How to Live a Daily Life

by Smaug

Something Different for a Change

"Vinyl!"

the DJ jumped up out of her bed and hit the ceiling out of fright. She fell down back to her bed, her vision blurred. All she could see over top of her was a giant pink blur.

Pinkie, she thought, annoyed. "Pinkie... what do you wa-a-ant." She covered her face with her pillow and grumbled.

"Oh, Scratchy, I'm so glad you're awake! You'll never guess what just happened!'

Vinyl grumbled under pillow.

Pinkie giggled. "No, not exactly! well you see, the day of Pie-a-Palooza, my dad was supposed to come around and give me something, but he never did because the rock farm had a huge order to fill. Well, he just came around a half an hour ago, and look what he gave me!"

Vinyl took the pillow off of her face and looked at Pinkie Pie. Around Pinkie's neck sat a magnificent golden necklace, and there in the middle...

"Isn't it beautiful? it's called a Painite crystal! It's one of the most valuable gems in the world! My daddy found it when he was digging in the mine! Unlikely, I know, but the family mine is huge! I've only ever been down it a few times, but I'm rarely ever at the farm, so it's no surprise." She jumped around happily. "But it's so pretty! I can't get over how nice it is! My friend Rarity would be so jealous of me!"

Vinyl sat up, staring at the necklace in awe. "It's so beautiful, Pinkie... You're one lucky pony!" She stepped out of bed and yawned. "Ugh... I'm really hungry, though... Pinkie, is there anything I can get for breakfast?"

Pinkie nodded. "I'm actually just finishing up making it! if you wanna come downstairs with me, it'll probably be ready!"

Vinyl beamed and followed Pinkie. Pinkie made breakfast? Oh my gosh, this is going to be delicious.

And surely enough, there it was: the biggest breakfast Vinyl had ever seen. There on the table sat all sorts of plates of food. Pancakes, toast, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, waffles, the list went on and on. Vinyl was near to drooling at the sight.

They sat at the table and began eating. Vinyl was eating as fast as she could, but Pinkie had swallowed her share of the food whole.

"Mmm! That was delicious! I love making breakfast, almost as much as I love to make lunch! Oh, but not as much as dinner... and not as much as cupcakes, oho, no way as much as cupcakes! Hey! Vinyl, why don't we make cupcakes today?!"

Vinyl hadn't heard her, as she was still eating. She was enjoying the food too much to notice anything at all.

Then, the door of Sugarcube corner swung open. Vinyl saw this out of the corner of her eye, and looked over.

There, in the doorway stood the most regal pony Vinyl had ever seen. A beautiful purple mane, matched by an extremely well kept coat and posture. Vinyl recognized the pony very easily. This was Rarity, the element of generosity. She had hired Vinyl once for a fashion show, that evidently went horribly.

"Hello, Pinkie, and- oh!" Rarity noticed Vinyl. Her face was a mess from breakfast, her mane was untidy, and she looked overly tired.

Rarity gagged a bit inside. "Darling, how could you let yourself look like that? It's dreadful!"

Vinyl looked side to side. "Look like whath?" She said with a full mouth.

Rarity gestured to Vinyl's face and mane. "Like that! Goodness gracious, girl, you need proper care!" She picked Vinyl up by her front legs. "Come with me, dear. I'll fix you up well."

Before Vinyl could say anything, Rarity had zipped out of the door with Vinyl.

Pinkie Pie stared at the mountain of dishes sitting on the table. She sighed, and started bringing them into the kitchen to clean.

/\ \/ /\ \/ /\

Vinyl shuddered inside the building she stood in. The fanciness of the place made her feel chills. The place was almost as fancy as Octavia's house. She looked around the room. It had a very old fashioned, opera theater-styled look to it, only with more purple shades than red and gold. The floor was covered in a soft, light purple-tinged carpet. The windows were shaped like stained glass windows, with less colours and designs.

I would hate living in this place. Vinyl thought to herself.

Rarity stepped in behind her. "It's not much, but, it is home. and a dress shop." She waved a hoof over at the racks of dresses sitting against the wall. "But, we aren't staying here, no, I just had to do a few things before we leave!"

Vinyl cocked her head. "Leaving for where?"

