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// You're Still Learning How To Walk 
// Story: Big Tavi Lil Tavi Cardboard Box 
// by All Art Is Quite Useless 
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	Vinyl moved with purpose, her target in sight and her plan of action shaky at best. She had been walking directly towards Ditzy's house for about twenty minutes, during which time she had considered which method of apology would come across as more meaningful and authentic, which gestures she could make in order to make Ditzy feel better, and what explanation she could give for her horrible behaviour. 

There must be a reason Princess Twilight made this my first friendship lesson, despite knowing I was going to do it anyway. There must be something she wants me to learn from the experience, but I'm not sure what. I already feel guilty about what I did.

But maybe that's it. I've been considering how to fix the problem I initially created by being distant to Ditzy, in a systematic way. Rather than thinking of this as a task, should I just let my guard down and see how I handle it? I don't need a plan, do I? It's a simple apology after all. No, it's more than that. It's a chance for me to show Ditzy who I am, no bullshit. She deserves that at least.

Approaching Ditzy's home, which was surprisingly large considering her profession, just as Vinyl and Octavia's home was small considering theirs, Vinyl did not consider what she would do next, as she had previously. She knew that the next logical step, no matter what, was to knock on the door and await an answer, yet she hesitated, at least for a moment.

She won't want to see me. I'm almost sure about that. I wouldn't want to see me after how I behaved. But what else am I to do? Let Ditzy continue to be sad, and go back to Princess Twilight with news of failure in my first, simplest task?

Another thought occurred to her then which only served to add to her determination.

I can't give up on Tavi's idea so quickly either. She feels so strongly about this that there's no room for hesitation, I just need to get on with it. For Ditzy, for Tavi, and for myself.

With this, Vinyl went to knock, stopping just short of her hoof making contact with the wood at the behest of a sudden, harmonious sound. The sound emanated from inside the house, and made Vinyl's ears, devoid of headphone interference, stand up. 

Vinyl knew a good sound when she heard it. She could recognise a specific note instantly, could see where a pony's voice was lax, and where they excelled, and knew the best methods to capitalise on each specific vocal style. With a significant period of editing and mixing, Vinyl could take a terrible singer and make them sound passable, as she had needed to a few times when working with pop idols.

Vinyl could also take an above average singer and enhance their voice further, without the need for intense auto-tuning, or anything else that would change the integral style of the singer. Of course, there were other things that could help vocalists of this level, such as lessons and practice, but there often was not time for this as things moved very quickly in the industry, and shortcuts were often taken, to Vinyl's distaste.

She couldn't, however, do much for a singer that was already amazing. Those ponies were extremely rare, the equivalent to gold dust in the music industry, and were best to be left as is, so as not to tarnish the delicate culmination of whatever those strange factors were that made them so adept.

Vinyl considered what she was hearing. About a 7. Maybe a 7.5 at a push. She's got potential though. I really like that voice on her, it's exactly the opposite of what I'd expect from a mare like her.

Vinyl continued to listen to the mailmare's rendition of whatever was playing on the radio, unable to pick out individual words, but able to hear the notes being hit, some very well, almost skillfully, but some quite poorly. Many average singers were capable of vocalising in this way, and that in itself was nothing special. However, Ditzy's singing voice was rare. She did not have the jaunty, joyful tone Vinyl would have expected, but rather something soulful and jazzy, something that could definitely evoke feeling. The emotions she detected in the music, coupled by her decent range and stunning resonance, were enough to tell Vinyl just what she needed to do.

She knocked thrice, feeling bad for disrupting Ditzy, who had no reason to be anticipating her arrival, then feeling worse when she heard a yelp, a banging sound, and a curse leaving Ditzy's mouth. She stood, anxiously anticipating Ditzy's response to her face. About 30 seconds passed, and as Vinyl raised her hoof to knock once more, the door opened, revealing Ditzy, mane frazzled and a sour look on her face. 

