//------------------------------// // 3: Words Without Meaning // Story: The Voice of Music // by Tavi n Scratch //------------------------------// Vinyl hadn't realized how tired she actually was. As she walked toward the dining hall with Pinkie Pie, her eyes felt heavy and her steps were shaky. She wished she could go back to bed, but her stomach noiselessly growled in protest. The sweet aromas of the different dishes mixed together and created a mouth watering scent that spread throughout the palace. As she drew closer to the source of the delicious smell, Vinyl gradually sped up to a quick trot. When she walked through the doors the she saw her other friends, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, had saved a spot for both Pinkie and herself. The platters of food spoke Vinyl's name, and without hesitation she heeded the call. She piled food on her plate and began to attack it. "Wow, somebody must be hungry." Rainbow chuckled to herself. "Calm down, the food's not going anywhere." Vinyl turned to her friend with a sheepish smile, her cheeks full of pancakes. Rainbow Dash began to laugh out loud. "Dash, be nice," Twilight chastised, although she was clearly stifling a giggle. "It's not very ladylike if you ask me," a pony with an amethyst mane spoke from across the table. "Oh lighten up Rarity, she looks starving, and exhausted." Rainbow Dash came to Vinyl's defense. "Speaking of which, this is for you, Miss Awesome DJ." She leaned over and procured a bottle out of her saddlebag, which sat at the foot of her chair. Vinyl's eyes widened, it was the new flavor of Dragonsbreath energy drink, Vinyl's one guilty pleasure in life. She turned to her friend with a quizzical look, asking how Dash had gotten this bottle that wasn't even on shelves yet. Rainbow, understanding the question in Vinyl's eyes, answered, "It was left over from Shining Armor's bachelor party, Spike gave me all the extras." She handed the bottle to Vinyl, who took it with a grin. "I thought you were trying to cut back on those, you know they can't be good for you." Twilight spoke with a condescending tone, but Vinyl just shrugged her off and uncapped the bottle. The electric taste of the sweet beverage spilled across her tongue. The sour tinge made her fur stand on end. Suddenly Rainbow Dash began chanting, prompting Vinyl to chug. Never one to back away from a challenge, Vinyl turned the bottom of the bottle towards the ceiling. Sadly, the delicious experience lasted a few short seconds. Vinyl found herself gulping air instead of liquid electricity. As she tossed the bottle aside, she felt a surge of energy starting at her neck and traveling down her spine. She felt the exhaustion leave her body. A grin crossed her face when suddenly she involuntarily jumped. Confused at what had just happened, she looked to Rainbow Dash, who merely shrugged. Vinyl's body jumped again and Twilight began to laugh. Vinyl turned towards her friend with a frown, which was quickly shaken off her face by another jump. Twilight regained her composure. "Relax Vi, you just have the hiccups. It's a curious phenomenon where you, well I'll just say it makes you jump." Twilight began to laugh again. Vinyl began smiling again, she had the greatest friends a pony could ask for. She laughed silently along with her friends. The rest of breakfast went by uneventfully, they all sat and chatted with each other, Vinyl excluded, and ate a delicious and filling breakfast. Pinkie Pie had even managed to find some cupcakes. In time everything returned to normal, and all the ponies from Ponyville began to venture home. On the train, Vinyl was all by herself with her equipment. She lounged atop an amplifier, a pair of high tech headphones over her ears. She lazily bobbed her head to the beat of one of her new techno compositions as she slowly dozed off. She was nearly asleep when, out of nowhere, a bolt of inspiration jolted her awake. She hopped to the floor and began to rummage through piles of general musical items until she had what she needed: a simple quill, some ink, and a blank sheet of paper. As soon as she sat down to write, the words started to spill onto the paper, in mere minutes she had completed the lyrics for an entire piece of music. Now all that was left was tune. She sat there for an hour, scrambling for notes that could accompany the words. No instrument she had seemed to have the right tone. It made no sense, lyrics never came easy, yet somehow the music to make these words complete somehow escaped her. Twilight happily trotted in, "We'll be home after breakfast, want to go see what they have in the dining, uh, car," her voice trailed off as she scanned the room. It was a mess, and that was putting it lightly. Cardboard boxes lay overturned, their contents spilled across the floor. A few amplifiers were pushed onto their sides. "Are you, uh, reorganizing?" Vinyl was nowhere in sight. Twilight carefully walked into the room, taking deliberate steps as to not crush anything. As she investigated a pile of instrument cases a white unicorn horn popped out from among them. Twilight pushed a couple boxes out of the way to reveal a very frantic looking Vinyl. Her blue mane was a mess and here usually kind and mischievous red eyes seemed preoccupied and exhausted. She began to pace around the room, appearing to be searching for something. "You okay?" Twilight's concern could be heard in her question. However, Vinyl merely continued to pace in circles. Twilight grabbed her friend. "Vinyl, you are scaring me, are you alright?" Vinyl shook herself, as if she had been sleepwalking. She looked at her friend and gave her a smile, as if nothing was wrong. She showed her concerned friend a piece of blank sheet music and shrugged, trying to communicate her predicament. "Oh, you've just got a case of writer's block, is that all? Well that can wait, it's time for breakfast." Twilight turned around and walked out. Vinyl sighed and followed her friend. The eight months before the Gala felt like an eternity. Encounters with Silere became more frequent, she continued to torture Vinyl for entertainment. However, Vinyl held on to hope, it was really all she could do. And like that, seven and a half months passed. Preparations for the Gala began. Pinkie Pie coordinated with the planner, as per Princess Celestia's request. Rarity began sewing dresses for all of the attendees from Ponyville. Vinyl was putting together a mix for the Gala's after party, where all the "cool" ponies go. Vinyl was in her element, enjoying the music. "I'm so excited, aren't you?" The whisper chilled Vinyl's spine. "Where are you, I thought I got rid of all the glass in here." Vinyl thought as she started to look for the specter. "Oh, don't bother idiot, just listen for a bit. We both know the Gala is around the corner, and I want to be rid of you just as much as you want to be rid of me. You'll need to find the pony who completes you. One whose music falls silent. Remember, if you listen hard enough, you'll be able to hear the silence at the Gala.