//------------------------------// // What Have I Gotten Myself Into? // Story: Something More // by GhostieToastie //------------------------------// Octavia stood, flustered, in the opening of the door. Vinyl was already in the hall, when she turned and yelled back, "Come on, Tavi!" Octavia wanted to follow, but something deep inside kept telling her that if she went in there, she'd regret it. So, she stood, mouth opening and closing repeatedly, staring at her friend. "Are you serious?" Vinyl grumbled. She stepped over to Octavia, and shoved her through the heavy double doors, and up to a small booth. Puzzled, Octavia started, "Wha-?" Vinyl just shook her head, and shoved a pass under the window of the booth, which was quickly returned to her. There was a small beeping sound, which continued as Vinyl heaved another door open, holding it impatiently for Octavia. Hesitantly, Octavia trotted through the door, and waited as Vinyl pushed a button on the wall. "Erm, Vinyl?" Octavia tried again. "Yes?" She didn't meet Octavia's eyes, as she was busily fumbling with some nametags. "Isn't this.. A house?" Octavia jumped a bit, as the floor began descending. Vinyl paused. "Uh. Yeah." "And.. This is an elevator?" She braced her legs uncomfortably on the ground. Raising an eyebrow, Vinyl turned to face her, and said, "You're on a roll tonight." Blushing, Octavia straightened up a bit. "I just meant, is this all not.. too much for a simple house party?" With a laugh, Vinyl returned to the nametags. "You really are inexperienced." --------------------------------------------------------------------- The floor jolted to a stop, and Octavia could hear faint music through the heavy steel doors of the elevator. Vinyl ushered her out, and the music grew startlingly louder. "Oh, my." She murmured. The set of metal doors ahead of her made her wonder just how loud the music was playing. "Alright, alright, this is it. Just, when it's over, I'll call you, okay? I'll try and find you when I go on break." Vinyl abruptly flung the doors open, and without looking back at Octavia, she announced her arrival boldly and loudly. Being met with cheers and howls from a strange crowd of ponies, Vinyl shoved her way through the mobs, toward a small stage at the back of the enormous room, which too, was cluttered with ponies. Upon seeing the DJ, though, they made room for her, and she straightened her glasses. She slammed her hoof down on a button, and the music blasting stopped, much to the protest of the ponies. The muttering subsided quickly, and all eyes flew to the white unicorn who sat, tapping her hoof, on the stage. With a smile, Vinyl flicked on a microphone, and cleared her throat. Octavia, still lurking in the back of the room turned her attention toward Vinyl. "LET'S PARTY!" Vinyl bellowed happily into the mic. The ponies around Octavia cheered and stomped their hooves. Octavia stared, mouth agape, as she finally took in the ponies around her. Oh Celestia, She thought, What have I gotten myself into? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl was lost in her own world, the world she had created for herself. Nothing could distract her from her work, from her passion. However.. She'd be lying if she said the thought of Octavia in the middle of the party didn't cross her mind every few minutes. She was worried about her. Octavia was worried about herself, too. It'd only been 10 minutes, and already she'd been approached by 3 males, and 2 females, all of whom wanted to buy her a drink from what Octavia thought had to be the only home-bar in all of Equestria. She'd politely declined, and to her relief, they had all shrugged and wandered off. Now, she stood nervously in the corner of the room, with her back against a wall after a run in from behind with a particularly friendly stallion. Suddenly, a tan mare, with what Octavia thought an obtrusively pink mane, popped up in front of her. "Hi!" She yelled over the noise. The tone of voice, however, implied that she always addressed ponies with that sort of vigor, no matter how quiet the background noises were. "Hello!" Octavia yelled back, trying not to radiate a false sense of happiness with the level of her voice. She didn't want to give this happy pony the wrong idea. "I'm Honey Heart!" The pony grinned like a lunatic, and she began bouncing. Octavia paused to consider her response, and looked the pony up and down. She had a silver piercing in her nose, and black and white striped socks with a curious object on the top. This pony was clearly not somepony Octavia wanted to be seen with at a professional location. "I'm Octav-" As she shouted, an extremely loud dip