//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Small Choices // by Shardi //------------------------------// The trees in Manehattan had begun shedding their leaves, Fall steadily taking over Equestria as days passed. Octavia had come to this city less than a week ago, but even she could see the signs of the slowly approaching winter. The gray pony let out a sigh, irritably shoving aside some of the first golden leaves littering the walkway. Despite her efforts for the last few days, she was unable to find employment. She had exhausted all the venues she could think of, but each had turned her down. She briefly thought about hiring an agent with her savings, but decided against it. She couldn’t find a job not because she was not good enough, but because none of the places she’d tried would hire a pony without any experience or renown. Even though Octavia graduated from the most prestigious musical school in Equestria - it seems she’d have to start her career from ground up. The gray pony let her head droop, glancing at the storefronts as she walked past them, still lost in her thoughts. She passed numerous boutiques and various other shops on her way home from the most recent audition, until one of them caught her attention. It was a quaint, colorful store with various sweets on its display. Looking through the glass, Octavia could see a cream mare behind the counter. Glancing up at the building’s sign, it was indeed the store Bon Bon had mentioned as her workplace on the evening they’d met. Deciding she had nothing better to do for the day, the cellist pushed the door open. The interior of the store was even more colorful than its display. Along both walls on either side of the cellist ran tall shelves, filled with all kinds of candies and other sweet snacks, from licorice to multiple types of chocolates. Closer to the counter, underneath a glass display cases sat delicious looking cakes and other dessert pastries, including what seemed to be one of Bon Bon’s own pies. A small bell chimed as Octavia entered, catching attention of the mare behind the counter. After a brief flash of surprise she beamed, waving for the visitor to approach. “Octavia! I must admit, I didn’t expect you to actually come here. Still, it’s great to see you, how are you?” Bon Bon asked, leaning slightly over the counter to talk with the gray pony. The cellist fought back a sigh, trying to return the friendly smile as genuinely as she could muster. “I didn’t rightly plan it, but I just so happened to be around and thought a courteous hello was in order. As for how I fare… I was hoping for better.” She admitted, scuffing the floor with her foreleg. Bon Bon’s smile faded slightly, replaced by a hint of worry as she lay both forelegs on the counter. “It’s just that-” Octavia continued, letting her exasperation show momentarily. “I have spent pretty much every day since I’ve come to Manehatten trying to find work. And nothing. No ensemble or orchestra or anything I could think of seems to be interested. Not even private parties. How do they expect me to have experience if they won’t let me get experience! I’m a graduate from Canterlot Conservatory, Celestia damn it, what else do they want!” She groaned, lowering her head and hitting the counter with a small thud, trying to calm down after having lost her temper. It wasn’t like her, and she was already mentally scolding herself for the outburst. Bon Bon quietly moved around the counter, sitting beside Octavia and gently resting a cautious hoof on the gray mare’s back. “As much as it stings to admit it, that’s the reality of the job market, Octavia. You either have connections, or have to start from rock bottom, and even that might be hard.” She pondered briefly before lighting up again. “You know what, Lyra gives music lessons to colts and fillies on weekends. If you asked her, I’m sure she could help you out somewhat.” Octavia let out a breath, raising her head again and righting her posture. “Thank you for the idea, although that strikes me as a bit… Unusual. I did notice her cutie mark, but she seemed settled in her job at the complex.” “Checking out my marefriend’s flanks? Shame on you, Octavia.” Bonbon said with a giggle. Octavia’s eyes widened, but before she could rebuke, the cream mare continued. “And as weird as it might be, her dream isn’t sitting in front of a reception desk. And even though writing music is more of her forte, she’s been running into the same issues you do now.” The cellist nodded, shaking off the feeling of inadequacy that rushed her. She should have realized that, so why did she never bother to engage a potential fellow musician? Vinyl might have been one as well, but Lyra’s musical tastes were probably much closer to Octavia’s own. She was about to answer, but Bon Bon’s hollow stare out the window caught her off-guard. She swung her head around to check what captured the confectioner's attention just in time to see the door swing open with a loud ring of the bell as a small group of colts and fillies poured in. “School’s out. You might want to go