So, I think it all starts when I was a Filly. There I was in front of a few teachers, being given my entrance exam for Celestia's School of gifted unicorns. The entrance exam is different for everypony, some ponies have to perform magical feats, while others might be subjected to actual tests, or a skill performance. If you had told me that day that I would have become a famous Equestrian renown DJ, I probably would have been in disbelief for a moment. Then I would have remembered that my name is Vinyl Scratch and my life would have made a hell of a lot more sense. However, during that naive age you don't ever think about what your name means there are lots of ponies who's names don't match their destiny. In fact I even gave a report on just that fact alone in my later years attending the School for gifted Unicorns. I'm going off on unimportant stuff, back to the story.
So there I was in the testing room, ready for anything to be thrown at me shaking nervously in front of the teachers. Two stallions opened the door to my left and began hauling in something huge. "What could it be?" I thought. It was taking all their strength to move it into the room, even though it was clearly on wheels, because I could hear them rolling underneath of it. Finally they came to a halt, one of the stallions ran out of the room and returned with a bench and placed it in front of the cloaked object, they pulled back the cloak and behold! A piano.
"Play." Said one of the teachers. "Play?" I said. A piano, play? I had never played an instrument before. I didn't even know how to read notes, but what happened next was magical. I approached the piano, beautiful black and waxed body, weighted keys. There was a small song booklet, unopened sitting on top. I opened the book and there was two songs on separate pages, notes on the pages, with letters next to each note aside from that there were no further instructions. I sort of panicked internally for a bit, my parents sitting in the audience gritting their teeth, smiling, and waving at me in support since they could not by rule "cheer me on" or say anything to give me advice. I was on my own, I searched desperately through the small book for answers but there weren't any. So I had to experiment, there were four songs in the booklet total.
At first I had to figure out what the notes meant, I didn't even know where on this piano these notes could be. So many keys and so few bars it felt like I was doomed to failure. So I played the keys and listened to the sound. I began to notice a pattern as I went down the instrument from left to right. Almost like the sounds would repeat themselves, I assumed that matched the book since there were multiple notes that repeated themselves as well. The teachers looked onward curiously. Some started to complain after about an hour and I could hear them whispering that they wish they had brought ear plugs. Eventually I had figured out the notes and tried to play them. It sounded horrible, like some shitty night core remix of classical music, the notes simply had no rhythm. The teachers started jotting down something on their notepads furiously, which made me beyond nervous. Hurray my first critics certainly wouldn't be my last.
I saw numbers on the pages before the start of the song, I can't quite recall what the exact tempo was from that day or even what song I played, but I remember looking at this number and something clicked. This is why they give these tests, to bring out the magic in the student. What kicked in, in that moment wasn't skill. It certainly wasn't me figuring it out on my own at that point. I just knew what it meant, and from there everything clicked. I started playing the song. It was perfect, on Que. Then something came over me. I flipped through the pages as I was playing and I grabbed another song and with the magic from my horn I began playing notes on the piano. Hooves going and horn glowing I put one into the play after another taking parts of songs and playing them both together in harmony. Hell I got so bored I began to play songs backwards and down tempo this overwhelming feeling took over like this was what I was made for. Then one of the teachers shouted "Stop that's quite enough." I looked over at my parents and saw that they were in tears. I looked over at the teachers and they too were in tears. My first fans? It didn't matter I had passed.
I have to admit I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, after I passed my exam I was enrolled into classes the very next week. The teachers offered me classes for music so I could learn, I got into band learned how to play several instruments. First the piano, then drums, saxophone, and trumpet. I was a bit of a band geek, except I wasn't very good academically. I think if I had just focused on my tests more and less on music I wouldn't have struggled so much. Then again who would I be today? So I suppose it was worth it. As crazy as it sounds, I got bored with music for a while. It felt right to be in band and in orchestra and to learn all this. I mean I was pretty damn good at it. However like most things you either stick to it or you grow tired of it and move on. I grew tired of it. So I quit. Till this day I can't figure out why but I guess it was just the path my destiny was taking me down, I mean I had been playing music for years now and still no cutie mark? Yea did I forget to mention I didn't even have my mark yet. Which looking back on now makes sense I mean I've met ponies who can play fifteen instruments at the same time and music wasn't their mark. I guess I was just trying to find myself.