in the music blocked out the last of her introduction. "Hi, Octave!" The pony stuck out her hoof, but continued bouncing, making it difficult for Octavia to grab on and shake. "No, I said 'Octav-'" Once again, the tone shifted, and Octavia glared at the stage, even if she knew Vinyl couldn't see her. "That's what I said, Octave!" The pony didn't skip a beat, still grinning. Shaking her head, Octavia decided it was better to just let the pony go on. "So, Octave! Have you ever been to a party like this before?" The peppy pony stopped bouncing and tilted her head. "Ghostie said it was called a 'rave' but I've never been to one before! Lonely Ghost goes to these all the time! She brought me here! Oh! And she brought Rose!" The pony babbled on and on, until suddenly a hoof was smashed over her mouth. Octavia could still hear a stream of words mumbling out of the pony. "Sorry." Octavia followed the hoof up to the face of an unsmiling grayish blue pony. Tossing her dark blue mane out of her eyes, she continued in the same loud tone, "Was Honey bothering you?" Octavia was growing increasingly uncomfortable with this crowd. This new pony had piercings on her lip, and up her ears. They were made even more intimidating by the lack of happy energy emitting from her. "N-no bother." She stammered. The pony gave her a questioning look, and Octavia realized she'd spoken too softly. "No bother!" She yelled this time. The pony nodded and uncovered Honey Heart's mouth, who, somehow, was still talking. "Ghostie!" The tan mare squealed. "This is Octave!" Nodding politely at Octavia, the Pegasus turned to face Honey, and she yelled over the noise, "I told you to stay with Shade Rose and I!" She threw a gesture at the tan unicorn with the startlingly crimson mane, who was standing peacefully behind her. Octavia looked over at her, and decided that not all the ponies who came here were so unruly. This pony seemed like a very well-educated and versatile mare. "Bye, Octave!" Honey Heart screamed joyfully at Octavia, who jumped, and turned to see the three casually slip into the crowd. She breathed out, relieved. Somehow, Octavia had survived her first real encounter with a 'raver'. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Octavia stood, weighing her options. She could approach the bar, and relax a bit with a sarsaparilla, but she'd be at the risk of being spoken to again. On the other hoof, she could stand all night in the corner, feeling safe, but never unwinding at all. She was perfectly fine with the latter, but she wanted to prove to Vinyl that she could handle her own. So, with her hopes high, she stepped up to the bar and tapped her hoof on the counter. A burly stallion with a pen behind his ear turned to her and yelled, "What can I get ya?" "Oh, Um, A sarsaparilla would be lovely, sir." Octavia shouted back. The stallion gave her a strange look, but began preparing her a drink. Octavia's gaze drifted around the room, and she finally could focus, now that she'd become accustomed to the music. The ponies weren't all that bad, really. It had been quite a while since she'd seen ponies having that much fun, too. Curiously, Octavia wondered if the ponies who attended her shows ever just cut loose like this. A drink slid to a stop in front of her on the bar, and Octavia snapped out of her daydream. "Thank you!" She yelled, and then looked up. "How many bits?" Shaking his head, the stallion gave her the same look as before. "You here for this party?" He spoke a regular level, but was somehow loud enough. "Oh, Yes." Octavia struggled to keep her voice loud. "You got in here with a pass?" Octavia though about Vinyl fumbling with what she'd thought had been nametags, and the cards at the desk. "Yes, I did." She finally answered. "Then it's paid for, lady." He turned around and continued drying glasses. She stared nervously at him, but then decided not to question it. She took a large swig of the drink, and suddenly felt a burning sensation in her throat. Coughing desperately, she slammed her hoof on the table. The stallion turned, clearly exasperated with her. "What is it?" "This," She coughed audibly again, "Is not sarsaparilla!" He shook his head, mane flopping around. "It's cider and vodka." She stared at him in shock. "Vodka!?" "Little lady, this is a bar. We don't serve sarsaparilla." He turned away again, but yelled over her shoulder, "I think you'll like it if you give it a try." She glared at his back for several minutes, then stared at the mixture in front of her. It really hadn't been that bad, She told herself. This time, she took a smaller sip of the drink. No, She thought, It wasn't that bad at all.