Vinyl Scratch watched absentmindedly as her parents set off towards the frozen pond. Leaning back on the park bench, she did her best to keep her thoughts on the suitably sublime techno reverberating from her headphones, never missing a beat as she jerked her head to the rhythm. Yet despite her best efforts, as her mom and dad stopped by a railing, and slipped on their hoofwear, her thoughts drifted away from the pulse of the music.
Vinyl was still really grateful to her parents, of course. They may not have understood her musical tastes, but they held nothing back in showing their support. It had been amazing enough to attend that concert, witness the perfection that was punk rock, and get a cutie mark out of it. And then, what did she get from her folks at her cute-ceañera? A brand-new personal stereo player, and a set of neon headphones! That they sported the same pair of eighth notes as her cutie mark, albeit flipped and in purple rather than black, was just the icing on the cake. It wasn’t much of an exaggeration to say they hadn’t left her side in the weeks since.
Okay, perhaps she had been too glued to them when her parents announced they’d be visiting relatives for Hearth’s Warming this year. Maybe, she was too focused on catching the latest trends from Canterlot Spin to even notice they were on the train until she lost the signal beyond the city limits, and dutifully switched to cassette instead. Possibly, she’d been so awestruck by all the different music stations in Manehattan – nearly double those back home – that she’d barely noticed anything else about the city, even as they settled down in the hotel for the night (she had, at least, remembered that their relatives couldn’t accommodate every relative, apartment space being so limited here). Conceivably, she’d simply nodded to her parents saying they’d tour the city for their first day here, focused on her first hip hop track. Feasibly, she’d trailed along, taking in little beyond the thin layer of snow on everything, surplus of busy ponies doing their shopping, and bright city lights.
And, for all she knew, Vinyl may well have nodded to her parents’ query about their next activity, and paid it no mind again until they’d returned from the rental shop with six pairs of ice skates, two of them sized for her. Who could really say.
In any case, once Vinyl had registered what was happening, and briefly taken off her headphones to converse, it had taken remarkably little to convince her parents to just leave her on a nearby bench, once she’d promised to stay within sight. Probably they secretly relished getting some alone time – they didn’t even seem bothered by the wasted bits for the foal skates.
Vinyl registered her parents had finally set off onto the ice, Mom leaning into Dad as they struck up a slow waltz. It was okay, she told herself, snuggling up in her winter jacket against the bench. They weren’t bothered, they got what they wanted, and so did she. Now her conscience was clear, she allowed the music to wash over her, soothing away all else even as it made her heart race faster from sheer excitement. Perhaps she should switch stations; the techno wasn’t going anywhere, after all. With a slight fumbling of her horn, a dazzling synthpop tune started blaring away through her eardrums. Oh, she had a feeling she’d like this one. Just as long as this fading note didn’t draw itself out.
It took perhaps ten seconds for Vinyl to realize the diminishing volume of the mix wasn’t a stylistic choice. By the time she’d double-checked the volume dial, and found it at max, the music had faded altogether. Not even a shake of the hoofheld stereo seemed to do much. Panicked, she flipped it all over, finding no unusual signs, until her eyes landed on the battery cover.
Her first thought was that she’d put in some cheaper variants with less juice, and she racked her brain, trying to remember when she’d last swapped them. Then she realized it had been before they’d even set hoof on the train yesterday, and it was only because of her parents’ extra gift of jumbo batteries that the stereo had lasted a whole day.
Just peachy. But Vinyl knew she had only herself to blame, dutifully pulling off her headphones. Until they got back to their hotel room and she could replace the batteries – she had, at least, had the sense to stock up – she would have to make do.
She looked up, truly taking in the view of the park now. It was like something out of a Hearth’s Warming card. Frost-covered trees dotted the perimeter of the area, and picturesque cubed buildings lined the sky beyond. Bright multi-colored festive lights decorated every distant structure and nearby tree, far more than was common back in Canterlot. They did serve a purpose, what with the low natural light of near-dusk. And of course, there was the frozen pond, ponies skating on it to their hearts’ content. Not many, Vinyl couldn’t help but notice, and mostly older ponies and couples at that, only the odd solo skater or foal present. She supposed they were all at the artificial ice rinks. She vaguely remembered Mom giving a reason for opting for here, but it had been muffled under some breakbeat.
