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Prologue516 words
Chapter One890 words
Chapter Two985 words
Chapter Three2,092 words
Chapter Four1,602 words
Chapter Five1,691 words
Chapter Six1,656 words
Chapter Seven1,703 words
Chapter Eight2,080 words
Chapter Nine1,721 words
Chapter Ten1,713 words
Chapter Eleven2,052 words
Chapter Twelve2,032 words
Chapter Thirteen760 words
Chapter Fourteen2,389 words
Epilogue752 words

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Vinyl awoke to a dark room she recognized as her studio. She lay on the studio couch, but she wasn't sure how she had gotten there. The last thing she could remember from the previous night was sitting her head down on the piano in frustration, unable to think of lyrics to finish her song.

Vinyl stood and made her way to the piano. She thought about flipping the lights on, but she wanted to be in the dark. It helped her write sometimes. The words to the unfinished song sat on top of the piano. Vinyl dragged them towards her. She stared at her lyrics disdainfully. She couldn't believe that she was struggling with writing. Even though she wrote a handful of songs after the fiasco at the gala, it still wasn't enough for an album.

A deep bass note rang out from the piano as Vinyl began the song. The chords washed over her as she played the song. Even though Vinyl didn't like to brag about her work, she was very, very proud of this song. Something about the chords made her feel good.

Vinyl's heart skipped a beat as she approached her unfinished section:

"Look, in the mirror and ask yourself

if you're alright-"

Vinyl was cut off by the door opening. Ordinarily she would've been unhappy, but whoever was entering stopped her from fumbling through the same part for the millionth time.

"Vinyl Scratch," came the voice of her producer. She turned and faced him. He had a concerned look on his face as he approached her. "I can't believe you're still here. The production crew assured me that they were going to send you back to your apartment after I left last night."

Even though Vinyl had her own fancy Manehatten apartment, she didn't like living there. Something about the sleeping alone in the big empty apartment didn't appeal to her.

Vinyl shrugged at the unicorn. "Sorry Arpeggio, but they didn't. I woke up about five minutes ago."

"I see." Arpeggio stood by Vinyl's side. "I wish they had sent you home. You aren't good to us without sleep. Although..." a tone of curiosity came into his voice as he levitated her lyrics where he could see them. "I guess that means you had plenty of time to work on these?"

"Nope. I don't think I'm ever going to finish them," she said as she moved them back with her own magic.

Arpeggio stared at Vinyl sympathetically. "I'm sorry Vinyl. I wish I could help you finish these lyrics, but this something you need to do yourself."

Vinyl nodded but didn't say anything. Arpeggio wouldn't ever help her with lyrics, which bothered her. He always went on about how it was important for musicians to write their own lyrics. Normally she would've objected to his remarks, but this song was too important to her; she wouldn't let anypony go near the song.

Again the door opened, and the production crew entered. The various technicians and engineers filed in and began setting up their equipment. Vinyl didn't like how many ponies were working on her second album. Her first album was written by her, and Arpeggio handled all of the production work. But ever since she had become one of the biggest acts in Equestria, the record company had insisted on giving her dozens of unnecessary and redundant crew members.

The piano technician, whose name Vinyl hadn't bothered to memorize, approached the two unicorns. "Hello Miss Scratch," he said, "you're still here?"

You're still here, Vinyl thought to herself, I like that. I like that a lot. She nodded. "Yeah, because somepony decided that they should just leave me here."

Even though she meant to come off as bitter, Vinyl couldn't help feel bad when the piano tech hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry Miss Scratch. It won't happen again Miss Scratch."

Vinyl sighed. "It's okay. I'm sure you had a good reason."

The tech nodded with a smile. "Actually, we did have a good reason," he said, which Vinyl had trouble believing, "We figured that you would want to wake up this morning and work on your song before anypony got here. While we're on the topic, did you finish the song?"

"Well," Arpeggio said with a hint of disappointment, "she-"

"Did," Vinyl said quickly. Her producer shot a quick 'What are you doing?' look. Vinyl nodded at him. "Yeah, I finished writing it this morning. Would you like to hear it?"

