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Prologue: Discovery1,308 words
Chapter 1: A Melody1,741 words
Chapter 2: First Inspiration1,954 words
Chapter 3: I Remember1,779 words
Chapter 4: Neon1,563 words

Chapter 4: Neon

"Octy! I'm goin' out for a bit!" the DJ hollered from the front door of her apartment.

"And where in Luna's name are you going at this hour?" the cellist called back, stepping out of the kitchen of the apartment with another Pop-Tart. "It's well past eleven."

"I'm going to go see Neon. I need to hear him sing," Vinyl replied. "Save that Pop-Tart for me. You promised me one for letting you cuddle and read with me."

"Don't bring him home, and the pastry is yours," Octavia growled venomously. "You remember last time, right?"

"So he likes you and wants to buy you dinner and maybe make out. The way I see it is it's free food, and a night of fun," Vinyl rebuked Octavia's point. She rolled her eyes beneath her shades before opening the door. "I'll try not to bring him home."

The night streets of Canterlot were near abandoned, the occasional group of university students meandering as they explored for a bar, or the the odd couple walking back home from a night out. The chaotic orchestra of crickets was the loudest sound in the residential areas of the capital that night, even overpowering the hard knocking sounds of hoofsteps on cobblestone streets. But soon, the chirping insects' symphony was overpowered by the low bass of the night clubs' electronic dance music.

Vinyl stopped at an intersection, looking at two clubs across the street that had ponies standing in line outside either one. Remembering that Neon had been banned from the one on the left after starting a brawl, she crossed the street and made her way to the front of the line on the right.

"Oh. Hey Vinyl. I didn't know you were performing here tonight," a burly blue stallion with a dark mane greeted the DJ at the door. "You can head right on in."

"That's because I'm not, and thank you good sir," the alabaster mare replied, giving him a hoof-bump on the way in.

Rough bass assaulted her ears the instant she opened the door to the nightclub. The beat of the music pounded against the air and sent palpable seismic waves through the old wooden floors. The crowd of dancing ponies didn't seem to mind the near-deafening music. Nay, these ponies enjoyed it. They danced in all different manners, influenced by their various personalities and cultures. With the immense energy in the air, and the constant thumping of the beat, Vinyl almost felt right at home. She danced her way through the crowd, knowing that trying to walk through it would get her nowhere fast. The dancing ponies didn't seem to notice nor care who she was. All they really noticed was that the unicorn with the shades had moves and she needed berth for them, so they made way for their fellow dancing pony.

When she made it to the other side of the dance floor, there was a clear shot to the DJ's booth, where a cobalt-blue unicorn stallion with a black spiked mohawk-style mane was working the turntables. She smiled and made her way up to the booth, the other DJ not noticing her presence. She snuck up behind her friend, her smile becoming more mischievous the closer she got. As soon as the song ended, she bit the unsuspecting stallion's ear, earning a surprised half-yelp, at which Vinyl began laughing.

"Bitch."

"Jerk." Vinyl gave the stallion a quick hug, dismissing what most ponies would take as an insult as a display of friendship. "How's it going, Neon?"

The other DJ put another track on so as to keep the crowd from complaining about the lack of music to dance to. As soon as he was free to let the track run without messing with the various switches, dials, and sliders, he turned back and answered, "Oh, just the usual stuff. Playing at clubs mostly, saving up bits from the small gigs to go on tour."

"Same for me. I had a nice show out in Ponyville about a month ago for a fashion show. Not the ideal gig, but it paid a pretty bit." Vinyl cracked her neck out of habit before saying, "I need a favor."

"Name it."

"I need to hear you sing," she blurted quickly.

Neon, after first shifting back a few inches from surprise, raised an eyebrow. "Me? Sing? Who's the poor bastard that pissed you off?" he quipped.

"I'm serious. I need to hear you sing," she repeated, her face becoming more serious and business-like.

"Project?"

"Yup."

"Genre?"

"Glitch hop. One-ten b-p-m."

"Key?"

"A-major."

"Mood?"

"Minor."

"How much singing will I have to do?"

"Two stanzas and some whoas."

The male DJ brought his hoof to his chin as he contemplated the idea. "Shiny. I'll let you hear me sing on the next song. If you end up not liking it, that's fine. If you have completely lost your marbles and end up liking it, we'll discuss a deal for recording," Neon supposed upon gathering the information he needed.

"Sounds like a plan." Vinyl sat down, waiting for the song to end.

A few minutes went by, and the song finally ended, fading down to silence, the noise of the crowd now the dominant sound in the club. "How is everypony tonight‽" the performing DJ hollered at the crowd with the help of a microphone.

The crowd responded with lively cheer.

"Alright, this next one I almost never play because I hate my voice, but I'm gonna play it once for a close friend of mine, Vinyl Scratch!"

The crowd erupted in an uproar of excited cheers as the song began, the first notes giving a sense of longing. The tempo of the music felt far slower than the previous song.

The intro was much like a slow dance when the percussion track entered. The bass was gentle with the slow beat of the drums, until the rhythm changed. But Vinyl wasn't concerned with that. She tuned in to the voice, separating it from every other sound in her ears. "If I could learn to think things through, if I could change my field of view, maybe I'd end up with you…" The vocals fit nicely into the tenor range, which the DJ had been hoping for. The melancholy mood helped her hear in her head what he'd sound like in her song. By the time the drop hit, she'd heard enough to know his voice was perfect.

She stood back up and tapped her fellow music artist on his shoulder. "Your voice is exactly what I'm looking for. Name your price for recording."

"A dinner date with Octavia," he stated firmly.

"You drive a hard bargain. I'm not sure I can convince her to do dinner. I could, at the cost of my left hooves, maybe get you a midmorning coffee," Vinyl haggled, disappointed that it had come to this so quickly.

"Dinner dates are my best suit. Coffee's too casual for me," Neon reasoned.

"We'll be recording at my apartment that Octy and I share. You'd see her on recording days," Vinyl countered.

"True… Eh, I'll take what I can get. You've got a deal." Neon and Vinyl bumped hooves, sealing the deal.

"You remember where I live, right?"

"Of course."

"Great. Show up by ten," Vinyl dictated, patting her friend's shoulder. "See ya then."

Vinyl stepped out of the club after dancing her way through the crowd. She took a deep breath of the cool, fresh air that didn't smell like sweat and booze. She trotted off into the night, back towards her apartment where the crickets were brave enough to chirp. Exhaustion pried her mouth open, allowing a yawn to escape in the pale moonlight. The stars above were clearly visible, even through Vinyl's shades. Their light made the need for streetlights almost null, Luna's moon too shy that night to shine. While she strolled back home from the club, she wondered if the song would be well-received by her fans. This would be the first piece of glitch hop she'd made in a long time, and the last one she made didn't go over well. She'd stuck mostly to dubstep and progressive for the past year or so, just trying to make enough cash to go on tour again. But it did cost her a little bit of her creative freedom, and that was something she didn't want to have to give up. All for the love of my music, I suppose. Let's hope this one goes over as well as Manticores N Stuff.

Author's Note:

Sorry this took so long. I got swamped by stuff, and this is a back-burner project, so I only worked on this when I was stuck on other stories. Also, my internet likes to derp after writing a solid amount of stuff. Do you know how hard it is for me to do things with only three open tabs? DIFFICULT. My brain has like, forty tabs open all the time.

<3 DarqFox

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