//------------------------------// // Chapter Fourteen // Story: Love and Music // by slade8283 //------------------------------// Chapter Fourteen Vinyl was frantic. Not only was it her first time at the Hoofies, but she was performing, and her cellist was no where to be found. She had opted to perform the song that her and Octavia had performed; the song that meant the world to her. Vinyl ran through the halls of the dressing rooms, scrambling to find her dressing room. In all the confusion of losing her cellist, Vinyl had forgotten that she needed to get her dress on. She burst through the door labeled "Vinyl Scratch", and began to search the room for her dress. Vinyl searched for five minutes, but couldn't find her dress. "Ugh. Where is it?!" she yelled. Her frustration was mounting. Not only was her dress missing, but Sonata, her cellist who she desperately needed for the show, was still no where to be found. Vinyl considered just laying down on the couch in the dressing room and refusing to leave, but she decided against it: too many ponies were counting on her playing a song. A sharp knock came at Vinyl's dressing room door. "It's open," she yelled over her shoulder as she continued her search for the elusive dress. "Looking for this?" came Arpeggio's voice from behind her. Vinyl turned to face the producer. Her dress was suspended in the air by Arpeggio's magic, his pale green magic reflecting off of the diamonds that covered the front of the dress. Vinyl smiled at him. "Thanks Arpeggio. Don't know what I would do without you." Arpeggio laughed. "Probably go on stage with out a dress." Vinyl took the dress with her own magic and began to wiggle into it. It fit perfectly, and she felt perfect in it. The black fabric was covered in diamonds, which Vinyl loved, even though it was a bit presumptuous for a Hoofie nominated musician. "Rarity really outdid herself this time." Arpeggio said. "Yes, she has," Vinyl said as she looked in the mirror. She turned and faced Arpeggio, returning her thoughts to business. "Have you seen Sonata yet? We go on in an hour and she's no where to be found." "I talked to her a little bit ago. She's going to be a little late, something about her cello needing some quick repairs. She's going to join you on stage." Vinyl shrugged. It wasn't a great response to Arpeggio's comment, but it was all that she could think of. In the hooful of shows that Sonata had joined her on stage, the event had been a disaster. She had shown up late, unprepared, and was distracted by Vinyl's status. Vinyl wanted to get rid of Sonata on the spot, but the record company insisted. Arpeggio moved closer to Vinyl and placed his foreleg around her. "I'm sorry. I know you don't like her, but she's all we have, the record company made that very clear." He patted Vinyl on the back and a smiled at her. "Come on, the awards are starting soon." The theater where the Hoofies were held was magnificent. The carpet was a deep red, which looked good with the gold tapestries draped around the room. A very large stage stood at the front of the room, which was made to accommodate a large number of musicians at once. Vinyl took her seat at the front of the room, but wasn't seated for long. She won the first two awards, and was forced to move again. The awards for Best Mare Vocal Performance and Best Pop Solo, were taken without a problem. Even though the awards didn't matter too much to Vinyl, she was still concerned about them; her career could sink if she didn't win any any Hoofies. After the award for best soundtrack, Vinyl won her next two awards: Song of Year and Album of the Year. This is going better than I thought, Vinyl thought as she sat back in her seat at the front of the room. After the award for Best Group Performance, the stadium security waved to Vinyl: it was time to take the stage. She wasn't nervous, just in a total disbelief that Sonata was still missing. Vinyl had assumed that the mare would understand the weight of the situation, but it suddenly became apparent that she didn't. Vinyl left the awards in her seat and trotted past everypony in the front row. She received many wishes of luck, which she took to heart. I guess they aren't all bad, she thought as she entered the door at the end of the row. Maybe Sapphire isn't that bad either. Arpeggio met her as soon as they were out of earshot of the crowd. "Vinyl, firstly, congratulations on the awards." Vinyl nodded her head sharply as she took a turn for the stage. She held a bottle of water to her mouth with magic, taking a long drink. "Secondly," he continued as Vinyl set the bottle down and started walking towards the stage, "don't hate me for what I'm about to do." Vinyl spun on the spot and faced Arpeggio, a look of horror on her face. "Sonata still isn't here?! Ugh, I hate that mare!" "Just go. Everything is going to be fine," he said quietly. Vinyl thought she saw a smirk on his face as she turned toward the stage, which only darkened her thoughts. What's so funny? she thought, taking her first step towards the piano, we're missing our cellist for one of the most important performances of my career. Cheers erupted as Vinyl became visible on stage. The crushing weight of the situation suddenly fell on Vinyl's shoulders. I'm here alone, she thought solemnly, I'm doing this performance by myself. Even though she had been on stage at least a hundred times, somepony had always joined Vinyl on stage, whether it be Octavia, Sonata, or a band mate. Vinyl sat down at the piano on stage and let out a deep breath. She did her best to clear her head of her distress, trying to focus on the task at hoof. The sound of hoofsteps came from behind Vinyl, followed by the pluck of a cello string. Vinyl let her head drop in relief. "Oh, thank Celestia," she breathed as the hoofsteps grew closer. Vinyl could feel Sonata standing right behind her. Without looking, she motioned for the mare to walk past her, to the stool that had been set out for the cellist. The mare moved her head closer to Vinyl's ear, ensuring that nopony would hear her whisper. "What, not even a hello?" Vinyl's heart skipped a beat as Octavia moved into her field of vision. The grey mare turned and winked at