“Sis, would you please stop dragging me around the main square like this?” Sweetie Belle complained, as the little white filly pulled her with her magic by her horn, dragging her feet into the dirty road that would usually lead to their home, Rarity’s famous boutique.
“But dearest sister, we must hurry! And besides, it is too much fun to stop!” replied Rarity, her face resembling more of a begging little puppy than that of a filly.
With a long sigh, Sweetie Belle nodded in defeat, and Rarity smiled wide.
But the newly adult pony eyes grew wide, and her grumpy expressing changed into that of wonder once she gaze upon the building standing in the boutiques place. It seemed three floors high, with a large record slicing the upper two in half at a diagonal, and every edge was covered in neon lights. The sign, bright and colorful as well, read: “Bass Cannon Records” with large grinning neon Vinyl Scratch next to it. Right on the entrance door, Sweetie Belle could see her, on what seemed to be an album cover. As she came closer to the cover art itself, she blushed, as behind strongly stylized letter that spelled her name stood her adult self, laying on her plot suggestively, with shiny cyan socks that went all the way to her cutie mark. Even the look the unicorn on the picture was carrying seemed alien to the dragged mare, as it oozed seduction and a deep desire. The name of the single seemed to be “Ring the Belle” which gave her another long gulp as the sisters entered the record label.
“Well if it isn’t little Miss Sexiest Mare Alive!” said a familiar raspy female voice, followed by the sunglasses that were her trademark symbol.
Vinyl stood up from behind the large controls and took of the extra-large headphones, only to jump up and hug the perplexed Sweetie Belle.
“What, no kiss? Oh I get it, still cranky from the jet lag. Serves you right for going to photo shoot for Ponies Magazine in old Manehattan!” Vinyl said with a coy smile with a hint of pride for her biggest star.
“Manehatten Miss Scratch?”
“Miss? Aren’t you cute? I thought I told you no title in the studio. Anyway, how did the shoot for the number one on the “Next Big Thing” list go?” Vinyl replied, still ecstatic.
Things began to fall into place for Sweetie Belle. Not only she was a singer, she was popular! Vinyl would have to explain what sexy means, sister would only blush somepony would bring that word up.
“Photo Finish sent me the masters this morning, and the combination of your fur and the black background is killer! Almost enough to make me jealous as now everypony gets to see how beautiful you are. “Vinyl continued as her mind seemed to drift to a memory.
After a few moments of silence in which only Vinyl’s sighs could be heard, she got back down to Equestria.
“Okay, no more playing around, ready for the session?”
“A session?” Sweetie Belle replied, still not fully on the same page as the two other ponies.
“Oh please sister, I love it when you sing!” Rarity pleaded and tugged at her bigger sister’s tail.
Belle looked at her, and smiled. Her voice was not pretty at all, too high and squeaky. Why would her sister want to hear such whiny voice anyway? But if Rarity wanted her to sing, well she would try and wing it.
“Cutie Mark Singers go!” she yelled and quickly shoved a full hoof into her mouth.
“Eh, sure whatever makes you sing honey?” Vinyl said, slightly confused by her stars unusual outburst.
“Yay!” the white filly cried, and began to hop in place, as Sweetie Belle entered the isolated room.
As Vinyl pointed, so did Belle place the large headphones onto her pony ears. She was rather surprised how easy magic seemed in this older body. She made a mental note to show off to Scootaloo how much better she was now.
“Okay, today we are doing a session for the single. You can find the text in front of you. And one, two…”
Sweetie Belle was about to protest how she does not know the song, but as the R’n’B’ beat began to pump through the whole studio; her body began to dance to it. Every bass and every crescendo flew through her, and soon enough she began to sing the text in front of her, in an alluring and wonderful tone.
I know you like me
I know you do
That’s why whenever I come around she’s all over you
And I know you want it
It's easy to see
And in the back of your mind
I know you should be home with me
She even managed to stop right as a rap by Vinyl changed the tempo of the song. Soon enough everypony in the studio was bobbing their heads to the beat Vinyl had designed. Sweetie Belle was feeling the groove, and pushed her voice harder now, not afraid it was ugly or unbearable.
