My Little Background Pony: Boasters Busted

by comicfan616

Introducing...

Author's Note:

Yeah, I know, it's been a while. Writer's block, new job, and just general laziness. But I'm back now, and I have a new story for you all. A sort of "rite of passage," as it were, for any Alternate Mane 6 series: the "Boast Busters" adaptation. Hope you enjoy.

My Little Background Pony
Boasters Busted

And the announcer introduces me. No need to be so modest, my good stallion. Vinyl walked up to her turntables, standing proud at the center of the console.

“Hey, everypony! How you all doin’ tonight?”

The applause is thunderous. My definition of a perfect storm.

“As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, I am your lovely hostess for tonight’s festivities: the one, the only, accept-no-substitutions, DJ-PON3!”

The crowd chants my name. It feels good to be on top of the world.

“Now I’m sure many of you have heard of me before. And you’re all asking, ‘Doesn’t she play with those other two mares in the next town over?’ Rest assured, I ain’t leaving my friends behind. But they both have solo careers of their own to work with, and I do not want to buck the trend. Hence (and it’s not very often I use such a fancy word)…”

Pause, wait for the laughter to die down.

“…my first ever appearance, not as the sound mare for somepony else’s band, but as a pony who marches to the beat of her own drum. And I intend to share those beats with you, tonight and whatever night I’m here for hereafter (again, not a word I use a lot).”

Applause? Laughter? Both? So long as they know they’re getting awesome, I’m happy with it.

“Okay, enough beating around the bush, fillies and gentlecolts. You all came here to party, so let’s get this party started!”

Aaaaaaand hit the music!

“So, how was that?” she asked. She looked expectantly at her “audience.”

Octavia was lying on Vinyl’s couch, holding her hooves up to her ears and gritting her teeth together. After a few seconds, she seemed to notice that Vinyl had stopped talking. “Oh, erm, are you done?” She slowly rose to a sitting position

“Yep. So, again, what’d you think?” Vinyl asked as she stepped away from her turntables.

“What did I think? Well…” Octavia paused and place her hoof on her chin, looking unsure. Finally, she looked at Vinyl, her face bearing her usual, almost stoic look, and said, “It was very… loud.”

“YES!” Vinyl shouted. “Just the tone I was going for! I always knew I could trust your instincts, Tavi.”

As Vinyl celebrated her achievement, Octavia just sighed and said, “Now if only I could have trusted them as well.”

“Ah, come on,” Vinyl replied. “It wasn’t that bad. You really need to loosen up, girl.”

“I’ll have you know I can be very ‘loose’ when I want to be.” Vinyl just held her hooves to her mouth, trying to contain her laughter; she failed. Octavia, after seeing her friend roll on the floor for a few seconds, finally realized what she had said. “Wait, no, that wasn’t what I… You were the one who… I was just… Shut up!”

Vinyl’s laughter only increased in intensity as Octavia tried to alleviate her blunder. She finally calmed down long enough to stand up and face her. Octavia just stared at her with a deadpan expression. “Oh, man, that was just amazing. This is the kind of thing they write books about.”

“Just promise me that the names will be changed to protect the innocent,” Octavia replied, her voice even, if a bit exasperated.

“Hey, you were the one who trotted headfirst into it. Don’t blame me.”

“Can I at least count you as an accomplice?”

“Partners in crime. I like that. I set ‘em up, you go for the punchline.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

“Okay, okay, I’ve had my fun with you. Howzabout we grab a bite to eat? I need the energy.”

“Your performance (if it can even be called that) isn’t for another two days,” Octavia pointed out.

“I still need energy.” Vinyl countered. “Come on, there are some hay fries calling out to me.”

“I knew you should have seen a psychiatrist about those voices,” Octavia said as she and Vinyl walked out the door.

---

My little pony, my little pony,
Ah-ah-ah-ah-My little pony!
I had forgotten what friendship could mean.
Until you all reminded me:
Time together, rockin’ beats,
Sweet experience, soothing melodies,
All for one. Such an easy feat!
Now thanks to you, my life’s complete!
Yeah, my little pony!
You are truly all my very best frieeeeeeeeeends!

---

“So, what do you feel like? My treat,” Vinyl said as the two walked through Ponyville’s restaurant row.

“Like my headache is finally going away,” Octavia replied. Vinyl just chuckled. “Did you really have to make your… introduction so loud?”

“Hey, as DJ-PON3, I need to present an air of confidence and energy. Because if I don’t think I’m awesome, they won’t think I’m awesome, and my music would just fail worse than my high school grades.”

Octavia didn’t say anything for a moment until, “You went to high school?”

