I have decided on this one instead of the darker one.

Chapter 7

The smell of blueberry pancakes and the sound of somepony practicing with a cello pulled River from her sleep. She laid in her bed, which had been Vinyl’s, for several seconds trying to remember exactly where she was at. When River remembered everything, she let out a happy sigh and rolled off of the bed. The fact the Scratch was gone hadn’t really fazed her joy. All the musician was to River was a new caretaker that had yet to prove herself as anything more. Last night, River had been too tired to look around much of the house and room. The actions of the day had left her bewildered and weary. Now that River was rested and her curiosity replenished, she began to take everything in.

Scratch’s room was adorned with an appropriate mixture of music themed items like record players, instruments and two turn tables. There were no posters or anything else visual, just knick-knacks and other items that could be enjoyed with other senses other than eyes. Most of them were stuffed animals and overly soft pillows. River’s observations were cut short by a knock at the door.

“Miss River? I made some blueberry pancakes for breakfast this morning.” Thyme’s soft voice called through the door. “Come down if you want any.”

River listened to him walk away then went back to exploring the room. The massive assortment of colorful toys and pillows had a minor overwhelming effect on her. Though she guessed that if you were blind, there wouldn't be any need to color coordinate. River noticed a stuffed animal in particular. Actually , it was more of a mix between a stuffed animal, pillow and hat. The item was a stuffed black cat with bright blue eyes. It was designed as a large fluffy hat with the long plush legs acting like the straps and ear warmers. Without a second thought River snatched it up and placed it crookedly on her head.

‘I don’t think she would mind If I kept this,’ she told herself.

The urge to extend her exploration to the rest of the house momentarily enticed her. But the smell of pancakes had the greater pull.

‘Pancakes now, exploration later.’

A few minutes later, Thyme was surprised to see a puffy, round cat float past the counter, stop next to a plate of pancakes and a bottle of syrup, which then were pulled down by a quick hoof. The cat then turned and bounced out of the room. Thyme turned and looked at Maxim who had also witnessed the event.

“Looks like River found one of Scratch’s stuffed hats,” the older stallion chuckled. “Though, Scratch has plenty to spare. I wonder where that little one trotted off to?”

Thyme shrugged. “Want me to go find out sir?”

“Nah, let her be for now.” Maxim took a sip from his coffee. “We’ll let her wander around by herself for now. I’ll show her the house in a little while.”

River, meanwhile, had slipped out of the front door and was sitting on the front porch swing, enjoying her breakfast. When the filly finished she continued to sit and watch the occasional pony or carriage pass by on the distant road. Octavia passed by without noticing the filly, boarded a carriage with her luggage and left for Canterlot. After a while River found herself becoming bored. Leaving her plate on the swing, she stepped off the porch and began her walk around the house.

‘Is this all their property?’ River’s eyes lingered on the pond, garden and the massive,  open yard. ‘Wow, this is epic! They basically have their own country!’

She decided to check out the garden first. River walked along the maze of paths, enjoying the colors and smells and feeling rather happy. She was just about to leave the garden when she heard footsteps sneaking up behind her.

“Got you this time you little stinker!”

A gardener lifted River up by the scruff of her neck and proceeded to carry the filly to the house. River hung from the gardener’s mouth, a confused and slightly terrified look on her face. They entered through the glass, back doors and straight into the kitchen where Maxim was reading a newspaper and finishing his second cup of coffee. The stallion peeked over the paper with bemused eyes just as the gardener plopped River onto the floor. The filly’s hat slid off of her head and landed next to her.

“I caught one of the little stinkers that have been trespassing on your property sir!” the gardener beamed. “Though I have never seen this one before.”

Maxim shook his head and chuckled. “Miss Pollen Drift, this is not one of those foals. This is Vinyl’s adopted daughter, Anemone Reverie. Or River for short.”

“Oh.” Pollen Drift looked apologetically at River. “Well, she could have said so.”

The gardener turned and hurried out before Maxim could explain further. River sat on the floor for several seconds before standing. She picked up her hat and placed it back onto her head in the same crooked fashion.

Maxim watched as she prepared to leave and he tried to stop her. “Would you like me to show you around?”

River shook her head and continued out of the room.

‘I can explore on my own and don’t call me anyone’s daughter. That pony isn’t my mother.’

It had been her worse concert yet. She had made plenty of mistakes and her music sounded dull and emotionless. Scratch now sat in her Manehattan hotel room preparing for Mic Eye’s anger that was, undoubtedly, going to burst through her door. She had managed to slip past him at the show, but his hotel room was right next to hers. After half an hour, sure enough there was a violent banging on her door followed by the agent’s livid voice.

“Vinyl Scratch, open this door! We need to talk! And you have some explaining to do!” Apparently his yelling had drawn attention from the other residents of the hotel. “What are you looking at? Go back into your rooms and cover your ears if you don’t like my yelling! Scratch, open... this... door!”

Scratch realised that she was going to have to face Mic eventually so she decided to get it over with now. She ambled to the door, all the while ignoring his rants, unlocked and pulled it open.

“Hello Mic, what's wrong?” She said cynically. “You seem angry.”

The stallion pushed harshly past her and into her room. “Don’t start with the wit, Vinyl. You know why I’m angry. Why did you perform so terribly? Oh, let me guess. The little mommy miss her little girl? Well that is too bad! You need to do these concerts to help support your filly and if you continue to do poorly then it is over for you and you can go live as a forgotten musical legend like your father. Minus the big house of course.”

“How much money did you lose Mic?” Scratch growled. “I doubt you lost any.”

“Not yet, but we will if you continued this.”

Scratch laughed harshly. “We? Is that you and me or you and the ponies you work for?”

“Both.” Mic Eyes lowered his voice. “And I would like you to remember that you work for those ponies too.”

Scratch rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. “What are they going to do, huh? Cut my pay again when I canceled that concert in Las Pegasus after I got sick or when I had to take a week off when I broke my leg? My paycheck isn’t worth hardly anything now and I don’t think they can go any lower without breaking any laws!”

“They could sell your apartment and all of your possessions to make you pay. All I need to do is give them an extra harsh report about you.” Mic Eye paused as an idea came to his mind and Scratch waited for him to continue. After a few moments the stallion spoke again, but now in a sweeter tone that Scratch immediately didn’t like. “Or, I can give them a good review. Tell them some convincing excuse as to why you did so poorly. And if you continue to do well with your concerts and behavior, we might even throw in the occasional bonus. More money, a new house for you and your filly, you could become quite wealthy.”

Scratch tilted her head in confusion. “What are you getting at Mic Eye? Why would you or them do that for me?”

“You know that I’m held in a higher position with my business so I have plenty of influence. I could just ask.”

“Yes, but why the sudden niceness?”

Though Scratch couldn’t see it, she knew that Mic was smiling. The stallion continued in a lucrative voice. “All I ask in exchange for my help in getting you a better future for you and your daughter is the occasional... favor.”

At first Scratch didn’t understand but his meaning quickly sank in. “No! Never! I won’t, you-you repulsive little rat. You snake tongued piece of trash. I would never!”

“Very well.” Mic Eye turned and slowly began to leave. “But lets just say, the letter I’m going to send the company about you won't be very pleasant in the slightest. Too bad, that daughter of yours probably will be angry with you for throwing away her future. But, eh, that’s your call.”

Scratch ground her teeth hatefully as Mic Eye closed the door behind him. She stood there for several more seconds to allow the stallion time to enter his room before slipping quietly out of the hotel and into the busy city night.