Autumnal

by QueenMoriarty

Not Just a Pretty Face

Today was the Painting, but the artist was invisible. The auburns and oranges danced over their green canvas, transforming summer into autumn in a manner less like the turning of a clock or the crashing of waves, and more like glass cracking underwater. Some ponies had wandered out to Whitetail Wood to watch the transformative moment unfold, while most went about their day with the same unperturbed air that only lifelong inhabitants of a world of magic could affect in the face of such an experience.

Vinyl Scratch, ever the aficionado of those many talents she could not grasp for herself, felt proud to count herself among the former. Today, she laid back on rapidly yellowing grass to watch the verdant canopy transform into nature's most brilliant imitation of a sunset. She had dressed as casually as a white unicorn with an electric blue mane could, donning a grey hoodie that offended the fashion-conscious eye so masterfully that it made her functionally invisible. While it certainly wasn't flattering, it afforded her the privacy she needed to enjoy the Painting.

The world was clearer than usual today. This wasn't because of any personal revelation on Vinyl's part, instead being the result of her wearing a different pair of glasses. Specifically, the ones with one lens shattered beyond repair, and enchanted against replacement by Vinyl's own horn. Any sensible pony would have thrown them out long ago, or at the very least refuse to wear them when given the choice of several hundred pristine pairs.

That is, assuming that sensibility and sentimentality were mutually exclusive. Vinyl had always assumed so, anyway.

The point was that her broken pair of glasses meant something more to Vinyl Scratch than a cautionary tale about partying too hard. They were a snapshot she could wear, an all-encompassing reminder of one of the most beautiful moments in her entire life.

---

It had been at a gig, of course. Much as Vinyl could appreciate the more mainstream beauties the world could offer, she always seemed to find the very best of Equestria in pulse-pounding nightclubs drenched in sweat. She had been playing one of her most intense numbers, while at the same time moshing with her fans down below the turntables, a luxury of audience participation reserved for unicorn DJs. The crowd had worked itself into a fervor that seemed devoid of thought, transformed from a herd of ponies with an appreciation for contemporary music into a collection of random impulses travelling through a network of fleshy extremities.

Vinyl hadn't been much better, only more singular. The fury of her head-thrashing reached a point, as it often did, where it caused her signature glasses to fly right off her face and skid along the floor. There was a brief moment of panic somewhere amidst the mosh, but a toss of her head and a flash of red in her eyes wiped away the last shred of sanity left in her audience. Concerns of safety or of their idol's image safely eradicated, the party was ready to really get started.

Vinyl had switched tracks, flawlessly blending the crescendo of the first number into the opening notes of the second without the audience even realizing a shift. As the drums kicked in, she had let loose with her homebrew strobe-light spell, the Scratch Special. While some of the mosh went blind, surrendering themselves fully to the music, Vinyl had found her attention drawn to one of the few ponies not already embroiled in the madness.

She was a slate-grey mare with a luscious long mane, who had spent most of Vinyl's time on the stage very passionately focused on her glass of wine. But when the Scratch Special danced over her, that had given her pause, and drawn her gaze to the wildly gyrating monument of revelry that was DJ PON-3 on a Friday night. As the strobe spell faded, the grey mare hadn't so much as blinked, her eyes remaining locked on Vinyl. Even as the beat intensified, time seemed to slow to a crawl, and the following moments had burned themselves into the DJ's mind.

Her lips had formed the shape of words that she wouldn't dare repeat in mixed company. The mare's eyes had widened, her cheeks had turned crimson, and she had all but jumped out of her seat to run toward Vinyl. The mosh had been blown onto their backs by a sudden blast of bass, and Vinyl seized the opportunity to leap over them and zero in on her mare. They had been moments away from contact, when one sound managed to make itself heard over the thunder of Hurricane's Demise; the shattering of glass underhoof.

A hoof laid wrong, too concerned with moving from A to B to actually consider the possibility of obstacles. A hoof that withdrew from the earth as quickly as it had come down, and a mare's face changing from animalistic elation to overwhelming regret in the space of an instant. To a groupie like her, stepping on Vinyl's shades must have felt tantamount to spitting in the face of a god. The tears welled up in her eyes, and a thousand stories of fans gone off the deep end had come springing into the forefront of Vinyl's memory. If she knew anything in that moment, she knew that she wasn't going to let that happen to one of hers.

Before the grey mare had a chance to even attempt an apology, she had found her lips clamped shut, then shortly after probed open. A hurried ceding of the turntables later, and the two mares were racing each other to whoever's hotel room had been closest.

It had been a good night. A reminder that it wasn't just the image that made DJ PON-3 such a powerful symbol, but the actions behind that image, and the kindness of the pony who wore that mask. And it had been nice to wake up next to somepony for once.

