A Silence in the City

by Rhonie8k

A Silence in the City

Autumn Blazes stepped cautiously through the throngs of ponies loitering about Canterlot Station. The sights and sounds as all the ponies around her interacted with one another strived to mesmerize her but she knew she couldn't linger. It was just so different than what she was used to back at home.

Despite the Kirin agreeing to restore their voices and begin expressing their emotions, years of repression had left an impact on social structure. While everyone in the village was friendly and generally welcoming if approached, seeing a group of more than two in public was rare and more than three practically unheard of. Beyond that public displays of emotion were still met with a sense of unease and generally frowned upon.

Canterlot was completely different. Autumn had already seen several groups gathered laughing or crying. She saw couples kissing passionately for the world to see. She even saw a pink mare throw a spontaneous birthday party that last only a couple of minutes. All of this and she still hadn't left the station.

"Focus Autumn." The Kirin said to herself "You came to Canterlot for a reason. If you get sidetracked now you'll be late. Your friends are waiting for you there will be plenty of time for all the pony watching you can do later." She concluded stepping free of the station and out to the streets of the city.

The streets of Canterlot were different still from the atmosphere of the station. You still had groups of ponies that may be chattering but out here everypony moved with purpose. There were no heartwarming reunions, no heartfelt goodbyes, nor even impromptu parties. Out here was the hustle and bustle of city life. A sudden dawning struck the Kirin. She had no idea where her destination was.

"How will I ever find Fluttershy and Applejack in a city this big?" She asked aloud to nobody in particular.

She took a moment to gauge her surroundings. Her friends had told her to meet them at Canterlot Garden Park but from where she was standing it was hard to imagine any sort of park to be in the middle of all these buildings and winding streets. She decided the best course of action would be to ask somepony for directions.

"Excuse me could you..." Autumn began but the pair of mares she was addressing continued along as if they couldn't see or hear her.

"You're not from around here are ya?" A gravelly voice asked from behind her.

A grey unicorn stallion standing nearby flashed her a toothy smile, the sun briefly glinting off a golden tooth.

"Me?" Autumn asked abruptly.

"Ain't no other pony just standing about to ask." The unicorn replied.

"Yes, I mean no. I'm just in town to see some friends. How could you tell?" The Kirin said stumbling over her words. This pony gave her an uneasy feeling.

"There were a few giveaways." The stallion said circling her. "Us city ponies we develop an eye for outsiders. The way you stand, the way you walk, the way you tried to ask those fetching mares for directions. Just the way you act tells me you've not been in the city long. Add in your beautiful exotic stature and I can sees me a pony that's out of her element."

The unicorn was now standing right next to her. She could practically feel his fur brushing against her.

"Well thank you for your help but I really must be going. My friends are probably already looking for me." Autumn said politely as she moved to walk away.

"But don't you need a nice gentlecolt such as myself to show you the way?" The stallion said flashing his gold tooth as he put his foreleg on the Kirin's should.

"UNHOOF ME YOU SKUM!" Autumn Blaze shouted abruptly at his touch.

Her appearance had completely changed and she now stood in her Nirik form. Before she could say or do anything else the stallion took off down the street running away in fear.

Autumn returned to her Kirin form and hastily walked off in the other direction. She still had no clue where she was going but she didn't want to stay there in case the stallion changed his mind and came back.

The Kirin did her best to emulate the ponies around her as she walked. She needed to blend in, to look like she belonged if she wanted to avoid another encounter like that.

Autumn eventually found herself on a less busy street. The ponies here were more scattered. No large groups walking in unison and much less noise. She let herself relax. If somepony strange tried to approach her here she would see them coming and have time to react.

"I'm still lost though." She said solemnly. 'Maybe here I can get somepony's attention more easily though."

She looked around. There were hardly any ponies nearby and none of them looked at all friendly. She was just about to give up when she spotted a unicorn mare appear out of a nearby shop.

The unicorn had a sparkling white coat with a bright blue with a softer blue stripe. She wore big tinted glasses and seemed to have earmuffs on. While she didn't seem particularly friendly nothing about her was sinister and Autumn need to ask somepony for help.

"Umm, excuse me," Autumn said lifting her hoof to get the mare's attention.

The unicorn stopped and looked at her.

The Kirin waited for a reply but was only met with a nod. She decided to take the gesture as a sign to continue.

"I'm looking for Canterlot Garden Park but it seems I've gotten myself lost." The Kirin said nervously.

Silence. The Unicorn nodded again.

