Chapter Six
The two mares sat on the couch for a couple of hours, wrapped in each others arms as they talked about whatever came to mind. Neither of them minded that the others questions ranged from deep and thoughtful to funny, hypothetical ones. They were simply trying to find out as much as they could about the other. Eventually, Octavia asked about how Vinyl got to be where she was.
"When I first wanted to be a DJ, I was a little filly. Like, waay before i got my cutie mark. Anyway..I was on my way to my friends house to get away from my parents and I heard this music coming from the town square. I'd never heard anything like it in Ponyville before so I went to get a closer look." Vinyl stopped and smiled for a second at the memory before continuing, "When I saw that stage for the first time, with the lights and lasers all moving with this super upbeat song made with a bunch of instruments all mixed and distorted...I knew that that's what I wanted to do.
"I galloped as fast as I could to my friend's house to tell him my idea and he absolutely loved it. He got his parents to get him some basic equipment and we started making songs and trying to figure out our 'secret identities'." She giggled with Octavia and smiled as she thought back on it. "After that we practiced at his house until we got the nerve to show our friends who made us put on this mini-concert for them."
Octavia put her hoof on Vinyl's lips, silencing her. "I have two questions. One, what were your secret identities?"
She giggled softly and looked down at the mare laying against her chest. "My first 'secret identity' was ' The Incredible Scratch'. " She blushed softly as Octavia laughed. "My friend's was a bit cooler than mine."
"What was it?"
"Dead Pon-3."
Octavia paused, remembering the posters on the wall. "Is that the same one that's on your wall?"
"Yea, that's the guy. Since he had the stuff at his house, he got a lot better a lot faster so he kinda took off."
"Wow, that's incredible. Are you two still close?" Octavia asked.
Vinyl nodded, "Yea, we still talk online and meet up at parties sometimes but we don't preform together anymore. I've been trying to get him to come to the club for a while but since it wasn't making money before, he wouldn't come. But maybe now that you're here, we'd be able to afford the cost."
Octavia nodded, "I've actually been in contact with his agent. He's willing to come if he can bring his own set up instead of our cube. I was going to surprise you with it after all of the arrangements were made."
Vinyl gasped and hugged her tightly. "Oh really?! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
Octavia giggled and nuzzled her softly, "You don't have to thank me."
The DJ smiled and looked at her, "So..you had a second question?"
"Oh, yes. I was wondering where your parents were during all of this. You seem to be leaving them out of your stories quite a bit."
Vinyl's smiled faded a bit and she sighed softly, shifting a little as she gently stroked the other mare's mane. A moment passed as she gathered herself before she spoke again. "I never really got the chance to tell my parents."
"What do you mean?" Octavia asked, a bit concerned by the sudden change in mood.
"I mean that I never got a chance to tell them. They never found out." Vinyl said, her voice wavering softly. She took a deep breath before continuing. "About a month after I started making my own music instead of just remixing old songs, I was rehearsing for our first gig with DP. We were down in the basement when his mom called down, telling us to come upstairs. A cop was waiting for me at the front door and so I asked why he was here. He told me that he couldn't tell me and that I just had to follow him down to the station."
Octavia blinked.
"After waiting in the station for like..and hour or two, someone in a suit called me into his office. It was kinda small but nice. Dark wooden desk, chairs, walls. Thick carpet and a window that looked out over the town square. He started asking me a bunch of questions: Were my parents ever abusive? Did they fight a lot? Did they ever hit each other? Stuff like that. I told him that dad drank a lot, mom did too but not quite as much. He yelled at us, got angry a lot. He hit me once or twice but it wasn't a common thing."
"He hit you?"
"Yea, but it was okay as far as I was concerned. After a bit, he left the room and the officer came in and sat on the desk. He took his hat off and told me that my mom had been found dead in our house. Apparently dad shot her.."
Octavia gasped softly. "I'm so sorry.."
Vinyl shook her head. "No no, don't be. They caught my dad a few days later in a bar. He was sentenced to life so he's still in prison."
"Where did you live?" Octavia asked, looking up at the white mare.
"I bounced around foster homes for a while until my friends parents decided to take me in. That's when I really dove into my music. I lived with them until I was sixteen and could afford my own place. I'd started preforming and stuff before that so I had some money. I moved in here and finished school." She chucked softly. "The rest is history I guess. Bought the club a couple years later, met you, here I am."
Octavia took a deep breath, "Wow..and I thought my life was difficult."
Vinyl smiled down at her, "Oh stop it. You just had different things happen. But I'm glad it all happened.
"And why is that?"
"Because if things hadn't gone the way that they did, I wouldn't have met you." She nuzzled Octavia softly, making her giggle.
"That was sweet, if a little cheesy."
Vinyl blushed faintly, "Hey!"
Octavia giggled again and gave her a quick kiss on the nose, "What? I like cheesy. It's cute."