Precious Memories

by N_Hawke

The Decision and The Meeting

The Decision and The Meeting

Vinyl Scratch had never been so scared in her life, yet even in this seemingly never ending anxious fright, the young filly managed to struggle her way through.

She had long since lost track of time, which was owed to the fact that there no clock in this waiting room. Vinyl could now only keep track of the progressing afternoon around her by keeping count of the number that summoned up yet another one of them to the stage. Inevitably, one by one in a seemingly uniform interval, each of the candidates was called up to leave the slowly emptying room.

Throughout her wait, Vinyl scratch started to suffer the occasional unnerving thought, but when she wasn’t feeling unsure of herself, other thoughts that helped occupy her mind throughout her long wait. At first Vinyl felt just a little uncomfortable about this room, but her source of concern soon returned to a more pressing disappointments that had occupied her since this morning.

Her father had promised to come today, but as Vinyl was being led away from the foyer, he had yet to appear to wish her luck. He was in Canterlot again, both for business and for this audition, but through circumstance, he was stuck in a meeting right now that overlapped with her audition time. Even with all the wishes she had made, by now the young filly had no doubt in her mind that despite his insistence and promises, her father had to the best of her knowledge been unable to make her audition.

That hurt Vinyl on the inside. It was her father that had reinstalled some semblance of resistance to what she was being made to do today, but for him to not be here, it almost invalidated every assuring word he had said to her that night. It wasn’t that he had been lying, but somehow his absence only made herself feel more conflicted about her greatest concern.

For the five weeks since the late night talk with her father, Vinyl had in the young mind racked for the right answer to the entire dilemma. Vinyl’s thoughts continued to fester about the choice she needed to make, even in her dreams now, where at last she was forced herself to give up the one space in her world that had been almost free of such thoughts. Every day and every night; even as she practiced long agonizing hours, Vinyl continued to ask herself the most important question of her life.

“Is this what I want” Vinyl silently repeated all week.

Just as she had expected – even if she a little jolt every single time – at around the right interval, the door opened up and once again the assistant entered the waiting room again.

“Okay applicants, Number 14, it’s your turn!” the assistant instructed.

To the left of Vinyl, a filly unicorn with a cyan fur and white mane arose from where she had been waiting this whole time and with just her numbered card – evidently meaning she was a pianist – trotted to the door under the careful supervision of the assistant. With a noticeably nervous mental constitution, she continued to ignore her fears and bravely rounded the corner, disappearing from Vinyl’s sight.

It was only then that she silently wished the young filly the best of luck.

It instantly struck Vinyl Scratch right away as a rather odd thought to have right then, but belatedly realized that she had subconsciously done the same thing for the last few applicants. She hadn’t wished any of the luck, though by now she had taken the chance to take a good look at all of them, at first during in the foyer, and now as they all waited for their turn. Pondering why Vinyl had started to wish her competitors good luck, the young filly looked around at the remaining applicants wondering what would have made her say that before in one astounding moment, it suddenly made sense.

Here she was in a room of foals just like her, all trained and under immense pressure to succeed. A minority was clearly in it for themselves, but as Vinyl had sourly noted before in the foyer, quite a lot of the ponies in the waiting room appeared to be here at the insistence of their parents. Just like her mother, they were really not here because it was their dream and ambition, rather it had been a choice made for them by others, for reasons not their own. It was during this moment of clarity that Vinyl suddenly started to comprehend another piece of her long tortured question.

Despite all the pressure Vinyl had been under before, it had not even once occurred to her that other ponies might be forced to endure the same hardships that she had suffered to achieve the outcome that her parents, not herself, had wanted. Looking around at the few remaining faces, she wondered what sacrifices they had been forced to make, what friends they been forced to alienate and what expectations they had been forced to meet?

Now here they were all in the same room, with the same objective, but at the same time knowing that only one or two of them out of the twenty-two auditioning today would succeed. How many deep down actually wanted to do this? It was their implied destinies according to their cutie marks to be musicians, but was this how they wanted to do it? The brief contemplating of those questions only made Vinyl’s finally start to see the answer that she had been hoping for so long.

Rather unexpectedly early, the stage door opened yet again.

“Alright” the assistant announced loudly “Number 15, your turn!”

Vinyl was almost completely derailed from the discussion and for the very first time since entering the green room she had wished she had more time to think about things. However her body reacted instinctively and without a thought the young filly had already risen to her feet.

Sensing no chance to retreat from her moment, Vinyl continued to summarize her thoughts, even as she gathered her instrument case and follow the assistant out into the narrow corridor.

“Just the right dear” the assistant kindly reminded Vinyl.

Vinyl turned back one last time to see the green room, noting the remaining faces she assumed already that would not be seen again today. Vinyl found the stairs – which was really just four steps up – and continued along until she entered the realm of the stage.

As she was walking in, Vinyl caught her first glimpse of auditorium from the stage. The bright stage lights made seeing the back of the hall rather had to do, but from what Vinyl was able to make out the room was only a quarter full of various groups, clustered together in the seats. To the left, she noticed a rather large number of unfamiliar faces – probably other conservatorium musicians – all sitting together like a class group and in the center most of the parents she could recognize.

