//------------------------------// // Jumpstart // Story: The Life and Death of a DJ // by Syn3rgy //------------------------------// Awoken by a shaft of brilliant morning light, I opened my eyes. Almost immediately the events of the night prior flooded back to me; both as a glorious memory and a sore back. Rolling over I bumped into somepony else. Dawnfire, tucked comfortably between the downy swaths of bed sheet, stirred but did not awaken. Smiling happily, I parted the covers and swung out of bed, stretching till I heard a few muted cracks. With another yawn I stumbled out of the room and into the kitchen. Ugh, my head was killing me! After three hit-and-miss cupboards, I opened the right one and pulled out a cup. Cantering over to the nearby sink, I clicked the tap on and filled it. “Bout’ time you got up!” A soft voice, laden with the last traces of fatigue, had come to me. Stopping the flow of water and bringing my cup over to the table, I sat down beside Balefire. He turned and nodded. “Morning sleepyfilly!” he mused. “I find it funny that I’m as tired as you are. I drank the least and went to bed the earliest… or tried at least. The noises you and Dawn were making last night were rather… raucous. Do you remember much?” I blushed deeply before answering. “I remember some. I’m sorry if we kept you up.” Bale diffused my worrying with a modest wave of his hoof. “It’s not a problem. I’ll let it go this time. Lets call it your 'initiation'.” He gave a sly smile. “Or maybe it was Dawn's! It looked like you were the one in control when I last saw the two of you.” I snickered. “What goes on behind closed doors, stays there! I’m keeping my lips sealed.” “Agreed.” Warm silence sprung up between the two of us; one where I took a few gulps of water, and Bale picked up a pad and pencil in his field of magic. Seeing the writing utensil, I screwed my face up as a question came to me. “What you got there?” “Sorry?” Bale turned to look at me again. “The pad and pencil, what are you writing down? “Nothing really. Not yet at least. I’m brainstorming.” “Brainstorming?” I asked. “Ya, band name ideas. You got any off the top of your horn?” “Hmm.” I paused momentarily. “How about the Three Musketeers?” “I’ll write that down… oh, I’ve got one! How about UP-3” As he spoke, he scribbled the name on his notepad. “What does it stand for?” “Us ponies three,” he said pointedly. “That’s a good idea!” Fueled by unbridled excitement I leaned in closer to get a better look at the word. Balefire gagged. Surprised, I fell back onto my chair. “What?” “Sorry to tell you, Vinyl, but you stink.” “Really?” I brought my nose down to sniff my cote. The off scents of alcohol, rut, and sweat had combined together, creating a disgusting perfume. Now it was my turn to gag. For the second time that morning, I went crimson. “Damn, Bale, you’re right. Might I take a shower?” “Yes. You can definitely take a shower. It’s just down the hall and on the right... use whatever towel you'd like. “Thanks, I’ll be back in a bit.” Getting up I finished my water in one gulp and headed down the hall to the washroom, brushing by Bale on my way out. The softly diffusing glow that emanated from the candles carved Dawnfires features, outlining his square muzzle, his perked silver ears, and his idle wings. However, the center point in which my gaze kept straying back to, was his pure silver eyes. They glowed like miniature moons, and were framed perfectly by his black facial fur. “So this is our first official date then, right?” He looked around with a playful smile before turning back to gaze at me kindly. “And how the hay did we end up here? All this classiness sure as heck is not ma’ forte. I look ok though, right?” I hoofed him lightly on the shoulder and laughed. “You look fine, Dawn. How do I look?” “Vibrant. Like the sun.” “That’s corny.” “I thought all the fanciness here was getting’ to ma’ head.” “Clearly, I’m not the fancy type either,” I replied, fighting off a fit of giggles. "So that makes the two of us, eh? “Indeed it does filly. I’ll give ma' brother his peace though. He told me to come here with ya, so I did.” “And you listened to him?” I poked. Dawnfire shrugged. “He just wants what’s best for me, I think. Did he tell ya that story about our father?” Suddenly solemn, I nodded my confirmation. “I thought he would have. Ever since dad died, well, I guess I’ve been down in the dumps.” A shadow crossed over his face; one that sent fireworks off in my brain. “You look hurt, Dawn. If you asked me, I’d say you should use your father's memory to drive you forwards, not keep you back.” “I have.” I wasn't sure if he was agreeing to the former or the latter. What I did know however was that he was holding something back. I shook my head, breaking out into a grin. In a flash, Dawn was smiling with me. “Why you smilin’?” “Because I want to. Because we should be doing more of this, and less of what just