Vinyl shuddered, aware of the cold now without music to distract her. She pulled her wooly hat down further, tightening her soft silk scarf. What did she care about how many ponies were skating here? She had no interest in that, and certainly wasn’t going to go to her parents with her tail between her legs in any case. She could entertain herself fine without music!
Vinyl’s ears perked up. Did she hear…? No, it was just because she’d been thinking about music. It would be far too big a coincidence. Yet the sound continued, feeling too real to be a fabrication of her imagination.
Turning her head, she leant up. She wasn’t hearing things. Somepony was playing music nearby. Nothing like her favorites, this was slow and methodical. The closest point of reference she had was the kind of music her parents sometimes put on when having a candlelit dinner, in the late evening after tucking her in for the night. She was usually too sleepy to hear more than a bit of any of it before dozing off.
Vinyl debated whether to move. This music held no interest for her, and it was quiet enough that she could easily tune it out. But stone boredom won out, and moments later, she had everything on hoof stowed away in her saddlebags, and was off. At the very least, she could see if the source was in reach of the pond. No sense in wandering out of sight.
She didn’t have to wander far. Just around the next tree, she found another bench, some kind of jumbo violin propped up on one side. On the other end, there sat a gray-coated earth pony filly about Vinyl’s age, wrapped up in a fancy hat and scarf. She carried a stick of wood with a string suspended at its side, and was pulling it back and forth against the strings on her instrument, producing the music that had caught Vinyl’s attention.
Within ten seconds, Vinyl had decided she didn’t much care for this music. And not because it carried the signs of being played by a talented though relatively inexperienced novice. Yet she didn’t leave, but continued to approach, stopping a few hooves away. The filly’s eyes flicked to Vinyl, but though they twitched slightly, she continued, paying little heed to her audience of one.
Vinyl didn’t even notice a stallion strolling by, until a wing tossed a few bits into an open case lying at the bench’s base. Peering close, Vinyl saw a decent amount of change in there. That didn’t seem right. She looked back up, observing not only the instrument’s finish and shine, but the quality of the filly’s winter gear.
The filly finished, lowering her wood stick as the last sustained note echoed around. This time, when her eyes locked into Vinyl, they didn’t shift away.
“May I help you?” she said with the barest hint of disdain, in a posh, affected accent that felt oddly familiar. Nothing like the locals, this was more akin to something Vinyl might hear back home. To the point that a bystander might assume she was the one from Canterlot, not Vinyl.
Realizing the filly was waiting for a response, Vinyl shook her head. She pointed to the case of bits, then the peculiar instrument, and cocked her head. Hopefully that would get across her confusion. Whenever Vinyl saw ponies busking, they were usually far worse off.
The filly scoffed. “Aren’t you astute? Yes, I do not need the money. I just come out here to practice.” She pulled her instrument close and adjusted the knobs near its top. “But despite the evidence to the contrary, there are ponies in this city who appreciate fine music. Once they started waiting around for me to finish to show their thanks, I figured it was best to just provide the option.” She busied herself wiping a cloth on the stick, leaving Vinyl to her thoughts. She supposed it made sense. It would be ruder to deny the donations.
“I see you are into music too,” said the filly suddenly, not pausing in her cleaning. Vinyl raised an eyebrow. She didn’t have her headphones on. Did she think that just because Vinyl approached her?
Off Vinyl’s perplexed look, the filly rolled her eyes. “Your cutie mark.” Vinyl’s eyes widened, and she craned her head around, recalling her jacket didn’t reach to her flank. She looked back again, noticing the filly’s flank also sported a musical note of some kind, though it was all fancy curves, and Vinyl couldn’t put a term to it right now.
“Though to judge from the noise you had blasting from your headphones when you passed by earlier,” the filly continued, flipping her instrument around to the knobs on the other side, “not the most sophisticated tunes, are they?”
At this, Vinyl made no effort to hide the pout on her lips, nor to stop her eyebrows narrowing. Who did this filly think she was, declaring her choice in music was somehow better? Techno was awesome, ditto for all the other kinds of new wave genres Vinyl had gotten hooked on. Next, she’d be bad-mouthing dubstep. Vinyl leveled a glare, turning her nose up. This filly couldn’t fail to miss that. Indeed, she tightened her lips, but didn’t say anything, her eyes moving slightly past Vinyl.
