The next day my ‘caretaker’ had the idea, forced on her via Twilight, to cook breakfast…
I stared at my plate, the somehow burnt orange juice and burnt LIQUID toast. “How?” I say, no other words coming to mind.
“Least I didn’t start a fire like Rarity’s sister does when she cooks.” Rainbow retorted. She took a sip of her ‘toast’ and ran right towards the sink. “Alright, I really don’t know how to cook.”
“That’s a bit of an understatement.”
“Well the only place to get breakfast this early is Sugar Cube Corner, and they’re not finished baking the morning stock yet.” She said as she spit out some water she used to rinse her mouth out.
“Then don’t you have any leftovers?”
She walked over to the fridge, which, cause logic, was made from clouds, and opened it. “Uh… I got some day old half eaten cupcake, a few apples, and some cold hay fries.”
“I’ll take an apple.” The tosses it over to me and I took a bit. It was still fresh, but it was starting to go bad. “You eat out most of the time, huh?”
“Yeah. I’m either at work, practicing for the Wonderbolts, or with the girls… I’m actually not home much.” She replied, eating the half cupcake.
I finished off the apple and managed to toss the pit into the trash. I got really good at using my mouth like a pony fast. “Well, I’m guessing payday isn’t here yet?”
“End of the week…”
“Figures, and let me guess, nothing saved?”
“No…”
I sighed. I may have been rich, but economics and math were my best subjects, I learned how to save early on just in case, I even kept a few grand in cash in my room just in case. “Well, I guess I can get a job.”
“Hey, I’m supposed to take care of you.”
“You really want to start that argument? You don’t even have the cash nor food to support yourself at the moment. If I get a job, that’s extra money for necessities.”
“But I’m in charge of you. Isn’t the guardian supposed to take care of the minor?”
“Yes, but lots of teenagers get part-time jobs. And physically I’m your age, so what’s the harm in me getting some work?”
Rainbow was thinking it over. The main reason I wanted a job was because I always wondered what working was like. The second is that Sandra managed to teach me how to cook, simple things, but it’s better than the godless burnt ‘meal’ she made. “Fine.” She agreed. “But part time only.”
“Yes ma'am.”
I few out the door and into town. Now then, looking for a job back home required a resume, usually online from what Sandra and the internet told me, so how does getting hired in pony world work? I’m guessing look for a sign. As I few around several ponies waved at me, likely mistaking me for Rainbow… should really dye my main color. After a bit I found a large building, no windows and one large neon sign saying “The Bass Drop.”
There was a help wanted sign on the door, I took it and upon opening the door my ears were blasted by music so loud, my speakers back home would never have been able to handle that… I found heaven.
I rushed in and saw a small bar in the corner, a large dance floor with couches and such scattered around, and a D.J table on a small stage blasting away… only there were no ponies here… This is a club, aren’t these normally packed? The music was dubstep, the D.J a mare with wild blue neon mane and tail, white fur and purple glasses. The barkeep was also a mare, brown fur and darker brown mane and tail. I walked over to her. “Um, I’m here about the help wanted ad?” I asked.
As she looked me over I saw her cutie mark, a heart and a bottle? Not what I expected of a barkeep. “Well, and here I thought the rumor was a lie.”
“Rumor?”
“About the second Rainbow Dash, you supposedly popped up when Discord was out and about.” She clarified.
“Oh, yeah, call me Donovin or Sound Dash.”
“Alright then, Donovin, well as you can tell this place is starting a new open day schedule and not many ponies are interested.”
“Any reason why?”
“It’s the music, nowadays dubstep has taken a backseat to songs with lyrics. We were hoping for somepony to sing and help make songs.”
Sing? … Never tried in this body with this voice, did a lot back when I was human. As for songs… Well, not earth, so the songs I know won’t get me a copyright… right? God I can just feel the record companies calling their lawyers. “Well I can try.”
“Good. Yo Vinyl! New girls trying out!” She called out to the D.J. SHe was a unicorn, so she levitated a microphone up to me and a few discs to look though. “They’re all instrumental, so make up some lyrics.”
There were four in total. The first, Dead Road, second, Electric, third was named Dreams, and fourth was called Lost. “Can I hear them first?”
“Sure.” The barkeep said as Vinyl played one. After they were done, I knew someone up there must like me, cause Dead Road, wa the exact instrumental to Day of The Dead, by Hollywood Undead.
“Play Dead Road.” I said, as Vinyl put Dead Road back in. Huh, wonder… Avoid interdimensional copyright, or make a cover? Original lyrics now, cover later. The second the music started, I recited the lyrics by heart... and didn't sound half bad. When it was over, both the barkeep and Vinyl were staring at me. “Uhh… I got issues?”
