Scratches Across the Record

A steady string of sharp beeps roused Vinyl Scratch from her unconscious state. While she was waking, her eyes still closed, a soft murmur tickled her ears with a warm tone. She slowly opened her eyes to immediately clamp them shut again at the bright light that she found at first. After some gentle encouragement from the soft murmur, she opened her eyes again, this time slowly and with a hoof shielding them. Once she could see without squinting, Vinyl lifted her hoof back and was greeted by the sight of a beige unicorn against an impossibly white background. He was tall, even when seated, with soft features, emerald eyes, and a short, slightly tousled brown mane.

“Hey, Mix,” Vinyl muttered sheepishly, letting her eyes drift across the scene. She observed the inside of what she regarded as a sanitary hellhole – hospitals depressed her greatly, and she’d be the first to let somepony know it.

“Hey, kiddo,” Mix spoke slowly while wearing a small smile, “how ya’ feeling?”

“Eh, my head aches and it feels like my ribs got hit by a train, but other than that... I’m just peachy.”

“At least you’re alive, so thank Celestia for that.”

“Well, I am wild and sexy – the perfect kind of pony to die young.”

The beige stallion sighed and shook his head. “The saying is ‘Only the good die young.’” Vinyl scrunched up her nose in discontent and stuck out her tongue. Mix simply laughed and patted her gingerly on the shoulder. “On a more serious note, however, I’ve got to know what happened to you.”

Vinyl lowered her head and put a sombre look on her face as she spoke. “I went out gambling last night.”

“Vinyl.” Mix sighed in disappointment but remained silent after that.

“I actually won a whole lot at first, but then I got cocky and lost it all on a single bet. The last thing I remember was getting drunk and yelling at some big lookin’ pony... it probably wasn’t one of my better nights.” Silenced reigned between the two for a minute before Mix finally spoke.

“Would it be safe for me to assume you didn’t have enough to cover the bills?” The sullen DJ refused to meet her friend’s stare but nodded her head slowly. “Then why didn’t you let me know?”

“What good would that’ve done?” Vinyl replied dejectedly.

“I could have helped.”

“I wasn’t about to go crawling to you for help.” Immediately after the words had left her mouth, Vinyl immediately regretted them.

“Oh really?” Mix’s voice had taken a harsh tone and Vinyl, despite looking away from him, could tell his eyes were dead serious and locked upon her. “Maybe I’m misremembering, but I don’t ever recall you being particularly good at picking up the pieces of your messes. In fact, I quite clearly recall myself fixing your mistakes on more than one occasion. Do you-”

“Okay!” The DJ interrupted him quickly, a tear forming in her eye. “You fix everything in my life... I mess everything up and you make it right. But I... I just wanted to fix things by myself for once.” Vinyl rubbed her hooves anxiously on the bed sheets, her vision blurring as she resigned her eyelids to a half-opened position. The beeping from before, which had faded from Vinyl's focus during their conversation, slowly became the focal point of the sullen mare’s attention – she wanted something to take her mind off of her own deject state. During this time, Mix had relaxed his features and let out another sigh, which may have seemed excessive by this point, had sighing not been so customary for the stallion during his conversations with Vinyl.

After a minute of silence – another occurrence not uncommon between them – Mix finally spoke, this time softly once more. “Vinyl, I know you just want to feel like you can solve your own problems, and I’m not saying you shouldn’t be able to, but it doesn’t hurt to at least get a little bit of help. Now, could you at least try and let me help you? You’ve already gone broke and put yourself in the hospital, so the least you could do for yourself is to let me help.”

“You’re right,” Vinyl replied quietly, turning her uneasy gaze towards him. “Can you please help me?”

Mix gave a small smile. “If you promise to stop being so cliché sounding about.”

“Me, cliché? Naaaaaaah.” Vinyl tried to laugh, but was stopped by a pang in her side a moment into the attempt. As Mix was giving her another pat on the shoulder, a short unicorn dressed in a doctor’s coat walked up to the end of the bed, a clipboard levitating in front of his spectacled eyes.

“Ms. Scratch?” he asked casually.

Being reminded that she was in a hospital, Vinyl frowned and halfheartedly replied: “Yeah, that's me.”

