Simple Music

Nightshade couldn’t help but give a small smile as he watched the country side pass before him. It had taken a lot for him to make the decision of leaving home and moving to Ponyvile. He knew the ride would be another hour at least, and decided to put on his headphones and turn up his music. The taxi driver had started to talk to him early on, but after a few exchange in words, got the message that Nightshade was not much for conversation. In fact Nightshade wasn’t much for anything, and that was partly his reasoning for moving away from Canterlot. He could still remember the conversation he’d had with his father last night, word for word.

It was around midnight, and Nightshade was up listening to some music and doing a little free writing. His father had come downstairs, to see why he was up so late.

“Nothing much, just doing whatever.” Nightshade replied.

“Son…” His father sighed. “You need to go to bed. After all, you do have a very important meeting with the princess tomorrow.”

“Yea, with Celestia…”He muttered under his breath.

“What was that!” His father demanded.

“Nothing, never mind.”

Nightshade looked like his father in many ways. Their both unicorns, and have the same cerulean blue coat. However, Nightshade has a longer mane, and it’s black instead of some mix of yellow and green. They were also differed in goals. Nightshade’s father was obsessed with rising to the top of the Canterlot food chain. Nightshade however, simply wanted to do whatever he felt like doing and was well adapt at almost everything. That was one of the reasons his cutie mark resembled a book.

“Good. That’s what I thought. Now go to bed.”

“…no…” Nightshade said as he ascended the stairs.

“I’m sorry? What was that?” His father asked.

“I said no. I’m tired of doing what you want me to do. I just want to do my own thing. I don’t care about my meeting with Celestia, it sounds to stressful.”

“Oh yea? Until you leave my house, you do what I say. Unless, that is, you want to be cut off.” Nightshade’s father had been funding all of his hobbies, whatever they included.

“Fine man. I don’t need your help. I’ll just live on my own.”

“Oh yea? Where’re you going to live, hmm? You know what it takes to live in Canterlot? It takes money, and connections, both of which you now have neither of.”

Which now brings us back to the taxi headed for Ponyvile. Nightshade figured that if he couldn’t live in Canterlot, then Ponyvile was the next best thing. Also, the town seemed quite to him, and all he really needed was some down time.

He continued to think about his future as he listened to his music. The pony he was listening was none other than Dj-Pon3. It was part of her instrumental series, and the beats were nice and soft. The mellow music coupled with the nice warmth of the taxi made Nightshade drift off to sleep.

“Hey buddy! Hey yo pal! We’re here.” The taxi driver instructed.

“What’s that?” Nightshade asked; as he started slowly wake up.

“I said we’re here. That’ll be ten bits.”

“Oh. Okay, here ya go.” Nightshade thanked as he handed over the money.

“Thanks. By the way, if ya don’t mind me asking, who were you listening to?”

“Dj-Pon3, or Vinyl Scratch. This is her instrumental album.”

“Well, now I see why you moved out here.” The driver said with a smug smile.

“Huh? What reason is that?” Nightshade asked.

“No reason, you’ll see soon enough!” The driver shouted as he raced away.

Deciding not to dwell on whatever the taxi driver meant, Nightshade made his way into town. The first thing he noticed was that everything had a silent buzz to it. There were tons of ponies, all moving around and talking to each other, however it was a lot more contained and slightly toned down than in Canterlot.

Happy that no pony was bothering him, he took out his headphones and turned up his music. However, no sooner had he selected a song when something pink came crashing into him. When he opened his eyes, there was a pink pony smiling on top of him.

“Hi! My name’s Pinkie Pie. What’s yours?” She asked enthusiastically.

“Uh, Nightshade.”

“Pinkie Pie! Would yawl please stop knocking down our new residences?”

“Sorry Applejack, but you know how I get when some new pony moves in.”

Applejack walked over to Nightshade, and offered to help him up.

“Thanks…Applejack, right?” Nightshade asked.

“Yep, that’s right. And sorry about Pinkie. She can get a little…intense.”

“Hey no worries, am I right.”

“Yep.”

The conversation started to die down, and Nightshade started to get nervous. He always did this whenever he met some pony new. The conversation would start out good but always collapse in the middle. He was about to leave, but Pinkie Pie wanted to keep the conversation going.

“So what brings you to Ponyvile Nightshade?”

“Well, you know. Canterlot becomes just a bit too much after a while.”

“Don’t I know it. When I was younger, I moved to Manehatten with my aunt and uncle.”

“What made you come back?”

“It just…didn’t feel like home.”

“Yea…”

Once again, there was that pause.

“Where are you staying?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“On the corner of Hay and Stack. I don’t actually know where that is, could one of you show me?” Nightshade asked.

