A City of Opportunities

by Sasha Nein

Interlude: The Hound of (The) Vinyl

“Come on, Octavia. Trust me, this is going to be great!” Vinyl pushed the protesting mare into the back rooms of the club. She decided that the shy mare wouldn’t do well sitting in front of the stage on the dance floor. So this was the next best thing.

There was a curtain backdrop behind the stage which allowed Vinyl easy access to a small breakroom while working her sets. This would be the best place to get Octavia great sound without terrifying her.

“I don’t see why I can’t sit at one of the tables,” Octavia argued.

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “The tables are at the back, there’s going to be easily over a hundred ponies between you and the speakers. That’s no way to listen to your debut song.”

“So it’s my song now?”

“Well if you insist, I’ll let you out on stage and take credit for it,” Vinyl teased.

“Back here seems fine,” came the quick reply.

“That’s the spirit!” Vinyl crowed.

After a few more hurried instructions, Vinyl popped out on the stage. The dance floor was mostly empty, despite the mellow soundtrack playing. Many of the ponies were saving energy for the show. She waved as a cheer went up, but made no changes to the track. She wasn’t ready yet.

She liked to be sure all of her equipment was in working order. There was nothing worse than having her mixer board calibrated wrong or something catch fire. Not that anything had caught fire, yet, but somepony had messed with her board once and she had started without realizing it. While it had been nothing she couldn’t fix, it had killed the mood. That had been a disaster in itself.

Grunting in satisfaction, Vinyl grabbed some earplugs from a small container behind her equipment. Slipping off stage, she looked around the small lounge for Octavia. “Alright,” she began, finding the mare on a couch. “First off, it’s going to get really, really loud. Even back here. So take these.”

Vinyl offered the earplugs with a grin. “Next, don’t wander off, drink anything, or use the restrooms. If you need to go, I suggest going now, but not after the show starts. Things get messy.”

Octavia frowned. “This is starting to seem like a mistake.”
“Nonsense,” Vinyl scoffed. “There’s a few ground rules for anything you do, it’s just common sense. Just follow what I say and tonight’ll be a blast!

“I gotta get out there now,” Vinyl scampered back to the stage. “See you in an hour or two!”

Last she saw was Octavia trying to stuff the earplugs in her ears. She couldn’t decide if it was hilarious, or cute. The mare clearly didn’t know what she was doing. Oh well, she’d help Octavia fix them later.

Stepping back out on stage, another cheer rose and this time Vinyl pumped a hoof and flicked on a microphone. “Everypony ready for some jammin’?” she shouted, her voice reverberating through the speakers and club.

A roar rose from the crowd; ponies downed the last of their drinks or surged to their hooves, eager to get as close to the stage as possible. Vinyl couldn’t help but grin. She put on her headphones and savored how they muffled the din around her.

Preparing her first track, Vinyl leaned back to the microphone. “Well let’s not waste time!”

The crowd surged again, Vinyl flicked her hoof and began the magic. A technical pony may have questioned the term, but to the DJ that’s precisely what it was, magic. The power music held over the masses was staggering. Many never noticed what could be achieved with even the simplest musical number, but Vinyl was well aware of the influence music had on ponies.

She could control the mood of the entire dance floor, her whim dictating the speed and intensity of the throbbing mass below her. With the right notes, she could influence a pony to reach for aspirations he’d never known he had. At least, that was what she liked to think.

As it so happened, she had a goal in mind for the night. Most of her set was going to be buildup for her new song, which she was going to play as a finale. While her set was lively, she refrained from playing anything climactic. The plan was to keep the masses below entertained, yet not exhausting them before her spectacular end.

Vinyl continued to play, the late night all too soon giving way to early morning. A few VIPs made their way through the lounge Octavia was sitting in, but the mare wasn’t much of a conversationalist. She would have laughed at the stoic earth pony if she hadn’t been on stage. Each time Vinyl peeked back, she would see Octavia sitting, awkwardly trying to ignore the other ponies and pretending to be engrossed in the music.

