Chapter 27 - The Laughter
~~~~~~Ponyville, Fourth day of the Festival~~~~~~
Vinyl Scratch had worn a lot of names over the course of her life. It was kind of an odd thing to think about when she was backstage between sets, but Vinyl had always found herself musing about crap like this at weird times. She’d been born Arpeggio Crescendo Piano, and after a stint with the nickname of ‘Pinnio’ during her brief stay in the Royal Canterlot Orchestra, she had run away from her old name and all of the bad memories it represented. Then she had become ‘Mallow’ - after her white coat and peppy disposition, and sometimes ‘Two Tone’ - the name which had inspired her hair-coloring and style - after her cutie mark.
Eventually, she’d taken on the name Vinyl Scratch to use as a stage name - and that one had now been her ‘name’ for longer than her real name had been. Not that she cared about that old name very much anymore - not since she and Tavia had finally settled things once and for all with Momma and Poppa Piano. Now, she was just Vinyl to most of her friends, and occasionally DJ-p0n3 when the music mags wanted to give her a slick sounding scene name.
Still, she’d still made peace with who she’d been before... which was why the proud and ancient standing piano sat arrogantly next to her, having been propped up on a wheeling dolly in order to get it out on stage. She gently placed a hoof onto the keys and gently extended her magic to perform a rolling scale up them. The smooth and silky sound poured around her like a summers breeze and never failed to put a little smile on her face. Of all the things she owed Octavia for, getting back her music was the one thing she’d never quite forget.
Dusting off her hooves, Vinyl hopped out of her chair and snagged her sweet shades with a touch of magic. She’d had them for so long, but she could still remember the suspicious look on the shop keeper’s face when she’d bought them for six bits from a little novelty shop that used to be attached to the Ponyville train station. She chuckled and seated them firmly over her eyes before making her way out into the public. Octavia thought wearing them at night was silly. Vinyl thought the whole idea might make a pretty awesome song and had been working on the lyrics for a while now.
Still, stepping into the bright shining daylight always made her thankful for them. Being a night-owl by inclination and trade, bright light always gave her headaches when she didn’t have the shades on. The Ponyville Park was stuffed to the gills with stages, musicians, and every kind of music known to ponykind. Some brave and enterprising soul was even wearing the One Pony Band getup that Pinkie Pie had used to defeat the parasprites, and was generating as much laughter as he was bits in his instrument cases.
It was the kind of concert and get-together that Vinyl loved - it was chaotic and free and creative and wonderful. Neon Lights was a few stages further into the park and from the sound of things was just making things up as he went along. Somewhere in this mess, Vinyl could hear cousin Fiddles sawing away at her instrument to the stomps and claps of a rowdy group of line dancers. There was nothin’ but the music and the joy in music.
Vinyl took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of fried breads and sweat and the hint of slightly more mature scents that floated along on the breeze. Just like any good party, it seemed like everypony was having a good time in every way they possibly could. All was well and right in Vinyl’s little corner of existence, which was just the way she liked it. Well, okay - maybe things could be improved a little bit if Tavia were currently wrapped around her neck and kissing her... and maybe some other stuff.
Vinyl felt a cheesy grin split her face as it almost always did when she got to thinking about Tavi. And lo - as if by magic, the mare herself appeared out of the crowds accompanied by Tia. A very nervy looking Tia, who was practically clinging to Octavia like a life raft. Vinyl felt an eyebrow arch at the sight, and instead of instantly rushing over to them as would be normal she elected to hop off the stage and slowly make her way over to them. Octavia didn’t appear the least bit troubled, if one ignored her obvious concern for the mare next to her - so it couldn’t be anything involving a lot of ponies, thus Vinyl focused instead on Tia.
The look Tia had was a familiar one. Skittish, almost paranoid looking - her eyes darting to and fro through the crowds. She moved almost painfully close to Octavia - never veering more than two or three feet away. Her jaw was clenched tightly, although that was an easy sign to miss given how much she was avoiding eye-contact of any kind. In short, she looked like the absolute last thing she wanted was to be among strangers, and that she was probably grappling with some set of thoughts that she was very uncomfortable with. Which probably explained the concerned look on Octavia’s face as she scanned the crowd - she was looking for Vinyl, which meant she’d picked up on something she thought Vinyl could help with.
