Chapter 6

Only silence filled the air between the mare and filly. Scratch knew that the orphan was not going to answer verbally so she held out her hoof and smiled warmly. River, she realised that was going to be her nickname from now on, looked at the welcoming motion and slowly placed her hoof onto the mare’s. Scratch’s smile widened as she stood and pulled River into a hug that the filly gladly returned.

“Come,” Scratch said softly. “I’ll show my family to you.”

River nodded and slid off of the swing and followed Scratch to the stallion and young mare talking to Puff Tart. She felt a tightness in her heart as the three older ponies turned and looked at Scratch as they walked up.

“Hey guys!” Scratch pulled River closer to her. Maxim and Octavia looked at the filly with interest and surprise. “I would like you to meet Anemone Reverie. River for short. I’m adopting her!”

Scratch could hear Octavia take a breath to argue but she stopped herself. Maxim took the initiative in welcoming River to the family.

“Hello Anemone.” He held out a hoof that river shook reluctantly. “I am Orchestratus Maxim, Vinyl Scratch’s adopted father.”

“And I am her sister, Octavia,” the grey mare’s sincere smile was honest but River could tell that something was bothering her. Her suspicions were verified as Octavia continued. “Sister can I speak to you? You too father.”

“Tavi-” Scratch hissed.

“Please?” Octavia wasn’t going to stand aside without sharing her opinion.

River watched as the three ponies walked away a short distance, just out of earshot. Puff Tart stood next to her, eyeing the filly and watching her emotions.

“Scratch,” Octavia said when they were far enough away. “What do you think you are doing?”

“Giving a filly a home and family,” Scratch replied flatly.

“A family is the easy part, but you don’t even own a house.”

“Scratch and river could live with me until proper housing is obtained.” Maxim gave both of his daughters a hug, hoping they would find a resolution before an argument broke out.

Octavia couldn't find any flaws in that plan so she stopped the debate. She looked at River who stood in Puff tart’s shadow watching them with critical eyes. Octavia looked River over and then turned back to Scratch.

“She seems so ill and thin. Is she sick? And I have yet to hear her speak. Why this one?”

“Why not her? Oh, and she doesn’t talk.” Scratch was growing tired of her sister.

Maxim and Octavia stared at Scratch with the same expression.

“She doesn’t speak!” Octavia screamed. River looked over at her with a venomous glare and the grey mare quieted her tone. “What are you thinking?”

“Even I think this is a problematic idea,” Maxim said.

“I’m not changing my mind,” Scratch stated defiantly. “Plus, I already told her that I was adopting her. I can’t go back on that.”

Octavia bit her lip in frustration. Maxim sighed and looked over at the silent filly.

“We will do everything we can to help you raise River.” He smiled at Scratch. “She is part of our family now.”

River hadn’t been out of the orphanage since she had first arrived there and the ride in the carriage was nothing short of exhilarating. The orphanage had field trips of course but she never tagged along. The only down side was the fact that her new family members refused to speak to each other. Scratch continued to tell her about the wonderful life she was going to have and Mr. Maxim would nod his head and say the same. But river could tell that they all were in deep thought, especially Octavia. The only words the grey mare said to anyone was, “it’s so cold out today, I can’t wait to get home.”

They were passing a pizzeria when Scratch suddenly chimed up. “Lets stop here to eat!”

River had no idea how the unicorn knew they were passing the restaurant but she honestly didn’t care at that moment. All she wanted to do was get out of the carriage and away from tension between the three older ponies. The tension still followed them into the restaurant, but it greatly dissipated into subtle excitement and reminiscent conversations.

“This is where we ate when I was adopted!” Scratch declared, emanating newfound joy. “I wonder is Stringy still works here. And I wonder if she kept my autograph, or sold it.”

Her questions were answered the moment they walked up to a familiar skinny, pale mare.

“Welcome to The Alfalfa Slice, I’ll be your waitress- oh, Vinyl Scratch!”

“What is up Stringy!” Scratch beamed. “Long time, no see!”

“I-I still have your autograph, we framed it and put it up on the wall for everypony to see.” Stringycheese gathered up a hoof-full of menus. “It helps bring in much business. Please follow me to your seats.”