“It looks like you’ve only got a little bruising on your left side, and nothing permanent or serious to worry about – you’re good to go assuming you feel well enough to travel.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Mix chimed in gratefully, standing up and offering Vinyl his hoof. She nodded to the doctor in a show of appreciation before taking her friend’s hoof. Her hooves clicked loudly against the floor as she slid off the bed with only mild discomfort. The two quickly made their way out of the hospital, as Mix was completely aware of how much Vinyl disliked the establishments and had no intent on making the mare more uncomfortable. Once they stepped out onto the hard pavement, the DJ closed her eyes and greedily inhaled the warm air, as if it were in limited supply, and then exhaled heavily with a smile.

“Do you want to walk?” Mix asked quickly. “Or would you like me to get a carriage?”

Vinyl was already lost in her own world, ignoring her friend in favour of a realization. “Shit!” she exclaimed. “What happened to my shades?”

“I asked, but they said they weren’t on you.”

“Fuck... scumbag probably broke ‘em.”

“Vinyl, you got drunk and likely agitated a much larger pony – getting only your sunglasses broken is probably on the luckier side of things. Now, are we going to walk, or do you want to get a carriage?” Still grumbling about her lost, and likely broken, sunglasses, it took her friend a few more calls of her name for Vinyl to finally pay attention to him.

“Well, I can’t really afford a carriage,” she muttered discontentedly.

Mix rolled his eyes and withheld another sigh. “I know that, but it’s not really expensive – I can pay for it myself.” The DJ was about to protest, but was stopped by a raised hoof and unfaltering gaze. She quickly backed down and allowed her friend to pay for a carriage that they rode to Vinyl’s apartment in silence.

Just as they entered Vinyl’s apartment, Mix closed the door behind them and cleared his throat. The DJ spun around and gave her friend a puzzled look before noticing his hoof slowly gliding through the air, pointing from one end of the apartment to the other. She turned back to give the chaotic mess she called home a quick stare before letting out an embarrassed chuckle.

“What are you, a teenager?” Mix asked sharply.

Vinyl turned her head back and gave him a small frown. “Well, what are you: my mom?”

“If I’m anything I’m more like a broth-”

The DJ now took the time to turn her whole body to face Mix and donned a determined scowl. “You don’t get to just stand there and act like you’re my brother – ‘cause you’re not!”

Mix pulled back a little, visibly regretting his word choice, but continued on with determination. “Then could you please just listen to me as a friend?”

“What kind of friend lectures somepony just after they get out of the hospital?”

The beige stallion sighed with exasperation. “Don’t play that card, Vinyl – I’m lecturing you because you got yourself into the hospital because of your bad choices.”

“I’m an adult: I’m allowed to fuck up if I want, and it’s my own damn problem if I do!”

“Just because you’re of age to be an adult, doesn’t mean you actually are one.”

“And just because you’re older than me and have helped me out doesn’t mean you get to be my brother and lecture me like I’m a filly!”

“If you didn’t act like one I wouldn’t have to!” He took a hard stamp on the floor and stared Vinyl down with intensity. Despite all of her anger and determination up to this point, the DJ lowered her head and became silent. In a rather desolate manner, she dragged herself over to a couch covered in miscellaneous objects and slumped down on it.

“Why do you even care if my apartment’s a mess?” she muttered defeatedly.

Mix relaxed, letting out a long breath he had been holding onto, and walked over to a chair opposite the couch. With a few quick flicks of his hoof he brushed most of the debris off the chair and sat down. “It’s not just about your apartment,” he said softly with a touch of sadness. “This is about your drinking and partying... and your complete refusal to grow up. Of course... there’s also the gambling now.”

Vinyl shot her head up and pleaded in defence. “I swear I won’t do it again!”

The stallion across from her looked away. “I’ve heard that before.” There was silence between the two for some time before Mix finally spoke again. “Vinyl, I'm your friend – I care about you and I’ve spent too much time with you to ever be able to just walk away from you, but... I can’t keep picking you up every time you do something stupid. You're going to have to learn how to either clean up your own messes, or to stop making them. I’m not going to pretend like I never make mistakes, or that I’ve never messed up something, but I learnt from those mistakes and moved on with my life.

“I know you enjoy all the excitement and energy of partying constantly, but you’re running yourself ragged with it, whether you see it or not. You have a career to be building, and a life you could be making for yourself – don’t you want that anymore? The Vinyl I met a long time ago wanted to become the best DJ in all of Equestria. What happened to her? You got about halfway up the ladder and felt content enough just to sit there and squander everything you made. Now... now you’re actually falling down that ladder, and I’m worried you’re not going to climb back up.”

