//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Beats of Life 
// by NightsongWrites 
//------------------------------//

Holy Lunar Nights, it was beautiful, Vinyl thought giddily as she looked the table over, slowly running her hooves over the sleek, dark blue surface. 
The Lunar 2380 was easily the most expensive mixing table on the market, coming straight out of the new Lunar Technical Institute in Canterlot. Even if Vinyl had pooled all of the money from her savings account, it would not have come close to being able to afford the piece of state-of-the-art magitech. The Symphony had to be loaded! 
She would have to pay them back someday, Vinyl decided firmly, peeking shyly back at her friends.
Friends. It was an interesting concept for Vinyl. While she had always been the undeniable raving master, and had fans somewhere in the thousands, Vinyl had rarely made much in the way of lasting friends over the years in Canterlot. The place had been great for business; high society ponies had a tendency to throw off their stuffy outer selves and indulge once the sun went down and the bass started spinning, but the second that music ended, Vinyl became just another “ruffian” to the upper class. To say the response that the Symphony, and Octavia, had been shocking would be… something of an understatement. 
A soft hoof settled on Vinyl’s shoulder. Adrenaline and fear spiked as she spun around, but only for a moment. Just Octavia. She was safe. She gave a weak smile in apology.
“Sorry, Vinyl,” she whispered sheepishly, getting rubbing the unicorn’s coat, “Didn’t mean to frighten you. What do you think of the table? We can collect your records from your home when we pass back through Canterlot, or maybe can find some here in Manehatten…”
Vinyl’s ears immediately splayed, eyes wide at the thought of her friends spending even more bits on her. 
“N-no, no!” she replied, quickly holding up her hooves, “Y-you don’t have to b-buy anything else, Tavi! Really!”
Tavi? Oh crap, that was too forward. Vinyl’s eyes flicked around for something to distract Octavia before she could think about it. Over her some food? No, that was Lyra’s, not her’s to offer. Try to play something? Damnit, she didn’t have any records! Trembles started to run through her tiny form, increasingly bad scenarios burning through her mind’s eye. Octavia was going to freak and realize just how lowbrow Vinyl was, and toss her out. She would send her home, and the pegasus would be waiting, or the unicorn would have broken out of jail with some kind of magic and-
“If you’re certain, Vinyl,” Octavia went on, grinning softly, “Come, it’s time for your shower next. We have to be presentable to get into the Hard Trot Cafe, at least.”
“...w-what? We’re… g-going to the Hard Trot? But, isn’t t-that kinda… well…” 
“Uncivilized?” Beauty Brass interrupted, giggling softly as she toweled her head off with one of Lyra’s mint-green towels, “Trust me, Vinyl, even we can enjoy some time to let our manes down!” 
“And the food at the Hard Trot Cafe is exquisite,” Frederic added cheerfully.
“And the booze! We can’t forget-” 
“Oh hush, Harpo. We’re not carting your flank home like we did in Trottingham.”
A gentle nuzzle on her side got a sheepish Vinyl moving up the stairs, Octavia close behind. 
“Are you going to be alright, Vinyl?” she asked softly, keeping her voice underneath the laughs and snarkiness of her friends downstairs, “I can get out some clothing, just in case.”
The DJ winced, glancing back at herself. Her fur was still coming back in patchily from her… freakout in the Maritrot; the Symphony had been very supportive thankfully, and her white hoodie could usually hide the worst of the bad spots. 
“U-um… the… the h-hoodie, please,” she mumbled, glancing down at the floor.
The shame felt like a lead ball in her stomach, weighing her down with each step towards the bathroom. She should be better than this. They were just memories, the Unicorn wasn’t there. Not really. ...right?
“Vinyl?” 
The tone was soft, and worried. Vinyl winced; she must have spaced out again. Damn thoughts, making her look like an idiot. She quickly turned to Octavia, smiling as widely as she could force herself too.
“S-sorry, sorry! Just a little s-sleepy. I-I’ll be out soon, Octy, and we can g-get some lunch.” 