Before she made it to the designated spot, she managed to make eye contact with her mother, who was sitting a few rows back from the main center section crowd, and then finally with another pony who it seemed to have just entered the hall.

Belatedly Vinyl realized that the visual distraction had cost her precious moments of time to think about the answer now only had less than a minute to consider. When she finished trotting to the marked spot, Vinyl then looked down finally at the three judges waiting for her arrival. Vinyl then remembered her instructions from before and waited, patiently for them to speak.

“Good afternoon dear…I’m sorry you had to wait so long, but now it’s your turn,” the mare of the trio started kindly “You’ve already met my associate Mendel so allow me to introduce myself, name is Crystal Clear, I am the deputy director of the conservatorium. My other associate with me is Camper Bells…now would you like to tell us your number and your name, please?”

Vinyl gulped the last of her nervousness and composed herself reply.

“Yes Madam…I am number 15…My name is Vinyl Scratch”

“Very good Ms. Scratch,” Mendel took his turn to speak “Would you please get out your violin”

“Yes Sir” Vinyl answered and at once dismounted her violin case.

By now the routine of unbuckling the case, collecting her violin, unsheathing the bow from its protector and then stranding herself up on her hindlegs was down to a rapid twenty seconds. It was just about all the time she had left to think about her answer.

Was this way the way she had wanted to do things? Did Vinyl want to forever be toted around to auditions and be made to meet expectations that she had not set herself? Was this what she want?

“Thank you Ms. Scratch,” Crystal answered kindly.

For just a split second while Crystal replied, out of the corner of Vinyl’s eye, a miracle seemed to be taking place. Next to her mother, a stallion was now sitting next to her, as familiar the sun in the sky; her father had arrived. This brief glimpse helped Vinyl helped become more comfortable with herself, even as she still felt tense.

“And what would you be playing for us today Ms. Scratch?” the gruff kind voice of the third judge asked as he held his pen out ready to repeat what she said.

Vinyl would never be sure for the rest of days just how fast her mind had been thinking in those last few seconds. Here she was up against the clock with nothing left to spare, realizing she was at the moment where she had no choice but to ask herself one last time – regardless of her fear of regret – what she wanted to do and how she wanted to do it.

Helping accelerating to her conclusion was the thoughts of just moments ago in the green room, when she asked herself if she wanted continue being like most of the other foals that had auditioned today. She saw the fear that they had, the hesitation and anxiety, which compared the hopeful fear that the few that wanted to be here had made Vinyl realize what it really meant to have her own choice.

“Ms. Scratch?” Crystal Clear repeated

“Yes?” Vinyl finally snapped out of the thought process that had only been two seconds long.

“Would you please relax,” Crystal incorrectly assumed “What song would you like to play today for us?”

It was clear to her now what answer should have always been and now that she was certain, Vinyl knew now there would be no turning back.Bounded by a confidence she had not had in a long time, Vinyl calmly responded.

“I’m not sure of the title yet…but I guess I’ll give it a go anyway,” Vinyl answered very casually “May I start?”

Crystal flinched in surprise, noting after all the auditions so far today, how quickly Vinyl’s anxiety had appeared to vanish. Feeling no need risk breaking the young filly’s confidence – as two others already had today – she let the odd answer slide.

“Very well dear…you may begin when you are ready,” Crystal announced.

“Thank you”

Vinyl breathed one last time and took a last glimpse at the audience, in particular her mother who had already fretted at the way she had answered that last question. Vinyl then closed her eyes as she brought up the bow, knowing that her mother was about to put her mother through a whole lot worse.

Gliding her bow over the first four bars, it sounded just like another song that Vinyl had practiced, which had quickly made the judges ponder to its origin. Their efforts however would soon become vain as Vinyl began to play the way she had always intended. Starting with a slow rhythm had only been the prelude to the song, from here on out the song was purely unnatural to their unsuspecting ears.

With a rapidly progressive canon, Vinyl’s tempo increased almost four fold to a very speedy pace compared to the start, which amazed all that were watching at how easily the young filly seemed to be keeping up with the pace of the song. Some in the audience joined the judges in trying to place the song from their extensive memory on all classical music, yet all of them failed to determine the origin of this very fast paced song. What they had all begun to realize however was this piece had a very catchy tune.

And it had a very addictive beat.

Almost reluctantly at first, the audience – mainly other musicians watching on – started to develop a strange flute in themselves that maintained the same rhythm of the song they continued to listen. At first it had been a mental reaction to the beat, but soon this evolved into an involuntary flinching of a limb or a nodding of their head. That however would not last long and soon the occasional hoof tapping on the floor could be heard.

The sound of one hoof was soon joined by another and then more hooves as others sensed a need to join in this additional noise. Even some of the other parents and one of the judges couldn’t help but join in with the motion of hooves tapping the floor, clapping as the only could in this way. Only one pony this hall managed to resist the urge all together, Vinyl’s mother.

Brighten Balance’s normal completion drained away until she looked as white as a ghost when she realized what was going on. Even she had attempted to place the song, but just as soon realized long before everyone else that Vinyl Scratch was not in fact playing any song that she had been taught by either of her instructors. The very thought of what was going on almost sent her in seizure, but Slate Scratch managed to halt that from happening when he finally spoke.

“It’s what we always wanted her do dear,” Slate Scratch whispered while he too tapped a hoof on the floor.

