English version
The luxury carriage came to a halt in front of a two story building. One of the two ponies inside looked through a closed window, making sure that no journalist, reporters or news crews saw them. The unicorn named Vinyl Scratch nodded and both ponies got out of the carriage, entering the building.
A light grey pegasus with a dark blond mane, light green eyes and a cutie mark of a ladder with a heart on the top followed the DJ, admiring the greatness of the place.
“Look at this place Scratch, it's huge! I can set up an awesome party here. I'd put the bar over there, colorful lights in that corner, and a big pony would stand at the door, kicking the ass of those wanting to sneak in without an invitation!”
Vinyl rolled her eyes under purple sunglasses and clapped her hooves together to call her attention.
“Obviously you'll be my DJ, but only if you play all the music that I want.” The pegasus replied as she thought of other things her club would have.
Vinyl flashed her horn and floating words appeared in front of the pony named Nova.
‘If you want me to play the kind of songs you made me play last time, hire somepony else, but invite me anyway.’
“We’ll see, Scratch,” Replied Nova
They continued to argue without noticing the red headed pony approaching.
“Vinyl Scratch, Nova Queen, nice to meet you, I’m Cherry, reporter of ‘Modern Music Magazine’.”
“Nice mane sis, is that why your parents chose that name for yo-Ouch!” Yelled Nova when Vinyl elbowed her in the side.
‘It’s a pleasure to be here, thanks for the interview,’ Vinyl wrote with a smile.
“We are the ones who should be grateful here, the ponies in the magazine and I. We know this was a hard week for you two and I'm sure you received many other options to choose from.”
‘Are you kidding? You guys were the first to send a note that launched my career, I owe it all to you,’ wrote the white unicorn.
“It’s nice to hear….or rather see that from you, let's go to the table and start the interview,” Cherry said with a smile.
As they headed to the table, Vinyl and Nova looked around, noting the pictures hanging on the walls in frames. Celebrities and events of all types took their place in the finely decorated lounge. In the middle, there was a table with three chairs, under it was the reporter’s saddlebag and on the table was the digital recorder ready to record the interview.There was also an open notebook with the questions that Vinyl and Nova would have to respond to.
“Take a seat,” Said Cherry, gesturing to the two empty seats “Do you wish to have something to drink while we’re here? Soda, water?
“A can of Coke please!” Exclaimed Nova.
“And for you Vinyl?”
‘Same as Nova.’
Once the soda was served, Cherry wrote a few things on her notebook before starting.
“So… I’ll be interviewed too?” Nova asked.
“Of course Nova, you are one of those responsible for the flash news in the musical industry, how do you not already have a job here? And now that you are going be part of Vinyl’s professional career, we want the exclusive of this duo to be the under the spotlight of the stardom,” Cherry answered excited.
“Spectacular!”
“Okay, starting now,” Said Cherry, turning on the recorder “Vinyl, tell us about you. Where did you study? How was your life before music?”
Vinyl thought about the question for a few seconds before her horn lit up and started writing in the air. Cherry grabbed the notebook and pencil to take note.
“That’s an easy question, such a devoted friend like me could easily answer that! Vinyl studied in-Ouch!”
Vinyl hit her in the head with a newspaper.
“You look enthusiastic Miss Nova,”
‘When she’s nervous, she enthuses,’ Wrote Vinyl with a smile.
“That’s not true!”
‘Yeah it is!’
“It’s not!” Nova shouted.
“Is this your first interview, Miss Nova?”
“No!”
‘Yes!’
Said both at the same time.
"Well yeah, I was expecting to be Vinyl's voice in the interview, I didn't think I would be answering questions too.” Nova said, ashamed.
“You don’t have to worry, we interviewed many famous ponies in their first days, when they barely started in the world of music. One of them, whose name shall not be spoken, puked in the middle of the interview.
“Really?” Nova asked half-laughing “That’s so bad!”
“It's normal to be nervous in your first interview. If you say something that bothers you, or don’t want to be in the magazine, just let me know, both of you.”
“Got it,” Both answered.
“And you Vinyl? Is your first interview?” Asked Cherry.
‘No, I had one for the school newspaper a long time ago,’ Vinyl replied.
“Well, at least you're familiar with this. Now, tell me about your school years, tell me what it was like.”
‘Where do I start? Obviously, because of my birth defect, I had to go to a special school that taught me to read and write properly. They also taught me sign language to communicate with other classmates who were deaf or mute. Then, I got sent to a normal high school until I graduated.’
Cherry scribbled a few notes into her notebook. “Was it difficult adjusting to a new environment?”
‘You have no idea. I was shy back then and it was hard for me make others understand when I was sad or mad. Normal letters, even with the right signs, didn’t attract as much attention as drawings and theatre would’
“Or music,” Added Nova.
‘Exactly.’
“So you found refuge in music?”
Vinyl nodded and Cherry took a few more notes
“How and when did you get your cutie mark?”
