Twilight was completely out of her element. Having been raised in Canterlot, her idea of a party was much different than the Ponyville version. Although she of course enjoyed a good ‘Pinkie Pie Party’ from time to time (‘time to time’ being every hour on the hour to Pinkie), even those never really tickled her fancy. She managed to enjoy them because she was in the company of her friends, whom she loved dearly, but even then it was only just. She preferred quiet as opposed to loud. She was comfortable with a few close friends and few good books to occupy her evenings. She was never the most outgoing pony, although she liked to think she had come out her shell some with her time in Ponyville. And she had, no longer being quite so introverted and friendless. She had a close group of friends who respected her for who she was. And what she was, was a quiet, bookish pony that preferred calm evenings reading to social gatherings. So what she was doing in an obnoxiously loud club, surrounded by inebriated ponies, ears being assaulted at all times by what she could only assume was music, was beyond her comprehension. Well, not entirely.
It had all started out not so innocently enough earlier that morning with her friend asking her out of her library home for a fun evening out about town. It was a gloriously sunny day, as were most in Ponyville, but Twilight had opted to stay inside and do what she loved most: read (and of course, take notes). Rainbow Dash had excitedly crashed through the library doors and announced to Twilight that she would personally escort her to the coolest, raddest, most happening place in Ponyville.
“It’s the coolest, raddest, most happenin’ place in Ponyville!” Dash had explained to Twilight. “Think of it as the coolest place you can think of, and then add twenty percent. And you’ll never guess who they booked to DJ! The one and only Vinyl Scratch! Did you know she actually MET the wonderbolts at one of her concerts? She invited them on stage for drinks! That’s so awesome!” Rainbow squealed, as was characteristic of her whenever the wonderbolts were mentioned.
Twilight sighed, putting down the quill she was levitating above a piece of parchment on her writing desk. She turned to face the cyan colored mare. “Rainbow, I appreciate the offer. Really I do, but I’m just not into that whole scene.” Twilight responded to the over excited pony. The last thing she wanted to do was offend her pegasus friend, but the second to last thing she wanted to do was go to the club. “And besides: I’m not sure I how much fun I would have at a place called ‘Club Techno Chocolate’ anyhow.” She giggled at the (she hoped intentionally) humorous name. Her feathered friend simply rolled her eyes and continued pressing.
“Oh, come ON, Twilight! How many clubs have you actually BEEN to?” Twilight brought a hoof to her chin and thought. The hotspots up in Canterlot were much more stuffy and sophisticated than the wilder clubs of Ponyville, and even those she had shied away from. Even so, she had read up on the subject, and found the whole scenario unappealing. The flashing lights were bound to give somepony a seizure, the loud music was just asking for an eardrum to be blown out, and not to mention the alcohol. Twilight was never a heavy drinker, stomaching only a small glass or two of wine. ‘Club Techno Chocolate’ was sure to be laden with heavy drinkers and alcoholics. Noticing the long time it was taking for her friend to think this through, Rainbow answered her own question. “EXACTLY. It’s no wonder you’re so boring, if you haven’t even been to a good club yet! Think of it as a…” Dash quickly looked around the library, and noticing all the books, was struck with genius. “… An experiment! Yeah, yeah, it’ll be just like and experiment! You show up, take a couple of notes, have a few drinks, mingle some, and hey! You could even make it into one of your, um, whatd’ya-call-it… ‘Friendship Diary’ thingies.”
“Friendship reports?”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Twilight sighed yet again, at thought of how silly she would look in the club, taking notes while everypony else was dancing and having fun. Still, she had to hand it to Dash; the idea of making this into a letter for Princess Celestia fascinated her. Twilight doubted the Princess had ever stepped hoof into a club like the one Rainbow mentioned. She knew that the Princess always enjoyed hearing of her many adventures. This could be something new, however. Something the Princess wouldn’t expect her to do… and it would make a fantastic letter. She had to admit, sometimes her letters tended to get a mite repetitive. Twilight furrowed her brow and began to wonder if one night out on the town would kill her. Still, she was more than apprehensive.