Scratch could hear a jukebox playing her songs alongside the rock-n-roll classics that were usually played at The Alfalfa Slice. Though she could not see them, Scratch could feel the eyes of every pony in the room watching her and their voices whispering in an excited fervor.

“Hello everypony!” Scratch waved her hoof in the air and smiled widely. “If you want an autograph or if you just want to chat with me and say hi, catch me on my way out. Right now I just want to have lunch with my family.”

They sat down and looked over the menus. Scratch was only acting like she was looking at it due to a habit she formed in school to help keep suspicion down when she would listen in on other ponies conversations. There was very little dialogue going on around her other than the occasional excited, and delayed, outburst from a pony just then realising that the DJ Pon3 was there.

“What would you like on your pizza River?” Maxim asked the filly who had been fiddling uncomfortably with her empty glass.

River looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and then pointed to a series of different toppings. Just then Stringycheese returned with a pitcher of water and a wide smile.

“Have you guys decided what you want or do you need another minute?”

Maxim nodded and returned the waitress’ smile. “This little filly would like a pizza with everything on it.”

“Awesome!” Scratch laughed. “I’m definitely going to have some of that!”

A toothy grin flashed momentarily across Rivers face. After Octavia heard that they were getting a pizza with all toppings, she looked through the menu again.

“I will have a cucumber sandwich,” the grey mare stated flatly.

Scratch gave a sharp glance at her sister and she rolled her eyes from behind her sunglasses. Octavia didn’t notice as she turned to watch carriages and ponies pass along the road. Maxim took the menus and hoofed them over to Stringy.

“So a pizza with everything on it and a cucumber sandwich?” The waitress checked her notepad.

“I think that is all.” Maxim nodded.

“It’ll be out in several minutes. Holler if you need me.” Stringy cheerfully trotted away leaving the four ponies to sit in silence once again.

“I think word is starting to spread that you are here, Vinyl.” Octavia watched as ponies filed into the building and outside of the windows. A young stallion pressed his face against the window adjacent to where scratch was sitting.

“There is a pony looking at me through the window, isn't there?” Scratch groaned. The unicorn rubbed her forehead and took a long gulp of her water.

“Yep.” Octavia sighed.

“I wasn’t expecting the news to travel so quickly.”

“You are a bit more famous than you give yourself credit for.” Maxim chuckled softly but gave a sharp look at a new crowd pushing their way in.

Scratch stopped a busy Stringycheese as she passed their table. “When the pizza and sandwich are done, could you put them in a to-go box? I have approximately fifteen minutes until the first of the paparazzi arrives. And around twenty minutes before the entire outside of the building is full of them. These ponies wanting  to talk to me or catch a glance of me are potential customers for you and I wouldn't mind sticking around for the benefit of my favorite pizza place. But the paparazzi is the opposite. They will block your doors preventing anyone from getting in.”

Stringy’s already stressed out expression became that of entrepreneurial terror. She nodded violently and rushed into the kitchen. She returned moments later with the other members of her family to help with the growing number of “customers”. Scratch would occasionally wave or smile in the direction of somepony screaming her name but for the most part she tried to ignore them.

River meanwhile was becoming more and more paranoid and uncomfortable with the growing crowd. With every new pony that entered the Alfalfa Slice she sank deeper into her chair. Maxim noticed her uncomfort and he smiled playfully at her. She returned the smile momentarily and felt a little more at ease. Something about her new grandfather calmed her.

Then Scratch heard it. The distinct click of a camera over the sound of the excited murmur of the ever arriving ponies. She dismissed it as nothing more than a fan getting their own image of their favorite musician. But when a series of more camera clicks followed the first, Scratch let out a feral growl that startled both River and Maxim. Octavia just turned and faced her sister with a blank look.

“What was that about?” The grey mare asked.

“Behind me.” Scratch’s voice was a dangerous hiss. “Do you see them?”

Octavia looked past Scratch and at the three ponies toting cameras and snapping pictures at them. Two more were jostling past the customers and Scratch’s fans to get through the doorway. Luckily the food was soon brought out to them.

“Is there a back door?” Scratch asked as she heard another group of paparazzi arrive, undoubtedly from manhattan.

“Oh, look,” Octavia said with some excitement. “Pony Magazine photographers are here.”