“Also, here’s a free tip: the best way to wear those is on your hooves.”
Vinyl started, properly confused, whereas before she had just been unsure. Following the filly’s line of sight, she landed on the boots with bladed undersides poking out of her own saddlebags. Was this filly trying to get rid of her, or did she just think that little of Vinyl? Reaffirming her stance, she jerked her head first to the frozen pond just behind, then made a show of sticking her tongue out. The filly didn’t even flinch at this. Indeed, she barely even raised an eyebrow.
“I assume your batteries ran out, yes?” said the filly, finally done cleaning. Vinyl couldn’t help but let her mouth hang ajar as the filly propped her instrument back up. Seeing this gobsmacked look, she smirked for the briefest moment. “You look pretty bored, and I can tell you don’t exactly fancy listening to me. You should try it.”
Yeah, right. Like she’d listen to the advice of a snob like that. Making a dramatic show of rolling her eyes, Vinyl turned to leave.
“Plus: ice skating has a lot in common with your music.”
Vinyl stopped cold, and not because of the temperature. She whipped around, but the filly had already picked up her wood stick again. She started playing, the slow, sleepy melody reverberating around.
Vinyl turned back, looking across the large sheet of ice. Her eyes darted from skater to skater, stopping on her own parents long enough to confirm they’d still be a while. They then flicked to the hoofwear lodged against her side.
Surely that filly was just spouting a load of hot air, hot enough it wasn’t freezing instantly. Right? But even as Vinyl tried to put those words out of her mind, setting off back towards her own bench, they refused to leave.
Registering the music getting louder, Vinyl stopped her walk, looking out to the pond again.
Her magic pulled on the last skate, securing it to her right forehoof. Leaning forward slightly, Vinyl let herself slide down a small embankment of snow by a temporary dismount railing, grinding to a stop right by the ice. She leaned back up, overlooking the flat reflective canvas. Nopony nearby right now, so she was at least afforded some privacy.
A shallow breath escaped her, fogging away beyond her range of vision. This was stupid. She didn’t even want to do this, and boredom couldn’t be the only reason she’d relented. But Vinyl was honest enough with herself to know she wasn’t going to stop now. Extending her right foreleg, she gingerly placed it on the ice, her other three kept firmly on solid ground. So far, so good. Ignoring the wobble in her extended leg, she placed her other foreleg down, inching herself fully onto the ice.
The moment she lost the support of the earth, her legs slipped, and her resulting flail only hastened her body meeting the ice. She winced slightly, glad that due to her jacket, most of her body was spared direct contact. Well, that could have gone better. She briefly considered going to her parents, but instantly decided against it – if her music was like skating, she could do it alone.
Thankfully, having four legs meant even on blades, she was able to get back to her hooves. Instantly, she felt herself slipping again. Given what caused it last time, she tried leaning the other way, but while this stopped her initial fall, it only carried her momentum opposite, sending her on her side once again. It was a miracle she held back the resultant scowl longing to escape.
A few tries later, it was a minor victory when Vinyl was on all fours and staying that way, though the ungainly wobble of her legs remained a constant thorn. She fared no better at moving, focused so much on staying up she could only lean forward a little, fast enough to possibly give a tortoise some competition.
Her eyes locking onto a passing couple, Vinyl couldn’t help but feel frustrated. What did that filly mean, it was like her kind of music? This was slow, boring, and methodical. Sure, some of those other ponies were speedy, but no doubt that came from much practice.
Or perhaps, she mused, from their different magic. It wasn’t often a unicorn dwelled on what they lacked, but this was one such instance, what with earth ponies being stronger, and having a proper grip and connection to the land. Small wonder ice skating was popular in Manehattan, a predominantly earth pony city even more than Canterlot was unicorn-heavy – only Cloudsdale had it beat as regards being populated by one pony type.
Another pair of ponies flew by, rousing Vinyl from her thoughts. Staring after them, she felt the fire of rock stir in her – the same fire she’d felt when getting her cutie mark. This wouldn’t do. Maybe if she used her momentum in staying up to move faster…? She leaned forward slightly, and when she felt one skate losing traction, she pushed as hard as she could with her other legs.
