I was walking on the red carpet towards a golden glimmering archway that had a large banner with my face on it. The sound of ponies chanting my name filled the air around me and the barrage of camera flashes assaulted my eyes. Ponies of all ages and sizes hollered their cheers to me as I waved my hoof at them, creating another wave of excited cheers and stomps into the starless night sky. I had a big smile tugged on the corner of my lips as I got closer towards the archway, feeling the excited beats of my heart hammered in my chest. Yet... even though I was at the top of the world, bathed in the adoring chants of the ponies around me, there was something missing. I felt it was something that meant a lot to me, something that I held dear to my heart. The more I think about it, the more I felt that something was missing as I kept on walking on the luxurious red carpet towards my fame. Before I could figure what it was, I smelled the delicious scent of freshly made pancakes wafted into my nose.
My eyes shot opened and was greeted by the warm smile of Cotton who was standing next to me, levitating a plate of pancakes above her. She was wearing her pink diner dress uniform. Probably she was getting ready for work. Cotton had a wide smile on her face, her smile was brilliant and calming as ever, looking at me with affection beamed from her eyes. The beaming light above her created an illusion as if she was sent from heaven just for me, to keep me safe from the outside world. Just as I’m about to say something, I felt her soft lips touched my forehead. “Good morning, sleepy head,” she whispered, levitating the plate of pancakes onto the glass coffee table behind her. I felt my cheeks heated up a bit while I tried to sit up, looking at the unicorn mare with a cheeky smile.
“Morning,” I replied just as soft, planting a kiss on her right cheek. She looked away bashfully with a smile etched on her face as she sat next to me on the couch. I looked at the freshly made pancakes served in front of me, sniffing the air around it once again as I closed my eyes. The sweet and delicious scent of the pancakes filled my nostrils and calmed any cloud of anxiety in my heart, making me felt more relaxed. I opened my eyes and saw a fork with a pancake on it hovered in front of my face that was glowing with Cotton’s brown magical aura. I turned my head to look at her and saw her face was brightened in crimson, hiding a coy smile behind a hoof while she played with her white apron with her other hoof.
“Let me feed you,” she squeaked, her eyes tentatively looked at me as her cheeks furiously blushed. I gave her a warm smile as I chomped on the pancake in front of me, shooting her a wink. My ears twitched, hearing a soft squeak escaped her mouth while she hid her flushed face behind her hooves. I cracked a smile, pulling my head away from the hovering fork as I enjoyed the pancake. The pancake was soft and sweet and each bite created a party of sweetness in my mouth. Then we repeated the same thing again without speaking another word as we silently enjoyed each others company. To tell the truth, even we didn’t speak with each other; the silence had meaning to it. Cotton and I wanted to spend quality time together as much as possible and even through the silence, it was a time well spent. The fact that the pancake was made with Cotton’s love made it the best pancake that I ever eaten. Each bite was sweeter than the last, resembling Cotton’s ever-growing loving affections. But... eventually, good things must end. I took the last bite of the pancake as I felt my stomach was getting full.
“That was great,” I sighed, leaning against the couch while I patted my stomach in contentment. I turned my head to look at the soft pink unicorn and saw her horn let out a brown glow. Cotton easily levitated the plate and the fork into the kitchen as she had her eyes closed in concentration with her brows furrowed. Even though I grew up with many unicorn friends in my life; it was still an awe to me to see one could easily levitated items away into far distances. Sometimes I wished I was born as a unicorn. It would help me a lot on my saxophone playing skills but I guess I can’t complain about it. While I was staring curiously at Cotton’s simple yet amazing magic at work, I noticed she was looking at me with a questioning eyebrow.
“Are you okay?” she giggled as her horn stopped glowing.
“O-oh, nothing,” I replied with a sheepish grin on my face, scratching the back of my neck as I felt blood rushed into my cheeks. I didn’t know why I was blushing at that time but I guess I was embarrassed because I was caught staring at her. But hey, even though I lived my life around unicorns, their magic always managed to impress me.
