The previous week had gone by as the wind, business as usual, practice with the band, meetings with fancy ponies from different businesses, many moments caught her off guard, and she had never signed so many autographs before. Some for music enthusiasts, other for rich ponies with the need to have such a thing as if it was some badge of status, like they would be less of a Mare or Colt if they didn’t have autographs from all the famous ponies of the area. She certainly wasn’t complaining. Photo’s of her had appeared in just about every music magazine in some form or another. Earlier in the morning she even dropped her first cup of coffee all over the morning paper when she opened it to see a front page article on the gala with her closing performance as the feature photo. Having little blips here and there in classical music magazines was nothing new, but this was the first time she had ever appeared so prominently.
“Hey! You wit the case!” A dirty beige colored Colt behind a news stand called out to her, his coat wasnt actually that dirty but there were smudges of news print ink on his back and forehooves. He was holding up a copy of the Canterlot Daily, This mornings issue to be exact, with her face on the front page.
“Huh? Oh! Uhm, sorry I get them delivered daily. I don’t-” She started to decline the paper before being cut off.
“No no, I ain’t trying to sell it to ya, You’re Octavia Melody right?” He smiled broadly as he looked back from her to the picture on the paper and back. “Got that there Cello case too so I don’t think I’m wrong.”
“Er.. well no, your not wrong I am her.” She couldn’t very well deny it. Before she could ask what it was he needed however, he picked up again.
“That’s great, you wouldn’t happen to mind sign’n this here paper for me would’ja?” Another autograph seeker, though he didn’t look like one to care for such things.
Octavia smiled slightly, a little taken back, even news stand ponies wanted her autograph? She approached the stand with a leisurely pace, deliberately slowing her trot, though she had done this so many times this past week, it still was a bit strange to her. Before she really only signed contracts and sales receipts. Now it was pictures and papers. “I’d be glad to, do you have a quill?”
“Make it out to Blunt Statement, will ya?” He pushed the ink well closer to her side of the counter, the quill in it was a little bent on the top, but would do.
Taking the quill and making the signature with a deliberate and practiced flourish ‘For Blunt Statement with love, Octavia Melody.’ Returning the quill to its ink well, she smiled. “There you go, did you come to the gala?”
“Oh, nah, I don’t have the money for that fancy stuff.” He slapped his hoof a few times on the counter and then rubbed it lightly. “This here is mah baby, got a lot -o- work to do to keep the news paper’s flowin’, got a few pegasi flying paper routs for me, got to pay them too. A friend o mine went though, talked a lot about your performance, figure this will give ‘im somet’n to look at.” Blunt gave a good laugh before taking the paper and folding it back proper and placing it on the stool behind him. “Thanks Ma’am Looks like yer headed somewhere, sorry ta keep ya.”
Shaking her head a bit Octavia smiled before turning to walk away. “It’s no trouble, have a good day.” She walked away, trotting slightly faster than before, he waved a hoof as she left.
Arriving at her destination eyes wide as she double checked the address, it was correct, and the name was there proper too, “Scratched Records.” Downtown Canterlot was a little foreign to her as she rarely spent any time there any more. It had changed quite a bit, and while the street names were the same, the buildings were different. This particular building did not look familiar to her at all,. It was bright white, and had to have at least fifteen floors to it. Grand glass windows lined the ground floor, allowing passers by to see the lobby. A revolving door stood between two sets of double doors, ponies milling in and out with differing levels of urgency, some with document cases, some with instruments. A rather intimidating environment for those unfamiliar with the commercial music industry of modern equestria.
Octavia stood before this large building, the familiar weight of her Cello resting across her back feeling slightly heavier than usual. Nerves? Was she getting nervous? The feeling was fleeting but it felt like a stone had settled in the pit of her stomach. Vinyl Scratch was the owner of THIS building? Who exactly was she meeting, the mare she spoke to the week before was nothing like someone who owned this kind of elaborate business. At most she expected a single floor building selling records with some record your own song gimmick attached, but this, this was a grand scale record label. With business ponies milling in and out. No doubt the agents of musicians, or agents for concert halls or stadiums looking to get a musician from this label to do a show in their area. So much grander of a scale than she had anticipated.