Brighten turned to face her husband furious at what he had just said.

“Slate, she is…”

“Being herself…just like we both promised she would be,” Slate finally reminded Brighten.

Brighten froze up.

For a brief span of time, Brighten Balance did not understand a single thing about her own existence or what had transpired to bring her to this moment. Everything that she had been working towards, for this one moment of divine payoff, had abruptly come crashing down the moment that Vinyl had touched her bow on that violin just minutes ago. She did not need to know just how much of a disgrace this would mean for her and as soon as her brain resumed functioning Brighten contemplated what happen to her.

She would be completely disgraced by this episode. Worse still, it would only be the beginning of what Brighten was most certain of was the end of her social existence in Canterlot, or even worse, all of Equestria. Grand Salary she knew would make sure of it, and she even knew how it would happen.

Once Grand Salary would learn of this, she would no longer seeing a for keeping her blackmail on Brighten, and proceed to tell everypony about the mistakes she made with Vinyl and how she had let the offspring of a distinguished lord act like this in a public arena. Brighten would be made a mockery of and others her social circles would go away, but only after she was exiled from the social group that Grand Salary had dominated.

The repercussions would then only continue. Brighten’s career would be effectively be over at this point and while she would not be fired, she would never see promotion again. Their impressions of her personal abilities would not be of her skills but of the reflection they got from hearing about the rebellious foal that she could not control. For this, and many more reasons, every nerve in Brighten’s body felt that she should be completely infuriated at what Vinyl had just done to her.

But Slate was correct; none of that mattered.

This moment of clarity came just as it had unknowingly done so for Vinyl minutes earlier. It was as if now she could see everything else that she was blind to before, and Brighten suddenly realized what despite all she had been told and everything that she hoped for before, those thoughts had led her away from what she was suppose have understood from the very beginning. It was a small indescribable comfort for her and soon Brighten felt more than contempt with the implications.

“You’re right dear…” Brighten whispered back “I’m so sorry for what I’ve done”

“It’s okay Brighten,” Slate raised a hoof and held his wife closer to him “I’m glad you understand now”

Unseen by the audience, the two parents embraced.

On stage, Vinyl was like magic in itself with her violin as she continued to belt out the flowing piece that nobody yet could figure out where it had come from. Yet it sounded so amazingly graceful despite the fast pace and the fact that Vinyl seemed to be playing a song that a few violins should be playing together instead of own her own.

The sections were a little awkwardly linked, but chouses made everyone’s hearts flutter at as she always repeated twice a certain bar of music with increasing pitch on the second round. It was a wonderful performance that the little filly pushed her young heart to the limits of perfecting; all the way to the inevitable end she finally approached. With a flurry of sounds, she ended on a high and brought to an end a piece that nobody had expected, but all had enjoyed.

Her completion had brought the audience to stand up and applaud, which Vinyl would have been surprised to learn they had yet to do for a single performance so far today. Yet Vinyl embraced the spectacle and felt her own heart flutter as every pony including the judges applauded her performance. It was nothing like the tea parties or whenever else she had been asked to play, this had been something else entirely.

Vinyl Scratch felt like it was worth it.

Stepping down from her hind legs pose, Vinyl began as she always did and replaced her instrument before closing the case. By the time she had done that, the judges were ready to speak to her again.

“Vinyl…” Crystal Clear started “That was absolutely fabulous…but forgive me for saying…but I can’t quite understand where you might have heard this song before”

Vinyl Scratch, comfortable with her choice and knowing that she had already gone beyond the point of return anyway, finally replied honestly.

“That’s because I made it up”

The answer sent the entire hall into stunted silence.

“Excuse me…did you say that you invented this yourself?” Mendel asked calmly after he had a few seconds of contemplation to let that sink in.

“Yes sir…some of it I already knew…but some of it I had to make up as I went along”

Crystal Clear was shocked beyond words and for the first time in her many years of doing this couldn’t even think of the right emotions that described what she felt. The rapid pace and the very skillful chord work alone made Vinyl Scratch above the grade already, but the absolutely boldfaced admission that she had just made it up only help add to her confused feelings about this candidate.

Vinyl Scratch was a gifted, bold and evidently a naturally talented composer, even at the spur of the moment. Yet for all these positive attributes, Crystal Clear almost cringed at her own admission; she had not done what she had been asked to do. This alone left no doubt what the deputy director had to do, even though in her soul she didn’t want to.

“I’m sorry Vinyl, but that’s against the rules of this audition…We need you to play something that already exists so we can judge your ability to recite” Crystal Clear announced to the young Vinyl Scratch.

“I know, but I decided to do my own thing” Vinyl Scratch replied proudly,

That surprised the judges. For just a brief moment, the three judges finally recognized what Vinyl Scratch had really planned from the moment she had stepped on the stage. They had there been justice in the world, none of them have felt the need to be so reserved about dismissing this young filly, yet unfortunately it had to be done.

“I see,” Mendel replied for the others, already making a mental note about this candidate that he would later follow up.

“I hope you enjoyed my performance today Madam, sirs” Vinyl replied before bowing as she was meant to.

Crystal felt touched at knowing what the young filly had really meant, or at least what she thought she had meant and responded in kind.

