xjuggerscrapsx

by xjuggernaughtx

Moments (Working Title)

Pushing through the curtain that separated the club’s front door from the main floor, Pinkie found herself nodding in time with the heavy beat pounding out of the stacks of speakers. The drums were crisp and clear, and the intermittent syncopation of the high-hat added a level of surprise and excitement to the backbeat. When the bassline kicked back in, Pinkie swayed from side to side, her grin widening.

But after a moment, it faltered. The dance floor was empty. Behind her decks, Vinyl was working her magic, but nopony was responding to her. The sign outside said that the club had opened half an hour ago, but ponies were still walking around the edges of the dance floor, looking nervous and self-conscious.

Pinkie tried to give Vinyl an encouraging smile, but the DJ seemed too busy fiddling with her turntables to notice. Oh, look at her! Pinkie could see the tale-tell tightening around the corners of Vinyl’s mouth. It was a frown. A sneaky one. An “I-don’t-want-ponies-to-know”, professional, trying really hard not to frown kind of frown that you weren’t supposed to notice.

To Pinkie, though, it was clear as day: Vinyl was getting upset by the second.

Okay, let’s get this party started! Hope I’m not too rusty. Pinkie shook her legs out, then stretched. She’d been so busy running around all over Equestria and helping out the Cakes at Sugarcube Corner recently that it had been months since she’d had the opportunity to just let it all out on the dance floor. She’d only been here for a minute or two, and she aready felt like her boogie was woogie-ing up a storm. Vinyl’s got a yucky empty dance floor and I’ve got at least four or five rugs to cut! Two problems, one solution! I’ll have those ponies getting down in no time.

Pinkie trotted to the middle of the dance floor. She felt heads turn with her, and out of the corners of her eyes, she could see ponies standing up a little straighter. Ears were perking up. The barrier had been breached, and everypony was waiting to see what was going to happen.

Behind the decks, the tightness around Vinyl’s mouth lessened a little. The DJ bobbed a little with the beat, then turned a knob. The volume jumped a little, and the bass rolled out a little more strongly. She gave Pinkie a small nod.

Pinkie’s hooves tingled. The beat was pounding from the speakers and flowing out into the room. The floor thumped in time and above her, the light’s pulsed. She took a deep breath and silently counted along with the beat, her heart racing.

When the moment arrived, she stepped out with authority. Her hoof came down right on beat, and she was already in motion again. She slid left and thrust out with her hip to meet the snare as it hit. Rolling her shoulders and shaking her head, she embraced the music.

Ahead of her, Vinyl nodded along with a little more enthusiasm. The next track was seamlessly blending in as the unicorn slid the crossfader. Pinkie would never have known except that she loved the incoming track. She recognized the blaring horns and marveled at the way that Vinyl has married the two songs together so perfectly.

Feeling the groove, Pinkie stepped left, then right, then left again, her hooves crossing over in complex patterns. Always on beat, she tossed her head, and her mane flew out beside her. She rose onto one hind hoof and spun, a wide grin on her face.

The rhythm called to her, and she answered. Closing her eyes, Pinkie embraced the music. It asked her to stomp a hoof. She stomped. It wanted a rump wiggle, and it got one. Horns called for her to snap left. The bass demanded that she spin right. Pinkie welcomed it all. Stepping and stomping, twisting and twirling, she threw her head back and laughed

The laughter swelled, caught, and then died in her throat. As she spun, the club whirled around her, and at it’s edges, ponies were still just standing. What’s wrong with—

Pinkie train of thought jumped track when she stumbled. She’d been too busy checking out the crowd, and her right, front hoof hadn’t gotten the message that the rest of them had moved on from the last beat. It was a pretty good beat. One with an accompanying snare hit, but they’d gone on without the hoof, and so it was in the way. The other three hit it, and she went down.

The music was too loud for Pinkie to hear, but she felt a collective “Oh!” rise up from the crowd. She was shaking her head to clear out the cobwebs when Golden Harvest ran out to her.

“Oh, Pinkie! Are you okay?” Golden held out her hoof, and Pinkie took it. “That looked like a nasty fall.”

Pinkie rose, dusting herself off. She craned her neck around to check out her smarting flank. “I-I’m fine. Just a little bruise, I think.”

“Are you sure? Do you want to sit down for a minute?”

“No,” Pinkie said, rubbing her rump. “I came to shake it, and no little fall is gonna stop this dancing machine!” On the edge of her field of vision, Vinyl seemed to be watching her closely. Or not. It was so hard to tell with those glasses.

“Well, okay.” Golden pursed her lips for a moment as she eyed the bruise. “But don’t hurt yourself.” She turned and took a step away.

Pinkie leapt ahead of her and threw a hoof up. “Nonononono! Wait!”

Notes

Pinkie dances to inspire, but it doesn’t work. Pinkie tries to pull a mare out onto the dance floor, but the mare resists. She’s embarrassed that she doesn’t know how to dance, but Pinkie helps to teach her. Seeing the pony taking a risk, a few more ponies join in, then more. Pinkie is soon surrounded by grooving ponies.

Author's Note:

I wanted to write a story that showed the Mane Six living up to their elements in a way that was very natural. Not a conscious dedication to their nature, but something, well... natural. Obviously, this was the beginning of Pinkie's.

Comments

[xjuggernaughtx]

6518525 I hoped someone would find that title amusing.

[xjuggernaughtx]

6960121 That's one of the reasons I didn't end up using it. It clarifies certain things, but it would have needed a lot more to it to fully integrate into the story.

[xjuggernaughtx]

7129000 The Bloom Closet has been on my mind recently, so I might pick it up. I have several ideas for those clones, but I won't really know where I'm going with it until I start writing. I often outline stories out, then deviate wildly from the outline when inspiration happens. I just give myself a general guideline these days.

[xjuggernaughtx]

7189722 It was going to cover a lot of time, some of it before they got together. I haven't read what I've written there in quite some time, but I do believe that chapter was going to be before the events of The Mailbox.

[Super Trampoline]

Hello, I gave this collection a shout out here: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/772612/drunk-fanfic-reviews