This New Rhythm

Chapters

Prologue: Nerves
Chapter 2: The Arrival
Chapter 3: Old Friends
Chapter 4: She Needs Me
Chapter 5: No More Hiding
Chapter 6: Make This Your Dance Floor
Chapter 1: Hard Work

Prologue: Nerves

This New Rhythm

Story 5

Prologue: Nerves

By: FluttersIsAwesome

It was about 10:30 A.M. I was at the spa with Octavia and Rarity, but I was only there because they asked me to come. Octavia was the one that asked me to come, since she didn't want to be alone while she was visiting Ponyville. I was never really into getting gussied-up like they were, so I just sat in a chair and read. I was flipping through the pages of the newest issue of Jazz Hooves, one of my favorite magazines, when one particular article caught my eye.

"Ha! Another one shot down."

Octavia was sitting under a hair drier and Rarity was in the middle of a mud bath when they both looked at me and spoke in unison. "Say what?"

I held up the magazine, keeping my hoof on the page with the article. "Fashion sensation, Sapphire Shores, rejected after attempting to ask music star SlyColt for a date. This has been the third mare that the singer has shot down, claiming that 'I'm not into her type. Way too prissy for me. I'd be much more interested in a wild party mare rather than somepony like Shores.'" I grinned. Sly was one of the most famous singers for Stuck in Your Radio, and he was my favorite. I had never seen him in person, but I have seen a few of his T.V. appearances. He had always been my musical idol since I first heard him back when he was the lead singer for Silverback. It was disappointing when the band broke up, but when I heard he was still singing solo my heart skipped a beat.

Rarity jumped up. "Again?! Does the article say anything about previous attempts?"

I read through it again. "Nope. Why, has she asked before?"

Octavia nodded after the hair drier was lifted off of her. "Yes, Miss Shores attempted to court Sly once before, with a similar outcome."

A voice came from behind us.

"Yeah, Beat's never been into to mares like her."

It was Rainbow Dash's older brother and famous flying racer, Nova Dash. I remember him coming to visit Ponyville for the end of racing season, but it was odd seeing him here. Hell, it would be odd to see any colt in a spa. He had one of the spa workers massaging all four legs and his wings.

I tilted my head. "Nova? Heh, you're one of the last ponies I would've expected to see here."

He grinned at us. "Hey, racing puts a lot of stress on my wings and muscles. If I don't take some time to relax and give them time to cool off, I'll end up in a world of hurt."

Octavia piped up, and she sounded a bit annoyed. "Did you refer to him as 'Beat'? Just because you gained fame on the racetrack doesn't mean you can address a respectable pony so informally."

He nodded. "Yeah. I got a chance to talk to him once when he performed at last year's Haytona 500. He's a pretty cool guy."

Rarity looked at him oddly. "But I thought his name was Sly."

Nova laughed. "Who names their foal Sly?" He looked up and paused. "Then again... who names their foals Rainbow and Nova... well whatever. Anyways, his name's Beat Dubstep, SlyColt is just a performing name."

I moved my goggles under my eyes to look at him clearly. "And you said what now?"

Nova chuckled again. "Which time? You mean when I said he's not into mares like Shores or when I said he's a cool guy?"

"The former." I was eager to find out if Nova knew anything about Beat's interests, so I began tapping my hoof.

He nodded. "He told me that he thought chicks like Shores were way too boring for him." His eyes widened and he grinned as he recalled what Beat told him next. "He actually told me he wouldn't mind meeting a certain mare by the name of DJ PON3."

I glared at him. "You're kidding, I can tell." I really couldn't, but I highly doubt somebody as big as Sly would even know who I was. I claimed to be his biggest fan, sure, but that never gained points for anypony.

However, he shook his head. "Nope. He said he heard one of your songs playing at the studio, since his manager liked listening for potential talent. Beat told me he had stacks of records from local artists that played in the places they visited. He asked who it was, and when he found out, he wanted to meet the mastermind behind the music."

Rarity turned to me when she saw my eyes widen. "I also heard the next stop on his tour around Equestria was going to be here in Ponyville!"

I nearly fainted. SlyColt, my musical idol, was coming to Ponyville. What's more is that he was interested in meeting me. I looked at Rarity inquisitively. "Really now? Any idea when he'll be here?"

The unicorn shook her head. "No. I merely heard that his next stop was here, I'm not sure exactly how long it will take."

I sighed. I honestly didn't feel like waiting. However, I jumped up again when I came to a realization. "What if he wants to hear my music?"

Octavia put a hoof on my shoulder. "Simple. You do what you're best at. Making music."

I hardly found this encouraging. "But what if he doesn't like it? What if he doesn't like me?"

Suddenly, all three of them began laughing. Octavia was the first to end it, though. "Really? Don't be absurd, your music is wonderful to ponies with his taste. Of course, I myself find it irritating and uncouth, but-"

Nova put his hoof over her mouth. "You're not helping!" Then he turned to me. "Vinyl, try not to be nervous. Think about it like this: your musical idol is coming to Ponyville, and you're finally getting a chance to see him in the flesh. Don't worry about whether or not he likes your music, just be happy that you're getting to see him."