The cellist did not seem entirely convinced, but nodded after a few moments of searching Vinyl’s expression, hurrying down to the guest room. A faint sigh wheezed out of Vinyl as she allowed her face to drop back into its pensive frown before galloping into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror was not pleasant. Her horn, while wrapped in a soft linen, gave a faintly golden glow, which any unicorn would see as a crack. Her face was still swollen, and one eye was bruised, visibly even with her shades on. The bruise at the bottom of her horn was still visible, staining her fur a dark, angry blue. Wincing, Vinyl quickly turned away, undoing the rest of the bandages around her body with a few quick tugs of her teeth. Her left hoof was healing, if slowly… she would likely have the long, jagged scar near the lower ankle for the rest of her life. She glanced hesitantly back at herself in the mirror, tilting her tail to one side. Bruises ran all over her flanks… teeth marks on her right cutie mark… a hoof mark right- 
“No!” Vinyl snapped at herself, jerking her head away from the treacherous mirror and quickly stomping into the shower-tub.
She had to stop thinking about it. Had to stop reliving the moment in her mind, what she could have done… What she should have done… It took a long moment before she could build up the strength to turn the knobs for the shower head, sighing faintly in relief as the scalding water cascaded down on her back and head. It was a cleansing pain; Vinyl wouldn’t need to scrub herself bald this time. Glancing through the misty haze of the shower, her ruby eyes settled on a small bottle. Vanilla shampoo. Her muzzle turned up in a shaky smile. 
********************
The Hard Trot Cafe was packed to bursting by the time the group made it downtown, but Octavia wasn’t worried. They would get in eventually, and the gift shop outside might be good for Vinyl, to take her mind off things! She smiled back at her little friend, giving her a soothing hug. Vinyl had decided to wear her white hoodie, with a white-blue beanie settled over her horn and straight hair. Octavia really needed to get Vinyl some hair gel. She didn’t seem… right, with her hair hanging around her eyes. 
Frederic nudged Octavia lightly, motioning over to a side wall. It was painted a sky blue, with white eighth notes plastered across it. It had a great deal of… Vinyl! In a way at least. To Octavia’s surprise, it was almost entirely rock music, with many of the album covers featuring Vinyl with a guitar or drum set. The wide, almost mad grin splayed across her muzzle was such a far cry from the shaky, pensive look the unicorn wore now that Octavia couldn’t help but wince, ears laying back sadly. 
“Heh, t-that was my r-rock tour. Before I-I was Pon-3.”
Octavia squeaked, whirling around in surprise. Vinyl gave a sheepish grin, sitting on her haunches beside Octavia. 
“I-it was fun! But… I-I liked dubtrot, and house music more.” 
Octavia smiled faintly, moving to nudge a few of her albums onto her back, “I’ll get a few of these then. Something to work on with the Lunar, right? Besides… I’d love to hear more of your music.” 
The smile that brought Vinyl was more than worth the fifty bits. Not long after, the host arrived to bring them out to their table- Octavia had to quietly apologize to the poor stallion later, as Vinyl had practically hidden behind Lyra and Bon-Bon when he approached- and thankfully let them have a private booth at the back of the restaurant. The atmosphere was phenomenal, and once Vinyl was able to relax, she seemed to relax back into the music, a lazy smile curling up her muzzle, head nodding to the beat. 
“This was a good idea,” Lyra whispered, her golden eyes bright with happiness, “She always loved this place. The music, the food…”
Octavia smiled faintly, nodding to the bouncy unicorn. She wasn’t all that surprised that Lyra had been Vinyl’s friend; she was hyper and smiling and just like the Vinyl Lyra and Bon-Bon told stories of. It… could be a place to leave Vinyl to heal. The candy-making pair certainly cared about her, and had room to spare for the poor mare. It would definitely be something to bring up with them, before she brought it up with Vinyl. 
When the time came to order food, Vinyl surprised the entire Symphony by ordering, on her own mind you, a platter of fried grouper and hay fries. When the server turned to the others, the DJ peeked nervously around the table, hooves gingerly fidgeting with her napkin. 
“I-is that okay, guys?” she asked softly, “I-I know fish is a b-bit… odd, but-”
“Yes ma’am, I’ll have what Vinyl is having, actually.”
“And I’ll have the crab cakes.” 
And as each one of them ordered something from the seafood section, flashing Vinyl grins each time, a knot twisted in her heart. She smiled up at them, little tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Friends. Her right hoof quested a bit to her right… and Octavia gently took it, a smile answering Vinyl’s questioning gaze. And for the first time in weeks, a trademark Vinyl grin was brought to the surface. 
“And miss? A r-round of martinis for my friends, on me.”