The Silent Room
Like all long and interesting stories, it often required a number of a toilet breaks.
This time it had been Octavia who needed to answer the call of nature. She had already consumed close to a dozen cups of tea, but at this rate, it seemed that the tea enthusiast was now going for a personal record, much to her bladder’s protest. Octavia’s absence also meant that for the first time since they had met, Melody and Vinyl Scratch were alone.
Sitting alone with their respective thoughts, the two guests visiting Octavia’s apartment mulled in an awkward silence.
For Octavia’s younger former classmate, she was already in awe of the unicorn and could easily imagine how Octavia must’ve admired this pony. It therefore made Melody rather uneasy to be around this extraordinary pony and for the first few minutes after Octavia left, there had even been an awkward sense to avert her eyes from Vinyl Scratch. With anxiety like this, she no doubt had questions she wanted to ask whilst there was a break in the story, but somehow, without Octavia it felt like she didn’t have the privilege to.
Vinyl Scratch also had her own thoughts. However, unlike the earth pony sitting across from her, they were questions that had been mulling from well before she had started to retell her tale. And once more, unlike Melody, Vinyl Scratch could easily find the courage to ask, her only obstacle being determining the best way to calm the earth pony’s nerves.
“I can tell you want to ask me about something,” Vinyl Scratch offered a chuckle “I’m not going to bite, so ask away”
Hearing her speak snapped Melody out of her mental block. After a second of unorganized thoughts, Melody found her courage to ask her question.
“I’m sorry, it’s just…I never thought that a rich pony from Canterlot…I mean, that is to say…I was just thinking of how horrible it must’ve been for you to have what you loved to do become such a–”
Vinyl interrupted Melody’s rambling as she took a long breath.
“Well, I guess its true, but I guess thinking about it now, I can forgive my mother for being like that about my practice...I’m old enough now to understand why she was doing it”
“Why?” Melody asked incredulously.
“My mother was usually the warmest and most wonderful pony in the world with me, but she had a few problems to overcome. Coming from what was considered a modest background compared to Daddy was part of her inferiority complex. Mother said that there were a lot of ponies that disapproved of her marriage to Slate because she wasn’t of ‘their peerage’, which I guess means they wanted a rich and arrogant pony to marry him.
“That’s awful” Melody responded.
“Well, my mother at least didn’t let it get to her and run away. She worked hard and did her best to earn their approval. Over time she made friends, but she did get used by certain ponies, which I guess is where she developed the habit of using me.”
“And you were okay with this?”
“Not in the least,” Vinyl answered “But, while I never approved of how she was using me, but I guess I’ve learnt not to hold it against her”
“How can you do that?” Melody asked.
Vinyl scrunched up her muzzle for a moment in awkward surprise. She really hadn’t thought of an answer for that yet. Instead of remaining silent however, Vinyl Scratch started to speak as she constructed an answer.
“Well…I guess growing up, I’ve sort of learnt to understand that it was because of the kind of ponies she was talking to back then. Even now I can’t believe that those were the sorts of ponies that my mother wanted to be friends with, I’m just glad I didn’t become one of them.” Vinyl sighed.
“Even if you say that you’ve gotten over it, I couldn’t imagine going on with that sort of pressure. I simply wouldn’t last” Melody said evenly.
Vinyl raised an eyebrow in surprise at the young mare.
“I wouldn’t sell yourself short Melody” Vinyl Scratch replied, and then finally added what she wanted to say “and I know that you have gone through way more hardship than a pony like me could imagine”
Melody looked over at Vinyl with a surprised look.
“Why would you think that?” Melody replied guardedly after her brief moment of panic.
“It’s a hunch…but you wouldn’t happen to be from the Suthermare Valley area, would you?”
This time, Melody was unable to hide her surprise and attempted to look away. When she realized that she couldn't even hope to deny this most embarrassingly detail about herself, Melody attempted to face Vinyl again, but in the unnecessary shame she was feeling right at that moment, was unable to look the rich-born Canterlot pony in the eye.
“How did you know?” Melody asked.
“Because you mentioned something about being from south of Baltimare. Doesn’t take much of a guess where you really mean. Not a lot of ponies like to admit they are from the Suthermare Valley,” Vinyl Scratch explained
Melody tried to deny it for a few seconds but felt it futile.
“It’s true,” Melody sighed, then after a second pause added “I apologize if I gave you the wrong impression, I didn’t mean to hide my background to you. I was worried you might’ve thought less of me because of it”
Feeling guilty, Vinyl Scratch changed her tone.
“I don’t think less of you. It’s not your fault that it’s one the poorest parts of Equestria, and that is also why I know it wasn’t exactly an easy place to grow up in, especially if your cutie mark isn’t related to farming”
Melody nodded and found herself taking another look at Vinyl Scratch.
She had again underestimated the depth to this unicorn, yet somehow Melody had found comfort in that. Had Vinyl Scratch not talked about her own difficulties with such sincerity before, the country-born earth pony would not have been able to believe that this unicorn was capable of understanding hardship. Sensing her impressions proven wrong now, Melody composed herself to explain.
“I’m from a village called Sugarhayview” Melody started “It’s a near the coastline. Every pony doesn’t own much. In fact, the schoolmaster is the richest pony in town and he even takes his classes to Canterlot every few years. It’s not so bad now that things have changed, but back when I was a filly we simply didn’t own anything”
Vinyl Scratch nodded. Then she started to tell her own story.
“When I was a filly, My father and his friends were part of the movement with other nobles to bring an end to how the House of Pureblood and others were running their estates,” Vinyl went on explaining “like how they used high landlord taxes to burden ponies with debts to them…like the Suthermare Valley was”
Silence resumed, but it was because nothing else needed to be said both ponies.
Melody already knew that it was explanation enough for why Vinyl Scratch had taken such an interest in her origin. With that insight from her however, the earth pony’s reverence for this unicorn could only grow more. Melody could have submitted to the temptation to ask more about the subject, but before the thought had occurred, Octavia reappeared from her trip to the bathroom.
“I’m terribly sorry about that” Octavia spoke as she trotted back to her seat.
“It’s cool” Vinyl answered wryly “Just glad you didn’t forget about us”
Octavia ignored any temptation to reply with a snappy remark and instead glared at the back of the unicorn’s head.
“So what have you two been talking about?” Octavia asked as she made her way around to the other side of the coffee table.
Because she had been looking at her, Vinyl instantly noticed the look of concern from Melody. Just as quickly, Vinyl made the choice to answer for her.
“Just stuff mainly, nothing important,” Vinyl replied coolly.
By now Octavia could see Vinyl’s face and once again felt the unicorn was hiding something. With a knowing look of disdain, she only needed to look at Melody to confirm her suspicions. It frustrated her as always, but Octavia decided not to bother asking about it.
Besides, there was another, much more interesting story she still wanted to hear.
“Okay…I’m settled,” Octavia announced as she found a comfortable spot on the couch she was sharing with Melody.
“Alright then,” Vinyl spoke and adjusted herself “Now, as I was saying…”
Vinyl Scratch could no longer deny that her life had stopped being enjoyable.