“What are you going to do today?” Cotton asked as she scooted closer, looking at me with curious eyes.
“I dunno. Maybe I’ll stay here for today in case of Golden Note or Vinyl and Octavia decide to drop by,” I answered her, shrugging nonchalantly. I felt her coat touches mine as she leaned against me with her head rested on my shoulders. Cotton had her eyes closed and a soft smile was tugged in the corner of her lips. I felt the air around her was filled with the sense of tranquility as we listened to the cheerful ticking of a clock nearby. “Are you okay?” I asked with a whisper while I looked at her, smiling warmly at the mare.
“I’m fine,” she whispered. “It’s just,” she started as she scooted closer for a snuggle. “I want us to be together, that’s all,” she continued. I felt a wide smile slowly crept onto my face as I pulled her closer with a hoof. In all my years, I never been that close with anypony else, even with my parents. I guess it was... refreshing that somepony wanted to be close with me. I opened my mouth as I wanted to say something but instead, I held my tongue. I looked up into the ceiling and I silently mouthed ‘thank you’ to the pony upstairs – to the goddesses, not the ACTUAL pony who lived on the floor above us. Then, I my gaze slowly fell on the clock above the bathroom’s doorway across from of us.
“Umm..,” I started as I lightly patted Cotton on the back. “Aren’t you late for work?” I asked, looking at her with a questioning eyebrow. Immediately, her eyes shot opened in shock.
“Oh no!” she gasped, jumping of the couch and off my embrace. “I’m late. I’m late. I’m late!” Cotton said frantically while she jogged in place, her eyes darted in confusion and her head scanned the room in panic.
“You better head to the diner now,” I spoke up as I tried to stifle a laugh, looking at her with a smile plastered on my face. It was cute to see her like that. I know that sounded cruel but, it was cute nonetheless.
“Great idea!” she exclaimed excitedly as she quickly trotted towards the front door. I just chuckled in return, rolling my eyes. “I’ll be home around ten tonight. If you have some free time, drop by to the diner. I bet the other ponies would be glad if you would,” she said while she poked her head under the doorway with a smile --that beamed brighter than the sun-- plastered on her face.
“Sure,” I chuckled as I waved goodbye. Cotton nodded and closed the door with a soft click. I heard her galloping hooves echoed from the hallway that quickly faded as she continued on her way. Then, the apartment immediately changed from lively to somber. I was accompanied by the sound of the buzzing light above me and the buzz of the dishwasher in the kitchen. Whenever she leaves, the world felt a bit duller than before. I shook my head of the thought and tried to focus on my plan for that day.
“Should I wait for somepony to come and visit or... go to the park today?” I mumbled to myself while I tapped my chin in thought. I knew that it was eight in the morning at the time and I had a lot of free time on my hooves but it was hard to decide on what I should do. While I was still in thought to plan out my day, hours literally felt like seconds and when I looked back at the clock in front of me, I noticed it was almost twelve in the afternoon. “Wow... time flies whenever I zoned off,” I mumbled once again as I jumped off the couch. Then, before I could think of anything else, I smelled something odd wafted into the room. I was familiar but I can’t put a hoof on it. I lifted a hoof to my nose and sniffed it. “Ugh...” I groaned as I set my hoof back on the floor, grimacing. My coat was drenched with sweat and it smelled like a week old of sweaty socks. The assaulting odor attacked my nostrils as I walked towards the bathroom. “I need to take a shower... now,” I mumbled, trying to hold my breath.
“Much better,” I sighed in contentment as I walked out from the bathroom. I felt the soft and cool breeze from the kitchen brushed against my coat and mane, sending chills up my spine as I shivered. “Nothing beats a cold shower during a hot day,” I mumbled to nopony in particular while I shook the last drops of water off my mane. Then I smelled the strong scent of Cotton’s strawberry scented shampoo filled the main room. It was soothing as it made me think that she never left the room. I felt a smile tugged in the corner of my mouth as I remembered her brilliant smile that morning, chuckling softly to myself. I slowly walked towards the leather couch and lazily flopped my body onto it, looking at the ceiling above me. “I wonder if she’s thinking about me,” I whispered, reaching my hoof outwards to the ceiling as I tried to grab something that can’t be seen. “Maybe,” I chuckled as I sat up, stretching my hooves. Then, I heard a series of knocks on the front door.
