Chapter 2: Explanations
Vinyl continued to stare at the images in the Google search as I talked. “…so you see, in this world you are known as a cartoon character.”
Vinyl just sat there, staring at the screen. “A cartoon character.”
“Yup.”
“So I’m not real in this world, and neither is anypony else I know.”
“Correct…well, you at least appear to be real in this world now. Because you know, you’re here and not in Equestria.”
Vinyl remained silent for several minutes, eyes fixated on the search results. I had opened up YouTube videos that revealed where she appeared in the cartoon at her request, and she had remained silent through those as well. I didn’t say anything, and just let it all sink in.
Then I saw a tear roll down Vinyl’s cheek.
She buried her face into her hands and tried to suppress a few sobs. “I can’t believe any of this!” She exclaimed. “I’m homeless in a place I know nothing about beside the fact that I’m just a cartoon character, I have no friends, no money, nothing to make a living with, and no way to get home…”
My heart went out to Vinyl right then. I knew that I could never understand what she was going through, but it was clearly painful and even terrifying her. I got up and pulled her into a light embrace, or at least as best I could, what with an arm rest being in the way.
“I wouldn’t say you’re homeless.” I said. “You’ve accepted my offer to stay here, so you’ve got a roof over your head at least. As far as money goes, I may not be very rich but I’m not destitute either, so supporting you financially won’t be too much of an issue. Friends…well if you’re willing I might be able to help with that, and who says that you have no way to get home?”
Vinyl sniffled and looked up at me, eyes slightly red and tear streaks running down her face. “You can get me home?” She asked.
“Well it’s hard to know for sure without knowing how you wound up here.” I replied. “You can at least tell me how you got here right? I remember you freaking out about something not long after I found you.”
Vinyl sighed. “Yeah I can tell you how I at least think I got here. It’s definitely the least I could do.
“So in the past few months I had been working hard on a new album. I had received sponsorships from all kinds of clubs and everypony all across Equestria was looking forward to my sophomore album. Gig requests were rolling in like there was no tomorrow and I was starting to find it hard to book them all. Everypony in the studio I was recording for was so excited for my material, and they had all told me that they thought it was gonna be the next big thing. So I get a huge party planned in my hometown of Trottingham for the release of my album. I had been working on this thing for at least a year, and I was so excited to finally be able to release it, especially after these last few months of extra hard work and dedication! At my last gig before the release party, I played an unfinished teaser clip from one of the songs, and everypony loved it!
“So the night of the party comes, and ponies from all over Equestria had shown up. I even had some of the Wonderbolts show up. Guess they were in town and had heard about the party or something. Anyways, so I take my spot at the stacks and make a few announcements and shout outs. Everypony was cheering and excited and I was excited. I begin to play the first song and at first everypony’s really getting into it. Then the main part of the song starts and I couldn’t help but notice that the excitement kinda died down. The same thing happened with the rest of the new material that I played, and with each new song ponies were less excited, and some even left!
“So needless to say it was a disaster of a party, and my album had barely sold anything at the party. I tried to find ways to rationalize what had happened that night, but at the end of the week my producer came to me and told me that my album was the worst selling album of the year! He then told me that he was cancelling my contract and that I was dismissed…”
This story hit home with me. My project with Nathan and Kyle hadn’t quite made it to the stages of album production, but people weren’t exactly lining up to watch us perform at gigs anymore.
“…that night I went home, sick with depression and angry at my producer.” Vinyl continued. “I was angry with everypony, because I didn’t know what went wrong. Everypony seemed to like what I had released in the past, and my producer had said that my album was the best thing he’d heard in years. I was confused. Nothing made sense! So right before I went to sleep, I happened to see a shooting star in the night sky out of my apartment window. It was then that I wished out of depression that I could be someplace where my talents and my music would actually be appreciated. I guess my wish accomplished something, because the next thing I know I’m not a pony anymore, I’m covered in all of these cuts and stuff and you’re standing over me.” She buried herself into her hands again.
I couldn’t help myself but embrace her again. “I’m terribly sorry to hear about that.” I said. “And unfortunately I don’t know what I could do to help you get back home, at least not at this moment. But I can understand your pain to a degree.”
“Really now?” Vinyl replied, face still buried.
“I think so.” I stood up. “Just follow me.”
Vinyl waited a moment before getting up and following me back into the kitchen and through the basement door. I flicked the lights on downstairs and went around the corner to where the basement opened up.
