//------------------------------// // The Dinner (Part 1) // Story: A City of Opportunities // by Sasha Nein //------------------------------// Getting a day off at the Canterlot University happened almost as often as Celestia took vacations. Which, needless to say, was never. All students were required to live on campus making bad weather a bad excuse to miss classes. To make that fact worse, students were required to take at least sixteen hours every semester, with eighteen recommended, until they finished their degree. The university did it’s best to get ponies in and out so that more could be accepted each year. After powering through the university with classes throughout the year, Vinyl Scratch was reveling in the easy hours of her new job. She had two separate days all to herself and she did not have to be in to work until early evenings every other day. It was an abrupt change in lifestyle that she was taking like a fish to water. Getting a chance to be in the sunlight was something Vinyl sorely missed. Her university days as well as her current job usually kept her from enjoying anytime in the outdoors, but now she was having a chance to soak up as many rays as she pleased. The white mare bounced along one of the many popularized streets of Canterlot. She pushed her shades farther up her nose; they were for more than just the bright sun and she was not about to let them fall off from her exuberant pace. Her first day out a week ago, she realized that a lot of ponies from Canterlot picked up on her identity. It was not easy being a noble trying to fraternize with the regular class; the shades helped stave off unwanted attention of all kinds. It also helped keep her record clean, while she did not care at all for the life her parents led, she maintained enough respect to not let her lifestyle ruin their reputation. Having only eaten a light breakfast from one of the many exquisite doughnut shops in town, she kept an eye out for any promising food stands. As it was the first day off of her week, she had quite a few plans for what she wanted to do for the rest of the day. While most of them revolved around a new mare in town she had met, they were still hours away. Now she had to divide her attention between choosing a suitable place for the dinner tonight, but still find time to see more of Canterlot. All weekend she had made time to see Octavia for a few minutes each day before work. Tonight was going to be her treat. It was the least she could do. In Vinyl’s eyes, she hadn’t thanked the mare enough, but she could tell that Octavia was not that thrilled to be in her company. Which was a shame in her opinion, the mare needed to relax a bit and enjoy life a little more. That was something her parents did not get enough of either, but Vinyl made sure they loosened up sometimes. Stopping at a promising apple stand, Vinyl browsed the selection. The bright red skins coupled with their size made her mouth water. She pulled a few bits out of her saddle back and magicked them over to the vendor. Then, pocketing one of the two apples she purchased, Vinyl munched on the other as she continued pondering her predicament of this night’s plans. Vinyl was determined to make the gray mare enjoy herself. But, as she continued down the street she was coming up with blanks on how to make the evening engaging. She did not want to take Octavia to a very classy restaurant because of her own noble status. She hated the pampering the owners did for even the lowest of nobility. Yet, she didn’t want to get her fast food either, that was most certainly inappropriate for this sort of gesture. As she walked, she kept to the main streets and in sight of as many ponies as possible. While the stallion at the hospital had given her some pointers, she was still doing her utmost to remain in populated places even during the day. It was hard to get out over the weekend before work like she had been doing, but she had forced herself to put on a confident face and act like nothing had happened. Her observations revealed a music store across the pony filled street. Vinyl looked up at one of the many clock towers in Canterlot before deciding to check it out. She had plenty of time to take to browse what the little shop offered before she needed to pick up Octavia. Double checking for any rogue taxi carriages she plunged crossways through the busy street to the door of the store. The door jingled as she entered, although the sound was almost drowned out by the crowd behind her. Closing the door, the clopping of hooves upon cobblestone was completely silenced. Vinyl nodded in appreciation at the magically maintained acoustics within the small shop. There was a small amount of activity as a number of ponies were quietly inspecting or testing various instruments and Vinyl sauntered up to some of the nearest instruments to begin her own analysis. “Hello!” Vinyl felt her hair stand on end at the sudden voice behind her. She turned quickly to see a mare opening her mouth with a smile. “Welcome to Smooth Sounds, are you looking for anything in particular?” “Na, I’m just browsing, but thanks!” Vinyl flashed the mare a grin. The mare gave a small nod. “Alright, don’t hesitate to ask any questions you might have.” “Will do,” Vinyl said, turning back to the instrument before her. Vinyl identified it as a clarinet. It was made very simply and had no decorations to speak of. But when Vinyl tested the instrument she was pleased to find it produced excellent sound. Putting the instrument back in its case, she tested a few other instruments of the same brand. They were all very simple, but their sound was excellent and they all had very reasonable prices. Impressed Vinyl moved deeper into the store, toying with