him. He did exactly what I wanted him to do, except these little failures you unfortunately noticed. Everything could have been perfect if you'd just missed them, like anypony else! You're intelligent, Vinyl. Maybe too intelligent. But that's great, isn't it? I know you wouldn't be so stupid and tell your roommate, Octavia, right? About us, or about your worries about Ruben. Have you even introduced them to one another? No? Well, that makes my work way more easy, thanks for that!"

"What are you going to do with me? Kill me, and then let it look like some terrible accident? I don't think Celestia would appreciate that."

"Hold on, you're really thinking that I work on Celestia's orders? You know, not every trade related with the griffins is known by Celestia or Luna. There are few ponies who know about my experiments. And with you, it's one too many. But I wouldn't just kill you, Vinyl. I have much bigger plans with you. As I said, you're intelligent. You have potential. You have strong magic, and you're tough."

"What is your point?"

"Well, you're perfect for my causes! I congratulate you, you've just been voted to be the mother of the next generation of my children!"

"What? Are you serious? You can't do this to me!"

"Oh, silly Vinyl. I can, and I will. Who should stop me? Nobody knows about me or where you are. You're all mine."

I started to squirm. Is this the end? Will I be some kind of… birth-machine for his wicked clone ponies? I'd prefer death, thank you.

"We'll start right after you're fully recovered. Take your time, we don't want to get any complications while I work with you, right?"

"I'd like complications. Death, for example. That'd be a great side effect."

"Oh, Vinyl, where's your fighting spirit? You wasn't this desperate when I saw you last time."

That was before you broke my heart twice, you son of a bitch.

"Why should I fond? You finally managed to break me. At least I won't be a good mother for your disgusting experiments."

"I'm sure you'll be a great mother, don't be so strict with yourself!"

I began to cry.

This is my destiny? Well, thanks a lot, Celestia.

| Chapter 10 Octavia

When I entered the door, I knew immediately that something was wrong. I spotted a tiny pool of blood on the floor, and some of the furniture was turned over.

"Vinyl? Are you alright? Vinyl?"

Nothing. I rushed upstairs into her room, but it was empty. Except… her diary lied on the bed, wit ha pen next to it like she was just writing into it when things went wrong. I risked a look… and suddenly understood it all. Vinyl was in danger, and I had to help her! But what should I do? I don't even have magic! Calling Princess Celestia or Luna wouldn't be the best idea, as they seemed to be involved into this, according to Vinyl's entries. So what to do?

Princess Twilight will know. As one of the elements of harmony, I'm sure she isn't involved into whatever is going on there. She will help me.

And she did… somehow. At least she used her magic to find Vinyl, but she said she couldn't do any more without informing Celestia first, and I was sure that this wouldn't help me. So I had to take things into my own hoof.

It was a huge abandon factory hall, a few miles away from Ponyville. All the windows were damaged, so were the lights, but it still was bright outside, so I was able to take a look inside. Somepony had build up a round room in the middle of the hall, like a ball hanging from the ceiling. I couldn't see any guards, but of course that doesn't mean they're not here. I have to figure out a plan.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

See? There are always guards.

[hr]

He brought me right into that weird round room I could see from the outside. Next to a metal table I spotted a stallion with dark grey mane and coat and two strings, twisted around each other with several horizontal connections, like a ladder, and a little 3 next to it as his cute mark.

"Look who we have there. You must be Octavia. I heard so much about you! Look Vinyl, we have a guest!"

Vinyl? Where is-

Now I noticed that the table wasn't empty. Vinyl was bound to it in a little pony-shaped hollow.

This is not going how I hoped it would…

| Chapter 11 Fallout

"Octy! How did you get here? How did you actually find me?"

How the fuck did she end up here? I knew I should have moved out before I endanger her.

"Vinyl! I- I saw blood on the floor when I came home and I looked for you, then found your diary. Princess Twilight helped me find you! But don't worry, she won't tell Celestia and Luna about this."

"So, after you finished your happy reunion, may I just introduce myself? After all, I'm a colt with manners, right, Vinyl? I'm Nick Illesh, maybe you know me? Little Vinyl and I were related a few years ago, I'm sure she told you about me."

"Not a single word. And I'm sure she had reasons for it."

Nick seemed to be a bit disappointed about that.

Of course I didn't! I didn't want her to get killed, but that's not a real reason to shut up, right?

'Well, let's skip the part where I tell you what I'm going to do, Vinyl already knows that, and I don't want to bore you, Octy."

Son of a bitch.

"It's a happy coincidence you showed up, you know? I was going to start working with Vinyl right now, but I guess I'll start with you. Just to get sure that this operation isn't too much to survive it. Now, where are my gloves?"

"Nick! I swear you, if you touch her, I'll rip your throat off!"

"That's the Vinyl I know! Good girl! Too bad you can't do anything against it."