Throughout school I made a lot of friends, I was a very like able pony. Just kidding I got made fun of for having glasses, for not being smart, and frankly I was kind of nervous around new ponies. I think my flamboyant personality came out as I grew. I graduated Celestia's school for Gifted Unicorns and from there most ponies have either gotten their mark or they'll go to a higher level of education to learn more. Problem is there's a gap, you need your mark to continue higher education you have to know what you want to be in order to pursue that destiny. So I fell into this gap of not having a cutie mark. I mean I wasn't bummed out it was just like "Hey you know what you are, what you're gonna be that's GREAT NEWS! I get to go longer until I find out who I am what a journey!" Okay maybe I was positive on the outside but deep down it kinda bothered me. Really that's where the real story of who I am began...
It was another rainy night in Manehattan the streets were flooded and a young white mare with her blue hair in a bun was headed home from her 8 hour shift of scrubbing dishes at a place called "Diner Dash's" she had a black umbrella and a dirty apron tucked into a saddle bag with her other pouch blaring music off a mp3 into some earbuds. It was a long walk back to her apartment and not the safest route either. Around 2 miles or 20 songs later she'd get to her apartment building, press the button up to the 9th floor and go to her room. It was a pretty view through the far back window of the one bedroom, and she worked hard for it rent wasn't cheap in the big city, took her almost all her pay to stay there and eat.
There wasn't much to the apartment, a closet, a bathroom, a small kitchen as soon as you walked in and a room with no bed yet just blanket upon hand me down blanket to lay on, no space for a living room. She seriously was too tired to take a shower and could give less fucks about how she smelled. Not like anyone cared, she lied down on her make-shift-bed and sighed. "This isn't who I am mean't to be." she said to herself. She had moved there in the beginning of the summer, kind of on impulse. The idea of getting away from everything she new excited her, and if she couldn't find her mark in Canterlot well what was the point in spinning her wheels there? She had toured the city streets, eaten out at all the big hit restaurants at least once, and blew all her savings away on frivolous things. She lived pay check to pay check, trying to save up her bits but something always went wrong and she'd end up having to spend it on something important. She did this for about a year now, normally she wouldn't have complained, but tonight was different.
"I'VE HAD IT! Every time I try to get somewhere I just keep getting pushed down no matter how many jobs I work! I need an out I either need to pack up and leave or figure out something..."
A tear came rolling down her cheek, and she started to bawl. The frustration boiling over in her mind, the never ending monotonous routine had worn the young unicorns spirit down too much. Finally the sobbing came to a stop, she wiped away the tears and put in her ear buds and listened to some relaxing music, smoothstep and ambient. It was really the only thing that could help her calm down. There wasn't anyone she had to speak too. She wasn't going to call her parents crying about how much of a fuck up she was.
"I'm going to make it. One way or another in this city."
She drifted off into sleep, and that night she had a wild dream. A dream of flashing lights and people shouting with joy and cheer she couldn't see where she was or what she was doing but it gave her the feeling whatever she was doing, she was headed in the right direction. One of those dreams you kind of shrug off in the morning and forget about.
She had slept in late that day, woke up around noon. Her eye's creeped open and...
"OH FUCK I'M LATE FOR WORK!"
She grabbed her saddle bag and ran to the elevator.
"Cmon, Cmon man I'm gonna be so boned! Agh! This is just my luck." She mumbled to herself.
The elevator, got to the ground floor and she ran outside.
"Taxi! Taxi! Cmon can't a unicorn get a cab in this town?" The streets were busy with lunch traffic and the subway didn't lead her anywhere closer to her work, it seemed almost pointless to try. She kept hollering and hollering,but no luck.
"Forget it." She gave up.
She stopped and listened to everything around her. She just slowed down all together in that moment, stopped caring just to have a second to breath. "Ya know what, I need to take a step in right direction." She started walking but this time she wasn't walking towards her work, she started walking downtown. It was midday what did she care. She walked through small shops and looked at things she couldn't buy, ignoring beggars who came up to her asking for a hand out. She just kept going, she'd really never been down this way before. The only scary thing was she was beginning to get a bit lost. Then she stumbled across an old small store, "Mr. Noteworthy's Music".