The weight of his words hung heavily upon Vinyl’s heart, and she could make no adequate reply to them. She looked slowly and sadly across her dishevelled living room and realized how much a mess not only the room was, but her entire life. Part of her still wanted to deny it, to say that it was her own life and that she was free to live it as she pleased – but deep down she knew she was only hurting herself by doing indulging so much, while she did so little else. After going over this thoughts again and again, she knew Mix was right about her problems, but she still felt completely incompetent about it all.

“Mix,” she began quietly, “I’m sorry for what I put you through. I know you want to help me, and I’m nothing but stubborn and stupid about it. I asked for you help back at the hospital, but then I turned around and bitched you out for trying to help me... I’m a complete idiot.”

With a sigh, the stallion across from her spoke softly. “I don’t know why you’re acting the way you are, but a real idiot isn’t smart enough to see their own flaws. So, stupid as you may be sometimes, you’re not a complete idiot.”

“Heh, thanks,” she replied with light sarcasm.

“I’m not going to coddle you and tell you nothing’s wrong every time you get sad just to make you feel better. I admit, I’ve coddled you in the past by always picking you up without being sure you had learned your lesson – but that stops now. It’s not like I’m not going to be there for you, but you’ve got to learn how to be an adult, and you’ll never do that by relying on me constantly. I’ll help you get started, but I want to see you succeed by your own choices, not mine. My suggestion: distance yourself from DJing for a while.”

“What!” Mix’s words brought back all of Vinyl's energy in an instant. “I can’t quit DJing! Besides, weren’t you just on my ass for not working on a being a better DJ – how can you just turn around and tell me to stop?”

“I’m not telling you to outright stop being a DJ, but to do some other work for the time being.” Despite Vinyl thinking the idea was completely ridiculous and having no idea how her friend could suggest it, Mix continued with unfazed confidence. “While I think DJing should be an important part of your life, until you can control yourself, it’s just going to be a gateway for all your partying and drinking – distance yourself from that for the moment, and work on you.”

The disgruntled mare sat up and scowled slightly. “What are you, a high school guidance counsellor?”

“The ‘what are you’ quips just never get old, do they?” Vinyl scrunched up her face and stuck her tongue out at Mix in a childish display of disagreement. The stallion laughed briefly before becoming serious again. “But seriously, Vinyl, you really should do some other work for now. My studio recently signed with Octavia for her first solo album, but all of my sound-booth technicians are stupid busy, and so am I – I think this could be a good opportunity for you.”

Rubbing her chin in a quasi-thoughtful manner, Vinyl spoke slowly, drawing out her words. “I dunno.”

“Come on, I know you’ve got the skills for it – even if you ignored ninety percent of your work back in college, you’ve always had the talent for this kind of work.”

“But I’ve never heard of this ‘Octavia’ pony.”

“Trust me, she’s a talented musician and very well off because of it – you won’t be working with some second-rate hack or something.” Vinyl stopped keeping up the act of looking thoughtful and actually took a moment to think about the situation.

“Uhhh... fine, I guess this isn’t exactly a bad idea.”

Mix chuckled as he stood up from the chair. “Not quite the ‘Vinyl Scratch attitude’ I was hoping for, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Hey!” Without hesitation, Vinyl leapt from her couch and came almost face-to-face with her friend in an instant. “I am Vinyl Scratch, and I’ve always got attitude!”

His lips cracked into a small smile as he took a half-step back. “Alright, cool yourself, filly.”

“Easier said then done – I can't control how hot I am,” the DJ cooed with a sly smile, but Mix simply shook his head and sighed.

“You know that I meant your attitude, but you just had to go there.”

“Eh, whatever you want to think, but you know it’s true.” The enigmatic mare made her way to the kitchen of her apartment, opening up her refrigerator to prod her head about inside of it. “So when do you want me to come in for work?” her muffled voice came from inside the metal box. Before Mix could reply, Vinyl pulled her head out with a half-eaten sandwich in her mouth. “Mhat soumms suh wuhhrd.”