The result was twofold. She did speed up a fair bit, but her unorthodox maneuver only served to send her into a spin, and with her resulting panic, her legs quickly fell out from under her. Thankfully, or not, her spin was promptly halted when she collided into a small pile of snow.
This time, Vinyl did not instantly apply effort into getting up. She didn’t feel annoyed anymore, or even frustrated. She had no reason to care, no question there. A small pout escaped her, but she barely noticed, watching more ponies move around. Even an elderly pony, though wobbling, still flashed by at a decent clip.
Vinyl became vaguely aware of somepony approaching, but she made no effort to move. Chances are they’d zip right on by, she blended into the snow very easily, regardless of her jacket, scarf and hat. And even if they did notice, they’d probably be too into their skating. This theory was swiftly disproven when skates grinded to a halt just beyond Vinyl’s range.
“That’s not exactly what I meant.”
Vinyl froze. Craning her head, she saw that, indeed, the gray filly from before stood there, four skates of her own in place of her instrument. She was gazing over Vinyl, her lip pursed in a tight frown.
Vinyl let her head drop. So she’d come to gloat. Whatever. Not like it mattered, Vinyl would never see her again after today. It wasn’t worth the energy to even glare.
Suddenly, Vinyl felt something push her up. Startled, she realized the filly was using her head as a fulcrum, raising Vinyl out of the snow and to her hooves. She then gave Vinyl a slight nudge, just enough to move her back onto the ice. Vinyl instantly braced herself to fall again, yet she slid to a gentle stop.
The filly returned to Vinyl’s front. This time, the disdain and judgment from before was gone. Oh, she still carried an air about her, but strangely, there was no arrogance about it. Less self-importance, and more… self-worth.
Vinyl knew her initial judgment didn’t quite hold water anymore, but she wasn’t ready to admit so yet. Unwilling to risk raising a leg for her next question, she instead telekinetically grabbed the end of her scarf, pointing it first at the filly’s hooves, and then her own horn.
“Oh, don’t give me that,” said the filly, making a broad gesture with one leg, all while remaining upright. “Yes, earth ponies do tend to pick it up quicker, with our firmer connection to the earth, but there’s no reason you can’t too.” She flipped up, skirting a circle around Vinyl, who could only watch in stunned silence. “You’re being too cautious.” She promptly returned to standing across from Vinyl. “Remember what I said about your music. Think about the tempo and rhythm there.”
Before Vinyl could respond, the filly aligned her legs and shot off. Vinyl didn’t dare move herself, yet she couldn’t turn her eyes away, watching. Every few seconds, the filly pushed off with a back leg, which not only gave her a little boost, but also angled her slightly sideways. There was a rhythm to it, and as Vinyl observed, it became clear the move wasn’t just for show – it offset her loose traction.
Approaching one corner of the pond, the filly angled one back leg slightly, while keeping her others level. Before Vinyl realized what the filly was doing, she had drafted a gradual bend, now skirting along the pond’s edge. Okay, that was a bit more expected, fitting what Vinyl had thought before of both skating and her.
Yet the next corner shook those expectations upside-down. Rather than curve gradually again, the filly gritted her legs on one side against the ice, forcing an abrupt turn. While she did lose some speed, it wasn’t much, and within moments she was off again at her previous clip.
Vinyl only noticed her mouth was agape when she felt the air chill her tongue. This posh, uptight, snob of a filly – playing the kind of slow, boring, relaxed music suited for drifting off to – could pull off moves like that?
The filly returned, slamming her skates into the ice to stop right by Vinyl. Upon noticing Vinyl’s stunned reaction, she chuckled, a sound Vinyl’s brain took a few moments to process. “You can’t live in this city and not pick up a thing or two about how to skate. And while it doesn’t awaken the muse in me the way music does, it’s worthwhile to keep one’s horizons broad.”
Vinyl considered her words. This filly certainly had stepped outside her comfort zone, yet she was no worse for it.
Perhaps she was onto something.
Before she knew what she was doing, Vinyl angled her legs, poised for takeoff. Her body wobbled slightly, but she somehow stayed upright with far less effort than before. She looked up to the long stretch of ice ahead.
Realizing what she was facing, she looked back. The filly was still there, regarding Vinyl patiently. She must have picked up on Vinyl’s thoughts, because she smiled slightly, and gestured forward.
