Let It Change You

by PoetryEmpress

Let it Change You

“Wait, so let me get this straight… you’re an evil, misunderstand, still evil, pony that used to torture the Crystal Ponies, you nearly killed the Elements of Harmony… and you want to learn how to play a bass guitar?” The pony being question flared his nostrils impatiently, his eyes darting left to right under his jumble of disguises.
“Yes.” He hissed. “But the thing is… the thing is, I can’t really be seen.” The white unicorn, whose bright blue hair struck the air like a bolt of lightning, smirked and lifted her hooves up on her desk.
“I don’t know. I’ve dealt with some shady… and I mean shady ponies before, but I’d have to say you’ve topped the list. Why in the world should I consider even considering you at all?” Again the large stallion’s nostrils flared, and his eyes took on a dangerous edge.
“What don’t you understand, peasant? I need this. Badly. And I can’t even show myself. This is secret. No tongue - got it?” The unicorn kept calm until the last sentence, where her lasting smirk turned into a doubled over laughter.
“No tongue? No tongue? Oh, that’s… oh that’s just grand, now isn’t it?” She continued wiping a few tears from her eyes, allowing the giggles to escape her as if their wasn’t a dangerous pony standing at the other side of her desk.
The black stallion’s patience was beyond stretched - it was broken into pieces. He put a hoof up on the unicorn’s mahogany desk and narrowed his deep maroon eyes at the chuckling mare.
“Do you want my bits or not?” Using the hoof that wasn’t currently being used as an aggressive gesture, he dumped out a bag of bits on the desk, letting the gold coins fly about.. Immediately the white unicorn stopped laughing, staring in awe at the stallion.
“Wait, you’re serious?” She let out another guffaw, grinning at the bag of bits on her desk. “You claim to be some evil mastermind, and you don’t want revenge or justice, just bass lessons?” Again she grinned at the bag of bits, as if expecting it to answer. When none came she just shook her head. “What a card… give me a minute to think about this.”
She leaned back on her chair, swiveling around so that all the black stallion could see was the back of her head and the chairs plump exterior. He pulled his hoof from the mare’s desk and rolled his eyes. I knew I should have just taught myself instead… this was supposed to help speed the process up, not delay the whole thing! Annoyed, the black stallion cleared his throat loudly, hoping the mare would get the point. Of course, she didn’t.
Instead the black stallion was forced to wait another minute until, finally, the mare swung back around to face him.
“You know what? You seem generally weird. But generally nice. In your own special way. And I like music - it’s an escape. From my eyes, it looks like that’s all you're trying to do - escape. So sure.”
The mare swung a white hoof forward, shaking his far darker one.
“Lessons start tomorrow - meet me at the entrance to this building at sundown. Don’t be late - these bits might be pretty, but if you’re not going to show up I’ll just have to take ‘em off your hands.” With a sly smile, the mare slid off her seat and trotted over to the office entrance.
“Um… thanks.” The impatience of the black stallion lowered slightly. “What might your name be?”
The mare turned around, smiling. “Didn’t you read the sign on my desk? I’m Vinyl - Vinyl Scratch. Now that we’re getting oh-so-intimate here, what might your name be?”
The black stallion furrowed his eyebrows, but didn’t question the mare’s comment on intimacy.
“My name’s Ki….” He was silent for a moment, staring at the floor. “My name’s Sombra.”

The next day was about as exciting as the previous had been for Sombra - sleeping at the edge of Everfree, taking shelter from the cold wind under a prickly bush. Though his sleeping arrangements were far from comfortable, he held his tongue from whining about. If anyone heard him, saw him, found out he was in Ponyville… for all he knew, he could be executed on the spot.
When morning came, after a very brief rest, Sombra hadn’t a clue what to do until sunset arrived. He lazed around, his black coat and torn clothes excellent camouflage against the dense undergrowth of the Everfree forest. No matter how much he wished to, he did not dare set hoof into the town - Ponyville, was it? - until night fell. Thinking about the name of the town caused Sombra think about how he had even ended up there…

