Chapter 1

Scratch tried her best to stay awake. It was the least she could do since paying attention had long become an impossibility. The good thing about wearing sunglasses 24/7, if she did fall asleep nopony would notice. At least until she started snoring.

“After my success in Manehattan with my third store I moved back to Canterlot and finally settled down and let fortune take me where it wanted,” a stallion named Fancypants was saying. So far he had discussed his entire life from birth. “I now live in the Upper District of the city.”

“Wow,” Scratch said, faking interest.

“My personal triumphs almost rival yours, don’t you say?” He asked.

“Yep,” Scratch decided that to continue the date would be a waste of time. “This has been fun! But I am expecting a letter today from a very important pony. I am sorry to cut our date short.”

“But we were talking for only two hours,” Fancy protested.

“And such a wonderful two hours they were.” She stood and walked with him to the door. “I will send you a letter. Bye bye!”

Before he could reply Scratch cantered down the street and towards the Royal Sisters Inn. Several ponies paused in wonder as she passed. When she entered her room on the third floor, the spoiled smell of last night's room service hit her like a brick wall.

“Sacred Celestia’s undergarments!” Scratch covered her nose before the smell could cause her to vomit. “I thought they were going to stop by and clean this up!”

Scratch’s mind wandered back to the memory of the party she had last night with some prominent ponies and fans. It had been loud, because her music was best played that way, and the best food had been ordered from all over the city. A married couple had stopped by her room when the noise got too loud to complain but they ended up joining in the festivities. Eventually the whole hotel had become one big carnival.

Scratch did admit though that there was an over abundance of drinking and a few single ponies became couples, or even quadruples in some cases, for the night. Scratch was close to joining in on the fun but a voice in the back of her head, that sounded very much like her father, pestered her to stay sober and out of a bed.

She loved and hated that voice. It had saved her from bad decisions on many occasions. But she loathed it for two reasons. She rarely drank and she was still a virgin. She didn't really care, but it was hard to write a spicy song without any first hoof experience.

Scratch backed out of her room and headed back towards the stairs. As she walked down the steps she over-judged and plummeted painfully down a flight. Something popped loudly and something else snapped as she came to a halt on the landing. Scratch lay there unable to move or speak, clamping her mouth shut in fear of screaming in pain.

Eventually she couldn’t take it any longer. Scratch took in a deep breath and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“Look Tavi, I’m a vegetable!” Scratch sang as she heard her sister’s familiar hoofsteps walk into the hospital room.

Octavia stared at the smiling unicorn, mouth open in shock, for a few seconds before saying anything.

“What did you do?” She asked.

“Tried to fly,” Scratch replied in a sarcastic tone. Then more seriously, “no, the truth is that the hotel tried to kill me. It hired an expert stairway assassin to end my life.”

“Well I am glad to see that your sense of humor isn’t hurt,” Octavia replied, not sounding glad at all. “So what is broken?”

“The broken things are my left front leg, two tendons in my left shoulder and there is a crack in one of my ribs.” Scratch said this as if she had committed some amazing feat. “Other than that I am perfectly fine!”

“Perfectly fine is debatable. Will you be heading home then?” Octavia asked.

“Which home?” Scratch smiled. “Your home, father’s mansion or my little apartment in Manehattan that has nothing in it cept a futon because I keep forgetting it exists?”

“You should probably stay with father,” Octavia stated with a tone of finality. “He would be better at caring for you and I will be too busy to baby you.”

“Yay!” Scratch squealed. “I’m going to daddy’s house!”

Octavia rolled her eyes, “You sound like you are twelve again.”

“You sound like you’re thirty,” Scratch shot back, a cruel grin etched across her face.

When she had arrived at the train station an unfamiliar pony had introduced himself. He said his name was Thyme, grandson of the late Mr. Bramblebrims who use to be the butler of the mansion. As Scratch was wheelchaired up the path by him towards the front door of her foalhood home, memories flooded her mind. Every smell and sound was a gateway to another memory.

“So, are you the new butler of this place?” She asked Thyme.

“Not necessarily a butler,” he replied with a chuckle. The young stallion didn’t appear affected by Scratch’s fame. “I’m more of an assistant. Cleaning, helping the cooks and making sure everything is kept orderly.”

“So, you’re a butler,” Scratch stated with a smile.

Thyme sighed, “Yes, I am a butler.”

“Yay!” Scratch cheered. “First thing I want you to do is make me a samich!”

“I will ask one of the cooks-”

“No,” she said seriously. “I want you to make it.”

“Very well,” he rolled his eyes. “What kind of sandwich?”

“Uh,” the unicorn rubbed her chin in thought. “Cucumber.”