With the now ever-present guidance of tutors and her mother, what remaining respite the unicorn had from the daily demands in her life had been sapped away. Everything was about work; whether it was in relation to her regular academics, magic practice, or her violin practice, all of Vinyl Scratch’s time was now focused on satisfying the ever rising expectations that had become a part of her life. There was no escape from the workload and every protest only caused more of her freedoms to ebb away.
What resistance remained had finally been defeated when she ran out of things to fight for. First her mother had depleted her of free time and then denied her of favored foods, but now she had turned Vinyl Scratch into a loner. Her workload had become so great that she simply could no longer spare the time to socialize with her friends.
This deprivation of social contact was only made worse by recent events which had only served to alienate her further. True to her word and to Vinyl’s dismay, Brighten Balance had confronted Vanilla Blossom’s mother. While Vinyl Scratch had been spared the pain of watching her mother angrily berate the other pony, she had been forced to endure the repercussions.
Vanilla Blossom had become afraid to talk to her, and through Vanilla, so did the rest of her friends as word about the confrontation spread. Soon all her friendships became annulled by her mother’s will, and not long after that, the others in class started shying away from her. For the first time since she had been bullied, Vinyl Scratch felt alone and isolated at school.
Socializing was now restricted to the domain of the occasional dinner or garden party that her parents attended. It felt rather paradoxical to Vinyl that she was still allowed to attend these events, but even here the unicorn still found it hard to make friends. Sadly, nothing had changed their minds about her, blank-flank or not. With only a few exceptions, she was still regarded as below them.
It left her alone and with nothing to do.
Vinyl Scratch could not even enjoy listening to the music being played. This one truly enjoyable thing at these parties now only served to remind her of the accursed responsibilities she now had. Thankfully, the hosts of tonight’s party had neglected to have any music which left Vinyl merely feeling bored on top of her usual loneliness. She was also hungry.
Vinyl’s father had returned home so he could accept his recent promotion in the railway company. This achievement had been a cause – or more likely an excuse, Vinyl thought – for a celebration and tonight he was being honored with a dinner party at the home of one of his close friends.
Vinyl Scratch was happy for her father’s recent achievement, but such feelings were tempered by a feeling of neglect from him. Vinyl fully understood the importance of his job and that the long periods away from home were unavoidable, but his long absences had played a large part in weakening the young unicorn’s resolve against the changes in her life. Without his presence to support her, Vinyl had been left defenseless to the pressure that her mother was putting her under.
Even during the few occasions he was home, Vinyl’s father was unable to take the time to even speak with her and it eventually made her feel more like a stranger than a daughter. Despite the neglect she felt, Vinyl was happy to see him home again and as she would often do on other occasions, Vinyl Scratch listened intently to him explain his work to the other guests.
“And you say you will be in Grove Pine by the winter?” One of the guests asked.
“That is will hopefully be the case” Slate Scratch answered evenly before he explained again “Now that Dodge Junction has been connected up with the rest of railway, we’ve begun work on a transfer yard for offloading the rail segments there…Once that’s done, we only need to send the work train to Dodge Junction instead of all the way back to the factory in Fillydelphia”
“And why would that be any more efficient?” The host of the dinner asked “From the way you describe it to me, doesn’t that mean you would need a second train to bring the materials from Fillydelphia?”
Slate Scratch sighed and began to frame his reply, remembering as always to account for their lack of understanding of complex engineering topics.
“It’s all about distance and travel time. At the present it takes our work engine roughly a week to travel from the rail end, past Dodge junction, back to Fillydelphia, load up all that it can pull under its power - which is not much I may add - and travel all the way back to the railhead”
Slate paused, and much like a good teacher, made sure everyone understood before he went on.
“At present, we have one train engine, which cannot carry more than 16 fully laden flatcars of material to the worksite and has a slow top speed. The only reason why we had her assigned the project in the first place was the fact that she was no longer fast enough to operate on any of the railway lines. Now sixteen flatcars of material only equates to roughly three days worth of track laying. Which as I hope makes sense, means that at present...roughly seventy percent of our time is being spent on transiting from the railhead to the factory for more parts”
All the ponies around the table, bar one notable exception, nodded in newfound understanding. Slate noted the pony ignoring his lecture, but carried on.
“Now with the new arrangement, one of the brand new freight train engines that normally does the run between Baitimare and the farming region to the south of Canterlot will be diverted to bring about thirty two flatcars of material from Fillydelphia to Dodge Junction…which we estimate will have a turn around time of maybe three days total. With our work engine only needing to travel one day instead of three, the overall expectation is that we will only be spending forty percent of our construction time transiting back for more material.”
“A rather commendable improvement in efficiency, Lord Scratch” the host of the dinner declared “Your promotion was well deserved”
“Thank you my friend,” Slate nodded to the host of the party “But I could not have done so without the support of my staff and the workers doing their best to complete this project. Their morale has been high ever since we were able to make it past Redback Ridge. If it keeps up, we will have finally opened up the southwest tablelands to railway transport within a year.”
The other ponies at the table applauded at the end of speech, with the notable exception of one pony sitting on the other side of the table from his wife. When the applause settled down, she spoke.
“I have my concerns Lord Scratch. If I may ask, how much will this ‘new arrangement’ cost the big town markets once you remove another train for delivering produce?” Grand Salary asked “Is robbing the railway company of another train for this project really a good idea?”
Slate Scratch looked over to the banker. Grand Salary was no friend of his, but her position on the board of an important Manehatten bank – as well as being a friend of his wife – insured that she would be in attendance tonight.
“Lady Salary, I can assure you that any impact will be outweighed by the long term benefits. And as I’ve discussed before, the railway company have done their best to curtail the impact on regular services”
Grand Salary nodded curtly and took the chance to start the discussion proper.
“Even if that is the case Lord Scratch, I would have felt much better about the interruptions if I was also assured they would be focused on improving the existing network, you know just as well as I do that we need more services between Canterlot, Fillydelphia and Manehatten and I often feel that your expensive adventure into the badlands is depriving us of the resources to make the necessary upgrades”
Slate Scratch contemplated her bitter response and much like his explanation before, began to carefully frame his own reply.
“I am quite aware of your concerns,” Slate Scratch answered, then went on “However, the railway company is more than capable of keeping up with the current demands and implementing its own improvements to the existing network, even as it is working on this project…just as it has in adding more services to the Canterlot to Manehatten line in recent months”
“Yes, In a way that is impressive,” Grand Salary noted again “but they are still being loaded up with commoners. I don’t know why you don’t just raise the price instead of putting on more services to meet their demands”
Slate Scratch quietly nodded, as did others though they managed to hide their annoyance about her remark better.
“You of all ponies should understand by now that it’s financially unsound to do so. Not to mention that if we were to raise the price any further, it would go against the requirements of our royal charter from Princess Celestia”
“I’m fully aware of the charter’s affordability requirements Lord Scratch,” Grand salary reminded him “and yet ponies wonder why it barely makes a profit”
Grand Salary started to become slightly annoyed. Whatever she said, he seemed to be more than capable of a response to silence her criticism.
