//------------------------------// // Chapter Twelve // Story: Love and Music // by slade8283 //------------------------------// Chapter Twelve Octavia sat on the edge of her couch, eagerly awaiting Vinyl's newest interview. Ever since the announce of a live interview a week prior, Octavia had been preparing for the occasion in any way she could think: stocking up on food, taking vacation the following the day (it was expected to go late), and even adjusted her sleep schedule so she would be wide awake. Vinyl's album had had a very profound effect on Octavia. Throughout most of the CD, Octavia had felt like there were a few underlying themes here and there about her, but that all changed when she heard You're Still Here. The song had a very strong place in Octavia heart, even though she had only heard it a select number of times. Every time she heard it, she could basically feel her heart break all over again, not in self-sorrow, but in pity for Vinyl, who Octavia found to extremely hard to contact. If Vinyl had been easier to contact, the whole situation would have been resolved much earlier, but instead the mares were still stuck worlds apart. The screen flashed as Octavia's favorite gossip program (which she still hated) suddenly appeared on the screen. A large picture of Vinyl occupied the screen with the caption "Equestria's favorite star agrees to live interview." Octavia's heart warmed as she saw Vinyl's face. Even though she had pictures of Vinyl laying around the apartment, she still found the sight of Vinyl warming and comforting. Something about unicorn's red eyes felt like home to Octavia. The image of Vinyl faded and it was replaced by live footage of the host of the show, Honey Blossom, a pale green mare of an older age, who was sitting facing the camera. "Hello Equestria. Tonight I bring you what may be the most anticipated interview of the entire year. I'm joined, here in the studio, for a rare, live interview with Equestria's favorite musician: Vinyl Scratch." The camera panned and zoomed out to include Vinyl in the shot. Having not seen Vinyl in months, the sight of the mare should have made Octavia very happy, but seeing the worn down and emotionally crushed Vinyl only made her feel nervous. Octavia had never seen Vinyl so disheveled: her mane was wild, more so than normal, her eyes were bloodshot and had many bags underneath them. Octavia could already feel her heart begin to break as the interview began. "So, Vinyl Scratch, it has been a long time since you've joined us for an interview. How have you been in recent months?" Honey Blossom asked cheerily. "Oh," she replied with a small chuckle, "I've been better. This last album took a lot out of me. There were a couple of nights where I just went ahead and slept in the studio. You know, for convenience the next day." "And that work has greatly paid off. Since the release of your albums two months ago, it has been the best selling album for eight straight weeks. Simply amazing. How do you feel about those numbers?" Vinyl sighed. She knew that Honey Blossom was going to be asking questions, that was, after all, what interviewers did. But she didn't anticipate asking her about her feelings, something Vinyl typically expressed in songs. "Well...."I'm glad that everypony is enjoying my CD, and I hope they enjoy it for months to come," she said after due consideration to her words. That should keep the record company happy, Vinyl thought bitterly. "I'm sure they will," Honey Blossom replied. Vinyl knew that the earth pony was on her side, but sometimes it didn't feel that way. "Now I'm sure that you're excited for the Hoofies this year. Music greatest honor and you are up for a record five of them, including Best Mare Vocal Performance, Best Pop Solo, Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and song of the Year. Very impressive for a unicorn as young as yourself." "Thank you Mrs. Blossom. I try very hard. Although the awards have never appealed to me very much." Honey Blossom blinked hard in surprise. It was unheard of for anypony in the music to be indifferent towards the Hoofies. "That's very interesting Vinyl. Will you - perchance - tell us more?" Vinyl smiled. She knew that she had captured the attention of everypony watching. They would be holding onto every single word for the rest of the conversation. "Well, honestly, I've never seen much point in winning one. If I can inspire a feeling from a song; if I can make somepony relate to a song; if I can bring back memories, good or bad, from a song, that is the only award I need." Honey Blossom smiled at Vinyl but didn't respond. Vinyl was sure that Honey Blossom was straining for a response. After all, Vinyl was confident that nopony had ever said anything like what she had just said in front of millions of viewers. She could feel herself begin to sweat as the interviewer's eyes seemed to be peering into her very soul. "Vinyl, I must say, that is a very unique response. I must say, in my fifteen years of doing this show, I have never heard anypony give me a response like that." Vinyl suddenly felt very nervous. She felt as if Honey Blossom was suddenly against her because she broke the 'interview code', or something crazy like that. Honey Blossom continued, softening her tone. "I am very glad to see the direction today's stars have started to take