The stallion nodded and gathered the rest of the crew. Vinyl hit the bass notes again, this time with more force than before, emphasizing her confidence. She could feel goosebumps as she began to play the chords leading to the verse. The verse flowed forward with ease, just like the dozens of times she had it played previously. The rise and fall of the piano felt perfect as Vinyl proceeded with the chorus. The whole process repeated itself as Vinyl began the second verse and the second chorus.

Vinyl could feel her heart-rate increase as she approached the bridge. She had run over the lyrics in her mind, but thinking through lyrics and actually singing those words were two completely different things. Vinyl hit the first notes of the bridge and opened her mouth to sing her freshly written words:

"Look, in the mirror and ask yourself

if you're alright.

I look around, you're still here.

You're on mind"

Vinyl felt a tear roll down her cheek as she felt the words come out of her mouth. She knew what they were about, but she didn't want to think about it; she was in the middle of performing her song. Vinyl suppressed her feelings as she finished the song, letting the bass notes ring deep through the piano.

Vinyl blinked back tears as she turned and smiled at her production team. "What did you think?" she asked nervously.

She couldn't help noticing that most of her crew was fighting back their own tears. The thought warmed Vinyl's heart; her goal as a musician was always to invoke emotion.

Arpeggio was the first to speak up. "Vinyl...that was fantastic." He wiped his eyes, cleaning away the tears that had formed. "I have to say, that song might just win you a Hoofie."

Vinyl's jaw dropped at the remark. "Really?" she asked excitedly, "A Hoofie?" Vinyl had dreamed of winning a Hoofie ever since she was a filly. It was the greatest honor a musician could receive, and it had always been Vinyl's dream."

"Yes, this is definitely Hoofie material." Arpeggio walked towards the door, motioning for Vinyl to follow him. "Come on, we need to finish recording this album or you're never going to get that Hoofie we're talking about."

Vinyl lay on her bed, exhausted from the long day of recording. After she recorded her new song, You're Still Here, she had to record another three songs then rerecord two more songs. Vinyl had been running on adrenaline while at the studio, but as soon as she got home she crashed. The long day had taken its tole, more mentally and emotionally than physically.

She rolled onto her side and stared the picture of Octavia that sat on her nightstand. You're still here, she thought, you'll always be here. The past few weeks had been killing Vinyl. She had wanted to go back to Canterlot to Octavia, but the record company wouldn't let her go; something about having an album out in time for the Hoofies. The record company didn't understand why she wanted to go back, and Vinyl preferred it that way. She didn't like the idea of a big business knowing about her personal life.

Vinyl stared at the picture for a few minutes, but eventually set it face down; she didn't want to bring back all the sad memories again. She stood up and exited her bedroom. The living room she entered felt big and empty, even though it was full of fancy, exotic furniture. Vinyl had always felt like the apartment was much too big for one pony, but she never told anypony.

After preparing a small dinner of dandelion salad, Vinyl sat down at her television, just like every other night. She turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until she found the new episode of Doctor Whooves. Vinyl's heart grew heavy as she realized that Octavia was probably watching the same broadcast in Canterlot.

Vinyl paid little attention to the show, thinking more about Octavia and Canterlot than what The Doctor and his assistant were doing in New New Canterlot. Her thoughts keep flashing back to when her and Octavia would sit on the couch and watch TV. The good memories warmed her heart, but the feelings faded when she realized that it was all in the past. The past, she thought. She audibly sighed, I envy the past.

The couch suddenly felt good and Vinyl laid her head down. She knew that she would be there all night, but not necessarily sleeping. The night was due to end just like almost every other night: Vinyl would cry silently for hours, finally letting out her feelings for Octavia, followed by another hour of song writing, and then finally a couple hours of sleep.

Vinyl repeated the process almost perfectly, following her typical times for everything. The only exception was when Vinyl lay her down to sleep. She kept coming back to a mental image of her singing and Octavia playing the cello on stage. The memory didn't spark any physical responses, it only invoked a thought in Vinyl's mind.

Soon, she thought, soon.

Author's Note:

I have to say that I did not write the lyrics in this chapter, only half-wrote them. Even though I'm able to write my own lyrics, I chose to take some from a band and song very close to me. If anyone could tell me the song the words came from(without Google), I would literally love you forever. While I'm talking about the lyrics, I'm not too wild about them the way they're set up. Independently, they work, but when you mix mine the and previously made ones together it's just meh.

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Love and Music - slade8283

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