Frightening Things
I'm about five minutes into the last session of the night. My mind is abuzz with plotting what tune to transition into. I have several spare records at my disposal. The problem is, most of them are a bit too heavy on the bass for what I need right now. What Twilight and the rest of the Council require is something gentle and trance-like to ease us out of the party atmosphere. I know I should have planned for better, but I was performing for a lot longer during the first half of the party than I had anticipated.
My mind is so busy with pondering the next step that I fail to notice the voice wafting up to me until there's a tug on my tail. This startles me so much that I nearly scratch the record I'm playing. Lifting half of a set of headphones off my ears, I look down curiously, blinking through my shades.
It's Beau. He looks nervous... panicked, even. His muzzle moves, and it's not until I drop the other half of the headphones that I can make out his words.
"...seen her lately? I've been looking all around the ballroom, but I don't know where she's gone."
I raise an eyebrow behind my shades. It's the signal I always give Beau to indicate how confused I am.
"Octavia, Vine," Beau emphasizes. His voice is a great deal breathier than I would have anticipated. He's very scared for some reason. Maybe it's the punch speaking? But then he exhales again: "I need to find her! I'm afraid that... that..."
He hesitates. The zebra's ears fold back—a very guilty expression.
Now I'm really confused. I look across the ballroom to my left.
Octavia's stage is empty. Her cello leans against the stool, abandoned.
My lips part. I gaze down towards Beau again.
"Look, I... I've been getting really... really close to Merriweather," Beau rasps. "And, in the time we've... hung out together, I... I-I feel like I may have t-told him a bit more than I should have... about things. And... uhm..." He sniffles, trembling all over. I've never seen Beau look this vulnerable, and that's what freaks me out the most about this. "He's not as subtle as me and... and he was talking with Tavi earlier, Vine. I... I'm scared that he may have triggered something he shouldn't have. I mean... I-I'm still trying to get it out of him. The stallion's had a bit too much to drink and... and..."
I feel my heartbeat racing—if only to try and match Beau's anxiety. I raise a hoof to steady him, to request that he repeat himself.
But he shudders and says, "This is all my fault. Just... j-just finish your session, Vine. I-I'll go find Octavia. I'll take care of this, okay? I'll make this all right! I promise!"
I grit my teeth, waving at him.
But it's too late. He trots off hurriedly through the remaining crowd. His tail whips frightfully. I'm not sure even he knows where to go or what to do.
I stand nervously at my booth, contemplating the situation—or the lack thereof.
What would Merriweather have "triggered," exactly?
Octavia's an understanding mare.
I think...
Yeah, Beau is just overreacting. He hasn't been in a relationship for a long time and his heart is trying to make a catastrophe over nothing.
Tavi's fine.
I'm sure she's just off to use the filly's room. Odds are she found a stash of wine at the Gala tonight and she's just—
A wave rolls through the Ballroom. Everything ripples—including my heartstrings.
I gasp, freezing in place. I sit back on my haunches, craning my neck, ears twitching.
I wait and I wait and—
It happens again. Another wave. Deep and drenching and indigo.
My blood freezes over.
Scrccchhhttt! The speakers rip, and then the music dies.
The ponies milling and swaying about the ballroom jolt in surprise. Half of the room's eyes turn, gazing curiously at my DJ Booth.
I descend from my table and land on the cold crystalline floor. I trot through the awkward silence, filing through the crowd, keeping my ears pricked towards the ceiling.
Again...
Indigo...
Incalculably far away... but very real.
I hear it... I hear her...
I shuffle through the crowd. There are a gazillion eyes on me, but I don't care. Each trailing wave leads me towards a doorframe to the far left, behind Octavia's stage.
A body files through the mess. Two bodies.
"Uhhh... hey there, Vinyl...?" Pinkie Pie coos.
"Is everything alright?" Fluttershy asks.
I don't listen to them. I can't listen to them. My ears tune in on the indigo and the indigo alone as I brush on by, my trot turning into a half-hearted gallop, matching the stutter of my heart.
"Uhhmm..." Fluttershy glances at her friend.
Pinkie Pie clears her throat, turning towards the crowd. "Okie dokie lokie, everypony! That was tonight's entertainment! Uhhhhm... g-give it up for DJ-P0N3! Yeah!"
The ballroom slowly breaks into crimson applause... then melts behind me as I rush into the nearest hallway.
I'm panting at this point, threading my way down black and blacker crystalline corridors... searching... seeking.
And again...
Indigo...
Closer now...
Indigo...
Fractured... desperate...
Indigo...
Weeping... pleading...
