Faded Note Blues

Once inside, Vinyl shut the door behind her with a click, already recognizing that Faded would only complain more if she left it open.

The interior didn’t look to be any different than what she had anticipated. It was the standard senior citizen affair, with plenty of wing-backed chairs clustered around a fireplace. To complement the image, there were also a few bookcases located at strategic places in the room where it afforded them maximum visibility and ease of access.

Faded Note was absent from the living room as well, though Vinyl could hear her nearby.  The DJ considered venturing further into the house, but dismissed the idea with a shrug. If she picked the wrong choice, she’d be scolded by the grumpy old mare, but waiting where she was seemed like the best odds for keeping her out of trouble.

Though she tried to stay still and wait for the older mare, Vinyl could only manage it for a few seconds before her hooves began to dance on the floor, trying to expel her excess energy.

With a chuckle, she swore that she’d lay off the Red Buffalo. She knew she was lying to herself, but it was the thought that counted.

She began to circle around the room, trying to at least find something that was interesting.

As she passed one of the bookcases, she noted that they contained a wide selection, ranging from history through to music theory. Thankfully, there weren’t any of those sappy romance novels like she had expected. The ones with silly titles and paperback covers that always had  two ponies locked in a tight embrace, with enough hearts surrounding them to make Mi Amore Cadenza nauseous.

Finally, she saw something that looked mildly worthy of her attention. It was that cabinet she had noticed before. With a tiny thrill of excitement, she finally recognized it, not as a cabinet, but a record player. It was an ancient model that was desperately out of date, one that utilized purely mechanical vacuum tubes rather than the much more practical magitech magic channelers. That was when the things used to be so large and heavy that they could only ever exist as a piece of furniture, and so they took on that role, at least for a time.

She noticed that a picture frame sat on top of it, though it was downturned. Its back was covered in a thick film of dust, while everything else in the room was spotlessly clean. Her interest piqued, Vinyl wreathed the picture in her magic, compressing it much closer than normal to try and disrupt as little of the dust as she could.

Just then, she heard the click of her hooves against the wooden floor. Releasing the picture with a sigh, Vinyl turned to the archway that the noise was originating from.

She realized then that it wasn’t just hoofsteps she could hear, but humming as well. It was a strange tune, slow and somehow morose, not like any other humming she had heard before. Wasn’t humming meant for jingles and peppy little songs that made you feel good?

Faded reappeared in the entranceway, a tray clasped in her mouth. Shuffling her way over to Vinyl, she deposited it down onto the coffee table, its contents clinking as she did so. Peering down at it revealed that all that it contained were two cups of tea and their old fashioned saucers.

Gathering up one of the cups, Faded settled herself down onto a wingback chair a hoof’s reach from the old record player. She took a quick sip of her tea, the brief grimace on her face, coupled with the sheer amount of steam wafting off of it, making her opinions on its temperature rather obvious.

Returning her cup to its saucer perched precariously on the arm of her chair, she fixed Vinyl with a waspish look. “Well, get your cup and sit down, missy. We might as well get this started.” She motioned for Vinyl to take the seat perpendicular to hers.

With a shrug, Vinyl levitated her own cup of tea closer, plopping herself down on the seat. Splitting her magic she briefly bore her bags aloft, before unceremoniously dumping them down next to the wingback.

Vinyl gave a skeptical look at the tea before her, noticing the little rose designs that were printed into the delicate cup. Tea was certainly not her thing. It was too dull to replace alcohol and didn’t energize her enough to replace coffee. But she’d work with what she was given and she was sure that if she loaded it with enough sugar and milk she would at least not die from boredom.

‘Yo,” Vinyl began, before pausing. Just what was she going to call the mare? Faded Note, Faded, Fades? Sure, normally she went as informal as possible, less stuffy that way. But then, playing it safe meant less worry for her. “Ma’am, got any sugar? I can’t stand this stuff without it.”

A tiny note of disgust escaped the older mare’s throat. “Well, that’s too bad, missy. You’re going to have to live without it.” She turned away, shaking her head incredulously. “Sugar. Won’t do you any good anyway. Destroys the drink’s flavor and shortens your life as a bonus.”