I looked at him for a moment. He had a point, and I did feel a bit less nervous after his pep talk. I got up and ran back home. I was sweating, and Sly hadn't even arrived yet. I wasn't extremely nervous; I was a famous DJ myself, so I didn't think I had anything to really worry about. When I got home I grabbed a quill, ink, and a large stack of parchment so I could try and write something new.

Being famous doesn't make you immune to artists' blocks. A few hours after I had exhausted myself and covered the floor with failed attempts, Octavia came in.

"Good Lord, what have you been doing in here, darling? This place is a complete mess!"

I lifted one of my hooves up weakly. I was on the ground and barely had the strength to get up. "Making... music... isn't... easy..."

She shook her head. "Well I just found out when he's going to be arriving."

Somehow I instantly found the energy of 100 unicorns. I jumped up and almost bowled her over. "When?!"

She shook me in an attempt to calm me down, and I when I finally was, she spoke. "Tomorrow at 1:00 P.M. It's also his last stop, so he said he'd be staying for two weeks to rest."

My eyes became as wide as dinner plates. "You're kidding!"

When she shook her head, I jumped on her and wrapped her in a hug. "Thanks for telling me!"

She cracked a smile and returned my hug. "That is what friends are for, Vinyl."

As I got up off of her and turned to leave, she grabbed me. "Keep working. The news report said he was holding a contest. The pony that submits a musical piece and he chooses it will get to spend a day with him, and he will be using the piece in his new song."

"Really? That would be cool."

Chapter 2: The Arrival

This New Rhythm

Story 5

Chapter 2: The Arrival

By: FluttersIsAwesome

"Vinyl? Vinyl? VINYL!"

I jerked myself awake as I heard Octavia calling my name. "Wha?"

She grabbed my head and turned it to the clock. It was 1:10 P.M. I looked up at her. "Crap, how long was I asleep for?"

Octavia smiled. "A decent while, friend. Come on, I already sent in your song, so let's hurry and go see the show."

I nodded and pushed myself up. We both left the house and Octavia led me into Ponyville proper. There was a giant stage set up in the middle of the street, and a huge crowd had gathered around.

Octavia, however, pulled status on them. "Excuse us, pardon. Famous musician here."

As she pulled me along with her to the front of the stage, ponies left and right parted to give us room to move. It was cool watching them move for me, but I felt kind of bad that Octavia was essentially taking advantage of me.

When we got to the front, Octavia smiled at me. "Here we are."

I grinned back. "Yep. This is gonna be cool." I wasn't even half as nervous as I was yesterday, I guess I just got overly worked up. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that although he was a well-known and famous musician, so was I. Even if my fame wasn't up in the same category as his, it was still fame. He was my idol, true, but I didn't get where I was by trying to be like him.

"Hey Octavia, didn't you say the show started at one?"

She shook her head. "No, darling, I said Sly would be arriving at one. They're still setting up right now."

It was as if somepony backstage heard her and decided to make a joke. We heard a loud voice that seemed to come from all directions.

"WHAT'S UP, HOMIES?! ARE YOU EXCITED?!"

We all knew it was Beat. The entire crowd started cheering, and sparks flew up from the stage as he jumped through the curtains and slid on his knees. "Helloooooo Homiiiieeees!"

As the crowd screamed, I took a close look at him. He was just like I remembered seeing on T.V.; his mane was jet black and spiked up, but it had that curious grey streak across it that always made me wonder if he dyed it. His fur was a light tan color which made his cutie mark stand out: a microphone between the two ends of a headset. His trademark headset with the mic attached was on his head as opposed to its ordinary position on his shoulders, too.

It took me a minute to take it in, but I let out a scream too as I realized that I was actually seeing Beat Dubstep in the flesh. True, I wasn't nervous anymore, and I hardly considered myself a swooning fanmare, but that didn't mean I couldn't be excited too.

This was always my favorite part of the job. Whenever I came up on stage and looked at the numbers of ponies I was gonna entertain that day, I couldn't help but smile each time. Fame and fortune was great, and all, but seeing ponies that enjoyed my music was much more gratifying.

I scanned the crowd, taking in all the faces, and I saw an ironic sight: my cousin Octavia was in the front row. I decided to make it a goal to catch up with her later. I winked at her and she waved a little, causing the white unicorn beside her to raise a brow toward her. Now let me tell you, that unicorn had style. I finally took a deep breath and addressed my audience again.

"Wow, this is cool." The whole crowd hushed as I spoke. "You guys are so awesome, you know that? Nothing in Equestria feels better than walking on stage and seeing all these faces." I decided to cut right to the chase; I knew all the ponies wanted to know about the contest I held, but I had a special surprise. "So I guess you all wanna know who won the contest, right? Well listen up!"

