Vinyl and Octavia: Ponyville Duet

by generalsnaz

Intermission

Intermission

Merits flipped through his folder as he sat in the waiting chair. His report was thorough and professional, yet it lacked much substance. It was a fact he couldn't help though; he was used to tracking business and government ponies. They always had far more dirt on them, far more secrets. This was his first assignment following somepony... normal. (Normal, of course, is relative.) He knew, however, that it could well be his most important mission yet.

The secretary across from him tapped slowly on her two buttoned typewriter. (How those things work, I'll never know.) She never looked his way, even when he approached her earlier to ask permission to see the boss. Merits utilized his fedora to avert looking her direction. She was kind of creepy.

Merits didn't have to wait much longer, as a colorful conversation from behind the boss's door quickly approached. He stood up at attention as the door opened and his unicorn boss emerged. Alongside his employer was a blue-haired white unicorn stallion as well as a slender pink-haired white unicorn mare; all three were laughing like the posh ponies they were.

"Oh, how dreadfully dull, Fancy Pants. Mmmyes. Ha. Haha," Merits' boss said as he shared a sophisticated chuckle with the white unicorns.

"Ha, ha. Yes, it was. Hmm, now we will see you again on Saturday for dinner with the Duke of Buckraine, then? Yes? Hmm?" Fancy Pants asked, raising an eyebrow as he expected a favorable answer.

"Of course. Until then," the boss responded, before he took the hoof of the mare and kissed it tenderly. "Miss Dis Lee."

"Quite. Shall we, Fleur?" Fancy Pants asked his female companion, who took his foreleg as he led her away.

"Ta ta, my friends. Ta ta," the boss said as he barely moved his hoof in a restrained wave goodbye.

Merits stood patiently as the high-class conversation ended and Fancy Pants walked down the hall and out of sight. The boss turned to his secretary to say something important, but Merits caught his eye instead. He levitated his monocle from his front pocket to get a better look at the blue stallion. Nopony spoke as the boss looked him over.

"Ah!" the boss said pleasantly as he remembered who Merits was. Without another word, he went back into his office and closed the door. Several moments passed where Merits stood awkwardly as the secretary still typed. A small buzzer box on her desk buzzed suddenly and the boss's voice was magically transmitted to it. His words came out crackling, but still audible, "Send him in."

The secretary addressed Merits and smugly said, "He'll see you now."

Merits nodded and headed into his employer's office. Inside, the space was... spacious. It was wide and very white. Slick porcelain statues of equines lined the red carpet that led to a desk at the far end. Behind that desk, a large, oval, golden decorated window looked down over the city. Both sides of the room had fountains and small pools where sometimes attractive mares would splash each other with no purpose other than to be appealing to the eyes. However, there were none tonight: this meeting was too important to have well-paid eavesdroppers. Extremely expensive paintings that weren't worth their cost hung on every wall, covering every inch of space. Merits wasn't intimidated by the imposing environment, however; he was used to all the décor and the grandeur. Having walked the great distance to the desk, Merits sat in the first of many comfy and elegant chairs lined up before the desk.

The desk was wide as well, and just as white as everything else in the room. Though it had business documents in various places, it also had a tray of dainty appetizers and several glasses of wine. There was also a tiny statuette of Princess Celestia placed directly next to the boss's name plate. The plate read: Mogul Banks, CEO.

"It is good to see you again, Benefits Hounderhoof!" Mogul Banks said joyously as he addressed the blue stallion. "It has been many days since you left for that ghastly little suburb, yes?"

"I beg your pardon, sir, but I am Merits Hounderhoof," Merits pointed out as politely as he could.

"Oh?" Mogul used his monocle and squinted, looking over Merits again. "That you are! You and your brother do so look alike. Now, on to business. Did you leave that nasty little girl the message, as I instructed?"

"Of course."

"Splendid! I should say this news has made me quite exuberant!" Mogul reached into a drawer and brought out a small bag of coins. He slid it across the top of the desk to Merits' side. "A small bonus for you and your brother, for success in this little side-endeavor of mine. If only I could have seen the look on her arrogant little face when she saw the parchment! Mmmyes... Hmm... Ha! Hmm." Mogul hummed as he absentmindedly imagined to himself. "Now, let us move on to more important discussions, shall we? What did you find of value?"

"Well... there was nothing of note in her home," Merits admitted as he pocketed the coins, pulled out his folder and opened it up for Mogul to see. "It's apparent she is a disc jockey, has few possessions, little to no wealth, her magical ability is baseline, she um... how shall I say it? 'Plays for the same croquet team,' if you will..." Merits said, as he blushed a little, trying to be subtle about the sexual orientation of the subject of his investigation.

"How kinky," Mogul interrupted with a devilish smile.

