Prelude: Dark Beginnings
Prelude-Dark Beginnings
It is only once in a rare while that Equestria is graced with a musician that reshapes the way ponies view music.
The art of music has dated back to long before Princesses Celestia and Luna ruled the land. Ponies have been creating music for thousands of years; it has always been in their blood. It’s the last ingredient to the perfect meal, that one final spice you add just to give it a little extra flare. And whether it’s the soft, soothing, graceful music of the royal Canterlot orchestra or the pounding bass of a hard club remix, everypony in Equestria has a soft spot for music deep down in their hearts.
However, that’s usually the extent of it. Most ponies simply just enjoy music. Only a hoof-ful of ponies actually delve into the interworkings of the instrumental arts. Very few genuinely understand how music isn’t truly made, but rather how it originates from within. One cannot simply sit down and create music. One must feel it first. That’s the makings of a good musician.
And out of the hoof-ful or so of ponies who do venture into the deeper side of music, only a hoof-ful or so of those can really grasp the concept. A good musician only comes around once in a while.
A legendary one is even rarer.
Good musicians can feel the beats within. They can reach inside and find the perfect melody, the right fusion of notes that can create a song that ponies far and wide can sit back and appreciate. And while a good musician may find fame in their profession, fame is fleeting. A good musician will easily slip into obscurity just as fast as he or she hits the top, forgotten by all of their adoring fans once the next decent musician comes along. And that musician will be forgotten for the next, and so on.
A legendary musician will never experience this. For you see, a legendary musician does not simply feel the melodies within; a legendary musician can see the music. Good musicians, while very talented must still do some deep soul searching to find the perfect rhythm. A legend can simply look outside at the beautiful landscape, or at a couple sharing a kiss in the park, or even in their own mirror, and be hit with a graceful tune. A legendary musician can see the music with their own two eyes and because of this, will never endure that ill-fated fade into the back of pony’s minds. A true legend sticks with fans forever, for generations, because their music has something that a good musician’s doesn’t. It has life. The music is drawn from the real world, from things that everypony experiences, not just from the soul. A legendary musician can truly see the music.
But then, how can one pony become such a legendary musician if they cannot see the real beauty that is all around?
How can one pony become such a legend, if they are blind?
It is a very rare case. Not a legend being born from an internal darkness, but for a pony to be born sightless to begin with. A potent magic was cast over all of Equestria by Princess Celestia herself centuries ago to prevent such birth defects from occurring. Blindness, deafness, muteness, all but eradicated. But as time has shown, nothing is flawless. Not even the magic created by a divine goddess can be perfect. And so, only a miniscule amount of ponies with “impurities” are birthed into the world every generation.
But for one of the “Impure” to become something of legend, well, let’s just say the odds are stacked pretty high against that bet.
And yet against all odds, one extraordinary pony, one of the vile impure, managed not only to overcome the one thing that made her an outcast, and all of the ridicule and shame that came with it, she did something nopony with her condition had ever done before her.
She became a legend.
And though this pony was born sightless, there was no doubt she could see the music. She could see it better than anypony before her. And she never even knew what she herself looked like.
And she was left to fend for herself, all but abandoned by a cruel society.
Yet, for a pony who was thrown aside like a left over piece of fabric, she had very strong dreams; dreams of defying society, of becoming somepony. She knew of her difference. And she wanted to make something of it.
And she could see the music.
And she knew those sweet sounds would be her outlet. The deep beats would be where she expelled all of her aggression. The soft tones would be where she could dispose of the sadness inside of her. And all of her other emotions would fill the quick riffs that made up the remainder of the song.
However, the one thing that really allowed her to become the pony she became is that she never lost sight of who she truly was. For even though she had no vision, she knew exactly the pony she wanted to be. No matter what anypony else said, all the names she was called, all the cruel comments, she would stay strong. Nothing would change her.
She wanted to be herself.
She wanted to be Vinyl Scratch.
