Music To My Ears
Vinyl smiled softly as she tidied up her turntables, being sure to store the discs in their proper places. It wasn’t that she was a clean freak or anything - far from it - but it did help when sorting out the party mixes. She nodded absentmindedly to the music coming through her headphones, her smile growing as she lost herself to the beat.
Music was just so great. Every song was just a series of notes, and each note was just a perceived sound, and each sound was just a vibration! By that logic, any vibration can be heard and given a ‘title’, and that title is the name of a note. It was incredible to her.
She looked up as Octavia tapped her on the back. She pulled down her headphones, tilting her head curiously. “I’m going to head home, Vinyl. I trust you can find your way back before sunrise?”
Vinyl grinned and nodded. Tavi was so understanding sometimes; even though Vinyl sometimes dragged herself back inside with a cider addled swagger around 5 am, Octavia always put up with her. Ever since they had first met in Canterlot, Tavi had always been close to her. They might have had a bit of a rough start, but don’t friends sometimes start off on the wrong hoof?
Octavia smiled. “Alright. I’ll see you later. Just text if you need me to drag you home. Again.”
Vinyl rolled her eyes with a good natured smile and flipped up her headphones as Tavi trotted off with her cello. She rolled her eyes often and was glad her roommate had bought her those signature goggles. Nopony seemed to know her eye-rolling habits. That, or no one commented on them. Ponies usually didn’t talk to her often. She smirked, chuckling silently to herself; she had never been much of a conversationalist, now, had she?
She bobbed her head, grooving in place to the beat. It was one she had composed herself. She was rather fond of her own work; though, she tried to listen to other stuff too, like Neon’s mixes, or even Octy’s classical pieces. Still, nothing felt so great to her as the wubs of her own music. It was something she made that she enjoyed, and others thought she did it well. That kept her going, some days.
She felt another tap on her back, stronger this time, though still rather weak. She glanced behind her to see that weird brown pony she had met earlier - what was his name? Doc? She couldn’t remember. She flipped off her headphones once again. He wore a rather large smile - and an overly large scarf - and looked almost giddy with happiness. “Why, hello again! I just wanted to thank you for leading me to that bowling place earlier today, although I had been hoping to find Rarity. Why, if you had never led me there, I never would have lost my suit, which meant I never would have worn my scarf, which seems to have attracted that lovely looking mare over there enough for her to ask me on a date tonight!” He laughed, a little whinny of a giggle to be perfectly honest, his own hooves tripping lightly over his scarf.
Vinyl gulped lightly and looked past the Doc. Rose, the flower girl, was smiling as well, obviously waiting for the Doc. She shook her head and looked back at the Doc. Hopefully Rose had a thing for dudes who talked too much too fast.
“In any case, I simply wanted to thank you for that wonderful misadventure!” He laughed again, offering up his hoof. She grabbed it and was suddenly being shaken vigorously. “Ah, love is in the air today,” he cried joyfully.
Vinyl smiled as best she could, unsure about how to respond. The Doc was a bit eccentric. He eventually dropped her hoof, still with a bright smile. “Why, how rude of me! I never asked your name!”
Vinyl flinched lightly. Ah. Yes. She rubbed her neck with one hoof, levitating over a disk. Displayed on it was the name “DJPON-3” with her signature underneath. Hopefully that would get the point across.
The Doc, however, was clueless. “Hmm? What is this? A record of some sort?”
Vinyl facehoofed and shook her head. She pointed to her signature and then back at herself.
“Aaah… YOU’RE DJPON-3. Quite clever! Why didn’t you just say so,” he said just as brightly as ever.
She sighed inwardly. Thankfully, Rose came to the rescue quickly. “Doctor?” She smiled, tugging on his scarf with a sympathetic smile toward Vinyl. “Sorry if he’s bothering you, Scratch.”
Vinyl shrugged, smiling back. Despite the annoyance, it certainly wasn’t the first time someone had blundered into saying something wrong, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
Rose giggled. “Now, come on, Doctor. Tell me, what are you a doctor of?”
He laughed as they turned toward the door. “Ah, I’m not really a doctor of much - though, did you know, I have a doctorate in cheese making? Yes, the story behind that one is surely a doozy. You see, it was when I was just a young lad…”
Vinyl watched them go fondly, though the happy mood from earlier had faded just a bit. Ah well. She pushed back on her headphones, shutting her eyes and just listening to the music. This one had been a collab with Neon - she had done the music, he had supplied the vocals. He really wasn’t that bad a singer - or a looker. She smirked as she imagined their friendship going a little bit further than they had told the media. Maybe the next time they met up at a concert, she would mention something to him.
