//------------------------------// // Club P0N-3 // Story: Play Me a Love Song // by Systemfail //------------------------------// Twilight lay restless in bed, how could she sleep at a time like this? You'd think there would at least be some sort of guide to nightlife, but all she could find was some reference book to the music played there. Techno, dubtrot, even some harder rock was usually played, which wasn't so bad. Twilight hadn't honestly listened to much more than techno ever since Pinkie played it at one of her parties, though. Twilight sighed as she rose from her bed. The blankets were crumpled messes of their former selves, due to all of Twilight's nervous tossing and turning. "I'm going now, Spike!" Twilight yelled with a nervous pitch in her voice, "I already might be late, and don't you dare try to stay up later than your bed time! I'll have Fluttershy come check on you!" "Geeze, fine Twi'. I'm already tired, I guess I'll see you in the morning." Spike said, rubbing his eyes. Twilight making so much noise all day only left him the small time she was gone to take a nap. When Spike fell asleep, he felt he could sleep through a hurricane, but it was always such a hassle to get there. Twilight left the library in a rush, she didn't even tell him where she was going, just that she'd be gone all night. "Whatever, beats her keeping me up all night." With that, the green and purple dragon went to bed. Twilight rushed through the now barren streets of Ponyville. Past the earlier bustling market, past the Ponyville town hall, and straight down the street from Sugarcube Corner. The moon was almost completely visible now, and the sun was finally receding below the mountains. Twilight was going to be late. Finally, her goal was in sight. Her new friend's house lay only a few yards away, then a few feet, then a few inches, then all Twilight could think of was the sudden pain in her head and the suffocating feeling around her horn. Beyond the door, Twilight could only hear a burst of laughter fill the air. Vinyl Scratch looked out the window, trying and failing to hold back a fit of laughter. "Well, that's one way to knock! You okay, Twilight?" "Yeah, my head just hurts a li- quit laughing! It's not funny!" Twilight yelled at the White unicorn pony, who quickly turned away, obviously trying not to laugh in front of the poor mare. "Well, anyway, you can come on in! I wasn't expecting you for a little longer, though." You could hear a tinge of joy in Vinyl's voice as she spoke. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad spending time with her, it would be nice to get to know her. "Sure, just let me get out of here," Twilight tried to pull herself out of the door, but to no avail, "Uhhh, Vinyl?" Twilight grinned sheepishly at the unicorn watching her. "I'm stuck." Another burst of laughter could be heard from Vinyl as she disappeared behind her window, and Twilight soon felt something pushing her horn out of the door. Soon enough, with enough wiggling, pushing, and pulling, the efforts of Vinyl and Twilight came to fruition. It was only then that Twilight fell over laughing. During the sudden fit of laughter, Twilight suddenly found herself being dragged inside by Vinyl. They eventually both calmed down enough to have a steady conversation. "Uhhh, well thanks for helping me out of that. I would've been in a bit of a jam without you." Twilight looked back at the door, only to just then notice the horn-sized hole she left in it. "Sorry about the door.... I can pay for it!" Twilight started to worry in the back of her head. 'Great first impression, Twilight. You ruin the pony's house before you even really get to know her!' Vinyl only chuckled at Twilight's nervous expression. "No need to worry, Twilight. I mean, where's the fun in NOT breaking things?" She started walking in to her kitchen, "I mean, you can't have a good party without making a big mess, can you?" "I suppose not, but I think you and I have different definitions of the word 'party,'" Twilight giggled, "Being from Canterlot, I was raised with formal parties, none of the fun stuff like Pinkie's. I'm still getting used to them." Vinyl groaned from across the room. "You aren't one of those snooty, uptight ponies, are ya?" Vinyl looked at Twilight accusingly, but soon enough her glare turned back in to a smile. "Naah, I can tell. You've got some fun in you somewhere!" She grinned at the lavender pony across from her. She poured a dark brown liquid in a mug and levitated it over to Twilight, "Coffee? You might need some for tonight." "Thanks," Twilight took the coffee, sitting down with Vinyl at a nearby Table. "So," Twilight began, "I haven't seen you around Ponyville before, are you new here?" "Well, yes and no. I've been here before for gigs and stuff, but I've never lived here. It just seemed like such a small, boring town." Vinyl said to Twilight, focusing intently on her coffee mug. "I don't know, it just seemed like such a change from Manehatten, but it's a nice change of pace." "Oh, well then, what made you decide to move? Do you have any family back at Manehatten? I mean, it's so far away!" Twilight took a large gulp from her coffee, trying to hide her disgust at the black coffee. She was used to it being so much sweeter. "Well, not really. I never knew my dad very well. He left after a spat with my mom, I never heard from him again. My mom.... Isn't with us anymore. She was sick for quite some time, and after a while, she just... Well, died." Vinyl wiped a slowly-forming tear from her eye. "I do have a brother there, though. We're really close, he's like my best friend! We promised to visit each other all the time!" Vinyl paused for a moment. "Actually, I don't know how I ended up