They all leaned forward jokingly as I pretended to whisper. "I chose not one, not two, but THREE submissions! Since I'm staying here for the whole of next week, I decided that I would spend each day with one fan. If you hear your piece in one of my songs, then that means you've won!"

The crowd started cheering again, but I held my hoof up to stop them. "I've set aside the last two days of the week for certain ponies, but the first three will be spent hanging out with the winners. Listen close, because I will ask the winner to come up after each song!" As they kept cheering, I decided to stop holding off. I was here to give my Homies a show, and a show I was gonna give them.

"Alright, guys, what do you say we GET STARTED?!" The crowd went wild and I grinned. "Alright then, let's get ROCKIIIIIIIIN'!!!"

I listened as he sang some of my favorite songs. Most of the stuff he did was from his days in Silverback, like "Hero", "How You Remind Me", and others. Then when he had everypony excited, he sang "Unsaid", but something was off about it.

I soon found out what was different.

"Who heard their piece there? Winner number one, COME ON UP!!!!"

I turned to see Pinkie Pie jump out of the crowd and onto the stage. It was hard to tell when she was excited, though, she was always bouncing.

He smiled at her. "And what's your name, Homie?"

When Pinkie grinned, it seemed like her mouth took up over half her face. "Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie writes music? I thought about it for a moment, and somehow it both made sense and was the most confusing thing ever.

Beat paused for a minute. "Pinkie Pie? Really?"

She nodded, but Beat looked at her and raised his brow. "Uh... okay." I think he was just trying to mess with us by pretending to think her name was dumb, because he put an arm around her and shouted "CONGRATULATIONS PINKIE, YOU JUST WON AN ENTIRE MONDAY WITH SLYCOOOOOOOOLT!"

She began jumping up and down, clapping happily for a time until she decided it was time to get off.

Beat did two more songs and the second winner was Lyra. Octavia patted my back when he finished his last song and my piece didn't come up, but instead Cheerilee came on stage and won Wednesday.

I hung my head, assuming that he just didn't like my work.

As the show came to a close and ponies left for their homes, I stepped down from the stage and looked around for Octavia. I found her walking beside that white unicorn and called out to her.

"Via! Aren't ya gonna say 'Hi' to your cousin?!"

She turned to me and motioned for her friend to keep going, then ran up to me. It was always a pleasure to see a smile on her face given how rarely she actually did smile, at least from what I've seen.

I gave her a quick hug and returned her smile. "Now what are you doing here?"

Octavia shrugged apathetically. "Time off. I was bored, so I decided to come visit my friend Vinyl."

So her name's Vinyl. Cool. "The unicorn with the awesome hair? That's nice of you." Then I remembered her submission. "Via, why did you submit a piece to me? I know for a fact you're not into my kinda music."

A scowl quickly replaced her soft smile. "I didn't, Vinyl did."

I backed up, she was starting to scare me a bit. "Oh, it was hers? Sorry... honest mistake."

She scoffed. "If you're going to be here for a week, why only pick three winners?"

A yawn escaped from my breath before I could answer question, and she began tapping her hoof. "Well, I was hoping to spend a day catching up with you, but now I see that you're obviously not interested. As for Friday; I set that day aside so I could meet a certain somepony."

Now she was giving me her full attention. She leaned in and stared right into my eyes. "Really? Who?"

I bumped her head with my own, and my horn pricked her, making her back up. I was so happy I had more of my dad's genes than my mom's. "I'm looking for DJ PON3."

Her hoof met her forehead and slid down her face. "You've already found her, idiot."

My blank stare made her scowl again.

"Vinyl Scratch is DJ PON3, you numbskull!" Her hoof met my head just below my horn with a "clunk".

A light bulb popped up in my head. "Really now? Alright then, may I ask you a favor, Via?"

Her grin frightened me. "Say I'm the better musician, and I'll do it."

Now it was my turn to scowl. We had formed a rival ever since I picked up my first guitar and she her first cello. We constantly fought over who was better, and we considered it a form of surrender to admit the other one was more skilled. Through gritted teeth, I grunted "You're better than me with music..."

Her face lit up and she clapped happily. "I'm glad we've finally come to an agreement. Now, what do you need?"

Chapter 3: Old Friends

This New Rhythm

Story 5

Chapter 3: Old Friends

By: FluttersIsAwesome

I think Octavia knew just by looking at me what I was going to say when she walked in the door.

“He just wanted to say hi.”

She was easy to read. It was obvious when she was hiding something, and just as easy to call her out. “Don’t lie to me.”

I saw her jump at being figured out so easily. “Alright... fine. You know how he only picked three winners for the week, right?”

“What of it?” My head tilted as I stared at her.

“Well, Thursday had been set aside for him to catch up with me, but I’m not interested. Friday was meant for...”

Her hesitating only made me more impatient. “Meant for?”

She grinned at me. “He wants to meet you. He told me he wanted to find DJ PON3, and when I told him who it was-“

I didn’t even give her the chance to finish. Jumping up, I wrapped her in a hug. “Thanks, Octavia. You really are a good friend.”

