Octavia knew that she had been getting herself into something that would have many twists, turns, and surprises. She definitely hadn't expected such a coincidence to happen so quickly, though it shouldn't have been that surprising seeing as she had expected surprises, just not so soon.
When she had entered the building she had been so focused on making the right impression that she hadn't seen the large letters above the entrance spelling out, Wonder Productions. Now Octavia sat lack-jawed in front of a loosely clothed, outrageously styled hair, and rambunctious artist by the name of, Vinyl Scratch.
The said artist sat down on the couch across from Octavia and Lyra, grinning as she did so, “Hey Octy, eyes are up here.”
Octavia felt the blood rush to her cheeks, “H-Hello Scratch, fancy meeting you here. Quite the coincidence I must say.”
Vinyl chuckled, “Yeah, funny that we both had a meeting, and it turns out that it's with each other! Anyhow, Bon Bon?”
The other woman that had walked in first perked up, “Yup?”
Vinyl gestured to Octavia and Lyra, “Mind giving them the full rundown? They probably know the gist, but just in case.”
Bon Bon nodded, “So, Wonder Productions has always been looking for new ways to make music, and popularize it for the masses,” She titled her head to Vinyl, “something one of our best artists has been able to continuously offer to us. This new venture was something I've been pestered from her constantly, especially after she met you, Miss Philharmonica.”
Octavia smiled, slightly shy at the sudden praise, “I'm glad I could be of service, at least in that respect.”
“Yeah, well, eventually she wore me down, and we went on the search for someone that would fit her requirements.” She smirked, “And after dragging Vinyl to one of your concerts she, how do I put this? Immediately wanted you to work with her for your...assets.”
Vinyl was now the one blushing. Octavia kept a mental note for later, then interrupted Bon Bon. “And you called Lyra to set this up, yes?”
Lyra stepped in, “Mhmm, I kinda forgot that I'd planned this meeting, and that's why we rushed here. “ She rubbed her head sheepishly, “oops.”
Bon Bon chuckled, “Nonetheless, I think this is a great opportunity for all of us; it's a chance to bring something to the table that hasn't really been done before.” She slid a packet of papers forward, “Sign this, and we’ll be ready to get everything started.”
Both Lyra and Octavia looked over the papers, while they both were already on board, the right thing to do was to check over everything, just in case. Octavia noticed that the restrictions were mostly common sense, really, just obvious things that shouldn't be done by anyone, and would get them in trouble: don't attack each other, if damages are done by the other party then they must take responsibility, and so on. She was surprised at the amount of leeway that was given to both her and Vinyl so easily, and quickly for a partnership that had just started. Vinyl seemed to have noticed her apal at the aspect, as she wasn't used to such freedom.
“It's actually pretty good to know how much you're able to do without someone breathing down your neck, tellin’ ya what to do.” Vinyl said, surprising Octavia.
Octavia nodded absentmindedly, soaking in the notion that she wouldn't be told everything that she should do, and anything that she couldn't. Sure, Lyra held many of the higher ups at bay, ones that almost controlled her with how insistent they were with how her talents were to be used.
She raised an eyebrow in realization, “I'd say. Hmm… Lyra?”
“Yeah?”
She shifted closer to Lyra, lowering her voice to a whisper, “How was this even approved? There's no way that your boss would let us do this!”
Lyra smirked, “True, but not their boss, or really, the boss.”
Octavia’s eyes widened, “You got in contact with President Celestia to approve this?!”
Lyra shrugged, “I know one of her former students, Twilight Sparkle. A few books as bribery, and boom! Instant convincing for Twilight to have President Celestia let this happen. Not that she would’ve even known about it from, Mr. Grumpy Pants.”
Octavia smiled and shook her head in exasperation at Lyra’s ability to get things done, not something that she expected from her out of work. She let loose a chuckle after she realized that Lyra had called her boss, Mr. Grumpy Pants. Her unprofessional side was seeping out, it seemed.
Octavia took a moment to make sure she really wanted to sign the document packet. Her, as Lyra liked to call it, ‘mojo’ had been absent for the larger part of the last few months she’d been playing. To compensate she would find ways to get by with pieces that she knew by heart, and didn't have to focus entirely on during performances. Now that she had spent a little more time than a fleeting chance meeting with Vinyl, she could already tell that by signing she would be getting herself into a ride of unseen memorable moments, and hard tribulations. Hopefully the latter would be minimal.
Octavia sighed, “Oh, what the heck.” The scribbling of her pen was followed in silence after; she let the pen rest on top of the packet after she had signed. Once she looked up, she glanced around at the faces of those surrounding her, all of them elated.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The rest of the meeting hadn't taken long, most of it had been working out any kinks that had come up during the conversation about their newfound partnership. Octavia was particularly interested in the fact that since she would be spending most of her time in the Wonder Productions’ building, collaborating with Vinyl, and from what it sounded like, actually sleeping occasionally in it, too. The atmosphere that had come from both Bon Bon and Vinyl had let her assume that it would be a very friendly environment to work in compared to the almost militant schedule that was given to, Octavia.
