//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Mistakes Are Made // Story: Music is Magic // by SleeplessScribe //------------------------------// Music is Magic Story 5 Chapter 6: Mistakes Are Made By: SleeplessScribe A knocking came on the door that morning, but neither of us bothered to get up. I was still up against my coltfriend, and he made it clear he wasn’t letting go of me. Eventually, we both got tired of the persistent rapping and both went to answer the door. I suddenly found myself deeply regretting not answering the door on the very first knock. The big stallion stood in the door, his mouth completely straight and his brow furrowed. “Beat, you have a very busy day ahead of you. Come with me right now so we can review your schedule.” He scratched the back of his head, turning to me for a moment. “Can I at least talk to Vinyl first? I mean-“ “No time, Beat, let’s go.” My stallion shot his manager a glare, pulling his typical stuff out of my room with his magic. “Alright, but I’m cutting off everyone at noon. I’m sure you’ve heard of my new student I’m teaching, and I still want to spend more time with my new marefriend.” I gave him a smile and pushed him out the door. “Don’t worry, Beat! Last night gave me a little inspiration, so I think I’m going to get some actual work done today.” Even as he was being led away, he nodded at me and shouted. “Noon today, I promise!” After winking at him, I closed the door and let out a loud yawn. While what I had said wasn’t a complete lie, it was more so just the sex that gave me some musical ideas. Admittedly, I was a little upset that Beat was pulled away from me yet again, but it was kind of selfish to want him all day, every day, but how could I not with how good he’s been? I actually forgot about breakfast until my stomach started growling. It had been at least an hour, and I got at least three song’s worth of music fixed up and playing back. Gotta love those sounds only a computer could make. Again, I loved conventional instruments, but techno music was just more fun, and combining it with real instruments was even better. When I was satisfied by a hay and daisy sandwich, I returned to my mixing board to add in a few effects to one of my pieces. Let me tell you, when you’re having fun and working toward a goal, time flies by faster than a Wonderbolt. It was actually a little worrying to see that it was now one o’ clock, and still no sign of Beat, so I put what I was doing on pause and left. I was sure it was nothing big, but something must’ve been keeping him since he did say he’d be back by noon. Not long after I began my search, the sound of clicking and encouraging words drew me to my lover. Our wonderfully polite visitor from last night was conducting her real photo shoot, though I couldn’t tell from his expression if Beat was annoyed or if she was telling him to make those faces. Regardless, he didn’t look like he was having fun, and Photo Finish just kept snapping away, making him change poses every now and again. Finally, I’d had enough and walked up to them. “Beat, what is this? You look like you’re about to take a shit while doing yoga.” The photographer bolted in front of me, leaning to the side every time I tried to look at Beat. “Hey! Let me through!” “There are magics being made here! Nopony gets through until we are finished!” She continually pushed me away, but all he did was shoot me a bashful grin and shrug. He mouthed “sorry”, but it was a little upsetting not to see him doing anything. Fortunately, I was given a cushiony seat to sit in as I watched the stupid session. Honestly, I almost fell asleep. Finally the picture taken ended, and I was permitted to see him again. I’m pretty sure he could tell I wasn’t happy even after our hug. “The hell was that? You couldn’t even say anything to me?” Beat bit his lip, doing his best to avoid my eyes. “I’m sorry, Vinyl. I guess I just didn’t want to mess this up.” I began poking his chest with my brow raised. “What, saying ‘hi’ to your girlfriend would’ve messed you up? Either Photo Finish is being really uppity or you’re spouting a load of bullshit.” The colt shook his head quickly and backed away. “No, I just didn’t want her to think I had my mind on something other than the photo shoot.” “What happened to ‘Amazing pony on my mind’?” Now he was starting to stutter and sweat a little. “You’re always on my mind! You know that!” All I could do was roll my eyes. “Which is why you forgot all about being back by twelve, right? It was one o’ clock when I came looking for you.” His hoof collided with his forehead as he groaned. “Are you kidding me? Ah man, I’m so sorry….” There wasn’t enough anger in me to give Beat more hell than I already was, so I just leaned against him. