Chapter 2: Backgrounds
Tired. So tired. A black earth pony with a grey mane trotted along a street in Fillydelphia. The weather was rainy, and it was around midnight, so the only light he had shone down upon him from the streetlamps. He passed by several night-open cafés, and ponies laughing and having a good time. He smiled weakly. I'm glad at least some ponies are happy. He continued his slow march down a few more streets, approaching his goal. He had a slight slug in his step, as if he had been running for a few hours. He soon arrived at his small apartment, which was situated in a poor district of the city, Cotton Slopes. He rummaged through his saddlebags for his key, and unlocked the door.
The apartment was no residence for a rich pony, that was for sure. A simple bed, a small kitchen and a toilet was pretty much all that was contained within. On a small table beside the bed stood a framed photo of a grey mare with a charcoal mane. He smiled at the photograph, and promptly plopped down on his bed.
"Ugh, I'm never taking those 12-hour shifts again", he grumbled. He wanted desperately to go to sleep, but he had one more thing to do. He pulled out his phone from his saddlebags which he had set down beside the bed, and started texting. Hello honey! I hope you are well...
He sent the text, and content that he had accomplished everything he could for the day, he put the phone on the bedside table and laid down. Sleep wasn't far away for the exhausted stallion, and the apartment was soon filled with his snoring.
XXX
Vinyl followed Octavia with a frown on her face. Her booze night would be delayed because of this mare. If she found her, she would be given an ear-full. The streets were brightly lit by Baltimare's trusty, 500 watt-something, streetlamps. At least she thought they were, as the lamps were pretty bucking bright. She was glad she wore her goggles, as she would probably have gone blind without them.
After ten minutes or so, she caught sight of Octavia's tail swishing inside a large building. Vinyl quickly galloped over and read the sign.
"Sherahoof. Huh." Vinyl was pretty amazed at the hotel were Octavia was staying, as it was one of the most expensive ones in Baltimare. She shrugged her shoulders and trotted inside. Now to find... buck. Octavia was nowhere to be seen. The receptionist perked up from her gossip magazine and scrutinized Vinyl.
"May I be of service?", she asked, a little coldly.
"Um, yes actually. I found a phone that i think belongs to someone in this hotel."
"And what might be the name of this 'someone'?"
"Octavia." Vinyl wondered what she had done wrong. This mare was really rude.
"Oh, yes, Miss Octavia. Just give the phone to me, and I will make sure she gets it", the receptionist mare stated flatly.
"Okay, thanks!" Vinyl handed the phone to the mare and trotted out into the street. Puh, that was weird. I guess I don't quite fit in with the snobs. Now for the epic Pon-3 barcrawl! She chuckled to herself, and set out to find as many bars as she could before turning in for the night.
XXX
Octavia's suite at Sherahoof's was actually quite modest for such a luxury hotel. She had rented one of the cheapest rooms, as she thought she would only be staying a few days. The room itself hosted a few bookshelves, a TV, a queen-sized bed and, of course, a bathroom. Octavia currently stood in the shower, trying to wash of the stress of the day.
A job offer on my first day in Baltimare. I wonder what dad would say. She smiled to herself. He would probably come up with some expensive way to congratulate me. He really must stop doing that.
The shower brought some much needed relief from her hectic night, which included her run-in with that rude mare. Honestly, who would talk like that to somepony they just met? She shook her head, burying the thoughts. I will probably never meet her again anyhow.
She turned of the shower and wrapped towels around her mane and tail. Exiting the bathroom, she turned on the TV, if only for some background noise.
"Now where did i put my phone...?" She searched around for it. She thought she must have put it somewhere in her room before showering, but she couldn't remember where. Guess it pays off to stay out so late, I'm too tired to do anything.
After a quick search around the room, she could establish that her phone was, indeed, not in her room.
Oh, buck me. I must've forgot it back at the Minotaur.
Deciding that she was much too tired to return to the club at such a late hour (they were closed now anyway), she finished drying her mane and slid under the covers of her bed. She would deal with it in the morning. Unaccustomed to staying out late, she found sleep easily.
XXX
The next day...