The banker had been making these points repeatedly ever since the project had begun. Her own criticisms on the feasibility of Slate Scratch’s plan were her main selling point in trying to persuade – or more accurately, bully – other investors to be wary of this investment. She had even gone as far as to make it a policy of her bank to reject any form of investment in Lord Scratch’s railway project.
Unfortunately for her, and despite her influence, she had been mostly unsuccessful and in recent times, many investors that had been previously turned away were coming back now that the completion of the project was in sight.
Around the table, the other guests either visibly groaned at the prospect of a verbal melee, which at this highest of social scenes could usually constitute as entertainment with their dinner. However, all of them had to agree they had become quite tired of her complaints and her audacious timing felt very uncouth of the usually strictly dignified Banker.
Grand Salary soon picked up their collective mood and noted to her dismay that she would be made a fool of by every pony here if she insisted on continuing this debate with the pony that the dinner was being held for. The banker began, with rehearsed care, to step away from the debate and, moved to something she had planned to discuss later in the evening.
“I think this debate would be best explored for another time…” Grand Salary noted as she turned her eyes to Brighten Balance “Since I have more appealing news that would be of interest to you. Specifically about your daughter.”
Both of Vinyl’s parents lurched in surprise at the unexpected turn from the banker.
For Slate it had been a rather pleasant surprise, though one that he felt uncomfortable with. Considering how vicious Grand Salary had been with her criticism just moments ago, he felt an immediate sense to guard his thoughts.
For Brighten however, it had been a more informed cause for alarm. One dour word from Grand Salary could undo all the hard work she had done to crackdown on Vinyl Scratch’s shenanigans and overcome the poor performance of her daughter.
Fortunately, and again to their pleasant surprise, Grand Salary had something far more appealing than harsh criticism.
“I’ve heard through a reliable friend of mine that the Royal Palace Conservatorium is soon going to hold a round of auditions for their special apprenticeship program. Considering the time and investment you have put into your daughter’s practice, this might be of interest to you”
At the end of the table, the mention of Vinyl’s name had sparked the young filly’s attention and she quickly became better attuned to the discussion around her.
“An audition?” the host of the party noted “Even if it’s for apprenticeship isn’t Vinyl a little too young for that?”
“Not at all” Grand Salary declared “these are very special auditions. They are looking for the very best of the ‘up and coming’ talent in Canterlot still at a young enough age that they can start training them to be the very best musicians in Equestria”
“That’s a rather remarkable proposition” the host of the dinner party replied with interest.
“It is indeed a very esteemed privilege, and it’s a rare one as well…the academy will only accept the two or three best applicants from their audition process,” Grand Salary continued “And to even get an audition slot can be very demanding. They have some strict requirements that not a lot of ponies even come close to matching…but they always find one or two stars that have ,to my knowledge, gone on to become very famous musicians, even amongst the other members of the Royal Palace Conservatorium”
Vinyl could only cringe at what she was seeing and hearing. Across the table from Grand Salary, Brighten Balance’s eyes had already started to glaze over in a brainwashed state of imaginative contemplation.
Grand Salary, noting the effect this was having on her friend and delighting in every moment of it, continued to prod her further.
“Just think of it. If you were to put Vinyl into that audition process and she were to succeed, then her future will be secured as a respectable member of society and you will most certainly be guaranteed even more prosperity for being responsible for such a talented musician,” Grand Salary claimed.
Brighten balance thought rather quickly about the prospect.
Here at last was the answer she had been scouring for ever since Grand Salary’s rather intimate threat a few months ago. If she were to enter Vinyl Scratch into this audition and succeed, the damage to her reputation would be quickly forgotten and she would be praised for being the mother of a specially selected protégé in Equestria’s finest musical academy instead.
Even if it got out about what had happened before her audition, Brighten knew that she would be commended for correcting the behavior problems in her daughter and bringing her up as a model citizen worthy of praise from the Canterlot elite.
“But know this,” Grand Salary warned “I’ve learnt from my friend, if she were to fail, then I cannot contemplate the future that she might have the disgrace of failing an audition with the Royal Palace Conservatorium, regardless of the level, will be with her for the rest of her days. Every pony will know it and they will question every possible reason why the daughter of a noble family failed.”
Some of the ponies seated shifted uncomfortably in their places around the table as they all realized the inherent risk to their social status that this sort of offer could become.
Brighten, however, took that implied risk to heart. In her mind already there were three paths and instead of being immediately frightened off, began to consider the options.
The initial option would be to simply not pursue this chance and explain that she thought Vinyl Scratch could always try when she was older. It was, at the very least, a reasonable thought to have, especially if her daughter’s chances for entering the Conservatorium were better if she were to wait. This disadvantage however would be that her peers, particularly Grand Salary, would consider her to be cowardly and take it as a sign that Brighten Balance was not confident in her daughter’s abilities.
The next option was to enroll Vinyl Scratch for an audition, and for some reason, fail to get in. Presently, this was the most frightening avenue to consider since, as Brighten did not need to be told, even a failure by the smallest margin would reflect poorly on her in the long run. Even if Vinyl scored third place out of the two they selected, Brighten Balance would be disgraced; not only failing this gambit, but for allowing Vinyl’s failure to reflect the way she was brought up.
This left the final, and desired outcome where Vinyl Scratch entered the Royal Conservatorium as a young protégé. As she had imagined before, any of the criticism she feared would be nullified by the fact that as Vinyl’s mother, she had steered her daughter into a very prestigious posting which only a very disciplined and skillful were reward with.
Brighten weighed the options, knowing that despite the setting she was in right now, if she failed to give a reply it would make her appear indecisive and that alone would reflect poorly on all she had done before. She returned her thoughts to the value she placed in the previous assessment the music teacher had given her. Vinyl was, according to him, an exemplary musician; even though he was used to teaching much older ponies, the young filly had managed to satisfy his expectations to the point of amazement.
That assessment alone gave Brighten a lot of confidence in her daughter’s abilities, especially since she realized there was only one way she could reply to Grand Salary now that she had thought about the risks again.
Slate Scratch however had a different thought on the subject.
He had been quick to notice the way that this topic diversion had immediately placated everypony’s earlier annoyance with Grand Salary. What disturbed him however was while the discussion was more lighthearted than the possible argument he would have had with Grand Salary, he wasn’t quite happy with the way his daughter had become the focus. Slate Scratch however had more conviction than his wife and before she had finished contemplating the possibilities, he decided to reply.
“That sounds like a very interesting avenue to explore” Slate Scratch noted evenly “Though I personally would like to hear what my daughter thinks about this”
At the end of the table, Vinyl Scratch suddenly found herself as the center of attention for a dozen or more pairs of adult eyes and the few ponies her age.
Until this moment, Vinyl Scratch had been listening in while contemplating her own conclusion about the offer, though for her it was more like a depressing realization. What she had assumed was more obvious: that despite her own achievements in recent times, the level of expectation was about to change yet again, and as she had already come to expect, there was nothing she could do about it. At least until her father had turned to her for an opinion.