“Thank you Vinyl Scratch, I wish the very best for you”

Without another exchange, Vinyl Scratch turned right and made her way for the exit. This departure however was accompanied by more applause from the fellow musicians sitting in the audience. Once again, Vinyl Scratch would have been pleasantly surprised to learn that she had been the only pony they had done that for during the entire audition.

It was finally over.

Once Vinyl Scratch had left the stage and noted her moment under the lights were over, she began to feel lighter. It was as if by magic, every single stress floated away from her the moment she made it into the green room. The best thought of the day then came to mind right then; it felt wonderful.

Noting that the room was in fact empty and another door was open on the other side, Vinyl continued on and in a matter of seconds found herself in the very same hallway that she had followed to enter the opposite green room hours before. A helpful sign on the opposite wall indicated for her the way to the foyer.

“Well I guess that’s over…it’s time I left here” Vinyl Scratch said to herself.

It was only now that Vinyl remembered that there would be hell to pay fairly soon from her mother, the young filly once again bowed to the inevitable. However, instead of waiting around, Vinyl Scratch decided to make her way out of the building. Even after all that stress relief, it was time for some fresh air.

---

Octavia’s eyebrows arched as high as they could go and her mouth trembled in an unintelligible murmur. Eventually her ability to verbalize complete sentences started to recover as the result of the proclamation that Vinyl had more or less made.

Her tone increased at every word.

“You…threw…the…audition…” Octavia managed to say without stuttering out.

“I guess that’s one way of putting it,” Vinyl admitted cheerful to the two astonished musicians sitting opposite her.

“I mean…I would…there is no way,” Octavia slumped back into incomprehensible mumblings, but then went back on her original thought “You threw the Audition?!”

“To my way of thinking, that was the only way out for me…and while I do sometimes regret not getting to join the conservatorium like you did Tavi’, I have never regretted the decision I made” Vinyl stated with a tone of finality.

Octavia’s mind tried to reboot itself after the absolute shock of what she had just finally learnt.

If things had just been a little different, or even if young Vinyl had just lied about the song’s origin…the possibilities of that alternate path astounded Octavia and as she thought more about the possible ramifications, the earth pony felt almost flabbergasted at comprehending how different things would have been.

“You never cease to amaze me Vinyl…” Octavia repeated from earlier. “I still can’t believe that you once went for an audition at the Royal Palace Conservatorium”

“Well those were different times in my life obliviously…but guess when you're put my mind to it, anything is possible right Tavi?”

“I’m sure…” Octavia noted wryly and parted with some of her own insights “But think of what could have been…to enter the academy so young…they don’t even do those auditions for young foals anymore”

“Oh?”

Octavia nodded to confirm its truthfulness.

“They stopped it after they realized that it was unintentionally creating too many expectations on young musicians…which as I guess you knew from experience, came from too many parents forcing their foals to aim for this program”

To the earth pony’s continuing surprise, Vinyl smiled warmly when she heard that, which for Octavia almost looked like she was about to cry.

“I’m actually glad to hear they stopped that”

Octavia felt a little awkward about her feelings but instead of sharing a silent moment, Melody took her silence as her chance to enter the discussion.

“That’s just so…amazing,” Melody replied slowly before her rapid fire questions took over “so what happened next? Did you get in trouble with your mother? What happened?”

Vinyl chuckled at the younger earth pony’s enthusiasm.

“Well this is now where your violin comes in to the story”

Both earth ponies had just then realized they had almost forgotten that this instrument had been the whole purpose of this story.

Upon being reminded of it they subconsciously flinched in the general direction of where they had left the instrument, only to see that Vinyl had manipulated it with her magic, case and all, over to the coffee table. Gently moving it as slowly as her magic allowed, she laid the case and violin down as if it were a newborn foal.

“Well once I had left the audition…”

---

The same cold weather was still around to greet Vinyl Scratch as she finally made it outside again.

At passing through the threshold between the foyer and the outside, Vinyl scratch was confronted with a blast of cold air that was just good an indication as any that she had returned to the real world. Outside she had her first chance to tell time and right away could see that the sun had already started to settle towards the west, indicating nightfall was only an hour away. The unicorn was also please to note that just as she hoped earlier in the day, the same overcast skies above her had started dropping snow in light amounts, and to her glee had already blanketed the ground in a thin later.

Now free to roam on her own again Vinyl took account of her situation, and aside that, for the first time today the young filly had a chance to appreciate how long she had been inside. Before she saw the sky again, Vinyl Scratch’s had felt like she had been inside the conservatorium for just short of an eternity, while stuck in an almost soundless void that fed into her tension. But now, only moments after her return to the outside, all that stress and tension had already begun to feel like a long forgotten memory.

With that relief in mind, the unicorn then started to contemplate what she could do while she waited. Vinyl had no doubt her parents were on their way, possibly ready to scold her for screwing up her audition so intentionally, but she had accepted that it would happen. All she had to do was decide on what to do before the arrived.

Part of her initial thoughts were about going back inside and exploring the grand old building again – and maybe prolong reuniting with her parents – but once again in the corner of her eye, Vinyl Scratch noticed something out of place in her surroundings. Just at the bottom of the steps, she noticed an earth pony around her age standing alone amongst the falling snow, looking up at the building.

