Chapter 1 - Gone Clubbing
Scratched - Chapter 1
Light Speed tossed his black mane to the side, leaving it in its usual messy state. It drove him insane; his horn was always in the way of things until he needed to use magic. Nonetheless, he wasn't one to complain about such things. Magic was a talent many ponies wish they had. Besides, now wasn't the time for tiny things irritating him; now was the time for clubs, drinks, and mares. He grinned slightly at the sight of a local Canterlot hotspot, the Star Light. He angled for the club, but stopped at the sight of a beautiful mare next to the door. He backed up, and was mildly saddened to see that it was just a sign for some special talent playing the club. He snorted; he'd obviously never get anywhere near that mare. Still, he liked knowing about the females in town. He checked himself in a mirror - or at least pretended to, since his white coat didn't actually need any sort of polishing—as two mares walked into the club, then read the sign as they went through the door.
DJ PON-3
BREAKOUT LOCAL TALENT DJ PON-3 PLAYING HER NEWEST HITS
TALENT SCOUTS’ DRINKS ON HER TAB
Light Speed grinned at the sign. He would need papers if he wanted to prove he was a talent scout, but he didn't need to save the cash that badly. Besides, he always kept a lookout for new faces in the music industry. He was no expert, but he did know a few higher-ups in the music industry; he remembered his folks dining with business owners, and he had been expected to know their names and occupations.
His parents had been rich before they died, and left everything to him, their only child. While he wasn't exactly responsible about all the money, he was respectable enough during his days that the stuck-up ponies of Canterlot stayed in contact with him.
He entered the club, to find a hypnotically booming song. There were ponies dancing wildly on the floor, swinging, break dancing, some just wildly jumping up and down. Others sat at the bar, calmly talking and drinking, enjoying the pleasant company. Light saw some pretty mares, but none struck him as incredible. He sighed, and walked towards the spot the DJ table always was; perhaps this DJ PON-3 would play him a song he wanted, for a fee. He walked over, then stopped, stunned at what he saw.
If the sign outside had caught his attention, it was nothing compared to the real, flesh-and-blood mare working the tables. She wore violet glasses over her eyes, and sweat glistened on her coat. She wore a huge set of earphones, and was working the table using both magic and her hooves. It was as though she had six legs. He might not have been an expert in magic, but he knew it had to take at least SOME amount of effort to work that much control at once. He continued staring, as her head bobbed up and down to the beat of her music. Light Speed then made a decision, albeit a somewhat foolhardy - and perhaps stalker-esque - one.
I'll stay here all night! Then I can meet her by helping to take her stuff down. There's no way she has a whole posse working for her if she's a local DJ.
He continued dancing for hours, but eventually lost energy. It seemed that this DJ was intent on going all night long. She was wildly skilled on her table; it seemed to practically work itself at times, with no effort from her. Her ocean-spray mane was flipping incessantly; he lost himself in the motion of the thing for an hour or two after he stopped dancing. He had a couple of drinks, but ate a bit as well to offset the alcohol. Nonetheless, his inhibitions were loosened, causing him to get up a dance one or two more times.
Finally, ponies began clearing out. It was a long, arduous process to endure, at least for Light Speed. As the ponies left, he felt the music slow in tempo and intensity. Finally, there were only two ponies left; himself, and the unknown DJ. The bartender had closed up shop when it had been only him, DJ PON-3, and a small number of couples still dancing on the floor. Light Speed let out a sigh of relief, but a quiet one; the mysterious, white-coated DJ seemed to still be pulling out one last record for use. She breathed out calmly, then spoke into the microphone for the first time that evening.
"I know the place is empty, but I got one last piece for you, my dream crowd." Her voice was like the ring of a bell reverberating off of crystals. Tomboyish, but still clear and feminine. He remained silent, wanting to know what this pony played when she thought nopony was there to hear.
