//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Never Enough // Story: Octaves // by JapaneseTeeth //------------------------------// The door creaked as Octavia poked her head into the bar.  She didn’t go to bars often, and one step in, she remembered why.  The air smelled like smoke and spilled drinks, and even in the dim light she could see that every piece of furniture in the place had seen better days.  At least it was quiet.  The place was empty except for the bartender and two ponies muttering quietly at each other in a booth in the corner. She double-checked the note that Vinyl had slid under her door to make sure she had gotten the time and address right. Not that it guaranteed she’d find Vinyl.  The unicorn had never been very good at keeping to a schedule.  She peered discreetly at the booth where the two ponies were murmuring. One was purple, and surrounded by at least a dozen mugs. The other was a blue pegasus with a brightly colored drink with an umbrella and long twisty straw. Octavia stuffed the note back into her pocket and headed for the bar, gingerly stepping around the peanut shells and sticky patches that covered the floor.  The bartender didn’t even look up, seemingly intent on polishing an empty glass. “Um, excuse me?” He looked up with tired eyes. “I’m, uh, looking for somepony. She’s a unicorn. White coat, blue mane?” The bartender wordlessly nodded towards the far end of the bar. Hunched at the final seat, leaning against the wall, was Vinyl. She wore a black jacket, with the hood up.  In the shadows, Octavia had missed her. “Vinyl, are you okay?” “I’ve done better,” Vinyl croaked. She rattled the half-melted ice cubes in her glass. “Can I get a refill?” “So what are you doing here of all places?”  The barstool squeaked as Octavia took a seat. “Not much, just trying to forget about the fact that I couldn’t prevent this album from being a disaster.” “Vinyl, we talked about this.” Octavia watched as the bartender poured a brown liquid into the glass. “Even if this album doesn’t turn out the way you want, it’s just a step on the way to the next one, right?” “Well, that was the idea, anyway.” Vinyl took a swig of her drink. “But after working on it for so long, the more I think about it, the more it feels like there might not even be a next one.” Octavia gulped. “What makes you think that?” “There’s the fact that working on the last few tracks has been like banging my head against the wall,” Vinyl growled. “Even without the producer screwing me up, I’ve barely been able to get anything done.” She drained the glass, except for the ice cubes. “I thought once I got all the suits out of my mane I’d be good to go, but I just can’t get things the way I want.” “Vinyl, I’m sure you’ve had an off-day or two before,” Octavia said gingerly. “I’m sure in a day or two you’ll be back in the groove, so to speak.” “An off-day, yeah. But this is like an off-week. Or an off-fortnight or something.” She slammed the glass down. “Yo, barkeep. Another.” Octavia eyed the empty glass. “Uh, Vinyl…” “Relax, it’s just root beer. The last time I drank any hard stuff and tried to make music I just about broke my head in half. Besides, this is cheaper.” “So you’re going to give up just because of a few bad days?” “Of course not,” Vinyl snorted. “But it’s more than that. After those first few singles, I just know that everybody is just waiting to see what’s going to happen.  Everypony wants to find out whether I managed to catch that magic again.  I just know that some of them have made up their minds already, and there’s nothing I can do. Before, it was all about what I would be able to do, but now that I think about, that doesn’t even matter. Even if I made it exactly how I wanted it, it could still flop, because it’s not what they want!”   She chugged the entire glass and slammed it down on the bartop. “You knew from the beginning that you weren’t going to be able to please everypony,” Octavia said carefully. “You told me that you just wanted to make music that you could be proud of.” “Yeah, but now I don’t know if I’ll ever even get the chance to do that.  I’m just about driving myself crazy just to get something done before the deadline, never mind polishing it the way I want it.” She stared at the ice cubes in her glass. “Everypony is expecting something great after that EP I put out, and no matter how much I bust my rump it’s just not… going to…”  She waited for the bartender to give her another refill. Octavia sat silently, trying to think of something she could say that would make Vinyl feel better rather than worse. “Yeah, yeah, I know I’m rambling,” Vinyl continued. “I just needed to get it out, you know? It’s just, I knew I’d have to deal with all this crap, but I thought I’d be able to handle it, and now it’s getting to me. I’ve been working my tail off, and I’m not even sure it’s worth it.” Octavia was starting to wish she had a drink of her own. “Maybe you don’t think so now, but wouldn’t you feel even worse if you gave up? After all this is over and you’ve had a chance to rest.  How would you feel to know that even after pursuing your dream so far, that you gave it up because you thought it wasn’t worth it?” She brought her hooves down so hard on the bartop that the glasses rattled. “I don’t know how your album will turn out. Maybe it’ll be a hit. Maybe it’ll flop. But if it does, don’t let it be because you stopped trying.  I can’t sit here and tell you that you’re going to succeed, but I can tell you that you can’t give up on this, because if you do, you’re going to be kicking yourself for the rest of your life for throwing away the one thing you wanted more than anything else.” Octavia found herself breathing heavily. Both Vinyl and the bartender were staring at her. She cleared her throat.  “Sorry about that.” “No, no,” the bartender grinned and shook his head. “I’ve had to listen to plenty of pep talks, and that was pretty good.” “Yeah, I think I needed that.” Vinyl sat up straight for the first time that night, cracking her back. “Ugh, I’m such a mess.  Can’t believe I needed you of all ponies to give me a kick in the flank.” “You’re welcome.” Vinyl eyed the clock that hung on the wall above the bar. She groaned. “Time to get back to work?” Octavia asked. “I just realized how much time I’ve spent moping, that’s all. Thanks for giving me a kick in the flank.” Vinyl stood, wobbling her way towards the door. “You sure there wasn’t any booze in there?” “My legs are asleep, okay?” Vinyl mumbled. “You coming?” “I was just going to grab a quick drink before heading home.” “Alright, I’ll see you around, then. Oh, and if you want” —she looked back over her shoulder— “you can put the drink on my tab. Later.” The door squeaked, and she was gone. The bartender went back to cleaning the glass. “So, what’ll it be?” he asked. “You have any sparkling cider?”