Finally the time came for Vinyl to begin wrapping up. The club was open for another two hours yet, but they usually wanted ponies to be winding down and actually on their way out by closing time. Tonight though, she was ending her set with a bang.

Phasing out her current song, she fed in a faster song and turned up the bass. Not a lot, enough for ponies to notice, but not blow them off the dance floor. Next she would play a couple of club favorites and rile the crowd up, then she would conclude.

Vinyl grinned as the ponies below her surged with the music. Any of the ponies who had been nursing drinks were now on the dance floor as well, their bodies drawn to the beat and the need to move. A glance back at Octavia revealed the mare peeking around the curtain, her eyes wide at the crazy spectacle.

As the last song came to its conclusion, Vinyl dropped out the bass and turned the volume down as she flipped on a mic.

“I hope everypony had a good time tonight!” she yelled, subtly loading up her final song. It took a moment before the roar of the crowd dissipated and she could continue. “You're all in luck tonight! I've got an exclusive debut song to drop. Composed by yours truly, with added touches by a very special friend.” Vinyl turned slightly and gave Octavia a wink, laughing to herself when the mare recoiled back behind the curtain.

As the crowd surged again, Vinyl threw in a deep bass intro, drowning out the screaming ponies and shaking the entire building, then jumped the song right into the chorus. Ponies weren’t looking for great lyrics this time of night, but with a little love and tweaking they’d listen to anything.

Actually, starting the song with the chorus didn’t seem like a bad idea for when she published it. Getting ponies interested in the beat and music might pull them in to listen to the rest of the song. Shaking her head, Vinyl refocused on finishing the set. She’d think about that later.

When the song ended, Vinyl let another deep bass tone reverberate throughout the club for a few seconds. It wasn’t as powerful, but it was a clear signal that the night was over. She flipped on a mic for a final time. “That’s it for DJ p0n-3! Peace out, ladies!”

Cutting off all the music, Vinyl began powering down her equipment. To her surprise, the entire floor erupted in applause. Ponies stamped the floor or threw their hooves in the air wildly. Vinyl grinned, her pride surging as she looked out across the sea of pleased ponies. Vinyl waved, increasing the screams.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the bouncers moving forward. Giving a quick salute, Vinyl exited the stage. While the praise was unbelievably satisfying, it was probably best if she didn’t drive the crowd into a frenzy. She’d seen that happen once or twice, it wasn’t pretty.

Back in the lounge, Vinyl grabbed Octavia’s hooves and spun her around, still grinning madly. “Did you see that?” she gushed. “They loved it! We did amazing!”

Octavia shook her head. “You were quite amazing, I didn’t do anything.”

“Hm, you’re right about one thing,” Vinyl agreed. “I was pretty amazing.” The DJ looked Octavia in the eye. “But you still did something, that song didn’t make itself. So, good job!”

“I’m glad it was actually meaningful, for once,” Octavia muttered, looking away.

Vinyl ignored the comment, still high on her rush. She bounced around the lounge, helping herself to a drink from the mini bar. Satisfied with her selection, Vinyl flopped onto a couch with a grin plastered on her features. Reeves was going to be ecstatic.

The door from the front banged open, startling the unicorn. She fumbled with the drink in her magic as Octavia surged to her hooves. It was one of the bouncers.

“We have a situation. You’ve really stirred up the crowd, Vinyl. They want to see you,” he said with a frown. “You need to take care of this, we don’t have enough ponies on hoof to deal with this crowd if things get unruly.”

“What are they doing?” Vinyl asked worriedly.

“Right now they’re just refusing to leave, but so far nopony has tried to get back here through Bruises and Barney, yet. Many of them are demanding an announcement.”

Vinyl blinked. “An announcement? From me? For what?”

“I would imagine they want to know where to get your new song,” the stallion deadpanned.

