Danger Around Every Corner

by Gleaming

Chapter I: A Stroll Down Memory Lane

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Crowds of ponies felt the rhythm of the music flow through their bodies, the strong scent of sweat and alcohol filled the nostrils of dancers gyrating their hips on anypony who would pay a bit just to be entertained. One pony out of the bunch stood out, Gold Record sat down in the back of the night club bobbing his head back and forth as he listened to the latest album released by one of his clients, Octavia.

"It's not dubstep, but it is something," Gold Record nodded his head once the song concluded, he watched the dancers mingle with their clients then give them a quick lap dance as a part of their so called "entertainment."

Neon glow sticks were waved high in the air as the ponies jumped on their hooves following the beat of the song that played throughout Detrot's renowned club, High Energy. The Aces and Eights gang have owned this club since they first came out on the scene a few years back, they struck fear into anyone who crossed their paths or betrayed them in any way.

Gold kept a close eye on a group of ponies that entered through the back entrance door from a nearby alleyway. Each member of the group took a seat near the stage, strobe lights circulated around the club which gave the audience the extra jolt of adrenaline that they needed to keep the party going, "Those ponies don't sit right with me. They can't be who I think they are."

The DJ spoke into her microphone in the center of her stereo system, "How's everypony doing tonight?"

The audience roared in response pointing their hooves up to the ceiling. As they formed separate lines for anypony who wanted to bask in the limelight, Gold turned his attention to one of the members of the group who looked directly at him before he cut his gaze away from him. Blaring music shook the foundation of High Energy similar to an earthquake on the dance floor as the hours ticked away into the late hours of the night, Luna's glowing orb hung above the neon light sign at the main entrance.

Gold Record shook his head around, checked his gold watch for the time. Aware of the long amount of time he spent at the club, he left the club through the exit.

He walked through the alley, the street lights illuminate the path down the alley and onto the streets across from him. A figure in a black leather coat held a zipped sandwich bag in his right hoof, and whistled Gold over to him, "I heard that you are a famous music producer in Detrot, who has money to spend on any old thing."

"All true, how do you know that?" Gold raised the question, he twitched his head to the side at the suspicious bag.

"Just a hunch. I have an offer for you, I'll let you buy this reasonable amount of cocaine for 250 bits at the most. But you must be sure to pay me once I give you this. Do we have a deal?" Ace toyed around with the cocaine, he looked back up at Gold's hazel eyes.

"Deal. Let's keep this little narcotics nonsense between us, alright mate?" Gold tossed down a bag of 250 bits on the cold ground, turning his back away from Ace and walked down the street to his recording studio apartment.

"Yeah, just don't forget to pay me," Ace vanished into the shadows, flicked his toothpick on a trashcan.

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Gold Record woke up to the sun's rays flash him in the eyes, only to shield them away. His alarm clock buzzed around on his nightstand that only added more to his annoyance as he pushed the alarm clock down to the ground, metal pieces and glass smashed against the soft carpet of his bedroom, "I always detest mornings, maybe I should listen to some mu-"

"Coming!" Gold threw the covers off to the side, his legs dangled on the foot of the bed.

He rolled onto his stomach only to fall on the floor below crawling inch by inch across the carpet, reached his front door of his apartment and unlocked metal locks attached on the door, ultimately opening the door.

"How may I help you?" Gold looked at the mare's curly well polished mane, recognizing his client holding her cello case.

"Goldy, it's me Octavia! I know it has been a while since you seen me, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, come on in," Gold closed the door as he walked into the kitchen, brought out the finest imported wine from Prance he could afford. Poured the red liquid into two glasses, he screwed the cork back on the wine bottle and made his way into the living room with both glasses on a silver tray. After he placed the tray down on the glass coffee table, he and Octavia sat closely to each other on his sofa.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Gold fiddled around with his wine glass, watching the wine slosh around the glass.

"Remember that pony you met last night in the alley near High Energy?" Octavia sipped a little amount of her wine, shifting her eyes to the floor and back to Gold.

"How did you know I was at High Energy, were you stalking me?" Gold pointed an accused hoof at Octavia, drinking every drop of his wine as he felt his mind started to wander.