Vinyl almost stammered as she tried to construct the words for a reply, but for some that was not fast enough.
“Weren't you listening foal?” Grand Salary complained “this is your future we are talking about! Speak up”
Slate Scratch gave Grand Salary an unseen look and returned his gaze to his daughter, noticing for the first time the very glum look on her face as she sat there. This particular look was rather new for Vinyl, whom he remembered not too long ago as being more animated than this, even at dinner parties that he knew too she despised. His daughter looked almost sad and when she finally replied, he realized that there was something seriously wrong.
Vinyl only needed to look to her mother, then her father and then to Grand Salary to know what the answer should be.
“If mother expects me to, I will” Vinyl Scratch said in an almost emotionless tone.
Slate Scratch was not entirely sure who this pony at the end of the table was, but it was clearly not his daughter anymore. The Vinyl Scratch he knew was a far more ambitious, determined and free spirited. This pony however was unflinching, submissive, and from the sound of her voice, completely devoid of the youthful fortitude Vinyl Scratch had.
“Very well said, dear,” Grand Salary chimed in response before turning back to Vinyl’s parents “Even your daughter says she can do it, so what do you say? Will you pursue this audition?”
Brighten Balance for the second time found herself in a tight spot, knowing too well that whilst the question was aimed at both her and Slate, she was the target of the offer. If she accepted then she risked being ashamed more than if she rejected, but with her current predicament with Grand Salary, how could her answer be anything else?
“I…we will consider the audition” Brighten responded finally.
As his wife more or less confirmed it for Grand Salary, Slate Scratch looked over to his daughter to notice her reaction, which he was instantly surprised to see that she didn’t have one. Instead of a more defiant look of surprise or shock at the decision being made for her, she appeared to have completely resigned herself to her fate.
With the dinner still on, he made a mental note to pursue this anomaly another time.
One additional advantage to the promotion he had just received was the rather useful ability to reschedule meetings and therefore create some free time.
Until now, Slate Scratch’s position in railways had required compliance with the demands of the board of directors, which on all his visits home to Canterlot had meant he had been forced to neglect his daughter and trust his wife to taking care of her. Until last night he had hoped that whilst he was away, his wife would be able to take care of their daughter by herself. While she was in good health and had evidently been doing very well in her grades as of late, it was only now that Slate Scratch began to question the reasons behind the latter.
He was as proud a father as any and relished in any of his daughter’s noteworthy accomplishments no matter how small, however he had always been adamant that those deeds could not come at the cost of having fun along the way. After seeing Vinyl Scratch off to school – which was an enjoyable yet rare enough occurrence these days – the railway-civil engineer made his way to the offices for the two meetings he had rescheduled the previous day. Thanks to his preplanning before the dinner, he would now have the entire afternoon off, which he planned on spending with Vinyl Scratch once she got home from school.
At least that had been the plan.
What Slate Scratch had evidently not been told of by his wife – until he asked at least – was the rather time consuming afternoon routine that now occupied his daughter’s day. In addition to the seven hours of regular learning at school, Vinyl Scratch was now spending an average of ninety minutes a day with a violin tutor, immediately followed up by a two hour session with a math and magic tutor to improve her overall grades in school.
Curious, he looked up her previous report cards and wondered right away about why that had been a concern. Vinyl was not a stellar student, but wasn’t an underachiever and her grades reflected that until recently. Now she was almost a straight A student, with the only exception being her physical education classes which was hovering between B+ and A-.
With that in mind, the additional lessons seemed unnecessary, as did the extra violin lessons that she attended six days a week. When one added it all up, Vinyl was effectively studying and practicing more hours a week than her mother was working, which despite the stresses involved, only amounted to an average of 35 to 40 hours a week
That extra time spent learning about Vinyl’s life from Brighten helped soak up the time as he waited for his daughter’s return, but it also made Slate Scratch more concerned. Fortunately by dinner time Vinyl Scratch had managed to make it home, but the look on her face worried him. It was nothing like the bright cheerful filly she had once been; now as she cantered in the door with her heavy load, Vinyl simply looked tired.
Slate Scratch knew exhaustion very well and how it could affect you over time. When he was a young draftsman fresh out of the engineering academy and working his first major job, he knew how close he had come to burning himself out with the workload he had somehow managed to burden himself with. He usually couldn’t remember what he looked like when he was this tired, but Vinyl certainly had that look at the moment.
Her youthful magenta colored eyes were drowned out by the redness of exhaustion and the familiar black rim around her eyes told him that she didn’t get much sleep these days. Her fur looked faded in places, and as hard as it was to believe, her usually very well-kempt mane and tail now looked lifeless as they drooped down around her.
“Hello Vinyl, how was school today?” Slate offered.
Vinyl seemed surprised by the remark and stopped to look at her father.
“It was okay father” Vinyl responded neutrally before asking “May I go now?”
“Of course, I’ll see you at dinner”
Vinyl nodded and trotted slowly off to the staircase where with a very sluggish place, eventually made it to the top, and turned towards her room.
The entire exchange had only lasted a few seconds, but it worried Slate Scratch more than the response he remembered Vinyl giving at the dinner the other night. Something simply wasn’t right in his house anymore and he was more than a little frustrated that he hadn’t been around to prevent whatever had turned his usually happy household into a cold brooding mess.
Dinner had soon followed, as did much of the depressing sense that Vinyl had become a lifeless automaton that – to his shock – didn’t even try ask for dessert for the third in a row. Despite knowing she was not grounded for any reason, he had never known Vinyl Scratch to voluntarily go this long without ice cream. Instead she had cleared her plate, and with permission – another oddity in itself – excused herself to her room.
“Brighten dear, is it me, or is Vinyl Scratch no longer…well…being herself?”
Brighten had expected this discussion would come sooner or later, but calmly finished swallowing the last of her broccoli before replying.
“I’ve had to make some changes to her routine while you have been away. She is starting to reach that age where we need to start ensuring that she will do well in the future.”
Slate Scratch raised an eyebrow. It had been a rather cold-hearted and very un-motherly remark from her. Previously, he had been rather forgiving in accepting the worries his wife routinely faced, but whenever it included Vinyl, he became concerned.
He knew all too well about the insecurities that Brighten sometimes felt, but lately it felt like that had taken on a new dimension and Slate had not been able to figure out the reason. That changed however when he had taken a look at Vinyl Scratch last night, and after researching all afternoon on the subject, it didn’t take the railway engineer too long to find the connection.
It had frustrated him to even think about it, but at hearing Brighten’s response, he was compelled to ask the bitter, albeit necessary question.
“Are you worried about her future, or your future?”
Brighten did not reply and instead glared at her husband with a hurt look. For Slate, it was just as much a confirmation as a verbal confession.
“I thought as much,” Slate Scratch quietly replied to himself. When a full thirty seconds passed with no reply from Brighten, he started to speak.
“Dear, something doesn’t seem right with her. I don’t know what you’ve been doing while I’m gone, but I hope you aren’t putting too many expectations on Vinyl…she isn’t some automaton you can force to do what you want”
Brighten remained calm and answered with the most predictable of responses.