went down. Because we both have so much to live for!” “Ya, ya, I guess you’re right. So, what we orderin’?” It was clear to me that he was consciously trying to change the subject. “Let’s look at the menu.” “M’kay.” A silence fell between the two of us as we scrolled over the options. After a bit, I had decided: “I think I’m going to have the salade de pissenlits.” “Ya want to piss in what now?” Dawn exclaimed jokingly. “Dawn! Geez, don’t make fun of my French!” “Sorry filly, the opportunity arose. I had to take it.” “Well then mister, what are you going to order?” “Salade de Foin.” “Sounds like groin salad to me.” This is the moment I have always dreamed of. Along with Dawn and Bale, I gazed at the assembled audience that pooled around our hooves on the floor below the stage. Looking back at me and his brother, Dawnfire walked to the center and tapped the microphone with his hooves. The rowdy bar audience quieted down a bit. “Evenin’ everypony! Buckle down because we’re about ta’ start! However I think an introduction is needed. To my left is Balefire, rippin’ it out on the guitar.” On cue, Balefire played a quick sample, levitating the guitar pick into the air and playing a heart stopping rip-roar. “To my right we have Vinyl Scratch, a busker from Fourhoof park!” A few cheers from the audience as I was recognized. “This filly is bringin’ it to ya hard… on the drums!” It was my time to shine now. Improving as I went, I blasted the audience with a quick beat that got them cheering before I even finished (when I did finished, they cheered all the louder). As the crowd settled, Dawnfire wrapped up his intro. “And I am Dawnfire! Bringin’ this divinity to all your eardrums. Together. We. Are. Up-3!" Without another moment of hesitation I, cued by a glance from Dawn, began to play. Small red sparks flew from my drumsticks, glowing softly before fading into the air. Down below, a rear hoof began to strike the hoof-peddle, establishing a steady beat and cuing Balefire to start his part. As the first screeching notes came through the amp, a flurry of color rushed out- smashing into my sparks - igniting in a vibrant aura. If I was amazed then, once Dawnfire began to sing, my head exploded. His voice was what I could only call sunlight. It was pure, refreshing, and vibrant, so vibrant. A steady stream of fiery yellow shot out of his mic, colliding into the wall of color that had already been established between Bale and I. This new element tore apart the sheet, sending it shooting across the audience. I bet that if I hadn’t been controlled by my auto drive, I would have stopped playing then and there to gawk. The audience had different reactions in mind, however. Throughout the duration of the ten song gig they cheered madly, surprised more than anything that such a beginner band could play so well. They danced, they tried to sing along, and when we had finished, they clippity-clopped enthusiastically. The ambiance of so meany cheering ponies was brilliant, and powerful. Smiling ecstatically, Balefire descended into the rallied audience; tip jar hovering in a field of unicorn magic. It rained bits. *** With the concert over, the majority of the crowd had left, leaving behind a few plastered ponies, and three very exhausted ones. With the adrenalin of performing fading, I found herself struggling to remain upright. As we packed up to leave, the bar owner approached us, taking the time to hoof bump each of us wholeheartedly. “You guys made the night... by Celestias beard you were phenomenal! Now I don’t know anything about future venues you’re going to be at, but if you’d like, I’d love to have you here in the Drinking Trough at least once a month.” I knew Balefire was the brains behind the operations, so I promptly stepped down with Dawnfire to allow the well spoken unicorn the time he needed with the owner to make plans. Turning to Dawn, I smiled. “So, is this what you expected?” Dawnfire shook his head incredulously. “Nope. This was far beyond what I expected. How about you?” “Same here. I never thought we sounded this good, but clearly, we do.” I paused reflectively for a moment. “I wonder what the future is going to bring if we keep up the talent.” Dawnfire turned and gave me that winning grin of his. “Let’s dream big! I think we’re goin' ta' become famous- like world famous!” I returned the look. Sure, I was game. “Well, I think we’ll become rich. So rich in fact that we could buy a beach side home in the tropics, and have serving ponies, and golden bed sheets!” Dawn chuckled. “Not only golden bed sheets filly, hay, with the amount of money we’ll make, we could get gold trimmin’ on our napkins!” The two of us broke out into a fit of laughter, one that reverberated joyously as it rose to dance in the rafters. The night had been a great, great success. I had been right to accept the offer. This really was a new chapter in my life, and I never wanted it to end.