Her decision made, Vinyl flashed a small grin, turned around, and pushed off and up with a rear leg, doing her best to mimic the filly’s movements. It definitely wasn’t as graceful, thrusting her sideways in a slight skid, but she still gained solid acceleration. Stunned, she thought quickly, unkeen to slip over again, and repeated the action with her other leg. This time, she skidded sideways less, picking up more forward momentum.
Excitement overtook Vinyl, and she quickly repeated the process. This was… great! Each push was just another beat, another repeated note keeping the rhythm. A strange energy and exhilaration consumed her, one she hadn’t felt since her batteries had run out. With every new push, the movements became more familiar, and soon she had outstripped her fastest pace on land.
Her glee took a nosedive upon seeing the corner fast approaching. Quickly recollecting what the filly had done, Vinyl angled a hindleg out, bracing herself. Reckoning that, here, she was better off with a wider bend, she applied pressure earlier than felt right.
At first, it seemed to have worked, for Vinyl found herself twisting in a slow, wide, steady arc. It was like holding one long, loud beat, letting it gradually fade away into silence. But no sooner had she successfully made the turn gracefully than she returned her angled leg back in with too much force. She wobbled ungainly, toppling over the other way –
Into the filly, at her side out of nowhere, supporting Vinyl all while maintaining her own graceful pace. Once Vinyl had recovered enough to reaffirm her blades back on the ice, the filly pushed up, returning Vinyl upright. Catching Vinyl stunned again, she smiled a knowing smile, but it didn’t carry more than a little arrogance. Instead, it seemed tempered by sincere satisfaction. Vinyl grinned sheepishly, looking forward again. Up ahead lay the second corner, and this would be more her speed.
Without warning, Vinyl slammed two legs on one side, scraping up grit as she angled a sharp turn. Here, she made sure to remember what the filly had done afterward, flipping them up to push off again. She looked back, observing the marks in the ice from her path. She was really getting to grips with this –
White engulfed her vision, snow cascading all around as she flopped over into a pile of the stuff. It took another few moments for Vinyl to realize what had just happened, and when she did, she smirked to herself. Okay, she had that coming. Far too early to get cocky yet, humble was the way.
Skates grinding to a stop nearby alerted Vinyl. She shot up, head popping from the snow pile. The filly was right by her, worry quickly fading for relief upon seeing she was okay. Slipping out of the pile, Vinyl shook herself frantically, scattering the clumped snow off.
She froze upon seeing she had inadvertently thrown much of it right onto her companion. The filly blinked slowly, eyes shifting around to the snow on both sides, then a bit on her nose, and then onto Vinyl.
Vinyl put on a sheepish smile, backing up. She didn’t want to be too near to this upper-class filly getting angry at being smothered by snow –
The filly, suddenly, giggled. More than a giggle, actually: she threw her head back (dislodging some snow in the process), a playful laugh escaping. Vinyl was too stunned to even respond when she moved closer and heaved her back upward, depositing much of the snow right back onto Vinyl. Flashing a playful grin, the filly took off.
Blinking in brief surprise, Vinyl then smirked. Oh, it was on. She pushed hard, shooting off in pursuit.
Their skating soon dissolved into a blur, the two moving back and forth, weaving around each other. And while Vinyl knew better than to try any stunts or tricks, focusing on her turns soon paid off dividends, as while she still needed more space and time than the filly, she could do them without assistance. Plenty exciting, and after a fashion, it carried the same thrill as a much-adored favorite tune.
More surprising than how much she liked the skating, however, was the filly’s playfulness. She wasn’t just subjecting herself for Vinyl’s sake, she was openly joyful, laughing and smiling in tandem.
The filly truly was an enigma. Clearly, she was posh and classy, fancying the finer things in life. And clearly, she wasn’t into Vinyl’s kind of music much. Yet she wasn’t ignorant, knowing enough about Vinyl’s interest to use it as a teaching tool. And… she forwent more practice to come help.
Vinyl beamed to herself. This pony was pretty cool in her book.
Her thoughts were broken when the filly nudged her gently. Vinyl followed her eyes, focused on the opposite shoreline. Her parents stood there, beckoning her in.
Knowing what this meant, Vinyl gave as big a nod as she could, then turned to the filly. She got the message, leading them back to the shore they’d boarded from.
