The Big Book Of Small Stories

by LordOfTape

Let The Music Flow (Vinyl Scratch's Poem)

Let The Music Flow (Vinyl Scratch’s Poem)

Boom boom boom boom
The blasting bass continues to pump in my mind
Boom boom boom boom
Why won’t it stop?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s been day in, day out partying the entire month
I haven’t gotten one good night’s sleep; I’ve barely even gotten to rest my head
I don’t know how much more of this I can take
Heck , I don’t even know when any of this is going to end?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now don’t get me wrong here
I love doing parties, absolutely love it
The enthusiastic crowds, the omnipresent music, the incandescent lights, the name-making show
That kinda scene always makes me feel so…at home
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once that diamond stylus needle hits my vinyl record
I just break out into the most pumping beats my bass can handle, and some it can’t
You can hear my speakers blasting out the raddest tunes all night long
Everypony wants to party like Vinyl parties
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boom boom boom boom
Ow, my head’s still ringing
I just laid the finishing touches on one of Pinkie’s birthday bonanzas
The crowd screamed my name, but I could barely hear them
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The music had already taken over, every being in the room entranced by the rhythmic beats
All that remained was the bass in the background
I still left the stage smiling on the outside, big grin and wide open eyes
Inside though, my mouth turned downwards in a teary frown, and my eyes drooped sleepily
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Being a musician wasn’t all it was cracked up to be
Sure, there was the fame, the goal that everypony aspired to
There was the celebrity recognition, finally being able to live the dream
And of course, there were the stallions, all the cute stallions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But in the end, it still wasn’t enough
It couldn’t cancel out the work and endless effort poured into each day
Get up too dang early, go to bed far too late
Always have something in your ear, be it music or recording demands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I guess it just goes to show that too much of a good thing can be bad
Because right now, there’s no fighting this routine
This feeling inside, it’s tearing me apart
I want to leave the music scene for good, but I just can’t leave my fans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sure, DJ-ing was in my blood, it was my cutie mark after all
And there would be all my fans that I’d be letting down
I had the money, I had the so called ‘life’
But I didn’t have the peace of mind
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What to do?
Should I give up what I love because I can’t handle it
Or push through because I have to for my fans
Knock, knock, knock
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The knocking startled me
“Who’s there?” I asked, my own words even ringing in my sensitive ears
Octavia responded the soft voice on the other side of the door
“Can I come in?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As much as I wanted to be by myself at the moment
Octavia’s calming company was always nice to have
She was my best friend, and a fellow musician
She would always cheer me up, even if she only stayed for a moment
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Sure thing” I forced a smile
The door opened and Octavia walked in with her cello in a case
In her other hoof, she held a bouquet of roses with a note
“What’re the flowers for?” I asked her
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“One of the stallions from the soiree wanted to give them to you”
She shot me a bit of an annoyed look, “But you had already left the stage”
I scuffed my hoof across the ground, looking downwards trying to avoid eye contact
“Vinyl, you love meeting with your fans after a good show; what’s wrong?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Of course she had to ask, Octavia knew me too well and cared too much
“I felt a little sick” I replied, hoping she would buy it
If she ever found out I wanted to quit music, I don’t even know what she’d do
She walked over to me and gingerly put her hoof on my forehead, avoiding my horn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hmm” she pondered for a moment
“You seem fine to me” she replied incredulously
“Well I didn’t then” I pouted
“Scratchy, tell me what’s wrong; I want to help” she lifted a soft smile across my face with her own
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I don’t know Octavia, I just can’t take the stress anymore”
She nodded her head in agreement
If there was ever another pony to understand the stress of the music business, it would be her
After a short pause, she asked of me “So what are you going to do then?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didn’t want to answer that question
I hadn’t even fully answered it to myself, let alone anypony else
“It’s ok” she prodded “You can tell me”
I debated it vigorously in my tired brain and decided I would answer her, if only to make it stop
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I think I want to quit DJ-ing”
Octavia chuckled a bit, “Vinyl, it’s your cutie mark; you love being a DJ”
“I know Tav, I know, but I just can’t take this constant noise anymore!”
My yelling collapsed my own ears, and I succumbed to the inevitable headache
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Argh!” I yelled in pain, holding my pounding head in my hooves