“I’m just trying to do what’s best for her”
Slate Scratch sighed. He knew his time away from home had not been the healthiest thing for his marriage and he was in no mood to have an argument with his wife about their daughter. If last night was any indication however, it seemed like their daughter hadn’t had much in terms of support from anyone lately. It was time to make up for lost time.
“Why did you agree to that audition last night then?” Slate started.
“Excuse me?”
“I haven’t kept up with her progress,” Slate Scratch asked, “but even if Vinyl Scratch was a prodigy at the violin, wouldn’t you agree it’s still too soon for her to audition for a music school?”
It was a conservative estimation on her daughter’s talents, Slate recognized, but it was to him a far more logical consideration. Vinyl was not even done with basic schooling yet, so why would she be ready for an advanced school like this? Despite that, Brighten somehow managed to evade the question and again responded with her prepared answer.
“As I said…I’m just trying to do what’s best for her”
Slate had enough of her evasive answers and finally decided to speak straight.
“Brighten, I’m going to be blunt, There is something strange about the way you and Vinyl have been acting lately, and last night I finally noticed the reason why. So I’m going to ask you once, does Grand Salary have some sort of grudge against you?”
“No” Brighten flatly lied.
Slate was not impressed, but did not get angry with her.
“Brighten…It’s me you’re talking to, and trust me, I can tell something is wrong,” Slate answered calmly “Now please, what happened between you and Grand Salary?”
Brighten sighed and began to explain the details slowly; first how during Vinyl’s initial music lessons, their daughter had been sneaking time in to create her own music and how through some unfortunate events, Grand Salary found out. Then she explained the present arrangement, where through her manipulation alone, Grand Salary was effectively controlling Brighten with a sort of blackmail, at least until Vinyl Scratch was able to overcome the inadequacies that Grand Salary saw in her.
At the end of the story, Slate was barely able to maintain his cool, yet despite all of the reasons he had for getting angry with Brighten, he was more infuriated with the banker from Manehatten. It was Grand Salary who had discouraged and scared off his earlier investors with those weird stories and false rumors. It was the bank under her leadership who managed to convince a steelworks in Manehatten to abandon a lucrative contract to make the track for him.
Now it seemed she wasn’t merely content with sabotaging his project, she had gone after his family too, using Brighten’s weak willed nature to create this problem; at least he thought that was what it looked like. Brighten and Grand Salary knew each other long before the railway project, and knowing the latter as well as he did, Slate Scratch could just as easily put this down to Grand Salary continuing to project her traditional and strict ways.
He was familiar with the method of upbringing that Grand Salary preached. It dictated that once you got your cutie mark, there was an impetuous to immediately end your foalhood and conform to the expectations of the family. It was once considered the supreme method of upbringing in the traditional noble families, but in the present day, it was now considered a dated perception that only a small minority continued to practice.
Slate Scratch, in contrast, had never been subject to such a method even though his parents were of the same social class as Grand Salary’s family. They had wisely taken a more relaxed approach with his upbringing, and despite some concerns from certain ponies of their generation, was now the more commonplace approaching to raising foals, even among noble houses.
After learning to appreciate what he had been lucky to have, Slate had been rather determined to make sure that Vinyl was brought up the way he had been. For this reason, he was quite offended at the prospect that Vinyl Scratch was being made, by proxy of Brighten, to adhere to the more traditional methods of upbringing. What insulted him more was how they had taken advantage of Brighten’s insecurities.
Ever since they had met, he had been confronted with a few complaints about his courting, dating, and eventual marriage to what was considered a pony of a lower class to his own. While his own family had approved, even now there were segments of the Canterlot elite that were rather adamant that Slate Scratch would have been much better off with an arranged marriage from another noble family. For him it was rather easy to ignore these complaints, but for Brighten it was a different story.
Faced with the prospect of being shunned by her new peers, Brighten Balance had worked hard to prove her place was amongst the Canterlot elite. It had not been easy at the start. Even with all her wonderful talent and intellect, she was often ignored and for the early part of their relationship, depended heavily upon her husband for protection.
Things got notably better by the time she had given birth to Vinyl Scratch, but by then, Brighten had changed into a different pony.
Compared to when they first met, her rather down to earth nature and compassion – which was what endeared him to her – had been partially eroded away, making space for a refined sense of vanity. It slowly changed her attitude; she had become more cautious about her own actions, and over time became very protective of her image in front of others. She could still be same pony she was when they met, but from then on, Brighten would reserve it for her new daughter, and sometimes her husband.
But now, Brighten wasn’t even capable of that, despite her earnest attempts to try. Once Vinyl was capable of independent thought, it seemed that Slate had to fight with his wife every day to ensure that their daughter was not programmed with the same – and sometimes, almost paranoid – Instincts that she had been forced to adopt. Slate thought he had been rather successful, at least until now.
Slate Scratch stopped contemplating the possible grudge match between his wife and her ‘friend’, and instead returned his focus to the important problem which for him had been the empty look in Vinyl’s eyes.
“Brighten, have you seen how tired Vinyl looks lately?” Slate asked in a very controlled tone.
“I have,” Brighten replied quietly and again replied predictably “It’s just a temporary thing. Once she gets use to the routine, she will be fine again.”
It was such an effective lie that she almost believed it herself. Slate, however, wasn’t as easily convinced.
“Dear…believe me when I say this, but I’ve seen track workers on the project that are more awake than her, even after they complete triple shift” Slate continued “She is just a foal, you place so many expectations on her”
Brighten held stubborn on that point.
“It’s not about my expectations,” Brighten lied again “Vinyl needs this education, even if I wasn’t in this situation, problems or not, I don’t want her to fall behind”
Slate sighed and composed himself. Besides the subject, not wanting to yell was the only other thought in his mind at the moment.
“She won’t be a filly forever either” Slate reminded her “And even it wasn’t the case, isn’t using her as protection from your social problems a little unfair on her?”
The comment struck home, and Slate could tell that he had finally gotten his point past her stubborn defenses. Instead of continuing to speak, he merely sat in silence, looking over at his wife, who already seemed deep in thought.
Across the table, Brighten had started to ponder over the final point that Slate had made. Was it really fair that Vinyl had to do her bidding just to save her from being embarrassed by her intimidating ‘friend’? Once upon a time, a much younger Brighten would have been disgusted with the very thought, but the present day Brighten wasn’t so sure.
Everything Vinyl Scratch had become was meant to be the product of her influence. School, friends, and her father could contribute to shaping Vinyl’s personality, but Brighten was aware that it was always the mother that bore the ultimate responsibility of ensuring that her foal grew up to become a respectable member of society. Even her younger self would have been forced to agree with that.
However, when applied to her circumstances now, the logic behind this principle started to become diluted.
In high society circles around Canterlot, merited achievements alone could not earn a pony a place among ‘them’, especially if that pony had come from a lesser background like Brighten’s modest upbringing. While an intelligent and beautiful pony in her own right, from the day she had met Slate Scratch, Brighten had worked tirelessly with her imaginary handicap to become a noteworthy pony amongst the nobility. Brighten acknowledged it would be a difficult journey to win their approval, but as always, she confided in herself that eventually, it would be worth it and more importantly, her offspring would be the beneficiaries of her hard work.