Welp.
Vinyl swam through the crowd with the greatest of ease - having long ago learned the fine art of how to get past a group of otherwise distracted ponies without getting a hoof to the jaw. Dodging left and right with a smooth turn of her hips, answering hoofbumps with a grin and a bob of her head - it was all a day in the life for Vinyl. Fortunately, it didn’t take her long to reach Tavia and Tia - and the relief on both of their faces at the sight of her was more than enough to make her blush a little. “Ayo, pones. Wha’sup?” Vinyl queried, hoping the the red in her cheeks wasn’t too bright.
Tavia, bless her sexy heart, immediately dragged Tia’s equally sexy flank over to her and embraced Vinyl tightly for a moment, her lips moving in an imperceptible whisper. “Something is very wrong, love. She is... having some sort of breakdown.” Octavia glanced over her shoulder at Tia for a moment before continuing to speak in a whisper. “Lyra, Bon Bon and Ditzy are trying to find Cheerilee and Chaser. We need to keep her distracted until they can arrive.”
Vinyl blinked at that one, then nodded once. She didn’t know what was plaguing Tia, but she was gonna find out. “Go get my stash. Mebbe she just needs a little smoke,” Vinyl suggested, and Octavia stared at her in disbelief before nodding shortly. True, it wasn’t the most likely of ideas, but maybe it might help Tia chill out. Vinyl gently touched Tia’s shoulder, unsurprised when the poor unicorn nearly jumped out of her coat. “Hey hey... s’okay, Tia,” Vinyl soothed softly, gently pulling Tia through the crowds towards her private dressing room backstage. “C’mon. You look like you need somepony to talk to.”
Tia was nodding her head jerkily as she was pulled through the crowds - Vinyl’s glaring face clearing the way as other ponies looked on with concern. One nice thing about partygoers like this was that they knew when to give somepony space - like right now, for example. It took only the work of a few minutes to corral Tia into her private little nook behind one of the big stages and lock the door with a drop bar. She sat Tia down on the couch and gently took her by her shoulders. “Anythin’ you need t’ say in here Tia will stay in here, aright? You don’t need to be scared of anything in here,” Vinyl said in the most serious voice she possibly could. “Cuz I wont judge you one inch.”
Tia stared at her disbelievingly for a few long moments. “How could you not?” Tia whispered softly, her voice cracked and strained, her eyes a window into a soul that was fraught with turmoil. “How could anypony not judge me now? Even given a second chance in the world I obscure the truth from those who care for me most... I hide behind evasions and stories and try desperately not to admit how frightened I am that it will all come crashing down around me. How could anypony possibly not judge me!?” Tia’s voice was going from strained to outright shattered, and Vinyl knew that tone of voice and that look on her face... knew it all too well. No sharp stuff in here, thankfully... Course, that didn’t mean Tia might not try something else absolutely batshit insane.
Tia was winding up for another round of beating herself up too, which meant it was time for a Vinyl intervention. Slapping her wouldn’t be a good idea at this juncture, so Vinyl went for noise instead. “TIA!” Vinyl yelled in the kind of voice that could cut through a club’s music at full volume, temporarily stunning Tia out of her downward spiral. Vinyl sat herself down next to her and grabbed her chin. “Don’t gimmie that crap. You don’t know what I’ve been through, same as I dunno what you’ve been through. So don’t go thinkin’ you know what I’d do.” Vinyl blew out a breath as Tia nodded faintly, glad she wasn’t still babbling or things might’ve gotten dicey.
Vinyl took in a deep breath and began to speak in a low tone. “Look. I don’t know what happened to you, an’ it might not be my business, but I’ll tell ya this - You’re not alone. No matter how fucked up your past might be, there’s somepony out there who knows what you feel like - and who’s sometimes been through just as much shit.” Tia stared at her dubiously, and Vinyl felt a fixed grin on her face. “I ran away from home when I was twelve years old, cuz I was afraid my parents were gonna lock me up and never let me see the filly I loved ever again, and all because I didn’t sit quietly and take the abuse my peers heaped on me.”