‘It was when I was in primary school, my mother took me to a talent show. My favorite act was a band of stallions playing a song about... I don't know, something about a pink mare? Anyway, I loved it, both the music and the band, I couldn't stop looking at them. When the talent show was finished my mom pointed at my plot and my cutie mark was there.’
Cherry once again took notes before asking her next question."Interesting, now tell me, what was your first approach to music as a DJ or producer?"
‘It was in the last year of high school. I started listening to electronic music a lot, buying all of my favorite albums, going to festivals, I did everything I could to save money and be close to what fascinated me. It wasn’t until my first remix that I felt a sense of achievement inside me, of personal fulfillment. I wanted to enter in many talent shows in my school but my shyness limited myself. But one day, a good friend gave me some great advice and thanks to him I built up the courage to perform in the last show before the graduation,’ Vinyl answered, giving a slight smile as she remembered that moment.
‘After receiving a wave of cheers and applause from my schoolmates, I felt a unique feeling, a sense of achievement, of having triumphed in something that I’m really good at, that’s something you never want to forget. That’s why I spent two years producing and mixing music, going from one place to another, looking at radio stations, music festivals, basically any place where I had the chance to perform. Those were two crazy years,’ The expressions on Vinyl’s face and gestures with her hooves accompanied her story while she speaks.
“Surely worth it, how did you get the opportunity? Who gave you access to the music industry?”
‘Do you remember the friend who gave me that advice? Well, he opened his own bar and offered me a DJ job. I screamed “hell yeah!”. If my memory serves me correctly, in the fifth presentation an agent wearing a suit approached me with a card and an opportunity.’
“Let me guess, you screamed “hell yeah!” again,” Said Cherry.
‘You got me,’ Vinyl replied.
“So many opportunities, surely that surprised you, right?”
Vinyl nodded.
“Before advancing to the topic concerning this interview, I will ask you a few questions Miss Nova Queen, How was your life before Vinyl?
“Finally it’s my turn!” expressed Nova drinking the rest of the coke “Let’s see, I’m the typical rebel with rich parents, I was a mess when I was a foal y’know? It’s not like I was a brat or anything like that, I just didn’t like my lifestyle. I wanted to break my hooves working to put food on the table but my parents wanted to join me to the family business. Many of my relatives told me that I’m like my grandfather, with a great working spirit. When I graduated from school I left my parents house and set off into the big city,”
“Interesting, do you have an interest in music like Vinyl?”
“Hey, maybe I got this awesome voice to speak or do presentations for a mute DJ, but it’s not good for singing. No, no, no, my interest goes in another direction, I want to have my own business. I do play the classic and electric piano though.”
“When did you become fanatic of her music?” Cherry asked.
“That, my friend, happened when she did her first presentation in her friend’s bar. I was working the night shift, when the bar had more clients. When she played her first song, holy Celestia, I swear that I wanted to get to the first line and scream like a crazy fan. The beat drop was so intense, I forgot that I was holding a plate with drinks. The plate fell when I jumped and screamed like a crazy fan. Luckily, they didn’t fire me and I continued listening to her songs and soon became a fan,” Nova said smiling.
Vinyl giggled remembering that story.
“And how did you meet? Anypony can answer this one by the way.”
‘It was in my first autograph signing.’
“It was in her first autograph signing.”
Both answered at the same time. They looked and nodded as if they had read the other’s mind.
‘As I said, It was in my first autograph signing after a concert a year after I started my career with the record.’
“I was in the line waiting for an autograph from DJ Pon-3, there was about one hundred ponies in front of me and one hundred behind. I was so nervous that I started talking with everypony,”
‘I signed photographs, some with an image of me that I’ve never seen before. I signed paper drawings, accessories, and of course, discs, some with custom covers. With each passing pony, Nova started getting closer, she was a pony that protruded over the others. Everypony there was excited for my autograph, but she was different.’
“Every time I saw a pony leaving the line with her autograph, I tried to imagine how her autograph would look on the item that I had brought. I was jumping for joy in my place. As I got closer to her, I could distinguish her blue mane and her white coat with the glasses the record company had given to complement her DJ style,”
‘I swear, when she came to the table with that thing, I took off my glasses, just to see clearly and make sure that I wasn't losing my mind.’
“I had brought my lava lamp, which coincidentally, was colored the same way Vinyl is, y’know, blue and white. She inspected it amazed, as if she had never seen one in her life, I couldn't believe it.”
‘I had never seen one until that moment.’
“Then she looked at her pen, doubting that it would work on the white base of the lamp, so I gave her a special pen. It was waterproof and fluorescent. When she signed it, I squealed “Thank you, thank you, thank you very much, I’m your number one fan!””
‘Then, she did something only a number one fan would do.’
“I jumped over the table and hugged her very tight.” Nova said smiling.
‘It was very tight. The guards had to separate her from me, but something about her voice made me search for her.’
“You can imagine my face when I answered the door and she was there, the unique, the unmatched, DJ Pon-3, asking me if I wanted to get coffee!”
