Electro Swing

by Rego


Chapter 31: Contrepoint Rigoureux

It was halfway through the Performer Showcases and the night had gone perfectly. As one of the more senior members of the ESPA, Vinyl was keeping herself busy and helping wherever she could. It mostly boiled down to following whatever orders Octavia or another organizer barked at her, but she didn’t mind. Anything to keep her thoughts occupied.

She’d practiced as much as she could. Fleur had assured her that even if she messed up, nopony would notice. Part of the charm of live performances was the organic feeling it had, which meant It didn’t have to be flawless like a studio recording. Still, all of those assurances didn’t help her fraying nerves. Vinyl wanted to come out swinging. Not just for the genre’s namesake, but the performance. It was DJ Pon-3’s big comeback, and she wanted to show everypony that she was ready for a fight. She knew what she had was good, fantastic even. Everypony that heard it at the full rehearsal had been blown away, despite her many, many mistakes.

It was good, but that wasn’t good enough. She was DJ Pon-3. She had to be perfect to show everypony that they needed her. She didn’t need anypony—

Vinyl smacked herself with her clipboard and cursed under her breath. That wasn’t the way Vinyl Scratch was supposed to think anymore. Vinyl Scratch was a better pony than that now. Other ponies were good. She was opening up to ponies. Other ponies cared about her. They wanted her around. They loved—

“Too much,” Vinyl muttered as she tried to calm herself. “That’s still too much.”

Vinyl needed to focus on the now. She dove back into the safety of her task. Once the Ponyville branch’s Pony Tones were finished with their quartet set, she’d need to help move the staging around for Manehattan’s Bridlewaywards. After that, it was finally SchlurrVivyl’s turn on the stage as the night’s closing acts. Vinyl’s performance as DJ Pon-3 was the very last show of the first night, and the wait was killing her.

Vinyle!

Vinyl popped up from her work and looked behind her to see somepony that wasn’t supposed to be backstage calling to her in a hushed yell. “Éclair?”

Éclair de Lune trotted gingerly up to Vinyl and pulled her into a hug. “I wondered where you were! I was looking for my fleurs.”

Vinyl reached a leg around and patted the little mare on the back to return the hug. “Oh, right. Well, Fleur is still getting ready in the dressing room. Fighting with her citrines after realizing a problem during dress rehearsal.”

Oui. I know. I have spoken to Fleur, and I wanted to speak to my other fleur. So, here I have found you!”

“Yep. Here I am!” Vinyl exclaimed, trying to match the Prenchmare’s pep. She hoped that Fleur hadn’t said too much. “Are you enjoying the show, so far?”

The proud mare turned her nose up and stomped a hoof in complaint. “Non. I did not see you two yet. It is terrible, I tell you.”

“Of course,” Vinyl chuckled as she flipped the clipboard around and pointed at the upcoming acts. “Well, just wait about twenty-ish minutes and then it’ll be our turn.”

“I am excited to see you shine on la scène once more,” Éclair said with a proud, peachy smile that fell as quickly as it came. “I see my fleurs so little these days. I worry.”

“Sorry. We’ve just been… busy.”

The little mare tisked. “Everypony always says such things! Busy, busy, busy! And now I feel like the last to know all the things!”

“Know what things?” Vinyl asked nervously.

“Like your new sisterhood.”

And Fleur had said too much. “Oh, right. That. Yeah, we’re calling each other ‘sister’ now.”

“And you two did not tell me?”

“It’s just not that big of—” Éclair glomped onto Vinyl and pulled her into a deep hug.

Vinyle.” Éclair stroked Vinyl’s mane. “I am happy as I am hurt. Why did you not tell me? You should not learn to keep distances from Fancy!”

“I didn’t think it was that important,” she lied.

Non, Vinyle!” Éclair cried with an adamant shake of her head. C'est important. C'est le plus important!” The little mare squeezed tighter. “I want to support my fleurs. Both my fleurs.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Vinyl assured as she hugged back. Éclair took deep breaths as she savored Vinyl’s touch. A smile crept across her face as she nuzzled Vinyl’s fur and kissed her cheek. “Éclair? Umm… you can let go now.”

Non, Vinyle. This moment is one I wish to remember. Let me, please. Fleur said you worried, and I want to help.”

Vinyl steadied her breathing from the extended contact and bit her lip. “Okay.”

“You will do wonderful tonight, my fleur en Vinyle,” Éclair assured softly, beaming with as much pride as she showed her daughter. “We are here. Your family is with you.”

Vinyl flinched, but powered through the discomfort with an enthusiastic nod.

“Take off the glasses. Let me see your face.”

“I’d rather leave them on.” She knew she was disobeying rule one, but she didn’t care. Éclair was getting too close, and she didn’t want to show it. “Besides, it’s really not that big of a deal. Me and Fleur are the same as we always have been.”