Sometimes, Vinyl wondered what her life might have been like if she'd ever asked for that mare's name. If the two of them had ever been anything more than the other's brief fling, she a star in the grey mare's eye and the mare a fleeting warmth pressed close against her chest. Would the mare have turned out to be a gifted musician, the perfect partner for a duet tour? Or would they have found themselves at odds with each other, struggling for creative control? Would Vinyl have settled down rather than lose the mare, or would they have split because she couldn't let go of fame?

She liked to think it would have turned out alright.

Comments

[Nodqfan]

I have seen many stories where Vinyl meets Octavia, and I have to say yours is one of the best. The level of detail is incredible and fluid, great work!

[Golden Rule]

Yay! another KingMoriarty story! It's like the perfect way to start my day.

[Ice Star]

I loved how fluid the details were - it helped everything flow so naturally!

[FanOfMostEverything]

Huh. Definitely an interesting flashback, and I love the broken glasses as a tool of introspection despite the bacchanalia that Vinyl associates with them. Not really sure what to make of this one, though. I guess the impact doesn't quite land. Maybe if we saw more of Vinyl's life without the mare that got away. Still, thanks for the story.

[QueenMoriarty]

7830658 If it helps, it really isn't meant for impact.

[The Narwhal Assassin]

[The Loyal worker]

Why must you make me feel? I'm not complaining, but still.

[Kryssi]

Neat. The narrative style was superb as usual, and as the people above me have said, it flows very well.

[ThisIsMyFateNow]

The first thing that stands out to me about this story, are your beautiful descriptions. From the garish colors that render her invisible to the frantic clawing between the two mares, you paint an amazing picture. What could have been leaves us wondering what's going on with the other mare. Additionally, I love how Vinyl takes a moment to unwind and it's a side of her we rarely see. A brilliant and well written piece and one of my favorite Vinyl Scratch pieces.

[Lucky Star 33094]

I like the way you describe the scenes. Very pretty. Though I'm not sure how I feel. So this is a world where her and Octavia never got together and instead just had a one night stand? Or was the grey mare not meant to be Octavia.

Have an upvote anyways.

[QueenMoriarty]

8118519 Well, the grey mare is deliberately left vague in case the reader wants to ship Vinyl and Marble Pie.

But as for author's intent, it was mostly written to be a slice from their past. I debated having a final bit at the end where it's revealed they eventually hooked up, but I felt it worked better as is.

[Lucky Star 33094]

8118528 I haven't really come across that particular ship yet. To be honest, the only time I've seen a Vinyl ship fic without Octavia being the love interest while at the same the having a good story was See White.

Personally, I like the idea if changing things up with them like that. There are a lot of alternative universes for fics to live. Not all of them can turn out the exact same way.

So I really do understand.

Also, props, I don't think I would have been able to resist at least adding a scene where she bumps into the grey mare... Or! The thought just crossed my mind. What if Vinyl likes to daydream about what a life might have been like with the grey mare and those day dreams are every Vinyl and Octavia fic ever? It's probably a little crazy. But that might have been interesting. Maybe.

[Admiral Biscuit]

8118528
Ooh, vinyl and marble would be an interesting ship.

[FamousLastWords]

She had been playing one of her most intense numbers, while at the same time moshing with her fans down below the turntables, a luxury of audience participation reserved for unicorn DJs.

I really like this image. I was at a metal concert a ways back to see my namesake band, and as usual it opened with a few local acts. Of course, the audience was a bit dead for the most part because local support doesn't always get the reactions that bigger bands do. But, during a particularly well set-up beatdown, the vocalist leapt off the stage and started a moshpit himself that I happily joined in. So much fun.

 the actions behind that image

An ever important distinction.

I really liked this piece. So simple yet so thoughtful. Not necessarily something of grandiose nature or that will leave a huge impact, but that didn't seem to be the point. I like that you took something simple and wove a heartfelt backstory to it. Very few people take that level of creative liberty with things like this.

Now, as far as negativity goes, I feel like so much emotion and nonsense goes on at concerts that it'd be hard to remember a small encounter like this. Granted, the glasses do provide a nice rememberance to it, but something just felt a bit off about her infatuation of the situation.

However, the details were fantastic. Like, simple lines about the yellowing grass. Also, I got a good chuckle out of the part about her sweater being a fashion nightmare. I loved that bit.

Great work, Mori.

[dashie76]

Oooh, this is a good one. Short and sweet. The fic doesn't overscope itself. It's 1,139 words, and it knows it, refusing to try anything grandiose or over the top. Vinyl feels well defined as a character, and the fic itself feels like it has a good throughline. Opens up with Vinyl feeling contemplative in the woods, the middle of the story is a contemplative flashback, and the ending has her literally contemplate her past and what her future could have been. Such consistency of voice is indicative of a focused writer. Great job! I quite enjoyed this one.

[QueenMoriarty]

8697780
Thank you for the impeccably structured comment!

[dashie76]

8697833
Ahhhh thank you! I tried to give you a helpful critique. Good luck writing in the future!