//------------------------------// // The Lead Up // Story: Behind The Name // by Zippi //------------------------------// The ground passed by 35,000 feet below. Few clouds were in the sky. Light chatter filled the cabin. Vinyl sat with her laptop out, headphones on. "Vinyl." She lifted her headphones, hearing her name. "Hmm?" "When we get there we'll only have about 30 minutes before your set so I want to make sure we're on the same page." "Yeah okay." "We're landing at a private airfield that's about 10 minutes away from the club. That should give us enough time to not have to rush, but you'll still want to arrive with enough time to get inside and have us get the equipment and lighting teams set with our plans." Vinyl nodded. "You're the last slot of the night so there's really no time limit and going longer would probably be the best decision, try to run it for an hour longer than the average slot time and we'll try to keep up. I've made sure with the owner of the club that its okay if you run long based on your privilege of being last act." Vinyls face had developed a slightly pained look as he went on. "Just because we have no time limit doesn't mean we have to go longer though. Why not stick to a normal schedule? It would relieve a lot stress for me and I'm sure the other teams wouldn't need to stress as much either. It just seems more logical." She responded. "Maybe to you but if you play longer it would draw more attention to you. Ponies would talk about how 'PON3 had a longer set than the other acts' and it might bring in more. Ponies like it when their favorite acts have special slots." "But I don't need more attention, you know how I feel about shows and I don't want to be told hours before I'm on that I actually have to play another 30 minutes to an hour longer when there's no actual reason to, just run it like a normal show." Vinyl paused, "Just don't over-complicate things." "I still think it would be a good idea." "It just... I don't see the reason for it." Vinyl repeated ever more dejectedly, slumping back in her seat. "We still might try to run long." She heard him say after a moment, she could tell it wasn't addressed to her in specific, more as a statement to the whole cabin. She rolled her eyes and she could feel anger rising inside her but she decided to not argue over it, it wouldn't change anything, she'd had enough of arguing with him. "Also one last thing." "Whats that?" Vinyl responded pointedly. "The transportation to the venue hasn't been fully figured out yet and I'm warning you that you might have take that on when we land if I can't get it sorted out." Vinyl was starting to get upset, these type of things always seemed to happen, her requests would go ignored and then last minute bullshit would arise and always fall onto her to take on. "That should have been figur-" "-No, no I know it usua-" "No you always say 'Oh its usually figured out beforehand' but lately I've been the one having to handle that, its your job to manage it, not mine, so why does the responsibility always land on my shoulders? I don't understand that." Silence. "I understand Vinyl, and I see how you feel but they're making things more difficult with the transportation with this being a new airfield and all. I'm doing what I can to get things sorted out but they're being difficult and wanting to charge more." Vinyl had a look of confusion on her face, "If I'm one of the performers then they should have the transportation figured out already, not a few hours before we land." She said waving her hooves about for emphasis, "The money doesn't matter either, they want to 'charge more', well why does that matter, I don't care what they charge this should already be figured out. It saves me a lot of stress when this type of stuff is planned ahead, as my booking agent and manager that's your job, not mine." She stopped, bringing a hoof to her head as she began rubbing her temple. Her manager sat diagonally across from her, an artificial mask of concern on his face. "I've told you how I feel about this stuff, It stresses me out when we've got all this going on and half of it isn't even fully planned, even while we're on our way there. If we're doing so many shows a year that some aren't even fully coordinated as we're mid-flight there, then something needs to change. I've told you this before. Don't try to get around the issue and tell me its no big deal then present me with the problem when it arises instead of doing your job." The cabin was silent again, save for the sounds of the jet as it brought them ever closer to their destination. "Look, I'm doing what I can but it's-" "Can we move on from this? It's giving me anxiety." Vinyl said not looking towards him. "Okay." Her manager said calmly. "But when we get to the venue we may not have a lot of time even with our estimates before you're on so just be prepared for whatever might come up." Vinyl look down, her features showing how anxious she was. She didn't say a word. She turned and looked out the window next to her, the sun was beginning to set she could see as it painted the horizon in an almost heavenly glow and night was soon to be here. "Vinyl are you okay?" The