Vinyl rounded the corner and came to a stop when she saw what was in my basement. “Oh my…”
I had set up the majority of the unfinished basement to be a recording studio. Against the far wall were thin drapes to help cushion the sounds. My amp and two bass guitars were set against another wall, and a pair of microphones and stands sat in the middle. Off to another side was a mixing board and recording equipment. On a shelf sat a stereo system, and next to the shelf was a smaller desk and chair.
“You have an entire recording studio in your basement?!” Vinyl exclaimed.
“My band hasn’t exactly gotten around to recording any actual material yet, but we were going to start doing so soon.” I replied.
“What sort of band is it?” Vinyl asked, carefully stepping forward to examine the equipment. She was really starting to get the hang of walking.
“Primarily we cover whatever it is we happen to like the most, but we want to be a metal band.” I said.
“Metal?” Vinyl sounded perplexed.
“It’s a genre.” I replied and went over to the stereo. I had conveniently left in an album by the band Bullet For My Valentine from the last practice session. I powered on the stereo and skipped to track number ten, which was a song titled “10 Years Today”.
I let the song play. It was a personal favorite of mine from Bullet, and I thought that it exemplified a lot of what made up the ‘metal’ genre. Vinyl simply stood, mesmerized by the song. The look on her face told me that she was trying to take in as much as she could, listening to each instrument carefully and analyzing them. When the song was over I hit the pause button so it wouldn’t go to the next track. “So, what’d you think?”
“That was…” Vinyl said, pausing to find the right word. “Intense. Nothing like what we had back in Equestria. Back home we mostly have classical and electronic music.”
“Metal is, oddly enough, a descendent of the classical genres.” I said. “Metal bands have a similar structure to the average rock band. That is to say, they have a drummer, a guitarist or two, sometimes more, a bassist, and a vocalist or two. Sometimes they’ll have an electronics player or employ classical instruments or in one famous case the whole band will play in a metal style but do so with a cello quartet! Metal as a genre is characterized by heavy guitars, often hard drumming and bass lines, and is usually associated with angry lyrics. Screaming or growling vocals aren’t necessary for a metal band, but they are also often associated with the genre and its many subgenres.
“My band doesn’t quite wish to play like the band I just showed you, but I think you get the idea. So far the band consists of me on the bass guitar and vocals when needed. Then there’s my friend Nathan on vocals and guitar, and my friend Kyle on drums. We’d like to get a rhythm guitarist for more dynamic, but there aren’t many out there that any of us know of that want to be a part of a committed project, especially one without any solid original material to show. Because I’ve been formally unemployed for two months, I’ve been using the money I earn from gigs with this band to help pay my dues, plus working the odd day jobs that I can find. It’s enough to get by, though I wish it were more.”
Vinyl continued to look around at the equipment. She spotted my two bass guitars and walked over to them. She leaned down and inspected the metallic red one. “What’s this?” She asked.
“That’s a small body bass guitar made by the company called Rogue. They are known more for their amps than their guitars.”
“Not that, this.” She pointed to a spot on the guitar’s body.
I walked over and looked at what she was pointing at. “Oh that!” I said, seeing what it was. Scrawled in silver sharpie was a fancy signature with three letters, ‘KFK’, printed underneath. “Last year I was fortunate enough to meet a living legend. This man’s name is Kerry King, and he is a co-founder and lead guitarist of the famous thrash metal band known as Slayer. His work with Slayer helped to define an entire genre along with the members of Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax. I had this bass with me and I got him to sign it.”
“That’s really cool, Matt.” Vinyl said, staring at the signature. I knew she had no idea who any of these people are, but I got the feeling that she still understood when a high profile musician was being mentioned. “So do you guys ever plan on writing your own material?”
“We do. In fact later this week we were going to get together here and attempt to record a few demos.”
“That’s awesome. Well I wish you guys luck.” Vinyl said, standing up.
“Actually…Vinyl?”
Vinyl looked at me. “Yeah?”
“I don’t think my mates would object, so would you like to take up the spot as band dee jay?”
Vinyl stood for a moment, and then her eyes lit up. “You’re offering me a spot in the band?”
“I am. Most of my favorite bands employ some kind of dee jay, so I’d like to try that kind of set up with mine. We’d need to find a turntable though, and you can consider this repayment for staying here until we can find a way to send you home.”
I was nearly knocked over when Vinyl grabbed me and hugged me tight. “Thank you, thank you! I promise I won’t disappoint you!” She said.
“That’s great…but I can’t…breathe!” I sputtered as I struggled to draw a decent breath.