With this as one of her motivations, over the years Brighten was able to eventually prove herself and by the time she had given birth to foal, the once middle-class unicorn had finally obtained the wealth and status that she had hoped to achieve. As she cradled the baby Vinyl Scratch for the first time, Brighten felt assured that unlike her, her foal would never have to go without. But with that in mind, Brighten acknowledged that there would be a price to pay if she was to ensure that her daughter would have the same sort of comforts she fought for.
While her daughter would not be cursed with a middle-class background, Vinyl would still have to prove herself and in turn prove that Brighten was capable of creating offspring worthy of a place in the exclusive social circles of Canterlot. Before, the work had been all her doing; working at the bank to earn promotion, which in turn improved her status. But now she also needed to ensure that Vinyl would not undo all the hard work she had done for her.
The social connections that helped her career along, the long hours, the stiff resolve when she was insulted by the haughtiest members of society; it had all been for Vinyl Scratch, her beloved daughter.
Yet, was she unwillingly using her beloved daughter as a shield to protect both her, and in the long run, Vinyl’s future? Brighten almost felt disgusted at herself for the basic impression that gave her, and yet she could not tell if that was the right thing to do. Didn’t others in her social group do similar things, and didn’t they work just as hard for their offspring?
Brighten ,however, was no fool. Whether intentionally or not, she was creating new hardships for Vinyl Scratch; ones that she had vowed to protect her from. The unicorn was unsure of her methods at the moment, but she did finally respond with her first honest thought.
“I’m sorry,” Brighten almost whispered out, but spoke louder as she went on “I just wanted to do what was best for her”
“I know dear,” Slate answered.
Silence resumed as both of them once again returned to their thoughts briefly. Slate ,however, decided he had enough of this issue with his wife and decided on what he would do next.
“I’m going to talk to Vinyl” Slate announced.
A quick succession of knocks on the door announced his arrival.
”Vinyl,” Slate declared to the door “It’s your father”
Silence answered him.
There was no doubt that she was inside however. There was a light glow around the door frame and until a few moments ago Slate had heard the muffled sound of a violin being played. When his patience for a response expired, he made his next announcement.
“Vinyl, I’m coming in” Slate spoke and with a gentle force of magic, he manipulated the doorknob and opened the door.
The scene that awaited him was depressing.
Vinyl was clearly too tired to stand, but she had managed to prop herself up against a chair in a way that allowed her to stand on her hind legs more easily. At the nearby aforementioned desk, there was a scattering of sheet music and textbooks on all manner of subjects. Yet apart from this corner of the bedroom, everything else was unusually clean, which for a tomcolt like Vinyl – as Slate was sure she still was – would normally be an unheard of occurrence.
“You’re still practicing?” Slate started to speak.
“Yes father…I’ll finish up soon though” Vinyl said with a little more enthusiasm than she had thus far shown him.
“What happened to calling me Daddy?” Slate replied with his first prepared question.
Vinyl looked at him oddly and after the thought possessed she gave him a tired smile.
“I’m sorry…Daddy”
Feeling better now that he had fixed that one minor discomfort of his, Slate made his way into the room, mindful to close the door behind himself for the privacy he wanted.
“Would you like to talk?” Slate Scratch offered as he looked for somewhere to sit down.
“Won’t Mother-” Vinyl started to speak, but was cut off by Slate.
“I’ll deal with her. You can take the rest of the night off from practice”
Vinyl didn’t speak any words of gratitude, but she slumped to the floor as the pressure to keep practicing was finally lifted from her. Slate then watched on as Vinyl put away the violin and for at least a few seconds, closed her weary eyes and wished her fatigue away. When everything was squared away, Vinyl lumbered towards Slate, looking for a place on the ground to join her father.
“What did you want to talk to me about Fath…Daddy?” Vinyl asked as finally let her haunches find the floor.
“I wanted to see how you were. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to speak with you, Vinyl” Slate started before mentally adding “And by the looks of things, perhaps I’ve been gone too long”
Vinyl didn’t reply and instead tensed up, something that concerned him right away.
“Is something the matter?”
“No. I’m just not sure if...”
Slate sighed.
“Vinyl you can tell me if something is wrong. I can already tell that something is bothering you, so please tell me”
Vinyl looked up at her father again, wanting to trust in him, yet feeling unsure if he would even begin to understand her problems. Sensing no way of retreating out of this, the young filly decided to just to tell the truth.
“I don’t want to play violin anymore” Vinyl declared.
Slate listened on as his daughter started to admit what she had evidently been keeping down for a long time.
“It’s not fun anymore! And no matter how well I do it’s never enough for mother or her stupid friends!” Vinyl whined out “It’s getting too hard to keep up and I never get to do what I want anymore because I need to keep practicing!”
“Why did you agree to the audition then?” Slate asked with concern.
The question struck a chord with Vinyl and finally broke her composure.
“Because I thought I had to! I already knew that it wasn’t my choice so I knew I had to agree to it,” Vinyl Scratch continued as she started to sniff away her tears “Mother would just make me do it anyway. Even if I said no.”
“Vinyl...”
As Vinyl attempted to resist crying, it was at that moment that Slate realized just how awful a father he had become.
He had disregarded his daughter for far too long. Instead, he had been head deep in a project that left Vinyl vulnerable and while he had assumed that her strong will would protect her, evidently his daughter’s resistance had since long been broken. It was painful to see the results of his neglect.
In his absence, Vinyl had been pushed to the limits of her endurance and it left her sore and exhausted beyond comprehension. Unable to stand looking at her like this, his reaction was only natural, even if he felt it completely unworthy of being called a father at this moment. He moved himself to sit beside Vinyl, an act that initially surprised the young filly, but soon turned into a feeling that she had not experienced in a long time as Slate briefly nuzzled her neckline.
The act encouraged her to do the same, and in doing so, finally allowed for her to her let feelings flow out. She cried, not in a loud whine like a younger foal would, but in an almost silent whimper as her isolated emotions were finally released. When her sniffing started to subside, Slate Scratch spoke again.
“Vinyl…do you really want to stop playing violin?” Slate Scratch asked,
Vinyl whimpered at the idea but after a minute of contemplation still didnt have a clear thought.
“Yes…No…I don’t know” Vinyl answered.
Slate Scratch considered his next response. Unlike the times when he had framed his explanations for technical things, he found himself struggling for words in consoling his daughter. He overcame that shortcoming, however, and in short order he managed to find the words that he was sure Vinyl needed to hear.
“No matter what you decide to do Vinyl…as I’ve said once before, remember it’s always your choice and nopony else can say otherwise”
“But Mother…won't she get mad? Won’t you get mad?”
“Vinyl dear, I will never get angry with you for making a choice you think is the right thing for you”
“But what If I don’t know myself…and what if I regret it?”
That was a tough question, Slate admitted and even he was tasked to think of the right response.
