Normally, the world would shape around Vinyl Scratch. Wherever her body would take her, she would go, and whatever tune she was jamming out to, she would listen to until the end.
Not this time.
At a particularly low point in her song, a crash echoed through her ears, stopping her in her tracks. Sure, she felt a small bump on her hip, but she bumps her hips against everything all the time. This time, however, the thing she broke caused her glasses to fall from her face.
“Oh crap,” she said, glancing at the shards of a gilded, porcelain, expensive, prized vase that belonged to Octavia, Vinyl’s roommate. “Oh shoot.”
Vinyl had one of two choices. One: fess up to Octavia and take her punishment. She’d be free of guilt, but would be on Octavia’s bad side. Octavia’s bad side is not where you want to be.
That bow traumatized her.
And so, Vinyl had only one other choice.
“So that’s why I need your help,” said Vinyl desperately. “C’mon. I know you of all people should be able to help me.” Vinyl stood before a very confused Derpy Hooves in the middle of her duty as a mail woman.
“Oh, I don’t know, Vinyl…” she said digging into her bag. “I don’t know if there are any vases in here.”
“No,” said Vinyl annoyedly. “I just need you to get me a vase. You know? Like the black and blue one?”
“Black and blue?” she asked. “I thought it was white and gold…”
“Okay, this isn’t working,” said Vinyl, checking the time. “I’ve got three hours until Octi comes back from her performance up in Canterlot. Know any place to get a vase around here?”
“Maybe…” said shifting from side to side. “You don’t happen to have any-”
“You want muffins?” Said Vinyl expectantly. “I can get muffins.”
“Cupcakes!” she finished. “Why does everybody think that I like muffins?”
“Cupcakes are cool too,” said Vinyl, completely ignoring her question. “I’ll be back in a bit.” Vinyl ran off in the direction of the famous Sugarcube corner, finding it in a few moments. When Vinyl burst through the door, she saw two naked babies sitting on the counter, both covered in vanilla and chocolate frosting. In front of them stood he ever ridiculous Pinkie Pie, wielding two frosting bags. Pinkie glanced at the door and smiled.
“Hi Vinyl!” she exclaimed. “What’re you here for?”
“Uh… a cupcake…?” asked Vinyl carefully. “T-take your time, if you need it.”
“A cupcake’s coming up!” said Pinkie, disappearing behind a large wall, leaving the two infants in Vinyl’s presence. They both turned to face her as they ate the frosting off of themselves.
‘Oh, gross,” she said. “I did not need to see that.”
Pinkie returned with a single cupcake. It was a normal vanilla cupcake with white frosting. Vinyl took in from Pinkie’s hand and stared at it with a grin.
“Thanks, Pinkie,” said Vinyl, turning around.
“Ahem!” said Pinkie, gesturing towards Vinyl. “That’ll be 2 bits.”
“Soz, Pinkie Pie,” said Vinyl reaching into her pocket. Once she reached nothing but cloth, she went to her other pocket. Both were empty of bits. “U-uh…”
“That’s okay,” said Pinkie excitedly. “If you don’t have the bits, you can pay me in something else!”
“Awesome,” she said. “What do you want?”
“Well, duh,” said Pinkie. “Candy! If you can get me candy, I’ll give you the cupcake.”
“How am I supposed to get candy if I can’t pay for a cupcake?”
“I dunno,” said Pinkie, lifting the cupcake from Vinyl’s hand. “Maybe the townspeople are giving away candy or something!”
“It’s not Nightmare Night…” she said with a groan. “Okay, okay, I’ll get the stupid candy.”
“Yay!” Pinkie placed the cupcake on the counter next to the two infants, manning the two frosting bags once again. “Okay, then. Who’s ready for round 2?”
Vinyl exited the shop before she could see anything, shivering when she thought of what Pinkie could be doing to those children with that frosting.
“Candy, candy…” thought Vinyl. “Who else in Ponyville has candy?”
“It’s always good to see another amazing performer such as Trixie,” said Trixie in her small van that served as a dressing room. Vinyl felt extreme pity for this wannabe.
”Uh, yeah, right,” she said. “So, can I have that candy?” Trixie popped one of the candies, a taffy, into her mouth and savored its squishiness.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie would be delighted to share some of her candy with a fellow entertainer, especially if that entertainer is the famous DJPon3.”
“Yep, that’s me…” said Vinyl. “So, can I have the candy?”
“Have you seen Trixie’s awards?” She said, veering off topic. She got up and returned quickly, carrying a large case with her. Once opened, it showed a bunch of gold medals and small trophies. “The Great and Powerful Trixie finds them trivial, but others like taking long glances at them for some reason.”
Vinyl leaned in and looked at the case. Each and every one displayed “Printed by Trixie Lulamoon.”
“Did you… fake these trophies?” asked Vinyl. “These all have your name as their creator.”
“Of course they do,” said Trixie, triumphantly. “Trixie wouldn’t want anyone else taking the credit, now would she?” Vinyl brought her hand to her face and dragged it down.
“Okay, can I have some candy now?”
“Yes, of course,” said Trixie motioning towards her large bag labeled props. “However…”
“Let me guess,” said Vinyl. “You want something in return, don’t you?”
“A simple mirror would be nice,” she said.