“But it is, it is! Your bud is finally opening, and I see the wonderful beauty inside you just waiting to bloom! I am happy! So, so happy…”

“Oh, well good. And since I know that, you can happily go back to the front and find a seat to watch the rest of the showcases.” Vinyl turned back to her clipboard, staring at nothing in particular and hoping against hope that Éclair would be fooled.

“But that is just it, Vinyle! Tonight I want to…” the plump, pint-sized mare mumbled to herself, trying to gather her words. “J’en ai jusque là! How to say the things I want said?”

Vinyl swallowed her stress and forced a smile. “It’s fine. Éclair. I really need to get back to work on this.”

Non-non-non! Please, wait Vinyle!” Éclair trotted in a tight circle as she tried to think in her tizzy. “Où sont Fleur et Fancy quand j'en ai besoin? C'est tellement frustrant!

“Well, just figure it out and you can tell me later, okay?”

“No, now! Please! You are worried so! Important. Please! Important!

Éclair grabbed Vinyl’s face and pulled her shades up so she could see Vinyl clearly. The smaller mare began humming a gentle melody while staring straight into Vinyl’s eyes. The tune drifted into a song as she began singing in Prench. Vinyl had no idea what she was saying, but Éclair's pleading gaze prayed to overcome the language barrier.

“Can’t this wait until—” Without missing a beat, a swift hoof silenced her.

Éclair shook her head and pressed on, refusing to let go. As she continued her song, Vinyl sucked in her lips. She didn’t know what the mare’s words were, but she was definitely starting to understand. Vinyl tried to keep calm as Éclair pulled her closer into her shoulder, and continued serenading her. Seeing how excited Fleur was about becoming a sister, Vinyl knew what Éclair would want and had been trying to steer clear of Pâte de Lune. She wanted to pace herself more; she wasn’t ready for this.

Loosening her grip, Éclair positioned Vinyl in front of her and smiled like the morning: gentle as a freshly baked bread, warm as fresh coffee, and tender as…

Je t'aimerai toujours, ma précieuse petite fille.
~I will always love you, my precious little girl.~

Mommy will always love you.

Stop it!” Vinyl cried as she shoved the other mare off.

Éclair reached a hoof out, but pulled it down and looked at her precious daughter, a confused fear crossing her face. “Vinyle?

Vinyl dropped the clipboard and covered her mouth in horror. Had she said that aloud?

“I’m sorry, I-I can’t! I… I need to get back to work!” The DJ slammed her shades down, turned away, and fled as fast as she could.

“Wait! Vinyle! Wait!”

Vinyl didn’t bother looking back. It was too much for her. She needed to warm up to the idea, like hugs and accepting help. Friendship was fine, Vinyl could get her head around sisterhood, but this? She was going to mess this up and needed to go somewhere; anywhere but there. She couldn’t trust Éclair with herself, not when Vinyl still didn’t understand.


Another round of applause rang out for the Bridlewaywards as the actors gave a final bow and darted off the stage. So far, not a single act failed to garner the audience’s complete adoration. Athena was bouncing up and down, somehow whistling using her fingers. It was quite a charming and effective cheer. While they probably couldn’t see past the lights shining on the stage, many performers had stopped to look for the curious whistle anytime she blew through her thumb and index fingers.

As was their new routine, Fancy and Athena looked up to the royal balcony to see how the princesses had enjoyed the last show. Celestia gave her usual, polite applause, but Luna smirked as she caught her friends’ gaze out of the corner of her eye. She mouthed “so fast!” at her Labyrinthyum buddies. Athena and Fancy both nodded in agreement. Even if they weren’t seated together, they were still thoroughly enjoying the same stars shining on stage tonight.

“Thank you so much for convincing me to come out, Fancy.” Athena tucked her dress again as she hopped back into her seat. Her excited energy shot through her arms as she continued to wiggle with pent up glee. “This has been so much fun!”

“What did I tell you, my dear? Isn’t this better than staying underground all the time?”

“You’re telling me! Fleur de Lis and DJ Pon-3 are next, right?”

“I believe so,” Fancy said as he produced his program from his coat. “They will be performing arrangements of two selections from The Aristocrats. Another musical, but not like the ten-minute one we just watched.”

“Weren’t they just amazing though? I’d never seen a musical before!” Athena said as she clasped her hands together and smiled a toothy grin. “I think I love them!”

Fancy couldn’t help but return the enthusiasm. Athena was always so careful when smiling not to show her canines, but she was having too much fun to care. “Well, I’d never seen such a speedy one before. Who would’ve thought you could run through Hinny of the Hills in such a short amount of time? But it’s to be expected; the Society has never failed to impress.”

“And you said you didn’t know anything about art. You’ve been calling things right and left all night!” Athena elbowed the stallion in the barrel and winked.