“Hey, Saxy. Are you home?” Vinyl’s voice rang behind the door.
“I-I’m home,” I stammered for some reason as I jumped of the couch and quickly trotted towards the door. I unlocked it and opened the door as wide as it could go. I saw Vinyl was standing in front of me with her usual purple shades that hid her magenta eyes and her usual amused grin plastered on her face.
“Good thing that you’re here. That means I don’t have to search for you in the city,” she chuckled as she brushed her mane with a hoof.
“Why are you looking for me?” I asked, looking at the white unicorn mare with a questioning eye.
“Golden Note, you know... the music producer, wanted me to tell you that your first recording starts today and I’m here to pick you up,” she answered with a chuckle.
“Today?!” I exclaimed, my eyes widened in shock. It was surprising for me to the fact that Golden wanted to get down to business that quick. That pony really means serious business when it comes to work. Probably Golden Note was a pony who took his job very seriously.
“For sure,” Vinyl nodded with a grin plastered on her face. I guess it was amusing for her to see me that surprised. “Oh,” she gasped as she looked towards the apartment building’s entrance. “We really should get going,” she chuckled as she quickly turned around and walked away.
“W-wait,” I called out as I quickly grabbed my saxophone case in my mouth that sat next to the door, turned off the lights and closed the door behind me. As I stepped outside, I immediately covered my eyes with a hoof. My eyes were almost blinded by the bright sunlight that beamed from above. I slowly set my hoof down as my eyes slowly adjusted to the light. When my vision finally came back, I was surprised to see what was in front of me. If I didn’t have my saxophone case in my mouth, I would drop my jaw in awe. In front of me was a long and sleek white carriage limousine. It had gold trims on the edges of the doors and roof and its dark tinted windows reflected the sunlight back into my eyes. I quickly stepped forward to avoid the blinding beam. I noticed there were a couple stallions who were assigned to pull the carriage. They very looked strong and very well dressed. They were wearing dark grey formal attire and they were wearing dark shades that were oddly similar to Vinyl’s.
“Why are you standing there like a garden gnome?” I heard Vinyl asked, chuckling. “Come on, we have to get going,” she continued as she entered the carriage. I was speechless and I was only able to nod in return as I followed her. The interior was also as amazing as the exterior. It was very spacious to the point it could fit several ponies and still have some space left in it. I also noticed there was a mini bar in the far end of the limousine and the interior was lit by a rotating disco ball. I never thought I would see a disco ball in my time and it somewhat fits the atmosphere of the limousine. The seats were very comfortable and had built-in massager in them. My ears twitched as I heard a faint sound of thumping beats echoed inside the limousine.
“Like what you see?” Vinyl asked with an amused grin plastered on her face as she leaned back on the seat across from me. She had her hooves folded behind her head and had a questioning eyebrow raised at me.
“Y-yes!” I answered with gusto, looking at her with a beaming smile. “This is the first time that I enter a limousine carriage and it looks amazing,” I continued as my head excitedly scanned around the interior like a colt in a candy store.
“When you become a big time music star, you’ll have your own limousine,” she chuckled as she lowered her purple shades, looking at me over it. Her eyes were sparkling with interest while she still had her usual grin plastered on her face. Her gaze made me felt a bit uncomfortable. Then without another word, she put her shades back on and tapped on the roof of the carriage. I felt my body jerked forward as we began to move.
“Where are we going?” I asked, slowly trotting to a seat behind me. I carefully set my flanks onto the expensive looking seat and felt the automatic massager activated. The vibrating massagers amazingly released the tensions in my back that I got from carrying Cotton from the restaurant to the apartment last night. I heard soft coos escaped from my muzzle as I was momentarily distracted by the heavenly touches of the massagers. I quickly put a hoof on my mouth, looking away as I felt a river of blood rushed into my cheeks. What are you doing!? I inwardly screamed to myself, feeling embarrassed.