She appeared to have a delicate build – which for an earth pony was odd – with beige skin and an ice-blue mane. Vinyl tried to recall if she had seen her earlier in the waiting room, but her memory came up with nothing. Concluding that it was probably not one of the competitors from the audition, a newfound curiosity drew Vinyl to this unknown pony.

“Hey!” Vinyl announced as she had trotted down most of the way to meet this strange filly.

Whoever it was, the earth pony seemed to have been in a trace before Vinyl had called out, but the sound of another voice had done the job of snapping her out of the daze.

“I’m sorry!” the earth pony panicked and instinctively bowed to Vinyl “I didn’t mean to intrude”

She had a light hearted but very gentle voice Vinyl realized, and just by the way she responded verbally and physically, the earth pony already had earned the modest approval from the unicorn.

“It’s okay…” Vinyl replied.

Since she was taken aback by her manners and tried to be more casual by quickly introducing herself.

“I’m Vinyl by the way…Vinyl Scratch”

“I’m Cherry Belle” the earth pony replied in kind, and to Vinyl’s relief started to smile.

Silence between them returned, but it was short lived.

“So…What are you looking at?”

“The building,” Cherry answered, more lightheartedly now that the stranger had introduced herself “It’s the home to the Royal Palace’s very own music school right?”

“Yep, then I guess you’re from out of town” Vinyl immediately became curious “So where do you come from? Trottingham? Ponyville?”

“Sugarhayview,” Cherry answered, but after moment qualified her statement by adding “It’s not a big place, it’s probably easier to say its south of Baltimare”

“Right…I guess that makes sense then,” Vinyl answered, admitting she didn’t know where that was “So are you here with family?”

“Oh no, we would never be able to afford it,” Cherry almost blushed embarrassed “I’m here with my entire school actually…but I got separated around lunch time…they are probably back at the motel by now so I should get going…but I felt like stopping here first”

The earth almost felt overwhelmed by the discussion. Vinyl wouldn’t know, but it was Cheery’s first time in the capital and whilst she had hoped to see a lot of the attractions, she had never expected to ever talk to any of the Canterlot natives. She has expected that her would be too poor looking to merit a discussion, yet to her surprise Vinyl – another filly her age it seemed – didn’t seem to care one wit.

“How come?” Vinyl asked. She was genuinely curious now.

Cherry Belle looked up at the building again.

“I know it’s an impossible dream but…I really want to play music here one day” Cherry announced wistfully before looking back at Vinyl “It must be the most enjoyable…most magical place in all of Equestria I think”

Vinyl Scratch couldn’t have agreed more, though considering what she had gone through these last few months, it would be a long time before Vinyl were ever to associate joy to music. What worried her however was how easily Cherry Belle seemed to dismiss the dream she had so easily and it again merited her to ask another question.

“Why do you think it’s impossible?”

Cherry looked over at Vinyl in disbelief, and almost mistook her question as mockery. It was at this time that she noticed the instrument slung over the unicorn’s back.

“You play violin?” Cherry Belle asked in surprised “I’m so sorry, I didn’t notice I before”

“That’s alright,” Vinyl calmly answered before joking “I’m just glad you noticed me instead of it, so you alright in my books already”

Vinyl just smiled, even if Cherry Belle didn’t understand what she meant by that.

“Do you come here to practice?” Cherry dared to ask, wondering if maybe she had just come across a very talented – and therefore privileged she realized too late – protégée musician.

“Actually… I think they just rejected me at my audition just before”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, are you alright?” Cherry genuinely concerned for the seemingly polite stranger.

To Cherry Belle’s surprise, Vinyl stifled a quick chuckle.

“Actually I’ve never felt better,” Vinyl answered before turning back to her point “Now why did you think it’s impossible?”

Cherry felt uncomfortable for a moment.

The light hearted nature emanating from Vinyl was completely unanticipated. She had expected musicians from Canterlot, even the young ones, to have a serious professional personality about them, but somehow Vinyl Scratch didn’t seem have that in her. What surprised Cherry more however was how friendly she was and sensing the kindness coming from Vinyl’s enquiry, she chose to answer honestly.

“My family could never afford an instrument for me…even if it is my destiny to play” Cherry motioned at her cutie mark, which was a pair of single notes against three wavy lines.

Vinyl felt sorry for the young mare, upon further examination she wasn’t exactly neatest looking pony she had ever met, but somehow despite her implied poverty, Vinyl already felt like that didn’t seem to matter all. Her personality was already rich enough.

Looking at herself, she was prim and proper, neatly groomed and the only daughter to two prominent – if that was still the case by tomorrow – members of Canterlot’s highest social circles. Thinking of things that way, it almost made Vinyl Scratch completely regret walking away from the opportunity she had intentional screwed up. For a pony like Cherry Belle, moments like that would be unobtainable, but she had just blown it off like it was almost nothing.

That however made Vinyl think about what she could do to make up for that sudden guilt. The impulsive thought felt traumatic at first to even consider, but over the span of a few seconds Vinyl Scratch managed to convince an idea that right away she knew in her heart would be the right thing to do, even if she would get in trouble for it later.

The only obstacle of course had been the though of giving it away.