Fancy cleared his throat to hide his groan from the powerful jab. “And I stand by that claim. I know just enough to make it sound like I know what I’m talking about. Quite a useless skill outside of impressing others at dinner parties.”

“I appreciate it.”

Fancy laughed diplomatically. “Well, you’d be the first.”

Flipping through the program again, Athena ran her finger down to the bottom of the performance schedule. “So, ‘SchlurrVivyl’ is performing ‘Sisters - a Royal Rendition’ and ‘Everypony Wants to Be in Canterlot - Electro Swing Remix?’”

“It’s a stretch of a pun. Don’t worry about it. As for the music, both are odd selections for sure.” Fancy scratched his chin in thought. “‘Sisters’ is a fight between two lower class siblings, or lowborns, chasing after the main villain, Filch Farthing, after he tricks everypony into thinking he’s a rich noble. As for the royal part, well, you’ve got me there. Maybe they’re foolishly pining after Blueblood?”

“And what’s a ‘capella?’ My gut says mushroom, but that’d be stupid, right?”

“‘Acapella,’ my dear. It means it will just be vocals without any instrumentation. A very peculiar move considering it’s a duet with an instrumental dance number in the middle of it. I didn’t think Vinyl sang.”

Athena nodded as she pointed to the finale. “What about the other one?”

“That one is even stranger considering it’s Vinyl performing it. It’s the prologue to the entire show, but is rather noble-focused and cruel to anyone that’s not a unicorn, to put it lightly. It’s from a bygone era and is usually skipped in modern stagings for good reason. Still, Fluffer Duster, my pegasus maid, loved it. I’m certain Vinyl performs the piece tastefully; whatever this ‘Electro Swing’ part is supposed to mean.”

“Well, it looks like we’re about to find out,” Athena said quietly as the lights dimmed once more, signaling they were ready for the next showcase.

Fancy nodded in agreement as he focused on the stage. The anticipation was palpable. It’d been so long—too long really—since Fancy had been to a show to support Fleur. The night had been wonderful. Spending time with Athena, exchanging knowing glances with both princesses between acts; he should’ve been doing this for years. No time to entertain regrets now, though. The curtain rose, revealing nothing but a simple black curtain backdrop behind it. After a few moments, nothing seemed to happen. A small tension began to build from the pregnant pause.

Fleur sure did enjoy keeping ponies in suspense.

“Announcing the arrivals of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!” Fleur’s sultry guard voice boomed from seemingly everywhere. Fancy blinked and looked up to see both princesses still seated in their box with curious looks of their own at the surprise announcement.

Tia?
Luna sang from stage left.

Lulu?
Celestia answered like a swan from stage right.

What is it you’ve called for us to-do?
Luna asked, her cadence dripping with sass.

Princess Celestia, or rather a convincingly costumed Fleur de Lis, strode onto the stage with a warm spotlight shining upon her and matching white and gold parasol. She was singing as the princess with an amazing impression of her highness. Which could only mean one thing…

I want to raise the sun right now!
Fleur’s Celestia demanded with a petulant hoofstomp.

As she finished her motions, the spotlight cut off just as another silvery one lit the opposite side of the stage, revealing another costumed Fleur standing under it.

This we cannot yet allow,”
Fleur as Luna replied with a sassy hoof covering her snickering mouth.

Somehow, Fleur was standing on opposite sides of the stage with black regalia. The mare had dyed her coat the same deep blue as the Princess of the Night and was sporting her own black and silver parasol. The spotlight cut off again and went back to Celestia.

Sister? it’s seven,
It’s time for us to move the heavens!
Celestia complained as she strode in time with her singing towards center stage as the light cut off again.

Neigh dear sister, you forget,
Daylight savings isn’t in effect!
The cheeky little sister replied with a teasing grin as she lightly skipped towards the center.

Instead of the lights swapping between the two, the stage lit up with both warm and cool lights on either side, revealing two Fleurs on stage at once. They both mirrored their movements perfectly as they tapped their regalia at the same time, activating an orange gemstone inlaid in their royal peytrals.

We’ve been together,
For what seems forever,
To raise both the moon and sun.

The sisters sang at the same time in a duet as they twirled their parasols in their hooves. While they walked in perfect profiles—only showing their sides to the audience—the colors of the spinning fabric shifted between black and white, silver and gold, hinting at what was about to happen.

But she’s still my sister,
Which makes it clearer,
That we can still have some fun, hun!

The mirrored sisters met in the middle and swung their parasols, meeting at the tips and exploding into gold and blue light. The warm and cool spotlights swung around and mingled together, criss-crossing and merging on the stage below. From the pulse of contrasting colored magic, Fleur stepped out towards the audience, her coat, mane, parasol, and regalia colors were split perfectly down the middle. One half of her was Celestia and the other was Luna.

“Wow! How is she doing that?” Athena asked, absolutely floored by the amazing display of magical skill and pure stage-presence.