various percussion, stringed and brass instruments. From what Vinyl could tell everything had stellar quality, but the deeper she went the prices began to soar as the instruments began adding decorations and features. She toyed with a mini grand piano for a short time before finally deciding it was time to leave. While she worked as a DJ and was starting to produce her own pop music, she could not help but enjoy the pure sounds of classical instruments. Synthesizing was all well and cool, but instruments could only be remixed so many times before you lost sight of what made the sound special in the first place. Vinyl hoped to someday have a small studio packed with instruments so that she could record her own sound. Giving a nod to the mare who welcomed her, she exited the store and rejoined the busy Canterlot day. To her dismay she had spent well over an hour within the shop. Vinyl turned and headed up the street, exploring farther into the city for a place to eat that evening. Yep, with this job she hoped to be raking in the bits within a year or two. Then she could start buying the things she wanted and possibly begin looking at where she wanted to go with her career. Vinyl almost began bouncing along again, but the night of her attack surfaced in her mind. Two years was a long time. She was barely out of the university and she had already fallen victim to assault. Vinyl eyed the streets with caution; they were beginning to thin out as the heat of the day was beginning to kick in with force. She increased her pace as she looped around town, never going more than a mile or so from her apartment. After stopping at a number of other food stands and small stores, she finally stumbled upon a restaurant she liked. It was not fancy, but it certainly had a professional air about it. Vinyl booked herself a dinner for two in a few hours. Stepping back into view of a clocktower, Vinyl was pleased to find that she still had time to get home and clean up before meeting Octavia. She had been rather surprised to find that the gray mare lived so close. About halfway to her apartment the traffic picked back up once more as ponies began heading home for the day. It did not help her unease as the sun began long shadows from the tall spires of the palace. There was still plenty of daylight left, but Vinyl wanted to meet Octavia before the sun dropped below the city walls in a couple hours. Vinyl felt a little guilty wanting to spend time with Octavia. If she was honest the gray mare made her feel safe when she was out doing things. Vinyl guiltily wondered if Octavia might get suspicious if she spent too much time around her. On the one hoof she was a little angry she felt safer around the gray mare. But on the other, that safety was a good feeling. But she didn’t want to be mooching off Octavia’s unknowing protection. Reaching her apartment safely, she dropped her saddlebags behind the door as she entered. Flipping on the lights she navigated the jungle that was her floor. Everywhere there were half full boxes containing all the items from her years at the university. They had all barely made it into the living area and she had done hardly anything with them since. The boxes containing essential items like clothes, toiletries and her electronics were all opened and their contents were haphazardly strewn about. Taking up any spare remaining room in the living area was her music setup. She had two large subs on either side a set of decks along with all of her recording and synthesizing equipment. The living area opened up into the kitchen with a bar. On two separate walls were doors to the rest of the small apartment, a bedroom and a bathroom on the opposite wall. Vinyl entered the bathroom and hopped in the shower. She quickly washed off all the sweat and grime she had accumulated in the streets. Stepping out of the shower she pulled a towel off the rack and quickly ran it through her mane, causing it to frizz into it’s standard wild look. Then, giving her reflection a critical eye she abruptly turned on her hooves and exited the bathroom. Retrieving her saddlebags Vinyl emptied them onto the floor. Her bag of bits, the extra apple she purchased, some documents from her job and her mail all spilled out. Rummaging through the heap on her floor she retrieved her money and the apple to put back in the saddlebags. After replacing the saddlebags near the door, Vinyl headed over to her only couch and shoved over some clutter to sit down. She glanced up at the clock, a quarter to five, she had time as it would only take her a few minutes to reach Octavia’s own apartment. Vinyl leaned back and began to fiddle with a ring puzzle that was laying on the couch. The puzzles usually helped when she was making music, but after about thirty seconds she gave up in frustration. Waiting had never been a strong suit for Vinyl, and here she was: almost an hour of free time and nothing to do. