//------------------------------// // Precious Thing // Story: The Sound And Fury From Seaddle // by Nic-Fit //------------------------------// Chapter 6 : Precious Thing In which da ruckus continues ~ It had started raining again after closing time, so it was pretty quiet out, nopony wanted to be out in the dark, especially with the cold and rain. Octavia had left in a hurry in an attempt to reduce time in the weather, so there wasn't much point in sticking around the shop front. Lyra locked the shop up for the night and went upstairs into Vinyl's living space. She made herself a quick dinner of I'm-lazy-and-there-isn't-much-left-in-the-kitchen surprise and started reading the latest issue of "Below Classical". It was her favorite fanzine, all about underground music of any genre around Equestria. Issues only came out once every few months, and this was a particularly hefty addition, mostly focusing on the upcoming bands from around Seaddle. The town had started to develop its own sound, out of boredom if nothing else. Seaddle was a fair distance away from any other cities, so a lot of bands just wouldn't bother playing here when on tour. The article mentioned several rising bands from the local area, Marevins and The U-Stallions in particular as well as a few Lyra wasn't familiar with, but she had been away in Ponyville a while. She made a mental note of the ones that sounded interesting, she could probably go watch a few of them considering she was now in the area. Lyra finished the article and moved onto the next. Lu-Tang Clan. "Huh. I wonder how Vinyl's doing..." She read the article, the parts about gun running, drugs and possible connections to murders particularly stuck out to her. "I'm sure she's fine...I hope she's fine, anyway..." Meanwhile in Manehattan Vinyl scrambled to hide behind a dumpster, she couldn't afford to be seen. Crouching down beside the dumpster, she found herself staring at Ghostieface Killah hidden behind some crates opposite her,obviously he'd though this alley seemed like a pretty solid hiding spot too. He put a hoof up to his mouth, miming a "Shh" to her. Vinyl rolled her eyes. "You don't need to tell me that..." She found herself crouching lower to the ground in an effort to evade an approaching noise. There was no doubt about it now, it was most definitely a guard patrol. The show had been a set up, the guards had used the show as a way to get the Clan all in one place and arrest them for various charges. Unfortunately for Vinyl, who was on stage at the time, this now included her, though if she could get away she doubted they would come after her anymore, seeing as how it was incredibly unlikely any of the guard's documents mentioned her in any way, for this operation at least. The sound grew closer, Vinyl lowered her breathing to keep quiet. It was to a great deal of relief for her that they continued on straight past the alley, not even giving it a second glance. Quickly making sure the guard's had past, she made her way over to Ghostieface and sat down with him. She sighed and faced him. "Look, Ghostie, this has all been very exciting, it really has. And its been a privilege to not only DJ with you guys, but to perform at one of you're shows? That's just a whole other level! Buuuuut, I really could do without being arrested, you know? I think it might be best if I head back home early..." "S'cool, this life aint' ta everypony's liking, and da guard's a whole lotta hassle we don't need. I gotta say though, you were on it tonight, sounded real tight. I hope we can have you back some time." "I'd like that." Vinyl smiled and glanced out from behind the boxes. The coast was clear. "Alright Ghostie, I'm gonna head out while its clear, tell the rest of the Clan I said thanks!" She saluted the rapper and made her leave. "Gee, this would make one hell of a story.." ~ Lyra had put the spare covers back onto Vinyl's sofa for the night. She could sleep in Vinyl's bed while she was away, but it would make her feel weird, for some reason she couldn't explain. She put down her copy of Below Classical and put the lights out, it was late and she had to be up in the morning, she could finish reading tomorrow. With everything sorted, she settled in for the night. Lyra was awoken by a large crash from downstairs She glanced over at the clock: 4:17AM. She grumbled to herself as she rolled of the makeshift bed and went to investigate. "I was having a good dream too! There was cake and everything. Stupid noise, this better be important." She reached the bottom of the stairs and opened the door. It was indeed very important. Stood in the corner of the shop next to a broken window, was a pony, a hood concealing any of its features. All Lyra could tell was that it was a red pegasus. She snapped out of what was left of her sleep and went into full anger mode. "WHAT THE HAY DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" The pony turned to face Lyra, a grin visible, but the rest of it's face obscured. It was emptying a can of lantern oil onto the floor. Then from the pocket of it's hood, it produced a lighter. Fear swept across Lyra at the sight. "No." "NO!Nononono! Please!" The pegasus flicked the