Midnight Melody

by Caffeine Junkie

-(12)- Vinyl's Past

Darkness swept over me. There was no light, no warmth, no sound just the endless void. I didn’t feel my surroundings I probably was still falling…falling in the endless abyss. Then something suddenly changed. It became colder and colder. Gradually it became less comfortable. Finally when I couldn’t endure it any longer I let out a scream…a scream that reached way beyond this world and managed to wake me up.

I felt horrible. I had a throbbing headache, I was all sweaty, still dizzy and confused by my dream. The situation did not change much when a certain somepony entered my room, holding a frying pan in her hoof. Oh it was hilarious…I couldn’t help but laugh in that situation. Maybe it was still a dream.

“Everything right, Tavi?”

“No…I had a terrible nightmare, my head hurts and a frying pan swinging loon just entered my room…” I said in a humorous voice.

“Um…no…eh…I…I was about to make breakfast you know?” she said

“Vinyl it is around 04:00 AM…you still look like you were asleep moments ago…”

“No…I wasn’t…I wanted to get up this early…”

“Come on…it is really kind of cute that you tried to defend me with a pan.” I said and smiled at her.

Suddenly she blushed. Now that I think about it that has to be something new to her. Vinyl Scratch probably never got such compliments….I mean she is more of a tomboy so I understand if she was kind of embarrassed.

“So what was your dream about? Must have been something creepy? Maybe…”

I raised an eyebrow in anticipation for whatever she would say.

“Moooooaaaar Vampiiiires Tavi ! Roooooaaaar!”

My pillow flew exactly in her face. She used the chance and let herself fall backwards. She then bit in my pillow and shook her head furiously. It was such a sight. I couldn’t help but laugh. Then she threw the pillow in the corner of the room and jumped on my bed. She came closer, terribly close.

When the distance of her face to my neck was finally nearly non-existent she said…sorry Tavi. I nearly shrieked when she lowered her head and…kissed me on the neck? That mare really knew how to get me worked up. I pushed her off and sighed.

“Vinyl? You probably won’t be happy until my heart stops beating? That nearly gave me a heart attack."

“Nah…I need you with a beating heart, Tavi. How else would you blush…”

That made me wonder. I did not blush, did I? No…why would I…I…simply wasn’t. She lied to me…

“Great now you are blushing again because…you blushed?” she said grinning like the biggest moron in Equestria.

“Shut it, Vinyl.” I said and left her alone in my bed.

I went to the fridge trying to eat something when I realised that the stupid DJ must have been a little sorry for me. She put a tag on most of her things. “Spicy, far too sweet, the hottest thing ever…etc. It made me chuckle.

As annoying as Vinyl could be I really have to say she has grown on me. I always thought about my life as a starless night. Now I had a sparkling star who kept me company and saved me from loneliness. Does that sound strange, I wonder? It must be…

I sat on the table for about ten minutes when Vinyl showed up.

“I fetch myself a mug and some coffee, “Tavi.”

“As long as you do not touch the white one…”

“It’s far too small…I go for the big cups…” she said with a grin.

“Oh, by the way Vinyl…what were you doing in my bed?”

“I was just lying there…”

“Really?” I asked curiously.

“Would you rather I had said I pillow hum…”

“On second thought…I rather believe the first explanation.” I said hastily.

She smirked at me. Oh no…here it come…something dreadful…she would propose a dreadful idea.
I so knew it. She would unleash hell on Equestria with whatever she wanted next, she…

“Hey Tavi…do you like to visit the park with me?”

“That seems far too normal…where is the real Vinyl Scratch?” I said with a raised eyebrow.

“I just thought we could talk about some stuff…”

“Well…I don’t see why not…”

Time flew by and soon the sun shined warm enough that we could really make our way to the park. We sat down on a park bench and I curiously waited for whatever it was that Vinyl wanted to talk about.

At first I suspected she wanted to talk to me about vampire stuff or my family when it was something completely different.

“So Tavi, you said you wanted a job.”

“Well of course I do but…”

“Maybe I can get you one at my next working place…”

“I am NOT a DJ…you get that Vinyl.” I said in a dry voice.

“Maybe it is a club that also pays some other musicians…I didn’t say I would work in a disco next.
If it is a nightclub and they had thematic evenings it might work out…”

“That is all nice and good but I do not think a job was the reason you wanted to talk to me.”

“Ah…to be honest it was something different.” she said and looked a little bit ashamed.

“I figured…go on.”

“Well you know about how I called myself while fillysitting?”

“Yes…Vestige Record…”

“I rather you never mention that ever. I really messed up back then. I didn’t think that she would know.”

“Do you want to tell me your story Vinyl? Maybe you feel better afterwards.”

Vinyl gulped and started her story. As I suspected she was the heir of a rich family. They always wanted her to be successful and therefore put her through a lot of terrible “training”. It must have been similar to what my sister has to endure now.