Don’t cha wish your mare was hot like me
Don’t cha wish your mare was a freak like me
Don’t cha, don’t cha
But just as the next part of Vinyl’s rap was to begin, the sound stopped. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes, and a bunch of tall figures were above Vinyl, who was on the floor injured. She ran out of the room and yelled: “Stop, please!”
“Anything for you dollface!” the biggest pony in the crowd said, and stopped the others from punching the unicorn DJ while she was on the ground.
The grey stallion was dressed in immaculate suit, with his henchcolts wearing similarly expensive suits as well.
“I already told you, we had a deal! If I beat you in poker, you would wipe our dept, and I did!”
“But you cheated Vinyl, I can’t let that slide.”
“No I did not, you did!”
“True, but if I cheated and you won, you must have cheated, right guys?”
The brutes nodded in unison, and Sweetie Belle stood in front of the stallion and Vinyl.
“Don’t you touch her, you monster!”
“Please Sweetie Belle, no need to insult ol’ Cosa Nostra. I am just here to remind Vinyl that if you mares don’t pay up until Monday, this studio might become a warehouse of broken equipment.”
He closed in on the trembling Sweetie Belle. He was a unicorn, his horn hidden under a fedora. His magical aura gripped Belle by the head, and held her against his. His calculative eyes were cold and serious.
“Three million bits, by Monday.”
He let go of Belle and pushed her into the turntable.
“Let’s move. Hope your single paves out mares! Come on colts!”
As Cosa Nostra exited, so did his goon follow, leaving the two shaking mares on the floor. Only after a few tense minutes with Belle hugging Vinyl and crying silently did Rarity run out of her hiding place inside one of the closets.
“Sister, are you okay?”
“I’m fine Rarity, but they hit Vinyl!”
“No need to worry your pretty face, it’s just a few bucks to the ribs.” Vinyl tried to calm the mare down, but a faint trace of blood coming from her mouth told otherwise.
“Come on sis, we must get Vinyl to the doctor. Go and call the hospital while I get her to the entrance.” Sweetie Belle said to Rarity, herself quite surprised how quickly she formulated a plan. Seems although she did not remember anything from this adult Sweetie Belle, she did gain her power of deduction. She made a mental note to praise herself because she knew what deduction meant.
Rarity ran quickly to the phone and dialed the emergency services, while Sweetie Belle got Vinyl in a more comfortable position.
“There we go!” she exclaimed, forcing a smile upon Vinyl’s face.
“Thanks honey, I feel better already.”
“Of course, what are friends for!” Belle replied and gave a childish grin in return.
“Oh come now, your sister is not here, no need to play the old friend card.”
“Friend card?”
“Yeah silly mare! Today you really seem all over the place.”
Belle gulped for a moment, but Vinyl was so comfortable that her suspicions faded in the sweet embrace of the one pony she fell in love with.
“You know this only means one thing, right?”
“Of course! Eh, what thing again?”
“The talent show you crazy mare! You know, the big contract with the record label worth TEN million bits!” Vinyl said with some annoyance.
“Ten million bits?! That is like... hundred thousand lunch monies!”
“Oh Luna, did they give you some crazy pills on the plane?”
“No, no! I’m just thinking out loud!” Belle tried her best to dodge the question, although she would have to ask Twilight what kind of pills Vinyl was talking about.
As the two mares sat, the door of the studio open once more. With his usual skip, Spike entered the studio.
“I am here Sweetie Belle! Sorry I took so long, had to stop by at Sugar Cube Corner and pick up some…”
The box of cookies dropped on the floor as Spike ran to the injured Vinyl.
“Oh no! Don’t tell me, it was Nostra again, wasn’t it. You two can’t keep hiding his extortion only because you… you know…” Spike said, making somewhat lewd hand gestures that made Vinyl blush.
“Spike! Just because you are cool with it, doesn’t mean everypony is! I don’t want Rarity to go through school with her sister a fillyfooler.” Whispered Vinyl into Spikes ear.
Luckily, he managed to stop just before Rarity entered the room again.
“The medics are on their way big sister!”
“Hear that Vinyl, the good doctors are on the way!”
“Good to hear. But I fear if you don’t win that contest, the only pony we will need is the gravedigger pony.” Vinyl said with a grave tone.
Sweetie Belle looked with fear at Vinyl, the idea somepony might die if she failed drowning out even the high pitch sirens of the emergency carriage. Being adult was getting complicated way too fast.