“What have I told you, Vinyl? That’s what friends are for.”

My happiness was soon cut short by a rather depressing thought. What if he doesn’t like me? I sat back down and thought about what could go wrong... and I shuddered.

I guess Octavia could tell I was a little scared. “Vinyl, don’t worry about anything, ok? Here, read this.”

She handed me a folded up note, so I opened it and read aloud:

To Vinyl Scratch,

My cousin Via told me that you consider yourself one of my biggest fans. Not only that, but I have also been informed that you are in fact DJ PON3, the musical prodigy I’ve been looking to meet for quite some time. If you don’t mind, would you mind coming to Sweet Apple Acres Thursday morning? You’ll know where to go, trust me.

Beat Dubstep

My hooves were trembling just slightly, but it was noticeable enough to make Octavia giggle. “Don’t be nervous, my dear. Everything will be just fine.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” My eyelids were getting heavy, and a loud yawn came up from my diaphragm. I decided to call it a night. “Night Octavia.”

“Goodnight, Vinyl.”

I was surprised at how fast the week had gone by. I didn’t really have anything planned until Thursday, so that Wednesday night I had set my alarm for 4:00 A.M. just to be safe. Waking up that early wasn’t very fun, but considering why I was doing it, my comfort was a small price to pay.

When I got to Sweet Apple Acres, I saw a sight that shocked me quite a bit. My idol was sitting under a tree with two apples. As I approached him, he turned to me and tossed me an apple. “Hungry, Beautiful?”

I’m positive my face was as red as the apple I was holding. “Excuse me?”

The singing unicorn smiled at me. “Believe it or not, you were one of the first ponies I noticed at my show. I tell you what, Miss Scratch, you’ve got style.

I sat down beside and took a bit out of the apple. “You think so?”

He nodded. “Hell yeah. Is it natural?”

Assuming he meant my mane and tail, I nodded. “Yeah, there was more electric blue when I was a filly, but I still had streaks of dark blue too. What about yours?”

It was hard to suppress my laughter as he blew his spiked mane upwards. “Yeah, it’s natural. I was actually born with an odd protein deficiency. It resulted in the coloring for my mane to be off in this one area.” He ran his hoof along the silver zigzag in his jet-black mane. “A weird little quirk, but I like it.”

As we talked, I was amazed at how easy it was to look my idol in the eye and make casual conversation. We actually had a lot in common; we both were born in Mystycs, our favorite food is pizza, and in fact, we both have the same birthstone. I looked at him for a moment in silence. “This is cool...”

He tilted his head. “What is?”

I knew I was blushing again. “That I’m actually talking with one of my biggest inspirations ever... and he likes me.”

When I looked at him again, he was mere inches away from my face. “Hey Vinyl... you mind telling me something and doing me a favor?”

Nodding, I looked up at him. “What is it?”

I shuddered as he put his hoof on my shoulder. “First off: can you take your goggles off?”

He had already taken them off for me by the time I finished nodding. “Heh... gorgeous eyes. Now tell me: did your mother die when you were about... um... sevenish?”

My eyes widened; that’s exactly when my mother died. Sadly, it was my first time experiencing the horror of death, and I couldn’t take it. When I found out she was dead, I ran away from my home not willing to accept that I would never see my mother again. “Yeah... why?” It hit me before he even replied. I had found a friend that day; a unicorn found me crying in the forest behind the city and helped me find my way home. I never really thought about it much, but now that I thought about it, that colt had a silver streak in his mane, too.

I looked up at him again, and I realized it. “Beat... heh... we’re best friends...”

He began to laugh as he hugged me. “By Celestia, you’ve changed. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you right away.”

The joy crashed over me like a cooling wave on a summer beach. My idol was my best friend from foalhood. “It really is a small world, isn’t it? Who would’ve thought we would both become musicians?”

We began to reminisce our days together in Mystycs. We both loved music, and many times in one day we would sing together. Almost everything we did, we did together; we played games, made music, annoyed adults, and a lot of other things. Hell, most of the time we even ate together. I couldn’t help it when I put my arms around him, but what happened afterwards was completely unintentional.

I guess I accidentally pulled him down, because before I knew it, my eyes were closed and his lips were against mine. Even though I didn’t mean for it in the slightest, we were kissing, and I felt like I had died and gone to heaven.

Chapter 4: She Needs Me

This New Rhythm

Story 5

Chapter 4: She Needs Me

By: FluttersIsAwesome

I looked at my friend for a moment as her face got red. Not realizing that it probably made her more embarrassed, I put my arms around her and patted her back. “It’s alright, Scratch. Accidents happen.” It wasn’t necessarily bad... Scratch still didn’t know how I felt about her, but I decided that now wasn’t the time to tell her.

She stuttered as she tried to speak. “S-s-sorry Beat. Didn’t mean to... kiss you.”

A shy grin formed on my friend’s face as she spoke the word. It reminded me of how she used to be; the time when she was alone.

