The lights were good, the sound system checked, bar stools out, bar ready. I glanced at the clock, 8:55, almost showtime. I loaded up the new mix I had been working on the last few days and nights. Vinyl was looking over my shoulder,
"You ready?" I nodded, slipping my mask on,
"Show must go on, right?"
She nodded, smiling fiercely, "Might be even more spirited than I am."
I started up the mix as the first patrons flowed in, "Go and get ready, I can handle myself for now."
She looked at me, "Just don't hurt anyone."
I let out an amused snort, "You worry too much, Vinyl."
She shook her head, suppressing a chuckle, "I hope so. Good luck." She trotted backstage, and I looked out across the already sizable crowd,
"Let's show 'em what we got."
The set passed without incident, the crowd even seemed to enjoy the set itself. The remainder of the night followed suit, as well, a few customers who had too many got a bit rowdy, but aside from that, all was quiet. We closed up on time, everything was cleaned and packed away by 4:30. Vinyl trotted over to me as I was putting away the last few glasses for the bar,
"Hey, I got a few extra things I need to bring home, think you can help me carry them?" I quickly put away everything else, turning to face her,
"Sure." There was a sizable pile of equipment by the door, along with a few zipped-up duffel bags on either side. I slung the bags across my shoulders, we started making our way to her home, "So, you think I did better this time?"
She nodded slightly, "Yeah, I'd say so. Transitions were smoother, track selection was a world better than before. You're showing a lot of progress."
I felt a pleased grin tug at the corners of my mouth, encouraged by the praise, "Cool. Any suggestions for improvement?"
She adjusted her grip on the equipment, "Lemme listen to the mix again when we get to my place, I'll give you the specifics." We made our way to her home without another word. It was a decent-sized place, Vinyl was certainly doing well for herself in the DJ'ing business. I let out an awed whistle, she glanced at me, "You like?"
I nodded, "Yeah. All this from a club in a small town?"
She got the door open, "You'd be surprised how many ponies enjoy clubbing here. You can just leave the bags on the couch, I'll sort them out later." I glanced around the house, a lot of white paint, ultra-modern looking furniture,
"I wonder how big the bed is..."
I quickly tuned out Fail, setting down the bags. Vinyl glanced back at me, "Come on, sound room is just up here."
She led me down a hallway off of the living room, leading to a particularly solid-looking door, definitely sound-proofed. We entered the room to be greeted by the sight by a literal wall of speakers. The room looked to be about 12 feet cubed, the walls lined with what almost looked like shag carpeting. There was a small booth in front of the speakers, a couple of laptops and a mixing board on the tabletop, wiring going into the floor, presumably to the speakers. I gave an experimental snap of my fingers, there wasn't even a hint of an echo from it, "Wow..."
Vinyl grinned back at me, "I take my work very seriously."
I nodded dumbly, still struck by the thousands upon thousands of watts worth of speakers pointed straight at me, "I can tell."
She went over to the booth, starting everything up. There was a low hum in the room, almost like the auditory equivalent of the static you get from switching on an old CRT television. I felt a small tingle going up my spine, a subtle feeling of reverence towards the sheer amount of power and cost of the equipment in front of me. I shook it off and took out the drive I kept my mixes on and handed it to Vinyl. She plugged it in and started it up, keeping the volume low, but even still I could feel every beat rattle my bones.
We spent the next half hour or so discussing what I did wrong in the set, thankfully the list wasn't too long. A few sloppy transitions here, an out of place track there, et cetera. Vinyl walked me to the door,
"So, you think you'll be able to do better by tomorrow?" I nodded,
"Yeah, that advice really helps."
She grinned slightly, "Cool, I'll see you tomorrow, then."
I returned the grin and had turned to the door when I felt Fail appear on my shoulder,
"Hey, just letting you know, he wants you, like a lot."
I instinctively swatted for him, but he dodged my hand. I could practically feel Vinyl's eyes on me, "Oh, really?"
Fail darted away from a couple more swipes from me, "You have no idea."
Safe finally appeared, tackling Fail and disappearing in a puff of smoke. I stood stock still, not sure what to say, not looking at Vinyl. I felt one of her hooves settle on my shoulder, the other tracing tiny circles on the back of my neck. I could feel her breath on me, she spoke playfully, "Is that true, Ryan?" Unsure of what else to do, I just nodded slowly. She kept up the playful tone, "You have a crush on little old me?" I was split between processing my current situation and planning Fail's death, so I just nodded again. Both lines of thought ceased when she spun me around and pushed me up against the nearest wall, her hooves on my chest, muzzle inches from my face, "Well, I've never had much of a problem with experimentation."
I hadn't had a pulse in over a month, yet I could still hear my heart pounding in my ears. She leaned up, her lips brushing against mine lightly, "You're welcome!"
She looked at me seductively, "You game?"
With Safe wrestling with Fail, and my own mind overwhelmed with shock, my mental faculties were still operating at roughly 5% power, so I simply nodded mindlessly again. She led me up to her bedroom, pushing me down on top of the bed. The answer to Fail's question was King. She straddled my waist, kissing me hungrily. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into it. She tasted like white rum and lemon. Her mane was in my face, but it was okay, all that mattered was that she was there with me, and that I wasn't dreaming. I slid my hands down to her waistline, feeling her coat beneath my fingers. She gently pushed my hands back up, "Don't get too far ahead of yourself, cowpony."
I felt a growl rumble up to my throat, I bit it back. We went on like that for another few minutes, ending up with her lying next to me, tracing circles on my chest with her hoof, smiling slightly. I was just looking up at the ceiling, keeping my expression as far from the dead fish impression it should have been as possible. She looked at me and gave me another quick kiss, "Been a while for you, hasn't it?"
I nodded slightly, "Haven't really gotten a chance for...intimate encounters in a while."
She chuckled lowly, "Well, how would you rate that one?"
I didn't even have to think about it, "Ten out of ten."
She chuckled again, snuggling up to me, "Good to hear that I'm a good performer here, too." We lay there in silence for a minute or so before she sat up, "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"
I looked at her, "I don't get to stay the night?"
She shook her head slightly, "No offense, Ryan, you're a great guy, but I don't want to do anything like that until it looks like this'll be a more permanent thing. You do want this to be a more permanent thing, right?"
I sat up quickly, nodding vigorously, "Definitely."
She smiled sweetly and kissed my cheek, "I'll see you at 7."
I got up, glancing out the window, the sky was just starting to light up with the new day. I pulled my hood up, stuck my hands in my pockets, and returned to the Library, not even bothering to undress to get into bed,
"You owe me, Boss."
"Yes, and I'm going to make us even by not killing you."
Fail appeared on my desk with a cocky grin on, "I had to do something, god knows you weren't going to."
I felt the corners of my mouth turn up in amusement, I swatted at him lazily while suppressing a chuckle, "Pint-sized prick."
He hopped up onto my hand, walking up my arm and back into my head, "You know you love me, Boss."
I grabbed my pillow, pulled the covers over myself, and went to sleep, the taste of white rum and lemon still on my tongue.