"Good heavens, no! One of the detectives that works behind the scenes alongside Private Eye, Twilight Sparkle, she used her magic to disguise herself as one of the pole dancers at the club. But about the pony you met in the alley near High Energy, was that the same pony who was in the group that you were suspicious of from the start, Ace," Octavia pointed out, sipped the whole glass of red wine.

"But, why would he-" The closed door slammed into the wall as a stallion wearing a black baseball cap and a black leather coat bursts through the door, aimed an assault rifle directly at Octavia feeling tempted to pull the trigger.

"Get down on the ground now, and give me your bits!" The unknown stallion lunged at Golden Record, tackled him down onto the sofa his gun still pointed at his head.

Gold threw up his forehooves to protect himself as he reeled his hind legs up in the air, and kicked the stallion into the air his lower back crashed into the pillar of the wall. The young music producer charged at the attacker with his forehoof out, punched the stallion in the muzzle as warm blood ran down his face up to his shoulders. He swung his elbow back at him, the intended target rolled out of the way to grab a pocket knife from his leather coat.

Both stallions exchanged punches with each other on top of the kitchen counter. Gold hunched over as his attacker kicked him in between the legs with the stallion towering over him, pressed the pocket knife against his throat and a pair of soulless eyes looked down at Gold for the intention to end his life.

They promised to keep this between them, even if things got tough. Ace promised him to split the insurance money, if he killed Gold Record and made sure not to rat him out to the authorities.

Octavia jumped on the stallion's back, wrapped her forehooves around his neck to cut off the circulation of oxygen to his brain. In an attempt to shake her off, the stallion backed himself into a wall as Octavia felt her back collide with the hard, cold wall. Her body slumped against the wall, and she opened her eyes to see him lunge at her with the pocket knife.

Gold pushed Octavia out of the way, the knife plunged into his belly he felt the intense pain sting around the insides of his stomach. Once the knife was pushed further into his abdomen, he dropped down to the floor as drops of crimson blood began to flow out of his body that gave him extreme agony.

He ran away from the scene, and escaped through the back door of the apartment.

Octavia dialed the number for the paramedics on her phone, she spoke erratically to the dispatcher. "My friend was just attacked and stabbed, please hurry!"

"Calm down, ma'am. We're sending medical help to your friend right now immediately!" The dispatcher contacted the paramedics, sent them the location of Gold Record's recording studio apartment.

She hung up the phone after the dispatcher ended the call, her head pressed down into her hooves, "I'll be sure to tell Twilight about this, she won't stop until we avenge him," Octavia stood triumphantly, she waited patiently as the medical personnel arrived in the living room of the apartment.

The ambulance waited outside of the apartment as the medics carried Gold Record out on a stretcher. Octavia rushed outside to the ambulance, brushed Gold's golden locks of his mane and whispered in his ear, "I swear to Celestia, we will find out who that attacker was and bring him or her to justice."

The sound of sirens rang out through the quiet neighborhood of South Detrot, ponies nearby wondered what all the commotion was about a music producer who never crossed anypony in his life.

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Crickets chirped in the dead of night, peace and quiet was all that remained just eight hours removed after Gold Record was attacked by an unknown stallion who nopony met or knew about.

Three colts shook three spray paint containers and giggled amongst themselves. They pressed down on the valve of the containers, sprayed inappropriate words across a long stone wall near a local bar to send a message to the Detrot Police Department. A mare in a black fedora and brown trench coat emerged from the shadows behind the three colts, they slowly turned around to a shadow that towered over them then quickly ran away from the stone wall.

The mare had visible scars that ran down her cutie mark and both sides of her legs. A pack of cigarettes hovered in front of her, slipped one cigarette from the pack as she rolled the spark wheel on her lighter and once a flame came out of the lighter, one end of the cigarette lit up from the heat that the lighter's small flame sparked a small flame on the cigarette. She held the cigarette up to her lips, inhaled the smoke and exhaled a long trail of smoke from her mouth.

She took a swig of her fizzy apple cider alcohol, and looked at the red spray painted coating of letters on the stone wall.

"Hello Twilight, we need to talk," Octavia felt the bags under her eyes and a river of dried tears.