Vinyl had loved every minute that she had owned it, and even if in a way it been the cause to most of her problems, the unicorn had never taken to blame it for what it had done for her. Vinyl Scratch had grown up a lot ever since her father bought it; she had just about mastered the instrument and still wanted to play, but for all the joy it had given her, she somehow knew it was time to move on.

Looking around in case her parents were watching,Vinyl Scratch belatedly that with the exception of the falling snow, she realized it was just herself and Cherry Belle all alone on the steps of the Conservatorium’s entrance. The weather was cold and the clouds made it seem darker than it should be for this time of the day, yet somehow that only helped the unicorn make her choice.

“Then here,” Vinyl announced “I want you to have this”

To the absolutely astonishment of Cherry Belle; the pony took the violin case off her back and gave it to her.

“I’m not sure if that’s the instrument you wanted to play…but I think you deserve it more now than I do,” Vinyl explained.

Cherry Belle was thunderstruck and for while speechless. Eventually the earth pony’s begging modesty refocused her attention once more.

“I couldn’t possibly,” Cherry pushed the case back to its previous owner “I mean… what about all the hard work, and…”

Cherry continued to protest and started to feel awful about the possibility that she had just guilt stricken this fellow filly into giving the instrument to her.

When she finished explaining her reasons however, Vinyl Scratch still just smiled.

“Don’t worry about me; besides after today I don’t think I’ll be playing again anytime soon,” Vinyl Scratch stifled as her continued smiling “and since its helped me a lot , I don’t want it to go to waste so…it may as well get used by someone who needs it more that I do”

“Are really you sure?” Cherry squeaked out, suddenly feeling like she was being set up for a joke.

“I’m sure,” Vinyl answered.

Cherry almost started to whimper, feeling a need to deny if she had possibly misheard the last several minutes of discussion. But once again Vinyl Stretched out a hoof to give her instrument over to Cherry Belle.

“I don’t know what to say…” Cherry responded.

“Well saying thank you is usually…”

“Thank you!” Cherry Belle leapt forward to hug the fellow filly.

“You’re…welcome” Vinyl struggled for air. Even if she was a little frail looking, she still had the strength of an earth pony for sure.

Even in this cold air, Vinyl all of a sudden a felt warm feeling inside, but knew it wasn’t from the hug from the earth pony she had just befriended. Something else about being generous and kindhearted also came to mind, which had seemed like the gibberish that she associated with a fairy tail before, but somehow through her simple decision seemed to prove they were real.

Eventually the two ponies broke their embrace and noticed on their own that it was starting to snow a little more.

“You should probably hurry back to your motel Cherry,” Vinyl advised “When it starts to snow in Canterlot, we always get a lot of snow very quickly”

“I see,” Cherry regretfully realized that the unicorn was right.

Somehow she didn’t want to leave her, but knew the native to the city was right.

“Thank you again,” Cherry belle nodded.

“We’re welcome…and good luck” Vinyl replied softly.

Without any more words, the two exchanged goodbyes and went their separate ways. As Vinyl stood there, Cherry continued out the gates and along with the instrument case disappeared. It was only then that Vinyl had just realized that was the last time she would ever see her violin again. It was almost like Vinyl had lost a family member but somehow, despite the empty feeling, she felt a lot happier at the same time.

On her own now, Vinyl didn’t know how long she had stayed there watching the gate post her new friend and violin had disappeared behind, but a familiar voice snapped back into reality.

“Vinyl!” Her father yelled “Come back here! You’re going to catch a cold!”

The filly wasn’t exactly sure how long they might’ve been there, but knew either way she was in a lot of trouble. Acknowledging that her time alone was up, Vinyl turned up to the stairs behind her and cantered back where both her parents were waiting for her. Life was about to get a lot harder for her Vinyl knew, and her future now seemed murkier than ever, but even as she returned the warm embrace of her family, Vinyl Scratch felt she would never regret today.

---

“…and I guess that’s the whole story,” Vinyl then joking punctuated by adding “The end”

Sitting just as awestruck as they had been all afternoon, Octavia and Melody were stunned quiet.

“You know if I didn’t know you better…I’d say I wouldn’t believe a word of what you just said,” Octavia announced, once her mind started processing a response.

“I can believe it” Melody wistfully announced out of the blue.

Melody then reacted in the most unusual manner that Vinyl Scratch had ever expected. Without saying another word, Melody got up from her seat and trotted around the coffee table to confront Vinyl Scratch directly. For some reason Vinyl sensed an intimidating response and subconsciously began to rise from her seat, but instead was met with a crushing embrace from the earth pony.

“I’ve always wanted to say this…” Melody started to whimper “But thank you so much for what you have done for us”

For the first time today, Vinyl was wordless. The feeling was only short lived however.

“Say again?” Vinyl managed to pronounce.

Melody felt momentarily surprised that the unicorn hadn’t made the connection yet. She had recognized the instrument and deciphered where she was really from, but to her amazement, Vinyl somehow didn’t seem to make the one important connection that was worth mentioning. She could see Vinyl’s face properly to explain properly.

“Vinyl…Cherry Belle is my older sister” Melody answered “The person who you met…was my sister”

That connection took all off two seconds for Vinyl Scratch to finally make sense of what she was told. Melody went on to explain to the equally stunned Octavia.

“My Sister had gone to Canterlot one year when our school managed to save up for the fieldtrip…but I couldn’t go because they said I was too young” Melody explained “Anyway she came back from the trip she had this Violin case with her.