before the rest arrives, Octavia. I hope you can work things out, or give my idea a try. But you know what’s always good for improving one’s mood? Candy.” The cream mare stated, swiping a small bag of strawberry milk candies from the counter and promptly stuffing it in one of Octavia’s bags. She silenced the musician’s protest with a hoof, smiling lightly. “Don’t worry, the old crook won’t notice. Serves him right anyhow, leaving me alone at the rush hour. I’ll see you later I hope!” She waved her hoof before quickly retreating back behind the counter as the first couple of young ponies approached with their chosen assorted sweets. Octavia chuckled slightly despite herself, maneuvering between the schoolponies to leave the store. Bon Bon was right, and her words mirrored the cellist’s own conclusion. Even Vinyl said the same thing on the first day, after all. We all have to start somewhere. But it seems that it will be even harder than she had planned. As she made her way home, Octavia’s thoughts drifted to her roommate. The white unicorn was surprisingly reliable under her careless exterior. She handled her share of the chores, and even when she did slack, a stern glare from Octavia was all the encouragement she needed to swiftly right her wrongs. To her annoyance, Octavia had to admit that Vinyl was a great cook. And even though the cellist insisted on preparing her own food, the white mare seemed to not care in the slightest, often preparing meals for both of them, using whatever she could find in the fridge. It didn’t take long for Octavia to give up on split groceries. Despite that, they got along well enough, both respecting each other’s personal space. Octavia expected somepony aspiring to be a DJ to be loud, but either Vinyl kept her practices to the hours the cellist was out job hunting, or she was just really good at being quiet. In return, she held her own cello practices in the evenings, when her roommate was out at work, even as each day watching the white mare leave increased Octavia’s own sense of incompetence. *** Returning home, Octavia found the apartment surprisingly empty and quiet. It was growing late, sure, but she didn’t expect her roommate to be gone yet. Shrugging, she trotted towards her room to drop off her saddlebags. She stopped briefly in front of Vinyl’s door, leaning her ear closer, but the other side was perfectly still and quiet. Assuming the unicorn was either out or asleep, Octavia moved on, depositing her bags and returning to the living room with just the small pouch of sweets Bon Bon had given her. Dropping the candy on the coffee table, she unceremoniously fell across the couch, letting out a groan. She had seen Lyra downstairs in the lobby, but the unicorn was busy assisting another tenant, so Octavia decided to not bother her. Even still, Bon Bon’s suggestion irked her somewhat. She mused over it, fishing one of the white-and-red candies out of the pouch and dropping it into her mouth. The cellist had nothing against teaching music per se, but it was definitely not the use she had imagined for her diploma. Maybe coming to Manehatten wasn’t such a good idea after all, she thought with an exasperated sigh. Before Octavia could wallow in her pity some more, the front door violently swung open, almost sending the startled mare falling off the couch. Vinyl froze in the doorway at the sight of her roommate in a coughing fit as she was trying to dislodge the treacherous candy from her windpipe. “Uhh… You alright there Octavia?” The unicorn asked, cautiously stepping closer and closing the door with her magic. Finally managing to clear her throat, the earth mare turned to face Vinyl. “Yes! No- I mean, I’m fine.” She stammered, blushing slightly at the embarrassing display. “You simply surprised me. I thought you’d be at work and did not expect anypony. The brazen entrance certainly did not help either.” Octavia said with a huff, the surprise fading, replaced by irritation at her roommate’s lack of manners, followed instantly by scolding herself in her mind. It was, after all, Vinyl’s home too. Why would she knock? Silly Octavia. Vinyl simply grinned, waving a hoof through the air. “Well sorry about that, guess that evens the score for the first day. And nah, I got today and rest of the weekend off. I was just out to get this beauty!” She said with excitement, levitating something from behind herself and into the cellist’s view. Octavia raised a brow, looking at the peculiar contraption. To her, it simply looked like a large board with a lot of different knobs, switches, and sliders. “It’s… Nice?” She offered meekly. Apparently that was enough, as Vinyl beamed, looking fondly at her newly procured device. “It is, isn’t it! Last thing I needed to really get into makin’ my music. Normally I couldn’t afford it for couple more months, but I found a sweet deal that I just couldn’t say no to. Anyhow, don’t worry if you need peace for your practice or whatnot, still got a few errands to run then I’m out to the club later. Pretend I was never here.” With that the unicorn trotted off