“Scratch!” Octavia yelled back, probably wanting to help, but only making it worse
She held me in her arms for a moment as my mind returned to its normal frequency
I slowly lowered my hooves, “Thanks Tav”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Is it just the noise, Vinyl? Does the noise hurt too much?” she whispered quietly
“Yes” I reply “I just can’t clear my head, I can’t think straight”
“Do you think you’ll be able to listen to me for a little while, or should I come back later?”
“No” I speak back, a little louder than the whispers but not so loud I would hurt myself “Stay, please”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Vinyl Scratch, you are an amazing DJ, with musical prowess so far above all the other fillies and colts”
“You’re famous Scratch, and fame has it prices”
“There are some things that you need to learn to understand and deal with accordingly”
“Most of all, you can never let your fans down; I mean, what kind of message would that send them?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Usually Octavia’s words were filled with some kind of bright optimism and hope
Now she was just lecturing me on how not to quit
I thought she might’ve reacted this way, and her affirming the idea that I had to stay didn’t help
“Tav, that’s not really what I wanted to hear” being completely truthful
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“But” she continued, interrupting me although still at a whisper
“Anypony and everypony understands that each job takes a good deal of work to perform”
“If you were to take a break, nopony would judge you on it”
“And personally, I think you need a break” her purple eyes smiling at me
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There were her words of healing, the sympathy I was so desperately searching for
It didn’t change the fact I still had the largest tour ever going on though
“I can’t just quit in the middle of a tour Tav”
“Perhaps that is so, but I believe it’s perfectly reasonable for you to take a break and get some rest”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I let down my sweet shades and placed them on the cedar table next to me
My eyes were baggy and dark, visibly showing my lack of sleep
The one shimmering red in them was getting dimmer by the day
“Octavia, I can’t leave the partying, I can’t leave the fans, I can’t leave the music”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Nonsense” she scoffed, unwavering in her opinion
“If Vinyl Scratch needs a day off, then the DJ-PON3 party bus here can make that happen”
“But the fans -” I started, being cut off by her speech
“The fans will understand Vinyl; please just get some sleep”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The worry in her eyes showed me that although adamant, all she really wanted was to help
I still couldn’t shake the depressing feeling though
If I quit I would keep my sanity, but let down everypony who’s ever cared for me
Octavia saw my doubt, and she let out her hoof with the roses
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Why don’t you read the note?”
I guessed it couldn’t hurt, only being a tiny piece of paper, so I opened it up
What was written on the heart shaped card made tears well up in my eyes
Octavia smiled because she knew that I finally understood what she was getting at
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Dear DJ-PON3, our favorite DJ”
“You are the craziest party animal we’ve ever known, and are always ready for another wild shindig”
“As much as we love to party hard with you, we believe that everypony needs a little time off”
“So we are willing to send you off to the Balehamas for a little rest and relaxation”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“We hope when you come back, you will be ready to party hard all over again”
“Sincerely, your biggest fans”
Inside the card was a ticket to a cruise liner sent for the Balehamas
A gigantic, genuine smile leapt across my face
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“But why in the world –” I started to say, cutting myself off as I looked at Octavia’s face
She wore a smirk trying to contain her inner joyful laughter
“You knew, didn’t you?” I joked at her
“I had my suspicions” she chuckled suspiciously
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So is this all real?”
“One hundred percent!” she squealed, leaving my ear drums banging again
I grimaced at first, “But what about the tour?”
“Oh Vinyl, you can finish the tour after you get back”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didn’t even care to ask if it was ok with my manager
My fans themselves wanted to give me a break, and they were the ones who mattered
Octavia, my closest and most loving friend made it happen
There was nothing to keep me from being happy now
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Now Vinyl, I still want you to get some sleep, ok?” she whispered
My tired eyes rose a bit and the slow smile revealed itself once again
“Ok Tav”
I walked over to my bed and hopped in
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Octavia walked over and pulled the satin covers over me, keeping me warm
She opened up her case and pulled out her prized cello
She readied the bow and began to play a quiet melody
The soothing sounds trotted across my weary ears, releasing me from the ever bustling noise of the bass
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I fell into my slumber, I heard her whisper in tune “Oh-oh-oh-oh, Let the music flow”

Comments

[SP00KY NINJA-PON3]

WHAT THE HELL!?!? TOO MUCH WUBS TOO LOUD!?!? IMPOSSIBRU!!!

GERONIMO!!!

[SkylarWingsUnicorn]

A very touching poem....I quite enjoyed it