“Why can’t you ask one of the others? I’m sure Pinkie Pie or somepony would love to go.” Inquired Twilight, curious as to why the mare asked her, of all ponies.
“Eh, Rarity’s too posh for this kinda club, and Applejack says she needs to rest for work tomorrow. Bunch of hooey, if ya ask me.” She said, rolling her eyes. “Fluttershy’s… well, she’s Fluttershy. And as for Pinkie…” She rolled her fore hoof in circles, indicating what they both already knew: One could only handle so much Pinkie Pie.
She gave a look of uncertainty at the floor. She thought of her letters, and it hit her again how utterly boring most of them must seem to the princess. She didn’t like the idea of it, but she had to admit… it would be an experience. She then turned to face Rainbow Dash. “Okay, Rainbow. I guess I could could tag along. When are we going?” Her voice was laced with uncertainty.
“GAH, see! You’re always like that, you- “Rainbow flew up in the air and flung her fore hooves out exhaustedly, before registering her companions words correctly. “Wait, you’ll go?” a curt nod from the purple unicorn gave Dash her answer. “Ha-ha, yes! I promise you won’t regret it! I’ll swing by around eight and we’ll head over.” She made a small gesture with her head, and quickly blasted out of the library doors before Twilight had a chance to reconsider agreeing.
“I guess I better inform Spike…”
The night air was warm as Twilight and Rainbow made their way towards the more seedy part of Ponyville. Twilight rarely ventured down these roads, not that they were particularly frightening. In fact, at a glance they looked just like the rest of Ponyville; cobble walkways, distinct building style, colorfully painted houses, you name it. However, underneath the surface of this area was where most of the sketchier characters were known to frequent. The thought that those ruffians might be near made Twilight nervous, and glad to have a brave pony like Rainbow Dash with her. They approached a large rectangular building with a neon sign spelling out ‘Club Techno Chocolate’ above the double doors.
There was a small line, mostly full of stallions, awaiting entrance into the club. Upon seeing the two mares making towards the back of the line, the hefty bouncer stallion on duty gave a whistle and said “Whoa, now. What kind of a gentlecolt would I be if I made you two beauties wait in line?” He undid the velvet gate-chain and motioned for them to enter, giving them each a sly wink and unsettling smile. Twilight was uncomfortable, first with the disconcerting glances and remarks of the bouncer, and second with the angry calls and glares from those still waiting in line. It certainly didn’t help her premature fear of the club, if this was how things worked. Seeing Rainbow Dash walk in confidently, Twilight decided begrudgingly to follow her lead.
The first thing Twilight found noticeable about Club Techno Chocolate was the smell. A combination of alcohol and perspiration and… oddly enough, strawberries, mixed together to form a not entirely unpleasant musky aroma. The second thing she noticed was the sound. It was music, this much she could tell. But it didn’t seem to follow any real form or pattern like the music she had heard other bands play. After a few minutes listen, it was clear there was a pattern; it was just overlapped with what sounded like scratches and mixes and noises at seemingly random times. The music wasn’t horrible, just… nowhere near what Twilight was used to. Not that she was a musically learned pony, but as with most things, she had read a bit on the subject. And this certainly wasn’t in the books. Looking around, the light show was noticed by Twilight, and she found that trying to discern any pattern to it quickly gave her a massive headache. Off in the far corner, she saw a small bar where a few ponies could be seen laughing and drinking with their friends. She saw too, that Rainbow Dash had gone off with another group of fillies, and was laughing and sharing a drink with one of them. Her fore hoof was draped around the other’s dark green colored neck, and their muzzles were extremely close. In fact, they seemed to be one of the few filly groups in the club. It was mostly stallions (a fact which made Twilight a bit self-conscious) who had brought mare-friends, or were looking for knew ones.
Twilight raised an eyebrow and then sighed. Typical Rainbow Dash: Invite you somewhere, and then ditch you for a pretty mare. ’Element of Loyalty, huh? Twilight thought. She began approaching her friend, but upon being noticed, the rainbow mare flew up to Twilight and pushed her back lightly. “Look, Twilight, why don’cha hang out at the bar or something? I’m kinda busy…” She scratched the back of her neck and blushed lightly.