Tia’s eyes widened in shock at that. “But... why? That doesn’t make any sense!” Tia wasn’t just shocked at that little reveal - she was appalled. Odd. It wasn’t any secret that there were stiff and disapproving parents out there... yet she was acting like the very existence of such parents couldn’t possibly be reality. Vinyl snorted softly. Cheery had said she might be naive and cut off from reality but this was ridiculous.
“Simple. Mom and Pop had real specific views on what their kids were gonna be like. I didn’t fit into those views, so they were gonna throw me in some private school somewhere till I got beaten into line. I wasn’t gonna sit there an’ take that, so I ran,” Vinyl pointed out, stabbing her hoof towards Tia. “I ran like hell for twelve years. I changed my mane, my name: I changed everything about me.” Vinyl took in a deep breath, not looking away - hoping she could get across the intensity of what she was feeling. “I did some things, Tia... Things most ponies don’t talk about in public, cuz they get all freaky over the way the real world works.”
Tia’s mouth clamped shut for a moment, then opened to speak tremulously. “W.. what do you mean by ‘things’? Surely you did not steal?” Vinyl snorted in laughter at the question, and Tia stared her in amazement. “I...” Tia began, then drew herself up a little firmer, a little more straight - obviously trying to shelve whatever insanity she was going through in order to face what Vinyl had to tell her. “Please, tell me.”
Vinyl tilted her head at her. “Well, I whored for a while at the start... That wasn’t so bad, actually - Charity Heart was a helluva pony and I’m one of those depraved individuals who thinks sex is fun.” She grinned toothily at Tia, whose jaw had dropped in total shock. Vinyl felt a little surge of satisfaction at that one, and kept on going - figuring it was about time Tia got a lesson in the way the world really was. “Learned how to pickpocket on the job, an’ learned how to cultivate the customers. I did other things as I got older though. I ran Moon Dust for a while in Baltimare until the market dried up. Did some B and E work fer one of th’ local mafia Don’s in Las Pegasus. I didn’t really get back into DJing and music till I turned eighteen and could get into the clubs.”
Vinyl sighed and chuckled softly. “Look, I don’t want pity or nothin’. I made my choices - I did what I had to do to stay alive.” Vinyl gently poked Tia’s shoulder. “I ain’t in a position to judge anypony, especially not somepony I think is pretty cool. You need to keep secrets, don’t wanna tell us where you came from? That’s your call, darlin. Most ponies here don’t know much ‘bout me either. Least not until I showed up broke and homeless at my s- at Tavia’s place.” Vinyl coughed once, wanting to keep that particular facet of their relationship out of the conversation... at least for the moment. “What matters t’ me most is that you be comfortable with your choices, even if you ain’t happy with em.” Vinyl grinned broadly, and kissed Tia’s cheek. “Besides, yer a cutie an’ I’ve been tryin to convince Tavia to let me bring in a third from time to time an...”
Tia’s cheeks were beet red as she tried to hide her face in her hooves, much to Vinyl’s amusement. “Oh, goodness!” Tia said - with a gentle laugh in her voice. Still strained but... less panicking now. “Oh, I couldn’t. It’s difficult enough to have somepony desire me that way, I do not know what I might do with two ponies giving me that kind of attention. It might well kill me!” Tia... joked. Yep, that was definitely a joke in her voice right there, and Vinyl felt a surge of pleasure.
Good. Now that Tia wasn’t panicking, Vinyl could steer her towards the right way for her to fix things. “Well, alright - I won’t pester ya about it, but seriously Tia...” She gestured around her at the instruments and costumes and other knick-nacks a dressing room accumulated. “I’d bet you every bit I have that nopony who’s met you gives a buck about some shit you did in your past. We like you for the pony you’ve been around us, not for the pony you used to be.” She poked Tia’s middle softly, and the white unicorn made a sound much like an ‘eep.’ “You like being around us too, right?”
Tia nodded slowly, and Vinyl slapped her thigh in triumph. “Then there you go. You got friends, you got work, you got love... what else does a pony need?” She scratched at her head then grinned broadly. “Life’s short. Quit stressin’ over shit you can’t change an’ focus on what you can.” She paused and opened up one of the cupboards, extracting two bottles of hard cider and hoofing one over to Tia. “Drink, you could use one,” Vinyl quipped as she popped the top of her own and chugged the thing down in one go - with Tia staring at her in astonishment.