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, managing to calm down a bit. “Babe, you’re scaring me.” He tilted his head as we started to walk away. “What are you scared of?” He knew what I meant. I knew he did. “You’re really pushing the edge of your promise….” “No, Scratch, I’m not. You don’t ever have to worry about that. I know who I am, and I know where I came from. That’s something that’s never going to change.” I kept my eyes closed, trying to keep from falling as I balanced nuzzling against him and walking. “I hope so, Beat. I really, really hope so.” We went back to the house, and I let Beat lie down and rest while I resumed my work. I didn’t really have that much left I wanted to do, but it was still something. I knew it was going to happen eventually, but that didn’t mean I wanted it to. Beat made it quite obvious he was sorry, but I really didn’t want him to think I was as upset as he believed. “Vinyl, please, I’m really sorry.” It took a little effort not to groan or roll my eyes as I turned to him. “Don’t start, Beat. I know you’re sorry, and while I am a little upset, it’s not that big a deal. Of course I’m a little worried about you, but don’t take that as incentive to pour apologies on me. Please, for the love of Beethoofen, don’t do that.” He gave me a quick nod, leaning his head back. He’d been complaining of a headache, and I couldn’t blame him, considering who he’d been dealing with earlier. Though, we both hoped he could get over it soon, or he’d miss today’s meeting with Sweetie. I mean, he still had a good hour, but headaches can last much, much longer if they’re bad enough. With him in the current pose he was in, giving him a little “special healing” was a temptation that I really had to fight to resist. Watching him jump as I gave just a little lick was satisfaction enough, and I stuck out my tongue. “Maybe if you can make it up to me I’ll give you more tonight. I know one lick just doesn’t help at all.” Teasing Beat was still as much as it had always been. He just swatted at me with a smile, rolling over so he could kiss me. “Last night wasn’t enough for you? For shame, Vinyl, you little horndog.” I rolled my eyes and returned his kiss, booping him on the nose. “I’m the horndog? Says the guy who took all three spots in one night and shoved his horn up-“ “Ah da da da da! Nobody needs to know about that.” His reactions had me giggling like crazy now. “Aw, but it felt so good! You know, when you first asked me to try it, I thought it would hurt like hell, but it actually felt pretty great. Beat, if good sex was all you needed in a relationship, we’d definitely win couple of the year.” Now he was blushing, and I was straight up laughing. “Why are we even talking about this?” I leaned forward, practically laying on him at this point. “Because I love my Beat and his amazing bedroom talents.” He gave me a grin accompanied by gentle strokes of my mane. “Well give yourself some credit too, then. You were outstanding considering it was your first time.” I had to think of some way to torture him as payback for earlier, and while teasing him was a great option, I didn’t want him going over to Rarity’s with a stiffy. In all honesty, that severely limited my choices. Messing with his horn no longer worked, but I suddenly remembered another weakness of his that only corrective laser surgery could’ve fixed. That worked in my favor because Beat couldn’t even take eye drops without flipping out. Before he knew what happened, he was flailing around, frantically searching for what I had taken. “Scratch, what did you do with my glasses? You know my vision is like… ass/20 or something!” The description of his sight had me rolling on the floor. Oh yeah, this was ample revenge for what happened earlier. Though his sight wasn’t as bad as he made it out to be, having his glasses still put me in control. With a grin on my face, I lowered the eyewear and raised it up as he tried to grab for it, repeating the process for at least two minutes. “Come on, Vinyl, this isn’t funny anymore!” Alright, it was pity time. I lowered his glasses back on his face and he let out a long sigh. “Phew! Thank you so much….” All I did was shrug as I stood up. “Eh. Come on, let’s get to Rarity’s before we’re late. I know you don’t know her that well, but she’s a stickler for detail.” Well, she wasn’t as bad as Twilight, but the prissy pony never let appointment breakers hear the end of it. I remember one time she asked me to do music for one of her art shows, and I was ten minutes late. If memory serves, she brought it up each time she saw me for the next three weeks! It was actually really surprising how good Beat and I were at wasting time. By the time I was finished with all my musical production, our arrival at the boutique left us with very little time to spare, though we were talking along the way as well. Beat, however, did not search for Sweetie immediately, but instead tried to find her sister. I simply sat in a chair and waited for them, only to have the sweet filly trot up to me with her eyes darting from side to side. “Hi Miss Scratch! Is Beat here yet?” I should have known she was going to ask that. However, as I patted the little girl’s head, a few questions of my own came to mind. “Well, he is, but he’s looking for your sister right now. Say, do you think you could answer a few things for me, Sweetie?” “Sure!” It may or may not have been a good idea to tell her now, but I felt that the sooner she knew, the better. “Beat thinks he can have you ready to sing in a talent show by the end of the week. How do you feel about that?” She bit her lower lip a bit and backed away. “A talent show? I-I don’t know, Miss Scratch. I guess I’m good at singing, but I’m not good enough to sign in front of lots and lots of others.” I gave her a soft smile, ruffling up her mane like Beat enjoyed doing to me. “Oh, don’t be silly! You’ve got tremendous talent, and it won’t be in front of lots and lots of others. Beat and I were thinking maybe a few parents and such. Maybe your sister and her friends, too, but that’s about it.” The young filly began to circle the floor beneath her with a hoof. