The Vinyl Scratch Tapes

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Like The Odd Couple. But with ponies.

"In the year 1001 of the Celestia calendar, Equestrian scientists developed advanced magic making it possible to broadcast music over long distances. This innovation was called “radio,” and quickly became a sensation throughout Equestria. For a period of time, only one frequency playing classical music was available. This changed when a popular young disk jockey with the stage name DJ-P0n3 (born Vinyl Agatha Scratch) formally proposed the creation of an independent radio station called K-COLT. It was approved, with DJ-P0n3 as the host. In addition to playing rock-and-roll and other popular music, DJ-P0n3 also hosted the first Equestrian talk show known as “The Vinyl Scratch.” These broadcasts were recorded for historical significance."

The Vinyl Scratch Tapes is a Dramedy fanfic for My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

Written by Corey W. Williams and featured on Equestria Daily, The Vinyl Scratch Tapes is a record following two of the MLP:FiM fandom’s favorite background ponies, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, as Radio Talk Show hosts.

In this story, Vinyl is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold and Octavia is her Beleaguered Assistant. Hilarity (and some shipping) ensues.

The first story is complete, but there's a season 2 in progress.[when?]

The whole thing is being adapted into an audio drama on YouTube. Begin here.

Tropes used in The Vinyl Scratch Tapes include:

Octavia: Do you just... have a thing for alliteration or something?
Vinyl: And the pony who just used a word I don’t understand is my lovely co-host, Octavia.

  • The Atoner: Princess Luna knows she screwed up way back when, and her attempt to reach out to Blueblood was part of an overall attempt to make amends for things. She gets royally ticked when she finds out it was Vinyl who guilt-tripped Celestia when she was the one who screwed up.
  • Audio Adaptation: Beginning here.
  • Badass Boast: Vinyl drops a decidedly Kamina-esque one at the end of the first broadcast.

Vinyl: “That is the spirit of radio! There’s no limits! We’re here for truth, justice, and the power of rock and roll! It is our way! It is the only way! Even if we stop broadcasting, our signal will just travel across the universe forever! Stars fade away, comets burn out, black holes devour suns, but even out there in the black, ROCK will always live on! That means music will last longer than the heavens themselves! That is radio! That is K-COLT! And THAT. IS. THE VINYL SCRATCH!”

  • Beleaguered Assistant: Octavia.
  • Berserk Button: If you mess with one of Octavia's friends, she will beat the crap out of you. If you mess with Octavia, Vinyl will call you a jerk, go out of her way to humiliate you, and then have security (the Diamond Dogs) beat the crap out of you.
    • Make false accusations about Celestia, and when Luna gets the chance to take it out on you, being deafened by the ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE is going to be the least of your problems.
  • Beware the Nice Ones/Took a Level in Badass: As noted above, Octavia doesn't take it well when her friends are threatened.
  • Bigger Than Jesus: Possibly invoked by Vinyl in Season 2 episode 2 when talking about Octavia's ensemble.

Vinyl: "Octy’s just being modest. Now, not that I’m the type of pony to brag or anything ..."
Octavia: "Oh, here we go ..."
Vinyl: "But they are bigger than Celestia now!"