In due time, Vinyl was on her way home, trotting with her bass wagon rolling beside her. She had felt like stretching the hooves for once. Maybe a scenic route around Ponyville. She trotted through the park and stopped on the bridge. She looked out over the water, looking into her reflection. She took off her headphones again as well as her goggles. She smiled at herself. She’d always loved how she looked.
Her ears twitched this way and that as she listened to the music of the world around her. Birds chirped evening songs in their nests, ruffling their feathers against themselves. Fish leaped out of the water every so often, splashing gently in the serene river. She heard a bee buzz past her ear lazily on his way to some flowers. Crickets stringed up their bows and serenaded everypony who bothered to trot around tonight.
She kept her eyes on the water as she heard ponies past. One was a little foal; the gait was short and a bit bouncy, and the clopping against the cobblestones was a sharp counterpoint to the older pony’s smoother, calmer trot. She heard a giggle; it was low, yet still high enough to be young. It was a colt, then.
The little boy ran over. She turned before he got to her, smiling. She thought she had seen him at the wedding in the back, but it was hard to be sure. He looked at her curiously, his eyes sparkling with innocence (as well as a little childish mischief). “You’re that party pony missus Pinkie talks about all the time, ain’cha?”
Vinyl smiled and nodded, mostly out of pride. So Pinkie talked about her, eh? She was a bit smug about that fact. The boy giggled again. “I really like your mane!”
“That’s enough, Tracks!” The older mare ran up quickly, that same sympathetic smile on her face. “I-I’m sorry, Vinyl, I should’ve told him not to run up like that…”
“Aww, Ma! She’s not bothered by me, are you, missus Vinyl?”
Vinyl shook her head quickly, but the mare would have none of that. “I-I’m really quite sorry, he just never listens.” She leaned down and shook her head at her son. “Now, come along, Tracks, we need to go home - now.”
Tracks sighed, looking at Vinyl. “Sorry missus. I didn’t mean to bother you.”
Vinyl quickly shook her head, trying to get her point across, but the damage had been done. The mother was quickly trotting away, almost a gallop, but Vinyl could still hear the words she was saying to her son. Few ponies realized just how much the seemingly oblivious DJ heard. “Rude,” she heard, and the word “mute”. She huffed, turning back to the water. It wasn’t like she was deaf.
Sure, Vinyl might not hear everything sometimes; that wasn’t because she couldn’t hear well. She just chose to ignore a lot of things around her. There was so much to listen to in a day - so much, in fact, that nopony ever hears everything. You’ll tune out a jackhammer on the street so you can hear a friend speak. What Vinyl did was ignore those things she didn’t think were important. Birdsong and crickets were so much better than ponies casually reminding her of her ‘condition’.
She sighed silently. Maybe she should just go home. She looked around; a few ponies were trotting around, but they mostly ignored her. She had a few glances and friendly smiles, but not one pony went to her and spoke. They acted like she wouldn’t hear them.
Now, that was mostly her fault, she thought. Of course they didn’t talk to her, seeing as she blocked half of them out with her headphones most of the time. Still, she did like listening. She listened all the time - if only somepony would say something worthwhile, instead of filling up the silence with small talk and sympathetic glances.
Vinyl grabbed her wagon, a bit discouraged despite all the happiness from today, and began her way back home. The walk was shorter than she imagined, especially since, as always, nopony stopped her on the way home. She still felt their pitying eyes on her, but she shrugged them off. She would never be away from them, so she might as well just live with them.
She opened the door and trotted in. Octavia glanced up from the living room sofa, putting down her mug of tea. “Vinyl? Is that you? Why, you’re home early.”
Vinyl sighed again, though this time with a bit more sound. Her ears twitched at the breath. One of the few things that didn’t involve her useless vocal chords, she guessed.
Octavia trotted out to the main area where Vinyl was putting away her wagon. She frowned. “Now, now, I won’t allow my roommate to go to bed whenever they are moping this much. Tell me what’s wrong. Did something happen on the way home?”
Vinyl shrugged, looking down.