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to try. What does he want with my sister?” Okay, that was a big question I was hoping to avoid. There was no telling how Sweetie felt about attempting magic. However, as unfair as it was, I had a secret weapon for sweetening my words, and none of it was actually a lie. “Well… Beat wants to see if your body is ready to learn its special magic. He really, really thinks your abilities will be like his in the sense that he uses his magic to amplify his voice and create multiple voices at once. Which, might I add, is pretty freaking sweet when he implements that into his songs. Now, I know magic might be a little hard for you, but get this: it’s true that any unicorn that figures out their special magic gets their cutie mark not long after! I got mine just a few days after I learn how to make music with magic, and Beat got his a week after his first concert without any amplifiers.” At this, Sweetie’s eyes lit up and she began to bounce around me. “You mean I can get my cutie mark if this works? Are you serious?” I gave a small giggle before patting her on the head. “Why would I lie to you about that? You’ve been wanting yours so bad, I’d never think of giving you false hope.” She nuzzled herself against me, pretty much squeaking with delight. “Oh yes, then of course I’ll try!” Again, it seemed a bit mean to me to use that fact to sway Sweetie’s opinion, but it’s not like I was lying. Though, Sweetie Belle was a gamble. She was at the age now where magic was indeed possible, but that didn’t mean it would be very easy. I think I was at least three years older than the filly before me when I finally mastered my magic, so there was no telling if this would actually work or not. A few moments later Beat came down with Rarity, whom was sporting quite the excited expression as she trotted toward her sister and picked her up. “My little Sweetie’s finally going to learn magic!” “Wait, so you’re okay with this?” Rarity’s little sister began to wiggle a little in the elder mare’s embrace, giggling as she was slowly spun around. The prissy mare let out a giggle. “Of course I am! Sweetie, if you can pull this off, you’ll finally have your cutie mark, just like you always dreamed. Not only that, but you’re always telling me how much you love singing, so why not try and make a career out of doing something you enjoy? It’s the best feeling in the world, and I’d know. I love doing what I do.” I raised my hoof with my own smile, beaming at the sisters. “I do too.” It wasn’t long before Beat followed with his own hoof. “Me three!” Nopony else was given a chance to respond as the door slammed open and the big stallion walked right through like he owned the place. “Beat, you have ten minutes, and I want you out here.” He began to stutter as he stared at his manager. “Wait, you said we were done for the day!” White Noise shook his head. “I thought we were, but now others have arrived requesting your presence. Be back at the bus in ten minutes or I’ll have to send them off.” Beat’s ears fell flat as he lowered his head. He only managed to speak after a very long sigh. “Fine… I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle. Do you think I could come by later and try?” Now that had me miffed again. I couldn’t be too mad, since the little unicorn had been so excited, but the fact that he went straight to asking was a little irritating. Sweetie opened her mouth, though it was her sister that actually responded. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll have a little time later for you to stop by! Please, don’t let us hold you up. Go, go now!” The unicorn shooed my coltfriend out the door, closing it without even letting him speak. Hey, it was now a white unicorn mare convention! She heard my sigh and turned to me. “Vinyl, dear, what’s wrong? That didn’t sound happy at all.” I was now sitting like Lyra liked to do, though instead of looking relaxed, I had my face in my hooves. “I’m not! I’m really, really scared, Rarity.” Neither of us actually noticed the cellist come in until she was already inside, though her lack of a “hello” didn’t make any of us feel obligated to give one. Rarity set a hoof on my shoulder with quite the worried expression. “Oh dear, what has you so scared?” “It’s my cousin.” ------- Vinyl’s face was difficult to see given her current position, but I could still make a little bit out. Fear and pain the likes of which I’d never thought I’d see was in her eyes, and it was all I could do to try and keep her from crying as I wrapped my forelegs around her. Rarity and I got along very well due to our similar personalities, and we respected each other enough to avoid arguments, so it was no surprise when she didn’t even ask if I was serious or not. “Why would she be afraid for Beat?” It was too late, I could hear the muffled crying beneath those white hooved. Pardon my language, but Beat had really fucked up. I couldn’t really blame Beat too much, though; he was a male, and we females don’t exactly come with instruction manuals, so my cousin probably didn’t even realize he was doing something wrong. I faced Rarity, though I still had Vinyl in my embrace. “He’s been acting very differently. Rarity, when the road he and Vinyl had walked together finally split, they made a promise to stay true to themselves. I’ve seen the way my cousin’s been acting, and I too fear that he’s forgotten that promise, and is starting to give pieces of himself up to gain more fame. I can only hope and pray that I’m wrong….”