Vinyl wanted to die. Literally. The barcrawl last night had been a huge success (at least she thought so, if the gnome with the jackhammer in her head was any indication). She had visited at least seven bars and clubs that she could remember, and probably a few more after that. She looked out her window. The sun had begun to rise across the roof-tops of Baltimare, announcing the start of a new day. At least for the non-hungover ponies around.
Vinyl groaned, and slowly sat up in her bed. She patted with a hoof on her nightstand, searching for her goggles. Her hoof hit something, and she instinctively grabbed it. Not glasses. Phone. She checked the time. 07.14.
"What am I doing awake?" She asked nopony in particular. She flopped back down on her small bed and closed her eyes. The universe, however, would not allow her to sleep as her phone rang. She sat up with an audible grunt, and looked at her phone.
<INCOMING CALL: THE MINOTAUR>
She cancelled the call with an angry tap of magic from her horn, and lay back down. Those hayheads aren't getting any attention from me today. Then she remembered she still had to pay rent and food. She quickly decided to give them a call later in the day, when the gnome had gone to bed.
BZZZ, BZZZ.
"OH, COME ON!"
Vinyl was now in a really sour mood. Her phone started ringing again, and with a violent pulse of magic she grabbed her phone.
<INCOMING CALL: NEON LIGHTS>
The dark cloud over her head eased up somewhat as she answered the phone.
"Hey, Neon."
"Morning, Scratch! You awake?"
"Now I am."
"No time to rest! You know we have a huge gig coming up, and we need mix new beats!"
"I don't know Neon. I don't feel so good. I have probably only slept a few hours."
"Probably? What were you up to last night?"
Vinyl could hear the muffled chuckle in Neon's voice. He knew exactly what she had done last night, but he liked to tease her.
"Shut up."
"Haha, ease up Scratch, I'm just teasing. But we really need to do this today. The gig is the day after tomorrow, remember?"
She looked at the calendar at the wall. Thursday.
"Yeah, yeah, I remember. Saturday."
"Good. I guess the alcohol didn't completely fry your brain."
More chuckling. Vinyl was getting annoyed.
"I'll be there at seven. Bye."
Before Neon could say another word, Vinyl hung up. She had no plans to move from her bed anytime soon, but she knew she had to make more "bass-tastic awesomeness" to pay the bills.
At the thought of bills, she suddenly remembered the call from The Minotaur. With an annoyed grunt she dove into her pillow. It was going to be a long day...
XXX
Meanwhile...
Octavia was surprisingly well-rested. She had woken up with the sun, eaten breakfast, and was now on her way to the Baltimare docks. She was deep in thought.
This is going too fast. I'm only 19! And I've already been invited to Frederick's orchestra.
She didn't know what to make of the situation. Sure, she was good at her instrument, the cello, but good enough to play with a famous composer such as Frederick Horseshoepin? And perhaps perform at the grand stages in Canterlot?
She had to admit, the thought of performing in Canterlot made her feel a little giddy inside.
All that sophistication... maybe even performing for the princesses!
That last thought made her chill. What if she wasn't good enough? What if the other ponies in the orchestra were so much better than her?
Now feeling a little down, she continued her trot towards the docks. That was a problem for another time. Looking around, she couldn't cease to be amazed at the architecture of Baltimare. The houses were mostly three-story buildings built from bricks. They had been built to withstand the strong, salty winds of the sea, but they also had a hint of beauty to them. The bricks were a mixture of yellow and red for the most part, but with a few strands of orange here and there.
The docks themselves were filled with derricks and piers. A few ships were currently in port, loading all kinds of exotic merchandise both on and off them. The streets closest to the docks were mostly warehouses, with a few apartment buildings here and there. The apartments located in this area were generally the cheapest, as there was a lot of noise coming from the docks both day and night.
Octavia stared dreamily at the city around her as she continued trotting against one of the piers. She needed time to process everything, and the docks seemed like the perfect place to do so, with the soft rolling of the waves and gentle sounds of the birds.
Unfortunately, she didn't really look were she was going.
Bonk.
"Hey, watch it!" An angry mare looked back at Octavia before her expression softened when she realized who it was. "Oh, it's you."