Rarity laughed. "Oh dear, but where else? The spa, of course!" Rarity was running around the room, cleaning up the several messes she had apparently left some time ago. "My friend Fluttershy is supposed to meet me there, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I brought you along."

"Fluttershy, you said?" Vinyl said.

Rarity nodded as she came back to the doorway. "Yes, she's a good friend of mine. Have you not acquainted yourself with her yet?"

Vinyl shook her head. "I barely ever see her. I saw her yesterday at the carnival, but she bolted as soon as she saw me."

Rarity laughed softly. "Oh, yes. That's definitely Fluttershy. She's a very shy pony, she's not to used to getting to know other ponies. Don't be offended, it's common for her."

Vinyl nodded. "Don't worry, I got that."

they both walked out the door, and Rarity locked it behind them. "Now, Miss Scratch, tell me about Canterlot, what is it like being able to live there?"

Vinyl coughed. "Well, it's... definitely interesting. Much different than Ponyville. The ponies there are all high class and stuff. It gets really boring staying there. To me, anyways. That's why I'm on tour a lot of the time. I never like staying there for too long." She thought about Octavia. "But, I'll usually stay a few weeks to see my friend. We're living together because she insists on saving bits."

Rarity had been listening the whole time, to Vinyl's surprise. "My, it may sound boring to you, but to me, high class is style!" Rarity looked like she was glowing in that instance.

Vinyl laughed. "Ha, you'd get along with Fancy Pants and all the others just fine, then."

Rarity blushed. "I... actually know Fancy Pants rather well, really. Him and I are rather good friends."

Vinyl's eyes widened. "You know Fancy Pants? Wow! I can't even get near the guy without either me being crowded, or him being crowded! How did you get to know him?"

Rarity grinned. "Well, it's a funny story, really. I was staying in Canterlot for a few days, seeing the sights. Twilight's birthday was coming up, so I tasked myself with making her a ravishing dress. I went to see a Wonderbolts derby, and woe and behold, I happened to bump into him! He invited me to his private box as apology. Soon, we spent quite a lot of time socializing and whatnot."

Vinyl was amazed. "Really? It was that simple for you? That's crazy!"

Rarity laughed. "Well, yes, it really was. A funny story, if you do ask me." Rarity looked up. "My, how time does go by! We're here already!"

Vinyl looked up. Surely enough, the spa was standing directly in front of them. It wasn't a very large building, but spas usually aren't that big anyways.

Rarity stepped through the door, and the receptionist greeted her heartily. "Hello, Ms. Rarity! The usual?"

Rarity nodded. "Yes, Aloe, indeed the usual. However, I have brought someone with me this time!"

Aloe gestured towards the waiting room. "If you're talking about Ms. Fluttershy, she's just in there waiting for you."

Rarity shook her head. "No, I know that. I meant, this pony!" Rarity waved her hoof to the door, and Vinyl stepped inside.

Aloe screamed. "My goodness! You, miss, are quite a wreck to behold! We need to get you clean!" Aloe rushed off to start the spa treatment session.

Rarity laughed. "Oh, don't mind her. She can be worse than me sometimes." She looked at the waiting room. "I'll go fetch Fluttershy. One moment!" She chimed.

Vinyl sat and waited in the entrance room. Soon enough, Rarity came out with Fluttershy.

"Now, Fluttershy dear, I'd like you to meet Miss Vinyl Scratch." Rarity said.

Fluttershy's face burned red. "Oh, Rarity, I am sorry, but, um, something just came up you see, um... Angel's foot was injured in a terrible accident, so, um, I should really... go... check on her." And with that, Fluttershy bolted out of the door, not to Vinyl's surprise.

Rarity was shocked. "My goodness, never has Fluttershy flown so fast! How did she know about Angel...? Oh well, the health of animals is important, too." She looked at Vinyl. "I suppose it's just you and I now!" And with that, they strode into the spa area.

Immediately, Aloe and another pony named Lotus snatched the ponies up and began their spa treatment.

"First," Aloe explained, "We shall give you a good wash."

"Yes," Lotus chimed in, "A good wash!"

Vinyl was shoved into a spa tub beside Rarity, who was already seated in one. The two spa-going ponies immediately started to wash Vinyl with all sorts of shampoos and conditioners and herbs and whatnot. They focused heavily on what was Vinyl's hair, which, within a matter of minutes, was drooping wet, covering her eyes and disabling her visibility.

