Chapter 9

The bounce in his hoofsteps and the happy tune Mic Eye was humming as the agent entered the hotel dining room the next morning instantly gave Scratch the feeling that the stallion had exciting news. Though, Scratch doubted it would be exciting to both her and the agent. He sat down across from Scratch and coughed to get her attention.

“Good morning Vinyl. I have wonderful news!”

The mare didn't answer but she turned up from her food and faced him.

“Sapphire Shores canceled her interview with Pony Magazine so they bumped yours forward! We will be meeting with Quillpen in five hours for your interview and photo-shoot.” He said with a tone of finality. “I told them to have it in the city park. Unless you have a better location in mind.”

“The park is fine,” Scratch muttered flatly.

“Good,” Mike Eye started to read through the menu. “You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?”

“No,” she lied.

“Ah, speaking of magazines,” the stallion started to say and Scratch had a slight idea where he was going with the topic. “I was contacted by Sugar Mare Magazine and they wanted a photo shoot.”

‘Sugar Mare Magazine,’ Scratch mentally said to herself. ‘A magazine that likes to show of the pretty ponies so stallions could gawk at them all day. I promised dad that I wouldn't do that.’

“Tell them that I'm flattered that they think me worthy to grace their pages,” Scratch said in a false, sweet tone. “But I want to be remembered for my music, not my body.”

“Oh, I thought you would be excited because I already told them that you would agree to it and I got a shoot scheduled.”

Scratch scowled darkly at the stallion from behind her glasses. “When did you schedule this to happen?”

“Right after your interview with Pony Magazine.”

“Tell them that I’m not doin’ it.” Scratch went back to eating and hoping that Mic would agree and give up on trying to make her do what he wanted.

“I can’t,” he replied. “I already signed the paper stating that you will be there. We can’t go back on that.”

“You signed for me!”

“I’m your agent remember,” Mic eye chuckled. “So when you are done eating, go get yourself cleaned up and put some makeup on. You look tired and we can’t be having that.”

Scratch pushed herself away from the table and stormed out of the room before Mic Eye sent her anger over the edge. She spent the next few hours freshening up and fuming over the stallion’s actions. Scratch wanted some vengeance on his blackmail and the mare started to search her mind for a way to pay him back. The thought of Mic Eye being put in his place greatly improved Scratch’s mood and when it was time to leave she was actually smiling.

Mic Eye was momentarily confused with her change in attitude but he accepted it as a personal victory.

“See,” the agent said as they rode the carriage through the Manehattan streets. “I knew you would realise that this is a good idea.”

Scratch smiled, a plan forming in her mind. “Oh, a very good idea. One of your best.”

Mic Eye nodded, very pleased with the compliment on his actions. the rode in silence until they reached the park, it was slightly busy except for a section that Pony magazine had sectioned off for their own use.

“Hello Vinyl Scratch,” a soft voiced mare greeted as she stepped off of the carriage. “I’m Quillpen and I’ll be interviewing you today.”

“Cool. So when do we get started?” Scratch asked.

Quillpen noticed the musician’s impatience and tried her best to abate it. “Just follow me and we will begin.”

They walked to a trio of chairs situated by a fountain. Scratch was slightly upset that Mic Eye was joining them but she decided that it probably would be better if he could be in the same place as her revenge unfolded.

“So,” Scratch asked as they took their seats. “What’cha want me to talk about?’

“Well,” Quillpen tapped on her notepad. “How about your life story. Very few ponies know the details. Start from your foalhood in the orphanage and end at your life now.”

Scratch sighed. There was a reason ponies didn't fully know her story. It was because Scratch didn’t like to talk about her early years. But now the information would work in her favor. She laid on the emotion thick as she spoke.

“My parents were killed by a fire in Manehattan. I don’t know their names or what they were like only that the ponies that brought me into this world are nonexistent in my life. My first memories were not of family and joy, but being alone in an orphanage with nopony to care for me. I had no friends for the majority of my young life and several enemies...”