  • Big No: Vinyl does this after Spitfire reveals an embarrassing childhood secret: As a young filly, before she got her cutie mark, Vinyl simply loved playing the accordion!
  • Bullying a Dragon: Vinyl spends the interview with Princess Celestia -- the lady by whose good graces the radio show, and daytime, even exist-- relentlessly badgering her about sentencing Luna to 1,000 years of boredom and loneliness on the moon, much to Octavia's horror. Though this dragon has family members willing to fight on her behalf. One's stupid and incompetent. The other... isn't.
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Vinyl. She shamelessly teases, if not outright mocks, just about everyone she interacts with on the show, yet she's still incredibly popular and successful.
  • The Cameo: Various. It is a Radio Talk Show, after all.
    • Princess Celestia in Chapter 1
    • Spitfire in Chapter 2
      • Photo Finish is mentioned in Chapter 2, and apparently threw a camera at Vinyl after the latter made fun of her accent and implied it was fake
    • The Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Diamond Dogs, and Prince Blueblood in Chapter 3
      • During the CMC scene, Twilight Sparkle gets one line--the only appearance by any of the mane cast so far.
    • Also in Chapter 3, K-Colt is now sponsored by Derpy Express, Equestria's most endearing delivery service. They even include free Muffins!
    • And in Chapter 4, Trixie becomes K-Colt's latest sponsor, with a hilariously long, self-promoting spiel. Octavia notes that she's somehow even more egotistical than Vinyl.
    • In Chapter 2 Part 1, Twilight is almost mentioned by name as a sponsor.
  • Cerebus Retcon: In Season 2 Chapter 3 lines delivered by Princess Luna show that Vinyl's attitude towards Princess Celestia in the first season's first episode was completely out of line and that Blueblood knows how much he's hated and that his life has become almost a living hell because of what Vinyl did during Season 1 episodes 3 and 4. For some readers those episodes are no longer funny because of the subtext that is now known.
  • Chewbacca Defense: Vinyl in Season 2 Chapter 2 applies this to Octavia upon hearing that somepony wants to do a Scooby Doo-esque show starring her and her ensemble.

Octavia: What do solving mysteries have to do with music anyway?
Vinyl: What don't they have to do with it?
Octavia: ...that's so stupid I don't know how to respond.
Vinyl: Hurray, that means I win by default!

  • Cloudcuckoolander: Vinyl, as Octavia often points out.
  • A Day in the Limelight: The entire story is one for the two mane characters. Also, Williams takes the other members of Octavia's ensemble (who are often ignored by the fandom) and gives them names, personalities and dialogue (except for Harpo Parish Nadermane, who's The Voiceless until chapter two of the second season to provide a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming).
  • Deadpan Snarker: Pretty much Octavia’s default setting.
    • Though Vinyl tends to snark quite a bit too:

Celestia (on the topic of imprisoning Luna on the moon): “T-that’s a bit out of context.”
Vinyl: “Fair enough. Please explain the context of hurling your little sister into the dark reaches of space.”

  • Defrosting Ice Queen: Octavia's Character Development throughout the story. She evolves from barely tolerating Vinyl's loud mouth and outrageous antics to realizing that she's really a good pony and becoming friends with her. Season 2 takes this further when they move in together.
  • Did Not Think This Through: Little Vinyl had a habit of swiping any musical instrument that caught her eye during her quest to obtain her cutie mark. When she found one that she absolutely loved, she decided to invite everyone to her concert performance, including that instrument's rightful owner, the local sheriff.
    • Prince Blueblood, who doesn't see any problems with outlining his brilliant plot to get K-COLT off the air in front of a huge, increasingly angry audience.
  • Does Not Understand Sarcasm: Prince Blueblood.

Octavia: "[Sigh.] Still as good at detecting sarcasm as you ever were..."
Blueblood: "Oh ... [Confused.] Well, thank you for the compliment."
Octavia: "No, I was being ... Ugh, you know what, nevermind."

