01. The Only Difference Between Thugs And Gangsters Is The Gangster's Leader Is Always Shorter Than His Henchmen
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Neon lights blanketed the city, the skyline's clouds lit with their glaring colors. Manehattan was as if a living being, an illuminating insomniac. It seemed the city never slept, always chattering, always breathing. Its inhabitants acting as blood, surging through its concrete veins from one sector to the other, using the towering buildings as cover from the night.
Within its heart, a tower lined with surging neon lights acted as its heartbeat, pounding with a rhythm the ponies within its walls could dance to with very much ease. The beats were as if Morse code, and the dancers were their translators. The dance floor within shook, dozens upon dozens of hooves moved across its surface erratically.
Sitting in a booth high above them all, controlling the dance floor and the life that stood upon it themselves like a goddess, one lone unicorn moved with them to mixes. She was controlling every nob, every lever in that small space with just a blink or flick of her head. Records levitated around her in a blue aura, sweat dripped down her face, back and legs.
This was the life she lived, the only life she's ever known how to live.
Though beyond her dark tinted glasses, a dark force lurked in the shadows and her life would then change...
Forever...
~*~*~
Down to the streets of the city, ponies dared not venture out at night. The cracked sidewalks and littered streets, occasional newspapers flowing through the wind, a near ghost town the heart of the city was at that time of night.
Lurking in the alleys, scum and muck, hostiles waited and preyed on the unsuspected and those unfortunate to have taken the dark paths between the skyscrapers.
Taking brisk steps into the dimly lit alley way, two mares hidden under hoods and black trench coats, embarked on their journey through the city limits. They were of different proportions between each other, one tall and more slim, the other far shorter but more fuller in form.
As they came across a flickering alley lamp, both mares stopped, as they heard hoof steps from behind. Turning around, the shorter mare spotted four stallions, ruff and ragged in appearance.
"Well well," one of the stallions said, taking a step towards the mares, "looks like yous two's is lost."
"Yeah," another stepped forward, "real lost."
The taller mare stepped besides her companion, whispering into her ear.
"What?!" The first stallion's voice echoing in the shadows. "Can't hears ya! Might wanna speak louder so we cans all hear!"
The mares flinched, looking back towards the approaching stallions.
"Our business is not with you or your gang." The shortest mare spoke, her voice light with a Canterlot accent, but remained firm. "Please let us be on our way, or we-"
"Oh! Look out, boys!" The stallion said, holding his hooves up in mock fear. "Theys gonna get rough with us!"
"Yeah!" The second stallion repeated. "Rough!"
The four stallions then charged at the mares, cruel intentions strong in their eyes as they closed in. If only they knew the cruelty of their actions, and of the cruel life they chose for themselves in their life times. If only they had manners, and maybe some proper grammar. If only they known of the mares' origin, or of their identities.
If only the stallion leading the three others had known, before being kicked in the face by the shorter mare.
His ragged form flew back past the other stallions, all too distracted and alarmed to see the other mare jump and flip over them, removing her trench coat and throwing down a smoke bomb.
"Hey!" A one of the three stallions shouted, choking on the smoke along with his companions. "What the hay is up with deez broads?"
"That's not a very nice term for a lady..." A seductive voice whispered from behind him, just as he was taken up off his hooves and thrown to the ground back first. He watched in agony as after having the wind knocked out of him, a slim figure flipped over his grounded form into the smoke, only but a shadow highlighted by the dim lighting of the alley.
He watched as she moved through the smoke towards his brothers, kicking out a hind leg to one's abdomen, and throwing a hoof into the other's face. She flipped horizontally, wrapping her hind legs around the first stallion's head, and then flinging him to the ground.
Just outside the cloud of smoke, the other mare, still hidden under her hood fought the leader. He threw a punch, but she deflected it and threw one back. She could her the anger growing in his grunts, feel in his strikes. She gritted her teeth as she dipped under another failed strike by the stallion and jumped, turning a full 360 degrees before attempting a sicken kick to the stallion's skull, but fell short.
The stallion grabbed her leg just before the impact, sending her to the ground before lifting her up once more, only to send her sailing into a dumpster off to the side with a loud bang. She groaned, trying to stand but was silenced by a sudden strike to the stomach by the stallion, followed by another. He finally held her up against the dumpster, his hoof tightening against her neck
"Just who do yous two thinks yous is," He growled, adding pressure to the mare's windpipe, "thinkin' we's some ch-"
The stallion was silenced as the mare's hind leg struck up between his hing legs.
Well, he wasn't silenced. His vocal range was duly noted by the mare as it rose in pitch, letting her go and being knocked backwards back towards the rumble.
