Neon whistled. Yep, this must be it. He knocked on the door.
Chapter 3:
Surprises and Altruism
The sound of Film Reel’s front door opening stirred Neon from what had been a very relaxing nap.
“I’m home,” Film Reel called out as she entered. “Neon, you home?”
The blue stallion stretched. “Mmm. Yup, I’m home.”
“Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you,” she apologized, lifting a few shopping bags in the door behind her with her magic.
“No, it’s fine,” Neon yawned, glancing at the time. “I was just taking a power snooze. Probably about time to get up anyway.”
The yellow mare smiled. “That bad of a day off, huh?”
The stallion rolled off the couch, letting his hooves land softly on the floor. “Eh, a little bit. I compiled my playlist for a gig and worked out a bit. Then I tried fooling around a little on my decks, see if I could get some new stuff, but I couldn’t focus, so I decided to take a nap.” A couple of his joints cracked as he stretched out.
Film Reel shut the door behind her, levitating the bags to set them down on the counter. “Did drinks go late after work again?”
“Yeah. I didn’t get home until about three, three thirty. Crusoe was telling a really long story and then Vinyl had some stuff to talk about for the next couple weeks. But it was fun. Hey, you should come down sometime and have a drink with us. I think you’d really like everypony.”
“Maybe I will,” she replied, starting to put groceries away. “How’s tomorrow night sound? I don’t have anything the next day and I could use a night of fun.”
“Cool,” said Neon, grabbing a few things out of one of the bags to put in the fridge. “Do you want to come in with me or stop by later?”
“I’ll swing by later. I’ve got something to take care of first,” the yellow mare said, putting a few jars in the pantry. “After that, I am party ready.”
“Cool. You’ll love what we’ve got going on tomorrow night. Vinyl helped me design this super awesome light show.”
“You’ve been learning a lot with her, huh?”
The stallion grinned, eyes sparkling like a colt playing with a fancy new toy on Hearth’s Warming. “Oh, yeah. She’s only been a DJ for a year or two longer than me, but she’s in a whole other league than I am. I never thought this would turn out to be my dream job.You should see her up there, Film. It’s like…like watching a goddess.”
Film Reel smirked, putting a bag of apples in the fridge. “Ooh, a goddess. Never heard you call anypony a goddess before.”
Neon realized what was coming. “Film, you know what I meant, don’t-”
The other unicorn proceeded to prance about the room, chanting, “Neon and Vinyl, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”
The blue stallion rolled his eyes. “Oh, ha ha. You think you’re real funny, don’t you? We’re just friends. I admire her for being an awesome DJ. That’s it.”
“OK fine,” Film Reel groaned. “Just pulling your leg. Hey, can you do dinner tonight? I’ve got a bunch of work to catch up on.”
“Sure.”
His roommate thanked him and headed to her room to get started. Neon grabbed some carrots from the fridge.
“Pfft,” he chuckled to himself. “Me and Vinyl. Film Reel must be working too hard.”
~~~
The floor beneath Neon’s hooves vibrated as he stood at his decks. He gave a few of the light switches a tweak, his horn glimmering as the colors changed. As the song came to a close, he switched lights off, bringing the dynamic down as the song went down.
The audience applauded, Vinyl joining them from the opposite side of the stage.
“All right, Rising Star! That was pretty awesome.”
She turned and shouted out to the audience. “To hang on your momma’s fridge! This is what these party ponies really wanna hear!”
The bass dropped as Vinyl started her next set. Neon watched her as she worked, doing his best to keep his face straight and his body as still as possible. When the song was finished, Vinyl addressed the clubbers.
“Whaddya think of that?” she shouted, crossing her hooves and raising an eyebrow in Neon’s direction challengingly.
The blue stallion covered his mouth, stifling a fake yawn. “Sorry, P0N-3, I fell asleep. When does your song start?”
Vinyl scoffed and rolled her eyes. “It’ll have to wait for next time. We’ve got last call and the last song of the night. You party ponies are awesome! Have a good night!”