Vinyl frowned. It probably wasn’t healthy, but what was the point of life if you didn’t enjoy yourself? Might as well curl up right away and wait for death. She still kept her trap shut.

Despite Vinyl’s efforts to keep her thoughts to herself, Faded was sharper than she had thought, or her eyes were, at the least.

“Ah, I see that you don’t agree,” she said, a smile on her face. It was goading, almost, like she wanted to push Vinyl.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Vinyl hissed out through gritted teeth.

At the skeptical look Faded Note was giving her, Vinyl took a swig of her tea. As the drink hit her tongue she fought back the desire to grimace. She didn’t know what was worse; the fact that it was scalding hot, or that it was so bitter she doubted putting sugar in it would have made a difference.

But, Vinyl refused to give the older mare the satisfaction of one-upping her, so she forced herself to swallow. “Mmmm, very nice, Fades. Reminds me how…”

She stared down at the cup before her, a delicate little thing that made her worry it would snap in half if she used too much magic on it. The milk she had added swirled around in the center, making a spiral that reminded her of something, though she couldn’t figure out what it was. Looking up, she wished she was wearing her shades for the hundredth time that night. At least then it would let her hide the redness of her eyes, not all of it a result of her irises.

Octavia sat across from her, but didn’t look much better. It was all Vinyl could do not to reach across the table and hold her, to take away all her hurting. But she couldn’t, even though it stung to admit that. There was something between them now, even though she couldn’t even really describe what it was. Besides, it was her fault that she hurt in the first place.

Recovering quickly from the flash of memory, Vinyl put on an easy smile. “How a… friend of mine used to make it.”

Faded Note quirked an eyebrow, giving Vinyl a searching look as she took another, carefully measured, sip of tea. “Really now, this ‘friend’ of yours must have hurt you an awful lot. I didn’t take you as the stuttering kind.”

The DJ stiffened, though she tried to maintain her air of detachment by sinking a little further into her seat. “Pffft. Nah, nothing like that. Just went our separate ways is all. No harm, no foul.”

Faded leaned forward in her seat, closer towards Vinyl, the old wingback creaking as she did so. She regarded the DJ with a frown, her eyes running up and down her form in a manner that made Vinyl shiver. Then, as suddenly it started, it was over, and Faded leaned back again with a sigh.

“I thought I recognized you from somewhere,” she said, pointing an accusing hoof at Vinyl. “You’re that DJ that’s always slinking around here, playing that music of yours.”

Her tone wasn’t hostile, as it had been earlier, though it still carried a note of disapproval.The glower Faded gave would have made any bouncer proud.

“The one and only,” Vinyl replied with a grin, slipping into her public persona out of instinct. “So what, you a fan?”

The DJ knew that was a mistake even before it left her mouth. She just couldn’t help it.

“Hardly,” Faded replied with a snort. “My neighbor’s boy is though. Always belting that damned noise out when everypony else is trying to sleep. Typical of your generation. Only thinking of yourselves.”

Vinyl bristled at that statement, though she wasn’t in a position to argue. She did only think of herself, she was just brave enough to admit that. It was just how things were meant to be. But to call her music ‘noise’, that went too far.

“And just what gives you the right to say that, huh?” Vinyl shot back, her glare was muted thanks to her shades. “Somepony like you who’s probably never even listened to good music doesn’t get to criticize me.”

Faded let out a sharp bark of laughter. “Good music. Your argument applies to yourself there missy. You don’t have the right to call those bells and whistles you use music. You sully the medium by forcing it to including such a genre.”

There was a loud creak, and it took Vinyl’s brain several seconds to realize it was caused by her gripping the arms of her chair too tightly. Even then she didn’t let go, too scared that if she didn’t let her anger out it would lead to a similar confrontation as before. She’d take the sore hooves.

“My music,” Vinyl shot back through gritted teeth. “Makes ponies feel alive and invincible. It makes them ready to take on the world and gives them the swagger to do it. What do you listen to huh? Oh, let me guess, the Horse Shoe Sisters. Probably for the best, anything more than their peppiness and you’d die of shock!”