“The better question is ‘why?’” Fancy sunk his head in his hooves. He couldn’t stand watching it anymore.

Athena tapped Fancy’s shoulder in concern. “What’s wrong?”

“Athena, do me a favor. Could you check on the princesses and tell me what you see?”

“Uh… okay,” Athena replied in confusion. “Well, Luna looks like she is having a blast. Celestia still has that same pleasant smile she’s been wearing all night. Does she always have to do that? It’s kinda creepy.”

Fancy sighed in relief. Maybe it wasn’t going to be so—

“Wait, no. Luna stopped smiling. She looks like she’s thinking about something now…” Athena trailed off before gasping. “Okay, that’s not a good face. Now she’s saying something to Princess Celestia. Is something wrong, Fancy?”

“Other than the fact that Fleur is a foalish imbecile? No. Let’s just hope Luna is more impressed with Fleur’s performance here than the one at the Festival of Flakes.”

Deciding to risk contact, Fancy looked up to see Luna watching the performance with pouty lips and a heated narrow gaze. On the other hoof, Princess Celestia was facing the stage, but her eyes were locked on Fancy with a knowing smile. She shrugged and mouthed the word “pardon.”

“Well, unless her highness is trying to apologize for something, we’ll see if a solar pardon can withstand the scrutiny of a coequal lunar diarch.”


Vinyl kept her nose deep in inspecting the ESPA’s sound equipment, going through her final systems’ check for the fifth time. She knew everything was set up as properly as it could possibly be, but most ponies wouldn’t bother her if she looked busy. Unfortunately, the approaching mare wasn’t most ponies.

“Two minutes, Vinyl. Everything ready?” Octavia asked as Fleur was wrapping up her royal song and dance number.

Vinyl nodded.

Octavia frowned. “Okay, are you ready?”

Vinyl thought about it for a second, but decided to nod again.

“Ear twitch. So, the second one’s the lie. Got it.” Octavia trotted over to Vinyl and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Okay, so what’ll help you get ready?”

“If you could apologize to somepony for me, that’d be great.”

“Sorry,” Octavia apologized to Vinyl. “Better?”

“Not funny, Tavi.”

“You’re the only pony in earshot, and we don’t have time to find somepony else.” Her friend patted a hoof on Vinyl’s withers. “So, let me ask a different question. Do you want to play?”

“Look. I’ll be fine. I’m just not feeling too hot at the moment.”

Octavia lightly smacked Vinyl on the head with her clipboard. “No need to push yourself, Vinyl. You don’t have to perform if you don’t want to.”

“No!” Vinyl hissed. “No. I need to do this.”

“I know you need to do this for your financial aid’s obligation to the ESPA, but you also need to be able to perform to go out there at all.”

“I know! I just,” Vinyl looked at her hooves. “I want… I don’t know what I want.”

“It’s fine, Vinyl. If you don’t think you can go on—”

“No!” Vinyl stamped her hooves down. “I can’t back out now. I need to play. I need to be better. I need to know I won’t keep messing things up!”

“Why? I mess up all the time. Even if you get something wrong, you can always do better next time. You’re allowed to get better as you go.”

“But… but what if I can’t fix it?”

“I don’t know, but you’re trying, right? That counts for something. Fixing doesn’t mean making it perfect. Just get enough done to make it work.”

Vinyl took a deep breath as she adjusted her shades. She was trying. She wanted to be better. She wanted to live life on her terms. It was worth a shot.

The audience thundered in applause as Octavia nodded at a few of the crew. “Impromptu mentorship meeting over. Last chance to back out, Vinyl.”

“Don’t worry, Tavi. I got this. I got it on lock.”

“Then don’t let me stop you.” Octavia smirked and shooed Vinyl away from the equipment. “Now, get into position, your entrance is coming up on stage left.”

“Stage left? I thought I was coming out center stage.”

“No?” Octavia flipped through her notes. “There wouldn’t be room for the dancers if you were in the middle.”

Vinyl lowered her shades and looked over her clipboard. “Dancers?”


Despite the standing ovation, Fleur took a single bow before quickly darting off the stage at full gallop. She barely savored any of the adoration as she began tearing off her enchanted costume regalia, dispelling her altered coloration. They must’ve really been short-staffed tonight if Fleur wasn’t Fleur-ing it up at the end. They hadn’t even closed the curtains. With nopony to cheer for, the confused crowd died down with smattering of mumbles.

“Well, here’s why you invited Luna and I tonight,” Athena whispered with bubbly anticipation.

Fancy couldn’t help but agree. While he enjoyed Fleur’s performance—self-incriminating implications aside—Vinyl’s request to remix one of Suede’s songs had him curious as to what a modern Drive DJ was going to do with such an old song. Outside of the Moondance album, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d listened to Suede Shoes. It’d been even longer since he’d actually looked forward to such an experience.