She stepped out of the tub after a while, and Aloe and Lotus, appearing once again out of nowhere, vigorously attacked her hair with a towel, drying it off. Vinyl's hair looked liked a lion at the time. She blew her hair out of her face, and, once again, was dragged away by the spa ponies.

This time, she sat beside Rarity in a sauna. Which, was rather relaxing. She let her body slouch as she let herself relax.

"This is nice, wouldn't you say, Miss Scratch?" Rarity asked, sounding content.

Vinyl nodded. "I've never done anything like this before. Best feeling ever..." She said, drifting away into a state of calmness.

But, just as she was about to fall fully into a warm slumber, Aloe and Lotus grabbed her once again. Vinyl was horribly annoyed by this, but soon realized that wherever they were taking her, must be even better.

Evidently, it was. She lay on a massage bed while Lotus gave her a rub down. Aloe was working on Rarity's hoof ends at request. Vinyl lay there on the bed, content as ever.

"Ah... what do you say, Vinyl? A mud bath afterwards, perhaps?"

Vinyl looked worried. "I don't know-w-w-w..." She replied whilst being given a back massage. "It seems sort of dirty-y-y-y."

Rarity laughed. "Oh, my dear, but it is ever so relaxing! You'd like it very much, I assure!"

Vinyl considered it. "Ah well, okay-y-y-" She was cut off, as Lotus swept her off her hooves, and into a mud bath.

Vinyl seemed disgusted at first, but soon, once she relaxed, enjoyed it. She was enjoying this spa treatment, besides being dragged off to the next portion. She closed her eyes, and let her body submerge into the mud.

"See what I mean, dear? It really is something." Rarity said, eyes covered by cucumbers. Seeing this always confused Vinyl, but she paid no mind to it.

She lay there in the bath, thinking of how much she was enjoying her stay in Ponyville, besides the Pie-a-Palooza ordeal and Rainbow Dash's near-fired experience. She thought of the breakfast she enjoyed this morning, the few days she spent with Pinkie Pie baking... and then it was all but a wisp, as once again, she was dragged off by Lotus.

She found herself once more inside a bath, being cleaned again. That didn't last very long, as this time it was Rarity, who very gently, ushered Vinyl to a hot tub. Vinyl loved the sight of this, as she spent much of her time in her own hot tub. She stepped in after Rarity, and sunk in.

Vinyl felt as though she was in heaven. Never in her life had she felt so relaxed. Why haven't I ever done this before? She thought, laying in the hot tub alongside Rarity, whom was either sincerely relaxed, or fast asleep. I should take 'Tavia to one, sometime... She thought about Octavia. She realized once more that she missed her friend sincerely. I'm gonna get her here soon. I know it... And thus, she fell asleep in the tub.

/\ \/ /\ \/ /\

Vinyl was sitting on her front door step, awaiting Pinkie Pie and her new friend, Octavia. She huffed impatiently. She'd been waiting for almost a half an hour now, and they were supposed to be there a while ago. She looked up and down the road, and still they were nowhere to be found.

"Hi Scratchy!"

Vinyl almost jumped out of her coat. She landed face first, and once she recovered, she looked behind her to see Pinkie Pie waiting in her doorway.

"Pinkie? How the hay did you get there?"

Pinkie laughed. "Oh, Scratchy! What does it matter? It's me! That's how!"

Vinyl laughed. Pinkie did have a point. She looked around. "Hey, where's Octavia?"

"Right here," Said a small voice from behind a rain barrel. Vinyl looked over and saw Octavia come out from behind it. "Pinkie told me to hide here while she sneaked up behind you."

Pinkie's face drooped. "Aw, Tavie! You were supposed to keep it secret!"

Octavia's face saddened. "Oh, Pinkie, I'm sorry... I didn't catch on to that."

Pinkie smiled. "That's okay! I still got her anyways!"

"Heh, I was only pretending! I wanted to give you the satisfaction." She lied.

Pinkie laughed. "Ha! Yeah right! Did you see how far you went up? It was totally hilarious! It was almost farther than last time!"

Octavia raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by last time?"