lighter and dropped it into the puddle, before exiting back through the window. The fluid ignited instantly, filling the shop with smoke. The fire began to spread to the record crates and walls. The smell of burning plastic and wood began to fill the air, the fire now producing thick black fumes. "Okayokayokay! Don't panic. What do I...WATER!" Lyra bolted upstairs and returned with a few buckets of water. She used her magic to pour them all at once over the fire in an attempt to smother it. It sorta worked, but by the time she'd filled the buckets up and come back downstairs it had spread further along the walls. "AHHHH! THIS ISN'T WORKING!" She needed to go and get help, but the fire was blocking the exit. She was trapped, the only way she would be able to get out was... She ran back upstairs, closing everything behind her to try and stop the fire spreading this far. She reached Vinyl's living room and opened one of the windows. The shop front made a small ledge underneath the window, not too far down. "No turning back now...". Lyra lowered herself out of the window and onto the narrow ledge, before repeating that step to get to street level. She landed with a thud on the paving slabs. Lyra scrambled to her hooves and made for the nearest emergency point, which was fortunately only a short distance from the shop. She activated the fire beacon and waited for assistance, not taking her eyes off of the burning building for a second. ~ 7AM, Time for Octavia to wake up. She started her infallible morning routine: Get up, wash, get dressed, eat breakfast. She opted for her bow tie today instead of another band shirt, they all needed to be washed anyway. She gathered up some food for Lyra, figuring she'd appreciate it, and set off for the shop with her delicious care package. It was a chilly, foggy morning. Octavia wished she'd brought her scarf, winter surely was on it's way in now. At least the food in the bag was still sorta warm. She rounded the corner onto the street the shop was on, noticing it was much busier than usual, especially at this time of the day. Something wasn't right, that much was evident from the emergency carts in the road. The smell in the air wasn't a good sign either, something had definitely happened here. She approached the shop, but her path was blocked, there was a crowd gathered around it. "Odd." Octavia managed to get to the front of the crowd, only to be prevented access by a barrier, and several guards. The weather team were there too, moving clouds out of the shop. The shop itself was charred but recognizable, the front was ruined but the rest of the building seemed intact. "What the hay happened here?" A pang of sadness hit Octavia, this wasn't only where she worked, it was somewhere she enjoyed being. Vinyl was going to be devastated... ... "LYRA!" Octavia dropped the food and rushed up to the guards, she had to know Lyra was ok. "Um, excuse me, but I work here and can you tell mewhathappenedpleasesayshe'sokLyraisokright?..." It took a few seconds for the guards to figure out what it was she'd just said, but the message got across. "Look, don't worry, everypony is fine. You said you worked here? Maybe you should come talk to her." The guard stepped aside, allowing Octavia to pass through. She picked up the bag of food she'd brought for Lyra and made her way through. The shop front was an absolute wreck, and there was no point in entering it now anyway. Looking around, she spotted Lyra sitting in the back of a medical cart with a blanket and a drink. Octavia reached the cart in a flash and quickly had Lyra in a hug, "Oh my gosh, Lyra! I'm so happy you're okay! What happened?" Lyra stared off into the distance with empty eyes, taking a sip from her coffee. "Somepony broke in." She said, with no hint of emotion. "W-what?" "They broke the window and came in," Lyra pointed for emphasis, "And started pouring lantern oil everywhere. They dropped a lighter in it and flew back out." She turned to Octavia with a tearful look. "I-I tried to stop it..." Octavia put her foreleg around Lyra to comfort her. "Shhhshhshh, it wasn't your fault Lyra, some sick pony broke in and did this, there wasn't anything you could do." "I-I-I should've stopped them! I was too slow, and now look at the shop!" Lyra buried her face in her hooves. "Lyra. Listen to me. It's not your fault." "...I let her down, Tavi. Vinyl. She said it herself, this shop was everything. I said nothing would happen to it, now look at it." Lyra burst into tears, and Octavia pulled her in for another hug. "Hey now, don't talk like that, none of us could've know this would happen. I'm sure she'll be happy just to find out you're safe." The sat there wordlessly for a few minutes watching the emergency crews as they moved around the scene. Octavia broke the silence. "Oh, I brought you some breakfast too!" She passed the bag to Lyra. It contained a flask of coffee and a fresh croissant Octavia had made. As well as being musical, she was a damn good cook. ~ Vinyl gathered her things and stepped off the train. She had not slept, overnight travel isn't something she does well and the train was pretty noisy all night, but she was happy to be back home, even