Chapters Vinyl's Cutie Mark - Soft tunes and hard beatings
“And then what do you say after he asks your name?” A white mare leaned down to scowl at the small filly in front of her.
“I run away?” Vinyl asked, shaking in her hooves.
The mare looked furious as she flipped her blonde hair off her eyes. “Wrong. You bow and introduce yourself.”
Vinyl looked around the room she was in. A boring lobby with nothing to look at. Her eyes returned to the mare. The older mare had turned around to speak to her husband. Vinyl ran a hoof over her hair. Long, curled, and done up, worthy of a princess. Her tail had been thoroughly braided, and after refusing to wear any jewellery, she was forced to wear bangles on her front hoof.
The two ponies talking in whispers in front of her occasionally turned their head to shoot a glance at her or to point out something about her. Vinyl shuffled, feeling very uncomfortable.
“I just wish she didn't have those awful eyes. They're frightening to the core.”
“I know. Maybe we'll get her some contact lenses for them?”
Vinyl turned her head away and frowned. Her parents never liked her eyes. It was obvious from the moment she could speak.
After a few more minutes the two turned, and took a deep breath. “All right. We're going in now.” Her father said, moving his green body past her. Vinyl followed after him, staying near his legs the entire time.
–
This room is frightening. It's the sort of thing I hate. Files stacked everywhere and high tables. I read the name on the front of the desk. 'Hoity Toity'. I've heard that name countless times. It always comes with bad things. I do not like this Hoity Toity. Not one bit. He peers over the desk at me, making me feel small. He lifts up his glasses to look me in the eye.
“What is your name, little filly?” He asks, rather soothingly. My shaking slows as I look back up at him. I find myself unable to speak.
“Introduce yourself.” Mother hisses at me.
Hoity looks ashamed for a moment. He recoils from the desk and walks around the side of it. He bends down to look me in the eye, smiling warmly. “I'm sorry to have scared you.”
I glance over his silver hair, teased up tall. “You look like a silver beehive.”
Mother nearly faints. Dad gasps. The blue grey stallion simply laughs.
“Your hair looks very nice as well.”
He's obviously offended to some degree but doesn't let me know it. I've stopped shaking now. Why are mother and father so afraid of this man?
“Why don't you run along outside dear, your parents and I have some important grown up pony stuff to talk about?” His charming voice sooths my ears. They wiggle a bit before I can stop them.
“Okay Mr Hoity.” I turn around and trot out the door, moving back into the big lobby again. I drop the innocent act and scowl slightly. This place is horrible. My eyes scan the room as I look for the receptionist. She's away from her desk. Great news for me.
I walk over to my saddle bags left under a chair. I retrieve a set of headphones, white and red, and throw them around my neck. I pull out my mp3 player, a rarity for people in Equestria. I can't tell mother and father that I used their money to pay for this, I'd be dead.
I switch on the first song I find, a popular song by Livingmau5. The sweet beats move through my headphones, rocking my soul as the sound wraps around me. Soothing me, exciting me, taking me away from everything.
I'm in a world of my own, everything is moving to the beat of my music. I scan the crowd in front of me, a deck at my hooftips. A few older ponies behind me sing into microphones and blend into the music. A chill runs up my spine back in the real world.
I'm at peace.
I'm in my own place.
It feels so, so good to be taken away from it all.
All my fears wash away in this world of mine. My red eyes flash. The red eyes I'm proud of. My blue mane is unkempt and messy, drenched with sweat. My tail swings in time with the entire world, keeping me balanced.
The music slows down, piano sneaking into the track.
I'm wrapped by the kind, invigorating warm glow of music. I snuggle into it and in return it seeps into my soul. I let it back out into the mix, playing my mind through the large speakers on either side of the stage.
Ponies cry out to me, “We love you Vinyl!” some are crying with happiness. Others climb onto the stage to get closer to the source of the sound.
“Miss, your parents will be out soon.” A voice comes from the other world. I don't want to go back, but I open my eyes.
A mare with an orange coat and yellow hair looks down at me. Her hair is done up, and she's wearing a shirt collar. She speaks with a fancy accent.
“Scratch, put away your headphones, quickly.” She urges. It's the receptionist. I see her a lot, as she's always running around town doing jobs for the mayor.
I slip off the headphones and quickly put them in my saddle bag. “Thanks for warning me. Mother would have my head.”
The mare nods. “It's fine. I feel sorry for you... having to hide from them. It's the least I can do.”