‘Obviously to get to know her as a friend!’ Vinyl quickly added
“Sure, no hints of any kind,” Nova said smirking.
‘Nothing,’ Vinyl added nervously.
“Zero, no lesbo things, no hugs, kisses or wild and furious scissors.”
‘Nova!’ Vinyl hit Nova with the magazine again ‘Can you delete those last words?’
“I can’t, but I can skip it in the edition.” Cherry replied with a smile.
‘Thank you’
“I see that you two became great friends in no time. Now tell me, who came up with the idea to use Nova as the voice in the presentations?”
‘It was my idea,’ continued Vinyl ‘It came to me when I took Nova to the studio. She slinked in one of them, positioned behind a mixing console and started to say silly things like “I’m Vinyl Scratch, the best DJ in the world, prepare your ears for a new presentation of electronic music!” y’know things like that. To be honest, I never felt less in my career for not being able to speak, but sometimes I imagined it would be cool to have a voice accompany my presentations, whose screams would shake the place and give chills to my followers. I discovered that voice in Nova, THE voice.’
“Why did you keep the idea in secret?”
‘They gave so many things to me, I won’t deny that, but they were too attached to the contract, which is reasonable. That was what I feared most, I was scared to tell them my idea so we decided to do it secretly after a long discussion and insistence of Nova. I told them that I used a computer program to make the voice, they believed it.’
“Don’t blame me, it was a great idea after all.” Added Nova
“And how they find out?” Cherry asked.
‘We were enjoying my day off when all of a sudden the record company called me, they had scheduled a show that night in a new club. We ran to the studio and prepared to record what the voice was to say at the start of the show, but the manager entered the room and caught us with our hooves in the mix.’
“Did they sanction you?”
‘Well, first he was upset about us lying, but then I introduced Nova and showed him how she did the voice, he was supportive and all ended well for both of us. He even called sound engineers to edit the voice and improve it for the show.’
“That’s fantastic for both of you. Tell me Nova, how does it feel to be the voice of DJ Pon-3?”
“I’m not her voice,” Nova answered curtly.
Cherry and Vinyl looked at her surprised.
“I’m just a tool to improve her presentations,” Nova simply said.
‘You are more than that and you know it!’
“Shut up Vinyl! I’m inspired, the coke is taking effect! As I said, she already has a voice, and it’s in every one of her songs. It’s in every headache caused by long hours of listening to the same fragment of a song over and over again to perfect it. It’s in her power of inspiring young ones to overcome their limitations to fulfill their dreams. And finally, her voice is in the heart of a mare who will be forever grateful to her for a chance that she never expected.”
Vinyl dropped a tear of emotion as she watched her friend. Cherry couldn’t contain it either as she grabbed a scarf to clean herself.
“If you don’t get it, I am that mare,” Nova added just in case.
Vinyl rolled her eyes with a smile and nodded.
‘Shut up and give me a hug’ Vinyl wrote with a smile on her face.
They stood from their chairs and hugged each other tightly.
“You say something about a great opportunity, what do you mean exactly, Nova?” Cherry asked as they finished their hug and moved to sit at their chairs again.
“After the scandal, they gave me a job in the record as the official voice of DJ Pon-3. I recorded audio tracks to go with her presentations and discs. I also went with her on stage in her live shows if the record wanted me to. The pay to be the tool of a superstar was also very nice.”
“Looks like everything went well for the both of you. This is the last question for you Vinyl, how do you see your professional future? What do you have planned for the future?”
‘I see a future full of music, brightness and plugged ears for all my fans. In addition to my second album, which will be released soon, I’m planning something special for the third one, which will have the participation of Nova and a few lucky fans. That will be something huge, I know I can count on the record to support this project.’ Vinyl wrote with a smile.
Cherry returned the smile, turned off the recorder and closed the notebook. Both Vinyl and Nova got up and stretched their muscles.
“Thank you very much for your time. I will send you a copy of the magazine when it’s published,” Cherry said, still wearing a smile.
“Alright cool.” Nova said as they started to walk away from their chairs.
“Oh, one more thing! I need some photos of you two, if you don’t mind. Can you stand next to each other and give me your best shots?” asked Cherry, getting her camera.
Both nodded and posed for the camera. A few snapshots later, Cherry put the camera back in her saddlebag and took out a picture of two familiar ponies.
“Now, leaving aside the professionalism. Can I have your autograph?!” Cherry asked with a wide smile.
They accepted and signed the paper, each of them leaving a message for Cherry. Once finished, the three mares started their walk to the exit.
“Oh! I forgot to add something to the interview,”
“Shoot, what did you forget?” asked Nova.
“Any final message to the readers?”
They looked at each other and nodded. Vinyl lit her horn and Nova took a deep breath.
“DJ Pon-3 is in da house!” Shouted Nova as Vinyl wrote the same thing.
Then they opened the door and reporters approached with their microphones, asking them hundreds of questions. The photographers fired their cameras with blinding flashes and the videographers pointed their big cameras at them, not allowing the celebrities an escape to their carriage.