Vinyl relaxed, but continued to look up at the pony next to her.

“What did she do with it?”

Melody’s face turned neutral for a moment, knowing it wasn’t going to sound pleasant to Vinyl Scratch.

“At first, my parents thought about selling it could have paid down at bit of our estate debt…but when nobody else in the village could afford it, they decided to keep it,”

Melody then smiled.

“When Cherry was allowed to keep it, she started to do just as always wanted, for three years I think, she practiced every day…with the help of our teacher even” Melody explained “Then one day, a talent scout from a Fillydephia Academy spotted during our own annual Summer Sun Celebration; and she was so impressive that got a fully paid scholarship and everything”

Vinyl for the first time in a very long time almost felt a tear welt in her eye. She prompted for Melody to go on explaining.

“Once Cherry started working at the Fillydelphia Academy, they paid her a load of bits to play, so much that she could help pay down the debt.” Melody went on “When she grew up a little more, she then decided to buy a new violin for herself, but that so she could send her old violin back so I could start practicing as well”

“And then you went to Trottingham?” Vinyl then filled in the pieces

“Not for another two years,” Melody answered and explained on “I was surprised too when I got in, but by then we had a music teacher in our school and she helped me learn a lot faster”

Vinyl was touched and that was something you would never make the unicorn admit any other time she felt this way, but somehow she couldn’t help but smile at what she had done, even without knowing about it.

“Did she ever get to play in Canterlot?” Vinyl then asked.

“Not straight away,” Melody finally explained “But I think a year ago or so, just before Octavia moved here, she was part of a new exchange program that let her play for the Royal Palace Conservatorium for six months…but I guess in a way…she finally achieved her dream”

Once again Melody hugged Vinyl Scratch, but this time the latter was welcome to emotion.

“Everything that has been possible for us…both of us becoming musicians and helping my family like that…I knew for a long time that it was all thanks to whoever gave my sister that violin,” Melody concluded “So thank you, thank you a million times”

With that Melody let her whimpers become more pronounced. It was a feeling from her heart that she couldn’t possibly express with more passion, yet she tried to; and Vinyl loved every minute of it.

From the other side of the coffee table, Octavia smiled herself as she cherished the sight of Vinyl Scratch feeling so humble. For a pony that was rather resolute in keeping her warmer feelings down all the time, it was a very pleasant sight to see her friend embraced so tightly for the most emotional of reasons.

The time however waned and her curiosity lurked around, eventually Octavia decided to break the silence with a question.

“I know you finished, but would you like to tell us what happened after? Did you get in trouble for giving away your violin?”

Vinyl and Melody noted the question and broke their friendly embrace. Sensing the same curiosity in hearing the answer, the latter made her way around the coffee table back to where she had sat before.

“Well there isn’t much to add I guess, but as for what happened?” Vinyl Scratch then went on “I apparently wasn’t in as much trouble as I originally thought about the audition thing…but mother did get at little angry about the Violin. Dad was good natured about it even if he was a little surprised”

Vinyl adjusted herself.

“As for what happened afterwards well…As my mother predicted, she was made a mockery right away for the whole stunt and all her so called ‘friends’ left her for awhile…but that in the end I guess worked out for her in the long run”

“What happened?” Octavia asked.

“Well a few funny things happened I guess,” Vinyl started “But all it was all thanks to my father’s railway project. Just like he had promised everyone, he managed to finish it. That Grand Salary banker lady continued to argue against it, but then when it went into operation, I guess she got what was coming”

“How come?” Melody queried this time.

“Well some say it had to do with the immediate success of the railway, the great south western railway project created a whole lot of new farming communities, all the way to the end of the line Appleloosa, and a lot of ponies got rich of the land investment as a result...but others say that it was really the mithril ore deposit that the railway engineers discovered that really paid dividends,”

Vinyl began to smile as if she were telling a particularly funny joke.

“In short, because Grand Salary had refused to let the bank she was running invest in the railway project or anything related to it…they didn’t have a single share of when it became this mega success venture. Short version, they lost out on a lot of money when everypony else managed to get rich. She was absolutely disgraced from the social scene from what I remember…which worked great for mother because of much distancing her supposed ‘friend’ had done after my audition.”

Both Melody and Octavia felt some surprise at the offhanded way Vinyl had explained that part of the story.

“As for dad, well later he got knighted and all that fancy stuff…and seriously rich off his own project,” Vinyl added “But he gave most of it away to help out in that scheme to help pay off those debts in villages like yours Melody”

Octavia turned to look at Melody in surprise. When did Vinyl coax her into talking about that? Melody noted the look she got from her fellow musician and right away assured her that she hadn’t been teased about her past. It didn’t exactly convince her host, but at least Octavia hadn’t made an issue of it after such a touching moment just before.

“Anyway, I guess if you think about it, in a way, giving away things runs in the family…sort of” Vinyl concluded.

“Your father really did that?” Melody asked, now remembering how she had mentioned it before and how sure Vinyl had seemed when she had brought it up.

“Him and a lot of others Melody, even Princess Celestia eventually chipped in some money,” Vinyl then qualified “at least so that rumor goes”

It felt like everything had been explained at that point but stunningly both earth ponies still had one more question their unicorn friend.