As the smoke subsided, the other three stallions laid in one pile, their cotton pink attacker stood amongst them powdering her muzzle. Her candy pink mane hung over the side of her face, her horn stuck out from under it.
"Are you alright The shorter mare asked, walking towards her partner.
"Yes," the limber mare spoke elegantly, closing the mirror she levitated before her face, "I am, thank you. Are you?"
"I'm fine." Her companion answered, holding a hoof to her neck. Her partner watched her, her violet eyes scanning her. "I am, Fleur. Really."
She nodded, grabbing her coat with her magic and putting it back on. "Well...it appears they had underestimated us."
"Severely," her partner replied, raising a smoke grey hoof her coal black mane out of her magenta eyes. "Shall we continue? The location isn't much farther now."
"Yes, lets." The unicorn replied. "After you."
~*~*~
"Cherry Bombs to Screen Shot, Cherry Bombs to Screen Shot," she spoke into the transmitter.
"Ugh, these code names are so stupid." The grey mare groaned.
The first mare rolled her eyes. "We have reached our location on top of the FaxStar building."
"Good work, agents." A voice wrapped in static said. "Agent Melody, have you spotted the target yet?"
High above the rooftops, hidden amongst the night and sky, the two mares had ascended up to their objective. The grey mare, Agent Melody, sat with binoculars looking across to an neon lit tower ten blocks away, whilst Agent De Lis stood by handling a radio.
Agent Melody looked closer, slightly adjusting the binoculars' settings. "No...no...wait. I think I see something."
"What is it?" The voice on the radio asked.
"Let me see," Agent De Lis said, taking the binoculars from Agent Melody.
Holding the binoculars to her eyes, she saw that at the foot of the tower, six unmarked trucks blocked the street, and a crowd of security at the door. Beside them, a line of ponies stretched pass the trucks and further down the block, all dressed in vibrant colors and wore glowing rings around their necks and hooves.
"I...I can't believe it." Agent De Lis said.
"Yes." The voice spoke. "Our target, only known in the data base as Hawthorne, will be somewhere in that-"
"Dance club?" Agent Melody asked, astonished. "You have got to be kidding me!"
"This is very serious, Agents. I'm afraid that whatever documents Hawthorne has in his possession might be connected to the Griffin-base attacks." Screen Shot confirmed. "If we let him slip by this time, we may never know where he'll resurface..."
"...If he ever does again." Agent De Lis finished, turning to Agent Melody.
"We can't afford to have this opportunity to disappear." Screen Shot explained. "We sent you two to Manehattan for this reason, we know that tomorrow night Hawthorne will be attending this club with its owners. If you can't obtain the plans then, we may not be able to stop whoever is behind all this," he concluded, "are we clear?"
"Yes." Agent De Lis answered for her and her partner, who was staring down into the city below.
"Good." Screen Shot said. "Report back to me when you have completed your mission. Screen Shot, out."
Agent De Lis stood on that roof top, the wind blowing through her mane and teasing at her fur.
She turned to her partner, walking to stand beside her. "Octavia, come on. Is this really the worst thing we've had to do to obtain information?"
"Yes." Agent Melody answered, quickly.
Agent De Lis rolled her eyes. "You're being over-dramatic, we've gone dancing before. Anyway, this is for the mission. For the fate of Equestria. For-"
"Yes, yes quit it." Agent Melody sighed. "I get it. Let's find a place to stay for the night."
~*~*~
She could just barely make out her name over the bass and synth.
Her real name, not her stage name.
Feeling the hooves she's learned to love wrap around her waist, she felt the heat of another body pressing itself against her back, the hot breath at her neck. One of her hooves found the flank of the body pressed against her, using the other to flip a switch, closing the shutters to her booth above the dance floor.
Turning around, her breath was cut short as a pair of teal lips stole her's in a split second. Her eyes snapped open, the sudden taste and feeling of a tablet pressed into her mouth by way of the unicorn's tongue surprising her only for a moment. Hidden behind her tinted shades, they closed as she melted into the kiss, wrapping her hooves around the unicorn and pressing her against the booth's door. She pinned the unicorn's hooves to her sides, pulling back to take in the sight of the blushing mare in her grasp with Discord's grin.
The teal unicorn stared at her with great need, her golden eyes catching her own through the glasses. They were than removed, a golden aura surrounding them as they were tossed onto the synthesizer. As the need grew within herself, she leaned in, stealing the teal unicorn's lips this time. Her hooves removed themselves from the unicorn's and trailed down to her flanks, finding the lyre cutie marks and keeping them there.
