The day passed in a breeze for Luna. Her students knew what they were doing, and even if every class turned out to have a test in it, she didn't let the groans of each bring her down. By the time the last bell rang she had put together her notes for a new music class for the new year, and had spent some time jotting down her ideas for the song that wouldn't leave her alone.
With the thunder of students leaving the classroom a memory, she heard a voice clear just before the desk she sat at. Looking up, Luna spotted Vinyl Scratch bobbing her head to an unheard—by Luna, she was sure Vinyl could hear it—beat. "Oh right, new equipment!"
"Y-Yeah." Vinyl plucked one earbud from her ear, then the other. "I know a store that has what you want. I work there." She worked, so Vinyl thought, in heaven. All weekend she would spend there, talking to customers about music and instruments.
Luna smiled at the girl. "Let me just return all these papers and we can go. Meet me in the car park in a few minutes?" When Vinyl nodded to her, Luna practically danced her way from the classroom. The hall still had students in it, but they were rapidly thinning out. Dropping the papers off in Mrs. Harshwhinny's desk, Luna made quick work of the distance to the parking lot.
Vinyl watched the Vice-Principal of CHS advance on her, and unlike usual she wasn't worried she was about to lose her headphones again. "They close in two hours." Despite wanting to stand and talk over music, she knew they had a mission. Besides, once they were at the music store she could chat as much as she wanted.
In her own car, Luna followed Vinyl's white car across town to the music store. She pulled up behind the girl and climbed out. The Vinyl Scratch that left her car was not the same one that had climbed in. Looking like she owned the whole world, Vinyl gestured to Luna as if dancing, and practically flowed into the establishment. "Wow…"
Pulling her earbuds out again, Vinyl breathed in the smell of nearly two dozen guitars, five drum kits, six keyboards, and a veritable orchestra of brass instruments. It wasn't home. It was better than home. "So Ms L, what can I help you with?"
Luna almost jumped back at the change in the normally quiet and withdrawn student. "I have a keyboard, but I think I might need something new. Uh, I used to use an old D-Sixty-Four for sampling, I guess I need something to replace that. Can we start there?"
"You mentioned a Boog, did you want to go with another of those, or switch to a Samaha?" Vinyl bounced along, leading the way to where their keyboards were. There was something amazing about what she was selling Luna, and what the woman ended up buying: it was the same setup Vinyl had herself.
The shopping trip, however, was at its end with Luna loading a big box, and a pile of little ones, into her small car. Vinyl looked at all the gear, and in her element she could pick up a dissonance in Luna. "Hey. Do you need someone to show you how to cable up? I mean, I know you will get the hang of it, but the first time—"
"That would be great!" Luna had already been dreading the task, but if there was a single job she would have to trust Vinyl Scratch on, it was wiring up music equipment. "What do you like for dinner? I'll order some stuff delivered."
"Noodles sound good." Vinyl managed to keep her excitement going purely on the promise of being able to assemble all the awesome gear Luna had purchased. Climbing into her car, she followed Luna all the way back to her home.
Luna tingled all the way home, and even as she lifted the heaviest box from her car, she still felt excitement. Vinyl was quiet, but there was an energy to her every movement that Luna didn't feel a need to interrupt.
The assembly of the gear was fairly straightforward, although Luna realized quickly that it was only thanks to Vinyl's expertise. She was just putting the gear through a test when Luna noticed Vinyl looking through her record collection. "I have CDs in my car, of course, but I love the sound that vinyl adds."
Vinyl rolled her eyes and reached for the end of the row, and pulled out an artist she recognized. "You're a fan of Nightmare Moon? The way they wove samples and distortion was amazing." Carefully lifting the record free, she noticed something she wasn't prepared for. "This is a studio pressing!"
Blushing a little, Luna flicked the keyboard to a standard piano, and played the intro to her most famous song. She closed her eyes, playing the complex tune from memory. She stopped the moment Vinyl gasped.
Recognizing the song, Vinyl Scratch couldn't help naming it. "Sister Falling!" Vinyl Scratch's eyes were wide, and she stared at Luna in complete brain-freeze shock. Facts came together. Vinyl recalled all she could of Nightmare Moon, and the artist's quick rise and sudden disappearance. With a fluttering heart, she carefully set the irreplaceable record back in its cover and struck a pose—pointing at Luna. "You're Nightmare Moon!"
Instead of replying with words, Luna set her hands to dancing on the keyboard. The tune she had been wrestling with the whole day poured from her. It sounded melodic, light, but it really wasn't. Closing her eyes, Luna gestured at the guitar in the corner.
Vinyl's eyes were wide, and she trembled for nearly three seconds. The rhythm set every nerve ending on fire. When she turned her head to see the guitar, she almost flew over to it. The instrument was a little big for her, but she settled the weight of the strap over her shoulder, grabbed a spare mic lead, and plugged in.
When Luna began the next chorus, she faded in the guitar and worked the keyboard's controls like it were an extension of her body. Sweet backing rhythm poured from six strings, and as it played she tweaked the profile, causing it to distort a little on the lower chords.
Another verse began, and Vinyl left off the main rhythm. She needed more excitement, this was a story to be told. Each trickling note from the keyboard rang to her, and she let Luna play two bars of the chorus before she began an accompanying riff.
A rapport built between the two artists, and the more guitar that Vinyl played, the more Luna sampled it and started building a profile for the sampler. Starting the song over, she pointed to the mixer on the deck beside her, and nodded to Vinyl.
Vinyl's own guitar, in rough, noisy samples, rang to her as Luna took over the sample pad. She walked over to the keyboard and turned the feedback on her guitar up a little. Her hands came down, now creating the lead rhythm.
Luna was startled at the guitar line Vinyl played, and wove the noisy backing around it. The song now had three full guitar lines to it.
Only a loud knocking on the front door pulled the pair away from the instruments, right as they were about to start the third play-through. "I'll get it." As Luna got up, she noticed Vinyl looking at her a little funny. She ignored it and raced to the door.
Watching Luna return, Vinyl wore the biggest grin she had ever had. Luna, Vice-Principal of CHS, Nightmare Moon when she was making music, had a pair of deep blue pony ears on the top of her head, and a gorgeous pair of cobalt wings poking from her back. "You might want to check a mirror."