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t such an inconvenient period. She might have sat down and messed with some music, but by the time she was oriented, and had her mind focused, it would be time to leave. Vinyl grumbled and began to juggle a few of her things with magic. But once again self entertainment eluded her. For the next half hour she moseyed around her apartment applying her hoof to a dozen different things before she gave up and sat back down on the couch. Waiting was terrible, a conclusion Vinyl had reached many times. Wasted time was like pouring a perfectly good soda on the ground. It accomplished nothing for her, trashed a good soda and left her feeling silly and unfulfilled. Vinyl growled quietly and checked her clock again. Still twenty minutes easily. She moved over to her decks and began powering up the equipment. Some music would certainly be better than waiting in silence. Once everything was in place she selected herself a record and placed it on the turntable, but she hesitated. “What if I just show up early?” Vinyl thought. “Surely Octavia wouldn’t mind?” She seemed like the sort of mare who commended that sort of thing. Vinyl stood for a moment, considering. Being early wasn’t something she was fond of, because then she would be waiting on other ponies, just in a different location. But then, being early always made a good impression and Vinyl wanted Octavia to know she was important. With a flick, Vinyl shut down the equipment and got up. Grabbing herself a stress ball that was lying on the couch, she added it to her saddlebags. Without a backwards glance she exited her apartment and locked the door. Energized by her own action, she moved quickly out of the building and up the street to where Octavia’s home was located. The shadows were growing long as Vinyl traversed the apartment complex sidewalks. The lack of ponies in the fading light made her nervous enough to increase her pace. The tall three story apartment buildings loomed overhead and seemed to lean inwards. Many windows were dark yet the few that shone looked like eyes staring down on the street. In between each building were pony wide gaps that allowed the lowering sun to shine it’s last rays through like columns of orange fire. Passing a few more buildings she arrived at her destination with a sigh of relief. She entered the apartments and headed up three floors to the room Octavia had directed her to over the weekend. With a deep breath Vinyl knocked on the door and took a step back. “Just play it cool Vinyl.” She thought as the door opened. Octavia scowled into the hallway, but when her eyes hit on Vinyl she dropped the grimace in surprise. “Oh! Hello Vinyl. I didn't expect you to be here early.” Vinyl put on a grin and scoffed, “Oh comon, what have I done to earn a bad rep already?” Octavia opened her mouth but nothing came out. Vinyl raised an eyebrow and leaned in. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes Octavia turned around and left the door open for Vinyl. “I just didn't think it would be you Vinyl,” she said, walking deeper into the apartment. “Huh, well I'd hate to be the pony who was,” Vinyl joked, entering the apartment. “That look of yours is killer. I'm glad I went to the bathroom before I came.” Octavia stiffened and turned back to Vinyl, but a response never came. Instead the gray mare hesitated for a moment before deflating with a sigh. “Yes, well, I am sorry about that Vinyl,” she muttered. Surprised, Vinyl raised her eyebrows. “Whoa... Hey, you alright Tavi?” Octavia gave Vinyl a sour look at the name and she raised a hoof in protest. “Oh come on Octavia, you don't really expect me to spell your name out each time I want your attention do you?” Vinyl complained. “It's like... twenty syllables and I have a hard time with the two in mine!” “Ugh, fine! So why are you so early?” Octavia asked, dropping the issue. “Oh! Well, um...” Vinyl paused and gave an awkward grin, scuffing a hoof along the floor. “I was bored?” Octavia facehoofed. “And you couldn't wait twenty more minutes?” “Nope!” Vinyl grinned. “You do realize you're going to have to wait for me to get ready right?” Octavia deadpanned. Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “That won't take you half an hour will it?” Octavia rolled her eyes and entered the bathroom, calling out behind her, “Just don't break anything okay?” “Hey! That’s not fair Tavi, since when have I been destructive around you?” Instead of being graced with an answer, Vinyl heard a shower being turned on. With a smirk she began snooping around Octavia's apartment. However, there was very little lying around that would have given away anything about the gray mare. Stymied by the living room, Vinyl peeked into the kitchen but that was bare as well. Moving to the bedroom she finally found traces of Octavia's habits and hobbies. Propped up in the corner was the cello that Octavia had mentioned a few times while in the hospital. The instrument’s case was open and on the floor next to it with a few musical books open and propped up against the side. Vinyl gave the cello a light strum and smiled at the well tuned note that it produced. She turned, observing that the bed was well made, only because hers was always a mess, she flipped open the one large suitcase and gave its contents a glance. Inside were a few bow ties, probably for musical performances Vinyl guessed, one nice maroon dress, two pairs of shoes for it and... some black jumpsuits? Why in the world would Octavia pack black jumpsuits? She carefully pulled one out with her magic and opened it up. Confirming that it was a jumpsuit, and a skin tight one at that, she wondered what Octavia could possibly be doing that she needed half a dozen of them. With a confused frown Vinyl replaced the items in the suitcase perfectly. The piece hadn't looked particularly revealing, but then, it did look like it would fit quite snugly and would certainly complement any good looking body. Vinyl shrugged and continued snooping, if that was how Octavia liked to get down who was she to argue? There wasn't much else. The saddlebags that she had seen Octavia wear must have been in the bathroom because they weren't anywhere else in the apartment. That was a shame too, Vinyl felt like they would have told her the most about her new friend. With a shrug Vinyl headed back to the couch, as she passed the bathroom door she was rewarded by hearing the shower shut off. Good, Octavia would be out soon, they might get into their reservation early if it wasn't too crowded.