“Of course I can partner. Just follow me.” Applejack said as she walked down the street.

The walk to Nightshade’s new apartment was one of the most awkward ones in his life. Applejack had tried about a thousand times to talk with him, but Nightshade would just respond with yes or no. After a while, he just put on his headphones and listened to his music. It had become one of his newer passions. Music just made everything seem so…serine even on a normal day.

“Well, here we are.” Applejack said upon reaching the apartment.

“Thanks.” Nightshade said as he started to go inside. However he stopped just short of entering, thinking it might be rude to just leave. When he turned around to ask Applejack if she wanted to come in, she was already on the other side of the street. Oh well…He thought. I’ll just be better next time.

His apartment was on the top floor, and his room was medium containing one bedroom, one bathroom, one kitchen, and one living room. His father made the arrangement. He said he would pay for the first month, but after that, it was up to Nightshade. Not knowing what to do, and not really wanting to do anything, Nightshade walked over to the living room window, and began to listen to his music. The sun was setting giving Ponyvile a yellow hue and the music he was listening to really gave it some life. He started to doze off again when a knock came on his door.

Walking over rather sluggishly, he opened it. And who should be standing on the other side but one of the most famous musicians in Canterlot. Octavia, the cellist for the Royal Canterlot Orchestra.

“Hello there. My name is Octavia, and I live just a few doors down.”

Nightshade was unable to respond.

“Umm…yes. Anyway, I just wanted to say welcome to the neighborhood.”

“You’re…Octavia.” Nightshade finally said.

“Umm…yes.” Octavia said.

“Awe man! I have like, all your albums!”

“R-really? Even my solo albums?”

“Yes man! Your solo albums have a nice refreshing edge to the classical theme. Would you like to come inside?”

“Well…why not.” Octavia said as she moved over to the couch.

“So what are you doing now?” Nightshade asked as he went to sit across from her.

“Nothing much really. Just taking a break for now, I suppose.”

“Well, I hope you come back with something soon. Have you ever thought about trying dubstep.”

This suggestion seemed to set Octavia on edge for some reason. Like the mere mention of the new phenomenon filled her with molten lava. After a few minutes of awkward silence she finally told him she hadn’t.

“Well hey, that’s okay.” Nightshade laughed nervously. “You just got to do what you want, right.”

This seemed to make Octavia cheer up a bit. “Right. “

They talked for a few hours about music and Canterlot. It was so easy for him to talk to her, like they had a connection he hadn’t had with any pony in a long time. Pretty soon though, the moon was in the sky. Nightshade glanced out the window and decided that his guest had stayed long enough. After all, nighttime is when he’s most productive.

“Well, hey, it’s getting kind of late, and I have some work to do.” Nightshade apologized.

“Oh, I see. What is it that you do again?” Octavia asked.

“Ya know. A little of this and a little of that.”

“Okay…Well I should be getting back as well. My roommate will be waking up soon, and I’m sure she’ll want some company before work.”

“Oh really? Who’s your roommate?” Nightshade asked curiously.

“Her name is Vinyl Scratch.”

Nightshade was pretty sure he had just died for a few minutes. The, Vinyl Scratch, was living just a few doors down from him. He’d thought his father had chosen this spot as some sort of punishment, but if he only knew.

“Oh really, that’s cool.” He replied as nonchalantly as possible.

“Yes, I suppose it is. Would you like to meet her?”

Nightshade practically ran to the door, gesturing for Octavia to lead the way. He still couldn’t believe that Vinyl Scratch was in his apartment building. I’m so lucky! He thought as Octavia led him down the hall.

When they got to the apartment Nightshade was just a little confused. The room was spotless. Even the kitchen table was clean, and the dishes were all put away. He gave Octavia a puzzling look, and she gave him one right back.

“What?” She asked.

“Umm nothing I guess.” Nightshade replied. “It’s just I thought…you know…”

“Know what?” Octavia asked.

“Well…you are living with Dj-Pon3 so I thought…well, I thought the place might be a little trashed.” He admitted.

“Oh well, I suppose that is every ponies first thought.” Octavia said.

“Hey Tavi! Is breakfast done?” A voice shouted from the second bedroom down the hall.

“No, I’ve been talking with the new neighbor.”

“Oh, really? Is he like the last guy? You know, the one with only one eye who had that telescope and tried to-“ Vinyl stopped short when she saw Nightshade. “Oh, uh, I didn’t know we’d be having company over.” Her expression told him that this was an unwelcome surprise, but Nightshade was determined to make a good first impression. Just don’t fanboy out. He thought.

“I…you…are…” Good start man.

“Ya huh.” Vinyl said as she sat down. Octavia was at the stove trying to hold back her laughter.

