Dimmed Spotlight

Dimmed Spotlight is a story written by Jimmy Lethal that involves Vinyl Scratch and Ace Spade, an original character. It is a sequel to Can't Be Saved.

Style
The story is written in the third person, and is in past tense. There is quite a bit of inner monologue from Vinyl.

Summary
WARNING: Spoilers follow.

The story begins with Vinyl waking up in the middle of a stormy night. She has been awakened by a nightmare, and it is explained she's been having them for a week. Ace is woken up by her, and asks her what's wrong. Vinyl explains in her nightmare, she died and nopony came to her funeral. Ace reassures Vinyl, telling her he'd never let such a thing happen.

The next morning, the two wake up, as Vinyl tells Ace she didn't have any nightmares after they talked. The DJ goes to take a shower, where she wonders exactly why she's having nightmares. Failing to come up with an answer, her and Ace leave their hotel room to prepare for a show.

As they walk to the club the show is taking place at, Vinyl asks Ace why she's having nightmares. As expected, Ace doesn't know. They are approached by a teenager soon after, who begins to talk to Ace and asks for his autograph. He does not notice Vinyl the entire time, making her jealous of Ace.

The two eventually reach the club, and as Vinyl sets up her equipment, a couple more fans again talk to Ace. They praise him, as the teenager did, but Ace asks them to talk to Vinyl this time around. The fans decline, and Vinyl, who was eavesdropping on the conversation, becomes angry. She then suddenly hatches a plan, designed for her to have the spotlight for once.

Vinyl walks up to Ace, asking to talk to him backstage. He accepts, and as soon as the two are out of sight, Vinyl strikes him in the back of the head with a pipe. When Ace wakes up, he finds himself bound and gagged in an equipment closet, Vinyl standing over him. Vinyl explains how she is going to play the show herself, and that she'll keep Ace captive until it's over so she could have time in the spotlight. Vinyl then leaves, locking the door behind her.

As the show begins, some crowd members understandably question Vinyl on Ace's whereabouts. She simply says he "could not perform," and heads to her setup, beginning to play music. All goes well for about eight songs, until the crowd begins to get bored. Vinyl asks them why, and one crowd member states that without Ace's rapping, Vinyl's beats are boring.

Vinyl tries to reassure herself it was only one pony, but she then sees the crowd heading for the doors. Panicking, she locks them all with her magic. The crowd begins to become unruly, one pony yelling at Vinyl to let them go. The DJ snaps, and begins to rant about how she deserves her time in the spotlight and how Ace was hogging it. She ends up being interrupted by... Ace. He leads her backstage.

The first thing Vinyl asks Ace is how he escaped. He explains that since they had been into bondage, he could untie himself, and he could unlock the (electric) lock due to his magic specialty being electricity. He then asks Vinyl why she kidnapped him and the crowd, and Vinyl retorts by saying she should have the spotlight for a change.

Ace deduces that the situation is being caused by Vinyl's nightmares, going on to tell her how the nightmares have a pattern of nopony caring about her. As Vinyl comes to grips with what's happening, she tearfully apologizes to Ace, who is rather quick to accept it.

The two then go back on stage, with the crowd in utter chaos by this point. Vinyl begins to apologize, as Ace asks the crowd if they think Vinyl is equal to him. To Vinyl's appreciation, the crowd agrees with Ace's statements, and she thanks the crowd for helping her realize that the two share the spotlight. She unlocks the doors, letting the crowd leave.

That night, back at their hotel room, Vinyl and Ace lie down on the bed, embracing each other. Vinyl asks if the nightmares are over, to which Ace ambiguously agrees. She thanks him for saving her, and Ace thanks Vinyl for letting her save him, and the two fall asleep. Vinyl does not have another nightmare again.