  • Dramatic Thunder: Trixie punctuates her dramatic speech to kick off National Pony Radio with this. It ends up setting the studio on fire.
    • Also used by Luna. BIG TIME!!!
  • Dumbass DJ: Blueblood
  • Embarrassing Middle Name: Did you know Vinyl's middle name is Agatha?
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Trixie is appalled at Blueblood's plan to ruin Octavia's career.
  • Flanderization: Prince Blueblood is turned from a shallow, snobby, self-absorbed Jerkass to a guy who lives to make everyone around him miserable through his inconsiderate excesses. The series portrays the Diamond Dog Rover in a less unpleasant light. For the record, in the actual show, Rover is an aggressive, foul-smelling, dim-witted, criminal slaver.
    • The stinger of Season 2, Chapter 2 implies that Blueblood might actually be headed for some Character Development, however.
  • Foregone Conclusion: Given the fic is based on in-universe recordings of the show and we're told it went on to become immensely popular and long-running, the efforts of Prince Blueblood to ruin it are doomed to failure.
  • Genki Girl: Vinyl Scratch.
  • Group Hug: Initiated by Beauty Brass near the end of the interview with Octavia's ensemble.
  • Heel Realization: Blueblood seems to be having one at the end of Season 2, Chapter 4.
  • Heroic BSOD: In Season 2, Episode 3, Vinyl suffers one after Luna gives her a massive What the Hell, Hero? speech for insulting her family, never thinking things through, and presuming she could talk on Luna's behalf to the ponies Luna hurt the most.
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: In the Audio Adaptation, Celestia is voiced by... Luna.
  • Homoerotic Subtext: Between Vinyl and Octavia. Season 2 takes it beyond simple "subtext".
  • Hope Spot: Derpy brings Blueblood an enormous sack of letters, but when he opens it it's all hate mail
  • Incendiary Exponent: In the Rock Opera Vinyl tries to get Octavia to support, Luna comes down from space to battle Celestia riding a chariot "made of fire, vengeance, and more fire."
  • In-Series Nickname: Vinyl Scratch introduces herself with a different self-aggrandizing nickname in each chapter. Most of them are alliterative as well.
    • Chapter 1: "The Turntable Temptress"
    • Chapter 2: "The Priestess of Punk"
    • Chapter 3: "The Devious Disc Diva"
    • Chapter 4: "The Diabolical Musical Mastermind"
    • Season 2, Chapter 1: "The Mad Minstrel Mistress"
    • Season 2, Chapter 2: "The Alluring Artist"
    • Season 2, Chapter 3: "The Elegant Elitist Egotist" (not used by Vinyl, but by Octavia to mock her)
  • Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: Vinyl endorses this trope wholeheartedly while advertising Ponyville Library. She barely misses a beat after learning the dragon in question is a baby.
  • Is This Thing Still On?: Twice (that we see). They seem to have finally figured out how to know when they’re back on… three weeks after their first broadcast.
    • Inverted in Season 2, Episode 3 when Octavia tries to fill time solo by telling a slew of embarrassing stories about herself without knowing the station was off the air thanks to Luna losing her temper.
  • It's All About Me: If there's ever a competition for "who fits this trope best", Blueblood will win the grand prize.
  • Jerkass: Blueblood, even more so than canon. At least for a while.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Subverted. Celestia acts like this is the case after Vinyl chews her out... but when she meets Luna, she makes it very clear Vinyl didn't know what she was talking about. And she is not happy.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: This is how Spitfire describes Vinyl, after Octavia expresses doubts about her relationship with the DJ.

Spitfire: "Vinyl doesn’t talk about her feelings much, but she has them. She’ll act like nothing bothers her, laugh, and make fun of you ... but she’ll also never tell you a lie, she’ll never cross the line once it’s been drawn, and she’ll never, ever, let you down when you really need her."

Vinyl: [to Octavia] "You just always bring out the best in me. I’m... I’m not really sure what I’d be... without you."

  • No Indoor Voice: Beauty Brass, more often than not.
  • Not Me This Time: Blueblood's co-opting of Princess Luna in Season 2, Episode 3 was not due to any intentional actions on his part.
  • Only Sane Pony: In Chapter 3, Octavia introduces herself as "the sane one."
  • OOC Is Serious Business: At the end of Season 2, Episode 3, Vinyl stops being her loud, obnoxious self after Luna chews her out.
  • Playing Doctor: Vinyl and Spitfire used to do this when they were fillies. It involved Vinyl pretending to saw off Spitfire's leg and then getting hauled in front of the medical board for malpractice.
  • Puppy Dog Eyes: Vinyl tries using these on Octavia. It usually fails, because she often has her sunglasses on while she's doing it.
  • Quintessential British Gentleman: This is how Frédéric Horseshoepin, the pianist in Octavia's ensemble, comes across.
  • Random Events Plot: An in-universe example in the form of Vinyl's Rock Opera.

