HeartBeat

by DemonBrightSpirit

First Time

I found myself sitting on a bench outside of that noisy club. Looking up at the sky, I couldn’t see a single star. Clouds didn’t block the view or anything. The club’s neon lights were too bright. Even sitting outside of the club I could still hear the bass thumping away, too. At least it wasn’t deafening anymore. I rubbed my still-ringing ears hoping that I didn’t have permanent hearing loss from my short time in there.

For a moment, the music amplified. I looked over to see Vinyl stepping out of the club wearing a brown jacket covered in patches and doodles. She smiled at me, waving. When the door behind her closed, the music died down again.

“Hey, Vinyl,” I said, smiling back at her. “Thanks for the drink. It was really good.” I tried to get up, but stumbled and fell flat on my face. “Uhh.” I stood up on shaky legs, rubbing my nose. “It was kinda strong.”

Vinyl smiled wider, breathing a strong breath through her nose. Her horn glowed, and shimmering letters traced across the ground in front of her.

“Yeah, I guess you did,” I replied. Then it hit me. Why was she still writing? My ears might’ve still been ringing, but I could hear fine now. I glanced down at the now-bare ground then back at Vinyl. “Um, I can hear okay now. We can just talk.”

Vinyl’s ears drooped and she drew a forehoof across the ground. Her horn lit up again.

My heart skipped a beat as I read the words. I looked back up to see Vinyl rubbing her throat, then she shook her head. She moved her mouth as if she was talking, but nothing except her breath came out.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know,” I gushed. I ran over and threw my forelegs around her neck. After giving her a lingering squeeze, I stepped back.

Vinyl’s jaw hung open a moment. Regaining her composure, she snapped her mouth shut. She raised an eyebrow, and her horn glowed.

I felt a wave of heat in my cheeks. “Well, I know when ponies bring up my eyes, I usually feel like I could use a hug. Even if they didn’t mean anything bad by it, I still feel kind of down.” I pawed at the ground, only daring to give her a fleeting glance.

Vinyl rubbed her neck.

This time my whole body felt like it might burst into flames. I ran a hoof through my mane, breathing heavier than normal. “R-r-really? You really think so? Everypony usually thinks they’re weird,” I said, keeping my gaze on the ground.

Without thinking about it, I rushed over again. I nearly knocked Vinyl over as I wrapped her up in another hug. “I’m so glad I met you! I was having such a bad night and just meeting you has made it all better.”

This time she hugged me back. I felt a tingle down my spine as her hoof rubbed my back. A heat rushed through me, and by the time she ended the hug, my ears were burning.

Vinyl pulled back. The moment she saw me, her smile grew into a smug grin. She pointed to the bare wall of the club as her horn glowed.

“I, uh, I can’t stay out too long.” I pulled a hoof through my mane, chancing a glance over at Vinyl. “I have a foalsitter watching my daughter, so I have to be home soon.”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. She shook her head, then pointed to the wall again.

I failed to suppress a giggle as I shook my head. “I’m fine,” I said, holding up a hoof. The motion seemed to cause a knot in my stomach, and sure enough, a queer churning sound came from my stomach. My eyes widened as I blushed. “Uh, I guess I could go for something to eat.”

Vinyl pulled her head to the side and trotted off. I scrambled to catch up, realizing that she was leading me after a few awkward seconds. As I fell in step with her, she smiled at me and nodded.

As we walked away from the club, the ever-present thump of the bass faded away, and an uncomfortable silence set in. “Um, so what did you have in mind? To eat, I mean,” I asked her. She looked out across the way. I tilted my head, trying to match her long stare. There, a sign jutted above the rooftops. I blinked. “The Hayburger?”

I kept staring a moment before realizing that I had to look back at Vinyl for her to respond. She didn’t seem angry about my stupidity as I turned back. She just smiled and nodded.

We started walking again. With the streets empty, the only sounds were that of our hoofsteps on cobblestone. Vinyl must be used to this silence, but I found it unnerving. I wanted to talk about something, anything, to fill the void. Would that offend Vinyl? Even if I talked to her, she wouldn’t be able to respond with anything more than a nod or a shake of her head. That would be rude, right?

I glanced over at her, catching her gaze. I looked away, snapping my attention back to the ground. For some reason, I felt like I just got caught doing something naughty.

The next thing I knew, Vinyl stopped walking. She reached into her beat-up old jacket and pulled out two small objects trailing wires back into the jacket. Vinyl stuck one in her ear and held the other out to me.

I reached out, plucking it from her hoof. I turned my hoof over, examining the tiny thing. “What is this?” I asked, looking up at Vinyl. She pointed a hoof at her ear. Imitating Vinyl’s earlier motions, I stuck the tiny thing in my ear. I yelped and yanked it out as a deafening noise assaulted my ear.