wanting to come to a quiet little town like this. One day, I just had the vision of building a town up with my music. I figured I could go to the only place I could think of, Ponyville. It wasn't too far away, and it was steadily growing, and the property here was cheap." Twilight was amazed. Vinyl had gone through so much, yet she still aspired to follow her dreams. She had lost her mother, her father, and even moved away from her big brother. Twilight knew how that last one felt, and she was sure the first two were even tougher. On top of all that, Vinyl came here for the sake of building up a whole town? "Wow," Twilight muttered, and looked at the now saddened pony sitting across from her. "Something wrong?" Vinyl asked. "No, it's just, that's amazing Vinyl. The fact that you faced so much sadness in your life, but you still manage to chase your dreams. I've never met a pony so bold." Twilight could have sworn she saw Vinyl blush for a moment at her compliment, but quickly dismissed it. "I'd be proud to call myself your friend, Vinyl. Sorry if I brought up bad memories." Vinyl looked up at Twilight and smiled. "No, Twilight, thank you. I'm glad I found someone who I could share this with. I can tell, you and I are gonna be the best of friends." Vinyl turned to the clock, noticing that it must of taken longer than she had thought to free Twilight from that door. "We better get going. Did you talk to Pinkie at all? She said she would be going with us." Vinyl said, as she levitated a nearby pair of glasses, with lenses just a little brighter than her magenta eyes, closer to her. Vinyl put the glasses above her eyes and looked back at Twilight. "Trademark 'specs." Twilight looked puzzled at Vinyl for a minute, then quickly dismissed that expression. "Nah, I figured Pinkie would pop in for a little or so, but I honestly expected her to just drop by, not tell us. I'm sure we'll see her there." "Yeah," Vinyl said, "Something about 'making sure her Twilight will be okay.' It's easy to tell she cares a bunch about you. You must be a great friend." Vinyl took their coffee mugs and placed them next to the sink, and beckoned Twilight to follow her out the door. "Wow, I had no idea I meant that much to her. I'm glad to have Pinkie as a friend." Vinyl was right, though, Pinkie did seem to pop up a lot more often, and it wasn't such a bad thing, either. Pinkie and Twilight were turning out to be even closer than her and Rainbow Dash were when they went on that pranking spree. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Tonight's the night!" Pinkie told herself as she was walking to her new friend's club. "Tonight's the night I tell Twilight how I really feel about her!" Pinkie was certain that when she fell for Twilight, she would get her one day, and that one day was today. Pinkie could already taste victory in the air as she headed to Vinyl's new club. What a night, she would get to see her new friend again, maybe make some new ones, AND see Twilight. Tonight would easily go down as Pinkie's 'Besterest day ever,' (seeing as the day she got her cutie mark was already the 'bestest day ever.') Pinkie started down the barren streets of Ponyville, and it didn't take long for her to see two unicorns a short distance in front of her. 'There she is.' Pinkie told herself, taking even what she thought was a serious tone. 'My future bride-to-be.' Pinkie trotted up behind Twilight, who, unlike Vinyl, hadn't noticed her. "BOO!" Pinkie yelled, which sent Twilight in to the air and Vinyl in to a fit of laughs. "Not. Funny." Twilight said, glaring at the two giggling mares in front of her. "So funny!" Vinyl exclaimed faster than even Pinkie, who was about to say the same thing. "Oh, whatever, let's just go. I told you Pinkie would pop up eventually." Twilight quickly turned her angry glare to a smile. "Hey, Pinkie! I was wondering when you'd show up!" Twilight only giggled when Pinkie gave a sheepish grin. "Am I that predictable now? Geeze, Twi', it took you long enough to catch on! It's only been what, two years? Three?" Pinkie skipped up next to Twilight and Vinyl, who was still trying to get a hold of her laughter as they walked along. "Hmmm, not sure, anymore. I'd say somewhere around three years, now. Anyways, if you're finished, Vinyl, you were telling me about what this whole 'dubtrot' thing is about?" Twilight turned her head from the pink pony and turned to Vinyl. "Oh, yeah! Well, you see, dubtrot is basically music made with only DJ software! You set up a computer, put on some sounds, and boom! You're done. I don't see why so many ponies say it's hard to make." Vinyl started to babble about different types of techno and dance music until they got to their destination. Twilight was pretending to listen intently to Vinyl. She got to something called 'progressive house' before she started to tune the unimportant stuff out. It wasn't that there was something wrong with Vinyl, but everypony started to ramble. Pinkie with sweets, Rarity with different types of clothing and gems, Applejack with apples and all things apple related, and, of course, Rainbow Dash with the Wonderbolts. When it came to the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash was even more annoying than Twilight was with books. Eventually, the trio of ponies reached a large building, about the same height as the library, and maybe six or seven times bigger. There was already a line outside of the building that looked like half of Ponyville was in. There was a big neon side outside that read "CLUB P0N-3" in bright blue letters, much like the lighter part of Vinyl's hair. "Whadya think? Good? Awesome? Or even better?" Vinyl looked at the building with pride. "It took me days to get the sign's design