“Vinyl…” Slate smiled “Ever since you could walk, you’ve never thought twice about a single problem you’ve encountered and you always seemed to know the right thing to do at the right time…even your cutie mark is proof of that”
Vinyl frowned.
“I’m not sure about that” the filly replied “Ever since I got it, I’ve had nothing but problems”
“Because you started letting others make choices for you” Slate answered “and that’s not how the Vinyl I know would act,”
Vinyl looked up at her father, managing to keep her emotions in check. Slate noted her changed look and, for the first time, saw something approaching optimism in her tired eyes. He continued on with his impromptu lecture.
“Vinyl, when you grow up you’ll understand, but you will only truly regret the things you didn’t do,” Slate continued, “and that will include the occasions you didn't say what you really felt”
“But what about Mother and-” Vinyl tried to speak, but again Slate cut her off.
“Don’t worry about what they want. I think you should know by now that trying to please everypony doesn’t work, just worry about what makes you happy and never let others judge you for it”
Vinyl thought about what her father had said and found an odd comfort in his words.
“Thank you, Father,” Vinyl whispered.
Slate Scratch smiled again as his daughter nuzzled against his neck again before yawning.
“I think it’s time for you get some sleep, Vinyl” Slate noted.
“Sure…” Vinyl responded softly “Daddy…can I ask you something?”
“Of course”
“When I make my choice…are you sure you’ll be okay with it?”
Slate Scratch paused for a moment and thought about his answer. When he realized there was no reason think twice about it he responded.
“Of course, Vinyl,” Slate Scratch answered “No matter what you do, I’ll always be proud of you”
With some magic to assist the transition, Slate Scratch for the first time in ages helped Vinyl into bed and tucked her in. Even knowing how much she had grown up, it was as if she were a young filly again.
“Goodnight, Vinyl” Slate whispered before kissing her forehead.
Even though she was exhausted, Vinyl still felt a welcoming feeling of warmth from his affection.
“Goodnight, Daddy…” Vinyl mouthed quietly before she quickly nodded off to sleep.
Once he was certain that Vinyl was asleep – and quietly surprised she gone to sleep so quickly – Slate turned off the desk light and exited her room as possible. As he found the door, he crept out, only pausing one last time to make sure that Vinyl was sound asleep.
Satisfied with the improvement to his daughter’s situation, he closed the door.
“So did you decide to quit after that?” Melody asked
Vinyl Scratch took the interruption as a chance to exercise her hind legs before her haunches fell asleep on her.
“Not quite. Even though I knew what I wanted to do for my future, I wasn’t sure of my choice yet” she explained.
“That’s rather deep coming from you,” Octavia added “I don’t think I’ve ever thought about something like that before”
“I’ve just gotten faster at thinking,” Vinyl joked.
“Considering the mistakes you sometimes make…I’m not so sure if that’s a good thing,” the earth pony remarked wryly.
Vinyl only smirked in reply. Once her back end was sufficiently awakened, Vinyl returned to a comfortable position on the sofa to resume her story.
“Don’t worry, we’re getting to the important part now” Vinyl assured them “Anyway so after that night…”
If Vinyl could have wishes come true, she would have made her warm moment alone with her father last for eternity. Unfortunately just as soon as she had fallen asleep, it was quickly rendered into the past by the time dawn broke the next day.
Not much had changed, and as soon as her father had left Canterlot for another long stretch away from home, her dismal routine simply returned again, though this time with another additional demand now put upon her. True to her expectations of her mother by now, she had indeed - with some surprising reluctance - made inquiries about the audition process. Vinyl also felt no surprise in learning that it was not only coming up pretty soon, but that Grand Salary had apparently made some preliminary arrangements for Brighten in anticipation that she would take up the challenge.
After consultations with her teacher, who had approved of the audition, Vinyl was put to work again, now with a certain goal in mind. The ninety minutes of music lesson evolved into a two full hour session, but to Vinyl’s surprise her math and magic tutoring were immediately suspended for the meantime. It felt like a positive sign of some control returning to her life.This was soon invalidated by an even longer practice session at home.
Throughout all of this practice however, Vinyl felt completely different about the experience. Taking in the words of her father, Vinyl began to ponder about her future with more clarity and even as she struggled with the daily routine that had worn her soul down before, Vinyl strangely found renewed strength in her doubts. Her father had somehow inspired within her the ability to wonder about what she wanted to do, even as she continued to practice endlessly for the audition.
A month and a week soon passed before word came that Vinyl would, despite her relatively little experience, be made an exception and be allowed to audition for this most prestigious of opportunities with the Royal Palace Conservatorium. As it had turned out, Grand Salary had been rather selective in not mentioning certain criteria to Brighten, such as the necessary amount of experience Vinyl would need, but her mother nonetheless managed to convince the selectors.
Brighten had sought out both her present and previous violin teachers to write up letters vouching for Vinyl Scratch and as insurance, she even made arrangements for a ‘donation’ to be made. Such underhanded foolishness however was not required and after another week of waiting, Vinyl Scratch was admitted to the audition roster, which would perform for the selection board in two weeks time.
What soon followed was the most intensely packed and strenuous fortnight the young filly had ever lived before or since. It had been mostly part of the paranoid reaction from her mother who suddenly recognized a possible handicap that Vinyl Scratch still might have regardless of how well she performed. The solution however was the same: with increasing reluctance from Brighten, Vinyl had her routine altered yet again to prepare for the audition.
In the final week before the audition, Vinyl was given a week off from school by her mother and two days before the audition, was sent to a beauty spa for some necessary last minute ‘maintenance’ to her appearance. Despite the good intentions on Brighten’s part, the trip to the spa had almost been the final deciding factor in what made Vinyl Scratch end her long suffering indecision. Even on raw talent she was supposed to have, the fact that she also had to be pretty doing it had outright infuriated the young filly.
Yet even with all the anger she cultivated in the spa, she somehow still had a reasonable doubt about what she wanted to do.
Most of it had come from her mother’s unexpected change in behaviour in the last month and how she had tried, with faults, to be a lot nicer to Vinyl Scratch while she practiced for this audition. But what it came down to was a choice between what her first teacher had promised; the chance to compose her own music one day, or to leave and no longer face the constant expectations that she had now every reason to know would only get worse in the future.
It was a choice; her passion or her potential, which either way Vinyl knew she risked regret.
“Come on dear, we can’t be late for your big day.” Brighten declared. She was almost fidgeting in her place as the carriage arrived at the entrance.
The weather wasn’t exactly nice for this audition day. It was getting very chilly as they entered winter and for some reason today the weather agency had decided on a very overcast sky to blanket Canterlot, possibly with the first snowfall for the season to come this evening. It was a prospect that Vinyl Scratch was positively looking forward to; she utterly enjoyed it when it snowed.
When their carriage came to a complete stop, mother and daughter soon made their way out to the entrance of the grand building.
“Wow…”
Here it was and Vinyl was surprised to realize just then that she had never seen the home of the Royal Palace Conservatorium until today. Whatever awe she had however had been quickly dampened by her mother’s fussing nature and without much of a chance to take in the scenery, both mother and daughter made their way up the broad entrance steps and into the foyer.