However one day she decided she couldn’t go on like that. She liked music, yes but she didn’t like her life so she used all the bits she had to leave her home. No more Manehatten for Vinyl Scratch.

At first she roamed free through the streets of Canterlot. No pony who gave her orders, no pony who could force her to do things she didn’t like. Everything seemed perfect…until she ran out of bits.

Soon Vinyl had to find out that living without bits proofed to be difficult. She tried to sleep where all the homeless ponies did but even there were some ponies who wanted to send her to the orphanage.

How could a high class girl like Vestige Record remain undiscovered you ask? Well at first she didn’t have a cutie mark back then so there was no pony who could recognise her by that. Then there was the thing she did to her mane. She dyed it in different blue tones. Her blue lenses that she used to wear back then were thrown away already and had been replaced by magenta once.

That probably was the true birth of the mare now better known as Vinyl Scratch.

So the blue haired filly without cutie mark, money, friends, family and a home lived with the street bums for a few weeks.

When it got colder two of the bums saw it as their responsibility to deliver Vinyl to the local orphanage. She wouldn’t last the winter otherwise…

Vinyl felt betrayed of course, however she understood that the ponies only wanted to help her. The days in the orphanage seemed dark and lonely, better than her life with her parents but still.

It must have been very terrible for Vinyl back then. I feel some pity for her.

The life in the orphanage with all the other fillies made her open up a lot. Her personality slowly changed from introverted to extroverted and after a while she got adopted by a young childless couple.

She told me that they were nice to her…a caring family. They even decided to rename the poor Jane Doe, a name that female ponies without known origins received, to Vinyl Scratch after seeing how much that filly liked listening to those vinyls.

However it was on a special day when she viewed a rock concert where she finally realised that there is much more to music than what she knew. When she realised that she got her cutie mark...in the middle of a concert. Can you believe that? The story of how I got my cutie mark pales in comparison.

She looked through a lot of different types of music until she finally encountered what it was she wanted to do. This was the birth of DJ PON3. As you can see she had a lot of success as a DJ. When she knew what it was that made her truly happy she told her foster father. He then presented Vinyl with the same type of shades she even wears today. He was really proud of his little daughter and how she turned out.

Even though Vinyl was so successful and happy with her new family she still had some kind of trauma going on.
Her real parents…she had to face them eventually...what would they think?

Would they be proud of her?
I doubt that.

Would they be disappointed even though she had success as a DJ?
The answer was most certainly yes.

The meeting with my sister probably opened up some old wounds. I was responsible for it so I tried to comfort her.

“Vinyl…you know even if your parents are not happy about how you turned out…”

She had a very painful expression written all over her face…oh it made me hurt a lot to see her like that.

“…all people besides them love you just the way you are. Your fans, your family…even I do."

She beamed at me, even though she was about to cry a minute ago.

Oh, Vinyl Scratch…in fact you are so soft…you just do a good job to hide it but when your weaknesses are visible it makes you loveable all the more. Then I….kissed her on the cheek. She looked baffled…

“Don’t you worry if you ever want or have to face your parents you will not be alone. I promise..." I said.

Then something happened that I did not expect. She started to hug me and…started to cry. She cried so much it nearly made me cry along. She looked so vulnerable…so unlike herself…

She then tried to talk to me…still sobbing.

“You…you know…I..I do not deserve you as a…” she said and started to cry again.

“Shhh…Vinyl…just let it all out…” I said.

“I…I love you Tavi…” and she buried her face in my chest.

Warm tears rolled down my body and I finally began to realise that Vinyl needed me as much as I needed her because no pony had an easy task with fighting her personal darkness all alone…

“I know…I know…” I told her petting her back.

When all the tears dried up and Vinyl finally got her composure back she started in her usual tone.

“That was kinda pathetic of me right?”

“Oh…it certainly wasn’t as pitiful as when I cried back then…”

“Well…but for me it is different. I am usually tough. I can’t let people think I am that soft…”

“Yes…that reaaaaaly shocked me” and I rolled my eyes.

“You know they called me ice princess back in school because I seemed to have no emotions?” I carried on.

“Really? No way” she said surprised.

“Yes indeed. Thanks to somepony however I lost control over my emotions far too often in the last few days.”

“So…I turn you on so much that you can’t concentrate? Yeah! 2 points for Vinyl!” she said.

“No…you don’t…stop that already.”

“You already said you love me…”

“I certainly did not…”

“Yeah you did!”

“But in a different way…”

“You said I look cute while you were comforting me!”

“That was while you were crying and…”

Oh I messed up…I never said that…I only thought about it.
However that didn’t mean a thing right? Right?

“Aha! Got ya…so you think I like cute…” she said with a smirk.

“You get that all wrong…looking cute doesn’t equal I love you.”