A slight murmuring rose from the crowd as a few ponies stood up from their seats. One by one, more and more ponies began leaving. He couldn’t make most of them out in the dark, but their flashy garb was enough to tell Fancy who they were.

Athena straightened up in her seat to get a better look at the showy silhouettes walking out of the theater. “Hey, where’s everybody going?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Fancy reminded himself with a subtle polish of his stress quartz. He turned his attention up to see the princesses waiting patiently for the next act to start. Luna in particular watched the doors out of the corner of her eyes, icily glaring at the elites left as they left. “Just enjoy the show.”

He watched a few more ponies too good for DJ Pon-3 filter out of the balcony, but didn’t see Jet Set among them. Leaning over, he saw the stallion waiting patiently for the next show to start, his eyes fixated on the stage below. If he hadn’t bothered to check the schedule, he was certainly in for a rude awakening.

Fancy watched as more and more electronic equipment was quickly being stacked and checked by the stage crew. As the mass of devices and staging grew, it became clear why they hadn’t closed the curtain to set it all up. A sprawling mess of wires, crystals, and boxes spread across the left side of the stage with Fleur rushing around the other ponies pointing to where things should go.

Taking advantage of the dim lights, Fleur briefly scanned the crowd and waved as she caught sight of somepony. Seeing the section of the seating, it was probably Fluffer Duster and Dapper Dandy. She continued looking around to find anyone else she recognized, but then stopped as she caught sight of the open doors. After a double-take, Fleur stamped in absolute rage and tore a microphone from a nearby stand.

Hey! If you’re not gonna stay for my sister, then don’t you dare stay for me in the first place! Every single last one of you pretentious fops can get—” The microphone cut off. Fleur hit it with her hoof and tried to shake it back to life.

From off-stage, Octavia charged forward and smacked the rebellious performer over the horn with her clipboard. Fleur yelled back, pointing at the leaving ponies, but the proper mare was having none of it. Octavia whacked the angry actress again and pointed to stage right. Fleur shot one more withering glare at the ponies at the door and spat before turning her nose up and striding away with model elegance. Octavia shook her head and bowed an apology to the princesses and the audience that was still seated.

So far, the finale was going exceedingly well.

After a moment of stunned silence, Athena leaned over to Fancy. “I thought you said Vinyl Scratch was Fleur’s friend.”

“It’s complicated,” he whispered back.

“Are all pony families so complicated?”

“For the sake of our nation, I hope not.”

After the emotional interruption, the crew finished up their work and the lights went out again. The murmurs died down as everypony left waited to see what the last show of the night had to offer.

“Everypony still in da house!” Fleur boomed as electrifying blue and white lights kicked on. “Let’s make some noise for the iconic, the incomparable, the incredible DJ of Dressage Drive, DJ Pon-3!”

Upon hearing her name, DJ Pon-3 leapt from off-stage, landing in front of her rig with a burst of blue magic and slam of bass as her hooves touched the floor. She flashed a victorious smile to the audience, who roared in excitement. Her confidence faltered as Vinyl took a step back, surprised by the welcoming reception. Shaking it off, DJ Pon-3 flashed with pride as she pranced up the short flight of stairs to her setup.

“And returning to the stage with her wonderful Maman, give it up for the freestyling hoof-work of Fleur de Lis and Éclair de Lune!” Vinyl nearly tripped over the final step as she turned around to see Fleur twirl on stage along with her mother. Both released each other and planted their hooves firmly on the stage, eliciting another blast of bass.

Fancy checked his program again, seeing no mention of anypony aside from DJ Pon-3 listed with her. Returning his attention to the stage, Vinyl looked just as surprised as he was at the two sudden additions.

“Somepony’s gotta dance, right sis? We got your back!” Fleur declared.

Éclair bounded over to her daughter and pulled the mic down from Fleur’s magic. “Bring my roof down, Vinyle!”

Vinyl nodded with a gigantic smile and took her place behind her equipment. She placed her trusty headset on and ran her hoof along the keyboard, testing its sound. Giving one last look to the mares with her on stage, she pointed a hoof skyward and was joined by the other two as they took each other in their hooves. With everypony ready, Vinyl’s magic shocked everything around her to life.

Unlike the music Fancy had heard briefly at Cantrips, Vinyl’s rendition began with a jazzy piano riff played alongside Suede’s original cover. It’d be a while since he’d heard the record, but he was certain there were a few additional instruments with a more modern flair. While it was lovely, it wasn’t anything that special. Looking towards the dancing mares, they were swinging slower as the music built up, with Fleur leading her mother. In a few seconds, he’d hear Suede’s singing once again.

Everypony wants to be in Canterlot,
Because the Lot’s the only spot,
that’s got what it’s got.”

Suede’s velvety pipes sang out of the old record. Fancy began to sing along under his breath.