pony who sat across the small table in front of her leaned in and asked, concern in their voice. It took a moment for her to respond, one of her hooves rested on her cheek covering a part of her mouth, but she answered with a simple, "Mmmyeah." The pony across from her leaned back after a moment, concern still on their face. They knew they wouldn't get more out of her. The jet came in for a landing, wheels hitting the runway. The scenery outside slowed down as the jet came to a stop. All was still for a moment and the ponies around the cabin picked up their bags and any other gear they had with them. The hatch opened up as Vinyl made her way towards it, making her way out into the hot, dry air, the sounds of the city could be heard in the distance, the airstrip where they landed being nearby. "Did you handle the transportation?" Vinyl asked after a moment, looking towards her manager who had just gotten down from the last step. "Yes I was able to get it figured out in time." Finally. Vinyl looked away, her forehead creased. "There should be a van waiting out front." He followed up. Vinyl began to make her way around the front of the jet to get to the entrance of the small airport, her team followed her at their own pace, some still checking their bags to make sure they had everything they needed. Small machinery was being moved about the small airfield as the worker ponies went about their jobs. Vinyl hardly noticed, she'd seen it all a million times before. The van sat by the curb, waiting. Vinyl made her way towards it as her eyes locked onto the vehicle. Her team rushed alongside her, pulling open the back doors to the van and gathering in, followed by Vinyl. She dropped her bag and the doors were closed shut, the van was put in motion. As they drove through the streets. As the time ticked down until she was on, her anxiety grew. She decided to have a few drinks to help with it. Time passed, the city blurred together, the lights were hazy. It all combined into one, the longest and yet shortest moment in existence. Nothing yet everything simultaneously made sense. I don't matter to time, it doesn't slow down for ponies to catch up, It doesn't care about me. I'm just a small insignificant dot, a speck of dust, a nothing on its timeline. The cityscape passed by outside. Eventually the van turned into a gated back entrance, pulling up alongside a building and stopping. The doors swung open and Vinyl and the three other ponies who accompanied her got out. She was quickly escorted into the back entrance and through a hallway with workers passing by. She passed through another entrance which led to a decently sized room filled with seating and ponies who rushed about or talked in groups, many of which had headsets on. She walked past a pony who held out a few glasses of alcohol, picking one up in her magic as she went by. She continued on through the room and made her way down another hall, being trailed by a group of ponies. The walls made way for curtains and cloth which hung from scaffolding, all of which was as black as the night sky. Soon after it led into an open backstage area, a few ponies stood about waiting. She was greeted by a pony as she entered the stage. "Hey Vinyl how're you doing?" Not great. The alcohol decided to speak instead, already taking action, "Good." She took a few more sips from the glass as they talked. Her anxiety was slowly slipping away. She could hear the pony who was on stage, wrapping up their set to make way for hers, say their farewells to the packed club judging by the loud roar she heard. A moment later she saw a figure descend the steps leading backstage and make their way towards her. She wrapped up the conversation she was having and went to say hello to the figure coming off stage. "Hey Neon!" "Yo, what's up Vinyl!" He said as he wrapped a hoof around her "The crowds fucking amazing tonight." "Oh yeah I could hear." She smirked. "You're up next right?" "Yeah." "Id love to stay and watch but I have to catch a flight, and I'm exhausted too." He waved and began past her, walking towards the hallway where a few ponies waited for him, ready to escort him out. She waved a hoof back but quickly turned her attention towards the stage, where she had a crowd waiting for her. The pony she had been talking to before spoke up. "You're on in about a minute, so be ready." This is it. She put the glass down on the nearest surface she could find and made her way towards the steps leading up to the stage. A few ponies ran about by her, making sure everything was set before she was to go on. A pony came up beside her and spoke. "You're on." She began her ascent, the crowds roar becoming ever so clear. Fuck fuck fuck, all those ponies with their attention resting solely on me, the lights, the- -Nothing will go wrong, it's all fine. Yeah... maybe you're right. Life is good, there's nothing to be worried about. you've got it, ignore all the eyes on you. She reached the top platform and grabbed the mic waiting for her on the deck. She queued up a track and music filled the room, the crowd roared. She waited. Then she spoke. "How's it going Las Pegasus!" The crowd roared again. She still didn't like this.