The mare started the last song and slipped behind the curtain. Neon followed suit.
“Nice job,” she complimented, taking off her glasses.
“Thanks.”
As ponies left, they packed up the equipment for the night and both headed to the bar as Sky and Quake were clearing out the stragglers. Film Reel was already sitting there waiting.
“Hey,” she greeted, waving.
Neon sat at the stool next to hers. “Hey.”
“Friend of yours?” Sky asked.
Neon figured he must have just been coming over to tell her it was time to leave. “Yeah, she’s with me, Sky,” he replied. “Is it OK if she stays a bit?”
The grey stallion nodded. “If it’s OK with Vinyl.”
The other DJ nodded as well. “Come on, Film Reel. Have a drink on me.”
“Glad you made it,” Neon said as he and Vinyl sat down on either side of her.
“Me too. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a real show of yours. It sounded great.”
“Thanks,” Neon replied. “Did you get everything done that you needed to?”
The photographer grinned. “Uh-huh. Even picked you up something a little special at the train station.” She knocked twice on the counter.
A sandy stallion groaned, his joints cracking as he stood. “Ugh. ‘Bout time. I was starting to get a leg cramp crouching down there.”
“Mick!” Neon exclaimed.
“Surprise” said Film Reel, going for another sip of her drink.
“Hey, kid,” the older stallion greeted.
“What are you doing here?” Neon asked excitedly, reaching to shake the stallion’s hoof. “Is mom with you?”
The sandy unicorn nodded. “Yep. We just got in on the last train. Dawn thought it was time for a visit. She’s back at the hotel, resting. Y’know how she gets with trains.”
Neon nodded in understanding. “How long are you staying?”
“Just a day or two. We both found some time off work and thought a visit would be nice. Didn’t know it was a surprise one, though,” he added, glancing at Film Reel.
The yellow mare shrugged. “Sorry. Your first visit after I moved out was a surprise, so I figured it would be the same for him.”
Mickser chucked and rolled his eyes. “A surprise, eh? More like you forgot until the morning of.”
“Last night actually. But potato, potahto.”
The three unicorns laughed.
Neon saw Crusoe giving Vinyl her drink out of the corner of his eye. “Oh, right. Vinyl, everypony, this is Film Reel’s dad, Mickser. Mick, this is Vinyl. She’s the owner and the other DJ here.” He pointed to the earth ponies who had long since taken a seat at the bar. “That’s Sky and Quake, the bouncers. And that’s Crusoe, the bartender, but I’m guessing Film introduced you already.”
“Happy to have helped with the surprise,” Crusoe said, bumping Mickser’s hoof. “I have to say, though, you look familiar.”
The sandy stallion scratched his goatee in thought. “Oh? Sorry, I can’t say the same, and I usually have a pretty good memory for faces. My wife and I don’t come to Ponyville often, anyway. We’re usually pretty busy in Canterlot.”
“Best coffeehouse in Equestria,” Neon said.
“You’re a barista?” Crusoe asked.
Mickser nodded. “Uh-huh. We run a little place in Canterlot at the edge of one of the middle districts.”
“That’s it!” the brown stallion exclaimed. “I saw you at a flairing competition a number of years ago. I thought it was interesting to see a barista among so many bartenders.” He extended his hoof again. “It really is a great pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“Uh, thanks,” Mickser replied, hoof bumping the younger stallion a second time. “Were you competing?”
“Not that day, no,” he replied. “But that was one of the competitions that inspired me to learn.”
“Crusoe,” Sky called, “if you’re done being a fanboy, I’d like my drink.”
The bartender jumped. “Oh, right, just one second,” he replied.
They all had a chuckle at the brown stallion’s expense and Quake leaned forward in her stool to talk to Film Reel past Sky and Vinyl.
“So, you are Neon’s sister, yes?” she asked, her thick accent causing her r’s to roll slightly.
Film Reel tilted her head back and forth in thought. “Mmmm, well…not really, but kinda, yeah.”