The bell rang and the door opened.
"Uh, hello?" Vinyl said. The shop looked empty as if someone had forgotten to turn the open sign to closed. The walls looked dusty, some beginner guitars and an assortment of other instruments littered the walls and along the floor, very unorganized as if they had just been left there. Some torn apart speakers sat up against the glass of the front of the shop. Suddenly there came a noise from beyond the door behind the counter. "H-Huh? Who is that? We're closed can't you read?" came a voice from the back room. "Oh sorry, I thought you guys were open not to be rude but your sign says so." Vinyl said. "Oh...well come back tomorrow I'm really busy right now." said the stallion in the back. Vinyl, stood there for a moment before answering. She looked around the room euphorically, remembering all the good times she had as a kid playing music and the very few friends she'd made in band and orchestra, music in some way just made her so over filled with emotion it was truly where she belonged. "Okay, I'll come back tomorrow, uh.." She realized she had no clue where she was. "Could you tell me maybe where I am first before I go?" she asked. "Just look outside it's on the glass out front." He replied, he was clearly busy and she could tell he was getting impatient by the tone in his voice.
Vinyl didn't feel like dealing with the guys attitude any longer. "Okay well I'll just be on my way then." She said. The door bell rang as she exited the shop, she looked over at the window the address was half scraped off the street number half remained half a 4 followed by 332, ule street. the m clearly missing because the glue was still there. "4..332 mule st. I'll have to remember that." she thought to herself.
She looked at the old wooden frame and dirty glass of the window, such an old building she kinda admired how Manehattan could go from shiny skyscrapers to humble old shops like these. Something however caught her eye in the lower right hand corner of the window. "Hiring DJ's no experience required, former experience desired." a small add said. Vinyl's head was thinking a mile a minute, because this little add had sparked something in her. "Being a DJ?" Vinyl thought about how much she hated her work her regular routine, she new there was money involved. What could there possibly be to lose? She'd never done anything like DJing before, but like moving to Manehattan the idea excited her a bit. She decided to go back inside the shop.
"Hello? Mr. Noteworthy? I'd like to-"
"Huh? Noteworthy?" a voice from the back said. A couple sounds could be heard, cans, clutter, and a door opening. Then the Stallion showed himself. A young unicorn with a very light grey mane and a pair of shades on his head. His hair was short and a darker grey, he wore a black jacket with a white tie. "I'm no Mr. Noteworthy, my name is Neon Lights. That old sign is just the name of the buisness named after my grandfather." He seemed a bit more relaxed now like his entire mood had done a 180 since Vinyl had left and reentered the shop. "Anyways, what can I help you with I already told you the shops closed."
"Well I just saw the add that they're willing to hire DJ's here? And I was sort of interes-" She got cut off again. "Look honey, we don't take "sort of interested". You're either serious about being a DJ or you aren't. It's not a business for the faint of-"
"I know full well that it isn't easy, I just want something..." Vinyl couldn't find the words to finish the sentence.
"Something? Something what? To be a super star? You think all DJ's are super famous? Make millions of dollars? I bet you can't even name 10 songs off the billboard top 200" said Neon"I'm willing to learn! Cmon just give me a chance." She was about shaking Vinyl wasn't prepared to be bombarded like this. "Relax." Neon said in calm voice. "Look I was just testing you. There's a lot of people out there who think DJing is a quick ticket to being famous. They don't know a damn thing about it, but you seem like a reasonable kid judging by your appearance. So I'mma help you out." He reached under his counter and got a paper and grabbed a pen with his horn then began to scribble down something.
"Now listen to me, yea? This is gonna be confusing and I don't want you getting lost." Vinyl got closer to look at the paper. "Now this place isn't where we store our DJ equipment or schedule our gigs. The place you're looking for is actually a couple blocks over." He started jotting down directions below the name of the address.
"Here's where things get interesting, the building is located behind the beer market. Same building, just a small door that's well hidden. Go there next week and tell them MC W1SH sent you." He jotted his name down as well. "And if you get lost here's my business card just in case." He placed his card into the paper and gave it to her.
"Now please leave I have a lot of fucking shit I need to take care of." Neon said, and then he went back into the back room and shut the door.