Upon realising that it was Vinyl standing at her door, attempting to smile in her direction, Ditzy instantly teared up. She had not been prepared to see Vinyl again any time soon, and had still not gotten over how useless, silly and unwanted she had felt after their last encounter. She immediately wished she could simply ask Vinyl to leave, but knew that she didn't have it in her. In this situation, Ditzy would usually run away, as she had many times from those who had relentlessly mocked her in the past, and on occasion still did now. 

But, this was not a usual situation. Vinyl was there, on her doorstep, and there was nowhere for her to go. All she could do was close the door and hope that Vinyl would choose to leave of her own accord. Even that she struggled to do, regarding Vinyl with one glistening eye as she made for the door handle to close it on her.

"Wait! Ditzy please. We really need to talk."

Ditzy begrudgingly stopped her action, but remained silent.

"I promise I won't say anything mean to you. Not one thing, I promise. Please just let me say a couple of things, and I'll be out of your hair, for good if you want."

Ditzy stood, quivering slightly, and nodded her head as a sign of recognition, not attempting to speak out of fear that her words would come out choked.

"I've come here to apologise Ditzy, for all of the terrible things I said and the way I disregarded you, it was really horrible of me, and I know that."

Ditzy sniffled once, then was silent for a second. Once she had recovered, she put on a hard face and motioned her hoof to the side.

"Come in, Vinyl. There's no use doing this on the doorstep."

"Thank you, Ditzy." 

Vinyl trotted into Ditzy's home, taking in the well decorated, colourful interior, adorned with multiple ornaments and pristine furniture. She found it hard to believe that Ditzy was able to maintain this level of order and cleanliness with a young filly in the house.  

Vinyl faced Ditzy, who was currently cleaning up the shards of a small vase.

"Jeez, did you do that when I knocked? I'm so sorry Ditzy, was it expensive? I'll replace it, I don't mind, not one bit."

Ditzy laughed. "Good, because I don't want one bit from you, or any for that matter. It was a small trinket, nothing to worry about. I just want to hear what you have to say, Vinyl, worry about that please."

Vinyl stammered in response, feeling pangs of guilt worming their way back into her mind. Focus, Vinyl. Stop acting like a schoolfilly that's just been sent to the principal, you have a job to do.

Despite her mental pep talk, Vinyl felt it necessary to psyche herself up a little more, and proceeded to comment on the mundane. 

"Your house, it's--"

"Clean? Ordered? Well maintained?" Ditzy offered.

Vinyl blushed. "Well what I meant to say was--"

Ditzy laughed once again. "Be honest, Vinyl. You assumed that because of my eyes, I must be such a clumsy mare that I cannot maintain a home. And yes, I know that I dropped something when you knocked, but that's because you startled me, just an unfortunate coincidence that helps to feed people's bias. In actuality, I can see quite well, I wouldn't fly otherwise. I'm just a little distractible."

Vinyl's blush only deepened as she thought for an answer. "Well, maybe I did assume a little, honestly. It is a very nice home though!"

"Well thank you, Vinyl. I was actually going to invite you here last night."

Vinyl instantly averted her eyes, one part of her glad that the conversation had been forced, but the other still not feeling ready.

"Okay, Ditzy, listen... I'm really, really sorry. I mean, I know that saying sorry doesn't make up for what I did, but I am. I could barely sleep last night, I just felt so guilty. I even tried calling out to you, after you left, but I think that was just because I felt lonely, which kinda makes things even worse."

"Thing is, I've been in a bad way recently... I don't really know what's wrong with me, just that it's affecting the way I think at times, and the way I treat ponies too, since last night. I don't want you to think that's who I am. I know we've only spoken a couple of times in the past, but I've always thought you were a nice friendly mare, with a kind spirit and a strong heart."