“You're the best Shine.” I reach forward and hug her.
“I've got to get back to the desk and look busy. Toity's so ditzy he wouldn't know whether I was doing work or if I was going sky diving, but I can't be too careful.”
She moves away from me and back to her desk. Shortly after Mother and Father exit the office. They look angry with me.
“You are on very thin ice, young lady.” Mother hisses, walking straight past me.
“Get your things, Vinyl.” Father walks off behind mother.
I hop off the chair, frightened to go home. I give a silent farewell to Shine as I walk out the door.
Author's Note
I love Vinyl so much I just had to write about her.
Vinyl's Cutie Mark - Soft tunes and hard beatings
I'm at home. Mother is furious. She's pulling at her hair trying to calm down. She's batting her wings ferociously.
“Vinyl. I need you to understand what you have done.”
I take a few steps back. Not again. Don't do it again. “I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to do anything wrong! Please!”
Father looks at Mother with a sad look. He's given up on me. He did a long time ago.
I turned back around to Mother, her hooves were shaking. “I warned you..” she says slowly, turning around to me. “You're.. such a bad child Vinyl... Bad fillies deserve to be punished..”
I look behind me, I drop back and try to get through the door as quickly as possible. Mother flies around to the side of me before I can concentrate my magic on the handle. I feel dread seeping into my soul. I can't breathe. Mother's hoof is raised. I close my eyes.
Hard beats. Batting against me. Hitting my sides. Hitting my horn. They're rough and out of tune. Inconsistent.
My inner world is barren. The beat changes consistently. My head is throbbing. Make it stop. Please make it stop!
I open my eyes. Mother has fluttered out of the door. Father looks at me sadly while he waits for her hoof steps to fade away.
He speaks up after a few minutes. “Vinyl... are you okay?”
I push myself to my feet, wincing. My head is spinning. “You did nothing.”
He looks taken back. He shuffles his hooves towards me. “Vinyl I'm sorry I ju-”
“You're useless!” I scream at the top of my lungs. My voice cracks under the strain. I run from the room. My hooves hitting the floor send a shock of pain through my body with each hoof fall. I don't stop until I get to my room. There's a bed and a mirror, expensive looking cupboards and other furniture around the room. I reach for my pencil case, shuffling through it. I walk over to the mirror with a pair of scissors in my hoof. I use my magic to undo the various bands and ties that keep my hair in place. I put the scissors up to my face.
Snip.
The sound of scissors slicing through my mane. It feels good. My body tingles. I continue to cut at this thing on top of me. It's a disgrace. It's awful. It's prissy.
Fuck this.
I attack my mane and tail in a fit of frustration. Ruffing up the colours until they seem like a mess of neon blue. I throw off the bangles around my hoof and let them smash as they hit the wall.
When I'm done, there's a mess of hair all around the floor. I look up to my face. Staring back at my magenta eyes, scanning my body's bruises.
My nose was bleeding, sending a sting through my face.
I look around the room. For one last time.
I pick up my saddle bag. Headphones and player inside.
Fuck this.
I open the window to my room and look outside. I had a room on the first floor, so I easily climbed out into the garden. I look back at my house.
Goodbye, old life.
My hooves feel great against the grass. I run across the back yard and onto the street. The middle of Canterlot, where the elite live. Close to the castle. I know where I have to go. I've been there once, the nightclub parts of Canterlot.
Parties run 24/7 if you know where to look, and thankfully I have been looking for a long, long, time.
Nothing could go wrong..could it?
Author's Note
It's a little dark, but it gets better in the next chapter.
Vinyl's Cutie Mark - Soft tunes and hard beatings
Song I used to write this chapter.
My hooves click against the hard road. Few ponies are roaming the street. I don't dare stop. I don't dare look back. I'd give up if I did, mother is probably following me right now. I blink back tears. My body pounds at a steady rhythm, matching up with my heart beat.
Click, click, click. Beat, beat, beat. I've brought rhythm back to my body. Concentrating on the pulses of the blood under my skin. I can hear music rippling through me. It's loud, harsh. I continue running, long into the night.
–
I open my eyes. When did I fall asleep? I rub my temples as I get to my hooves.
I realise that I made it! I'm in the nightclub strip I read about. Celestia's moon is still high in the sky. I would have plenty of time. The street around me flashes with neon signs and buzzes with the noises of ponies experimenting with alcohol and drugs. I breathe in the night air through my dried red nostrils. My hooves lead me to the best looking night club. Outside stands a large stallion in a suit. He looks at me as I approach.