When I was younger, about 15 or 16, and still live in Mystycs, I was still quite the popular unicorn. Ponies loved hanging out with me, but to this day I still have no idea why. They would crowd around me as I played my guitar, and I even got a few autograph requests from a mare or two. However, one fateful day I decided to take a walk into the forest behind the town to get some alone time.

I didn’t know where I was headed, but I decided that anywhere where I could be by myself would be fine. That is, until I heard crying nearby. Curious, I followed it until I came to the source much deeper in the forest. A white unicorn filly with electric blue hair sporting thin streaks of dark blue was curled up against a tree.

“It’s not fair. it’s not fair!” She was screaming to herself between sobs. The hair under her eyes was wet and matted, and her eyes were slightly bloodshot.

Peeking through the brush, I tried to speak to her. “Hey... are you ok?”

Instantly she jumped up and drew back. “W-who are you?”

As I stepped out from behind a tree, I held my hoof up as an indication that I wasn’t there to hurt her. “Please, wait. I’m a friend. I saw you crying, is everything ok?”

She wiped her eyes and sniffled. “N-no.”

Sitting down beside her, I wiped another tear away for her. “Care to tell me about it?”

After another sniffle, the filly told me what happened. “Well... my mom and dad don’t get along very well. They fight a lot, and Tuesday dad left the house. I’ve been waiting for him to come back all week... and he never did. Mom said he abandoned us.” She hit the tree beside her with her hoof as more tears streamed from her eyes. “It’s not fair! He knows I don’t have any friends! Nopony ever liked me, and I don’t know why. Now mom is the only pony I have! I’m,” she began sobbing as she spoke the last words, “all alone...”

Listen to this filly and seeing what being alone was doing to her made me think of how lucky I was to have all the friends that I did. Without thinking, I put my arms around her and let her cry on my shoulder. As I held her, I did think about what I said. “Not anymore. My name is Beat Dubstep, you’re new best friend. What’s yours?”

She sniffled once more and looked at me. “V-Vinyl Scratch.”

I smiled and patted her back. “Awesome name. Come on, let’s get you back home.” I tried lifting her up, and was reminded that what just happened in the present time wasn’t our first kiss.

I didn’t think she’d be as heavy as she was, I guess I overestimated my own strength. When I picked her, I fell backwards and took her with me. Apparently she fell in just the right way, because when she landed on me her lips met mine. Stunned, we both lay there for a moment, lost in the sudden, unintentional kiss.

I recalled the things we used to do. We both loved music, so we would spend our days making music together. I would play and she would sing. Heh, it’s the exact opposite of the way it is now. She did manage to write me a music piece that I really liked, and to this day I still have the sheet.

He looked kind of somber, so I tapped him. “Beat? You alright?”

He nodded. “Just remembering our... first kiss...”

I hated having a white coat. It made it painfully obvious when I blushed. Despite my embarrassment, I couldn’t help myself. “Beat... I know this is sudden, but I have to tell you.” I hesitated and realized that what I was about to say could destroy our friendship if he felt differently, but I had been holdin back for so long. I wrapped my arms around him, and this time I meant to do what I did. I leaned close to him and whispered in his ear. “About a year after we met, Beat... I realized that... I need you. You’re really my only friend besides Octavia. Beat, please don’t ever leave me.”

Now it was his turn to have his face turn red. He set his front hooves upon my shoulders with a smile. “I remember you, Vinyl. No way am I gonna let you be alone again, that I can promise you.”

He wrapped his arms around me gently. As I closed my eyes and felt his warm embrace, I began to recall the feelings I thought I had been developing for Octavia. Back when we were still getting used to living together, I thought I was falling in love with her, we were so close. However, sitting there in Beat’s arms made me realize that I saw her as a sister. Beat was the pony I was truly in love with.

I felt slightly ashamed at the fact that the famous DJ PON3 didn’t have the courage to tell the colt she loved how she felt, but as I thought, I remembered something. “Hey... Beat? I need to go somewhere today... can we meet again tomorrow?”

He shook his head. “I have plans. However, I do want to see you tomorrow night. You’ll have even better seats than you did during the show last week, ok?”

Nodding, I jumped up. “Ok, I’ll see you then!” I ran off towards a pony I knew could help. When it came to romance, she was the bravest pony I knew. Fluttershy.

Chapter 5: No More Hiding

This New Rhythm

Story 5

Chapter 6: Make This Your Dance Floor

By: FluttersIsAwesome

This New Rhythm

Story 5

Chapter 5: No More Hiding

By: FluttersIsAwesome

As I made my way toward Fluttershy's cottage, I began to hear the beating of wings behind me.

"You in a hurry?" It was Nova, nonchalantly flying backwards beside me.

By now I had learned that trying to hide the obvious from Nova was useless. He was no idiot. "I'm trying to find your fiancé."

"Really? What for?"

With a slight grunt I explained my predicament. Nova, however, was surprisingly understanding.