Vinyl smacked her lips with her tongue and grinned at her. “Look at me. I got a past full of bad road about eighty fuckin’ miles long, an’ I don’t worry about it. Nothin I can do ‘bout it now - its happened, it is what it is and that’s all there is to it.” Tia was still looking a little confused, holding the bottle of cider tightly to her chest as though not sure what to do with it. Vinyl frowned a little, then smiled again. “Wait - Cheery said you were big into the Book of Harmony an’ all that stuff, right?”
Tia’s slightly more enthusiastic nod was good enough for Vinyl - much like Lyra, she wasn’t terribly religious as things went - but there were parts of that darn book she just had to agree with. “Aight, well I ain’t a Priestess or nothin’ special like that - but I’ve talked t’ ‘em a coupla times... an one thing I always picked up on was sometimes all ya can do in life is enjoy the things you’ve got.” Vinyl scratched at her chin - heh, Vinyl Scratched. She let out a soft chuckle, one that startled Tia. “Somedays, it ain’t easy to remember all the good things you’ve got.” Vinyl said in a quiet sort of voice. “An’ when you forget the good things, you start forgettin’ what it means t’ fight for those things.”
Tia was watching her with a curious look as Vinyl leaned back, crossing her hooves over her chest. “I forgot t’ fight for my music for the longest time... It wasn’t till I started DJing again that I realized what it meant t’ me.” She shook her head, lost in her own thoughts for a few minutes while she spoke softly. “I don’t get up on stage for the same reasons other ponies do. I ain’t up there for the fame, or the cash, or even the sweet fillies I’d had fun with... I mean, don’t get me wrong!” Vinyl said hastily, hoping she wasn’t about to send her DJ reputation into a death spiral with all this sappiness. “Those are all sweet bonuses! But It ain’t why I do it, yanno? I do it... cuz I love music, but that doesn’t really tell the tale. I mean...”
Vinyl paused for a moment, rubbing at her chin. “It isn’t just crafting the beat, layin’ down the tracks an’ makin a piece of art. It’s about making somethin’ that brings a little more joy into everypony’s lives. I mean sure, someponies think what I do is just noise... but I’ve met fans who’ll put on my tracks while they create art of their own. I make music cuz it inspires, cuz it brings a smile to everypony’s face.” Vinyl paused to chuckle softly, sadly. “I know what it’s like out there in th’ muck. I know what its like to be broke and starvin’ and cold and not knowin’ if you’re gonna make it to tomorrow... an’ if my music can help make it so more ponies can get through the every day crap with a smile on their faces, if it helps em laugh off the shit and make their own worlds a better place... well then, I figure I’ve done okay.” Vinyl felt a little smile tug at her lips. “And hey, what else can a pony do?”
Vinyl blew out a sigh as she turned her head to stare at the ceiling. “It ain’t always been easy giving the world a grin so they could grin too, even when all I wanted was to cry... but no matter what I did in my life, I never stopped fighting for the things I loved. For sex, for partying, for music... for Tavi.” She smiled a little, still staring up at the blank ceiling. “For her... for her I’d smile at anything. I’d smile at my own bloody funeral to keep that mare happy.” She tilted her head down to Tia and felt her grin split again. “An’ I’d do the same for my friends.” She lifted up her hoof towards Tia in invitation. “Of which yer one.”
Tia looked up in startlement, then - oh so tentatively - tapped the flat of her own hoof against Vinyl’s. “I... thank you, Vinyl.” Tia said in an almost too-quiet voice. “I just...” She looked away for a moment, took in a deep breath and exhaled. “What would you do... if you had two identities, two names... two lives... that you both loved and knew in your heart were true. Yet you had to choose between them? To choose between a life you had known for so long - and for all of its faults, still loved... or a new life you had been granted, one full of so much joy and potential that your heart ached to think you might have to leave it behind? How could you possibly choose between them?” Tia’s head sank a little as she fiddled with the bottle in her hooves.