“Don’t be embarrassed, Saxy,” Vinyl started, chuckling. “I was just like you when the first time I had this limousine,” she continued with a wide grin plastered on her face. Oddly enough, I heard a sense of nostalgia in her voice for a second there. I nodded in respond as I lowered my head to avoid her gaze. I still felt completely embarrassed by the whole thing. “As for your question,” I heard she began again as I kept my eyes on the floor and listened to my heart hammering in my chest. “We’re going to Golden Note’s place.”
“Huh?” I spoke up as my head perked up to look at her with a quizzical expression plastered on my face. “Aren’t we supposed to go to a recording studio or something?”
“Golden Note has his own recording studio at his place and he told me that he prefers to do his work in private,” she answered with a grin. Her horn lit with purple magic as she levitated a glass of red wine to her muzzle, slowly sipping its content.
“Is there a reason why he wanted to work in private?” I asked again as I looked outside. I noticed that the tall city buildings were replaced by tall green trees and lush green landscape that stretched into the horizon. The sky was bluer than I remembered and a group of clouds were lazily floating in the sky off in the distance. I guess Golden Note lived outside the city area, I thought to myself as my gaze fixed to the lush green fields outside. Suddenly, I felt a slight twinge in my heart, remembering my home back in Ponyville.
“I dunno,” I heard Vinyl answered back. I looked at her once again and saw she poured herself another glass of wine.
“I don’t think you should drink too much during the middle of the day,” I spoke up, looking at her with a worried expression on my face.
“Don’t worry,” Vinyl chuckled as she levitated the glass to her lips, taking another long sip. Then she let out a sigh of contentment, levitating the almost empty glass away. “It will take a lot more than a bottle of wine to make me feel lightheaded,” she explained with a grin on her face as she poured herself another glass. Her statement left me with my mouth opened in awe. Is she for real? I mentally exclaimed to myself, looking at the white unicorn mare with pure shock. She noticed my look and just nonchalantly shrugged in return as she raised the glass in a toast towards me. With that, she took another long sip of the wine. I immediately shook my head, trying to regain my focus.
“Looks like we’re here,” Vinyl spoke up as she pointed a hoof at the window behind me, looking at me with a grin plastered on her face. I tentatively turned my head to look and my mouth dropped in awe once again. I noticed that we were approaching a large and fancy looking golden gate that was leading towards a winding gravel path. Far behind the gate was a large white mansion that stood on top of a large hill that overlooked the area around it. I saw a tall white tower stood proudly in the middle of the mansion as its golden roof glowed under the sunlight. In front of the extravagant mansion was a large circle field of colorful flowers that had a large statue of the princesses of Equestria stood in the middle of it. The statue of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood proudly among the colorful flowers. The land around the mansion was a wide and green flatland that was well kept. The grass around the mansion looked like it was often trimmed to perfection and there was no offending leaves that can be seen on it. The pony who worked on it must be a very dedicated to his or her task and for that, I felt humble to see such determination can be shown in the simplest of ways.
“T-this is Golden Note’s house?” I exclaimed while my eyes still fixated to the enormous home that we were approaching.
“Yup,” I heard Vinyl giggled behind me. “He lives at the mansion with only his housekeepers. He only goes outside for his job and he rarely participate any company parties or gatherings unless it is important,” she continued.
“I see,” I nodded as I tapped my chin in thought while my gaze still glued to the mansion in front of us. He rarely goes out, huh? I wonder why, I inwardly mused as my eyes darted left and right. I was trying to think up a good answer but... to no avail. I guess it’s nothing, I mentally shrugged as I shook my head from my reverie. I nervously clenched my teeth together as we were getting closer to the entrance of the mansion, slowly tasting the taste of fame on my tongue. “It’s show time,” I whispered to myself as I looked at my golden gateway to fame.