Teleport. Do it. Now. They’ll find you. They’ll get you. They’ll kill you. But where? I know of nothing. I know of nowhere. I am nothing. I know nothing. Just snow. And the dark. They think of me as nothing. I am darkness. But darkness goes nowhere. Or does it? Crevices. Cracks. Spaces. Empty holes in the ground that house nothing but the vague idea of suffocation. I live - lived… am I even alive? - in the night, where even moonshine can’t overpower me. The light of the stars and the moon causes me to appear - even the sun and the clouds grant my appearance. But the snow is nothing. Endless white. Infinite oblivion in the coldest region of Equestria. Of the world. What am I? Am I darkness? Not anymore. So what am I now? Lost. I can’t beg to Celestia but I can beg to magic, to the magic of the world… help me. I need to get out. Now. Crack.

“So, uh… Sombra, was it?” The black stallion nodded as Vinyl led him to the back room, both the halls and walls dotted with instruments of all colors and shapes. “What’s with the sudden interested to play the bass, anyway? I mean, yeah, it’s a cool instrument, but most evil dudes are off being… what’s the word… yeah, evil.” Vinyl disappeared into a dark room, where she flicked the light on. Sombra rolled his eyes before following her inside.
“Well…” His deep voice was far too powerful for the small square of a room. “Like you said, I want to escape. If music can grant that, then I’m willing to give it a try. I used to play a small flute, back when I was a foal, and I remember wanting nothing more than to play it every day. I miss the feeling of creating music.” Right about then Sombra felt as if he were revealing far, far too much, and he snapped his mouth shut as Vinyl pulled out a black case from the large chest in the back corner.
Nodding, Vinyl handed Sombra the container. “I get that. Music has helped me through a lot in the past. It’s a pretty cool concept. But why the bass? I prefer mixing music over making it, but the only person who I know who thinks like you doesn’t play the right instrument. So you’re stuck with me!” The eccentric mare flashed a pearly grin as Sombra pulled open the worn container. Inside, there sat a brilliantly white bass guitar, with navy blue embellishments and perfectly polished strings. Despite his usual shyness, Sombra could not help the awe that swept over him. What was it? It was merely a guitar, nothing more than that.
“Wow…” He whispered, his voice so rough it sounded more like a meek cough than an actual phrase. Vinyl caught the word, though, and grinned as she had mere moments before.
“Yeah, it’s pretty great quality. I know how to play it, but just warning you now, I don’t play it very often.” The mare swept her spiked blue hair out of her face. “That, on the other hand, doesn’t mean this won’t be any fun. Cause believe me, it will be. But before we start, I just want to tell you something. Just warning you now, it’s going to sound a bit… uh…. personal, but it’s just a quick something I go through, to get away from all my joking around and whatnot.”
Vinyl cleared her throat, taking a seat on a small chair and gesturing for Sombra to sit on the other. Here goes nothing… she thought.
“Sombra, from what you told me, you’re a bad guy. But that’s not what I’m talking to you about right now - I’m saying something I say to everyone, so don’t panic. But music, especially the music you make, is going to take you somewhere. Someplace light. Someplace happier. Someplace where the sun shines and it doesn’t cast any shadows. You can sing and play about darkness, and shadows, and the past, and feel it, but no matter how hard you try you won’t ever have to see it again. That’s because music is an escape. When you play, slowly your soul is escaping whatever jail you had yourself trapped in. You’re leaving the past and entering new territory, and you won’t know if the people who live there are friendly or not, until you find out for yourself. So I’m saying this now… you’re moving into uncharted territory, and it’s going to bring a whole new storm down on you. But if there’s one thing I can promise, it’s that it’s going to be better than the past. So… yeah. Get ready to learn. New things. And go to new places. Or whatever other cheesy things you want me to say.”

I say this now, in hopes I’ll never say it again,
I know I’ve turned the wrong stones, I made choices in my head,
Maybe if I had spoken, we could have crossed a bridge,
But now I’m broken, old, and lost, stranded across this ridge.
Vinyl stared at the dark stallion. Where had that even come from? Did the tough guy even have feelings?
“Sweet Celestia am I going to enjoy teaching you.”