“And you wonder why I treat you like a filly.” With a few ravenous mouth movements, Vinyl finished her sandwich and gave her friend a dumb grin. After he was done with rubbing his hoof against his forehead, he turned back to continue the conversation. “Octavia’s coming in tomorrow – it was initially going to be a meeting to discuss the technician issue, but since I just got you on board, we’re going to go ahead and set things up with you two.”

“Heh,” the mare giggled, “‘set us up' – you a matchmaker now, Mix? Are you even sure I swing that way?”

“You have been in some ‘mixed’ crowds while DJing,” her friend said with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah yeah, enough about my personal life, ‘mom’.”

Mix smirked. “Are you implying that I'm a middle-aged mare, again?”

“Maybe,” Vinyl giddily answered. The pair shared a laugh for a few moments before the DJ walked back up to her friend. She raise her hooves and draped them around his neck as she slumped her head onto his shoulder.

“Thanks, Mix,” she murmured quietly.

“No problem, kiddo,” he replied warmly, nuzzling her affectionately. After a few seconds Vinyl let go of Mix and slid back to all fours. As she did, she looked up at her friend with a serious stare.

“But if you tell anypony about it,” she said with an unfaltering gaze, “I will end you.”

“Only if you stop making fun of me for my figurine collection.”

“Aw, but they’re so cute and completely stupid.”

“You just don’t appreciate fine craftsmanship and quality television.”

“And you’re just a little filly stuck in a stallion’s body.”

“Look who’s calling who a filly? Would you feel more confident trying to insult me with some unchewed food in your mouth?”

“Oh, it’s on!”

* * * * * * * * * *

The familiar sight of Mix’s recording studio greeted Vinyl as she trotted towards it. While she did not come here on a regular basis, the DJ had spent plenty of time with her friend in this building, and had grown to be very comfortable with it. This studio was Mix’s life work, and one of the few things Vinyl was truly jealous of – she felt as though each song recorded in this building was more impressive than anything she had ever achieved in her life. Immediately after they finished college, Mix set to work on building a network of contacts and friends throughout the music industry, becoming completely immersed within it in barely a year. With a small backing from his parents and the investing of his life’s saving, he started his own recording company, and took to it just as easily as he had to the music industry. Through all the contacts that he made, his warm smile and pleasant attitude, and, most of all, his complete openness to new musicians and artists, Mix’s studio quickly became one of the most well know among the musical world. Yeah, Vinyl thought to herself, Mix really put himself into the place.

As she attempted to dispel any lingering negative thoughts from her mind, the DJ saw her friend seeing off somepony in a leather jacket and sunglasses at the front door. Mix turned, seeing Vinyl approaching, and walked forwards to meet her.

“Hey there, I’m glad you actually followed through,” he greeted her happily.

With a shrug she flicked her mane a little and replied: “Well, I’ve gotta prove that I won’t keep letting you down.”

“That’s good to hear, but I really want you to make sure you don’t let yourself down – that’s what’s important here. Come on, Octavia’s waiting inside.”

As they walked towards the building, the glass doors in front of them slid open at their presence and let them inside. “Making a big shot wait just for me?” Vinyl joked coyly. “I hope she doesn’t think you’re playing favourites.”

“She’s hardly been waiting,” Mix replied as he waved to a number of ponies while they passed through the reception room. “I said hello to her as I was seeing another client off just then – if anything, she’d be waiting on you.”

“Well, good thing I’m here on time then, eh?”

He gave his friend a smirk. “Yes, you’re actually on time for once and it matters.” The DJ sputtered off some childish noises as they approached the studio’s head office. Managing to calm herself down despite her enjoyment, Vinyl cleaned up her posture and tried her best to don an air of maturity.

“I almost forgot!” Mix chimed as he turned around and quickly left the room. “I’ll be back in a moment.” Just as promised, her friend returned within a mere ten seconds, bringing with him a sight that delighted Vinyl greatly: a brand new pair of her signature shades,still shining along every inch of it’s surface.

“Holy shit, man!”she exclaimed with much excitement.

“Calm down,” he replied with a chuckle as he passed the gift to the euphoric DJ. “I thought these would help put you in a good mood for the meeting, so I got them rush ordered. Now, calm yourself down and follow me.” Mix opened the doors and motioned Vinyl inside. The ecstatic mare took a deep breath, donning her shades with a great swish of her mane, and walked into the office in as nonchalant a manner as she could muster.

The pair entered the off-white urban office and were immediately greeted by the sight of a grey mare with an immaculate black mane, a treble clef cutie mark, and a pink bow-tie decorating her neck.

