Chapter 1 - Oil and Water
Chapter 1 - Oil and Water
Vinyl Scratch's life was awesome. She had a cool night (and sometimes day) job playing DJ in and around Ponyville, had a nice loft of an apartment, and best of all she had the most bitchin' shades ever that outshined all the rest with their bitchinness. Though she had only moved to the small town a month ago, she was already becoming insanely popular, and one of her biggest fans was a certain pink pony who worked at Sugarcube Corner, the storehouse of her favorite brand of muffins.
"Oh my gosh Vinyl that final song you played at my last party was the BOMB!" Pinkie Pie beamed from behind the store's counter, bouncing slightly at that.
Vinyl put on a prideful grin. She loved DJing at parties; taking requests, analyzing the mood to see just what song should be played at what time was, but what she loved most of all was composing and remixing. She'd sit in her work room for hours on end with her guitar and state-of-the-art magic-powered synthesizer making killer jams and beats. It was her hobby and passion, and the only thing that was sweeter than actually doing it was hearing positive feedback about it, silencing whatever self-doubts bugged her when she was in the zone.
"If you think that was good, Pinkie, you're gonna dig what I'm coming up with now!" Vinyl boasted.
"Oooh! That's perfect!" the Pink pony shouted, procuring Vinyl's order while she did so. "I'm having another super-awesome party at the community center tomorrow. Can you please please please please please DJ for me again?! I'll pay you whatever you want!"
Vinyl threw a dismissive hoof at that before grabbing her muffin. "Normal rate's fine Pinkie, you know I love what I do."
Pinkie Pie's smile grew was so wide it could kick sorrow itself in the nuts. It sort of creeped Vinyl out a bit, actually. She was good, but she wasn't that good. Then again, the pink mare could get pretty excitable about anything.
"That's totally, totally awesome!" She then went into the back room for a tick before returning with a party invitation with various pieces of information on it. "Party starts at nine when the moon hits the sky!"
"Great," Vinyl said, nodding. "Is it good if I come a half an hour earlier than last time to set up my stuff?"
"Okie dokie Vinyl lokie!" Pinkie beamed. "I'll actually be there like two hours early so come whenever you want."
"Excellent," Vinyl said with a slight smile. "I'll see you then, gotta keep workin' on my new jam. Should turn out pretty damned awesome at the rate I'm going."
"Uggggh," Vinyl groaned inwardly, again pressing the erase button to delete a track to her newest song. "This is going to suck at the rate I'm going... why can't I think of anything cool?"
She furrowed her brow and sighed before switching the guitar she held off. "How did I come up with such cool stuff before? Was I on drugs or something...?" She paused her thought, an embarrassed smile coming upon her face. "Ehehe, not going to try that crap again." It soon returned to its gloomy state. "Mmmm... the other time I wrote something cool I was totally pumped up after listening to that old AM/DM album. Maybe I should-" She then grinned, turning towards her record player and its built in amp. "I just need to pump myself up is all!"
With that, she flipped a few switches at the record player's console, charged its up with her horn's magic, and soon it was twirling a disk. A second later the speakers blared to life, blasting silently the beginning of one of the greatest guitar riffs to ever grace Equestria. However, Vinyl wasn't satisfied with just this.
"Louder!" She demanded, her eyes widening as a comedic, maniacal grin crossed her face. At that, she tugged one of the volume bars, the music doing as she commanded.
Vinyl still grunted at this, though.
"Louder!!!" she repeated, as if she were a mad scientist creating some sort of horrible musical monstrosity. She soon forced the poor speaker to comply, despite the fact the woobie of a device was about to reach its threshold. Luckily for it though, a satisfying look was growing on Vinyl's face as the various trinkets in her work room began to vibrate.
"YEEEEEEEEEEES!"
She then hopped back over to her guitar before charging it and its amp's built in mana batteries before cranking it up to full volume and playing along with one of her idols.
"THUNDER! Nananana-nanana-nana," she sang gleefully. "THUNDER! Nananana-nanana-nana."
In her own apartment across from Vinyl's, Octavia's concentration was utterly ruined when her walls began to vibrate while the sound of two wailing guitars filled her own work study. Her eye twitched as she lay down her cello's bow next to a music stand with half-written sheet music upon it, obviously of her own creation.
She tried to keep herself calm at this. After all, the DJ pony would have to realize her own hearing was at stake if she continued to blast music so loudly for long.
Her eyes then widened in realization. It was then she remembered who the DJ pony was, and that there was no escape from AM/DM for her. Lord Celestia, she wasn't going to get anything done at this rate!
"VINYL SCRATCH!"
"I was cauuuuught.... in the middle of a railroard track!" Vinyl sang, the sound of AM/DM's own singer far overtaking her. "I looked round..... and I knew there was no turning back!"