“Do you have a back door?” Scratch whispered to Stringy.

“Yes.” Stringy nodded to her two brothers who stood at the door keeping the crowd under control. They instantly started trying to distract the photographers. When the paparazzi’s attention was momentarily diverted, Stringy continued. “Follow me.”

They slipped out through the kitchen, saying apologetic goodbyes to the cooks and any of her fans as they left. When they got outside Scratch turned to Stringy as Maxim went to bring the carriage around the back of the building.

“Thanks for the pizza Stringy, here is the bits for it. And for your help in my escape, I will send you and your family tickets to my upcoming concert in Manehattan.”

Stringycheese stood staring at scratch with a look of utmost disbelief and joy.

“Oh thank you!” She squeaked.

Maxim rounded the corner followed shortly by the full mob of paparazzi.

“Time to go Vinyl!” Octavia pulled her sister and River towards the carriage and they jumped up into the back.

After a few moments of calming down, Octavia spoke up.

“I wonder if I will be in Pony Magazine?” She said dreamily.

“Shut up Tavi,” Scratch hissed.

As they pulled up towards the mansion, River noticed two things. The sheer size of her new, temporary,  home and the two handsome stallions talking on the front porch. Scratch heard their voices as they pulled up and she groaned.

“Dangit. Mic Eye is here!” Scratch softly pounded the sides of her head in frustration. She leaned over the side of the carriage and yelled at the two stallions. “Thyme, stop talking to him! He is bad news for anypony and don’t listen to anything he says!”

“Whu-?” Thyme tilted his head in confusion as Scratch leaped out of the still moving carriage.

Scratch stomped past Thyme, straight towards the other stallion and faced up at Mic Eye who looked down at her. River followed Scratch and stood next to her, watching the standoff between them.

“Ah lovely, I see you finally decided to show up.” Mic adjusted his black sunglasses and multi-colored suit to look more professional. “Did you forget?”

“No I did not forget, I don’t want to do it right now.” Scratch ground her teeth angrily.

“You don’t have a choice,” Mic Eye smiled. “You know what the agreement was.”

Maxim and Octavia walked up and looked at Mic distastefully.

“Who is this?” Octavia asked.

Scratch continued to face Mic with a look of hatred as she replied. “This is Mic Eye. The most shifty scum-bag-shaped-as-a-pony in all of Equestria. He is also my Agent, among other things.”

“Among other things?” Maxim raised and eyebrow and looked at the finely dressed, unicorn stallion with sharp eyes.

“He is my event planner, director... he basically runs my life and owns me due to a contract that I signed when I was first starting out. He is here telling me to get back on the tour and do the photo shoots or the contract gets terminated.”

“Just let the contract get terminated then.” Octavia stated.

“She can’t.” Mic Eyes grinned a wide toothy smile. “If she does, every profit she made will be owed to me and the ponies I work for. All of her money, her apartment and everything she owns, except for her stupid sunglasses, will belong to us.”

“Why did you think signing this contract was a good idea?” Octavia huffed.

“I couldn’t read it, and I didn’t know that the pony I hired to read it worked for him! He left the important details out.” Scratch was on the verge of tears. She turned away from the stallion and sat on the porch swing. Scratch removed her sunglasses and rubbed her eyes. “I even took it to court and they said that I was in the wrong for signing it and the contract was legal! I’m starting to think the judge was working for him too!”

“So,” Mic sighed. “Are you done whining or are you ready to head to Manehatten for your concert and photoshoot?”

Scratch glared at him with her blood red eyes and growled. “Fine. But I’m taking River with me.”

“Hmmm, nope. Sorry.” He chuckled. “I don't have room on the carriage. Maybe if you try very hard to get back on my good side when we are in Manehattan maybe I will let her come with you for the rest of the tour. Who is she anyway?”

Scratch felt her heart drop. “She-she is-she is my adopted daughter.”

“I didn’t know you had a daughter!” Mic exclaimed. “In that case... no, she still can't come. Sorry kid, mommy’s gonna be gone for a while.”

“Someday I'm going to kick you in the face and break your jaw.”

“Sure you are,” Mic trotted away. “Get your stuff together. I’ll be waiting in the carriage. Oh, and please hurry.”

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If you see any mistakes please tell me.