“But there’s a huge mirror right there,” said Vinyl motioning behind Trixie. It was a grand mirror that was atop an even larger dresser.
“A simple mirror,” repeated Trixie. “Trixie believes that this task is easy. Especially for one of your stature and wealth.”
“Dude, I live in Ponyville with my best friend,” said Vinyl.
“Nevertheless, Trixie advises you to hurry,” she said, popping another taffy into her mouth. “I cannot assure that your candy will still be secure.”
Leaving Trixie’s van, Vinyl began to feel a little light headed and annoyed. She wasn’t sure where on Celestia’s green Equus she could find a mirror. She checked the time, seeing that Octavia would arrive in Ponyville only an hour from now.
In her fit of annoyance, she almost missed the mint green person passing by nearby carrying a small, blue mirror in her hands. Vinyl jumped up and ran in front of the person, nearly scaring them off.
“Quickly, Lyra!” she said. “What do you want for that mirror?”
“V-Vinyl?” She asked. “This mirror? It’s um.... Not worth much. You can just buy one-”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said frantically. “Just tell me what you want for it!”
“W-well…” Lyra thought it over. “I’ve actually really wanted a double bass.”
Vinyl’s red eyes sparkled with joy.
“Finally!” She yelled. “I finally found something I actually have!”
“Huh?” Then Vinyl stopped, a skeptical look on her face. “Wait…. What do you want a double bass for?”
“R-Research…” she said, looking around. “Look, just get me one, please?”
“I’ll be back in a mo,” she said, dashing off in the direction of her home. “Don’t you dare sell that mirror to anyone else!” She ran all the way back to her home, entering quickly. She looked around frantically before locking onto a case in the corner. She walked over and opened it, revealing the large double bass.
“Finally,” she said. “Let’s get that vase.”
Octavia was a woman of critical acclaim. Her services were well known and well liked by many. Although her main place of business was stationed in Canterlot, she loved her somewhat quaint home of Ponyville. For the most part, it was calm, and she got to spend time with her best friend, and rival, Vinyl Scratch. When she was tolerable, they could have tea and talk about the finer aspects of life. Other times, she was an obnoxious, careless, uncouth, woman. All of the time, however, it was fun.
Being such an important person, Octavia usually came home very tired and unwilling to do much. She always longed for the comfort of her bed, but not too much to at least greet her companion first. Walking into the door, she found Vinyl leaning against a wall, a big, goofy smile on her face.
“Hey, Octi,” said Vinyl, getting off the wall. “So, uh, how was your day?”
“Very busy, Vinyl.” She said that every time Vinyl asked how her day was. Vinyl didn’t seem to take it poorly, however.
“Good, good,” she said. “Well, my day was awesome.”
“You’re being very polite, Vinyl,” said Octavia. “Usually, you’d have left to go to sleep, or something else.”
“I-I just feel like asking you how your day was, jeez.” A stutter and random annoyance? Octavia found that something was very off. She dismissed it, however, and made her way to her bedroom. When she passed her vase, she rubbed her finger along it, realizing something.
“This is odd. My vase is very clean all of a sudden,” said Octavia, causing Vinyl to jump slightly. “I don’t normally have time to dust it.”
“I-I did that!” interjected Vinyl. “I just figured that with all the work you do, you would appreciate a little dusting.
“It’s giving off quite a strong aroma,” said Octavia. “It smells like a new vase.”
“Of course it’s not a new vase, Octi,” said Vinyl. “You’re just imagining-”
“I had flowers in this vase,” said Octavia, turning towards Vinyl with a skeptical face on. “What happened to my flowers?”
“I t-thought you could do much better than some stupid sunflowers-”
“They were rare white lilies,” said Octavia.
“Patato, patahto,” said Vinyl. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you some white lilies tomorrow. For now, just relax.”
“I’m reluctant, but also exhausted,” she said, dropping the matter. “I would like to play a small piece on my double bass before bed, if you don’t mind.”
“Yeah, sure, go for it,” said Vinyl. “I’ll just be in my own room, okay?”
Octavia turned and headed to her own room with a wave. Vinyl wiped her forehead in relief, turned around and headed back to her own room.
“I did it!” She celebrated on her way there. “All that trouble, but I fixed it before Octi got home. All I had to do was… trade her… double bass…”
By the time Vinyl turned, it was already too late. Octavia stood in the small living room next to her vase, holding an empty case.
“Vinyl?”
“Y-yes Octi?”
“I’m going to ask you a question and when you answer, I want the absolute truth, okay?”
“Y-yes, Octi…”
“What happened to my double bass?”
“Oh you know…” said Vinyl rubbing the back of her neck. “I… traded it for a mirror…”
“Vinyl?”
“Yes, Octi?”
“Do I need to get the bow?”
“Please don’t.”
“I’m gonna go get the bow.” When she turned around, Octavia bumped her hip into the table the vase stood on, knocking the vase to the floor. Vinyl’s already white skin turned a paler color.
“Vinyl?”
“O-Octi I can explain-”
“Lay down on the couch.”
“B-but-”
“Lay down on the couch.” Vinyl slowly made her way to the couch and laid herself out, face to the couch.
“O-Octi?”
“What is it, Vinyl?”
“Are you still getting the bow?”
“No, I’m not,” she said, much to Vinyl’s relief.
“That’s great then-”
“I already have it.”
“Awwww.”