Taking a deep breath Octavia raised her head and pushed through the revolving doors, an air of importance cloaking her features, the way in which she walked, purposefully with her head held high and steps that did not allow her Cello case to tilt or bounce as she moved. Though for all her practiced steps no pony even paid her any mind, they were far too busy, and just didn't care. The receptionist, a pale blue unicorn with glasses, paid her little mind as she approached and placed a hoof on the counter to make herself known.
“Excuse me, I am here to see Ms. Scratch.” She kept it short and simple her head inclined forward a tad as she spoke. The receptionist glanced up from her work only briefly before looking back down and shuffling through some papers needlessly.
“Yea? You and half of the Disk Jockeys in Equestria. You have an appointment?”
“Yes of course, my name is Octavia Melody,. We agreed to meet here at her office today, at eleven.” It was about ten minutes till the appointed time. She liked to be early it was her policy, early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable.
“Melody.....” She flipped through a hoof full of pages looking through while repeating the name slowly before stopping on a page. “Octavia Melody, OK. Yea, never hear of ya, but your on the schedule. Must have been a last minute thing.” Levitating a badge on a loop of string and putting it around Octavia's neck, and marking her name and checking a box that said visitor. She pointed off behind her to a row of elevators. “Take the lift to the tenth floor, check in with the secretary up there.” And with that she returned to whatever it was that she had been interrupted from doing before.
Octavia peered around the receptionist's booth to see the back wall of the reception area, there were three elevators, each with a set of simple numbered lights above them. There was nothing overly fantastic about elevators, though as Octavia approached them she was still having a hard time believing she was in the right place. The wild looking pony didn't seem the type to run a record company, possibly work in one but not run it. That thought was pushed aside however as the pony clearly was here, and on the tenth floor, waiting for her to arrive.
The elevator was rather swift, and the odd sense of shifted gravity was much stronger than other elevators she had used. Not that she had used many of them, they were usually reserved for rather large buildings in modern Equestria. Even her own apartment complex only had one elevator and it was in the back reserved for the movement of heavy oversized items, like refrigerators and the like. The loud ding from the lift as the door opened returned her to reality from her thoughts. Before her was another large room, records and art hung on the walls, the art was.... different. Some of it was Photography, much of it dark, looking closer there were flashes of color streaked across parts of one photo, there were a lot of ponies in that one, glowing bangles and necklaces and mane ornaments. In the back of that picture was what sort of resembled a raised stage, but it was small, and full of equipment. Almost hidden behind it all, was a perfectly white pony with two toned blue mane disheveled and messy... or was that considered specifically 'styled' for that kind of environment.
Stepping out of the elevator, the door closed almost immediately after her as it had been called elsewhere. The floor was carpeted in a deep red and black checkered pattern, the carpet was soft under hoof. There was a single door in the back of this room, next to it was a desk the pony sitting behind it was asleep, she had a green mane with a red streak dyed into it. Said mane was messily covering her face as she lay her head across folded hooves, a pair of headphones covered her ears. Was that truly what would be considered a Secretary? It was clear that the definition of certain words as Octavia knew them would have to be slightly changed while she was within the confines of this particular building.
“Ahem!” Octavia cleared her throat as she stood at the desk, seeing that did nothing she sighed and tapped her hoof on the desk, giving it a simple few knocks, all of which were ignored. Her eyes however caught something. Seeing the wire of the headphones trail away from the sleeping mares head, she followed it down and plugged into a small music player. Unplugging it she smiled.
“Hu- Hey! I was listening to-........ that...” The pony snapped to attention a look of defiance and agitation on her face that someone would interrupt her listening to music. But that look was frozen and melted away seeing that the pony before her was no one she knew, and clearly held herself of the members of the higher class of Canterlot. “Uh, oh sorry...” She blushed and cleared her desk of a few things before looking back to Octavia. “C-Can I help you?”
Straightening herself and looking over to the door. “Yes, I have a meeting with Ms. Scratch, My name is Octavia Melody.”