"I gotcha. She's at home taking care of Angel. At this rate you should be able to catch her before she leaves."

Smiling, I quickened my pace. Then I noticed the tree. "Nova look-"

Too late. I heard the crack, and saw Nova lying on the ground under the tree in a daze.

I wanted to stop and help him, but I knew he was fine. I wasn't very far away from Fluttershy's cottage, so I began to slow down. "Slow down, Vinyl. You're a DJ, not a track star." Panting, I jogged the rest of the way.

* * *

Fluttershy's cottage was always peaceful, but never quiet. Between the beautiful songs of her various birds and the squeals and squeaks of her small furry rodents, it was difficult to actually find somewhere silent. I knocked on the door and heard her speak from inside.

"Come in."

Pushing the door open, I saw Fluttershy cradling Angel, who's right arm was wrapped up in a sling. I guess she wasn't expecting me, because she jumped back a slight bit.

"Oh, hello there Vinyl."

Smiling graciously, I returned her greeting. "Hi, Fluttershy, is everything alright?" I motioned to the bunny in her arms.

With a quick nod, she set him down and he hopped off into his basket. "Angel Bunny's fine, he just needs to take it easy for a little while. What brings you here?"

I was positive my cheeks were at least some degree of red as I spoke. "Well... I thought you might be able to help me."

She raised a brow at me. "Are you okay, Vinyl?"

I nodded and sat down. "Yeah... I just thought that, since you have personal experience with this kind of situation, that you could give me some advice."

"Situation?"

With a deep breath, I began to explain everything to her. "Okay, here it goes. I am... in love. However, I can't, for the life of me, work up the needed nerve to actually tell him. I don't know exactly how he feels about me, but I'm afraid of what he'll think of me if he doesn't feel the same way."

I had expected a fierce blush coupled with a large amount if stuttering, and got the exact opposite from the shy pegasus. "Oh, I understand. You're afraid that your feelings might cause a rift in your friendship, right?"

Slowly and nervously, I nodded.

A small smile spread across Fluttershy's face. "That's exactly the way I felt about Nova." She sat down beside me and stared out the window, like she was lost in thought. "It was actually Rarity that gave me the courage to confess to him. However, I learned a very important lesson that came from Nova confessing to me first." She then turned to me with another soft smile. "Vinyl, a true friend would never break his bond with you simply because you wish for something more. Even if he doesn't feel the same way, you still need to tell him so he'll at least know. Trust me: holding things like this in is the worst possible thing to do, so even if you know you'll be rejected, tell him anyway. If he's a real friend, he'll still stand by you."

The pegasus' eyes went a little misty as she closed them. "That's one reason why I love Nova as much as I do. His friendship is hard to earn, but if you do, you can rest assured that you will never lose it."

I felt a smile spread across my own lips. I knew for a fact that Beat was a genuine friend, and hearing this come from Fluttershy warmed my heart. Bowing courteously, I rose to leave. "Thank you, Fluttershy. I feel much more confident in myself now."

"Any time."

* * *

Once I was back home, I noticed that there was a note on the kitchen counter written in blue ink.

Hey Scratch,

You remember that song we wrote way back when we were little? Do you still have your half? I've kept mine ever since we wrote it, and I was wondering if I could bring mine by. Don't ask why, I have an idea.

Beat

I blushed slightly after I read his note. What is he planning? it was an easy decision to make; I still had my half of the notes in a small frame that I kept on my bedside table. Having it there was a constant reminder that I was never alone, no matter how far away my friend was. Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice the knocking on my door until the loud bang was heard.

"OH JEEZ!" I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

"S-sorry Vinyl... It's Beat. May I come in?"

Here goes nothing... I decided that it was now or never. I trapped him by opening my other arm in front of him and pulling him to me, pressing my lips against his. I could tell he knew it was intentional, as I felt his arms around me just before we fell on the floor, both of us locked by the embrace of the other.

Without thinking, I tossed my goggles away so our next kiss wouldn't be obstructed. When we broke away, Beat brushed his hoof against my cheek with a smile.

"I never realized how beautiful you were without those on. Your eyes really make you look gorgeous."

His comments no longer brought red to my cheeks. "I love you, Beat... I have for a decent while."

He smiled again. "That's good, because I came here to tell you the exact same thing."

Chapter 6: Make This Your Dance Floor

This New Rhythm

Story 5

Chapter 6: Make This Your Dance Floor

By: FluttersIsAwesome

[Insert deleted scene here]

I stared into Vinyl's mesmerizing scarlet eyes. She had me captivated, and I had a feeling I did the same to her.

"Do you mean that?"

Kissing her neck softly appeared to be an acceptable form of "yes". "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

I gazed at her with a soft smile. "I want you right in front of the stage tonight. I've planned a special show just for you, and I want you to hear my new song personally."

My marefriend nodded slowly. "Of course. What time?"

Winking at her, I patted her flank. "Ten minutes from now. Did you notice how late it actually is?"