“It’s good to see you again, Octavia,” Mix announced with a warm but serious tone as he walked over to shake Octavia’s hoof.

“Likewise,” she replied calmly, her accent revealing itself to Vinyl. “It has been a while, hasn’t it?”

Mix delayed his reply until after he had taken a seat and given himself a few seconds to think. “Yes, almost five months now, I believe. Anyhow, I’m guessing you’re wondering who the mare with me is; this is Vinyl Scratch, the technician I’ve hired for your recording.”

With a refined and collected air, Octavia turned to face the DJ and extended her hoof. “How do you do?”

Thanks to her shades, neither of the other ponies noticed the panic set in for Vinyl. Shit shit shit! she cursed internally. How the fuck do you greet these fancy types? I know! I’ll just copy her hello – that’ll work, right?

“How do you do?” she replied nervously, shaking the other mare’s hoof. Octavia eyed her carefully for a moment before turning back to Mix, who told them both to take a seat so that they may begin.

“First off,” Mix began as he hovered a hoof over his intercom, “would either of you care for a coffee or tea?” Octavia requested a type of herbal tea completely unknown to Vinyl, who simply asked for a coffee – it was rather early for this mare, who was used to sleeping in after all-night parties. “Alright, as there really is not a whole lot to discuss outside of planning and scheduling, I’d like to open the discussion up for any questions or immediate concerns that either of you may have.”

“I would like to know,” Octavia quickly responded, “how long Ms. Scratch has been working for you.” Trying her best not to be noticed, Vinyl shot the other mare a sharp glare. What, she doesn't trust me already? she thought bitterly.

“Vinyl has been with me since college,” Mix answered calmly, in stark contrast to Vinyl’s tone of thought. “We’ve worked together since long before I started this studio. If you want to be technical, however-”

Octavia cut in with a quick: “And I do.”

“... then Vinyl isn’t so much employed by the studio as she does some work for me.”

“So she’s a creditable freelance technician then?”

The relaxed studio owner chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “See, she’s not really a freelancer either.”

“What is she then?” the mare asked a tad impatiently, tired of not getting the answer she was looking for. During this exchange, the DJ remained silent, her thoughts still following the conversation. ‘What’ am I? Well, first of all, I’m a pony that could probably kick your ass.

“Vinyl is a good friend, who, like I said, has been working with me – albeit, sporadically – over my entire career. She’s a talented individual whom I trust – I did not bring her here as the last resort because I had no pony else.”

“May I assume that you did not have anypony else, though?”

“It is true – my entire staff is currently engaged in other work.”

“I then have to take your word that Ms. Scratch is a creditable technician, even though she is not employed by your or any other recording studio?”

Mix became completely serious and spoke without any hesitation. “The idea that any one of my staff would ever be considered a last resort is absurd, as I do not employ subpar staff members. This includes those that are not employed by me, but that I have selected for a specific job. With all due respect, Octavia, you will have to trust my judgement, and I sincerely hope that you will be satisfied with her performance.”

I feel like a new carriage or something, Vinyl mentally joked. After a few moments of consideration, Octavia seemed to accept Mix’s explanation, and made it known that she had no other concerns that did not pertain to the actual recording and scheduling. Following this, Mix turned to Vinyl.

“Anything you want to know, Vinyl?” he enquired casually.

“What kind of music do you play?” she asked, turning to Octavia, her curious gaze blocked from view. The air hung heavily after that sentence as the mare in question simply gazed at the DJ with shock and Mix was mentally scolding himself for not briefing Vinyl on this before. After a few seconds of neither pony answering her, Vinyl put forth a resoundingly confused: “What?”

Octavia eventually spoke, regaining her composure and answering with confidence. “I am a cellist who plays primarily classical, with a focus on the later orchestral works and instrumental re-imaginings of vocal centric pieces.”

“Oh... cool.” The interest Vinyl attempted to feign was so poorly executed that even she thought ill of herself for it. Before the silence could go on long enough to become uncomfortable, Mix cleared his throat and suggested that the group get to setting up the schedule. Both mares eagerly agreed, not wishing to engage more in anything vaguely similar to social interaction for the time being. With the non-verbal establishment of their desire to ‘just get it over with’, they created their recording schedule, and soon found themselves happily going their own ways.