The blonde mare looked at her in confusion.
Film Reel chuckled. “We’ve known each other for a really long time. Like, ever since we were both in diapers, a long time before our parents got married, so we were already really good friends.”
Neon nodded. “Technically, she’s my step-sister. But she hates being called that.”
“Makes me sound like a bitch,” the yellow mare clarified. “And calling Neon my brother just felt weird. So, we just have our own thing. I’m his big pony whose dad is married to his mom and he’s my little pony whose mom is married to my dad. It’s weird, but it works.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Vinyl commented. “So, Neon’s younger?”
“Only by a few months,” the blue stallion replied. “But I still make old lady jokes whenever she gains a decade.”
The photographer took a sip of her drink, smirking. “Yes, he does. And if he does it when I turn thirty, his mane and coat won’t be the only black and blue things about him.”
Neon stuck out his tongue.
Another hour, then two passed as the seven ponies conversed, enjoying one another’s company and having fun. One by one, they trickled away as the night got later, each returning to their own houses to get some sleep. Vinyl, Neon and Crusoe were the last to leave, the white mare producing a key and locking the door behind them.
“Have a good night,” Crusoe said, waving as he walked off into the night.
“Night,” the unicorns both saluted in return.
They started down the road in the opposite direction, walking in relative silence until Vinyl suddenly broke it.
“Hey, would you mind coming over to my place for a few hours tomorrow? Say about two or three? I need some help with a project.”
“What kind of project?” Neon asked.
“It has to do with something I do on the side. Sort of a favor for a friend.”
The stallion quirked an eyebrow. “That’s…very vague and cryptic.”
Vinyl laughed. “My friend needs help with an area that’s not exactly my best, at least from a teaching other ponies how to do it stand point. I’m helping him with a special song and don’t get me wrong, it’s going great, but the presentation needs some boost. Since that’s where your strengths are, I figured I’d bring you in on it.”
“Really? OK, sure. I’ll stop by a couple hours before work.”
They had arrived at the divide, where they parted ways.
“Thanks, Neon,” Vinyl called as she turned down her street. “You’re the best. It’s the one at the top of the hill. You’ll know it when you see it. OK?”
“OK,” he called after her, going down his own street.
~~~
The next afternoon, Neon made his way to Vinyl’s house. As he crested the small hill, he had to stop for a minute to regard the residence before him. The only description he could formulate was that Vinyl’s house suffered from multiple personality disorder. The structure was divided down the middle, one half a light brown, the other light blue. Even the mailbox out front was split right down the middle. The only element common to both sides were various bits of decorative, musically-themed details, such as piano key window boxes, bass clef window decorations and a large topiary out front in the shape of an eighth note.
Neon whistled. Yep, this must be it. He knocked on the door.
Vinyl smiled when she answered. “Hey, thanks for doing this. C’mon in; we’re downstairs.”
The interior of the house was divided like the outside. One half of the room had a grand piano, a coffee table, a couch and a music stand holding a small stack of neatly organized sheet music. The other half reminded Neon of his own room. He suspected it was what his house would look like if Film Reel wasn’t such a neat freak. Somewhat reflective of the other side, it sported a couch by the window, a large stool and an electric keyboard. A bass guitar sat up against the wall to balance out a cello in its stand.
Neon followed Vinyl down to the basement where she appeared to have a makeshift recording studio set up. A brown stallion was waiting for them. At first glance, Neon thought it was Crusoe. However, this stallion was a lighter shade of brown in contrast to Crusoe’s more chocolate brown coat. He was also more bulky than the bartender. He was pacing the room, breathing heavily and running a hoof through his blonde mane.
Vinyl frowned. “Aw, come on, Meadow!” she exclaimed, spooking the stallion slightly. “I thought I told you not to psyche yourself out.”
“S-sorry, Miss Scratch,” the earth pony stammered.
Vinyl let out a sigh. “Neon, this is Meadow Song. Meadow, Neon. So, here’s the thing: Meadow helps me with guitar stuff. Y’know, on karaoke night or country night.”