if it had only been a brief departure. It was certainly more relaxing already, not having to dodge any patrols. Plus, she still had most of the things she had left with, so that was good too. She figured the guards had seized anything she was missing records in the raid, thankfully nothing rare or expensive. She left the station and set about getting home, still buzzing. She'd DJ'd with the Lu-Tang Clan. She was gonna talk about this for weeks. Not only that, but they invited her back too. Truly, it had been a great trip, even if it did get cut short. It was a pretty quick walk to the shop. She stopped by a café on the way, having not eaten since last night. Eventually she rounded the corner onto the street where the shop was located, which seemed much busier than normal. Funnily enough, the fuss seemed to be concentrated around...her...shop... Vinyl galloped over to see why everypony was outside her shop. She noticed the emergency carts lining the road, and the presence of guards. "Oh, there is no way this can be good." Paranoia struck her, what if they were still trying to arrest her from Manehattan? Was there a robbery? What if something had happened to Lyra? Fighting her way through the crowd, she got her answer. The whole front of the shop was blackened with soot, the door had been forced open and one of the windows was gone. The front half of the shop floor was completely destroyed, the back seemed to have fared better but was still damaged in places. The rest of the building looked in okay shape. Any stock she had out on the floor had been rendered unsellable, melted by the heat of the blaze. Lyra was no where to be seen. She had to be okay, she had to be. Vinyl found the nearest guard to try and get some information. "E-e-excuse me, I'm the owner of this building...What...What happened?" Vinyl eventually force out, holding back tears. "The owner? Vinyl Scratch, correct?" Vinyl nodded at the guard. "I see. If you would like to follow me." The guard led her to a medical cart, containing her friends. Vinyl rushed over to them. "GUYS! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" Vinyl exclaimed, no longer attempting to hold back tears. The three embraced in a group hug, which was actually fairly uncomfortable considering the crampedness of the cart. "Guys...what happened?" "Arson." Lyra said bluntly. "Last night, somepony broke in and set fire to the shop. Vinyl, I'm so, so sorry." "Arson? Why? Why would anypony..." Vinyl choked on her sentence, and was again struggling back tears. "I don't know, Vinyl. I just don't know. I didn't even recognize them." "You saw who it was? What did they look like?" Lyra shook her head. "They were wearing a hood, all I could see was their snout. The only thing I can say for sure is that is was a red pegasus." Lyra looked Vinyl straight in the eye. "Vinyl, I'm sorry. I...I let you down, I promised nothing would happen while you were gone.." Lyra broke her gaze and hung her head, she started crying again. Vinyl put a hoof on Lyra's chin and brought her head back up. "Lyra. Look at me. This isn't your fault. This is not your fault, okay? I'm just happy you're safe." "B-but your shop..." "I have insurance. Sure, this is a massive set back, and its gonna be a lot of work, but it'll get taken care of. I...I'd need to find out the extent of the damage, but that can wait. You guys are safe, and that's the main thing." Lyra nodded, and looked back at the floor again. "Upstairs is fine, but the shop front is pretty bad. I don't know about the rest of the shop..." "Well, if its just the front, thats a lot less work than the whole building." Vinyl looked back at the shop and sighed. "Well Lyra, guess I'd better start looking for a hotel for the both of us, I doubt they'll let us stay here until they declare it safe, and that could be a few days." "Nonsense!" Octavia interjected. "You're welcome to stay at my house while this mess get sorted, its the least I can do!" Vinyl offered her a slight smile. "Thanks a lot, Tavi." "Anytime, I'll do anything to help! I'd suggest we head there now, it is pretty chilly today." "I don't think we can leave yet, the guards are going to have questions and stuff..." "Well, the guards have already talked to me," Lyra explained." and I guess I have more information...I'm sure if you just tell them where you're going it'll be fine." "Okay then, guess I'll go do that." "Excellent!" Octavia exclaimed, "We'll wait for you and then make our way back to my house. I'll have to set up the spare room, but everything should be fine." "Thanks Tavi, I guess I'll go find a guard to talk to then." "Tavi, you don't have to do this, I'll find a hotel." Lyra said. "I wont hear a word of it! You've been through quite enough. Come along now, its frosty today!" And so they left for Octavia's house, which was, as suggested, much much warmer than just hanging around in that cart all day. Guards came by later with questions for Vinyl; stuff like details of ownership of the building, asking if she could think of any reason for anypony to do what they did, the usual stuff. Octavia set up her spare room for the two, and they settled in for their stay, however long it might be. ~