“But… you invite me here and then ditch me for… who is that, again?” She motioned with her hoof.
“I dunno… I’ll have to ask her at some point. Look, I got a chance here, don’t blow this for me, Sparkle!” She looked pleadingly into her friends eyes, with a look that said ‘forgive-me-I’m-an-idiot”. Twilight rolled her eyes and gave in.
“Fine. It’s just… what am I supposed to do here?” She watched her friend dash (pun intended) quickly back to her mare conquest, barely hearing her call above the blast of the music.
“Just have fun!”
At that Twilight made a ‘pssh’ sound. That was easy coming from Rainbow Dash; notorious for being one of the most laid back, fun ponies in Equestria. Well, maybe not Equestria. And maybe she wasn’t notorious. But still she was in a better disposition than Twilight. Hanging her head and mulling over how out of place she felt, she walked over towards the lighted dance floor. She didn’t dare step hoof on it, of course, but watching the other ponies dance was amusing, for a time. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this scene wasn’t for her and that she must stick out like a sore thumb. It felt as though all eyes were on her, as though somepony was watching her awkwardness, disapproving of her very being in the club. She had, in fact, noticed a few glances from a few stallions who had a few too many. Not one to normally turn heads (that was Rarity’s job, after all) she meekly blushed and went in a different direction and feeling more like Fluttershy than she ever thought possible. She frowned as the music loudened enough to hurt her ears and decided to get a drink from the bar. She stood for a while, half listening to the music, watching the drunken ponies dance, but didn’t really enjoy herself. She felt like a ghost, an observer. It wasn’t that the music was all that terrible, or the ponies were unkind; she just wasn’t used to so much stimulation. In fact, the light show nearly made her drowsy. In the back of her mind, she was simply letting her irrationality get in the way of what could be an enjoyable evening, but she didn’t feel apt to admit it.
As the night wore on, Rainbow Dash noticed the lack of fun Twilight was having. Twilight had only seen her brightly colored mane a few times in the crowd the entire night, and noticed her now approaching swiftly. She cantered over, nearly tripping herself. Clearly she had had a few too many drinks, and wasn’t really feeling up to snuff.
“HEY, Twilight. Wassat face ya got on? ‘s not a happy face, an’ this a happy place.” Her eyelids rose and fell randomly, and her pupils nearly went full Ditzy “’s’not how yer ‘sposed ta’ be at a club, Y’know.” She let out an unappealing belch.
“It’s just… I don’t know, I’m not used to all this. I’m a little uncomfortable…” She admitted sheepishly. “Say, what happened to that mare you were with?” She raised her voice to be heard above the din of the club.
“Ha, we was justabout to hit it, hit it off at her place…” She looked at the ground, a dumb grin playing on her drunken face. “NOW, now you don’ do nuthin’ stupid, ya here me? Lotsa’ bad stallions ‘round here, willing ta… ta take advanteg’ of a pre’y thing like you.” She gave her a look of sincerity. Well, as sincere as a drunken marshmallow Pegasus pony can seem.
Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at her inebriated friends concern. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” Dash shot her one last disgruntled look, and was on her way, marefriend in tow.
Twilight turned her gaze, upon hearing a sharp contrast to the usual techno being played, to the mare at the turntables. She had hardly paid any attention to the music playing at the time, but noticed the lights steadily rising. She saw the multi colored mane of the unicorn DJ flail wildly as the bass kicked up, and the whole club was blown away with sound. If she didn’t know any better, she could have sworn she felt the DJ glanced at her, but she saw the mare was intently focused on her equipment. Twilight found she somewhat enjoyed the music, bobbing her head slightly to it and almost grooving a bit. Despite enjoying the song and a small but growing appreciation for the style, her mood was no less sullen and she felt no less out of place. Everyone seemed to be going wild for the music, dancing and cheering, while she merely listened an appreciated it. Any on looker would swear she absolutely hated the music, if they even noticed her at all in this sea of ponies. She made her way to the bar, and by the time she reached it the song had ended and the lights returned to their normal state. ‘I guess the shows over…’ It had taken her longer than she expected to reach the bar, wadding through a sea of crazy party ponies. She exhaled with mixed relief and resolution as she finally reached her destination and plopped down on a barstool.