Vinyl twirled about before leaping atop of the room’s solitary wooden chair and doing a pose, playing all the way. "My mind raced... and I thought what could I do!?" She then leapt off her chair while slinging the guitar around her with her magic, somehow still playing it with it at the same time. "And I knew... there was no help, no help from-"
"ACK!" Vinyl screeched as she landed on one hoof unsteadily on an empty doughnut box before slipping and crashing to the ground on her side, a slight pain shooting through her hip. Her concentration on keeping the guitar levitated was broken, it landing beside her on her base with a thud before toppling over and crashing down with a hideous TWANG of her strings.
"Uggggh..." she groaned, groggily rising back to her hooves. It was then she heard four loud, furious thuds on her front door, them actually being able to drown out the music.
"Uh oh."
With that, she went over to turn off her record player before checking to make sure her guitar was still working by playing a power chord. She smiled in satisfaction when it thundered out of her amp before she realized she still had to answer the door, a look of dread crossing her face.
She sat down her guitar before making her way to it, all the while preparing for a scolding from a certain classical cello player. "Damnit, why do I keep forgetting I have neighbors?"
Sure enough, there she was when she opened the door, her closest neighbor, and she did not look amused. Vinyl simpered at this.
"Vinyl, what in the world were you playing a second ago?" Octavia asked in an annoyed tone.
Vinyl sighed. "Sorry Octavia, I'll try to keep it down. I just keep getting so caught up in writing I well... you know."
Octavia's look of annoyance seemed to dissolve slightly at that, a slight smile coming across her face. "It's alright, but please... please try to do that. I'm trying to compose myself and cellos can’t really be amplified that easily, unfortunately."
Vinyl quirked her head with a slight smile. "You compose? That's so awesome! I thought you just played and stuff."
Octavia sighed at that, turning away from the DJ pony. "Well, I'm... giving my hoof at it... and I was doing pretty good but... well... I seem to be a bit stuck." She said the last bit with a hint of embarrassment.
"It's just writer's block!" Vinyl beamed. "It happens to me all the time, like right now actually. It's why I was listening to AM/DM a second ago. You know, for inspiration."
Octavia quirked an eyebrow. "AM.... what?"
"AM/DM! Some of the best old school metal there is."
"Oh, I see." She threw on a quick smirk. "I will say... it sounds pretty intense."
"Haha! Yeah. The song's called Thunderstruck and it is so the shit!" Vinyl's eyes then widened at an idea. If she had fingers, she'd be snapping them. "Yo! I've got it!"
"What's that?" Octavia said.
"Why don't me and you try writing together?! Maybe we can build off each other's energy and... I dunno, make something awesome!"
Octavia threw on a skeptical look. "I appreciate the offer, Vinyl... but I'm not sure if we can mix hard rock and classical together."
"It doesn't have to be hard rock and classical," Vinyl said.
Octavia gazed at her curiously. "Then what else could it be?"
"Dubstep and classical!" Vinyl announced triumphantly, grinning while holding up an epic hoof in the air.
Octavia merely stared at her blankly.
"I'm not sure that will work either... those genres are just too different."
Vinyl put on a disappointed frown. "Daw... welll... anyway, what are you doing tonight?"
"Oh, I was just going to keep trying to compose," she said. "Why?"
"Well uh.. Pinkie's holding a party at the community center." She then grinned slightly. "I'm gonna be DJing! Wanna stop by? Getting your mind off composing for a little while might help, and plus you might just get into the wicked awesomeness that is dubstep!"
Octavia chuckled slightly at that. "Maybe.... I guess I could stand to take a break for a bit... as long as I can resist the temptation to try Pinkie's 'special brew' this time."
Vinyl laughed at that. "Yeah, don't count on it. That stuff's the bomb!"
"Oh believe me, I'm the last person you need to tell that. I've never taken so much aspirin before. Still, that party was somewhat to my tastes. Very civil for having a bit of alcohol."
Both chuckled at that, though an awkward silence soon followed.
"So uh... see you there?"
Octavia continued to stand silently for a second before putting on a slight smile. "Sure, why not?” Octavia said, before turning back towards her apartment's door across the hall. “See you there!"
Vinyl grinned wickedly. A poor innocent soul just ready to be corrupted by dubstep now awaited her.
"Buahahahahaha.....
A few seconds passed before Vinyl turned back towards her apartment. Despite her 'true' evil intentions for inviting Octavia, though, the musical mare couldn't help but feel something rising inside her slightly at the thought of hanging out with the classical musician, something that hadn't risen in a long time. It was a fluttery warmth that flowed from her stomach all the way up to her chest.
Vinyl paused, thinking for a second, the memory of Octavia trotting away a second ago flashing in her mind. She moved so gracefully, with such precision and practice.... it was so intriguing to a mare who lived like a Free Bird. Despite this though, Vinyl still had places to see, and she wasn't a bird that could ever change.
She sighed. "Celestia knows I am to blame."
With a slight grunt, she then shrugged.
Meh, the feeling was probably just indigestion anyway