“That was good, dark, but really, really good. You got the job.”
“Really? That was easy.”
“Write a cleaner version for the lunch rush, you got three lots of time.”
“Sweet.”
“Oh, and, well, you know Vinyl’s name already.” She said as Vinyl waved at me. “She can’t talk, and just call me mom, literally everypony does.”
We…. she does look like a mom, especially with that cutie mark. “Alright, so should I look for a pen and paper or?”
“I’ll get them.”
Hours passed and the lunch rush started. I wrote my cover of Day of The Dead, I called Day of The Lost… I wasn’t kidding about the issues thing. The club wasn't full, but a fair amount of ponies were here. I got up onstage and gave a gulp. Welp, like Sandra said, you only live once.
I sang out a clean version of the song, basically just took out and swears, and since I couldn’t come up with the rest of the lines, we had the song edited and made short, the crowed just stared at me… then cheered. I… I did good?
The few hours before my shift ended was mostly encores and ponies talking to me, saying I have a good voice, and a few stallions, and mares, asking for a date. I rejected all of them. Finally my shift ended and ‘Mom’ called me over to the bar. “Donovin, you might have saved this club.” She said.
“If you say so, personally I think I was just really lucky.”
“Well stay lucky.” She said as she placed a small pouch on the counter. “Little early payment. Just to say thanks.”
“Thanks, now I won’t have to worry about food.”
She looked surprised at that. “Aren’t you living with Rainbow Dash?”
“Yeah, but she can’t cook to save her life, and she was low on food.”
“Oh, well the rest of your pay is at the end of the week, see you tomorrow?”
“Sure, this was fun.”
The market was closed to I headed into this place called Barnyard Bargains, I had fifty… bits they called it, if memory serves me right, and grabbed a cart and started shopping. First off was milk, four bits four a gallon, eggs, twelve for two bits, bread, two loaves for eight bits, peanut butter and jelly, a bit each, some kinda smoked packadged flowers that I think are supposed to be like ham or bologna back on earth, ten bits, a bag of ten apples, mixed, seven bits, and some waffle mix ready to make, five bits, and lastly a box of cereal, also five bits. I was left with seven bits extra.
As I was walking home I spotted Sugar Cube Corner and figured I could get something to avoid Dash’s cooking. I walked in and asked for four cupcakes to go. Six bits I payed and my last bit went into the tip jar. With all the stuff it was hard to fly up to the house, but I managed and put the stuff away.
I ate my two cupcakes and put Dash’s in the fridge til she came home. “Wonder when she’ll get home?” I wonder as I picked up one of her Daring Doo books and opened it. Wow… this really is an Indiana Jones rip off, but with more magic and less logic.
The book was rather quick to the point and to be honest, the ‘traitor’ of her original group was pretty clear from the beginning, and the end of the book just said what I already knew. I closed it and put it back. Man, that was all description and no character development, just find the thing, get thing taken from me, escape deadly trap for five chapters, get thing back and have bad guy get punished comically in the end.
Maybe I can see if Twilight has more… above third grade level books… then again, she recommended to Rainbow Dash if memory serves me right… if all books in this world are third grade level I’m writing my own stuff… and it will be violent and gory if GTA V, Call of Duty, every zombie game ever and any T rated game and up have taught me anything… it’s that violence and a good story can co-exist in a story.
As I was thinking of my own story to write if Equestrian literature was nothing but an elementary school library when Rainbow Came home. “I’m back Sound, you miss me?” She asked with inflated feness.
“It was quiet that’s for sure.” I reply.
“So what you do while I was gone?” She asked, flying next to me.
“Got a job, got some money, bought some needed things, read and disliked Daring Doo, then kinda did nothing till you showed up.”
Rainbow just stared at me. “You… got a job?”
“Yeah.”
“Got paid early…”
“Part of my paycheck, spent it all on the groceries.”
“Got groceries…”
“I just said that.”
“And you don’t like Daring Doo?!”
“Story was… bland and nothing more than descriptions of what she was doing, so much crap could have been taken out! I mean, seriously, who writes the exact way and method of how she used a torn parachute and made a tent and later a boat with it? Those took almost the whole chapters.”
“She is still awesome.” Rainbow grunted.
“Well if that’s all we’re gonna talk today I’m going to bed, two cupcakes in the fridge for ya, night.” I flew upstairs before she could say anything else, dropping on the bed and getting relaxed. So this is what it feels like to be the grown up in the room… so far, my new life here is not what most fanifcs wrote about.