Pinkie laughed. "Oh gosh, Tavie, you should've seen it! It was last year's Nightmare Night- gosh it was fun- and Scratchy and I were going out with my mommy, so we had to go get Vinyl. I had a really scary mask, so I wanted to really scare Vinyl!" She circled Vinyl, with a piercing gaze upon her as she did it. "When we got to Scratchy's, I decided to climb the tree beside her window and jump in and scare her! So, I did, and let out a big roar!"

She stopped behind Vinyl and roared. "Roa-a-ar!" She yelled. Vinyl, once again, screamed and jumped up in terror. She landed behind Octavia and hid behind her.

Pinkie was on the ground laughing. "Just like that! Gosh, it was funny! I'll never get over it!"

Vinyl stared at Pinkie. "Stop it, Pinkie! I don't like being scared, you know that!"

Octavia nodded in agreement. "Nor I. It's not very fun, if you ask me."

Pinkie huffed. "Well fine then! Be that way! It's fun to be scared once in a while, you two are just party poopers!" Pinkie turned and stomped away angrily.

Vinyl sighed. "Now I feel bad... I hate it when she's angry."

Octavia patted Vinyl on the back. "Oh, Vinyl, it's alright. Not everypony likes the same things. I'm sure she's already over it and wondering where she's going by now."

Vinyl laughed. "You're right, 'Tavia. Pinkie does get over things fast." She looked up at Octavia. "What took you two so long, anyways?"

Octavia blushed. "Oh, I had to finish up my cello practice... Pinkie said she'd wait with me, because apparently she was interested in hearing it."

Vinyl smiled. "I wanna hear! Can we go back to your place and play some tunes? I can bring my piano! Or, well, if it's easier, I have started playing guitar. My daddy said it's a lot of fun."

Octavia beamed. "A guitar! How interesting! Yes, bring it! We could write some really cool songs, too!"

Vinyl zipped back inside and came out with a red guitar. "Ready then?"

Octavia nodded. "Yep! Let's go!"

/\ \/ /\ \/ /\

"Miss Scratch? Miss Scra-a-atch?"

Rarity was waving her wet hoof in front of Vinyl's face. "Hello? Are you still with us, dear?"

Vinyl stirred and woke up. "Huh...? What?" She noticed Rarity. "Oh, hi... I was just... dreaming..."

Rarity laughed. "That's plain to see, darling, but, we need to go get our hair done, and then we're out of here."

Vinyl groaned. "But I don't want to leave! I love spas! They're so..." Vinyl sighed contently. "Relaxing."

Rarity laughed. "Never had one before, I take it?" Vinyl shook her head slowly. Rarity laughed again. "Well, we'll have to do this again sometime! But, come darling, we need to get that mane of yours done!"

Rarity grabbed Vinyl and zipped them both to the next room. Aloe and Lotus were waiting for them, and Lotus began work on Vinyl once she sat down.

"Now, what kind of look are you aiming for, Miss?" Lotus asked.

Vinyl shrugged. "Enh, just my usual look. Do you have a picture of me anywhere?"

Lotus nodded. "Oh, I don't need a picture, you have no idea how many times I've had to do that style. You've got quite the amount of fans, Miss."

Vinyl laughed. "Oh, well then! Please do!"

Lotus nodded, and began her work. She snipped, she clipped, she curled, she unfurled, and all of it seemed soothing to Vinyl. She lay contently as Lotus worked.

Finally, she was done. "Does it look okay, Miss?" Lotus asked. She stuck a mirror in front of Vinyl.

Vinyl beamed with shock. Staring into the mirror, she saw an tremendous amount of beauty. Her coat was gleaming, her hair had no knots, and she looked amazing.

"I..." She started. "I'm... speechless. You did wonderfully! No, you did better than that! It's..."

Lotus smiled. "Extraordinarily beautiful?"

Vinyl nodded. "Exactly! It's... crazy awesome!" She jumped on Lotus, hugging her tightly. "Thank you so, so much!"

Lotus laughed nervously. "Ehe, well, I'm glad you approve, but, um..." She gently pushed Vinyl off. "I prefer not to be... touched, if you please, Miss."

Vinyl rubbed her neck, embarrassed. "Aha, uh, yeah... sorry."

Lotus smiled, and left the room alongside Aloe.

Vinyl was beaming. She looked over at Rarity, content on showing her new look. But, before she could do anything, Vinyl's jaw dropped. Rarity was gleaming, she looked so amazing. Her purple mane was shining as bright as the sun, and her white coat beamed like a pure-white cloud.

