Most would say that a hangover is certainly not a very pleasant experience, one that no one really wants to have happen to them, it's just one of those consequences of having one too many drinks on a night out. And boy, did Vinyl have one heck of a night.
Vinyl never got nervous when going on stage. She wouldn't even admit to having little butterflies in her stomach before walking to that strobe-lit podium. She thought that it was just natural to her, that she could just trot her way across the stage, the thousands of ponies below her cheering and hollering at the top of their lungs, and she would always smile at them, with her crimson eyes glistening through the shades of her trademark glasses. Tonight was no different. Or at least, that's how it started. She was backstage, rustling up her mane with her hooves, as her manager, a sandy-brown earth pony, cleverly named Sandy, rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Vinyl, do we really have to go through this silly routine every show?" She said in both an anxious and annoyed tone, as she tapped her hooves on the floor, looking at Vinyl as she picked up her shades with her magic. After putting them over her eyes, she looked into the mirror, to get a glimpse at herself before she stepped out on stage. She looked back at Sandy with a wide grin, obviously satisfied with how she looked, and her manager was tempted to point out that she looked exactly the same as she always did.
"You look fabulous, now get out there before everypony makes a big fuss about waiting!" She yelled, becoming quite frustrated with having to put up with this mare for this long. Vinyl laughed and started to walk up the stairs to the stage. Right before stepping out, she turned around, facing Sandy, grinning, before saying,
"Do you know who you're talking to? I'm the one and only Vinyl Scratch, I always look fabulous."
She couldn't help but to smile at that. As she watched Vinyl walk onto stage, a hot-white stage light shining on her white coat, almost reflecting off of her, making her seem even more amazing, only adding to her egotistical attitude. Yes, it was true that Vinyl was a major pain in the flank, but in the end of the day, she was loving what she was doing, she made money at it, and she was a good friend to those she cared for. But come to think of it, her marefriend Octavia was really the only pony she had seen Vinyl act decent around, not slurring insults at her, or starting a fight. It looked like she was genuinely in love, and that's one thing she thought Vinyl was capable of doing. Well, except for loving herself, of course.
As Vinyl trotted across the brightly colored stage, she looked at the crowd. The feeling never got old, seeing all of those ponies screaming her name, begging her to deliver what would be the best night of their life. For her, it was just another Saturday. As she turned to face the crowd once more, the cheers so loud there was no way she could hear her own hoofsteps, she made her way towards her brightly colored podium, a large cubical shape, that was about ten feet out from the stage, and about ten feet high, so she can look down at all of her loyal fans. When she finally completed her small journey up to the podium, she was in her zone. In front of those turntables... She was a completely different mare. She zoned out almost instantly, because she felt that she wa born with this impeccable talent that nopony else has. When she rests her hooves on those records, and works her magic (quite literally) it seems as if she's in a whole other world. It's an indescribable feeling, one that made her feel on top of the world. It was moments like these that she wished she could capture, and hold onto for every moment of her life. But unfortunately, it wasn't possible to do this 24/7, so she appreciated these moments while they lasted, and soaked in all of their pure excitement and euphoria. Whenever she felt like this, she felt as if she was on top of the world. So she leaned forward, her mouth a few inches from a microphone, she cleared her throat, and spoke to the sea of ponies.
"Are you ponies ready for the party of your life?!" She yelled, and the crowd went ecstatic. Vinyl grinned ear-to-ear when she heard the whole building roar, almost feeling like it was shaking, from the vibration of all of those drunk and excited ponies.
"Let's do this." She muttered to herself, before reaching over to her decks, rewinded both of them, pressed play, and with that, a loud and electronic beat blasted through the speakers, echoing throughout the whole building, sending the audience into an alcohol and drug infused frenzy. This was certainly going to be a night to remember...
The show couldn't have gone any better, or at least, that's what Vinyl thought. She walked backstage, coated in sweat, breathing heavily, the happiness flowing through her whole body. She trotted past her manager, which looked at her with a smile, indicating that she put on a good show. She obviously already knew this information, but it was nice to see it from somepony else. She took a seat in front of a mirror, which was leaning up against a wall, resting on a wood grained desk. On the desk, there was a large purple vase, with a large assortment of different colored flowers inside of it, reminding Vinyl of a painting she saw when Octavia forced her into going to an art gallery for her birthday. The only painting Vinyl was willing to admit to liking was one a lot like what was in front of her, lots of different colored flowers in a field, swaying from the cool wind on a farm. Vinyl couldn't remember the last time she had been on a farm. Probably when she did a small gig in Ponyville, and she visited Sweet Apple country, or something to that extent, she couldn't remember. Seeing the flowers in that beautiful vase made her smile, but what really made her night even better was seeing the note attached to it. she levitated it in front of her, taking off her glasses so she could see it better, and she read the short but sweet note.
