//------------------------------// // Bella & Vinyl (pre-story) // Story: Silver Spoon on the Moon, and Other Short Stories // by ocalhoun //------------------------------// Bella fidgeted in place. Her legs yearned to move to the beats thudding through the thick door ahead, the red glow sticks braided into her blue mane and tail swayed with her jittery movements, and her whole body surged with energy. The big brown earth pony stallion ahead of her looked down. The bouncer's frown slightly deepened. She froze... or at least she tried to. She hadn't waited through this entire line just to be kicked out before she got in. But she was at the head of the line, nothing but a bouncer and a felt-covered rope in between her and that heavy steel door. She was going to explode any minute now, she was sure. The door latch clicked. Booming bass flooded out through it. Two mares walked out, sweaty, breathing heavily, and brushing up against one another far more than necessary. As they staggered away, the stallion in front of her held the door open with a back hoof and leaned down to unhook the rope with his teeth. He jerked his head toward the door while looking at Bella. She couldn't breathe, frozen for a moment. It was finally time! Her paralysis didn't last long, though. With a jolt, she jumped forward, nearly making it through the dark doorway in one bound. A high, building trill of music greeted her as she passed the doorway, followed by an enormous blast of thrumming bass and flash of colored light just as she made it to the edge of the crowd. She jumped in wholeheartedly. All around her, ponies jumped and whirled, thrashing more or less to the pervasive beat that filled the room and slammed her ears. Fresh and full of energy, she kept up with the wildest of them. She'd been waiting for this all week, and it was her time to shine. Strobe lights shot out from the stage ahead, catching dozens of pegasus ponies in mid-flight above the crowd. On the rare occasions when Bella's feet stood still, she could feel the floor shaking from all the hooves pounding into it. The bass boomed out again, and the room lost any semblance of sanity. Bella shook her head wildly, feeling the glow sticks slap against her cheeks. Between the flashing bursts of light, the slight dizziness of her motions, and the crowd all whipping around her, she felt almost high. She hadn't taken anything, of course. She didn't touch that stuff... but in this place, with this crowd and this music, she didn't need to. Her wild kicking and jumping earned her a wide berth in the crowd, and she slowly worked her way forward. She wanted to be right under that stage. The coolest pony in Equestria, D-J Pon-3, would still be in the middle of her set, and Bella was determined to see her idol in action tonight. Finally, she made it to the front. The speaker boxes boomed painfully loud here, and the ponies around her moved in dizzying dances she could never hope to match. She spotted more than one dancing-related cutie mark among them. The important part, though, was that she finally had an unobstructed view of the stage. Right above her, D-J Pon-3 whipped the crowd into a frenzy behind a slim turntable held up only by her magic. One hoof pounded the air, her head thrashed so much it was a wonder her tinted glasses managed to stay in place, and behind the tables, her hips swayed and her tail waved – something Bella couldn't help finding alluring, despite how much older the mare was. The lights went out – all of them. Only the glowing accessories in the crowd lit them, and only the D-J's glowing horn lit the stage. The last beat of the music slowly died away. For one brief moment, silence ruled. An explosion of bass ripped through the building; the lights flared back on in a kaleidoscope of flashing colors. The stillness shattered into blissful motion that grabbed Bella along and made her move almost against her will. It pounded again and again, harder every time, until finally, when it could build no more, the music's thundering crescendo faded away. Still enveloped in a light blue magical glow, the turntables floated away backstage. D-J Pon-3 shook her mane out and wiped her brow with a hoof. “I love you, Ponyville!” she yelled out. The crowd screamed; their response was overwhelming. “But I've gotta go.” The crowd quieted... slightly. “'Cause it's time for somebody really special to take over!” The crowd exploded again, but her magically amplified voice cut above all of it. “He's been off stage for a thousand years, but he's finally back to turn your world upside down! Give – it – up for the master of disaster, Diiis-cord!” Instantly, the draconequus appeared onstage, along with a huge array of complicated-looking electronic equipment. With an explosion of sound, all the speakers on the stage shot out huge flares of fire and sparks. The sparks sailed out into the crowd, attaching themselves to ponies. Some of them landed on Bella. They didn't burn, but they stuck to her coat, and they kept glowing in all the colors of the rainbow long after they should have died out. The crowd screamed even louder as two notes that had no business being together steadily rose from the stage – Discord living up to his name with a disharmonious, screeching buildup to what would surely be a set worth waiting a thousand years for... but Bella's eyes stayed on her idol. D-J Pon-3 quietly stepped off the back of the stage, unnoticed by most. Just before she disappeared, though, she lifted her glasses and looked directly at Bella, making eye contact. Bella's jaw dropped. Had that really just happened? Her idol winked at her and nodded toward the small door next to the back of the stage. Her meaning was unmistakeable. Wide-eyed, Bella watched that magnificent, bouncing white rump disappear into the door. She stood and blinked for a moment, oblivious to the party still raving around her. Had she just imagined that? No... it was definitely real. She shook her head. She had to