He pulled on some rubber gloves and walked towards Octy who was getting bound to another table by Ruben who brought her in here.

"Vinyl? What's going on here?"

"Keep your hooves off of her! She's not related to this! You wanted me, and you got me, let her go!"

He didn't react and started rummaging in some equipment he pulled out of a drawer beneath the operating table.

"Get away from her! Nick!"

No reaction. He filled something into a little syringe and was just about to inject it into Octy.

"Vinyl!"

"Don't touch her!"

Overwhelmed by anger I managed to break free with one leg and unbound me. I jumped off the table and tackled Nick, but it was too late. The syringe already stuck in Octy's arm.

Nick and I rolled through the room and I managed to land a few punches in his face.

"Don't ever touch Octy again!"

I now lied on top of him, holding his head up and smashing it back on the ground with every word.

"Son"

Smack

"Of"

Smack

"A"

Smack

"Bitch!"

Smack

He was almost unconscious, but suddenly I was grabbed from behind. I turned around and saw Ruben, he held me and I wasn't able to move anymore. Being a clone, he was incredibly strong.

"Whu, Vinyl, that's what I meant with fighting spirit! Good thing Ruben was around, right?"

Nick recovered surprising quick. I spat in his face.

"You are totally crazy, Nick. How can you do this to the mare you loved once? To the mare that loved you?"

"You should be happy, seriously! You see, my further experiments, X01, X02 and X03 were just some robots with flesh and a coat around them. I gave them orders, and they followed them strict, no place for improvisation. But Ruben here, he's intelligent. He can learn, he can feel! Physical and psychic feelings, emotions! And you are about to be the mother of the next, even better generation! You will give birth to supernatural creatures! Imagine us two, together, ruling a world that is taken by our children! Can't you see the opportunities for us?"

"You're sick, nothing else. I won't do anything together with you."

He didn't seem to notice his broken nose and the blood that ran down his face. He just stared at me with a sad expression on his face.

"Vinyl, don't you see I did this all for you? So that we can finally be back together and to give you the life you deserve? The life of a queen!"

"I don't want to be a queen. I want to be a DJ, like I always was. And I want a coltfriend who isn't a psycho and creates clones to get me."

I suddenly felt how Ruben's grip loosened. I instantly used this opportunity and dashed again at Nick, smashing my horn right into his shoulder.

"Ruben! Grab her!"

But he didn't. Instead, he turned around to Octy and unbound her. She was unconscious because of the anesthetic that Nick gave her, but she was alive.

"What are you doing? Help me, you worthless piece of organic trash!"

"Is this the way you talk to your children? Not surprising that he doesn't help you."

I raised my hoof to an epic uppercut and Nick blacked out before he reached the ground. I turned around to Ruben, ready to fight him, but he just lied Octy around my shoulders.

"You have to go now, Vinyl. He was right, I am able to learn and to feel. And I learned that he isn't a good pony. Listen, I really liked you, my feelings weren't acted for the mission. But it's time to end this here. Have a good life."

I stared at him, then kissed his forehead.

"What are you going to do?"

"This laboratory is a mad place. I'll destroy it and all the clones my father created."

"All the clones?

"Yes. It's time to say goodbye, Vinyl. Let my last action be the first one to help Equestria."

I felt tears forming in my eyes.

Why has this to happen? He don't has to sacrifice himself!

But I knew he was right.

"I'll never forget you, Ruben. You're more than a robot. You're alive. You are my friend."

I hugged him tight, then left the building. On my way out I saw some more of the yellow signs that looked like his cutie mark, with a red font above them.

'Caution! Radioactive Content!'

Whatever that means…

I carried Octy out of the area and turned around to see what happens.

Nothing at all happened. It was completely silent. Then, suddenly, an elemental explosion ripped through the silence. The entire building disappeared in a huge smoke column that slowly took the form of a mushroom.

It's over. Again, I lost the colt I loved. This time forever. But it's better the way it is, I guess. Though it hurts… will I ever be loved from somepony who isn't a psycho or a clone? At least I have Octy. Now let's get home, I'm sure I'll have a lot to explain to her. And I guess Celestia and Luna want some explanations about this detonation, too.

With wet eyes, a broken heart, but still somehow happy I headed my way back home.

| Chapter 12 Additional: Spoiler Alarm: The End?

In the middle of a dark room, miles underneath the earth, right under the old factory hall, a dark grey stallion sits in front of a computer screen, watching Vinyl and Octavia leaving the building and the following explosion. A smile swirls around his lips.

"Well, we lost X03 and Ruben. I knew I shouldn't be up there with Ruben and Vinyl, maybe he was really a bit too good with all this abilities to learn and feel. That's a setback, but no reason to panic. I won't stop, my dearest Vinyl, until I have you here, and we finally can call ourselves King and Queen of Equestria!"