“Can I come in?” I ask gingerly. He raises an eyebrow.
“You're too young to be coming into nightclubs just yet, little filly.” He turns away from me again.
“Please? I have nothing to do tonight.”
He seems insistent on keeping me out. He slams his hoof down in front of me. “I said run along!”
“But I'm part of Canterlot elite! I swear!” I try to run under his legs. His ears perk up suddenly as he looks me over.
“You're Miss Scratch, aren't you?” He thinks for a moment. “Alright. I don't need you to say anything bad about the club.” He steps out of the way. My eyes light up.
“Thank you!” I grin madly as I run inside the big black door. There's a hallway around me, neon pink on the walls. To my left are places I'm not allowed to go. On the right are two bathrooms. I walk past the bathroom and down a flight of stairs to where ponies are gathered in the centre, dancing to the beat of the club. My ears wiggle with excitement at the new sounds.
My eyes look to the right of me. There's a bar where a pony is serving drinks. She's dressed in a skimpy outfit. I don't see the attraction to be honest. I look to the flight of stairs next to me.
'VIP' reads the sign that stands tall over me. I walk over to it. There's a velvet rope beside it, running my hoof along it feels great. Like satin.
I look back at the crowd. Surely Canterlot elite counts as Very Important Ponies? I shrug. Must do. I duck under the rope and make my way up the stairs. I look around once I reach the top. The DJ's set is laid out there, unattended and completely open. There's one or two ponies that look totally out of it, so they probably won't mind if I jump on...
I open my bag and take my headphones and mp3 player out. I walk over to the decks, running my hooves along them to look for ports and the like. I use my magic to put a cord connecting my player to an audio in cable. I slide a record on the table. As I wait for this song to end I look around the knobs and switches. The song playing fades out, and I quickly stop the next from playing. I let it fade in.
I'm in my inner world now. Soft sighs of singing fade from my world to the outside. Everypony who isn't stumbling around looks up at the decks. I can felling the stares. I close my eyes again, letting my magic seep into the deck to control everything. My inner world touches up the subtlest sounds and projects them to the crowd. I keep my eyes closed. Pains from the outside seep away as I relax. My ears wiggle with excitement as I'm caressed by sound, washing through me, running its hooves through my hair. A wild tingle moves down my spine. For a moment I can feel something strange in my throat.
The crowd is silent, except for the sounds of hooves clapping to the rhythm. I open my eyes. This is my world now. My beat runs through the chests of every mare and stallion as I let them feel my story, feel my emotions and feel my magic.
“Go kid!” One of them screams out to me. Some others are crying with happiness. I push up the sound, letting the slow music echo off the walls of the large room. My tail swings with the beat, matching my world now. I feel a weird tingle on my flanks. It grows, I turn my head to see what's going on.
There's a mark there. It's a... it's a music note...
Wait...
No...
It couldn't be...
The music slows as I let this seep in.
I got my cutie mark!
I got my cutie mark!
The song ends as the crowd calls out to me. Others clap, some look confused. I bathe in their applause as it rockets through me.
I did it! I did it!
I feel a hoof tap my shoulder. I turn around, smiling from ear to ear.
Dread. It's Shine. How did she find me?!
“Sh-Shine I didn't... I didn't do anything. Please don't tell Mum!”
Shine laughs quietly. “No way kiddo. You're not going back there.”
I tilt my head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“You're old enough to come and live with me, if you want.” She turns around to reveal her cutie mark. A set of headphones. “I was always a bad receptionist anyway.”
The feeling in my throat returns. Tears stream from my eyes. “Yes! Let's do it!”
Author's Note
WHAT A CORNY ENDING C:!
Vinyl's Cutie Mark - Soft tunes and hard beatings
“That was the day my life changed.” I told Tavi, who was sitting across from me, sipping at a glass of wine.
We were in a restaurant, relaxing and telling each other old stories.
“Vinyl... I never knew.” Tavi looked back at me sadly. “Why didn't you tell me about your foalhood before?”
“Because you never asked.” Tavi frowned. She seemed to be worried about me. More than usual.
“How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“How do you smile?”
“I listen to my inner world Tavi. The beat of my heart and the swing of my tail. Music is my life.”
She looks at me for a moment, then smiles. “Me too, Vinyl. Me too.”
Author's Note
Feels.