"The way you faced the negative and pejorative treatment you received in Ponyville was almost inspiring. Honestly, I felt so sorry for you, once upon a time, knowing you had to deal with ponies like that daily. But you didn't need my pity, or anyone else's! You didn't let it get to you then, and you still don't now. Even a minute ago, when you saw me at your door, you didn't run, or tell me to go away, like so many ponies would. You stood your ground, no matter how difficult that must have been for you, and I respect that so much."

"You're the last mare to deserve the treatment I gave you, especially when all you were doing is trying to help. Considering that you've had your own problems before, you likely would have been the ideal pony to cheer me up, but I couldn't see that past my own pigheadedness. I just wish I could explain to you how I've been feeling recently, and how bad I've felt since attacking you. I'm getting help now, I've been speaking to Princess Twilight and--"

Ditzy held up a hoof, silencing Vinyl, who had began biting her lip between sentences, looking increasingly upset with each word. "Vinyl, stop. Please, stop. Thank you, for everything that you've said. I think I understand enough already. I don't need to know exactly what's going on with you, and I never wanted to pry, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Vinyl. Even then, when I saw you at my door, only part of me was angry at you. The rest was angry at me, for not being able to help you. I was worried about you, Vinyl, but now that you've told me you're getting help, I can relax a little. Please, don't worry yourself over me. I knew that wasn't all you, yesterday, and the fact you came to apologise so quickly means a lot. I'd like to put it behind us, wouldn't you?"

By this point Vinyl was speaking faster, wild emotion entering her voice as she spoke. "I should have appreciated it, I should have been more thankful for your help. I should have thanked you! I feel so stupid. So, so stupid--"

Ditzy quickly took on a stern tone, speaking over Vinyl's rapid but pessimistic monologue.

"Vinyl! Stop that right now. You are not stupid, you are just a little mixed up right now."

She placed a hoof upon Vinyl's shoulder as she spoke. "You don't need to apologise any more. What's done is done, and I feel much better, but I need to know you're okay too. Now, take a deep breath, and tell me you're okay, and then we'll have a nice coffee, deal?"

Vinyl did as Ditzy instructed, slowing her breathing, not worrying how silly she looked, stood trying to get a hold of her fleeting breath in the house of the pony she had wronged.

Why am I the one reacting like this? She's the one that's been wronged, yet I'm acting like the victim. She's right, I do need to stop this, or nothing will ever be able to move forward between us. She doesn't hold a grudge against me, so why should I?

Finally, she took a deep breath, smirk upon her face, feeling able to slip back into her better state of mind without much effort, as if it were a worn pair of shoes that no longer needed to be unlaced. She felt the grin upon her lips, and was sure it must have met her eyes, as she had certainly not forced it, and regarded Ditzy. "Deal. But I wanna Colta-Cola."

Ditzy giggled for a few seconds, noticing the clear sign of improvement in Vinyl's mood, before speaking.

"Sorry, Vinyl, no Colta-Cola here! We don't get it in that much, Dinky's not a fan and I only drink carbonated drinks on occasion."

Vinyl pouted. "You're kidding right? Your cutie mark is literally bubbles, how can you not like fizzy drinks?!"

"Well, I never said I dislike them, did I Vinyl?"

"Guess not." Vinyl mumbled, before perking her voice up a little, not wanting to sound ungrateful. "Sure, I'll take a coffee, thanks, Ditzy."

"Sure you don't want a Dr. Pony, Vinyl?" Vinyl thought Ditzy might have winked at her then, but due to the fact that only one of her eyes was in Vinyl's peripherals, she couldn't tell. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but laugh. She had been playing with her the whole time.

"Aw, hell yeah! Good one, Ditzy. I'd love a Dr. Pony." Vinyl bounced up to Ditzy to offer her a hoofbump, but the mare was already off fetching their drinks.

"Am I alright to smoke outside, Ditzy?" Vinyl called.

"Yeah, just please don't throw your butts in the garden. We can drink these on the patio if you'd like?"

"Sounds good to me!"