“So, yes, but nothing too significant. Which, of course, means that you’re trying to hide it from me.” Octavia sighed, shaking her head. “Oh, just go sit on the couch. I’ll be right over.”
Vinyl trotted over to the couch, plopping down unceremoniously. Sometimes she got in these funks. There was no help for it though - other than Tavi. Vinyl smiled softly as her roommate walked back in with a pint of rocky road with a spoon already lodged inside. She handed it to Vinyl and sat down next to her (with far more grace). “Now. How about a game of 20 questions?”
Vinyl rolled her eyes.
“Oh, stop that. It’s practically the only way to get a straight answer out of you these days.”
Vinyl shrugged, grabbing a spoonful of ice cream. She smiled, grunting very softly.
“Do you like it?”
Vinyl nodded, and with a smirk, held up her hoof straight.
“That was one of my questions?!”
Vinyl nodded and pushed forward her hoof harder.
“Curses! That’s 2 wasted!” Vinyl’s smile only grew as her roommate huffed. “Very well. Now, let’s see… The point is to find out why you’re in a funk…” Octavia tapped her chin. “Has anypony said something unpleasant to you today?”
Vinyl shifted the spoon around in her mouth a bit, frowning. She nodded.
“Hmm… Was that something unpleasant about your music?”
She shook her head.
“Drat, thought I had it… Did that something unpleasant contribute to your current mood?”
Vinyl sunk deeper into the couch, spearing more ice cream on her spoon, making sure to get more cookie dough. She nodded, savouring the chill on her tongue.
“Ah, so I am getting somewhere. Let’s see… Is your current mood one you feel often?” Vinyl stared at Octavia, an eyebrow raised. “Oh, alright, no psychoanalytical nonsense tonight, then. Chalk that up to a wasted question. Let’s see here…”
Vinyl slowly ate more as Octavia thought up more ideas. At least her roommate was talking to her. She had always loved that about Tavi. She was considerate. Despite the fact that Vinyl couldn’t speak, Tavi had taken the time to learn about her and learn how to communicate. That was true friendship.
“Ahha! Is your current mood dictated by something unpleasant said about you?”
Vinyl nodded, perhaps too quickly. Was being mute really that unpleasant, she thought to herself.
… Er, yeah. It kinda sucked.
“Hmm…” Suddenly Tavi understood. “Ah. Is it because of your condition?”
Vinyl suddenly felt tears in her eyes. She nodded softly, looking down into her ice cream. Pathetic. She shouldn’t be crying over something as dumb as this.
“Oh, Vinyl…” Octavia sighed, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “You know it’s okay to cry, correct?”
She nodded softly, not meeting Tavi’s eyes.
“Come now, you must mean it if you expect me to believe you.”
Vinyl looked up at her friend’s eyes. She saw sympathy there, but further, understanding. Tavi did feel sorry for Vinyl, but she also didn’t let that cloud her judgement of the pony. She wasn’t about to coddle her because she was different. She was a pony, still, and deserved to be listened to.
Vinyl shut her eyes and leaned into her friend, letting Tavi hold her. “There there, dear… Just let it out…”
Vinyl sniffed, nuzzling into Tavi’s chest. She smiled softly, laughing silently against her friend’s fur; somehow, still being cared about helped. Here she was, wanting to be treated like a normal mare who wasn’t to be coddled, while simultaneously needing to be held like a newborn foal.
“I can feel you laughing, Vinyl. What on earth is so funny?” Vinyl sat up, motioning between the two of them. Octavia laughed as well. “Yes, we are quite the pair, aren’t we? Don’t worry, Vinyl - no matter how confused you’re feeling, I’ll be here to listen to you, alright? After all, we all need somepony to listen to sometimes.”
Vinyl smiled, wiping her tears off on her hoof.
“Oh for goodness sake, find a tissue, Vinyl!”
Vinyl threw back her head and laughed, smiling cheerfully. Her ears twitched; she could almost imagine peals of laughter coming from her own mouth. She smiled, enjoying the little day dream.
Maybe, one day.
Until then, she wouldn’t be silent, she realized. Octavia would listen to her anytime. Plus, there was her music. Vinyl could always speak through her music. And by Celestia, ponies would always listen to her. She would make them listen - just like she did.
“Now, why don’t we watch a movie, Vinyl?”
She nodded, cuddling up to Tavi with her ice cream. Maybe tonight would be a good one after all.
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Love this story. Tugs at the heartstrings but not enough to make you feel bad the rest of the day.