Octavia stepped forward. “Tell everypony that Vinyl will give a small speech outside as soon as the club closes. Keep a path clear so we can leave easily. Hopefully this will calm everypony and give Vinyl a moment to come up with something.”

The stallion nodded, “We’ll give it a shot, but are you sure it’s not safer for her to just come back out on stage?”

“If we want to get ponies out, this will be the best way,” Octavia said with a shake of her head. “Just keep a path through the crowd clear, I can take care of Vinyl.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Vinyl groused.

The stallion nodded again. “Alright then, it’ll be up to you, miss. I’ll make the announcement.”

With that he left. Vinyl peeked out through the cracked door and saw the large mass of ponies still milling about. She chuckled nervously. “Woops! I didn’t expect this to happen.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just tell them you’ll be publishing the record somewhere and that you’re happy they liked it,” Octavia said absentmindedly as she moved to peek out around the curtain.

“Hey!” Vinyl pointed a hoof accusingly at Octavia. “What do you mean take care of me?”

Octavia frowned at the DJ before turning back to the curtain. “This doesn’t look all that good, Vinyl. You need to say something short and quick, and then we’re hurrying home. Hopefully we can lose anypony curious enough to follow.”

“Jeez, what’s the big deal?”

“Do you want hundreds of fan ponies hanging around your apartment?” Octavia asked irritably. “No, I didn’t think so. I doubt the landlord would be very happy either.”

“Well,” Vinyl drawled. “It wouldn’t be too bad.”

What was wrong with a few fans? Ponies looking to praise you for everything you do. Ponies grovelling at your hooves, copying your dress style, wanting autographs, prying into your personal life. Vinyl caught Octavia giving her a deadpan stare.

“Okay, fine,” she acquiesced. “Maybe it would be a little invasive.”

“It looks like the ponies are filing out,” Octavia said, sighing in relief. “Have you got down what you want to say?”

Vinyl waved her hoof airily. “Na, I just let the words flow. It’s easier and less stressful.”

“Whatever, let’s go.”

Grimacing, Vinyl stood. The gray mare’s stoic tone grated on her good mood. “Octavia, relax will you?”

“I am relaxed,” the mare responded.

“Really?” Vinyl deadpanned. “Because you look like you’ve been sitting in a freezer.”

Octavia paused at the door, her face slowly scrunching as she processed Vinyl’s words. “What?” she eventually responded.

Vinyl resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Nevermind, let’s go,” she said, moving to join Octavia at the door.

The club was now silent, the masses having only just vacated the building. The two mares made their way towards the main entrance. Vinyl could see a crowd gathered beyond the glass doors, waiting for the ponies inside to appear.

She felt a thrill of excitement surge through limbs. All of these ponies were waiting for her. Waiting to hear her voice. It was exhilarating, although a glance at the gray mare beside her showed the feeling was not mutual.

Vinyl bumped the apprehensive mare. “Hey, relax! This is going to be great!”

Octavia only grunted, putting her trademark stoic expression on as she gestured forward.

Rolling her eyes, Vinyl cleared her throat and ran a hoof through her mane to ruffle it. Satisfied, she burst out the doors, only vaguely aware of Octavia following behind. There was a pathway cleared through the crowd and out into the little square, just like Octavia had asked. Two large ponies, who she recognized as Bruises and Barney, stood at the end of the path, keeping it clear. Vinyl wondered how many ponies they were going to wake up as she reared, causing the crowd to erupt in a cheer.

“Helloooo again, everypony!” she crowed once the crowd quieted. “So, you liked my song, huh?”

Vinyl smirked as the crowd roared and stamped their hooves again. “Alright everypony, two things,” she continued. “First: news will be posted on the club bulletin board with a publish date for my song before the week is out! So be sure to come back so you don’t miss it! Second--” But her words were drowned out as ponies began stamping their hooves.

Vinyl wasn’t finished. “Second!” she repeated, holding out her hooves to quiet the crowd. “I heard you guys were a little unruly about leaving. That’s totally not cool guys! Next time you get excited about the stuff I do, stay chill! If you tear up the club, then there won’t be one! So let’s not have any of that.”