Moments later, Ditzy appeared, drinks lined up along the bridge of her wings, offering one for Vinyl to take in her telekinetic field. Vinyl could easily levitate and manipulate two items at once, and had no trouble alternating between bringing the cigarette and glass in her aura to her lips one at a time. A lesser magician might become mixed up, and accidentally burn their lips with the wrong end of a cigarette, or find themselves trying to inhale the side of a glass and spilling their drink. Vinyl had none of these issues. She made a conscious effort to practice all of the spells in her repertoire, so they would not falter easily if she ever had to rely upon them, which she didn't like to. 

Vinyl much preferred the tangible, even knowing how magic could change and influence one's life so. She tried not to use magic if she felt that she did not need it, reasoning that earth ponies and pegasi were much more dexterous than unicorns for a reason, and that unicorns all too often relied upon their horns as crutches. Unfortunately, in this case, she could not hold two things at once with her hooves, stood as she was, and conceded to fall back onto her magic.

Ditzy spoke at this point, snapping her out of her thought. "Dinky can hold two things at once now. Nowhere near as well as you do, but she can. I'm very proud."

Vinyl was slightly taken aback by this, not many children Dinky's age were able to display that level of control. She imagined the filly with a couple of toys in her grasp and smiled. "Is that due to her lessons with Princess Twilight? If so that's pretty damn rad! Some might say a filly performing magic like that at Dinky's age is a prodigy! You're right to be proud."

Ditzy's eyes brightened. "A prodigy? Really? I knew she was doing well from my correspondence with Princess Twilight but I've never heard her be referred to as a prodigy! I do really have a clever, talented girl."

"That you do! She must get some of that latent ability from her parents, though, a unicorn's basic magical skill is often innate, after all."

Ditzy looked thoughtful. "Well, my side of the family are mainly pegasi, there aren't really any unicorns of note to attribute her skill to. There is an interesting pegasus in the family," She scowled. "but I'm not going to discuss her. As for her father, he was an earth pony, but I couldn't tell you really anything about his family, unfortunately. He didn't mention them much, and never in any detail."

"Well that's not a problem, all of the races have magic inherently it just manifests in different ways for non-unicorns. Most people assume that an earth pony's magic is limited to their strength and increased healing abilities, and that a pegasus is limited to heightened senses and cloud manipulation, but in reality, magic can manifest itself in so many ways, there must be something special about you, and her father." 

Vinyl cringed a little after she had finished speaking, worried that her mention of Dinky's father might only serve to upset Ditzy again, and was relieved when she looked more curious than melancholic, having tilted her head a tad sideways.

"What kind of talent could I really have, Vinyl?" Ditzy mused. "I'm a mailmare, what kind of basis for talent is that? I really don't know what I can do that's so special."

"Well you can sing pretty well, that's one thing!" Vinyl said before taking a hefty swig of Dr. Pony.

Ditzy's grey face decolourised further. "You heard me singing earlier?"

In Ditzy's head, the compliment didn't register, she was apprehensive about discussing her singing. Ditzy was worried that Vinyl would think she was terrible, or worse, find it funny, which would miff her the most. 

Vinyl beamed, looking Ditzy square in the left eye, and swallowed her drink before responding.

"I actually thought you sounded really great. Your voice could be a great asset to you if you honed it, maybe that's your special talent? All I know is that it could be of great use to you in future."

Ditzy was pleasantly surprised by the comment, which she stopped to listen to this time, instead of dismissing it, like the last one. She had never let anyone hear her sing, save her ex-husband, and was surprised to hear such words from Vinyl, someone who made it their business to know what sounded good.

"Thank you, Vinyl, thank you very much. You really think so?" Ditzy nearly squeaked.

"Think so?" Vinyl emphatically shook her head. "Girl, I know so! If I had a bit for every time I was right about one of these things, hell, I'd probably just straight up buy Ponyville."