“Saying that you love me, kissing me on the cheek and telling me that I look cute all don’t?
And here I thought you were a good liar…” she said and rolled her eyes the same way I normally did.

“Vinyl there is no way that I love you…
I do not know why I am attracted to you.
It isn't even physical attraction you know?
All of it is just a strange coincidence…” I tried to explain.

“You never had a relationship before? “ she said and interrupted me shorthand.

“What has that to do with anything…” I asked clearly annoyed.

“I was right? Wow…no wonder it is so hard to get to you…”

“Vinyl stop fooling around…it gets old.” I said already agitated.

“You probably never even considered liking girls because it isn’t the norm?”

“Of course I didn’t. Why would I love mares when I am one myself?”

“You really are so dense, Tavi.” she said and started to giggle.

“Stop messing with my head …stupid.”

“Cupid…it is pronounced cupid…C-U-P-I-D”

“Vinyl…if you really love me…even though you probably really just like to get on my nerves I have to disappoint you…because I will NEVER, I repeat it NEVER...N-E-V-E-R...fall in love with someone like you.”

“Challenge accepted! I will try all the harder now…”

“Oh sweet Celestia…cut me some slack…”

“Nope I won't. I could fetch us some snacks however. There should be a store a few minutes away.”

“Do what you want…I need some time to cool off anyway.”

“I hope you won’t miss me in the next five minutes.”

“How could I miss you if you don’t leave already…”

“Tavi, when I'm gone please try to not drool while thinking about me. It is for your own good.”

“Just…go already…you …you lunatic. I pressed through my teeth.

She then took off, seriously amused while I still had to wonder about her crazy nature.
After she was gone I let my thoughts strife but in the end I still had to think about her...yes her.
I mean she really was hard to understand…at some times.
Not that I thought about her looking cute or…arrrgh.

Well seems like this was just another ordinary day for Octavia Melody,
a simple mare who was lost in life, acquainted to a crazy pony and
sitting all alone on a park bench simply waiting for events to unfold themselves.

Comments

[Kapuchu]

3588252

I'm a big fan of hellsing so Victor has to wear Alucards clothes.

I will be completely honest with you.
I have nothing against references, and I actually like to find them, but when they are as blatant and obvious as yours they lose their appeal. It, quite honestly, made me consider quitting this story and finding something else.

If you wanted to reference Slenderman without making it as obvious as a dancing pineapple you could have written.

A faceless monster whose goal was yet unknown.

It's still easy to see that it's Slenderman, but you don't shove it in our faces.

My point? Be careful with your blunt references. They can turn off readers easily.

[qamar-ling]

new story to reed!

[Caffeine Junkie]

3588277

I do not inted to make this story a "pun festival" without reason so I really appreciate any form of constructive criticism.
So thanks for the input and thanks for your time.

In response to your input:
It may be because this is my first fanfic that I still lack a little in how direct I should bring
those references across but I try to do better in the future.

The slenderman allusion was a pretty bad idea indeed and a regretful choice on my part.
It probably is for the best if I don't write/publish soon after I got hyped up by something,
Even I don't think that it was funny now that I have some distance to it.
(I'll probably rewrite the part about him.)

Victors' description on the other hand didn't seem that obvious to me.
I may have used Alucard as a mental image but the description:
red hat + evening attire is still very vague.

Now that thought will torment me for a while. Maybe we had the same mental image?
Or is a red hat in the vampire genre really that characteristic for Alucard...

I firmly believe that one can only improve if one knows were his weaknesses lie.
So I just wanted to thank you for pointing them out once again.
I hope it helps me become a better writer.

[Kapuchu]

3588558
I didn't make a connection between Alucard and Viktor at first, but when you pointed it out... Yeah, the applejack emoticon I put in describes my reaction pretty well. That was a reference done well, I think. You took his attire and put it on Viktor, but you didn't say who it was from. I was good until you pointed it out.

As for your first part: I'm glad that you're not gonna make it a pun festival. I've read stories that are like those and it's almost painful to read. I'm also glad that you realise the... "mistake" of making the Slenderman reference so obvious. It's a clear sign of you having become better.

And your final statement... As true as they come. If you don't know where your weaknesses lie, you can't find them and get better.

[Caffeine Junkie]

3591577

Well maybe it got lost a little because the events in the morning and the babysit chapter used to be one chapter to begin with. The idea was to let O&V depart from their home and let them meet at the parent's mansion afterwards.

The place where the babysitting occurs should be the mansion of her parents. I thought it was a good way to make Tavi pressure her sister.

If the coherency of time and place was really lost through the chapter split...I guess I have to find it and put it back where it belongs...

In response to the mood thing:
Well I could certainly try to improve that scene...puttng a little bit more depth or emotion into it.
Lets see how it turns out afterwards...