"Do you know where that is?" Autumn asked.

A more vigorous nod.

"Can you please tell me how to get there?" The silence was beginning to unnerve the Kirin.

Another nod was followed by a gesture beckoning the Kirin to follow.

"Please if you could just tell me," Autumn said.

The unicorn again beckoned and began to walk off.

Autumn was hesitant to follow. The mare seemed decent enough and acted like she was willing to help but the silence was a little unsettling. Still, it wasn't like she had any other ponies offering assistance. Eventually, she decided to take a chance and follow. If anything strange started to happen she could just flee again.

"Is it far?" Autumn asked.

The unicorn shook her head.

"I'm sure I'd manage just fine if you just gave me directions." Autumn offered again.

The unicorn just kept walking.

"Do you live here in Canterlot?" Autumn asked. Maybe if she asked the right question the mare would say something.

The unicorn shook her head.

"Me neither, I'm meeting up with some friends." Autumn offered. Idle chat, as opposed to a question, might do the trick she reasoned.

The unicorn nodded.

"What brings you to Canterlot?" Perhaps a question that couldn't be answered yes or no would do the trick, Autumn reasoned.

The unicorn stopped for a moment and reached into her saddlebag revealing a shopping bag full of records. Satisfied with her answer she replaced her items and began walking again.

"Am I talking too much?" Autumn asked. It had suddenly dawned on her that if this mare wasn't a Canterlot resident maybe her silence was part of her personal defense strategy.

The unicorn replied with a head shake indicating no.

It didn't exactly disprove her theory but the Kirin got the sense if the mare was using silence as a defense mechanism she wouldn't respond so open to everything.

The buildings surrounding the pair grew smaller as they walked the windy street until suddenly they disappeared and the city opened up to reveal a large castle surrounded by a stunningly landscaped park. It was a spectacular sight.

The unicorn nodded at an ornate gate decorated with the letters. C. R. G. P. An archway above read, Canterlot Royal Garden Park. She smiled at the Kirin gave a wave and began to walk away.

"Don't go yet," Autumn said abruptly. "Can you please tell me your name?"

The unicorn looked at her for a moment. She nodded before levitating another album from her bag.

On the album's sleeve was a picture of the unicorn. Vinyl Scratch aka DJ Pon3 a self-titled album was printed in a bold font.

"Your name is Vinyl Scratch?" Autumn asked.

The unicorn nodded.

"Well thank you very much for helping me." The Kirin said.

Another nod but one that conveyed more than a yes. It gave the clear impression the unicorn was happy to have helped.

"Would you mind if I asked something personal?" Autumn couldn't fight her curiosity anymore she wanted an answer. If the mare declined that would be fine but she had to try.

A nod signaled it was okay.

"Can, can you speak?" Autumn asked quietly she felt almost ashamed to say the words.

The unicorn shook her head.

"Did somepony do this to you?" The Kirin asked harshly. Rage was building inside her at the thought that someone had maliciously stripped the voice of someone so kind. She didn't even realize she had slipped into her Nirik form.

The unicorn shook her head and stared in confusion for a minute. Abruptly she removed the device around her ears and placed them on the mare who was talking to her.

Autumn listened as music suddenly enveloped her. She looked at the unicorn. The earmuffs Vinyl had been wearing were absent from her head. She looked at the mare in confusion.

Vinyl took out her album and pointed at it before gesturing at her headphones that now adorned the other pony's head.

Autumn understood what the mare was telling her. This music was hers. She listened carefully.

The music had no words. It was rhythmic notes and beats played out in seeming randomness but the more she listened the more she understood. The music's pace would fluctuate at times full of energy and joy. Then suddenly it would become slow, steady almost somber but still full of purpose.

"I understand," Autumn said she had regained her Kirin form barely aware she had changed once let alone twice. "I'm glad you've found your voice. Never let anyone take that away from you."

The unicorn nodded enthusiastically and took her headphones back. She gave a final excited wave before departing.

Author's Note:

I've never tried writing for a contest before but I thought it would be fun. When trying to brain storm an idea a friend mentioned the Kirin and that lead me to think of how Autumn Blaze would interreact with Vinyl Scratch who in her main series appearance doesn't speak. I don't have much else to say. I hope you enjoyed it.

Comments

[SparklingTwilight]

The concept is an interesting idea!

[Rhonie8k]

11238944
Thanks for commenting.

But yeah the Kirin's history with giving up there voices and the implication of Vinyl Scratch being mute the show gave off made me think this could be an interesting interaction to explore and it seemed like a unique pairing even if I only took it to the strangers in passing level.