Ditzy laughed, slightly overwhelmed by the flattery. "That's lovely to hear, Vinyl. But just what can I do with it? I have a job, and a daughter, I can't put all that to one side to pursue a music career! I might not even get anywhere! Besides, it's common knowledge that many musicians have to spend a lot of time building a network before they can establish a real living out of music." Ditzy slowly shook her head, looking glum. Guess it's not for me, Vinyl."

Vinyl's face become serious. "You're wrong, Ditzy. There's a lot you can do with it, without putting your life on hold like that. I could help, if you wanted. If you let me take some audio recordings of you, I can play around with those a little and see if I can send them off conditionally to any other producers, maybe even labels. If there's a substantial interest, we'll get your sounds copyrighted, and I'll see if I can't put them in a track or two. We'll work out a percentage split on any music I make using your vocals, to get you started, and then we could possibly sell your sound to other producers for a fee, if the interest is there. All of that, I could do with just the samples."

"Best thing is, if it's all successful, you might even start getting attention from record labels! You could end up recording your own songs one day, who knows? I'd get you in touch with an excellent manager with decent rates, or I could just manage you for free! I mean, I get first access to whatever you make, so I win either way! Also, if you wanted anonymity in the first stages, totally doable! We give you a stage name, and the information is all kept between you, me, and your bank. I'm not saying you have to take me up on this, or anything, but I honestly think it would be fulfilling for you. Think it over, would you, Ditzy?"

Ditzy found it very difficult to take in all of this information at once. The concept that she, Ditzy Doo, a mailmare living in the small town of Ponyville, could work with famous and influential people such as Vinyl Scratch, make money, and gain recognition doing it, was a lot for her to take.

"And... And you're sure I could have what it takes?"

"You bet your flank I do, bubble butt."

Ditzy blushed, before realising that she literally had bubbles on her hind quarters, and that she wasn't being complimented on her posterior. Ditzy sighed.

"Are you sure you're not just doing all this because you feel guilty? Because if that's the case, Vinyl, really you don't need to. I understand that you're sorry but there's no need to go to these lengths."

The strength of Vinyl's tone didn't waver. "I would never do something like this just because. That would be extremely mean, getting your hopes up whilst knowing you don't have potential. No, I'm willing to stake on you by sending your samples off to labels with my personal recommendation and seal of approval. That seal carries a lot of weight, because of how long I've been meticulously picking the musician with the most interesting sound. Maybe that musician isn't perfect, maybe they could be refined, but they're pretty damn interesting. That's you, Ditzy." 

Ditzy couldn't hide the simultaneous arrival of shock and glee upon her face, nor did she want to. "So, we can really try this? You really want to?"

Vinyl grinned, teeth flashing. "Of course! We can take it as slowly as you want too. Tell you what, I should be making my way soon, you've got a school run to do, and I've got a letter to write. But please, take the time to stop at my house, when you have a chance. If I'm not there, Tavi will tell you where to reach me. I hope I'll be seeing a lot of you!"

Vinyl wasn't prepared for the sudden, crushing embrace, but revelled in it, glad she could produce such an effect with her words alone. She squeezed back as Ditzy spoke. "Thank you so much, Vinyl! I still find it hard to believe that you're taking such a chance on me, I never even expected you to turn up today, let alone do all this! You've astounded me, and what's more you've made my week. Just wait till I tell Dinky! Momma's gonna be a singer!"

Vinyl slowly pulled away, her comforted body screaming treason as she did. "She'll be very proud, I know it. Thank you for being so patient with me today, Ditzy, I'll see you soon, give Dinky my best and take care!"

"You too Vinyl, and thank you again!"

As Vinyl left she felt immeasurably good. The feeling was like an ubiquitous entity that threatened to engulf her entire being, and then submergence her in a pool of happiness. She caught herself skipping once or twice, prancing around without a care or a thought for who saw her.

In the distance, Ditzy Doo had tears in her eyes for the second time that day, for a totally different reason.