“Okay.”

The sorrowful sound of a violin distracted her as more memories wafted to along the sad notes. As they reached the front door and Thyme pushed her through the entrance, the music stopped.

“Hey daddy, guess who is here!” Scratch called.

“Vinyl Scratch, my daughter!” Exclaimed a middle-aged gray stallion as he walked down the stairs. “Welcome home. How was your tour?”

“It was great, until this happened.” She reached up with her good hoof in preparation for a hug.

As Maxim gingerly embraced his daughter, his trademark cologne made Scratch feel at home for the first time in a long while. She breathed deep the sweet smell and sighed happily. After a few moments they released each other and Maxim looked at his daughter and smiled.

“Come let's eat,” he said after a while. “We will have one of the cooks make you your favorite food.”

“Thyme says he wants to make me lunch,” Scratch looked back and smiled at the young stallion. “Ain’t that right?”

“Yep,” Thyme chuckled.

They headed into the dinning room and Thyme left them to make two cucumber sandwiches. Maxim instantly sparked up a conversation.

“How have you been Vinyl?” He asked.

“Good,” she replied. “Been having the time of my life! But I do miss it here sometimes.”

“I miss you being here.” Maxim adjusted a flower vase on the table then continued. “Octavia tells me you been having fun in certain expensive hotels. It isn’t my place to tell you how to live your life, but I do hope you are making good decisions.”

“I’ve been a good girl,” Scratch replied innocently.

“Very well,” Maxim laughed. “I believe you. But if you do get pregnant I want to know who the father is.”

Scratch blushed. “I am not planning on getting pregnant anytime soon.”

“Good,” he chuckled. “I don’t feel like being called grandpa yet.”

Scratch started to laugh along with him but then stopped as a thought entered her mind. They sat in silence as Thyme placed their sandwiches in front of them

“I want to know what you think,” she said quietly when Thyme walked away. “Would I be a good mother?”

Maxim was surprised at his daughter’s sincere question. “You do have responsibility issues and you can be immature sometimes but beyond those flaws I think you would be a wonderful mother.”

“Really?”

Mixim nodded. “Yes.”

Scratch stayed quiet, eating her meal deep in thought. Maxim watched her curiously, wondering why she had asked a serious question. After a while he decided that it was nothing other than her being curious and he took a bite out of his sandwich. After several minutes Maxim spoke again.

“I am going to say hello to Symphonia tomorrow morning,” he said in a tone laced with sadness. “Want to come with?”

“Yeah, I’ll come with,” she replied with a soft smile.

They continued to eat in silence. Scratch searched her mind for a lighter conversational topic.

“What did you think of my newest album?” She asked.

“The one you sent to me in the mail?”

“Yep!” Scratch smiled widely.

Maxim chuckled awkwardly, “I can’t figure out how to use it. It doesn’t fit in the record player because it is so small.”

Scratch’s mouth dropped open in shock. “You didn’t seriously put a CD on a record player did you? Please tell me you didn’t!”

Maxim started laughing. “I am just pulling your leg,” he said through pauses in laughter.

“Good,” Scratch said, shaking her head in relief. “So, did ya like it?”

“I loved it!” He exclaimed. “I must say, you have a beautiful singing voice and it melds perfectly with the music you play. You should sing more often.”

Scratch smiled, no words could express how happy she felt to have him complement her.

After letting his words soak in she spoke again. “How are your songs doing?”

Maxim shrugged. "Not as well as they once had. Nopony wants to listen to orchestrated music anymore. Poor Octavia is trying her best to make herself known in a world that doesn’t want to know her. She wanted to be just like her mother, an opera singer. But she just isn’t cut out for singing so she decided to be more like me and play in a orchestra. She has a lovely voice but not one that is fit for the opera house.”

Maxim let out a small chuckle, “She lacks inspiration though. If she would get a grip on the things that hold her back I think she would be better than even me.”

“Hmm,” Scratch said thoughtfully.

“Oh listen to me ramble again,” Maxim berated himself. “I must sound like an old stallion talking away like a fool.”

“It’s okay,” the white unicorn smiled.

“You probably get tired of hearing me stress about your sister,” he said lightly.

Scratch shook her head. “I love conversations with you. About any topic.”

They continued to talk for a few hours until the drowsiness caused by her pain medicine caused Scratch to drift off to sleep. Maxim smiled lovingly at the softly snoring mare in front of him. He stood and pushed her wheelchair into the small elevator and to her foal hood bedroom. He lifted her carefully in his hooves and layed her on the bed.

“Goodnight Vinyl my little filly,” Maxim said as he kissed her nose. “I will see you tomorrow.”