I is sad now...
6121355 That was the goal. I almost didn't have the sad tag!
6121362 *offers tissues* Thanks for the comment!
I see I'm not the only one with a Mute Vinyl headcanon. According to an interview from M.A. Larson, she was originally supposed to have lines in ep 100, but Hasbro told him that she doesn't speak so he changed it.
6121698 Niiiiice. Yeah, she never speaks in canon, so I just wanted to write this.
This is beautiful. Well done!
6121840 Thank you!!
I still prefer to believe Vinyl's silence in canon is a salute to Nowacking, whom many consider the definitive Vinyl Scratch.
6124066 xD Fair point!
this is a cute, but a little sad too, story! being mute myself, its really nice to have the idea that vinyl is mute being spread around, even if it does come with a few unpleasant side affects. I can mostly relate to vinyl in this too!
6124125 Thank you for your comment! Honestly, this was the first time I wrote something like this. I'm glad I added the sad tag at the last minute - I was unsure about it at first.
Nicely done!
6124144 Thank you!!
This was really great and well written! I especially enjoyed Vinyl's and Octavia's interactions at the end of the story. Good job!
6124542 Thanks much! (Honestly was not expecting this to get so big!)
I think it would be awesome if you did a love story between Vinyl and Octavia. Start it from when they first meet, and have it go on for awhile, maybe even do a plot twist where something happens and one has to try and come back and admit they love the other. I just think it would make an awesome story with Vinyl being mute. Anyways great job on this one!
6124546 Hmm... I never really write romance. Maybe I should give it a shot....
6124570 Might as well, it would be awesome to have one. I know there's a story floating around here where Vinyl is really deaf. Might give that a read, it's only a chapter I believe
I concluded back after equestrian girls 2 that Scratch might be a mute but then i kinda forgot about it till this episode further my suspicion. I Thought about and still might do a short story about her condition that hinges around Tavi being the only one to really just naturally understand her. I'm glad I saw your story though because you did it better than I'd ever accomplish.
After seeing the 100th episode, still need to see EQG 2 but the 100th episode was enough to make me think that Vinyl was mute. Not a single spoken line. Does make you wonder.
Nah, Vinyl is just Silent Bob to Octavia's Jay.
Well done, sis. :3 And congrats on the feature!
Short but good, I like it.
I almost expected her to speak during Slice of Life since they gave voice to most ponies. She did speak and sing in the comics, but still.
What this story really deserves credit for is how, unlike some of its kin, it captures a much more realistic take on the issues a person with a disability deals with on a daily basis.
You see, in a lot of stories about a disabled person (be it muteness, handicapped, etc), the instigator of the drama is often a one-dimensional, malicious bully, someone who just picks on the main character for the sake of being a mean-spirited jerk and to help easily bring on the 'feels' at the end. And while I'm not at all denying that those kind of people exist (unfortunately, they do), not every single instance of a disabled person being made to feel low is caused by them.
What sad is that a lot of the time offense is unintentionally caused by people who AREN'T actively trying to be jerks. Why? Well, depending on how misanthropic you are, the majority of people are decent human beings, but often through ignorance and an even attempts NOT to be offensive, they still end up causing hurt to the person. Take for example, the doctor, who genuinely had no idea Vinyl couldn't speak and was being totally innocent when he asked the worst question, "Why didn’t you just say so?" If he found out then, like most people, I imagine he'd be totally apologetic.
Or say, the scene with Vinyl, the colt and the mother; the latter was so concerned with her kid (tactless as kids tend to be) possibly saying or doing something hurtful that she intervened regardless. It's a bitingly realistic example, compounded by the repetitive use of sympathetic smiles, how some people are so worried about causing offense that they end up simply treating disabled people as if they're little bunny rabbits who need to be treated with sympathy and safety gloves. That they're human beings with the same emotions as others.
For that alone, I'll give this story a thumbs up and a favourite. The relationship between Octavia and Vinyl is cute of course, but that's more a side dish to the main course.
Nicely done.
Nice little story, I loved the interaction between Vinyl and Octavia. The fact that the thing that upset her was people taking pity on her was really sad--and exactly what we're all doing right here isn't it?
I like to think that it's semi canon. They didn't confirm or deny that she's mute, she just never talked in her 5-ish minutes of screen time. That way we can still have the classic loud mouthed Vinyl we all know and love, but also explore this interesting idea.