Pausing, Vinyl looked out over the silent ponies and their guilty expressions. “Now, I trust everypony to not let this happen again. So,” she emphasized loudly, “let’s hear one last scream for who’s their best DJ!”

As the ponies stamped and cheered once again, Vinyl laughed and jumped forward. This was the life, she was living everything she had dreamed of. Somehow she had hit it big, and now had the fame. Money would come with time, she was sure, but what made her the happiest was seeing how much joy she had brought to these ponies with just a little music.

Riding on her euphoric high, Vinyl cantered down the aisle between the ponies. She bumped hooves with those in front. Seeing a few ponies waving scraps of paper, Vinyl made a mental note to get herself an autograph pen.

Not that she could have stopped to sign anything anyway. Vinyl noted with annoyance that anytime she lagged, Octavia, and the bouncer, were there to push her forward. Who did they think they were anyway, her bodyguards? That might not be a bad idea, she’d have to look into hiring one.

Just as her mind turned to the darker aspects of her recent life, a mare stepped out in front of her. Time suddenly seemed to freeze as Vinyl noticed she was brandishing a knife. In that split second thousands of thoughts flashed through her brain, the most prominent of which being: The only direction I can move is forward and she is too damn close!

Then, just as suddenly, Octavia was there and the world sped up. Vinyl was pushed to the side into the ponies who were still cheering. As she tumbled, she watched Octavia slide around the mare who was already in the motion of stabbing, then her vision was filled with hooves and fur.

By the time the crowd realized what was going on, had gasped, and Vinyl gotten back up, the fight was over. Octavia was rifling through the pony’s saddlebags for some reason. She stood in stunned silence at the mare now laying on the ground, the knife under the hoof of the bouncer that had walked out with them.

“I-is she—” Vinyl gulped. “... Dead?”

Octavia glanced up at Vinyl, but said nothing. After a moment, her features darkened as she pulled out a small scrap of paper. The gray mare stood suddenly, grabbed Vinyl and hurriedly ushered her away from the crowd. She paused for a moment to speak to the bouncer, who nodded at what she said, but Vinyl didn’t pay attention. Glancing back, Vinyl noticed a splash of blood she had missed before.

She was barely aware of Octavia ushering her through the dark streets. It had happened again. Why was she being targeted for murder? She had almost died again. What had she done to deserve this? If Octavia hadn’t been there...

Blinking, Vinyl looked around. Octavia, where was she? They were heading up stairs in some building. It was dingy and the walls were covered in a horrible blue paint job. Their hooves clattered on the steps and echoed around the bare stairwell. “W-where are we going?” she asked, her voice croaking.

“I’m taking you to my apartment,” Octavia responded tersely. “Something is up, and I have a pretty good idea of how to fix this.”

Vinyl’s eyes dilated. “Fix what?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Octavia responded with a shake of her head. “You just need to lay low here for a few hours and I’ll take care of everything.”

“Shouldn’t we go to the authorities?” Vinyl asked worriedly.

“They can’t help with this.”

“W-what?!” Vinyl choked. She backed away from Octavia, although it wasn’t far before she hit the wall in the narrow stairwell. “How can not going to the guard help?”

Octavia grimaced and glanced around before pinning Vinyl against the wall. “Listen, Vinyl. I don’t have a lot of time to explain. But trust me when I say this, I’m here to keep you safe and whatever ponies are trying to get to you have just tipped their cards.” She pushed Vinyl up the stairs. “I don’t have time to waste, this is the best I’ve got right now.”

Vinyl was silent for a moment, but her thoughts were filled with her last glimpse of the mare, one half of her face splashed with blood. “Is that mare dead?” she managed to choke out.

The gray earth pony was silent for a moment. Then her features darkened and she jerked back, pulling Vinyl further up the stairs. “No.”