Its nothing extravagant but I its a cute little story.

[Soft Shake]

(Came here from the group post requesting feedback.)

I actually read this the other day and I thought it was really cute!

I think Autumn Blaze and Vinyl are a pretty genius pairing with the whole mute thing, and I thought you did a pretty good job with characterization of both of them. I especially loved when Autumn got super protective over Vinyl when she thought somepony caused her muteness, cuz she knows what that feeling is like and she was ready to throw hooves, I love it. And the whole thing about Vinyl using her music as her voice was so cute too.

I would have loved to see more of them together though, and I think that's my biggest complaint. It's such a great idea that I feel like you just scratched the surface of where you could have explored their connection a bit more. For example, since Autumn is such a talkative person and basically can't survive without talking her head off, it would have been cool to see her baffled and come to understand how Vinyl survives without saying a single word in a day. Or, another example, just having Autumn easily understand Vinyl without words in ways other ponies couldn't because she was so accustomed to living with other silent ponies for such a long time (if I'm remembering right). Lots of different routes you could have gone with these two but basically more, more, more! Definitely lots of potential for a sequal!

Overall, it's a great concept, a cute story, but criminally too short in my opinion. Still think it deserves more praise though! Nice work!

[Knight of Cerebus]

Answering the request for a comment in the group thread.

I really like the idea of Autumn identifying Vinyl's music as her voice and her silence as a more natural part of her being than the forced silence of the Kirins.

As a point of criticism, I will say the attempted rape and/or mugging scene is very jarring for the tone of this slice of life friendship story and doesn't really serve the story in any way.

Thanks for a nice little read, though. I wonder what Vinyl's thoughts on Autumn going on to write a popular musical (per the end of Sounds of Silence) would be.

[Rhonie8k]

11250325
For what ever reason I did not get a comment notification on this reply. I check almost religiously for that stuff.

Thank you so much for your kind words. I can agree that there is still a lot more that could be done with this pairing and that it may be something I want to come back to in the future. [I really need to get past my writers block and progress my main project before I expand into other projects though]

But yeah I just wanted to give the contest a shot and got steered towards the Kirin when shopping ideas with a friend. I knew I just wanted to do something short and quick so I wouldn't get carried away and fail to complete it or miss the contest. [Kind of a good thing cause I stopped finding time to work for a few days after I finished this and haven't worked up motivation to write since]

[Rhonie8k]

11252875
Thanks for commenting and glad you liked it.

Your critique on the scene makes sense. I can see how its a touch out of tone with the rest of the story when viewed through that lens. Personally in my mind it was never that dark but I can easily see how you reach that conclusion its in no a way a stretch. I wrote it and view it as a cartoonish thug just trying to swindle a tourist. Like had the scene gone his way he would have tricked her out of some bits for being something of a tour guide But as stated it's a fair conclusion to assume dark intentions especially in that Autumn takes it harshly.

I do feel it serves a purpose though. It put some caution in Autumn she might not have had without such an incident. A less cautious Autumn would likely just take every opportunity to ask for help and that makes it harder for her to have the encounter the story is about. Even if Vinyl is the first remotely helpful pony she encounters she's more likely to be dismissive of her when she's not receiving help the way she wants. If she's not against asking any and every pony for help there is not a reason to not just try again for someone willing to tell her what she wants to hear when met with Vinyl's offbeat response.

I will say there are definitely other routes that could have been taken to get to the interaction in question and any number of them could have been better or worse for the story depending on how I handled them. I just don't think inherently removing the interaction is enough.

Thanks again for commenting and giving my story a read.

[Amereep]

I don't often read the stories of others as reading isn't one one my favorite pastimes and that it might influence me into reconstructing their story to present them in my own fashion, but upon reading your comment over on my Octavia and Zephyr story, I found myself periodically reflecting on the similarities Vinyl and Blaze had and pretty much arrived to the same conclusion as you did about the 'mute' concept. As someone who's worked on a lengthy story that involved the main character interacting with a 'vocal impaired' assistant (in my case, three assistants) and a story between two characters with no dialogue between them, I know the troubles that one might encounter when writing about them, so I was interested to see how you might've handled this and gave your story a shot.