Everypony’s looking for that wealth and prestige,
All anypony ever really needs.

As the words left Fancy’s mouth, he winced at the words he’d never thought about. There was a reason the overture was usually cut these days, and it was only going downhill from here if she was following the original.

But if that’s really true,
What else can you do?
Foals stumblin’ in the dark.”

Fancy blinked. That wasn’t at all how the song went. Right before the lines about unicorns being better, the record jumped to a different line from much later in the song seamlessly.

“Snatch your chance from on high,
Set your name in the sky!
Try’n leave your mark!”

Somehow, Vinyl had spliced different pieces of the song together, rearranging their order to change their meaning. It seemed a few of the others had caught on to the change as the parts talking down to the common ponies had been blended to flip the script on its head.

Vinyl ran her hooves across the keyboard in a quick glissando as Fleur spun her mother into a low dip, and then…

The bass dropped.

The stage exploded with a mix of lasers and vintage lighting, mixing the old and new together with the synthetic instrumentation flowing smoothly with the jazzy horn section. Fleur and Éclair spun alongside the records as the daughter led her pleasantly surprised mother in their accompanying dance. Seeing Éclair’s somewhat sloppier dancing, Fancy realized it was not just the audience’s first time hearing the song.

With the energy being pumped on the stage, some of the less civilized ponies took advantage of the more open space around them to start jumping up and down with the beat. The commoners were in good company, as Luna herself swayed back and forth, not having enough space to dance on their balcony. Her elation beamed with the brilliance of a crescent moon. Even Princess Celestia’s pleasant smile had fallen off as she marveled at the raw talent on display. Fancy turned to his companion, Athena was tapping her foot to the rhythm with an open-mouthed grin of her own.

The song continued, ebbing with Vinyl’s jazzy piano playing and surging with electrified synth horns and strings. Despite having heard Suede Shoes’ albums hundreds of times before, Fluffer Duster was right. Fancy had never heard anything like this before. And he really liked what he was hearing.


The synthesizer keys danced under Vinyl’s hooves as she crescendoed into the last measure of the jazzy piano interlude. She knew it was the most crucial and the most aggravating part of this electro swing remix. She’d already hit a couple sour notes earlier, but it didn’t matter. The ponies she could see past the blinding lights were still having a blast.

So many things needed to happen with her hooves and magic to make it work, and she only had a scant few seconds to pull off the coda. Vinyl hammered out the rhythm leading up to the gliss, she sparked her magic over the upper synthesizer. If she messed it up, it didn’t matter. With the two “freestyling” dancers supporting her, she knew she couldn’t do much worse than their attempts to swing dance to her music with no practice.

“And… go!” Vinyl’s lightning blue aura flashed over the top synthesizer’s buttons in a memorized sweep. Everything clicked to its proper prepared pattern as she lightened her hooves to play pianissimo. Quickly moving her mass manipulation spell, she magically switched the turntable to the original record, causing the trumpet to roar to life.

Checking the numbers on the digital displays and swapping the sampler, she saw each one set to the fourth and final pattern for the coda. The metronome was still clicking away to ensure everything kicked in on the same beat. She readied her magic to hit the upper keys all at once as she got her body in position to slide down the keys. She was sweating from the heat of the lights, the rush of the performance, and the joy of having her sister and… Éclair on stage with her.

With perfect timing, she slid down the keys in a beautiful gliss while her magic activated the rest of the stored music patterns in one flawless movement. Suede’s voice kicked back up again with the chorus as she kept playing along with the record until it slowly faded out along with her playing. She pulled her headphones over her withers and sighed with relief. Finally, she’d done it. The show was over.

Vinyl panted for breath, but was nearly knocked off her hooves by the crowd’s explosive applause. Even though a third of the seats were empty, their cheering was louder than any of the other performances before hers. DJ Pon-3 had gotten cheers a thousand times at Cantrips, but this hit differently. Despite her mistakes, despite the Vinyl Screech, despite everything, they still liked her music. They still liked her.

As the house lights came on, Vinyl could see the gallery still going wild, the upper section cheering for an encore she was definitely not going to perform, and a piercingly loud whistle coming from—

“Sweet Celestia, that minotaur is huge!”

“Vy!” Fleur’s forelegs wrapped Vinyl into a tight hug as she kissed her cheek. “C’est magnifique! You were amazing!” Fleur hovered the microphone over to her, not bothering to back away from Vinyl’s ear. “That’s the first night of the Showcases, everypony! Let’s give one more round of applause for all of our fantastic performers!”

The backdrop opened up to the bare stage behind as all the performers showcased on the first night stepped forward for the curtain call. Fleur led Vinyl down the stairs to stand with the others who joined around them. Éclair rushed over to them and gave both of them a crushing hug.

“Well, I’m certainly glad we went before you,” a white, vaguely familiar unicorn from the Ponyville quartet said with a wink. “There’s absolutely no way we’d be able to follow what you just did, Miss Pon-3.”