She slowly began the piece. It was high, melodic, and electronic. He nodded, as she did. The music began to pick up speed, though it never raised in intensity. It was gentle, and unbelievably musical. Then, she flicked a switch, or perhaps two, it was hard to tell. Another track started. It was a low, bass beat. The melody began to become sharper, stabbing out and sending a mighty pulse in Light Speed. He felt fear and excitement drive through him at the same time.
The music finally began to build in intensity, the bass becoming stronger, the melody becoming glasslike and dangerous sounding. It built, and built, and built—
Then, it was silent. Light Speed stared at the mare. She lifted her glasses and wiped her eyes - red, he noticed - then spoke into the microphone again, in that gorgeous voice.
"Well, that's it so far. Haven't been able to resolve that one yet, but I promise, I can do it."
Light Speed finally made his presence known, stepping out of his shadowy corner. He spoke in an amazed, hypnotized tone.
"That was amazing.." The DJ looked down at him, letting her sunglasses snap back over her ruby eyes.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she snapped. Then she grinned, a rather suggestive grin, in fact. "Hey... You're kinda cute," she said. Light Speed blushed, but spoke clearly.
"Look, I just thought your music was brilliant, and that maybe you’d want some help clearing this stuff out?" He spoke rather hurriedly, surprised by his own tone.
Sweet Celestia, I never lose my cool with mares. Never. So why is SHE making me trip over my own tongue?
The alabaster DJ raised an eyebrow, then removed her glasses properly, leaving them on the table.
"What do you want from me for the help?" she asked. Light Speed looked at her in confusion.
"Uhh... What?"
"Come on, is it one hour? A night, maybe? What do you want from me?"
Light Speed finally understood.
"None of that'll be necessary," he said, looking at her in surprise. Then, an idea occurred to him. "Actually, I'd settle for your name. Your real one." The DJ raised an eyebrow at this response, though she also gave a slight grin at the obvious pick-up line.
"Name's Vinyl Scratch. You're really gonna help me clear this stuff out without any pay? Of any kind?" she asked, as though she didn't entirely believe this.
"I assure you, Vinyl, I am entirely serious," he responded. "Although, I think I'd appreciate it if you'd try to remember my name as well." She laughed; her voice really was very tomboyish.
"No need for the fancy talk, dude. Canterlot doesn't need to be all that stuffy." Light Speed laughed a little at this.
"No, I guess not. Well, I'm Light Speed, but just call me Light." Vinyl nodded.
"Alright,” she said. Just as Light began to move towards the speakers, she spoke again, her tone thoughtful.
“Hey, maybe you can do me a favor. I can pay you a little, if you wanna give me a hand." Light began to shake his head, but she interrupted before he could even speak. "No, no, not for tonight. You said for my name, so that's the deal. But if it winds up being easy for you, maybe you can give me a hand moving this stuff during my other gigs. Sound good?" Light considered this for a moment.
Well, it's not like I have better things to do with my time. I could go for something resembling a real job, anyway.
"Sounds cool, as long as you don’t work me to death." She laughed again, and they began moving the equipment.
Light groaned under the weight of the carriage, but not loud enough that the unicorn he followed could hear him.
I've had worse, he thought. As if on cue, Vinyl spoke to him, still leading ahead.
"So, you actually live up here, or do you just crash with some rich friend?"
"Direct, aren't you?" He could practically hear the unicorn smirk as she spoke.
"Best way to find out what you wanna know, in my less than humble opinion," she said.
"Not a bad philosophy. I live here, yeah. My folks died a few years back, and left me with pretty much everything they own."
"Sorry to hear about your parents," she said. Light laughed.
"Don't be. I have the usual sob story about 'Oh my parents were so mean and nasty and ruined my life!' I miss them, sure, but they weren't exactly the best folks to be raising a kid."
"Well, you didn't get screwed up in the head too badly, did you?" she asked.
"You tell me. I'm carrying a complete stranger's rather heavy sound system to her house for free."