This was simply another average night to the alabaster unicorn. In her mind, fireworks went wild and her nerves went estatic, the exstasy taking its control over the DJ.
This was the life of Vinyl Scratch.
But for how long?
02. Best Friends To The End, Better Off As Lovers And Not The Other Way Around
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The sun shown through the cracked blinds of the apartment window, golden streaks marking the messy bedroom. Worn out glow sticks laid upon the floor, candy wrappers sat upon the nightstands and a bodies laid wrapped in a bundle under the large blue blanket. One of the bodies began to shift and raise its head, her ears flickering as a all too familiar head ache came alive.
It was just another day for her. Though not all days began with a lovely view like hers did. She yawned with Discord's grin, reaching out and gently wrapping her hooves around the object of her late night desires, partially blocked by her electrifying blue mane in her vision. She licked and smacked her lips, she could still taste the poisons of the night before, and of a certain other familiar. Her mind brings her back to that moment, it sends shivers down her spine. She brought her muzzle closer and closer, and closer still! Just enough to pucker her lips and-
"What are you doing?"
Vinyl Scratch paused in her actions, mere inches from the soft, fluffy mounds she cradled like a mother held a foal. She looked up, her lips now curling into a smile from seeing the mare staring back at her with sleepy eyes.
"Hehe," she giggled, "morning, Ly."
Lyra Heartstrings, slightly irritated from being woken up from such a gesture, raised an eye brow at the white unicorn. "Are you kissing my flank?" She asked.
Quick on the draw, Vinyl sat up to faced the teal unicorn. "Nope, never, nu-uh. I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Ugh, if you wanted to have sex, you could have at least woken me up." Lyra sighed, lightly shoving her friend out of bed. "Now as your punishment, you have to get the coffee this time."
"Awww!" Vinyl groaned, burying her face into Lyra's blanket covered lap. "But I hate making the coffee!"
Lyra rolled her eyes and, laying her hooves on her friend;s head and ruffling her already matted mane. "Should have thought about that before you tried to play tonsil hockey with my flank! Now..." Her horn lit up and Vinyl soon found her self being levitated out of bed and dropped onto the floor, hitting the carpeted surface with a muffled groaned. "No milk, three lumps of sugar."
Vinyl shot a sleepy glare at Lyra as she made her way to the bedroom door. "Yeah, I'll give ya lumps alright..."
"Excuse me?!"
"Oh nothing!" Vinyl grinned, leaving the room. She trotted into the semi living and into the kitchen. She reached for the coffee maker which sat on the counter and hit on.
Man, I don't even know how this works... She thought to her self, watching as the water slightly boiled in the maker. Isn't there supposed to be coffee in this thing or do I...
Vinyl looked around at the counter and spotted a plastic tin labeled coffee beans. Hmm... She used her magic to levitate the tin over to the coffee maker and poured them in.
"No, no..." She stopped. When Lyra makes these at her job, they're crushed. She focused all her might and watched as the beans crumbled into to tiny flakes, and fell into the now steaming water.
"And now I play the waiting game." Vinyl smiled, leaning onto the counter and staring at the coffee maker.
And she waited. And waited...
And waited.
"Ugh, waiting game sucks." Vinyl pouted. She decided to head back to the bedroom and found Lyra grabbing a towel. "Hey." She said, playfully.
Lyra turned around. "Oh, hey."
"Getting in the shower?" Vinyl asked, grinning seductively. "Ya know, we can save time and shower together."
Lyra rolled her eyes. "There really needs to be some barriers between us, Vinyl," she said, grabbing a bottle of shampoo from under the bathroom sink.
"What's that suppose to mean," Vinyl asked, "I can make barriers. It's an easy spell."
Lyra turned the faucets to the shower and looked back to the pouting unicorn. "No, I mean," She groaned, "ya know how we've been best friends since like, preschool?"
"Yeah?" Vinyl replied.
"Yeah. And best friends can't just be sleeping together like this!" Lyra pointed out, extending her hooves to her sides. "It's fun, yeah, but we aren't even going out."
Vinyl grinned again, feeling the warm heat from the shower water. "But it's fun, isn't it?"
"You're not hearing me, Vy!" Lyra pressing a hoof to her fore head.
Vinyl pouted. "I don't get it, Lyra. Last night, you were all over me," she explained, leaning against the door frame, "now you're telling me we shouldn't do what we've been doing for months."
"I know, look," Lyra said, waving a hoof, "I understand that at parties and the club I get frisky, and I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry, I like ya frisky." Vinyl cooed, winking at the teal pony.
Lyra deadpanned. "You're impossible."
Vinyl grinned. "You're sexy."