"Sweet Celestia, Miss Rarity! You look amazing!" Vinyl exclaimed.

Rarity laughed in appreciation. "Well, thank you kindly dear! I do think so myself! Now, if you'll come with me back to the boutique, we'll get you into a nice new dress!"

Vinyl cringed at the thought. A dress? How humiliating! The only thing she's ever worn was her favourite green sweater, and that was only ever so often.

"Uh, thanks, but, no thanks. I'm really not the dress type."

Rarity gasped. "Dress type? Miss Scratch, if anyone could pull off a dress, it's you!" She gestured to Vinyl's gleaming coat. "And after all that to make you look ever more stunning! I believe a dress is the only way to go!"

Before Vinyl could say anything, Rarity had already taken her by the hoof, and out the door.

/\ \/ /\ \/ /\

"How about this one?"

Vinyl was severely unimpressed. She had spent the two hours after the spa treatment trying on Rarity's dresses and modelling them. Dress after dress after dress, Rarity would not stop with them.

"Excuse me, Rarity?"

"No, not this one, no no no..."

"Rarity?"

"Oh, this one! Oh... no, not this one."

"Miss Rarity."

Rarity jumped. "Goodness me, dear! you shouldn't need to yell, I'm only right here you know!"

Vinyl huffed. "Miss Rarity, could you maybe, you know... decide on a dress that suits me? We've been at this for hours, and I'm getting sort of tired from standing here."

"Goodness me, I hadn't realized! I am terribly sorry, I'll quickly find one for you." She rummaged through the dresses again, when finally...

"Aha! Perfect!" She came out of the jungle of dresses, with an extravagant blue and white dress. "This one will suit you perfectly!" Rarity quickly dressed Vinyl in it, and surely enough, Vinyl was in fact, impressed this time. Two hours had gone by, and this was the first -and hopefully last, she thought- dress she actually liked.

"Wow, I... wow. This is actually beautiful, Miss Rarity. I..." She stared at herself in the mirror. The dress was laced with a white and blue striped pattern, matching her mane and tail colour. The collar area looked even impressive. White lace patterns lined the bottom of it. and blue laced the sleeves. It was truly a dress meant for a pony of Vinyl's stature.

Vinyl was speechless. "I don't know what to say, Miss Rarity..."

Rarity hushed her. "Please, Miss Scratch, call me Rarity."

Vinyl nodded. "And you please, call me Vinyl."

Rarity nodded, and Vinyl continued.

"This whole day... I did stuff I never thought I'd ever do. I thought spas were for really fancy-smancy ponies. I hate trying on dresses, but for once, I actually like one..." She spun around in her dress. "...and it suits me perfectly. How could I ever thank you?"

Rarity laughed. "Oh dear, you don't need to! It was all a welcoming gift from me to you! We in Ponyville are honoured to have you in our hospitality, and, after all..." She laughed softly. "I am the element of generosity!"

Vinyl smiled. "Well, Miss Rar- I mean, Rarity, I thank you heavily. You've opened a whole new kind of thing to me." She hugged Rarity. "I won't soon forget this!"

Rarity laughed. "Oh, darling, you are welcome! I had a grand time. Now, you'd best hurry back to Sugarcube corner, it's getting rather late."

Vinyl nodded, and walked to the door. "One last time, Rarity... thank you."

Rarity smiled and waved. Vinyl waved back, and with that, stepped out into the open world...

...where it was raining.

Vinyl huffed. She knew today was too good to be perfect. So, on she went home, trekking through the night time rain.

--------------------------------------

To my readers, whom I appreciate greatly.

This chapter... enh. I didn't know what to do with it. I wasn't very sure what kind of problem I could make between Rarity and Vinyl, so basically it was really minimal. I also have no idea what a spa treatment is like, so if any of that is in accurate, sorry.

Basically this chapter was just about opening up new things to Vinyl. Rarity's my least favourite pony, so it was really hard working with her.

The next chapter will be way better.

Thanks!

~Smaug

Comments

[The Unknown Alias]

............
Okay, at this point, you're just teasing me with Fluttershy implications...

[Smaug]

259396 I thought so too! XD I make way too many puns in this story.

[portalthinker92]

reads author note at bottom: don't worry i don't like rarity that much either.