“Welp, I dunno about that but... I know what I wouldn’t do,” Vinyl said slowly, trying to piece all of the stuff Tia had been saying together... and feeling like she didn’t have half the puzzle pieces. “I wouldn’t let fear make my decision for me, ya dig?” Vinyl finished with a firm voice, and Tia nodded slowly at the words. Vinyl flicked open the cap of Tia’s cider bottle and smiled. “You want my advice? Go with what’s new to you. Life’s too short to be lookin’ backwards when you got somethin in front of you worth fightin for.”
Tia’s mouth opened up - and shut in surprise as the door to the dressing room unlocked itself in a haze of golden magic, and Lyra and Bon Bon stormed through the door with big cheesy grins on their faces. “Okay, we gave you two a whole ten minutes!” Bon Bon said in her brightest voice. “No more dramatics! Besides, I brought my salted caramels!” Vinyl could feel herself drooling as the master confectioner produced a massive bright blue box wrapped in pink ribbons. “Besides, we had a great time yesterday Tia!” Bon Bon then admonished, setting the box down on a table. Lyra nodded her enthusiastic agreement, and Vinyl was pleased to see a small and tremulous smile cross Tia’s face.
Tia opened her mouth to speak again, when the door bounced off the wall as a grey pegasus nearly crashed through it. “ACK!” Ditzy Doo proclaimed to the world, her periwinkle filly giggling madly as her mother steadied herself in midair - her bags stuffed with foodstuffs of every shape and size. “Oh, Hi everypony!” Ditzy chirruped brightly, and then gave Tia one of the biggest and dopiest smiles Vinyl had ever seen in her entire life. “Um... Hi Tia,” Ditzy said in a much softer, much sweeter voice - her own cheeks flushing bright red, and Tia’s flushing in response. “I uh... I brought snacks!” Ditzy said a hasty moment later, as Vinyl quickly put together the signs there and felt a surge of happiness for Ditzy. If anypony in town deserved happiness, it was her. “Since Tia bought dinner a coupla days ago, I thought I could bring something for her today!” Ditzy continued, obviously trying to distract from the little byplay she’d shared with Tia.
Tia opened her mouth to respond, only to have a voice yell through the door. “Whoa! Is Everypony havin’ a party without me? Now that ain’t fair, and I even brought the booze!” yelled Cloud Chaser, and sure enough she had two heavy looking kegs strapped to her back in the same style as a pair of saddlebags. “And this ain’t just any booze! This is gen-u-wine Apple Family Brandy! Applejack said it was thanks for keeping their cider safe!” Chaser delicately laid the barrels on the ground as Vinyl stared in total disbelief.
Apple Family Brandy was one of the priciest, highest grade spirits on the market. Two hundred bits a bottle in most of the upscale clubs in Manehatten... and Chaser had two kegs of the stuff. Vinyl was just about to proclaim Chaser the messenger of some benevolent goddess before the pegasus spotted Tia and waved enthusiastically. “Oh, hey Tia!” Chaser chirruped brightly, trotting across the room to give the still stunned unicorn a noogie and a fierce hug around the neck. “You okay?” Chaser half whispered, although Vinyl could hear hear pretty clearly from this distance. Tia nodded a little, tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she hugged Chaser back fiercely. “Hey, no sadness,” Chaser said with a soft smile, brushing away the tears with a delicate hoof tip.
Tia nodded with a smile that was growing broader by the minute. But before more words could be said the door swung open and bounced off the wall yet again - and it was at this point that Vinyl was beginning to suspect the whole entrance of her friends had been thoroughly planned out by some devious mind.
The devious mind of course had to belong to Cheerilee, who strode through the doors with a brilliant smile and accompanied by the prettiest mare in Ponyville, Octavia. Well, Vinyl thought she was the prettiest anyway. “Evening, fillies,” Cheerilee said with a bright wink and a smile for everypony present. “Well, If I had known we were getting the whole gang together, I’d have brought cupcakes.” Vinyl waved languidly at the two newcomers - as Octavia slipped up to the couch next to her and wrapped her hooves firmly around Vinyl’s neck. Everything was falling into place for Vinyl, especially as she eyeballed those casks of liquor when...