“Country night?”
“Wasn’t my idea,” she explained, shrugging. “But it’s an earth pony town and you can’t live on dubstep alone, I guess. I don’t play, so when I need some strings, I call him. But, the kicker is that he’s never actually performed. Usually, I can find somepony to do it and he just loans me an instrument in exchange for some word of mouth.”
“Meadow’s Carpentry and Guitar Making,” the other stallion added, a slight southern drawl apparent in his voice. “I…I’ve got stage fright something fierce.”
Vinyl motioned with her hoof for him to continue explaining.
“And, well, I asked Miss Scratch for some help with something for my marefriend, Apple Fritter. I…I want to ask her to marry me.” He blushed.
Neon smiled. “Wow. Congratulations.”
“He wants to serenade her next time we have karaoke night,” Vinyl explained.
“I’ve sung for her before and she really likes it,” Meadow added, bashfully. “If it’s just us, just me and her, it isn’t so hard
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” said Vinyl. “So, I was wondering if you had any pointers or anything, or something besides ‘stop being nervous and start being awesome.’”
“That was your advice?” Neon asked.
Vinyl shrugged. “I said I wasn’t good at this kind of thing.”
Neon sighed. “OK. I think I have an idea. Are you OK to play just for us?”
The earth pony nodded. “I think so.”
“I’ll get the booth set up,” Vinyl offered.
The unicorns went into a small room off to the side. Looking through a window in the wall, they could see Meadow Song taking a seat on a lone stool in the room and taking his guitar out of its case to tune it. When he had finished, he looked at the window expectantly. Vinyl gestured to a set of headphones resting on a music stand and the earth pony put them on.
“Can you hear me?” she asked through a small mic on the controls.
The brown stallion nodded.
“OK,” Neon said. “Just play whenever you’re ready.”
Meadow Song took a breath, cleared his throat and began. The song started slow and the earth pony’s nervousness was apparent in every syllable. He stared at the window, his hoof becoming his only moving part as it strummed at his guitar.
Vinyl interrupted him when the first verse was finished. “OK, thanks Meadow. Why don’t you go upstairs and get a glass of water. Me and Neon will shoot some ideas back and forth.”
The earth pony put the guitar back in its case and closed the door behind him.
Neon slumped back in his chair. “Oh, wow. That was bad.”
“I know. I mean, he’s got a nice voice, but it’s like he’s watching you strangle a puppy.”
Neon thought for a few moments. As he thought, he noticed the equipment in front of him. “This is some pretty good stuff,” he commented, eyeing the control board. “You do this a lot?”
She nodded. “Ponyville has its share of musical talent. I like to help when I can, give back a little, y’know. I won’t be putting out any labels anytime soon, but they can decide they’re serious before sinking a ton of bits into going to a studio in Canterlot. Plus, getting local musicians to play at the club for free in exchange is a bit of a perk.”
The unicorns came out of the booth when Meadow returned.
“So, how bad was it?” the brown stallion asked.
“You’ve got a good voice,” Neon complimented. “You just to build up your confidence. How soon do you want to do this?”
“As soon as possible, I guess. But I want it to be perfect.”
Neon hummed thoughtfully. “OK, we can try and help boost your confidence, but I have another idea. You said you’ve sung just for her before, so I’m thinking why force the issue? Why not just sing for her in a really romantic setting?”
The earth pony thought for a moment. “What do you think, Miss Scratch?”
“I think Neon’s making a lot of sense, but it’s still up to you. If you still want to sing for her in front of the whole club, we’ll be happy to help you with your confidence, but I’m thinking the other idea might be better.”
“Hmm. OK then. Thank you both for your help. I think I’ll go with something a little more private.” The brown stallion picked up his guitar case.
“Whoa, whoa, hold on,” Vinyl objected. “Our job’s not done yet. We can still make this a big gesture. Neon, you thinking what I’m thinking?”
The other unicorn nodded. “I think so.”
“Then let’s do this thing!”