Still wincing and rubbing my ear, I looked over to see Vinyl laughing—or at least it looked like she was laughing. Her shoulders were shaking and she smiling, though no sound came. Still grinning, she held up a hoof. Vinyl reached into her jacked and fiddled with something before pulling up the tiny thing by its cord. She held it out to me again.

Taking it in hoof, I cautiously held it up to my ear. Following Vinyl’s encouragement, I slowly inserted it into my ear. I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized that it was no longer a blaring sound bomb. Instead, it echoed a musical tune at a less-than deafening volume.

I peeked over at Vinyl, and she nodded back at me. We started off in lockstep, shoulder-to-shoulder, tethered by the wires between us. This time, the steady rhythm all but drowned out the sounds of our steps. Before I knew it, I was bopping along to the beat, enjoying the cool night air alongside Vinyl.

All too soon, we stood outside the Hayburger. Vinyl tugged the wire, popping the little speaker out of my ear. As she stowed her little device, I stepped up to get the door. Or, at least I tried. One of my hooves snagged on the curb. I tripped and almost smashed my face on the ground. Managing to catch myself, the next thing I knew, I slammed into the door.

I shook my head, trying to get my bearings. I noticed Vinyl walking behind me and realized that, somehow, I had managed to hold the door open for her. Still reeling, I stumbled after Vinyl.

We approached the counter, and I smelled a strange composition of food and grease that was both a little gross and very appetizing. My stomach repeated its protests, but before I could have my chance to order, Vinyl tapped a hoof on the counter.

A stallion in a cap with the store’s logo on it stepped up to Vinyl. He smiled, speaking up in a gravelly voice. “Hi. Welcome to the Hayburger. What can I do for you?”

Vinyl tapped her hoof on the counter twice, then pointed a hoof as her horn glowed. On the menu behind the counter, a blue aura highlighted an item.

“You want a number one?” the cashier asked as he turned back to Vinyl.

Vinyl nodded.

“Uh, what do you want to drink with that?”

Again, Vinyl tapped the counter twice and pointed, indicating her selection with her aura. After the cashier rang it up, Vinyl stepped to the side and motioned for me to take my turn.

I hopped up, putting my forehooves on the counter. “Oh, um,” I said pointing a hoof. “Can I get a number four? Extra hay fries.”

“What would you like to drink with that?” the cashier asked.

“Water’s fine,” I said, hopping down.

As the cashier rang up the order, I reached for my bits. A clinking drew my attention back to the counter where I saw several bits. I tried to protest, but it was too late. The cashier took Vinyl’s bits and dumped them into the register.

The cashier looked up at me, smiling. “Your order should be ready in just a couple of minutes. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

“Th-thanks,” I muttered. I spun around, finding Vinyl already sitting at a nearby booth and waving at me. I hurried over and sat across from her. I wanted to protest her paying for me, but a familiar blue glow crawling across the table distracted me.

I forced myself not to laugh. “I guess that would get annoying, huh?”

Vinyl nodded.

“That must be really hard for you,” I said, looking up at Vinyl. “The worst I have to worry about is… well I’m not exactly coordinated.” I gave a nervous laugh. “I’m kind of a ditz.” Sticking out my tongue, I rapped a hoof against my head.

Vinyl grinned, her horn glowing anew.

I felt my face—my whole body—get hot. “W-well, I haven’t had a chance to break anything, yet.”

I tilted my head as I read the new words. I looked back up, waving my forehooves. “No, no, no. I mean, I break stuff on accident. I don’t mean to do it.” I sighed, my posture drooping. “It just sort of happens… a lot.”

Wow, I had completely forgotten about that. Not knowing what to say, I fidgeted, tracing circles on the tabletop with a hoof. The blue letters swirled and distorted under my touch, but I couldn’t feel them. “Oh, that,” I said. I shook my head. “I’m not mad. I’m not even all that surprised. We didn’t exactly hit it off last time.”

I looked up, and as I did, Vinyl raised an eyebrow. Did she want to hear more about it? I cleared my throat, speaking up, “Well, we only went on the one other date. He seemed nice and all, but he would never really look me in the eye.”

A blue glow wrapped around Vinyl’s shades, and they rose up to rest on her horn. She squinted at me, blinking a few times. I giggled at her. “It’s kind of silly to wear sunglasses inside.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes, though she kept right on smiling. Leaning forward, she rested a foreleg on the table and using her hoof to prop up her head. For the first time, I got a good look at her eyes. I never saw such eyes, and it wasn’t just their strange, reddish hue. I saw something else in them. I inched closer, and that’s when it hit me. I could see my own eyes reflected in hers.