towards what it means to be a star. You are truly an inspiration for future generations Vinyl. Vinyl did her best to hide her surprise, but she could still feel her jaw drop at the comment. "W-what?" She silently prayed that the cameras were trained on Honey Blossom: she didn't want to world to see her gaping mouth. Honey Blossom nodded. "I am very happy that today's musicians are not as focused on awards and record sales. They are thinking more about how their music makes others feel." "Umm....Yeah," Vinyl said, removing the shocked expression from her face, "I did my best to connect with the listeners on this album. I wanted everypony to relate to my feelings this time around." She was grateful that Honey Blossom had mentioned music affecting others, otherwise Vinyl would have just sat with her mouth agape for the rest of the interview. "And while we're on the topic," Honey Blossom continued, "you do connect with the commonpony very well. Your songs are very easy for ponies of every age to relate to. The title song from the album, You're Still Here, has become to most popular song on the album, which many music experts attribute to its lyrics. What exactly were you thinking when you were writing those lyrics?" Vinyl's face stiffened. Her heart began to race. I can't tell the world about Octavia, she thought. Nopony ever knew, not even my own parents. Vinyl felt the pressure of the live interview. She could almost see the millions of ponies watching her, and she knew they were all eagerly awaiting a response. "Well, to be honest, I was thinking of love," Vinyl said quietly. Honey Blossom opened her mouth to speak, but Vinyl cut her off, unaware she was about to offer a retort. "Somepony I love as a matter of fact. I hurt her some time ago, and I guess it was my way of trying to mend our situation." Honey Blossom sat in shock. Even though it was common for musicians to openly discuss relationships, Vinyl had always remained silent on the topic. The interviewer eventually pulled herself together enough to say: "That's very nice Vinyl, and I hope all goes well in your future." "Thank you," Vinyl said, doing her best to hold back her emotions. "And with that," Honey Blossom said, turning to face the cameras, "I'm afraid we're out of time everypony. Vinyl, as always, it was a pleasure talking to you. Do join us again sometime won't you?" The moon shown through the window as Vinyl sat in her chariot crying. She had spilled her emotions out to millions of ponies, and she knew the efforts would be in vain. In the two months her album had been out, she still hadn't received a response from Octavia. Vinyl was supposed to receive a message if Octavia had picked up her album, and, after two months, not getting it was taking its toll on her emotions. There was a knock at the door to the chariot. Arpeggio's voice came from the other side. "Vinyl, it's me. Can we talk?" Vinyl didn't respond, but the stallion entered anyway. She managed to make out a concerned look on Arpeggio's face, even through her tear soaked eyes. He sat down next to her and placed his foreleg around her. Vinyl knew that comforting wasn't Arpeggio's strong suit - the most he normally offered was a "there, there" - but she accepted the gesture none-the-less. Vinyl chocked back some tears before finally speaking up. "I'm sorry Arpeggio. I'm sorry I never told you about her. I'm sorry you never knew why I acted depressed. I'm sorry I made your work so much harder because I was so uncooperative. I'm sorry I-" "No," he said gently, "don't be sorry. I don't want you to be sorry. You should never be sorry for what happens in love. Just like how you should never apologize for music. We always knew that you loved somepony, it was obvious from the music, but we never asked who it was. It seemed like a touchy topic, and we didn't want to upset you." "Thank you," she said quietly. Vinyl did her best to hold back the emotions, but they eventually came through. She cried for hours, and Arpeggio was by her side the whole time. She was very grateful for the company. Outside of Octavia, Arpeggio was the only pony she could feel safe with. After many hours, the sunlight began to creep into the chariot. Vinyl wished it away: she didn't want the day. Day was supposed to be happy, and she was everything but happy. Night was her favorite. Night was when she could cry and nopony would see her. Night was when she could be alone with her thoughts, instead of somepony mindlessly chanting her daily schedules. Night was, truly, when she felt free. Arpeggio removed his foreleg from around Vinyl, making her feel lonely again. "I hate to do this to you Vinyl," he said solemnly, "but we have to go. You have to come face the world now. I know that you don't like showing your emotions, and going into a world where everypony knows how you feel will be hard, but I know you can do it." Vinyl wiped the tears out of her eyes. She looked deep into Arpeggio's eyes. "You really think I can do this?" "No, I don't," he said with a smile on his face. "I know you can. After all, you're Vinyl Scratch, music's best singer, and everypony is going to love you, no matter what." Vinyl rose from her spot and started walking slowly to the door. It doesn't matter who loves me, she thought , as long as Octavia is one of them. She opened the door, ready to face the world.