To Vinyl, with bundles of love, from your wonderful marefriend,
Octavia
Vinyl actually thought that she would be on the verge of tears soon, so she quickly put her shades back on, kissed the note, smelling Octavia's perfume on it, and she got up, walking towards the exit. There was an after party at a club about a block away, and that was where she intended to spend the night. She thought that she might go visit Octavia, to say thank you for the flowers, and then go party her flank off. But somehow, she felt a little bad for doing this. She can't remember the last time she actually cared this much for somepony, or if she ever had before. After a little careful thinking, she decided to go to Octavia's apartment and spend the night with her.
Who knows, maybe it'll be worth it, and I can get down with my special somepony tonight. Vinyl thought to herself, with a snicker spreading across her face. She walked out of the auditorium, into a back alley, to reduce the amount of fans swarming towards her.
It was a bit chilly that night, the crisp cold air swaying through the streets, the bass still being heard from the auditorium, as a large amount of drunken ponies flooded outside, all laughing and stumbling about, some trying to help each other up, attempting to catch their breath from laughing so much. Vinyl smiled at the sight, knowing that she was probably a big reason for these ponies having such a good time. It made her feel proud that she could affect others like that. Some would say that she was a bad influence, but she always replied by saying she taught ponies that you only live once, and you should live it the way you want. If you are happy, that's all that mattered.
After a few blocks, Vinyl's legs were starting to hurt. She knew she should have taken a car to Ocavia's apartment, but she just felt like walking it. The apartment wasn't oo far anyway, she was maybe just a few blocks away now, and surprisingly, she hadn't seen too many ponies since finishing the show. She thought that this was pretty odd, seeing that it was a Saturday night. She shivered slighty as the wind howled and blew across her body, making her stiffen slightly, so she quickened her pace, walking a bit faster as she made the corner.
Turning onto the next street, she could see why she hadn't seen too many ponies in the blocks before. Looking down the block, she could see a large line of excited ponies, all lined up to an exclusive Manehatten nightclub. This was coincidentally the same nightclub that Vinyl was supposed to go to for the after party...
"No, Vinyl, just walk past it, and go straight to Octy's. There will always be another party." She muttered to herself, repeating it over and over, trying to gain a positive mentality. She can almost never resist a good party, but she had the thought in the back of her mind that it would mean a lot to Octavia. As she neared the club, she turned her head in the opposite direction, trying her best to ignore the bass thump coming from the building, and seeing the colorful lights reflect all across the street. It was driving her crazy. so she started to gallop down the road, eyes closed, not paying attention to anything around her, which she quickly regretted, because she found herself bashing her face on a light pole, sending her right to the cold hard cement. before long, a few ponies actually ran out of line to come help her.
"Hey, you alright?" A lavender-blue pony said with the concern clearly showing in her face.
"Ugh, yeah, I'm good." Vinyl said under her breath. She had no clue how she could be so stupid as to run with her eyes closed while she was already lightly intoxicated. She picked herself up, refusing any help by the other ponies, and she was just about to walk away without saying another word, when she cringed at the voice behind her.
"Hey, you're DJ PON-3!" An obvious fan enthusiastically yelled. Vinyl turned around, giving the stallion a shy smile, before nodding with a small sigh.
"Yeah, it's me, and to be honest, I'm really just trying to get hom-"
"Why don't ya come party with us? Drinks are on me!" The stallion exclaimed, utterly ignoring Vinyl's comment.
Vinyl stood there motionless for a few moments, trying to comprehend what he had just said. She glanced at the club, almost seeing it physically shake from the music, but she was sure that was probably because she just ran into a pole. Looking back at the excited stallion, who had a dark brown coat, with a hammer and nail as a cutie mark. Suddenly, the party-goer inside Vinyl came to life, screaming in her head, and as she tried to block it out, she couldn't stop the smile starting to spread on her face, her eyebrow raising slighty, and before she knew it, she looked at the club, calling out,
"Buck it, let's party our flanks off!"
Author's note~ If you actually read this whole chapter, congrats! :D I know I'm not a good writer, so please tell me what i can do to improve my writing in the comments. I apologize for nothing really happening in this chapter, it serves mainly as a prologue, things will pick up in the next chapters, I promise ^^