“Oh, oops.” Vinyl let go with a sheepish grin on her face. I rubbed my ribs for a moment before returning the hug.
We went back upstairs and I heard a yawn from behind me. “Getting tired?”
“Yeah just a little bit.” Vinyl replied.
“Alright, well then let me show you to your room.” I went upstairs to the second floor and went to the end of the hallway on my left. I rounded the corner and opened the door. “This is where you can stay.” I said and let Vinyl inside to inspect it.
The room was decently sized with a full closet just to the right of the entrance. On the far wall was a window. The room came equipped with a ceiling fan and standing lamp on a nightstand situated next to the twin-sized bed. A desk, complete with a chair and small television set, sat in the far corner that wasn’t occupied by the bed. There was also a shelf that stood against the wall across from the bed, but there wasn’t anything on it.
“This is very nice.” Vinyl commented and sat on the bed.
“Unfortunately I don’t exactly have anything in the way of female clothing or hygiene products, and since I don’t have anything planned tomorrow we can go around town and pick up some stuff for you. I won’t promise a full wardrobe, but at least several complete sets of clothing and some new shoes for the time being.”
“Alright then.” Vinyl said, getting up and exploring the desk. “But tell me, Matt, do humans wear clothing all the time?”
And here comes the awkward conversation. “In most parts of the world, yes.” I replied. “For as long as history has been recorded, mankind has always worn clothing. Originally people wore things to protect themselves from the weather or from harm. I’m sure you’ve noticed that the thin layer of hair on your arms and legs won’t do for protecting against the elements. However in recent centuries some cultures got the idea that the human body is something to be ashamed of and should be hidden away from public viewing. In this country it is actually illegal to expose one’s privates in public. There are plenty of people, myself included, who don’t really care if people expose themselves in public. After all, all males share the same set of parts and all females share the same set of parts and both genders know what the other has and it’s really not my place to say what someone can do with their body. But the idea still persists with a majority of the population that exposing oneself is indecent.” I shrugged.
Vinyl paused what she was doing for a moment and gave me a slightly playful look. “So, if I began to take everything off, what would you do?”
I shrugged again. “Unless for some reason I absolutely had to be present, I’d respect your personal space and leave. I have respect for women and wish more guys would stop thinking with their dick and start using their brain more. Besides, we do have that mutual agreement, remember?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Vinyl said. “Though I gotta say I definitely respect a guy who respects us girls.”
“Thanks.” I said. “Although, there is something that I’ve been curious to know…”
“Fire away.” Vinyl said and returned her attention to the desk, opening drawers to see what’s inside.
“Do you still have your cutie mark?”
Vinyl paused again and stood straight up. “You know, I actually don’t know.” Before I could say anything she began to fumble with the button on her pants and undid it. She then pulled out the waist of her pants on one side a little bit and inspected her hip. “Huh, looks like I still have it.” She pulled the top of her pants down just far enough to reveal two connected eighth notes on the side of her hip, but only that.
“Interesting.” I replied. “Well if I were you I’d try to keep that hidden for the time being. People have been known to have tattoos in odd places but, combined with your blue hair, that’d draw some potentially unwanted attention by anyone who knows about the cartoon.”
“Gotcha.” She pulled her pant waist back up and fastened the button.
I yawned. “Well, the bathroom is right around the corner and my room is this one here.” I pointed in the respective directions of the bathroom and my room. “If you need anything feel free to wake me up, but for now I’m gonna hit the sack.” I turned to leave.
“Alright, oh and Matt?”
“Hmm?” I barely had enough time to turn back around before Vinyl had captured me in another embrace.
“Thanks for doing this for me.” She said. “Nopony back home would have done all of this for me. I really appreciate it.”
I smiled and returned the hug. “I’m just doing what any decent human being would do, but you’re welcome Vinyl. Thank you for trusting me enough to let me do this for you.”
All I got in response was a slightly tighter hug. After a moment she let me go. “Good night Matt.”
“Good night Vinyl.” I said and left, closing the door behind me.
I went downstairs and put away the trash from the late dinner and shut off all the lights as well as my laptop before heading back upstairs to my own room, the master bedroom. I quickly cleaned myself up in my bathroom and changed into a pair of gym shorts before climbing into bed.
What an evening this had been. I find some mysterious girl while out on a hike who turns out to be Vinyl Scratch in human form, now she’s my roommate and dee jay for my band and tomorrow I’m going to go buy clothes and stuff for her so she can live here properly.
Tomorrow is going to be interesting.