She continued through the events in her life. From her friendship with Ditzy to the cruelties of Puffeltop and her daughter. She worked up the emotion so much that by the time she reached her adoption Quillpen was sniffling and wiping away moist eyes.

“When I was adopted by Orchestratus Maxim, my life turned for the better,” the musician continued, “I had a new sister and two loving parents until our mother died shortly after I joined the family. My sister, Octavia, never really recovered after her mother Symphonia died and her relationship with Maxim is still strained because of it.”

“Why is the relationship between your sister and father strained? Does she blame him for her mother’s death?” Quillpen asked.

“I’m sorry but I don’t think it’s right to talk about their relationship without them. You can interview them if you want to. It would make both of them happy and it might even help fix what is hurt.”

“Very well,” Quillpen wrote something down. “So, what happened during the rest of your life?”

Scratch went through her life with her new family. The hard times at home and in school. She explained her growing love for music and how it gave her something to cherish when her father and sister weren't enough.

“This is good stuff,” Mic Eye said excitedly. “The readers will eat this up!”

“Oh, I'm not done yet,” Scratch chuckled. “I haven't gotten to the good part.”

“So what happened after you finished school?” Quillpen was writing every detail and hanging on every word.

“I wanted to become a DJ. So I set out to find a company that would help me. That is when I came across Mic Eye and the ponies he worked for. They had already heard about my personal successes and my skill with the new generation of music so they had to have me.”

“Yep,” Mic Eye beamed. “True Sound Productions is always there for the musicians.”

“I guess you hit a lucky break with them,” Quillpen had stopped puting down words and Scratch guessed that the writer believed the important material had all been used up.

“Don’t forget to emphasize on the kindness of True Sound Productions,” her agent cut in.

‘Oh just you wait Mic,’ Scratch thought to herself vendictfully.  ‘Wait until I get to everything you and your “kind” friends put me through.’

“At first it seemed like a good idea to sign on with ‘em,” she continued with slightly forced tears coming to her eyes. “But then everything went downhill when they blackmailed me and used my blindness to their advantage.”

Scratch heard Mic Eye draw in a pained breath and Quillpen gasp in shock as she proceeded to tell the writer everything Mic Eye and True Sound Productions had done to her. The cuts in her pay, hiding contract information, being torn away from her newly adopted daughter and finishing with Mic Eye attempting to coerce her into sleeping with him the previous night.

“Is-is this all true?” Quillpen asked, her eyes darted between the expressionless musician and the extremely uncomfortable agent.

“Every word.” Scratch stood. “Oh and Mic, if you haven't guessed, this counts as my resignation. I quit!”

“You can’t do this!” Mic Eye screamed as she walked away. He tried to ignore Quillpen’s hate filled eyes. “Come back this instant or you will lose everything!”

“Bye bye Mic,” Scratch laughed. “And if you need a female pony to take my place for the Sugar Mare photoshoot, just do it yourself because I doubt you are ever going to snag another poor filly after this story gets out.”

The agent stared at her dumbfounded as she trotted away with her horn lightly glowing to feel the unfamiliar path before her.

It was a new experience. Not having any money to pay for a carriage ride or even buy a stamp for a letter. Scratch was even slightly ashamed to admit to herself that she didn’t even know how to send a letter magically. But none of that really mattered as she walked down the street leading out of Manehattan with her only possession. The sunglasses Maxim had given her all of those years ago.

Occasionally somepony would recognize her and say hello but the white unicorn didn’t dare ask them for help. Sticking to her ways, Scratch wanted to find her own answer to the problems plaguing her life. The first problem would be becoming the best mother that she could be. Everything else was of less importance.

She finally reached the outskirts of Manehattan and stood on the road, feeling the breeze flowing over the miles of open land.

“Well,” Scratch sighed sadly. “Maybe my first problem is getting home.”

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If you see any mistakes that me or my editors missed, please tell me. I have a lot planned for next chapter so stay tuned!