Twilight requested her drink, a glass of the lightest alcohol available and watched the brown coated barcolt go to work. After a moment, he hoofed her the yellow colored beverage, and informed her that despite being the clubs lightest at hand, it was still a ‘bit of a kicker’. She thanked him before taking a sip, thinking little of it. She only planned on having one or two before making her way back home, anyhow. She turned around and noticed the club, which had been nearly packed, had since nearly vacated. A glance at the wall clock by the bar told her it was twelve a.m. Had she really been here that long? She took another small sip of her drink, and wasn’t entirely displeased with it. She heard the tough voice of a mare call next to her. “Yo! Barcolt! Hit me with a regular!” The barcolt turned around, looked at the mare as if she were Princess Celestia herself, and quickly got her whatever it was the ‘regular’ was. Twilight turned and noticed with surprise that the mare next to her was in fact the DJ mare, still sweating from her performance. She looked at her for a moment, until Vinyl noticed her out of the corner of her eyes. She looked at her with surprise, and then began to laugh, a sort of slow, drawn out laugh that said ‘I can’t believe the irony of this’. Twilight frowned and wondered what was so funny.
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Vinyl Scratch stared at herself for a good five minutes. Her piercing red eyes were happy to stare back. She had just finished giving herself once-over, and was all too pleased with her appearance. She looked at her blue mane, perfectly messy and wild, ready for what was to come. Her eyes went down to her perfect figure, white coat crystal clean, a beautiful contrast to her black musical note cutie mark. ‘Oh, yeah.’ She smiled smugly at herself. ‘I’m hot.’ She forcefully pulled her gaze away from the beautiful mare in the mirror to her messy surroundings. Cans of alcohol littered the ground, enough to make up a pile in the corner almost up to her head (and that was before she added a few of her own) and the green wallpaper was peeling all around. Besides the pile of cans and the wallpaper, the room was bare save an olive colored couch and a small coffee table. And of course (Vinyl’s favorite), the mirror.
Not that she at all minded the mess; she was used to these kinds of surroundings. In fact, she preferred them to the usual ‘high society of Ponyville’, as she referred to it. The fact that Vinyl considered Ponyville high society spoke volumes about her social views. She had always hated things that were too fancy, too expensive for her to have growing up. She wasn’t exactly the wealthiest filly, growing up in the city of Manehatten. By the time she discovered her passion for music, she had been conditioned to think high class meant three things. And those things were boring, bland and dull. Next to music, that was the second most passionate belief she held. ‘Ah, music.’ Vinyl thought to herself. ‘The reason for my being. The mirth of my soul. The… oh hay, I’m no poet. Music just rocks!’ Vinyl thought about her favorite type of music: the kind she made. Not that there was much competition, but Vinyl was by far the most popular DJ in Ponyville (something she would never tire of flaunting) or even in Equestria.
Of course, Vinyl had experienced much criticism from the very same type of ponies she hated: the rich ones. They claimed her music ‘tasteless’, ‘ugly’, or even worse, ‘meaningless.’ ‘What more of a reason do you need, other than to dance!?’ Vinyl had often thought back angrily. She hated, hated, hated criticism more than anypony ever knew. They called her music, which she poured days and days of blood, sweat, and reverb into, garbage while never even touching an instrument themselves. It made her blood boil just to think about it. She could stand people not liking her music; but having the audacity to tell it to her face was… ‘Stop! Stop right there, you sexy beast, you!’ Vinyl broke her train of thought forcefully, and willed herself back to confidence-boosting narcissism. She refused to let herself be put into a down mood, especially not now.
She turned to the mirror looked at her red eyes intently. “Listen, ya sad sap. Who cares what those hoity-toity tasteless mules think, huh? Let ‘em say what they want!” She stomped her hoof for effect. “Yeah! Ponies love your music, they love you. And what’s not to love? You make kick-flank music, you’re hot, you know how to party, you’re hot! YOU.” She stepped closer to the small stand up mirror. “You ARE techno. You ARE amazing. You ARE-“
“On in fifty seconds.” Spoke the voice of a brown stallion holding a clipboard and wearing a headset. Vinyl looked at him briefly before he turned away. She turned to the small table and picked up her faithful goggles, haphazardly slinging them across her neck. She walked slowly towards the now open door, excitement welling within her. She strapped her goggles over her eyes, and stepped out smiling.