“Exactly.”

“I honestly can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

“Look, Tavi, you’re a performer as much as I am…”

“Just hearing you say that makes my stomach hurt.”

“… so you know that half of any performance is composure,” Vinyl continued, either ignoring or unaware of Octavia’s remark. “When you start playing for the orchestra, you hold yourself in a way that says, ‘You all came to see me play, so that’s what I’m going to do.’ Now, your audience is of the upper-crusty variety, wanting to listen to boring classical music, so you compose yourself accordingly, all stiff and serious-like.”

“Glad to know you still feel the way you always have about my music,” Octavia deadpanned.

“But with my audience, they expect to move around and get their blood pumping, so it’s my job to give them that energy. So, yeah, loudness is just part of the program.” Suddenly, they both heard a rumbling sound. Octavia jerked up and blushed slightly when she realized what it was. “And speaking of loudness…” Vinyl said with a small smirk.

Octavia chuckled in embarrassment. “Erm, I suppose that establishment will suffice.” She pointed at a small café off to their left. She moved quickly, likely to avoid another incident with the noises her stomach was making.

“Yeah, this’ll do,” Vinyl said as she approached one of the outdoor tables. A waiter was already approaching, so she turned to him and said, “Your finest hay fries, gar-kon.”

Octavia just rolled her eyes at the blatant mispronunciation and said, “Petunia sandwich for me, thank you.” The waiter nodded and left to get their orders.

“I got a good feeling about this whole thing, Tavi,” Vinyl said, starting up a conversation.

“Vinyl, you’ve done this sort of thing before,” Octavia pointed out. Indeed, this was far from Vinyl’s first performance.

“But this is different!” Vinyl defended. “I’m going to be playing over in Whinnydale! Yeah, it may be just a few miles out of town,” she added when she saw the disinterested look on Ocatvia’s face, “but it’s still out of town! I’m starting to get noticed! This is the concert that’s finally gonna put DJ-PON3 on the map!”

“I hardly consider playing at a night club a ‘concert.’ And I would be willing to bet that there are at least a few ponies there who already know of you, even if only by reputation at best.”

“Yeah, maybe, but they’d only know me as Vinyl Scratch, the sound mare and ambience provider for a three-mare band. But in two days, they will know me as DJ-PON3, soon to be the newest sensation in all of Equestria!”

“You saw the flier too, huh?” they both heard from a familiar voice. They turned to the two ponies that were walking toward them, Lyra and Bon Bon.

“Ah, good,” Octavia said, “some sensible conversation at last.”

“What’s this about a flier, Ly?” Vinyl asked, ignoring Octavia’s last statement.

“You mean you weren’t…?” Lyra started, looking confused. She looked to Bon Bon, who just rolled her eyes. “Hang on.” Lyra immediately ran off, but was back a few seconds later, holding a flier in her magic and levitating it to the table.

The flier was mostly dark blue with several stars scattered around it. In the middle was a picture of a mare, light blue in color with a silver mane and tail. She wore a light violet cape embroidered with stars, fastened by a gem-shaped clasp, and a wizard’s hat to match; Vinyl couldn’t be sure, since she was wearing the hat, but based on her attire, the mare might have been a unicorn. She stood up on her hind legs in a triumphant pose. The writing on the flier stated, “The Great and Powerful Trixie, Ponyville Square at Sundown. Come witness the newest sensation in all of Equestria!”

“I can see where you might have been confused, Lyra,” Octavia said, “but Vinyl was talking about herself again.”

“I think we got bigger issues right now, Tavi,” Vinyl said, “like who is this mare and why’s she stealing my tagline?”

“I saw her outside Sugar Cube Corner earlier this afternoon,” Bon Bon replied, “hanging up one of those fliers. I’m guessing she’s a traveling performer.”

“Hard to call oneself a ‘sensation’ when your venue involves anywhere you feel like,” Octavia said.

“Hmm. You know what? I say we check it out,” Vinyl interjected. The girls all looked at her.

“Weren’t you just saying that you didn’t like her?” Octavia asked.

“Hey, all I did was point out that she practically stole my catchphrase,” Vinyl stated. “But anypony who says that can’t be completely full of hot air.”

Octavia snorted a small laugh. “Considering all the ponies I’ve heard say that (one, by the way), I’m not sure you could recognize what ‘hot air’ is.”

“Either way, I could think of worse ways to spend the night,” Vinyl added. “Whaddaya say?”

Suddenly they heard a rumble coming from Vinyl. Bon Bon smirked and said, “I say we wait for you to eat first.” Vinyl ignored her, though, preferring to glare at Octavia’s snickering.