She wasn't unhappy with her close friends that had made it tolerable at what had been her dream job, like Lyra and the way that she was able to easily crack a dirty joke at anytime, something that Octavia tried not to laugh at when it occurred. Yet the concept of new beginnings in a whole other genre, and place intrigued her, causing Vinyl to lead Octavia around the building on a tour. Bon Bon and Lyra had stayed behind, and based off the looks Octavia had caught before Vinyl and her had left, she'd deduced that she was better off not knowing the specifics to their endeavors.
Octavia let out an, “Umph!” as she bumped into Vinyl, who had stopped in front of their apparent first stop; a door labeled Neon Lights.
“Might I ask who this is?”
Vinyl glanced over to her, “Oh, yeah. He’s one of my best friends, childhood actually.” She took a breath to continue, but stopped. “Ya know, let's just go in.”
Vinyl threw the door open, revealing a bewildered young man that seemed their age, his spiked hair most likely an influence of Vinyl’s or the other way around. “Yo Neon! How's it goin’?”
Neon got up from his chair to greet Octavia and Vinyl, giving Vinyl a high five and shaking Octavia’s hand, “Nice meeting you… uh, whoever you are.”
He turned to Vinyl, and in an unsubtle whisper asked Vinyl, “Who's she?”
Vinyl chuckled, “This is my new partner, Octavia Philharmonica.”
Neon’s eyes widened as realization set in, “Ooh, gotcha.”
Octavia gave a warm smile, “I do hope we can get along, this is quite a new venture for me.”
“Oh, for sure!” Neon grabbed Vinyl in a arm lock, “You'll have an awesome time here, I guarantee it. Vinyl here is one of the best DJs in all of Equus! Other than me of course.”
Vinyl pushed Neon away, “Yeah, yeah, tell me that after you've beaten me in Ponyfield.”
“Speaking of Ponyfield, you up for it tonight? I got a few other artists together to do a livestream.” Neon plopped down back into his chair, swiveling and spinning in it as he talked. “I think it should be pretty fun, probably gonna get a new speaker from those donations or something like that, hmm?”
Vinyl sighed, “That'd be awesome man, but I've gotta get Octavia settled in. Maybe I'll get her to join in eventually, two for one deal, yeah?”
“I guess.” Neon turned back to his monitors, reaching for his headphones too. “Anyway, gotta get back to editing this track. See you ‘round.”
The duo made their way through the hallways. Octavia noted that there weren't that many doors; they were actually very spaced out. When she asked Vinyl, Vinyl said:
“Oh yeah, each artist usually gets their own room, and recording stuff. All the equipment that we need -- even some of the behind the scenes people -- usually is a lot, and since we don't have too many people in the company it's built, so there's plenty of room for everyone.”
The next time Vinyl halted her stride, Octavia didn't run into her, but still looked at the plaque situated on the door. Trixie Lulamoon was emblazoned across it, sparkles and a slightly over the top amount of bedazzles covered it. Oh my, this'll be… an interesting individual.
Trixie made no notice of them as she was tinkering with some machine. Octavia glanced round the room to see that most of it was filled random devices, and the like, all most likely having to do with EDM. She was aghast at the amount of technology that went into the production of the music as a whole. She took a breath, and was about to notify Trixie of their presence, but was interrupted by Vinyl.
“Hey, Trixie!”
The said companion stopped her work, and turned around, lighting up as she saw the duo. “Vinyl! How goes the latest track of yours? Trixie is itching to try out her new devices of smoke!”
Octavia raised an eyebrow, directing her confusing at Vinyl for obvious reasons. Vinyl smiled sheepishly, and whispered to her, “Oh right, uh, Trixie likes to speak in the third person. She's never really said why, I think it has somethin’ to do with her past magician background.” Vinyl turned back to answer Trixie’s question, “Soon, I just got my new partner here to help out with it.”
Octavia cautiously made her way to Trixie, holding her hand out for a shake, “Pleasure to meet you, I'm Octavia Philharmonica.”
Trixie took her hand, shaking it vigorously, “I'm sure it would be to meet the Great and Powerful Trixie! Trixie thinks that it will be a momentous occasion once Vinyl and you collaborate, most certainly. Now, Trixie must finish her project, greatness does not halt for anyone!”
“Ah, yes, I do suppose that would be of utmost importance. Apologies for intruding.”
Octavia and Vinyl backed out of the room, continuing on their journey to Vinyl’s abode. Octavia felt she should comment on Trixie, “I think she's a most eccentric person, I assume she's a hit at parties?”
Vinyl chuckled, “She's definitely something, but with the work she's able to do on stages… well, let's just say that my shows wouldn't be half as good without it. So, you'll probably be seeing more of her.”
Octavia sighed, “Brilliant.”
They eventually made it to Vinyl’s room. The plaque on the door was simple, Vinyl Scratch was plastered on it, along with DJ-PON3, and a musical note underneath it. Vinyl opened the door, gesturing for Octavia to enter first.
“Welcome to my humble abode, Miss Philharmonica.”