The bass was pumping. The lights were flaring. Sound reverberated off the walls. And Vinyl Scratch was in her element. The lights flashed, flickered, faded and flew, matching the ever changing tempo of her songs. She bobbed her head to the music, her eyes hidden by her signature goggles, scanning the crowd of dancing ponies in front of her. When somepony went to a Vinyl concert, they knew to expect more than just sound. Her concerts were experiences, a barrage against the senses. The music was louder than it should be, and that’s the way she and her fans liked it. When Vinyl dropped the bass, the whole club went mad, dancing wildly to the dub-trot beats. In short, her shows were a lot like getting stoned beyond belief, but considerably more legal. Her job was all about crowd control; making sure to mix the songs correctly to match the mood of the audience, edit and tweak them at will and on the spot. The light shows, usually handled by her magic, were just as important as the actual music, and making sure to match each beat to the lights always proved challenging. Of course, she couldn’t handle it, handle it lovingly. It was when she was performing, bobbing her head and listening to her adoring fans beg for more while the lights changed and music assaulted the world around her that the white mare was most comfortable.
The exact opposite could be said of Twilight Sparkle, resident bookwork and shut-in of Ponyville. When Vinyl played a gig, she constantly scanned the audience and made note mentally of how much the crowds were enjoying it. This time, however, her eyes kept falling back to the same purple mare with the starry cutie mark. Vinyl had never seen Twilight at one of her shows, that was certain. And now it seemed she knew why. The pony was visibly frazzled, clearly having a less than stellar time. Whenever Vinyl noticed one pony not enjoying herself, she made sure to take it up a step. If they weren’t dancing, she wasn’t performing well enough. It always worked; an increase of beat, intensifying the lights, or if she was feeling daring, spotlighting the pony to watch them dance or flake under pressure. Not tonight, however. She had tried to get to the pony, dropping her hardest hits SPECIFICLY for her, and as each attempt failed she grew angrier, gritted her teeth and turned up the volume. Tonight, possibly because of her earlier thoughts on those high class critics, this was unbearable beyond rationality. Here she was, giving it her all, throwing her heart and soul into the open air for the sake of others enjoyment and this mare from Canterlot hadn’t even PRETENDED to be enjoying herself. Vinyl frowned and straightened her goggles. She took personal offence to this pony, this Twilight, who hadn’t even acknowledged Vinyl’s attempts to win her over. “Okay, lil’ miss kill-joy.” The lights dimmed and the music faded. The ponies on the dance floor stopped dancing and cheered loudly; they knew what would be coming next. “Time to kick it up a notch!” A light piano began, quietly at first and steadily advancing in speed and intensity. As the music grew louder and more intense, the lights faded in and slowly filled the club. The piano seemed to have attracted the stubborn mare’s attention, as she turned her head from a disgruntled looking rainbow headed pegasus to look at Vinyl. ‘Perfect’, thought Vinyl. ‘Now to show her the good stuff!’ She looked down at her turn tables, just as the piano reached its peak in volume and the lights fell. Then, the bass dropped.
The lights flickered on and off, rapidly changing in speed and fade out. The power of the subwoofer could be felt throughout the club, attacking and shaking everything from the ponies themselves to the very floorboards. In times like these, Vinyl felt she WAS the music. She shook her head swiftly to match the beat of the song, working up a sweat as she took manual control of the lights, letting her horn ‘magic up’ the turntables for some even crazier effects. This being by far her dirtiest beat yet, Vinyl smiled happily. She was proud of herself as she moved and flicked the knobs on her lighting kit, which was located next to her turn tables. She began to sweat as she forced more and more of her magic on the turntables, struggling to stay focused on the light show with her hooves. As the music increased in tempo, her hooves were expected to match. It wasn’t enough to simply flash the lights on and off; Vinyl needed to know the music like the back of her hoof. Every bass drop, every speed up or slow down needed to be calculated before she even pressed any of the lights. And even then, she needed to take into account the sound of the moment: was it juicy, bass-y, fast, slow…? Vinyl’s hooves were moving faster than ever before, and she had even resorted to kicking her hind legs at the back amps to change their settings, rather than waste time turning around to do it.