My heart pounded in my chest as I recoiled. Trying to calm myself down, I found myself out of breath. I pressed a hoof against my chest, taking a couple of deep breaths before looking back at Vinyl. She cocked her head to the side, but didn’t seem to be too alarmed.

“S-sorry, I just uh…” I stammered. I thought it might be too awkward to admit that I’ve never had anypony look in my eyes like that, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “S-so you’re a bartender, huh?”

Vinyl shook her head and her horn glowed.

“Oh, so you like, make those songs that they play in the club? That sounds neat,” I said, finding myself taking only occasional peeks at her eyes. “Your cutie mark makes a lot more sense now.”

Vinyl looked down at her own flank, then she sat up and leaned over the counter to get a look at mine.

My ears drooped along with my shoulders. “I’m sort of in-between jobs. I got fired—” I sighed “—again.” Glancing down, I took in the sight of my own cutie mark. “I still don’t know what it’s for.”

Vinyl tilted her head, furrowing her brow.

I blinked, looking up at Vinyl. “I never tried.” I shook my head. “So, no. I’d probably mess that up, too,” I said, muttering the last part.

I nodded. “Yeah, sorry.” Forcing a smile, I looked back up at her.

I blinked. “Really? I-I don’t want to impose or anything.” Again I fidgeted, twirling my hoof in circles on the cool, smooth tabletop. “I probably wouldn't be any good at it, anyways.”

Vinyl blinked. She finally looked away. Leaning out of the booth, her horn lit up. I looked down, but no new letters appeared. Confused, I looked up to see a tray float over to the table. My mouth watered at the sight and smell of the food.

As soon as Vinyl set the tray down, I gathered up the hay burgers and fries that made up my part of the meal. “Ah, great! I was starving.” I brought the container of fries to my muzzle, getting a mouthful of salty deliciousness.

Only after chewing for a moment did I realize that I must've looked like a pig with my cheeks full and several fries still sticking out of my face, and in front of Vinyl no less. As humiliating as it was, it couldn't spit them out—that would be even worse. I had no choice but to finish my overzealous bite.

At least Vinyl didn't seem to notice. She just levitated her salad and drink in front of her.

I know my face must’ve been red by the time I managed to swallow. As much as I wanted to apologize right away, I had to grab my drink and wash it down. “S-sorry,” I said, breathing a bit harder than normal. Running a hoof down my mane, I giggled. “I must’ve been hungrier than I thought.”

Blinking, Vinyl looked up from her meal. She raised an eyebrow as her horn lit up. I looked down, but the only things there were my food and the tray. A rapping sound drew my attention back to Vinyl. She raised her hoof from the table and pointed to the wall next to us. There, familiar magic formed shimmering letters.

Vinyl never even noticed, yet somehow, it made me feel even more embarrassed. “N-nothing,” I muttered, stuffing another fry into my mouth. After grabbing a hayburger and unwrapping it, I looked up to see Vinyl still preparing her salad... or at least I think she was. I watched, aghast, as she proceeded to top her salad with mayonnaise and added mustard and salt to it.

I couldn't help myself. “Are you really going to eat it like that?” I asked, pointing at her salad.

Grinning, Vinyl looked up at me. She nudged her head to the side, and I noticed a new string of words dancing there.

The words faded away, ushering in a new phrase.

I turned to find a fork skewered with the condiment-covered salad hovering in front of my face. I recoiled, pushing back into the cushions of the booth. Sealing my lips together like a foal, I shook my head. “Mm-umm!”

I swear I saw her shoulders shuddering with laughter as the fork crossed the table. In an exaggeration motion, she devoured the bite, even going so far as to lick her lips. Still smiling, she pointed over at the wall.

“I like vinaigrette, if I use any dressing at all,” I said. I brought my burger to my muzzle, but hesitated. “You know, salads are good just by themselves.” I punctuated my sentence with a ravenous bite of my burger.

It tasted good but… it was dry. My eyes trailed over to the condiments that Vinyl just used. Feeling guilty, I reached over and picked up the mustard and mayonnaise. Even though I didn’t dare look up at Vinyl, I could feel her eyes boring into me. “W-well they’re good on burgers,” I said as I flipped up the bun and added the sauces.

Chancing a glance, I found Vinyl smiling and shaking her head. She lifted a hoof, pointing at the wall.

Now she was teasing me. I turned back to her, puffing out my cheeks and putting on my best angry face. It wasn't as effective against Vinyl as it was against Dinky. Still smiling, Vinyl stuck out her tongue at me and winked.