A Kirin in the city is a first for me, so having Blaze invested with the things around her was something I enjoyed. I liked that you addressed the expressive emotions of the city and Blaze's attempt for assistance, though I would've lingered on her attempt a little longer. I caught your reasons behind the stranger danger scene, but this is where our viewpoints/approach start to differ. It's been a while since I saw her episode (so I'm a little bit hazy on her character), but I think Autumn Blaze wouldn't have anything to worry about after that incident. Cautious, sure, but going Nirik would scare any creature away.

Vinyl's way of expressing her voice was a nice viewpoint, especially when you consider how Blaze can be pretty expressive herself. I think you got her leisure & enigmatic nature, and I think she can work with Blaze to some extent, but I would've chosen a character with a bit more trouble on her shoulders to create that balance of who's assisting who (I can see Marble Pie working pretty well).

...now my mind keeps envisioning a variation to this story, so I'm gonna finish this up before I become too invested.

It's a daring concept to take a one-time character (excluding cameos) and getting them involved with a quizzical background character. I can't really see how far these two can work together, but you broke the silence to voice a prelude of potential.

[Rhonie8k]

11261607
Thanks so much fro reading and your comment.

First off I will admit I was working of a hazy memory myself on the episode and did not bother to re-watch it to prep. I will say the caution is probably best expressed as a desire not need to go Nirkin. It feels reasonable to assume with the lengths the Kirin went to to avoid it that its not something they them selves wish to take part in and I can't imagine Autumn would want to be viewed as a monster if things got to far out of hand. So its more a general fear of a bad situation all around than a particular fear of danger to herself.

I agree one shot characters and certain background ponies can be difficult to work with especially in more unique pairings. You get limited characterization and because of that its easy for each individual to project certain ideas for for the community as a whole to build certain perceptions based on so many different factors.

Vinyl for instance [at least in my experience] is rarely treated as mute and that was mostly established before she bigger story beats in one of the Equestria Girls movies and "Slice of Life" where in both she plays some role in the actual plot but never says a word. So it feels logical to conclude that canonically she is mute. [Granted there is debate that the fans themselves could be the cause of that as fan uproar from an unidealized voice was better avoided] All thing considered for the most part I'd say the fandom doesn't expect Vinyl to be mute so you might not get the best results from the character by going that route.

So yeah living up to peoples ideas and expectations of characters with characters that are variable by the nature of lack of established content can be a battle.

Outside of all that I have something I want to ask if you see this. Is your name pokemon related? Mareep and it evolved form Ampharos are my all time favorite pokemon so I have been wondering if your name references the pokemon or comes from something else.

[Amereep]

11261768

Is your name pokemon related?

It is. The username was made a long time ago, before Pokemon Gold and Silver even made it overseas. I needed a username for a site (Neopets, I think) and I happened to have a rough translation to the new pokemon names at the time. I named myself after Mareep, but the rough translation was spelled as Mereep. I thought it would be a good idea to have a unified name across the internet, so I haven't changed it since.

As for the 'A' in Amereep... that's just the first letter to my IRL name.

[Rhonie8k]

11262244
I didn't even notice it was an e instead actually I just couldn't not read it as mareep. Speaking of G/S not making it overseas yet, my love of the sheepy wonder also predates most westerners. As a kid I got a Japanese copy of Gold before it was released anywhere else. My distant cousins dad had seen how explosive Pokemon got when it first started taking over so when he heard new games were coming out he imported some of them somehow. I asked my cousin if he could try to get me one when he told me because obviously I wanted new Pokémon games. I have no idea if i traded him something paid him somehow or what but I ended up getting one from him. The thing about a Japanese copy of gold though eight year old [and still now 30year old] me could not read any of it. I took that thing home and booted it up [I'm thankful it was not region locked] and quickly realized I had no clue what i was doing. It didn't stop me though I used animations and trial and error to figure out moves and items enough play the game. Chikorita was my starter and I was more interested in pokemon I hadn't seen before so when I got to mareep I caught it and added it to my team. Good things do not last forever and eventually my progress was stopped when I had beaten Morty. I got deadlocked by my inability to figure out how to cross water. Idk if it was I never found surf or never connected the dots I needed a water pokemon to cross water. So I couldn't progress but I still wanted to play pokemon and specificly the newest pokemon so I mindlessly grinded the pokemon I had as high as they would go on wild pokemon. I got my starter and my sheep both to lvl 100 since those were my favorites [I can't remember what else I even had] and I remember thinking it was cool that the sheep turned in to a cool looking giraffe thing and I've been in love with the two ever since [Flaaffy is okay but not as special to me.

TLDR: I grinded a mareep to lvl 100 in Japanese Pokemon gold because I couldn't advance the game. Loved it ever since.