“Excuse me, everypony,” Tia said in a very quiet, calm and surprisingly controlled voice. Every eye turned to her at once, and she gave a very small - but very genuine smile. Vinyl could feel a kink in her stomach, and she wondered why she had a bad feeling all of a sudden... or maybe it wasn’t a bad feeling. Maybe it was just a feeling like something important was going to happen. “I am... I am so thankful you are all here, and there is a great deal I’d like to talk to all of you about in addition to enjoying these wonderful treats, and perhaps even letting my mane down a bit,” Tia said in that serene, almost too-calm tone of voice - which sort of made that last part sound a little odd. “But there is something I need to do before I can do those things,” Tia continued in that too-serene tone, her eyes turning to one particular pony amongst them.
“I’d like to speak with Cheerilee in private, if you please.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.027 seconds
Total duration
743 users online
779,592 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Man... I was so bored. Kept checking FIMFiction, checking, checking, checking... then on my last check, new chapter from you. I was just like "Oh!!!" *drops to knees* "Thank you, holy goddess!!!". Anyways, this chapter and last chapter have me wondering a little something. Maybe I overlooked a detail or forgot what I read a few chapters back, but Tia's freakout seems really out of nowhere. It works for the plot, but it leaves me a tash confuzzled as to where this freaking out came from. I'll read back a bit and see if I missed something.
The chapter itself was just fab. Comedic, interesting, makes me deeply sympathize with Tia and makes me believe that good authors still exist. I love how Vinyl calmed Tia down and to my eyes I saw no mistakes, mis-spells or anything out of place. I'm hoping things are coming closer to some kind of end or that this is just the second part of a three part. Mainly cause I've been thinking about your other story and how I'd love to see more of that madness come to light.
Best of luck with any and all writing.
3008629 For help in understanding Tia's mental state, I'd call attention to the fact that she's been having steadily worse freakouts every time she gets left alone long enough to think too much. For this most recent one, it only took her overnight to get bad... and there will be a more thorough explanation as to its origins in the next chapter.
Also, good to see you again. :D I dont know what I'll be working on next, but there will be a short break on the side of the Epics for a while.
3008656 I see. *nods a little* I actually just came up with a little thought of what she might be freaked out over. Her new friends are showing potential to become element bearers. But that means they might get dragged into the chaos that element bearers have to deal with. So she's scared and she hopes she's hearing and seeing wrong, that these random ponies are just close friends. The more she spends time researching and thinking, the more convinced she is that her friends are going to get as screwed up as her faithful student Twilight and that she will bring them to ruin.
Granted, this is just a wild thought, so I could be way off.
Yes, another chapter with the group of friends getting closer! (And I totally will believe it if they become closer friends than the Mane 6, because really, they are BFF already after one day (with a lot of things happening, but still) o.o)
Laughter? Felt like depression to me. LOL, anyway, great chapter as always man :D
3010371
lapiz seems to be taking the elements more metaphoricly
and the text chapter has to be the loyal
3010371 It's depression to have been through hard times, yet still finding a way to face the world with a smile on your face and the hope for a better tomorrow? To want to inspire others to themselves make the world a better place?
Odd, I find it to be far more appropriate to the concept of laughter than someone who's just really hyper about everyone always being in a good mood. All respect to Pinkie of course.
I´m surprised how Tia handled the fact in her "utopia" there are children prostitutes and drug-dealers.
3018176 Oh ho ho ho ho.
Just wait.
wow.....ok vinyl as Laughter made me unsure....but my word you pulled that off
Miss Kitty... heheh... I see that reference.
3010371
Those who laugh the loudest could be the ones who hurt the most
Really need to hop on here more often. I'm so far behind
3010197
(Late comment is late, but it demanded a response)
Closer friends than the mane six? Did Tia and her friends defeat a dark goddess not 24 hours after meeting each other? I THINK NOT.
3010600
Some of the funniest comedians suffered from abuse issues. case in point; robin williams, may he rest in peace, suffered from alcoholism for years, he took his life because he didn't want to be a burden any more.It takes a strong person (or pony) to try to make others laugh when you're pretty much dead inside yourself.