Inside, Vinyl scratch came across her second unanticipated surprise of the day, which was the appearance of other foals her age, all of whom it seemed were also were vying for a position at the academy. Right away her confidence, as well as her comfort levels began to falter as the young unicorn examined the other ponies and discover what sort of competition she was up against. But after awhile her nerves returned to normal as Vinyl made the realization that should have been obvious from the start; they were just like her.
For some unknown reason, Vinyl was relieved when she noted that evidently most of them didn’t play the violin. From her own examination Vinyl Scratch noted that there were a few cellos, brass instruments, flutes and even a few ponies without an instrument, which if she had to guess were probably piano players. Once she had noted what she was up against, Vinyl felt a little better until she realized that all of them were standing at distance from one another.
It was then that Vinyl Scratch regretfully noticed the accompanying mothers or fathers.
Some seemed innocent enough and rather glad to just be here, but there were quite a few parents whom seemed to have the same imposing attitude about this event as her mother. They stood in close proximity to their kin, as if protecting them from an unknown threat from another candidate. It was an eerie sense, one that emanated its own tension.
Thankfully however, Vinyl Scratch was not made to endure the almost silent waiting for too long. Just as a few late arrivals entered the building, an employee of the Conservatorium had come out.
“Good morning mares and gentlecolts, would all the candidates please form a line and follow me please”
A murmured choruses of well wishes soon erupted from parents to their offspring as they prepared to make their way.
“Just do your best Vinyl…I know you can do it,” Brighten said.
For a split second, Vinyl could almost have sworn that her mother had said something reassuring to her. Realizing she had, Vinyl Scratch replied in kind and for the first time with genuine feeling.
“Thank you mother.”
Under the instruction of the Conservatorium employee, Vinyl trotted off with other candidates.
After following the conservatorium employee past a series of hallways, they eventually came into a waiting room that was oddly called the ‘green room’. The name didn’t seem to actually apply to the color of the room.
“Good morning candidates” announced another pony in a loud voice as he waited until everypony was inside.
When the door closed by the pony who led them into the green room, he continued speaking loudly as to ensure everyone heard him.
“I am Mr. Mendel. I am normally one of the instructors at the Academy…but today I will be one of the judges on the selection panel”
With his introduction complete, he had the undivided attention of every candidate who sat in absolute silence.
“Okay, we would like to get started pretty soon so I’ll run all of you through how this we will be conducting this audition” Mendel paused, making sure as he always did that these young fillies and colts were paying attention. Awkwardly he never needed to, all of them were direly transfixed on him and a few were even notably scared already.
“Okay, my assistant is now going to hand out a number card, when your number is called up you exit through the door behind me,” he gestured to make it obvious which door he meant
As he continued speaking, the assistant started trotting around and handing out paper cards with numbers on them.
“Once you are out the door, take a right, then up the stairs where you will then continue until you are at the exact spot we have marked out on the stage where you can stand, Pianists, you will proceed to the grand piano we have set up for you just behind the marker,” Mendel paused unnecessarily again before going on. “When you arrive at your spot, you will wait for us to speak, then you will tell us your number, tell us your name and you will then tell us whatever piece you plan to play.”
This last instruction made quite a few ponies tense up.
“When you finish, once we have told you to leave, you will then turn to your right and continue on to the other side of the stage where you will find another set of stairs. Go down them, make another right and you will be in a room exactly like this one,” Mendel concluded his instructions “Once you are there, you are free to go”
When he finished with his initial set of instructions, Mendel took a moment to consider the effect of what he was about to say. He now needed to add something that he always expected would start to scare them, but long experience had taught him that it was better they knew this now than in an hour from now when its was their turn.
“Now this is a very important thing I’m going to say, so I‘ll say it once. There will be a lot of ponies out there watching. In addition to the judges, there will be other conservatorium musicians watching, in addition to your parents”
This news did not do well to encourage the already scared ones in the group. Mendel knew it and could already guess which ones might snap under the pressure, but he went on with his assurances.
“But for those who are a little worried, do not panic, this is not part of your test. We know it might be scary so heed my advice,” Mendel advised “Always remember to just focus on the judges when you play, I guarantee that if you can do that, then you will be just fine”
Now that he had finished getting past the scary stuff, Mendel needed to pep talk the confidence back into these ponies. It was at this time that Vinyl Scratch was given her assigned number; she would be 15th out of a total 22 candidates.
“This will be a very important moment in your young lives but remember regardless of the outcome, you have made a remarkable achievement in just making it to auditioning level for the Royal Conservatorium of work. You should all be proud of yourselves,” Mendel paused “So cherish this moment and enjoy it for all its worth”
As he had hoped, some of the most scared ponies were relieved by his words, even if it was somewhat of a lie. He had already noted at least three ponies in the room that almost certainly would break down.
“We will begin in about ten minutes, so just relax and wait your turn” Mendel finished before turning to his assistant and muttering some instructions to him.
Once he was finished Mendel turned to the doorway he had pointed to and just like that left the fillies alone with their thoughts.
Despite how long they were told to wait, nopony said anything and instead remained silent for the duration of the waiting time. The only noise Vinyl could now hear, besides the ambiance out the open doorway to the stage, was the occasional hoof step of the assistant lingering by the door. It was already starting to become very tense for the young unicorn, but she was unaware the tension was yet to reach its zenith.
After an additional two minutes to their wait, the first significant action since Mendel left occurred when the assistant – evidentially called from the stage outside – stepped out to hear his instruction properly. In a few seconds, he had returned with his announcement.
“Okay, Number 1, you're up!” the assistant announced.
At the very front of the room, a young black colt with a flute stood up from where he had been waiting and trotted off to the door.
Once he was outside, the assistant closed the door and all outside noise suddenly dissipated. Vinyl noted right away that meant the room was soundproof, which in a way was a blessing. Vinyl Scratch already had anxiety, and overhearing the performance of the other candidates might have continued to unnerve her. But a few minutes later, she realized that it was actually worse.
Without outside noise to provide some ambience and her fellow candidates evidently afraid of even speaking, Vinyl Scratch was effectively sitting in an almost silent room. It was an unreal experience and within minutes of the door being closed, Vinyl’s acute hearing – which had become desperate for sound – had managed to focus in only the most sensitive noises. All of a sudden the movement of limbs or the breath of others suddenly became as noticeable as speech.
Vinyl then noticed that despite the small size of the room, everypony continued to keep their distance, finding something to focus on other than the gaze of the few ponies that dared to look around. With their tension already at an all time high, the silence of this room and close proximity to their competitors produced the most alien sensation of fear and anxiety that Vinyl Scratch would ever have experienced in her young life.
Almost ten minutes passed before all of sudden the stage door was opened again and the assistant spoke to the assembled candidates.
“Alright, Number 2, you’re up!” the assistant ordered.
Vinyl Scratch this time didn’t see who had left and instead tried to focus her attention on her numbered card. Just as soon as the next candidate was called up, the door was closed again and the silence and tension returned.
This was going to feel like the longest afternoon of her life.