towards her room with a spring in her step, levitating the device behind her. “Club? I thought you said- Oh. You mean as a patron, don’t you?” Octavia asked before biting her lip. It was a stupid question, and she was already chiding herself for asking. Vinyl stopped right before the door to her room and looked back, canting her head slightly, processing the cellist’s words. “Uh… To have fun, not work, if that’s what you mean.” She said cautiously before disappearing into her bedroom. Octavia slumped against the couch, weighing the options in her head. She didn’t get as much time for it as she’d like however, as Vinyl quickly retrieved her saddlebags and was already on her way out, waving goodbye. Oh, what the Tartarus. “Vinyl, wait!” Octavia called out just as the unicorn’s magic was pulling on the door. “Wuh?” The white mare answered, turning to face her roommate with a curious raise of an eyebrow. Very eloquent. Octavia rolled her eyes before gathering up the courage. “I was thinking…. That is, if you don’t mind of course, if I might accompany you this evening?” Vinyl stood dumbfounded for a while, her lips parting a bit before quivering at the corners. “You… Are you asking-” She stifled a chuckle, shaking her head. “I’m sorry but that’s a bit unexpected. YOU want to go to a nightclub, Octavia?” The cellist blushed, casting her gaze down. “I just thought… It might be fun. I haven’t been having much of that recently, plus it’d be a good chance for us to get more acquainted with each other. I’d like that.”  Her voice trailed off a bit near the end, hoof scuffing against the floor as she lowered her head slightly. Vinyl finally managed to control herself, walking over and lightly petting Octavia’s head, the patronizing act making her instantly straighten out again with furrowed brows. “Awh, sure little buddy. It’s gonna be fun to see you finally wind down and drop this strict thing you got going on. I should be back within an hour or so, then we can get you prepared. But for now, I really gotta get going!” The unicorn said enthusiastically as she swung around to leave. “Prepared?” Octavia muttered quietly, but before she could say anything more, Vinyl was already gone, leaving the earth pony staring at the dark wooden door. With a sigh, she returned to the couch,  grabbing another piece of candy and eyeing it suspiciously. I might have just made a big mistake. *** Octavia looked down briefly, then back up at Vinyl in confusion. “What do you mean ‘take it off’?” For her part, Vinyl shook her head slowly, tapping the gray pony’s chest. “I mean take it off. This… Whatever it is. It’s not a club attire, and it makes you look like an old mare. Is that what you want? For old stallions to hit on you?” The white unicorn smirked slightly. Octavia huffed, blushing slightly. “Bowties ar-” But before she could finish the sentence, a white hoof pressed against her mouth, silencing her. “No. Believe me, they’re not. I’ve heard that before, and it does not make it true. C’mon, just trust me. It’s only for a couple hours anyways, I’m sure you’ll live without it.” Vinyl said, returning to putting some gel in her already spiky mane. Begrudgingly, Octavia removed the bowtie she was used to wearing at all times, looking at herself in the mirror. She felt strangely naked, looking a lot less serious without the formal looking cravat. Vinyl turned towards her with a small grin, done with styling her own mane. “Are you… Going to put that thing in my mane now?” Octavia asked hesitantly, throwing a glance at the jar of mane gel, but the unicorn shook her head. “Nah… Your mane is too long for that. Besides, I think you look great as is, we just needed to get rid of that thing.” Vinyl answered, lightly brushing Octavia’s charcoal mane to the side with one hoof, causing the earth pony to look away in an attempt to hide her cheeks turning pink at the compliment, but the white hoof wrapped around her neck and pulled her closer as Vinyl looked over them both in the mirror. “I reckon that’s it then. Are you ready for the time of your life?” Vinyl asked flashing a grin, and without waiting for an answer, she pulled Octavia along, out the door and down the corridor. Octavia shuffled after Vinyl into the elevator, a bit uneasy. Her parents had always made sure she had never, as her father put it, fraternized with the wrong crowd, which included participating in what little of night life Canterlot had to offer. She felt a shiver rush down her spine when she thought what Presto Melody would have to say about his daughter ending up in a nightclub within less than a month of leaving her home. A soft ‘ding’ shook her out of her thoughts as they arrived in the lobby. They walked past blank faced Lyra, giving her a friendly wave as she sat behind her desk, listening to one of the tenants complaining about their neighbor’s noisy parrot, and soon enough Vinyl and Octavia were trotting down the street in the cool, evening Manehatten air. “So… Where are we going, anyways? The club you work at?” Octavia inquired, keeping up with the unicorn who walked with