Vinyl put the paper in her saddle bags and left the shop. Stepping out onto the sidewalk she started retracing her steps, she had been out all day. It was about 6 o'clock now, and the sun sets early in the big city. After many turn arounds, and asking a few sketchy individuals if they knew where her street was, she was utterly lost. It was night now and the city night life was beginning to make it's way onto the streets. She wasn't in a bad part of town, it almost seemed familiar in a way. There were nice restaurants and heavier traffic in this part where the tourists roamed. Vinyl trotted along with the traffic, hoping she'd remember the way back from there if she just saw something more recognizable. Up ahead was an intersection with a pony on each corner holding tickets up in the air, yelling "Get your tickets here for tonight's performance! MC W1SH and DJ SP1N, come on out and support your local artists! Gonna be a great show tonight." Vinyl stopped and approached the Stallion. "MC W1SH I KNOW HIM!" Vinyl exclaimed. "Oh yea? Then what are you doing here? He's playing live right now we're just getting rid of these extra tickets for cheap."
"How much?"
"10 bits but you better hurry up if you wanna catch his performance, because then SP1N starts his portion in about an hour."
"Oh okay I can do that, say you wouldn't happen to know where he's performing right?" said Vinyl
"Yea its on 249th street at the old Ox theater, two blocks thattaway."
"Thanks man! Oh uh...you wouldn't happen to know which way Star Swirl street is? I'm a bit lost."
He pointed to a shop across the street. "See that place over there, they sell maps. Get one so you don't lose yourself kid."
"Okay, thanks again!"
After paying an outrageous amount for a detailed map of Manehattan, and a long walk over to 249th street. Vinyl finally stood outside of the remodeled theater. The original neon sign that was vertical along the side of the old theater, read Ox Theater. There was no line but loud music and cheering could be heard inside. A rush of energy filled her body as she approached the security guard out front.
"Hey there, ticket please?" said the Mare standing security. Vinyl presented the ticket and just as she was about to walk in.
"Whoa there!" Said the Mare. "I need to search your saddlebag or I can't let you bring it in." Vinyl handed over the bag, the mare went through it and threw a gross look at vinyl when she caught a whiff of her dirty apron she still had crammed into there.
"You're clear enjoy the show."
It got darker as she walked down the hallway only to be lit by red neon lights, the noises grew louder and ponies walked past her heading towards the exit. Cheering could be heard. Her heart was racing as the music got louder and louder, she felt like she'd been here before like in a dream. The sound vibrated down the hallway and she could feel it in her hooves. At the end was a bend in the hallway and a flash could be seen and shadows of ponies danced about. She reached the end making the turn to face the back of a huge audience. Lights flashed from the stage, and lasers and strobes and fog machines painted the atmosphere of the club environment. It was the craziest, most beautiful thing she'd ever seen in her whole life. She stood there in awe and took it in for a moment. Ponies of all shape and size danced and jumped and stomped the ground in agreement with the sound. The lights danced to the beat and the lasers brought it to life in the smoke, if the room had not been playing music it would still entrance the eye. The room was sloped downward towards the stage so even from the back you could still see it from the sloped floor which was barren concrete.
Every sense in her body was overwhelmed, as though her eyes and ears left her breathless. Then he came into focus the Stallion on the stage. It was him alright. The young Stallion from the music shop, glasses down and his white tie on. He had a huge grin on his face and bobbed his head back and forth to the beat, doing all but outright dancing on stage. Before him was a huge device vinyl could only describe to be a mixer. She danced to the music, danced with ponies she didn't even know. She fell in love with the atmosphere and the fun attitude of the crowd. Then suddenly a mare approached her as she got off a conga line.
"Hey!" the mare shouted.
"What? I can't hear you, say that louder!" Vinyl Exclaimed.
"Here have one." the mare said as she put something into Vinyl's hoof. Vinyl looked down and squinted through her hipster sized glasses. "The fuck?"
It was a pill.
"Uuuuhh, no thank's I don't.." before she could look up and finish her statement the mysterious mare had moved on.
She looked at the pill, Vinyl wasn't one for doing drugs or partying hard, you might say this was her first time really getting out despite living in Manehattan all these months. She trembled on the inside, her curiosity and her lawful nature clashed. Then in a split second she said to herself. "Okay, but just this once." and swallowed it.
