Second Chances: Between the Lines

Second Chances: Between the Lines
By Hero541
The First Lesson

Josh sat in front of Vinyl, a blank expression on his face as he tried to think of something to say. The unicorn sat on her rump, staring at Josh with one eyebrow raised.

“Well?” she said, raising her hooves up and shrugging, “Are you gonna start teaching me, or do I have to learn how to read your mind?”

Josh simply continued to stare at Vinyl, his mouth beginning to fall open. He had tried all night to think of something to teach Vinyl that wouldn’t be too technical. However, the only thing he could think about at the time was how to work the equipment they’d need. Of course, Josh had inconveniently forgotten to pack up all his gear before he was whisked away to a magical world filled with talking colorful ponies…

“Let’s…” he stalled, looking around the room for some kind of inspiration for an idea, “Uh… Let’s start by…”

Vinyl facehoofed as he looked around.

“If you don’t know what you’re doing, just tell me.” she said, a little venom seeping into her voice, “That way neither of us is wasting each other’s time.”

Josh looked back to the mare, glaring at her a little. Believe me he thought if I could leave, I would. Octavia came to his mind as he thought about just leaving right now. She probably wouldn’t be too happy to hear he’d skipped out on Vinyl, especially after the little show he’d put on the day before…

“You know, Tavi told me why you’re doing this.” she said, crossing her forelegs in front of her chest, “She said you’re just doing this so you can get your bar tab paid and go home when it’s all done.”

Goddamnit, Octavia thought Josh, cringing a little as Vinyl continued to glare at him.

“Well, that’s... partially true…”

“So why are you even wasting my time?” she asked, tears beginning to flow from her eyes, “If all you care about is going home, then I can just tell Tavi to pay for your shit and you can leave.”

Josh couldn’t handle any more tears. He knelt down and tried to look into Vinyl’s eyes. She looked away from him as he reached her eye level.

“It’s true that she promised to pay my tab if I helped you,” he said, speaking as softly as he could muster, “but that doesn’t mean that I don’t wanna be here.”

“Why are you here then?” she asked, turning her attention back to him as her eyes continued to leak, “If you’re so keen on helping me, you’re doing a pretty crappy job of it.”

“Listen,” he began, sitting back in the chair he’d previously occupied, “I’ve never taught anyone anything like this before. Nobody even taught me how to do all this! I had to learn it all on my own.”

“R-really?” Vinyl stammered, now focusing back on Josh, “How is that even possible? You were so great on that stage that night…”

“To be honest, that song I played that night wasn’t my own…”

“That doesn’t matter!” she said, standing to be a little closer in eye level to him once more, “You handled yourself better than I ever could! I’ve never been able to do something like that…”

Vinyl looked away again, causing Josh to reach out to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled as she turned back to him.

“You’ll be able to do that one day. I promise.” he said.

“No I won’t.” she said, shrugging off his hand, her body beginning to heave as she wept, “Every t-time I go up on that stage, I m-mess everything up.”

“You weren’t doing too bad that one night…” said Josh, trying to sound as comforting as he could.

“Don’t patronize me!” shouted Vinyl, glaring at him again, “I know I suck! Just say it!”

Vinyl collapsed at Josh’s feet, sobbing heavily, her hooves over her eyes. Josh knelt down next to her and hesitantly began to stroke her mane in a comforting manner. Together, the two sat there awhile, Josh continuing to carress her mane gently as the unicorn wept. Way to go, moron thought Josh, scolding himself Not only have you not taught her anything, but you’ve made her cry again.

“I’m the one who sucks here, Vinyl. Not you.” he finally said, causing the mare to look up at him.

“What do you mean?” she asked, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

“I came here to teach you, and I’ve failed on that end.” he said, hanging his head in shame, “All I’ve done is manage to upset you again and again. I’ve got one job here, and I can’t even do it right.”

Vinyl stood up once more, looking at Josh in astonishment.

“Y-you really do want to teach me?” she asked shakily.

Josh just nodded his head, not looking at Vinyl, “At first, I didn’t. I’ll admit that. But…” he stalled, thinking about what to say, “I hate to see someone suffer like you’re suffering now, especially knowing that I made it worse for you with what I did that night.”

Josh was astonished a little at his own words. When had he started to care about others? He’d never been like that back home. There, he could care less about the people around him, as long as none of them screwed with his life. But here, in this magical place filled with love and harmony…

Josh’s thought were interrupted as Vinyl reached out and hugged him tightly. He slowly returned the embrace, rubbing her back gently as he held her.

“Th-thank you.” she said, “For giving me a chance.”

“I’ll always give you a shot, no matter what.” he said, squeezing her a little tighter, “Everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves. Even you and I.”

“Sorry I didn’t really give you a chance…” she said as they broke apart and she returned to her four legs.

Josh smiled at her, “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t really deserve your trust just yet.”

She smiled back warmly, her beautiful eyes staring into his own.

“So, what’re we gonna learn today?” she asked, taking her place in front of him once more.

“We’ll figure that out eventually.” said Josh, standing and returning to the chair once more, “Now, what do you want to be able to do when this is all over?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what kind of producer do you wanna be by the time we’re done here?”

Vinyl looked deep into his eyes, thinking over an honest answer.

“I wanna be the best producer in all of Equestria.”

Josh smiled at her and patter her head.

“I think I can do that.”