Octavia hurried to the door, but paused before exiting. “If I’m not... Get out of town, and fast. I’ve got some clothes you can disguise yourself with in here somewhere. I’m sorry, but that’s all I can say right now. I’ll see you later.” Beginning to close the door, Octavia repeated, “Remember, two hours!”

Then, she was gone. Vinyl stared unseeing at the closed door. She was unable to shake the image of the mare jumping at her, out of nowhere, with knife in hoof. That instant was frozen in her mind. She had been unable to move, only stare at what she knew was certain doom, unable to contemplate why, or how.

But then, Octavia had just been there. How did she appear and disappear like that? It made no sense, Vinyl knew the earth pony had been behind her, she clearly remembered the irritation she’d felt from the insistent hooves pushing her forward. Yes, Octavia had pushed her aside before stepping forward, but nopony could react that fast, could they?

Vinyl slumped to the floor and squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to focus on what had happened. Taking a ragged breath, she tried to clear her mind, but the mare appeared in her mind again and she opened her eyes with a gasp.

Standing shakily, Vinyl inhaled rather noisily. It wasn’t a sniffle, only foals cried when they were scared. She wandered into the small kitchen area and found a roll of paper towels while she blinked rapidly and tried to calm her breathing.

Vinyl couldn’t decide if she was more terrified of being targeted again, or how Octavia was beginning to have this knack of always being in the right place at the right time. Yes, she was grateful, she owed her life to the mare... Twice now. But, what was really going on here?

Her thoughts snapped back to her first meeting with the mare only weeks prior. That time, her life did have a chance to flash before her eyes, but Octavia had saved her at the last second. Why did ponies want to murder her? Why did Octavia save her? Where did Octavia come from?

Vinyl sunk to the floor again and clutched the paper towels to her chest. Octavia... Things didn’t add up with that mare. She had overlooked all of those stutters and avoided questions before, but they all seemed painfully obvious now. Why was Octavia spending so much time with her when she was clearly so uncomfortable being with her? No, she didn’t know that Octavia disliked her. Maybe she was just a nervous mare. But... Why would she be nervous if she could kick flank like she had done? Twice!

Blinking a few more times, Vinyl wiped her eyes with one of the paper towels. Her breathing had slowed, but it wasn’t any more calm. She was exhausted, but her body felt like it was wired to detonate at a moment’s notice. She glanced towards the door, Octavia’s warning suddenly ringing in her head.

Maybe she should just leave now? Maybe the ponies weren’t after her, but the earth pony. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time... twice. Would she be safer if she got away from Octavia? She’d certainly not had any problems up until she’d met the mare. She’d lived two decades without any life threatening problems!

Doubt wormed its way into her thoughts as she tried to analyse the situation from multiple angles. It sure didn’t seem like Octavia was the target. If anything, she’d seemed prepared to run interference for Vinyl. She seemed to always be on edge, though, especially in large crowds; almost as if she expected something to happen.

The minutes ticked by, but Vinyl didn’t move. The only sound in the apartment was an occasional rustle and snuffle by the mare cowering in the kitchen. Octavia had saved her twice already, if the gray mare had wanted her dead, Vinyl was pretty sure that could have been taken care of a long time ago. No, she would stay, but that mare was giving her answers when she got back.

Author's Note:

Apologies for the short chapter... and for taking so long.

My writing process = Write a page, let it sit for a month, pretend to write for another month, then finish everything in a week and post it and start a page on the next chapter, let it sit for a month... etc.

Oh, and editing... Yeah, that gets done in there somewhere >__>

Thanks to DarkPhoenix for the last minute editing before I get impatient and just post whatever I had.

Comments

[Luno_Illumino]

Yea. It is a cool chapter

[Streamline]

I found this story recently, and have finally gotten around to reading it. And I love it! Quite the interesting take on the traditional Octavia/Vinyl relationship.

[Rain_Feather]

Okay, you've got me hooked! Now hurry up and write some more!