As if slapped Faded reared back in her chair, an outrage winnie escaping from her. In that moment she looked much younger, her rage reawakening her youth. “How dare you say such a thing. I listen to the blues, the music of true emotion. Not that synthetic c-c-c.” Her voice spluttered a little, her throat expanding and her face growing red as she tried to force it out. “Crap that you peddle. You’re no better than a snake oil salesman. Making ponies blind to the fact that there’s any suffering in the world until they’re facing it head on.”

“And what would you even know about music in the first place,” Vinyl replied, feeling more settled now she was in familiar territory. “Just listened to a bunch of music that went on about how sad they were?” When she spoke again her voice was high and mocking. “Boohoo, I’m sad. I’m lonely. I’m a loser.” She puffed up her chest. “I create, what do you do?”

“I sung it,” Faded snapped back. The end of her sentence was punctuated by a gasp, hooves flying up to her mouth.

“You… sung… it?” Vinyl repeated, cocking her head. She must’ve heard that wrong. She just couldn’t imagine the grumpy old mare singing anything, let alone a genre like the blues. It was a stupid genre, but to sing it one needed a certain amount of vulnerability. Thanks to the two arguments she’d already had with the mare, Vinyl would’ve guessed she lacked that particular quality.

If Vinyl was confused, Faded Note was doing little better. She didn’t respond to the question, instead just staring off at the old record player. As Vinyl looked closer she noticed with a frown that the older mare’s eyes were glistening.

As the silence stretched on, Faded reached out a hoof; it coming to rest against the record player, just barely skirting the edge of the dusty photograph. She made no move to lift it up. Her whole body had grown stiff, the veins clearly outlined on her wrinkled neck, while her foreleg shook with pent up tension.

In that moment Vinyl felt like she should say something, do something. But try as she might, nothing came to mind. She cursed under her breath at that. Back before she’d met Tavi, she would never have thought about that, just done something, anything, to end the uncomfortable silence.

Faded let out a deep sigh, the tension running out of her body, leaving her sitting limply in her chair. When she turned to face Vinyl, her head rolling rather disturbingly to do so, her eyes still glistening, while a few distinctive tear tracks through her fur could be seen.

“Guess you must be curious then,” she said, her voice hoarse and weary.

There was a brief creaking as Vinyl adjusted her posture, sinking down further into the chair, trying to get as far away as possible from the crying mare. “Err… I don’t mind,” she replied, her restless hoof drumming against the floor. Every one of her instincts told her to get out of there.

“Look, missy, I’ll level with you,” Faded said after a deep sigh. “I see something in you, I guess it must be all that hurting inside. Celestia knows I’ve had a fair share of it myself. Didn’t want it to turn out this way.” She gave a half-hearted shrug. “I was hoping that you’d spit out what was eating you some time or another, but I guess you already got enough out of me that I can’t stay aloof in all this.” She leaned forward with a speed that belied someone of her age, her eyes suddenly deadly serious, while her hoof came to rest on top of Vinyls. “But I want to help you, so we’ll do a trade, my story for yours. What do you say?”

Inside, Vinyl was dying to know just what was going on. She hated being left in the dark. But to come into the light would require her to reveal something that she wasn’t even sure was there. How was she meant to know she was hurting? She honestly felt fine. So what if she thought about her every once and a while, wasn’t that normal?

But even then, she knew she was going to agree. A tiny voice inside her whispered that Faded might be right. That Vinyl did need help. She just couldn’t concentrate with Faded’s hoof on her own, it’s weight making her squirm in her seat. Faded took the hint that time, removing it to instead pick up her tea cup. Even then the older mare’s eyes still watched Vinyl over the rim.

“I’ll take that look on your face as a yes, missy,” Faded spoke, tittering softly. “You’ve got enough emotions running across it that I know you need to hear my story, just as much as I need to hear yours.”

Vinyl let out a choked squeak, before clearing her throat rapidly, hoping the heat of her face hadn’t translated to a blush. “Yeah. Yeah, sounds cool,” she replied with a sniff, hooking one of her back legs over the arm of the chair.

“Well, guess that’s it then,” Faded replied, running her hoof around the rim of her cup, staring down at the murky waters of her tea.