//------------------------------// // Friday, 5 Years Ago. // Story: One Way Mirror // by Poetic Justice //------------------------------// Sweat traveled down Vinyl's face as she hit various buttons and switches across her soundboard. Her eyes darted from her left to her right, trying to find the buttons she needed. This was her first night playing in such a high end party. Instead of her usual 3 foot table with one laptop and one small sound box, she was commanding an area that surrounded her body. Instead of her personal laptop, a large 24" touch screen monitor was fixated in the center of the table in front of her. To her right, the surface was entirely covered with volume knobs and pitch sliders. Her left, however, was the more useful side; that side housed dozens of buttons, each programmed to the sounds Vinyl requested before the show. Her hoof was a blur as it ran across the left side of the table. Not a lot of ponies knew this, but her true talent was composing on the spot. Her base chords played from the computer, but everything else was the result from her board of sounds. This was a minor problem in her career. A group of fans would approach her and request that she play a song, since almost everything is improved, she was not able to play what her fans requested. This situation also made her music hard to sell, since she didn't know what to play exactly what was popular live. Despite that, she remains a talented musician that rakes in a fairly sizable income. "Thank you everypony! Have a good night!" Vinyl shouted as she brought her hoof down to the left side of the panel one last time. The speakers were pushed to their limits as a barrage of sounds came through them. Vinyl loved closing her Electro Swing music similar to how a drummer would crash their cymbals at the last note of a song. It was like her signature. When the sound from the speakers died down, the cheering from the crowd below her grew. The ponies below her yelled as loud as they could, and some even threw glow sticks onto the stage. Normally, Vinyl would go down to greet new fans, as well as share hoof bumps with older ones. However, she was requested to meet with some-pony backstage. She waved to the audience for a few seconds, then retreated to the door directly behind the stage. The room Vinyl entered was pitch black. She could barely make out the three couches in the room, each one facing the center of the room. Vinyl rubbed her eyes, trying to get them to adjust more quickly. She was able to make out a figure to her right, sitting on the couch. It was a tall, slender body type. Vinyl immediately knew who it was. "What's up Neon?" She said. "Nothing much. Great show tonight." He replied. "So, why did you want me to come here?" Vinyl asked. "She wants to talk to you." Neon nodded his head toward the couch directly across from Vinyl. Vinyl didn't see at first, but now that attention has been called to it, Vinyl could tell somepony was on that couch as well. "Excellent show tonight, Mrs. Scratch." The pony across from Vinyl spoke up. "Thanks,...umm, who are you, exactly?" "My apologies. My name is Quartet." Vinyl flinched when she heard the name. Neon noticed, but Vinyl doesn't think Quartet did. "Why did you want to see me?...ma'am." "I require your help with something." Quartet grabbed a cigarette from the table in front of her. With a flash of the horn, she lit the cigarette. Vinyl could see Quartet's eyes fixed on her, and she became even more uncomfortable. "W-what do you need?" "One of my cello players is in the hospital, and I need a replacement." "Sorry, but I have no interest in that kind of music." "I didn't ask if you had an 'interest'." "I-I...I don't even know how to play cello!" "We both know that's a lie." "..." A smirk grew on Quartet's face. She knew she had Vinyl now. "What's in it for me?" Vinyl asked. "Do you really need to ask me that?" "I want to make sure." Quartet took in a deep breath. "I will ensure that every pony from Manehatten to Las Pegasus knows your name and your music." Vinyl brought her hoof to her mouth in thought. "I'll do it." She said after a moment. "Excellent." Quartet took a second to focus on her cigarette. "There's a cello in the closet, along with a CD of the songs we will be playing." "When are we performing?" "Tomorrow. Show up to the Festival Stage at 5pm sharp." "Buck me." Vinyl took the cello case out of the closet, then slipped out the back door. ------------------------------------------ Vinyl Scratch(@DJPon3): Playing cello tonight at the Festival Stage. Come by so we can hang! Vinyl slipped her cell phone into her saddlebag and adjusted the large instrument. She was the first member of the orchestra to arrive to the Stage, Quartet arrived a minute after. "You're on time." Quartet spoke, not making eye contact with Vinyl. "Did you think I wouldn't?" "DJs are not exactly known for being punctual." Vinyl only shook her head and went back to her instrument. She didn't see a point in arguing with Quartet. As long as at the end, Quartet held up her end of the deal, Vinyl didn't mind putting up with some abuse. As time went on, more members of the orchestra showed up. A few gave Vinyl weird looks, others actually gave her a hoof-bump. Vinyl looked over to the audience. She was able to pick out some of her fans. After two hours of tuning, practicing, and trying not to fall asleep, Quartet tapped her baton against the music stand. Vinyl straightened her posture and assumed her position. Vinyl, already having a talent in music improv, had no problem keeping up with the other ponies. She had her eyes fixed on the cellist next to her, trying to mimic their pace. For the first song, things went smoothly. Vinyl was sure she caught Quartet's eye at the end, with a content look on her face. It wasn't much, but it was enough to boost Vinyl's self confidence. Not only Quartet's look, but also the cheering from her fans in the audience did a number for Vinyl. Unfortunately, Vinyl only knew one way to react to fans applauding. On the second song, Vinyl became a little more "confident" in her playing ability. The second song started, and Vinyl was already dancing across the strings. The two cellists next to her exchanged confusing looks, between themselves and with Quartet. Quartet dismissed Vinyl's playing, she was playing within the song's scale, and it didn't sound out of place.