It was so unbearably adorable, I couldn’t keep up my angry face. I grabbed my drink and started slurping it down, hoping that it might hide the heat in my cheeks. At least I maintained my glare at her. Vinyl laughed it off, turning her attention back to her salad.

I slammed down the now half-empty cup. Despite her childish behavior, she one-upped me. And I have a child. “Don’t you dare teach that to Dinky.” I grabbed my burger, taking a ravenous bite for emphasis.

Rising and eyebrow, Vinyl motioned again to the side.

I nodded as I took the last bite of my burger and grabbed another. A smile formed on my lips. “She’s the best little filly. I think she might be getting her cutie mark soon because she’s starting to learn how to use her horn.” As I unwrapped my burger, I sighed. “I wish I could help her more.”

I nodded, and Vinyl grinned.

“Yeah…” I said, raising an eyebrow. Vinyl’s smirk widened.

I launched out of my seat, throwing my forehooves over the words. “I don’t have a horn fetish!”

The clanging of silverware ushered in a dead silence as every eye in the restaurant fell on me. Oh no. A searing heat radiated from my chest, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I looked over to see Vinyl on her back, kicking her hind legs as she laughed.

I’d made a fool of myself many a time, but I don’t think I ever felt so embarrassed in all my life. The accusing stares bore into me, and I knew my face had to be a dozen shades of red. Tears pricked my eyes. Unable to stand it another moment, I scrambled to escape the booth.

Placing a hoof on the end of the table, I scrambled to get away, but the table gave as soon as I put my weight on it. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor. Trash and food and condiments soiled my mane and coat. The crushing silence gave way to a din of snickers and subdued laughter.

I rubbed my aching head as I sat up. Looking around, I found every eye on me. Several ponies were even pointing. I scrambled to my hooves, but the slippery floor sent me crashing back down. The laughter intensified, resonating deep inside my mind. A thousand memories going all the way back to my fillyhood came rushing back to me, each one a miserable reminder of my many humiliating mishaps.

Flapping my wings, I took flight, finally making it to the doors. Once outside, I stumbled far enough away from the entrance that the judging stares and haunting laughter could no longer reach me. Sitting back on my haunches, I swiped at my tears. I didn’t even realize I’d been crying.

Stifling my tears, I stood up. I turned to leave, and came face-to-face with Vinyl. For the first time, she avoided my gaze. She pawed at the ground, her horn glowing.

The wall next to us glowed in response. I seriously considered ignoring it and walking past her, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I swallowed, but the action did little to reduce the constricting feeling in my throat. Fixing my gaze on Vinyl, I stomped a hoof before pointing at her. "You were laughing at me along with everypony else!"

Vinyl’s ears folded against her head. I watched her sigh before she looked up. She closed the distance between us and hugged me.

My train of thought came to a screeching halt. The next thing I knew, Vinyl gave me a squeeze and stepped back. By the time I thought to say anything else, she’d already gotten back to the door. She opened the door, and her horn lit up. Trotting back over, Vinyl floated behind her a gigantic pile of napkins in her aura.

Several napkins floated over and began rubbing my hide and mane. Vinyl sat in front of me, using her hooves to wipe the bits of condiments from her jacket and mane. With a sigh, I grabbed a few napkins from the pile and swiped at some of the more annoying and… slimy splotches on me.

As I got cleaned up, I couldn’t help but to think that this wasn’t all her fault. Again, my pain has been a product of my own clumsiness and foolishness. Vinyl didn’t announce anything to the ponies sitting around. I did. She didn’t cover me with garbage and condiments. I did. She didn’t make me a fool in front of everypony. I did.

I sighed, looking over to see Vinyl swiping at a mustard spot on her jacket. “I-I’m sorry, Vinyl.” She looked up at me, raising an eyebrow. “I… I know that all this wasn’t your idea. I just, I messed up.” Hanging my head, a whimper escaped my lips. “Like always.”

Feeling a hoof on my shoulder, I looked up to find Vinyl’s smiling face. She wrapped her hooves around me, and this time, I returned the hug. “S-sorry I messed everything up,” I whispered. In response, I felt Vinyl’s hoof rubbing my back.

Pulling back, Vinyl’s horn glowed. Again, fanciful letters danced across the wall.

I felt a heat in my face as I looked back at Vinyl, her eyes pleading me to say yes. I smiled. “I-um… sure.” I gave a firm nod.

Vinyl grinned. Leaning over, she planted a kiss on my cheek.

My cheeks burned anew. By the time my brain started working again, she was already headed for home. I barely had the wherewithal to wave back when she waved at me and winked.

I sat there on the cold concrete until I couldn’t see her anymore. Only then did I think to head for home. I stood up and spread my wings. Taking flight, I soared all the way home on cloud nine.