"Get out." Lyra said, pushing Vinyl out of the bathroom and closing the door. Vinyl tried to open the door, but was shocked to find it locked.
"Since when was there a lock on this thing?" She said to herself, shrugging. "Whatever, can I at least have my toothbrush?"
The door opened a crack, a toothbrush flying out and clashing with her face.
Vinyl stood there, an un-amused glare casting on the door as the brush slid down her face.
"...ow."
~*~*~
"Stop it."
"But you look so cute."
"No, I do not."
"Oh, don't be so prude and hold still."
The two agents the night before settled in The Hive motel. The motel ten blocks away from the club which their target, Hawthorne, would be attending that night. Their mission at that moment was easy, wait, rest, and prepare themselves for their mission.
Octavia held her cold stare looking into the eyes of her partner, applying grey lip stick to her already grey lips and smiling all the while, causing a pink hue to highlight Agent Melody's muzzle. She hated when Fleur got like this, complimenting her, teasing her with words like cute and prettying her up in such a way as this.
"I'll never understand your obsession with me and make-up." Octavia glared. "It's simply a waste of time."
Fleur stuck out her tongue. "Oh posh, you always say that. Now hush, Tavia dear. I am almost done..."
After a few more painful minutes with this droll activity dragged on, the two had finally finished getting ready and left their motel room. Octavia hated the busy streets of the city. Or any city for that matter, she had dealt with it her whole life. The constant breeze of cars rushing by, the inconsistent crowds of ponies blocking the sidewalks, the concrete buildings surrounding towering above her like giants and blocking out the sun at just about every angle.
It was not Canterlot, that she was sure of.
"Hey." She suddenly heard beside her. "Let's runaway."
Octavia raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"Let's go rogue." Fleur said, looking straight ahead as they walked. "We'll leave all of this behind. No more fights, shoot outs, dangerous situations and bad guys." She turned to her stunned partner. "Just you...and me."
Octavia stared at her partner in horror. "F-Fleur! You can't be serious!"
Fleur stopped, a building in the distant's window glaring the sun's rays washing over her form, so she stood before the grey mare positively glowing. "Why not? Think about it, Octavia. We could have anything we wanted with what we have already. And we have a normal life, a nice peaceful life..." She walked up to her partner looking her in the eye. "A life we could share with each other."
Octavia, shrinking beneath her partner and long-time friend's too friendly stare stared back. Soon she blinked away, shaking her head and walking past her. "No. Not funny."
Over her shoulder, Agent Melody heard Fleur faint giggles. "Oh! The look on your face was brilliant! Octavia, you simply are the cutest thing."
"I hate you sometimes." She said. "I honestly do."
To her surprise, she felt a set of lips peck her cheek. To which she squeaked and leaped away from her partner. "Quit it!"
Fleur stuck out her tongue. "Stingy~!"
"I'm not stingy, I just believe in personal space!"
"Stingy!"
"No I am not!"
"Stingy!"
"Ugh..." Octavia face hoofed, suppressing the approaching head ache. "Anyway, last night I was thinking if we're going to have to get into club and get Hawthorne undetected, I say we befriend a local or two, walk in incognito, and grab him."
Fleur nodded. "That's a good plan, but I don't think it'll be as easy as to as you said grab him."
"I know it won't," Octavia said flatly, "I imagine there will be some complications, possible chances of harm towards civilians."
"Which is indeed bad."
"Quite."
Fleur pondered. "Hmm...we'll deal with Hawthorne when the time comes, until then I think you should go and scope out all of the exits and stake out the security."
Octavia nodded. "And what will you do?"
"I'm going for a coffee." Fleur said, with a smile. "Would you like your usual? What if I brought you a bagel as well?"
Octavia rolled her eyes. "Just get me my usual. I'll radio you in where I'm set up."
"Okay." And with that Fleur watched as Agent Melody crossed the street and further down the block towards the club, a smile smirk formed on her lips for a second before she continued down the street into the city...
~*~*~
"I'm serious, Vinyl."
"I'm full aware."
"No. Really."
"I know."
"Don't screw this up for me!"
"Oh for the love of wub..." Vinyl laid the openly offensive adult magazine she was reading on the counter and stared at Lyra, her eyes blocked by her signature violet lensed sunglasses. "Lyra, chill the buck out for a sec won't ya?"
Lyra shook her head, zooming by and loading all the coffee makers lined up behind her. The two were now at Coffee Bob's Cups, Lyra's place of work. It was a small coffee shop just down the street from Vinyl's apartment which gave Lyra a reason to stay with her friend more often. The sleeping together thing came around after one party two years back, but that's another story for another chapter.