"Fair point. Speaking of my place, we're almost there," she said.
Light continued behind her, looking around as the landscape started to change. Unlike the lord ponies with the mansions in Canterlot, it seemed that Vinyl had chosen a place behind the hills of the city. It was due to this that Light found himself in a grassy valley.
"Well, didn't expect you to live in a place like this," he said. Vinyl snickered at the comment.
"Yeah, well, I used to live out here with my old college buddy, Octavia."
"Wait, you don't mean—"
"Yeah, Octavia Quarternote. She and I went to college together, and while we did, we got this house together. She got a deal with the Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra as First Chair Cello. I got offered a spot as a technician."
"And you skipped on it to go become a DJ?" asked Light interestedly.
"Er... Not quite. I accepted, but they fired me because I kept getting caught fooling around with Octavia before and after concerts."
"You're...?"
"Gay?" asked Vinyl, grinning back at him. "Don't get disappointed yet, dude. I roll both ways."
"There's that direct stuff again," said Light, but he grinned back.
"You betcha. Ah, here we are. Home again," she said.
The house was fairly small, with just the bare basics. Living room, kitchen, bedroom with a master bathroom. Even more unusual, however, was the lack of furniture. While there was the odd chair here and there, the house wasn't what one might call "well furnished." The dishes were minimal as well. There were only three sets of dishes in the whole place.
"Two for me so that I can have one clean and one dirty, and one in case I have a guest over," said Vinyl, when Light looked at her in confusion.
The living room seemed enormous, because it only contained a love seat and a small television. That is, until the equipment was set up, after which it seemed very cramped.
"Why so little stuff around here?" asked Light.
"Because if I keep a bunch of my crap around, everything becomes a wreck, and I never bother to clean it up," said Vinyl. She set her glasses down on a counter and leaned against a wall. "Seem to little?"
"No, I actually love it," said Light. Vinyl raised her eyebrow. Light noted that this was becoming a pattern.
"Why?" she asked.
"If you're constantly playing places, then you shouldn't need too much here anyway. Just the bare basics, right?"
"Well, yeah," she said. "But most ponies think it's not enough. Octavia always used to say 'Vinyl, you should really get yourself something to explore your creative side with other than those oversized electronic monstrosities you've decided to fill the entire living room with. Why not buy a bookshelf and fill it up, or something along such lines?' Used to drive me nuts."
"Reminds me of my Mom," said Light, sitting on the floor. "She used to always say 'Light, sweety, your room is so bare. Why don't I go get you something to decorate it a little?' I always said 'No,' because I despised having stuff all over my room. What's the point, anyway?"
Vinyl gave a boyish laugh.
"Right?! Well, I'm still friends with Octavia. I think she said she met some piano colt named... I dunno... Shade, I think?"
"Oh? You ever met him?"
"Not ever. The two just hooked right up. I was looser in my love life, but damn, Octavia would just fall totally head-over-heels for whatever pony she was dating at the time!"
"When did you two wind up together, then?" asked Light.
"Well, we'd lived together from freshman year through sophomore year. We started dating in junior year, and didn't break up until... I dunno, six, seven months after graduation?"
"Why the breakup?"
"Oh," said Vinyl, flicking her mane aside and sitting on the floor as well. "That was because she was 'Too proper to carry on with such a frivolous relationship!'"
Light snorted with laughter at the adopted English accent.
"Sounds like she was kind of a prude."
"Yeah, but getting her in the sack was worth it," said Vinyl.
"She's an Earth pony, right?" asked Light. Vinyl nodded, and he grinned. "Oh, you don't need to tell me. Nuts in bed, they are. They can go for HOURS, I swear."
The two carried on, talking through the night, and giving birth to a new friendship.
Author's Note
So, not quite romantic yet, but this is my "real" dating story. The two have only just met, but they're finding that they have a lot in common with one another. Will it lead to a relationship? Perhaps, but only time will tell.