The big, red stallion next to her nodded in agreement and added a simple “Eeyup.”

Fleur nudged Vinyl’s side. “See? What’d I tell ya, sis?”

Vinyl was very glad she could ignore rule one, otherwise, she’d have to take her shades off. DJ Pon-3 had an image to maintain. She just hoped everypony was too distracted to see the sheer relief streaming down her face.


After the show, the performers made their way out to the main ESPA building for a break to meet their friends and family before preparing for tomorrow night. Only card-holding members of the ESPA and their guests were allowed, and many of the “nobler” ones had already left before the show was over. Fancy was perfectly fine to be rid of the lot. They’d missed out on the most spectacular performance of the night for no good reason.

Despite the diminished attendance, it was still a sizable crowd. Ponies from all over Equestria had come for the event. He thanked several soloists and groups for their performances, including the surprise appearance of Lady Rarity and the rest of the newly formed Pony Tones. However, the fashionista had barely registered his praise upon seeing his plus one’s midnight dress.

The looming Athena had tried to duck down to meet the mare, but Rarity was having none of it seeing how it affected the dress’ flow. She instead led the minotaur over to a nearby staircase to talk shop. Despite the species gap, the fashion-forward mare gushed over the minotaur’s beauty. He almost felt sorry for Athena as Rarity asked a hundred questions that the poor cook had no clue how to answer. Lady Rarity was truly one of a kind.

Unfortunately for him, that meant he’d lost his spotter and was on his own to track down SchlurrVivyl. Looking around the room, he wondered which crowd of ponies were accosting them. He’d assumed they’d be swarmed by now.

No, that was the wrong question. The better question was where would those two go to celebrate after a performance?

Fancy sniffed the air, hoping to catch a whiff of any food. He passed up several hors d'oeuvre trays knowing those wouldn’t have been enticing on their own. He recalled a small break room used by the staff and headed towards there. As he drew closer, his nose caught the faint, unmistakable scent of reheated pizza dough.

“Of course,” he said while chuckling to himself. Opening the door, Fancy’s brilliant deduction was rewarded with the sight of both Fleur and Vinyl sitting over a box of half-eaten cheesy mushroom pizza from Spicy Marinara’s. Fleur glanced between the pizza half in her mouth and Fancy.

The ever-polite pony took a massive, greasy chomp out of her pizza and licked the excess tomato sauce off her lips before shouting, “Pantsy!”

“I see the two stars of the evening aren’t wanting to meet their adoring fans.”

Fleur pursed her lips in thought. “Depends. Do they have pizza?”

“No. But I do think you have the right idea. Mind if I have some?”

Fleur opened her mouth, trying to find something witty to say, but settled on a smile with a pat on his head. “I guess you can have one for being such a good boy tonight for actually showing up!”

Rolling his eyes, Fancy hovered a greasy slice out of the box, grimacing slightly from the oil. He carefully cut it in half and took a healthy bite from the unhealthy monstrosity. It’d been far too long since he’d had something so deliciously cheap. He’d have to step up his workout tomorrow if he indulged any further.

“What happened to your minotaur friend?” Vinyl asked after swallowing a mouthful of pizza.

“Athena’s currently occupied with Lady Rarity. It might be a while before I can introduce you, but it’s probably for the best so you can finish your dinner first. I’m sure she’d rather not contend with the door.”

“You said you were bringing ‘friends,’ but it looked like you two were sitting alone.”

“That is because we were waiting for our cue!” a royal voice called from the other side of the door.

With a sparkle of moonlit magic, the breakroom burst open, revealing Princess Luna trotting triumphantly through it to join them in the quickly crowding kitchenette.

“P-Princess Luna?” Vinyl nearly choked on her pizza as she scrambled to her hooves.

“Ha! See sister?” Luna said as she looked over her shoulder. “We knew we would find them if we followed Fancy Pants!”

“My. It seems you two found a nice escape from the evening, didn’t you?” Princess Celestia added as she ducked her head to join everypony.

“Your highnesses! Tis a pleasure to see you once more,” Fleur greeted with equal lunar regality. Fancy couldn’t help but smack his head while Princess Celestia giggled behind them.

Luna’s smile widened in surprise. “We must admit, your impression of our voice is even more impressive when spoken normally, Fleur de Lis.”

Fleur bowed deeply. “We thank thee, your heavenly majesty. We hath strived to convey the full depth of your sonorous tone.”

“And you bear such a way with words,” Luna swooned at her vocal reflection. “We see why our guards were fooled by your royal decree at the Festival of Flakes.”

“Why yes, we…” the Faux-Luna trailed as she registered the second part of the complement and dropped the act. “Wait, what did you say?”