Feeling the bed rock quickly after she saw the clock that said 7:15 P.M., I assumed she was pretty shocked. "Already? How long were we-"

"We talked outside a decent bit. And then this..." I ran my hoof along her side tenderly. She was not only gorgeous, but amazing in bed, too.

After a moment of hesitation, she finally looked back at me. "Of course I'll be there."

* * *

Showtime came so soon. I already had a set plan: in times when I didn't plan on using my guitar, I simply used magic to transfer music from my memories or thoughts to a record. As I waited behind the curtains of the stage, I heard loud chattering and various conversations.

Among them, I began hearing Via and Vinyl's voices, and that was my que. "WHAT'S UP HOMIES, MY NAME IS SLYCOLT, HERE TO BRING YOU A SPECIAL SHOW! THE SONG I'M GONNA PERFORM HAS NOT YET BEEN HEARD BY ANYPONY, SO YOU ALL WILL BE ITS DEBUT!" The roar from the crowd was enough to let me know it was time to start. As I stepped out from behind the curtain, I thrust my hoof forward and pointed to Vinyl. "This one is dedicated to Vinyl Scratch, or more commonly known as the famous DJ PON3!"

It took a bit of restraint to hold back the laughter as everypony's head turned. Vinyl didn't need the extra attention, so I decided it was time to start.

Thankfully, I heard the music start up before anypony could start asking me questions.

"Well well well, this is quite a surprise. A special shout out just for you, dear friend. What exactly did you two do?"

I turned to Octavia, and the grin she was sporting made me want to crawl in a hole and hide. "N-nothing... I did nothing!"

"Then why are you blushing?"

I lost my composure completely. "I-I-"

"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

Saved by the opening lyrics, I thought. Everypony was silent as Beat began singing.

"It's disappointing

When you don't wanna dance dance dance

To this new music!

Kick off your shoes and let's dance!

Shimmy right, shimmy left 'till the end of day!

Shimmy right shimmy left, this is what I say!

Shimmy right shimmy left, make this your dance floo~r"

I listened intently as I watched him; every time he turned in my direction, his eyes were fixed on me. We took the opportunity given by his pause in lyrics to speak. "Wow..."

I heard a sigh from beside me. "He may have admitted I was better with instruments, but I could never be as good of a singer as he is."

"I see you groovin'

Now that you like to dance dance dance

To this new music!

Now everypony dance!

Shimmy right, shimmy left 'till the end of day!

Shimmy right, shimmy left, this is what I say!

Shimmy right, shimmy left, make this your dance floor!

Shimmy right, shimmy left 'till the end of day!

Shimmy right, shimmy left, this is what I say!

Shimmy right, shimmy left, make this your dance floor!"

My eyes widened as the music entered into a guitar solo. Turning to Octavia quickly, I saw that her devious, sly grin had transformed into an excited one.

"Vinyl, isn't that your entry in an electric guitar form?"

"He really did like it!" As I turned back to the stage, he began a simple repetition of the word "Go!" in conjunction with his rather wild spins, flips, and various slides along the floor of the stage.

"GO! Make this your dance floor!

GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! Make this your dance floor!

Shimmy right, shimmy left, 'till the end of day...

Shimmy right, shimmy left, this is what I say...

Shimmy right shimmy left, make this your dance

(floo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

shimmy right, shimmy left, make this your dance

(floo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

shimmy right, shimmy left, make this your dance

(floo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

shimmy right, shimmy left, make this your dance floor

OOOOOOOOOOH OH!"

The entire crowd screamed and clapped as Beat watched over them all.

"Beat, you've outdone yourself, and I concede defeat." Octavia let out a long sigh as she turned to me. "Well, has he won your heart?"

"Octavia... he already had it. He had it long before we even met... I just wish I had realized it."

I flinched a bit as her lips met my cheek softly. "It's kind of saddening for me, but I know he'll be good to you."

Octavia and I did date for a decent while, but after thinking about myself night after night, I realized that I was only clinging to her because she liked me. However, since I became famous, I kind of drifted away from being clingy at all, seeing as how everypony liked me.

"And that, Homies, was all thanks to your very own DJ PON3! Let's give her a round of applause too!"

Despite everypony starting to clap, all was silent when a voice all too familiar to my ears was heard.

"Magnificent show, Darling, as ALWAYS!"

Every head turned as Sapphire Shores, one of the most annoying ponies I've ever met, approached the stage with a grin. She leaned up against me like I had seen Fleur do to FancyPants a number of times and kissed my cheek. "Amazing show, sweetheart, amazing show. As always, you never fail to impress."

After shooting her the universal "I don't care" look, I pushed her away. "Ready for another mind-blower?" I took a step forward before following up. "I'm taken."

The look on Sapphire Shores' face; priceless. "What?! Who is she? Tell me who she is."

I could barely even speak as his arms wrapped around my neck after his off-stage jump.

"A filly with beauty and talent matched by nopony else. This filly right here: Vinyl Scratch."