Her color is not alone. It's accompanied by something else. Something wretched... and wretchedly familiar. A patchwork of coarse browns and grays. Sandpaper to the ears... to my ears.
I glance at the floor.
Mottled feathers and torn velvet roses litter the ground.
They form a trail... bleeding around the corner.
I'm galloping at this point. My dashes right, left, then right again...
And then I see her... draped in a vice-like pair of talons... his talons.
A gangly freak of a griffon in a gold vest holds Octavia by her neck. Her dress is torn from an obvious scuffle. Her legs dangle beneath her—dangle beneath his grip as he drags her towards a thick set of crystalline doors labeled "Royal Treasury."
"For the last time, you stupid mud horse!" Ambassador Talonsmith snarls, aiming a pair ot talons against the soft-spot between her eyes. "Give me the combination to this lock or I'll hang you by your garters!"
"And f-for the last t-time, you insufferable brute..." Octavia's words are tough, but her voice isn't. She sniffles, just upon the crest of indigo sobs. "I don't know it! I'm j-just a minstrel!"
"And just what's a damned musician doing wandering the halls at this hour?! Huh?!" Talonsmith spits in her face. "Don't pretend, hussy! I know you're a guard in disguise! Now tell me the blasted combination already so I can get what belongs to Griffonstone!"
"I... d-don't... know it!"
"Rrrrgh!" The air splashes with crimson as he slaps my best friend. "You're not making this any easier for the two of us?!"
I brace my legs hard against the floor. Hissing magenta, I aim my horn at him and channel forth as much magic as I can. My vision goes black, and when it comes back... the abominable griffon is still standing there, the shoulders of his tunic barely smoking.
"Huh?!?" He turns and glares over his shoulder at me. "The hell is this?! Some kind of musician's convention?!"
"Vine! Vine, love!" Octavia sputters, trembling, bleeding from the lip. Her voice lifts into violet for a split second before diving deep into an indigo abyss. "Don't be a hero! Get the guards! Get Twilight! Get—"
"Shut up!" Talonsmith's patchwork breath suffocates her. He spins around, grasping Octavia from behind as he plants a series of razor-sharp talons right up against the mare's velvet chest. Octavia shrieks in pain and fright, and the cretin's voice seeps through it, his hawkeyes glued on my shivering frame. "I'm only going to tell you this once, unicorn. Leave us be, or I promise you: this pathetic mule's death won't be a slow one..."
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...Fuck him up, Vinyl.
Wow, kind of forgot that Talonsmith was even a thing. Sorry, but you're just a forgettable character.
... boy, you're gonna have a bad time.
Vinyl. This is it. This is the moment it's all been building towards. All of that self-degradation and all the humiliation and the unfairness thrown at you. It's time to have one MASSIVE mental breakdown and go berserker on this turkey. Ascend into ultraviolence! Quarter him with your teeth! Gore him! Get IN there and save your woman with the power of raw fury!
6653992
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OH NO YOU FUCKING DIDN'T.
One of two things will happen.
Either Talonsmith will die where he stands,
or Vinyl Scratch will call for help.
I cannot decide which one will be more awesome.
Wuh-oh. Birdo dun goofed.
Time for murdelizing. It seems that Vinyl herself is probably not capable of subduing or otherwise taking on an ornery catbird. Considering some of the context from the last couple chapters, my money is on Flash coming to the rescue, if not one of the Mane Six.
6653992 https://youtu.be/ZcoqR9Bwx1Y (iSorry. It won't let me add it normally for some reason)
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You. Sonuva. BITCH!
HARPOON HIS ASS!
no no no no NO!
6654023
With Beau also on the lookout for Tavi, I'd peg him as the most like have-a-go hero we'll get beyond Vinyl.
I doubt that either of them would be the ones to revoke this guy's diplomatic immunity though. He's doing a good job of it himself.
6654001 YES
Wow. There are morons, and then there are freakin' MORONS. He comes into the castle of Equestria's super team, a group of mares who have personally defeated the worst monsters that the world can throw at them... and he did it so he could get into Twilight's piggy bank?! MORON!!!!! Just, how stupid can you get?
Hurting Tavi is one of those things you just don't do. Ever. I don't think Talonsmith can comprehend how many lines he just crossed.
6654057 Diplomatic immunity wouldn't protect you from intent to harm, threat of harm, and implied threat and intent of grievous harm or murder.
Also, birdo numero dingus thinks Octavia is a guard in disguise. I know some earth ponies are living artillery (see exhibit: Maud Pie), but this guy isn't smart enough to realize that, were Tavi truly a guard, she would have promptly incapacitated him or attempted to do so in response to his actions, regardless of his diplomatic immunity and for the reasons above.