“So what happened to you?” Octavia finally asked.

“Well,” Vinyl Scratch stretched out one final time “Things were rough for a bit, adjustment wise, but eventually everything went back to way things were before…my friends came back to me, and I was able to have a normal life…at least until one day a few months later when dad introduced me to another music teacher”

Vinyl went on to explain it in a little more detail.

Evidently one of the judges, but she couldn’t remember the name of, had approached her father after the audition and gave him the contact details for another music teacher that lived in Manehatten. He was apparently an old friend of the judge, but he was also a different sort of teacher, specializing in composing music instead of performing it.

Vinyl wasn’t too pleased at first at the decision being made without her consent, but after having a long talk with this new teacher, her young self had become enthusiastic about what was offering. Unfortunately she was still too young to work for him, but he had promised her that she had finished school; she could move to manehatten for a few years and take up an apprenticeship with him in the art of composing music.

“And from there…I discovered all kinds of music, but I really became interested in music made with electronic effects made from magic. It really opened my eyes,” Vinyl explained “Eventually I started work as a disk jockey, producing my own work for the first time but I found that Manehatten was already full of people like me…So I packed up my bags and hoofed it back to Canterlot…and I’ve been enjoying composing my own work ever since”

“That was such a wonderful…” Melody tried to finish but felt the urge to yawn just then.

Octavia caught on and soon yawned herself. Vinyl however managed to avoid it, at least for a few seconds longer than her friends. It prompted the former however to look at the time finally; just realizing that it was actually dark outside.

“Oh my Celestia,” Octavia leapt from the sofa “Its eight thirty…we’ve been talking about this for five hours?!”

“Eight thirty?” Melody looked for a clock before beginning to panic herself “Oh no…I was suppose to have checked in the hotel hours ago!”

Vinyl arched an eyebrow.

“You didn’t check in?”

“No,” Melody answered “I though that since Octavia’s apartment is on the way from the train station, I thought I’d pop in and…oh I’m so stupid!”

Melody almost cried out, but a gentle hoof on her shoulder managed to calm her nerves.

“You know you could just stay here if you’d like,” Octavia offered “You’re only going to waste your bits with the late check-in fee if you go now”

“Are you sure?”

“Hey, we’re friends aren’t we?” Octavia answered as she hugged “We’re suppose to help each other out”

“Oh thank you!” Melody responded and returned the embrace.

“So I guess all ends well that ends well huh?” Vinyl Scratch added.

The two earth ponies nodded in agreement and went away for a moment to freshen up and let Melody bring her stuff into the bedroom.

It left Vinyl Scratch alone for the first time since Octavia had toured her friend around the apartment earlier. Sensing nothing better to do, Vinyl Scratch got up to stretch her legs. Then she noticed her old violin case on the coffee table. Sensing nostalgia again, Vinyl approached the case and knowing she didn’t have permission, still decided to open it up and have a look at her old inanimate friend.

It still looked quite like how she remembered it, but knowing the story it now told, Vinyl felt an odd sense of pride in what it had achieved. Helping Vinyl Scratch with her first steps into the music world had been only one of the many things it had accomplished. But for some reason, she felt prouder still of how it had helped its next two owners out of poverty and more importantly achieve their own dreams.

Before she got caught, she quickly put it away again.

“I know I always keep saying it, but you never cease to amaze me”

Vinyl momentarily panicked and turned to find Octavia standing by the sofa.

“Sorry, I was just…”

“Its okay Vinyl,” Octavia walked up and in one swift movement hugged her friend “I know it’s a little late for me to say it, but you know that was possibility the nicest thing I’ve ever known you to do for somepony”

Vinyl actually blushed when Octavia said that, something that the latter giggled at when she noticed it.

“My, my, Vinyl Scratch is an emotional pony…”

“Oh stop it,” Vinyl Scratch said “Besides you didn’t even know me when I did that.”

“I know,” Octavia admitted “But I’m glad I do now…thank you, for what you did”

Octavia broke her embrace again and left to help her friend settle in.

Watching Octavia walk off, Vinyl Scratch smiled to herself as she finally realized something that she done all afternoon and it didn’t occur to her until she realized how dry her mouth was from all that talking. The unicorn looked around for something to drink, but once again found nothing, except for her cup by her seat at the table that had been long ignored by her until this moment.

“Well I’ve done braver things before,” Vinyl admitted to herself, thinking about the story she just told her few friend.

Vinyl cantered over to the table and without thinking too much about the contents of the drink – more likely forgetting – she poured its contents into her mouth. Only a moment later Vinyl realized the mistake she had made about drinking cold tea.

It was not a nice taste.

The End

Author's Note:

It's been a long road, but it's finally done. I really enjoyed writing this story, despite all the pains that came along the way with it, but sometimes just seeing the final product is worth it all. Thank you again to everyone who followed me and liked my story and thanks especially to all the editors who helped me out throughout this long project.

- N Hawk

Comments

[Remissis]

good story i like it.

[Apocalyptic_Unicorn]

Great finale to the story! I thoroughly enjoyed it all the way through, and this chapter in particular made me tear up a little, Bravo.

[Barracuda cyborg]

awesome finale dude

[DarklightArk]

This story... Is partial headcannon for me now