a spring in her step. Vinyl shook her head, prompting Octavia to lean away in order to dodge her spiky, sharp mane. “Heck no, I’m not going to let Cherry handle my drinks. She’s cool, but can’t mix drinks to save her life. Not that anypony minds after a while, but still-” Vinyl answered, leading the earth pony down the street and around corners. Soon enough Octavia heard muffled, thumping music as they approached a low, wide building with a bright neon sign above its entrance and a small crowd of ponies waiting in line to be admitted. She joined Vinyl at the end of the short queue, glancing nervously at the bouncer. He was a unicorn stallion, even larger than Stern, currently in the process of checking the ID of a young mare, which was doing her best to not cower under his gaze. “Now, the first thing you need to know-” Vinyl started, capturing Octavia’s attention again “Don’t drink anything anypony offers you. We buy our own drinks, and don’t let them out of our sight until they’re done. Well, unless you want to wake up tomorrow in some stallion’s bed. Or mare’s, I don’t judge.” She added with a smirk. “Believe it or not, I’m quite capable of using common sense, Vinyl.” Octavia muttered from the corner of her mouth, watching the bouncer now admit a shifty looking pegasus stallion inside. The unicorn gave her a patronizing pat on the back, followed with her best motherly voice. “There there dear, you said it’s your first time so just let auntie Vinyl take care of you, and you’ll be fine.” Octavia groaned, shaking off the now giggling Vinyl’s hoof. Luckily it was their turn to be admitted, and the gruff bouncer spoke before the white mare had a chance to try pestering her again. “Identification, please.” He said with a drawl, glancing over their heads to look at the slowly growing crowd behind the two mares as Octavia lowered her head, procuring her ID from the small pouch secured to her foreleg. As soon as she took it out, she felt it slip from her grip as the security guard took her own and Vinyl’s cards, barely glancing over the unicorn before returning it. However he took his time with Octavia as he looked back and forth between the cellist’s face and her ID before levitating it back to her as well, waving them inside. “Enjoy your evening ladies.” “What was all that about?” Octavia huffed with indignation, having placed her card safely back in the pouch. “Do I really look that young? He barely glanced at you, but I was sure he’s about to tell me off!” She looked warily at Vinyl, following the unicorn down a corridor, the music growing louder with each step they took. Vinyl shook her head, the electric blue mane flying around, making Octavia have to step sideways to dodge it once more. “Nah. Not to diss your youthful beauty, but he probably just wondered what such a classy Canterlot mare is doing in a place like this, with a pony like me.” She chuckled, but then suddenly froze. “It’s not a kidnapping if it was your idea, right?” “Oh, get real, Vinyl.” The cellist rolled her eyes, turning the corner past a coatroom to enter the main club room, instantly rooting in place herself. It was bright, loud, and big. Way bigger than she had expected from the building’s low profile, but seeing the inside, she now knew why. The center of the room was missing a big part of the floor, and glancing over the guard rails around it, she could see a second level beneath it, where a crowd of ponies jumped and danced in the large empty space, lit by strobing lasers and coloured spotlights mounted on the pillars supporting the top level. Right next to the dance floor, directly ahead of Octavia was a small stage with what looked like the monstrous sized version of the device Vinyl had shown her earlier today, operated by a unicorn stallion with large headphones around his neck. She watched his hooves and magic glide over the large board in front of him, adjusting sliders and pressing switches seemingly at random before the cellist looked around the ground level, where small booths lined the walls, most occupied by small groups of ponies, some with half-finished drinks left behind as their owners went for another round at the dance floor. Octavia winced innerly, recalling Vinyl’s warning. Apparently, a lot of club goers could do with a dash of common sense, she thought turning to her companion. Vinyl grinned widely at the cellist, the colourful lights dancing on her white coat, which provided perfect canvas for the chaotic displays of colours to mix and mesh on. “So, whaddya think? Awesome, huh?” She asked in a raised voice, looked around without waiting for an answer, soaking in the ambience. “Why don’t you go find us a booth and I’ll order some drinks to get us started?” Octavia felt like she’d have to shout just to be heard over all the noise surrounding them, so she simply nodded at the unicorn who beamed and made towards the bar, leaving the cellist to find someplace that wasn’t already occupied by ponies, unfinished drinks, or something even less pleasant. Not that I’m having second thoughts… But I’m having second thoughts.