Consequently, he probably isn't smart enough to talk his way out of the coming storm.
He has accosted and mugged a civilian in the domain of Princess Friendship, who pulled out all the stops when Lord Tirek came to town, after all. Twilight Sparkle takes care of her ponies.
6654140
On top of that, Diplomatic Immunity isn't a waiver. It means "The actions I take are backed up by my country. If you attack me, you attack my country. If you don't WANT to attack my country, you won't be attacking me." Faced with even the idea of war with Equestria, which would severely drain their coffers and that they would surely lose in the end, I have a feeling the Birdy Crown's going to cut him off on the spot. Leaving him entirely up to the justice of Equestria.
...I'm sorry, I mean the doggy bag his ashes will be in when Vinyl's done - THAT will be left up to the justice of Equestria.
My reading comprehension hits a new low as I think Tavi and Merriweather are doing... um... things they shouldn't up until the end.
Welp, his fuzzy butt is about to be fertilizer for the castle garden... Vinyl's about to wreck his shit.
Somebody needs a little more Bass Cannon up his ass.
Uh. That was... unexpected.
Wonder why Tavi was wandering the halls though.
Incoming Flash Sentry...
I KNEW IT EVERYTHING IS GOING WRONG AND MY LIFE IS OVER
FUCK HIM UP VINYL, RELEASE A THOUSAND YEARS OF FURY ON HIS NASTY ASSSSSSSS !!!
damnit, evil griffon needs a hoof up his ass.
Anyone got a link to the old cover art? The new (read: current) one is holy balls awesome, but I forgot what the old one even was...
And that bothers me – so I'd like to see it again.
6654014
Actually, one of two things will happen - either Flash Sentry will arrive and everything will be horrible for ever, or Mane Six will come to help, and this story will finally get the Romance tag we've been all waiting for.
Biting my nails to find out.
6654352 It was a screencap from the hundredth episode.
This looks like a job for Flash Century
And won't Octavia be so greatful of her hero.
Damn it, I forgot about this guy. What does this have to do with Merriweather though? I smell intrigue.
6654322
God I fucking hope not. He'll be set up for the knight in shining armor bit and Vinyl'd be pushed off into the background by comparison.
I can already see the scene from Dr. Horrible at the end of 'A Man's Got to Do What A Man's Got to Do'. with Brad as Captain Hammer.
6654601 It's Skirts, I'm totally expecting it. I'm just hoping it's not though.
C'mon, skirtsy, Vinyl deserves happiness even if she doesn't think so :(
Ooooohohoho, Birdy... birdy... you are about to be fucked up beyond words, no one messes with Tavi!
Specially when Vine's on the roll!
Fuck that bastard up!
Whelp. That's a fine mess. I did not expect to see that dolt show up again. That was such a pretty dress too.
Now if only miracles happened and the next chapter be magically posted by the time I hit F5 on this page. xD
EDIT: Nope. No new chapter yet.
EDIT2: Damn. Still no new chapter. That's, like, a whole five F5's pressed. I guess I'll have to wait longer.
6654750 Five F5s? Wow, this page is gonna be out for a three count.
Woah, that's a change of pace.
127 chapters, and as far as I can tell this is the first time anyone's been in genuine mortal peril.
I also suspect that the griffon is lucky if the guards get to him before Vinyl does.
The biggest problem with Griffons is their stubbornness. They will do things manifestly against their best interests because to back down will cost them pride. Sometimes it seems that dying unbowed is actually better in their minds is better than living happily.
6653846 INdeed. GROW ALREADY!
And now FRIENDSHIP BLAST HIM!
Not clear on what's happening here. Is Vinyl suffering from some impairment, are griffons naturally resistant to magic, or is Talonsmith wearing something that shields him?
Or is Vinyl just vastly overestimating her own power? She probably hasn't had many occasions to use magic as a weapon, and blind anger may hinder more than it helps.
Either way, I fear that as much as I want Vinyl to wipe the floor with this chickenhawk and win Tavi's love, she might not be up for it. That's an awful thought, especially if the newly single Flash Sentry swoops in instead.
That was quick
on a side note,
OH MY GOD YES VINYL DESTROY HIM
6655035 http://youtu.be/POy09x79WRk
Ooh, that was the wrong move...hope Twilight has insurance or something to cover what's coming.
Things are going to get... black.
FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!!!!!!!
"I'm not even mad you showed up, Talonsmith; I've got some shit to work through."