They set down on the steps, taking off their skates. After her first one, Vinyl paused, watching the filly as she exercised her strength, yanking off her first boot with a squelch.
She sure was a riddle… but perhaps Vinyl could puzzle her out a bit more.
Getting the filly’s attention via a shoulder tap, Vinyl gestured to the nearby instrument case (propped up by Vinyl’s things), then out to the pond in a grand sweeping gesture. She finally made a shrug, confident by now the filly could pick up her questions easily enough.
“Sharp as ever, I see,” the filly said calmly, plucking off her second skate. “All the artificial ice rinks have pre-set accompaniment, and you’d never hear my cello over the hustle and bustle there anyway. Plus, the kind of ponies here are more likely to appreciate classical music.”
Vinyl couldn’t argue with that, given almost three-quarters of the ponies around were at least middle-aged. Satisfied, she undid another skate.
“Besides…” The filly paused, looking out to the pond, and then to Vinyl. “I meet more interesting ponies here.” Vinyl thought she saw the barest tinge of pink in the filly’s cheeks as she turned away, setting aside another skate.
Vinyl absentmindedly did the same. Interesting certainly was a word to describe this filly. It sounded nicer than mystery, what Vinyl had previously thought. That just left one thing she felt she had to know. Acutely aware her parents were approaching closer around the pond, she got the filly’s attention again.
“Yes?” she said gently. Warmed slightly by her tone, Vinyl pointed to the filly, then herself, and cocked her head.
The filly paused, hoof to lip, giving Vinyl time to slip off her last skate and turn to face her. “I’m not entirely sure. Believe me, I questioned why, even as I forked over some of my tips to rent these.” She made a show of plucking off her last skate, setting it aside.
Vinyl felt her cheeks bristle, eyes darting from the hoofwear to the instrument case. That had to have been a substantial portion of the bits inside, more than merely some. This filly did that for her…?
A hoof cupped Vinyl’s chin, raising her up, where her vision was dominated by purple eyes. “Oh, think nothing of it. I don’t need the bits anyway, I usually donate them.” She picked up her skates, placing them by the bench that doubled as her stage, then returned to grab her case. “And I enjoyed my time with you, truly.”
Vinyl felt herself smiling slightly, even as she kept busy stowing her skates back in her saddlebags, before she slipped them on.
“Anyway, to answer your question, I was much the same my first time. The more I watched you out there, the more I thought about then.” She pulled her instrument and wood stick back out, propping them up on one side again. She paused, eyes scrunched, and waved her hoof. “And since you were alone… well, you get the idea.” She leaned back from her makeshift stage, turning around as Vinyl approached slowly.
Vinyl paused, unsure if the impulse that had just struck her was correct. But it felt right, so she leaned forward, embracing the gray filly.
It wasn’t much, just a friendly squeeze before she broke and stood back. But it was far more than Vinyl would have thought she’d have done before setting out on the ice.
The filly blushed, turning her head sideways. “Oh… you’re welcome.” Though she quickly made a show of sitting back on the bench, and preparing her instrument, there was no missing her smile.
Vinyl noticed her parents had finally reached them, waiting a bit away. Knowing she had to make her last moment count, she lifted her headphones out from her bags, floating them closer. The filly looked very confused, until she noticed the inscription on the headband’s underside.
“So you’re Vinyl Scratch.” She smiled brightly as Vinyl stowed the headphones away. “Nice to meet you. I am Octavia.” She plucked up her wood stick, placing its string on those of the large violin – cello, right, that’s what she’d called it. “Until we meet again.” Vinyl made sure to beam one last time, turning away right as another melodic, peaceful tune was struck up.
As she trailed behind her parents, heading back to return their skates, Vinyl kept her ears tuned to the melody. Perhaps slower, calmer, more peaceful music had its place, just as much as her energetic kind did.
And perhaps, she thought as she began bobbing her head to a tune of her own, mixing it with the classical music, they even had a place together.
Author's Note
Author's Notes for this story can be found here.
It's always nice when a story and its characters surprise you in the process of writing it, no? That definitely applies here. I wouldn't have imagined this as the end result, even after I'd settled on a story of Vinyl and Octavia's first meeting as fillies that revolved around ice skating.
Hope you like it, Greatazuredragon. And the rest of you too. Happy holidays!