right, and then it took a couple of weeks for them to construct it, and then all the decorating...I'm just glad it turned out how it did!" Vinyl only got a shocked look from Twilight, and the normal smile from Pinkie pie. "Yeah, I know, it's a little small, but I'm going to expand when business picks up!" "Small? Are you kidding me? This is huge!" Twilight could only gawk at the magnificent structure in front of them. The way one building could make Twilight feel like she was back in a big city like Canterlot, Twilight would never know. "How did you even afford all of this, Vinyl?" "Well, it's actually pretty small for a night club, but it's a good starting point. I'm proud of what it is for now. As for payment, well, you don't think that playing huge gigs, like the reception for a royal wedding would leave me broke, did you?" Vinyl grinned at Twilight and Pinkie, who were stepping in line. "What're you doing in line?" Vinyl said, pulling her 'trademark 'specs' over her eyes, "We don't need to wait in line! Not when you're with the performer! Lets go!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pinkie and her friends walked in to the club together. Why was she so nervous? She couldn't even talk right the whole time here, for Celestia's sake! Even Twilight was starting to notice her being out of character! "Pull your act together, Pinkie!" the party-loving pony mumbled to herself. The building was even more glamorous on the inside than it was on the out. As they entered the club, Vinyl, Pinkie, and Twilight were all met with a bar to their left, and quite a kind stallion setting up. The bar itself took up a good fourth of the whole room. 'How big does one bar need to be?' Twilight thought to herself. Besides the bar, there was a huge stage with an uncountable amount of lights, some hanging from the ceiling, some on the ground accompanying a set of turntables with so many buttons, only a pony like Vinyl could know what they all do. There was also a dance floor, but it seemed like it was just a dance floor. The rest of the building was taken up by lights, and a few tables near the bar. The walls were adorned with darker colors and countless decorations. 'Why so many lights?' Twilight noticed how big of an experience she was sure to have tonight. "You guys go look around, get comfy, the fun itself starts in a good 10 minutes, I'll see you guys during my breaks, it's just gonna be me playing tonight." Vinyl told her two companions, leaving them as she walked up to the stage. As soon as Vinyl left, Pinkie's fear finally completely set in. She felt like she was going to be sick with just the thought of Twilight rejecting her. What if Twilight didn't like her back? What if Twilight hated her forever after this? 'What are you, Pinkie Pie, chicken! No, you're not... Unless you count that Nightmare Night, but anyways, you can do this! It's just Twilight, she isn't that scary. When Twilight's having fun, pounce! I can do this!' Pinkie thought to herself. 'Geeze, it sure is hard to be serious. How do other ponies do it?' Twilight was at the bar, ordering a light drink when the lights started to dim, and ponies started to flood the room. Soon enough, Vinyl winked at Twilight as music started booming through the speakers. Ponies were already going crazy on the dance floor, dancing as hard as they could. It actually looked a little... Well, fun! Twilight never imagined herself to have fun at something like this! Maybe she could find Pinkie and have a bit of fun on the dance floor! She could never imagine going out there on her own, though. Twilight wandered along the dance floor until she found her friend. The pink party pony was dancing like a total maniac along with every other pony in the house, at least, those who weren't at the bars. Twilight ran up and waved to Pinkie, who quickly grinned even bigger when she saw her friend. "Hey! Twilight! Are you having fun?" "This is definitely a... new experience, but I wouldn't say I'm not having fun! It isn't as bad as I thought it would be! The music's even different from what I imagined!" Twilight came up to Pinkie and started dancing alongside her, but something was wrong. Was Pinkie nervous? What could she be nervous about? "Hey, Pinkie," Twilight yelled through the music, but she could barely even hear herself. "Is everything okay?" She yelled even louder. Pinkie's grin faded then, "Well, I..." Pinkie managed to mumble over the music. 'C'mon, Pie, you can do it! Tell her! Tell her!' She yelled to herself, she just couldn't do it. "It's nothing, Twilight! I'm having a blast! Just hoping the Cakes got that order done!" Twilight merely shrugged and continued dancing. She even ended up cutting loose a little and buying a drink, then two, then three, then everything was a blur. Time seemed to zip past her. She remembered talking to Vinyl a bit, then Pinkie leaving, she still seemed depressed. After that, she could only remember a couple friendly stallions talking with her, and then the shocked look on Vinyl's face when she saw that Twilight waited almost all night for her to finish. Then, everything went black. (A/N: OMG LIGHT CLIFFHANGER. I hope you guys enjoyed this. I was up for the better part of the night writing this, and I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I did making it. I guess it's sort of cheating, but with this Author's note, I broke my goal of 3,000 words! Thanks a bunch for reading guys, I'll give you a chapter three in the next few days, but hopefully the average of 3-4k words every chapter can make up for that short first chapter. Also, thanks to AzureKaRyu for convincing me to write this thing. You guys are awesome!) P.S.: I'm looking for a proofreader, message me if you're interested!