It's important to understand exactly how powerful Granny Smith and her "company" actually are. She is the head of the Apple Family. The Apple Family has had its roots in Ponyville for many years, long before most of you were born. It was started as a drug cartel street gang in the city's early years, peddling zap-apples (an extremely potent hallucinogen drug) locally, and expanded over the years. The revenue for the drug operations was unfathomable. With money comes power.
When Granny Smith's father died, she became the official head of the organized crime. After years of very good and very shady investments, the organization had branched out into other industries. The Apple Family at this day has Ponyville by the balls and Equestria by the throat. The money flows to the very top. On a local level, the Apple Family runs the whole thing: the mayor, the police department, the press, a majority of the stores and commercial arias, all are on the pay-rolls of the Apple Family. On a national level, they are the second most powerful and influential family in Equestria, right under the royal family.
In addition to having a complete monopoly over the coal industry and the apple industry, The Apple Family, or Granny Smith more specifically, have branched into the music industry and formed a record label. This is the only record label that seems to thrive in the
outthought—cutthroat?
industry. If one got their music to be signed by the Sweet Apple record label, then they were instant culture icons. This is so because The Apple Family used their influence on the government to convince the Princess to stamp very heavy taxes on all other labels.
Anyone that did something to mess up the natural flow of dirty money would be either stamped out, or arrested by the cops on the pay-roll. Anyone lucky enough to get on Granny Smith's personal good side was protected from everything... even the law. For the most part, this was Octavia's position. Granny Smith is an avid classical music fan. So she signed Octavia up. At least, that's the short version. The long and more truthful story is a little more exciting then that.
Octavia's father was a senator working in the royal castle. He did his best all the time to ensure that Celestia and Granny Smith were always miles apart. The leader of the Apple Family had half the royal guard on her pay-roll and a quarter of the senators. She hated his guts. She hated how the slimy bastard always made business hard, and always got in the way. So she signed Octavia up, manipulating her desperation to become a classical music star. And with his daughter in the firm grip of the most powerful criminals in the world, he stepped down from the senate in order to let his daughter see her dream.
But enough about how things came to be as they are, lets go back to our little DJ friend.
Vinyl could feel that she was on a soft bed. She didn't want to open her eyes quite yet, she was too weak to wake up. Instead, she remained perfectly still, trying to deduce where she was from the sounds around her. The only thing that she could hear was hoofsteps not too far from her, they sounded to be walking on wood floors, and a tea kettle boiling. She was in somepony's house alright. And it sure as hell wasn't hers.
Over a minute went by. She noticed how sweet the bed smelled as she lay there comfortably.
Her eyes slowly opened. She saw that she was in a bright apartment and from the amount of light coming through the sliding glass doors that led out to a porch, she deduced that it was almost mid day. Her head slowly lifted and she examined the living room. She saw that she was on a couch, not a bed. The walls were bright white with paintings hung here and there. The furniture was very modern, yet had a charming humility. Her eyes trailed off to a kitchen area visible from the living room.
Staring back at her was Octavia, looking as beautiful as ever.
"Ya know, you didn't have to destroy that CD just to make me feel better."
"No, I didn't have to. I wanted to."
"A kind gesture from the heart?"
"You could call it that. I guess I just got a soft spot for pretty li'l ponies like yourself. Besides, if I didn't do it, I wouldn't have had such a nice nap."
"True, I suppose. About the nap I mean."
"So this your crib?"
"If you're asking if this is my living space, then no. This is my old condo. I'm trying to sell it now."
"Okay, cool..." her eyes trailed along the room. "Apparently, I pissed the old hag off something good."
"I think you're an idiot."
"How so?" Vinyl flipped herself over and lay on her belly. She used her hands as arches to support her head. She smiled at the comment, and smiled at the question she asked; curiosity crept up as to the context of Octavia's insult.
"For starters, you get cocky and aggressive toward the woman that has the power to make you a star or to have you killed-"
"Nigga please, I'm already a star! I got more crazy fans at my raves than anyone."
Octavia ignored the interruption and proceeded.
"You really need to learn to not be so head strong. You're going to get yourself killed dealing with someone like her like that."
"Aww, don't worry about me. I can handle my flank. Besides, I didn't even say nothing to her directly. She just spied on our conversation, that's all."
"You did give her disrespectful looks."
"Yeah, but....... Yeah, you're right.
"So, do you care to depart any time soon?"
"What? That's it? You're just gunna kick me out?"
"What else is there to do?"
Vinyl saw her chance.
"How about I treat you to lunch? You know, as a thank you for, uhhhh, letting me nap on your couch" she gave a big smile.
"You amuse me. I suppose I can find the time tomorrow. But for now I have an appointment.”
"Swag. See you tomorrow, then. Doughnut Joe's? Around three?"
"Doughnut Joe's? Really? I think you can do far better than that."
"Okay, okay. Where do you want to go, then?"
Without skipping a beat, Octavia replied:
"Sladkia Socrvoich! It's a five-star restaurant. I think you should find it to your liking."
A fancy restaurant? That wasn't exactly Vinyl's style, but she could manage.
" 'Ight, sure."
Octavia left the room as soon as the words left Vinyl's mouth. She called out:
"Don't forget to shut the door on your way out."
Vinyl took the hint and left.
*****
"Dig, muthafucka, dig!"
The pistol never lost sight of the digging pony. The one holding it was an orange mare, with a western-style hat on. She aimed the gun at the head of a sweaty purple pegasus who was rapidly digging his spade into the earth. The cool night air whipped the trees all around them. The purple pegasus had tears dripping from his eyes into the soil he was moving.
"Now that-a-boy. Y'all make mah life just a li'l bit easier there!"
A split second later, all that could be heard through the woods was an ear-shattering crack.