Personally, I kind of prefer the version with an interesting personality as opposed to the one who's interesting because she has a disability. (Best of both worlds, someone write fanon Vinyl mute! Now that would be interesting.)
I enjoyed this. It was an interesting take on Vinyl and why she doesn't speak.
I like the whole thing about her not being able to talk. Though I like to think of her as though she just don't like to talk... unless to Tavi.
Oh if you want to check out another story where she can't talk check http://www.fimfiction.net/story/271384/heartbeat
it's good, I just hope it updates soon...
6121576 You should revisit this idea!
Yes you are
I prefer to think that Vinyl is the just Silent Bob of Equestria - she's perfectly capable of speaking, she just doesn't for some reason.
Also, as always when it comes to disabled ponies, I find myself wondering why there isn't a spell for that.
I honestly can't imagine her deaf. As far as I know, the majority of "deaf-mute" people are actually born deaf, and have perfectly working vocal chords, but just never learned to use them due to not hearing anything. I can't imagine someone who's into music to be in that class, due to the "born deaf" part.
When the episode aired, I just knew this "mute" idea would be floating around in the community, heh.
Vampire Vinyl fanon + mute Vinyl fanon = awesome?
gyazo.com/1d079d2eb03cdecbae2570430e0a322b.png
I'm so sorry, Vinyl.
Hmm. I don't even feel like this was really a sad fic as such. A very nice slice of life for sure, though, and really heartwarming.
Or maybe Vinyl is just like Pen & Teller with Tavi?
well played my friend
A real slice of life It would be intresting to see a story wher tavi and vinyl are in relationship while vinyl being mute...just an idea
Fine, have a Favorite!
Awesome! This pretty much exactly matches what became my Vinyl headcanon after "Slice of Life". :)
Nice story and now what I'm going to say next is just a joke, don't take it to seriously. So what happens if you marry a mute? How would they say I do, unless she don't want to marry. Then I realize, sign language but then again I very doubt that many ponies would know.
6126700
I used Jay and Silent Bob, but yeah, this is basically the same reading i got from their relationship. Octy certainly speaks enough for the both of them, look at their scene.
Also, this:
Kind of reminded me of this:
6127030 In the same way... can you imagine a thing that would be better than having a great friend like Tavi in this fic?
Well... maybe being able to talk. Maybe
Yes, this makes sense.
Her being mute.....
I bet ponies call her that in public because, if she cannot talk, then she cannot reprimand them.
So to tune into music and out of others makes sense. Music can be your voice as much as your vocal cords.... I should know.....
It's strange, being mute. I had a 'Day of Silence' once, and it feels good, in that you can listen and hear things you normally don't, but if no one else is mute, or silent, then it gets real hurtful sometimes.... One time a kid came up to me and insulted me because I would not respond to him.
I solved the problem with music. Set up speakers, hooked up my player, and just sat there listening to something relaxing. You'd be surprised, but at least half my street showed up in my front yard (having set up there) to just relax. No talking. Just lie or sit down, and listen.
All in all, a feely story, if it can make me open up. To clear something up, the street I live on is populated by music fanatics, and we regularly have parties with blasting music. This includes old and very young kids.
Vinyl is my fav, and this now has my fav.
What a gem this story was.
There are many times when stories dealing with someone who has a disability end up coming across as overly sentimental, and/or treat the disabled character with an attitude that they are somehow fragile and take pity on themselves for their own conditions, whatever those may be. This didn't do that.
And, in addition, you managed to create a believable source of conflict for Vinyl to face without even using any particular antagonist. Not that there is anything wrong with writing in a dedicated antagonist, per se, and in certain instances, having a "bully" antagonist works well for a story (e.g. Diamond Tiara in "Flight to the Finish"), but this approach was much more unique and interesting to read about.
Nicely done. Liked, faved, and followed, and here's hoping you earn a lot more!
6127118 SHIPPING MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER and wouldn't ruin anything *cough* Hearts and Hooves Day Episode *cough*
6125372 Thank you so much for th compliment! I hope to see your story someday!
It seems that two people have no soul. Also, I totally caught that RosexDoctor thing.
The story was adorable
it also made me cryit made me liquid pride. Keep up the good work! Now, I just have to find some kleenex and ice cream...--SYA, The Horse
6125540 I just had to write this after all that.
6125629 Thanks!