Vinyl as she took her place on the stool. Vinyl mouthed a 'what' at Octavia, who nodded in return, signifying that they would talk later. Vinyl shook her head and shrugged, starting the song. Chords rang from the piano, and she could feel goosebumps start popping up under her coat. Octavia's cello suddenly began, a deep, rich tone that filled Vinyl's heart with joy. Vinyl let out a smile as she began to sing: I fight you off, And pull you in, Under the lights, Where we begin. I take your hoof, And pull you in, Here with me, We start again. Vinyl was aware of tear moving down her cheek. She let out another smile. Tears of joy, she thought, oh, how I missed tears of joy. Never mind Ignore the time, Look in my eye And say "you're mine". Even though it was unplanned, Octavia and Vinyl both let the note ring, as if they were letting their emotions wash over the room. They both continued at the same time, finding themselves back on beat, perfectly in sync. The fight goes on, The bell will sound, It pulls you in, Another round. The dark comes up, The lights go down, I pull you in, with out a sound. More tears. For once in her life, Vinyl welcomed them. She didn't care that millions of ponies in homes all across Equestria were seeing her become emotional. Never mind Draw the line Don't waste time Just say "you're mine". The note rang out again, and Vinyl's smile grew even more. The two ponies shifted into a different key for the bridge. Vinyl could feel the change, and her heart rate quickened. Just fly with me Ignore the fall. Take the jump It's not high at all. Now we soar Into the sun, But we have only Just begun. The song slipped back into the starting key and Vinyl could feel her and Octavia starting to move perfectly together. Every note went together flawlessly, every single beat was spot on. They were finally in perfect unison, and Vinyl felt like she was on top of the world. Never mind I pull you in, Look in my eye And we begin. I fight you off Ignore the time, Under the lights You'll say "you're mine". The music slowly came to stop as Octavia and Vinyl slowed the music together, ending on a chord that warmed Vinyl's heart. She rose from the piano and took a bow to the audience, who was giving her a large ovation. There wasn't a dry eye in the entire crowd, which made Vinyl even happier. They know now, she thought. She smiled again. Everypony knows now. Vinyl turned her head to face Octavia, who was already looking back at her. She turned and walked towards the mare, who was already moving towards her in return. They met in the middle of the stage, practically tackling each other in their fit joy. Octavia leaned in close so Vinyl could hear her over the sound of thundering applause. "You're mine," she said directly in Vinyl's ear, echoing the lyrics of Vinyl's song. Vinyl smiled and nodded as she took one last look at the audience, who was still applauding loudly. Her and Octavia took one final bow and departed the stage. Arpeggio met them as soon as they came of the stage. A nervous smile was on his face as he looked at Vinyl. "Did I do okay?" Vinyl let her smile grow even larger. "I hate you so much Arpeggio," she said sarcastically as she threw her forelegs around him in a large embrace. The musician who was previously sitting next to Vinyl, who's name she had failed to learn, was no where to be seen when she returned to her seat. She didn't care though, mostly because it gave Octavia the chance to join her as her career took flight. The two mares sat together, hoof-in-hoof, as they watched the Hoofies. The awards flew by as Vinyl and Octavia basked in each others presence, ignoring the awards for the most part. They didn't speak to each other at all -the awards didn't allow for much 'catch-up' time- but they still had an exchange of emotions, just in the simple body motions they were giving each other. Vinyl could feel Octavia's hoof squeeze her's tightly as Sapphire Shores walked on stage. Her sweeping dress followed her as she moved up to the podium. She glanced down at Vinyl, who replied with a nod. "And now, everypony, onto the award you've waited all night for: Artist of the Year. This has been a truly magical year for music, and so many acts made the year special. Unfortunately, only four select artists may hold the title of Artist of the Year. Mares and gentlecolts, here are your nominees for Artist of the Year: Twenty One Pegasi," Applause. "Coldneigh," More applause. "One Flight-Direction," Less applause. "And, last but not least, Vinyl Scratch." Another thundering round of applause filled the room. Vinyl couldn't help blushing at the audience's reaction. "And the winner is..." Sapphire tore open the envelope that sat on the podium. "Vinyl Scratch." The roof again erupted into cheers as Vinyl stood, reluctantly releasing Octavia's hoof, and made her way on stage for the sixth time that night. She moved towards the podium, thinking through the words she wanted to say. Sapphire met Vinyl on stage and gave her a hug and the award, which Vinyl levitated to the podium with her magic. She stood staring at the crowd for a few moments before finding the words that she wanted. "This award," she said as the roof came to a hush, "means a lot to me. I went through a lot to get this award: heart break, depression, and many sleepless nights. My work was inspired by my life, and I think many ponies all over Equestria can relate to my life. Not everypony gets blessed by the happy ending, that's pretty obvious, but in the end, my work paid off, and now I'm standing before everypony, accepting this award." Vinyl took a pause and looked around the room, taking in the whole scene. "And there are many ponies I would like to thank: my team that worked on the album, my producer, Arpeggio, who I would've been lost without, and, most importantly, my special somepony, Octavia." She looked down at the mare who was sitting in the front row. "Don't know where I would be without you Tavia." Vinyl picked up the award, and left the podium. She was met with applause as she stepped off the stage and returned to her seat. Vinyl turned and faced Octavia, who had a wide grin on her face. "Octavia, I know it's a couple months late, but I love you too."