"Yes. *Ahem* Although she frequently leaves the town for jobs," Merits continued, "she is well known by most of the ponies there, but she has had only one close friendship in the past, a relationship which has since ended. However, she has recently become close to a new acquaintance, a pony of some renown, actually." Merits flipped to the page and showed the photograph to his boss.

"Her!?" Mogul exclaimed upon seeing the picture, nearly popping off his monocle.

"Yes, they have begun dating," Merits said, rubbing his neck in embarrassment.

"Are you sure?" Mogul asked quickly.

"Yes. It was... actually quite moving to hear her confess her feelings..." Merits recalled, taking his hat off and looking away in fond remembrance.

"Hmm... Interesting..." Mogul pondered, holding up the picture and rubbing his chin. "Now... personal identity aside, what about the DeSe-DeCe?" His voice was cold now; the pleasant conversationalist had been replaced by a darker, more ruthless schemer. Mogul put the photograph down and picked up his little statuette of Princess Celestia. He played with it, rocking it back and forth, as it rested on the palm of his hoof. "Did she have any information regarding it?"

"No, sir," Merits admitted shamefully.

"No records then? No data? No history?"

"No. But... it is still effective," Merits said, hoping it would help. "She is aware of what it does, but I am confident she is unsure why."

"Hmm..." Mogul pondered before sighing. "An unlucky occurrence, unfortunately. But it was the likely outcome all along... She must be brought here then."

"Shall we... take her?"

"No. No... If she is a prominent member of their community, ponynapping would be too risky. If you are caught, then they will trace it back to me. If that occurs, then it is all over." Mogul got up out of his chair and nonchalantly walked over to his grandiose window. He looked down past the glass at the vacant streets below as they were partially lit by the rising moon. "She must come to us willingly."

"How will we get her to do that?" Merits asked.

Mogul returned to his chair and reviewed the information before him. It was all very basic data about the pony in question. Tapping his hoof in thought, he suddenly realized he was tapping on the picture he had put down earlier. He slowly pulled the photograph of Octavia up and a smile crept up his face.

"I believe I may have some ideas, my friend. I do believe I have some ideas..."

Author's Note:

What.

Whaaaat.

Comments

[Poet Knight]

[Sasha Nein]

I am quite enjoying the comics... (and the extra narrative).

[Wolfie 03]

Alright, here's my two bits (throws bits at author) The narrative that cuts in the story is what makes it different. It took me a while to figure out what is going on and who was talking, and at first I thought of it as a distraction. But as I kept reading, I just accepted it as another style of writing since the story itself was good that I wanted to keep going anyways.

I'm not sure about changing the color though. Coloring, blocking it out (with the spoiler effect) or making it stand out is going to attract the eye more than just reading it as part of the story. It's different and our eyes look for differences in what we are seeing. If you keep it in the story, I would say to leave it as is (just a note or something at the very start or even on the bio that when there is someone talking in () then it's the narrator or something). It's part of the style of the story and makes it different and stands out from other OctiScratch stories.

Good luck! Also, really like those comics you add on the bottom. They are very amusing to see.

[generalsnaz]

7059355
Thanks for the input! I've decided to leave it as is. Thanks for compliment on the comics too!

7057305
Thanks! I think I get more compliments on the comics than the actual story. :3

7057039
Gah! It's just a Rarity face! How do I respond to that?

Oh, like this:

[Poet Knight]

7150370

[Ghost Pony Rider]

Well, that was disturbing.
So far, that fiction is in my top 5 vinyl/octavia favorites.

But I am very... disturbed by those strange bleus brothers like ponies... Oo

But still, I did read all those chapters in one go ! I was absorbed !

And the plurial of mademoiselle is mesdemoiselles. o_o

And I also find your doodles hillarious. :D

[Vinyldropsthebase]

So the prick from the Wedding hired the stalkers who remind me of the Shining twins for some reason I don't know why though i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/10/31/19/2DFD139D00000578-3298376-image-m-37_1446321581041.jpg

[AyanamiRei]

7150370
I blame the fact that the comics are more adorable and unique. There's a lot fewer pony pics, even more so these small and cute ones. The closest I can think of off the top of my head are the ones with FlufflePuff, though those are of a more professional tone. These are more basic, but that's also part of their charm.

While this DOES have some unusual stuff for a Vinyl x Octy Fanfic, this pairing is VERY common, so we've seen a lot of this. Meanwhile with your comics, ESPECIALLY with the twist of having them be at the end of a fanfic, are a far more rare occurance.

This is NOT to say that I am not enjoying your fanfic, because I am, it's just that the comics are a far more rare and unique treat. Plus the comics are FUN, their fun and cuteness isn't tainted by the dark & dramatic elements of the story.
Example: Berry Punch coming in as a villain. Berry Punch as a Comic Villain.

[TheClassyLeviathan]

"How kinky," Mogul interrupted with a devilish smile.

I already hate him.