“We will have words of our own for you in a moment,” Luna said with a stern frown that flipped immediately as she turned to Vinyl. “For now, we are in a most joyous mood! You both have graced us with thy wondrous melodies and for that, you have my sincere gratitude. Still, we humbly request one more service from the DJ if she will permit it!”

In a flash of moonlit magic, a square flashed into existence under the breakroom’s flickering fluorescent light. The princess caught it in her hooves and smiled with the exuberance of a filly. “Will you sign this album?”

Vinyl looked down at the album sleeve the princess was holding in her magic. It was a somewhat recolored picture of her at Cantrips spinning records for a full dance floor. Another spark of magic summoned a glittering blue marker pen which the princess hovered over to Vinyl’s side. “My LP?”

Luna’s smile faltered as she uncapped the marker and hovered it to Vinyl’s side. “Please, Vinyl Scratch. We know we… freaked thee out… at the Moondance. But truly, we’ve adored thy record spinning very much as DJ Pon-3!”

Vinyl took a sharp breath. “You’re a fan?”

“I think we both are now,” Celestia added as she draped a wing over her sister. “That was a wonderful rendition you performed tonight. It was so good hearing dear Suede Shoe’s voice given new life through your talents. Thank you so much for sharing what makes you so special, Vinyl Scratch.”

“S-sure thing, your highnesses!” Vinyl said quickly and took the marker. She flashed her signature over the album cover and magically stamped her cutie mark on it.

Luna’s smile became more forced as she tried to ignore Vinyl’s growing discomfort. “Thank you so much! We will treasure this for as long as it lasts. We shall do our best to preserve it for many years to come. We—I promise.”

Vinyl nodded quickly. “If you don’t mind, I really need to check up on… something.”

Luna looked down at her record with bittersweet joy. “O-of course, Vinyl Scratch. Thank you again for your music.” The DJ offered a quick bow to both princesses and fled. Before Fleur could follow, Luna stopped her with her magic. “Now as for you, my little imposter.”

“Now, now Lulu, let’s be reasonable,” Celestia said calmly. “You accepted the pardon for her crimes against royalty.”

“My what now?” Fleur asked hesitantly as Luna draped a wing over the actress’ back.

“Yes, yes. We shall disregard your felonies and accept your ‘practical joke’ as part of the eternal prank war you sang of this evening.” Luna’s smile distorted into a sinister grin as she tightened her wing-grip to pull the stunned Fleur closer. “Unfortunately for you, you sided with my sister. A poor choice on your part. I tend to savor revenge.”

Before Fleur could ask, Luna’s horn sparkled with midnight blue magic as they both vanished in a flash of blue and silver. Fancy exchanged a worried glance with Princess Celestia.

“Not to worry, Fancy Pants,” Celestia assured as she hovered the leftover pizza into the fridge. “My sister isn’t upset about the Festival of Flakes. We just want to make sure Fleur never tries anything like that again.”

“That’s a relief. The last thing I wanted to do was bail Fleur out of the Canterlot dungeons.”

“Don’t be silly, Fancy,” the princess said as she laughed politely. “You know full well that felons go to Tartarus.”

Fancy laughed as well at her joke. At least, he was fairly certain she was joking. “Well, I should probably get back to my escort for the evening. I wanted to introduce Athena to Vinyl as well.”

“Of course. Enjoy the rest of your night, my most capable envoy.”

Fancy followed the princess out of the breakroom before looking around for Vinyl. He had hoped to introduce Athena first and ease into meeting Luna with the kind cook’s help, but fate had other designs for him. Seeing the young mare’s reaction, she’d been quite overwhelmed at the very least. Not even her sunglasses could hide that.

Pushing through the crowded lobby, he tried to find any sign of the DJ’s electric blue mane, but troublingly, there was no sign of her.

“Fancy!” Athena called out as she waved him down.

“Oh, Athena! There you are. Do you see Vinyl anywhere?”

“She just bumped into Rarity as she ran up the stairs and dropped her sunglasses.” Athena opened her hand to reveal DJ Pon-3’s iconic eyewear. “Is everything okay? She looked so scared. I don’t think she even noticed that she lost them.”

Fancy sighed in frustration as he wrapped the sunglasses in his polishing cloth and placed them in his coat pocket. “I’m afraid Luna has that effect on some ponies, even though it couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“O-oh…” Athena mumbled as she pressed her index fingers together. “Yeah. I get that.”

“Thanks, Athena. I’ll go look for her. After all, I still haven’t introduced you two yet.”

“Okay.” The minotaur bent down and cupped a hand around her mouth to whisper into Fancy’s ear. “Please find her quickly. I haven’t seen a pony look so frightened since the invasion.”

Fancy nodded resolutely and left to locate the missing mare. He wasn’t going to let a simple misunderstanding ruin what should be one of the best nights in the young performer’s life. DJ Pon-3 was back and better than ever, and Vinyl deserved all the happiness in the world.