“It’s just…that…you…”

“Listen kid. I don’t have all day, so if you want an autograph just spit it out.”

“Your music…” Nightshade began. “…is just so freaking awesome.” He finished rather fast.

Octavia handed Vinyl some pancakes before she sat down next to her and started reading the paper. Both were clearly unimpressed with Nightshade’s revelation after listening to Vinyl. It took him a few minutes to figure out why, until he saw the giant bag of fan mail sitting in the corner.

“I’m guessing you get that a lot though huh?”

“Kid, you have no idea.” Vinyl replied still focused on her food.

“Come now Vinyl. At least pay him some attention. After all he is our new neighbor.” Octavia nudged.

“Can’t. Eating.” She got out in between bites.

“Well, it’s obvious who the third wheel in this room is.” Nightshade interrupted. “But before I go, anything happening right now?”

“What?” Vinyl asked giving in to Octavia’s nagging.

“I mean does Ponyvile have a good night life?”

“Vinyl is doing a show at the town REC Center tonight.” Octavia said. “We were about to head out after breakfast. Would you like to accompany us?”

Nightshade had to take one look at Vinyl to realize his company would not be welcome. I don’t want to be rude to Octavia though. He thought.

“I’ll meet you guys there. I just need to take care of some work first.” He lied.

“Alright then. The show starts at eleven and ends at two.” Octavia informed.

Nightshade thanked her for the information and went back to his apartment. He looked at the clock that hung in his kitchen. It was ten thirty now which meant he had at least another fifteen minutes before he needed to head out. He could already hear Vinyl and Octavia leaving their apartment and rushing downstairs.

The concert was great. Vinyl really knew how to get the audience going. First she started out with a light set, then let everything build up little by little. The middle of the show was so full of energy, Nightshade was almost certain it could power the sun. The best part was that the the crowd's mood never slumped. Every time Nightshade thought the atmosphere had deepened, Vinyl would always pick it up by instructing every pony to do some sort of action or shouting it was time to party. At the end Vinyl thanked every pony for coming out to see her as she walked off stage.

Octavia spotted Nightshade just as he was leaving and asked him to stay after for a little bit. Not wanting to be rude he agreed. It also didn’t hurt that he’d have another chance to talk to Vinyl again.

Backstage was a buzz of activity. All the backstage ponies were running around, unplugging this and that and trying to find the proper place for that wire. It was a made house, and Nightshade was too afraid of accidently bumping into some pony. Octavia was also hanging back.

“Aren’t you going to go get her?” He asked.

“No, she’ll be out in a minute. Vinyl hates the energy of backstage.” No sooner had she finished than did Vinyl emerge looking really pumped up.

“Oh man, that was intense!” She shouted.

“Yea it was awesome!” Nightshade chimed in.

“Oh…hey kid.” She acknowledged as the energy started to seep out of her body.

“I invited Nightshade to walk home with us.” Octavia explained.

“Yea great…” She replied seeming less than enthused.

So the three of them left the REC Center and proceeded to make their way to the apartment complex. They were three blocks away when the first flash came.

“What was that?” Nightshade asked looking around.

A second flash.

“Reporters.” Vinyl whispered.

“How come they didn’t mob us at the apartment?” Nightshade wondered aloud.

“They only come when there’s a concert.” Octavia explained.

The reporters apparently got tired of being shy and started to mob the trio with a series of camera flashes and questions. The light from the cameras became blinding but Nightshade could still see the girls getting their full attention. He knew he had to do something, but what? In the corner of his he saw a small purple dragon lying on the back of some purple pony. Strange, but it gave him an idea.

All at once the reporters ran away. A confused Octavia and Vinyl Scratch looked at each other in confusion. When they turned around, they understood what the reporters had been afraid of. Behind them was a giant ferocious looking dragon. They stood frozen in fear.

“Are they gone?” Nightshade asked from the curb.

“Nightshade what are doing? Run and get help.” Octavia commanded.

“For what?”

“Oh I don’t know. Maybe the giant freaking dragon!” Vinyl shouted.

“Oh right. Hang on let me handle this.” Nightshade dipped his head and allowed the magic to flow back into him.

“W-what was that?” Vinyl asked.

“It was an illusion I conjured up. No big deal.” He smiled.

“No big deal? That was awesome!”

That was the last time the reporters had bothered them that night. Just to be safe though, they took the long way around. Vinyl started to go nuts about how next time Nightshade should do one of his allusions at her next concert. They started to talk about what illusion would fit best with which song, and continued it when they reached the apartment. It had to late for Octavia, and eventually, Nightshade as well. After bidding them both a good night, he went back to the window, which overlooked Ponyvile. Yep, everything’s going to work out just fine. Nightshade thought as he drifted off to sleep, music player in hand.