go! This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet her hero... and maybe more than just meet. She bit her lip slightly. Sure, she already had a marefriend, and sure, that would be cheating... but Silver Spoon would understand, right? Silver wouldn't want her to miss an opportunity as awesome as this! She couldn't miss this, not for anything. She rushed forward, through the writhing crowd and around the side of the stage. The little black door in front of her was closed, and when she tried the knob, it turned out to be locked as well. She reached up a hoof and knocked on it, hoping she hadn't misunderstood something. As soon as Bella's last knock died away, the door clicked open, and D-J Pon-3's face peeked out. “Oh, hey, I hoped you'd come!” She turned and went further inside, letting the door swing open. Bella stared at the open doorway. “You comin'?” Vinyl glanced back over back, pausing with her lovely ass poised. Bella shook herself and rushed inside. “Close the door behind you. There's all kinds of crazies out there.” As soon as she'd shut the door, Bella turned back around. The room was small and dim, with a few ponies lounging around on very comfortable-looking chairs. Most of them had various drinks next to them. “I saw you out there,” D-J Pon-3 said, trotting back over to her, “and I've gotta say, I was impressed.” Bella blinked. “What? Really?” “Hell yeah, kiddo!” The D-J laughed. “Oh, can I get you a drink? We've got just about–” She froze. “Oh, wait, you're still underage, aren't you? Never mind.” Bella turned to look at her. “Wait... how did you–” “Anyway, I should probably introduce you to these guys.” She waved a hoof around the room slowly. “That's Wingbeatz and her tech guy... that's Nightmare Remix...” A black stallion in the corner nodded, making his blue helmet shake slightly. “...Those two are the Flare brothers, neck deep in the mini-bar, as usual.” She rolled her eyes, barely visible behind her glasses. “Hey, leave some for me, guys!” Two unicorn heads popped up above the little bar on the far side of the room. “We saved you that vodka twist stuff you like,” they said in unison. “Good.” She grinned, bouncing her head to an unheard beat. “Discord's out there on stage now, and... oh yeah! She pointed behind Bella, at a yellow mare next to the door. “That's the stage manager, Keynote. She makes sure we go out there on time and that we don't get too wasted before we do.” She giggled – a strained, slightly screeching giggle that nonetheless warmed Bella's heart. “You'll keep an eye on the Flare brothers, won't you?” Keynote just shrugged, holding a hoof up helplessly. Bella finally found her voice. “Woah... really, woah. It is so awesome to finally meet you guys. Especially you! I gotta tell you, I'm a huge Pon-3 fan! I came here just to–” “I'm not on stage!” D-J Pon-3 elbowed Bella in the ribs. “So don't use my stage name. Call me Vinyl.” It electrified Bella. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes bugged out. “Oh! Okay!” She spun in a circle. “I... oh wow. I can't even...” “Easy there. Let's get you sitting down.” Vinyl laughed, nudging Bella into one of the soft couches with a touch of magic. “There, that better?” Bella sat there, hyperventilating. “Yeah... better.” Her head spun. “Wow.” Vinyl jumped onto the couch next to her. “Yeah”– she shook her head –“I get that a lot.” “Seriously, though...” Bella sat up straighter, getting control of herself. “I'm a huge fan, and I've wanted to meet you for as long as I can remember! There's just something about how you work the crowd up there... it's special. Nopony else can do it! I go to every rave you're in if I can!” Vinyl laughed. “I bet you do.” “Ooh! Do you remember when I got your autograph in Fillydelphia? When you were doing that benefit for–” “I do actually.” Bella's jaw dropped again. “Really?” Vinyl grinned, leaning in close. “You had red and purple glow sticks that time.” Bella's eyes went wide. Vinyl Scratch, the D-J Pon-3, had noticed her! Suddenly, she realized how close Vinyl was. Her heart skipped a beat. Was this her chance? Could she really come back here and make out with her idol? … or maybe more? A wave of heat rushed through her, to her very core. She wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this for anything. Bella leaned in reaching a hoof up to wrap behind Vinyl's neck. She couldn’t look away from the vivid eyes behind those colored lenses, and their lips drew closer and closer. Vinyl jumped back, scooting halfway across the couch. “Woah, hey! What was that?” Bella's heart skipped another beat. She froze, her hoof still up, still leaning toward her idol. Her lips twisted into a grimace. What had she done? She must have misunderstood things entirely, and now she'd blown it, big-time. “I... I didn't mean to... Oh shit... I, um...” Vinyl smiled. “It's okay, kid. Just... ew... don't try anything like that again, okay?” “I'm really sorry, I didn't–” “Don't worry.” Vinyl waved a hoof at her. “There's nothing wrong with you. I just don't swing that way.” One of the stallions behind the bar poked his head up. “What? You don't swing that way? Since when?” Vinyl pounded a hoof into the sofa. “Shut it, Flare-boy!” “It's Flare-Joy.” The stallion's eyes narrowed, but he ducked back down behind the bar again. “Two minute warning!” Keynote shouted from next to the door, making everypony's head turn toward her. “Nightmare, Vinyl, your combo is up next!” Vinyl lowered her head, pouting. “Ugh... fine.” As Nightmare Remix rose from his chair in the corner, leaving his drink behind, she shook her head. “Keynote's right, though. No crowd can handle too much of Discord all at once. I've gotta go get my deck ready, kid, but hang around after the show. This is my last set tonight, and I want to see you again, okay?” Vinyl Scratch wanted to see her again? Bella nearly fell off the couch. “Uh... okay,” was all she could manage. Vinyl grinned, winking behind her glasses before she turned and left. “See ya around, kid.”