"You don't understand! He's this amazing stallion, with the body of a pony Preek god! He orders a straight black coffee every day at noon and I bet he's out working all day and through half the night! I mean, his muscles are like thick pillows..." Lyra stared dreamily into space, holding her hooves to her chin.
"Um excuse me." Came a soft and elegant voice from behind Vinyl. Both mares turned and Vinyl nearly caught fire by the sight.
The mare had to be a model Vinyl assumed, and if she wasn't somepony is fired. Her pink mane shined under the florescent lights of the coffee shop, her dark regal eyes pierced through Vinyl's glasses and straight into her psyche. Her slender form was like magic, down her back and rolling over her flanks. And oh boy, was Vinyl under a spell when it came to them.
"Yes, may I help you?" Lyra asked politely. Vinyl still sat baffled by the mare beside her, disregarding the fact that she had the latest issue of Playcolt laid out in front of her.
"I would like a small mocha with whip cream and just a plain coffee black, please?" She said, her words coming out of her mouth as smooth as silk. "And if you wouldn't mind making it at a swift pace? I'd hate to keep my friend."
"Oh, sure. No prob, you came to the right place!" Lyra said with a smile, turning to leave for the mocha machine in the kitchen, and leaving the mysterious unicorn and a statue that was once Vinyl Scratch.
"Hey." Vinyl greeting the mare, leaning a hoof onto the counter and smirking.
The mare turned to Vinyl, her mane falling over her shoulder and batting her eyelashes as she did so. "Um. Hello."
"You don't look like you're from around here." Vinyl said.
"Oh, how right you are." The mare's false tone of amazement flew over the DJ's head, and suddenly found herself hoping for Lyra's quick return.
"Hmm..." Vinyl began rubbing her chin. "You're one of those Canterlot ponies, aren't you?"
The mare sighed. "Yes, yes. I am from Canterlot, as you can tell from my elegant accent and such. Is there something that you want?"
Vinyl's flirtatious demeanor dropped like glass of a shelf and shattered. "U-Uh..."
The mare rolled her eyes, turning her gaze to the shop around them. She took out a small mirror from her saddle bags' pocket and stared at her reflection, dashing any sort opening for conversation with the obnoxious crazed blue mane unicorn. Vinyl took this as a chance to get the view of a life time.
Risking her life and nearly falling out off her stool, Vinyl gazed down the mare's cutie mark. She spotted three fleur de lis markings. "So, uh, what's your name?"
The mare turned back to Vinyl, but her gaze was still on her mirrored self. "Hmm..?"
Vinyl smiled sheepishly. "Just asking. Because I mean, it's not everyday you see a beautiful mare like you walk around."
At this, the mare couldn't help but smile. "Aw, that's sweet of you to say." She lifted an elegant hoof to the DJ, lifting her head slightly. "My name is Fleur De Lis, but you can call me Fleur." She gave a slight bow. "And you are...?"
"Vinyl," The DJ grinned, taking the hoof in her's and leaning her muzzle down so her lips hovered just before it, "Vinyl Scratch."
"Oh! Your eyes!" Fleur suddenly gasped, leaning in. The DJ's face turning a slight pink from the sudden move. "What a marvelous color! They're simply beautiful."
"Ah, well-uh-tha-thank you." Vinyl stuttered, frozen under Fleur's look.
"Hmm...say," Fleur began, "you wouldn't happen to know about the dance club at the center of town, would you?"
Vinyl rolled her eyes, blowing a raspberry and waving a hoof. "Please! Heard of? I'm the DJ there!"
A light bulb immediately went off in Fleur's mind. "Well...Me and my friend are attending that club tonight. If you aren't to busy performing...care to join us?"
Vinyl's heartbeat was was so loud in her ears, she thought she could hear orchestra of bass drums along with it. "Y-Y-yeah! I mean, sure. Totally!"
"Brilliant." Fleur smirked, half lidded. "Meet us at the front entrance. Let's say, around 8:00?"
From behind the counter, Lyra returned with two fresh cups of coffee levitating behind her in a golden aura. "Here you are! That'll be ten bits all together."
Fleur pulled out a small bag of bits and placed them on the counter, flipping her mane back. "Keep the change, dear." She grabbed the drinks in her own magic and turned to Vinyl. "I'll see you at the club, later?"
With a nod from the DJ, Fleur smiled and left the coffee shop. Lyra raised an eyebrow and turned to her blushing friend, who sat staring off towards the front door. "Vinyl, what was she talking about?"
"Hehe...score." Vinyl mumbled to herself, a goofy smile on her face. "If you must know..."