Chapter 1: Hard Work

This New Rhythm

Story 5

Chapter 1: Hard Work

By: FluttersIsAwesome

I left the house Octavia and I were living in and went to find Nova. I need somepony with speed. Luckily, it didn't take me long to find him. As I walked down the street, I heard traces of his trademark grass whistle, as well as Fluttershy's singing. I turned and listened closely, and I found that it was coming from Whitetail Woods. I ran as fast as I could, and luckily, I didn't have to go too far. I peeked through the bushes as I saw the pair playing a song with the birds.

I closed my eyes and listened for a bit. It was beautiful. It wasn't really my style, though. It was calm and peaceful, more like the sorta thing Octavia would be into. As I looked at them again, I couldn't help but smile. I remembered that day a while ago when griffins attacked Ponyville. I tried to help fight them off, but I'm a musician, not a soldier. It ended when Fluttershy took a few hits for Nova and he got pissed the fuck off. He ended up killing the griffin chief, but ended up in the hospital too. However, I found out later that while there, he proposed to Fluttershy. It was unexpected, but the brute and the gentle mare were engaged.

When they had finally finished, I walked up to them. "Nova, you got a minute?"

He turned to me, smiling. "Maaaaaybe. What do you need?"

I looked up at the sky for a minute. "I need a ride to Hoovesten. It's not that far away, but I need to get there fast."

He turned to Fluttershy, who smiled at him and nodded. "Go ahead; I'll be here when you get back."

He turned back to me and bent forward. "Hop on."

I grinned and jumped on his back. He lifted up off the ground and flew up. "Which way we headed?"

I pointed to my left. "Straight that way."

"Alright then, hang on!" He shot forward in the direction I pointed.

I felt my eyes starting to water even with my goggles on. It took a lot of effort to keep from falling off, but this was definitely the kind of speed I wanted. "This is awesome!"

Nova grinned. "Want me to do tricks?"

I shook my head. "No thanks, I'm not a fan of falling!"

He laughed. "Gotcha. Keep holding on, then." He sped up, and the rush just invigorated me even more. As we flew, the adrenaline flowed through me, and I felt a wave of inspiration hit me. Wow... this could be an awesome thing to make a song into.... "Thanks, Nova. You just gave me some inspiration!"

He tilted his head. "Uh... if you say so."

I only needed to get to Hoovesten to buy a hug supply of quills and parchment, as well as a headset radio so I could listen to my music while Octavia had the radio. When we got back to Ponyville, I immediately got to work trying to write a new song that would fit to the rush I felt when I flew with Nova.

"Hm... guitars always go with speed... and quick drum beats, too." I wasn't good with writing notes for instruments. I was more used to composing music based on the commands you had to put into a sound processor and the different nodes and levers on a soundboard. I loved techno music, and Beat was good with both rock and techno, but most of his stuff was rock. It was hard to work with, but nothing could stop me.

I wracked my brain as to what Beat would be looking for. I tried different combinations of guitar and drum beats and played them back in my head, but nothing sounded good. Sheet after sheet was balled up and thrown in the trash can as I tried to think of something that Beat would like, and I continually came up short.

"Darling, come now." Octavia had just walked through the living room door behind me and was looking at the garbage can full of failed attempts. "This is not the Vinyl Scratch I know. The popular DJ PON3 would never simply throw away her work, nor would she make music to try and impress others." She walked up to me, and with each word she jabbed me in the chest with a hoof. "Listen, Vinyl. Why do you make music? Because it's what you love doing. You should never concern yourself with how a song will sound to others when you make it. All that matters is if you like it. If you keep writing like this, you will never make a song that will win this competition."

I looked at my friend apologetically for a moment, then I realized what she was saying. Of course... "You're right, Octavia. I completely forgot the entire birthplace of music." I put my hoof up to my chest proudly.

She nodded. "Exactly. Music comes from the heart. Write whatever you like, and I'm sure Sly will see it as nothing less than perfect."

I bowed to her. "Thanks, sis, I needed that." I used sis as a nickname; we were close enough to be sisters, so she didn't have a problem with it.

She nodded. "Gladly. Now get to it."

I smiled and turned back to my sheet. I still wanted to use instrumental notes, so that still made it hard, but as I thought of the feeling I got when flying, I was reminded of a song by Colt40 titled "Live and Learn."

It fit perfectly. "Hm... now I have something to work with." I used the instruments from that song as a template, and I began to fit certain notes with the effect that I wanted the song to have.

It was about 11:00 P.M. when I had finally written something I liked. All the notes from the different instruments had been combined so I could write using standard notes. I looked at my sheet, satisfied.

╘ ╨ ┬ ╚ ╢ ╝ ╙ ╖╖ ╫ ╓ ╥ ╘ ╨ ╗ ╗ ╗ ╓ ╜ ╬ ╥ ┬ ╞ ╩ ╛ ╦

I used this as a guide and began writing the rest. When I looked at the clock after I had finished, it was 2 A.M. I got up and simply flopped on to the couch, exhausted but happy.