The light show was something to behold, and upon exiting the club, many ponies would boldly exclaim it her best show yet. To Vinyl, the club and all the ponies but one melted away. Time stopped and all that existed was Vinyl, her music, and that stubborn Twilight. She began to pant as she worked. No longer was she working the crowd, she was driving at the one pony who dared to give her a challenge. By the time the song ended, she had fogged up her goggles from the workout and the rest of the ponies and the club returned. She lifted the goggles and gazed into the crowd, a smile on her face. She saw them screaming, some still dancing and wanting more. The lights slowly rose back to their original state. She saw that the show was over.
She saw all this, but wasn’t looking for it. No, her eyes were scanning for the purple unicorn yet again. She gazed, but to her dismay couldn’t find Twilight anywhere. She looked down at her hooves and grunted angrily. Yes, she was lucky to have so many fans, all screaming her name, all wanting more. But this had been a rare occurrence; nopony at one her live shows had ever looked so… displeased (at least, none that had been so noticed). And the other critics were all stuck up ‘musical experts’, and never someone she knew of beforehoof, or cared about...’Cared about?’ Vinyl thought, raising her head. Where’d that come from? I don’t even KNOW the filly…just her name. Even if she aint bad lookin’...’ She quickly banished it from her mind, choosing instead to focus on anger. After all, why would a pony go see her, bother spending the money, if she wouldn’t enjoy herself? It was strange, having one pony looking so displeased in a sea of smiling faces. She lived for this, the passion, the heat, the sound, the lights; all of it was her livelihood. Having it tacitly insulted got her angry. She took off her headphones and walked off of the stage, distraught. The show was over, and the ponies had started to leave. After all, the club would be closing soon… Vinyl wondered dimly about when Twilight had decided to leave, and if the bar would be open for much longer. She decided to head over.
As she made her way, through the remnants of the crowd which had dispersed surprisingly quickly, she began to realize the foolishness of letting one bad pony ruin an entire show. She raised her head at the thought, a feeling of assurance passing through her. ‘Yeah!’ She thought to herself. ‘I did a damn good show today, so what if dinky ol’ Twilight disagrees? I busted my flank, and the rest of the club dancing was enough to prove that. Who needs her?’ She thought these things, yes still knew she wouldn’t shake the feeling. She was trying to comfort herself, but instead of raising her confidence all it did was make her angrier and angrier at Twilight. She pledged, then and there, that if she ever saw Twilight again, she would make her LOVE her music. Even if it had to be forced, she would do it. ‘There ya go, Scratchy! Back in your neigh-game. Just gotta find her, force her to appreciate your music, and be on your way! Nothing to it for a mare of your charm.’ Satisfied with her new and scarcely thought out plan, she proceeded to make her way to the bar. A free drink or two just wasn’t something Vinyl could pass up.
She could see the barcolt still there, serving drinks to a few ponies, most of whom were drunk off their rockers. Vinyl pulled up a stool and called out “Yo! Barcolt! Hit me with a regular!” The colt behind the counter, who had a brown coat and yellow mane, quickly nodded and registered who he was serving. As per contract, Vinyl was entitled to free drinks before, after, and during shows. Just one of the many perks of being a DJ, she would often say. She sighed as she received her glass, and before she took a swig, noticed out of the corner of her eye somepony very familiar… and she started laughing.
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A/N: Wow. I spent way to much time trying to think of a title for this. Anywho, I know what you maybe might be could be saying: "Blue, Why come this wasn't funny?" Simple Answer: "I Don't Know!" Im hoping to turn this into somthing vaugly laughable with the next chapter. Any and all sugguestions will be welcomed in the comments. As for Shipping: I want to do it, but i'm awful at dialouge(as you can probobly tell!). I have some jokes planned around the idea, but im not sure about persuing it farther. Anywho, I'll shut up now. thanks for reading!