Octavia: Look, I will admit this is ... creative ... but you just can’t have an opera where nonsensical things happen for no reason!
Vinyl: Clearly you’ve never heard a rock opera before.

Spitfire: [Giggles.] No really, it’s fine. Vinyl’s just being herself.
Octavia: I know. And that’s precisely why it’s wrong.
Vinyl: Haha, that’s a great lesson, Octy. All you fillies listening, remember what Octavia says: never be yourself.
Octavia: No, the lesson is to never be like Vinyl. Ever.
Spitfire: Words to live by.
[DJ-P0n3 (Vinyl) laughs.]
Vinyl: Can’t really argue with that one.

  • Sunglasses at Night: Vinyl. Justified, because they're prescription sunglasses.
  • Then Let Me Be Evil: Part of Blueblood's Villainous Breakdown in Season 2 Chapter 4.
  • Title Drop: see Badass Boast.
  • Toilet Humor: Vinyl's collection of Stock Sound Effects includes at least two different fart noises.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Vinyl and Octavia.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Prince Blueblood is already a Jerkass in Canon, but in this story the character is worse than ever. First, he cancels Octavia and her ensemble's performances out of spite after Vinyl mocks him on air. Then, when Vinyl talks Octavia into holding an outdoor concert anyway, he locks Beauty Brass in "the fillies' restroom," then claims to be holding her hostage, with the deed to K-COLT as her ransom. He's made out to be worse than the Diamond Dogs, who in canon, are slavers (albeit stupid ones).
  • Troll: Vinyl.
  • Tsundere: Octavia, and, in Season Two, Trixie.
  • Twin Threesome Fantasy: When Vinyl wants Octavia to wear a shirt with Octavia's face on it.

Vinyl: That way it’d be like there’s two of you! Which actually reminds me of that one dream I had where-

  • Uptight Loves Wild: Octavia and Vinyl's relationship is heading in this direction.
  • Villain Decay: The Diamond Dogs. They started out as a fairly credible threat in the main series, but have since degraded into dim-witted prank callers who are willing to humiliate themselves for steak.
  • Villain Team-Up: Beginning with The Stinger of Season 2, Chapter 1. Prince Blueblood, who's starting his own radio station to compete with K-COLT, talks with "The Great and Powerful" Trixie about becoming his co-host. In season 2, episode 2, their new radio station launches. And catches fire.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Blueblood spends Season 2 chapter 4 undergoing one, complete with the generation of a master plan that would launch him clean over the Moral Event Horizon.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Vinyl and Octavia. The first story has hints that it may blossom into Belligerent Sexual Tension. Season 2 takes it past "hints" to become sub- (and periodically super-, around- and totally enveloping-) text.
  • The Voiceless: Harpo, just like his Marx Brothers equivalent. At least, until Season 2 Chapter 2
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Vinyl's interview with Princess Celestia boils down to this regarding Luna's banishment, particularly for not trying to Take a Third Option during the incident and for never checking up on Luna even once during all that time.
    • Season 2 Episode 3 has Princess Luna give one right back to Vinyl for screwing with her family, especially for guilt-tripping Celestia over banishing her to the moon without learning all the details, namely how it was Luna who forced Celestia's hoof. IN FULL ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE no less.
    • Season 2 Episode 4 has Trixie point out the double standards that go on.
  • What the Hell Is That Accent?: Vinyl asks Photo Finish, "What accent are we SUPPOSED to think that is?" during an off screen interview and gets a (free!) camera thrown at her head for it.
  • You're Insane!: Octavia says this to Vinyl at the end of the first chapter, but it's more of a resigned lament than an angry accusation.
    • Played straighter in Season 2 Chapter 4 when Blueblood reveals his plan to Trixie.
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