Sometimes You Make It...

by Indie Cred

Chapter 8

Saturday. Equestrian Beats’ final night. Indie was filled with a nervous energy as he walked to the booth. He set down his saddle bag, filled to the brim with his selections for the night. He opened the bag and began to remove and sort the records.

“A little early, eh Indie?” Called Mr. Chance.

“What are you talking about? It’s already eight-thirty!” Indie called back.

“Hah, well you don’t have to worry about not destroying the place tonight at least.”

“I’ll do my best Golden.”

Indie started setting the mixer, testing every setting twice. Everything had to be perfect tonight. He lined up the first five tracks on the desk and leaned back in his chair. “Tonight, everything is going to get better” he thought to himself.

The usual crowd showed up around nine-thirty as always, and started on their drinks. A few wandered over to the booth to ask what he would be playing that night, and to see if he’d remembered their requests from earlier.

“I’ve got everything you guys requested in my playlist. Since it’s my last show, I can’t add anything to the list if it’s not here, but you guys can take a quick look if you want”

A few of the regulars looked through the albums he had brought, and he added their requests to the playlist. After they had finished their browsing and returned to their drinks, he started up the house music. It was an old blues tune he used regularly, as it didn’t cause anyone to get too excited before the show, and he’d found it calmed his nerves.

Ten o’clock rolled around and the real crowd started to pour in. It was going to be a good night. By his rough count, there were nearly five hundred ponies here, almost the limit of the theater.

He walked backstage, and waited for his cue. The house lights dimmed, and a low buzz emitted from the stacks. He stepped out into the near darkness and into the booth. The house lights came on with a bright flash. The speakers began pumping out bass and the crowd roared in response.

Indie felt the roar of the crowd wash over him as he walked to his booth, reveling in it. The first track began, and as the sound grew, the crowd began to move with the music. Everything was perfect. A one in a million show. This was what he was made for, this moment here. Everything else melted away, and he became one with the music. He read the emotions of the crowd, choosing tracks to keep them on their feet, feeding off the raw energy of the mass of ponies dancing and swaying to the beat. He forgot about everything in his life. His past, his fears, his pain, everything was gone, replaced by the sound and the surge of the crowd. And then he saw her.

At first he thought it was a trick of the light. An illusion. But no, it was her alright. The white coat, the wild blue hair. And the smile. He could never forget that smile. It was the feature he loved most about her. He’d done everything possible just to make her smile like that. It was the one thing he looked forward to the most.

And there she was, in the middle of the crowd, just standing there, smiling at him.

The track ended, and for a moment there was silence. He quickly snapped out of it and set the next song playing, but when he looked back, she was gone. He tried to find her in the crowd, but the darkened theater was a mass of movement. She was gone. He focused on the music again, trying to get back into the rhythm.

A scream sounded out. The crowd began to panic. Ponies began to flee towards the door, and finally he saw why. One of the stacks at the back of the theater near the bar had ignited, and the flame was quickly spreading to the alcohol soaked countertop.

The flames moved rapidly through the ancient theater, and the stage curtains soon caught as well. Most of the crowd had already managed to escape, but Indie found himself trapped. He decided at that moment that this was one thing he wouldn’t give up on. The show would go on this time.

He removed the record from the turntable and placed another on in its place. The remaining speakers began pumping out sound. The music was somewhat distorted, as several of the stacks had already failed or succumbed to the flames, but it didn’t matter. He’d heard the song so many times he didn’t need the sound to hear it anymore.

The keyboards rang out, followed by the singer, belting out “You know that it would be untrue… You know that I would be a liar… If I was to say to you… Girl, we couldn't get much higher”

Indie leaned back in his chair and pulled out a cigarette, leaning over to use a small patch of flame to light it. He took a long drag on the cigarette and began to sing along. “Come on baby, light my fire… Come on baby, light my fire… Try to set the night on fire…”

The bar was a blazing inferno now. Bottles shattered, adding their volatile contents to the flames. The keyboards rang out. Even in the intense heat, Indie felt a chill come over himself as the keyboard solo broke down and the guitar came out in front. The plaster on the ceiling came down in large patches, creating dust clouds.

Nearly screaming out the lyrics with the song, he continued “The time to hesitate is through! No time to wallow in the mire! Try now we can only lose! And our love become a funeral pyre!”

The last of the speakers finally failed, and the heat became so intense he was finding it hard to breathe. He took another long drag on his cigarette and threw it into the blaze. Beams fell from the ceiling, crashing into the floor.

“Come on baby, light my fire! Come on baby, light my fire! Try to set the night on fire, yeah!” He screamed, and began to laugh. The booth had caught fire, and his records had all but melted away by now.

“You know that it would be untrue! You know that I would be a liar! If I was to say to you! Girl, we couldn't get much higher!”

He could hear the fire department trying to break through the beams that had fallen in front of the doorway now.

He continued to sing out “Come on baby, light my fire! Come on baby, light my fire! Try to set the night on fire!”

He could barely breathe now, and singing was all but impossible. Still, as he sat there in his booth, he choked out “Try to set the night on fire… Try to set the night on fire… Try to set the night on fire…”